Om Shanti Om at Karur!

Karur, a sleepy industrial town near Tiruchi, would be an unlikely place to get a decent theatre. As I was walking down the roads, my eyes glanced upon a screaming Shahrukh Khan poster that said "OM SHANTI OM". I went in the evening to see the movie. they were selling at a premium price in the box. 30 rs ticket for a 25 rs printed one. I was only too glad to pay for it as in Bangalore, the minimum cost of a movie was Rs 130 if one chose the economy mode of watching at PVR. The theatre (Amudha) wasnt bad at all, it had decent dts sound, which didnt put me off and more than that, fans which didnt make me sweat. No frills cinema, if I could say, Amudha was the air deccan of the filming industry. After a long time, I didnt have to be tense about getting tickets for a movie, getting worried about striking a black ticket deal with a tout and getting a seat with a proper angle. In a place like Karur, there's hardly any competition for places and tickets, so I led a charmed life pre-OSO.

The Movie was an expected Shahrukh Farah movie that showed that the duo have really enjoyed making the movie. The script is barely there, but it was a funny joyride all the way and is definetely worth a trip to theatre. They have shown the 70's era very well and the humour in the movie is entrenched and not as attachable bits and pieces. I liked the last part where they showed a video of every person who contributed to the movie, including cameramen,lightmen and make up artistes. Shahrukhs previous movies like PBDHH and MHN bombed despite some excellent songs, the reason being weak script and improper marketing. This film's script is slightly better though the genre of movie making is still the same and given the excellent marketing Shahrukh has done, this movie was a certified money spinner, even before it released.

I would be leaving to Chennai only tommorow as no tickets are available for today. It would be good to get back to classes after nearly one and a half months. I was hoping to go on a holiday on the diwali weekend from Bangalore, but all my friends were busy at work and some on social obligations at home. The trip stays postponed for a while, as I cant make any plans unless I see the schedule at college. But 99% getting break in between terms 5 and 8, looks tough, probably in term 6, I might sneak in a day or 2, after placements as classes would not be scheduled then.

Right now, nothing to do, just glancing through papers, sipping hot rasam,watching TV and sleeping at Karur, with Parents giving loads of advice- do this-do- that.......

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz



PS: Karur is closer to Trichy and Yercaud. Click here to see my album on Karur. I had been there in FEBRUARY earlier this year and sometime in August for a friends's marriage

Back to the Railway Times

What made last year memorable was the train journeys that I had travelled, during the course of the year. Two train journeys that stand out, were the trips made with office, when I was at Sulekha.com. The whole office, or most of whom I knew, travelled for an official trip once and a marriage the next. These 2 trips helped me socialise and get to know persons very well. Given that most of the people were in the 20-28 bracket, it was asy to relate to the crowd. The travelling folks were in one sense simple, that they had not seen much of the outside world, and viewing their world and being a part of their conversations brought together some fond memories.

We visited Ooty in April for a company trip (about 60-70 folks), and a small 1 day trip to a village near Trichy for an employees wedding, and oh....I forgot to include another wedding for which we didnt take leave but still travelled together on the train. This was to Tirutani, when we took the evening 16 30 passenger train to Tirupati. Those memories were great, and I get another chance to re live them partially.( as most of the employees who came on the earlier trips are now joining me in the ex-sulekha gang going to the next wedding trip)

This is happening on the 26th of August, and I have booked myself a journey to Namakkal with four of my friends at Sulekha(now all of us are ex-suleka nevertherless), and look forward to one of those lovely all-night-shout-talk-bitch-2nd class rail journey. Thats one big respite I will have from the course at Great Lakes, which is getting hectic by the term.

Karur- A Lovely Place for some Peace

I am doing this post from Karur, a small town which is a couple of hours from Tiruchi. I had come here for a short holiday, spending some time with my dad, who works here at a bank, and also to attend the marriage function of one of my colleagues at Sulekha.Karur is a very calm place, has an old world charm, and relaxing and being jobless, can actually be a hobby, if you happen to be in Karur. I did manage to visit Yercaud, a small hill station nearby.Though it is not as cold as Ooty or Kodai( where I hear the temparatures are slipping negative), Yercaud can be a lovely place for some solitude. There is no mad rush of cabs or people into Yercaud, even though its proximity to towns in interior Tamilnadu is much closer than Ooty or kodai to big towns nearby.

I spent some time walking in a few gardens and near the boat club. The drive was worth it.I should be back from Karur later this week(possibly tommorow, subject to availabity of tickets to Chennai).I will post a short travellogue on this place and some of the customs of the land of Karur, which I had learnt from my colleague.