Karthik Writes..

Defending Siachin Glacier #Indianairforce This hotstar video documentary is a classic to show how the Indian airforce guards in extreme of weather conditions the Siachen glacier the highest army check point at 22,000. ft. above ground level in freezing cold. Put under extreme of climatic conditons at -50 C the Jawans brave the spine-chilling cold to guard the border ably supported by the IAF for their daily supplies. Watch the ancedotes from the lady helicopter pilot Sqd Leader Kushboo Gupta and the other Glacier caption. Glacier captain is the title given to the pilots who manouver the helicopter in the glacier zones to reach the army posts. The daily challenges and the sacrifices made by Indian army is really inspiring. Adding to this is the magnetic voice of Kabir Bedi as the narrator in the entire video takes it to the next level. Every Indian should not miss this. Jai Hind !! Check out Extreme Flight: The Indian Air Force on Hotstar! https://www.hotstar.com/1000228...

From today April 1st ஏப்ரல்-1. இந்த தேதியை கேட்டால் அனைவருக்கும் முட்டாள்கள் தினம்தான் ஞாபகம் வரும். ஆனால் இந்த வருடம் ஏப்ரல் 1, மிக முக்கியமான நாளாக கருதப்படுகிறது. இன்று முதல் பல நடைமுறைகள் மாறுகின்றன. அவை என்னென்ன என்று பார்ப்போம் 1. 2017-18-ம் ஆண்டுக்கான நிதி ஆண்டின் பல்வேறு கட்டண மாற்றங்கள், வரி விகிதங்களில் அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள மாற்றங்கள் அனைத்தும் இன்று முதல் அமலுக்கு வருகின்றன 2. இன்று முதல் ஆதார் எண் இருந்தால்தான் புதிதாக வாகனத்தைப் பதிவு செய்ய முடியும் 3. இன்று முதல் வாகனங்களுக்கான காப்பீட்டு பிரிமியம் தொகை 41 சதவீதம் உயர்ந்துள்ளது. 4. நாடு முழுவதும் உள்ள 394 சுங்கச் சாவடிகளில் நுழைவுக்கட்டணம் இன்று முதல் 10 சதவீதம் வரை அதிகரிக்கப்படுகிறது. இவற்றில் 20 சுங்கச்சாவடிகள் தமிழகத்தில் உள்ளது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது. 5. இன்று முதல் எஸ்பிஐ வங்கியின் சேமிப்புக் கணக்கில் குறைந்தபட்ச தொகை இல்லாவிட்டால் அபராதம் விதிக்கப்படும். மாநகரப் பகுதிகளில் 5,000 ரூபாயும், நகராட்சிப் பகுதிகளில் 3,000 ரூபாயும், சிறு நகரப் பகுதிகளில் 2,000 ஆயிரம் ரூபாயும், கிராமப் பகுதிகளில் 1,000 ரூபாயு...

Saw Kutram 23.The film actually was very good and deals about the scam that goes in IVF treatment, a subject not touched at all so far and proves to be a thriller. Not sure why it is not getting the response it should get. Arun Vijay the hero looks macho and extremely fit for the role of the investigating officer as Asst Commissioner of police. It does not have much songs and the direction is racy in the beginning and then meanders a little latter. Kudos to the director for  turning out this crime thriller in an untested subject. The story infact is adapted from Tamil writer Rajesh Kumar's novel. A must watch in my opinion. Just to leak out a suspense -Kuttram 23, the 23 refers to the 23 chromosomes....very apt title too unless you appreciate it.(also the hero's 23rd film) Verdict: 3.75/5.

Summer is here and Chennai faces a huge water shortage. Pls circulate the below in your friends and flat association groups. Here are a few tips that will help you save water. Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth - this can save 6 litres of water per minute. Place a cistern displacement device in your toilet cistern to reduce the volume of water used in each flush. Take a shorter shower. Shower can use anything between 6 and 45 litres per minute. Always use full loads in your washing machine and dishwasher – this cuts out unnecessary washes in between. Fix a dripping tap. A dripping tap can waste 15 litres of water a day, or 5,500 litres of water a year. Install a water butt to your drainpipe and use the water collected to water your plants, clean your car and wash your windows. Water your garden with a watering can rather than a hosepipe. A hosepipe uses 1,000 litres of water an hour. Use the RO water purifier waste water for cleaning floor and washing vegeta...

Film Ghassi was another film which really is a class apart from the run-of-a-mill movies. The entire film is shot within a Submarine and the plot is the Indo-Pak war under water in 1971. Viewer watch with bated breath as the story takes you through one sequence of attack after another. Its based on real incidents with how the Indian submarine inspite of losing its captain ,still fought valiantly. This is once in a blue moon kind of movie and matches the class of Hollywood mo vies frame by frame. Score: 4.25/5...extra credit for just the plot and the storyline.

While all the political parties have jumped into the Prohibition bandwagon my suggestion would be to start it in the reel world first and then come to the real world. Yes stop showing the hero and his friends do all the things below A) Dance in the bar with group. B) Brain stroming with friends while drinking. C) Failure in personal life...head straight to the bar. D) To get courage - take the bottle. To have the directors avoid these cliches, films without the above can be provided Tax exemption(what an idea sir ji) like the one for naming Tamil films with Tamil titles. Pls share this until it reaches the concerned. Films do impact this generation.

Just getting interested from trailer was in two minds if I should see this movie... As a prior step also read the review. Decision was made to see the movie. Searched for tickets but could not get the same. With the recent upgrade to a broadband with a better speed searched if there are any online links...yes found one with pretty decent clarity. Now for the movie...no songs with group dancers..no punch dialogues..no acrobatic fights....The hero of the film has no track record to such subjects and infact he has been ridiculed for his acting skills in some of his previous movies in social media...but not this time. If you are the one who are interested in films with court scenes who may like it as I did.(Mamooty's Mouna samandham was the one which interested me a lot several years back). The film entirely revolves around the story line it took and does not deviate much from it. Comedy by Vivek and others is not a separate track but blends well with the main story Heroine Ha...

Today, my long felt need of having to get a selfie out was done. You may ask what's so great about a selfie. Well, the need was to take a good selfie (not actually coined as a selfie at that time, but was a just a snap) of me and my parents together. This job had been entrusted to many in the past and the result was not satisfactory. I need to get it done myself and also I need to be there in the picture as well. How to achieve it ? This was an unresolved need from the past, in fact for several years as my parents never wished to go to a photo studio for this purpose. As all problems will have a solution and it is only a matter of time until one finds it. This problem of mine, might have been in someone else mind as well and thus was the selfie stick born. Rather a simple solution of lending an extended hand to cover the frame and shoot the snap. Very simple solution to a simple problem. With the solution found its only the execution that was remaining. So with my goal...

Chennai and Auto rides never go well together.The sight of Auto in the city has become a nightmare for many of us. Everyone in the city would definitely have had an argument with auto drivers in the city towards the fare that needs to be agreed for the destination. The fares are always not in relation to the distance, but based on the person. If you are an office goer or old the fare is always higher. No consistency exist in the fares demanded by the Auto drivers and auto meters are a big taboo to the drivers It has been more than a decade since the meters functioned in the city autos and it is always going by the best judgement which the driver makes about the fare. The scene before this scenario was slightly better where the meters were functioning , but were rigged in most of the autos. The heart beat of the passenger would increase every time he boards the auto with a rigged meter which had been clearly manipulated to show exorbitant fare. This "Soodu" meter as it...

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It was a Sunday morning. Compared to other days got up slightly late and was starting the day. All was well till 11 AM when the television suddenly went blank. One of my favourite programs was getting aired and I hoped the televison will get back to life soon. Minutes moved on, still no sight of power coming back and the wait continued. Slowly minutes ticked and it extended to afternoon. It was now 90 minutes without power and it became slightly irritating.Tried calling the Helpdesk of TNEB and an automated voice greeted me and asked me to choose few options to reach a support person.I explained to him the location (of my place) and he assured me that within 30 minutes the power would be restored. To kill time thought of reading some thing from my small library and the collection I had gathered over the years.I took one of the book which I had  purchased few months back and thought of reading it. As I buried myself into the book it got rather interesting and I forgot...

Here I am back with another Review.....This time its on the Steven Spielberg film "The Adventures of Tintin -The Secret of the Unicorn" in 3D. So whats so special here.Well lot many things are special here. Personally Tintin has been one my childhood heroes and it brought in those nostalgic memories in me , where as a school kid I had exchanged books with friends (costly in those days Rs 80 I believe) to read all the stories of this adventure series created by Herge. I had almost read all is what I think. Secondly this probably one of the films which had used motion capture where the real human movements have been imposed on animated objects and the characters really reminded me of those caricatures that I had seen as a kid.The resemblance of all the characters were immaculate and astonishing.  Third no doubt its for the creator - Spielberg and that too in 3D. Having said the reasons which drove me to the...

As a continuation of my previous post just want to share the feedback on the Deepavali Release movies 7am Arivu : This was a much expected release for the year and whether it stood out towards the expectation is an important question.The film has few good portions and is quite patchy.The opening was great but it followed the famous Vadivelu dialogue "Opening ellam nalla than iruku...Finishing seriilayapa". The logic and screenplay had lot of gaps..Heroine struggled to deliver tamil naturally in a film which talks about tamil lineage.Quite conflicting.Music looked average. Only saving grace was Suriya. He does his best, but somehow the movie huffs and puffs to close.Perhaps the crew realized this and hence they tried to catch all available slots in all available channels to promote the movie. One more fact which I noticed, is on Suriya...In some shots he looks OLD.Age is catching up Suriya...better avoid closeups. Velayutham: This will be a ...

I just saw the new films that were released for Deepavali one after the other. You might be tempted to ask whats  new in that....Read on. This was right from my home just few hours after the films were released. It was not through  pirated CD but right on my laptop, LIVE streaming video. Earlier during onsite days this was just the way we in our room used to see films.Now that we are able to do it in our own Chennai, shows that technology had penetrated deep and now we can say that we are nearly in the same league at least in the broadband area.To cap it all, I did not even see the "Buffering" message once in the entire 2 hrs 20 mins of live streaming video. Now the obvious question is on the quality...Well it was not great, but not bad...it was pretty much TV quality and was decent. So What did I see...the much acclaimed 7am arivu, Velayutham and Ra-one....Reviews from my end to follow in the next blog...

I just decided to write something today and when I was about begin , just thought of checking the time stamp of my last blog...Blistering Branakles....it was nearly an year ago. So grand beginning for 2011 in November...!!

I am back after some time to write this post ...but this time it is something that has bothered me.. It was one evening on a work day when I was returning from work. As usual the company shuttle dropped us on the usual spot which was a designated for us to get dropped and most of us cross the main road near the Udayam theatre signal to proceed towards our respective residence. The stretch was made a one way with huge flow of traffic and a traffic signal installed ,without which it really becomes difficult to cross this stretch...virtually impossible at 7:30 PM. The signal flashed red and the countdown timer started at 20 and proceeded..19..18..17... Even at 15 (five seconds after it flashed RED) no one bothered to stop and the vehicles were rushing at top speed.We need to form a group and then cross the stretch and some of them stopped, while the other smaller vehicles still rushed between us. It was at this juncture that the unexpected happened. Suddenly from...

Collins` `Take 10` tips for achieving or maintaining a healthy weight are:   Eat breakfast Include vegetables or salad with lunch and dinner Choose fruit as a snack Replace full-fat food and drinks with reduced-fat alternatives Choose wholegrain foods instead of more refined foods Eat smaller serving sizes by using smaller plates and cups Eat slowly and stop when you are satisfied, not stuffed full Eat when you genuinely feel hungry, rather than for emotional or other reasons Swap sweetened drinks such as cordial, soft drink and juice with water Eat your evening meals at a dinner table with the TV turned off.

Please read the two post below as this is the continuation of the same. Mathew Hayden with the little mongoose bat and Murali Vijay entered the scene. A huge roar welcomed them. We had Yousuf Pathan starting the proceedings.CSK batted well and Murali Vijay was hitting boundaries at will. Hayden though choose to play the second fiddle. The real time action was awesome and contrary to my belief that nothing would be visible I could clearly see the people on the field and identify them without the help of the big screen. It was raining Sixes and fours from the start and it continue .Hayden was the first to go and I saw a dismissal Live as it happened near to the place I was seated. good catch though. Suresh Raina joined the party and also helped the score move along. As the lights started fading up came the Flood lights.There was one directly opposite to me as well.  The introvert in me died in the atmosphere of celebration and I also joined the crowd screaming and showing the ...

Please read my earlier post " Cricket and Me "   before reading this as this is a continuation of the earlier Post. With the ticket in my hand I had the day marked in my calender, mobile, Outlook etc. IPL 2010 started with a bang and it was huge event in the Indian cricketing calender as last year's IPL was packed and sent to foreign shores because of the General elections and security issues. The match for which I had the ticket was between the Chennai Super Kings(CSK) and the Rajasthan Royals -RR (Shilpa Shetty's team and the inaugural champions).  My choice for this match was because  it was at 4:00 PM and hence would end by 8:00 PM so that the transport was not a problem and I could use the train without any apprehensions. Also the match would have Dhoni, Shane Warne and the big hitting Pathan (Yousuf) who's fame has sky rocketed because of  IPL these days. The day came and it was a Saturday and a long weekend too. Decided to reach the Venue an hour bef...

Anyone interested in the game of cricket would always agree with me that the experience of watching it on the field is a great one. I always had this desire to watch a cricket match in the stadium but somehow had to be satisfied by watching it on TV. Being in Chennai and having  MAC in the city this is something that I had in my mind ever since I had this  desire. The biggest impediment to this desire was the serpentine queues in which one has to stand when the counters open for it. This was something that i could never achieve and every time a match was announced I would dismiss the idea saying thats not for me (Remember Film Thiruvilayadal and Dharumi saying...Namakilla...Namkillaa). Some thing of that sort. In 2000 where I had a Central govt client with whom I was working on a Project, I saw an opportunity of getting this long time desire getting fulfilled. They had some tickets from some link that they had in the stadium and were issuing this to their counterparts.I was c...