The great Chennai Traffic story

Poor ignorant me. I used to think New York City was the ultimate test of a driver’s skills, that once you had labored down one of those snarled streets, you could handle traffic anywhere. But I’ve just experienced traffic in Chennai, one of India’s biggest cities, and let me tell you this: New York City is child’s play. Take a Chennai taxi driver to the Big Apple and he’d glide through traffic during rush hour, blindfolded with one arm tied behind his back and the gear stuck in reverse.

“How did it go, Ramaswamy?” you’d ask him.
“What, sir,” he’d say with a perplexed expression, “is today a holiday or something?”
“No, Ramaswamy, it’s the busiest day of the year. The city is hosting a championship parade for its baseball team, not to mention the annual convention of the Larry King Ex-Wives Association. So what are your impressions?”
“New York drivers are so nice, sir. Kind and nice. Such polite people. I am also impressed with all the pavements here. Very smooth to drive on. So much space. And no one is sleeping on them.”
“Any other thoughts, Ramaswamy?”
“I like all the one-way streets, sir, because I have to worry only about oncoming traffic. No one is trying to get past me. And the pedestrians, they are so few here. I had to swerve around only six or seven.”
“But what about the rules, Ramaswamy? Don’t you follow them?”
“Rules? Hahaha! In Chennai, we have only one rule: Don’t give the police more than you have to.”
Anything goes on Chennai roads, not just cars, trucks and buses. I’ve seen such an array of vehicles – bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, vans, carts – that I would barely raise an eyebrow if I spotted an airplane weaving through traffic. “It costs too much to park it at the airport,” the pilot would say. “So I’ve decided to drive it from home. Those are my relatives sitting on the wings.”

Now and then, you may also see a stray cow in the middle of the road. But most animals, thankfully, are smart enough to stay away from the madness. Humans, on the other hand, aren’t just trying to travel down the road – many are actually trying to walk across it. This requires good reflexes and agility, for you never know where a vehicle will appear from. Indeed, Indians would be guaranteed a gold medal if “traffic dodging” ever becomes an Olympic event.
At the busiest times, it’s hard to find space between vehicles. What Americans call “tailgating,” Indians call “good driving.” If you leave the slightest gap between your car and the next, someone will try to squeeze into it. And you’d better put your foot on the brake, otherwise you may run over the encroaching party, perhaps a cyclist transporting bags of groceries or a motorcyclist carrying his family of 12.
If brakes are overworked in Chennai, so are horns, warning everyone of a vehicle’s approach. The incessant beeping is the chief contributor to noise pollution, other than local politicians. Some drivers, worried about straining their fingers, have programmed their horns to blare every three seconds. That’s why, if you ask a hotel clerk for a wake up call, he’ll smile and say, “Don’t worry. You’ll be up at dawn. It’s a great benefit of the city.”
What amazes me most about Chennai traffic is the apparent lack of concern for personal safety. Few motorcyclists wear helmets, few drivers wear seat belts. But many motorists do have pictures of gods in their vehicles, so there’s at least some much-needed praying going on.
Courtesy: Melvin Durai

Surya weds Jyothika

Tamil Stars Surya & Jyothika got married today and as we promised here are the images of both the Marriage and the Mehendi function held earlier. The who is who in the Tamil World made their presence felt.
We wish the couple a very happy and successful married life. We do hope to see brilliant movies from the actors in the future too. Surya-Jo are you listening?
Courtesy: Our RJ from the wedding

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu Movie Review

Deputy Commissioner of Police Raghavan-feared by criminals, respected by the police force; tough, resourceful, has a keen mind and is ruthless with the bad guys. And yet, he is human-no undue stiff neck and overtly "correct" and serious personality. This man is also intense, loyal, has a deep sense of ethics and goodness, especially when respecting women... and a streak of humour here and there! We start this pulse-pounding and nail-biting thriller of a police story by watching DCP Raghavan making so much mush out of hardened criminals across Tamilnadu. Not only is he smart, quick on the draw and can land a mean punch, his detective mind and police cunning is to be admired too. A quick and racy montage gives us a kandein Seethai version of what kind of cop Raghavan is.

But all is not always well. His mentor and boss Arokiaraj (Prakashraj) calls upon him to help him find his missing daughter Rani - she had spoken to him just hours ago promising to return home to their town and never turned up. Using reason, logic and quick police work, Raghavan follows a trail of clues to a tragic end. Rani has been brutalized and murdered in a deliberate and planned manner. Obviously by educated and very professional person or persons, from the slick handiwork of the gory evidence on the corpse and the bait that was used to provocate the police force.
Arokiaraj and his wife are unable to deal with this brutal end to their only child and a happy life and move to the United States to live out the rest of their lives. Raghavan promises to find the killer and bring justice and retribution.
Unfortunately, still more tragic events force Raghavan to visit the U.S. as a representative of the Indian Police Force - more murders, missing people and similar evidence suggesting links between the crimes done with Rani and the ones abroad. NYPD requests Raghavan's help in solving the case.
DCP Raghavan's first flight to the U.S. is filled with memories of a happy life with his wife Kaayalveli (Kamalinee Mukherjee), the good times of love, romance, fun and togetherness and the drastic turn of events that changed their lives completely.
Raghavan settles down to fast-paced New York and some fast-paced police work. Aradhana happens to meet Raghavan quite by accident. Her life and sorrows draw him initially in a platonic manner and then as someone who is more than just a concerned human being. A friendship (and maybe something more?) develops.
Before anything else, though, comes the work at hand and Raghavan's hard at it. Clues and trails lead him and his NYPD counterpart Anderson from one theory to another piece of evidence until, despite much lack of confidence from Anderson, Raghavan leads them both to a horrible discovery whose only plus point is that many unsolved cases finally get some answers! NYPD wakes up to some terrible truths and Raghavan's small case and crusade turns into a nation-wide hunt for killer or killers still on the loose.
And then we catch a glimpse of Amudha (Balajee) and Ilamaran - students of medicine with very dark sides to their nature. They are passionate, disturbed, psychotic and totally dangerous.
What happened that brought Raghavan to New York? How did his investigation progress there and how did it relate to the crimes committed back home in India? What turn of events affected Kaayalveli and Raghavan? How does Aradhana fit into this entire picture? What happens in the lives of Amudha and Ilamaran and what happens between them and Raghavan?
Questions and more questions - and each of them answered in Gautham Menon's signature slick and urban style where he effectively interweaves action, suspense, gore (like we said, it's a daring movie!), romance and succinct "flashback" to create a well-woven thriller.
What one sees the story unfold as: fast-paced action and some keen detective work, some real human stories interwoven, some deadly and disturbed minds, lots of bold display of crime scenes and crimes committed and the signature Gautham Menon style of realistic dialogues.
The story is really bold - no policeman has been shown with such a human side. No villain has been shown to possess such deep psychosis. No crimes depicted and displayed with such macabre effect. Kamal Hassan is truly a class apart - he doesn't pretend to be 20-something: he is a veteran of vast experience (there is a line from him to the killer: Chinna pasanga, yaaru kooda vilaiyaadareenga?!). He looks good and like a cop should with his smart posture and crisp linen clothing. His acting, of course, needs no description.
The picturisation is very Ravi Varman - New York is shown with all its energy, interior Tamilnadu in all its rustic elements and the songs with great cohesion to the story. Music is, needless to say, superb. Every song brings out the colour and mood of the scene.
Gautham has taken us in his usual urban style from place to place - and, with attention to the finer detail, from the accents and costumes and selection of actors in the U.S. scenes to the working of the police force here in India, to the portrayal of the women in the movie. Of course, a BIG question on everyone's minds: is Gautham going to "kill" Jyotika in this movie too, like Kaaka Kaaka? Watch the film to find out.

Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu: Slick, classy, daring, bold, nail-biting, raw and striking!

Financially-challenged but brilliant Students, Education funds available

Hello, my name is Janakhi Raman and my user id is lasic1@yahoo.com.

I'm an NRI and currently live in USA. I would like to donate money to financially-poor-but-brilliant students who are in need of money to join college and continue further studies. My wife and I have already been donating money to young children in orphanage homes in Madurai. This time, my engineering classmates and I would like to join together and donate money to poor students who would like to go to college from 12th standard.

Please pass on contact information of such students who scored high marks in 12th exams. You can point me to your news articles so that I can take their address and send money. We can either you send you the money to your office or directly to those students. Please contact me at lasic1@yahoo.com if you need further details from me.
Thanks, Janakhi Raman USA.