Happy Birthday SSV & Poonam

Of course, we already celebrated them with pomp & circumstance, but wishing them from the blog here.

mere watan ke logo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD_Mk3o4c6cye

The quintessential Telugu Wedding Song

Continuing my series on sharing some of my favorite songs for various occasions, here is a Telugu song.

You will find this song being played by the band at every wedding you attend in Andhra......

Sri Sitaramula Kalyanamu Chootamu rarandi - Let's go watch the wedding of Sita and Rama

Siri kalyanapu bottunu petti - wearing the wedding sindhoor

Mani bhasikamunu nudutanu gatti - wearing the gem studded bhashikam on her forehead

Paranini padalaku petti - wearing the vermilion on her feet

Pellikooturai velasina sita kalyanamu chootamu rarandi - the all decked out bride sita's wedding, let's go and see

Sri Sitaramula Kalyanamu Choostamu rarandi Sri Sitaramula Kalyanamu Choostamu rarandi

sampangi noone nu kurulanu duvvi - combed hair with fragrant oils
Sompuga kasturi naamamu tirchi - wearing a beautiful sandal tilak
Chemapga vasi chukkanu petti - having the wedding dot on his cheek
Pellikodukai velasina ramuni kalyanamu chootamu rarandi - the all decked out groom rama's wedding, let's go and see


Janaki dosita kempula povai - a heap of red rubies in Sita's palm
Ramuni dosita neelapu rasai - blue sapphires in rama's hand
aani mutyamulu talambraluga - pure pearls as talmabralu ( the pearls took the red color of Sita's parani and the blue of rama's hands)
iravula merisina seetaramula kalyanamu chootamu rarandi - the glowing pair of sita and rama's wedding let's go and watch.


(Pardon any translation mistakes)

Citius, Altius, Fortius

Good luck, all the hopefuls and all the stars.

I now have two countries to cheer for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Saina, Go Paes, Go Lochte, Go Lebron!!!!!

For all the present and soon to be Expats on the Blog!!!!!

This song is from the 60's film Kabuliwaala - based on the story of the same name by Rabindranath Tagore about  the bond of friendship that springs between Rahmun the street vendor from Kabul and Mini, a little girl from Calcutta. It is also the story of a father's love for a daughter who is no longer daddy's little girl.

http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/rubel/kabuliwala.html



Aye mere pyaare vatan, aye mere bichhade chaman


Tujh pe dil qurabaan

Tu hi merii aarazu, Tu hi merii aabaru, Tu hi merii jaan



Tere daaman se jo aae un havaaon ko salaam

chuum lun main us zubaan ko jisape aae teraa naam

Sabase pyaarii subah teri, Sabase ra.ngii.n terii shaam

Tujh pe dil qurabaan ...



Maa kaa dil banake kabhii siine se lag jaataa hai tuu

aur kabhii nanhii.n sii beTii ban ke yaad aataa hai tuu

Jitanaa yaad aataa hai mujhako, Utanaa ta.Dapaataa hai tuu

Tujh pe dil qurabaan



Chhod kar teri zamin ko duur aa pahunche hain ham

phir bhii hai ye hii tamannaa tere charro.n kii qasam

Hum jahaan paidaa hue , us jagah pe hi nikale dam

Tujh pe dil qurabaan
 

For all the parents on the Blog!!!!!

(tujhe suraj kahu ya chanda, tujhe deep kahu ya tara


meraa nam karega roshan, jag me meraa raj dulara) - (2)

mai kab se taras raha tha, mere aangan me koyee khele

nanhee see hansee ke badle, meree saree duniya le le

tere sang jhul raha hai, meree baho me jag sara

meraa nam karega roshan, jag me meraa raj dulara



aaj ungli thamke teree, tujhe mai chalna sikh lau

kal hath pakadna meraa, jab mai buddha ho jau

tu mila toh maine paya, jina ka naya sahara

meraa nam karega roshan, jag me meraa raj dulara

Golden Gate & Alcatraz references

Continuing on that thought from my earlier post- what are the movie and book references for the Golden Gate? I am listing from memory...please add. Of course, if you check Wikipedia, you will get the complete list- but that is not the idea, obviously. Also adding references for Alcatraz:

Golden Gate references:

- Alistair MacLean's Golden Gate (what else can we start the list with!)

- James Bond: Live and Let Die, with a climactic fight on the bridge and a blimp crashing into the bridge

- X-Men: The Last Stand. The bridge is 'redeployed' to Alcatraz

- Briefly in Dirty Harry...a school bus full of kidnapped kids goes over the bridge. Wonder why nothing significant was shot on the bridge in 4 (?)Dirty Harry that were all set in SFO.

Alcatraz references:

- X-Men: The Last Stand. The last stand is at Alcatraz

- Dirty Harry- The Enforcer: The climactic showdown is all on Alcatraz.

- The Rock: Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery act take on terrorists who are holding SFO hostage from Alcatraz

- Escape from Alcatraz: Another Clint Eastwood classic. This is special because it shows Alcatraz as an active prison, from which Clint Eastwood escapes

That's all I had. Anyone got more?

Anand & Amer Prem

These two films need no introduction to the readers of this blog.......(Spoiler Alert!! Don't read if you haven't seen them yet!!!)

I have never really WATCHED these two movies. I remember seeing them with amma/nanna in bits and pieces and of course saw/heard the songs multiple times.

Today, for the first time, I really watched both the films in their entirity and I completely understand how a generation of women can swoon over Rajesh Khanna.....I feel the same way a little bit......

And what can one say about those two movies that has not been said before.

The happy, vivacious Rajesh Khanna and the dour and disillusioned Amithabh.....the last scene where Anand goes "Main marna nahin chahta" and Bhaskar hearing "Babu Moshay, Zindagi aur Maut Ki Khel Mein Hum Sab Katputhli Hain" and the eerie laughter....I am still a little emotional!!!!!

As for Amar Prem, the quartet of R.D.Burman, Kishore Kumar, Anand Bakshi and Rajesh Khanna that gave Chingari Koi and Kuch To Log Kahenge......the haunting melodies, the moonlit nights and the relationship between a woman cheated by circumstances and a man cheated by life, the tender bond between the courtesan and the innocent child...the family that has no legitimacy, yet, is one in all it's meaning..why is it that most of such stories are from Bengali authors????? "Pushpa, I hate tears". The characters do not shed tons of melodramatic tears, it's emotional without crying, it's romantic without duets.

It's a good day today as I got reacquinted with two of the greatest Hindi movies of all time......

Some more SFO

 Best place visited: The Golden Gate, of course. It is truly a majestic sight. There are other bridges, longer and grander, but the combination of the bay, the hills. the city in the backdrop and the color of the bridge make it absolutely unique. How many times have we seen books and movies blow this up? Would be interesting to compile a list.

But we also had a thoroughly enjoyable day walking downtown with Krupa and Mruduls. It is truly a b'ful city. I was telling Pedda Seenu that I hope they realize they live in a truly scenic part of the country.

Some pics:

Archie Andrews is smitten by the pretty lady

Would make a great painting

Yummy funnel cake

Yes, all of us did a lot of eating

Times change: The piper is following the kid!

View of the pier

Harry and Ron riding the dragon- where is Hermione?

Paul Atreides rides the sandworm (Dune reference, in case you haven't read it)

Now you know who holds the reins of the Singampalli households

Phew...tiring trip..can we go home now?

Thats all, folks!

Raghav & Attah

http://youtu.be/prvqk-fvrwQ

Running behind on Stats

The SH blog had an average of 200+ posts in the 4 years since its inception. 7-months into year 5, it is still at 78. Come on folks, post some stuff....Oh where, oh where have the authors gone, oh where, oh where are they?? With their keys gone short and gaps gone long, oh where oh where are they??(Sing to the tune of ........Poonam / Sudha / Mrudula?? )

Our SFO trip

Like the Wildebeest migrating across Africa, all next-gen Singampallis eventually have to gravitate to the Bay Area, and we  (Poonam, Raghav and I) were no exception. We just returned to Dallas after one of the best vacations ever, thanks to thorough pampering by Krupa, Seenu Sr & Jr, Sudha and Mrudula. I was there for about 9 days and Poonam and Raghav for 14 days. So we did so many things that it will take too much time to do a day-by-day thing like Krupa did for Alaska. So here are the highlights:

Best part of the trip: Family time! Getting to know the family members with whom we had not spent too much time before: Sudha, Adi and of course, Arjun. Also getting reacquainted with Seenu Jr and Mruduls, in their adult avatars- I knew them only as kids. And quality time with Krupa after a long time. Even though we (Pooh and I) are the eldest, we were pampered by all them as if we were kids...very enjoyable. Also, everyone got to know Raghav.

Best part of the trip, part-2: Adi, Raghav and Arjun: The kids made the trip extra special. Poonam and I had a real good time with Adi, with all sort of competitions in the mix: Basketball shots, Animal quiz (Adi won hands down with his phenomenal knowledge of animals), Treasure Hunt, Yoda Speak (in which, speak like Yoda we did), fireworks and other stuff. Raghav became a total fan of Adi and Adi was the perfect elder bro to him. Raghav and Arjun were also hitting it off well, with Raghav petting him and Arjun hugging Raghav. And Arjun was a bag of fun, with his adorable antics.

Downside of the trip: Bhuktayasam. I don't think I felt hungry in all the time I stayed there. Krupa plied us with food (and so did Sudha) and I gained 2 pounds on the trip. But the food was delicious, so I am not sure I should complain.

Best food: As I said, we tasted many delicacies:

• Gourmet root beer (close to Pendem's Sugandha palu...although that still has a slight edge!)
• Persian biscuits 
• Gourmet pizza 
• Tapioca tea (this was very cool...apparently Vidya Madhuri's favorite)
• The world famous SFO sourdough bread ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough)
• mouthwatering cream puffs from a bakery in SFO
• Godiva chocolate shakes 
• Krupa's chaaru (says Poonam, which she liked a lot)
• Krupa's pancakes (which I liked)
• Sudha's mouthwatering bajjis
• and many other items

It was a close thing between the sourdough, the tapioca tea and the cream puff- but my vote is for the cream puff- it was very good.

More to follow in another post...along with snaps.

Busy having fun with family!!

Pics and videos to arrive soon......

Awaiting Raghav's visit to Bay Area

They are on the plane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!