Big Apple

Friends, I hope you are all doing fine. Well finally I am visiting New York city nearly after more than 2 years. I am very much excited to visit the city that too in Christmas/New Year time. I feel the city will be like a newly wed bride in this time, so beautiful and cute.

Well this time I am taking my wife to the east coast first time and personally my visit to there will be Nth time.:).

I will post more details after coming back from my trip. Till then take care. Happy Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Bahamas - Miami Trip

All,


Recently I went on for a vacation to the bahamas and Miami. Believe me, they are wonderful places on the planet earth and must visits if possible. The weather was perfect, and the travel was great as I took a cruise to Bahamas.


Overall its a nice and relaxed vacation for me, as opposed to my usual trips where I will be in driving seat most of the time. Miami beach is one of the best beaches to visit with blue waters and white sand. Same with beaches in Nassau(capital of Bahamas) as well.

Posting some photos below for you to get inspired and motivated.:)


Inside the Cruise


Inside the cruise

Nassau Cruise Port

Miami Downtown

Miami Beach

More performances

Hi, I am glad to say that I had couple of more chances to perform songs. One is in a program organized by local telugu association on the name of a great singer Ghantasala. Other one is a hindustani classical performance organized by Kalanjali. My music class is also going on well. Only thing is that I am not getting more time for practise. So these performances help to keep me on tune and track.
Nothing more to say as there are no major happenings from my side. I hope you are all doing fine.

Movie Reviews

ENDHIRAN(Tamil)


Well, finally I get to see the most awaited picture of the year(should I say decade?). ENDHIRAN. This is my first tamil film I watched straight in a theater. I always loved Shankar who delivers the movies with picture perfect quality. Endhiran is another feather in his cap, however I felt he changed his movie making style with this movie. Moreover, being Rajinikanth as hero Shankar had no limits on the budget and could deliver an awesome entertainer.
However any movie will have likes and dislikes and below are those in my perspective. This is purely my opinion.

Likes

1. Standards are extra-ordinary. Felt like I am seeing an hollywood movie DOT
2. Everyone says that Rajini is a stylish actor, but he is a good artist as well.Liked the ROBO character
3. No over hyped emotions

Dislikes

1. I wish the first song was shot completely with full rhythm. My favourite song
2. Shankar is known to elevate the movie in the first half to the peak. I did not see that in this. He dealt it pretty normal

Anyway, this is a must watch movie to appreciate the advanced technology Indian movies are running towards.

Another interesting rumour is that Chiru-Aishwarya Rai-Shankar combo is going to grace the silver screen. I wish this dream combination works out soon. :)



KHALEJA(Telugu)

Well, this movie also had more hype because of the reason that Mahesh is coming up on screen after 3 years of gap. Cant say anything but this is like a normal story. But Mahesh did a different role with more sense of humor. Most of the time he was able to generate the genuine timing comedy. As usual he looks awesome. But it did not have the complete punch of Trivikram. You cannot compare with Athadu which was picture perfect.

I wish the director concentrated on story line more rather than standard masala elements. Songs are just OK. Fights are typical Trivikram type but need to change eventually for upcoming movies.

I would say that the movie is one time watchable if you go without expectations.

Borugula(Murmura/Puff Rice) Laddu

This is a homemade rice-jaggery crispty sweet from India. Best served as a evening snack.

Items required --

Murmura(Borugulu or Puff Rice)
Jaggery
Water
Cardamom

Preparation --

In a big, sturdy, thick-bottomed vessel, add water and jaggery. Cook on medium-high heat. Jaggery melts and begins to concentrate. Adding cardamom powder as optional. When it starts foaming, it reached the consistency we want for this recipe. To test, add few drops of jaggery syrup to the cold water. When pushed with fingers, if the syrup can be rolled to a round and keeps share without melting in spite of tilting the plate to different directions, it is done and the syrup is ready. This whole process takes about 15 to 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Remove the pot from the stove. Now take a bowl filled with Murmura. Pour the jaggery syrup prepared on to this murmura proportionately(It will not yeild good results if you do it other way, pouring murmura into jaggery syrup). Mix it well. Now start making laddus(round balls). Keep making your hands wet once every ball is prepared.

Wait for about 5 minutes for murmura-jaggery mixture to cool down and then start making laddus. Take a spoonful of mixture into hands and press gently into round shape. Keep a bowl of cold water on the side. Dip your hands in-between laddu making to keep hands unsticky and cool. Or ladle off the whole mixture into a greased pan. Press firmly and evenly. Cut into squares and let it cool. Break along the lines to separate the pieces. Makes about 12 medium sized laddus or squares.

Hope you enjoy making it...

One word

I just got this from Ria's blog. Thought of doing it.

Rule - Answer should be only in ONE WORD.

1. Where is your cell phone? Pocket

2. Your hair? Black

3. Your mother? Lovable

4. Your father? Inspiring

5. Your favorite food? Indian

6. Your dream last night? None

7. Your favorite drink? Buttermilk

8. Your dream/goal? Singer/Singer

9. Where are you? Office

10. Your hobby? Music

11. Your fear? God

12. Where do u want to be in 6 yrs? USA

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. Something that you aren't? Rude

15. Muffins? English

16. Wish list item? Switzerland

17. Where did you grow up? Hyderabad

18. Last thing you did? Blog

19. What are you wearing? Indo-western

20. Your TV? 36''

21. Your pets? None

22. Friends? Valuable

23. Your life? Interesting

24. Your mood? Normal

25. Missing someone? Nephew

26. Car? RAV4

27. Something you're not wearing? Shoe

28. Your favorite store? Daddu's

29. Your favorite music? Anything

30. The last time you laughed? 12:45 PM

31. Last time you cried? Nope

32. You hate? R's

33. One place that you go all the time? Winco :)

34. One person who emails you regularly? Sandeep

35. My favorite place on earth? Hyderabad

I will pass this to few people I know. Please feel free to take it up.

Crater Lake - Again

I hope everyone are doing well. As you know I already went to crater lake long time back. But I have visited it again, but this time with my wife.


It was wonderful experience this time since I went in peak summer and all the lake areas are open. We did the boat tour also which was wonderful. You should really get into the lake to experience how big it is. You cannot estimate by seeing it from outside. And the water is damn blue.


Overall, it was pretty nice trip with hot sun and the lake around. If you are nearby and have a chance to visit it, dont miss it. Below are some pics of it. See you later.

Change of Status

Finally I have changed my status from Single to Married..:)

Yes I got married 2 months back and back to US as well and in settlement mode. Believe me, its a new life altogether with new interests, twists, what not. Anyway life has taken a new turn for me and I am experiencing it. My wife is getting used to the new place, people etc.

No visits till now to any places. I will keep you posted about more updates. I hope you are all doing well and did not forget me.:)

Straight from PDX(Portland)

Friends, I am heading to India today. This time for a big occassion and its my marriage. I was busy last one month in shopping, packing stuff etc. I hope you are all doing well.
I will try to keep in touch and see you all after I settle down. Have fun guys.

Are you eating healthy food?

I learnt a lot from my roommates about the calories, fat and protein stuff in last one year. Initially I used to wonder whenever they see the nutrition facts for each item they consume. Later I realized that they are really important to make the health better and fit. Thanks to them.

I used to eat lots of (really a lot) chocolates, sweets and other items with fat when I initially landed in US. You dont believe, but I used to eat atleast one donut each day. It was so scary when I think now.

I also used to feel a lot heavier(Ofcourse I wasn't that fat, just feeling). I have decided to follow some rules in diet so stopped all fat stuff. Also started going to Gym, working out and swimming. In 6 months I have observed complete change. My body got toned a bit and I have lost 10 pounds and also feeling comfortable and light body.

I think its really important to maintain the body. Not to be handsome but for health. I dont believe that I have cut down so much on food. But sometimes I cannot control myself for some food items.

Ofcourse I have a formula. Eat and workout.:)

I suggest you also to take care of your health and diet. Thats it for now.

Yellow Stone Park - 33 States

Hello friends,

Hope you are all doing good. Finally I have visited one of the popular places in US - Yellow Stone National Park. This is real huge park which covers almost 4 states. This was also shown in a movie "2012". I along with a friend flew to Salt Lake City, Utah first. Salt lake city is not a great city, but the location it is situated is beautiful.

It is completely surrounded by mountains. We have also visited the Bonneville salt flats near salt lake city. This place is amazing, its just miles and miles area covered with salt on the ground. You know, this place is known for hosting the international speed racing at peak summers.

Next our destination was to Yellow Stone National Park. It was snowing heavily near the park but we could visit the required places in the mornings without any issue. We drove along the northwest side of the park and reached the north entrance. There we could watch some wild life on our way to mammoth hot springs. It was a good driving practise for my friend on different types of roads(snow, gravel etc).:)

This is another amazing place where there are several hot springs. Its interesting that the water would be boiling at high temparatures and we could see the fumes all over the mountain. Definitely a natural wonder.

Last but not the least, the total number of US states I have visitied increased to 33 with this trip.:)

Checkout some photographs from my trip below..


Salt Lake City(mountain view)


Bonneville Salt Flats





Hot springs in Yellow stone


Small portion in Yellow stone

Ugadi - Performance 4

Hello all, I dont have much to say at this time. But one update is that I gave another performance. This time its not classical, but for movie songs. The local community here celebrated our new year Ugadi sometime back and I have performed couple of songs in there.

I was well prepared and presented the song with some interesting visuals. To my surprise, the song came out very well and the response was really good. I was satisfied that the result came out well for whatever work I did. Ofcourse the whole function was good with some mix of classical and entertaining programs.

These events helps to meet new people and have fun and break from regular work. I will upload the actual song whenever I record it.:). Till then have fun and am waiting for friday for a trip to Yellow stone national park..:)

Third Performance

Hello all, by god's grace my classical music thing is going well. I gave another performance at Portland Central Library . This time it was much better performance wise as well as crowd wise. It was nice to see lot people turning up for these type of events other than DJs and Discos.:)

It was also nice to see the kids performing tabla(an instrument mostly used in classical music space).

I thought about the time I have wasted in my past.:-P. Anyway I am atleast doing something now. Refer to my blog's header for the song I performed. This is called as "Tarana", one of the forms of classical music. This sounds interesting to audience because of the kind of tounge twisters it has.

Refer to this link which explains about the interesting history about - Tarana.

Sachin - 200 Years

I don't want to become a fool by saying what Sachin Tendulkar achieved before two days. As everybody saying it is almost an impossible feat. And I was thinking that why really it is so amazing achievement. Simple, it is not so easy.

Click for the news and Sachin's achievements...

It needs extensive concentration, patience and the technique that need to be continued throughout the game. All these were amazingly balanced in Sachin's play in the match. Its specifically praised because he played this game against one of the strongest teams South Africa. I believe that God writes human fate. Thats why he wrote that Sachin only should do this for the first.

It is really a happy moment for all of our indians that a person like Sachin who is absolutely uncontroversial, balanced has done this. His emotions after reaching double century is so humble as if he still have to reach some other goals.

He is not only inspiration for me in the aspect of game, but mainly for dedication, hard work and humbleness. He is just genius. Hats off..May god bless him and may he live for 200 years............

Movie Reviews

Its been long time, I did not write any movie reviews. I watched some movies recently and below are their reviews.

1. Adurs(Telugu movie)



Story line : Twins seperated in the past re-unites and cleans the villain group

Much awaited movie with the combination of V.V. Vinayak and NTR which did not reach our expectations. Its sometimes really disappointing that the telugu movies are not coming out of formula base. We atleast thought that the action sequences and songs will be good. But the movie is disappointing in those sections as well. May be the story is weak and pretty common, but the taking would have been much better in terms of fights and songs. Comedy is also average. This is just an OK movie for timepass.

2. 3 Idiots(Hindi movie)



Story line : Tale of 3 college friends life and the their goals

Well, most of you might know this movie. Aamir Khan is quite selective these days and he delivered a 3rd consecutive blockbuster after Taare Zameen Par and Ghajini. He is few of the leading method actors in India who really tries something different. 3 Idiots is also an experiment on the studies in India with entertainment. As usual Aamir Khan is at his best in this movie.

3. My Name Is Khan (Hindi movie)



Story line : A person suffering from autism meets the president of US to say that he is not a terrorist

Much hyped movie of recent times because of the sensitive elements in the film. Ofcourse it has reached the expectations and I really liked the movie. Shahrukh Khan and director Karan Johar finally came out of Romantic tragedy type of story line to a story that is different and has plenty of space to really ACT. Shahrukh has done wonderful job in his expressions and timing. Kajol is prety apt for her role.

Finally I am awaiting for the new horror movie "The Crazies" releasing on Feb 26th.
Till then, see you and have fun guys.

Second Music Performance

I am happy to say that I had given another performance with my group in Portland downtown. This time I sang a nice bihari folk song and a holi song. I have uploaded them(which I sang separately) in my blog header. Please refer to the song titled "Makayya re & Holi.

It was basically a cross cultural meet where artists from few other countries like China, Philippines, Palestine came and performed. It was nice to have that gathering. You get to know other traditions and cultures.

On behalf of India, our group has presented some classical music items(dance, instrument and vocal).

And I also gave my nomination for singing in a program conducted by telugu association in Portland. I have a good plan to sing different type of songs if they agree for my program.

Well nothing specific from my side other than this and my work which is hectic these days. I hope you are all doing well.

First Performance

I remember updating you that I am learning Hindustani classical music. If not, yes I have started learning music at my place in US from last 6 months. As you know I have lot of interest in music and entertainment industry.

Recently I gave my first performance in the local temple to raise funds for them. I had satisfaction that I did something practical instead of just learning in the class. I along with my group sang a bhajan on Lord Rama.

It was nice evening as well with lot of bhajans and get together of all music learners. I feel we need to have this meetings often to divert ourselves from the busy work life.

Below is the link to the audio of bhajan I sang in the temple. I have also embedded the same to my blog as a page element. Hopefully you will like it.

http://www.box.net/shared/6r1ia8s6rq

California(A Real Development)

Friends, as I always do I went to another trip to California again. But this time for new year. I have been to San Francisco. Last two new years I was alone for the new year day. So this time I want to be with crowd to welcome new year. So my trip went on like this...

I along with my roommate drove to SFO from Portland. I enjoyed the long drive after long time. We have visited a club in SFO for new year night and it was fun to be with people at midnigt. I have visited the hindu temple in Fremont, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale areas. I could see the real development(be it infrastructure wise or other) in the state of California. And as you all know the development in the area of technology.

Lots of companies with beautiful infrastructure can be seen in the state of CA, specially in the SFO area(popularly called as Bay Area). I was amazed to see the roads and highways. They are awesomely built. Even the local road has 5 lanes. It was fun to drive over them.

There is no wonder if one thinks that their country or area should be developed like that. It can be a ideal infrastructure for other countries.

And also I went to Lake Tahoe which is a lake in the state of Nevada. But we missed some rides(like snow mobiling and cable car up to mountain) due to delay. Next time better luck. Here I am posting some pics.