Brother's wedding

Brother's wedding went on well, the wedding happened at Tindivanam on June 24 and reception at Cuddalore happened on the evening of June 26.

Brother's getting married soon

Brother is getting married on 24th June, so, preparations are on...

Bro selecting his suite. Made it at the John Players showroom at T Nagar in Chennai.

This was the suite which was bought finally.

Grandma, Daddy and my wife sorting out the sarees to be given out to relatives.

Pandhagal function which marks the start of the wedding function happened on Sunday 20 June'10 at our home in Cuddalore.

Nalungu being done by my aunt.

Haarthi being done at the end of the nalungu function.

Now we are packing up for the journey to Tindivanam tomorrow for the wedding. Shall update with some more pictures after the function.

Little bike smash by my neighour's son

My neighbour Selvam Anna's brother Sathya Anna had bought a new Suzuki Access 125 scooter yesterday. Today they have gone to temple, performed rituals and brought the new bike back home. 

Selvam Anna brought that brand new scooter to his house just a few hours back. He has a daughter and son , both around 14 years old. These two siblings had got to try something anew with the brand new bike. 

I had then returned home after a few trips for my tiny tots on my dad’s TVS-50 moped; parked it while looking at them experimenting with the new bike. Selvam Anna and his son were standing on the left side of the bike, while his daughter was standing on the right side of the vehicle and she holding a tiny tot (Sathya Anna's son) standing on the bike.

The tiny tot was so curious and has turned on the ignition key. Selvam Anna's son tried to auto start the vehicle and was successful. Now I could see from distance that the head lights glowing on the bike. The curious son has tried to rev up the engine and the new engine was very prompt in response. Selvam Anna was standing at the right side behind the vehicle holding it to stop moving, but his hard efforts proved futile. So the bike just pushed off from the parked position and its gushed forward. His daughter luckily took the little baby off from the vehicle.

Since the bike was moving forward, his son’s hand holding the accelerator was unknowingly revving it up. Selvam Anna was pulling the vehicle from moving and his son without his control was revving up the engines.  So bad that, the scooter was pulling off the father son duo with it. The bike turned left then right and reached the other side our narrow street. It had travelled some 20 feet and pulled into the 1 feet wide drainage throwing the two people onto the wall on the side of the road. 

Lucky there was not much injury. Selvam Anna got bruises on his leg and his son got little injured on his forehead.  The bike had got some little scratches on mirror, side fairing and front shock absorbers.

Thank God.

Though some 2 hours have passed off, I am yet to recover from the shock of myself witnessing that gory incident. Luckily they escaped without any much injury.

If you are having a similar bike with an auto start, be aware that your curious siblings are smart enough to mimic your action. Keep the key of your bike away from the sight of your children. 

A 180 Kms bike ride

Brother's wedding is coming up on June 24 and its time to invite relatives and friends. We planned to give out invitations to relatives living bit away to our place Cuddalore.

So, started off the journey on bike with my wife last Sunday (30May'10) at 6.00 a.m. 

When we entered the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), my speedo got a unique combination with all the digits getting a push. The road was free of any traffic and so I managed to click it as the bike was making little above 40 kmph, ofcourse the pic got little distorted.

Since clicking the speedo while the vehicle is still moving invited unpleasant reactions from my wife, I stopped the bike and clicked the fancy number on my speedo.

The trip was through Cuddalore -> Neyveli -> Vridhachalam -> Ulundurpet -> Periyasevalai -> Panruti -> Cuddalore and we clocked 180 kms.

It was too hot and the high temperature was giving us enough burnouts. My helmet was a respite for me and she managed with a cap and a hanky to cover her face to avoid the heat.

Riding those battered village roads were so much challenging, giving enough pain to the shoulders and my back. Any how we accomplished the work of giving out the invitations to the relatives. 

Should I have gone by any other mode of transport, it definitely would have taken more than one day. The thrill quotient added to clocking the longest drive on my bike was hard to forget.

Love my 9 year old Splendor bike for her promising performance on my longest ever drive.

Brother's betrothal

My brother's betrothal happened last Sunday, the 18th of April '10 at Dindivanam A few clicks there...

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VaraLakshmi Nonmbu at home

Its VaraLakshmi Nonmbu at home. My family prohit is chanting Vedic hymns at home during the auspicious occassion which happened yesterday (15th August).

Valaikappu to my cousin Subha

Valaikappu in Tamil language means "Bangle Ceremony"

This ceremony 'Valaikappu' is usually held in the seventh or ninth month of the first pregnancy, wherein the pregnant women is presented with new sets of glass bangles. The scientific reason is that the sound of these bangles is supposed to reach the little one inside the womb. Usual tradition is that the woman's mother-in-law or sister-in-law leads her to the temple and to a bangle shop where she selects the bangles of her choice. Some families arrange to get the bangle-seller to their houses and the purchase of the bangles is a part of the ritual. During the ceremony the pregnant lady seeks the blessings of the elders after putting on the bangles, prayers are invoked for the well being of the mother-to-be and the foetus. Priests are not involved in this ritual.
Now lets see one such valaikappu ritual that happened on Sunday the 3rd August 08. The mother-to-be is Subha, my cousin (Mother's Sister's Daughter). My blog post of her wedding is here. The new camera phone K790i of mine had done a very good job in catching the moments at the valaikappu function. I am sure that you will enjoy my photographs.

Here goes the photographs...


My cousin Subha and her husband Hari Prakash.


Bangles are being adorned to Subha. Each ladies take their turn to perform the Nalungu during which they apply sandal paste to the mother-to-be and wishes her for a healthier motherhood.


My Daddy entering the venue.


The delicious lunch.
The tradition is that the parents of the lady will be presenting the delicious 5 variety of food. That is what you see in the above pic. Each of the five tastes kindles the taste buds at different spots in your tounge.
I hear you asking "Hey only four varieties are there in the plantain leaf, where is the fifth one? Yes its the curd rice, and it will be served at the end of the lunch.


The little ones enjoying the lunch.


Betel leaf, Betel nut and caustic lime completes the festive food .