I was really upset when the planned trip to Thanjavur didn't materialise last year. Myself, as somebody with a strong inclination towards sculpturing and fine Arts, I felt ashamed not visiting Thanjavur all these years, considering that it was just 4 hrs travel from my home town. Atlast I booked my tickets in early January through www.irctc.co.in for Feb 29th, despite finding myself in 14th of RAC list. The 'D-day' had come, I was engaged in some serious official discussions, giving me a thought of cancelling the trip for a fleeting moment. But I regained and decided to continue with my plan. This time the agendas were to travel light and enjoy the retro travel. With just a white cotton pyjama and a black T-shirt, along with the camera bag, I was on.

Pondicherry - Where time takes a break.. That was the caption of Tourism and to an extent it is true also. Pondicherry still retains the soul of French Colony and makes an excellent combination of past and present. As a resident of Cuddalore, I had to travel to Pondicherry for a better shopping, till I moved to Chennai. Today after a very long time I managed to visit Pondicherry beach and the Parks at the right time - in twilight. There were some major changes to the beach and the parks. There were four parks in arc forms that completed a circle. And in the middle part was the French structure that is in the official emblems of Pondicherry Government.

{mosimage}WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE A North Indian GIRL as WIFE

1. At the time of marriage, a north Indian girl has more boyfriends than her age.

2. Before marriage, she looks almost like a bollywood heroine and after marriage you have to go around her twice to completely hug her.

3. By the time she professes her undevoted love to you, you are bankrupt because of the number of times you had to take her out to movie theatres and restaurants. And you wait longingly for her dowry.

A man from Uttar Pradesh was away from his wife for 4  years, while his wife was at his home.

At the end of 4 years he  distributed sweets to his colleagues in office stating that his wife had  delivered a son.His colleagues were quite shocked and they asked how this "Happy event" happened when he had not seen his wife for four years...

The man  said it is common in UP that neighbours take care of the wife (good Samaritans) when men are away.

The colleagues asked him, "What name will  you give to the son?"

{mosimage}Statutory warning : If you are not South Indian or have no experience of things South Indian it might be pointless reading further.

Extra Statutory warning : If you are a Mallu with the pride of Kerala in your loins but no sense of humour to go with it.

DON'T read any further.

You stand warned.

It has been a well kept secret for eons, shrouded in mystery and mazes of deceit, but finally Itty Boben Jacob Elias Kuruvilla from Pazhookaville,near Thelmasherry, Kerala has consented to let us publish what has been till now a highly classified Mallu formula, on the naming of Mallu kids.

{mosimage}One of the interesting things of a train journey is the way stranger kids playing near the rails greet you with a 'ta-ta' and you unconsciously reciprocate it with a smile. For a moment we all lose our inhibitions and become a child by stooping to their levels. Atleast I felt the same when I went to Coimbatore recently. Thanks to IRCTC I had my tickets booked well ahead in mid June itself and Vaithy's call at the minute I settled down at the train ensured a happy mindset. In the back of the mind I knew that this going to be a memorable jouney as I was all enthused to go to Coimbatore after a gap of 9 months. The smooth transition of barren lads to lush green landscapes as the train moved from Tiruppur to Coimbatore kept me glued to the window since I woke up from slumber. Heart leapt out of its place when I saw the board of "Singanallur", which means I am going to be in the city in next few minutes.

If I was posed this question whether I have seen any most beautiful places on the earth some 1-2 years ago, then I would have said a big "NO". If the same question was posed to me this day I will say I had been to one of the most beautiful places in the earth - Thirumurthy hills.Thirumurthy Hills is located at 20 kms from the Udumalpet Highways and about 80 kms from Coimbatore. This is a least exposed beautiful place that too only to the Malayalam film industry (No Malayalam film is complete without shooting a song sequence here, e.g Friends (Friends in tamil), Aniyathipravu (Kadhalukku Mariyadhai), Meesha Madhavan & the list is endless, Sangamam, Janakiraman & Kizhakkuvasal a few to name in Tamil .