The latest innovation in food and groceries delivery such as by Swiggy and Zomato is ten-minute delivery. Zomato promises it for food, Zepto and Zomato-backed Blinkit for groceries. Swiggy Instamart talks about a delivery time of 15 to 30 minutes. Last year, Dunzo announced a 19-minute delivery...
Chennai pedestrians need saving. Statistics of Chennai pedestrians dying on the road are alarming. But first: Is Chennai a walkable city? Not for the faint-hearted, the elderly or the disabled. Not for children, surely. The city acquires a busy character from its congested quaint enclaves like...
Ajith fans were eagerly looking forward to celebrate Pongal through Valimai. But the release was put off owing to the 50% restrictions imposed by government on cinema theatre occupancy. The head of the cinema halls owners association, Tiruppur Subramaniam, had said that since Valimai is a big...
"All art is autobiographical; the pearl is the oyster's autobiography," said Italian film-maker Frederico Fellini, observing no two pearls are precisely similar. Yet all oysters grow stunningly symmetrical, perfectly round pearls, which has remained an enigma for centuries. The work of Mexican...
Brazil nut effect Let's do a small experiment at home. Take a glass; place two or three unbroken whole cashew nuts at the bottom. Fill two-thirds of the cup with smaller nuts such as peanuts or roasted Bengal gram. Now shake the glass well. Lo behold, you can observe the cashew nut raising up...
Chennai is already flooded even before North East monsoon gains momentum. For all the town planning and civic amenities projects undertaken by the government round the year and the lessons learnt in Chennai floods 2015, the city should be geared up to face rain related adversities. But it is...
In March 2017, when singer SPB was in the US as part of a global tour, he was shocked to receive a legal notice from his friend Ilayaraja for copyright violation, by singing his songs without consent. Ilayaraja’s lawyer said in the notice that Ilayaraja held the copyright of the songs composed...
When the Pavalar Brothers, Ilayaraja, Baskar and Gangei Amaren struggled during their early days in Chennai – no proper place to stay and barely had one meal a day – it was singer S P Balasubrahmanyam who provided them much needed support by including them in his orchestra which performed stage...
This article was first published in 2018 Ilayaraja is regarded as the king of re-recording. His background score lends depth, mobility and an emotional bond with the viewer, transcending even an ordinary scene to epic proportions. His re-recording for films like Nayagan, Padhinaaru...
This article was first published in 2018. How did Ilayaraja reach cult status? Coming from a small village in southern Tamil Nadu, with virtually no education and no musician in sight except his elder brother Paavalar Varadarajan whom he would accompany for music performances as part of...
