Author: queenbee (Page 8 of 12)

Ponniyin Selvan – 2 – A Review

May 11, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

High on the beautiful saga of Ponniyin Selvan -1, I managed to watch Ponniyin Selvan -2 yesterday and here comes the review, while it is still in fresh in my mind!

While PS-1, was all about introducing the various important characters of the Chola Dynasty and their power equations and enemy rulers Pandyans, PS-2 is all emotions and drama!

Adithya, Arulmozhi and Kundavai

***Major Spoilers ahead***

Title : Ponniyin Selvan – 2

Director : Mani Ratnam

Released in: May 2023

QB watched on: May 2023

PS-2 starts with the love story of Nandini and Adithya Karikalan, which although is beautiful, it is short lived. I loved watching the young actors perform the sad love story! Once Adithya shows off Nandini as his love interest, she is deported from the Chola empire, thanks to crown Princess Kundavai and Queen Sembiyan Mahadevi (yesteryear heroine Jaya Chitra), both of who despise Nandini, largely due to the fact that she is an orphan. Adithya only finds her, years later, with Veera Pandyan (Nasser in a cameo), who takes her under his wings. Here, we was left wondering what exactly the relation was, between Nandini and Veera Pandyan.

Meanwhile, Arulmozhi Varman and Vandiyadevar, survive the ship wreck thanks to the old mute Mandakini Devi (Aishwarya Rai,in dual role, supposedly the birth mother of Nandini) who manages to save the injured Arulmozhi Varman. Vandiyadevar diverts the pandyans (and sends away Arulmozhi to a safe location) in search of Arulmozhi, fights Pandyan Ravidasan (Kishore, who also happens to be Forest Officer from the Kantara movie, if you need the reference) and is captured and taken to Nandini, the ally of Pandyans. Nandini vows to avenge the death of Veera Pandyan. Here, Vandiyadevar finds out that Nandini intends to kill Adithya Karikalan by herself.(The Pandyans have their doubts, because, it is a known fact that Karikalan and Nandini were once lovers) Once Vandiyadevar reveals to Nandini, about meeting her mother in SriLanka, she spares his life in return. The boat scenes in the movie, are beautiful to look at, I loved the cinematography.

Vandiyadevar meets Kundavai and tells her Arulmozhi is safe and sound with the Buddhist monks, whereas Nambi relays the same message to Adithya Karikalan. Both the siblings reach Lankan Buddhist monastery and meet Arulmozhi, who plans on returning to the Cholan capital of Thanjavur. (Meanwhile, Madhuranthakan is creating an army for himself, which consists mostly of Shiva Bhakts, in the hopes of defeating Adithya Karikalan and Sundara Chola and ruling the Chola Kingdom. At first glance I thought what are Aghoras doing with Madhuranthakan!)

Here, Kundavai, Vandiyadevar and Arulmozhi warn Adithya Karikalan against meeting Nandini at Kadambur. (Earlier in the movie, Parthibendran Pallavan(Vikram Prabhu), best friend of Karikalan, who is besotted with Nandini, convinces Karikalan to meet Nandini at Kadambur) Nandini, who is the famed beauty of Cholan Empire, has a sway with men. (I loved the costumes and jewellery of Aishwarya rai in the movie. Excellent work by the design team.)

Soon, we learn that, Sundara Chola and Mandakini Devi (the mother of Nandini), loved each other! During the Pandyan assassination attempt on Sundara Chola, Mandakini saves him and dies in the process. Thank God for that. (I didn’t like watching Aishwarya Rai as an old lady, with little scope for acting!) At one point in the movie, I wondered if Nandini and Kundavai, Adithya Karikalan and Arulmozhi were really half siblings, thanks to the love between Sundara Chola and Mandakini Devi. But the doubt is soon clarified. Nandini and the Cholan siblings are not related. Phew, the story would have been so sad, if they really were half siblings!

Adithya Karikalan, inspite of his knowledge of his planned assassination, meets Nandini and dies in the process. (He is ok with dying at the hands of Nandini. Just like in the Hindi movie, Raanjhanaa, where Dhanush dies in a similar fashion!) The death predicted at the beginning of PS-1 is that of Adithya Karikalan. Vandiyadevar, tries to save him, but fails and he is mistaken to be the murderer!

Later, Nandini finds out VeeraPandiyan was infact her father and she commits suicide, unable to come to terms with the death of Karikalan. (I still don’t understand Nandini and Karikalan, if they were so in love, why didn’t they just run away and live happily after? This point might have been explained in the book, but in the movie, it is still a mystery!) There is a fight between Pandyans and Cholas and Madhuranthakan aides Cholas. Cholas win. Ponniyin Selvan Arulmozhi Varman crowns Madhuranthakan as the new Cholan King! (and 15 years later, Ponniyin Selvan ascends the throne of Chola Empire and his reign saw most advancements in the Empire. He comes to be known as Raja Raja Chola, king of the Kings!

*** spoilers end***

What I liked, is the top notch acting. It is sad to see Adithya Karikalan and Nandini’s love come to a tragic end, Vikram and Aishwarya Rai shine in their roles. Like I said in PS-1 post, Karthi excels as Vandiyadevar. All the others have bit roles and limited screen time.

What I didn’t like is the last twenty minutes seem rushed. The fight could have been better. But that is not all. Why name the movie Ponniyin Selvan if the actor playing Ponniyin Selvan gets less screen time? I liked Jayam Ravi as Ponniyin Selvan and he shows in bits and pieces why he is liked and loved by his people. He is level headed and intelligent. The movie should have been named, Adithya Karikalan! Although I love Vikram and his acting, I didn’t understand why he got top billing in a movie about Ponniyin Selvan! I was eagerly waiting for scenes of Arulmozhi Varman, but the achievements of Raja Raja Chola are mentioned at the end and the credits roll! (Does that mean, PS-2 is just a tragic love story, albeit in a historical setting?)

Such a disappointment!

P.S:

I searched the net far and wide to see if there is going to be a Ponniyin Selvan – 3, but I don’t think there is going to be one! So it is a big let down, rushing the last twenty minutes of the movie, with reams and reams of story remaining!
According to online sources, Ponniyin Selvan , as written by Kalki Krishnamurthy, focuses and heroes Arulmozhi Varman, but this PS-2, although named after Ponniyin Selvan, talks more about his elder brother Adithya Karikalan! (I forgave the first movie with less screen time for Ponniyin Selvan, because, Mani Ratnam had to introduce us to many characters and I was fine with it.)
I am hungry for more information regarding the real Arulmozhi Varman, i.e. Raja Raja Chola, who was the inspiration for Ponniyin Selvan. He was the man behind the construction of Brihadeswara Temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. I hope to visit it someday, in future. Probably in my 40s!
The elder brother of Arulmozhi, Adithya Karikalan was murdered in real life too and it still remains a mystery, but some historians believe the Pandyans were behind the crime. Pandyans wanted Adithya dead, for killing Veera Pandyan. (Kalki Krishnamurthy had used real historical figures as characters for his novel, including the Chola siblings.)

Till the next post!

Ponniyin Selvan – 1 – A Review

May 10, 2023 / queenbee / 1 Comment

Although the movie, Ponniyin Selvan -1 was released last year, what with the mixed reviews of it being confusing and lengthy, I refrained from watching it! Then again, with Ponniyin Selvan -2 releasing a week ago, I really wanted to see what all the buzz was about. So a late review of PS-1 is here.

Let’s jump right into the review.

Disclaimer : I hardly know Tamil and Tamil literature. My review is based on my understanding of the movie.

Title : Ponniyin Selvan – 1

Director : Mani Ratnam

Released in: September 2022

QB watched on: May 2023

Streamed on Amazon Prime

Review:

The movie starts with a falling star and death of an important person in Chola Empire is predicted! Now, who is the important person in chola Empire? Is it Sundara Chola (weak and sick Prakash Raj) or the Crown Prince Adithya Karikalan (Chiyan Vikram, still looking like a 40 year old!) or Kundavai, the only daughter of Sundara Chola (Trisha) or Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi as Ponniyin Selvan)? Or is it the Sundara Chola’s cousin Uttama Chola or Madhuranthakan (Rahman)?

***Major spoilers ahead ***

Adithya Karaikalan, is stationed at Kanchi, fighting wars and annexing new kingdoms to the Chola Empire. Kundavai is stationed with her sick father, aiding in the rule. Karikalan, sends his trusted friend, Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan (Karthi), a Vaanar clan prince , as a spy to relay some of his doubts regarding unrest in the political scene of Chola Empire, to Kundavai and Sundara Chola.

During his visit to Kadambur, Vandiyadevan finds out that Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar (Sharat Kumar), Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar (Parthiban), some other ministers don’t want Adithya Karikalan to ascend the throne. They want to back Madhuranthakan to be the new face of Chola Empire! Madhuranthakan, is the cousin of Adithya and Arulmozhi.

We also get a brief glimpse of Adithya Karikalan and Nandini’s love story. As the movie progresses, we find, Nandini is in fact married to Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar (whom Adithya Karikalan addresses as grandfather! )

Meanwhile, Vandiyadevan comes across a Vaishnavite Azhwarkkadiyan Nambi( Jayaram), who is also a spy for the Cholan Prime Minister. Thanks to the information from Nambi, Vandiyadevan manages to reach Nandini (Aishwarya Rai). He later reaches out to Sundara Chola and Kundavai and relays his message. (Vandhiyadevan is a clever and brave ally to Chola Crown Prince and he proves his worth time and again.) Kundavai asks him to bring Ponniyin Selvan aka Arulmozhi Varman to Chola Empire, from far away Sri Lanka!

That is the first time we see Ponniyin Selvan, at SriLanka, where he is busy learning the wisdom of life from Buddhist monks and also defeating Raja Mahindra in Lanka. Ponniyin Selvan infact means, son of river Kaveri, because, Arulmozhi was once saved from drowning in the river. In fact, he was saved by a lady with long tresses of grey hair. (We later learn that it is Aishwarya Rai in a dual role.)

Unknown to all, the Pandyans are after the three heirs of Chola empire, Karikalan, Kundavai and Ponniyin Selvan. They want all of them dead!

Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar and the other ministers force Sundara Chola to issue an order to arrest his own son, Ponniyin Selvan in SriLanka and bring him to Thanjavur, the capital of Chola Empire. (PS had infact rejected the throne of Asoka’s daughter, given to him by the Buddhist monks and that is considered an offense by the ministers of Chola. Sundara Chola agrees to arrest his son, only because he thinks, that will guarantee his son’s safe travel!)

Meanwhile, the pandyans arrive at Lanka, to assassinate Ponniyin Selvan. Samudrakumari or Poonguzhali (Aishwarya Lekshmi) who admires the Ponniyin Selvan, warns him regarding the Pandyans, once they enter Lankan waters. (Poonguzhali is actually the niece of old Aishwarya Rai!)

Vandiyadevan agrees to be the decoy, by dressing up as Arulmozhi Ponniyin Selvan. He gets captured, whereas Arulmozhi manages to escape the Pandyans. Once Ponniyin Selvan finds out that Vandhiyadevan is captured, he returns to save his friend. The movie ends with the storm wrecking the ship with Arulmozhi Varman and Vandhiyadevan and Chola Empire hearing the news of the death of Ponniyin Selvan! (We also get to see old Aishwarya Rai, dive into the ocean waters, trying to save Arulmozhi Varman, once again, that is the actual end of the movie!)

After watching the movie, the revelation was Karthi! Boy can he act. He is a natural. He fares better than his sibling, who is more popular, I don’t know why (He seems stiff and one dimensional!) It is a pleasure watching Karthi in the movie. Bravo!

Once I saw the movie poster, I thought the main character of Ponniyin Selvan was played by Chiyan Vikram, but nope, it was played by Jayam Ravi! (He is built for the character of a future king. He looks powerful and level headed.)

Vikram’s role is a piece of cake for him , Trisha, has a sizable character. Sobhita (lover of Ponniyin Selvan), Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Lekshmi have very little screen time. I liked watching Jayaram as Nambi, who is a little goofy, perfect as a spy. Aishwarya Rai gets the best role, which has internal conflict, grey shades and scope for acting.

It was an engaging watch (doesn’t seem lengthy or boring at all) and I hardly knew what was in store. It didn’t have any hero elevation moments or stuff like that. But still, it managed to capture my heart. It shows what an efficient director can do, even without any theatricals. (Mani Ratnam movie direction style is so different from that of Rajamouli. I don’t mean to compare them, as they are as different as chalk and cheese.)

All in all, I wanted to watch the PS – 2 , as soon as I was done watching PS -1 .

P.S:

Ponniyin Selvan is a fictional historical novel written by the Tamil writer, Kalki Krishnamurthy. Although I never read his novel, I became a fan, once I was done watching the movie. I want to start reading the novel too, if I get a copy in either English or Telugu. Need to surf the net regarding the same.
After studying briefly about Mr.Kalki Krishnamurthy, I wonder if he was an inspiration behind the story and or character names of Baahubali movies too! He had written a novel called Shivagami Sapadham and Karikala Kattappa reminds me of Adithya Karikalan (it might just be a coincidence).
Ponniyin Selvan character is based on the historical figure, which we had studied in our schooling(long forgotten), Raja Raja Chola!
The hair bun of Trisha seems so unique and must have been heavy on her neck, though!
The words with ‘z’ in it, like in Poonguzhali need to be pronounced with a ‘lla’/’lli’ sound. I found it the hard way, when I first pronounced the old and famous Shobhana starrer Malayalam movie, Manichitrathazhu!
Since the movie has loads and loads of characters, it is a little tricky writing the review! Review of PS-2 coming soon!

Mrs.Undercover – A Review

May 8, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

Firstly, I watched the movie, only because one young friend, Ska advised me to and now, I would like to review it here, for my dear readers.

The poster sums up the movie – the three important characters!

Title : Mrs. Undercover

Director : Anushree Mehta

Made and Released in: March and April 2023 (apparently the movie was made in a month!)

QB watched on: April 2023

Streamed on Zee5

Review:

The movie starts with the death of a young lawyer, by the hands of a psychotic killer, whom we know as the Common Man (Sumeet Vyas). He also films the crime to let people know that he is on a killing spree! (Oh! And the movie is set in Kolkata and once I saw the heroine on the streets of Kolkata, I was immediately reminded of much loved Kolkata based movies like Kahaani and Piku, both movies with strong female protagonists. I already had high expectations from this movie!)

After the crimes against independent women by the Common Man (mentioned as CM for the rest of the post) keep getting out of hand and also the murder of undercover officer, there is a post to be filled, to catch the CM.

Enter Durga, the average house wife, who after years of inactivity (that is, inactive office life, but very active life as a house wife) is rusty. Chief Rangeela (Rajesh Sharma) tries desperately to recruit the ex-undercover officer into the case, but she is skeptical. I loved watching Chief Rageela. He also has the best lines in the movie, thanks to his character of being a gentleman, who understands a woman and knows how to encourage her.

The character of Durga is relatable, because, the once undercover agent, who is now a full time mom and who forgot she was an agent, is scared of walking alone at night or leaving behind the family to follow someone, without making a proper excuse.

Durga joins a woman empowerment workshop, to be able to follow one of her leads. (Here again, we get to see why a previous agent is now so scared. It is because of the husband, who doesn’t trust her skills and who never encourages her. ) Her husband is put in his place, by Durga’s mother in law, who teaches her son about being a good husband. This particular scene shows how much a good mother can influence her son.

Meanwhile, Durga’s husband has an affair with a neighbour, who happens to be an accomplice of the CM. Then again, we see the vulnerability of Durga, who is shattered. (I loathe the character of the hubby)

Spoilers aside, finally, Durga manages to find the bomb, de-activates it at the nick of the moment (How do all the important characters in different movies always find the correct wire to cut off, to stop bomb explosion?) and saves the day! Phew! I didn’t enjoy the climactic scenes. The supposedly bad villain takes a good beating from Durga, he takes the blows, one after the other, without hardly raising a hand to hurt Durga! What nonsense! A chauvinist letting a woman beat him to pulp and getting away with it?

It is a one woman show, through and through. The first half manages to make us smile once in a while. The CM, the villain doesn’t have a back story, except that he is a chauvinist, who hates women who are independent and brave. He even kills his own mom! In-spite of that, we hardly have any emotion to spare for him. I was neither scared of him nor loathe him. The CM character could have been shaped better, with better scope to perform. It is a very one dimensional character. Only with a powerful antagonist, can we see a powerful protagonist and that elevates the movie. Since there is neither of that in this movie, it remains an average fare.

Radhika Apte is a natural in this role. I also liked Rajesh Sharma as Chief Rangeela. It is a memorable one.

If you are a die hard fan of Radhika Apte, you can’t miss the movie, for her acting chops! If you have time to kill, go ahead and watch the movie. But it is not on par of Kahaani by Sujoy Ghosh and Piku by Shoojit Sircar!

P.S:

I don’t know what it is, but movies based in Kolkata have a charm of their own!
First half of the movie was promising, but the end was flat. I loved how simple and elegant Durga’s look was in the movie. Although the result is average, I commend the makers for trying something new. I hope they make a better sequel! Yes, the end was open!
I don’t think I ever reviewed Kahaani and Piku. I will post them soon. They are the best!
Incidentally, this is the only movie I have ever watched of Radhika Apte. Previously,I had watched the Netflix series, Choker Bali in 2017 (another Bengali connection! I think I have a thing for Bengal/Kolkata!). Interestingly, Radhika Apte and Sumeet Vyas play lovers in it!

The ‘Pallu’ Holder!

May 7, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

*****Disclaimer: This was written way back in 2014 and I brought it out of the archives to post here*****

The pallu-holder that I was, my people believed I would pick up the nuances of household chores (or at the very least,cooking!) from my mom, which is far from truth.

I had always been very ignorant about anything worthwhile! (I enjoy talking more than listening, you see)

And last week when I decided to give mom a break from her cooking duties, I had a mini-test! (almost like an internal exam)

So after making rotis in shapes of all the continents and I ended up inventing a few shapes of my own. Say, wait a minute, may be I should apply for a patent for all those innovative shapes! Feeling proud…itni khushi! (The only dialogue I love of Bollywood hero Govinda is this, Itni Khushi, from Partner. I like simple dialogues the most. Just like Devvvvudaa from RaceGurram, a Telugu movie.)

But even though I make rotis in new shapes, I can’t replicate the same shape again! (Innovation is a talent you see..)

I ended the day with a happy face, you ask me why,…see the cartoon below.

Cooking is an important life skill, for survival. So both boys and girls need to learn the bare minimum. Men who cook for their spouses, now and then, will surely be appreciated.

P.S:

Time and again I prove my cooking skills are as bad as a kindergarten kid’s. But who cares, as long as your family loves you for trying. I got a pat on the back, yippeee..! (Now my cooking is a little better, thanks to marriage and motherhood!)
‘Pallu’ holder is the term I coined to indicate all the kiddos in every family, who are closer to mom, a mama’s baby (As a kiddo,I always had my mom’s pallu in my hand. Hence the title). Younger kids in a family are generally closer to mom. I am a self-proclaimed ‘Pallu-holder’ and proudly so! (Now that I think about it, I am closer to dad too. We have always been a close knit nuclear family!)
All younger kids are not pallu holders and all older kids are not closer to dad, exceptions always exist.
Kids these days hardly get the chance of being a pallu holder, what with moms like me hardly wearing sarees except for special occasions like festivals.
Pallu is the Hindi word for the loose end of the saree worn over the shoulder. (This little snippet is for the little audience that I have overseas!)

P.P.S :

My sister is the best example of a Tsundere!

Zumba Rumba!

April 30, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

We are now on the last hobby post and why not dance with joy at the prospect of completing a challenge, the A-Z Blogging Challenge 2023!

Let’s start some music and enjoy dancing Zumba!

So, for Z it is Zumba Dancing!

Compared to all the other hobbies in the hobby posts, Zumba dancing is the youngest! Zumba was invented in 1990s, by a Columbian dancer and choreographer Beto Pérez. It is a fitness program developed using cardio exercises and Latin based dance moves.

Did you know that Zumba dancing is trade marked by a gym?

Well, Zumba is popular around the world, thanks to it being a full body aerobic and cardio workout. It combines the dance styles of salsa, flamenco, chachacha, hip hop music and tango.

A Zumba dancer can burn 300 to 900 calories, which is a good number, considering we take in more than 2200 calories with just a single 14 inch pizza! Although it is advisable to eat only 2 slices of pizza in one sitting!

Thanks to the popularity of Zumba, we can enjoy the workout from the safety of our own homes through Youtube videos or can even subscribe to the Zumba DVDs, if you are up to it.

It is a good thing to take up Zumba, because, not only will it be a good hobby with the added advantage of fitness, but also reduces the chances of heart diseases.

Incidentally, Zumba is also banned in Iran and Israel! If you stay out of both Iran and Israel, why not go ahead and learn Zumba dancing? You will be both fit and happy! Give it a go, chalo Zumba!

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with Z are Zip Lining, Zulu Dancing and Zoology. (We already saw two hobbies related to Zoology, entomology and ornithology. So I have refrained from Zoology in this post).
Zombie Hunting comes under hobby with a Z, if it really was a thing!!
Rumba roughly translates to Party!
So, today on April 30th, we have come to an end of the Blogging Challenge. I will be back within the week with my regular posts. Do watch out.

Till the next post, adios amigos!

Yodel – Ay – EEE – Oooo!

April 30, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

Once you try saying out the post name out loud, you will surely understand, what this post is about!

Today’s post is about Y for Yodelling!

Yodelling is a form of singing, which involves rapid change of pitch, mostly famous in Europe and highly popularized and immortalized in Bollywood music by singer Kishore Kumar da.

Yodelling is mostly associated and used by people in wilderness and is a shout to make themselves heard, over a long distance, mostly on mountains.

Even cow boys have their own signals in the Wild West, similar to Yodelling! The cow boys had huge herds of cattle which grazed on wide areas and which needed to be taken care of, were controlled by yodelling. The cowboys sang yodels for their cattle as a signal.

These signal like cries later crept into music and folk songs in the Europe and America. Once yodelling became a part of music, there were stage shows and theater performances of yodellers and slowly found a place in Indian music too!

In the 1940s and 1950s, yodelling was popular kind of music, around the world, but has faded, with time. Yodelling was never as popular in India as it was in Europe and USA.

Are you interested in singing and play an occasional guitar? Why not strum a few strings along with flexing your vocal chords and yodel away!

Yodel – Ay – EEE – Oooo!

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with a Y are Yoga, Yachting, Yo- Yoing and Yarn Spinning.
Go through the song, to learn what yodelling is all about. Thanks to Kishore Kumar da, for such beautiful rendition. The original song had Super Star Rajesh Khanna and Tanuja in the lead. Sadly, the video can’t be copied, so I have attached the audio link here.

3. Sometimes, old really seems like gold. Olden days are always better!

Till the last hobby post, cheerio!

Eco Friendly Xeriscaping!

April 30, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

We have already been through Gardening as a hobby idea. But if you are a lazy bum, who hates watering the plants and you prefer minimum maintenance as far as plants are concerned, then Xeriscaping is best for you.

For X, let’s go with Xeriscaping!

Xeriscaping is the process of landscaping and maintaining a lawn with little or no water at all.’

Little or no water was utilized here.

Xeriscaping is mostly practiced in places where drought is a common factor.

If you thought Xeriscaping is all about using native plants, then you are wrong. It is all about using plants which need less water to survive.

Cacti – Important part of Xeriscaping

By dividing the landscape area into zones, like the cacti zone, succulent zone, turf zone etc it is easier to plan the watering or the irrigation system, to reduce wastage.

Cacti is not the only variety used in Xeriscaping. The Bee Blossom plant is one such option.

Bee Blossom – Xeriscaping plant

Organic Mulch can be used in Xeriscaping to retain water in the soil. After some years, the organic mulch decomposes and is useful as a natural compost. Wood chippings , wood grindings, saw dust, coconut fibre etc come under organic mulch.

Sand and gravel come under inorganic mulch and they should be used in Xeriscaping sparingly because, they have the tendency to increase the temperature by retaining heat from Sunlight! It is advisable to use more of organic mulch than inorganic one.

The other Xeriscaping plants are different types of Sage, Lavender, Rosemary, Poppy tree and Shamrock.

Low maintenance , edible purple Shamrock

Our very own desi Gulmohar tree, tamarind tree and the colourful Bougainvillea (my favourite of all, since the flowers look like they have been made from paper) can be used in desi Xeriscaping projects. Watering the plants can be done through Drip Irrigation and it is advised to not water the plants during the day, to avoid evaporation losses!

So what are you waiting for? Go to the nearest nursery, buy the required plants for your home and get started in the art of Xeriscaping!

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with X are X-Box gaming, X– Ray Art ( art form depicting animals and humans by drawing or painting the skeletal frame and internal organs), Xylophone playing.
Did you know that some cacti can be cooked and eaten like a normal vegetables? They produce slime while being cooked, just like Okra (Bhindi/ Ladies Finger).

In Avatar: The Last Air Bender series, Avatar Aing’s brother in law, Sokka drinks Cactus Juice and begins to hallucinate! In reality, the cacti can be slightly acidic in nature. So, consume only those which are edible after careful inspection.

4. Not only is Xeriscaping eco-friendly, but you will be helping the planet by being lazy! Too lazy to water the plants, but hero of the planet!

Ciao!

Weld Away!

April 28, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

I don’t know how many of my readers are engineering graduates, from Telangana, but we have a Workshop Lab in our first year Engineering, where we are taught Carpentry, House Wiring, Tin Cutting, Welding, Fitting (Iron Work) and also Foundry Work.

So, W for Welding!

Welding is the process of joining materials, using high heat, where the metal melts and joins after cooling. Welding is mostly done in metals, but thermoplastics can also be welded together.

Welding in Progress

In olden days, welding was done only through Forge Welding. It is the process of heating the metals to high temperature and then hammering them together to form a joint!

Hammering the metal when hot – Forge Welding

Thanks to the advance in technology, many different technologies are available. Welding through gas flame, electric arc, ultra sound and laser are some of the newer methods.

Welding is a hazardous work, so proper precautions are necessary. There is a high chance of burns, vision damage, exposure to ultra violet radiation and exposure to some poisonous gases.

So how come it gets a place in the A-Z Hobbies post?

Well, welding can also be used to create sculptures, using scraps and automobile wastes or even e-wastes.

Fish made from scrap materials – Recycled Art

‘Metal’ Black Beauty

So, what is stopping you? Go ahead and get welding (with proper precautions, that is!) and recycling. Who knows? You may end up resigning your job and start an environment crusade through recycled art, like this guy!

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with W are Weaving, Wood Carving, Web Designing, Weight Training, Writing , Wrestling and Water Colour Painting.
I remember watching such recycled art in the POGO program called MAD, where Rob would teach new stuff. I and sis made art by joining metal parts of an old clock using powerful adhesive, instead of welding! Those were fun days. We still have the miniature sculpture somewhere. I will surely find it (we have down sized the shelves and stored some of the stuff away like Marie Kondo!) and post the pic soon!
If at all there is a welding scene in a movie, almost always, Forge Welding is shown! Like how Thor, the God of Thunder helps Eitri forge the StormBreaker! I really enjoyed watching the scene from the Avengers: The Infinity War.

Till the next post, cheerio!

Ventriloquism

April 27, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

I remember the good old days of Doordarshan, where we had interesting shows, like talented people showing off their skills at magic, puppetry and ventriloquism.

Let’s go with Ventriloquism for V!

Ventriloquism is the art of speaking in such a way that the sound seems to be coming from another source. A ventriloquist creates the illusion that the doll or puppet in his hand is the one actually speaking.

Ventriloquist with his puppet

Ventriloquism means speaking through the belly! Since the voice is muffled and seems distant, this helps in fooling people that the source of the sound is not the speaker, but is farther away!

Ventriloquists have also featured in movies. Edgar Bergen, the American Ventriloquist performed on radio and acted in movies, along with his dummy, Charlie McCarthy. He was also awarded a Honorary Oscar for his creation of the character called CharlieMcCarthy. He was also inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. (I know very little about the other famous ventriloquists.)

In India too, ventriloquist Ramdas Padhye, second ventriloquist popularized ventriloquism through t.v. shows. His famous puppet Bunny the Funny is part of the Lijjat Papad Ad.

Do you know that a puppet played the villain in a Marathi movie? ( I remember watching a scene or two of this movie, but since Marathi is NOT a language I know, I didn’t watch the full movie. I continued surfing the channels!)

Tatya Vinchu – from the movie Zapatlela

If having a puppet as a villain is creepy, did you know that a ventriloquist once used his own son’s body as his puppet, in his acts of ventriloquism? (Yes, the post suddenly turned creepy and chilly, isn’t it?)

Do you like playing with puppets and surprising people with different voices? Then, ventriloquism is for you. Go ahead and do it for fun. (And try not to scare people or creep them away!)

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with a V are Volleyball, Playing Violin, Video games, Vaulting (ornamental work on ceiling and roof), Pole Vaulting, Vacuuming (if a husband has this hobby, he will have a happy wifey!) and Videography (art of making videos, similar to ‘tik-tok’ers and ‘reel’ers!)

Till the next post! Ciao!

Playing the Ukelele!

April 27, 2023 / queenbee / 0 Comments

We have seen all kinds of hobbies, except the ones using musical instruments!

For U, let’s learn more about playing a Ukelele!

Have you seen the highly popular Hawaii dolls, which are the ‘go-to’ toys for the car dashboard? The instrument they hold in their hand is the good old Ukelele!

Ukelele is the musical instrument originating from Portugal, but has been popularized by the Hawaiians. It comes under the Lute musical instrument family, which means, instruments with strings with a thin neck and a body, like Guitar, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Sitar, Tanbura, Veena, Banjo and Lute.

Ukelele vs Guitar – Difference in sizes

Ukelele is a smaller version of the guitar and produces softer tones than the former. The guitar strings are made of steel, but the strings of Ukelele are made of nylon thread! Apparently, the ukelele is almost half the size of guitar. So that is an added advantage for people who like carrying light weight instruments.

Playing a ukelele is lot more easier than guitar, since, playing the steel strings take time getting used to, where as nylon strings are easy to handle and require little effort.

So, if you want to get your kids to learn a musical instrument, get them hooked to ukelele first. Some day they may progress to guitar too! Who knows, they may even fall in love with the ukelele and never leave it too!

P.S:

The other hobbies starting with U are Uni cycling, Underwater photography and Umpiring!
You can even start learning to play ukelele by going through the basics from the following book

Get started, friends!

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