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Hello! Chinna chinna Asai EdhAvadhu...

Topic started by Bharat (@ isdbsd1-inet.ci.mil.wi.us) on Wed Aug 12 10:39:31 EDT 1998.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

While listing his favorite songs, Ramanan wrote:

"Even though i have all the songs mentioned above in my collection, bus la travel pannum bodu illa engayavadu pogum bodu namakku pidicha pattu oru rendu vari katrula midandhu varum. enga irundu varadhunum theriyadu. Ninnu ketkavum time irukkadhu. adutha vari ellam manasula padindu ...Ayyo andha anubavam..anu bavichu irukkanum ya... that is one of the things i miss very much after having come out of tamilnadu."

I was very touched by this "chinna Asai" of his:

bus-sil pogum pOdhu
pAttu kEtka Asai

Many of us have come out of Tamil Nadu/India, and I think it would be interesting to hear about the chinna chinna Asais of various people... the things we miss most... Nostalgia anybody?

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Observer (@ spider-wc082.proxy.aol.com) on: Sat Aug 15 21:42:40 EDT 1998
  
  Thanks so much ravi for unplugging the barriers of this thread. Now is that you have modified the rules of the road, I can plunge myself behind the wheels and buckle up!. My concern was that while so many drivers are liking this race, that somebody does not bring bulls on to the track and lead to an anti-climax. So was my eruption!
  Here is my re-posting of Asai-6
  
  chinna Asai 6: I recollect those days when I travelled long distance over night by train (trichy - madras rockfort / bombay - madras chennai express).
  Family-oda pogumpothu rAthri 7/8 persons unkandu points vachchu rammi Adanum. murukku, seedai sagitham.
  kAlambara ezhundu, anda train AdaRa Attathil pal theikum pothu oru inimaiyAna anubavam. nadUla oru station le iRangi soooooodA coffee vAngi kudichA oru putthunarchi varum. appuRam train puRapaata
  pOikondu irukumbothu thidIIIIIIIrnu vazhila nikkum. ellOrum ennAchcnu ennAchchu iRangi pArpAnga. nAn door kittE vandhu mothalla appadi ettttti pArpEn. oru sugamAna kAlai veyyil, inimaiyAna kAtru, AndhrA/KarnAtakA border, nalla vayal varappu, AAAhA! endru solli iRangi viduvEn. anga appadiyE keezhE utkandu viduvEn.
  udanE oru ninaipu , 'indha idathil namma veedu irunthAl nallA irukkumE!?' (Many a times i have felt, esp., here in US, i should quit this s/w consulting profession and go work in a farm).
  
  appuRam train puRappattu pogumbothu nadula kadappA varum. kadappA varuthO illayo 'kadappAla-sAppAdu' nnu koovi varum. madiyAna nalla veyille adha (ammA kondu vantha) ezhumicha sAtham , thayir sAthamum arumaiyAga irukkum. athan piRagu oru nalla thoookkam.
  sAyandaram central station pOi sErnthal 'sir coolie vEnuma? endru tamizhil! ' antha thamizhai kEttadum oru puthu thembu!
  Anda anubavangal thiruppi kidaikumA?
  
  
• From: raja m (@ spider-ta051.proxy.aol.com) on: Sun Aug 16 09:06:07 EDT 1998
  
  Observer:
  
  Asai 6: Description about starting life in some unknown place, where the train stops for no apparent reason has occured to me also.
  
  A small twist, working in one of the newstands in these stations.
  
  Early morning stops at small stations, getting out for a few moments and enjoying those short breaks are always special - this might also mean getting a few pieces of TFM at the station.
  
  
• From: Ramanan (@ faraday.bfsec.bt.co.uk) on: Mon Aug 17 10:07:41 EDT 1998
  
  Ravi: Romba Nanri ungaludaya inda seyalukkaga.
  
  Seekiram varane ennum naraya 'chinna chinna aasai' yoda.
  
  
• From: Sriram Lakshman (@ sf-dnpqc-140.compuserve.net) on: Mon Aug 17 22:12:07 EDT 1998
  
  SPB-ai veettukku kooppittu "Nanda en nila", PSusheela padiya "Enna thaan ragasiyamo","azhagan muruganidam aasaivaithen", PBS oda "Poovarayum poongodiye","Mouname paarvayaal oru paattu" paada solli ketka aasai (Not that P.Susheela and PBS did a bad job). IR idam oru situation koduthu mettu poduvathai paarka aasai, MSV-yum KD-yum sernthu utkarnthu Compose seivathai paarak aasai.
  
  
• From: Dylan (@ ) on: Sat Nov 1 05:50:34 EST 2003
  
  could anyone out there give me a translation of this great song please! I'd be very very thankfull!!!
  
  
• From: Mythila (@ 203.200.33.65) on: Wed Nov 5 07:59:11 EST 2003
  
  wOW!!! How did I miss this interesting thread??
  School anectodes are always memorable . I wish to get back the school days, when , in the midst of a lengthy , boring classes, some film song blaring from somewhere would bring that glitter on our sleepy faces and we would turn to each other and give that knowing smile, and on one such a boring chemistry class afternoon, the SJ's version
  "Raaja magal ...
  Roja magal' from film Pillai Nila brought that whiff of joy on our faces, and one of my bench mates Suja got very excited and broke into a loud humming "AAH..AAH..AAH........HA...." with her coarse voice , oblivious of the class and my teacher . Oh my, How we laughed that day!!!
  My Tamil teacher, being an ardent admirer of Kannadaasan and Kaalidaasan would always drag them to every chapter and quote some TFM songs of Kavignyar. Not stopping with that, she would always insist somebody from the class to sing that song and would randomly point at any one of the girls.Innum adukkinde pogalaam - the raptures , my sister and I went into , listening to "YEdho mogam , yedho dhaagam" for the first time under our Neyveli school bus stop tree, from the near by petti kadai on the last day of the annual exam ,after the exam(exam yellam nannaa kalakina apparam thaan),
  the heavenly feel hearing 'Putham pudhu kaalai' for the first time ,that too early morning 6am , riding on the scooter with my dad , on my first day out to receive a prize on the independence day , after recovering from a month long jaundice fever....
  Nostalgia - Signs of aging???
  
  
• From: vengayam (@ 203.200.84.67) on: Wed Nov 5 22:33:18 EST 2003
  
  mythila,
  good write up. a bit of both perhaps. but considering the songs u mentioned above u aren't that old :-)
  
  
• From: Speaker (@ 203.126.142.232) on: Sun Nov 9 04:11:23 EST 2003
  
  One of my post doctoral research fellow narrated his experience which touched me - he is from T.veli, while studying for his college exam late night, all the members at home are asleep, even streets are quite clam, somewhere at a distance, then new - Mudal mariyadai song played in "loudspeaker". Poongattu thirumbuma... The starting of that song impacted so much, he just could not concentrate on his studies for a while..
  
  My chinna chinna asai - many songs of IR to listen in a mild tone sleeping in a thinnai/varandah...
  
  One song i remember quite vividly, a song from vikkram. Then it was power cut, all my family members just after night meal, chatting in vasal varandah.. transistor playing then.. the ever green song, "Kanne kattikava, kattikkital paththikume, Pathikkital paththattume..." very wierd beginning, but great pickup by SPB...very nice time pass, inspite of power cut, mosquitos etc.
  
  
• From: Whatever (@ 203.131.109.66) on: Mon Nov 10 01:38:35 EST 2003
  
  Rajaparvai - a sequence in the movie when Madhavi goes to Kamal's house. It is dark and she climbs the steps. In the background a transistor radio is playing and goes, 'alangara payanangalukku seenu tourist'. Unforgettable. Even if I watch the movie now, that scene takes me back to my school days.
  
  The transistor is another nostalgia trigger. I remember that we had an old Murphy transistor and it passed for the portable those days. Still had to rest it on the shoulder or the hands would just fall off. In those days our family had no TV, this was the lifeline. 'ungal viruppam', 'oru pada padalgal', 'Test Match Special' on BBC short-wave and the transmission was so fragmented that one could only hear every fourth word or so. Sometimes one could get the total but no idea of how many wickets were lost. At times the transmission would just fade away and then would switch to listening to TFM. In the damp, heavy nights where blackness descended like a blanket on Madras (yes, it was Madras and calling it Chennai was an affectation) and only alternate streets had lights, with the sonpapdi vendor walking around, families gathering outside their houses after dinner to feel the mild breeze from the sea, the transistor playing and IR's refreshing melodies... Gosh! I miss those days. Life was still a pleasure and not a rat race.
  
  
• From: hehehewalrus (@ ) on: Sat Nov 6 12:39:57 EST 2004
  
  Once I was travelling from Dharmapuri to Salem early morning end of summer time. It was about 5.00 AM when i started. The bus was not much full and very comfortable. There was a nice DVD player and the crew put on a thiruttu DVD with superb picture quality(the copyright showed some malaysian company) instead of our rainy prints - So for the next two hours i enjoyed all the MGR songs to the booming voice of TMS and as we passed through some of the brilliant green fields of the region I really enjoyed the outside scenery, the cool breeze and the songs like Maanika theril maragadha kalasam, Neela Niram vaanukkum kadalukkum, etc. As the cheery sun came up, I reached Salem at 6.45 AM and feasted on delightful idlis/dosai/coffee at a restaurant.
  
  
• From: hhhw (@ 130.127.75.125) on: Sat Nov 6 12:42:06 EST 2004
  
  Nothing like lazily sitting back in vacation time with nostalgic music on and watching a day come to life in the heart of TN :-)
  
  
• From: T Muthu (@ 68.75.177.101) on: Sat Nov 6 13:18:53 EST 2004
  
  once my friend got out of central station and asked auto driver general hospital go how much? sir only 25 rupees. ok, only that much? ok go. she enjoyed the auto ride, he put song naan autokaaran, autokaaran etc.... it was a loop song, and the auto went far and far, then round and round like the loop song, finally the auto reached gh. she went in a state of coma, because autokaaran charged her rupees 25 above the meter for 100 rupees. totally 100 rupees and she came to Chennai (then Madras) looking for nursing career break (romba chinna aasai). ;--)
  
  
• From: Ravi (@ 192.147.57.6) on: Mon Nov 8 08:05:26 EST 2004
  
  Wow! Great thread - wonder how I missed this so long. I used to wonder how come people tend to 'settle' abroad when I felt so much 'Indian-ness' missing there (cant really explain "What"!). But seeing these posts, I developed a soft corner towards these people who still long for those good old simple, less-cozy lives but how many of us (including me) dare to do that though our hearts really belong there!
  
  Okay, some of my nostalgic/katril midhandhu vandha songs :
  
  Our UG class trip to Kodai. We were in a jam packed bus travelling from Kodai Road to Kodaikanal. Though I did not find the place to sit, the song at the back-ground with the misty, chill weather was soothing : "Devanin koil, moodiya neram, naan enna kaetpaen..."
  
  A slight western inclination was visible in IR songs from films like Agni Natchathiram, Idhayathai Thirudaathe. Cant forget the summer vacation is 87, 88 with these songs.
  
  School Hostel days in Cuddalore during '91 when the end of study hours would cause loud chatters and the blaring speakers playing songs of CHINNA THAMBI - Thuliyile... cant forget the pre-lude before the song, KUMBAKARA THANGAYYA - Poothu poothu kulungudhayya poovu , Thendral kaatre thendral kaatre, PANDITHURAI - Valliyae chinna mullaiyae, kaana karunguyilae, CHINNA KOUNDER - Chinna Kili vannakili, BRAHMA - Varudhu varudhu ilam kaatru, KIZHAKKU KARAI - Unakena pirandhava, silu silu siluvena kaathu, NAADODI THENDRAL - Sandhana maarbilae, Yaarum vilayaadum thottam.
  
  During 12th and college days (when ARR songs were a range). With the backdrop of a beach the sound of waves and the moon-light, "En mael vizhundha mazhai thuliyae". The Kaj Schmidt memorial in Elliots beach compensating for the Mahab's shore temple in the original song. The melodious songs from En Aasai Machaan.
  
  
• From: * (@ 209.142.209.161) on: Tue Nov 9 19:02:59 EST 2004
  
  In my school days, generally the last hour of Friday evenings were set apart for cultural activities(songfests, quizzes,etc). When we got to 7th std, most of the songbirds in my class had shifted, leaving us with no worthy talent when the circular came up announcing the contest in the evening. An adventurer without much of a voice and knowledge of songs volunteered. A good pal of mine, my deskmate, a modest and soft guy, suggested Thenpandi Cheemayile, wrote out the lyrics and entire day tutored him on how to sing it. This gentle chap and his family suddenly moved to Mysore in the summer hols, leaving us deeply dismayed by his absence. Since then, whenever I hear this song anywhere my thoughts go to this one who abruptly went away.
  
  Nice thread, I am sure generally we get philosophical or sad when we think of some old childhood song or singer, or days that can never be got back. another incident here, not related to tfm particularly. In the summer of 89, 3 of my closest friends left our city. I was a few months into my 13th yr and one winter evening in September, was watching TV all alone, parents having left for Madras for a week. I was watching the recording of the US Open final between Lendl and Becker. Being a HC Lendl fan, I was glad to see Lendl bounce back to take the 3rd set to make it 1-2, hoping he'd pull thru. Just then the clock struck six, and normal programming resumed. The DD announced came in to say that Becker won his first US Open. Looking back on Lendl's painful loss to Boris in the Wimbledon semis after playing the game of his life..and now his loss on the US Open surface, where he reached the final from 82-89, it was time to realise that a new era was beginning - the old warhorse was losing to younger, stronger
  
  
• From: * (@ 209.142.209.161) on: Tue Nov 9 19:11:45 EST 2004
  
  , fitter players he had defeated with ease 2 yrs back. I sadly went out in the dusk to stare at the horizon, trying to grip the painful reality that Lendl's time was up, he was 29 and the 22 y/o Becker had the best days of his life ahead. And even as the hurting thought that Lendl would never win another major(came true) sunk in, I looked back on my own life and finally realised some things aren't meant forever...the carefree days of 80s were going away...it was not just Lendl who slipped but my very childhood that was fading that day.
  
  A pity I wasnt aware of tfm then, else I would have shrugged it off with IR's scintillating music of 89-93 :-)
  
  

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