Easter Break

It is that time of the year again...the most anticipated holiday after Christmas down under (probably in all of the Western world?!). Not because of the wonder associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ but because of the extra long weekend due to the holidays for Good Friday and Easter Monday.

For our first Easter as a married couple, we had a lot of options. Unfortunately, we did not count on the opportunism and profit-maximising motives of the airlines, hoteliers and the tourism industry as a whole! Flights were ridiculously expensive and accommodation hard to find! Apparently, accommodation for the Easter long weekend gets booked out a year in advance!!!

Finally, we settled on going to Port Stephens, which, by all accounts, is one of the most beautiful coastal regions on the Eastern seaboard of Australia. We stayed in the Oaks Boathouse at the Tea Gardens for two nights. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit overcast but there were plenty of things to do. We went on a dolphin watch cruise (disappointing as we only saw 3 dolphins, presumably because of the wet weather!) and went to a place called Dark Point, an old aboriginal meeting place. Dark Point was absolutely amazing, massive 30 m high sand dunes appearing to stretch endlessly until, suddenly, crystal blue waters of the sea appear! It was bizarre to see and dunes on one side and the beautiful sea on the other!











We went to Nelson Bay Marina on Sunday and it was a total contrast to the peace and quiet in the Tea Gardens. The Marina is very commercialised with lots of skiffs, boats and all types of water activities. We had to choose between parasailing, ocean kayaking, Thundaraft (essentially an adventure ride in a big rubber boat similar to those used by U.S. Seals), jet skis, boat hire, fishing, dolphin watching, whale watching, cruises etc. Our decision was essentially simple, parasailing just looked and sounded cool! We experienced a plethora of emotions during the 10 minutes - the initial nervousness when we were strapped in, the thrill of taking off from the boat, the breathtaking views of the ocean and mountains at the top and the exhilaration of the sudden descent (along with the customary dip into the water).





















After parasailing, we went to a place called Anna Bay and One Mile beach. The water was beautiful and unlike most Australian beaches, it was not too cold (about 22 C). After a little while, I convinced Parul to join me in the water and we both had a great time body surfing. The beach was great because it was relatively empty and the waves were awesome even in the shallow waters. After an hour in the water (and getting a significant tan!), we decided to see the most commercial part of Nelson Bay. This was the 5 - 6 km stretch of sand dunes in Stockton beach and again the contrast of the dunes and the sea was phenomenal. We saw many busloads of tourists from Japan and China there and we were secretly glad we saw the sand dunes in Dark Point, where it was not so jam-packed with people!

Our last stop was Lake Macquarie, a large lake in the Central Coast of NSW (about 90 minutes north of Sydney). It is a huge lake and there are towns situated all around the lake. We stayed in Warners Bay and had a nice Mexican dinner with cocktails and burritos on Sunday night. On Monday, we went to a new suburb development in Lake Macquarie and went Aqua-biking in the Lake (see http://www.aqua-cycle.com/ ). I made a donation to the beautiful lake as well by dropping my mobile in it!

With our spirits dampened by the loss, we went to Caves beach, which, funnily enough, is a beach with caves. The caves are not too big but again, it was a first for us. Again, we were blessed with a beautiful day and the water was very inviting! I did some more body surfing and the waves were again fantastic! I was very impressed with the quality of the surf up in the Central coast.










After a quick dip, it was time to drive back to Sydney and we decided to take the scenic route through The Entrance (www.theentrance.org)and Gosford and the drive through the Marina at The Entrance was particularly noteworthy.

Overall, it was a great trip and very relaxing. I would definitely recommend Nelson Bay for the scenic beaches and the variety of water activities.

The Theremin

The following is a video that my Dad sent me...its a bit long but definitely worth watching.



What amazed me was Pamelia's control over the notes and pitch. The melody associated with the Theremin was unbelievable. Having never heard this instrument before, I was overawed by the instrument and more so by the fact that was invented way back in 1919!

Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did.

Impact of a writer

Last week, the World learnt of the demise of the famous writer Sujatha. While I have not read any of his novels, he was regarded as THE benchmark for Tamil writers after the mid-70s. He also dominated discussions around the dining table, coffee machine (call it what you will) for people of my parents' generation. His influence on the younger generations was primarily through movies, as a script-writer for several blockbusters.

My dad was very upset when he learnt about Sujatha's death and he promised he would send me an email outlining the reasons for the impact that Sujatha had on the people. The email is provided below.

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It was the year 1970.I had entered college(Vivekananda) and was into Chase and Stanley Gardner.My Tamil reading was confined to Kalki,Devan and whatever was in Vikatan and Kalki.Kumudam was viewed with suspicion in a middle class Brahmin household.There was a buzz about this writer Sujatha(a modern name in those days) and I started reading Kumudam.I was hooked.Sujatha believed in using a single sentence when others wrote a para.His economy of words,stylistic description attracted the youth of the day.(It still does.After nearly 40 years Ilamai Thodar in Tamil magazines are by him).After the phenomenal success of Nylon Kayiru (I cannot forget Iranginn written like the stairs) he started writing regularly.His Sasi Kathirundal with the O.Henry like twist in the tail is still fresh in my memory after 35 years.When he was writing in mainstream magazines he was also writing in Kanayazhi a literary magazine published from Delhi,where he was based then.His last page articles under the byline,Srirangam S.R where he made fun of Sujatha had people writing in protest.He must have been amused.He also had some film reviews,play reviews(he tore Punnagai to pieces,I wonder what Balachander had to say).

Apart from the Ed McBain like procedural featuring Ganesh and Vasanth he also wrote humor.In the late 70s I could see the changes in his writings.He wrote Kanavu Thozhirchalai on filmdom.There was a huge hoarding announcing it in Gemini circle probably the only time it has been done for a magazine serial.His magnum opus Karaiellam Shenbagapoo was tremendously received.I was introduced to many books by him like Games people Play,Zen and the art of Motorcycle maintenance,Kaneer Pookal,Thamizhar Natupadalgal.In the 80s he made a whole generation of us aware of Haiku.(It is a pity that many started writing Poiku,as he would say).He had a great capacity to observe,(Nagaram,Kagitha Sangiligal about hospitals) countless about courts and police work.Being an Engineer and a genius in writing he could explain the intricacies of computer to laymen.His entry into filmdom literally took it to outer space(Vikram).Ace directors Mani Rathnam and Shankar owe a lot to him.Of late he wrote about Paasurams in Kalki and also about Vaishnavite philosophy.He also wrote on Thirukkural and Purananooru.His description of Srirangam where he grew up is one of the best autobiographies I have read.

So long Sir, you deserve the rest.A lot of us will miss you terribly.

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The text above indicates two things:

• It confirms my long-held view that books are always superior to movies and the impact of authors on people's lives is tremendous. However, its such a pity that this generation (and most likely, the following generations) will be more attracted to movies rather than books. I sincerely hope the situation changes but do not expect it...another unfortunate by-product of technological advancement!!
  
• It outlines the tremendous impact an author can have on a person's life. Personally, I am not sure if the death of an author will affect me as profoundly as it did for my Dad. However, I sincerely hope that some author influences me to such an extent that I feel as if I have lost a part of myself when he/she passes away.
  

Farewell to Mr.Sujatha and I hope that books continue to have their place in people's lives.