Destination Infinity's Blog, page 5

Chennai Vizha 2023 Exhibition @ Island Grounds ~ Apr. 29 to May 14

Name: Chennai Vizha Exhibition.

Venue: Island Grounds, Chennai. (Google Maps Link – Click. Nearest Bus Stop & Metro: Chennai Central)

Dates: April 29 to May 14, 2023.

Time: 11 A.M. to 10 P.M.

Entry Ticket: Rs.10 per head. Bike & Car parking available, at extra cost.

This exhibition is being promoted as the “Biggest International Festival of Handicrafts & Handlooms“. You will also find food stalls and cultural performances at this expo.

Chennai Vizha 2023 is being organized by the Department of Tourism, Government of Tamil Nadu. You’ll not only find hand-crafted and traditional products from 20+ states across India (Including Tamil Nadu) but also from 10+ countries around the world.

According to this Facebook post, you’ll find more than 25 food stalls and 300+ handicraft and handloom stalls. Do try to visit this expo this summer and encourage the handloom and handicraft artisans.

Here is a VLog from this expo made by Peri VLogs on Youtube (Click)

Teaser:

R.I.P Jeevan (Blogger, Jeevan’s World)

I am saddened to inform you all about the death of Jeevan, a popular Chennai-based blogger who blogs at Jeevan’s World. He was hospitalized a few days ago, and I read about this update from his brother who posted it through Jeevan’s Facebook account yesterday.

Me and Jeevan have known each other virtually and in person, for over ten years—or maybe more. I went to his house in 2016 to invite him to the simple home reception we had for our wedding, and he came to our house with his loving parents and brother.

In his own words from his blog intro,

“I’m diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy, which is a cause of losing muscles strength, and I move everywhere in my power wheelchair.“

We have been commenting on each other’s blogs until the most recent blog post. Jeevan is a great person – his words and photos will remain fresh in my memory for a long time.

But, as we all know, all good things have to come to an end, and this end came quite soon. RIP Jeevan – you have ignited many hearts through your blog posts, and I am sure you will continue to ignite many more as long as Blogger (blogspot) hosts your words and pictures.

Destination Infinity

2023: Kodai Kondattam Expo (Maduravoyal, Chennai): Apr. 17 to June 4, ’23

Update: This exhibition has been extended up to June 4, 2023.

Kodai Kondattam 2023 Exhibition is happening from April 17 to June 4 this year at Maduravoyal, Chennai (Tambaram Bypass Road – Near KG Signature City apartments).

Time: 3 P.M. to 10 P.M.

Expo Entry Ticket: Rs. 60. (Individual Rides charged separately). [Free for kids below 3 years]

Vehicle Parking: Available, Extra charges.

The main attractions are the Disney Land Entrance, Mini Taj Mahal setup & Photo Spots for Selfie lovers. Other than that, there is camel ride, 3D VR Games, Magic shows, Amusement park-type rides for kids and adults (Giant wheel, etc.), Toys & Swimming for kids, Fish Spa, Horror House, Light Show, Kids playing area, etc.

There are many stalls/shops including for eateries, household items, melagai bajji, delhi appalam, etc. Have a look at this VLog to see the type of games and stalls available there.

Destination Infinity

2023: Kodai Kondattam Expo (Maduravoyal, Chennai): Apr. 17 to May 30 ’23

Kodai Kondattam 2023 Exhibition is happening from April 17 to May 30 this year at Maduravoyal, Chennai (Tambaram Bypass Road – Near KG Signature City apartments).

Time: 3 P.M. to 10 P.M.

Expo Entry Ticket: Rs. 60. (Individual Rides charged separately). [Free for kids below 3 years]

Vehicle Parking: Available, Extra charges.

The main attractions are the Disney Land Entrance, Mini Taj Mahal setup & Photo Spots for Selfie lovers. Other than that, there is camel ride, 3D VR Games, Magic shows, Amusement park-type rides for kids and adults (Giant wheel, etc.), Toys & Swimming for kids, Fish Spa, Horror House, Light Show, Kids playing area, etc.

There are many stalls/shops including for eateries, household items, melagai bajji, delhi appalam, etc. Have a look at this VLog to see the type of games and stalls available there.

Destination Infinity

Shih Tzu: First Week Experience with our New Family Member!

If you thought buying a puppy and getting used to it would be a cakewalk, know this – YOU are the Cake & It will walk ALL OVER YOU!

Like all new (read: naive) dog owners, we too were excited when our Shih Tzu puppy was about to be delivered. Since we had watched many Youtube videos prior to selecting this particular dog, we thought we knew everything and couldn’t go wrong. Little did we know what was about to EXPLODE.

Frankly, the puppy put up its best behaviour during the first couple of days and deceived us into thinking that we owned it. From the third day onward, when it knew it owned us, we realized what we had unleashed on ourselves.

The little monster wouldn’t sleep in a separate place outside our bedroom. We too thought, how sweet, and kept it inside a basket in our room. Half an hour is how much tolerance Madam Highness had for that location. It woke us up at 1 A.M. (or was it 2?), demanding that we leave it freely outside. Since we wanted to get back to sleep quickly, we complied.

At 2.30 A.M. (or was it 3.30?), it woke us up again. No particular reason this time – it was perhaps bored. After playing with us for 30 minutes or so, it went back to sleep. Since this waking up-sleeping-waking up-sleeping routine was new to us, we couldn’t sleep much after that. I mean, for the entire week – not just that day.

Finally, we learned to ignore its sounds and could sleep for 6 hours yesterday – not continuous sleep, but total sleep anyway. Wow, you know how sleeping continuously for six hours feels? We just (re)realized that bliss…

The first day, when we walked it on our terrace, it kept following us at a distance. Just like that vodafone pug ad. How sweet, we too thought. The second day, it followed us very closely, sometimes touching our feet with its legs. Still sweet enough? Wait.

From the third day onward, it started to sprint and bounced on our legs at every possible opportunity. For what, you think? For BITING OUR LEGS. What started during our walks on the terrace continued inside the room whenever it spotted any of our two pairs of legs on the ground.

On third day, we bought a pair of shoes – not because we wanted to start exercising in the nearby park to keep ourselves fit. But to walk with the shoes inside our room to make the Shih Tzu puppy BITINGS a bit more tolerable.

In the night, since the light is off, we have no clue where the puppy is. So initially, I kept a confident stride down on the floor. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds. After that, the puppy pounced on my *you guessed it right* legs from under the bed and started BITING. So nowadays, I don’t keep my legs on the floor, I just directly keep it on the shoes and wear it within *you guessed it again* 2 seconds.

One night, things were unusually calm until I went into the bathroom and closed the door. That was a nostalgic moment as I enjoyed the calm and peace I had – just a few nights ago. But once I opened the door – there it was, ready to pounce.

I should clarify that the puppy is not always this aggressive – it’s very peaceful and adorable when it’s sleeping and when it’s eating. Fortunately, it goes to sleep or deep rest for many hours a day BUT *with ears alert in the direction of our bathroom door*. Waiting for its prey to hunt (our legs). I think it’s learning to hunt, and we are its training prop.

Someone consoled us, “Don’t worry, this is very normal with all puppies. Their teeth will grow only after six months”. You mean, this is what puppies can do when their teeth are just starting to grow?? I am already researching on Amazon about what kind of military boots I need to buy after six months!

Today, I read in Wikipedia that the name Shih Tzu means “Little Lion” in Chinese. Now I realize why elders used to say we need to learn foreign languages while in college. Only if I had learned Chinese back then… Hmm…

If you are a member of blue cross and you are offended by my ‘little monster’ comment somewhere above, ignore this post as it was written in a humorous tone. Like humorous fiction.

For the rest of you – when are you buying a puppy?

Destination Infinity

PS: We’re calling the puppy ‘Chikki‘. There is one popular song on Instagram, ‘My name is chikki, chikki chikki chikki’ – that was the inspiration.

Our New Pet – Lovebirds

One fine day, for some unknown reason, we visited a pet shop. We thought of it in the evening, and by late evening, we were already in the shop thinking about which pet to buy.

Actually, I considered buying a dog, but given my health condition and the effort and time it takes to maintain one, I gave up on the idea.

Our next best option was to buy the cocktail bird. That’s a type of parrot that comes to your hands and sort of listens to your commands. I loved it.

But since both of us are novices, we thought we should start with a smaller bird first and gradually move up to larger birds.

The shopowner suggested Lovebirds. Since they looked awesomely cute and not much maintenance or effort is required from our side, we bought them. I think lovebirds are a great choice for first-time bird owners

We will slowly graduate to owning a cocktail; until then, we intend to have fun with these little darlings. For instance, here is a short video we shot while walking these lovebirds at our local park.

Needless to say, with the birds, we were the center of attraction at the park today

Destination Infinity

PS: It seems pets may not be allowed in parks, but I was unsure if anyone would have issues with us taking these small caged birds. Fortunately, no one objected today.

My first Animated Music Video in my New Youtube channel

Here is my first animated music video on my new Youtube channel – RR Animated Music Videos. Although I have a youtube channel for video creation, I thought it was better to have a separate channel specifically for music videos I make using 3D animation. This is going to be my focus for the next few months.

Guess what? I have already got a job to make a rhymes video for kids, in Tamil! I hope to make music videos for Indie creators and small brands in English – soon. I have been working to perfect the music video animation workflow over the last couple of years, and it’s finally ready.

I feel it’s more important to tell a story with music videos than just create flashy animations. Since I have largely been a storyteller (through words) over the last decade, I think I am perfectly poised for this task.

I hope to become a music video producer – to bring the best out of musicians and animators, in the future. Let’s hope for the best.

For now – Like, Comment & Subscribe to my new Youtube channel

Destination Infinity

Happy New Year 2023!!

I wish all my blog readers a very happy new year 2023. May this new year bring joy and balance to your life!!

I have not been active on blogs because my cervical spondylosis (neck) increased a couple of months ago. Although I have undergone physiotherapy for this earlier, this time, I wanted to try something different. So I have enrolled in Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram @ RA Puram, Chennai, and am trying Therapeutic Yoga. They are also conducting online Yoga classes post-covid, I think.

I am improving slowly. What I like about their approach is they combine physical exercises with oil application & breathing exercises. This is a more holistic approach to curing the ailment than just giving many pills (mostly painkillers).

Besides, they are trying to identify the root cause of the issue. It is because of them I changed my work table/chair position, and that has improved my pain significantly. They are also addressing the related gastric issues that I sometimes face with jeera water, exercises, etc., that I developed due to relative inactivity.

Otherwise, I am reading a lot of audiobooks. Would try to review a few of them on this blog when possible. I hope you are all doing fine. Hope to be more regular with blogging

Destination Infinity

PS: Here is an animated rhymes video for kids I made recently.

Jan. ’23: 46th Chennai Book Fair

The 46th Chennai Book Fair is all set to rock this holiday season.

Dates: Jan. 6 – Jan. 22, 2023.

Timing: 11 AM. to 9 P.M.

Venue: YMCA Grounds, Nandanam. (Google Maps Link for location)

Have a look at the BAPASI facebook page (click) and website (click) for more details regarding the book fair. A nominal entrance fee & parking fee (for two & four wheelers) will be charged.

Parallelly, for the first time in Chennai, an International Book Fair is also scheduled to happen in the same venue from Jan. 16 to 18, 2023 where book publishers from more than 40 countries are expected to participate. They are planning to organize a translation rights fair, guest of honour programmes, a publishing industry conference, and others.

For more details on the Chennai International book fair and the events/activities planned for this unique event, visit the Chennai International Book Fair homepage. You can also register yourself there.

This book fair is being organized by TNTBESC & BAPASI.

Destination Infinity

2023: 47th Island Grounds Exhibition, Chennai

The 47th Island Grounds Exhibition, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, will be held from 30th December 2022 to 10th March 2023. (70 Days)

சென்னை தீவுத்திடலில் 2023 சுற்றுலா மற்றும் தொழில் பொருட்காட்சி டிசம்பர் 30-லிருந்து மார்ச் 10-ஆம் தேதி வரை நடைபெறுகிறது.

Last time, during the 2022 Kodai Kondattam Island Grounds exhibition, the Timings were: Weekdays – 3 P.M. to 10 P.M., Sunday: 12 P.M. to 10 P.M. This time also, we are expecting the exhibition timings to be the same.

Location: Google Maps Link. Bus stop/Metro/Electric Train: Chennai Central Railway Station.

Expected Ticket Cost: Adults – Rs. 35, Kids & Students – Rs. 20. (Price is only for entry into the exhibition. Some attractions/activities cost extra.)

The Tamil Nadu Tourist Development Corporation Ltd is organizing this exhibition. Apart from the usual shops, food stalls, game stalls, and Govt. Dept. stalls, etc., you can expect unique fun activities for kids like an underwater world, etc.

Here is a news snippet from Zee Thamizh Youtube Channel announcing this exhibition –

TTDC plans to open additional facilities like a drive-in restaurant & open-air theater, coffee shop, etc., in the Island Grounds premises, Chennai, from this January 2023 onwards. Here is a news snippet from Sun TV’s youtube channel announcing the same –

Destination Infinity