toys .......... attract !!!!!!!!

 

So colourful – so attractive … toys often bring in happiness !! 

 

 

Believe Me …. One need not be a kid to be attracted and buy a toy !   Adults purchasing children’s toys have become more normalized post-pandemic after the lonely quarantine, where we replaced human relationships with stuffed animals and figurines.  

 

What was your favourite toy !!  -  when we grew up, toys were considered luxury, and the odd one would be kept in shelf saying – don’t break by touching !!   Life has changed ……… …….. for gen Z kids !

 

A picture taken at V House terminus when toy sellers invaded it !!

 

S. Sampathkumar

5.1.2026

மயிலே மயிலே உன் தோகை இங்கே; ஒயிலே ஒயிலே ! Peacock in flight !!

 

dream girl !! மயிலே மயிலே

 

Only seasoned Cinema buffs would know that a movie by name ‘Mayil’ starring Rajesh, Rupa Devi hit the screens in 1981 and bombed in box-office.  

A peacock is the male of the peafowl species, famous for its incredibly vibrant, iridescent blue/green feathers with eye-spots, which it fans out in a spectacular display to attract mates, while females (peahens) are duller; they are ground-dwelling birds in forests, known for their loud calls, and are the national bird of India, symbolizing immortality and pride.

Dec. 31 was a landmark day for Peacock. The streaming service has been the home of WWE's library for five years, but that agreement was set to expire on New Year's Eve.  According to Fightful Select, the WWE library will be moving to YouTube. “WWE sources say that they believe most of the library will be slowly rolled out on WWE’s YouTube channels.  

The site adds that WWE most likely has a favorable deal with Google, since WWE has a rather large footprint on the platform. Some of these official WWE YouTube channels include WWE, WWE NXT, WCW, and the WWE Vault.   The extensive WWE archival content deal with Peacock ended on December 31, 2025; however, a limited amount of content remains, including NXT Premium Live Events until March 2026 and Saturday Night's Main Event through 2029. The rest of the content has moved to other platforms.

For the youth of 1970s / 1980s – Mayilu (Sridevi of 16 vayathinile) was the dream girl !!  ~  have you heard this song !!  SPB  “மயிலே மயிலே உன் தோகை எங்கே ?” என்று ஆரம்பிக்க மிருதங்கம் தொடங்கிவிடும். ஜென்சி பாடும் பல்லவி சிறிது வித்தியாசமாக இருக்கும்.  படம்  : கடவுள் அமைத்த மேடை - வரிகள் - வாலி; இசைஞானி இளையராஜாவின் இன்னிசையில்   எஸ்.பி.பி, ஜென்சி பாடிய பாடல்.  கர்நாடக ஹம்சத்வனி ராகத்தில் அமைந்துள்ளது.

மயிலே மயிலே உன் தோகை இங்கே; ஒயிலே ஒயிலே உன் ஊஞ்சல் இங்கே

குளிர் காலமல்லவோ தனிமையில் விடலாமோ

தளிர் உடல் தொடலாமோ; மயிலே மயிலே…மயிலே மயிலே

இரட்டை வேடங்களில் ஹீரோ நடித்த படங்கள் ஏராளம்ஆனால், நாயகி இரட்டை வேடமிட்டு நடித்த படங்கள்  குறைவு.   ‘கடவுள் அமைத்த மேடை’  திரைப்படத்தில் சுமித்ரா இரட்டை வேடங்களில் நடித்திருந்தார்.

Here is the Mayilu, my dream girl, I have been chasing – pictured at  Thirunaraiyur Nachiyar Koil, near Kumbakonam.   My photo with background altered by ChatGPT.

Peacocks  are capable of flight, though they are primarily ground-dwelling birds that only fly for short durations.  A male peacock's tail may help him attract mates, but does it also make him an easy meal?  Scientists have long believed that these birds had to sacrifice some mobility in order to sport such dramatic decorative plumage, which accounts for 60% of their length.  Recent researches say – it is not so.   Peacocks can fly. They just do it very rarely (and very poorly). These birds fly for only around two percent of their entire lifetime. Even for the two percent of time that they do fly; they’re not flying very long distances. If and when they do fly, they kind of just take off. Their time in the sky is more of a leap or a gliding jump as opposed to an actual flight.

Regards – S Sampathkumar
4.1.2026

play school - crow school

 

ஸ்கூல் உண்டு ! .. .. .. கிடையாது !! - அப்போ   ஆல்-பாஸ்  !!!!!

 

There are batches in School/ Colleges and .. .. then there was this ‘Corona – batch’ – not sure how they are performing at job market !!

“அகழி” ~ the moat around Fort St George

An attractive landmark in Chennai is Fort St George now housing Tamil Nadu Assembly.  This pic was taken recently and one can find water !! – this is “அகழி”

 

அகழி என்பது கோட்டைகள், அரண்மனைகளைச் சுற்றிப் பகைவர்கள் நுழையாமல் தடுக்கத் தோண்டப்படும் ஆழமான, நீர் நிறைந்த பள்ளமாகும் (Moat), மேலும் இது கடலில் உள்ள ஆழ்கடல் பள்ளங்கள் (Trench) அல்லது மழைநீர் சேமிப்பு அமைப்புகளையும் குறிக்கும்; இது பழங்காலப் பாதுகாப்பிற்காகவும், பாசனத்திற்காகவும் பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டது.  

கோட்டை அகழி: அரசர்கள் தங்கள் கோட்டைகளைப் பாதுகாக்க, சுவர்களைச் சுற்றி தோண்டப்படும் ஆழமான நீர்நிலைகள். இதில் முதலைகள், பாம்புகள் போன்ற கொடிய விலங்குகள் வளர்க்கப்படும்.  மேலும்  அதில் முட்களையும் நச்சுக் கொடிகளையும் வளர்த்து பகைவர் அண்டாவண்ணம் அமைத்து வந்தனர். 

A moat is a deep, wide trench, often filled with water, surrounding a castle or fort, acting as a primary defensive barrier to stop attackers from reaching the walls with siege engines or infantry, slowing assaults and creating a significant obstacle, though some moats could also serve for drainage, sanitation, or even as a source of fish. They were a crucial part of medieval fortifications, making it difficult to undermine walls, and could be dry ditches or complex water features, with materials from digging often used to build the ramparts.  

Fort St. George (historically, White Town) is a fortress at the coastal city of Chennai - founded in 1639, it was the first British fortress in India.  The construction of the fort provided the impetus for further settlements and trading activity, in what was originally an uninhabited land. The fort currently houses the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and other official buildings.  

Fort St. George in Chennai features a historic 2.3 km long moat, originally a defensive wet ditch fed by the Cooum River, built in the 1760s after French attacks, but became heavily polluted with sewage over time, though plans by ASI and the government aimed to restore it as a dry channel for rainwater collection.  Reportedly,  water for the moat came from the river and later the Buckingham Canal but it is no longer the way.  The part before the entrance does hold some water all the time, with weeds and other vegetation attracting some bird life.

Interesting !

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.1.2026