South Indian Thali in Chennai

After slams me with its presence, I am whisk away to my very first South Indian Thali in the very heart of Chennai. Completely vegetarian and completely delicious, this is what any Malaysian could call the perfect welcome to, well, just about anything. With food. I really cannot remember what are the different elements in the little containers, but each of them have a distinct texture and flavour, and as my host guided, are eaten with different things. You'd notice two pieces of puri on the tray. When these disappeared, they were replaced with rice. There was also ice cream. And a sweet dessert.

After the late lunch, I was properly oriented to Chennai and India by a trip to Marina Beach. This beach is huge. We took a good 10 minutes to walk from the road, across the sand to the water. Along the way, there were people picnicking, playing cricket and playing other games. Beach games, you know what I mean.

This Is Acting by Sia

Sia's new album is the kind that needs to grow on you. It is not the kind that hits you immediately. Well, some songs do, but as an album, it requires a little bit of time to appreciate. The album is as mixed as it makes me feel. On one had, there are songs like Bird Set Free (Track 1) and Alive (Track 2) that have a deeply personal feel to a person like me. They are the kind of songs that can potentially be a go-to song at certain states of mind. But some songs, let's not mention it here, that are, well, easily skip-able. Some songs are, well, overplaying the deadpan vocals to some extend.

My favourite songs in this album are Bird Set Free (Track 1), Alive (Track 2), Unstoppable (Track 4), Footprints (Track 9), and Broken Glass (Track 11). Special mention to Alive (Track 2) for this incredibly simple but powerful video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Update: Another performance of Alive (Track 2) which I find so incredible at The Ellen Show. The artistry is really powerful.