Ideas & Views

No kidding

2012-01-14T22:55:00.002-05:00

There are two music (from music to musicians after some time, as I had quipped in earlier posts) that impressed me in the past few months. I was not able to spend time to write about it though I had wanted to. I could not now recollect how I stumbled upon them. Ah, yes. I had listened to Ranganatha panchakam in youtube and tried to hunt for its mp3. I googled for the song and found the album from which the song sprung from. The album was 'Ranganathaya Namaha' by Chitraveena Ravikiran. The theme of the album is conceptualized by the Maestro (Ranganatha panchakam is also set to tune by him) while his students had sung the kritis. I browsed through the list of singers. One of them caught my attention and led to further browsing of her albums and listen to some songs in youtube.

A voice so perfect for carnatic music. Least nasal accent. Instantly captivated by the depth of her voice, clarity of diction and manodharma, I downloaded all her albums as mp3 from charsur online. I listened to them thoroughly. There was remarkable improvement from 2003 through 2008 to 2010. Then I felt bad that I had missed her concert at SSVT last year. The music resonated in my ears and lingered in my mind for many days. I read about the singer. The musician I am writing is none other than Nisha Rajagopal.

It is not fair to consider her a budding artiste and give her afternoon slots in Jaya TV Margazhi Mahotsavam. In this technologically accessible age where one is easily influenzed by everything, it takes a sharp and steady mind to reason out and make a choice. Looking at Nisha's background, carnatic music as a career is a careful and consicious decision. She has toiled and bloomed to an A-grade artiste and made her own niche. M.S Subbulakshmi Award is befitting her sweat and status.

Having praised her much, I felt there is still something missing in her rendition. The next step is to transcend the audience to a different plane of being. Instead of filling all the pauses with music, she has to place silence and make sharp breaks in her phrases. That is to give that punch in the music , create a variation of effect. She has to learn the art of weaving a neraval with subtle twists (vakrams), pauses, and let the silence resound with the last swaram. That would leave the audience wanting more and spellbound. There is no doubt in me that Nisha will arrive there very soon. I am glad this carnatic musician was not lost in the crowd of software engineers.

Her home page:

http://www.nishaprajagopal.com/

Few articles about her:

http://www.hindu.com/ms/2005/12/21/stories/2005122100010100.htm

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/article1588819.ece

T.M.Krishna - His music is his passion statement

2011-10-30T08:22:00.004-04:00

T.M.Krishna concert held on May 29, 2011 at SSVT, Maryland

Violin: R.K.Shriramkumar

Mridangam: ArunPrasad

Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar set standards by devising the kutcheri format for Carnatic music which is followed religiously even today. T.M.Krishna is redifining the classicism in carnatic classical music.

Krishna breathes a new air of professionalism and adds a new aura into the concert stage. Not easy to imagine and not easily sung phrases and prayogas, crisp and relevant details, subtle nuances but not redundant rendition. He will take a phrase or raga neraval to a beautiful korvai and drop it to a spell. Such appropriate pauses fills the silence and gives more life to the music.

Enormous respect for the music that he practices and an easy humour to connect with the audience. The music that scintillated the hall that day touched the consiciousness of the audience. Only T.M.Krishna could pull a packed hall of disciplined audience despite Memorial Day longweekend.

Missed the first few minutes of the concert and also didn't stay around after the concert to enquire what I missed (the usual post-kutcheri discussion). To complete the grand picture, I would conveniently assume that he must have started with a varnam. I could not enter the hall in between the song. Strict orders from the singer, again a noteworthy trait in his professionalism. So waited outside listening to the Saraswati Manohari.

2 - enta vEDukondu O Raghava in Raga Saraswati Manohari - Lower octave prayagas at Chintha theerchuta

3 - Kannada bangala is not malahari - dikshitar kriti.

Some quips from Krishna:

Grahaswara is a unique attribute of this piece. Anupallavi followed by Swara sets, Sahityam, next set of Swarams that appear like out of place. That is, Swaras misplaced in their positions.

3.1 - Renuka devi samrakshitoham aneesham - only pallavi and anupallavi.

4 - chEDE buddhi maanuraa in raga aThaaNaa. Tyagaraja kriti.

5 - Nadamaadi thirindha umakku in Kamas. Composition of Papavinasha muthaliyar, kanda chapu.

6 - RTP in Rudrapriya, Chatusra jaathi jumpa thalam.

Pallavi composed by violinist R.K. Shriramkumar - paradevathey pahi lalithae siva priyae shubathey.

Other ragas following Pallavi - Kapi without the anya swaras, Bahudari, xxx

Audience at this point in concert requested for some bhajans, not heavy classical!

7 - Oruthi maganai piranthu Thiruppavai - response to audience request for any song in Behag

8 - Saravana bhava ennum thirumanthiram - response to audience request for any song in Shanmukhapriya

9 - Ranga baaro pandu ranga baaro

Ranga baaro narasingha baaro - Purandara dasar kriti in Mandu.

A mesmerizing and captivating number from Krishna's bouquet. Krishna's handling of Mandu deserves a special note. His earlier song from albums Aarumo Aval in Mandu adds beauty to the raga.

10 - Thiruppugaz in Chakravaham (not sure about the raga)

11 - Sriman narayana in Bowli.

12 - Nadha vibho prabho in Yamankalyani.

Yamankalyani is a raga lightly sung by artistes towards the end of concerts.

when Krishna sings Yamankalyani, it's a whole different story. His earlier song from albums Jambupathae transcends all that we know of Yamankalyani. It took me to another plane of consciousness. Nadha vibho is another chapter unfolding the transcendal capability of this raga. Ippadi kooda paada mudiyum endru paadi kaatinaar Krishna.

In short, Krishna's music is his passion statement.

P.S - I typed the initial notes in my HTC Inspire handset. I didn't realize what the built-in spelling genius did to my notes until I opened it for the first time after many months. I am able to spend time on the summer concert review only in winter. Credit goes to family.

Ranjani Gayatri - Fall 2010 US Concert Tour

2010-12-11T21:21:00.013-05:00

Venue: SSVT, Maryland
Date: Oct 16, 2010 - 5pm
Accompanists: H.N.Bhaskar (Violin), Delhi Sairam (Mridangam)

I had gone gaga over Ranjani Gayatri's concert few weeks in advance as this would be my first RG concert in person. But as the concert day was nearing, I could not decide whether I should go. After much dilemma, I made it to the concert carrying my newborn. I realized within few minutes that it's not easy sitting in a concert for three hours with the baby. I was physically present but all my attention had to be on the baby. She would start screaming every time a new song would begin or the mridangist would bang a beat and I rushed outside to calm her. I was hearing the songs, enjoying some, not focusing on some. The songs and ragas that I missed were filled in by asking around.

Song list:
[1] Eranapai- Todi Varnam
[2] Sri Saraswathi Namosthuthae - Arabhi
[3] Enathu manam kavalai enum irul sooznthal - Harikambodhi, PapanasamSivan
[4] Alapana by R followed by Ammaravamma - Kalyani, St.Tyagaraja
[5] Hiranmayim lakshmim - Lalitha
[6] Alapana by G followed by Sari evvaremma nee - Bairavi, Syama Sastri, kandajati jumpa tala
[7] Maravairi - Nasikabhooshani - Pallavi alone was sung
[8] RTP - Sahana (Pallavi - Ini oru kanam unnai maraven) - other raga delineations in Varali, ,Kalavathi, Sindhu Bairavi
[8] Charanam Aiyaappa
[9] Viruttam by G in Hamsanandi followed by Saravana bhava in shanmukapriya
[10] Nanaeke - Behag, purandaradasa
[11] Abhang - Eka Natha in Pilu
[12] Abhang - Bhoota Mootae

India Trip 2009 - Episode 5

2010-08-14T15:51:00.003-04:00

Miles traveled and Miles to go

The West has always been calling us developing country. We are still a long way to be as developed as the US or Europe. But, we are essentially a developed country. With our huge population spreading across all social sectors, advancement is a constant process. It cannot be a complete statement.

Infrastructure cannot be built as sophisticated as America or Europe. We have to set realistic goals. The goal is to support and create livelihood for 2 billion people cramped in a small geography of limited natural resources, water being the most scarce resource in cities and rural areas alike.

Progress has been and is happening daily and slowly. There is more awareness now than ever about everything. Globalization has brought many advantages to the country, the country as is is yet to make full use of it. Cell phones to vendors and street sweepers! Cell phones to vendors is a progress while Street Sweepers still existing in a modern world would be a question mark. This is inevitable in the sense that such jobs cannot be automated fully because we have to support people in all social sectors. The street vendors' kids, on the other hand, are studying in one of those thousand engineering colleges. That is a progress.

There are more cars in the streets heading to Technology Parks in city's suburbs. At the same time, there are beggars at every traffic signal knocking the doors of these cars for arms. There are plenty of NGOs sprung up everywhere which are doing at a fast pace and sincerity what the Govt is supposed to do. IT affordability has made many of the Govt activities transparent. Still many corrupt and questionable sections of Govt exist. The fund raised for election propaganda of candidates, percentage accountability of tax money for the people are left unscathed as a mystery. Still there are not many well qualified people contesting elections in the largest democracy. There are million haves and million havenots making the billion of India.

Progress has definitely been slow compared with China (don't start with pollution levels here; its universal) , Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore/Malaysia. Some argue with strong valid points that Electronics and other Semiconductor manufacturing is not required in India. That argument is appreciated in a different light than what is discussed here.

We have forgot and neglected one sector miserably but which is highly crucial for our country's sustainability, lest progress. Agriculture. It still seems to be a puzzle to make Water a perennial resource. We cannot afford to be a country with largest food imports. To feed billion stomachs in a self sufficient way is the biggest challenge. We have to focus our attention here before its too late.

India Trip 2009 - Episode 4

2010-08-14T15:13:00.002-04:00

The aging group

The primordial fear of man is the fear of death. So said Dr.Parthasarathi during his Bhagwad Gita lectures years ago. I witnessed the truth of this statement during my visits to few relatives who are septuagenarians. All my father's cousins and siblings are in this age group. The primordial fear was written all over their faces, explicit in all their daily activities including how they carried themselves about. Life is full of uncertainties while Death is certain and absolute. Why fear the certain then? We, the mankind, does things that are a wonder. Contradicting beliefs and practices.

Age is only a number. In India though, it is a reason to worship. The higher the number, the person deserves more respect irrespective what he is. The person would have led a really bad life, done everything wrong and would have gone astray. He would have simply lazied about his entire life and still lazies around. Such folks would survive only in India owing to joint family system. Why should he be sought for his blessings? Spending time in front of the idiot box watching one imbecile soap after the other!!

More unscientific and illogical practices that I don't want to write about are written as rules all over the wall. Our youth has to be outrageous in discouraging some of these dogmas. When I met few people, I felt glad that I don't have to interact with them on a daily basis. No other society would be as hypocritical as ours.

Stray thoughts come, stray thoughts go.....

I met my father's cousins many years after my Father had passed away. Everyone shared thoughts about my father with me. They are missing him more than me since they are living near our house and feel his absence in all family functions. Dad's loss was reminded so much that my mind strayed over the grief even after so many years.

One who did nothing, still does nothing much and enjoys; But,
One who sweat his blood is gone before the dawn.

Dad, you are a well written book but with the last few chapters left uncompleted. Those unwritten are the only chapters of happiness in your life. I only wish you were around to see the sunrise.

When the feeling of grief comes, it takes over you completely. We have to grieve. That's the only way to let it go. Grieve it off.

India Trip 2009 - Episode 3

2010-08-14T14:59:00.002-04:00

Nieces and Nephews

I have many cousins, all of them elder to me. The last time I saw my nieces and nephews, they were toddlers and newborns. They are now fluently using Google for their school projects and leaving comments on social networking sites!!! Soon they will walk into our offices and replace us!

One of my nephew is very interested in history. He reads only history comics (about Indian history, various rulers, dynasties, wars). He accompanied me to Spencer Plaza. I was quite nervous because he was brimming with questions and I never liked nor was good with remembering names and dates. He started. I swallowed a gulp. "Do you refer to cities in US by any nick names? Is New York City referred to as anything else?" I explained to him that not all cities have nick names, some have, like Chicago is called Wind City, Boston is called College city, New York City is the Fashion Capital. States have names, for example, Connecticut is called Constitution State, Delaware is called The First State, Virginia The Old Dominion. "Do you know what Chennai is called as?". I was dumbstruck. Was expecting such a stunt from him any time. I was silent thinking. "Like Bangalore is called Garden city, what is Chennai called?". I thought its better to be honest and said I don't know. "Bangalore is Garden City, Chennai is Garbage City". I was silenced by the truth of his statement just as we jumped over a open gutter to enter the mall.

A niece of mine asked me why I chose to leave India and work in America. She is in eighth grade and already has her mind set to work for the progress of mother country. She was quite vociferous that all NRIs simply complain about the country but no one is willing to do anything to change things. May be a budding IAS officer or a teacher (effect of Abdul Kalam)! I was staring at her with proud filled all over my face. Our own kids will love us naturally. But when love and brilliance are exuberant from our nieces and nephews, its a special feeling. I hugged her close to my heart.

I had the opportunity to spend a semester with one of my niece and nephew in Bangalore six years ago. They were only teeny weeny toddlers when I left. They have grown tall now and could not recognize me nor recollect the time we spent together. I have become a total stranger to them. When I enjoyed all the beautiful paintings on the wall, I noticed some similarity in them. I looked closely. My jaw dropped when I saw my niece's signature on all of them!

Another nephew (through another cousin) was quite challenged with his mental abilities. My cousin was explaining about her daily life, what type of care they need to provide him, how he interacts or responds to anyone or anything. I was totally pained at my cousin's spate and the life long struggle ahead of her. I told her that she is managing things boldly and any one else wouldn't handle it so. I was trying to hide my shock and pain but it was beyond my control. I came back and wept. Thinking back, I am extremely happy that there are plenty of medical institutions in India now that are catering to children with special needs. Not every household is like the one portrayed in 'Taare Zameen Par'. My deep gratitude to these progresses in India and to whoever made them happen.

My mom and I were traveling by auto to visit a relative. As we crossed a Bank Of America name board, I said "Wow. Bank Of America here" since that's the first time I saw a BoA branch in Chennai. My mom asked in a calm tone "Just like how there is BoA here, is there a Bank Of India in US?" I was spellbound by the sheer brilliance of her thought. I replied "If that were the case, if one Rupee equals $40, then we would be in India and not US". Daring to have even such a dream would give us the hope and inspiration to make it happen. My mom's ideas were that highly educated Indians should gain few years of experience in US, earn few dollars and return to India and work for India's progress. India is and should be rightfully given its share of homeland privilege. We as conscientious citizens are what we are today because we are raised in a strong value system and we owe our hard work for India's progress primarily. To be a global citizen is only a second commandment to her. I don't have to spend even a minute thinking otherwise. I silently nodded in admiration of her. Quite a few memorable moments.

India Trip 2009 - Episode 2

2010-08-14T14:56:00.000-04:00

City infrastructures

There are many stretches of roads in Chennai that have been built new and still maintained very neatly with regulated traffic. At other places, (just step outside airport), the condition of roads remain the same as before or even worse. The same people form the state government again and again and still there is no persistent progress. "singara chennai" says the bill boards but the spirit is forgotten or purposely ignored. Every wall in the city carries a political flavour - Self praises and birthday wishes for their thalapathys and varungala muthalvars. The phrase 'painting the city red' doesn't mean this sort of scribbling! I have never lived in Chennai for long so my observations with respect to any specific landmark is limited.

The boom of software services industry from the 90's has increased the inflation tremendously. To me, who is not a software person, prices of commodities came as a shock. I am glad I am able to provide for my mom. Touch wood. The divide between haves and havenots has broadened so much that I am still wondering how the poor are managing! Has the government services and other non-software companies (old economy companies like IOCL, BHEL) increased their pay scale comparable to that of software industry? If not, I would postulate that bribery and corruption at higher levels must have only increased, now especially owing to this economic divide. Whatever progress like digitizing of government records, faster information flow that IT cud bring into government services for common man would be hindered by the same industry. I didn't have any chance to personally see and experience if the government is really transparent or if any government services (like registration of property) has improved. May be, I should feel thankful. No comments on this.

India Trip 2009 - Episode 1

2010-08-14T14:53:00.002-04:00

The land of dreams, the land of dream come true,
the land of yogic knowledge,
the land of secular tolerance,
the land of a mosaic of traditions,
the land of a billion opinions,
the land of ever rising Sun,
I could go on,
such is my mother country, India.

To add further, India is a land of possibilities, talent, potential, capabilities, miracles always happening and waiting to happen - all mixed up in a quagmire of narrow-mindedness that impedes complete advancement in any field. This is what instantly struck me during my 3 week trip to few places like Chennai, Bangalore and my hometown.

Been to India from US in February 2009 after five long years, first time after I had come to US. A long gap that was unplanned and unintentional. Got stuck because of visa regulations , et cetera. It was a much awaited and eager trip.

Two books unreviewed

2010-08-05T05:30:00.005-04:00

I have not written about two books that touched me very deeply and dearly. I have read them years ago but the essence of the book flows in my veins. I prefer and make a personal choice on it everyday.

'The Zahir' by Paulo Coelho and 'From Science to God' by Dr.Peter Russell. 'The Zahir' (along with another book of Osho, forgot the name) opened my mind to appreciate people, places, culture and life in its broad sense; that love is not a structured element, it plays a bigger role than what I had thought; that every person has different colors and shades and to accept a person as is means accepting all aspects of his/her personality. Life is not a hard and fast set of rules or procedures. It truly made me appreciate and respect all thought systems. Life is a whole lot of possibilities, all permutation-combinations of ways of life exist. The book invoked a giant leap in my thought process. Life can be possible in very many ways. A broader-minded person I am after this read.

Dr.Russell answered scientifically many questions that have been bogging me in my spiritual pursuit. Scientifically because I tend to be satisfied and convinced only then. Faith is a whole different thing. I have my foot there too. The book is essentially Vedanta for the scientific minded. I have started seeing things in a different and more aptly, clear light. (Light is what the book is about).

Definitely, these books have done the most changes in me. A must read for any vivid reader. Make time for them. At least give them a try.

'From Science To God' is available at YogiImpressions.

Superfreakonomics - A Review

2010-08-05T05:26:00.001-04:00

The book is a collage of microeconomic reasoning behind, well, (writing in their own style), very many things in life. For an engineer (that is, to me), it is simply a common sense analysis, a down to the scratch practical and logical way of thinking for why things are the way they are. This book is a continuation of Freakonomics. Freakonomics being new in the author's style of writing was an instant hit. the first book's success has prompted the authors to write one more after few years of gathering new ideas to analyze. Anyone who has been closely reading everything that Malcolm Gladwell writes would notice some of the thoughts and points in Superfreakonomics coincide. The authors have mentioned this too and given due credits to Outliers.

The chapters could have been titled better or simply numbered. Definitely the read is better than watching some imbecile video in Youtube simply for the sake of entertainment. There is nothing more to review. If you have the time, read it.

Salem Sriram sticks to Sampradaya

2010-01-16T09:49:00.009-05:00

Review of Salem Sriram's carnatic music concert

Time: 5pm, Jan 09, 2010
Venue: SSVT, Maryland
Accompanists: Violin Sandhya Srinath, Mridangam Jayanth, Kanjira Vivek Chellappa
Occasion: SSVT's annual Tygaraja Aradhana Festival, 27th year celebration

Song list:

1. Telisi Rama, Ragam Poornachandrika
2. Dinamani Vamsa, Ragam Harikamboji
3. Bantureeti kolu, Ragam Hamsanaadam
4. Seethamma Mayamma, Ragam Vasantha
5. Bairavi Ragam, Tanam, followed by Koluvaiyunnade Kodandapani
6. Viruttam "Illaga Vilakku Adhu" in Ragamalika (Kamalamanohari, Sahana, and one more ragam) followed by Navasiddhi Petraalum, Ragam Karaharapriya
7. Muruga Muruga ena nee sol, Ragam Hamsanandhi, lyrics by Gomathy Ramasubramaniam
8. Gangadeeswaram Sankaram, Ragam Sindubhairavi, lyrics by Swami Surajananda
9. Jagadodarana, Ragam Kapi
10. Kumaran Thiruvadi Kaithozhuvaaye, Ragam Yamankalyani
11. Sri Tyagaraja's Mangalam

This was the second opportunity for me to hear Salem Sriram in concert at the same venue. Haven't heard him in between the two concerts. A hard working regular practitioner of chaste carnatic music despite a full time job in the current economy! Hats off to this US based musician. His voice modulation skills have been honed tremendously compared to what it was two years earlier. A resonating voice with least nasal accent and minimum hand movements. Praises especially for the no-gesture-posture while singing.

The concert, to say frankly, was two paced. The first half was dedicated to Sri Tyagaraja owing to the spirit of the occasion. All these songs had raga alapana, neraval, kalpana swaras and each showed Sriram's proficiency. Every song was rendered with its meaning imbibed. Bhavam was spontaneous and conveyed like the peaceful sounds of a flowing river.

The second half of the concert was on a different pace and mood, altogether I should say. The songs were on Siva and Muruga since the temple has deities of Siva, Kartikeya and Vishnu. It took me few minutes to adjust to the new ambiance Sriram created abruptly. The concert could have been packaged better. That's just my feeling. I enjoyed every song in it's absolute purity as such it was rendered.

People around didn't sound very happy with his elaborate Alapana on Hamsanaadham. They said its after all Bantureeti. I felt otherwise. I have a special attachment to this song since this was the first carnatic song I learnt when I was five. All the girls and boys in my neighborhood used to sing this song in a chorus for Navratri Golu. Etched in my mind as a precious and sweet childhood memory, I was actually overwhelmed when Sriram, after elaborating Hamsanaadam, strikingly started with the anupallavi Thundavanti Vani. Had a few seconds of silent gaze in amazement of the beauty of the kriti.

Bairavi as a choice for RTP was commendable. At the Tanam, he started the Tala and so did the percussionists. I was guessing on whom he is going to sing the Pallavi (was expecting something on Siva for that wud have made a smooth transition to the SV spirit). He boldly sang a fast paced Koluvaiyunnade. Surprised at the change but it was stunningly enjoyable. Sriram's diction was very clear, lucid, no Sha instead of Sa and Cha. It showed in the Viruttam. The fast paced Murugan Krithis received cheers from the appreciative audience. Gangadeeswaram Sankaram in Sindhubairavi was definitely charming. I thought it was a Swati Tirunal Krithi but there was no Mudra and Google proved me wrong too.

Sriram tends to twist and toss every raga sancharam and phrase which was quite tiring to hear. There should be a good balance of staid raga development, hinting at nuances, striking the unique chords of a ragam and display of vocal prowess. He has miles to go and he is very much capable.

Sandhya on the Violin and Jayanth on the Mridangam were established artistes. Masterly and class. Sandhya, during Dinamani Vamsa Kriti, played a special solo. She was switching between the first and the second or third string. It sounded like two people engaged in a conversation. A dual sided soliloquy on violin !

I was also new to Vivek Chellapa's Kanjira. I used to think Kanjira is restricted compared to Mridangam since its played using only one hand. Vivek played thunderously skillful, a casual and silent killer. Wah.

The concert left an overall feel good feeling followed by a simple and tasty dinner.

Hyderabad Brothers concert review

2009-10-15T21:58:00.004-04:00

Hyderabad Brothers Carnatic vocal concert at SVLotus Temple, Fairfax, Virginia
Oct 11, 2009 4-7pm
Mridangam: J.Vaidyanathan, Violin - Nagai Sriram

A small prayer hall it is with no acoustically fantastic auditorium. With a decent mike and sound system, the packed hall was full of discerning audience seated on the floor. A temple in the fund raising stage to begin construction, the concert was announced free.

I have heard and read about Hyderabad brothers Dr.Ragavachary and Dr.Seshachary as masters of the art with their scholarly rendition. This is the first time I was hearing them personally; the previous acquaintances were only thru CDs. Their tradition of music rendition (patanthra) and manodharma was purely masterly, thorough and moving. The elder of the sibling Dr.Ragavachary dominated to the extent that the younger sibling Dr.Seshachary was heard only during individual kalpanaswara singing. The elder took care of all the alapanas and neravals.

Since its a fund raising concert for Lotus Temple and the duration was also short, it was not a full fledged concert with RTP, et cetera. A short and sweet concert. Left me wanting more though I didn't feel fulfilled with their choice of krithis. With a mind blowing Vagadeeeswari, the ultimate stunning piece was the last Thiruppavai Dhaniyan "Annavayarputhuvai Andal".

1. Natakurunji Varnam Chalamela
2. Chinna Nadae, Ragam Kalanidhi
4. Teliyaleru Rama, Ragam Denuka
5. Paramathmudu Veluga, Ragam Vagadeeswari
6. Sri venkata girisham, Surutti
7. Annavayarputhuvai Andal pasuram in Thodi, Pallandu Pallandu in Bairavi followed by Narayana Ninna Namadha in Suddha Danyasi

Sha Sa sa Ha

2009-09-13T22:33:00.008-04:00

These points were highlights of many discussions with different friends at different points in time - about singing, listening, about music and musicians in general. Didn't know how to make a coherent essay out of it. Since they were lingering on in the mind even after many months, felt like spilling the beans here. So, here goes the collage.

- Till the advent of digital music players, music CDs and MP3 format, listening to a carnatic (or for that matter , any other form of music) used to be a hobby and pass time for the rich. Only they could afford the money and means to buy record tapes. Cassettes were, to an extent, affordable to the middle class but still not a whole lot possible. Technology has made music affordable and reach more people, no doubt. Starting from CDs to Mp3s, now its the digital recording devices and broadband that makes music sharing easy across the globe. Jaya TV concerts happening in Chennai are broadcast by music aficionados through youtube within few days.

Every listener's house is nowadays flooded with CDs in all colors. Over a period of listening to music albums again and again, we start listening to the musician more and not just the music. Profound does it sound. what does it mean! We start to like one person's way of singing more than the other and attach stupidly silly reasons to it. At one point, the monkey mind kept analysing, judging and marking on a scale of 1 to 10! Mind was also justifying the whole process as 'I am becoming a better and better listener day by day'. Juvenile as it may get. I went thru this.

Then suddenly all the judgements drop and we just only listen - listen with oneness of heart, mind and love for music. Everything else vanishes. Pure music, pure love, still mind.

- Apologize for the judgements that happened during the above described period of listening. It doesn't bother me anymore but used to give me goosebumps when I hear it loud and clear. Sudha Raghunathan always, BJ and Nithyasree for some time now, and recently RG - all of them were appalling with their pronunciation - Sha instead of Sa ! Where do they get it ! Sowmya tried hard, got it wrong the first time, kept trying, got it all right the third time onwards. Keep up the hard work. Again apologize for my bitter/pompous remarks, but I went Grrrr when I heard them ஷொல்ல instead of சொல்ல.

- Having chosen to work in a manufacturing plant, it becomes next to impossible to allot time even over weekend for music practice. Its been years since I sang (except for the disability leave time when I had the fortune of practising daily at home). All the while, listening was non-stop during the evenings in the kitchen. So, manodharma/imagination for singing is faster and more developed now than what the voice could reach. This in turn turns out to be discouraging to practice further. The listener in me is more advanced than the singer.

Maiyyal Kondenadi

2009-09-08T22:46:00.012-04:00

Haven't written anything about one of my all time favorite carnatic musician - the ingenuous, masterly, the only IITian in the pack, Sowmya (ji understood). She is always the reference singer for me to practice along with. Though not a melodious voice, the kattai kural retains the beauty of phrases that are unique to carnatic style. Her recent thematic concerts had caught up an audience vibe on its own. It takes a thorough understanding, a confident quest for innovation, curiosity to educate and move the audience to next level. Sowmya is the one to start on this, others like T.M.Krishna and Sanjay followed. Confident that the audience would raise up to her and accept the whole idea of learning some theory behind music and accept her humble self with enthusiasm. I mention that she is an IIT-ian specifically because I still recollect and cherish her geeky d/dt explanation for sangathis in Jaya TV Margazhi Mahotsavam 2008 question time.

Her two albums Ososi and Maiyyal are based on sringara rasa (Romance/Lust/Love - Viraha thabam included) pathams and javalis. Viribhoni varnam with sahityam for the charana swaras made me jaw-drop and listen. Wud have immediately googled and banged my head to find out what those lyrics are, if she composed them herself, how come we didn't even know such a sahityam existed for this varnam all these years. She stops after the varnam and clearly explains the Maiyyal rasa ingrained in those lyrics. She also gives us a glimpse of how to enjoy each piece and some tit bits behind some pieces (who, where, when story). I like this interactive part in Sowmya's concert. She makes herself very approachable. Even after concerts, we can ask her all our doubts back stage. She patiently explains. She has been the "Asthana singer" for some of the marriages in our family !

An illustrious student of yesteryear's doyen Smt.Mukta (that explains her love for pathams and javalis), RTPs are her forte. Her Todi has made me appreciate Todi for the first time and made me curious to explore more on Todi. Her singing of Tanam at Madhyamakalam (I donno how to explain this....forgive my lack of knowledge on this...will try to share a song to explain what I am referring here) using the Akarams is very very unique and intimate to carnatic music. Haven't heard anyone sing like that after Ariyakudi and other yesteryears' stars. That shows the power of her vocal chord. It needs to be cultivated when the voice breaks and takes shape during the adolescent years of one's life. It's not easy to gain command of akaras in the vocal chord. A voice with absolutely no nasal accent. A deep throated singing from the Naabi. Sowmya has it all and more.

Not just a carnatic musician, she takes time to pursue her other interests. Felt totally humbled and inspired after gazing at her photographic and writing skills in some site/blog. Her explorations from early days with carnatica brothers, experiments with Embar Kannan in composing speak for themselves. These and more aspects of her personality has intrigued me as a school girl looking up to do a variety of things in life but with a professional touch.

Here's her website:
http://www.carnatica.net/sowmya/

Though sung with plenty of homework behind the stage and practice, I wouldn't vouch that her rendition is full of bhavam. The pathams and javalis are meant for bharatanatyam dance as Sowmya herself mentions in the album. These make an amazing repertoire to any dance performance. Prof. Sudharani Raghupathy's choreography is worth the mention and recently Priyadarsini Govind's and Mythili Prakash's. The very nature of Sowmya's voice makes it sound rough and tough. I have the same notion about Sanjay Subramaniam's voice and rendition too. There won't be emotion that is obviously conveyed in their voice as much as in the lyrics. I say this by comparing with the usually compulsive male voice renditions in dance choreographs. Bombay Jayashri is one singer whose voice blends with emotions in the lyrics. But all due credits to individual singers are well deserved.

Violin alone, to say, is a poor accompaniment for pathams and javalis ( to me at least). The same patham in dance will be more enjoyable with flute and veena accompaniments without the mridangam.

Links to her albums Ososi and Maiyyal:
http://www.rajalakshmiaudio.com/web/index.php/products/viewProductDetail/id/173
http://www.rajalakshmiaudio.com/products/viewProductDetail/id/66

She never tries to be what she is not. Totally with herself and the music she loves......we love the music she gives us. She is always close to heart and her music as beloved as the Maiyyal pathams.

Hero Worship

2009-09-06T23:27:00.005-04:00

While writing and sharing anything in blogs, some readers (who don't know me closely) tend to look at the generalizations I make and seem to get offended. So, as a preface I would like to mention that all exceptions are acknowledged; no offense intended nor even thought of. Read them as just another point of view. My focus is mainly on the writing - a challenge on my ability to convey. Surrendering to the pen and the power of ideas......

Have stopped watching Indian movies for quite sometime now. The very idea of hero-heroine background irked me all of a sudden too much. I was thinking for sometime on this - where did the Indian movie makers catch the hero worship concept? And why has such movies had all the audience that they had and still have?

The seed has been sown long ago from the days of Ramayana and Mahabarata.
This is the story of a prince named Rama. He was the noblest, kindest, most handsome, etcetera etcetera amongst men !
There was a story of five brave princes called Pandavas who were renowned as best in their chosen field !

When these stories were/are passed down through generations, the original purpose of these stories were lost, as the transfer of knowledge depends on the level of the story teller and the audience. The stories were meant as morals on how to lead our daily lives. It's human nature not to listen to any advice or wise words from others instantly. Even aeons ago, there were smart people who were well aware of human psychology. They put together two great epics to illustrate all the nice qualities a human can possess. How to behave in adversity or when in power, how to interact with other people and deal with ourselves - name any scenario it will be there in Ramayana or Mahabarata. I wondered at one point how a sage (VedaVyasa) who renounced family life could come up with such beautiful plots in Mahabarata which are an indirect inspiration to this day for authors like Shoba De and producers like Ekta Kapoor !

As a child grows up hearing these stories, they are meant to get conditioned to only good values from childhood. But alas. What we seemed to have ended up is a whole lot of heroism worshippers. May be its another aspect of human psychology to distance ourselves from what is only a possibility. A country of billions has people at all levels of knowledge, education, maturity and exposure. The easiest means to reach a common man with decent or no education is cinema. The morals got sidelined. What remains are only the hero worship and the common man.

Of course, I am not meaning to say here that cinema should be used as a medium to educate or enlighten the audience. I look at it as a piece of sheer entertainment if you have the extra time. The highlight is on the hero worship themes behind majority of Indian movies. The hero has to be a good guy. There has to be a heroine supporting and loving him through all ups and downs. Don't forget the bad guy who has to be there for a villain. Very few think outside the box and become successful productions. My concern is why we still have an audience for hero worship themes. Our youth is much smarter than (or at least they seem to be) the average across the world. They do very good in science and software. But there are fans swarming like bees in orkut and facebook for clubs dedicated to movie stars !!

Rama and Ravana are two qualities within each of us, each at different levels. Two sides of a coin. May be two faces to a persona. The epics could be a brilliant figment of the authors' imagination or the plots in their entirety could be purely metaphysical . The aim is to drive home the point of moral values in an entertaining and easy to learn way. We seem to be fixated on the glamorous stuff alone. And are stuck with it.

(another blog to follow on an extended idea...Back To Vedanta)

Thuggee vs Ahimsa

2009-08-09T23:14:00.007-04:00

Happened to watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The movie is based on Thuggee cult practices in India. Quite a violent movie for me. Couldn't watch some scenes and so forwarded them. After few weeks, happened to see Gunga Din (a 1939 adventure film from RKO Radio Pictures starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Fontaine, and Sam Jaffe in the title role). This movie also has a base on the Thuggee cult practices in India. I didn't know what Thuggee was before watching these movies. The second movie really made me stop and think. Such a violent cult! in India! the country of Non-violence !! I am aware of religious practices where they offer humans or live stocks during worship. Also aware of other inhumane orthodox practices like Sati, etc. But none the scale of Thuggee cult.

Ours is unlike any other country. No other country has such a spectrum of culture, tradition, languages, dialects, beliefs and practices. To make people forget their differences and unite everyone under one umbrella to fight for Independence is an enormous task. And that too with the weapon called Ahimsa (Nonviolence) is nothing less than true faith and courage. My reverence for the Mahatma grows leaps and bounds.

P.S: abolition of Thuggee cult was done meticulously by the British.

Divinity to Intimacy

2009-07-27T20:58:00.006-04:00

What's with these carnatic folks!!

Movie: Modhi Vilaiyadu
Song: Paadhi Kaadhal
Singer: Bombay Jayashri

Movie: Achamundu Achamundu
Song: Kannil Dhagam
Singer: Sowmya

Honestly, these songs are as wonderful as Vaseegara.

The Slum Dog Idea

2009-07-26T01:39:00.004-04:00

So far, all my friends from India here have disagreed that Slum Dog Millionaire deserved the Oscar. Everyone on this shore has expressed that A.R. Rehman has other music in score which could have been internationally recognized; plenty of other movies from Indian Directors that could be recognized for the direction, camera, cinematography. Jai Ho is definitely not THAT impressive a song, nor is the background score as brilliant as that of Satyajit Ray's Aparajito. Remember the scene where Appo's dad dies. There was only one pluck of the string that would make even a rock cry. Pandit Ravi Shankar's sitar had literally spoken the emotions beyond words in that great stunt of music and direction.

I sat through the movie, not totally able to appreciate everything. Cinematography was excellent, still not to world standards. There are other genuinely more creative movies for this year that cud grab the award. Then why Slum Dog?

I am oriented to think in these lines. Others might disagree. But its my thinking and am sharing here. Any offense or pun is only unintended. Don't read between the lines. There is nothing but blanks!

Let us wind the clock back a few years. Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen both deserved the Miss World and Miss Universe titles. But it was also used as an entry point for western FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) manufacturers to enter India.This was not the only entry port. There was HLL before too with a variety of soaps and facial creams. companies from Us and Europe need to tap the billion figure Indian population, both as cheap labor for manufacturing and more as consumers who can afford to buy these products. The words were phrased the other way though. To manufacture products affordable to the middle class and lower middle class of India. The idea was bought, rather celebrated.

Say, a beauty cream costs $8 in USA. It would have cost the manufacturer $4-$5 if manufactured in US. The population that would buy the product is less here and also not the majority of the middle income families can actually afford. These two factors play a major role here - total number of people (population) and the number of people who can afford to buy (high income, middle income, low income categories). Both the numbers are pretty low compared to the booming population in Asian countries. Now say, the same cream cud be manufactured for Rs.10 (I am just meaning it is lower compared to US; don't buy the exact dollar and rupee values here) and sold for Rs.25-Rs.30. The number of consumers buying this would be in millions or lakhs to the least . Hefty profits. The number of advertisements/commercials for FMCG and other style brands featuring Rai, Sen and other models actually increased tremendously after the beauty pageants were internationally recognized. This created more awareness among the folks - from teenage gals to mid-40-some aunties. Wanting to be like the silver screen idols, they naturally became consumers when the beauty products are so affordable.

Oscar for SDM is a similar case. Recognize the Bollywood to tap into the Indian diaspora for various reasons. A lot of software editing and designing is used in movie making these days. And what better place than English speaking Java typing India! The young adults and teen population is more in number than ever and more westernized than ever. With the internet giving access to all Hollywood movies, the western camera crew doesn't have to educate the audience to appreciate the efforts behind the camera and also the themes being shot.

All I am trying to say is that Movie making would be cheaper and movie watching by millions would be profitable. So, recognize them, reward them, give them the feeling (or is it instilling confidence - the words floating around are quite catchy) that a person from slum can go places in life. And and use those positive vibes to enter the market. The scene in Bombay/LA has to be watched more closely. Hollywood Bollywood interactions are bound to increase. More common man in India will start watching the Hollywood pictures, for reasons other than obscenity. More moolah for the movie makers of LA.

The stage is set. Start the show.

A New Phenonmenon called RG

2009-07-19T17:17:00.006-04:00

They are a new phenonmenon called Ranjani Gayatri. Unprecendented sisterly act in carnatic music, to rock all ages with the best of styles (padantharam). It is surprising how they even take the same pause for breathes. Perfectly aligned sangathis and sancharas. It wud be hard to pick a particular instance of a 'start after a pause' (eduppu) where there is a time lag in their pronunciation. There have been duet performances by siblings before - Radha Jayalakshmi, Hyderabad Brothers, Bombay Sisters, Mambalam Sisters. There is also Haripriya Shanmukapriya. But the Ranjani Gayatri duo stands out exceptionally. Reason?

The combination of their voice - one husky base and the other shrilled and high toned; this puts less strain on the same person in the concert to cover all octaves for all raga elaborations. Another reason - either of the sibling is not dominating; both of them share the center stage equally. And either is not less talented or uncomfortable to explore the other realm. Though one covers the base and the other takes the higher octaves during main raga alapanas, its not that Ranjani could not sing higher octaves and Gayatri could not sing the base octaves (mandhaaras sthayi gamakam, panchamam). When they sing madhyama kala krithis, we hear both of them strongly and during abhangs and viruttams, we hear Ranjani exploring higher octaves with equal ease.

This is my second post on the same topic - RG. They are gonna rock the stage all over the world for another 10-15 years. They have recently interviewed to The Hindu that Viruttam is their forte. The Varnam, Viruttam, Abhang will continue for sometime. Then it will become a stereotype and no more a forte. Till then ...God Speed Ranjani Gayatri.

Postscript added later:
They are one mind, one heart, one soulful music, two voices. I still wonder how they end their kalpanaswaras jointly and wudn't give chance to slip of the tongue sangathi changes.

Outliers

2009-06-14T14:37:00.010-04:00

Was quite enthralled by Malcolm Gladwell at the very review of this book's ideas, need not even read the book entirely. Such is the power of thoughts and ideas. Can influence people and sweep them off their feet.

Its an extraordinary book explaining the reality behind commonly held myths about success. I have had conversations with Jay on some of the facts explained in this book at different points of time earlier. Stats, stats, stats. When statistics support the theory currently in vogue or unfold new theories, it makes a convincing read to a scientific mind. That's what Outliers does. Gladwell religiously has collected data to this extent.

Fascinated by some of the ideas that Gladwell throws and found the comfort of a home in others.

For few days after completing the read, I was in a discontented, restless mood. These questions were written all over my face - "Am I going to achieve anything now that I haven't put that precious 10,000 hours into anything so far?", "Am I going to taste success in anything since I don't have a head start?". It took a while and a long fought battle in mind, to come out of the discomfiture and grip life in flesh and blood. But, thanks to Gladwell for that spell of inquisitive and self exploring spell of contemplation. Much required at this phase of my life to go forward.

Won't dwell into any further details of the book. Its a must read. Please spend time . Its worth it.

http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html

Palace of Illusions

2009-06-14T13:51:00.008-04:00

Don't remember how I came across this book 'The Palace of Illusions' but after reading the review (from source I don't recollect), I caught hold of it from the library. Usually, books in English by Indian authors are not available in our local public library - the Prince William County Public Library. My sincere searchers for Tagore, Nehru, Rajaji, R.K.Narayan had only proved futile. Repeated requests with the chief librarian didn't change things much. Not even the award winning Jhumpa Lahiri or the titles 'English August', or 'God of small things'. Nay. But, Palace of Illusions was right there and also on 'available' status after being 'on hold' many times.

The description "Draupadi's narration of Mahabarata" was enough to captivate me, not because of the feminist title, but simply its different. The same story told from a different angle, from another's perspective, viewed from a different frame of reference matters. After all, truth is only one's perception of reality and it makes a difference as to how it is viewed or narrated. One's imprint of his/her personality on anything adds beauty to the whole experience!

The narration was simply flowing in style, not aimlessly superfluous, extremely creative and imaginative. It was a total absorption into the tale and more so into Draupadi's persona. Quite intrigued by the force of the author's telling tale.

It showed Chitra's voracious and wide reading over many years. The knowledge she had gained from different sources seems to include VedaVyasa's story put to text by various authors, discourses and interpretations from pundits. She had remained in the same story structure of VedaVyasa and used her imagination to make the Draupadi-Karna connection without any blasphemy. When this relation was first mentioned, I was shocked that this brilliant book might be put to scrutiny and questions. But , as the story goes, nothing stupid of that sort was eminent. The author has mentioned in the preface that this is a purely imaginative fiction weaved around the grand old Mahabarata!

When Draupadi gets dragged into Duryodana's assembly by Dushasana and when she is being humiliated, she goes into a state of trance in silent meditation of Krishna. When she comes to full consciousness, Dushasana is already on the floor and Draupadi does not seem to know what has happened. She thinks the obvious had happened and does not know that her dignity had been saved by Krishna. That's why she curses the Kauravas and leaves the assembly. No one even tells her later that by some miracle, the obvious did not happen at all and that her saree kept growing in length. So, Draupadi's quest for revenge never fades till the Kauravas are killed. That's an interesting highlight.

The climax though seems quite cinematic. Probably, Chitra wishes this book is also made into a movie?!

The book is definitely gripping till the last period. Period.

The ever swift TNS

2009-06-13T10:57:00.007-04:00

To have a book shelf with all my favorite authors' works and a rack of CD collection was something I used to desire from my high school days. Nothing else used to motivate me as much as this desire did. Some times, I had silently yearned for them too. After many years, I was able to set these up with meticulous efforts. During my recent India trip, bought a cart load of CDs to my heart’s content.

I listened to them day after day. Initially, I felt overwhelmed by the quantity and quality. But kept going at it steadily. Before I realized, I got a hangover. So, I stopped listening for a while. Nothing is more music than the return of a forgone silence.

After a long break, I went over the collection again today and found my all-time favorite TNS. It is a concert CD of T.N.Seshagopalan released by Charsur. I haven’t heard a TNS concert before. My experience with his harikatha earlier in SSVT was disappointing. He became a favorite because of my repeated listening of his RasaGanam cassettes during my school years. They were always being played at home in the evenings. Childhood memories influence your thinking pattern for a long time in life. That’s how TNS got chiseled in my mind as the maestro though I haven’t had much opportunity to listen to his other albums.

It came as a thunderbolt out of a clear sky. His brisk and crisp alapanas beginning with strikingly straight sancharas were quite contrasting to how others would normally start the alapanas - with a slow pace and gather momentum. This is very unique about TNS and probably what makes TNS to me. There is no time wasted in trying to reach there. He is already there and you got to be there with him to enjoy the ragas. It takes plenty of courage, practice and confidence to pour the arrows down without trying to negotiate – strictly no diplomat!

His choice of ragas and krithis needs mention. Mohanakalyani, hindolam, sindubairavi….wah wah. Usually, listening to a concert recording does not give the lingering effect and personal touch of attending the concert. But, listening to this CD of TNS came close. His disciple or probably son has accompanied him with vocal support but his name is nowhere to be seen in the CD cover. Why is this so?

Here is the CD I am bragging about......
http://www.charsur.com/charsur/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=37_39&products_id=520

All Fair Worlds

2009-02-28T18:36:00.008-05:00

A friend once said "its an unfair world". Another told the same after an unfortunate incident that happened to her. It tickled some thought flow in that direction. Where is fairness and justice?

First why are we talking today about justice or the lack of it in the world More today than before? Have you observed this? Because we have assumed, through the conditioning of our minds from childhood, that there must be justice and fairness in the world, that the good prevails over the bad ultimately. We have our own definitions of each noun and adjectives, agreed?! We expect justice immediately with no respect for time. Lets go back in time and analyze this idea in Hindu mythology. All due respects to the Hindu Gods and belief system as I am also a part of it. (I had to add this last line after a reader's comments).

During Thretha yuga, Ramayana's time frame, the killing of Vali by SriRama from behind a rock is a case of injustice, at least looking at the plain incident from the outside without digging into previous birth/etcetera details. For that matter, the entire Ramayana would be unfair from the monkey's point of view ! surprised !! Say, I am a monkey. Sugriva is my king. I am like a common man in Sugriva's kingdom in the south of India. Why should I carry heavy stones and rocks, get hurt and bleed while throwing them into the sea so that some friend of my king can win back his wife and rule a place called Ayodhya , which is far away in north India ! That friend sent his hard won wife back to the forest while she was on the family way ! Isn't this injustice to all the monkeys who died while building the bridge for SriRama. (Here, look at Rama as not an avatar, just as a contemporary human being with divine qualities - as per Rajaji's Ramayana).

Now come to Dwapara yuga when the godhead SriKrishna walked the length and breath of Mahabarata. SriKrishna is the friend, philosopher, guide and brother-like to Draupadi. Her mistake was to have laughed mockingly at a king when he slipped over water. Few friends of Draupadi were the only witness who would have at the most giggled. No harm to Duryodana. He could have simply laughed at it himself with others and proceeded sportively. The punishment Draupadi got was the most dignity-shattering shame for any woman in front of the most elite group of men !! Shouldn't Dhushasana's hand fallen off his body when his mind even thought of touching Draupadi? But SriKrishna didn't come to the rescue until the poor queen of queens gave up trying to protect herself and had to beg with both hands raised above her head.

It has never been fair in any world so far even when Purushottama himself walked what he talked. (again, no demeaning Him. The argument here is purely on whether there has been 100% justice all the time without waiting for it.) why do we ask for fairness and justice today in this Kali yuga. It has to be sought and fought with patience. I am not asking us to accept injustice and not fight against the bad, not asking to think negatively about life and dharma. Lets just recondition our minds and go forward without tiring off on set backs. All fair worlds exist only in our minds.

Sharing some songs

2008-10-29T13:30:00.003-04:00

Have uploaded some more carnatic songs (apart from what is hosted here) for listening at esnips website. The links are below. Especially, check out V.S.Narasimhan's carnatic songs set to violin in western quartet.

Bombay Jayashri:
http://www.esnips.com/web/aarthisbombayjayashri

RanjaniGayatri:
http://www.esnips.com/web/aarthisranjanigayatri

Others:
http://www.esnips.com/web/OtherCarnatic

Aruna Sairam strikes again

2008-10-25T13:43:00.008-04:00

Initially, I was captivated by Smt. Aruna Sairam after hearing her Ksetra-Srirangam album. (one reason is that Srirangam is my native and am raised in srivaishnavite culture). Not totally, because her chanting of pasurams in that album was quite intimidating to my ears. She should have sung the pasurams instead of chanting pasurams like that. Pasurams are never chanted like that. Chathumurai solrathu is different. Pasurams could be chanted in what is called a Sandhai. But not like Odhuvar style as Aruna has done in Ksetra-Srirangam album.

After listening to some other songs of hers in Youtube, esp her Vittala Vittala repetition in all her Abhangs, I lost some apetite for her music. I got the illusion that she attracts audiene by compromising standards.

But, when I listened to this, I got stunned and stumped. The pasuram followed by Kurai Ondrum Illai touched me very emotionally. I donno if anyone has experienced this before. You are visiting the Temple after many years and perumal is currently behind Thirai. You have been waiting for a long time for the Thirai to open. And suddenly Thirai opens and Deeparadhanai is shown for the Lord in all glory and glitter. Tears roll down without you knowing and your soul merges with the Supreme for few seconds. I got those feelings when Aruna started the Kurai Ondrum Illai. Such a beautiful pasuram of KulasekaraAzhwar, sang with every meaning realized and cherished by Aruna.

Pasuram:

AnAtha selvatthu arambaiyargaL thaRsoozha
vAnALum selvamum; maNNarasum yAn vENdEn |
thEnAr poonchOlai thiruvEngadatthu chunaiyil
meenAi piRakkum vidhiyudaiyOnAvEnE ||

Meaning:

KulasEkarAzhwar says " I do not want to be a king even if it is to rule this earth and the "vAn lOkam" [Devendra loka] where there is great wealth, and where there are beautiful damsels dancing around; I do not wish that; All that I want is to be born as a mere fish in the pond (PushkaraNi) in Thirupathi (as mentioned earlier, or a tree standing in front of Thirupathi or a big rock [or at least as a tall building.. to be in the vicinity of ThiruvEnkatamudaiyaan.

Pasuram:

sediyaaya valvinaikaL theerkkum thirumaalE
netiyaanE vEngatavaa nin_kOyi linvaasal
atiyaarum vaanavaru marampaiyarum kidanthiyangum
padiyaayk kidanthun pavaLavaay kaaNpEnE

Meaning:

The grave sins that have been committed over aeons (through many births), the paapams will all be crushed if one visits ThiruvEnkatam. vEm plus katam- that which burns sins.. Oh Lord of ThiruvEnkatam Sriya: Pathi Srinivasaa! The One who dissolves all sins! Oh the one who never ever forgets your assuaging assurance to Your Saranaagathars! [NediyaanE] Oh ThiruvEnkatavaa! At the entrance of your temple, let me lie down as the step at your entrance there for all your devotees to step their feet on me and enter into your sanctum sanctorum and let me enjoy Your bewitching smile from those most beautiful coral lips.

(referred to SriRangaSri yahoo group discussions for the pasurams and their meanings; the pasurams sung by KulasekaraAzhwar are compiled as "perumAL thirumozhi". In honor of Kulasekara Azhwar's Pasuram , " Padiyai Kidandhu Un Pavazha Vaai Kanbeney " , the Step leading to the Garbagriham in all temples is called Kulasekarapadi)

I am Aruna's ardent listener now.

Kadanakuthookalam cheered me like a schoolkid. If it were BITS auditorium, I would have seeti bhajakae shouted "once more", "awesome".

Kamboji, Sivaranjani leading to Kurai Ondrum Illai.........

Words fail when its Bombay Jayashri

2008-10-22T13:45:00.012-04:00

Manickkam Katti Lullaby
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Tears rolled down as I listened to this "Manickam Katti", totally giving in to my emotions shamelessly. My recent loss has to be cried over and over. I was too moved to control my tears. I needed to release my disappointment as tears, felt absolutely relieved after wiping them. No one can render a lullaby to this extent. How can whatever you felt be described. It can only be felt, allowing the emotions conveyed to be soaked in every nerve and vein. Divine tranquilizer and Goddess Jayashri !

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Tillana
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It is as if her guru Lalgudi Sir composed it only for her to sing it. What a guru! Cudn't write anything. Just listen to this one in Raga Yamankalyani, composed by Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman.

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Kannamma
-----------------
When I heard this new album 'Kannamma' of Bombay Jayashri, I could first think of only one thing. Why didn't I know of it earlier and googling on the album name, I found very little info. On the other hand, I also thought of the albums Madhirakshi and Maaya. As much as there is stuff and creativity into these two albums, there was also as much publicity for Madhirakshi and Maaya. The underlining commercialization is that Madhirakshi is the first album in which carnatic songs are rendered without percussion accompaniments but with a Piano and the whole package is given in an emotionally enriching style. Jayashri started offering folk songs and Bharatiyar songs long long ago, needless to mention her Vatsalyam, with the music self-composed and theme conceptualized by herself. There was no publicity: no videos made for Youtube nor any TV interviews. Of course, not needed for Bombay Jayashri. The comparison, as it goes here, sounds silly to myself when I read it again (blah)! Now, 'Kannamma' comes as a conversation between her deep soulful voice and Embar Kannan's violin. Relax, sit, hear and forget thee.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

2008-10-16T23:03:00.004-04:00

A dying man's diary of childhood dreams and how to live. Read it again with no negative connotations. I read the column on Wall Street Journal (paper edition, not online) by the journalist who attended Randy's last lecture at Carnegie Mellon and who had co-authored this book with Randy's narration. That made me curious to want to read the book. Randy sounded very similar to my personality, a person with a balance of optimism and realism, focused and slightly geeky! (Pardon me if I sounded presumptuous, that's not the idea) Hence I could give it a normal reading, not allowing the words and incidences to move me. Except at one point , I did feel this. Life after having lost my father in my early twenties is tough enough. Growing up without even a concept of Father is going to be miserable for Randy's one year old daughter. My sincere prayers for the family of Randy. Not the kind that cud take too much preachy stuff, few pieces of advice that I wud definitely carry from this book:
"People are more important than things", and how meticulously TIME needs to be managed, and how important it is to write Thank You notes by hand.
Really, a standing ovation to Randy from me too.

Its Ranjani Gayatri after MLV

2008-10-08T23:35:00.012-04:00

Been listening to all of RG's albums released thru Rajalakshmi Audio recently. I almost nagged a friend of mine who visited India to buy their albums especially. I am using my accident and disability leave time to listen to them day and night.

What can be said about this duo! On the first hearing, it made me drop things from my hand, stop from doing everything else, wide open my eyes towards my music system, and gape in awe. Their sweet honey dew melody and razor sharp synchronization were what struck me first. Then as I listened more and more, their care in planning the concert, their maintaining individual space and creativity during raga alapana and kalpanaswaras deserved notice and respect. How much ever synchronization is achieved in sangathis and mudivus, that much space is also present for each's display of vocal capabilities and imagination.

Ranjani's sounded to be a base voice with the right amount of tonal variations and Gayatri's slightly shriller with nasal accent at certian octaves. Naturally, my mind developed a tinge of MORE liking for Ranjani's voice than Gayatri's though I know I am not just in choosing between them. Can I not listen without judging.

Their choice of krithis requires remarkable applaud. Kelvippadatha keerthanaigal. Undoubtedly, excellent research work and practice behind the scenes. But, my Tamil comprehension is not so strong to appreciate the meaning of their viruttams. I am flabbergasted now and then.

Praises apart, there are few points that they could work towards improving. Gayatri does seem to dominate an iota when she starts the viruttam and most of the alapanas. Also, Ranjani takes the lower octaves and establishes the raga for main krithis while Gayatri thrives from and develops them further to higher octaves. Gayatri also ends up doing all the fireworks and mudivus. For a change, why don't they reverse the roles and try a concert.

I also noticed that they have not released any albums with Charsur. Releasing albums thru Charsur wud bring them more learned audience, enable their capabilities as musicians a little bit more since Charsur always defines the Theme behind their albums. Further, Charsur's albums always comes with a good write up on the songs and the authors/music composers. Rajalakshmi Audios didn't have too many write ups attached to their CDs though they have the lyrics online in their site. For example, TMKrishna's album on Ambujam Krishna thru Charsur had a wonderful write up on the composer while RG's album on Ambujam Krishna didn't have any, not even a picture of the great lady.

RG is definitely Empress of the carnatic music world and they know better. These are only my humble ramblings.

When I wrote the review for Sanjay Sub's concert, I have mentioned that his Sindhubairavi and Mohanam are the best of the season that I heard. Enna muhurtham? Why did I write that was the end of season? There was a concert of RG scheduled one week later and I was fully aware of that. I met with a car accident and Sanjay's turned out to be the last concert of the year for me. Misfortune at its peak for a vivid RG listener.

RG's blog: (with two posts from Gayatri so far)
http://ranjanigayatri.blogspot.com

Going back in time, the very first time I heard RG is their Rangapura Vihara in Youtube. Taken aback and mesmerized. Yaaruda eva endru viyandhae ponen. Also captivating was their saree combination !! I thought, concert mummurathula, they forgot and interchanged their blouses! ! My friends had to explain this naivete that that's the fashion in India. ;-))

This song is Sundareswaruni_KovurPancharatnam_Sankarabaranam.

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This one is KaalaiThookki_YadhukulaKamboji_Marimuthupillai

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Books of Sudha Murty

2008-10-06T23:21:00.004-04:00

Old man and his God & Wise and Otherwise:

Sudha Murty, who is Mrs. Narayana Murty, is also the Chairman of Infosys Foundation, the charity wing of the mega software firm. The two books she has authored are a collection of narrations from real life experiences of Sudhaji. She comes across a wide spectrum of people during her numerous field trips. Field work refers to the trips she makes to remote rural villages including tribal regions deep inside Karnataka forests when she ventures to make sure the Foundation's funds reach the right person for the right reason. Her contemplations and reflections observed during these and other day-to-day social activities in Bangalore has turned into two touching volumes of valuable reading. Few of her encounters and lessons learned were very elevating to the mundane mind. Thanks to Sudhaji for taking time to write her invaluable experiences in a simple and lucid style.

Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen

2008-10-06T23:06:00.005-04:00

Book Title: Argumentative Indian - Writings On Indian History, Culture and Identity by Professor Amartya Sen

I have heard and read a lot about Prof Amartya Sen but have not read any works of him. This book was on my must-read list for some years now after I had read a review in The Hindu. The idea of a book on Indian history and social topics from an Economics Nobel Laureate intrigued me. When I found the book in our public library, I wanted to read at least few pages ,just to know the author. The book is actually a compendium of essays. For more details, please read here.

One particular essay was more fulfilling read than others. This was the essay on 'Reason'. Every essay is rich not just with historical facts but the author's views and interpretations. I was simply humbled by how much he knew and how much time and effort he must have spent on learning about our country. My generation hardly does this. I felt a compulsion to study and derive lessons from our country's sacred texts like Upanishads. I am absolutely enthralled by Amartya Sen's words - "We cannot live without history, but we should not live within it". Now, I respect history and historians.

Books of Malcolm Gladwell

2008-10-06T22:41:00.004-04:00

I have read quite a few books in the last quarter of 2007 but could not manage to write about them. So, here is a quick and short overview or rather just my views.

Note: How do I choose the books that I read? I read reviews and also an excerpt of each book from popular websites like NDTV Books, NY Times and also from book sellers and library listings if time permits.

Freakonomics:

A light-hearted book from an economist and a journalist but with deep in-sights. This book was like Econ 101 for me, an electronics engineer. I started liking and appreciating economics and its effects on societal behavior (or is it the other way?). Crazily drawn discussion and analyzes from two enthusiastic guys. Informative and enlightening. Must read.

Blink-The power of thinking without thinking:

A much hyped and popular book. I read this because of the hype without reading any review or excerpt. Not a satisfying read for me. I tend to think differently when it comes to matters of Mind and how it works. So, I totally disagree with the author at many places. Don't appreciate all that Malcolm talks about here.

Further, this book sounded very much like Freakonomics but similar questions answered in this didn't convince me analytically/quantitatively/logically like Freakonomics did.

Tipping point -How little things can make a big difference:

I am able to recollect only my feelings and not exact point-wise observations now. I should have written about the content matter of the book as soon as I finished reading them. Job search has been keeping me busy (at the time I wrote this . It took me another half year to type these in the blog) and hence completion of a book itself takes months instead of weeks now. I wish I could describe the content of this one book at least elaborately.

I would rate this as one of the finest non-fiction, written lucidly by an American. Hats off to Malcolm. No wonder he deserves all the acclaim. Tipping Point was written before Blink but I happened to read Blink first. I am glad that my disappointment with Blink didn't stop me from reading Tipping Point. The underline words for the book reads "How small things make a big difference". I am a strong believer in these words, that small drops of water make a big ocean, and so picked up the book without much thought about the previous instance. The introduction, as always, bored me due its repetition or emphasis on the book's theme without disclosing the actual answers. Over a period of time, I have developed some sort of patience to read through drab and monotonous passages just to maintain continuity to those pages containing the creme of the book. Never judge a book i few pages. This is another lesson I had learnt by reading books in different topics.

Tipping Point is about what tips whatever becomes a hit. Malcolm classifies and describes people who influence events into three types: Connectors (people who are well connected and networked to others), Mavens (people who are very knowledgeable about many things like Electronic gadgets, Automobiles, Deals online) and Salesmen (people who sell ideas, trends and convince others to act on them). Simply put, this is a remarkable observation of people in daily lives. Malcolm also does not forget to describe other factors that influence fashions, trends, and notable social changes.

The book is a wonderful read, extremely well-written with good examples and conveys bold ideas. It definitely influences our view of the world.

More book views to continue in successive blogs.....

The Sanjay Stamp_Part 2

2008-09-07T10:26:00.012-04:00

First, here is a link to Sanjay's blogs and podcasts:

http://sanjaysub.blogspot.com

http://sanjaysub.libsyn.com/index.php?post_category=podcasts

With the 'Vande Mataram Enbom' for a second song, Sanjay (ji understood) took me by surprise. It was a good reminder of the recent August 15th. After all, the Indian embassy at DC was closed down for Indian Independence Day without even a flag hoisted proudly.

It took me 3 songs to actually start enjoying the concert. Even the Ritigowla didn't make any difference to me. Just another rendition with no bhavam.

But, when he elaborated Kamalamanohari, I understood the previous 3 songs were only jetlagged. I haven't heard an alapana for kamalamanohari before by anybody and the only song I knew in this raga is Kanchadalayadakshi. I have only heard it being sung as a thukada. The beautiful sancharas of Sanjay brought out the deep inner flavor of the raga -neraval at "raga sashivadanae"- unhindered by the obvious limitation for higher pitch in his husky voice. (I am the kind that expects all octaves, esp the highest note and the lowest note in all concerts. I feel the rendition incomplete without them. Never humble at my expectations, esp from proclaimed musicians like Sanjay!).

The Tamil songs interlaced with regular telugu/carnatic kritis showed his emphasis for including Tamil songs to kutcheris. His diction was clear and impressive but I don't think there was sufficient bhavam when he rendered "enathu manam kavalai enum". He must be a perennially happy man or a person of equanimity.

Then came Todi and it was mindblowing. Sanjay brought out the symmetry of Todi the way it is done with Nadaswaram - prolonged sancharas to soak every swara in you that refuses to leave you thereafter. I felt suddenly cold, taken and realized the horripilating effect of Todi. It took a long time to come out of the spell. The chittaswaram was remarkable with its underlined, bold faced 'Ga'. For the kalpanaswaras, he changed the nadai, stressing the "Pa Pa Da Pa", quite a challenge to both the accompanists. Masters sing Todi and Sanjay is truly a Master by his very choice of ragas for the evening and their rendition. I was totally lost in bliss and held lost after the Todi throughout the rest of the concert.

"oho kalame" in Sahana - WOW. That says it all.

RTP in Bahudari - he started the Bahudari just like the song "Brova baramma". It received an instant 'wah wah' from the crowd. I really wanted the song itself but was given more with the RTP. More as a student than as an audience, I understood that Bahudari cud be more technically detailed than what I have heard from others. I was very much engrossed in every phrase, unable to believe in what I was hearing.

Kamas has become one of my favorites in the recent days (after the "Mathey Malayathwaja" by Sudha Ragunathan in the movie Morning Ragas ) and "Kundrin meethu" was captivating.

What a Mohanam! With the 'Sruthva guna' slokam in Mohanam, I thought its going to be followed by "swagatham krishna". Swati Tirunaal's bhajan was simply mesmerizing. Sanjay created an air of Krishna, a mix of prema bhakti and sneha bhakti, and the everything the word 'mohan' wud mean.

Sindhubairavi - Sanjay started the "shenbagame shenbagame" tune. Ramarajan bhavanai-yil sonnal - 'oru pasu irundhaal paal karandhu viduvar pola irundhathu'. It was a unique version of Sindhubairavi. May be this is called Sanjay stamp. The crisp phrases made me sway. "Aarumo aaval" came as a surprise too. Mand gave a swift conclusion to the kutcheri mood leading to Madhyamavati.

The Sindhubairavi and the Mohanam kritis wud be the best to my ears and mind for this season. Cherished every thadarinana of the evening from the 'uncompromising in technicalities' Guru Sanjay, elevated and energized all the way to next season.

PS: didn't stay put to hear the vote of thanks from Shivakumar. Madhyamavati just made me too hungry, you see ;-))

Sanjay Subramaniam Vocal concert_Part 1

2008-09-06T22:57:00.004-04:00

Carnatic Vocal: Sanjay Subramaniam
Violin: Nagai Muralidharan
Mridangam: K.Arun Prakash
Date: Sept 05, 2008
Venue: SSVT, Maryland

Here's the list of songs sung:

1. Sami Ninne Kori, Sri raga Varnam
2. Vande Mataram Enbom , Sankarabaranam
3. Nannu vidachi, Ritigowla
4. Kanchadalayadakshi, Kamalamanohari
5. Enathu Manam kavalai enum erul soozhndal, Harikamboji, Papanasam Sivan
6. Gajavadana sammohita veera, Todi, Maharaja Kumara Ettendra(not heard of this name ?)
7. Oho Kalamae un pol evarkku undu indra jalamae, Sahana, Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai
8. Needhu mahima, Hamsanandi, Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bhagavatar
9. RTP Bahudari:
Pallavi: Kandhanadi Avar enakku sondhamadi Valli manaalanadi
10. Kundrin Meedhu Nindru Kanden, Kamas, Bharathidasan
11. slokam: sruthva guna .....song: Bansiwale Hey Man Moh, Mohanam, Swati Tirunaal
12. kanDu dhanyanAdenO Udipi Krishnana, Behag, Purandaradasar
13. Nijagadasa yadhu nandhanae, Sindubairavi, SriJayadeva
14. Arumo Aaval, Mand, T.K.Kalyanam (Karnatik.com says Kannan Iyengar? for author)
15. Mangalam, Madyamavati

Krishna's Kalyani - part 2

2008-05-11T00:53:00.002-04:00

Where do I start and how do I start? I have never been so emotional in a concert. The alapana of Kalyani pulled a drop of tear at the tara sthyai Ni. I could describe only the Kalyani and nothing else. But, are there words? Few weeks ago, I realized (during one of those thinking sessions - don't ask me details) that Language is one of the marvels of man's creative spirits. Nay. Language is a barrier. Music conveys more emotions that no language could. To describe this Kalyani, language fails me.

Krishna-vin Kalyani oru penn endral, atthnai amsangaludan sarithiram kandiratha perazhagi-yai eruppal.

Kallum karaiyum Kalyani

Krishna KalyaNee-yil sethukiya azhagae thaNee

Kalyani-yil oru oviyam
Adhuvae Krishnavin Kaviyam

Krishna(ji) is truly a musician with immense training in researched voice modulation techniques. The way he sang the usually-impossible lower octaves and very tough higher octaves are excellent examples of vocal chord training.

The restrained playing of the mridangist took the audience to a mesmerizing trance, esp during Nilambari. The Varali piece was as if Murugan was swinging on a jula. The trio on stage performed with enormous bhava. The mridangist knew when and how to give the effects for each song.

Initially, I didn't appreciate the need for the singer to wave his hands so much. But, few songs into the concert, I cud see that the musician is a sculptor, working his way into every fine nuances of the raga so diligently that he gave the audience a glimpse of how he is doing it! Ha Ha.

I had wanted to start early from work so that I cud reach the temple on time for the concert. The previous week's experience had scared me enough. We drove for 2 hours from Manassas to Lanham !!!! So, this time, we took alternate routes to avoid the I-495 clog traffic. Through out the concert, I immensely felt fortunate to have been on time. Its been a very long time since I felt this feeling running deep down my veins. Thank God.

Krishna's Kalyani - part 1

2008-05-10T23:50:00.006-04:00

Carnatic Vocal concert of Sri. T.M.Krishna
Violin: Sriramkumar
Mridangam: Arun Prakash
April 25, 2008 @ SSVT, Maryland

Song list:
1. Intha chalamu jesithae - Begada varnam
2. Kiravani, Varamulosaki, Roopakam, Patnam Subramaniya Iyer
3. Nilambari, Amba Nilayadakshi
4. Kapinarayani, Sarasa samadana
5. Main piece - Kalyani - Kamalambam Bhajare Manasa
6. Ahiri - Amba Maatladhara Maayamma
7. RTP - Sahana - Pallavi in Kanda jaathi Triputa talam:
Vadivelani Nidham Potruvom, Vaiyamellam Arul Purindhu Kaakkum
Ragamalika of the RTP: Amruthavarshini and Lalitha
- Lyrics as well as music composed by the Mridangist Arun Prakash
8. Varali - KaVaVa
9. Viruttam in Ragamalika - Karaharapriya, Sankarabranam, Kamboji, Bilahari, Chalanatai, Atana, Kapi
Lyrics of the viruttam was a verse that describes Navarasa starting with Sringaram ...(a piece from Ramayanam)
Viruttam followed by: Kapi - Janaki Ramana Dasaratha Nandana of Sri Vanamamalai Jeeyar
10. Yamankalyani - Krishna Nee Beganae
11. Kamas - Tillana
12. Mangalam - Bujaga sayeeno

Sensational Sikkil Gurucharan

2008-04-14T13:15:00.009-04:00

Vocal: Sikkil Gurucharan
Violin: Nagai Sriram
Mridangam: Skanda Subramaniam
April 12, 2008, SSVT, Maryland

Enthralling, exhilarating, etcetera, etcetera, .........well, exaggerating !!
Sonorous voice, humble rendition (borrowing this word from a friend), scholarly choice of krithis, especially Kosalam and Natabairavi, too good a violinist, captivating everyone. What a Padaantharam!

On the other hand, it took a few krithis for GC to rev up his confidence level. Could say this from one instance. Though he drove his Mohanam alapana towards Tara sthayi Ga, Ri , he could not push his attempts to strike those chords. So, he ended up in circumlocution for a while. The violinist deserves a special mention. Usually the violinist does not play the entire sequence the vocalist sings. But, Sriram is too smart to let the opportunity slip. He definitely stole the thunder. The concert was simply superb. Needn't and couldn't say more.

Here's the list of krithis:

1. Kanada - Ada thala varnam - Neranammithi
2. Mayamalavagowlai - Tulasi dalamula, Roopakam
3. Mohanam - Bhuvanathraya sammohanakara, composition of GNB
4. Ritigowla - Janani Ninnuvina, Misrachapu, composition of Subbaraya Shastri
5. Kosalam (71st Melakartha) - Ka guha shanmuga neeyae gathi, composition of Kotiswara Iyer
6. Natabairavi - Chethulara Sringaramu (Semmangudi style), this krithi is usually sung in Karaharapriya
7. Srutiranjani - Raghunatha Nannu, composition of Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar........sounded very much like Raghuvamsa sudha of Kadanakuthukalam...quite a catch
8. RTP - Saveri
Tanam in Kamas, Suddha Saveri and Malahari
Pallavi - "Krishna Balakrishna Gopalakrishna Guruvayur perumaanae
9. Yamankalyani - Bhavayami gopala balam
10. Viruttam - "Masaru thingal" followed by
Karnataka Devagandhari - Yappadi Paadinaro
11. Viruttam - "Adiyen Ullak kudisaiyil Aravamudhan Thondrinaan" followed by
Kapi - Enna thavan seidhanae
12. Sindhubairavi - Nenjukku neethiyum (Bharathiyar song popularized by MS)
13. Madhyamavati mangalam

Cleveland did it again

2008-04-10T15:17:00.006-04:00

A link for learning few krithis taught to the Cleveland Tyagaraja Aradhana performers:
http://www.aradhana.org/sampradaya/2008/Prahlada%20Bhakti%20Vijayam/index.htm

This is very resourceful of the organizing committee to host online and make them available to all learners for free. The lessons are precious especially because they are being taught by accomplished gurus like Smt. Suguna and Sri. P.S.Narayanaswamy.

Vocal concert of Sreevalsan Menon - part 1

2008-04-10T12:19:00.011-04:00

Vocal concert of Sri. Sreevalsan Menon
Violin - Sri. S.K.Narasimhamoorthy
Mridangam - Kumari. Rajna Swaminathan
March 29, 2008, SSVT, Maryland

First, here's the list of songs:

1. Todi Varnam - Eranapai, Adi Talam
2. Atana - Sri maha ganapathim bhaje hum, Adi
3. Jaganmohini - Dayapayo nidhae mampahi, composition of Sadasiva Brahmendrar
4. Kannadagowlai - Sogasujuda tharama, Roopakam
5. Mandari - Ninnujeppa karanamemi manasa
6. Hamirkalyani - Kangeyavasanadhara Padmanabha
7. Varali - Ka Va Va
8. Sankarabaranam - Akshaya linga vibho, Misrachapu
Neraval at "nayika sahitha...badari vanamoola"
9. Bairavi - RTP (45 minutes)
Pallavi - "Govindanadi Mukundanadi Enak(kku) Avar Sondhamadi"
Ragamalika - Behag, Hindolam, Sahana, Patiyar
10. Sankarabaranam - Karuna seivan endhu thamasam krishna,
-a composition on Guruvayoorappan
11. Desh Bhajan - Harinarayana Govinda
-a composition of his Guru Smt.Rajalakshmi Krishnan
12. Senjurutti - Sri Guruvayoopurae Vilaiyadum Paavana Kaivalya Moorthae
13. Nadhanamakriya - Appane Iyaapanae Malaiyappanae
(appeared to be a Manipravala Kirthanai in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil...not sure)
14. Madhyamavati - Bagyadalakshmi baramma
15. Madhyamavati Mangalam of Sri. Tyagaraja - starting at Prahlada Naradadhi (5th charanam).....

The musician's website is quite artistic, please check out http://www.sreevalsanmenon.com

To watch a video song clipping of Sreevalsan Menon, click here:
http://video.webindia123.com/music/albums/vismaya/index.htm
The song is set to Kamas with wonderful Kerala countryside background.

There is also an interview of Sreevalsan at this site:
http://video.webindia123.com/interviews/singers/sreevalsanjmenon/index.htm

The site also has TMKrishna's and Sanjay Sub's interviews. Also liked Dancers Mythili Prakash and Priyadarshini's interviews. Interesting what webindia123 has.

Vocal Concert of Sreevalsan Menon - part 2

2008-04-10T12:13:00.009-04:00

The concert was scheduled at 5pm but began only at 6pm. And it was 10:30 pm when I drove back home and had dinner. It would be very kind on the organizers if they could schedule the concert at 3pm. The organizers definitely have to work at the timings.

The mike system totally failed after the mike tests had been done and the artistes were about to begin. So, the concert was further delayed till the mikes were fixed. Though the screeching initially troubled the artistes and the audience, the mikes were set-to-go after few songs. Such incidences could not be predicted and the organizers have to be commended for their trouble-shooting skills and coordination. If not for them, many people from the front rows would have honestly got up and went to the back rows.

It could be because of the poor mikes and lack of feedback for the artiste that the first few songs didn't impress me. Todi varnam especially, flagged the Todi spirit. My mind, the monkey, wouldn't stop from going back to M.S's rendition of Todi varnam. It could also be that I have become very judgemental while listening to the performance. It becomes difficult to simply sit and let the music carry you while you have a pen and paper at hand taking notes. May be I should only jot down the list of songs from next time and focus purely on the music without judging and guessing. The critic shouldn't take upperhand over the rasika.

There was an overall smoothing effect in Srivalsan's rendition. At the end of the concert, Sri. Shivakumar observed that Srivalsan's rendition was full of bhava and songs were well paced for a balance. "Well-paced" would mean placing songs in class-room style (with less decorations) in between lengthy main pieces (that brings out the manodharma of the artiste). Fireworks in every song would be a big kill. But there is also another point that comes up. Not every song in the concert soaks into the audience. Its important for the performer to strike a balance and Srivalsan definitely achieved this.

While Atana was routine, Kannadagowlai and Varali sounded like fillers. Come Jaganmohini, once could feel the powerful and masculine voice of Srivalsan at all octaves. Obsolutely captivating voice, no pisuru at any time, flowing with ease without complex manipulations of brigas. Everyone was looking for Sobillu while he stumped us out with Dayapayo Nidhae. Excellent choice of krithis, more so, the choice of Tukkadas (discussed later).

Rajna's brilliance was very obvious during Mandari. I must say she set the tempo for the concert from this piece. The concert took a 'WOW' at Hamirkalyani. I enjoyed the alapana at higher octaves and also the krithi as it was new to me. Sri.Shivakumar later told that the prayogam of 'Ni' was notable and pedagogical in Hamirkalyani.

Akshayalinga Vibho, the main piece, and Bairavi RTP were remarkable. Lower octave is an area that Srivalsan could explore more (he didn't touch it totally). After the Tani avardhanam of Rajna for a challenging Misrachapu, Srivalsan stopped to praise her then and there. The brilliant Maryland 11th grader Rajna is "set to conquer the world" definitely. Amazed at how she tipped her index finger over thumb !!! The raga Patiyar at the trailing end of RTP ragamalika left everyone guessing. Later Srivalsan announced it was Patiyar after concert. It was very resouceful of Sri. Shivakumar to ask him. His vote of thanks was very apt and descriptive of the performance.

Tukkada songs need special mention. I was mesmerized during the Desh bhajan and the songs on guruvayoorappan and Iyappan. Srivalsan also introduced the authors of the two songs who were present there among the audience.

Except for the beginning, the concert was overall very enjoyable. Left the hall happy. That's all matters ultimately.

Something to take home: few CDs of the artiste were available for sale outside the hall. I asked for the price and heard $10 each. I turned the CD around and it was MRP Rs.100.

Carnatic vocal concert of Salem Sriram

2008-02-10T00:20:00.000-05:00

Carnatic Vocal Concert by Salem Sriram
Feb 3, 2008, Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland

This is not a review of the concert as I am not an expert or knowledgeable enough to write about Carnatic music. With an ear for appreciation, I am sharing my feelings and observations about the concert.

Sri. Salem Sriram's concert marked the finale of two weekend celebrations of Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana at Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland conducted by Sri. Raju Soundararajan and his team of volunteers. Super bowl sunday took a toll on the strength of the audience but whoever stayed back represented a knowledgable core. Wrong choice of concert day for an amazing performer.

I have not heard of Salem Sriram before and attended the concert only because I had nothing else to do and there is a carnatic concert happening nearby. I was very skeptical because the previous day's concert of Smt. Kiranavali was unsatisfying. But, during the mike test, Sriram sang few lines of 'Nadhopasana' and that was enough to lift my spirits thousand folds. I was very excited by the sheer voice and was bowled over. A majestic voice with minimum nasal accent at higher pitch. At higher pitch, he sounded very much like Sri. TNSeshagopalan.

A student of Sri. Calcutta Krishnamoorthy, Sriram is based out of Tennessee now. He gave a stunning start with Saranga and maintained the tempo till the Madhyamavati mangalam. The list of songs rendered, in the same order, are:

1. Saranga, (forgot the song), Adi
2. Reetigowla, Dvaitamu Sukama Advaitamu Sukama, Adi
3. Kamas, Srujana Jeevana, Rupakam
4. Subhapantuvarali, Ennalu Unnagae, Misrachapu
5. Bilahari, Dorakuna Ituvanti, Adi - main piece with Tani avartanam
6. RTP in Gowrimanohari...Un Darisanam Kidaikumo Nataraja - Dayanidhae (Pallavi in Misrachapu)
7. Nilambari, Uyyalaloogavayya, Kandachapu
8. Kapi, Jagadho Dharana, Adi
9. Madhyamavati, Sapthaprakara Madhyae and Ninama Roopamulagu Mangalam

No prayogams were redundant in his singing. Every nuance and essence of each raga was brought out beautifully and confidently like an unhindered river. He was literally a sculptor, deligently working on each raga and unfolded each Kriti with prisitne beauty.

The RTP in Gowrimanohari deserves special mention. These days, RTP has become a means for just talent display with a ragamalika trailing the Pallavi almost certainly taken-for. Sriram stuck to Gowrimanohari. I especially liked it for its conservative(or traditional) simplicity.

Another observation is his limited (very minimum) gimmicks. I tend to get distracted by the actions of singers sometimes. His way of rendition helped me to focus more on the ragas.

The tani avardhanam of Sri. Jayanth on Mridangam and Sri. Vijay Ganesh on Kanjira were remarkable with their splendid theermanams. I am usually impatient with the tani but this time I listened keenly thanks to the lec-dem of Sri. Shivakumar the day before. He asked rasikas to observe the tanis and develop an appreciation for them. I did and loved it. Not very impressed with Sri. KVS Vinay on violin though. His violin sounded too often out of tune.

The next time I hear the name of Salem Sriram in performance, I am definitely game. I request other rasikas to listen to his music too.

'about Her' by Anita Ratnam

2007-11-14T17:44:00.001-05:00

Event: Dance Performance "about Her"
Artiste: Dancer Anita Ratnam
Venue: Lincoln Theater, Washington, DC
Date: Oct 27, 2007 7:30pm
Hosted by: Dakshina Dance Company

It has been a long desire to see the performance of dancer Smt. Anita Ratnam in person. Have been tracking her schedule quite sincerely from the time I first heard about the artiste. My first acquaintance with her was her rave reviews in The Hindu Friday Review when I was in Pilani. I was very keen on hosting a dance show in Pilani through Spicmacay and contacted Smt.Anita by email while she was in Delhi, conducting a dance movement workshop for The Hindu Youngworld. We were out of funds that semester and the opportunity slipped out. Then, I read her interview with The Times Sunday Magazine while I was in Mathura, UP, India. My reverence for Anita grew leaps and bounds. I got more interested in meeting her and have a chat with her about the various art forms she is trying. At that time, she had not come up with the term 'Neobharatham' though the idea might have been floating. The dancers directory Narthaki and Arangham Trust showed that this artiste is truly a person who can elegantly transform her ideas into action. I keep visiting Anita's page, mainly to dote on the colorful and authentic costumes, and to learn about her latest productions.

Marked my calendars to visit NYC to see her "7 Graces" but again I couldn't make it. Hadn't wanted to miss 'Her', though the theme didn't fancy me. For details on the theme of 'Her', please visit her web page (I lost the pamphlet distributed in the concert hall). Anita portrayed Andal, Meera and Tara, a Goddess of Buddhist myth, on a three-act solo performance for recorded music score.

"Karpooram Naarumo" pasurams of Andal or Godha (Kodhai) was the only act I could relate to and appreciate more than Meera and Tara. The stage lighting was tranquilizing for this piece. Thirunamam with Sangu and Chakkaram in white on a sea-bluish background brought the desired authenticity of a parkadal to the pasurams. Anita used a small ottoman and performed the piece sitting, one full of facial and hand expressions than foot taps. She also had a commendable voice while she sang in between the recorded score. Meera was quite vague and Tara totally incomprehensible to me. I wish I had a chance to talk to her after the show, but the concert hall was closed soon after the performance.

Indeed, the dance themes portrayed by Anita are little complex to the simpleton me and I hope the same for many. The concept of neobharatam is not being received positively amidst all dancers, esp those of traditional Vazhuvoor, Pandanallur and Dandapani Pillai schools. Some also say she has only too much PR. Here is an artiste who is trying to infuse different dance and body movement forms into bharatanatyam. It is an honest try and I am giving my support to her and any artiste who tries new pastures. It need not necessarily be immediately welcome. It is time that makes new ventures of yesterday our customs and traditions of today. Anita dares to try. Why - she takes a step further and bring it to international stage. With a determination to learn at least an appreciation for all art forms, I am developing an interest to know them genuinely, be it from any country or origin. And the efforts of Anita, an artiste from our home land, need appreciation more than the European orchestra that played symphony for Illayaraja's Thiruvasagam. Didn't we all praise Illayaraja himself for trying Thiruvasagam in symphony?

Why should I close my mind and live in a narrow world when I can open them and annex the world beyond?

I had wanted to see the performances of dancers Shobana, Anita Ratnam and Priyadarshini Govind in person.The DVDs of these 3 dancers that I bought had only stoked the smoke more. I had the fortune of seeing the first two as soon as I moved to Virginia. I had narrowly missed Priyadarshini at Scottsdale, AZ in 2006 and Maryland in early 2007. My tapas continues for the third......

Soorasamharam Harikatha of Sri.T.N.Seshagopalan

2007-11-14T14:47:00.003-05:00

Event: Soorasamharam Harikatha
Artiste: Sri.T.N.Seshagopalan
Venue: Sri Siva Vishnu Temple, Maryland
Date: Nov 11, 2007, 3pm

Someone had told me that the maestro's voice is fading these days and that's why he is performing harikathas instead of kutcheris. I thought this could be the last opportunity for me to listen to my most favorite artiste, for the venue is close and I have time to attend too. I was very angry at myself when I got stuck in the Walmart queue. I didn't know whether to go or not. Jay somehow convinced and took me to the temple. We reached there at 3:30pm while the concert was scheduled for 3pm. We went straight to the sannidhanam instead of the auditorium and I had decided that there is no point going so late, having to pay $15. Jay went downstairs and forced me to go down with him to auditorium. The concert hadn't begun yet!!!! There was the artiste standing in the stage in his harikatha costumes and someone expressing apologies for the delay over the mike!!!!! I quickly bought the ticket and entered the hall, not knowing how enough to thank Jay.

Then came the bliss....the golden voice sprouting ragas majestically one after the other. I was totally mesmerized like others and allowed him to take us all into a trance. The artiste was standing at the center below the raised dais while the mridangist and the violinist were to either of his sides. TNS was wearing a beautiful red and green அங்கவஸ்திரம் with a silk golden jari around his neck, and a similar one around his waist, wearing his Thirunamam in full and a while garland. He was radiating in tejas and would be the Lord Venkatesha himself if not for the சப்லகட்டை. It was a while before I came out of the trance as he passed a little bit to give the intro speech of the harikatha. Kedara Gowlai seemed to dominate, while every instance of Kalyani, Sankarabaranam, Bairavi, Ananda Bairavi, Kedaram, Subhapantuvarali, Todi kept flowing and merging like the auspicious Ganges rushing down the Himalayas. " When one pint of the tonic is sufficient to cure the diseased, why need a bottle of it?" . This is TNS style, only the very essence of ragas be presented as an undiluted elixir.

While the artiste is truly a grand master of raga nuances, he was stuck for words all the time during the katha. Abrupt stops! He later explained that this is the first time he is presenting a katha on Lord Muruga while his past experiences are all in Rama and Krishna Katha. No wonder he actually narrated Ramayana and Mahabharata to strike an analogy with Kandhapuranam through out. After 2 hours of Rama and Tyagaraja, he seemed to get in track suddenly and sang plenty of Thirupugaz. I could not stay till the end of the program as it started dragging. He told himself he does not know what to say and what to omit and simply didn't know how to conclude, even after looking at his watch many times.

He compensated his lack of coherence with the harikatha by infusing humorous narrations of day-to-day activities and intentional pun on verses of Andal Thiruppavai. Most unforgettable ones were "Ninna kathai, Utkandha Kutcheri" and "Ongi Ulagalandha Utthaman Bare Body"!!! Some of them were desperate humor though.

All the way, I enjoyed the music and the jokes for those treasured two hours. No misgivings.

To summarize with sarcasm: கதை சொன்னார் என்பதை விட கதை அடித்தார் என்பதே பொருந்தும்.

Maya Ravan by Shobhana

2007-10-07T11:12:00.000-04:00

Maya Ravan - an english dance ballet by bharatanatyam exponent Padmashree Shobhana

the second dance performance that i am attending in US in as many as 3 years. i was excited and enthued - it has been 6 long years since we had wanted Shobhana and party in Pilani. came to know of the concert just one day earlier and hurried to book my ticket. the tickets were sold out very soon. northern virginia community college at fairfax hosted the show to a packed hall. now to the ballet......

the ballet is a narration in english, conceptualized and choreographed by Shobana and music scored by the carnatic violin virtuoso brothers Ganesh-Kumaresh. the music is remarkably world class with a brilliant sound engineering behind the recording. most of the situational music and the alapanas are in violin. the first anjali piece was choreographed for the Nattai tune of "Dance Like A Man", a short movie starring Shobana for which Gan-Kum has set the music again.

the solo piece "maanendra sita...." (something like that....could not figure out the words clearly with my poor tamil knowledge) sung by Ganesh in Raga Kambodhi is the crown jewel of the entire music score, i would say. the piece is sung by Ravana to seduce Sita in asoka vanam. i was so moved that i fell in love with the romantic characterization of Ravana for a moment... the theme of this dance ballet being the narration of Ramayana from Ravana's point of view. Shobhana splendidly brought out the personality traits of Ravana with great aesthetic sense. how many of us remember or even know that Ravana is a scholar, artiste and a fine Veena player. he is even supposed to have introduced the raga Harikambodhi !!

Naseeruddin Shah's voice for Ravana strikes the deepest emotional chord in any one's heart. the final dialogue between Ravana and his queen Mandodari at the battlefield was touching.

there is also some amount of bollywood score in the ballet - notable one being "chinnamma chilakamma" from the movie "Meenaxi" ...the rakshasis are playing around Sita in asoka vanam, trying to get her ready for Ravana's visit. Ravana casually dancing and romancing around Sita is catchy. Shobhana is really bold to try this stuff on stage, what with her sun glasses and designer-wear costumes !!!!

the ballet starts with an anjali, an india collage and then the ramayana from Ravana's view. as much as the Ramayana part of the ballet was astounding and spell-binding, i felt the india collage was as much bleak and disintegrated. Shobhana was indeed trying to convey too much in too little a time. trying to show everything from a village motor cycle to cricket playing and ending with Rehman's Vandemataram, i am not very impressed with this part. it does not mix well in the ballet dedicated to Ravana. Shobhana could have done without it.

the artiste is very resourceful in showing the parts of the ballet that were actually performed and videoed in Chennai with her full troupe, using a projector and screen. she is touring US with a limited members of her team. the building of Setu across the sea to Lanka had beautiful formations, monkey pranks and striking war cry (the chennai team on screen). initially i felt the stage settings could have been better but when she showed the video, it was simply fantastic.

during a short break, the artiste paid a video tribute to her late aunt Smt.Padmini, yesteryear's tamil cinema queen and dancer par excellence who passed away in 2006. i was disappointed that the clippings didn't have Thillana Mohanambal, the famous "maraindhirundhu paarkum" still !!!!!

more and more praises could be sung for the ballet, the costume designer, Ganesh-Kumaresh, and all the artistes in the team. plenty more praises for Padmashree Shobhana. the romance of Ravana still lingers in my heart.........

Tagore and Gandhi

2007-08-28T23:28:00.000-04:00

I could not understand why historians have to compare Tagore and Gandhi. When I first read Gandhiji's works and literature on Gandhi, I instantly admired him and became a keen observer of some of his principles like ahimsa and simplicity. When I started reading Tagore's works, I instantly fell in love with him !!!! I was prompted to consume volumes of literature about Tagore. I had this compulsion to know every aspect of Tagore. I tried to read every piece of work and words that were ever told and written about him. He appeared to be the ideal person who was all that vedanta could convey. Indeed, I was stunned that he was the first person to be of that characteristics to have gained a place in both international arena and common man's hearts (apart from personalities who were branded as proper Saints like Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, etc).

Gandhi was a great political leader, helping the masses decide what is good for the country as a whole and how those objectives could be achieved. Tagore, on the other hand, is one of the greatest poets, intellectual and independent thinker. He always attacked the individual. I could not appreciate why a comparison has to be struck between these two personalities. Works of two mathematicians or physicists could be compared but that's not the case here. It makes an awkward read and irks me since plenty of literature is devoted to it. The only reason I could conceive is that they both were in the same time period, deeply involved with the freedom struggle and influenced people.

To me, this comparison need not arise at all. Yes, they did share different views about nationalism ( read patriotism), cultural boundaries, social policies for the upliftment of the society, etc. there are always different view points to any issue and this does not necessarily give rise to a "compare and contrast" of personalities.

Gandhiji and Tagore were great in their own might. We really cannot compare two personalities in different walks of life - leadership in politics versus pen(pen alone will be demeaning of Tagore's versatility). Why not leave it at that. Or is that what is required of historians.

Next by Michael Crichton - A Review

2007-08-18T23:55:00.000-04:00

a quite exhausting read on how geneticists and biotechnology companies function both in the past and present. exhausting because of too many characters and incidences (or it could be that i have lost the taste and patience to read fiction anymore).

'Next' is an eye opener to the non-biology herd. Crichton has painted a picture of the real life events...how biotech companies steal data, report results that are totally made up and what goes behind the screen in the case of banned research. till now, i was not even aware that genes could be patented!!! it came as a shock to me. how can this be true??? totally unreasonable and absurd. imagine Newton patenting Gravity or Einstein patenting Time and Space !!!!! gene, that forms the fundamental constituent of every life form has been patented and still being patented by companies that discover an attribute of a gene(something like this). hence, no research could be carried out by anyone else on that gene without paying heavy royalties, thus blocking a cure for some cancer, etc !!!! chilling to think what NEXT.

another shocking illustration was the usage of our human tissues, blood samples and other such stuff by clinics, hospitals and research foundations. we don't know entirely what we are signing up for in those bunch of consent papers every time a blood sample is taken from us in a clinic. even if we manage to read the pile, we still won't know how it can be twisted and turned by lawyers and allow the clinic to do whatever they are bent to do with our samples.

ultimately, tax payers are exploited and cheated with the Govt hand in glove with the research institutions, universities, companies and hospitals.

the initial few pages of the novel had an absolutely anti-science build-up. it surprised me since it comes from the Harvard guy Crichton. but, after reading, I realized it was after all realistic.

Crichton indeed conveys what he wants to clearly but with much digression. I had to push myself hard to complete the novel though. Author's note at the end of the novel conveys everything Crichton had tried to articulate in those 400 pages. for those who want to read the novel, first go through the crispier Author's note and then decide.

When God appeared

2007-05-31T23:07:00.000-04:00

a frustrated man in anger: Oh God!

God appeared: Yes Son!

Man: (puzzled and looking around)

God: Why did you call me?

Man: (bewildered and not knowing whom he is talking to) I didn't call you. Who are you?

God: You said " Oh God" and I had come for you.

Man: Oh! So, you are GOD ??!!

God: Yes Son. What did you call me for?

Man: I am frustrated in my current position. Nothing is going smoothly as per plans. I am in too much of a bottleneck everywhere. I need solutions.

God: Son, Gods don't appear to grant wishes. When I created you, I created you with infinite possibilities. All you need is to look inside you. Explore your deep depths, tune in and listen silently to the serene inner voice I gave you. When you understand the problem thoroughly, the solution will become visible to you by itself. You don't need me. I never created any problem for you. The next time you call, it must be to thank me for having created you with infinite possibilities. Hope to appear again, very soon.

IIM, A churning machine

2007-01-19T14:11:00.000-05:00

as i was browsing thru some management related stuff, i stumbled upon the blog of one Anand Sritharan. his profile was quite interesting. he is an IITian, finished his Masters in EE from UCLA, worked with Intel as a Design Engineer in Santa Clara for a while but went back to India to crack CAT and is now with McKinsey after his IIMA stint. for sometime, i was pondering on what could have made him go back and take CAT. IIM craze of course, i decided.

over a period of time, i have started to feel that all our IIMs and other management institutes in India have become a churning machine of salesmen and marketing personnel. they are producing graduates who take delight in their trained taste for management and are convinced somehow that they have made the most rational decision by getting into management well early in their lives.

this is a serious thought to me at this stage of my career and also purely from my not-so-well-informed point of view: do i want to sell my country to MNCs and yet made to feel that i am actually selling fancy stuff to my people, a deceitful convincing that i am improving their lifestyle? i am not undermining the developments that have swept our country and the incredible job done by NGOs and NPOs to rural India. on the other hand, we need to look at the statistics of how many engineers we have lost. India needs good engineers in more numbers. after all, software and FMCG alone cannot sustain a country's overall development. engineers build nations and it has to be emphasized in our govt policy and regulations. some portion of our govt's and ultimately the tax payers' money goes towards funding technical institutes like IITs and IISC. when the engineering students blindly jump into management and sell soaps, it is little disheartening to see it as a waste of another engineer point of view, though their aptitude will anyway be put to use in some chosen field.

i donno why this cynicism has crept into me. where do i base this? recently, i happened to speak to some friends who finished their grad from IIMs. they are not happy now with what they do (they are with FMCG MNCs and take home a bundle) but said they were happier in their previous jobs as engineers and software professionals. initially, it felt good to hear this!!!!!after all, its a sour grape for me.

my concerns are established deep in me for quite long that i need some sort of answers now. i am at crossroads and need help finding direction. i donno who would be the right person to ask. mails to anand sritharan has proved futile though.

it could just be a yearning to be home where things are happening. grass is always greener on the other side.

Bachelor of Arts

2006-12-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

The Bachelor of Arts by R.K.Narayan
------------------------------------------------------

i have been wanting to read this book from my school days but somehow or the other never had a chance to get a hold on this very first book of R.K.Narayan. There is a place called Book Chowk (both in Trichy and Coimbatore) where they sell and buy all sorts of used books. Chowk is any narrow laned street full of roadside book vendors in the heart of the City.you will get anything from IAS preparatory materials of Brilliant Tutorials to last month's ananda vikatan. It will be a surprise to any first time visitors that people who have not even gone to school for namesake surround themselves with books of all sizes and shapes, pounce and grab customers to have a look at what they have got to sell. more surprisingly the sellers also have some kinda knowledge about what they dusted just yesterday. these self taught small scale business men are such skilled master sellers that only strategic haggling can fetch you the books you want at the price you want. if one seller does not have or not able to find quickly what topic or title you asked for, he will immediately run across the street to other sellers to see if they could find it right in front of their eyes. habitual visits to chowk will get you some familiarization with these sellers. this will come very handy as some sellers make a note of any book that they could not find for you right away but will search for it over a week and get it ready when you make the next visit. not that they develop any form of respect for you as an ardent book lover or voracious reader...they know too very well that one day whatever book you buy there will return to the same place or to some other chowk in some other city. they take very good care of the books indeed...to prevent the books from getting drenched in case of a sudden rain, they always keep the big polythene sheet ready to cover or simply sell under a water proof roof of polythene sheet. luckily to the sellers, it never rains without enough prior notice in both Trichy and Coimbatore as far as i know. in short, to strike an analogy, Chowk is the pondy bazaar specialized in books. it is still a wonder to me as to why would anyone do this as a business??how much profit will one see in selling used books??quite a lot if one person is the owner of the entire chowk and lets small men handle one small shop in it on lease or for some charge based on commission and how much one sells. the system might work typically like the auto rickshaws...the auto driver does not necessarily own the auto...he takes it on lease on a daily or monthly basis from a owner who owns many autos and makes big money. more than the money, what is attractive to think is that this one person controls what the city reads and knows their minds. looks like he is playing lordess saraswati!!!!

coming back to my story, during all those frequent visits to chowk i have never managed to get Bachelor of Arts though i used to look around for it. i started reading as a habit mainly after the inspiration of Chowks. i used to think if there are any budding mahans there who sell books in the day time and read them at nights....sitting amongst books, on a stack of books, smelling books, in the dim rays of poorly lit streetlights, after the city had fallen asleep....wow. my very first book of R.K.Narayan was also from Coimbatore's Chowk - the Guide. after that, i started my hunt for RKN's works and managed to find Mr.Sampath, Swami and Friends, Malgudi Days, Waiting for the Mahatma and collection of some short stories. i also bought The English Teacher and The Financial Expert but didn't have time to read them amidst my board exams.

after many years, it was pure serendipity ...i just found Bach of Arts lying on the dining table one fine morning. My roommate's friend had left it there the previous night. i didn't even care to ask for permission...just grabbed it on my way to work and later called her to say that i have taken it and will return it only after reading it!!!!!

what a read!!!!the book made me feel in every nerve and bone that reading is absolute relaxing. a simple story told masterfully simply. no hurry-burry , fussy-messy plot or thriller or suspense...pure indian village tale told as it is. subtle humor and sarcasm artfully aesthetic and authentic. RKN just kicked my imaginary horse and galloped the narration to Godspeed. after reading plenty of American authors in English, it was a welcome home ceremony to read RKN. my toast to the brilliant story teller.

The Soul Of a New Machine

2006-12-11T00:50:00.000-05:00

a Pulitzer prize winning book (1985) by Tracy Kidder on how a small company and a small team made it big in building computers..............

some notes scribbled down hurriedly while reading the book.......

"Mushroom theory of management" ??
Put them in the dark, feed them shit and watch them grow !!!

not everything worth doing is worth doing well...meaning...if you can do a quick-and-dirty job, and it works, do it.

in computer making industry, there is no such thing as a perfect design. this lesson is the first step in learning how to get the machines out the door. an engineer should know when to stop
striving for perfection.

about engineers in page 146:
engineers do have a professional code;among its tenets is the general idea that the engineer's right environment is a highly structured one, in which only right and wrong answers exist. its a binary world; the computer might be its paradigm. and many engineers aspire to be binary people within it. no wonder. the prospect is alluring. it doesn't matter if you are ugly or graceless or even half crazy; if you produce right results in this world, your colleagues must accept you. it's an exciting environment to contemplate; you can change the way people think if you can provide the right reason, and you can predict the way in which others may change you. since there are only right or wrong answers to questions, technical disputes among engineers must always have resolutions. it follows that no enmity should proceed from a dispute among engineers.

ooh, that was well said. kidder's excellence in writing is remarkably obvious from these words. it couldn't have been written any better. one observes these things around them at workplace daily but its tough to write them down with correct words, more so when it is about a technical or engineering environment. very few have the talent with words to express any idea or thought. kidder surely has one.

why an engineer happened to like the heroin of a particular movie?
"she is romantic, foolish, unrealistic- everything an engineer's not supposed to be".
boy, that makes me rethink my choice of this profession!!!!

State of Affairs

2006-11-19T19:00:00.000-05:00

as i opened the online technology news websites, invariably every site is talking about the sony and nintendo game consoles. some sites also have news about myspace being sued by universal music for encouraging users to share their copyrighted mp3 files. is this all there to technology?
what are we doing to the society in terms of technology? music, video and games? is that all?

when there are more pressing issues like resolving the situation in iraq and afghanistan, curing autism, making life better for the poor and unhealthy, do the technology gurus talk about mp3s, mpeg4s and wii? don't they have that small piece of flesh called heart?

think of a war torn iraqi teenager, an innocent human who have lost every member of his family to the brutal exchange of bullets and has no roof on his head, no place to go, nothing to eat. it is tough to swallow a morsel of food if you think of his spate. how do these technocrats spend all the money and efforts on luxurious things like a game console? i am tired of this paradoxical society. it is a pathetic state of affairs.

can't we be genuinely honest with what we do and help the needy? isn't there an inner voice of conscience to those in technology arena?

Heard over the Cube -2

2006-11-11T18:12:00.000-05:00

Cell phone rings in vibrate mode in my neighbor's cube.

neighbor: hey, what is it? i told you i am busy and asked you to call me at night after 9! what is it now?

voice on the phone: --

neighbor: but you said your registration last day is tomorrow. haven't you registered for courses yet? did you talk to your professor or advisor?

voice on the phone: --

neighbor: you said you wanted to take 2 courses. why don't you go over the course handout, ask your professor and just register for any 2 courses. this is pretty simple, right, not a big task. just pick up any 2 courses from your department.

voice on the phone: --

neighbor: oh, what is your professor saying? why can't you register for courses? You still have time?? (not waiting for a reply) see, i am in the middle of something here. cannot talk to you right now. you cannot be disturbing me like this. call me at night. u got it? ok?

the phone conversation ends. neighbor's voice was raised high and sounded stern through out the conversation. I invariably assumed the Manager sitting in the cube next to me is talking to his intern or a new recruit who is still at school. i quickly thanked Ron in my heart.

neighbor (to his other neighbor, going upto his cube): that was my son. his school reopened for Fall. he is 21 and still cannot decide on what courses to take.

other neighbor: oh, what is he studying?

neighbor: well, he is studying mechanical engineering at UMass, Amherst.

other neighbor: he is freshman, junior, or?

neighbor: oh, he is in his senior year. he is 22 and has not picked up any job so far. he still comes back to us when the college is off and stays home. he wants to study further. when i was his age, i had shifted 2 jobs. it has taken me so much hard work to get here. and these kids just dont realize anything. they want to be spoonfed. i feel he should pick up a job and work his way up.

other neighbor: yeah. i never got any allowance when i was a kid, it used to be.........

the busy chat went on. i quietly thanked my father now.

Heard over the Cube -1

2006-11-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

Phone rings in my neighbor's cube.

Neighbor: hi, Mark here!

Voice on the phone:hi honey, this is me.

Neighbour: hey, waz up?

Voice on the phone: one of my friends is having a card game at her house tonight. i was planning to go and have some time out there. i was wondering when you can get back from work today. i wud be finished preparing dinner and feeding Daisy. you can feed the 2 boys and keep an eye on them ??say the party is at Charlotte's house at 6??

Neighbour: Mm, let me see. i still have something to finish before winding up. say, i leave here at 6 so i can be home at around 6:30? i will feed the boys, don't worry. when will you be back ?

Voice on the phone: oh, i should be back by 9. that's so sweet of you dear. hope the boys dont trouble you much. you might want to put them to sleep if they get too troublesome.

Neighbour: Mmmm, now you are asking for more. See, what a nice husband you have got. you are gonna be happy for that. Be back on time, honey. Ok. babye.

Hanging up the phone,

Neighbour: babysitting on a friday evening!! and she wants to go to her friend's place and play game!! and i let her go from the kindness of my heart... my boys are going to destroy me. Put them to sleep, eh! Aah man, these wives are trouble.

MYcrosoft

2006-11-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

whoever is reading my blog might form a notion that i am too sarcastic and cynical for silly things. i need to agree because i care about small things that matter. man's most powerful resource is his imagination. for once, creativity is every man's cup of tea, not just the creame de le' creame or the born-with-a-golden-touch guys . everyone is born with it and it is totally upto him to nourish it. our societal set-up and family environment, on the other hand, are content with mediocrity. the spirit for imaginative and original work gets killed by the time one grows up. they end up earning for a living and does not give any thought to the type of work they would love to do. passion takes a backseat. creativity is buried deep in the graveyard of monotonous and sterotypical work place.

i was compelled to think seriously about this when Ron raised this topic over lunch. he had seen a car whose nameplate read "MYPRIUS". someone takes time and effort to go to the DMV and get a personalized nameplate. is "myprius" all that he can come up with? is that all to naming a car?

i thought to myself - he must be a typical IT guy who blames Microsoft if he cannot fix some Windows problem and hails Microsoft if he finds a solution in its help manual. (an ATYPICAL IT person is one who is capable of FIXING Windows and Microsoft office suite errors QUICKLY. well, i am giving undue credits)

looking at the other side of the coin, the software giant Microsoft became a monopoly once with its powerful ideas and speed of execution. but quite dissappointingly, couldnot they have come up with better names for folders?? whatever documents sitting in my PC will be my documents obviously. say, why not call them documents? Bill Gates must be compensating for his mistake of not naming his brainchild company MYcrosoft or MYCompany by giving names like 'MyMusic', 'MyPictures', 'MyEbooks', etc to the folders. wait, did Gates name his kid MYChild ?!

Ron went on to mention another instance when he saw a car's nameplate that read "HisPorsche". the pun indented here is quite interesting - the lady driving the Prosche meant that the car belongs to her ex. a dentist's car would read "Tooth Fairy", a psychiatrist car would read "HedDoc".

all of us use Microsoft tools as a part of our jobs but that is no reason why we should be obsessed with the 'MYSomething' stuff. to be honest, i did not know what to name my blog when i was leaning about blogging. i was working through the tools and out of sheer dumb stupidity, i named it 'mydocuments'. surprisingly there was someone more stupid than me. the name was already taken. i felt the 'MYAnything' mania killing my creativity long ago. i didn't take it seriously until Ron rang the warning bell.

its a clarion call to be aware of our most powerful gift - the gift of imagination. the best gift we can give back to our creator in return for his gift of imagination would be to give his gift a new life everyday. let us make a conscious effort towards this.

An After-Thought: i do not intend to blame Microsoft for our mistakes. it is an easy example to convey the idea that we cease to use our imagination while getting entangled with our routine tasks.

Ekaantha Seetha - woman of substance

2006-11-01T14:50:00.000-05:00

this is the very first dance drama that i saw and it is an out of the world experience. one of my close friends and dancer said "it is once in a blue moon that you would come across such a mind-blowing performance". she cannot be truer.

what do i know to write about this Dance Drama called "Ekaantha Seetha"? on the pamphlet, i read that it is choreographed by bharatanatyam dance gurus, Sri and Smt. Dhananjayans. the ticket fees are contributed towards Shankara Nethralaya Eye Foundation. i just popped in. watching the dance drama was sheer joy and overwhelming bliss that has to be shared. hence, i decided to write about it and spread the word that there is a renaissance going on.

"ekaantha seetha" is a sanskrit phrase which means "a lonely furrow" - ekaantha meaning lonely(tranquility to be more precise) and seetha meaning furrow. yes, our epic character seetha is found from earth when king janaka is performing a yagna for having a child and that's why she is named so. when she goes back to mother earth in the final act of proving the nobility of her character, the act is referred to as "going back to where she came from".

for more details on the theme and some photos, right click here and open in new tab!!!
a glimpse of what took me aback in awe:

/// the grand opening- all the dancers entered not from the back of the stage but from the entrance to the hall in a dance procession carrying a dancer dressed as lord ganesha.

/// precise background setting - bow and arrow for the ramayana episode, crossed sword and scabbard for the jhansi episode and ganesha moorthy for the modern day episode.

/// a big time fan of Bombay Jayashri wouldn't find it hard to guess she had recorded the score for the character of urmila.

/// keen eyes will notice that the 2 dancers forming a horse made it more realistic. horse can never stand still, it will always be moving its legs and face even while standing. similarly, when the animal walks and runs, opposite legs in the front and rear make a synchronized movement. this was evidently taken care of in every formation of horse.

/// the most impressive points: TVG's world class music, cannot be more brilliant and apt; costumes, again cannot be more apt and colorful; expressions conveying deep emotions on the dancers' faces and their perfect movements; humor in the choreography script.

/// both rani lakshmi bhai's wedding sequence and aparajitha's wedding sequence were cooooooool, innovative and conveyed joyous spirits.

/// it had never occurred to me to think of seetha's role as a single parenting mom who took it on her to teach the twin boys various art forms instead of sending them back to the palace in ayodhya. this aspect of seetha's strength of character, knowledge and skills was enlightening as well as inspiring.

/// special credits for infusing humor into the script: kusa making fun of his mom seetha's feminine walk while carrying water from the river, the unconcerned photographer in a modern day wedding sequence, the sleeping and drooping chamcha player of the nadaswaram troop, a typical madras cherry setting with bus honks and roadside vendors, women pushing and pulling each other in the queue for drinking water,a drunkard behaving indecently on the road, etc, etc.

/// before i forget, how did they let mitran click photos when flash photography or video was prohibited in the hall? ;-)))

it would be useful to music enthusiasts to know who were the artistes involved in TVG's music production team and the instruments used. the concept of women empowerment seemed a little bleak and could have been more powerful if there was an anecdote to embrace women of the world, rather than women of just india. (but it may not work out, i cannot say)

Nobel Peace Prize

2006-10-12T16:33:00.000-04:00

there has been only war, war and war around the world. there seems to be no peace outside and inside for any citizen of any country. why make it mandatory to issue the Nobel Peace Prize to anyone? especially, the list of nominees mentioned here were hardly known to most of the people. none of them or for that matter any ONE single person has not risen up to the level of Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, though its not necessary. these great men in the past had really set a yardstick for what Nobel Peace means. some genuinely good deed is expected out of the awarded candidate that should have had widespread influence over a considerable mass of population.

so, let the prize be not given to anybody this year. if someone really stopped a war (which is not so at least in 2005), or fought for the humanitarian rights of under-represented community of people anywhere in the world, let they be awarded. let the 'Doctors with no borders' receive the prize. let some NGO or NPO be recognized. why not award an honest effort of some government of a poor country.

we only seem to pay a hefty price for peace. first, let there be peace. then we will talk about Peace Prize.

God's Debris

2006-10-09T02:05:00.000-04:00

review of "God's Debris" authored by Scott Adams

a brilliant thought experiment, brilliant because this thought experiment occurred in an American. this is Vedanta blossoming from its early inquisitive stage, the notable change being its from a westerner and not restricted to western audience alone.

i was tempted to read the freely distributed PDF available in the Internet, mainly because it is free and was suggested by a close friend. i could not resist taking notes while reading the PDF then and there. so i took a printout of the complete set and started scribbling all over the empty space on the top, bottom and on the sides of the pages. a friend of mine suspected that i am reading research papers for my work related project in the bus as she saw me reading this material with a pencil in hand.

let me see if i can make sense out of what i scribbled on those pages. i have tried to copy them here and add some sensible explanations (for my own reference and record).

.......contid as and when i get time for this .......

Scott Adams' Blog can be read here.

iCon - Steve Jobs

2006-10-08T20:40:00.001-04:00

a review of "iCon Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business"

i was about 50 pages into the book. i could not take anymore of praise for Steve Jobs. it also made me feel so small that i stopped reading the book and worked 14 hours everyday for 3 weeks at my office. it took me a while for me to come out of the "you are nothing" feeling. soon, i started reading the book with fresh enthusiasm, just for the pleasure of reading.

within the next few pages, the tone of the book changed dramatically. in history, if there was one biography that points out all the mistakes of the person being biographed and the flaws in his very personality, this is it. its a blasphemy of biographies!!!! may be that's all there is to it. but wait.

the biographers covered the length and breadth of Steve's temper and how it reflected in every action of his. as a biography, it neatly portrays his ups and downs in both professional and personal life. how did the authors ever imagine to come out of this work without earning Steve's loathe and anger? i was all the while wondering what conclusion would be apt for this outrageous book on Steve - well the sentence could read 'book on outrageous Steve'. how did the authors escape this entrepreneurial wiz kid ? didn't he sue them??

an obsolutely remarkable and unexpected climax. no other epilogue would have made justice to the readers, the authors as well as Steve. the authors request the readers to see above and beyond Steve's temper and forgive him (for what he did to the actual contributors to his success) for he is a changed man now. that is all that matters. i have learnt to forgive too and see Steve in a new light.

Bookless In Baghdad

2006-10-08T19:52:00.000-04:00

a review of "Bookless in Baghdad" authored by Shashi Tharoor

i am an admirer of this United Nations' Under-Secretary General and a regular reader of his columns in various magazines and newspapers. (he writes a column for Sunday Magazine of The Hindu). i am also a regular visitor to his website, crazily reading every word he has to say there. but, here is a book from him that would have made a rather good blog. a book on books and authors !!!!! (and here is a review for that too!!!!) tharoor probably has a compulsive desire to publish every piece of paper he writes!!! may be there are publishers out there in NYC who will do anything for his name and fame. you still didn't buy one ardent fan of yours, Mr. UN.

i am yet to read his other (more meaningful and accolades winning) works like 'the riot', ' the great indian novel', 'show business'. i am sure they will buy me. i have read about them and are in my must-read list of books. i am bound to read them when time permits, no matter what 'Bookless in Baghdad' made me feel. still a fan, ever a fan.

Surely you are joking, Mr.Feynman

2006-10-08T19:29:00.000-04:00

a review of "Surely you are joking, Mr.Feynman !"
authored by Richard Feynman

you are surely joking at us, Mr.Feynman, by writing this book. this book is almost a child's diary of day-to-day events. it was a mistake on my part indeed since i expected an account of his technological insights into atomic science. its a narration of what he did in his childhood - a boastful " i didnot play like a normal kid. i am special. i made ham radios" - what jobs he did as a teenager, how he dated gals, how he visited pubs to find someone to lay down that night, and finally a mention of how he built labs in los alamos. an outright teenage read. i just missed it when i was one.

NOTE: Richard Feynman is a Nobel laureate in Physics in recognition for his brilliant and dedicated work in building America's first atom bomb at Los Alamos facility during WW2 times. he is a brilliant physicist, more remarkable because he is just another guy next door sorts. this book need not be a yardstick to measure the immensely intelligent guy that Feynman was.

i feel he is over admired by his countrymen though. there are always men (and women) who contributed much more to elevate mankind in bettter ways. they were not given their due recognition.

The Devil and Miss Prym

2006-10-08T16:05:00.000-04:00

a review of 'The Devil and Miss Prym' authored by Paulo Coelho

this is a second book of Paulo Coelho that i read after the hit book-of-the-century 'The Alchemist'. i have read 'The Alchemist' long back. though i forgot the details of the plot, i remember the essence of it - a man meticulously and determinedly following his dreams against all oddities. while reading 'the devil and miss prym', i realized that Coelho's novels are based on certain themes. mostly the theme is one of human value and not any fancy cinematic imbecility. the fine print below the title 'the devil and miss prym' reads 'a novel of temptation' on the frontispiece of the book. Coelho holds the readers till the last page to decide if the main character(s) resists or yields to the temptation.

i prefer to look at this novel as both resisting and yielding to temptation. there are two main protagonists in this novel - the stranger to the village who brings the temptation to the villagers and Miss Prym, the village bar gal who fights her temptation till the very end. ultimately its also a temptation to every villager. i do not want to write Coelho's story here and spoil the pleasure of reading the book. i would rather beat around the bush and try to express my view points.

its a rare art to weave a philosophical thought process into a fine fiction that is more real life-like. Coelho is a master of this art and that's what i like most about this author and his works. the reader is compelled by his words of vedantic wisdom to stop, think, may be come to some conclusions. he also leaves a baggage of thoughts for contemplation later.

Coelho is a self-realized man, an engineer turned author. he has come across nebulous situations in life that made him question the basic belief systems of man. this has led to his exploration of many thought systems (this is the correct word, religion is not the correct word) like Buddhism, Zen and Tao from different corners of the world. this exploration in turn brought out his inquisitive mind to share it with us readers in the form of such wonderful books. i owe many thanks to him for writing a book worth my time. i respect the guy who respects my time.

'the devil and miss prym' is not as gripping for me as 'the alchemist' was. the plot was also not convincing enough to me. but its the narration and the thought process behind the scenes that makes this book what it is. Coelho stands apart here. of all the modern day authors, i admire him the most.

Only the Paranoid Survive

2006-10-07T18:44:00.000-04:00

a review of 'Only the Paranoid Survive' authored by Andrew Grove

the book is all about dramatic changes all industries undergo and how each player in that industry adapts to survive and succeed. these dramatic changes that revolutionize the way business is conducted are aptly called "Strategic Inflection Points" , shortly SIPs. SIP would have been an appropriate title for the book but since the stress is on why companies should survive the SIPs, "only the paranoid survive" is more appropriate.

usually, technology books get outdated fast since technology changes leaps and bounds in the blink of an eye. this book written by a co-founder of Intel makes an interesting read even 10 years after it was written. though the then market trends he has written about has become the industry norm today, only someone extraordinarily smart could make such observations and come up with a strong understanding of basic principles.

change is not always easy, more so when it is forced on us by others. hence, to manipulate employees and make them accept change in the industry is something only genius of a leader can do. Andy Grove is definitely one of them. his views of what is going on and what would be the future ultimately demands attention. this book is a compelling read, no doubts.

Excerpts from the chapter “Signal or Noise?”
(that's a true electrical engr. there is more philosophy than EE in this concept of signal and noise....i plan to write something on it myself)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

You cannot judge the significance of SIPs (Strategic Inflection Points) by the quality of the first version. You must discipline yourself to think things through and separate the quality of the early versions from the longer term potential and significance of a new product or technology.

All sides cannot prevail in the debate but all opinions have value in shaping the right answer. Debates are like the process through which a photographer sharpens the contrast when developing a print.

People who have no emotional stake in a decision can see what needs to be done sooner. That's companies replace CEOs who are long-time employees of the company with outsiders. as CEOs, both of them are equally capable managers but the inside CEO has more emotional involvement that might jaundice his decisions.

(these are the only excerpts that i managed to write down while reading the book on my bus ride to work everyday. i wish i had taken more notes)

One More Time

2006-10-06T13:09:00.000-04:00

Would he have known -
That he will die rather than just being hurt,
That his dearest brother would die with him,
That his wife would never forgive him,
That his sisters could not cry,
That his children would not make it on that day,
That he left us a debt of guilt and shame,
That we loved him and would love him again if he comes back,
That I would wish he be my dad one more time.

Flowchips

2006-08-08T14:44:00.000-04:00

I was first of all surprised to see an IEEE invite for a presentation from a bio-technology company. I decided to attend the presentation since it raised many questions in me as to how and what EE can contribute in a bio-technology venture. I also thought that the Flowchips company must be a big entrepreneurial success and that they want to share what they have achieved.

it took a while to search down the street where the company is located. There was no sign nor even a bill-board in the name of Flowchips anywhere in the vicinity of that address. But since the address was too clearly printed in the pamphlet to be a hoax, I went inside TGM enterprises building since thats the company sitting in the address of Flowchips.

the presentation was arranged in a small conference room which can seat about 6 people. This may be one of the war rooms for a typical start-up firm. The organizer, naturally, did not expect more than a handful of 5 to attend this after-work, dinner-time presentation. He was pulling chairs from other rooms as the small room started getting crowded. Around 30 EE guys from different companies in and around Chandler/Tempe/Phoenix turned up.

the most stunning part of the presentation was the presenter himself. When I read the pamphlet, I had imagined a 40 year old IIT techy geek who has had a start-up brainwave in bio-technology and ended up tasting success unassuming; that he is using it as a recruitment tactic; blah blah. Tilak Jain, the founder manager of Flowchips, happened to be a 25 year old PhD student at ASU !!!!! Now, believe me. It was tough to believe for me too. My eyes and ears cannot fail so blatantly. And so, I believed that he is happening.

Tilak went onto explain how he started Flowchips. He studied EE at undergrad and got interested in bio and is now doing PhD in bio-engg at ASU. He won an entrepreneurship competition at his univ and as a result, got some funding and backing from univ to see his idea take shape.

he bombasted us with his ideas for bio-chip micro-arraying and asked us feedback on how to implement them and also for new ideas. He extended his hand for joint technology and finance support. It was truly a fluent and thoroughly practiced show. Kudos, Tilak.

TGM enterprises is another small-customer oriented electronic packaging and testing start-up by another brilliant business-techy person. He has given some space in his facility for Flowchips to take root. Tilak and TGM guy gave a tour of the facility there. Tilak has managed to build a very basic set up with only the minimum bio-tech apparatus(incubator, mini-clean room, bio-chip array scanner, etc) . He had hunted for them and purchased them from the throw-away yard-sale of bigger companies. He told us he bought a machine that costs $20,000 for a price of $600 !!!!

what more can I say about this ambitious and hard working entrepreneur and his venture. he made me feel nothing within 5 minutes of talking. Do visit http://www.flowchips.com/ . Extending all my support, whatever that can be. Congrats and good luck , for you have a long way to go Tilak.

Tolerance of Ambiguity

2006-08-08T14:43:00.000-04:00

deep down words of wisdom explained by Ron today and which i am going to carry for the rest of my life: mere technical capabilities and IQ alone are not enough for a successful career. a good engineer is one who will thrive, work and achieve the goals given to him in a chaotic situation.

when the company is undergoing a major structural reorganization - the preferred term for 'layoffs' - , when the projects are handed over to other departments, when the company is merged with or bought by another, an engineer is given a real life test of integrity. all the HR interviews are about testing how much tolerance a person has for ambiguity in the company. is he going to face it up and come out with flying colors or is he going to yield to rumors.

Influence over how many people and group? a point to keep in mind whether u r developing a product/technology in engineering environment or taking a management decision in the company.

more thoughts on this topic for later........

Men must be governed

2006-01-05T18:35:00.000-05:00

Master and Commander - the far side of the world

Three cheers to Russell Crowe(Captain 'Lucky' Jack Aubrey) and Paul Bettany(Dr. Stephen Maturin). the movie is based on a novel by Patrick Obrian and directed by Paul Weir. The plot goes like this - a British navy ship is commandeered by Captain Jack to find, fight and capture the enemy French ship Acheron, which is mightier and more capable. Hats off to the mucis composer for the Irish violin is mesmerising. Tip-tap-toe went my feet.

Apart from the dialogues, direction and performance of the actors, the following are the scenes that impressed me so much that I would sit and write them:

1. first and foremost, the movie speaks volumes on leadership qualities. the movie can be prescribed right away as a CDC ( must watch) for all the management students in B-schools.

2. Dr. Stephen's self-surgery.

3. Dr. Stephen's passion for natural science. the keenness to detail and recoding observations is, indeed, a tribute to Darwin.

4. Jack's jokes at the Dining Table." Can you pass me the salt?" and " Onboard, a sailor chooses the lesser of two weavils".

5. The sweet banter between Jack and Stephen. Hail friendship (the duo also appeared together in "A beautiful mind") - "Subject to the requirement of the Service", "Name a shrub after me. Something prickly and hard to eradicate", "Testudo Aubreii", "The birds are flightless. They aren't going anywhere".

6. Jack's decision to sacrifice one life to save the rest of the ship.

7. Jack's lesson from Nature. The first time, he uses the trick without ever knowing it. The second time, he is inspired by the species Stephen shows him.

8. The twist that the French captain is alive in Acheron.

And for those who cared to browse by my blog and wonder what the title means - that's the dialogue of the Captain that bowled me over.

Passion for Fusion

2005-12-05T18:41:00.000-05:00

while listening to the album "Impressions" , i could not avoid pondering over the recent explosion of fusion albums ventured by carnatic musicians. the hindustani instrumentalists had taken the shastreeya sangeet abroad to the Western listerners long back and also performed jugalbandhis with Western performers. though carnatic music had been known to the Western world through individual performances by vocalists and instrumentalists, a joint performance or collaboration by carnatic musicians with western performers was not much in the game apart from one or two like L.Subramaniam.

then came 'Sangamam' of maharajapuram santhanam and m.s.viswanathan. the songs rendered were untainted carnatic krithis on an apt background of MSV's orchestral talents. needless to say, we have not heard anything like this before. when the fusion comes from two rich musical minds, the outcome is nothing but a masterpiece.

slowly and unconsiously, a craze for fusion music has taken root widely among carnatic musicians. this is rather a mania for trying hands on different things. but, there are subtle observations to be made regarding the so called fusion ventures of these carnatic performers:

1. while the albums are categorized under shastreeya sangeet, there is only a tinge of it. the orchestra or instrumental portion of the music does not mix well with the song. the composers need to remember that we have already heard illayaraja and have moved onto rehman's age.

2. there are either plenty of ideas conveyed in a single album, making it digressive,or none at all

3. most of the themes and the songs are repetitive and does not bring out the creative aspect of the musician.

4. many musicians are taking up music as their full time profession and they are compelled to compete in a highly competitive field. hence, they have to comeup with something new or atleast match their repertoire with that of the fellow musicians. their state is much like a sofware programmer who needs to keep adding new languages to his belt everyday.

the big-shot names and catchy phrases means these albums will sell for sure. to illustrate what i mean, have a look at the song titles of one such fusion album:

desert winds, impressions (sounded very much like the anchor music of "Colgate Sapthaswarangal" of sunTV), inner layers, maiden flight, rhythm of joy, thunder bolt, turning point, waves, winning streaks!!!!

let us observe what is happening at the cini front. should we strike a comparison between the songs in the movie "Morning ragas" and the song "kanda naal mudalai kaadal peruguthadi"(ragam: madhuvanti composer: s.chidambaram) in the movie "kanda naal mudalai", there is a marked difference between the two. in "morning ragas", the krithis are completely torn and twisted while in the second, the carnatic song is rendered in a traditional way with only a base guitar and drums just like "alaipayuthe kanna" (ragam: kanada composer: uthakadu venkata subbaiyar) in the movie "alaipayuthe". it is established that carnatic music can reach the common folks when it is rendered as such (the movie "sindhu bairavi" gave lotsa insights on this topic) from the very fact that 'morning ragas' was not well received among the audience. lesson: the fusion artists need to come up with new trends to add beauty, if at all, to the carnatic krithis and should not twist them crookedly.

while on this fusion talk, lets see what shankar mahadevan and hariharan-louis duo are upto. 'Rhydhun', 'Breathless', 'Colonial Cousins' are all instant hits. these men are coming up with a variety in their renditions as well as different sorts of music like folk, carnatic, hindustani, western all blended soothingly together. they sell their albums as light music and are doing more than justice while the carnatic fusion experiments turn out to be blasphemous.

one interesting and noticable aspect of fusion passion: where are the female participants??

there are also albums produced in pure carnatic tradition which sounds like fusion with western instruments on the first listening. "navarasa" by v.k.raman is a brilliant and beautiful collage of ragas expressing themselves. i am all ears to such well researched and rehearsed ventures.

to put all these observations in one line: everyone cannot be a master of everything.

Stage Well Set

2005-08-08T15:58:00.000-04:00

J.K.Rowling seems to have been blessed ( or charmed, to say) with a knack of telling youthful tales that the world has never heard before. Long ago, when Disney took the wand for cartoons and animation, the writer's block for children's books died. Over a period of decades, the very need for children's books was pushed to the last in the list of entertainment for children. Rowling has given a spirited life to children's books that was badly needed and hardly realized. In the process, she has also given a wizarding world the world will cherish for centuries.

The Half blood prince volume of Harry Potter series, to me, seems the best of all the six volumes. The plot as well as the narration, is thrilling, gripping and finally moving, more than just compensating for the let down of the Order of the Phoenix. I was not at all satisfied after reading Order of the Phoenix. With the adrenaline rush of the Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, there were huge expectations as the series grew. Order of the Phoenix didnt meet any of them though. But here comes the next volume with loads of adventure and drama.

I am most awestruck by the ability of Rowling to link an incident that happened in the first few volumes with the later volumes. Has she already thought about the complete series and unfolding the mystery slowly over many years? How does she maintain a logical flow of events through out the entire series? She is simply the best story teller for all ages and of all ages.

With the stage well set for Harry vs Voldemort ( courage to say the name since Harry is now in full charge, all alone in his path!!) , I have already started the countdown for the next volume. My only guess is that since the Harry Potter volumes are branded as children's book series, good always wins over the evil after all the struggle. I am expecting nothing less than a grand finale and Rowling is sure to give more than that.

Yaman Fever

2005-07-31T09:16:00.000-04:00

The raga Yamankalyani, over the recent times, has become the standard raga for bhajans. Be it hindustani vocal, carnatic vocal or instrumental, the artists, invariably many of them, have caught the Yaman fever. To the not-so-khayal-liking minds, Yaman brings the cheer of listening after an hour long rtp!! Though initially, the raga used to soothe me , repeated rendition of bhajans by many artists in Yaman left me thinking. Its not that I have developed a dislike for the raga. But there is definitely a concern. Aren't there other ragas suited for bhajans? Can only Yaman convey the romance of krishna?? Cannot the artists impress the audience with other ragas? Why Yamankalyani?

The old timers like M.S, Balamurali, etc have tried bhajans and concluding pieces in a plethora of ragas. They have not restricted to Yamankalyani, Behag, Desh, Mandu, Darbarikanada and the like. Bhajans are so synonymous with meera bhai and tulsidas that a hindustani raag seems befitting. At the same time, carnatic concerts ending with a must-hindustani piece these days gives a hollow feeling about the age old kucheri-tradition. Sure, the artists need to address the taste of the audience. But, they are the ones who train the ears of the audience inturn!! Aren't they?? Wont we listen to a bhajan in sankarabaranam, kapi or sahana??Why not explore these and other hard core ragas that make carnatic music what it is?

I am hoping for a next wave of trends in carnatic concerts where we hit the good old chords. Lets see who starts the trend.

Kindergarten in disguise!

2005-07-11T14:45:00.000-04:00

Recognize this poem ?
----------------------------

Scintillate, scintillate
Globule vivific
Fain would I fathom
Thy nature specific
Loftily perched
In the ether capacious
Strongly resembling
A gem carbonaceous.

????Guessed it ???

Obese Technology

2005-07-11T14:38:00.000-04:00

I recently read an article in IEEE Spectrum. the article talks about implanting transducers (plain 'sensors' for the non-techy normal man) in the stomach. the sensors make the obese person feel stomach-full for a longer time and makes him crave less for food.

after few years over which the obese person really becomes trim, the implants are removed. now, what is the reaction of the stomach? does it crave for more food or does it retain the full-feeling after a few-mouthfuls? i suppose, the technologists playing with obesity can answer this question only after some guinea pigs are sacrificed.

playing poker with the brain signals is not a joke. there could be serious side effects of implanting as well as removing the sensors from the stomach. human physiology is a marvel. it is one of the highly complicated systems which has and still mystifies man. there are many diseases which do not have a cure yet. obesity is the concern of the hour. but, can technology provide solution for every problem that man has created for himself? for obesity, my answer is NO.

the only reasonable answer, though a tough one, seems to be change. change of Lifestyle and a strong determination to burn the calories. whenever there is an urge to eat, divert your attention to something else. grab urself, get up, and wrok out. drink plenty of water after each meal.

i recollect an incident in my undergrad days. This absent-minded room mate of mine had come to the mess for dinner. while washing her hands before dinner, she happened to find an interesting clipping on the notice board right above the wash sink. when she had completed reading the clipping, she left the mess thinking she has been washing her hand after taking dinner. she never even entered the mess!!! i think thats the easiest way to fight obesity.

Art Maketh A Man

2005-07-11T14:36:00.001-04:00

"Art makes a man a better human being"

once when chatting with my friends after a vijayadasami day, the discussion somehow led to the latest trends in kutcheris and finally about performers. one of the seniors commented that " Art maketh a man a better human being". all of us unanimously agreed with some disagreements.

there was an M.S.Subbulakshmi, who donated liberally for charities. we can quote many others too in similar lines.(but, to be honest, does any other name really strike you immediately ?). there is also a Michael Jackson, whose court trial never seems to end. it is a different story to wonder if his music background is saving him from severe penalty or if the juries are trying to save the art from him.

<>
<>the real goal of art is art itself. only when art is pursued with pure dedication for the art, does it make the person a better person.

today's scenario seems to be far from this. though hard to digest, it is a fact that art is seen as a means to fame. the new motto seems to be "pursue art for performance". world tours are definitely an attractive package. humility is the last word followed especially when it comes to minor follies in the back stage work and unavailability of resources.

the discussion concluded with some interesting points from a senior. talent alone is not enough for a successful performing artiste. hard work and humility are the two most important ingredients to stay there( that applies to any chosen field ). so, to refine the statement, art is 'supposed' to make a man a better human being.

London Call

2005-07-11T14:34:00.000-04:00

the sight of the dead and the plight of the injured in london blasts was pathetic. it gives a sick feeling even to read the news from websites and watch the aftermath in TV. its hard to imagine how the people there faced it. but there is lot to think on how to avoid such incidents in the first place.

for petty business interests, the fanatics of a particular religion have been infuriated. and they want a revenge on the whole world. looks like a possible war against the planet.am i watching star trek??!!

though there was technology and man power to dig Saddam out of his hole, huge batallion of soldiers have been landed in iraq and millions of innocents killed in the process. the retalliation in terms of london blasts only goes to prove that there is an inevitable need to refine the defense methods and devise clever strategy for fighting terrorism. the innocents,again, bear the brunt of war, no matter which side they belong to. the argument just seems to prolong with injustice on either side.

there is this time when all kinds of discrimination against any race has to stop. its enough dividing Mother Earth into East, West and what not. the day has come for us all to evolve into truly global citizens with broad-minded views. let us not mix politics, business and administration. let the govt do its duty and not business. let the businessmen not manipulate who the next prime minister or president of our country is. let the people rule their countries. may god bless all nice people of the world.

Handwriting

2005-03-28T22:46:00.000-05:00

I was filling a form in one of the counters in my university. The lady across the counter was surprised to see my handwriting. A student from non-English speaking country writes so neatly, legibly and smoothly with moving fingers!!

I told her " One advantage of being from a not-fully developed country is that we retain a good handwriting. We are not fully computerized." She gave me a beautiful smile in turn, which I doubt anyone in indian government offices can match.

Trained to hold a pencil at three, I spent one hour daily writing on 4-lines "Handwriting Notebooks" starting from age six. I had no idea of ball pens till I completed high school. Ink pens were supposed to take your handwriting to great heights. With a beautiful handwriting, you are bound to get high scores on exams even if you write utter rubbish. To test the verity of this much-believed phenonmenon, once I wrote the same paragraph twice in my English Essay. Dont ask me what happened.

Then came the Reynolds from France. The pen the World prefers.(Though US prefers BIC and Papermate). My handwriting started going haywire. My mother was angry after trying to read a letter that I wrote her from college. She said she could not differentiate between my 'r' and 'n' (and also 'u' at someplaces). I stopped writing after I was allotted an email account.

After coming to US, its become worse. I feel that those fine-tipped(0.5mm) pens are much better than these medium, slipping-from-hand, eco-friendly pens. Hail Reynolds 045 Fine Carbure.

To do justice to what I write, I first wrote this on a piece of paper, had a nice self-admiring look at my own handwriting, and then typed onto the do-all PC.

Name it

2005-03-28T16:05:00.000-05:00

Recently found this following web site's ad in www.wordsmith.org
Then came an idea, a funny one though.

Namix, providing smart naming solutions for products, services, and businesses:http://namix.com

just felt that if i should start one such service for naming hindi and tamil movies, may be i cud land few bucks.

;-)))

Musings as they sprout

2005-03-28T15:38:00.000-05:00

- I am myself Carbon. I need no more of it.

( i've been strictly avoiding any kind of soft drinks that is a sweetened carbonated water....one litre of it made from four litres of precious pure water)

-Engineering is all about managing time and Management is all about engineering time

- God is a concept. He thrives in our minds. (some say heart, agreed!)

- God is a term invented by man to explain those phenonmena beyond scientific reasoning.

-An educated fool is that which justifies its stupidity

-When someone calls you a Star, rethink.....a star,after all, is made of dust!

-Revolution is the aim; Resolution is the path

-As time passed by, Dogmas were conveniently renamed Human tendency

-What matters is not how smart we are but how we are smart

-Its easier to quote an example than to serve as one

- There are some things which nice only to be given to others for free and not to be received: Advise is one of those

- We are where we don't know where we are(on the stand of U.S after iraq war)

Writing Free of Gender

2005-03-28T15:20:00.000-05:00

works by women authors are read only in the context of being written by feminist writers or womanish-writer (with a pun "what else can women write about except feminist rights and lamentations of male-dominated world ?!"). in the same pretext, when a man writes, especially on issues relating marriage, he is immediately crowned a master philosoper. "Ah. Another Socrates is made". he becomes a 'realized man' there after.

people always look at what they want to look at and turn away from reality. when will a writer and the writings be seen free of gender?

Huesca for a cup of coffee?

2005-03-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

How many of us have the guts to follow our heart?And to fulfill someone's dream; someone whom you have not met! Sahshi Tharoor has it.

Recently I read an article from his website. He had written about his visit to a not-much-known place in Spain, called Huesca. What is astonishing is not the arduous journey but his reason for it. Reason - Pay homage to writer George Orwell.

Orwell dreamt of having a cup of coffee in Huesca after the Spanish Civil War. But he did not live long enough. Many years later, a literary fan of his, visited the place and had That sip of coffee there at Huesca.

Accompanied by an equally crazy, I mean, a supportive wife, Tharoor did what he felt important. Life is only once and much too short to live all our dreams. Atleast lets start now. And live it one by one.

Dreams to go

2005-03-04T17:38:00.000-05:00

everybody has a wish list. or atleast assumed to be having one. and here is mine.

- to chase a cop and give him ticket !!!

- to drag the status line at the bottom of an internet browser and get 60kbps on a 36k modem !!

- to find a parking spot closer to the Times Square on a New Year's Eve !!

- identify my car in the IKEA parking lot without searching !!!

....more as i dream ...............Zhhhh

Are we sophisticated?

2005-01-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

the arrest of swami sri jayendra saraswati and the consequent news reports and coverage of the case had made me rethink some notions i had held about our indian society. while the spiritual considerations still prevail, i should not be mistaken here for an anti-hindu or for that matter anti-anything.

can all those who had put their faith in the sanyasin be totally sure that he is not involved in the sankararaman murder even 0.01%? if the saint-fanatics rule out all possibilities, then we need to be ashamed that we are worse than those fighting from across the border. let us question ourselves honestly before pledging our support and shouting in front of the jail.

what if he is really involved? do we have the sophistication to forgive the saint ? can we be like the americans who forgave Clinton in his sexual affair in the White house?? (now, the analogy may sound poor to some but dont chide away the issue in context)

let the faith be more on the institution than on the person. let our religious sentiments not overtake law. let us be more of good citizens than ardent devotees. let us not allow opinionated jounalism jaundice the logic and reason. to this extent, we can only ask for a fair and FAST trial of the murder conspiracy.

State of Fear

2005-01-13T16:57:00.000-05:00

The tsunami that struck the asian coasts is no story, it happened. Tsunami has struck the unprepared coastlines along the Indian ocean. An unprecedented event.

Now, welcome to the fiction tsunami. State of Fear, the latest novel/book/work by Michael Crinchton, is a long environmental science lesson. For the usual readers of Crinchton and the casual fiction freaks, the book is a big bore!!!

There is a group of environmentalists, who, for appropriating money from rich, environmentally concerned and charitable people, create a state of fear. This is a Fear of the drastic effects of global warming, abrupt climate change, sea level rise, deforestation, land slides etc. The recent asian tsunami and the landslides in california could turn out to be a big push in marketing the book but for the message Crinchton tries to convey is quite contradictory to the real picture.

However, the book is a bold venture to spread the word that nobody actually understands the environmental changes and their effects absolutely. The actual effects of modern man's Carbon-di-oxide and Carbon-monoxide releasing ways of life on the environment is a science which is completely not understood yet and will be a tough challenge in future years too. Stop worrying about weather changes and to be on the safe side, pollute less. Thats a positive tone to end the book. Now, there is a fine line of demarcation between Crinchton's fiction and reality- manmade disaster vs natural disaster.

To those who have already read the book by the time tsunami struck the asian coasts, the news of the tidal wave would have sounded funny or ridiculous. (ah! someone's trying to make the book real!?). But on seeing the heavy casualty in every news channel, they would have hunted all possible resources to verify whether the 9.8 richter earthquake was indeed natural. That includes me as i was half way thru the book and could guess the rest. I shall wait and see if the book is a real best seller or like the novel, an artificially proclaimed one!!

City of Mathura

2004-12-29T16:24:00.000-05:00

Mathura, the birthplace of Sri Krishna, is where I spent one year after my undergraduation. A batch of 23 fun loving people – that’s to be euphemistic – joined me in this journey just out of college. After my first trip to the much hyped about City, I guided people who came to me for advice and who still had high hopes of pub, music and galore, that if they stand at one place for more than few seconds in the City, they would surely have some cattle deposit its charge, hot and rot, on their shoes. With our exaggerated observation, we all agreed, after visiting the City only twice, that, there must be at least one-lakh shrines in this holy City. One fellow wouldn’t agree on this number and even started out to count them but for the fear of him growing old, we added the word ‘at least’ in the count. Few of us felt that this should be reported in Guinness Book of World Records so that U.P Tourism would see the light of the day. Whoever said India is a developing country, should clarify in what aspects.

The site of Mosque adjacent to JanmaBhoomi, though reminded of the bitter blood shed between brothers, was in fact quite scary. I didn’t unpack my baggage fully. Plenty of time in hand inspired me to freak out more. I joined wings with the other free birds to explore the nook and corner of the City. Initially though I hesitated to board the pig-faced tempo, renaming it as ‘Limousine’ gave a feeling that things are not as bad as they look. They are only worse. The Limousine is by no means less prejudiced compared to the U.P State Road Transport Buses. They too equally make ‘more noise than motion’.

The ever-jingling temple bells of the City, though initially kindled feelings of piety, turned to be palling. Sights of hermit like men with knee long beards and shouting weird slogans were frequent. Fanaticism was portrayed in the form of small red flags everywhere, from paan shops to posh buildings. I even saw one hoisted at the top of a crane inside the refinery.Those who preferred to stay tuned with the material world – read Ekta’s K serials - restricted to the inner and outer ring roads of the Township. Silence existed in air - a silence loudly heard and felt deep inside. That’s Township in one word. Though it left me wondering whether I have gone back on a time machine, I realised its the best place to live in Mathura. Hail the haunting silence. One more feather in the cap is that Township is a no-power-failure zone. Outside was a no-power zone!!!

Huge hoardings of Mayawati and Mulayam on road sides talked a lot about the vibrant politics in this state. Since my understanding of Hindi was only limited, I used to recognize Govt offices only with the help of these hoardings. Wise is the guy who made these advertisements, where logos and pictures convey more message to the illiterate public. Did idol worship thrive in india because those brahmin pundits couldnot educate the local people enough to read the scripts??

[the journey is not yet complete.......]

What a timing!

2004-12-29T15:53:00.000-05:00

few days back, i had watched the movie "Day after tomorrow". The movie is about a consequence of global warming- the advent of ice age. Some parts of the northern hemisphere, whose warmth is maintained by the warm ocean currents of the atlantic, are frozen because of the melting of a large antartic glacier.......ice age due to global warming!!!!!sounds like an oxymoron!!! well, the concept is picking up.

i am half way through Michael Crinchton's 'State of Fear', his latest best-seller on shelves. the front and back flap of the novel gives no outline of the story. nor is there any preface or foreword. let me break the rules. the plot is about global warming, environmentalists, climate/weather change, and so on.

when the news of the tsunami came early sunday morning, more than shock, i was thrilled.is the tsunami real????ofcourse, i got my answer when i read that this man-eater wave of indian ocean is equivalent to a million atomic bomb explosions. this is definitely not a PC simulated or terrorist manipulated event!!! i stopped thinking all non-sensical things about the calamity in asia.

still, the movie, the novel, the real tsunami.....Timing couldnot have been better.

Tsunami Talk

2004-12-29T13:11:00.000-05:00

Here comes the world's worst (worst in my life time so far) disaster, claiming more than 70,000 people. Every news site, news channel is running a live score of the casualty. And not to spare, every blogger has something to write about it. A catastrophe of such magnitude is bound to affect every living soul on mother earth, especially when She is the cause.

Its the poor who is affected again. Even mother nature, let alone the Govt, is being biased. Though this one time, unlike the Govt ways, the rich doesn't get richer but the poor haplessly gets poorer. Those who were in the huts are now in the streets.

Concerning India, we have proved it time and again that we are a country rich of humane values. Though our own arm is bleeding, we have extended a helping hand to srilankans by sending 4 warships full of emergency supplies(blankets, sareers, pans, medicines,etc). Even Pakistan has sent rescue naval staff and supplies to srilanka and thai, which is quite a surprise!!!( no harm meant. the surprise arises because of the question.....will they be there for india if ours is the only country that was hit by the tsunami??!!)

Nations around the world have come forward with their aid. America is one of the first countries to despatch 35 million dollars and pack a ship load of vaccines and medications and get things moving thru cargo planes and ships. And all that the country hears is that it is being 'stingy'!!! i am not awaree this insult came from. but, here is my voice of support and praise (in written!) to US for their immediate response to the asian disaster. expectations apart, we must first learn to thank this great country for its magnanimity and may be ask for more later or as and when the need arises.

our union minister P.Chidambaram has commented that money is not a problem. true. money is pouring from all directions. infosys, pnb pledging 5 crores each, the MPs and MLAs their one month salaries, and so on from all directions. the list is pretty big. prime ministers relief fund has grown overnight and contributions are overwhelming. but where is all the money headed???do we have plans/ strategy to rehabilitate the displaced and help them establish their livelihood ????or are we simply going to distribute food packets and forget them after the newschannels stop talking about them(or start talking about something else)???

Deception Point

2004-12-14T15:55:00.000-05:00

All said and done about Dan Brown, Deception Point (DP) is a let down for those who have read DVC and DF. Though Brown has tried to convince that all the technology described in the book is real, it sounds far from it. The usual escape from death and the himalayan trials of his main characters shout loud and clear " u r reading fiction". The protogonists can sink into a shark's mouth and still come out safe with the slighest injury to their arms.....because the shark was not hungry!!

I am struck for words to describe the plot of the novel because even a slight hint might make the reading uninteresting. Brown, as usual, has a qualified, intelligent and smart woman for the heroine and a matching (that makes simpler) hero for her to pull her out of mishaps. the same old villain is disguised from the start, though, in DP, it becomes obvious after few pages who the villain is -atleast i guessed it right. the story revolves around a path-
breaking NASA discovery and serves Brown's technical apetite. the best part of the novel is the politics at the white house. after the iraq invasion, pre-poll popular vote and the 2004 presidential election result, i humbly believe that anything can happen with washington.

I couldnt remember if there was an official opposition to this novel from NASA. It has taken Brown a 400 page novel to beat around the bush that NASA is an inefficient organization, gulping tax payer's hard earned money. The novel simply mocks NASA and upholds the presidency!!!!what does Brown want to say here? Does he want to say anything at all ??

I am surprised how the novel missed michael moore's concern ( to be precise, his appreciation for pointing out that NASA spends too much money but couldnt produce the expected results).

SpiMails

2004-11-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

Let me make a declaration. With this small piece of my blah-blah, I do not intend to hurt anyone's religious sentiments. I dont know whether the reader(that is you) is an ardent follower of Hindu rituals and observe its prescribed austerities. This piece is just an outcome of the Chinese Tantra targeting my inbox, the fourth I had received in a day.

Today's teenagers seem to question everything under the sun and more so when it comes to following or adapting a religious faith. It is commonplace to hear teens screaming ”Jesus!" or just " Jeeez!!", when excited or shocked. Hindu elders even accepted this practice as long as they dont hear 'shit' . Coming to the crux, belief in sending spiritual mails is nothing but out-right foolishness. Let me baptize these spiritual mails as 'spimails' for my convenience.

Indian teenagers and just-turned adults are into the habit of getting easily fascinated by anything that is foreign to our culture. Who said Aunt Xenophobia is on the prowl ? At least she has not visited our part of the planet. Rather it’s the other way round. When Mom (or Mamma!) asks her lad to buy a coconut for the pooja, it is long forgotten before it is heard. But a Chinese tantra??? Remember the blackmailing (blackmail in email) words "Don't break this chain. Send it to at least 10 people whom u know or don't know or don't want to know". A threat which is immediately obeyed or serrendered to. The integrity of those who consider Hindu rites as mere superstition will be put to question if their names are in the list of spimail senders.

Some spimails even go the extent of scaring young fellows that relationship with their sweetheart would come to a sad end if they cannot think of 10 names in an instant. This often results in sending spimails to perfect strangers, whose email id just happened to be somewhere in the list of recipients. Some spimails even advise you not to postpone. You better learn to click before you think.

I would make a humble request to all email users not to get prompted to follow the mad crowd. Turning the spam guard ON will not help as you don't know who is going to fire the next spimail at you. Your very close pal or that clumsy boss might end up sending you one because he has just had a very bad time of his life and was forced to some sort of remorse.

To avoid trafficking the net and blocking the all-important mails from reaching at right time, to avoid frustrations, lets avoid spimails.

Digital Fortress

2004-11-18T10:24:00.000-05:00

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

One of the finest story-tellers of our times, Dan Brown, is stunning with this suspense science-thriller. More so as an English Teacher. His expert research on the technical matter of the novel took me by surprise. Those who had missed reading the flap of the backcover would only conclude that here is another novel from a great computer scientist (an open challenge from Dan Brown to Bill Gates though!!). Unlike Michael Crinchton, Dan Brown cleverly refrains from wandering away into sheer exaggeration and technological impossibilities. Thats the genius in him.

There is more to learn than to merely read. Clearly Dan's way. I have not heard of NSA before, not that there is 'Nothing Special About' it.For those ignorant-pots like me, National Security Agency or NSA, is a top-notch U.S Govt agency like CIA/FBA that holds the world's most precious and exclusive data - data about the country's various spies covering the vast Earth , enemy spies/intelligence, ours and others nuclear/defence programs, bank account details of VIPs, terrorist movements, what else and what not. But the catch comes now: how the agency functions, the identity of some workers, the existence of globe's one-of-its-kind TRANSLTR...everything is a prized secret and that makes a grasping read. For Susan Fletcher, a crypotographer-par-excellence and commander Strathmore, NSA and country's security are the life and soul. The story goes on when TRANSLTR is dumb-founded by one ex-employee. David Becker, the lover boy (oops! lover-prof) is sent on a hunt for that which holds the lifeblood of NSA's data bank. The superb flow of thought from an unbreakable code to a virus that destroys the security filters and threatens to destroy the data bank makes one want more. The story has one undigestable flaw though- the unbelievable multiple escapes of david becker. Dan strikes as a linguist by setting one part of the plot in Spain. He did make me feel bad for not caring to learn a foreign tongue. He doesnt break the code till the last page and keeps the adrenaline flowing. Well done.

DF definitely makes for a Speilberg movie. The most laudable aspect of Dan's novels is that his heroines (both in DF and DVC) take the lead role or atleast in equal terms with the hero. It is notable that they are not portrayed like the all-beauty-and-no-brain one's in usual movies.( lots of glycerine saved for the director!!). Dan could try to keep his hero's identity as secretive and embedded as his villain. Even in DVC, he makes the two main characters obvious. Dan too, afterall, seeks a happy ending to his thrillers. (is that a clue what to expect in whatever follows DVC?!).

Its a wonder that the world waited till the arrival of DVC to reveal this author's brilliance in his previous feat. May be the 2002 slump in software industry added with the 9/11 factor didn't make people notice the greatness of Digital Fortress (busy with the real stuff, what!). May be they were already too scared to read a big-time technological possibility - the deadly possibility of our country's ultimate secrets getting exposed to the whole world. Closing the eyes is never a solution to overcoming the fear of darkness.

Digital Fortress is truely the best science-fiction I have read so far. Only Dan Brown can break the record he set.

PS: DVC stands for Da Vinci Code and DF for Digital Fortress.

Timeline

2004-11-17T15:15:00.000-05:00

Timeline- Michael Crinchton

As the name goes, the story is a scientific fiction. An ingenious figment of imagination after a thorough study of tomes of research journals and papers, Timeline is a pure fancy how of quantum theory.

There are two underlying concepts of physics elaborated and exploited in this novel. Quantum theory (especially for the not-so-physics minds) is that there are multiple universes existing parallely. We are part of just one universe and the objects in other universes are not visible to us. Then how do we know them? We come to know of the existence of other universes because of the interaction between them. As an example, Crinchton explains the interference pattern obtained by a single ray of light passing through a slit (remember high school physics!!) as a result of the interaction with the quanta of some other universe. Secondly, Time is not a variable at all. It is rather a constant from the time the universe is created!!! now, now, it is very difficult to define 'now' and 'then'. The frame of reference is only the change in the objects of the world-oops- universes. Time does not move, rather we move. then why call it timeline????good question.ask the author.

The novel starts with two quotes - one from Neil Bohr, “If you don’t know history, you don’t know anything” and the second from Richard Feynman, “Nobody understands quantum Theory” (even after reading the book!!). I don’t agree with Bohr and that’s a different issue discussed in future blogs. The novel is meant for a multiple audience- history (not me!), archaeology, architecture, and hey, of course Physics from the Harvard Medical guy.

the story opens dramatically when a professor/scientist is found in a remote desert of Arizona with no means of transportation. He is found mumbling and jumbling in a mysterious state of dementia. he dies in a hospital, raising enough suspicions in a citycop and a doctor. the protagonist and owner of a technology company is a young, brainy, dynamic entrepreneur (the ususal harvard/stanford stuff). the novel is all about his secret and arrogant venture to conquer the future of the future. he is a man who holds that the future lies in the past. and hence comes history into this scientific fiction. the second half, or should i say, other universe of the novel, has a different historical hero. the plot turns to completely different dimensions when a group of employees are forced into another universe or plainly 14th century war torn france and struck there. though the built up is initially thrilling, the anticlimax is not expected of Crinchton.

the novel leaves no impact and fails to convince me as a science student. overall, a typical masala. i would rate this novel 6 on 10.

Hola Blog!

2004-10-29T16:41:00.000-04:00

hi,

to start with, a simple thanks to those listening eyes(!!) who have the time and tide to read some nobody's voice. i am new to this blog business and trying to get a feel of these blogs. this is the first time i would be typing into a PC without spell check, grammar check and all the parapernalia's of Gates' brain child (or rather children). it is a nice feeling to type whatever i feel, get a deep satisfaction of having shared my innermost feelings to some confidante, a confidante who can never betray me.

this is indeed a writing without purpose. and hence a writing which cannot be copyrighted. why is this happiness to type a blog?? have the ever advancing tools of communication widened the gap??why is the hesitation to share with someone flesh and blood?? why is the machine a companion?? why are we talking 1s and 0s??what ever happened to 'language skills'?? why do the fingers play the vocal chord???

whatever, here is something that gives another meaning to freedom of expression.

Blogs - they have come to stay and boom;

making new flowers in our daily chores bloom.

let me sing a hail to blogs

and start removing my mind clogs.