a sparkling river,a sandy beach...
a cloudy sky,a blazing sun...
a peaceful silence,a sound of music...
a short walk,a long climb...
a little hillside,a misty mountain...
a bowl of soup,a spicy curry...
a ferry boat,a sunken ship...
a small story,a big drama...
a mischievous grin,an embarassed smile....
a haunted castle,a thatched hut...
a jogger's sprint,a sniper's crawl...
a meaningless conversation,a remarkable comment...
a smile of sadness,a tear of joy...
a known stranger,an unknown friend...
a book on a couch,a drink in the pub...
a sense of tradition,a wild nonsense thing...
a large expanse of space, a wee moment in time...
a loud chat with everyone, an unspoken word with someone...
a place where everything ended, a place where everything began...
... a lot of things don't matter anymore..
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Common man - only in the cartoon ?
India Inc is probably the most used word in today's media. India is happening and developing at such a rate that the world is noticing it.As a proud Indian ( you could read that as patriotic also, not in the real sense of freedom struggle patriotism though),it makes me happy. Yet,I keep questioning myself, 'Why is life a struggle for the common man even today in India ?'
The word 'Common man' penned after RKL's famous cartoon series has become an entity, unwanted by India Inc. After a month of staying away from home, my powers of observation of my surroundings has suddenly increased by a factor of 20. What was earlier just a passing glance at an overflowing corporation garbage bin,today is a point of observation. A long queue in a government office which was an expected thing yesterday and hence did not require any intellectual interference,today is a mental excersise. Many such examples and am convinced that the 'common man' of India is slowly losing his peace. His life is still a struggle.
The world's biggest democracy, the most emerging market today, yet reports people dying of starvation in Bihar,of farmers commiting suicides in Andra,of floods taking lives in Orissa,of shortage of food, lack of basic education, health,terrorist attacks in parks and gardens,the list goes on...
While the rupee is gaining strength against the dollar and software exports increasing exponentially sound promising,tomatoes at Rs 20 a kg ,meat at Rs 200+ and toor dal at Rs 50+ is definitely not a good sign of internal progress. The former shows how happy 'India's new rich' are ( are they really ?) while the latter concludes that 'Common man' still has a daily struggle to survive.Well,one thing leads to another and there can be scores of peripheral effects of basic infrastructure this country claims to its credit,some good some bad but the one thing that is certain is the difficult state of the ordinary folks of this vast country.
I'm no authority on this country's administration,but I strongly feel that what India needs today is a complete makeover of its socio-econimical structure. Human life, for starters ? We must learn to make a big deal for every life that breathes here, no we don't do that! We Indians don't value 'quality of life'. Also,death is a common occurance and it does not need so much thought is what every system here thinks. No wonder we have blasts every 6 months across the country, so many accidents, lives lost in calamities and alike, people dying of hunger, neglected medical aid,etc.
Only when we realize that life is more important, shall we then come up with systems and subsystems that will try to safeguard and preserve every one of us. Only then shall we think about farmers,teachers, doctors, etc and not just about software engineers..
I would like to see RKL's 'Common Man' as happy too...
The word 'Common man' penned after RKL's famous cartoon series has become an entity, unwanted by India Inc. After a month of staying away from home, my powers of observation of my surroundings has suddenly increased by a factor of 20. What was earlier just a passing glance at an overflowing corporation garbage bin,today is a point of observation. A long queue in a government office which was an expected thing yesterday and hence did not require any intellectual interference,today is a mental excersise. Many such examples and am convinced that the 'common man' of India is slowly losing his peace. His life is still a struggle.
The world's biggest democracy, the most emerging market today, yet reports people dying of starvation in Bihar,of farmers commiting suicides in Andra,of floods taking lives in Orissa,of shortage of food, lack of basic education, health,terrorist attacks in parks and gardens,the list goes on...
While the rupee is gaining strength against the dollar and software exports increasing exponentially sound promising,tomatoes at Rs 20 a kg ,meat at Rs 200+ and toor dal at Rs 50+ is definitely not a good sign of internal progress. The former shows how happy 'India's new rich' are ( are they really ?) while the latter concludes that 'Common man' still has a daily struggle to survive.Well,one thing leads to another and there can be scores of peripheral effects of basic infrastructure this country claims to its credit,some good some bad but the one thing that is certain is the difficult state of the ordinary folks of this vast country.
I'm no authority on this country's administration,but I strongly feel that what India needs today is a complete makeover of its socio-econimical structure. Human life, for starters ? We must learn to make a big deal for every life that breathes here, no we don't do that! We Indians don't value 'quality of life'. Also,death is a common occurance and it does not need so much thought is what every system here thinks. No wonder we have blasts every 6 months across the country, so many accidents, lives lost in calamities and alike, people dying of hunger, neglected medical aid,etc.
Only when we realize that life is more important, shall we then come up with systems and subsystems that will try to safeguard and preserve every one of us. Only then shall we think about farmers,teachers, doctors, etc and not just about software engineers..
I would like to see RKL's 'Common Man' as happy too...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Listening to Lata Mangeshkar now..
After a month of bollywood music deprivation, am overloading myself with Lata Mangeshkar tracks today. My music player at work was on before my email was!! Tracks so far :-
Suno sajna
Yeh dil tum bin kahee lagtaa nahin
Bahaaron mera jeeven bhi sawaaron
the last one is in a loop for probably the 5th time now, the starting piece of santoor and flute makes me wonder, is this Shiv Hari ? Reminds me of the classic 1968 'Call of the valley'...
Why does santoor feel like ripples of water ?
Why does sitar feel like a romantic moment with a stranger ?
Why does flute feel like a peaceful sleep ?
Some questions have no answers..
P.S :- If there is God on earth,he/she probably lives in the vocal chords of Lata Mangeshkar ??
Suno sajna
Yeh dil tum bin kahee lagtaa nahin
Bahaaron mera jeeven bhi sawaaron
the last one is in a loop for probably the 5th time now, the starting piece of santoor and flute makes me wonder, is this Shiv Hari ? Reminds me of the classic 1968 'Call of the valley'...
Why does santoor feel like ripples of water ?
Why does sitar feel like a romantic moment with a stranger ?
Why does flute feel like a peaceful sleep ?
Some questions have no answers..
P.S :- If there is God on earth,he/she probably lives in the vocal chords of Lata Mangeshkar ??
Back to the grind...
life has resumed its normal course! and I have written my shortest blog today!!
Monday, July 09, 2007
Welcome to Centre Court,british summer has set in...
One of the finest tennis matches in a long time was yesterday's Federer vs Nadal. Games running into 5 sets is a trier of all kinds, to the players especially. What a comeback for the Fedex in the last set, that was. But,the hero undoubtedly was Rafael Nadal. I'm a self-confessed fan of Federer but to be fair to yesterday's match,it belonged to Nadal. Some of his cross-court shots were with great precision which the World No 1. could not match,his physical stamina was stunning. Nadal yesterday could have lifted the Himalayas in his left hand,that was his strength. And above all, he appeared to have a mental disposition that seemed to say, 'Look how I can handle the grass'!
Anyway,the day belonged to the Swiss man,who humbly admitted to have been lucky.However, his intelligence on grass was sprouting off now and then, almost in every set and that's why he was able to see Nadal eye-to-eye till the last. No wonder, they say 'battle of equals'!! phew,my heart was jumping yesterday!
Looking at it in a neutral manner,the game was poised equally,so it is unfair to give Nadal so much advanatage. But what made it special for him was probably the fact that he pushed the match to a five-setter and that was his moment of glory. That was the punishing factor for Federer. What a match!!
Above all,it was a match that audience was seen loving through and through. How I wish I was sitting amidst those people and applauding the victory of human spirit, whoever it may be! Perfect british weather(not counting the rain earlier) and beautful Wimbledon centre court,royal feel,precision and all old-world glory is a beautiful feeling.
The best thing about yesterday was the sight of three greats - Bjorn Borg,Boris Becker and John McEnroe. Men who made a difference to this world sitting there to encourage the men who are going to make a difference to this world!.Awesome feeling,great tennis,excellent weather,mind-boggling aces by Federer(in the last set) all these took me back to old memories of growing up when my cousin Jayanthi akka and I used to discuss tennis ( pretty much all sports) and I used to be in awe of her knowldege of every nitty-gritty thing in tennis,cricket,whatever. My interest in sports was fuelled by her and the first thing I did after the match was to call her and discuss yesterday's match!
Jayanthi akka, am so glad you watched it yesterday amidst all your household duties!! Somethings, don't change isn't it ? One of them is Wimbledon...
Anyway,the day belonged to the Swiss man,who humbly admitted to have been lucky.However, his intelligence on grass was sprouting off now and then, almost in every set and that's why he was able to see Nadal eye-to-eye till the last. No wonder, they say 'battle of equals'!! phew,my heart was jumping yesterday!
Looking at it in a neutral manner,the game was poised equally,so it is unfair to give Nadal so much advanatage. But what made it special for him was probably the fact that he pushed the match to a five-setter and that was his moment of glory. That was the punishing factor for Federer. What a match!!
Above all,it was a match that audience was seen loving through and through. How I wish I was sitting amidst those people and applauding the victory of human spirit, whoever it may be! Perfect british weather(not counting the rain earlier) and beautful Wimbledon centre court,royal feel,precision and all old-world glory is a beautiful feeling.
The best thing about yesterday was the sight of three greats - Bjorn Borg,Boris Becker and John McEnroe. Men who made a difference to this world sitting there to encourage the men who are going to make a difference to this world!.Awesome feeling,great tennis,excellent weather,mind-boggling aces by Federer(in the last set) all these took me back to old memories of growing up when my cousin Jayanthi akka and I used to discuss tennis ( pretty much all sports) and I used to be in awe of her knowldege of every nitty-gritty thing in tennis,cricket,whatever. My interest in sports was fuelled by her and the first thing I did after the match was to call her and discuss yesterday's match!
Jayanthi akka, am so glad you watched it yesterday amidst all your household duties!! Somethings, don't change isn't it ? One of them is Wimbledon...
Friday, June 29, 2007
Sowmya at Cleaveland Music festival..
Sowmya is back in form, heard her today at Cleaveland Tyagaraja Aradhana in Cleaveland,am simply amazed by the presence of Carnatic music in the US,am so glad.. The programme being telecast on Jaya TV daily at 6.30AM, wih the usual RMkv silks and grandeur, it feels nice.
Coming back to Sowmya's kutcheri, I must say, I heard the "Sowmya of the early nineties" today, after a reeeally long time. Of late, for whatever reason,which I dont want to judge, I used to feel she had lost interest. Her singing had reduced from a once-all-powerful husky nature to a boring,sluggish one. It hurt me a lot. Because Sowmya is my all time favourite in the new generations. Her classisicm stands out and her no-compromise way of handling ragas like thodi,bhairavi, kalyani and the other rubber-stamp ragas of Carnatic music makes me feel as if am listening to someone from those days....
Maybe it was voice abuse,fatigue or too many concerts, she just wasnt the same, for about a couple of years now. Today, it seemed changed. A briliant neraval in Dhanyasi followed by a kalyani in the 30 mins of glory that JayaTV brings daily was how my day began...
Sowmya stands out because of her commitment to Carnatic musc, I have heard from music circle friends that she works hard at her music even now. No wonder.. She is also singing at a slightly higher pitch with good clarity too... Is this the effect of voice culture ? Constant akaaara saadhanam ? Humming ? Not talking too much ? What could it be ? Am still struggling.. but am not anyone in Carnatic music.. am just a small fish, a reealy tiny one in this great universe of carnatic musicians... but am blessed to be there...
Whatever it is with Sowmya, am glad she is back in action. Am waiting to hear more of her back home, maybe a brilliant kamboji would do justice to all these years of lacking ??
Back in nineties,Sowmya used to be for me an icon - an IIT gold medallist,a post-graduate in Chemistry from IIT,an all-rounder who sings Carnatic music too.
Today, Sowmya is to me an icon of a different nature - a fighter,a phoenix in the field of CM who has come back to form in style and grandeuer, and she also happens to be an IItian,a gold medalist with a postgraduate in chemistry too..
Sometimes it is worth turning the perspective by 360 degres what ?
Coming back to Sowmya's kutcheri, I must say, I heard the "Sowmya of the early nineties" today, after a reeeally long time. Of late, for whatever reason,which I dont want to judge, I used to feel she had lost interest. Her singing had reduced from a once-all-powerful husky nature to a boring,sluggish one. It hurt me a lot. Because Sowmya is my all time favourite in the new generations. Her classisicm stands out and her no-compromise way of handling ragas like thodi,bhairavi, kalyani and the other rubber-stamp ragas of Carnatic music makes me feel as if am listening to someone from those days....
Maybe it was voice abuse,fatigue or too many concerts, she just wasnt the same, for about a couple of years now. Today, it seemed changed. A briliant neraval in Dhanyasi followed by a kalyani in the 30 mins of glory that JayaTV brings daily was how my day began...
Sowmya stands out because of her commitment to Carnatic musc, I have heard from music circle friends that she works hard at her music even now. No wonder.. She is also singing at a slightly higher pitch with good clarity too... Is this the effect of voice culture ? Constant akaaara saadhanam ? Humming ? Not talking too much ? What could it be ? Am still struggling.. but am not anyone in Carnatic music.. am just a small fish, a reealy tiny one in this great universe of carnatic musicians... but am blessed to be there...
Whatever it is with Sowmya, am glad she is back in action. Am waiting to hear more of her back home, maybe a brilliant kamboji would do justice to all these years of lacking ??
Back in nineties,Sowmya used to be for me an icon - an IIT gold medallist,a post-graduate in Chemistry from IIT,an all-rounder who sings Carnatic music too.
Today, Sowmya is to me an icon of a different nature - a fighter,a phoenix in the field of CM who has come back to form in style and grandeuer, and she also happens to be an IItian,a gold medalist with a postgraduate in chemistry too..
Sometimes it is worth turning the perspective by 360 degres what ?
Thursday, June 28, 2007
The great TMT is no more..
Sir TM Thyagarajan, one of the greatest livng legends of sampradayam karnataka sangeetham passed away yesterday at 84. I have started listening to him only recently and the impact his music has is not explainable. He is a guru of first order - even just listening to his music has given so much.
May his soul rest in peace.
May his soul rest in peace.
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