Chinna Chinna Aasai!

“Chinna Chinna Aasai.. Siragadikkum Aasai”, the song which was probably blaring on every tv in the last decade.I’m not a great fan of the song itself,but I love the picturisation and the lyrics of the song.Hats off to Maniratnam! I’m sure everybody would have enjoyed the naughty Madhubala’s cute,funny expressions in the scene.

Lets think about the Chinna Chinna Aasaigal featured in the song.”Megangalai ellaam thottuvida Aasai.. Sogangalayellaam vittu vida aasai”, definitely worth it.I’d like to touch the sky too.At this point, I’d like to share my ever-growing list of chinna chinna Aasaigal.It ranges from making a new invention to eating a lolly pop! A game of Chess with Vishy Anand, perform a solo kacheri, have a huge garden with tulips of all colours, pet rabbits,take a photograph as the lightning strikes,play badminton,cycle along the beach from Besant Nagar to Pondicherry.. the list goes on.

Jaya Tv hosts margazhi maha utsavam every year.This year’s margazhi maha utsavam concerts will be telecasted on TV shortly.Meanwhile, I was recalling last year’s concert series.Thanks to ‘you tube’.The anchor of this show, Subhashree Thanikachalam makes this series very interesting with question & answer sessions,thereby involving the audience and inducing an intimacy between the artist and the spell-bound audience.Besides these interactive sessions, all the artists are interviewed with a common questionaire after the concert is over.This piece is a suspense and is revealed to the audience only when the programme is aired on tv.

Last year, all the artists were questioned about their chinna chinna aasaigal.Hmmm Interesting right ? Most of them gave out really interesting answers which I thought I should share will all of you to read,enjoy,laugh and ponder..Let me start with my favourite artist

• Unnikrishnan – He would join any group of guys playing cricket on the road.Not surprising,considering the fact that he is a cricket enthusiast.Yet another of his cute wishes was that he loves toys.It seems he used to hide his favourite toys under his pillow and surprisingly his son is doing the same thing. Its really fascinating to see the way genes work.We derive our looks from our parents.Reasonable enough! Maybe even the mannerisms! But how did Unni’s son know that his father used to hide toys under the pillow when he was a kid ? My cousin Suresh used to play with colourful dabbas when he was a kid it seems.His son Advait is now fond of playing with these colourful dabbas.How again?     Once a person becomes a celebrity, he loses his privacy despite the status he gets.They have made enough sacrifices in life to come up to this position.This was evident when Unni said that he misses the thrill of travelling in PTC buses.
• T.M.Krishna missed playing cricket.Yet another curious desire of his was to drive down to bombay for a concert,finish his concert and drive back to Chennai.Crazy ain’t he ?
• O.S.Arun misses playing 7 stones ( a game where you hit seven stones piled on top of each other with a ball.. I forgot the rest!).He misses Golguppa chaat and the no-sense chat with his friends.Missing chat and chaat,typical Dilli waala!
• Neyveli Santhanagopalan, a very interesting character in the Carnatic fraternity.Dour faced, Gopi Chandanam smeared on forehead,dhoti clad typical Bhagawatharvaal misses climbing trees and eating guavas from the trees.Can you imagine,Santhanagopalan on the tree! I can’t!
• Sanjay Subramanian, a cool guy who blogs and has an account on facebook as well.He misses flying kaathadi’s and is not worried about thodi’s and bhairavi’s but about kamarkats not being sold in shops!Good luck on finding your kamarkat Sir!

Oh come on! How can I miss the female artists! So here goes their list -

• Sudha Raghunathan,Aruna Sairam and a bunch of female artists miss eating ice-creams and cold drinks.Its seriously a punishment to deprive a kid of ice creams, and these musicians were subjected to that cruelty.Great sacrifice folks! Hats off! And not to forget, Sudha Raghunathan wanted to win a nobel prize.. Quite big for chinna Aasai.. hehe!
• Nithyashree Mahadevan,wanted to dance during her school days, but wasn’t given a chance.She’d loved to dress for fancy dress competitions and act in dramas.She’s still looking for a chance to shop in the Pondy Bazar streets! Phew! She must be a really patient shopaholic!
• Ranjani-Gayathri-The duo violinists who turned into excellent vocalists, miss playing Paandi.(hehe!).Gayathri misses cycling and the fist-cuff fights with Ranjani,while Ranjani missed being a part of athletics in school.

Everybody in the world have desires.These include those who took renunciation as well.I’m sure Mahatma,Ramana Maharishi and all those saints who took sanyasa would have had their own set of chinna chinna aasaigal.

You have your chinna chinna Aasaigal.Find it funny,interesting,weird, nonsensical, thought-provoking,serious.. Here’s your space! Share your Chinna Chinna Aasaigal.Lets see how many people miss climbing trees, doing somersaults ( I miss somersaults!), eating ice creams etc.You might even find a friend here with similar desires.Then why’re you waiting ? Share it here!

 

Rim Jym.. Rim Jym..

Hot,hotter and hottest Chennai has finally turned into a better place.Thanks to the showers! But despite the rare downpours in Chennai, a few people still despise the rain. I’ve always wondered why people don’t like the rain. Rain enlivens the lifeless earth, gives a fresh look to the otherwise dry leaves, ensures a free supply of  ‘water-the elixir of life’ throughout the year and above all isn’t it beautiful ?

Rain has served as an inspiration for many poets independent of the language in which they write. Rain songs have become a part and parcel of every movie just like the item numbers.And, invariably the Rain song is a definite hit! Not just a hit, most rain songs are beautiful too.Is it just the music that brings the beauty ? Definitely not.. Its the rain itself which adds beauty to the song.The rhythm of the rain drops falling, the crystal showers filling the place, the beautiful heroine dancing in the rain.. (does she dance to the song or to the rhythm of the rain ?? .. I’ve always wondered! ) Isn’t it magical ?

Can there be a greater pleasure than dancing in the rain? The lyrics of the song “Indian Rain” by Colonial Cousins goes like this..“Rain drops and dance.. Strange Kind of Romance.. I don’t know whether to cry out loud,but I’m feeling fine..Watch the rhythm of the rain falling down!”. Quite like a piece of metal getting attracted to a magnet, Rain kindles the dancing spirit in people. Not a person is spared.Shy ladies dance in the rain too.. atleast behind closed doors.

One tamil writer aptly describes rain as ‘Meghathin Sirippoliye’ ( the laughter of the sky!).Rain is all about happiness and joy,but people still say “Its a bright sunny day” and associate Sunshine with happiness and say “Its a dull rainy day” associating gloom with a rain!

Humans can never be satisfied.If rainfall is scanty during a year,we have a problem.But if there’s abundant rainfall we still have a problem.We cut trees recklessly for our needs and then complain about water crisis.We misuse the drainage system, allow the use of sub-standard cables and then complain about mosquitoes,power cuts,slush,diseases and what not ?

Humans are the causes for all the problems.We are the root causes behind our sufferings.We have no right to complain against nature.Mother Nature is so benevolent , that she patiently takes in all the atrocities imposed on her by human intervention and still strives to give nothing short of her best.

But her patience has a limit.Her tolerance has a limit.Considering, the extent of damage done to her and the rate at which the damage is being done, the day that she will wither away is not very far off.

The sudden changes in the weather,climate are nothing but warnings given by the great Mother.She is requesting the humans, pleading to the humans to stop the cruelty done to her.It is upto us to react wisely and save her from the damage.

“Save her” refers not to one person, but saving every living being on earth.Let us react quickly and guard this beautiful gift given to us before it is too late.Remember, it is our duty to save her and guard her not just for us but for the posterity as well!

“Fail not in your duty!”

“Protect her when she is here ! Cry not after she has gone!”

 

Random Musings !

Travelling in an MTC bus on a daily basis has become a great source of entertainment. Its been almost two months since this routine began. My journey starts at Besant Nagar and ends at Nandanam, which is  about 45 minutes to an hour.I’d generally be humming some song during my journey to office.Sometimes, out of enthusiasm I end up humming it a little loud that people give me weird looks.But there are odd times, when I’m lost in a web of thoughts.One such instance happened last week. I was a little delayed and the only available 23C was ready to take-off. I quickly climbed into the bus. Shortly after the bus kicked off,I could sense something burning.For sometime,the moron I was,  thought it was some rubber factory in the vicinity. Then like some sudden enlightenment, I realized there was no factory in this route.We were not anywhere in the outskirts, but at the heart of the city. Then, I could see some smoke coming. “Oh boy, it must be the radiator…must have got over-heated”, I said to myself. The fumes were choking me and I was in no mood to sing.So, I took a break and peeped out of the window to take a look at the heavy traffic (Yes, I’m jobless!).

“Heavy traffic in Chennai! Phew! Gimme a break!  *Sigh!* “.. Am sure many of you are heaving a groan of despair! Relax people.. Universal truths remain true forever! Traffic in Chennai is like a perennial river.I was observing the registration numbers on the cars.. (What a thing to see! ). The first thought which struck me was when will the usual familiar pattern of four digit numbers turn into five.. especially at the rate of growth of the number of two wheelers and four wheelers in Chennai! I started working out permutations and combinations quickly.. It was then that I realized that its not just a combination of 4 numbers, but 1 or 2 or even three letters associated with the numbers… So AB 1234 and BA 1234 are still unique! Long way to go before they get exhausted.. Sigh of relief!

Stylic writing is common.. No surprise considering the various font styles available today. But its the first time I saw one of the number plates styled.I agree INNOVA has a huge place to put a big name plate.The owners had taken this to their advantage and had a name plate designed.In place of the usual “TN”, they had “Tamil Nadu” written in one line in caligraphic writing. In the next line, they had the usual letters, (if I remember right, just one letter, followed by 3 numbers I guess).People have started showing their creativity in designing number plates as well! Cool isn’t it ?

Yet another day, when I was stuck in the signal near Madhya Kailash, I was just observing the other lane. Life has become fast,too fast and what was ‘one month’ a decade back now seems like minutes.Not to blame the world.Thats the way it is and its not going to be long before one month will seem like seconds  and milliseconds and Planck time (smallest unit of time 10^-44 seconds)..LOL! We’ve all been through times where we have to skip breakfast or maybe even lunch during school, college or even during work, whenever we have to complete assignments, meet deadlines and stuff.. I’ve even seen people munching sandwiches and biscuits as they are on the move.But the other day , right in the middle of the road, when the road was jam packed, and all the vehicles were waiting for the GREEN, one young girl was holding the steering on one hand and an ever-silver plate in the other hand and was eating her breakfast.Look at what life has become like.

Most of us would resort to wearing helmets for safety, protection etc.., a few of us to stick to the rules imposed by our so-called government and some weird people who wear it because they think they look “cool,hot and what not!” with their helmets.We’ve seen helmets in various colors.. crazy girls go for magenta and pink helmets as well..But as I was coming back home on a saturday afternoon, I saw one Bharatnatyam dancer, returning straight from her class apparently, because she was still clad in the dance costume.Her helmet was of a terra cotta brown and trust me it had two horns.Reminded me of a stag.Crazy lady!

Rahul Gandhi has come.. Fine.. But why do you waste money on posters and stick two posters for every metre…Useless fellows! Even worse! Rahul Gandhi was printed as Raghul Gandhi.. typical Tamilians! And one poster was stuck on top of an AIADMK poster.Anyway that poster must have been old.Some AIADMK fanatic tore Rahul Gandhi’s poster and only one of his hands appeared in this particular poster.In place of his other hand, was “Amma”.Won’t the politicians ever rest in peace!

Beyond all these observations and funny incidents,bus travel has really become a beginning of many new bondages. I befriended a 70 year old thatha who gets down at Anna University and takes another bus to Pallavaram. Thats where he works.He wrote his mobile number on the back of the ticket and gave me.He’s asked me to come over to his place sometime.Bus travel has created a new bonding.I have a grand dad and he has a grand daughter!

Am sure all of you have great experiences during your bus journey.Feel free to share your experiences so that all of us can read and have fun!

Bus travel Rocks.. even though its tedious!

 

A Month later!

After 14 years of schooling and four years of travail in an Engineering college, it feels so good to earn a few pennies. I decided to put a pause to the so-called education for a while and venture out into the real world. From a rag picker to a high-tech engineer, the most frequently used word these days is ‘Recession’ (and I’m not being sarcastic!).Recession is playing havoc and the market is really badly hit. Jobs are scarce and the pay is even worse. Luckily I got an offer from TCS through campus recruitments. But, the offer letter never mentioned a joining date. Considering the current scenario, TCS isn’t going to call for until, say November (Might take longer! (:)).. Who knows?).Meanwhile I thought I’ll not waste time and try finding another job. If not for money, atleast to keep myself engaged and get exposed to the corporate atmosphere.

As I was wondering where to look out for a job, my uncle came to my rescue. Being the President and Director of a company, he asked me if I was interested. My quick nod didn’t surprise him. Though he did not guarantee a job, he assured that he’ll try his level best. I mailed him my resume at once. From that moment, all my thoughts were about working in a company. A couple of days later, the HR manager called me and asked me if I could make it to their office the next day. I quickly scribbled down the address and other details. I was overwhelmed by anxiety, excitement and a multitude of emotions. The company Fenner India Ltd., manufactures belts and oil seals. I was totally curious as to what job a software engineer would be given in a manufacturing company. My first meeting with the HR went on well and fortunately the task I was assigned was very much within my domain. The HR Manager asked me if I was confident. Truly speaking, I did not know anything about the task that awaited me, excluding the fact that it was a software-oriented job. But involuntarily, without the slightest hint of hesitation, I told him that I was quite confident and that I’ll join a week later. With those words, my first meeting came to a close.

It wasn’t hard to spend a week’s time after all. A week later, I happily strolled into the office building and eagerly awaited the manager’s arrival. The same tall, lanky man, I met a week earlier ushered me into the office and gave my appointment order. The very thought of earning a few bucks gave me a satisfaction I long yearned for. The first day in a new environment is always memorable, be it the first day at school, college or a new work place.

I was introduced to all the members in the HR team and later allotted a cabin with a PC- My abode for the next 6 months. My first task was to learn the process of performance appraisal practiced at Fenner so that I can develop an online performance management system. I went through a presentation on their appraisal system and got to explore the previous year appraisal files of a few employees just to get a feel of their system. Most of my first day was spent handling those huge files. But before I closed for the day, I decided to take a look at the code written by their parent company and try fixing an error or two.

Unfortunately, the software was in a much worse state than I had expected. There were a bunch of errors I couldn’t trace, leave alone correct. I’ve heard people say that its’ always easier to write your own code but hard to debug somebody else’s code. I realized the truth behind that statement only when I sat with the software written by JK. It was only the first day after all. So, I packed for the day with a hope that I would be able to contribute significantly to the software in the days to come.

It has been a month since I started working on the software. Although I had problems initially, I picked up and was able to give a shape to the software. As to the non-technical side, I have great company who keep me laughing all the time with their endless comedies. We are four of us in our cabin. Vaanija, Vivek, Sridhar and myself. All three of them are Assistant managers in HR. I do most of the talking to Vanija. She is very social and maintains a good rapport with all staffs. Right from the office boy to the Vice President, everybody drops in to have a chat with her. Any employee, coming from the other branches also drop in and chat over a cup of tea. Thanks to her, I got to know a lot of people. Not to forget, I’ve been at this place for just about a month and I already feel like I’ve been working here for about two or three years.

None of us can imagine a life without humour. Two of my colleagues Vivek and Sridhar lighten my dullest moments. Their conversations never lack humour and sarcasm. Sridhar, the most serious man in our cabin is generally on the listening end and keeps the conversation lively with his very interesting replies. Vivek, the vibrant youth is the source of entertainment. He asks funny questions and keeps us laughing all the time. A few days back, this was the conversation thread between Vivek and Sridhar… (A few light moments for all of you to laugh and enjoy! )

Vivek : Nanganallur Anjaneyar koil la epponga  prasadam kudupanga ?

Sridhar : 5:30 manikku

Vivek:  enna kuduppanga ?

Sridhar: payasam kudupanga thambi

Vivek:denam office lendu 5 manikku kelambi poi payasam sapadanam thambi

Sridhar : poitu vanga thambi.

Vivek: Vera enna kuduppanga thambi

Sridhar: puliyodhara kudupaanga

Vivek : Verum puliyodara daan kudupaangala ?

Sridhar: Illa thambi thenga chutney oda kuduppaanga

Vivek: Aama thambi.. naanum nenachen.. ellaam koil layum verum puliyodara, verum thenga sadam ipdi daan tharaanga.. oru thakkali chutney,oru vengaya chutney, oru thenga chutney nu kudutha nalla irukkum illa

Sridhar: tharuvanga thambi tharuvanga!

LOL! Hope all of you enjoyed that piece.

My office is a Bharatha Vilas – A place where I literally saw, “Unity in diversity”. From my cabin, I can hear people talking in English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and what not. I can already understand all of these languages quite well. Soon I am sure, I’ll start speaking them as well.

Despite all this unity, just like any other place, politics and ego clashes prevail. But don’t you think any place lacking these would be unnatural. So let me stay out of all these, appreciate the diversity, give my best at work and have a blast.

 

A Musical Bond!

Music has always been there in my family.Everybody in my family always had and still continues to have a ear for Carnatic Music. Adhering to the tradition, just like every female child in the family, I was initiated into Carnatic music when I was 5 (I still remember my grandmother accompanying me to paatu class, learning Sarali varisai(basics),the weird way in which i used to put thalam..LOL).Although,I started my music lessons at 5 and I was quite sincere in learning the lessons initially,Music was never my interest then.In fact,I always used to come up with an excuse or another to escape music class.Just imagine, crooning hymns at 5 pm, on weekends, when you have the best show on TV,when every kid wants to play outdoors with their own bunch of friends,when you wanna shop for some goodies..(sob sob !..).I am sure many of you would agree with me.Don’t you ?

Carnatic music was by no means close to fun then.On the contrary, it was everything but fun. Those readers, who’ve been following my blog for quite some time, might be wondering as to why or how a person with nothing but disinterest towards Carnatic Music, has been writing posts about the greatness of the same.Thats something inexplicable.Simply put it, i would say its the magic of time.Oh, and not to forget,I would attribute all this passion and sudden interest in music to Unnikrishnan Sir(a great Carnatic musician and playback singer).If I hadn’t taken to listening to his Music or his concerts,I don’t even know if any flavor of Music would have interested me!Thanks to Sir for inspiring thousands of youngsters like me.If not for him, I would have missed something great in life – ‘the greatness of music’.

On mentioning Unni Sir, my mind is  just overwhelmed with sweet memories of the concerts,all the funny incidents in the concerts, my first meeting with Unnikrishnan Sir, and a beginning of a great friendship.One blog post is not enough to cover even half of what I wish to say.The main reason, or in other words, the motivation behind this post is a story which I thought must definitely feature in my blog.

It was not until class 9 that I started going to carnatic concerts (kutcheris),though I was attracted to Unni’s music for almost a year then (Thanks to the media !).Fond memories of the first concert are still lingering in my mind.Although my memory is a little rusty, I think the first concert I attended was at Marundeeshwarar temple (Thiruvanmiyur).Since the concert was at a temple,he chose popular krithis like theeradha vilayatu pillai,deva deva kalyamithe etc.The rendition of the krithi ‘Sabheshan anudinam unnai thudi maname’ in Raga Saveri doubled my respect and regard for him.It felt great to see the owner of the voice i was mesmerized by, my idol, my mentor  performing live..it was a dream come true..That was the beginning… I started attending concerts more frequently.Any concert in and around the vicinity,I’d make it a point to go. What started as a trial ( trying to sit in a concert for two hours), blossomed into deep love and it developed into nothing short of a ‘craze’.I used to pester my mom to take me to all the concerts (there was one point I used to attend every concert Unnikrishnan Sir performed in) and I must thank her now for being very patient and kind to me.Never has she refused, despite her tight schedules.She used to happily accompany me to all the concerts and we used to sit together guessing ragas and analyzing the krithis rendered.Golden times those were! Thanks to her,I am proficient at guessing most of the Ragas now.

One fine day,I decided to write a mail to Unnikrishnan Sir, just to express my love for his music.With much hesitation,I sent my first mail.I was astonished at the sight of his reply to my mail.I couldn’t believe that an artist of such great name and fame would reply to fan mails.His reply was just a line or two long,but it was proof enough of what a great human being he was. The trend continued.After every concert,I used to send in a line of appreciation and he sweetly acknowledged every mail of mine.At one point,I got over it and put a stop to the mailing habit, though I attended his concerts regularly.

Time flew. I was busy with studies,tuitions,IIT classes and was forced to cut down on music classes (sad.. just as I developed a taste to appreciate and enjoy music.. it was out of my reach.. kaiku etinadhu vaiku ettama pochu ) and other recreational activities.I would attend one odd concert during weekends.Amidst those tight schedules, I never missed the smallest oppurtunity to attend a concert. It was my only source of fun, relief, entertainment and peace.Unni’s voice flowed through my body, relieving all the tension, rejuvenating every cell and giving me a new energy.A million thanks for that!

Once schooling was over and as I stepped into college, I got the oppurtunity to take up music lessons again.Music found me and I found her again.The sheer joy of learning a lot more good music and giving a couple of performances as a group felt great.

Social Networking was in fashion then.’Orkut’ was so popular in college and due to peer pressure,I signed up on orkut.That was when I found this girl called ‘Padmini’, who was a great fan of Unnikrishnan.Although we’ve been to the same concerts sevarel times, we did not notice each other.We were absolute strangers sharing our love for music(especially Unnikrishnan Sir’s music).Media again helped us keep in touch.We were looking for a good oppurtunity to meet up.What better place than a concert ? The next concert was at Hamsadhwani (A Sabha in Indra Nagar) and since it was quite close to both our places,we thought it would be ideal.

I was at Hamsadhwani, all set to listen to the concert and awaiting the meeting.The concert was brilliant, however we did not meet up that day either. Padmini had come to the concert, but she took a place next to Unnikirshnan sir’s wife and I considered it best not to disturb her at that point.Most of all,I wasn’t 100% certain if that was Padmini at all.At a later date, she confirmed that it was none but her.That was when we exchanged identities.Finally, we knew who each other were,although our meeting didn’t happen for another few weeks.

Later, when I was cycling down to Thiruvanmiyur for an errand, I decided to meet Padmini at her residence.That was our first meeting. We shared each others experiences  in concerts (Kutcheri talk), saw some photos and formally got introduced .. usual stuff.. That first meeting marked the beginning of a strong musical bond.From then, me and Padmini started going to Sir’s concerts together.My mom accompanied me sometimes, but I did not have to pester her any longer.I found the company I long yearned for, somebody who would share my love for Unnikrishnan’s music,somebody who wouldn’t give me odd looks whenever I discussed something to do with Unni.It felt great!I learnt a lot from Padmini.I can call them concert etiquettes..LOL (although its not any strict rule to follow!).Just as every concert begun, she had the habit of writing the details of the concert in a diary including the date, place, name of the artist, accompanists,krithis rendered with their ragas etc. She always honoured the artist with a standing ovation after the concert.Every mail of hers would be written in great detail.Unfailingly,she  mentions every song featured in the concert and appreciates every piece of the concert wholeheartedly.After reading her mail,which always begins with a ‘Namaskarams Sir’, I started drafting long mails appreciating every bit of the concert.These small habits which I imbibed from Padmini helped me grow as a better rasika(fan).

Not just that, If I know Unnikrishnan Sir today, its all thanks to Padmini. She was actively involved in the music forum which is a great platform for promoting carnatic music among youth.Under the leadership of Dr.Sundar, the music forum has done a lot of service to the Carnatic fraternity. There was one workshop of theirs which I attended. Dr.Sundar, Shri Santhanapopalan and Shri Unnikrishnan were the guests for the day.It was the best day of my life, getting to meet my idol.. Am sure all of you have your idols and the dream come true day is definitely a ‘Red Letter Day’ for all of us! Don’t you agree ?

Padmini got married recently and she’s moved to Chetpet now.So we get to see each other less often.However, we do meet quite frequently at concerts.Music got us together, Music strengthened our bond and I am sure Music will keep us going for many more years to come!

 

Sharreth-The musical Genius!

Music has always been my first love. I have been introduced to malayalam film music recently.Thanks to Idea star Singer (ISS)(a very popular voice hunt on Asianet), Vivek (The winner of ISS) and Ragesh(a great friend of mine with whom i discuss music). Within a few days,I fell in love with the music scored for the malayalam movies (especially the older ones!..So true to the adage “Old is Gold”). Right from Devarajan & Dakshinamoorthy Swami, to Raveendran, Jeyachandran and Ousepechan, these malayalee composers have scored some brilliant music.Needless to mention the class of these musicians.It would be befitting to call them ‘The elite’.

For those people who’ve followed malayalam music through the eighties and nineties, Sharreth Sir needs no introduction.Although, for the sake of other interested readers,I decided to write about Sharreth and his brilliant music.Thanks to my friend Bharathan for this suggestion.

Coming back to Sharreth, the distinguished composer from Kerala. He is one of the rare gems Indian music has seen, one of the few people who breaks the usual musical boundaries, one who composes music reflecting the classical purity of traditional music, yet begs to differ from the rest. Most of his compositions deploy a complicated concept called grahabedham (shifting the tonic in order to get a different raga).Some of the noteworthy compositions include Sudhamantram Niveditham from the less heard of malayalam movie,Devadasi. Singer Unnikrishnan, who rendered this song claims that this is probably the hardest song recorded for the Indian Cinema. The technicalities involved in Sudha mandram has been explained satisfactorily in this link.Interested readers,please take a look at it!

http://swara.blogspot.com/2008/04/sharath-musical-enigma-part-1.html

Sudha mandram is just one piece. He uses a very unique pattern of orchestration interwoven with highly complex swara prasthas, sangathis and what not! He is not just a composer, but is an excellent singer himelf. During his early days, Sharreth worked as a keyboard player under music director Raveendran. Now, can all of you see the roots ? I am sure Sharreth sir would have learnt a great deal working with his highness Raveendran mashe(the song Hari murali Ravam from Aaram thampuran speaks of his calibre.One of the first few compositions to use Asura Thala) and other music directors of the same calibre. Not to forget, he is a disciple of the legendary Carnatic vocalist  Shri.Bala Murali Krishna, who is known for his great attempts at breaking the boundaries imposed on Carnatic Music(He has composed in Ragas Lavangi & Mahathi(tetra tonal- 4 swaras only),Ragas Sarvasri,Siddhi & Ganapathi(tri tonal – 3 swaras only)).

With two legendary musicians as Gurus and driven by a passion and an irrepressible force to do something out of the box,Sharreth must have started composing these wonders. If people still have doubts about his excellence, here is the song Bhavayami from the movie Meghatheertham.If there’s one word to describe this song, it is ‘LET LOOSE’(LOL!).Sharreth sir’s creativity has reached the zenith in this composition.He has sung the song himself and it runs for 13mins 12 seconds(to be precise).He just explodes with swaras and sangathis like a voracious monster attacking his prey,yet relishing every bit of it. I can’t imagine if anybody else could have sung this at all! Everytime I listen to this song, I get charged up.The unsurpassable vigour with which he has rendered this song, transforms into energy and rejuvenates every cell in my body.Try listening to it folks!

Well,I think by this time all of you would be in the mind set that Sharreth is some kind of an alien who composes extremely complicated music which is absolutely incomprehendable by any layman. You are absolutely mistaken my friend.He has composed some great melody and soulful music.The song Madhuram Gayathi from the album Chaithra Geethangal is so replete with melody and Chithra’s voice adds the extra lustre, ornamenting it even further.Not just Chaithra Geethangal, Sharreth has also composed some great melody for the movies like Pavithram,Sindoora rekha etc.Not just in malayalam, he has proved his calibre in Tamil as well.He has scored music for the Tamil movie June R.The song Mazhaiye Mazhaiye in the Raga Kapi is still ringing in my ears.The lyrics and Hariharan’s rendition are all added bonuses,making it sound even better.Rock on Sharreth Sir!

Sharreth, however has not got the deserved attention for his music.That doesn’t stop him from composing good music. However, I strongly believe that artists need to be honoured and talents need to be recognised.I am a great fan of ARR and I am very happy and proud that he won the Oscar.But I have a strong feeling that ‘Jai Ho’ won the Oscar only because it was featured in the movie ‘Slum Dog Millionaire’ and not for its musical content.ARR himself has composed so many songs, much better than ‘Jai Ho’ (‘Udaya Udaya’ from the movie ‘Udaya’, Malargale from the film ‘Love Birds’, many more from Bombay,Roja etc.).When you say you are awarding an Oscar for ‘original score’ or ‘music’, you need to disconnect the song from the movie and look at its musical value.Considering that as a criterion,don’t you think Sharreth’s Bhavayami or Sudha mandram deserves an Oscar ?

Off-late, Sharreth sir has also started composing songs for the masses.In one of the interviews, he has mentioned that ‘ripping off ‘ is the current trend and its unavoidable these days and he fears that he might also have to do it some day.People’s tastes keep changing and they differ widely from one person to another. After all, be it Software or Songs, Customer satisfaction is the key to success. So listeners,do not  let melody and brilliance die down for the sheer craze and mere pleasure derived from the dappankuthu songs.This pleasure is only momentary and it will not live.Encourage good composers, give them an award or two,recognise their talent.

Let the spark not die, Let it Rise and Shine brilliantly!

Let good music live!

 

Odeio Racismo! (We hate Racism)

“The truth is, racism is not a thing of the past. Perhaps it has simmered down in the past century, but it is still quite alive today; after all, equality has only recently been enforced by the law. These kind of things do not happen in an instant, but they happen over a prolonged period of time; that is, if they happen at all. Slowly, but surely, we are moving towards that final goal”.

I came across this extract sometime back, when I was doing a presentation on Racism as part of my communication skills lab. This extract was featured in an editorial written as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. day special edition paper, as a tribute to the man who dedicated his entire life for the sole purpose of achieving racial equality. The last line from the extract says, “We are moving towards the final goal.” This line triggered a line of thought in my mind which manifested itself as a blog post today.

Are we really moving towards the final goal ? The election of Barack Obama as the president of the US was indeed history redefined. I could feel positive vibes everywhere. The world was almost certain that the era of racism was slowly dying, heralding an era of color blindness.But, today the plight of the Indian students in Australia is a clear indicator of the fact that Racism is still quite alive. It is not just quite alive, but we can clearly see that the weeds of racism are flourishing again.

Many are the times I’ve wondered, Why did God create people with different colors ? Why not just one color ? There would have been no discrimination, no inequality and no injustice! (Well, human beings would have found other means of dicrimination then! He can never live at peace!).But on giving more thought, won’t it be monotonous ? God created people with visible differences because he wanted people to distinguish and appreciate different cultures,marvel the versatility and ingenuity of Homo Sapiens and not to DISCRIMINATE. God wanted to help people understand and appreciate the diversity yet commanality we share as a SINGLE SPECIES.

But we human beings fail to see the beauty hidden in this diversity.We don’t appreciate people for what they are, but for how they look! Isn’t this disgrace? Racism or any other forms of discrimination are an insult to humanity.

History has seen so many leaders who’ve struggled throughout their life in quest of racial equality. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” hasn’t yet come true.Why ? Because the discrimination still prevails. A lifelong struggle needs to be honored.Isn’t it high time we realize their dreams ? Don’t you think its high time to stop and let the world rest in peace ?

Lets all restart a ‘Race Against Race’! Let us kill all the discrimination prevailing around us.Races are nothing but mere boundaries that exist in the minds of the people. Lets break all the boundaries and emerge as one race – “THE HUMAN RACE”.

“Respect thy fellow beings as thyself”

“United We Stand,Divided We Fall”

So lets join together with a common motto in mind!

“ABOLISH RACISM!”

 

Home Making – The toughest job ever!

First of all, I never though I’d ever write a post like this.I’ve always been under the wrong notion that home making and maintaining a household is child’s play. Obvious,that I did not do any work at home until probably I was in class 11 or 12.Things started changing slowly as I entered college.But its only at this juncture that I truly realize the magnitude of work any house wife does.

Now that I’ve finished college and waiting for my call from TCS, I’ve been doing a lot of work at home (Anything but cooking! LOL!). I am a late riser and I am not usually up before noon.My day starts at 12 noon. Generally, I spend most of my time online.Unusually today,I never switched on the computer before 4 pm.I was wondering how my time was spent and what was I doing the whole day. Right from the time I got up, till about 9 pm I’ve been doing some work or the other, yet I had a feeling I hadn’t done anything the whole day.I couldn’t account for the time nor for the activities.How strange ?

It was then that I sat for a moment and thought about the time spent and the work done.Well,I was even considering plotting a graph and doing a performance analysis! (How more vetti can I be ?). Though I hadn’t done any solid work, (like cooking or cleaning utensils or sweeping or mopping), there were ‘n’ number of trivial jobs which took up most of the time. Some of those trivial jobs included arranging the bed, stacking the clothes and utensils back in the shelf, filling the bottles with water, feeding the dog, running around for a few small errands.. et all.

“Many a drop maketh an ocean, many a penny maketh a pound”, goes the adage.Similarly, many of these small itsy-bitsy things ,add up to take bulk of the time. Despite all the difficulties, it has been fun doing these things and I actually enjoyed work for a change!(probably I’ve changed my attitude towards work!). These tasks have kept me active through the day and not to forget it’s also made me feel a lot less vettier! LOL! Atleast I don’t feel vacant any more.Plus, I am satisfied that I’m not wasting my day.

I’m contributing to the household, making my grandma’s and mom’s job easier,brushing up on the long forgotten music lessons and last but not the least updating my blog (yay! It feels good to get back to writing after a really long while!).

College killed my creativity.Its time for resurrection.So here I am, back with a bang, enjoying every moment of my vacation and living life again after a 4 year break! LOL!Thanks to Easwari Engineering for making life miserable and not to forget, hats off to all the home makers for inspiring me to write a post and for doing the toughest job ever!

 

The Magic of the Saptaswara

At last to break the monotony,I’ve decided to blog again. Blog again.. alright! But about what ? Thats another hurdle I needed to overcome.. phew! After a long thought,I decided to write about my first love… Music!The very thought feels so refreshing…ain’t it ?

Be it S R G M P D N or Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti, I’ve always been amused and amazed by the power of these 7 swaras/notes. Just like tiny atoms constituting the mighty universe, these seven swaras have become the building blocks for one of the greatest art forms – Music.

“Ezhu Swarangalukkul ethanai paadal ? “.. I wonder…. Is music art or science ? One might say Art.. But on second thought, Isn’t it Science too ? Being a computer Science engineer and a student of Science, I have been introduced to permutations and combinations during my course. Frankly, I always liked math, but I was never a great fan of these permutations and combinations. Simply because I never got the hang of it initially.But now on studying and discussing Carnatic Music, I’ve realised the value of combinotorics. Those days, there were no computers, no technology, nothing.But these musicians have so beautifully applied combinotorics to the saptaswaras and the fruit of their effort is what we are learning and enjoying today. Now folks, isn’t music Science ? rather Math ?

The numerous ragas and the various krithis or songs composed under each raga has been a by-product of applying combinotorics to our building blocks – the Super Seven!. Combined with combinotorics is the work of our genius mathematicians (musicians), some magic and a great deal of polish and finesse.

Every musician who performs today, in a kacheri(concert) follows a pattern. Raga Alapana ( a brief sketch of the raga),Neraval(improvising on a single line of the kriti)  and Kalpana Swara(presenting various phrases of a Raga through our Super Seven!) are a few elements of a kacheri. These kalpana swaras or swara exposition is nothing but mere permutations and combinations of swaras ,adhering to the grammar of the chosen Raga. Needless to say, that most musicians are expert mathematicians (atleast w.r.t combinotorics).

You might ask, Combinotorics alright! There are only 7 swaras and applying combinotorics again and again might become exhaustive.Beyond a point, doesn’t it all get repetitive ? This is where there is magic. The scope is almost infinite. Every time the same raga sounds so different. The same 7 swaras pertaining to a raga paints a different picture each time, even when sung by the same musician.For instance, Thodi. I have heard numerous renditions of the Raga Thodi by the Singer Unnikrishnan himself.But each time its different and fresh. Be it Kaddanuvaariki, Koluva maragadha, DachuKovalena, Pankajaaksha (all krithis in Thodi) or any other kriti.This is not characteristic of Thodi alone.

Be it any Raga, from Kanakangi and Rathnangi to Kosalam and Rasika priya, the raga is featured differently every time.The swara prasthas used each time are different and differ not only from musician to musician, but also from time to time for the same musician.

What we think as mere 7 swaras has the power to conquer the hearts of so many through soulful and divine music.Such is the magic of the Saptaswara.Hope all of you enjoy and appreciate the science behind this wonderful art as much as I do!

 

Carnatic Music – A Music for All!

What is music ?? One may be tempted to reply, “Elementary, my dear Watson! Anything that is musical to the ears is music!”. But, the fact is that music is beyond definition. It is an emotion conveyed, it is something which can rejuvenate & re-energize every cell in your body and help build tremendous positive mental discipline and self control. It is food for the hungry, water for the thirsty and a cure for all the ailments and maladies of the world.

There are various genres of music around the world, each unique in its style. The Indian classical music is divided into two major systems. Carnatic music is one of the two major systems of classical music in India, the other being Hindustani music. One of its greatest virtues is that ,while it is among the most scientifically evolved independent systems in the world, it has also managed to take in desirable aspects from any system and adopt them with an enviable catholicity of outlook, without in any way prejudicing its originality and individuality.

Generally, majority of the population, especially the youth are under the wrong notion that Carnatic music is the music for the classical geeks and it can only be understood by those who have pursued classical music lessons. There is another misconception that people listening to Carnatic music are not cool, not trendy or rather hailing from a rather primitive clan. Both of these notions are not right. Many still regard the Carnatic stage, a domain of the prototype called bhagawathar (traditional Tamil for classical musician): dhoti-clad, dour-faced, ash-smeared and elderly. Not any more. The younger breed of Carnatic musicians themselves have recast the image of the carnatic classicist .The perceptions might stand but the players have changed, unmasking the stereotype of the Carnatic musician. They are clued-in and well-travelled, coming up with their own CD brands, websites & portals for promoting classical music among the youth & even using the Internet as a teaching tool. Renowned vocalist Unnikrishnan loves listening to pop music,shopping for the latest brands & is a cricket & tennis enthusiast. T.M.Krishna, another famous musician, the ultimate picture of poise and decorum on stage,in his dhoti, kurta and shawl is regularly found in his casual blue jeans and Tee shirt, playing pool at the Earth Bazaar.The youngsters have revolutionized traditional carnatic music,yet the purity and richness of the music has not diminished by an inch. They arrive in classy cars, sport designer wear, visit game and beauty parlours, play cricket matches and have club memberships. Aren’t they in tune with the current trends ???

Carnatic music helps networking, team building and what not ? In January 2005, a girl from hyderabad started Unnikrishnan’s community on orkut. Within a month the number of members rose to a humble 50.I was a member then. It’s over three years since we started the community. Now I am one of the moderators and I am proud to tell all of you that we are 4169 members now from various parts of the world. It is a cultural platform encouraging the intermixing of people from various cultures with a common motto. I have friends from Singapore, Hyderabad, Chennai .The beauty is that, all the members have not been pursuing carnatic music lessons,yet they all love music,because music is a blend of serenity, divinity, beauty and entertainment.

Carnatic music is definitely better understood if you know its intricacies & nuances,but it is not a compulsory ingredient for anybody who wants to start listening to Carnatic music.The more you listen to it, the more you understand it and get to know about it. Carnatic music is the music catering to the needs of the layman as well as the elite. It is devotion and peace to the layman and it is a science to the learned. The three pillars of Carnatic music are Melody(Raga),Rhythm(Tala) and lyrical beauty. Melody and rhythm are two qualities every human enjoys and lives with, because life is filled with rhythm and melody. Knowing the lyrics or the language in which the song is written definitely enhances your understanding and helps you feel the song better,but even without knowing the language,one can listen to Carnatic Music.

For instance,take the movie Hum aap ke hain kon,the audio release statistics show that the maximum number of casettes were sold out in TamilNadu.If lyrics and the language are important to understand music,then definitely all those who bought the cassette should know hindi.But,that is not the case,because so many years back, not many people in TamilNadu knew hindi. Yet they bought the audio,only to listen to it.Why ? Because of the melody and rhythm. So, to listen to carnatic music,one need not necessarily know the language nor it is not compulsory that they should have been tutored in Carnatic music. Right from birth till death, life is filled with music. Life without music is unimaginable. Any person who is devoted to God, craving for mental peace or ready to feel the difference, begin your journey into the world of Carnatic music. Start modestly, listen to a classical number everyday, enjoy the music wholeheartedly and I am sure you will all be drifting in another plane where you will feel divinity, peace and glory. Music is not a bodily phenomenon. It is something beyond physical senses. It directly relates to your mental framework and soul. So, get ready to feel the difference and in the long run you will fall in love with it.

ADORE THE ESSENCE OF CARNATIC MUSIC!!!

LISTEN, FEEL & LOVE!!!