Happy New Year

It's chilling cold in Delhi and to my surprise, I am finding myself getting comfortable with the weather here, as years have passed by. I would crib a LOT about bad weather here, all the time. But not anymore. I was at home, Bangalore last month and this trip was again activity-packed. I enjoyed the trip, except that I could not go out too much with mom. Each time I go home, I get so much love from my people, I feel so overwhelmed and so special. God is really kind to me in a lot of ways and I love life for all it's given to me. It's the beginning of the new year and I have a very positive feel about this year, that things are going to be much better this year. Why and how? I don't know, but I feel that. Looking forward to challenges, opportunities, and changes. Let's see how it goes. Signing-off for now.

I am mesmerized with Vijay Prakash's voice

I heard Latt Ulljhi, Sulljha Ja Baalam in Music World the other day and I asked the shop keeper what album was that song from and who was the singer, and he said that's from Yuvvraaj, and without thinking twice I bought the Music C.D. That was the effect of Vijay Prakash's voice. The song is in Abheri or Bhimpalasi in Hindustani. He's sung the song so beautifully, that it was probably the first time that I bought an A.R.Rahman's album for the voice of the singer and not for A.R.Rahman! Surprising isn't it?

Vijay Prakash's voice is not new to our ears. We have heard him in Sa Re Ga Ma:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=_3T6u5-jhsY&NR=1
Listen to the alapana in Mohana (Bhupali) raaga, how he ends with the Thillana - thaka tha jhanu dheem tha, tha, jhanu dheem tha dheerana...it's amazing.

Listen to Kavithe from Gaalipata:
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=NYtAT0z4Jkk

Listen to Sooni Sooni from Cheeni Kam or Pal Pal Hain Bhari from Swades. Although these songs did not have too much of an impact, Vijay Prakash has taken the crown finally with this classical song from Yuvvraaj. I am totally into it at the moment. I am sure lots of people are, already! He is from Karnataka I believe...:-) Anyways, me really proud of this singer.

Enjoy the song at the moment, it's absolutely mesmerizing:
http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H002891.html

Lay-offs

How are we expected to react to lay-offs? The U.S team I used to work with, got laid off yesterday. I mean, it's all 'doomed'...I wonder how they are all taking it. And guess what, we are all thanking our stars that our asses are well on the office chairs! It is a weird situation. The managers are trying to cheer us up, telling us to look at what we have achieved so far, and be happy that the company still thinks that we are employable. Oh yes, there comes the famous talk of employment vs employability. Well all that apart, I still feel a little unethical to remain insensitive and move on. But I guess, that's the way to live in today's world. I am not cribbing about it, but I find it strange. If I fail to move on, then I am left behind. It's a bloody rat race out there. And we are all just moving without looking back. It tires me at times, but I really want to be a part of it, so much so that I want to lead the race. When will that time come? I am now reading 'Ignited Minds' by Abdul Kalam, it's such an inspiring book; especially now because my morale is a little down because of professional and personal sinusoidal waves..well ups and downs I mean. More to come...bye for now.

Ways to compensate

Is this the only time of the year that I feel happy? I wonder...

When I look forward to going back home, I try to find reasons why I feel so happy and there are many. I feel closer to myself. I feel extremely happy about being just me. But why so...what is wrong with the way I am today, I wonder again. At the moment, I am only a part of me, but the complete me is when I am at home.

For me, the biggest change in life was when I left my home, my parents and family. Although most people say that women get used to the fact that they are now somebody's wife, or daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law, ....I still feel that it the biggest void that one cannot fill in life. Whenever I see my husband being so happy with his siblings, his parents, I feel happy for him. I feel happy to be a part of his family. But I so badly miss my family. After so many years of marriage, I still have this one complaint about marriage. There's nothing to fill the void of missing your family, there's no love to compensate the love you get from your parents.

Probably, that's the reason God gave woman the power to give birth - to compensate what he takes away. May be that's the only way God decided to compensate love in a woman's life by giving her the power to deliver a life, to be a mother. When I will be one?

Preethiya Bengaluru

The more I go to my hometown, Bangalore, the more I fall in love with the city. For very obvious reasons, that I was born and brought up there? No, not just that. I have been to several places in India and abroad. Compared to most of the cities that I have been to, Bangalore is the best city so far. For the people, who you love at times, and you hate at times; for the traffic that could almost choke you every now and then; for the bad and bumpy roads; for all of these and more - there's something so good about the city. The places, the hotels, the hangouts, the crowd - everything has a class of it's own. I can't wait to see the city having a cool metro running all through. However, I hope the greenery remains intact.

Why do so many outsiders live and thrive in Bangalore? It is because the people are accommodating and soft-spoken. In every small way, I have observed that people try to help each other. Ofcourse, there will be a section which is really bad, but in general the crowd is nice. The food joints, pubs, cafes are simply great. It feels great to see the kannada movie industry doing very well. I simply love some of the kannada songs from the recent music composers like Mano Murthy. The FM radio channels are very good. Most of the youngsters are very smart and know a lot about technology. Bangalore is hip-n-happening, in every way.

Bangalore can definitely boast of very good schooling and education compared to most of the towns in India. You need not even think of going elsewhere until you complete your education in this city. You have all possible opportunities to pursue. Bangalore has some great shopping places, although crowded most of the time, the choice and variety is good. Ofcourse, inflation is an issue in this city. Blame it on IT or politicians, Bangalore is expensive. The minimum auto charge is Rs.14 now! And we can see some great looking double-decker buses in the city now. I simply love the city. While people maintain traditional values, the culture and heritage seems to be intact too. The city has lots of budding young talented singers, musicians, artistes, actors. The music concerts, the dance concerts, plays, drama, fine arts, movies, keep the city going. Alliance'de Francaise and Max Mueller Bhavan have paved way for several international alliances and join to be part of city's pride. Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha take the crown, standing in the middle of the city. Chinnaswamy Stadium and KSCA are the cricket hubs in the town. I can't express how much I love walking on M.G Road, Brigade Road and in Cubbon Park.

I feel proud of the city and it's people. The only city that has splendid weather all the time which brings a smile on your face as you welcome each day. The only place where I look forward to be all my life, close to my people, my friends and my home. I love Bangalore. :-)

May I Have Your Attention Please?

What exactly do you see in this picture? A group of kids? They all look like students from a class room? Precisely, a government school?

Wrong!

See carefully…

1. There are only GIRLS in this group


2. The girls are of different age groups


3. They are not the students of a classroom or a school, but they belong to Sharanya, a children’s orphanage.


4. The only similarity you can see among all of them is that they are all smiling and ask why? Because I had just given them lots of chocolates, before I clicked the snap, and the little girl in pink frock, right in the front, was the happiest of them all. It was beautiful to see the children smile and talk and even sing!

I am NOT writing this article for you to read and comment, but I want you to help. Sharanya is a children’s home – that houses orphans, or ‘special children of God’ like what I call them. These children don’t need anybody’s sympathy but they need your attention, time and financial support - to evolve into educated and civilized individuals tomorrow, probably with even better thoughts and opinions than what most of us have today.

The orphanage is in Bangalore, R.T Nagar. Anybody willing to spend some time can go and visit this place. Please think about it and see to what extent you can contribute. I can always help you with ideas, since I have been associated with the group in some time now. But it will be great if you can go and see the place on your own. Please write to me and let me know your thoughts.

Also, I would like to bring to your attention that why only girl children dominate these orphanages? Why is it that only female infanticide is rising so high in our country today? Read this:

The states of Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand have the worst sex ratios in the country. According to the 2001 census, there are only 874 women with respect to 1000 men in these states. The national average was 933.

Isn’t this a serious concern? Especially among the illiterates and the poor? These people worship Goddesses. But when it comes to giving birth to a girl child, parents step back. Why?

• Because of illiteracy and poverty?
• Because parents don’t have enough money to get her married when she grows up?
• Because parents don’t have enough money for her dowry?
• Because, today, even if parents spend on her, she will not be able to return anything when she grows up or even be there to take care of her parents, since she will be married off?

It could be any or all of the above.

In this post, I am going to share my thoughts on Dowry. To a great extent, I blame our traditions and our society. Most parents believe in proving their potential to the society by flaunting wealth when giving away their daughters during the marriage ceremony. The richer they are, the more they flaunt. Also, the biggest mistake they commit is giving dowry, may it be in the form of gifts / jewels / whatever. This culture has evolved so much and getting a girl married becomes the greatest challenge in a man’s life. So much so that today, in the North India, among Brahmins, if a girl is unmarried till 30 years for whatsoever be the reason, a fixed dowry of 25 lakhs – minimum is what the parents need to be prepared for. This is true, and I am telling you out of what I have seen very closely. Some families feel very disappointed when their sons fall in love and marry a girl, because their rights to demand more from the girls’ parents goes down, although it does not get evaded completely.

I spoke to some women. They feel that it is the only way they can instantly make place in the boy’s family and it is important that they bring wealth from the father’s house. May be in olden days, women were not working and earning for themselves. But today, times have changed. Although not all women are capable of coming out and facing the world alone, women are smart enough to manage to voice their opinions and there are plenty of ways through which they can build upon their skills and make money. It is really a matter of shame that till today we see such serious issues prevailing in our society. We do have our legal system in place. But the only thing is people are not aware of this and they fear to come out and voice their opinion.

Today we need more people to come out and stand up for what is right. We need more women who believe they can make a difference. Thanking God everyday for what we are and who we are is not enough. We need to think that since we are in a better position today, so why not work towards helping for a cause? We need to work against female infanticide and dowry. We need to think of pulling the left behind. When I got married, although my parents were not too happy, I very clearly told them not to encourage any such demands and they kept my word.

So people, please give it a thought and come forward to help. It matters. You will feel the difference within you. When you help others, you will feel that your existence is not just mere existence, but it meant something to someone, somewhere.

Pls: If you want to contribute for Sharanya, write to me or get in touch with them directly.

Simran Thirai!

I was so surprised to see my favorite actress - Simran - back on T.V this week! That too on Jaya T.V! I was just browsing the channels and caught this serial on T.V.
I must say a lot of things about this:

1. Simran - It was a pleasant surprise to see her!
2. Characters in the serial - Simran - as a girl next door, simple, college-going, voracious reader, lover of books, serious and yet confused about marriage - portrays the character very well. Her body language, style everything seems very casual and impressive.
3. Simran, I believe has lost a lot of weight to work on this serial. I somehow felt that she was still looking fat, especially in that Maami look in the title song and the orange fire-brigade kind of outfit in the same title song. After being known for her great personality, dancing and acting, Simran excels in everything except her old looks. Her face seems puffy and she needs to look thinner...:(
4. Simran's Clothes - Are very contemporary. She wears nice and simple salwar kameez, she looks the best in them. Rest, she is mostly sporting jeans and long kurtis, and stoles, that are very much in fashion these days. Most of her kurtis seemed like Westside products. However, I felt she can look much better had her clothes designer worked more on this aspect. She needs to wear more flowy outfits to look thinner and stylish. She has looked so good in most of her films and her clothes have always been very good, mostly enhancing her figure. If she has put on weight, then, to cover her fat, more flowy synthetic garments can be used with a lot of prints. That's what I felt, rather than cotton stiff kurtas for her.
5. Title song - The lyrics of the song is good and the way it is shot is also very good. The composer of the tune has tried to give the song a very modern and English feel, something like Jillendru Oru Kaadhal title song, Poo Pookkum Osai song - kind of effect. But I felt it was okay. Chinmayi has tried her best.
6. Simran's family members - The constantly pressurized father, the ever-grumbling mother and the naughty sister - are excellent. One thing I was disappointed was the actor playing opposite Simran as a lead. This guy needs a hair-do so badly. He is so shabbily dressed. I felt a better looking, or atleast a better dressed guy should have been chosen to play opposite such a wonderful actress.
7. One more thing I was excited about was - it is being shot in Delhi! There are scenes shot in front of India gate, Vinayagar temple, etc where I go normally and it was a treat to watch. The father-daughter chemistry in the serial is also very good.

Overall, the serial has just begun and seems interesting.
Share your opinion if you happen to watch this. Since I love Simran, I will continue to watch this...

I loved Jodhaa-Akbar

The more I watch Jodhaa Akbar, the more I seem to fall in love with it! I loved the movie for several reasons:

For portraying our Indian culture so beautifully...

For portraying love so beautifully...

For portraying religious tolerance so beautifully

For the palace backdrop, scenes of Agra Fort / Amer Palace...

For the clothes and costumes...

For the spectalular elephant-taming scene...

For the background music...ARR has used one specific BGM for every character in the movie. I noticed that he has used the Dil Se kind of BGM - to create a feeling of fear for Akbar's foster mother's character. It is very similar to the BGM of Dil Se. The BGM he has used for Jodhaa-Akbar's sword fight scene is fantastic. The BGM when Akbar teases Jodha is amazingly sweet. The last few lines of Mann Mohana that is used when Akbar walks in the palace after seeing Jodhaa for the first time and gets smitten by her beauty, is beautiful...I loved the gujrati group jingles that is used for Jodhaa when she enter's the Moghul palace for the first time with her ladies group, and also the one when the ladies enter the lunch room carrying the gujrati dishes to be served to the Emperor...Some of the BGMs used for the war scenes were very similar to the ones used in the serial on DD - Tipu Sultan - that old TV serial if you remember...?

For the songs...

The song In Lamhon Ke Daman which starts so beautifully with Sonu's voice, where the chorus comes in like as if 'breaking the ice' between Jodhaa Akbar is beautiful...I somehow feel, Shreya could have been better with Sonu for this song...

Khwaja song with dancers performing the Sema dance (see

http://www.geocities.com/ee_adnan/mevlana.html), the Turkish dance is simply beautiful, especially the way Akbar goes into a state of tranquil with the energy he feels within him is amazing...One thing I felt was ARR could have used 2 additional voices in the song for the chorus part, since it is picturised among 3 singers...nevertheless, I was satisfied.

Mann Mohana, as expected is a complaining song of Jodhaa to her Lord Krishna (when she says - Kaanha Suno Naa...) the song traverses through several events of Jodhaa's life in the movie - 1. When she complains to God when her marriage gets fixed with Akbar and she expresses her sheer disappointment. 2. When she goes to Agra leaving her father's house 3. When Akbar agrees to her demands with so much dignity, that she is taken aback 4. When she prays in the Moghul palace and Akbar lands in front of her as she seeks the Lord to reside in her eyes. 5. When Akbar is mesmerized with her beauty...its a lovely song and ends in a similar way like how Satrangi Re in Dil Se ends with a haunting flute piece...I am in love with this song, although Shreya Ghoshal has not sung this song...Bela Shinde is equally good.

Marhaba - I thought the song had too many people cramming up the dance area and the use of the word Marhaba did not fit in the choreography well...however, the top view of the dance looked nice. An okay song I felt, which could have been shot more neatly.

Jashn-E-Bahara: The song starts when Akbar asks the priests about 'Jannat' (I guess, that scene was not quite clear) and they say, 'Jis Dil Mein Mohobbat Ho, Usse Jannat Kehte Hain' and Akbar goes, 'Bahut khoob'...it is again shot in bits, but a very nicely done song. Portrayed a lot of dignity with Akbar's character. Javed Ali's voice is excellent. The slow version of the song wherein Javed Ali has sung without any BGM, just plain vocals is excellent....and this plays as a background when Akbar and Jodha have split, and they miss each other in their respective homes...

Certain observations: Akbar is mostly dressed in Cremes / Greens and sports huge neck pieces and sharp side-locks, looks very hot...Jodhaa dressed in beautiful hues of Yellow/Orange/Red and Green...looks surreal. Interestingly Jodhaa sports a bindi throughout the movie, including the sword fight scene and it is a typical kumkum bindi and not the dark colors available today, what I mean to say is that they have kept every detail as authentic as possible, and if you notice she does not have nail polish at all...Ash has dared to look so simple yet so gorgeous...with such chunky jewellery...I wonder if India was ever so affluent in the past...

I loved the Rajasthani paintings that are used in the movie to show Akbar / Jodhaa - when Amitabh Bachhan starts / ends the narration.

I did not enjoy the war scenes much...not my cup of tea...:-) I dont enjoy watching fights / violence so I shall not talk about that. Also, I did not quite enjoy the Maha manga part in the movie...was quite unnecessary and inspired from Saas-Bahu tale I thought...

I am sure I will have more observations if I get to watch the movie again. For now, watch Jodhaa Akbar. It is a very good Indian movie.

India alias Hindustan?

This post is not meant to create a war against religions, but yes, it is meant to stir some thoughts and calls for an action. Read on…

Although we have a huge Hindu tradition in India, we also have other religions thriving in our country since centuries. Here is my case study on the rapidly emerging Christian culture in rural areas of Northern India. The religion is fast growing, without drawing much attention from the educated masses, but targetting the poorer sections. This might be true for several other places in India. However, this post is purely my experience.

My observations started when I visited an old church in Moradabad, a small town near Delhi. I saw the kind of people who visited the church and confirmed from others that most of the people were converted Christians, from just one or two generations. Some were very recent converts. As I noticed more and more people coming in, my question was - Who are these people? Where do they come from? Why did they convert to Christianity? You may wonder why I had to visit the church...I have my own reasons for it.

After having seen around 40 - 50 families in the church, I saw that, these people were Indians on the first place. They belong to the not so called upper class in India or the middle class. They were the poorer lot who were mostly dwelling on 3 professions – preaching in church, teaching in schools and nursing in hospitals. They were not well educated. They seemed far behind in thinking and living styles. I just compared the contrasting lives of a person living in Delhi, and a person living in this place. The difference was so drastic. Why was that so?

The place – Moradabad, has 2 emerging societies of people, one society which has brass exporters and industrialists living in huge bungalows and the other society - mostly Muslims and Christians living in very poor conditions, in small houses of dingy areas. These places had meat shops, bazaars, cyclists, rickshaws, garages, markets, buzzling with noise. Interestingly, the place has a couple of English schools and colleges, left by the Britishers. These were the typcial British schools, red color tall buildings. There were some houses with typical British architecture; resembling the houses probably in any street in London; some were even built within the school/college campuses. What I noticed was, most of the Christians, the converted Christians who belonged to this village, were living in these houses only. Some buildings were British hostels that are now converted into homes of several families, acquired illegally, again leaving you with a lot of questions in mind. They had names like Mr.Smith, Mr.Massiah, Mrs.Massey, which sounded O- so - British, but you see them and you realize, they are very much Indian. These people had some reason for conversion and what was that? While this seems to be a very controversial question, no Christian in this colony would agree if I pointed at them and told them that it was for certain facilities like money, education, shelter, etc. that they converted to this religion. All they say is - they are true believers of the one and only God, their God who rules everything and everyone. Why are these people saying this?

I planned to visit the church in the village again. I sat through the cermon. What did the Pastor speak? All he said was, all other religions and Gods are meaningless, the only true God is ... and he was addressing the masses, which were mostly non-educated, but were all Christians ofcourse. The Pastor said it was his duty and the duty of the Christians to convert people in India to Christianity, so that Christianity becomes the most popular religion in India as well. I was listening, with patience. After a heavy heart and a lot of thinking, I wanted to talk to someone to get the real picture. So I went up to a couple and asked them why they converted to this religion?

The husband said, he belonged to a poor Hindu family and him and his wife always had trouble when it came to religious Hindu rituals. Last year during Navrathri, the husband had to leave early to work and his wife insisted that he did his religious practices and then left home. The couple ended up having a big fight. He was very upset and so there after, he decided not to believe in "Devis and Devtas" (that's exactly what he said!) and he consulted a Christian missionary and after that, him and his wife and son have all converted to Christianity!

I was curious to see what that Pastor was upto. So I visited the Pastor's house - the same pastor who was preaching about Christianity in the Church. He was obviously living in one of the old British homes; his house was lavish, he had the latest computer, printer, mobile phone and great interiors! Probably the only house which I thought was lavish in comparison with the other Christian homes. Where did all the money come from? Definitely not from the villagers who visited the church, and definitely not from the amount they collect from people during every cermon. Where else was the source of income? I tried asking some church members – secretly, about the funds they receive and the salaries; Trust me, it's very meagre. Then how is it that the Pastor had so much financial funding?

All I asked myself was - Who is spreading the wrong word of God and selling religion in the name of God? For how long will we continue to succumb to the British left overs? It is a shame that even after 50 years of Independence, India has not succeeded in providing education to people. While a certain part of the society is continuing to grow rapidly, a certain other part is still left out and ignored completely. People are taking advantage of this situation yet. Most villages in North India (U.P, Rajasthan, Punjab) are hounded by Christian missionaries, who take up individual villages as personal projects. They target the poor and the downtrodden to convert them to a different religion, give them an English name and promise education for children in their schools. What these people also do is that, they open schools and educational institutions that have special quota for Christians only. I know of JMC College in Delhi, which has a special preference for Christians only. So much so that even if the admission seeking student has 40% marks and is a Christian, the student wins a seat hands down. This is similar to the SC/ST quota that we have today.

Where is all the money coming from and who is responsible for this situation? My due respects to Christianity and Christians and the good Christian Educational Institutions in India, but I feel helpless when I see the ignorant masses being lured with something wrong. I want to do something about this. I am still searching for an answer, for an action.

Thanks RK for helping me with this write-up.

Stranger in my car

It was a very busy day at work and I had a terrible head ache. I decided to drive back early, and also planned to buy some plants from the nursery to add on to my plant collection at home. (by the way, I love plants and I simply love my collection at home!) So I was driving back home. I pass by this village, very rural area basically, crowded roads, all sorts of people and animals on the road. I was just behind a bus that suddenly stopped. I braked and I was waiting till the bus moved and THUD came a noise from behind and my car just bounced and moved a bit!!! I was shocked!!! Somebody had hit my car from behind!!! I freaked out and got down from my car and to see it was a maruti behind that hit my car. Not realising what to do, I rushed inside and locked all the windows first and kept my hand bag in the back seat. By then all the villagers crowded our cars. I took my phone and got down and shouted at the driver and I was desperately trying to reach someone but the phone had no network...it was absolutely useless and whom do I ask for a phone next was the question....by then I had to move my car aside since there were other vehicles on the road, and freak...my car wouldn't move and there was a lot of noise when I accelerated....the bumper got damaged totally and the it touched the tyres scraping off the rubber from the tyre when I accelerated...I freaked completely...then came the stranger... This guy who was in the maruti that hit my car..:-/ came to help me and he manually pulled the metal bumper that was scraping the tyre. He said he would bear the entire cost coz it was his driver's mistake and he asked me to drive down to a service station and that he would follow in his car...being in Delhi, trust me to trust his words....!!! I quickly noted down his car number, asked his to get the license and took his card, by then the driver had run away....!!! :-( This guy told me to relax and asked me if he can come in my car so that we can drive down to the nearest service station...:-( Not knowing what to do, I acted like as if I was talking to my husband on the phone and updating him the information and said okay to this guy and I was so scared....!!!! Then I just kept quiet, and drove down quickly. But this guy wouldnt keep quiet at all, he kept talking about his property business and that he was not a thug and would bear all the expenses...bloody hell I wouldn't care, until I was safe...I really donno why I had to take him...with me...then I reached the service station, got a person to gauge the damages and expenses and the matter got sorted out easily. We had to wait in the service station for a while coz this guy did not have any cash on him and he had asked his associate to bring the money that he promised to pay up. I waited calmly (although I was so confused and worried) and it was so cold that evening (the temperature here reached 2 degrees in the evenings and even below that) and suddenly this guy asks me if I wanted to have some tea...I was so stressed out that tears just rolled down my eyes...by then the service station guys gave us both some tea...and finally I got everything sorted out and the guy left and since the service station was closed the next day and the car was in a working condition, they asked me to bring the car after a day and they would repair it. I drove back home finally. After I came back, I was so stressed out that I just drank two glasses of water, sat down and prayed to God first, for bringing me back safe, for giving me the courage to handle everything alone, and for keeping me alive. The stranger in my car was indeed a nice person and I was very lucky to be safe that evening. Every experience in life is such a big teacher and God really is watching. There is a strong power that guides you. At times, life is not fair, yet it is beautiful and we need to accept that, come what may. There ends my Friday's experience...my first road accident, which I will never forget...

Cheap Thrills!

You are listening to film songs on online radio at work and suddenly 'suttum vizhi chudare' starts and you act like as if it is the first time you are listening to it and feel like its the eternal bliss; although you have the same song in ipod, mobile phone, office PC, laptop, music CD and also movie C.D at home!

We have multiple sources of music these days and yet hardly find time to make use of them and listen. Listening to simple radio definitely is thrilling! You can listen to all sorts of songs, some are lovely, some are yucky, but atleast there's variety, and no RJ's ofcourse to blabber rubbish in between playing songs.

Here's the link:
http://www.tamil-media.com/radio.php

Sweet Indulgences

This post is dedicated to my Appa. Every day at home, after school, I would wait for my Appa in the evenings coz he would come home with a bag full of sweets and I would eagerly ask him - Ivatthu yaava sweet thandhidhira pa. I would feast on them and carry some in my lunch box the next day. Everybody asks me why and how I know so much about sweets, their names, their variety, where they are available in Bangalore and what each sweets stall is famous for...all the credit goes to my dad. If you want to grab on some famous sweets from Bangalore, then here's a list of the famous sweet stalls that I know: Jalebis and Badami Puri - Gundappa Sweets in Majestic. Gulab Jamuns / Dhum Root / Chandrahaar - Bhagatram Sweets on Commercial Street. Mysore Pak - Sri Venkateshwara Sweets, Avenue Road, Gandhi Bazaar. Holige - Subbammana Angdai, Gandhi Bazaar / MTR, J.C Road. Horlicks Burfi - Shri Krishna Sweets, Basavana Gudi. Badami Halwa - Hotel Samrat (Chalukya), High Grounds. Badam Milk / Jamun / Petha - Asha Sweets, Malleshwaram. Chum Chum / Boondhi - Pai Sweets Stall, Vasanth Nagar. Rasgulla / Kheer Kadam / Soan Papdi - K.C Das, Church Street. Kesri Bhath - Janardhana, Race Course Road. Kaju Burfi / Honey Dew - Banaras Sweets, Chickpete. Chiroti - MTR again, and Kannada Weddings...:-))) Hope this was enlightening...:) Ending this post with a sweet little wish for all of you, Happy Sankranthi Ellrigu Sankranthi Habbada Shubhaashayagalu.

Me Back!

Wish you a very happy new year! I am feeling good to be back...Where was I all this while?...:-) Very much around, but away from blogging... Changes, changes, changes...around...and the fast running time is making me wonder where we are all heading to..each week just flies in a jiffy...I am surprised at the end of it all...that so many things have been happening.. A friend once asked me, "where are you? there's no music around" I still wonder at that statement. It makes me smile, makes me confused, but makes me happy that someone connects me to music in their thoughts... After a good satisfying trip to Bangalore, here I am, all set to start all over. While I was traveling back from Bangalore, I was feeling bad to leave my city, and although I have got used to seeing my amma cry whenever I leave, it still hurt...Various thoughts crossed my mind and I quickly redirected my thoughts to reality and there I was in the flight sitting next to a very quiet girl. I was not surprised when she told that she was from Bangalore as well. (She was quiet you see...:-) Delhi girls talk a lot than required...;-)) I took a short nap and woke up to my shock that the girl next to me was sobbing like crazy...I was in a fix - should I ask her if she needed any help or not...I thought let me distract her and started a very general conversation. All she said was she had a very troublesome married life and she did not like Delhi, she wanted to settle in her hometown. I felt sorry for her. But that is life. Everybody has problems. So I did not try and console her. Instead I told her about a few things that could help her keep herself happy. And later when I got back home I still kept thinking about people everywhere. Every person I come across these days has issues in life. Earlier, I would always think that it was really sad and abnormal to have troubles in life. Now, issues dont bother me much. I sense a change in myself, my approach for life and my reactions to situations. I am growing and I can feel it. Change seems to be the constant factor of life and I am running faster to catch up with time.

"Hey this is not fair!" said A R Rahman in Delhi!

This is exactly what ARR told us (his fans :-)) when he was performing live in Rajouri Gardens yesterday in Delhi, when some of his (senseless) fans were recording his performance, inspite of strict restrictions imposed on recording the performance. These rules were printed on the tickets that were sold out to more than 5000+ crowd cheering ARR in the cold evening of 17th November, 2007. He very subtlely told people, "Hey this is not fair, you guys will record and upload it on Youtube! A channel is doing complete coverage of this video, so please don't do this". Most of the front seaters stopped recording, however, most dint. What an evening it was, to see AR Rahman live, it was like a dream come true for me. After the quick travel in Metro, we reached 10 minutes late to the venue. I could hear Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam, singing Roja Janeman...I wanted to go flying to my seat, but couldn't! As soon as I went in, I saw a huge grand stage with A R Rahman written on it and I was totally amused! Then I hunted for A R R and there he was, with the Synth, in a white Sherwani! I was completely in awe! There was Hariharan on stage performing, my favorite singer and it was simply great to watch such great people on stage and hear them perform so flawlessly! Hariharan sang Vaaji Vaaji with Madhushree. Madhushree sang Vaaji Vaaji with the chorus part having hindi lyrics, whereas Hariharan stuck to complete tamil. Madhushree also sang Kabhi Neem Neem very beautifully, and very effortlessly, and ARR's interludes were splendid, I was screaming like never before when he started to sing! It was complete hysteria with the masses when he sang Dil Se Re..., Humma Humma (in tamil), Dum Dara Dum Dara from Guru (I fell in love with ARR when he sang this with Chinmayi). The surprise song was Thee Thee from Sivaji! I was totally high listening to him sing, and I was singing along with him, only to have really shocked sardarjis turning around and giving me really funny looks as to who is this singing in Greek/Latin with ARR! North Indians have no clue about any of the South Indian languages - any South Indian is a Madrasi in the North and any South Indian language is Tamil for them! (pronounced as Taaaaamil, here! :-)) But that dint stop me, I was cheering away to glory, throughout. ARR's second outfit, a dark purple kurta was very good and simple. He was composed and pleasing on stage, always had a smile. The highpoint of the show was when ARR sang Jodha-Akbar's Marhaba Marhaba! It was mindblowing!!! The twist to this was, he ended Marhaba with O oooo from Rukkumani Rukkumani and then jumped to Veerapandi Kottayile! and ended the fusion there! Was very interesting! Then came Hariharan, who enthralled all of us with Yunhi Chala Chal along with Kailash Kher (who went gaga about Delhi, since he hails from the North!...well...:-)) Hariharan also sang Chanda Re with Sadhna Sargam, Tu Hi Re with Chitra - extremely well, unbelievably well I must say! Then there was a classical zapper with HH, Chitra, SS and another singer (who sings and even resembles Sukhvinder Singh, I dont know his name) - Ghanan Ghanan from Lagaan, they sang the song in style, with lots of harkat in raag Malhar, and switching to Ghanan Ghanan, it was a treat to listen to them! HH sang Bharat Mujhko Jaan Se Pyara Hain from Roja and also the melodious Aye Haiyrathe Aashiqui with Sadhna Sargam. Sadhna Sargam performed her Chupke Se from Saathiya, and Chitra sang Kehna Hi Kya extremely well! Not to forget the spark of the night, Naresh Iyer with his Roobaroo and Paathshaala, driving the Delhi audience crazy! Chitra sang Ik Onkar followed by Thodi si dhool meri (the Rang De Basanti title track) along with the singer I dint know...:-( If anybody happens to watch this show on any channel, pls let me know his name. However, what took me by surprise was this singer from Aasma (the pop band of Channel V), Neeti who sang Barso Re, Maiya Maiya, Chandralekha - along with Tanvi, and Ni Main Samajh Gayi (Taal) and she sang very well, she had a very good stage presence. Also, Rehana sang the song Chhaiya Chhaiya, female part - very well. There was an additional treat waiting for us, Shauk Hain from Guru, by Soumya Rao. ARR announced to the audience that unfortunately this song was not included in the audio CD but was in the movie, so Soumya performed the song and it was very good. ARR's Pray for me brother and Vandemataram were superb! Shivamani's percussion was awesome and stylish. On the whole, the concert was GREAT! The climax is still not over! We knew that we missed the last Metro and took an auto to get back home, and we just started moving and there was this cop who was stopping our auto and just in front of us, we saw a huge long white taxi, a BMW and ARR sitting alone in the back seat!!! We screamed!!! We tortured the auto driver to follow the car just to catch another glimpse, and in the rush, a fat sardarjji had to fall in front of our auto and block our way! We were so ruthlessly enticed with the BMW that we asked the auto driver to still follow the car just to get another glimpse of ARR, but the car took the other route :-( We had to go the other way....Sigh.... However, it was and is and will always be a memorable experience, all my life! Three cheers to ARR and his fantastic music. Check out Chinmayi's blog, for a review about the concert, from the horse's mouth! :-) http://chinmayisripada.blogspot.com/ Just figured from Chinmayi's post that the unknown singer's name is Aslam Khan. I am wondering why Chinmayi does not mention about the singer, Neeti from Aasma...:-) Anyways, you can get info about Neeti at: http://in.news.yahoo.com/071115/32/6naqj.html

Jealous? :)

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IE420071012075349&Title=Features+-+People+%26+Lifestyle&rLink=0

I am waiting for this!!!

Food for thought...

In the international arena, Delhi - the capital of India boasts of showcasing Indian culture to the world. Being a music enthusiast, a core Carnatic music lover, mention the word Carnatic and the Delhi folks look at you strangely! Apart from areas like Rohini and very few places in Mayur Vihar, haunted by lot of South Indians, and not to forget the Tamil Sangam and the Kannada Sangha that organize Carnatic concerts once in a blue moon, Delhi seems very 'thanda' when it comes to this form of music.

Here's a short story about my experience in Delhi.

Having learnt Carnatic music constantly, since childhood, my thirst to learn more always kept me motivated. I consider myself blessed, for having Meera Mam as my Guru throughout. I moved to Delhi after my marriage. My hunt for a music teacher started 2 years ago in Delhi. I did not want to stop practising and all I needed was a good teacher who can hone my skills further. After a lot of enquiry among people, searching on the internet, visiting all possible sanghas, I found a teacher with great difficulty. I was very happy. In the first class I realized that she could not even sing Hamsadhwani correctly. She would start in Shuddha Dhanyasi and land in Panthu Varali. She was too lazy and would refuse to explain swaras for her own compositions, which in reality were copied from older krithis. How can I call such teachers as Gurus? She did not even know enough about music, but was teaching a lot of students. I was completely disappointed and I quit.

After a while, I heard a lady sing in a Temple. She was great! Being a musicologist, a lecturer in Delhi's Music School and hailing from a family of very famous musicians, this teacher was excellent, but very biased. She was greedy when it came to money, and to her, rendering carnatic music in 'tamil' style was called singing and not any other style. I wondered if I had made a mistake telling her that I hail from Bangalore. What is this bias about regions? Or was I that bad? I lost my confidence to a great extent when she de-motivated me. I stopped singing for a few months, almost 2 months! That was the longest period till date that I never sang. I again quit music. But I learnt a lot from this experience.

After that, I again found another teacher, who is quite okay. I am currently practising with her. Although I am not too happy, as long as I am singing and singing correctly, its fine.

Why am I saying all this? My experiences taught me a lot which I thought was very important to pen down.

Lesson 1:

Acceptance is important. Why can't our minds accept certain things? Ask yourself. Sometimes, the attitude of being extremely critical, unwillingness to give way to people who want to explore, bias towards language, believing that only traditional south Indians have legal right over Carnatic music, has created a mind-block among common people that only the older generation or the very orthodox clan (like brahmins, iyers, iyengars, etc) are entitled to listen, learn and enjoy this form of music.

Lesson 2:

Music is an art. It needs dedicated people, time and money to flourish. While we have people and we can make time, we also need to think about money. Musicians should be paid what they deserve. Today, we see a trend among singers like Unni Krishnan or Sudha Raghunathan or Vasumathi Badrinathan perform more concerts abroad than in India? Is it because there are not enough rasikas here? Definitely not. Apart from their own reasons, monetary benefits draw people out of India. I donot want to debate about this topic since I believe that until 1 Dollar = 45 Rupees and 1 Pound = 70 Rupees, this trend will always exist. When software engineers can migrate and earn more, why not musicians? However, music in India needs money and more enthusiasts. With so much of revenue, can't we have good music schools in all the metropolitan cities atleast? A thought that needs a lot of action.

Lesson 3:

How can we contribute towards music?

• Lets not boast about knowledge, let knowledge find its own way to unleash.
• Lets not be greedy and make business out of music. It is important to make money, but let us encourage doing this the right way and be ethical.
• Lets not be biased about music.
• Lets not make music only ours, lets learn to give and learn.
• Lets allow people enter the fraternity and explore, it is about letting music live.
  
  While my search for a good music teacher still continues in Delhi, I hope I could induce some thoughts on how to value a divine art form that needs dedication from us youngsters, so we can take it ahead and not let it fade away.

Shri Krishna Janmashtami

Shri Krishna Janmashtami has always been a very special festival for me. As a child I loved the tale of Shri Krishna's birth. Thanks to my grandpa and to the famous Mahabharata episodes on the television every Sunday, that I got familiarized with Shri Krishna's stories - from his fascinating birth, his tantrums with mother Yashoda, his teenage valor, his love stories, the Radha - Krishna chemistry, and his skillful planning in the Mahabharata war, everything is very exciting. Not to forget, the innumerable compositions on Lord Krishna by a whole genre of the Dasas and Musicians, who have contributed greatly in spreading the word of the Lord.

At home, I would always attend my music teacher's concert, mostly in ISKCON every year. It's happening this year too. Do attend if you are interested! :-) As a tribute to my music teacher's tremendous efforts to download a peanut size of music in me, I would like to remnice and list down all the Krishna krithis I know till date, and that I would probably cherish singing all my life. So here comes the elaborate list of songs...in chronological order of learning:

1. Pillangoviya chelva krishnana yelli nodidhiri - Raga Mohana - this was the first devaranama I learnt, probably in 1991, just before my music exam.
2. Bandhanene Ranga Bandhanene - Raga Shri - this is a very nice devaranama with a lot of rythmic words like kini kini, jhana jhana, dhudu dhudu - true hit among kids, always.
3. Hari Neene Gathiyendhu - Raga Shanmukhapriya - another devaranama, a tough one to learn and sing.
4. Paarthaaya Pratibhoditaam - Shloka from the Bhagavadgita - this contained five extracts from the Bhagavadgita, that we sang for an invocation in Adarsha Bhavan.
5. Bhaktajana Paalaka Bhakti Sukhadaayaka - Raga Hamsanandi - my music teacher set the tune to this devaranama, hence will be one of my favorites.
6. Ganamurthe - Raga Ganamurthe - the famous keerthane
7. Saamanyavalla Shri Hariya Seve - Raga Charukeshi - again a devaranama - an easy one which I always sing when someone asks me to :-)
8. Baaro Krishnaiya - Ragamalika (Raga Maand, Bilahari, Kamavardhini, Sindhu Bhairavi) - I love the way we begin this with the Shloka - Ksheeravaaridhige Shri Lakshmi Bandhanthe - in Raga Hamsanandi and then switch to Maand!
9. Maiya Mori - Raga Charukeshi - by Surdas, very common one again.
10. Indendu Vachithivira Alaga Nillu Veedhi Kaadhu Pora - Raga Surati - Love the way my sister used to perform for this telugu composition.
11. Yadhuvamsha Tilakana Veshavidhene - Raga Khamach - this is an Anthapurageethe composed by kannada poet, Sri. D.V.Gundappa, famously called D.V.G. This song begins with a beautiful shloka, on Lord Krishna and his mesmirizing looks. Makes me forget the world when I sing this.
12. Dasa Dasara Maneya - Raga Hindola - by Kanakadasa. We start this with an Ugabhoga! Dasanaguvudhakke esu janmada sukruthavo. Please read my post on Ugabhoga for more information :-)
13. Rajuvedale Joothamurare Kasthoori Ranga - Raga Thodi by Sri Thyagaraja - a great krithi.
14. Vyarthavaayithalla Janmavu Saarthakaagalilla - Raga Hindola - by Kanakadasa.
15. Baalagopala - Raga Bhairavi - By the great Dikshitaru as we fondly call him :-)
16. Yaariddharenaiya Neenilladhenagilla - Raga Ahir Bhairavi (or Chakravaka) - set to khandachhaapu taala, this raga has helped me identify a lot of film songs. :-)
17. Gopiya Bhagyavidhu - Ragamalika (Behag, Hamsadhwani, Hamsanandhi, Kaapi, Sindhu Bhairavi) - starting from baby Krishna's bathing, the way mother Yashoda enjoys dressing him up, worships him, tells him stories, feeds him, and puts him to sleep - everything is described so beautifully in this composition by Sri Purandaradasa. Its a very beautiful song and my favorite again.
18. Baalakrishnam Bhavayami - Raga Gopikavasantha - by Dikshitaru.
19. Bantanaagi Baagila Kaayive - Raga Shubhali - a Panchamavarjita raga - I find this one tough to sing.
20. Jagadodhaarana Aadisidhaleshodha - Raga Hindustani Kapi - made even more memorable by the great M.S.S.
21. Hari Kunidha Namma Hari Kunidha - Raga Yaman - my baby nephew enjoys this whenever I sing.
22. Daasana Maadiko Yenna - Raga Naadhanaamakriya - a beautiful song, quite a common one.
23. Narayana Enniro - Raga Behag - I fell in love with Behag after this. :-)
24. Nagumomu Ganaleni - Raga Abheri - which carnatic musician will not know this? :-) But do listen to great Sri Balamuralikrishna speak on this song explain the meaning, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0z6go0iYtU
25. Andinda Naa Ninna Nere Nambideno - Raga Abheri again!
26. Deenana Dukha Harana Deva - Raga Basanth Bahar - by Surdas
27. Dhrishti Ninna Paadadalli - Raga Mohana - again a Purandaradasa Devaranama
28. Neene Ballidhano Hari Ninna Dasaru - Raga Purvi Kalyani - this is my favorite devaranama by Purandaradasa, very tough, very good.
29. Aadahodhalle Makkalu - Ragamalika (Khamach, Kamavardhini, Hindola, Kalyana Vasantha) - this is a recent one for me.
30. Jo Achuthananda - Raga Kapi - a beautiful beautiful song to put you into deep sleep, you must listen to M.S.S render this. I learnt this after multiple multiple hearing and practise. Its in telugu and set to khandachapu tala, an Annamacharya composition.

Well! There ends my exhaustive list! Apart from the above, I also like Alaipayudhe Kanna and Kannalane from Bombay...:-)

If you notice, the Hari Dasa Movement contributed a lot to such innumerable songs on Lord Krishna, especially in Kannada. They hold a prominent place in every concert till date. My knowledge of ragas increased to a great extent through Devaranamas.

If you have any favorite songs on Lord Krishna, do let me know. Also, try and visit the Krishna temple in Udupi, once in a lifetime. A beautiful place with a lot of historical significance.

Wish you all a happy Janmashtami festival. Pray well and Eat well.

Curiosity Killed the Cat!

Being a core Carnatic lover, I try to spread some music around, wherever I go. In the process, I am also learning constantly and now getting a lot of exposure to Hindustani music. I have always thought that Hindustani is very different from Carnatic. Different it is, but the similarities are in abundance which I am discovering slowly. In fact, I am actually falling in love with this form of music too since I am able to relate to it a lot. I happened to listen to one of Bhimsen Joshi’s abhangs a couple of days ago. I caught the raga which was none other than Valaji. What we call Valaji or Valachi in Carnatic is Kalavathi in Hindustani. And with no second thoughts, I started singing the krithi Jalandhara Supeethaste in my mind. I was reminiscent of my childhood when I learnt this song with so much interest and the raga just sat so deep in my mind and heart that from somewhere it just popped up that day. Somehow, this was not enough for me for the day. I started my research on the krithi and the raga. (that’s why the title of this post is..! :))

The krithi – Jalandhara Supeethasthe by Sri Muthaiah Bhagavathar is a very interesting krithi on Devi Parvathi. What does the krithi mean? You can definitely find the meaning in lots of websites. But what does Jalandhara mean? And how is it related to Parvathi? So here is the story:

Jalandhara was a demon king who misused all his boons and powers to capture the world and scared the Devas. He grew very powerful and there was no one to fight against him and defeat him in Satyaloka and Vaikuntha. So he went to Kailasa to fight against the powerful Lord Shiva. Mrs.Parvathi’s husband Mr.Lord Shiva was annoyed with Jalandhara’s over confidence. Lord Shiva took the form of an old man and tricked Jalandhara by asking him to lift a chakra (which is the famous sudarshana chakra) above his head and test his strength. Jalandhara tried this and with great difficulty got the chakra on his head and the chakra cut his head and his body into pieces! So this is why the krithi starts with one of the achievements of Lord Shiva, and continues in Parvathi’s praise in the rest of the krithi!

Coming back to Valaji.

Valaji is a simple pentatonic (audava) raga with Sa Ga Pa Dha Ni swaras. When you go on singing the raga, it somehow leads to Shri Ranjini and Abhogi. I was shocked and doubted my swara kalpana. However, if you read the article in http://www.carnatica.net/special/raganubhava-saj-report.htm you definitely get the similarity – between 3 ragas actually: Valaji, Abhogi, and Shri Ranjini.

I finally concluded the following:

1. The relation between Valaji and Abhogi, being that, the grahabheda from Ma to Ma in Abhogi lead to Valaji.
2. The relation between Abhogi and Shri Ranjini being that, they are janya ragas of 22 melakarta, Kharaharapriya. While Abhogi is considered as Kumara (male) raga, Shri Ranjini is considered as Sthri (female) raga. These two ragas combine to form the Ardhanaareeshwara raga – Jayamanohari!

I was convinced in the end that my analysis was not so wrong. Afterall, Valaji is somewhere related to Abhogi and Shri Ranjini.

Isn’t music amazing? The science of music is complex, powerful, and deep. The more you discover its strength, the more you want to learn. Anyways, that’s my feeling. Hope you feel the same too!

Magic in the midnight

It's midnight and I am listening to Meenalochani in Purvi Kalyani raga, its just so beautifully soothing....music is magic...if I am ever born again, my wish is to be born only for music, nothing else...no bondages, no relations, the only bonding should be music....wow...

Sometimes I wonder, all the great people like Sri Thyagaraja, Purandaradasa, did they ever have any desire in life apart from music and devotion...they would have faced so much of critical acclaim from their own people in those days, for denouncing their bondages, their families, their personal responsibilities, all in the name of God. Do you think that would have been a kind of escape mechanism or was it truly because they knew what they had in them and they wanted what they truely wished and they were lucky to attain moksha through their karma...I bet they did...how would it be if I become one like them? :) Wow...another dream...Every bold step taken towards doing something unconventional has always had people criticize you. That is because you are stepping away from being ordinary. How many of them come out successful? I think most of them do.

If one purvi kalyani can trigger so many thoughts and desires in me, what do you think all the ragas do to me...? God definitely knows...:)

I think I need some sleep now.

Good night.

Lasting memories that hurt now - miss you Vikki

Had I known that this would be your last mail, Vikki....

Dear PPL of the world
Hii.Hope you ur good.I am Traveling to Barcelona End of the Month to pursuemy higher studies in Innovative Hotel Management for ayear so temporally i will be living in Barcelona from sep 12 to Jan and In Holland from Jan to sep. So well any one of u should be on traveling plz do stop by . Right now i am at 3500 mts above sea level inManali man its so so cool and will be riding my Bike to Rothang pass Leh Ladakh.Shimla...from day after.The ride from Delhi to here was beautiful lookin forwardf or more snow peaked mountains, Streams over flowingon to the roads ..dry desert of Leh and the Coolsummer Breeze at 5500 mts .. its kinda of raininghere. But tonight's Sky looks promising its so beautiful with Stars twinkleing ...its the first timei have seen them twinkle so clearly . MY Pulsar 150 isridin smooth but my Butt and Back not so kool..haha...well but i am sure its all worth it .Will try and send some pics ....stay kool and keep itreal.
God Bless
Take care
lots of love
Vivek aka vicky

That's my dearest friend Vikki for you. He mailed this just four days ago and he is no more now. He was in Leh for a trip and on his way back, he met with an unfortunate accident yesterday and left all of us, devastated. I sent him such a long mail after reading this. I dont know if he even read it. After knowing him for more than 7 years and sharing all those good times, in college, java city, brigade road, bistro, his jayanagar house, goa trip, how can I forget rex, my marriage, our family get togethers, and suddenly if I even think of going to my hometown and not meeting Vikki anymore and gossipping about the rest of the gang, swearing in our native language, I get shivers all over. Vikki is one of us. Will always be. Love you and miss you. I hate to believe what everyone says. I know you are with me.