Ugaabhoga - Those few lines that are sung before a devaranama (sometimes) or little compositions on its own, in kannada are very interesting chunks of discussion.
Ugaabhogas have been part of Carnatic music since centuries. Ugaabhogas were composed by Haris Daasas like Vyasaraya and Purandaradasa during the 13th century. What is interesting about Ugaabhogas is that they are simple and short in -construction, they are easily comprehendible, they talk about bhakthi, mainly hari bhakthi, very typical of the strict madhva community, they talk about life, the essence of life, about the importance of being associated with God and not with materialistic desires that ultimately lead us nowhere in life, and most of all they are raga based. Like how Hindustani has Abhang, Javalis, etc, Carnatic has Padha, Sulaadhi, Ugaabhogas and many more forms that add variety and vigor to the music form on the whole.
A small example is Dasanaguvudhakke Esu Janmada Sukruthavo - Raga Hindhola – by Purandhara Dasa, considered as the Father of Carnatic Music. The lines are as follows:
Dasanaguvudhakke esu janmada sukruthavo
Bhaasura ravi koti shreesha sugunavantha
Naasharahita ninna daasara daasyava
Lesaagi kodu kandya purandhara vithhala
Here daasa is pleading to God to allow him to be his disciple and give him that little right of slavery. Set in raga Hindhola, when this piece is typically sung before devaranama, Dasa Dasara Maneya, Dasaanu Daasa in Hindhola again, it is a feast for the ears.
Another example is Thumbida Maneya Mele Thulasidhalavanittu – Raga Kambodhi . A very interesting piece that talks about the variety of kannada compositions written during the 13th century, written by Sri Vyasaraya himself, humbly speaking about Daasa dharma and how Hari bhakthi has elated him to deliver these lakhs of compositions. Here is the script (may seem difficult to pronounce since it is kannada written in English):
Thumbida Maneya Mele Thulasidhalavanittu
Hari samarpithavendhu horage bandhu
Thraasu thoogidha kaiyige
Thaala thamboorigala melavannalavadisi modhadhindha
Vyasarayara manthropadesha padedhu
Lalitha kannada nudiya lakshopalaksha
Padha, sulaadhi, ugaabhoga nidhiya rachisi
Sarala sumadhura sangeetha saraniyindha
Sulabhavaagiye haribhakthi sudheyanunisi
Daasa dharma dhivyopadhesha gaiyidhu
Suramuneendhraamsha sambhootha
Sujanavinutha shree purandhara dasa sadhguruvarenya
While the Hari Dasas triggered the Bhakthi movement during the 13th century, their contribution towards carnatic music, their urge to reach out to common man, and the kind of success they received for their marvelous efforts and contributions is seen even today, when me, you or any third person tap feet to those great devaranamas like Thamboori Meetidava, or Pillangoviya Cheluva Krishnana, or even Vyarthavaayithalla Janmavu Saarthakaagalilla. The message that every composition carries to common man is what is to be identified and appreciated.
Here I end my post on Ugaabhogas, bowing humbly to all those noted personalities who filled music with life and who are continuing to fill my life with peace and divinity.
Do feel free to add on to the post.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Nitty gritties and more on 'Sivaji - The Boss'
I am sure that most of you have already watched the movie. For those who have, you can relate more to what I have written here. For those who haven't yet, may be you should first watch it and then read. Just to be on a safer side that is. This is not about the whole movie coz I am sure lot of people have varied opinions on the same and thousands of reviews have been written already. I have written about what I observed. Not to hurt anybody's feelings or sentiments. :)
Songs in the movie:
Balleilakka - If only the choreographers had realized before the making of the song how tough it was to dance to such a fast paced number and yet lip sync correctly. For all the expectations that I had from such a superb song, the visuals were disappointing. Seemed like poor Rajini was forced to run as fast as he could and twist his hands and shake his legs faster than ever in those extra-ordinarily bright costumes. The Sadugudu part is so badly shot and each time Nayantara said 'Sattennu sollu', twisting her head - all of us, including Rajini himself would've been clueless. The only thing nice about the song is Rajini's spirit that makes the song worth watching. The efforts made to hunt men (side dancers) with huge ghatam like tummies and body paint pots, rajini's face, and tiger's face is commendable. I am sure they did not have a tough time finding such men in and around tamil nadu...:) Hey that's just a joke. Relax.
Vaaji Vaaji - This is one spectacular song that anybody would appreciate. The marvellous settings that looks like a palace, outfits of Rajini like an emperor, the vibrant colors of the palace that change with the costumes of the side-dancers (hehe), Shreya's Apsare kind of costumes, everything is simply spectacular, one song I just loved watching.
Style - Along with Oru Kudai Sunlight, Oru Kudai Moonlight, there is also Oru Kudai Lakme Rose Powder on Rajini's face. I thought Rajini looked aweful in his pink face which looked like as if he had developed a skin disease or something. It was just awful to watch Rajini turning white. Well the whole song itself was like a pun, but inspite of the context of the song, I think it was not good enough. Some costumes of Shreya, like the denim skirt which almost gave her a 'O so Bipasha' kind of a look, rest of them were too jazzy. Sometimes I wonder if the only theme of choosing dresses for Shreya was total waist exposure and deep-necked blouses. In almost every song she has worn low-waist long fish-cut skirts and deep-necked blouses. She looks good and dances well, so that pays for all the efforts. She also carries them well. So that's acceptable by me. I am sure for all the men, it is more than acceptable. :)
Sahara Pookkal - I imagined it to be shot something like Pudhu Vellai Mazhai in Roja, since the song spoke so much about nature embedded in romance. But the song was shot in very artificial looking glass house kind of sets, with Shreya having lots of shining make-up like kutti shining silver bindis all over her body, wonder if that was supposed to personify Sahara Pookkal...:( May be I will like the song if I watch it many more times and get used to it on Sun T.V, Jaya T.V, Raj T.V, am I forgetting any other T.V? :)
Athiradi Kaaran - A song out of the blue! I liked ARR's singing and the costumes and look of the song. Must watch is the way a pistol flies from Rajini's right hand, shoots the villain and comes back to his left hand! :O Nice peppy dance number, very arabic kind of feel, something like Maiya Maiya.
Sahara Pookal (slow version) - They have used this part for Shreya's first scene, the song sounds beautiful in the background, very typically shot, heroine walking in half saree in temple (wearing lovely color-combination half-saree), singing in temple, I loved her silver anklets.
Wondering why I did not comment much on Rajini's dressing and clothes? I thought his clothes were fantastic in the movie, all the formal shirts, blazers, trousers, emperor-like outfits, funky outfits, long coats, everything he has worn was very stylish and very well done. Manish Malhotra has definitely done a great job for Rajini.
Guess I covered all the songs.
Certain other observations that I made:
- Raghuvaran (playing a doctor) wearing a super white blazer to a construction site. :) Agreed he is a doctor, but...
- Kadhal Rojave and Kannalane played in the background when Rajini comes to meet Shreya in her Musical Instruments shop, this is called re-cycling music :)
- Shreya does not have a mookuthi (nose studd) before marriage, but has one during and after marriage :) Making a Wife-Style Statement there?
- Rajini showing Shreya some stock of medicines almost like a medical shop in his room, and almost 3 year old babies frocks for their baby! Very farsighted? :)
Over all, movie is okay, anything for Rajini's Acting and Style. Definitely a Super Star with Super Natural Style! Watch Sivaji and do feel free to add on to what I have written.
Songs in the movie:
Balleilakka - If only the choreographers had realized before the making of the song how tough it was to dance to such a fast paced number and yet lip sync correctly. For all the expectations that I had from such a superb song, the visuals were disappointing. Seemed like poor Rajini was forced to run as fast as he could and twist his hands and shake his legs faster than ever in those extra-ordinarily bright costumes. The Sadugudu part is so badly shot and each time Nayantara said 'Sattennu sollu', twisting her head - all of us, including Rajini himself would've been clueless. The only thing nice about the song is Rajini's spirit that makes the song worth watching. The efforts made to hunt men (side dancers) with huge ghatam like tummies and body paint pots, rajini's face, and tiger's face is commendable. I am sure they did not have a tough time finding such men in and around tamil nadu...:) Hey that's just a joke. Relax.
Vaaji Vaaji - This is one spectacular song that anybody would appreciate. The marvellous settings that looks like a palace, outfits of Rajini like an emperor, the vibrant colors of the palace that change with the costumes of the side-dancers (hehe), Shreya's Apsare kind of costumes, everything is simply spectacular, one song I just loved watching.
Style - Along with Oru Kudai Sunlight, Oru Kudai Moonlight, there is also Oru Kudai Lakme Rose Powder on Rajini's face. I thought Rajini looked aweful in his pink face which looked like as if he had developed a skin disease or something. It was just awful to watch Rajini turning white. Well the whole song itself was like a pun, but inspite of the context of the song, I think it was not good enough. Some costumes of Shreya, like the denim skirt which almost gave her a 'O so Bipasha' kind of a look, rest of them were too jazzy. Sometimes I wonder if the only theme of choosing dresses for Shreya was total waist exposure and deep-necked blouses. In almost every song she has worn low-waist long fish-cut skirts and deep-necked blouses. She looks good and dances well, so that pays for all the efforts. She also carries them well. So that's acceptable by me. I am sure for all the men, it is more than acceptable. :)
Sahara Pookkal - I imagined it to be shot something like Pudhu Vellai Mazhai in Roja, since the song spoke so much about nature embedded in romance. But the song was shot in very artificial looking glass house kind of sets, with Shreya having lots of shining make-up like kutti shining silver bindis all over her body, wonder if that was supposed to personify Sahara Pookkal...:( May be I will like the song if I watch it many more times and get used to it on Sun T.V, Jaya T.V, Raj T.V, am I forgetting any other T.V? :)
Athiradi Kaaran - A song out of the blue! I liked ARR's singing and the costumes and look of the song. Must watch is the way a pistol flies from Rajini's right hand, shoots the villain and comes back to his left hand! :O Nice peppy dance number, very arabic kind of feel, something like Maiya Maiya.
Sahara Pookal (slow version) - They have used this part for Shreya's first scene, the song sounds beautiful in the background, very typically shot, heroine walking in half saree in temple (wearing lovely color-combination half-saree), singing in temple, I loved her silver anklets.
Wondering why I did not comment much on Rajini's dressing and clothes? I thought his clothes were fantastic in the movie, all the formal shirts, blazers, trousers, emperor-like outfits, funky outfits, long coats, everything he has worn was very stylish and very well done. Manish Malhotra has definitely done a great job for Rajini.
Guess I covered all the songs.
Certain other observations that I made:
- Raghuvaran (playing a doctor) wearing a super white blazer to a construction site. :) Agreed he is a doctor, but...
- Kadhal Rojave and Kannalane played in the background when Rajini comes to meet Shreya in her Musical Instruments shop, this is called re-cycling music :)
- Shreya does not have a mookuthi (nose studd) before marriage, but has one during and after marriage :) Making a Wife-Style Statement there?
- Rajini showing Shreya some stock of medicines almost like a medical shop in his room, and almost 3 year old babies frocks for their baby! Very farsighted? :)
Over all, movie is okay, anything for Rajini's Acting and Style. Definitely a Super Star with Super Natural Style! Watch Sivaji and do feel free to add on to what I have written.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Raincoat
Yesterday I was watching this movie – Raincoat – a brilliant story according to me, based on a novel by O Henry made into a movie.
There’s this character of a village woman Neeru, who is very young, has an affair with her childhood lover Mannu for almost 8 years. Barely educated and a little crude in behavior, Neeru always dreams big – of being rich, having lot of servants to take care of her house, car, jewels, lavish life. To quench her thirst, Neeru ditches her childhood lover and heeds to circumstances ending up in an arranged marriage to a rich guy. Neeru is convinced that her parents are also happy about this. Her lover is young, a struggler, yet to start making money and he gives up too since he feels helpless.
They meet after a 6 years of gap, Neeru lives in a city with her husband and Mannu comes from his (and her old) village to her city. Mannu’s situation is pathetic. He is a total loser. He is a failure in his job and he desperately needs money. So he comes to meet a friend in the city to borrow some money and ask for help from his other friends who could help him financially. He carries a letter to show to all his friends that better explains his situation, so that they can read it and help him out. Mannu is unmarried yet. He is depressed and miserable. His friend feels very sad for him and lends him some money and recommends more friends from whom he could go and borrow more money. In the process, he decides to meet Neeru and her husband and God knows what struck him to check her well being after such a long hiatus.
Mannu comes to Neeru’s big house. He is taken aback to see her in a very pale condition after years and they end up having a long conversation, since Neeru says her husband is away, in Japan on a business tour. In between their conversation, the door bell rings. Mannu asks her if he can open the door. She shudders and says it must be some troubling neighbors and refuses to open the door. He is surprised at her strange behavior. He also notices that all the windows are closed and the house is very dark. She says that since she feels cold and it is rainy season, she keeps the door shut always. Her living room where they are sitting is full of handsome furniture. He is not able to understand the situation exactly and feels confused. They get back to their conversation. Both of them camouflage their identities estranging themselves from reality telling each other tales about their dream lives, like as if they are living lavish lives at present. She says that her husband is very rich, keeps traveling abroad, she has servants, jewels, lavish life and she is happy and gets bored coz of excessive pampering. He says he is a very successful businessman, running his own television company, very rich and happy in life. Both of them can clearly see that they are lying to each other, but both don’t want to give up in front of each other. They don’t want to regret that had they been married to each other, situations would have been different or rather better for both. In between the conversations, she asks him for Tea and he says okay. She goes to her kitchen and makes Tea for him, singing loudly in the kitchen trying to show like as if she is really enjoying making Tea and hence loving her house, her married life, daily routine, etc. He observes that and feels happy that she still has her childhood habits. They again get into conversations. Not willing to regret and not ready to accept, they both lie to each other more and more and portray happiness in their individual lives.
In between there’s a twist. She asks him for lunch and he agrees. She says, she needs to go out and buy food for him since she is lazy to cook and the servants are on leave. She leaves him inside the house. He is sitting and smoking in her living room. She has left to buy food for him. Suddenly the door bell rings again and a man pops in. He claims to be the landlord of the house. Mannu ends up having a conversation with the landlord, only to discover that Neeru and her husband are big time into trouble, the house rent was not being paid from almost a year, Neeru’s husband is a fraudulent businessman who has debts to pay, an alcoholic who comes home only late nights to escape from debts and people, to top it, they both give their living room for hire to a furniture shop fellow who keeps his furniture every night and takes them back to his shop next morning, which is why their living room looks so lavish. The landlord is pissed off coz of this illegal business and says that he has filed a case in the court and will be throwing Neeru and her husband out of the house soon. The landlord asks him to see the rest of the house apart from the living room, so as to make him aware of the actual situation. Mannu hesitates initially but then takes a look at the house – which is extremely filthy, barely anything that is in a usable condition, not even a proper vessel in place and is taken aback. Shaken by this harsh reality, he decides to pay her house rent with the little money he would’ve borrowed from his friends. The landlord is more than happy to get 3 months rent and moves out. Neeru comes back with food and serves him. Mannu eats and stealthily leaves the house rent receipt and a letter for near the sofa, stating that he has paid the rent.
They depart. After returning, Mannu finds something in his raincoat pocket. Neeru would’ve kept her (very few) marriage jewels in his raincoat since she ends up reading the letter from his raincoat – the same letter which he had carried to his friend’s house requesting for money. She realizes that he is in dire need of money. And there ends the story.
Nice isn’t it? Kept me thinking for long.
There’s this character of a village woman Neeru, who is very young, has an affair with her childhood lover Mannu for almost 8 years. Barely educated and a little crude in behavior, Neeru always dreams big – of being rich, having lot of servants to take care of her house, car, jewels, lavish life. To quench her thirst, Neeru ditches her childhood lover and heeds to circumstances ending up in an arranged marriage to a rich guy. Neeru is convinced that her parents are also happy about this. Her lover is young, a struggler, yet to start making money and he gives up too since he feels helpless.
They meet after a 6 years of gap, Neeru lives in a city with her husband and Mannu comes from his (and her old) village to her city. Mannu’s situation is pathetic. He is a total loser. He is a failure in his job and he desperately needs money. So he comes to meet a friend in the city to borrow some money and ask for help from his other friends who could help him financially. He carries a letter to show to all his friends that better explains his situation, so that they can read it and help him out. Mannu is unmarried yet. He is depressed and miserable. His friend feels very sad for him and lends him some money and recommends more friends from whom he could go and borrow more money. In the process, he decides to meet Neeru and her husband and God knows what struck him to check her well being after such a long hiatus.
Mannu comes to Neeru’s big house. He is taken aback to see her in a very pale condition after years and they end up having a long conversation, since Neeru says her husband is away, in Japan on a business tour. In between their conversation, the door bell rings. Mannu asks her if he can open the door. She shudders and says it must be some troubling neighbors and refuses to open the door. He is surprised at her strange behavior. He also notices that all the windows are closed and the house is very dark. She says that since she feels cold and it is rainy season, she keeps the door shut always. Her living room where they are sitting is full of handsome furniture. He is not able to understand the situation exactly and feels confused. They get back to their conversation. Both of them camouflage their identities estranging themselves from reality telling each other tales about their dream lives, like as if they are living lavish lives at present. She says that her husband is very rich, keeps traveling abroad, she has servants, jewels, lavish life and she is happy and gets bored coz of excessive pampering. He says he is a very successful businessman, running his own television company, very rich and happy in life. Both of them can clearly see that they are lying to each other, but both don’t want to give up in front of each other. They don’t want to regret that had they been married to each other, situations would have been different or rather better for both. In between the conversations, she asks him for Tea and he says okay. She goes to her kitchen and makes Tea for him, singing loudly in the kitchen trying to show like as if she is really enjoying making Tea and hence loving her house, her married life, daily routine, etc. He observes that and feels happy that she still has her childhood habits. They again get into conversations. Not willing to regret and not ready to accept, they both lie to each other more and more and portray happiness in their individual lives.
In between there’s a twist. She asks him for lunch and he agrees. She says, she needs to go out and buy food for him since she is lazy to cook and the servants are on leave. She leaves him inside the house. He is sitting and smoking in her living room. She has left to buy food for him. Suddenly the door bell rings again and a man pops in. He claims to be the landlord of the house. Mannu ends up having a conversation with the landlord, only to discover that Neeru and her husband are big time into trouble, the house rent was not being paid from almost a year, Neeru’s husband is a fraudulent businessman who has debts to pay, an alcoholic who comes home only late nights to escape from debts and people, to top it, they both give their living room for hire to a furniture shop fellow who keeps his furniture every night and takes them back to his shop next morning, which is why their living room looks so lavish. The landlord is pissed off coz of this illegal business and says that he has filed a case in the court and will be throwing Neeru and her husband out of the house soon. The landlord asks him to see the rest of the house apart from the living room, so as to make him aware of the actual situation. Mannu hesitates initially but then takes a look at the house – which is extremely filthy, barely anything that is in a usable condition, not even a proper vessel in place and is taken aback. Shaken by this harsh reality, he decides to pay her house rent with the little money he would’ve borrowed from his friends. The landlord is more than happy to get 3 months rent and moves out. Neeru comes back with food and serves him. Mannu eats and stealthily leaves the house rent receipt and a letter for near the sofa, stating that he has paid the rent.
They depart. After returning, Mannu finds something in his raincoat pocket. Neeru would’ve kept her (very few) marriage jewels in his raincoat since she ends up reading the letter from his raincoat – the same letter which he had carried to his friend’s house requesting for money. She realizes that he is in dire need of money. And there ends the story.
Nice isn’t it? Kept me thinking for long.
- Neeru could've given her jewels to her husband as well, but she dint.
- Mannu feels extremely bad for Neeru, and does the least he could for her, without even thinking twice.
- Neeru still felt jealous when Mannu mentions about a lady secretary in his office.
- Mannu feels terribly guilty when the landlord tells him the reality and also mocks at Mannu for being a loser, who could not get his lover, and instead trying to show his concern after she has landed in such a soup.
- Neeru's immature materialistic ambitions did not lead her anywhere.
- In the end, Neeru is still as helpless and unhappy as Mannu.
Every woman has desires, different kinds of desires. Some pursue them diligently, some get trapped blindly. Either ways, struggle will always be there in different ways. Sailing through the storm and again charging up to face the next storm is what life is all about. :)
Happy weekend!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Songs of Eternity – All for Cheeni Kam
I must say that Shreya Ghoshal is one lucky singer who has got to sing some of the classic compositions of the great Ilayaraja in his upcoming so called musical comeback in Hindi films – Cheeni Kam. With Tabu looking so aesthetic, Amitabh looking so stylish, the dialogues sounding so witty, the songs being so full of romance, I wonder how the movie will turn out to be! Reviews say that this is a comedy cum romance between a 64 year old chef and a woman in her early 30’s, with the love factor not being deliberate! I have always had a fetish for movies that weave around conversations full of quick wit, sarcasm, humor, banter, and coy bundled with romance to die for. :) One such movie that I comes to my mind is ‘As Good As It Gets’ starring Jack Nicolson and Helen Hunt. What a movie!
Coming back to the Music of Cheeni Kam
The title track – Cheeni Kam Hai aka Mandram Vandha Thendralikku – should I say anything about the song? The tune is an unrivaled masterpiece. While IR has retained the essence of the song to a great extent with a change in the music in between the paragraphs (anupallavis) and a very teeny-weeny modification of tune in the anupallavi ending - probably to suit Shreya’s voice range, unlike how SPB could stop at very high notes. Shreya’s voice and the sensuous beats haunt your soul. This has a pathos version as well that sounds okay.
Baatein Hawa Hai Saari aka Kuzhaloothum Kannanikku – Somehow I cant get over Radha running in between the lush green trees in white saree. However, this song has 2 versions – one with Amitabh’s sarcastic anecdotes, and one without. Believe me you if you are the one who loves men with husky sophisticated voice, this is one man who will bowl you over completely! Again the music in between the paragraphs (anu pallavis) is different and new. Sounds nice. I like this song.
Jaane Do Naa aka Jotheyali (from kannada movie Geetha) – A blockbuster hit song in Kannada way back in late 80’s, this song is still the favorite among most of the people when asked about romantic favorites. That’s the magic of this song. It is my favorite song too, though I have my own reasons for it. Again a priceless masterpiece by IR. In Hindi, the lyrics sound very apt and very good. I like this song the best, among all the three. Shreya’s magic mantra that worked for Jadoo Hai Nasha Hai in Jism seems to be working in this as well. Surely to become a hit number.
Rest are all BGM’s that sound very melodious. If you want to feel nostalgic and if you are curious to see how IR has cleverly managed to use his best compositions so judiciously to impress the Hindi audience, do listen to the songs. Definitely worth a listen.
Adiya, thanks for the inspiration! :)
Coming back to the Music of Cheeni Kam
The title track – Cheeni Kam Hai aka Mandram Vandha Thendralikku – should I say anything about the song? The tune is an unrivaled masterpiece. While IR has retained the essence of the song to a great extent with a change in the music in between the paragraphs (anupallavis) and a very teeny-weeny modification of tune in the anupallavi ending - probably to suit Shreya’s voice range, unlike how SPB could stop at very high notes. Shreya’s voice and the sensuous beats haunt your soul. This has a pathos version as well that sounds okay.
Baatein Hawa Hai Saari aka Kuzhaloothum Kannanikku – Somehow I cant get over Radha running in between the lush green trees in white saree. However, this song has 2 versions – one with Amitabh’s sarcastic anecdotes, and one without. Believe me you if you are the one who loves men with husky sophisticated voice, this is one man who will bowl you over completely! Again the music in between the paragraphs (anu pallavis) is different and new. Sounds nice. I like this song.
Jaane Do Naa aka Jotheyali (from kannada movie Geetha) – A blockbuster hit song in Kannada way back in late 80’s, this song is still the favorite among most of the people when asked about romantic favorites. That’s the magic of this song. It is my favorite song too, though I have my own reasons for it. Again a priceless masterpiece by IR. In Hindi, the lyrics sound very apt and very good. I like this song the best, among all the three. Shreya’s magic mantra that worked for Jadoo Hai Nasha Hai in Jism seems to be working in this as well. Surely to become a hit number.
Rest are all BGM’s that sound very melodious. If you want to feel nostalgic and if you are curious to see how IR has cleverly managed to use his best compositions so judiciously to impress the Hindi audience, do listen to the songs. Definitely worth a listen.
Adiya, thanks for the inspiration! :)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Born singers
For those who think they cant sing, have no regrets, we all are born singers, well versed in ragas! All of us have sung in Bilawal Raga since childhood!
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you– Did you know that this is in Bilawal raga aka Shankarabharana? And similar is the tune of our National Anthem – Janaganamana. Most of the nursery rhymes belong to this raga category. The notes are easy to be played on keyboard, since it is the Do Re Mi Fa notes. I call it quite an English raga. :)
Throwing some light on Bilawal raga
Bilawal is a Hindustani Raga, a typical morning raga. It belongs to Bilawal Thaat (like our Melakartas) and consists of complete seven notes that are all shuddha swaras. It is equivalent to 29th Dheera Shankarabharana Melakartha Raga in Carnatic.
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you– Did you know that this is in Bilawal raga aka Shankarabharana? And similar is the tune of our National Anthem – Janaganamana. Most of the nursery rhymes belong to this raga category. The notes are easy to be played on keyboard, since it is the Do Re Mi Fa notes. I call it quite an English raga. :)
Throwing some light on Bilawal raga
Bilawal is a Hindustani Raga, a typical morning raga. It belongs to Bilawal Thaat (like our Melakartas) and consists of complete seven notes that are all shuddha swaras. It is equivalent to 29th Dheera Shankarabharana Melakartha Raga in Carnatic.
Monday, May 14, 2007
MSS celebrated friendship in her old age by cutting cake!
Here is a very cute event from MS Amma's life, found this somewhere while browsing:
Apart from music, M. S. is known for her many good qualities. The late Sri K. S. Mahadevan (KSM), a music critic, wrote in his book about how M. S. valued friendship.
To celebrate 50 years of friendship with KSM's wife, M. S. and her husband T. Sadasivam had ordered for a cake with inscription 'Kunjamma and Chinnani - 50 years of friendship'. The baker erroneously wrote '60' instead of '50' - that was a different story. But Kunjamma (M. S., as she was affectionately called in her family) maintained the friendship till her last days.
Now isn't the so sweet? With whom will I celebrate this kind of friendship in my old age? Just wondering....:)
Apart from music, M. S. is known for her many good qualities. The late Sri K. S. Mahadevan (KSM), a music critic, wrote in his book about how M. S. valued friendship.
To celebrate 50 years of friendship with KSM's wife, M. S. and her husband T. Sadasivam had ordered for a cake with inscription 'Kunjamma and Chinnani - 50 years of friendship'. The baker erroneously wrote '60' instead of '50' - that was a different story. But Kunjamma (M. S., as she was affectionately called in her family) maintained the friendship till her last days.
Now isn't the so sweet? With whom will I celebrate this kind of friendship in my old age? Just wondering....:)
Friday, May 11, 2007
Thillana - Raaga Dhanasri - Sri Swati Tirunaal
Like adding a twist in a tale, carnatic musicians add twists in concerts by singing varieties like the abhang, javali, ugaabhoga, or even a thillana. Although the Thillaanas are pre-dominantly used for dance performances, they are purely enjoyable in music concerts simply because of their coalescence with rhythm (taala).
A common thillana rendered by famous musicians including M.S.S is Geethadhunikuthaka in raga Dhanasri, a hindi composition of Sri Swati Tirunaal, the well known connoisseur of music, post trinity period. Bowing humbly to this great musician, here is a little write up.
Sri Swati Tirunaal
It is known to everyone that Sri Swati Tirunal was a linguist well versed in 13 languages. Adding to his brilliance was his sound knowledge of both Hindustani and Carnatic music which is seen in his wide variety of compositions that includes:
A common thillana rendered by famous musicians including M.S.S is Geethadhunikuthaka in raga Dhanasri, a hindi composition of Sri Swati Tirunaal, the well known connoisseur of music, post trinity period. Bowing humbly to this great musician, here is a little write up.
Sri Swati Tirunaal
It is known to everyone that Sri Swati Tirunal was a linguist well versed in 13 languages. Adding to his brilliance was his sound knowledge of both Hindustani and Carnatic music which is seen in his wide variety of compositions that includes:
- Thappas, dhrupads, abhangs, thumris – the classic Hindustani / north Indian variety
- Keerthanes, swarajathis, javalis, padams – the typical flavours of Carnatic south Indian music.
A great devotee of Lord Vishnu, most of his krithis ended with ‘Padmanabha’. He flourished Hindustani ragas like Behaag, Kaapi, Hameer Kalyani, and plenty more in his krithis.
Raga Dhanasri
Dhanasri is a Hindustani Raaga. It is an afternoon raga sung between 1 and 4 PM. The time is specific here since Hindustani music strictly follows the time theory – that a particular raga should be sung at a particular time only, although in Carnatic we don’t follow this strictly now.
The scale of Dhanasri is:
Sa Ga Ma Pa Ni Sa
Sa Ni Dha (very rarely used) Pa Ma Ga Ri Sa
This may seem very close to Abheri in Carnatic (20th Melakarta) except that in Dhanasri, Daivatha ‘Dha’ is seldom used and that is the main difference between the two ragas. Else the notes are very similar. Dhanasri in Hindustani belongs to the 10th Thaat.
Going back to 13th century period, where ragas were considered as males – husbands, and related ragas as raginis or wives, called the popular Raaga – Raagini system of music, Dhanasri is considered as ragini of Malkauns, a Hindustani raga. This is a raga of longing for love, typically depicted by a woman missing her lover.
Thillana Geethadhuniku Thaka
The song talks about a woman performing dance recital. The words, “Naach Rahe Gori, Tha Dhi Thai, Thom Dhi Thai” in the Pallavi means that.
The Anu Pallavi has 2 verses.
Verse 1 – “Baaje Payal Kaho, Jhanan Jhanan” – giving you the feel of the sound of paayal (anklets/ghungroo/gejje) through words like “Jhanan Jhanan”. Simply beautiful.
Verse 2 – “Thaan Gaave Thaka Tha Thai Tha Thai” is full of rhythm.
The Charana - “Padmanaabha Tumhaari Leela, kya kahoon main, saawaro, thaap sankat haranayo, soha mhaaro tumaharo” – lovely flow of words by Sri Swati Tirunal. He is talking about the greatness of Lord Padmanabha, and requesting him to take away all the pains, and confessing that Padmanabha is the ultimate happiness. This is followed by the Jathi – Tha Dheem Tha Dheem Dhirana…..
Geethadhuniku is bliss. So next time please listen more carefully.
Pls feel free to add on any other explicit information you come across on the krithi or the composer or the raga. Will be glad to accept your comments.
Pls do not misuse this information anywhere else since this purely belongs to me and only me.
Happy Weekend!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Onne Onnu Sollanum
Un Mughatthai Paarthu Sollanam, Thanimayi Konjam Kidaikka koodaadhaa.......:) What a high energy song from Kaaka Kaaka (Ennai Konjam Maatri...), just perks me out of all the blues and makes me energetic! Especially while driving my car, this is THE SONG that I enjoy the most! Waiting for those days soon..............:) I am going home! :)
By the way, in Jaya T.V - SPB's show - last week one girl literally murdered this song and made it seem so lifeless. Why is it that people dont realize that apart from singing a song, they need to feel it. Being able to present the mood of the song is so important, but some people just dont get it! :(
My research on Dhanasri is on....:) will be back soon.
By the way, in Jaya T.V - SPB's show - last week one girl literally murdered this song and made it seem so lifeless. Why is it that people dont realize that apart from singing a song, they need to feel it. Being able to present the mood of the song is so important, but some people just dont get it! :(
My research on Dhanasri is on....:) will be back soon.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Dharu
Today my friend and I were discussing about musicians in olden days who were appointed in King's court. Like, for example Harikeshanallur Sri Muthaiah Bhagavathar, who was in the court of Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar. It is said that Muthaiah Bhagavatar visited Mysore during the Dasara festivities when he was about 50 years old. He gave a couple of concerts at the palace and earned the benevolent attention of Sri Krishna Raja Wodeyar. He secured a position of a prestigious musician in the court. During this time, HMB composed a Dharu in praise of the King's mother, equalizing her goodness to that of Goddess Parvathi. This is none other than the famous Maathe Malayadhwaja Paandya Sanjaathe in Khamach Raaga, Adi taala. From here my thoughts started pondering in varied directions.
What is a Dharu?
A Dharu is a varnam format that typically consists of Swara, Jathi, and Saahithya - all in one, along with the usual pallavi, anu pallavi and charana. The swara-jathi-saahithya pattern normally follows after anu pallavi followed by the charana. Sri HMB is supposed to be the first among musicians to come up with this pattern.
What is the significance of a Dharu?
While a dharu gives ample scope for a musician to sing and tests his swara, jathi, saahithya gnana, thaala is an important aspect to it since it is a varnam on its own. Also, dancers use Dharus for performing since the saahithya is filled with bhava, ample scope for Abhinaya - a very important aspect for dancers.
What is the difference between Dharu, Padha, and Thana Varnam then?
Categorizing varnams based on thaala - like Adi taala and Atta taala varnam, may not be completely correct since there are varnams in Jhampe taala, Khanda Triputa, Roopaka, Tishra Eka, etc.
A Padha varnam is the one that consists of saahithya throughout - meaning, consider what we sing these days, for example, Ninnukori - in Adi - Mohana Raaga - Has saahithya in pallavi, followed by chitteswara, and charana where we sing 2 lines of saahithya and then jump to first charana composed only of swaras, sing the saahithya, and continue till we complete the 4 charanas. However, a Padha varnam consisted of saahithya in the entire charana as well! So, every charana has saahithya, and this format was sung in olden days. Since it was rich in saahithya, mostly conveying feelings of love (i believe), it gave lot of scope for abhinaya hence for dance performances too! Padha varnams are also called Chauka varnams / Ata varnams.
As music developed, it got customized and polished and we sing what we sing today - Thana varnams!
So that is the difference.
Have I learnt Dharu?
Yes I have learnt Maathe many years ago, and I have also sung this for my sister's bharatanatyam rehearsals (only), :( with my music teacher ofcourse :) since I was a little kid then. Trust me, with accompaniments like the nattuvangam, this krithi is a total bliss to sing!
There ends the tale of Dharu.
I also learnt that to compose varnams / thillanas one needs to have very good mridhangam knowledge. This increases the laya sense and is useful in composing varnam. In fact, Sri Muthaiah Bhagavathar had also trained under Vidwan Sri Narayanasamappa of Tanjore in mridangam. He possessed an accurate knowledge of rhythm which explains the excellence of his tillanas and dharus.
If you notice, among the trinity, Sri Thyagaraja and Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar have composed keerthanes/krithis but not varnams, as known to me. Whereas, Shama Shastry has Swarajathis to his fame. So somewhere he must have had a deep knowledge of mridangam or the kelvi gnana.
If you come across any contradicting or complementing information, pls feel free to comment.
I will next speak about Swati Thirunal and his Thillana in Dhanasri in my next post!
What is a Dharu?
A Dharu is a varnam format that typically consists of Swara, Jathi, and Saahithya - all in one, along with the usual pallavi, anu pallavi and charana. The swara-jathi-saahithya pattern normally follows after anu pallavi followed by the charana. Sri HMB is supposed to be the first among musicians to come up with this pattern.
What is the significance of a Dharu?
While a dharu gives ample scope for a musician to sing and tests his swara, jathi, saahithya gnana, thaala is an important aspect to it since it is a varnam on its own. Also, dancers use Dharus for performing since the saahithya is filled with bhava, ample scope for Abhinaya - a very important aspect for dancers.
What is the difference between Dharu, Padha, and Thana Varnam then?
Categorizing varnams based on thaala - like Adi taala and Atta taala varnam, may not be completely correct since there are varnams in Jhampe taala, Khanda Triputa, Roopaka, Tishra Eka, etc.
A Padha varnam is the one that consists of saahithya throughout - meaning, consider what we sing these days, for example, Ninnukori - in Adi - Mohana Raaga - Has saahithya in pallavi, followed by chitteswara, and charana where we sing 2 lines of saahithya and then jump to first charana composed only of swaras, sing the saahithya, and continue till we complete the 4 charanas. However, a Padha varnam consisted of saahithya in the entire charana as well! So, every charana has saahithya, and this format was sung in olden days. Since it was rich in saahithya, mostly conveying feelings of love (i believe), it gave lot of scope for abhinaya hence for dance performances too! Padha varnams are also called Chauka varnams / Ata varnams.
As music developed, it got customized and polished and we sing what we sing today - Thana varnams!
So that is the difference.
Have I learnt Dharu?
Yes I have learnt Maathe many years ago, and I have also sung this for my sister's bharatanatyam rehearsals (only), :( with my music teacher ofcourse :) since I was a little kid then. Trust me, with accompaniments like the nattuvangam, this krithi is a total bliss to sing!
There ends the tale of Dharu.
I also learnt that to compose varnams / thillanas one needs to have very good mridhangam knowledge. This increases the laya sense and is useful in composing varnam. In fact, Sri Muthaiah Bhagavathar had also trained under Vidwan Sri Narayanasamappa of Tanjore in mridangam. He possessed an accurate knowledge of rhythm which explains the excellence of his tillanas and dharus.
If you notice, among the trinity, Sri Thyagaraja and Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar have composed keerthanes/krithis but not varnams, as known to me. Whereas, Shama Shastry has Swarajathis to his fame. So somewhere he must have had a deep knowledge of mridangam or the kelvi gnana.
If you come across any contradicting or complementing information, pls feel free to comment.
I will next speak about Swati Thirunal and his Thillana in Dhanasri in my next post!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Chimney Sweep!
Did you know that a Chimney Sweep is one among the lucky charms? Especially in places like Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, France, U.K, Chimney Sweeps are considered auspicious omen of good luck especially when you meet them on New Years day or when they visit a house to chimney sweep!
I really did not know this until I received a ‘Petit Ramoneur Sabogard’ – A doll of a chimney sweeper, a petite girl carrying a rope and a ladder – a surprise gift from France! I was told that it is considered as a lucky charm. I was surprised. Now I simply love this doll and I tried to get some history behind this.
The chimney has been a part of family life since the early Romans first realized that it was better to live in a nice, fire-warmed home than in a chilly one. They needed a way to funnel off the smoke the fires caused. Centuries later, in medieval times, fireplaces were invented to heat individual rooms and provide a safe place for indoor cooking. Folks soon learned that fireplaces and their chimneys needed a cleaning once in a while. A house full of soot and fumes isn't healthy. And so, chimney sweeping developed into a necessary profession. And a good one. People liked having the chimney sweep pay a visit. He brought clean, fresh air back to the home. Sweeps are associated with hearth and home, and thus domestic bliss. Chimney Sweeps became a sign of good health and prosperity.
In Vienna, there is a Chimney Sweep Museum itself! There are people who get trained for almost 6 years to do chimney sweeping!
Here's one such lucky charm! But the one I have is much better! ;)
I really did not know this until I received a ‘Petit Ramoneur Sabogard’ – A doll of a chimney sweeper, a petite girl carrying a rope and a ladder – a surprise gift from France! I was told that it is considered as a lucky charm. I was surprised. Now I simply love this doll and I tried to get some history behind this.
The chimney has been a part of family life since the early Romans first realized that it was better to live in a nice, fire-warmed home than in a chilly one. They needed a way to funnel off the smoke the fires caused. Centuries later, in medieval times, fireplaces were invented to heat individual rooms and provide a safe place for indoor cooking. Folks soon learned that fireplaces and their chimneys needed a cleaning once in a while. A house full of soot and fumes isn't healthy. And so, chimney sweeping developed into a necessary profession. And a good one. People liked having the chimney sweep pay a visit. He brought clean, fresh air back to the home. Sweeps are associated with hearth and home, and thus domestic bliss. Chimney Sweeps became a sign of good health and prosperity.
In Vienna, there is a Chimney Sweep Museum itself! There are people who get trained for almost 6 years to do chimney sweeping!
Here's one such lucky charm! But the one I have is much better! ;)
Monday, April 30, 2007
Some philosophy…
Anger is a feeling, an expression. It has become a very common expression I can say. Lot of factors contributing to this could be – loneliness, frustration about not getting something you desired, ego, irritation, desire to please others but not being successful, low trust factor, low confidence, insecurities, all these things are very common in today’s life. Some people feel very proud to tell that they have a very bad temper and some men especially find it very manly to be hotheaded.
Lot of people including myself are moving towards spirituality, trying to get rid of stress and anger. I have a friend in the U.S and she says that every night she sleeps listening to some philosophical talks of a Swamiji and it helps her get a sound sleep. Another friend uses blogs to let free her stress. Each one is desperately finding ways to let out their inner self coz they don’t have anybody to listen to them.
Life is always hectic for most of us and the Rat Race syndrome has got on to us. As a child and even till today, one thing that shakes me is when someone expresses anger or raises voice. Being brought up in a very calm atmosphere, disturbances did not have much scope and were very few. And today if I look at myself, I am listening / facing these nuances almost everyday. Why? Is God making up for all these days? I really wonder. Sometimes I don’t know how to handle this, how to react to this, and I feel numb. Does this happen to you as well? I am not requesting for an Anger Management talk here, but just want to know if this is as common as what I am assuming it to be?
Handling temper is very important. Not many people realize that every action has an impact. If one does several good things but has a very bad temper, all the good things take a second stand and only the bad things stay afresh and take time to heal. If one does not know how to have self control over his/her own actions, then what have you achieved in life? There are ways to control anger, self-introspection, good hobbies, music especially to relax your soul, good disciplined routine, etc.
It is not good to be too impulsive and express anger always. We need to think before reacting coz there are people who may depend on us or who look up to us. Feeling more responsible and aware of our own self will help to make us mature I guess.
Lot of people including myself are moving towards spirituality, trying to get rid of stress and anger. I have a friend in the U.S and she says that every night she sleeps listening to some philosophical talks of a Swamiji and it helps her get a sound sleep. Another friend uses blogs to let free her stress. Each one is desperately finding ways to let out their inner self coz they don’t have anybody to listen to them.
Life is always hectic for most of us and the Rat Race syndrome has got on to us. As a child and even till today, one thing that shakes me is when someone expresses anger or raises voice. Being brought up in a very calm atmosphere, disturbances did not have much scope and were very few. And today if I look at myself, I am listening / facing these nuances almost everyday. Why? Is God making up for all these days? I really wonder. Sometimes I don’t know how to handle this, how to react to this, and I feel numb. Does this happen to you as well? I am not requesting for an Anger Management talk here, but just want to know if this is as common as what I am assuming it to be?
Handling temper is very important. Not many people realize that every action has an impact. If one does several good things but has a very bad temper, all the good things take a second stand and only the bad things stay afresh and take time to heal. If one does not know how to have self control over his/her own actions, then what have you achieved in life? There are ways to control anger, self-introspection, good hobbies, music especially to relax your soul, good disciplined routine, etc.
It is not good to be too impulsive and express anger always. We need to think before reacting coz there are people who may depend on us or who look up to us. Feeling more responsible and aware of our own self will help to make us mature I guess.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Your time starts NOW!
Here's a quiz. These are some of my favorite romantic one liners from some of my favorite tamil movies. If you can guess the movie names, hats off to you :)
Start!
- A genuine movie buff ^_^
Start!
- Kaiyaale aditcha adi valikkile, nee kannaale aditcha adi valikkidhu di
- What are you doing to me maaya? (easy one? :))
- Indha nimishathilendhu nee yennoda sotthu
- Nooru jenma yen kooda, podhuma?
- Nee azhagha irkuren nu nenakkile, aana yedho aayida poghuthu nu bayamma irku
- A genuine movie buff ^_^
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Deciphering Janani Ninnuvina
Janani Ninnuvina is a famous beautiful madhyama kaala keerthane in Reethigowla raga, Mishra Chaapu taala, composed by Sri Subbaraya Shastri.
The first time I heard MSS sing this; I fell flat on the ground. What a beautiful krithi and what a voice!
I wanted to sing this one too. All I had is the windows media file. I needed the script. I did not want to look at the English versions available on the internet. I wanted to do this on my own in my mother tongue. :)
So I first listened to the song several times to check if I can do this. Since I have never learnt a krithi this way, meaning, I normally learn from a teacher and only film songs/light music and some devaranamas through tapes or any media, this was my first experience with respect to a full fledged krithi coming from MS Amma. Normally I copy krithis from my music teachers’ book and all I have to do is just plain copy every note and sing it correctly. But now I had to do everything my own!
Thanks to Adiya for giving me the mp3.
Here it started.
First I thought, I know reethigowla and this should not be tough. Then I turned on the song in my ipod, opened my book and started penning down the saahithya in my mother tongue. I just realized that learning this way was equally exciting, though I missed my Meera aunty. Then after a few lines I realized I should mark the taala also now! And to top it all, it was Mishra Chaapu! Though I have learnt a madhyama kaala krithis in Mishra Chaapu (Maamava Pattabhirama(Manirangu), Kamakshi (Bhairavi)), when I started marking the taalas for this on my own, I realized how tough it was! Every note fell out of one complete cycle and I had to do it very carefully. I would’ve listened to each line 20 times to get the taala markings right! Phew that was one helluva job!
I sailed through Pallavi and Anupallavi.
Now came the chitteswara. I was in a maze now. Almost felt like Abhimanyu caught in Chakravyooha, unable to escape! How do I decipher this now, the taala went haywire when I sang the swaras and the swaras went haywire when I put the taala! I just knocked my head and realized that all I had to do is, split the beats into Thriputa taala pattern what we learnt in Alankaarams! Wow! I felt like a hacker hacking some password! So I wrote down the swaras in Thriputa taala style and it exactly fitted the bill! Wow! I wrote the charanam with ease after this and here I was! Ready with my dream script!
I am now learning the song part by part, directly from MS Amma! Let me tell you one superb advantage of learning this way (from ipod) – you can rewind and repeat the lines as many a times as you want till you get it right! Can you do this with your music teacher? Never right?
Take advantage of technology and do learn music. Never give up. :)
The first time I heard MSS sing this; I fell flat on the ground. What a beautiful krithi and what a voice!
I wanted to sing this one too. All I had is the windows media file. I needed the script. I did not want to look at the English versions available on the internet. I wanted to do this on my own in my mother tongue. :)
So I first listened to the song several times to check if I can do this. Since I have never learnt a krithi this way, meaning, I normally learn from a teacher and only film songs/light music and some devaranamas through tapes or any media, this was my first experience with respect to a full fledged krithi coming from MS Amma. Normally I copy krithis from my music teachers’ book and all I have to do is just plain copy every note and sing it correctly. But now I had to do everything my own!
Thanks to Adiya for giving me the mp3.
Here it started.
First I thought, I know reethigowla and this should not be tough. Then I turned on the song in my ipod, opened my book and started penning down the saahithya in my mother tongue. I just realized that learning this way was equally exciting, though I missed my Meera aunty. Then after a few lines I realized I should mark the taala also now! And to top it all, it was Mishra Chaapu! Though I have learnt a madhyama kaala krithis in Mishra Chaapu (Maamava Pattabhirama(Manirangu), Kamakshi (Bhairavi)), when I started marking the taalas for this on my own, I realized how tough it was! Every note fell out of one complete cycle and I had to do it very carefully. I would’ve listened to each line 20 times to get the taala markings right! Phew that was one helluva job!
I sailed through Pallavi and Anupallavi.
Now came the chitteswara. I was in a maze now. Almost felt like Abhimanyu caught in Chakravyooha, unable to escape! How do I decipher this now, the taala went haywire when I sang the swaras and the swaras went haywire when I put the taala! I just knocked my head and realized that all I had to do is, split the beats into Thriputa taala pattern what we learnt in Alankaarams! Wow! I felt like a hacker hacking some password! So I wrote down the swaras in Thriputa taala style and it exactly fitted the bill! Wow! I wrote the charanam with ease after this and here I was! Ready with my dream script!
I am now learning the song part by part, directly from MS Amma! Let me tell you one superb advantage of learning this way (from ipod) – you can rewind and repeat the lines as many a times as you want till you get it right! Can you do this with your music teacher? Never right?
Take advantage of technology and do learn music. Never give up. :)
Flat culture
Whenever I think back about my childhood and my grandparents house and summer vacations in their house, I remember lush green plants, trees, awesome fresh environment, muddy floor outside the house cleaned with cow’s dung and fresh rangoli, a cow shed with lots of cattle inside, walk a few steps from the house, we see beautiful amazing huge green paddy fields, we would walk through the plants, purposely walk on wet muddy puddles, play in the fields, wash our feet in the clean kutti streams that ran through the fields and it used to be so awesome and so close to nature.
Today most of us are adapting to the environment, hectic life, lifestyle, hi-tech science, and what not and if not all, most of us are ending up living in flats/apartments. We hardly have any greenery in our houses and the only green we can boast of would be some few pots that we have planted – just to give us a natural feeling of being close to nature. If at all we have some greenery or trees around the flat, then that can be considered as a blessing or boon these days. I sometimes wonder when we have kids and grand kids, what kind of memories will we be able to give them? Of our congested flats that look like mere match boxes, the congested roads the minute we step out of the house, the few green plants in our houses which may or may not have survived till then and what about the place to play? On the cemented ground / artificial man made commercial parks? Ofcourse practically speaking, everything has its own reasons of growing population, survival of the fittest context.
Sometimes I pity the upcoming generations, they will definitely miss a lot of things in life what we saw and would want to give them. But how far can we succeed in this? Is the Flat culture really creating a FLAT culture? I wonder…
Today most of us are adapting to the environment, hectic life, lifestyle, hi-tech science, and what not and if not all, most of us are ending up living in flats/apartments. We hardly have any greenery in our houses and the only green we can boast of would be some few pots that we have planted – just to give us a natural feeling of being close to nature. If at all we have some greenery or trees around the flat, then that can be considered as a blessing or boon these days. I sometimes wonder when we have kids and grand kids, what kind of memories will we be able to give them? Of our congested flats that look like mere match boxes, the congested roads the minute we step out of the house, the few green plants in our houses which may or may not have survived till then and what about the place to play? On the cemented ground / artificial man made commercial parks? Ofcourse practically speaking, everything has its own reasons of growing population, survival of the fittest context.
Sometimes I pity the upcoming generations, they will definitely miss a lot of things in life what we saw and would want to give them. But how far can we succeed in this? Is the Flat culture really creating a FLAT culture? I wonder…
Monday, April 16, 2007
What turns me on?
The three notes sa pa sa' that emerge like magic when I run my fingers on the strings of the thamboori.
What does it do?
Allows me to identify my inner self instantly, imbibes seriousness and devotion (bhakthi) towards an unknown power, calms me down immediately, makes me think, makes me feel positive, works like magic on me!
I am sure it happens to a lot of people who know music and who respect and love music. The power of music is amazing.
Thanks to my Amma for all her efforts and patience to identify my interest at an early age and giving me the love of my life, thanks to Meera aunty for her belief in me that I could sing, and all her support so far which I know for sure no other music teacher would have had putting up with all my tantrums, thanks to Paramasivam sir for those encouraging words when I used to learn from him, and thanks to Memoirs for re-loading the magic on me and for tolerating me always.
I hope I never let these people down ever.
What does it do?
Allows me to identify my inner self instantly, imbibes seriousness and devotion (bhakthi) towards an unknown power, calms me down immediately, makes me think, makes me feel positive, works like magic on me!
I am sure it happens to a lot of people who know music and who respect and love music. The power of music is amazing.
Thanks to my Amma for all her efforts and patience to identify my interest at an early age and giving me the love of my life, thanks to Meera aunty for her belief in me that I could sing, and all her support so far which I know for sure no other music teacher would have had putting up with all my tantrums, thanks to Paramasivam sir for those encouraging words when I used to learn from him, and thanks to Memoirs for re-loading the magic on me and for tolerating me always.
I hope I never let these people down ever.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
My career and how did it start?
No not actually in the IT industry after my graduation. It started way back after I completed my standard 11. I was on holidays then and suddenly I got a call from my school teacher, Miss Rani. She needed help. She had to go on an urgent vacation and hence wanted me to supervise class 10 kids in their Final Exams. I openly agreed and I was excited! It was a week’s job, morning 9 – 4 PM. It was a great experience to be back in school and meet all my teachers again and share some good memories of school days. My Subbu Sir (Maths cum Class Teacher in High School) was so glad to see me back and also told fellow teachers that I had scored 100 in Maths in 10th. I used to be a strict teacher and move around, it was fun to see students and bully them. But trust me being a teacher is a very responsible job. It is not easy. To tell you the truth, I love it.
Then after Miss Rani got back, she called me up and asked me to meet her. I said okay. When I met her, she asked me if I enjoyed the experience, I said, yes very much. She offered me Rs.500. I refused, but she said, this is for your work. I had to accept. That’s my first salary. The most memorable one. Felt great that time.
Then after that, I finished my graduation and was loitering around, taking up GRE and TOEFL. Those days I was so jobless. And one fine day I met a friend who offered me a job again as a teacher for NIE – Newspaper In Education, a programme run by Times Of India wherein teachers (usually trained ones) conduct various workshops for school children and visit different schools. She told me that I had to take up Math Workshop and they would pay me Rs.250 per class, for 50 minutes and I may have 4 to 6 classes per week in different schools. But traveling was at my cost. I again agreed instantly and took some tips on how to plan. I surfed the internet to analyze the maths level of middle school kids, 5th – 7th standard and prepared math puzzles on charts – using K.G. Cardboard and Sketch Pens. I used lot of drawings since that attracts kids and I used to carry them to those schools. It used to be so much fun. Initial one or two classes I was little scared since I did not know how kids can cross question. Some classes used to be so noisy to handle. But I did manage to get their attention. Once I got used to their questioning it was fun. Kids are brilliant these days and they ask very good questions and teaching helps you learn so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I made around 1000 rupees per week then, worked for around 3 months and dragged another friend from college into this. He took Vedic Mathematics workshops. He also got addicted to this, not because of money but because of the good experience with children. We would share a lot of incidents and it was so much fun. The funniest was when kids ask you for autograph in the end of the class.
Sometimes I still wonder if I should take up teaching as a profession. In my music classes also I used to love teaching and writing notes for kids. Probably comes more naturally for girls. But the kind of satisfaction you get is different and nice. May be one day when I get really fed up with this IT industry I will switch to teaching.
Then after Miss Rani got back, she called me up and asked me to meet her. I said okay. When I met her, she asked me if I enjoyed the experience, I said, yes very much. She offered me Rs.500. I refused, but she said, this is for your work. I had to accept. That’s my first salary. The most memorable one. Felt great that time.
Then after that, I finished my graduation and was loitering around, taking up GRE and TOEFL. Those days I was so jobless. And one fine day I met a friend who offered me a job again as a teacher for NIE – Newspaper In Education, a programme run by Times Of India wherein teachers (usually trained ones) conduct various workshops for school children and visit different schools. She told me that I had to take up Math Workshop and they would pay me Rs.250 per class, for 50 minutes and I may have 4 to 6 classes per week in different schools. But traveling was at my cost. I again agreed instantly and took some tips on how to plan. I surfed the internet to analyze the maths level of middle school kids, 5th – 7th standard and prepared math puzzles on charts – using K.G. Cardboard and Sketch Pens. I used lot of drawings since that attracts kids and I used to carry them to those schools. It used to be so much fun. Initial one or two classes I was little scared since I did not know how kids can cross question. Some classes used to be so noisy to handle. But I did manage to get their attention. Once I got used to their questioning it was fun. Kids are brilliant these days and they ask very good questions and teaching helps you learn so much. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I made around 1000 rupees per week then, worked for around 3 months and dragged another friend from college into this. He took Vedic Mathematics workshops. He also got addicted to this, not because of money but because of the good experience with children. We would share a lot of incidents and it was so much fun. The funniest was when kids ask you for autograph in the end of the class.
Sometimes I still wonder if I should take up teaching as a profession. In my music classes also I used to love teaching and writing notes for kids. Probably comes more naturally for girls. But the kind of satisfaction you get is different and nice. May be one day when I get really fed up with this IT industry I will switch to teaching.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Handsome cops, perfect packages
They are strong, they are powerful, they are sensitive, they beat up all the bad guys who trouble girls, they have style, suave, they say the right things at the right time, they are just so perfect, and to top it all so good looking that you forget the fact that they are cops and start fantasising like your ever wanted super heroes.
Their characters are so well packaged with all expected qualities we look for in men, that we literally fall in love with them! why do directors do this? :(
I am taking about Surya - in Kaaka kaaka and Vikram in Saami. Hehehe!
Their characters are so well packaged with all expected qualities we look for in men, that we literally fall in love with them! why do directors do this? :(
I am taking about Surya - in Kaaka kaaka and Vikram in Saami. Hehehe!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Read this somewhere
Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It's likely
that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.
But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn
the value of something... health, money, a relationship. .. by
losing it.
But why? :(
No one knows.
Accept and move on...
that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove.
But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn
the value of something... health, money, a relationship. .. by
losing it.
But why? :(
No one knows.
Accept and move on...
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Cooking with MSS
Last night I did a wonderful thing (which I realized after doing :)) - turning on MSS melodies on my ipod while cooking! As the krithis proceded one after the other, I felt so ecstatic and I cooked with complete energy, passion, like as if I was high on music. Cooking never felt so good - as much as listening to krithis - identifying raagas in between - adding chilli powder to the dish - linking similar ragas - forming swara combinations - singing loudly - probably even cooking loudly since I could not hear the sounds of the vessels or plates or anything except MSS's voice - imitating some aavarthas - imagining MSS's dedication - adding salt to the dish - tasting the dish - evoking Rama in between - was fantastic! Try it.
To quote once again - there's no life without music. There's so much to hear!
To quote once again - there's no life without music. There's so much to hear!
Love Birds in my house
My little kitchen has an opening for exhaust fan, yet to be installed :) However, it is currently the lovers joint for two pigeons that always sit there together. Initially I loved watching them. Although at times I used to find all the jars fallen on the shelf coz of these love birds flying in and out of kitchen, I thought its okay...But guess what! Yesterday I went back home after work and at the door itself while entering the house, I could hear water flowing out from a tap. I rushed inside thinking that there's something bad that has happened. I ran inside and saw that the kitchen tap was open and water was flowing out nonstop. The water filter was tilted on it, probably that was due to wind I thought. While I closed the tap and as usual trying to keep the jars in place (assuming that the love birds would have come in again), suddenly something popped from behind that jars and just flew past my head! I screamed in horror like as if some murderer came to attack me! I was so petrified and numb for a few minutes, my eyes filled with tears not knowing what to do I just stood there to see that one pigeon that was sitting inside the kitchen just flew out. I cooled down a bit and I was so angry at them.
I slowly got back to arranging the jars while I found something white behind a masala dabba, guess what, it was an EGG!!! A pigeon's EGG!!! I was astonished! I was happy. The birds kept looking inside the kitchen from the exhaust outlet like as if they were so helpless. I felt so much for the mother pigeon and then I thought let me wait and see what they will do. I just turned off the light and quietly stood behind the wall and watched. Slowly the mother pigeon entered the kitchen and tried to move the egg, while the father pigeon kept a watch at the door. Its amazing to see the behaviour of birds, so human like. Then the pigeon could not carry the egg and it still lies in the kitchen. They waited at the exhaust till it became dawn and flew away. I have left the kitchen open so they can take away the egg today and will close the outlet in the evening.
That's the story of love birds in my kitchen!!! :)
I slowly got back to arranging the jars while I found something white behind a masala dabba, guess what, it was an EGG!!! A pigeon's EGG!!! I was astonished! I was happy. The birds kept looking inside the kitchen from the exhaust outlet like as if they were so helpless. I felt so much for the mother pigeon and then I thought let me wait and see what they will do. I just turned off the light and quietly stood behind the wall and watched. Slowly the mother pigeon entered the kitchen and tried to move the egg, while the father pigeon kept a watch at the door. Its amazing to see the behaviour of birds, so human like. Then the pigeon could not carry the egg and it still lies in the kitchen. They waited at the exhaust till it became dawn and flew away. I have left the kitchen open so they can take away the egg today and will close the outlet in the evening.
That's the story of love birds in my kitchen!!! :)
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