Reflections

It has been raining continuously in Chennai from thursday evening thanks to Cyclone Thane. I braved the downpour and made it to the Music Academy along with my family for Nisha Rajagopal's afternoon concert. I expected to just breeze through and get a parking slot at the academy which was not the case. By the time I parked at St.Ebbas and walked back in the rain, Nisha was into the aalapana for what was most likely her second song. The ragam reminded me of some popular Ilayaraja songs. I learnt later that it was lataangi. Conscious of the canteen closing time, we had headed straight to the canteen. After taking a took at Iyengar's elaborate menu, a special one at that - with urulakezhangu vadhakkal, paavakkai pitlai and so on, I smacked my lips, rubbed my hands and sat down. As the items were lined up one by one, I noticed that the crowd was pretty good despite the rain and ankle deep water on the floor. As I started eating, Nisha started on "Pirava Varam vendum" thr...

‎2 concerts at the academy today .. had a good lunch and then briefly heard the violin maestro TN Krishnan wind up before settling down for Sandeep narayan's concert.. The guy next to me at lunch was still at vatha kozhambu when I finished, that too after 3 or 4 appalams and 2 rounds sambar and he muttered to me "130 roobaikku onnum perisa illaye". I walked away with a smile. after all it is such characters also who make the sabha experience interesting Sandeep narayan who has let go of the NRI tag to become a full fledged carnatic musician was impressive .. took a strong coffee in the break and followed it with Amrita murali which made it back to back concerts yet again ..Amrita dealt with Akshaya linga vibho in detail which was heart warming .. however made the mistake of staying till the end, the whole area goes mad before the 4:30 pm concert and I could not take my car out .. So took a short walk to Parthasarathy sabha and had some snacks .. badam halwa and kuzhi pa...

was at 2 concerts today .. concert 1 - Nisha Rajagopal at NGS was like a breath of fresh air, the maama next to me kept prompting the raagas as she moved from charukesi to dhanyasi and so on and took Rama Rama Guna seema which I was told was a Swathi thirunal composition in Simhendra madhayamam as the main piece .. Claps at regular intervals and an overflowing crowd with 20 odd people standing in and outside the mini hall showed her rising popularity.. the poli, bhajji, coffee combination at gnanambiga afterwards was good but didn't make so much impact after such a fascinating concert! concert 2 was Malladi brothers at Indian fine arts .. I realised that when a duo is singing there is lot more scope for creativity which makes the concert more vibrant. Umayalpuram sivaraman on mirudangam made the concert lively and the viiolinist was also good. They sang one of my favourites - sogasugaa mrudanga thaalamu .. the guy next to me this time was sunil raj, so no raaga prompting though ......

Making good use of maargazhi .. what a month! after some delicious food over the last few days, I think the liking for carnatic music also rubbed on or should i say re ignited .. listened to an old bombay jayashree CD on the way to office. the rendition of Kanden Kanden seedhayai was really touching . Coming back to food, was at NGS today, Venpongal with gosthu was simply heavenly. Finished for the day with a crispy onion rava dosa and a strong Coffee :-)

Sometimes artists take the less popular ragas / krithis but leave you with a memorable expereince. At the music academy today Padmanabha Iyengar had made a questionable choice for the concert but managed to surprise with some real improvisations.While the Vazhathandu thayir pachadi was a nice aalapana .. manathakaali vatha kozhambu was a neraval .. Pienapple thakkali rasam was the kalpana swara.. all the thani avarthanams were well orchestrated with thirupullani payaasam taking the lead .. on the whole the experience was a good korvai with no kuraippu :-)

I am a collection of unanswered questions I am a bundle of unresolved conflicts My successes give me confidence My successes give me complacence My failures give me fear My failures give me the resolve to fight My beliefs are my strengths My beliefs are my limitations My actions give me joy My actions give me worries I am a bundle of unresolved conflicts I am a collection of unanswered questions I am a reflection of what I have met I am an aberration of what I haven't met

கடற்கரை மணல்வெளியில் கால் தடம் பட்டதும் கடமை உணர்வோடு கடல் அலை கலைக்கும் நான் என்னும் எண்ணம் மனதில் தோன்றிய மறுகணம் தான் இன்னும் இருப்பதைக் காலம் தவறாமல் உணர்த்தும்

Hope .. Is that little spark behind a new beginning That thin strand which binds our beliefs It gives us wings and makes us fly but Quite gracefully it hides from us the fragility of what is called Life Never let go of hope For when hope goes with it slides life Like a piece of glass it falls on the floor Only a mess it leaves behind with reflections that give you pain!

கையில் குடை இருந்தும் முழுதும் நனைந்தோம் மழை நின்ற பின்னும் கை கோர்த்து நடந்தோம் கடற்கரை மணல் வெளியில் உடைகள் பாதி நனைந்தும் .. பாதி உலர்ந்தும் .. மழையின் சந்தம் தரும் இன்றும் மனதில் ஆனந்தம் ஈர மண்ணின் வாசம் நினைவை எங்கோ கொண்டு சேர்க்கும் உறவுகள் உலர்ந்தாலும் மனதின் ஓரம் தங்கும் ஈரம்!

The view from Top view station at munnar was really top class. Got a breathtaking view of mountains which looked to me like goddess parvathy drying her hair after an oil bath guarded by elephants and lions. (2 Photos below) பாற்கடலில் திருமாலின் கோலம் பூண்டாள் நாட்டியக் கலை தந்த நடராசன் மனையாள் உலகாளும் பெரும் பொறுப்பை ஒரு கணம் மறந்தாள் ஆனந்த நடமாடி அருவியில் நனைந்தாள் மலை மகள் நீராடி தலை கோதி சாய்ந்தாள் வெண்மேகப் புகை கொண்டு நெடுங்கூந்தல் உலர்த்த யானைகள் பல நின்று மலர் தூவி வாழ்த்த சிங்கங்கள் செம்மையாய்க் காவல் புரிந்திட!

மலைகளில் இறைவன் காட்டும் உருவம் அறிவதில் உள்ளம் பேரின்பம் கொள்ளும் மெல்லிய காற்றில் மலர்களின் வாசம் சொர்க்கம் என்பதன் அர்த்தம் சொல்லும் ஏற்றமும் தாழ்வும் உற்ற பாதைகள் வாழ்க்கையின் தன்மையை எளிதாய்க் காட்டும் தடைகள் கடந்து தாவும் அருவிகள் ஆற்ற வேண்டிய கடமையை உணர்த்தும் கண் முன் விரியும் காட்சிகள் யாவும் நான் என்னும் சொல்லின் அனர்த்தம் உணர்த்தும்

I set sail in search of something It’s been a while I have found nothing The tides do keep rocking my boat The pressure of now is indeed a big force I battle hard to stay afloat I try my best to stay on course The sea is strange in every way I learn and unlearn every day My sails keep changing with the wind My lips always have a song to sing I row along full of hope that one day for sure I will reach the shore

I was an actor not by choice but when applauded I did rejoice Over the years I learnt to act The stage became a place to relax I hid my worries behind my mask Even in tears I would make others laugh With passage of time the settings changed I was left alone as the audience waned The drama of existence failed to amuse me Actor or Spectator I kept asking me Scenes kept unfolding in front of me The director was still unknown to me!

For those of you who have still not turned off notes from me, I blame it on an idle weekend as usual :-) Kite I tagged along unknowingly flying high joyfully My master was still watching me Only that really mattered to me I had lost touch with the world around me - and when I looked around finally the wind was smiling annoyingly I was at his mercy completely my string had snapped apparently As my master watched helplessly I had no strings attached literally My life was changed totally when reality dawned on me The master was a fantasy and the string was but a fallacy The wind was always driving me here and there as his wish would be Enlightened certainly .. I moved along with the wind behind me

A parrot came to my balcony and stood there just watching me A shade of red and a tinge of blue what a beautiful sight was she I looked at her unendingly as joyful as keats would be she shrugged her feathers gloomily as if she had wasted time with me then she took off gracefully but paused and gave a pose for me - thanks Bill for the nice photo :-)

with due apologies to Lord Byron :-) I didn't realise that we had parted No silence .. No tears.. none of the usual We always took pride in being unusual Was I stuck in the past when you had moved on? Did we get lost in the mad rush called life - Thrown apart by that storm called change? I have no answers but I am not shattered If I should meet you after long years I will still greet you with a big smile some day we will flip the pages of our diaries that warmth and innocence we surely will miss and in silence and tears might relive those years

Have been thinking about this for a while but this photo from Ganapathy made me sit and write a few lines today. ... The smallest thing you got was reserved for me Your whole life in short was all about me When I was a child you had a dream for me In your own sweet way you slowly led me In your thoughts you were much ahead of me You were always right about what I would be When I was successful it would be just because of me When things didn't go well you would be there for me The smallest things I did you always thanked me while all my thoughts above remained deeply inside me Words are not enough to tell what you mean to me Everyday in life is mother's day for me

I blame the long weeked .. I have a lot of time at my disposal :-) You and me my dear friend .. You are so alike yet so unlike me You are near yet so far from me You are someone that I never may be In hours of crisis you assure me Calm and cool as one can never be In moments of success you remind me to hold my head and just be me When I look at the mirror you peek at me Are you god or just the good in me? You and me my dear friend .. You are so alike yet so unlike me!

Was sitting in my daughter's school listening to the prayer which somehow left me wondering what is the best prayer song I have heard .. I guess it takes 30+ ye ars before one starts thinking what to ask in a prayer .. and may be another 20-30 to understand that the beauty lies in not asking!