Reflections

On Independence day a few years back, I heard a very ordinary song on independence. I left that place wondering why people had to take the trouble to write something new when the mahakavi had written so many beautiful songs. That also made me wonder what I would write if at all I did describing independence. Believe me, I thought a thousand times before writing this but when an idea like this starts forming it is very difficult not to write it down .. with due apologies to the mahakavi காற்றில் மிதக்கும் கொடியின் அசைவில் புன்னகை புரியும் சுதந்திரம் கரையைத் தழுவும் கடலின் அலையில் பொங்கும் இன்பம் சுதந்திரம் மலர்கள் தூவும் சோலைகள் நிழலில் தங்கும் அமைதி சுதந்திரம் மழையின் முடிவில் வானில் விளையும் வானவில் அழகில் சுதந்திரம் எண்ணம் யாவும் எழுத்தில் வடிக்கும் கவிஞனின் படைப்பில் சுதந்திரம்!

Standing in attention for the National anthem after several years made me feel like a kid .. Same setting, same "Old" secretary speech and the usual programmes.. I almost found myself on the way to the queue for laddus, till I saw my little girl rushing towards me in her guides dress .. The teacher at the exit however still insisted that I take a sweet.  The laddu is now a Perk:-)Alas things have changed!

Watched Prabhu Solomon's Kumki today. It is a different and interesting setting that the director has taken for the movie. After the Devar days, I think it is ages since a movie was made around an elephant and atleast I have not seen one with a mahout as the hero. The movie definitely has a positives: The hero and heroine are without doubt capable actors and hold promise for the future. The locations shot are really out of the world and there are moments where you pinch yourselves to check if you are not dreaming. It is definitely a wonder how some of these shots were taken, especially the ones near the two water falls. The director does deserve credit for effectively bringing out the innocence and simplicity in the life of the tribals. Thambi Ramiah, the national award winner for Mynaa, does a good job but somehow you are left with the feeling that he is given a few more scenes than required . It could be the success in the previous encounter that led to this but one does fee...

I picked up this book just out of curiosity during the last visit to the library. I did have some doubts about the relevance as the story seemed to be set in the 1950s. However after reading the book, I feel Devan's style of writing is still very relevant. The way he describes each character and paints the Madras of the 1950s and the day to day problems faced by a middle class family man, links small happenings and builds a story is remarkable. I really liked the subtle humour in Devan's portrayal. One can easily identify with the main character Sudharsanam's want to move up in life but the inability to do so with a paltry pay, the frustrations of being exploited by a supervisor who extracts every bit of work from him but doesn't give any visibility to the management. What all this makes him do and how he ends up from a clerk to a respectable position is presented very nicely and with subtle humour by Devan.  After reading this book, I feel that Devan is one of the gre...

Sanjay's concert at Parthasarathy Sabha on 30/12 was a real delight. Though I have heard a lot about Sanjay, this is the first time I heard him LIVE. Sanjay definitely  has a unique style and his expression and exploration of ragas really stand out. I found the selection of songs also to be really attractive. There was one song for each of the Trinity and then there were 2 Bharathiyar songs. If "Karuna Jooda nammina" in Shri ragam was soothing, the  lovely lullaby "Chetashri Balakrishnam Bhajare" in ragam Dwijavanthi was simply amazing. "Manam vaitharul Thaaye" in Sankarabharam was a fulfilling main song. While "Sollavallayo Kiliye" in Ritigowla was still resonating in your ears, "Ethanai Kodi Inbam Vaithai" another Bharathiyar song left you really speechless. The RTP which was Rendered To Perfection, was again unique. I thought I had atleast 2 different ragams, the aalapane seemed to be Hamsanandhi but the pallavi at the end was...

It was Abishek Raghuram singing at Parthasarathy Sabha today. I googled to find out that he is a child prodigy with a good music lineage and has been rising in popularity of late. After the opening Varnam passed, the next song went like 'Virulavu o kedha'. It took me a while to get used to Abishek. The way he was swaying between the violinst and mridangist, who by the way where atleast 5 ft apart, like he was possessed, with his convulsions and contortions, I really thought he was in serious trouble and needed a bunch of keys right away. The audience was also finding it very difficult, as half the time it looked like he was speaking to the Violinist or the Mridangist. The audio guy for his part didn't know what volume to give him. At the end of the second song, it was figured out that he needed more than one microphone and he was given the same! The crowd was so much that the sabha guys had put additional chairs all over the place and moving out of one's seat to the r...

My second concert of the day was by Sikkil Gurucharan at Parthasarathy Sabha. From a veteran in the morning to a youngster who is just 30, I was somehow seeing two ends of the spectrum on the same day. With Umayalpuram Sivaraman on mridangam, T.V.K.Ramanujacharyulu on Violin and Giridhar Udupa on Ghatam, it was a high profile team accompanying Gurucharan. After the second song, Gurucharan announced that the theme he had chosen was popular raagas but less popular krithis. Based on Dr.Sivaraman's request , he had chosen a song on Sri Thyagaraja in the raga Kalyani to start off. The song goes like "Sri Madaathi Thyagaraja guru". After a quick "Vidajaaldura", the main song was set in Thodi, "Amba nannu Brovave". The renditions of Kalyani and Thodi were really power packed.  Dr.Sivaraman really has some magic about him. The Tani as part of the main song was exemplary, so much so that for a change, the crowd that usually leaves when the Tani starts, wai...