Jan 19

Sri Tyagaraja: Endaro mahanubhaavulu!!

January 19th is celebrated as Sri Tyagaraja Aradhana. I remember the first Tyagaraja Aradhana that I had been to was at an age of 12, in the house of my Classical music Guru, Smt. Shakuntala Iyengar. It had been a few months since I had started to go to her, inorder to learn music. I had then known very little about Sri Tyagaraja. All I knew was that he was a great composer, and a saint, a devotee of Sri Rama. On that day, I sat in her house in rapture listening to the mellifluous flow of music from a whole gathering of classical music singers. At that time, it was the grandeur and magnificence of the whole thing that had me smitten! I made it a point to go to Tyagaraja Aradhana every year till my college days began. Then the vortex of academics digressed me from cultural events, and I am yet to relive those moments till date! Today, I offer this post as my salutations to the master of Classical Music, one of the divine trinity, a composer par excellence, Sri Tyagaraja.
Sri Tyagaraja was born in Tiruvaayur, on May 4th, 1767. He inculcated the devotion on Sri Rama right from his childhood. His worldly ties were materialized in the form of his wives Parvati (who died early) and later Kamalamba. Sadly he was left heirless! Nevertheless today, thousands of singers all over India and abroad, are carrying forth the legacy that was nourished and glorified by his contributions and compositions. He propagated the bhakti marga and used his compositions to celebrate the glory of Sri Rama’s deeds. He also wrote compositions on Sri Lakshmi, Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna, and others. He used music as a method of achieving the supreme grace (moksha). Some of his celebrated compositions include the various Pancharatnas (5 gems) –
  • Kovur Pancharatna Kriti
  • Thiruvetriyur Pancharatna Kriti
  • Laalgudi Pancharatna Kriti
  • Shreeranga Pancharatna Kriti
  • Ghana Pancharatna Kriti

Of these the most famous are the Ghana Panchakas, composed in the 5 Ghana raagas viz Nata, Goula, Arabhi, Varali, and Sri. I have already written about these in here. The other famous compositions by Sri Tyagaraja that I have heard include “dorakuna ituvanti seva”, “Sambho Mahadeva”(this song has been sung breath takingly by Unnikrishnan. It is a MUST NOT MISS), “Seeta kalyaana vaibhogame”, “jayamangalam nitya shubhamangalam”, “mokshamu galada (Smt. MS’ rendering of this song tears the heart, and brings tears to one’s eyes), “nagumomu ganalEni” (has been included in “Raayaru Bandaru Maavana Manege”, a Kannada film), “saamajavaragamana” (has been included in the movie “Shankarabharanam”), “seetamma maayamma”, etc.

Composers like Sri Tyagaraja, elevated the art of music to spiritual levels that showed an alternate path for even the common man, to achieve the bliss of sages! On this day, let us celebrate music, not just as an art, but as a way of life, as a spiritual bliss, and veritably as the essence of the universe! For the cosmic sound that reverberates through the space, is but a note of the divine music, sounded by the Supreme player himself.

Jan 17

Some observations from everyday life!!

  1. Well, whoever said Life’s a roller coaster ride, had for true, lived it! (Am gettin’ good at making such quotable quotes). Well, the past few days, right after the very first week of the New Year, I had been way up above, and then took a plummetting drop to down the pit, and just when I thought that my carriage is going to be broken to splinters, it regained, and is in motion again! Now I just dunno what lays ahead, but yeah, I am loving this! Just when, the life feels that the person is getting complacent in its issue, it throws up a surprise! And boy! does that wake u up!!
  2. It is very easy to be angry, mouth out words, to inflict wounds verbally, and later on regret. But as the great thinker Aristotle had figured it out much earlier in during the 300 BC period – To be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way – That is not easy!! (This is the opening quote from the world famous book “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman.)
  3. It is easy to call discord, and mayhem a revolution! But to create a true revolution, we will have to first of all begin with the right step, and the right manner, in the right path, that shall lead us to our goals. Be it personal, or social, a revolution that has lost its sense of purpose, is detrimental, useless, and forgone!
  4. With great power, comes great responsibility. (Ok! Spiderman! cool it! I know I took this off of you.. but hey! it was true in my case too!) The creativity one is vested with, is also a power. To nurture it, and to allow it to grow is a great responsibility! What is even greater is to know how to utilize it for the betterment of the self!
  5. When our commitments over ride our lives! When our duties devastate our inner balance! When we begin to live a life for others so much that we forget to live for ourselves, that is when you realize that you must take a break! And in that realization, GO GET ONE!!
  6. If one’s happiness depends on what others say or think of us! Then there is a problem! (Based on one of my most favorite quotes from ILLUSIONS – by Richard Bach).
  7. We sometimes let our hatred for our enemies come in between our love for our friends. We keep our enemies but lose our friends! (Yet another quotable quote by yours truly 😉 )
  8. Life is beautiful.

Jan 16

Chokher Bali : Tagore’s message through a story!

Yesterday, I happened to watch a much acclaimed movie by Rituporna Ghosh – Choker Baali (Sand in the Eye). It is a movie based on an adaptation of the novel by Rabindranath Tagore – Binodini. The movie relates the tale of 2 women – Binodini and Ashalatha and their intense struggle over a man Mahendranath. The main protagonist is nevertheless Binodini. Mahendra’s mother was initially interested in making Binodini her daughter-in-law, given her prowess in English and her beauty. But Mahendranath does not interest accept. Binodini is married to another person, who dies within a year. Mahendranath eventually marries Ashalatha (played by Riya Sen). Mahendranath’s mother brings the widow Binodini home, and she grows close to Ashalatha. Binodini is given a name “Chokher Bali”, by Ashalatha. Binodini who was till then restrained in her desires, begins to covet the marital pleasures that Ashalatha is enjoying. She now acts a seductress, and succeeds in enticing Mahendranath. This creates a rift between Mahendra and Ashalatha. The latter leaves to Kashi to spend some time in contemplation. Binodini is made to leave the house, and she arrives at the doorsteps of Behari (an adopted son for Mahendra’s mother) and pleads with him to marry her. Having been rejected by him too, she comes back to her village, to be followed by Mahendra, who would have left his house for her sake.
Binodini, now has her heart set on Behari, and rejects Mahendra’s advances, and pleads with him to take her to Kashi, so she can meet Behari again. He promises not to take advantage of her, and eventually at Kashi, Mahendra reunites with Ashalatha. Behari proposes to Binodini, but on the day of the marriage, Binodini leaves for good, and is never found.
The movie has a lot of highlights worth mentioning. The first and foremost is the depiction of the plight of widows in Calcutta, during the 1902 period. There are some very stirring moments such as when Binodini shows Ashalatha how to wear an English blouse her husband would have brought her. And while in Kashi, Ashalatha, being pregnant, is served fish curry by the widows. The widows then were barred from eating fish, and one can see the hunger in the eyes of the other widows, even as Ashalatha is eating the fish curry. Presumably, as shown in the movie, the widows were also barred from drinking tea. The script is taut, and interspersed with intelligent and witty dialogues – most of them flowing from the prime character, Binodini. The rebuke of Mahendranath by Binodini in several occassions has been very deftly treated. Right from the first advance that he makes towards her, Binodini has his manliness at her mercy! Sometimes, the viewer may be led to believe that Rituporna got carried away with the charisma of Aishwarya, and may have over cooked her character.
Sadly enough, Aishwarya Rai remains more of a sleaze factor in the movie than a character. Except in certain situations, her expression, in most part of the movie, is wooden! She fails to impress as a seductress. The necessary potion of intense romance, sexual tension, and allure is something that her body can just not brew! But its her eyes that are worth a thousand words and one has just gotto give it to ’em. The character of Ashalatha, played by Riya Sen (who for once doesn’t seem so vampish) is a lack lustre, infront of Binodini. I am now interested to read the novel and to learn the treatment of the characters from the master himself! Though, I am sure that Rituporna would have done justice to all of ’em.
The most touching part of the movie is obviously the climax, wherein through a letter to her friend Ashalatha, Binodini draws a comparison of their condition with their land, Bengal. She laments over how, their lack of exposure to the wider world, and confinement to the four walls of household, resulted, in both of them fighting over a single man, and thus devastating the whole household. She hopes that even though, they have both parted ways (much like Bengal was divided into East and West Bengal), they would continue to remember their erstwhile friendship, and that it would still ensure that any future meetings between them (if it were to occur) would be cordial and as friendly as it were before.
I would want to do a more thorough review of the movie and its intended message to be passed across to the common man. Nevertheless, I would love to read the novel, before dwelling into more intricacies. That being, peace for now! Catch up with this one, whenever u are in mood for some serious stuff!

Jan 11

(No title)

yoon kabhie apne aap se juda ho jaata hoon
aaine ke saamne anjaan sa rehta hoon
apnon se toh dUr rahtaa tha
ab mujhse bhi dUr rehtaa hoon!

jeene ki tamanna liye jiye jA rahe the
jeena kise kehte hain maalUm na tha!
Ek din maut saamne aake khaDi huyi
main zindagi ko alvida kehne chala tha!
zindagi ne kahaa tUne mEra karz chukaaya nahin!
tU toh mujhe jiya hI nahin!
main zindagi ko apnAna chahta tha!
Maut saamne aake khaDi huyi thi!

Jan 11

(No title)

Have you ever had to break a bad news to the family over phone? Striking a conversation then becomes the most painful task! No matter how jovial or exuberant you may try to sound, the phonyness of the entire thing becomes evident sooner than one can say “hello”! It is even more so, with parents than anybody else!
What makes this task even more agonizing is the realization that you are the one stifling their dreams, aspirations, and happiness that you have yourself sowed in their life! For their part they may seem encouraging and supportive of your venture, but then the long drawn pauses between the sentences, the heavy breathing, and the choking voice are daggers that dig deep into one’s soul, and makes life the most dreary thing to ever happen to you!
I hate myself when I am like this! Even more, when I am clueless! Like falling from pan to fire! But then again, what is wrong in feeling down at times? Staying upbeat and bubbly all the while is also being type cast. Isn’t it? Or am I just rationalizing! I am missing my parents a lot. I wish I had my mother here with me, to reassure me that I can pull through this, and that everything is OK. I wish she would run her hands through my hair, mess them up and then set them straight again, joking on how many more hairs she made me lose. I wish my father was right next to me, assuring me that I am capable of handling anything that life throws at me, and that I can never disappoint him, as I never have, till now. The point being, they tried, they tried a lot. But, over a $ 5 call that will last 45 mins, I missed out on a lot of things! I dunno what to do… I just don’t know…..

Jan 10

(No title)

Don’t you sometimes wish for life to be a lot simpler than it is ?! Or is it that we tend to complicate matters than they could have been! I do wish I had a better understanding of all this! Even more so, a better understanding of myself! It really helps a lot to either be absolutely knowledgeable or a complete ignorant! Somehow this business of somewhere in between isn’t what I am carved out for!
Consider the situation when you have to make choices! And these choices are what carve out a niche in your life! No, it is not as simple as choosing what movie of SRK to watch – Ashoka or K3G ?! Both are equally exasperating on the nerves. And you know for sure, that before long you will be running away from it as if you caught Shakti Kapoor with his pants down!!
No, this isn’t about it at all! These are choices that are related to the precious things in life! The one’s that are essential for your happiness and also the family that relies on you! The Duality literally splits one apart and the pain is excruciating! Indecision, consequences, risks – all take a toll on the mind, and before long, I will find me slouching on the couch, like a sloth, drooling all over, my hair all pointy like a porcupine, with bowls of icecream in front of me, watching reruns of Kattegalu saar Kattegalu, and suddenly developing a sense of liking to Ekta Kapoor’s soaps!!
These are the times, I miss so many people! People with whom I probably could have confided my confusions and fears, with whom I might have spoken my concerns freely! I so much wish I would be a child again!
Even as I am lying on the bed typing this, my heart wishes that, I go to sleep now, and when I get up in the morning, everything would have been resolved! Yet! I know its only a wish! Have I stifled myself so much that I can’t even plunge to take a risk, or is it that I value ethics, quite enough to restrain me from getting lured into matters, I later may regret? Yet again, today, my mind is full of questions. Just questions. And there is the wish.. of becoming a child again.. or maybe this is what growing up is all about! My eyes are getting drowzy…..