A column in Deccan Chronicle from today

A short one though. I was asked to write one for the next five weeks, once a week and I finally did so after thinking a hundred times, refusing saying its not my cup of coffee or perhaps to keep with the mood, my kinda raga. I know that every story is touched but the editor here has taken some sort of a poetic license which is unfortunately not part of who I am. This is the article, which is quite not what I gave in.

A LIGHT chill in the air, newspapers devoting entire supplements to carnatic music and programmes of sabhas and polite enquiries about which kutcheris I plan to attend the season ­ all these signal the arrival of December in Chennai.

My earliest memories of concerts is that of my mother dragging me to the Margazhi season in different sabhas. But I always only ended up embarrassing her by promptly falling asleep at every kutcheri. Whenever she would chide me about my developing groggy eyes the moment we hit the chairs, I would cry out in defence with my pet statement.

"Come on, I am just a little girl." That was when I was four to eight years old.

But sleep was all I could do at concerts. After a point my mom gave up and left me at home which suited me fine since I did not want to spend my Christmas holidays in sabhas when my friends were out playing.

It is strange that someone who was then so stone deaf to music has evolved into not just a singer but also devoted rasika.

And today when I see so many little ones accompanied by their parents, avidly listening to concerts, discussing the ragas in whispers and accompanying the elders with correct thalams, I cannot help recalling how difficult and sleepy I had been at that stage in life.

If this sleepy self can grow up into a performing musician, I am certain that these little stars will hold the flag of carnatic music high and proud in the coming decades.

Every Margazhi this faith gets renewed with greater intensity. Thank you Chennai for that.

For one, I was not the one who went out and played types. Neither did I have a team of friends growing up. The only avocation that I was involved in was learning from my mother, throughout that age and it was anywhere between 5-8 hours of singing a day so that at one point in time, like everyone knows now perhaps, I chucked school after 10th grade, for full time learning. Which I think is the best thing that has happened to me. I am blessed with a visionary mother. For those who gawk at a 4 year old learning music for 5-8 hours a day, don't. Its a very normal thing to do in families with a classical music lineage.

The editor saying that I was "stone deaf" to music makes me smile. I am still not a devoted rasika of the Kutcheri season yet. I still don't go to Carnatic classical concerts. But I am one of the November Fest, the Dance festivals and the theatre fests too. But I do if it were Hindustani classical, dance or a play. Therefore, I am not sure if there are little ones accompanied by their parents really. Listening to a concert for me then was tough. But then there was this time, when there was a Jugalbandhi, of Sri Umayalapuram Sivaraman and Pt Kishan Maharaj and it was just about a couple of days ago, at TEDxChennai, that one of the speakers there, Sharada Ramnathan, who has known me forever told me that I got up and started foot tapping with all the changing rhythms on my chair. She told my mother then that I must pursue music in a very serious way. I was amused when I heard this story cos mom had never mentioned this. Sharada ji told me I had been 4 or something. Some concerts captured my imagination. Most just didn't.

A couple of years ago, I remember listening to Smt Aruna Sairam, Smt Sudha Raghunathan and Sri Unnikrishnan. I enjoyed those.

It remains to be seen whether I am going to be writing something here each time something appears in the DC as 'my' musings.

In the next few days, if not in the DC, I ll tell you why I don't go to Carnatic classical concerts, or rather most of them. Watch this space.


Add on by me, Padmhasini

Chinmayi thinks she was embarrassing me. Actually she didn't. More than being my daughter, she had been the most promising experimental subject for me...rather a guinea pig in my musical experiments.

Those days she was called Padmasini's daughter. I was well known in a certain circle of people. She, as soon as we entered a concert hall, would ask people around, "do you have a paper and a pencil please?" and she would be invariably lucky to get the pair and would write a kind of daily diary or draw people around. Then she will drop of to sleep.

She was a peaceful, very quiet and an obedient girl, never the type to talk back till 17-18. But then sleep was beyond one's control.. isn't it?

According to serious research, the initial hour and a half of sleep is the best period of absorption and makes a better impact than ten hours of active teaching or listening with a conscious effort.

That is precisely the reason why she surprised me several times when forming musical phrases or lines which were not taught by me actually.

There were several first time experiments on her, which proved wonders.

Stone deaf to music? And turning out to be a musical success? I couldn't help smiling when I read those lines. Serious subjects which are exclusive knowledge areas are to be altered or edited consulting the original writer. :)

I am sure the editor of this article in the Deccan Chronicle is not going to like this. We may face some music in retaliation. And we would not have reacted if it is not altering her biographical details.

TEDxChennai Today!

Had been planning to go for this one and Kiruba had told me a couple of months ago in advance to be, wherever this was going to be happen, on this day. And turns out Kribs asked me to co host the event with him. Sure, hosting shows on TV/Radio and hosting an event of this nature is a totally different thing. And the past couple of days with the personal health ministry going for a strike I had been wondering whether I would be able to pull it off at all. Its 6:27 AM and I am thankfully OK. And off to the venue in a couple of minutes. Shall try my best to blog about this. Tweets are more like it though :)
I am given to understand that there will be a live webcast of the event. www.TEDxChennai.com is where you should perhaps be today, if you are not at IIT.

Have a good one and may none of you ever have a headache!

Meeting Abida Parveen

The Hindu November Fest launch happened this Evening at the Taj Coromandel. The launch concert had Ranjani and Gayatri performing. Mom and I walked in a little late, but weirdly in time. For the concert and perhaps most of Mr N Ram's address.

Somewhere halfway into the concert I saw this person walk in. Someone I had seen on the jacket of CDs and cassettes. A voice I loved.

Abida Parveen. She walked in with her daughter. Simply.

She thoroughly enjoyed the concert but one of the best times in my life happened post the concert. She was called up on stage to felicitate Ranjani and Gayatri and all I could see was that she held their hands and bowed low.

Thereafter she took the mic. We were informed earlier that her concert was sold out and we had to be early if were to get good seats. When she came behind the mic she said she would speak in Urdu. And music began with her words. And she said "If Maula willed shaayad kal kuchch achcha ho jaye (perhaps tomorrow something good can happen)". I had never seen her speak before. Or seen her on TV. Only seen pictures.

Here I should also say that there have been several people I have met who are said to be humble, those who are said to be warm and friendly. But I have personally felt that only with a few elevated souls that I have had the good fortune to meet and spend time with.

When Abida ji spoke it was so easy to feel her surrender to the Almighty God. From her words. From her countenance. From her bearing. Her total surrender to God and that she is His instrument was simply conveyed. So much so that I began to wish for that sort of a state of being. Where all the questions can die down and the total surrender can happen.

Anyway, thereafter it was time for dinner. And that was when I walked up to meet her. But then the number of people around her increased and I thought I should step back and not intrude and probably wish for another time. A tad disappointed. Mom then quietly said, "Didn't you want to meet her? Just step forward and it will happen." In a few minutes the people around her dispersed and I finally got to speak to her. All I could say was that I have loved her music and I have been listening to her music for a very long time and when I do, its like I can feel God is around me. I introduced mom and said she is my Guru too. And at that point she held my Mom's hands for quite a while and bowed her head. Mom told her she feels as if she is transported to a different plane when she listens to Abida ji's music. Abida ji said nothing. But continued to hold our hands. And I was emotionally moved.

I have realized that I don't have to be sad or whatever for my eyes to mist over and sometimes weep at the altar. I could be perfectly happy and joyous everything can be picture perfect. But when I am at a temple and at the altar, I have at most times been overcome by emotion. And at other times I have fought it. And I have seen it happen with some people too. People, who I think are closer to God than any of us are. I believe Abida ji is one of them. And I wish, that someday soon, I am blessed with the peace that she radiates. The communication that she has with the creator. And I am looking forward to her concert tomorrow and you bet I am going to be an hour early.

Today, I wish for you, that you can feel what I have felt today. That you meet such people. And at some point in time feel that elusive oneness with the Creator and the Universe. May you live in love. Thathaastu and God bless

Latest Release - Uyirodu Uyiril from Kavalar Kudiyiruppu

A song for Mr James Vasanthan. Have been wishing for a long time to work under him. When the time did come I walked up to his studio to see it is one of the most beautiful ones that I have seen and worked in. His studio overlooks the sea. Standing in the voice booth I could see the waves hitting the beach. It was beautiful.

This movie is a Bilingual and incidentally, when it was time to record, this became the first Kannada song that I recorded in Bangalore. Not sure what the title is in Kannada yet. (There is no beach in Bangalore. I know. Most of the world that cares about beaches and Bangalore knows. It was recorded in a different studio. Different from James sir's own studio in Chennai. Thought it was a simple thing to say but a lot of issues to the extent that it seems like I am saying "there is a beach in Bangalore". So let me spell it out again, I recorded the song, the Kannada version, not facing the waves but walls.Walls that are acoustically treated. In a location that I don't remember now, in Bangalore)

James sir has perhaps been seeing me from the very beginning. He has seen my transition from a girl who hardly conversed with anyone to being a host of reality show on Tamil TV. Then, I hosted Paadum Office which is his brain child. And that was working under him for the first time. The next time, I went there as a judge for the finals.

The first ever time I sang a song for him was in a Christian Devotional Album, at least 6 years ago, I forget the name of the album but the song is called Sindhanei Sei. It was so much like a Ghazal that I went berserk. I remember a lot of people telling me much later that they loved that song. It remains one of my favorite songs.

James sir is a task master. A very kind one at that. He also taught me some basics of Pro Tools in this session. There are some things in life that makes you feel grateful, gratified and blessed all at the same time. And whenever singing or a recording session is that reason, there is no other experience that comes even close. As an album, I loved it. A personal favorite is Gangai Nadhi. Whenever you can give it a listen.

Thanks James sir. For a beautiful song. A beautiful experience.

At National Institute of Technology Karnataka tomorrow

I have been invited to moderate a panel discussion on Bringing Foreign Universities to India and their impact on Indian Education at their Annual International Technical Symposium 'Engineer-Golden Jubilee Edition. This happens tomorrow at NITK, Surathkal.

The distinguished panelists are Dr. B M Hegde-Former Vice Chancellor of the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Prof n Prabhudev-VC Bangalore University, Professor K B Powar Fmr Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities, Ms Caroline Howe - India Youth Climate Network and Kaustubh Thirumalai - Student Panelist.

I have been doing some reading on this one and asking a few people for their opinions too.

If you have suggestions/questions, please do let me know.

Latest Release - Poove Poove (Siddu +2 1st Attempt)

Aduet with Yuvan Shankar Raja, but Dharan's composition. Dharan happened to mention while we were recording that Mr Yuvan would be singing the song and I had been looking forward to hearing it during the release. The audio release was this morning at Sathyam Cinemas and it was like almost everyone in the industry was in attendance.
Dharan was fun to work with. There is an easy camaraderie and a rapport that is established when working with people your age. I worked with Dharan for the first time in this song and the MJ One More Time happened much later. (And just in case you are wondering I did not even get an opportunity to cross paths with Mr Yuvan on this song. So I wouldn't have an answer to how it was singing with Mr Yuvan)
I have personally loved his work in Laadam and Parijatham. And this is hoping that I will get to work with him again in the future. Let me know what you think of this song.

Voice of Tammannah in Kandaen Kaadhalai

Working with Director Kannan for the second time after Jeyamkondaan. I loved Jab We Met. And I loved being the voice of Tammanah. While listening to the pilot track I thought she is near perfect in her speaking and pronounciation of Tamil.
I caught a special show this evening and though I have said this before, whenever I hear a song or a scene that I have dubbed for play out on the screen, I am as excited and happy as I was the first ever time.
Please catch the movie in a theater near you when you can :)

This Is It

There is a reason why MJ is called the King of Pop. He is the King of the stage, of the hearts he has set up permanent residence in, of performance, of pitch perfection, of singing, of music. And this is all that reaches my level of comprehension. There is so much more that others would know and much more that no one would never know. Just like they say - Genius can never be comprehended or understood.
After watching this feature, I wondered again on how easily and inappropriately we use words like Genius, Brilliance, Talent and several such compliments like that on pretty substandard fares. Its my humble opinion which has taken root even more in me, after this evening, that the words Genius and Legend cannot be used at the drop of a hat. I once noticed a talent show contestant call a very young playback singer a Legend. I could not but help raise my eyebrows. In the singer's defense they themselves did not accept the compliment. How did we all learn to just sprinkle such powerful words all the time? Being exposed to more such circumstances sometimes makes me wish for an era long gone, as I have written in earlier posts. An era where a compliment was rare. And when it did come we knew that it was, in material terms, like having struck gold. But to those who know, these words have neither parallel nor substitute.
Someone I spoke to happened to also say that we must measure the words we speak and make sure it is fitting whenever we speak them. We say that words once spoken cannot be taken back, we say its like shattered glass or spilt milk. The more positive allegory that I have heard a lot of people of the older generation say - equating the spoken word to pearls. To point out that words have value.
Coming back, I wonder what it would have been like if life had been kinder to MJ. We would have had him around longer perhaps. On a selfish note, someday I would have had the chance to see him perform live. More than anything else, it would have been a reminder to the world that this is not just it, but this is what Genius is all about. Perhaps more. But definitely nothing less.

Something I missed - PS Thayir Saadham

The finish of every meal in such settings, as reminded by some of the commenters would be the final bits/morsels or what is literally polished off the vessel. And that is supposed to have wish fulfilling powers as we heard while growing up. Or it usually came with a blessing. When I was way younger, my granddad used to feed me sometimes. He, I thought at that time, was kinda slow. Or rather not as fast as paatti. Figured out, again in retrospect that he was just softer. But then he used to be the one saying "adikatti yaanaikutti". Paatti didn't bother about all those embellishments mostly. She would at times say dheergaayush. Once the ritual was over she would just circle the vessel/plate around my face and get up with an apppppaaadaaa. I have never heard that word that way from anyone else to this date.
And then there used to be times, when I used to come home from school angry, or would bawl. That would be paatti's cue to say pasi vandhurthu.. saadhatha kalandhundu vandhu adaicha seriya poidum. The interesting thing is the treatment used to be same for Periamma and my mom too. If she saw someone getting the least bit angry the next thing we had food fed in our mouths. Inspite of mom's resoluteness there used to be moments where the rare tear would escape her eyes. Not much would be spoken. But things would be OK after such a session, whether it was 4 in the afternoon or 11 in the morning. And this ploy worked every time. Lesson here I think is when angry/upset, eat. Eat healthy. You can work out tomorrow. I was a silent spectator to many such exchanges.
Paatti was not a great cook. Something or the other would not be right. But despite all that I craved for her weak kozhambus more than I would crave for a gourmet meal. When we used to say.. paattiiii kozhambu poarala.. idhu seriyala .. adhu seriyala.. but still eat nonetheless, paatti's standard response would be... yaen da kanna... seriyaadhaane panninaen.... And that would be our cue laugh. Then she would say enakkenna teriyum.. naan padikkaadha Jayam. Her name was Jayalakshmi. While we were in Mumbai, as a child I could speak only Marathi. Paatti could speak only Tamil. Nevertheless, God knows how we communicated. I still remember her teaching me the first letters in Tamil on a slate with flourescent green beading. Slate and Balpam.
Thatha was very English. A thorough Gentleman. I remember when he lost the power in his legs that he could only drag himself around when he wanted to move. He was 90 then. But when someone came home to visit, I remember his saying, I request your permission to excuse myself as my body does not cooperate as much as I would like it. Age has caught up. Our visitor was struck dumb for a minute and then he found his bearings. But thereafter, I found our visitor visibly straightening, posture correcting and gave a little more thought to what he was saying. during the conversation thereafter. That was another lesson learnt that day, we learn by example. No matter who/what/where the example is (from). Even at 80 Thatha was particular about walking from our residence in Besant Nagar to my aunt's in Adyar. Definitely about 4-6 kilometers if I am not mistaken. And he was extremely brisk. He was my hero. Still is. He spoke immaculate English, was a thorough Gentleman. I have heard people in my family say he had a temper too. But I don't remember any incident personally. The problem is when you grow up with a man like this and then you look around, most of the men do not measure up. Neither intellectually nor in bearing. A Kate and Leopold setting would work perfectly for me. Ah well.
It would not be rare to hear grandparents say they are having one foot in the grave. Or that its not long before they go and things like that. A lot of times, I have heard ladies in my family closer to their 70-s or 80-s wishing that they leave their mortal shell a sumangali.
In this case thatha would categorically, and at times, vehemently tell paatti that there can be none of this. And that he cannot exist without "my dear wife" as he used to refer to her often. Sure they fought quite a bit too. And then, paatti would also say enakku sumangali a poga vaendaam. Avara enna maadiri yaarum paathukka mudiyaadhu. Paravailla, She would say. Thatha had his wish. He was 92. Paatti was 81.
And in the recent Thayir Saadham episode, Maami reminded me of the traditional finish of the meal. With the last bit of the thayir saadham came the blessing, Maharaajiya, amoghama manasukkaetha maadiri vaazhkkai amaiyanum.
I write a lot of such things not only with the intent of sharing, but also with a selfish intent of immortalizing these memories. And that is why there are in the WWW. I might not be blogging forever but hopefully I would have a backup of all this. And it would serve to refresh my memory. And be a parent as my mother and grandparents have been.
One of the biggest traditions of transfer of knowledge is the aural tradition. Our country has thrived on it. For most of us who are blessed to have our grandparents around, even if some of the things they say might seem boring, they will be the memories that you want to refresh when you want that familiar warmth creep in to your heart. Your first award, your first achievement at work, the most of your first anything else has a tendency to pale in comparison. Listen to them speak. Spend time with them. And most of it is applicable to parents too. Our parents still have a first hand experience of the era gone by. And they have the wisdom transferred in them in most cases. And just as time takes people away from us, never to return, the only thing we would be left with are memories. And when you are reminded of them, its like you can see them again and can hear them again. And the blessing at the end of a meal is as real as you want it to be.

________________

I wonder if I should start running a suggestion box for titles. I am running out of them. I can usually write passage after passage without too much difficulty. But then it all screeches to a halt when the time comes to fill up that ominous space following Title:

One of the reasons why my blog is still called What To Name It. When the time came to fill in the title block, Chinmayi Sripada is just as expected as expected can get. Musings is as common as coffee in Chennai. Any title suggestive of music would also be just as expected. And hence the very highly intellectual, erudite What To Name It. Just in case you think I am being highly kind on myself. Hark. That was sarcastic.

At times, I wonder on the people I know. On the transient nature of fleeting characters that play a certain role and leave. But then it doesn't leave me asking for permanency. Permanency with people is more than a rarity these days. But then when it does happen, its almost as if a near extinct creature has appeared in its entire glory in front of a wildlife photographer. And for a short while whoever in the world cares, rejoices that there is a possibility of seeing this being other than in illustrated books. Rejoices in the hope.

What makes some people special? What makes you remember some? A gesture? A Helping hand? An emotion that they made you experience? The wisdom they shared? The dreams that they make you see? The paths they reveal to you? As long as I am concerned it is sometimes one or a combination of these.

When I think of these people who I can count with the digits of my right extremity (coming to think of it, my left one too) it is not necessary that I smile when I think of them as greeting card writers have immortalized. It is not necessary that I know that they will be around for as long as time exists for us. It is not necessary that I can call them for a comforting word. To me it is the memory that they created that stored in my LTM directly. The specialness. The warmth it kindles when the memory plays out. The weird belonging I feel with the universe when I was there, and whenever I remember the incident.

For you - Even if you are blessed with people you can always count on, your pillars of support, the people you can call if in dire straits, I wish today, that you come across these people who make you feel detached and attached at the same time. Before you pooh-pooh this detached attachment as mumbo jumbo that you could/may/will come across in philosophical/new age spiritual literature, its a very real feeling. Its not unsettling. But its quite something. And it weaves into the tapestry of life yet another glorious skein.

Thayir Saadham

We visited family friends this evening and maami makes sure that we never leave their house without eating. Her way of making me eat is something I have never come across anywhere else except with my own grandmom. Maami reminds me of her in several ways. This evening, she decided she won't let me go without thair saadham and more molagai. And then she brought the thair saadam in the right consistency, settled down next to me on the table and told me simply "Kaiyila vaangikko". A lump rose in my throat. I remembered the time when my mom, my grandad and I would sit around paatti. Thair saadham would first be placed on the palm, a small kuzhi made, in which a bit of kozhambu would be poured and we would eat it. Those were the most beauteous of times. Simple pleasures are the most expensive. But then it was played out today again. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. And there was this warmth I felt which I hadn't in quite a while. My mom too has similar stories to recollect. She mentions of a kalka chatti in which the vathakozhambu would be made and the entire battalion of children and adults in the house would sit around one elder who was serving, talk, laugh, eat. And that was life. They lived.
Maama, is a very interesting man. He quotes whole verses from Bhartrhari, Kautilya, Upanishads and the Gita and says his memory is not as good as it used to be. I dont know what to say to a man who is rattling off passages at times, explains the meaning and then says his memory is dimming. He also said how some of the songs in the movies were a direct translation from these ancient texts. Made a mental note to start reading Bhartrhari for the beauty in his writing.
If you have the good fortune of being around your grandparents, treasure every moment. Get them to speak and listen to them. For they have a reservoir of wisdom that you and I cannot equal. True, there is no real measure of knowledge and neither can there be any comparison of the older and newer methods of knowledge or imparting it. But there seems to be a certain magic in the age gone by. And I wish my grandparents were around.

Hmm.

Lodging an FIR over the phone. Not sure whether this is really going to be a blessing or a human curse on the Legal system. Perhaps time will tell. I guess there are a lot more people now who will lodge an FIR on a whim especially with the amount of stress people are going through. Rational thinking is not as commonplace as it used to be. A disgruntled person for example, like they have shown in the movie Eeram, can, if this proposal of FIR over a phone call is accepted, lodge a false complaint on a perfectly normal person. And Mr I-Don't-Know-What-Hit-Me will have to run to and fro the Police station and later the courts. Someone told me, in India, the process is the punishment.
That said, if you haven't watched Eeram, you should. Especially if you are living in an apartment, it is for you. It completely replicates what happens in societies today and how low a 'normal' family can stoop to get the house they want.
Coming back, I am sure over a million traffic complaints will be filed over phone if the proposal is okayed. And God knows how many Judges will have to battle with that in the courts. The Judges, I hear are extremely overworked and overloaded all the time. This is recent knowledge to me but if this has been the case for several years now, I am amazed at how normal the Judges I have met are. With the number of professionals across industries complaining of stress and this and that and what not, perhaps we ll have to hand out awards to these Govt. officers who only seem to be hearing, seeing and are exposed to the worse sections of the society through their day, every day, 365 days a year.

Mehendi At Pondy Bazaar Road Side

A must try. Am highly impressed with their artistry and the amount of time that the Mehendi stain has stayed on my skin. I have tried it several times before with other professionals and even after a week now the color has neither faded nor scratched off.
Have been wanting to check it out for several days now and always wondered when I would make this time to get some Mehendi art done from these guys who say they are from UP.
And it happened during Diwali. And going by the number of steady stream of people, they already seem to have hit it off.
These artists are speedy and are very good. Take my word.

The Lost Symbol

Been reading this book and am a few pages into it. Must say I remind myself that I really love Dan Brown's work.
The recent Landmark sale helped to stock our library and we were able to invest in a diverse collection. Nandan Nilekani's Imagining India, It's Not How Good You Are Its How Good You Want To Be, A Spiritual Handbook on India, Audacity Of Hope, The Hindus - An Alternative History and a few more.a
Landmark is definitely one of my favorite haunts. God Bless Authors.

Blue Elephant and the Translation Industry - my two cents

A full fledged interview not talking about my singing at all.

It came in the online versions of The Hindu and the Hindu Businessline yesterday. Figured out I tweeted but didn't blog about it.

Looks like

I am switching to tweeting like several others. At first it was tough for me to express myself with a 140 character limit. But I am learning the art of being succinct as opposed to the verbosity here.
Easier to tweet about a movie or anything else, sometimes.
And I write 3 posts talking of issues and some say my blog is a complaint box or I am being a pessimist. I have become negative. Shucks. I really wonder what makes people pass such sweeping statements of someone based on a simple post talking of an issue. And then there are people who say people who can raise their voices about issues and have the advantage of being heard easily because they are recognized in a crowd simply don't. Proves the age old saying true. You just cant satisfy everyone. But then that has not been my goal. And I am reminding myself again of the proverb that trying to please everyone is a sure way to failure. There are several goals and milestones that I need to achieve. I intend to continue evolving, learning; for the day I stagnate, I shall cease to exist.
There were several dozens of people who used to advise my mom from time to time on how exactly to bring me up. And now I sometimes chuckle when I think back and thank God that mom had the wisdom she had for not listening to all the well meaning people. She had been the truly remarkable, magical lady to have made plans that are way ahead of time. She has fulfilled half of them. The other half are just about to be fulfilled. Or rather the plans and goals to achieve keep growing. The so called well meaning society would not have let me be a musician. Why? They used to ask. Study. Become an engineer. Or get a BCom degree. Join a company. Assured income. Settle.
Settling - I realize now, is something I have never wanted to do. In retrospect of course. Why settle when one can strive harder and get that something worth spending time and energy for and that which is truly gratifying? Why settle at all? Mom reminds me all the more now.. once you are close to reaching the finish line, its time to set the finish like farther away. There is a lot more that she says to me, but too early to talk about all that.
What will be, will be. And I am what I am.

Tenants and house hunting

Helping some of my interpreters find an apartment to rent out might turn out to be the most harrowing of the experiences I have had.
I wonder if there are laws and rights of tenants in this sometimes weird country called India. One - its tough to find bachelor accommodation. And then basic fittings like fans and lights are not provided for, for instance. Tweeting about it, I found others who said the house owners replaced a motor and made the tenants, who were girls in an IT company, pay. I remember once upon a time, when we were new in Chennai, the house owners replaced an electric meter and made us pay because the "refrigerator is from Bombay and that has spoilt the meter and has to be replaced". I am sure the electric consumption of that house is still counted on we funded.
While I was with Aahaa FM there were so many callers who complained that the apartment association is harassing them just because they are tenants. The stories they related, off air, made my blood boil. In most cases their respective house owners who were in other cities or countries also perhaps were unaware and asked them to handle issues on their and that they would support them. Some also said that the owners were great people. Some tenants even said the owners let these apartments for rent because of the almost goonda like acts of the apartment associations and other owners and they didn't want to subject themselves to such weirdos.
Now that there are a lot of individuals who live together in an apartment because they have relocated for work, house owners have found this to be the perfect chance to hike up the rates on rent to abnormal levels as I see them now for apartments that are only 250-500 sq feet in size. Some of the houses I helped my interpreters see don't even have a window and looks straight out of Slumdog Millionaire!! How did they build houses like that and how do they have the bloody gall to be so damn rude over and above that??
At the end of the day no tenant is living for free. If someone is paying for any service then it better be darn good. Or at least average. Now who lets Apartment associations decide that they can traumatize and harass people just because they are 'tenants'? Even a certain lawyer said, they are tenants and that's how things will be. So what if they are tenants? Don't they pay the maintenance? Don't they pay for their association get-togethers during festivals? And worst, some apartments have a lot of legal issues. So everyone is scared of talking. Perhaps these builders should be counseled to follow the law and not mess up the lives of those who have made them the rich guys they are now.
I am not sure how the situation in other cities is like. But Chennai definitely seems to be hyper greedy.
As for me, I'll take this opportunity to thank most of the landlords that we have come across personally and in whose houses we had lived in. They are the ones defined as good human beings, or perhaps they are angels compared to the devils of house owners around.

A Guided tour around AVM studios

I have worked in AVM Studios for several years now, off and on of course. All of Super Singer was shot there. And most of the TV interviews as well. A couple of movies too were dubbed there. Sillunu Oru Kadhal and Modhi Vilayaadu. A lot of wonderful memories are associated with AVM. My first ever dubbing session and the first ever shot as a TV presenter were at the legendary studios.

I happened to request an appointment to meet Sri AVM Saravanan this morning in order to thank him following the State Award for Sahana. As I stepped into his offices it was almost like a stepping in to some other era. Photographs of every production of the AVM Studios, with the first in 1935, the vintage Ford motorcar, the wonderful microphones which have recorded the golden voices, the first ever camera, Sri AV Meyyappa Chettiar's passport, the dealer agreement with Ford for the car he procured, his spectacles, notes in English in his perfect handwriting, TC, Driving license, the first ever contract signed with T R Mahalingam... It was humbling to be in that building.

We met Saravanan sir as soon as we stepped in to the building and I was informed that he had sent a letter congratulating me as soon as the announcement was made but it had gone to an older address. The few minutes of spending time at his office would definitely be one of the most memorable ones in my life. The perfection, discipline and the sheer class that he exuded - I thought it is a bygone era. I saw all that in Sri AVM Saravanan. I was given another copy of the letter that was originally dispatched on the 29th of September and somehow I had this indescribably beautiful feeling when I read through the letter. I have heard reputed artistes of Tamil Cinema say that at one point in time it used to be tough to step into the premises of AVM studios. The words rang again in my ears today. Today was special. It was just not another trip into AVM for me.

As a 12 year old I had decided, with no two ways about it and giving no choice to the Universe, that I shall be a playback singer. And I shall work at becoming a singer of merit. My dream, the prayer was heard and in just about 3-4 years I stepped foot inside Rahman sir's studio. I know how much I have pined to be singing professionally. And prayed for the opportunities that have come my way thereafter.

After looking through history at the office, I happened to see the first day cover of the stamps on A V Meyyappa Chettiar and asked the office if I could have one stamp. And they gave me one for my collection.

Meeting Sri AVM Saravanan was also like another reminder to myself to follow old time values, discipline and protocol. I realized how important and valuable it is. And I thanked God for being blessed to do that I have always wanted to do.

Sahana bestows on me the Tamilnadu State award.

After Kannathil Muthamittaal, I get the cherished Tamilnadu State Award for the second time for Sahana.
I am usually verbose but I am pretty much at a loss of words to say anything. All that I know is that I am indebted to Rahman sir for lifetimes together for choosing me for this song. I could not have had a better Vijayadasami. I am praying for the blessings of all my Gurus and God at this moment and henceforth.

New Release - Jaggubhai

Apple Laptop - a duet with Shankar Mahadevan. I think this is the first duet with Shankar ji that has released though I remember recording several others.
Rafee sir is the voice of Signore Signore (Kannathil Muthamittaal) and several other songs for Rahman sir. But I remember him best for Signore. Signore is one of my favorites and maybe it is not common knowledge that Sri Abdul Hameed penned the lyrics for this baila.
Fast forward several years and I landed up at Rafee sir's office/residence here in Chennai to record. It was a beautiful session. I got to know Mrs Rani Rafee, a wonderful human being and even after the session there were a lot of things we spoke about. On the Sufi mystics, philosophy and the divinity that we see all around us sometimes but fail to realize. We also realized we read similar literature.
A lot of times a recording session becomes special for reasons in addition to the composition that I am singing - the experience and the chance to be behind the mic one more time is something I crave for all the time. Its the only thing that drives me and my true calling. (The things that I do otherwise are gifts that have bestowed on me and I am usually not the one to let an opportunity pass by unless of course something about it was not the right for me to do at that point in time).
And I have noticed that a certain divinity in the composer makes a recording great. Someone told me the other day, that you will find a glow in the face of someone who makes it a point to pray regularly. Those who choose the communion with the higher self, the truth, the creator have a certain aura about them which makes interactions with them wonderful. The recording session with Rafi ji was one such. And he happened to tell me today that I have worked hard on this one and asked me to keep it up. Felt good to hear that from the composer I have worked with.
They screened Apple Laptop and Sunita Sarathy's song at the audio release today and Shriya has completely showcased her dancing skills in both song. The Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamilnadu Kalaignar Karunanidhi released the audio CD and Rahman sir received it.
This was also one of those rare audio release functions where the singers were invited. K S Ravikumar sir said he has always invited the singers when I kinda lamented that no one bothers about the singers at audio release functions while I met him during the briefing sessions for hosting the Aadhavan audio release.
Looking forward to buying the CD once it arrives at the stores.

Playback Singers against royalty rule in India

Courtesy Musicindiaonline

Thanks to @PraveenonTweet for bringing it to my notice. 

High high high time that this has happened. And hope the musicians will unite for the collective rights - be it of the composer/singer/musicians/lyricists.

P.S: Apparently leaving the link with at the title did not work. Please click on Musicindiaonline to read up

I have got wonderful comments to the posts below. Thank you very much and any more are welcome.

A lot of people, just like the tweets I received asked for FM tie ups. FM stations are primarily not interested in non film albums and neither would they play it if they get the rights even for free. Perhaps an exception would be that McJasz. Not sure if he spells his name that way but one track from his album got sufficient airtime only for 2 FM stations for about a couple of weeks. And then that is about it. 

There were comments which are directly in opposition to one another as well. Some said rock some said No rock thank you. 

And somehow a lot of people assumed that I am going to 'choose apt singers' for this one. I am not a composer and can never be. And I am not sure whether I am going to go choosing :)

And yes in retrospection the publishing industry question was quite a no-brainer. People don't like E Versions of books. Just doesn't happen I guess :) But thank you very much once again for all the comments and the time you have invested in letting me know of your opinion which I consider highly valuable. 

If and when I come out with an album it will definitely be worth your while. 

Postscript

If I had to make an album what would you expect of me?

What kind of music? What would you advise that I should do? 

Let me know. 

Also I won't be publishing the comments in this particular post but the comments shall all be acknowledged if I come out with one. 

A couple of questions

I am asked often:

Why don't non-film albums work in South India or more specifically in Chennai. I think the market in Kerala is pretty good for non-film music.  Maybe also in cosmopolitan Andhra Pradesh. No idea about Bangalore. But let me also put down the disclaimer that I am only pondering aloud here and I do not have studies or articles to base these thoughts on. These are stuff that came up during random discussions with others in the industry. If I am wrong here I'd love to be corrected. 

- Is it because Radio Stations won't popularize the tracks?

- Is it because we are so used to only stars acting out the songs and no one else?

- Is it the branding?

And with Audio Piracy

I tweeted a while back. "Is there a way to market publish (I'd rather call it publish now) music in a manner that it cannot be pirated?" I got the response that the pirates are always better than marketers. And I am getting highly interesting responses too.  I think the print industry is not so highly affected by piracy like the Movie/Music industry. How could they achieve that? Is it because it is easy to track down the printers who publish such pirated copies? Or is it that those who have it in them to read - as the habit of reading is not so commonplace - would also consider the experience of shopping for their books integral? Correct me here too if I am wrong. 

Maybe it is human tendency that someone would rather download something for free than pay for it. Guess piracy is the  the technology's way of telling us that we are mostly thieves at heart. 

Or maybe the pricing is just way too high. 

I have always wanted to figure this out. 

And I really wish the IPRS can get their act together. Soon. 

P.S.: A lot of people telling me that we can never get the better of pirates. Then I think I am going to start hiring pirates. Something like they show in the movies on the police hiring crooks with a view of reforming them and helping the police force. 

Doctors of the future???

I happened to go to Kilpauk Medical college as a guest this evening. Didn't know it was a light music competition that was in progress already but I figured that out when I went there. I first found it quite strange that there was a separate enclosure for us, on a higher level and found it weird facing the back of the audience. Roshini, Naresh Iyer and Mathangi joined a little later.

But even as the different bands were performing some students kept throwing rockets and paper balls at the performers. I found that highly irksome. It was almost like dejavu, when I was judging an event at Stanley Medical college 4-5 years back. I remember that the audience kept throwing branches broken of the campus trees, stones rolled in paper and paper rockets at the singers during a solo competition. I remember requesting the audience to maintain a little decorum. Even my mother kept requesting the 'audience' That did not happen. I said if this kept going I would have to walk out of the premises. And that I did. I apologized to the contestants, I knew most of them from previous meetings and said they were better off doing anything else than take part in that music competition at SMC. I saw no reason why those contestants should subject themselves to this kind of a treatment. 

The SMC students said it is not their fault and the students from other colleges are to be blamed. But then some did say that students of the medical college were also part of the troublemakers. I wonder how they got in by 'merit' or whatever it was, into these colleges. 

That was the last time I set foot there. 

I was wary of going to KMC but did because our family doctor recommended it. The students who were part of the audience kept throwing paper rockets and other throwables at the girls in particular while the authorities kept watching. And as I walked onto the stage disgust had somehow overtaken me. Someone threw a rocket on me and I saw the boys who were doing it. KMC has to say that the students are from another college. I frankly do not care. Who is to know where they are from?  They all take the name of college in the neighbouring area.  Though the students apologized, they said they had brought in police protection for this very purpose. I don't know what purpose it served. 

But 5 years after the SMC debacle KMC is pretty much the same. And if these guys who are doctors in the making were to allow and even bear with this bull crap happening on campus I wonder what all they will allow to happen to a patient. Or would it change then? Would responsibility happen? If KMC or any other college cannot handle the behavior of students no matter where they come from, then they might as well not organize such events and allow public insult of girls who come to participate. At least as long as people do not know of this, there will at least be an opinion that KMC and SMC are 'safe' places to be in. Why organize any such congregation and ruin a good reputation even if it is misplaced. Ignorance, in this case, would definitely be bliss. Ramachandra Medical College and even the newer Chettinad Medical College seem to run a tight ship. 

And yes it does make a lot of sense to me now that educational institutions are strict. When someone becomes a part of a mob he/she could do anything and everything. 

I only have one prayer now. That nobody should ever come across the kind of unruly men (especially if they are students of medicine) that I came across in KMC and SMC. 

Definitely felt more sorry for the nice student coordinators I met. Sorry for the kind of people they are exposed to. And the kind of environment they are in. God help my country.

Music Engravers / Finale 2009

OK people. Here is something.
If you are a music engraver/ or know someone who is into engraving, and works on Finale 2009, let me know

TIA

And another year

has gone by. It has been quite fast and mostly eventful.
Perhaps if some events had not happened I would have been happier. But like they sometimes used to end those Tinkle or Panchatantra tales, it perhaps made me sadder but wiser.
I mostly do not look forward to a birthday. I do not associate anything great or happy. No great memories either. Yeah while in school it used to be the excitement of new clothes and the whole class to class chocolate distribution thingie we got done. And sometimes about shared birthdays. Three other girls in my class shared a birthday.

I read in someone's Facebook status yesterday "When life brings you to your knees, you are in a perfect position to pray" Going by the things the path ahead is not going to be easy. But all I wish for now that I do not come across any more bad people. I have seriously, honestly had enough of them. I wish that I do not meet people who will almost break my spirit. I wish that I do not come across instances that do the same either. Because when it comes to that I know it takes a while to rise. And I do not want to waste that time. I am asking for a lot of blessing. Most people perhaps think that I lead a charmed life. To the world my dreams are fulfilled and I am touted as 'succesful'. But I know the path that mom has brought me through. Bramble bush and thorns. Jagged stones and bruises. All that I have known is hold her hand just I had learned. And she has never let go of me. In her sole strength and determination I have found the will to keep going. I continue to hold her hand. For there is so much to be done and so less time.

I wish and pray that my mother be healthy and fine. I wish and pray that I will have her with me for several years to come.

The year so far has been one of great and careful planning that continues. And the year ahead will be that of execution.

And wish your wishes, your blessings and a humble, heartfelt request that you pray for me, that I stick to the path of righteousness, truth, wisdom and learning. I intend to use the popularity that I have earned for a greater good.

And I pray as I have never prayed before. And shall continue to.

For the fulfillment of a greater dream, a greater purpose. For true service that shall start soon.

God help me.

P.S.: I have found friends in my people who have liked and followed my work. I prefer to call them that than fans because I have met most of them and know them personally. They started a community in Orkut and as far as I can see, the discussions show that they are going to be organizing a meal at one of the less famous, truly needy orphanage perhaps this weekend. And I will be with them when the plan has become concrete.

Languages and Learning

After working with interpreters and translators of varied linguistic capacities and capabilities over the few years, one of the major things that Indian linguists lack is their command over English.

I really do not understand the point of learning a foreign language if you are no good in the language that you are going to translate into.
Over the last few weeks I have been pretty appalled at some of interpreter talent that is in India. Thankfully to set the balance right, I have come across some good ones too.
If you are planning to learn a foreign language, do so by all means, master it and read everything from storybooks to rhymes and comics and the newspaper in that language. And side by side, head to British council and enroll in their English courses or simply read as much as you can and use the dictionary. If you are already a professional in a field, learn the terms that you come across every day.
I think its no use being an interpreter/translator if you have not even come close to mastering the source (the language you translate from) and the target language (the language you translate into).
And as a disclaimer this is only for those who are interested in taking up languages and translation as a profession. It is definitely lucrative, but only for those who are good enough.Yes currently there are several professionals who are not, but slowly the supply is rising and then it shall truly be a survival of the fittest.

Crank calls and judgments

For once we decided to not sit quietly on these crank calls that I keep getting from random numbers and informed the authorities. A warning does work wonders. Over several months and weeks some weirdos call. Mom usually tells them that we will tell the authorities and that would be enough. This time we really did it. And the apologies followed.

Probably pretty soon I will ask for help from the Cyber Crime cell as well for some comments that seem to come from some IPs and this has been coming for more than a year or perhaps its two. I wonder what is it that makes someone use the kind of language that I get to read sometimes. Every post gets a comment like that.

Now please don't tell me that its a side effect of being a popular person. Like I have said before, someone's freedom to swing their hand stops where the other person's face starts. And if some people have forgotten their manners then perhaps its time to remind them.

After reading so many reviews, discussions and protests on Sach Ka Samna, a show, which goes about asking people to come forward to literally bring the skeletons out of their cupboard for the entire world to see, by answering 'just' 21 questions truthfully, curiosity got the better of me and I actually sat down to catch the show.

I have read on so many T Shirts, perhaps you have read it too. "Its not a crime until you are caught". And under this veil of anonymity, of their wondering who will know , with a devil may care attitude sometimes and who will notice, it is quite a revelation on the kind of things people say and do. Mostly a popular person would be scared to do most of what a common man does for fear of blackmail to extortion to anything else.

And I also wonder what it is that makes someone who is presumably leading a happy life to answer questions which can put his/her life in a mess. There were reports in the paper on a couple who played out this game in their homes and the man committed suicide as he could not handle the truth. Why would people willingly walk into quicksand. Or maybe it is not quicksand. I would never know and perhaps no one will.

So many different kinds of people around us and I have also read this in some magazines. To let sleeping dogs lie. At least in a lot of cases.

On a tangent, after that post on the 23rd August, I got a few comments which said that a celebrity should be a role model to the society. It got me wondering there as well. Why the demand that a celebrity should be a role model? Perhaps it is not in their scheme of things to be and do. As I have said several times before I blog on what comes to my mind, I do not go back and edit. And I happened to ponder on this as well. Maybe all that a person who became someone that we could recognize from the sea of faces that we come across, wants to do is just go further in his career, do better work and lead a life in his own terms. Why should he answer (not that he might be) to what our demands on him are? Perhaps Sach Ka Samna is what Reality TV is all about. They say art imitates life. And if this is anything to go by, movies are not corrupting anyone. More often than not they are plainly stating facts on celluloid.

And maybe the common man is not so interested in a popular person as he is in his own life. People are busy leading their own lives that no one really cares what happens even next door. I once knew a person who was such an optimist who kept saying that people in the world are too busy to be doing anything bad to us. I know from heresy and experience that there some beings that take it upon themselves and waste a lot of time in figuring out how they can ruin someone else's life. But then, he was an optimist. I would rather be a realist who can wear optimistic glasses sometimes.

My blogs, thereafter reading the comments that a reader (you, perhaps) takes effort and time in keying and publishing it here, watching and hearing so many things around me makes me want to take a decision time and again. That I will not judge a person. No matter what.

I happened to watch these videos on Facebook. Perhaps you might have seen them already but happened to love the commercials and the thought process behind that.





With this let me wish for you that you may not be judged, especially if you find yourself in a pickle and may you enjoy the relief that it brings about. The relief that comes about when you know you get total acceptance when you want it.
God bless.

'To sing one more time'

In Memory of Michael Jackson. This song is composed by Dharan and the lyrics are penned by Benny Dayal. (Once during a recording session, I figured Benny composes and writes his own lyrics, in English though and am glad that his work is there for all to hear and see. I am not sure however, if he his work has already been published, if so I apologize.)

I loved working on this song and it was a very fun session. Haricharan and Naresh were present at the time I landed up at the studio and we also had this small session together behind the mic. Realized, once again that recording together with other artistes is actually a lot of fun. Hope to be able to work with Dharan a lot more in the future. And hopefully Benny will come out with a lot more of his compositions. I think a lot of the professional singers I know seem to be a composer in the making. I too learnt very early how to compose - an Email, a text message and a blog. And that's all the composing I can manage.

Here is the video for you, courtesy India Glitz.

Celebrity - A Public Property?

I have perhaps had it with the opinion of some writers/journalists (just because they have the power to publish with a popular newspaper or a magazine) and a lot of other people, that a celebrity or a movie star or anyone popular is 'public property'.
Would anyone care to define this whole "celebrity is now public property" nonsense?
I remember having an argument with an auto driver several years ago. He was one of those talkative ones and went bak-bak over the racket of the auto. And he happened to mention that a certain actress has to do this and that because she is public property. I remember lambasting him, as politely as I could and perhaps, just perhaps he changed his thinking. And then I asked him where he got the idea from. He said he read it in a magazine.
Today, more than anything else, I see how easy it is for a popular magazine or a newspaper to influence public opinion. To the extent that it makes the reader believe that it was his idea in the first place and not that of the writer's.
I read an article yesterday with quotes from popular people who have said that they don't mind their actions being followed and those who said they do not want the press in their kitchen or their bedroom. A celebrity is no different than who you are. They grow up pretty much the same way you do, study the same stuff, have similar friends and family also perhaps, some circumstances and a lot of other things.
Of course there are several ways a popular person is different from one that is not - One does not have to worry whether a simple Quote will be misconstrued/misunderstood or published in the same misconstrued manner. Because publishing a wrong notion happens in bold letters. Corrections happen in a corner of a newspaper that you will easily miss. I have always noticed that you'll have to search for corrections with magnifying glasses.
While on the topic, this whole thing about celebs repeating clothes and especially writing about it is another thing I detest. Money does not grow on tress. If a celeb has a tree in his compound, it does not grow on his tree either. Every TV interview or show that a popular person shows up on, especially in Chennai, you can bet your hat they have spent their own money on the clothes. No channel pays a celeb for the clothes and let me also clarify a celeb is not paid to give a TV/Radio interview. I got this idea from the guy who irons the clothes outside our building. The entire working class is of the notion that every time a celeb comes on TV or radio they are paid tons of money.
A celeb who repeats a set of clothes is called a Fashion criminal. Who bestowed the title of a fashion know-it-all or expert on the one who is writing this on a paper or a magazine? What the hell is fashion anyway? Some guy or perhaps there are two. They sit in Paris or whichever country it is and decide how the entire world should dress itself in the coming season.
With movies, a viewer watches it over a couple of hours, easily judges in a second on how the movie should have been made, how this should have been done, how that should have been done, amongst a ton of other suggestions. Some say acting is easy and anyone could do it. But if you had to get drenched in the rain for days together for a song shoot, your health not withstanding, or wear summer clothing in Arctic weather and still look as if you are having the time of your life then I wonder how many of the viewers will survive. Stunt scenes are another thing altogether. People do get injured and it includes the stars as well. All those superbly lighted sets that you see in TV shows and movies - the collective heat generated by all those lights can put a desert to shame. Yes a lot of studios have A/C facility but everyone sweats in spite of that. I wonder how the actors in that era managed to act, especially in all those devotional movies in the 60s and 70s with all that make up, jewellery and clothing.
I do not think I have to tell you that even the work - the movies or serials or music or anything else that a professional in the entertainment industry is involved in, which is produced keeping the public in mind, is for public viewing/listening - is not public property. They are protected by various intellectual property and copyright laws. If the copyright laws were really implemented in the country, you actually do not have the right to perform your favourite song. Just have a look at the fine print behind every CD that you might buy. If you are one of those who only downloads music /movies via torrents, well Pirate, I have nothing to say to you.
If this highly controversial Sach ka Saamna and all the 'truth' in it is anything to go by, people are people. Human. And flawed. Maybe a celeb does not have that many skeletons in the cupboard as some participants in Sach ka Saamna.
Like someone said : "I am myself and all my circumstances". I remember Pt Bhimsen Joshi saying in an interview that people only see where he is now with all awe and amazement. But if they had to even glimpse the path that he had to take to be where he is, they would have died a hundred deaths.
No one but the wearer of the shoe will know how and where it pinches. And he will have to break the shoe, sores and all.
Some schools of thought say that God does not judge you. So who are we trying to be? Imagining that we are the sole reason that the world spins on its axis? That we are the upholder of everything around us? If you zoom out even the street you live in, forget everyone else, even you cannot spot yourself or even the most popular person you know. That is how important we all are.
It pains me when some writers refer to women in degrading terms, denounce some acts of several people as undoable and against 'Indian Culture', so on and so forth. What was right sometime back is wrong now and so it continues. Not long ago, it was wrong for the girl to study. Now denying education is neanderthal.
These are times when I had thank my stars that the professionals I have come across in the print and visual media have been absolutely wonderful people.
Maybe I have digressed quite a bit here and there but to sum it all up:
A celebrity is not public property. No matter what someone might write. And has every right to his privacy and that of his family.
My two (or perhaps there are more) paise.

Latest in Aadhavan - Vaaraayo Vaaraayo

After Ayan, Harris sir has given me an opportunity to sing in Aadhavan and when I went to record this one, it was like a breath of fresh air to listen to Unnikrishnan anna's voice. (Excuse the Sir and the Anna, as I can write about the people I know only in the way I relate to/call them)
Immediately after I sang the song, or rather a few days thereafter Unni anna messaged to say that it has come out very well. Harris sir said he was pleased. As far as I am concerned I have been looking forward for the release of this song from the day it was recorded. While working on the cover of Inbox 1305, Mrs. Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi happened to mention that she loves the song. Didn't stop me from asking her if she, by any chance, carried a rough mix of that song in her car. She mentioned that Harris sir does not give the song to anyone for any reason.
And then a week ago I was told to host the audio release of Aadhavan. First thing I was all jittery. Hosting a show on TV is a completely different ball game and hosting a live event is something else. Totally. You may plan a live event to the last detail, but its almost like such events have a mind of their own and they make their own plans. I had no clue what I would do if I called someone with the wrong name, or title, made slip-ups, messed up... hohohoho.. Was even wondering how damage control would happen, what if I angered someone.. all worst case scenarios flashed across my mind's eye. I kept badgering the PRO Nikhil Murugan for a minute to minute briefing, how to invite the dignitaries and the guests as being a newbie I was not at all confident of the protocol and how things are done.
K S Ravikumar sir agreed to meet me and he explained how the proceedings should go on and one more meeting happened yesterday morning with the Producer Udhayanidhi Stalin and KS Ravikumar sir and his team. At the venue, I was able to watch closely how K S Ravikumar sir gave out instructions, how he planned the event and his inimitable style and sense of humour. Even during the first meeting that was fixed, he explained some intricate details of film-making and how things are done as he would to a student and so patiently that I felt darn lucky.
I had a few last minute questions that only Nikhil Murugan could answer and he let me know on the protocol and a lot of other finer details.
Maybe for one of the first times there was a Nadhaswaram group playing music and everything was set traditionally.
Sure I had my slip ups but thankfully there is leeway to apologize on stage. Sometimes while I spoke I kept hearing my voice back in delay and that made me mess up a couple of words as well. When you catch it on TV you'll know what I am talking about.
Vivek sir, was very kind to mention me in his speech, which I have seen that he always does, if I have sung at the start of the function. But what was most touching was when K S Ravikumar mentioned me in his thank you speech and also said he believed that Vaaraayo was his favourite track. At that point in time I know how much I thanked God for having brought me that far to be acknowledged by stalwarts in the industry.
In all this there was this one person who hardly made his presence felt. The producer. Every one who spoke on stage yesterday said how extremely simple he is, to the extent that perhaps it gives simplicity a new meaning. I was stumped when I saw it in Kiruthiga while working with her for Inbox 1305. And though I had heard it from several people before, it is just plain - (for want of a better word) wonderful that a power couple are this simple.
When I heard the song again on the way back there was this joy and immense gratitude to the composer who chose me to be one of the voices for his song. When I sing, I give my life for it. I have yearned for every song that I sing like you can never imagine. If there is something that I am truly madly and shall perennially be in love with, it shall be music. For ever and ever.
There have been days when I felt that my being was twisted so much that it cannot withstand anymore. And there are days when I felt as if my being somehow expanded that it encompassed the entire universe due to the joy that was given to me as a blessing. So much that I loved every being in it. The wise say that this state of mind should be constant no matter what the situation. But then, I am neither wise nor a saint. But some day I ll perhaps get there. Before you wonder, I just meant I ll get to the point of being wise someday. Maybe not a saint.
And to you, reading this post, I wish for you that may you feel the joy that I felt, may life offer you such gifts, wherein you experience every pore of your being brimming with joy and perhaps something like being one with the universe. I have lived it. And wish you do too.
God bless.

Wishing for a lost era

I happened to watch Director Cheran's Pokkisham a couple of days ago. Apart from singing in that movie, I attempted to dub and this was one of the times it did not work out. I tried reading out the letters and after a couple of days of work we all saw that it was not my forte and decided not to keep attempting.

During the process I saw some shots of the movie and was pretty awe struck at the detailing that has gone into it. Mom and I saw the movie at a special screening and loved it. The entire beauty of letter writing, checking out the post box and all that, I could relate to that. While I was talking to someone, she said her father used to write in every spare space on the Inland letter so as to make every penny worth. I used to write several letters until I was a teenager and until I started using my Email address. Greeting cards were hand-made, it was taught to us in school. I had a brilliant craft teacher who made some of the most exquisite cards I had ever seen. Embossing and paneling and all that she used to make it by hand. Letters were written mostly to friends abroad. At that point in time, an aerogram was perceived as expensive at 6.50/-. Since my letters went into pages, I used to write on extremely light weight papers, stash it in an envelope and send it on its way. I also remember writing a letter to my Grandmom in Tamil, with spelling mistakes wherever the 'Ra' and 'Na' came to play. This was perhaps while I was in boarding school.

Yesterday we were off to a village by the ECR, which is almost a weekly exercise. Mom goes there to teach music, stories from the Puranas, English and Hindi and basic etiquette. She had done this for several weeks at Olcott Memorial school while I was much younger and this is a small beginning of bigger plans. Now on the way to ECR we stopped at a small restaurant for breakfast. The person who was in charge of running the place, hailing from Tanjavur attended to us personally and this was not because am a known face. I loved the way he took interest in serving the food, so much so that it was almost like we were invited to someone's home in remote or maybe, not so remote Tamilnadu. I wonder how we failed to imbibe that culture. What went wrong in our skills of observation and imbibing? How is it that we failed to imbibe the good?

Coming back to Pokkisham, there is a scene where Mr Vijaykumar, essaying the role of the hero's father in the movie asks why he lied to him. (Though off topic, I think Mr Vijaykumar is one super unsung hero. I have always loved his acting and perhaps there is no one else like him and realized that I am his huge fan)
On the way back home from the movie, my mother, recollecting that scene was saying how upbringing used to be. The elders of the family will be stern but would always have a pleasant countenance. And if the youngsters have made a mistake they would understand from the demeanour, the minute changes in the tone and the way the elders look at them. Apologies will be in order and things would be back to normal without saying much or raising of voices. If something needs to be corrected the elders said so but once. When very angry there would nothing more than a harsh "HMMM".
Telephone would be present in a few houses and even those that could afford the service thought it was unnecessary. And now the cell phone is used to exchange information on what happened in the last episode of a serial or the latest gossip. When was the last time that a conversation on a messenger or the phone was totally useful? Or rather, had value? True, the definition of value is subjective. But more often than not we have learnt to lie to ourselves and there started the disintegration. I remember a proverb, the WWW says its roots are Spanish: Do not speak unless you can improve the silence. I somehow feel a crying need for this saying to come to effect now. Do we know how to listen to people who do not talk much? And here I am not speaking of people with disability.

Maybe with the onslaught of all the technology we have grown insensitive. People who might genuinely respect elders are criticized. People who have some culture and sophistication are criticized. And this by people who hail from similar backgrounds. I just fail to understand where the slip has happened. How long do we keep blaming the media? Is it, after all a reflection of what has happened within our lives?

The letter writing era, the time window between letters, the glee of getting something via post .. somehow the instant means of communication today just pales in comparison, which is actually supposed to serve a purpose. A purpose of serving us. But in turn we seem to be serving technology ; being its slaves. SMSing a hundred thousand times a day. Frankly its irritating to see someone typing away on their phone incessantly. The constant chatting on various IMs. I find that tiresome as well. When I was younger and when all this seemed magical I used to make a face when mom used to ask "What in God's name do you achieve by asking someone on Chat or Sms what's up?" Though I obeyed grudgingly, not immediately of course, but eventually, it makes perfect sense now. My Chat clients are usually off. I used it only when linguists or clients have questions.
What is the purpose after all? Do you end up a little smarter with all the smsing and chatting? Or does the person on the other end feel happy when you keep in constant touch.
Though I am thankful for all the conveniences of this day and age, I long for the silence and tranquility that our elders enjoyed. I yearn for the sophistication. I yearn for the perfection of the era gone by. I yearn for the dignity that people saw all around them.

More often than not I love the company of the older generation. So much to learn from them. Right from the way a family set up worked, marriages worked, children were brought up. It is all very beautiful. At least with the kind of families that I have been exposed to. A lot of people thought my mother was bringing me up in too sheltered a manner. There would be enough and more people who would come to advice on how to bring me up. And there were enough and more "well meaning" people to advice me that its not all that good to obey my mother. But now its all crystal clear. I see the difference between the pithy chaff and the golden wheat. And thank God for the upbringing that I have had. For my mother. Sadly I see that a lot of parents are unable to make this happen for several reasons. Some blame the media. Some blame peer pressure. Some blame other members of the family.

I was reading another article on how bloody tough it is to bring up children with the kind of exposure they get, the kind of entertainment they are exposed to and how children are perhaps no longer innocent. Even while hosting the show on Aahaa FM while discussing on a related topic, a lot of people blamed the parents/grandparents who watched TV for inappropriate behaviour in children. As toddlers grow up, they are fed on a diet of cartoon and mostly serials. Perhaps there are ways of feeding a child without the help of a Tom beating Jerry up. Or anything else. Though I have loved the cartoon at a point in time, I think its perhaps something elders should watch and should be kept far away from a young mind. Along with the smartness of Jerry, 'only the good triumph', or good people are subject to a lot of trouble or brain is better than brawn or whatever underlying or subliminal message the cartoon has, something that is going to be absorbed first and perhaps foremost is the violence. And learning to laugh at it someone being thulped. I wondered how children were brought up when TV was rare. And when the time comes, my children will be brought up exactly the same way. And mostly they will be home-schooled. Reading up, I see a lot of families have chosen this path to educating their children. I guess an exam affiliated to a board can be given from anywhere without needing to go to school.

Robin Sharma also wrote in his book. A reminder of sorts that the phone is there to serve us and it is not necessary to jump and take every call. Our family comes first. TV and radio and entertainment need not be always on. After 6 in the evening every apartment complex is full of cacophony of various channels blaring.

I have a lot of old world sentiments on several things. I refuse to and shall continue to in not conforming to a way that is standard. After all its only that - Standard. I do not go about judging and telling people what to do. And in the same way, I do not want to be told to conform to a lot of things which are perhaps acceptable by most for now. I wish to live life on my own terms even if it seems dated at times. And when I look around me carefully, I see there are a few people closer to my age who share my sentiments. We may be outcasts of sorts, called reclusive or eccentric or sometimes plain rude. But then its only time which can prove certain things. As my mom says when you are trying something new or working on something new its best to keep quiet about it and when the time comes and when the end result is there for all to see, the world would wonder why they did not think of that.
More than anything else I wish for peace and quiet. Within and without. And really hope a lot people around take the trip of finding the peace and silence within and discover that.
And truly Pokkisham is a wonderful movie. In the detailing and actually so many things like the way letters were written and read, trunk calls and in capturing the essence of an era gone by, it is a lot of magic and truly worth the money you spend on the movie.

P.S.: A heartfelt thank you to all the comments I got on the alternate means of power generation. It was a fund of information and more sooner than later I would be doing everything possible to powering my home in this manner.

Its been one hyper week. Recorded some songs, dubbed for another movie which I shall reveal (as usual) only at the time of its release, traveled to Bangalore and got some other equally important things done.
After driving around in Bangalore, I realize that Chennai is actually a dream with regard to traffic. You don't get stuck for hours in traffic and somehow I thought most roads are narrow there. Or perhaps its a matter of perception. There are perhaps way too many vehicles in Bangalore. But once back in Chennai I thought we had slightly broader roads. Yes, our city is not as green, but we do have our benefits. Despite all that any other city would win hands down on road discipline. We just don't have that. And I did not see so much honking. I happened to notice that its usually only the drivers in our city who have the habit of perpetually honking, driving on high beam in the city and blinding you out, all that sort of a thing, and I did not see that in Bangalore. The effects are worse on a rainy day. If only someone can catch all of them and make them sit through a compulsory eye blinding session, they would know what it feels like.
We went to the 1st year anniversary celebrations of Inbox 1305 and again was quite surprised by the simplicity of the do. Sharad Haksar, a photographer I admire and Soundarya Rajnikant were the guests of honour. The best part of the evening was a pantomime by some 15 engineering students who were mentored and trained by the super Mitran Devanesan. I wonder why such art is not supported and encouraged by all of us. Why do concerts, plays, pantomimes and suchlike always struggle to bring in the crowds? Why do people not like to spend on the ticket for such events? Honestly given the choice I perhaps would have given a pantomime a pass on any other day. But this exceptional performance as a part of the evening was quite an eye opener.
I got quite a lot of comments that nothing has been happening in this blog lately.
There are times when not too much is spoken and said. And all for a good reason. A time of incubation of sorts. Also, I have not been too moved by something latelyto write. When I do get the occasional spark, I m usually driving. In the middle of somewhere trying to get someplace. And by the time I get back I have either forgotten all about it or some things just take precedence.
For now, I am praying to God for a lot of help and working pretty hard. Hopefully things will happen in the right manner.
As for you who checks this space every once in a while, here is a wish. May you have the courage to dig out a purpose which is hidden away, work it out even it seems impossible, do every rightful thing to get it to fruition and may the Universe help you in your mission.
Take care and God bless.

A question

Is it possible to power an entire corporate building/hotel/school/mall or any other huge facility/community which is as close to zero carbon as possible.
From what I gather, some of the structures I mention utilize equipment that need a stable power supply. I know that some equipment in various industries in India are run by generators.
Out of curiosity, would it be possible to make a structure like Spencer Plaza or Tidel Park completely 'green'? What are the options available in India? Are there laws or something on those lines which give facilities or exemptions for some facilities that reduce the carbon footprints or achieve the carbon zero challenge in India?
Could you please care to enlighten me on this?

P.S: Its just not possible, that with the number of brainy people in our country, we do not have a way. What is perhaps missing is transparency and awareness of the talent. I am going to be looking out for those people. If you know someone let me know. I am trying to see if I can 'green' power my home with the capacity to operate sensitive equipment as well.

New Releases

I sometimes wonder why I miss updating this in the scheme of things

Two songs in Tamil
Munnar (Koncham Poo Koncham thean) and in Madurai Sambhavam a duet with Hariharan ji (Kulathil Mudhal Kallai... ), Sihigaali in Kannada a duet with Kunal Ganjawala (Hele Tangaali) Snehituda in Telugu a duet with Karthik (Chiluka Navvave)

Also Modhi Vilayadu has released as of yesterday and as I said earlier on this blog I am the voice of Kajal in the movie. Please watch the movie (in theatres please) and let me know what you think.

FYI

Mom has been working and planning this for quite sometime and we shall shortly be commencing a school for Hindustani Classical Music (Classical Vocal, Sarangi, Sitar and Tabla) and a Dance school which shall focus on teaching Odissi and Kathak. Looking at the number of mails that we have received in the past year or so, especially by aspirants who are serious about learning, she did not see why this needed to be postponed any longer.

Leave a comment with your Email ID for more info.

Happened to go shopping for groceries with mom and she happened to mention that a kilogram of pulses procured from a store cost 100/-. Just about a month back it was 70/-. Sometimes I wonder if we are in a country which functions akin to Robin Hood or why always quote someone some place else? To have an Indian counterpart, Kochunni, in Kerala. For clarity, he was a lot like Robin Hood. He robbed the rich and gave to the poor. But not all of the rich. The noble amongst them were let be. But it definitely makes me ponder if our country and the way things are function the way Kochunni did and in most cases, in ways that he did as well. There are enough and more idlers in our country. And there are some who feign being in the lower strata though they might earn as much as a proper upper middle class family for the free benefits that happen. Those who end up slogging it out face super taxes, yeah I know there are some countries where taxes go way beyond what it is in India, but sometimes its almost like its a crime if you are the tax payer in this country. Taxes are high, we have to pay exhorbitant amounts to procure basic food supplies... If you live in Tamilnadu one of the things that you will hear again and again from a lot of people is "Don't you earn/make money? Then better pay up". (Sambaadhikkare illa? Appo kudu) I dont know if you have heard this line or something that is similar but you have no idea how many times we have heard it. Why do people who draw a monthly salary treated like unofficial ATM's?
I happened to read a report on how Traffic Ramaswamy got fed up with the corporation officials and decided to go and manually remove the unauthorized shops in T Nagar. Solo. And used only his two hands. First apparently a lot of people shouted at him but then the rest of the shopowners ran away seeing what he is doing. At 75+, blind in one eye (because there were people who beat him up for doing all this for a city and a people who really do not care ) this one man is going about doing everything that he can to make this city stick to some norms. Our country's biggest strength remains and shall always remain in its population. Why cannot the people just see the truth that is staring at them in the eye and kick injustice where it has to be kicked. Why are people collectively cowards? Why is it still in singular when we refer to a being that fights an unjust system? When someone like Ramaswamy fights for a change on a street in Chennai how is it that the politicians do not seem to have even an iota of that love for this country. After all, a man of the soil becomes a politician and is able to pull a lot of clout and increase his net worth only because of his status as politician. And in this country. Business deals that are struck almost always have a vested personal interest of the immediate people involved in the whole process. And definitely so it is with the politicians. I am a nobody to say a politician is a servant of the country or that people employed by the Government should sweat their blood and sacrifice every interest and work for the country. Because that just cannot be the case. Because the Government does not give great benefits, salaries or facilities for its employee. He has a family, he has children too who will have dreams as your children might have. And how is he going to pay for an engineering or medical degree with a 5000/- per month salary? And I heard enough and more from some people who went on and on, during my stint as an RJ that people working in the Govt. should be selfless. Should not think of family and whatnot. Really now? Are you going to be paying for a Govt employee's medical expenses? You, the citizen of India, even if you knew that someone has a very clean record? Yeah, sure you'll say that they can go to the GH. Its all free. But would you, who has an access to a computer and has an internet connection and reading this line this very moment step into the GH when you expect your family to be taken care of and come out hale and hearty? We as Indians are basically hypocrites. We cannot move a finger to do anything. Even if a portion of the city of Chennai came together to support someone like Traffic Ramaswamy there will be no issues, no bribery, no red tape anywhere. But we are the quintessential untiring cribbers. My city, my country needs a miracle. Perhaps a prayer. Perhaps a conscience. Perhaps the right deed at the right time. Or perhaps all that my country just needs are true citizens.

P.S.: Just heard yesterday. Do you know that most Government/Private schools (correct me here if I am wrong) have a new rule which does not allow a chair for teachers in Classrooms? The New law according to the Education ministry says that teachers are supposed to be standing the entire day and cannot sit. So the chairs have been removed from this academic year. This is definitely how it is happening in Salem. And most definitely in other parts of the country as well. What a wonderful life we give our teachers.

Another opening

I know this blog has lately become a space for jobs with Blue Elephant. I shall soon return to my musings but there has not been a trigger yet. Anyway, more importantly in case you know someone with the following skill sets do ask them to leave a comment with their ID.

• Must know Spanish/French/German/Italian.

•Accounting Skills (Experience with SAP would be an advantage)

•Quality qualification (6 sigma methodology, Total Quality Management, such as Continuous Improvement,Kaizen)

•Sound knowledge of procedures and issues within Accounts Payable , Accounts Receivable and General Ledger accounting

Quite something

Have been going through the exercise of hiring full time interpreters for Blue Elephant the past few weeks and its quite a task. I wonder how all these major conglomerates manage hiring so many thousands of people.

I did not realize that so many people were into languages and seriously as well.

And it definitely makes a lot of difference if you know a foreign language along with a professional degree.

And if the language has a script of its own, better still.

On the Cover Inbox 1305

I happened to meet Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi at the Screenwriting Workshop organized by Sri Kamal Haasan. Shortly thereafter she called me to ask whether I would like to be on the cover of her magazine. All that I could say was "I would be honored".

After the feature in Hindu MetroPlus this is my second cover story. And I have been super kicked. To be on a magazine cover is a super feeling, for want of a better adjective.

I have not read the magazine yet but I requested Mrs Kiruthiga to send me the cover image so that I could put it up on my blog and she sent it to me within seconds.

I found her to be highly genteel, extremely down to earth and easy going. Fun to be around. I learnt a new lesson in simplicity and humility from her. Life does present so many opportunities to learn from people if we just care to notice and have a mind open enough to learn.

The only person I slightly felt sorry for was Pradeep, the photographer. I could have well been one of his tough subjects. Felt too conscious of the entire lights-camera-pose thing. Shall post an update once I get my hands on the mag.

I happened to read the report in TOI this morning on the performance of Tamil films for the first half of 2009 in Kollywood.
Whenever I become a part of the movie I have always prayed, spoken to God and given him a petition to make the movie a commercial success. From what little I know a lot of people are extremely passionate about cinema, some pledge their houses and put their entire savings on the line, run into serious debt to release a movie that they make. All for the sake of pursuing a dream. And those who dare to dream and dare to act on those need all the divine help they can gather. That's my opinion.
Looks like some prayers have been answered. To read that Ayan was a blockbuster, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu and Yaavarum Nalam were hits was brilliant to read first thing in the morning.
Also as long as Laesa Parakkudhu was concerned, I remember how wonderful the session with Sri Selvaganesh was. Until then I had only known him as a brilliant percussionist. But working with him was beautiful. He was tolerant and happened to sincerely, heartily appreciate every nuance by a singer during a recording. Several weeks later I met the Vinayakaram family at the screening of VKK. The stalwart that he is, Sri Vikku Vinakaram was kind enough to tell me that he liked Laesa. I have heard several elders talk of how difficult it used to be in earlier to get that one compliment from a musician. When you hail from a family of classical musicians or even if you happen to have the opportunity to move with one, they would easily share with you on how difficult it was to learn and get anything in the name of a compliment from a Guru or anyone else, especially from classical musicians.
And Laesa has been my caller tune ever since the song released. To this day I have people asking me "Have you sung this song"? Mostly surprised. And the credit completely goes to Selvaganesh ji. I did not realize the kind of expression he brought out of me until I heard the song on the CD.
Coming back, let me say this post is a thank you to Mr God for fulfilling some of my prayers.