Booscuthalaa - Untying the Knots

No, it's not the annual Thiruvaiyyaaru festival or Chicago or even the Cleveland utsavam, for that matter! If there's one place where every budding musician would want to perform, it should be the Music Academy in Madras. The name couldn't be more apt! With a long history and superlative performances, year after year, an Academy concert is where every discerning rasika wants to be. There is something unique and ineffable about this place that gives you those vibes - the good ones, of being in a supreme place, a longing to be sincere and a sense that the listener is no fool! The place boasts of  state-of-the-art acoustics (BOSE speakers et al), thoughtful parking arrangements, and of course, the artistes save their best for the Academy concert. It's no secret that they get almost a pittance for singing here. Performing here is a privilege in itself. For the average Madras man, it's something like getting a chance to act in a Maniratnam movie or sing an AR Rehman song

Was talking to my cousin (mother of 2) when she was in India recently. We were reflecting on how our group of cousins behaved so differently, though we are all part of the same generation. And no, we weren't doing any behavioral analysis, though I know my cousin is quite competent at that, given her extensive experience in psychiatry (how I wish I had that kind of a different profile, sometimes, life is just so unfair :) ). My youngest cousin is 17 now and she just cannot stop texting her friends on her mobile phone. This applies to those in the age group of 17-20, I guess. I got myself a mobile phone (we just used to call it 'cell' those days, how cheap) and still I remember, how we used to gape at anyone who bought a new cell in college. And my first model was 1100, the brick-like one, yes! And no, I was no SMSer. Dont know why I never took to SMSing that much, one major reason was obviously, I was using a BSNL prepaid service (that did not have free SMSs) and Amma woul

This is a song written by Sri.Purandara dasa. Ragi Tandhira Bhikshaka Ragi Tandhira.... it goes, Finally, landed my hands on a shruthi box, here in campus. So, was tempted to record again! You can listen to this song at Ragi tandhira  Lyrics: (Source: http://sapthaswaras.blogspot.com/2008/08/ragi-thandira-bhikshake.html) ........ This is a very impressionable “needhibodhana” song. In this song PurandaraDasa explains how one should live. But in a very charming way he has played with the word “Ragi”. He starts off the song with the common day to day meaning of the word and wakes you up with a jolt with a verydifferent use of that word as he delves into the song proper. And just watch how manytimes that word is used in this song by Purandara Dasa. It is class poetry, in simple words but carrying profound education for living...... Sri Purandara Dasa was a real social reformer. He had the dream of provid

A song after a long time! Do bear with me and my voice once more :) This one is on Lord Muruga You can listen to it here: hi-fi URL: Kandha Nee Oru

Who doesn't like people who are funny? Now, how do you define 'funny'? Someone whom you can have fun with? Not exactly. Someone who can make you laugh? Probably yes. Now again, this can be divided into two. Those who are naturally funny (of course, these are the most eandearing of the lot) and those who try very hard. And you know what, sometimes, I tend to like those who try hard to be funny. (I know many will disagree here, ) Come on, give them their dues! They try hard. Of late, in Tamil, we have this concept of 'mokka pottufying' - which actually means cracking PJs. Sometimes, when you have nothing to do in the world, mokka can be fun too. ... Not all those who have the gift of the gab are good at mokka -ing. You need the knack for it. So, my conclusion is probably, 'funny' is a very case-sensitive term. What may be funny to one may not be funny to another! Am not sure if this gels with the theme of this post (he he,... if you can call it one) , but I&#

COFFEE!!! The very word energizes me. Am sure there's nothing to beat a steaming hot cup of coffee, even right in the middle of a hot summer day. However, in Bombay, it's quite a task to find the best coffee in town. Coz, not surprisingly, there aren't many ;( Let me confess that I've never been an ardent coffee fan all my life. Till the time I reached Class VI/VII, I used to dread coffee, seriously, you see! I was very fond of Nutramul and Bournvita and used to think that I would never switch to coffee anyday. I still remember the day when I was forcefully served coffee at a wedding and I had to vomit it out very soon, thanks to my anti-coffee instincts back in 1993. And from there, here I am pining for the good old filter kapi today! On the contrary, I do not recall when I started liking coffee. Most Tamil households start their day with the quintessential coffee and The Hindu. Tea is often considered a luxury and a north-y drink! As a matter of fact, when I hear m

Do you see the roads lined with multi-multi-storeyed apartments built by erstwhile co-operative societies? Do you have to pay 5000-6000 bucks a month for sharing a teeny-weeny room with 3 other people? Do you see cockroaches running on cement fake-looking non-tar roads? Everytime you dry your clothes outside, are they covered with some pigeon shit? Actually, you might feel pigeons from all over India flew in to this place. Such is their sheer population in this city! Are you always pleasantly surprised to find friendly taxi-drivers ready to take you very safely to your home (or rather your sleeping place) at 3.30 am at almost normal rates? Do normal simple idlies and dosas suddenly seem to cost almost twice they cost you elsewhere in India? And finally, has it been extremely difficult for you to get a new prepaid mobile connection while getting a postpaid connection is much simpler and hassle-free? Of course, you must be in Bombay (or Mumbai, though I dont like that) And thats where I

When I've made a list of people from my school, I think it's fair to do the same for my Under-Graduation at CEG as well: So here it goes! Though this post may be of little interest to non-CEGians, I think it's important to record my memories of these people here. Unfortunately, I can't recall some of my lecturers' names. If any of you CEGian readers can, pl. let me know. Semester 1: Maths 1 - Dr.K.C.Sivakumar (now in IIT M) English - Dr. Chellamal (she's not there in CEG now, however I dont know where she is now) Chemistry - Dr.Karunanidhi (he was such a terror!) Physics - Aruna Ma'am Engg. Mechanics - Mr.Senthil Kumar (I just recalled his name!) Computer Practice Workshop Semester 2: Maths 2 - Dr. Radha (now in IIT M) English - Dr. Chellamal again. Programming and Data Structures (Theory and Lab) - Mrs. Vetriselvi Discrete Mathematics - Dr. Shanmugam Semiconductor Physics - Dr. N. Victor Jaya(I almost forgot his name) Engineering Graphics Semester 3: Anal

For the past one month, the SpicMacay team at IIM B has been working hard to make Yamini 2009 a grand success. Being in the first year, this festival is my baby and I would be immensely pleased if everything went well! Right from the beginning, it has been a great struggle to organize Yamini this year. However, this is what has made the process equally interesting as well. Every company dreaded the word 'sponsorship' this year, thanks to the in-progress recession. From that kind of a start, we have truly come a long way today, with the event scheduled tomorrow evening. The festival goes on the floors tomorrow, 25th Jan, 2009 and the place to be is the beautiful OAT at IIM Bangalore . Yamini 2009 will feature the following artistes in the order given below: Ranjani and Gayatri - Carnatic Vocal (5:30 pm) Mysore Brothers - Violin Duet (8 pm) Urmila Sathyanarayana - Bharatnatyam (10:30 pm) Pt. Ronu Mazumdar - Flute recital (1 am) If you're put up anywhere at Bangalore a