Booscuthalaa - Untying the Knots

This is one song that is usually sung, brimming with emotion and almost on a begging note, asking the Lord to shower his blessings on mortals - Although it's one on God, am sure the emotion is universal and something that everyone can experience. However, this one's my version of it. :)

It's strange how organizations and institutions tie us up by just being there. When we join an organization, there is a sense of nervousness and fear about the whole thing. - New place, new people, new relationships and so on. You may start off by hating your hostel room or office cubicle. In due course of time, however, the very same places become the cosiest and the most comfortable ever. You start relating to the place and building an identity (naturally or otherwise) for yourself there. And yes, there is this phase when you might feel 'What am I doing here?' - I seem to be going nowhere. Though when the exit finally happens, there are mixed feelings again! The stark grey stones of my institute failed to endear to me when I saw them for the first time. In fact, my first visit was highly disappointing! I felt the campus was too small, too randomly built and lacked any architectural design. I felt the hostel blocks were lifeless, the rooms where shady-max and the whole p...

And Yamini returns! If you're somewhere around Bangalore on Jan 25th this year, and if you dont mind getting treated to some awesome classical music and dance, do not miss this one. And yes, entry's free. You just need a pass that can be downloaded from www.iimb-yamini.com ; Really looking forward to it! One of my last big things in the last 2 years that's almost closing in now. Hope it all goes well. Jumbujaaaa ..........

Back in school, some of my favorite subjects were English, Chemistry and Geography. Precisely in Class X ICSE. Struggled through Maths and finally got a respectable score in the final exam, but not before screwing up every practise exam in school preceding the boards. Not sure if I really enjoyed Maths that much. But I really enjoyed English (Merchant of Venice, Selected Short Stories and Pageant of Poems) and Chemistry. When almost all of the class hated chemistry, I used to just love the subject, especially organic chemistry and chemical bonding. Though I had an excellent Bio ma'am, I really did not fancy the subject that much! Those were the days when I aspired to become a Chemistry or Geography teacher I guess. And then, just like everyone else, did science in Class XII (put some enthu into the drab State Board syllabus), Computer Science engineering (how irrelevant was that!). Put fight in Comp Sci. engineering, took GRE & TOEFL, apped to 4 colleges (got through 2), took...

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 pr...