Category: Misc

Religion and Music

  Can a religion exist without music ? No religion can be totally cerebral and there are always some rituals which are invariably associated with some kind of music. Even in Islam, where the attitude towards music is at best ambivalent, the ‘Adhan’ , Islamic call to prayer is recited in a melodious voice rather than as a terse … Continue reading “Religion and Music”

 

Can a religion exist without music ? No religion can be totally cerebral and there are always some rituals which are invariably associated with some kind of music. Even in Islam, where the attitude towards music is at best ambivalent, the ‘Adhan’ , Islamic call to prayer is recited in a melodious voice rather than as a terse announcement.
Can music exist without religion ? Apparently, the answer is  yes, as ‘kolaveri‘ is also music , having nothing at all  to do with any religion. But then,if  you ask a carnatic musician, you cannot even think of music without thinking of God. There is simply no room for atheists there.  Certain kind of music gives rise to certain kind of emotions as joy, peace or compassion in a listener. To a practitioner of carnatic music, music is an intellectual and emotional exercise and also an expression of Bhakti and it also creates a similar feeling in a listener’s mind.
Then, we have the lyrics or sahityam . With the current generation, lyrics have taken a back seat and it is all drums and beats. Drums and beats are not great and  such music is so enlivening and exhilarating.  I remember , when we were in the academy, we used to have what we called ‘jam sessions’. We could hit the ceiling energized by orange squash, some eats like jalebi and doughnuts and…….. the Drums. It was all expression of raw energy and ‘OSI BISA’ (particularly, ‘ojah awake‘  and ‘dance the body music‘) was a great favourite.
While the effects of rhythm and beats are physical, it is only the words that can really get to your mind.  Words are powerful and music is even more powerful, and when these powerful words are set to great music and rendered with the right bhava or emotion, it definitely does something to your innermost self. What’s amazing is that every time you here such a piece of music, the feeling gets more intense rather than follow the law of diminishing utility. To me, Bharathiyaar songs, sung by MS, or DK Pattammal / Nithyashree or Bombay Jayashree can be listened to any number of times.
Tailpiece . Recently I read AR Rahman’s biography. AR Rahman is said to  avoid composing for non-sufi, religious songs. Just wondering what made Rafi sing such wonderful bhajans. Some of these works, Baiju Bawra, Kohinoor  have been the combined effort of a great team, Mohammad Rafi, Shakeel Badayuni, and Naushad, with star cast including Dileep Kumar. They are professionals alright, but how does Rafi put in so much emotions into his devotional songs ?

A Meal at Gurudwara, Mhow

  It was not the first time I was going to a Gurudwara. During the days when we were co-located with a unit of the Sikh Regiment, I have attended many functions at Gurudwara, but more often than not it used to be just another ‘Parade’. Last week a retired army officer, invited us; insisted … Continue reading “A Meal at Gurudwara, Mhow”

 

It was not the first time I was going to a Gurudwara. During the days when we were co-located with a unit of the Sikh Regiment, I have attended many functions at Gurudwara, but more often than not it used to be just another ‘Parade’.

Last week a retired army officer, invited us; insisted that I should bring my mother along; to a Gurudwara at Mhow for a keertan followed by lunch, to celebrate the wedding anniversaries of his son and daughter. We were a little surprised, since the gentlemen was from south of Vindhyas and so were his son-in-law and daughter in law.
A word about the places of worship in army; in most of the places including at College of Military Engineering (MCTE) , Mhow, portions of a military barrack are used as ‘Mandir’ Masjid, Gurudwara or Church. Very often it happens that when a Jat unit takes over a barrack from a Sikh unit, the Gurudwara is converted to a Mandir overnight. The flag is changed from yellow to red and the Guru Granth Sahib is replaced by  idols of Radha and Krishna. In the units having mixed troops , they have what we call an MMG (Mandir-Masjid-Gurudwara) functioning under the same roof.
Anyway, we did attend the function in full strength. The Gurudwara in the army area was clean, well maintained and very well organized. Most of the people attending were from ‘The Signals Vihar’ a colony of retired officers. One could sense a general atmosphere of peace and contentedness. After the Ardhas (Arati for Hindus) , which was attended by the pundit from the Mandir next door, among others, lunch was served outside the main hall. Everyone was seated on the floor on a long ‘chatai’ (a carpet) and food was served by volunteers . The meal was simple and wholesome. I was glad I could sit cross legged on the floor (though not as much at ease as I wished) and many of the guests were sitting on the edge of the verandah , with legs half strecthed, half folded, to ease the creaking joints . There was a distinct feeling of fraternity, though there people from all ranks, including a couple of Lieutinent generals.
I was reminded of the community meal , I used to have at Divine Life Society at Hrishikesh , on my way to Harsil where I was posted for two years. A simple meal of daal, rice, roti and vegetables tastes so delicious when partaken, in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

(Photos do not pertain to Mhow, but  random picks from the net)

Tail piece : An anecdote going round in army circles: A young sardar in a unit asked his ustad, “yeh Christmas kya hota hai ? chhuti kyon manate hain ?” and his Ustad, assuming a posture of prayer with bowed head and folded hands, explained “yeh isaayiyon ka Guru purab hota hai” (This day is the Guru purab of Christians)

Where do Ideas Come From ?

Where do Ideas come from ?…. “Little by little, I think we build a conscious understanding of what we’re born already knowing: what the highest inner us wants to believe, it’s true. Our conscious mind, though, isn’t happy till it can explain in words. “Before I knew it, in just a few decades, I had … Continue reading “Where do Ideas Come From ?”

Where do Ideas come from ?….

“Little by little, I think we build a conscious understanding of what we’re born already knowing: what the highest inner us wants to believe, it’s true. Our conscious mind, though, isn’t happy till it can explain in words. “Before I knew it, in just a few decades, I had a system of thinking that gives me answers when I ask.”……..

“What was the question?” I said. “Oh. Where do I get my crazy ideas?
Answer: sleep-fairy, walk-fairy, shower-fairy. Book-fairy.
———–-Richard Bach in “A Bridge Across Forever
Where did Mahatma Gandhi get his unique ideas like ‘Sathyagraha and civil disobedience ‘ from ?
I have been doing some study on Gandhi literature. The complete works of Gandhi runs in to a whopping 90 volumes. He was not a prolific writer of books / novels, but he wrote regularly for Navjeevan, Young India and Harijan. But what is amazing is that he was unusually conscientious about replying to all his correspondents from South Africa, England, India and elsewhere,writing a many as 70-100 letters per day for over four decades.
In a speech , later published in Navjeevan, he explains , where he got his ideas from. Gandhiji never accepted anyone as his religious guru. Three men have had great influence on Gandhiji’s thinking. Among them he places poet Rajchandra first, followed by Count Leo Tolstoy and John Ruskin.
How many of us have heard of Poet Raj Chandra or John Ruskin ? At least I have not.
Now I am a little more knowledgeable about these gentlemen.
Raj Chandra was primarily a diamond and pearl merchant, who like a true karma-yogi, sort of renounced the worldly attachments even while actively doing business.
To Quote Gandhiji …..
“During the two years I remained in close contact with him, I felt in him every moment the spirit of ‘vairagya’. One rare feature of his writings is that he always set down what he had felt in his own experience. there is in them sense of unreality……He had always a book on some religious subject by his side and a note book with blank pages. The latter, he used for noting down any thought which occurred to him….
…Whatever he was doing at the moment, whether eating or resting or lying in bed, he was invariably disinterested towards worldly things….

….I watched his daily life respectfully, and at close quarters. he accepted whatever was served at meals. His dress was simple, a dhoti and a shirt… It was the same to him whether he squatted on the ground or had a chair to sit on.
While the Poet, Rajchandra or Raichand Bhai as he was better known, influenced Gandhiji by his close association , John Ruskin and Toltoy influenced him through their writings.
To Quote from John Ruskin..,
….It is a sheer error to suppose, as is generally done, that some eduction however little or however faulty is better than no education at all. We should strive for real education alone.

………….Every human being requires three aspects of knowledge and three virtues. Anyone who fails to cultivate them does not know the secret of life. These six things should form the basis of education. Every child, whether boy or girl, should learn the properties of pure air, clean water and clean earth, and should also learn how to keep air, water and earth pure and clean and know their benefits. ‘Gratitude’, ‘Hope’ and ‘charity’ are the three desirable virtues……..
Well, at some point Gandhiji said that all we have to do is unlearn whatever we learnt in the past 50 years ( around 1850-1900).
Some ideas from Leo Tolstoy
1. In this world, men should not accumulate wealth.
2. No matter how much evil a person does to us, we should always do good to him. Such is the commandant of God,and also his law.
3. No one should take part in fighting.
4. It is sinful to wield political power, as it leads to many of the evils in the world.
5. Man is born to do his duty to his creator; he should therefore pay more attention to his duties than to his rights .
6. Agriculture is the true occupation of man. It is therefore contrary to divine law to establish large cities, to employ hundreds of thousands of minding machines in factories so that a few can wallow in riches by exploiting the helplessness and poverty of the many.

All these ideas are reflected in Gandhiji’s thoughts and in his experiments with Truth that he conducted, in his ashrams and on the larger canvas he worked on, that is “India’.

the art of story telling

For the past few months I have been downloading old movies, old songs ; mostly 70s and 80s but also some from 60s, Tamil, English and Hindi. They are so different from the current fare you get. But one thing that has hardly changed  over the past 50 years, if not for centuries, is the … Continue reading “the art of story telling”

For the past few months I have been downloading old movies, old songs ; mostly 70s and 80s but also some from 60s, Tamil, English and Hindi. They are so different from the current fare you get.

But one thing that has hardly changed  over the past 50 years, if not for centuries, is the art of story telling, the ‘katha kalatchebam‘  way. The other day , looking for some carnatic music, I stumbled on ‘nandanaar caritiram’ by Sowmya on You tube. The clips were of ‘Margazhi Mahotsavam, 2009’ . When you download from you tube it takes a while to collect all the parts, and put it together for viewing leisurely on the TV screen.
The experience took me right back to my childhood, to a large old fashioned, house, in North Madras , Though, we stayed in a small portion , as kids we had all the open spaces for ourselves, and spent most of our time outdoors. The prominent part of the premises was a large hall, with a high ceiling, called “The Samajam “. While the main hall was cemented, a vast area extending up to the main gate, was covered with nice beach-sand where people could sit and listen to a ‘kathai’ or katcheri’ .
This Samajam was the scene of many a of social activity, mainly, kathai, katcheri and kalyanam. As I remember katha kalatchebam was organized twice or thrice in a month and occasionally we had a katcheri , Villupattu or Vikatakatchey (a kind of stand-up comedy, done sitting down 😉 ) and radha kalyanam was an annual event. The land lord I believe had bought the property in the beginning of the century. I admire his foresight. The ‘samajam’ , besides hosting Radha Kalyanam’ ‘Sita kalyanam ‘ and ‘Ramar Pattabhishekam’ , saw the ‘kalyanams’ of all four daughters of his and I don’t know how many grand daughters.
We also had a ‘Veda Class’ , as we called it . Here’s a photo of our Veda Class in the Samajam , circa 1967.

 

Coming back to Nandanar caritiram, nothing really has changed from the microphone less days to web camera times. The style of narration, style of singing, accompanying instruments, nothing at all seems to have changed since the first performance of the ‘musical play’ , in the times of Gopalkrishna Bharathi, the composer. Only the medium has changed. Seeing young people in Sowmya’s team, one feels that there will always be a small group dedicated to this unique art of story telling.  Of course, there are changes in the external appearance. There is no one with a kudumi, and one of the singers even sports a nice french beard. Some of them may look like corporate executives, but when they sing, they are just the ‘bhagavathars’ of yesteryears.

Corruption in the Congress Party

“Congressmen are not sufficiently interested in constructive work; we must recognize the fact that social order of our dreams cannot come through the congress party of today…..There is so much corruption today, that it frightens me.  Everybody wants to carry so many votes in his pocket because votes give power” This is not a current statement by … Continue reading “Corruption in the Congress Party”

“Congressmen are not sufficiently interested in constructive work; we must recognize the fact that social order of our dreams cannot come through the congress party of today…..There is so much corruption today, that it frightens me.  Everybody wants to carry so many votes in his pocket because votes give power”

This is not a current statement by an Opposition leader or Anna Hazare. It was by Mahatma Gandhi, sometime in Nov 1947 (Source: The Life of Mahatma Gandhi by Louis Fischer)

His limited experience told him that legislators and judges were too close to  the Govt machinery of power to check and balance the executive ; only those outside the Govt, he contended , could check and balance those in Govt.

How can it be done ? He goes on in his address to a conference of Constructive Workers (the name for Civil Society in those days)” Under adult suffrage, if we are worth our salt, we should have such a hold on people that whomsoever we choose would be returned….”

He visualized a regular dialogue between people in power and the “Group of Constructive Workers”. He had even scheduled a meeting to take place in March 1948 at Sevagram. The meeting actually took place  , with President Rajendra Prasad , Prime minister Nehru and Maulana Azad from the Goverment , and the Constructive Workers Group led by Vinobha Bhave and comprising of Jayaprakash Narayan, the economic thinker JC Kumarappa, the scholar and reformer Kakasaheb Kalelkar, the teacher Ashadevi Aryanayakam, the balladeer Tukdoji Maharaj, the expert on tribal affairs AV Thakkar, the intrepid rescuer of abducted women during Partition, Mridula Sarabhai, the Gandhian leader from Andhra, Konda Venkatappaiya, the khadi pioneer, Srikrishnadas Jaju.

There is an account of the meeting narrated by none other than Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Shri Gopal Krishna Gandhi in Hindustan Times.

Television through the years

Why is it that the entire main stream media went gaga over Anna Hazare’s reality show at Ramlila Grounds when it chose to ignore Baba Ramdev’s show on 27 Feb 11, at the same venue ? Baba Ramdev’s show was attended by Anna Hazare , among other stalwarts, and had drawn much larger crowds. Why … Continue reading “Television through the years”

Why is it that the entire main stream media went gaga over Anna Hazare’s reality show at Ramlila Grounds when it chose to ignore Baba Ramdev’s show on 27 Feb 11, at the same venue ? Baba Ramdev’s show was attended by Anna Hazare , among other stalwarts, and had drawn much larger crowds.

Why is it that floods at Delhi or Mumbai get more focus than more catastrophic and devastating floods in Bengal, Bihar or Assam ?
Media questions everybody , but who questions the media? If you do, you are accused of shooting the messenger. Is media just a messenger, or a perverter, modifier and amplifier of the messages it conveys?
There was a time when TV and Radio broadcasts  were totally Govt controlled. There were technological limitations. Large parts of the country had little or no access to TV. During my initial 6-7 years in the army, all I had access to was Pakistan TV and later Rupavahini for a year.  In any case Doordarshan was neither reliable nor real time . In remote areas it was not even accessible.
But in late 80s and early 90s, with winds of change sweeping across the globe, news coverage attained new dimensions. With Satellite communication, better technology and independent news agencies, nothing could be hidden or manipulated by the Govts.
In the year 1988-89, Pranoy Roy had the viewers riveted to his programme, “The World This Week’. The technology was there to upload or download live data from anywhere to any where. Independent, impartial, hardcore professionals were in key positions covering events global and local. I remember looking forward to Pronoy Roy’s  “Good evening and welcome to the world this week…..” It was then, that we had witnessed historical events like ‘the fall of the Berlin wall’ and ‘break up of the Soviet Union’. Real time visuals left no doubts, as people saw the events as they unfolded from the safety of their drawing rooms. The Gulf war was witnessed by the whole world in real time.
Just when you thought, nothing could be hidden from the media, it is the media itself that became elusive and double-edged. Pressure from Govt or technological limitations has given way to  pressure from TRP, corporatism , or simply the rat-race.
Today you have the technology, freedom from Govt agencies and professionalism to report accurately; yet, the whole establishment lacks credibility. Even while one channel is breaking news on a sting operation, there is another channel questioning the authenticity of the audio-visual media used. Is it genuine or a ‘cut and paste’ job ?. Well, if technology can be used to expose a scam, it can also be misused for false accusation or for a cover up operation. Also corporatism has the editors looking at the bottomline even while deciding on what events to cover and how.
I wish we had just one 9 o’ clock news from just one channel, like the good old Doordarshan; at least it was predictable.

Is Majority always Right ??

Is Majority always right ? I don’t think so, particularly when faced with a complex issue. Let us not be carried away by the huge turn out at the Ramlila grounds  At a Washington, D.C., press conference in 1952, Churchill was asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you … to know that every time you make a … Continue reading “Is Majority always Right ??”

Is Majority always right ? I don’t think so, particularly when faced with a complex issue.

Let us not be carried away by the huge turn out at the Ramlila grounds 


At a Washington, D.C., press conference in 1952, Churchill was asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you … to know that every time you make a speech the hall is packed to overflowing?”

Sir Winston: “It is quite flattering, but whenever I feel this way I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big.”

I remember, while in High School,  we had a maths teacher who used to make us solve entire sets of problems as homework. The next day in the class, he would call for volunteers to solve the questions on the blackboard. For easier questions, a number of hands went up, but for difficult ones, there were very few. There were no punishments for failure and the reward for solving a difficult question was the thrill of walking up to the blackboard and having the entire class listen to you. It is only logical that when faced with difficult questions , the majority is clueless and it is a minority which gets it right.

So is it in real life; the only difference is that while in a class room, the questions are objective and the minority which gets it right, is heard, whereas in real life situations, issues are subjective and the majority hogs the centre stage.

Regarding, Anna Hazare’s Movement, be it on print media, TV Channels or even in the cyberspace you hear only the majority view and the few dissenting voices are dismissed as ‘congress stooge’ . Someone has compiled a lot of information on the subject , including voices of dissent …


Since it is the dissents that are rare to find, I recommend the link


Then there is a well researched article by Mukul Sharma (science writer and journalist), first published in May 2006. The paper covers the developmental work organized by Anna Hazare, at his village Ralegan Siddhi .


Along with much publicized good work done by Anna Hazare, it also highlights some of his methods to deal with family planning and prohibition, which to say the least are highly questionable.

Public Servants and Public Sentiments

    These days sentiments are running high and it is very fashionable to say ‘I am with Anna Hazare’ or ‘I am anna’ . Even media persons suggest that the Govt should take cognizance of the public sentiments. Taking cognizance is desirable but taking actions in line with these sentiments can be disastrous.     Public … Continue reading “Public Servants and Public Sentiments”

    These days sentiments are running high and it is very fashionable to say ‘I am with Anna Hazare’ or ‘I am anna’ . Even media persons suggest that the Govt should take cognizance of the public sentiments. Taking cognizance is desirable but taking actions in line with these sentiments can be disastrous.

    Public servants should never be swayed by the prevailing Public Sentiments. Here’s an example from History.

    In May 1948, Nathuram Godse was tried , for murder of Mahatma Gandhi. The assassin was not a member of the mafia but was some one who had many things in common with the mahatma. He was well read, he was patriotic, his motive was selfless and he was idealistic. Only difference was that he did not believe in the absolute ahimsa. He believed that any one on the wrong side of dharma should be fought, as In Gita , Lord Krishna himself motivated Arjuna to kill the reverred Bhishma for being on the wrong side of Dharma …!!!!

    So Godse gave a long deposition in the court on his motives for his actions. He quoted extensively from the scriptures to justify every action of his.


    The speech had its effects on the small gathering in the court.



    Justice Khosla, who was a member of the jury, wrote after his retirement:



‘There was a deep silence when he ceased speaking. Many women were in tears and men coughing and searching for their handkerchiefs… I have no doubt that had the audience of the day been constituted into a jury and entrusted with the task of deciding Godse’s appeal, they would have brought in a verdict of ‘not guilty’ by an overwhelming majority.”


    And the place was not Pune but Shimla; far away from the birthplace or stronghold of RSS or Hindu Mahasabha.

     Godse did not have the benefit of a public trial, Media, Facebook or Twitter. Had he had all these, it was quite possible that the sentiments in the court could have spilled over to cover the entire country, and the then Govt would been in a tight spot.

    In the actual course of events, Godse was sentenced to death and hanged . Among those calling for commutation of the death sentence for the defendants were Jawaharlal Nehru, as well as Gandhi’s two sons, who felt that the two men on trial were pawns of RSS higher-ups, and in any case, executing their father’s killers would dishonour his memory and legacy which included a staunch opposition to the death penalty.

    There was no place for sentiments and the law of the land prevailed.

    This is not a defence of Godse,, just an example to show that Govt, The Police and Judges have to act in consonance with the law of the land, not in line with the prevailing public sentiments.

Tamil Resources on the net

           There was a time, when it was so difficult to locate a Tamil book , dating back beyond 50  years; after all no publisher wants to be stuck with unsellable stock. Once, with great difficulty, I found a compilation of Aathichudi, Konraivendhan etc, published by New Century Book House. Only … Continue reading “Tamil Resources on the net”

           There was a time, when it was so difficult to locate a Tamil book , dating back beyond 50  years; after all no publisher wants to be stuck with unsellable stock. Once, with great difficulty, I found a compilation of Aathichudi, Konraivendhan etc, published by New Century Book House. Only the communists would bring out books on “No profits, only losses ‘ basis.
          Today, it is the other way around, more ancient the work, easier it is to locate; courtesy ‘the internet’. E-books are available, for free and freely on all works of Avvaiyaar, Thiruvalluvar, Bharathiyaar, or for that matter, Kaniyan Poongunranaar. Thank God, Thiruvalluvar and his like didn’t copyright their works. Even books by Kalki, Naa Parthasartahi, Pudhumaipithhan , Thi.Janakiraman , Jayakanthan and Sujaatha are available; and I believe there are no copyrights issues on books downloadable from these sites.
           It is the Srilankan Tamils who have been most active in the cyber-world. May be they fiercely cling to the Tamil virtual world as their ‘real world ‘ has always been under seize, particularly so since the Jaffna Library went up in flames. Seeing the happenings in Srilanka, the Virual World is all that will be left. It was sad to see, literally the last post of tamilnation.org. LTTE or no LTTE; this site had one of the best contents on Thirukkural.
Some of the popular sites, to name a few, are, Project Madurai Chaennailibrary, Noolagam, Thamizham.net,, Viruba, and Tamilcube.net.
I had a mind to collect all Tamil resources and sort them into, E-books, Blogs, magazines and so on. But I realized that the resources are so vast and that there are so many blogs dedicated to compiling of these resources. Links to some of these blogs are:-


Three Slips and a Gully

Three slips and a gully , a silly mid on and a forward short leg ; that is test match for you. I am writing this when the Ist test at Lords between England and India is nicely poised on the start of the Final day. Not evenly poised,but yet interesting; the question is can … Continue reading “Three Slips and a Gully”

Three slips and a gully , a silly mid on and a forward short leg ; that is test match for you. I am writing this when the Ist test at Lords between England and India is nicely poised on the start of the Final day. Not evenly poised,but yet interesting; the question is can India save the test . The beauty of test cricket is that you can thoroughly enjoy a game even if it doesn’t produce a result. After all, it is only fair that a well contested match ends with equal honours shared by both contestants.
In ODI and 20-20, it is all a question of chances (that is why the cliche ‘on its day any team can beat any other team’). The bowler bowls from wicket to wicket, somehow hoping that the ball crosses the stumps without contacting the bat. The batsman shuffles all over the crease and takes a mighty swing hoping that he somehow  makes  contact with the ball and then he hopes that he is neither caught nor run out. The crowd keeps baying for fours and sixes or wickets as the case may be.
What is cricket if a bowler is not keen to take wickets and a batsman is not keen to keep his wicket ?

In a test match the bowler just attacks. He is prepared to go for runs as long he has the last laugh and a batsman is prepared to bide his time and wait for the bad ball to score. Nothing is left to chance.

It is sad to see the lone slip in the shorter versions of the game. How nice to see the slip cordon for fast bowler or the close in fielders for a spinner.


The crowd at test cricket is small but well informed. I recall the lines from “The Hindu” (Vijay Lokpally, I think),” A typical Chennai spectator has curd rice in his tiffin box and Wisden on his finger tips and is ever prepared to appreciate a good ball or a good hit irrespective of whether it produced any runs or wickets.”

Viva Test Cricket !

As always the better format has less takers, in any part of the world, in any field; like books Vs movies, classical music Vs popular music, filter coffee Vs instant coffee, and finally Linux Vs Windows . Thathastu. So be it .