Udhaiththa saramazhai pol

18th Dec.2009

Uma to Gayathri Venkataraghavan

I am just listening to Azhi malai kanna in Podhigai channel.
I am disappointed with your rendition. The song describes the way a
rain should come in a very scientific, aesthetic, philosophical and
poetic way - which is the trademark of Andal. You spoilt it all by
singing it in a way which does not suit the theme of the song. Please
understand and sing the song and choose the ragas and rendition to go
with the song.

Regards,
Uma

On Sat, Dec 19, 2009 at 9:04 AM, Gayathri Venkataraghavan wrote:

Dear Umashankar Sir, I take ur point..This Raga was choosen by Ariyakudi mama, I sing it faster normally, But the producer in DD wanted it to be for 5 mintues atleast, yes even I was not happy about the rendition today..It was a bit of a drag..Infact I sang this once in a concert, with neraval at Vazha ulaginil and i found it inspiring.. .However the raga has already been chosen by such a great vidwan so we do not like to change it..I have followed Ariyakudi amma's and MLV amma's raga selections for the differnt Thirupavais ..,
..Thank you for your feed back.
regards
gayathri venkataraghavan

From: Uma Shankar
Subject: Re: Message from GV website
To: "Gayathri Venkataraghavan"
Date: Saturday, December 19, 2009, 12:35 AM

Madam,

Thanks for your prompt response and understanding of my message.

I understand your predicament and I truly believe that the talent of the artist is in bridging the gap of tradition with the "right rendition". If you have listened to Shiva Tandava Stotram rendered by Hindustani classical singers - the way the essence of the Tandavam is brought in the melodious singing but at the same time giving the audience the feel of a vibrant dance - you can use the same raga as selected by Ariyakudi, but render it in such a way - that the feel of a thunder, lightning and a rain can be brought to the audience through singing. I think that is where young artists like you can play a big role!

If I can take your few more seconds, I want to tell you something more..

We learnt Thirupavai as children ( 4 to 11 years ) under our grandfather and I remember the way he used to say this Thirupavai and we all used to sort of enact thundering, lightning and rain with show of our hands - we did not know much Tamil then and we did not know the philosophy behind it - but we understood that we were all praying to God to bless our place with good rains - we were in Ramanathapuram district, Sivaganga which does not see rains for years together.

The way he used to say OOzhi Mudhalvan uruvam, aazhi pol minni, valampuri pol Nindru ADRINDHU, and the word Udhaitha Sara mazhai is fresh in my memory. That is why I was so disappointed today to listen to the "raga" and not the essence of the prayer in Andal's heart. Remember, she is also from a dry area like Srivilliputhur where again rains do not come often. If it comes, it will thunder and drizzle and go away. So she must have felt from her heart the need for good rain and has put it as one of the foremost "demand" of hers - If you see, Ongai ulahalandha, there again she talks of rain - thingal mummari peydhu - in the next song She talks the type of rain she wants. Each song follows the other in a very logical way and that is why I love Andal.

Thanks to my Thatha who put the essence into our young minds!

Good luck!

Uma

PS: My name is Uma and my husband's name is Shankar - hence I am Uma Shankar :-)

Dec.19th Mrs.Gayathri to Uma :

Thank U mrs.Uma I do bring a lot of emphasis in AzhiPOl and OzhiMudalvan and sing a rain like neraval at Vazha ulaginil which begins as a drizzle and ends as a storm in concerts in fact in one Pondicherry concert a French man said the rendition reminded him of rain...So sad i could not do it in the rendition for Podigai...I thought I brought Yekkam and fervent prayer but missed other bhavas..That makes the rendition pavam..any way thank u for telling us about ur grandfather.My grandfather has instilled the Tiruvachagams in us the same way..For him Manikavachakar is God .may Andal bless the rest of the broadcast but not much u can do when it is recorded in two days flat...Thank u ,

Gayathri venkataraghavan

True artist - Mrs.Gayathri Venkataraghavan - ready to accept good suggestion, though coming from someone who does not know music.

Neengadha selvam niraindhelor empavai

Today is 3rd Thirupavai..

each word touches my heart, my soul... with the beauty of the Tamil in it and the meaning of the song.

OOngi Ulahalandha

Uththaman

Theengindri

Thingal mummari peydhu

Ongu perum sennel oodu kayalugala

poonkuvalai podhil pori vandu kanpatuppa

seertha mulai patri

vanga kudam niraikum vallal perum pasukkal

Neengadha selvam Niraindhelor empavai...

beautiful thought; beautiful words; best part is the concept - asking God welfare of the community and no selfish wishes for self and family...

I wish I lived in your era with you Andal...

Characters continued...

Met this gentleman in the train to Bangalore from Mumbai. He is an engineer working with MSEB for the last 20 years and his daughter is in 10th standard now.

He was talking about how the syllabus is good but the teaching is pathetic and how Tutorials make the students become parrots and not thinkers.

As I entered the train this man was sleeping in my berth and he told me that may be I cannot climb up to middle-berth ( which is his) and hence, he will have to use his middle-berth. I told him that in case he needs help, I can help by way of giving up my lower berth, but he need not say that I cannot climb to middle-berth. I gave my berth to him and he slept in my lower berth.

Next day he narrated his problem. On the rainy day in July 2006 when Mumbai was flooded with torrential rains, he was in his electrical sub-station at Mulund. There was a fire in his station and he really had nothing to do with it other than calling the fire department. He went out of his way in putting off the fire by jumping into the under ground cable trench and ran to switch off certain instruments, risking his own life. In the process he fell and damaged his spinal cord which in 72 hours made him totally paralytic.

With good treatment he had come out of the worst situation; but he cannot climb, cannot sleep in anyway he wants and is under medication. MSEB initially refused to pay for his treatment saying that paralysis did not happen while in office - but the same MSEB paid for treatment when a junior staff sent a sms to the board Chairman directly. Still he had to shell out nearly 5 to 7 lacs in getting himself back to whatever he is now.

Thank God for keeping me healthy!

Another young man with us in the compartment with a slightly damaged face then narrated his story. He was travelling with his family in Innova from Vijayawada to Hyderabad when his car hit a lorry and his face dashed against the stearing wheel with such force, his face was in pieces. His mother had too many fractures and he had to take care of her, forgetting his pain. But a good passer-by had rescued them and put them all in Apollo hospital Hyderabad. This man had spent 2 months in Apollo Hospital spending nearly 25 lacs. His mother is still undergoing treatment even after 8 months now.

He said that he realised the value of having all parts of the body in proper shape and having them all functional! Now he has decided to spend 1 week out of every month in a school for children afflicted with Autism. He said that he feels thankful to God that he came back to normalcy with only little disfiguration of face; as a gesture of thanks giving he does free teaching to autistic children.

At Bangalore, met a relative who is undergoing treatment for cancer. Money is not the problem - but the agony, tension and restlessness that goes with the treatment and the problems faced by everyone around the patient is something that cannot be understood.

The service tax issue which has put my financial health poorer had made me feel little depressed. Listening to the stories of these people made me realise that my problem is insignificant in comparison.

Thank God for giving me good health - physical and mental - financial health can be corrected with some more patience and good work.

Time to be thankful!

It is almost end of year and suddenly I realise that this year has gone real fast. Yeah, I remember the cold ( real cold - snowy)morning at Hazard, Kentucky when we wished each other happy new year 2009.

2009 started with Satyam scam in the financial - IT world - which shook everyone about the corporate ethics.

At personal level, I realised how relationships work - at crisis point and at happy points:-) Looks like wisdom came knocking at my door and I was left with no option but to become wiser. Learnt the true meaning of Vittu Vidudhalaiyahi.....
Learnt to take situations as it happened and not expect situations to happen as I want... learnt more acceptance, tolerance, understanding and yes, I am thankful to God for giving me all these wonderful lessons in not so harsh way....

Then came the Madoff scam which was more shocking to see how clever Jews can also be duped by another Jew... that was selective swindling at its best/worst!!

Waited for my academic qualification accredition in USA - how strange for us to expect them to say that what we have studied is worth something or equivalent to something that they know. I wonder how they will evaluate me in case I had done masters in Hindu Mythology or in Tamil Vedam!

Pleasant surprise came in the form of 124 credit hours given to my B.Com+ICWA and my GPA being 3.80+ out of 4. Thanks to Madurai University for having given me a sound foundation in commercial subjects!

Started preparation for CPA exam in Urbana, Illinois, sharing the apartment with my daughter and two more girls. New experience. Studying all day, cooking, cleaning,washing, shopping for vegetables, groceries and milk could not have been more interesting. I should admit that not a single day went without its own share of drama, suspense, thrill, laughter and learning.

Learning to live with 3 adults who are 30 years younger to me was fun and I think I could have done better in terms of relationship-building. I think I should grade myself at 3 out of 4 in this, whereas I should have tried to score 3.99 in this examination. Anyway, hopefully, if God gives me one more chance to practically apply understanding and tolerance to strangers, may be I will do much better and score better and make my maker proud of me!

Walking in 20 inch snow with normal shoes in unknown places, searching for bus-stops and looking for some shelter was something that kept my adrenalin pumped-up. Barnes& Nobles at Urbana used to be my camp-site from 11 am to 4 pm for many days. How I used to curse the bus service for taking away 1 dollar for a small ride! In India such distance would have attracted only 5 rupees and not 46 rupees. Nothing to beat our public-transportation, though it is not so clean. The rates in India are really people-friendly. Thanks to our State and Central Governments for the fantastic buses and trains that they run. They can be better is another point, but the fact that they are available for use by common man is what makes me thankful to our Government.
Thank God I am not born outside India!

I wonder why Prometric goofed up CAT entrance exam. I gave CPA exam through Prometric and I should say that they are meticulous, strict, follow rules absolutely, and are very very efficient.

ASHA at UIUC gave me the wonderful opportunity to make Carrot-halwa for their fund-raiser. For someone who has never cooked much in all these years, it was a challenge to make 100 cups of carrot halwa, that too during my exam preparation time. Frantically I googled for recipes and I got this Manju's kitchen where she demonstrates the preparation. Thanks to her recipe, I managed to make carrot-halwa for 4 consecutive ASHA fund-raisers. It was all the more thrilling when I came to know that carrot-halwa was a big-selling item on all those ASHA sessions.... thanks ASHA and thanks to all those volunteers who helped with scrapping the carrot and enthused me on my preparation.

I got to meet some lovely youngsters - who are all research students at UIUC and have reached there after so much of hardwork academically.

I should thank my relatives in USA for encouraging me on my attempt and for congratulating on completion. Special thanks to the Doctors for their continuous support - financial and moral!

Thanks also to Princeton friends for showing so much love to me who was not known to them at all till then.

So 2009 is year of completion of CPA! I am sure 2010 would start with my career getting into audit related work.

From 1991 till now, being in marketing related roles, has sort of made me talk more. I wish 2010 onwards I internalise my energies, talk less, look more and be a good and ethical auditor, thus preparing me for my next phase in my career. Assuming I will work till 2020, 10 years in audit would be something that I am looking forward to.

Thanks 2009 and welcome 2010!

Mothers and Daughters

I have recently met some pairs of M&Ds and I felt I must record my thoughts on this subject.

M&D 1:

M thinks that she is always correct and has trained her D to be a photocopy of herself. D's brain is totally full of thoughts of a person 30 years older. D dresses her age but thinks like M.

M does not even comprehend the fact that D has to be different from her and she has every right to think for herself and decide for herself and live a life for herself.

Doommmm........ things do not work with mind of 55 year old in the body of 26 year old.

M thinks that world has to understand that she is correct; she is not capable of comprehending that noone has any duty to understand her and think and live like how she wants them to be.

Problemsssss.................

M&D 2:

D is too independant and just pretends that she obeys her M. M knows that D is not correct, but is incapable of showing her love in the right way. M thinks that love and affection is in just preparing food and giving it in time.

Problemss............ D goes out of boundaries many times and blames everyone for whatever happens to her.

M&D 3:

M has made D her mental slave, all out of love. D thinks that it is best to be her M's slave than anything else in life.

M has not taught D that different people behave in different ways and it is little adjustment, little understanding, little sacrifice, little acceptance which all culminate in happiness at the end but lots of small and big difficulties in the beginning.

Hence D is encouraged to just walk out of her husband's place and be totally dependant on M and F along with her husband! They do not think that D and her husband should be allowed to live their lives the way they want it... the idea of "want" itself is so misunderstood, and M thinks that she is doing good to her D by just dictating everything! Funny........

PeeD Paraayi JaaNe re - continued

Read about Babar Ali of West Bengal who is the youngest headmaster of his own school of 800 students. His living is a shining example for Peed Paraayi JaaNe...

BBC had a special report on Babar Ali

By the way, NDTV, Zee and Star etc. have not captured his story even after BBC covered it... may be such stories of determination and conviction on ideals do not capture their imagination; Rakhi Sawant and her stories of mimicking motherhood is their type of story.

Here is the link to the BBC report:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8299065.stm

On my forwarding this, Jai, my cousin's wife has replied her own story along with that of her Professor, which again is very inspiring.

I have copy pasted it here:

My Professor Syed Ali who lived in an outhouse, took chemistry tuition classes most of it for free from 5am to 10pm [30 students in a 10x10 room] everyday enabling many of his students become Doctors, engineers, Ph.Ds, etc etc. He inspired me to take Chemistry as my life!

He was a pious Muslim, a bachelor, who died at 72 years when I was in the final year of my M.Sc He ate rice, rasam and roasted papad everyday for his lunch and dinner.No meat please!Boys in the age group of 15-18, who are not very responsible took the tuition fees from parents but never paid the Professor-hehehe. This Professor taught in St. Philomena's college Mysore,http://www.stphilos.ac.in/.

Look at the irony, all the years when my Prof was is service, he was paid Rs.3000 as salary, and the day he retired, UGC proposed a new scale and Profs got Rs.30,000 and more. All his colleagues and students felt very sad for him[he didn't care] and gave him a huge gift of few lakhs of rupees as they respected his service a HOD,a nice human being and a great soul! Lo, he turned that money with some money he saved, into charity, which educates many children who cannot afford education in Chennapatna, near Bangalore[even to date].

He did not get married, as he said he liked someone and could not get married to that person and that was it! I loved my Prof so much so that my father feared that I will get converted to Islam. At that point I would not eat in any other Muslim house,but for my Prof Syed Ali's as he cared for me. He was proud[it is not important here to mention why, and bore you all] of me and went on telling my success stories to all batches of students like many of my other Profs who were all very proud of me[I am blessed....].

I made him angry when I took Chemistry in my Masters, as he could foresee that even a smart and intelligent person in non-it stream takes more time and hard work to compete with computer oriented fields and make a decent living.He was more angry as, I also had a seat for MCA and could go with it as it was IT boom time. Hmmm,I have not seen my Grand father[father's father] and my Mom's father had too many grandchildren to care for!So, my old Prof was my friend, teacher, grandfather .... GODFATHER......

I told him, I will study chemistry and make him proud, I will teach for free like him in his place......[He shouted at me, he knew I could be that emotional and foolish-at that time I did not know much about outer world, I just knew him]. It was very shocking for me when I heard about his death as I just had a nice chat with him the previous day and another student of his who was a Doctor told us that he had no health problems at all. Next day was Id-Milad and he walked to the Mosque, prayed peacefully, came home had Kheer and his simple food and sat in the chair and left me alone...... He did not have the patience to wait for my GOLD MEDAL and Cash prizes[ I was not very lucky to get the gold medal instituted in his name in my Bachelors- I was just in top 5, there was not one in his name in Masters-I missed his name on my Medal].

I did keep my focus and did well, got my Medal, Prize, Rank Certificates went straight to his house[ my father was very angry, he felt insulted-I could not help, My Prof was resposible for all the chemistry I knew!]and kept everything in front of his Picture.Other people from his community would not let me teach there. This is a majority Muslim area 90% muslims.

I started my journey of teaching chemistry [though I was already working for CFTRI], free of cost to all our friends and their families[ who were struggling to pay college tuition and special tuition fees to get into ENGG or Medicine....]. I had turned down, Indo -Canada research fellowship, just to be in India and help people who need it.I did not enjoy being a teacher in particular, I enjoyed teaching Chemistry as nobody could do it as I did it! I became a threat to all senior teachers.I started hating all that, in school level teaching, PU level teaching, College chemistry, Masters teaching, teaching IAS and KAS folks my study circle.The government Policies, delay in things everything made me think, I SHOULD MAKE MY PROFESSOR HAPPY, by using my chemistry for something better.By then, I had completed my Ph.D,our struggle in the family was almost over, as all my sisters got decently educated and employed. After nine years of teaching from 8am to 8pm [6am-set up experiments in the lab, go back and check after tuition - 8pm] and using all my holidays for doing research for five years, I decided to transition completely into research.

I am proud of what I am doing, I am proud of my experiences in life which have made my personality, I know I have a long way to go and I know I WILL, I know I try to help educate people who have struggled for knowledge like me, I love simple life and WANT TO HELP ANY KID WHO WANTS TO STUDY.

You are another true Vaishnava who understands the PeeD of others!

Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama - Nobel peace prize 2009 - I am speechless! Or should I be more vocal and say more now??

Words enough than action? Words are very important when one is in a visible, audible position. Words of hope, words of faith in goodness is very important is what is announced to the whole world through this Nobel peace prize.

Thought comes as words, words become action and action makes the world.

Obama - President of US - winner of Nobel prize - all with his words. The right words used at the right place with the right persons - Power of Positive Words!!

Remarkable!!

My thoughts on smile and the visuals we leave for many on many occasions is on the same line...

Yes, what we get to see, what we hear and the persons at some positions making some right sounds and giving some right visuals - that is what will work on the mass psyche!

Obama is one of the luckiest, chosen son of Almighty! I wonder whether he was vocal about his thoughts as a student ??? I wonder when his journey with "words" really started and brought him to wherever he is now.

Keep going Obama! Do better... do what you say and may the world be a better place to live for billions of people from now on!

Mind Games

Today is Karva Chouth. I saw a large group of super-duper-dressed ladies coming out of the bungalow next to our Hyderabad office ( it belongs to one big industrialist manufacturing a particular brand of metal locks).

These ladies have observed it very faithfully for their husbands.. what about those who are not observing, like the South Indian ladies? If that does not apply to south Indian ladies, how will it apply to not-south-Indian ladies? What about the ones observed by SI ladies and not by the not-SI-ladies? confusing???

Extend it further - what about those who are not Indians and who do not follow such tradition. In that case, are the stories behind such vraths, are they real or created ones to keep the ladies busy? How relevant are they today? I mean, when a non-SI marries a NI man and vice versa? Will she observe or not?

AP flood relief

I do not want to spend Diwali wearing new clothes and eating sweets when thousands of people in Andhra Pradesh have lost everything in the floods. Kurnool, Cuddapah, Mantralayam, large parts of Vijayawada, Guntur is under water. I am sure that a lot of middle class and lower income group will be in maximum trouble - they would not have taken any insurance - many would have lost their lives savings - it is very sad when nature devasts the complete area.

I know that Ramakrishna Mission is always in the forefront in flood relief work wherever it happens. I went to Hyderabad centre of Ramakrishna Math and enquired in the office whether I can participate in any Shram Dhan! They said that they do not want ladies to come for such work as they cannot provide them with safe place to stay in the night. They specifically do not take ladies as volunteers as they had lots of trouble in the past managing a mixed team of volunteers! Hence a big no!

I wanted to know whether I can do any work in the back office by way of sending mails, collecting donations and maintaining accounts etc. He gave a look at me and said that they do not need women for any work! I asked what they will do in case Sarada Devi herself comes to volunteer - he said that even She will not be allowed as they have had enough trouble with ladies!

He gave me SBI a/c number of Ramakrishna Math, Cuddapah centre for sending money for the flood relief work. I wonder now what I can do to do some real front-line work instead of just giving some money and forgetting it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-p154XmF5w&feature=related

Smile please!

One full page release about the winners of the prestigious Aditya Birla Scholarship for the year 2009 in ToI or The Hindu. I like to read through the names to know the mix of winners and when I saw a very familiar name of a boy who lived really next door to us in Brindavan, Thane, I was happy for him and his family. This boy has done himself good by being the winner of many academic contests.

What intrigued me was - there was not a single person in the group who had a smiling face! After having achieved such a big contest and being one of the winner should definitely bring a small smile atleast to these young faces...

I turn the page and see another set of winners - this time - a set of 12 school children in the age group of 8 to 12 - winning some competition in the State level... again, not a single smiling face... all of them looking serious and to a large extent worried and troubled.

Now I started looking at the expression of anyone who is on the newspaper for a smile... I bet, I did not get a single smiling face, except that of Dr.YSR in some smiling and hand-waving pose!

My thoughts went to my cousin whose photos in various parts of the net-world show a very smiling happy face.. in real life he is a serious person who hardly smiles. I went ahead looking at the ämerican"faces in the internet and newspapers. They seem to have a standard rule that they should give a big happy smiling face if they are facing camera!

Even a not-so-happy-news given with a not-so-serious-face makes the reader not get worried!

In our country we seem to be giving the happiest news with the grimmest face! Smile folks, smile! At least when there is a happy moment, a proud moment!

Dan Brown, Bhagavad Gita and Hinduism

Kubera Kolam, Shiva, dot inside a circle are some of the things discussed by Dan Brown in his latest novel "The Lost Symbol".

Serious Dan Brown fans should not read this book, as you might lose respect for him. He has lost the story-telling knack; he does not know where to end the story; how to take it further; disappointing.

I feel like telling him to come to India and go around the 1000 + temples in Tamilnadu - the standing ones and the dilapidated ones too.... and see, what he can come up with on symbolism and religion etc. etc.

I hope noone makes this story into a movie - that would be another boring one. On the other hand, the monuments, buildings of Washington can be seen from a different angle if this book is taken as a movie! Let me wait and watch!

Yakshagana

Energetic dance with fantastic story-line, with very good make-up, poor costume ( not poorly costumed.. but less expensive material costume) performance from the heart of the troupe coupled with fantastic songs, energetic drums and simple stage-setting and involved audience....

that is Yakshagana from Mahaganapathi Mandali, Karnataka. Mr. K. Govind Bhat, the leader of the team who donned the main role of Mahishasura was too good. Why, each and every one of the performers was simply superb - an all-male troupe with the female roles also handled by men effortlessly.

Story of Mahishasura mardhanam by Devi who is given power by all 3 Devas - Brahma, Vishnu and Siva was told in the form of dance drama. The dancers have to speak dialogues also other than dancing. Each performer does a series of whirl-wind turns - something like a Kathak dancer, but unbelievably faster, swifter and with more grace. Audience clap and ( whistle) when the speed and the duration is longer! Just after completing it, the actor goes ahead delivering dialogue.. amazing!

Wikipedia has a full-fledged information on this dance form of India. It is a folk art and I wonder why it is not added as one of the classical dance forms of India. When Chau can become a classical dance, why not Yakshagana?

Here is the link to Yakshagana:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakshagana

Mahishasura while enacting the part where he rules over Devas, Asuras, Kinnaras was delivering dialogue spontaneously! He sort of commanded the person in the audience to sit with respect... such presence of mind and intelligence...

When Mahishasura enters the stage they showed fire emanating from his nostrils in a unique way and they came from the back of the audience area - walking through the audience area - children got frightened and ran helter skelter!! It was so real..

Some photos ( with the low-battery in my camera) taken are uploaded.

The best part was when Mr.Govind Bhat addressed the gathering requesting the patrons to patronise all the Yakshagana troupes and help them keep up the tradition. Normally, no artist will speak for another artist that too of the same clan! A lot of jealousy and criticism is what I have seen amongst dancers of Bharatanatyam and other classical dance forms. Here is a man who asks everyone that they should support the art form and not get partial to one artist or to one artist-group.

Mr.Govind Bhat mentioned that they perform for nearly 7 to 8 hours in the night when they take up some topics and if they find the audience interested... amazing! He went on giving names of the ballets they perform - almost every mythological story - sub-stories - again amazing!

He mentioned one more incident - when he met a child of 4 years old in his native place and asked the child where his father and mother are in Kannada language, the child has replied that she has nobody except mummy and daddy... the child did not recognise the Kannada equivalents of father and mother inspite of being a Kannadiga and living in the thick of Kannada speaking region. He said that he is worried that such way of bringing up the children will make them learn only Jack and Jill going up the hill and not the bravery of Bheem and Hanuman! He said that his small contribution in keeping the culture and tradition of our country alive is by conducting Yakshagana even if it involves a lot of physical and financial struggle! Such dedication - again amazing!

Is Government of Karnataka doing anything for this? What about the Cultural department of Central Government upto?

India is a rich country! Rich with so many art forms! Jai Hind! Long live such rare art and the artists!

Karu Manickam - Kannanennum Karun Deivam

Yesterday was Seasha Vahanam... I went there thinking it is Anjaneya Vahanam, which is today!

Lord Venkateswara in all His glory with gold, pearl, coral adorned all over Him, sitting on top of Adhisesha! As the Thiruveedhi is a short distance and a small place, they had to stop the procession every one step so that they can complete all the required maryadha to the King of Kings who is coming on Thiruveedhi Ula!

Divyaprabhandham, annamayya songs, Rig, Yajur and Sama Veda gosham, Venkatesa Gadyam and aarti for the Ula Nayakan.. He seemed to be smiling and enjoying all the attention... I spotted one of the Birla family ladies watching the procession and participating in the festivities. Blessed family!

I got to hear Gadyam after a long time... I had heard it as a child in AIR Vijayawada station which used to come very clearly in Madurai. I have not heard it afterwards anywhere.. it is a pleasure listening to the clear flow of good sanskrit in the voice of the Pundits... names of all ragas come and I was happy that I could remember some parts of the Gadyam.

I quickly searched for Gadyam in youtube and was pleasantly surprised to get exactly the one I was looking for! Thanks to the punyathma who had uploaded it, and here is the link to Gadyam... listen till the end to hear all the names of the ragas...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRMN3LbXO3M

The Prana of the God is into the Utsava moorthy now. Again, the concept of Moolavar and Utsavar is a very good one... those who are sick, old people, pregnant ladies, ladies with small children, those who have other problems due to which cannot go to temple ... thinking of these people, our religion came up with a solution by establishing Utsava Moorthy who goes on procession giving Darshan to those who cannot come to temple.

When He/She goes out, how can it be a simple thing? Even we want to go all decked up while going on a visit to friends and relatives... hence, He is decked up with all fineries, silk, jewellery etc. and goes in a grand way - Nadaswaram, melam, ( in my childhood days I have seen karahattam preceeding the deity - which used to be our main attraction) followed by Tamil veda pundits ( divya prabhandham / thevaram) and Sanskrit Veda pundits, Bhajan group.

He stops wherever people stop him with Kumbam and aarti and gives prasadam... what a beautiful tradition. It takes care of the economic, social, and religious needs of the society. There is no distinction of caste, creed or community... He goes to all the streets and stops everywhere and the people who carry him are from all communities. People happily do their respective roles. Tradition cannot be blamed if vested interest has corrupted the system!

Coming back to the Hero of this post, I was wondering whether I should visit the Moolavar when Utsavar is still on procession. Then I remembered that the grand-old-man of the house sits in the house and gives rights to the young members to do some parts of his role, which does not reduce his power! So, I decided to have Darshan of the Moolavar and went up.

He has got complete gold Kavacham and gold ornaments which are not used on a daily basis due to security issues. These 9 days of Brahmotsavam, the temple authorities bring it out and adorn the Moolavar with these fineries.......

He looks good on all days - but his black face with gold on Him looked extra beautiful; with red backdrop and lots of well-designed flower garlands; decorating the God itself is an art! Whoever had done it had done it so well... God seemed to be very happy and smiling. Definitely He is spreading positive energy with His presence.

I wonder how our people got this craze for fair-skin when God Himself is black and they can "see" that black is beautiful!

Anjana Vannan; Kondal Vannan; Andal's Karu Manickam and Karundeivam! Andal Thiruvadigalay Charanam! Periyazhwar Thiruvadigalay Charanam!

PeeD Paraayi JaaNe re

Vaishnava is one

who knows the pain of others... PeeD Paraayi JaaNe re...

who helps others in misery... Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare

who does not let pride enter his mind.. Man abhimaan Na aaNe re

Each line above is a gem to be adorned... thank you Narsinh Mehta for such beautiful verses, thoughts!

who has only praise for others... Sakala lok maan Sahune Vande

who never abuses anyone.. Nindaa Na kare

who keeps his words, actions and mind unaffected and hence pure.. Vaach Kaachh Man Nischal raaKhe

such Vaishnav's mother is blessed.. Dhan Dhan Janani teni re..

Beautiful verses.. each word is worth a trillion pearl... the gem on the crown is the last line; someone who has given birth to such a person is a blessed one; rather, only a blessed womb can give birth to such a soul.

I cannot take any more of this... this itself is so filling, I am overwhelmed; I cannot digest more... each sentiment in the above song is enough to make anyone a perfect soul. This kuraikudam has a long journey to reach the Niraikudam status... these words of Narsinh Mehta would lead me in the tough path!

I am blessed for having got these words, to understand that, to think of it....

Here is the link to this beautiful song in the voices of Pundit Jasraj, Shankar Mahadevan and others..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2qeHKVqh2w&NR=1

One more rendition of this beautiful song - Sonu Nigam at Harvard University:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCg7uFo9kRU&NR=1

Whoever sings this song, it sounds very good....... the same song in the golden voice of MS Amma:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3syJ9hfwh4

PeeD Paraayi JaaNe re is what touched me most! Next is Vaach Kaach Maan Nischal...

How difficult when not realised, but how easy once you are into it!

Characters - one more

Sayamma...

26 years old Karuppazhagi. Works as cook-cum-cleaner-cum-butler-cum-watchwoman-cum-friend-cum-caretaker for the owner of our Hyderabad office.

Since I am staying in the same building in the guest-house, she takes care of my work as well. She cleans my room, washes my clothes and brings food for me.

She loves talking. I am speechless when she talks, which is very rare, as I myself am a talkative person.

She has a girl child in village who is being taken care of by her parents and brother's family. She lives in her master's house. They take care of her very well. She is like a member in the family, but she does a lot of work from her heart and is a happy person.

What about her husband, as she has a daughter?? She says that she was married very early and she lived with her husband for 10 years - they had a daughter and he wanted a son. As she had some problem with her uterus they had to remove it and hence cannot conceive any more. That made her husband just abandon her and walk away from her and their daughter.

When he was with her also, he did earn and bring home money - but used to drink country liquor and abuse her and beat her. Hence she had to do some odd jobs or borrow money from brothers and parents and live a pathetic life. Once he ditched her, she was working as a farm-labourer in paddy fields, where she had to stand in sun for hours and transplant the paddy saplings. This made her weak and she fell sick.

That is when the wife of her present employer met her in her village and took her to Hyderabad to work as all that I said earlier....

This has happened to be a boon for her, as she has a decent home to stay, safety from unwanted attention of other men, food at all times, clothes new and old frequently and also entertainment in terms of television movies and programmes every day.. She says what else I need now?? True, she sends home money to her parents for her daughter's education and visits village once in 3 months and spends a day or two with her parents and daughter.

Recently she managed to spend 37000 rupees and buy a gold choker for herself. She showed me this piece of jewellery and asked me to wear for Dassera festival... I laughed heartily and told her that it looks better on her. She may not understand if I tell her that she deserves it more... hence I told her that she should wear it on festival day.

Yes, that jewel is for her boldness in accepting life as it was given to her and the fact that she is going to wear it on Vijayadasami day signifies her victory over her mean husband who wanted a son from her and dared to abandon her after using her for 10 long years!

Good going Sayamma... you are a role model for other such women in AP, yes, I know, that what happened to you is a regular feature in rural Andhra and many women are victims to the whims of men who call themselves their husbands!

Dilemma - Dance or Music

Malladi Brothers live concert (free entry) or Shobana's live dance programme ( ticketed) dilemma...

Dance won against music and I regret the decision.

Maya Ravan by Shobana has seen international stages - and - and - nothing to talk about it...

She has used some Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam movie songs in the ballet - nothing wrong - even Silapadhikaram verses are used in tamil movie love scenes... nothing wrong...

I was wondering whether it is her lack of knowledge of better songs with great lyrics in Telugu/Sanskrit/Malayalam/Tamil that she chose these pure movie songs for such scenes as Rama and Sita in private moments just with each other...and for Vanara sena's time with Hanuman etc.

Now first things first:

1. Naseeruddin Shah, Mohanlal, Jackie Shroff, Revathy, Suhasini etc. have lent their voices for different characters. Naseeruddin Shah as Ravana is too good... he could emote with just his voice.. I wonder whether Shobana understood the feelings that Naseeruddin brought out just with this voice.

2. Ravana is a great character - a Vedic pundit who could move Shiva with his earnest prayers and Veena. He is a scholar; musician; a good dictator who had his people ( rakshahs who are difficult to control) under his firm control; a great planner - the description of Lanka in Ramayana is something that city-planners should read and follow even today - a handsome good guy - his only mistake was Sita...

Shobana caricatured Ravana as a ridiculous joker with her walking and talking.... pathetic performance. I felt sorry for Ravana... he must be really turning in his grave...

Some scenes were so ridiculous that even the young Malayalee group sitting behind me were criticising... for example, young Sita and Rama discussing Rama's exile order... ridiculous imagination and ridiculous portrayal of the characters...

Such a famous dancer, with great looks, good dancing skills and connection in the film industry and with capacity to pull audience and advertisement and event-managers could have done a better job! I wonder whether she was so casual in all other stages while performing this or she took Hyderabad audience for granted... She was totally listless while dancing solo on stage - giving poses of a girl statue while enacting Ravana... ridiculous performance...

Some places I could see that she is simply lost and she was just managing some movements with her hips and hands as she had not come totally prepared.... I wonder, how a senior artist like her can come to Ravindra Bharati stage with such poor attitude about stage performance....

The troupe was good - everyone did their part well - except Shobana - if I have to give credit for imagination in choreography - it has to be the Vanara scenes where they all do lots of Kurangu Chettai....

Costumes for Rakshasis was good, but costume for Ravana as a Kapata Sanyasi was again ridiculous...

I felt insulted when she used Chinnamma chilakamma song for monkey-dance, that too at Hyderabad... there are such beautiful Telugu songs - even movie songs - which she had not used - even a single one at any scene - except this one Telugu song... Shobana... what do you think you were doing ??

She used a Tamil Sangam song to depict Ravana's condition while Rama is preparing for war... even that, that, was a pathetic show.........

Mandodari, Rama were another two poor performers who did not do justice to the character they were portraying.. Sita was totally ridiculous - I think the way the director has directed her had reduced her role to a listless entity... imagine, the heroine reduced to nothing..

Shobana in Pamela Rooks movie - Dance like a man - was 100 times better as a dancer, actor - as an artist. I went to this show with Shobana in my mind with that image of hers in my mind... I was disappointed!

Lesson learnt for me:

1.Never go by the names that the poster proclaims.

2.Go ready to be disappointed - donot expect great performance - keep an open mind - if you do not expect, may be disappointment will be less.

3. Trust traditional artist (Malladi brothers) rather than movie-artist ( Shobana) to entertain you. I felt very sad for my choice when I heard that Malladi performance was superb and out-of-the-world!

Ganesh Kumaresh Violin Duet

Small children running happily;

fire crackers cracking harmlessly;

flower-pots showeing thousands of colours in fire continuously;

water flowing calmly;

water-fall cascading from the top of a very high mountain;

a small mischievous boy teasing his mother with his pranks and the mother enjoying it though pretending to be troubled with all his pranks;

tired of the running around, going to sleep peacefully;

marbles hitting each other smoothly and making a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns;

running on a snow-covered peak not feeling the cold, but only the whiteness all over;

flowers of hundred colours falling from above with no design or pre-plan but forming natural patterns just by the simple act of falling down;

school-bell ringing and children running out of class-rooms laughing;

Temple bells ringing accompanied by the sound of Vedas being chanted in a gentle voice;

These are few of the feelings I got listening to Ganesh Kumaresh violin. They both are such happy people - the concert for 2 hours 30 minutes was full of happy - yes, happy moments - throughout non-stop - both laughing out while playing - talking to each other in soft tones with happy smiles - "sabhash"and "bhale"to the accompanying artists at the appropriate places - Oh My God! Million salutes to their mother! Enna thavam seydhanai!! Great musicians; 100% perfectionist; 1000% happy people - may be that is what makes their music divine.

Ganesh recited a Chidambaram Shlokam - a very difficult to say sanskrit shlokam with perfection for which Kumaresh played violin!

They played Ïndian"note unlike Ënglish"note as popularised by the great Madurai Mani Iyer.

Ganesh sang Govinda Bholo Gopla Bholo Ram Ram Bholo Hari Naam Bholo Allah Malik Eesa Nayak bhajan..

I am reminded of Swetha Raghavan, our neighbour in 62-B Brindavan Society, Thane, who used to sing this Bhajan in our Balvihar classes. Just the way she used to emote while singing this Bhajan - we all used to think that she is pretending, acting to emote - and it used to bring smiles to our faces - just for that we used to make her sing it every week and she used to enjoy that "limelight"... a real good childish child... I understand that she calls herself Swetha Srinivasa now and is in Australia doing very well in academics and aspiring to be a doctor! Great going Swetha! Good luck!

I think Ganesh chose to sing this song ( instead of just playing it on violin) as he wanted people to feel and understand the lyrics - Bhajan says, say any name, but say it with Prem and Shraddha - as all of them are the same - and they lead one to the same destination. How beautiful.........

I wish Ganesh Kumaresh live for 100 more years and give such divine music and enjoy good health wealth and prosperity!

Neyveli and Annavarapu continued

Balagopalam of Muthuswamy Dikshitar. He started it saying that the request to sing this song is from the Mridangist ! He mentioned that this song is very suited for Veena as the swara placing is so beautiful and sort of made for rendering in Veena. He specified "Vainika Gayaka Guruguha"to support this... he took this phrase for neraval. I am no expert in music but still I could sense the music flowing through all my senses and literally it took me to a trance status... all I had to do was just close my eyes and focus on the music.. that is it.. I was in a different level altogether; I had to come down with the Thani Avarthanam that followed.... I think he did a sort of better job now. Ghatam was good.

Govardhana Giridhara Govinda Gokula Palaka Paramananda was the next one with a Viruththam. This is by Narayana Theertha... and my first acquaintance with this song is that of seeing the LP record of Vyjayanthi mala in my college when I had to select a LP for a dance programme. Her eyes on the cover made me keep it aside.... it showed a searching.. an yearning.. and my dance Guru ( then) my cousin, Rengam and me discussed this song, the dancer, but not the song, as we both do not have knowledge of Sanskrit, which I regret even now.

Then Thirupughal in all its beauty was followed by Mangalam. The Pavamana Suthadu Pattu Padharavindham... the full song and not the shortened version!!

Pavamana Suthadu - Son of Wind God - Hanuman

Pattu Padharavindham - surrendering to the lotus-like feet of the Lord Rama...

Pattu cannot be just taken as "holding"... it is much more. Pattukotam in Telugu means so many things. The word Padharavindham also is such a beautiful word... the formation of the word itself brings the idea behind it and the meaning behind it...

Telugu is a beautiful musical language.. I am happy I can understand it to a large extent!

Thank you Neyveligaru for such a wonderful experience!

Chakri Toleti

Remember the small boy who is employed by Kamal Hasan in Sagara Sangamam to capture profile pictures of himself dancing and the guy goofs up.... some comedy scenes with this young guy capturing Kamal's bent position with only his pyjamas seen... :-))

The same guy has directed Kamal's latest release, Eenadu, a remake of A Wednesday. Kamal is doing the part portrayed by Naseeruddin Shah. I am waiting to see this movie.. may be in another two days when the crowds get little reduced, I have to watch this movie.

I am happy that this is a crowd puller and the theatres are full... good going Kamal.. you deserve more!

Link to Chakri Toleti's interview:

http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/09/21/stories/2009092150730400.htm

Neyveli Santhana Gopalangaru & Annavarapu Ramaswamygaru

Annavarapu Ramaswamy, the famous violinist, who had accompanied vocalists like Mangalampalli BalamuraliKrishna and the great GNB was honoured with the title "Violin Ratna" by Nada Tarangam Trust, Hyderabad on 15th Sept.09 at the Megal Music festival that they held at Keyes Girls High School, Secunderabad.

It was a very small gathering of hardly 200 people, for such a big city like Secunderabad! It was not a holiday could be one reason - or is the interest for carnatic music reducing?? One more observation is, the crowd (if I can call it so) consisted of 80% old people in the age group of 60+.

What does that indicate?

Anyway, Annavarapugaru spoke after the felicitation. The gist is : he started his career/learning as a vocalist but shifted to Violin. Mangalampalli is the one who gave him a lot of confidence, encouragement and made him what he is today! He went on acknowledging his Guru for his career as a violinist and mentioned that on the same stage he had played for GNB in 1950s. He spoke about continuous practice and involvement in music.

Instead of 7 pm, the main concert started at around 7.40 pm. Neyveli was in his usual form - but I felt that the accompaniment was no match to his level. The whole concert had to be dominated by him - the mridangam especially was so pathetic. He went on adjusting the shruti but there was nothing matching the vocalist's flow. Violin was just alright - Neyveli went on encouraging him and making him play better. He had to literally tell the violinist what to do, as he was just giving shruti to him and not playing along with Neyveli.. a poor show, as far as the mridangam and violin were concerned. Ghatam was just alright - nothing bad, but nothing great. Ghatam player was the organiser and hence I think, his son was playing Tanpura.

Coming to the concert, Neyveli started with Patnam Subramanyam Iyer's Abhogi Varnam - Evvari Bodhana - wonder which language the composer spoke? Could he be a Telugu speaking person? But Ïyer" is slightly misleading, as it is used by Tamilians. Or could it be that, as the prevailing music world at his time was dominated by Telugu lyrics, he also wrote in Telugu?

http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/Homepages/shivkuma/personal/music/varnams/evvaribodhana.pdf

That is the link to this thana varnam. Varnam - in dance as well as in music is the piece where the artist shows his versatility in different speed while bringing out the beauty of the ragam.

Next was Kanchadhalayadakshi Kamakshi of Muthuswamy Dikshithar in Kamala Manohari ragam. This is a beautiful kriti

Raga Sasi Vadhanay... was elaborated. Though I am not an expert in raga, I felt as though Neyveli is decorating the Goddess with gems, pearls, corals and checking whether each jewel looks on Her and then adding more and more to make the jewels shine more by being adorned by Kamakshi. Somehow this thought came to my mind and I felt that every swara prasthabam he did fit into this imagination of mine..

Kanchi Nivasinay.. Mandha hasinay... beautiful. What lyrics, what selection of ragam, and what rendering. I am blessed !

Next was Thelisi Rama Chinthana .. in Poorna Chandrika. Thyagaraja says that the name Rama is to be chanted with understanding. He takes few words - Rama, Arka and Aja which mean different things. Rama also means woman! He calls woman as "chapalakshulu" :-(

But I think I agree with him... women have more chapalam and hence their eyes are wandering with chapalam, and hence akshalu ( eyes) with chapalam.

Arka means tree as well as Sun! Aja means goat as well as Brahma!

Hence he says that at least for a minute the mind should be focussed on the real Rama and then one should utter his name with conscience! Otherwise, just chanting the name of Rama with thoughts wandering from Illinois to Mumbai to Hyderabad is no use !!

Hence, Sivakamasundari... thelisi Rama Chinthana Cheyavay!!!

Here is the link to get the meaning of this song:

http://www.sangeetasudha.org/thyagaraja/t.html

Then was Eti Janmamidhi Oh Rama Rama... true, very true, what is this Janmam where it is spent not having enough time to enjoy the sculptures, the dances, the music, paintings and just fly around all over the world enjoying the beauty of nature!

Next was Nalina Kanthi Raga alapanai followed by Manavyalakim...

I wonder why he chose all Telugu songs to sing in Hyderabad. His pronounciation is very good, but still, I found one lady in front of me, commenting on it with little disappointment. Though I would not know how far she is correct, I suppose, when someone sings a song which is not his native language, there ought to be some small mistakes... God knows! Anyway, his patience was continuously tested by the violinist and mridangist and then by the microphone guys as well.. He carried on with patience and when he saw some people leaving, mentioned in Tamil, ëllorum sendhu vandhom.. sendhey aththukku pohalam. pinnala irukkarava ellam munnala vandhu utkarungo.."

If this is the situation for a A grade singer of carnatic music, what to say for budding artists? They have to just go on with their own interest and never expecting audience support.

to be continued....................

Aditya Karikalan and Rajiv Gandhi

This could be the 6th or 7th round of my reading PS - yes, Ponniyin Selvan. Whenever I have time, and feel like "reading"and not "seeing"something, I look for books - authors - sometimes, I find it boring to start a new book. Because, once I start reading a book, I feel compelled to finish reading it and it can prove to be a laborious process, if the writing does not match my taste!

At such times, PS comes to my rescue. I have a pdf version downloaded and kept ready in my laptop - this has to be just opened to travel back in times of Kings and Queens, palanquins, scheaming Mandiravadhis, Drogikal, benevolent temple builders, religious queens, beautiful princesses and horse-riding princes.

Kalki has his style of talking to the reader and making the reader feel like a participant in the story. Alwarkadiyan, Vandiyathevan, Arumozhi, Aditya Karikalan, Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, Aniruddha Brahmarayar, Sundara Cholar, Kundavai, Vanathi, Ravidasan and even Soman Sambavan sort of characters - all have their unique features, style, mind... many have attempted writing history based novels, imitating Kalki. But no one, NO ONE has come even near him.

Today I am in the chapter where Aditya is going to be murdered. This is the 8th time I am reading this book and I know what is going to happen. But still, my heart beats faster, my mind is feeling sorry for Nandini and Aditya Karikalan. Handsome Prince charming, with valour and good intellect who feels tormented for past mistakes and wants to redeem himself. But life does not give him second chance - his father never comes to stay in his Pon Maligai while Aditya was alive; his sister Kundavai is more partial to Arumozhi than to Aditya. His parents are self-obsessed with themselves and in the future of Chola Naadu than to worry about their son. His maternal grandfather is the only one who understands him, feels for him and is concerned about him. But alas, he also is far from him and Aditya's fate leads him to his end.

Aditya Karikalan's death is a puzzle in history. Many have attempted to solve it with the available kalvettu, copper-plates etc. But, in absence of concrete evidence, the needle of suspicion moves and can touch any character in the story (real life) except his own parents.

Similar to Aditya, Rajiv Gandhi also did not want to rule. He wanted to lead his life away from his power-hungry mother and brother. No one had any aspiration about his future. But he was crowned ( Aditya got Yuvaraja title on him) and had to get into politics.

Both got murdered - while in the prime of their youth - suspicions, investigations etc. will not bring back the dead.

In fact, the CBI officer who was involved in Rajiv Gandhi assasination investigation looked at Aditya Karikalan's murder case and tried to find out the culprit and has written articles in the PS yahoo group!

The fact remains that a royal family murder of the crown prince is unsolved for now 1000+ years. Power makes history creators, makers to cover up things. No one will ever know who killed AK and how.

Mysterious death! I can think of one more death of a near and dear one in this category! What use?? AK, RG or GJ will not come back to life with the findings of the truth!!

1000 pillars

That is 1000 pillar temple at Warangal - Hanamkonda. Are you thinking where are the 1000 pillars?

Have you visited Ayiramkal Mandapam in Madurai and counted the pillars? Could you count 1000 pillars there? Then why the name?

I got answers for these in a beautiful temple of Vishnu in Tadpatri, Andhra Pradesh. The temple Archaka doubles up as tour guide explaining the various sculptures in the temple. He showed two pillars in the main hall of the temple and called it "Vaisthambalu"and explained the concept.

A pillar is made wherein 1000 small pillars are carved all around it. 10 rows of pillars on the one big pillar - with each row having 10 sthambams and each sthambam having 10 sthambams on it.. got the calculation? 1*10 equals 10; 10*10 equals 100; 100*10 equals 1000. Amazing... not the calculation :-), but the idea of coming up with 1000 pillars on one pillar!

Now, wherever you see 1000 pillar, take a closer look and you will be pleasantly surprised to see that the sculptor had poured his heart out and made a magnificent sthambam.

Thanks to the Tadpatri Archaka and millions of salutes to all those sculptors who conceived such a grand idea and executed it... I should add the great Kings who patronised such art!

Andhariki Vandanamulu!!

Laddu..sweet laddu

That is the picture of Tirupati laddu in preparation. Nearly 1.25 lacs laddus are prepared and distributed everyday in the Tirumala Hills after being offered as Naivedyam to Lord Balaji.

So, how does it help someone associated with the Devasthanam? I thought may be he will get some extra laddus paying nothing or little less.

I am wrong. There is more to it than common people like me can perceive, or rather say, taste?

It can come out as a shopping mall in districts of AP. It can come up as private colleges in AP.

Now, whenever I get to eat Tirupati Laddu it might leave some taste other than the sweet taste also in my mouth!!

All one needs is to become a power-broker in the right place with right contacts. I went on rolling my eyeballs on hearing the news first time when I heard it, and I think I can do some eye-movements better than any famous dancer as a result!

Power, money corrupt... corrupt anything and everything.

Vande Mataram! Bharat Mata Ki Jai! Tirupati Balaji Ki Sweet Jai Jai!

Characters

I have been travelling a lot these days and come across a lot of people. I love this. I love meeting people, talking to them and trying to know what goes in their minds. It is interesting for me.

Bus from Tadpatri to Prodattur, I got a seat to sit with the help of my colleague who rushed into the bus fast and "reserved"a place for me with his bag. It is fun travelling by APSRTC buses in rural Andhra. The conductors have hand-held terminals using which they issue ticket and give a print out! Some buses have only the driver who issues ticket on entry and drives the bus non-stop - point-to-point. APSRTC buses are clean and well maintained. I am happy to see such good transport facility to common public!

Coming to the point, a very young girl - almost child - was sitting next to me. I put on my sun-glass as I am not able to take the harsh heat there. This child got curious and I could sense that she is dying to talk to me. So I asked her "perenti"... she was so thrilled to be talking to me ( I was so happy to give such open happiness to someone with so little effort). Rajani is her name. I asked for her full name - meaning with surname. She replied S.Rajani, which is not to be expected, as in AP you have proper surnames unlike Tamilnadu. I asked her again what the S stands for. She said it stands for Sanapindi - which means besan( hindi) in Telugu and she gets teased for this surname it seems. We both giggled like small childlren and said that is a nice way to get noticed in a group - when you have a funny odd surname! She was so happy to get that comment and started telling me her story. She had just passed X standard with 473 out of 600 and her father is too happy for this and wants her to become an officer in the Thermal power plant in her town!

Her father was sitting next to her. She said he is a farmer. I started speaking to him and he was happy to reply. He grows Thurdhal in his land and til-seed crop sometimes. His wife helps him in the field. His son passed X standard - but is not so studious as his dear daughter. I could sense his pride and affection to his daughter in his eyes. His sons opted to join the nearby factory in lorry-weighing department and earns Rs.1500/- per month working 3 hours a day. He does odd jobs in the available time and has managed to buy a Colour Television and Fridge(!) on instalment basis in the last 3 months. Quick actions - I thought.

She got admission in the Government Polytechnic in Vijayawada. She has to stay in the hostel sharing the room with others. I asked her what is the difficult part in this "free"life of being away from parents! She did not really understand the question, as she wondered where is the question of freedom... I know that it is a difficult concept for a child of her age, as she herself still feels that the protection of home is the best thing that can happen to anyone...

She has to plait her long hair herself - is the only difficult part, and of course, she misses her parents and brother in the hostel. In fact, she was home, as the college itself has given one week of leave for the first year students as "home-sick-leave"... strange though!

I asked her what she wants to be. Prompt came the reply, that she wants to work as an officer in the Thermal power plant of her hometown. Yeah, that is what she has seen all her 16 years and that is what is the "big world"for her.

Drifting from the world of this Prodattur girl, my thoughts come back to my thoughts when I was her age. What did I know of the outside world? What was my ambition? What I wanted to be?

Frankly, all I wanted was to be able to earn a lot of money so that me and my family should never face shortage. That is all I wanted; how I had not given thought. I knew that I had to study well and then things will fall in place. Again, what study, where, how, what is the way - nothing. No awareness.

Compared to Uma of 1976 in Madurai, Rajani of 2009 Prodattur is better informed and better focussed!

Let me conclude with the thought, is the world shrinking for the children, or expanding?? Is it same for city children and village children??