Bhavayami: The Kriti That Defined Carnatic Music for Me

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I’ve often confessed how musically incompetent I am. I have no idea about  thālams  or  ragams , nor even the basics of whether a singer is off  shruti . And yet, music, especially the music of M. S. Subbulakshmi has been a constant companion throughout my life. Every morning and evening of my childhood, MS’s voice filled our home with the  Vishnu Sahasranamam ,  Hanuman Chalisa , or  Suprabhatam . Those slokams reverberating through the walls became part of my everyday rhythm. For my mother, who was deeply religious, devotional music was inseparable from life itself. And though I never grasped the nuances of Carnatic music, devotion seeped into me through those sounds. MS had a unique quality in her renderings. She didn’t just sing, she seemed to be standing in the presence of divinity. When people say a true musician never dies, I understand it. Their body may pass, but their music becomes immortal. For years, I kept a respectful distance from Carnat...
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What's cooking up?

So, here we are, a bunch of four gluttons, ready to devour almost everything in the world provided it is absolutely vegetarian. What do we cook today? is a question that gets our taste buds rollicking. To be honest, we are not bad cooks either. From Sambar to elimichapazham (lime) rasam, semiya (vermicelli) upma to godhuma ravai upma, everything has come out highly edible. We are getting the basic ingredients right to match our ever-demanding appetite. It was just a matter of a couple of days, and we were getting bored. We tried to shift the protocol to something slightly different and jeera rice it was. We were absolutely bang on target. It was perfect and different from what was cooking up every other day. What surprises all of us is that whatever gets cooked, doesn't last for more than a course of meal. The quantity does not matter, but the quality definitely does! No wonder it beats us as we tend to realise the quality of food thats being prepared. Is it that good? To top it all, we have got ulundu and arisi appalams that when roasted on the gas, adds a new dimension to the rich aroma of South Indian food. The ghee soaked ven pongal whet our appetites to new limits.

Talking about food all along, I am reminded of a wonderful quote by the legendary Mark Twain

Eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside!
And that's exactly what we are upto!

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