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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Ta Ta Maran

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No Pharmacy, no problem! Go find a Pepsi!

What has one got to do if all the pharmacies are closed, and he has to buy a condom? Go to the nearest shop and get hold of a pepsi and empty its contents. Lo and Behold! you have a condom(not sure whether it is a used one or not) tucked in there. This is what one of the residents of Ujhani village near New Delhi, India found out after consuming one of the two Pepsi bottles he bought in 2003. Pepsi tried its level best to be acquitted from the case, but the court ruled in favour of the customer. The customer is now compensated with one lakh rupees (less than 2000$). Pepsi will soon be coming up with a You never know what you get contest. Buy a pepsi and get something free will be the punchline of Pepsi in the future. What I fail to understand is how people like Shahrukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar endorse a brand that can be so dangerous to the common man. There are so many people who follow them and it is a shame to see them capitalize so much without any regard to social concerns. We have a million fans running behind them! Such is the state of affairs!

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/apr/26cola.htm

Rai's woes

The media is so fond of Aishwarya Rai that it creates headlines when the news does not deem even columns in the supplementary paper. While she was shooting for Mani Ratnam's latest movie Guru, she fell off from her cycle and suffered minor bruises. Oh my God! This has resulted in national disaster with all the top papers vying for her attention, and even some top people going and meeting her in the hospital (now why hospital for bruises?). It is high time the media knows what to display in the main page rather than worry about trivial issues bearing not even an iota of importance.

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  1. AnonymousApril 27, 2006 at 9:33 AM

    P.Gopichand turned down a lucrative endorsement contract with Pepsi saying " I dont drink it. I dont think its good for your health and I dont want children and others to drink it just because they see me endorsing it." That alone makes him stand head and shoulders above all the moneygrubbing sports persons and actors that endorse any damn thing if the price is right.

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