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Showing posts from June, 2008

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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The Open era

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My tryst with the game of tennis began way back in the late eighties, when the solitary source of information and entertainment, the Doordarshan , telecast the two of the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon and the French . It was not feasible for the US and Australian open to be shown due to the daunting time difference, and it was a fascination to know that there were other games apart from cricket. Boris Becker had become an household name, what with his unbelievable dives and ripping tennis, that evoked those lovely oohs and aahs from the audience, leaving everyone speechless and spellbound. There was always a mini battle at home, with my mother siding up with Lendl and Edberg , while my dad let his loyalty rip towards Becker. They had their fair share of happiness, as Becker beat Edberg in the '89 Wimbledon finals, while Edberg gave it back in the subsequent year in an incredible five setter. Pic: Steffi Graf, with one of her numerous trophies It was a start of the open er...
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A/S/L?

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As the late nineties witnessed a massive shift from the conventional protocols of communication to the internet, almost everybody wanted to give a piece of his mind on the new find. Everybody was talking in fancy jargons, and I was feeling out of place. Only some of my tech savvy friends had an idea of what a browser is, and would make it a point to discuss it, the intricate details of chat, messenger and other things that would be known to them in the most superficial way. The others would look upon them as if they had conquered the world, mesmerized by their half knowledge. Maybe I was too naive to understand the technological revolution happening around me, but I tried to work my way through it as slowly as possible. First of all, I felt there really was no need to go about learning the internet, since at that time, it really did not impact my life in any way. So, it was a slow start in the world of computers for me, as I was slowly exposed to the big bad world of connections....
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