Small is Beautiful

Another Freedom lecture time for Samanvaya and I normally look forward to be  part of the celebration and contribute  a wee bit. In my process of reinventing myself, Samanvaya team under Ram has a primary role! I rediscover my singing ability and every year, I gain a little more confidence to sing in front of people. This year, I realised, I couldn't do that as I had a severe cough! But then, I felt I had to give something for the day

and worked myself into a frenzy calling for help to find a poem or verse on the theme, 'Small is Beautiful'.

A friend of mine mentioned  about those tiny dots metamorphosing into a beautiful and intricate Rangoli' design. That set into motion- my stringing together words into a verse.Never thought that it would strike a chord with many people there! Here, At the request of one of those people, I am posting it here with a little explanation. Let me make it clear that all the situations/similes found in the verse are ideas of great poets like Valluvar, Bharathi and others.

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Even a small patch of water can reflect the moon in the sky;

The beginning of a huge Peepal tree is in a small seed;

Tiny little dots come together into a big design;

Like a Goliath felled by a David, a small force can

defeat a huge army with the timely moves and strategy;

similarly, a venture begun with conviction and confidence in self

will certainly bring success and success can be infectious-

a small spark can set off a big fire as Bharathi has mentioned!

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சிறு முயற்சி என் முதல் முயற்சி 

குளமோ சிறிது - ஆயினும் அது 

காட்டுது , வட்ட நிலவதனை.

ஆலமரமோ பெரிது, விரிந்த நிழற்குடையது,

பிறந்தது , சின்னஞ்சிறிய விதையில்! 

வெளி வாசலில் விரிந்த கோலம், அது,

சிறு புள்ளிகள் செய்த மாயம்!

அசைந்து வரும் பெருந்தேர் - அது,

உருளுவதோ, சிறு அச்சாணியால்!

தோற்று விழலாம், பெரும்படை கூட - தக்க 

நேரத்தில் தாக்கும் சிறு படையால்!

ஊக்கமும், உறுதியும் துணையாய்த் தொடங்கும் 

முயற்சி அது சிறிய பொறி தான்! 

பெரு நெருப்பாய் எரியத் தடை என்ன!

பாட்டிற்கொரு புலவன் பாரதி சொன்னது போல் 

"தழல் வீரத்தில் குஞ்சென்று மூப்பென்று முண்டோ?

தத்தித்திரிகிட தத்தித்திரிகிட தத்தோம்!" 

The first little step!

Another Freedom lecture time for Samanvaya and I normally look forward to be  part of the celebration and contribute  a wee bit. In my process of reinventing myself, Samanvaya team under Ram has a primary role! I rediscover my singing ability and every year, I gain a little more confidence to sing in front of people. This year, I realised, I couldn't do that as I had a severe cough! But then, I felt I had to give something for the day
and worked myself into a frenzy calling for help to find a poem or verse on the theme, 'Small is Beautiful'.

A friend of mine mentioned  about those tiny dots metamorphosing into a beautiful and intricate Rangoli' design. That set into motion- my stringing together words into a verse.Never thought that it would strike a chord with many people there! Here, At the request of one of those people, I am posting it here with a little explanation. Let me make it clear that all the situations/similes found in the verse are ideas of grat poets like Valluvar, Bharathi and others.

*********************************************************************************

Small is Beautiful

Even a small patch of water can reflect the moon in the sky;
The beginning of a huge Peepal tree is in a small seed;
Tiny little dots come together into a big design;
Like a Goliath felled by a David, a small force can
defeat a huge army with the timely moves and strategy;
similarly, a venture begun with conviction and confidence in self
will certainly bring success and success can be infectious-
a small spark can set off a big fire as Bharathi has mentioned!





  


  

Proud moments

Youth looks at the world with enthusiasm and every day, each moment is new and alive for the young. Walking the path of life with a partner or a full boisterous gang or going it alone – does it matter when you are young? But, you cross the mid life mark; there lurk all of life’s irritations, problems to attack you! Post retirement period for some people is not necessarily a peaceful time. Financial worries nag some of them and yet another group may be faced with creaky and worn out limbs and joints. But the grand daddy of all these problems is loneliness and the feeling of being left out.

I am glad to be associated with colleagues who are sensitive to this issue and what more- have the drive and initiative to give a form and shape to their thoughts!

So, here we are – a bunch of DAV teachers (mostly out of service due to retirement) who have come together to form our association, to share our thoughts and feelings and to be there for our old colleagues in times of need. It gives me immense joy to see that some of our students want to lend a helping hand.  As one of the colleagues pointed out, our association may be the first of its kind in this part of the country.

Why do I say so? When our neighbor came to know of this, he appreciated it and he immediately brought out a Mumbai- based magazine-‘Harmony-the magazine for silver citizens’. Its January, 2011 issue carried an article, ‘Guru Dakshina’. It is surprisingly about a similar action (of caring for the senior teachers) but from the other end-students.

The alumni of kolkata’s South Point joined hands to establish a ‘not-for-profit-association called ASPEXS (Association of South Point Ex-students) in 1995.

“We learnt how to walk holding their hands, now let us give them ours”, says a practising charted accountant and a student of 1981 batch.

True to the reputation of the school, many former students are successful in life at present as doctors, lawyers or teachers. Despite their demanding lives, they feel they should pay their debts to ‘those who made them see magic in mathematics, lyrics in literature and heroic characters in history’

CARE wing- a branch of the ASPEXS has also come into existence ‘to provide emotional support and companionship to teachers in the age group of 60-85; to make them feel part of a large and extended family’

Some of the ex students have observed that ‘prolonged interactions have resulted in strong bonds of trust and dependence’. It was so moving when I read that the teachers, like parents, eagerly await the visit of their students turned children.

I feel (I think that applies to all my fellow teachers) that the most joyful and exquisite moment in our lives is when one of our students/children remember and seek us out after a long time. In a way, we are blessed to be amidst young people and to be constantly sharpening our wits and it keeps us alert and young mentally.

An external trigger pushed me into the profession, no doubt, but I’ve found my calling in the constant interaction with the young minds. I cannot visualize myself in any other professional garb. Thank you, my children, particularly boys (?!!) for giving me a fresh lease of life! 

(The link for the magazine is: mag@harmonyindia.org)       

   

Music Divine

Music lovers in Chennai need not wait for December alone for listening to regular and more dose of classical music. We get to listen to artists round the year now and then, here and there. It is like the rains in Chennai - occasional cloud bursts and summer thunder showers followed by brief visits (sometimes long spell!) of cyclonic depressions through the months of June, July and August bringing in their wake, the retreating and north east monsoon to complete the year- music programmes go on and slowly the tempo builds up and the city gears up for the season which more or less coincides with the much needed winter rains. (Can't help that input of Geography!)

Year after year, the more number of 'Sabhas' crop up and vie with each other to present the leading and popular artists to the people. Sometimes during the peak of the season, one would be faced with the problem of choice as which 'sabha' to go to.

Attending programmes almost daily for about a month, I cannot give individual account of each and every concert though I remember most of them rather the impact they had on me. I am not a great music scholar or critic to analyse the technical aspects. I merely want to express my thoughts and feelings.

It was like all the restricting chains came apart and I was a liberated spirit soaring high when I listened to the Sahana and Saveri essayed by Ranjani and Gayathri. That was during November, honouring Papanasam Shivan. Their Kamboji  later during the season was a gem! Some times it sounded like the river in full spate, sometimes like a gentle mountain stream, its cool waters soothing the aching feet of the wanderer or at times like the gurgling sound of pebbles carried by the swift river.

Margazhi Maha Utsav with its thematic concerts is special as every artist researches and presents a programme with interactive moments in between. Sanjay simply excels in bringing out the beauty of ragas like Karaharapriya, Sankarabaranam, Thodi or Kamboji. His voice effortlessly travelled to the higher octaves and dipped down lower and kept the audience spellbound.His voice sounded sometimes like the trilling of violin and at other times like the flowing notes of nagaswaram. If his Karaharapriya and amirkalyani were like beautifully sculpted figures, it was Begada which was an emotionally uplifting experience.

With honey soaked voice, Gayatri Venkatraghavan spun a magic and ragas came alive when she dealt with them.My vivid imagination transported me to some place high up in the Himalayas with the snow clad, majestic peak looking down on me drawing and pulling myself into the unlimited vastness when she outlined Kamboji. When the 'aalapanai' brought before me 'Kailash' and the magnificent linga , the Krithi- 'O.. Rangasayee' took me in front of Ranganatha.

Now, so many impressions, feelings vie with each other to be put in words, I do not know which to choose. I cannot but mention TMKrishna's concert which was exhilarating!. His raga essays were simply beyond words. More than anything, it was the dialogue he and Embar(violin) had through their sangathis that was the highlight of the concert. An uplifting experience at the same time, a brain teaser it was!  Sudha's 'ragam-tanam-pallavi 'சங்கராபரணனை அழைத்தோடி வாடி கல்யாணி, தர்பாரில்'  was scintillating with her voice smoothly gliding from one raga to the other. It was again, Embar on the violin who replied her with elan.When Sudha took up the theme, ஷ்யாமலனும், சாம்பனும்' for the Margazhi festival, she took us on a pilgrimage to Chidambaram, Thiruvananthapuram, திருவானைக்கா, Srirangam, Kanchipuram and Mayiladuthurai enabling us to have the Darshan of both Siva and Vishnu. A perfect blend of the typical krithis of Thyagaraja, Swathithirunal and Dhikshither with the hymns of தேவாரம் மற்றும் திவ்ய பிரபந்தம் it was!When she sang about Ranganatha swinging on the 'oonjal', it was as though He was listening to her, sitting right in front of her, gently moving the swing to the rhythm of her song!

I want to share about the perfectly classical concert by Hyderabad brothers, the soft soothing voice of Jeyashree singing 'Mandu', sangathis and briga of TV Sankaranarayanan bringing Mani Iyer alive, the brilliance of young AbishekRaghuram and Oh!.... many more such moving moments! 

Before it gets too technical and exclusive, I think I should sign off. Let me pose a question here(one persistent doubt0 to whoever would like to respond to it:- why do I see river Kaveri on a moonlit night during early spring when I listen to a melodious piece of music? why a magnificent sketch of 'thodi'/ 'bhairavi' bring an image of a dark imposing silhouette of a fort or a temple tower in front of me?or why does the graceful rendition of Kalyani lifts me up to vast space along a mountain slope (in particular, the Himalayas)?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

The Music Season is here!

It all begins with the onset of festival and pooja season in the Tamizh month of Aadi(July/August) in Mylapore: the excitements, craft fairs, crowd and more crowd, reduction sales, golu bommai display, competitions and of course the ‘kutcheries’(concerts)-the cultural extravaganza characteristic of this place.

 Mercury levels slowly dip and that wonderful nip in the air announces the arrival of ‘Madras winter’?! People plug their ears and wear monkey caps, and the Mylapore ‘maamis stylishly drape a shawl around their shoulders – all to take up their respective ‘winter’ activities. Mylapore in its special way gets ready to welcome the cool and pleasant December with every Sabha and concert hall gearing up for the Music Season. The Newspapers carry a special ‘season supplement with music reviews and not to lag behind, the Tamizh weeklies have their own column for critically reviewing the performances.

Even after a year and half, it gives me such thrill to be in the midst of all, soaking up the cultural fervor! I packed my days with as many programmes as I can accommodate. (at least one per day). But, there were pre- season programmes- curtain raisers for the main season – which I could listen to because I live in Mylapore.

When I was in my teens, I used to have such longing to listen to classical music of those legends like,M.S, M.L.V and many others. This remained as an unfulfilled desire for a long time. Thanks to the patronage of All India Radio to all classical music that I was able to enjoy the broadcast of the concerts those days but Law of Increasing Returns was in force! More of those radio programmes I listened to, more was my longing to listen to a full concert!

I have been a ‘Chennai Vaasi’ for the last 25 years or so but my long time desire I could attend to only for the last 7,8 years. I cannot but remember Shri. KS V with a feeling of respect and a sense of loss, for it was him who made it possible for me to respond to the call of my heart initially. He perfectly understood my love for music and happily gave entry pass for one of the Sabhas in Mylapore. Now, the association with the Sabha continues and to my heart’s content, I sit and listen to the musicians perform!

This time, it is not only the music, but the people around also drew my attention. I keep looking around every time, however, this time, there was a keen sense of observation.

I would like to share my impressions through my blog post and hope some of you will read it and share your comments.

This is like the preparation time before the concert- tuning the instruments, aligning the pitch with the human voice, checking the sound system and so on.

Hope to come back soon with the main ‘kutcheri’ I mean, my thoughts about the music I had listened to.