Emotions vs. Economics

First two months in the year went by living in the city and doing the same mind numbing metro routine amidst pollution, burgeoning traffic and leading unhealthy lifestyle both health and attitude-wise. I decided to take the much needed break to travel back to my village and spend an extended weekend waking up to the call of the birds and cattle, walking around the green fields covered with dew, and spending sometime on the riverside.

I made conversations with the farmers who spoke high of my lineage and shared anecdotes from my great grandfather’s days that pumped up my pride. I gloated in pride and felt like the “King of the Jungle” for a few minutes, but realities of life soon brought me back to the present. The conversation apart from pumping up my pride pushed me into a self-enquiry mode. Have I gone too far away from my roots? Should I stick to what my ancestors did? Should I quit my job and come back to the village? It was not just the people at the bottom of the pyramid who continue to live in poverty, but the gods too. A few temples that was built and protected by my ancestors were in dilapidated condition and it was impossible to walk past it closing my eyes and disowning my responsibility. Sadly both those who worked in the field and the gods who stayed close to the fields were in bad shape. But the capitalistic side in me was weighing the opportunity cost of coming back to the village vs. the opportunity cost of continuing my job in the city.ROI!

Every meal we’ve had so far, the rice, tamarind and pulses came from our land and not from the supermarket next door. Is it because of that why I feel a deep sense of guilt, shame and responsibility in my mind and heart today? I was unable to shrug those feelings off. Here I am working in the Software industry making the new dollars, while neglecting the sunshine sector of India.

Many of us, me including me, expect our employers to give us raise and promotion year after year, we bargain for better medical insurance, we look around for jobs with better salaries, and on top of that there is gratuity if you lasted in the organization for more than 5 years. But those who work in the farm there is none of the above. There is no guarantee if we will hold on our lands and if they will get employment for life and for those who continued to work for decades, there is no PF, gratuity or even reverence. For life at the root, there are no promises, but only compromises. Life is hard, unappreciated and always nascent.

My ancestors’ alteast for the past 4 generations have all been agrarians. In 1978 my father moved us from village to a metro with the ambition to give us good education. Even then we came back to the village every year during the summer vacation. We played in the fields with cows and calves, we played hide and seek in the haystack and enjoyed the journeys to the next village in bullock carts.

In the city today, we all lead a sedentary profession in air-conditioned offices and in front of laptops, incessantly complain about power-cuts, water shortage and traffic jams, but seldom have we realized the hard work that goes in the fields in sweltering heat and shivering cold to grow grains, unpredictable nature that dumps rain and heat without any promise. Here is the pseudo spiritualist in me weighing which of us reduce our karma loads faster, is it the people in the city or the people in the village?

All said and done my ancestors provided employment opportunities to those in the bottom of the pyramid. Generations after generations these peasants worked on our fields and a few still continue to work. Those were the times when life style involved hard physical labor and people remained healthy and satisfied. Today, hospitals and ailments have multiplied along with disease of the body and mind (dissatisfaction and depression).

Our land holding have been intact for the past 60 years and we have tried to cultivate paddy atleast twice a year and alternate years in every patch of land ensuring employment and food for those who dependent on our land for livelihood. There have been years of bad monsoon, when my mother jewels were kept in the bank to pump some money into agriculture and keep the ecosystem healthy and alive. After having gone through the cycles of bumper harvest and drought for 50 years my dad shared his views when I promised to pump in cash from the city to support the crumbling agricultural ecosystem.

He explained with patience the whole agricultural ecosystem and how we’ve started the chain reaction by moving to the cities. “It is not just us who have migrated to the city in search of greener pastures, but many from these villagers have moved to cities to support our never ending need and greed. Those security guards who guard our homes all night in the company of mosquitoes while we merrily sleep in air-conditioned rooms, those call centre drivers who work all nights to make their ends meets, and janitorial staff who clean behind us and our left over come from this agricultural ecosystem. We have started the chain reaction by turning on the engine of greed and moving to the city. Education may be a cure for poverty, but it definitely seems a killer when it comes to the ecological pyramid. We are both a part of the problem and the solution.”

We haven’t sold even an acre of land in the past 60 years though the number of families and next generations has steadily migrated to the city leaving the farmlands brown and barren. Today shortage of labor is the biggest crises plaguing the agrarian society more than shortage of water or failure of monsoon. But signs of capitalism are seen in agrarianism. Not just cities, but agriculture too is going through the phase of mechanization. From sowing to harvesting machines are making in-roads into the villages. As a result of all this rapid urbanization, deserting the farmlands, abandoning roots we’ve create a harangue in the Parliament over inflation. People on top of the pyramid and at the bottom are feeling the pinch and pain, let us hope Darwinism will heal the pain of evolution in the long run.

Even if I am ready to move back to the village today, the old generation that still lives with sincerity and gratitude is on the verge of extinction and the youth has moved to the cities. I need the older generation to stay besides me for knowledge transfer. Should we sell the land like the rest, abandon those peasants and turn back to the villages or should we continue hold on to the pride and promise with patience and perseverance? A daunting and haunting question in our mind today.

My father’s failing health requires him to stay in the city and more closer to the hospital, while I am in a profession. Is mid thirties the right time for another professional change? Should I perform the duty towards the family or duty towards holding the land and surviving peasants? Should we give some away some land to those who stayed with us for long and sell the remaining holdings and disown the village? How about the gods and dilapidated temple? Is it inheritance of loss, curse or overburdening responsibility?

But how about pyramids? Well climbing the pyramids seem nothing but going through the circle of life. All that goes up comes down? My ancestral house that once hosted 50 visitors per day and per meal hardly had 5 people in the house. Several sanyasis have stayed in this house (Kanchi Maha periaval, Sringeri Periaval, Sakatapuram Swamigal, etc.) The building and us, both were surviving on the ancestral punya, tales and blessings brought by the visiting farmers. I could see striking similarity in the exposed iron rods from the ceiling and those ribs in the farmer’s chest – gratitude! Where is mine?

Everything seemed like yesterday, memories were strong and the smell is fresh. I sat in every room in the ancestral house and recollected tales of my childhood in that house. My mother showed me the swing that I slept on, my father reminded me of the Phantom stories he narrated in the afternoon. The deserted garden and the cows in the shed looked like an orphans without my grandmother. Against the setting sun I looked at the huge crumbling ancestral home (more than 60 years old), cracks are travelling at a faster rate between the cement and iron that once stayed together like nail and skin, exposing the iron rods beneath it, and my grandmother was also not around anymore. The compound wall to the left of the house had fallen and that seems an easy to build, while nature was redefining relationships and reconstructing boundaries!

So this is the story of the fourth generation retiring agrarian looking at the next generation of capitalists for help. The intangibles on one side of the pan and weighed against tangibles on the other side of the pan turning the human mind is into boxing ring where Emotions play against Economics. Does setting sun against rising moon take away hope and optimism? Does climbing the pyramids take you back to the bottom of the same pyramid? Is it a common occurrence to helplessly watch while caught in the cusp of evolution?

I could no longer see things in a capitalistic or Darwinist point of view, emotions created pangs of guilt and responsibility. For now I plan to watch the Super moon from the fields, this is the second Super moon since my birth. Should I take it as a brightest glow before the outage or a new sign of hope and light in the horizon? I left the village with a heavy heart and a conflicting mind. Life seemed more of confusion than choice.

Nature is powerful, wild and runs its own agenda without giving a hint. Let us watch, for now I have my Monday morning deliverables…

Click on the link to look at some pictures taken in our fields: https://picasaweb.google.com/104497790813148988752/PixUp31911345PM#

Contestants humiliated on Carnatic Music Idol TV Show

Carnatic Music Idol, a music competition that gets telecasted on Jaya TV unearths youth talent in the Carnatic Music across the world. There are some contestants who’ve come from overseas to take part in the competition and the winner walks away with two concert slots – one at Jaya TV Markazhi Maha utsavam and other at Cleaveland Thyagaraja Aradhanai.

The first season of CM Idol was held last year, and it unearthed potential singers like Barath Sundar, Sriranjani Santhanagopalan, Brinda Manikavasagam, etc. Now the second season is on and Balaji the comparer of the show proudly announces the new tagline of the show in every episode, “Carnatic Music Idol - It is not a competition but it a career”. Let us assume what Balaji says is true, then Carnatic Musicians seated on the judges panel are all would-be colleagues for selected the participants, Am I right?

The initial round of selection was done by Sashikiran and Gayathri Venkatragavan and the next level of screening was done by Sowmya and Ganesh. A contestant turned up in a trouser and shirt for the selection since he came from Sholinagur (more than 100 kms away from Chennai and had travelled by train). When he came on the dais Ganesh and Sowmya derided him without giving an opportunity to explain or magnanimity to understand. Such is the quality of the judges on the panel.

Now the semi-final is on and the panel of judge consists of Sowmya, Sashikiran, Gayatri Venkatragavan, Ganesh, Kumaresh and Neyveli Santhanagopalan. But sadly none of them on the panel except Neyveli Santhanagopalan exhibit maturity, respect and even worth a seat on that panel.

Why did Sowmya, Sashikiran, Gayathri Venkatraghavan find a place on the panel? Is it because they have a personal equation with the show producer? Is it because they charge less to make appearances on such shows? Is it beacuse they have a glamor quotient? What have these guys achieved in their professional to sit on the panel? Do they have all the qualities what it takes to be a judge? I have seen more than half of the seats empty in Sowmya and Sashikiran’s concert. Are they crowd puller or crowd chasers? Well after this behavior they can only be crowd chasers and fall in the category of tear gas, pepper spray, water gun, etc.

Imagine you are going for a job interview and your senior colleagues on the interview panel make fun of your education, attire, skill set, bully you throughout the interview while trying to show off their seniority and experience and humiliate you in front of thousands of viewers? Is this a very professional way of interviewing and understanding your potential? Then why does comperer Balaji refer to this show as a career and not competition? Would you ever want to join such a profession and have these people for colleagues? May be that is why Carnatic Music is still restricted to a few cities, a few communities and cliques.

All on the panel except Neyveli Santhanagopalan are unprofessional in their approach, attitude and behavior. It is easy for him to get carried away, but Santhanagopalan comes across a true teacher, magnanimous senior and one who stokes passion, learning and explore new dimensions of Carnatic music. He methodically explores the depth of their patanthra, asks questions to make them think (not humiliate) in different dimension and slowly hold them to walk out of the puzzle. There is so much of learning and encouragement for not just the participants but thousands of viewers and rasikas of Carnatic music. This approach to learning turns a spark in the contestant into a fire, and what follows is perseverance and passion.

Here is another instance where Sowmya asked the contestant to sing Kambodhi Varnam. The contestant lacked clarity while singing the sahityam “Sarasauku ra ra”and Sowmya displayed here sarcasm and poor sense of humor and asked the contestant if Sarasa was her next door neighbor. Is this what you call constructive criticism? Not educative but belittling!

Why is it that they behave in such a demeaning fashion? It is often proved that the abused turns into abusers. Does this hold good for Carnatic Musicians too? So were these guys selected through such rounds of insults and abuse? Do they behave in such a way to increase the TRPs for the show? It looks more like a cheap reality show and not a career making platform. Are they threatened that they would lose their chance and popularity with new talents in the horizon?

When the show was first launched I felt this was like GRE, GMAT, US MLE exams that students take to go study overseas. It is highly competitive, but is it professionally healthy? Today so many youngsters come from all over the world to participate and if such is the treatment meted out to them, then Carnatic Music will soon be a forgotten art and Markazhi season will turn the summer of Carnatic Music thus defeating the very purpose of the show.

Mumbai Expresso!

My first trip to this city was in 2005 and I was mesmerized watching orderliness in chaos, it felt like watching the activity in an ant mound or a bee hive. From the moment I landed at the airport I could feel the pulse, spirit, energy and adrenalin rush in this coastal city. Is it in their blood or is it in the food they eat, but everybody seems to walk (to me it is run) around with a purpose. Should I call this a treadmill city?

When I landed in Chicago for the first time, first year ago, I looked at the city with both awe and admiration and every time I land in Mumbai I look at the city with same awe and admiration. Suburban trains is the back bone of this city and it also brings together people for a purpose and takes them back to their families at the end of the day. Those old and petite black Padmini’s (Fiat cars) chauffeuring around, autos with functioning meters and auto guys who return back the last penny, while those at the top of the pyramid scam war widows (Adarsh society), this is a city where old and new, honesty and dishonesty, bollywood and stock market coexist (both inflates assets). It will not be an overstatement to say Mumbai is the NY and LA of India.

I must have come to this city more than half a dozen times and every time the purpose was different. From official visits to vacation to prospecting (I did a mini swayamvar in this city long before Rakhi Sawant) I have fond memories and little disappointments of this city. Official trips gave me a cab at my disposal and I usually have Mariappans, Tamilarasus, and Velus drive me around. I know the cab companies profile their drivers and guests to create that extra comfort and I don’t miss interviewing every guy who drives me around. If you are Mallu there is a mini Mallu land in Mulund, and a mini Mylapore in Chembur and Matunga. This city easily lets you root, yet help you retain your flavors and characteristics.

Mumbai has a bad image of over-crowded slums in the minds of Indians and the image just got bigger and global after Slum Dog Millionaire. This time I took at window seat while flying over Mumbai to catch a glimpse of all that I could see. I saw the Worli to Bandra Sea bridge, the bend at the beginning, the cable running from the sky to hold the iron and concrete, but I was not sure how many scams were buried under the ocean. The infamous Dharavi seemed elusive from the air, but I must tell you I have walked inside the slum.

I was not surprised when another Marippan picked me at the airport. I sat in the cab and my usual questions kept flowing like Mumbai traffic. This man from Tuticorin, father of two boys was living all by himself and sent his wife and kids back home and he says it is affordable to manage a family living there. I know it sounds like a father with visitation rights, but Mariappan's dreams were hatching and growing elsewhere, while many other come to this city with a hope to hatch and make their dreams a reality.

I was born in Tamilnadu and every time I am outside my state and when someone speaks Thamizh my heart just softens. We have heard and seen how Thamizhs who go to work in Srilanka, Malaysia and Singapore are treated. So I make it a point to ask about them and their life when I see them outside of Tamilnadu. Every time I don’t fail to ask them about their arrival in Mumbai, dens, experience of the Maximum city, equation with the localites, family, kids etc. On a few occasions I have even asked them to take me to their dwelling.

In the 60 mins ride to work Mariappan shared so much about his childhood, experiences in the city and distance away from his family with a stranger without asking any questions in return. But that is what the “Thamizh connect” does. He genuinely opened his life and heart to me, but sadly all I could share was a few currency notes from my wallet. He made me feel helpless and cheap, but I knew those extra notes will give his family a little more happiness.

Life is busy, people are on the run, but still people pause to show their love and care for their friends and family. Mumbaikars don't have time to even gossip about their film stars & Bollywood, it is people who live outside who have all the time to wag their tongue.

Every time I come to this city I avoid staying in the hotels, I don’t care how many stars they carry, but My friend Arun’s den on the 14 floor in Borivali is my heaven. Honesty, love and care flows here. There is no air-condition but there is ample cross ventilation for fresh thoughts and makes it a real heaven on earth. From his living room I can look down at the chaotic traffic on the Western Express Highway and yet life here is warm, cool, safe and secure. The blanket and bed I get at his place is the most comfortable place to rest after a long day, his wardrobe comes to my rescue when I failed to bring my clothes (I don’t show up like Yana Gupta) and the morning breakfast from his roommate, Pardipto makes, this my home away from home. What a boundary-less living!

Be it a dwelling on the 14th floor in Borivali or a den in the boundaries of the city with Mariappan, Mumbai is a cradle of love, hope and hardwork. For many Mumbai may be an express city, but for me it is an expresso city. That one shot of expresso, that one shot of love, care and security from the friendship is enough to keep me going for a year. Why seek heaven when a city of Earth gives you all that you desire. I am already craving for my next shot, yes Aamchi Mumbai is calling.

Bairavi Raga as handled by the Music Trinity

I had done no homework for the lecture demonstration (atleast I could have made a list of krithis in Bairavai raga), rather I showed up like Bairavi character (ignorance is bliss) in the movie Sindhu Bairavi, while Gayathri Girish had done all the homework to educate the audience on Bairavi.

Usually artist get on the stage with a sruthi box and bunch of papyrus to present a lecture demonstration, but Smt. Gayathri Girish got to the dais with a laptop apart from the regular aids and paraphernalia during her lecture at Indira Nagar Sangeetha Sabha, Bangalore on Jan 26, 2011. So much of research, wisdom and preparation had been condensed into those 20 slides.

The lecture started like a Chemistry lecture where the professor outlines the physical and chemical property of an element. Gayathri started by sketching the antiquity of Bairavi and she sang Kadhalagi Kasindhu from Thevaram in Bairavi, referred to as Kaushikam Pann. This raga was very much in use even before the Musical Trinity handled of this raga.

Here are a few bullets from that slide.
• Atleast 1500 years old raga
• Janyam of 20th Melakartha Natabairavi
• A Major raga and a Bhasanga raga (higher dhaivatam)
• Referred to as Kaushikam Pann in Sangam poetry
•Sung usually in the later hours of the day

Gayathri had also listed a few “suthras” that described the characteristics of Bairavi (bashanga raga, sampoorna raga, swarams, etc.) and in the slides that followed she listed all Sangeetha Granthas that has reference and reverence to Bairavi.

Bairavai raga has undergone a lot of changes over a period of time to where it is today. The shift from use of smaller to bigger dhaivatam has happened over the years and some composers have beautifully used both dhaivatams.

The last stop Gayathri made before she delved deeper into the Bairavi as handled by Music Trinity was Pacchimirium Sree Aadiappiyer’s Viriboni Bairavi varnam in ata talam.

What is so special about this varnam?
Lot of suddha dhaivatam usages is seen in this varnam and this varnam beautifully show cases Dasavidha gamakas - Kampita, sphurita, tripuscha, pratyaahaata, nokku, etrajaru, erakkajaru, odukkal, orikkai, khandippu. All these gamakas on the ppt would not make sense if not explained by rendering the varnam. Gayathri explained and sang every gamakam used in the krithi.

The pallavi of this varnam is loaded with Shringara rasam and in the Anupallavi there is a special reference to beauty of the Mannargudi Sri Rajagopalan (sarasudau daksina dwāraka sāmi śrī rājagōpāla dēva). To learn this varnam visit - http://www.shivkumar.org/music/varnams/index.html and click on Bairavi.

As the last item Gayathri presented was Kshetragna’s Padam – Rama Rama Pranasakhi before she proceeded to the topic of the day.

By then audience had understood the contours, antiquity and the swara prasthanas of this raga and the foundation was laid to build more. Gayathri listed the Krithis of Thyagaraja (18), Muthuswami Dikshithar (7) and Shyama Sastri (3) and analyzed their Bairavi’s based on speed and starting note.

Gayathri presented the krithis in the above table. She sang every krithi to show the kalapramanam (tempo), the starting note and the sthaye. The Trinity has used various talas to deliver the kalapramanams, varying the starting note and sthayis to bring the beauty of the raga.

Here are a few interesting snippets:
1.Thyagaraja has used Bairavi in main krithis, Utsava sampradaya krithis, divyanama krithis, operas like Nauka Charithiram, Prahlada Baktha Vijayam, and kshetra krithis like Lalgudi Pancharatnam.

2.While Muthuswami Dikshithar’s Balagopala is packed with syllables, the lyrical beauty and swaraksharams and gives little room for nereval. Chintayahmam belongs to the category of Panchabootha krithis of Muthuswami Dikshithar and describes the Somaskanda under the Mango tree in Kancheepuram. In the charanam he shows the raga mudra.

3.Shyama Sastri’s Kamakshi swarajathi starts in mandhara sthayi and every charanam starts at the next higher note. While Paravathi Janani krithi begins in mel “Sa” and all charanams are for the same tune.

During the lec-dem Gayathri spent ten whole minutes presenting the magnam opus Bairavi piece of Shyama Sastri – Amba Kamakshi.

1.Krithi starts in the mandhara sthayi
2.All the 8 charanams are in the swaram-sahityam pattern
3.Each Charanam begins at sequential ascending note
4.1st Charanam ends with Pa-Da-Ni-Sa-Ri
5.2nd Charanam ends with Nee-Gaa-ri and the notes bring out the pleading mood in the lyric
6.3rd Charanam – the usage of the madhyamam and also a swaraksharam
7.4th Charanam – brings out the usage of jaaru and the beautiful glide from Sa to Pa
8.5th and 7th Charanam – lyrics bring out the beauty of the swaram – swaraksharam
9.8th – composer mudhra and raga mudhra in the last charanam and there is also an unusual likn from S to G

As the tail end piece of this presentation, Smt. Gayathri Girish showed the influence of Bairavai compositions of Trinity on 19 century composers like Papanasam Sivan in his Thaaye Ezhaipaal krithi, Patnam Subramanya Iyer’s krithi Ni Padhamula and Elaraadaayene, a Javali.

By the end of the 45 mins lecture demonstration (though audience felt it could have been taken for a long 3 hours) Gayathri had packed the lecture with finer research details of the raga as handled by Trinity. Infact she had covered all kinds of compositions – Varnam, Swarajathi, Geetham, Krithis (Kshetra, Utsava, Divyanama, Nauka Charithiram, Parhlada Baktha vijayam), Padam, Javali that were available in Bairavi.

What could be a better way to spend Jan 26 than listening to the compositions of Trinity? Should we call her as Bairavi Gayathri as praised by HK Venkatram who was the Reporteur for the morning session.

Here is a link that you can refer to educate yourself on various compositions in Bairavi - http://www.shivkumar.org/music/manodharma/index.html#bhairavi

At 61!

The Hindu calendar and custom refers to the 61st birthday as “Sashtiabdhapoorthi” and is considered very auspicious. It gives Hindus an opportunity to seek atonement for sins committed knowingly and unknowingly and also prepares them for their inward journey and spiritual life. Not sure if 61 years make a human being wise and rich, but the 60 years makes them go through the rut of life viz. education, job, marriage, children, and finally gets them the grandparents status. For many this is not a choice, happens as a part of life and social mores.

61 an important milestone for Hindu(stan)!
Leaving Hindus aside, let me now come to our Hindustan! 60 years have gone by since the Indian Constitution of was put together and today marks the 61st birthday of the Republic of India.

And this is what sir Anthony Eden, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom had to say at that time of the emergence of Indian Republic “Of all the experiments in government, which have been attempted since the beginning of time, I believe that the Indian venture into parliamentary government is the most exciting. A vast subcontinent is attempting to apply to its tens and thousands of millions a system of free democracy. It is a brave thing to try to do so. The Indian venture is not a pale imitation of our practice at home, but a magnified and multiplied reproduction on a scale we have never dreamt of. If it succeeds, its influence on Asia is incalculable for good. Whatever the outcome we must honor those who attempt it.”

Has the 60 year journey been exciting? Has it been a free and fair democracy? Have we succeeded as a Republic and a democracy?

Year after year we have walked the road from Rashtrapathi Bhavan to Red Fort via Rajpath and India gate exhibiting our gallantry, pride and culture of our nation, and finally honoring those soldiers and jawans who have sacrificed their life guarding our Motherland along our borders. But do we still feel the sense of pride and the duty to participate and protect our democracy in the banana republic today?

In a few months from now my home state, Tamilnadu will go for elections. Looking at what is happening in the country today – rampant corruption, I am asking if I should really participate in the election process? Is the process of election fair in the Indian democracy where people are paid by political parties to cast vote in favor of their party.

It is sad to know that our political system doesn’t need any qualification/ background checks and don’t need moral rules to win an election/ form a government/ and head a cabinet. We have Union Ministers who can’t make to the Parliament (may be they have taken work from home option?), who can’t converse in Hindi or English and who have no understanding of their portfolio, policy making or functioning of the government. Winter session of Parliament got over with opposition parties staging walkout over 2G scam. And we as citizens elect them, and patiently watch them showcase their incompetency for 5 years. Who should be blamed for the bad crop? Is it the soil or the farmer?

Sadly portfolios are awarded to ministers not based on their understanding/ experience or qualification, but based on satisfying the caste politics and alliance parties. Captains who sit in the helm want Ministers who will listen to them and help them amass wealth and serves the masses. They announce slew free schemes from free motors, free electricity to subsidized loans and seeds to keep them happy. And the process of disbursement is so shoddy and corrupt and continues to keep the population in the bottom of the pyramid poor and hungry, while those on top siphon money away to their Swiss Bank accounts.

Corruption the way of life
From getting birth certificate to death certificate, from government schools to hospitals to offices, it is a greasy journey in India. Grease the wheels, grease the palms and everything is greasy. The educated working class pays taxes to run the country, while politicians and celebrities evade taxes and move money to Swiss Banks. Those who have managed to flee the country in the name of education, career, etc. have escaped, while the rest are helplessly looking up for help. Many have accepted this as a way of life and learnt to live in the system, while some are caught in moral turbulence.

India – The Mother of Scams
We have hundreds of media channels today and they are all busy unearthing scams after scams. From animal food to food grains we haven’t left anything untouched. UP Government officials with the help of Railway ministry successfully siphoned away and sell crores of rupees worth of subsidized grain kept for the poor to neighboring countries. Land allotted for war veterans and widows were sold by politicians and corrupt army officials to larger public and their relatives. In the name of Common Wealth Games our officials painted both their hands black and painted Mother India faces with corruption. We have lost thousand hundred crores in the allotment of the 2G spectrum. What is the use of unearthing scams? Sadly we only have 2 major political parties to choose from, and we use the five years to forget the past and give them another chance. 60 years and 12 Governments have gone by and India is still struggling. And political party that comes to power use all their energy to sue the opposition leader and launder money, more than attend to commoners needs.

How much have we progressed in the 60 years? We have gone to war with all our neighbors, though we may claim we did so in the name of self protection. The growth in India is not as a result of the astuteness of our people or politicians, but the global engine of demand has brought opportunity to our doors. Though many blame the education system that British created and left behind in India, it has helped us gain competitive advantage in the software field. But our educated IFS officers still continue to beat their wife, launder public money, plunder natural resources and misbehave in public and continue to smear the India shinning brand.

Tatkal - a legalized form of corruption
Government has legalized corruption in the name of “Tatkal”. From train tickets to passport, just pay the government little more and you will get it fast. Extra money is paid for the same work! What do you call this other than legalized corruption? Makes me wonder if Government took inspiration from the private school and colleges that take money from parents in the name of donation aka capitation to admit students? Or it took inspiration from temples like TTD that take money to let public visit the almighty?

Peace and not piece
Caste politics and incidents like Rama Janam Bhoomi and Godhra incidents have taken Hindus and Muslims to the boiling point. During the recent judgement on Babri Masjid, public expressed their desire for peace more than piece of land for their belief and religion. Though this was a welcome, but still we have miles to go and heaps of scamfills to clears.

As a result of our lax attitude and corrupted political system companies like Union Carbide have left India without paying for their mistakes. So, should we trust and turn to our judicial system for help and remedy? Judges are busier being a part of commissions and committees to examine scams and corruption and those that are in the courts are anyways corrupt.

Does this all sound like the problem of sixty, like enlarged prostate and menopause? Or is it the unattended problems unhealthy lifestyle from the youth manifesting in a bigger way at 60? Who do we blame for our insatiable glut and greed, double digit inflation and corrupt leadership?

Natural resources, cheap labor and other competitive advantages have all been exploited in the name of globalization. Metros are struggling with increasing population growth and crumbling infrastructure, while farmlands are abandoned, turned fallow and villages have been turned ghost towns with increasing farmer suicides. Nobody wants to be accountable and answerable. We as a nation have lost our values and as a result lost our respect.

And today it makes me wonder if we are really are a Banana Republic? When Sir Anthony Eden made this statement “The Indian venture is not a pale imitation of our practice at home, but a magnified and multiplied reproduction on a scale we have never dreamt of”, was he referring to nepotism and red tape?

At 61 Hinduism offers an opportunity to look back at life, seek atonement and start a new journey. Should we use this opportunity to being a new journey for Hindustan and for its citizens? Or should we continue to be passive and endlessly wait for an incarnation of the almighty to weed out the society like in the Hindu mythology?

Baratha, brother of Lord Rama ruled the kingdom with Rama’s paduka on the throne, Chozha King ran the chariot over his son for killing a calf, and there are many more such tales of honesty and righteousness, but for today we can only look at the past and loathe the present. As I do my sankalp every day – “Baratha varushe Barathakande..” I remind myself and remind the almighty of this country that was once righteous, but for now I am yet another helpless Hindustani and our tricolor flag is soiled.

Let us hope 61 will be a journey of transformation, a turning point in the Indian history.

Netru….Indru….Naalai

Tomorrow is Bahula Panchami (BP), and every year BP in Thai Masam is celebrated as “Saint Thyagaraja’s aradhanai.” He belongs to the last set of composers who saw almighty and composed krithis as he saw him. Some of his krithis are in a commentary style, some in a conversational style, while some contain both. Having come from one of the villages on the banks Cauvery, how could I hold myself not thinking about music today? As musicians gather to render the Pancharatna krithis in a few hours, I could not hold myself from going back to the halcyon days when music was a conversation with almighty and not just an entertainment.

Carnatic Music – An extension of Bakthi Movement
Carnatic Music was an extension of Bakthi movement in South India. Though Carnatic Music didn’t enjoy the “Court Music” status in every kingdom unlike Hindustani Music, it still managed to find Kings who patronized, but nevertheless remained a part of the Brahminical household. Such is the power of Carnatic music, it first takes you a listener, then depending on your interest and commitment turns you into a patron, composer, performer, etc. Among the Kings who patronized Carnatic Music, Maharaja Swati Thirunaal and Mysore Jayachamarendra Wodeyar were more than just patrons, they were composers who took music beyond the boundaries of science and math and showed it can be a self realization tool.

At the start of the 19thcentury, the Kings were dethroned and Kingdoms were disbanded. As a result, art, music, and dance lost patronage and took a back seat. Carnatic music saw a major setback ever since responsibility fell in the hands of a few individuals to protect and nurture on their own and with their little savings. Some of those individuals lived in the brink of poverty, but still had the courage and commitment to protect and propagate music. Music was taken back to the treasure chest in brahminical households and almost guarded like treasure. But with the arrival on the Trinities music once again was brought out of the treasure chest and started to root firmly in the banks of Cauvery.

From Cauvery to Coovam:
Post trinity era saw carnatic music move from the Cauvery belt to the Coovam belt. It found place in movies and musicians like MK Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and KB Sundarambal took Carnatic music to the masses. Carnatic Music also played a major role in India’s Independence. Composers like Subramanya Barathi, Mayuram Viswanatha Sastri wrote powerful lyrics and artist like DK Pattamal sang their compositions and stirred and seeded the spirit of satyagraha, freedom and non-violence in the hearts and minds of common man. From bakthi to bravado, Sadhus to juntas, Carnatic music had the power and purpose to unite the masses. Carnatic music also kept it gates open to western instruments when it moved to cities. Instruments like violin were made a part of the concert platform then and today more western instruments like Mandolin, Saxaphone etc. have taken the center of the stage rendering Trinity krithis retaining their bhavam and bakthi.

Carnatic Music a part of the Brahmin DNA:Carnatic Music is a part of every Brahmin DNA. I am not trying to claim unnecessary credits, or take single ownership of Carnatic Music, but this is true. Post Independence many Brahmin families were behind Government jobs and were moving from villages to cities. Along with them Carnatic music moved from villages to cities. But the music that moved along with them continued to stay among the Brahmin community. There was a Brahmin stamp attached to Carnatic music at that time since they were treasurers at that time. So whose responsibility is it to protect, patronize and propagate arts, culture, and music?

It was at that point a few music connoisseurs came together to start Sabhas in big cities and put their marketing brains to create a concert platform, to record and to broadcast this languishing art and take it to the global audience. The next 50 years saw meteoric rise of doyens and many women took to concert platform vanquishing the male dominated music world. Till the late 1980s Carnatic music remained a hobby and pastime more than a profession.

Carnatic Music : Skype classes, Carnatic Music idols and Church Concerts
But what about Carnatic Music today? The art that was taught through gurukula system is taught over Skype. A music that was a dialogue between an individual and god has been turned into a profession. We have 50 plus Sabhas in the city of Chennai , every tiny space from mandapams to parks have turned into musical venues, we conduct Thyagaraja Aradhanai’s at Cleaveland and Sydney, we unearth new talents through shows such as “Carnatic Music Idol”, singing venues has moved from temples to United Nations to Churches. When IITs were worried about brain drain, NRI youth from Brazil to Brisbane come by the dozens and queue to perform in Chennai. Multiple dozen awards at State level and National level and a few compete with the Oscars are showered on musicians today. And finally Carnatic Musicians have learned to dialogue with Harrys, and Jefforys of the world and taking the music to the global audience and singing with them in Churches.

Carnatic music: State of Commercialized
At one time Carnatic Music was a pastime of the wealthy, like how Golf and Tennis is today. But today some youngsters have taken Carnatic music as a profession, while some toggle between a day job and evening concert, singing in films and concerts. Senior Musicians have moved up the value chain and Maslow’s pyramid, they have horizontally integrated having their own lables and recording companies. While some senior musicians are giving back to the society through their NGOs, some are charging their students in lakhs to get them to the arangetram level and they prefer dollar to rupees.

Every aspect of music has been commercialized and turned into a revenue earning proposition. Any art, when it reaches the point of commercialization (when artist, audience and sabhas are in thousands) the inward dialogue is turned outward between the artist and the global audience. There is nothing wrong in commercializing art, taking it seriously and making money from it, but all these come with a set of responsibilities, business rules for the artist and sabhas. Payback is higher where risks are higher. Remember rules of bakthi are very different from rules of business.

Commercialization has not just taken away the quality of music, but it has left artist, wannabe artist, sabhas, patrons and rasikas with their long set of complains from pay packages, performance slots, to quality of music. Each of them have a complain list against each other.

Carnatic Music: For Monetary gain and moksha sadhanam
People have used Carnatic music for both monetary gain and moksha sadhanam. Poets and musicians in kingdoms sang in praise of their kings and earned gold, while trinities used it as a moksha sadhanam. Nobody can take away the seed of bakthi in Carnatic music. You can make money out of it today, but eventually Carnatic Music will turn both the listener and performer inwards and give away all they gained. The last part of the journey of life is giving away all that you earned. A teacher gives away the knowledge to the student and a wealthy man gives away his wealth.

Carnatic Music: Tomorrow
I am not Steven Spielberg to create glamorous landscapes of tomorrow with technology and at the same time I am not Narada to paint pessimistic picture of Kali Yuga.

As we move into the next decade, how do we continue to growth of the art? How do we continue to replenish the supply rasikas and artist? How do we keep everyone in the Carnatic Music ecosystem happy? How do we keep the music alive, fresh and traditional for the next few centuries? It is time to sow the seeds for the next harvest. Where should we start sowing the seeds of Carnatic Music? Is it on the banks of Cauvery or on the banks of Coovam or in Cleaveland? I leave it to you…

But for now let us salute all the Musicians, Saints, Composers, Patrons and Rasikas – Entharomahanubavulu andariki vandanamulu!

Isolated music showers in Bangalore

You dont need a Meterological department to forecast this, just a visit to KP Jayan's blog is enough to make forecast and schedule.

After getting soaked in Markazhi festival in Chennai here is another opportunity to get soaked in Bangalore. But sadly I have to forgo some concerts that fall on weekdays and some artist because there are multiple concerts at the same venue.

Here is my plan:


Have you made your plans? Remember Ramanavami festival is not too far. Enjoy!