The End Enacted 30 Years Ago

I am a big fan of actresses from 70-80s, not only for their classical beauty, but also for the characters they performed. Sujatha, Sri Vidya, Sri Priya, Jaya Sudha, Prameela are among them. 

Late actress Sujatha who played some worthy roles in all South Indian languages. She beautiful too and Late K. Balachandar brought her to Tamil cinema and gave her some plum roles in his movies Avargal, Aval Appadithan, etc.

Not all actors get a chance to act the scripts of their life and audiences also don't know if real life and can mirror reel life. I happen to watch one of Sujatha's movies today, Aalaya Deepam, where she plays a role of an actress in that movie and finally passes away in the movie due to heart failure. 

When my father was in Apollo in 2004 for his bypass, I saw Sujatha and her husband at Apollo. I didn't know if she had come to visit someone, but when I read her obituary in 2011 I realized that she may have been there for a consultation then. 

Sadly, 30 years after Aalya Deepam movie, she passed away due to cardiac failure. After watching the movie, I searched YouTube for videos shot at her funeral. A few minutes of footage is available and she still looked like the woman I saw in the balcony of her home in East Abhiramapuram. 

Movie stars enact scripts that can sometimes have an uncanny resemblance to their real life stories. We may never know the resemblance to the script until death arrives and we as audience are forced to wipe away tears and live with memories. Salute to these directors and women actors, who've continue to make my Sunday afternoons thoughtful and meaningful. Miss you Sujatha and Sri Vidya.

Focusing on the aspect of contrasts

When people tell me India is a land of contrasts, I argue with them that every country has its contrasts and beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. In Paris, sidewalks are decorated with cigarette butts and dog poop alongside good music and art; lifeless objects enjoy protection in museums and homeless people wither outside museums (France is a socialistic country); metro stations also serve as Opera Houses for poor artists and urinals and shelters for the homeless.

One of these beautiful contrasts caught my attention last Saturday, while I was ambling down Rue Rambuteau (adjacent to Center Pompidou). First, it was the UFO shaped instrument that intrigued me; second, its acoustics - it doubled up as percussion and non-percussion; it sounded like Sitar and Tabla together and sometimes Veena and Ghatam. Lastly, what captivated me was the sense of rhythm and melody in the man aided by the shaker in his left foot and a musical anklet in his right foot.

You can read more about this instrument on Wikipedia.  Here is a clipping that I made with the permission of the artist.

When I heard him for the first time it sounded like Gayathri on the Veena and Vikku Vinayakarm on the Ghatam. An hour later when I came back on the same street it sounded like Ravi Shankar on the Sitar and Zakir Hussain on the Tabla. I was mesmerized and I patiently waited for the artist to finish the number. I pounced on him as soon as he stepped out of his seat for a break and requested for a short interview to know more about him, the instrument and share the similarities his music bears with Indian music.

Here is an excerpt from a short interview that I had with him post his performance on the sidewalk.

Me: Hello, my name is Chandra and I am fascinated by how an instrument can sounded both like percussion and non-percussion?

He: I am Jeremy Nattagh (JN). This instrument is called a HandPan and this has influences from Trinidad and Tobago. The instrument is made in a variety of scales and is manufactured in Spain. I am headed to Brittany in France early next week to pick-up another one to add to my collection.

Me: You are smiling, happy and a conversationalist too. You can’t be a Parisian. So, where are you from Jeremy? Where did you learn to play this instrument?

JN: He flashes another big smile and turns his head from left to right before he answers. I am from Paris, France though my father is from Iran. I play piano, flute and drums, though I prefer to play HandPan. I taught myself to play this instrument.

Me: So, do you collaborate with artists around the world?

JN: Yes, I have collaborated with instrumentalist and vocalist across the world. I have played with a Sitar player here in Paris and next week I will be performing with Adele B and Cendre Osmoza at The Galarie 59, rue de Rivoli, Paris. I invite you to attend my performance. 

Just before I said thank-you to Jeremy, I took a selfie with him. Neither of us is famous and this selfie never may get 35 million hits like the one with Indian Prime Minister and Chinese President, but that was not the intent of this selfie. It is to show the smile and simplicity of a beautiful artist. 

Jeremy didn’t look like a musician who played for money or fame. His passion and love for music can be seen when he busy with his instruments. If there was one track that kept repeatedly playing in my head that day it was,” Why should artists like Jeremy languish on the sidewalks of Paris?” All I could do for Jeremy was get a copy of his CD, attend his performance on May 23 in Paris and share and write about his music. 

Sadly, neither artists understand the real world nor the world understands the artist, but in between this standoff, we come together at concerts and try to connect through music. You can find such musicians all over Paris. Some play on the sidewalks, some play at metro stations and some play on the metros as well, yet Parisians frown :-( 

You can visit Jeremy Nattagh’s webpage and follow him on YouTube and other social media channels.

After 4 years

I was reading a book review from a  Neurosurgeon on NYTimes and it triggered my memory and the incidents associated with my surgery. Not being communicative with patients and their family is a big red-flag on both doctors and hospitals.

It feels impersonal and strange when a surgeon fails to have a candid conversation with the patient or hides his empathy. When I had my heart surgery, the surgeon hardly explained the reason and procedure, but since I was curious I read, watched medical videos and consulted friends in the medical fraternity to understand the procedure and associated risks involved in it. Sometimes I wonder what is going on in their heads that they fail to have important conversations with their patients that can only help build trust and confidence. Do they expect us to educate our self by querying Google and exchanging information in online forums. I was by myself during the two visits to the see the surgeon before the surgery and meticulously prepared questions to ask him before the visits.

On the day of the surgery, I was taken rolled into the theatre after a 6 hour delay. There was no information on the delay and when I went to the nurse station at end of the war they replied that they surgeons were on an emergency case. After two hours I complained that I was feeling hungry and thirsty and the nurse started me on drips so that I can no longer speak of hunger and thirst. At 2.30 pm I was finally rolled into the theatre, the doctors realized that the medical consent form was not signed and the risk/liability associated with the surgery was not waived (this was to be done the day before surgery).

While I was being prepared for the surgery, the staff went around looking for my family in the large hospital to get the waiver signed. Unable to spot them, a doctor friend who was with me posed as a family member and signed the waiver form. Though nothing happened to me in the end and I am surviving to write about, the entire arrangement seemed dodgy. My family was worried when they received no information about me even after 5 hours (surgery was supposed to last for 2.5 hours), the notice board in the waiting room displayed “surgery in progress”. None from the medical fraternity came to appraise my family on my condition and the anxious family had to rely and wait for the status change on the notice board. Is it a hospital or a train station?

A month after my surgery, I even went back to the hospital for a review and I carried with my gratitude in the form of a box of dry fruits and dark chocolates. I wanted to touch the hearts of men, who collectively touched my heart. The doctors were busy and the one who reviewed me said there was no need for me to visit them unless I had a problem. It is good to know that I am healthy and I need no medical supervision, but to be able to see the surgeon and thank him would have been fulfilling. I left a thank you note along with goodies in the cardiac ward. 

It has been 4 years since I had the surgery and I still see the scar on my left side every morning during shower, but I cannot remember the face of the surgeon and the team of doctors who assisted him. With corporate hospitals enforcing quotas on doctors, they have no time for building relationships and are forced look at patients as mere objects in an assembly line. Is it time for robots to work on humans and is it time for us tone down our gratitude towards the medical fraternity?

An Erring Balance

Indian judiciary doesn't fail to surprise public with their decade long trials, delayed judgements, and leniency in their judgements especially for the rich and powerful. Often landmark sentences delivered in high profile cases fail to discourage future citizens from committing crimes and instill faith in our judicial system. And last week brutal reminder of the failing Indian judiciary. #aboutqualityandnotquantity

Jayalalitha was finally sentenced last September after 18 years on the disproportionate asset case, but she was let out on bail 25 days later. Ramalinga Raju and other accomplices were put behind bars for 35 months before being convicted for confessing an economic offense in 2009, but was let out of bail last week. And Bollywood box-office King Salman Khan was convicted for a hit and run case from 13 years ago and he was granted bail before the judicial ink dried on his judgement papers. And Sahara India chief continues to languish in the jail over a year, while his coterie struggles to find buyers to sell-off his assets and repay investors. #richandpowerfulbuyjudiciary

The stories of India's rich and famous doesn't end here. There are many more criminals out on bail, in both houses of the Parliament and out on the lose to commit more heinous crimes. Lalu Prasad - fodder scam, Raja and gang - 2G spectrum, Sheila Dikshit - Common Wealth Games are a few to name. I often find the the crime committed by rich and powerful is directly proportional to term of trial and inversely proportional sentence delivered. In simple terms, Indian judiciary is a puppet in the hands of the ruling Government and delivers disproportionate justice based on the political need. #outonthelose

This is not the first time such a leniency has been shown in exchange for political favors, but these three judgements in the same week has surprised and shocked the Indian public and casted a shadow over the efficiency and impartial judgements rendered by the Indian judiciary. But, why are the rich, popular and powerful criminals treated with kid gloves? #alwaysabovethelaw

Our epics (Mahabaratha and Ramayana) and history share numerous examples of how our kings have played the role of judiciary and at times played above judiciary. The story of Kannagi reminds how the judiciary faulted while convicting Kovalan and why the city of Madurai faced the ire of his wife. And the story of a Chola king (Manu) who drove a chariot over his son as a punishment for running over a calf shows how the rich and powerful protected dharma and justice. #pansofthelabalance

Will the judiciary ever read our epics and deliver judgements that will stand as examples for future citizens, politicians and judiciary? And when will our political class reform? Or is it asking for a heaven on earth?