Raining Music in September

Having heard and watched classical music concerts and operas in Europe, I appreciate their way of respecting artist and enjoying art. Mobiles and human are muted or switched off, and sometimes I have wondered if my neighbors are even alive.

It has been four weeks since my immersion in Chennai. Though I am used to the warm and humid weather, but I still largely remain intolerant to women loudly exchanging family gossips in public, people walking in late for performances, letting their mobile phones ring, engaging in conversation on the side. And to add to the noise oldies drag their footwear and couples bring their infants to a place that should be respected with silence. Let's not forget the over enthusiastic rasika singing along and of course the incurable coughing thatha. I wish I had the same stone in my hand that the mridangist uses to iron out the abaswarams in his instrument. This Indian behaviour is the same in both concert halls, which is mostly free and movie halls, which usually paid. 

Now let me stop my rant, and share with you what I enjoyed the most listening to two artist on the concluding day of Papanasam Sivan's 125the birth anniversary.

Listening to Papanasam Sivan's compositions is like going to a restaurant that only serves deserts. The choice of Krithis and ragas chosen by both Ramakrishnan Murthy and Gayathri Venkatraghavan showed their capacity to serve a desert as a six course meal. This is what maturity, commitment and practise does to one.

It has been over 4 years since I last heard Ramakrishnan Murthy and today his stage demeanour and body language reflects confidence and comfort in his music. Coming from a culture that prefers open book exam and where R's are rolled, Ramakrishnan had no issue memorising songs and avoiding rolling of R's. Ramakrishna gave a performance filled with popular compositions of Sivan.

1. Tatwamariya - Reethi Gowlai

2. Varali - Kaa vaa

3. Sahana - Chitham Iranga

4. Balakrishna padamalar - Dhanyasi

5. Karaharapriya - Srinivasa thava

6. Kadaikan paarvai - Khamas

7. Yen Thaayum Yenakarul -viruttam- Shanmukapriya, kaapi

8. Sodhanai Sumaikku - Shanmukapriya

Despite alien to this culture, Ramakrishnan is able to capture the mood and potray bhava in the lyrics. His understanding of the lyrics was reflected when he handled the lines Allal utraal unnakallavo perum kurai in the Khamas raga krithi and Padha kamalam agaladha in the Shanmughapriya krithi. After the concert, I accidentally ran into Ramakrishnan's grandfather who told me that he has learnt to read and write Thamizh. It is indeed heartwarming for a young graduate to leave behind materialistic pursuits in the US and relocate to India to take up classical music as a profession. Such move reposes my faith in true artists and the power of our music.

While Gayathri went on the road less traveled taking listeners on a trip to various ksetras. Her music brimming with bhava and brigas, aptly brought out the thapam in Sivan's compositions. 

Unlike other music, Carnatic compositions are very spiritual and are often monologues between the composer and various Hindu Gods touching upon myriad emotions primarily seeking forgiveness and refuge. While the ragas employed in the compositions elevate the mood of the performer and listener by subtly engaging them in a soul searching exercise. Something that I couldn't experience when I heard Western Classical.

1. Velayudha Guhan thanakku mun - Virutham - Pantuvarali

2. Neeye Pedhai Mugham - Varnam - Pantuvarali

3. Un Perumai Evar Arivaar - Karaharapriya - Madurai ksetram

4. Sama - Narayana Nalinayada - Sriranga ksetram

5. Sharanam Ayyappa - Mukhari - Sabarimalai ksetram

6. Yadukula Kamboji - Gomathi Thaaye - Sankaran Kovil ksetram 

7. Karpagambike - Bilahari - Mylapore

8. Madhyamavathi - Saravana Bhava Guhane - Thiruchendur ksetram

9. Giridhara Gopala - Mohanam

10. Thailana - Behag

This is one reason why I strongly feel that Carnatic music must be prescribed as an alternate or supplement to psychotherapy since most of the compositions have answers to our questions. Otherwise, why would these compositions be alive and popular even after 200 years?

Sadly, we are belong to a noisy and nosey culture that fails to understand the spiritual value in our art and music. To start with, sabhas and movie halls must give out an etiquette booklet along with the tickets/Raga Reckoner. Silence Barath initiative must be kick started in parallel to Swach Barath. 

Here is a quick reference to Papanasam Sivan's compositions: http://music.karthiksankar.com/reference/composer/p/papanasam-sivan/

Changing Chennai Carnatic Music Scene

Having stationed outside of India for the last 30 months, I heavily relied upon Desi Radio App and YouTube for my Vitamin CM: Carnatic Music. The App brought surprise  and delight as I kept discovering musicians and hearing quality music. 

Upon arriving in Chennai, I decided to surprise myself by randomly walking into concert halls and listening musicians without prejudice. I noticed two big events unfold in September. One, birth Centenary of the Queen of Song, MS Subbulakshmi and two, 125th birth anniversary of Papanasam Sivan, aka Thamizh Thiyagayya. Both these legends took music to masses through evocative voice and lyrics. Could there be a better way to slip back into the Carnatic scene of Chennai? 

Not wardrobe, but vocal malfunction

As the curtains went up during MS Subbalakshmi Centenary inaugural celebrations, the vocal curtains came down on this Sangita Kalanidhi. Her voice failed in lower octaves and remained muted in upper octaves. She wasn't able to deliver the five popular songs of MS Subbalakshmi leaving audience, organizer, and performer embarrassed and disappointed. An artist who could never have wardrobe malfunction was hit with vocal malfunction, giving a poor opening for the centenary celebrations. Her student Deepika Varadarajan was compering that evening, but Sudha refrained from seeking her support making her pompous introduction a mere hype like the weather forecast by Ramanan. Does Sudha realize that Carnatic music is about delivering on stage more than costumes and jewelry?

Two weeks later I walked into Narada Gana Sabha to hear songs of the legendary composer Papanasam Sivan. I didn't check the newspaper to find out the performer and was prepared to listen to anyone who could bring out the beauty of his lyrics. And when I reached the sparsely populated venue the curtains were still down. A few minutes later I heard the tambura sruthi, and musicians preparing their throat, instrument skins and strings to get into a divine unison that evening. 

A choking Ramani

At 1700 hrs the legendary composers grandson, Ashok Ramani appeared on the dais, not as an organizer, but as a performer. I don't remember when I heard him the last, but I remember seeing him as a judge on Swarna Sangeetham, a TV show that picked the golden voice of the year. The second half of Ashok's first name, Ramani means beauty. But was there beauty in his voice and was he able to do justice to the lyrics of his grandfather? Probably this explains why Ashok has turned himself into an organizer, mentor, and a teacher. 

Seeing my pain, my neighbor at the concert hall entertained me with trivia on Ashok Ramani's personal life, which I least care about. He showed me the impressive song list from Sanjay Subrahmanyan's concert, 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi designate, at the same venue from  24 hours ago. And finally when he ran out of patience and trivia facts, he remarked, "I hope it is a 90 minute concert". 

Voice playing a truant due to age and strain is understandable, and Ashok and Sudha must understand that there is nothing wrong in turning into an organizer, composer, or mentor and having a vocal support for their concerts. Vidwan Late Shri. RK Srikantan and Vidushi Smt. Parasala Ponnammal were good teachers and in their eighties had a vocal support to enthrall a house full audience at Music Academy for three hours on a markazhi morning.

Now it's all about position

Just as I was recovering from the vocal assault on my ear drums, courtesy Ashok Ramani, it was time for the next surprise. And this time when the curtains went up, I was surprised by the position of musicians on the stage. 

TM Krishna behaves like an egalitarian, not because he splits the remuneration with co-artists, cycles to sabhas, or opines to take Carnatic music to masses. This time around he has tweaked the definition of egalitarian by rearrangeing positions of pakkavadhyams on the dais; he sits to the left of the center and now his accompaniments face the audience. Indeed power play of another kind!

He began concert with a short thanam and delivered Thamasa ma in kuntalavarali in a sathwick style. But then the egalitarian outlook vanished when he asked Violinist Hemalatha to play a short aalaap before he delved into a viruttam Petra thaai thanai which ended in a Mohanam composition on Kapali, the most celebrated deity of Papanasam Sivan and not next movie of the matinee idol Rajanikanth. Shouldn't an egalitarian allow the violinist to decide what raga and/or song she wants to play rather than dictating to her?

Uttama Carnatic Villian

TMK rendition of Naataikurunji had a cooling effect (kulirichi) on the audience forgetting the warm, humid and parched September in Chennai. And when he started Swami Naan Undran I came to the edge of my seat not just to enjoy the lyrics of this pada varnam, but also catch a glimpse of his gesticulations that amplified the lyrics. 

During the rendition of the  anupallavi, 

nAmAmrta pAnamE en jIvanamE enru nambinEnE 

naTanamADum sEvaDi darishanam enru kiDaikkum enavE EnginEnE

TMK moved his right arm like a leg spinner and soon turned ambidextrous trying to move the curtain in front of him that was already open. 

When he reached the ast two lines of the anupallavi, 

senjaDADaviyil iLambirai deiva gangaiyum Oraravum Ada 

iLa naghai tavazhum shevvidazhudan tadhIm ena ciTrambalam tanil ADum 

Has TMK entertained an idea of wearing Kathakali mask to add beauty to his gesticulations and make his music more meaningful? But today TMK has announced to the Music Academy that he is ready to receive Natya Kala Acharya award.  He is indeed a Uttama Carnatic villain!

After 30 months from being away, it is as much a pleasure to listen to random artists on the App as it is to randomly walk into concert halls. I realized that only artist positions and order of songs have changed, but the act and attitude remained the same. No pun intended! 

Thani Oruvan: Exposes Policy Maker Business Tycoon Nexus

Another proverbial question after the Chicken or Egg is Policy Makers or Business Tycoons. Not that the public isn't cognizant of their collusion, but the action thriller brings to light how to interpret media headlines and stories. It also highlights the tale of friendship at political and bureaucratic levels. 

Highlights

Not having watched Tamil movies in many years, I was afraid of a comedy track that doesn't sit with the movie, half a dozen songs and unintelligent screen play. But to my surprise and delight, Thani Oruvan devoid of either;  with only two songs and heady cocktail of Robin Hood/Sherlock Holmes story, despite a few flaws wins big at the box office.

The best part of the screen play is the intelligent incorporation of non Tamil looking and speaking characters that emulate real lives of IAS and IPS cadre. But this intelligence quickly turns into a flaw when it comes to the protagonist, an IPS officer, shown with visible tummy engaged in chase and fighting scenes, while his colleagues are shown trim and fit. 

While Ravi's colleagues in the movie industry (Arya, Surya, Vijay, Vishal, Barath, etc.) are ready to shape their bodies to fit the characters, why is he being lazy? He missed an opportunity that could have only upped his sizzling quotient and earned him more female fans.

Sappy elements

The sequence that weaves in the element of romance in the movie looks jaded and makes the heroin look silly. Alongside, the movie had some serious logical flaws in screenplay, for example: Mitran, the protagonist calls his friend twice from outside his home when disclosing his meeting plans, but later replays the conversation and ransacks his house looking for the bug. Shouldn't he be searching himself and his bike? But all this turns into specs of dust when he nabs the villainous gang. 

More and missed opportunity

Newspapers ads rave this movie to be a block buster, while twenty-five successful days have already evinced interests from Bollywood and Tollywood actors and directors to remake in their respective languages. If only the producer was more creatively and calculative, he could have turned this movie into sequel from the start of intermission or could have tightened the script to make it a gripping action thriller. Directors must remember that our audiences are ready to watch movies without comedy, romance, and songs and are okay with 2 hour long movies. If not, why would dubbed popular English movies be big grossers in India?

In between the frames

A week ago when Mrs. Premalatha spoke at DMDK's 11th anniversary she bragged that all of Vijayakanth's police movies are being shown at IPS academy. I don't have proof to refute her claim, but I left the movie hall thinking what if this movie is Jayam Ravi's aspiration to enter politics?

Even if Ravi is not planning to enter politics, this is a good watch to understand the nexus between politicians, business men and media houses. You can now go back and read the newspaper articles published post Global Investors Meet recently held in Tamil Nadu and connect the dots behind IAS and IPS cadre transfers.

A pilgrimage and sermon of same kind

Today, in many ways political and spiritual leaders are on similar trips across their markets seeking trust, addressing concerns behind human faith and hope, recruiting fresh blood and investments and resurrecting their image. This week Xin Jinping and Pope Francis are in North America, starting a pilgrimage of another kind. Some weeks ago King of Saudi Arabia and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar were on their US trips preaching and smooching.

Here is an extract from NY Times on Pope's visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/us/pope-francis-to-find-a-church-in-upheaval.html

"The Catholic Church has lost members of all ages who say they have been alienated by the sexual abuse scandals, the exclusion of women and married men from the priesthood, the rejection of gay relationships and birth control, and the denial of communion to Catholics who have divorced and remarried without an annulment. Where two decades ago, about one of every four Americans identified as Catholic, today it is about one of every five, part of a broader trend toward secularization. If ex-Catholics formed a church of their own, it would be the nation’s second largest, outranked by only the Catholic Church itself."

Here is an extract from NY Times on Xin Jinping's visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/world/asia/chinas-xi-jinping-arriving-in-us-at-a-moment-of-vulnerability.html

"China’s economy has slowed more abruptly than policy makers have appeared ready for, alarming investors around the world. The government overestimated its ability to keep stock prices aloft, spending billions to bolster the Chinese markets. Mr. Xi’s ambitious reform agenda, including an effort to revive a bloated state sector, has yielded few concrete results. Mr. Xi and Mr. Obama are expected to discuss their differences on a number of subjects, including cybersecurity, tensions in the South China Sea, the repatriation of Chinese officials accused of corruption and the Chinese government’s harsh treatment of dissidents and lawyers."

Salvation and Swach Desh

Unfortunately, all political and spiritual leaders promise emancipation and heaven both in person and on all digital and social media channels. The former promises to create heaven on earth by cleaning the nation (Swach Desh), while the latter promises to clean individuals and take them to heaven (Salvation). 

They secretly nurse hope having a sea of followers and holding on to their seats for eternity without letting go of their egos, insecurities, and failing to lead by example. Also the annals of history has numerous proofs and examples of Church and State trying to establish their superiority over each other. 

Unholy nexus

The intelligent ones seek each other's blessings to remain in power and stash away wealth for eternity (trunks of cash and gold were found after death of Sathya Sai Baba). Some active as benamis for each other and reciprocate favors. And when threatened, they throw sex, tax, and terrorism allegations at each other and push each other behind bars (Kanchi Shankaracharya thrown in jail by the current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and Ashram Bapu currently behind bars for sex crimes and tax evasion). Here is list of religious leaders convicted of crimes: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_leaders_convicted_of_crimes

Pyramid theory

In the ecological pyramid, species are connected and dependent on each other to keep the ecosystem healthy and population under check. For example: rats feed on insects and grains, snakes feed on rats, while birds of prey and larger animals feed on snakes. Should we slot politicians and spiritual leaders in the same category, who end up preying on human hope and insecurity? 

In Bagavad Gita, Lord Krishna concludes his conversation with Arjuna before the battle begins with his famous last words "Sambhavami yuge yuge", does it mean that only a person living outside the pyramid can clean and bring back the equilibrium?

Sadly, religion (fundamentalism) and politics have created more suffering and deaths in this world, something they promised to end. If we go by the pyramid theory, preying on our faith and insecurity is all a part of belonging to the pyramid. Isn't it?

In a week from now India's Prime Minister will take the place of Xin Jinping, and Mata Amritanandamayi will begin her hugging tour in Europe, while their objectives will largely remain the same. So, let's stop complaining and enjoy their pilgrimage and sermons. 

Does Technology teach you etiquettes?

Two weeks ago, I was at 35,000 feet some where in between Mumbai and Chennai in a temperature, pressure, and volume controlled cabin that seemed like a perfect lab to test both Charles and Boyle's Law. But for some reason the ambience inside the flight wasn't ideal. 

Defying Etiquettes

I wasn't grumpy, but was in no mood to test either laws or even strike a conversation with co-passengers on the seemingly bus ride. To my right on the other aisle sat an elderly gentle man, who was busy chewing pan and spitting into the air sickness bag, and when not busy he was trying to read a book on British Invasion in Asia on his kindle. And in the seat ahead of him, I found a young guy reading a paperback edition of Chetan Bhagat's Two States, a romantic novel, but every now and then I heard him snore. I was reminded of a sleepless night journey on Indian Railways when a co-passenger decided to turn his snore louder than a horn. 

I ignored these distractions and focused on solving the riddle: why did the airline send me a mobile boarding pass, if I am supposed to carry a printed version of it? 

A day prior to the journey, I did an online check-in and received a copy of my mobile boarding pass, but when I reached the airport the airline staff asked me to use the kiosk and take a printed version of the boarding pass with me. Why is a mobile boarding pass not accepted? The wallet feature on the iPhone in India seemed useless, and answered my unasked question: are smart phones a luxury gadget or utilitarian product in India?

My First iWallet experience in India 

Earlier this week, I discovered that Satyam Cinemas had an user friendly App that lets you book tickets with ease from your mobile. I got curious and downloaded the application on my iPhone to both test and experience the features and comfort of the app. In less than a min, time it takes corn bag to pop in a microwave, I was able to book the tickets. And within seconds I got an SMS each from my bank and from Satyam with copies of transaction alerts delivered to my mailbox.  I proudly showed the iWallet feature to a friend who was besides me using his Blackberry and also took screen shots of it shared over Whatsapp it with a friend overseas.

Three years ago if you had booked tickets over the desktop site, Satyam cinemas had a kiosk outside their movie hall to help you print tickets by showing them a confirmation message on your mobile. And a year ago they had removed the kiosk and started accepting confirmation SMS as a proof like our Indian Railways. But will the new option iWallet still be valid or will I have to show the confirmation SMS? Is there a hidden surprise somewhere?

Though there was no need for us to be at the gate 25 minutes before departure, but that doesn't prevent people from walking into the hall 30 minutes late. Fifteen minutes before the start time we were let in and I held my mobile to the movie hall staff, who read aloud my seat number and gave me two small stubs before entering. God alone knows what those stubs are and I didn't even bother looking at them. I was thrilled on being able to use technology to navigate my way through the Indian system that loves to see paper and put stamps on them. 

Boil's Law

As the lights were dimmed and commercials began to appear on the screen, my neighbors failed to realize the need to remain silent or speak softly. One of the two youngsters, raised his voice above the voice over of the commercial, and when this continued for a few minutes, I felt the need to behave like a school teacher and treat them like kids. I turned around and requested them to remain silent to make the movie watching experience mutually pleasurable. 

20 mins into the movie, just as they were showing the growing up years of Bobby, many in the movie hall exhibited their boorish behavior. The mobile phones were ringing loudly, WhatsApp messages were being delivered at an annoying rate, and some even attended a few phones calls. I was ready to write my version of Boyle's law and term it Boil's law: at constant temperature and pressure, noise is directly proportional punch on their face.

That night while returning home by OLX Auto Service, I realized how technology is helping  uneducated auto drivers to mend their errant behavior (not complying by meter), while it seemed like the turn of educated ones to behave in an errant manner. 

Be it on a flight or in a movie hall, there is no guarantee that our neighbors will display etiquettes that is far more important than carrying around smart gadgets. Sadly, having the purchasing power to buy gadgets and/or exhibiting the power of technology doesn't mean that we know how to behave in a cultured way and follow etiquettes. 

Forgotten identity and values

Though I have been away from TN for the last 3 years, I have been judiciously following up on the political developments. Now that I am back and state elections are a few months away, I began closely monitoring political alliances, allegiances, and announcements to make a judicious choice when I get to the polling station.

Desiya Murpoku Dravida Kazhakam (DMDK) recently celebrated their 11th year in existence as an alternative political party in Tamilnadu at a recently held function in Coimbatore (http://youtu.be/IKp_LujGa7c). With six months to assembly elections, the ruling part is busy announcing schemes after schemes post 4.5 year slumber, while none of the political parties have any plans to address plethora of plaguing issues in a sustainable way. 

Forgotten identity and values

A decade ago, when Vijayakanth jumped into politics, he resuscitated the values of MGR, emancipation furore of Periyar, but he didn't progress much apart from switching alliances with rival parties and earning the nick name 'Karuppu MGR', which couldn't translate into votes. 

Celebrating his party's 11 years in politics, Vijayakanth begins the meeting with look alike of Periyar (seed sower of Dravidian movement in TN), Anna (face of DMK), Kamaraj (once the face of Congress in TN), and MGR (once the only face of AIADMK) coming together on the stage and supporting DMDK. 

It is a known secret that these four men have been banished from their respective party marketing material in the last two decades. Today, AIADMK is all about Amma, while DMK is all about Kalaignar and Stalin, while Congress is about Sonia, who have all successfully turned themselves as ambassadors of corruption burying their party ideology and founders without a whimper.

In intelligently way connect people with the forgotten values of the three parties, the DMDK brought them alive onstage. But, will they be able to attract voters from these parties is yet to be seen. 

No Substance

Like spiritual leaders, political parties seem to capitalize on human insecurities and pains with fake promises to make milk and honey flow and turn TN into heaven. No political party has real 'paav' to fight the upcoming elections though issues are plenty from poverty, malnutrition, unemployment, power and water crisis, prohibition, improve secondary education, to law and order situation.

A good example is the above YouTube link where Premalatha brings forward issues without any sustainable solutions, while Vijayakanth remains incoherent, uninspiring and crass. Stalin from DMK and Ramadoss from PMK are no better.

Return of fanaticism, fake promises and freebies

Political parties in the state have national ambitions and election season means horse trading. Will it be DMDK and BJP or will it be AIADMK and BJP? Will old friends Congress and DMK go together?

Sadly, political parties at the national level are becoming more and more narrow in their approach, fanning fundamentalism and fueling casteism. The recent meat ban in Maharastra, subsequently followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka and allotment of auto permits in Maharashtra to only Marathi speaking people are just a few examples of growing fanaticism and divisive political agenda.

Dravidian parties and leaders who once stood for emancipation and development are dead and their self proclaimed successors are getting ready to roll out fake promises, freebies, and also cash for vote. But how and who remains a fleeting question in the minds of voters. As an educated voter, I don't know what each of the contesting parties stand for and how they plan to address issues in a sustainable way apart from picking holes on each other's administration, character and leadership style. 

Until the Election Commission of India announces the poll date, the ruling State Government with a short sighted approach can continue to announce welfare measures such as LIG housing, medical schemes for women, and other Amma branded goods with no real development agenda. Sit back and enjoy the drama, but think before you cast your vote.

Kumbhmela: A Test of Faith

If faith can move mountains, who can move 900 million Hindus from across the country to Nasik? But before I answer that, let me tell you why Nasik? According to Indian astrology, every year Jupiter transits from one house to another and the transit is associated with it's rays falling on a particular river in India. 

Jupiter, the guru of Devas is considered auspicious and the transit celebrated as Kumbhmela in each of the rivers that occurs once every12 years. There is also another legend that the Amrut from churning of the ocean of milk fell across 12 rivers in India making it holy and coupled with Jupiter's transit makes this event more special. 

My history of Kumbmela

I love following rivers and participating in Kumbhmela. My first trip to Kumbh was in 2003, and I travelled to Rajamundry in Andhra Pradesh to take a dip in Godavari aka Dakshina Ganga. Godavari originates in Brahmagiri mountains on the western coast of India and journeys all the way to the East before it empties into Bay of Bengal. 

And if you quickly add 12 to 2003, we get to another Kumbhmela and here I am at the ugamasthan (point of orinigation) at  in Nasik to take a dip. In 2013, I travelled to Allahabad aka Triveni sangam, confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati to attend Maha Kumbh that happens every 144 years. In 2011, for the Kumbh in Ganges, I traveled to Haridwar and in a 6 months from now the next Kumbh falls at Kumbakonam. 

Attraction and special days

From infants, kids, women, geriatrics, gurus clad in ochre, to naked gurus aka nanga babas

millions parade to the banks of the river to take a dip to holy chants and this spectacle can be a sensory overload. A few millions are needed to manage and regulate the movement, safety, and security of pilgrims from the moment they arrive till they depart. There are special days such Ammavasya (New moon day), Pournima (full moon day), Ekadesi, and Shahi Snan days that draws many more thousands to the banks of the river. 

There are two snan ghats where people usually take a dip: Ramkund at Panchavati or Kushavart tirth. I was in Nasik attending my fourth Kumbh trying to find a calm spot at Ramkund at 6.30 am on a Wednesday between the three Shahi Snan days (August 29, Sep 13 and 18). Usually, one takes the service of priests to do sankalp (prayers) before snan and also offer them monetary assistance for their service. Finally, before leaving one takes a can of holy water from the river to be shared with friends and family who couldn't make it. 

What do scriptures say?

While Hindus and their scriptures revere rivers, do they care to keep it clean is a point to ponder. Two of the 10 avtars of Vishnu survive in water: Matsya (fish) and Koorma (Tortoise) and moreover, Hindu scriptures clearly instructs when to step into a river (never before sunrise or after sunset) and how to conduct oneself from not polluting the river (spitting, defecation, etc.) degrading the ecosystem. 

Colorful, but polluting

Though it is colorful to watch clothes, flowers, lamps, money, coconut among many other things offered to river goddess, but to see the cumulative accumulation at downstream is an eye sore. Despite being biodegradable, the above materials take time to degrade, pollute the river and affect aquatic life. 

Sadly, the Swatch Barath and clean Ganga project taken up by our Prime Minister has been more of a talk and we are yet to see any tangible results. I took enough care not to leave any plastic nearby the banks and also refrained from offering any material to river goddess. 

Test of faith

The congregation that brings people from across the country ends up splitting some families in the process. Sounds sad, dramatic and test of faith, huh? 

One can constantly hear announcements over the public address system trying to unite families and children lost in the sea of humanity. You can also come across people who keep visiting Kumbhmelas with a hope to find their lost kids and speared family members. Apart from this Kumbhmela also tests the preparedness of Railways, Health Department and Law and Order to provide safety, security and logistics support to move almost a billion people. No other country or festival in the world gathers so many people in one location.

My test of faith

Since I was traveling by myself, I had no one to lose or search, but I still had my share of test of faith. Coming back to the question posed at the beginning of the blog, moving sea of humanity driven by faith is a challenge and our Indian Railways does a phenomenal job trying to carry more that it can accommodate and sometimes this also means there could be delays.

I was meticulously tracking the Gorakhpur Lokamanya Tilak Express, coming from North East of India to South West of India, which was running a few hours late over it 1578 kms journey, 100 kms longer than the distance travelled by the second longest river in India, Godavari. Will I be able to catch my late night flight to Chennai?

Surprise and Shock at 2015 Global Investors Meet

I got back home from having a snan in Godavari at Nasik Kumbh mela just in time to watch Kumbh mela of another kind on television: sangam of politicians and industry leaders at the inauguration of   Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2015.

The seating arrangement on the dais was as usual: a few meters between the chief minister and dignitaries. But what really shocked me is the use of adjectives by Minister P.Thangamani Minister for Industries and Transport to describe Amma, many of which he could hardly pronounce. In contrast, I was surprised to see honesty of the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. She addressed the gathering with statistics, devoid of any superlatives for Amma. In fact,  she refrained from referring to her as Amma and stuck to Honorable Chief Minister. 

One could visibly see the irritation on Jayalalitha's face during Nirmala's address, while Amma was found glowing in pride during Thangamani's address. You must check JayaTV Chanel or on YouTube and watch these segments.

Can electricity be generated from lies?

Every speaking delegate had only good things to say about Tamil Nadu. And as always, Jayalalitha was too proud and arrogant about the little success of her government. I and My Government dominated her speech, giving no opportunity to be humble and contradicting one of the adjective used to Thambidurai. 

I almost fell out of my chair when Chief Minister said that the state will soon be power surplus and that plans are in place to generate electricity from various sources. Had only electricity be generated from lies, Tamil Nadu would have never faced deficit. 

While Hon. minister of road transportation and highways Pon Radhakrishnan and many other addressees were proud to make their claims and announcements, they must not forget to work on the areas where they will have a long-term impact on their success. 

A glass half-empty

Tamil Nadu accounts for the highest number of road accidents in India accounting for 13.6 per cent of all accidents in the country. With 66,238 accidents in 2013, 11.3 per cent of all road accident deaths and 15 per cent of all road-related injuries, according to data provided by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, what is the state and central governments doing to combat this misfortune? Is it due to increase in alcoholism in the state?

Power Crisis

From a power surplus state in 2005–06, Tamil Nadu has become a state facing severe power shortage over the recent years due to lack of new power generation projects and delay in the commercial power generation at Kudankulam Atomic Power Project. How does the state and centre governments plan to meet the present and future electricity demands if they are rolling out the red carpet?

Literacy rate doesn't translate into addressing social evils

Tamil Nadu ranks at 14th position among 30 states with 80.17% literacy rate - 2011 Census. But this literacy rate doesn't post obey impact infant mortality, women welfare, health care, child sex ratio, child sexual abuse and violence against women. 

- More than 30 per cent of children in Tamil Nadu aged under 5 years are underweight, raising serious concerns about their healthy growth and development. More than 30 per cent of adolescent girls (15–19 years) and half of pregnant women (15-19 years) are anaemic.

- The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in Tamil Nadu is 22 deaths per 1000 live births. Although this is lower than the national average, almost three quarters of infant deaths in the state occur within 28 days of birth and 77 per cent of neonatal deaths occur within the first seven days of life (Early Neonatal Mortality).

- The state reports a child sex ratio (0-6 age group) of 943 females to 1000 males, which is lower than the State’s sex ratio of 996 to 1000. The child sex ratio for rural Tamil Nadu is further lower than the State ratio at 943 to 1000. According to the 2011 census, there are seven districts where the child sex ratio is much below the state average.

- According the 2011 census, 1.4 per cent of children in Tamil Nadu aged under 14 years work as child labourers. The constant challenge in child protection is the huge inflow of migrants and their children working in labour intensive sectors such as construction, brick kilns and cotton seed production.

- Child sexual abuse and violence against children are serious concerns in Tamil Nadu. The National Crime Records Bureau reported that child rape cases increased from 292 in 2012 to 419 in 2013.

- While the state has reached a commendable 100 per cent enrollment rate at primary school level, quality and equity in education remain a concern. Specifically, the transition from elementary to secondary and higher secondary education need special attention.

- More than 75 per cent of rural households do not have toilets, while about 25 per cent of the urban population does not have access to toilets. Where toilets are constructed, only one third of family members use them.

Source: http://unicef.in/StateInfo/Tamil-Nadu/Challenges

Unemployment

Though getting investors to invest in the state will reduce high unemployment rate:

32% for urban and 15% for rural (2009-10), let's not forget that TN is in 8th position just above the national average of 34% and 16% respectively. 

Rapid rise in alcoholism

Lastly, Tamil Nadu ranks third in alcohol consumption after Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.In volume terms, the state tops the list as a result of higher taxes, they said. The survey findings by Assocham say that rural families spend 27 per cent of their income on alcohol, while the urban population spends 38 per cent. Alcohol intake in youths between the 19 to 26 age group in hostels has registered a whopping 60 per increase over the years. Is Inebriety pride of the state?

Final shock and surprise

None of the speakers failed look at the half empty glass and highlight what can corporates and industries do to improve the situation and poor statistics that I've shared above. Investment alone is not enough for the success of the state, the industries must engage in CR&S initiatives to care for the people who will directly and indirectly help them succeed. 

Garib Rath: A surprise travel experience

Every year I eagerly follow the Indian Railway Budget with feeling of both hope and helplessness. I nurse a secret hope that our trains and services will someday will match up to global standards despite feeling helpless.

Unclean coaches ridden with roaches, unusable toilets with no water, bedding with stains, unhygienic and poor quality food and bull dogs for ticket examiners has been my experience of Indian Railways. In 2015, GoI budgeted 8,56,020 crores to be spent over 2015-19 to infuse life, safety and cleanliness in our railways that is 162 years old and moves 1.2 billion people across a nation spread over 31.6 million square kms.

A pleasant entry

I didn't know what to expect when I boarded the Garib Rath (12188) introduced by Lalu Prasad Yadav when he was the Railway Minister during UPA I Government. Yesterday, I traveled from Mumbai CST to Nashik on the train that terminated at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Scared of Mumbai traffic, I arrived 50 mins before departure and witnessed toilets and coaches being cleaned. While waiting on the platform, I logged on the free wifi at the station, which was 10 times faster that what I experienced at the Chennaj airport in the morning. 

30 mins later, when I boarded the train I was expecting warm coaches, but to my surprise the coaches were already cooled to 24 deg C making it a pleasant entry, this was not the case when I boarded Spicejet at 5.20 am this morning. Is Indian railways doing better job than airlines? 

A talkative nation

India is a country divided along the lines of language, religion, caste, community, etc. and despite the varied diversity it is our smile and talkativeness that make us stay together as a natio. 10 mins into the journey, I effortlessly picked up a conversation with my co-passengers, two youngsters traveling all the way to the final destination. 

While we were exchanging our life and travel stories, the Ticket Examiner (TE) showed up demanding our tickets along with an ID proof, and surprisingly he was smiling and not grumpy. One of the co-passenger studying to be a chartered accountant and the other running a small unit that pyrolyzes used tires in an eco friendly and zero-waste method to produce furnace oil made me curious and kept me engaged.

The usual lie wasn't needed

Though the conversation fed my intellectual hunger, my stomach was beginning to establish its superiority over my mind. In the past while I did long distance trains, I brought my own food and even got coffee decoction and milk that I boiled in the pantry car by uttering a small pardonable lie that I had an infant with me. 

But this time around I didn't carry any food or milk since it was a short distance travel.Since this train had 16 hours of journey time, I was sure that it had a pantry car. My suspicion was confirmed when vendors walked in with tempting options every 5 minutes with an interesting spread from chips, coffee, chikki, bhelpuri, biscuits, popcorn, idli vada, masala tea, water, to aerated drinks catering to Indian palette. 

Since I skipped my lunch, I tried to resist my craving to indulge in junk food, but eventually I settled for masala chai and a packet of chikki, healthiest of the options onboard. When asked for a tea, I was expecting the usual skim milk and a tea bag, but to my surprise I received a real masala chai made with half-creme milk. 

A packet of mixed chikki and masala chai made our conversation more interesting and we switched from discussing our professional life to technology products, specifically : iPhones, IPads and usage of Chromecast to beam from these devices.

Wow moment!

We were losing track of time and coordinates in our interesting conversation and I got anxious and curious to find out our location and remaining time to my destination. When I put my head out to catch the TE, I found a steaming LED display at the end of the bay that displayed the average speed of the train and details about the next approaching station. Now I wanted to know the in between stations and time of halt at each station and that demand too was satisfied by a poster in Hindi detailing the same at the entrance of the coach. 

What impressed me the most during this journey was a call from Indian Railways through an IVR system asking for my feedback on the air condition/temperature, cleanliness of the toilets and quality of bedding. Since when did Indian Railways surprise us with a wow factor? 

When I went to wash my hands after tea and snacks, I noticed a full bottle of hand wash made available in the toilet making it a hygienic experience. When did Indian Railways get on track to mend their poor service image, seek customer feedback and since when did my tax money find good use? Wish the airlines could learn from Indian Railways. 

Your cooperation helps

I know the GOI is working on upgrading trains, and facilities available onboard and at stations, and my hope to see this materializing got stronger with today's journey. As much as I look forward to my next journey, I also look forward to next Railway Budget with more such announcements to improve the safety, cleanliness and service. But nothing happens without the cooperation of passengers.

If you haven't recently travelled by Indian Railways, give it a shot. Importantly, remember your responsibility to make the journey safe, clean, and hygienic for you and your fellow passengers and elevate the experience to global standards. 

Global Investor Summit: Bama Vijayam?

Bama Vijayam, a Tamil movie from the 60s beautifully depicted the emotions of a lower middle class family as they prepare to welcome an actress to their home. The movie reminds us of the importance of prudence and financial discipline. And today, an erstwhile actress and the chief minister of Tamil Nadu is getting ready to roll out the red carpet for the global investors meet to promote Tamil Nadu as their preferred choice of investment destination. Will the erstwhile actress and current Chief Minister aka Amma pull through a successful welcome and wooing? 

When I landed on September 1, the ride home to Alwarpet was terrible. Though nothing that I experienced surprised me from the warm climate (37deg c) and high humidity, metro rail projects progressing at a snails pace, poor roads that had more vehicles than people, to Government run liquor shops (Tasmac), but made me anxious when I read about the Global Investors Meet in the city. Does she have the power to summon Viswakarma to clean up the city or create another smart city overnight?

But a week later when I drove to the airport at 4.15 am, I was reminded of Bama Vijayam and how the host family upgrades their home from renting new furniture and home electronics to rehearsing individual roles and scripts for welcoming the actress. 

Most arterial roads were relaid at mission impossible speeds, a pavilion, shape of an igloo was erected right besides the lighthouse at Marina to beam the achievements of the government (I call it the spherical Facebook wall). Amma selfies are being placed on all arterial roads, giving them no surprises of her larger than life personality. 

I reached the airport thirty minutes after four, and the place was unusually busy. I needed to wait for five minutes to gain entry into the airport, the usual matching of ticket and id to ensure that you legitimately had a reason to get into the airport and you were who claimed to be to prevent impersonation. Like in Bama Vijayam where the daughter in laws were showing off their prowess in Hindi and English, some family members who came to see of their loved ones hugged, kissed and uttered the famous last words: take care, miss you. Indians are either emotional or commotional and it is funny irrespective of whether you are a recipient or an observer.

Despite getting early to the airport, I spent the next 25 minutes waiting in line to go through security check and get the hand baggage tag stamped. It took me the same time to get to the airport from my home, 15 kms away. And by the time I completed the security check, I heard the boarding call for the flight giving me no time to test the facilities at the airport: seating, wifi and toilet. If we were wooing tourists, investors and NRIs, should we not simplify the procedure and de-clog airports and cities and make them friendlier?

While I speak of simplifying life, Ola cabs comes to my mind. Unlike Uber, at Ola you book cabs by either calling their call center or through their App. The discount coupons that they give almost makes your ride free, a good marketing and advertising investment that propagates their brand through word of mouth. My friend strongly believes that these discount coupons will eventually make them bankrupt. Btw, I used a 300 rs coupon given to me at the time of joining to pay for my 15kms trip from Mumbai airport to a suburb and it turned out to be a free ride. 

Sustainability is key to longterm success of any business be it Ola cabs, Nokia, or Foxconn. Beneath the smooth roads and behind the window dressed city there is so much history, red tape, cronyism and deceit. With elections around the corner, the ruling party needs proofs of success to Tom Tom during the 2016 election year and today's summit seems to be focusing on short-term success. The state is still reeling under power cuts, acute shortage of water, over dependency on the revenue from the sale of liquor which almost turned the state into a alcoholic state (33% consume alcohol) making Tamil Nadu a topper among 30 states and finally slew of welfare schemes that is draining the state coffers. The Amma canteen has run into a rough weather and now Govt is evaluating ways to keeping it alive and managing canteens through NGOs. 

Finally, like how actress Bama in the movie gets to discover the real family, the investors will soon get to discover tax issues (Nokia vs. GoI), frequent strikes (labor issues @ Hyundai and Ford) and  cost of doing business in the state (@Foxconn shut their doors). Varavu yettana, selvavu pathhana....http://youtu.be/vAoUr0p094g. But before they begin their journey, investors must learn how to fall at the feet of Amma and also realize the shortsightedness of the Government.