There is a story about a young brahmachari in an ashram who found his name very disgusting and asked his guru to change it. His guru told him to take a tour of the world and even after that if he wanted to change his name, the guru would change it for him (a la notary)......
Our hero starts off on the journey and comes across many incidents (which i don't remember) and finally comes to a conclusion that a name is only an identifier and not a prototype (software gurus, please forgive me if there is some error here). For example, he comes across a peron whose name means wealthy but is poor, a person whose name means life, but at the time when the young man saw him was being transported for his funeral rites.
The above story showcases a situation in ancient India where the individual was at war with himself, but learns from society. Fast forward to the year 2004-2005 in the capital of India, New Delhi..The settings are all in and around IIT Delhi. These situations showcase how society is very curious to know why one's name is thus and whether any interpretation about the person can be made.......
1) Room #ND16, Shivalik Hostel: This was when my firt year roomie Vasan Churchill was moving into the room. By my own curfews, I generally do not bother about the origin of someone's name unless I can make some nickname out of it, or if something from literature strikes me or if the name is unusually rare. In this case, the name happened to fall in the third category. Added to this he was also carrying pictures of Lord Balaji and was also carrying a Bhagawadgeetha. The conversation went like this: (before anyone gets dobts about the religiosity of the following conversation, i would request you to come with an open mind and just follow the way in which confusion is cleared)..Also, the original dialogue was in Tamil and Hindi. I provide a translated version for ppl to understand...
DK: "Vasan, its nice to see secularism being practised"
Vasan: "Aah....Deepak, I am not a Christian"..
DK: "Then how do you explain the name Churchill..."
Vasan: "My father is a fan of Sir Winston Churchill..Thats how I got the name tagged on..Its not my surname..its a part of my first name..if you go by the rule book of nomenclature, I should be called Vasan Churchill"...
By this time a few more guys had gathered.....
Prashanth: "Lets call him Anna. In any case, everything from Tamil Nadu has some Anna association"....Thats how the tag Anna stuck.
Everyone called him so except for 'the character of a lifetime' Ankur Gupta who guffawed loudly in his Gorakhpuri accent, "Winshton Churchill chutia..ha ha ha ha ha ha (like a villain)"......
2) IIT Hospital: This was when I had gone to be certified that I would be able to swim. Once the medical check up was done, the doc asked me my middle name. Upon hearing the word Sriram, he started filling out Shriram. The following conversation ensued:
DK: "Sir, its SRIRAM not SHRIRAM"
Doc: (puts his pen down) "Where are you from?"
DK: "Bangalore"
Doc: "I don't know what ails you South Indians. You guys do not follow the Sanksrit pronounciation. If its Shriram, why do u write it as Sriram? Beats me"
DK: (wanting to tell him to mind his own business and also to tell him that his so called North Indian Sanskrit itself says that Lord ram is Sriram and Shri refers to goddess Lakshmi..but remembers his med certificate with the doc) "Sir, it should have been as you said. But when my dad was being enrolled at school the clerk made a wrong entry."
Doc: "Oh....so its only a spelling mistake...ok then" (signs with a flourish relishing the thought of a north indian victory over a south indian)
DK: "Thanks a lot sir."
3) PNB Branch, somewhere near Yusuf Sarai: My ex-roomie Vasan had gone to open an account. This amzing conversation took place there
Vasan: "Sir, I would like to open an account"
Official: "Whats your name?"
vasan: "Sir, Vasan Churchill S C......"
Official: (putting his pen down and calling out to all other bank staff) "Listen everyone, come here. Just look at this guy's name. He says its Vasan Churchill. vasan, I can understand is a Madrasi name. there is some madrasi guy in our HQ right? But Churchill?? Dude, you appear like a fraud to me..Please go get your passport"........
vasan: (psyched and irritated): "OK sir"........
Whew........the old sayng went 'Whats in a name?"..But with such nosey parkers around, a name is everything........
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Its a 'Jazz Car' Baby, Abso'fuckin'lutely....
I need to thank Mr. Big of Sex and the City for the above dialogue. Er..not the whole one, only the abso'fuckin'lutely part. The way he says it sweeps Carrie Bradshaw off her feet and had me and many of my friends hooked on to the series.
Now, before you get any ideas that I am going to turn into a bouquet-carrier for S&C, let me tell you that this blog is intended for three things, two of which are related to Jazz and two of which are related to Carnatic music. That means, if you apply De Morgan's theorem for the intersection of sets, you wil find that there is one element which is common to both jazz and carnatic music. A list follows:
1) Sex and the City: for Jazz (about the sex, well it requires an entire blog..will write about it sometime)
2) Morning Raga: Jazz and Carnatic....(the other pillars of this movie Shabana Azmi, Perizaad Zorabain and the singers Bombay Jayashree, Ranjani Ramakrishnan, Sudha Raghunathan, Kalyani Menon, Gayathri, Nandini Srikar, Suneetha Sarathy, Veena and Rajesh Vaidya deserve volumes and volumes of space for the excellent work that they have put in...)
3) Sangeetha Shivakumar: Carnatic
Morning Raga: A very different film to say the least. But I'll confine my writing to only the soundtrack of the movie because 1) i haven't seen the movie 2) because of this review in the NY Times by Anita gates, where she says, "The screenplay doesn't have a shred of subtlety. The strange man who talks to his cow, apparently intended as comic relief, isn't very funny. But the performances of Carnatic music, Southern India's classical form, are heaven"...check out the full review at
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/movies/18raga.html?ex=1142658000&en=c21aaedc59dc060a&ei=5083&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes
The songs are trendsetters in the carnatic-jazz-rock remix field. Listen to these songs guys. They are available at http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H000765.html
Each song has a unique characteristic. But the underlying theme is fusion. Songs like 'Thaye Yashoda' sung by Sudha Raghunathan and Ranjani Ramakrishnan; 'Mathe' by Sudha Raghunathan and Kalyani Menon; 'Saamaja varagamana' by Gayathri; 'Alaap Jam' by Nandini Srikar; 'Mahaganapathim' by Bombay Jayashree are mindblowing. Apart from this there are instrumentals like 'City Interlude', 'The Chase' and 'Charminar'. The use of Jazz in 'City Interlude' and 'Mahaganapathim Jam' are just awesome. read more about Jazz at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz
Sangeeta Shivakumar: This lady is a revelation in the field of Carnatic music. Her rich voice mesmerises you. She renders even the difficult Ragas with consummate ease. A pity that I haven't atended even a single concert of hers ,my friend Malavika scores over me in this aspect; but as far as listening to her voice on CD goes, i guess the scoreline is in my favour.
Sex and the City: This show is not only about sex, nor is it only about New York City. Its also about Jazz...The subtle use of jazz makes each and every scene a treat to behold (which in any case it is..he he he)
Have always wondered, what is it that makes jazz and cities gel so much together? classical music certainly cannot capture the entire essence of a city..nor can rock.....lets take an example of carnatic music, rock and bangalore. while carnatic may capture the essence of some areas like malleshwaram, rajajinagar jayanagar or basavangudi (grudgingly giving some credit to the home of the rival of MES college (the place where I studied for my 12th), National College); it certainly cannot capture the spirit of Koramangala or MG Road. on the other hand, rock and roll, techno, trance will capture the essence of these areas but fail miserably when it comes to malleshwaram and sutta mutta (as a community on orkut goes)....'sutta mutta' translates to in and around
But jazz....aah..jazz is different..it incorporates the naughtiness, soberity, rebelliousness, modernity, ancientness and most importantly the cultural composite of a city. thats the beauty of jazz....
would certainly like to hear about this from you guys.....
Let me conclude this post with a list of some of the best musical voices that I have heard among my friends/relatives/acquaintances/people i have just seen once....please note that the serial number is just that..a serial number..not a rank
Male:
1) Nagachetan: this chubby disciplinarian was a schoolmate upto 12th....wonderful voice, very particular about the technique and the rules of music
2) Vasu: my colleague at my music class. we have given a couple of performances together. unfortunately he is no more...
3) Mahadevan: my cousin..he's now in the US and is still continuing full time with music. amazing voice..
4) Shakeel: the lead singer of my college rock band
5) The Unknown Singer from CREC: This chap sang 'My Sharona' and 'Highway Star' during Incident in KREC in 2002.....
6) Noel Fernandes: the Pink Floyd expert
7) Keshav Desai: every list needs a rebel in it...though not a singer in the conventional sense, Kesh managed to sing well if u judge him solely by the interest that he shows and the effort that he puts in
Female: this is going to be tough..I may be accused of favouritism..but I steel myself against criticism and barbed comments...he he he
1) Ranjani: my friend from school....guess shes out of touch now, but when in form she was the musical 'Sourav Ganguly' of our school...Dravid's dialogue about Ganguly "On the offside, there is God first, then there is Ganguly" would turn into "On the music scene of SPHS, theres Ranjani first, then the rest"....
2) Shwetha Keshav: If Ranjani is Ganguly, this lady must be the Rahul Dravid of SPHS music....technically superb....
3) Sreedevi: my senior....undoubtedly The Javed Miandad....very good at singing..but i brand her as Miandad for all the games hours that she has made me miss for music practice....but thanks all the same for all the prizes that we won together.....
4) Malavika: She was with me in KREC..her rendition of 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' had all of us guys floored...wonder why she never performed in a musical show after that....
5) Melissa: this female was in Nitte when I was in KREC...she sang a Roxette number 'Sleeping in my car'.....anyone who can sing that certainly has talent..
Now, before you get any ideas that I am going to turn into a bouquet-carrier for S&C, let me tell you that this blog is intended for three things, two of which are related to Jazz and two of which are related to Carnatic music. That means, if you apply De Morgan's theorem for the intersection of sets, you wil find that there is one element which is common to both jazz and carnatic music. A list follows:
1) Sex and the City: for Jazz (about the sex, well it requires an entire blog..will write about it sometime)
2) Morning Raga: Jazz and Carnatic....(the other pillars of this movie Shabana Azmi, Perizaad Zorabain and the singers Bombay Jayashree, Ranjani Ramakrishnan, Sudha Raghunathan, Kalyani Menon, Gayathri, Nandini Srikar, Suneetha Sarathy, Veena and Rajesh Vaidya deserve volumes and volumes of space for the excellent work that they have put in...)
3) Sangeetha Shivakumar: Carnatic
Morning Raga: A very different film to say the least. But I'll confine my writing to only the soundtrack of the movie because 1) i haven't seen the movie 2) because of this review in the NY Times by Anita gates, where she says, "The screenplay doesn't have a shred of subtlety. The strange man who talks to his cow, apparently intended as comic relief, isn't very funny. But the performances of Carnatic music, Southern India's classical form, are heaven"...check out the full review at
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/18/movies/18raga.html?ex=1142658000&en=c21aaedc59dc060a&ei=5083&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes
The songs are trendsetters in the carnatic-jazz-rock remix field. Listen to these songs guys. They are available at http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H000765.html
Each song has a unique characteristic. But the underlying theme is fusion. Songs like 'Thaye Yashoda' sung by Sudha Raghunathan and Ranjani Ramakrishnan; 'Mathe' by Sudha Raghunathan and Kalyani Menon; 'Saamaja varagamana' by Gayathri; 'Alaap Jam' by Nandini Srikar; 'Mahaganapathim' by Bombay Jayashree are mindblowing. Apart from this there are instrumentals like 'City Interlude', 'The Chase' and 'Charminar'. The use of Jazz in 'City Interlude' and 'Mahaganapathim Jam' are just awesome. read more about Jazz at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz
Sangeeta Shivakumar: This lady is a revelation in the field of Carnatic music. Her rich voice mesmerises you. She renders even the difficult Ragas with consummate ease. A pity that I haven't atended even a single concert of hers ,my friend Malavika scores over me in this aspect; but as far as listening to her voice on CD goes, i guess the scoreline is in my favour.
Sex and the City: This show is not only about sex, nor is it only about New York City. Its also about Jazz...The subtle use of jazz makes each and every scene a treat to behold (which in any case it is..he he he)
Have always wondered, what is it that makes jazz and cities gel so much together? classical music certainly cannot capture the entire essence of a city..nor can rock.....lets take an example of carnatic music, rock and bangalore. while carnatic may capture the essence of some areas like malleshwaram, rajajinagar jayanagar or basavangudi (grudgingly giving some credit to the home of the rival of MES college (the place where I studied for my 12th), National College); it certainly cannot capture the spirit of Koramangala or MG Road. on the other hand, rock and roll, techno, trance will capture the essence of these areas but fail miserably when it comes to malleshwaram and sutta mutta (as a community on orkut goes)....'sutta mutta' translates to in and around
But jazz....aah..jazz is different..it incorporates the naughtiness, soberity, rebelliousness, modernity, ancientness and most importantly the cultural composite of a city. thats the beauty of jazz....
would certainly like to hear about this from you guys.....
Let me conclude this post with a list of some of the best musical voices that I have heard among my friends/relatives/acquaintances/people i have just seen once....please note that the serial number is just that..a serial number..not a rank
Male:
1) Nagachetan: this chubby disciplinarian was a schoolmate upto 12th....wonderful voice, very particular about the technique and the rules of music
2) Vasu: my colleague at my music class. we have given a couple of performances together. unfortunately he is no more...
3) Mahadevan: my cousin..he's now in the US and is still continuing full time with music. amazing voice..
4) Shakeel: the lead singer of my college rock band
5) The Unknown Singer from CREC: This chap sang 'My Sharona' and 'Highway Star' during Incident in KREC in 2002.....
6) Noel Fernandes: the Pink Floyd expert
7) Keshav Desai: every list needs a rebel in it...though not a singer in the conventional sense, Kesh managed to sing well if u judge him solely by the interest that he shows and the effort that he puts in
Female: this is going to be tough..I may be accused of favouritism..but I steel myself against criticism and barbed comments...he he he
1) Ranjani: my friend from school....guess shes out of touch now, but when in form she was the musical 'Sourav Ganguly' of our school...Dravid's dialogue about Ganguly "On the offside, there is God first, then there is Ganguly" would turn into "On the music scene of SPHS, theres Ranjani first, then the rest"....
2) Shwetha Keshav: If Ranjani is Ganguly, this lady must be the Rahul Dravid of SPHS music....technically superb....
3) Sreedevi: my senior....undoubtedly The Javed Miandad....very good at singing..but i brand her as Miandad for all the games hours that she has made me miss for music practice....but thanks all the same for all the prizes that we won together.....
4) Malavika: She was with me in KREC..her rendition of 'Chaiyya Chaiyya' had all of us guys floored...wonder why she never performed in a musical show after that....
5) Melissa: this female was in Nitte when I was in KREC...she sang a Roxette number 'Sleeping in my car'.....anyone who can sing that certainly has talent..
Sunday, October 02, 2005
We deserve what we have
Some incidents in the last few days have made me think on the lines of the title. The incident concerned was during the inter-hostel aquatic events specially water polo. Some members of my hostel brought disrepute to everything that they represent and the game, by indulging in activities like impersonation of players, trying to eyewash the officials etc. Its a relief that the culprits have been brought to book.
If the so called 'elite' among the engineers can behave like this, then what right do we have to complain against our rulers? If we want an honest administration, we have to have an honest society first. Do we have that? But we preach to the others.
This is a national syndrome. India is the most hypocritic nation in the world in all fields. Examples? Plenty abound:
1) We have the communist bufoons led by the CPI(M) and CPI (specially Prakash Karat) who advocate outdated unionism and communism on the rest of India while in Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya rules like a capitalist. In addition, these oafs regard the Russian and Chinese nuke tests as 'asserting their rights' while Indian tests are considered as deviating away from an independent foreign policy....
2) We shout ourselves hoarse as the champions of democracy and castigate Nepal for having imposed dictatorship, when the reality is that its the same here..In Nepal the king rules with an iron hand while in India, armed gangs (be they 'in-law' or 'outlaw') rule the roost.
3) We expect our leaders to be honest but we ourselves take the easy path at the earliest available opportunity.
4) We claim things like 'woman is mother/sister blah blah' but how do we behave when we see a bit of skin or a foreign woman? People literally go berserk...why ago that far? just answer this simple question...whats the status of a woman in our society?
5) We say that our society is 'moral' and western society is 'immoral'....what is done by the westerners that Indians do not do? rapes? orgies? porn clippings? Holy shit man, just accept the reality and get along with it. This item specially applies to tamil nadu....simple matters like the personal opinion of Khushboo, a private party at a 5 star hotel, choice of dress on campuses is projected as an assault on the 'Tamil woman"......interaction b/w the sexes is prohibited on campuses.....Who makes these comments/decisions? People who are known for their concubine connections......
There are many more....A list would occupy the entire space on the web. Coming back to the heart of the post, an Indian will be an Indian whatever age India exists in..Even if it becomes a superpower, India will be backward morally and ethically.........And this is the beginnign of the end of superpowerdom......
If the so called 'elite' among the engineers can behave like this, then what right do we have to complain against our rulers? If we want an honest administration, we have to have an honest society first. Do we have that? But we preach to the others.
This is a national syndrome. India is the most hypocritic nation in the world in all fields. Examples? Plenty abound:
1) We have the communist bufoons led by the CPI(M) and CPI (specially Prakash Karat) who advocate outdated unionism and communism on the rest of India while in Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya rules like a capitalist. In addition, these oafs regard the Russian and Chinese nuke tests as 'asserting their rights' while Indian tests are considered as deviating away from an independent foreign policy....
2) We shout ourselves hoarse as the champions of democracy and castigate Nepal for having imposed dictatorship, when the reality is that its the same here..In Nepal the king rules with an iron hand while in India, armed gangs (be they 'in-law' or 'outlaw') rule the roost.
3) We expect our leaders to be honest but we ourselves take the easy path at the earliest available opportunity.
4) We claim things like 'woman is mother/sister blah blah' but how do we behave when we see a bit of skin or a foreign woman? People literally go berserk...why ago that far? just answer this simple question...whats the status of a woman in our society?
5) We say that our society is 'moral' and western society is 'immoral'....what is done by the westerners that Indians do not do? rapes? orgies? porn clippings? Holy shit man, just accept the reality and get along with it. This item specially applies to tamil nadu....simple matters like the personal opinion of Khushboo, a private party at a 5 star hotel, choice of dress on campuses is projected as an assault on the 'Tamil woman"......interaction b/w the sexes is prohibited on campuses.....Who makes these comments/decisions? People who are known for their concubine connections......
There are many more....A list would occupy the entire space on the web. Coming back to the heart of the post, an Indian will be an Indian whatever age India exists in..Even if it becomes a superpower, India will be backward morally and ethically.........And this is the beginnign of the end of superpowerdom......
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