Firstly, let me explain the phrases used in the title. Jog falls, as some of you know is the name of the most spectacular waterfall in India. How does a waterfall sound to you? If you are the kind of person who looks at only the "water fall" part, it will only be a roar with tremendous velocity and power. If you are the kind who looks at only the part of it before it falls, it will only be a speedy, smooth flow. What you need to be is like the river rafter who negotiates the currents and then takes the spectacular plunge to the bottom, but at the end is still steering his/her boat.
A similar sense of exhilaration is present in music. It happened to me while composing music along with my band for a fusion piece for the annual cultural fest at IITD, Rendezvous. For all those still puzzled, let me say that Jog Falls is the name of the piece that we played. Inspiration? Obviously Jog Falls which roars in the monsoon. Also the fact that a Raag named Jog from the Agra Gharana was readily available to simulate the effect of the falls was an added attraction. And of course, Dream Weavers is the name of my band.
The piece was conceptualised in the following fashion:
1) An alaap on the violin followed by an alaap on the flute: this denoted the birth of the River Sharavathi in the silent/majestic jungles of the Western ghats at Ambuthirtha
2) A rhythmic beat pattern on the drums, tabla, mridangam and congo drums: denoting the buildup of the river as it struggles against rocks, crevices etc
3) A smooth musical piece involving the violin, keyboard, tabla, drums, congo and the guitar: denoting the flow of the river in its full glory
4) A rapid change of pace denoting the splitting up of the river into the four falls raja, rani, roarer and rocket
5) A brief lull to allow the impact of the waterfall as it touches the ground to be absorbed by the listener
6) A sudden resumption at top speed to pay our respect to 'The Law of Conservation of Energy' whereby potential energy is converted to kinetic energy
7) A slow ending to denote the gurgling flow of the river after it has fallen 960 feet
Credits for the piece are listed below:
Keyboard: Manish Kumar (also the band leader plus the composer)
Flute: Shival Khate
Tabla/Mridangam: Balaji M
Drums: Sameer
Lead guitar: Raghav
Base guitar: Akhil
Congo drums: Santosh
Violin: Deepak Krishnan
Future plans: Jam on a regular basis, take part in events outside...lets see after that......
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Friday, September 02, 2005
Of Music and Movies
mu·sic (my›"z¹k) n. Abbr. mus. 1. The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. 2. Vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm. 3.a. A musical composition. b. The written or printed score for such a composition. c. Such scores considered as a group. 4. A musical accompaniment. 5. A particular category or kind of music. 6. An aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound or combination of sounds.
I'll begin this piece with an article from The Telegraph, a revered British newspaper. Analysis of music is a tough task, but I must say that the columnist has done a pretty good job.
How Beethoven ruined classical music
By Dylan Evans(Filed: 12/06/2005)
It was Beethoven week on the BBC last week. By midnight on Friday Radio 3 had filled six days of airtime with every single note the composer wrote - every symphony, every quartet, every sonata and lots more besides. At the same time, in a series of three films on BBC2, the conductor Charles Hazlewood told us about the composer's life, while BBC4 produced three programmes of musical analysis.
It's good to see classical music getting some coverage on primetime television, but the relentless focus on Beethoven is dire. Not all fans of classical music are members of the Beethoven cult. Some of us even think he did more harm than good to classical music.
Beethoven certainly changed the way that people thought about music, but this was a change for the worse. From the speculations of Pythagoras about the "music of the spheres" in ancient Greece onwards, most Western musicians had agreed that musical beauty was based on a mysterious connection between sound and mathematics, and that this provided music with an objective goal, something that transcended the individual composer's idiosyncrasies and aspired to the universal. Beethoven managed to put an end to this noble tradition by inaugurating a barbaric U-turn away from an other-directed music to an inward-directed, narcissistic focus on the composer himself and his own tortured soul.
This was a ghastly inversion that led slowly but inevitably to the awful atonal music of Schönberg and Webern. In other words, almost everything that went wrong with music in the 19th and 20th centuries is ultimately Beethoven's fault. Schönberg was simply taking Beethoven's original mistake to its ultimate, monstrous, logical conclusion.
This is not to deny Beethoven's genius, but simply to claim that he employed his genius in the service of a fundamentally flawed idea. If Beethoven had dedicated his obvious talents to serving the noble Pythagorean view of music, he might well have gone on to compose music even greater than that of Mozart. You can hear this potential in his early string quartets, where the movements often have neat conclusions and there is a playfulness reminiscent of Mozart or Haydn.
If only Beethoven had nourished these tender shoots instead of the darker elements that one can also hear. For the darkness is already evident in the early quartets too, in their sombre harmonies and sudden key changes. As it was, however, his darker side won out: compare, for example, the late string quartets. Here the youthful humour has completely vanished, the occasional signs of optimism quickly die out moments after they appear and the movements sometimes end in uncomfortably inconclusive cadences.
It's instructive to compare Beethoven's morbid self-obsession with the unselfconscious vivacity of Mozart. Like Bach's perfectly formed fugues and Vivaldi's sparkling concertos, Mozart's music epitomises the baroque and classical ideals of formal elegance and functional harmony; his compositions "unfold with every harmonic turn placed at the right moment, to leave, at the end, a sense of perfect finish and unity", as the music critic Paul Griffiths puts it. Above all, Mozart's music shares with that of Bach an exuberant commitment to the Enlightenment values of clarity, reason, optimism and wit.
With Beethoven, however, we leave behind the lofty aspirations of the Enlightenment and begin the descent into the narcissistic inwardness of Romanticism. Mozart gives you music that asks to be appreciated for its own sake, and you don't need to know anything about the composer's life to enjoy it. Beethoven's music, on the other hand, is all about himself - it is simply a vehicle for a self-indulgent display of bizarre mood swings and personal difficulties.
Hazlewood claimed, in his BBC2 series, that music "grew up" with Beethoven, but it would be more accurate to say that it regressed back into a state of sullen adolescence. Even when he uses older forms, such as the fugue, Beethoven twists them into cruel and angry parodies. The result is often fiercely dissonant, with abrupt changes in style occurring from one movement to another, or even in the same movement. Hazlewood is right to describe Beethoven as a "hooligan", but this is hardly a virtue.
In A Clockwork Orange it is the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that echoes in the mind of Alex whenever he indulges in one of his orgies of violence. Alex's reaction may be rather extreme, but he is responding to something that is already there in this dark and frenzied setting of Schiller's Ode to Joy; the joy it invites one to feel is the joy of madness, bloodlust and megalomania. It is glorious music, and seductive, but the passions it stirs up are dark and menacing.
I was unable to resist tuning in to Beethoven at times last week, but I needed to cheer myself up with something more optimistic and life-affirming afterwards.
• Kevin Myers returns next week. Dylan Evans is a senior lecturer in intelligent autonomous systems at the University of the West of England. This article first appeared in The Guardian.
It was this article that spurred me on to listen to the western classical collection that I had on my PC. Till now, these files had served just as ornamental pieces showing visitors to my room that my musical collection was wide and varied and oh yes, it represented my 'jack of all trades' nature.
The first thing that i did was to watch 'A Clockwork Orange'. Its a true classic, a must watch and if you haven't watched it yet, please do. It answers many questions regarding ethical treatment of prisoners, prison reforms, exploitative nature of humans, how a violent mind works and so on. What the author says is true. Ludvig van's (as Alex (the protagonist) puts it in the film) fourth is certainly disturbing to a viewer who is immersed in the movie as much as the protagonist is. It matches well with the rape scenes, the assault scenes and the show of power of the nazis during their heyday.
The next thing that I did was to listen to Handel and Mozart. Vivaldi I had already heard to long back. The difference is spotted instantly. Handel's music is what do I say, more religious. A quick search on the net proved my guess. Compositions like 'The Messaih' were meant to be catholic rather than narcissistic. My personal favourite is "Turkish March'. my dream is to dance for this piece with my lady love as and when I find her. Mozart's compositions, needless to say are pure joy. They leave you light hearted, full of joy and hopeful. Vivaldi falls in the same category as well. Love 'The Four Seasons'. A crude modern comparison would be Dream Theatre's 'A Change of Seasons'.
If one tires imposing these compositions upon the very same scenes, the mismatch becomes obvious. Beethoven is the 'Dark Angel' who could compose such pieces. One can feel the emotional upheaval while listening to Beethoven. Dark, disturbing are some words that come to the mind. On the other hand, the very same Beethoven has given classic, lovely pieces like 'Fur Elise'. The Berlin Philharmoniker pieces are a musician's delight.
If I have to choose 2 singers to represent my state of mind, it would have to be Handel and Beethoven. Beethoven for those depressed, dark days when nothing is happening while Handel is for those heavenly periods that come along as a silver lining.
Right folks, I close this piece with the opening lines of 'A Clockwork Orange'....Hope it encourages you to watch it: Auf Wiedersehan from DK, Ludvig van and Alex.....
"There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence"
I'll begin this piece with an article from The Telegraph, a revered British newspaper. Analysis of music is a tough task, but I must say that the columnist has done a pretty good job.
How Beethoven ruined classical music
By Dylan Evans(Filed: 12/06/2005)
It was Beethoven week on the BBC last week. By midnight on Friday Radio 3 had filled six days of airtime with every single note the composer wrote - every symphony, every quartet, every sonata and lots more besides. At the same time, in a series of three films on BBC2, the conductor Charles Hazlewood told us about the composer's life, while BBC4 produced three programmes of musical analysis.
It's good to see classical music getting some coverage on primetime television, but the relentless focus on Beethoven is dire. Not all fans of classical music are members of the Beethoven cult. Some of us even think he did more harm than good to classical music.
Beethoven certainly changed the way that people thought about music, but this was a change for the worse. From the speculations of Pythagoras about the "music of the spheres" in ancient Greece onwards, most Western musicians had agreed that musical beauty was based on a mysterious connection between sound and mathematics, and that this provided music with an objective goal, something that transcended the individual composer's idiosyncrasies and aspired to the universal. Beethoven managed to put an end to this noble tradition by inaugurating a barbaric U-turn away from an other-directed music to an inward-directed, narcissistic focus on the composer himself and his own tortured soul.
This was a ghastly inversion that led slowly but inevitably to the awful atonal music of Schönberg and Webern. In other words, almost everything that went wrong with music in the 19th and 20th centuries is ultimately Beethoven's fault. Schönberg was simply taking Beethoven's original mistake to its ultimate, monstrous, logical conclusion.
This is not to deny Beethoven's genius, but simply to claim that he employed his genius in the service of a fundamentally flawed idea. If Beethoven had dedicated his obvious talents to serving the noble Pythagorean view of music, he might well have gone on to compose music even greater than that of Mozart. You can hear this potential in his early string quartets, where the movements often have neat conclusions and there is a playfulness reminiscent of Mozart or Haydn.
If only Beethoven had nourished these tender shoots instead of the darker elements that one can also hear. For the darkness is already evident in the early quartets too, in their sombre harmonies and sudden key changes. As it was, however, his darker side won out: compare, for example, the late string quartets. Here the youthful humour has completely vanished, the occasional signs of optimism quickly die out moments after they appear and the movements sometimes end in uncomfortably inconclusive cadences.
It's instructive to compare Beethoven's morbid self-obsession with the unselfconscious vivacity of Mozart. Like Bach's perfectly formed fugues and Vivaldi's sparkling concertos, Mozart's music epitomises the baroque and classical ideals of formal elegance and functional harmony; his compositions "unfold with every harmonic turn placed at the right moment, to leave, at the end, a sense of perfect finish and unity", as the music critic Paul Griffiths puts it. Above all, Mozart's music shares with that of Bach an exuberant commitment to the Enlightenment values of clarity, reason, optimism and wit.
With Beethoven, however, we leave behind the lofty aspirations of the Enlightenment and begin the descent into the narcissistic inwardness of Romanticism. Mozart gives you music that asks to be appreciated for its own sake, and you don't need to know anything about the composer's life to enjoy it. Beethoven's music, on the other hand, is all about himself - it is simply a vehicle for a self-indulgent display of bizarre mood swings and personal difficulties.
Hazlewood claimed, in his BBC2 series, that music "grew up" with Beethoven, but it would be more accurate to say that it regressed back into a state of sullen adolescence. Even when he uses older forms, such as the fugue, Beethoven twists them into cruel and angry parodies. The result is often fiercely dissonant, with abrupt changes in style occurring from one movement to another, or even in the same movement. Hazlewood is right to describe Beethoven as a "hooligan", but this is hardly a virtue.
In A Clockwork Orange it is the fourth movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony that echoes in the mind of Alex whenever he indulges in one of his orgies of violence. Alex's reaction may be rather extreme, but he is responding to something that is already there in this dark and frenzied setting of Schiller's Ode to Joy; the joy it invites one to feel is the joy of madness, bloodlust and megalomania. It is glorious music, and seductive, but the passions it stirs up are dark and menacing.
I was unable to resist tuning in to Beethoven at times last week, but I needed to cheer myself up with something more optimistic and life-affirming afterwards.
• Kevin Myers returns next week. Dylan Evans is a senior lecturer in intelligent autonomous systems at the University of the West of England. This article first appeared in The Guardian.
It was this article that spurred me on to listen to the western classical collection that I had on my PC. Till now, these files had served just as ornamental pieces showing visitors to my room that my musical collection was wide and varied and oh yes, it represented my 'jack of all trades' nature.
The first thing that i did was to watch 'A Clockwork Orange'. Its a true classic, a must watch and if you haven't watched it yet, please do. It answers many questions regarding ethical treatment of prisoners, prison reforms, exploitative nature of humans, how a violent mind works and so on. What the author says is true. Ludvig van's (as Alex (the protagonist) puts it in the film) fourth is certainly disturbing to a viewer who is immersed in the movie as much as the protagonist is. It matches well with the rape scenes, the assault scenes and the show of power of the nazis during their heyday.
The next thing that I did was to listen to Handel and Mozart. Vivaldi I had already heard to long back. The difference is spotted instantly. Handel's music is what do I say, more religious. A quick search on the net proved my guess. Compositions like 'The Messaih' were meant to be catholic rather than narcissistic. My personal favourite is "Turkish March'. my dream is to dance for this piece with my lady love as and when I find her. Mozart's compositions, needless to say are pure joy. They leave you light hearted, full of joy and hopeful. Vivaldi falls in the same category as well. Love 'The Four Seasons'. A crude modern comparison would be Dream Theatre's 'A Change of Seasons'.
If one tires imposing these compositions upon the very same scenes, the mismatch becomes obvious. Beethoven is the 'Dark Angel' who could compose such pieces. One can feel the emotional upheaval while listening to Beethoven. Dark, disturbing are some words that come to the mind. On the other hand, the very same Beethoven has given classic, lovely pieces like 'Fur Elise'. The Berlin Philharmoniker pieces are a musician's delight.
If I have to choose 2 singers to represent my state of mind, it would have to be Handel and Beethoven. Beethoven for those depressed, dark days when nothing is happening while Handel is for those heavenly periods that come along as a silver lining.
Right folks, I close this piece with the opening lines of 'A Clockwork Orange'....Hope it encourages you to watch it: Auf Wiedersehan from DK, Ludvig van and Alex.....
"There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova milkbar sold milk-plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence"
Thursday, August 25, 2005
ramblings of a sleepless mind
some crazy questions for which i am looking for the answers and hope that i may discover them myself some day:
1) Why didn't I study Physics as my major?
2) Why is an orgasm called 'seeing God'?
3) Will I be The One?
4) Will my ideas be ever accepted as radical and pioneering?
5) If Dream Theatre remakes like 'Funeral for a friend, love lies bleeding' and 'perfect Strangers' are so good, why weren't they the original composers?
6) Why, why is Kate Hudson so heartbreakingly beautiful?
7) Why is it that "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than the others"?
8) Why did Rommel have to die?
9) Why did the USA lose the innocence of the 1940's?
10) Why is code writing such an addiction in perfection?
11) When will I get back my Bangalore of the 1980s?
12) Will the world ever see a Saladin again?
1) Why didn't I study Physics as my major?
2) Why is an orgasm called 'seeing God'?
3) Will I be The One?
4) Will my ideas be ever accepted as radical and pioneering?
5) If Dream Theatre remakes like 'Funeral for a friend, love lies bleeding' and 'perfect Strangers' are so good, why weren't they the original composers?
6) Why, why is Kate Hudson so heartbreakingly beautiful?
7) Why is it that "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than the others"?
8) Why did Rommel have to die?
9) Why did the USA lose the innocence of the 1940's?
10) Why is code writing such an addiction in perfection?
11) When will I get back my Bangalore of the 1980s?
12) Will the world ever see a Saladin again?
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
becoming a roman
2004: The state of DK
Incident 1: Bombay Central Railway Station
DK: Bhaisaab, zara yeh saaman utha na tha. kitna lagega?
Porter: saath (60) rupaiye
DK: Krupaya kam kijiye.
Porter: Nahi ji, isse kam to nahin
DK: Theek hai phir..chaliye...
Incident 2: On the Coimbatore-Kurla Express, somewhere near Kalyan
Chakka: Dena hero, nikla paise nikal
DK: Chalo chalo main nahin dene wala
Chakka: Deta hai ki khol ke dikhaon
DK: nahin, nahin, lelo (gives 1 rupee)
Chakka: BC/MC, ek rupaiy??? (does some dirty act which is not worthy of reproduction here and throws the coin back on DK, but DK ducks with the agility of a Roger Federer at the net and evades the 'tainted' coin')
Incident 3: Palika Bazaar
DK: bhaiyya, yeh t-shirt kitne ka?
Salesman: paanch sow
DK: thoda kam kijiye na...
Salesman: nahin bhaisaab...
DK: dekhiye, palika main to bargaining chalta hai
Salesman: maana ki bargaining chalta hai lekin is cheez pe nahin. yeh original piece hai aur hum kyon jyaada bolenge bhaiyya? hum sirf utna maangte hai jitna cost hai. usse upar to nahin maangenge..aakhir hum izzatwale hain
DK: dekhiye, main appka margins ka izzat karta hoon, usi samay jo main sahi samajhta hoon woh maangraha hoon. app ko dena hi padega...
Salesman: theek hia ji aap ke liye char sow rupaiye........
DK: (feeling elated on this bargain) lijiye (walks away with the shirt)
2005: The state of DK
Incident 1: Palika Bazaar
DK: bhaiyya, yeh t-shirt kitne ka?
Salesman: paanch sow
DK: na na...yeh thodi hai asli daam...chalo accha price batao
Salesman: yehi hai bhaisaab asli price..aur yeh original piece bhi hai
DK: kisko ullu banarahe hain aap? main original piece bhi dekha hoon, aur jo piece abhi haath main hai usko bhi dekha hoon...dono main zameen aasman ki farak hai....iska asli daam hai dhai sow
Salesman: nahin bhaiyya, aap ke liye sade teen sow pe aa sakta hoon. usse kam nahin
DK: theek hai to yeh shirt aap rakhlijiye..main chala
Salesman: yaar aise pet pe lath mat maro yaar. chalo kuch nahin bika aaj..dedo jo dena hai
DK: (angry with himself for not quoting a much reduced price) lijiye (walks away with the shirt)
Incident 2: juice shop, Munirka
After payment has been made for the juice
DK: bhaisaab, baki to do..
Juice Guy: kahan diya aap ne paisa?
DK: yeh kya bol rahe ho? abhi to aap ke haath main diya..
Juice Guy: aap ne to nahin diya.....mere paas nahin hai...
DK: yaar sow ka note diya that..aise na kaho...
Juice Guy: agar aap ne diya to mere paas hoga..mere paas nahin hai...aap dhoka de rahe ho
DK: theek hai phir, main idhar hi rukhta hoon...aap abhi isi waqt mere saamne ginti kijiye..agar kam pade to main aapko doonga
Juice Guy: (giving the balance) aayinda aisa kaam mat kijiye
DK: lo, kaun kisko bol raha hai..aapne abhi jo bola woh aapke jindagi main apnaayiye...
Incident 3: On the H Nizamuddin-Secuderabad AP Sampark Kranti Express
Chakka: Dena hero, dena
DK: chal nikal yahan se
Chakka: (mutters some curse) deta hai ki nahin
DK: nahin doonga bola na.....
Chakka: (after an intolerable wait in which every attempt to extract money goes waste) #@#@#@# (walks off)
This time there were no threats to disrobe. I would have been interesting to find out my reaction then...
Moral of the story: One year in Delhi (N India) will definitely toughen you. You will live according to the proverb "When in Rome do as the Romans do"
Incident 1: Bombay Central Railway Station
DK: Bhaisaab, zara yeh saaman utha na tha. kitna lagega?
Porter: saath (60) rupaiye
DK: Krupaya kam kijiye.
Porter: Nahi ji, isse kam to nahin
DK: Theek hai phir..chaliye...
Incident 2: On the Coimbatore-Kurla Express, somewhere near Kalyan
Chakka: Dena hero, nikla paise nikal
DK: Chalo chalo main nahin dene wala
Chakka: Deta hai ki khol ke dikhaon
DK: nahin, nahin, lelo (gives 1 rupee)
Chakka: BC/MC, ek rupaiy??? (does some dirty act which is not worthy of reproduction here and throws the coin back on DK, but DK ducks with the agility of a Roger Federer at the net and evades the 'tainted' coin')
Incident 3: Palika Bazaar
DK: bhaiyya, yeh t-shirt kitne ka?
Salesman: paanch sow
DK: thoda kam kijiye na...
Salesman: nahin bhaisaab...
DK: dekhiye, palika main to bargaining chalta hai
Salesman: maana ki bargaining chalta hai lekin is cheez pe nahin. yeh original piece hai aur hum kyon jyaada bolenge bhaiyya? hum sirf utna maangte hai jitna cost hai. usse upar to nahin maangenge..aakhir hum izzatwale hain
DK: dekhiye, main appka margins ka izzat karta hoon, usi samay jo main sahi samajhta hoon woh maangraha hoon. app ko dena hi padega...
Salesman: theek hia ji aap ke liye char sow rupaiye........
DK: (feeling elated on this bargain) lijiye (walks away with the shirt)
2005: The state of DK
Incident 1: Palika Bazaar
DK: bhaiyya, yeh t-shirt kitne ka?
Salesman: paanch sow
DK: na na...yeh thodi hai asli daam...chalo accha price batao
Salesman: yehi hai bhaisaab asli price..aur yeh original piece bhi hai
DK: kisko ullu banarahe hain aap? main original piece bhi dekha hoon, aur jo piece abhi haath main hai usko bhi dekha hoon...dono main zameen aasman ki farak hai....iska asli daam hai dhai sow
Salesman: nahin bhaiyya, aap ke liye sade teen sow pe aa sakta hoon. usse kam nahin
DK: theek hai to yeh shirt aap rakhlijiye..main chala
Salesman: yaar aise pet pe lath mat maro yaar. chalo kuch nahin bika aaj..dedo jo dena hai
DK: (angry with himself for not quoting a much reduced price) lijiye (walks away with the shirt)
Incident 2: juice shop, Munirka
After payment has been made for the juice
DK: bhaisaab, baki to do..
Juice Guy: kahan diya aap ne paisa?
DK: yeh kya bol rahe ho? abhi to aap ke haath main diya..
Juice Guy: aap ne to nahin diya.....mere paas nahin hai...
DK: yaar sow ka note diya that..aise na kaho...
Juice Guy: agar aap ne diya to mere paas hoga..mere paas nahin hai...aap dhoka de rahe ho
DK: theek hai phir, main idhar hi rukhta hoon...aap abhi isi waqt mere saamne ginti kijiye..agar kam pade to main aapko doonga
Juice Guy: (giving the balance) aayinda aisa kaam mat kijiye
DK: lo, kaun kisko bol raha hai..aapne abhi jo bola woh aapke jindagi main apnaayiye...
Incident 3: On the H Nizamuddin-Secuderabad AP Sampark Kranti Express
Chakka: Dena hero, dena
DK: chal nikal yahan se
Chakka: (mutters some curse) deta hai ki nahin
DK: nahin doonga bola na.....
Chakka: (after an intolerable wait in which every attempt to extract money goes waste) #@#@#@# (walks off)
This time there were no threats to disrobe. I would have been interesting to find out my reaction then...
Moral of the story: One year in Delhi (N India) will definitely toughen you. You will live according to the proverb "When in Rome do as the Romans do"
Monday, August 15, 2005
Capitalistic musings
sometimes i wonder "why is delhi the capital of our country? " according to me, a capital should have certain attributes which should reflect the nature of the country and it should also set standards in some other areas. if seen through this prism delhi satisfies on some counts and fails miserably on some others. i have come up with a list. lets see how i fare in my analysis:
1) Pluralism: we have had this concept drilled into our 'accept what is told by ur teachers as gospel' brain that india is a sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic with some fundamental rights assured for a citizen and most important, its a country where unity in diversity flourishes and it has the name sub-continent blah blah blah. in this sense yes, delhi satisfies my definition. you will find many many people from many different parts of india. we have the tamils, telugus, malayalis, kannadigas, marathas, gujaratis, bengalis, NE Indians etc. people live together harmoniously without any animosity (apparently). but the usual back-bitching goes on. so, on two counts delhi satisfies the criteria...it mirrors the pluralism that is india and has many different linguistic groups of people living in harmony.
2) Good roads: whatever you may say about delhi, you got to accept its excellent network of roads. it is termed bad by international standards..then if i am asked to comment on the state in other places...all i have to say is 'God save the other places!!' You have to see the roads which are broad, well marked with proper signs. the flyover network beats them all. well, in this sense it sets a standard for other places to follow.
3) Eateries: As far as food is concerned it mirrors the pluralism in food. you only have to go to dilli haat to get a first hand experience of this. but make sure you have enough cash with you.
4) Low cost markets: haven't seen such pocket friendly markets anywhere. heck, the items available here would even put the malls in gurgaon to shame.
5) an already established administrative mechanism consisting of buildings, administrative culture, established head quarters must surely tilt the balance in favour of delhi.
6) proximity to the major army units - Mhow, Beas, Bhopal,Amritsar, Ambala, Jodhpur..these are all major cantonments. quite useful in case of any rebellion in the capital. another advantage is that they can also be used a strike corps against our enemies (i will be a bloody 'sinner' if i mention their names in this era of bhaichara)..
seen from the above angles, delhi surely deserves to be the capital of the country. but there are other points which i would like to list and would like you, my dear reader to ponder over them..
1) should the capital also bear the title 'the rape capital'? check this link for some 'revealing' statistics http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/12/stories/2005081213400100.htm
2) should a capital have the highest incidence of traffic violations, road rage etc?
3) in my estimate this is the rudest city in india. so...................(case in point: people fling across the balance cash in a shop for example, whereas down south it is given to your hand)
4) the most money minded city in india where people will do anything for money.
nothing more to say folks. i personally dont know if i have a right to make such comments because i have never belonged to a particular place so that i can imbibe the ethos of that place. bangalore does comes close on that count. i just dont have the feel for any place. i also dont get very passionate about any place. in this regard i would like to quote a dialogue from 'The Shawshank Redemption'.
"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."
i only hope somebody feels like this about me.
i am an everybody who is a nobody. guess thats what settlers are doomed to. a life without identity. maybe my kids will be the caged birds. thank god, its not me!!!!
1) Pluralism: we have had this concept drilled into our 'accept what is told by ur teachers as gospel' brain that india is a sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic with some fundamental rights assured for a citizen and most important, its a country where unity in diversity flourishes and it has the name sub-continent blah blah blah. in this sense yes, delhi satisfies my definition. you will find many many people from many different parts of india. we have the tamils, telugus, malayalis, kannadigas, marathas, gujaratis, bengalis, NE Indians etc. people live together harmoniously without any animosity (apparently). but the usual back-bitching goes on. so, on two counts delhi satisfies the criteria...it mirrors the pluralism that is india and has many different linguistic groups of people living in harmony.
2) Good roads: whatever you may say about delhi, you got to accept its excellent network of roads. it is termed bad by international standards..then if i am asked to comment on the state in other places...all i have to say is 'God save the other places!!' You have to see the roads which are broad, well marked with proper signs. the flyover network beats them all. well, in this sense it sets a standard for other places to follow.
3) Eateries: As far as food is concerned it mirrors the pluralism in food. you only have to go to dilli haat to get a first hand experience of this. but make sure you have enough cash with you.
4) Low cost markets: haven't seen such pocket friendly markets anywhere. heck, the items available here would even put the malls in gurgaon to shame.
5) an already established administrative mechanism consisting of buildings, administrative culture, established head quarters must surely tilt the balance in favour of delhi.
6) proximity to the major army units - Mhow, Beas, Bhopal,Amritsar, Ambala, Jodhpur..these are all major cantonments. quite useful in case of any rebellion in the capital. another advantage is that they can also be used a strike corps against our enemies (i will be a bloody 'sinner' if i mention their names in this era of bhaichara)..
seen from the above angles, delhi surely deserves to be the capital of the country. but there are other points which i would like to list and would like you, my dear reader to ponder over them..
1) should the capital also bear the title 'the rape capital'? check this link for some 'revealing' statistics http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/12/stories/2005081213400100.htm
2) should a capital have the highest incidence of traffic violations, road rage etc?
3) in my estimate this is the rudest city in india. so...................(case in point: people fling across the balance cash in a shop for example, whereas down south it is given to your hand)
4) the most money minded city in india where people will do anything for money.
nothing more to say folks. i personally dont know if i have a right to make such comments because i have never belonged to a particular place so that i can imbibe the ethos of that place. bangalore does comes close on that count. i just dont have the feel for any place. i also dont get very passionate about any place. in this regard i would like to quote a dialogue from 'The Shawshank Redemption'.
"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."
i only hope somebody feels like this about me.
i am an everybody who is a nobody. guess thats what settlers are doomed to. a life without identity. maybe my kids will be the caged birds. thank god, its not me!!!!
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Manipur and Nagaland:a saga from the mahabharata to the present
If you have been following the news recently, you must have read about the economic blockade of manipur by the All Naga Students' Union of manipur. these 'students' (pun intended) have partly achieved what they wanted i.e cripple Manipur, but their other aim that of making the rest of India take notice of their claims has not clicked that well as they might have expected to. it will not, because when have non NE Indians bothered about what happens in the NE? we ourselves humiliate our NE countrymen/women by calling them 'chinkis' one of the most disgusting terms i have ever heard. our knowledge of the NE region is confined to Assam and Sikkim, albeit limited. the indifference can be guaged from the coverage given in the press to incidents like the blockade, the anti-Assam rifles protest, the manipur assembly burning. these hogged the headlines for a few days and later on completely disappeared. I know that this is true with all kinds of news, but if one were to use a half-life measure for longevity of news items, do you think stories connected to the NE will even have nuclei left to be counted?
In this respect, our ancient scriptures (specially the Mahabharata) (which organisations like the BJP/Shiv Sena/RSS and sometimes even the thieving/chameleonistic Congress exploit to the hilt to garner votes) have integrated the NE into the story. Lest we forget, Arjuna had wives in nagaland (Uloopi) and in manipur (Chitrangada). Infact he faces defeat and death in manipur at the hands of his son Babruvahana during the battle for Yudhisthira's Sacrificial horse. The lessons associated with the NE saga of Arjuna teach us about the existence of a matriarchial society in manipur (kerala is the only other place where such a system exists).
The solution to this problem is not simple. many have suggested a military action against the Naga students. Please people, just pause to think. These guys are fighting for a legitimate demand. Imagine, if maharashtra can have the bloody gall to ask for Belgaum just because there is a sizeable marathi speaking population there, whats wrong with the Nagas asking for a district like Senapati wherein the population is almost entirely naga?
At the same time, Manipur is precious to us too. The Manipuris too have attachment to their state. Who doesn't?
The only solution to this problem is in the rest of India earning the trust of both the Nagas and the Manipuris. The two parties should first develop the trust that people on the mainland have not isolated them and they are ready to help. we should also learn to respect them and not call them by derogatory terms. If we don't do such basic things, don't be surprised if the NE becomes part of China/Myanmar within the next 50 years.
As a conclusion I would like to say that the occupying allied forces won the trust, love and respect of the West germans when they flew in essentials at great risk to their own lives because of a Soviet economic blockade. At the same time they might have earned the love of the East germans too. Imagine if we put our lives on the line for the manipuris. Not only will we earn their trust, but at the same time the Nagas will realise that we appreciate their needs too but they will not twist our hands in such a way that we make another set of our countrymen suffer thus!!!
In this respect, our ancient scriptures (specially the Mahabharata) (which organisations like the BJP/Shiv Sena/RSS and sometimes even the thieving/chameleonistic Congress exploit to the hilt to garner votes) have integrated the NE into the story. Lest we forget, Arjuna had wives in nagaland (Uloopi) and in manipur (Chitrangada). Infact he faces defeat and death in manipur at the hands of his son Babruvahana during the battle for Yudhisthira's Sacrificial horse. The lessons associated with the NE saga of Arjuna teach us about the existence of a matriarchial society in manipur (kerala is the only other place where such a system exists).
The solution to this problem is not simple. many have suggested a military action against the Naga students. Please people, just pause to think. These guys are fighting for a legitimate demand. Imagine, if maharashtra can have the bloody gall to ask for Belgaum just because there is a sizeable marathi speaking population there, whats wrong with the Nagas asking for a district like Senapati wherein the population is almost entirely naga?
At the same time, Manipur is precious to us too. The Manipuris too have attachment to their state. Who doesn't?
The only solution to this problem is in the rest of India earning the trust of both the Nagas and the Manipuris. The two parties should first develop the trust that people on the mainland have not isolated them and they are ready to help. we should also learn to respect them and not call them by derogatory terms. If we don't do such basic things, don't be surprised if the NE becomes part of China/Myanmar within the next 50 years.
As a conclusion I would like to say that the occupying allied forces won the trust, love and respect of the West germans when they flew in essentials at great risk to their own lives because of a Soviet economic blockade. At the same time they might have earned the love of the East germans too. Imagine if we put our lives on the line for the manipuris. Not only will we earn their trust, but at the same time the Nagas will realise that we appreciate their needs too but they will not twist our hands in such a way that we make another set of our countrymen suffer thus!!!
Monday, August 08, 2005
A Paradigm Shift
This blog can be considered as an epitaph for my days as a doormat or in more laymanistic terms, a guy with a lose-win mentality.
Being a doormat means that you drop everything that you do and plunge headlong to help others. It also applies to situations when i should have said 'No' but have said 'yes'.
I have come to realise in the adage
"laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone"
Horace,65 BC to 8 BC,Roman Philosopher
time i switched over to the win win mentality....Sean Covey, lead kindly light
Being a doormat means that you drop everything that you do and plunge headlong to help others. It also applies to situations when i should have said 'No' but have said 'yes'.
I have come to realise in the adage
"laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone"
Horace,65 BC to 8 BC,Roman Philosopher
time i switched over to the win win mentality....Sean Covey, lead kindly light
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