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..
Thursday, October 13, 2005
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......
Saturday, September 24, 2005
'Jog falls' by The Dream Weavers
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......
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......
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!!!!
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