musings.....

So it was a movie filled weekend.

Dostana : Obviously, I'd read pathetic reviews about it on Rediff. And I almost did not go. This one is no Brokeback Mountain. And yes, the heroes pretend to be gay, fall in love with the same girl and so on. Yes, it does caricaturize the gay stereotype, but I think its done in good spirit and it had me laughing very hard. Of course, it also caricaturized the typical Indian saas-bahu, the K3G, KKHT over the top tearjerker stereotypes. Very refreshing that bollywood has finally decided to make fun of itself.

Vaaranam Ayiram : Ok, so I was very excited about this one, having seen the promos and interviews. I knew Surya had worked very hard on his various roles and the movie definitely had some catchy tunes. About 70% of the narrative was very well told, and very, very relatable. The rest of it was - well , a tamil movie :).I think Surya just graduated to an Aamir-esque league after this one. Oh, and the unkempt, unshaven angry young man look - Very sexy.

It feels like I rediscovered a missing part of me. Its been about eight years, it seems forever.

I owe my musical journey to her. No amount of listening, learning from youtube, attending concerts and hosting the stars could equal this. Hell, not even close. Come to think of it, I never found a replacement in all these years. Not that I did not have the opportunity. But I never did it. It is just one of those things.

She is back in life life and I am grateful ! Finally I have my own teacher back, someone who I can share raaga jokes with, someone how can almost preempt my swara patterns and the one I attribute my Dikshitar preoccupation to. Singing with her again, learning from her. It all makes sense now:)

Watchout Cleveland !

Reetigowlai.

I am embarrassed to admit that for the longest time, my baseline song for this raaga was "Azhagana Rakshasiye". Of course, Maharajapuram's "Nannu Vidachi" changed things , it is the Ni2 that made me fall. Just a simple Ni2. Go figure.

In my head , the arohanam is just S G R G M N N S although the orginal arohanam and avarohanam is a beautiful complex sequence of Sa Ga2 Ri2 Ga2 Ma1 Ni2 Da2 Ma1 Ni2 Ni2 Sa and Sa Ni2 Da2 Ma1 Ga2 Ma1 Pa Ma1 Ga2 Ri2 Sa. "Chinna Kannan Azhaikiran" - an Ilayaraja oldie uses the exact pattern in the opening line. Simple, but gets the point across effectively.

And yes, I have been listening to "Kangal Irandaal" from the movie where the hero is a thug and the heroine is a half-saree clad damsel. Oh wait, but that is most movies. Anyhow, the song has been sitting on my playlist for a while and just got elevated to the "continuously on loop" status.

So what exactly is catchy ? the "NSGRSa.. NDPa.. GMPMGRS" interlude before the starting of the first stanza. And these two lines I am unable to get off my head.

"unnai indri ver oru ninaivillai; ini indha 0onuyir ninadhillai"

CNN aired a very though provoking segment on today's "This American Morning". The segment was in response to blogs and critics debating on Sarah Palin's credentials and whether she was fit for the No.2 spot. Sure, why not? As Obama says, why should she be treated any differently? After all, everyone has seen how when a candidate announces his/her run , the whole world starts analysing his/her voting record, foriegn policy experience and so on.

But the strange thing is how Sarah Palin has come under attack about her ability to perform her VP duties while also being a mother to her five children. Why isn't anyone questioning if Obama, for instance, can perform his duties as a president while also parenting two young kids , now 10 and 7? Why should the rules be any different for a woman? So maybe she is nursing now, but how is this different from any other job that women have held? I personally find this accusation that she is somehow less qualified solely because she has an infant sexist.

But this also reminded me of a conversation I had with some friends some weeks ago. Three of us, one fresh from India, were walking around in Penn's Landing. For those of you who don't know , Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love has a beautiful bridge connecting Pennsylvania and NJ with parks, docks and entertainment et al. It is like the Newport of Cincinnati. Anyway, as we were walking around, we saw two gay guys go at it. The scandalized friend started wondering out loud about homosexuality in general. As I recounted the lives and marriages of some of my gay friends, I pointed how many gay men were positive role models, adopting kids from countries like China, India and Guatemala and being doting fathers. It was at this point that the one could not take the concept of a child being raised in a two father home, and that it was somehow more acceptable if a child was raised by two mothers.

I for one, completely disagree. A child , boy or a girl requires both role models - a male and a female in a household. The concept that somehow one parent is more important to a child's upbringing than the other is intrinsically flawed.I was raised in a two parent household, and like any other family , we have our share of flaws. But at 25, I thank God for both of them. While my mom gave me my emotional stability, values, ability to love and societal interaction standards, my Dad gave me the faith - he taught me to never stop dreaming. He taught me how to be an eternal optimist, and he gave me unshakeable spritual strength that has seen me through tough times. In summary, both male and female role models are pivotal in shaping a child's view of the world.

Now, while it is tempting, I am not going to discuss how our culture influences these gender stereotypes , leading to such notions that a woman's primary role is somehow within the family as a mother or a wife, no matter if she is a heartbeat away from the US presidency/vice-presidency, whereas a man is judged solely based on his political career.

Sarah Palin gets judged based on her hairdo, the length of her skirts, her beauty pageants, her children's pregnancies,and her Downs syndrome infant. Now, don't get me wrong, the question about how she will balance her life and work is a legitimate question for a concerned citizen. But why isn't anyone asking her husband what his role will be when/if the family makes the transition from Alaska into the Beltway?

After all, this question has been posed to Michelle Obama multiple times over the past year or two, and here is what she had to say "I think it's a unit that raises a child. As far as I'm concerned in this couple, Barack is the person who has the skill, the inclination, the desire, the ability, to be in politics. I have no desire. So that's a good thing, in my view, since someone has to be focusing on the kids -- and that's me. But it could easily be him. There's no reason why the nurturing has to come from Mom -- it just has to be there.. And if Mom is president, that's cool, as long as Dad or someone is going to their baseball games, is listening to their stories and their issues. There's got to be someone in a kid's life who makes them feel central....

So what is Todd Palin's take on how he will support Sarah Palin and her family as she transitions into her job ? Isn't it high time America asked that question?

The Obama campaign has run a memorable election campaign so far. It is monumental for many reasons. I personally have witnessed just two elections in my stay here so far, but this election is way different that the previous one, the absence of Dubya notwithstanding.

Firstly, for the first time in recent history, American politics and the election process itself has received unprecedented publicity. After all, when you hear an average man in an Indian village enquire about Obama on the phone, you know you have struck gold. If you don't believe me, replay the Berlin address. A crowd of 65,000 non-Americans , and usually tight-lipped Germans at that, cheering loudly a man who is not the president of the United States. He is not a president incumbent, hell , he is not even the formal nominee - still presumptive nominee of one of the parties of the country.

Secondly, this man and his campaign has generated tremendous interest and following among young voters. Facebook's 24 year old CEO as one of his chief strategists, Obama has used technology to effectively redefine the way campaigns and fundraisers are run. And yes, he does use our CRM product to run these campaigns and that makes me very proud, but the point to carefully observe here is that the campaign does not just send out random emails at all times of the day. Very carefully worded , crisp messages sent at appropriate times. Admirably, the Obama campaign has declared that it will announce his VP choice to his supporters first, and voters can sign up or send a text message to be put on a list. Millions of emails and phone numbers gathered at one go - that is just very smart campaign tactics. Supporters can also sign up to see local members and start groups in their neighborhood.

Thirdly, of course, is the extraordinary distance this man has come so far, with an unusual sounding name and relatively no D.C. experience. This fact alone is a testament to what smart politics can do in an election. But since he became the presumptive nominee, the Obama clan has run a clean race so far. In fact, far too clean in my opinion. Clearly , Mr.Grandpa and his supporters could stoop so low as to compare him with Britney and Paris after his landmark trip abroad. This man Obama, carried himself with such poise they did not think was possible from this newbie. On the one hand, he is the presumptive nominee of the democratic party, challenging the current president's international policies but on the other hand he represents America to the world. That is a very fine line to walk. And he did walk that like with confidence, winning millions of supporters abroad with his message of hope and cooperation.

But here is where I , as a relative outsider to this country get confused. Michelle fist- bumped Barack , so what? Obama's middle name maybe Hussain , so what ? In a country as liberal as America, a country that goes to war to end religious segregation, why is the media unforgiving? A nationally acclaimed magazine, the New Yorker , no less portrays him in a white turban , with his - wait I cannot continue to describe this obscenity.It is crass, ridiculous and paints a very racist, culturally intolerant picture of the US to the world, satirical though it was intended.

That leads me to the actual intent of the New Yorker article, and this post. For one, Obama is different (e.g. looks, culture) from any other politician this country has seen before, which in itself shocks me. I come from a country that has had a president from the religious minority and a woman prime minister. These people were some of the best rulers the country ever witnessed. Oh, and it almost slipped my mind, we now have a woman president, too , but that's a rant I ll save for later.

Anyway, countries that have traditionally been considered conservative by the West - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia,Israel,Bangladesh,Turkey have all had minority/women heads of state. Granted, there has been an increasing awareness about religious terrorism here in the US since 9/11. An awareness is healthy, even necessary to open America's eyes to what has been going on for centuries in the rest of the world. But by boxing all people that belong to a particular religion as somehow alien and potentially dangerous, isn't America going down the same path as it's offenders ?

What if Obama is indeed a Muslim ? Does that make him any less American ? Does that make him any less patriotic ? There have been no records so far pointing to any of the above.Frankly the hypocrisy is shocking. On the one hand, Americans talk about celebrating diversity and take great pride in their political correctness. Yet, on the other hand,you see a three page statement issued by the Obama campaign with detailed references to his genealogy and religious practices. Has there ever been a non-white, or non-male, or a non-Christian president in the world's most liberal country?

Is the U.S. ready for a different president this time around? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, every country comes with its own set of hypocrisies, prejudices and emotions. Social diversity, economic, education and scientific advancement notwithstanding. Because ultimately , a country is its people, and people, are just that - human.

Abheri is like a beautiful, shy girl. Much like the way Jodha catches herself eyeing Akbar on a sunny,sweaty swordfight practice morning. Suddha Dhanyasi is not far behind either. Consequently it is hard to tell them apart,sometimes. Karnataka Devagandhari,Bhimplas and Dhanasri make our make lives more complicated. But that is not the intention of this post. (I have finally learnt how to embed videos on blogger, but that is not the intention of this post either.)



"Narayana ninna namadha" - Purandharadasa pours emotion and Bhakti into this song, and what better raaga to express this than Suddha Dhanyasi.Listen to the song, and you will not notice a thing. Ranjani starts virutham in Saveri and Gayathri takes over. The first line is in Saveri and then she transitions over to Suddha Dhanyasi.

About 2:11 minutes into the video something happens. As Gayathri transistions to Suddha Dhanyasi, she ends the first line in a barely audible "Pa" that sets the stage. The violinist follows, except she thinks it is hindolam so plays the hindolam "Dha" instead. If only looks could kill, the violinist would be RIP by now. And then Gayathri proceeds to show elaborate the raagam a little more, and the accompanist catches on. All in the wink of an eyelid, almost transparent to the naked eye.

Until a little thing called YouTube caught on. With its action replays and viral nature , it has become the third umpire, an unfailing,sometimes harsh judge. But this is also a testament to the knowledge of the rasikas out there. That is just very good carnatic music in my book.




Suddha Dhanyasi - Arohanam : SGMPNS

Avarohanam : SNPMGS

Hindolam - Arohanam : SGMDNS

Avarohanam : SNDMGS

I went to grad school. Ergo, I know what lectures are like. The phdcomic fan in me would already conjure images of bingo and writing poetry, playing tic tac toe or a combination of all three during a professor's lecture.

But what is remarkable about the last lecture, is its simplicity. Honest , straight from the heart. No academic gibberish. No euphemisms, just straight talk. From a man who is (was)dying. I will admit though, that the publicity was cloying. It transformed the legacy of a great man to near-Britney like celebrity hype.

I don't know what it was about today. Maybe the stress of the past few days. Maybe an emotional high thanks to a birthday with loved ones. The realisation that somehow a quarter century passed by. Will there be a witness ? Does it go unnoticed? Maybe it was Ranjani and Gayathri singing "Rangapura Vihara." Just close your eyes and I promise you can experience that light, subtle shringara rasa sweeping you off your feet. If you have another level , that is. But I digress. It was just a reflective mood and I was reading this.

The book, the letter from the President, the Pittsburg day, the scuba diving, the lobbying, the elephant in the room. And then the post about Dylan turning six. A photo in the local photobooth done as pastel painting.

It moved me to tears. Human fraility. How we all, at some level, prepare ourselves for the inevitable. How it still hits hard when it happens. How we all live with the pain, how we move on.

And how family is the most important thing in everyone's life. How a dying man can teach us priorities.

Randy Pausch, RIP.