The World Cup is ours!!

Wow!! I really can't believe we won the World Cup! I belong to a category where I don't know half of the cricketer's name...but now I do. To hike up the spirits I went and got jerseys and stuffed our fridges with edible snacks to keep the non-fans interested too :) But the fact is that I lost interest the moment Sachin was out. I so badly wanted him to score a century. But eventually became enthusiastic to watch it partly because we were doing pretty ok...and partly because of Chetan Bhagat's super funny tweets! I had a ball laughing at all of them especially the one where he tweeted about how Maggie should be endorsing Malinga since he endorses the product :D and also about all the kids going 'mummy bhook lagi hai' when they see his yellow highlights :). As much as I hate making sarcastic comments on people or laughing at any, this man, Chetan is just too funny to ignore. And he sort of does it in a harmless way. Another funny tweet was how easy it is to gift Sreesanth a birthday gift- a comb!!! Ok ok.. I guess I need to stick to the topic now... I was checking out Android apps (which are ultra-cool) and got back to watching the match after I heard a lot of yelling and hooting. Something right was happening and so I decided to watch it for the sake of cheering. This is also the only match my sister would have sat throughout... talk about patriotism! The ONLY event where you can they see the whole of India united.

On one end a friend was consoling saying the real match is over when Indian won with Pakistan and this is just a for-the-sake-of-it match. On the other end I heard another friend supporting Srilanka for Jayewardene’s undeterred attitude towards doing the right thing at the right time! There were some funny moments where an uncle claimed to have seen the world cup win in his dreams and was just watching the game to prove he's right! Amidst all this action, my heart went out to the game when I saw Gambhir doing exceptionally well. Few minutes before Gambhir got into form, my whole timeline were filled with tweets of abusive nature and wotnot. I hope all these abusive people realize that they are not perfect and how sometimes a little bit of motivation can really boost the players at such a tight situation! Save your energy abusers... it's not the time yet! Anyhow, Gambhir and Dhoni had this amazing vibe on the field and kudos to them for their intelligent batting strategy. There was a look on Sangakkara's face towards the ending where he knew there was no chance but fought it through with dignity. That look is the look of an undefeated hero. They must have settled for a tea cup but they will still remain heroes for putting up such a tough fight.

Yuvraj Singh !! Whatta man! Just couple of months back he was slammed for being out of form and for being a party animal who is a total womanizer. At that time I was also angry with most of these players who kept partying during IPL series where Sachin, on the other hand, was sleeping early to remain in form. I thought it was the end of this guy but the way he got back and shone right throughout the world cup series is impeccable! Now that is exactly what I call success. The best part of this whole game was that a legacy is coming to an end and is being taken forward by the next worthy opponents. To have Sachin out was planned by God only to show that the future is as bright and shining as ever. The youngsters took over this game beautifully making the winning moment a dedication to the God of Cricket. It was the perfect way to tell Sachin that after him they will carry the responsibility with pride and dignity.
What a fantastic way to begin April 2011 and feels nice to not have to use the 83 video clips every time we discuss about the world cup. Need to pinch myself to see if this is all real...uh-oh!! Mummy bhook lagi hai :) ..Just saw Malinga on TV...thank you CB for making hairstyles a powerful appetizer :D

Unfair victim of life

I was reading about articles on Euthanasia featured in The Hindu. Obviously, for me, Aruna Shanbaug is the first name that comes to me whenever I think of this subject. We all have debated over this again and again and with time, we just forgot about the other side. Sohanlal, the ward boy who is responsible for her present vegetative state, is probably the least affected in this case. FYI, he was only booked under robbery and attempt to murder and not for 'unnatural sexual offence’. A life cut short to fulfill his revenge, causing irreparable loss for Aruna and to all those attached to her, he has only served 6-7 years in jail. How content are we as human beings who forgot to punish the man whose actions triggered this debate? This time we can't even blame the power addicted politicians or bureaucrats as Sohanlal is just an aam aadmi like you and me. Justice does not only prevail amongst the powerful but also amongst the ignorant. Now that Aruna has been granted passive euthanasia, the sinned must also be punished. The fact that she was denied to live a normal life, but instead is being punished for his sins, itself is too much to bear. I was told that she had to bear this brunt just because she happened to be a disciplinarian . When she accused the ward boy of having stolen meat that was ordered for the dogs, he thought of taking his revenge this way. Maybe that's why we all are so scared to come forward and fight for someone else's justice because we are worried of facing the consequences and even more frightened of the justice that will never be done.

Once when I had fractured my leg when I was hardly 5... My mother used to have sleepless nights thinking about a future where I would be limping and dependent. Such is the thought process of each of us. When a train is delayed, or stock of milk is over at the store, or couldn't get tickets to ARR concert, we crib and sulk so much. Well, at least, I do. But now, I have learnt to count my blessings. But I would probably never live a peaceful life when people like Sohanlal are walking around freely. Hope he is punished rightly and then maybe Aruna can die a peaceful death.

The cost for a vote or value of a vote?

During my school days I never would be interested in being informed about our political scenario only because I always found it boring. But post 10th grade I began to develop a certain amount of curiosity in Politics as I found it dramatic. And now it keeps me hooked onto it for hours together because it's costing me a vote! Being an Ex- NRI I have always found voting to be a very important part of every Indian citizen's life. My first day at College got me face to face with the SFI and KSU members. But I never knew who was better and what their ideology was. Eventually when the voting days came along I was able to witness a lot of campaigning that is done to get votes in their favour. The funny thing was that when the parties would enter in with their candidates to give a campaign speech, one would never get to hear what developments they were planning for...rather would hear a lot of bitching of the other party. It was always about 'they didn't do this' and 'they'll never do that' but never about 'We are planning for'. I found it really dumb on their part to never speak about their positives but rather waste time on showing how negative the other one is. To my dismay I also learnt that the same process happens even with the political parties at the Central and State.

Once there was a female candidate who came along with her supporters asking for a vote on the basis of being my neighbour. I had the entire mind to ask her what she is capable of but the way she folded her hands with begging eyes, gave me my answers. How many of these candidates are genuinely wanting to or are capable of doing something substantial for our nation? The question is huge and debatable. But the answer is in us. Every individual can make a difference if they want to. We can cancel our meetings and call up sick to the office for watching a world cup match. We can sympathize with the Japanese victims living without food and shelter ignoring the same condition that has been prevailing since years in India. We can only point fingers at our guardians of law but never be united as a nation to act upon it.

Sometimes the Govt. comes up with policies like increasing women participation, encouraging the youth to represent seats, so on and so forth. But what are we doing as mere voters? Just observing and pointing fingers. Recently on the issue of sailors being abducted by Somali pirates, there was a sudden action taken by Sushma Swaraj on contradiction to SM Krishna's insensitive comments. Really don't know if the effort was genuine, or to show the other party down. But after seeing Egypt's unity I have to say that we are extremely weak as a lay man.

Votes are being sold for cash and we are accepting corruption as a part of our life. Moreover, we are accepting parties who have leaders who are caught up in cases like rape, corruption and wotnot. The elections are due in a month...Please vote wisely and remember 'Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote'

A life mortgaged to the man

Rape cases have become a very common thing like bribery. Sadly, a rape victim remains traumatized even after justice is given to the culprit. It's a shame to know how women can never feel safe in any place ever. Just today I observed Rima's tweets on my timeline which said "In the first place why do we have a ladies compartment? Is it not because she is uncomfortable amidst normal men of the society??" I really don't know what to say when such statements are often made. This is when you don't know if you should justify and disagree or agree by remembering every rape victim. No, all men are not bad. But why is it hard for them to respect woman?

I have often thanked the media for covering so many cases that would have remained paralyzed if it were not for their part time hobby to complete the CBI's work. Every time I think of a Ruchika, Aarushi or Priyadarshini ..I can't help but think of me in their position. To count your blessings is one thing, to apply those blessings in a fruitful manner is another? Soumya was just another jolly, intelligent woman who was on her way to see her soul mate and it took 5 minutes of an aggressive man to rupture her life for good only to satisfy his animal-like cravings. 5 minutes. The judiciary would probably require twenty years to punish the culprit for these 5 minutes. Now tell me...is this fair?

It's always been a hard world for a woman. I've never been one of those who said we are equal to men because we really aren't. Emotionally we are a hell stronger than men as we prepare ourselves to produce a whole new life which is almost like bringing a whole new universe into existence. We play the roles of many at the same time only to put a tough fight against this male chauvinist society. It's getting tougher to survive as a woman but the challenge is now getting easier. Now, with several rape cases reported, one doesn't really know about the after effects. So many politicians including the recent revival of the ice cream parlor case has not done any justice to the victims. But why I mentioned that the challenge is going to easier is because we are no longer going to nod our heads to the sweet time the judiciary is going to take for making their so called verdicts. We all as citizens voice our opinions and know that this snail paced judiciary is not going to do any good to any rape victim.

I think it's time that women should stop relying upon other sources of security that claim to be of use. If they really were of some use... Soumya would be in the world even today. A ladies compartment without security is unbelievable. And a train without any passengers who didn't witness or hear her screams is even more appalling. Please women... equip yourselves, keep yourselves armed and mentally prepared for such situations. I know it's easier said than done. But self-defensive measures are the only way out. No one loves you more than their dignity. And so must you. If you want to actively voice your opinions... there is a forum in Facebook called
Voice it Kerala. Do join it here:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Voice-it-Kerala/170669696312796


Would like to wrap up this by quoting few lines from Swades to the tunes of Rahmanji:

Yaadon ke paalne mein koi khoyi khoyi baat hai, oh nindiya ab aake tu meri di thi lori gaake.. mere khoye sapne dikhlaade
yaadon ka pal na jhulade

Avial Website Launch at Blue Frog, Mumbai

What a great start to the New Year!!! Well, preparing for this was no less than fun unlimited! Mumbai - The city that welcomed me 21 years ago as a body bathed in blood , fresh with dreams , not knowing that eventually I would never be part of it while growing! My mom always says that I and my sister were lucky to be born at B.A.R.C. for the kind of facilities it offers especially since my Granddad and mom worked there. Throughout my childhood we used to visit Granny every year and all my memories have to do with the traffic and pollution and an ice cream shop called Yankees! Now, I was returning back for a gig of Avial's to Mumbai after 10 long years!!

Nagumomu ganaleni, the evergreen composition of Saint Thyagaraja is something I've been singing since my early teens. I don't know how and when this happened but the krithi came running into my mind abruptly. And that was the exact moment when I knew I had to do this with Avial. So, when I initially discussed the idea with the team they seemed to be skeptical about it as none of them are too familiar with Indian Classical music. I did give them the confidence to experiment with it, and eventually then agreed with a big smile :)

Mumbai is super polluted minus traffic (Guess we were lucky those 3 days!). All of us went for a radio byte to Radio Mirchi 98.3 soon after lunch only to be entertained by the RJ himself! The poor guy who was trying all tactics to make us feel at home was quite surprised to learn despite us being rock musicians, happen to be so silent and subtle in behavior! It's quite a common notion that rock musicians are cool people who talk cool, walk cool, speak cool... but it's not so. In fact, there are many times when I saw youngsters come up to the band members, showing them a 'yo' and they speak words that are considered to be abusive in the dictionary. Anyhow, after the Radio session I had an amazing master class with Rex and Binny who were playing their guitars. Quite interestingly I got to see how the scale changes can be easily understood with certain techniques that are also practiced in Indian Classical system.

Sound check was a bummer in the beginning as the guitar levels were too low and the drums were too high and there was no feedback, etc. With a lot of testing and playing on the stage, eventually got to a point where everyone was content with the sounding. We got back to the hotel for a quick bite and then off to Blue Frog. I was quite surprised to see the kind of artists who perform there. These are the times when I count my blessings. Susheela Raman, Talwin Singh and the likes were the ones who were performing in the days to come. Talwinji for present for our concert. A very jolly human being who was 24/7 praising each and every member of the band.

Ehsaan Noorani inaugurated the concert and sat throughout. The gig opened with 2 acoustic versions of Aanakallan and Kaithola and continued with 'Ayyo', the new song. People went literally berserk every time Tony would speak. I was all skeptical about Nagumo because I was attempting Carnatic after a gap of 1.5 years on stage! Also, the audience was rock oriented, but there were hopes of them accepting it. It was a huge success and I really need to thank God for giving me the power to sing like that! At the end of it all, Chekele was the most-in-demand song and was played again on the stage only that this time; the crowd was singing it :)


So all's well that ends well. It was a fantastic gig, thanks to Mumbaikers and Blue Frog was making it look and sound so pretty. You can take a look at the website here : www.avial.in

You can have a look at the other pics HERE.

God in disguise

Bengaluru climate is beautiful and responsible for giving me a bad cold and sore throat. Haven't sung in ages!! Well, that's an exaggeration :) Today morning I was standing outside in my garden area talking to a friend about my New Year plans and suddenly an old man walks in smiling brightly. He spoke so softly that all I could make out was 'someone learns music in this house' and I nodded. Ya, obviously, anything to do with music in my house can be related only with me as I am the sole musician at home :)Anyways, the man self-invited himself to the sopanam and made himself comfortable . Both my aunties who love talking about the puranas and vedas and Hindu mythology were very happy to start a conversation with him. He is supposedly a dance teacher and the moment he knew about my training in dance he started to shoot questions like what does 'bharat' mean in Bharatnatyam and the like. I instantly got reminded of my school days when I used to be asked about some dry cell in Physics when I was day dreaming big time!! After a series KBC-type questions (except that there was no crores involved in this one), I gave up requesting him to pass on the knowledge he has. Very happily he told me how Hanuman happens to be the God of music and how Saraswati is the Goddess of knowledge. He went on and on and then he told something that is so vital for everyone to know. What is destined to us will only come to us and even the Gods won't be able to stop it from happening. He spoke so wisely about the Geeta and about how he perceives it to be a conversation between Sanjeya and Dritharastra . His eyes were blue and glowing with knowledge and experience and most important- confidence. He said that whatever we say, if in our mind we feel we are right, is in a way right for the ones who listen to us. But then it is for the listener to analyze it later.

Long time back when my granny was going back to Bombay after her short stay with us in Muscat my mother was nervous of leaving her alone. At the airport there was some impediment about her visa or something and there was this man who appeared from nowhere who sorted out everything in a snap that afterwards when we looked for him to thank... he was gone...just like that. That day my mom said she had witnessed God. It's such a beautiful, enlightening feeling to meet such random people who make a mark within us, teaching us, being there for us in the best and worst of situations.

Funny thing was he didn't want to hear me sing or didn't ask me about how much I have studied. The old man said he will visit us soon as if letting me know that he will come when he wants me to know something. I always believe that there is a reason as to why such things happen. I just watched him go away knowing that I will be meeting him when I need to.

The reason why I believe I stand out

Back after a 4 day trip to Chennai and Bangalore that seemed like 4 months. While I recorded 4 tracks and went bolti bandh in Chennai ..It was a smashing experience jamming with the Carnatic fusion band Agam at Kyra. Now that I am back, was settling into starting my regular practice again. As I was brushing through my notes I came across this torn page from the Chicken Soup, god knows how it landed up there, which was very thought provoking. So I decided to share it in the blog cos it really opened my eyes. I am a big-time Chicken Soup fan and have read the series several times when I felt pressure in school. This one begins with a quote by A.L.Kitselman that says

the words "I am ..." are potent words; be careful what you hitch them to. The thing you're claiming has a way of reaching back and claiming you.

Majority have ridiculed me when I used to confront their question of 'What are you exactly doing apart from music?' with 'this is it’. I don't know what it was but t'was quite funny to see people listening to and watching every possible musical shows on the Radio and TV but not being able to digest it as a profession. Anyhow, I have no other choice but to stick to music as sadly this was the only field that brought out the best in me and kept me happiest. But in today's day and age where necessities have been overstepped by luxury, money becomes the vital reason as to why people opt for safer, dignified (according to society) options. And the fact is you're not going to be happy in a place where you're forced to fit in.

Excerpt from the Chicken Soup:

I am an architect : I've built a solid foundation; and each year I go to that school I add another floor of wisdom and knowledge.

I am a scientist : Each day that passes by, I gather new data, make important observations, and experiment with new concepts and ideas.

I am a doctor: I heal those who turn to me for consultation and advice, and I bring out the vitality in those who seem lifeless.

I am a lawyer: I'm not afraid to stand up for the inevitable and basic rights of myself and all others.

I am a mathematician: making sure I conquer each one of my problems with correct solutions.

I am a jury member: judging others and their situations only after I've heard and understood the entire story.

I am a banker: Others share their trust and values with me and never lose interest.

I am a mountain climber: Slowly but surely I am making my way to the top.


P.S. Don't try to fit in when you're meant to stand out. Be proud of what you are even if you flip burgers for a living.