Divine inspiration

Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada is one of the best albums by ARR in the recent history. And special credits to GVM for beautifully packaging the numbers - with a series of what seem to be shooting stills, self-indulgent photos from his personal album and video nuggets of the singers performing - and releasing them over a period of time right from the first month of the year. While the firstly launched single Thalli pogathey.. with all its beats and deep lyrics, is a high-voltage melody that is never going to truly leave you, the soulful rendition of Pavendhar Bharathidasan's Avalum naanum.. is bound to take you to a higher level of calm and is not generally advised after a good lunch. But the most interesting song, if it may be said so, is Rasaali.. And more than a song, with all its liberal adventure across the genres, it qualifies to be a fantastic medley (Ha! Don't throw stones at me). And the greatest and enjoyable medley till date.

But in spite of the best attempt at a dazzling musical collage for a bike journey by the leading pair, the moment I hear Rasaali, though the youthful Simbu and the simple Manjima flash in my mind, very soon I can only see, hear and think of - TMS. (With the occasional image of a chubby boy jumping around with a vel in his hand and crown over his head). Composed by Arunagirinadhar, a saint-poet, Thirupugazh is a collection of Tamil hymns in praise of God Murugan. And the popularity of one of the songs, Muthai tharu..., should have skyrocketed after TMS lent his voice for the verse in a movie about the poet that was released more than 50 years ago. Till this date, TMS' Muthai tharu.. reverberates from the old-fashioned loudspeakers throughout the days of Shasti even in the remotest villages of Tamil Nadu (Yes, I have not actually checked all the villages). And what a lyrics man! It is a real tongue-twister that takes support from the richness of the language. There have been many attempts at the song by different types of singers; and the genius violinist Kunakkudi Vaidyanthan too has rendered it. In a way, I am happy that ARR has got a Divine (Devotional?) inspiration for a GVM movie. Thirupugazh is getting more famous.

When Murugan, the second one of the Siva-Parvathi family, has a Kollywood duet number to his credit, can the elder one, God Pillayar be missed out? No. Our composers have maintained parity. I come from a school that is like a Hindu island amidst an ocean of Christian missionary schools run by different congregations like the CSI, Jesuits, etc. It means that in our school, we had prayers (mainly the Sanskrit ones) for every conceivable occasion: the commencement of the day-before the first bell of the day, the start of the day's classes in your classrooms, before breaking for lunch, just after the final bell of the day-end of classes, etc. One of my favourite Gods during those day was Pillayar a.k.a Ganesha, and it was mainly for the reason that he had the powers to grant what you wished for (Usually, 5-7 extra marks in Physics and some coconut-rich kolukattai). Mudaa-Karaatta slogam, from Ganesha Pancharatnam, extols the elephant-headed God and calls every one of us to surrender to Him. Though it was not frequently sung in my school, I have heard it sometime during the school days. Kollywood has paid its salutes to the elder brother in its 1990 Parthiban-starrer, Thalattu Padava. At the start of the song (the scene) the hero, a pious man, is seen singing Mudaa-Karaatta with folded arms and closed eyes, standing next to a black Ganesha idol resting under a tree. Just when he is about to start the third verse or so, the lady enters, takes it forward from where she snatched, sings the next verse for him and goes on to complete the hymn. Soon, overcome by inexplicable, romantic emotions, while maintaining the tune of Pancharatnam, she makes her own verses - and starts signing in praise of her man. Wow! And soon, Raja sir bowls us over with an interlude. Quickly, after some top angle and tracking shots, we see the pair in different costumes running up and down the green hills. Check it out, you will feel good.

Again, its Murugan's turn now. But it is awful this time around. Kanda Shasti Kavasam (the version by the Soolamangalam sisters) is one of the most famous devotional songs of the state; it is also one of the most popular Tamil hymns. Every living thing in the state would have heard the song (in praise of Murugan) at least once in its lifetime. It is like the filter coffee and idli-chutney. Omnipresent. May be omnipotent too. Composed by Deva, Kollywood's tribute to Shasti Kavasam was in the blockbuster Suriyan (1992). Getting inspiration (Divine) for a tune is one thing; but to know to make use of it in a somewhat dignified manner is something else. In this song from Suriyan, the legendary poet Vaali perhaps just forgot the source of the tune and went on to write a jolly, duet song, happily. The song starts with something like this: 

'The teenage, tender heart yearns for the bed..' 

And it is just the beginning. I hope (unlike I remember TMS on Rasaali), the young kids don't imagine of actress Roja while chanting Shasti Kavasam in the evenings. 

In Hari's Thaamirabharani (2007), singer L.R.Eswari's soulful Karpoora Nayagiye Kanagavalli... on Goddess Amman was picturised in his usual pace with lots of mass and colours, in short - like a kuthu paatu. Who comes up with such thoughts, of mixing kuthu paattu and Shasti Kavasm! The lead pair, surrounded by hundreds of group dancers (assembled like a TCS 5K run), dance wildly with a lot of facial and body expressions. The lady is clad in the basic essentials, while the hero has a touch of tradition. And true to Hari, there is technically no costume change, there is only change in colour of the costumes. You get to learn a lot form this song. Among other things, you will also understand how  to pack the maximum number of side artists in a duet song. I think there are around a million of them, easily. The cinematographer has made his own contribution by way of tilting the camera and creating a roller-coaster effect, and enveloping us in a spell of dizziness. Salutes to the dance master too - just checkout the hero around the 3rd minute (3:01 - 3:08) of the song. I just hope none of these images comes to you while you get to hear the devotional version next time. 

Back to ARR. There was a glimpse of a Divine inspiration in his May Madham (1994). Back then it was something fresh. Enjoyable. The embryo days of tradition meeting technology.

(c)The video songs presented here are purely for educative and reference purposes only; 

there are no other commercial motives.)

The study of a plant and sunshine

This time around the TN elections have been extra interesting, unlike the usual mechanical exercise of wiping out the ruling party and welcoming the opposition with a thumping majority. No landslide victory now. Though the predictions are tilted in favour the DMK-front, you just have to give a call to anyone in the state to be informed that it was a neck and neck fight. No one is talking about a chunk of 180 or 200 seats to a group, out of the total 234 seats. Looking at the narrow gap expected between the winner and the runner up (going by many exit surveys), it may also happen that the difference in the number of seats won by the two leading parties may reduce pretty low, perhaps to even single digit figures. Or what if the EVMs decide to play dice and throw up exactly the equal number of seats to the top two parties tomorrow? ADMK 116 seats; DMK 116 seats. 

It would be a state and country-wide amusement show, like a cricket world cup final match that results in a tie. Soon, the attention would be on the two assembly constituencies where the polling has been postponed by a week. The entire band of Delhi and Mumbai news channels, would camp in Aravakuruchi and Thanjavur till next Monday; all the leaders of both the parties would be made to round up every single eligible voter alive in these two places. (It is a different story that only because of extremely intensive campaigning by the parties, the ECI had postponed the polling in these two places). Perhaps the political parties might even assist terminal patients getting treated in the ICCUs to exercise their democratic right and bring them to the booths in the safety of 108 ambulances; Perhaps the parties might even resort to man-to-man marking, and the parties may allocate a dedicated party worker for every single eligible voter in the vicinity. And if both the parties do the same thing, every voter in these two constituencies would end up being stalked by two people in dhotis of two different border colours. Some of the voters may also start enjoying the limelight, the heightened attention. The entire country would be watching them, waiting for the suspense drama to unfold and more importantly, to conclude. Stress level of the party workers is bound to go up, and it may affect their normal lives. 

It is like one of those decider balls in a cricket match. The equation would be: the party that wins both the seats forms the new government. But - if the EVM decides to play dice one more time? What if each one wins just one seat? The result: ADMK 117 seats; DMK 117 seats. 

It has never happened in the history. In the past.

Soon there will be some sort of commotion, squabble, altercation, quarrel, fist fights, petrol bombs, and a degree of enjoyable suspense too, everywhere. The elections would turn into a case study in Indian democracy and hot topic for thesis students of psephology. And if even after the Governor's intervention the exact 50:50 ratio continues, there is no other way but for the ECI to announce elections afresh. Afresh! Yes, there seems to be no other provision in the Constitution, Supreme Court decisions, ECI Regulations, etc. to handle such dramatic possibilities. At least I am not aware of them. But are we really okay with fresh elections? I don't think so. It is a massive exercise that puts a lot of lives out of gear, especially the lives of all the state government functionaries and the common men and women dependent on them. Sample this - there is this old, widow waiting for the government to release her old age pension; it has been put on hold due to the elections; already a delay of more than a month; she is getting increasingly frustrated and helpless. And this - the schools, colleges, offices, teachers, police, and all other associated premises and people, are to be disturbed again; to be pulled out of their routine work and lives. And this - the election gossips and results forecast in the media, and among all of us would continue for some more weeks, without allowing us to focus on anything else, anything else seemingly more productive. And this - conducting elections in a free and fair manner is a costly job; it also takes really a lot of efforts. And finally this - one of my friends is said to have flown down from Honk Kong to cast his vote; I'm sorry, he has to come again. 

So what remedies we got? 

• Perhaps we may go in for a tie-breaker. A constituency may be chosen randomly and with maximum vigil a repoll may be conducted there. Whoever wins the seat, gets the mandate to form the new government. Or just to be sure, instead of in just one assembly seat, the exercise may be conducted in five randomly chosen seats. Randomisation exercise may be performed by a mainframe in IIT Chennai or in a karumaari amman temple by way of throwing 234 lots and picking five of them right in front of the deity's eyes.
• The winner may be decided on the vote share garnered by the two parties. Assuming, if even that is going to be equal at the state level, again the method of random seat selection may be  resorted to, and the vote share may be compared in those seats. 
• The parties may be asked to rule the state together for five years. God save us! Or one of them may be asked to rule for the initial 2.5 years, and the other one may be asked to follow. Or to give a level playing field, the government may be formed on a monthly basis, alternate parties. Can't you sense the odd-even formula staring at you?
• As it is the time of unified entrance exams, and rigorous selection processes even for the children, the winning candidates from both the parties may be administered some kind of a test (intelligence tests or aptitude tests or even blood tests), and the party that scores the highest may be allowed to form the government.
• The winning margins (number of votes) of the candidates belonging to the two parties may be summed up and the party with the more number of votes (winning margin) may be given the baton. It is simple maths; no statistics. So, it is safe.
• The top five leaders of the two parties may be invited for an open debate among them (on social and governance issues only), to be held before a 1000-strong crowd of school kids of Class XI and XII, picked from schools across all the 234 constituencies. Just immediately after the debate, like they do in some TV dance contests, the school children may be asked to register their votes. The party that finds favour with the kids gets to rule the state. Let them get a chance, I'm sure the kids will do a better job.
• Finally, and most importantly - the people may be asked to explain why they did it.

These are some of the indicative methods to avoid reelection and save the associated time, money and efforts; while some of the options may look like the cup of tea they serve in our trains, and a few others may incur the wrath of Constitutional luminaries - what is required is a new government without any more suspense. And it will be a bonus for the people if the government performs too.

But for all that you may know, tomorrow could be just one more day.

Back at BITS

I cannot write poems, else you would be in for a poem now. Recently I had been invited by the Director of BITS Pilani-Hyd campus, to be a part of the insti's program to felicitate its alum in civil services. Luckily, I could make it. During the function, just like the other bureaucrats of a feather I too was invited to take my seat on the dais. Yes, really. As I tried to take a good look at the auditorium seats, students and lights from the stage, nothing that was actually there entered my mind - I could only see myself, much younger, around 15 kg lighter, sitting in a corner in a pair of dirty jeans, an insti T-shirt and of course, the standard Hawaii chappals. 

Though the second-best alternative to a poem is not presenting the stuff in bullet points, that is what I'm going to do now:

• Truly believe in: Every saint has a past; Every sinner has a future. That is the only way by which you can make sense of a country's topnotch engineering insti sending an invitation to one of its poor students (me). Yes, some 15 years flowed. But it happened. Just keep going till you find your zone. There is (sun)light at the end of the tunnel. Caution: I am not trying to make it fashionable and say - college acads is not important, just enjoy, and endure the mess food. No. I am saying just the opposite. Graduate courses are very important - even if you don't like them. Get the basics right. The world will open up more easily for you.

• (I will try to be 100% objective here...) At the function, all of us missed S.Nagarajan, an extraordinary alum of BITS-Pilani, and my brother. He belonged to the 1996-2002 batch of EEE. You just have to browse through the latest UPSC Annual Report to realise that when it comes to the number of selections in the civil service exams, among the 200-odd institutions that produce civil servants, BITS-Pilani ranks 15 - much ahead of most of the IITs, and above all the NITs. But things were so different as early as a decade back. If you look at the pre-2005 batches, there is only a handful of BITS alum in the civil services. The GRE/CAT routes were the most popular ones in the campus. But a (almost) ten-pointer fighting it out, and finally achieving the unimaginable All India Rank One in 2005 and entering the system - made many others just step aside for a moment and take a close look at bureaucracy as a career option. As the cliche goes, the rest is history...Now there are more than 70 civil servants from BITS, and most of them are from 2007-batch downwards. There have been many top rankers too. And I'm not trying to be humble here.

• I can now empathise with those irritating men and women in the auditoriums and cinema theatres, who could not resist talking, murmuring and annoying others while the show was very much on. I was seated next to the guy, who was the students' union Prez during my times. A professional troupe was performing some old Hindi numbers. Mooz and me went non-stop; in spite of several scornful glances from an elderly lady seated in the front row. (I'm sorry madam.) Mooz was one of the most articulate students of the campus; way ahead of others. We were meeting after donkey's years. In the interim he had put all his energy in Pennywise Solutions, a tech startup; Recently it became a part of O&M. Cool. Amazing. Happy. I also fondly remember him as the senior who ragged me in the early days.

• One of our illustrious alum, Ms.Anu Hassan, had come down to compere the function. It was a great evening, and a real pleasure to interact with her. Best wishes to all her creative ventures, and hoping to see her more often in Tamil films.

• It was nice to take a walk around the campus around midnight. During our days, (...I hate that phrase), the gates of the girls' hostel closed at 11 PM; And there was no time limit for the boys. Here, the girls' gate closed at midnight, and boys had to be inside their rooms by 2 AM. (Yes, it is funny.) In the trademark BITS style the Hyd campus too has been generously created with a lot of open space. No corners cut. Interestingly, unlike the Goa campus where the hostels had been named tastelessly as 'A', 'B', etc. or something like that, in Hyd they have retained the names of the Pilani campus. Sounded nice. Relived. 

• Punctuating the campus, are the oldest rocks of the planet, the Archaen age granites and gneisses. The way the rocks have been left to merge with the overall architectural layout of the campus is just beautiful, thoughtful too.

• A few students were hanging out in the audi, clicking snaps with the likes of 5D, 60D, etc. They were a part of Dopy (Department of Photography), that used to cover the events even during our days. It used to be fun, we did not have professional photographers, Dopy guys managed the photo coverage of most events. Soon after the functions, Dopy will have the photos displayed and you can place order for your snaps. In about 3-4 days you will find the copies neatly placed inside an envelope and seamlessly slipped under your room door. No cash payment hassles, it will get added to your mess bill. Now, this Dopy guy says I could download the photos from Google Drive. I was not a part of Dopy, I belonged to the Photog Club that did not have the mandate to cover the events. Photog was there - just for the heck of it.

• The Pilani DNA of single room occupancy and 0% attendance has been preserved in Hyd too. 

• As one of my friends pointed out during the walk, it looks like there is an itching need for a dozen or two road-side benches in the campus. During the day the guys hang out in places like canteen, computer centre, library, corridors, etc. but much after the sunset many of the students seem to prefer the roads and pavements. They just sit bang on the roads in circles that looked like some outdoor antakshari program. Groups of different sizes lie scattered all over the campus roads, something resembling a dharna. It was a cool thing too; sitting on the road and chatting the entire night out. But I'm sure tar and Hyd summer do not gel well. Liberal helping of white marble benches would be just fine. Any sponsors?

• It was refreshing to across two students aspiring for a career in politics. Best wishes guys! 

• The event was to celebrate the 10th Foundation Day of the campus, and also to felicitate the BITSian-civil servants. Mr.BVR Mohan Reddy, the founder-MD of Cyient, and former Chairman-NASSCOM, was the Chief Guest of the function. Among others, a 1975-batch IAS officer-alum, Mr.Chandramouli, graced the occasion. Incidentally, it was also the farewell day of around 400 graduating students. 

• It was also a week prior to the start of the dreaded Compre (semester exams). ANC (All Night Canteen) was booming. 

I also got one more thing to add, when you have a really, really early morning flight to catch at an airport that is miles and miles away - better have someone to give a wake up call to the cab driver.