Yeah E-Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y

I have been involved in working for a NGO called NIN Society. It was started by some of the youngsters of my age in the year 2009. I have already posted about our philosophy (http://freshlypenned.blogspot.in/2013/07/helping-being-contagious.html). I quite liked the idea with which they work. Make helping contagious. Making people realise that helping is their duty. It struck a chord with what I already had in mind. A sole reason for me to associate with their activities.

I have been involving myself in many of NIN Society's projects now and it has always been a fascinating experience altogether. I cherish the opportunity for sure. I have been able to know more about the attitude of people towards the society and the impact of their individualistic nature on the growth of the society. The magnitude of the task that we have in hand is humongous when we see it at a micro level. Make helping contagious. Given the status quo at one end, it is like taking the world towards the ideal end. From my experience, it is hard to crack the shell. Egos. Some people do not want to help others. It is like they do not have it in their genes. When they do not have enough time to think about their own life how is it virtually possible to think about others? Tough and good question. The hardest nut shell to crack. Some people in spite of their life commitments have the intention for sure but nothing would materialize into actual help. I appreciate the intention though. Some people help a little but not fully. I appreciate the little help but it would seem like they should have been quiet in the first place rather than take the decision of helping others. Only a few really want to make it big. They really influence the society. They make a huge difference in the community and take it to another level. When we are able to dissolve these differences in the helping nature of people and make people realize that helping is their duty, then even our profession becomes a help and thereby our duty. If this is the perspective with which a teacher and student operate then we will have every student successful with highest quality. Salary and money are then mere words.

I have been a part of a program that involves the uplifting of educational status of students of a village. The thought of helping those students came out when we identified that education can be the only tool to make the economic status and cultural status of the locality better. We are currently providing education for the students by using Skype sessions through a passionate teacher and also guiding them to get fluent with their English. Basically the interaction with them is almost every weekend. We help them with their English language. It is mutual learning. I learn a lot of Tamil words that I normally don't use when I speak to people by teaching them English through Tamil. 3 or 4 sessions have passed by and it is getting interesting. They have started asking doubts. They are involving themselves and showing the interest to learn. They come regularly to the classes. Given their conditions, I would have not studied till what I have studied for sure. You might ask me what difference we have made. The difference is not much. But for a 3-4 session period we have made them realize that language is around them like everything else. I consider it as a great achievement. They see language with a different sense now. Our success is making them ask questions to us and improving their inquisitiveness.

A few days back, a friend of mine called me. We had a chat after a very long time. He told me about how scary it is to see the generations after us. He told that it is very scary to see the smartness of 10th standard students and their exposure to technology. He added that we need to expose ourselves and update ourselves much more than what we are doing. In a sense, he is right. I was travelling in a bus the other day when I saw a final year student having a Samsung smart phone in his hand and interacting with his friend on the other side. After the interaction, he was typing in the small screen. It would have most probably been a WhatsApp or a Facebook. Thanks to Zucker.

I was actually travelling towards the village. It was the start of the English class for the students. We wanted to know where to start their English from. So to test their vocabulary we told them to write 10 words in English with their meaning in Tamil. We expected inhibitions but they in fact were ready to write more than 10. After making them write, we checked what they had written. It was scary. For many basic words like "She", they did not know the correct meaning. They are 11th standard students.
When compared to what my friend told the other day, what I was seeing was exactly another world. There was a world of difference between the smart kids of the city that my friend told and the ones that I was seeing. Why is there such a difference? After moving with the teachers in those schools and the students at village school, we clearly understood one gap. All that the students needed was someone to spend the time with them. They have the same capacity as that of the students of the city. They in fact have more interest in the subjects given their economic circumstances and family background.

The real scenario at schools in villages is that the desired quality that city students come out with is not to be seen in some students in the villages. On inquiry, one problem that we found out with the village school is that teachers come to the locality with the aim of having a work experience of 1 year. Because as per the government norms they are in need of the rural background experience of 1 year for getting transferred to the city and to have a good life for another 3 years, after which they get confirmed. They slog for 1 year in the locality tolerating the elephant-human conflicts that prevail and other transport problems and get transferred. They are able to follow their students for 1 year and then the new teacher comes in. He/She starts afresh. The attention on the students are very minimal in this case. Again the teachers cannot be blamed. They have their own lives to look at. Probably there should be a better system devised to handle the problem. Parents also play a very important role in the quality of the students. Parents should do their part of imparting the right atmosphere to the students as the time spent at home is more than at school.

When I came back down from the village on that day, I was thinking all along the way about why they need us. In fact the country should be able to work without the help of NGOs. Or in the other way, working of NGOs have to have a positive effect on the growth of the country. Tangibly or Intangibly. Have we got a measure of how much NGOs should contribute and how much the government and other agencies should contribute to the growth of such villages? We can't change the parents or teachers but maybe we can have a better system of handling the problem.Why can't every student at villages get the standard education that city students are able to get easily? In what way is there a difference in potential of the students? When you take ourselves as one entity, then we will have the differences made clear to everybody. There is difference in standards and it is hard and tough reality. As far as I have read about brain studies, skill development is common for all. If it is so, why is skill GIVING not made common for all? When a cricket match can be played with the same pitch conditions for both the teams, why can't education be the same for every village and city student? Aim should be to make the system like a parade wherein everybody moves to the same drum beat.

Yeah, we are talking about EQUALITY. Yeah E-Q-U-A-L-I-T-Y.

-SATZ

Order from Chaos

I recently read a book called "The Goal" by Eliyahu M Goldratt. A well known personality, he is known for his way of handling problems in industries, through what people call as the "common sense". He is a genius. From the book, I learnt one thing. That Goldratt can think easily. He is well known for his concept of "Theory of Constraints". He has built the concepts with pure common sense and with some down-to-earth thinking. Nevertheless, he has shown a lot of intuitiveness and dedicated thinking to arrive at the concepts. There was a small story in the book that got my attention very much and made me realize a greater picture. The experience might be the key for many problems.

Mendeleev was a chemist and a scientist. We all know him through the ever confusing "Periodic Table". I don't know how it is for others but for me Chemistry has always been a mystery. I have tried to study it in many different ways but I have not been able to drill any of those mind-boggling chemical equations into my head. I remember that I used to write every equation 15 -20 times especially those of Organic Chemistry. Bloody hell with it. It doesn't just get into the mind. Anyway, let me come to the real story.  Mendeleev did this astonishing work of finding the Periodic Table. So how did he really do it when others didn't? What really happened? Let us see.

Mendeleev wanted to arrange all chemical elements. Normally, when you have data, especially a large amount of data you will have the problem of finding an arrangement that would possibly be of any use to the world. It is difficult because there can be a lot of combinations and permutations possible and you don't know which would serve the best of your purpose. So why Mendeleev and his Periodic Table are popular?

When Mendeleev decided to arrange all elements, he did not know which arrangement to choose. He had a lot of parameters. Atomic weight, specific gravity, electrical conductivity, chemical behaviour etc. Now you can get an idea of the magnitude of the problem he faced. With a little patience, he decided to try out one by one. He chose to use a quantitative measurement that was known for each element and which did not change as a function of temperature or the state of the substance. He took atomic weight as a unique numerical identifier and he started arranging elements like the soldiers of an army in a line. So what is the big deal? All he found was this. Any little intelligent fellow would do this.

Mendeleev would have been ordinary if he had stopped there. But what he did was astonishing. He did not arrange the elements in one line. He identified that each seventh element represents basically the same chemical behaviour, though with increased intensity. For example, in the first column, Lithium which is the lightest of all metals and which when put into water becomes warm. Below it is Sodium, which when put into water, flames. The next one is Potassium which reacts even more violently with water. The last one is Cesium which flames even in regular air. He did not find all the elements. He had a lot of holes in the Periodic table. But this classification gave him the ability to predict the weight and other properties. 

After this was presented, Mendeleev became the laughing stock of the entire community of scientists. Now, the table was not arranged as I told you before. Hydrogen was floating above the table, not actually in any column, and some rows didn't have one element in their seventh column. Several elements were crowded in one spot. It looked a lot more messy that what we have now. This table that Mendeleev presented was the predictive model for the discovery of other elements. It worked with such surprising accuracy. It took some years, but while he was still alive all the elements that Mendeleev predicted were found. The last of the elements that he 'invented' was found sixteen years later. He predicted that it would be a dark gray metal. It was. He predicted its atomic weight would be about 72; in reality it was 72.32. Its specific gravity he thought would be about 5.5 and it was 5.47.

Ten years after the table was accepted, the noble gases were discovered. It so happened that the table had to have eight columns rather than seven. Mendeleev's table became an admiration.

Point here is that we are all trying to do this in our professions. It is not only for a chemist or a scientist. Even in our day to day life what we are trying to do is create order from chaos. All professions work towards the same goal. We try to find the intrinsic order. By intrinsic order, I mean we are trying to find the order that is already there, only seen in a chaotic manner. We just have to find it. What we need is a very simple tool to achieve this. Thinking processes. When you have a thinking process, you can create order from chaos, irrespective of your profession. Only thing is that you need to know how to apply. How to apply the thinking process to different professions? It stems from the fact of what you want to achieve. 

If Chemistry was taught like this I would have probably known all those chemical equations, without strain. Who really cares what you know nowadays? What speaks are the marks that you get? Students are made to cram and jam stuff into their heads, vomit in their exam paper, get marks, get a seat in college, cram and jam again and wonder what happened to the process. Here as well we are in need of a thinking process to help us find the order in what chaos we created. 

Find the Intrinsic order. Order from chaos will result from passion. A journey towards excellence is nothing but creating Order form Chaos. The journey involves thinking, a thinking deeply associated with the spirit of excellence. Let's find the order. In ourselves.

-SATZ

India: Accomodate the Automysophobics and Amathophobics

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 

I wanted to call him and slap him around. But then he is not to be blamed. The whole nation has done it so far and doing it. Although, after what has been announced, it could have been avoided. I was walking towards a bus stand and the two minute walk made me think about "Clean India movement" very seriously. A man in front of me, who was walking, stopped for a moment, spitted in the middle of the pedestrian area and resumed his walking. My attention turned to the ground so as not to step on the crap that he has created. I was taken aback, when I noticed that the 200m of distance, which I had to walk till I reached the bus stand, was covered with a lot more of those spitting. It is not that we have not experienced this before. So far we have been doing this, but we need to realize our mistakes at least after somebody has started pointing at it. Is it not a shame, that the government has to tell us to keep our cities clean? Keeping every place clean is the duty of every citizen of this country. Even if we cannot clean it, at least we should have the basic courtesy of not making it dirty. What if somebody is getting a disease because of this? How do we know that it is not happening? 

India would become more than half clean, if we can make people stop spitting around like this.

I was thinking about this for a while when I wondered, maybe there is a lot of mistake on my part too. I should have questioned the act in the first place. I thought, probably, I am the problem. I just did not commit myself to keeping my city clean. If I had questioned the act, at least the next time he does something like that, he would think twice before doing it.

While I was deeply cursing myself about this, I was reminded of the ad campaign of Clean India. In the ad, for every act of dirtying, embarrassment will be gifted to the person by the people around in the form of sarcasm. It would make them realize his/her mistake then and there. I thought we can also create a campaign of this sort, in our city. A group of 10-12 friends can spread around in a place. Once an act of dirtying has been spotted, everybody can start clapping hands and come closer towards the person responsible for the act. This would be a decent way of telling that it is bad to do such an act. The next time he will think about this and refrain from doing. 

Recently, we all would have read about Ebola. The spread of the disease has affected many people already. There has been a stringent protocol set by doctors to curb the spreading. We can also avoid the spreading once we follow this standard protocol. However, the real complexity of the situation lies in finding out who has got the disease. Our health ministry has taken the efforts to seal the disease at the entrance itself by having special security checks for people coming from the epicenter countries. But let's say, in spite of the checks, we give a green card to an ebola patient in the country. The question is can India stop it from spreading, with still 600 million people defecating in the open? Are we not going to breed the disease ourselves by having a situation like this? We are not going to be surviving now without having proper sanitation. There is a tremendous urgency that we need to show to improve our sanitation. It just would be out of our hands, even before we realize that the disease is spreading. It is high time we act towards this by having proper infrastructure. 

The point here is sanitation, personal hygiene and a clean city are the basic requirements of any society. If we work together as a team, we can make it happen. After all, the government has given an opportunity for the people to change. We have this Metathesiophobia (Fear of changes) that we need to come out of. Once we accept to change, the change will start becoming evident. 

I recently read in a website, that Asia's cleanest village is in India. It is Mawlynnong village, Meghalaya. It is known as "God's own Garden." See we are already there. We can take this village up as our benchmark and change our cities. We can adopt their practices with open mind.

God's own Garden. Learn from the God village. 

A photo of an area of the village

I got out from the bus still thinking about these and in the process of thinking, I forgot to get the change back from the bus conductor. Lost Rs.12 in envisioning a Clean India. I wish India becomes Clean just for my loss. :P

By the way, Automysophobia is the Fear of being dirty and Amathophobia is the Fear of dust.

Let's make the whole country clean for the Automysophobics and the Amathophobics. Let's make it dust free.

-SATZ 

The Acid Test

On October 5th this year, I had a fire accident in my house. I've told the story to many people. Anyway, I will tell the story again. The accident would have been avoided. I'm 100% sure that at the end of this story everybody will ask me the same question. A very easy way to have avoided the accident. Let me tell the story first.

At around 3pm on Sunday, October 5th this year, my mom had kept oil on the gas stove. She forgot that she kept it closed and went to take the clothes from the clothesline at the backyard. When she came back it got overheated. As soon as she got the lid open, the oil got fire. I was nearby and I saw the fire raise up to a 1 feet level. I saw the cylinder underneath the pan and panic struck me. Immediately, all that I wanted to do is take the oil pan as far away as possible from the cylinder. Here is where the problem started. I yanked the pan out of the stove to take it to a distance. As soon as I did that, the fire became huge and came till my face. I was forced to close my eyes. I didn't even realize that the fire burnt my hair. As soon as my eyes closed, I lost control of what was in my hands. Hot oil. One part of the oil fell on my right forefinger and thumb. I put the pan down and started to run. I fell on the oil that already lay on floor. I managed to get up but my right palm was literally burning. I kept my right palm in running water. I saw the skin on the right forefinger change colour. Burning sensation was at its extreme. My mom was crying. I was consoling her that nothing happened. I started to get worried about whether the regulator was switched off or not. I told the others to check whether there was still fire or everything was ok. I was immediately rushed to hospital, thanks to the neighbors. The burning was still on. They gave me a sedative but the pain overcame it and I was not able to get sleep. They gave me pain killer. It had no effect. The burning was like 20 needles pricking your right palm. I had oil poured on to my legs but there was no pain because I was not able to bear the pain on my right palm. After sometime, my right palm became almost 1.5 times the normal palm. The doctor consoled me that the burning had not gone till the nerves and the bones. They gave me one more pain killer but I did not get any sleep because of the pain. Everything happened in seconds and was not able to control anything that happened. 

Now, you will certainly have a question for me. "Why didn't you switch of the stove and the flame would have subsided because of the lack of heat?" I've answered many people that I did not get the thought at that moment. The chemicals to the brain got locked and all I had in mind was the image of the 1 feet height fire and the cylinder beneath it. But yeah, that would have been the simpler solution. 

I had to undergo an operation and I tell you they gave me local anesthesia during the operation but it did not have effect until they gave me another strong sedative. The doctor was cutting my old skin near my fingers and the pain was just unimaginable. I learnt the real meaning of the word EXCRUCIATING. My palm was operated and covered with a sheet called colagen on the affected areas. The next 25 days were painful indeed. Now it is getting cured but my forefinger and thumb doesn't seem like it will get back to the normal state. It is going to take at least 1 month more from now if it is to get cured. 

Yesterday, I was changing TV channels and I came to a stop when I saw Satyamev Jayate.  The topic Aamir was discussing was on Acid attacks on women. There was a lady called Laxmi who was a victim of acid attack and she was being interviewed. She told what happened to her and this was her story.

It happened when she was studying in 7th standard. A boy was following her for a very long time, even though she told him that she had no interest in him. The boy kept on messaging her for 10-12 months. Suddenly, one day he had sent her rude messages. The girl clearly told him again that she did not like him. 

One day when she was walking on the road, a girl and a boy were following her.  The boy came to her and told her "If you don't like me, neither do I." The boy had some bottle in his hand and he poured the contents on to Laxmi's face. Laxmi did not realize that it was acid. She fell unconscious and had nobody to help her. When she woke up she felt her face was heavy and she didn't know what to do next. She was hit by two cars and she was literally pleading those car drivers to help her but nobody came forward. Finally she was taken to the hospital and 19 buckets of water were poured on her. She saw the skin of her hand melt in front of her eyes. She expressed that after so many operations she did not have her face back. The boy was arrested for his crime but he was left after the punishment. Laxmi told Aamir that the convicted man got married after coming out of jail.

Now, after I heard this it was a shock. Firstly, I can understand what she had to go through, as I have felt what burning can do to you. When burning itself is like that, think about acid attacks? Secondly, how can the parents of the other girl's family give their daughter to such a man. Do they even think?

Laxmi expressed that even in court, the convicted man and his wife saw her as though she had committed the crime. What in the earth have they got to feel very good about the act?  Why did the boy do such an act in the first place? What joy did he get in giving the girl what she had gone through? It was indeed a very cowardly act. 

He did not have to go through the pain for doing the crime but the victim had to suffer the unbearable. What law do we have to compensate what the girl suffered? Why is there an imbalance in a society of the 21st century? What do we teach the boys about the girls in school? What do the parents teach the boys? 

Above all, the will of the girl to survive is what is keeping her alive today. If she had thought about her face she could have committed suicide. She on the other hand is fighting against acid attacks on women in an organisation called Save our Life. I take a lot of confidence from her to live my life. We need to do a serious search for safety in this country. What happened to Laxmi can happen to any of you or your relations tomorrow for such filthy reasons. I can only wish that one day the men of our country give the due respect that a woman of our country deserves.

Until then, Women, Beware of the Acid Test.

-SATZ

Facets of irony.

It is rather easy to describe the people of India (that includes me as well),  in one word. IRONY. Exactly. There is no particular way to describe the people as a whole. But through many observations you can come to a conclusion that they're much closer to the definition of IRONY. There is irony everywhere in whatever we do. We watch English movies but when somebody talks English we keep 'em aside. We say Hindi is our national language but how many of them in Tamil Nadu really accept it as a first language or atleast as a second one?( A lot of people select French in their higher secondary. Wait. Where did that come from?) We frame laws to keep our tradition(dhotis) but we tend to move towards a western culture. We have grown enough to wear short dresses but we do not have the maturity to understand sex. We stress on agricultural growth but we make most of the youngsters aspire to work for Google, Microsoft etc. We find IITs and IIMs to be sub-standard but we are ready to settle down in foreign colleges that is much more sub-standard. We prefer to remain jobless in foreign countries rather than landing up a smaller job in our own country. 

We talk pages about quality but our actions are towards sacrificing the quality for the sake of costs. We tend to follow a system but find ways to deviate it as much as possible. We talk about having a professional growth but all that we need is money. We seem to be caring for the society but we keep our mouth and everything else shut when it comes to taking up responsibility. We talk as though we want to help the society first but suddenly out of nowhere, we have a lot of other things prioritized before helping the society and make sure that it is the last in the list( sometimes not in the list even). We remember our Gandhis and Nehrus but we do not seem to take up even one ideal of theirs for practice. We say there is "Unity in Diversity" but can anyone attend a session in the Parliament to find out whether the tagline suits India or not? Our diversification is ever increasing and the key indicator is the new states that are popping out every now and then.

We read articles of cultural heritage, our traditional music and art forms everyday but at the same time we encourage the slow inclusion of horrible music in cinema and drama. Children are taught traditional music and made to listen to "Why this Kolaveri di?" openly. People own 2BHK apartments with air conditioned rooms, a Mercedes Benz, a smartphone and at the same time talk about simplicity. If doing penance on the Himalayas, naked with one piece of cloth is considered simplicity, then probably our people will live a simple life if there is a separate house, fully furnished, with heater facilities (for the cold), malls nearby and some grocery shops at the mountain top. They won't stop there. They'll call it Renouncement. We use the air conditioners, waste electricity, cut down trees, encourage factories to pollute and talk about reducing carbon footprint and mitigating global warming. 

We talk about traditional food items but prefer pizzas as they come straight to our mouth(irrespective of cost).  We want to be famous but we do not want to work. We want to have money but we do not assess whether we're deserving or not. We create so much of a sensation about corruption in the media but we nearly fall for it every second somewhere in the country. We have merit based systems but favoritism is the ultimate tool used everywhere. We talk about the rape cases that have been reported. What about those which are hidden in the domestic lives of many women of this country? We have a great fan following for football but we're much worried about who will get a place in the opening slot of the batting line up. We satisfy ourselves with BPOs and KPOs when we can really try harder to move to the top. We curb our own growth at the expense of hard work and for the want of comfort. We never try to stop ourselves from being in the comfort zone. We seek to uplift the status of poor people and hire them to do our non-value adding chores in the house. Women of this country want to be treated equally to men but they need separate seats in public transport. They'll bring hell down to earth if their seats are occupied by men.

We sacrifice technicalities and nuances as it stands in the way of fame of an individual. We have increased our margin for error by giving credit to cheap work without integrity. Ultimately, we are in between two extremes, one is the reality and the other being the ideal. We talk the ideal and do the reality. 

Who are we really? Why can't we define ourselves? What is wrong in defining ourselves? Why don't we have the ability to define ourselves? What do we need to define ourselves? Why can't we create our own world and get a recognition for it? Why is the feeling of oneness absent in us? Why are we not able to talk on one term? Why are we not able to justify "Unity in Diversity"? 

The most horrible part is we're accepting all these and living a happy life. Or are we calling it happy just because there is a need to? I don't know. 

-SATZ 

Kannukul Pothiveipen- A Ghibran Treat

Song: Kannukkul Pothiveipen

Lyrics: Parvathy

Film: Thirumanam Enum Nikkah

Singers: Charulatha Mani, Vijay Prakash, Sadhna Sargam, and Dr. R Ganesh.

Music Composer : Muhammed Ghibran

The song is already viral on the net. It has got a lot of fans especially in the South. Ghibran has totally pulled off a 4.47 mins of instrumental excellence, improvised singing and soulful expressions merged together to give a gift to listeners. The song itself speaks a lot about Gibhran's technicality. He has given the singers free space to experiment their expressions with that of the lyrics and the room given for creativity has worked wonders.The lyrics have been kept childish and talks about the possessiveness of gopis with innocent Lord Krishna. The video has been aptly shot with Nazriya doing extremely well with the expressions. She has done tremendously well to support the singing and also the lyrical value of the song. The lyrics have been written to perfection. It is poetic and at the same time well suited for the raga. The cinematic simplicity of the lyrics has been satisfied and it has also been designed for the classical treatment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGTG9n1tGnk

The song revolves around the Mukhari ragam. The starting of the song itself is great. All credit goes to Ghibran for he has very well mixed the tunes of Jaladarangam with the modern day electronics. The tune is suited for Charulatha's classical voice texture. The ghatam in the middle adds more structure to the song. The piano at the back gives the light feeling that cinema lovers would want, for this is not a classical concert. The parts of "En kannane.... va da vaa" are more matured in the voice of Charulatha Mani. The jathi after the voice is particularly novel. The flute joins next to the jathi and keeps the listener attached to the song. The beats with the flute is good to listen to. The music is well suited for the entrance of Sadhna Sargam. The innocence in the voice is notable. The matured and low pitched voice of Dr. Ganesh takes the song to another direction and the song is brought back to the original feel by voice of Charulatha. The part of Dr. Ganesh is like that of building a house, words one over the other.

The song's special feature is the use of jaladarangam. It makes the song unique. Much of the business should be attributed to this very instrument. Gibhran has proved himself a better music composer with this aspect. The high notes of Vijay Prakash and he has bagged the best lyrics. His high notes followed by the soft voice of Charulatha has been well synced. Vijay's carnatic voice is a good choice for his lyrics. The modern electronics used at the back of the song and the special entry of the violin and the piano makes the song much more special. Though a North Indian, Sadhna Sargam has done much justice to the pronunciation of the words. The last part of the song is the best part though. Charulatha has experimented much with the song. She has come out with a different expression that you normally do not get in songs. She has given an expression like a mom pampering her child. Add-on for listeners. Just at the end of the expression Sadhna enters with another different expression. Overall, the song is a merger of fantastic music instruments, beautiful raga, excellent singers and extreme expressions translating the real meaning of the songs.

Moments to note:

0.02-0.09 : The jaladarangam hits the ear drums of the listener. 

0.10-0.19 : Merger of the jaladarangam with that of the electronics. 

0.30-0.45 : The voice of Charulatha accompanied by ghatam. Low notes to be noted.

0.48-0.50 : The special jathi.

0.51-0.55: The flute with the other instruments. 

0.55-1.05: The voice of Sadhna Sargam

1.06-1.15 : The voice of Dr. R Ganesh.

1.16- 1.24 : Charulatha's voice accompanied by a light music of the violin at the back. Keen listeners can get to notice this beautiful melody at the back. 

1.25-1.36 : The master piece of the song. The jaladarangam, the ganjira and the ghatam. 

1.48- 1.56:  The voice of Vijay Prakash for the first time. The high notes sung with the right feel. Blessed human being indeed.

2.00-2.07 : Charulatha's soothing voice. Expressions are at its best.

2.25-2.28 : The voice of Vijay without accompaniments adds a curiosity to the listener.

2.59-3.20 : The piano, violin and the ghatam. A sangamam wholly satisfying.

3.20-3.31 : Sadhna's voice is good to listen.

3.33-3.42 : Vijay's high notes again.

4.03-4.08 : The best part of the song. The creativity at its best. Charulatha's expressions are to be noted. It is going to fetch her many awards for sure. 

4.09-4.12 : Sadhna's one more different expression. Attracts a lot of listeners. 

The best about the song is that there is no part in the song wherein the listener is set aloof from the song. He is made to yearn for more from the singers and from the song itself. The instruments create a wonderful feel and have been put to good use. Every part of the song has been sculpted and meticulously composed. A real Ghibran Treat. Hats off to the Coimbatorian. It has been a good one after the latest Vaagai Sooda Vaa. Charulatha Mani's best. Very well suited to her profession. Much better than her Chillax and other songs. Probably the breakthrough song of her career. I wish them the best for this song has made me a fan of all these singers. Special kudos to Parvathy for the lyrics have been very poetic and tailor-made for the tune. 

Listen and enjoy the fusion of modern and classical music. After all, Ghibran has given the best for his fans. 

-SATZ

Un Vizhigazhil- Simple and Subtle

Song: Un vizhigazhil
Music composer: Anirudh.
Singers: Anirudh and Shruthi Hasan.
Lyrics: Madhan Karky
Film: Maan karaate

The song has somehow got my attention and there are obvious reasons for it.I've heard it again and again and it seems like a very good song every single time I listen to it. It is simple and subtle technically and the music has been given a very light treatment with attractive sound clarity. There is a lot of difference in listening to it through headphones and watching the video song. Here are the reasons for which it is so special.

First the lyrics. Wow. The lover expresses his feelings about how it feels to have found her, how it feels to see her eyes and how satisfied he feels to see her just laugh everyday till the end of his life. He says her laugh is just so priceless and he is ready to sacrifice everything for that laugh. Madhan Karky has though added some lust to the women part of the song for commercial purposes and it is very evident. Probably for the producer's sake but it doesn't affect the core intentions of the song as the music of Anirudh makes you stay with the lyrics and the feel. The credit to the lyrics however has to be given for that makes the song. Madhan has made his lyrics colloquial and simple which really syncs with the light treatment given through the music. The aim has been simple. To make it much lively to the present audience and trendy so that the business aspects are not expended at any cost.

As far as the music is concerned, it just starts with the voice of Anirudh. A melody. A strong lyrical quality. A phase where there is no background music. Then the sound of the violin and the piano takes the song to a fusion of classical and light music. The reverberating effect of the piano just takes you into the song. Then it is followed with Anirudh singing to the guitar and of course with his piano as well giving much support to the lyrics. There is a rush of the guitar chords in the immediate next line and at the end of the line starts the drums with some complex beats and then moves into a very basic beat for drummers. The violin has a part to play to introduce classical effect with the drum behind. Just after that the electric guitar joins at this point and takes the song to a new level. It comes back to Anirudh singing for the guitar and at the end the drums join. The drum beats that start at the end of Anirudh's lines are wonderful to listen to. The listener is left curious for some more lyrics and gets the voice of Shruthi. The voice of Shruthi is trendy and is apt for the song. She has done much justice to the song by keeping the concept of fusion alive. There has been clearly no effort to hassle the pronunciation of the lyrics to keep the fusion concept dominant. There is a moment of silence at the end of the Shruthi's lines and then starts with the offset drum beats. Anirudh's line continues followed by Shruthi's line. Watch out for the drumbeats. A tool for the music composer to keep the listener adhered to the song. Again there is a moment of silence disturbed by two drumbeats that creates such good vibes while listening through your headphones. Just before the song concludes there is an add-on left for listeners. Shruthi just finishes the song and the violin intrudes and takes away the conclusion. As the theme in the film revolves around the birthday of the lover, finally the song is concluded with a happy birthday tone with the piano and a final touch with the guitar.

http://gaana.com/song/un-vizhigalil

Moments of rush:

0.01: The song starts with the voice of Anirudh and that's when you feel something has started happening. O yeah. The song has started. Curiosity creeps in.

0.13: The second line starts after a moments silence.

0.24: The violin starts with the piano at the back. The reverberation in the piano is what you should watch out for. The classical touch of the violin as well makes this part special.

0.36: There is a silence at the second just behind this and Anirudh starts with the guitar behind his voice. The guitar chords are the ones to watch out for. The lyrics are so amazing and synced well with the guitar chords.

1.00: The guitar chords takes a diversion and moves to a higher range taking you much deeper into the song.
The piano chords just supports the voice and the guitar so well.

1.19: This is the moment of begging from the lover. The voice is just aptly modulated to the scenario. He just begs to his lover that he just needs to admire her till he lives.

1.21: The dip of the guitar and the start of the drumbeats. This the moment when the violin piece as well joins the drumbeat. The drumbeat that start at 1.21 transforms into a simpler one.

1.30: The electric guitar replaces the violin and makes the song so special.

1.43: The electric guitar gives you a rush that is takes you into a rock mode.

1.48: The electric guitar and the drumbeat stops and Anirudh starts to sing with the guitar chords behind.

1.58: The drumbeat joins.

2.26: The moment of silence and everything starts again.

2.49: The two drumbeats that is just disturbs the silence and makes it so beautiful.

3.37: Shruthi's voice is given a DJ effect modulation and this is the moment when the song end. It ends after giving you a very good feeling.

 A credit to Anirudh for choosing his piece of music carefully.
It is a thorough package of fusion that overall gives you a good feel at times when you're down. Listen to it as many times as you can for it has been made for it.

-SATZ

Indescribable

It is always a different experience every year. Each year I'm being taught something.This time as well I learned a lot from the trip to Sabarimala. Indescribable. The process started with the vrittam. The 14th year of travel to the abode of the son of Siva and Vishnu.

Rules are there. Rules are just to bring control to your mind and body. What has to be given great importance is the deep understanding of the self. All the activities done have got a lot of focus towards this one purpose. This purpose is attained only through discipline. Self Discipline. Thathvamasi.(Knowing the self)

On a fine day, decided by the guru, the holy garland was worn. After that my living changed. There was more of focus. Though it was not perfect as a devotee of Ayyapan would have to be, I tried to live the life of a devotee to the max. extent possible. More in my mind than in the outside world. Filled with only good thoughts.

There is a whole story to it. It is believed that Lord Ayyappa can save you from the wrath of Lord Shaneeshawaran. Shani is known for giving difficulties to people for them to become extremely resistant to the materialistic world. But when the period is over Lord Shani is known to give everything back to the devotee as a reward to the difficulties faced by him.There is a purpose to this as well. The devotee would know the real value of a world other than the material world. He would put all tangible things to good use after this. Everyone has to undergo at some stage of their life. A devotee of Lord Ayyappa also undergoes the same thing in 48 days. That is why we wear a black attire, do not clip out nails, do not cut or shave and undergo all the difficulties that one would undergo while Shani has an influence. 

After the period of 48 days, we have the irumudi kattu tied on a very fine day. This is the day on which we begin our journey towards the Lord. In the period of 48 days, we try to give the highest service in the world, which is, giving food (Annadhaanam) to as many people as possible.

The irumudi kattu consists of coconut filled with Ghee and other pooja items for the lord. It also consists of all the items that are liked by Lord Ayyappa. As it says it is iru(Two) mudi (Knots). One consists of the Ghee filled coconut and the other is the one which has two coconuts. 

After the pooja was over at home, we started the holy trip to a very holistic place, Sabarimala towards the Sannidhanam of Lord Ayyappa. It starts after bidding farewell to all the members of the home and getting the blessings of all the elder people of the family. As we move into the forest it is good to have all the blessings of the elder people of the family. 

And the journey begins.....

We moved from Coimbatore through Walayar, Vaddakancherry, Perambra, Trissur, Angamally, Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Kanjirapally, Erumeli and finally to Pampa. When we reached Pampa, it was 3.45am on April 11th, 2014.

After reaching the holy river of Pampa, the next step was to have a holy dip in the river. The one that is of great significance. It is startling to know that Lord Ayyappa was associated much with the river 1000 years ago. It is a great feeling to know that you're part of that history. 

After the holy dip we started the journey towards the idol of the Lord. We reached Pampa Ganapathy and got the blessings to guide us through the forest. There has always been good signs and one such was when the Ayyappan Suprabhatham started when we were just started moving into the forest. It was 5am. The journey into the forest started with the irumudi on the head. We were 6 devotees of various backgrounds moving with one purpose into the forest. A common one. 

The first malai was Neelimalai. 

The path was steep. Though it was the siruvazhi paadai it was equally daunting given the stressed lifestyle of today's world. There is very low physical activity and it makes it very difficult indeed. We moved slowly through the Neelimala. It is about 2.5 km. I was leading the group into the forest and it was an important responsibility for me to set the pace and make sure they get the Divyadarisanam asap. My guru, as he is aged and a heart patient takes the dolly(A chair on which he sits and he is taken towards the sannidhanam by 4 people for a fixed charge). We finally reached the end of Neelimala, slowly, and moved to the start of the next stage, Appachimedu.

We're almost 3/4th the distance to the top of the hill. The most difficult landscapes are only these two. The Appachimedu though less strenuous than the Neelimala was evident, but as the Neelimala had already taken out all the energy out, it was equally challenging. Another 2.5km was the Appachimedu which we slowly surpassed. Then another 2km was only plains. This is were I set the higher pace.

 The Subramanya paadai after the Sabari Peetam. Sabari Peetam is the place were the lady called Sabari got salvation from a curse by Lord Rama, for which she waited and did penance for centuries. 

My strength, the Subramanya paadai.....

There is one thing to notice here. The Neelimala, the Appachimedu and the Subramanya Paathai signify something. Success in life cannot be cakewalk. If it is easy then it won't taste good. You slowly understand the difficulties and overcome them by the focus of your mind. All that has been done in the trip has this very significance.
There is a very good feeling that you get after this stage. The feeling of getting a glimpse of the almighty. God is just 150m away. The god has got a legacy. It is a sign of the God on Earth. One which no one can deny. The abode of God, the Sannidhanam, is just meters away now. I started chanting the mantras of the Lord at the highest tone and guiding the others to the Sannidhanam.

We reached the 18 steps of the Lord. The holy steps signify the 18 psychological and intellectual stages that one's mind has to overcome in life to attain the highest reward for a human which is Moksha(renouncement).

After the 18 steps, the only thing remaining is the Divyadarisanam. The one moment that we were waiting for for almost 50 days. The one for which all were done. All you get is a glimpse of the God for 3 secs maximum with the irumudi on the head. But all your worries, the path you'd tread, the difficulties that you'd faced, everything vanishes from the mind. The glimpse of the idol shows something beyond the Lord. There is more than an idol that is there. There is something more powerful than humans. There is something that controls the functioning of the world. All I can say is "Indescribable". No words can describe that feeling. A feeling that would make you come again and again.

A feeling that you would want to spread the whole world and make it a better place to live in.

-SATZ

Dhudukugala - A musical journey

I'm not a Carnatic singer. I have very limited knowledge of the technical aspects of Carnatic Music. But as an avid listener of Carnatic songs, I can understand the happiness of listening to one. I know how it feels good after the whole technical matter is presented in a nice manner. I've listened to a lot of songs of this genre of music and it always feels good when I listen to it. Well, I don't know why.

Though I know how famous the Pancharatna Keerthanas are, it has been rare for me to have gone to the extent of knowing the meaning and how Thyagaraja has written and composed it. Recently, I listened to T.M Krishna accompanied by the very famous Arun Prakash in Mridangam. The song is Dhudukugala. Ragam is Gowlai in Adi thala.

http://mp3skull.com/mp3/t_m_krishna.html

You can listen to the song and read this on.

The song has been written with a religious sense. Thyagaraja puts himself in the place of a sinner. He questions the materialistic life after he realises that devotion gives immense happiness. He realises that he has been foolishly happy all his life over carnal desires, wealth, and being selfish. He seeks Lord Rama for rescuing him from his sins. 

The meaning goes like this:

Arrogance. The one with Arrogance. Myself.  Oh Dhasaratha's son, Rama! Save me from this arrogance. 

My time was filled with the attraction to bad deeds and bad things. 

I realize that Goddess Lakshmi, the embodiment of speech and mind is beyond comprehension. (He tells how he has succumbed to his false pride.)

I am a sinner who lost the sense to understand your omnipresence in all the living things.

I am a sinner who went astray and repeatedly hurt people’s feelings for the sake of coveting their wealth.

I am a sinner who whiled away the time thinking that everything happening in this materialistic world is happy living.

I was carried away by outward appearances, women, land, property, children, servants and wealth thinking that these were permanent. Moreover, I have sinned by forgetting to worship your lotus feet.

God’s face did not dwell in my mind. I sought egoistic men. I did not shun evil thoughts. I was tormented by them.

I forgot to appreciate the great value of having got this rate opportunity of human birth. I was slave to carnal desire and other evil thoughts. Though I have been born in the highest Brahmin class, I have been performing functions, which are very unbecoming of my class. I have continuously sinned.

Oh my god! I have been a sinner who has gone astray in research of women, children and wealth at various stages of my life.

Thyagaraja has showed how good a writer that he is.

Now I'll tell you what makes Thyagaraja, great as a composer.

As a layman who do not know the deeper aspects of Carnatic music, there are certain things that can be looked for in a Thyagaraja song irrespective of the singer. The listener can look for speed variations, the arrangement of swaras, the wide range between low and high notes, the breath control required, the coordination of the poem with the raga and the marriage of all of these to present a great song.

 

The song that I listened to, starts at a keel kalam. It starts with 2 beats per beat of thala. Then slowly it picks up speed as the meaning becomes in-depth to Madhyama kalam. It is 4 beats per beat of thala. It stays at Madhyama kalam and traverses between Mel kalam and keel kalam in the middle. As the song moves on, the thala moves in one track and the song in another. After sometime both of them join together to form a complete package. The charanam starts in pure synchronisation with the thala and as the song goes on it becomes so difficult a combination. This part needs rigorous practice to spontaneously perform on stage. If gone wrong can end up in a deep mess. The ragam has been very well synchronised with that of the poem. The charanam starts with low notes. Infact T.M Krishna has been good enough to touch these very low notes and excelled to stay with the shruthi at the same time. If you have a 32 key piano you will not be able to go beyond an extent to the lower region. That's how low it gets at the start of the charanam. The selection of the swaras has been very cautious. It has been arranged in such a way that the high and low notes are nearby and this gives a tempo to the song. In one line of the song itself there are variations in notes. This part is what makes you adhere to the song. There is a surprise element in every part of the swara. It keeps you alive into the song. 

There is a marriage of low and high notes through combination of the swaras, repetition of swaras, breathing spaces, pauses wherever it pleases the listener and makes him wait in anxiety for the next swara, the beats the thala and the tempo.  All these technicalities are presented without the expense of the appeal, feel and the meaning of the song. This is what makes a Carnatic song special. The ragam is not very heavy on the listener. It takes a easy travel in the ears and mind of the listener.

Arun Prakash, on the Mridangam, has done a tremendous job by giving the right pressure on the percussion for the beats, wherever required. It is not the main instrument and he has just shown how it should be used as a support to the vocal artist. He doesn't try to be dominant in any part of the song. This is how a percussion should work. He uses subtle beats and very simple theermanams which are at the right frequency to the human ear. It is one of the sole reason for any listener to stay in the song and expect for more.

The song has truly won my heart if not anybody. Though the meaning is religious, the feel is positive. It is a song that represents "total surrender". It is about humility. It is about renouncing inner pride. It teaches a human being of how not to be.Simply tells how great Thyagaraja has been. It is no doubt that a singer who is able to present these five songs without the expense of all the technical nuances should become a great singer for these songs demand great technical expertise in Classical music.

-Satz  B)