ELLAAME THAMASHTHAAN

Many of the good projects of our State Government attract critical response from the public over the poor implementation process. This goes on from the days of the Congress to the current Government.

The latest I have seen is the printing and distribution of Smart Cards to replace the age old ration card. From the time of announcement of the scheme, everything looked attractive, inciting much anticipation from us. The self-imposed time schedule was ridiculed by the Government endlessly. We were fortunate to check the status of our application online. So the delay did not matter at all, as we were getting our rations anyway.

The official website is well laid out. But the site works better with the agencies handling the job than in our home. In my case for weeks I was informed that my card was yet to be printed. Suddenly one day the ration shopkeeper reminded me that I was yet to fill up my Aadhaar and mobile numbers. I did the same. After some more weeks I was shown by him that I had not filled up full details of my spouse. I got confused as I was convinced that I had provided all that I knew about my spouse. The only option advised to me was to re-enter the details. I obliged readily online. Suddenly one morning I got a call from a lady official - not the shopkeeper - asking me to upload my photo immediately so that they could complete my file, as if I was only delaying things.

Upload of  photo was real challenge for a person like me, who started with one finger typing on the keyboard and mostly restricting my compu-time to Freecell, Candycrush and the like. After many attempts of uploads, I found that my photo gallery was full of my face in many shades and tones! It was disgusting even for my own self, not to speak of my spouse who spends more screen time than me. The website specified that the photo I uploaded should not exceed 10 KB. None of my poses on the gallery were below 60 KB. So I approached my dependable photo studio guy who is also doing the agency work for this project. It was sheer magic. He took a fresh click of my face on his mobile with all the doors and windows of the studio wide open on a sunny day. For a few minutes I was the amusing object for passers-by. And my photo got uploaded in a second.

Now I have been informed that my card is ready. Shopkeeper says the message is auto generated once the print is over and that it would take two weeks for the card to reach my ration shop. I have fresh prayers now for an error free smart card for my family ration. In the past weeks I have come across some unusual errors in the cards others got. Names are wrong nut address is correct and vice versa. In some cases name and address are right but greeted by a wrong photo. One case was bizarre - name of a lady with the right address but the photo of the two year old girl child in the family. There are also confusions about the list of family members.

I smile in disgust. But that is life in India. And we like it that way.

More on fading...............

For over a decade we were ruled by Doordharshan. With no options for watching, we sat glued to our sets watching all that was shown. We were enthusiastically discussing about the programs. We used to redicule VAYALUM VAZHVUM but sat through that also. The programs were mostly connected with social issues and educative. Newsreaders of those days were our idols, like Shobana Ravi, P C Ramakrishna, Komal GB Singh and Sasikumar.

In 1992 SUN TV arrived on the scene. We were literally tied down to the TV set through a variety of programs, mostly film based. We could watch full length movies too. Soon a number of channels came up. Today we feel the heat so much that we do not wish our kids to watch TVs longer. Too many channels and gadgets are slowly keeping us away from the idiot box, mainly because of the poor quality of the contents. People of my age are now regretting why we avoided DD because even today that is the only channel adamantly committed to educative programs in India.

I recall the famous dialogue in Magalir Mattum - "Technology has improved very much". Going by the latest tools in the market, TV may become an antique very soon. Movie apps offer very latest movies, all licensed ones. Almost all TV channels including news channels have their own apps with short and full versions. No need to talk about music apps. We have weather apps, medical apps and what not. Slowly TV time is shrinking.

The latest and the ultimate by far is SUN NXT. It is the app of Sun TV which works even without the net. The app carries 40 TV channels with HD. It has movies archive from the latest to the older ones in all genres. With this in my hand, I hardly switch on the TV.  

Idiot box may soon rest in the attic.

back to blog !

PCs gone, smartphones in. Radios and record players gone, giving way for a phased growth of gadgets to listen to music. With new social media tools, Blogs have faded. So as a very very occasional blogger, I stopped writing for some years. But a recent tributary recall of my earlier works by my son pushed me back to blogging. Of course I am quite aware that I do not have a large following to my scribbles. But I have decided to put down my random thoughts at least for me to read and enjoy. And that will be one way of spending time usefully and getting a pat(mild) from my wife instead of a wild one for idling. So friends, please bear with this additional boredom to the many you are through everyday. 

About Raaja again ?

Well. I could not help it as my interests mostly centre around this person. Last evening me and Jaya sat through a unique concert - ILAYARAAJA SALUTES THYAGARAJA. Presented by a leading TV personality with the aid of a group of young exponents of vocal and instrumental classical music, the concert was good though not excellent. My interest was however in the contents. Saint Thyagaraja needs no marketing or introduction. So is the other Raaja today. But the concert aimed at explaining the richness of carnatic music ragas through familiar film tunes, so that more people are drawn to carnatic concerts in future. The presenter found IR as the only composer to accomplish this task. The sync of one carnatic song to a film song in the same raga formed the format for the concert. We were fed some interesting facts about the great efforts of IR, unmindful of the success or failure of the films he composed for. His achievements are no more secrets to the listeners as all channels of TV and FM sing his praise everyday. The presenter here shared with us some rare facts about IR. It seems he has scored 166 songs in the raga Keeravani, with no similarity between any two songs. He is the only composer to have used over a dozen rare ragas, some of them having no carnatic krithi at all. He is the only film composer who has used "sruthi bedham" and such nuances of classical music without any dilution in basics and dharma. There are films like Kovil Pura which crashed at the box office but had songs blended in rare ragas and treated with rare musical experiments. The presenter concluded saying most of the film songs are over 30 years old but sound fresh, because IR has worked 30 years ahead. You will agree with this if you listen to his latest non-filmi album SWAPPNAM.

Good to be back - really?

For the last two years, I have been spending quite some time out of India on grand-parental duties. In the process, I started getting fully acclimatized to the living styles in California and London. Slowly but steadily I developed liking for the new environs and their demands. I found that I did not miss much of my Indian life as almost everything we consider as exclusive to Indian life were available easily. This includes new movie releases simultaneously with India. I enjoyed new contacts, new places and new routine as well. I also learnt new things like baby-sitting, vegetable cutting, utensil wash and similar chores to give some relief to my dear spouse. I enjoyed the weather, mostly pleasant. I admired clean surroundings, clear ozone, law abiding people, courteous officials, honest shops, transparent trading etc., all of which I have been searching in my country for over 50 years. When I returned, nothing had changed of course. The sweltering heat, the unscheduled power cuts of 10 to 15 hours a day, the dust, the in-disciplined chaotic traffic, the high decibel sounds in public places etc, all greeted me. i am still confused whether it is really good to be back! Of course I have no option for the present.

AMABO

I have been following the events leading to the elections in US, culminating in the victory speech by Obama. The victory speech by Obama left me stunned. Can a President of the large democracy in the world be so frank, forthright and humble? Maybe it was all normal, but all the leaders I have seen and heard back home have been so bad and self-centered that Obama sounded so good to me. There was sincerity is his desire to take all leaders even from opposite camp with him in building the nation strong economically. Of course he has many constraints in accomplishing his task. But I salute his will and grit. As some people interviewed said, he believes in gains not for himself or his party but for his country.  I was trying to find any one leader in modern India as parallel. None. 

I must mention here about the Americans who faithfully exercised their franchise braving the cold. Many in NY and NJ had no power or essentials at home after Sandy but they called at booths in time to vote. Also the garce with which Romney conceded defeat and resolved to work with Obama in his tasks speaks about the contradictions in the democratic weave of America and our own country.

Things are jsut the reverse. Hence the title above.

Tribute to my M I L

Last Friday I lost my mother-in-law. Very rarely one can come across a lady totally simple, unassuming, soft with everyone, always active, preferring to be on her own, never showing dissidence even where required - well, I can go on like this. She compensated to me for all the good parental response I missed personally. The last few weeks of physical discomfort were quietly born by her without any murmur, when she should have been comforted but was miserably let down by those who mattered most to her and on whom she showered affection and care.

I pray for her very noble soul to rest in peace.

Last was best

It was curtains down last week for Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi (NVOK) - the Tamil version of KBC hosted by actor Suriya. I did not watch regularly or with seriousness as most of the questions were very elementary, sometimes childish too. With tips from Big B, Suriya was trying to make it as lively as he could with unassuming interaction with the contestants. I am not sure how many of you were regular to NVOK.

I happened to watch the last episode of this season. Suriya brought all the contestants and made the best of them sit in the front. It started as usual with pleasantries and farewell notes. Then unfolded the emotional bits with rewind of some exceptional moments. I felt that I was being drawn to the arena by the sheer humane lessons I could learn in life. There were fun, frolic, mockery, melancholy, grit, cool attitude, helping hands and some real human beings.

At the end of the show I saw Suriya emerging a hero with his humility, real concern and generosity. I also saw that when compared to the lives of less privileged, I was better placed with nothing to lament or complain. I have nothing much to boast of either, when I see how Suriya or his dad were helping many quietly. When I switched off, I felt very uneasy about everything around me. Maybe incomplete life?

Last should never be lost, as last was the best.

Break ke baad

Well, after a break of 3 years, I am trying to revive my blog with regular posts. I have been driven to this by the idle days again in California, from where I started this blog.

I do not see much change in the life here, except maybe some new gadgets and new products in shops and malls. Probably I got this feeling because of late everything is available back in India and I have not been much excited. As always the gadget market offers new things, mostly brought out by Asian brains.

I must however admit that the cleanliness outside, the law abiding citizens, the planned development of the infrastructure, pure water and air, disciplined shopkeepers, no powercut, cooler climate - all these touch my heart in my every visit. Indian food joints, Indian movies are also on the rise.

In my fourth visit now, I meet good number of Indians, specifically South Indians in larger numbers when me and my wife go for daily walk. A new cult has developed of desi parents visiting their son/daughter mostly for baby-sitting. Ladies make the best out of these visits, enjoying their husbands doing dish-washing,  laundry, cutting vegetables, singing lullabies and even handling diapers.

All these somehow get extended to our homes when we get back to India. We grin and bear it! 

raja - why? how?

As a kid, I could sleep only to specific film songs as lullaby, like 'Brindavanamum' from Missiyamma (got my age right!). I grew up with film music, at the cost of good alma mater. The MSV duo ruled my pleasures, with some numbers of KVM also as favourites. I went crazy later years for the Burmans, Beatles, Shadows, Ventures, Jim Reeves and the like. Alongside I was melting with carnatic numbers as well and I had my own favourite artistes and ragas. I had short stint away from my home state when I was a little out of touch with Tamil film music. When I returned in the late '70s, I found a new name ruling the film music scene. ILAYARAJA. What was different? Well, everything. Specifically the orchestrisation. Thank God, TMS got off the scene eventually admitting his shaking voice. So new voices sang lilting tunes. The cult was omnipresent, in tea shops, in buses, in radio and of course in homes. Cassette recording kiosks sprang up, feeding the new cult with great music of high quality. Instantly I fell for it. From then on till now, music for me has been only Raja's songs. I also found out that re-recording could lift film scenes to terrible heights. Whatever musicians of modern times claim as their best were delivered by Raja in early '80s itself. Everytime I listen to others' compositions, my passion for Raja gets enlarged. None of these guys are able to present songs without the Raja effect. There are many tunes of Raja which make me melt, weep, float. There are songs which I hear repeatedly, just for orchestra interludes. There are sure flop films which ran only for the music. Many music directors in Tamil and Hindi survive today by quietly lifting Raja's old hits and polishing them with the synthesisers. They don't feel ashamed as they have no better stuff up on their sleeves. Raja holds classical music at his command as the base and blends ragas amazingly with folk or western genres. I will not fill this space with samples as there are popular links where you get never ending streams of Raja's music. If you have not heard his music with rapt attention, try once preferably through hi-fi gadgets. You can easily feel the difference. I am not trying to market his songs and no one needs to. I have tried only to share my thoughts as to HOW and WHY it is RAJA for me.

As Vaali put it, "Ilayarajavai ariyaadhaar ariyaadhaare".

Grand....Pa

Despite painting a baldy, receding hairline, despite wearing trendy chinos and soft shoes, despite sporting RayBan sunglasses and i-pod, I was brought to my feet on the ground on 12 Mar 2008 with the arrival of my grandson. Overnight I was pushed into the top tier of family system and greeted for becoming 'grandpa'. Between June and August 2008, when I was here in USA, the infant appeared the same with the same routine as I had seen with my two children - to drink milk and to sleep, only to wake up again to drink milk with flashes of smile in between. Our meeting in India in Oct 2008 was short but not much different from the above except some shouts to communicate. But when we met again on 04 Aug 2009 in USA, I saw a new pal in my life. From day one it is me he wants and trusts for everything. I am now his friend to play or feed or listen or console. I am wondering wherefrom I gained so much of patience or grit to put up with all these. Each day starts with his wake-up call and ends with his goodnight kiss. My wife and son are watching my new role in disbelief, especially my 'no tooth grind' face. For me life looks beautiful in this new role. Slowly I have also learnt that the grandpa status brings with it immeasurable thrills and frills, though it deflates the pseudo-young pursuits. Come on everyone, become a grandpa, enjoy the old age !

why this blog?

Well, two years back, my son encouraged me to make my own blog and he himself designed one for me. As always, my initial zeal was so much that i decided to write daily, then thought about weekly posts, maybe monthly and finally I did not make even once in a year. I was just wondering what was there to write and most importantly who would read my stuff. Nowadays I am idle for about 15 hours a day - not that I am engaged for 9 hours, but I sleep. This morning it struck me that I have my blog to spend time with. Why not scribble now and then and ask (request) my wife to read and comment. My wife is very good at keeping secrets and she will talk about my posts to many people as she does with secrets. So, here I am, restarting from where I had left 2 years back.

No respite

Last week I fell victim to a cyber fraud. And I felt like being pushed into this by something from behind. Technology development always appears to be helping touts first, before reaching the hands it is meant for. So criminals are always one up. There is common belief for years that on the night a thief enters your house, all in the family are fast asleep, including even the oldies who never sleep long. Similarly, despite all the warnings and alerts day in and day out, you fall prey when you are destined to it. Post mortem of the incident boils my blood to an extent of holding all the criminals on their heads and smash them on the floor. Once awake, I am convinced that it can only happen with filmy heroes. I am not one. So I try to forget the thing and look for relief.

My Daughter's Wedding

Phew!

It was quite tiring even though thrilling throughout. It went off smoothly on June 25. Despite my careful budgeting and planning, everything shot out off my hands due to the only pleasant reason - heavy response from the invitees. We tried our best to satisfy everyone. I hope everyone went off with full satisfaction and happiness. All the protocols and demands for attention made by me were laughing at me when I was at the receiving end. Still my heart is full and I feel having unloaded a very big responsibility. It is a rare system in our Indian culture - I mean the wedding process - painful pleasure, maybe closely similar to delivering a baby.