10 Day YOU Challenge//Quest: 2 Songs

Since the last two of my posts were close(r) to heart, words just poured out, so I wanted to keep this one short (also seems to be the intent with the title, just 2 songs!). But then, music is close(st) to my heart, and hence I feel like writing again :-)

To me, Indian music and all the variety and depth that music can produce!

Grown up hearing playbacks from arguably the two best eras of melody in music:
- The 70’s in Hindi films
- The 80’s and 90’s in Malayalam films

As time passed, began enjoying Carnatic and Devotional too, and now listen to some English and Country too.  But compared to any form of music, I can sit back and get lost in melody anytime.

My favorite singers, lyricists and music directors thus inevitably became the best singers of this time:
- Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle in Hindi
- K.J. Yesudas, Chitra in Malayalam

My favorite lyricists:
- Anand Bakshi, Gulzar and Javed Akhtar in Hindi
- O.N.V. Kurup, Kaithapram, Girish Puthenchery in Malayalam

But the musicians made all the difference for sure, and one name rules all above, almost God-like for me: R.D. Burman!
In Malayalam, the best music directors have been: Raveendran, Ravi (who has done mostly Hindi films in his career like Chaudvin ka Chand, Ek Phool Do Maali, and Nikaah, but did his best work in Malayalam in the 80s and 90s)

And as you can see from the listing, these are people of eras bygone. And most of the music I listen, is still from that genre. So I’m depending here on my friends who are out on this 10-Day Quest venture too, to enlighten me on what’s hot these days!

Needless to say, the top 2 songs I’ll choose will be from the genre and time I love. I’ll pick one Hindi and one Malayalam:

- Pramadavanam (link to hear):

Singer: Yesudas

Music Director: Raveendran

Lyrics: Kaithapram

Film: His Highness Abdullah (Malayalam)

 Perhaps the best, and uncannily difficult to render, Malayalam song. Yesudas says he cannot sing it again himself, with that right touch the music director graced on the tunes during recording.
The song itself, like most Malayalam lyrics, is philosophical. It talks of the arrival of spring, and how seasons as being witnessed by us, has also been, by generations gone by. As if we are repeating history by witnessing it. He uses the Ramayana and Krishna Leela as analogies. Although non-Malayalees will not get the lyrics (which the Malayalees themselves find hard to interpret owing to the philosophical overtones), the music will grow in you. A must listen!

- Tere Bina (link to hear):
    Singers: Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
    Music Director: R.D. Burman
    Lyrics: Gulzar
    Film: Aandhi (Hindi)
A very difficult choice  since I listen to Hindi film songs the most. I think I’ve heard all the ones upto the end of the 70’s.  And I’m sure everyone has heard this song at least once in their lifetime, and most of those from this generation perhaps liked the music, and didn’t think much about the lyrics. But that’s precisely what the song stands out for, in my opinion. It is to teach a generation fast turning into social network junkies, of the value that lies in deep interpersonal relationships. Panchamda picked the music out of a devotional song he composed in Bengali, so the music was a sure bet, appreciated even before it was applied here. And the singing, especially in Kishore’s voice, has the right maturity required for this song. And this is one of those instances where the music only could have spoken more volumes than any film dialogues. It absolutely fitted the context in the film. Helps to have a lyricist who’s also the director I’d say!

Shortlist:
- English
    ->Kiss Me: The best song I’ll ever love in English. Listen to it, and you can’t help but feel nostalgic, about teenage romance almost like sweetest memories from a past life.

- Devotional
    -> The Gayathri mantra is a favorite and recited ritually. Its effects on the mind have even been studied by scientists. Its meaning can be at different levels, praying to the Sun, the giver of life, to enlighten nature, your body (energy), and prana (soul).

-> Shiva Tandava Stotram: I’m not sure if you’ll have heard of this stotram composed by Ravana in praise of Shiva (link to meaning). The link I’ve shared is Ashit Desai’s version in youtube, which I like the most. It matches intensity with devotion.

-> Hanuman Chalisa: Love Hari Om Sharan’s version of it, although South-Indians are more familiar with MS Subbulakshmi’s

- Hindi
    -> Songs from Amar Prem: Led by Kuch Tho Log Kahenge, the depth in Anand Bakshi’s  lyrics is amazing!
    -> Songs from Khamoshi (1969): Led by Humne Dekhi Hai, where Gulzar, is his own style, weaves words into a deep message.
       
    -> Most hits by Panchamda. Nobody could consistently provide that much melody, in his time or thereafter!

- Ghazals
    Two not-so-well known ones stand out for me:
    -> Khaleel Dhantejvi’s Ab main Raashan Ki Qathaaron mein nazar aata hoon, apne Kheton se bichadne ki Sazaa paatha hoon
    -> Nida Fazli’s Apni Marzi se Kahaan Apne Safar ke Hum hain, Rukh Hawaon ka Jidhar ka hai, Udhar ke Hum hain


- Malayalam

Songs from most hits in the 80’s and 90’s, for good music was plenty in Malayalam films then. If I have to pick a few for non-Malayalees to enjoy (click the name to listen, I’ve linked it to youtube:

-> Anju Sharangalum

-> Manyal Prasadavum

->Neeraduvan

-> Etho Nidrathan

-> Vaishakha Sandhye

-> Palavattam Pookaalam

-> Pazham Tamil Paatizhayum

Let me know if it spikes your interest and you want to listen to more! :-)

10 Day YOU Challenge/Quest: 3 Films

After a period of lull, back to writing for the 10 Day YOU Quest. And it’s one of my favorite topics too: the movies!  But picking just 3 is so difficult, in my military mind I can take the following approaches to short-list:

- When I typically rate movies on Netflix, a 5 star goes to one which crossed the realm of really liked; I must love it, for reasons beyond reason.

- Based on my feeling of the purpose served by the movies. To entertain mostly, but even then, how does it achieve that. There has to one selling point, something different in the message/content, else it wouldn’t stand out. For example, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’s selling point was the filial bonding, on top of good music/dance/romance. Sholay’s was how two people empower a village and a real-good good-over-evil duel. DDLJ’s was about romance, but not with disregard to family.  In the multiplex age, directors are able to make profit with just their unique selling points without the expensive music/dance/romance routines. Yes, I’m restricting my thoughts to Hindi films, becauese most regional films, for long, have run purely on a strong content/message. So I could list three based on how hard-hitting was the point made by the director (because the film is his vision materializing. The director he is the architect, the actual hero, and everyone else including the performers, are  just his support-staff)

And I also think every movie has to end on a positive note. It may even be, a faint ray of hope or a dream sequence. But for me, it’s part of the director’s responsibility to ensure that the people leaving the theater, when conveyed to a message no matter how grim, are left with something to look forward to.

So hmm, I’ll come up with three movies which fit both criteria (“I Loved It!” and “Great Message”) plus my ground rule (happy ending :-D). And let me keep another criteria: 1 Hindi, 1 Malayalam, 1 English

So here goes:

In films, I like characters to reflect real-life humans. Even protagonists to have gray shades. If you look at it, Lord Rama and Gandhiji had as much gray shades as any other human, and hence their life-stories have more to learn from on what to, and not-to do. The film I’ll list as my top choice is one that perfectly suits that idea, about a young adult who knowingly makes mistakes, but also has his heart in the right place-
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (Hindi) directed by Kundan Shah: I’ve loved this one since ages, and Shahrukh Khan once said it is his favorite film too. Only someone as bubbly and talented could have played the role with such elan.  You really begin empathising with Sunil,  the free-spirited protagonist played by Shahrukh who dreams of making a career in music. Obviously this rankles his father, who, like most parents in the Indian middle-class, wants him to pass high-school and get a real job. The movie is also built around Sunil’s unrequited love for Anna. The character is so well-etched that you start rooting  for his simple wants. I have grown up in a typical south-Indian family, and gone to a Christian missionary school (where all is black/white or good/evil), and had until then thought those without good report cards are not good people.  The movie teaches that the true measure of character lies in integrity and selflessness. And more important than being honest to the world, is being true to yourself.


The next film is in-short, a celebration of life, created by the genius MT. He forte is writing and is usually involved in literary works and film screenplays, but he’s been equally adept whenever he directed one. All married couples, happily in love, would empathize and relish this film:
Oru Cheru Punchiri (Malayalam) directed by M.T. Vasudevan Nair: The title translates “A small Smile”, and is about a elderly couple, leading their retired lives in peace. The movie takes us through their seemingly mundane village life, yet teaching how there is beauty and joy in the most ordinary living, if there is that spark of love. In the company of each other, and the richness of the life left behind, they are self-assured and above prejudices. The funniest sequence I still chuckle at is when the couple are out to attend a marriage, and the wife teases the husband upon seeing his old crush also attending the wedding. While taking us deep into the chemistry of their soul, the movie also takes us wider into their social circle, reflecting the state of society as a whole. The playful sequences with the neighbouring children, the inevitable friction with their materialistic children who reside in cities, their support of the grand-daughter’s relationship to a Muslim, the detest to temple festival organizers who are there more for the political mileage than devotion, the director makes vast colorful strokes on this canvas. The movie prods us to ponder, what matters eventually? And in a perfect ending, the film depicts how the celebration of life, this love we feel within, goes farther and deeper than the objects of our affection.

I generally taske the view there are no absolute truths. Every action is correct based on the circumstance. And when directors explore this by showing two perspectives of the same event, two ways of interpreting the same subject, it interests me. The are numerous movies that do this, but this one I like the best-
Taking Sides (English) directed by Istvan Szabo: Based on a true story, this is about the post-World War 2 interrogation of a world-famous conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler by an American Army Major. These interrogations were carried out to determine the level of involvement in war-crimes by Nazi-sympathizers, by probing them with available evidence. Before the interrogation, the major has been hardened by screenings of inhumanities carried out during the war. To such an extent that even the war-weary major gets nightmares and throws up at nights. The major has thus been fortified to be at his harshest best. And he confronts the conductor to the point: why inspite being the best in the world, did the conductor (like Einstein and so many others) defect to the Allied countries. And yet is faced with a steely resolve of a response “Germany is my motherland, why should I have left it”. The debate (and the movie) plays out at various levels and tones: intellectual, objective, sentimental, to downright argumentative, bullying, and maddening. Such is the impact of the war of words that every person in the room viz. the Lieutenant who bears witness, the clerk who has to type/document the interrogation, and the interrogator and subject themselves, at some point or the other, break down. The audience walks in with the major into the interrogation room carrying a mindset of hatred, and walks out at the end with their hearts gone out to the conductor, and their minds looking for introspection in fresh air...

Some other films came very close to being with the top 3, and I must list these also-rans, for these too, are indeed must-watch (not in order):

Hindi:
Ek Ruka Hua Faisla
Koshish
Agneepath

Malayalam:
Sadayam
Pakshe

Tamil:
Virumaandi

English:
Forrest Gump
The Godfather-3
The Good Shepherd
Body of Lies
Inception
The Dark Knight
The Prestige

Foreign:
Lives of Others (German)
The Grocer’s Son (French)
Red Cliff (Mandarin)
The Emperor and the Assasin (Mandarin)
Farewell my Concubine (Mandarin)

And any film which is a creation of Gulzar, Christopher Nolan or  M.T. Vasudevan Nair, I would recommend to all!

Focus on the Right Things

I know not what it is to be, in a jungle or a palace
In a state of illness eternal, or of perpetual  health
So neither can this mind be, happy or sad forever
Distracting in this vacillation, the prana’s divine light

Unless I choose to be, unattached to happenings outside
Immerse my attention to, one task at a time
Live and contribute to, the love of music and science
Keep paying my respects to well-wishers, in life and in mind

Verses for the Day

He walked alone, and alone did he Bide
Nobody did understand him, and neither did he Himself
For a lifetime may be long, but short in terms of Life
And deeds may hold relevance, long after the creator Forgotten

The 10-Day You Challenge/Quest: 4 Books

I love reading, and at one time, have been an avid reader of books. My father cultivated the reading habit in me, thinking (rightly so) that it would help with my studies. He’d never discourage me from any periodical-subscription that I requested or from me purchasing Indrajal, Tinkle or Diamond Comincs from the Raddhi-vala. My middle school years were also devoted a lot into reading fiction teen-novels (Hardy Boys, 3 Investigators and then upgrading to Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn etc etc). The last one that ended this phase (I remember more because I could not complete it) was “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. I then moved on to Target, CSR, (auto)/biographies into finally moulding into the  non-fiction “type”. And now, well..let’s come to that later.

My reading habit started with one particular periodical forever etched as one of my growing years’ greatest influences, and fondest memories. I don’t even remember what was my age when Daddy began its subscription (or perhaps he would buy it each month), so I’d been reading it as far as memory serves. And hence I felt it would be not be fair to create a book-list without a dedication to the book (albeit not one book) that started it all:
- Chandamama: I’m not sure if all youngsters in India have grown up reading Chandamama, but I have, and used to think, so has everyone. I consider it the best children’s story-book cum periodical. I’ve always been amazed at their wide repertoire of original stories, and still more from a wide variety of impressive sources (Indian mythology, folklore, literature, Greek literature, Vikram-Betal, Jataka Tales, Panchatantra, etc etc). And they did keep re-inventing and changing themselves with the times, bringing in stories of science, quizzes, and current affairs. Chandamama stays close to my heart, and I feel the oneness also because it somehow suspended publication just when I was turning into a teenager. Perhaps if it would continued publication, I would have outgrown it naturally, and lost my fondness for it. Instead, I ruefully missed it. And when I heard that they had resumed publications some years later, it only brought me a smile. It had forever been etched as a good memory. As when in Love, when you move on, don’t go back ever or it will spoil what best you cherish of it. I believe the same is true not just for books, but for movies too. Watch a movie or read a book a second time, and in my opinion, you really have disturbed the magic it created in your heart the first time around...

The next book I must mention is one that brought out my interest and (if I may say so) talent in poetry. There were two books actually but I’ll highlight the one that influenced me the most:
- The Loom of Time by Chandra Ranjan: This is a beautiful English-translation of Kalidasa’s greatest poems, which per feedback, stays true to the original poetic composition and style of Kalidasa. Published by Penguin Classics (Link to buy), it includes translations of his most popular “AbhignyanaShakuntalam”, his best work “Meghadootam”, and my personal favorite “Ritusamharam”. Most might know that AbhignyanaShakuntalam is the (perhaps true) story of Shakuntala meeting King Dushyanta, his forgetting her after she loses the token (ring), and eventually remembering and reuniting with her when the ring is found. It is well popularized in plays, movies, paintings and stories with various endings, and Kalidasa takes artistic  liberty too, to make an otherwise sad-ending happy, so important in my eyes to the true intent of a creation. Meghadootam (Cloud-Messenger) is about a love-lorn Yaksha, cursed to be away from his home and family,  pleading with a cloud to convey his message to his wife. While Shakuntalam is appreciated for studying human behavior and emotions in minute detail, Meghadootam is considered path-breaking in many terms: eye for detail to geography in how the Yaksha describes the way home (which spans Central to Northern Bharata of the time), the idea of using poetry to convey a message (so popular for generations after and even today), and in technical terms with the style/meter. The eye for detail is what ensures Kalidasa is still considered the greatest poet. Indeed I was impressed with how the Yaksha points out minute landmarks (distinctive birds, flowers) apart from how to identify a river or mountain on the route home, suggesting the amount of reseach and travel Kalidasa did to create this work. But Ritusamharam somehow is what stays closest to my heart. As the name suggests, it goes into the detail of each season seen in India. It describes in true poetic terms how each season stands out, how to identify them, nature’s beauty in each, the behavior of animals during each season, and with even more sensuality, its impact on human feelings and behavior. I cannot do justice in my description, read it and fall in love. If I have to point out one, it is Ritusamharam that inspired the free-flow of poetry in me.


The third book that created a lasting impression is a searing analysis on the characters of India’s most famous historical event before Independence from the British- the Mahabharata:
- Yuganta by Irawati Karve (link to buy): I read much of this book in a bus-trip from Bangalore to Chennai back in ‘04-05, and the reason I clearly remember it is I can still feel the mind-blowing effect the writer’s analysis on history, had on me. I wasn’t surprised to later learn that the book was controversial when released. Thorough in research and authored by an eminent educationist, the makes Krishna human, but like the movie Passion of the Christ, seeing someone regarded Godly as human, only increases your respect manifold for the person, his achievements and the mark he has left on in human history. The book also heavily criticizes Bhishma, for he had the required influence and yet did not do enough to stop the Mahabharata. Just as Gandhiji did not do enough to stop the partition and prevent the mayhem we still suffer from (and the book does draw this analogy too).

And since we may only list 4 (although I know I may have cheated with Chandamama, but I had to), the last (and perhaps the move relevant) one to make this list is what introduced me to Ashoka.org:
- How to Change the World by David Bornstein (link to buy): This book is about “Social Entrepreneurs”, a revolutionary idea by the author of the Kyoto Protocol, Bill Drayton. He is the founder of the non-profit “Ashoka: Innovators for the Public”, which kind-of follows the credo of “feed a man a fish and feed him for a day, and teach a man to fish, and feed him for life”.  Instead of restricting to a set of pre-defined roles like other NGOs, Ashoka instead invites innovative, implementable ideas for social good (with no borders in scope, location or reach), and enables the ideator (now called Ashoka-Fellow) to implement it. They have a tough screening process to accept only pragmatic, real-world workable ideas (not surpising for someone who introduced the concept of green-credits through the Kyoto Protocol), and yet ideas whose effects would be far-reaching in social terms. They even require that apart from the initial hand-holding, such creations should be able to sustain itself. The most famous example is the Grameen Bank, a farmer’s co-operative in Bangladesh (whose founder and Ashoka-fellow  Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this), which totally revolutionized the economy and banking system in Bangalesh for the novelty of its idea and implementation. Read more about Ashoka.org, and do take part!!


To sign off, I began my article saying I love reading, and was at one time an avid reader of books. Well that’s because I’m unable to make much time for leisure reading anymore. My reading is more narrowed down to current affairs and technical stuff. Yet, some of the other books (recently and in the past) that I’d like to recommend, and would have made it to a more generous list (not in order): Isaac Asimov’s The Relativity of Wrong, Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I.S. Mudugula’s The Acharya: Sankara of Kaladi  (link to buy),  Short Stories by Tagore/Guy De Maupassant/Jeffrey Archer, Biographies of Tagore/Kalam and Autobiography of Gandhiji, and not to forget Chethan Bhagat’s books whose simple writing style that masks brilliant topic selection/narration/humor is tapping into this big market of non-avid, low-attention span consumers, and making them read and take interest in buying books (300-page, affordable price model!).