A day in the life of LIFE

Lot of things happening on a busy weekend.

Try as I might, the 8:30 a.m. alarm fails to separate me and Sameera Reddy (voted as the fittest actress in Bollywood), who is hell bent on acting with me in her next movie called “Maanav bana Daanav” where I am supposed to be the protagonist.

It became a lot tougher this weekend, when the only source of “awakening” was the doorbell which I think played all the nursery rhymes from “jack and Jill” to “ Three blind mice” before the battery ran out.

Dreamy eyed, and still chased by Sameera, I managed to peep out of the door with my disheveled looks only to find a stranger, who looked as tough as Mike Tyson, which made me realize I had not made my credit card payment on the due date.

Luckily, he happened to be one of the residents of the colony and had come to cordially invite some “senior” member of the house to attend the General Body Meeting to discuss issues of grass root level importance.

Since I did not have anything better to do other than watching “Ramgarh ka Sholay” on “FILMY”, which comprised of look alikes of popular actors, rendering a different touch to the original movie, I decided to have a first hand impression of what happens in a GBM.

After scouting around as to where the health center existed in the township where I stay ( that was where the meeting was scheduled and I had never been to the “health” center before), I gingerly entered the hall which more resembled an improved version of a local panchayat. The elderly formed the core group with all uncles forming the second rung of defence. A Lot of issues ranged, prime among which were the following:

• A concrete plan on celebrating Holi
• Annulling the extra membership fee of Rs 200 for using the health center
• A core committee to conduct free and fair elections for posts within the Association
• A beautifully worded ”Angreji” letter on action against the present management member Mr. “U” for having misbehaved with the ladies (don’t let imaginations run wild : Mr. U had apparently put up his hands when a “lady” had requested him to carry 20 kilos of her vegetables home).
• A point on bringing the Ganga river water into all our households

The last point was something we could do without, if we did not want our final immersion to happen immediately in the same water.

However, the uncles around this place are a little hot headed and some “almost old losing all hair” uncle took what the “rimmed glasses but all grey hair” uncle’s comments on the working of the local body, as a personal remark.

Though most exchanges happened in chaste Hindi,( not my type which aligns itself to the Mumbaiyya ishtyle), but nonetheless it was much fun.

Eventually, most issues were resolved and the “health center” was thrown open to all till such a time the management reverts on the membership fee.

People like me have accepted this offer with glee, since I first need to know if my current Olive Oyle structure can be changed to match that of Arnold Shivajinagar (whatever that dude’s name is :p) before I actually start paying for something that may be beyond reach.Meanwhile I have been re-united with a game that has graduated from me playing the same with tumblers and ladles as nets on the dining table to a standard Table Tennis court.

Bikes and Sports run deep as passions for most “bachelors” I am told.*wink*

And while I explore what faciltities the health center has in store, separating me from Sameera Reddy should probably become much easier now!

It’s Four forty A.M. by my watch on the second most significant day in the context of India’s existence – Republic Day! And what could be better than sitting at the airport of the National Capital, awaiting the rest of the nation to awaken to the celebrations that would begin in a couple of hours from now.

26th January, atleast for the last two years has meant me being at the IIT Madras for their annual cultural festival, SAARANG. But today, after just two hours of sleep, I await in the lobby of “Indian” (formerly Indian Airlines), even as patriotic songs reverberate on the mounted television screens around me. It’s kind of a co-incidence that I would be flying the official national carrier after almost ten years ( and no, neither am I a privileged club class member, nor do I hold an exclusive frequent flier pass), but yes, in the era of the Kingfisher and other premium airlines, INDIAN does face challenges in innovative branding.

The lady at the baggage check in counter seems to be in her late 40’s with a smile that best suits the one Inzamam-ul-Haq has when Shoaib Akhtar is walloped by Sehwag. She examines the ticket with the least of interest even as a co-worker interrupts her frequently seeking clarifications. It’s almost as if the lady has been in the system for so long that she knows all procedures by rote. Her identity card is so worn out that it resembles my grandmom’s ration card rather than an employee ID. Talk about long lasting durability.

Not very excited about her expected response, I still ask her, “ Kya aap mujhe ek window seat de sak te hai?” She looks up to me like “ Kid! You are not going on an amusement ride. And nothing’s visible other than the clouds, and for GOD's sake, it’s INDIAN, which may not even fly. So how does it matter?” All this, even as smartly attired personnel of other airlines whizzed around with the much desired enthusiasm.

The scene around me is pretty lazy. A middle aged “ Gentleman” has just taken off his shoes and has made himself comfortable on the seats, a couple of foreigners are curiously looking at the pigeons (the winged birds with a disturbed body clock thanks to the bright lights) flying over them in the lounge, and it’s almost day break but chilly winds are making their way through the wide doors that have just been thrown open to passengers of another airline that is due to fly shortly.

Yawns interrupt my otherwise peaceful existence and like a sleep deficient Vietnamese solider, my fingers have almost been mechanically programmed to type away at the laptop.

Time to catch some news folks. They’ve just loaded the complimentary newspaper stand and there’s already a beeline to grab the freebie. Lemme join the bandwagon too.

Can’t wait to be pampered by the “motherly” treatment of the air hostesses of the Indian flight like one of those Mother's Recepie advertisement . After all, Mother India is calling!

More on Mumbai , the city which never sleeps, once I reach there!

Okie. I know that! You don’t need to rub it in. My mom always considered me a slow learner, which explains why I begin my lunch when The Indian team begins their innings and continues till Sreeshant is done with his on-the-field break dance. This is also why I could never differentiate between a break dance and a disco dance apart from the fact that Michael Jackson and Mithun da were exponents of the same in that order.

I have been slow in putting up this blog on the much awaited “talk of Bollywood”! But after a bumpy and hectic week at work, am finally blogging about this “Hot” topic akin to the late arrival of the Hindi movie Police. Thankfully am also not so late in the cycle else I may have had to write about Manoj Kumar’s Mother India, so I guess it’s fine.

Now, back to the point. Open any management text book and you will find a dedicated chapter on mergers and acquisitions. ( My gyan on management is limited to my roomie who happens to be in Human Capital Management, otherwise referred to as “HR” in most organizations). There have always been M&As in Bollywood – the most famous being Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, AK and TK (Akshay and Twinkle) , the legendary AB and JB ( go drown yourself if you could not get this expansion), Anil and Sridevi (Dewar- Bhabhi relationship :( ) and the latest being Ash and Little B. After having been scorned by KK ( K Kapoor) for being a flop actor, Little B has grown by leaps and bounds to fit into the shoes of Big B. But now, after the latest merger in the greater good of Bollywood, Little B to Aish karenge. *wink*

Media sensationalism is at an all time high and the entire Page 15 of the TOI was dedicated to this “happy” news in Bollywood. News snippets ranged from the Ash’s Lehenga, to the number of sarees purchased, the prices of the same, and most importantly the muhurat of the wedding. Ash’s father in law (guess who) was quoted saying “ The children have decided, and I am happy”. But, in one corner of the page, a small 4 cm x 4 cm frame also spoke of the alarming levels of pollution in the Ganges of Allahabad, with due focus on Environmental responsibility.

I switched on the T.V. only to find one news channel proclaim – “Breaking News”.

Studio: Swati, ab aap kahan pe hai?
Reporter: Sumit, hum yahan Khandala ke jungle mein hai.

Studio: Lekin aap ko Toronto mein ya Big B ke ghar ke paas rehna chahiye
Reporter: Haan Sumit, lekin hum is waqt us jagah pe hai jahan maana jaata hai ki Little B Ash sey pehli baar miley they.

Studio: This is breaking news! Again, hum aap ke liye laa rahe hein exclusive pictures khandala ke jungle sey. Swati, aur kuch khabar wahan sey?
Reporter: Chaliye baat kartey hai Sukhi Ram sey, jo yahan ke kheto mein kaam kartey hai. 80 baras ke Sukhi Ram, ek who lauta shaks hai jinhone Little B aurAsh ko ek saath dekha tha. Sukhi Ram aap ko is waqt kaisa lag raha hai?

Sukhi Ram: Humko kaunu pata naahin. Hum apney hal chalarahey they, ee sab kuch ho gaya. Humka maaf kardo sarkaar!

Reporter: Sukhi Ram daro mat! Puri duniya aap ko is waqt dekh sakti hai. Kya aap ney Abhishek aur Aishwarya ko saath dekha tha ya nahin?
Sukhi Ram: Humka chchod do sarkar. Hum sarpanch ji ko keh diya hoon, paanch saal purani baton ko kyon phir se daura rahe hain?
Reporter: This is breaking news. Is ka matlab, yeh sab kuch 5 saal se chal raha hai. Sumit I cannot believe this! Hindustan ko yeh jaan ne ka haq tha is ke baren mein lekin Sarpanch ne mana kiya tha Sukhi Ram ko. Hum isko yahin pe nahin choddenge.

Studio: Is waqt humarey saath hai Jyotshi Shri Batuk Maharaj, jo batayenge ki yeh baat duniya se ab tak gupt kyon rahi?
Maharaj: Shani ki drishti vakr hone sey shayaad yeh bat dab gayi ho parantu yeh var aur kanya ke liye bahut achchi baat hai

Sukhi Ram (breaking down): Theek hai Memsaab! Hum apna galti maan letey hoon. 5 saal pehley Kishan Ram key bhaise – Abhishek aur Aishwarya ko mein chala raha tha. Ek din bin bataye bhaise chal padi. Is mein humra kaunu galti nahin hai mem sahib!
Reporter: Sumit, itni badi baat police se chupayi gayi, is ke liye hum media key taraf se Sukhi Ram ke khilaf muqudma karayenge! Kishan Ram ko insaaf milke rahega!

Studio: Darshakon se request hai ki woh kahin na jaaye, kuch hi pal mein haazir honge, ek special programme ke saath - Kissa Kishan Ram ke Bhaiso ka – Aakhir kahan gaye Abhishek aur Aishwarya?

Welcome to the land where Nithari has become a tourist attraction,
It happens only in India!!

When was the last time you actually listened to the Sapta Swara? (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni) Must have been ages, right?

Growing up for me, has been associated with learning Classical Carnatic Music for 5 years, and like Calvin Arnold’s Wonder years, my voice broke just before my classical vocal examination and hence did not take up the same.

Be it the varnas, geetas, or the kirtanas ( For those of you who thought they were names of my girlfriends, go shoot yourself! They are components of great music), the perfection in the rhythm and the beauty in the music is a class apart vis-à-vis the gen X music which goes Oot Patanga and Dhink Chak Dhink Chak.

As an indication of the current times, people forget that MG Road is an abbreviation for Mahatma Gandhi, R.T. for Rabindranath Tagore, and T. Nagar in Chennai, for Thiyagaraja Nagar.

Getting back to the topic of Classical music, today is the anniversary of the Great Shri Thiyagaraja, who, enriched this art of music with his compositions that have enthralled the patrons of all time. So much was his contribution to music, that he is in fact considered as the Father of Classical Carnatic music.

The Thiayagaraja Aaradhana - an event, which is organized for 6 days on the banks of the river Kaveri in the city of Thanjavoor of Tamil Nadu, every year, draws practicing and accomplished musicians, and even relishing listeners, by the thousands from all over the world, and is a treat for all those who cherish the plurality of indigenous Indian music.

Renowned musicians like Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan (Violin maestro) and Kadri Gopalakrishna (exponent of saxophone) grace the occasion where all the Pancha Ratna Kirtanas composed by Shri Thiyagaraja are recited with a symphony of percussion instruments.

Doordarshan is probably one of the last channels that you would switch on, in this era of bouquet channels and soap operas, but this morning, Doordarshan did the wonderful task of broadcasting the one hour program live from the venue.

The involvement of individuals is immense. Their flair for music, the gesticulations of the taala, the swaying of the vocal chords to conform to the raagaa, the dignified and purified look on the participating men folk clad in veshti and dhoti, and the silk sareed ladies bestowing the grace associated with the Indian women, all this coupled with music descending from the heavens, formed a perfect combination of a concert that is equal to, if not greater than the Mozzarts and the Beethovens of the world, live in action, even while some westerners present at the occasion, captured these rich images to take back to their native lands.

But, yes, to identify with all this, being a connoisseur of music is a pre-requisite. And the problem with Indian music is that it is not branded and marketed well enough to suit the liking of the younger generation, apart from a few high profile singers with a couple of big banner advertising. A R Rehman and Illiyaraja, who are the Birbal and Tenali Raman of the south indian music industry, equally talented and skilled in their art, have to a certain extent tried to bridge the gap and have drawn the masses to Indian fusion music.

But nonetheless, the rich culture of this abundantly blessed nation still needs preservation, so as to transfer it to the generations that follow.

So, next time you purchase a 1500 couple entry ticket to a Boyzone or a Metallica live in concert, do spare a few thoughts for these immensely gifted musicians back home who enthrall you for “free” at community centers on various occasions. After all, we donot need everything to be certified and authorized by the west, even though it is our own, before we adopt the same!

In the words of the great musician, Sri Thiayagaraja, “ Entharo Mahanubhavulu, antharikku vandanammu” ( To all the noble people of this land, please accept my salutations)….

India’s calling.. Where are you?


Pic: The great Shri Thiyagaraja




Some internet based images of the Thiyagaraja Aaradhana.