Rambling with Bellur

THIS BLOG HAS MOVED

2006-07-19T14:03:00.000+05:30

Dear friends, This blog has shifted to: http://bellurramki18.wordpress.com/ See you there Take care

A for Arangetram, B for Bharatanatyam...

2006-07-17T17:22:00.000+05:30

I still remember her tired but happy face at the end of the class. She would wait for the Mango Ice cream after that. She was initiated into the Indian classical dance form, Bharatanatyam, at a very young age. Perhaps she was a mere five year old, when I used to drop her to her dance class in Malleswaram. The 'she' I am referring to here is my dear niece who will, in a few days, ascend the stage. Her 'Arangetram' is to be held in August in Houston. The first performance, the first applause and the first word of appreciation is always special for an artiste. Rangapravesham (a Sanskrit word) and Arangetram (a Tamil word) are the names given to a dancer’s debut performance. It is more prevalent in Bharatanatyam tradition. Though equivalents of Arangetram can be found in other classical Indian dance traditions like the 'Rangapravesh' for Kathak or a 'Rangmanchpravesh' for Odissi, the practice is most popular in connection with Bharatanatyam. Bharatanatyam has been practised for thousands of years. The art is said to have directly evolved from Lord Shiva known as Lord Nataraja (King of Dance) who is the cosmic dancer. According to 'Abhinaya Darpanam' and 'Natya Shastra', Lord Brahma gave the Natyaveda or the science of dance to Sage Bharata. Bharata presented the art form with a group of Gandharvas (heavenly musicians) and Apsaras (heavenly dancers) in the court of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva having been reminded of his majestic performance instructed Bharata the essence of the art through his followers. Being pleased with the astute nature of Bharata, Lord Shiva instructed Lasya (graceful movements) through Goddess Parvati. Goddess Parvati also instructed the art to Usha, the daughter of the Sun-God. Usha taught this to the milk-maids of Dwaraka, who in turn taught the art to the women of Saurashtra. From there, the art pervaded the whole world. The main purpose of dance is to evoke Rasa, which means sentiment or flavour among the audience. Abhinaya Darpanam says: Yatho Hasthas Thatho Dhrishti Yatho Dhrishtis Thatho Manaha Yatho Manas Thatho Bhavaha Yatho Bhavas Thatho Rasaha This is a very important verse and it means: Where the Hands go, the Eyes should follow Where the Eyes go, the Mind should follow suit Where the Mind goes, the Psychological state should follow Where the Psychological state goes, Sentiment arises. A good dancer needs to evoke the sentiment of the audience by following the essence of this verse. Dance is of four kinds according to sage Bharata - Natya, Nrtta, Nrttya and Abhinaya. Natya or Nataka has some theme or story for it. This is a combination of music, dialogue rendering and rhythmic movement of the body. Nrtta is the portion of dance which does not relate to any psychological state or Bhava. Nrttya is dance that relates to sentiment or rasa and the psychological state. This dance is fit to find a place in the court of great kings. Abhinaya is that form of dance which is rich in expressions and evokes feelings among the audience. There is a strong association of Bharatanatyam with the temples. This form of dance that was developed in the South of India is now mainly restricted to the State of Tamil Nadu, mainly due to the fact that it received encouraging patronage from the kings reigning the area during the Chola, Pallava and Pandava period. The temples that were constructed bear strong evidence to this with their rich architecture depicting the various aspects and poses of Bharatanatyam. The dance form was initially practiced by Devadasis (Devotees or servants of God) and was performed in the temple. It then moved to the courts of kings who nurtured and lavishly encouraged the artists. Later and in the present age, the art is practiced and taught by women/ men of affluent families. Adavus Adavus are the basic steps taught to the students. Adavus are of different kinds - Tattadavu, Natadavu, TattaMettadavu, Kattadavu, Kudittamettadavu, Maiadavu, Mandiadavu, Sarigaiadavu and many more. These lead to Jathis or Korvais( a combination of adavus set to intricate rhythmic patterns) and Theermanams (effective finishing to Jathis in a sequence). Adavus are done in the Araimandi (half sitting postures). Sitting in the proper araimandi posture is an essential feature of Bharatanatyam. Further the Adavus have to be executed with Angasudham (clarity in the bodily postures). Mudhras The students are taught the various Mudhras (hand gestures). Mudhras are a means of communication for the dancer to the audience in expressing the theme of the song and in bringing out the essence of the meaning. They are like words which form the sentence. In addition to Mudhras the dance student will have to master the various: Shiro beda (Movement of the head) Drishti beda (Movement of the eyes) Vaksha beda (Movement of the chest) Kati beda (Movement of the waist) Parshva beda (Movement of the side) Pada beda (Movement of the feet) which is a very important aspect. Namaskaram The dancer or the student starts and ends every session of dancing be it a class, practice session or concert with Namaskaram (obeisance). The dancer pays her / his respect to Lord Nataraja, the teacher and the audience with folded hands. (S)he touches Mother Earth and prays for her forgiveness and asks her permission to stamp on her during the dance. Margam Margam is a complete course of Bharatanatyam that are performed in a concert. These include: Pushpanjali (Meaning - offering respects with flowers. This is the opening piece in which the dancer offers respects to the lord, teacher and the audience and (s)he does Namaskaram). Alaripu (Which is the opening item and is made up of footwork and uses head gestures and eye gestures). Jathiswaram (This is a pure dance item with intricate foot work and does not involve any Abhinaya or expression of moods). Shabdam (This involves footwork and for the first time the dancer introduces some Abhinaya). Varnam (This is the most important piece in any recital and involves Jathi Korvais and Theermanams and a theme is elaborated with Abhinaya depending upon the Varnam chosen). Padams (These are songs of different composers chosen for Abhinaya. They involve very little footwork and mainly use Mudhras and facial expressions to bring out the mood in the song). Tillana (This is the culminating pure dance item with complex rhythmic patterns executed in the form of Korvais and has a short piece of Abhinaya). Mangalam (The dancer ends the recital with Managalam- meaning an auspicious ending. Here, (s)he does Namaskaram to conclude the recital). Rangapravesham or Arangetram Arangetram is a Tamil word, which means the 'etram' or ascending of the 'arangu' or performance stage by a dancer, on the completion of her/ his training. This is the blossoming of the student of Bharatanatyam into a full-fledged artist when (s)he enters the stage for the first time. It normally takes 5-6 years of dedicated training and practice to come to this level. The dancer must have at least mastered one whole Margam or complete course. Rangapravesham or Arangetram is only a beginning in the dancer's career. The dancer has to master several aspects of Bharatanatyam and this takes years of dedicated practice. Costume and Jewellery Bharatanatyam is a dance form derived from the temples of South India and hence uses rich colorful costumes and jewellery. The costumes are mainly made out of pure Kancheepuram silk with dazzling jaris (gold laced borders). The jewellery used is called temple jewellery and mainly uses red stones and pearls with a dash of green and white for combination. Carnatic Music & Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam is strongly linked to Carnatic music. The various rhythmic patterns and compositions used for dancing are drawn from Carnatic music. In order to become a full-fledged dancer/ choreographer/ teacher, a Bharatanatyam dancer must have a strong mastery in Carnatic music. Further, in order to gain mastery in Nattuvangam (the art of conducting Bharatanatyam recitals), a background in Carnatic music is essential. Dancers who are Carnatic Musicians as well, have a strong advantage in the world of Bharatanatyam. Arangetram takes place in the presence of critics, fellow artists, family and friends. Arangetram takes place only after the student (artist) has acquired a substantial and qualitative high standard repertoire. It is an old tradition and is mentioned in the third century classic 'Silappadikaram'. In the third chapter, "Arangetrukaadai" or the chapter of ascending the stage, the poet Prince Ilango Adigal describes the graduation concert of the twelve-year old dancer Madhavi. The Arangetram is an exceptional performance in the life of a dancer and the teacher. The Rangapravesham effectively states that the young dancer is now not merely an amateur, but a budding professional and the audience must decide whether this status has indeed been reached, and in doing so pass judgment both on the dancer and on the Guru. Then, in order to be meaningful the Arangetram is a performance that demands the equal involvement of teacher, performer and audience in the pursuit of artistic excellence. In this sense it is an event that symbolically unites the artistic community. The guru is publicly acknowledged for all the hard work in training the dancer; the dancer is introduced and judged, critically, but not too harshly, as after all it is a first performance. After the arangetram the dancer can perform alone and he/she can also give training to others. Its necessary that before they can take upon the task of teaching, they should have a good understanding of music and other aspects of dance. The learning process does not end at arangetram. Students still go to their teacher to learn more and this process of learning is basically never ending. It is important for them to have a trained person correcting them and guiding them, otherwise they will stagnate. Arangetrams have acquired a different significance as a result of an explosion of interest in Bharatanatyam during the 1970s and 80s. In addition to the artistic role both within and outside Asia, Bharatanatyam, true to its name has been the artistic representative of Indianness and of ancient heritage. And the Rangapraveshams have in turn become the symbol par excellence of ethnic heritage.

It pays to be a non-Hindu in Hindustan

2006-07-14T00:03:00.000+05:30

Our politicians are really farsighted! Do you think 'Reservations' is just a political gimmick? If you say 'Yes', well, I differ with you. Our politicians want to serve our country. They are thinking about the future .... but the only difference is that they are thinking about their future and not ours. "Give a man a fish and he is hungry again tomorrow; give him a rod and teach him how to fish and he’s set up for life" this quote goes perfectly in line with the reservation scenario. The point is that professional politicians do not want to set people up for life. It is not possible to build a reliable, self-perpetuating vote-bank on the basis of teaching people to be independent. You cannot rely on their gratitude to vote you back to power time and again. A mosquito can't drink blood just one time, can it ? Now if you set up the schedule caste for life it will be just one incident and the gratitude would fizzle out. Any self-respecting politician hopes to hold on to power through his lifetime and to hand over the reins to his children before he rots in hell. And then their children will be trained on how to cheat their own country. Thus from one generation to other,from outside to the inside everyone is kicking us like a football. We all love football, don't we? So just Sit and watch the fabulous game they are playing with our lives. Just keep watching how the poor becomes poorer and how the rich becomes richer. I have been reading ever since these Mumbai blasts happened that Muslim terrorist groups are behind these barbaric acts. I would like to go off tangent here a bit.When we became independent, India was divided in the name of religion for the first time. Otherwise, for thousands of years, there were so many religions. The political leaders of India, Nehru and company, decided India would be a secular country. Secular means you wouldn’t face any hurdles because of your religion. What really happened was it became a politics of votes. It’s not that politicians love any minority. So it gave minorities special privileges which was not given to the majority. So the politicians gave them the feeling they were saviours of minorities. And that’s what politics is all about – if you work for Hindus you’re branded ‘communal.' In the field of education, there should be a uniform policy to govern education in India. All educational institutions must have the same set of rules. After the blasts in Mumbai, a tabloid reported that the next target is Ayodhya. The Ayodhya issue is the faith of Hindus that this is the birthplace of Ram. Why can’t Muslims accept this and say: Okay, our forefathers may have done something, right or wrong. The disputed site is 40 feet by 80 feet. It’s been proven by archaeological evidence that this is Rama Janmabhoomi (the birthplace of lord Rama). Babar destroyed it when he invaded India. They have destroyed 30,000 temples and we’re only asking for three temples. And they have special meaning: Rama Janmabhoomi, Krishna’s in Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath (Shiva) in Benares. This would cover 75% of Hindus who mostly worship Rama or Krishna or Shiva. If Muslims would only accept these three as temples then this would help build bridges of understanding.

What’s the price of a Mumbaikar’s life?

2006-07-13T12:31:00.000+05:30

The 193 people

whose names

appear on this

page may have

died because

someone paid

their killers

Rs 2 lakh. Or

over a thousand

rupees a life.

Courtesy: Mid Day

Mumbai back on track: A look at some of today's newspapers

2006-07-13T10:38:00.000+05:30

Click on the image for a larger view Design: RK

Front page of today's newspapers

2006-07-12T17:17:00.000+05:30

Click on the image for a larger view Design: RK

The Pattern in Mumbai attacks

2006-07-12T13:24:00.000+05:30

Explosives hidden with stealth.
Timed to perfection for maximum damage.

The method in all these attacks is similar but for the victims and their families it's the madness that can never be explained. There seems to be a sinister pattern in the war room leak, Agni failure, Insat 4 C failure, Srinagar blasts, and the recent Mumbai blasts. Have the people in power by focussing on vote bank politics such as reservation, minority reservation, et all, neglected the countrys security and allowed the enemy deep inside India? This is a frightening thought! Its Shame that 1993 blast culprits are not yet punished. Till Indian governments follows the Minority appeasement policies, these are bound to happen. Since thousands of years similar cross border terrorist acitivities are happening. How can these happen without the support of the people within? People supporting these activities should be punished swiftly irrespective of their religion. Such kind of people have no right to live in India. People should not forget that these kind of minority appeasement policies only produce people like Hitlers and Nazis, which is more dangerous.

Blasts Rock Mumbai: A Shameful Act

2006-07-12T11:52:00.000+05:30

Got this mail from a cousin of mine who resides in Mumbai. This is another day in history which every Mumbaikar will never forget. At 6.05PM - a time when most of the office-goers are bound home in what is called Mumbai’s lifeline - The local train was hit by a series of Bomb Blasts which have rocked the city tremendously. I was lucky to be safe and sound in office. Family is also fine. Kam and Vats are safe too. The series of blasts in Mumbai are shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of fear and terror among our citizens. My heart reaches out and grieves for all those affected by these blasts and who have lost their near and dear. It was heartening to see numerous volunteers and the whole of Mumbai supporting each other and going out of their way to help one another. Do you still say it is one of the rudest cities?

Why does telephone networks fail during emergencies?

2006-07-12T11:18:00.000+05:30

Mumbai has about 124 telephone exchanges, which handle 2.31 million telephone lines.
Mumbai contributes to 10 per cent of the close to 7 million cell phone subscribers in India.

During emergencies, everyone is trying to call at the same time and there aren’t enough routes for the calls to get through from. Since nearly everyone has a cell phone, the problem is compounded. A network crash ensues when the switching capacity at Switching Centres (the telephone exchange equivalent of mobile phones) is overreached. Furthermore, some hours are marked as Busy Hour Call Attempts (BHCA), during when phone lines are at their busiest, and there is a limit to the number of calls that can be put through in one hour. Big exchanges can handle up to 5 lakh calls per hour. Unfortunately, during BHCA, every number dialled — regardless of if a connection is established or not — is counted as call. So if you hear an engaged tone, do not re-dial as this will only further reduce the chances of not only yours, but anybody else’s call getting through. Wait for three to five minutes before trying again. Service providers need to work towards increasing their switching capacities before dishing out numbers to prevent crashes such as the one that happened on Tuesday. What About landlines? Telephone traffic analysis must be conducted periodically between telephones in different parts of the city. The data should be analysed and if we find that telephone traffic between, say, Borivli and Churchgate exchanges is high, then their handling capacity should be increased. When a call is made from a mobile phone to a landline, or vice versa, it adds to the calls taken by these exchanges, further burdening them.

CHRONOLOGY - Major attacks in India since 2001

2006-07-12T11:10:00.000+05:30

Following is a chronology of some major attacks in India in the past five years:

Oct. 1, 2001 - Militants storm the Jammu and Kashmir state assembly complex, killing about 35.

Dec. 13 - More than a dozen people, including five gunmen, die in an attack on the national parliament complex in New Delhi.

Sep. 24, 2002 - Militants with guns and explosives attack the Akshardham Hindu temple in Gujarat, killing 31 people and wounding more than 80.

May 14 - Militants attack an army camp near Jammu, killing more than 30, including several wives and children of soldiers.

Mar. 13, 2003 - A bomb attack on a commuter train in Mumbai kills 11.

Aug. 25 - Two almost simultaneous car bombs kill about 60 in Mumbai.

Aug. 15, 2004 - Bomb explodes in Assam, killing 16 people, mostly school children, and wounding dozens.

Oct. 29, 2005 - Sixty-six people are killed when three blasts tear through markets in New Delhi.

Mar. 7, 2006 - At least 15 people were killed and 60 wounded in three explosions in Varanasi.

July 11 - More than 100 people are killed in seven bomb explosions at rail stations and on trains in Mumbai.

• Seven blasts in 10 minutes • Over 200 dead, many more injured • Terrorists read the railway timetable well • Entire Western line paralysed • Prominent local leader under scrutiny • Cops get fired in late-night Mantralaya meeting • Once again, Mumbai fights back

Source: Reuters

Mumbai train blasts: 'Guru Poornima' turns into 'Gory Amavasya'

2006-07-11T19:57:00.000+05:30

Up to seven blasts have rocked Bombay's commuter rail network, ripping apart train compartments and reportedly injuring dozens. Hundreds of people returning home are feared dead, many more injured. All the explosions took place in the first class compartments of trains at a time when a majority of Mumbaikars were returning home from office. One television channel showed more than half-a-dozen injured people near the site of another blast in the Khar suburban station of Mumbai. One badly injured person lying near railway tracks was carried away by people using a long sheet of cloth. Dazed survivors were shown with wounds from injuries to heads, legs and hands on the railway station with little sign of any emergency medical aid. All local phones, including mobile services, in the city had jammed apparently due to congestion in the system as anxious people tried to reach their loved ones. Police officials said two more explosions took place in the Santa Cruz and Mahim suburbs of the city. CNN-IBN reported a fifth blast had taken place but there was no official confirmation. However, Anil Singh, of the Times of India newspaper told BBC World there were 10 dead from seven explosions. Indian television news channels broadcast images of the wounded sprawled on train tracks and being carried through stations, and The Press Trust of India news agency reported six blasts along the city's commuter rail network, which is among the most crowded in the world. Reuters said there had been at least four blasts. Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who was at Mahim railway station soon after reports of the blast came in, said he could see one train compartment was completely blown up in the explosion, and people were carrying bodies away. Bombay, India's financial center, and New Delhi, the capital, were reportedly on high alert. The Western Railway has suspended its suburban services soon after the blasts. Local telephone lines were jammed as panic-stricken commuters called their near and dear ones to alert them of the blasts. Commuters said there was no sign of the police even 30 minutes after the blasts. The Mumbai blasts came just hours after suspected Islamist militants killed seven people, six of them tourists, in a series of grenade attacks in Indian Kashmir's main city, Srinagar, which according to the police is the most concerted targeting of civilians in months. The Mumbai police have cordoned off all railway stations on the Western line and strict frisking and checking was being carried out at the Central and Harbour sections of local train services. Mumbai, a metropolis of about 17 million, has been hit by a series of bomb blasts in the past decade. More than 250 people died in a string of bomb explosions in Bombay in 1993 for which authorities blamed the city's underworld criminal gangs. More reports awaited.

A Blogger Comments on 'Comments'

2006-07-11T13:21:00.000+05:30

Blogging without commenting in other blogs is like winking at a girl in the dark. Only you know what you are doing.

Comments and commenting behavior on blogs is really interesting. Some people love commenting, some hate it, some just want to flame and some just want to link to their own web site. Fascinating, isn't it?

Naturally, when I write something I want as many comments as possible. It makes me happy, it shows to me that the post is actually being read and it opens up for interesting discussions and different points of view.

I don’t mind getting the “Nice Article” or “This Rocks!” comment either. I like to know that what I’ve posted was received well. Also, when I leave a comment on someone's blog, I become part of a conversation. It’s not the soapbox of a blog. I add a little, you add a little, everybody adds a little, and the post along with those comments is just a little bit more than it was before. I allow comments on my site because I want to have a conversation. I think comments are really what makes the blogosphere come alive.

For me comments are a great way to talk to people right here on the blog. A great post is not a conversation, a great post starts a conversation. And they tend to flow very naturally when you’re commenting. Sometimes one post leads to another one. You might be influenced by one post and want to write another one. I do think there’s a knack to writing posts that invite commentary. I comment to let the author know I appreciated what they wrote or to add to the discussion.

Sometimes, some people comment very annoyingly. I have seen this mainly in News channels or on certain delecate topics like language, sports and religion. And also when it comes to movies and actors! The annoying “Comment preview” thing would stop many from commenting on your blog. Annoying comments slows down the process and scares users from posting comments. When leaving comments on someone’s blog, it’s not really a good idea to be rude or call the author derogatory names. That’s an ill thought out way to build bridges within the community.

Sometimes a post will inflame you, but suppress your urge to lash out. Behave like you have some respect for the blogger or the person commenting (even if you don’t) and yourself. There is a way to disagree or correct someone without seeming like a raving lunatic. Acknowledge that you’ve read the blogger’s entire entry. State the points you disagree with and why. If you spot any errors, point out those errors without being sarcastic or rude. Under no circumstances should you call the blogger or others leaving comments anything derogatory. This should be common sense, but you’d be amazed at how often I see comments left on many blogs that reflect poorly on the person leaving the comment.

If you want to find the conversation in comments, you’ll have to wade through all the comments that are simply providing feedback without contributing to the conversation e.g. “Great post!”. So, while the advantage of comments is that they serve a dual purpose (conversation and feedback), the disadvantage is the very same: they serve a dual purpose (conversation and feedback).

One of the most powerful ways that you can interact with a blog, without having your own blog, is to comment. Which was what I did for a long time before I too started a blog. Even after starting one, I love to read blogs, find topics that interest me and comment on them.

Do you make comments when you read a blog that makes you think, giggle, growl, etc.? What if you don't know the person at all -- you just happened upon their blog by clicking from someone else's blog or doing a search on some unrelated topic... And what if it's not a "Domino-blog" or even a technology/ professional-related blog?

I find that I have no problem commenting on blogs where I know the blogger (or think that the person probably knows me). I have also occasionally commented on blogs where I don't know the blogger but it was a technical blog or a "professional" topic where I thought I had something to add to the discussion. Where I seem to have drawn my own line at the moment is on blogs that are more personal -- they're not by someone I know or related to a business/ professional topic. It's hard at that point to know if everyone commenting knows the person or is just... commenting. I get comments so far only from people I know or at least know by association.

My blog reading has certainly led to a lot of reflection on my part that as with real people, treating all bloggers with respect is very important. Simply because they are people too! Also, seek first to understand what is being said. Celebrate another's accomplishments. And use appropriate language.

If you expect the community to take notice of your blog, then get involved. Start reading and commenting on blogs that are similar to yours. When you leave comments make sure you leave a link back to your blog. What I have learnt is that not to comment for the sake of leaving your blog url, but add value and people will naturally come over to your blog. One of the great features of blogging is something called trackback. This is the ability to remotely leave comments on someone's blog. You write your answer or response to a given blog entry on your own blog and then trackback to the blog in question. This will leave a small link to your blog on their site inviting people to come and visit your blog. Trackbacks are popular and only some blogging hosts support this feature. Keep an eye out for it, it is a wonderful way to build traffic.

A blog is like a telephone. If you have a telephone that never rings, then don't blame the telephone, blame the fact you never told anyone the number. Make sure your blog url is included in your email signature. Any posts you make to mailing lists, make sure your blog url is included there. Don't be ashamed to advertise your blog where ever and when ever you can.

Finally, keep writing. Write simple and often. A blog that is updated frequently is one that will be popping up in the aggregators. A few entries a week is acceptable for the average blog. If you have a lot of entries to write, then think about staggering them over a few days as opposed to dumping them all on the blog site at once. Don't expect overnight success; traffic takes time.

[Why this post? Because I read a few 'annoying comments' today in a friend's blog whom I have blogrolled].

Waylaying near ATMs

2006-07-07T12:53:00.000+05:30

Offlate, waylaying and thefts near ATMs has become very common. Most incidents of waylaying and robbing near ATMs happen in relatively isolated spots. Many such ATMs lack security guards, especially during the day. Ironically, in the city, more than one ATM is located on the same road. And all of them invariably have a security guard. But, the guards are seldom armed and armed security personnel are deployed only when cash is loaded into the machines from armoured vehicles. The customers enjoy no such security. Unless there is an emergency never withdraw cash from an ATM late at night. Even if you do, especially in comparatively remote locations, do not go alone. While inside the ATM, face the Machine in such a way that people outside cannot see how much money you are withdrawing. Since it is your money, you ought to be careful and extra cautious. There are just too many ATMs in the city and suburbs for the police to maintain a regular vigil. Never let any strangers distract your attention — an old trick employed even in regular bank branches — and in the process snatch your bags with money and disappear. All said and done, it's hard to discourage a determined criminal, especially if they know a large amount of money is at stake - as in many ATMs.

A System in decline

2006-07-05T11:48:00.000+05:30

Today a yawning chasm exists between the teacher and the taught, and it seems ever-widening. A long time ago, relationships between teacher and pupil, were respected. But down the years, this has metamorphosed into something else altogether. Commercialisation of the teaching profession, lack of change in the education system and the inability on the part of professors to keep up with the changing world scenario are factors responsible for the down slide. Next to the soldier, the teacher is said to serve the country most. The statement could have been more apt a few decades ago, but today the over-commercialisation of education has enveloped within its ambit a motley crowd of teachers, whose resources for teaching or love for imparting knowledge cannot claim for this kind of adulation. A yawning chasm exists between the teacher and the taught, and it seems ever-widening! Of all the teachers, lecturers or professors that a student comes across during his academic career, in the school stage and subsequently in the university, the one that leaves a lasting impression in his mind is the school teacher. The formative years are marked by varied experiences- of the masters and their characteristic styles, their fascination for extra-curricular activity, and their obsession with the art of teaching. Indeed, they had in their possession all that could be termed "pre-requisites" for a competent teacher- techniques, personal interest in the subjects, and full dedication.Those were days when teachers would involve themselves wholly in their tasks; they knew intimately every student under them. The classroom and the school were their "home" and the students their "children". With that kind of application to their profession, it is but fitting to recall the well-known invocation-" Gurussakshaat Parabrahma thasmai Sri Guravey Namaha."..."To the teacher embodying the Supreme Being, obeisance". But in total contrast, the teachers of today stand out as a poor parody- uncreative, conventional beings! The impersonal system of the modern business-oriented educational institutions makes the teacher, a clerk, a machine, a grindstone doing the same thing over and over again....never allowing to smell the flowers of life!" The humdrum of commercialised set-up does not permit expansion of brilliance, nor any indulgence in out-of-the-routine. He comes a mere cog in the wheel. Yet it is also true that persons choosing the profession are not rightly "qualified", preferring to act the part of "surrogate parents" or policemen during class hours, and go back home with a resolutive indifference, and philosophic detachment, not very different from the shift-workers walking-off at the end of their eight-hour duty. Dedication is an innate quality that one is born with, while true case in teaching comes "by art, not chance." When teachers put in unsolicited, extra hours and efforts for no recompensation it proved their dedication, and joy in shaping the students entrusted to them. A chronic disease has now started spreading among them- for making easy money. They are content with "covering" the lessons in the class rather than help assimilation by all students. It is a deliberate and calculated practice to register additional income through "private" tuition to the "inferior" students. This precious act has become so common that most of the teachers are seen running parallel establishments in their homes for several hours; here the anxious boys and girls get tied completely to books and homework, when, in fact, they should be encouraged to play games in the open! Tuition fees are quite substantial; this burden, over and above the school fees, capitation fees, uniforms, extortions of contributions under some pretext or other from time to time, is the last straw to break the camel's back- indeed how much are the purses of the parents stretched! The decay in behaviourial pattern of teachers of today can be attributed to a general fall in standards. Traits observed in a vast majority of primary schools across most of the states is that there is a tendency to follow a very authoritarian approach, which is teacher centred, mechanical and unnecessarily repetitive.This style teaches children to be passive listeners rather than actively participate as problem solvers. Teaching aids are under-used and are of poor quality. There is also a lack of effective class-management skills as well as catering to each individual child's needs. A serious lack of teaching methodologies related to multi-grade teaching and a consequent fear of the same can be seen. The profession is seen only to attract the mediocre, partly due to low pay scales but mainly on account of poor career advancements. If educational institutions are really keen to serve the cause of education and are conscious of their aims, they must bring about improvements in these areas, and at the same time evolve a system for screening new entrants thoroughly. Prime place should be allotted to aptitude for teaching, and dedication to the task.Of all people, our teachers need to understand its true implication and convey to our nation's children the privilege and responsibility involved in being citizens of a great country.

Every dog has its day... and its road.

2006-06-29T19:30:00.000+05:30

My little fellow has fallen in love with dogs. He wants to see them all over the place all the time. As soon as you lift him, he says 'Bow bow' indicating that "take me out so that I can have the pleasure of seeing a dog." And there are plenty on our street. Some stray and some pet dogs. Some are ferocious. Some are atrocious. A lot of cars, school vans and buses, Call-centre vehicles (usually a Sumo) comes to my street and all the stray canines just chase these out. But when the same happens to a 2 wheeler, it is very dangerous. It also happens to those walking. These dogs are posing problems for residents and 2-wheeler riders in parts of Malleswaram and Rajajinagar. It may be a problem faced by any Bangalorean, for that matter. These dogs bark at every vehicle or residents passing making life in the night an absolute nuisance. Especially, when driving in the dead of the night, one of things that most of us fear is being chased by a stray dog. The risk of meeting with an accident for a 2-wheeler rider is too high as you tend to accelerate to get the stray dog off your back. There have been number of such accidents in the past. Jurisdictionally stray dogs are the responsibility of local corporations or CMCs. Till a few years back, stray dogs being put to death in large numbers were not unheard of in the State. But given the awareness about animal rights and a 1994 SC ruling, killing stray dogs is not a solution to the problem. And when the corporation van does come to pick them up, they go underground! These dogs are fed by the residents on the pretext of being compassionate to animals. But when it comes to taking ownership for their road side pets, well the answer is best left unsaid. Like wise, inconsiderate neighbours house a few dogs which bark through out the night. It's a wonder how the owner sleeps. The laws of India don't protect the common man, from such inconsiderate neighbours. Thus we are left with the option of tucking our heads under our pillows to catch some peace... "Bangalore a Pensioner's Paradise" is a dream of the past, with such nice unstoppable music playing through the night. It seems the great dramatist TP Kailasam went to a friend's house who had a dog. Kailasam stood outside the gate as the dog kept barking. His friend told Kailasam, "Come in Kailasam, don't you know that barking dogs never bite" for which TPK said,"You and I know that. Does the dog know about it?" Got to go on a stroll now, my little fellow is saying 'Bow bow'.

Success is only skin deep

2006-06-26T19:37:00.000+05:30

A few days back, I met a friend of mine who was visiting India after a long time for a short visit. It was an interesting few minutes where we caught up on many issues since we met last. We spoke of common friends in India and US, the price of Petrol, Land rates, hotels new and old, 24/7 news channels, films, increase in the rate of NRIs coming back to India and of Indians abroad. From what I heard from him and from others till today, it is a common knowledge that Asian Americans have done remarkably well in achieving "the American dream" of getting a good education, working at a good job, and earning a good living. So much so that the image many have of Asian Americans is that they are the "model minority" - a bright, shining example of hard work and patience whose example other minority groups should follow. However, the practical reality is slightly more complicated than that. Among the five major racial/ethnic groups in the U.S., Asian Americans have the highest college degree attainment rate, rates of having an advanced degree (professional or Ph.D.), median family income, being in the labor force, rate of working in a "high skill" occupation (executive, professional, technical, or upper management), and median Socioeconomic Index (SEI) score that measures occupational prestige. Yes, in these categories, Asians even outperform Whites. Asian Americans seem to have done so well that magazines such as Newsweek and respected television shows such as 60 Minutes proclaim them to be the "model minority." Asian Indians consistently outperform not only other Asian ethnic groups but Whites in several achievement measures, sometimes by a large margin. And of course, you'll find plenty of examples of Asian Americans who are quite affluent and successful, and Asian Americans should rightly feel proud of these examples of success.The point is that just because many Asian Americans have "made it," it does not mean that all Asian Americans have made it. In many ways, Asian Americans are still the targets of much prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination. For instance, the persistent belief that "all Asians are smart" puts a tremendous amount of pressure on many Asian Americans. Many, particularly Southeast Asians, are not able to conform to this unrealistic expectation and in fact, have the highest high school dropout rates in the US. Ultimately, the process of achieving socioeconomic success among Asian Americans is very complex. There are many examples of affluence and prosperity within the Asian American population but in many ways, they still face the same types of racism, social inequality, and institutional discrimination that other groups of color face. Therefore, the image that the entire Asian American community is the "model minority" is a myth. Ultimately, success may only be skin-deep.

Also read: Spellbound

Lolalotte*

2006-06-23T12:42:00.000+05:30

* What's the use Heard this word in 'Muktha' serial when Sri Vidhyabhushan (Anandabhushan in the serial) sings a song "Lolalotte, yella lolalotte'. Was at Sanjay's house on that day and asked him to see the meaning immediately. Thought it as an apt heading for this piece.

Thanks for Rejecting...

2006-06-22T12:10:00.000+05:30

Ever since I can remember, I have been fond of drawing. All the walls of our house (ground level to a height of four feet) were covered with my scribblings and doodles of cat, fish, tree, house, bird, car, cycle, dog, alphabets written in a crooked line, a series of zeroes, from big to small, and what not. My teachers always reprimanded me for drawing in the sides of the textbooks and notebooks. And I remember teachers picking up my answersheet first while giving them back after class exams. The reason was to show it to the whole class how I used to fill them up with doodles of the exam hall and the invigilator or the caricature of the teacher handling that subject. My friends would enjoy the rebuke but they liked my cartoons and drawings. Only once had a teacher appreciated my drawings in the textbooks and answer sheets and told me not to waste my talent! After winning prizes for drawing, painting and cartooning in school and college, I was excited when I got an interview call from National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. This was after I had made it through the entrance exam held at Chennai, then Madras. Seeking blessings from Amma, I made my journey to Ahmedabad where I had still to get through a written test, a GD and an interview. Although some names were eliminated after the written test and the GD, I was thrilled to see mine in the selected list for the final interview. I entered the interview room, confident yet nervous. The jury had my earlier works sent to them. They asked me about my education and why I was interested in a course at NID. I was then asked about my family background. I said that my father, a Postal employee, was no more. One of the interviewer asked if my mother was working. I said since she had heart problem, she was not working. A set of questions was asked about my drawing and cartooning style. All of them looked satisfied with my anwers. Finally, one among the jury told, "More than NID, your mother needs you". I wondered what made him say that. When the final list of candidates was announced, my name was missing. I was terribly disappointed and returned back to Bangalore. But I never gave up drawing. By now, I was submitting my cartoons to a few periodicals. My mother all through kept encouraging me in whatever I did. She remained the sole motivating factor in my life. She always made critical analysis of my creation and made a point that helped me progress in the field of art. Gradually, her health started deteriorating. The doctors told that there was a severe blockage in her heart. Chances of her survival were grim. It was sad to see her suffer during her last days in the hospital. She passed away quietly on this day, seven years ago. But the only solace for me will be that I spent time with Amma, which will be priceless than any Degree from any Institute in the world. Even today, I can never forget the interviewer who told me "More than NID, your mother needs you". How true it turned out to be!

Smell is a powerful sense

2006-06-19T18:58:00.000+05:30

Scents bring memories, and many memories bring nostalgic pleasure. We would be wise to plan for this when we plant a garden. - Thalassa Cruso, To Everything There is a Season, 1973 Scent of newly mown hay. The fragrance of Jasmine. Aroma of sizzling hot Bhajji. Perfume of roses. The redolence of fresh brewn coffee. Sweet smell of biscuits and cakes. The nostalgic smell of an old paper turned yellow. The smell of boiling milk. Sweet smell of the soil after a shower. The fresh scent from a new notebook page. The holy smell of Sambhrani smoke. Smell of freshly washed and ironed clothes. Smell of shampoo. The combined smell of Plantain leaves, flowers and fruits before a festival. The combined smell of camphor, agarbathi and flowers in a temple. The smell of Oggarane*. The aroma of roasted Jeera.The combined smell of Ghee and Elaichi while making a sweet. The aroma emanating when you boil Butter before it becomes Ghee. The aroma while making Onion Uppitt. The scent of a fresh baby diaper. The raw smell of a leather ball. The healing smell of Vicks inhalation. The pleasant smell of Masala tea. The aroma of Pakodas emanating from a roadside stall. The strong smell of Petrol. And Dettol. The fresh smell of wood at a carpenter's workplace. Can you think of more? ****** ****** ****** I remember reading as a kid to blindfold a friend and hold a piece of Orange near his nose and put a piece of Apple into his mouth. Ask him what he is eating. And he says, "Orange"! I tried this and it happened exactly this way. Most people just think of the tongue when they think about taste. But you couldn't taste anything without some help from the nose! The ability to smell and taste go together because odors from foods allow us to taste more fully. Take a bite of food and think about how it tastes. Then, pinch your nose and take another bite. Notice the difference? It's just another reason to appreciate your knockout of a nose! Nearly everyone has experienced a moment when a faint fragrance brings a memory of a long-lost moment in time crashing back to the forefront of their minds. Often we will have forgotten about the event completely, yet it transpires our unfathomable minds have filed it neatly in some unreachable corner of the brain, primed for instant retrieval. It may be the perfume worn by a long-forgotten friend, the stench of petrol from a youth spent worshipping motorcycles, the smell of smoke coming from burning leaves or the haze of chlorine from summer months lazing by the pool. It is amazing that a few simple airborne molecules can trigger such vivid recollections. Your sense of smell warns you of dangers such as smoke and poisonous gases. It also helps you appreciate the full flavours of food and drink. I read that our sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than our sense of taste. Childhood memories represent times when we were free from the responsibilities and anxieties of adulthood, so we may redefine them in an idealised way, even though many of the experiences we went through were difficult at the time. Human beings tend to emphasise vision over all other senses, but our sense of smell is important enough to evoke its own form of déjà vu. Perhaps the foul and strange smells we experience today will be associated with fond memories in years to come. (By the way, Anosmia is the loss of sense of smell.) * Frying of Coriander leaves, Mustard, Jeera, Channa Dal, Urad Dal, Asafoetida (Hing) with Oil

Delectable Dosas

2006-06-16T17:06:00.000+05:30

Old hotels in Malleswaram may lack fanfare in their ambience and décor, but foodwise, they more than make up. The first place that comes to mind is Veena Stores, which I described in an earlier post. Last fortnight, myself and a friend had planned to go to CTR (Central Tiffin Room) for breakfast. But since we had eaten there umpteen times, we went to the newly opened Food Court on 10th Cross. Masale Dose was nice. But felt the price was too high. And moreover the staff were not customer friendly. While coming back, my friend packed Masale Dose for his mom from CTR. She liked CTR Dose, but not the place as she felt it was unimpressive looking. I faced the same problem with my girlfriend (now my wife) who just felt CTR was not the place where lovers met. And ate. Initially, I really had tough time making her even enter CTR. After seeing a few foreigners and my NRI relatives eating there, she became a regular client and now has no hassles coming to CTR for a Benne Masale. CTR is a part of what I like to call Old Bangalore, a place with a unique and gentle charm and unhurried pace. It has allowed time to flow around it and is not affected by the passage of time. So, if the service seems a tad slow, it is because of this rather than any laxity on the part of the staff. CTR is the best place to eat Benne Masale Dose. Period. They are heavenly bliss. It is a nondescript looking place that, surprisingly, has a board that reads ‘Shree Sagar’ in Kannada outside the hotel but retains the price board inside with ‘Central Tiffin Room’ written on it. It is situated on 7th Cross, at the corner of Margosa Road. I love the old pendulum clock and the Bhagavadgita sayings that is hung on one side of the wall. The furniture has that old world look to it. So is the Cash table on which is placed a small lit ‘Deepa’ and ‘Oodhinakaddi’. There is a ‘Family Room’ too but most prefer to sit in the main hall. CTR is open for just a few hours in the morning between 6.30 am till 12.30 pm and in the evenings from 4 till 8.30 pm. Unlike Janatha Hotel, which is closed on Wednesdays, CTR is open on all 7 days of the week. I have introduced many of my relatives and friends to CTR. After getting the taste, the ‘Initiated’ have been more regular to CTR than the ‘Initiator’. I remember once a friend of mine had eaten 13 Benne Masales as a challenge. As for the dosas, they are a lovely golden brown. The texture is crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. The flavour is yummy, all dosa and butter. The potato palya is wonderful -- well cooked, with the right mixture of spice and flavour. CTR gives two types of chutneys, unlike his competitors. One is the regular Kai-chutney. And the other is Karibevu chutney, which has a tinge of sour. The chutney is obviously the fruit of years of experience. The hotel is located at such a perfect place surrounded by Malleswaram Grounds, Malleswaram Club, 8th cross, Malleswaram Cooperative Bank, KC General Hospital and the Malleswaram Circle Bus stop surrounding it. No wonder the place is always crowded. I know some loyal customers who have shifted to other parts of Bangalore but still make a religious visit to See-Tee-Aar! At peak hours, if you are lucky, you get a table immediately. Otherwise, better stand next to the person having his coffee or who has just finished eating his Benne Masale. CTR's competence lies in its dosas. The Idlis and Vadas are passable. For a company to survive and thrive in competitive times, they must be the best in one thing; for the rest, they can be up to average market standards. So it is with this place. Follow it up with coffee and go away smiling at having experienced a piece of history. This really is the stuff of legend. Let me not talk more about it. Try it, to believe it!

CTR Noorkaala Baalali (May CTR live for 100 more years)

Last week, my friend’s mom broke her ‘Vratha’ when she ate at CTR for the first time. Myself and my friend were there too. And no prizes for guessing who persuaded her to eat there!

Design: RK

Ideal length for a blog post: Is there one?

2006-06-15T17:07:00.000+05:30

As my blog name suggests, I’ve a tendency to ramble. I’m easily fascinated by tangents; in writing, this is forgivable because I can read what I just wrote and rescue my chain of thoughts by hammering in the connective logic. Tangents are what makes things interesting. Tangents are as much a part of the writing as anything else. Tangents can create equal opportunities for exploring new lines of thought. But yes, I have scope to limit my meandering once in a while. The typical web reader has a short attention span when it comes to reading content online. Experts in Search Engine Optimization consider that both extremely short and long web pages are not ranked as highly as pages that are of a reasonable length. Of course no one really knows how many words are ideal - but the general opinion seems to be that a page of at least 300 words are probably a reasonable length. Similarly, many advise keeping pages under 1000 words. But in my case more than a few posts themselves have crossed the 1000 mark.

Post on 'Nostalgia': 3045 words
Post on 'The Hero': 1201 words
Post on 'Ashtavakra': 1998 words

I remember a friend saying that you should write enough to comprehensively cover your topic and then stop. Long posts for the sake of them are not a wise move - but so are short ones that don’t cover the topic well. I feel if you are going to be longwinded make sure it is so focused, topically relevant and interesting. I usually start with an anecdote or reference to an item. Personal anecdotes work very well. I feel each blogger needs to work out what length post suits their writing style and topic. The length of a post is truly a case of “it depends”. It’s like arguing about the perfect colour or the ideal layout (Yes, I always bring it back to design!). Maybe, the length should be just like a girl’s skirt; long enough to cover the subject and short enough to keep it interesting. Mark Twain once said: “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter so I wrote you this long one instead.” It is absurd to criticize someone for an economy of words. Forgive me, but in writing, size does not matter. Anyone with stamina alone can bang on a keyboard to reach some magic “300 words or more” length for a posting. I write really long posts on topics that I’m passionate about. So, how long should a blog post be? There is no one answer to this. The length of a post is dependent on its topic and depth of thought and text required to convey your message, idea or argument. In this regard there is no write or wrong: sometimes I can convey a thought better in 100 words than I can in 1000, and at other times vice versa. Sometimes it might be somewhere in between. As a blogger though I can only say to others that this isn’t something you should get hung up on: quality is not measured by length.

Soccer World Cup winner is predestined

2006-06-14T16:49:00.000+05:30

This is an interesting piece giving the numerological basis for determining the winner of the FIFA World Cup. Brazil won the World Cup in 1994. Before that, it had won the title for the last time in 1970. If you add up, 1970 + 1994 = 3964. Argentina won the World Cup for the last time in 1986. Before that in 1978. And 1978 + 1986 = 3964. Germany won the World Cup in 1990. Before that, it had won in 1974. Look: 1990 + 1974 = 3964. Using 3964 as the base figure, let's see who won the World Cup in 2002: 3964 - 2002 = 1962. Since Brazil won the World Cup in 1962, it was the winner in 2002. So, who will be the winner of the 2006 World Cup? Let's see, 3964 - 2006 = 1958. And who won in 1958? Who else but BRAZIL. Going by this logic, INDIA also has reason to rejoice, as we will surely win the Soccer World Cup to be held in the year 3964. It is simple arithmetic: 0 + 3964 = 3964

Who said I am nostalgic?

2006-06-13T19:20:00.000+05:30

A wistful or excessively sentimental, sometimes abnormal yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition is called as Nostalgia. Most of us have quite a few nostalgic memories of our childhood. The memories of my childhood mainly centers around Radio, TV, Comics and Playing on the streets. Nothing unusual to most of those from my generation. But still, I felt I should pen down, rather key down my thoughts. As a kid, I used to sit with my ears stuck to the stereo of the Radiogram. Listening to the radio was a favourite past time. I used to get excited when I heard a Rajkumar song in 'Nandana' having breakfast or having dinner and listening to SPB in 'Brundavana'. Some of the gramophone plates we had were of Raghavendra Swamy songs by Rajkumar, Harry Belafonte at Carnegie Hall, Pt. Ravishankar, Siri Siri Muvva, Shankarabharanam, Bhadrachala Ramadas Keerthanam by M. Balamuralikrishna. It was in the same year that I entered school and Television entered Bangalore. The first movie it telecast was the Rajkumar starrer in triple role 'Shankarguru'. I watched it in my neighbour's house, sitting on the floor, eating chips. I remember watching many movies, both Kannada and Hindi, Cricket matches, Serials, Chitrahaar/Chitramala and Chitramanjari in my neighbour's house till we got a BPL TV only when Seoul '88 Olympics happened. I was too young to understand Buniyaad, Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi or Nukkad, which my sisters used to follow. Moreover I didn't know Hindi. But I used to watch these and the Hindi movies on Sunday evenings just not to be left out. Ashok Kumar's style as the sutradhaar of 'Humlog' is still a legend and always will be. Buniyaad was Ramesh Sippy's baby. It launched Alok Nath into the big league. My neighbours used to give me and others who used to sit through all the programmes, snacks and never cursed us. At least that's what I thought! Actually, they treated us like one among their family, really. I used to wait for programmes on Saturdays and Sundays. On Saturdays, I used to wait for the 4 detectives to crack the mystery in Ek, Do, Teen Char. It used to be just after Didi's Comedy Show which was really hilarious. Saturday evenings was when Giant Robot used to come into our homes... rather our neighbour's. Giant Robot had a Japanese kid, who had an ultra cool watch, using which he could control the Robot. The Robot had rocket type propellers on his back so he could fly. What a relief it was for me and my friends when the Japanese kid activated the Robot! Those monsters were really frightening, to say the least. A Kannada feature film was eagerly awaited by elders and youngsters alike. (Especially, if it was a Raj starrer). In between the movie, there would be 'Vaarthegalu' and a few 'Adachanegaagi Kshamisi'. Actually, a few of us used to go into the neighbour's house well before the telecast started. I distinctly remember that the TV screen would be filled with multicoloured bars (or shades of gray in a B/W TV) and a high pitch whining sound. He-man used to be telecast on a Sunday morning at 9. He and his friends used to fight Skeletor and his gang every Sunday. An ordinary prince, He-man, used to point the sword towards the sky and shout, "I am He-man, I have the power" which made him the most powerful man in the universe. Mickey & Donald was another popular cartoon. 'Sunil Gavaskar Presents' was an interesting programme when Sunny would give tips on how to play cricket. At 11.30, national programme of music with a very catchy title music by some unknown fellow called A.R.Rehman would feature Yesudas or Bhimsen Joshi or some other musician. By noon, Rajani (Priya Tendulkar) and Charlie Chaplin would be there to entertain us. At One, a lady with chubby cheeks would come and make some gestures with her hand. That would be the news for the hearing impaired. At 1.30. an award winning feature film would be telecast. Would pray for a Kannada film. But it was usually Bengali, Assamese, Oriya or Marathi. So back to playing 'Ice-pice' or cricket. So we would be playing cricket on the streets till 'Vikram aur Bethal' came in the evening. Bethal always used to tell Vikram a story, which would end in the form of a puzzle and ask Vikram to choose the correct alternative. The stories were rather interesting and this serial was probably inspired from the series in 'Chandamama'. "Spiderman, Spiderman, friendly neighbourhood spiderman..." would come at 5. I remember my friend jumping from a parapet wall to another and breaking his leg trying to copy Spiderman. A Hindi movie at 5.30 was not I would sit through fully. My father would call me out and tell me to come and study. I liked the ads preceding the film though. Washing Powder Nirma, Amul chocolates - a gift for someone you love, Thums up (Fun, Food, Friends and Thums Up), Laxman Sylavania with Asrani and Rakesh Bedi, Goldspot - the zing thing, Digjam, Vicco Vajradanti, Tata ka OK, Bombay Dyeing, Onida, Texla, Binatone, Binaca toothpaste that later became Cibaca, were some of the regular ads before the film. I would be let to watch Siddharth Basu's Quiz Time at 9 and "What's the good word" by Sabina Merchant. Quiz Time was classy and involved the common man. It had the best combination of questions from every field and had generous rounds of audio and visual rounds that kept you riveted to your seat. After Quiz Time, Great expectations, Discovery of India, Street Hawk, Nadia and 'Bodyline' serials became very popular. And I loved Mr. Spock in STAR TREK. Later Kannada transmission on Sundays started between 8 and 9 in the morning. It had Munnota, Sutta Mutta and AS Moorthy's ‘Jigi jigi jigi jigi jim bam bam bam bambeyaata’. Also, there was Chitravali (an actor would talk through with film clips of his/her choice) which I never missed. By mid ‘80s, Ramayan and Mahabharath had become a national addiction. Cutting across all barriers, these serials made busy roads wear that deserted look. We lost many Jackfruits and mangoes, and clothes hung out for drying while watching these two serials. And it was not as if they did not deserve the attention they got. I had a strange habit when Ramayan was mid-way through. I used to write all the ads before Ramayan and then compare the earlier week's number of ads. Seems silly now. On week days, I remember watching UGC programme on holidays that would give some good basics of Chemistry and Physics. Our teachers told us this was a very good programme to watch. I feel now that for a channel which came to you free of cost, UGC indeed was a good attempt. Lucy Show was funny. This was the first serial that taught us when to laugh by playing bits and pieces of laughter at regular intervals. Honi-Anhoni and Khile ka Rahasya were scary. The most scariest music I have heard till date is the title track of Khile Ka Rahasya. And the liveliest music is that of Malgudi Days. And I loved those cartoons by one RK Laxman. I was yet to read RK Narayan or see RK Laxman's 'You Said It'. (TOI came to Bangalore in the '90s).The familiar faces in the serial and the fact that our own Master Manjunath was acting to the direction of Shankar Nag was what endeared us to this gem of a serial. And the locales (Agumbe and surrounding areas) were awesome. What fascinating stories. DD also had a motivating serial called "Udaan" based on the cop Kiran Bedi. I used to love this message on the TV in both Hindi and English: "Rukhawat ke liye Khed Hai" and "Sorry for the Interruption" because DD used to show the German program "Telematch" during an interruption. Also this was common when there was rain during a cricket test or football match. The most sacrosanct of them all, Samachar and The News was presented by Sunith Tandon, Tej Bahadur Singh, Minu, Geethanjali Iyer, Rini Simon (later became Rini Khanna), Usha Albuquerque, Komal GB Singh, all serious looking men and women who had to, well, deliver all the drab news. Among Kannada news readers, I remember Ramakrishna Upadhyaya, Krishna Galagali, Ishwara Dai Thota and Sabeeha Bhanu. 'The World This Week' with an unbeatable title track which made Prannoy Roy and NDTV achieve superstar status had terrific viewership. Remember seeing international ads of Cathay Pacific, Singapore and Malaysian Airlines for this programme. I have even recorded the jingles of some of these ads. As for the ads, Pan Parag and Bajaj used to be popular then. Not to forget Kapil Dev's "Palmolive Ka Jawaab Nahi". The hottest ad in the early 80's used to be of the LIRIL girl drenched under the falls wearing only bikini. The Rasna ad featuring a popular girl and Umpire Swarup Kishan was also unforgettable and so was "Gale mein kich kich" ad having a star-fish kind of germ in the throat. Remember the ad where the school teacher asks pointing to a set of teeth drawn on the black board, "Bachho yeh hai hamare daanto ki banavat...." The Godrej shaving cream ad where Vivek Vasvani asks, "Sir which shaving cream do you use?" to a Clean Shaven Guy who tells "Great shave, cologne fragrance, Wife loves It!" Oh, by the way, does any of you remember a chocolate called "Double Decker"? It tasted like "Perk" (much better), and it came in an orange wrapper. There were these two ads with Sunny and that baseball bat-wielding guy, another with Sunny and a young lady in a Egyptian museum, where she gets all dolled up as Cleopatra for Dinesh Suitings. And this ad is unforgettable for me because I had got one on my butt for asking "what is Nirodh?" (I must have been a 10 year old then) after seeing the ad saying "Sukhi aur vaivahik jeevan ke liye...Nirodh. Sirf 30 paise mein". Dada Dadi ki Kahaniya used to rock. Mungerilal ke haseen sapne, Byomkesh Bakshi, Mr. Yogi and Wagle ki Duniya were not to be missed. Later in my teens, when I became an avid fan of RK Laxman, got to know that Wagle was none other than Laxman's Common Man. Byomkesh Bakshi was a take on Sherlock Holmes, done really well. The stories were brilliant and the acting superb. 'Ajithana Sahasagalu' in Kannada was also a detective serial I cannot forget. Other good Kannada serials were Sihi Kahi, Namma Nammalli, Crazy Colonel. Some very known faces were Vishwanatha Rao, Sihi Kahi Chandru and Geetha, Ramesh Bhatt, Girija Lokesh, Nagesh Yadav, Prakash Rai and Tennis Krishna as the conductor saying "AlKannanno" in his typical voice, among others. I was a kid when TV in most homes home was a B/W and chances were it was a EC TV/ Keltron/ Dyanora/ Texla/ Uptron or Solidaire. When Remote control was something James Bond used to activate a bomb through his watch. The heroes in Hindi were Amitabh, Jeetendra, Dharmendra and Mithun Chakraborthy. The heroines in Bollywood were Rekha, Hema Malini, Parveen Babi and Zeenat Aman. Govinda, Chunky Pandey, Rati Agnihotri, Poonam Dhillon were considered newcomers. In Kannada, The top 1- 10 hero slot was Rajkumar. After that it was Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish and others. Top heroine was Arathi, Lakshmi, Manjula and Jayamala. Shivarajkumar and Sudharani were the new face of Kannada Cinema. I was a kid when people earnestly watched TV commercials. When people wore a HMT, Seiko or Citizen watch.When the Indian cricket team had names like Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Roger Binny, and newcomers like Azharuddin, Sadanand Vishwanath, Arshad Ayub, Sivaramakrishnan and Narendra Hirwani. The West Indians Gordon Greenidge & Desmond Haynes were the top opening pair in World Cricket. I was a kid when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister and Narasimha Rao a Cabinet Minister. Gundu Rao was the CM. Then it was Hegde. (At one point of time, all the three Southern states: Karnataka, TN and Andhra had CMs whose name had 'Rama' in it. Ramakrishna Hegde, MG Ramachandran and NT Rama Rao). Rajiv Gandhi was on payroll of Indian Airlines and used to fly domestic flights. The word 'Bollywood' had still not stuck to the Hindi film Industry. Probably Margosa Road and Sampige Roads were the only ONE WAYs in Bangalore. If you had a telephone at home, it would in all probablity be a black one with a dial, which needed a finger to be inserted and rotated.(Mobile phone? Are you from Mars?) I was a kid when Kishore Kumar was the top male playback singer in Hindi films. Lata Mangeshkar was the top female playback singer in Hindi films. The top news magazines in the country were: India Today, The Illustrated Weekly of India, Sunday, Probe and Onlooker. No english newspaper had color pages except a couple of supplementary pages on Sunday. All English newspapers had 8 columns except The Hindu which had 6. DD was the only channel that you could watch in the evening. Later in the morning (24 hours Channel? What's that?). A Two wheeler meant an Atlas or Herculas. BSA SLR was a stylish bicycle and Enfield Bullet, TVS 50, Vespa, Lambretta and Bajaj were the in thing. A favourite past time for most boys used to be counting the number of Ambassadors or Premier Padminis passing by. I was a kid when VCP-VCR, Akai and Dubai were all synonymous with each other. We used to hire one along from a near by shop. The shop fellow connected them for a day and charged 100 bucks. And we watched a wedding of a relative 3-4 times before returning it back. For many, going to an English movie was a status symbol. Bell bottom pants, step-cutting and large 'cooling glasses' were usually seen on a single person on MG Road. Air conditioners were for super rich, Cinema theatres or 5 star hotels. There were numerous rumours of so called one-upmanship between Kapil Dev and Gavaskar. And of relation between Ravi Shastri and Amritha Singh. If you wanted to know how the Indian team was doing overseas, the only source was the DD news (besides the newspapers). Some other images that I remember of the '80s is Indira Gandhi's funeral 'LIVE' on DD, a Sri Lankan military guy trying to hit Rajiv Gandhi, Maradona's hand goal and Argentina's victory in Mexico '87. And the most memorable of them all: Kapil running behind to catch Viv Richards off Madan Lal! And I have preserved the SPORTSTAR issue of June 1983. And yes, Ravi Shastri and the Indian team riding the Audi at the MCG after winning Benson and Hedges Cup. After remembering this, I remembered Miandad's SIX off Chetan Sharma at Sharjah. Coming to other things apart from TV that got me hooked in the '80s. I loved TINKLE with several short comic stories and where readers could also contribute their own. I especially used to like Suppandi, Anwar, Hodja, Tantri the Mantri, Kaalia the crow and TTT: i.e. Tinkle Tricks and Treats. Learnt to do lots of fun things from this page. On and off, I read Asterix and Tintin. Loved the glossy pages and the drawings by A.Uderzo and Herge. Amar Chitra Katha, I suspect for millions of Indian children, including me, has been the biggest source of knowledge of Indian mythology and history. Between the time when we were not yet ready to read extensive treatises on these topics (not that we do now) but had started to read, this was an ideal tool to whet our imagination and quench the inquisitiveness that starts to permeate within us during those early years. Amar Chitra Katha is still the best way to educate oneself. Learnt all my classics from that. Talking of comics, remembered this cartoon animated filler on DD. You can hardly find anyone of my generation who has not seen the “Ek Anek aur Ektha” animated movie. It was a short animation film targeted at National integration and was used as filler by DD at that time and, thanks to the fact that satellite TV wasn't even there, was immensely popular. Other DD fillers that are popular to this day (not aired) are Mile sur mera tumhara, Baje Sargam (It featured both celebrity and the common man alike) and the one showing us not to spread Rumours. There were a couple of National integration songs made by Kannada DD like "Navellaru onde jaathi" and "Molagali Molagali" featuring most actors of serials and a few film stars like Vishnuvardhan, Bharathi, Sundara Krishna Urs and Shivaram. Summer holidays meant that Carrom boards, Chowka-bhara, Pagade all saw the light of the day. Also, since we had a huge mango and jackfruit tree (as you might have got to know after reading here), myself and my cousins were up on the branches playing 'Mara-Kothi' (Monkey and the Tree) half of the time. Going for a movie meant a gang of nothing less than 15-20 of us. And we used to walk to the "Talkies" and munched groundnuts on our way back. Looking at the posters before the film was my hobby. It still is. One of the most memorable movies in my childhood days was the 3D film 'Chota Chethan.' How things have changed. Although now, we can watch the latest movies on our laptops and mini TV/DVD/Video combo units, that sense of joy of watching TV programs and movies on DD/ Theatres have gone forever. I am feeling lighter after putting down my thoughts of my childhood and the days as it were in the '80s. Hope you enjoyed reading this post. I am not able to remember if I have forgotten anything from the '80s. If I have, the readers are welcome to post it in the comments. As life takes us through lots of ups and downs, memories are something we hold on to and cherish as we grow up. Even as the world around us changes, there are times when we love to sit back and think of the innocent kids that we once were. It sort of puts us in touch with the child in us.

The Hero

2006-06-12T08:10:00.000+05:30

1982. The kid is asleep after waiting for a long time. He has come with his mother and sisters to the Town Hall to have a glimpse of his 'Hero'. And when the hero finally comes, there is a huge cheer. Our kid is woken up by the whistling and cheering. In his sleepy eyes he just gets a passing picture of whom he had been waiting to see all evening. And when the Hero is on stage, there are plenty of people obstructing the kid's view. 1984. He starts collecting pictures of his Hero from magazines and newspapers. 1990. The kid now is a little boy. He is with his Akka-Bhava at a marriage hall. And again he is anticipating his Hero. The boy is not interested in anything other than meeting his Hero. The Hero comes finally. When he gets to see him, the little boy speaks to his Hero and manages to get an autograph. This is his prized possession and shows it off to anyone and everyone. A month later, he is excited to see his picture with the newly wed couple and his Hero published in a magazine. 1991. The boy and his mother at a public gathering. The Hero sharing the stage with a Swamiji and a Cabinet Minister. The boy gets to hear his Hero sing 'Live' for the first time. 1992. The boy has managed to do a scrapbook of his Hero. 2002. The boy is an adult and the Hero has aged. The young fellow has borrowed a Video-cam from a friend to shoot interesting shots of the city. Accidentally, he comes in front of his Hero's house. And as luck would have it, the Hero is about to leave in his car. And the young fellow is all the while shooting his idol. The Hero calls him and asks if he is from the 'Press" to which our fellow says that he is just a 'fan'. The Hero and our boy have a 2 minute chat and a shake hand. Our chap has made a few scrapbooks, collages and collected rare posters of his Hero. 2003. He has designed a poster for a famous Music Recording Company that brought out his Hero's cassettes on his 75th birthday. But the young man's desire to show his collection of pictures, posters and scrapbooks to his Hero and get them autographed remains unfulfilled. 2005. The young man is now married. But he is lucky that through a relative, he gets to meet the Hero. And has an audience for a couple of hours. He shows his collections. The 'Hero' patiently takes a look at the collages and books made on him. He remarks that the fan's collection surpasses his own. He narrates a lots of anecdotes and stories related to the pictures in the scrapbook. He tells his experience as a hostage. And tells that he enjoyed his days in the forest. The fan listens quietly. The Hero asks about his guest's profession. And as the young fellow describes his job at an advertising agency, he is surprised to know that his Hero knows a lot of things about ad agencies. The Hero's better half joins the chat and appreciates the collection. She goes around the house showing the fan's collection to all the members. The Hero's daughter and son are over-joyed seeing some rare snaps in the collage. The fan sees that his Hero is unable to walk comfortably, finds it difficult to move around with ease. He finally accepts that his Hero, RAJKUMAR, has aged. Until then, for the fan, Rajkumar could run, dance and fight with élan. But the fan, i.e. Your's truly, is simply shocked to see Rajkumar struggling to do simple things like sitting with folded legs. But still, he is happy that ANNAVRU can humourously chat and has so much to share. I have a look at the room. The wardrobe is open and all I see is sparkling white silk panches and silk shirts. The room has a huge painting of his parents. There are a few kids playing in the drawing room. An hour has passed chatting and munching snacks with Annavru. A doctor is waiting to treat him. And sitting next to his bed, I get to see how much difficult Annavru is finding it to do what the doctor is telling him. Still, he does all the exercises and the doctor checks his pulse rate. Everything fine. Annavru shows the doctor my collection. The doctor has a word of praise for me. He takes a snap of me with Annavru. And another with Rajkumar and Parvathamma. I get my scrapbooks, posters and collages autographed by the hero. I get up to take leave. He gestures me to sit for some more time. He asks me about my parents. And feels really sad that I have lost them at a young age. And we chat for a while about music and philosophy. Another hour has passed. And I say it is time for me to leave. I put my hand forward for a hand shake. But he opens his arms for a hug. What more can you ask for than a hug from a person whom you have worshipped all your life? And how many fans get this privilege? "Saarthaka aaythu kanayya Ramakrishna Annavra abhimaani aagiddakke" I say to myself. Rajkumar walks with me till the gate and has that lively smile. He waves his hand and bids me goodbye. I am overwhelmed after coming home that my dream has finally been realised. I realise that Rajkumar is first a gem of a human being, only then a gem of an actor. A few days later, the government arranges 'Saarthaka Suvarna' to honour Annavru. I shoot a few pictures of the entrance having attractive close up shots of Dr. Raj from his popular films. Bearing the pain, he manages to get up everytime someone comes up to wish him. And he is totally tired at the end of the programme when he has to speak. I buy the book brought out by the government on this occasion titled 'Bangarada Manushya'. I finish reading it in two days. 2006. Nine months after I met him, on April twelfth, at around two in the afternoon, as I am busy designing a web portal, I get a call from my wife’s brother in Hyderabad saying Annavru is no more. I simply close my eyes and remember the day I met him for a few hours. And pray for his soul to rest in peace. I visit The Hindu, which is next to my office to confirm the news. And the reporters tell me that arson has begun. What unfolded later, you all know. It is exactly two months since we lost a fine human being, an actor non-pareil in the demise of Rajkumar. Very few actors will get the variety of roles that Rajkumar got in his career. And perhaps he was the last hero from the Actor-Singer era. I can hardly think of any hero who won a national award for singing. Rajkumar certainly deserved a peaceful farewell. But, as the saying goes, 'Man proposes, God disposes'.

A son need not be like his father

2006-06-09T20:02:00.000+05:30

On a walk last week, I met an old friend with whom I had a long chat near MES College. My son, whom I was carrying, got restless that I was 'standing' instead of 'walking'. My friend saw him and jokingly asked, "Yenappa, nim appana thara neenu Graphic Designer aagthiya?" (Will you also become a Graphic Designer like your father?) for which I replied that a son need not be like his father. On the way back home, I remembered the story of 'Ashtavakra'. When my son asks me to tell him a bed time story, will certainly tell this one. I had read about Ashtavakra in C.Rajagopalachari's "Mahabharata". Worth recollecting the story (Rajaji's version): While the Pandavas were wandering among holy place in the forest, they came one day to the hermitage of the personages immortalised in the Upanishads. Lomasa told Yudhishtira the story of that place. Uddalaka, a great sage and teacher of Vedanta, had a disciple named Kagola, who was virtuous and devoted, but had no great learning. So the other disciples used to laugh and mock at him. Uddalaka, however, attached no great weight to his disciple's lack of erudition but really appreciated his virtues, devotion and good conduct and gave his daughter Sujata in marriage to him. The couple was blessed with a son. A child generally inherits the characteristics of both parents, but fortunately the grandson of Uddalaka took after his grandfather rather than his father and knew the Vedas even while he was in his mother's womb. When Kagola made mistakes, as he often did in reciting the Vedas, the child in the womb would twist his body with pain, and so it came to pass that he had eight crooks in his body when he was born. These crooks earned him the name of 'Ashtavakra' which means eight crooks. Kagola, one ill-fated day, provoked a polemical contest with Vandi, the court scholar of Mithila, and having been defeated, was made to drown himself. Meanwhile Ashtavakra grew up to be a towering scholar even in his boyhood, and at the age of twelve he had already completed the study of the Vedas and the Vedanta. One day, Ashtavakra learnt that Janaka, the king of Mithila was performing a great sacrifice in the course of which the assembled scholars would, as usual, debate on the sastras. Ashtavakra set out for Mithila, accompanied by his uncle Swetaketu. On their way to the place of sacrifice at Mithila, they came across the king and his retinue. The attendants of the king marched in front shouting: "Move away, move away for the king." Ashtavakra instead of moving out of the way said to the retainers: " O royal attendants, even the king, if he is righteous, has to move and make way for the blind, the deformed, the fair sex, persons bearing loads and brahmanas learned in Vedas. this is the rule enjoined by the scriptures." The king, surprised at these wise words of the brahmana boy, accepted the justness of the rebuke and made way, observing to his attendants: "What this brahmana stripling says is true. Fire is fire whether it is tiny or big and it has the power to burn." Ashtavakra and Swetaketu entered the sacrificial hall. The gate-keeper stopped them and said: "Boys cannot go in. Only old men learned in the Vedas may go into the sacrificial hall." Ashtavakra replied: "We are not mere boys. We have observed the necessary vows and have learnt the Vedas. Those who have mastered the truths of the Vedanta will not judge another by mere considerations of age or appearance." The gate-keeper said: "Stop. Have done with your idle brag. how can you, a mere boy, have learnt and realised the Vedanta?" The boy said: "You mean I am not big like an over-grown gourd with no substance in it? Size is no indication of knowledge or worth, nor is age. A very tall old man may be a tall old fool. Let me pass." The gate-keeper said: "You are certainly not old, nor tall, though you talk like all the hoary sages. Get out." Ashtavakra replied: "Gate-keeper, grey hairs do not prove the ripeness of the soul. The really mature man is the one who has learnt the Vedas and the Vedangas, mastered their gist and realised their essence. I am here to meet the court pandit Vandi. Inform king Janaka of my desire." At that moment the king himself came there and easily recognised Ashtavakra, the precociously wise boy he had met before. The king said: " Do you know that my court pandit Vandi has overthrown in argument many great scholars in the past and caused them to be cast into the ocean? Does not that deter you from this dangerous adventure? Ashtavakra replied: "Your eminent scholar has hitherto not encountered men like me who are proficient in the Vedas or Vedanta. He has become arrogant and vain with easy victories over good men who were not real scholars. I have come here to repay the debt due on account of my father, who was defeated by this man and made to drown himself, as I have heard from my mother. I have no doubt I will vanquish Vandi, whom you will see crumple up like a broken-wheeled cart. Please summon him." Ashtavakra met Vandi. They took up a debatable thesis and started an argument, each employing his utmost learning and wits to confound the other, and in the end the assembly unanimously declared the victory of Ashtavakra and the defeat of Vandi. The court pandit of Mithila bowed his head and paid the forfeit by drowning himself in the ocean and going to the abode of Varuna. Then the spirit of Kagola, the father of Ashtavakra, gained peace and joy in the glory of his son. Sage Veda Vyasa instructs us through these words put in Kagola's mouth: "A son need not be like his father. A father who is physically weak may have a very strong son and an ignorant father may have a scholarly son. It is wrong to assess the greatness of a man on his physical appearance or age. External appearances are deceptive." Which shows that the unlearned Kagola was not devoid of common-sense. ****** ****** ****** I was fortunate to have attended Swamy Paramahamsa Sri Nityananda's lectures on 'Ashtavakra Geeta' held at Bangalore's St. Joseph's auditorium (next to Mallya Hospital) in December 2005. After hearing the lecture, I was eager to read the book 'Ashtavakra Geetha'. And I could do it only a good 6 months later. Recently, I purchased the book Ashtavakra Geetha (The Song of the Self Supreme). The book opens with this paragraph: Ashtavakra Geetha is a unique text among the world's contemplative classics dealing systematically with the mystical experiences of the Self on its way to transcendence, peace and bliss. There are few ancient treatises in East or West which evince such profound and lively concern with the Supreme Self as the ultimate reality, embodied in mystical insight and experience, and written with such spiritual imagination and poetic fervour. It may indeed be compared with the Dialogues of Plato, the Tao Teh King and the Bhagavad Geetha that all record universal insights and experiences of meditation which belong to the heritage of entire mankind. A verse in the opening chapter of the Ashtavakra Geeta says that he who considers himself free becomes free and he who thinks he is bound remains bound. This goes to establish the proverbial saying, "As one thinks, so one becomes.'' Such a shift in focus can be brought about only when the identification with the body-mind-intellect personality is transcended. The mind is the instrument for receiving Self- knowledge. Due to ignorance it identifies with the body which is transient. One who wants to abide in the Self (Atman) has to get over this mistaken identification by rooting out everything that falls in the category of the non-Self. By constantly identifying with the Self the seeker manifests his spiritual nature. After Ashtavakra defeated Vandi, king Janaka accepted him as his preceptor and was taught this Samhita by him. 'Ashtavakra Geetha is exclusively related to matters regarding the nature of the Self, means of realising the Self, state of mystic experience and the state of realisation in the embodied state. Throughout, it insists on detachment to worldly objects as essential to Self-realisation. One striking feature of its style is that it mostly weaves the words of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Geetha into its verses. Adi Sankara in his 'Viveka Choodamani' says that the body should be shunned as one would a disgusting object. This is only to reinforce the truth that the body is only an instrument and hence it should be cared for only to the extent of keeping it fit for higher pursuits. Any more attention than this will amount to obsession. The Bhagavad Geetha also points out that it is difficult to meditate on the formless Absolute for one who is centred on the body. How is it possible to overcome the identity with the body? When we do something for someone we love there is so much spontaneity and involvement that we forget the strain on the body. So the mind has to be charged with a higher value for it to transcend identification with the body. In spiritual life the path of selfless action is a powerful tool to transcend the body identity as thoughts get vitalised when the mind is selfless and the vision then expands beyond the body. This path requires one to perform actions that have to be done but without the motive for the result. Then there will be acceptance of the outcome as divine will. There is only a thin dividing line between the attitude of escapism and acceptance. Selfless action is not escapism but total acceptance of the divine will. There is another Geetha called 'Udhava Geetha'. It is a prose rendering based on the Sanskrit classic and Bhagavatha. Works of this kind may be needed more in future based on the other Geethas as well, as there is a great deal of interest among youth at present to go deep into Indian thought and tradition. Udhava was an intimate friend and minister of Lord Krishna. In addition, he was a reputed student of Brihaspathi and was a great intellect. He acted as a messenger to Kamsa. Since he was aware that the Yadhava clan was going to be wiped out, he took the opportunity to clear some of his own doubts and put up about 21 questions to the Lord who answered them with clarity and authority. This portion forms the major part of the Udhava Geetha. It has about 1043 verses, which are presented in the Bhishma Parva of the Mahabharata. I was surprised to know that as many as 45 Geethas exist, apart from Bhagavad Geetha. In the Mahabharatha, there are 16 Geethas (Manki geetha, Utathya geetha, Vaamadeva geetha, Rishabha geetha, Shadaja geetha, Sampaaka geetha, Bodhya geetha, Vichakhnu geetha, Haareetha geetha, Vritra geetha, Paraashara geetha, Hamsa geetha, Brahma geetha, Anu geetha, Braahmana geetha and Hari geetha). Those found in Puranas - There are 20 Geethas here (2 nos. of Kapila geetha, 2 nos. of Rama geetha, 2 nos. of Brahma geetha, 3 nos. of Yama geetha and one no. of Hamsa, Bhikshu, Vaasistha, Soorya, Devi, Sootha, Shiva, Eeshwara, Vyaasa, Rudra and Ganesha geethas). Independent works not found in any other works referred above - 4 Geethas in total (Ashtavakra geetha, Avadhootha geetha, Uttara geetha and Paandava geetha). Those which glorify the greatness of the original Bhagavadgeetha and these come under category of ‘Geetha Maahaathmya’ - There are 5 in number and can be found in Yogavasistha, Agni Purana, Padma Purana, Vayu Purana and Varaaha Purana. Like this there are 45 Geethas in Total other than the great celestial song ‘Srimadbhagavadgeetha’. Gita Jayanthi for the year 2006 falls on Thursday the 30th of November.

We've failed to find our feet in football

2006-06-09T14:36:00.000+05:30

If India really wants to become a good football nation, the need of the hour is to work at grass-root level. We need to open more and more academies with top facilities. The way All India Football Federation runs football in our country, it is highly unlikely that we will ever own a strong national team. Maybe, we will always remain the game's romantics who become a Brazilian or an Argentine once in every four years! Loved these two cartoons related to the World cup. First one shows a big fish (football) eating the small fish (Cricket ball) by Surendra in 'The Hindu'. The second is by Unny in 'The Indian Express'. Trivia: In 1950, India withdrew because FIFA would not let them play in bare feet. So only 13 teams participated in the final tournament. In 2006, 32 teams from across the globe make up the field for the FIFA World Cup. By the way, who said India is not at the World cup? So many Cabinet ministers, Ministers in State Governments., bureaucrats, officials in the sports federations are all going at the tax payers expense. And we the salaried people have to give details of expenses in IT returns.

Idli-Vadas are HOT here

2006-06-08T16:35:00.000+05:30

One reason why I wanted my wife to deliver at Lakshmi Maternity Home, apart from the fact that it had a very famous Gynaecologist, was because it was very next to Veena Stores. It proved to be very convenient for me and the visitors to have Idli/ Vada early in the morning or keep a flask full of hot Coffee ready for those who visited to see the new-born. Veena Stores is quite an unlikely name for a hotel, but that’s exactly what it is. The name is synonymous with fluffy Idlis, crisp Vadas and Pudheena Chutney. It's a small but very popular vegetarian restaurant in Bangalore. What started as a condiment store in 1977 has morphed into a popular eatery much sought after for its soft melting in the mouth Idlis served with only Chutney in unlimited quantities, huge crisp Vadas, spicy Shavige Baath, Uppit and Kesari Baath. Kesari Bath, though very tasty has an overdose of ghee accounting for the rich taste. Unfortunately today we do not exercise leading a sedentary lifestyle and any extra helping or overdose of unsaturated medium gives the jitters. But you can still have all of this without forgetting to lick the fingers and you will not be poorer by even 30/-. Wash down the above with a small serving of Coffee/ Tea or Badam milk (I prefer Coffee) one goes home feeling heavenly. This unassuming address, (Opposite the Telephone exchange on 15th Cross, Malleswaram) is on a one way zone. Every morning and evening, for years, the regulars and the visitors savour yummy Idlis standing on the footpath. Don't worry, no pedestrian will grudge this encroachment. Usually, the clientele slowly increase in numbers in the evening (after 5 pm) as the fresh aromas entice them for a stop over before proceeding home. You can see the dough being freshly grounded. The chutney is warm to touch as mixies are not made use of. Ground in stone rollers the taste is superb. Reach here on a Sunday morning and all you can see is the board which says ‘Veena Stores’ and a throng of people under it thrusting their hands in, bringing food out! Chances of meeting your long lost friend in this crowd are very high. As I said, the Idli-Chutney-Vada trio are mind blowing. Of course the small vadas are good as is the Puliyogare or the Vangibhath, but don’t miss the chutney. The Idlis are small, fluffy ‘melt in the mouth’ types. If you are looking for a place to sit down and eat, this is not for you. But if it’s charm (and chutney) you’re looking for, you know where to go. It's also a haunt for the joggers and office crowd. There are some regular chaps playing Basketball at Beagles and coming to Veena Stores every evening. Can say this with authority as I myself was a regular for a few years. I am eating here from the days when a Idli cost 40 paise. Now it is Rs.2.50 an Idli. I remember reading long back about Veena Stores in India Today and many other magazines and newspapers. Veena Stores becomes a habit for my sisters, brothers-in-law, nephew and nieces when they are visiting India. This might be true for many in Malleswaram also! Simply goes to show that people look at quality and not the size of your eating outlet. Who knows, I may be having a sip of coffee with my son at Veena Stores after seeing my grandchild! Veena Stores Noorkaala Baalali (May Veena Stores live for 100 more years) Veena Stores 183, 15th cross, Margosa road Malleswaram Bangalore 560 055 Phone: 080-23344838 Open from 6am -11am and 3.30-8 pm [Photo: RK]

Euro English

2006-06-07T13:34:00.000+05:30

I have this habit of taking a print out of anything interesting I come across on the net. Maybe not a good idea because every nook and corner of my house is piled up with papers and books. There are so many paper clippings and articles to be pasted into the scrapbook. I am worried that once my 9-month old son starts walking, what will happen to all those pieces of paper? I also have this habit of preserving newspapers and magazines which is of historical importance or which has my article/ letter in it. My prized possession, among other papers, is the one that my grandfather had of the Indian Express dated January 26, 1950. But, in this blog, I want to share the contents of one the earliest e-mails I received a good decade back. It was mailed to me by a friend who is now in USA. I remember the joy of holding the printout of this mail. (Still in my collection, and the paper has turned yellowish). The Mail I thought you might find this article interesting. The News Standard has received this bulletin fresh from our Brussels based News Service... The European Union Commissioners have announced that agreement has been reached to adopt English as the preferred language for European communications, rather than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five-year phased plan for what will be known as Euro English (Euro for short). In the first year, "s" will be used instead of the soft "c". Sertainly, sivil servants will reseive this news with joy. Also, the hard "c" will be replaced with 'k". Not only will this klear up konfusion, but typewriters and keyboards can have one less letter. There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced by "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20 per sent shorter. In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they would go. By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" by "z" and "w" by "v". During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou", and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. After ze fifz year, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubls or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech ozer. Ze drem vil finali kum tru.

Soccer? It's at my fingertips.

2006-06-06T19:47:00.000+05:30

Soccer fever will grip some of us temporarily. I came across these pictures and suddenly thought with Bangalore's shrinking open spaces and playgrounds becoming totally unavailable for recreational facilities, soccer in the future might be played like how it is shown in this picture. It is really worrying parents that children remain indoors and become obese and get addicted to TV or Computers. If the kids do come out and play, people complain about children obstructing traffic movement or broken window panes. The reason for both complaints is the lack of playgrounds in the city. Builders concentrate on formation of more and more apartment blocks, ignoring the basic necessity of playgrounds for children and elders as well. As a result, open space in the city is shrinking day by day. Playgrounds become totally unavailable for recreational facilities at least for a couple of months in a year, barring the rainy season. During the Ganesha festival, they become the venues to install the idol and conduct various programmes. When there is a public meeting, playgrounds are taken over. During Deepavali, playgrounds are the place to sell firecrackers. (Malleswaram grounds comes to mind immediately.) What lovely time the kids will have if the corporation bothers to provide a playground in every layout.

666: The number of the beast (and, gulp, today's date)

2006-06-06T13:49:00.000+05:30

Good that Dhoni is not batting today. If he had hit 6,6,6 in an over, god knows what ill luck it would have brought on him or the Indian team. If you are still ignorant of this number, let me tell you. On the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year, a combination of theology, mathematics and good old-fashioned superstition is bringing a controversial passage from the New Testament into the 21st century. Today is 06/06/06; devilishly close to 666. June 6, 2006, or 6-6-06, yields the dreaded number 666, known in the Bible as a sure sign of the apocalypse. Here's another diabolic number: 7734. Remember as a kid punching the digits into a calculator, then turning the calculator upside down, so they spelled "hell"?. Fear of the number 666 is called Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia. "Let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six." (Revelation 13:16-18, New Revised Standard Version) The number 666 -- the "number of the beast," according to the Book of Revelation -- conjures devilish images for many, so forecasts of evil, even doom, are rampant regarding dates or places where the number occurs, including today, June 6, or 6-6-06. No surprise, then, that someone has found a way to make money off all these fears: coming soon is a remake of the 1976 horror film, "The Omen," the story of a modern-day birth of an Antichrist figure in the form of an evil boy named Damien (the original starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick). Producers have scheduled the movie's release date for -- when else? -- today, June 6, 2006. (multiplexes are slated to play the new film, releasing today, at 6.06 pm.) Maybe the tickets are priced at Rs.66.6. I read that expectant mothers are delaying labour so that they don't give birth on the date associated with Antichrist. Famous persons born on this 'dreaded' day are Sukarno, first President of Indonesia, Sunil Dutt, Indian actor and politician and Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player. I think their moms didn't know about the 666 phenomenon. 666 SIGHTINGS Among many coincidences that occur with numbers, life itself is based partly on these three: Carbon atoms, key to life as we know it, have six protons, six neutrons and six electrons in their most common form. It seems the world's most expensive mobile number is 666 6666. The sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet is w - so www. shows how evil the internet is! And, Viagra has a molecular weight of 666.7g/mol. Whether by superstition, strange happening or clever intent, 666 has become a cultural phenomenon. Here are a few more examples: ٠ In 1999, the Crystal Palace in London opened the Tower Building for meetings of the Fifth Parliament of Europe. The membership totaled 679; yet, the galley held 680 seats. Seat No. 666 remained empty. ٠ Heavy metal group Iron Maiden released its album "The Number of the Beast" in 1982. That same year, while touring, producer Martin Birch was reportedly involved in a car accident. When the bill for repairs came to 666 British pounds, Birch insisted on paying more. ٠ After his presidency and until his death in 2004, Ronald Reagan resided in a Bel Air house at 666 St. Cloud Road. Shortly after moving in, his wife, Nancy, had the number changed to 668. ٠ In 2004, some Rome, Ga., moviegoers were outraged when they discovered 666 printed on their tickets for a showing of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." Management explained that it was a prefix for a series of numbers that a computer randomly assigned. ٠ When added together, the numbers on a roulette table (1 to 36) total 666. ٠ In the movie "Pulp Fiction," the number was the code used to open a briefcase. ٠ In Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" the famous chandelier is lot 666 in the opening auction. ٠ The first Apple computer, Apple I, had an official list price of $666. ٠ The book "Unexplained! Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences & Puzzling Physical Phenomena" by Jerome Clark has 666 pages. ٠ When Intel introduced the 666 MHz Pentium III in 1999, they decided to market it as the Pentium III 667 claiming that since the actual speed was 666.666 MHz, therefore 667 was the more accurate approximation.

٠ The sum of the squares of the first 7 primes is 666: 2² + 3² + 5² + 7² + 11² + 13² + 17² = 666

But despite dire warnings from the Bible, conspiracy theorists and Iron Maiden about the beastly nature of "666", numerologists really love this number. Six is about the energy of co-operation, love and beauty. Then if you add six, six and six, you get 18, which then adds up to nine. Nine is the most spiritual number - it contains the energy of all the other numbers. So there's nothing to be afraid of - nine is the number of the soul and there's nothing in any way that's sinister about it.

'Muktha Samvada' with a difference

2006-06-05T14:58:00.000+05:30

Right: CSP's USP is his middle class-ness Below: A rare shot: (from left) Adarsh, Srikanth, Sanjay, Shruthi, Chaitanya, Bellur Ramakrishna, Girish Hampali, Usha and Mrs.Lalitha (Sanjay's mother) with TNS and Dev Anand. On June 3 (1880), Alexander Graham Bell transmitted the first wireless telephone message on his newly-invented 'photophone'. It was on June 3 (1966) that one of the finest fast bowlers of our generation, Wasim Akram, was born. A famous writer and politician, K.Karunanidhi, was also born on this day. Why I am giving you so many details about the date is because another fine human being, Sanjay, someone whom I have known personally for just over a month but through his blog for a longer period, was also born on this date. And it was his birthday that made June 3 a very memorable one for me and others who met at 'Bugle Rock' this Saturday afternoon. And we had a Yorkshire-like weather to revel in. The get-together was being planned for a long time. Finally, we were all ready to meet at Bugle Rock in Basavanagudi at 1.00 pm. On our way, we got messages from a few saying they will not be able to make it. And a few asked for the directions. Sanjay 'The Common man' was skeptical about the number that would make it. As we parked our car in front of the Bull Temple, I recognised Girish Hampali (having seen his picture on his daughter's website). When we went to the 'Rock', no one had turned up yet. Sanjay, his mother, Girish and myself kept chatting surrounded by huge trees. There was no sounds from vehicles and no polluted air. The atmosphere was literally COOL. Chaithanya joined us a little later. It was past 2 and all of us marched towards 'Kamath Bugle Rock'. We had good South Indian meals. Srikanth joined us and gifted a peacock feather to the birthday boy. Shruthi, who had earlier messaged that she would not be able to make it, finally showed up. Most of us wondered whether we were having any 'Hallucinations'! All of us went to the 'Rock' again and got to know each other better. Usha came in after a while. She and Girish seemed to know the place(Bugle Rock) like the back of their palm. Girish suggested that we could invite TNS as we had a decent crowd. He called the ace director and told about the Common Man's Blog. TNS agreed for the EXCLUSIVE SAMVADA. And this one's rights was not with E-TV. Before the Mukhamuki began, we had a good view of the park from atop the watch tower. It was greenery all around. And looked great. It was fun watching a few kids sliding down a few rocks. In the next few minutes, we were seated in front of Muktha's CSP. He was accompanied by a couple of his assistants, one of whom was Devanand (the cop who arrests Rane and Chabria). Seetharam was very happy to know about the Muktha page on Sanjay's blog. He said that he had not yet seen the blog as he was not a computer literate. When I told he had to just Google for 'Muktha', he told he could not even Start a computer, let alone finding Google page. Had a good laugh at that. All of us had a wholesome chat with TNS. We spoke about Muktha, MNCs, CET, Politics, Mrs. Mukhyamantri, Muktha-The magazine run by TNS. All through, it was raining like mad. And we were lucky that the 'Samvada' was happening at an odd place and an odd hour. Five in the evening in a pretty new restaurant when it is pouring outside is an unlikely place when you can find a celebrity, let alone chat. We took pictures with TNS and got his autograph. We wished him luck for his future projects. All of us were beaming with joy at the end of the chat session. People in the hotel, customers as well as staff were staring at us as we came down with TNS till the entrance. I saw one guy agape with a piece of Dosa in his hand. It was still raining and TNS hopped in to his car while we waited for the rain to stop. All the while when we were chatting with TNS, there was another celeb quietly having coffee at the other end of the room. By the beard and the attire, no one could miss him. It was Pavagada Prakash Rao (Philosopher and Commentator) whose 'Satya Darshana' on DD has been immensely popular. As the rain stopped, we thanked each other for making the day a memorable one. And as we bid adieu, we had a lot of pleasant memories of June 3. Picture Courtesy: Sanjay Mysoremutt Design: RK

Spellbound

2006-06-02T16:38:00.000+05:30

By the time he had got the spelling for the word 'Heiligenschein' wrong, 13-year-old Rajiv Tarigopula had gained so much of respect for his ability to spell complex words with a serene disposition that he got a standing ovation. - Rediff.com Over the years, whenever I have seen the results of the Spelling Bee contest I have always noticed that there were quite a few Indian kids in the final rounds. It seems like other people have also noticed this. "Indians are very good at spelling and mathematics." You might have heard this many times. We should be proud that many people in our community are smart but yes, it would be good if the general public would understand we're not all alike. I once saw a hoarding in a small town: Lurn Inglish inn too weaks. So, what do we have that extra bit compared to other ethnic groups that makes our kids spell 'Gallinaceous' in a jiffy? A major contributing factor for our edge in Spelling Bees is the "Ratta hodi syndrome" (to learn By-heart) from our school days. (The fairer sex are masters of "Rote learning".) This way, memorizing gets ingrained in us. Also, we have an advantage because we are very bookish and our children read a lot. Parental support or lack of support is a big, perhaps crucial, factor in the child’s success/ failure in a competition. Next, our kids have some particular advantages when it comes to mastering spelling. Their parents or grandparents are usually educated, often as Doctors or Engineers. The kids' parents generally speak English and appreciate the power of education. And, we are comfortable with the rote-learning methods, the kind needed to master lists of obscure words that easily stump spell-checker programs. Rote learning means memorizing something "by heart", or exactly as it was presented to the student in the textbook or teacher's lecture. Common applications of rote learning are spelling lists, mathematical rules, historical dates, and chemical formulas. After the students have memorized the given material, they are tested by repeating the material exactly as it was originally given to them. Rote learning is well suited for foreign language vocabulary, history, and spelling tests. And mind you. It is not memory alone which can win you spelling competitions. You need to analyse. The best spellers take the things they know -- root words and spelling conventions of different languages of origin -- and figure out how to spell words they don't know. Memory is a crucial component of these intellectual activites we think are so important. In ancient India, "Rote memorisation" was necessary to preserve the original text in the absence of means to print and publish works of knowledge. It was vital in a place where religious institutions were destroyed by foreign invaders. Since books were burnt and temples were destroyed, the only way was to memorize the sacred texts. But today, "Rote memorisation" will not get you into any elite institution in India. Be it the IIT-JEE, GATE, CAT or the UPSC, entrance tests demand a very well developed ability to understand, interpret and analyse problems and issues. Nowhere is education so much valued as in India. It is the only way to get out of your economic misery. There is a fine balance between parents wanting what they consider the best for their children and pressuring them to fit into their perception of what is best for them. Their actions and words, thoughts and unsaid expectations, do create paradigms for their children to meet. And, sometimes, perhaps that pressure to exceed causes stress and actions that are not healthy. Parents try to fulfil their own unfulfilled achievements and their need for recognition through their kids. They insist that the child excel in some field or the other. That way not only will the child be famous, but the parents would also enjoy their moments of glory through the child. In today's competitive world there is too much of emphasis laid on excelling in some field or the other. Pressure from the homefront just adds to the already existing stress. This in turn leads to severe depression and insecurity. Each child has his or her potential. The parent should respect it. It is important to communicate with them openly so that the child is free to voice his or her likes and dislikes. But the extent to which some Indian parents goad and force kids to be successful in spelling competitions, I feel, is so maddening. Neither the parents nor the kids might be having any life beyond the spelling competition. And I am sure not many kids are interested to know the spelling of Heiligenschein, Ursprache, Gallinaceous, Zebu or Phalarope.

MS: Music Sublime

2006-06-01T21:05:00.000+05:30

The sun was beating down with full gusto. It was a bright day in Chennai and the mood was upbeat in the hotel room where I was staying. I had for company the Secretary of Sri Lalithakala Academy, Mysore. The then Minister for Kannada and Culture Smt. Rani Sathish (who later acted in TN Seetharam's 'Muktha' as a judge) was to join us in a few minutes. All of us were excited as we were to present an award. I repeat. We were to present an award and not receive. And we were EXCITED. We reached the peaceful locality of Kotturpuram and searched for the house which had 'Sivam' and 'Shubham' on either side of the gate. We found the house and as we entered I could hear the sound of a thousand Tamburas. As soon as we stepped inside the drawing room, I was thrilled to see a legend in flesh and blood, whom I had admired since childhood, in front of me with folded hands and welcoming us. I was seated in front of none other than MS.(I have purposely not used any of the titles her fans have showered her with because she was simply 'MS' to both connoisseur and lay man alike). I couldn't believe that the voice that awakened millions of Indians in India and abroad, in temples and tea stalls, in all seasons, was enquiring about my well being. I was still pinching myself to believe this was happening. She looked like any of our Ajjis, clad in a cotton saree, reclining on a bamboo chair with a pocket-sized Vishnu-Sahasranama book, with oily pages. The initial pleasantries over, a cook got us hot steaming coffee. In a corner of the room, a Tambura and a Veena stood silently. I wondered the glorious times MS might have sung playing them during her rehearsals and Kutcheris. Today they were just mute spectators. Furniture had been kept to a minimum, comfort never transcending into luxury. The alcove of the living room where she used to practice had portraits of Lord Venkateshwara and Satya Sai Baba.The walls of the room were adorned with pictures of famous personalities. I saw Kanchi Seer Sri Chandrashekara Saraswati, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, RK Narayan, Rajaji, Gandhi, KM Munshi and many more next to each other. All of these personalities were very close to MS and Sadasivam. MS narrated how she got to learn from the maestros like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Papansam Sivam, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Alladiya Khan and others. At that instance, I mentioned that Bade Ghulam Ali Khan addressed MS as 'Suswaralakshmi-Subbulakshmi'. She just folded her hands and told "Periyavar"(Elderly person). After her husband's death, MS had stopped performing. Her health was deteriorating too. But I still found that she had the Tejas (Radiance) in her face and was as excited as a child. She was all eager to hear me when she got to know that I could sing. I felt really shy to sing in front of a person who breathed music. She particularly asked me to sing a Purandaradasa Devaranama. As I sang, tears rolled down her eyes. I prostraterd before her and sought her blessings. She insisted I sing another song. I sang a Thyagaraja krithi. She seemed very happy and told me not to lose touch with music. She told me, "Atmartha Sangeetha is the supreme form of singing. First you should love your music, only then will others love it." The Sangeetha Rathna award was presented to MS by the Academy. And it was farewell time. As we were about to leave, she rose and told she was very happy to have met us. And we couldn't stop taking our eyes off her ever-glowing smiling face. It is a different experience to see a performer on stage and off stage. Most of them are inaccessible. But there are few exceptions like MS. I had read umpteen articles where she was described as a very humble and down to earth person. I was fortunate to have seen her off stage at such close distance. As we were driving back, the feeling was yet to sink in that I had spent priceless moments with a legend. Listening to the stereo which was playing MS's Bhavayami Gopalabalam.... I realized that because MS conveyed the meaning of devotion that the audience came to her. And came in millions.

Blog-gaadhe

2006-05-31T19:01:00.000+05:30

The moment some of you told me to start a blog, I remembered this 'Gaadhe' (Proverb):Yele yettho Gunda andre undoreshtu jana andhnanthe. I slightly modified that and made another gaadhe to suit this blog: Blog maado Gunda andre comment maadoreshtu jana andhnanthe. And today, when I was posting my first blog, thought of another one: Original: Oota thannicche, Nota Pararicche. Modern: Comment thannicche, Blog post Pararicche.

Joining the Blog-wagon

2006-05-31T11:12:00.000+05:30

There was a time in the '80s when owning Phantom, Tintin, Chandamama, Champak, Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha comics was the in thing. It was a craze among me and my friends to own these comics. I don't know if kids today have this kind of a craze. I think they are more interested in collecting Pokemon, Power Puff Girls, Electronic gadgets and stuff. No worries. Let their breed prosper! Why I am telling this is because trends keep changing sooner than we think. Like with the start of many things, early bloggers did not have a name for what they were doing. While it took some time for the genre and the name to develop, blogging has been around since the begining of the internet. After a slow start, blogging rapidly gained in popularity: The site Xanga, launched in 1996, had only 100 diaries by 1997, and over 5,00,00,000 by December 2005. Some words have become so popular that as soon as you hear them you think about the blog that has been named after them and not what the word means literally. (Eg: Churumuri, Common Man or Hallucinations, to name a few). And it is not just the name. I rate these blogs as some of the best I have read. When I was first told "People would like to read your experiences, why don't you start a blog?", I didn't really take it seriously. I kept reading various blogs (I still do). I really like the way some of the bloggers share their thoughts in such fantastic style. You can really feel the flow in their thoughts. I feel one essential ingredient to blog is experience. If you have a blog, hopefully you’ve got experience in whichever topic you’re choosing to blog about. So here I am, joining the Blog-wagon, on the 151st day of 2006. This is for all the people who have been saying I ought to have a blog.

Salutations

2006-05-31T11:07:00.000+05:30

shrii saraswatii namaHstubhyaM varade kaama ruupiNi twaaM ahaM praarthane devii vidyaadaanaM cha dehi me Meaning: I bow to Godess Saraswati who fullfills the wishes of the devotees. I pray you to enlighten me with knowledge.