Self confidence

Recently, I came across this interesting story told by our honorable CM. I have tried to capture the entire story. The story goes like this. 

Once there was a rat which was very scared of cats and other animals. It saw a rishi and prayed to Rishi, "I am getting scared of cat..... Can you convert me in to a cat?". The sage looked at the rat, smiled and said, okay!. Will convert and the rat became a cat. It felt happy. The cat was wandering in the forest and after a few days it met the same sage. It went up to the sage and said, "Thanks for converting me. But,these days, I am getting scared of whenever I see a tiger. Why don't you change me to a tiger. Tiger is big and majestic also!". The sage again smiled and made the now cat to a tiger. The tiger was very happy and was going all around the forest..... After a few days, the sage again saw the tiger and asked if the tiger is doing fine. The tiger said, "yes". But, I really get scared whenever I see a hunter. I have a feeling that he will hunt me. So, is it possible for you to convert me into a hunter. That way, I will never be more happy!. The sage got a bit annoyed and said, "Oh rat, the fear in you is not going to change in whichever form I change you to!. Unless you come out of the fear in you, the appearance makes no difference. Until, you get out of fear, be in your original form itself... ". He converted the tiger back to its original form.

The inner fear many times proves to be an obstacle in our growth trajectory. Nice and interesting story to shed all inhibitions and fear!.

Signing off,
SPH

My Playlist - 1

Ever since I got inducted(!) in to listening to Carnatic music, my mind has not traveled anywhere other than listening to good music. Thanks to my parents who have never objected to my listening even if it involves skipping house hold work. They rather welcomed it :-). You never know when you get that feeling in you that your soul gets purified every time you listen to good music. If you note carefully, when you start appreciating good music, music will in turn take care of you/speak to you!. This is my personal feeling. The listed is not in any particular order. Some of the list I love listening to any time by the vocalist (and of course in Violin as well) in bracket

Shanmukhapriya (M - 56) - I got introduced to this ragam through my parents and thanks to Maharajapuram Santhanam audio cassette and "All India Radio, Tiruchirapalli Vaanoli nilayam.- Isai arangam"- in the mornings. The first song I listened in this ragam is "vilayada idhu nerama"!. Called as Chaamaram in Dikshidhar school, there are lot of compositions on Lord Muruga. Perhaps, I wonder if it got the name because it is a ragam loved by Shanmugha?.  This ragam evokes a kind of a bhakthi rasa or a perfect divinity so as to say. As lots of compositions are there, my personal favorite other than mentioned is "Siddhi Vinayakam anisham" by Dikshidhar. ( Palghat K V Narayanaswamy with Shri MSG - bliss!) not failing to mention the fireworks of swarams at prasidha gana nayakam.. - Total bliss!

Karaharapriya (M - 22) - This has a distinct melody while listening. Said to be a parent of many famous janya ragas, the perfectly rendered aalapanai brings out the karuna rasa. There are many songs in this raga which I listen to with abundance of joy everytime. Some being - "Chakkani raja"  ( Smt MS Subbulakshmi), "Mithri Bhagyame" (Shri KVN), "Okkapari" by Annamacharya (MS Subbulakshmi), "Appan avadharitha" by none other than Shri T M Krishna. I love listening to the aalapanai on the violin!. It just takes you to a different world! More like a meditation!.

Bhairavi (J - 20 - Natabhairavi) - Though this is a sampoorna raga, this does not have a distinctive place as a Melakartha ragam. Yet another ragam to be listened to in violin!. From the famous Viribhoni varnam to "Upacharamulu" by Thyagaraja, there are many lovely songs in Bhairavi.  "Yaaro Ivar Yaaro" (Madurai Mani Iyer), "Balagopala" (Shri MD Ramanathan), "Enaati Nomu" (Smt Bombay Jayashri), "Keechu keechendru" - Tiruppavai (Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar / ML Vasanthakumari / KV Narayanaswamy)

Kalyani (M - 65) - Considered to be the Queen of the raga family, this is one ragam in which almost every vageyakaras have composed a song!. Many janya ragas having the surname as Kalyani(! :) to name a few - Hameer Kalyani, Hamsa Kalyani, Yaman Kalyani, Mohana Kalyani. It elicits a graceful rasa and provides ample scope for improvisation. The very famous Ethavunara, Pankaja lochana (Ranjani Gayatri), Bhajare re chitta (Bombay Jayashri, MDR - particularly neraval at "devim shakthim bheejothbhava...", "Kamalambham bhajare" (Sanjay Subramanyam), "Unnai allal" (Maharajapuram Santhanam). When I listened to a full fledged "Pankaja lochana" in Violin, I was totally immersed and was taken to a spiritual world and had to come back later to the materialistic world!. The famous RTP by ARI with Pallavi - "Sankarabharananai azhaithodi vaadi Kalyani Darbarukku" is very interesting to listen to!

I have personally loved listening to some of the violin accompanists of yesteryears - to name a few - Rajamanickam Pillai (MMI - Perfect team - Pazhani Subramaniya Pillai - Kanjira, Palghat Mani Iyer - Mridangam), Shri MS Gopalakrishnan (MS) - solo as well, Shri TN Krishnan (ARI, KVN),Shri VV Subramaniam, Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman to name a few!. They are gems!.

Playlist continues...

Signing off,

SPH

Life is all about expression

Life is all about expression - such a nice statement said by my friend. Ever since I heard this statement, there has been a thought in my mind to understand it better!. How profound it is! Not just expression... positive expression!!

Most of us engage in conversations with others. Only sometimes we add feelings to it. A conversation gets richer, healthier and beautiful when we add positive feelings to it. This in turn, builds a connection and an intimacy between people.

How many times would we have said, " I feel happy and positive speaking to you"!. "You made my day!", 

We are sometimes apprehensive of conveying positive and negative feelings(all the more).. 

When we express our self, I see some intrinsic benefits. We feel happy, make others happy, create a happy environment. You are happy, I am happy and thus WE are happy!.(Eric Berne style! :D)

The formula of conveying / expressing makes a difference. By saying you made a difference or I felt happy because you said this..et al makes people feel good and brings the relationship closer. And be genuine in saying so!. Not for the sake of saying.. Whenever you feel it is apt to express a positive feeling, do that and express as often as you can(from the heart!).

It is as simple as an emoticon - :-( :-) .. Depends on what side you pick!.. Being and staying positive is not only a nice way to live, but also the best way to live!. 

Whenever I get stressed, I prefer to do two things - Either walk or listen to soul stirring music or both!. Trust me, it does work! When I walk, I just don't walk - but thinking and thanking people who have spread positiveness in me!. Be grateful to people close to you and people who care for you. Thank them for any big/small change they have made in your lives.

After all, life is to express yourself and not to impress others!

Thanks, my friend for spreading positiveness in me!. Happy Birthday as you are celebrating your birthday this week!.

Signing off,

SPH

30 years down the ground(lane)!

Circa June 25, 1983. A magical moment and a proud moment for every Indian and more than that a very die hard cricketing fan.... India lifting the Prudential Cup stunning every one who watched it live, listened to it through radio. It looked like a fairy tale for me. As a young school going girl, with little-moderate knowledge on cricket, but loving the game. It was played on the house front portion by the siblings and their friends. As a ball picker | watcher, the interest grew naturally in me. Parents cemented interest in games if not play at least to follow.

The third edition of the World Cup was held in England with lots of expectations from the defending champions West Indies... There were the mighty Desmond Haynes, Holding, Logie, curly haired Larry Gomes, Marshall, Roberts. India had a daunting task of facing the mighty Windies in the finals. But, the path to finals was not an easy one. They had to fight against Aussies, Windies and the Zimbabweans.

In the Semi final, they had to beat the home team England to take berth in the finals. Whoa! What a herculean task for Kapil and his men. Little they might have even thought or the cricket lovers would have predicted from being an odds of 66-1 to finals!

Until Kapil scored an incredible 175 n.o., of 138 odd balls against Zimbabwe in the qualifying match, India was not at all looked up as a team that could emerge as a winner. This game made the world look at India! The Kapil Dev(il) created history by clinching the title. That proved as a turning point coming down from 17-5. Both the openers went out for duck and others just managed to open their accounts. And then on, winning continued...Chasing 183 was one of the easiest task for Windies. They must have thought it would have been simple. Richards scored 33 off 27 balls and perhaps must have been thinking to have an early dinner with his team 🤣 and some hits off the fence to score some quick runs.

Just when their thoughts sinked, India excelled in its fielding and bowling departments. Kapil's catch was something incredible. A loft to the on-side from Madan Lal's bowling was a game changer. Perhaps, he never thought the ball was a prey in the hawk eyes of Kapil. He ran. Ran. Ran and then the catch. I am sure we could not see any catch that can match this one. The devotion, commitment is something great from Kapil da!

Cricket has since then evolved to various formats and incorporated many new rules and regulations. Am sure any cricket loving fan will vouch for this series as one of the best(est)! And that catch as the most excellent catch of the century.

India might have won many Cups since 1983 - Asia Cup, World cup, T20, etc. But, there will be nothing as compared to this win that cemented cricket's primacy in India.

Meet the Artist - New concept

Margazhi.org, a site for promoting classical music and dance had organized a new concept - Meet the Artist by inviting the famous duos Ranjani Gayatri who do not need any introduction. I really liked the way the theme was conceptualized, planned and well executed. Paduka, the store (sister arm of Sarangi) shared their space which added further beauty!. The icing of the cake was their blissful rendition in Kannada.

Such kind of innovative concept aims at building a close bond between the rasikas and the artists. It becomes important that artists get to meet rasikas off stage and share good moments filled with joy and humor. It was nice to see many rasikas sitting there and eagerly listening to their favorite artists speak which never happens when they are on stage. They speak musically though;). They take the rasikas to an entirely different world, travel along with them for sometime and come back to the materialistic world!. 

It was nicety all through - invitation, call to remind the rasikas, introduction about the artists, ambience, question to ask sheet, excellently behaved crowd, nicely crafted questions, wonderful hospitality by the team - right from welcoming artists, as well as rasikas. It gives a satisfying feeling when you see such concept evolving to promote the very traditional and prestigious form of music. Wishing the team all the very best for their efforts and may this continue more and more!. 

Signing off,

SPH @Hema

Confidence level at its best

Recently, I stumbled upon a video that is quite interesting. Something that people who watched it might have forgotten. I never got a chance to watch it though... In those times, Youtube comes to our rescue.

This video is about the Miss Universe pageant 1994. Yes, 1994. The year Ms. Sushmita Sen got crowned MU.

Somehow, I liked the video( though I don't generally subscribe to the idea of Miss xxx as every one has a beauty within and outside) for the reason - the way the participants answered. I was totally impressed by 2 answers. One by our own Indian and one by Ms. Phillipines.

Ms. Phillipines (Charlene Gonzalez - one of the top 6 finalists) was being asked  -

Q - Being in pageants is a kind of legacy for you too, right? 

A - Not necessarily, this is my first pageant prior to my first local pageant.

Q - What I mean is it happened in your family before. goes on....

....

Q - The one thing I have learned is you have a bunch of islands here. How many islands are there in the Phillipines? (One of the question that is being asked in quizzes)

We expect an answer in terms of a number right... She questioned back!

A - High tide or low tide?

(Everyone laughs)

Q - In both?

A - In high tide, we have 7107 and in low tide, we have 7108.

This was not a deciding question though...

People who watched the video would have certainly admired her confidence level, smiling face and more than anything her absolute knowledge about the country's geography... 

Confidence level at its best. Sometimes, it does not matter whether you win or not.. What matters most is when you get really satisfied after delivering your best... That is when you emerge a winner to yourself. A brilliant answer, though!.

Our own Sushmita Sen gets her chance to answer the deciding question:

Q - What for you is the essence being a woman?

A - (by SS) - I think being a woman, by itself, the very fact that you are a woman is a gift of god which all of us must appreciate. The origin of a child is the mother and is the woman and a woman is one who shares love, and who shares and shows the man what love, caring and sharing is all about. That is the essence of a woman.

This emerges as the winning answer. There might be such brilliant answers in the past and in the future.

Loving, sharing and caring are three key characteristics of a woman and all the women who read this are already exhibiting and all the men take a bow at your woma/en who make your lives special! :-)

We live a life once.. Only when we love, we care.. We care and hence we share..
Let all lives be happy, cheerful!. God bless!.

Signing off,

SPH

Short story on focus and concentration

Recently, I listened to this story that is about concentration and focus. Just sharing for the message it carries...

Once there was a King who worshipped Lord Shiva everyday two times. Wherever he went, he worshipped Lord Shiva at the near by temple. Once, King and his friends decided to go for hunting. He along with his minister went to a forest. He did not find Lord's idol or temple to do his daily worship. So, he decided to use the sand and made a lingam to worship. At this time, there was a hunter who was in search of a deer that he spotted. The deer ran fast and the hunter chased it.

The deer crossed the King and ran even faster. The hunter who was chasing did not notice the King sitting and on his way, stamped on the lingam and ran faster. The King got offended and ordered his men to search for the hunter and punish the hunter. They searched for the hunter and could not find neither the deer nor the hunter. The minister who was watching this, told the King to wait as he felt the hunter will be coming back in this way(route). The King felt its a good idea to wait for the hunter to return back. 

The hunter returned back with the deer on his shoulder and happiness on his face. He succeeded in his attempt to hunt the deer. On his way back, he saw the King and bowed him and enquired him. He also offered help to the King if the King wanted to hunt any particular animal. The King listening to this suspected the hunter if he is lying.

The King raised his voice and said, "Look, you passed by me when you ran. I was sitting here and you also stamped on the lingam on your way.How can you go without seeing me? I am the King, remember!". 

The King was shocked by the reply the hunter gave. The hunter said, "My King, I ran chasing the deer. I stayed focused to hunt the deer. On my way, if I see anyone or anything, my concentration to hunt the deer will slip and I will not be able to achieve my goal. When I went for hunting, if I had seen you are there, you are worshipping etc, I will slip in my task. The deer will go out of my sight. I will not be able to catch the deer. When there is 100 percent concentration on the task that I do only then I will be able to complete it. This is the lesson, I learnt out of experience."

The King realised. If a hunter is so focused and committed in his duty, I as a King should have stayed focused in the worship that I did. Instead, I slipped and looked for who ran crossing me etc. When I noticed these things, my concentration towards worship went down and I did not give my 100 percent.

Whatever we do, it is very important that we stay committed and give our full concentration to it. This holds true to our prayers. It is important to think GOD and only GOD when we offer prayers. 

Signing off,

SPH

Kshetram #4 - Thiruvellarai

Recently, we started on a quick 2 day pilgrimage tour down to Trichy with focus on "The Kovil" aka Srirangam kshetram, the first of 108 divya desams. After a wonderful darshan, my brother decided that we cover nearby divyadesams.. Thus our journey to 2,3,4,5,6 began..

I was completely awed by the temple architecture at the kshetram #4 - Thiruvellarai. The temple must be around a 1000 years old. The temple is a big temple with the praharams being very long.The shrine that gets its name as there are lots of white rocks in that place. The main deity is called Pundarikaakshan and his consort - Pankajavalli. This deity is very different from all other deities in other places. It is said that the 18 steps you climb before getting Lord's darshan is the eighteen chapters from Bhagvad Gita. Lord Vishnu in standing posture with both the sides - Chandran(Moon) and Suryan(Sun),  Periya thiruvadi - Garudan, Markandeyar, Goddess Lakshmi, Sibi chakravarthy(the priest there refered as human form of aadi seshan). The sanctum sanctorum is about 50 feet high. Goddess Lakshmi has the first right in this temple. There are only 3 temples where thaayar has the first right - Srivilliputhur, Naachiyar Kovil and Thiruvellarai. There is a separate sannidhi for thaayar amidst Chakkrathaazhwar, Hanuman.

One must definitely visit the temple at least for its size and the primary deity's beauty. This temple is about 15 kms from Srirangam. Periyaazhwar has sung 11 pasurams on this deity.

Signing off,

SPH

Music - medicine to mind, ears and soul

It has been 2 months since I posted. Been caught with different things.. Sorry for the break...Back with my favorite one - Music... 

Music and emotions are inseparable. We have always connected music to express our feelings.. Be it Saint Thyagaraja or Trinity or their contemporaries.. All of them have used music to express their devotion and total surrender to God.

Music is established as a stress reliever tool. Listening to music has a beneficial effect on us. When we listen to good music, I repeat, good music, it kind of lowers your stress levels, you feel relieved and it also sometimes acts as an energy booster.Some of us do exercising, while some do meditation (again with music on), some read to ease the stress level and some of us play music to relieve from the stress.

When you want to calm down, it is best to listen to classical music as it has an uncanny(can I say that) knack of holding your emotion and soothing your mind to help distracting from unnecessary thoughts what would otherwise be stress increasers or boosters.

It does help me in a greater extent as I am in the listening list. I listen to melodious pieces. I enjoy good music... Sometimes, I resort to listening to instrument (one that is close to my heart - violin, flute). 

One needs to select the type of music you want to listen to.. Sometimes, jarring music can turn the math around.. We can write so much about the benefits of listening to music. I leave to readers to explore..

When music is on, 

stress is gone! ;). 

Am sure when there is good music to ears, eyes, mind and soul, your BMI has a positive impact... BMI is Body, Mind and the Intellect and not Body Mass Index... :)

Signing off,
SPH

Who is a LEADER

I am writing this note after listening to Suki Sivam's speech(spiritual and motivational speaker) on "Who is the Leader". I was so inspired by the story that I thought I should share it. Please read on:

There was a bus in which a lady(Lady A) was traveling along with other passengers. She wakes up very early, prepares breakfast, lunch for the entire family and along side got ready to go to office. By the time, she completed her regular morning household chores, she did not have time to even eat for herself!. She had to get ready to her office.

She came rushing to the bus-stop and got in to the regular bus. By then, she was very tired(and very hungry as well). She was shivering and felt very uncomfortable. She had packed rice for her lunch. She decided, she will eat what was packed for lunch. She opened the lunch box and was about to eat. That is when the driver applied a sudden brake and all the food spilled on the bus floor. It accidentally fell on a lady (Lady B) sitting beside her. Lady B got upset, annoyed and was furious. Lady A felt very guilty(she did not have food, tired and the food is water) of having spilled and caused inconvenience to fellow passengers. 

Everyone looked at her in a nasty way. No one seemed to understand the ordeal she underwent that day. She cried and apologized to each and everyone who she felt might have got disturbed. She cleaned the entire place and collected the spilled food in a bag to throw. She almost wiped the entire place. The lady sitting next to her, said"What big sorry are you saying after all these things? My saree is already spoiled.. Your sorry can't give me back my saree. Lady A felt bad and put her head down.

There was a six year old boy watching this entire episode. He slowly approached the Lady A. He opened his lunch box and said, "Aunty, my mother has packed 3 idlies for lunch. Would you like to eat? Will this be enough?. Adding,"Since you were very hungry, you opened the lunch box. Else, you would not have opened the box, right?". Listening to what this boy said, all the fellow passengers were moved and started crying and felt bad about themselves. the boy was the only person who understood the lady's feeling and what she was going through while the adults did not even bother to talk to her. The boy's action changed the entire passenger's attitude. This little boy emerged as the Real Leader... Born Leader.

A Leader is a person who understands other's feelings and changes the situation so as to make the other person and others happy!.

Signing off,

SPH

Controlling your Anger

Every one of us, sometime or the other get annoyed or angry. Some of us throw tantrums like children whilst some raise our voice and show our anger. If we notice, it is all momentary. It take so much of practice to control anger. I do not take an exception to my anger. I must admit, I am not a good candidate to Best Anger Management Practice. ;).

Having said that, I was browsing the Internet and found this short story which conveys so much of meaning. I will make conscious effort not to nail my fence.... ;).

Once upon a time, there was a little boy who was very talented and creative and very bright. Let's say a natural leader. The kind of a person everyone would normally want to have on their team or project. He was also self-centered and had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for people around him including friends. So, his friends list shrunk. He told to himself, "May be this just shows how stupid people are!"

As he grew, his parents were concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a deal with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. "Whenever you lose your temper", he told the boy, "I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and rive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!"

Of course, those weathered boards in that old fence were as tough as iron and the hammer was very heavy, so it was not nearly as easy as it initially sounded. Nevertheless, by the end of first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Gradually over a period of weeks, the number dwindled down. He started holding his temper. That proved to be easier than driving nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy did not lose his temper at all and felt very proud. He told his parents about that accomplishment.

"As a sign of your success,"his father responded, "you get to PULL OUT one nail. In fact, you can do that each day that you don't lose your temper even once."

Many weeks passed. Finally one day, the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone. At that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one more good look at the fence. "You have done well, my son", he said. But, I want you to notice the holes that are left. 

No matter, what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won't matter how many times you say you're sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there.And a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than an old fence. They make us smile. They help us succeed. Some will even become friends who share our joys, and support us through bad times. And, if they trust us, they will also open their hearts to us. That means we need to treat everyone with love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.

Let us try to build bridges rather than barriers in Relationships!

Signing off,
SPH

Being a good rasika

At the outset, I am sorry for posting this very late though written in early January.

Music season for 2012 is over. For avid listeners like me, there is no beginning to a season and neither an end to it. Any day, any time, good music- I will try my level best to register my presence. This time around, I got lot of opportunity to listen to MUSIC for EARS and to SOUL!. However, buying tickets and sitting in the audience side, I witnessed some irritating moments. I wish to share and this is a humble request to all rasikas such that we make listening better and beautiful(if not for you personally, at least for fellow rasikas):

1. Rasikas, please do not chat when the concert has begun. This definitely irritates the others who like you have come to listen. If you want to talk about your family issues or anything, this DEFINITELY is not the place. Please go out, talk freely and come back and listen peacefully.

2. Music & movie - I have heard from some friends that they like to watch a movie right from the time the advertisements appear with jarring sound. Please apply the same to music - please be there at least 5 minutes before the concert begins. Do you like watching it half way? - No right! The same should be applied here.

3. Please, do not get up when the Thani aavarthanam(any instrument) is happening. This is like insulting the accompanying artists(sorry for being a little harsh). It is a team work. TA does not mean the artist plays separately for himself or for the singing artist. It is to showcase his/her brilliance in presenting the song (or even to embellish the concert sometimes). Thani is not an INTERMISSION. I try not to go out. Sometimes, I am forced to. I will try to avoid that as well. 

4. Life members, please make sure you come to the concert on time. Being a life member does not mean that you can walk-in to the concert anytime you want before the concert ends. It definitely done not create a respect to the artist.

5. Please do not get up and leave the concert when the artist sings Mangalam or Thillana. That is also another interesting flavor to the concert.

6. Above all, please put your cell phones in silent mode or best - switch off. This reminds me of what I read in a newspapar recently. During this season, somewhere, Chitraveena exponent Shri Ravikiran requested the audience to turn their mobile to silent mode/turn off OR set their ring tone to Varali ragam. Sounds funny, but has so much meaning to it.

7. Once the concert is over, comment about the concert to your close people and not to strangers sitting by the side of you. What you like, they might not and what they like, you might not relish.

8. I remember one incident - 1 mama(an elderly person) was quick to comment after an really excellent concert(according to me), got over. "Enna paadaraan avan... Naan edhir paartha maadhiri illai". Question to mama, "What did you expect, what did the singer not deliver?"

To sabhas:

Sabhas do a great service in all the aspects right from best arrangements to motivating artists by awarding the best set. However, there are little things that can be taken care of and make the place wonderful.

1. Ensure the mic quality is good and speakers work well It should be an aid to the artist and not hamper in their creativity.

2. It would be great, if the seating arrangement is properly done. No paavadai tapes, etc, PLEASE!

3. I know this might not be possible - Still, please try to avoid reserving a seat. Sometimes, there are vacant seats in the 4th or 5th rows itself. 

3. Clear instructions, directions would greatly help. In case, tickets are not available for a concert or tickets are sold only the previous day, it would be good if it appears in the dailies. Rasikas will not be disappointed.

To artists:

I do not have anything to say, except when you sing krithis in rare ragams, it would be nice if you mention before the start.It would be really helpful if you could also announce the parent(in case of janya) or melakartha number if its MK. That way, it is easy to understand better. Not all would know a Salagam or a Sudha Seemandhini etc. This is just a humble request.

Tail piece note: I have heard from my parents, that in those days concerts would run for 5 to 6 hours of which Thani alone goes for 1 hour. Inquisitively, I asked my father wouldn't people walk like how they do these days? - My father's answer was - No one will get up and every one will sit and enjoy as they would have finished their food when they come and they respected each and every artist... How blissful it had been, right?
If it is possible for a 5 hours concert, I humbly feel it must be possible for its exact half - 2.5 hours concert, right? Let us give due respect to every accompanist on the stage!.

Signing off,

SPH

My listening to Music Season 2012

In general, there is a saying, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Planning is important to everyone and in everything..  Whether it is the musicians or the rasikas, planning is required. There are so many rasikas who plan well such that they attend almost all the concerts and stay for a few songs and hop sabhas. Somehow, I personally do not like to go in the mid of any concert unless there is an emergency. Last year(2011), I planned to attend many concerts depending on my work schedule. Sometimes, in life, many things happen when it is totally un-planned. When I had planned, I achieved very less.

This time, I decided I am not going to plan. I will attend concerts as it goes. I was able to attend to at least 20 concerts. Shri Vijay Siva's concert organized by Brahma Gana Sabha was the "pillaiyar suzhi" for my ears which has gotten ready to listen more.I am sorry for posting so late (blame it to procrastination). This year season was very special to me for:

1. I got an opportunity to listen to more concerts this time.

2. Acquaintances with great people gives you positive thoughts and spreads positive vibes.

3. Music music music - Good quality music.

4. First time, at MA, got a chance to listen to concerts thoroughly sitting in dias.- Adhu oru thani sugam...

5. Excellent RTPs....

and many many more.....

You just need ONE reason to listen to GOOD, QUALITY music..

Every concert was a gem in its own ways. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to concerts and of course, when you get good set of people to accompany to enjoy the music, what more do you ask for?. You will but not fail to LEAD ( Listening lEading to Anandham and Divinity).

I went to almost all the artists' concerts - ranging from a beginner to a junior level to mid level to seasoned musician and also super seniors. I must admit, it was a real blessing.

Just when I thought I am missing listening to instrumental music, there sprung a surprise. Ranjani Gayatri duo gave an excellent performance in Violin. It was the first time I listened to them play LIVE and Oh my God, "the fingers literally flew (intentional vernacular translation)".

What more, I did get another opportunity to listen to another mellifluous instrument that was once used as accompanying instrument - Veena. My cousin played in Sri KGS and I was there "aajar".

Normally, concerts span for a 2 1/2 hour duration and some cases goes up to 3 hours. When you get a chance to listen to a kind of Marathon, what will you say - Yes, right? Yes, I also listened to RG's 4 hours and  TMK's 4 hours concert.

I intend posting the list of songs (partial list of concerts I attended) of the songs rendered in Season 2012. 

The 4 hours concert was something special.. 

Jan 5th and 6th concerts at Kalarasana with Smts Ranjani & Gayatri with superb accompanying artists. The team enthralled the audience continuously for 4 hours. 

5th - Smts RG superbly supported by Shri HN Bhaskar on the Violin, Shri Arunprakash Krishnan on the Mridangam and Shri KV Gopalakrishnan on the Kanjira. 

6th was Shri TMK's concert excellent support by Shri RK ShriramKumar on the violin, Shri Tanjore Sankaran on the Mridangam and Shri B S Purushotham on the Kanjira and Shri Guru Prasad on the Ghatam.

I loved both the ones. Not that I did not like the others. Listening to 4 hours is entirely different from normal season concerts for 2 and half to 3 hours.

With God's blessing, parents' blessings, Guru's karunai, , my best siblings support, my listening spree is continuing.. I hope to listen more in 2013.

I am not going to comment/critic on anyone's music for 2 reasons : I do not possess/ qualify the technical skills and expertise; it would not be apt for me to comment about stalwarts. I leave to music critics and Connoisseurs.

Signing off,

SPH