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