Very very sound, sober and always special...!

I have read numerous articles about VVS Laxman's classic at Mohali. From greats like Viv Richards to Sunny Gavaskar; columnists like Peter Roebuck to Sambit Bal; from commentators like Harsha Bhogle to Sanjay Manjrekar. The number almost amounted to 40; I kept patiently reading them, sharing them and enjoying the happiness about the player.


At the stroke of 1:37 p.m. on 5th October, 2010; the most uncertain thing certainly happened much to the woes of Punter. Tears kept rolling down (as if I was bearing the pain), office cafeteria became ecstatic, so was I. Such was the impact that the victory made.


There is a reason why I used the word 'sober' in the title. He seems unperturbed by his physical conditions or the situations in the match. And that is what he says, "I enjoy batting under those circumstances". From the land of extremes (I mean it) where he has no backing like Dada has in Kolkata or Sachin has in whole India; he held his head high, he let his bat do the talking and more importantly he backed himself. You can imagine the plight when your own family members overlook your talent.

As a fellow Hyderabadi or an Andhraite, I would like to throw light on a few points about this player which I guess no one has touched upon.


1. Andhra Pradesh rose as an IT hub, thanks mightily to Mr. Ramalinga Raju of Satyam. And thanks to the same person, he put whole of Andhra to a shame.

2. Andhra Pradesh produced Mohd. Azharuddin. It felt proud when he was the most successful captain at his helm. And thanks to the same Ajju Bhai, the pride became a shame.


3. Hyderabad is called a cosmopolitan city. And thanks to the Telangana movement. everyone is saying bye bye to this wonderful jewel in India's crown.


4. Andhra Pradesh was ruled by Chief Ministers who rallied on Telugu's self esteem and also, those who find themselves at the knees of some big guns at Delhi.


I feel ashamed when I think of these things and when the whole world points you with these. And yes, this Very Very Special is also from the same state. Ironically, he also happens to share his birthday with A.P., the state which has seen both the extremes. And this state has never given him back what he has given us. This stands out to show the nature of VVS.If he would have committed one mistake in his life, he would have been blamed, his effigy would have been burnt and what not. And still, he, with the same smile that he gives after conquering Everests, obliges every Indian with his bat, wrists, that back which does not back him when required. And the same state did not pay him back, will never pay him back.


As Harsha Bhogle rightly tweeted, 

Laxman is a solid back page achiever. Not everyone can recognize a diamond.

 And even, my state has not recognized. 

Lets move on;  hope he scores more runs, saves more tests and wins many matches (not awards).


A salute to the true soldier who never expects anything in return. This one is for you VVS!

Mahabaleshwar

Impressions from the Temple!!!

A 3 yr old, Ashish comes to you running and says "Mujhe naya kapda mila, bataaun kya?" The shine in his eyes, makes our eyes, glitter with the same spark.

A 4 yr old Sumit, just wakes up and asks you "Bhook lagri hai, kuch hai kya khane?". Heart melting words from the tiny tot isn't it???

A 4th class kid, Chetan says "Aap mujhe aur sikhayiye, main seekh lunga". Expresses his desire to learn the political map of India.

A 6th class lad, Suraj practices football (a torn, punctured one). Showing the desire to be on top of the world with his foot.

Some 40-odd children laugh their heart out, holding their stomachs watching 'Tom n Jerry'. Reflecting their innocence through lovely smiles.

These were some of the impressions, when I visited an Orphanage in Pune (I do not want to call it an orphanage anymore). It's a temple of healing, temple of learning... temple of feeling, temple of earning.

I call it a temple of learning, as these kids learn everything here, be it a moral one or a curriculum one. I call it a temple of earning, as the kids here earn their 'relationships'. They earn their real 'close ones'.

You hear, read and see stories of many people donating money, lending financial support to the under privileged. When I visited this temple, I came to know that these kids are least concerned about the finances. They need a hug, they need that warmth, they need the care, they need that affection which you show. The smiles that blossom, the happiness that they get is indescribable. It should be seen with the naked eye. I felt, on that day, donating 2 hrs of your precious time is far far better than donating lump sums.  You will definitely feel the sense of satisfaction that you have helped someone in need.

When you hear the stories of each one of them, your heart is bound to be melted. You will rather pull them to your side and start speaking some sweet n cute words, that you never thought of.

Coming to the activities that we do with the kids. We just involve them in some kind of events which give them enormous joy, which help in their learning like Story telling, song recitation, puzzles, memory games, drawings and paintings etc.

The main motto of our mission is to find that 'hidden' talent in each and everyone, and help them in that direction. There are about 100 kids who have come with a ray of hope. Some sing well, some play well, some have unbelievable memory power, some have superb creativity. Picking the talent is one thing and grooming and moulding them into a professional is another one. In this process, we want to show the right path for their future, bright path with the right culture.

So far, it's been very interesting with them. I am very excited working, playing, sharing and in the process learning 'what is life' with these kids.

Here, I am calling for some creative ideas to help us in moving forward with the goal. Any ideas that come up in your mind, might pave for a illuminated future of these young ones.

PS : Spl thanks to Mr. Sekhar uncle, my friends Sairam and Balaji for letting me know about this temple.

Music and Me..!

Music has always been my companion. This blog describes about my journey with it and my passion towards it.

Who doesn't get amused by Music? The God's gift which has stupendous power to soothe the minds, calm the hearts and rejuvenate the spirits.

I am an absolute no one to talk about the greatness of it but would like to share my feelings.

Fortunately, I was brought up in the traditional town of Tirupathi where, something always used to happen with regard to the classical music.

With Annamacharya Kala Mandir and Thyagaraja Mandapam well within the proximity, many times I used to go with my uncle to listen to the Kacheris(concerts) by stalwarts. Though I used to understand only bits and pieces, there was nothing which used to attract me more than cricket and Sachin. My sisters were learning the Carnatic classical music but I could do nothing more than humming along with them in a pathetic voice. 

Days passed, years rolled.. Now the time had come for the real taste of mine.  I started singing Sathya Sai bhajans, initially in my home and then everywhere. It changed me a lot. It induced in me the passion for Raagam, Bhaavam and Thaalam. The high pitches, low pitches, variations, all were fascinating me. And till date, I am singing. This was rather the turning point for my fascination towards the art of music. 

But the purpose of writing this blog was something else. I watched a movie called 'Morning Raga' and was mesmerized with the things dealt in it including the music.

Music is divine and universal. There may be different types and styles of music. The music is same but the presentation is what that differs. We had movies like Sri K Viswanath's Shankara Bharanam which enthralled people all around the world with Sri K V Mahadevan's memorable music and Sri S P Balu's resonant and overwhelmingly receptive rendition. We have also had movies like Rock On! which rocked all the urban people. But the thought of fusing these types of music and bringing it as one entity is really worth applauding. The fair point of this movie is that, it does not disappoint the expectations of the audience. It involves you to that extent that some may get tears rolling down their cheeks. 

The caption 'Meeting of the worlds' is very apt as it 'fuses' both the western and the classical music, keeping the vortex as the 'music' itself. The eccentric part of the film is fusion. You can call it an attempt to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity, village and the city, western and classical music and the young and the old. Let us see what impressed me so much.

The Morning Raga starts beautifully with the picturesque Godavari backdrop and two women performing  'Mathey Malaya' , one vocal and the other accompanying her with the violin. So, soothing start to the movie, you will get involved right from the beginning. The story grips soon after that.Both of them leave the village to perform a concert in the city and the bus meets with an accident and falls in the river in which the violinist and the vocalist's son die. From there on, the other lady (Swarnalatha) decides not to perform in a city.

Accidentally, the son of the violonist is a musician himself and his goal is to set up a western musical band. He meets Pinky, a western singer and they slowly crawl towards their goal . But, soon they realize that they are lacking something in them. Abhinay happens to meet Swarnalatha when she sings the soul stirring  'Pibare Raama Rasam' and he gets mesmerized by the way of her singing. He thinks that, this is the one which he was lacking and he becomes very stubborn that she should sing for his band. Swarnalatha always refused for this but offers to teach classical music to Pinky . The songs selection is worth a mention here. As always, they start with  'Lambodara Lakumikara', continue with the sweet  'Samaja Varagamana' and end with the song perfect for the situation  'Marugelara O Raghava'. This song comes when Pinky sees the photo of the dead Swarnalatha's son. The western beats in between these songs are awesome and amusing.  

Another twist in the movie is, Pinky happens to be the daughter of the drunk driver who causes the accident. Isn't it really the Meeting of the Worlds? Somehow, Pinky manages to remove the bridge phobia of Swarnalatha and the latter comes to perform for her 'new' son.

And, the situational perfection goes to the peak when the old woman from the village renders  'Thaye Yashoda' in front of the city crowd. She dedicates the song to her 'son' and it takes you to the world of Mahabharata and reminds us of Yashoda Krishna. Sudha Ranganathan's rendition, the violin's symphonies and Mani Sharma's music are really hair-rising and will make your body vibrate. It is a masterpiece. Always felt, Mani has the talent to give such tunes but this was really awesome. The director tried 5 music directors for this song and none could match with the present one.  It is a song which redefines music, the fusion music.

Three people from different age groups, different backgrounds, different tastes converge because of the great power, Music. And the same music made me forget the world and increased the passion in me.

I always had the respect for the arts but Morning Raga increased it exponentially. Thanks to the director, Mahesh Dattani, producer Raghavendra Rao and the music directors Mani Sharma and Amit Heri. 

I am yet to come out of the Morning Raga hangover. 

PS : A special thanks to my friend Subbu, who himself is a musician, for making all the attempts in getting the DVD of the movie.

Politricks of the Congress

Well!!!  Here I am for my second post...! I was a bit confused on the topic to write but as I have promised, we will look into the politricks of the largest party of the present Parliament.

Some of my close ones may rise eyebrows on the topic selected, as they know I am a supporter of the INC. I would like to ask a couple of questions before I present myself here.

1. Is there any vision for the present govt.? or its only goal is to rule the people in as many states as possible?
2. Is it under the pressure of the ally forces like DMK and TC?
3. Is it that they are getting saved by their 'secularism'?


We will discuss these points in detail now...

Firstly, the 'Aam Aadmi' slogan by the Congress might be the most popular one in the recent times, rightly countering the 'India Shining' of their rivals. But, the fruits of the govt. schemes are seldom reaching the masses. The friction on the path is too much and not to forget the corruption of our babus and netas.
I guess nothing is going front on this front. The prince is busy covering Uttar Pradesh, just to get back to power and the mighty Pranab da is dreaming whether he will ever become the CM of Bengal in his lifetime (Just like LK Advani). Who is caring about the masses? Are there any charismatic leaders like Naveen Patnaik, late YSR, Nitish Kumar at the center for the Congress..? Well, you may have to think for a while to get the answer. Hardly, one or two or nil. Most of the cabinet ministers are from Rajya Sabha and no public push for them. How do they come to know about the people's miseries? Enjoying the world in the ACs, does it serve the purpose of politics?

The recent politics of the INC clearly exposes its hunger for power. It can join hands with Mulayam or Mayawati and both BSP and SP, whom it will support in the future. It can join hands with the tainted Shibu Soren for mere power but doesn't backtrack on sacking Mr. Shashi Tharoor for his 'involvement' in something. If it requires, it will support Lalu, Paswan and when not needed, it will kick them. Well, one word comes to my mind.. 'opportunistic' and that word perfectly suits the strategy of the Congress.

Now, the second point.. I reckon, almost everyone's answer for the second question will be a big YES.
There is no point in discussing this one as the recent changes suggest it very transparently. My simple question here is : If Shashi Tharoor was asked to resign for his IPL involvement, why can't Mr. Raja of the DMK be asked to do the same for his 40k crore allegations. Why is this bias for the allied parties? Again, this point complements the first one, about the opportunistic politics. The same was the case with T R Baalu and now Praful Patel joins the league.

Thirdly, last week, Maya supported the Congress in cut motion to oppose the communal forces to attain power. Are these simple things pushing India back? Once Maya saves and once Mulayam comes. Congress is just getting saved by its 'secularism'. But the question is, is it doing enough to keep up its stance?

Well, certainly if the prince has to become the king in 2014, then they have to come out of these points and concentrate on the people. They should not forget that it is because them that they are here. 

Is India paying price for not having strong opposition?

Folks... this is my first blog and I would like to take a dig at our esteemed opposition in the prestigious Parliament of India.

I was deeply perturbed by the way, things are dealt within the House. The issues are so simple but yet seem very complicated. For eg., the Shashi Tharoor and Modi spat. The so called Third Front rose the issue, obviously for some political mileage. Instead they could have gone for people's issues. They wasted near about a week on this nasty issue.

There is one topic that always revolves around the heads of the Opposition. If they do not have any other  things, they get back to this one and create nuisance. Can you guess that?????

It is the Price rise....!

Be it BJP, the Left or our Teesra front, everyone claims it is their issue.... except the Government. But where is this heading towards? Politically driven drama has no takers.  Is it really helping the people or it is just to show off people like Nitin Gadkari ,("hey ppl... look at us too... We are still alive. I am a national party president").  Creating huge public nuisance and apologizing, does it makes any sense? Just wasting public time and money for their private publicity.

Why is the BJP not taking a dig at the Centre on the Maoist issue..? Why is the left keeping mum about their "Laal Comrades".

Is it just because, Maoists are dwelling well in the NDA-led states? Or is it just that Congress dealt the issue well in AP where the Police chased away the Maos to the jungles of Orissa, Chattisgarh?

Or is it that West Bengal is growing as the hub for the Naxals???


Why is our Opposition not thinking and suggesting ways to tackle these problems..? Why the hell, they are creating non sense on senseless topics.

Well, the answer is Paisa and Politics go hand-in-hand...!!!