D K Pattammal

I'm sure we all remember Michael Jackson's death splashed across the whole newspaper for days on end. Everyone seemed to be mouthing words of sadness and people seemed to be carrying banners, out here, in India. Just imagine America. While there is really nothing wrong calling him a legend, a superstar, an icon, a gift to the world and all that, I'm sure only some of us know that the iconic singer D.K. Pattammal, passed away on 21st July. Agreed, MJ was popular and he had an outstanding fan following, D.K. Pattammal, Nithyashree's grandmother, was born to an orthodox Brahmin family in Kanchipuram, near Chennai. She was 90 when she passed away, due to arthritis. Those were the days when only Devdasi women used to sing. Brahmin women had to sing from behind a curtain. Despite all those setbacks, she made a niche in the world of music. She was the first one to delve into the 'Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi' concept, which was monopolized by men. Ragam-Tanam-Pallavi implies that an aalap is sung in detail before the actual rendition of the song. (An aalap is the extension of a particular tune, stretching as 'aaaaaa', for the uninitiated) She popularized the pallavi (the commencement of the words of the song) among women. She never sang love ballads. She was a freedom fighter, who sang Subramanya Bharati's songs. 'Aaduvome' and 'Parukulley Nalla Naadu' was sung by her in 1947. Her timeless numbers are listened to even till today. She was one among the trinity of the first women singers, the others being M.L. Vasantha Kumari (Sudha Raghunathan's guru, who named her daughter MaLaViKa, after the initials of her guru's name) and M.S. SubbuLakshmi. Not only was D.K. Pattammal a great singer, but also an empowered woman. It is indeed shocking and saddening that for a legend of her stature, who contributed towards the country's independence, one prominent daily gives her just one-eighth of a page, and the other doesn't mention her death at all. I really dislike to call it death, because she will continue to live in music lovers' hearts. I wish newspapers respected this great lady by atleast giving her a front-page coverage, for not only did she sing, she started the tradition of being a women singer. It is for people like her that I feel proud to learn Carnatic music, and I'm sure all the connoisseurs of music will agree to this. Torchbearers like Ishwar Chandra VidyaSagar and John Drinkwater Bethume laid the foundation for education being imparted to women, way back in 1843. The same way, the last of the trinity of the greatest of women singers, has illuminated the path for women singers. Whether it may be pursuing a career in Carnatic music, or just singing as a hobby, women singers have to thank the Trinity. Even after her death, she will continue to live on in our hearts, for believing in equality, patriotism, principles and most importantly, her divine music. Moments like this we realize the merits of being a proud Indian. Cheers!!

Science, Commerce or Arts

I might as well forego the 'Commerce or Arts', because the cardinal rule sweeping Mumbai and lashing so badly says that Science is what you need to succeed, and all the smart uns 'take' science, the not-so-smart ones take commerce, and the not-at-all-smart uns take arts. Everytime someone sees my eligibility form, or any form, where my choice 'Commerce' is ticked, they yap, "YOU are taking commerce? Why? I thought you wanted to take science.' Yea, I smile, I nod, and say, 'You're the thousandth person saying this.' What's worse? People asking you if you are sure of your choice. I mean, after a lot many years, has this 'Science Bug' bitten us. Way back into the 1930s, people generally opted for arts, either to major in law, economics or civil services. Might be techno boom which has hit us, makes people realize 'IT' is the 'It' thing. Everyone literally chants the names of engineering colleges, and of the merits of the greatest of great IT sector. Medicine too takes a backseat (again, people's mouths twitch: why 'waste' five-six years?). No one, yes, no one realizes that our Honourable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is an economics graduate from the prestigious London School of Economics. All people care is that 'laaj' ke liye, and in accordance to your oh-so-wonderful marks, you have to take science. Forget the biggies, even people, aged 14, 15 and 16 comment on the various merits of science. Surprisingly they never come up with a demerit for commerce. 90% of the 'smart science clique' wish to do their masters from the very well known IIT, or the land of honey USA. All the Ivy League Universities and Engineering Colleges are known by heart in India, and every Indian, mostly knows their rankings and discuss about their merits. I don't think the Americans know about our 'awesome' universities, which are not on the great lips of great people, like Benares Hindu University (IT-BHU) etc. Even people taking commerce and arts ask, 'Why are you opting for commerce? Even I'm doing it!' Parents coax children to take science, even if they loathe it. So many students positively hate refraction, chemical bonding, organic chem, electromagnetism, half-life and so many more things. Even if you 'rock' at geography, know where the remotest place is located, even if you 'rock' at history, knowing the whole lineage of Babar, if you fail to know what the hell sin i upon sin r is, you are 'dumb'. Why is the parameter for judging smartness 'science'? Can we exist in a world without literature, art, theatre, drama, economics, chartered accountants, lawyers, accountants and financiers? Duh, no. Then why treat them as 'second class'? The prejudice towards science, justified as the 'right choice' is really unfair. Unfair to those of us who wish to pursue what we want. Half the students drop out of science classes, stating that they are 'rigorous'. Is it because of that, or because they loathe science? Even the commerce stream is equally rigorous. It is just that it is not brought to light. I really, really hate the 'Science' word coming from everybody. If you get above 94%, you 'have' to 'take' science. No options. Some dearies always ask, 'Ruparel, Ruia or Swami?' If I say Podar, they will yip-yap, 'Commerce? Arre, take science. Bahut scope hein.' People don't realise that we can create scope.
Guys, gals, everyone....let us really be fair and opt for the streams which we really want, and not be 'automatons' following the 'Science' crowd. It really doesn't help if we live in a world full of engineers. We need them, no doubt, but other professions are important. I hope some parents don't coax their children into taking science. It really is 'In Pursuit for Sadness' for them. If 'doing well in life' is the criterion, I guess Dr. Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram and some others have carved a niche for themselves. When are people going to realize that whatever you do, really doesn't matter, as long as you do it well? Please, do respect other streams. We aren't doing wasteful courses. It is the insecurity of the people which wish to stick the 'majority' ka stream. I'm glad, atleast some of us, have our parents' support. That surely can help us go a long way.
Cheerios!!:-D

ODC-Odyssey

The Gregorian Alumni:-)

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaah!! Come 18th July, and we are hosting ODC- the interschool festival for ICSE schools. Lot of hard work, co-ordination....everything has gone into the work we're doing for ODC.
My event- Buzz:p

Buzz is a melange of word puzzles, jumbles, trivia and spelling. It promises to be fun, for all the wordsmiths who will be furiously spelling away- to glory, hopefully. While the words being moderately difficult, it should be quite satisfying for the team who will clinch the 'Winner's Prize.' The Prize is that you earn points for your school, and based on the cumulative total of all the events, the winners will be declared. A great show of spirit and enthusiasm for your school, and FfUuNnnnnn...interschool fests rock.

More on my feelings and 'luhv' for interschool fests- later. The interesting and knowledgable fun we have!!
:-)

The things I love doing

Ten things i so 'luhv' doing: (Random Order)- actually 12!!

1) Reading. Books/joke books/encyclopaedias....just about anything suffices my hunger, my passion for books!! I've loved them ever since I saw them. My fav books are just too many, maybe another blog.

2)The landline. I love talking on the landline, not on the mobile, just because the landline's waaaaay more comfortable. Gabbing away to glory is just so awesome, especially when it rains!! I can talk for hours on end(yeh, I do most of the talking) and it really doesn't tire me out. I love chatting and talking:-P

3)Solving crosswords, math puzzles, riddles, word quizzes, G.K. stuff- anything. Its insta-fun!! Mensa is the best! It flexes your nerves. Try Mumbai Mirror. You'll feel like just putting your chai aside:P

4)Going on long drives, listening to music. I just love long drives. They are mega fun.

5)Meeting up with friends at home rather than going for lunch. Somehow, those places cut down the nice warmth. All of us at someone's place is so homely, and so nice:P (Eateries are good when you really want binge...especially the junk food craving though)

6) Just doing nothing. That really gives you an insight of what you actually do. Doing things without agendas, like just talking to mom, dad and sis. It's fun, u know.

7)Music. This practically features on everyone's list. Anything from classical to regional to western to tapori to Bollywood, we just love music, don't we?

8) Writing- I really really really really love writing. Poems, stories, short stories, novellas, haikus, sonnets...anything!! Blogging included:-P

9)Maintaining my photo cum everything journal. It's damn innovative, and a great hit with friends. Can't help praising my journal, lol.I luhv it. The door of my room is creatively decorated. It is a melange of beautiful and cute stuff. (Ask my sis)

10)'Informating' myself. The word looks like it actually exists, right...and it is nice:-). From my fav 'Illustrated Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words' to Wikipedia to Google to Answers to everything, i just love updating myself.

Can I make it eleven? Twelve?

11) Last, but DEFINITELY not the least, I luhv gardening. Especially clearing the soil, putting 'homemade' manure, using all those equipments, watering plants, the beautiful creepers...just everything. I love it when my plants bloom, and the window is so spectacularly green. Afflatus, you could say, for my writing. It instills in me a sense of calm and peace.

12) Photography. Clicking away to glory! From sunsets to my garden to lakes to forests, I love clicking pics. I even have a pic of the elusive but lovable Giant Red Squirrel, found in Bhimashankar(the only place in the world), the State Animal of Maharashtra. I love the Squirrel's sounds. I also luhv the squirrels outside my house, and their pics and sounds, my fav pastime during Board Exams. Squirrel eating nuts, playing, twitching their mouths, running after the nuts I threw, finding their own...everything!! Not to forget, I also love to click myself. Who doesn't like preening and posing before the cam?

Hobbies. Pure passions. Loves.:-)

'Totally unaware'- read on

Does so-called beauty(literally translated to mini clothing and wannabe behaviour) actually attract more viewers than general knowledge? If yes, that is really pathetic. Skinny dipping, crying, hugging, ranting, gossiping, slander and being fake seems to be the 'IT' thing these days. In such shows(I'm not naming the one), the most shocking thing is that a person, aged more than fifteen, answers that there are nine continents in the world, and that America is on the western frontier of India. Whatever happened to the history we learnt, and the geography we learnt when we were eight? Something as basic as these were sectioned into the 'brain' category, and hey, the brain category smartie has given this answer. Yeah, yet these attract TRP ratings, because you can see the make up sets and tubes of lip gloss open, the water tap of the eye leaking at all times, consoling just so that people know you exist, clothes which are designed to only explain the human anatomy, to put in more mildly. All those quizzes which involved asking such excellent questions are just for the 'nerds'. Nerds are not nerds, they are intellectuals. For whoever who disrespects them, everytime they open Facebook, its a 'nerd's creation. Everytime their mobile goes 'beep', it's a nerd's creation. Yet people have the 'smarts' to say that they rock, when the whole world is running on banks, structures, offices, administration and all that. Things like 'nine continents' in the world are exasperating, and yeah, the extra two does exist in the heads of those(I'm not commenting on the likes), so vast, so huge, but just totally empty. People really have lost their sense of taste(did they really have it?) Federer v/s Roddick held no interest among the majority, but other simultaneous shows on TV did. Federer clinched his 15th Grand Slam trophy(yeaaaaaaaaah Roger Federer!), and Roddick inched neck-to-neck till the finish.
People think it's cool to be dumb, hence they act dumb. They never realize that by acting dumb, they actually become dumb, and when the 'smarts' are required for winning competitions that require you to spread malice among your contestants, and when the hosts act really indifferent, the brain never really works.
Most importantly, it is damn 'uncool' to be dumb, and not know basic stuff. No one, yeah, no one is born dumb. We have to be smart- academically, or non-academically, or in sports, or in extra-curriculars, or atleast knowing whom to sugar-coat and where to be nice. It's a fact, but even in negative things, or things not liked by many, the people who do it well, are the people who have the 'smarts'. Period.

Think about all this. Watching tennis or badminton even without knowing the rules of the game, does inspire you, but you don't realise it. You just feel that a ball or a shuttle cock is being passed about. Programmes like (you're getting the point) them really cull out feelings of gray, envy and a disgusting want. You don't realise that too. You realise the glitz and the glamour. We always bother to look for the things that we realise, but the things that you do not realise, are the ones, which, you ultimately will realize.Trust me:-)

I just wanna blog- mon cher Francais!!

I really want to rant my feelings, yeah, just randomly. All my pent-up emotions need the keyboard. I randomly feel cathartic, and just so sometimes....My Francais really helps me...I mean I just cannot live without French. I like French for these reasons:

1)Meena Ma'am- a very talented teacher!
2)French Class Fun! (The raving, the ranting, the gupshup, the gossip, the talk- and my policy of never bunking French classes)
3) Just the nine of us! (Me, Sushree, Pooja, Aakanksha, Mansi, Vidya, Foram, Shiksha and Sonali) July 14th...we're waiting, yeah!!

And,
L'amour vient seulement à ceux qui sont prêt à attendre. The French may not really be gramatically right, but yeah, Francais...je vous aime...vous êtes mon favorite...parce que vous êtes mon ami et philosophe et guide!! (I really want to learn German, and Dutch too!)

This blog has neither rhyme nor reason, but sometimes, one really feels like writing abstract stuff. French has helped me in more ways than one, so ya, this blog does have reason! (OMG, I'm really getting boring with random stuff) Writing really does do you good. So does playing Aladdin. Yeah, I just cannot 'get' some things....:-):-)

Hey, blogging is damn therapeutic!!

Anne Frank, Hitler, Jews

A Must-Read!!

I have always wondered, searched, asked, why Hitler abhorred the Jews(particularly) and subjected them to such cruelty. Some reasons are:
1) Maybe he would have inflicted this ruthlessness on any community, but he felt that because Jews were succesful bankers and lawyers, he had to bring them down.
2) A Jew doctor couldn't save his mother from the clutches of death.
3) He may have felt that Germany lost WW one because of the Jews. It was unfair that Germany had to pay such heavy penalties, according to Hitler, and if the penalties hadn't existed, maybe Hitler would never have risen. (Or Mussolini.)
Anne Frank's diary really moved me. How can any of us even try to imagine thinking before turning on a tap, and eating wilted lettuce? She has so beautifully penned her thoughts, which ascend in maturity throughout the diary. Most of her notes in the diary seem interconnected to the next one, but surprisingly, the last note on 1st August, 1944 just made her pen a complete note of how there were two sides to Anne. The depth of her content makes you really think. Think of how a girl of 15 can have the forbearance to say that people were basically good? And that if God had inflicted sorrow on them, he'd certainly spread sunshine over them? Moreover, after reading the epilogue, of how Anne was separated from her family, one really cannot imagine the extent of horrors. www.annefrank.org really completes the book reading, as the Van Daans are actually Van Pels. The mother Petronella is actually Auguste, and Albert Dussel is Fritz. Lies is actually a shortened form of Hannelies, and even Anne's christened name was Annelies. So that makes for Anne, Hanne, and Sanne(another friend)!
We feel we are actually living with them in Prinsengracht, one of the canals in Amsterdam, and become so engrossed in Anne's life, her thoughts about her parents, Miep, Elli, Kraler, Koophuis, Margot, her adolescent love towards Peter, the Van Daans and Dussel. Wikipedia gives an insight on the gruesome concentration camps, and I honestly felt really bad, and that is an understatement, for you really feel darkness enveloping your body. I really pity the Jews, and hope that God had given them immense courage during the war. Yeah, I really do not feel like putting my trademark smiley at the end of this blog. Wish all of us could really go to Netherlands or Germany and pay homage and obeisance to these souls who suffered incognito and showed resistance against Hitler.

Movie Reviews

Sarayu
Many things strike me as funny, and yeah, illogical. The thing which comes to my mind is reviews on movies. As soon as movies release, three or four people, working with newspapers, or freelancing, express their opinion, mind you, their opinion, and not the vox populi. They assign stars, generally one being 'BAD', two being 'FAIR', three being 'GOOD', four being 'VERY GOOD', and five being 'EXCELLENT' (or Citizen Kane, as that movie crossed all standards of ratings and stars.) Very much like kanjoos(stingy) teachers, who 'REFUSE' to give marks(just some of them), people who rate movies act like critics knowing every inch of filmmaking, aspects of camera angles, emotions displayed(acting like Sigmund Freud scrutinizing each facial expression). My point is, after every Friday, whether a blockbuster or not, people decide going for movies (Saturday Night Fever!) based on the reviews. 'That movie just got two stars, let us skip it.' 'That movie got a four star rating, let us just go!' I presume even movies portraying Anti-Semitism, World Wars and Russian Revolutions must have 'obtained' four stars, and yeah, so do the people just blindly go? Whatever happened to self opinion! What if, coincidentally, or purposely, the movie critic(or reviewer) is known to the movie-maker, are they actually coaxed to give good ratings? How can one person's opinion stop you from going and watching the movie? Just by reading the book's synopsis, can you get to know the content of the book? No! So, just by the highlighted stars, and their opinions (which involves the list of actors and their roles, how they acted etc.) can one actually decide to skip a movie? If, for some reason, one particular actor or actress is undergoing a bad phase, one 'has' to criticize their way of acting. If the world thinks the success at the Box Office depends on the actors, directors, producers, the storyline, budget and publicity, they are totally mistaken. The success of the movie is controlled by the hands of movie reviewers. People oblivious to newspapers read them every Saturday morning. So if a film grossed 200 crores, some part of it definitely belongs to the critics. Whether coincidental or not, the word of mouth regarding a movie always depends on the reviews. Have people lost the ability to think for themselves, and mindlessly call the critics' opinion theirs? That is their opinion...to equate opinions!!:-)