Music Lovers or Mischief Mongers

Following is my rejoinder for the articles “A Navroz by any other name…” by Baradwaj Rangan dated 23rd Dec and “Give Carnatic music a chance” by Swaroop Mamidipudi dated 30th Dec.

During music season, it is overwhelming to see the number of musicians and number of concerts, so is the number of writers and critics. I feel that people with good writing skills think they can write anything under the sky, including carnatic music without having a sense for this genre.

In this kind of articles, it has become customary to compare the carnatic music viz western music or hindusthani music as well as compare carnatic music rasikas viz western music lovers. First of all, why should carnatic music to be compared with western music, when apples and oranges are not to be compared? In this comparison exercise, the writers try to brand the carnatic music rasikas as if they are the trouble makers in any concert. May be film directors like Balachandar can exaggerate by portraying a rasika checking the diamond ear-ring of another rasikas during a concert, just for the sake of exaggeration. But in reality no such things happen. If rasikas are portrayed as trouble makers then it is nothing but a cliché.

It is often written that most of the rasikas hinder the concert by their activities like identifying the ragas through hand books and by discussing with the neighbors. In what way a concert is obstructed if a rasikas refers to a raga identification guide silently? What is wrong in identifying the raga, when the rasikas hears for the first time as long as they don’t make noise? Don’t we try to identify and appreciate when a new sweet is served in the meal? When a rasika is able to identify a new raga, he/she tries to put in his/her memory and appreciate the same when it is sung for the next time. Also they would like to discuss about the new raga with their friends and families. What is wrong in it? If we stipulate that a rasika has to keep quiet whatever is sung during the concert, the concerts would become mechanical and the artists will lose motivation.

It is also often complained that carnatic music rasikas interrupt the concert by their intermittent applause, whereas the audience in a western concert give a standing ovation only at the end of the concert. It has to be remembered that Carnatic music unlike western music is full of mano-dharma and the sangathis come spontaneously from the artists and they need to be acknowledged and appreciated then and there by a ‘bale’ or ‘sabash’. No carnatic musician has made a complaint about this so far. In fact, most of them would like to see nodding heads among the audience and expect some kind of ‘bale’ and ‘besh’ at appropriate time to get motivated. If the rasikas keep quiet with a robotic look, the entire event will become prosaic.

The next thing being discussed is the tonal quality and other aspects of sound engineering. True, if it is recorded music. One would expect a flawless music with absolute tonal quality in his/her collection of DVDs and Blue-ray discs. But we need to remember that the carnatic rasikas come for a live concert to enjoy the mano-dharma aspect of the live concert and is not bothered about some lapses in the tonal aesthetics.

It is mentioned that people all over the world instantly connect with and recognize the Ninth Symphony or the Turkish March, but that hardly true for the Pancharathna Krithis for instance. Need not be true. I may not get connected with Ninth Symphony as I don’t have any sense towards western classical. 

Also mentioned that a good Dhanyasi or Ahiri can melt even the most non-musical of souls. Very true, but It is not possible for the listener to appreciate the intricacies of the Dhanyasi or Ahiri unless he/she has a sense of appreciation for that this genre of art. When it is said that Carnatic music facing stiff competition, it is a sweeping statement. Carnatic music is growing and will be eternal, since many young artists take this as full-time profession. 

Let the critics and bloggers write articles on Carnatic music after making an effort to understand this great elite and classical art. Let them not make sweeping statements and false judgments.

Complex Addresses of Indian IT companies

Why do Indian IT companies make their contact addresses really complex?  Cant they make it simple?

Infosys Limited
Plot No: TP 1/1,
Central Avenue,
Techno Park SEZ,
Mahindra world city,
Natham sub post,
Chengalput - 603 002

Infosys Limited

Special Economic Zone,
Survey Nos. 50 (part), 51, 54, 49, 48, 44 & 45 (part), 41 (part), 36 (part),
Pocharam Village,
Singapore Township Post Office,
Ghatkesar Mandal, Ranga Reddy (Dist)
Hyderabad - 500 088

Tata Consultancy Services
Unit No. 801, 901 & 1001
A-Wing
Kensington Building IT/TES/SEZ
Hiranandani Business Park
Powai, Mumbai 400076

Tata Consultancy Services
Deccan Park, 
Plot No.1, 
Software Units Layout 
Madhapur 
Hyderabad 500 081

Tata Consultancy Services
Yantra Park Unit No 6 , 
Voltas Compound 
Opp Voltas HRD Centre 
Subhash Nagar , Pokhran Road 2 
Thane (W) 400601

Tata Consultancy Services
Empire Plaza
Empire Industrial Estate
101, LBS Marg
Vikhroli West
Mumbai 400 083

Cognizant Technology Solutions

Global Delivery Center

Technocomplex
 Plot GN-34/3, Sector-V
 Saltlake Electronic Complex
 Kolkata 700 091

India

HCL Technologies Ltd
ETA- Techno Park” Block I
SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE
33, Rajiv Gandhi Salai,

Navallur Village and Panchayat,
Thiruporur Panchayat Union,

Chengalpet Taluk,
Kanchipuram dist, Chennai – 603 103

HCL Technologies Ltd
ELCOT – SEZ Unit -I
Special Economic Zone
602/3, 138, Shollinganallur Village,
Shollinganallur - Medavakkam High Road,
Tambaram Taluk

Kancheepuram (Dist),
Chennai- 600 119. Tamilnadu, India

HCL Technologies BPO Services Ltd(C-5)
Module 1, Tower 1,
Floor Nos. 1 & 6,
“Chennai One” SEZ Unit
ETL Infrastructure Services Ltd.,
200 Ft, Thoraipakkam,
Pallavaram Ring Road,
Thoraipakkam, Chennai – 600 096 

HCL Technologies Ltd. - SEZ Unit
M/s. Unitech Hi-Tech Structures Limited
Special Economic Zone – IT/ITES
Plot No.1, Block No. A2, 3rd & 4th Floors.
DH Street, 316 New Town
Rajarhat, Dist. North 24 Parganas
Kolkata – 700 156, India

Satyam Computer Services Limited
Chennai Satyam Center 
Survey No. 478/1A, Door No. 11A and 13
Old Mahabalipuram Road,

Tambaram Taluk 

Sholinganallur,

Kancheepuram District
TamilNadu

Satyam Computer Services Limited
Registered Office
Info City
Unit-12, Plot No.35 & 36
Hitech City Layout, Sy No.64
Madhapur, Hyderabad-500081

Satyam Computer Services Limited
Satyam Gateway
Block 1 & 2,S.No. 79(P) & 64 ( P)
Madhapur Village
Serilingampally Mandal and Municipality
R R Dist., Hyderabad 500 081

Satyam Computer Services Limited
DLF
Special Economic Zone - Unit
DLF Commercial Developers Ltd.,

Special Economic Zone
S.Nos. 129 (P), 130, 131 (P) and 132
Gachibowli Village
Shirlingampalli Mandal,Ranga Reddy District

L&T Infotech

2nd & 3rd floor, IT-6 Building,
Flagship Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd.,
IT & ITES, SEZ, Survey No.154/6,
Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park,
Hinjewadi, Phase-1,
Pune 41105

Dr.Padma Subramanian's Lecdem on Influence of Tanjore Big Temple

What would happen to the workmen when they try to remove several feet of piled of bat excreta (Vavvaal Puzukkai) accumulated over a period of around 1000 years? Some of them fainted. Some of them even blood vomited due to the gas release, while removing the cakes of excreta. But their hard work paid dividends to the dance lovers. After few months of cleaning, beautiful sculptures of dancing Siva were found on the walls of Tanjore Big Temple.


Dr.Padma Subramanian was explaining her personal experiences while demonstrating on “The influence of Tanjore Big Temple on Dance” at Music Academy on 21st Dec (9-10 am).

She also mentioned that an unknown passage was accidently discovered by one Balakrishnan, an employee of Archeological Survey of India (ASI), while removing some weeds in the Vimana of the temple in 1956, which finally led to the discovery of 81dance sculptures. The then ASI Joint Director-General T.N. Ramachandran, identified the sculptures as 81 of the 101 Karanas portrayed in the Natya Sastra.

RTPs at Music Academy -2010

Date Time Vidwan Raga of RTP



16.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm K.Hariprasad Vachaspathi

16.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Manda Sudharani Purvi Kalyani

17.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am B.Kannan Dharmavathi

17.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Savitha Narasimhan Dhanyasi

17.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Kunnakkudi Balamuralikrishna Suruti

18.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Bombay Sisters Purvi Kalyani

18.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Prasanna Venkatraman Gowri Manohari

18.12.2010 4.15-6.45 pm O.S.Thiagarajan Bhairavi

18.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Dr.Panthula Rama Kapi

19.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am R.K.Srikantan Shanmugapriya

19.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Sumithra Nithin Kalyani

20.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Neela Ramgopal Simhendra Madyamam

20.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Sankari Krishnan Madhyamavathi

20.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Prema Rangrajan Hemavathi

21.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Trichur Ramachandran Karaharapriya

21.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Sherthal Renganatha Sharma Kapi

21.12.2010 4.15-6.45 pm S.Sowmya Saramathi

21.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Ravikiran Karaharapriya

23.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm R.Suryaprakash Kambhoji

23.12.2010 7-9.30 pm U.Srinivas Natabhairavi

24.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Geetha Rajasekar Madhyamavathi

24.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm K.Gayatri Ramapriya

24.12.2010 4.15-6.45 pm Nithyashree Mahadevan Kalyana Vasantham

24.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Lalgudi Krishnan & Vijayalakshmi Hamsanandhi

25.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm T.N.S.Krishna Kalyani & Lalitha

25.12.2010 4.15-6.45 pm Ranjani & Gayatri Dwijavanthi

25.12.2010 7-9.30 pm E.Gayathri Suddha Dhanyasi

26.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Nisha Rajagopal Kambhoji

26.12.2010 7-9.30 pm B.V.Balasai Nasika Bhooshani

27.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am T.S.Sankaran & J.A.Jayanth Bhairavi

27.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Sumitha Vasudev Karaharapriya

27.12.2010 4.15-6.45 pm P.Unnikrishnan Thodi

27.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Dr.Jayanthi Kumaresh Charukesi

28.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Iyer Brothers Ramnath & Gopinath Sankarabharanam

28.12.2010 7-9.30 pm S.Saketharaman Hamsanandhi

29.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Maharajapuram S.Ramachandran Madhyamavathi

29.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Amirtha Murali Bilahari

29.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Srivalsan Menon Purvi Kalyani

30.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Suguna Purushothaman Keeravani

30.12.2010 1.45-3.45 pm Calkutta Vijayaraghavan Shanmugapriya

30.12.2010 7-9.30 pm Abhishek Rahuram Hamsavinodhini

31.12.2010 9.15-11.45 am Palai Ramachandran Shanmugapriya

31.12.2010 4.15-6.45 pm Gayathri Girish Lathangi

Carnatic Musicians who broght name and fame to their towns

1 Akkarai Subbulakshmi



2 Alathur Brothers


3 Alleppy Krishnan


4 Anayampatti Ganesan


5 Annavarappu


6 Ariyakkudi Ramanauja Iyengar


7 Ayyalur Krishnan


8 Banagalore Ramani Ammal


9 Bangalore Amrit


10 Bombay Jayashree


11 Chembai Vaidyanatha Bagavathar


12 Cuddalore Subramanian


13 Damal K.Pattammal


14 Erode Gururajan


15 Erode Nagaraj


16 Hyderabad Brothers


17 Hyderabad Sisters


18 Injikkudi Brothers


19 Kadri Gopalnath


20 Kalakkadu Ramnarayana Iyer


21 Kaniyur Narasimhan


22 Karaikudi R Mani


23 Kovai B Dakshinamurthy


24 Kovai Balu


25 Kudanthai Sisters


26 Kunnakkudi Bala


27 Kunnakkudi Balamuralikrishna


28 Kunnakkudi Vaidyanathan


29 Lagudi Gopala Iyer


30 Lagudi Jayaraman


31 Madurai G.S.Mani


32 Madurai Mani Iyer


33 Madurai Shanmugavadivu


34 Madurai Sundar


35 Maharajapuram Ramachandran


36 Maharajapuram Santhanam


37 Maharajapuram Srinivasan


38 Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer


39 Malladi Brothers


40 Mambalam Sisters


41 Mambalam Siva


42 Mannargudi Easwaran


43 Mayavaram Sisters


44 Melakkaviri Balaji


45 Musiri Subramania Iyer


46 Mysore Nagamani Srinath


47 Nagai Mugunthan


48 Nagai Sriram


49 Namagiripettai Krishnan


50 Nedhunoori Krishnamoorthi


51 Neyveli Santhanagopalan


52 Neyyanttinkara Vasudevan


53 Palladam Sanjeevarrao


54 Pattanam Subramanya Iyer


55 Prapancham Seetharaman


56 Pudhukkottai Dakshinamurthi


57 Rudhrapatnam Brothers


58 Salem Desikan


59 Sembanarkoil Brothers


60 Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer


61 Sengalipuram Anantharama Dikshidhar


62 Serugudi Sisters


63 Sikkil Gurucharan


64 Sikkil Mala Chandrasehar


65 Sikkil Sisters


66 Soolamangalam Sisters


67 Soolamangalam Vaidyanatha Bagavathar


68 Sreevanchiyam


69 Srimushnam Raja Rao


70 Thirupambaram Brothers


71 Thiruvarur Bakthavachalam


72 Thiruveezimalai Brothers


73 Trichi Sankaran


74 Trichur Brothers


75 Trichur Ramachandran


76 Trivavaduthurai Rajarathinam Pillai


77 Udayalur Kalyanaraman


78 Umayalpuram Sivaraman


79 Vellore Ramabadhran

Please let me know if I have missed out some names.

Photo Blog on Mylapore Civic Issues

I have created a new photo-blog to address the civic issues in and around Mylapore.

Please visit

http://mylapore-civic-issues.blogspot.com/

Madras Quiz-01

Yesterday (22nd Aug) Chennai that is Madras celebrated its 370th birthday. Week-long celebrations as part of the "Madras Week" is coming to an end by today.

I participated in a Heritage Walk into St.George Fort last Sunday. Yesterday it was the lecture of Dr.Chitra Madhavan on four popular Temples of Chennai at Rain Tree. Today I will be participating in the much awaited Madras Quiz. Many quiz lovers are eagar to particpate in this event.

My 2 cents for the Madras Quiz which focuses on the etymology of names of localities in Chennai.

1. Saidapet - Syed Khan Pettai - named after Syed Sha (Sayyid Musalman Sahib) a high ranking official of court of Nawab.

2. Avadi - AVADI is an acronym which goeslike this. Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India.

3. Aminjikkarai - Amaindha Karai - A delta formed from the deposition of sediment carried by riven Coovam.

4. Perambur - Place where Perabu/Ratan/cane/ florished.

5. Porur - Place where fierce battles (Por) have been held during Pallava times.

6. Velachery - Veda Shreni - Abode of Vedas

7. Egmore - named after near by Elumbur river

8. Chetpet - Chettiar Pettai - could not recollect the name of the Chettiar

9. Teynampet - Thennam Pettai - place where Coconut (thennam) groves were there.

10. Royapuram - Royappar Puram - Town of Peter - Royappan is the Tamil equivalent of Peter

Please add more, if you want...