Watching one of my favourite old movies, Parichay on Filmy channel, guitar practice after a long time and watching the one-hour programme on Orissa on Discovery Channel which has now made me add to Orissa to the looong list of places I want to visit someday – these are the only things worth mentioning about the typical lazy Saturday that today was, when I wasn’t in the mood to even step out of home.

It looks like tomorrow might be a day in complete contrast to today, thanks to

• Sriram V’s talk on ‘C. Saraswathi Bai, First Lady Bhagavatar’ at 9.45 am (Bharat Sangeet Utsav)

• Sriram Parasuram’s lec-dem on ‘Rakti ragas in Hindustani & Carnatic Music’ from 11.00 am – 12:30 pm (Bharat Sangeet Utsav)

• Concert of Anil Srinivasan with the NalandaWay All Girls Children Choir at 6:30 pm at Sir Mutha VenkataSubba Rao concert Hall. Seems some Bharatiar’s compositions will be performed in this concert.

Let’s see if things go as per plans.. Happy Sunday to you all! 🙂

Postponing writing post after post will result in the blog becoming like how mine has – a blog getting updated once in a blue moon. But more than that, something you very badly wanted to write about once might become insignificant/out-dated at the present moment when you finally find the time or get the urge to write. I have a looot of unfinished posts in my drafts! Besides there is a chance that you might now not be able to write something the way you initially wanted to. I hate seeing my blog in this state. So, starting from today, I am going to seriously try to restore this blog to how it was quite a few months earlier. Let’s see how it goes…

P.S.: I was thinking whether to post this or not. But I wasn’t interested in postponing posting it either 😉

At Sastri Hall on 24th October

Accompanists:
B.U.Ganesh Prasad – Violin
Manoj Siva – Mridangam

List of Songs:
1. varnam – Sankarabharanam
2. nArada gAna – Atana – Swarams at nArada gAna
3. sandehamunu – Ramapriya – Alapana; neraval at varamunu
4. kumaran tAL – Yadukulakambhoji
5. Sri guruguha pAlitOsmi – Padi – swarams at Sri guruguha
6. koluvaiyunnADe – Bhairavi – Alapana; neraval & swarams at manasu ranjilla
tani Avartanam
7. vagalADi – Behag
8. yAr pOi solluvAr – Todi
9. bhoolOka kumAri – Bhimplas (Bharatiyar’s composition in Sanskrit)
10. tillAna – Purnachandrika? (Don’t remember)
11. mangaLam – Sowrashtram

Overall, a good concert. I liked nArada gAna lOla and Sri guruguha pAlitOsmi the most.

kaNNilE kalmisham
pOdhume silmisham
sparisamO thuLi visham
naan illai en vasam

(Lines from ‘Hey Goodbye naNbA’)
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Today morning, I discovered what a great combo the two make to begin the day with. Anandabhairavi varnam, santAna rAmaswAminam and Sri rAmam – 3 very, very beautiful compositions made extra pleasing by T.M.Krishna’s voice and superb singing were what gave me company while I was doing yoga and made the already rejuvenating experience an even better one. After going for class for the last several months, I have now gained the confidence that not only will I be able to do yoga on my own, but I will also do it regularly. Thanks to my laziness, being regular was what I was/am a bit concerned about. But now that I have discovered the joy of yoga+music, I guess my laziness will automatically be driven away.

Voiceless version of Worldspace theme is playing. As I look out of the window of the bus, I see a group of about 20-30 birds flying over some backwaters (or is it not backwater?). The scene somehow looks beautiful. Within a few seconds, I see another group of birds flying, those together forming a V-shape. Voiceless version of worldspace theme has already ended and even as I am enjoying the sights of nature lost in Rahman’s music, the same theme with voice plays and I hear Rahman say, ‘It’s the sound of nature. If you listen carefully, there’s music in everything.’ 🙂 Moments like these are what make life beautiful, even if only for a few fleeting seconds, even when nothing else is going great in life. Thank you yet again, Rahman!

Life is so very unpredictable and filled with shocking happenings causing harsh realities which you never bring yourself to accept. And yet it goes on as usual, as though nothing at all happened! All those wonderful, happy, fun-filled memories which you always knew you would have cherished for a lifetime suddenly become just that – just memories to cherish -, when you least expected it to happen. You know you will never get those good old days back ever again and that’s what is constantly there on your mind. Yet there are moments when that realization strikes you in full blow and that’s when it upsets you all the more and the pain and sorrow is back in full form. Life is good only when there is a balance between the amount of happiness and sorrow it gives. It isn’t easy to move on with life when it keeps showing its cruel side often and continues to give shock after shock.