As I saw the date on the calendar on 16th November, it struck me that I was completing 5 years of blogging on that day and I should definitely write a post to at least celebrate the day. But the combination of laziness + tiredness + lack of motivation which I have been plagued with for the past several months won over once again and thus I let the day pass by quietly only to be weighed down by worries of where on earth the passion for writing/blogging has got lost! Will I be able to bring back the good old days of yore? As I now see these lines filling up the page without me thinking for even a moment as to what exactly should I write about, I heave a sigh of relief that all is not lost and someday, hopefully maybe right away, I will be able to resume regular blogging.

I finally listened to the songs of Rockstar today! After listening to all the songs once, I can’t stop listening to ‘The Dichotomy of Fame’ now. It starts as a kind of joyous tune and then goes on to evoke a whole gamut of emotions! Blissfully melancholic and bittersweet with a haunting aura to it, it is surely a sheer beauty! Am totally moved by the musical magic created by the guitar and Shehnai! Am moved by it so much that I couldn’t stop myself from coming out of the hibernation and writing about it here. It has been more than half an hour since I started listening to it on repeat mode and I still can’t get myself to move onto the next song!

“Lesser Known Temples of Chennai – Some More” – A lecture by Dr. Chithra Madhavan on 23rd August, 2011 at Gallery Sri Parvati held as part of Madras Day celebrations.

It was a nostalgic-me who attended this lecture since it was during the Madras Day celebrations in 2008 that I first attended Dr. Chithra Madhavan’s lecture little knowing that after that lecture, my visits to old temples would never be the same anymore and that I would go on to attend many more lectures of hers in the coming years. The topic of that lecture was ‘Lesser Known Temples of Chennai’ and this year’s too was again ‘Lesser Known Temples of Chennai – Some More’.

As usual, this lecture too was filled with a wealth of information. The photos of almost all the sculptures, vimanams and gopurams that were mentioned about were shown.
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Travelling by bus at 7:00 in the morning through the roads of T.Nagar, which, by the way, is where I stay now, I pass by some of the once-very-familiar streets and roads. My memories go back in time to when, as a kid, I travelled on the same roads on a rickshaw to go to school. North Usman Road, Habibullah Road, Periyar Road, Thirumalai Pillai Road, G.N.Chetty Road, Jeeva Park, Dr. Nair Road, cutting across Pondy Bazaar to reach Thanikachalam Road. The roads would be as empty back then as they are at 7 in the morning now. I used to commute in a non-motorized rickshaw when I was studying in kindergarten and later in a motor rickshaw, that too in what was called a ‘kooNDu rickshaw’. Today, rickshaws are almost extinct.
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iniya puttANDu nalvAzhttukkaL!

If you thought this countdown is for yet another Sanjay’s or a T.M.Krishna’s concert or the release of an ARR’s album or something related to Mani Ratnam’s movies, you are wrong. If you are one of those long-term readers of this blog and are smirking thinking that this is going to be one of those once-upon-a-time-frequently-posted cryptic posts where till the end I never revealed what or whom I was writing about(I miss writing posts like that! They were good stress-busters indeed!), then you are wrong too.

This countdown is for something that is going to bring a big change in my life. The moment I say change, I know the direction some of your thoughts will immediately turn to and yes, for once, you are right. I am getting married on March 24th! It is yet to really sink in that I am now about begin a new chapter in my life with a new family, new relationships and a lot more changes!

There are a lot of things that I want to write about the wedding preparations, the loads of shopping that I have been doing for the last few months and lots more. Bidding adieu to you all till I get back with all that in a few weeks time!

I recently had to take up some certification. Which meant there was quite a bit of studying to do and that meant what else but having Rahman’s songs for company! The best part about studying for exams for the last several years has been experiencing not just the beauty, but also the motivating power of Rahman’s music! As I listened to song after song uninterrupted, as always, I was transported to that blissful, magical state which only Rahman’s music does and which you can only experience & not describe ever!
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On 26th December at Rani Seethai Hall (Kalarasana)

Accompanists:
S.Varadarajan – Violin
Neyveli Venkatesh – Mridangam
K.V. Gopalakrishnan – Khanjira

Concert Duration: 3 hrs 20 min

List of Songs:
1. evvarE (varNam) – sahAnA – aTa
2. marivErE – Anandabhairavi – swarams at marivErE
3. tyAgaraja pAlayASumAm – gowLai – AlApana
4. vENugAna – kEdAragowLai – AlApana; neraval and swarams at vikasita
5. vA vElavA – tAnarUpi – khanDa cApu
6. dhArini – suddha saveri – adi – swarams at dhAriNi
tani Avartanam
7. tAyE EzhaipAl – bhairavi – Adi – rAgA outline
8. rAgam tAnam pallavi – pantuvarALi
kANAmal vITTilE kAlam kazhippOmE sEnADar pORRum tillaiyai – khaNDa jAti tripuTa 2 kaLai
swarams in mALavi, suddha danyAsi, priyadarshiNi, nAgavalli, jOg
9. kANa vENDum – suruTTi – misra cApu
10. kanduga (viruttam – verses of Thaiyumanavar) – kAmbhOji, kAnaDA, mOhanam, senchuruTTi angai koDumalar – rAgamAlikA (senchuruTTi, nAdanAmakriyA) – misra jampai
11. tillAnA – sindhu bhairavi – Adi – MDR – rAgA outline
12. nI nAma rUpamulaku – sowrASTram
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On 25th December, 2010 at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha

Accompanists:
S.Varadarajan – Violin
Patri Satish Kumar – Mridangam
Bangalore Rajasekar – Morsing

Concert Duration: 2.5 hrs

List of Songs:
1. varNam – hamsadhwani – Adi
2. karikaLAbha mukham – sAvEri – rAgA outline
3. sarasa sAmadana – kApinArAyaNi – Adi – AlApana; neraval and swarams at hitamu mATalentO
4. ennEramum (with extra caraNams pancAkSara, sIla maruvum) – dEvagAndhAri – brief AlApana
5. kaligiyuNTE – kIravANi – Adi – AlApana; swarams at bAguga
tani Avartanam
6. telisi rAma – pUrNacandrikA – swarams at rAma ani
7. RTP – hamsadhwani
pallavi: bagavan mudaRRe ulagu Adi – Adi
8. karpUram – khamAs – khanDa cApu
9. nI nAma rUpamulaku – sowrASTram
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On 23rd December at The Music Academy

Accompanists:
S.Varadarajan – Violin
Guruvayur Dorai – Mridangam
Trichy K. Murali – Ghatam

Concert Duration: 2.5 hrs

List of Songs:
1. sariyO nI seyyum (varNam) – bEgAdA – adi – rAgA outline
2. vinAyakA vigna nASakA – vegavAhini – rUpakam – swarams at vinAyakA
3. ninnu sEvincina – yadukula kAmbhOji – misra cApu – AlApana
4. appA nAn – pUrvi kalyANi – khaNDa cApu – AlApana; neraval at tappEdu nAn seiyinum nI poruttal vENDum
5. mahA tripurasundari – bhairavi – rUpakam – AlApana; neraval at amba kamanIya maku bangAruvamma kApADuTakipudu samayamamma; swarams at kApADuTakipudu
6. Emani – vIravasantam – Adi
7. rAgam tAnam pallavi – suruTTi
Pallavi: jAlamE seivadazhagAgumA vadivelA en mEl – Adi (2 kaLai)
pallavi in hamIr kalyANi, sahAnA, shaNmukhapriyA
tani Avartanam
8. Srtva guNAt (Slokam) followed by bansi wAlE – mOhanam – Adi
9. nI nAma rUpamulaku – sowrASTram
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