Modi mania haunts me

As i am writing this blog I am still editing copies about Modi as I unwind the harrowing experience I had yesterday. For Congress and BJP it was the most important elections that was fought pointing fingers at each other. The country has been hearing too much about mid term polls and the N-deal, but for a break it was moditva and his magic spell in Gujarat. But modi ruined my day. Surprised!!!

Well being on the desk and editing articles is the most sedintary job for a person like as I wanted to get my hands dirty by going and report on various events. The thrill and the excitement you have while reporting can seldom be explained. Coming back to Moditva I was in office at 7 AM on a Sunday.( Piece of advice: If you want to be a journalist be prepared to sacrifice your holidays and social life initially...don't know how it will be in the future). Well didn't reach office at 7, obviously laziness personifies me and the alarm rang a zillion time before my mother woke me up saying its already 7. Rushed to the office in half hour, don't ask me how! :). Luckily for me the counting hadn't begun and I was prepared for a crazy day on the desk. When i reached office the watchman's eyes popped out and he was looking at me as though I was an alien and noded his head, which I perceived as though he was mocking at a fool who comes to office on a Sunday and that too when the rest of the world would be enjoying it.

In India you get holidays for every other thing, since friday was public holiday and 25th is christmas many people in the office had planned a long weekend, but morons like me were in office just when the sun rised. Well the moment counting started as the opinion polls predicted he was leading the saffron brigade right from the word go. By 9 AM i felt like running away where i won't here anybody talking about Modi. By afternoon it was clear that he had won the Gujarat elections comfortably, making me uncomfortable in the desk. I have nothing against him, but just that the number of copies that i edited increased from 50 to 100. I am sure most of the websites in the country would have employed more than one employee to handle the polls. But god knows why was i being the scape goat to handle the elections all alone in office.

By afternoon the editors came in and started discussing what should be their plan of action. Well i wanted to say leave me alone, that would be my christmas gift. By the end of the day, it was Modi..Modi and Modi.... Also this was not the first time where i had to handle the desk alone, even when TADA court sentenced Sanjay Dutt to 6 RI, I handled it. But yesterday it went a step ahead. BJP is celebrating whereas Mrs. Gandhi is surely finding some reason to share the loss with some one else. I am cursing myself for accepting the project.

But all said and done it was a learning experience as a journalist editing so many copies, gving good headlines so that the number of hits increases. But finally guys I am a human being. Modi is hovering in my mind... Right now i can only remember this dialogue from Namak Halal...slightly changed apt to the situation....I talk Modi...I sleep Modi...I walk Modi...Its Modi Modi everywhere....Modi made me mad....

Tribute to my Guru-Part II

As i said in my previous post i shall continue my journey here. I am sorry for procrastinating it. Some how i didn't have the courage. But mami when i went to your flat two days back i could hear the strings strumming and the words tanam anamtha being played.... I still remember my first krithi. As it is believed it is important to invoke the blessings of Lord ganesha for a smooth sailing, I learnt the wonderful Maha Ganaptim krithi in nattai set to eka thalam. I had listened to this krithi million times before this, but when she taught it i lost myself. From then on the journey was completely different.

Different in the aspect of my approach to music. How can i forget you mami for helping me come out of crucial problems and illness. I remember you teaching me sahana so that i forget all my problems. The sahana krithi vandanamu became a part of my life. Even today when i listen to sahana tears starts trickling down my cheeks.... As days passed i started learning chauka kala krithis in bhairavi and hemavathi and few other ragas...

Many in the field of carnatic music would opine that neraval and kalpana swaram cananot be taught but mamai disapproved with this school of thought....... She believed unless you don't teach them them how put them how will they inculcate the manodhrama aspect....Probably once they get hold of the knack it is their creativity to put it.....Will my mami come back to teach how to put neraval in the krithi upacharamu or kuzhaludi manamellam......Uh....What if we had rewind button in our life and go back to those wonderful days...

I should mention this experience....When i gave my first major concert for one and half hours mami ensured that i attended class everyday and during the last fifteen days the practice session used to last for hours together....I never realised how time flew...At the end of the concert mami seemed more happier than eany one else....I could see it on her face...in her eyes... What more can i ask for....

I think this blog space isn't enough for me to share all our experiences...Even today as i write I am listening to an amazing simmhendra madhyamam tanam played by her...May in the future when i talk more about music, I will mention how i learnt the nuances from her... When i visited her place few days back, my voice choked...I could feel her walking in the house...welcoming with a warm smile and asking what was the plan of action for the day....After having learnt so many years I am unable to play today...Mami will come and hit me on my fingers...The way you did when i didn't play a gamakam correctly during a kalyani alapana or when i was repeatedly not pulling the string enough to bring the essence of kamboji...I want you to do it...Are you hearing...I hope you are....