Talking to him for an hour helped. It didnt remove the confusion that has been plaguing my mind for sometime. There still is no clarity. But just sitting opposite to the bespectacled gentleman with a more than gentle streak of ‘sacred ash’ was calming. Some new perspectives…more importantly a sounding board. I walked out of the lounge and into the Saturday Morning Bangalore chill – Pleasant. I made the trip across the city – I told myself … “Today I shall remain calm!” Maybe there is something chalked out for me too.

You clutched hard onto the cardboard box with a pizza within. The other hand held a tin of red sweetened water and white soft tissues. This was not the time to pick the oregano seasonings. The mind was too busy with several other things, chief among which was the conundrum about larger choices that could decide where you went. You wait there with no sense of urgency but with gloom written large across your face. You saw the crowd lunging at the two blazered men albeit in different circles; you were standing in one of them. You told yourself what was happening around you wasnt honest – largely because there was lacking an honesty in intent. Or was it just you crying sour grapes? Your mind shouts within its confines – An emphatic no! Would you do this to get your name on a white sheet of A4 paper pasted on that notice board? But it was more than that – it could mark a new path. But what journey would it be that were to be founded on such premises. You ignore the rush of new shirts joining the circle – you retreated. With head bowed low, you walked away – heart heavy with thoughts and emotions you didnt have the strength to fathom. You sat on that concrete ledge and finished the circular, cold flour with assorted vegetables with a generous overdose of onions and tomatoes. You managed to pick the seasoning this time. You walked back slow to the room. Head still held low and heart still heavy with all those feelings. You told yourself – atleast you werent dishonest! Lights off, sleep is a good healer of open wounds pierced deep within the recesses of your mind – atleast if only till you woke up. From other part of the block – the cacophony of noises coming continued – Trance music! You went forward and latched your door from inside…

For some time now, Tamil movies have had some very melodious songs with Ilayaraja and then A.R.Rahman with special emphasis on melody and rhythm. But this post it not about the kind of music A.R.Rahman or Ilayaraja produces. This is about ‘Gaana’ songs. A genre which has found more than just an expression off late in Tamil movies.

Yes, those who swear by ARR and mellifluous music will be quick to dismiss some of these songs as crass and lacking in many things… but  there is no denying that even for folks with two left feet, some of these songs make you want to break free of all those inhibitions. Move your hands, move your legs, throw yourself in any direction – You are not being judged! Celebration of millions of pent up emotions waiting for a release!

These were songs that started with the working community within cities and elsewhere and their modes of uninhibited celebration. Today thanks to adoption by Tamil movies, they have managed to moving across class divides. It is not uncommon to hear these songs being played today at the choiciest of pubs/restaurants and DJ nights. Read more about Gaana songs and how they have come to invade popular media http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaana .

For Starters, here’s a list of some of some gaana songs that I find interesting. Viewer discretion expected while watching some of these videos. Dont be quick to dismiss it as crass – for the objective of this genre is to celebrate and celebrate breaking free of all inhibitions.

Yes, I almost forgot to add. Fans of Vaali and other lyricists who have done some awesome work will be disappointed too. None of these songs have any emphasis on lyrics. The lyrics “usually” narrate a story rather than attempt to be poetic in the narrative. The emphasis on “usually” is because many a times, they dont make too much sense. But then when people are on such high energy levels - “Who Cares!”

Disclaimer: Listening to some of these songs on youtube doesnt do too much justice to the beats and other related sound effects that defines this genre.

You would remember Naaka Mukka as the song that was adopted by Times of India to win the Cannes Award for one of its Ads…

Click Here for more.

In the course of the two years that we spend here, we dedicate our time and efforts to several pursuits, some academic and several non academic. With each step that we take along this path, knowingly or unknowingly we move closer to our end objective of achieving our own personal goals. All along we are goaded and guided by several forces, some harsh and a few tender. Amongst these support systems are the infrastructure facilities available to us here within the campus. Probably when we look back at our days, as a snapshot from a period in time into the future – it would be these settings that would warm the recesses of our mind and seek to remind us of the beautiful place and the wonderful incidents that truly enriched two glorious years of our life here. Needless to say the theatre of most of these dreams would be the hostels!

Even as we go about doing our daily activities, we are fortunate to have the services of an extremely dedicated support staff – who meticulously go about their daily activities so that our essential services are available sans any disruption, minor or otherwise. Think of the folks who clear up all traces of midnight celebrations from the L^2, think of the folks who ensure that the corridors of our hostels remain clear from any debris from the previous night’s celebration. Think of the folks who you may never see, but who work in the background to ensure that life in hostel is as smooth as it can ever be. It’s a link between these folks and the student community that I seek to become as I humbly present myself as a candidate for the post of Hostel Secretary.

A man of vision creates castles and a man of action creates them on the ground. I would want to present myself as not someone who “promises the moon”, but someone who has the determination and zeal to see plans materialize into actions and into ground realities. I have had the privilege of working at close quarters with the present hostel secretary and I am aware of the nature of work that this position demands and the relationships I have built with folks at ground level – will undoubtedly hold me in good stead, if I am voted into this position of great responsibility.

I offer myself as candidate who is approachable to suggestions, reproaches, and means and alter means to fix a problem. For it’s in this magic of co-creation that a valuable two years of our hostel life exists. I humbly request you to do the needful, if you see promise in my words; and my promise is – I would strive my best to ensure that I don’t let you down.
Thanks,

Sathyanarayanan C

Its been a real long time(20+ years) and hate as I may to admit it - I still haven’t managed to. I am sorry to all those who I’ve let down - which includes primarily only myself. The walk ahead is beset with all the difficulties that the path this far was. Nevertheless time will be a quick healer. Might be I will survive, might be I will make that critical difference, might be I will just be a brick on a giant wall. But this far…I really havent made it. Holding back a few thoughts… I dont have the resolve of a Santiago to stand there and wait for the fish…

Buildings rise, buildings fall. Empires rise, empires fall. Towers rise, towers fall. When a giant tree falls, the earth below is bound to shake!

Creativity means different things to different people, and so does patriotism! You watch several of the photo streams, watching changes in people’s lives. Of patriotism in distant lands. In dorms, rented apartments and college accommodations. Many of them have restarted their journeys, just like you have. Many in foreign lands, where independence takes a whole new meaning - or may be thats what it was always meant to be.

You tell yourself, you have to move now if you want to see all this and more - and what matters is you ought to run at a steady pace, sloth will take you no where!

Dylan is playing in the background, with clear lyrics and simple demands… “Hey! Mr Tambourine Man, Play a song for me!”

While you walk off the laptop and onto the other end of the pigeon hole, cluttered with books, clothes and thoughts… the song fades out.

(Photo Credit: Srinath TV - Batchmate at Surathkal, colleague at Yahoo! and now pursuing life at UT Austin)

Seen a brighter night,
stars so high, waves so full?
A moon to smile, wind to chill.
Sound thats none, none thats mine
A lonelier night,there never was.
In that hour, a boat i saw;
Pacing back and forth, on the mighty waves.
The water that kissed her on her cheeks,
a stranger that never was.
She strayed her line, my heart
skipped a beat,
The boat rocked on her sides, my eyes wanted none.
In that unearthly hour, she came back home.
I turned my back,
I was a stranger, she never was.

(Was going through some old papers and I chanced upon this poem! Memories of first year in a college by the sea! The punctuation marks might be way off, but still brings back fond memories of the sea! Six years back in time!)

Today as I was sitting in the class, while changes in Indian Polity from 1950 to the present were being discussed; a thought came in to my mind.

We always take pride in saying that India is a country, where inspite of all the differences, inspite of all the dissent - our democracy has survived and we beam with pride, when we compare this with our neighbours who so often slip into the other side with anarchy, coups and military dictators!

People attribute several reasons to this thriving of democracy. Some say its the prudence of the constitution drafters, some say its the structure that gives it the inherent stability of proces, while some say that we are a nation of such vast differences that we cant have one single military dictator landing in the scene who can carry the entire nation with him/her.

But just to think of it - could this have been the reason? - India’s lead of the Non Alignment Movement(NAM). This ensured that we kept away from any real alignment of our country with the US of A or in the old days USSR. Therefore, our military establishment didnt get that might - which they would have got/assumed if there was any alignment of our military/foreign affairs strategy directly with that of the US. This would have given the generals greater power and we could have been part of plans - larger or otherwise to dethrow governments and replace them with mightier generals with covert(and sometimes not so very covert) Uncle Sam’s support!