Precocious Child

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Suprabhatam - a Leitmotif

Suprabhatam - Sanskrit hymns recited in the morning to awaken the Lord. When it comes to Lord Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam, you can’t imagine a Suprabhatam without the thoughts of MS Subbalakshmi flashing through your mind!! Suprabhatam recited by MS Subbalakshmi has become a part of common man's 'early morning'.

I wake up every morning to M.S.Subbulakshmi's mellifluous voice chanting God's Own Wake up Call. Whenever I listen 'Suprabhatam', it brings back a lot of 'fresh' memories to my mind..

- as a school boy waking up at 5o'clock taking bath and running to tuitions whilst Suprabhatam being played in the speakers from temple. (Used to go to temple during dhanurmasam's for prasadam ;-))

- with all excitement, waking up in the morning to get ready to travel to my grandma's village, again Suprabhatam playing in background as we reach bus station in 'jatka'

- At 5 woken up by the smell of coffee, being prepared by grandma in kitchen in very old fashioned 'chavidi' house, while she was chanting Suprabhatam along with MS Subbalakshmis' cassette. She used to switch on the lights only in kitchen so that children would still sleep (how sweet she is to us :-)).

- sleeping even more comfortably and happily listening to a re-mix of MSs' Suprabhatam and a voice of an affectionate father scolding his young son to wake up and prepare for exams ;-)..

and a lott moree..

This morning, there is neither tuition nor exam to prepare. But M.S. is singing as usual, but from a CD. I realize that nothing can sound more divine than the vibrations of these Sanskrit words that fall unconsciously into my ears. I bask in the sound of the Tambura.

Kowsalya supraja Rama poorva sandhya
pravarthathe Uthishta narasardoola
karthavyam daivamahnikam (Twice)

Uthishtothishta Govinda uthishta
garudadhwaja Uthishta
kamalakantha thrilokyam mangalam kuru (Twice)

Ah! The simple pleasure of waking up in the morning to face another day...

Phani

posted by Phani @ 7:27 AM 0 comments

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Of the idli family

For a kannadiga, born and brought up in AP, subject "idly" is something which is at his/her disposal. Being in Hindupur/Kadiri(places from southern inda) for 27yrs, I thought I knew everything that I had to about idlis. I've had idlis in all sizes and shapes; from simple idlis to idli-vada combinations, to dahi idli, butter-idli to button-idlil, fried idli, and masala idlis, idlis with and without cashews etc embedded in them. I've had bandi idlis, my Moms idlis, cocktail idlis, and the fast-food idlis.

I've had idlis outside my village, in Anantapur, as well as in Bangalore, other places in karnataka, Tamil Nadu, best-ever in Matunga, Mumbai, other restros in Mumbai,in Hyderabd, in Pune, Newjearsy, Newyork, and God knows where else and made by whom. I've had idlis without anything, with sambhar, with sambhar and chutney separately or sometimes even together and sometimes just with butter. Idlis with karappodi and ghee, idli's with allam chutney and sometimes only with pickle. I've fought with restaurateurs over their coconut chutneys (don't like to admit though ;-)).

Life was good and tasty like a plate of idly with coconut chutney and sambar, until that lazy Saturday morning, when S asked me acoompany her for breakfast. We decided to go to Shanti Sagar (Hyd) for breakfast. While I was juggling over the menu wondering what to order apart from the usual idlis and dosas, waiter appeared at our table. As I was still thinking about my menu, she ordered somthing in a flash, as if she came there only to eat that. That was a dish I had never had before. There was nothing really great about the name itself, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had never before had this combination.A combination of rasam and idli forming a dish called rasam idli. Rasam vadas, yes rasam on its own, yes rasam with riceyes, but 'Rasam Idli'!! that was a new one. Whoa how did I miss that. Somtimes, after been around there for yrs and yrs, you often start believing that you've been there, done that and seen it all, until something happens like this.

And the rasam idlis were absolutely to die for. As I put each portion into my mouth, the rasam-soaked pieces would melt immediately, releasing an explosive mix of a difficult to describe but a predominantly tangy mix of flavors and aromas. The combination was amazing.

I guess its all in the combination. Unlike sambhar, which is much too thick, idlis just soak up the rasam. With that, I guess, they become softer and the rasam becomes part of the idli itself. When you then eat that idli, the combination becomes unbeatable.

I am sure that I will be besieged by emails from people telling me that this is a very usual, ordinary experience for many of them and that they have been having rasam idlis for years and years. Maybe so, but it is not listed as an item in most menus (unless I have been blind) and for some strange reason, in the last 27 years...OK, 22(someone is going to say..'self actualization' at 5..huhh ;-)), to count only the conscious, idli-eating years, I've have never had this combination before.

So from then, it was rasam idlis, for a long time until the next Nirvanic experience, which I actually had with BisiBellaBath with ghee and papad ;-).

Phani

posted by Phani @ 4:02 PM 1 comments

Friday, April 11, 2008

My Last Concert

It had been a long time since i have attended a carnatic music concert. So, when i got that opportunity i didn't want to miss it, thanks to my senior trio (Ravishankar, Siva and Srinivas) who got the tickets. The concert was hosted at Shanmukhananda hall, King's Circle in Matunga, Mumbai. The artiste was carnatic vocalist UnniKirshnan ably supported by Sri Srimushnam Raja Rao in mridangam, Sri S. Varadarajan in violin and Sri N. Guruprasad in kanjira.

Shanmukhananda hall is a grand auditorium with a seating capacity of I think around 800 and when the concert began there were less than 200 people. With such a large South Indian community presence in Mumbai and esp in Matunga area, there was not enough attendance. There was a very brief introduction by the host about the artiste and their ensemble. I would have liked a more detailed introduction highlighting the achievements of the artistes. The crowd was predomaninantly south indians and i could not quite noticing a trio of kannada mamis who were switching between English to local kannada quite easily.

Everyone settled down once the artistes have seated themselves and there is a downtime when everyone tunes their instruments. It is a good 5 min and it would have been a good time to introduce more about the artistes. UnniKrishnan as usual appeared in a crispy blue kurtha and what amazed me was he was wearing a bluetooth headset. It was surprising to me probably because I have stereo-typed all carnatic musicians, to be in their late 40s or early 50s, that they wear only white dhoti and white shirt, that they wear vibhuti on their foreheads, that they don't know aything of computers,laptops,blue-tooths. I realized my ignorance only after I learned that Sri Unnikrishnan is not only technology savy but is a very good crickter who plays for Madras Cricket club also plays professional tennis, did MBA and worked in Executive post in Parrys in Trivendrum. Its inspring to know such a versatile person with so many career options to choose carnatic music as his profession.

He warmed up with Shankarabaranam and then moved on to Sahana ragam in detail. He was technically very strong and did not take any shortcuts. His best came in a composition in Thana Roopi ragam which kept the audience enthralled. The violinist was giving good support, although i felt (from my limited knowledge) he could not keep pace with Unni. UnniKrishnan never eased up with any simple compositions, but kept on with quite challenging raagas. For me, one of the best part in a carnatic concert is the Tanyavarthanam when the percussionists are given a free hand to demonstrate their trade. The high level of skill of Varadarajan (senior artiste) came to the fore and Guruprasad was equal to the task on the khanjira and it was quite memorable for about 15 minutes. Unni finished off with a couple of light numbers and with a thillana at the end. There was a standing ovation from the audience at the end.

The best part about carnatic music i like is its non invasiveness and peace that it brings to oneself. I am still not able to identify the various raagas and it is proving difficult. For the same reason, i like carnatic music than bhajans beacuse in bhajans you dont have to worry about the technicalities and just focus on the spirit. Bhajans have a lot of audience involvement and it is all about creating the right environment and the whole crowd is part of the experience (more like a rock concert). In that sense, carnatic music is more about each person internalizing the music and relating to it.

A faboulous carnatic music concert for two and a half hours.
Note: Not to forget the yummyyy dosa and upma we had at the the refereshment counter in the hall. Mouthwatering ;-)

Phani

posted by Phani @ 8:35 AM 0 comments

Life is Fair :)

About Me

Name: Phani
Home: Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
About Me: I had a lot of growing and a lot of denying of self to do. Precocious and bratty. I am not easily won over, but when I am, I am completely won over.
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