Attitude - a little thing ;)

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference “– By Sir Winston Churchill.

Most of you all must have come across this little quote. You might have experienced it as well. I am going to share a small incident that occurred a few months ago. This experience was encountered during my visit to the Eureka Towers in Melbourne along with my friend, Geethu.


So, after the confirmation of my return to India, my friend and I had been planning to meet up. Every time, it happened so, that our plans did not materialize. But this freaking time when we decided to meet, which was a last minute decision, our plan worked for once. So, we were supposed to meet at 3.30pm and leave by 6pm. As anyone would, we met at 4pm(which means we were running late by half an hour) and “Go lucky” we are, neither of us knew the directions to Eureka Towers. We walked, talked and walked for say, 15min to the tram stop. And it was too late to realise that there was a connecting tram to the stop we walked to. We laughed our heads off and still enjoyed the inappropriately silly talks we had while walking. We waited for the tram and the peak time traffic gave us the claustrophobic feel, letting neither of us have a conversation inside the tram. Finally we reached and found our way to the towers.


88 floors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could not lift my head up (90 degrees), to get a virtual picture of the height. Acrophobia?????????? Fortunately we weren’t. There were guides to direct us to the elevators. In less than 10 seconds, we were up there. Wonderful it seemed. I took a glance through the telescopes and saw everything I could see :P.


Now, Photograph time!!!! Picture together will always be perfect. So we called a random guy and requested him for a picture. It was my new camera. While I began to give him instructions to click the picture, we heard a loud screeching noise “What the hell????” (He was the random guy’s friend).
Geethu: “Pardon, What’s your problem”.


Random guy’s friend: You don’t have to teach a multimedia person to operate a camera, do you????
Me: Yeah, sorry didn’t know that.

Random guy (with his put on accent): You need to adjust your cam’s brightness.

Me: Will be done. (It was my new camera and didn’t know how the setting worked)

Me: Sorry, couldn’t do it. Its fine the way it comes and we are in a hurry.

Random guy (with his put on accent): Technically speaking, the brightness has to be (figures .......Bla Bla Bla....)

Geethu: *Winked ;)

Me: Thanks a lot. One picture is more than enough and we like it the way it is. Please excuse us, we are in a hurry.

We got a picture together. Luck did not work this time too and the picture turned out to be blurry. So we moved to another spot and we asked a person of another nationality to get a picture of ours.


Me: Sorry to bother you. Can you please take a picture of my friend and me?

Guy: Yesssss, why not...

Geethu: Thanks.

Guy (Focussing hard): Just one picture? (When someone walked past and dashed him hard)

Me and Geethu: Yea, Just one. (Giggling...)

Guy: (Focussing hard again)

Geethu: Avantika, bend down, he is focussing down.

We both bent a little.

Guy: (showed signs asking us to stop)

With a huge sigh of relief we got the camera. But, we were shattered, to find only our toes and the grill behind. It was such a pissa. The guy settled his scores for our giggles. We paid for the condescending attitude of ours.

Input: (snobbish) Giggles

Outcome: Picture symbolising, our faces and toes make no difference.

It was a funny incident. Such small adverse circumstances may be forgotten but the lesson remains!!!!! Bear in mind, little things are not to be considered frivolous.
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:) :) :)

Ear for music ???? or ????

History of Raag Hindolam (Tamil Classical or Carnatic)

Warning: Please read the below, only when you are relaxed.

A brief introduction to this Raag Hindolam .....
Aarohananm : S g m D n Sâ
Avarohanam : Sâ n D m g S
Hindolam is an audav raagam (5 tone raaga) under the jhanyam of Natabhairavi. The Hindustani raag Hindol is mostly misunderstood for the Carnatic raagam Hindolam. Malkauns is the Hindustani equivalent for the Carnatic raagam Hindolam.
The above introduction and the following may not seem interesting for people who have a preference for only non classical music. But please keep reading till the end to find out the hidden twist. Classical music lovers; enjoy reading and dig out the concealed twist.
Dating back to the mid 17th century and the 18th century, when the Mughal’s were reigning supreme, this raag Hindolam or Malkauns was discovered. The present day Malkauns or Hindolam has only got a little relevance to the one which was dated centuries ago, due to the transition this raag underwent during these 400 years. This raag is usually sung at medium to slow speeds to make it meditative, as it is meant to be pertaining to sadness.

Nomenclature:

This Raag was initially named Shamboli (Persian Origin). The Mughal emperors were basically the Persians, who brought the Islamic culture to Hindustan.
“Sham” (in Persian) corresponds to deceitfulness + “Boli” corresponds to being spoken as. Hence, the Mughals formed the raag to represent sadness. After a strong establishment of the Indo- Islamic culture, this raag was renamed as Hamboli. ‘H’- for Hindustan.
Sindh, which is now a part of Pakistan has got a connection to further transition of its name. The raag was later named as Sindholam, reason being , this raag was discovered in Sindh. The term ‘Olam’ was used to substitute the term ‘Boli’, when there was a huge protest from the vocalists those days to replace the word ‘Boli’ to render more reverence to music and not to degrade its honour by relating it to a something which means ‘being spoken’ – ‘Boli’. Olam on the other hand meant everlasting or forever. Hence, the name Sindholam. Towards the end of the 18th century, together with the dying Mughal empire, the name underwent a final transition to ‘Hindolam’. The origin of the Hindustani equivalent is still to be explored.

Application in Chinese music:

Chinese music is mostly sung or played in 5 tonal notations. Raag Hindolam and Mohanam are also apparent in Chinese music.
So thats about the History of the raag Malkauns/Hindolam.

Test:

And now, a small piece of work to the readers.

Allotted time: 10 minutes

Shamboli Period ???????
Hamboli Period ???????
Sindholam Period ???????
Hindolam Period ???????


The task here is to perfectly match the names to their appropriate period from mid 17th century to the 18th century. Approximations are acceptable. Can be googled :).
Well, answers are hidden in the story below.


I was running ten, when this incident occurred. Anybody would have come across episodes like this in their lives but this one is very special to me and this is something that will remain etched forever in my memory. Summer holidays were the best period of a year till my high school. My two months of holidays gets divided equally to be spent at Salem and Madras. It’s usually during the final week of my stay at Madras, my parents make a tightly scheduled visit and then take me back to Salem. Most of the time would be spent at paati- thatha’s place and its only during the final week, I stick to my parents plan and go around visiting our kith and kins. The final week usually includes a mandatory stay at athimber’s house for a day or a two and the rest at maama’s and paati’s place.

Episode 1:

Paati’s (Maternal) paatu (music) lessons:


This was the time when I had intense curiosity in learning music. Paati has an excellent quality of spotting out our talents and not only that, she also imparts her varied knowledge to us (Grand Children) in a right technique, with which each of us can grasp easily. “The Hindu”‘s crossword is her life. My paati is a versatile singer. Sadly, she hasnt taken music as her profession. This is the first song she taught me “Thungatha rangae gangae”.

Episode 2:

Athimber (Paternal) Questioning Sessions:

One person on whom Nikhil (Brother) and I have a lot of respect and humility is my venerable Athimber. Fear was another aspect. (Not now though :P). He is a multifaceted artist, being a bharathanaatyam dancer, choreographer, composer and many more. Not forgetting to mention, he is one of the senior most Bharathanaatyam dancers who took his tutelage under Smt.Rukmani Devi in Kalakshetra.

So here it goes. Our two days mandatory stay at Athimber’s house usually goes very quiet and relaxing.

Day 1:

My mum is a big time spoil sport. I used to hate my mum when she says
“Athimber, Avantika pudhusa enna paatu kathindu irukaa, kaelingo?” ((Mum intrigued Athimber to find what new song I have been taught)
Athimber goes “Paadi kaamiyein” (Athimber goes Sing).
My immediate reaction would be to raise an eyebrow at my father. Dad and I always had an understanding.
My dad goes “Avaliku thonda sariya illai”. ( My dad goes, her throat isn’t alright).
Athimber goes “Chumma iru da Mohan”. (Athimber goes Shusssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh).
Then my brother’s face used to lighten up with a bright smile following my mum’s.
After a bit of a fuss, I would sing. So I happened to sing this song which Paati taught me.
Athimber : What Raagam is it?
Me : Hmmmm, (after giving it a thought, as though i even knew it)..I don’t know athimber.
Athimber : You should know. It’s the Raagam called Hindolam.
Me : Hindolam (Repeating what he said)

Day 2:

Morning coffee time............
Athimber : Come, sit next to me.
Me (walking towards him) : Good morning, Athimber.
Athimber : Enna raagam paadinai nee, naethikku? (What was the raag that you sang yesterday)
Me : Hmmmmmmmmmm....
Athimber : Chollu (Say it)
Me : Theriyalai Athimber (don’t know)
Athimber : Yoschu sollu ( think)
Me : Theriyalai ( don’t know)
Athimber : Theriyanum ( you should know)
Me : Ham..... ( The name of the raag did not get registered at all , and when forced)
Me : Hamboli ( mum, dad and athai giggled when athimber gave no reaction)
Athimber : (Dumbstruck!!! – looking at me in deep silence)
Mum : Adhu Hindolam di.... ( when all four of them laughed their head off)
Me : (Bent down in embarrassment).

- Sorry, English translation really sucks.


Well, thank you for your time you spared on reading my blog. I Guess, you would have by now figured out where Hindolam, Hamboli and the rest falls between mid 17th – 18th century. Well, if you haven’t figured it out, keep reading till you get it.
The only twist here is linking raag Hindolam to the Mughal period and the nomenclature that is fully a made up stuff ( made up stuff - Idea stolen from my cousins) .
Apologies, if this blog has kindled your frustration over this unpredictable rollercoaster ride. It is a general tendency for people to believe when linking “Something” to History. Anything that you read can carry a biased opinion. For eg. Newspapers, news channels may be politically biased. It is very important to put your mind at work in all directions to widen your scope of understanding.
So, that is it :) :) :)

Food for thought!!!!!!!

General tendency of people when they happen to meet you after a long time is to besiege you with their kindness and this is what I hear often " Awww....My dear, you look emaciated!” My conscience says "What????" I mean, how can that possibly be true? Well may be in some cases, but in my case, I would personally say these words are unvarnished lies. Anyone on my brink, strike your backs and get back to your senses and completely evaporate your volatile moods....
When it comes to Indian food, spices rule the roost and this is what every Indian here in Melbourne can be pompous about, that no one apart from us can have a peaceful intake and a painless outflow. I usually confine myself from popping into the restaurants and if I happen to, then I order a glut of everything that could possibly eaten by me. Seems generous???? Nah, I am avaricious. Well, this is my evil side.

One staid afternoon, I felt a sudden craving for Indian food. I was tenacious and preferably wanted to go to the one’s in which I have never had before. This was when I had my reminiscences of the past. If you are wondering what it is, then the same goes, " Awww....My dear, you look emaciated!" which had further led to discussions about the restaurants in Melbourne and one came up with this option “The G......l’s Restaurant, Bourke Street”.

Whoops..... I had clouds all around my head envisioning the name board, ambience, street and the food. I took the tram heading towards the city but then I didn’t know what the restaurant’s door number was. I rang my friend immediately. Amidst the noisy side of mine and a tranquil side of his, he browsed over the net to get me the number, in spite of his assignments. Such a callous attitude of mine!!!!!!!! Of course yes, he is my friend after all. And yep, he gave me the number of the store but had a minor switch over to street’s name.

Huffing and puffing I ran to the restaurant just to see the interminable fleet of stairs. I sped past the stairs and Wow....It had an inviting ambience. My insatiable appetite drew me into the restaurant by itself. For a second I was taken aback, to find no one in my tone. But at the very sight of the food, all that was in my mind was hogging the food and quaffing a glass of water. This was the most expensive of all the restaurants I have ever been to. Yeah, I was excited then with Kofta, white rice and almond and date cake on my plate. For all my greediness, my conscience said you’ll die and I did.

Yuck!!!!!!!!!!!! It had no taste, no spice and no salt but for this salubrious meal and respect for food, I gulped it directly down to my stomach. And here it’s definitely a painful intake and peaceful outflow. I raised a stink against these restaurants after this incident. Hungry Jacks fries......any day better!!!!!!!!!!!

But nothing like a simple house food and that’s simply the best.

Memories

To be precise dogs are domesticated wolves. Every dog is unique and certain traits are directly related to the dogs breed. Now i rewind my days to the period when i was four years old.
Here it goes.

We were residing in Salem, Burns Std Quarters when i was four. I had been asking my father for a pet but all i would hear is a loud and a deep sounding NO.One quite afternoon, my father took me by surprise. He brought a small pet and it was a Black Dobberman. My mum was busy with her cooking and stuffs. And it was really a surprise. My brother was just two then. My father handed the pet to me and he said this is for you. I immediately ran out to the backyard to get a coconut shell, filled it with milk and tried to feed the puppy. We named the dog Valander (Val in Tamil is tail) as it was happily wagging its tail. The puppy sniffed and licked it twice. Driven by curiousity i thought i had the patience to wait till he finished. But no signs of improvement.

For some reason it reminded me of my mother. My mother's tactic was to threaten me inorder to make me eat. But little did i know it was just to threaten. I decided to adopt the same to make the puppy finish his milk. I also had my brother along. I grabbed a stick of my size hit him twice and the puppy growled in fear and pain. My brother with a grass from the backyard, sat near the puppy, picked the puppy's nose using the grass with a plentiful smile saying "Amma ippidhaa pannuva kuliaprom" (meaning- Amma does the same after my shower). My dad by then finished his lunch and took the puppy away. My mother hit me hard and i could not accept the fact that it was taken away.

Poor puppy!!! I had no Dogs in my life till i was 23. Came to Melbourne with my cousin who was on her return to Melbourne after her vacation, to pursue my higher education. Aunt picked us up from the airport.We reached home and i saw a happy dog wagging her tail and doing a bum dance. Yes it is a she. My cousin could not move an inch away from the dog. It followed her everywhere. Reason? My cousin was away from home for the first time so long. Thats wen i realised dogs are intelligent too. As days passed by, Lucky, our dog, started coming to me as well and yeah it felt great. Lucky's welcome is the warmest ever. :) :) :).

She is a bundle of joy and creature for entertainment. She plays hide and seek, run and catch and what not. One incident which happened to me during my stay here in melbourne is what the story is actually about. Lucky runs around when she has to pee. I had no clues about it. I decided to play run and catch with her. I chased her and she chased me and what not. Lucky pounced on her bowl of water, barked and i made faces too and ran past through the corrider when lucky was chasing me.I slipped over and fell down hard. I was hurt but still i couldnt get out of the fun i was having then. Laughed till my stomach started hurting. Lucky came running behind and resisted her speed when she saw me down. But all in vain. She came screeching and hit her nose on my back. She walked over her bowl of water again splashed all the water on me and licked my hands, and it seemed to me as though she said everything will be alrite. She ran to the door, Jumped to the door handle and made me understand that she needs to go out. I let her out. She Came back and licked me again and walked along.

The latter took me back to that old day when i had a dobberman for just an hour at home. Dogs are humble.

If We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare, dogs give us their all in return. (Any living creature for that matter) - This is just a small quote for those who hate animals.

Wife.....

On a windy evening, after a tedious weekday,
She thinks about revamping her hay days,
Wondering contemptuously to reject her sickness,
She stands up determinatively to spurn all her grievences,
Then fortuitously strikes a proffer,
Benignant is its offer,
It renders her a lesson that,
She never forgets,
And it says ostentation keeps her promoting,
But Modesty keeps her going,
And that is life,
For a beautiful wife.

Special One

Waiting for the special one.......
Clinching my fists i sat to write thinking about my special one.

My Dog sniffed beside me to express disdain for not taking her
for a walk,
While on the way, i decided to talk.

I said to myself ,
Am waiting for the special one.

As i walked past houses, it reminded me of the past,
Toddler to a Teen, Teen to an Adult, Time flew away too fast.

Mistakes are bound to occur,
But life is a lesson for you to be vigilant that it does not recur.

Bitterness filled my life when i realised the mishappenings,
But soon i realised, its all for a better opening.

By then i walked past the 8th house,
With two statues out in the garden at a pose.

And i said to Myself ,
Am waiting for the special one.

My Dog met her friend,
Right across a fence,
Kettly was the noise,
She jumped over and over, When i pulled her against ,
To see her friend again.

Struck are the days of parting,
After school where we were learning,
Intact is the scene,
For my Dog showed me for what it has been.

And came a "U" turn,
Where i saw the bright blue sky while on return,
Happiness is what you need,
Which makes us beautiful in deed.

In the middle, I saw a juncture to my left,
And a family on my right.
I walked straight with exuberence,
Still waiting for my special one.

Random

I shut my doors for once and i had no one around for long,
Mind numbing were those days but exhilarating were my ways,
Gathered a few penny for music and realised becoming a millionaire is ecstatic,
Now its time to break open my doors, forcefully, to enjoy the real essence of liberty guarenteed to myself, blissfully,
Here I come, my deary world, to virtually retract my days joyously,
Awaiting, from deep within, a happy day.

Be in peace

Terrorism everywhere,
Peace nowhere,
It Emanates from one's inner soul,
To destroy every human soul,
Countries talk to propose an agenda,
On a false propoganda,
Surreal it seems,
For the adversary to work in teams,
Here is the solution,
For a peaceful notion,
Abjure violence
and stay in silence,
To keep the environment placid
And rigid.