Searching for quiet

Amidst all the craziness and fast paced life, I have been searching for words to express that I am tired and I dont know why. I was also searching for what are the consequences if I stop? Interestingly enough, I found this article on Slow Language movement http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jul/04/poetry-slow-language-movement which summed up my feelings and reassured me that it is ok take the time to smell your flowers and fruit or the rain on dry soil or the wet mulch in the morning or the slow filtering of filter coffee.

Yes, I want to keep in touch with friends, yes, I want to bridge the divide of space, but I also want the ability to just walk away from the laptop and greet someone - even if it is my own self. Searching for quiet and me...I know I won't find it on the Internet and Google search cannot help me!!

America's biggest fear

Glen Beck recently had a segment in his show on Fox News - the camera pans over a graphical skyline with towering high rises labelled Capitalism and very quickly moves to plateaus with sand dunes that have tall buildings (not high rises - mind you!) labelled Socialism and then the camera traces a valley (like in a pit!) that shows tenements labelled Communism. Although I did not hear the words accompanied this shot (I was tuned into the music in my head), it struck me that America is now afraid that this financial crisis represents the end of Capitalism and the begin of a new era of Socialism.

Take two of the biggest social reforms that are being suggested - one that has become so trite and has been discussed so often - is the Health care reform. The other - which is just now surfacing - is the Nationalization of banks! We've all heard Obama's manifesto for the election - Expanding the coverage for children from under insured and low income families, covering basic health screening, and picking up part of the COBRA (bridge coverage) to help families without a job before they get back into employer coverage. While Congress works on the details of his vision, there are other think tanks suggesting Nationalization of banks as another avenue to prevent this kind of a financial melt down in the future.

The first thought that came to mind when I heard this was - this sounds like Indira Gandhi back in the 80's in India trying to control inflation by controlling the lending institutions and what loans they dole out.

For India, where infrastructure development was the primary objective, it was essential. So the idea was good even though (as is the norm with any initiative like this) was executed very poorly. For the US, while this allows for a careful evaluation of the risk in the investment, regulating some of the greed involved, it cannot be expected to be a panacea for all evil.

But all that aside, what is interesting is - after experimenting with Capitalism, this country is now dabbling with and adopting some of the highlights of Socialism. It is no longer a game where the stakes are high and the winner takes all. It is moving towards - the stakes are controlled depending on the risk involved so the winnings are controlled. So what does that do to "Land of opportunity"? I see a lot of opportunity for "Risk analysts" :-)

Send me your thoughts in your comments...

Ode to Indian temples

Here's picture of a Medieval temple (about 12 Century AD). It is called the Saas Bahu temple because it has two shrines - one large and more ornate than the other. I guess it is left to the imagination of the visitor to guess which one is representing who! The temple itself was in the style of the Sun temple in Konarak. Beautiful detail and very serene surroundings. It is in a little town called Nagda 12 Km from Udaipur overlooking a lake.









The Indian government tried very hard to explain it in this tablet here. But it appears that they were trying to out date the temple itself - their tablet is hardly readable and is more ruined than the temple! The temple withstood the invasions by Moghul warriors.

Visit it the next time you go to Udaipur. Send me your comments.

The veracity of Wikipedia and Collective wisdom of humanity

I recently participated in a debate / discussion on the veracity of Wikipedia and similar pages that anyone can edit. The points of view were straightforward - the information cannot be trusted to be accurate as malicious or ignorant people may mislead readers and hence such sites don't need to be supported. The other point of view was that these websites are sources of the collective wisdom of humanity in the digital form and hence need to be preserved (for the IT nerds out there read- backed up, archived etc).
While both points of view are right - who gets to decide whether a piece of information is true or false? And what kind of governance can you put in place? And how do you go about establishing a governance model?

Who can you sue if you relied on some information on Wikipedia and acted on it? These are valid questions. Are there answers in Wikipedia?

Now, extend this a little further - What kind of laws govern web lives? For example - will I be punished if I slander someone's web avtaar? Do we need to worry about such issues yet? For highly mediated websites, this is not an issue. What about in social sites like Facebook, My Space etc?

Drawing or Sculpting with music - a new invention??

Every classical raaga has a characteristic auditary pattern that distinguishes it from other raagas. Regardless of the singer or the krithi, the raaga is readily identifiable whether it is sung or played. So if the vibrations / frequencies / embellishments can be captured by a stylus, and the pattern traced in 2 dimensions, it should ideally result in the same picture. Theoretically this should be possible. Kinda like the patterns created by Windows Media player when playing a song.

This can be easily taken to 3 dimensions by tracing on a sphere - to begin with. I wonder if the deities envisioned for different ragas were in some way using the same concept?

Raga Saramati

There is a kriti by Thyagaraja - Mokshamu galada bhuvilo jeevan that captures the essence of this ragam Saramati. It appears almost that this kriti should be heard at the end of one's life. Every syllable in the song reverberates the fundamental questions in life - will anyone who has not realised the Self ever realise You, my Lord?

It makes one wonder whether the ragam was decided after the lyrics were written or was the ragam decided before the lyrics. The kriti is so beautifully woven that it gives one an idea of the depth of Saint Thyagaraja's devotion and truly emancipated wisdom and creativity.

Now, how perfect would this song be on the lips of Mahatma Gandhi (from SaBarmati) as he says "Hey Ram" to the bullets of Godse. If Gandhi was into carnatic music, he would have sung "Mokshamu galada bhuvilo jeevan" at that moment and Godse would've quivered.


"Mari mari ninne moralida" from the film Sindhu Bhairavi is in Saramati too.

FYI - Saramati is also a mountain in Nagaland measuring about 3841 meters. It kind of reiterates that one needs to master the mountain of 'Self' to reach the Lord above.

Raag Bageshri and Raag Madhuvanti

Everytime I listen to Bageshri and Madhuvanti, I am reminded of Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood. The songs that i listen to are considered "carnatic" since they are set in the framework of south indian classical music. However, they have such a distinct flavor of the North, like they belong to kings like Akbar or Raja Man Singh. It is perfectly suited for Radha or Mirabai to express their yearning for Lord Krishna set in Mathura.

I think there are a lot of compositions on Lord Krishna in these two ragas. The song - Poocho na kaise maine rain bitayi - seems to be set in Madhuvanti. I am indebted to the person who introduced me to Manna Dey and Talat Mehmood and their music.

My book shelf...

To know what I am reading now - please check out my bookshelf at

Concentriccircle's Bookshelf

The Invocations of the Veena

There is so much that the Veena invokes. Imagine a setting - a large temple, with an open courtyard in the center. And the deity in the sannithanam, barely visible since it is an old temple with little ventilation in the sannithanam. There is one in Salem near my Patti's house. Amabalvanaswamy koil. And the Veena is being played facing the deity. Erudite scholars all around, well versed in Vedas, in the culture of India, eons of wisdom reflected in every word they utter. Yet, surrounded by poverty - not because they cannot earn, but because they have such strong ideals that they find hard to let go of. And the humility derived from it...and the bhakthi that it surrenders to.

Amidst such company, the Veena is played. The feeling it invokes in each and every person is that of freedom. Freedom - not in the sense that Poverty is banished but Freedom in the sense that it doesnt matter any more to be labeled poor. Every note emanating from those strings speaks of humility, speaks of freedom so pervasive and so encompassing that there is no room for another thought. Freedom that tells one that it doesnt matter that one is poor, that what matters is one has lived a meaningful life. Every note smells of camphor, pure bhakthi and wisdom. Every note reminds one of their end - how beautiful it would be to reach it listening to those notes.

I decided not to kill this blog.