Enchanting rhythmic patterns - 1

Music is the elegant expression of enigmatic human feelings and moods. When speech form can easily be asserted as the pioneer in the history of direct human communication, music is its absolute realization. Imitation of various environmental sounds heard should have resulted in speech. Assiduous refinement of such imitations with the application of appealing emotions gives music. Music universalizes the progress attained by human civilizations and epitomizes the great human efforts towards progress.

Indian music comprises of assorted traditions in both structured classical music and the democratic folklore, representing the diverse cultures spread across the country. Indian classical music is inclusively represented by the Hindustani and Carnatic forms. These formats are rooted in the political history and practiced in divided geographical locations of the country. Hindustani music practiced in northern part of India has a strong influence of Persian music owing to the political dominance of Islamic rulers over centuries in North India. Carnatic music belongs to the Dravidian southern India.

A common trait to both these music formats is the Raagas - or the unmetered melodies. A raaga can be defined as a pattern of notes having characteristic intervals, rhythms, and embellishments in Indian music. Each raaga is associated with a mood or fervor.

                                       ******************************************
                                                             (1)

Two raagas are close to my heart. One is the "Desh" - a Hindustani Raaga and the other is "Udhayaravichandrika" - a Carnatic Raaga. Both these Raagas have been exercised in exemplary musical creations. Various soulful songs have been composed out of these patterns. Few are close to my heart.

Raaga Desh, (as the name exactly means country in Hindi-the national language of India) has given birth to many patriotic songs. Vande Mataram the national song of India is rendered in this Raaga. This song originally was written by the famous Bengali author Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya in his acclaimed novel Anandamath. The first two words of the song - "Vande Mataram" - meaning "I bow to thee, mother" invigorated the spirits of the freedom movement in India against the British rule. It was used as a slogan by the Indian patriots.

Mother India

I refer to Shri Aurobindo Ghose's translation of this wonderful composition. 

                     Mother, I salute thee!

                     Rich with thy hurrying streams,

                     bright with orchard gleams,

                     Cool with thy winds of delight,

                     Dark fields waving Mother of might,

Any Indian's soul would arouse on hearing this song. The oldest rendition of this song composed for All India Radio by the famous musician Ravi Shankar can be found here. The more popular version of the song to the younger generations is of A.R.Rahman composed to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence and it can be found here.

                                  ******************************************
                                                    (2)

Another song based in this Raaga is close to my heart. The song is "Thunbam Nergaiyil" in Tamil, penned by the famous poet Bharathidasan. This song was originally part of musical album for the movie Or Iravu - One Night. The movie was a thriller written in 1951 by C.N.Annadurai, the Dravidian movement stalwart & playwright who later went on to become the chief minister of the southern state TamilNadu. Music was composed by M.M.Dhandapani Desikar. 

Yaazh

The theme of the song is to exhibit the sweetness and soothing nature of Tamil language. The poet whose love for the Tamil language is profound, heaps praise on the Tamil literature. The first few lines can be translated as follows:

                    When sorrow moments occur, O Dear

                    Why don't you rejoice me on Yaazh

                    Would you not reduce the pain of the loveless heart 

                    With soothing Tamil words

True to the words of the song, I heard the soulful rendition of the song in Veena(Yaazh is the ancestor of Veena) by Rajesh Vaidya. Desh Raaga with its soothing charm took over my heart. The original rendition of the movie album was sung by M.S.Rajeswari. The musical value of the song and strength of the lyrics gave it an entry to the otherwise narrow doors of Carnatic music performances. A wonderful treatise on the song was done by Nithyshree Mahadevan. Watch it here for the clarity and diction.

                            ******************************************
                                                 (3)

Yet another song, which is not so famous but not less significant is "Bharatha Desa Hitaya". This is a composition of Shri Dayananda Saraswati in Sanskrit. They are words of inspiration to service to the young Indian. I find them closely resembling to the famous work of Mahakavi Bharathi - in which the great poet dreamt of a energetic India. 

The Sanskrit verses can be translated roughly as follows:

                       For the good of this country 

                       Served by the wisdom of great souls commencing from Bharatha

                      For the protection of humanity residing from Himalayas to Sethu 

                       Do your service! Do your service!

                                                       

                       For improving in health, For upholding justice

                       For eradicating poverty, For bringing prosperity

                       For upliftment of the destute

                       Do your service! Do your service!

This song was written as anthem for the All India movement for Service. Beautiful rendition of this song by UnniKrishnan can be found here.

                                     ******************************************

                                                      (4)

Desh Raaga which is the soul for all these songs is a derived or Janya raaga. The parent of this Raaga is another wonderful Hindustani Classical Raaga the Khamas. Not only is the parent Raaga wonderful. It is also the source for a master piece. The song "Vaishnava Janato" which was close to the heart of the Father of our nation - Mahatma Gandhi is on Raaga Khamas.

The famed Gujarati song was written in 15th century by Narsingh Mehta. The song delves on the qualities of a good Samaritan. This was the prayer song for Mahatma Gandhi's meetings.

Illustrious son of Mother India

The first verse of the song can be translated as follows:

                         One who is a true devotee of God (Vaishnava)

                         Feels the pain of others

                         They help those who are in misery

                         But never lets ego or pride enter their mind

A saccharine rendition of this beautiful song by Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar here

                                                      *********************

 The Raaga Desh and its parent Khamas have very beautiful soul in them. And the songs that followed these patterns were also magnificent compositions. I would call it illustrious offspring to an illustrious parent.

                                                                                                                         - Will End in Next Part

The Road I took

Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" poem is an expression of brimming confidence in defying the routine and choosing a less traveled path in life. But this post is about the charming experience I had in the not so different road I took.

Many of us, who have our careers with the Indian IT industry go through a routine. It is the well known path of pursuing academic degrees in a different city or state or country, getting employed in varied locations, and later getting deputed to various foreign work locations.

For a person who walks this road, separation from family happens either for academic or employment opportunities. Parting ways and bidding adieu from family are better said than done.One gets to lead a life that is "independent" then on. The independence always keeps one to task. One learns to count the pennies when the wallet is yet-to-be replenished, be accountable for one's deeds, adjust with people, and then raise to any occasion. This learning is valuable and these experiences help one mature in life.

The level of maturity one gains depends upon the variety of environments, one has to adapt to. One tends to create a conducive atmosphere wherever one goes. If one succeeds in this task, it is an accomplishment of getting a "second-family" or "family-like" set up. And this "family-like" set up continues for a longer period of time for most of the folks.

I traversed the same path and ended up in getting such a good setup. Friendly work environment and family like colleagues.

But as few people come across, my path too had a twist. I recently had to bid adieu to my "second-family" environment in Minneapolis, often reverentially referred as the twin cities.

                                        

I was blessed to work with a team which fits to the grammar laid by the famed industrialist Henry Ford, "Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success." The team can definitely be called a "work-family". 

Our Team demonstrated exemplary resilience on the effects of external and internal factors. Never once did we fail to recognize other's work. Never once did we fail to celebrate an individual's contribution to the team.

As it happened, I had to part ways from the team. When we had to part, I quoted Rumi, the renowned Sufi mystic poet to say, “Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words.” 

I had a parting gift from one of my team mates just as to endorse the quote. A bouquet of chocolates, famed products of Minnesota. When I relished on them, they were refreshing on my tired senses(worn out on the ordeal of shifting from Minnesota to Austin)

But now when I relive those memories, the distinct taste of each confectionery presented to me reminds me of the grandeur of my team.

Ginger Crystallized Dark Chocolate indicated me of the spirit and spunk we had as a team. Work was demanding at times, but the collective spirit of the team won.

Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate tasted like the discussions we had. Cajoling each other in the midst of heated debates and hectic discussions helped us tread on the dreaded situations.

Orange Feel in Dark Chocolate implied the sweet and sourness in every glitch  we had as a team towards success. The sourness enhances the sweetness. When there was a glitch, the moment seemed to sour; but when we overcame them, we had sweet memories of team work.

Sea salt caramels were the moments we thought our endeavor was in jeopardy and success seemed evasive. But at hindsight, those moments triggered us to work towards success.

Sea salt almond alligators were the hard nuts we had to encounter as a team. These nuts ranged from mind boggling technical issues to challenging cohorts. None of the alligators could pull us from working towards our goal.

The assorted chocolate pack allude to the matchless individuals who partnered to work as a praiseworthy team and the butter almonds remind me of the cherished moments spent together.

These are reflections of a beautiful journey that we had as a team. I am not sure if I paid attention to these beautiful imagery when I took that voyage. But now when I am far off, I realize that distance promotes new perspectives in life.  And always new dimensions can be visualized only when one gets detached. 

If opportunity confluences me back with my team in any of the future endeavors it would be more of a home coming for me.