Solicited.. or Unsolicited?

Giving advice is one of the easiest things to do in this world.

Tell me one person who does not indulge in this act. I am saying ‘indulge’ because we all with our bloated egos, have the ‘I know it all’ attitude and start ‘advising’ others without even for a moment stopping to think how we are, what we are and if our stepping in is indeed required. We see everything with coloured eyes without even bothering to get into any details. We go by how we are conditioned by somebody or by our own thoughts. Thus, most of the advices are unsolicited.

The most recent episode is the one involving one of the greatest cricketers. People from 6 to 60 – including some who wouldn’t have even touched a cricket bat in their life- keep talking, chatting, sharing, tweeting and status updating that the cricketer concerned should retire. The so called ‘cognoscenti’ advise the cricketer on what step he should take and when.

At least this is understandable in a cricket crazy nation. But I have come across instances of people attacking others in the name of advice. What matters to them is not the welfare of a person (or persons). Their objective is to insult others directly and indirectly by brandishing their pseudo weapon.

But thankfully, such people are only a minority and it is best to ignore them.

At the same time, I am surely not saying advices are not needed-either giving or taking. What is of paramount importance is how we distinguish between genuine advices and advices given with mala fide intentions. This we learn over a period of time. And if we have been at the receiving end, we too should learn as to when and to whom we should give our advice. If we know for sure that a person close to us is in the wrong, is it not our duty to set things right?

In the rare gem of the day, the lady- who is the friend of the heroine- is trying tp advise her friend rather indirectly by chiding somebody else- who in any case happens to be the culprit behind the ‘misdeeds’ of her friend.

Mahendran’s film ‘Pootaatha PoottukkaL’(1980) revolved around a childless couple, and a stranger who visits their village as a guest and how he manages to seduce the lady, who falls in the trap because she loves children and would like to have her own child at any cost(underline the word ‘at any cost’).

This song sequence appears when the Heroine’s friend who is aware of the entire episode but still is helpless, advises the stranger to mend his ways.

Very simple but catchy folksy tune, meaningful lyrics(Panchu Arunachalam) and wonderful rendering(Janaki) make this song a gem.

The song set in the Kharaharapriya scale starts without a prelude.

The first interlude starts after a brilliant pause. One of Raaja’s most favourite instruments (the one which sounds almost like a santoor ) during that period takes over and moves with beguiling simplicity. The lucid flute and the reverberating santoor nod their heads with a very different sounding instrument (synthesiser) smiling sardonically.

The Shehnai in the second part of the second interlude is soothing while it is the luminous flute which shines with sylvan charm along with the -santoor and that lovely instrument. The cuckoo sound towards the end of the interlude is a class act.

If Phrases like ‘paana vaavana’ show sarcasm and intended derision, lines like ‘mogam vandhu theeNdumpothile, paaradhathai paakka chellume’ ‘un maanam sandhaiyile viththu pogume’ ‘ezhuthinavan yettai keduththan, padichavano paattai keduththan’ say the story in just a few seconds. (how beautifully Janaki sings ‘ezhuthinaven’- a typical Madurai way of giving the ‘yekaaram’ sound!).

The last charaNam simply echoes the helplessness of the friend.

An advice worth listening to..