“Men should not cry”.
Isn’t this one of the many
stereotypical statements(or should I call it ‘belief’?) used generously and ubiquitously
since time immemorial? Though ‘times have changed’(again a cliched expression!),
I don’t think the perception has undergone any major change. The spontaneous reaction
to a man crying in public or for that matter even at home will be this – Look at
him, crying like a woman- as if crying is the prerogative of a particular
gender. In a way, this too is misogyny of a different form.
Why am I saying all this
suddenly?
It is because I cried today
just sometime ago.
What was the reason?
Let me explain. I was pretty
down since morning, feeling listless and feeling as if my energy was sapped by
an unknown force. Not knowing what to do, I randomly clicked on a video. It was
a speech by the Maestro himself on RamaNa Maharishi. Even as I
was watching and listening, I felt tears swelling up in my eyes and like the
city of Chennai in the month of October, it started overflowing( Chennai
– My eyes; Tears- Floods; My face- Roads) without any reason or even season.
Should there always be a reason for everything?
And without any reason, my
thoughts instantly went to a particular song whose first line says – I get
tears in my eyes without any reason.
Like many compositions of
his-filmy or non-filmy- ‘KaaraNam indri kaNNeer varum’ (Raajavin
RamaNamaalai) is full of emotions. Based on the Hindustani raag
Madhukauns, the composition makes one travel on the roads of ThiruvaNNamalai
with the destination being very clear.
The violin piece in the higher-octave
makes me enter the Ashram and head straight to the hall.
The tabla in the Pallavi
is very special as it plays the chatushram beats languorously. So is the
subtle sound of the jaalra which plays the first beat of every cycle.
The absence of percussion
in the first interlude which has the guitar and the flute
with the former plucking the strings of our heart and the latter piercing our
soul, is special as well.
Well, coming to think of it,
there is no percussion in the second interlude as well, even as
the long flute and the guitar keep asking questions.
‘Open my eyes’ – This is
what the song says.
And I cry…
Is there a reason? I don’t
know and I don’t want to know..
