Theology

 Certain things in our life are unforgettable.

And this applies more to things which happened during our childhood. What happens during this period remains firmly etched in our memory and even the loss of cells in the brain will not affect this memory. One of the reasons could be the freshness of the brain during our childhood, but most importantly it could also be because of our tendency and proclivity to enjoy nostalgia.

I am saying all this now not without a reason. When I was a child, I studied in a school which was part of an Institution known for respecting our culture. Every day during lunch hour, we were asked to repeat a small sloka. At the end of it, the teacher would sound the bell and only then were we allowed to open the lunch box.

Now, let me clarify a couple of things. By ‘respecting culture’, I do not mean any religion or ideology. The person who established the Institution, was known for her syncretic views. Though the sloka was in Sanskrit on a particular Hindu deity, it was recited by one and all-including the students from other faiths- without any reservations. During the assembly, representatives of 3 major religions would say the prayer on his/her God and all of us repeated it. I remember these prayers too just like how I remember the ‘Lunch Prayer’.

That Lunch Prayer was on a deity called AnnapoorNa, who is supposed to be the Goddess of Nourishment. It was composed by Adi Shankara as part of the ‘AnnapoorNa ashtakam’ ‘Anna’ in Sanskrit means ‘Food’ and ‘PoorNa’ is complete (or ‘whole’). The 2-line sloka, prays to Her for giving not just food but also knowledge, wisdom and will power. I would repeat that sloka during our dinner time at home and also imitate the sound of the bell before laying my hands on what was prepared by my mother.

After many years, I still remember the sloka with the intonation and the sound of the bell and whenever I recite it to myself (not necessarily during breakfast/lunch/dinner) it gives me nourishment spiritually, mentally and emotionally. In fact, the purpose of any recitation or even prayer to any icon is this- to make us feel better.

All these are symbolic and carry a lot of value. Unfortunately, we have (by ‘we’, I mean the people propagating certain ideologies and are bent on ‘constructing temples’) forgotten the purpose and objective behind each icon and have assumed that the purpose of a religion is to assert our superiority over people following other religions, hardly realising that the Divine is one and each has his/her own way of approaching it. And that is the reason for mindless ‘discourses’ done with an eye on the vote bank.

Going back to AnnapoorNa , what the icon-which has a golden ladle on the right hand and a pot full of porridge on the left hand- indicate are ‘Fullness’, ‘Nourishment’, ‘Wisdom’ ‘Truth’ and ‘Supreme Welfare’. It also symbolises ‘Shakti’ or the ‘Universal Energy’.

No other film song has depicted AnnapooraNi as majestic and melodic as ‘InnaruL Tharum AnnapooraNi’ (Athma- 1993) has done and reasons are not far to seek.

First and foremost, it is based on the Raag Durga. As many of you know, Durga is a form of Shakti and I am sure the composer tuned it in this raag not without a purpose (of course, he does not break his head on the tune or on the raga to be used and this too must have occurred to him spontaneously like ‘Lalita’ in Rudra VeeNa/Unnaal Mudiyum Thambi.

Secondly, it is rendered by a carnatic music legend. Though Shri.T.N.Seshagopalan did sing before in a movie in which he played the major role (an experience he would ‘like to forget’- as told by him), this one is unique. It is not uncommon for classical musicians to sing in movies but the fact that a musician of the stature of Shri.T.N.S., agreed to sing a song  in a commercial movie in which he played no role one, shows the respect and admiration he had for Raaja sir.

The very first piece in sitar gives the sketch of the raag. The violin expands it and we see the charming silhouettes that seem delightfully fresh.

The energy continues to flow in the Pallavi with the dholak and the tabla sounding in rupakam (it can be ‘tisram’ too but I am more comfortable with a 6 - beat cycle in this composition). The subtle sound of the jaalra makes it livelier.

The sitar plays lustrously with vigour and vitality while the flute plays with an evocative grandeur in the first interlude.

The major attraction of the second interlude is the shehnai. It is soft, buoyant, intense and sparkling. When it touches the higher octave ‘ma’, it seems as if it has discovered the Divine.

And the ‘akaaram’ of Shri.T.N.S. in the second charaNam seems to confirm this..

After all, where is the Divine- In Mandir? In Masjid? In Church?

Let the Divine give us the wisdom of seeking the Truth, so that we find the answer ourselves.

Jnaana Vairagya Siddhyartam Bhiksham Dehi...

Antique

 How do things become extinct?

Is it Nature’s Law or is it a man-made law?

Now, see this- Two species of plants first discovered more than 125 years ago in Andamans and Meghalaya are now extinct. Both incidentally belong to the ginger family and are classified under Boesenbergia. The reasons for their extinction , given by two botanists from Kerala, include Climate Change and over-exploitation from man.

Can one hope to find these again?

Before I get into that, let me think of things which have become extinct- Fountain Pen, Cassette Recorder, CD Player, Transistor radio.. The list also includes DVD players and i-pods!

Why did these become extinct?

Technological advancement? Or is there any other reason?

Well, I am not a person who closes his eyes to modern development chanting ‘Old is gold’. At the same time, to me such extinctions suggest things which might appear ludicrous on the face of it, but at same time could also trigger some thoughts.

When we give up things which were in existence once, don’t we also give up the value we attached to those things once upon a time? Can we ever give up or even attempt to give up the joy, the satisfaction and the ecstasy these gave us? Most importantly, can those moments ever be erased?

Yes, we move on but not without reliving those moments and also looking back with reverence, with fondness and with love.

‘Change is the only constant in the world’, said somebody. I look at this rather from a different angle. To me, that ‘constant’ is as valuable as ‘change’ and that ‘constant’ signifies the moments in the past, moments which left an indelible mark in our life.

Whenever a particular date appears on the calendar (which itself has become extinct), one cannot help reminiscing about the previous 364 days. To some, it would give sadness. To some, it would give happiness. To some, it would give a mix of both. But unmindful of all this, the date smiles at us like Mona Lisa and bids adieu.

No points for guessing the date which is Dec 31^st.

What is interesting and intriguing is the fact that invariably everyone looks at the next year with hopes irrespective of whatever had happened before. If not for any other reason, this alone makes the date very valuable.

Let us make this valuable day more valuable by looking at a song which too is extinct, or rather very rare.

What makes ‘Happy New Year’ from ‘Oh Maane Maane’ (1984) special is not just the first line. The composition has shades of Baila, a form of music popular in Goa and in Sri Lanka. The ubiquitous bass guitar throbs almost throughout the song. The lead guitar too leads the orchestra in many places.

Are these the only specialities?

Of course, there are more. Let us look at the song from the beginning.

The song starts with those three words which one will hear ad nauseam tomorrow. The claps are joined by the bass guitar and the lead guitar and even as the claps gather momentum, the piped instruments enter and dance with a feeling of joie de vivre.

The Pallavi in the voice of Malaysia Vasudevan brings more joy as the singer modulates his voice and is joined by another singer (Sundararajan, Raaja sir’s assistant for many years).

The guitar and its cousin bass guitar sail smoothly in the first half of the first interlude but it is the brass flute which grabs our attention not least because of its varied usage. Gliding smoothly to start with, it moves picks up pace and even gives a feeling of poignancy. The guitar cousins back it throughout albeit differently.

The lines in the CharaNams move cheerfully in the major scale and this has to do also with the rhythmic pattern in tisram. The female voice(Janaki) is a bonus while the bass guitar which is present throughout adds pulsating weight.

The different sounds of guitar make the beginning of the second interlude graceful and elegant. The piped instruments enter in the second a la first interlude but the similarity ends there. These have more vigour and zeal in this interlude with the dash of alien notes adding to their winsome variations.

Joy, happiness, hopes and yes…nostalgia. These will exist and will continue to exist without ever becoming extinct.

Happy New Year!