music,musings n more

Living in a country where you are surrounded by youthful vigour, everywhere, it is a hard hitting reality check when you visit India for vacations.Old, tired faces of parents greet you first at the airport.A smile brightens their faces and you get a momentary glimpse of their former glory.A visit to the relatives or friends home , inevitably means  listening with growing trepidation about the travails of old age or  the minus members in a family due to deaths. A simple "how are you " often is replied with a " days are just rolling by and we are just living on." Then your heart starts reminding you " your days are coming soon."The brightness of youth would soon lack its lustre and and before you know it would be your turn to wait for the kids at the airport.

 " Yeh Mumbai Sheher hadso ka shehar hai.." the song kept ringing in my mind, annoyingly clear enough as we touched down at the magnificient Chathrapathi Shivaji Maharaja International terminal.It was almost 11 pm. The lights outside shown bright and the city seemed quite active, through the flight windows. But still I was apprehensive.May be because the Mumbai I know is through Bollywoods portrayal of the dark and bloody underworld stories. In my little Gods own country , it isnt safe to travel at night is what I'm always cautioned. So , a night ride in a taxi through the not familiar Mumbaiyya sadak, that too with a young daughter, was pretty daunting to me. But my hubby dear seemed cool and so I didnt reveal my jitters either. And yes , to add fuel to it our dear BSNL sims were not working!!! We set out in a battered taxi to Andheri west , with nothing but the name of the hotel and the street to show the route.It was close to 12 am , and we were going round and round i

"Excuse me please, kindly move. This is my seat ," boomed the voice of my 18 year old ,tall son, towering over a lady who seemed quite cosy in his aisle seat , when he boarded his flight to Chennai.With a smirk she replied , "We are all going to the same place. So what difference does it make!" It took some time for him to convince her that though their destinations were the same , they have assigned seats. Finally she moved into the next seat.    On a recent trip to Karipur, I watched in consternation as the hapless steward tried to get everyone seated in their respective seats , to get the already delayed flight on air. The complaint was that seats allotted were scattered. And a family wanted to sit together even in the 3 hours short flight!!! A queue was building up behind them. In the meanwhile a few had already done the " adjustments" and seated themselves next to their friends or acquaintances. A lady was seen roaming around trying to find a vacant

മനസ്സിൽ തട്ടുന്ന ചില കാര്യങ്ങൾ അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ചില വ്യക്തിത്വങ്ങൾ , എന്നിലെ എഴുത്തുകാരിയെ ഉണർത്തുമ്പോഴാണ്  എൻ്റെ ബ്ലോഗുകൾ പിറക്കുന്നത്. ഇത്തവണ ഉറ്റ സുഹൃത്തും, അയൽവാസിയും , ഞങ്ങൾക്ക് ഒരു നല്ല റോൾമോഡലും ആയ ഒരു പച്ച മനുഷ്യൻ ആണ് എൻ്റെ  എഴുത്തിനു തിരി കൊളുത്തിയത്‌ .കുറച്ചു വര്ഷങ്ങളായി പരിചയമുള്ള അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ കൂടെ ചിലവിടുന്ന ഓരോ നിമിഷവും, ഓർമയിൽ തങ്ങി  നിൽക്കുന്ന ഒരു പാട് പുത്തൻ അറിവുകൾ സമ്മാനിക്കാറുണ്ട്.    പേരെടുത്തു പറയേണ്ട ആവശ്യമില്ല, എന്തെന്നാൽ  ഇത് വായിച്ചു തീരും മുൻപ് ആരെയാണ് ഞാൻ പരാമർശിക്കുന്നത് എന്ന് മനസ്സിലാക്കാൻ പറ്റും , കാരണം അദ്ദേഹം ഇപ്പോൾ ചർച്ചകളിൽ നിറഞ്ഞു നിൽക്കുകയാണ്. ഞങ്ങളുടെ സംഭാഷണങ്ങളിലും അദ്ദേഹം നിറ  സാന്നിധ്യമാണ്  എന്നത് കൊണ്ട്‌   ഞങ്ങളെ അറിയുന്നവർക്ക് അദ്ദേഹം  സുപരിചിതനാണ്. വ്യക്തി വൈഭവം കൊണ്ടു മനസ്സിൽ തട്ടി നിൽക്കുന്ന  ഒരു യൂണിക്‌ മനുഷ്യൻ. ബിസിനസ്സ് രംഗത്തെ അതീവ പാടവം,സൂക്ഷ്‌മബുദ്ധി,  ദീർഘവീക്ഷണം ഇതൊക്കെ  അതിശയാവഹം തന്നെ, പക്ഷെ അദ്ദേഹത്തെ വേറിട്ട്  നിർത്തുന്നത് വിനയവും എളിമയും നിറഞ്ഞ പെരുമാറ്റവും, പിന്നിട്ട നാളുകളെ പറ്റിയുള്ള നല്ല ബോധവും, അവയിൽ നിന്നുള്ള പാഠങ്ങൾ  ഉൾക്കൊണ

 My writings ensue when I strongly feel about something or when I am touched by something. This time the trigger for thoughts, is a good friend, or rather our role model in many facets of life.As a neighbor we have known him since several years. Each moment we have spent with him has been a lesson in itself.     Let me not name him now. No, not for an element of surprise, but since I very well know that it will be obvious to those who know us, as to whom I am referring to,  for he is a unique person. And no this is not to eulogize him. A self made entrepreneur, his stories about his life until now,  fills us with awe and inspiration.It reminds us that God has been always been benevolent to us. His  farsightedness , business acumen and strong sense of judgement is not what makes him different.But the very fact that, in-spite of scaling the heights he has reached, he is humility personified is what makes him unique. Life experiences may have made him quite strong and at times bluntly st

            "How do I know what my daughter wants to do?", asked a fretting mom about her 12 year old. Though not an expert , I ,looking through the glasses of experience replied that it is too early for the little girl  to form her mind. But whatever she does has to come from within her and should be nurtured with passion and devotion.             Those  words, a universal truth, I had said with much conviction, as I had seen the same happening with my children.My daughter started singing at the tender age of 3.We were lucky parents in that we never had to compel her to take to music. It came naturally in the flow of life , being born into a musical family.But at times, the same flow of life would tip her priorities away from her music which is ingrained in her. And at times it would be a phase of ebb, often the outcome of her striving to  achieve 100 percent at this tender age and her own sense of not attaining it, simple distractions or simply laziness that would keep her

                                                                                “Chewing gum keeps the throat supple”, says Lataji. She always keep a handful of them with her... She eats a lot of chillies to keep her voice sweet...Well, these are just some interesting snippets about Lataji,Indias legendary singer. Lata Mangeshkar has been a biographer’s delight. Chronological detailing about her illustrious music career she made up with her mellisonant voice runs into volumes. She has plenty to say about her musical career spanning from the 40s to the present, interesting anecdotes, and facts about the musical maestros she has worked with .All these provide   insights into the glorious years of Indian film music. With family   The Clout that Lataji enjoys today was not achieved overnight. Her path to glory has tales of hard work and sacrifice to tell. Being the breadwinner of a large family, she started her film career at the age of 13 with cameo roles in Marathi and Hindi fi

I am a devotee of Sabarimala Ayyappan and if someone asks what are the parameters of a devotee, then here is what I can confidently say. I believe that a trip to Sabarimala isn’t a holiday trip or a journey to prove a point. But it is an inward journey into yourselves, when you test your tenacity, your tolerance, your self-will while renouncing worldly comforts and abstaining from indulging in negative thoughts and actions. It is a huge commitment and cannot be taken up by a full time mother, wife and daughter like me. I would rather wait for that age when I have a stronger mental disposition ,when I can hold my head over all the responsibilities binding me down and with a calm and focused mind spend 41 days extolling the name of the lord and live in penance .Only then I am fully an Ayyappa Bhaktha .I see no inequality here, as even now I possess the right to have a darshan of Lord Ayyappa in the numerous other temples across the world.I see no need to panic or wound religious se