tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18816247340702728502024-03-14T13:18:34.826+05:30how to name itVignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-53370892425604741702013-05-25T23:38:00.000+05:302013-05-25T23:38:28.655+05:30R.I.P TMST.M.Soundararajan is a singer of generation. Many generation.
He is a singer of culture, identity and every day life.
He is a singer who inspired many when he sang and also when he stopped.
Its difficult to imagine Sivaji or MGR without TMS.
Its difficult to imagine Murugan festivals without his songs.
Its difficult to imagine the pristine life that existed before the fast paced one of today.
He has lived his life and takes leave. But his voice and his legacy is here to stay.
With Love
Vicky
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Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-2509226360219882862013-05-19T03:36:00.002+05:302013-05-19T03:36:36.796+05:30DL0239This is a review of a Tamil book named "Pala nerangalil pala manidhargal" which I read enroute Amsterdam to Atlanta in flight number DL0239. This was published in the website: omnibus.com in <a href="http://omnibus.sasariri.com/2013/05/blog-post_16.html">this</a> URL.<br />
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பல நேரங்களில் பல மனிதர்கள் - பாரதி மணி</h3>
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<b>சிறப்பு பதிவர் :<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://raagadevan.blogspot.com/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">விக்கி</a></b></div>
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டிஎல் இருநூற்று முப்பத்து ஒன்பதின் பொழுதுபோக்கு சாதனங்கள் வேலை செய்யவில்லை. வீட்டில் இரண்டு நாய்களுக்கு மேல் வைத்திருந்தால் அதிக வரி கட்ட வேண்டும் என்பது போன்ற அற்ப காரணங்களுக்கெல்லாம் அதிகமாய் மூட் அவுட் ஆகும் டச்சு மக்கள் பலரும் ஹை வால்யுமில் தங்கள் அதிருப்தியை வெளிப்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருந்தனர். "யூ காட்டபி கிட்டிங் மீ" என ஒரு கருப்பர் அமெரிக்க பெண்மணி மண்டையை குலுக்கிக் கொண்டிருந்தார். நான் ஒருவன் மட்டும் மனதுக்குள் சிரித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தேன்.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />DL 0239 - ஆம்ஸ்டர்டாமிலிருந்து அட்லாண்டா செல்லும் ஏர்பஸ் A330-300. அன்றைக்கு அட்லாண்டா வழியாக ஒர்லாண்டோ பயணம் செய்து கொண்டிருந்த என் உவகைக்குக் காரணம், கைவசமிருந்த ஐஃபோன் நிறைய பாட்டும், பாட்டரி நிறைய சார்ஜும், கை நிறைய (போன முறை ஊருக்குச் சென்றபோது ஊறுகாய் அப்பளத்துக்கு பதிலாக நான் கொண்டு வந்த) தமிழ் புத்தகங்களும்.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />சுஜாதாவின் சிறுகதை தொகுப்பு (பாகம் 1), லா. ச. ரா.வின் அபிதா, பாரதி மணியின் "பல நேரங்களில் பல மனிதர்கள்" ஆகிய விருப்பத் தேர்வுகளில் எதை முதலில் எடுக்கலாம் என்ற கேள்விக்கு, சுறுசுறுப்பாக ஏதாவது படிக்கலாம் என பதில் தோன்றியது. "பாரதி மணி" என்கிற பேரைப் பார்த்தவுடன் பரஸ்பர நண்பர் சுகாவின் முகநூல் பக்கத்தில் இவ்விருவரும் பரிமாறிக் கொள்ளும் நையாண்டி நினைவுக்கு வந்தது.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />மேலும், பாட்டையாவை எனக்கு ஏற்கனவே தெரியும் (ஆனால் அவருக்கு என்னைத் தெரியாது :-P). உயிர்மையில் அவரின் சில கட்டுரைகளை வாசித்திருக்கிறேன். தவிர, இந்தப் புத்தகம் பற்றி சுகா சொல்வனத்தில் எழுதியிருந்த<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://solvanam.com/?p=22772" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">"பாட்டையா பார்த்த மனிதர்கள்"</a> என்கிற கட்டுரையையும் படித்திருந்தேன். அதனால் முதலில் அவரின் புத்தகத்தை எடுத்தேன்.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" /><div style="text-align: center;">
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நாஞ்சில் நாடனின் அணிந்துரையைத் தாண்டி இந்திரா பார்த்தசாரதியைப் படித்துக் கொண்டிருக்கும்போது, "வீ வெல்கம் அவர் பிஸினஸ் க்ளாஸ் பாஸன்ஜெர்ஸ் ஃபார் ப்ரையாரிட்டி போர்டிங்" என்ற ஒரு வழியாக அழைப்பு வந்தது. எழுந்து பேண்ட்டின் சுருக்கத்தை சரி செய்துவிட்டு எழுந்த இடத்திலேயே திரும்ப உட்கார்ந்து ஜனதா வகுப்பின் cattle classஐக் கூப்பிடும்வரை அமைதி காத்தேன்.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />இரண்டு - நான்கு - இரண்டு என்ற இருக்கை அமைப்பில் 32C எண் இருக்கையை தேடிப் பிடித்தால் இன்ப அதிர்ச்சி. இரண்டு சீட்டுக்கப்பால் விவரிக்க முடியாத அளவிற்கு அழகான twenty something பெண் ஒருவர் அமர்ந்திருந்தார். ரோஜாப்பூ கலரில் இதுவரை எம் ஜி ஆர், ராஜீவ் காந்தி ஆகிய இருவரை மட்டுமே பார்த்திருப்பதாக புத்தகத்தில் சொன்ன பாட்டையா இவரைப் பார்த்திருந்தால், "நான் இதுவரை அந்த கலரில் பார்த்த மூன்று பேர்கள்" என மாற்றி எழுதியிருக்கக் கூடும்.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />இருக்கையில் அமர்ந்து இன் ஃபிளைட் மேகசின்னை புரட்ட ஆரம்பித்தேன். யுன்னான் மாகாணத்தில் லிஜியாங் என்கிற ஊர் கல்யாணம் செய்துகொள்ளத் தோதானது என டெல்டா நிறுவனம் சத்தியம் செய்தபோது, "அண்ணே அண்ணே சிப்பாய் அண்ணே" பாட்டின் தொடக்கத்தில் வரும் அதே குரலில் - "எக்ஸ்க்யுஸ் மீ".<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />நிமிர்ந்த முதல் பார்வையில் ஜீன்ஸ் பேண்ட் தெரிந்தது. அதற்கு மேல் செல்ல, "BJORN BORG" என்கிற அன்ட்ராயர் பட்டி. O-க்கு மேலே ஞாபகமாய் ரெண்டு புள்ளி. கையில் சிகப்பு கலரில் பாஸ்போர்ட். அதன் அட்டையில் "எய்ரோப்பாஸ் செவியெனிபா லாட்விஜாஸ் ரிப்பப்ளிக்கா". அப்படியே இன்னும் கொஞ்சம் நிமிர்ந்தால் விக்கு விநாயகராம் வாசிக்கும் வாத்திய தொப்பை. அதில் ஃப்ளுரசன்ட் பச்சை நிறத்தில் சொல்லித்தான் தெரிய வேண்டிய உண்மை - "<b><i>I am Lazy</i></b>". அதற்கு மேலே சின்னதாக மீசை வைத்த தூங்குமூஞ்சி கண்கள். தலையில் திருப்பிப் போடப்பட்ட தொப்பி. விதியை நொந்துகொண்டே எழுந்து வெளியில் வந்து, அவன் உள்ளுக்குள் போக வழிவிட்டேன். டிவியும் பொழுதை சுவாரசியமாகப் போக்கும் இன்னபிற வழிகளும், பக்கவாட்டு வழி உட்பட எல்லாம், அடைக்கப்பட்டுவிட்ட நிலையில் மடியில் குப்புறப் படுத்திருந்தது புத்தகம். "இன்னைக்கி என்ன விட்டா உனக்கு யாரும் கிடயாது" என உதட்டில் பைப்போடு கமுக்கமாகப் புன்னகைத்துக் கொண்டிருந்தார் பாட்டையா.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />சீட்டில் செட்டில் ஆகி பாட்டையும் பாட்டையாவையும் ஆரம்பித்தேன். "எனக்கொரு அன்னை வளர்த்தனள் என்னை" - இது இளையராஜா. "அருந்ததி ராயும் என் முதல் ஆங்கிலப் படமும்" - இது பாட்டையா. படக் குழுவினர், க்ரூ மெம்பர்ஸ் என்று அனைவரையும் போகிறவாக்கில் பெயர் குறிப்பிட்டு எழுதுகிறார். உலக அழகிகளில் ஒருவராகக் கருதப்பட்ட லீலா நாயுடு (அவர் கணவர் பெயர்), அருந்ததி ராயின் செல்ல நாயின் பெயர் என பட்டியல் நீள்கிறது. பாட்டையாவுக்கு இந்த வயதிலும் அபார நினைவாற்றல்.</div>
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<br style="clear: left;" />ஒன்றரை மணி நேரம் இருக்கலாம். புத்தகம் பாதி முடிந்திருந்தது - பாட்டையா பார்த்த மனிதர்கள் எனக்குத் தெரிந்த மனிதர்களாக மாறிக் கொண்டிருந்தார்கள். அட்லாண்டிக் பெருங்கடலைத் தாண்டி, வட துருவத்தை நெருங்கிக் கொண்டிருப்பதாக அறிவித்தார் கேப்டன். எதிர்பார்த்ததைவிட ஹெட் வின்ட் அதிகமாக இருப்பதாகவும், அதனால் அரைமணி நேரம் பிரயாண நேரம் அதிகமாகலாம் எனவும் கவலை தெரிவித்தார். பாட்டையா விவரித்த, வழியில் எந்த பிளாட்பாரத்தைப் பார்த்தாலும் நிற்கும் ஜனதா எக்ஸ்ப்ரெஸ்ஸின் மூன்று நாள் டெல்லி- சென்னை பிரயாணம் நினைவுக்கு வந்தது. இந்த ரயிலில் உங்கள் குடும்பத்து பெரியவர்களில் யாரேனும் நிச்சயம் போயிருக்கக்கூடும்.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />விமானத்தில் எங்கோ முன்னால் ஒரு தாய், "இப்போ நீ தூங்காட்டி, ஏர் ஹோஸ்டஸ் கிட்ட பாராச்சூட் வாங்கி உன்ன நடு வானத்துல இறக்கி விட்ருவேன்" என தன் பிரயாணக் களைப்பை நியாயமில்லாத ஷரத்துக்களாய் தன் நான்கு வயது பெண்ணிடம் நடைமுறைப்படுத்திக் கொண்டிருந்தார். "திருவாடுதிரை ராஜரத்தினம்பிள்ளை தன் வீடு அருகில் வந்தவுடன் சங்கிலியை இழுத்து ரயிலை நிறுத்தி வீட்டுக்குச் சென்று விடுவார். அவர் உதவியாளர் கார்ட் வரும்வரை காத்திருந்து 50 ரூபாய் அபராதம் செலுத்துவார்" என பாட்டையா "நாதஸ்வரம் - என்னை மயக்கும் மகுடி" கட்டுரையில் கூறிய சுவாரஸ்ய சங்கதி நினைவுக்கு வந்தது.</div>
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<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" /><span style="font-size: medium;">எ</span>னக்கு இரண்டு தலைமுறை முந்தியவர் பாட்டையா. அந்த தலைமுறையில் நம் வீட்டில் நிறைய பெருசுகள் உண்டு. வீட்டு வைபவங்களில், துஷ்டிக்களில் அவர்களிடம் பேசும்போது அவர்கள் காலத்திய மாபெரும் நிகழ்வுகளைக் குறித்து அவர்களுக்கு உண்டான அனுபவங்களை சுவாரஸ்யமாக ஞாபகப்படுத்திச் சொல்வார்கள் அவர்கள். உதாரணத்திற்கு காந்தி பிறந்த நாளன்றுதான், 1975-ம் ஆண்டில் பெருந்தலைவர் காமராஜர் காலமானார். அதே இரவுதான் என் பெரியண்ணன் பிறந்தான். அன்று இரவு இனிப்புக் கடைகள் எல்லாம் அடைப்பு. கடை கடையாய் அலைந்து பால் வாங்கி, தானே எப்படி பால் கோவா கிண்டினார் என என் அம்மாவைப் பெற்ற தாத்தா அடிக்கடி நினைவு கூர்வார். பாட்டையாவின் புத்தகத்தைப் படிப்பதும் அப்படிதான். அவசரகால சட்டம் அமல்படுத்திய காலகட்டமாகட்டும், வங்கத் தந்தை முஜிபுர் ரஹ்மான் கொலையாகட்டும், ஆன் ஸாங் ஸு ச்சீ குறித்த கட்டுரையாகட்டும், அன்னை தெரஸாவின் நோபல் பரிசாகட்டும் - அன்றைய காலத்தின் சரித்திர முக்கியத்துவம் பெற்ற நிகழ்வுகளை சராசரி நினைவுகளோடு கலந்து கொடுத்து அவற்றை நேரடியாக அனுபவிக்க முடியாத குறையை இந்தப் புத்தகம் போக்குவது நிச்சயம்.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />எந்த விமான பயணத்திலும் நான் சைவ உணவை குறிப்பாகக் கேட்டு முன்பதிவு செய்துவிடுவேன். ஆக, இந்த பயணத்தில் இத்தாலிய "ரவியோலி" பாஸ்தா முதலில் எனக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டது. கொழுக்கட்டைக்குள் தக்காளி, ஒரேகானோ, துளசி போட்ட திரட்டிப்பால். அந்த அபார சுவையும் மணமுமம், Twenty Something-கின் மூக்கைத் துளைத்து வயிற்றைக் கிள்ளியிருக்க வேண்டும். "Looks Delicious" என்றாள் அவள். "Tastes Delicious as well" என்றேன். "யூ பெட்" என அங்கலாய்த்தாள். பாட்டையா எப்படி தன் அனுபவ அறிவை அள்ளி வீசுவாரோ அதே மாதிரி, "விமான சிப்பந்திகள் விசேஷ தேவைகள் விண்ணப்பித்த பிரயாணிகளை முதலில் கவனிப்பது வழக்கம்" என்றேன். வாழும் மேதை ஒருவரை நேரில் பார்த்த பிரமிப்பில் விரிந்த கண்களை இன்னும் விரித்து, அடுத்த முறை தானும் இனி விமான பயணங்களில் சைவ உணவுக்கு மாறிவிடப் போவதாக அறிவித்தாள். உண்ட மயக்கம் கண்ணோரத்தில் தூக்கத்தைப் படர்த்தியது.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />இளையராஜாவிற்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த "Creedence ClearwaterRrevival" என்கிற ராக் பேண்டின் பாடல்களை முடுக்கிவிட்டு, புத்தகத்துக்குத் திரும்பினேன். </div>
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"காந்திபாய் தேசாய் : தலைவர்களும் தனையர்களும்". துள்ளலான இசையின் பின்னணியில் கட்டுரையை படிக்கப் படிக்க, நெற்றிக்கண் அப்பா ரஜினிகாந்த் போன்ற ஒரு நிழலுருவம் என் மனக்கண்ணில் தோற்றம் பெற்றது. ஆனால் அந்த உருவம் காந்திபாய் தேசாயா அல்லது பாட்டையாவா என தெளிவாவதற்கு முன்னால் கட்டுரை முடிந்துவிட்டது.</div>
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<br style="clear: left;" />எனக்கு முன்வரிசையில் உட்கார்ந்திருந்த மற்றொரு இந்தியர் மணியடித்து வைன் கேட்டுக் கொண்டிருந்தார். 'ஒருதரம்தான் கொடுப்போம்,' என விமானப் பணிப்பெண் மறுக்க, இவரோ தன் குடியுரிமையை விட்டுக் கொடுப்பதாயில்லை. சிங் இஸ் கிங்-கில் பட்டியாலா பெக்கை நினைத்து சிரித்தேன். படிக்கப் படிக்க சடாரென பாட்டையாவின் எல்லாக் கட்டுரைகளும் முடிந்து விட்டன. அவரது நண்பர்களின் கருத்துகள் ஆரம்பித்தன.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" /><span style="font-size: medium;">அ</span>சோகமித்திரன், லால்குடி, சத்யராஜ் என தமிழகத்தின் "Who is Who"-வே அணிந்துரை எழுதியிருந்தது. அனைவருமே பாட்டையாவின் பன்முக திறமையை மையப்படுத்தி / அவரின் கலை வாழ்க்கையை மேற்கோள் காட்டி / அவரின் மாமனாரான திரு. க நா சு பற்றி கருத்து தெரிவித்திருந்தார்கள். இவர்களில் யாருமே குறிப்பாகச் சொல்லாத, ஆனால் இந்த நூற்றாண்டின் தொடக்கத்தில் ஹை டெக் பரதேசியாக மாறி, புலம்பெயர் இந்தியனாகவும் தமிழனாகவும் வாழ்ந்து வரும் எனக்கு பளீரென பட்ட கருத்து இதுதான்.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />நான் பார்த்தவரையில் வெளியூரில் வாழும் தமிழர்களின் இயல்பு இது:<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />1. இந்தி அல்லது ஆங்கிலம் பேசப் பழகியவுடன் அதை ஒரு அந்தஸ்தாக விரும்பி ஏற்றுக் கொண்டு தங்கள் பண்பாட்டு அடையாளத்தைத் தொலைத்து விடுகிறார்கள் (இவர்களை தமிழ்நாட்டிலும் அதிகம் பார்க்கலாம்).<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />2. தமிழர்கள் (மற்றும் வங்காளத்தவர்கள்) என்றால் தன் மொழியை / கலாசாரத்தை / உணவை இந்திய அடையாளத்திற்கும் மேலாக மதிக்கும் தீவிரவாதிகள் என்கிற அனாவசிய குற்றச்சாட்டைத் தவிர்க்க வேண்டிய நிர்பந்தத்தில் ரொட்டி தின்றும் இந்தி பேசியும் "நான் அவனில்லை" என அகில இந்திய அங்கீகாரத்தை பகிரங்கமாக நாடுகிறார்கள்.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />3. இல்லை, பாட்டையா விவரித்த - வங்கதேசம் வாழ் தமிழர்களைப் போல - அண்டிப் பிழைக்க வந்து வேற்று கலாசாரச் சூழலில் ஒன்றி நாளடைவில் தம் தாய்மொழி மற்றும் கலாசாரம் சார்ந்த விஷயங்கள் எல்லாமே வாழ்க்கையின் இரண்டாம் பட்சம் / மூன்றாம் பட்சம் / அல்லது ஒரு பட்சமே இல்லை என மாறிவிடும் தமிழர்கள். எந்த குற்ற உணர்வும் இல்லாத (குற்ற உணர்வுக்கான தேவையும் இல்லாத) சராசரி சந்தோஷ வர்க்கம்.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />ஆனால் தனது ஐம்பது வருட டில்லி வாழ்க்கையில், வேற்று கலாசார அமைப்பில், வேற்று மொழி உத்தியோக வாழ்வில், நான் மேலே சொன்னதில் இரண்டாவது வகை குற்றச்சாட்டுக்கு பெயர் போன ஒரு சூழலில், பாரதி மணி தமிழராகவே நிலைத்திருக்கிறார். இந்தியராய் இருப்பதற்கு தமிழ் மொழி/ இசை/ உணவு/ பண்பாட்டைக் கடைபிடிப்பது தடையில்லை என்கிற அனுபவ தெளிவு இது.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" />வேற்று பெரும்பான்மையினர் தேசத்திற்கு விரும்பி சென்று தன் அடையாளம் தொலைக்காமல் "beat them in their own game" என வளைந்து கொடுத்து அவர்கள் வாழ்வியலிலும் வெற்றி பெரும் சூரத்தனம் இது. புலம்பெயர் வாழ்வு சாதாரணமாகிவிட்ட இன்றைய சூழ்நிலையில் தம் தனித்துவமான தாய்மொழியும் பண்பாடும் வாய்க்கப்பெற்ற சிறுபான்மையினர் யாரும் வேற்று பிரதேசங்களிலும் நாடுகளிலும் தம் அடையாளத்தை தொலைக்கத் தேவையில்லை என பாட்டையா அளிக்கும் நம்பிக்கை, இந்த புத்தகம்.</div>
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<br style="clear: left;" />கடைசி பக்கத்தை மூடவும், "வுட் யூ லைக் ஸம் கேஷ்யூ நட் ஸார்" என வெள்ளைக்கார விமானப் பணிப்பெண் தட்டை நீட்டினாள். பதிலுக்கு சிரித்தேன். என்னை ஒரு மாதிரி பார்த்துவிட்டு கடந்து சென்றாள். கொல்லம் பகுதிக்கு வந்த வெள்ளைக்காரன் முந்திரிப் பருப்பை ரோட்டோரத்தில் விற்ற பெண்ணிடம் "இது என்ன?" என கேட்க, அவளோ "என்ன விலை?" என கேட்பதாய் நினைத்துக் கொண்டு, காசுக்கு எட்டு என்பதை மலையாளத்தில் "காசினெட்டு" என பதிலளிக்க, அதுவே நாளடைவில் Cashew nut ஆனது என சுடச் சுட படித்தது அவளுக்குத் தெரிந்திருக்க வாய்ப்பில்லை.<br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" /><br style="clear: left;" /></div>
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<i><b>பல நேரங்களில் பல மனிதர்கள்,</b> </i><br style="clear: left;" /><i>பாரதி மணி,</i></div>
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உயிர்மை பதிப்பகம், ரூ. 100</div>
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இணையத்தில் வாங்க :<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.uyirmmai.com/publications/bookDetails.aspx?bid=172" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">உயிர்மை</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.nhm.in/shop/100-00-0000-032-0.html" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">என்ஹெச்எம்</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.myangadi.com/pala-nerangalil-pala-manitharkal-uyirmmai-pathippagam" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">My அங்காடி</a></div>
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புகைப்பட உதவி :<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.myangadi.com/pala-nerangalil-pala-manitharkal-uyirmmai-pathippagam" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">My அங்காடி</a>, <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://balhanuman.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%B2-%E0%AE%A8%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%99%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D-%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%B2-%E0%AE%AE%E0%AE%A9%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95-3/" style="color: #888888; text-decoration: none;">பால்ஹனுமான்</a>,</div>
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Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-59796561519326003442012-10-27T00:15:00.001+05:302012-10-27T00:15:25.650+05:30Nayagan 25 yearsThis week the epic movie <b>Nayagan </b>celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Then I saw this wonderful art by one *Mr. Shrihari Sankaran*. Beautiful depiction..
[img]http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/11/9/2180534/Nayagan%2025%20years.jpg[/img]
And then I saw the video by AlexXpandian.. I am a big fan of this guy.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VZsPLt14_ds" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Then on a impulse went and played this. No practice, no preparation.. Just inspiration. Played the song the way I have known in my head.. In the audio , the song starts with Raaja's humming version which abruptly ends and starts with the Kamal version. So I played it the same way.
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sjeQpAB1kAE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
What has inspired you, need not be deliberated nor practiced. You can always play it straight from your heart..
With Love
VickyVignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-90809623561910705002009-08-07T05:41:00.010+05:302009-08-07T15:16:47.232+05:30Writing in TamilAnother attempt.. A personal milestone..<br /><br />It was in the early 80s, When our family migrated from Chennai to the the foothills of the western ghats in the southern corner of the state. I was already in my first standard. I did not learn Tamil by then.. <br /><br />(City life means studying in an English medium school and Tamil did not even stand a chance as the second language, for French or probably Hindi is already vying for that honor.. And I am really sorry to assert that little has changed in the past 3 decades.. )<br /><br />Not knowing the local language was the reason why I hated going to my new school back then. (well.. One of the reason.. er.. Ok.. probably the only one with some merit behind it)<br /><br />Darkness under the Cot was my favorite retreat during the morning school departure time.. My Parents, after realizing that the first 3 ancient negotiating techniques of Sama (Peaceful), Beda (Political) and Dana (Coaxing and promising me the moon) have failed, would then finally resort to the last technique of Dhandam (by Force); Resembling an act of kidnapping, the whole house would be rearranged before they drag me with every available human assistance, pack me, carry me and toss me into the cycle rickshaw.. <br /><br />The cycle rickshaw driver (I still recall his name fondly as Michael Mama.. ) had to put additional latches that locked from outside to make sure I didn't break free and jump from the moving Vehicle.. !! <br /><br />Once I reach the school, my teachers had a tough time in keeping me in the class. In order to be in the company of people who understand my language and feel secure, I used to march out of the class thats in full progress, looking out for my brothers.. I had two of them.. In Higher classes.. They too, like me didn’t know Tamil by then.. <br /><br />Its under these circumstances that my Father arranged for private Tamil classes at home for all the 3 of us after school hours. The master was a retired Tamil teacher called ‘Sethu Vaathiyaar'. A dynamic man in his late sixties who defied his age.. He comes to our home by cycle from the town few Kms away against the gusty easterly winds from the mountains.. His open mouthed laugh exposing that he had no teeth what so ever, was always accompanied by a gratifying conviction that had no hint of artificiality.<br /><br />Thanks to the freehand that my father lend him, The laugh would still remain even as his stern hands sometime reaches to our ears when we refuse to toe the line. Slowly Tamil became our favorite subject.. With in a year, I was comfortable enough in the subject to top the class. <br /><br />After that, the Tamil literature passages from the school text books, usual kids supplementary of the daily news paper, literary functions in temples, the Library of my village where I used to devour countless Tamil classics, Elocution competitions around my district.. All these are positive influences in my early days.. <br /><br />Sethu vaathiyaar’s contribution to all of this is foremost in my interest towards Tamil.. An interest that continues to date. <br /><br />But last time I wrote in Tamil was 14 years ago...<br />The occasion was the higher secondary school board exam !! <br /><br />After that I have not written Tamil.. Since I have stayed outside Tamilnadu for most of my professional life, unfortunately I also lost all opportunities to be in touch with the language. No reading... not even a chance to Watch Tamil. Speaking in Tamil with fellow friends often found me searching for words I wanted to convey and invariably became an English conversation with few Tamil words as prepositions.. Similar to Tamil TV anchors now a days, நீங்க வந்து இப்போ வந்து பாத்தீங்கன்னா எனக்கு தமிழே மறந்து போச்சுன்னு கூட சொல்லலாம். இல்லன்னா வந்து கொஞ்சம் ஞயாபகம் இருக்கு அப்பிடின்னி கூட சொல்லலாம். This is the type of Tamil that I seem to be talking now a days.. <br /><br />Finally I found my lost ground in the internet.. I was glad to see some quality writers and Tamil bloggers.. I slowly started nurturing the secret ambition of writing in Tamil as well.. For a few years now, it remained an ambition thanks to the laziness which appeared more blissful than the predicament to think so much to write in Tamil. <br /><br />I would be romanticizing it if I said, I was sleeping.. Sethu vaathiyaar came in my dream.. He laughed in a deadly fashion.. First it was his same face with no teeth when he laughed.. Later two teeth emerged from his face.. My ear appeared like a guitar to him.. He started tuning it and asked "எங்க அந்த குறளைச் சொல்லு பாக்கலாம்".. I was shouting "சார்.. சார்..விட்டுருங்க சார்.. " Then I woke up in the middle of the night sweating....<br /><br />No.. But the truth is somewhat close.. One of my old friends from college with the same name, offered me an opportunity to again write in Tamil, and finally I decided now there is no reason not to.. <br /><br />The result can be found <a href="http://solvanam.com/?p=1299" target="_blank">here</a>.. <br /><br />If you thought I have some weird memory to recite those verses in the article after all these years, be glad to know that my ears were paining (thanks to the hallucination of Sethu vaathiyaar) as I was recollecting them... <br /><br />With Love<br />VickyVignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-13286702046537771452009-04-12T01:26:00.026+05:302009-04-13T03:01:00.879+05:30Off the beaten tram tracks"Don't sit on the window seat. Your face will become black..!".<br /><br />My Periyappa (Paternal uncle) used to shout. He should know better. He was a Ticket Collector... <br /><br />It always fell on our deaf ears that were muted by the loud whistles of the steam engine. Clinging on to the window and treading the foothills of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats" target="_blank">western ghats</a> through and across the rivers, coconut grooves and water falls is a sight to behold before the Shencottah-Quilon express begins its slow but steady ascent through the impregnable mountain ranges; Its a journey of highly rewarding experiences.. Via ducts, dark long tunnels, coal dust swollen eyes and blackened face and arms.. ! <br /><br />Apart from the Newton's laws of physics, Steam engines - the wondrous locomotive of my childhood, operate based on two rules..<br /><br />1.) They are capable of exciting kids; <br />2.) If you are not one, it will make you one<br /><br />You would agree with me, Its this excitement that keeps the steam engine close to one's heart. However on an Easter weekend, I was left wondering why the Dutch tourism board didn't apply these rules to me while pegging the ticket fares!<br /><br />Behind the hype of Keukenhofs and the Zaanse Schans', lot of graceful gems of Holland are usually lost. The historic triangle of Zuiderzee towns: <a href="http://www.museumstoomtram.nl/stoomtram/ENGELS/homeEng.html" target="_blank">Hoorn-Medemblik-Enkhuizen</a> is surely one of them; This trip is certainly not in the check list of maddening tourists nor the locals who always look for something '<a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gezellig" target="_blank">Gezellig</a>'. At least the modest crowd turnout on a holiday weekend coupled with an empty returning tram suggested as much - much to our delight, if I may add! <br /><br />In hindsight, traveling this route by the unique combination of Road, Steam Engine Tram, Boat and Train not only makes you feel like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phileas_Fogg" target="_blank">Phileas Fogg</a>, it also rejuvenates you in such a way that you might actually consider blogging about it at the end of the day :-P !!<br /><br />The best part about this trip is the way its designed. Five stars to the planners of this program. <br /><br />Consider this..<br /><br />- The tram station at the Hoorn is slap bang at the footsteps of a huge parking lot that charges you 2 Euros to park your car for the whole day;<br />- <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323568001099574770" target="_blank">Vintage tram coaches</a> leaving Hoorn to Medemblik pulled by an <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323567575382056642" target="_blank">even enigmatic steam engine</a> from the 1920s in all its full glory, chugging along a scenic Dutch country side at a speed of 15-20 Km/hr, providing every bit of romance it promises.<br />- After a leisurely 1 and half hours, The tram stops at Medemblik under the nose of a Jetty where a <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323567999154079986" target="_blank">ferry is already waiting</a> for you;<br />- With no reason to hurry, you are given a sizable chunk of an hour to extend the picnic on the banks of IJsselmeer to have that home packed Lunch or to walk around and explore the compact village of Medemblik. <br />- The next 75 minutes sees you in an Old fashioned steamer with its Saloon deck sails ferrying you to Enkhuizen, on the quite waters of the largest fresh water lake in the Western Europe.<br />- You may then alight at the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323568251540954882" target="_blank">Zuider Zee museum</a> if you are a "touch-and-go" kind of a person or take a stroll around the pretty little harbor of Enkhuizen. Eitherways the ferry drops you at the door steps of your next point of interest; <br />- A fast double-decker Intercity train leaves Enkhuizen quite frequently, bringing you back to the 21st century as you arrive at your car park in Hoorn 20 minutes later.<br /><br />The interoperability of this scheme seem to put the software I develop to shade !<br /><br />Clearly the most alluring part of the trip was the Tram ride of 20 Kms from Hoorn to Medemblik; As the tram thunders away from the station every passer-by is waving at you. Waving back at them you feel like a certain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atal_Bihari_Vajpayee" target="_blank">Atal Behari Vaajpayee</a> accepting the ceremonious welcome on a state visit, although it takes a while to strike to you that its the heritage of the tram that they are waving at and not at its measly passengers. The tram in the meanwhile is busy slithering through vast scenic stretches of canals and farm houses among which I was told a few were tulip fields as well. But we were probably a bit early for them. <br /><br />Before the trip I had promised my son that we are going to go in the <a href="http://www.thomasandfriends.com/uk/thomas.asp" target="_blank">Thomas the Train Engine</a> and I joked to him that I will introduce him to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Controller" target="_blank">Fat Controller</a>. While my son was busy concluding that the engine pulling us is more a <a href="http://www.thomasandfriends.com/uk/skarloey.asp" target="_blank">Skarloey</a> than a Thomas (Becase Thomas is Blue in Color while Skarloey is red it seems. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323567591951016050" target="_blank">Our's was Red!!</a>), the ticket collector indeed turned out to be a befitting personality whose prosperity was visibly exuberant romanticizing the image my son had in his mind; So when I requested him to pose for a photograph with my son, Mr. Fat Controller was more than happy to oblige. He even <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323567572395544130" target="_blank">tossed around his hat</a> to my son and the look on his eyes were suggesting that his fantasies were coming alive. Overall the support staff in the tram were extremely helpful (and were shrewd marketers as well selling cola to toy train on wheels to ensure that your wallet is empty to the last note!); They were giving you friendly safety tips as well as entertaining packets of information when poked, such as the engine consumes 500 KG of coal for the 20 KM trip and its capable of pushing as well as pulling the carriages at same speed etc., <br /><br />The beauty of this overall package is that, it makes such a lazy day by design since all you are doing is sitting on antique locomotives and soaking in the experience for 3 long hours or more. You can't do anything but relax even if you want to. A family day outing cannot be more unplugged.<br /><br />If you do plan to take this package, here are a few tips that you might want to consider:<br />- Weather is the most crucial factor of this trip; Do your research on the forecast and please go only if it promises to be a nice sunny day.. I know this sounds like a no-go since sun light and Northern Lights share the same probability of appearing in Holland (!!); But believe me, this would still be the most crucial factor; After all there is no fun, standing on the upper deck of a steamer under the umbrella for the heck of it, with the chilly winds lashing you from all corners<br />- There is no advance booking for the tram unless you are a group of critical mass; While my guess is that the tram takes around 150 - 200 passengers, you might still want to arrive at least half an hour earlier to the scheduled departure of the tram to save the probable disappointment of tickets being sold out.<br />- When the Tram stops at Wognum (The first stop), it stops for a while. So get down and walk all the way to the engine; You won't regret it; If you have kids, they will be allowed on the engine cabin upon request and they love it.<br />- You may be left with no more than a couple of hours at the Zuider Zee Museum if you arrive at Enkhuizen by boat from Medemblik. So see if its something for you and if not do walk around Enkhuizen's compact harbor/ centrum; We opted for the later. Providentially we saw a skinny <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/HoornMedemblikEnkhuizen#5323568259492187394" target="_blank">bridge opening for boat traffic</a> and the mechanics of it was quite interesting.<br />- If you are family with 2 kids (not toddlers) then consider taking the family ticket as its relatively cheaper. The package costs around 23,50 per person including the intercity train and is not exactly cheap; <br /><br />This trip is a genuine throw back to yesteryears. And that's probably THE charm of it.. and of course the program still seam to be a secret well kept. So as I said, The steam trams of Hoorn indeed run off the beaten track.. <br /><br />Quite literally...<br /><br />With Love<br />Vicky<br /><br />Trivia:<br />=====<br />- Shencottah - Kollam route which I referred initially runs through my home town in India and it was known as the Queen of the Meter gauges. Look for the relevant subsection on <a href="http://www.irfca.org/articles/jimmyjose-20051128-quilon.html" target="_blank">this page</a> to learn more about it. <br /><br />- For more a visual experience of Shencottah - Kollam route, You may see this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNGg5KR3fWs" target="_blank">you tube clip</a>; Behind the obscure video, you can still get a glimpse of the train route back home that I mentioned. The via Ducts, The tunnels, the mountains all of them are nicely captured in this song. About this video itself - Why Maniratnam, One of India's celebrated directors, came all the way to this remote southern corner of Indian subcontinent to shoot an inconspicuous train sequence is not easily explained, Unless you are from this region; Its because, interestingly the time line of that movie sequence required an old fashioned steam engine. And my home town was still one of the last bastions of Indian Railways where those friendly monsters were part of every day life;Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-42866503638873846622009-01-05T03:31:00.035+05:302009-08-11T02:04:40.131+05:30Embedding Music in BlogsUpdated: 28th March 2009<br /><br />Like they say "A Picture is worth more than a thousand words", for people who write about music (or at least those who think they write... like me!) or if you are a music artist, its better to let your music do the talking rather than you :-P. That way, the point couldn't be driven home more. Further, you may not fool around the reader to sound as if you know more than you actually do (!!) when the evidence for your view is provided side by side..<br /><br />But the problem is when it comes to hosting a music clip (mostly mp3) on blogs, the "how to do" part is not always very straight forward; <br /><br />So here is a Dummy's guide on how to host your own music in your website/ blogs;<br /><br />There are primarily 3 ways to do this:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Category 1:</span><br />You go to a one stop shop, where You let someone else control both your music file and the player it uses. <br /><br />Mostly these are websites with file upload feature + a (usually flash based) player; Most of the time they allow streaming (i.e., playing the file already while its still downloading). The playback mechanism is native to the player. Since they take care of a to z, nothing specific is needed from you other than, 1.) uploading your file, 2.)Getting the code for 'sharing' and 3.) placing it in your blog post.. All these steps are rather self explanatory once you visit the web site who offers you this service.<br /><br />There are too many websites who provide this service, both paid and free; You can google out and I am sure you will find zillions of them; I am mentioning two of my favorites;<br /><br />1.) In the free category, the basic package offered by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/">Soundcloud </a>looks cool; They have lot of cool things such as non-technical easy presentation language in their site which makes the layman orient himself better. The player also allows you to insert comment on the sections of the song while its playing so you can communicate more effectively with your reader about a particular span of the clip while they are listening; <br />2.) In the paid category, <a href="http://www.hipcast.com/">hipcast </a>looks complete; Its very popular among the Indian Audio bloggers in internet. As a regular listener to some of those audio blogs, I find it pretty Ok; But remember it burns a hole in your purse;<br /><br /><a href="http://www.esnips.com/">esnips</a> seems to be very popular as well; But I've had playback issues with it, although it could be only me.. Plus, their plugin themes are always "hip" and playful; Thats fine for "da ma n newayz" crowd, while their plain themes are rather bulky; Would be nice if they could rework more on their plugin layouts..<br /><br />I've also seen <a href="http://www.muziboo.com/">Muziboo</a> and <a href="http://www.picklecast.org/">Picklecast </a>that people use; Haven't tried them myself to comment;<br /><br />I used <a href="http://boomp3.com/">boomp3 </a>for sometime and ditched it due to its inconsistent playback; <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Category 2:</span><br /><br />You control both the file that is played and the audio player used inside the browser. This is a 2 step manual process and <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Here is how you can do it<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />1.) First find yourself where to host your file. Choose one of the many free storage providers in the internet. Pay attention to two factors while you do this. One, They should offer direct access of the file through URLs (Not all do, like MSN's Sky drive is great but as I write this, it doesn't yet offer a direct anonymous access); Two, it should provide a decent bandwidth limit so that your readers are guaranteed most of the time that the file is available (Google pages or its new avatar Google site falls flat here; from my personal experience it blacks out the file after a few many times its been accessed); And then upload your file there. Note down the direct URL of this file; <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Note</span>: I use <a href="http://www.fileden.com/">Fileden's </a> free account; It provides 5GB of bandwidth per account per month; Put in perspective, if you are hosting about 5 MB of music in your blog, it plays up to 5000 times per month; I have only about 600 hits or so a month on <a href="http://raagadevan.blogspot.com/">my music blog</a>; So it works fine for me so far..<br /><br />2.) Copy the following piece of HTML code and paste it in your blog post: <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><embed src="change me" type="application/octet-stream" autostart="false" loop="true"></embed></span><br /><br /><br />Replace the <span style="font-style:italic;">change me </span> with your actual file location noted on step 1; <br /><br />That's it; You are ready to go;<br /><br />For the more curious ones, what this code snippet does is, it lets the browser to play the music via the plug-in that you have asked it to to use (this is already configured in IE by default. It uses Windows media player plugin by default; For Mozilla, you may have to install additional plugins). the <embed> tag used here is a native part of HTML specifications and will work for all browsers; Also As you can see, there are two other self explaining parameters in that HTML code snippet; <span style="font-style:italic;">Autostart and loop</span>; if the former is set to true, the file plays automatically when the page is loaded and if the later is set to true, the file will be played repeatedly until you quit the page.<br /><br />Adv: <br />----<br />a.) Total freedom on your hands; You can always choose where to host the file and you are using an audio player plugin installed in your computer; If at all you chose any provider from category 1 and if tomorrow he shuts down the free service, you might be left in lurch. <br />b.)It supports not just mp3 but any file type (such as midi or ogg files) as long as your browser has a plugin for the given file type.<br />c.) Though manual, Category 2 is very simple (uses native provisions of HTML) but very effective (like it allows streaming as well)<br /><br />DisAdv: <br />-------<br />a.) In the context of the above point, the 'embed' tag is not a hyperlink and hence it also downloads the file when the page is loaded. Therefore this leads both you and your reader at disadvantage. While your precisous bandwidth is wasted irrespective of the reader listens the track or not, for the reader it takes forever the page to load depending on the amount of content you hosted in the page and his network speed. Besides bandwidth to host the file is a premium now a days; Unless you have your own web server or a private host who can hold your content (Like your ISP), you are at the mercy of free storage providers in the internet for hosting your file. All said, normally they all have a bandwidth limit; The free accounts certainly do.<br /><br />b.) Although this works in the most common scenario (i.e., if you use Windows and an IE browser, this approach is almost guaranteed to work by default), sadly most popular media files (such as mp3) are not often understood by default in (all) browsers. So sometimes you have to install additional plugins which automatically solves the problems; But if your stars are bad, you may also have to tweak the browser settings on top of that. Check the trouble shooting section below for more info;<br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">But as I said, If you use Internet Explorer, don't bother too much. It will work without any extra efforts. </span><br /><br />Trouble Shooting:<br />================<br />A General trouble shooting guide to all plugins related problems in browsers can be found <a href="http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=206216">here</a>.<br /><br />Although its guaranteed to work in IE, often an additional plugin is required for other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox; You have to install <a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/">Apple Quicktime</a> (or <a href="http://www.videolan.org/">VLC Media player</a> plugin) in your computer. Quicktime should also work for other popular browsers. Personally I have had problems with Google Chrome and further looking up revealed that since the browser is still nascent, it might have to travel some distance before it supports lot of features taken for granted now a days. Anyways, Often installing one of this should solve the problem automatically; If it doesn't, try <a href="http://kb.mozillazine.org/Quicktime">this</a> page for some tips. If you use other browsers, then you may have to look for appropriate audio plugins specific to your browser. (Che.. By giving that useless info, I am sounding too much like the documentation we write for the software we make!!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Category 3</span><br />This is a kind of hybrid option between category 1 and 2; You control the file to play but depend on someone else for the player; The advantages of this category is immense.<br />1.) Normally these players are browser independent and you shouldn't face any plugin problem and such whichever browser you use.<br />2.) Unlike the embed tag, the audio track is hosted as a hyperlink. This means the file is streamed/ downloaded only when someone clicks on it. So you save bandwidth and the page loads faster to your reader.<br /><br />I have seen <a href="http://snipplr.com/view/858/embedded-odeo-player/">odeo </a>being one of the most popular player in this space; But I am sure there are many more in this category too. More info on Odeo can be found <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2006/07/embed-mp3-files-into-your-website.html">here</a> and <a href="http://snipplr.com/view/858/embedded-odeo-player/">here</a>. However in my personal opinion, the the streaming rate of Odeo is not smooth and leaves one much to be wanting.<br /><br />For reasons unknown to me, <a href="http://yahoomediaplayer.wikia.com/wiki/Quick_Start">Yahoo Media Player</a> is not so widely used as far as I have seen. However I find this as the magic bullet that solves all the problems discussed above across the categories. The player is sleek, it is guaranteed to work on all browsers. Streaming is really seamless. It aggregates all tracks in your page into a nice integrated playlist (although on some occasions this can be a nuisance). The code to integrate the player to your page is lean and mean; It is supported by a very vibrant community in the internet (so you get nice support from fellow Yahoo Media Player users). The player can be placed inline with the texts in your post. It has some cool features such as tracing the location of song within the page from the player (like a song locator); The code to evoke the player refers to a common link which means, when there is a latest and greatest version of the player released, you are automatically upgraded without any code change; The hidden capabilities and user specific customization possibilities that one can achieve in this player by tweaking its code are immense; At the same time, its also a bit esoteric. For instance, you need a special code to turn off the auto start of next song that you wouldn't know normally unless you google it out or if you are part of the <a href="http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/yhoomediaplayer/">YMP community</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Verdict</span>:<br />My verdict is the combination of Fileden (to host the files) + Yahoo Media Player (to play it in your page). You can find all about how I have used it in <a href="http://raagadevan.blogspot.com/">my music blog</a>. <br /><br />The biggest unintended impact this player has is, since the clips are Hyperlinked, it allows one to link a clip over the portion of text that talks about the clip. The embedding is seamless even if its amidst the paragraphs. The icons indicating the clips are unmissable and non-intrusive. This gives the reader an unique experience of listening to the clip while simultaneously reading about it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Audio Editing:</span><br /><br />For audio editing, Such as clipping only part of a music file, stitching many clips into one file etc., I use <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ ">Audacity</a>. I find it more than sufficient for my blogging needs.<br /> <br />Disclaimer:<br />-----------<br />Please note, options to host music in Blogs is an ever changing space; I am not surprised if a free service for audio hosting is launched tomorrow in this web 2.0 world, which makes this blog post obsolete. Like for instance, I have seen Wordpress blogs having a much more integrated approach to host clips (provided by wordpress) that I didn't even mention. So please keep yourself up to date with latest developments;<br /><br />And yes, I don't encourage or discourage readers to use any of the vendors listed here; Its just an unbiased amateurish review based on some personal experience; So please be your own judge !<br /><br />With Love<br />VickyVignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-90293691043141214742008-09-08T03:27:00.018+05:302009-01-05T16:01:36.843+05:30JaladharangamI leaped out of my seat listening to the Jaladharangam in the prelude of the song - "Kothamalli Poove" - a not so famous song from the movie 'Kallukkul Eeram'. Ever since I heard the Jaladharangam in the song "Dheena Karunakaranae", I have had a fascination towards this wonderful instrument. But blame it on the 'too-many-choices-available' world, I never really had a moment so far to reflect on this instrument... And this song was a trigger to revive my (listening) interest on Jaladharangam..<br /><br />Contine reading on Jaladharanagam (only) below.<br />Contine reading on Jaladharangam, Ilaiyaraaja and "Kotha Malli Poove" <a href="http://raagadevan.blogspot.com/2008/09/jaladharangam.html">here</a>..<br /><br />So a casual browsing on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jal_tarang">Jaladharangam </a>or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jal_tarang">Jal Tarang </a>(So its called in the Hindustani music where its been around for longer than in the south) became a temporary obsession and I used the too-many-choices that was available to my advantage.. <br /><br />Firstly it is humbling to know that its one of the very ancient instruments..<br />Secondly it is alarming to learn that code red is designated on this instrument as there is hardly any mainstream players left :-(<br /><br />While the conundrum of music found in nature is easily exemplified by Flute - a case where it is believed that the ancient man noted the wind blowing through the holes in bamboo that are made by beetles created music, I wonder why the beauty of sound waves produced by striking a container that's filled with just plain water (another natural element if you missed it) is often drowned. Also in a literal sense that is !! <br /><br />There are couple of things that immediately strikes me as far as the uniqueness of this instrument is concerned. <br /><br />Just think about the beauty of sound engineering here.. The proportion of size of the container viz the level of water in them, producing the same musical notes capable of any other acoustic or electronic instrument.. Also the technology scalable to same frequency ratios between successive notes. <br /><br />Secondly, as far as I can think right now, this is the only (or certainly one of the very few) instrument where a single working atomic piece of an instrument is used to produce only one note (one swara); In fact what you call as Jal Tarang is a collective term used to denote 22 unconnected different cups placed around the artist. So put in perspective, Keyboard or Violin or Flute or Guitar or any instrument that I can think of has one integral piece of instrument, from which all the swaras can be produced. But here, if you want to play all the 12 notes in an octave, you will need 12 disparate instruments placed next to each other.. So from an acoustical engineering stand point, its as digital as possible that music can get ... With no viability of Analog sound (i.e., no possibility of one note "becoming" another through 'Gamakas'), Imagine the challenge that it poses to the artist as an Indian classical art instrument, a genre where usually a note arrives sliding from/to another... Combine with it, the natural short span of the note produced by this instrument (or 'Sustain'-ability as one would like to call it in musical terms).. With almost no reverb, this makes it unsuitable for establishing notes in a Raaga where usually artists hold on to a swara (especially at high pitches) for couple of Thala vottams.. Yet this is a bonafide classical instrument that has survived the test of time like no other.. Isin't this absolutely unique or am I going overboard here..!!<br /><br />Next, this is in principle a melody instrument.. but the way of playing (by striking the bowl with a cane) and the crispiness of the output is akin to a Rhythm instrument.. just like a Drums or Mirudangam. So the melody played by this instrument involuntarily gets a rhythmic feel to it.. In fact if tastefully used, this instrument can well be used just as a percussion instrument.. Just a crazy thought crossing my mind...<br /><br />To round up, I came up with couple of interesting references in the net...<br />- About an <a href="http://www.boloji.com/wfs5/wfs852.htm">80+ Maami </a> who is apparently a legend..<br />- And this video... I was really dumbstruck.... She is so nimble that it completely contradicts the persona.. I was thrilled.. really really thrilled to watch this video. Such artists are one of a life time artists. I only hope that the legacy passes on... <br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CDm2uhcgIPY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CDm2uhcgIPY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />And, If I do get an opportunity, this is definitely the next instrument I am going to learn..<br /><br />With Love<br />VickyVignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-18329481990032171942008-08-17T04:53:00.007+05:302008-09-08T05:20:34.221+05:30Thunder Usain BoltJust a week ago I was celebrating the lone gold medal of my home country.. Hey, I even left a comment on Abhinav's own blog on the same day that he won the gold (although he hadn't blogged yet after his winning at that time ..) Mine was the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?postID=7116421291327677928&blogID=352253048676944912&isPopup=false&page=4">788th comment in here</a>... How more personal can you get in wishing the first olympic champion of your country.. !! (and 788th rank out of 1.1 billion is not that bad you know... )<br /><br />Well, that had re-kindled my Olympic Fever and I wanted to watch the 100 mts Dash finals, the event that caught my fascination as a boy due to the dramatic episode (the rise and fall) of Ben Johnson in 1988 Seoul Olympics.. But I was too busy doing my Saturday chores, that I couldn't watch it live. When I wanted to catch-up online I found that the videos of Usain Bolt's amazing run is hard to come-by until I found one on dailymotion.com. (I guess the clip is again removed...) what a race.. Being Jamaica's first gold in this Olympics, I can imagine how ecstatic the Jamaicans would be feeling now...<br /><br />Theory of relativity is clearly demonstrated in here.. When you realize that, 9.X seconds is normally the time you associate with gulping a glass of water, You have to admit that time is relative.. these are the fastest 9 Secs ever.. !! :-)<br /><br />The victory dance that the media highlighted is a bit overdone in my opinion. The slowing down towards the end part is also exaggerated. You do notice a drop in his pace when he crosses the blue hoardings near the finish line.. But Its what I call realization of the victory a little too early and hence going with the flow.Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-86897533684567964222008-03-30T04:18:00.013+05:302009-01-05T16:01:36.843+05:30Stumble Upon RaajaYou can define yourself a genuine fan or follower of something when you have learnt the art of distinguishing it/ them from the rest. So I feel, your benchmark to become a true Illaiyaraaja follower can be measured by the same postulate! But the challenge is, souls like Raaja are more trend setters than followers. And there are a few successful followers who tempt you to take the bait. So when you hear a good "Raaja - like" song that you have never heard before, the following can happen.<br /><br />- You take a cautious approach.. You are not fully sure about its origin. Nonetheless you enjoy the song and make it a point to check who is the composer. When you find its not Raaja, you feel happy because you feel vindicated. (Eg: When I heard "Thulli Thulli pogum pennae"); But at the same time you feel sad because you couldn't be so sure yourself to begin with. You are still a boy, you are yet to make that crossover to a mature fan;<br /><br />- Or You swear to death that, "this is Raaja..!"; Your beliefs are so strong that when you finally find out that its infact not Raaja, you see more red than disappointed. Because you refuse to believe the reality and rue on your wrong judgment at the same time.. because you have to deliberately downgrade the song you liked as it missed out on your definition of a good song, usually only accredited for Raaja's !! (Eg: When I heard songs like, "Oh... Ponmaanguyil Singaramaai", "Oru Kaadhal Enbadhu" for the first time); And actually on subsequent listening in hindsight, they no more seem as attractive as it was !!!<br /><br />- Or You just know its Raaja. Verifying its authenticity is a mere matter of formality. (For example When I heard "IlaVenil Idhu Vaigasi Maadham" for the first time)<br /><br />So recently I heard <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTVmpuktq8A">this</a> one from a Talent hunt show - one from the 3rd category. The decent job of replication both by this aspiring singer and the accompanying orchestra didn't make me miss the original flavour for a first time listening.. The prelude was so rich with its whistle flute (like the one from the orchestration piece of "Isai Paadum Thendral"), that I was immediately convinced this is Raaja. Those Guitar strums through out the song and the rhythm arrangements with those variations.. Those out of the world chord sequences (Don't miss the augmentated chords on "Kathakal sollu nee" in first line.. bliss...) The unorthodox turn midway of the stanza's melody touching the chinna Gha and thus exhibiting the heights of innovation on an otherwise major oriented melody... I was dead sure this is Raaja. And I was smiling when the 2nd interlude started.. because I was expecting it to be strings show and sure it was.. that brahmaastra of Raaja, the "String Ensemble", again stamping its authority all over... my moments of self anointing glory.. for having expected the unexpected...<br /><br />But a bigger boost when you come across such beauties is that, your day is made and you get this unusual satisfaction as if you have done something good yourself just listening to them while in reality the composer has just accomplished the divine task of exuberating his feelings through the listener.. The composition itself is a 20 or 30 or even centuries old is irrelevant, for its these numbers you call timeless...<br /><br />With Love<br />Vicky<br /><br />PS: Later I learnt from a friend that this song, 'Poonkaattinodum' is one of all time classic songs in Kerala from a movie called "Poomukhappadiyil ninneyum kaathu" and I might actually be jailed for tagging this an anonymous song.. I hope I am not alone !!Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-31270667835287576822008-03-08T05:51:00.026+05:302008-03-09T21:58:03.096+05:30Vickypedia-FY08Since Feb 29, the day when Mr. P Chidambaram delivered his Union budget, I have had few emails to update the Vickypedia. So here I am back with the "Naya Nimbu Shakti", <a href="http://violinvicky.googlepages.com/Vickypedia-YourTaxDashboard2008-09.xls"><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >FY 08 compliant Vickypedia - Your Tax dashboard</span></a>.<br />(Click <a href="http://violinvicky.googlepages.com/Vickypedia-YourTaxDashboard2008-09.xls">here</a> to download now; You can alternately right click and say "Save Target As..")<br /><br />I also created the below FAQ for the benefit of new comers:<br />1. What is Vickypedia?<br />A: A very basic tool that calculates your 'Income Tax' and 'Net take home Salary';<br />Disclaimer: This tool is designed at the best interests of it's end user. Though at most care is taken to ensure its basic authenticity, this is far from being perfect; Figures are indicative and may not be accurate; Author is not responsible for any discrepancies that may arise in the calculations. Don't use it to finalize the amount that you need to pay to the IT dept!! Use it only for personal reference.<br /><br />2. There are umpteen similar tools probably available in the internet. So whats different in this one ?<br />A: In my personal view, Simplicity and Aesthetics are the USP of this tool. Also this is a tool for the "tax payer" made by a "tax payer" (well.. ex tax payer.. .!!); So you can feel that the sheet is made from 'your' perspective and not from your auditor's perspective.<br /><br />3. So any "tax payer" can use it?<br />A: No. Its made for salaried employees who pay income tax in India. The salary components used typically applies to professionals in the high end organized labor sector as it assumes a salary structure of Basic + HRA + Special pay etc., It also assumes that you are paying a professional tax of Rs. 200 every month;<br /><br />4. What are the salient features:<br />A: There are quite a few actually.<br />- The complete tool is in fact a dashboard; A one stop overview of your salary and tax story.<br />- Data is captured in one screen; Results are displayed in the same screen;<br />- Tool is very printer friendly and is printable in a single A4 sheet for handy reference; (Thank you Yogish)<br />- The tool has a HRA (House Rent Allowance) Wizard, that gives you the actual component (out of the rent that you pay) that is tax free. It also deduces the maximum rent that one can afford to pay which will make one pay zero tax over HRA, there by taking its full advantage. If your actual rent is above this figure, there is no further tax advantage and if its below this figure you are leaking additional amount as tax on underutilized HRA.<br />- The tool is focused upon the Net Take home salary. I've even deduced a perceived Monthly net salary component, which gives you the holistic view of the monthly salary<br /><br />5. What is the tool based on? Is it safe to download this..? Does it uses Macro?<br />A: This is a simple MS Excel spread sheet. There are no Macros in the tool. I've made this by simply leveraging MS Excel's powerful arithmetic, logical and referential capabilities.<br /><br />6. Why is the tool not fully editable?<br />A: The tool allows user inputs as needed on the fields with Yellow background. Other cells are protected because its very easy to inadvertently modify these cells and most of them are formula based. Trust me, some formulas are so long that it will be a mess to fix it again if you change them!! A password will be prompted when you try to edit cells that you needn't.<br /><br />7. What is "Monthly Take Home - Cash" and what is "Net Monthly Take Home Salary"?<br />A: "Monthly Take Home - Cash" (cell: G27 in the sheet) is the amount that you usually see on the first of every month in your bank account. "Net Monthly Take Home Salary" (cell: G32 in the sheet) is the figure including the "Monthly Take Home - Cash" and monthly pro-rated values of annual components such as LTA, Medical and other allowances that are paid one time through the year. For instance, a high gross salary may or may not result in a high take home salary as LTA or medical or other annual component might skew up the stack; So "Net Monthly Take Home Salary" completes the picture. Mind you, its still a "real" figure except that you don't feel it that way on a monthly basis.<br /><br />8. How accurate are these figures?<br />A: If you have made proper tax savings declarations at the beginning of the financial year, then the actual take home salary should be reasonably accurate. If you change these declarations during the course of the year, then this figure reflects your average actual take home (i.e., Sum of 12 months' salary divided by 12); Similarly, I've calculated the perceived monthly net salary under the maximum tax bracket (30%); So if you are in a lower tax bracket, then expect a more perceived monthly net. (Taxing the perceived net based on one's actual bracket is a little more cumbersome process; May be in the next version !!!) However the actual net salary is calculated properly across all tax brackets;<br /><br />9. Does it cost anything? Can I re-distribute this tool?<br />A: This is not a commercial tool and you are very welcome to use it prudently. Always refer the original source to others for downloads. Besides properly crediting the author for his efforts, the end users are sure to get the latest version of the tool.<br /><br />10. How do I send Comments/ Suggestions/ Errors on this tool?<br />A: Use the Comments section of this blog or send me an <a href="mailto:violinvicky@yahoo.com">email</a>.<br /><br />11. What are the known limitations?<br />A: The tool doesn't cater for advance tax needs of the users such as Tax on Capital Gains, Tax benefits on NSC interest accruals and other special tax exemption sections and categories. Please use the cells C16 (Other components - Taxable) and C17 (Other components - Tax free) for including additional income accordingly. The idea of this tool is to give a bird's eye view on one's salary profile with minimal user inputs and displaying key outputs. While its possible to make it as complete and correct as possible by adding all exotic features, I didn't want to do it at the expense of its simplicity.<br /><br />12. What is the motivation behind this tool?<br />A: Doing unofficial tax consultancy was one of my hobbies at my work. And for some reason I always found that the realm of salary, payroll and tax is perceived as the domain of Payroll executives, Auditors and that retired Government Officer uncle who lived next door. Hence I playfully started with a simple tax calculator last year to demystify these notions. I received many encouraging responses and rolled it as a handy, unofficial tool in my local circle. I decided to update the tool and publish it in this blog because after Budget 2008 I received many a enthusiastic shout from the existing users. Beside I just thought of seeding some useful content to Internet, a place from where I've been only leeching info so far !! I would be happy if you felt I've graduated in that attempt after using this tool.Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-63311471634995076892008-03-02T06:11:00.020+05:302008-03-08T06:21:31.111+05:30Ski is the Limit !<p>The only other occasion when I have given serious attention to Skiing is while watching James Bond movies. So when I had the opportunity to do some real Alpine Skiing in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Austria</st1:place></st1:country-region> along with my fellow colleagues, it was more an experiment to see if its something for me; It was just a 2 day trip.. If it’s a flop, the ordeal would have lasted only a couple of days and neither my stamina nor my wallet would be over drained … More importantly I will have someone to bring me back home if need be!!<br /></p><p>And to realize that Skiing is at least not as easy as sipping a Shaken Vodka Martini, one has to be in ones own shoes. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/gmvdbeek/InforSkieen2008/photo#5160240797692813858">Ski shoes I mean</a>. This dawned on me the day when I first tried them on during the trial day in our office; With a couple of kilo grams added to each of my legs and a thick boot arresting my calf muscles, I along with everyone else, was walking like some one who is just discharged from a family planning ward!! “Is this how uncomfortable it’s going to be wearing this thing..?” I asked<span class="grame">..</span> “Yup<span class="grame">..</span> <span class="grame">For</span> the whole day”.. <span class="grame">a</span> matter-of-factly colleague replied. That evening I was contemplating, “Well<span class="grame">..</span> I still have the choice …!!”<o:p></o:p></p> <p>The place was a small ski village in the <a href="http://www.kaernten.at/english"><span class="spelle">Innerkrems</span> region of the <span class="spelle">Kranten</span> province</a> in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Austria</st1:place></st1:country-region> called <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Oostenrijk08">Schonfeld</a>, a location which our bus driver described as “middle of no where”. The First session on the first day of Ski lessons was bewilderment. The Ski instructor, one Mr. Roland, an easily 60 plus native but as agile as a rabbit, was explaining how to put the skis on to your shoes. He was locking the shoes with the skis by simply applying a little pressure on the feet while to me it felt as complex as if I am an Astronaut preparing for my first space walk. Despite jumping harder than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBv5DNxCoBc"><span class="spelle">Javed Miandad imitating Kiran More</span></a>, I was always caught off balance landing my feet down <span style=""> </span>only to get my boot’s sol thicker by a few centimeters of snow - which in turn made the shoe fitting process much more complex than what it is. By the time I got over it, I was up and running<span class="grame">..</span> <span class="grame">quite</span> literally .... because the moment you are on your skis you are on a zero friction surface and even slightest of the slopes is good enough to put you on an involuntary take off that ends up with a grand fall finale unless you know how to stop yourself, which being on my first day I didn’t; If I manage to get up(which is again a very cumbersome and irritating process), within seconds I was moving again mildly along the direction of gravity and a seemingly unsuspecting situation turns to a disaster in no time. <span style=""> </span>I simply could not stand on my own. I ask Roland, “Is there something wrong with the Skis..?<span class="grame">”</span> He replied “No<span class="grame">...</span> <span class="grame">This</span> is one of the best brands...” with a funny look on his face that meant “its not the skis... <span class="grame">its</span> you...” <o:p></o:p></p> <p>It wouldn't have taken as long for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Newton</st1:place></st1:city> to discover the force of gravity had he skied before he bit the apple. Whatever else I managed further that day in the name of skiing was just fluke. No techniques, No control... At the disposal of Mother Gravity.. However I had found one fall back option to stop in case of emergencies; and what’s that..? I just told you.. Fall Back… !!<br /></p><p>Being starters we were practicing on a ski area that was meant for Kids. And there were so many of them skiing so wonderfully well that I was not sure if it was humiliating or inspirational. But by now, I've learnt what I need to learn (!!). My balance while on the move was Ok. I am leaning forward and bending my knees. But I didn't know how to brake, how to steer and how to walk with my skis (Trust me, this is a very essential part for beginners.. Don't forget.. Mother Gravity is always watching you..). Exhausted - both mentally and physically, <span style=""> </span>Score line at the end of day one read: Down.. almost Out... <o:p></o:p></p> <p>Back at the hotel, I asked another colleague, for some personal tips. He and his wife were kind enough to explain me the basics. For braking, just make a 'V' with the Skis with the pivot of the V pointing in front of you while simultaneously bring your knees close to each other. (This way the inner skis will make friction against the snow and eventually reduce your speed… Aah…); For steering, Move to your right (as in move your shoulder and right knee a bit forward) and you will automatically turn left.. Do the opposite to turn right. Difficult to visualize..? Well.. Think of birds or Aeroplane.. Now, finally to anchor yourself or for walking with the skis, First get yourself perpendicular to the slope (with the help of stocks); Now peg the ski that’s towards the slope outward, take a small step with the other leg and peg it parallel to the first ski. Small steps.. all the time.. And you have taken a giant leap in skiing..!<o:p></o:p></p> <p>Day 2 was crucial. Having learnt the theory I was anxious how am I going to fare in the practicals. Thankfully it was not as futile as my engineering Electronics Devices and Circuits lab (where Milman & Halkias along with the toppers of my class seemed to be the only rare breed to prove what the text book said) but as tangible as the high school chemistry lab (Blue..? Crystalline...? Ok.. Its Copper Nitrate..); Whatever I was told, seem to be working as I realized this is a race between You and Fear.. the winner takes control.. It’s just a mind game… </p> <p>As I continued, I could slowly overcome the fear.... Then, I started to enjoy it…. And then I became obsessed.... I didn't even go for the first break session and kept practicing; After 3 to 4 routines, I had the confidence to try out the first blue piste. Along with Roland, I skied down a basic slalom of 8 flags; And once I had the hang of it, I repeatedly took the lift and kept skiing ignoring my calf muscles which was throbbing already. After one such slalom, a stranger came to me and asked in his broken German English "Where you from..?" and I replied "<st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>..". "You have mountains in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>?...". "Yes.. the biggest of all !!..." "You ski in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>? .... ". "No.. This is my first time.....". "Oh! Can I take picture with you..?". Bemused I ask him "Why..?"; He then said "I haven't seen anyone from <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place> who could ski <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/AustriaSkiing2008/photo#5172943142364461922">that</a><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/AustriaSkiing2008/photo#5172943142364461922"> </a>well..." I was not sure if he sounded like someone congratulating a batsman scoring a century on his debut or someone who found me as amusing as a Pomeranian riding a one wheeled cycle on Gemini Circus. Either ways I had to take heart from the fact I was a subject worth a photograph.<o:p></o:p></p> <p>Much of the 2nd day's afternoon was spent taking joy rides on lifts to much higher altitudes and having nice Italian Ravioli for a late lunch at a 6500 feet restaurant that offered some <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/Oostenrijk08/MarcS/photo#5160140932472267458">breath-taking panorama</a> of Alpine scenery. Back at my room, that night I saw the clearest sky ever and noticed some famous constellations with amazing clarity thanks to some real wilderness absent from any human light. It was the culmination of a productive trip. From the most miserable starter on day one, I ended the day 2 spotting Orion's dog for the first time <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/AustriaSkiing2008/photo#5172943133774527314">together with some confidence</a> to handle a blue piste. I am still just a 2 day old novice slogging to ski and my technique no where near perfection... but these 2 days did re-ignite some long forgotten learning skills;<br /></p><p>I am not fit enough to be at your majesty's secret service yet. But I am sure even James Bond started like me... !!</p>Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-2359019377270399472007-10-06T17:03:00.000+05:302007-10-06T23:16:04.078+05:30Goa - The Earth on EarthGeography says, 71% of this earth is Water. In the remaining 29%, one-third is taken up by the Deserts. <st1:placename st="on">Endless</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Mountain</st1:placetype> ranges, vast <st1:place st="on">Polar Regions</st1:place>, other big fresh water lakes and rivers, and miscellaneous uninhabitable terrains vie for the remaining two-thirds. Sounds like there is hardly any piece of land left to live in the earth. Isn't? But then here we are, 6 billion of us cramping ourselves in whatever little place available and thinking that we are living in earth. A Frog in a well is not nearly as naive as one. So it was a reality check for me when I found myself amidst some real piece of planet earth - full of Flora, Water, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Sandy</st1:place></st1:city> beaches and even a bit of Mountain. It’s not hard to figure out why Goa has come to symbolize the term "<st1:place st="on">Holiday</st1:place>" for every average Indian and the world alike.<o:p></o:p>I am not going to croon here about the <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> which the guide books speak about. Babbling all page about the been there - done thats is redundant. You want to know about the Partying in Baga or the flea market of Anjuna or the tranquility of Paulolem, You would be better off googling out. My Goan experience, like my predecessors has its own unique mystic charm. Here I am with what ingredients go into its making, just like the recipe of a goan fish curry. Never mind I am a vegetarian!!<o:p> </o:p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198004473690290"><b style="">Commuting - Unplugged:</b></a> How about donning a different cap (or a helmet rather), that of a chauffeur and be the master as well? Confused..? Well, If you aren't hiring a scooter and loosing yourself in the by lanes of goan country side, you sure are missing the real charm of being here. Its cheap, gives you some unbelievable freedom to do what you want when you want and fits well with the geographical fact that <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> is compact enough to do this. By the way, don't worry about directions. There are a million signboards everywhere in the form of ever friendly locals.</li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b style=""><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118201801224780066">The mythical Legends</a>:</b> This place is woven so closely with Indian Cinema, that the filmy legends about <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> surely fires up your imagination once you are here.. "You know... Its the Dona Paula where 'Ek Duje ke liye' was shot..."! "Anjuna is the beach where Jackie Shroff spots Urmila in 'Rangeela'.."! " 'Vagator' is the place to ponder about life just like Akash, Samir and Sidd in 'Dil Chahta Hai'.. "! And the Tamils would fondly recall the Goan diversion amidst the movie "Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal". The ever continuing romance of Indian Cinema with <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> can be found all over ...</li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118205748299725106"><b style="">The Portuguese Past:</b></a> <span style=""> </span>The first typical site to greet me on the drive from Airport to the city was a Hutch banner - a fisher man claiming "Dempo my favorite" while an old lady vouching for "Vasco". <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> is definitely a prominent feather in the cap of Indian diversity. You have to pay a visit to realize <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198008768657602">its stark contrast</a>, thanks to the Portuguese who irreversibly changed its demographics - be it in the lifestyle, <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198021653559538">cuisine</a>, architecture or the football. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198017358592226">Some of the finest shrines of Christianity in <st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region> </a>can be found here in a <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place>. A visit to the Churches and the Cathedrals does transport you back in time while their grandeur easily matches up to that of any medieval town of continental <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place>. </li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b style=""><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198786157738242">The Goans</a>:</b> "Calangute?" I ask; with lazy eyes he points to his right. "Aguda?" I ask; again a silent gesture by another to his left; The "one line chemistry" between the wandering tourist and the native here is so effective that it leaves high-tech-pre-planned-itinerary-from-google-maps-(elsewhere-in-the-world), obsolete. In Panaji, I was lost and was asking the route to "18th June Road" to a passer-by (what a name for a street..!!, This way you can at least name 365 streets in a town unambiguously :-P ). He wasn't sure. Another gentleman overheard us and suspended what he was doing, volunteered in and gave us the directions, except that he was talking on a roadside PCO!! I approach another, "Which way to the Beach?" .. "Rocky or <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Sandy</st1:city></st1:place>..?" comes the reply.. Haven't seen such improvisations in free advice elsewhere... No doubt that the relationship here between the locals and the visitors, like any other tourist place, is Symbiotic. But it’s that ever accommodating goan spirit in the people that makes your visit lively. While on my shopping I ask the shopkeeper, what is truly goan that I can find here.. "Me.. Of course.." he smiled. He did add that, now a days goans are on the decline as they loose people both ways. More goans leaving outside and more establishments in <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> being owned by others. Sad, probably. </li><li class="MsoNormal" style=""><b style=""><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198790452705554">The Landscape</a>:</b> <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> is one of the best spots all over the world for <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/GoaTheEarthOnEarth/photo#5118198013063624914">an ideal beach holiday</a> and rightly so. It’s not only the quantity but also the quality. Shun the popular beaches.. Find a quiet one (and there is no dearth of them in Goa), sit around, do nothing but gaze into the sea, collect some nature’s souvenir in the form of shells and pebbles from the beach, chase a crab and you will surely feel rejuvenated. There are some beautiful relics of many Forts which is a must visit as well. I would recommend viewing the Sunset from Vagator fort for a sublime experience. The country side leaves a metro dweller dwarfed. A pleasant climate (not so sultry compared with other coastal regions down south), Abundant greenery dotted by elegant churches around every corner, no mad traffic on winding and narrow roads along the Natural creeks and of course a lot of sea and beaches... <st1:place st="on">Goa</st1:place> is not a Heaven on Earth. It’s after all, <b style="">Earth on Earth</b> !</li></ol></ol>Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-45508480610256827972007-05-18T23:41:00.000+05:302007-05-26T20:44:39.524+05:30Ajanta: Part I - My Gateway To Nirvana !How would you feel if you go on tiger hunting and end up stumbling upon a treasure trove…<br />Ask John Smith, the British army officer from the Madras regiment, who first noticed a two millenia old unusual archway, that of Chaitya at Cave 10 of Ajanta, while on his tiger trail during April 1819. (Don't worry... Your Mathematics is Ok.. these caves were started 200 years before Christ..)<br /><br />If the discovery of Ajanta sounded like an Indiana Jones adventure, the hazy history shrouding its establishment and existence along with the perpetual jinx on its conservation efforts, rivals an Alfred Hitchcock Mystery. The discovery of these caves did more harm than good for the paintings. Because curious tourists arriving in droves to take a peek at still fresh paintings a century ago came with large Oil lamps, emanating black soot, which started the darkening of the paintings. Efforts by one Major Robert Gill was commendable as he camped in these caves for 20 years (1844 – 63) to take hand made copies and have it sent to England. They were spoiled by a fire at the museum where they were housed. A second attempt by Mr.John Griffiths, then principal of Bombay school of Arts, spending 13 years to replicate the paintings produced no different results. The copies were destroyed in a fire, for the second time. A Japanese team from Kyoto University arrived at 1918 to try their luck. Their copies, made by pressing wet rice papers against the originals, lasted less than 2 years as they were destroyed in an Earth Quake !! Efforts by Nizam of Hyderabad, done in good intentions to restore the paintings back fired, as they injected casein to fix the peeling paintings back to their wall, except that it did the opposite. Wisdom of Griffith’s team from Bombay to shine the paintings by applying shellac, proved fatal in the long run as most of the paintings were darkened due to this. And ASI is now doing its best to restore them. Poooh...<br /><br />The disadvantage I had when I visited Ajanta, (unlike my Ellora visit, where the Hindu sculptures needed no introduction to understand) is that I lacked any insight into what Buddhism is. Because each and every thing that you see in Ajanta is esoteric with the religion that I found them to be Greek and Latin (Or should I say Pali and Sanskrit :-) ). The only insight I had prior to my visit was, the basic life history of Buddha which I’ve read in my school days. For instance, why is Buddha Omni presently seated in the “Dharma Chakra Pravartana Mudra” (or the teaching position) is something you will ask yourself when you visit this place. The presence of this particular posture of Buddha is so pre-dominant that without any insight into the religion, I was a bit mischievous to think that, the task master must have given impositions to the most naughty Bikshu to carve this a thousand times all over!! Excuse me, but the real answer lies in understanding basics of Buddhism.. I am no qualified to explain you these. Its just my basic crude understanding in hindsight (by reading Wikis!) combined with my Guide for the day's explanation, that follows. My apologies if I distort the truth or made it appear too casual.<br /><br />First enlightenment to hit me hard was, you and me and everyone can be a Buddha, if and when we ‘realize’ the ultimate happiness in life (aka ‘nirvana’). This ultimate enlightment cannot be taught or conveyed or explained. It has to be experienced self. It was ‘Gautama Siddhartha’ or “The” Buddha as we’ve known him, who attained the nirvana first. He wanted to share the secret of how he achieved it and hence he also defined the path which everyone could follow to achieve it. (Remember he didn’t teach about the ultimate prize, he only taught about the path to get there. i.e., No turn-key to success or shortcuts.. you have to endure the same mystic path by mastering the whole syllabus first). A more defining example of 'Bottom-up' approach could not be found elsewhere other than in the fundamentals of Buddhism. Its an approach where you start with what you have and go up the chain to find out the solution (as opposed to the 'Top-Down' approach where you know what you need to achieve and break it down further).<br /><br />Siddhartha didn't have any mission in life except that he was Suffering and he wanted to get rid of it. But he didn’t know how. So he started with what he had. The only initial realization he had was ‘Life is full of sufferings’ (Can any one of you reading this, put your hand on heart and say you don’t have problems in life.?). So he pondered about the cause of all sufferings and found out its due to craving and attraction or the ‘want’ factor (I want my son to be like this, husband/ wife to be like this, Boss to be like this, house to be like this, salary to be like this, relatives to be like this, traffic to be like this); He didn’t stop his root cause analysis there and went one level up.. The Craving and wanting is due to ‘Ignorance’ (what am I chasing behind) and this ignorance can be ‘solved’ by practicing a noble eight fold path (such as right thoughts, right deeds, right speech, right livelihood etc). And you have to first become a ‘Bodhisattva’ or a state where you commit yourself totally to become a Buddha. And Buddha-hood cannot be obtained in one life and you have to reincarnate as many Bodhisattva in as many lives to finally become a Buddha.<br /><br />So the chain goes like: Sufferings--> Due to Attraction-->Due to Ignorance--> Which can be solved. And he suggested a ‘Middle path’ neither too indulgent nor too ascetic, to achieve this Nirvana or Supreme Liberation or Happiness. This is what, i.e., teaching people on the path to nirvana, is what “The” Buddha did for the most part of his life. These teachings form the basics of Buddhism and the “Dharma Chakra Pravartana Mudra” is all but the symbolic representation of this philosophy, which is the corner stone in Buddhism. It made all sense to me after this... If the foundation is not reinforced, the structure cannot survive on top....Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-56007342620994884192007-05-13T22:47:00.000+05:302007-05-26T20:45:15.700+05:30Kailasa Temple: Part II - Through My EyesUntil I visited Ellora, One of my favorite authors was Jeffrey Archer, for the way he cuts a long story short!! Now I shift my allegiance to the sculptors who etched the mighty Itihaasas of <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064389084237716770">Ramayana </a>and <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064389135777324354">Mahabharatha </a>into a crispy visual collage on the exterior walls of the mandap on the South and North side respectively.<br /><br />And I thought ‘Relay’ is a recent concept in Olympics until I was welcomed by the grand sculpture as you enter the complex - <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064488401061469634">two pair of elephants on both sides of the Gajalakshmi</a>, bottom ones drawing water from the pond and passing it on to the ones on upper deck which anoints the Goddess with the water. The motion of the elephants in action is signified by the flutter in the water surface causing the leaves to float unevenly and the bells on the elephant swinging backwards due to their force in the forward direction (especially that of the bottom right one - And we credit Sir Isaac Newton who came a thousand years later for discovering 3rd law of motion..?)<br /><br />Flanking the pavements below the porch that connects mandappa 2 with the main temple are the best contradictions of how a same person assumes different persona. On the east side is Lord Shiva as <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064389157252160850">'Maha Yogi'</a>, symbol of peace and serenity and on the west side is Shiva in his <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064389178726997346">'Rudhra Thandavam'</a> (Rudhra = Anger, Thandav = Dance). Here too the aesthetic beauty of the sculptor kicks in, with Shiva reassuring his better half not to worry as he is in full control and is aware of what he is doing, by caressing her cheek with one of his hands. Positioning of these two right opposite to each other couldn’t be more poignant.<br /><br />We were also Pioneers in equality, a fact signified by the Statue of 'Ardhanarishwara' in the north courtyard (Ardha = Half, Nari = Woman), where half of the statue is male (Shiva) and the other half is female (Parvati, his wife). This is an iconographic representation of how male form of life (Shiva) is inseparable from the female form (Shakti). The details in the sculpture are impeccable. The female half is delicate while the male rough. The jewellery on the female side, the hairstyle, the attire, the breast, the curve of the waist, all are expressed with absolute perfection and distinguishing with that of Siva.<br /><br />An interesting carving in the south facing walls whose better account can also be found in Cave 21 is – <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064389230266604930">Parvati stunning Shiva over a game of dice</a> which he usually wins. Shiva pleading her to play one more time to settle the scores even and a rather lackadaisical Parvati, not enthralled by the offer prepares to leave as she wants to use her winning proposition to full advantage. What beautiful characterization of the male ego – not admitting the defeat easily and the female ego – enjoying the prospect of the male going in circles around her. Life hasn’t changed much in a thousand and half years !!<br /><br />Also one of the most famous sculpture of the complex, Ravanna buoyed by defeating his brother deems himself mighty and shakes the Mount Kailasa in an attempt to carry it off. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064389110007520562">The chaos is beautifully portrayed</a>. Parvati caught off balance, male attendants fighting by throwing stones down at the evil and the female attendants are frightened and one of whom even fleeing, some troubled saints fearing the end while the picture of Shiva and his loyalists symbolize composure and Shiva restoring order with merely pressing his right toe down and silencing the villain.<br /><br />Other Stories include Shiva’s heroic efforts of killing the daemon Anthakasura, Shiva Playing the Veena, Ravana offering all his ten heads to Shiva, Kalyana Sundaram (Or Shiva marrying Parvati) ... All these sort of round up most interesting tales from Shiva Purana. There are also some rare anthropomorphic representation of - Rathi and Manmatha (the God and Godesses of desire), The Trinity of Rivers - Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasawati, The Mahishasuramardhini etc.,<br /><br />Apart from the Shivite illustrations, stories from the Vaishnava schools are no less impressive. Portrayals of Vamana avathara(what a stunning display of story telling..!!), Narasimha Avathara, Varaha Avathara all from the stories of Dasavathara deserve special credit. The Short and Sweet account of Ramayana and Mahabharatha, with Krishna’s mischievous childhood at Vrindavan (especially the Govardhana Giridhari), repeatitive but complex Vishnu on Garuda, all of them and more gives him his due credit.<br /><br /><p>The reason behind embellishing the whole temple so lavishly with so many sculptures and with so much of details engrained in each of them is that, a vast majority of visitors a thousand years ago, would most probably neither knew how to read nor write and hence the pictorial representations. As one complete the tour, one really can't help but salute the valiant attempt of these master sculptors. </p><p>Just to put in perspective, the '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_Base_Tunnel">Gotthard railway link</a>', a 57 KM long tunnel that runs through the Swiss Alps is slated to become World's longest tunnel when completed. It was started in 1993 and will be commissioned in 2015. Amount of excavated rock would be around 24 Million tons. The 400,000 tons of rock supposedly excavated for Kailasa alone is certainly no match to this. But then the Gotthard project employs four state of the art Tunnel Boring Machines measuring some 440 meters(1400 Feet) and wielding 5 Mega Watt energy (equivalent to 6700 Horse Power) that can drill about 40 Meters in a given extra-ordinary day while in Kailasa there were 7000 human labours using just hammer and chisel, for 150 long gruesome years. By one account, the Baroda copper plate (inscription dated 812 A.D) suggests that the Chief Architect of Kailasa of Ellora was happy to have completed the work in his own lifetime (thou' the temple is supposed to have taken some 150 years from start to finish). Man may invent a machine which substitues his body.. But the key question is, can he invent a machine that substitutes his mind and soul..? Can a machine be invented which can carve such sculptures full of life?</p><p>Therefore in all fairness, The audacity with which this edifice was Planned, The gut feeling with which the plan was Conceived and more importantly the Endeavour with which the conception is executed is the ultimate triumph of Human Imagination and Capability.</p><p>Finally, If you thought Six Sigma is the most sophisticated measure of error free benchmarking, you are bound to change your opinion once you offer a visit to Kailasa temple. Probably the title should go to "Shilpa Shastras" (The rules of statue making).<br /><br /></p>Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-59574787114698238602007-05-12T23:52:00.000+05:302007-05-26T20:45:35.046+05:30Kailasa Temple: Part I - See it to Believe itAs you face the entrance of the Cave 16 of the Hindu group of caves, you feel a sense of Ordinariness... "This looks like any other temple Gateway..!!".<br />As you enter the Temple complex, Ordinariness turns into Curiosity..<br />As you catch the first glimpse of the master piece, Curiosity turns into Bewilderment..<br />As you walk around the temple, Bewilderment turns into Disbelief..<br />As you finish your tour, you think this is surreal..<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo?pli=1#5064389200201833842">Am I exaggerating.... ??</a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"></span>When you see that, a wide gateway which conceals a three storied temple whose walls happen to serve the purpose of a gigantic canvass that hosts hundreds (may be thousands..?) of meticulously carved sculptors, Flanked by two self standing gigantic pillars (or Dhwajasthambas) scaling upto 52 Feet each, the temple's tall tower (Gopuram) measuring some 100 Ft, A sheltered Courtyard surrounding the complex which is also easily one of the most impressive art gallery of Hinduism anywhere in the world, and its main shrine, a massive hall measuring 55 Ft X 52 Ft- All of these is carved out of a single piece of rock, you will realize I am not.<br /><br />How can someone even think of creating an island of rock mass <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064488375291665842">by cutting grooves some 100 Ft deep all around from top of the mountain</a> so that it gets seperated from its parent to become an independent piece of rock ? (Remember they are still connected at the bed rock) This island rock mass in the center is then chiseled top down (i.e., vertically) into the tapering 3 storied temple structure. This is called Cut-Out Excavation. Once this is done, they chiseled from outside to inside to produce the hall of the huge main shrine. This is Cut-In Excavation. Compare this with a constructed structure where the pillars are raised, Roof slab is cast and then the brick work is done, all different phases of work and the final space created by joining various dissimilar structures. Here too, there is a roof, there are walls around and there are pillars, except that all of them still happen to be the same rock and there are no joints what so ever!!<br /><br />The greatness of this structure lies in the fact that, This is a proper temple strictly adherring to the Vaastu Shaastra and other rules of a worshipping place, in all accounts identical in every detail to a constructed one whilst it rivals the aesthetics and grandeur of the common breed unequivocally in the eyes of a beholder with no knowledge that all this is carved vertically down into the living rock.<br /><br />My adulation reaches its Zenith as I wander through the sculptured corridor. Strength of Materials and the Breaking Stress are two concepts that I never understood, a main motivation for me not to choose Civil Engineering. But these principles has been mastered here 1500 years ago. <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5064486472621153682"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The corridor of the temple has the largest Cantilever rock cover in the world</span>.</a> The Corridors are about 22 feet wide and their ceiling is as wide and has rock of about 100 feet thickness above. And the corridor runs around the temple complex (a rectangle of 276 Ft X 154 Feet) while their ceiling is supported by what ..? Nothing !! Its the remaining portion of the living rock that supports this mammoth suspension. How did they know how deep (horizontally) they can afford to carve in so that the roof of the corridor wouldn't collapse ..?<br /><br />And interesting still, how on earth (Pun Intended..!!) did they make out that the rock that hosts the whole complex is in fact one rock ..? There were no Satellites, no Ultra sonic waves, nothing at all to test if a structure that big is inherently one single piece or not..? What if 100 ft deep, there was a crack..? or what if it happened to be made of two or more rocks as they uncovered the rubble of trees or while half way into carving..?<br /><br />Was there a scientific assessment..? or Was it just Gut feeling ..? or Was it Divine Intervention?<br /><br />I was shocked by the statue of Nataraja hanging from the ceiling of the main shrine. Remember this is not a statue made in the ground and mounted on top. The Statue is part of the ceiling !! What it means is, firstly in the rock ceiling of a room measuring some 2500 Sq. Ft, you have to mark a portion of some 30 odd Sq ft. Now leave that portion to jut out extra feet or two while you shave the massive ceiling of remaining 2400 odd sq ft by few inches with Chisel (and remember chiseling the ceiling in is no ordinary task as doing anything with your hands above your head is difficult let alone chiseling!!). And finally in the jutting out 6ft X 6ft canvass of rock of few inches thickness, you have to carve this figure of a lively Nataraja replete with expressions (Watch his face expressions.. He is in a trance due to involved dancing). Now imagine the Sculptor who did this. Akin to Tom cruise in Mission Impossible, he also would be hanging from the ceiling in his all fours, except that he is facing up and not down. And he is chiseling right above his eyes with all the debris and dust falling on his face… You would also do good to remember this is an horizontally excavated room with poor lighting (It still is poorly lit...) . There were no electricity or light bulbs either. So mostly the Sculptor should have used Metal mirrors to divert sunlight or just oil lamps. And if he makes one error, it cannot be erased... nor is there any second canvass !!<br /><br />PS: Please bear with the poor quality of the picture. I told you it was a dark room.. What I didn't tell you is that I had an ordinary camera :-)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_JS86QRU4Cqo/RkgNrDJa3QI/AAAAAAAAAAw/8q56y2IL3Nk/s1600-h/Copy+of+HPIM4763.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_JS86QRU4Cqo/RkgNrDJa3QI/AAAAAAAAAAw/8q56y2IL3Nk/s320/Copy+of+HPIM4763.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064312814208474370" border="0" /></a>Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1881624734070272850.post-61454367965580620452007-05-08T23:35:00.000+05:302007-05-26T20:45:50.559+05:30Ellora: Renowned or Renounced ?<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Ellora</span> </span>is not very marketable !!! Because,<br /><br />Like <span style="font-style: italic;">Taj mahal</span>, it doesn't have a dramatic story to back its existence....<br />Like <span style="font-style: italic;">Varanasi</span>, it doesn't typify India's spirituality as the West would like to think....<br />Like <span style="font-style: italic;">Rajasthan</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Kerala</span>, its home state doesn't go all out to promote it as it's main source of revenue is definitely not Tourism.... And lastly,<br />Like <span style="font-style: italic;">Ajanta</span>, its name doesn't start with the first alphabet and hence the taboo of always being referred second in the sequence as if its a lesser dwarf...<br /><br />Whatever could be the reason, The nirvana that the structures standing here deserves a place first-among-equals can be obtained only if you walk down the same path taken by those eccentric sculptors some 1200 years ago and see it for yourself. Clearly Ajantha and Ellora, started as dark horses as Me and my Wife decided to visit them for a weekend retreat, with only my eighth standard history book (which I vaguely remembered to have emphasized their importance) as the jury to back my judgment. My kith and kin were not very amused - "Isn’t Goa a better choice?". Add to that, the Indian summer roasting you down at 44 C (112 F) with the dry & dusty May heat of Deccan - clearly we were up against the odds. But if Eskimos can brave the Pole, Arabs the Dessert, Dutch the Sea, Tibetans the Altitude, why not Indians the Sun ?? Out came the caps and the shades from long forgotten boxes perched on high lofts. We decided to have a taste of Extreme Living and headed west..!! In the couple of days that followed, Water bottles became what Kavach and Kundal was to Karan in Mahabharath and with sun lotions all over I had to try hard not to look like Kumara Sangakkara !!<br />(But in hindsight it actually worked for our advantage, what with little crowds at the caves even allowing us to mediate in serenity for few moments in otherwise most sought after chaotic caves, off-season steals in curios, relaxed guides who were willing to spend the whole day with you as opposed to the lone hour they would have spent with you rather hasty and reluctant in the peak season)<br /><br />I am sure you always remembered Ellora as the Siamese Twin of Ajantha where as in reality they are a good 100 Kms apart and has got little to do with each other. So what’s great about Ellora.. ?<br /><br />There are two types of structures in this world. One is putting together pieces of materials and creating living space. They are called "buildings" and the basic idea is to "Construct"; we see them everywhere and live and work in one. The other one defies your common sense and flies in the face. They are called the "Excavated" ones, where you remove pieces out of a single pre-existing structure and deform it to create the living space. They are called 'monolithic' edifices (Mono = Single, lith = rock) and the basic idea is: "Destruct to Construct" . So Ellora is full of monoliths where structures are made by cutting from and across stand-alone large living rocks (er.. why don't I simply call it a 'mountain'!!) The big deal is that, If you make a mistake during "Construction", you can reconstruct it. But if you make a mistake while "destructing" – a mistake more easier to commit going by the nature of the job - there is no rollback; You simply have to live with the bane of being an imperfect structure if the blemish is not catastrophic and if it is, just abandon all your dogged efforts thus far and choose an alternate rock. And what if that single rock happen to measure some 100 meters long (330 Feet) , 60 meters wide (200 Feet) and some 30 meters tall (100 feet)<br /><br />Welcome to <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 255, 255);"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/violinvicky/Ellora_Kailasa_Temple/photo#5065560976312507986"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">The Kailasa Temple</span></a> </span>at Ellora.. The largest monolithic structure in the world!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_JS86QRU4Cqo/RkTG5DJa3MI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v41PCYwyErY/s1600-h/HPIM4787.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 351px; height: 249px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_JS86QRU4Cqo/RkTG5DJa3MI/AAAAAAAAAAM/v41PCYwyErY/s320/HPIM4787.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063390564470938818" border="0" /></a></div>Vignesh Subramanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13757037426192623732noreply@blogger.com1