Dance of the Birds

Sit in a train to some place far away. Play music on a device of your choice. Melodies; not some fast and insane numbers. Look out of the window. 

Acknowledge the greenery, cows, and other fauna. But focus on the sky. Watch out for birds (alone or in a flock) that are flying, gliding, soaring or zigzagging along. You will notice that their movements more or less coincide with the rhythm of the song or the interludes more often than not. 

The birds, however, are, mysteriously, unaware of their ability to choreograph to songs they have never heard in their lives. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it fall, did the tree make a sound?

Songs that Life Sings

Life has it all. Think about it; The most fascinating thing about life is life. 

It might play its million songs in the shuffle mode and give you just about everything - surprises, shocks, sobriety, success, serenity, serendipity or stimulation. 

It might play the same old song again and again in a loop and make you think you'd rather be dead (pessimist) or wonder how to get obsessed (optimist) with that one song. 

It may also, occasionally, play plenty of customized play-lists giving us the illusion of control. 

Bird Murmurations

Perhaps the mother of all magical moments in nature 

The murmuration of birds mixed with lilting music

The magnificence of watching the winged creatures in rapture 

Merging and leaving in what seems like a divine trick   

The mesmerizing patterns that they draw in the sky

Makes one desire to belong to the unrehearsed dance 

As millions of birds prove they were born to fly 

Maybe man can some day learn to orchestrate so, once he comes out of the trance

http://youtu.be/ndcBuuGB7gQ

Life, Beauty, Soul, Context

Thought-provoking experiment and some profound observations by Washington Post.


Wonder why it reminds me of KM programs in organizations ;-) Do we always work out of context? How does one play music in such a way that passers-by change their priorities and stop and listen? Ha ha ha!

Quotes:

Pearls Before Breakfast - washingtonpost.com

• In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?
• The event had been described to him as a test of whether, in an incongruous context, ordinary people would recognize genius.
• IF A GREAT MUSICIAN PLAYS GREAT MUSIC BUT NO ONE HEARS . . . WAS HE REALLY ANY GOOD?
• What is beauty? Is it a measurable fact (Gottfried Leibniz), or merely an opinion (David Hume), or is it a little of each, colored by the immediate state of mind of the observer (Immanuel Kant)?
• At a music hall, I'll get upset if someone coughs or if someone's cellphone goes off. But here, my expectations quickly diminished. I started to appreciate any acknowledgment, even a slight glance up. I was oddly grateful when someone threw in a dollar instead of change." This is from a man whose talents can command $1,000 a minute.
• Context matters

• The poet Billy Collins once laughingly observed that all babies are born with a knowledge of poetry, because the lub-dub of the mother's heart is in iambic meter. Then, Collins said, life slowly starts to choke the poetry out of us. It may be true with music, too.
• Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away.
• What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. -- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies
• This is about having the wrong priorities," Lane said.
• "Yeah, other people just were not getting it. It just wasn't registering. That was baffling to me."

Success or Joy

A young and budding singer gets contradictory advice from established singers in the same forum. While one e.s stresses that he must not focus on showing (or tapping into) his talent but understand what constitutes winning (=mass acceptance), another e.s says the mark of a 'true musician' is to sing for 'himself' (my interpretation: do what is 'right' and do something simply for its challenging experience). This is likely to be a never-ending dilemma for some of us, irrespective of our professions.

Vibrations - Energy - Life

I find this fascinating. One of those mystical and universal things about life. Vibrations. Sound. Music. This is where the concept of Energy begins. Positive energy. People we get along with. Good things. Success. Happiness. Almost everything.

====================
From DailyOm.com

Good Vibrations
Sound Healing

Everything in the universe is in a constant state of vibration, including our bodies. Sound is vibration that can be translated by the delicate structures of our inner ear, but it moves more than just those tiny receptors. It is part of the spectrum of energy vibrations that affect us on the mental, physical, and spiritual levels. Long ago shamans recognized the power of sound when they first used chants and drumming to heal people. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and India, the use of sound and music for healing was a highly developed sacred science. Sonic vibration has been one way of experiencing the energy of the universe for much of humanity’s history.

When the vibrations of our physical and spiritual bodies are out of harmony it can cause disease. Sound healing gently massages the molecules back into the right places, clearing blockages and restoring harmony. Ancient healing systems such as Chinese medicine and Indian Ayurveda associate specific musical notes with subtle-energy systems of the body, such as in yoga where particular notes of music correspond to each of the seven chakras. In Tibet, priests have long used bells and bowls over and around the body to tune and clear the energy centers. Chimes and tuning forks are other tools that have been used to heal not only the body but the energy in a room as well.

Knowing that sound has the power to heal, we should also try to remember that sounds from modern life can have a negative affect. Choosing silence over discord may help us maintain a state of equilibrium. As we seek soothing and harmonizing sounds to surround us, we may be doing more than creating a balm for the noise of the world. We may actually be performing an act of self-healing that connects us with one of the most basic vibrations of the universe.

Tra laa la, laa la laa la.....!

No posts for the past one and a half weeks?! What's happening? Well, I just happen to be preoccupied with work. Many months of white-boarding and effort, my dear friends, is finally culminating into an announcement of progress and that means I need to concentrate! Narrow the eyes. Bite the teeth. Stiffen the nerves. Bring all the energy together! Quick! Focus! Let's see the spark! Get back the energy that was in abundance when we started...all at one place. Fortunately, we know energy cannot be destroyed...so, all the energy I need is still around...just happens to be in some other 'invisible' form. Need to simply convert it into 'visible' kinetic energy.
Time to sing.....

Music is My Mother Tongue

Yay! Yippee! Yay! Finally! No, I did not get to go to the moon...but, hey, I had an out-of-the-world experience nevertheless. I got to attend a 2-hour music concert by S.P.B in Namma Bengaluru. Perhaps the best thing about attending the concert was that it was not planned in advance and came as an unexpected surprise. We went over to the venue almost 45 minutes before the concert began (don’t ask me why) but I managed to kill time with premium popcorn (popcorn that costs more because it is accompanied by music) and amused myself by watching people stream in, screen the ground, eye random chairs, avoid the dirty ones and the ones next to people who seemed like recluses, move from one section to another every few minutes and finally make up their minds and settle down somewhere once for all.

S.P.B was punctual and made his entry bang on time. I smiled at the stage and the speakers and took a few deep breaths as if to inhale the music in the air. I knew that the concert was multi-lingual and was looking forward to some of my favourite Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi songs. S.P.B was supported by 4-5 other local singers and a popular Kannada singer-TV anchor. I thought S.P.B was, not surprisingly, cautious about the crowd -He felt it necessary to mention that all languages were the same in his view and for him, personally, there was actually just one language – Music. That statement of his, btw, triggered off a spark in me actually. I’ve decided that one of the best ways to express my undying obsession for music is to say “Music is my Mother Tongue”. Thank you. Thank you.

When SPB sang the first Tamil song, he chose one that referred to a deity in Kerala and even said “We are now going from Karnataka to Kerala!” ;-) As if people would imagine it was a Malayalam song. Fortunately, he got a little less conscious when he sang the other Tamil songs. Sigh. I wish we did not have to be so scared in our own country!

As I sat through the lovely songs, drinking in the music, I did allow myself to be distracted. There was this active little kid next to me who contributed to the entertainment. He first interrogated his dad about where the latter had parked the car and why he could not park it in the VIP lot and whether the car was safe outside. The kid then went on to brainwash, bully and emotionally blackmail his dad into buying most of the available snacks at an alarming frequency. When I thought that was all the kid would be interested in and there would be no more entertainment from him, he demonstrated his versatility. He insisted that his dad demand S.P.B for a particular song that he (the kid) was apparently fond of. His dad gave in and got up and lifted the little boy and presented him to S.P.B (who was too far away and engrossed in his song to notice) a la the famous Lion King scene, while screaming for the song. I giggled as softly as I could and turned back to focus on the stage. A while later, a tiny hand made its presence felt in the periphery of my vision. It was drawing imaginary sine waves. As you may have guessed, it was our little friend again. I marveled at the talent and thought to myself that kids are now even learning to conduct music and turned back to the stage a little dazed. Soon enough, I realized that the character under question was, ahem, simply imitating our legendary singer. So much for a budding prodigy.

Coming back to the music, I let out a whoop of joy when S.P.B sang two of my most favourite Kannada songs - Naguva nayana and Jotheyalli.

The supporting singers attempted to cater to the universal request for Anisitude yaako indu and Ninnindale. But I must say that I was not particularly thrilled…it was nowhere near the original. Sonu Nigam is inimitable. Period. (Forget the videos, folks…just soak in the music. At least, that’s the way I like it. Watching a video sometimes kills the beauty of the music! :-()

Coming to the Tamil fare, though I was left craving for a lot more, I was lucky to listen to two of my favourites - Sundari kannal oru and Guruvayurappa. S.P.B also sang Engeyum eppodum, which turned out to be something that made most of the audience go quite crazy.

So, that’s that. Sigh. I wish there were live music concerts in office. That would inspire me tons. Anyone listening? Hmn?

Music Madness

This one's taken a long time coming. This is a song that I should have ideally raved about long back, given that it has a huge impact on me every time I listen to it. And, ironically, I should have at least spoken about this song in lieu of its unsuccessful attempt at getting me into serious trouble.


But first things first. Why do I like this song so much? Because it is a complete package...with so many wonderful dimensions to it.

The music has been composed by the one and only Maestro, Ilayaraja and the way it reflects the mood of the song to perfection can very well go into the encyclopedia of music.

The lyrics are so moving that it leaves me quite speechless.The urge to memorize the lines is unavoidable even for a person who is more musically inclined like yours truly.

The actress, Sridevi, is a favourite. One of the few Indian actresses who can claim to be genuinely versatile and amazingly talented. Her Charlie Chaplin act in Mr.India left me in complete awe of her. If she isn't brilliant....then I don't know brilliance when I spot it. And of course, in this very song, her talent for acting oozes out of every single frame.

And then...the voice! Suresh Wadkar! Ah! There is something about his voice that awakens my soul...
And not to forget....I'd perhaps give a million dollars to see the live performance of the flock of birds from 00.20 mins to 00.26 mins. And perhaps another million for a rendezvous with the cute puppy that tags along with the actors. :-)

Overall, this song is a heady mix that puts me in a trance. It is the first play list on my iPOD. Hold on. You read it right. It is a play list....a play list with just one song. :-P

Coming to the experience that I alluded to earlier, the story goes like this. It was one of those fresh and delightful mornings and I was staring at the world with unseeing eyes on my way to office when the radio station that we had tuned into decided to do the morning air and me a musical favour and played this song. I was getting to hear it after a long gap on that occasion...so, the unexpected joy made me rediscover my...er...eccentric nature. ( Umm. I told you it puts me in a trance!) Unable to experience the joy alone, I turned around and grinned at my co-passengers in glee. To my utter disappointment, no one even noticed. In retrospect, I think that should read "To my utter joy, no one noticed". If anyone had, I am sure I would have had to look for alternative transportation the very next day or perhaps agree to be accompanied by a psychiatrist from then on. How about you? Are there any songs that make you behave like you just escaped from the zoo? Eh?

Friday Fun

Love this song....

Music as a tool for Nostalgia...

I am back. A week of unplanned silence sometimes seems like a whole month of silence for a blogging freak like me. ;-) I have nothing profound to report or muse about. But I thought I'd just make a quick connection and resume my blogging frequency. I have a small tidbit related to music and friends that I should probably share. It is a coincidence that it comes just after the friendship day binge in the first week of August. There was a time (last year) when I was in the middle of a transition and utterly jobless as a result of which I indulged in considering all sorts of unusual ideas. One of the ideas I had that was easy to implement was to create a special playlist on my iPod. I went down memory lane as much as I could and added songs (to a playlist I called Nostalgia) that reminded me of all my friends and relatives in a chronological order. Some songs were to do with not just one person but experiences like school events/class tours etc. (These are songs my friends/relatives like, songs from movies we watched together, or songs that in some small or big way reminds me of them) I ended up with quite a lengthy playlist and was quite excited about it. But I knew listening to it immediately would not really have an impact on me as I had just wound up an exhaustive trip down memory lane. After almost a year, I listened to the songs yesterday night and it was an awesome experience. It almost felt like I had a face to face meeting with almost every character that I associated the songs with in my playlist! Nostalgia indeed! :-) I recommend it for all of those who would love to re-live some moments with their friends and relatives....

Come (to my) Home (dear) Life...!

Been listening to this song during the weekend and feel like I could go on listening to it forever.....awesome music, lyrics and voices. There's nothing like music. Nothing!

PS: What an amazing first line....! (Title of this post...)

World Song

Zeph pointed me to this wonderful video on YouTube. It is oh so adorable! Brimming with happiness and enthusiasm for life....! :-) How I wish I'd had an opportunity to join them when they danced (ok, if you like accuracy, moved a leg or two in a haphazard manner) in India. How could Matt miss out Bangalore? :-(

The King of Music....(and the Queen of Love)

Someone left a comment on my previous post. He said he arrived at my blog by following a link in the Favourite Music section in his Blogger Profile. (Profile tags connect bloggers with the same tastes/interests). BTW, what he followed in this case was Favourite Music - Ilayaraaja....and obviously, I had to be there somewhere in the first few pages. (Meanwhile, I visited his blog and found it to be cool! Loved his post on growing daughters... :D LoL)

And then, I decided to follow suit and check out some more Raaja fans myself. Found many...of course. But I had the time to run through a few and one of bloggers I discovered during the search had a recent post on Raaja which I noticed and read. He has something to say about Raaja's genius. Sigh! I couldn't have put it better. Reading this gave me goosebumps....a great fan of Ilayaraaja that I am.....

"Think of S.D. Burman's incredible capacity for creating melodies, add the musical genius and range of R.D. Burman. Top that off with a knowledge of Indian (Carnatic) classical music that was the envy of professional classical singers, and an understanding of western classical music and orchestration that has invited comparisons with Bach, and you get some idea of where Ilayaraaja stands."

And, on the same blog, I found another post that quite moved me. One on Audrey. Wow. I knew nothing about her other than her lovely performance in Roman Holiday. This post makes me a fan of her personality in real life as well.

Mad about Music

My music player skin....cool, eh? The beautiful tooth that you see keeps moving with the song...and the left eye reflects the joy in music. ;)

The skin's aptly called "Toothy". I'd however think "Blue Toothy" is more like it ;). You'll find Mr.Blue Toothy here

The Bird Song (Don't think of Swans)

As I waited for my office transport to arrive at my stop, I indulged in the moment - listened to a few birds share their views on I don’t know what but nevertheless found myself nodding appreciatively, clouds move lethargically, and trees sway with the breeze indecisively. And then, the inevitable happened. The transport arrived. I reluctantly abandoned the stop I was rooted to till then and marched into the vehicle and planted myself on my regular seat and switched on the iPOD to listen to a peppy number. And, hey, presto! I ‘saw’ a connection happen in my mind. There flashed across my mind’s eye a thought that it would be superb if a team of birds with eclectic voices and tones got together and sang out the number I was listening to, sans the lyrics….(just the tune). Wow. That’s an orchestra I would pay a ransom for. Sigh! Has to remain a dream, eh?! Unless…one uses the computer to ‘make’ such a song! Nothing like a live performance but, well, something is better than nothing when it comes to such a dream. Can one of the animation movie experts adopt this idea, please? :)

HeART Vs HeAD

There are people whose thinking is spearheaded by the head and those whose thinking is led by the heart. Logical thinking Vs intuitive thinking...

Which of these two categories has more number of HAPPY people? Those who let their head dictate? Or those who let their heart dictate? Please respond in case your head/heart tells you to....whichever the case may be. :D

Meanwhile, here's another thought that crossed my mind recently. Why does everyone love music? Almost everyone....

I haven't actually seen people who dont love music/listen to music though there are various degrees of obsession.

How is music composed? Does the composer use his head? I dont certainly think so (But you can challenge me or prove me wrong). Music has to flow...from the heart. Wrong notes are recognized by the heart....not the head! So, is it surprising that the whole world loves a product of the 'heart'??? And this is one product that can make a tired/sad/angry/stressed out (wo)man smile!

Products of the head are interesting but only in the short run....they change our lives...yes....but can anything on earth beat music or any other product of the heart????

Music Musings

I have immensely enjoyed watching the Zee TV Musical Programme, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa for the past few months. (It is now drawing to a close.) So much so, that it is this programme that ushers in my weekend much before it actually comes. The weekend starts on Thursday for me. The music never fails to keep me awake and excited. For the uninitiated, this is a singing contest involving a few music directors as the mentors of the wanna-be Sonu Nigams and Shreya Goshals.

 

Apart from the interest that the music itself creates, there are a few other things that I have been intrigued by as well. Himesh Reshamaiah who is one of the music directors, who mentors, has been doing an awesome job of branding one of his students that he clearly wants to win the contest. Going by his flawless strategy, he could actually put a self-respecting brand director to shame. It is interesting to analyze his methods. As a caveat, let me say that he may have probably been naturally-inclined to do whatever he did and may not have done it by design. But the way he sold his product – a singer called Vinit – is uncanny. Perfect branding strategy, I would say.  He has used emotions, logic, drama, and body language to appeal to the subconscious mind et al.  Anyone who has been watching the programme continuously would know what I am talking about…

 

I am a great fan of Shaan, the programme host. He is a great host and an even greater human being. I’d actually go around asking people to vote for him rather than any of the wanna-be singers. ;) He is the epitome of humility and maybe a tough competitor to the Big B, a good blend of dignity Vs innocence.  Only a really humble and yet confident singer can call another peer singer as the ‘singer of today’.  Shaan referred to Sonu Nigam as the singer of today but interestingly enough, Sonu, however much I like him as a singer, has loads of arrogance and attitude. He may pass off for a self-proclaimed GOD to an Alien from Mars or whichever planet.

 

Here’s the most painful thing though. Today’s the grand finale of the programme (starts in another 30 minutes I guess) I’ve been watching for ages and I am not in a place where I can see the programme! :( If there’s anyone out there watching today’s episode, could you please leave your comments on this post and let me know who won the contest and what exactly transpired? Thanks a ton in advance!

C(ool) D(eal)s on CDs

Touch wood! So far, today has been a day of some very important and amazing discoveries for me. I am sort of overwhelmed. It’s going to take me some time to come back to normal. :-). To add to that, I’ve changed the appearance of my screen completely and it makes me feel sort of good; as if I were in some other world, for the screen looks unique and out of the ordinary now – I’ve chosen the olive green windows theme and changed all the icon/title bar/tool tip fonts. Yippee. I love change. I really think my laptop looks cool (touch wood again) and pleasant now. But I don’t know how long it will be before I get bored with these settings…. ;) Sigh! Anyways, why think about that now? Let me bask in its glory for now…

 

Talking of discoveries, here’s one wonderful discovery I made yesterday which you’ll find to be very useful if you are into Indian movie/classical/instrumental music big-time and have your own unique tastes. If you are not aware of what I shall be talking about, the knowledge is going to leave you ecstatic, to say the least. I was listening to music at home and happened to open an old Suresh Wadkar (one of my favourite singers/voices) cassette after a long time. I rarely study the cover beyond the titles of the songs, but as I opened it yesterday it was a pure chance event that my eyes fell on a piece of information in the inside flap of the back-cover of the cassette. And I beamed so much that my facial muscles ached because this was what it was about – click here.

 

If you’ve seen the link, let me go on to add that it is of course obvious that you can always get your own CDs and tapes made at your local music shop, but I think this would a much easier process online for you may not have all this variety in one local shop. Not to forget, the likelihood of finding that very elusive old song which you’ve been looking for everywhere is very high on HMV! I am yet to order my CD. I need a lot of time to be able to fish out the songs that I don’t have but want to….! In case, you happen to make your own CDs using this service, don’t forget to leave your comments here.  

The King (Raja) of Music

Hmm. This post ought not to have taken so long to show up; I wonder why it did not ‘emerge’ for so long! It’s taken me almost one and a half years to realize that I haven’t written a full-fledged post on...Ilaiyaraja & his Music, despite the fact that I am almost fanatical about his music. (I’ve made a passing mention of the fact that I am devoted to his music on my blog but never gotten into a complete write-up) Ilaiyaraja - Music. To me, these two are synonymous. In other (better) words, according to me, - Music, thy name is Ilaiyaraja. I was virtually fed on Raja’s music through my growing years and would have probably been subjected to severe mental and spiritual disabilities if not for his music. :) I adore the music that this man has composed and created. The tunes, the instrumentals, the unique and soulful nuances et al. I will be able to identify his music anytime in just a few seconds and I am sure so would anyone who has an ear for music and is familiar with the one and only ‘Raja-Music’. There were days when I moved on with life only because of his music, and I am not exaggerating here.

For a Raja aficionado like me, the recently broadcasted concert on Jaya TV which was spread across three weeks, was a once in a life-time experience. (Though, I was bugged no end about the fact that after every 2 songs the ad-break lasted 15 odd (or is it ‘ad’) minutes.) of course, I can never justify not being able to make it to Chennai for the live concert when it happened but I at least got to see it on TV. I found my mind and heart screaming repeatedly that I ought to make it to the next live concert wherever it is on earth. BTW, this was apparently the first time that Raja did a live light-music concert. He has of course worked on his famous Symphony and other ‘westernized’ presentations through concerts arranged for audiences abroad.

For the uninitiated, Raja is a natural genius. He was not taught music by anyone and has no professional music education whatsoever. The music simply flows from within him. It is purely intuitive. He just sits down and composes music. He has no organized ‘educated’ approach to music. It is as if he has a communion with God and the music flows out of the conversations the two have. I strongly feel that this is probably the reason why I get completely turned on by his music, as it is intuitive and touches one’s heart/soul. Listening to his music is like listening to a wonderful conversation between God and one of his favourite children – specifically, a heart-to-heart conversation. Well, music is creative. But in my opinion there is a world of difference between the product of one who has been taught and groomed to be a commercial musician and one who is a born music genius. Talking of which I should say this holds good in any sphere including that of leadership. But, among those taught and trained, the presence/absence of passion makes a huge difference to the ‘quality’ of the product. Some people have a natural passion but it still requires some fine-tuning by a person destined to be one’s Guru. I digress. Coming back to the topic of Ilaiyaraja and his music, I just thought I’d make a quick list of my current top 15 favourite songs of his. If you were to ask me to make a list of all the songs that I like, it would be next to impossible and I don’t have that much time anyways. So, here are 15 songs that I have been listening to of late. And I just can’t number them. They are all equally good. They simply charge me up and make me feel on top of the world. I simply can’t thank Raja enough for these songs…

· Idu Oru Pon Maalai

· Paadava Un Paadalai

· Pani Vizhum Malarvanam

· Ozhiyile Terivadu

· Kuyil Pola Ponnu Onnu

· Sundari Kannal Oru

· Senthura Poove

· Kanna Unnai Thedugiren

· En Uyire Vaa

· Maanguyile Poonguyile

· Kaatril Varum Geethame

· Janani Janani

· Ye Zindagi Gale Lagale (Hindi)

· Jotheyalli (Kannada)

· Nagu Endhidhe (Kannada)

PS: Two other musicians who *I* put almost on par with Raja and have got me gesturing, and smiling to their music and humming along are R.D.Burman and M.M Kreem…no hard feelings, please. It’s just that something in me responds better to Raja’s music more than anyone else’s. Actually, I think the difference lies in that that - R.D Burman’s music is more of the foot-tapping types and Kreem is more into moving soulful music. Raja’s songs in my opinion are musical melodies that can actually leave one happier than before….especially in my case because I rarely *listen* to the lyrics (in which case the meaning of the song will also determine whether I like the song or not) and concentrate wholly on the music and the tunes...

Long live Raja and his music! :)

Bonus Point: If you like instrumental music/fusion music, consider my recommendation. Buy Rajesh Vaidya’s ‘Voyage’. It has some amazing compositions that can energize you and uplift your spirits. I simply love this tape and have sometimes listened to it continuously for hours together without feeling ‘bored’.