Monday, May 31, 2021

To what we have become

I stumbled upon a blog that said its important to journal your life yesterday and oh yes i thought, what happened to the blog you once had... so i just browse this and realize how silly i have been and also I seem to have had existential problems back then as well... hmm... much has changed.. life has changed.. your problems have changed.. people have changed.. With all that we know about how things change in 10-12 years, the thought i wanted to leave here is the fact that as a kid i used to read the news paper from head to toe , watch TV news etc. because i used to love following politics.. i liked to know what was happening in the world.. I used to appreciate the ways correspondents write news.. i used to think why they used 'X' word in the article instead of 'Y' word... one among my many childhood dreams was becoming a psephologist interpreting election results and giving insights to the general public..  I am saying all this because we somewhere believed 15-20 years back that the news narrative we received was true (to an extent it was true). Now we are at a stage where we are unable to differentiate between facts and fake news.. Reading news papers makes me miserable and I am at loss of words to explain how painful this is to someone who loved news and loved politics. Like my morning tea, newspapers were an essential part of growing up... awaiting supplements for each day, there was so much joy..  awaiting and finally getting an 'young world' on friday gave you so much joy.. what does kids of these days have to expect for every week? Read the news paper is the first good habit that is thought in schools those days... now i am afraid to say this to my son.. i dont want him to get sucked into the narrative that someone wants him to read.. i want to know the news but there is nobody i trust.. 

To the deeper question that this brings... apply the same to your own life... not all what others say about you is true even if you believe it is.. being constantly told you are good at something does not mean you are good at it.. i was also constantly told that i am not good at doing a particular activity but later i realised i have been branded so and made to believe so as well for their own advantages a narrative spreads since even you end up believing it.. So the thought is dont believe anyone at face value.. every word think and accept into your system or else eject.. times are such.. people are such.. Not sure whether we were being fed wrongly and we are beginning to realise only now ? or we were being fed rightly some 10-15 years back but world has became nastier place later, i am not sure.. I was a natural in trusting  people... now i run away from anyone who is seemingly nice.. on the contrary people who are slightly crooked interest me.. hehe.. 

How good were those days when the opinions of the news correspondents was confined only to the editorial page...? *sigh* 

And 

To what we all have become. 

Thursday, March 26, 2015

A lyrical Masterpiece - Saagavaram

I have been resisting the temptation to post about the greatness of  Uthama Villian Songs particularly after several people accused me of being biased. However, I have ceased controlling the temptation simply because of  'Saagavaram' song. I am not sure whether any of you had the chance to listen to it. After listening (several times) to the song 'Saagavaram', something struck me and I found out today that this song is a masterpiece. I am not talking the music ( I know very little about music) , but the lyrics...  

To just give everybody a background, this song (i think) is being rendered by a theatre artist (who unfortunately has avoided death 5 times) to his king (who is adamant on being immortal) about life, death, rebirth and why immortality is a much worser situation than death. The lyrics are deep.. Very deep..I have tried to translate/give my views whereever possible. 

Saagaavaram pol sogam undo Kelai manna (kelai manna)...
Theeraa kadhaiyai ketpaar un do Kelai manna (kelai manna)....

[Is there a bigger sadness than having a boon to not be able to die ?
 Is there anyone who wishes to listen to an everlasting story ?]

Kaniyar kanitha kanakku padi naam kaanam ulagidhu vatta pandham (Oooo..)vatta pandham(Oooo..)
vatta pandhai vattamadikkum mattra pandhum pogum maande...

[ As per mathematicians's and scientist's , this earth is a round ball.. 
  The round balls (read other planets/satelites) that rotate this ball(earth) will perish one day]

Maala oliyaam nyayirum kooda matror yugathil pogum karindhe
Karindhe erindhum veditha pinnum udikkum kulambil uyirgal mulaikkum
[Even the Sun (which is thought to have constant source of light} will perish one day in a different yuga..
 However, life will emerge out of the debris of the burnt and destroyed sun (a la Big Bang theory)]

Mulaithu murikum thulirkum vaazhai thaan maranathuku ulle vetihadhu vidhayai 
[Even the plaintain plant provides for a seed of life when it dies]

Vidhaithidum unnai pol oru uyirai uyirthu vilangum en kavidhai vilangum kavidhai vilangum(Oooo..)
Vilangi pulangidum vamsam vaazha vaazhum naalil kadamai seiyya
seiyul pol oru kaadhal vendum Kaadhal vendum (seiyul pol oru )Kaadhal vendum (seiyul pol oru )

Vendiyathellam vaitha oruvan..saavayum vendi setha kadhaigal aayiram undu
[Self explanatory]

Its not over yet.. To give meaning and context to the song, even the lyrics are written in such a manner that the last word of the every sentence is the first word of the next sentence (i have highlighted by making the relevant words in 'bold') thus possibly bringing the meaning that every 'end'(death) has a 'beginning'(birth).. and every beginning has an end.. 

What lyrics !!! - 

SALUTE

P.S. - I am no Tamil Scholar..  I am just a fan of pure awesomeness. 

Friday, February 20, 2015

Resonances from the underground

'Did you hear that ?'

'That voice from the underground... ??'

'I think i know what that sound is... Its that boy there... he is upto something.'

'What ? Do you think he is started blogging again' 

'Bingo'.