Sixteen Annas of Music

I remember reading how C N Parkinson ("work expands to fill time") studied the phenomenon of marriages taking place in England before the WW II. He finally concluded that, "whereas it's true that marriages are made in heaven, it's also true that God arranges alliances between men and women who grow up and live within a distance of around 150 miles of each other in England." In other words, the probability pattern is unmistakeable, given the social dimensions of marriage.

While in the shower today, I have come up with a theory on Carnatic music. Everyone buys at best sixteen annas of music in his or her life time. No More. "The sixteen annas theorem" represents how everyone has a self-limiting capacity and only a set range of possibilities for their appreciation and interest in Carnatic music. I am not talking here of people who are tone-deaf; nor those who research or learn music for a 24/7 engagement. I'm taking the example of an Aam Rasika like me who understands CM and can sit with interest and mental engagement through a full concert from soup to nuts, I mean from Varnam to the Mangalam. Of course the menu is stacked a bit differently in Nouveau Musique Karnatique as dished out by TMK or GK and so on. But I don't think my theory is affected by these modifications.

Now what do I mean by sixteen annas? You see, the more we get into the serious world of CM, we find so many oceans of excellence, just as the earth has so many major oceans and seas, all connected of course. You have the Madhyama-kala repertoire of the Thyagaraja school. You have the splendid body of Dikshitar works. You have Shyama Shastri; Padams, Javalis. You have Tamil composers. Swathi Tirunal, Purandaradasa and others, Telugu bhakti compositions, and 20th century work. You have the instrumental speciality genre by itself. You nowadays have also something one can call CM Lite, where every song sounds like a tukkada. And so on. Does an Aam Rasika connect with all this equally? 

Does an Aam Rasika progress from one level to another, like with a CBSE syllabus? Is he a world traveller like Megallan sailing from one ocean to the other? Or can we predict how the Aam Rasika's penchant is, for a specific type of music, based on his age and social status? I say no. I find no such hard and fast pattern of preferences. But at the same time, an Aam Rasika has a quantity and variety limit to his Carnatic music appetite, which I call the sixteen annas theorem.

Before you wonder when I will actually explain my theory, here I go:

The first Six Annas of CM is what the Aam Rasika absorbs in the first 12 years of his life. That is his parental and environmental influence. If children at home are taught CM, or person's mother or father sings for a bit, then the type and variety and sub-genre of what he appreciates from his cradle to his gilli dandu phase will constitute the six annas, in fact the biggest chunk of the pie. For example growing up in Bangalore and Mysore, one would be exposed to the fine, solid krithis of Thyagaraja, dasara padas, a few select MD, SS and ST krithis. Krithis like Brochevarevarura, Sri Chamundeshwari, Ra ra Rajivalochana, Nagumommu, would surely be a part of six annas. In fact also many Kalyani, Shankarabharana, Todi, Kharaharapriya songs of Thyagaraja. This example of the Aam Rasika would be less exposed to Tamil songs, or highly complex Sanskrit krithis, for example.

The next three Annas is what the Aam Rasika is attracted to in his 12-30 years period. This is the phase when speed, virtuosity, instrumental fireworks, etc. can catch his attention. If the girl listens to lots of kutcheris of popular lady musicians, with a certain pattern of repertoire, focused on variety and melody rather than heavy compositions, a deep manodharma or technique, the three annas come from there.

That leaves seven annas. 

In the serious listening phase of his life, the Aam Rasika will make choices, as a mature and committed listener of CM who follows a type of music or musician, based on a studied appreciation of their individual style and accomplishment. This is more musician-centric and less sub-genre or style-centric. This will make up three annas. 

The last four annas are spent on some eclectic tastes, based on non-CM influences like films, big- name bands performing in some Utsavs or cultural festivals, and may even foray into fusion and other genres of music like Hindustani, Qawwali, Sufi etc. But you will be able to see that this is a later, more casual acquaintance, a less important acquired taste.

That means, in summary, here is where we stand:

Six Annas - childhood exposure 

Three Annas - Youth appeal

Three Annas - serious acquired taste

Four Annas - eclectic tastes.

So when we can say the Aam Rasika has finally arrived at this full sixteen annas of CM appreciation, we see this kind of a mix. The individual elements in each category may vary by birth, circumstance, upbringing and exposure, but the relative proportions play out like this. And if you sit next to a young 20-odd year old rasika man or woman in a concert next time, you could hazard that he or she has not actually acquired yet the full sixteen annas. He or she may be talking only of the first six or the second three annas. And if someone speaks at length about his favourite musician, "a phenomenon", don't be misled that that this choice represents the full sixteen annas. That is only three annas worth, and may not represent a dominant taste in the big picture. 

On the other Hand, it might as well build on the first nine annas. In such a case, the musician having that high appeal will take care of twelve annas of the Aam Rasika's listening taste.

If you look at the all-time greats in CM in the past or the present, you will find that they appeal to the first twelve annas. 

That is also the reason I think that CM rasikas will NEVER buy the eclectic fusion stuff beyond a little bit... Some four annas. The vast majority of their listening choices will be the mainstream twelve annas.  

Am I making sense?

Finding a good Kannada dictionary

From Kannada Dictionaries

You would imagine that a language, classified as a classical language with a 2000 year history of written records, and boasting of eight Jnanapith award winners, and a major source of Carnatic music compositions, and spoken by more than 50 million people, would have wonderful dictionaries. Right?

You're right. There are many, many Kannada-English dictionaries in bookshops. They are all meant for people to learn English through Kannada. In other words, people know enough Kannada. Now they should better learn English for bettering their lives.

But how about a Kannada-Kannada dictionary, to improve your Kannada vocabulary? Sorry, you do have some dictionaries, but most of them are of poor quality. The great lexicographer, Prof. G. Venkatasubbiah, has done yeoman service, but his dictionaries are mostly used as Kannada-English dictionaries. And further, I found his dictionary does not contain the word "Elaniru" for tender coconut. I was surely disappointed.

Here is a slide show for you to see some screen shots of my efforts. I did find two good sources, both published by English missionaries, more than 100 years apart. They indeed do a great job, I can tell you!

Bottomline: Is this a process of digestion we enjoy so much like the goat enjoys being eaten up by a tiger, as Rajiv Malhotra says?

Changing sights

Aam Neta

These are interesting times. Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party have formed the government in India's capital state of Delhi within a year of coming into existence. They are coming to terms with governance, and converting the energy of intellectual and moral values into action. The people are going to help them succeed as much as possible, as AAP hold out a hope like nobody else has done since the days of Gandhi.

Then there is Modi and his BJP.  BJP is a party rooted in the past, not your Freedom Fighter past like Congress but India's ancient Hindu past, which stands for pride, excellence and high values. In reality though. It is another party supported largely by traders and businessmen. BJP has never really tried to look squeaky clean. But Modi is different. He is known for his track record of growth in Gujarat, firm principles, a kind of intolerance which may in fact stand for strength to some people. He has not been accused of corruption even by his enemies, which is saying a lot for a hard-core Indian politician.

There is no need to discuss the Congress, as it is living in the past, trying to make an ageing and underperforming cricket team with no ideas or coaches to win a cricket match against two strongly led and popular teams.

Now the interesting bit. Modi and BJP seem really afraid of Aam Aadmi party. They are hell bent on proving them fakes and stooges of the Congress. Does that make sense? To me it does not. I cannot imagine a party like BJP unable to deal with a third reality. That shows some senility indeed!

Now let us come to what India wants. India wants growth, development and opportunity for all. Most Indians believe that if they get opportunities, they will succeed. Why the AAP is winning is because they are saying that the average Indian is NOT WINNING because the match is fixed. And that will get a ready echo in everyone's heart because the entire Indian society is created on inequality and nepotism.

SO AAP is a party supported by people who feel helpless and cheated. But once a country starts growing, this sense of despair will slowly give rise to a confidence, like I have seen in Singapore . The only two qualities that are timeless and will help AAP continue winning is their values of CLEAN AND HUMBLE.

What if BJP, instead of fighting the fight against clean governance and equal opportunity, also rides the SAME TWO PRINCIPLES AND THEN BRINGS IN PROVEN LEADERSHIP!!!????

So AAP = CLEAN+HUMBLE+HOPEFUL

BJP can be AAP+ LEADERSHIP.

WHY NOT!!!!!?????? IT JUST COMPLETES THE SENTENCE.

So BJP has to go back to basics and stop fighting AAP.

Unless BJP is so deeply corrupt and sick that they do NOT HOPE to be convincing as a clean and good party for the future.

IF BJP AND AAP WORK TOGETHER.......

What should AAP DO!? Become and remain the best choice for leading the mega cities of India like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai....let them become growth centres spreading the wave of excellence and growth. Not rotting slums. Growth centres run well and cleanly in our star cities will trigger good governance and growth focus in the large populous states of India 

and at the centre, let it be run by BJP. They will also drive foreign trade, defense, commerce and home. They will generate nationwide energies for growth building around the city centres.

When two good qualities are in confrontation, it is a sad situation. Why can't someone be  good and strong!? Like the two wings of a Brahmani kite!?

Weighing God's grace

Here is a lovely story, I copied it from kshetrapuranas.wordpress.com:

*****

One day, the divine sage Narada, the creator of mischief, came to Dwaraka to offer his salutations to Sri Krishna. In the courtyard he met Satyabhama, beautifying herself with some flowers on her tresses. He walked up to her and with a voice of absolute innocence asked her, “Rani Satyabhama, dont doubt my intentions, but is it my old age or is it really true that Krishna loves Rukmini more than you?” Sathyabhama was thoroughly shaken and stood still, gaping at Narada.”You are far more beautiful and charming than her. You are the younger queen. Dont you think you deserve more attention?”, prodded Narada again. Pulling herself together, Satyabhama looked inquisitively at Narada, “Tell me divine sage, what should I do to gain his undivided attention? You are my only hope now”, she pleaded to him.

Narada, ever eager to cause confusion told, “That is my whole point of visit, mother. I have a first-class plan all hatched up to bring Krishna back to you.” Satyabhama’s eyes were twinkling and she listened to Narada with rapt attention.” You will now make a vow, that you will hand over Krishna to me as a slave. Then to keep the sanctity of the vow but also to retain Krishna to yourself, I will allow you to trade him in for an equivalent weight of your riches. Seeing that you are willing to trade in your wealth for him, Krishna will admire you for your sacrifice and will keep you close to him. The only hitch is that I do not know if your wealth will suffice to balance out Krishna’s weight”, Narada asked sceptically. Proud as ever, Satyabhama flared up, “I am the daughter of Satrajith. My wealth is limitless. I am sure that I have enough to balance Krishna. We will carry on with this plan of yours.”  And that,was exactly what Narada wanted.

Satyabhama rushed to Krishna and hurriedly told him about her unfortunate vow to Narada. Krishna patiently listened to her and very meekly nodded his head. Satyabhama then commanded one of the servants to bring out the large scales used to weigh grains and groceries. She also sent the Caretaker of the Coffers to bring out all her jewels and gold to the grand court room. And gently leading Krishna, she went to the Courtroom. All the ministers stared at the scales that had been placed at the center of the court. Their mouths further fell when they saw box after box of gold being carried inside. Krishna was silent throughout the entire time. So great was the uproar of surprise at the court that Krishna’s other queens too hurried from their Anthapuram to the main court.

Amidst all the courtiers and with Krishna himself as the witness, Satyabhama gave away Krishna in dhaana to Narada. The other wives of Krishna were shocked at this, but being ever dutiful, they did not speak out in front of the assembled court. Narada then gave her the option of taking back Krishna but instead presenting him with an equivalent weight of riches. Amidst loud sighs of relief, Satyabhama agreed to it. She then placed Krishna on one plate of the Scales and with a smirk on her face started piling up the gold, jewels and gemstones on the other plate. She kept adding more and more of her wealth, but the pan with Krishna did not even budge. To top it all Narada kept giving her ominous warnings, “Remember devi, if you fail to supply me with sufficient wealth, Krishna will forever be a slave to me. I can even bid him out to anyone I want.” Satyabhama freaked out and swallowing her pride, begged the other wives of Krishna to give her their jewels so thet they could retain Krishna. Out of their devotion to their lord,, the wives removed every gold ornament on their body until they were wearing only the Mangalsutra. But the scale showed no signs of motion. 

Krishna, always the sly cowherd, “Look Satyabhama, because of your stupid vow, I have to be a slave to this rishi. Oh how I hate this”, he complained. Satyabhama was at a loss for words when Krishna continued, “Why dont you ask Rukmini. She must be able to get us out of this predicament”, he suggested coyly. Satyabhama was in such a state that all her ill will towards Rukmini flew out of the window. Rushing to Rukmini’s private chambers she poured out the dire state of matters. Rukmini, ever calm, didnt panic and came along with Satyabhama. On the way she passed the sacred Tulasi Maadam and plucking a single leaf of Tulasi [Sacred Basil], she continued her way to the hall. She very quietly walked towards the balance and praying to Krishna, placed the single tulasi leaf on all the piled up wealth. Lo and Behold! The pan containing Krishna flew up and remained underbalanced. Shocked at this, Satyabhama looked to Krishna for explanation. “Try removing your riches, Bhama,” Krishna told her, all smiles.

*****

I feel all our offerings, pompous poojas and yagnas, prayers, special vows and fasts, all our pilgrimages, are a way of bargaining for God's grace. The moment we realize that whatever we are, whatever is, is nothing but God's grace, we will stop bargaining. That is true prayer!

A mother's tearful farewell to a daughter, Tambura

A mother's tearful farewell to her daughter, Tambura

Darling mine, your day of destiny, to make a new home, has come.
With sweet memories of childhood, take these words from mum.
From this home go, proud as a true Tambura, nothing humdrum.
Great composers, singers, Lakshmi and Saraswati offer you welcome.

Nevertheless, my child, these sagely words, you need.
In good and bad times, your mum's counsel, take heed.

Not all is rosy out there. Welcome and cuddled, happy days without a pause.
But soon, your voice may fall silent, and none will wonder what it was.

Your stately bearing, your perfect strings, that proud neck will languish.
Surrounded by tinny sounds in loud places, you may feel much anguish.

Your famed ears that, once tuned, stir you into heavenly resonance
Might mutely witness people playing with toys in pure dissonance.

None will dust you nor tune your shining strings.
You will sit quietly, amidst furniture and things.

Forget the warm embrace and caress of a true singer.
Your new family could just be too busy to lift a finger.

In your place they will play a cute IOS or Android app.
Or shiny discs or bread boxes that go on singing like crap.

And yet, my child, take heart, your music and heritage will shine!
Some day, some worthy will come, and gladly build you a shrine.

Advaita and duality

I find all this 'holier than thou' discussion of Advaita total B*** S***.

For those unfamiliar, Adi Sankara, a great mystic and spiritual master told the world categorically that there is only One (the concept that there is no second=Advaita), and that all our perceptions of the many around us (the perception of many things and beings and states =duality) is an illusion or Maya.

He also went around building temples, teaching beautiful prayers to people, the prayers being addressed to a number of male and female deities.

There is a large mass of brahmins called Smarthas who feel utterly superior chanting those prayers in all those temples and also claiming that Advaita is the only truth and science. They say all other beliefs are inferior.

After Sankara (circa 7 century CE), there came many Hindu saints who extolled prayer and said that this talk of Advaita is dangerous and man cannot ever be God.

Now what is all this fuss? It takes three simple statements to clarify the confusion.

As long as you, or me, or Sankara go around preaching, praying, and even arguing, it is a clear case of the many. You cannot deny it.

I cannot say I think as an Advaitin, sensibly, and yet pray to any God to give me happiness, wealth or wisdom. These are all affirmations of the many!

In Advaita, there is no prayer, no me and no God. There is only one infinite consciousness called SatChitAnanda. It is a state of being, even calling it experience is a distortion since experience is different from the experiencer!

That is an idea pretty easy to understand intellectually. There is the core of the issue. In spirituality, belief or intellectual understanding means NOTHING. SPIRITUALITY IS ALL ABOUT ACTUAL PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. One can experience love, prayer, sadness, heat and cold. SatChitAnanda is not an experience but a state of being. It is DEFINITELY NOT knowledge or belief!

All so-called Advaitins think that they understand it and guess what, they think they are right.. But the joke is on them, as in Advaita, there should be no thinker or thought! There is only an infifnite continuum of SatChitAnanda. Sankara perhaps got into that state and expressed later that he had got into that state.

When we do experience that state by disappearing totally, there is Advaita. Until then, there is God, there is Sankara, there is prayer, there is this blog, and duality!

Photo of Avalokiteshwara (Buddhist God of Compassion), Krishna and the Sufi Dervish in my drawing room showcase.

Wanted: Mother-in-Law

Dear prospective Mother-in-law,

Thanks for responding to my tweet so quickly. It just shows how sweet you're, so readily did you respond to my simple tweet:

Wanted Mother-in-Law.No encumbrances on either side, great life-style assured

I will surely come back with a date for a final interview as I have to short-list from the dozens of applications I got already. No worries, be assured you have good chances since I am impressed with your plethora of qualifications.

First of all, let me tell you about myself:

I am a well-paid techie manager in a big corporate in India's silicon and space city. It is also called Allergen and Pothole city because people worldwide are now thinking they can outsource all their requirements of allergens and potholes to our beautiful Kempegowda-ooru.

I don't have the encumbrances of husband, children etc. I have a number of servants who can participate in the Republic Day Parade representing Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Assam, Coorg and Kerala.

I am a strict vegetarian, as long as it comes to breakfast specials like Idli, Vada and Dosa. By the way I hope you know how to make them as well as I like them. Don't wait for me for dinner as I am a party animal and have my own latch key and biometric scan key installed.

I expect you to do all home shopping, including buying the best organic foods and fanciest vegetables, rubbing shoulders with the multi-cultural shoppers of our neighborhood gated community. By the way the only cooking medium at home will be Extra Virgin Olive oil.

And oh, I forgot. I do have a mini orchid garden and keep three most wonderful dogs who regularly compete in the Lalbagh Dog Show in Scandinavian, Alpine and Exotic breeds. Don't be fooled, one of the fellows doesn't even look like a dog at all, he looks more like a cross between a cat and a mosquito and has no tail and doesn't bark. He just chews up my latest footwear and I have no complaints as I get to buy the latest fashion regularly! I expect you to buy the best English dog food for the threesome. They have their own well furnished kennels.

For all your shopping and entertainment, I will provide you a Platinum Debit Card. You can also use it for online purchases. You will have a nice computer less than 2 years old which I retired when I bought my latest tab/notebook hybrid modelled on a Ferrari.

You will have all the cultural and spiritual freedom you want, and can attend any bhajan group or chanting mela anywhere, our chauffeur will take you by prior arrangement. We can synchronize our vacations, you to Char Dham and me to my Char Dham :) Monaco, Vegas, Hong Kong and Dubai.

I expect, from the tone and tenor of your application, that you are a charming conversationalist and host. We will have garden-side barbecues twice a year, and I get a really swanky crowd. Don't worry, you can have your own separate dinner cooked then if you don't fancy beef, pork, and lots of alcohol. You can retire to your own quarters early if you find us a bit boisterous. You catch your latest soaps on your own separate 42 inch HD Bravia. 

Now I know you will ask a question. Why do I need a MiL. I will let you in on a secret. If we hit it off as a great team, we will be able to template our great arrangement and then presto! start an Outsourcing business for Mother-in-Laws! I am sure this outsourcing will do as well as the body-shopping contracts across IT, insurance and banking that Bangalore is famous for.

I expect USD 20 Mil VC soon. Well. That's nothing for the world's greatest Outsourcing idea from the world's oldest land of MiL's.

Why did I put that Bollywood Celebrity photo at the top!? They are a famous MiL&DiL couple and have just no competition...even Draupadi and Sita weren't exactly well known for their MiL success.

Bye for Now...

Aunty-ji, say my namaste to Chipps Uncle

I heard the word avuncular some years ago. I thought at that time that my younger friend  had used it out of respect. But I have since realised that my friend uses this word often since it sounds good to him and also that it means "uncle-like".

Are you uncle-like? Do you like uncles? Or do you prefer aunties? Or worse, are you Uncle-ji or Aunty-ji to someone? Or to all?

In the great cultural capital of Tamizhnaad, every human being runs the risk of being a Maama or Maami. Depending on who calls you that, it can be a loving address, an indifferent reference to your middle age, or downright an insult.

In the larger diaspora of Indians, worldwide celebrating various occasions constantly with samosas and laddus, EVERY human being worthy of attention and respect is an Uncle-ji or Aunty-ji. Or at least Uncle or Aunty. If you're not in that category, then it means that you are either too young to be taken seriously, or not human enough.

The worst situation arises for someone growing up abroad, stuck in the Indian circuit and yet interacting in environments like offices, universities, and societies outside of the Indian diaspora. You will perforce switch to Uncle and Auntying the moment you are in the cultural zone, and yet you have to quickly switch back to the idiom of gentlemen and ladies and polite addresses shorn of avuncular connections when you are in the company of those not yet privileged to be admitted into the Indian cultural zone. This causes distress and disjointed thoughts to some sensitive souls. A case in point is my niece PhDing and Uncle and Auntying in Cambridge.

She has written that she urgently needs to know when she will see the light at the end of the Uncle and Aunty tunnel. I supply the clarification below as best as a dear Uncle could:

1. The 21st century interpretation of the four Hindu stages of life (applies to all Indians, including Muslim and Christian and Buddhist brethren) is as follows:
• Chaddi or "Everyone is Uncle/Aunty" phase
• Buddy or "I will never be Uncle/ Aunty" phase
• Addi or "Oh No, everyone calls me Uncle/Aunty :(" phase
• Fuddy or "Am I glad everyone around loves me as Uncle/Aunty:)" phase

When you are a buddy, like my niece is, her worst nightmare is to be constantly addressed by pre-teens and precocious youngsters as Aunty when they are bumping into her as she carries her plate of samosa and laddu in a party or is politely telling them off as they pester her with pranks. I am afraid that before my niece knows what's going on, which is in a few years, she will enter the addi phase and notice that 80% of people address her as Aunty or Aunty-ji. From Samosa/laddu shop-keepers to Diwali mela gate staff.

How do you escape the karma of Uncle and Aunty-ism? Escape into a culture-less, alien world of all unmentionable dimensions which are totally miltating against your cultural roots, filled as your pores are with samosas, laddus, uncles and aunties.

To be, or not to be? Hamlet Uncle or Ophelia Aunty?

"How do I know I am doing Karma Yoga?"

Osho answers a question during his discourse on the Bhagavad Gita:

Listen to the discourse in Hindi here:

I provide a translation below:

A friend has asked this question: “I am pursuing the practice of Karma Yoga. But sometimes I am scared whether I am really performing Karma “Yoga”. I have no inclination to Bhakti or pursuit of Jnana. I continue to do my duties, but what is the yardstick that what I am doing is actually Karma Yoga and I am not fooling myself? What if my days are simply passing by? How do I know that my own right path is Karma Yoga?”
The question is significant, and the one who has asked it is not asking the question with mere curiosity but in earnest enquiry. Of course one can fool oneself. We have known that, of course we have been fooling ourselves for a long time. We have done it over many lives. So it’s a natural question for a seeker, whether he is simply doing work or practising Karma Yoga.
The first criterion: the work that you are doing after entrusting it to the Lord, is it giving you peace? The result of Karma Yoga is the same as that of meditation- it should give you peace. If you’re still restless, without peace, then you know it is not the right way. When you hand over all your work to the Lord and do it all in His service, then there is no question of restlessness. Peace has to perforce follow. Peace eludes me only when I have taken over the burden of responsibility on my shoulders, and think that I am the doer. If you discover on your path that your restlessness is giving way to peace, to a tranquillity that follows from giving over the reins to the Lord, then you can infer you are doing Karma Yoga.
The second criterion: whether you meet with success or failure, whether you find comfort or difficulty in your work, you will be equanimous. You have left everything to the Lord, and you don’t react whether you get positive or negative results, as you are merely the Lord’s vehicle. Then you have become a mere witness to your work. That gives equanimity, and if this feeling keeps growing, then you’re surely on the path of Karma Yoga. You’re not fooling yourself.
The third criterion: the moment you hand over the controls to the Lord, this world gets a dreamlike quality. It becomes a drama. Until then everything is so real, and you see yourself as the doer. When you give over the controls to Him, you become a spectator, not a doer. It’s like a cinema. Who are you? He is the director, and you are a mere audience. You are now only a watcher, an audience to this drama. It becomes a play. His play. You feel a sense of witnessing.
If these criteria are not satisfied, then it is clear it is a kind of self-deceit. If even after trying hard, you find the absence of these three qualities.. .peace, equanimity, witnessing, then you have to ask yourself if this is your true path. You may have to try other paths.
But what happens every day? People think they have to discharge their duties, and that is Karma Yoga. “With wife, children, we are stuck, we have to do our work or business , earn and consume…”…those who think of life as a series of unavoidable duties, you will see them carrying a burden of life. There is no joy. It is drudgery. Sometimes deep within they feel like murdering the people around. They wish they could have avoided this trap. This is not Karma Yoga. In fact it’s a kind of impotency. A state of Trishanku. These people cannot run away, and yet cannot enjoy the tasks on hand. There is no courage to give up and go away. And there is no meaning in going about this drudgery, as there is no attitude to do one’s duty with joy as God’s work.
This word duty stinks. If one loves one’s wife, and says, “I want to give my wife a beautiful home, a garden, get a car, give her a comfortable life. I love my children, I really want to provide for them, make their life full of laughter”- that person will not talk of duty. This is his joy, not mere duty. That is a good place to be in, because there is the joy of doing things for loved ones.
Then there is the other, who is going about his work as God’s work. He has joy, as we said before, from the word go.
In-between is the man who talks of duty and drudgery. He is stuck and almost dead. The time is ripe for him to take some drastic measures.
When you’re on the path of Karma Yoga, you will be feeling increasing bliss. When you’re going in the wrong direction, your restlessness increases.
It is perfectly Ok that you are full of the joy of providing for your loved ones. If you become happy by making your wife and children happy, that’s perfectly beautiful. Such a man knows how to be happy. And one day, when he turns towards God, he will get joy manifold. So that’s good too.
The man inbetween is in a sorry state. If you’re blissful, be assured that you are on the right path. If you’re depressed, feel stuck, be clear you’re headed in the wrong direction.
We should not take unhappy sadhus also as role models. If they are not blissful, they won’t like you to be joyous, they will say you are sinners. Save yourselves from such sadhus. If we mere mortals are getting joy from everyday tasks, and little things, shouldn’t these sadhus, on the path to God, be happy?  Bliss is the touchstone indeed!
If bliss, or joy, is missing, there is something wrong. Don’t listen to those who decry joy. Maybe you are not doing the right things, but it is your experience that you feel joy. What does that mean? A day will come that you feel bored with these trinkets and little things. You will then rise higher, and seek joy in higher things. The key thing is you’re in bliss, and you’re on the right path. Look at a little boy. He loves playing with stones. He won’t give them up and even goes to bed taking these stones. Don’t snatch away those stones saying they are nothing. That is a very wrong thing. You are not only taking away the boy’s stones, you are damaging  his joy. It’s true that you have no interest in mere stones, but remember while throwing away the gross stones, you are also snatching away his inner joy. And that’s unforgivable. Remember right now the boy is too small to know that these stones are nothing much. How can he know that, since he getting so much joy from playing with them? This is not the time to teach him about higher things. If you give him the right inputs, he will become aware, evolve to higher things and one day he will give up these stones himself. The idea is to increase a sense of awareness, not coerce somebody to give up things that they enjoy doing today. Awareness is the key component in one’s path.
So it’s simple. If you’re happy doing something, know you’re on the path. It maybe that your joy comes from something not so significant, but so what? You will evolve, become more aware, sooner or later. Then you will rise to the joy of higher things. The two criteria are awareness and bliss. If one is not blissful and one is not becoming more aware, then one needs a course correction. Not otherwise.  

Elanir Index Geomap

Http://bit.ly/ElanirIndex

Kalakshetra at NCPA

http://youtu.be/-B9T2ODFpJQ

Elanir Index

You should have heard of the term Purchasing Power Parity. What the term means is that whereas one US Dollar can fetch you Indian Rs.63/-, it does not actually buy you as much goods and services in USA as Rs 63/- would buy you in India. in other words the PPP Exchange rate for Indian rupee would be more like say Rs 25/- to a US Dollar.

Now the Economist has published what they call the Big Mac Index, to account for PPP. So in each country they find out the price of a Big Mac Burger from the local McDonald's, and compare it with price in USD in America of a Big Mac Burger from the American McDonald's outlet. The comparison is valid because McDonald's make the same type of burger and price it in each market at the same level of affordability. So a comparison substitutes for a computed PPP.

I have also come across a Starbucks Coffee index somewhere.

But what about comparing within India and outside, the price of something which is more local, more a part of our daily lives!?

So I propose that we compute an Elanir Index. That is an index comparing the price of a tender coconut in various parts of the world.

In order to develop this index, I need your help!

Please go and have an Elanir in your local market. Please add a comment in this blog or on my Facebook page of 

Where you drank the tender coconut

When- date

And what was the price in local currency.

If you're travelling, you can give me multiple data points, PLEASE!

I will quickly map an index and come back to all of you.

I am quite curious about the Elanir Index in various parts of India. Recently, I came across prices from Rs 15 to Rs 30, around south India itself.

please give me the data. Imagine how curious the comparisons may be, based on Elanir price in Sydney  Australia, in Singapore, in Bangkok and Bangalore, not to mention Chennai, Cochin, Mumbai, Toronto etc, etc!

So come back...where, at what price, and when did you consume your Elanir recently!?

25 years of Indian cricket

This is a great time to list what the past 25 years of cricket have meant for me. That too Indian cricket.

1. TV coverage that helps me to understand and enjoy the game like never before. They even have  computerized analysis these days.

2. Australia's dominance through the '90s and till say 2007 or so. What batting, what bowling, what fielding, what aggression, and what appetite for wins. They brushed aside all competition and even officials like the way Ponting pushed Pawar away when he took the trophy in Mumbai some years back.

3. India's gutsy batsmen who worked on technique, and temperament, and stayed away from controversies to defend totals and make impossible scores to win matches. Sachin, Dravid, and less so Ganguly and Laxman come to mind. And worldwide, many short-lived stars (Flintoff eg.)

4. No Indian bowlers of the class or impact of a Kapil Dev or the great spin trio -Kumble was good but not that all time great type of bowler. But worldwide, there were some like the great Glen McGrath and the immortal Shane Warne. And some Pakistanis and that SA Wonder Dale Steyn.

5. A big economic engine called Indian TV viewership that propelled many people and things to immense wealth. The concomitant TV ads for Chyavanprash, eggs and now even whitening creams. 

6. The new phenomenon called Indian cricket. Dhoni, Yuvi, Virat, Rohit, Dhawan. All batsmen, who play great innings ever so often. And win a World Cup too.

7. Greatly improved fielding in all forms of the game.

8. Some memorable TV coverage of cricket, the Ashes being the best in class. Even on days when the game was not all that great a treat. During the recent months, I saw some wonderful documentaries on Warne and even a better one on Lara.

9. A number of tamashas around cricket, especially IPL. And attached scandals.

10. The one and only Bharat Ratna about whom I think I can make a mental reconstruct of what he was and how he achieved greatness, Sachin Tendulkar.

Bhakti Yoga - by Sri M

Bhakti Yoga 

(coverage report by Star of Mysore)

September 11, 2013

Bhagavadgeetha is the ‘Song of God’: Sri M

Mysore, Sept. 8 – The language of Bhagavadgeetha is very simple. Being the ‘Song of God’ and not prose, by reading it we are transported beyond the boundaries of limited thought. The 12th chapter begins with Arjuna asking Lord Sri Krishna: ‘Who is better versed in yoga — the ones who worship You in constant devotion with your forms or the ones who worship You as the formless?’ The Lord enlightens Arjuna saying: ‘Those who fix their minds on me and worship me with steadfast love and faith, I consider them as perfect in Yoga and closest to me,’ explained Sri M, Founder- President, Satsang Foundation, Madanapalle (Andhra Pradesh).

He was delivering a discourse on Bhakthi Yoga (Chapter12) on the first day in a four-day series sponsored by Vijay Foundation in association with P.R. Hariharan Memorial Charitable Trust and Star of Mysore yesterday at Sri Prasanna Parvathi Kalyana Mantap in V. V. Mohalla here.

It is impossible to undertake a spiritual journey without Bhakthi, Sri M remarked, adding that Bhagavadgeetha forms an important part of Prasthanathraya comprising Geetha, Upanishads and Brahamasutra. Veda includes Samhita, Brahmanas, Aranyaka and Upanishads. The first translations and commentary on Geetha are credited to Adi Shankara.

Each of its chapter at the end proclaims that it is part of Upanishads and also Yoga Shastra, the science of the study of truth. Geetha is the earliest text that proclaims there are many paths to know the truth, the speaker said.

The first chapter of Bhagavadgeetha, titled Arjuna Vishaada Yoga finds the Pandava warrior in deep sorrow and undecided on what to do in the battle field. The dialogue between the Lord and Arjuna enlightens us about the root of all sorrow and how to remove that root. That is the cream of Bhagavadgeetha, Sri M explained.

Arjuna, who listens to the Lord is fully aware that Lord Krishna is much more than what he sees in front him. In chapter 10 of the Bhagavadgeetha, the Lord discloses to Arjuna about himself saying, “I am Kaplia among the Munis, I am Saamaveda among the Vedas, I am the Meru among the mountains….” Arjuna praises the Lord in chapter 11 while chapter 12 is the only one which begins with Arjuna seeking enlightenment from the Lord on Bhakthi (which even the intelligentsia think that it is only for the primitive people or women). The Lord explains to Arjuna that the desired qualities of a Yogi are (a) Control on the senses, (b) Balance of mind and (c) Feeling of welfare of all at heart. The Lord assures Arjuna saying, “I’ll lift you from a death-bound existence to a state of immortality,” Sri M explained.

People resolve to various measures when experiencing pain or troubled by sadness. Some do it by viewing TV, others resolve to analgesics in the form of pills. There are also some who take Spiritual Analgesic, but their spirit comes in bottles, said Sri M in a lighter vein.

Given the limitations of linear thinking, it is difficult for us to have direct communication with the Lord, He being in abstract form, observed Sri ‘M’ on day two of his four-day discourse on Bhakthi Yoga. However, it is possible to overcome the difficulty even for normal human beings through constant practice (Abhyaasa Yoga), Lord Krishna enlightened Arjuna, Sri ‘M’ added. The Pandava wizard in archery was further told by the Lord: I will lift those who have abandoned all the fruits of their actions and worship Me as the sole refuge from the ocean of life bound by death, the speaker explained.

If you are unable to do constant practice, be intent on doing all actions for Lord’s sake and you will attain perfection, Lord Krishna told Arjuna. The agency for such actions is the Lord Himself, Sri ‘M’ remarked, adding that the benefit of the actions come to the devotee in the form of peace of mind and happiness.

We cannot argue that there are no eyes because we cannot see our own eyes (except in the mirror) although we perceive every thing through our eyes. Similarly, proof of the Lord is that He is witness to everything, Sri ‘M’ explained.

Drawing an analogy between Abhyaasa yoga and Pathanjali’s Yoga Shastra, Sri ‘M’ delineated the following eight components of Ashtaanga Yoga.

1. Yama-Niyama (Rules to be followed by a Yogi, such as moderation in sleep, diet, entertainment and so on);

2. Ahimsa (eschewing violence to other beings); 

3. Aparigraha (simple living including non-acceptance of gifts, which come always loaded with aspirations); 

4. Brahmacharya (any activity that leads to the Brahman, a state of life not necessarily confined to physical activities); 

5. Aasana (posture, based on fact that muscles that contract and loosen subsequently bring more energy to the body and mind); 

6. Praanayama (An important part of Abhyaasa yoga. Regulating the function of breathing, recommended in cases of inability to concentrate. There is a link between breathing and mind); 

7. Pratyaahaara (capacity to withdraw oneself from any situation at will by Yogi. Mind behaves according to the way it is trained); 

8. Dhyaana- Dhaarana- Samaadhi (Attention on one thing to the exclusion of others through meditation.

While one is reciting Gayatri Mantra during thrikaala sandhya (morning at sunrise, mid-day when shadows begin to elongate and evening at sunset) balancing praana and apaana maximises the effect of chanting, observed Sri ‘M’ while delivering his third day’s discourse on ‘Bhakti Yoga’ of Chapter 12 in Srimad Bhagavad Gita. This chapter provides an opportunity for venting public voice while the other chapters mostly present the divine message from the Lord addressing Arjuna, the speaker explained.

Lord Krishna, elaborating on His guidelines to Arjuna, tells him: ‘If abbhyaasa yoga (constant practice of worshipping with full concentration) is not possible, you can do all your actions for my sake and dedicate yourself to selfless service in your day-to-day life.

We practise many rituals such as bathing in the morning, lighting the hearth, offering worship to the Lord, cooking food (as prescribed by Manu) and so on. It is more important to understand why we are performing the rituals. Still more important is to practice dhyaana marked by fixed attention and not chanting simply by rote. Surrender yourself to me in love, not worrying about the fruits of your actions for endless happiness and peace, was Lord Krishna’s message to Arjuna, explained Sri ‘M’.

Self-control under all circumstances, not getting disturbed while confronting difficulties in life and being friendly and compassionate to all as well as being free from possessiveness without arrogance (attitude of who do you think I am?) are the qualities that distinguishes a true Yogi from others, the speaker explained, citing the real life example of Pava Hari Baba who lived in a cave near Ghazipur, whose only possession was his Kamandalu without coveting anything.’

Of the 20 Shlokas in chapter 12 of Bhagavadgeetha, the last one presents a beautiful statement that even those who seek to follow the path set forth by the Lord are dear to Him, explained Sri M during his discourse on the final day of the four-day programme on Bhakthi Yoga.

Recapitulating the answers given by Lord Sri Krishna to Arjuna to the question posed by the latter as to who is a greater yogi between the one who worships the Formless or the one who worships Him with a Form, Sri M narrated the qualities of a true yogi as explained by the Lord adding that a devotee’s qualities are more important than how he worships Him. Control over one’s mind, a balanced outlook to both happiness as well as sorrow and compassion with unalloyed love for all beings are those qualities, Sri M observed.

We are all body oriented. Therefore form and name become important in our life. Only devotion to the Lord leads to lasting joy, remarked Sri M, adding that freedom from possessiveness and arrogance is a sterling quality of a yogi. Also, a true yogi is always contented and steadfast in his conviction (Dhrida Nischaya), the speaker said. Lord Krishna told Arjuna that a yogi’s heart and mind are dedicated to Him, Sri M explained.

One who causes fear to none nor fears anyone, since one has nothing to hide or protect for one’s sake, is a true yogi. Such a person who is not affected by moods resulting from either euphoria or depression, identified in society as a sthitha prajna is also dear to the Lord, Sri M said, interpreting Lord Krishna’s message to Arjuna. Modern youth refer to a sthitha prajna as ‘cool dude,’ Sri M remarked on a humourous note.

Desireless, resourceful, unattached, unworried and selfless are the qualities of a yogi dear to the Lord, Sri M said. The joy of being devoted to the Lord is upper-most in a true yogi’s mind, he added. Even kings seek guidance from a yogi on what course of action is to be adopted under trying situations, the speaker remarked.

Our minds are caught up by objects of this world. When somebody or something comes in the way of our achieving our objects, anger results. An angry person becomes mad and he or she doesn’t see reason in the action dictated by anger, Sri M explained.

A true yogi doesn’t get elated when praised or flattered, remarked Sri M, reminding the listeners about the lines ‘Meeti meeti baathonse butchna zarra…’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar in a Hindi movie many years ago. He also narrated the parable of the snake that got battered by people because it gave up its natural practice of stinging on the advise of a yogi, who enlightened the reptile saying: ‘I asked you to desist from biting but not to desist from hissing.’ Sometimes, hissing may be necessary but without causing hurt to animal, Sri M remarked. He concluded his discourse with shanthi mantra, reminding the audience on the importance of the Lord’s prescription of remaining same towards all.

The story of Meenakshi

Meenakshi was born to the king of Madurai, who had been childless and prayed for a successor. The child was special. She was trained in all the 64 arts and went on a military campaign. She defeated everyone until she came to Shiva. She fell in love with him and couldn't start the battle.

Vishnu gave her in wedding to Shiva,  establishing to everyone that she was another incarnation of Shakti. 

What is special about Meenakshi?
She is beautiful and human. She has only two arms,  no weapons. She holds a flower on which sits a parrot. There is a beautiful balance in her grace. The parrot to me symbolises how we can harness the human mind to pursue godhood.  The parrot is a keen learner and symbolises the human mind.

The actual stone image of the main deity seems a bit worn out through the ages. But the symbolism is perfect.

Go visit Madurai. Spend lots of time roaming the temple. Don't bother about the crowded side streets.

Meenakshi temple in Madurai has exquisite, and I repeat, exquisite granite stone sculpture in front of the Sundareshwara shrine. It is the finest sculpture I have seen-with exquisite iconographic detail, proportion and beauty of faces and features. There is no ready example of a photo to share as people seem to have been  basically clicking the gopurams and pillared halls. I was not allowed to take a camera inside.

To help you decide, they have up together a 360 degree virtual tour!!!

http://www.view360.in/virtualtour/madurai/

The Tip of Rama's Bow

Have you ever wondered about the geography of Ramayana? There are many scholarly studies. They cover places, races, topography and many astronomical coordinates mentioned in the Valmiki epic. But one thing is a key element in Ramayana. Rama had to go to Lanka to bring back Sita.  He had to cross the ocean.

The southern tip closest to Lanka in India is Rameshwaram. More precisely the tip stretching out called Dhanushkodi. In Sanskrit that means dhanush=bow, koti=tip. The mythology is that Vibhishana, as the devoted newly crowned king of Lanka,  implored Rama to destroy the bridge that had been built across for the monkey army to cross over for battle; to destroy it was advisable to prevent future wrongful crossovers between the lands of demons and humans.  And Rama used his bow tip to shovel off an end of the bridge and make it nonfunctional.

The same tip of the bow which had made its marks on Rama's shoulder after that terrific battle he had singlehandedly fought with the several thousand rakshasas led by Khara and Dushana in the Dandaka forest. The poet Tulsidas makes a fine reference when he says, "AjAnubhuja-SarachApadhara-sangrAmajita-khara-dUSgaNaM"

The one thing stronger than Rama's arrow is his bow. And in its tip, when bent, is all the energy needed to dry up an ocean or break a bridge.

Another beautiful thing about Rameshwaram. I went there to the temple after visiting Dhanushkodi. The trip to the temple is easy,  as the massive beautiful temple is right in the town, by the sea.  On the other hand that land tip needs a 4WD jeep to carry you for miles and miles in desolate sand.

What is special about the temple? It is the most famous temple which is all about the devotee and less about the deity!

Rama,  after war, wants to expiate his sin of killing Ravana (a Shiva bhakta and a brahmin, no matter he wasn't a good sort). Sita makes a beautiful lingam out of beach sand.  Rama workships it and consecrates it as a jyotirlinga- the most famous, along with Kashi, of the 12 Shiva shrines, and  one of the four sacred pilgrim centres in the four corners of India.

Hanuman has something to do with Rameshwaram, too. He brings the linga as instructed by Rama from Kailas,  but is chagrined to find that he is late and Rama has followed Agastya's advice to adhere to the auspicious muhurta and worshipped the sand linga by Sita.

And devotees bring water all the way from Ganga in Kashi to Rameshwaram and perform abhisheka for Shiva.

Not only that. After bathing in the sea,  they go to 22 wells within the temple,  called thirthas, named after great rivers, holy places and incidents of Ramayana. Saying Om Namah Shivaya, they stand next to the well and an attendant pours a bucketful of water from the well. Dripping from well to well, they go through a great catharsis.  After wiping themselves dry and wearing fresh clothes, they go inside to worship Shiva.

So Rameshwaram is all about worship and the devotee.

Everything is autonomous, everything is self-limiting.

This is a simple idea. It is very much the core of the Hindu conception of reality and I fully experience it everyday. Of course each one of us perceives and agrees with this idea at different levels, these differences being a somewhat direct application of the idea itself!

Whether you call it consciousness,  or God within everyone, or the Selfish Gene, or whatever,  we can see pretty easily that almost nothing of the sentient world, and even the physical world for that matter, is fully predictable or modellable. That means everything has a choice of response or action in each situation. Whereas gross planetary and objective physical phenomena seem to follow the classical scientific laws like Newton's Laws etc., science also tells us a lot of accuracy of measurement actually depends on the observations, with a clear subjective element! So we move over from Newton to Einstein. And poor Einstein didn't complete his general theory of relativity in his time,  so even the principle of relativity has some grey zone!

I call this the principle of autonomy. So we can say either we don't know how to measure a thing totally objectively or we can also say it seems to have a mind of its own.

Definitely life is full of surprises,  and we read about it all the time. The dramatic incidents of people behaving in a most atypical manner are reported all the time,  cases of behaviour either for personal gain or grief, or for public good or to cause public dismay; this is all a demonstration of this principle of autonomy. If viruses can decide to mutate to confuse us,  why not people!?

That was autonomy. Now the second principle.  The self-limiting nature of everything. I find this makes a lot of sense more. In fact more and more as I see what is happening. That explains a Steve Jobs losing his  job originally,  then making Apple so strong, then not living to savour his success fully.  And how Cook is trying very hard to follow that act, but as it turns out, without the same success.  And how the iconic Bill Gates is about to be asked to step down or out.

Why do impossibly perfect things and limitless geniuses demonstrate sooner or later some chinks? Why does a Tendulkar finally decide to step down? The reason is that just as autonomy operates at the individual level,  there is a universal connectedness that imposes automatically a governing mechanism for self-limiting everything. I use the word self as a proof that each being (or thing!) accepts autonomy as well as connectedness as two sides of the same coin,  and hence operates to limit itself. 

That means the worst tsunami ends soon. The worst tyrant loses a battle. The most powerful are humbled in some way we can't predict. 

Do you see why it is childish to expect perfection in ANYTHING? If God pervades everything,  and everything is autonomous and Self-limiting,  EVEN GOD IS SO. Here I mean God that is manifest. If there is a perfect, Adi-antya-rahita Bhagavan or Devi, such an idea is for me a poetic conception or extrapolation, NOT SUPPORTED BY EXPERIENCE.

Well,  if it makes you feel any better,  God has chosen to be so. And here ends my autonomous outburst with a self-limit.

Choose your God!

If you think you're born into a religion, and your parents tell you which God to pray to, you're wrong. If at all you believe in God and praying, remember that you have to make your own God. You have to choose your God, and pray. Here are the most common Gods to choose from:

List of Gods you can choose from:

POWER.

               WEALTH.

                               POPULARITY.

                                                      BEAUTY.

                                                                     KNOWLEDGE.

                                                                                             STRENGTH.

                                                                                                                 LONGEVITY.

                                                                                              MAGIC.

                                                                      SUCCESS.

                                                      VICTORY.

                               HEALTH.

                 HAPPINESS.

LOVE.

Now, after you have chosen your God, stand on one leg, stop eating and breathing, and grow long hair.

You have a sure-fire way to achieve your goal, by the grace of your God. And by the way, tell God that you will give back half of all you get, because everyone requires a little incentive!!!!!

The Bull @ Isha

Oh eternal male of the blinkless vigil, 

Supreme in profile, with crowning horns,
Ever watchful of all company-
Devotees by day and spirits at night. 

Resolute,
With never a nibble of distraction,
Nor even a nod to the tamarind tree
That coyly holds her own watch around.

Shiva hugs his snakes no doubt,
Ensconced in his resonant cave-
Yet he loves your readiness and strength.

The fire dancers and cymbalists march,
Bringing Bhairavi every dusk to light up your space,
With chants and swirls, leaps and more.
Some way indeed to cool you, baked all day in the sun! 

The constant cascade of bathing waters doesn't tempt you
To move away for a dip.
Nor the cackle of happy children
Stirs you from your post-
Not even a swish of your tail.

Those are the only two sounds in your world
Except the war cries of the spearmen. 

And the burning camphor quietly dilates your nostrils. 

You are mightier than the huge granite blocks and columns.
You are a match for the yonder hills.
Your eternal watch is the breath of Isha.

Reptilian brain

This is an artistic creation made of metal that hung on the wall in our Isha cottage in the Velliangiri campus of Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.
The Sadhguru has spoken of a reptilian brain located inside the human skull base.  This brain deals with our instinct of survival and attack.  A fundamental animal instinct of aggression.

I think this structure eminently depicts the action of the reptile in us. It snakes and crosses method and structure,  all modern concepts of civic society. The reptile takes short cuts and breaks traffic laws. It bribes to get things done. It cheats and sacrifices trust. It thinks of here and now and profit first.

How many people would vote for India's national creature to be the crocodile! More than the elusive tiger, the fancy flier peacock, the reptile stands for the Indian of today. At least about half of all Indians, who have managed to fight and acquire and protect their wealth.

What do you say?

A mad rush called Bangalore

This Navaratri, especially this weekend,  a few hundred thousand (my guess is half a million) young and middle-aged Bangaloreans including all of my family have travelled out to near and far places for the long weekend or festival season or to be with their families.

Last night some 50000 people took buses in a mad chaos of Volvo's from Shantinagar stand. See the picture I clicked.

Bangalore welcomes educated people from all over with nice jobs,  fine weather and all sorts of fun. Hundreds of colleges in Karnataka provide technical education for a hefty fee. Result: a huge population of people who are in Bangalore and nearby only to earn and make a career. Their families and interests pull them away for holidays.

Thousands of taxis and autos ply these folks to bus stands and railway stations all the time. Apart from the thousands of cars running shuttle commute trips round the clock for outsourcing hubs.

You can call this the new economy. I call this the mad rush called Bangalore.

Alternative Ramayana

Ramayana, like most of our epics, shows men fighting, and women pining or suffering. I feel it is time for an alternative narrative. So here goes the key part of Ramayana as told my way.

In the forest, Rama, Sita and Lakshmana were counting the months and years. Seasons came and went. The flowers, fruits, smells, sights, and animal migrations all were showing them the passage of time. Sometimes time felt heavy on hand. Sometimes time was fleeting.

Ravana, the bad one, had his eye on Sita ever since he had lost in the Swayamvara. One day, a day to be made unforgettable in history, Rama and Lakshmana had gone away for hunting and gathering. Ravana had bided his time for this moment. He came to the hermitage. Disguised as a sanyasi, he approached Sita for a piece of pickle. Yes pickle. You see, Sita was excellent in making Vadu Mangai pickle. She picked the best tender mangoes of the Palghat region from the lot the brothers brought, carefully pickled them in earthen jars baked from the Telengana  loam, spiced with choicest rock salt from Seemandhra and chillies of Byadagi. She used only the highest quality of turmeric from Sringeri region, hand-pounded of course. And the til oil came direct from Rayalaseema. Don't laugh. These wonderful ingredients existed in these places long before the states were formed on linguistic lines. They were thriving jungles full of opportunities, much like the southern states today are in times of election.

So Ravana asks for a piece of pickle. Sita sees behind his mask right away the evil ten-headed demon. You know there is an old saying: feeding a half-penny worth of buttermilk to the ten-headed (=ten mouths) Ravana. Even giving him so much pickle would be OK, but the fact that the demon came in disguise aroused suspicion. Pretending to use a hunting knife as a spoon to prise the pickle from the earthen jar, she quickly slashed Ravana's false beard, also hurting and damaging his nose in the process. Screaming in pain, powerless to hurt the pure soul that was Sita, Ravana showed his true colours and fled. He fled directly to his sister Shurpanakha, the evil demoness who was the absolute boss in his kingdom of Lanka. It was a byword that she basically ruled and Ravana was allowed to buy and run aircraft and beer companies for fun. In other words she did not believe that ten heads were better than one.

When Shurpanakha heard about the pickle misadventure, she was incensed. She wanted revenge, and wanted to teach the two hapless brothers and the woman a lesson. She descended on the hermitage, aided by her uncle Mareecha who came dressed up as a golden jewelry show room. The moment Sita saw it, she entered the showroom and lost all count of time. Meanwhile it was a trifling matter for Shurpanakha to abduct the two brothers, left helpless in the absence of the lady of the hermitage, under the pretext that there was much better hunting and gathering to be had in Lanka and they would be flying back well before Sita had finished her jewelry shopping.

When Sita came back, only to discover what an elaborate hoax the whole set-up was, she was livid with anger and drowned in tears, missing her beloved husband and brother in law. She immediately went in search, and found their bows and arrows discarded from the air just above Kishkindha. Tara, the monkey queen, told her of the two brothers flying away with Shurpanakha in the sky and how they dropped their weapons as a trail.

Tara summoned her monkey army, and Sita and Tara built a huge bridge and finally engaged Shurpanakha in a fierce battle. Mandodari, Ravana's good wife, stood on principle that abducting the brothers just as a revenge for the denied Vadu Pickle was a bad deal and immoral and illegal. She deserted Shurpanakha and joined Sita's side. 

The battle was won and Sita and Rama ruled their kingdom happily ever after.