Book Review : Ride of a Lifetime , Lessons learnt as 15 years as CEO

 

We know that we are in for a ride of a lifetime as soon Mr.Iger recounts the most dramatic phase in the company , which fortunately or unfortunately he had to helm as the 6th CEO of Walt disney. Situation : Opening of the largest Disneyland ever at Shangai, China costing about 6Billion USD , 11 times bigger than the next big disneyland and that took 18 years to build . Iger during that eventful week had to handle the first ever mass shoot out at an orlando night club where few of his employees had visited and also the infamous alligator attack in the orlando disney property the first of its kind - a little boy being the victim.  When he describes how he made decisions to ensure a security breach never happened at Disney and how he followed suit on the promise made to the young boy's family : I.e This agony will never befall another family , it genuinely makes you sit up. Disney put several warning signs , billboards and tracked 1000s of the alligators in the Fl property in a matter of days!

Fascinating how he describes the 10 important leadership principles for running a successful business all learned 45 years in Media life and 15 years as Disney CEO :

Fairness

Courage

Optimism

Focus

Decisiveness

Creativity

Thoughtfulness

Authenticity

Relentless Pursuit of Perfection

Integrity

Childhood - Dad military veteran with manic depression always wanted kids to be more successful and powerful something he was not .. constantly urged bob to strive for excellence but not robbing fun at home .Rob barely was lower middle class ND lived barely enough in terms of expenditure. 

Rob learnt worldly manners , sales , work ethic by sheer variety of work from scrubbing benches for gums to MCDONALD'S ..he was just an average kid at school. However bouts of hard work in high school instilled ambition and work ethic in him and he lapped up college education . His uncle's recommendation led him to ABC network were he started with menial jobs and rose up to organize stage production an important gig at Madison when Frank Sinatra came led him to network well .. Rob moved up the chain to ABC sports .. He learnt , imbibed several mantras of success from the Sports guru Ruin .. Ruin transformed sports at ABC through his motto ' innovate or die' and he single handedly brought such innovations like satellite broadcast , reverse angle shots , slow motion. 

Robert learnt a lot from Ruin among things was always finding a way for excellence and that led him to telecast world ping pong championship fro north Korea.  ABC now moved under Tom and Dan of capital city two executives that modelled decentralization , authenticity and no glitz something ruin did not appreciate. Ruin did his magic at ABC news while Rob climbed up to head programming at ABC sports under Dennis another authentic warm generous boss. 

Next break was teaming up with Ruin at caligari winter games were despite several events getting cancelled or postponed due to weather, some smart programming and packaging led to roaring success . Rob now noticed by Tom and Dan was made ABC's entertainment mogul at 37.. Rob learnt risk taking and mistakes taught so much more than playing safe ' ode to Ruin'.. he chaired such flops like cop rock but maverick success of twin peaks , America's funny videos led to legendary nypd blues !!Twin Peaks crashed towards second season and Rob sites he brought in operational elements unnecessarily curtailing David Lynch's creative process . He has learnt to put trust on extremely creative people and their process going forward.  

Rob now became trusted confidante and when Dan retired took over as ABC president and COO. Divorce with Susan and a critical acquisition of abc from Disney followed . Disney was a global conglomorate under Micheal Esner who was instrumental in several landmark achievements : Making theme parks global, consumer product and franchise , collaboration with Pixar and super hits like Lion king Alaudin but most important of all was the ABC acquisition for a paltry sum of 19.5 billion that had its 'Crown jewel' ESPN a gift that kept on giving amidst Disney's dud era that is 1995- 2000.  

Michael Esner made it clear to Rob that he will not be his no.2 (president) and got a CAA super agent Michael Ovitz for that job . Ovitz within a year exposed himself unfit as he was more interested in socializing with celebrities and focused heavily on shows and entertainment on a contact led model which went against extreme vetting and structured policy at Disney . Ovitz did not believe in doing things via process which Disney's culture demanded and he was more ad hoc and fast paced with little regard to 'other people's consensus' or their time.  Ovitz and michael expectedly had a fallout with ovitz fired end of 1995 with a hefty 100 million severance package.  Rob stepped up from COO to President in the interim and no.2 for Esner till 2000 . 

Towards 2000 some members of the Disney board did not appreciate the fall out Michael Esner with Steve Jobs and Pixar entertainment also Esner's increased pessimism towards media business and lack of innovation in technologies and inability to have succession plan paved way for his downfall. Esner first was demoted from Chairman post then in 2004 was made to quit altogether . Robert Iger though not a first choice to the board as they were looking to hire externally appealed enormously to them by coming up with big picture thinking esp. on the immediate and long term future plans for Disney. His emphasis on technology innovation , mobile & streaming , more international exposure particularly building brand in China , India etc was his plan to convince the board.  The board did well in thwarting a compelling offer from Comcast to take over Disney which rightfully did not materialize as Disney was a bigger beast than comcast. 

Rob Iger had a bad reputation for sticking up for Micheal Esner outside disney and the prevailing sentiment even among board members was that he did not have any new ideas from what Michael offered earlier. However Iger was persistent to try hard and he went through the full grill and interview loops , he got frustrated that the board took forever to decide and even called him for Sunday evening meetings unorthodoxly , Willow his second wife was carrying and Bob went through enormous anxiety in this phase . One day he had an anxiety attack in this phase and thought he was getting a heart attack much like his parents suffered in their own 50s.  This episode ensured he will not compromise on quality of life - exercise, sleep or family time , good lesson for anyone sucked into busy life.  Bob finally succumbed to his frustrations of waiting on for the Board's confirmation and even walked out of a loop - Ironically he was chosen the new CEO to Disney . This made Bob realize never to take his Ego seriously . Not to indulge in quick fights, anger and bowing down to frustrations.  After he became Disney CEO the expectations outside were pretty low and that worked in his favor most ppl thought he was a stop gap choice. Since Rob had nothing to lose he reached out to Steve Jobs in a bid to salvage the Pixar - Disney partnership. Roy Disney' s protracted lawsuit and fight with Micheal esner now in the board left a bad taste in the mouth that needed fixing very quickly. Rob found out that Roy who was now frail yearned actually for respect, recognition from board and the company something he never received from his uncle (Walt) nor anyone else in the board . Rob quickly appealed to this sensitivity and struck a deal with Roy asking him to be Emeritus chairman of Disney without any regular board responsibility and he gets automatic invites to every theme park, hotel opening of Disney amidst some sound financial package .  Roy accepted the deal and Michael stopped the bitter war . Peace was restored . 

Steve & Pixar : Steve was very tough nut to crack and negotiate . Increasingly everyone in Disney felt their animation was poor and rather distant second to Pixar . Many in the board still harbored delusions of a bygone era and needed a wake up call.  Rob showed all of the bad movies disney made including atlantis ,hercules, dinosaur in the same era Pixar churned out Finding nemo , toy story 1 and 2, Bugs life and Monsters' inc the quality disparity was tremendous.  Now the convinced board raised two concerns Pixar will be extremely expensive and Steve is too stubborn to sell. Rob through some common intermediaries at Goldman sachs reached out to steve and realized best way to appeal to him was to be brutally honest and take it slow. Initially he struck a monumental deal and partnership to bring several disney original titles to the Itunes portfolio which pleased Steve . Slowly he put a thought that Disney needed long term future and saving and Pixar acquisition was the way forward. Steve entertained this notion though not fully convinced and in his trademark Whiteboarding listed pros and cons (which were numerous including disney's bad culture , lack of ideas and technological innovation amidst many) but the 1 pro which appealed to Steve was Pixar's technological revolution can save Disney and he also realized disney's reach and brand can benefit Pixar.  Next step was to convince the two creative leads behind Pixar John Lacerne and Ed (Phd and chief technological officer) .  The proposition that the duo could run Disney animation and change it for better appealed to them.  Rob counts his first visit to Pixar to see the brilliant creations , creators and wonderful culture first hand was one of the top 10 experiences in his lifetime.  Rob was shown initial cut of several works in production - Cars, Wall e , Up, Ratatouille (That rat movie as Michael called it) and was genuinely blown away by the Tech platform and innovations.  He decided a brilliant mind like Steve should join the Board of disney and finally after enormous bargains back and forth a hefty sum of 7.4 B deal was agreed. However 30 mins before the deal was struck Steve took Rob for a walk in his garden put his arm around his shoulder and confided he did not have much time as a result of worsening Pancreatic cancer . He wanted to confide in him as this may change his long term thinking and the deal itself. However Rob and disney went through with this and Steve & Rob became great friends personally and professionally. Steve however in his own enigmatic ways ensured Disney did not change the culture or the operations of Pixar .  Steve also tried bullying Rob as was his nature in getting 4 board members ousted but Rob's persistence kept him at bay . Also Steve's decaying health helped Rob in keeping him in check . In 2011 Oct when Steve passed away Rob did recount steve's confiding in him and declared that he and steve believed that disney - pixar deal saved both the companies.  

Marvel acquisition : Ike the marvel boss was a recluse and Rob felt getting Marvel's Ip despite spiderman being loaned to Sony was enormous value there were over 7000 characters in MCU and Frank the marvel media president had a plan carved out to bring MCU with characters intertwining for almost a decade long vision.  Ike relented in selling and Steve's personal overtures bringing Willow to dine with them as a family and his shrewd move to get 'Steve Jobs' approval and help in reaching out to Ike who was a lifelong Jobs admirer worked. Marvel got bought for 4 Billion dollars . Iron Man 2 was released which Jobs called a crap but Rob assured him he was not the audience and it raked in 75 Million at the Box office.  In order to empower Frank's vision he ensured Frank reported directly to Disney studios and cut Ike off to run comic publications and other marvel merchandise that turned out to be a brilliant move.  He got Alan Horn from Warner Bros and put him in charge of entire Disney studios including marvel and pixar. Alan had a point to prove at 68 and he came with renewed energy . Rob ensured D&I was the norm by bringing in Black panther and captain marvel that became 4th and 10th best marvel grossers of all time.  Also Franks' avengers theme esp Endgame became the most popular highest grossing movie ever in history. 

Lucas Films : After Pixar and Marvels unequivocal success.  Rob went after lucas films fully understanding how emotional star wars was to George Lucas.  Lucas appreciated Rob's overtures as he was convinced disney was the only place his legacy can live on esp with great past experiences with Indiana jones series at ABC (Rob was in charge) and glowing review from his close friend Jobs on Pixar acquisition . Pixar was an old Lucas product that he sold to Jobs in the 80s. 

Lucas wanted more money than marvel and creative rights over plots for Star wars . Rob gave first but held firmly against second . Cathy was nominated chief producer by lucas and she worked with JJ abrams in the first star wars film which had a quick turnaround time of end 2015 . JJ used most of the same Geos and elements from 2005 Revenge of sith - Lucas did not like it as he expected new terrains and stories however the Box office proved this decision was right as It connected old with new era esp . Fans could relate and lap it up. Rob never brought disney logo to star wars franchise knowing full well how much the fans wanted it to not to be disneyfied.  Lucas though bitter at times referred the disney deal like ' Giving away children to white slavers' but came around eventually and acted responsibly as a Disney board member. Rob's ability to navigate ego had another feather in the cap as during the felicitation for the first star wars movie by disney he ensured the first ovation went to George and massaged his ego.  Lucas films including industrial lights magic , Engineering, artists etc was bought for 4.05B slightly above Marvel. Disney planned 3-4 more films immediately. 

Technical Disruption : In 2016 Rob believed big techs were a threat and disney needed a strong tech platform presence he went after Twitter but developed cold feet rightly realizing how much hate speech, scrutiny, privacy regulations were affecting the platform.  He stayed true to Tom's words " Don’t go after Trombone oil , sure a quarter of ppl will use it once a while but do you really want to be a no. 1 Trombone oil seller" powerful words reminding impact as a source for devoting focus and energy.  Rob got BAMTech in and declared externally that disney is starting its own streaming service soon to take on Netflix and prime. Rob realized its just a start much needed to be done to take on the behemoths.  Just quality content alone was not enough you need robust tech stack that promised innovation, privacy and user interface. 

Murdoch & Fox :  Rupert Murdoch reached out to Rob thinking Rob was planning to run for 2020 presidency  . Rob did in that phase spend time reading a lot about immigration, healthcare etc but willow kept him away from this idea. However in their interaction Murdoch confided fox needed scale and bigger canvas and hinted that disney should try to buy.  Though the board of disney were interested in several of fox portfolios notably the non political ones : Hot star in India, Sky , Hulu stakes, 21st century fox and Fox searchlight divisions the cost of such acquisition was daunting . Disney promised 28$ a share and started working with SEC for regulatory clearance . In that time Comcast dropped a bomb once it knew AT&T was buying Time warner by declaring interest in Fox deal with a steep 35$ all cash offer that amounted to 65 Billion plus . Disney and Rob took matters personally went to London and proposed a 38$ / share deal that murdoch and the board agreed and signed , the catch being Disney was far ahead in SEC regulatory clearances and Comcast had a cloud over it.  Lachlan Murdoch who harbored taking over the murdoch empire came to terms with reality and accepted increased wealth instead.  Disney got several priced possesions including 600 episodes of Simpsons but their crown jewel was 'Hot star' and the Direct to consumer technology which Uday Shankar and team helmed with great pride.  Disney used Hot star's technology heavily as it debuted Disney plus in 2019 for a paltry 6.99$ which got 100 million subscribers in record time in a year.  Thanks to innovative titles like Mandalorian , falcoln and winter soldier plus all the existing and new disney movies in entirety. 

MeToo and unpleasantness : John the creative head of Pixar had to be let go as his name emerged in Me 2 .. Lucky  for Rob in 2005 they discontinued partnership with Weinstein and Miramax . However this was the phase Rob did a cultural reset by bringing diverse talent into the company and taking a no nonsense approach for intolerance in social media or day to day conduct . Several executives had to be let go and the company got a clean chit outside. Its diverse star cast in MCU and Star wars got disney several kudos. 

Life after disney : Rob tells the readers no matter how good or productive the CEO , they need to leave at the right time to infuse freshness and keep relevance . He plans to leave by 2021 and aims to spend more time with Family and reflecting on legacies and doing things he could not do earlier.  Rob summarizes several life lessons in Leadership throughout namely : Innovate or die , Relentless pursuit of perfection : Culture of not accepting good enough ,  Being decent to everyone , hiring genuinely good people not just ppl good at their jobs,  Ensuring dysfunction or fights don’t come at leadership level , Being patient and harness creativity and investing in creators,  Understanding and an uncanny ability to let go ppl at the right time by being empathetic but honest . Succession planning is must every single time his ability to split the conglomorate into Parks, consumer merchandise ,  Technology & distribution and High quality content was an example of a masterstroke.  Modelling behavior as a leader - being attentive and working hard leading by example. D&I - no nonsense approach to intolerant behavior, social media and conduct . Looking for diverse talents across the spectrum. Ensuring global reach , innovation are part of the culture .

Personally this book is a 10/10 or 5/5 as it teaches so much leadership through experiences and vignettes rather than being preachy. Disney is a company i admire greatly esp their monumental rise in the last couple of decades through acquisitions , content and Disney+ and their story is naturally a very engrossing read!

Being Zen

 Being Zen is not natural for me but few things i have come to realize that can set you up on that path -

a) Dont take yourself seriously - Ur ego takes vishwaroopam and goes after every cheeky comment, provocation only if you take yourself too seriously . Unless the stakes are mind blowingly high do not even try - laugh & smile slights, provocations off or brush things lightly.  Cho is a great exponent of this and he epitomized this .  Buddha said once ' Staying calm in the face of rage or anger is the best way to hit back '. 

b) Karma yoga -  Keep doing things with honesty expecting absolutely nothing in return . Do not stretch on things which are going to waste too much time and believe if you are taken for a ride.  Learning to say No works best.  Dont expect acknowledgement and adulations for every good thing you do. 

c) Do not hurt anyone -  Words can inflict enormous damage all around , more than what you can begin to conceive. Try to stay diplomatic and you dont need to 'call spade a spade' all the time . Everybody around have too much ego to entertain your opinions and importantly people can only change from within . 

d) Healthy balance of Sleep , Exercise and Eating on time helps you in staying 'present' .  Try to Listen more it is said you can process 900 words by listening in a minute and speaking is only a fraction so the more you improve observations and listening gives you well rounded perspective - stops you from quick judgements. 

No to Negativity

We live in a world that cherishes and sadly revels in negativity .

People's psychology especially those suffering themselves is to pull others down 3 hints to beware. Excerpts from 'Pscychology of persuasion ' book which were major takeaways for me :

A) Put you down on things you are definitely good at and you know you are actually good at.They can also hardly notice the effort or acknowledge these. Slowly you start believing you are merely average and stop trying to better yourself , atleast that is their motive.

 B) spew negativity about things or ppl you like and want very much to be in your life . Soon you can get manipulated to only see the 'bad ' parts . Stop getting into the bad aspects and psycho analyzing things .

C) Feed off a) and b) and build a narrative with long term gains for them as protagonists.Eg- They can tap into things  you are losing slowly but surely. The loop intensifies and goes on.

How to deal with these? A lot of things they are negatively putting you down is a direct consequence of their own insecurities! Understand this by thinking through thoroughly rather than get swept by the negative emotions.

Try to give benefit of doubt and see positives in ppl. Try not to hurt anyone esp. with words as they can be very damaging. Whenever you are going into a spiral take a step back play things down and see if these mean much from long perspective.

Right until next time..

Irish Dairy

Visited the Emerald Isle in 2019 and here are my takeaways.

1.Irish people are very friendly.
Definitely one of the most respectful and genuinely nice people. Lugang took us to a lunch at Johnny foxes(more on that later)coming out of his paternity break! Keven and his mates just wouldn't let me spend money during the pub crawl.The Irish love to certainly talk and are proud to give recos of the Emerald isle(for a reason..) Did the wild rovers tour -( 2 of them ) they are competitors to widely known paddy wagon and Irish day tours one adv. they have is that the driver and guide are two diff ppl. Irish tour guides are hilarious , love their self deprecating humor and ability to generate wise cracks from every possible situation. Generally ppl are liberal - open to immigrants and flexible for IT crowd, gay marriage , abortion laws (good turn for the better for a historically staunch Catholic country) . Believe personally everyone is an immigrant (ancestry from Africa) and while locals should strive for inclusion as a long term benefit - immigrants should equally try and integrate with local culture and follow local rules.

The blip - though the general populace is friendly nice and funny, the very young in the suburbs have issues (drug, non chalance , flouting rules) . Met this group of youngsters 14-17 yrs about 15 strong on my train journey from howth to Dublin and swear they said they would butcher me if not for my lucky day . Shocked to see how they insulted black brown folks with N word and had disgusting attitude to women . I kept silent as it was a big nd crazy mob - seems this is more of an issue with certain neighbourhoods falling into drug and relying on social welfare. Reminded me of a clockwork Orange Alex and his doods.

2.The Cliffs.
While I enjoyed the cliffs of moher enormously , I only lapped 2 hrs of it as guided tours have time limits. However I loved the Atlantic ocean vastness nd cliff hike so much ( on a clear day with blue sky nothing like it!!) that I looked up this nearby fishing town howth from https://www.tripsavvy.com/howth-cliff-path-loop-1541626. Though the walk itself (purple line - bogs of fogs) is Max 2 to 3 hrs , I fell in love with the place too much , also got incredibly lucky with the weather that I decided to stay and soak up for long and took like a million pics. I also strayed from the designated paths into the lovely Sutton town had great conversation with two Kerala men running this Thai place (turns out lotta Kerala immigrants in this town a la 'how old are you' moment) . Nice conversations with all the German crowd in the path some where kind to capture pics. I sense most don't take as many pics and want to live the moment which is fascinating!  Also did the summit and lighthouse walk all in all ending with 10hrs well spent and 22 miles close to 42k steps and nearly a dead leg mind blowing views the howth hike is a hidden gem as not many tourists go see it or are aware. Surprised to see amongst the ppl doing the walk two thirds were German ! If you are doing the cliffs check the weather for the full day and do carry plenty of water and food too. Don't attempt rock climbing as the terrain is too dangerous , I tried to do some climbing and was scared to shit somehow survived . Nice to see Irish govt promoting the train travel.

3. History
Among the tours loved Kilkenny castle , book of kells walking tour , castles of cashel and the spectacular cahir castle tour ( which was filming ground for braveheart and my favorite Kubrick's Barry Lyndon) . Blarney as a castle is fantastic but waiting for 2 hrs to kiss a stone is too touristy. The Irish love their history and it is great to see the attachment they have on their 'great hunger ' from 1840s era - I explicitly took this opportunity to drill home (plant the seed) to tour guides on the Bengal famine that killed 3million ppl primarily due to Winston Churchill deliberate measures - hate the fact that much of Western Europe hail Churchill as a savior Messiah for defeating Hitler . He's no different from Hitler for indians and wanted to ensure more awareness of his misdeeds spread out esp. to younger population, given he's projected a war hero in mainstream books and movies (Dunkirk etc). Story of Brian boru was interesting and kyttlers inn in Kilkenny was a beauty(the stories of hauntedness was epic).  Interesting that 24 US presidents have Irish descent also Henry Ford who established the first Ford plant in cork years ago outside US  . The historic walking tour is alright though choose between kells and this one don't want repetitive history thrown in given most tour bus guides tell Irish history in one shape or form. It's a bummer the Dublin city council sits over one of the largest Viking excavation sites , hope they dig it out at some point.  All the stories on the Easter uprising criminating with Michael Collins almost every guide will give you more or less the version of events. Despite all the historic things in Dublin I prefer the country side and the drive outside . Cahir castle and all the amounts of items , vantage points , trebuchet, canons, murder hole etc shows how difficult it was to take down castles in medieval times also shows how tremendously cruel ppl were given no.of torture devices , murder holes etc Even Brian boru's killer was executed in a tree by tying via his own intestines.  Got to know etymology of phrases - don't throw baby with bath water,  Dublin, crack, blarney(funny story involving queen Elizabeth).

Arthur guiness is greatly admired for his general good deeds by the public . Guiness storehouse is one of those places you should check out for it's historic significance , loved the harp kept in pristine condition at kells. Harp is symbol of Guinness and Ireland.

4.Food , stay, tourism
Stayed at Westbury plum in Grafton street and could access good veg options - cornucopia was a delight, Taste another good option loved their egg Benedict , Govindas is good nd cheap though not understably authentic given the cosmopolitan crowd , Sanos pizza highly recommended by the Italians mattia, eleonara turned out great - Sandeep drove us all the way explaining some history along the way. The veg pizza and the Nutella pizza sheer awesomeness. Jewel in the crown has good Pak dishes , loved the MASa tacos which Ezgi hosted me in . Even the Asian fare (ramen bar and sushi place) had good veg options.  Discovered amazing falafel In a couple of Turkish places around city center- Always easy on stomach and budget.  The quiche in kyttlers inn and the Irish veg stew in Johnny foxes are my winners from the trip top top class. Closely followed by pasta in trattoria at Galway and the Thai green curry at Sutton (not surprised mallus love Thai fare nd hence did a great job).
Breakfasts at insomnia most days are good fresh croissants, pastries and tarts usually can't go wrong . Ice creams at Murphy's are must try and Gino gelatoo anywhere , particularly loved the 99 special one with bubble gum syrup at howth. Irish love their whiskey and Guinness both not my drinks . Smiddicks pale and red ale turned out great discovery at both Kilkenny nd bleeding horse (fantastic atmosphere for sports nd chitchat loved their veg lentil rice) .
Irish coffee do try for the heck of it but since I don't appreciate the tulamere dew which goes into Irish coffee I gleefully skipped it's more chocolaty cousin Bailey's . Moved to belvedere road for my bnB leg and no regrets great walk to city center be it tram station or the Connolly.

Pleasantly surprised I got good authentic south food thanks to Hari and Lalita ( vatha kuzhambu, pachadi, idly, sambhar, peanut chutney, rasam , potatoes, vadam) being highlight - only day I got caught in rain though always keep an umbrella and a thick jacket for the winds.

Johnny foxes (fantastic mountain backdrop) great exhibits, bleeding horse in the city are must dos - Irish music is ubiquitous in the city so wouldn't mind sitting anywhere in the evening for this.
Kytler's inn is amazing must go.

The methodical way the whole tourism industry operates with your guides being history professors nd taking students as understudy and providing neat recos for food drinks (there is a cut here and win win) . Souvenir shops are interlinked and benefit a great deal for eg at glendelough I ended up getting good discounts on quality woolen fare through the Nexus of my tour guide. Same thing at blarney for the Mills shop and hotel. Air bnb and booking.com places continue to amaze me the self check in check out model is something that will save plenty of money nd improve privacy. Also the way they make lights conserve energy is something we should strive.

Hollywood has so much connection here that one can easily do a Hollywood tourism 

5.If I had to do it another way..

No regrets whatsoever everything is an experience and with hindisight you will always have better clarity in that regard, I would ve skipped one historic walking tour (taken kells alone) and gone outside Dublin to the country perhaps ring of Kerry or graystones. Also might be worth skipping cliffs of mohor as a tour (the guide was hilarious) but time limits in cliffs is something I don't ascribe to and would rather drive in or take separate bus there and spend full day there and just eat at Galway late evening on way back (Galway was a damp squib).

Kilkenny Wicklow , glendelough (lakes mind blowing) as well as cashel tours were worth it except for the queue to kiss the stone.  Don't regret anything it was terrific experience all round Ireland is called emerald isle for a reason - hope they keep no. Of tourists in check and also regulate traffic nd cars . The place deserves to be left unspoiled and regulations is the way forward , greed should not usurp long term thinking.  For me coming from Seattle the weather was not surprising except some winds here and there but for ppl not acclimated to cold pls plan few days to acclimate. Driving out is an excellent experience but do it only if u are going to stay in a spot for the night . Worth getting British/ UK Visa to do the Belfast gOT your which I unfortunately missed out on.

Sloanche - Sloane!!!

Om Shanti Shanti!

 Continuing our narrative on well being - peace of mind (Shanth) is critical in this covid , lockdown times more than ever. Quickly few tips I aspire to stick by :

A) sleep well - this is mostly underrated and understated, the power of good night's sleep on your mind and body are well documented. I vouch by Matt walker - https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Why-We-Sleep

https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly90YWxrc2F0Z29vZ2xlLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vcnNz&ep=14&episode=ZmVkYzZlNzAtZWQ5OC00N2Y0LTg0NWUtZjFiOTE5OTEyMjcz

B) pick up meditation any form that regulates breathing - I tend to follow the tried and tested meditation (not religious but spiritual practice)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandhyavandanam

C)pick up a routine or hobby that is very much outside of office work - Music is something that works for me .This should be a frequent one and not once in a blue moon indulgence .

D) importantly have patience 'nidhanam'..when someone says or does something you don't approve and cause anger ..it is important to take a deep breath sit back and think what could be the context , y a person did that - give ppl benefit of doubt and refrain from quick judgements ..this will keep tempers and heat to a negligible level ..

Right until next time - on Shanti !

2020 new and improved decade!

This decade may we take inspiration from the free flowing mighty River in simple ways!

1 karma yoga - keep doing and running things which you should , don't slack or stop due to obstacle's or self doubt. Don't work for results it will come and Lord is with you as you shape your own destiny. Fresh running river symbolizes this.

2. Learning constantly - like the river every day , every moment keep it fresh be prepared learn constantly and challenge assumptions and unlearn if necessary. Reading new every day to better yourself is important.This automatically builds humility and growth mindset.

3. Community - the river lives for the benefit of others. Always think of others with empathy , kindness , sacrifice yourself for the community that is the greatest self worth there is . No one likes to listen to a self selling person , sell yourself only when challenged or worse put down . charity , empathy , kindness goes a long way in defining purpose in life.  Legacy builds automatically the more you give .

4. Recycle - toxicity creeps into human mind like garbage in river . The fresh flow should keep the mind open from biases and negativity - wish only the best for everyone be it dear near or a supposed enemy. This applies to resetting your own ahangara thinking you are no one in the wider cosmos. Take things lightly forgive and forget if necessary.(

`Inna Seidharai Oruthal, Avar Naana Nannayam Seidhuvidal’ (doing good to a person who troubled you is the way to punish the person) is the couplet which inspired Tolstoy and through him Gandhi, to take to the path of non-violence.)

5. Health and wellness - all of the above is possible only if we take care of ourselves . Be disciplined , stick to fitness and dietery routines . The river does not alter course's and keeps recycling fresh water . It is important not to decay .

Bhagat Singh- The Man who made the Deaf Hear!

On this very day (28th sept) nearly 104 yrs ago a most remarkable person came into being. Bhagat singh truly noblest of freedom fighters there is. He read too much for his age from marx,lenin,the gita to urdu poetry, was an atheist & possibly commited the most sacrilegeous of acts a sikh can do by shaving of his beard and cutting his hair for the sake of the revolutionary movement. Singh thoroughly deplored of “Gandhian pacifist Ideology” according to him it would all “

replace one set of exploiters with another

“ a very visionary statement indeed. We have been all too soft on every tom dick and harry utterly giving a whole different dimension to the famous sanskrit adage 'vasudhaiva kudumbakam' ,the Indian subservile mentality which has bowed down to every imperialist there is starting from the turks,arabs to the british has been successfully carried forward by the man termed 'Mahatma'. I for one only admire Gandhi like Hitler just for his charisma as a leader and his persona & conviction to convince more than 500 million people and make them dance to his utterly erroneous philosophies the core of which is called “Ahimsa”

Ahimsa-The misplaced notion
Ahimsa or non-violence supposedly originates from Hindu ideologies. But in Hinduism upon careful scrutiny Ahimsa only means non-violence to animals, other beings and importantly one's self thats right! Self Defense was completely allowed in hinduism and we see from mythology that war in terms of need and violence to restore order or in self defense was a Dharma. Abhimanyu who slained hundreds of soldeirs in the 'Chakra-vyug' was a martyr , Arjuna who was reluctant to wage battle against his brothers was reminded of his duty to restore order by Krishna,Krishna,rama waged battles against hordes of demons who came to destroy their cities.

There is just no reference just no reference which says Ahimsa needs to be practiced when one's family is enslaved or killed, when people(friends,neighbours) are plundered, women raped and children massacred,and draconion laws are imposed.This is precisely the connotation of Ahimsa given to us by Gandhi. He distorted the very Hindu essence of ahimsa into “Impotence”.Take this quote about Kurukshetra battlefield by Gandhi-

an allegory in which the battlefield is the soul and Arjuna, man's higher impulses struggling against evil

He misled hordes of his countrymen and proceeded to sacrifice thousands and thousands as pigs for slaughter to the british. Bhagat did not tolerate all of this he knew this whole notion of non-violence was a huge mistake and aptly took revenge when a veteran congress leader Lala Lajpat rai was brutally beaten to death in front of him . Bhagat wanted killing for justice,honor and self defense like any true Kshatriya warrior of ancient Hindu time.When he famously threw a bomb into the legislative assembly in 1929 it was to make “the deaf hear” in other words a desperate attempt to bring back all of the misled indians. Some heard it indeed and those that heard were the later revolutionaries who would join the INA of Netaji Bose as one organisation.Thats Why its safe to say Bhagat was the "foundation" of it all.

OK?!So who got us the freedom then?It was certainly not Gandhi, the british did not fear the Indian National Congress it was too soft a body for them. British could still live with all the non-co-operation, hunger strikes, boycotts without any alarming damage but they feared the rising force of the INA which though was a relatively insignificant force under Bose had instilled deep fears in the mind of the British by its patriotic exploits in WWII in south east asia against the raj. According to Clement Attlee, the British Prime Minister, reflecting on the factors that guided the British decision to relinquish the Raj in India, is said to have cited the effects of the INA and Nethaji's activities on the British Indian Army and the Bombay Mutiny as being the most important. The INA was gaining widespread support among the British Indian Armymen and the british fearing a catastrophical mutiny cum backlash withdrew from the Raj. Only our History books give Gandhi and his entourage complete & undue credit forgetting the Real hero Subhash chandra bose.
Read Climax of Independence movement-INA
If you ask any person alive from the independence era in Malaysia, Burma or any part of malay peninsula they still believe that Bose single handedly got India her freedom! Where the facts swallowed up by the Congress & Muslim league for Political benefits? Congress which has an inherent “Soft core” ingrained from its 'false ahimsa' times has gone onto create and nurture pakistan,terrorism & corruption,bureaucracy in the name of governance.

Hunger strikes and Hazare:

Hunger strikes have become publicity grabbing stunts. Bhagat singh fasted for as much as 100 days in prison demanding decent amenities for Indian political prisoners on par with european prisoners breaking all the hunger strikes record then.In this age of democracy(supposedly) its highly impractical to fight corruption in RDB or "Indian" Kamal styles and I have no qualms about peaceful protests or hunger strikes taking its place. But the media's projection that Anna Hazare's culmination of fast as victory for India against corruption is worrying. This should be seen in the perspective of what it actually is, agreed the awareness the fast has generated against corruption is tremendous. It is still a long long way off from the Hoo haa the media is doing merely for its TRP ( am sure they ll move away into other things soon). There is serious misgivings on whether the Lokpal bill will first get implemented as strong as it is warranted and that will be the first step in a long arduous battle and India must focus on getting this done.

I prefer Sept 28 to Oct 2 and a trip to n Museum Khatkar kalia
is high on my agenda and not Porbandar nor Raj ghat.

I Leave on this note

Legend of Bhagat singh

Of History and Histrionics!

The title is my original attempt at mimicking Black adder season 3 nomenclatures (Sense and sensibility, Bride and prejudice etc) Cool eh? eh? But seriously the last coupla months have taken me several hundreds of years into the past providing starkling info i scarcely knew. The cholas trace their lineage back to shibi chakravarthy (the king who offered himself for the pigeon) who is called shembiyan(tamil), Its astonishing to see that Shibi is referenced broadly in the Mahabharatha and even in some parts of the Ramayana[POS,Wiki] .The Mahabharatha even has lot of mentions of Pandyas and cheras who along with the cholas fought for the pandavas. A pandya king was killed by Ashvathama[Wiki-Pandya kingdom]. The cholas(ironically means new kingdom) and Pandyas (old kingdom)have a very very long bloodline from Mahabharata time(dated several thousand bcs [SOI]) going till 13th-15th centuries!!!

We have just under 1-2 pages devoted to them in our history books. They are unfairly compared with their later counterparts like Chalukyas, Rashtrakuthas,Hoysalas and Vijayanagar kingdoms who hardly have a few hundred years of co-existence. One can easily proclaim that the cholas and pandyas are the longest running dynasties in the history of india(maybe world) alas a pity they have little sources devoted to talk about their history than the other great(in size yet shorter spanning) empires like Mauryas and Mughals. Here's a map of the Ashoka kingdom around 300 BC. Notice the only place left unconquered? Yes that’s right the unconquered zones by this Saamrat were the then ‘Tamizhakam’. he was on friendly terms with kingdoms in the South like Cholas, Pandya, Keralputra [Wiki] .The cholas were the first truly international conquerors from India it is in part thanks to their deed now Tamil is an official language in as far countries like Singapore,malaysia and the distinct south indian style seen in the world’s largest uninhabitated temple at Angkor wat is testament to that while Bali (Indonesia) is still miraculously a hindu state not to mention plenty of Hinduism seen in Thai,Myanmar culture as well (However it is to be noted that the cholas were not the pioneers of Hinduism in the southeast , its been there before Rajaraja I).

The romans knew about the pandyas and were trading with them from about 550BC [SOI, Wiki]. One is felt compelled to completely agree in the wake of all these evidences and more when Micheal Wood says Tamil is the last living classical language and Tamilnadu (Tamizhakam)the last surviving Classical Civilisation.

I got some ideas about the other debatable and often controversial topic of Aryans and Dravidians. The not so conclusive yet methodical,scientific and archeleogical uncovering at Turkmenistan shows of a possible Aryan invasion into India via Hindukush and the compelling evidences of the Ratha(chariots), vedic incantation sites buried and Soma drink (Available only in present day Afghanistan) from [SOI]presents a good theory .Woods goes on to show a DNA match in villages South of Madurai with the earliest African homosapiens which he believes is a sign of Nativity (Dravidians)[SOI I]. However though all this is somewhat in line with the DK, DMK’s ‘Dravidian’ existence, the evidence that lot of philosophies unique to Hinduism being found in several Thirukkurals and even in Puranaanooru’s sangam Literature is a contradiction [Thuglak,EB]. “யாதும் ஊரே, யாவரும் கேளிர்” is a classical case of misintepretation of the Hindu rebirth concept which led to the verse making its way into the 'World tamil classical song' penned by our very own CM. Right from Sangam literature to the time of Nayanmaars,Alwars and to Rajaraja chola's helm, Hinduism has been the integral driving force for tamil literature enriching the language and it will be utterly foolish to deny this obvious fact[Thuglak,EB].Now as opposed to the fanatical stance of the DMK against the influence of Sanskrit or “Vada mozhi” into the tamil proper vocabulary. The cholas and Pandya kings thought it was imperative to learn both the classical languages (Tamil and Sanskrit) and the “Grantha tamil script” enjoyed tremendous respect.However it really remains a great puzzle as to how “Classical” or pure tamil remains the only language without an iota of Sanskrit in it?!!!! The evolution of tamil needs to be better understood probably it will shed light on the Dravidian-Aryan theory.

I always thought “Aayiralthil oruvan” was a bad tribute to the timeless novel that [POS]is even as am writing this I have only read less than 50% of the epic but am convinced it has enough storyline to merit atleast a trilogy of the scale of LOTR to do some justice. I am just hopeful that Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ will be an effort to remember.

References/Glossary:

[SOI]- Story of India, BBC documentary by Micheal Woods.
[POS]-Ponniyin Selvan, Kalki Krishnamurthy
[EB]-Enge brahmanan, Jaya TV by Cho ramaswamy.

EPL- Roshomon Effect!

With eight games to go (9 in Chelsea’s case) and this being the closest league finish in many many years. It presents endless opportunities for the dreamer in me to fantasize – A la Roshomon .

Presenting two of such tales with four crucial fixtures(chapters) taken as the crux.

Dated:10th may 2010.

Wenger’s Cut:



Chapter 1:The stalemate at Trafford:(Man Utd vs Chelsea)

In What was a crucial encounter with much at stake, neither side managed to record any significant gains with the match ending 1-1.

The first goal was so typical of UTD this season

a)Valencia taps past and crosses from the right.

b)Cech and terry vie for ball yelling “mine” “mine” not realizing the approaching rooney who says “mine” and promptly slots past em into the net.

The all important late equalizer did arrive from Drogba, who otherwise was totally offcolour throughout nay absent. Yeah he did hit the post a coupla times but I fail to see how it counts at all!

Chapter 2: Same old story again(Man Utd vs Liverpool)

Vidic after being "Torrer"ised for most of the first half suffers a nervous breakdown and decides its good for his health if he gets sent off and so picks up a routine red card from the ref. El nino unsurprisingly scores. And even less surprisingly- continuing in the footsteps of such illustrious predecessors like Ngog , Dossena -kyrgiakos(AKA the greek dude) scores off a volley!

Chapter 3: This is 'Mancini Time'(Mancity vs Man Utd):

In a match that was a marred by an atrocious tackle on Adebayor by that Anti-footballer (Though I dint see it clearly –Adebayor was stretchered off fearing worst) 10 men UTD try their might to keep off city until they enter the unfamiliar zone of “Mancini time” , where hold on... off all ppl Tevez does the “owen” deep into the injury time(reckon bout 6mins) and celebrates by unveiling a tee underneath that reads “Bienvenido a Manchester” with obvious translation.

Chapter 4: Revenge is sweet especially when it comes with a leg break:(Arsenal vs Man City)

Adebayor who by now cleared to play the next week against Arsenal though still in pain(as the knock was no more than a bruise) , found it hard to shrug of old habits with the sight of a returning RVP proving irresistible. He grossly mistimed a malicious two footed kungfu lunge on the now very wary RVP(who has finally learnt to dodge) leading to a dreaded fall and leg break(Aaron like) He was stretchered off (This time very very serious) however rather ignominously with a red card for the challenge to his name! RVP now completes a fine victory to record a comeback, poetic justice as one may say.

As you might have concluded the win gives us a title after 5 long yrs vindicating my belief in this side’s character, Qualiteeee, mental strength and drive. Yeah!This one’s for Aaron and all the believing fans.

Dated:10th may 2010

SAF cut:



Chapter 1:The facile win at Trafford:(Man Utd vs Chelsea)

We needed a scheme to Batter the blues that’s right batter em. So we got this plan-simple and effective with a rehersal done at Carrington.

It unfurled perfectly-Rooney had to whisper “Vanessa” twice on JT’s ears timing it with Valencia’s crosses to ‘nick ‘two facile goals .Game over.

Chapter 2: off their CL perch:(Man Utd vs Liverpool)

Of course besides leading UTD to a double its no secret that my next coveted objective was to see Liverpool off their CL perch and we had a terrific opportunity to achieve that.

Who better to nail the coffin than Gary “Nemesis” Neville. The lad laid an absolute divine cross(divine retribution )beckamesque perhaps for our costliest bulgarian to get a goal off head something which he has failed to do with regularity this season.

Chapter 3: Mercenaries vs Master class:(Mancity vs Man Utd)

The match proved a valuable lesson to differentiate what money can and cannot buy. Fittingly it was Berba who scored the opener resulting from a Scholes-Park one two. Personally I have always believed Tevez is not worth 25 million , the man despite being a surprising success this season just couldn’t get it past Vidic while an inspired Gary (that’s “right” Middlefinger) Neville kept out Bellamy just as he did with Ronaldinho. Now When the Second goal arrived in the form of Valencia our other signing it proved extremely gratifying and more than made my point and day.


Chapter 4: The Turning Point:(Chelsea vs Aston Villa)

Much as we had the league in our own hands and by our own terms, We cannot discount the effect a draw at the bridge by the villains had on the ultimate outcome of the league as well as psychologically on our game against the blues at the Bridge.

Continuing their good showing against the top four this season Villa played a peach of a game(no long balls) to hold onto a goalless draw, Drog’s antics notwithstanding.

The rest is a fourth straight Title sans Ronaldo which is remarkable!

And So which of these stories will prove closer to reality ??
Wait till 10th may.

Until then ?
keep dreaming and write your own stories…..

Down and Out

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell,
blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

Courtesy- Pink floyd and the lack of original ideas(This is me :( )
November 15th shall always remain etched in memory as a stark remainder for what could ve been almost my self destruction almost..

Seeking the soul of Indian cinema

I have always had a burning fascination for well made indian cinema , but then 'well made indian cinema' is in itself an oxymoron(borrowed usage). However in my quest to unearth the neglected gems though rare as they may come,I chanced upon Benegal's Nishant('Night's end') , Ghattashradda (kannada: 'Funeral rites when alive') and Adoor Gopalakrishnan's 'Videyan'(Malayalam:Servile)all in Youtube(yes u can actually watch something other than soaps, sports, semi porno stuffs here!)the latter i had to sadly abandon due to lack of subtitles in youtube.

It is such meaningful cinema that shall last the test of times. For instance not many are aware that Kasaravalli's first and ground breaking movie besides winning the prestigious
Swarna kamal(Alas it remains a doubt if anyone besides the National award panel, or the film crew ever got to watch this ) is archived in Paris national films archives(Thats right not
Kannada archives mind you!) . Well as a Kannadiga colleague of mine puts it

99 per cent people watch kannada movies , and the rest watch kasaravalli

no wonder the kannada film industry
is in dire straits. There is just no point in making movies like them time and again for festivals and panels if the bulk of the population are not even aware let alone watch it!Just
dont understand how these supposedly art film makers can sustain the motivation levels(Another Friend of mine swears Kasaravalli s simply "unwatchable") Yes as "Ghattashradda" unfurled and flourished
in its innate simplicity , realism and revelled in the powerful performances it became increasingly clear ... (What?!! No item numbers, action stunts,punchlines!!! surely "Unwatchable" indeed!).


Ghattashradda


Nishant is driven by some glittering performances from brilliant artists in Nasserudin shah, Azmi, karnad, amrish puri aptly honed to perfection by the creative genius in Benegal,
Nihalani and Vijay Tendulkar. Movie leaves a lasting impression.

Nishant

It is alas a pity that i never got to watch many of Ray's classics apart from his "Apu trilogy " as also the timeless masterpieces of Bimal roy, Adoor, GV Iyer
impeded by the lack of subtitles. However sooner will work a way around it

Back home down south I finally watched Balachander's "Aval oru thodarkathai" timed it with Kamal celebrating his 50 yrs in tinseldom.
Tamil films in 70's from the house of Balachander,
Mahendran though one cannot exactly categorise them into the 'parallel cinema' mould are certainly not short of the 'soul' what with excellent scripts backed up by powerful acting, sharp dialogues and
good music.

The journey has only begun.

The Curious case of the Headbangers!

Feb 15,Sunday Evening Setting s perfect, stage set for a certain band of British Gentlemen to perform.So in Walk I with this group of Friends of mine,of whom barring two the other two have allegedly been there , seen it all and duunit all before(mean the Headbanging part).After the nauseatingly painful wait is compounded even further by a string of bands whose primary idea of entertainment being Heavy noise For heavy metal and Skimpy Broads dancing in tandem to the noise strumming from their Guitars- clearly enuf to keep the crowd preoccupied for some time or so they thought, honestly makes me puke..So even as i begin to wonder What to expect next and the first seeds of doubt already sown, coz after all your financial stakes are high i mean 1.5k for a 2 hr concert? seriously is an unreasonably high figure esp in these times of recession.Reassurance does come in the form of PARIKRAMA who showcase their brand of refreshing fusion music ,coming as a whiff of fresh air.Then come the massive moment, which they dub as "the maiden mania"- a frantic period of wishful chanting for the chosen gods of the evening.The Gods dont play with your nerves for long and do appear fairly quick enough,and when they do the atmosphere turns electric,sparks fly its almost as if an explosion was waiting to happen.With the grand entry they presented with Aces high ,i realised how i was slowly yet surely now losing control of my unsuspecting head,when the crescendo picked up momentum with "The trooper" and "Wasted years" i was by now comfortably in the air joining in the high , and revelling in my new found wildness.My orgy reached its Highest ecstacy midway through the performance(2 mins to midnight,powerslave,hallowd be thy name) with Dickinson shouting "Scream for me Bangalore" and Eddie, donning a gun walked up the ramp,i promptly responded by swaying my head in all possible directions 360 deg,195 deg,60 deg u name it.I was perfectly feeling the high my neighbouring Polish broad had been experiencing firsthand although with the aid of artificial supplements.As we approached the end i couldn't help but amaze at the near perfection with which Maiden dished out all their Rollicking numbers so much so that you ll have a tough time distinguishing em from the Stereo version, the energy of their performance bowled u over mind u these were 5 Gentlemen easily past their fifties yet they were just bout crazy as me or any of my friends here!



Overall i came out pretty fucked up with a sore neck ,drained totally,one thing however i came to realise was there was no definitive science for Headbangin its what your head does that defines u,but for the purpose of junta who go by standard textbook model i would recommend the section 'M' in Maddox's "Alphabet of Manliness" which describes Headbanging in all its intricacies.

But You've to agree indeed,when they said-
"I'm coming back I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take its course"

Maestro,Music and Maargazhi utsavam

Well ‘Maestro’ is one title that gets tossed around frequently but when it comes to Ilayaraja There is no arguments at all,absolutely. Raja has revolutionized Music in Cinemas with his unique blending of carnatic ,Western classical,folk and some Rock too. The way in which he uses the orchestral Violin is simply Sheer genius in the mould of a bach , Mozart,or a Beethoven as also the Profoundness and aptness of his background scores which are magical to say the least. We have had so many legendary and good composers who have enthralled the masses with their brilliant music like the Burmans, MSV, ARR, Jatin-lalit, Ismail Durbar, Ravindran, Shankar-ehsan and Loy to name a few but somehow they all appear to me to be content with accomplishing the important part which is satisfying the audience,and giving musical hits , they don’t push to the next level and precisely this is where a Raja differs from the rest he does the important “job” and more , he transcends the mundane to brilliant to Genius (a territory beyond mortals reach) in his countless numbers which will just leave you gasping and out of the world. Somehow I think Raja has not received enough recognition from the Wider Indian public and this is best illustrated in the fact that he has bagged a paltry 3 National Awards even after scoring music for more than 800 films primarily coz he has done the bulk of his compositions in Tamil. Agreed Music is beyond Language barriers but this is one major reason why most of his numbers remain largely unheard beyond TN , On the contrary ARR enjoys a massive following throughout the country largely coz he has successfully translated most of his popular numbers into Hindi and also has considerable Genuine Hindi numbers under his belt. Recently I happened to listen to Raja’s 1986 album “How to name It” and must say who better than him to give a tribute to Bach and Thyagaraja??. Raja in his long career has Dealt so many classical Ragas imaginatively and perhaps my good friend Ram gopal is best suited to shed more light.

This being Margazhi ,the only month when carnatic music shows some signs of revival,all the sabhas will be busy with concerts.The modern day concert spanning an average of 3 hours and in many cases even less is more of a 20-20 affair, people just don’t have the time and patience anymore.The performer is under pressure to wrap up his alapana pretty quickly and has to cede to popular public demands which can often lead to repetitive numbers.”Thani avarthanam” long thought to be an integral part of any concert has now become the default break-time during which the phonies take their time off to launch into Canteen food, who gives a damn for a bunch of percussionists blaring away anyway? A handful of Rasikas still do and they maybe the reason this margazhi festival keeps happening year in and year out. So when do these Phonies actually return? They comeback just in time for the Thillana, Thukkadas in the end and promptly give a standing ovation at the ‘mangalam’ still munching away at their pottalams,Bravo! Its appalling how much Madurai has changed from say 30-35 years ago when people had the luxury of attending concerts at more than 6-7 sabhas not to mention the ever happening concerts at the temples , we are not so fortunate anymore in that we barely have any choice at all.. Thanks to the Patronage of the TVS group Lakshmi sundaram Hall and Sruthi arts academy in TVS lakshmi continue to be the glorious exceptions. This coming from the city that has produced so many stalwarts and legends of classical music such as Madurai Shanmugavadivu Subbulakshmi, Madurai Mani Iyer, TN Seshagopalan among others presents a truly grim picture indeed.

So it is Recession time and What are the hot jobs currently?Catering could be a profitable option especially at sabhas,The intensive,and increasing security checks that IT professionals are subjected everywhere means Security personnel is also another viable option.Con artists (ever an option) in Bangalore always have the last laugh and like SriRamachandra murthy says “Muruga indha naata enna maadhiri mutalgakitta irrundhu kaapaathu”

From the diaries of 'Chi-damn-bram'

we are at that juncture again ,staring at the polls not far from now and it is high time we list out the several achievements that this govt has successfully meted out and the several challenges we ve managed to scale.Surely the Grandest of em all will be the conclusion of the historic ground breaking N-deal with the US with the govt spending every ounce of its entire 5 yr term solely dedicated to this and successfully withstanding a massive no confidence motion in the process against all odds.The revoking of the 'draconian’ POTA law is right up there as well,it was being grossly misused and even more importantly preventing people from expressing their true spirit..we must first salute the solidarity and spirit of the people of Ahmedabad, Delhi,Jaipur,Hyderabad and Bengaluru who remained unruffled in the face of repeated acts of cowardice.The abolition of POTA thereby gives more such cities that opportunity to express their 'spirit' and, perphaps show the perpetrators of violence that a few serial blasts will not affect normalcy in any way ..The fact that all these cities were up and running barely hours after the blasts is testament to that spirit and character

The most people friendly budget in probably the last 10 yrs was also rolled out this yr..The loan waiver will no doubt be a huge relief for the farmers and the rural sector in general and go a long way in preventing the plethora of suicides in many parts of the nation, that farmers owning more than 2 hectares of land will not come under the purview and hence Vidarba farmers –r missing out is largely unforeseen and ironical, but plenty to cheer otherwise.Fears have gripped the market with crashes in the investment banking sector- post 'subprime' crisis, but I assure you that Indian banks are completely under control after all we have pumped up adequate liquidity and yeah the bear is changing to bull.. we are definitely getting there ..

We have always believed that safeguarding the minority interests s paramount and so am unable to understand as to y the failure to contain the communal violence in Orissa and Karnataka ,both saffron ruled states are being attributed to us?(we are after all jus in the centre),the fracas over Amarnath issue was also another political blame-game and nothing more.

The threat of the DMK MPs to resign if the govt doesn’t look into the srilankan tamils issue is completely justified (even though one suspects this threat has come a lil too late) we cannot question y they remained mum for the last 4 yrs to rake up this all of a sudden coz after all v cannot afford to lose em like the communists(political dharma remains intact )

Yeah 'chandrayaan' has a probe for checking water in the moon meaning the water pbm of the aam admi per se s taken care of long term..

Diwali is round the corner, so wat does one expect ..??

A Bomb in the closet possibly...Nah not joking ..

Oh to be an Young gunner!!

Looooooooong Hiatus is not Quite the word that ll fit the bill when it comes to describing my close-to-two-year absence from this space,Lets assume its a second innings of sorts

something in the manner of a Lance armstrong??!![:)]

These are very exciting times to be a gooner ,especially since it pleases a great deal to c  all ur potentials coming of age in a big way..But ever related to a young gunner??ever felt wat a young 

gunner feels at the moment coz thats precisely wat i feel.Lets contemplate for a second the circumstances that led to the "decisive"switch of a walcott,a nasri or a ramsey we all know they are immensely talented and there could have been a hajar places they could have gone but y arsenal? Firstly coz arsenal play "real" football,secondly the absence of a billionaire owner coupled with a trusting manager at the helm will mean u ll b thrust in with greater responsibility something ur peers can only dream of-but with such responsibility comes the risk of overexposure and the weight of enormous expectation and constant pressure something u mus be willing to tackle and Finally money should never be your motivation ,if u manage to put ur hands down and c  off the initial phase u are bound to reap huge benefits in the aftermath -Think of a fabregas who earns close to a handsome £100,000 a week, but more importantly cesc has learnt the trade expertly and is now a completely developed footballer..It remains to be seen whether a walcott,nasri,or ramsey will emulate fabregas ,they have already done the difficult part which i reckon is the 'choosing' and mus now realize they are on course for bigger things if they keep up the path..

I for one certainly realize that -as my scenario at EMC is more or less similar..These are exciting times after all!! (isn't it??!)

GUNNERS GAINING

Gunners r gainin in every way..almost all their players save flamini,diaby and Hleb r playin the wc finals and tis experience would stand them in good stead when they return..Arsene Wenger mus b wonderin y on earth did he confine van persie to the bench 4 much of the champ league and latter part of epl tis season..Van persie gets into good positions quickly,has great skills and pace , his raspin free-kick against CIV speaks volume of his talent and proves his hittin the bar last week in one of the friendlies is not one-off...Wenger sure has the best eye among contemporary european coaches to quickly spot talents..While most managers r contented wid ropin in established stars..Wenger likes to mould potentials into star..Certainly Henry was no star when he was signed from Juventus in '99 and remember it was wenger who transformed him from a winger(a position he donned in France'98) into a striker..Rosicky will no doubt comfortably step into pires's shoes in central mid-field,he has been regular wid Dortmund capped more than 150 times hence has a wealth of experience behind him but his goal scorin record there has been not all tat impressive..He has peaked at the right moment and will b lookin to make amends when arsenal kick off their season at Emirates stadium.. Arsenal r truly a globalised team now wat wid players spread across diff parts of the globe this means Gooners hav the luxury of relatin to and support any side they wish say France,Germany, Brazil,Spain,Holland,Ivory Coast, Togo,Switzerland,Sweden , England and Czech now...The current team has some excellent talent in the makin lehmann has already made a name for himself edgin out Kahn as Germany's numero uno keeper.. Senderos Toure,Eboue r now among the very best defenders in the world..wid fabregas ,van persie and Rosicky in the mid-field and the precocious walcott aptly guided by Henry and Ljunberg upfront should make for a dominant force to reckon with and it'll b no surprise if they go all the way next season and a Epl or a champ league title looks very much achievable.

MIT- a la BEST

"He can't kick a ball with his left foot,cant head caant dribble apart from tat he is ok"-were the words of BEST on beckham..now tat it is councellin time ppl keep askin me about MIT from where i hail and these words come to my mind immediately "No infrastructure,substandard hostels and absurd culturals apart it is ok"..now beckham def has some talent and MIT has its advantages..but certainly beckham enjoys a reputation tat is far greater than wat he merits and MIT's case is no different..

Caught in the middle of English channel?!

As the d-day beckons nearer and nearer,am faced in tis dilemma of my own which is routin whom at the WC.Traditionally my support has always been wid the les bleus which still has not waned with their performances..Though am not sort of a vacillating kind..4 the last coupla yrs watchin english players from close quarters has brought them even closer to my heart..this sudden change has even surprised me since not long ago i remember clearly cheerin the french all the way in 2-1 win over the English inspired by zizou heroics in the dyin moments of Euro '04 game.., i must say though am followin the intl friendlies of both nations with equal fervour only an encounter between the two at some stage of the finals will settle beyond doubt who has the edge coz i ll be forced to take sides..currently though it looks as if am caught in a storm in the middle of English Channel in a boat tat can sail either way as it subsides and things become apparent again (def its not goin to capsize!!)
The signs r ominous as regards italian football,a cloud of controversy is hangin over ready to explode once the WC ends ,FIFA and UEFA hav no doubt wid intentions of savin the tournament decided to keep a low profile of the issue tat threatens to rock very structure of the game..for long the chiefs of italian clubs hav been accused of buyin and threatenin referees,fixin matches and each time they've been brought under the scanner they ve come out unscathed one such recent houdini act bein staged by Juventus in the light of the drug allegation tat had such prominent names as del piero involved..u can as well equate the italian heads to modern mafia dons..the recent fixing charges only highlights their flagrant turpitude...if finally some justice and fair-play mark the UEFA hearin that has hitherto been absent then the 3 leadin clubs of italy in milan,inter and juventus may well b relegated and a quick procession of stars leavin will b inevitable .. i suspect the move of shevchenko to chelsea has more to it than a mere 'lookin for challenge' remark..its only the tip of the iceberg tat has been revealed and we r likely to see and hear more in the followin months..it doesn't augur well for the future of football at all.

Parallels,Plagiarism,Parodies

Antonio Borgia,was a 15th century bishop of spanish descendent who gradually rose up the ranks to become a powerful pope,he was instrumental in the rise of Borgia family..and did everything jus everything in his discretion whether morally accepted or not ,whether legal or not to ensure that his family enjoyed power and prosperity..he even groomed his sons to hav a second line of successors ready, to carry on the family-hold over the Romagna after his demise..HoweverAntonio's calculations proved futile, for the Borgia clan eventually collapsed into oblivion under the weight of their own dirty work ...Generations after the tainted Borgia era continued to discuss and debate the several felonies and taboos attributed to them including charges as extreme as incest..Some 500yrs hence, their memories r still kept afresh and immortalised in puzo's 'the family'.. now striking is the parallel between Borgia and the karunanidhi family,though the latter's crime-record is kept concealed it wont be too long bfore we r exposed to thousands of their frauds ,for justice and good will eventually prevail over evil and the Borgia family is a stark remainder to all on where corrupted power will lead to...
Even as the literary world is engrossed in the tussle to eliminate plagiarism in the wake of "How opal mehta got kissed and got fucked.." and 'HOLY BLOOD AND HOLY GRAIL' controversy , on a very minor note i happen to see shades of Dominique Francon in the character 'silvia' in sujatha's new"ganesh and vasanth" series in vikatan..
i dunno if these parallels and resemblances r true or am jus seeing things .
the more i see the 'Simpsons',the more tempted i am to echo a need for our own parody show certainly there is no dearth of contents here for producing a parody tv show,star vijay must soon contemplate starting a similar show which am sure will b smashing hit..i mean if they can ape 'laughter challenge' ,'kbc' and' koffe' programmes surely they can do a 'simpsons' too.. only 'thuglaq' and vivek seem to hav mastered the art of parody here and it is obvious tat ppl jus love parodies.

who's the dunce?

Tamilnadu's much adored octagenarian has retuned to power ,and barely days after assuming power the junta's problems r getting solved for the better.Free tvs seem to b the panacea for every possible ill and rural ppl now actually get to watch SUN tv programmes!
which they would'nt imagine in thier remotest dream..wat if a majority of households lack power-supplies they ll still get the tv coz "v dont backtrack on our promises" says the
DMK ,"watch away ur worries" is their mantra..Free stoves will b given away in the forthcomin days promises the party high-hand and if u happen to wonder how the folks can afford a stove wid the LPG price sky-rocketing then u r being overly sceptical..the IT corridor will get a
much needed fillip wat wid the resurrection of 'kannagi statue' in the pipe-line..
farmers who still owe large debts wid the landlords can now look forward to state sponsored co-operative loans... the ppl hav given a decisive mandate in favour of the DPA ,and thier stances r getting clearly vindicated..our hearts go to the hapless "Lok Paritran" contestants
who lost thier deposits,certainly they were not aware of the existing 'rule of thumb'i.e only
the three F's (Filmstars, family politics,free goods)succeed in TN[i hav no clue as to how the old MGR songs still do the trick for ADMK in the country side],perphaps they'll (lok paritran)come
better prepared 4 the next assembly election which is another 4 years away definitely time-
enough for some to foray into kollywood ,mayb not sufficient to raise a family
though,...but ya there is a semblance of hope .
The anti-reservation dharna is another terrible waste of time and man-power,only thing the medicos in delhi and elsewhere hav achieved is a certain contempt for supreme court's order banning strikes,they must take a leaf out of their Engineering peers in TN who hav long remained mum and will continue to tolerate and wid good reasons too since most of them hav benefited immensely from reservation..but
then wat about merit? ah who needs merit its a pile of crap..
however jus one realisation has dawned: wats the point in IIts and AIIMS being the premiere institutes in the country if they r producing political dunces?!..