World Builder...

Smile in the Face of Adversity...

A video featuring an amazing and courageous toddler from West Virginia, who battled a rare brain tumor. "Big Ben" Bowen died on February 25,2005 at the young age of 2, but not without inspiring scores of people who came across his story in real life, and on the internet.

The Genius of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

I have forgotten how much I love Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's music until I came across this video a while ago. I first heard his music in 2001, and fell in love with qawwali almost immediately. It did not matter that the language was (and is) alien to me...mesmerise me, it did. Music is universal, some say, and I did not understand the true meaning of that statement until I heard this man sing...

The Boy Who Helped Me Find My Path...

Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Mein...

Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai,
ke jaise tujko banaya gaya hai mere liye.
Tu ab se pehle sitaron mein bas rahi thi kahin,
Tujhe zameen pe bulaya gaya hai mere liye

Sometimes this thought comes to my mind,
that you were made just for me.
That you were among the stars up in heaven,
and brought to earth just for me...

Saarasam...

I came across this rare video featuring P.U. Chinnappa a while ago. I have always adored this man's singing since the time my brothers introduced me to his music. That, coupled with hearing my late appa sing praises of the man for the remarkable actor and singer that he was, I grew to have his songs imprinted on my mind even though the cassette of his songs is long gone from my possession. It takes a true thamizhian with an undying passion for his or her roots to appreciate an old-time favourite like this one. God bless my appa's soul for instilling that passion in me...

For the uninitiated, the man singing the song in the video is P.U. Chinnappa himself, and he was also the man who actually sang the song. Unlike the many tone-deaf actors these days, actors in the olden days had to be able to sing in order to make it as an actor.

Like Father, Like Son - L. Subramanian & Ambi Subramaniam

A Woman's Love Must Be Such...

Giving birth to love so pure,
a woman awakes - a lover,
with an unborn child in hand.

A Poem That Caught My Fancy...

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dreams
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your
fingers and toes
without cautioning us to
be careful
be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand on the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
"Yes."

It doesn't interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after a night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the center of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.

© 1995 by Oriah House, From "Dreams Of Desire"
Published by Mountain Dreaming, 300 Coxwell Avenue, Box 22546, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4L 2A0

I Am Gone Man, Solid Gone...

To Be More Accepting of Life...

I can't say that I have been a very righteous person in the past 39 years of my life. Neither have I lived my life as usefully or meaningfully as some people have. Flaws I have many. Mistakes I have made aplenty. And many a time I had reflected on my life trying to list my achievements - only to find the attempted list failing to form itself, not out of modesty but out of its recognition of truth. It's not been easy, of course - living the life of an underachiever who is incidentally trapped in the mind, heart and soul of a big dreamer.

With age comes wisdom, some say. While I would never dare describe myself as even remotely wise, I must admit that I do these days sense in myself a stronger presence of my inner voice.

I grew up among lovely people who raised me on very strong values, but with those values they also added generous dashes of judgmental tendencies. It seemed like an enlightened thing to do then, this sizing up of others in comparison to what we believed to be acceptable or proper - not that we did it with the intention to hurt or ridicule anyone - there was not a single cruel bone in any one of us. But we thought we knew better than others. Perhaps, in some areas we did. But looking at it these days from the perspective of this 40-year old body, heart, mind and soul, I realise how wrongly we had interpreted wisdom then.

Who are we really to pass judgments based on what we believe to be right, or based on what our elders believed to be true. For that matter what is truth except that which appears truer to one person, more than it does to another? Why can't we live life in total acceptance of all that surround us, allowing what we view to be unpleasant to change on its own accord, if at all change is necessary. Only when we come to the realisation that every person who crosses our path is a teacher in some way or other,and that the lessons they have to offer can enrich us, if not now, at some point in our lives - only then can we confidently say that we understand ourselves and the world better.

We are but a mirror of all that surround us, what we see in others are possibly present in ourselves too. If only we have the humility to acknowledge that, life will offer valuable lessons by the minute, making us love ourselves more, which in turn would add joy to our life, and to those who form a part of that life.

As I end this post, I am reminded of one of Chandrababu's songs that I listen to regularly on my way to work. One of its stanzas goes like this,

Annaiyin kaiyil aaduvathinbam
Kanniyin kaiyil saaivathuminbam
Thannai maranthaal unmayil inbam
Thannalam maranthaal perumpaerinbam

Indeed, the true state of selflessness can only be achieved if one becomes more accepting of life in all humility...

The Magic of the Mellifluous Malayalees...

More than two decades ago, Chitra came into Tamil cinema with her honey-dipped voice and mesmerised tamil song lovers into giving her absolute command of tamil cinema songs for years. Before her, there was Vani Jayaram who may not have sung as many songs as P. Suseela or S. Janaki but had a decent following of her own, especially among those who had an inclination towards semi classical music.

Recently, listening to newcomer DeepaMiriam sing the infamous Kangal Irandal in an almost effortless divine voice, and remembering the fact that the man with the voice that soothed many a generation since his first song for tamil cinema Naanum Bommai Neeyum Bommai, KJ Yesudas, also hailed from God's Own Country, I cannot help but be convinced that the ownership of hauntingly sweet voices is the right of Malayalee singers alone. Adding weight to the list would be people like Unni Menon and Jayachandran, also Malayalee singers who probably had maintained a rather low profile but not without living their mark with a remarkable repertoire.

What is it that these Malayalee singers possess in their voices, I wonder...

The Many Faces of the late Sivaji Ganesan...

Found this on tamilnation.org and thought it was a lovely tribute to Sivaji Ganesan's greatness.

Footprints in The Sand...

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."

Mary Stevenson

Come Here...

There's wind that blows in from the north.
And it says that loving takes this course.
Come here. Come here.
No I'm not impossible to touch I have never wanted you so much.
Come here. Come here.
Have I never laid down by your side.
Baby, let's forget about this pride.
Come here. Come here.
Well I'm in no hurry. Don't have to run away this time.
I know you're timid.
But it's gonna be all right this time.

The Ultimate Riddle...

Nandhavanathil oru aandi avan
Naalaaru maathamai kuyavanai vendi
Kondu vandhan oru thondi
Adhai koothadi koothadi pottudaithaandi