After a long gap ...

I am posting this after a long gap. Hope no one missed my posts. I did not post the things I had written due to connectivity problems, unwillingness, and various other reasons. Those problems still exist. I could see the grin on my well-wishers' expressive faces which would form a crescent only if all those countenances are placed next to each other. Ugh... Guh... Uhg... Hug... I will slowly initiate my postings again; will nudge my posts here and there to enter the world of web.

Hug. Hug. Hug the post. There comes Capra with Jiddu Krishnamurti.

"Sujatha" is no more ...

Sujatha passed away few hours back. Here is the news.

Seaside Riffles - 1

Those buildings seem to be quite close. You cannot walk directly. There is sea between you and the concrete. You can reach there only through a necklace-curvature that turns away and then turns in, thus increasing the span. Those buildings are not close. They are quite far. The sea between us hides the depth of chasm. The curvature hides the drift. No, those buildings are too far. Some hearts and minds are also like these in creating the effects of far-yet-close and close-but-far. The tragedy of the reality is the danger of not being able to see the abyss and the curved relationship. But the breeze, that touches those buildings, now flows through me. The breeze, which comes from the other part of sea, brings me freshness and joy that transcends the deep sea and the curvature. The cool and divine morning air is just good enough to create a feel that forms a bridge with me as a bead.

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Waves whisper

Waves are today more active. I could hear them speaking with rocks. There are high-rise buildings on the other side which can only see those waves from a distance – just like me. When I sat here for the first time, I was moved by the misty air that had encompassed the buildings, sea, people, cars, buses, etc. Water had been still then. No conversation was there between the rocks and waves. But today is a different day. They are talking. I could hear their whispers. Imagine you have a big sack of rice. You open it and turn upside down on a floor. You hear some sound, right? Waves and rocks are whispering similarly. Once in two minutes. I had to first concentrate to hear their whispers amidst the sound of honks and chats. No. I need not concentrate. Whispers come from this side just like how the noise comes from the other side. The pleasant of those two touch my heart. Whispers. A pair of lovers sits on this side – immersed in their world. An old man in rags is lying. A girl talks loudly to her mother. Few dogs bark at other roaming dogs. Few dogs bark at a small girl with no clothes. Waves still talk to the rocks – wetting them with their words. I have to leave now. When I am about to get up, it suddenly dawns on me - waves are trying to talk to me. Ah! How could I have missed this! Observation too often leads to distraction and inattention. I sit again. Waves tell me the stories of abyss where human existence, survival and extinction become the sound produced by a single rice grain in the turned sack full of rice. They now ask me to get up and leave. I just follow their words.

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This is Lakshman ...

Here is the photograph of Lakshman.

I have been trying to get a photo with his trademark smile but could not obtain. You can still see a smile in his eyes. Please read these posts, to find out a bit more about Lakshman and his tragic end, written by Guru, Abi, and Shencottah.

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Laa. Sa. Raa Writings

Thinnai has few Laa. Sa. Raa pieces (in Tamil).

1. அம்முலு (ammulu)
2. கண்ணன் (kannan)
3. நெற்றிக்கண் (netrikkan)
4. வரிகள் (varigal)
5. இவளோ? (ivalo)

Frontline published the english translation of his story in 2001 - Mud

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Laa. Sa. Raa ---- Melted, Vanished, and Now Flows Forever

Laalgudi Saptarishi Ramamirtham (Laa. Sa. Raa.) is no more. No more in the form which we always like him to be. He chooses the form which he always likes to present himself - abstract, simple, mysterious, magical, esoteric, loving, affectionate, strong, supple, beautiful, orphic, silent and invisible.

He passed away on October 30, 2007 at the age of 91 (on his 92nd birthday). I came to know about this from Thinnai. It is a shame that I came to know after so many days. I do not know if I have to blame myself for not reading the news with enough attention or the present state of media. It is a personal literary loss to me. I always wanted to meet him. I even called up his home few years back and checked with one of his family members if it was possible to meet him. I was told about his fragile health and asked if it would become an interview. I said it could never become an interview. It might rather become a visit with not even one question asked or one sentence exchanged. But.. But.. the visit never materialised. Meeting Laa. Sa. Raa has joined the list of things-not-done-and-cannot-do-anymore.

But wait!!!

Meeting Laa. Sa. Raa is meeting his words!!

No!

Meeting Laa. Sa. Raa is meeting his words and going beyond them to see what he conveys.

Going beyond them to see what he communicates.

Going beyond them to meet ourselves finally.

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1. Dhalavai Sundaram's interview with Laa. Sa. Raa in 2002 (in Tamil)
2. Photo courtesy: Thinnai and Dhalavai Sundaram's Blog

British Petroleum Fined

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced that BP's (British Petroleum) US subsidiaries has agreed to pay $303 million in fines to settle charges that it manipulated propane markets. Moreover, the other US subsidiaries of the multinational company will pay a record $50 million in criminal fines to settle Clean Air Act requirement (passed in 1990 following the explosion at Union Carbide's chemical plant in Bhopal) charges stemming from fire and explosion at its Texas refinery, and $20 million in criminal fines and restitution for violation of the Clean Water Act relating to oil pipeline leaks in Alaska.

Robert A. Malone, BP America chairman and president, said,

"If our approach to process safety and risk management had been more disciplined and comprehensive, this tragedy could have been prevented. We did not provide our people with systems and processes that would have enabled them to appreciate the risk of a catastrophic release from the F20 blowdown stack and understand the danger of placing occupied trailers so close to it. We deeply regret the loss of life, the injuries, and the community disruption caused by the explosion."

Eric Schaeffer, director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said,

"Let's hope these criminal fines wake up BP's management and force the company to clean up its refineries. BP spends a lot of money advertising itself as a 'green' corporation. Some of that money would be better spent protecting BP's workers and neighbors from the company's own pollution,"

Why should Indian regulators and environmental agencies take note of these?

BP holds 71% holdings in Castrol India Limited. It has a 51% joint venture with Tata Group to participate in the Indian solar energy market. It also trades crude oil, bulk chemicals, and petroleum products in India.

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The Rationalist

M. Karunanidhi, the present Tamil Nadu Chief-Minister, has always claimed to be the rationalist. An example from his recent interview with Shekhar Gupta might be very enlightening.

He says,

"Jawaharlal Nehru did not accept Ram (as a divine being); he calls him a hero, not a god. C. Rajagopalachari wrote a book called Chakravarthi Thirumagan (The Emperor’s Blessed Son) that says Ram is a prince, not a god. It is not as if only the DMK is saying it."

C. Rajagopalachari did not believe Ram as a God. Why? Because he wrote a book on Ram titled The Emperor's Blessed Son.

Now what is Tirukkural? Please do not say following our rationalist's approach that the rationalist believes that it is a type of painting as he has written a book on Tirukkural titled Kural Oviyam (Kural: A class of couplet, Oviyam: Painting, drawing, art).

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Padams

Aruna Chandaraju wonders why padams are not heard often?

From The Hindu article:

Chitravina Ravikiran holds:

“Most artistes are daunted by its demands — a super-slow tempo which calls for great breath control, a platinum-like voice which doesn’t lose intensity even when modulated to the thinnest, and a mind capable of grasping its microscopic details.”

Sakuntala Narasimhan:

“Brinda took nearly one year to teach us the famous Sahana padam because it was so difficult.”

Sripada Pinakapani:

“Vilambalaya rendition keeping tautness intact is the vital requirement in padams. And in this age when unnecessarily speedy renditions by performers are common and accepted, where pyrotechnic displays draw applause, and where many students are in a hurry to ascend concert-platforms without acquiring perfect breath-control, where is the atmosphere for padams to flourish?”

(Thanks Manu for bringing this article to my attention - Shencottah.)

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