Finndian

Guest Post: A Day With Ruskin Bond

The world is, according to a saying, only the size of each man’s head. Deodar trees, misty hills, night trains, haunted spirits, leaping langurs, mountain air, unhappy women and lonely children make the world of Ruskin Bond. And for 60 years, millions of readers have shared this world. “I’m a little more successful than I thought [...]

Chennai – The Underestimated Metropolis

Walking down Marina Beach with the sea breeze bringing in uncannily familiar and soothing olfactory sensations, I cannot help thinking to myself how this city perched on the shore of the Bay of Bengal has managed to make itself dear to me in a relatively short time. Maybe it is my fascination for seaports, maybe [...]

The Lichtwechsel Project

Recently the article Periods of Light, Periods of Darkness that I wrote last year and first posted on this blog was published as part of the Lichtwechsel (Change of Light) art project. As a result of an invitation for an exhibition in connection with the advent of Turku, Finland, becoming the cultural capital of Europe in [...]

CD Review: Miles From India / Miles Davis Tribute

Disc 1: 1 Spanish Key 19:44 2 All Blues 9:21 3 Ife (Fast) 8:41 4 In a Silent Way 2:33 5 It’s About That Time 10:00 6 Jean Pierre 11:36 Disc 2: 1 So What 8:09 2 Miles Runs the Voodoo Down 9:03 3 Blue in Green 13:07 4 Great Expectations 8:39 5 Ife (Slow) [...]

Writing tips from Jeffrey Archer in Chennai

As I strolled into the Odyssey bookstore I found it bustling with activity and anticipation. I asked one of the stackers and was told that a very famous writer was arriving soon. I had to press him a bit more until he confided that Jeffrey Archer was the man of the hour. Not that I [...]

Photography: Glimpses Of Old Madras

I reproduce here some vintage photography of Chennai or Madras as older generations still like to call the city. These photos have appeared elsewhere before and in my understanding the copyrights on them have expired. Quite nostalgic they give glimpse into the city that still lies beneath the modern high-rises, concrete flyovers and shopping malls. [...]

CD Review: Ilaiyaraaja / The Music Messiah

இளையராஜா - The Music Messiah / Agi Music 2006 After listening to and reviewing Ilaiyaraaja’s magnum opus Thiruvasagam, I made my way to Spencer Plaza in Chennai and bought myself this CD. I thought I would be in for another meeting point of western classical music and Tamil traditions, but not quite. What we have here [...]

CD Review: Avial

Avial – Debut Album / Phat Phish 2008 I’ve delayed far too long in writing about this folk-rock outfit. It is beginning to look like Kerala is a real breeding ground for original artists. Avial has already convinced audiences in the state since 2003 but now during the last year or two they have really [...]

Guest Column: Interview With Ruskin Bond

By Atula Ahuja I visited him for the first time, in February 2007, and since then, the bond has slowly strengthened. We connect to him well and he too has grown fond of the lively spirit of the Reading Rainbow children. He was most willing to talk to me candidly. “We are friends now,” he [...]

Review: Ruskin Bond / Scenes From A Writer’s Life

I must confess I don’t have a clear idea on how popular or widely read Ruskin Bond is outside of India. Here in India he’s without a doubt a much loved figure who has painstakingly documented the disappearing ethos of quiet towns and hill station romanticism for the past fifty years or so. Maybe that’s [...]

Bhimsen Joshi In Memoriam

As I woke up on the morning of the 25th I was confronted by the news I had feared after reading that Pandit Bhimsen Joshi had been hospitalized a few days earlier. The legend of Indian classical music had finally succumbed to multiple organ failure 11 days before his 89th birthday. I know it is [...]

CD Review: Ilaiyaraaja / Thiruvasagam

Ilaiyaraaja – Thiruvasagam (c) 2005 English lyrics: Stephen Schwartz Richard King : Sound Engineer Lászlo Kovacs : Conductor Budapest Symphony Orchestra & Choir Singers: Ilaiyaraaja, Roy Harcourt, Madhu Balakrishnan, Vijay Yesudas Collection of classical hymns on Lord Shiva written by poet sage Manickavasagar. Recreated as the first Indian Oratorio by music maestro Ilaiyaraaja. [...]

Guest Column: Interview with Madhav Chari

by Divya Kumar Pianist Madhav Chari talks about the spirit of jazz, linking his music to Indian philosophy and his experiential workshops. Divya Kumar listens in. If you go to meet jazz pianist Madhav Chari expecting to discuss just jazz or even just music, think again. With mind-whirling rapidity the conversation flows between cognitive science [...]

Back in India

It’s been quite a while since the last post and lots of water has passed under the bridge. I won’t bore you with long explanations why there has been no posts, but I do apologize to all the subscribers. Time to breathe new life into the blog. So much has happened during the last six [...]

Acclimatization In Progress

After my departure from India, visit to Vienna and subsequent arrival in Helsinki, I’ve needed some time to re-orient myself to this part of the world, hence no posts for a little while. Finndian will be reporting from Finland for a little while before heading back to India towards the end of the year, with [...]

Wine District of Grinzing

Here I am in Vienna, a city and region that I’ve wanted to experience for quite some time – the aged capital of European art and culture having long beckoned me for a visit. There is a lot to write about so I will set about the task by writing several installments. And what better [...]

CD Review: Midival Punditz / Hello Hello

Midival Punditz – Hello Hello/Six Degrees 2009 Tapan Raj & Gaurav Raina / Karsh Kale – co-producer Last year saw the release of a milestone album in Indian electronica as Midival Punditz let loose on the world their third long play ‘Hello Hello’. Ever since hearing their eponymous debut back in 2002 I’ve been hooked [...]

Students Forum for Indian Heritage

Last week I attended a lecture by Michel Danino at a gathering of the Students Forum for Indian Heritage at Amrita Vishwavidyapeetham University. In case you are not familiar with Mr. Danino he is a relatively well known self-established Indologist as well as the founding member of the International Forum for India’s Heritage. The most famous book [...]

CD Review: Jal / Boondh – a drop of Jal

Jal – Boondh: a drop of jal / Fire Records 2008 1. Sajni 2. Raatein 3. Humein Itna Pyar 4. Moray Piya 5. Main Mastt Hoon 6. Mahia 7. Payal 8. Chup Chup 9. Kia Se Kia 10.Yeh Mera Pakistan 11. Sajni (slow version) 12. Humein Itna Pyar (slow version) Goher Mumtaz – Vocals & [...]

Hotel Review: Le Dupleix / Pondicherry

Tucked away in the old French quarters of the South Indian town of Pondicherry on Rue de la Caserne is a charming place called Le Dupleix. Having just stayed there and finding it thoroughly charming I would like to write a little about the establishment. Advertised as a luxury designer/heritage hotel I would say that this [...]

CD Review: Motherjane / Maktub

Motherjane – Maktub / Independent 2008 1. Chasing The Sun (4:28) 2. Fields Of Sound (4:42) 3. Broken (4:06) 4. Blood In The Apple (5:17) 5. Ode To Life (1:10) 6. Maktub (5:26) 7. Mindstreet (6:13) 8. Before One Million Becomes One (3:58) 9. Karmic Steps (5:41) - Suraj / vocals - Baiju / lead [...]

Meditation and Psycho-Physiological Variables

Recently I attended the reading of a PhD thesis paper at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Ernakulam. The study was entitled: The effect of meditation on the psycho-physiological variables. During this experiment the subjects practiced the Amrita Integrated Meditation Technique for eight months amidst their day to day lives all the while remaining [...]

CD Review: Mekaal Hasan Band / Saptak

Mekaal Hassan Band – Saptak / EMI (India) 2009 1. Chal Bulleya 2. Bandeya 3. Ranjha 4. Jhok Ranjhan 5. Sanwal 6. Bhageshwari 7. Huns Dhun 8. Waris Shah 9. Andholan 10. Mahi 11. Albaella Personnel: Mekaal Hasan – lead guitar, Javed Bashir – lead vocals, Mohammad Ahsan Papu – flute Additional Musicians: Keyboards on [...]

(a bit more) About Me

Recently someone asked me to write a bit more about myself for the blog i.e. who I am and what I do. Let it be said I don’t particularly enjoy writing about myself. I like writing about things I find exciting and that I’m interested in, with the wish that others might share my enthusiasm. [...]

Bombay Lost & Found

I finally picked up a copy of Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found by Suketu Mehta during my last shopping trip to Ernakulam, the commercial capital of Kerala. This time round I was mainly looking for some linen shirts and a new smartphone all the while trying hard to avoid bookstores as I always end up leaving [...]

CD Review: Madhav Chari

Madhav Chari – Parisian Thoroughfares / Virgin Records (India) 2009 1. Parisian Thoroughfare (Powell) 2. Just In Time (Styne,Comden,Green) 3. You Don’t Know What Love Is (Raye, DePaul) 4. Elegy (Madhav Chari) (Dedicated To Elvin Jones) 5. Rejoice (Madhav Chari) 6. Elder Song (Madhav Chari) (Dedicated to A.K. Chari) 7. Prelude To A kiss (Ellington, [...]

Porpoises For All Purposes

For the past few days I’ve been spending time sitting on my favorite rock by the Arabian Sea that I so love. One of the appeals of it are the porpoises that swim by in schools looking for food and entertainment on their way past our village. At least to me they seem to be porpoises [...]

CD Review: Eero Hämeenniemi / Unmatched

Unmatched – Eero Hämeenniemi & Guru Kaaraikkudi mani / Kosmic Music 2005 (Released under the name Twins in Finland) 1. String Swing / Hämeenniemi 2. Spicy Joy / K. Mani 3. Not Maya / Hämeenniemi 4. Music For Mani / Hämeenniemi 5. Inspiration on 5 / Hämeenniemi Personnel: Guru Kaaraikkudi Mani – Mridangam, Hämeenniemi – [...]

Indo-Finnish Fusion

While shopping in Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala, I walked into the local Music World -store searching for some new music to fill my mp3 player with. I looked through the western rock and pop section, which by the way is surprisingly good these days, but found nothing of interest other than maybe the [...]

Periods of Light, Periods of Darkness

As a child I grew up to appreciate natural light as a scarse commodity to be valued and cherished, since much of the time one had to be content with a dark playground and mere artificial light. When I opened my eyes in the morning to see daylight pouring in through the curtains a sense [...]

Starting By Stopping

Sitting on the shore of the Arabian Sea this afternoon contemplating what direction my blog should take, I decided to start by stopping to conceptualize too much about what would be the outcome of this or that approach, or what kind of people would be drawn to such and such things, or how others might possibly [...]