This one is yet another amazing collaboration. Three people, six hands, and one guitar. Check it out!

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It’s never too late to help
(Video shared by Kumar NM through Google +)

“It’s never too late to help some on the right track” is a spcial media campaign from Norway, aimed at recruiting foster homes for young people between 15 and 17 years. This well done video is made as part of the campaign.

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The following video of Indian Border Security Force soldiers treating a Bangladeshi cattle smuggler is now going viral in the Internet and making news. What was shot as some sort of ‘souvenir’ has brought out the ugly face of the force. But has the Abu Ghraib style torture shaken the Congress government? No. Instead, Pranab Mukherjee says that the incident must not be ‘hyped’. But is that response surprising?

For a moment, let us put aside the matter of how we treat the neighbors and look into our own yard. We have implemented an inhumane law called AFSPA in our own states. This special privilege has allegedly let our men in uniform to rape women and kill those who oppose and orchestrate encounter killings. And how have we reacted to it? Even with the mothers from Manipur going naked in protest with holding the banner “Indian Army, rape us“, we still keep that law intact. There is Irom Sharmila who has been fasting for over a decade, but nobody cares. Some people justifies what goes on in Manipur or in other parts of North East India as we must not let our soldiers’ spirits down. That it must not be ‘hyped’.

Imagine – if the following is what our forces are doing to our neighbors, where there is no special privilege act, what would be happening to the people of North East India with a special act like AFSPA to back the army? Any why is our social conscience not outraged by this?

Think about it on this Republic Day.

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Am I happy for myself? Yes, I am. I am happy when I look back to the trail. It could not get any better and I wouldn’t change any of the events that happened in my life (except that I wish if I could revert some of them like the death of my brother and a good friend). The journey has been exciting so far and I hope it will continue to be so. And satisfied? No. Not completely. I think being completely satisfied could kill your spirit.

Then there are changes. When I was young, I thought 30 is the stage that one would turn old and now that I am past 30, I think 80 is what you should call old (I don’t know what 80 would make me think about being old). In my teenage, I used to laugh at older men with pot bellies and now I look at my growing tummy and say ‘well, it’s okay’. When an older colleague told me that he ate only two chappathis for meals and completely avoided red meat, I pitied him. I was 29 back then and he told me that I would soon understand what he meant and asked me to do regular medical checkups once I turned 30. And just as I turned 30 and took a lipid profile test, I found my cholesterol level high. I was surprised (cholesterol? me? no way!) but changed my food habits thereafter. When I grew some beard recently, I noticed that a couple of strands of my hair have turned white and I was excited (I don’t know if the excitement would sustain if I found my whole hair turned grey or white). Being called ‘brother’ was fine but now being called ‘uncle’ seems odd. It is kind of a refusal that I am growing old. But I am yearning to hear my son calling me Appan (father) but he calls me chettan (brother) instead).

So perhaps this is just a small beginning of big surprises and changes to come in life. I mean, not just the physical changes but everything. And I hope I will have the courage to accept it gracefully. So here is to another birthday, another year in life. With all it’s shortcomings, challenges and pain life is still so beautiful!

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The friend’s parent went to school the next day with other parents but here is the shocker. The friend’s family did not go to school to ask for justice to the abused girl but to threaten that if the sexually abused girl continued to study in that school, they would not send their children there. Some of the lady teachers in the school also said that they wouldn’t take lessons in the class if the girl continued. The headmaster then sent the girl out with a transfer certificate.

The story doesn’t stop there. The girl joined a Sanskrit school nearby but the school administration received a phone call saying that it is better for them to show the door out to the girl. The girl was put out again on the same day. The next option for the girl’s parents was another school in Punaloor, but again the moral police in the area intervened and the girl was out again.

This news story is an example of why women are still not daring to come up to the forefront to report domestic/sexual abuse or rape. The society treats the hunted as the culprits and the hunter walks scot-free. “Why didn’t she protest” is the question we always hear. “She could have resisted”, “looks like she asked for it”, “she might have enjoyed it” are the brutal comment we pass on such incidents. And not a comment on the ‘family man’ who took advantage of a young girl of 12 years for his perversion.

Wondering what happened to the man who sexually abused a minor girl? The people, police and media have no intention to question the injustice because he is a ‘family man’.

(Go to Malayal.am to read the full story in Malayalam)

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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This is an awesome attempt at mixing both the songs in a beautiful way. With the tone of Santoor playing the lead instead of guitar and the apt rhythm arrangement, this is an awesome piece of music to listen.

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Celluloid Calligraphy
(Shared by Slogan Murugan in Facebook)

This blog, Celluloid Calligraphy, is an effort to explain the calligraphy styles used in the Malayalam cinema, particularly the old ones. A great effort to appreciate the works of masters.

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The Hang
(Source: Facebook share)

Found out about this instrument which was unknown to me. Sounds like sort of a ‘steel Ghatam’, it is called The Hang. There is a Facebook page that features some works played with the Hang. Check ‘em out.

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I have high regard to Perumbadavam Sreedharan, a writer of Malayalam literature who is now donning the role of Kerala Sahitya Academy President. His celebrated novel, Oru Sankeerthanam Pole, is one of my all time favorites in Malayalam literature and I have read it many times. And that is why I was so saddened to see him acting like an old royal court member trying to appease the king for a reward.

“Even though there is no royal ruling now, I am still a praja of the royal family”, the man declared his loyalty to the royalty while publishing a book written by Marthanda Varma of Travancore royal family. He added that he takes pride in saying that he is a praja of Travancore royalty. Mr. Sreedharan seems to have forgotten that he is living in the modern era where the dynasty ruling is a thing of past. His post as the president of academy was not a royal gift to him either. So when he declares that he is a praja of the dynasty, while living in and enjoying the fruits of democracy, he should at least stick to his word and step down from his position in the academy which is a cultural institution in this democratic country. But not a single word against him from the whole literary community! Not one, even from the so called Leftist writers.

So that leave me wondering, reading along the debates surfaced about the Padmanabha Swamy temple wealth, are we, by any chance, living in under the Trvancore dynasty rule?

(photo courtesy: Mathrubhumi online)

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I’m just posting the interesting videos or other tit-bits that I gather from my social media accounts into this space. Once a week. You could share the interesting ones you get too.

FaceCake’s Kinect Dressing Room
(Shared by Ashik in Google +)

This one is truly awesome! At the Microsoft booth in CES 2012, they demonstrate how you can try out different clothes and accessories without even wearing them. All you gotta do is just stand in front of a Kinect camera and try out new clothes. You can even move along to see if the dress fits you right in all angles, as if you just wore them. Truly amazing stuff!

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A Violinist in the Metro
(Shared by Thulasi in an email)

Washington Post ran an experiment in a metro station at Washington DC. What they were trying to find out was whether we perceive and appreciate beauty in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour. They had a best musician playing one of the best pieces of music ever written on a very expensive violin. And the result? Read on…

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I Think You’re Fat
(Shared by Ashik in Google chat)

When I read the title of this article, I asked Ashik if it’s yet another fitness piece. It’s not just the title, but the names of magazines like Esquire, Cosmopolitan etc. puts me away because I never could relate to or enjoy the content printed in those magazines (not that I have checked out a lot of them). Ashik did not explain what the article was about than asking me to read it, and since it is him who recommends, I saved the link to to read later. And it was one funny, thoughtful piece though it spans over 5 long pages. To give you a brief idea of what it is, this one is about Radical Honesty. As it says in the beginning, “This story is about something called Radical Honesty. It may change your life. (But honestly, we don’t really care.)” Read more at the Esquire page.

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But the propaganda campaign had already made the damage. Young Muslim men were looked at with suspicion. Those of them boys who were in love or flirting with girls of other religion were tagged as terrorists and jehadists. Islamophobia rose to the core in the so-called educated society of Kerala. And they easily chose to forget the fact that in a male dominated society like ours, women are always converted to their husband’s religion, even in love marriages. Not just religion, say if a Roman Catholic girl is married to a Chaldean Syrian Christian boy, she would be converted to that denomination with marriage. And when a bunch of Hindutvavaadis called it jehad, just because it was Muslims at the other end, everybody bought the crap.

The curious case of Catholic church must be taken to notice in this case. The Syro Malabar Church had warned it’s community members of Love Jihad, without even checking the facts. A notice was posted in the website of Kerala Catholic Bishop’s Council. And they worked with VHP to tackle the issue. “We will work together to whatever extent possible“, K S Samson, an office-bearer of Kochi-based Christian Association for Social Action (CASA), a voluntary Christian association, told the Times of India. But is it surprising to hear it from the Church that was busy framing Communism as a greater threat to Christianity than Hindutva, while ordinary Christians were being slayed in Mangalore by Hindutva organizations? Now during a news hour at Reporter TV, the Church has admitted that it was wrong. Oh yes, our Church does that all the time. We commit/support crimes during one time and would apologize for it years later after it has made a larger damage.

But the Hindutvavaadis and their supporters would still not give up. You can see Rahul Eashwar, the bragging Hindutva poster boy of Kerala, trying to muscle through the debate in Reporter TV. Oh, and he very cleverly plays the ‘middle-man’ by blaming extremists of both sides (and his insistence on highlighting the extremism of ‘both sides’ happens only when ‘his side’ is attacked) and he is still saying that there must have been some substance to the idea of Love Jihad.

The interesting thing is that through out all these debates – all the for and against talks about the branding of Love Jihad – nobody has touched the greater issue that involves gender. No individual or TV channel has sought out why it is women who have to convert to their husband’s religion/denomination. Or why the husbands agree to their wives’ right to stay in her religion/denomination until the marriage ceremony is over and then convert them to their faith, forcefully or not.

Earlier on the topic: Love Jihad?

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The year 2011

2011 was not a great year at all. My music posts and ordinary blog posts have seen a slow-down in 2011. I have posted only 5 songs in the last year. Though the year began with an original composition, that too a new year song, it slowed down. I can only hope that 2012 would get better. My father passing away was one major personal incident happened in the last year. Finances sucked throughout the year and expenses went sky-high, but none of them were avoidable.

On the positive front, I realized that Blogswara can still generate interest from many quarters. When I announced Trunk Call, the new Blogswara album with a theme, we had received 19 song announcements (though only 4 of it could make it to the final versions). Now I am sure that the spirit of independent music and Blogswara will continue to grow. Also I learned to drive a car in the last year. My ‘vintage’ second hand Maruti 800 has helped me experience the pleasure of driving, though I hate driving in the city on a weekday.

One of the good things that happened last year was that I started writing features for Sound Box magazine, a unique music industry magazine that has bagged a silver (in the Best  New Publications category for 2010) at ABCI awards in it’s very first year. I have always enjoyed writing and one of those childhood dreams was to be a writer. And I’m happy and proud that I am now writing on my favorite topic, music, in country’s premiere music trade magazine. My first feature in the magazine was about music blogging, titled Net Gain published in March 2011, an area that I had been actively promoting online and offline ever since I enjoyed the perks of music blogging right from 2005.

I also had an opportunity to host a radio show last year. Hosting the one-hour show “Hridayapoorvam” in All India Radio, Thrissur station was an exciting experience. I recorded in the same studio where I had recorded the first song I wrote and composed (and that was long back) and the memories poured in. Also had a good experience with a short film I made on a mobile phone.

What I learned in 2011…

…was more of what I learned in 2010 – about how to treat people with what they deserve. I was hesitant though I told myself that I would be nice only to those who are nice to me. This year, I believe I have learned more about dealing with people who take advantage of my weakness (of being nice) and give them back in the same coin. People among family and friends. And on the family front, Ryan is lighting up our days. It’s so wonderful to see him grow.

So that sums up an year and I am hoping for the best in 2012. Here are some blog posts I enjoyed writing and think that you would enjoy reading too.

Music posts

Happy New Year and a song!
Pavizham Pol
Nilaa Nilaa Mizhiye
Baliyaay Thirumunpil
Mazha Njaan Arinjirunnilla

Blog posts

Liu Xiaobo – A saint or a hypocrite?
To all the girls I loved before…
Save the space, please
Bringing back original instruments to music
The Drop-out Syndrome
A note to M Jayachandran, the music director
Hazare, the Hero
Anna Hazare and the Great Indian Middle-class
Redefining entertainment digitally
I don’t bleed blue; I never will
Enabling mobile technology for music
Thrissur Pooram 2011
Life, on a journey
The useless ‘royal, divine wealth’
Kerala’s YouTube Stars!
About friends and friendship
A young man’s tale
Group Activity
Da Vincing Code
The state of music retailers
Jagathy vs. Ranjini – What’s missing in the debate
Jan Lok Pal – the interim FAQ
The Steve Jobs effect
Yesudas – fifty years on
Santhosh Pandit vs. Malayalam Media/Cinema
My dear Appu

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2011 may not have been an exciting year for Malayalam box office, but it certainly was a turning point in the history of Malayalam film music industry. The industry had opened up to the rock music genre last year and a new trend of movie inspired OSTs had been introduced. As a result, we had a song from India’s leading  and Kochi’s own rock band Motherjane for the film Anwar in 2010. The trend continued this year with the Malayalam rock band Avial played the end title song, Aanakkallan, for the film Salt N Pepper. It seems to be continuing as the audio of the end title song from the upcoming film Asuravithu, sung by the new rock sensation, X-Factor fame Piyush Kapur, is out on YouTube.

It shows that the new age film directors who target the young audience are ready to go beyond the regular track to try out something new. And the stage is set right. There has been no better time than now for the independent music scene in India and the youth in Kerala are also reaching out to different genres of music.

2011 was also the year of Shreya Ghoshal in Malayalam film music. She has probably sung more songs than Chitra in Malayalam this year. Unlike other singers from the north and south of India, she has given much effort in terms of pronunciation and that is evident from her renditions. But are the music directors trying to use her pan-Indian image for the publicity of their albums is a question. If that is the case, some of the equally talented young singers from Kerala – Gayatri, Manjari and Swetha – are missing out in the competition.

So here comes my list of top 12 Malayalam songs of 2011. You can view/hear the songs on YouTube, if you click on the song names.

Song: Naattu vazhiyorathe
Movie: Gaddhama
Singer: K S Chitra
Music: Bennet-Veetrag
Lyrics: Rafeeque Ahammed

Song: Chimmi Chimmi
Movie: Urumi
Singer: Manjari
Music: Deepak Dev
Lyrics: Kaithapram

Song: Chembarathi Kammalittu
Movie: Manikyakallu
Singer: Shreya Ghoshal, Ravishankar
Music: M Jayachandran
Lyrics: Anil Panchooran

Song: Ithile Varoo
Movie: The Train
Singer: Sujatha
Music: Srinivas
Lyrics: Rafeeque Ahammed

Song: Kannoram Chingaaram
Movie: Rathinirvedham
Singer: Shreya Ghoshal
Music: M Jayachandran
Lyrics: Murugan Kattakkada

Song: Himakanam
Movie: Violin
Singer: Gayatri, Ganesh Sundaram
Music: Bijibal
Lyrics: Rafeeque Ahammed

Song: Chembaavul
Movie: Salt N Pepper
Singer: Pushpavathy
Music: Bijibal
Lyrics: Rafeeque Ahammed

Song: Premikkumpol
Movie: Salt N Pepper
Singer: P Jayachandran, Neha Nair
Music: Bijibal
Lyrics: Rafeeque Ahammed

Song: Pranaya Nilaa
Movie: Teja Bhai and Family
Singer: Shaan Rahman
Music: Deepak Dev
Lyrics: Kaithapram

Song: Manjil Melle
Movie: Makaramanju
Singer: Yesudas
Music: Ramesh Narayanan
Lyrics: Chandran Nair

Song: Amruthamaay
Movie: Snehaveedu
Singer: Hariharan
Music: Ilaiyaraja
Lyrics: Rafeeque Ahammed

Song: Mazhaneer Thullikal
Movie: Beautiful
Singer: Unni Menon
Music: Ratheesh Vega
Lyrics: Anoop Menon

Honorable mentions:

To Reshmi Satheesh for the songs Appa Nammade and Chalanam Chalanam from the movie Urumi. The highlight of both these songs is Reshmi’s powerful voice.

To Rex Vijayan for the background score of Chaappa Kurish. Rex has given a totally different approach compared to the traditional way our musicians have been scoring music for films.

Related posts:

Malayalam songs of 2009 – My picks
Malayalam songs of 2008 – My picks

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