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Sunday, January 20, 2019

classical Carnatic music


Well said.

Classical music is an ART where 

Aesthetic 
Rendering 
Takes precedence over 

Acrobatic 
Recreational 
Technical exhibitions as 

Adequate 
Repository of 
Technicalities are already embedded for embellishment and experience of aesthetics in the compositions.

Most important of them is aesthetic content which one must grasp and render according to the limitations of one's voice without excessive decorations or distortions.

This does not require excess of niravals, mixes of unmeasured  elongations of resonance with stresses and pauses, nexus of noisy accompaniments but very subtle nuances of well measured, structured and patterns of sound.

These are necessary only for compositions.

However , the artist is at liberty to unleash any frills in alapana and kalpana swaras.

If an artist can capture the nuances in various gamakas that alone  would be great.


Here is a very comprehensive and crystal clear demonstration of gamakas 


One of the most precise and perfect demonstration of minutest nuances of voice culture which go onto embellish a vocal rendering.

Voice Culture - Lecture demonstration - Dr. M Balamuralikrishna


Another good demo of voice culture impregnated with certain unique features of Indian classical music

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Leadership

Media has to learn the components, contributions, character and capabilities that go to make leadership.




























Monday, January 14, 2019

IPL is a very good, successful, entertaining sports model



IPL is a very good, successful, entertaining sports model which was a win win for many.

IPL is a wonderful business model.


If only a similar model had been conceived and executed by US or UK the whole world would be raving about it and even many  nations which never knew anything about that sport till then would have started training its folks for the big bash cum biz.


Unfortunately,  in India internal rivalries, pessimistic elders who make irrelevant comparisons like ( it spoiled test cricket- these same folks who are ok with cream made out of palm oil being offered as coffee in Starbucks and cafe coffee day- oh they really killed decocotion coffee) and as usual political parties wanting a cut have all together deprived it of its lustre and SC tried its best to sabotage it fully.


Think of the whole gamut of ancillary business, revenue it generated and employment it created.


Most Indian arts, culture and traditions are sustained purely out of passion and commercially a big failure barring a few exceptional cases.


That is the case with most sports too.

Let us not bring Indian film industry into this discussion because to put it, in black and white it is neither art nor commerce  but is used to make white into black.


As for scale with so many football and basketball playing nations and I know they have been doing it for the past 3 decades but biz wise no where near IPL in such short span, of course advantage of captive spectators , multiple channels and technology etc are a great contributing factors


I did not have time, just now saw messages.

Kattradhu..... precisely.


Humility is neither a mere terminology nor a virtue to be vindicated by any individual, but a life term attitude.(1)


It does not come through false modesty or humility posturing or socio-moral instruction but this too come about by merely acknowledging, observing, accepting facts ( before jumping to pet opinions, evaluations, ideological extrapolations, doctrinaire justifications, confirmation bias strengthening interpretations to suit some or all of the above) from various frames of references ( or as many as possible) and scales of observations.(2)


In this specific case, it means, comparatively limited number of nations playing the game, lesser number of viewers, political interference and involvement in every domain ( that yields popularity and pelf), natural pessimistic disposition of mass opinion molders to oppose anything that generates large scale oriented huge profits.


1) That's why definition or statement with axiomatic certitudes eludes what we mean by terms like Reality, Faith and Truth because everything in life, or to be precise life itself on the whole, is an unmapped atlas which gets its maps based on our choices, beliefs, actions, reactions, thoughts, attitudes and understanding and so on.


It is in our hands to make each one of these continents as great and as good as possible.



विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम्

पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततः सुखम्

vidyA dadAti vinayaM, vinayAdyAti pAtratAM |
pAtratvAddhanamApnoti, dhanAddharmaMtataH sukhaM || 5 ||


(true/complete) knowledge gives discipline[humility], from discipline [humility] comes worthiness, from worthiness one gets wealth, from wealth (one does) good deeds, from that (comes) joy.



Life mostly is lived and perceived in the Time and  Space conundrum but many aspects or parts of life happen beyond these two. That's why sometimes when things happen in a jiffy and when the human mind is not even given options of dealing with it in Time and Space, physical lives just end as it happened recently to the Malaysian aircraft passengers or as it happens during big natural calamities like earth quakes etc


2) True and real perception has more to do with involvement and sensitivity with total intensity and intense totality. I have many examples for this in real life experience and from our Itihasas, Puranas and history. Let me avoid the examples and get into the question of perception.


a) Our tool of perception the brain is a very delicate, susceptible but extremely capable instrument. However, in normal modes of our perception, we are often subject to certain errors of perception basically because our brain’s bio chemistry itself has a propensity to get conditioned and use those conditioning as tool of perception or very often presume assumptions as perceptions. These are known as classical and inevitable errors of perception. For example if you are sitting inside a train in a station waiting t o proceed on a journey and the train alongside starts to move, you automatically feel for a moment as if your train is moving. Whereas if you were sitting inside the station master’s room and see the same phenomenon then you won’t feel so , because then, you would not be expecting to move. So your expectation created the conditioning of your brain and you assumed as if you were moving, the feeling is almost real. It happens to all normal human beings. So in a way all perception is conditioned and intentional.[ a detailed account of this is available in COLIN WLSON’S excellent book ‘NEW EXISTENTIALISM’ ]

 b] It is not often our perception but the scale of observation and frames of reference which create the phenomenon. The scale of observation depends on man; it is he who creates it. In nature, different scales of obser​​vation do not exist. There is only one immense, harmonious phenomenon on a scale which, in general, escapes man. The structure of man's brain necessitates dividing into arbitrary compartments and cutting up into isolated pieces. With the aid of several instruments science creates more phantasmagoria: "on our scale of human observation, as pointed out before, the edge of a razor-blade is a continuous line. On the microscopic scale, it is a broken but solid line. On the chemical scale we have atoms of iron and carbon. On the sub-atomic scale we have electrons in perpetual motion which travel at the rate of several thousand miles per second. All these phenomena are in reality the manifestations of the same basic phenomenon, the motions of the electrons. The only difference which exists between them is the scale of observation" [Human Destiny, Lecomte du Nuoy- a marvelous book that everyone must read – 


languages

​​Fun of learning many languages.

Everything in life can be approached from various angles.

Here are some simple, practical, interesting and useful tips to enjoy learning many languages , more so with advanced technologies.

Gender

​​When scientific studies with empirical evidences explain more emphatically certain aspects of life, then, it is better to accept them as authentic facts and try to overcome or better still push aside entrenched prejudices.

This is one such excellent research based talk worth listening 

Change and Evolution

Anything which fails or anyone who fails to adopt to changes, refuse to make minor adjustments or if necessary to carry out even some compromises would cease to be contextually relevant.

Such luddites will eventually get pushed away.

Evolution has ensured that human beings as a species have moved from kuru disease contacting cannibals to cyber gurus.

Everything in every domain constantly evolves as excellently brought out by Matt Ridley in his wonderful book ' Evolution of everything' which I am reading for the 5th time in the past 6 months.


It is a specious argument to say many may not be there to see the changes or the impact or effects if the changes.

After all,  human life, more so individual human life is just one more piece in the dynamic jigsaw puzzle called Life as a whole which keeps changing its design.

So, everything has to be evaluated in terms of its inherent attributes, inherent merits or value or utility and contextual relevance.

Classical example in recent times is Tibet which refused change and thought that life is confined to monastery.

When adopting to change became inevitable some immolated, some chose to run away as refugees, some decided to succumb to Chinese requirements.

The main culprit India and some western countries were keeping Tibet in ICU for too long with glorious lip service.

We can only postpone the inevitable at our own peril.

Indian public sector postponed the use of computers till PVN came out with a compromise solution.

Dr.S. Kalyanaraman a great scholar and a common friend of Nandu and me struggled hard for 4 years to introduce computerization in Railways in the late 70 i e .78 when I was still in college, later on Asian Development Bank too his services for entire East Asia with head quarters at Manila.


Feminism versus Faith

Feminism versus Faith in TOI tries to sound slightly moderate ( rare in today's MSM).

I am neither willing to relax with the Right nor live with the Left.

So, rest assured that nothing is left in my right observations devoid of identity barriers.

However, your supposedly moderate article, inserts, inevitably, through nuanced terminology some entrenched indoctrinated biases ( which have become part of media reporting) like:-

1. ' reactionary right and rational left', why not, ' radical Left or leftover Left'?
Why always appropriate terms like rational, liberal to the leftover Left.

2. ' Purity-obsession' why not 'steadfast adherence to some tradition or practice'.

3. ' Socially rigid and hierarchical'.

Please show me a single institution or organisation without hierarchy. Left parties in India are so hierarchy obsessed that no left party head or CM ( I don't want to call them leaders) is allowed to leave till they die or are 90 plus.

4. ' Feminist activism'. No it is selective and sponsored revolt, where was it when nun rape case was going on? 

5. This very notion of ' versus' must be, in my opinion made into 'and' as a sincere WABI-SABI  (Japanese  word:- Much has been written on this Japaneseconcept, but in a sentence, one might be able to understand it as “a way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully the natural cycle of growth and decay.”)

6. Like evolutionary biology, there are evolutionary trends, metamorphosis or constant changes in social systems, philosophies, sciences, linguistics, arts, languages and so on.

7. Unless we observe and study them i.e. the evolutionary trends /changes in all spheres of life with contextual relevance we may not live in tune with the whole of life and will continue to view life in bits and pieces.
Though it is easy to analyze life in bits and pieces but then that is a wrong perspective imbued with lot of inevitable prejudices.

8.As a result of this wrong perspective and attitude there is an unending list of these ‘versus’:-Faithful versus unfaithful; Religious versus irreligious; Science versus Religion; Science or religion versus spirituality; Tradition versus taboo; Technology versus Humanity.

9. I can elaborate the damage these perspectives have done to the development of humanity leading to petrified ideologies, putrefied perspectives, and puerile interpretation of many things and ended up viewing various polarity principles as paradoxes.

10. So, it is time for us to go beyond all divisive paradoxes and experience the synergy so that we may keep in tune with everything.






















































Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Humility is a life term attitude

Humility is neither a mere terminology nor a virtue to be vindicated by any individual, but a life term attitude.(1)


It does not come through false modesty or humility posturing or socio​-moral instruction but this too come about by merely acknowledging, observing, accepting facts ( before jumping to pet opinions, evaluations, ideological extrapolations, doctrinaire justifications, confirmation bias strengthening interpretations to suit some or all of the above) from various frames of references ( or as many as possible) and scales of observations.(2)


In this specific case, it means, comparatively limited number of nations playing the game, lesser number of viewers, political interference and involvement in every domain ( that yields popularity and pelf), natural pessimistic disposition of mass opinion molders to oppose anything that generates large scale oriented huge profits.


1) That's why definition or statement with axiomatic certitudes eludes what we mean by terms like Reality, Faith and Truth because everything in life, or to be precise life itself on the whole, is an unmapped atlas which gets its maps based on our choices, beliefs, actions, reactions, thoughts, attitudes and understanding and so on.


It is in our hands to make each one of these continents as great and as good as possible.



विद्या ददाति विनयं विनयाद्याति पात्रताम् ।

पात्रत्वाद्धनमाप्नोति धनाद्धर्मं ततः सुखम् ॥ ५ ॥

vidyA dadAti vinayaM, vinayAdyAti pAtratAM |
pAtratvAddhanamApnoti, dhanAddharmaMtataH sukhaM || 5 ||


(true/complete) knowledge gives discipline[humility], from discipline [humility] comes worthiness, from worthiness one gets wealth, from wealth (one does) good deeds, from that (comes) joy.



Life mostly is lived and perceived in the Time and  ​Space conundrum but many aspects or parts of life happen beyond these two. That's why sometimes when things happen in a jiffy and when the human mind is not even given options of dealing with it in Time and Space, physical lives just end as it happened recently to the Malaysian aircraft passengers or as it happens during big natural calamities like earth quakes etc


2) True and real ​p​erception has more to do with involvement and sensitivity with total intensity and intense totality. I have many examples for this in real life experience and from our Itihasas, Puranas and history. Let me avoid the examples and get into the question of perception.


a) Our tool of perception the brain is a very delicate, susceptible but extremely capable instrument. However, in normal modes of our perception, we are often subject to certain errors of perception basically because our brain’s bio chemistry itself has a propensity to get conditioned and use those conditioning as tool of perception or very often presume assumptions as perceptions. These are known as classical and inevitable errors of perception. For example if you are sitting inside a train in a station waiting t o proceed on a journey and the train alongside starts to move, you automatically feel for a moment as if your train is moving. Whereas if you were sitting inside the station master’s room and see the same phenomenon then you won’t feel so , because then, you would not be expecting to move. So your expectation created the conditioning of your brain and you assumed as if you were moving, the feeling is almost real. It happens to all normal human beings. So in a way all perception is conditioned and intentional.[ a detailed account of this is available in COLIN WLSON’S excellent book ‘NEW EXISTENTIALISM’ ]

 b] It is not often our perception but the scale of observation and frames of reference which create the phenomenon. The scale of observation depends on man; it is he who creates it. In nature, different scales of observation do not exist. There is only one immense, harmonious phenomenon on a scale which, in general, escapes man. The structure of man's brain necessitates dividing into arbitrary compartments and cutting up into isolated pieces. With the aid of several instruments science creates more phantasmagoria: "on our scale of human observation, as pointed out before, the edge of a razor-blade is a continuous line. On the microscopic scale, it is a broken but solid line. On the chemical scale we have atoms of iron and carbon. On the sub-atomic scale we have electrons in perpetual motion which travel at the rate of several thousand miles per second. All these phenomena are in reality the manifestations of the same basic phenomenon, the motions of the electrons. The only difference which exists between them is the scale of observation" [Human Destiny, Lecomte du Nuoy- a marvelous book that everyone must read – 

Who is an intellectual?




Let us not belittle broad terms  like 'Intellectual' and we have left them  to the LEFT  to fit into narrow ideological identities.

For the simple reason that the term 'intellectual' has an aura of respectability and reverence, we cannot allow it to be carelessly and cursorily appropriated by any arm chair pseudo pretenders to knowledge or allow it to be assigned to their chosen half baked authors who were lucky enough to get published and made themselves visible.

Not because being intellectual is either superior or better form of life than the rest but I repeat, purely because the aura that term carries with it.

It cannot be even associated with one subject or topic wonders, whatever be their specialization or expertise.


Most importantly, no one can place some insignificant history book writer and ideologically indoctrinated person next to the name of Steven Pinker.

This only proves the entrenched bias of the media, please don't insult Steven Pinker whom many in the world ( including me) regard as a real intellectual giant.

If you wanted to include some historian then, include Will Durant by all means.

" The spirit of Advaita is not to keep away from anything, but to keep in tune with everything." -  Swami Chinmayananda

 “In the end nothing less than the whole of everything can be the truth of anything at all”- William James

So, we cannot allow the brand value of the term intellectual to be lost nor do we need to cling onto it as if it is the most supreme way of life.

" Anything that can be lost was never truly ours; anything that we cling to only imprisons us"—Jack Kornfield.

However, we need to know who is an intellectual?

In what context or domain? 

How do we determine someone is an intellectual?

Is it based on success, rewards, revenue, ideas spilling, information vomiting, expertise in verbal diarrhoea, breeding bookish theories, opinions peddling, ideologies injecting and extrapolating, thoughts spraying, academic achievements, capabilities and cleverness , specific identity implanting, doctrine drilling, tact and talent , utility to others and so on?

Are scientists and new technology creators not intellectuals? 

Are religious leaders who have been successful in maintaining or at least contributing to maintain some order and social cohabitation not intellectuals? 

Are the philosophers and psychologists who have probed, prompted , enabled and emboldened human beings to think and to inquire beyond and besides the scripturally prescribed perspectives and interpretations not intellectuals?

Are the rulers be they ruthless emperors or dictators or elected leaders who have tried and tested various options within the radar of their attention to provide , protect and promote the welfare of some groups at the same time exercising their own interests and dominance not intellectuals?

Are great artists, writers etc. who have through creative instincts and imaginations expanded the human thought processes into new realms not intellectuals?

Are great sportsmen who have shown how shrewdly human physic, psyche and mind can be sharpened and superbly utilized not intellectuals?

Are modern economists, social workers, social reformers who have helped render social life more prosperous and possible even in difficult circumstances not intellectuals?

Are writers, authors, artist who inspire to look at individuals, issues , incidents , information imbued with innumerable interpretations from various perspectives not intellectuals?


Are entertainers who are able touch certain sensitive spots of human impulses and cradle their spirits in pleasant joys not intellectuals?

Are innovative farmers, in terms of their utility, who cultivate newer varieties of crops to feed humanity not intellectuals? 

Are those who provide literacy, education, facilitate learning and enable better understanding not intellectuals?

Are those who have come up with some radical thoughts and ideas either seriously or just to question the status quo of social mores and have also, incidentally thrown up something to ponder about, not intellectuals?

Are those who came across our life and we managed to relate with them, either in flesh or through books and ended up contributing something which provided some incremental enhancements to our intellectual understanding of life really at least to some extent not intellectuals? 

Are those whom we encountered in life by chance and who enabled us to make a vital correct choice or decision, which skipped our limited intelligence not intellectuals?

Are those who shook up our pre-set thought patterns and predermined perspectives to look at the world differently ( I am not saying right or wrong) in various realms not intellectuals?


Ultimately, in many ways many aspects of life are interconnected and we need to consciously get inter related to create positive vibrations and sensible synergy.

As even J.KRISHNAMURTHI says, “No one can live without relationship. You may withdraw into the mountains, become a monk, a sannyasi, wander off into the desert by yourself, but you are related. You cannot escape from that absolute fact. You cannot exist in isolation".

How we relate with others and everything define who we are better than what we claim ourselves to be.

Not necessarily, how intellectual we are or claim to be so?

Who is to be the adjudicator or umpire to judge who is an intellectual, definitely not the superficial newspaper journalists or editors of present day main stream media, much less reporters.

Of course, through a wider, consensus, rightly or wrongly, those who provide a broad frame work and create enough impact positively as a matter of social engineering through non controversial ( devoid of any religious political, ideological affinities) sane, unbiased, balanced ideas and which are capable of being adopted at individual level and implemented at social level without hurting the sensitives and sensibilities of as many as possible, but creating avenues for the economic developments and providing maximum possible happiness to the maximum number possible with contextually relevant attitudes, wider perspectives that enable us to relate better with other human beings, other species , things and events without endangering the environment and delivers a wisdom that is in tune with the aspirations and expectations of the present generation without getting totally disoriented from the past totally.

If we go by this criterion, I am not saying this is neither fool proof nor the last word, on deciding who is an intellectual then that would make some sense.

In that sense, in present day, undoubtedly certain authors and scholars stand out like Steven Pinker, Matt Ridley, Malcolm Gladwell, Yuval Noah Harari etc.

These are some scholars who write based on comprehensive perspective with unbiased recapitulation of historical background with balanced probabilities and options available for future  because all the above authors travel along the evolutionary pat
h trying to find out the reasons , not opinionated justifications or extrapolated ideologies, behind such evolutionary trends and come out with a broad frame work of options.

A single individual, issue, incident, film, leader, discovery, invention, speech , book etc. can create greater impact than centuries of indoctrinations.

Mostly, there have been scholarly and wise individuals who have had vision to effect such an impact or who grasped the necessity of documenting vital aspects of life or imparting such wisdom.

As my knowledge is limited to certain writers or scholars who have done and do such work at different parts of the world at different times.

Books like A.E.M. JOAD titled "That There is no such thing as Morality" ,

BERTRAND RUSSEL'S "IN PRAISE OF IDLENESS"

John Brockman's, " What is your dangerous idea?", " This idea must die".

Aldous Huxley's,  " Brave New world".

Edward de Bono's books on " Lateral thinking"

Steven Levitt's   " Freakonomics".

Swami Vivekanda's speech in the Parliament of Religions.

J.Krishnamurthy's talks. 

Neale Donald Walsch's " Conversations with God".

Books of Ayn Rand who incidentally wrote the book, " For the new intellectual".

Books of George Orwell.

Guy Murchie's, " The Seven Mysteries of Life".

Sri Aurobindu's " Synthesis of yoga"



At least, definitely better than including individuals ( claimed to be historians who have written biased, opinionated and partial history of a country omitting the most vital events and important individuals who have contributed maximum to the country).


After all, we all PICK what we want, what we can and what we are destined to.

We need a sound PHILOSOPHICAL approach which creates synergy than seclusion be it termed as Oriental, Occidental, or incidental or accidental .

We can have any categorization and classification for intellectual and academic reference but human life requires a validation that may have to wind through all of them and transcend all that.

We PICK any or every word in any language to define what we perceive, want to project or promote or protect.

Words and languages are some of the tools and techniques used as the frames of references to record and communicate what we manage to understand to posterity.

PICK refers to

Perspectives,

Interpretations,

Contexts and connotations,

Kindles in us-what a word kindles in us.


Everything has its relevance and appeal to different souls at various levels.

That's why we cannot deny or defy the importance of anything or anyone.

So, over simplifications or sweeping generalizations must be avoided.

" Across planes of consciousness, we have to live with the paradox that opposite things can be simultaneously true.” ― Ram Dass.

We cannot analyse anything and everything through ideological fixations and subject them as well purely to satisfy socio- political justifications and surreptitiously insert undeserving persons as intellectuals.

We must also know that everything has its own inherent attributes, intrinsic values, internal mechanism and logic for its existence besides, beyond, exclusive of and unmindful of human intellectual justifications, acceptance, acknowledgement, social approvals, political support  and therefore , it is purely absurd to extrapolate anything with specific ideological fixations.

A whole gamut of things and factors that go on to develop an intellect, many more to define one and a lot to acquire that label which enable to deliver the following real universal wisdom. 


Real universal wisdom in my humble opinion may be like this whether sanctioned or sanctified by either social mores or religious morality.

Wisdom is the work shop where works of evolutionary trends and experiences of everyone in it emerge to express wisely the essence of everything to enlighten everyone;


A wisdom which prioritizes living in the present context and along with practicing certain time tested values which have relevance in present context but with global perspective to bequeath a liveable planet, a lovable society with lovely infrastructures and improved living conditions;

A wisdom that evaluates everything and everyone with contextual relevance and based on the inherent attributes or merits of what or who is being evaluated without extrapolating any  presumptions, opinions, judgments, perceptions, expectations, ideologies, doctrines, identity based ideology and so on;

A wisdom which is willing to make minor adjustments, small compromises, spontaneous cooperation to create compatible and conducive atmosphere with humility devoid of any egocentric pride;


A wisdom with the realization and a perspective that must be aware that life is a constant process of learning of the multiple dimensions of many things and the various dynamics of those dimensions involving the constant interaction and interrelationship with everyone and everything.


A wisdom that is willing to accommodate multiple methods or means of life with some overall tolerant attitude embedded on humanitarian concerns towards all human life and environmental or natural concern towards all other species.


A wisdom that gets its clarity of understanding through a churning process that takes into consideration several aspects from the practical to the philosophical to the all fantasies of the mind.



Here are some of the links, that may help one to decipher what factors and wisdom deserve to be on the table to make a menu called intellectual.