In America

  Singing is an introspective activity. You lose yourself in the lyrics, in the emotions, in the notes, in the nuances, in the orchestration, in the story. Select songs that resonate with you and immerse.   However, I need an event like the IPAC singing event yesterday for me to zero in on a song, and put in concerted effort into the song.  The event is the catalyst. It gave me the permission to do the song exploration that I wanted to do anyway. I also needed to perform. As the time was ticking, I got worried about whether I will get chance to sing the second song. But if the idea was to do the exploration and immerse yourself into the song, then why does it matter whether I actually sung or not? It is not just the exploration. I wanted to have been able to sing the song including the learnings on the song that I earned through the exploration.  And I would have been disappointed if I missed the chance at the mike.  People have been kind with their gesture...

 It is evening time. No snacks at home. I remembered the Aval that Geethechi had sent across from India on Divya's last visit.  Frozen shredded coconut broke their tight bond in the microwave heat. Jaggery powder. Kattan chaaya from the keurig cup. No sugar in the kattan chaaya. Nostalgia.  Next day, decided to embellish more. Banana got mashed in with the same mix in with raw fingers. On different days, aval-pazham-jaggery-shredded coconut-kattan chaaya served different roles. Some days,  it was the evening tea, other days, it was the dessert after dinner, other days it was breakfast.  Nostalgia charms.

 I had recently listened to an ARR interview where he spoke about how India lacks state of the art facilities to have an excellent listening experience.  Jazz has been growing on me slowly. Robert Miles and other nominations that my audiophile hobby brings in.  I have an equally crazy daughter who loves music just as much. I decided that she will enjoy the auditory experience at SFJazz. As an Indian parent in America, I gingerly presented the idea to her and she accepted. Man, parening a teenager in the US is crazy.  AI Drive I had recently listened to Naval's talk on how AI is like a motor cycle for the mind. I have been using AI at work, and have felt it. I could hear the resonances of his talk in my experience. Niya has a negative view of AI, and how the AI is bad, and takes away from the artists.  During the drive, I shared my personal experience of how my day to day work has changed radically. She listened through all that as she had no choice. Once all my ...

  While I was waiting for my turn to sing, I was weighing down the pros and cons of my long commute...    That is when the performances really started pulling me in. "Madhura kinavin" performance from one of the senior members of Maithri - Anil was eye opening. My first stage performance was "Musafir hoon yaaron" at MIF, and Anil had sat next to me, tapped on my shoulder and appreciated me with minimal words. And then had walked away. That mould broke. This is a totally peppy song and full justice was  done - confident, energetic notes.     "Careless whisper" rendition was mind blowing and humbling. I like this song, and I have considered trying it, but I had got nowhere close, and had given up. Against that back drop, listening to the youngster 'Ishaan literally knocking the song off the park was truly humbling. I needed that.       Polson's approach to singing. The amount of respect and care that he puts in as he gently presents the no...

   My father had sent me a video wish with some of our older photographs at the time of the actual birth time which falls a day earlier.  Geethechi had called and said it has been a while since I heard your voice and we spoke for a little. I did not tell that it is my birthday. Rameez called to let me know that he may not be reachable if there is a power shutdown in Texas, and then we spoke for an hour plus. And then I was about to warm the Bathura for dinner, and was planning to smule "Thaamasamendhe varuvan.."     That is when I suddenly see Aiza and Leiba appear in front of the microwave, coming in from the dining area. Sudden change in scenery. Aiza said wait don't go in front. So, now I knew that my dear friends and neighbors are throwing a surprise. Now that I have realized that this is the surprise, I am no longer surprised. Vijesh was disappointed at the extent of surprise that came on my face. I see the whole gang come in - Anjali, Nimmy, Vijesh, Gafoor...

  Brinner When Solomon returns from his Mysore wineyards in his lorry and honks, Kaviyoor Ponnamma would turn the lights on and Lal would be served his dinner, albeit in the wee hours of the morning.  When our family and Cyril-Sheeja landed at Mahesh and Sindhu's home close to 4 AM with multiple flight delays, Sindhu served us with rice, dal, chicken etc - nice homely healthy food. That was how the trip started -- with a Brinner - breakfast time Dinner.  Morning tea Inspite of having slept in the early hours of morning, I woke up relatively early. I had some work to catch up on, and I was doing that while enjoying the expansive puget sound view. Meanwhile, Sindhu woke up and offered morning tea. I had not expected that after the Brinner. Early morning teas had a nice feel to it - especially in the cold weather. This was the pattern for the three days we were at their house.  The house  The house had started to impress everyone with it's humongous, curved living ...