In America

 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...