Travelling miles in love of Carnatic Music !!

நன்றி !!   Nandri, he said – as I talked to him and he concluded the conversation with a resonating ‘Nandri’ – it sounded so sweet !!

Margazhi reverberates with Carnatic music in so many places – at Thiruvallikkeni Sri Peyalwar sannathi – Chandrasekhara media is organizing Margazhi isai kondattam – and this is 14^th year.   On 3.1.2025, it was Mandolin Rajesh performance to a packed audience.  

 

Shizuoka Prefecture, is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Japan is divided into 47 prefectures   which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division.  It  is located on Japan's Pacific Ocean coast -  Mount Fuji, the tallest volcano in Japan and cultural icon of the country, is partially located in Shizuoka Prefecture on the border with Yamanashi Prefecture. Shizuoka Prefecture has a significant motoring heritage as the founding location of Honda, Suzuki, and Yamaha, and is home to the Fuji International Speedway. 

It has musical connection too !  -  Yamaha and Kawai are both global piano brands. Yamaha has the largest share in the global piano market. Kawai has the second largest share. They both got their start in Shizuoka pref. in the early twentieth century. Yamaha and Roland are major brand for electronic musical instruments. In the electronic piano world market, Yamaha has the world's largest share. Roland and Kawai have the second and third place share.  In addition, various instruments such as wind instruments and guitars are manufactured in this prefecture. There are about 200 companies that manufacture musical instruments, in this prefecture.   

No post on Shizuoka or even the Carnatic fest of Mandolin mellifluously flowing in air -  Mandolin Rajesh enthralled with Balakumaran (who had come from France) on Mridungam, Swaminathan Selva Ganesh on Ganjira and another .. .. .. a foreigner, who later I came to know   as Rysoke Masuda, from Japan. 

 

Remember seeing him on stage when Rajesh Vaidya performed at the same venue, a couple of days back.   

Lean looking, friendly, Ryosuke is a Musician hailing from Shizuoka Prefecture,  whose Insta page states :  Musician  増田涼介  -  Bass / Konnakkol.  Konnakol (கொன்னக்கோல்) as would know  is the art of performing percussion syllables vocally in South Indian Carnatic music. Konnakol is the spoken component of solkattu, which refers to a combination of konnakol syllables spoken while simultaneously counting the tala (meter) with the hand.  

Nice to know that someone from afar interested in Carnatic music, flying in all the way – and coming to Triplicane for giving a musical performance. Understand that he is associated to Vikku Vinayakram and Uma Shankar.  

Now you may read the  first line, which may sound more meaningful – and if you have more time, proceed to read something not so relevant too !!  

Terada Yoshitaka, from Japan, learnt and played Nadaswaram. A woman, Yuko Matabo   graduated from the Department of Musicology, at Tokyo University of the Arts, and received guidance from Professor Fumio Koizumi and played Veena on many stages.  

Some searches on the name revealed that -   Ryōsuke Takahashi   is a Japanese anime director, screenwriter, and producer.  Away, you may have read about or perhaps played ‘MF Ghost’ a Japanese legal street racing manga series written and illustrated by Shuichi Shigeno. Since September 2017, it has been serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine. It is the official sequel to Initial D. The series takes place in 202X, where self-driving electric cars have replaced internal combustion ones. However, in Japan, there is a large organization called MFG, founded by Ryosuke Takahashi (from the Initial D series), who does street racing with internal combustion cars.  He is a imaginal character,  a former racer in Gunma Prefecture 

Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
4^th Jan 2024.

 

Flower show !! - beau Tortoise

 

Tortoise with flower-shell

setting the field !

 

How to set a field - usually it would be 6-3 - here a spinner bowling to a left-handed batsman. four on the off and 5 on the leg side - quite attacking set-up. What happened to that delivery - would never know !! - that is the charm of Cricket.

 

You neck out to see from a Train as also from a plane !!!

 

Taken as the plane was about to land in New Delhi – a few years ago !!

 

friendship ~ நட்பிற்கு வீற்றிருக்கை

 

Long long ago !  - in mid 1970s – I studied in Hindu High School – in every class room there were 60 odd students – though everyone was known by name, there was closer  friendship with some.  

Those were the days, when we walked together with some to school, sat with 4 others in a bench – went home for lunch and returned with the same set of friends ! –  in the evening when we played too, there was a small group with whom we generally maintained friendship !!  

Do friendships form as a consequence of this proscribed proximity? Now some researches do state  more “acquaintanceships” with those assigned to adjacent seats than with those who sat  farther away.  In DG Vaishnav college, seats were assigned based on Roll no. !! – still there are some of us who could  make new friends wherever we go.  Well, before you count on every friend you have, you must know who your true friends are. By showing kindness, mutual trust  and understanding, one can gain friends who bring joy and help in times of need. 

The ideals of friendship, the things that give it value area often hard to describe. It need not be  based on of what someone gains – counsels, support or favours. The benefits of friendship transcends favours and gives individuals the opportunity to show their inner self without fear of judgment. 

When we grew up and attended Training sessions and Seminars in Office – still could observe that people tended to huddle together with known people, may be of geographic region or cadre.  Not many could make friendship by starting a friendly conversation.   If longitudinal analyses reveal that classroom seating proximity was associated with the formation of new friendships, one should make friends with the person sitting next in a training session too.   

The problem is as people grow, their egos expand – in school days, acceptance comes naturally but as one ages, lot of other things get into the analysis of becoming closer !!!

Here is a Thirukkural of the famous Saint Thiruvalluvar who devoted an entire athikaram for ‘friendship’

 

நட்பிற்கு வீற்றிருக்கை யாதெனின் கொட்பின்றி

ஒல்லும்வாய் ஊன்றும் நிலை.

‘நட்பு என்பது நிலையாகத் தங்கியிருக்கும் இடம் யாது?’ என்றால், மனவேறுபாடு இல்லாமல், முடிந்த இடமெல்லாம், இணைந்து நின்று காத்து பேணும் நிலையாகும்

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
3.1.2025

time leaps !!

Something from the past !! 

An year has rolled by ! from 2021 to 2022 – it is not exactly a giant leap !

 

.. .. there are fears and perceptions as it heralded .. .. .. hearing Marina beach closing and other announcements – and looking at the numbers ! - are we staring at days of mid Mar 2020 !! 

Life lives on hopes ! .. .. Pray Emperuman   !!

1st Jan 2022

 

enga Ooru Madrassu ! (Triplicane)

 

enga Ooru Madrassu ! (Triplicane)

 

- aerial view - can see: Chintadripet  MRTS, Bridge, Coovum river, Marina ground, swimming pool, Presidency College & its clock tower, Chepauk stadium, Childrens theatre,  new Medical college, Omanthoorar .. ...

Attraction ! ~ wooing people !!!

Life is all about attraction !  - everyone tries to look smart, spend money on make-up items, apparels, accessories – all to look smart and woo others – most times, we live a life for others without ever realizing that we in fact, were trying to attract unconcerned or wrong corners !! 

 

In a Cricket crazy Nation, the word obsession may not need any lengthy elaboration. I do not have an answer for the Q is the obsession for Cinema is more !  Down under, the scene moves to Sydney for the last test match with India which started with a win, trailing 1-2 !!  

Shoulder barge – was a wrong attraction as Kohli found out.  He has been  sanctioned for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct that relates to "inappropriate physical contact with a Player. No formal hearing was required as Kohli accepted the sanctions. 

Australia have dropped allrounder Mitchell Marsh for the final Test against India in Sydney with captain Pat Cummins confirming that Tasmanian Beau Webster will make his Test debut.  They are ruthless – will India change the team or play with the same squad.  Six years ago, when he came to Australia, Virat Kohli  scored a century that would rank among the very best that any batter has made away from home. Perth 2018 was a hero's innings, the kind of innings that weds cricketers to their fans, and makes them believe anything is possible while they're at the crease.  Now people are craving for his head  .. .. and that of the man who went on a  paternity leave for the first Border-Gavaskar Test.  Rohit Sharma has been an abject failure in this tour and in recent times. 

Trying to attract is a trait common in humans right from the birth of first woman ! - everyone knows the feeling of walking into a room full of friendly faces, and although each person seems nice, open and willing to talk, only one face stands out from the crowd. There may be a lot of physically attractive people in the room, but you can't seem to take your eyes off of this one particular person.  .. .. or many of us would like to attract a stranger more than a known person, thereby attaching undue importance to one and trying to display all our good qualities to woe and attract ! Most people can tell if they're attracted to someone in the first 90 seconds after they meet. Some theories  suggests that women are naturally attracted to men who exude confidence and passion, and who seem to lead exciting lives.   

According to a Professor of Anthropology, We always want what we can't have.  Interesting !  - nothing wrong in trying to be smart, but live a life of yours ! – not waste time in impressing others.

 
Regards – S. Sampathkumar
2.1.2025 

Hazardous jobs and 2 window cleaners dangle at One World Trade Centre

One World Trade Center  presently refers to the main building of the new World Trade Center complex in Manhattan, New York, also the tallest skyscraper in the United States of America. The 104-storey supertall structure shares a numeric name with the northern Twin Tower in the original World Trade Center that was destroyed in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.  In 2009, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed that the building would be known by its legal name "One World Trade Center" rather than the colloquial "Freedom Tower".

Many experts sitting in Office  before computers would claim that ‘they are in the firing line’ all time. Sitting for long hours could harm cardiovascular and skeletal systems and also could be very boring- but that is not considered a hazardous job as that of a stuntmen, para jumpers and others.  There are others like Postman, Courier, food and other items deliverers – who are exposed to more risks.   There are people who deal with dangerous animals on a daily basis – not necessarily those who put their head into the mouth of Lion or Crocodile but also occupations like fishermen. A friend of mine, did odd jobs of painting, tinkering and welding and once doing a welding job inside a tanker (truck)- the tanker body itself was thrown meters away due to explosion of residual gases.

There are jobs which Indian casual workers undertake without any proper safety gadgets while in advanced countries, they will be well-supported by technology.  An example is painting/ repair / plumbing  work in tall buildings ~ also window cleaning – the washing of architectural glass used for structural, lighting, or decorative purposes. Here there seems to be no regulation as one can see workers dangling on ropes and hastily made structures using lot of used items.

US News agencies report the travails of two window washers rescued rom dangling scaffold in One World Centre.  A scaffold malfunction trapped the pair, identified as Juan Lizama, 41, and Juan Lopez, 33, of the Bronx, outside the 68th floor of 1 World Trade Center, with the dangling duo stuck amid the skyline until FDNY rescuers plucked them from midair. Reports state that for  90 nerve-wracking minutes, two veteran window washers shared a Lower Manhattan view both breathtaking and terrifying. An investigation is under way into a scaffold collapse that left them dangling near the 68th floor of the skyscraper.  The scaffold is reported to have been supplied by the Tractel Group, a distributor of such platforms and other industry products that has been involved in two similar incidents in recent years, one in which a worker died.  On that eventful day,  the men clung to the teetering rig, secured by four cables, for nearly two hours while rescue workers raced to bring them to safety. The workers tied the ropes to their harnesses so they would not plummet to the ground if the scaffold collapsed.

One of the men reportedly called his wife during the ordeal and begged her to “take care of the children”. “Please don’t feel bad,” Lizama’s wife recalled her husband telling her, the New York Post reported. Lizama is  father of three children, the youngest is just 10 months old.  The New York fire department used a diamond saw to cut through the thick layers of glass, the preferred rescue plan, fire commissioner said. Firefighters also lowered a second basket as a back-up plan, in case they were stymied in sawing open the glass.  Hours later, the firefighters broke through the glass and were able to pull the men safety through the roughly 4-by-8ft hole they carved in the window. Uninjured, Lizama and Lopez were taken to a local hospital where they were treated for mild hypothermia and released. Nigro said one of the cables developed slack, which caused the platform to suddenly tilt from “horizontal to nearly vertical”. The cause of the accident has yet to be determined.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the tower, said it had suspended maintenance while the investigation proceeds. Sure the firefighters did a commendable job unfaced by the 1776 feet height. One World Trade Center opened to the public for the first time in Nov 14,  when the first tenants moved in, 13 years after tragedy struck NYC. About 3,400 employees will take up office space from the 20th to 44th floors of the $3.9 billion skyscraper the coming months, while the remainder of the building’s 104 stories will be filled subsequently.   Many sites would insist on insurance coverage  [Workmen compensation policy as also personal accident policies] for workers involved in such operations.

Here is a scene nearer OMR of workers doing a similar work ....... and that speaks volumes

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

20^th Nov 2014.

which wire to cut - the sad story of bomb defusing !!

In Cricket, an ungainly shot, an unintended cut (an inside edge) flying between the stumps and keeper is called ‘French cut’ (sometimes Chinese cut).  In Baasha, Rajnikant would in nick of time take out the bomb planted in the Ganesh pandal.  In Vathiyar, hero Arjun would remove and defuse the bomb saving the lives of people.  In fiction-land, disarming just about any bomb is a matter of cutting the right wires in the right order  ~ there will be differently coloured wires -  if the wrong wire is cut, the bomb will explode instantly, and with the clock ticking – with seconds to go, the hero would pick the correct wire, cut and save all !!

On that fateful day when Mumbai was under siege, IPS officer Vishwas Nangre-Patil and his talented bunch saved hundreds of lives by calmly disposing unexploded grenades.  The officers of bomb disposal squad risked their lives while defusing hand-grenades and RDX boxes at Trident and Taj hotels under the terrorists' fire.   While all reel-life heroes are successful, in real-time, things can be alarmingly different as read in this MailOnline story.  Sad that a hero succumbed while passersby casually filmed last moments of brave bomb disposal officer. 

Sadly, it was to be the images capturing one man's last act of staggering bravery - and another's utter cowardice. As an Egyptian bomb disposal officer edged carefully towards an explosive device hidden in the base of a plant outside a Cairo petrol station, bystanders filmed his every move.  Seconds later the bomb exploded in his hands, throwing the man several feet into the air. As the debris cleared, police and bystanders were seen rushing to his side ~ not all  including the person who recorded these images on their mobile phone.

In the video, the police officer, dressed in protective clothing, is seen edging towards the device - hidden beneath the plant behind the backpack. In the background, three bystanders film on their mobile phones. The detonation proved fatal as the officer was blasted several feet into the air as it detonated in his hands. While some onlookers rush to his aide, the cameraman behind this footage made sure he recorded the scene.

Jihadists claimed responsibility for the attack, which also left three employees of the Cairo petrol station wounded. The group Ajnad Misr (Soldiers of Egypt) claimed on Twitter that it had placed the device, saying it was targeting police officers at a nearby station.  The footage represents a recent shift in the way information has come out of conflict zones around the world, amid advances in technology and the increased use of social networking sites. Footage of recent atrocities in Syria and Iraq is readily available online. The most graphic images do not come from traditional news organisations but from amateurs who have recorded distressing scenes and then uploaded them.  In some cases, people posed for selfies against a background of explosions. Some have argued that the trend means there is a permanent record of criminals who have committed such atrocities.  However, others claim it shows how desensitised the world has become to the shocking sights and that the stream of footage could belittle the horrors which so many face.

Policemen and soldiers have faced regular militant attacks since the army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.  Hundreds have been killed in attacks claimed by jihadist groups in retaliation for a government crackdown targeting Morsi's supporters.   The wave of anti-Christian violence followed the breakup by security forces of two sit-in protests by Morsi's supporters, an operation that killed hundreds.

Sad to read of such incidents.

Akku starring Anu Hasan and Riyaz Khan flopped at the box-office. It was a story of an IT Pro falling in love with a chirpy girl whose brother is a bigtime terrorist.  In trying to elope they are caught by the brother who plants a shoe bomb on the person  and dumps him in city centre – he is asked to run and if he stops, bomb will explode.  The storyline was about how the Police Cop defuses the bomb !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

13^th Jan 2015.

strange encounters ~ this time Pangolin in Chennai

In Triplicane as in some other areas, people share the road with bovines roaming freely.  Besides the cattle, one encounters stray dogs, cats, goats, horses  – rarely monkeys, donkeys, elephants ….. not the one of its kind encountered by a resident in Iyyappanthangal recently. 

Though home to Asia, this scaly mammal is rare to be seen – bigger than the  size of a house cat, that’s so bizarre it almost forces your brain to flip through many images to describe it properly.    It is  elusive, nocturnal, rarely appreciated and barely understood. When it's frightened, it actually curls up into a roly-poly ball ~ and could go extinct before most people realize it exists.   Unlike the rhino or the elephant, this shy, nocturnal creature enjoys few international safeguards.  Sometime back in China’s Guangdong province, a van carrying close to 1000 carcass was stopped. . The bust was among the biggest ever recorded in China, the world’s largest market for the creature.  Earlier, Hong Kong customs intercepted a shipment from South Africa, labeled “plastic pet,” that turned out to be 1,000 kg of _______ scales — worth $645,000 on the black market.

It is the ‘Pangolin’ (also referred to as a scaly anteater) a mammal of the order Pholidota.  A pangolin has large keratin scales covering its skin, and is the only known mammal with this adaptation. It is found naturally in tropical regions throughout Africa and Asia. The name pangolin comes from the Malay word pengguling, meaning "something that rolls up".  The physical appearance of a pangolin is marked by large, hardened, overlapping plate-like scales. It can curl up into a ball when threatened, with its overlapping scales acting as armour and its face tucked under its tail. The scales are sharp, providing extra defense. The front claws are so long they are unsuited for walking.  Pangolins can also emit a noxious-smelling acid from glands similar to the spray of a skunk.  Pangolins are insectivorous. The bulk of their diet consists of various species of ants and termites and may be supplemented by other insects, especially larvae.  Pangolins have a very poor sense of vision, and therefore rely heavily on smell and hearing.

TOI reports that a Pangolin  weighing 10kg was rescued from a garden near Dhanalaxmi Nagar in Iyyapanthangal, near Porur,  and shifted to the veterinary hospital in Vandalur zoo. The animal is believed to have strayed into the residential area from the nearby forest. It was covered in slime when a few residents spotted it.  They locked the gate of the compound  and then informed the authorities. Senior officials at Vandalur zoo said that the animal is under observation and apart from minor lacerations on its outer scales, is healthy .

A 61-yearold retired government official and the local village panchayat member, spotted the animal entering the garden of a bungalow and raised alarm. The residents did not harm the animal and locked the main gate till Blue Cross volunteers arrived at the spot. Pagolin is listed as an endangered mammal under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

Here is a photo of a pangolin leaving a lion clueless by rolling itself into a ball.  In the incident reported in Daily Mail, a pride of lions found that their claws and teeth were no match for the pangolin,  in an unusual encounter, where the pangolin escaped unhurt. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

29^th Jan 2015.

Parrots and happiness !!

Life is all about living happily – days may, months may, years may fleet past ! – it is always a day after the other ! Nothing special !!  A couple of years back World was under Covid gloom – people were anxious and depressed and lived in fear.  At that time many took up to growing plants and bird watching.  

Ceres is a dwarf planet in the middle main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It was the first known asteroid,   was later classified   a dwarf planet, the only one not beyond Neptune's orbit.   A dwarf planet is a small planetary-mass object that is in direct orbit around the Sun, massive enough to be gravitationally rounded, but insufficient to achieve orbital dominance like the eight classical planets of the Solar System.  Ceres' diameter is about a quarter that of the Moon. Its small size means that even at its brightest it is too dim to be seen by the naked eye, except under extremely dark skies.   

There are birds – Crows, Pigeons, Owls, Mynahs and .. .. then there is Parrot ! in most human minds, it is one of beauty, intellect, vivacious, green coloured and highly social !!  in nature.  Parrots are seen as symbols of happiness !! 

In fact, birds and happiness are so closely linked that, according to the study, the more diversity of bird species surrounding a person, the happier they are. Researchers found that birds are so powerful as mood boosters that their effect is equal to an increase in income.  In fact, birds and happiness are often linked in nature research. One study after another points to what we seem to know intuitively: appreciating birds makes us feel lighter, calmer, and more hopeful. A new study reveals that greater bird biodiversity brings greater joy to people, according to recent findings from the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research.    

Elsewhere our neighbouring Pakistan is in danger of losing one of its famed birds, the Alexandrine parrot, which is already on a global list of near-endangered species due to multiple factors, most of them human-made. Wildlife experts cite habitat alteration, pollution, poaching and illegal trade as major factors behind the decline in the bird’s population, which is still the largest among the three parrot species found in the South Asian country.  Once abundant in the country's plains, mainly along canals and foothills, and even in mega cities like Karachi, its population is currently restricted to the upper parts of northeastern Punjab and southern Sindh provinces and the border areas of Pakistan and India, including Jammu and Kashmir. The tree-filled foothills of scenic Murree Hill Station is another home to Alexandrine parrots. 

"Apart from the systematic destruction of their habitat, they have become a source of income for a sizable number of people across the country, resulting in increasing poaching and subsequently illegal trade," said,  an Islamabad-based wildlife expert.  He   observed that a huge number of Indian rosewood (Shisham or Tali) and Banyan (Ficus benghalensis) trees, the parrots' favorite nesting places, have been systematically cut down in the agriculture belt of Punjab and Sindh over the past three decades because of their precious wood. Agriculture authorities, he added, have replaced Indian rosewood with eucalyptus, which is useless for parrots and other human friendly birds. Eucalyptus in Pakistan was exported from Australia to feed the country's matchstick industry, and according to some environmentalists, it is environmentally hazardous. It is stated that in Karachi alone, the parrots’ numbers have plummeted by 60% over the past five to eight years. 

Ceres, the dwarf planet, was the first known asteroid, discovered on 1 January 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi at Palermo Astronomical Observatory in Sicily, and announced as a new planet. Ceres was later classified as an asteroid and then a dwarf planet, the only one not beyond Neptune's orbit.

 

Start the day with these beautiful,  quarelling Parrots
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
1^st Jan 2025.