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When you see the title, if you think of  people like as Alexander, who created vast kingdoms by invading kingdoms far and wide, then you are out of luck. I’m talking here about invaders of a different kind. Bio-invaders.

I still remember the time in the late 1970’s when there was no Parthenium (Linn: Parthenium hysterophorus) in India. Apparently introduced to India through wheat imports from the United States, the weed has taken over large tracks of India that it is hard to find a place this does not grow. Parthenium is linked to many respiratory allergies and illnesses that have become more common after it was introduced into India.

When I visited the Nagara Hole national park in Karnataka a few years ago, I was surprised and shocked to see Parthenium becoming the major component of ground cover in the forest. It must have displaced manly local species of plants, and other organisms that depended on them.  There is no better illustration of what an alien species can do to a new ecosystem than this.

An elephant in Nagarahole national park, India

(Click on the above picture to get a larger view. All the greenery, and the small white florets you see on the ground are Parthenium plants)

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This year, when I came back to town after a few weeks of vacation, I was greeted with some icky, sticky, waxy stuff on some of  the hibiscus plants in my front yard.

 

 

There were some small white moth like flies flying around these sticky spider-web like thread on leaves. I went to the local garden store, and described the symptoms. The person in the listened to my description, and said it might be an infestation of  spider mites. I came home, washed the plants and sprayed them with the pesticide prescribed at the garden center, hoping that it would all be gone the next day.

It did not take too long for me to realize I was wrong. The insects, and the sticky threads came back each time I washed and sprayed the pesticide. Then I was sure that the diagnosis was wrong in the first place.

Some more on-line search, and help from Facebook friends pointed me in the right direction. This was an infestation of  an insect called Giant Whitefly, which came in from Mexico to California sometime in the early 1990s, and came in to the Bay area much later – around 2005.  And apparently it loves hibiscus plants, and is very hard to get rid of this pest.

One of the website said -”If you don’t care for your hibiscus plants in your garden, it is best to get rid of those plants rather than trying to get rid of the pest”. However, I do care about my hibiscus plants and the color they add to my front yard. So I’m doing other things such as using a systemic insecticide (which is slow to act, but hopefully keeps the insect population under control) and trimming branches (anyway, with winter around the corner, there won’t be many more blooms).

I’ve also come to terms with the fact that I can’t totally get rid of this pest from my yard. Oh fate!

-neelanjana

Sewa International Presents

A Violin Concert by Anuradha Sridhar

accompanied by Shriram Brahmanandam on the Mrdanga.

Date: Friday, 20th November @7:30 pm   Venue: Quainlan Community Center, Cupertino, CA

For tickets, you can leave a comment here, or purchase online at: www.indolink.com/sewa

Take this opportunity to reach out the flood victims, and enjoy the wonderful music.

All proceeds will be used for the benefit of affected people.

Karnataka Flood Relief Concert

concert

-neelanjana

ಮೊನ್ನೆ ಮೊನ್ನೆ ತನಕ ನಾನು ಸಂಕಟಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಗುಡಿಯ ವಿಷಯ ಕೇಳೇ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಈಚೆಗೆ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಮೂವರು ಜಾಗ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ ಅಂತ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದು ಕೇಳಿಬಂತು. ಇಲ್ಲೇ ಹತ್ತಿರದಲ್ಲೇ ಇದೆಯಲ್ಲ, ಒಂದು ಸಲ ಯಾಕೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಬರಬಾರದು ಅಂತ ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದಾಯಿತು. ವೆಬ್ ಸೈಟ್ ನಲ್ಲೆ ಎಚ್ಚರಿಗೆ ಹಾಕಿದ್ದರು – ಯಾಹೂ ಮ್ಯಾಪ್ಸ್ ಹಿಡಿದ್ರೆ ಎತ್ಲಾಗೋ ತೊಗೊಂಡು ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೋ ಕಳಿಸ್ಬಿಡಬಹುದು. ಇನ್ನು ಜಿಪಿಎಸ್ ನೂ ನಂಬ್ಲೇ ಬೇಡಿ ಅಂತ. ಸರಿ ಅಂತ ದಾರಿಯನ್ನೇನೋ ಒಂದ್ ಚೀಟಿ ಮೇಲೆ ಗುರುತು ಹಾಕ್ಕೊಂಡಾಯ್ತು.

ಇನ್ನೇನು ಹೊರಟೇ ಆಯ್ತು ಅನ್ನೋ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ನೋಡ್ದ್ರೆ ಭಾನುವಾರ ಬರ್ಲೇಬೇಡಿ ಅಂತ ಹಾಕ್ಬಿಟ್ಟಿದಾರೆ! ಸರಿ. ಬುತ್ತಿಗೆ ಅಂತ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೂಟವನ್ನ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ತಿಂದಿದ್ದಾಯ್ತು.

ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ, ಈ ವಾರ ಲೇಬರ್ ಡೇ ಅಂತ ಸೋಮವಾರ ಕೂಡ ರಜಾ ಇತ್ತಲ್ಲ ಹೊಸದಾಗಿ ಬುತ್ತಿ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಟ್ವಿ.

ಒಂದು-ಒಂದೂಕಾಲು ಗಂಟೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಸುಮಾರು ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೇ ಇಂದ. ಗಿಲ್ರಾಯ್ ದಾಟಿ ಹೆಕರ್ಸ್ ಪಾಸ್ ಹೈವೇನಲ್ಲಿ ಪಶ್ಚಿಮಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರುಗಿ ಹೋಗ್ತಿದ್ರೆ, ಎರಡೂ ಕಡೆ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ ತೋಟಗಳ, ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಾರಸ ತಯಾರ್ಸೋ ವೈನರಿಗಳದ್ದೇ ಕಾರುಬಾರು.

ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿಯ ತೋಟ
ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿಯ ತೋಟ

ಒಂದೊಂದು ಗಿಡದಲ್ಲೂ ಜೊಂಪೆ ಜೊಂಪೆಯಾಗಿ ನೇತಾಡ್ತಿರೋ ಕರೀ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ.  ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹತ್ತಿರ ನೋಡೋಣ ಅಂತ ಹೋಗಿ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ರುಚಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯ್ತು.

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ದೂರದ ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೇಮಂತ ಋತು ಬರ್ದೇ ಇದ್ರೂ, ಆಗಲೆ ಅಲ್ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಕಾಣ್ತಾ ಇದೆ.

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ಕೊನೇ ಹತ್ತು ಹದಿನೈದು ಮೈಲಿ ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ.  ಸುತ್ತ ರೆಡ್ ವುಡ್ ಮರಗಳ ಕಾಡು. ಪುಣ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ರಸ್ತೆ ಕಡಿದಾಗಿದ್ರೂ, ತಲೆ ತಿರ್ಗೋ ಹಾಗಿಲ್ಲ ಸದ್ಯ. ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಮೌಂಟ್ ಮಡೋನ ಕೌಂಟಿ ಪಾರ್ಕ್ ಅನ್ನೋ ಗುರುತು ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಬಿತ್ತು.

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ಒಳಕ್ಕೆ ತಿರಿಗಿಕೊಂಡ ಮೇಲೆ, ರಸ್ತೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಇನ್ನೂ  ಚಿಕ್ಕದಾಯಿತು. ಕಾಡು ಮತ್ತೂ ದಟ್ಟ.  ಅದೇ ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಕೆಲವು ಮೈಲಿ ಮುಂದೆ ಹೋದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮೌಂಟ್ ಮಡೋನ  ಸೆಂಟರ್ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿತು.  ಹೋಗಿ  ವಾಹನ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದರೆ, ಪ್ರಶಾಂತವಾದ ಜಾಗ.

ಒಂದು ಕಡೆ ನೋಡಲು ಪಹಾರೊ ನದಿಯ ಬಯಲು.

ಪಹಾರೊ ನದಿ ಬಯಲು
ಪಹಾರೊ ನದಿ ಬಯಲು

ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಡೆ ಕೆಲವು ಮೆಟ್ಟಲನ್ನೇರಿದರೆ ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಮಂದಿರ.

ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಗುಡಿ
ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಗುಡಿ

ಪುಟ್ಟ ಗುಡಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ವನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತಿರುವ ಹನುಮಾನ್.

ಹನುಮಾನ್
ಹನುಮಾನ್

ನಂತರ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸುತ್ತಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಆಸರೆಗೆ ಏನಾದರೂ ಸಿಗುವುದೋ ಅಂತ ಹೋಗಿ ನೋಡಲು ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ್ದು ಆಂಜನೇಯಾಸ್ ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕೆಫೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ನಾವು ಹೋದಾಗ ಮುಚ್ಚಿತ್ತು.

ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಕೆಫೆ :)
ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಕೆಫೆ :)
ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಮೆನು

ವರ್ಲ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ಮೆನು

ಸರಿ. ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಹನುಮಂತನಿಗೆ ಕೈಮುಗಿದು ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದಾಯ್ತು. ದಾರೀಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ರೆಡ್ ವುಡ್ ತೋಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬುತ್ತಿ ಊಟ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯ್ತು. ನಂತರ ಎತ್ತರದ ಮರಗಳ ತಣ್ಣೆಳಲಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸುತ್ತಾಟ.

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ಎಲ್ಲಾ  ಆದ್ಮೇಲೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು? ಮತ್ತೆ ಇನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬರಬೇಕು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅನ್ನುವ ಮಾತುಗಳೊಡನೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಪಯಣ!

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-ನೀಲಾಂಜನ

Exactly 25  miles long, that is. That is how far the summit of Mt Hamilton is from Downtown San Jose. But what makes this 25 miles really long is the change in elevation – from 85ft above sea level to 4209 ft above sea level.

mt-hamilton-route

I made this ‘long‘ trip couple of weeks ago. Sort of  funny, because Mt Hamilton and the domes on top are part of the horizon in my view every day for the last 10 years! So near, but so far! Here are some pictures from that drive.

The 4000+ ft change in elevation means there is no shortage of twists and turns and curves. The moment you go past one blind curve, you will face the next! Be ready for motion sickness!

Curves and Turns!

Curves and Turns!

James Lick Observatory is located atop Mt Hamilton. This was the first mountaintop observatory ever built, around the end of 19th century.

An old picture of the observatory

An old picture of the observatory

When it was built, it had the world largest Refracting telescope (36″ inches) . This telescope  is still functioning, and being made good use of.

The 36 inch refractor

The 36 inch refractor

Now there are few more telescopes atop Mt Hamilton; A 120 inch reflector, a 36 inch reflector and a 100 inch Automatic Planet Finder -to name a few. These are a short walk away from the original observatory, but public access to these domes is limited.

Newer Domes

Newer Domes

Mt Hamilton being one of the highest peaks around the south bay, there is an uninterrupted view in all directions.

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The picture on the top of my blog page  with  a view of the Moon rising behind the observatory in Mt Hamilton is taken from – “Astronomy Picture of  the Day” ; courtesy NASA.

More information about Lick Observatory can be found here.

-neelanjana

Whoever named raaga Hamsadhwani probably did not pay attention to the facts that Swans do not have an attractive voice! Take a look at the following videos to hear how exactly swans sound! Not very melodious!

But one good thing about raga Hamsadhwani is that unlike many ragas, its history can be traced quite accurately.

Ramaswamy Dikshita (1735AD-1817AD), father of Muttuswamy Dikshita is credited with the creation of this pentatonic raaga. However, this may be partly true. The Ragalakshana appendix to Chaturdandi Prakashike mentions Hamsadwani. Although the main text of Chaturdandi was composed by Venkatamakhi (~1650 AD), the Ragalakshana appendix was added by is grand-nephew Muddu Venkatamuchi couple of generations after Venkatamakhi.  He describes Hamsadwhani as a pentatonic raga, born of Shankarabharana mEla omitting ma and da. (S R G P N S  – S N P G R S). The current form of Hamsadwani is exactly the same.

This brings the time when Hamsadhwani first appeared around the beginning of 18th century. It is likely that Ramaswamy Dikshita was one of the early composers who popularized it, and hence the credit that goes in his name.I wonder why it took as late as 18th century to come up with this very attractive pentatonic scale. However, once it became popular, there was no going back!

18th century composers Tyagaraja and Muttuswamy Dikshita, each comosed two compositions in this raga.  It can be safely said that the composition Vatapi Ganapatim Bhajesham of Muttuswamy Dikshita is the most famous composition in this raga. Listen to Dr M.Balamuralikrishna singing this compositon.

With this composition, Hamsadhwani raga became a natural associate of Ganapati, and there are a number of nice compositions in this raga with Ganapati as the theme.  Vandenishamaham of Mysore Vasudevacharya, Gam Ganapate of Muttaiyya Bhagavatar, Vara Vallabha Ramana of GNB, Gajavadana Beduve of Purandara Dasa – all these come to mind. Listen here to – Gam Ganapate of Muttaiah Bhagavatar – This is from a concert here in the bay area (Veena-Jyothi Chetan; Mridanga- Ramesh Srinivasan)

During the 20th century saw many raagas from Karnataka sangeetha were adapted to Hindustani. How could they leave out a very appealing raaga like Hamsadhwani?  Not only did they adapt the melody, but also the popular composition Vatapi Ganapatim Bhajeham!

Listen here to Rashid Khan, who sings a beautiful Alap followed by “laagi lagan”. You can’t miss the similarity to Vatapi Ganapatim Bhajeham.

For whatever reason, Hamsadhwani does not seem to have inspired kannada film music composers as much as some other raagas have. I can just think of a few Kannada film songs – ಇನ್ನು ಗ್ಯಾರಂಟಿ from ನಂಜುಂಡಿ ಕಲ್ಯಾಣ and   ಮೀನಾಕ್ಿ ನಿನ್ನ from ರಣಧೀರ. If you are aware of any other songs, post a comment.

-neelanjana

Today is the Vernal Equinox. In plain English, it is also called the Spring Equinox, or the first day of the Spring.

The day is called Equinox to imply it is the day of the equal day and night. Wherever you on the Earth, that is. Whether you are near the tropics or near the poles. Little hard to believe, but true.

If you are standing somewhere on 13 degree North latitude in Bengalooru, India, here is how the Sun’s path goes aound the sky. The yellow line indicates the path of the Sun, and the little yellow disk represents the Sun.

Path of the Sun as seen from a place 13 Degree North, on Vernal Equinox

Path of the Sun as seen from a place 13 Degree North, on Vernal Equinox

On the other hand, if you were somewhere in the temperate lands, such as the San Fransisco bay area, this is how the Sun’s path would look like.

Solar path on Vernal Equinox, from a place 37 degrees North

Solar path on Vernal Equinox, from a place 37 degrees North

Now,  this is what happens if you go much to the North – say somewhere near Anchorage, Alaska.

View from further North

View from further North

What if you go down South, to Sydney, Australia or Johannesburg, South Africa?

down-south

At each place, you may notice the Sun rises in the true east, and sets in the true west. And this is the reason why the day and night are of equal length everywhere today.

-neelanjana

All the pictures were captured using the solar simulation tool here:

http://astro.unl.edu/naap/motion3/animations/sunmotions.swf

As the year is coming to a close, we can witness the last planetary conjunction for the year.

Jupiter and Mercury are coming closer in the evening sky. Normally Mercury is a very elusive planet to find, not because it is faint but because it is always very close to the horizon whenever it is visible – early morning or early evening. In the absence of a marker star or planet to locate Mercury, it could be a hard find. And that’s what makes this conjunction interesting.

Jupiter and Mercury are very close in the evening sky now, and if you watch just after the sunset from a location with a clear view of the western sky, you should be able to spot the planets without much difficulty.  Venus is a little higher in the evening sky too shining brightly. Mercury now has an apparent magnitude of -0.7. To give a comparison, except for Sirius, the brightest star visible to the naked eye, no other star in the night sky appears  much brighter than this.  The  proximity to Jupiter makes it easy to spot the planet. That’s all. And of course,  the twilight  might make it appear little fainter than what a -0.7 magnitude object should look like.

Here are a few screen-shots taken using Stellarium.  This is taken for an observer in south Karnataka, India (about 13degrees North). However, if you are somewhere else, the same timings should work for you too; but remeber that the Moon is the fastest moving body in the Sky. So the relative position of the Moon (with respect to the planet pair) might be different than what these pictures show.

Here is the evening sky of 12/30/2008.  (about 15 minutes after sunset)

Evening Sky - 12/30/2008 ; Just after sunset.

Evening Sky - 12/30/2008 ; Just after sunset.

Here is the evening sky on 12/31/08; About 15 minutes after sunset.

12-31-08. Evening sky.

12-31-08; Evening sky

Evening sky on new year's day - 2009

Evening sky on new year's day - 2009

Notice the relative movement of Mercury and Jupiter. Also notice the crescent moon moving out of the view (in the screenshot)  as it goes higher in the sky. In the sky, of course, it would appear larger and higher.

I managed to get a glimpse of the planets last night, since the clouds moved away from the western horizon just in time.  Tonight, it is to be seen how the weather god Varuna, c0-operates :) .

If you have clear evenings the next few days , do not forget to head out right after sunset and check out!

-neelanjana

The first time I came across the phrase ‘graha bheda‘ was in  a book called Sangeetha Darpana by Prof. Ramaratnam. For someone who exactly knew the aarohana and avarohana of three or four raagas, a detailed discussion of graha bheda, it’s possibilities and limitations were too much to swallow. What? Getting Kalyani from Shankarabharana and todi?

Luckily, I had the luxury of having my grandma’s old harmonium at my disposal. Using that, and testing out some of the things in that book, I was able to make sense of what the professor was saying!  But over the years, and after becoming a somewhat serious listener of Indian music, I am glad to say  the topic excites me today, as much as it did so many years ago.

To cut a long story short, I was asked to present about some topic that could be of interest to students of music at Mahati School of Music in Cupertino, CA last week. And I chose to talk about graha bheda, as used in Karnataka sangeetha.

I tried to intersperse it with some examples which I sang myself, and some examples from professional performing artists. I could not cover all the clips I had, and also some of  the other points that I wanted to bring up for want of  time, but the participation of kids during the presentation was really very encouraging, to say the least.

Here is a recording of the lec-dem. It is about 50 minutes long, and starts around the 3rd minute marker.I did not have time ( or patience) to edit it,  and so it is posted as it is :)

Comments are welcome, more so if they are in the form of other nice graha bheda examples!

-neelanjana

It was almost noon by the time Saraswati finished her daily pooje. She observed she was singing aloud when she was doing mangalaarati to the deities. If her husband was home, she would only mumble the song to herself. In reality, she was quite a good singer, but lacked the confidence to sing in front of him because he was indeed very well versed in music. That was the cause for the hesitation to sing before him. He might say a thing or two about her sangatis. Or he might even bring the tamboori, and show how to sing those sangatis to sound better. That’s why the walls of their ancestral home heard Saraswatis singing voice only when Srinivasa was away. She often wondered if he could dedicate himself to music if not for the family business. Saraswathi just thought how nice it would have been to listen to his singing all day. It was several months since he had touched his tamboori. His singing was so overpowering and made her emotional that she  would feel that Lord Krishna’s brindavana was right here at Kshemapura. The only other person she new who had a comparable voice was that of Vaikuntha Dasa of her hometown.

Saraswati felt very strange at thinking Belooru as her hometown even after being married for almost twenty years and living in Kshemapura! It reminded her that she had not visited her parents for couple of years. She was indeed worried when there was a talk of her marriage, and when she knew the suitor was from the hilly rainy country. Her hometown was a real beauty. Such a peaceful and tranquil town with  the three hundred year old Chennakeshava temple as the anchor for all activities in the town! What to do? Once a girl gets married, she has to think her husband’s home as her own. She was indeed very happy when she arrived in Kshemapura first time. So green! But when the rains arrived she was terror struck at the force of the torrential rains that would not budge for four or five months! But now she preferred the rainy season since she saw more of her husband at home doing his music practice. As she went into the kitchen, Saraswati started counting how many more months till Ashadha  arrived.

****

Srinivasa looked at the pendant Nagachari gave. Yes, it was looking good. May be few less emeralds would have made it look even better.  He started to write the pattern for the necklace to match this pendant. Then noticing that Nagachari was still waiting, Srinivasa reminded him that the work should be finished soon because it had to get to the Palace before the festivals. As Srinivasa was completing his sketch, he thought of the hours he was spending at his store these days. Hebana was almost eighteen. It was time for him to take more responsibility in the business, Srinivasa thought. May be then he would have some time to pursue his first love, music.

Srinivasa’s father had trained him to be a jeweler right from the days he was a young lad. But among Srinivasa’s children, only little Madhvapati shows interest in coming to the store. Madhwa often watched has father designing the jewels, and also attempted to some of his own. The older two boys were not coming to the store  even once in a bluemoon! May be it was time to make sure they come somewhat regularly, or else it might spell problems! But as Srinivasa recollected that he never came to the store regularly as a young boy, he thought all was not lost with Hebana and Abhinava yet.

In fact, Srinivasa’s father was quite lenient. He even had told his wife not to distract Srinivasa with household errands if he was practicing music, or studying all those books related with music and poetry. But Srinivasa still remembered what he had told one day : “Seenappa,  I have seen the plight of musicians who depend on the kings  and landlords. Thankfully, you have a business to carry on.  Practice music as much as you want, but do not leave our family business. Keep your music to please yourself” Srinivasa had indeed followed his advice to the word. With riches that allow him to lend money to kings and chieftains, why should he leave the gold and gem business and stand at the doorsteps of the king?  ‘Now, I am the king of my business or my music’,    Srinivasa thought but when he remembered that it was amost three weeks since he touched his tamboori, it was not so pleasing. As he was sensing the  unpleasantness of this, Madhwapati came in from the inner room to show a pattern he had sketched for an ear ring, and helped Srinivasa’s mind to dwell on something else.

****

It was the usual time when Abhinava would sit for his music practice. Father was very strict when it with music. Whether he taught any new lesson or not, the kids had to do their practice like a ritual. They had to practice all the varases daily in three speedszZ! Of the three brothers, Abhinava had the best voice. Although Srinivasa never explicitely said anything, Abhinava knew that he was always giving some extra attention to his lessons.

Abhinava suddenly remembered the comment Venkatesha, his friend from across the street had made sometime ago. “Ha! Your dad seems to have a lesson plan no other music teacher in this world has! I wonder how you would manage to sing with a teacher like him !” – he had remarked in front of all his friends when they were playing. Abhinava was felt angry, as well as humiliated.

Next day he had gathered courage to ask his father: “Appa, Is it true that you are teaching us in some new way that no other music teacher follows? Other kids make fun of me for that”

Abhinava remembered  that Srinivasa did not even blink at this remark, let alone get  angry. He had told calmly: “Yes. No other teacher teaches with the system I am teaching you and your brothers. You know what? I made these excercises myself so that it helps in making you musically aware much faster than you other wise would be. Why shoud you worry?  I am sure that this system works well, and that is why I teach this way. Stop worrying, and sing Sri Gananaatha”

Saraswati was sure that Abhinava’s mind was wandering somewhere else. She softly patted his back, and asked him if he forgot what to sing next.  Abhinava came back from his thoughts and started to sing the prabhandha in devagaandhara raga that his father had taught a few weeks earlier.

****

(to be continued)

A nice violin concert coming up this weekend! Bay area music fans – Do not miss this :) Also, all the funds generated will go directly to help Bihar flood victims.

Violin Duet

Violin Duet

What is better than enjoying the wonderful music, and supporting a worthy cause at the same time? I have the tickets for this concert – You can get in touch with me by posting a note here, or by contacting the persons on the flier.

-neelanjana

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ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೀಗಂದರು:

"ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ…ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂದೆ ಸುಮ್ಮನೆ… ಎಂಬ ಘೋಷ ವಾಕ್ಯದೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಮಂಡಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಂಡವರು ನೀಲಾಂಜನ. ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಪರಿಮಳವನ್ನು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಡುತ್ತಾ ಇದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡದ ವಚನಗಳು, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತ ಸುಭಾಷಿತಗಳು ಜೊತೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಸಂಗೀತ ಹೀಗೆ ಹಲವು ಲೋಕವನ್ನು ಈ ಬ್ಲಾಗ್ ಪರಿಚಯಿಸಿದೆ." ಅವಧಿ, ಮೇ ೧೫, ೨೦೦೮

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