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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
-neelanjana
Time moves very fast.
Really? Not true, since we know that the earth is revolving around the Sun at a steady rate (for all practical purposes, that is!). So it is all in our perception of time.
Whatever the facts are, one more year has passed really fast for ‘ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’. Today, ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’ is stepping into the third year after finishing two years. I can still recall me writing the very first post on this weblog, and the post when the blog turned one year, as if it happened yesterday!
It’s been a good year for ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’ so far. The very first image at the top of this blog was from the navaranga, inside the temple in Halebeedu, I thought it would be apt to change the image to another view of the Hoysaleshwara temple on it’s second birthday too.
Thanks for coming by ’ಅಲ್ಲಿದೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆ’!
-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
ಒಂದೊಂದು ಗಿಡದಲ್ಲೂ ಜೊಂಪೆ ಜೊಂಪೆಯಾಗಿ ನೇತಾಡ್ತಿರೋ ಕರೀ ದ್ರಾಕ್ಷಿ. ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಹತ್ತಿರ ನೋಡೋಣ ಅಂತ ಹೋಗಿ ಹಣ್ಣಿನ ರುಚಿ ನೋಡಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯ್ತು.
ದೂರದ ಬೆಟ್ಟಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇನ್ನೂ ಹೇಮಂತ ಋತು ಬರ್ದೇ ಇದ್ರೂ, ಆಗಲೆ ಅಲ್ಲಲ್ಲಿ ಬಣ್ಣ ಕಾಣ್ತಾ ಇದೆ.
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.
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
ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಡೆ ಕೆಲವು ಮೆಟ್ಟಲನ್ನೇರಿದರೆ ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಮಂದಿರ.
- ಸಂಕಟ ಮೋಚನ ಹನುಮಂತನ ಗುಡಿ
ಪುಟ್ಟ ಗುಡಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ವನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತಿರುವ 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 ಮೆನು
ಸರಿ. ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಹನುಮಂತನಿಗೆ ಕೈಮುಗಿದು ಹೊರಟಿದ್ದಾಯ್ತು. ದಾರೀಲಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕ ರೆಡ್ ವುಡ್ ತೋಪಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಬುತ್ತಿ ಊಟ ಮುಗಿಸಿದ್ದೂ ಆಯ್ತು. ನಂತರ ಎತ್ತರದ ಮರಗಳ ತಣ್ಣೆಳಲಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸುತ್ತಾಟ.
ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಆದ್ಮೇಲೆ ಇನ್ನೇನು? ಮತ್ತೆ ಇನ್ನೊಮ್ಮೆ ಬರಬೇಕು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಅನ್ನುವ ಮಾತುಗಳೊಡನೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ಪಯಣ!
-ನೀಲಾಂಜನ
I find this title song of T N Seetharam’s teleserial Mukta Mukta quite catchy, in spite of not being very upbeat.
The song is written by H S Venkatesha Murthy, and is quite powerful. I like the last stanza which tells about the never-ending battle between the good and the evil.
ಮಣ್ಣ ತಿಂದು ಸಿಹಿ ಹಣ್ಣ ಕೊಡುವ ಮರ ನೀಡಿ ನೀಡಿ ಮುಕ್ತ
ಬೇವ ಅಗಿವ ಸವಿಗಾನದ ಹಕ್ಕಿ ಹಾಡಿ ಮುಕ್ತ ಮುಕ್ತ
ಹಸಿರ ತೋಳಿನಲಿ ಬೆಂಕಿಯ ಕೂಸ ಪೊರೆವುದು ತಾಯಿಯ ಹೃದಯ
ಮರೆಯುವುದುಂಟೆ ಮರೆಯಲಿ ನಿಂತೇ ಕಾಣುವ ಕರುಣಾಮಯಿಯ
ತನ್ನಾವರಣವೇ ಸೆರೆಮನೆಯಾದರೆ ಜೀವಕೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಯ ಮುಕ್ತಿ
ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಬಟ್ಟೆಯ ಬಿಚ್ಚುವ ಜ್ಯೋತಿಗೆ ಬಯಲೇ ಜೀವನ್ ಮುಕ್ತಿ
ಇರುಳ ವಿರುಧ್ಧ ಬೆಳಕಿನ ಯುಧ್ಧ ಕೊನೆಯಿಲ್ಲದ ಕಾದಾಟ
ತಡೆಯೇ ಇಲ್ಲದೇ ನಡೆಯಲೇ ಬೇಕು ಸೋಲಿಲ್ಲದ ಹೋರಾಟ
The tune is quite similar to the title song for Mukta, earlier teleserial from T N Seetharam. But to me, this song has shades of Shree; Shree of Hindustani kind, that is – particularly in the abrupt transitions from Panchama to Rishabha . It also reminds me of another well known Kannada bhaavageethe, deepavu ninnade, gaaLiyu ninnade by Ke Es Na.
The singers are M D Pallavi, and Vijay Prakash – Yes, the same Bollywood singer who comes from Mysore, and is known for ‘Jai Ho’; I definitely prefer this voice to C Ashwath’s (who sang the title song for the first Mukta series).
-neelanjana
25th January, 2009 is Purandara Dasa Aradhane. I am posting here an article that I wrote for the February 2009 issue of ‘Guru Sarvabhouma’, a monthly publication by Sri Guru Raghavendra Matha, Mantralaya. Kannada compostions are written in devanagari script, for those readers who can’t read Kannada
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इन्दिन दिनवे शुभदिनवु
इन्दिन वार शुभवार
इन्दिन तारॆ शुभतारॆ
इन्दिन योग शुब्गयोग
इन्दिन करण शुभकरण
इन्दु पुरन्दरविट्ठल रायन
सन्दर्शन फलवेमगायितु!
In the above kannada ugaabhoga (written in dEvanagari for those who can’t read kannada script) , Purandara Dasa says “Each and every day is a good day. One does not have to worry about the tithi, vaara, nakshatra, yoga or karana at all; because when one thinks of Hari, the day turns out to be a good day after all”. Similarly any day is indeed a good day to remember great souls such as Purandara Dasa. However it is customary to pay homage to such great people on special occassions such as the day they were born or the day they passed away. Such days give us a chance to read about, talk about, and understand their good deeds. This helps us to practice the principles and values which such noble people stood for, and thereby turning us towards the right path for life. So I think it is very apt to highlight some aspects of Purandara Dasa’s works at this time of Purandara Dasa’s aradhane.
He is considered as one of the four pillars on which the entire edifice of haridasa literature stands, along with Sripadaraya, Vyasaraya and Vijaya dasa. A very popular shloka venerates these four haridasas as follows:
नमः श्रीपादराजाय नमस्ते व्यासयोगिणे ।
नमः पुरन्दरार्याय विजयार्याय ते नमः ॥
(I bow to thee, Sripadararaya and to the yogi vyAsa. I bow to the noble Purandara and Vijaya)
Purandara dasa is remembered as the noblest of all hari dasas. पुरन्दरगुरुं वन्दे दासश्रेष्ठम् दयानिधिम् – ” I bow to the great teacher Purandara, who is the best among the dasas, and an abode of compassion” so goes the saying. He is considered as the best among all the haridasas, so much so that his own guru says “If there one is a dasa, he should be like Purandara dasa” -’ दासरॆन्दरे पुरन्दर दासरय्य ‘ “ದಾಸರೆಂದರೆ ಪುರಂದರ ದಾಸರಯ್ಯ”. There are not many pupils in this world who have been praised thus by their own teachers.
(A Sculpture of Purandara Dasa, possibly from Hampe. This is a photograph of a photograph)
Purandara dasa is also called as the ‘pitaamaha’ of Karnataka sangeeta as it is practiced today. Purandara has had a varied role – a devotee, a haridasa (servant of God), a poet, a musician, a social reformer, a saint and a traveler who traveled all over south India. However, as it happens to many important men and women in Indian history, the details of his life that are available are rather scant and sketchy. We do not exactly know the day he was born or the the place he was born or the day he was initiated to the haridasa fold. But, if we know one thing certianly, it is the day of his passing away.
Purandara dasa left this world on the Pushya amavasye in the Raktakshi samvatsara (This corresponds to the year 1564 AD). We get this information from a composition attributed to Purandara dasa’s son Madhwapa dasa. Here is what he says:
तॆरळिदरु हरिपुरकिंदु ॥ पल्लवि ॥
पुरंदरदासरायरु दीनबंधु ॥ अनुपल्लवि ॥
रक्ताक्षिवत्सर पुष्यांत रविवार
मुक्तिगैदिदरु केळि बुधजनरु ॥ १ ॥
विरूपाक्ष क्षेत्रदि विठलन्न सन्निधियल्लि
शरीरवनिरिसि अनाथरनु हरसि ॥ २ ॥
The pallavi and anupallavi lines in this song say that it was composed right on the day of Purandara Dasa passed away. The first charana clearly states that it was on amavasye, Pushya mAsa, Sunday. when Purandara dasa passed away. The second charana mentions Viroopaksha Kshetra (Hampe) and the line ‘in the sannidhi of vithala’, indicate that Purandara passed away somewhere in the viscinity of the Vijaya Vitthala temple in Hampe, very likely at the mantapa called as Purandara Mantapa nowadays.
Why does this song become important to us? This shows us how a song can be used to get historical information. Even if we do not know lots of things about Purandara’s life, we can still understand the principles he stood for. Whether or not one believes in miraculous incidents that are supposed to have taken place or not, the works of Purandara dasa are a great resource to guide us. In fact, Purandara dasa’s greatness lies not in the miracles that are associated with him, but in his works. Although Purandara dasa is said to have composed hundreds of thousands of songs, only a small fraction of that has been handed over to us through tradition. Luckily, within the available compositions there is plenty of information to understand the life and times of the period when Purandara dasa lived. Haridasa poetry is more like a mirror to the society. They show the positive attributes, as well as the shortcomings of their times. Many of these aspects are relevant even today, as they were several centuries ago.
Vijayadasa, who was instrumental in collecting Purandara dasa’s songs in the 18th century mentions that Purandara dasa was a merchant before he became a haridasa. Purandara dasa himself refers to trade and business in some of his songs. There might be an element of autobiographical content in such songs.
In one composition Purandara dasas says:
व्यापार नमगायितु
श्रीपतिय पादारविंद सेवॆयॆंबो ।
हरिकरुणवॆ अंगि गुरुकरुणवॆ मुंडासु
हरिदासर दयवॆंबो वल्लि
परमपापि कलियॆंबो पापोसु मॆट्टि
दुरात्मरादवर ऎदॆमेलॆ नडॆवंथ ॥ व्यापार नमगायितु॥
बिळियकागद हृदय बायि कलमदानि
नालिगॆयॆंबोदे लेखनियु
लोलन कथॆ नामंगळ
शीलमनवि बरॆदु हरिगॆ ऒप्पिसुवंथ ॥ व्यापार नमगायितु॥
Purandara says here: “It is a fortune to be in the trade of serving the lotus feet of the Lord of Lakshmi. Wearing the Hari’s mercy as a coat, and the kindness of guru as my turban, the sympathy of other haridasas as a shoulder cloth, and wearing shoes that are none other than Kali himself, and then walking over the chest of evil men, is indeed a very good trade. Writing stories containing the names of Hari, in a paper that is none other than the heart, using the tongue as a pen, using the mouth as the ink pot is indeed a wonderful trade”. Here on one side, Purandara dasa describes the dress worn by a trader, and says that it is his ‘business’ as a haridasa is to tread the evil deeds and the evil in this world. The mention of the word ‘vyaapara’ – trade – rather than any other occupation might support the beleif that Purandara was a merchant before he became a haridasa.
Similarly, we can cite another ugabhoga where he says:
ऎन्न कडॆहायिसिरुवुदु निन्न भार
निन्न नंबि बदुकुवुदु ऎन्न व्यापार
It is your responsibility to take me to the other side
It is my business to have faith in you!
Such was the outlook and philosophy of complete surrender to Hari that Purandara dasa, a great saint of all times had. Let us try to keep in mind his message at this time of Purandara dasa aradhane.
-neelanjana
July 18th happens to be the birthday of Jayachamarajendra Odeyar, the last ruler of Mysore. He was born on this day in 89 years ago (1919).
(Photo: From an article in Hindu written by Sriram Venkatakrishnan)
Jayachamarajendra Odeyar (JCW) is considered as one of the prominent composers of Karnataka Sangeetha in the 20th century. In addition, he was an accomplised exponent of Western classical music as well.
Here is a speech by well known musicologist (and Vainika) Prof R Satyanarayana. The original speech was in Kannada, and translated by yours truly. This is probably a speech from the late 1970s or 1980s. Even though it is not a word-to-word translation, I have tried to retain the original flavor of the speech.
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Prof R Satyanarayana’s speech on Jayachamarajendra Odeyar:
It was JCW who conceived the idea of starting a music college at the University of Mysore. When efforts were put in that direction for the first time, it had to be shelved because of the mutual jealousy of some musicians. Later, with the foresight for starting college of lalita kalA institution, JCW left a large sum of money as a donation (datti) to the Mysore University. That was the seed money from with this great institution was started from. There is a special relation between Mysore University and the Maharaja. It was indeed here where His Highness attended the classes just like a commoner, and got his degree. Mysore University should be congratulated and thanked for teaching a member from the royal family along with common people and make a scholar out of him.
Before considering him as a composer, let me tell a few things about his expertise in music. Even when he was very young, he took on interest in western music with his father’s influence. Many people may not know that JCW stood first in the extremely difficult music examinations from Cambridge and Trinity colleges in London. He was an excellent piano player. His sisters were also experts on the piano. JCW was invited to Europe and America several times not because he was a King, but because of his expertise on the piano, and his insight into Indian ‘darshana’s. He has performed on the piano at a large number of prestigious halls, and spoken in front of elite audience in many of these countries.
Apart from this, JCW’s vision and understanding of Indian music had a great depth and width. Before he was crowned, he did ‘shishyavritti’ with Sri Vasudevachar (in vocal music), and also with Veena Giriyappa (for Veena) for a short term. The music he learnt from these teacher-duo (even though it was for a very short time) flowered and bore wonderful fruits. We can see an example of his critical abilities and knowledge of music in his address at the Music Academy’s annual conference. This inaugural address at the Music Academy’s annual conference, which he delivered in the year when Mysooru Chowdayya was the President of the conference proceedings, was so sparkling that it made all the earlier conference addresses seem very dull. This showcased Maharaja’s internal vision into the shAsrta aspects, darshana, Vedanta aspects, and the expertise he had in lakshya. The examples and suggestions he gave to fellow musicians to reach their goals, was so inspiring then, and is so even now.
I can talk a lot more about him, but it is not the right time. I would now like to concentrate on the specialty of his vaggeyakaratva. Vaggeyakara is a technical term used to indicate a person is one who provides the mAtu, and rAGa and tALa (svara laya bandha) for a composition; there were two reasons for him to become a vaggeyakara. The first one was the breadth and depth of musical the practical experience viz the music which he had imbibed from his gurus like Venkatagiriyappa and Vasudevachar; the influence and exposure to hindustani music which he got from his uncle that can be seen in his compositions in rAgas like mAnd, and his practical and theoritical expertise in Western music.
When he started composing there was one more major influence in his compositions. If you look at the invitation you have received, in the first page, you can see it starts as “jayaratna jayachamarajendra oDeyar”, where it compares the great qualities of 9 great kings with that of JCW. Many of these kings were from Karnataka. That’s why he is called navaratna jayachamaraja oDeyar. When I was writing this, I felt it would be just to add one more quality that is missing in the list here. I wanted to make it a list of 10 qualities. There is one extremely rare quality which JCW had, and that wasn’t there in any other king before –That is his accomplishment in srIvidye. In addition to the background and inspiration from the sangIta, srIvidya was also instrumental in bringing out these compositons. These compositions were a just vehicle to express his inner spirit’s longing for mOkSha and the enormous effort it was going through in aligning it in that direction through the mode of musical expressions. While composing he took some suggestions from Vasudevachara, and sometimes from Venkatagiriyappa for appropriate suggestions, and he would give a final form to the compositions considering their inputs. Often he played the kritis on Piano and gave a final shape to a composition.
Let me tell you how he became Srividya upAsaka. Sri Siddhalingaswamy, who was a very known sculptor from Mysore initiated JCW to Srividye. Odeyar indicates Siddalingesha as the svagurunAma (Siddhalinga Swami). His guru, (Guru of Siddhalinga Swamy) was Odeyar’s parama guru nanjunda yOgIndra. Odeyars parameshTha guru was nAgalinga yatIndra (Guru of Nanjunda Yogindra). We can see JCW remembering these gurus in many of his kritis. JCW also indicates the influence of his father’s music on him by the word narakanThIrava. kanThIrava means lion. narakanThIrava means narasimha. Chitprabhanandanatha was his deeksha name given to Odeyar by his guru Siddhalingaswamy. Normally JCW includes the name chitprabhanandanAtha along with his ankita Srividya. Getting a dIksha nAMa is the first step to initiation into Srividye. He has used this name ‘chitprabhAnandanAtha’ in many kritis. I hope singers note this point while singing his kritis.
JCW made chamundi as the aradhya dEvi for Srividya upAsane. Chamundi was the kuladiava of Odeyars. However, in yaduvamsha, Chamundi wasn’t the only royal diety. They worshipped Shiva as well. If there ever was a royal dynasty that could be termed secular, it was the oDeyars of Maisooru. They were staunch followers of Brahmatantra parakAlaswamy, the Shankaracharya of Sringeri, and also of Veerashaiva mathas.In short, Odeyars pracitioners of ‘Sarva dharma samanvaya’- equality of all religions- principle. Even though his ancestors were shiva worshippers, JCW became an upasaka in the shaktipradhANa kAdi mArga dakshiNAmoorti tradition of SrividyA upAsane.
One interesting fact about his compositions is that they are all are in Samskrita. They all follow the pattern, and style of muttuswAmi dIkshIta’s compositions, who was also a Srividya upAsaka. They use similar technicality of muttuswAmi dIkshita’s compositions on Srividya. Another notable feature of his compositions is that he has used as many as ragas as are his compositions. This is a very rare thing, and no other vaggeyakara has done this feat in the entire world of Indian music. In doing this he has used ragas like kOkilapriya, supradIpa, gambhIranATa, vijayavasanta, nIlavENi, kOkilabhAShaNi, mALavi, vagadhIshwari, pratApavarALi, nAmanArAyaNi, shuddha tODi, amrtavAnini, hamsavinOdini, bhogavasanta, nadabrahma etc – rAgas that are new, or rAgas that had only one or two earlier lakshya examples. He created laksyha for ragas like amRutavAhini and pratApavarALi, which had only example from Tyagaraja. This is something we have to be proud of.
All the 94 or 96 kritis are about SrIvidye. You may ask how I’d explain to say his compositions on Shiva and Ganesha. Even Ganesha and Shiva are considered as the dieties that open the door of Srividya. He made chAmunDi as srRmAte. In Chamunda is the seventh mAtRuka in the second chakra called trailokyamOhana chakra, in the prathamAvaraNa of Srividya worship. JCW often uses the word mAtRuka again and again in his kritis. There is shlEsha in that, I will take an example in a kriti and explain later.
JCW not only reached the pinnacle in musical capabilities. If we include his contribution to music, we have to invent a new word- Ounnatya shaTka- ‘six fold-pinnacles’ to describe him, because he was an extra-ordinary man who reached the difficult-to-attain ‘ounnatya panchaka’ – the ‘five-fold pinnacles’. There are only a few, who have reached this ounnattya panchaka.
He attained kAyOnnati – Whoever had seen him can vouch for the truth of this fact. His tall stature, and build that indeed was befitting the golden throne he was occupying. Next one in the unnati panchaka is mAnOnnati. It does not just mean he was abhimAnashAli.It has a much deeper meening. ‘mAna’ means to measure; If you have to create a new measure to evaluate someone or something, that shows the greatness of the insights and personality of him or her. All of us develop measures according to our own capability. JCW created new units of measuring for evaluating all worldly qualities. In addition to his, he also had manOnnati and vidyOnnati. He was a great scholar and a dArshanika. If you read his book, ‘D attatreya- A Study’ you can appreciate and understand his deep insight and scholarship in the darshanas. To top it all, he also reached AtmOnnati, thus completing this unnati panchaka. When you add his sangItOnnati, it indeed becomes ‘unnati shaTka’.
JCW was thus a great soul who attained these pinnacles in contemporary times. But unfortunately, I feel sad that our generation does not seem remember and recognize contributions the kings of maisUru like mummaDi Krishnaraja Odeyar, nAlvaDi Krishnaraja Odeyar and Jayachamaraja Odeyar made specifically to our music and to our society in general.
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(I’d like to thank Sri Rajachandra, who gave me the audio recording of this speech.)
-neelanjana
Last night, when I went online to my favorite Kannada portal, Sampada, I saw the news posted by Ismail.
The very first name that comes to mind when someone says the two words “Kannada” and “Science” is that of G T Narayana Rao was better known by his initials – G T N.
He was the Chief Editor for the Kannada Encyclopedia published during 1970’s and 1980’s. In addition to that, he also wrote a large number of articles on Kannada periodicals on various science-related topics. His articles were the prime reason for me to catch on to the “Sky” bug
I just can’t forget the four days I spent as one of the zonal finalists in the “Lekhak – Student of the Year Contest -1983″, conducted by MSIL. The panel of experts who were the judges was headed by GTN. This is where I saw different faces of GTN – the orator, the scientist, the teacher and the music connoisseur. I just can’t forget those moments when I had the opportunity to interact with him.
On the last day of our camp at Madikeri as the contest participants, GTN took us (20 students from Mysore, Haasana, Mandya, Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts) to Bhagamandala and Talakaveri, the place where river Kaveri takes birth.
It was almost 25 years ago, but seems like it happened yesterday.
G T N is no more.
Not really, as he still remains in the memories of thousands like me.
Till we breathe our last.
-neelanjana
* A Kannada version (actually the original write-up) of this is available here.
ನಾನು ಚಿಕ್ಕವನಾಗಿದ್ದಾಗಿಂದ ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆ ಮುಗಿದು ಬರುವ ಬೇಸಿಗೆ ರಜೆಗೆ ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ಏಕೆಂದರೆ, ವರ್ಷದಲ್ಲಿ ಒಮ್ಮೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ರೈಲ್ವೆ ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಆಗ ಬರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಎಲ್ಲ ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೂ, ರೈಲು ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಎಂದರೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚೇ ಆಸೆ ಎಂದು ನನ್ನೆಣಿಕೆ. ಆದರೆ, ನನ್ನ ಈ ರೈಲು ಪ್ರಯಾಣ ಮಾತ್ರ ಬಹಳ ದೂರದ್ದಾಗಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆಗ ನಮ್ಮ ಊರಿಗೆ, (ಎಂದರೆ, ನನ್ನ ಪೂರ್ವಿಕರ ಊರಿಗೆ), ನನ್ನ ಊರಿಂದ (ಎಂದರೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ನನ್ನ ಊರು ಯಾವುದು ಎಂದು ನಾನೆಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತೇನೋ) ಇದ್ದದ್ದು ಬರೀ ರೈಲು ಮಾತ್ರ. ಅರಸೀಕೆರೆಯಿಂದ ಮೈಸೂರಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುವ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಐದು ಆರು ಮೈಲಿ ದಾಟಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದಿದ್ದೇ ನಮ್ಮ ಹಳ್ಳಿ. ನಮ್ಮ ಅಜ್ಜ ಅಜ್ಜಿ ವಾಸ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಮನೆ ಇದೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ. ನನಗೆ ನೆನಪಿದ್ದಾಗಿನಿಂದ, ಅವರು ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಇದ್ದುದ್ದರಿಂದ, ನನಗೆ ಅದು ಅಜ್ಜ-ಅಜ್ಜಿ ಮನೆ ಅನ್ನಿಸದೇ, ಒಂದು ರಜಾ ಕಾಲದ ಮನೆಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.
ಈ ಹದಿನೈದು ನಿಮಿಷದ ರೈಲು ಪ್ರಯಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾಕಪ್ಪಾ ಅಷ್ಟು ಉತ್ಸಾಹ ಎಂದಿರಾ? ಇನ್ನೆಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕಾಗಿದ್ದರೂ ಬಸ್ಸನ್ನೇ ಹಿಡಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ನಾವು ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ರೈಲು ಹಿಡಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಿದ್ದು ಒಂದಾದರೆ, ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗಿ ಆರೆಂಟು ದಿನ ಇರುತ್ತೇವಲ್ಲ ಎನ್ನುವುದು ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಾರಣ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಮತ್ತೆ ಅದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಗೆ, ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವರ್ಷ ಪೂರ್ತಿ ಯಾರೂ ವಾಸ ಇರುತ್ತಿದ್ದಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ, ನಾವು ಎಂಟು ದಿನ ಒಂದು ಸಂಸಾರ ನಡೆಸಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಬೇಕಾಗುವಷ್ಟು ವಸ್ತುಗಳೆಲ್ಲ – ಅಂದರೆ ಪಾತ್ರೆ ಪರಟಿ, ದವಸ ದಿನಸಿ, ಉಪ್ಪು ಮೆಣಸು ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದನ್ನೂ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೊರಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು. ಅದರ ಸಂಭ್ರಮವೇ ಸಂಭ್ರಮ ನನಗೆ! ಮತ್ತೆ ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನ ಹತ್ತಿರದಲ್ಲೇ ಇದ್ದ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಗುಂಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಜೀದ್ ಸಾಬರನ್ನೋ, ಅವರ ಅಣ್ಣನನ್ನೋ ಹೋಗಿ, ಮೂರುಗಂಟೆಗೆ ಕುದುರೆಗಾಡಿಯೊಂದಿಗೆ ಬರಬೇಕು ಅಂತ ಕರೆದುಬರುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ಆಗಿನ್ನೂ ಆಟೋರಿಕ್ಷಾಗಳೂ ಬಹಳ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದ್ದರೂ, ನಮ್ಮ ಎಂಟು ದಿನದ ಸಂಸಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬೇಕಾಗುವ ಸಾಮಾನೆಲ್ಲ ಎತ್ತಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಲು ನಾಲ್ಕಾದರೂ ಆಟೋರಿಕ್ಷಾಗಳು ಬೇಕಾಗಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವೇನೋ! ಹಾಗಾಗಿ, ಮಜೀದ್ ಸಾಹೇಬರ ಕುದುರೆ ಗಾಡಿಯೇ ನಮಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿಟ್ಟದ್ದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ನನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜ ತಾವು ಸಾಕಿದ್ದ ಕೊನೆಯ ಕೆಲವು ಕುದುರೆಗಳನ್ನೂ ಮಜೀದ್ ಸಾಬರ ತಂದೆಗೋ ಅಣ್ಣನಿಗೂ ಮಾರಿದ್ದೂ ಈ ನಂಟಿಗೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗಿತ್ತೋ, ನನಗೆ ನೆನಪಿಲ್ಲ.
ಈ ಪ್ರಯಾಣವನ್ನು ನಾನು ಅಷ್ಟು ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಕಾಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ಕಾರಣವಿತ್ತು. ಊರಿನ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೊಂದು ಉಯ್ಯಾಲೆ ಮಣೆ ಇತ್ತು. ಪಟ್ಟಣವಾಸದ ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಉಯ್ಯಾಲೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಬರಬೇಕು? ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ಮನೆಯಾದರೆ ದೇಶೋವಿಶಾಲವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಹೋದ ಕೂಡಲೆ ಉಯ್ಯಾಲೆ ಹಾಕುವಂತೆ ನನ್ನ ತಂದೆಗೆ ದುಂಬಾಲು ಬೀಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ ನಾನು. ಅದರಲ್ಲೋ, ಒಟ್ಟಿಗೆ ಇಬ್ಬರೋ ಮೂವರೋ ಕೂರಬಹುದಿತ್ತಷ್ಟೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ, ಬೇರೆಯವರ ಜೊತೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಜಗಳವಾಡೇ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಅಧಿಕಾರ ಸ್ಥಾಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ ನಾನು. ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗಿಂತ ಕಿರಿಯವನಾಗಿದ್ದರಿಂದ, ನನ್ನ ಆಟವೂ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿತ್ತು ಎನ್ನಿ.
ನಮ್ಮ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮೀಕೇಶವನ ಗುಡಿ ಇದೆ. ಗುಡಿ ಸಾಧಾರಣದ್ದೇ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೂ, ದೇವರ ಮೂರ್ತಿ ಮಾತ್ರ ಬಹಳ ಸುಂದರ. ಇವೆಲ್ಲ ಹೊಯ್ಸಳರ ಕಾಲದ್ದೇ ಮೂರ್ತಿಗಳು ಅಂತ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಹೇಳ್ತಾರೆ. ಪ್ರತೀ ವರ್ಷ ಚೈತ್ರದ ಹುಣ್ಣಿಮೆಯ ದಿನ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ತೇರು. ತೇರಿಗೆ ಮೂರು ದಿವಸ ಮೊದಲು ಶುರುವಾಗುವ ಉತ್ಸವಗಳು, ಆಮೇಲೆ ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಾರದ ವರೆಗೂ ಇರುತ್ತವೆ. ನಾವು ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಿದ್ದೂ ಇದೇ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲೇ. ಹಾಗೇ ಸುಮಾರು ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಊರಿನಿಂದ ಬಂದ ನೆಂಟರು ಇಷ್ಟರು ಇರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಹೀಗೆ, ವರ್ಷಕ್ಕೊಮ್ಮೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕುವ ಕೆಲವು ಗೆಳೆಯರಿದ್ದರು ನನಗೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿ.
ರಥೋತ್ಸವದ ದಿನ ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸಡಗರವೋ ಸಡಗರ. ಎಲ್ಲ ಹೆಂಗೆಳೆಯರೂ ಮನೆಯಮುಂದೆ ಗುಡಿಸಿ ಸಾರಿಸಿ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಹಾಕಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಆಗಿನ ನನ್ನ ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಕಣ್ಣುಗಳಿಗೆ, ಅವು ದೊಡ್ಡದಾಗಿ ತೋರುತ್ತಿದ್ದವೋ, ಅಥವಾ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಬಹಳ ದೊಡ್ಡ ರಂಗೋಲಿ ಚಿತ್ತಾರಗಳನ್ನು ಬಿಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೋ? ಯಾಕೋ ಬಗೆಹರಿಯುತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆಯೇ ಒಂದು ಸಲ ದೇವರ ದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕೆ ಹೋಗಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆವು. ನಂತರ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಛತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ತಿಂಡಿ ತಿಂದು ಮನೆಗೆ ಬರುವಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಬೇರೆ ಊರಿಂದ ರಥೋತ್ಸವಕ್ಕೆ ಬರುವ ಭಕ್ತರು ಊರಿಗೆ ಕಾಲಿಡತೊಡಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಬಂದವರಿಗೆ ಊರಲ್ಲಿ ಯಾರದಾದರೂ ಪರಿಚಯವಿದ್ದರೆ ಅವರ ಮನೆಗೆ ಹೋದಾರು. ಇಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ ಚಿಂತೆಯಿಲ್ಲ. ತೇರಿನ ದಿನ, ಎಲ್ಲರ ಮನೆ ಬಾಗಿಲೂ ತೆರೆದೇ ಇರುವುದು. ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗಿ ಬೇಕಾದರೂ ತಂಗಬಹುದು. ಬಂದವರಿಗೆಲ್ಲ ಆಯಾ ಮನೆಯವರ ಶಕ್ತ್ಯಾನುಸಾರ ಕಾಫಿಯದ್ದೋ ಪಾನಕದ್ದೋ ಸರಬರಾಜು ಆಗುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ನಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಗೂ ಹೀಗೇ ಐವತ್ತೋ ಅರವತ್ತೋ ಜನ ಬಂದಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಬಂದವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಚೀಲವನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟು ದೇವರ ದರುಶನ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡು ನಂತರ ಅಲ್ಲೇ ಜಗಲಿಯಲ್ಲೋ ಹಜಾರದಲ್ಲೋ ಹರಟುತ್ತ ಕೂತಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು.
ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನದ ವೇಳೆಗೆ ರಥ. ಊರಿನ ನಾಲ್ಕೂ ಬೀದಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅದರ ಸಂಚಾರ. ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಜನ ಸೇರಿ ಆ ಅಲಂಕರಿಸಿದ ಮಹಾರಥವನ್ನು ಎಳೆಯುವುದೇ ಒಂದು ರೋಮಾಂಚಕಾರಿ ಅನುಭವ. ಚಿಕ್ಕ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ರಸ್ತೆಯಾದ್ದರಿಂದ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅಡೆತಡೆಗಳೂ ಹಲವು. ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಎಳೆದರೆ, ಒಂದು ಮೂಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಥ ಸುಮಾರು ಒಬ್ಬರ ಮನೆಯ ಮುಂದಿನ ತನಕ ಬಂದು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿತ್ತು. ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲದರ ನಡುವೆಯೂ ರಥ ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಹೋಗುವಾಗ,
“ಡೋಲಾಯಮಾನಂ ಗೋವಿಂದಂ ಮಂಚಸ್ಥಂ ಮಧುಸೂಧನಂ
ರಥಸ್ಥ ಕೇಶವಂ ದೃಷ್ಟ್ವಾ ಪುನರ್ಜನ್ಮ ನ ವಿದ್ಯತೇ”
ಮಂಚದ ಮೇಲೋಲಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವಾ ಗೋವಿಂದನ ಮಧುವ ಮಡುಹಿದನ
ರಥದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕೇಶವನ ಕಂಡರೆ ಇರದೋ ಎಮಗೆ ಮರುಹುಟ್ಟು!
ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾ, ಹಿರಿಯರೆನ್ನದೆ ಕಿರಿಯರೆನ್ನದೆ ದೇವರಿಗೆ ಬಾಳೆ ಹಣ್ಣೆಸೆಯುವುದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿಯೇ ತೀರಬೇಕು.
ರಥೋತ್ಸವದ ಸಂಜೆಯ ಹೊತ್ತಿಗೆ ಬಂದವರೆಲ್ಲ ಹೊರಟಿರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ನಂತರ ನನಗೆ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದುದು ದಿವಸಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂರು ಉತ್ಸವಗಳು, ಅವಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಕ್ಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಚರುಪು, ಮತ್ತೆ ಹಗಲೆಲ್ಲ ಉಯ್ಯಾಲೆ ಆಟ!
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ಈ ವಾರ ಚಿತ್ರಾ ಪೂರ್ಣಿಮೆ. ಊರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತೇರು ಎಂದಾಗ, ಈ ನೆನಪೆಲ್ಲ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಮರುಕಳಿಸಿ ಬಂತು. ನೆನಪುಗಳ ಮಾತು ಮಧುರ. ಅಲ್ಲವೆ?
-ನೀಲಾಂಜನ
Tomorrow, 20th February 2008, brings in the first lunar eclipse of the year.
A lunar ecliplse, unlike a solar eclipse is visible from more than half the earth’s surface. This particular eclipse is located very favorably to the western hemisphere. For sky watchers in the Pacific Standard Time zone, the totality phase of this eclipse begins around 7 pm, and ends few minutes before 8 pm.
You will not see this eclipse if you live in India, Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, most parts of China or in Siberia.
Unlucklily for me, the weather is not really co-operating where I live. Tomorrow’s prediction calls for rain (and that means cloudy sky even if there is no rain 
) So I may not be lucky enough to see tomorrow’s eclipse after all.
But I am really disappointed for my son. After showing a few things in the sky, this ’sky bug’ has caught on him too. I had mentioned about this coming eclipse and he was really looking forward to see this event. Probably this could have been the first eclipse that he would remember into his adulthood. I still remember seeing those eclipses when I was his age, and I can feel his excitement. Alas, I don’t know if he gets to see this at all. Mercy Oh Weather Gods!
Did you say lunar eclipses are not so rare? Yes, true. But I have to wait for almost two years to see a total eclipse (Dec 21st, 2010) similar to tomorrow’s eclipse from my location. And guess what? The weather here in December won’t be any prettier either! So next realistic possibility for me to watch a total lunar eclipse with my son is on April 14th, 2014. By that time, I am sure my son would not remain the dreamy eyed little lad that he is today.
Oh well, that is a bit too far out to think about. But I can always hope that the god Varuna is pleased, and takes his clouds away to give us a clear view of the eastern sky tomorrow evening!
Anyway, if the skys are clear where you live, don’t forget to peep outside to see the eclipse!
-neelanjana
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