abhayAmbA jagadambA

Just discovered some youtubed excerpts of a 2007 concert of Kalpakam teacher in which I had accompanied her. The rAga kalyANI followed by MD composition abhayAmbA below:

Vijayadasami 2011

Ganesha Chaturthi 2011

Preparations began Wednesday with shopping for a clay Ganesha (no paint!) and accoutrements at Thannithurai market on Royapettah High Road.

The puja Ganesha (above) basked in the attention along with the rest of our collection, including the painting by Amma, a Titwala MahaGanapati (far right) that is 30+ years old, dancing Ganesha from Kiran, and others acquired or gifted over the years. shvEta gaNapatim vandE was sung, in lieu of mantras.

Post-puja, I worked on some qualitative data analysis,

while C got better acquainted with her iMac,































and the blue gouramis and zebra loaches did their thing in the balcony aquarium, oblivious to the devotional music blaring from the aut0-stand Pillaiyar temple.



I also had a music session with one of Kalpakam teacher's students Smt Sivasree - with the song of the day being shrI gaNEShAtparam chitta nahi rE rE.

All in all, a pleasant chaturthi.

dusky business deals

... and other gems from the brochure of the Delhi hotel at which I'm staying, typed up just the way they appear in print:

The guest rooms at [hotel name], provide an ideal setting for complete relaxation and recline, as every room overlook the plush green ambience of the surroundings.

Five spacious & aesthetically done up halls and two grandiose lawns are just right for all the celebrations...

For the epicure, [restaurant name] is nothing less then an excursion.

The elaborate buffet caters not only to the need of the busy corporate clients but also to the locale.

The conference rooms offer modern amenities viz., fast speed internet, (computers, printer, scanner, projector) on demand, flip charts and uninterrupted power supply, required for dusky business deals.

Smt. Kalpakam Swaminathan 1922-2011

gAna vana mayUrI is no more. Kalpakam teacher passed away today (April 6, 2011) at her residence in Madras at the age of 88. I would like to remember her through this rendering of siddhIshvarAya namastE.

dessert haiku

strawberries quiver

fresh cream glides over ripe curves

in luscious embrace

Ayush and Myka

Ain't this the cutest? My nephew Ayush, son of Meera and Manu; with Myka, a friend's Vizsla (Hungarian pointer). Okay, well, yeah: some credit to Manu for the photography too.

night light

Candleholder from Austin ceramic painting workshop, 1997

web 0.0

Click photo above for full display. From a trek to Nagala Hills on Feb 13, 2010, with the Chennai Trekkers.

Jazz is home, too

So, last October I went to Viveks on Royapettah High Road to get myself one of those nifty audiotape/CD-to-mp3 converters. As I waited in line to get my card processed along with the hordes of Deepavali shoppers, I saw that Viveks was running a 'perfect home' slogan contest with a Honda Jazz hatchback as the first prize. The car, a model released in India in mid-2009, reminded me a lot of the mid-90-s Honda Civic hatchback that had been a significant part of my life during the good times in Austin and Portland, the memorable camping trips, and the many drives between Oregon and Washington. Deciding I had nothing to lose, I wrote a slogan and dropped it in the box before my card came back to me with the copy for my signature. And promptly forgot about it.

Fast forward to Jan 2010. I was in the middle of editing a monthly technical report in the office, when I got a call from Viveks cheerily congratulating me on being adjudged the winner after review of entries by a panel of advertising professionals, and giving me contact information of Capital Honda for follow up. It took me - ever the sceptic - several discussions with family members who knew the store and vouched for its credibility, before I accepted that this was a genuine offer and not a scam.

After a few weeks of deliberation (should I wait for a 2010 model in Habanero Red or take the readily available Sapphire Blue 2009 which was in stock?) and consultations with my cousins, friends, aunts and uncles - I finally decided to go with the 2009 blue. Today I was invited to a small gathering at Viveks where Mr. B.A. Kodandaraman, Chairman and Managing Director of Viveks, handed me the keys to the car.

All the folks at Viveks and Capital Honda turned out to be very cordial and professional: a pleasure to interact with.

Now, it's back to editing technical reports. The rounds of treats to colleagues at SAATHII and kith+kin will follow in due course.