Recap of My 2005

Year 2005 was a higly eventful one for me. Right from making a job in Wipro to Sangamam to getting chucked out of my dear BITS to getting relocated to Pune, so many events and incidents happened. Here's a quick recap into the last 365 days of my life.

• Got placed in Wipro. - Though not exactly a life-altering event I consider it a pretty important one considering the fact that I was worried 'bout not a making a job at all! With my CG, even you would have doubted it.
• Auditioned for Dance Workshop...and got through!
• Got drunk and made some really stupid phone calls.
• Psenti First Music nite.
• SANGAMAM '05 - A very memorable 45 odd days and an even more memorable 3 days.
• Psenti Bitsian B'day
• Psenti Apogee - played for a song I love!
• Green Green Grass makes another entry into my life.
• Dance Workshop Demo - my second ever dance performace on stage.
• Psenti nite - my last performance in the Audi.
• Psenti Concert - my last performace as a student in BITS.
• Rag and MC farewells - finally got chucked out of campus.
• 1 month of job hunting in Bangalore - nobody wants a mechanical engineer fresher. Damn!
• Trip to Chennai to meet friend(s).
• Finally joined Wipro after a 4 month long wait.
• Two and a half months in B'lore - Drunk weekends; Rediscovering my passion; Concerts, Concerts and more Concerts!
• Two and a half months in Wipro - IBM-Mainframes rules! (That was sarcastic btw)
• Disaster strikes - Got relocated to Pune.
• Started blogging.
• Second Christmas away from home - training the whole day on Christamas Sunday. Why me??!! :<

Going to IIM-Indore for the New Year weekend to meet a friend. Gonna get WASTED!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

Party hard!

Don't drink and drive though. :>

God bless you all.

And a Year Later...

Its been one year since the deadly Tsunami struck South East Asia and destroyed the lives of thousands of people. Rendering many homeless Tsunami has become a household term in this part of the country, synonymous with death and destruction. But if there's anything to be learnt from this past one year, it is that whatever adversities the killer waves may have brought upon them the courage and spirit shown by the people in battling them never waned once in this past year. The Tsunami took away many lives in its wake, but it could never take away the spirit of the people. The way people have rallied around inspite of all the hardships and threat of epidemic outbreaks is awe-inspiring to say the least.

I remember sitting in the Marina beach on Dec 25th looking at the waves, the kids playing with the sand, mothers anxiuosly looking out for their kids, dads making mud-castles for their kids...thinking that even amdist all this, there is tranquility. Then to come home the next day and awakening to horrifying news of the calamity was most shocking.

Over the past one year the media has been tracking all the 'destruction' stories. But taking the cue from the Times of India which has done a special post under the guidance of our president APJ Abdul Kalam, the rest of the media should highlight the stories of people who rallied around and brought back their lives to normalcy and showed an amazing sense of grit and determination.
In sharp contrast to the incidents which happened when Hurricane Katrina struck the US Coast (yes, I am referring to the riots which broke out!), the people of India, those who were directly hit by the disaster and those who readily helped those in need, have indeed shown the world how unity and spirit in heart can restore happiness and joy under any adversity. This one year anniversary is indeed a celebration of unity and brotherhood. I bow to them. To call them Victims is wrong, they are Survivors.

Peace.

Merry Christmas!

The holiday season is heare upon us, which brings me memories of Christmas at home. When I was a kid, we used to be in Karaikal where dad was the Revenue officer and pretty much well known to most of the crowd there as the town was a very small one. We used to get a lot of cakes during this time of the year. We even used to make wine at home. But all that was ages ago.

A year back I was in Chennai trying to get the artists booked for Sangamam, and trying out all means possible to get sponsorship for Sangamam'05. I was not at home for the first time in my life for Christmas, but being in the state that I was then, it was pretty chill. And one year later I am not at home again. But for whatever reason I am feeling home-sick now!!! The first time ever in my life I m actually longing to be with my family!!??!!

I'd planned on meeting my friend in M'bai during the weekend atleast. But fate, when it decides to screw you over, does it royally I must say! Our Project Technical Architect has arranged a stupid training session on the Christmas day!

Man, When you think life can't get any suckier it does! But I have decided to not let these things worry me and spoil my mood. Its Christmas for crying out loud!

So, here's wishing you all a Merry Christmas! Have a great weekend!

A Phenomenon that was PMI...

After reading my friend's post on Palghat Mani Iyer, I had this urge to write 'bout this percussion genius myself.

Now to call PMI a genius is an understatement. He was much more than a genius. He was in another plane altogether! His uncanny knack for anticipating what the singer was going to sing next and playing the song itself on his instrument...pure brilliance!

Having learnt under Tanjavur Mahavaidyanatha iyer and having shot to fame at an early age of 14, thanks to the titan of Carnatic Music, Chembai(both literally and figuratively!) he had developed a unique style of playing which would take the concerts in which he accompanied, to greater heights than the main artist could possibly imagine.

His Tanis were gems and one of a kind! I had the oppurtunity see one where he had accompanied T.N.Krishnan...it was sheer genius! The joy one gets in watching him is undescribable!

Musical phenomenons like PMI happen once in a lifetime and the carnatic Music world is lucky to have seen such a stalwart!

Memories from a Desert...

Fresher - ANC - Intro - BITSian Salute - GymG - Controls, Soundz, Lights - Music nite - Lachcha - Fresher's period - DTC - Registration - GSu - Ragging - BOGS - BOSM - ANC - Fried Maggi Boss!! - C'not - Acads - B'day Bumps - Fresher's Welcome - Room Ransacking - S-9 -Controls - Structure:Welding - JudgeSheet Room - FrontD - Dance Floor - Nite-outs - OASIS - Graveyard Shifts - Volunteers - Heirarchy - Combined Crash(CC) - Compres in winterCGPA! - TN Express - Nagpur:not a very good station! - Audi - RAF - D-Lawns - Gandhi Bhawan - Bhawan's nite - Workshop - Dual Degree - Pilani-Delhi Sumo Trips - Group Leader - Ragging Banned! - Volunteer recruitment - Ragamalika - Fresher's concert - Dikshithar Aradhana - Padma Ma'am - Vyas:the spirit never dies - Pachyderm Conversationalists(yuk!) - Winter Nite Rum Sessions - Contessa(YUK!) - Guitar - G'n'R - Mech Sol:E - Sangamam '02 Inaug - First Tyagaraja Aradhana - Vyas nite - SymLog:A:First A(yippee!) - Badri(shock!) - Core - Music Club audition - First Music nite - Amma Dekh - Trinity Day - Oasis '02:Drink, Drink, Drink! Cash Accounting - Fusion '02 - Manga Thanni - Aandholikha - Budh enthu - SKY - Back Sky Latcha sessions - Veti Gang! - F.R.I.E.N.D.S - Pappu - Chemistry CDCs - Guitar lessons from Pritish - Apogee'03 Vodka's Karaharapriya fusion - Sangamam '03 - Umayalpuram - Grass! - 2000th Batch Splits - Bagh - BITS LAN - Mech CDCs - Fusion '03 - Tarang '03 - Kalam Kalam - Fusion Nite outs - Guitar debut - Prez, Ragamalika - Jaundice - Jug's play - Apogee '04 Vodka's Chakravaham fusion - Rakkamma - BITS Library Inaug - L.Shankar's Savitri Krithi:fiasco - the enthu after - Mech CDCs down the drain! - Controls' Farewell - Batchmates' Ragamalika farewell - Dualites spilt - IFB APL - Lakshmipuram - Jug's place - PS:Drink, Drink, Drink! - Spons hunting - artist booking - Psenti Sem - RP Redi - DW Auditions - Psenti First music nite - Sangamam '05 Coord:what a fuck-up! - Sangamam '05 Work sessions - Sangamam '05 inaug - Dhwani - TVG, the senile old man's koothu - Apogee '05 Hemavati fusion - Ennavale - Indian Ocean - Dance Workshop Demo - Psenti Nite - Ragamalika farewell - Music Club farewell - Psenti C'not session - 2000 Batch ROCKS!

These are some memories from the 5 years of my BITSian life!!!! This post was trigerred by this article, which I read recently! Waiting for such a reunion to happen... on a larger scale!

Peace!

My dream!

My dream - to have one of these Fenders soon!

These violins are have some awesome craftsmanship! But unfortunately they cost quite a lot 2! :(

High Hopes!

My induction into the world of Rock music happened in my 2nd year, thanks to a certain wingie of mine who liked to think of himself a rock afficionado then. He was huge fan of hard rock, thrash metal! And I was like...wtf?! Till then, i had heard of only pop and had been listening to Back Street Boys and Celine Dion (I still like Celine Dion, mind you!). Well one of the first rock songs he made me listen was 'Estranged' by Guns'n'Roses. I fell in love. He had a semi-acoustic guitar with which he would be standing outside his room, the music system blaring out songs, and he would be imitating Slash!

He was the one who introduced me to Metallica, Dream Theatre and one of my most favourites, Pink Floyd. Well, have you ever felt that you liked a song better every time you heard it? Or you appreciated something better, the more you came across it? Pink Floyd was something like that to me. Coming Back to Life, Comfortably Numb, Brain Damage, Another Brick in the Wall, Shine on you crazy diamond,Sorrow, Wish you were here and finally the song of songs- HIGH HOPES!

I am relatively new to the song, I hadn't known of its existence till my psenti sem at campus, and it was thanx to another crazy bloke in my wing that I got to hear it! Man, I was blown away...as was another friend of mine, and mind you, we were already a little blown thanks to the cheap spirits we get in the desert campus! The song has been written like it was meant to get us into a high, and the guitar lead at the end by Gilmour is one the best I have ever heard in my life! The way the lead takes the listener on a roller coast ride is simply amazing! Mind blowing piece of music! Me and my friend make it a point to listen to this song after every session, the song seems to take us into a new dimension each time! Pink Floyd rocks!

From "Five-point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat(dont remember the exact thing) -

"The thing 'bout Vodka and Pink Floyd is that they sound better with every drink, its like the singers designed it for alcohol. Like Samosa-Chutney, Rajma-Chawal, Vodka and Pink Floyd are in a combo-class of their own!"

High Hopes - the lyrics

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young

In a world of magnets and miracles

Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary

The ringing of the division bell had begun

Along the Long Road and on down the Causeway

Do they still meet there by the Cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps

Running before time took our dreams away

Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground

To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener

The light was brighter

With friends surrounded

The night of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us

To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side

Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again

Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfurled

We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition

There's a hunger still unsatisfied

Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon

Though down this road we've been so many times

The grass was greener

The light was brighter

The taste was sweeter

The nights of wonder

With friends surrounded

The dawn mist glowing

The water flowing

The endless river
Forever and ever

Rediscovering my passion!

A word of caution before you start: this might be a little boring! I am writing this one, out of sheer boredom, not knowing what to do at the office!

Music is a passion of mine. And this passion is esp more so for Carnatic music. Ofcourse, I do listen to a lot of other music...from soft to hard rock, a little pop, Ilayaraja, Rahman etc. But the joy in listening to a varnam/krithi/RTP sitting in a cutchery, getting carried along with the musician be it during the alapanas or the swaras or the neravals, all the while keeping thalam: the experience is intoxicating and cannot be expressed in words!

I grew up listening to Yesudas' recorded concerts and light music and Dr. L. Subramaniam's fusions and Shakti majorly. I started learning the violin at the age of 7, though I was very much adamnt on learning either the Mrudangam or the Tabla after having heard Zakir Hussain from one of my dad's collections!

My first guru was Nellai E.Shanmuganathan under who I learnt for more than two years, till my 5th when my father was transferred to Pondicherry (We were in Karaikal till then). I never got a good teacher while at Pondicherry for quite sometime, and till then, I used to go to my guru's place in Karaikal during those Quarterly and Half-yearly hols, and stay at his place.Learning music during those times was major fun; being one of the favourites, Sir and Akka would fuss over me, akka esp more so!

This went for two years after which finally I did get a teacher in Pondicherry, my second guru, Kolachal Srinivisan, under who i learnt for more than three years. The 5 years in BITS,Pilani after that was very much a learning experience, in terms of music. I had two big inspirations while at campus. One was a senior, a vocalist-violinist-composer, who has a band making hiw own music now. The other was a batchmate,a vocalist and a traditional one at that. One was brilliant and known for his amazing improvisations. The other was a stickler for sampradayam and stuff; well, he did change towards the end! Though their styles were different, the knowledge in music which they had was really worth killing for, not that I would!!! I certainly learnt a lot by just listening to them!

Well, the best way to learn music is to listen a lot of it people say! And as I said before, the joy and the things one learns while at a live concert is something invaluable! My interest in Carnatic which had been dormant till recently, was aroused thanks to pal Jaggu, with whom I had performed God-only-knows how many concerts! I started listening to Chembai, Lalgudi , GNB, MMI, Palghat Mani Iyer etc. He had suddenly developed a huge interest and it affected me too. We started jamming together after a very long time, wherein i discovered that I had forgotten much more than what I had imagined and I started going for more concerts than I had in the last five years of my life!

The latchas after that 'bout raga and tala fundas, 'bout RTPs and their the different themes under which they were sung, the Katri swarams of Chembai, the 7-stringed violin of Mali!!! I had rediscovered the joy in listening to the music which I adored, the discussions enlightening and all the googling 'bout fundas, all the more so! I had rediscovered my passion!!!

What's in a Name??!!

This is my first attempt at writing, and mainly 'cos of that I m gonna keep this short! :)
Well, when i was creating this blog, I was thinking of what to write for my first post! And all the while tyring out URLs. Every url I could think of was taken. Tried my name even, didnt work!!!
That started my train of thoughts, the reason behind my name. I think almost every parent would have had a reason for the names they choose to give their sons/daughters, just like my dad had!

My dad is a big fan of the genius film-maker Satyajit Ray. So he named me Apu, the protagonist in Ray's movie Apur Sansar(The World of Apu), the final movie of the Apu Trilogy. My sister's name too, is from the same movie. Though I have never actually seen the movie or any of Ray's movie for that matter, I have heard and read a lot 'bout him; I would love to watch his movies some time!

When I was born, I was baptised Sebastian, after Saint Sebastian, whose corrupted form Battan forms my surname and my dad's as well! :) Sebastian was also my paternal granddad's name; it is a mallu christian custom to baptise the son/daughter after the paternal/maternal ganddad/grandmom or the godfather/godmother!

Been sitting in the office till almost 8 now! And it's Friday evening for crying out loud!
Seeya all...