Author: Jo

“If It’s Monday, It Must Be Madhurai”

Finished reading Srinath Perur’s book “If It’s Monday, It Must Be Madhurai – a conducted tour of India” (what a perfect title for a book on conducted tours!). Its not just a mere travelogue but a study of the Indian landscapes – both geographic and characteristic.

Though the writer is critical on his subjects of study most of the times, he keeps himself at a safe distance – like a teacher’s pet trying to prove himself to the class teacher that he is a good boy, different from the naughty lot; here the teacher being the reader. Even though he isn’t asked to prove himself, this is evident from some chapters, like the one on Uzbek tour.

The general lack of enthusiasm of the writer (Perur seems to be approaching the trips as a subject study) in the first few chapters paves way to a more involved writing and excitement when it comes to the North East trip organized by Journeys with Meaning.

The book is a good read still. It explores the nuances of the conducted tours in India, some of which you didn’t know existed. I read it in a couple of weekend train trips to back home which made it more entertaining.

Cello

Guitar doesn’t weep gently; Cello does. And when it does, it feels like a lump in the throat. You hear the hoarseness in the voice, unlike the Violin. It’s hoarse, but it’s not loud. When Cello weeps, it’s all by itself, inside the closed doors. Not like Violin that cries out on someone else’s shoulders.

Leave Michael Jackson alone

I think it is total injustice being done to the genius of Michael Jackson with these posthumous releases like, the latest one, “XscapE”. It should be completely left to an artist like MJ to decide which songs should go off the studio and which should be kept in the shelves. No one else – not the label, or the estate, or the Jackson 5 – has the right (and talent) to take those records, which he didn’t intend to release, and publish without his consent, without his plan. Particularly with an artist like MJ who was a perfectionist.

It is indeed sad that MJ couldn’t bid a proper good-bye and his last, “Invincible”, was a skeleton of Michael’s genius (I consider ‘HIStory’ to be his best work with ‘Dangerous’ coming to a close second) but publishing these remixed songs, particularly with a crappy video like they have done for the song “Love Never Felt So Good” (remember all those good old MJ videos?) is plain insult.

The Philip Welsh story

I read this story, ironically, in the wake of the “Look Up” YouTube campaign (yes, the same campaign that asks people to look up from their phones and get out which is being shared all over internet while people are still looking down to watch and share it). This story is in contrast to the anti-social media campaign because it talks about a man who was killed and left no electronic trace which the police says helps a lot in resolving cases these days.

What struck me though, as I came to the end of the article, is these four lines that was written by Philip Welsh which was read at his memorial service.

“Please refrain from remarking
I’m in some Better Place
’cause for life on this earth,
I never had no complaints.”

How beautiful. I wish I could write something like this towards the end of my life. And this alone proves that, though had a tragic death, Philip Welsh lived a full life. While we dream of a 7 star facility somewhere at top of the clouds with a white bearded man or a bunch of gold and saree clad men and women would be looking over us. Or while we fear of a large Tandoori kitech that is waiting to get us grilled.

About Philosophy

Philosophy is devised for and by upper class to rationalize the inherent human characteristics, including the human stupidity, while the upper class refuse to admit the human-ness as human-ness. The middle-class don’t get it but still wants to believe it because they think that process makes them one of the upper class ‘intellectuals’. The lower class don’t get it and don’t know if they should believe it, resulting in some of them alienating themselves from the upper class and some of them worshiping the upper class.

In short, please don’t give me the Maya crap. Unless it’s about some beautiful woman. 😉

Yours, Comic Sans MS

Dear Web/UI/UX/Graphic/Typeface designers

My name is Comic Sans. I am the font that you are bitching about to prove how good you are with typefacing. In fact, I am the Justin Bieber of typefaces. It’s like how you enjoy trashing Justin Beiber to claim your ‘knowledge’ of music. You call Bieber names and make sexual references without guilt even when he was under-age (pedophilia, anyone?) and that mysteriously puts you in the category of ‘serious music listeners’, right? Likewise, you find some pleasure in bashing me for the wrongs of others.

You used to like me when you were young and read comic books. Or at least you didn’t hate me because you didn’t care much about what a font is. Remember, I served your dreams and thoughts when there weren’t many others to help you. It was probably me who helped you reach out to your first chat friend online. It was probably me who told your first love that you love him/her through a greeting card. Heck, it could be me who even helped you get laid through an online message!

Tell me, how am I to be charged when I am used by people at the wrong places? “Ban Comic Sans”? Really? What did I do wrong? I am playful, I am fun and my letters stand distinct from each other so you could read me easily. Am I that bad? It is okay if you don’t want me, though many people still love me, but let me die a dignified death. At least I do not go around bitching about myself like Bieber, don’t you think?

Yours,
Comic Sans MS.

Nagavalli by The Down Troddence

This is one gem of a work. I’ve never been a fan of Thrash Metal and don’t know much about the genre either but these guys made me listen. The way they infused the story of Nagavalli, a fictional character from the popular Malayalam movie “Manichithrathazhu” that made Shobhana a national award winner, and put it in to the contemporary context is a great work. Add to that the pinch of folk and finally the perfect blending into the original score. Perfect example of how you can use the popular art psyche to introduce or popularize the little known art forms/music genres. Contrary to the new-age indie bands who poor lyrical quality, these guys beat it on that front too. Well done THE DOWN TRODDENCE! (And whoever done the video deserves an applause too).

I want Modi to win

No. I am not going to post that in Modi’s Gujrat the average daily wages is Rs. 129 while it is Rs. 493 in Kerala. Or that Wikileaks themselves have made it clear that the BJP’s official campaigners used the name of Julian Assange to bat for Modi as an ‘incorruptible leader’ in a fake Twitter message. Or about the gender violence in Gujrat as published by Open Democracy.

Why should I, while you – the so-called ‘non-partisans’ – are in search of reasons to like him despite the many myth-busters doing the rounds? Why, when the finance experts among you – while admitting that the statistics can be played out – bats for him with finance jargon?

I would rather play myself a Yesudas. I will tell you the stories of harmony, one god, one religion and all that. And how music can heal you. I should do that because in Modi’s India, I will be saved with all that good talks and not lose a fan in the name of my politics (with a most recent example of that lady who befriended me after hearing a song of mine and later quit accusing me of my ‘secular meter coming down’). Why should I be worried? The Sangh or Modi will definitely not rake up much of the Hindutva issues in their first term. In the next term, probably their first target is going to be Muslims and I am not a Muslim. Their second target could be the evangelical Christians and I don’t belong to one. Their third target could be the Dalits but though I would be proud to call myself part of a tribe who fought the oppression, I am not categorically a Dalit. I belong to a Church who, while the Christians were being burned and killed, said that Communism is a greater threat than Hindutva – simply because their educational business or their belief business was at threat. The same church who are as Hindutvavaadis as the real Hindutvavaadis in the name of ‘nativity’ while they seldom admit that their approaches are being labeled as a way to convert the natives by the Hindutvavaadis.

I want Modi to win. Really. I want him to be the prime minister. I know for certain that he can’t deliver what he promises. I know for certain he will not be a prime minister even for my class, the middle class, but for the Adanis and Ambanis, but I want him to win. I know for certain that he would blame his inefficiencies on the political alliances and compromises but I still want him to win. Because you deserve him. India deserves him so badly right now.

I want Modi to be your prime minister.