Ripples on the brain

I don’t know for how many years that we kept listening to his “Indru Oru Thagaval” through AIR Chennai (If my memory serves me right, it was at 7:40 am or something). In fact I had a Social Studies teacher who used to discuss about his “Indru Oru Thagaval” in class. Unfortunately or fortunately, at that time, many of my classmates were from the North and in her class we used to discuss as well as translate Swaminathan’s thagavals for them. We had been hearing the programme for so long that we were able to spot the “repeats” within a minute after it started.

I remember longing to see the face behind that wonderful voice for such a long time and used to keep asking my dad to take us to meet him. I don’t remember when I first saw him on TV. But he looked a lot different than how I imagined him to be. I have seen him in SUN TV only a couple of times. He will be one of those guys that will be remembered.

Till recently, I was not a regular viewer of the current Super Singer season. The reason was that they took the 2006 edition too far, stretched it as much as possible, gave so much air time to the outside-music activities like getting the finalists dressed up, just stopping short of capturing the contestants in their bedrooms and bathrooms (which meant capturing every other act of theirs), bringing some so-called celebrities needlessly and showing us the well-rehearsed “surprised” reactions of the contestants and so on. In short, in an attempt to highlight the “reality” aspect of the show, they lost out on the music and subsequently lost so many viewers who came here for the music content. I didn’t expect this year to be any different and I still don’t, given the aspects Vijay TV programme directors concentrate on (if you need evidence, just watch the “Neeya Naana” show on Sundays; the stupid participants bitch about their close relatives so badly episode after episode that my wife and I wonder if they will have a life at all after the episodes are aired). One more irritant in the first season was the attitude of some of the finalists. I was eventually happy they didn’t win the edition.

The Super Singer Junior, I should say was worse. Though the competition was probably better, again doing things like shooting in the schools of the finalists and all didn’t really appeal to me. Add to that the reactions of some of the kids suddenly pushed to stardom. Some of it was apparent on the show itself, and the off camera incidents have been pretty boldly captured by Chimayi in her blog. Again, I think the Vijay TV folks are to blame for the whole episode.

Hence, when the new season started this year, I almost gave it a miss but for a few glances when I browsed the channels. Frankly, it was easy to miss the programme when you’re browsing channels. There’s a break at the end of every fifth minute. The maximum content in the one hour slot is for 25 minutes, the rest of it is taken over by the “very short commercial breaks”. However, recently there has been so much talk about this programme in the web that it is hard not to notice it. There have been talks of prejudiced judgements favouring a particular contestant and so on. This made me get a little more interested in the programme and watch it more regularly (for the last 2 weeks or so). And I must say, I have seen some very good singing, far better than the 2006 edition. Even though the show seems to be dragging, the content is still music and not the “reality” type stuff has not reared its ugly head (atleast not yet. Vijay TV can be trusted to bring those aspects in one we reach the final rounds).

I think I heard the best singing last night with the performance by Ravi for the medley round. Like Shreenivas pointed out, it looks like this guy will easily be crowned the Super Singer with his current form. The first few minutes and the Udaya song is simply amazing and I still don’t get tired of viewing this video. The reactions of judges in the end says it all. Sujatha, who to me looks like a no-nonsense judge (from what I’ve seen so far; I know there have been a lot hue and cry over her judgements) summed it up very well.

My personal favourite has been another contestant, Arvindh. I know he has been consistently receiving adverse comments with his carnatic flavour to all that he sings in all the earlier rounds so far. Though the judges have been very harsh on him in the medley round (with Shreenivas almost accusing of being arrogant), I still like the way he easily sings the difficult songs.

I just hope Arvindh just makes that small correction in his singing and competes with Ravi on better terms. That would add to the overall interest in the current season.

Another highlight of the season has been Chinmayi herself. She is so natural while hosting and does a lot of things impromptu. Though one initially feels she shouldn’t be venturing outside singing, given her divine voice, compering seems to come to her very naturally. The bond that she shares with everyone - the contestants and the judge - makes it a fun to watch everytime she comes on stage.

Pakistan and Musharraf

While the news channels tries to make some news out of Musharraf’s resignation, I was disappointed that none of the so called news analysis programmes pointed out that this is dejavu if you turn the pages of even the recent history of Pakistan. A ruler - democratically elected, or otherwise - is always hailed by the citizens when he ascends the throne and (s)he almost always goes out of favour within a few years and is cursed unanimously before (s)he is ejected from the throne. Irrespective of the nature of his wrong doing, more often than not, he is never tried without prejudice and (s)he always has a safe passage either out of the country or out of the world. The new ruler invariably comes with a lot of promise, irrespective of his past records, and cycle just repeats. As far as their stance towards India is concerned, the ruler travels the journey from being almost hawkish when he takes over to being a friend when he steps down (or is thrown out). I don’t expect the current coalition, born out of public sympathy to last very long.

The situation in Pakistan is such that, because of the precedent set, every General will now fancy his chances as the leader of the country. It is so amazing that “leaders” just need to spend some time outside the country to absolve themselves of any wrongdoing and to destroy their past records from the public memory. While the celebrations of Musharraf’s ouster are shown in media, it will also be prudent to show how he was welcomed 9 years ago, even though it was coup.

Times of India Page 3

Seriously, what is it with the page 3 of Chennai Times - a supplement to the Times of India Chennai edition. Everyday it has the same set of photos of “party animals” cuddling and posing in groups almost always with the same attire. Though I agree that the other pages are equally useless, this page just disgusts me. What a waste of newsprint!

You need to just watch the first few minutes of the video to understand why Santhanam is not doing well in films. There’s no timing in his dialogue delivery. He seems to be very keen on speaking his lines without caring what the other person is doing.

One word - amazing! I just love this programme. Jodi No.1 and all the other immitations should atleast see these dancers once. Hell, if you cannot get dancers like these, atleast get a host like Cat Deeley. Drool!!!

Courtesy: http://subramanians.blogspot.com/

I watched the last couple of hours of confidence vote debate (well, yeah there was very little debate in the last 2 hours owing to adjournments). Even during the United Front days (Deve Gowda, I K Gujral), confidence debates used to be interesting, with a lot of speakers talking to the point. Going by the precedent the current confidence vote has set, I don’t think we are going to have such lively debates any longer. The bloc that finds itself in the losing side will start crying foul and prevent proper debates.

1. I watched the debate through CNN IBN’s streaming video. At the time of the vote, the speaker took a voice vote first and then said, “the ayes have it, the ayes have it…” and the opposition pressed for a division. Our friend Sagarika Ghose didn’t understand that a division has been requested. So, she interrupted the live video and announced that the UPA has won the confidence vote before her co-presenter intervened and educated her live in front of the viewers. Not willing to be put down, she said, “But in the view of the speaker, UPA has won”. After the electronic vote was over and the results flashed, Rajdeep came on the screen and mentioned that UPA has probably won. Sagarika Ghose again made her point, “Rajdeep, just to point out, CNN IBN has been predicting for the last 2 days that UPA will win”. Wow, she’s the new Nostradamus.

2. I think there was a confusion in the electronic voting (i.e. 50 odd members didn’t vote) because the instructions were so confusing. I don’t understand why every time confusion reigns at the last minute during the vote. The Secretary General didn’t appear sure on what instructions to read out. He read out only the instructions for voting from the lobby and the Speaker was having a cross-talk with some MP. Suddenly, the electronic voting process began.

I never thought I’d back to the same place that I came to for the last time, to the same project, to work with the same folks. I went back in May and came back in July to complete some unfinished business.

The best part of the journey was the movie “Kalloori” I watched on the flight from Chennai. I enjoyed every bit of the movie. The initial story kept reminding one of April Madhathil and 5star in parts, but obviously this movie is at a different level (it is a reminder of a real incident that happened a few years ago in Tamil Nadu). The story and screenplay are very simple, but the settings and the actors infuse realism into the movie. Except for the leading girl (who looks gorgeous, but still suits her role), the movie makers have shunned glamour and opted for actors who will suit their parts. Excellent selection of actors I must say! The country-side settings, which are crucial to the story, have been captured very well. The acting is above par for most of the time, considering most of the actors are novices. Except for the heroine, it is difficult to even find the names of the other actors who played crucial roles in the movie. The music is also excellent without being pompous and suits the overall story very well. I liked the first song that takes place in the bus very much.

The movie kept reminding me of my own experiences in my engineering college. It was for the first time I had the company of students from the rural background. Many of my classmates came from Tamil medium schools and hence, some lecturers taught the initial classes in Tamil.

I just realized that Shankar produced the movie. What a guy? I mean Shankar as a director and Shankar as a producer cannot be more contrasting. Look at the list of movies Shankar has produced - Kaadhal, Imsai Arasan 23 am Pulikesi, Veyyil and now Kalloori. (Ofcourse, Shankar also seems to have produced Mudhalvan and Arai Enn … Kadavul which are outliers in the list). It is very difficult to choose these small budget movies that involve first time directors and, more often than not, novice actors. But Shankar seems to hitting the jackpot every single time.

I could see 4 people in my vicinity in the place who were also watching the same movie. Actually, the other Indian movie that was among the options was Race (Hindi). I couldn’t help thinking Kalloori’s budget should have been less than the salary of each of the leading actors of Race and still Race couldn’t have been crappier. A good study in contrast, again!

1. Abatham…kuppai…unadulterated crap

2. The best thing about the movie was the last song. It looked like a self-mockery exercise. Nobody could have done that better.

3. It is sad that atheism, Tamil language etc. are being increasingly used as vehicles for business. In Tamil Nadu these days, all you have to do to be successful and noticed is to preach atheism, give a message about the degeneration (or some such crap) of Tamil language, invoke Ramasamy Naciker, and join the list of sycophants to the ruling party supremo. The whole thing has become a cartel that, from time-to-time, basks in self-praise in an effort to enhance its self-worth. It is so amazing in the movie that while followers of other religions go unchallenged when they pray or express gratitude to the Almighty, some specific sections are challenged for the same actions. Business compulsions, probably…

In April 2006, five people from a University in the US were involved in a road accident. One girl survived the deadly head-on collision. Someone from the University identified the girl that was alive, but unconscious and also the other dead victims. The girl who survived was Laura Van Ryn and one of the people who were dead was identified as Whitney Cerak, another student from the University. The authorities passed on the sad news to all the families.

The Cerak family was asked to collect their daughter’s remains and the Van Ryn family was told that though their daughter was alive, they should be prepared to expect the worst, as it normally happens in such tragedies. Even then, when the reached the ICU, they were shocked to see their daughter in coma and bandaged almost from head to toe. They prepared themselves for a lengthy road to recovery and recuperation for their daughter (if she were to ever come out of coma).

While the Cerak family, as the families of other victims of the accident, held funeral service for their daughter, the Van Ryn family wondered if their daughter would have been well-off had she not survived the accident. They spoke to her, sang to her when she lay in coma. A small movement of the eye brows or lips would be greeted with joyous celebrations. After a fortnight, the hospital asked the family to take her to a rehabilitation centre. Though she was in partial coma, her condition had improved over the fortnight. She was in the rehabilitation for 3 weeks or so. In this period, her parents and sister would wheel Laura to her sessions, and again try to engage her in conversations and so on.

In this weeks after the accident the Van Ryn family noticed a lot of changes in Laura. But they were prepared to take her in whatever state she was in, as the doctors had already warned them about the same. They weren’t even sure if Laura would ever completely regain her memory as there had been a severe brain damage. They noticed that teeth arrangement had changed, she had a pretty disfigured forehead, she had lost her eye color and so on. But they also noticed that she had pierced her navel and called her boy friend Tiger, when she gained partial consciousness. Laura’s sister reasoned that she would have secretly pierced her navel during the spring break and the doctors had also warned the family that she would not be able to recognize even people very close to her. Once when her father was with Laura, he was upset to hear the words “false parents” from her. Again, when Laura’s sister was with her during one of the sessions where she was asked to write down her name, she wrote “Whitney”. When she took this to the specialists, they hypothesized that she would have picked the name just before the accident and would have stuck on to it.

Only after the last incident, did Laura’s sister really began doubting the identity of the girl her family considered their daughter. She went back and checked the names of the victims who died in the accident and identified that Whitney Cerak was indeed one of them. Unable to hold herself any further, she went back to Laura and asked her directly what her name was. “Whitney Cerak”, she said, again. That was it for Laura’s sister. She had confirmed her fears. She told Whitney, “Thank you. You will be alright pretty soon”.

The Cerak family that was trying hard to come to terms with the death of their daughter received a call late one night 5 and a half weeks after the crash from the same person that broke the news about their daughter’s death. But this time he said their daughter was alive. They couldn’t believe it. Whitney’s sister disconnected the call abruptly. However, she and her mother decided to drive late in the night for around 5 hours to check out in the rehabilitation center where the caller said Whitney was. Though both of them didn’t believe it could be Whitney, they were gripped by a strange, uncomfortable feeling of what if it were true!

When they walked into the rehabilitation center, the Van Ryn family took them to the girl they had been taking care of for the last 5 weeks. It was indeed Whitney Cerak! The Cerak family didn’t know how to react. While there were screams of joy from the mother and the sister, their confirmation also left the Van Ryn family devastated. They hadn’t realized that their daughter had died and was buried 5 weeks ago under a stone with a different name on it! Laura’s funeral was held and the Cerak family helped their daughter through her long road to recovery.

This mistaken identity episode happened because after the accident, the identification was done by a University authority. There was no scientific technique adopted to confirm the identities of the victims. The survivor was identified as Laura based on the hand bag that was found near her which had Laura’s id. The Cerak family buried the disfigured remains of what they assumed was their daughter, without looking at it as they wanted to have pleasant images of their daughter.

Whitney Cerak has almost recovered fully from the tragedy and is currently studying in Europe. After she had sufficiently recovered, she had a chance to watch her own funeral and listen to the things her family and well-wishers had to say at her funeral. The Van Ryn family felt miserable when people began asking them as to why they were not able to identify the mistaken identity even after five weeks of the accident. The Van Ryn family and the Cerak family later wrote a book titled “Mistaken Identity” on this episode.

MSCNBC aired a programme that covered this episode on a weekend in a documentary format. This went on for more than two hours I think. All through this period, I was so absorbed into this story. Even a movie screenplay couldn’t have been so incredible. The narration was interspersed with interviews with the families. The mistaken identity itself was brought only midway into the episode and it completely surprised and shocked me. Pretty unbelievable! Daily mail has a very good and long story on the episode.

I couldn’t but feel for the Van Ryn family. The moment when they actually came to know about the mistaken identity would have been very harsh on them. In fact, that was the time when smiles had returned to their faces when they witnessed their daughter slowly getting back to normal. To me, the biggest moment in this whole episode was Laura’s sister’s reaction when she heard the girl say her name “Whitney Cerak” when she wanted to double check. It would have been very difficult to react the way she did.

Just a fortnight ago, Suhasini reviewed a film in Hasini Pesum Padam in Vijay TV (I think it was “Sila Nerangalil”, I’m not sure). She mentioned how it was so pathetic to see Raghuvaran in the state he was, with his hands trembling and so on. She said that Raghuvaran used to be compared with Amitabh Bachchan for his height and poise when he was young and that the film industry should take care of him and do something about his health.

Raghuvaran’s mannerisms and dialogue delivery provided a lot of fodder for the mimicry artistes in Tamil Nadu. He was usually the first personality to be imitated even by school students whenever such events used to happen. It is hard to believe that he was just 49 years old…