Memories CREC - Getting Drunk

It was a weekend and i think, both me and Harish were discussing (What else to discuss yaar either booze or girls ). Then we suddenly come up with this great thought - "maachan let us get drunk". So the planning starts. We salvage cash out of our meagre monthly allowance and then take the bus to Calicut city and land up in KSRTC bustand. The shop i think was opposite to Kairali/Sree theatre.

We go to the shop and our Talli starts off in malayalam enquiring about stuff available. The "Mash" there gives variety of options and the rates. We make a quick calculation and then decide, a full will be too much so let us settle for a half. We buy half a bottle and with lot of excitement and euphoria, come back to the hostel and go over to Harish's room.

Now we take the bottle out keep it and so much of excitement in our eyes (arre yaar first time we are doing something right??). Now comes the dilemma :( . What to mix? We need to have something to mix since drinking raw might be too much for first time drinkers. After some deliberations, we decide on water.  The drinking starts and Harish is the professional mixer. We have a couple of rounds.

Now suddenly i pop the question "Macchan Yeeruda" (Are you getting a kick?). Harish replies in the negative and me too. We are disappointed. Almost half bottle is over and we are not feeling anything. Have we become such heavy drunkards? So what to do now? the main expectation of "kick" is not happening.

We are engineers and we think hard and wow!!! a brilliant idea comes (Always ideas come from Harish and those crazy ideas..he blames poor me for implementing..). So this is what we decide --- Let us close our eyes and rotate our head fast..hopefully "sar to ghoomega" and that will act a a catalyst and give us a kick. We close our eyes and do that faithfully for one minute and then ask each other the same question "any kick maachan". Nothing we are disappointed (or) rather proud that we are now professional drunkards and half bottle is nothing for us.

We'll till now you guys must be wondering what is that stuff we had right?? Half a bottle and we were rock steady ??:) Good performance on debut??




















It was a half a bottle of wine :) . And we will be the first and last ever guys in this world who mixed wine with water and drunk it. And for the Rs. 80 we paid for it...am still wondering whether that was indeed wine or a bottle of three day old packaged grape juice :)

Music i Loved

I contemplated a lot before deciding to write this blog. Since it was a commentary on music, my apprehension stemmed from the fact that, being part of a family where everyone is learning music and sing too, I was just a listener without any knowledge if music or the ability to sing.  

Buth then I thought - music is something which touches a person's heart and I can very well write about it, because this is about a recent music album I listened to, which touched me so much with its lyrics, music and singing.

"Suchi - Music I like " - a collection of Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi's songs by Suchi.  

Hmmmmm...if there a few raised eye brows from people who say " Suchi??? Bharathiar Songs???Isn't she more of a singer who sings peppy numbers???".  Folks! You don't know this version of Suchi yet! 

Coming to the album, four things stand out clearly - the theme, the lyrics (it goes without saying!!), the singing and the score. 

The Theme is "Love", which says that love should manifest itself as - love for you spouse, love for you country and devotion for God expressed as love.

Mahakavi's lyrics are very simple and powerful.  A great job in choosing the right gems to fit the theme.

"Veenayadi née enakku" a touching expression of how Bharathi lived his wife, "Vande Maaararam", "Nallador veenai seidhu" and "endhayum thaayum" which stirs our soul with patriotism and "Kakkai Chiraginile" and " Aasai Maugham marandhu poche" reflects love and devotion to God. 

Suchi, i feel has not just rendered but had lived through each song and experienced the lyrics. This is reflected in her singing. Very clear narration and pretty expressive. My favorite is the way she says " Aaridam solve aid thozhi" in the song "Aasai mugham marandhu poche". 

Sai Madhukar had done a great composition.  Right fusion of western and traditional instruments. The score fuses with the singing while ensuring that the power of the lyrics is not lost and giving the classical  touch at the right places - like use of "Varaali" and "Sindhu Bhairavi" in "Vande Maataram" or sticking to "Johnpuri" the raaga which immortalized the song "Aasai mugham marandhu poche" - pardon errata in raagas if any since I am just a novice.

Bharathiar songs have traditionally been part of Carnatic music albums sung by different singers and the reach was restricted to "Rasikaas" primarily. Suchi with here image and reach to the "gen Y" seems to have taken Bharathiar to them with this album. Probably the next inline for this versatile, multi faceted  singer might be "Thirupaavai" :)