What Cyclone? Get To Class ~Whip Whip~

And so the Cyclone's news spread to the entire nation,
with every Chennai student watching TV in tension,
(...Also, we music students were waiting to see if exams would be on or not. )
And for Monday 29th, MU announced that they were not.

"Hooray hooray,
for the extra study day!"
But,
Our joy lived short
and we turned distraught,
as some MU authorities felt that the announcement said "colleges and schools are shut",
leaving the educational institution called the "university"
in imbiguity.
"What to do, what to do?", they must have pondered for a good part of the day,
for in the end, they announced much to our dismay,
that "exams would be held on another day,
but classes would go on, (needless to say)".

It makes authorities proud that they'd hold classes
despite lads and lasses
having to brave the wind and water
To get hither and thither.

I don't know the real reason classes ensued at the university
while everyone else stayed at home in safety.
But I think it just goes to show
that the "college and school" goer
are too precious to send out to brave floods or cyclonic winds that blow
while in this world of the educated, the university student is 'two steps below'.
So we lesser folk risked life and limb suring such a disaster
to get to our alma mater.

Perhaps the authorities think we uni students are disaster-resistant
or replaceable,
or just plain dispensable.
In any case, to the university student,
it isn't a compliment!

Cyclone: Lessons of Life

It's been raining continuously today since like 5 am. Mom and I were quite enjoying the sounds, smells and cool air (last of which is something that's rare in Chennai...not wait - all three are rare here to be fair), until we heard from an aunt in Mugappair that Tamil Nadu is on cyclone alert. Sigh! And Schools and colleges are closed tommorow. What's more University of Madras is located just off the beach, so the place is surely off limits. So much for the theory exam we Music Students have tommorrow.

BUT NOT TO FEAR :-) The good news is that the alerts are more relevant to suburbs of Chennai and beach-areas than city. But the red flag's not down yet (pertaining to floods), for places in the city, weather it's Mylapore, Nungambakkam or wherever, till the govt of Tamil Nadu says so. It will only be clear late tonight, according to NDTV Times news, whether the cyclone alert will need to remain or be removed.

So for now, it's clear that today is meant for practice, practice and more practice. And some TV or radio. Indoors it is, for today and tomorrow.

I must say, being my first time hearing about a cyclone in a place that I'm staying in, it's very educational. It also explains to me in an indirect way, as to why it is one has to be patient with public services and the govt workers when living in a HUGE 3rd world nation that has many weather-events. I'm just imagining the scope of work in the villages and outskirt areas of Chennai when this is over. And suddenly I feel forgiving towards the police officer who shouts at the struggling cycle-peddling old man for carrying three times his weight on the bike. Or the politician commissioning a mass evacuation, or the officers on the ground helping villagers prepare for a time like this.

Certainly a lesson in patience, gratitude and appreciation for one's fellow man! Thus, a prayer of thanks to the Lord for keeping watch on us all, city (or village) folk.

Ok, back to music theory for a bit now before singing practice resumes.

God Bless.

The Impetus to Blog

Of all the questions I choose to answer from the world's wet-blanket, sceptical, fun-less by-standers in this game called life, I choose to answer this one - "How did you think of starting a blog?", with the emphasis on "you". "Why not?" is my quick answer. But with the symantics of the questions posed, I can get away with answering so absurdly that they'll learn never to pose me an ambiguous question ever again in their lives....heheheh

It all started when I came across this lovely blog (DESIGN, not content) by some NRI Software bloke in USA who started a blog about himself and then ended up posting (1) unrelated photos of him dressed in ill-fitting three-piece suits against various American cars...yep, go figure - AND (2) more unrelated captions of these story-less, expression-lacking photos, in bad English. Not profane. Just grammatically challenged English, so to speak. And at the end of his "About Me" section which is two sentences long, he says that he has randomly sent this blog to many Malayalee girls all over the world in the hope of finding a bride-to-be! Hence my stupid luck in seeing this blog. Could nto figure out how my hotmail account said "Malayalee" in my profile but hey, who's to say an old friend did not think it'd be darn funny to get Shobha riled up with this sorta character sending her a blog, and then gave Mr. NRI my email.

While I could have easily not eaten as a result of being totally disenchanted by his "advertisement", I realised how wonderful a tool the blog is. I know I love writing and so far everyone from home's been asking me to write about personal experiences here in Chennai. It takes me ten minutes to pen 400 words if I dont edit. Hmmm...Maybe I should blog? Why not, if Mr. NRI can, so can I :-))))

Being a complete ignaramus as to the difference between a blog and website at that point, I approached the one person who always gave me short answers to every philosophy and computer related question....my brother.

Our dialogue went something like this at dinner...

Me: What's a blog? ~wide eyed and bushy tailed~
Prem: Why? ~not amused that I did not know what a blog was in the year 2006!~
Me: I want one. ~still wide eyed and bushy tailed, but hiding embarrassment the size of a nuclear disaster~
Prem: You don't know what it is, but you want one. Awww!~pat pat, now go back to your hole and rest there till I tell you it's ok to rear your head...like once the tech police have past you by...ok but I must admit it's so cute that you want something you don't know about~

Me: What is the difference between a blog and a website? ~please tell me...you're the only one who will answer this in one sentence.I dont care if it is just your opinion and isn't wat would be a 100% Mr. NRI-geek-fact no 121!~

Prem: Hmmm, not sure, but I think a blog is just momentary outpourings...websites are more serious. Can just blabber on them.

Me: Of then, I definately want a blog. ~cos I want to blabber, download, outpour, spill (aiya, not too much lah - Don't get your hopes up!~

Prem: Ok, then get one.

Me: I want one!! I want one! I want one! Get me one.

~don't be mean, I want one!~
Prem: Ok, sigh! ~I better say yes or I won't hear the last of this!~

And thus, the blog of Shobha Janardanan was born. Not this one....just some blog I posted and could not find later because I wasn't as savvy with the blog as I am with my writing. Of course, I dont even count it as my first blog since ASTRO's blog is what I think is my official first blog ever...yep.

Ok, enough useless prattle for one day. Before I (b)log off, here's a big thanks to my brother and Mr. NRI who I hopw, has found a bride who is as passionate as he is, about cars.

And there you have it, the answer to your question, "How did you think of starting a blog?"

Recording...."FOR FUN"? :-)

Yesterday evening, three uni mates (Renjith, Aravind and Komal) plus myself met up at "Sing Ur Tunes" studio and hit the mics for fun. It was my first "for fun" recording as all my previous times in studios were to record for a film, stage show, audition or commercial.Never for fun!

Well, thanks to these three friends who thought the "one-armed bandit" deserved some singing action after the agonies of the Sept 28th Auto accident, I was there crooning for bit. It's a liberating feeling to sing just for fun at the studio with all the effects etc! And since it was for fun I sang all those soppy, melodious songs which a budding (cine-singer) artiste never commercially gets to sing for films till they're 40 (released film!) songs-old, or when their vocally-equivalent predecessor retires. Whichever comes first. :-)

But know what?....I realised yesterday that the lure of film singing has diminished in its attractiveness, as I delve deeper into classical music. Maybe it is just that there aren't as many lifetime-hits as there used to be once upon a time, unlike classical music. Cinema... such a fragmented industry with marketing dollars speaking louder than substance of the movie, that the lure of singing for something like that comes only after a satiating rendition of a carnatic or deviotional piece....ok...THIS SHOULD BE IN ANOHTER BLOG, so I shall stop talking shop here and just admit that "yes, I was dying to break the filmy sing-song session yesterday with a devotional hit", but I was out-numbered by my three enthusiastic filmy fans. ;-)

Meanwhile, Renjith (MA Music 1st Sem) and Aravind (M.Phil Music student) , Komal (MA Dance 1st Sem), and I (MA Music 1st Sem) all had a blast listening to the two guys' previous recordings too. Of course, since we were using the studio at no charge, we had to wait for all paying customers to first finish with their works of art - and mind you, everyone who enters a studio to sing never leaves till the final cut's just perfect as can be. So we waited forever and a day till the uncle who came before us, finished his editing.

We'll be doing this soon again, when schedules permit. Rest assured lah! Maybe even a devotional-singing thing. Oh...Check it out - the cast features in Aravind's shot of me!...Ok, my fore-finger's tired of doing all the typing....gotta go sing...voice break's over!

Whodunit?

Life is full of ups and downs ...this is a 'down' right here (and a sideways!)...auto rickshaw accident last friday. I took an auto home after uni. The auto driver rammed into a merc from behind! Why? The merc driver stopped in the middle of taking a right turn, to answer his phone.

~sigh~ Pray tell me... whodunit?

Anyway, thank God, I'm a hemotoma, a few 'arm + leg' sprains, and four stitches away from recovery. Coulda been worse. Though my right arm is in a cast, the left middle and ring fingers took a punch too, so they're temporarily out of order. :-)

Ah, but finally I'll be able to follow Desparate Housewives, eat on time and spend more time listening to music since there isn't much more I can do right now. Even to practice my singing I need a hand for "thaala". My toes just aint doing a good enough job at it I tell ya!

(Thank God for a neighbour who loves to type!)

Anyways, any takers for solving the crime?