Guess What? We're Still Here!

by Shobha JANARDANAN 

Ramblings post-doomsday. Why? Because I can! 

Armageddon outa here!

When I booked my flight tickets in September for 2012 December Music Season, my mother wanted me to confirm if I would be in India or in on flight, during the much talked about “21st December 2012”. She was, like many innocent consumers of media prophecy (that foretells of an imminent Armageddon), a little worried.  If you watch some TV channels you will know what I mean  the -  the supposed scientific calculations by ancient beings,the prepper shows,the mapping of actual events to prophecies past. 

Somewhere in an abandoned corner of my mind, despite a supposed lack of faith in the media’s interpretation of Mayan Prophecy, I was contemplating a choice of activities for my last hours. Apparently, having been born into a family that consults astrologers for everything from buying a home to removing an ingrown nail, I had acquired a fear that accompanies seekers of truth via prophecy. 



A Winter Solstice Brings Bad Tidings


On December 21st, to the relief of my mother the world remained intact. But a beautiful Carnatic nightingale lost her husband to suicide and the word in town was that the singer cancelled all her concerts for the entire Season. I was in Chennai -  for the very purpose of enjoying the Music Season! A great name in music suffered a loss, and we her fans lost a Season of heartfelt renditions! No one predicted this incident, and yet, no fan in media asked ‘why’ in a traditional culture that is steeped in vedic astrology. They only watched TV reports which stated fact. No prophecies were quoted.

The shock of the incident reverberated throughout the musical community and I met many tearing fans as I queued for various artistes’ shows, or caught up with old friends over filter-kapi. Personally, I felt a little attached to the tragedy myself, as the family was known to me, during a brief but profoundly educational period I spent with a late doyenne of Carnatic music. The doyenne in question, the affectionately-called Amma, was the grandmother of the widowed singer. When Amma was alive, there was not a day in class when her prized achievement of a grand-daughter, was not mentioned with love. 


I felt a little sick in a way I cannot articulate, and am still wondering how no revered traditional astrologer was consulted prior to the recent widow’s marriage.Or, if I had presumed wrong and astrologers were indeed consulted, why had they not predicted, such a catastrophic eventuality for this talented diva! If predicted, could the incident have been averted?



The Future is Nigh


The Mayan Prophecy for one, seemed to fade into the background with most folk, including mom - and myself as January 2013 approached. The lack of faith I had in the Mayan Prophecy as interpreted by documentaries and news channels on television, was now validated.


In this world where every seer boasts prowess in prediction, I guess no one prophesized that Illayaraja would be commended for (1) experimental music by the revered Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2012, (2) shortly after the world it seemed, was supposed to end. Well, not in the news anyway. So, I itch to know if Illayaraja was given a heads-up in private by his personal astrologer. Perhaps he knew that he would win a prestigious award in 2012 and that the funny thing is that the astrologer would have had to predict this win for sometime just after the Mayans apparently drew the curtain on the world  - the latter being the widely announced prophecy by docu makers on say International Geographic* or Uncovery* channels!


In any event, it appears nothing bypasses the astrologer if you consult him (or her) in retrospect. Suddenly there is a reason for everything, an exception to  every rule of prediction and a justification for why something did not go as foretold. Basically, if the prediction is true, he says "I told you so!". If it isn't, he says, "Well, some things are God's will". And yet astrology thrives! It's just like how we still watch tweaked versions of prophecies on TV, well after Dec 2012.

Can't go around blaming the media's version of prophecy anymore. Or the astrologer. It's those of us who condone soothsaying, prophecy and prophetic tv programming that need a little questioning. What say you?

  * not real tv channel names - obviously!

My Performance - Indian Traditional/ Classical Compositions

It was an honour to sing at an event to mark the release of a documentary DVD titiled "200 years of Malaysian Indians" in Jalan Ipoh, on 17 May 2012. Accompanying me is Aaron Paige, Wesleyan University.

MY RECENTLY RECORDED TRACK - tamil song

Here's a track I recorded recently. Needless to say, a ballad is far from what people would expect my first youtube "publication" to be, considering that I mostly gravitate to classical, semi classical and devotional renditions.

Nonetheless, it may lead me to learn about my own musical flavours through experimentation. The song was recorded in a friend's lounge area, which holds a mic, keyboard and system that has churned out many other similar projects for others in similar modes of experimentation.

Hope you enjoy it!

Paper Banana Leaves in Restaurants; Progress Gone Wrong

A local (Malaysian) Indian restaurant has decided to serve food on PAPER banana leaves! Today's THE STAR, page 3!

Why do I feel people are moving backwards in Malaysia? I don't peg myself for a tree hugger, but this is just too embarrassing to ignore.

The point of banana leaves is that they are biodegradable. Our forefathers in India knew that. Hence its widespread priority as a use-and-throw "plate". The leaf also accentuates aromas and taste. Nasi lemak packagers all over Malaysia know that. If the leaves are scarce, grow more banana trees, with your fellow restaurantiers! The last time I checked, Malaysia was near the equator.

If it is too expensive to clean leaves individually, clean them the way they do in India; Each customer is given a cup of water and it's sprinkled on the leaf. This is then shrugged off the leaf or wiped off it, by the customer.

Indians and their culture have always been seen to promote green living - and not by way of building multi-million dollar structures that harness solar power via large panels, or hybrid cars that cost the user an arm and a leg. Like other old cultures around the world, India boasts self cooling mud huts that keep inhabitants cool in hot climates, green bean body scrubs that don't cause chemical soap suds to flow into sewers and voila, the humble banana leaf to eat on!

The spokesperson of the restaurant claims that the paper leaves are biodegradable. True, if the leaves are NOT placed in a landfill for 2.5 months, which is the time the "paper" leaf needs to decompose. By using the term "biodegradable" very loosely, it is sometimes a little easy to avoid scrutiny. A real definition of biodegradable is available at http://www.ecolife.com/define/biodegradable.html

How profit driven my Malaysian brothers have become, scares me! Sadly, I feel that if this restaurant has its way, soon others in Malaysia will follow, citing the first restaurant as a precedent. Progress, this isn't!

The article on the use of paper leaves in The Star, pg. 3
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/28/nation/10557826&sec=nation#13277585889211&if_height=467

Jakarta Calling

If you had told me ten years ago that I'd holiday in Jakarta, I'd have responded with the question, "Why?".

But here I am ten years into the future telling you about my break in Jakarta, a city that surprised me, inspired me and most of all welcomed me, answering "Why not?". Granted this isn't my first trip to Jakarta to be awed by its novelties, nor is it my first blog on it. But it is indeed 2011, two years since my last visit. Some opinions of the city got reaffirmed. Others, newly formed. In any case, it felt "new" again.

The first thing that struck me about the city (just like in 2009!), is how I felt about it. Being a very "touchy feely" sort of person, I often intuit my surroundings quickly, before I adjust behaviour or acclamatise to a new environemnt. My first feel of Jakarta was that it reminded me of Kuala Lumpur in the 1980s, when people were simpler, warmer and had more time. Amidst the high rise wonders and sleek, stylish malls, the people remained starkly simple. The economist would immediately attribute this to poverty and population; The entire Malaysian population fits in Jakarta alone. The artiste and the vagabond will immediately tell you however, that the people there wear their hearts on their sleeves and are not afraid to be who they really are. It is perhaps that energy that led me to soon feel as though I was accepted as an Indonesian, just as I had spoken one meagre sentence of the language. I felt little need thus, to adjust my behaviour to fit in, was minimal. Another deja-vu created, was by the greenery that co-exists inspite of skeel malls and high rise buildings.

Unlike other Malaysians, I seek to make a quick comparison to the other city that is close to my heart besides KL; Chennai, the home of my music education. The one thing that stood out as a great advantage to the traveller in Jakarta was that running AC taxis are available.

Yes, the traffic is horrendous as it can be in most third world cities. But the luxury of running taxis and that too, in tiers according to afordability, quickly creates options for travellers.

In case that wasn't enough in terms of being sensitive to the public's needs, there is also the "ojek", or motorcycle taxi! This is the answer to beating the traffic at all costs! :-D Though not a viable option for all ocassions, still, it gives me the impression that the country is opening up to the advent of market forces. In comparison, in Chennai, if you wanted a running cab, you'd be left to a running auto-rickshaw, which means no AC and far less safety. My elderly mother naturally made a remark about how much easier it was to holiday with my Jakarta-resident brother than to do so with me in Chennai. Of course, it did leave me a little defensive about 'my' Chennai. I quickly retorted saying that the Nano could soon phase-out the entire auto-rickshaw presence and was happy to have had the last word. In my mind of course, the question remained whether Jakarta, though not my choice for a holiday if I wanted to attend the Margazhi Music Season, was indeed the answer to many families' budget trips that wanted all-year-round easy travel and a dab of culture entwined in a single trip.

Speaking of culture, another fact that made me feel entirely at home in Jakarta was their acceptance of ALL cultural and religious influences on their nation to date. They displayed Sanskrit inscripted stones and script even older than that, from the Hindu Tarumanagara Civilization. While their artifact preservation techniques in say the Fattahilah Museum (Kota)are questionable in my view, the acceptance of their history is show of true character and interest in knowing themselves.

Character is not only endowed by their heritage but also their deep rooted lives in visually inspiring, hand crafted art. Steeped in a culture of using their hands, this is no wonder! You can see statues in metal, erected throughout the city, depicting Hindu Mythology, recent ploitical leaders, and simply pieces that present the underlying psych of the people. What's more the use of the people's hands is also evident in the treatment of ailments and in pleasuring the senses - which brings me to the spa / Jamu / Urut culture of the land. It is no surprise thus, that almost every spa treatment outlet I went to, was booked to the brim by locals and foreign visitors alike.

Overall, I think coutries like Malaysia and India could perhaps start looking to the gem of South East Asia a little harder; Perhaps they can begin to learn little things that they may have missed out on, while caught up on their journey for acknowledgement on the world map.

As for me, in Jakarta, I know that I am one ojek ride away from the next Ramayana based Wayang performance; Pieces of Indian and Malay culture rolled into one? Can't wait!

Logo courtesy:http://yellowcis.blogspot.com/2009/08/logo-ojek.html