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Thursday, December 26, 2024

Concluding Narayaneeyam Class, 3rd Batch

After teaching Narayaneeyam to two groups earlier, my wife proposed starting a fresh class. I was a bit skeptical that it would be a strain on her, but dared not share it with her for fear of being frowned upon. 

Fourteeen members, two from outstation, registered their names. The strength could have been more by six to eight if only the days and time suited them. Classes began on 2 March 2023. And today, 26 Dec 2024, she completed the session.

To the two earlier groups she just helped them to chant the slokas correctly with proper intonation and diction. The present group was lucky in that she explained to them the meaning of each slokam. Precisely why it took her 22 months to complete. (The composer himself took just 100 days to write Narayaneeyam at the rate of one chapter a day.) The silver lining is the enthusiasm of the students with no dropouts - a great moral booster to the teacher. 

The corridor news is that some participants could not help wiping their tears when she explained the last slokam of the book, after which it is said the composer, Shri Bhattarathiripad, was cured of his serious ailment.

For the uninitiated, Narayaneeyam is the condensed form of Srimad Bhavatam which has 18000 slokas. Bhattathiri summarized it in 1034 slokas in 100 chapters. Over the years Narayaneeyam has become increasingly popular.

At the end of this morning’s class, the members asked Aunty if they all could meet her in our house at 6.30 in the evening. She okayed it assuming they had consolidated their doubts and wanted clarifications. No, they had come to gift her a heavy metal vigraham of Udupi Sri Krishna, among a host of other things. As each one began pouring out her/his (yes, a sole male member, Sashidhar) profuse gratitude to Aunty, I ‘interviewed’ them at random on the strengths and weaknesses of Aunty’s teachings. While Padma Mami, Dr Gayatri, Sushma, Sunita, Krishna, Lalitha Ravichandran, Vani, Rekha, Jayashree, or … were very lavish in their praise, nobody pointed out any weakness.

 “After all, it is the teacher’s husband asking, and you are in their own house now - how could there be any statement against?” I told them. Upon this, like a flash-flood they responded: “Yes, she should be more rigid, she should not be so lenient, or patient, she should not wait till the last minute to announce she has a doctor appointment,” and the like. Moral: Never under-estimate people’s talent to present strengths in the garb of weaknesses. 

To be fair to both the taught and the teacher, I asked Lalitha the same question – the strengths and weakness of her students. “No weakness, whatsoever. Only strengths. They were very regular in attendance and with total devotion; not missing Ekadasi-chanting assignments; they put up with my liberal use of Tamil words whenever I am stuck for words while explaining the meanings in English…"

The group got down to discuss a joint visit to Guruvayoor and other places of interest nearby. Some suggested hiring a Tempo Traveller; others felt it would be tedious. One said the inter-city train would be the best. They tentatively agreed to organize it in February or March 2025. One member said she knew someone who would arrange everything in Guruvayoor, and she would take charge.

Aunty entertained them with coffee and wheat-halwa prepared at short notice – luckily it came out well. Everyone paid obeisance to the teacher, and in the process to her hubby as well. Aunty paid her respects to Padma Mami who was elder in age. All of them stepped out causing a commotion in the corridor till they managed to get into the lift in instalments.

Seeing them off at the lift, a beaming aunty returned to door 3195, telling herself: All is well that ends well.  

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Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Part 2, final – Re-living Sneha’s marriage

Uma-Ramani seldom fail to fulfil their familial or social obligations. They were there right from the word go. Ramani even offered his services to be part of the team to receive various Ahmedabad groups at the airport and drop them at the hotel. But the Event Management firm took care of that. It was very nice of Poornima, Sanjeev, his mother, and Keshav to have made it for the function. 

Chandra and Chandru are back to their happy selves. At each get-together we are delighted to see a more and more cheerful Chandra. It was nice that Rati and Veda made it. Although mother of 6-year old Veda, we are unable to visualize Rati beyond her child-like face. Too bad, Vineet, Pallavi and children could not make it, much against their wishes. 

Kannan and Chitra’s entry seemed more like the good old days’ Dev Anand and Waheeda Rahman. Sporting an off-white jacket with buttons open, Kannan refuses to grow old, as I overheard someone telling him. Chitra made her moves to attract the minimum of attention, donning out of the ordinary, simple but elegant sarees. One of the chief attractions of the wedding was Vinayak making it. So nice of him. Each time I see him, I involuntarily ask him, “Now what is your height.” This time he was blunt: “Athimbar, I am way past my age to gain more height. It is 6.1 now, and for all times to come.” The darling of the crowd.

That round up takes me back to Shanthy and family, once again. I admired Pooja dancing in merriment despite physical restrictions. Shekar too made some movements synching with the beats, though he chose to be behind. Sandeep gave a good account of himself. It was nice of his doctor parents to have set aside some time to attend this marriage amidst their commitments both at the clinic and hospital in Coimbatore.

Equally so, we were delighted to see Shekar’s sisters and their families, as also Rajan and family to be fully involved in the proceedings. The only grouse, if any, would be that Shri Ganesh, a professional singer who specializes in the 1950s to the 1970s songs of Kishore, Rafi, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar and Mahendra Kapoor, could not entertain  - nay, enthral - us with his renderings. He did it for Pooja’s marriage. Therefore, Sneha can justifiably feel a little unhappy on that score. But then, circumstances conspire to provide or deny such opportunities – it is not his making, perhaps. 

This piece would be incomplete without a word or two about Priyal family. Priyal, the bridegroom is such a lovable boy. His father, the 6’2 or 3’ tall in one solid piece, probably believes in Speak Not unless absolutely necessary. But when he speaks he does so with care and respect. Priyal’s mother, Pooja (for clarity I shall call her Pooja Senior, just to distinguish her from our Pooja) is humility incarnate. The way she was in tears during the Maangalya Dharanam ceremony was reflective of her innocent heart. The rest of the members too were of an amiable disposition, having made it to Bangalore with a one-point programme – to entertain and be entertained. 

Starting from the Mehndi ceremony-lunch, to evening snacks to a lavish dinner spread across the entire lawn what with Starters row, an assortment of juice row, half a mile row of main food items, and enticing line up of mouth-watering sweets. VB Caterers deserve full credit for living up to their promise. Not just that. They provided some complimentary breakfast and other items too – unannounced. “How come,” we asked. “Sir, you must have woken up as early as 5 or 5.30 to reach the venue for preparations, and we can’t serve you just a cup of coffee. Just a goodwill gesture, sir,” he reassured me. 

Equally so, our tried and trusted Chandrashekar of Malleswaram, did an outstanding job on the Muhurta chaappaad. Kudos to Shanthy, Pooja, Sandeep… for selecting the menu, and no less to Chandrashekar & Co for leaving nothing to be desired in terms of taste, neatness, liberal serving, and politeness.

What next, one might wonder. To get ready to celebrate Christmas and New Year? No. To head for Ahmedabad where Priyal’s parents are organizing an equally gala function. Meanwhile we extend the newlyweds a very, very happy and joyous life.


Re-living Sneha's Wedding - Part 1 of 2

Shanthy and Shekar were having a cup of coffee in Cedar balcony enjoying the pleasant weather outside.  Shanthy heard the ring tone of her mobile kept on the dining table. She rushed in. “Yes Sneha. How come you ring up half an hour earlier?” “No, Amma, I couldn’t wait till then. I just wanted to share with you that I have found my life partner.” “Fantastic,’ replied Shanthy, excited. And who is the guy?” He is Priyal Chatrapathi, a Gujarati boy. We studied together in GeorgiaTech.” “I know whatever decisions you arrive at, you will do so after due deliberations. We are fully with you Konthey,” reassured Shanthy. Yes, Shanthy is correct. Sneha and Priyal indeed are charming and made for each other. The sole answer that is difficult to find is: who is lucky – he or she? Undoubtedly, both.

This was last year, but enough for Shanthy to get going with preparations. Both parents got an opportunity to meet the would-be addition to their respective families when Priyal and Sneha visited India later.

The marriage was fixed for 14 and 15 December. Come Sunday 8 December – last week, that is. The Weather Office predicted heavy rains, inclement weather, overcast sky, and declared Yellow alert till Friday. “Thank God, it does not extend to our week-end marriage,” relaxed Shanthy and Pooja. “Regardless, we should be ready with Plan B,” insisted Shanthy, Pooja, and now Sneha who has arrived a month earlier for the event. Fear engulfed their minds till they went to bed on Friday night. They were the happiest to wake up to a bright sunshine on Saturday morning. 

Many had contributed their bit for the preparatory work. Precisely why it was a great success.  However, if I were asked to deliver the Vote of Thanks, I would begin with Shanthy - yes, Shanthy the perfectionist. She had begun preparations as early as in January this year. Believe me, the marriage venue was booked then, to be precise. And everything downwards began taking their turns.

If Shanthy is a perfectionist, then Pooja executed everything to a near T – be it negotiating with the Event Management company or arranging a convoy of cars to transport the core-groups to and fro. Sneha jumped into the fray as soon as she landed for the marriage, to give final touches to the plan, and to do jointly those shopping items that waited for her arrival.

Sandeep, the laadla of the family, was the Man for All Seasons. He had his finger in every pie; one of the quietest leg workers, in fact.

Shekar held on to his forte - to make mid-course corrections by way of suggestions. His oft-repeated defence for leaving things at the suggestion level is: “I would have done this myself, but you see, as head of the family I am here in an advisory capacity, and not to do things myself.”  Others get the message and get going. That said, he did an outstanding job on both Reception and Muhurtam days in synching well with guests, the Royalton venue staff, the various food counters, transport vendors… Kudos Shekar.

Outside the Shanthy-Shekar group, Hari stands out for his active participation in the bhangra dance on both days. No wonder it drew great admiration from the bridegroom’s party, many of whom congratulated him individually. Kamala would have taken the centre-stage for the nitty gritty on Muhurtam day but for her recent fall. Her siblings filled the vacuum ably.

I did not see much of Srinath in action during the dance sessions unless I was busy doing justice to the Starter or Main menu counters. But he compensated it with taking good care of Kamala. Shobha did an outstanding job at the mic conducting the musical-bhangra extravaganza. It was very nice of Beena and Yuki to have flown all the way from Sacramento for the wedding. Kudos to Kamala family for near 100% representation.

And, lest I am accused of not mentioning about Lalitha Akka and I, we just hung around looking busy and doing nothing. 

Credit for 100% attendance goes to Saraswathy-Swamy family. Despite Mohan, Ramesh, Dhivya and Aarati having their official commitments, they didn’t allow any travel plans to interfere with their presence here. So nice of them. All the grandchildren, joined by Keshav, had a gala time running around the vast expanse and be in their own world.

(To be continued in Part 2 tomorrow


Thursday, December 5, 2024

Samaveda Parayanam – An Enchanting evening

In Hindi there is a saying: Upar Wala Jab Bhi Deta Hai, Chapar Phaad Ke Deta Hai - Divine Grace is unlimited and bountiful. Exactly that was the privilege some members of the SFV Vedic Chanting group who were free at short notice, had this evening. 

Hardly had we had the pleasure of participating in the Shata Rudrabhisheka last week, when this evening Mr Gopalakrishnan, of Oak 2124, organized a private Samaveda Parayanam at his house. He invited the SFV Vedic Chanting group to partake the pleasure. Yes, I am talking of the same unassuming Mr Gopalakrishnan with an amiable disposition who, when speaks, releases the exact unit of decibel as is required for the listener to hear him – nothing more, nothing less.

Five learned pandits bestowed with the same pitch, as though Mr Gopalakrishnan had hand-picked them as would a music director for a chorus, rendered nonstop for an hour and a half Samaveda Parayanam, keeping the audience captivating. Starting off a little slow, they warmed up soon, and the hall reverberated with their scintillating rendering – uniform pitch, speed, intonation, superb synchronization, and what have you – as though it was a recording session. It was a listening pleasure. And as my Group friend pointed out, we could decipher not a single word of their rendering. Probably that is the speciality of Samavedam chant which has a musical tone in it.

On rare occasions when a train moving fast would suddenly slow down on spotting a buffalo or cow at a distance, the purohits slowed down at places only to pick up the original speed. After the session I thought of clarifying with them, but they seemed so tired after a long chant.

Altogether it was a real change from the ’leopard coming, leopard spotted…’ mindset we are in. Yes, last evening it was the turn of Alder and Maple 3 residents to watch from their balconies the leopard enjoying a post-late-lunch siesta on a boulder.

Also, the chant-session looked as though it was to celebrate the opening up of the sky from the cloudy and sickly weather that we in Bangalore were subjected to for the past few days consequent upon the cyclone in Tamil Nadu.

An evening well spent. It was like enjoying  a serene chamber music as opposed to a concert in an auditorium with all pomp and show. The positive energy and vibration that pervaded the 2124 hall knew no limits. An enchanting evening no doubt, Gopalakrishnan ji.

(If you have any comments, please write them not in Telegram, WhatsApp or ADDA, but in the Post a Comment column of the Blog.  It then stays with the blog. Thanks.)


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