Amazing khadtaal by Sabir

Here's another gem from the Jodhpur trip. After the soul-stirring rendition of 'Kesariya balma' by the young singer, Sabir enthralled us with a solo Khadtaal performance. For those who are unaware of what Khadtaal - these are wooden castanets. Simply two wooden pieces held in each palm, that's all!
Well, that's not all, exactly. I tried to hold them and at least manage one click, but the Khadtaal simply kept slipping from the hands.
As with the other video of Kesariya, this one suffers from poor quality too. The vigour and passion behind the performance has to be seen to be believed, so am posting the video nevertheless.

Hopefully the other pictures convey the total magic of this performance. Enjoy!

Swine flu in Pune

The outbreak of Swine Flu in Pune is all over the news and I am forced to think - has anything changed at all for me and my life in Pune so far? On an absolutely phenomonological level, the ansewr is NO. So then, what does it prove (if at all it does)

1. That I am an ignorant fool.
2. That swine flu is not really THE big danger that it is being made out to be
3. That one need not panic. There are realities about H1N1 virus and swine flu that one should calmly consider and take appropriate action.

Unfortunately, there is no one perfect answer. The sad and unfortunate death of a 14-year old girl in Pune due to this flu cannot be ignored and her family will no doubt agree with option no. 1 above.
So what is the danger, if I have to look at it objectively for myself? What is the risk that I will die in a road accident tomorrow compared to dying of swine flu? The former is clearly a higher risk.
Does that mean that I should simply ignore the risk posed by this flu and continue life as if nothing has happened? That would be foolish, going by the magnitude of the risk.
Consider this - Pune has been put under the 'epidemic act' - which is not something that happens every now and then. WHO has declared swine flu as a pandemic, which is also not something that WHO does every now and then. The largest proportion of cases is students. Which puts a very LARGE population at risk. How can I be sure that the kid next door has not contacted H1N1 from his friend who met his cousin who attended a birthday party of a friend who had played football with his friends where the kid that he bumped into has a younger sister who is in the same class as the girl who has had fever and a running nose for the past week, AND whose uncle came back from USA some time back?
A virus that measures a few microns in diameter has got an entire city in its grip. It exerts a power not just on our nasal cavities and mucosal membranes, but on the minds of a few million people. Very soon, it will be several million. (WHO estimates that in the next two years, there will two BILLION cases of swine flu worldwide.) It is time to wake up...
Some realities about this illness that I have learnt from the media

1. The symptoms of swine flu and our well-known 'usual' flu are very similar. So just the symptoms are not sufficient to give a warning.
2. The test can be done only at two govt. centers - namely, Aundh hospital and Naidu hosptial.
3. While there is no vaccine to get immunized against the virus, there is (thankfully) a medicine available. It is called Tamiflu.
4. It gets transmitted through contact.
5. Only 1% of the cases tested positive are fatal. (How does it matter for the family of the deceased? For them, it is 100%....)
6. Overall general hygiene and cleanliness can keep it away. But I don't think a face mask and a hand sanitizer kept in the pocket can really make you immune. They may contribute slightly towards the cause, nevertheless.....

All this does not answer one question. If I do wake up with fever and a running nose tomorrow morning, will I be clear about what steps to take?

Man who planted trees

I am going to see a one-act play today evening, despite having seen it thrice before. It is called 'Zade lavnaara manoos' by the students from Fergusson College in Pune. Earlier this year, they staged it for the Firodiya Trophy inter-collegiate competition and bagged a host of prizes.
The story is based on the French novel - Man who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (published in 1953 as the original French title L'homme qui plantait des arbres). It was translated in Marathi by Madhuri Purandare and the play is a stage adaptation of this version.
The story follows the narrative of a person who remains anonymous throughout. It traces his journeys and meeting with a lonely shepherd, Elezeard Bouffier, who single-handedly goes on planting trees in a desolate land, unmindful of the world around him, and without asking for anything in return. For many years, people believed that this was an autobiographical account by Giono, till in 1957 he declared that Bouffier was a fictional character. As per Giono, he simply wrote it because "The goal was to make trees likeable, or more specifically, make planting trees likeable."
Whether truth or fiction, it is a remarkable story indeed. And the stage adaptation does full justice to its narrative quality. The play is embellished by some superlative music and choreography, not to forget the innovative use of other art forms like painting and also origami.

I have the line of credits by heart but will refrain from giving the credit to any one person. It is truly a team-performance and no individual contribution can be compared over one other.
I hear that the tickets are sold out but if you are really keen, you could try your luck at Bhrat Natya Mandir tonight at 9.30 pm. If you aren't one of the lucky ones in the hall tonight, well, just pray that the group will stage it again very soon.

No-frills music!

We live in a digital era and it is getting increasingly difficult to make out whether a medium is original or has been 'digitally reorganized'. During a recent trip to Jodhpur, we were staying at a little resort called Nirali Dhani. As is usual in Rajasthan, a cultural paegant showing local talent is on show in the evenings. There was a group of singers led by Sabir (playing the harmonium in the clip) who enthralled us for more than an hour with their superb rendering of Rajasthani folk, Sufi music, and the usual smattering of bollywood numbers. There is no microphone, no amplifier, no digital interference. (Yes, it is ironical that I have to resort to using digital means for getting this clip to readers.) The lead singer must be just about 13-14 years old - his singing left us spellbound. His voice spanned all three octaves with equal ease. But the best part was - he was enjoying his singing immensely. It was amazing how his clear sharp voice could easily carry over a long distance.
We couldn't help but fantasize what it would be like to hear this little gem of a singer out in the desert, his voice matching the beauty of the night sky and the sand dunes. Some day I hope to meet Sabir and his group again. He told me he has already toured Israel once and is off to France and other European countries later this year. All the best - Sabir! And thanks for a wonderful musical treat. Don't miss the beauty of the initial alaap by the little fellow, his boyish enthusiasm at jumping to the first 'sam' and the climactic rhythm accompaniment on 'Khadtaal' at the end. Two days later we also were lucky enough to listen to another group - and this time in the real desert. More about that later. Sorry for the poor video quality. The clip was recorded by Prasad Bharadwaja on his cell phone. Throughout the trip, we were kicking ourselves at not having carried the handycam. That's a lesson - always carry the camera - you never know what you will get!
I have been trying to upload the video file of this (its an .avi file) for the past four days unsuccessfully. Finally managed to extract the audio track from it and posting it here. Is there any techno geek out there who can help me with this? The avi file is about 800 mB - is that too big to post on a blog? I never thought so. Anyway - listen to this.....