Desicritics Category: Media: Concerts

Concert Review: Dischordian + Gillian Grassi - Cafe Goa

IdeaSmith — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:29:37 EST

I was at Café Goa this Wednesday (20th January) for the UTV World Movies & Music event organized by the Bombay Elektrik Projekt. As it was, the trek to Bandra is a formidable thought (and I stop short of saying ‘unrealistic’ since that’s what’s I call travelling to town). In typical Mumbaiker fashion, I aim for efficient usage of time so I clubbed this with another event – meeting a longtime friend/reader of my blog. We decided to skip the movie in favor of coffee & chat and come back for the music performance.

The opening act was by Gillian Grassie, a harpist from Philadelphia on a year-long tour of several countries including India to study the relationships between new technologies and independent music scenes around the globe. I managed to catch only the last few minutes of her act and what little I saw was quite mesmerizing. The harp carries associations of white-clad angels and an otherworldy, semi-religious feel of music. Gillian's music was none of those things but managed to bring a sweet freshness to instantly hummable tunes. Her fingers seemed to be feather-touching, almost dancing on the strings of the harp (which was almost as big as her..and here I thought the harp would be a much smaller instrument). The harp provided only a very soft background to the songs which primarily rode on her voice. It's quite impressive to create a song purely from one's voice, virtually unassisted by the grandeur of an orchestra and Gillian pulled it off, holding the audience spellbound. I do wish I had made it to the venue earlier to catch her entire performance.

The headlining act of the evening was Dischordian, a venture by Garreth D’mello (also of Split). Dischordian is described as 'an attempt to move away from the wall of sound and aggression and testosterone that makes up most rock music, an attempt to strip music down to its basics'.

Garreth was accompanied by Howard Pereira on his guitar and Agnnelo Picardo (Aggie), the percussionist/trumpeteer. The last began the evening, hugging a trumpet close to his chest while listening to Garreth and Howard spark up the show. I’ve never seen a trumpet that close. The advantage of a place like Café Goa is the proximity it provides between the performer and the audience. So I kept my eyes trained on the trumpet, an instrument I only have vague associations with, of loudness and some sort of stiff-necked wedding band. Thus it came as a pleasant surprise when the trumpet actually made its entry into the music at ‘The Old Whore’. Aggie led it in with the kind of regal dignity and grandeur that you would associate with a quiet, well-built black man who surprises you with jazz. Yes, jazz was unmistakably what I heard in Dischoridian’s sound everytime the trumpet was a part of it.

Garreth himself has tremendous presence on stage. His face is boyish and manner as laidback and easygoing as his Goan roots. But when he begins to sing, those notions melt away as you are carried off in the power and forceful magnetism of his rich voice. It’s a deep voice, the kind that sounds mature and all-knowing with wisdom that comes from having experienced excitement and grown past it. Possibly because of the selection of songs and the jazz feel that I described earlier, it also felt like a strong but gently caress, the sort that can crush but knows how not to.

I’ve heard ‘The Old Whore’ before, live as well as a recording. It has a classic country-western feel to it. Some artists sound much better in person than on the polished finish of a recording and Dischordian is certainly in this category.

'Scourge of Love' revved up the tempo and suddenly the audience was drawn into the performance, before we even knew it, thumping our feet and trying to sing along (or hum along at least). This is when Swati who had accompanied me clapped her hands and called Garreth, India's answer to Kurt Cobain (which elicited a weak smile from Garreth when I told him later, followed by a hasty retreat).

The piece de resistance of Dischordian's performance has to have been ‘Bucket of Blood’ (I actually thought that was ‘Bucket of Love’ when I tweeted about it);-). It’s a racy, foot-thumping number, all adrenalin and blood-rushes. I’ve not seen Garreth in his former avatar but several people I know have given me a pretty graphic account of his rockstar days as a tee-shirt ripping stage-stud, girls screaming et al. His shirt stayed firmly on and he remained seated but this song was a more than adequate hint to those days. And yes, there were a lot of people screaming, even in that tiny room in the café, men and women alike.

The trumpet was replaced by a sort of bongo (hand-drum?) for the same song and served to showcase Aggie's talent. All artists are trying to communicate something in their own ways and media. Musicians face that challenge by appealing to something whose response can’t often be quantified in words – melody, beat, the combination of the various sounds made by wind and strings and voice. Some instruments like the guitar and indeed, the human voice make that connection a lot more easily but it is a greater challenge to connect with the audience with the more distant (but grand) percussion. Aggie displays as much presence as Garreth does, in a different way. As the lead guitarist and vocalist, albeit with his own brand of showmanship, Garreth is the flash-and-dazzle of Dischordian but Aggie makes his presence felt subtly and yet, noticeably. It’s an impressive talent and makes for a great performance.

Garreth performed solo on 'One of these days' and 'How I wait'', which while melodious, didn’t quite send me into rapture like the earlier songs. They could just be the kind of songs you’d prefer to listen to within the intimacy of headphones and in solitude rather than with a big group of people. Fortunately Howard and Aggie returned to perform ‘She lied to me’ and a cover version of Jello Biafra's 'Are you drinking with me, Jesus?' which really had the crowd howling in appreciation. The other songs they performed were 'Same old conversations', 'Your Right Heel' and 'Baby, Maybe'.

The performance closed a few minutes after midnight.

The neighbors are complaining. You wouldn’t think an acoustic band could make much noise. But apparently we can.

was Garreth’s wry observation as the audience begged him for an encore.

In sum, the evening was well-spent and totally worth the trip to Bandra. The second half was good but I think the first few songs took away the show. Dischordian is great, live in action and I’ll gladly make the trek again to hear them. I would also like to hear their recorded songs to be able to compare it to their live performance. But my feeling is their real talent lies in the tangible connection they are able to make with their audience when they are right in front of them.

* Dischordian is on Facebook and Twitter. The Bombay Elektrik Projekt is on Facebook. My tweets of the event are hashtagged #bep.

Mxolisi Nyezwa: Winner of the Thomas Pringle National Award for Poetry, South Africa 2009

Amitabh Mitra — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:40:18 EST

The Thomas Pringle National Award for Poetry is given by the English Academy, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. This is the highest award given to a poet of South Africa on alternate years. The award may be compared to the Sahitya Akademi Award given in India.

The vision of the English Academy of Southern Africa is of a democratic society in which effective English is available to all who wish to use it, where competent instruction in the language is readily accessible and in which the country’s diverse linguistic ecology is respected.

The English Academy is concerned with all forms and functions of English. It interests itself in English in education, promotes research and debate, organizes lectures, makes representations about language matters, rewards excellence and fosters the creative, critical and scholarly talents of users (and would-be users) of English in Southern Africa.

The English Academy prides itself in bestowing awards to deserving poets and writers but also organising lectures by eminent personalities. India’s first High Commissioner, Gopal Krishna Gandhi is one of them.

Thomas Pringle (January 5 1789 – December 5 1834) is considered the Father of South African English Poetry. A contemporary of Sir Walter Scott, he came to South Africa and settled down at Cape Town. Being lame, he himself took to literary work in Cape Town rather than farming, opened a school with fellow Scotsman John Fairbairn, and conducted two newspapers, the South African Journal, and South African Commercial Advertiser. However, both papers became suppressed for their free criticisms of the Colonial Government, and his school closed.

His books African Sketches and Ephemerides proved to be very popular.
He died of Tuberculosis in December 1834 at the age of forty-five.

To Sir Walter Scott

From deserts wild and many a pathless wood
Of savage climes where I have wandered long,
Whose hills and streams are yet ungraced by song,
I bring, illustrious friend, this garland rude:
The offering, though uncouth, in kindly mood
Thou wilt regard, if haply there should be,
'Mong meaner things, the flower simplicity,
Fresh from coy Nature's virgin solitude.
Accept this frail memorial, honoured Scott,
Of favoured intercourse in former day --
Of words of kindness I have ne'er forgot --
Of acts of friendship I can ne'er repay:
For I have found (and wherefore say it not?)
The Minstrel's heart as noble as his lay.

The Bushman

The Bushman sleeps within his black-browed den,
In the lone wilderness. Around him lie
His wife and little ones unfearingly --
For they are far away from 'Christian Men.'
No herds, loud lowing, call him down the glen:
He fears no foe but famine; and may try
To wear away the hot noon slumberingly;
Then rise to search for roots -- and dance again.
But he shall dance no more! His secret lair,
Surrounded, echoes to the thundering gun,
And the wild shriek of anguish and despair!
He dies -- yet, ere life's ebbing sands are run,
Leaves to his sons a curse, should they be friends
With the proud 'Christian-Men' -- for they are fiends!

The English Academy gave me this rare honour to be the Chief Adjudicator and selector for the National Thomas Pringle Award for Poetry, 2009. It was a difficult task and I was helped by two well known poets, Kobus Moolman and Graham Vivien Lancaster from Petermaritzburg.

Selecting poetry is subjective, each with a varied belief of the very concept of a poem, one that surpasses and becomes an element of ecstasy.

We looked at works of individual poets, students of English Literature and Creative Writing of various universities and poetry published in A Hudson View, New Coin, New Contrast, Carapace and Chimurenga, all of them being South African literary journals.

Mxolisi Nyezwa’s work showed the excellence that we were looking for and proved to be far above all the poetry that is being written in South Africa at the present time.

The announcement was made by me, at the Book SA Ban’quet , 14 November 2009 at Cape Town to a standing ovation.

MXOLISI NYEZWA was born in 1967 in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth and still lives there at 4 Madala Street. He is the editor of Kotaz, the multilingual literary magazine based in the Eastern Cape. Of the magazine, Darryl Accone has written: “Kotaz does more than liberate the arts. It frees space for public discourse, space that no longer exists in newspapers, as well as freeing hearts and minds to engage with what it means to be living, feeling and thinking in post-apartheid South Africa.”

Mxolisi works in language & writing projects in the rural and township communities in the Eastern Cape to help build a reading/writing culture. In 2000, his debut poetry collection, Song Trials, was published by Gecko Poetry, a book of “associative poems which move rapidly through multiple dimensions. They encompass the spiritual, the political and bleakness of the everyday with the fluency of language and a compelling deftness of image””.

Commenting on his life as a poet in South Africa, Mxolisi says, “I realized perhaps much too early during my school years that I was fated to be powerless, vulnerable to the world completely. Maybe as clear proof of this fate I am not able to free myself from the physical and psychological restrictions imposed on me by the life in the townships. The life here is always a fierce war, merciless like the wind. I am fascinated by the sea, in its patrimonial re-enactment of life’s birth and life’s re-burial. For me in the townships, where I’ve always lived, nothing happens without the silent consent of the sea stoning our human hearts.”

Mxolisi’s second collection of poetry, New Country, was published by the UKZN Press in 2008.

“Poetry is a simple way to remind us of our humanity. It guards against placing blind faith in the sciences which are constricting to the human spirit. In poetry we discover our basic selves.” Mxolisi Nyezwa.

In his citation, I wrote:

It gives us great pleasure to award the Thomas Pringle Award 2009 to Mxolisi Nyezwa. He is a a poet who is not influenced by a certain style of writing or literature but has evolved his unique poetry in his own special way giving us a rare insight to a sensitive human being created out of pure personal experiences.

The poetry of Mxolisi Nyezwa is purely South African in the context of imagery and words , its flavour wafts and stays in the minds of whoever reads them

Mxolisi Nyezwa is a poet of refreshingly honest insight and outstanding linguistic ability. Uninhibited by a particular style or correctness, but his own truth of a distinctly South African flavour and passion, Mxolisi is well deserving of the 2009 Thomas Pringle Poetry Award.

Graham Lancaster writes:

My participation in judging the Thomas Pringle Poetry Award this year was a great privilege and honour for me.

The general standard of poetry presented was high, which is indeed gratifying and bodes well for poetry in South Africa and South African poet’s integration with the world.

Mxolisi Nyezwa’s poems published by New Coin, “My Friends Who Lived With Me” and “8 Poems from Malikhanye” rose above others with his clarity of voice in layered depth, refreshingly honest insight and outstanding linguistic transmission. Perhaps with certain influences, yet uninhibited by a particular style or correctness his own truth emerges in a distinctly South African voice of flavour and passion and I believe Mxolisi is well deserving of the 2009 Thomas Pringle Poetry Award.

Other poets I found impressive and shortlisted are Sarah Frost for “Chaise Longue” and Katy Kilalea for “The Vineyard” and “Goodbye is a semi-circle”.

Kobus Moolman writes:

It was an honour for me to participate in this year’s Thomas Pringle award.
I would strongly nominate the following two poems by Mxolisi Nyezwa published in New Coin magazine: “My friends who lived with me” and “8 poems from Malikhanye”.

The writing of Nyezwa is intensely lyrical, evoking strange and powerful landscapes, which are both literal and at the same time deeply imaginative. He writes with a natural intuitiveness that finds expression in complex and arresting imagery. In this sense, Nyezwa has clear affinities with Spanish poets such as Lorca and Vallejo. But the beauty of Nyezwa’s poetry is the way that he has forged a unique voice for himself. Like all poets he has influences and literary forebears. There is no writer who does not have such influences. But Nyezwa has been able to implant this tradition in the South African soil, and to make it his own. His work deserves this award.

At the same time too, I must make mention of the extremely high standard of the other poems which we evaluated. Although, Nyezwa’s work stood out for me from the rest, it was nevertheless enormously gratifying to read work of such quality. Mention therefore must be made of the following poets whose writing impressed itself upon me:

Katy Kilalea for “The Vineyard” and “Goodbye is a semi-circle”; Gail Dendy for “Q&A: Please fill in the blanks”; and Sarah Frost for “Chaise Longue”.

Some of his poems that we are publishing in ‘A Hudson View’

before the child destroys the world

i have a few things to say
before the child rises like the morning
and destroys the world
before the bread rises from the table
and the axe falls to the ground –
bread that rises from the ashes
into your grave.
days now appear slanted like the sun
the rain begins from your body
a new prohibition begins –
your body clings to the earth
like fire over the burning sky.

for days i looked for my poems

for days i looked for my poems in the streets,
and since i could not find them,
light fell like a flower on the lonely square.
the light sounded the drum of a thud.
beauty came grovelling forward
begging,
and children went for days
without food.
*

city

i have lived to discover a city, an open road,
a bucket of milk, and two gentle doves.
i have discovered in myself
two frightened birds with miles of dirt road to fly.
in the forest hills spiders and black dogs clamoured.
in the corpses of yellow flowers
a rainbow spun across a darkened sky.
i lived in a street where girls with dark eyes sang,
birds with their wings welcomed a harsh rain.
*

At the end I can only say that culture and healing go side by side. My colleagues in the hospital would not appreciate my vision of medicine. Black townships of South Africa has languished in its own terms, but have at certain times come out victorious. Political controversies continues to eat the very soul of this vibrant culture. By giving this award to Mxolisi, I have brought his voice into the open, ringing all the way through many continents. Thomas Pringle would surely have been proud of him.

Chief Justice of India Summons CJ of Karnataka

Sumanth — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:37:52 EDT

Indian citizens are getting passionate and powerful. Fed up with utter helplessness in dealing with the system for a long time, now they are forming lobby groups and also getting the honest people inside the system to give them the tactical support; as a result, the backlash against the "system" is increasing. The Jurassic park is finally cracking now and nature will find its way.

Just couple of weeks ago, a bill in Indian parliament by ruling Congress Government to prevent the citizens from seeking information about "assets of judges" was defeated (link) due to large scale lobbying and public uproar. One of the prominent lobby group was "Campaign for Judicial Accountability & Judicial Reforms(CJAR)".

Is website says (link):

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability & Judicial Reforms(CJAR) is a response of people’s movements, and all organizations and individuals working on public interest issues to a judicial system that has become unaccountable, inaccessible and insensitive to the poor.

The extremely strong stone age "contempt of court law" is often used to deter citizens and media from questioning judges and the corruption in judiciary. That also means, its is extremely difficult to write articles questioning Indian judiciary, which are safe from contempt proceedings. However, the assertiveness of the citizens and media is increasing rapidly.

Now, here is the breaking news.

Newspapers Hindu,IBNLIVE,Tribune Report:

The Chief Justice of India(CJI) K.G.Balakrishnan had summoned Karnataka's Chief Justice to Delhi on Saturday to answer allegations made by senior jurists Fali Nariman and Shanti Bhushan on the basis of complaints based in Chennai that he has acquired huge assets. The letter, which was sent under the auspices of the Forum for Judicial Accountability, levels serious charges of land grabbing and other “irregularities” against Justice Dinakaran. In the meeting that took place on September 11 at the residence of the CJI, in which some senior Supreme Court judges participated, Justice Dinakaran was confronted with the allegations.

Bhushan and other representatives will meet Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily on Thursday to discuss the charges.

"Madras lawyers sent a detailed list of charges against Dinakaran. They said that through his family, he has acquired 700 acres of land on which he runs an estate, there is a road named after him, and there are other corruption charges as well," he added.

Justice Dinakaran is one of five judges recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court of India. The President of India Pratibha Patil was expected to formally appoint them by the end of this month, following clearances by the Law Ministry and the Prime Minister.

Newspaper, Dailypioneer reports:

The seriousness of the allegations can be gauged from the fact that following a representation by the Forum to the CJI, the President and the Prime Minister, Justice Dinakaran was summoned by the CJI for clarification. At the meeting, which took place on September 11, Justice Dinakaran is learnt to have refuted all the charges against him.

But even this move has met with disapproval of senior jurists. Said Bhushan, “What did he (CJI) expect by calling him? Did he expect him (Dinakaran) to say that I am guilty? The best way would have been to order an impartial inquiry into the matter.”

According to Bhushan, there are serious charges of misconduct against Dinakaran and it would be the “worst ever appointment” if he were elevated to the apex court. Speaking to The Pioneer, he said, “It is inexplicable on the part of the Chief Justice of India as to why he is not consulting the judges of the Supreme Court, like Justices M Katju and AK Ganguly, under whom Dinakaran has served. So many lawyers are making allegations against him. Why is he (CJI) so keen to get him (Dinakaran) appointed? Perhaps the reason may be that he is a Dalit. We cannot say.”

In the meanwhile, Karnataka bar association is thinking of boycotting Dinakaran's court in Bangalore.

The meeting has been called on a representation moved by advocate Puthige R Ramesh, who sent a signed representation to the president of the Karnataka High Court Bar Association to convene an emergency meeting on the issue. The representation is signed by several senior advocates and lawyers.

Speaking to The Pioneer from Bangalore, Ramesh said, “There is a strong sentiment at the Bar to boycott the court of Justice Dinakaran in the wake of allegations appearing in newspapers. In all probability, the meeting would take stock of the situation and discuss the course of action.”

Travel Report: Korba Street Festival - Heliopolis, Cairo

Kim — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:19:02 EDT

Last Friday was the annual Korba Street festival in Heliopolis - a residential suburb in Cairo.

Baghdad street was closed off to traffic and stalls were put up along the sidewalks. There were stalls from the Asean countries selling native food and some handicrafts.

The Indian stall just had posters urging visitors to visit India. Nothing else. :(

There were tables along the sides for families to relax and grab a bite and the main road was left free for kids to express their creativity on the road with chalk and paints.

Marriott's Bakery, Swiss Inn, Sultana Ice Cream had tables on the road and were serving food there. The Swiss Inn even had a buffet set up on the road. But the more exciting stuff to eat were the street stalls which were selling things like cotton candy,the hummus drink and beans.

I attended in the morning half and left by 1:30pm, before the crowds really started to pour in. This meant I missed out on the musical performances (by Wust el Balad among others) and the puppet show, but what I managed to catch was great anyway.

My friends tell me, there was a short parade later in the noon with flower covered floats and giant coke bottles. More of advertising than Spring flowers was a comment I heard.

What I got to see, kind of reminded me a bit of the Kala Ghoda festival in Bombay, but just a little bit. The concept is similar, but there is so much further that the Korba festival can go. Its a good start though, just to have an open air event in a residential area of Cairo.

I would definitely try to catch it again next year.

Mysore Dussehra: Thank God, it's over

GV Krishnan — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 12:47:46 EDT

Local administration must breathed a sigh of relief, rather than a sense of fulfillment at the end the 10-day Dussehra festivities (held on 21st October). I don't know if Mysore's deputy commissioner and Dussehra special officer, does any de-briefing of event organizers, if only as a learning experience. After all, Dussehra would be with us again in 2008; and it wouldn't be a good idea if we repeat the mistakes of 2007. Did I hear a cynic saying, we would have a turnover of district officials by next October, and fresh mistakes would then be waiting to be made?

Take the vintage cars that came to the city, many from Bangalore, to participate in the Dussehra procession on Sunday. Car owners sore at Mysore police, says The Hindu. Karnataka Vintage and Car Club spokesman reckoned many of its members wouldn't be enthusiastic about participating in future. Their grouse is that those who drove their cherished jalopy all the way from Bangalore were made to wait nearly two hours on the highway, at the toll-gate on city outskirts, for police clearance to enter the city. No reception committee; no garlands-sindoor welcome for these men/women in their 'magnificent machines'.

And, when the vintage cars eventually made it to the city, they were not allowed inside the Mysore Palace, where the cars used to be on show for visiting tourists. Instead, the prized vehicles were unceremoniously flagged away to the Town Hall, to cool their engines and, to stew in their tempers, till it was time to join the Dussehra procession.

Customary showcasing of vintage vehicles on the Mysore Palace grounds was "canceled without rhyme or reason", according to Ms. Gazala Khan who was there with her 1965 Mercedes. Among other vintage notables were the 1909 Wolseley that had carried the royalty at Cooch Bihar; Delage - D8 that once belonged to the Holkars of Indore. There were some 45 odd Vintage numbers, including some two-wheelers such as a 1934 Harley Davidson.

For a cop on Dussehra bandobast duty they may be glorified junk that manage to move on wheels. A couple of years back, they say, one of these old age vehicles conked out right in the middle of the rally. But then the vintage car show has been a salient feature of Dussehra festivities for some years now.

Canceling the vintage car exhibition on the Palace grounds so unceremoniously, at such short notice, for whatever reason; and done without so much as a say-so to the participants doesn't speak highly of Dusshera organisers' event management skills. The Dussehra Vintage car event is said to be corporate-sponsored. And the company that picked up the tab may want an explanation; a note of regret from the district administration, explaining the circumstances for the bungle and would be a goodwill gesture to ensure sponsorship next year.

Yuva Dussehra, another sponsored segment that left much to be desired on the management front. I know this to be the case with the Sonu Nigam concert on the Maharaja College grounds. My young niece and a Nigam fan had an invitation for two. She was turned away from the gate, on the plea that the seats on the open college grounds had already been taken. First, the police didn't let her in with her handbag; so she rushed to leave her bag with a friend on nearby Dewan's Rd, and on her return to the concert venue my niece was turned away.

I can understand the security concerns of the police. But a responsive police force and invitee-friendly organizers would have, I thought, arranged for spot-search (I was told the police were there in sufficient strength) of the invitees who might have missed the press statement on the handbag ban. I won't question, as 'civil rights' activists might, the police to impose such summary ban because of their inability to spot check handbags. I prefer to appeal to the good sense of organizers not to disappoint fans in such dismissive manner.

One other thing, could anyone, other than the police, perhaps, imagine our ladies stepping out of house without their handbags. The point here is, my niece was denied admission even after compliance with the handbag ban.

That a proper invitation issued by the sponsors (a nationalized bank) of the Sonu Nigam concert was so dishonored cannot speak much for event management. What's worse, such a mess-up with invitees wouldn't go well with the event sponsors who sought to please their staff and valued clients with the concert invitations. Isn't this like a bank dishonoring its own IOU?

Mysore Utsav: Initiative to Counter Sarkari Dasara?

GV Krishnan — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 04:38:03 EDT

We're a free country where anyone is free to organize a utsav. So is, I suppose, anyone free to oppose it. Which, in a democracy, is the prerogative of opposition netas. Here we have a bunch of political has-beens who protest the upcoming Mysore Utsav (July 26-29)? I only wish their objections were reasonable.

The opponents of proposed utsav say 1) it is an attempt to dim the glory of Mysore Dasara; and 2) that it is not proper to hold the utsav at a time when farmers are being driven to suicide due to financial hardship. Protestors make it sound analogous to the Nero-playing-fiddle-as-Rome-burns situation. Even those who sympathise with the farmers' plight would find the anti- utsav call bit of a stretch. The utsav opponents have threatened to wave black flags at the festival inaugural at the Maharaja College grounds. Whether or not the threat of black flags impacts the utsav proceedings the flag-wavers can count on some TV coverage for themselves.

The justification utsav organizers trot out for holding the four-day festival is no less amusing. The utsav, they say, seeks "to foster a great tradition, culture and heritage of the royal city". And to uphold this heritage they have lined up, among other events, free screening of Rajkumar films, a fashion show to promote Mysore silk, a kite-flying event and filmy music by Shaan and Udit Narayan. Sure, they would be fun. But do we require assistance from Bollywood playbacks to "foster a great tradition and culture" of our city? As for Mysore's brand image as a royal city I am not sure if such a brand image is conducive to making Mysore a happening place. This city, I reckon, needs to reinvent itself, to be able to project itself as a place on the go. We need to convey to tourists that there is more to Mysore than its palace and Dasara ritual.

Mysore Utsav, they say, is a purely private affair that is being backed by the minister in charge of Mysore district, Mr. G.T. Deve Gowda. Presumably, there is no contradiction or clash of interests here; and presumably,there is nothing in the ministerial code of conduct precluding Mr Gowde from active participation in a privately sponsored mega mela. Considering that the utsav is likely to cost at least Rs. 2.5 crores it makes business sense to involve a minister with official clout, to attract sponsors.

If one goes by the schedule of programmes published in the local media, Mysooru Utsava promises to be people-focused; and, hence, refreshingly different from the sarkari Dasara fare. The utsav, billed as 'four days of non-stop celebrations', offers an interesting entertainment mix, organised at very public venues - Udaya Raaga at Kukkarahalli Kere, Chitre Santhe at People's Park; live concerts at Maharaja College grounds, senior citizen's walkathon from Chamundi Hills, and children's fancy dress procession from K R Road to Rotary High School.

The Hindu reports that the mega event is being opposed by many political parties because they reckon it would "affect the prospects of Dasara". I have a theory on the prospects of Dasara 2007. Prevailing uncertainty over Janata Dal (Secular) intentions regarding its commitment to hand over the government to BJP this October is bound to impact plans for the state-sponsored Dasara . For the city corporation and some departments such as public works, tourism, horticulture Dasara is all about milking grants from the state government. Last year these departments had put in demands for nearly Rs. 25 crores. They have reason to be concerned about allocations this year. Low grants would mean not much of Dasara this year.

Kalyanji Anandji - Relevant Legends

Sanket Vyas — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:51:31 EDT

Bollywood of yesteryear was much easier to classify in regards to its music than it is today. The male singers short list consisted of Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh & Kishore Kumar - if you needed a female voice you called Lata Mangheshkar or her sister/rival Asha Bhonsle.

Similarly the music composers carried more weight than the film directors, as hit songs could all but guarantee a strong opening for the movie. Those composers are mostly gone now but far from forgotten and their names still invoke fond memories for many a Bollywood fan - S.D. Burman, his son R.D. Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Shankar Jaikishen, Naushad, O.P. Nayyar and Kalyanji Anandji.

Kalyanji Shah & his brother Anandji Shah moved from Kutch (in Gujarat) to Bombay in the early 1950s to start a family business. A local businessman who owed their father money gave them their first musical lessons in lieu of paying his bill and the rest as they say is history.

They worked with most of the musical greats of that era and were responsible for many memorable film scores (Don, Qurbani, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar & Lawaaris). It was a different time back then as evidenced by a story recalled by the surviving brother (Anandji) from the late 1970s...

"Lataji was a regular at our place for Kutchi home-cooked food, while Ashaji would frequently come over as well. Once we had a major concert lined up with Kishore Kumar in Mumbai but he suddenly took ill. Ashaji and R D Burmansaab called us up at that critical hour and without accepting any money, performed at our show all evening.
"Burmansaab even belted out our hits like 'Khaike Paan' from Don. Shortly after they had called, we also had got a call from Lataji offering to come sing at the same show."

R.D. Burman singing 'Khaike Paan'? Live in Bombay? Where's a time machine when you need one? Below is a picture of Lata Mangeshkar flanked by the two brothers Shah.

It was a different era back then but lest someone think that these legendary musicians are no longer relevant, one needs look no further than the resurgence that their music is enjoying today.

Everyone from the hottest DJ's (who have the hipsters wearing their cool t-shirts) to the Black Eyed Peas (who credited Kalyanji/Anandji on their Grammy award winning album last year) are exposing their 1970s songs to a worldwide audience paying homage to the maestros' tracks that featured funk breakbeats, wah-wah guitars and Motown-style orchestrations.

Kalyanji passed away five years ago but his brother is still doing concerts in front of packed crowds - if you live in the Atlanta area don't miss this once in a lifetime chance to see a true Bollywood legend.

Misrallaneous: Flamenca - A Marriage of Spanish and Oriental Music

Kim — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:03:34 EDT

For the last few months, the only "local" music I've listened to or heard were of the Lebanese Music Video variety, which at its best is comparable to an "Item Number" and at its worst is worse than those Punjabi videos on ETC.

Fortunately this entire imagery associated with local music has been completely replaced by an infinitely superior quality and variety of music. Flamenca Cairo, a group of nine instrumentalists and a vocalist perfomed to a full house at the El Sawy Cultural Center last Friday.

The group was founded by Wael Khedr (who is also the Lead Guitar/Guitar Soloist) in 2003 with traditional Flamenco music and some Latin themes. It was slowly developed to have more oriental flavor with the addition of some oriental instruments. Now, Flamenca has several unique pieces of music where this marriage between flamenco and oriental music is clearly evident.

Amr Darwish plays a mean Electric Violin. The jugalbandis between him and Wael were outstanding.

Raaft Farahat plays an instrument called the Kawla which is an Arabic Flute.

Yamen Abdallah plays the Qanon which sounds like a Santoor - reminiscent of water trickling down a slow waterfall.

Omar El Toudy on Keyboards looked so much like those Senior Masterjis who play the keyboards in desi orchestras. Sameh Ismael and Sherif Kamal are the percussionists, who play a wide variety of instruments some familiar, some not so familiar and some completely tangential like the stool that Sherif was sitting on. Saief Eldawla on the Drums and Moustafa Geuida on Base Guitar completed the instrumental part of the ensemble.

Ahmed Samir intermittently provided vocals to the instrumental pieces. What a voice! Powerful and controlled. Although I could barely understand a word of what he was singing, I could feel the strong emotions and sentiments behind them.

The whole ensemble just blended together so beautifully. It has been a long time since any music has actually touched me. Flamenca's music was moving, it actually spoke to every member of the audience. So the repeated requests for an encore and the standing ovation that followed at the end was no suprise at all.

You can dowload and listen to some of their music on their site. http://www.flamencacairo.com/

Image Sources:These pictures have been taken from the Flamenca website http://www.flamencacairo.com/ and through Google Image Searchhttp://images.google.com/

[Editor's Note: This is the first article in Kim's new column about life in Egypt, Misrallaneous.]

Shada Hassoun is an Iraqi Idol

Amrita Rajan — Thu, 5 Apr 2007 01:33:37 EDT

A few days ago, astonished by the size and scale of the cottage industry that has sprung up around Sanjaya Malakar's stubborn presence on American Idol, I was moved to remind people that this is still just a TV show. Nothing of national importance has come to pass. In the unlikely (gulp) event that he does become this year's Idol, life will still go on. As Taylor Hicks will attest, nobody can force you to buy his album even if he wins. No big deal.

Alas for my hubris. It did not live to see even a fraction of the time Sanjaya has spent on Idol. For I have just seen footage of a lovely young lady whose time spent on TV seems to have mattered a great deal to her nation.

Her name is Shada Houssan (also spelt Shatha or Shaza Hasun) and she is the Arab world's latest Idol. Star Academy is a show that debuted in 2003 to a level of criticism that would make the barbs directed at Idol look positively kind (produced by the same company that makes Big Brother, it's sort of Real World meets Idol in a school setting - enough said?) but it is still one of the most popular shows on Arab TV and draws contestants from all over the Middle East. And last week, Shada, an Iraqi affectionately dubbed the "Daughter of Mesopotamia" won by a landslide.

This is no mean feat for an Iraqi. Unlike the other contestants, Shada's fan base was often unable to watch her perform, thanks to frequent power cuts across Iraq. And yet, by most counts, she still got seven million Iraqis to vote for her.

"Her triumph will show the world that Iraqis will still sing despite their wounds," Israa Tariq, a homemaker from Baghdad's al-Ghadeer neighborhood, said before Friday's final episode.

And that seems to be the general sentiment across the Middle East and especially in Iraq: in Shada's victory lies a seed of hope for Iraqis in general. For a country that has seen increasing amounts of sectarian violence, Shada's presence on the show, which is held in Beirut, Lebanon, became an oddly unifying factor. Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds - as long as Shada was on that stage, they were all 'Iraqis'.

Exaggeration? Perhaps, perhaps not.

I am not an Arab, much less an Iraqi, so I have not watched the show in its entirety. I've no idea whether her competition was more talented and the votes slid her way solely because of her nationality. Such pan-Arab solidarity is becoming increasingly popular but would it extend to TV shows?

Or maybe it extends particularly to TV shows. Events such as Star Academy (or American Idol for that matter) are geared towards the manipulation of viewer sensibilities. If you can't make the public connect at some level with the contestants (pity, sympathy, commonality, admiration, etc) then your show has no hope of survival. Part of the pull is, of course, the vote system - it is fairly impossible to not care about a person when you feel like you've had a direct hand in their success or failure.

By this count, Shada is rightfully a raging success - she is young, personable, sings songs in the Celine Dion mould (hey, she could well be the Shakira of Arabic, how would I know? She looks like she took Dion lessons), dresses well and has a very nice tone to her voice. She's also an Iraqi at a time when life for an Iraqi is about as far removed from dressing up in pretty clothes and floating in a cloud of smoke in front of an adoring crowd as life can get.

However, it is also true that Shada, like so many Iraqis, grew up outside of Saddam Hussein's vicious rule in her mother's country of Morocco, which she still calls home. While a number of people have seen fit to raise an eyebrow at that piece of information, I personally doubt whether it matters so much to the Iraqis (well, clearly...). Any number of Iraqis went into exile during the years of Hussein's dictatorship and more people continue to flee the violence that has failed to stem four years after the cessation of major hostilities.

In any case, Shada identifies herself as an Iraqi and as per her interview to CNN (below) says that she always wished to represent her country in some way. She displayed her loyalties loud and clear by wrapping herself in the Iraqi flag immediately upon winning the competition before jumping around like an excited child (a reaction much more endearing than the dropped-jaw Oh-My-God-I-Won-The-Beauty-Pageant pose adopted by so many young women).

Now, while it's nice to see that we are not the only ones overtaken by Idol mania, all of this begs the question, can a TV show actually do what all these people think it can accomplish? Well, let's see:

Will Shada's win stop the violence? No. Will it make all the political factions sit down and hammer things out in a renewed spirit of unity? No. Will it make the United States and its allies withdraw their troops? No. Will it stop the kidnappings, torture and murder? No. Will it make it safe for little children to come out and play? No. Will it halt the rise of religious extremism in Iraq? No. Will it stop the steady exodus of refugees fleeing the country? No. Will it ensure a full restoration of civic amenities like electricity and water supply? No.

But psychologically, watching Shada win is bound to provide a measure of relief to millions of Iraqis. For the best part of a century, all that the Iraqis, especially those of Shada's age who couldn't make it out of Iraq, have seen is violence and deprivation. Now, here's a beautiful, poised young woman, wrapping herself in their flag on a show that gets covered by the international media and there's absolutely nothing ugly about it.

If you were in their position, wouldn't you be happy, at least for a moment? I belong to her generation and I can't imagine what my reaction would have been if she was the first visual I ever saw of my country in which violence and misery didn't play a role. Such is the power of TV.

Shada Hassoun Interview:

Shada's Performance:

American Idol: The Survival of Sanjaya

Aditi Nadkarni — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 00:33:42 EDT

Sometime last year I found myself reluctantly getting hooked onto American Idol. Conversations around me were largely dominated by 'last night's elimination' and I couldn't help feeling left out. I caved in and finally sat down one night to see what the hoopla was about.

I wasn't rooting for the best, I argued, making up excuses for this seemingly juvenile indulgence; I was just vehemently rallying against the Barbie dolls who couldn't carry a tune. Thankfully I didn't catch the McPheever but did have a bad bout of Hick-ups that season. So yes, I do kind of identify with the Idol mania that sweeps the country every season.

This year's underdog is Sanjaya Malakar. Each week Ryan Seacrest announces to a stunned crowd that Sanjaya is 'safe'. We keep hoping he will do better and somehow prove the haters wrong. We know he has the voice. He just seems to lack the star persona and the 'vocal-gymnastics' that some of the other experienced artists have mastered.

Sanjaya can carry a tune, he just doesn't do anything with his skill and this makes him, as Simon Cowell would cruelly describe, 'forgettable'. Then why is it that his goofy smile makes its way into every new episode of American Idol week after week?

I have made peace with this strange phenomenon of the invincible Sanjaya by finding my own philosophical conclusion. Try as I might, I find it very hard to dislike the guy. I think his disarming humility and lack of glamorous celeb quality is actually working to his advantage. People relate to him.

In the US, the social environment in schools sets teenagers up for being picked on. The catty cheerleaders, the mean girls and the buff athletes make up the popular crowd. Teenagers see the awkward kid in themselves when they watch Sanjaya perform and want to see him make it. Who doesn't want vindication?

When I watch Sanjaya, I see a complete lack of arrogance. I am reminded of the time when he broke into tears when his sister was eliminated from the show. He always has a big smile in place. And when Simon's cutting yet candid remarks wipe away that grin, I feel my own very pragmatic heart go out to him despite the truth in the criticism he's being dealt out.

Not all of us are Kelly Clarksons and Katherine McPhees. In fact the majority of us are not celebrity-material; we make up the under-Dawg-Pound (as Randy would call it) and so quite naturally we feel the need to vote for a guy who represents our kind.

In one of his little pre-performance videos, Sanjaya shrugged and quite simply stated, "I know I am not the best singer in this competition, but I bring my own thing to the show". It takes courage to make that admission on national television especially when everybody around you is claiming that it is a 'singing competition'. My question is, if it is a singing competition why do they call it American Idol and why are we the judges? After all, we are not the experts when it comes to the singing and an idol has to be a lot more than just a singer.