The Unfriendly yaari.com

A couple of months ago I got this mail (Type 1) in my inbox.

XYZ wants you to join Yaari!
Is XYZ your friend?
Yes, XYZ is my friend! No, XYZ isn't my friend.
Please respond or XYZ may think you said no :(
Thanks,
The Yaari Team

* For my non-hindi friends, 'yaari' means 'friendship'.

Unfamiliar to the ways of social networking sites and wanting to make the sad look turn into a smile (for I really thought it was a personalized message from XYZ), I ended up clicking (just one click) on Yes, XYZ is my friend! Little did I know that I had clicked on a 'public embarrassment' and a 'constant source of irritation'.

The result of the click was a window of yaari.com which wanted me to enlist by giving my mail id etc. that’s where I committed the greatest folly of my life. I enlisted.

A day later, I started getting mails (Type 2) like this.

dear meraj
I am a friend but do not feel comfortable getting into multiple groups like yaari and hence have not responded.
warm regards
PQR

What the overfriendly people of 'The Yaari Team' had done was something extremely rude. Without my permission, it generated a Type 1 mail and sent to almost everyone on my Gmail mailing list. Now, a) I’m not the social networking types and b) Even if I was, I would not be sending such a lame and soppy message to everybody on my mailing list.

The Type 2 mail hasn’t stopped since then (some have also accepted my fake invitation in the meantime). It’s like a monster that has been created because I got myself into the unfriendly ways of yaari.com.

Internet, with all its amazing positives has its share of flaws which can be extremely disgusting. I would request all my readers to be cautious about such unfriendly sites. I am.

Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009)

The opening bars of Billie Jean always make me feel like I’m getting into a disco (though I’m not much of a dancer) with the promise of a great night lying ahead. Thriller was one of my first music albums.

One of the greatest pop icons of modern times, Michael Jackson, died today at the age of 50. Speaking strictly for myself, I was never a big fan of the fellow’s music except for the album, Thriller which is a classic, and a few songs here and there.

He lived a strange life, surrounded by controversies, diseases and the many makeovers.
But, he (along with Madonna and Wham) made English popular music a mass product for a generation of Indians. Before him, English music was limited to a few urban audiences. After his album ‘Bad’, every kid was doing the moonwalk with a poster of BAD hanging from the wall of his / her room.

Starting at the early age of 5, musically, he drew influences from Soul, Soft Rock, R&B, Pop and Jazz. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice and had 13 Grammys and 13 Number One Singles. These are some telling statistics, indicating his role and influence in music and popular culture.

He will be remembered by many.

ps: for a visual tribute to the deceased icon, you can go here

Dylan's Latest

It’s not a classic alright, but it’s worth several whiskey-soaked visits. Together Through Life, the 33rd studio album from Mr. Bob Dylan once again displays his poetic genius. Its beauty, depth and the range of emotions grows on each hearing.

Musically, it has the same flavour as the last few albums (Modern Times, Time Out Of Mind), that of urban American blues. And his voice, gruffer than ever, adding the right character to the lyrics. Put some great guitar fills by Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) and soulful accordion sighs of David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) and the album surely has a very long ‘CD tray value’.

Poetically, the album is wry, caustic, sentimental, rich, wicked and very American . My favourites are, the sentimental ‘Life is Hard’, the conversational, ‘Forgetful Heart’, the violin laced (like the 'Desire' days), 'This Dream Of You' and the wickedly satirical final track, ‘It’s All Good’.

These last lines from ‘Forgetful Heart’ conveys the feeling of the ultimate defeat.

“All night long I lay awake and listen to the sound of pain

The door has closed through ever more
If indeed there ever was a door”

Or, feel the pain in the beautifully sung ‘Life Is Hard’.

“The sun is sinking low
I guess it's time to go
I feel a chilly breeze
In place of memories
My dreams are locked and barred
Admitting life is hard
Without you near me”

At 68, the man continues to be the greatest songwriter of our time.

18th May, 2009

On 18th May, 2009 the Sri Lankan Government declared its victory over the rebel Tamil Tigers after almost three decades of war. The streets of Colombo broke into celebrations, processions, flags, fire-crackers, drums. And, we were there witnessing probably the biggest day in Sri Lankan history. Many years from now, I shall be recounting this and saying, “I was there, experiencing the historical moment.”

Amidst celebrations, the cynics wait and watch on how the President and his Government find a political solution to the situation. But it was our house-maid, Karuna, who came out with real words of wisdom.

She said (in her broken English), “It is not nice to celebrate so much when so many people have died and been displaced in the road towards victory. People should also maintain five minutes of silence for all the lives lost in the process.”

I couldn’t help but agree.

Together Through Life

Yesterday, Pooja and I completed one year of marital togetherness and its been sweet, spicy and harmonious.

Interestingly, Mr Robert Allen Zimmerman, popularly known as Bob Dylan released his 33rd studio album called, 'Together Through Life' on 28th April, 2009. The album is already topping the charts.

A review of the album will follow soon.

Perhaps I should ask Pooja to review our 'One Year Of Togetherness'.

ps: thats us in the form of 'Happy Feet'

Happy To Be Wrong

In one of my previous posts I mentioned (in a rather worried manner) about the dwindling interest from both audience and budding musicians in Western Classical music. I was wrong.

Two stories covered by BBC World News between yesterday and today made me realize this.

The first one was about how a publicly financed music education program in Venezuela which helps youngsters from extremely impoverished background, learn Classical music of Bach and Beethoven. The program is called El Sistema and it’s been running successfully for more than 30 years now. The program keeps these youngsters away from getting into wasteful and criminal activities like drugs and mugging and instills the ‘joy of music’ in their lives.

The Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, a product of the program has been getting rave reviews across the world from the critics and all the top rated musicians. To know more about this wonderful effort you can read this piece from BBC News.

Can we replicate the same model in India to give a boost to its own Classical music? In my mind, it can be a great way of discovering genuine talent hidden in the teaming pool of poverty in our country (40% of India lives Below Poverty Line, i.e. $1.25 a day). It may, along with the 'joy of music' give them a source of income.

The second story was about using a product of modern times to popularize Classical music. The result is the YouTube Symphony Orchestra.

The video-sharing website held a contest that allowed anyone, anywhere to upload a clip of themselves playing. A selection went to a popular vote. 90 winners from 30 different countries were flown in to play at Carnegie Hall, New York - one of the most prestigious venues in the world. The musicians came from as far away as Australia and South Korea.

The performance which happened yesterday was a great success with the Orchestra playing the works of Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Prokofiev and a new composition, appropriately called, ‘Internet Symphony No 1’. To know more about it you can read this article from NYT.

Great way to make classical music reach a wider audience, especially the young people!

Now, I’m less worried...feel like listening to Debussy's 'Claire de lune'.

A Yellow Evening

Outside, the yellow Colombo evening is slowly turning into night.

Inside, the Vilambit of Pt Bhimsen Joshi’s classic Yaman Kalyan rendition, 'Eri Aaj Piya Bin' is melodiously proceeding towards Drut.

My cup of that perfect Darjeeling Tea has one-fourth left in it.

In times such as this, one comes very close to attaining eternal bliss.

The Vilambit now, has beautifully melted into Drut and a slight smile has spread over my face. Let me enjoy this.

The Unfinished Ones

During the long span of silence on this space, I’ve written many unfinished posts on the pages of my mind. Now, there is an arrear of posts stacked inside and I’ve got to clean them up before I start on a fresh one. So, here they are.

• The slow beauty and grace of Naguib Mahfouz’s ‘The Cairo Trilogy’ which kept me enraptured for 3 months
• The joy of discovering Orhan Pamuk’s brilliance through his political but humane novel, ‘Snow’
• Several Sunday Jazz afternoons at Barefoot with Rohit, appreciating the music, trying to catch the stories floating around, while sipping on white
• The splendor of Colombo’s English theater in the form of a great adaptation of Shakespeare called, ‘Hamlet at Elsie’s Bar’
• The happiness of watching the inspiring tale of human spirit, ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’
• Alexi Murdoch’s lovely album called ‘Time Without Consequence’ which gave us the musical company on our way back from Mirissa
• The conversations with Pooja’s grandfather on subjects like ‘Money, ‘Profession’, ‘Life after Retirement’ etc.

Now, it feels like I’m ready to move on.

Poet Gulzar

The poet Gulzar is a great creative mind. His genius, once again gets reflected in two songs for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, ‘Ringa Ringa Ringa’ and ‘Jai Ho’. The latter has picked up an Oscar nomination and is likely to get the award too. Some lines from ‘Jai Ho’ are enough to reflect his genius.

The song appears at the end of the movie and fades into the credits. Mr Boyle’s idea was to give a Bollywood style, song and dance finish. The song is about a lover asking his beautiful love interest to meet up in this beautiful night.

Aaja Aaja Jinde Shaamiyaane Ke Tale

Zariwaale Neele Aasmaan Ke Tale

Come beneath life’s canopy

Come beneath the embroidered blue sky

Make note of how he describes a starry night…Zariwaale Neele Aasmaan Ke Tale. One can start seeing a star studded night even if one is listening to the song at mid-day .

Or, notice the metaphor in this one...

Chakh Le, Chakh Le

Ye Raat Shahad Hai

Taste it, Taste it

This night is like honey

The man never ceases to make me happy. Ive tried to capture his genius in one of my earlier posts also. You can read it here.

ps: thats a nice sketch of a young Gulzar which i found on Google images. the artist's name wasnt mentioned.

Rumpeteer Tilak

Two underdog stories are shaking the world right now. One real life and the other reel life. One is called Barrack Obama and the other, Slumdog Millionaire. I didn’t see the inauguration ceremony of Mr Obama but I have seen and heard Danny Boyle’s several Oscar nominated ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. It’s a visual and aural delight. Golden Globe has already given several nods to the movie, including the OST by A R Rahman and I’m sure Oscars will do the same.

Being a Rahman fan ever since his path-breaking creation Roja, I’m delighted. The soundtrack of ‘Slumdog…’ has been playing in my system for the last 3 weeks and I’ve been tripping on each track, one by one. My current favorite is the track called ‘Mausam & Escape’ with some brilliant Sitar work in it.

During the same time when Slumdog’s music was creating ripples at the Globes and across the globe, I managed to pay a charming tribute to Rahman’s genius in my own little way. I turned into a music director guiding a Sri Lankan trumpeter (locally pronounced ‘RUMPETEER’) to play the Rahman composed Airtel signature tune in the ‘Papre Band’ manner. This was for the radio jingle which was a part of the launch of Airtel in Sri Lanka. My agency just accomplished the task of the launch.

In Sri Lanka, Papre band consists of a drummer and a RUMPETEER. They are usually found at the Cricket matches cheering the local team and they are loud and irritating, mostly.

The RUMPETEER of this story is called Tilak and he is a part of the Police band of Colombo. I made him rehearse inside closed doors for 30 minutes and he was ready for the recording. It just took him two takes to deliver the perfect rendition. After which, he politely collected his 5 K SLR and faded into oblivion. This particular jingle went on to become very popular and many Sri Lankans came up to me to say that they enjoyed it.

The fact that Mr Rahman will never know about this little episode makes it all the more charming.

For a better 2009

We are living amidst difficult times. Here's wishing everyone a happy, peace filled and better year.

ps: thats 'Flowers for New Year', an oil on canvas by the famous Vietnamese artist, Ha Huynh My. i would like to put it on the wall of my living room.

Three Weeks Later

Three weeks have passed and the city (where I was living just six months ago) has returned to normalcy, they say. Much has been written about the despicable and terrifying ordeal that Mumbai and its people were once again subjected to. I’m listing some of the views which resonated with me.

An Angry Moslem

A rational look at certain silly reactions from some Indians

A Worried American

A Thinking Indian

A sane voice from Pakistan

As for me, I’m ashamed of my identity at two levels. As a Human Being and as a Moslem.

A day after the ordeal ended, I watched the lovely Irish musical film, Once and felt better. The fact that the same species which can take so many innocent lives has the ability to create something so delicate & beautiful amazes me. It also fills me with hope for us and the world.

ps: thats the now wounded Taj Mahal Hotel from a 1903 postcard

Nanhi Pujaarin

My parents came and stayed with us for a period of 3 weeks and it was good. During their stay we covered quiet a bit of this beautiful island country. One such trip was to Nuwara Eliya, the beautiful hill-station city famous for its tea-estates.

Amongst many other pleasurable experience of the trip was the good quality of tea available at the smallest of the joints. The long and winding roads stretching across the hills and clouds were full of tiny shops selling plain-tea some eats. At one such shop where we had stopped for ‘chai’ or ‘the’ (in Sinhala); I met an angel called Sevandhi Kumari. She gave me a red flower while her mother prepared tea for us. This post and the following classic poem of Majaaz are dedicated to her.

The lovely imagery and water-like simplicity of the poem is spellbinding. I’ve also attempted a sort of translation (which isn’t very good) of the poem but that will come later. First, meet ‘Nanhi Pujaarin’.

Nanhi Pujaarin

Ek nanhi-munni si pujarin
patli Bahein,patly garden
Bhor bhaye mandir mein aayee hai
Aaayee nahin maa laayee hai
Waqt se pahle jaag uthi hai
neend abhi aankhon mein bhari hai
Thodi tak lat aayee huee hai
yun hee si lahraayee hue hai

Aankhon par taron ki chamak hai
Mukharre par chandee ki jhalak hai
Dhoop chdhhe taraa chamkaa hai
Pathhar par ek phool khila hai
Chand ka tukra ,phool ki daali
kamsin, seedhi, bholi bhali
Kaan mein chandi ki baali hai
haath mein peetal ki thaali hai

Dil mein lekin dhyaan nahin hai
poojaa ka kuchh gyaan nahin hai
kaisi bholi aur seedhi hai
mandir ki chhat dekh rahi ahi
Maa barh kar chutki leti hai
chupke chupke hans deti hai
Hansana Rona uska majhab
usko pooja se kya matlab
khud to aayee hai mandir mein
Man uska gudiya ghar mein

Tiny Worshipper (for those who dont know Urdu/Hindi)

A tiny worshipper
Thin arms and a thin neck
Has come to the temple early morn
Actually been pulled by her Maa (Mother)
Woken up before her usual time
Sleep hanging in her eyes
Tresses falling till her chin
Swaying in the morning breeze

Eyes sparkling like the stars
Face shining like the moon
A star shining in the daytime
Or a flower budding on stone
Moonstone, Rosebud, Young & innocent
Silver ring in the ear
Bronze plate in hands

But got no interest in prayers
Got no knowledge of religion
She stares at the temple ceiling
With eyes innocent and sweet
Maa caresses her softly
And she laughs gently
Smiles & Tears are her religion
Got nothing to do with prayers
Has come to the temple somehow
But her heart is inside the doll-house

The red flower, now dry, still lies in my car. On my next trip to Nuwara Eliya, I shall stop at the same tea-joint for that angel and a refreshing cup of tea.

Cinema Paradiso

Being a lover of movies and its ways, I immediately fell for this one. It’s a charming account of a movie theater located in a freshly independent Indian town. The town is the modern day Trivandrum in Kerela and the writer, a septuagenarian reminiscing those days, using today’s tools like the computer and internet. His name is Prof Gopakumar K. and he lives in Trivandrum. The abrupt nature, interesting details and subtle wit of the description adds to the charm.

I’m putting the piece in this space, exactly the way it was written, with the old gentleman’s permission. Get charmed!

1948: Sreekumar Theatre, Railway Station Road. Inaugurated.

Went with Appuchettan. 1st film MGM Technicolor, Bathing Beauty - Esther Williams . Only English movies. Every 3rd day there was a change. 15 Films a month. Other theatres were thatched sheds. Accommodated viewers on the floor (thara ticket). Then, on foldable wooden chairs. Rattan chairs in upper classes. Lice were carried home after the show.

But Sreekumar was a permanent hall. Viewers sat on numbered chairs fixed in rows. Cushion seat in the balcony classes. Rates stared like this: 4 1/2 annas (28 paise) - 10 annas ( 63 ps ) , Re 1 ( British Rupee ) & Rs 1 1/2 . The next 2 classes were in the balcony (upstairs) Rs 2 & Rs 2 1/2 ( separate cubicles ie Boxes ) . There were 3 boxes with 8 upholstered chairs in each. The middle one - The Royal Box was exclusive for the Maharajah & others from the Kowdiyar Palace. On days when Chithira Thirunal (the local King) came there was no Interval.

For keeping cycles 1/4 anna -1 anna = 6 naya paise (ie 1/100th of a Rupee). Cars were parked outside - no parking fee. 1 or 2 motor cycles / no scooters were seen in the car parking area. No Autos in those days. Till 1957 there was season ticket system for students (above 18). Students were spared from submitting any proof like photo ID or admission form countersigned by the Principal .The theatre people trusted the student community. Girl students were not issued with the concession - only accompanied women & girls were allowed.

1st show at 6:30 pm to 8.30 & the 2nd 9.30 - midnight. No A/C & standby generator. People smoked. Once outside after the show one could smell tobacco smoke in the dress. Tea Coffee & Cigarettes were sold at the stall outside .Fairly long printed synopsis were given free. I had season ticket 1953 -1957 Collected about 700 synopses. Still photographs of coming films were exhibited.

There was a pink curtain which rose slowly to the Spnish Gypsy song played on guitar. Then the famous Tamil song of K B Sunderambal (Njarapazhathe pizhundu) when Lord Subrahmonian’s slide was shown. Then came the Maharajah`s welcome etc. Started with Film Division’s B&W news reel. Ads in still slides during the interval.

Teachers in English encouraged students to read THe Hindu Paper & the films at Srikumar. Student Politics not popular. Today we have the TV & computer. In those days we knew more about the Holywood stars - Ava Gardner, Ingrid Bergmann , Elezabath Taylor . Charlie Chaplin Marlan Brando, Bing Crosby, Kirk Douglas & so on.

ShreeKumar theater still stands on Railway Station Road in Trivandrum, showing Malayalam movies of the day. The ticket price is around Rs 50/- and the place is equipped with AC and dts.

ps: thats the poster of that 1944 musical, Bathing Beauty

Shubho Bijoya!

Last evening, after much deliberation over the titles from my library, I picked up Ray’s classic, ‘Devi’, unaware of the coincidence of it all.

The movie, based on a short story by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhya, is set in 19th century Bengal and deals with highly prevalent superstition system in India. It begins with Shubho Bijoya and throughout the movie Maa Durga is main protagonist along with a very young and virginal Sharmila Tagore in her first major role; and Ray’s regular Soumitra Sen. Durga, in Hindu mythology is the demon-fighting form of Lord Shiva’s wife. Despite all my temptations, I’m not going to give away the plot as it will spoil the fun of those who haven’t seen this classic yet.

Today morning, I woke up to hear and see the celebrations of Vijay Dashmi across India, on NDTV. I began smiling to myself. Away from the country, I had completely forgotten about today’s significance.

Because I have a bit of Bengali blood in me I’d like to wish all of you in the typical Bengali manner. Shubho Bijoya Dashumi!

ps: thats the poster of the movie

Eid Mubarak!

An excerpt from a letter I wrote to my mother a year ago in an attempt make her see my point of view regarding a situation.

"Religion, in the strict sense of God, Priests, Rituals, Chanting etc doesn’t figure anywhere in my philosophy. But religion in the cultural context is something which I appreciate and enjoy. The beauties of the Moslem culture like the language Urdu, Shaayari, Clothes, Biryani, Qawwalis, Architecture etc are the aspects which appeal to me. They make me feel proud about belonging to such a rich culture. In fact, I think that you have a good role to play in this. I can trace back my love and understanding of Urdu Shaayari to you. Your love for masters like Faiz, Iqbal, Ghalib and Mehendi Hasan etc has seeped into my system too."

This excerpt has certain relevance today as we are celebrating Eid in the true cultural style of Moslems. Pooja is attempting Biryani for the first time in her cooking career. My contributions so far has been buying Kohinoor Basmati Rice, Chopping Onions, Crushing pepper, playing the right kind of music and moral support.

Interestingly, and to my best knowledge, none of the major Urdu poets with the exception of Josh Malihabadi, came up with a good Sher for Eid. There are many anonymous ones though. The one which has been highly abused, especially by Hindi movies is this. Its quiet easy to understand so I don’t need to translate it.

'Eid' kaa din hai gale aaj to lag jaa zaalim
Rasm-e-duniyaa bhii hai mauqaa bhii hai dastuur bhii hai

To find what Josh has to say on the subject, you can go here.

ps: will let you know how the Biryani turned out to be. the picture shows its beginnings.

Weekend Pursuits

THE DARK KNIGHT
Despite Rohit’s misgivings playing somewhere in my mind, I decided to watch a movie in a Colombo theater for the histrionics of Heath Ledger as the Joker.

This Chris Nolan’s second attempt at Batman is almost 3 hours long with an utterly stupid script and equally silly dialogues. But, what elevates the movie from its insipidity is Mr Ledger’s performance as a ‘crackpot with a sense of humor’. It’s unfortunate that he died just when he was beginning to show his true colors.

When a dark character is played by a fabulous actor, he becomes the center of attention instead of the hero (remember Jack Nicholson as the earlier Joker or Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh). This is true for this edition of Batman too. I won’t be surprised if the Academy decides to give best actor to Mr. Ledger.

The other bright side of this experience was the fact that Colombo theaters serve beer at their F&B counters.

SHINE A LIGHT
Martin Scorsese has always been a big fan of The Rolling Stones and it gets reflected in almost all his feature films. In 2006, he decided to do a full length documentary filming the band’s ‘A Bigger Bang’ tour performance at New York and smartly editing it with each of the band member’s capsules from the past.

In one such edit he shows a shot from a 1967 interview of Mick Jagger in which he is saying, ‘You know, I never thought we would be doing this music thing for more than a year or two and I’m surprised that we are still doing so’. The band was 3 years old then.

Next shot is that of Jagger jumping around with ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ in 2006, at the age of 63. The Band had beed around for 42 years. Amazing!

A must watch for any Stones fan, Scorsese fan or for that matter, anybody. In fact, my wife who isn’t too enthusiastic about rock music saw herself getting mesmerized by the raw energy of the 60 years old rock stars.

GIVE ME THE NIGHT
Hearing this forgotten George Benson classic on the car radio found me acquiring 3 of his finest albums, ‘Give Me the Night’, ‘The Other Side of Abbey Road’ and ‘Givin’ it Up (with Al Jarreau). I would strongly recommend ‘The Other Side…’ for open-minded Beatles fans. Mr Benson’s sophisticated, jazz-guitaring and smooth vocals does wonders to McCartney-Lennon compositions.

PS: Thats one of the best logos i know of

Inspired

A lovely rain is making everything wet in Colombo and things look dreamy from my balcony. The coffee smells good and Pooja is making cheese omelet, while David Bowie sings ‘Heroes’.

Looks like it will be an easy Saturday for us, while many in the world struggle with their difficulties.

My young inspirations are 2 kids of nine and seven. You can get to know them over here and here.

ps: thats the view from my balcony...can you see the rain?

One Night in the Life of Meraj Hasan

Years ago, I discovered him on a wintry night train between Varanasi and Gaya. He was a battered prisoner inside a Soviet labor camp of the 1950s in Siberia. And I was a berthless traveler in the general compartment of the train, facing the December chill of the great North Indian plains. But, he was facing much harsher temperatures.

The person I discovered that night was the Nobel Prize winning Russian author, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in the form of a novella called, ‘One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich’. Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn died 2 days ago of a heart attack at the age of 89. And this is an attempt to pay my homage to the great writer.

The book is about the harsh realities of Stalin era when people in Russia were sent to the Labor Camps under the Gulag system for any or no offence. Solzhenitsyn was exiled to one, and he came out of it with this semi-autobiographical book which described one day in the life of a prisoner called Ivan Denisovich Sukhov or simply ‘Sukhov’. The book has all the abilities to disturb anyone about human cruelty and appreciate human endurance. It came out in 1962 with the consent of Nikita Krushchev who wanted the world to know about the extreme conditions under the Stalin era. The 150 odd pages of this classic shook the world!

Later, I went on to read other brilliant works of Solzhenitsyn but that chilly train journey with ‘Sukhov’ will always be intact somewhere in the attics of my mind. The Siberian temperatures in the book along with the increasing chill of the night had me completely frozen, despite a sweater and a jacket.

To give you a comparison, the mercury reading outside would be about 3-5 degree Celsius. And the temperature inside the book was -40 degree Celsius. I can’t even start to think of such conditions.

That is Solzhenitsyn with a saintly look and beard.

Good Morning!

Certain mornings begin in the most perfect way. Let me talk about one such morning. It was a morning when ‘Little Martha’ got stirred with ‘Darjeeling Tea’ along with the mild morning breeze.

‘Little Martha’ is a 2 minutes 7 seconds beauty from the 1972 album, Eat a Peach by The Allman Brothers Band. It’s also the last composition by the legendary Duanne Allman, the bandleader who died shortly after recording the track, because of a motorcycle accident. He was all of 24. Extremely unfortunate as the world would have got so many more beauties from him. Rolling Stone magazine names Duanne as number two on their list of the greatest guitarists of all time. Number one is anybody’s guess.

The song is an instrumental duet composed in the minimalist finger picking style, played on acoustic guitars by Duanne and band mate Dicky Betts. Its simple melody and fullness has always made me happy and craving for more. This morning was no different.

Leo Kottke, the famous acoustic guitarist rightly called it "the most perfect guitar song ever written."

To my extreme displeasure, Darjeeling Tea is not available in Colombo. Perhaps it’s on account of the country’s very own Ceylon Tea. Which is better is a subject suitable for another post.

So, my recent business trip to Delhi saw me carrying back packs of ‘First Flush’ Darjeeling Tea or ‘The Champagne of Teas’, which is its other name. And, this morning I woke up to the gentle pleasures of light color, aroma and taste of one of the finest creations of man. I cultivated my taste for tea because of my parents, specially my father’s deep interest in the subject.

The art and science of Darjeeling Tea is exquisite. Like single malts vary from each region of Scotland, Teas from each estate of Darjeeling has a unique taste, flavor and aroma to it. When properly brewed, any Darjeeling yields thin-bodied, light-colored liquor with a floral aroma. ‘First Flush’ is the first produce harvested in mid-March following spring rains. Then you have ‘In Between’, ‘Second Flush’, ‘Monsoon’ and ‘Autumnal Flush’. For me, First Flush works the best, especially as the first tea in the morning. To know more on the subject you can go go here.

The mild morning breeze is always beautiful.

So, this morning, the three element came together to create that perfect start.

ps: above is a painting called 'Morning Tea' by Margaret Olley, Australias finest still life painter