Ok... though i posted my comments for last blog, in a hurry, i felt more can be added...i wanted to add yesterday but i forgot..and vidya already did it..hilarious one that too..anyways, just saw that and i recollected few...hence a post.. these are really weird ones..read on :

quote: Samastha Bhoobhaaramunu moyu oh vaaralaaraa!!
my take : vaaralaara enti vaadi moham! ayina..samastha bhoobhaaram vaallekkada mosthunnaru!

quote: randu! naa yoddha ku randu! paralokapu thaalam chevi ni meeku icchedhanu!
my take : randu enti...pundu laaga! and paralokam emanna pakkilllaa..veededho thaalaalu pettukuni koorchunnaadaa!

quote: parisuddha parisuddha parisuddha prabhuvaa! (this is a song)
my take : parisuddha prabhuvaa enti! as if he is just coming out of a bathroom..having a bath after aeons..

quote : "dendhamaanandha andhamaa nandha mandhagaanamu" my take : chaala!! inkaa paathika (25) antinchu..needhem poyindhi! quote: vivaahamu anni vishayamulalokalla ghanamainadhigaa enchabadiyunnadhi hebru 13:14
my take : adhentoghanamainadhi ta! cheppedhi oka thokkalo theory...paigaa dhaaniki bodi reference(hebru 13:14) okati... ( ee references are common finds on the walls of church near Golconda X roads..they write hebru ento..adhento thittu laagaa untundhi)

quote : achata baadha lo padiyunna aa gorre pillanu choopi prabhuvu ilaa anenu.."samastha bhoobhaaramu moyu o vaaaralaara..itu choodumu..ee pasi gorre pillanu baadha ninchi vidipinchumu..dhaaniki vimukthi kalugacheyyumu.."
my take : next scene..dhaaniki kosuku thintaaru! evadanna dhaanini rakshinchumu antaaru..varietygaa veellu vimukthi prasaadhisthaaru..

quote : neevu undamatti..nenu puttamatti..(because of the fact that u exist..that i was born)
my take : erra matti vinnanu..nalla matti vinnanu..idhem matti! quote : o paapulaara!! my take : ee lambikodukki andharoo paapuley!

quote : prabhuvu yokka rakthamu che nee yokka paapamulu kadukkuni maanava jaathi yokka mariyu prabhuvu yokka goppadhanamunu prapanchamunaku chaatinacho agnaanamu anubadu cheekati ninchi vimukthi chendhi paralokapu saanthi ni pondhuvani cheppabadi yunnadhi..(hebru 63:66)
my take : asalu enni "yokka" lu raa babu..it reminds me of "kin kun yokka lon lopalun" (which vibhakthi is this?) ..and paralokapu saanthi enti vaadi bondha!! mallee.. last but not the least : YOHOWA ae naa mithrudu (u find this on many auto ricks in hyd)
my take : yohowa! ta( doesnt it sound like the name of some japanese or korean film-maker...or atleast a sumo-wrestler..definitely inspired by kurusowa)..and inkevaroo mithrulu leraa vaadiki! thats it folks..prabhuvu mimmalanu karininchugaaka! (ani cheppabadiyunnadhi) (hebru: 24:27)

It happened long ago...when time was not even born.

Life ruled and Death became envious.
Death came and killed Life..after which Rebirth was born.
Since then, Life & Death have never been on talking terms.

someone said it "old shelves need to be dusted".. so counting on that i am doing the best of what i can do now..instead of posting a new writing on my blog, i am posting an old one..ok..slapdashrandom will remind me that blog is not supposed to be a "history text book", but easy! now and then, when i revisit same thoughts (or ice versa)..i revisit the same writing.. though i have a lot to putup..i am unable to squeeze out time to colour my thoughts..so, just to be in league, here is my (old) sin.

Dusk hour, sinking sun on orange skyline,
The dying rays of red glimmering dim,
On the still shimmer sheets of water.
Walking on the steady stretches of sand,
Bemused by the boatman ballads,
I coax my mind to a cold calmness,
But weird waves of wayward thoughts,
With many unanswered questions,
Rise restlessly, splashing on its shores,
Casting a shadow of mute melancholy.

But a wondrous wave wildly dissolves them,
Urging me get over the gloom,
For the answers I seek are hidden playfully,
In the taut and titillating trenches of time,
Carelessly camouflaged by illusions and realities,
Where each answer opens by itself,
From the childish choices I chance upon.

But now, why brood over burdensome boredom,
Pondering pensively over perplexing puzzles of life,
When trivial elements of ethereal enchantments,
Pass by me seamlessly, now and then,
Enticing me to enlive each moment,
With the joys of a kind, outlasting themselves.

I enjoy the raining moonshine, spraying on daffodils,
The boatman ballads, the butterfly kisses,
The dark sky studded with a shy starshine,
The mellow moods of music and words,
And my own breath, jeweled with a joy,
Of having a lovely liaison with life,
With smiles to share, with the ones I care,
With hopes and dreams woven in the desires of delight.
All these touch my life with intimate warmth,
In the changing colours of my thoughts,
All the while reminding me in repeated chime,
To take care of my spare moments,
For they are the golden dust of time…

The latest on my blog...is the link to another blog..thats by me too..exclsively for music..thats because i frequently write/post articles about music..and thought i can do that in a separate blog..where others too can contribute.
http:musicmavericks.blogspot.com is the blog where i would be posting articles, interviews, music reviews,tributes and even personal experiences..when i am enamoured by any composition...and yes, the mavericks here are all, composers, lyricists and singers..who essenially form the musicmakers..

in short..all my thoughts..from the music rooms of my mind...fly in there..

keep checkin.

I guess i have already started promoting Thiruvasakam By Ilaiyaraaja (refer my previous blogs). With the project due for release ths month, not much has been done so far, through Media, for promotion due to lack of funds. and few people have taken that responsibility so that music lovers dont miss out a unique album. i am one of them and doing my part, to promote the album. here is a what i wish to put up today.

what exactly is Thiruvasakam?

Thiruvasakam is a set of 51 divinely inspired verses composed by the Shaivaite Saint Manickavasagar. The special significance of the Thiruvasakam is its poetic beauty and the profound emotion it creates while just reading the verses.

Maestro Ilaiyaraaja set music to this sacred text, with grand orchestral-choral backing. though started as symphony, Ilaiyaraaja later clarified that it is not a symphony completely, although it employs some of the elements, but an Oratorio. and Thirusvasakam By Ilaiyaraaja(TBI) can be called as the 1st Indian Oratorio.He used the Budapest Symphony Orchestra for this project, along with many chorus singers from India, Hungary and America(Broadway Singers).

This project has been on since over 2 years. though the composition didnt take so much time(he took a little over 20 days to compose), it was the recording and other issues which delayed the project. the main issue was the funds. This project is financed completely by charity-funds only. and as the recording/mastering needed lot of money, frequent hiccups were inevitable, due to which the project took lot of time to reach completion. TBI is produced by Tamil Maiyam, a registered non-profit tax-exempt organization in India, committed to bring out high quality productions in Tamil art, culture and literature. Tamil Maiyam is led by Fr.Jegath, who is also the principal coordinator of this project. The US activities of this project are managed by the Thiruvasakam in Symphony foundation led by Dr. Sankar Kumar (www.tis-usa.com ).The TIS USA team has done a commendable job in advancing this project.The members of Ilaiyaraaja's Yahoogroup were among the first people to support the project.

Other Key-Players :

Mr. Laszlo Kovacs (Conductor): This Hungarian born musician, well known all over Europe is the Conductor of Thiruvasakam in Symphony. Winner of several prestigious music awards he conducts on an average of 80 concerts every year. In a music carrier spanning almost 40 years he has conducted more than 2500 concerts in 21 countries, which include performances with the celebrated London Royal Philharmonic and Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1998 he is a regular accompanist to Eva Marton.

Budapest Miskolc Symphony Orchestra: This 100 year old group is considered the only complete professional Orchestra of Hungary. All it’s 84 regular players are graduates from the Academy of music. For the last 29 years this orchestra has played the National New Year concert for Hungary. It’s uniqueness is it’s tremendous ability to adapt from the Baroque music to contemporary compositions. This acclaimed orchestra has played for Thiruvasakam in Symphony.

Mr.Richard King (Sound Engineer): Mr. Richard King who works for the Sony Music Studios, New York is a phenomenon in the contemporary music industry. At a young age of 37 he has recorded and mixed five Grammy Award winning productions. They include the Oscar award winning Crouching Tiger - Hidden dragon, double Grammy winner - Abrigade Brazil, Benstein: West side story suite, Appalachian Journey and the Brahms/Stravinsky: Violin Concertos. Mr. Richard King who also holds a Masters in Music from the McGill University is rated as one of the ablest and sensitive sound engineers in the world today.

Stephen Schwartz: At the age of 20 he wrote the title song for the play ‘Butterflies are Free’. And at the age of 23 he wrote the lyrics for the double Grammy award winning God spell. Today he is the No 1 play write in the Broadway theatres. His immortal productions are Baker’s wife, Children of Eden, Pocahontas, The Prince of Egypt, Reluctant Pilgrim, Unchartered Territory and the recent musical ‘Wicked’, that opened in the 2003 fall at Broadway. He has translated lyrics of Thiruvasakam into English.

The Project : Music Maestro Ilaiyaraaja has composed music combining the spirit of Indian music and the harmony of symphonic format to lyrics from the famed Tamil spiritual classic Thiruvasakam. The first release is a 60 minutes CD / Audio tape which would also include one lengthy song with English lyrics in the oratorio style. A Complete Symphony Orchestra and more than 100 choral singers feature in this album, making it a first of its kind in Indian music history. The releases in other languages would follow depending on the success of this first initiative.

The album will primarily have 60 minutes of 'Thiruvasakam'. Out of it, a single song (Sivapuranam) will be running for 20 minutes and it is for this one that English is included. This will be like a counterpoint in which Maestro sings one main track containing Manickavasagar's verses in Tamil and another English singer will sing its counterpart in English in another main track. The total output will be something interesting yet clear for comprehension. The other 40 minutes are divided among the other songs, which are the original Tamil verses of Manickavasagar only. Only one song among them will contain accompanying percussion. Others will have the symphony orchestra's backing alone!

Some comments: Quoting Mr.Richard King, "Having now heard the entire work completely in one sitting, I can tell you that you [Raaja] have created a wonderful piece of music - very beautiful and interesting music, with spiritual and contemplative overtones - Bravo."

Quoting Mr.StephenSchwartz ," Last night, at Sony studios in New York City, I hadthe pleasure of hearing the almost finished mix ofIlayaraaja's amazing work. It is unlike anything I've never heard before, a stunning blend of Indian and western music and instruments. I asked Mr Raja if this was something different for him too, and he said he had never done anything like this piece before. I don't know if anyone has. So I believe those of you looking forward to this are in for a great treat. The section to which I contributed English words is about twenty minutes long and dovetails back and forth between Mr Raja singing in Tamil and an American singer singing in English, plus there is a large and beautifully produced chorus. Mr Raja's orchestrations are superb, and the recording engineer, Richard King, has done a spectacular job sonically. I felt so very proud to be a small part of this project."

RELEASE : "Thiruvasagam by Ilaiyaraaja" will be released on June 30, 2005 in a grand event to be held at the Music Academy, Chennai. The CD will be released in the US, during the July 2-4 weekend in Dallas, Texas. More details expected soon. The work will be released in Tapes & Audio CDs priced at Rs.50/- & Rs.150/- respectively. apart from these, a special Collector's Edition pack( priced at Rs.250/-) would be released which would include Audio CD, a special booklet (contents yet to be known..mostly the lyrics) and an exclusive DVD (expected to contain "The Making Of TBI" and comments from celebrities and experts...not really sure.details awaited).

Buy/Order Online : mail to tamil_mai2000@yahoo.com (more details..shall be updated)

So, if any of you is interested, please promote this album, especially through friends and acquaintances who are music aficionados. Promoting it in music-schools(if you know any..like music departments in your respective universities) & other music clubs would be appreciated as this album is aimed at international audience too. the success of this album can prompt Ilaiyaraaja to come up with many more masterpieces(like the Symphony he composed for/played by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,London in 1990..i hope that gets released!!) and can fetch him the recognition he truly deserves...internationally.

LASTLY, I REQUEST ALL THE INTERESTED PEOPLE TO PURCHASE ORGINAL CDS/TAPES.

Saw the digi-clock on my blog? i saw it on chinmayi's blog...and borrowed the idea..thought it was cool...especially because Time has been/is one of the elements which i often use in some of my writings(senseless reason right!! still..buy it).

and let me use this oppurtunity to post an old one :-

When time tills the field of the sky,
With the plough of the moon,
Driven by the black bullock of darkness,
And sows the seeds of stars,
The golden harvest of the day..is reaped…

It’s the time when the lazy blue is tired,
And wore dark robes, sewn with diamonds.
Not a speck of moonshine around,
And a symphony of compassion plays in my sleep.
I hear many sounds in it.
The lullaby of a mother,
Casts a flicker of a joyful smile, playfully,
In the eyes of her child.
The ecstatic shriek of a lady,
In the warm embrace of her true love just found,
Reverbs in happy intervals!!! Celebration…
Amidst popping corks of Champaign bottles.
The song of burning hunger flaring loud,
From the red eyes of a hungry beggar,
Sinks into silence when a priest offers the bread in compassion.
The passionate cry of a sweet pain,
From the ignited limbs of a couple making love,
Infuses in their cold and trembling lips as they touch.
The words of solace from the lips of a doctor,
Light up the flame of faith, to save a life,
And a prayer of life-time is sung,
For the god in white coat.

I hear other sounds too.
The wail of a lady echoes far,
Till each tear-drop in her eyes becomes a sea,
Where each remembrance of September sorrows,
Is washed ashore.
The staggering song of the pain of a love lost,
Voices out from the drunken chords gulping death.
His shriek still reverbs, I know,
Because now and then, people made money, of his story.
A wayward song roams in street,
Sung by the youth lost in the charms of illusions,
Inviting death, as they lie drugged by their ECSTASY.
The high-pitched cry of a girl sounds aloud,
From her tightened veins, across the bylanes,
When her own kith and kin choke her soul.
A cold axe drives through the spine,
Blood is splattered in the name of structures,
And the scream vibrates the nation throughout,
Enticing people to slaughter in the name of god.

The dark robes of this night has them all.
People call it “NIGHT”, in which dwell,
The lullabies and shrieks of joy,
Prayers and songs of love,
Cries of pain, rape and death.
Is that why, in a symphony of compassion,
I hear an explosion in sleep,In this dark chilled night…