സ്വധർമ്മം അഥവാ സമ്യക് ജീവിതം - S.Rajendu

It was about 15 years back, when I read an article about 'Shivapuri Baba' in either 'Samakalika Malayalam' or 'Mathruboohmi  ( my memory fails me). Later after my marriage, I was given to understand that 'Sivapuri Baba', is one of our ancestor on my father-in-law's side. Under the new revelation, I did read that article again and the only thing that caught my attention was the mention of his age. It was given that he died ( or ceased his bodily existence) at an age of 136.  His name came up multiple times in discussions and each was only to add to the amaze one had on some one who lived in the Himalayas and lived till the age of 136.  Sri Matampu Kunjukuttan, in one of the evening discussions, did mention the book written by an Englishman, John Bennet, on the life and messages of this saint titled "Long Pilgrimage". I haven't been able to get a copy and read the book, but was following various short writings that appeared in various magazines and news papers. The interest rekindled again, after another relative of mine had been to Kathmandu and visited the 'ashram' of the spiritual guru.

Sivapuri Baba, born as Jayanthan Namboodiri, in a well to do Namboodiri family near Kunnamkulam, Trissur district. Afrer initial days of wandering, he achieved the 'enlightment' at the shores of Narmada, later he too 'sanyas' from Sringeri Mutt  and named himself as 'Govindananda Bharati' as was the custom. It is since then he started his journey, covering 6 continents, largely walking ( except to cross the seas). He seems to have met with the Queeen Victoria at least 18 times and was one of her spiritual advisor. Other dignitaries of his connection include the then US President Theodore Roosevelt, Wilhem Kaiser II of Germany, writer George Bernard Shaw,  and legendary Leo Tolstoy on whose farm Baba spent nearly two months. Inspired by the guru, Tolstoy had written a short story "The Three Questions", the translation of the same is given at the end of this book ( the story can be read here). In the year 1930, he settled in the hills of Nepal, near Kathmandu at the age of 103, lived there until his death at the age of 136.

Rajendu, had not written a biographical or spiritual study of the sage, as most of them are already available with us. The book is a collection of question and answers. Numerous questions on the way of life, the truth and so on, and Baba's answers to them is collated, summarising the messages of the saint through his answers. The rest of the book, alternating with each chapters of 'questions and answers" are the memoirs of various people who acquainted the Guru and had been his disciples since then. This include the Sri Lankan Tarzie Vittachi , Y B Shreshtha's discussion with the merchant Manadasa Kuladhara, who is considered to be the first of his disciples in Nepal, an Australian doctor (Miens?) and Huripman  an American traveller. The experience of each of them are no different from the rest of the people who visit him.

Baba's messages are no different from the other sages. As expected, they are about the way of life, living in the paths of Moksha, finding the way to the lord however long it takes. You will realise once you have found your way and that will take you to the paths of Gods. He says, for a spiritual way of living, one need a body that can withstand the demands of the life, hence it is important to care for the body, the encapsulation of the inner. The oneness  with the Almighty is possible only if you constantly seek the ways of God.  He add, one need a Guru to direct him towards the path. Only a few masters ( Ramakrishna Paramahamsa or Ramana Maharishi to name a few) managed to attain the 'sakshatkaram' without the help of a Guru. For common man, it is essential to have a guru to guide him and correct him in his quest of attaining spiritual sojourn. It is also said, that one a person is ready to receive, the Guru will find him.

This might be the first of its kind book on Shivapuri Baba, where the importance is given to his messages. There is no analytical view or deconstruction of his life and messages. The book is fairly simple and an easy read, though the essence of his message keep repeating pages after pages. One realise that the essence remain same, who ever the sage is and whatever is the form he prefer to deliver. The book has a brilliant preface by Rajendu, which in reality is the only piece of his writing in this book.

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സ്വധർമ്മം അഥവാ സമ്യക് ജീവിതം (2011 )

S Rajendu

184 Pages
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 Times Of India, The Hindu, Shivapuri Baba I, Shivapuri Baba II

An Incurable Romantic - Lakshmi Devnath

As an avid listener of Carnatic classical music, one can not but admire the virtuosity and the talent of some of the doyens of the last generation of musicians. The post independent India and the next 50 years thence, can be considered the golden era of Carnatic music. The art form saw unprecedented growth and popularity on one side, and a consolidation and structural optimisation on the other side, which later formed as the basis for the new generation of artists to expand. Numerous stalwarts, who made a mark in the art form enthralled the audience with their music and intellect both in vocal and instruments in this era. The later generations continue the tradition to lift the music to greater heights, giving the credit to the yesteryear musicians for paving the way. Though, vocal concert  dominate the musical field, and violin being the integral part of the vocal concert providing much needed support, be it in aligning the notes, or by filling up the silences or lifting the overall experience of the concert with apt interludes and meticulous following of the main artist. However, under the vocal concert arena, it always been a supporting instrument, and the violinist were accompanying artist limiting their ability to the main artist of the evening. It remain largely so, even in these times. There are, however, many violin concerts, giving the instrument an independent identity, in recent times, thanks to some of the hard work and "demand" put in by the earlier vidwans, especially Lalgudi, MSG andTNK , the three names that stood out from the rest in the fields. Having listened to numerous recordings of their accompanying the yesteryear stalwart, one always remained in awe of their virtuosity and their dedication. However, I always had a bias towards the accompaniment of Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman. It is this admiration of the artist, that prompted me to buy the book on the life and music of Lalgudi Jayaraman. Having read through the book, the respect has not diminished a bit, but have only increased. I haven't had the luck of listening to him accompanying any vocalist, and had only a couple of instance of listening to his violin concert live. But Lalgudi, always remain high in my musical listening experience.

Laksmi Devnath's book, does justice to the man in discussion. Written on the suggestion and request by the family members of the musician, she seems to have done adequate research on her 'subject' and the awe and admiration which one carry while talking about someone of his stature, is evident in the book. As in a typical biographical book, it starts with his forefathers and the lineage both musical ( from Thyagaraja ) and parental.  From Lalgudi Rama Iyer, great grandfather and a direct disciple of Thyagaraja to Valadi Radhakrishna Iyer ( one of the first in the field of Violin accompaniment in Carnatic Music ) to his father Lalgudi Gopala Iyer the direct connection to the trinity of Carnatic music is established. Lakshmi Devnath spends enough pages on these individuals and on the musical lineage who directly and indirectly shaped the musician in order to set the base to person and musician in Lalgudi jayaraman. Under the strict ( as one expect in the old Gurukula style of teaching) guidance and tutelage of his father and guru Pallavi Gopala Iyer, Jayaraman's learning was fast and meticulous. There was no place for silly games or other entertainment in the pursuit of perfection. Gopala Iyer continue to "fine tune" the music of his son, even after he has made a name for himself as one of the bright future in the carnatic music field.

Jayaraman, now started knowing under the prefix Lalgudi, had his god fatherly support from the Superstar of Carnatic Music, non other than GNB. GNB was partly responsible for his growth into a complete musician at a very young age. He had the privilege of accompanying most of the leading singers of the era, only to receive supporting gesture as well as the admiration of the public. A new star in the arena of carnatic music is arrived.  Lakshmi Devnath, spends a lot of time on specific incidents and anecdotes to support her findings before she moved on to the personal side of the musician. His wedding, the relation between the father and son ( Gopala Iyer continue to be the guiding force in his life) and his relations with his siblings ( as a guru as well as the musical pair on stage) were discussed in detail.

As one expect in any biography, it did touch upon the many controversies around Lalgudi. The famous "Sangitha Kalanidhi" episode, the somewhat strained relationship with Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, the tussle with the music critic Subbudu various allegation about him overshadowing the main vocalist ( in his quest to perfection) , many many so called misunderstanding among musicians, the cold relation with Music Academy were discussed in detail, mostly in line with what is already known to the music world. Interestingly, there was no official version from Lalgudi in any of these topics.

While the book does a great job of consolidating and documenting what is already available, in did not in real terms give any larger perspective of  the musician. However, the study of his compositions, his various works as music director and composer for dace drama and musicals, the compositions specially tuned and written on the request by dancers are the exception. This to me is the meaty part of the book and that made my day. The writing in general was aimed at a music lover and those familiar with Carnatic music. There is abundant use of Tamil words , which often distract the smooth flow of the reading. Being a non-Tamilian, the early chapters were very annoying at times.  She does provide the meaning of these terms both musical and Tamil in the annexure, but at many places, these Tamil words did have proper substitutes.

Biographies are very tricky genre of writing. Its like peeping into someone else life, the private personality of a public figure. It is expected to give a new insight to the person, thus enhancing your own perspective of the world. In most of the cases, one see the writer is overpowered by the persona, intimidated by the charisma of the' subject', the voice and words gets carried away under this influence, hampering the objective approach to the life of the person. This book too suffer from the same. Patrick French's biography of V S Naipaul, was an exception.

Very well presented book, help you to reiterate your admiration of one of the most versatile artist,composer, guru and performer of Carnatic Music. The added bonus was the CD of his select recordings.

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An Incurable romantic - The Musical Journey of Lalgudi Jayaraman ( 2013 )

Lakshmi Devnath

Harper Collins

435 Pages
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Indian Express , Lalgudi Official Page

ഉണ്ണികൃഷ്ണക്കുറുപ്പ് : വിടപറഞ്ഞ ദിവ്യഗായകൻ - C M Narayanan

One of the advantages I had of growing up is that we never escape some conversation on Kathakali almost every day, a padam hummed by elders, a reference to some story, some anecdote or some visit . Despite your ability to grasp and understand the nuances, you were pulled along to those cold , shivery nights ( Jan /Feb ) for a full night Kathakali. There were preferences in the choices of elders. Most of them were drawn to the established names of traditional "Kalluvazhi" style and its propagators like Ramankurtty Nair, Padmanabhan Nair, KR Kumaran Nair ( note the use of KR against more popular Keezhpadam) Vellinezhi Nanu Nair etc. When it comes to singing I found the majority preferred Neelakandan Nambisan and Unnikrishna Kurup ( the combo had guaranteed audience).  It was during those half asleep nights, I've used to listen to the some what flat, very distinct , often difficult to differentiate the words from the music singing of Kurup.  As young boys, we were awake and see the first 'katha' mostly of the Nalacharitam , Santhanagopalam and Kuchelavruttam types and when it comes to the meaty second ( heavy weight kathi), our eyes defy the elders and our own wish and find itself shut from the rest of the world. However, the return journey typically have the in-depth critical analysis and it is through these discussions, we formed some of the limited understanding that we gained over the period of time.

I have, always found an admiring remarks about the music especially of Unnikrishna Kurup. It can be safely said that the Kathakali Padam came into prominence during the era of Neelakandan Nambisan and his disciples most notable among them being Unnikrishna Kurup. Though I had the luck of attending many Kathakali events where Sri Kurup was performing, it is only now, after many many years, that I'm able to appreciate the music.  He was different. A rebel by all means. A versatile singer who sings to the stage. Who gets to the depth of the character and the actor on stage and sings to the occasion. Often moving the listeners and the artist in its mesmerizing beauty. Marimankanni from Nalacharitam 3rd Day, is the benchmark of dwijavanti. No other rendition be it akhilandeswari or Chetasri Balakrishnam or any other had the same impact as 'mariman kanni'. The reference to me is the version from Unnikrishna Kurup.

All these are to talk about the recent read I had on the life and Music of this gifted singer. While most of the leading exponents of Kathakali had their own memoirs ( mostly the actors), there was no such on the other artists of the great art form. It was left to the fans and well wishers to organise the remembrance. Unfortunately, Unnikrishna Kurup, did not have any of these. A prodigy, left us 25 year ago, at a relatively young age of 57, had no written pages on his name. C M Narayanan, a second generation desciple of Unnikrishna Kurup, came out with a book, a collection of various writings, on his grand-guru, in 2006 , 18 years after the death of the singer.

The book dwells very less into the details of his biography. It does touch upon his family, his early days, his days at Kalamandalam ( he had no formal training in Kathakali Music, after running away from Kalamandalam) , his days in Darpana Ahmedabad, the teaching days at Shanti Niketan were mentioned. However C M Narayanan himself spent his effort on looking at his music especially that of Nalacharitam in detail. In a very scholarly fashion, he explain the nuances and specialities of the singing style of Kurup, his improvisations, some memorable performances. The second part is largely a collation of various writings about Unnikrishna Kurup by critics, by Palanad Divakaran ( his prime disciple and torch bearer of Kurup-style) and reproduction of relevant pages and paragraphs from articles and books published.

While this is not a comprehensive book on the life and times of the master singer, it did bring out , for the first time, a collection of writings on Kurup and for the fans of his music, it provided a place to reminiscent the golden days of Kathakali padam.

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ഉണ്ണികൃഷ്ണക്കുറുപ്പ് : വിടപറഞ്ഞ ദിവ്യഗായകൻ  ( 2006)

C M Narayanan

VAZHEMKADA KUNCHUNAIR MEMORIAL TRUST

158 Pages
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Spy Princess : the Life of Noor Inayat Khan - Shrabani Basu

Typical persons you associate with a spy is what you see in movies. For most of them, I guess, the famous Mata Hari provided the benchmark/guidelines. I am not a great reader of spy novels and was apprehensive about this book, even though this is a biographical book. My fear was that the fictional or the element of glorification take the upper hand in the narrative. However, it wasn't so, at least evidently in this book.

Born to the royal lineage of the legendary Tipu Sultan, daughter of hindustani classical Musician Inayat Khan and his American Wife Ora Ray Baker in Moscow before moving into Paris, Noor had her initial schooling in French. The house full of musicians and Sufi sect followers ( her father was a Sufi Practitioner and teacher), she had an upbringing which were very unlike of the others of her generation. Her early years after the schooling began as a wrier. She wrote children's stories for French Magazines and had the famous Jataka Tales translated and Published into French. It was during this time she lost her father and the responsibilities of running the family fell on her as her mother withdrew herself into a solitary living confined to her room. These were the years of financial struggle for her. Just before the situation improved and they were back on their own foot, the war began. Germany with its ambition to conquer attacked France and annexed French Territory. Boor and her family like many other Paris residents, left home and were on the road. With some miracle, they entire family managed to escape to London and its here her new life started.

She was not some one who can pass as a spy. Fragile, very beautiful and vulnerable. Her only qualification was her training as radio operator, which she was fast. She made less errors. Her training process was long and she was given non favorable recommendations by almost every one who interviewed her or trained her. In the selection interview regarding a question about Indian Independence, she spoke in support of the Indian Leaders almost jeopardizing her selection. Her training period was also not so remarkable. She failed miserably at the mock drills/tests and practice interrogations ( her religious belief did not allow her to lie). The only positive in her profile was her ability as a radio operator and the hard work she put in apart from her proficiency in French.

After almost two years of training, she was asked to go to the action field. She and her colleagues were dropped in the French soil. She was asked to join one of the groups in Paris. The fate played spoil sport again. Within 10 days of her arrival , the entire team was in disarray after German's managed to crack through the squadron and arrest most of the senior leaders of the team. With no equipment to transmit and no leadership, she survived the days , slowly building up her service. the next 3 months, she was the only available radio operator in France working for the British and that put her in a difficult position. It was easy for the Germans to track her down through her transmission and that called for short transmission and constant shifting of her place. Wtih an equipment of that size, she managed to avoid the ever approaching Germans for almost 4 months supporting her bosses with information and holding position single handed.

She had a couple of narrow escape, but eventually by treason she was fallen into the hands of the Germans. Even under captivity she did not succumb to the pressure and never uttered any word that could be useful to the enemy. She made three attempts to escape the captivity, but failed in all. This put her under the category of 'dangerous prisoner' and she was treated with such hatred and was constantly kept chained even within her solitary cell. Even the long 8 months of jail terms she withstood the torture and constant pressure by the Gestapo, before transported to the concentration camp at Daache where she was shot dead after a long night of torture and molestation.

As a spy and operator, she was active only for over three months period. What made her different is her determination to stay focussed and her inner belief in her ability to hold on, while most other prisoners broke down and confessed. Despite her initial vulnerability and her fragility, she proved to the world what she is capable. Both British and French Governments recognised her contribution to the cause and have awarded her the highest military honours : The George Cross ( UK ) , and the Croix de Guerre ( France ). A very shy and family person who was very close to her brother, it was not very clear what prompted her to attend the selection process and join the SOE.

For me this book gave glimpses of the secret agent operatiives and the methods during the World War and some of the unsung heroes of the time. There are elements of suspense and thriller and the final pages are read like a fast page turner. As the introduction clarifies, "Noor was an unlikely spy. She was no Mata Hari. Instead she was dreamy, beautiful and gentle, a writer of children's short stories. She was not a crack shot, not endowed with great physical skill and a far cry from any spy novel prototype "

It is not easy to write about some one who is as elusive as Noor Inayat. She hasnt left many marks and there aren't many details available apart from what is available.She had very few friends and was reclusive most of the time. Considering all that, Shrabani Basu has done a lot of work to get the book into a near complete story of Noor, to her credit. The book is easy to read as a fiction and is chronologically arranged typical to a biography ( family background, her birth and childhood, upbringing and the early years of her life). Good attempt to bring light to a mystical and mysterious Indian princess who actively participated in the world war II.

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Spy Process : the Life of Noor Inayat Khan ( 2006 )

Shrabani Basu

Roli Books - Lotus Collection

234 Pages

Rs 395
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Other Reviews : Sawnet Review , BBC Gallery, Wiki Entry

Leela: A Patch Work Life - Leela Naidu

I am not familiar with the actress Leela Naidu. Do not remember seeing an of her movies. She is not from our era of actors that I am familiar with. However, the person who gave the book to me is from that time. It is only later did I learn about Leela Naidu, the erstwhile Miss India, the cover girl of Vogue as the one of the most beautiful woman in the world, wife of poet Dom Moraes.

This is not a typical biography. It is a collection of her random incidents, not arranged in any chronological order, nor in any level of importance. interestingly, it does not have much about her on personal life, her child hood, her education or any details of her initial failed marriage with to the Oberoi clan. She also manages to skip all those unpleasant memories of her life from being discussed. Leela Naidu, writes the book with a disclaimer "This is the Leela I know. She had an eventful life by her own understanding of it and she thinks you might like to hear about it"

She brings out names after names from every where. The book starts with an anecdote, of Price Yusupov, the alleged murderer of infamous Rasputin, appear naked at the door of her Grandma, escaped from asylum , where he was taken in and fed upon. She also writes about one 'Bennito Mussolini' who used to work for her grand father at his factory, to be expelled from job for thrashing a co-worker's hand with a red hot metal rod..

Leela Naidu, has very good style of writing, of course supported by Jerry Pinto. She has a keen observation, and an acute sense of humour and srong convictions. Though she write about the major incidents in her life, and do get the attention of the reader; the attention is to the character and is not necessarily associated with Leela. Her acting classes with Jean Renoir, the help and guidance from Ingmar Bergman for a complication post child birth, the meeting of Salvadore Dali, who wanted to use her as a model for Madonna, the accidental chance to pose for vogue , each are intriguing in its own way.

On her personal attribute, we could see a strong person in support of the weaker section of the society. Be it the villagers of UP in their fight against the land mafia, the right to use the road during the religious ceremony, the one man( woman) fight against the plight of extras in the film shooting sets, the support for better food for the animals ( elephants ) during the shooting of a film were enough proof for her conviction and willingness to go to any extend to get things done towards what she believe. In the earlier chapters, she tells us the racial slurs and difficulties she had to face during her student years, and she slams India as one of the most racist countries in the world, with our age old caste systems and the way the lower classes treated by the rich.

Born to a celebrated scientist, Ramaiah Naidu, who worked with Marie Curie, later head their research and a French woman,an Indologist, she had a very European upbringing with Indian roots. As she puts it elsewhere in the book, "Daddy is Cafe, Maman is milk and I'm 'cafe au lait''. Widely read, learned music and dance, multi lingual ,with sharp brains added with her beauty and was set to take her into greater heights.

Her career in movies did not go as well as expected. After rejecting an offer from Raj Kapoor to sign in for four movies, she did manage to get few roles in the Hindi movies, to be directed by none other than Hrishikesh Mukherjee about which she says, "I do not remember my first day of shooting perhaps because I did not suffer from stage fright. According to me, stage fright is about waffling. It happens when an actor will not stay in the moment".

Her professionalism, her demand for script before signing, the perceived intellectual air around her, possibly would have come in as hindrance to her career. Though, each of the eight movies that she acted, where noticed. First movie with Hrishkesh Mukherjee, followed with the first production of James - Ivory, "The house Holder" , Trikaal with Shyam Benegal were critically acclaimed. Comparing the style she says : "What Renoir gave me was a basic understanding of the way in which a text was only a frame work and how each interpretation brought something new to that framework. What working with James Ivory did was to throw me back to my own resources because he said almost nothing."

She is not regretting her lost opportunities. After refusing to sign for Raj Kapoor, she seems to have missed many more including that of the lead role in David Lean's Dr.Zhivago. "You saw me posting the that letter ? It was to Geraldine Chaplin. She was my second choice for the role". Her observation on Arundhati Roy, with whom she worked in one film ( Electric moon) is noteworthy. "I must say I admire the way Arundhati has turned her status as celebrity author into a catalyst for the causes she cares about, but there was very little of the caring Ms Roy on the set of Electric Moon."

Leela was married twice, both ended in separation. The first, in her teens, were to the Oberoi family, with whom she had twins even before turning twenty, The bitter law suit of separation and the lost battle for possession of the daughters must have devastated her, and it is until late she got into her second marriage with poet and childhood acquaint Dom Moraes. This marriage which lasted longer was also not discussed in the book. however the second part of the book was more on her life post her film career and her travel around the world working for Dom, in his various literary pursuit, often working as his translator cum secretary .

Jerry Pinto , in his foreword explains that 'everyone who met her has a Leela Naidu story. This is her version.' This is not a life story, it is a parts ( patchwork as she say) of her life, as chosen , rather carefully, and told. I believe, apart from some of the curious incidents, there is no significance of this book in any genre of writing. There are no personal life insight, there is no multicultural imbalance and truggle, there is no heart breaking experiences. She was clear that the "book would have nothing to do with my life... It's only about the funny anecdotes and the sad historic ones I came across". And, that's all is there to this book.

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Leela - A Patchwork Life ( 2010)

Leela Naidu with Jerry Pinto

Penguin Viking

180 Pages

Rs 450
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Other reviews : Outlook , DNA India

Mahatma Gandhi : His Life & Ideas - Charles F Andrews

Mahatma Gandhi , is the greatest social and spiritual influencer of the 20th century. Having lead a country of poor people against the ruling British within the principles of non-violence, while continuously working on social and religious reforms of the people of the country, he remain one of the most original thinker and leader of the human history. His ideals have won global acclaim, with followers from various generations across the globe , like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela , Vaclav Havel among others.

There are many studies and research done on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. There are innumerable books published by people who had been associated with him during his life time, and by those who have embraced Gandhism as a way of life. While there are many of them are very popular and significance in the study of the phenomenon called Gandhi, many of them are threading the same path of admiration and awe. This is where this book by C.F.Andrews is different. C.F.Andrews, the only person who could address Gandhi with his maiden name as Mohan, was one of the closest friend of him and have many association with Gandhi from his days at South Africa.

The book was written in the late 20s , hence will give you the perspective of the Gandhian Principles in his early days of struggle. Andrews look at each aspect of Gandhi's philosophy, taking excerpts from Gandhi's own writing and interpreting with his experience with Gandhi. This books gives us the character genius struggling against himself and continuously seeking truth during the years of his early life as the leader of the masses.

Initial part of the book is discussing Gandhi's religious believes and his response to Islam and Christian religion. As he pointed out, Gandhi's believes are deeply rooted to the Hindu way of living, his openness to the ideas from other religion is very clear.

"..... I came to the conclusion that all religions were right, and every one of them imperfect, because they were interrupted with our poor intellectuals, sometimes with our poor hearts, and more often misinterpreted. "

He is less critical of the Islam, while preaching greater harmony among Hindus and Muslims, he is very critical to the Christian missionary operations in India. He says,

"As a true friend, as I claim to be of the missionaries of India and of the Europeans, I speak to you what I feel from the bottom of my heart. I miss receptiveness, humility, willingness or your part to identify yourselves with the masses of India." and elsewhere " It will not be denied - I speak from experience - that many of the 'conversions' are only so-called. In some cases the appeal has gone not to the heart but to the stomach; and in every case a conversion leaves a sore behind it, which I venture to think is avoidable".

His early days and life in South Africa, where the initial seeds of his Non-Violence Non- Cooperative fight against the oppressors begun, and his association with many of his friends from other religion is explained, giving us an early idea of the formation of his principles. The influence of Tolstoy on his life, with few correspondence with the legendary writer and the subsequent creation of the Tolstoy Farm in Africa was also dealt with in detail.

Subsequent discussion were on those fundamental principles on which his life depends on. Satyagraha ( soul- force) , Ahimsa , Swadeshi ("Swadeshi is that spirit within us which restrict us to the use and service of our immediate surroundings to the exclusion of the more remote."), Khaddar movement , the issue of untouchability were each looked upon through the writings of Gandhi. There had been moments of truth which he had to face, where the decision had to be taken against the written principles, such as deciding to kill a struggling calf in his ashram, the plan to physically chase away the monkey menace, threatening the habitat at the Sabarmati Ashram, his initial cooperation with the British rulers ( whom he admire for their open society and other principles) etc were interesting to read.

Rabindranath Tagore is another close friend of C F Andrews and it is interesting to note the relation between the great poet had with Gandhi. Two great leaders had mutual respect and admiration for each others work and ethics, while disagreeing on certain topics with their own way of interpretation.

There were also coverage and interpretation on some of the historical events that has determined the way of the freedom struggle as major milestones. The Chowri-Chora incident, Jalianvala bagh , Bombay riots, the arrest and trial of Gandhi , his 21 day fast in Delhi , through the eyes of a keen observer.

One of the writing was very moving and touchy when he writes during the 21 days fast.

"Instinctively, my gaze turned back to the frail, wasted, tortured spirit on the terrace, bearing the sins and sorrows of his people. With a rush of emotion there came to memory of the passage from book of lamentations - 'Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ? Behold and see, if there is any sorrow like unto my sorrow.' And in that hour of vision I knew more deeply, in my own personal life, the meaning of the Cross."

Gandhi is also aware of the necessity of social reform along with freedom for self governance and economic growth. Woman empowerment, Untouchability and the eradication of poverty were the topmost priorities for him. He also realises the necessity to associate with the poor people , but realises the challenges as ,

"We, the educated classes, have received our education through a foreign tongue. We have therefore not reacted upon the masses, We want to represent the masses, but we fail. They recognise us not more than they recognise the English Officers."
This book is not the complete history of the freedom struggle, or a biography of Gandhi. It was originally published in 1930, before some of the major activities which was lead by Gandhi and the eventual freedom. But his concluding paragraph has the eternal truth when he writes "..but what has not yet been found in the West is a moral genius of such commanding spiritual personality as to be able to unite and combine these various organised efforts into one overwhelming movement of Non-Violence which should be strong enough to sweep away on a tide of world approval the opposite forces."

C.F.Andrews , himself , does not subscribe to every ideals of Gandhi. The infamous 'celibacy' principle of Gandhi, makes him to have long drawn letter exchanges between the two. Fantastic book, giving us fascinating insights to a noble soul in his quest for eternal truth, using personal letters, correspondences, articles and editorials, his books and personal interactions.
-------------------------------------------------Mahatma Gandhi - His Life & Ideas
Charles F Andrews ( Foreword by Arun Gandhi )
Jaico Books
301 Pages
Rs 250
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The World is what it is - Patrick French

Sir V.S.Naipaul... The name can trigger a flurry of reaction from people who have read him or heard of him. Me too, had already formed an opinion about the person behind this name from various articles, books and news reports , that is of an intelligent, provocative, arrogant, rude, womanizing, chain smoking, selfish writer of brilliant , unmatched quality of prose.

Having completed reading this mammoth book ( of 555 pages to be precise), none of them have changed. Patrick French's attempt to look into the person behind all those images through his outstanding book on the life of V.S.Naipaul was not to make any effort to change that perception. However, it is an attempt to look at those traits and the elements of place, people and environment in moulding up the character called V.S.Naipaul.

French has done a good job in starting the book with the early sets of people who sailed out of Calcutta port, hoping for better fortune and living from the poverty, caste injustice, and widespread famine , setting forth to the world of sugar cane. Many of them were tricked and forced into this groups and was sold to the land owners to work in the fields weathering harsh conditions. It is the future generations of these immigrants, getting out of the slavery, trying to build a new life in the land they are now belong. There are people of all sections of erstwhile Indian diaspora. Brahmins, the untouchables, people of various native languages. The Brahmin upper cast people, had to disengage from the rest and have to show their differentiation and superiority to the other common people. Some of the enterprising members of them have started their 'family occupation', of conducting poojas, running temples, and the fortune telling. It is from this ancestry ( still unconfirmed) Vidya was born. The 'I am better than the rest' was deep rooted to the culture and this Brahmin up-manship is what many people attribute to Naipaul.

His family also had to fight many extreme conditions. Living in poverty , managing many kids , living with the extended family where one has to suffer many instances of humiliation ( both physical and mental). The life outside home was also not any different. The Native black people were richer and stronger. It is among them one has to excel and make his way. Like many Vidya was also determined to win the government scholarship and travel abroad for study. The hate for Trinidad and its people grew in him gradually, and he believed that the only way of escape is to get away with the scholarship. His contempt towards the West Indies in general and Black people in particular was so strong for ages, was from these tough upbringing.

The study in Oxford was also not all that great. He was now under a bigger identity crisis. For the whites, he was Indian. For Indians he was an Islander. He was also been treated to racial discrimination and have suffered from depression. His attempts with writing bloomed with his stint at oxford. He was part of the BBC West Indies based programs. It is here that he made contacts with various writers and other intellects.
This book also looks at his life as a writer in detail. His inspiration from own father, the early struggles to establish himself as a writer, lack of money to keep the family running and the critical acclaim for his initial works. His ability with the language, the rare insight and intellect in writing non-fiction works are also been noted. It follows him on his journey to various parts of the world for collecting data and experience. His multiple sojourns in India, Africa, Latin America and other places and the reflections by those associated with him during these stays. There is a commonality in these reflections. Most of them recall him as a brilliant , intelligent human being, but one difficult to be friendly with. He is also known for his reluctant to spend money.

V.S.Naipual is not known to have any long lasting friends. As he himself admits "I have had admirers but not friends" ( about his school days), there aren't many friends in his life. He had been using his contacts to his personal and literary needs, but never beyond that. His relationship with his family was also quite fragile, to an extend where his mother made a statement as 'I have no such son'. He maintained a love-hate relation with his closed ones. He had been a difficult person to deal with, even to his own siblings.

The other interesting aspect of his life is his relationship with women. The strained relationship with his wife, who was in awe with his talent, and was a constant inspiration and the first reader of all his works. She was the one he ill-treated the maximum. Even though she is from a white family in England, to me she behaved more like an obedient Indian wife. His confessed visits to prostitute for pleasure, the long relationship with a married Anglo-Argentine lady from Buenos Aires, the second wife from Pakistan, whom he brought in to his house the next day of the cremation of his first wife.

On his side, Vidya did not heed to any of the comments. He was hard at everything he witnessed. His remarks were often harsh and insulting. He did not try pleasing people. He wrote what he saw, and what his intelligence guided him to. This did make him unpopular with vast segment of people. His multiple books on India, his take on Islam and his writing on Argentine where all controversial but was truthful account of the status. French, attributes his arrogance to his elite Brahmin background and his provocative views to the Trinidadian mischief (called picong).
"He was a spectator, free of the emancipatory fire, who had no wish to reform human race. He was the man without loyalties, whether to India, the West Indies or to anywhere else, who would write the truth as he saw it."

Overall, you will not close the book with a high personal opinion of the man in discussion. The author does not hide his admiration to the Nobel laureate's skills and talent as a writer. He does follow his course in the creation of most of his major works. His creative ability, his knack of gathering information and the ability to remember minute details, the meticulous preparation, his genius.

Very well written biography of one of the most controversial figures of twentieth century literature. This book was also selected as the best biographies of the year 2008 by book critics award. Very disturbing , while absorbing read.
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The World is What it is - An authorized biography of V.S.Naipaul
Patrick French555 Pages
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Further Read : NYTimes, NY Book Review , Literary review , Telegraph,

Book on Prof Vazhakunnam

The history of organised magic in Kerala is very short. Though we have enough legends and folklore about various forms of magic, this as a developed art form has taken ages before the current genre of performers. Professor Vazhakunnam as he was popularly known was the father figure of the Magic in Kerala. With his on the spot improvisation, with his quick, short & simple delivery, his natural ( for a Namboodiri) humour and the unassuming style all had contributed to his legendary success in the major part of the 20th century.

Njayath Balan is famous for his biographies of some of the most popular Kathakali masters such as Sri Ramankutty Nair and Kalamandalam Gopi, has attempted another on the life of Professor Vazhakunnam. Sadly, all he has managed to gather and compile was the already known and in circulation legends about Professor Vazhakunnam. Barring the initial pages, where he has attempted to get some information of his initial learning days and his interest in the science of elephants ( he was supposed to be an expert in Matangaleela , a knowledge he used notoriously in causing trouble and disturbances and later controlling by himself. He had to stop practising it by his father on a pledge). Most of the stories and incidents narrated here are part of the already popular legends and there was no authenticity ( I am not questioning the purpose of the stories or the effectiveness of the myths & legends).

If one is claiming this to be a biography, a bit more effort should have gone in the preparation and presentation. This book falls short of the promise, or the subject it is capable of delivering what Njayath Balan is capable of.
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Vazhakunnathinte manthrikalokamNjayath Balan
D C Books
68 Pages
Rs 40
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Confessions of an economic hitman - John Perkins

The International Politics is controlled by few individuals and corporates in their quest to dominate the world commerce. It is a known fact that most of the political and military actions in the world has "economics" as the underlying reason rather than the stated and published issues. The quest to control the resources across the globe has started in the 2nd millennium. The earlier traders , where the need was to do trading of goods between communities and geographies, was later replaced with greed and countries , especially the European countries have started taking control of the world , people and the resources much early.

During the 20th century most of the countries have started rebelling and gained independence (or self rule) from the rulers from the west. The two world wars have changed the world political spectrum and soon had two superpowers and associated countries. For almost five decades, the effort was to curtail the spread of communism and to control the world both politically and commercially, by the capitalist countries.

US, the leader of the capitalist world , have used all its will to increase its influence over the rest of the world. Military power, political isolation, financial control over economies were few tactics deployed. World has also seen the raise of United States as a military and Economic super power and after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the communist world in general, put US in such an enviable position with no rivals.

The vision or greed to become a GLOBAL EMPIRE thus begun. There are multiple methods being deployed by the super power through military and deplomatic means. After the debacle in Korea and Vietnam, they have realised that the military might may not be the right approach. Alternate method of getting into the country and managing the affairs had begun, post this. The modus operandi is fairly simple. Agents gets into the country as consultants and will project inflated growth potential and demand requirement in their energy and resource requirements and will get the rulers to see the vision as required by the US corporates. In order to achieve this vision, the host country will have to go through a series of reforms and infrastructure changes, which will be then funded by World Bank or IMF ( both controlled by US). This money allocated will then be used to award mega contracts to US corporates, thus the money flows back to the US. The affected country will then spent years repaying the financial institutes ( usually forever in debt). If the country defaults or fails in repayment, this is then used as an arm-twisting tactics to get the UN votes, approval to establish military bases or other strategic needs of US.

While this has been in discussion for long ( by the anti-propaganda team), here is a first hand account by a person involved in these operations at Indonesia, Panama, Ecuador, Iran and Saudi Arabia. The economic hit men ( or EHM as there were called) have the responsibility until the local government is in agreement with the projections and in getting the lucrative contracts to their clients in building dams, highways, electric sub stations, reactors etc. John Perkins , narrates his story ( out of guilt, as he claim ) to reveal the steps and incidents in executing such activities across the globe. A first hand detailing, starting from his early years and his enrolment into the elite EHM team ( most of them does not even know what they are getting into) and his multiple engagements.

There are people who understood this and tries to defend their country from such an invasion, usually to end up in mysterious deaths, like Torrijos or Panama and Raldos of equador , or hanged ( Saddam , Najibulla(?) ), or will be captured and sentenced in US( Manuel Noriega). There are umpteen coup attempts and efforts to topple the democratically elected government, if they are not towing the US line. There are always justifications for such actions. They will be called a fascist or Nazi during and after the WW II , or a communist ( during the prime of USSR ), a Narcotic dealer ( Noriega and Columbia) , a Terrorist ( the newly found popular word ). The media is also manipulated, so that the common man believes the reasoning and echoes the official line.

Though this book is not very revealing to me, I found it very appropriate to read at this time when India is all about signing a nuclear treaty with the US for our energy supply ( energy security as the supporters calls it) , and as the recent news article says, most of the construction activities are being awarded to US firms.

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

John Perkins
Ebury Press , Random House

250 Pages

INR 325/-

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer - Life & Music by V.Sriram & V.Subramanian

Carnatic Classical Music World, remembered on of the titans of modern era musian on the occasion of his birth centenary. July 25 was the birth Centenary of Semmangudi Srinvasa Iyer and there were remembrance functions across country , followed with concerts, presentations and lectures.

One of the prime disciple of Semmangudi, V .Subramaniam along with V Sriram ( who has already written two books related to carnatic music to his credit) have come out with a coffee table book on Semmangudi which was released on occasion of his centenary. There are many books already in circulation on Semmangudi, either focussing on him entirely or dedicating ample pages to his life and music. Voices Within ( by T M Krishna and Bombay Jayshri) and a book by Pala C K Ramachandran ( another disciple of Semmangudi) are few recent books that have come out.

This book , as the name suggests , has written as two parts. LIFE, on his childhood, his growth as a musician and his life in Travancore written by V.Sriram and MUSIC, about the musical journey of Semmangudi with insight to his preparation, delivery and the constant yearn to improve his music , written by V.Subramaniam. I found the biographical part of the book, like reading my school history book. It is something like a data collection in a chronological manner and presented to the reader. There was hardly anything new about the man. I am not sure if this was the intention. But going by the true sense of BIOGRAPHY writing, this part does not impress very much. However, the second part of the book, which focusses on his music and his style was different. Being a follower of Semmangudi for a long period of time, accompanying him on concerts , singing along with him as vocal support, Subramanian is able to tell us the many aspects of the musician.

The book also contains abundant quantities of photographs, many of which are new to me. I dont understand the concept of 'Coffee Table book' very well. May be this was written with an intention of light reading, instead of a serious in depth study or biographical details. In that way, they have done a good job.

There is a complimentary CD with some of the gems of Semmangudi, along with the book.

Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer - Life & Music
V.Sriram & V.Subramanian
148 Pages
Rs 790/ ( there was a discount during the centenary celebrations.. Not sure if it is continued.!! )

The Music Room - Namita Devidayal

History of Indian Music is very interesting and laden with stories, legends and myths. Little do we know about the hardship and the dedication of those who fight it out to come into the limelight. Be it the Hindustani style or the Carnatic style, the story is the same and often mis-represented. The eccentricities, the infights, the never ending egos , the selfish patrons , connoisseurs takes away the major part of their lives. These classical arts demand a life time of dedication and practice, often without any financial returns. A vast majority of once popular practitioners, end up living under poverty without anyone to look after them.

While a few fight it out in the commercial world, a large number of them does not get the recognition they deserve, who are as talented and as dedicated to the music. Mainly because of the lack of supporting systems such as patrons and weighty sponsors and many times because of their unwillingness to compromise on their believes.

Reading Namita Devidayals's absorbing book "The music Room", gives us the inside view of the life and times of the legends of Hindustani Music and their ways. As a ten year old girl, Namita was taken to one of the icons of the Jaipur Gharana , Dhondutai Kulkarni for her music lessons. Dhondutai , a living under sub par conditions, disciple of the famous and often controversial Kesarbai Kerkar, sees the glimpses of young Kesar in the young girl and accepts the girl under her tutelage. The long association of learning and admiration begins, which continues for almost three decades.

Namita Devidayal, takes the readers through the history of Jaipur Gharana and hindustani music in general over the period of 100 years with Dhondutai Kulkarni. The history covers the legendary Alladiya Khan and his musician family, Kesarbai Kerkar , the finest singers of the Jaipur Gharana and the life of Dhondutai Kulkarni.

The book looks at the life and times of the charismatic Alladiya Khan, the founder of the Jaipur Gharana, famous for their repertoire of rare ragas and krithis and their fast paced Taans. Though a Muslim, he and his family used to do sing every morning at the temples in Kolhapur and is still wear the thread across his chest like Brahmins.

Kesarbai Kerkar , considered as the most powerful hindustani singers of the 20th Century , learned from Alladiya , pioneered and preserved the Jaipur Gharana's tradition, and passed on to the young Dhondutai who joined her as a disciple and was with her until her death in 1977. There are enough examples and stories of the famous indian school of Guru-Shishya parampara and their often all submissive relationships. We also witness the steady deterioration of their financial wealth as well as their tradition as there are lesser and lesser listeners for this music and even lesser takers for learning. They lead a life so away from the mainstream and so detached from the worldly life spending most of the times in their small rooms with the gods and demi-gods in company.

Though this is biographical in nature, and not having most of the fictional qualities, Namita Devidayal uses the method of writing, which is a combination of both styles, retaining the admiration of the art and the gurus as you often observe in biographies, as well as the use of language as in fiction writings. At no point of time she is away form the events and the stories, always retains her ( and the readers) interest in the stories and anecdotes. A very well written book and great value to someone like me who has near zero knowledge of the Hindustani Music and its heroes.

Hindustan Times has set up a nice site on this book which can be accessed here

Here are the links to few reviews about this book.

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/09/23/stories/2007092350120500.htm

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070928/asp/opinion/story_8367570.asp

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The Music Room

Written By : Namita Devidayal

Random House Publications

316 Pages

Rs 395

Autobiography of An Actor - Sivaji Ganesan

A seven year old boy fascinated by the street play called "Kambalathaar Koothu" which has the story of Kattabomman, ran away from home to join the drama troupe , later immortalised the same character on Drama as well as on Cinema winning awards and accolades for the same "Kattabomman". Here is a story of one of the outstanding actors of Modern India , an actor most of the contemporaries envy and the subsequent actors tried to emulate.

Reading this book, brings back those nostalgic memories of my 5 years of Pondicherry life. Accompanying my ex-boss Sri Aravamudhan to those second show movies of yesteryear actors in the now extinct 'Naveena' and 'Kandan' theatres watching those Black&White movies. Watching those movies were like attending a class. He was so much informed of the stories and other background information of actors, movies, scenes etc. That was my entry into the grand world of Tamil Movies. Reading this was a similar experience. Stories, anecdotes, incidents and history all mixed and told from none other than the thespian of Tamil movies.

From a stricter sense, this is not an auto biography. It is in the form of question and answers. The biographer Sri T S Narayanaswamy asks questions to Sri Sivaji Ganesan and the replies are given. So, technically, it is more of dialogue and he justifies in one of the question as " the best way to clear an issue is through question and answer: thus this book is in such a format". The limitation of this style is that the thought process is not free flowing. It is not what Sri Sivaji Ganesan wants to tell us, it is what Sri TSN wants us to know. The direction and the control here is not with the ACTOR but he merely replies as directed by someone else. Having said that Sri TSN has done a commendable job in terms of covering all aspects of the life of the actor and controls the flow of thought and the chronological details. The acting, political and family aspect of his life was adequately covered in these discussion. Undoubtedly, hard work and research has gone into making this book.

The story starts from his childhood and with clarity sri Sivaji recollects the incidents of his birth, his father's arrest ("this child is born to send his father to jail") and the struggle of his mother to bring up the children. His fascination towards the street plays and the desire to act in plays , which leads to his running away from home at the age of 7 and joining the drama troupe. His rigorous training from the able drama artists and stalwarts in shaping up the actor in him and his gradual progress in the ranks as an established actor.

Here is the story of him adorned with the title of Sivaji in his own words.
"Sivaji Kanda Hindu Rajyam" a play written by Anna , for the Dravida Kazhakams Seventh Conference in 1946, was the reason for the title "Sivaji" ... It was MGR who was originally supposed to play the lead role. MGR refused for some reason and it had fallen on Ganesan to take the lead role. E V Ramaswami Naikar ( thanthai periyar ) who after watching the electrifying performance declared " Today onwards you will be called Sivaji".

Sivaji like all other actors from the Drama / theatre experience are known for their classical style of acting. They are so self confident , their body language the movements of limbs their hand eye coordination are all exact. I consider their style as the classical style of acting and it has the influence of drama all over them. It might not be admired by the current generation ( as over-acting ) , but he definitely opened a path for the later generation to follow. By the way , according to Sivaji this is justified as he puts it " Acting is exaggeration of emotions".

To me ( who is not fromTamilnadu) , Sri Sivaji is known for his amazing screen persona and his ability to be the centre of attraction on any character he portray. How many mythical and historical characters have he brought back to the mind of people. It is the way he mesmerised the audience with those long sentences written by Sri Karunanidhi and made them live evergreen in the mind of people. He claims to have the Guinness world record for the longest sentence spoken in a movie, shot in single shot for approximately 9 minutes.

He has clear understanding about thin line between the character and actor in a performance. This is one topic hugely misunderstood and continue to be debated. He says:
"Actors should not remark that they have morphed to become the characters, which is not correct. Only mis informed people would say so. If he gets emotional, his vision clouds and he wouldn't know where the heroin stands, where the mike is and where the camera placed. The marking of a good actor stands out only when he is able to slip in and out of his character without actually being touched by it. This is why I implore actors not to be emotionally attached to their characters."

When coming to lip-sync I cant see any other actor who comes closure. He is perfect and create an impression with his lip , face and the vocal chord changes that it is performed by him. "Moving one's lips for a song and singing a song are two different things. While I listened ( the song to be shot) , I would enquire about the number of shots that had been allocated to me, rehearse a few times. While shooting, I would absorb the song and hum the tune, this is to get the rhythm of the song and to create an illusion that I was singing. "

What comes out strongly through this conversation is his passion for this medium and his strive to excel in each performance, be it on the stage during a drama or on scene for a movie. His pride and confidence about his stature as the best actor is evident in these words and rightly so. There was not an actor like him and there wont be one.

On the other hand, we also see a not so successful public person. His multiple attempts in the political arena have failed miserably time and again. His closeness to Anna, Kamaraj and other political icons have not won him great strides in the political systems. Of course he blame ( without naming) vested interests working against him continuously. His repeated errors have an answer from him, but are too feeble to be convincing to the reader ( that is me !!).

He is a nationalist and his love towards the country ( which many times goes beyond the local boundaries of Tamil Nadu) and its leaders are absolutely strong. Apart from the PadmaSri and Padmabhushan awards ( which are no less in terms of value attached) , I'm not sure if we ( the country) have recognised him for his acting. He has not won any national award ( though his movies have won many awards at the national level) and it has to be the Afro-Asian Film Festival to recognise him and award him with the best actor.

The discussions also touches his personal life ( to a much shorter extend) and we see his relationship with his mother, wife, siblings and his children. He is also comes out as a friendly person with his co-stars and his directors ( whom he says respect the most in the sets to one of the question) and shows his admiration to his contemporaries in cine field.

We also see a smart person in here. There are only good things to talk about. Except his political setbacks ( which is dealt in multiple places), he doesn't discuss much of his struggle as an actor ( except when he was introduced to film field during Parashakthi ). May be he was an established actor prior to his joining the films and was always delivered numerous hits to discuss the low phases of his career ( The list of Silver Jubilee and hundred days films are astonishing to note) . Also, this book is noncontroversial. He has not rubbed anyone at the wrong place. Even while discussing his political disasters , he refuses to name people but merely passes them as "vested interest". He also clarifies in the negative about his rumored tiff with the other big actor of his time , MGR. He gives enough and more of evidences to prove that he and MGR enjoyed a very friendly and close relationship.

Smt Sabita Radhakrishna has done the translation from Tamil to English. One could understand the difficulty in translating the colloquial Tamil into English, and it is evident in the early pages. The translation was much better later on as she seems to have moved out of word by word translation. The book also has a huge collection of photographs from his life as well as from the films.

This is an invaluable book. It gives you the fascinating story of cinema in general and Tamil Cinema in particular in the second half of the 20th Century with the inseparable political spectrum( inseparable as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned) though the life and times of a man who lead this from front. Though he is no more ( the book is released on his 75th birthday -post his death), he will remain in memory of millions and millions of film goers, from critics to common man and aspiring young artists continue to practice the lengthy dialogs from his movies to impress the listeners.

Voices within - Smt Bombay Jayashri , Sri T M Krishna with Mythili Chandrasekhar

There are many books on the carnatic form of classical music. Many in the technical or educational form and many in biographical or memoirs. The last book , if I remember correct, was on M S Subbalakshmi , which created lot of interest in the music lovers. Here is the latest on the carnatic music arena. However, with a lot difference.

Two prominent artists from the carnatic music scene have joined to bring out an amazing book called "Voices Within". They would like to call it as the first coffee table book on classical music
This book reflects upon 7 stalwarts of carnatic music, who not only stood out by exceptional talent , but by their contribution in changing or shaping the carnatic form of classical music to its present state.

What is impressive about the whole book is its simplicity. No detailed biographical incidents, no typical carnatic jargons , no interviews by peers or 'shishya' and no unwanted glorification. They are able to bring out the distinctive personality of each individual in those few lines. One caricature essay, an incident here and there , few rare photographs and few recollections. That's all you find here. By the end of your reading , you have the picture of the person in your mind, etched permanently.

It was indeed an easy reading , with lot of insights to the individuals who to many are the visionaries of music from the yesteryears.

There was enough curiosity among the music lovers about this release and it had ample positive reviews and talks on the press even before the formal launch. Few interviews with Krishna and Bombay Jayashri were also been published. They have done justice to the task taken upon themselves. This indeed is a positive step and surprisingly, it is not been brought out by the music historians but by the practitioners themselves.

It is also nice to see the book has come out in a very pleasant styling, printing and quality of paper.

you can visit : http://www.matrka.org/voiceswithin/index.html

Voices within

Authors : Smt Bombay Jayashri , Sri T M Krishna with Mythili Chandrasekhar.

Published by : Matrka

Price : Dont ask me !!