Warrier's Collage November 28, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday November 28, 2021 Koodiyattam https://youtu.be/6QqhCDW0epw (Explanation by Sudha Gopalakrishnan) Good Morning "Collage" will have an indefinite holiday from Tuesday, November 30, 2021. Group and personal interaction via email, WhatsApp and call, hopefully, will continue. Just for your information. Happy Birthday to all readers having Birthday during the week ending Saturday December 4, 2021. Best Wishes🙏 Nice Day M G Warrier A Spirituality/Faith 1) Dr Charan Singh charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 83 रे मन डीगि न डोलीऐ सीधै मारगि धाउ पाछै बाघु डरावणो आगै अगनि तलाउ O mind don't falter/be misled (by temptations) Terrible tiger behind (sins), ahead pool of fire (hell) So, follow straight path (meditate steadfast) Nanak, 1410, SGGS https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1464317558077591556?s=20 2) Satsangam with V T Panchapagesan Sunday COLLAGE Prayer is to be understood as admission of our weakness. It is not to be asking one, and it has to be a longing of the soul. It is to have a heart without words than words without a heart. AUM NaMo NaRaYaNaYa, ( Astaksharam ) Vishnu is our Protector taking care of eight parts in our body. Legs, Knees, Thighs, Belly, Chest, Region of Heart, Mouth and Head... Health is Wealth. We know this but we do not pay much attention to it. The following Medical numbers give us a guideline for monitoring our Health towards Happiness with Prayer seeking His Divine Grace. (Continued at H1 : Health Tips are indicative. Confirm with Experts/Doctor) B KANNADASAN OF MALAYALAM FILM SONGS Remembering Bichu Thirumala By V Babusenan "Neela jalaasayatthil Hamsangal neeraadum poonkulatthil Neerpolakalude Laalanam aettoru Neela thaamara virinju " (In the blue lake, where the swans take bath among flowers, blossomed a blue lotus, fondled by ripples) The above lines, which have a Wordsworthian flavour, marked the beginning of one of the lyrics of a Malayalam film released in1977. The song took birth from the blessed pen of the Malayalam version of the famed Kannadasan, who left this world a couple of days ago, at the age of 80.The reference is to Bichu Thirumala (real name Sivasankaran Nair) In another song, released 16 years later- that does not mean he wrote only a few songs; actually he wrote well over 1000 songs most of which were wholeheartedly received by Malayalam listeners-one love - stricken girl sings in the midnight looking at the full moon: "Paathiraavaayi neram Panineer kulirambili Ente manassinte Machummelenthini Nnurangaathalayunnu nee?" (It is midnight now. Why do you, my darling moon, as cold as the dew, wander over the upper floor of my mind, without sleep? ) The beauty is that the person, whom she adores, actually stays on the upper floor. The film is the very popular Mohanlal starrer 'Vietnam Colony.' It is Bichu Thirumala who penned the evergreen song : " Kannum kannum thammil thammil kadhakal kaimaarum anuraagame"* (You love, who pass stories between eye and eye...) Like many of his lyrics that outlived the films, this song too lives titillating the minds of listeners. His vocabulary is astonishing. You go painstakingly thorough all his songs. You will certainly not come across a word that does not fit in with the situation. No excess fat in any song. All critics of film music have agreed upon this aspect. His mastery in the choice of words had once prompted the producers of a famous film, to choose as its name, one word of a pathetic song in it written by him. I mean 'Manichithratthaazhu'. He is remembered, among other things, for his dexterity in using things around him beautifully in his songs. One example is the way he used the monotonous hum of the mosquitoes to start a line : "Ottakkampi naadam maathram moolum" There are two ways to make a film song : The lyricist first writes the song and the music director gives the appropriate tune and vice versa. The latter method is frowned upon by many as it is prone to handicap the poet in the lyricist. It is true, no doubt, but was not a problem at all for Bichu Thirumala, as, like waves in the sea, suitable words occurred to him effortlessly. Otherwise, how could he write the most popular song-fight between Mohanlal and Jagathi in the film 'Yodha', a tongue-twister song, directed by Rahman?(The only time he did music direction for a Malayalam film) Sleep well Bichu at the feet of God. You have done enough and more for us for which we will be eternally grateful to you. *Link : https://youtu.be/bC-xG4oAkUY C Kerala's Performing Arts : 1) Koodiyattam Koodiyattam’s dramatic transition: https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/theatre/koodiyattams-dramatic-transition/article32803969.ece From the koothambalam to the device screen, it has not been an easy transition for Koodiyattam, Kerala’s ancient Sanskrit theatre form, to adapt itself to the new normal. Besides its elaborate costume and heavy make-up, the art form is known for its lengthy scenes, an entire play may be staged in over 100 days and a single act in seven to 12 days with a performance duration of three to six hours. Traditionally performed as part of rituals in temples and later, on stage, Koodiyattam artistes, faced with an uncertain future in the wake of the pandemic, have been exploring the online world to reach out to the audience. And they have met with a fair amount of success. Initial attempts, mainly through Facebook, in the immediate aftermath of the lockdown were born more out of enthusiasm than certainty. But as the lockdown was extended, both artistes and cultural organisers stepped up their act with a stream of webinars, lec-dems and pre-recorded programmes. The live streaming that followed had the biggest impact, with both Koodiyattam and Kathakali, which draws a relatively larger audience, seeing a spike in views. Nepathya Moozhikkulam and Madhavamathrugramam, two popular Koodiyattam groups, say the feedback has been extremely encouraging. 2) Kathakali https://youtu.be/Tl3UKV1z9lM 3) Kathakali Padangal https://youtu.be/Ag9eDNycXpw 4) Kathakali : Mumbaikar's view The contemporary allure of Kathakali: https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/dance/the-contemporary-allure-of-kathakali/article26195876.ece Excerpts : "For more than 25 years, the cultural festivals organised annually or thereabouts by the Keli Cultural Association in Mumbai, have attempted to bring to Mumbaikars – glimpses of classical traditions almost at the edge of oblivion. These festivals have been variations to a theme, sometimes focusing on a form itself, whether it’s in dance, music or theatre, or on an esteemed exponent, or on other more specific aspects of cultural expression. For instance, the 2007 edition highlighted the three red-bearded characters from the epics — a reference to the chuvanna thadi in Kathakali. In 2007, the festival focused on three noble female characters represented in Koodiyattam. The 2017 edition on rural theatre brought us three plays directed by auteur Sasidharan Naduvil. Although primarily concerned with Malayali culture, Keli has, on occasion, spread its net further. In 2010, they presented three styles of Chau — Purulia, Mayurbhanj and Seraikella." D Current Affairs 1) Media Response To The Editor The Hindu Business Line Letters November 27, 2021 Re-inventing history This refers to the report "House panel calls for revamping content, design of school text books" (November 27). Prima facie, this is an effort to revamping education system taking cognizance of the stale syllabus being continued indefinitely across Indian schools and universities. But the small print is indicative of a twist in approach to Indian and world history which can lead to controversies which India can ill-afford at this point in time. Considering the federal structure and the multiple political coalitions coming to power in different states, at different times, we can only hope that wiser counsel will prevail and the noble intentions will be pursued without harming the semblance of harmony that still exists among people and across geographies within India. M G Warrier Mumbai 2) Milkman of India* S Venugopal Chennai remembers THE MILK MAN OF INDIA, GREAT VERGHESE KURIEN was one of the most innovative and outstanding persons of India. Verghese Kurien hailed from Kerala and started his career as an engineer with Tatas. But ultimately he ventured into ANAND the Milk Symbol of India and worked hard to give MILK TO ALL and that concept helped a lot of farmers to work in the dairys and it became the ultimate pure WHITE REVOLUTION in India. Until 90 years of age Vergheseji pursued his mission and his slogan was "CARRY ON and ON!" The most interesting part of the Milk Man was that he confessed that he never drank milk since he had no liking! We all pray for HIM! Kudos 🙏 *Received via Group mail (Remembering Verghese Kurien: 8 interesting facts on the 'Milkman of India' : https://www.timesnownews.com/amp/mirror-now/in-focus/article/remembering-verghese-kurien-8-interesting-facts-on-the-milkman-of-india/809562 : Excerpts : The surname 'Kurien' comes from the Greek word 'kyrios', meaning master, power or authorityKurien graduated in Science from Loyola College in the year 1940 when he was just 14-years-oldHe was a multi-faceted child. He was a boxer and military cadet. Not only this, he wanted to join the military as an engineer. Initially, Kurien was not interested in Anand, which is now the milk capital of India Kurien established the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producer's Union Limited (KDCMPUL) on December 14, 1946, which later came to be known as Amul.Initially, the name of the cooperative was 'Amulya', which is a Sanskrit word meaning priceless. However, it was later changed to AMUL - Anand Milk Union Limited. Kurien, persuaded by famous filmmaker Shyam Benegal, agreed to fund 'Manthan', a movie that was centred around the cooperative dairy movement. To raise funds, Kurien asked farmers to pitch in a token of Rs 2 each. His birthday, November 26, is now celebrated as National Milk Day. E Readers' Contribution : S Thyagarajan* Ragas that help in Pain Management There are Ragas That Help in Pain Management and Other Physiological Activities in the Body: Varsha Venkataraman November 18, 2021 Dr Shanta V always emphasised on the need for a good patient-physician relationship and that it must go beyond a pen and pad. But with the growing number of patients, it is difficult for most doctors to maintain that relationship. According to WHO, the ratio of patients to doctors must be 1:1000, but in India, the ratio is 1:1500, causing severe burnout in doctors. Apart from doctors, healthcare staff in hospitals and other institutions also undergo stress and mental health issues. In this two part-interview with Dr Tara Rajendran, physician and musician, she speaks to us about music therapy for palliative care in India with a focus on Carnatic music. Having worked with various medical centers in India, and the US (Harvard and Stanford), she has understood the necessity and the significance music holds with respect to health management. Currently, she is pursuing her doctoral education in the ‘Evolution of use of Indian classical music in medicine’. Studies have been conducted in the past to understand the impact music has on palliative care with respect to cancer patients, but are not in-depth. The findings would not sit well with the medical community in the present day,” she said. Physicians generally resort to music therapy in the final stages of the disease. If music can be incorporated right from the beginning of the treatment, it could definitely improve prognosis. Dr Tara learnt carnatic music as a child from the age of six, both vocal and the veena. It is interesting to note that the Saraswati Veena shares anatomical similarities with the human vertebral column. This finding can be found mentioned in two Kannada books by Yeda Torey Subramanya Sharma- ‘Sandhya Vandaniya Tavartha’ and ‘Veda Prakashike’. Going slightly off-track to give you a glimpse of the similarity- The vertebral column has 24 presacral vertebrae, while the Veena has 24 frets. The spinal cord runs parallel to the vertebral column just like the strings of the veena run parallel to the frets. The size of the 24 presacral vertebrae increases towards the tail bone just as the size of the 24 frets increases as it goes towards the dragonhead. Both the dragon head and the tailbone have a slight curvature. Finally, the resonator of the veena is just like the human brain, amplifying the signals. Sir CV Raman in one of his many publications mentioned the geometric significance and effect of the Veena’s bridge on the radiation of sound. Inline imagePicture credits: Saraswati Veena and the Veterbral Column When she delivered her first Veena performance in Stanford, she had an overwhelming response. When she reached Stanford, she was provided accommodation by the University, and for two months, she lived with a Native American family. “When I have a concert, I am usually accompanied by my parents and my uncle. They welcome the guests and help set up the stage. The family I lived with took the role of my parents, and I was very touched,” Dr Tara reminisced. She also mentioned a very interesting incident that happened on an uber drive, a couple of days before the concert. “She asked me my name and told me she has heard of my name in many bollywood movies. Later on in the conversation, I found out that she was an actress and had played a role in the movie Venom. I invited her to my concert and she actually made it with her daughters. After the concert, her daughters tried their hand at the veena. A few days later, I received her message about her buying a veena for herself”. Dr Tara’s colleague from Stanford expressed that the veena recitation helped me relax and calm down after a very long day as an on-call doctor. That was the impact the Veena had on her listeners. “India is home to a variety of music genres such as Carnatic, Hindustani, film songs, folk music, Khayal, Dhrupad and more. Each state has its own style of music. The grammar associated with classical music in India allows you to improvise a composition to any length. During a performance, there is the alap and tani avartanam all of which have been given room for improvisation. However, the same cannot be said for western classical music. That is the beauty of Indian music”, commented Dr Tara. Although we are home to this musical diversity, it is a pity that it is not used to its maximum potential. If we view Indian classical music from the eyes of physics, it is a set of frequencies that can be aligned in a particular sequence to elicit different responses. For instance, the Raga Brindavani or Sukh Sarang elicits a romantic response, or the raga Neelambari gives one good sleep. Also, according to the time of the day, specific ragas are sung. Dr Tara is certain that there are ragas that help in pain management and other physiological activities in the body. “Clinical trials with ragas are not conducted in India. There are minor studies that are conducted with a small sample size such as the effect of a raga on a physiological function. If the impact of ragas on disease treatment, or even management, can be introduced in clinical trials, that study would be very significant. It can cause a ripple effect and more studies can be conducted. This will eventually lead to music therapy as a treatment modality. Also, in a country like India, it is not difficult to find a good sample size”, explained Dr Tara. Apart from conducting more studies, Dr Tara also emphasised on the need to have experts from different fields during the treatment, such as psycho-analysts and music therapists, or any art therapist. Dr Tara is speaking to a music therapist from Berklee to take this venture of music therapy forward. “When enough evidence on Indian music is obtained, it would be easy for her to combine it with other musical interventions.” Dr Tara also wants to pursue a fellowship in internal medicine and oncology, a one-year training in palliative care, to build her resources and gather funding to bring this venture to fruition. Varsha is a cancer researcher in the making. A history-buff, fiction-reader and an avid cricket enthusiast! *Received from S Thyagarajan via Group mail F Blogs & Links 1) Magic of music and mantras https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/magic-of-music-and-mantras/m-lite Excerpts : "From Vedic mantras to whatever you heard on your mobile in the latest unsolicited advertisement, everything related to sound has something to do with music. And if someone tells you that he has nothing to do with music or he doesn’t enjoy music, although he may not be telling a lie, it is quite likely that he is not aware of his own likes and dislikes. This is similar to many people branding those who do not approach God in the same way as they do, as atheists. God and music are best left as private concerns or enjoyment of individuals, to be handled in a manner which suits each one of them the best." 2) Book Review Imaginary Homeland - Open The Magazine https://openthemagazine.com/lounge/books/imaginary-homeland/ Any book review is, by the loosest definition, an essay: that is, a piece of discursive prose about a certain subject. But book reviews are highly perishable—written in haste to deadlines and tight word counts, published in periodicals which are in a few days carted off by the kabadiwala, and, by virtue of having always to focus on what is newly published, often forced to engage with works that are themselves ephemeral and mediocre. Ideally a good book review is a thoughtful report on a book, supplying evidence to support its claims about the author’s worldview, methods and style, and arriving at a persuasive evaluation, spelled out or implied, of the work in question. 3) Radical Psychiatry http://mainstreamweekly.net/article11794.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email Radical psychiatry's main goal is to help human beings overcome alienation. Because overcoming alienation requires contact with other human beings in groups it is important that radical psychiatry provide guidelines for the healthy functioning and survival of groups. When people who are interested in radical changes organize groups they quite naturally wish to organize them along lines which differ from the authoritarian and alienating basis on which oppressive, establishment groups are usually organized. As a consequence the structure of such groups is usually uncertain and indeterminate, and the cohesiveness of such groups against external attack is weak. There are two types of attacks upon movement groups which have become classic examples: one of them is the levelling of hierarchies; the other is the game ‘Lefter Than Thou’. Lefter Than Thou It is a phenomenon completely familiar to everyone who has worked in a radical organization that in the course of events it happens that one or more people will attack the leadership by professing to be more revolutionary or more radical than the leadership. Since it is always possible that this is the actual state of affairs- namely that the leadership of the group has become counter-revolutionary, many an organization has been totally torn apart by this kind of argument; in many cases organizations that were doing true and valuable revolutionary work. G Quotes on Kerala Kerala Quotes - Quotes about Kerala | YourDictionary : https://quotes.yourdictionary.com/kerala A 2000 year old art form and still going strong- That is Koodiyattom … Literally meaning, ‘Dancing Together,’ and officially r ecognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, ‘Koodiyattam,’ or ‘Kutiyattam', is a form of Sanskrit theatre, traditionally performed in the state of Kerala. Kiran Ravindran in Koodiyattom H 1) Continued from A2 Important medical numbers (optimum) in the life of every human being. 1 Blood Pressure : 120 / 80 2 Pulse : 70 - 100 3 Temperature : 36.8 - 37 4 Respiration : 12-16 5 Hemoglobin : Males (13.50-18) Females ( 11.50 - 16 ) 6 Cholesterol : 130 - 200 7 Potassium : 3.50 - 5 8 Sodium : 135 - 145 9 Triglycerides : 220 10 The amount of blood in the body : 5-6 liters. 11 Sugar : For Children : (70-130) For Adults : 70 - 115 12 Iron : 8-15 mg 13 White blood cells : 4000 - 11000 14 Platelets : 150,000 - 400,000 15 Red blood cells : 4.50 - 6 million.. 16 Calcium : 8.6 - 10.3 mg/dL 17 Vitamin D3 : 20 - 50 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) 18 Vitamin B12 : 200 - 900 pg/ml Tips for those who have reached Over : 40 years 50 years 60 and above.. First tip : You have to do cupping every year, even if you do not feel sick or have any illness? What is cupping ? Cupping is an ancient healing therapy that some people use to ease pain. A provider places cups on your back, stomach, arms, legs or other parts of your body. Inside the cup, a vacuum or suction force pulls skin upward. Cupping is a form of traditional Chinese and Middle Eastern medicine. People have practiced cupping therapy for thousands of years. Second tip : Always drink water even if you don't feel thirsty or need it. Many health problems are from the inadequacy of water in the body. Tip Three : Participate in sports even when you are at the top of your preoccupations. The body must be moved, even if only by walking, or swimming, or any kind of exercise. Fourth tip : Reduce food Leave excessive food cravings, because it never brings good. Don't deprive yourself, but reduce the quantities. Fifth tip : As much as possible, do not use the car unless absolutely necessary. Try to reach on your feet for what you want ( grocery, visiting someone etc) or any goal. Sixth tip : let go of anger. let go of anger. let go of anger. Let go of worry. Try to overlook uncomfortable things. Do not involve yourself in situations of disturbance. They all diminish health and take away the splendor of the soul. Choose a helper you feel comfortable with. Seventh tip : As it is said, leave your money in the sun, and sit in the shade. Don't limit yourself and those around you. Money was made to live by it, not to live for it... Eighth tip : Don't make yourself feel sorry for anyone, nor on something you could not achieve, nor anything that you could not own. Ignore it, forget it! Ninth tip : Humility. Then humility for money, prestige, power and influence. They are all things that are corrupted by arrogance. Humility is what brings people closer to you with love... Tenth tip : If your hair turns gray, that does not mean the end of life. It is proof that a better life has begun. Be Optimistic, live with remembrance, travel, enjoy yourself. The last and most important advice : Have faith 🙏I wish you good health and happiness always👍 Then Pray without begging seeking His Grace for alround happiness. V T Panchapagesan