Music Maestro Ilaiyaraja

Tamil film industry had seen very many music composers in the past several decades. M.S. Viswanathan, K.V. Mahadevan, Maestro Ilaiyaraja, Vidya sagar, A.R. Rehman, Yuvan sankar raja are to name a few notable composers who made their music prints strongly not only in people’s ears but also in their hearts. Of all these composers Ilaiyaraja is very special composer and his composition can withstand the test of time. Ilayaraja occupies a special page in the book of music. He is a prolific composer with sound basic knowledge in music. Over the span of 30 years he did more than 900 films in different Indian languages with an average of 30 films per year which is a nightmare for any other composer in the industry and he also done so many experimentations in music which are quite interesting. His orchestration to any song is such perfect that stands as example to present day composers. He is master in expressing feelings through music and all of his Background music (BGMs) stands as proof for that. He took so many films to greater height through his BGM, Ann pavam, Nooravadhu Naal, Kadhaluku Mariyadhai, Pithamagan, Guna, Thalapathi, Tik Tik Tik, Unnal Mudiyum Thambi, Sindhu bhairavi, Agni natchathiram, Aboorava sagotharargal, Heyram, Mouna ragam, Siraichalai, Virumandi, the list is endless. This is a very small introduction about Maestro and I am going to write his musical wonders now and then.

Astrology - to be believed or not

Long time back when I was doing my UG, I wrote an article in “Guindy times” along with my friend saravana kumar. I would like to share the article to everyone.

As science advances, we realize that the universe is not erratic, but well planned, interlinked and operates in rhythmic manner. Every object in the universe is under the continuous influence of every other object. Recent developments in astronomy like black hole, dark energy, solar flare etc help us to understand the physics behind the universe better. The deeper we analyze, the stronger becomes the belief that there should have been a creator of the universe.

Earth is under influence of numerous heavenly bodies, particularly the sun and other planets in the solar system. Tides, earthquakes, weather conditions and every physical phenomenon on the earth are due to these influences. It is not surprise that the planets influence man on earth, since human body is made up of earthly matter like water, iron, calcium etc. The study of planetary influence on human affairs is called “Astrology” (Aster- star, logos-science). Thus, in contrast to modern thought ‘astrology’ is not superstition or magic but the combination of maths, physics, medical science, geography and so on.

Astrology had been an ancient part of ancient Hindu culture, a fact to be realized up on. Before Galileo could prove earth to be a sphere, Newton could discover the gravitational effect, and Kepler could formulate the laws of planetary motion, it was Maharishis of India who had viewed the solar system as it did exist with their power of ‘yoga’.

Let us see some of the facts that stand as proof of astrology. It has been observed that like earthquakes usually occur in full moon or new moon day combined with certain planetary combinations. It has been also noted that the appearance of comet correlates to earthquake. In 1531, the appearance of Halley’s Comet was coupled with Lisban earthquake. It is interesting to note that during the reappearance of this Halley’s Comet in 1682, there occurred earthquake in Catana. The origin of the dreadful disease, ‘SARS’, is mainly attributed to the deadly combination of Saturn and Rahu.

There are evidence in the history, of astrologers having predicted the nature of death Alexander the great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon. The predictions of Dr. B.V. Raman, during the World War II, were astonishingly true. There are very many facts that prove that astrology can withstand the test of time. Astrology mainly helps to improve one’s self confidence by eliciting the positive aspects in the horoscope.
Interpretation of one’s horoscope depends on the Astrologer’s skill; of course it is not an easy job without lot of study and experience. If some predictions go wrong it is solely due to astrologer’s misinterpretation and not that astrology is defective. The purpose of this writing is not to bring in belief on astrology but to make you think rationally before rejecting any conventional belief. Please kindly post your comments and suggestions.

Looking life differently

Recently I read the book titled “Looking life differently” written by swami sugabonandha. Really it teaches me to look the life in different perspective. Let me give the epitome of the book. He betrays the secret of happy living by being in present. Suddenly a question arises in everyone’s mind, we aren’t in present? The answer is a small yes and a big no. To make it clear, ask yourself whether we are doing a job without a chattering about past or future in our mind. Don’t stop, keep reading there is nothing wrong if the answer to the above question is no, but we have to practice to being in present. I have noticed some people who simply drinks coffee without aware of it being a tea. So what is the observation, the person simply chatters his past or future in his mind and thus missing the present. Here swamiji gives a good example; a person asked a saint ‘what is the difference you felt after becoming a saint? The saint answered politely “I used to take bath, eat, work, etc. Even now I am doing the same, but now I eat when I am eating, I feel the nourishment of nature while bathing; I feel sense of silence when I sleep”. So what is the observation here, the saint is living in present.
What happens when you see the mirror, it shows the present, It won’t show a cup of coffee in your hand that you had10 minutes before. Our mind should be like a mirror which always shows the present. Next question in all minds would be ‘is past and future aren’t important?’ Of course both are very important. Be present in the past so that we can learn from mistake; be in present so that we can plan for future, be present in future to gain experience because future becomes past another day. Just I have given the epitome of his teaching, by reading his books you will learn many more. I hope everyone will look life differently.

Vannakam Nanbargaley

I used to go through blogs to know the ideas and experiences of different people. Even then I don’t have slightest intension to create a blog. But all of sudden on a day with clear sky I thought of sharing my own ideas and experiences with everyone. The result is this writing. I hope everyone would enjoy by reading this blog.