Eenam – A free music album in Malayalam

eenam7

Following the foot steps of Blogswara, a group of Malayalam bloggers have teamed up to create eeNam – a freely downloadable Malayalam musical album. EENAM 2009 has 9 Malayalam songs of different genres falling into Folk, Pathos, Philosophical, Festival, Semi Classical, Lullaby, Melody, Duet, Fast Campus Song categories. The album is scheduled to be released by the end of June 2009. The EENAM team is also planning to release and distribute an audio CD version for Rs 50.

I will be singing a solo song and a group song in this album. The song teasers have been posted at the EENAM website. Do check it out.

The Job Hopper

I read the following article posted in a website by a senior HR executive. I’m not sure if this is for real or a work of fiction. However, most of what Mr. Job Hopper said would make sense to many employees. Some companies don’t care much about people who are loyal to the company. It looks like to get a good pay hike, either you have to be a chamcha of your boss or get an offer letter from another company and negotiate. But why waste your time playing all those dirty games?

Anyways, before you start job-hopping after reading this article, keep a few things in mind.

== Equip yourself with the latest technology in your area of expertise – Be the best.

== Not all companies hire people like Mr. JH – Some companies which prefer long term association and look for people who have stayed for at least 2-3 years in their previous companies, may not be quite impressed with such a CV.

== If you prefer comfort level rather than money, consider that before you start job hopping.

Now go ahead and read. 🙂

Some, rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the ‘job hopper’ (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it…. well he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the ‘company loyal’ employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys – the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH: Continue reading The Job Hopper

What is that?

“What is that?” is a Greek short film directed by Constantin Pilavios made in 2007 and it tells the story of relationships. The movie is short, simple yet so touching. Check it out.

(Thanks to Sandeep Raja for the link)

Do we want blood on our hands?

This news from Times Online, comes as shocking to me. India, instead of supporting the proposal for a war crime inquiry by UN Human Rights Council, decided to thwart the process along with China and Russia. I do not support the LTTE and it’s ways and I do not think that they are what the Tamils need in Sri Lanka, but when 1000 people were killed each day, which makes the civilian death toll to above 20,000, shouldn’t the Sri Lankan government be held responsible? Or at least have undergone a UN inquiry? With it’s crucial role in the sub-continent, shouldn’t India have supported this inquiry? Our hypocrisy is wide open, because we supported a war crime inquiry into Israel’s operation in the Gaza Strip but chose to thwart a similar inquiry in Sri Lanka.

Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said that neither reason justified failing to act when the Red Cross warned of an “unimaginable humanitarian catastrophe”. India “could have saved many lives if it had taken a proactive position — and it would not have affected the outcome of the war,” he said.

Sam Zarifi, Asia Pacific director of Amnesty International, said: “India . . . simply chose to support the [Sri Lankan] Government’s notion that it could kill as many civilians as it would take to defeat the Tigers.”

India says that it provided Sri Lanka with non-lethal military equipment and sent officials repeatedly to persuade the Government to protect civilians. “We’ve consistently taken the line that the Sri Lankan Government should prevent civilian casualties,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

However, President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka told NDTV: “I don’t think I got any pressure from them. They knew that I’m fighting their war.” [Via]

The Congress government at the center needs to answer for the murder of 20,000 civilians in Sri Lanka. We have blood on our hands.

(Thanks to Vassan for the links)

The Soul That Knew How To Sing

kamala_dasThe famous Indian writer Kamala Suraiyya (formerly known as Kamala Das), who is also known as Madhavikutty in the Malayalam literature, has passed away in Pune at the age of 75. Her body will be brought to Kerala tomorrow. Kamala Suraiyya wrote poems in English and is famous for her stories in Malayalam with the pen name Madhavikutty. She was nominated for the Nobel prize for literature in 1984.

For most of the Malayalees, Madhavikutty was a porn writer. Ask the common public, who couldn’t see the truly original soul that she was, about Madhavikutty and they would say, “I know, I know… she is the one who wrote “Ente Katha” (My Story – her autobiography), right?”. Ente Katha must be the most widely read autobiography in Kerala for it’s references to the experience of love and lust. Madhavikutty was true to herself in writing that book. Unlike most of the so-called social/cultural/literary icons, she did not try to glorify herself in her autobiography. She was honest and wrote what she experienced and felt. Madhavikutty was not a writer who wrote something pretentious in her works and lived off a personal life completely different. She did not hide her weaknesses along with her strengths in her book. With Ente Katha and by showing herself open through her writings, she poked at the Malayali community (or for that matter, the conservative Indian society) and laughed at their pseudo-morality. And her writings about love and lust brought her so much criticism from the people.

Madhavikutty made news when she changed her faith to Islam. There were people who opposed and supported her on this decision. I also felt bad. Since every religion has the presence of God, what is the need of changing religion, I thought. Along with the other people, I also thought that it was a publicity stunt. But on another thought, I felt that I was wrong. If I had truly believed that every religion has the presence of God, why should I have any problem with changing the religion? There I concluded that I haven’t yet understood the concept of universal love that Madhavikutty had believed and practiced in her life.

But later on she said that her conversion to Islam was because of a Muslim man who promised to marry her but decieved her later. This man was said to be a young and famous Islamic scholar from Kerala. People had their eye-brows raised. Both Hindu and Muslim extremists were enraged. “The old woman still has not lost her desire for lust“, many people said, as if they were living a perfectly divine life, lust-free. Madhavikutty was a person who had so much of love in her that she spread around. And when she spoke of love, it was not just the sexual union that she referred to. She was known for her referrence to Krishna in her pre-Muslim writings and this has given her kind of a Meera figure. Look at the old poems she wrote:

Krishna, I am melting,
Melting, melting
Nothing remains
But you

or

“If love is a flower, lust is its fragrance. Without love, where is lust and without lust, can life be created?” Kamala Suraiyya quotes Jayadeva’s Gita Govindam. “I think of Radha and Krishna when I think of love. Life is all about various dimensions of love.” [via]

But the pseudo-moralistic Malayali society could not accept Madhavikutty for what she was. When she was awarded the Ezhuthachan Award by Kerala government, recognizing her outstanding contributions to the language and the literary world, the fundamentalists threatened to hijack the award ceremony. Their argument was that “she who writes on love and lust” does not deserve such prestigious recognition! The most interesting part of Madhavikutty as a writer is that she was never a part of the “Feminist writers” or did not prefer to call herself as a Feminist. She did not need the label of Feminism in her writings. However, she spoke about the crimes against women, child prostitution etc.

When I heard the news of her departure today in the morning, I felt sad because she wouldn’t be there anymore to speak of love – that four letter word that people hold on to dearly but fears to admit publicly. May her soul rest in peace…

(Photo courtesy: IndianExpress.com)

JANANEETHI needs your support


There is an NGO called Jananeethi in Thrissur that works in many areas such as micro-credit, self-help groups etc. and their primary focus is on bringing help to poor people for legal assistance. For the past 2 years, they are in a financial crisis and even the staff is working without salaries. They are looking for more project funds from government and other sources, but in the meantime to survive they need private donations.

Now they have come out with a plan and are looking for a contribution of Rs. 5000 per year and for 3 years. Those who would like to make monthly installments of payment can also do so. The bank account details are as follows:

SB A/c No. 9387, Catholic Syrian Bank, Main Branch, Thrissur – 680001.

Jananeethi is a charitable society registered under the provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Act XII of 1955, Reg. No. 193/92 TCR. All contributions can avail tax exemption granted under 80 G of Income Tax Act, 1961.

Here is their website for more info: http://www.jananeethi.org

Sing, Dinga Dinga Dee!

I’m clueless as to why the Israeli arms dealer Rafael’s defense video isn’t inviting protest from the people of India – both in a patriotic sense as well as through a gender point of view. Instead, if we are to believe the spokesperson of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (as quoted by Wired’s Noah Shachtman), the video is said to have been received with much acclaim in India. I am confused, because the video shows India as a dancing doll, singing Dinga Dinga Dee and begging the man (representing Israel) that “I need to feel safe and sheltered“. The man then sings out to her, “I promise to defend you, Fulfill your expectations“. Oh yeah, that masculine man promising to take care of the vulnerable girl begging him to take care of her. Am I the only one or has anyone else felt weird watching this video as an Indian? And it is all in the backdrop of Rafael missile mock-ups and the images of Goddess Durga and Hanuman.

Wired‘s Noah Shachtman writes:

Every element of the promotional film is just plain wrong. The sari-clad, “Indian” dancers look all too ashkenaz and zaftig. The unshaven, hawk-nosed, leather-clad leading man appears to be a refugee from You Don’t Mess With the Zohan. Then of course, there’s the implication that the Indian military is somehow like a helpless woman who “need(s) to feel safe and sheltered.”

And from Nonna Gorilovskaya of Women and Foreign Policy:

Oh yes, strong Israeli man! Where can I sign up? Then again, he also asserts that “we’ve been together for so long, trusting friends and partners,” suggesting a really bad case of amnesia. India and Israel did not establish full diplomatic relations until 1992.

Gaon Chodab Nahi

Here is a music video directed by K P Sasi that talks about the present day exploitation of tribal land and forests in the name of development. This video is inspired by a song by Bhagwan Maaji, leader of the adivasi struggle against bauxite mining in Kashipur.

Ek Meetha Marz Dene (cover)

welcome-to-sajjanpur-tnI have been away from singing and recording for a while. Thanks to the regular sinus attacks I get. 🙂 Anyways, here is a song that I liked in the recent past – Ek Meetha Marz Dene from the movie Welcome to Sajjanpur. Mohit Chauhan is a singer whom I adore right from his Silk Route days. It is a pity that Silk Route isn’t active these days. But fortunately for Mohit, he gets to sing some nice songs. I liked the movie too, with Shreyas Talpade’s wonderful job in the lead role. Set in a village, the movie was a relief from the usual urban/NRI junk that the so called Bollywood churns out every year. And after watching the Khans and Bachans, Talpade seems to be a unique and original actor.

Anyways, here is my try on this song. Lemme know what you think.

Movie: Welcome to Sajjanpur
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Original singer(s): Mohit Chauhan, Madhushree
Covered by: Joseph Thomas (Jo)

Download Ek Meetha Marz Dene (my version) here


Ek Meetha Marz (cover) | Music Upload

An Indian non-Thamizhan’s take on SL conflict

I have never bothered to learn much about the Singhalese vs Thamizhans issue in Sri Lanka. Probably because it has been going on ever since my childhood and the news of the killings had become the news of “ordinary value”. There are certain issues which have come to an ordinary value as time passes by. Aung San Sui Kyi of Burma for example. Or “soon-to-be-of-ordinary-value” Dr. Binayak Sen. Anyways, the murder of Rajiv Gandhi brought the issue into the common public again, but I could not read more about it then because Internet was not available. Now as the news come out that the LTTE has been wiped off by Sri Lankan govt, I could read a lot more into the issue.

I have found out that there are not many indepent reports available on the issue, so that makes it hard to take a stand on this racial conflict. Both sides (LTTE and SL Govt)  have been releasing press notes that accuse the opposite side. The Sri Lankan government has not allowed the independent news agencies to report from the war zone. In an interview with Al Jazeera TV, the Sri Lankan army spokesperson said that it is to ensure the safety of the journalists. Then the Al Jazeera journalist promptly told him that they have experience of reporting from the war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, so no need to worry about their security. This makes me believe that the Sri Lankan government is covering up the realities of war zone. Here we should also note the final editorial from the editor of Sunday Leader newspaper in Sri Lanka, Lasantha Wickrematunge, who has been murdered by unidentified gunmen. In his letter he has been very critical of the Sri Lankan govt and president Rajapakshe. Some interviews with Sri Lankan Thamizhans which I read in Mathrubhumi weekly (Malayalam), says that the segregation of Thamizh people have grown strong. But one of them claims that LTTE wasn’t helping either.

The Thamizh diaspora world over (apart from some lone voices) seems to be justifying LTTE in their support for Thamizh cause which I do not understand. The racial segregation of Thamizhans in Sri Lanka needs to be condemned and voiced about. But is LTTE the answer? Is Prabhakaran justified of his actions? The people from the interview which I mentioned above also tells that LTTE has been forcibly recruiting women and children. A Thamizh Muslim woman mentioned that LTTE have been segregating Muslims in the North and East provinces. Now that is something which made me google more in to the issue. Then I found out this:

1) In the North Sri Lanka, the LTTE forcibly expelled the 75,000 strong Muslim population from the Northern Province

2) The first expulsion was in Chavakacheri, of 1,500 people. After this, Muslims in Kilinochchi and Mannar were forced many to leave their homeland. The turn of Jaffna came on October 30, 1987; when LTTE trucks drove through the streets ordering Muslim families to assemble at Osmania College. There, they were told to exit the city within two hours.

The above incidents remind me of the Natzi era. The LTTE was segregating their own people just because they were born to a different religion. They later apologized and asked Muslims to return, but the scars of the event lead to another form of terrorism, it seems. Now there are extremist Islamist groups growing within the country, as per reports. So how can a leader like Prabhakaran represent the “Thamizh cause” if he exterminates his own people, who were born to a different religion? What kind of a leader is he?

The Thamizh Muslims seems to have been caught between the devil and the sea. One link that I read that tells the story of what Tamil Muslims face from Singhalese and a Wiki page that talks about what they faced from LTTE.

I am against the segregation of Tamils in Sri Lanka and I think the new government should ensure the Thamizh involvement in the government, army, bureaucracy etc. But I do not support LTTE in that process. LTTE’s struggle has not produced much good results. So many Thamizhans have lost their lives. Many have been displaced. Many had to flee their homeland. Many have been forced to join the LTTE and blow up themselves. Those who have been left out in the relief camps run by the Sri Lankan government are facing concentration camp kind of situation created by the Sri Lankan Army. And with the LTTE attitude towards the minority-within-minority, I don’t think LTTE is what the Sri Lankan Thamizhans need to keep on with their fight for dignity and pride.

Now that the Sri Lankan government claims to have wiped off LTTE, they have to prove their sincerity in the integrity of their country. But many Thamizhans who saw LTTE as their last hope have been disappointed. Mr. Rajapakshe has to ensure that the Thamizh people are involved in the functionary of the country. He has to stop the Army’s atrocities. The International community should keep a close watch and ensure this and the freedom of press. If the Sri Lankan government fails on that part, the International community should intervene and take action. To counter the violence in Sri Lanka is by ensuring the Thamizh people of their dignity and pride. And by making them feel that they are also a part of the country. Can Mr. Rajapakshe do that or will he let the racial segregation go on? We have to wait and watch.

(Image courtesy: Sangam.org)

(Thanks to Vatsan and Kajan for some of the links included in this post)