Sunday, March 11, 2012
Phuket
As of this moment I have 23 pages of written blog stories that have never been published - and i've yet to go through all my documents ;p lol lets see if i can clear the back log from 2010 in the next few weeks ;p
Here's the story of Phuket the place I didn't think I will fall in love with ;p
When I was doing my research on Phuket the main word I kept
hearing was how commercialised it was. So I did have my reservations. We
arrived at Phuket late at night famished and absolutely loving our hotel room
which came with a kitchen patio and a wall sofa which I absolutely loved.
Once we finished taking in the room, we headed downstairs to
find food. We were staying in the non entertainment district of phuket on what
we later realised was one of the best beaches in Phuket. There was a family
mart right next to us which is something like 7-eleven an opens 24 hours. The
one Italian restaurant was already closed. That’s when we spied a restaurant
with a dubious sign saying Thai food. Since we were hungry we decided to just
head there and try to get some food since it was past 10pm.
We walked in to find a long haired dude and asked if the
restaurant was still open.
He answered us back with a question “where are you from?” We
said Malaysia and he went not India? We laughed and said no and then he told us
to sit down and immediately tells us “NO FOOD” and starts laughing away. We
were gobsmacked for a moment and tickled by his antics when he brought us the
menu.
We got him to recommend a curry as well as our favourite
green curry. Yes I know who eats two curries? Two crazy gals of course ;p
He comes back a while later with two bowls of curry one
reddish and another greenish. They looked yummy but looks can deceive right?
One sip of the curry and we were in heaven, that was the
best curry I had ever tasted. It was just so amazing. Spoon after spoon of the
delicious curry went into our systems as we oohed and aahed. We knew
immediately that this was going to be our favourite restaurant in Phuket.
He came back later and entertained us with his antics and
stories of being a singer and even sang a thai song for us. He turned out to be
the cook who had learnt his skills from watching his mom cook!
We ended up going back there for lunch everyday ordering
more green curry and tomyam which was as great. I even got him to pose for my
camera though he suddenly turned shy on us.
We never got the same taste anywhere else after and I’m
afraid that curry is never gonna taste the same for me again. I so want my
tomyam now! ;p
Phuket was absolutely lovely, I wish we had stayed longer
and not headed to Bangkok. The trip felt too short. Our part of the beach was
absolutely stunning, we drove around the beaches to check out the other beaches
and I can still say ours was the best. It was quiet not too crowded and the
best part there was this one cove that was protected by a hill so you got shade
throughout the day. The only thing was our hotel wasn’t on the beach but they
were such lovely people.
We spent most of the time in the water either at the beach
or in our lovely pool on the top floor. Loved the routine of waking up and having
American breakfast with yummy bacon and runny eggs (missing them so much now)
before heading to the beach and lazing in the water and swimming with the fish!
Yes this was the first time I swam with fishies and they were the pretty yellow
blue ones. At one point we got surrounded by 3 schools of fishes, kinda freaky
though I kept imagining killer piranhas attacking me ;p hehehe
Then we’d head back, rinse of the sea water, have a yummy
lunch, circle the island a bit before heading up to the pool to laze and soak
around. The best part of the pool, it had shady spots so you didn’t end up
getting sun burned as well as the pool bar where your drinks come straight up
to the pool side. Ah life was awesome.
We did head to patong one night to check out the night life.
More on that later about the amazing band we got to hear. But patong was so
different from our side. It was like two different worlds on one island. We did take forever to get there as we
followed a dubious signboard that took us through super steep hilly roads and
winding towns before we finally reached Patong only to get back via a super
easy, short but lonely road past the beaches.
Sigh I wish I was still in phuket swimming with the fishies
and having awesome curries! ;p
ps: I loved Phuket so much I'll be heading there again this year ;p
V-Eyez Imagery
My photography blog V-Eyez Imagery on Facebook
Friday, March 09, 2012
Poraali
There are two things that you
should never possess in life – one is wealth and the other talent.
Unfortunately those are one of the two most important ingredients in
life.
These two qualities are
interlinked with each other like a simbiotik relationship where both need the
other to live. Wealth, yours or anothers is needed to develop your talent,
similarly without talent wealth can neither be achieved or maintained.
So why shouldn’t you possess
the two most important ingredients in life?
Because they are both the root
of all problems. Jealousy, greed or betrayal are merely actions that arise due
to wealth and talent. Without the root causes you will not be subjected to evil
actions.
Funny how life works right?
I always say that life is
weirder than fiction. Most of this is based on the stories I’ve lived through
or seen people live. Every now and then I watch a soap drama or two not because
they are entertaining simply because the things they show are much milder than
everyday life. Only difference in real life, the strong do not cry that much
instead they weep silently as they battle the demons flying towards them.
The world is ruled by money
and the idiot who says its not important either has too much or is living a
lie. Look at the saints of the 21st century who zip across
continents in first class flights and live in air-condioned mansions and such. Sure
some of them do some good, but didn’t they relinquish life? So what are they
doing amidst luxury?
Talent is a funny quality. If you’re an average dude, no one bothers about you. Anything above average and you’ll soon be the target of jealousy for someone wants the money and fame your talent earns you.
That’s where we come to Poraali
the movie directed by Samuthirakani. It
simply means the man who fights to overcome hardship. Its an absolutely
brilliant movie.
Watching Poraali reminded me
of the disparity in life. Picking the central theme of wealth, the story takes
you into the lengths the family would go to attain the wealth that was neither
contested nor wanted by the hero, director Sasikumar.
I’ve lost count of the number
of times I’ve watched the movie, I think I could pretty much quote different parts
of the movie and still want to watch it again and again.That’s probably why I love
the work of director Sasikumar and Samuthirakani.
They bring out reality in such a simple way using average people that it seems unbelievable.
Would your own sibling or
child go after your money? Trust me the world is a crazy place filled with
people who would do anything for money.
For all those people who lust
after anothers money or wealth be it your parents or someone else, you should
be ashamed of yourself. Its one thing to be gifted something, its another to
demand wealth based on your own greed. Until people realise that money needs to
be earned and not pulverised from others, greed will hold the upper hand that
leads to all kinds of evil.
The simple truth is, trust no
one. For all older folks out there, do not leave anything for your children until
your death that too make sure you put enough conditions on your will to ensure
no one kills you for your wealth. Make sure you have a will and even if it’s a family
business, ensure the profit of your hardwork comes to you first and not to
anyone else. Do not give away your life savings to your child or change your
property to their name. those homeless folks on the streets? They’re not drug
addicts but most are parents who have been left to rot on the streets by their
own children.
V-Eyez Imagery
My photography blog V-Eyez Imagery on Facebook
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Dance and Culture
When I first saw this video it brought a smile to my face. The wedding entrance dance has become a trend in western weddings but this was the first time I was seeing it in a Hindu wedding. For me I preferred her coming out with the gals as i didn’t get the part with the boys and found that cheesy.
Now while in general most people like me have liked the video, theres another minority bunch who are critising the video on the basis of culture. To all of them I’d like to ask you what culture are we talking about?
Culture is manmade and has been changed to fit the whim and wants of men across centuries.
If we are such upholders of culture, how did the sacred art of bharathanatyam and temple dancers into prostitution? It took a women centuries later to go against culture to revive back Bharatanatyam!
And when did this revival happen? In the 1930s!!!!! Before that you were looked down if you were a bharatanatyam dancer. Where were our people and culture when they made the sacred artform disrespectful?
Did you know that according to Hinduism there is a third gender? That would be transsexuals. All this changed when the British arrived in India and began treating them disrespectfully and creating laws to imprison transsexuals. So how did our culture change then when this has been in our legend and scriptures. Take Ayyapan’s legend – who are his parents? Vishnu and Siva – as the asura had asked for a boon where he cannot be killed by one who parents are male and female!
My question is will this culture question have arised if the bride had danced kohlatam or bharatanatyam?
How come its okay to dance when we do thirukalyanam? Don’t people sit and dance at the weddings or hare rama Krishna festivals?
The only difference in this brides wedding was the songs were cinema songs but look at the songs. There was nothing wrong with the lyrics or the way the bride danced. Everything was done respectfully. If she was to have done the same moves to a kolattam song, all of you would have gone why thats so great.
Cinema music is popular and it is the fault of parents and their own generation for not teaching carnatic music, bhajans, thevarams, folk songs to their kids. If the children had grown to love those songs and music they would have picked those songs to dance for instead.
Culture is manmade and it has changed so much over the yugams as man becomes more and more critical about others. For those who would like to question this please tell me why did culture prostitute temple dancers and now mistreats transsexuals?
To the bride and groom – nice one and congrats. To future brides or grooms who would like to do these at your wedding, please hire me to be your photographer. I would love to shoot such a fun wedding ;p
ps: the wedding was in Singapore.
V-Eyez Imagery My photography blog V-Eyez Imagery on Facebook
Monday, February 20, 2012
Annamalaiyar
Everytime I visit Chennai there are two cities I must visit.
One is Kanchipuram and the other Thiruvannamalai. While Annamalai is where my
ancestors are from, it is Annamalaiyar himself who brings me back there
everytime for he is an absolute joy to behold.
I headed to Kanchipuram in the wee hours of the morning to
reach there for the morning abhishegam that we would usually book for to do for
Kanchi Kamakshi. After that I headed for a beautiful darshan at Ekambareshwarar
temple. It was a Monday and there was a priest sitting there and reciting
manthras who obligied me to a sahasranama archanai. When he saw me sitting down
at the mandapam in front of the tree to sing, he came by to give me pulisadam
my most favourite food which was the prasadam for the day.
I headed straight to Thiruvannamalai and feeling a bit lazy
was reading a book when the rays of the sun hit my room and i looked out to
find monkeys on the roof and the sun glowing at the gopuram. I immediately
headed to the temple to catch the sunset and the evening prayers and to book
the margazhi month abhishegam. When i reached the temple the evening abhishegam
was going on so I couldn’t give my maalai there. I was walking around the
temple when I saw Nadarajar being decorated oddly with a piece of cloth. I walked
up to the priest and said will you put the maalai for him and he said yes but
only later. If you want to see come back here.
I went to Umaiyaal for prayers and headed back to Nadarajar.
That’s when I realised he was going to be decorated grandly for flowers of all
sizes and colours arrived in truckloads for the idol is at least 10 feet in
height. I sat down to watch the alangaram and sing. I was awestruck at the care
and beauty of the decoration. Soon more people joined me. My malai was placed
right at the top of Nadarajas crown. Soon they brought out the huge trunk of
gold to decorate him. One by one the gold chains and crowns were placed and
soon the decoration was done. I took a shot with my camera phone but wanting
more I went to the iyer and asked him if I could take a picture. He said yes
and I quickly took out my dslr and shot 2 photos before putting it back into my
bag. Photos are not allowed in the temple.
All my years of waking up early for Marghali was rewarded
with this beautiful darshan which was followed by the singing of Thiruvembavai
and the procession of Manickavasagar. I followed the procession right to the
end of the street – will post the photos later.
The next morning I was lucky to have been the only two
umbhayakarargal for the 4am abhishegam and what a morning it was. Annammalaiyar
and umaiyal were a sight to behold. And the malai I had purchased the night
before was still fresh as promised by the florist.
V-Eyez Imagery
My photography blog V-Eyez Imagery on Facebook
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Si Tanggang in Batu Caves?? Ehh
So there’s a new theory on Batu Caves by a writer who loves
folklore and doesn’t know geography.
So when I read this I knew I had to reply as sensible as
possible.
Si Tanggang or Malin Kundang is a folklore on an ungrateful son who together with his ship and all the
sailors turned into stone after being cursed by his dejected mother.
Now the writer claims that based on the 1955 novel written
by Abdul Samad Ahmad the stone ship in question is non-other than Batu Caves.
So was Si Tanggang folklore based in Batu Caves.
Here’s my
answer and comment to the article.
lol ok lets talk facts and get some geography lessons.
lol ok lets talk facts and get some geography lessons.
Abdul Samad Ahmad was born in 1913
K. Thamboosamy Pillai, an Indian trader, in the 1800s who
also founded the Sri Mahamariamman
Temple, Kuala Lumpur, founded the temple cave in 1891 and the first Thaipusam
was held in 1892. Which means Thaipusam has been held there for 120 years.
Now Abdul Samad Ahmad wrote Si tanggang in 1955.
Although Si Tanggang is not really an original story since
similar versions can be found around Asia, the most popular being Malin
Kundang. The ship or its remains can be found in Pantai Aia Manih, south of
Kota Padang, West Sumatera. Please check the photos at the link for the ship ;p
So you've written an article based on a folklore written in
1955? some 57 years ago by a writer who was not even born when the temple was
founded ;))
Now If you've based this on the orang asli (aborigines) legend - people
who continue to be forgotten and side stepped in this country - again this can
only be nothing but a legend because
1 Batu caves formation is said to be 400 years old.
2 Geologically Malaysia's current map shape has been pretty
much the same size for some 6000 years. According to the prehistory geological
evolution of Malaysia and the world, the available land has continued to shrink
in size and is slowly being taken over by water. Yeah we are continuously in
risk of losing our precious coastlines.
Take a look at this for some prehistory lessons.
This itself proves that is totally ridiculous to assume Batu Caves could have been Si Tanggangs ship as it is right smack
in the middle of Selangor and towards the border of Perak, the nearest ocean coastline is around Klang which is about 60 kms away. No ship that size could have
berthed so far away from the sea.
I suggest that you go back and study geography please and
let's keep SI Tanggang what it is a folklore.
So in conclusion you are the most awesomest man in Malaysia
la macha ;)) Can become writer of folklore or cerita dongeng.
To the writer
YOur article wasn't racists but its definitively disrespectful. Saying that we've misunderstood and that it was about respecting ones parents is ridiculous and makes you look like a politician who said the wrong thing.
If your article was about respecting one's parents and you knew that this is a myth, why do you insist the the mango tree was from the mango Si Tanggangs mother threw and for that we should be a statue as tall as Lord Muruga's statue? What kind of fantasy world are you living in that you think a myth that has no geographical evidence is true?
If your article was about respecting one's parents, wheres the stories about youth disrespecting parents? The whole article is about your fascination on the story and search to see the ship. Neither the ship existed nor any part of the story besides you insisting on 1 mango tree being the evidence of its existance.
I suggest you learn how to write and understand the importance of research before writing something ridiculous.
V-Eyez Imagery
My photography blog
V-Eyez Imagery on Facebook
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Thaipusam 2012
Those who have been following this blog for years now are
probably wondering wheres the Thaipusam post. Well its been a super awesome
Thaipusam and hence no posts.
This year I shot a wedding on the night of the chariots journey
to Batu Caves. So you can imagine how hectic my day would have been.
I left the wedding hall and headed home to drop my equipment
and rest a bit. Then mom joined me in our quest to look for the chariot – I was
pretty certain it would still be at the usual place but one guy sent us on a
goose chase to Masjid India before we found it again in Leboh Ampang where lion
dances, urumi melam and kompangs were waiting for the chariot.
Ah I absolutely loved how the chariot looked this year. I
had mumbled to one of the annas that I didn’t like the fluorescent tubes and preferred
the solidary bulbs and looks like someone listened to me.
When we were there some group gave a 12 feet malai that was
so heavy – 8 guys had to carry it.
Muruga looked so dashing as he made his way around KL. I was
at Batu Caves three times this year, first on the evening before to see the
festival flag hoisted and then early the next morning for my river photos and
finally in the evening to climb to the inner caves.
The crowds were epic this year. When I arrived in the
morning both sides of the flyover was jammed up with people. Even when we
returned in the evening the crowds were just growing in numbers.
Every year it’s a tradition for me to go see the chariot
leave and on its way back we will do prayers in KL. A few years once we will
try to make it for the final pooja at KL Maha Mariamman Temple. Since the
chariot procession grew ultra famous the timing has gotten later and later. The
chariot only arrived at 3.30am in Leboh Ampang. All this is because the number
of people doing prayers and breaking coconuts in the thousands has increased
tenfold.
The chariot is so tall and the idols are so heavy that they
have to use a forklift to lift and bring down Murugan each time.
Right after the prayers they had been giving out his garlands
and the fruits to everyone who was there. Everyone who attended got something. As
we are annual ubhayakarargal, mom was given a kalanji. I was standing in front of Murugan and
watching them remove his gold ornaments. He looked so gorgeous ;p
One of the annes asked if I wanted something. At first I said
no but then I had been eyeing the little crown garlands. So I said can I get a
kutty flower or garland. Instantly I was given the small malai from his neck (you can see it in the photo - its the one with red green at his side) ;))) obviously I was too happy for words and skipped away, garland in hand ;p
I said goodbye to Muruga and left and with that Thaipusam
2012 has officially ended.
I have much to write about it though so look out for more
posts soon.
Oh if you're looking for the photos of the kavadis - checkout my fb page ;)
V-Eyez Imagery
My photography blog V-Eyez Imagery on Facebook
Monday, January 23, 2012
My loves ;))
I gave myself an awesome birthday gift last month. A trip to Chennai for the music season ;))
I was trying to pick the right time to go by waiting for the schedule but finally i decided to just let fate decide and got my tickets first and once again flying on my birthday. I must say flying on your birthday is a lovely experience. Being in two countries on the same day ;p
Well the flight got delayed three hours and I got to go our temple here before i headed to the airport. Only on the flight I realised there was a cyclone blowing across tamilnadu and Chennai was drenched and hence why the flight was delayed. We landed in the rain on one of my smoothest landings so far - thanks to the crew of Airasia. The rain refused to stop throughout the day and I regretted not bringing my lovely raincoat from Vietnam along and had to buy a worthless one in Chennai.
Nevertheless i'm gonna post about the main reason I was in Chennai in the first place - to listen to amazing music. ;)
30 December 2011
It was raining non stop in Chennai but that didnt stop me from heading to my first concert for the season in Chennai. KJ Jesudass by Bharat Kalachar at Kamaraj Memorial Hall.
What an awesome way to spend the birthday ;))
The hall brought back a lot of memories since i've performed here before ;)
S.R. Mahadeva Sarma (Violin),
Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam (Mrudangam),
Tripanithura Radhakrishnan (Ghatam)
31 December 2011
This was hands down the most amazing concert i've heard. My first love TN Seshagopalan in concert. it was absolutely amazingggggggg. He sang about 6 songs but each song was at least 45 minutes and the concert ended at nearly 11 pm ;))) what a way to end the year ;)
the most interesting thing was most of the musicians got stuck in traffic but the hooligan crowds who consisted of useless old folks were shouting disrespectfully. I was seriously gonna get up and scream at them. so TN sir started the concert without the mirdangist. he elaborated the raaga for more than 30 minutes - wow and this was followed by an equal rendition by my fav violinist M. Chandrasekaran. Just as they were about to finish the mirdangist arrived just in time to start the song much to the happiness of TN sir who praised Madurai Meenakshi for her grace.
How can you not love this man ;)))))
and those donkeys who made noise - all left after 30 minutes - %*^&^$@#. Seriously this happened in most of the concerts in Chennai. It will start with a house full and then people would leave!! Brilliance is a waste on these ppl.
M. Chandrasekaran (Violin),
T.K. Murthy (Mrudangam),
B. Shree Sundarkumar (Khanjira)
MFAC Hall, The Mylapore Fine Arts Club,
Concert review taken from Saroja Ramanujam
The very first was raga alapana of Poorvikalyani which flowed like the Niagara , with such force and expanse. The krthi was ‘meenakshi me mudham’ of Dhikshithar with the neraval at ‘madhurapurinilaye,’ with madhurasvara following. The whole exposition was full of maadhurya.
After ‘nenarunchinaanu,’of Thygaraja in raga maalavi, Sri TNS started a majestic kamboji and the krthi was ‘rathnakanchuka dhaariNi ,’ of HMB. The neraval –svara sung at the end was inlaid with gems (rathnakanchukam)
BSivaraman and Sundarkumar played an exuberant thani and Sri TNS sang the verse from kambaramayana, ‘vimminan bharathanum,’ in raga lalitha which brought out the bhava splendidly.
Then came the Kohinoor of the day , the RTP in senchurutti, pallavi and svaras in raga malika. The raga senchirutti made the rasikas wonder how one could take such a raga and make it into an RTP and the raga, like melted butter, pervaded all the hearts. The pallavi ‘guhaa murugaa shanmukhaa nee vaa kaa vaa kovE ,’ was sung in senchurutti, nadhanamakriyaa, punnagavarali, yaman kalyani, maNirangu and sindhubhairavi, all madhyama sruthi ragas, sung in most exquisite manner leaving the rasikas in ecstasy, feeling that if He is called in such a manner how could the Lord Muruga possibly fail to come. The changing of ragas in pallavi as well as in svaras was so swift that before on could catch a raga it changed into another and Sri TNS sang them in regular and reverse order in quick short phrases.
The Meerabajan that followed was also soul stirring and the way Sri TNS sang it like a ustad, brought Meera on stage with salangai on her feet and chipla kattai on her hands! The song was reverberating for a long time in the ears after the concert ended. The percussionists provided a suitable support for it in typical Hindustani style.
The concert came to an end with the thiuppugaz ‘vachanmigavEttri maRavaadhe,’ and mangalam. The rasikas would have left the hall thinking ‘what a way to end the year.’! So many remained till 11pm when the concert ended perhaps even wishing that he could continue till the ringing in of the New Year. Any way Sri TNS ushered in the New year by singing ‘wish you a happy New Year’ in sreeraga after sriyaH kanthaaya, the usual ending of all his concerts.
1 January 2012
Not getting enough of TN Sir, I ditched the original plan of watching Urmila Satyanaranan dance and headed to the beautiful Tamil Isai Sangam in the middle of nowehere ;p it took me some 15 minutes to get an auto back to the hotel as everyone who came to the concert arrived in cars.
I walked up to go find the ticket counter and the guy tells me its a free concert and I was like oh okay and he proceeded to give me the fifth row seat ;))) yayyy yep they decided who gets to sit where ;)
the concert was so beautiful and all were tamil songs as fits the location. seriously the hall was so beautiful both inside and outside ;)
Delhi Sundararajan on violin,
RRamesh on mrdhangam
Sundarkumar on kanjira.
Concert review taken from Saroja Ramanujam
Concert of Sri Madurai TNSeshagopalan at Tamiz isai Raja Annamalai manram on 1.1.2012
aparimitha rachanaa kouSalam
The amrthavarshini varnam with which Sri TNS started the concert was composed by him on the spot! Unimaginable! There is no limit for his brilliance! Fortunate are we who are blessed to enjoy his music because to recognize a chinthamani the grace of God is required. The music of Sri TNS is like chinthamani in providing whatever one looks forward as a rasika.Sri TNS was accompanied by Delhi Sundararajan on violin, RRamesh on mrdhangam and Sundarkumar on kanjira.
After the varnam Sri TNS sang the thiruppavai, ‘nayakanaai ninRa’ in nayaki and this was followed by exquisite panthuvarali and excerpt from Manonmaneeyam which he explained as thamizthaai vaaztthu in panthuvarali. Neraval -svara was sung at ‘uLLam elllaam kalai veLLatthaal nanaindhe ,’ which aptly described the feeling of the rasikas on hearing it.
The next was a brief sahana with the arutpaa ‘appaa naan vEndudhal kEttu arutpuridhal vEndum.’ This was followed by the GKB krthi ‘ennEramum undhan,’ in devagandhari.
Then came two rasikas’ favourites, ‘aNNalum nokkinaan,’ in hameer kalyani from Kambaramayana and ‘Ramanukku mannan mudi,’ in hindolam from Ramanatakam. The visual presentation through music in both are always delightful. The nOkku of Rama and Seetha differentiated and the words ‘kaNnodu kaNNinai kavvi,’ the bhava of which portrayed in various ways of singing it, are to be heard to appreciate it fully.
After this there were two unheard of pieces ( at least by me) one in kedaragoula with words ‘padma peedatthil mutthukkumaran’ and another , a composition of mutthuramalinga sethupathi in yadukula kamboji.
The main attraction was however the RTP in sindhubharavi and navaneetham. The sindhubhairavi was a real sindhu, an ocean. Combining it with navaneetham, a prathimadhyama, that too a vivadhi raga in RTP is possible only by TNS! The pallavi had words ‘veNNai thinna china thanamaa,(Sindhubhairavi) navaneetha naatyamaa( navaneetham) . The svara in the two ragas alternating with the two lines of pallavi was something unimaginable. The rasikas were really fortunate to have ended the old year and also started the new year with the inimitable unparalleled music of Sri TNS
Delhi sundararajan gave a good support on the violin and Ramesh and Sundarkumar excelled in percussion.
The next two days were spent travelling to Thiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram. I came back for my cousins performance in Chennai on 4 January 2012.
4 January 2012
Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur in Chennai
Of course I couldnt miss my cousins performance but I nearly did because it was scheduled for much earlier. Somehow I managed to find out in time and rushed to the hall in a span of 1 hour which included getting back to the hotel and changing ;p
The singer Nandakumar Unnikrishnan sir is a brilliant singer and a regular artiste for the performances in KL. So it was also a beautiful treat to the ears. ;)
The rest of the photos can be seen here
4 January 2012
My second love Rajesh Vaidhya on the veena.
i nearly missed watching this amazing concert as my cousin was supposed to perform at the same time. turns out her performance was much earlier and I caught the next auto to the temple.
it was the eve of Vaikunda Ekadesi and Triplicane Partasarathy temple was surrounded by cops in preparation of the crowds from midnight onwards. This was probably the most beautiful concert I've seen as it was held outdoors under the moonlight and shade of a huge beautiful tree lit up with lights. I kept smilling and looking at the musicians the tree and the moon which was right above me in between leaves ;p
I have videos of this concert - will post it up as soon as I find time ;)
the raavan on veena created magic as his hands glided expertly and at break neck speed with his trademark smile. Best part of all was the playing of Bharathiyars beautiful songs which was so apt as his memorial house was just next door!
i think he played all my fav songs from Boh Sambho to chinan Chiru pen pohle, China Chiru Killiyeh and so on one after the other.
I think these were the musicians - sorry i have bad memory
Karukurichi N. Mohanram (Mrudangam),
D. Chandrajit (Tabla),
N. Subramanian (Ghatam)
Craving for bhajji on the beach i skipped the 5th and headed to the beach ;))
6 January 2012
I first listened to Sikhil Gurucharan sir at a photo exhibition here in KL and since have been a fan of his.
Delhi P. Sundararajan (Violin),
Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (Mrudangam)
Rama Rao Kala Mantap, (Nungambakkam Cultural Academy)
7 January 2012
I began at Kamaraj and ended there as well with another Rajesh Vaidhya concert. Again brilliance at its best ;)))
My second love Rajesh Vaidhya on the veena. This was a fushion concert and was the start of a series of concerts. Brilliant stuff as usual. Beautiful songs from his latest album including one named expresso in kaapi raagam after a coffee session in coffee day ;p
I think these were the musicians - sorry i have bad memory but this was a brilliant team especially the mirdangist.
Karukurichi N. Mohanram (Mrudangam),
D. Chandrajit (Tabla),
N. Subramanian (Ghatam)
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I was trying to pick the right time to go by waiting for the schedule but finally i decided to just let fate decide and got my tickets first and once again flying on my birthday. I must say flying on your birthday is a lovely experience. Being in two countries on the same day ;p
Well the flight got delayed three hours and I got to go our temple here before i headed to the airport. Only on the flight I realised there was a cyclone blowing across tamilnadu and Chennai was drenched and hence why the flight was delayed. We landed in the rain on one of my smoothest landings so far - thanks to the crew of Airasia. The rain refused to stop throughout the day and I regretted not bringing my lovely raincoat from Vietnam along and had to buy a worthless one in Chennai.
Nevertheless i'm gonna post about the main reason I was in Chennai in the first place - to listen to amazing music. ;)
30 December 2011
It was raining non stop in Chennai but that didnt stop me from heading to my first concert for the season in Chennai. KJ Jesudass by Bharat Kalachar at Kamaraj Memorial Hall.
What an awesome way to spend the birthday ;))
The hall brought back a lot of memories since i've performed here before ;)
S.R. Mahadeva Sarma (Violin),
Tiruvarur Bhaktavatsalam (Mrudangam),
Tripanithura Radhakrishnan (Ghatam)
31 December 2011
This was hands down the most amazing concert i've heard. My first love TN Seshagopalan in concert. it was absolutely amazingggggggg. He sang about 6 songs but each song was at least 45 minutes and the concert ended at nearly 11 pm ;))) what a way to end the year ;)
the most interesting thing was most of the musicians got stuck in traffic but the hooligan crowds who consisted of useless old folks were shouting disrespectfully. I was seriously gonna get up and scream at them. so TN sir started the concert without the mirdangist. he elaborated the raaga for more than 30 minutes - wow and this was followed by an equal rendition by my fav violinist M. Chandrasekaran. Just as they were about to finish the mirdangist arrived just in time to start the song much to the happiness of TN sir who praised Madurai Meenakshi for her grace.
How can you not love this man ;)))))
and those donkeys who made noise - all left after 30 minutes - %*^&^$@#. Seriously this happened in most of the concerts in Chennai. It will start with a house full and then people would leave!! Brilliance is a waste on these ppl.
M. Chandrasekaran (Violin),
T.K. Murthy (Mrudangam),
B. Shree Sundarkumar (Khanjira)
MFAC Hall, The Mylapore Fine Arts Club,
Concert review taken from Saroja Ramanujam
The very first was raga alapana of Poorvikalyani which flowed like the Niagara , with such force and expanse. The krthi was ‘meenakshi me mudham’ of Dhikshithar with the neraval at ‘madhurapurinilaye,’ with madhurasvara following. The whole exposition was full of maadhurya.
After ‘nenarunchinaanu,’of Thygaraja in raga maalavi, Sri TNS started a majestic kamboji and the krthi was ‘rathnakanchuka dhaariNi ,’ of HMB. The neraval –svara sung at the end was inlaid with gems (rathnakanchukam)
BSivaraman and Sundarkumar played an exuberant thani and Sri TNS sang the verse from kambaramayana, ‘vimminan bharathanum,’ in raga lalitha which brought out the bhava splendidly.
Then came the Kohinoor of the day , the RTP in senchurutti, pallavi and svaras in raga malika. The raga senchirutti made the rasikas wonder how one could take such a raga and make it into an RTP and the raga, like melted butter, pervaded all the hearts. The pallavi ‘guhaa murugaa shanmukhaa nee vaa kaa vaa kovE ,’ was sung in senchurutti, nadhanamakriyaa, punnagavarali, yaman kalyani, maNirangu and sindhubhairavi, all madhyama sruthi ragas, sung in most exquisite manner leaving the rasikas in ecstasy, feeling that if He is called in such a manner how could the Lord Muruga possibly fail to come. The changing of ragas in pallavi as well as in svaras was so swift that before on could catch a raga it changed into another and Sri TNS sang them in regular and reverse order in quick short phrases.
The Meerabajan that followed was also soul stirring and the way Sri TNS sang it like a ustad, brought Meera on stage with salangai on her feet and chipla kattai on her hands! The song was reverberating for a long time in the ears after the concert ended. The percussionists provided a suitable support for it in typical Hindustani style.
The concert came to an end with the thiuppugaz ‘vachanmigavEttri maRavaadhe,’ and mangalam. The rasikas would have left the hall thinking ‘what a way to end the year.’! So many remained till 11pm when the concert ended perhaps even wishing that he could continue till the ringing in of the New Year. Any way Sri TNS ushered in the New year by singing ‘wish you a happy New Year’ in sreeraga after sriyaH kanthaaya, the usual ending of all his concerts.
1 January 2012
Not getting enough of TN Sir, I ditched the original plan of watching Urmila Satyanaranan dance and headed to the beautiful Tamil Isai Sangam in the middle of nowehere ;p it took me some 15 minutes to get an auto back to the hotel as everyone who came to the concert arrived in cars.
I walked up to go find the ticket counter and the guy tells me its a free concert and I was like oh okay and he proceeded to give me the fifth row seat ;))) yayyy yep they decided who gets to sit where ;)
the concert was so beautiful and all were tamil songs as fits the location. seriously the hall was so beautiful both inside and outside ;)
Delhi Sundararajan on violin,
RRamesh on mrdhangam
Sundarkumar on kanjira.
Concert review taken from Saroja Ramanujam
Concert of Sri Madurai TNSeshagopalan at Tamiz isai Raja Annamalai manram on 1.1.2012
aparimitha rachanaa kouSalam
The amrthavarshini varnam with which Sri TNS started the concert was composed by him on the spot! Unimaginable! There is no limit for his brilliance! Fortunate are we who are blessed to enjoy his music because to recognize a chinthamani the grace of God is required. The music of Sri TNS is like chinthamani in providing whatever one looks forward as a rasika.Sri TNS was accompanied by Delhi Sundararajan on violin, RRamesh on mrdhangam and Sundarkumar on kanjira.
After the varnam Sri TNS sang the thiruppavai, ‘nayakanaai ninRa’ in nayaki and this was followed by exquisite panthuvarali and excerpt from Manonmaneeyam which he explained as thamizthaai vaaztthu in panthuvarali. Neraval -svara was sung at ‘uLLam elllaam kalai veLLatthaal nanaindhe ,’ which aptly described the feeling of the rasikas on hearing it.
The next was a brief sahana with the arutpaa ‘appaa naan vEndudhal kEttu arutpuridhal vEndum.’ This was followed by the GKB krthi ‘ennEramum undhan,’ in devagandhari.
Then came two rasikas’ favourites, ‘aNNalum nokkinaan,’ in hameer kalyani from Kambaramayana and ‘Ramanukku mannan mudi,’ in hindolam from Ramanatakam. The visual presentation through music in both are always delightful. The nOkku of Rama and Seetha differentiated and the words ‘kaNnodu kaNNinai kavvi,’ the bhava of which portrayed in various ways of singing it, are to be heard to appreciate it fully.
After this there were two unheard of pieces ( at least by me) one in kedaragoula with words ‘padma peedatthil mutthukkumaran’ and another , a composition of mutthuramalinga sethupathi in yadukula kamboji.
The main attraction was however the RTP in sindhubharavi and navaneetham. The sindhubhairavi was a real sindhu, an ocean. Combining it with navaneetham, a prathimadhyama, that too a vivadhi raga in RTP is possible only by TNS! The pallavi had words ‘veNNai thinna china thanamaa,(Sindhubhairavi) navaneetha naatyamaa( navaneetham) . The svara in the two ragas alternating with the two lines of pallavi was something unimaginable. The rasikas were really fortunate to have ended the old year and also started the new year with the inimitable unparalleled music of Sri TNS
Delhi sundararajan gave a good support on the violin and Ramesh and Sundarkumar excelled in percussion.
The next two days were spent travelling to Thiruvannamalai and Kanchipuram. I came back for my cousins performance in Chennai on 4 January 2012.
4 January 2012
Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur in Chennai
Of course I couldnt miss my cousins performance but I nearly did because it was scheduled for much earlier. Somehow I managed to find out in time and rushed to the hall in a span of 1 hour which included getting back to the hotel and changing ;p
The singer Nandakumar Unnikrishnan sir is a brilliant singer and a regular artiste for the performances in KL. So it was also a beautiful treat to the ears. ;)
The rest of the photos can be seen here
4 January 2012
My second love Rajesh Vaidhya on the veena.
i nearly missed watching this amazing concert as my cousin was supposed to perform at the same time. turns out her performance was much earlier and I caught the next auto to the temple.
it was the eve of Vaikunda Ekadesi and Triplicane Partasarathy temple was surrounded by cops in preparation of the crowds from midnight onwards. This was probably the most beautiful concert I've seen as it was held outdoors under the moonlight and shade of a huge beautiful tree lit up with lights. I kept smilling and looking at the musicians the tree and the moon which was right above me in between leaves ;p
I have videos of this concert - will post it up as soon as I find time ;)
the raavan on veena created magic as his hands glided expertly and at break neck speed with his trademark smile. Best part of all was the playing of Bharathiyars beautiful songs which was so apt as his memorial house was just next door!
i think he played all my fav songs from Boh Sambho to chinan Chiru pen pohle, China Chiru Killiyeh and so on one after the other.
I think these were the musicians - sorry i have bad memory
Karukurichi N. Mohanram (Mrudangam),
D. Chandrajit (Tabla),
N. Subramanian (Ghatam)
Craving for bhajji on the beach i skipped the 5th and headed to the beach ;))
6 January 2012
I first listened to Sikhil Gurucharan sir at a photo exhibition here in KL and since have been a fan of his.
Delhi P. Sundararajan (Violin),
Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (Mrudangam)
Rama Rao Kala Mantap, (Nungambakkam Cultural Academy)
7 January 2012
I began at Kamaraj and ended there as well with another Rajesh Vaidhya concert. Again brilliance at its best ;)))
My second love Rajesh Vaidhya on the veena. This was a fushion concert and was the start of a series of concerts. Brilliant stuff as usual. Beautiful songs from his latest album including one named expresso in kaapi raagam after a coffee session in coffee day ;p
I think these were the musicians - sorry i have bad memory but this was a brilliant team especially the mirdangist.
Karukurichi N. Mohanram (Mrudangam),
D. Chandrajit (Tabla),
N. Subramanian (Ghatam)
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Friday, December 30, 2011
32 ;)
Thats gonna sound scandalicious in a few years heheh. So here i am awake for my 6 am flight only to find out its been delayed 3 hours. So i thought might as well post the birthday post.
A month ago i discovered that my passport photo today looks much younger than the one taken 5 years back. Illusion? Nah being at peace with urself n being able to make urself happy without wanting someone else to make u happy sure helps.
Travelling on the bday is one of those things ive decided to do as what more can give myself than the joy of doing what i love ;))
Life is To be lived as fully as possible. Be proud of your choices, stand up for your rights and most importantly live your life. ;)))
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Friday, December 16, 2011
Sacrifice
People often tell me the silliest things. Oh you’ve got so much
money, no responsibilities and you can do whatever you want whenever you want.
Sometimes I smile sometimes I get annoyed truth us I want to tell
them.
All I want to tell them is I challenge you to live one day of my
life in each of my 31years! For only then you’ll know what all I’ve done to
achieve and be someone.
To be a dancer and singer I sacrificed every single Saturday Sunday
of my life since I was 8 till 25 years old to go for classes. When we were old
enough to take the bus we used to sit 3 hours in a bus to get to class every weekend!
To be the writer and employee in the position I am today, I’ve
spent countless of hours working late, working weekends, working to hit my
deadlines just so I can go on holiday and gone through the craziest people and
situations.
To become the artist/photographer I am today I have sacrificed so
much time, money, health and more just to become good at what I do.
Its 2 in the morning and I’ve just finished my own work for the
day after working the whole day at the office till 8pm. I don’t have weekends, I
work most of them, either I’m editing or shooting. To go for one of my holidays
I have to work non stop so I can finish all my deadlines.
So it amazes me when ppl think my life is easy. Yes it is much
more easier financially now but work wise this is the busiest ive ever been and
the most tired I’ve gotten.
No one gets living in your means, everyone wants the latest
gadjet, the branded clothes this and that but no one wants to work for it. I have
only lived within the boundaries of my own financial limits. I used the same old
phone for 6 years before I finally change it. I now use the cheapest phone on
the market simply because smart phones are too expensive and not worth the
money and the packages are daylight robbery. Instead because I needed to be in
constant contact with people, I got the ipad which I saved money for and got
the cheapest 3g package.
I am a bloody proud cheapskate, I buy stuff on bargains, I know
the best deals and would have done enough research to get them. I upgraded my
pc in stages using the same monitor for some 7, 8 years till it finally died on
me and only upgrading the hardware and software when ever needed. I don’t believe
in brands unless its electronics that too I wouldn’t buy a brand if they’re
overpriced no matter what the fanboys say.
I started working in the height of recession in 2001 for a super
small salary and I still managed to make ends meet and no I did not live off my
parents. Heck I’ve been supporting myself and more since then even after my dad
passed on. I never got a bonus in my life till 2004 that too it was a basic
one. Every single thing ive purchased or spent has been in cash so that I don’t
have to borrow from anyone. I used to say every single sen I could to get them
and that’s how I bought my first camera.
I saved money to go on holidays. I don’t drink not just coz I don’t
like the taste, simply because its such a waste of money. I don’t gamble, I don’t
smoke, I eat when needed, I buy whats necessary.
I’ve lived a frugal, hardworking but happy and wonderful life for I
posses the most important thing I am satisfied with whatever I have at that
moment. I aspire to be more but I have never wanted what others have and that
has made all the difference.
Stop spending on unnecessary stuff, don’t buy big amounts on
credit, pay up your credit card bills but not if it means you don’t eat but
party like crazy. Have a balanced life.
So stop telling people oh you have so much and learn to live in
your means.
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Monday, December 12, 2011
Thank you
A fore note – I wrote
this weeks before during Thanksgiving after reading the letter by Joe. The wonder
of this note is I’ve had more amazing opportunities and experiences in the last
few weeks and once again I am thankful to everyone ;)
Joe Mcnally one of
the world famous photographers I’ve had the rare opportunity to meet wrote a
beautiful post on the things he was thankful for. It echoes my own sentiments
as I’ve written many times, notes of thanks for the many things in life be it
good or bad and I think it’s long overdue that I write another one.
Thank you for all
the opportunities I’ve had in photography, the people I’ve met, the amazing
opportunities to meet extraordinary photographers who are even more outstanding
as people, the friends I’ve made, the photos that have moved me, the
experiences I’ve learnt and many more than comes my way.
Thank you to all
the friends and the people who have loved my work and continue to spread the
joy to their circles of friends. Thank you for letting me be a part of your
memory and treating me like family. Thank you for believing in me. Years down
the line I want those photos to represent you as person and most importantly a
cherished memory of love and happiness.
Thank you to
everyone who thought of me when they saw an opportunity present itself.
Regardless of the outcome your positive thoughts and actions have been a great
encouragement for me. I am forever grateful and indebted to your kindness.
Thank you for all
the wonderful travel opportunities I’ve had this year and the one’s to come.
Travel is an addiction I inherited from my father and I am ever grateful for
the experiences it has taught me.
Thank you to my IT
experts and Equipment experts, yes I do like being poisoned and your advices
and help has been an amazing support.
Thank you for the
never-ending work, it’s a boon to a workaholic like me.
Thank you to
everyone who has loved my work enough to drop me emails or personally found me
to tell me, the million likes, favourites and words of appreciation. I truly
cherish all of them. It’s an amazing feeling to wake up to all this everyday ;)
Thank you for
showing the light in the weirdest situations.
Thank you for the
setback that put into perspective life’s priorities.
Thank you for
teaching me to forgive but not forget.
Thank you to the
worlds greatest artist - nature for your inspiring beauty and magical art work.
Thanks you for the
bounty of rain and sun although I do have a preference for rain ;p
Thank you for all
the choice of food we have, for there are many who have no choice.
Thank god I was
born here for there is no where I would rather live or be a citizen of.
Thank you to all
those people who are neither friends nor family who have shown me kindness and
care. For all the times I was walked back to my car in my parking lot, my ever
supportive and scary mechanics ;p, the various waiters and waitresses of the
restaurants I frequent who treat me with extra care and provide me with
entertainment, my dr’s who have taken the time to hear me out; drivers, middle
people, coordinators who have been a helpful lot; the ever helpful hotel
staffs, the awesome masseurs I’ve met this year, my tailors who create my whims
and fancies, my printers who print and give me outstanding work every time, the
stores who bring in essential stuff that I need and want, the service industry
lot who get asked silly questions coz I want silly things ;p, Canon’s awesome
service and ability to calm anxious me, Airasia for the cheap flights and
lovely stewardess who don’t think they’re queens and you’re their subjects; Thank
you everyone.
Thank you for all
the wonderful music and dance I’ve had the opportunity to listen and watch.
Music and dance moves me like nothing else and I’m grateful for the
opportunities I’ve had to experience them.
Thank you for all
my friends good and bad. The good for being such supportive shoulders and for
the fun and laughter, the bad for proving to me my actions are correct and I’m
better off without you. Peace is not underrated.
Thank you for all
the criticism, back stabbing, brick bats and unkind words for you are my
biggest encouragement. I work best in the face of adversity, for your actions
and words will only fuel me to do better and for that I am ever grateful. I am
where I am today because of you.
Thank you for the
undying inspirations that drive me to do the craziest things. Thank you to the
people who have learnt to trust me in my craziness. You have no idea how much
it means to me.
Thank you for
filling my soul with dance and music. Thank you for that opportunity to not
only perform but to present one of those million ideas in my head that would
have never had seen the light if it hadn’t been for such opportunities.
Thank you for all
the sadness, fears, problems, blocks, disappointments and more for without them
I wouldn’t be me. I am stronger only because of this.
Thank you for all
the love for life is nothing without it.
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Tsunami - the dance
Early this year I was inspired to dance after watching a show. At first it was going to be a solo piece and as I was thinking of what to do, anger became the focus of my emotions. As I was looking for a story it slowly dawned on me to do Tsunami from the view point of mother nature. What started out as a solo piece became bigger and bigger and finally emerged as a group dance.
Tsunami starts with the evolution of mankind as mother nature dances and guides the birth of humankind. After a full cycle of life where she guides them, she returns to her meditative state. For a while they follow her path and soon they break away to create chaos in the world. We cut trees for no reason, we hunt animals for the joy of it and we kill our own people for greed and power.
Each time we do this, we are hurting mother nature herself and soon she boils in anger, anguished by the pain of seeing her own dead she erupts into the Tsunami.
Chaos reigns as mother nature terrorises land with her waves. As fast as it started it suddenly ends and she returns to her meditation only for the cycle to continue.
Choreographer and Dancer - Visithra Manikam
Dancers
Cheryl
Laveenia
Thineswari
Music: AR Rahman
Mixed by: Aravind AM, Chennai
Video by Jasnita
'Tsunami' was performed at KLPACs Short & Sweet: Dance from 12 - 15 October 2011 at Pentas 2, KLPAC, Malaysia.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Deepavalli Nalvalthukal
Ehlorukkum ehn inniya Deepavalli Nalvalthukal
Happy Deepavalli everyone ;)
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Dancing to the light
Sometimes I forget
how much I love being on stage till I’m there dancing.
The costumes, the
light, the makeup, the transformation into character, how can I not like
dancing?
The week long dance
programme is finally over together with all its drama. The drama didn’t really
affect me as I knew it was going to happen but what was surprising was the
number of people who knew it was going to happen. Now that was surprising and I
so wish someone had told me earlier. Seriously like one person? Arggggg well at
least it provided laughs and disbelief for some ;)
But it was the
actions of everyone after it that touched my heart. KLPAC went out of its way
to ensure things ran smoothly for us, so many people had lovely words to tell
us and most importantly it helped us get over things fast and focus on our
dance.
The dance has been
choreographed to be different each night as parts of the dance are about the
channelling of emotions in the drama style of Bharatanatyam. Since the dancers
weren’t trained in the style, I took essences of the dance and created a piece
that is neither contemporary nor traditional. It’s fully traditional in concept
just not in execution but neither is it contemporary or fusion.
I had wanted a very
specific look for the dance and I must say each gal looked like a devi with her
red kunkumam shinning on the forehead and their red hands blazing in the light.
And our black skirts with red underlining twirled and twirled just like I
wanted them to occasionally giving the audience a glimpse of red as we did our
turns.
This was my second
Short and Sweet and I truly love the festival simply because it brings so many
people together and you meet such lovely people. The Aswara dancers are so
talented yet such humble people. Medula touched us with the story behind his
dance. So were the zombies from a local Univ I so cannot remember now. We had
lovely roomies once again with ours being the out of the world room with the
Kazakstan dancer, our Brazilian group and us with our Indian dance.
The moment we finished
dancing we’d head straight to the green room for dinner as we could never eat
before our dance. That’s where we would meet and talk with the rest of the
dancers. Oh since we share the room with the other bigger hall as well, we
ended up meeting with the lovely group of sweet old men of the quarters and
sean ghazi and a few more people. I must say he is pretty cute ;p
Conversations in
the green room ranged from silly nonsense to conversations on how art can heal.
Art can definitely shape you to be more confident and mend many things. I am
who I am thanks to all my years in the art world.
I think our biggest
fan was the husband of our sweet Kazakstan dancer, everyday he will tell her
something about our dance or notice something new and the next day she will
relate all of it back to us. From the emotions to the choreography to the
lighting, he had so many praises for us. We finally met him on Sunday when we
were there to watch the gala night and once again he was full of praises.
To me emotions are
a very important part of dance. The audience needs to be able to feel the
emotion of a dance and that’s why I am absolutely satisfied with the results.
The first night I was standing out there looking for the director, someone
stopped me to tell me how powerful our dance and message was, then they showed
me their voting slips to show that they were supporting us. Every night someone
stops us to thank us for the thought provoking dance. One Chinese man stopped
one of the gals and told her
“at first it was so
simple, and then you gave me a scare and then when I realised the message it
made me so sad and I understood the pain,”
Another couple said “our concentration was so
great it was as if we were living each character”
u and your girls evoked every emotion in me at the show..it was remarkable..im still in awe!!well done!!
Some people would
applaud us as we walked out to go home and thanked us for the experience.
Others would give
us smiles of acknowledgement.
So many people have
wanted to know where I got the inspiration or how. That is a story on its on
and I shall leave it for later.
Of course to carry
on the conversation I’d ask people were you scared? Some would admit it but
some wouldn’t. The tech guys were the best they’d be like are you adding more
screams? Isn’t it scary already? Heheh for that I added my own scream into the
dance coz it needed to be done and also to scare the people who were watching
it everyday. The first night the gals got a shock when they heard it even though
I had already pre-warned them about it. When we came out the other dancers were
wondering was the scream recorded or live. Yeah it is one loud eerie scream of
pain. The second night I drained myself with the scream.
The dance was
physically and emotionally draining. Each of us had a role to play and we each
lived it for that less than 6 minutes of the dance. For me I felt the pain of
the loss each time a death took place and that’s why the scream was one of such
pain. The anger that followed was in effect of that pain. I remember I checked
with the tech guys if I was sitting in the right spot for the light and he goes
oh yes we saw mother earth boiling.
People walked up to
my mom and asked for our contact as they want the dance to be performed again.
I’m truly honoured but I will only be open to performing it again if it was a
dance programme or an event that matches the message of the dance. I do wish it
could be performed again as the environmental message of the dance is so strong
and it’s been done in such a simple manner anyone will be able to understand
it.
Most of our friends
and family turned up on Saturday so it was like a party for us and for the cast
itself as the gala night finalist were announced that night. As soon as curtain
call ended, we said our hi’s to everyone as the cast started dancing away at
the centre of the stage. That’s when we spotted our monkey boys (which one of
my gals wants to bring home – lol) and I called the gals to the dance floor to
join them. We were gonna do a kuttu on the dance floor to some pop song ;p
The moment the
phrase we were waiting for began we dashed into the centre much to the delight
of the group who roared their approval only for the light to come on as one of
the monkey boys went tsunami tsunami – tsunami masuk je lagu stop (the moment
tsunami came in the music stopped) ;p
I had told the gals
earlier lets pack up early so that we can go outside and join our friends and
family. So the moment we were done, we headed back in to pick up our things
only to find some of the cast inside our room waiting to say goodbye to us. Yes
I think we were generally liked by all since we were always laughing around.
Each time we were waiting for our turns, we’d wish good luck to all the groups
and they vice versa. That’s why this was such a beautiful time.
People were still
waiting outside as we got out while I went to get our brownie. I had ordered
the most amazing brownie from my friend as a treat for the gals and our friends
and family but once again I had forgotten the spoon so I was wondering how to
give it to them. At one point someone wanted a group photo of us and wanted us
to give our scary stares and scream. I said are you sure you want a scream and
they all replied yes. So I said don’t tell me I didn’t warn you ;p
On the count of
three, the gals and I roared and for a moment the whole foyer went silent ;p
Good times indeed.
;)
As people finally
started leaving, I found a makeshift spoon in the form of a tiny coffee spoon
and we finally had our brownie party. People couldn’t believe how good it was
as in a matter of minute ¾ of the brownie was gulped down by all.
So another year
another dance. I am extremely proud of the dance, what it means and how it has
come out. Once I get it running on youtube, I will post it up with the story
behind the dance, its inspiration and the message.
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