Super Kids and their Super Moms

Three mothers (M1, M2 and M3) get together for a chat. Here are excerpts of the same.

M1: My son who goes to ABC school just built a helicopter as part of his school project.
M2: Her jaw drops. What? He built a helicopter??
M1: Obviously not a real helicopter, you silly. He built the model of a helicopter using thermocol and other stuff.
M2: Oh Ok, I was just wondering, since these days it is hardly surprising if schools ask children to even design real robots. Don’t you remember the car my neighbour’s daughter built for her inter-school competition last month? By the way, did I tell you that my Akash beta designed the model of a refrigerator last week as part of his assignment?
M1: Yes, yes, heard that and also about how you and your husband had totally gone missing for days, scouting all the shops and markets in the city for the components of the refrigerator.
M2: Look who is talking! What were you doing when your son was supposedly “building” his helicopter? You were the one building it actually and you were in total hibernation, refusing to answer the phone or meet people and even forgetting to eat your meals.

Both their kids are 10 and 8 years respectively.

M1: Hmmm, well, you know how it is, don’t you? How we need to rush through our work chores and be ready to welcome (?) all the writing and project work our children bring home. But then, don’t we have the glowing satisfaction of seeing it exhibited at inter-school festivals and watching it sitting prettily in the classroom and if we parents are really really lucky, sometimes in the Principal’s room too?
M2: Yes, what more can proud doting parents ask for? Only thing is when we are recovering from the mental and physical exhaustion of one project, our kids come home with the next. Again, well, maybe we can learn to forget the spondilytes and the slip disc these endless projects have bestowed on us when we think of the pride of place these will eventually occupy.
M1: Did I tell you what that wicked Mrs. Sensible told me the other day? She had the gall to tell me that I am foolish to waste my time and energy on these fancy projects. She says these projects are completely voluntary and do not impact the overall grades and performance and do not enhance the knowledge and skills of the kids. It seems these are just fancy stunts to impress gullible parents. And what cheek, to tell me that such schools dump work on willing kids/parents and coincidentally and naturally, these are the same kids/parents who always end up working on projects each time they come up.
M 2: What cheek indeed to hurt our sentiments, not to speak of our aching hands and necks (M 2 is just fresh from doing another ingenious project of her child’s). May God punish her with 50 projects! Why 50, one is enough. Sigh!!!
M1: There you again! How can you call it a punishment? I know your physical wounds are too raw to forget, but think about the day our babies and babas take their (our) handiwork to school.
M2: A deep sigh again. Ok, ok I agree with you but transporting these models (aka projects) to school is another ordeal I do not want to think or talk about. Anyway, how cruel of Mrs. S to ridicule our efforts.

Lost in their pleasure and pride (read woes), they seem to have forgotten the existence of Mother 3 (M 3) who was silently enjoying their banter.

M1: She seems to have suddenly noticed the quiet M 3. She turns to her and says in a condescending tone: I hear your child could not secure admission in ABC or 123, what a pity, I guess you did not know that you should have applied to these schools while your child was in your womb itself, Tch tch tch, too bad you waited for her to come out. By then, as we know, it was too late.
M3: Smiles. Well, I did not try for admission in ABC or 123.
M1 & M2: Blurts out unanimously. What cheek! You did not even try for admission!?
M3: No.

Silence. Both M 1 and M 2 clear their throats and mumble, “Where is your daughter going to?”

M3: XYZ.

Another deadly silence.

M1 to M2: Oh, she belongs to one of those self-appointed intellectuals who want their children to grow up differently, studying in a place where they hardly read or write anything and spend all their time wondering why birds sing or how trees grow. No examinations for them and no competition of any kind. All are treated equals it seems! Bah, how funny! Can two people ever be equal?

M2 to M3: Is that so, did you put your daughter there because you want her to be different?

M3: No, I do not want her to be different; I want her to be herself. I do not want her to be an alien created by the ruthless machinery of our present schooling system abetted by over-ambitious parents. I want her to enjoy her schooling and not memorise words and letters that hold no significance for her in her life and work on projects merely to exhibit models created by others. I want her to introspect and learn about life. I just want her to be that wonderful, curious, spontaneous kid that she was born as and always meant to be.
And in a lighter vein, don’t you think this way I am at least absolved of neck, back and other aches because their projects are about observing how milk turns to curd and why children resemble their ancestors, to name a few.

M1 and M2 just looked at each other, grimaced and said nothing.

One Fine Winter Evening...

One fine winter evening in January, Margaret Ridgewood of Cardiff, Wales, accidentally wandered into the premises of what looked like an old sprawling grandiose structure in Thiruvanthapuram. She drifted nonchalantly inside, drawn to the lilting music wafting through the pleasant air, least prepared for the emotional change that would overcome her in the next two hours. It was an exalting feeling that strengthened her resolve to return to the splendorous Kuthiramalika Palace during the same period every year. For her and for many other fortunate people like her, from India and from different parts of the Globe, it has been akin to a divine calling, an exhilarating musical bliss difficult to stay away from. Of course, little did she realise then, all those years back that she was in the midst of a musical event of a totally different kind staged at the elegant courtyard of a palace.

Every year between the 6th and 12th of January, the city of Thiruvanthapuram is blessed to be part of this fascinating musical experience where heaven and all of nature comes to a mesmerising standstill to pay homage to the genius of a great composer and musician Maharaja Swathi Thirunal. It is at the magnificent precincts of the Kuthiramalika Palace, also known as “Palace of the Horses”, built by the Maharaja himself that his dreams are realised year after year as his compositions are rendered in the most humble, poetic and devotional way by a handful of chosen musicians.

A unique feature of the festival is the impressive sound system, which as is the case with most concerts, do not have anyone fiddling with the installation from time to time. Owing to this, there is absolutely no disturbance to the music by the noises usually generated by the audio adjustments. The concerts are made freely accessible to the TV channels as long as their crew do not disturb the artists and the audience, again an unusual thing in these days of putting commercial telecasting first.

This divine festival of music like no other, comes absolutely free of cost to the music lovers and has so far managed to be unaffected by the scourge of commercialisation. There are no reserved seats or any inaugural functions and there is no chief guest either. The talking is strictly limited to a brief, but personal, highly knowledgeable and relevant introduction of the artists of the day.

It is from the upstairs ‘cabin’ of the Kuthiramalika Palace, known as ‘Ambarimukhappu’, since it resembles in shape to a howdah mounted on an elephant, that the Maharaja poured his heart out to his deity as he composed some of his finest pieces during his last days. Legend has it that he himself designed this structure with more than a hundred sculpted wooden horses all facing towards the south, symbolic of his last days on earth of which he was aware. In Hindu mythology a chariot pulled by the horses take one towards the next world, traditionally believed to be to the south.

The ethereal ambience, the dimly lit palace in the backdrop, the open-air seating, the soulful music that permeates the air are all in perfect synchronisation with one another, as if in a glorious conspiracy to fulfil the noble dreams of the composer Maharaja Swathi Thirunal, years after his passing away. What better tribute can there be to his genius and talent, one naturally wonders as one leaves the sanctified premises on the final day of the event.

The artists are all handpicked and are chosen for their competence, dedication and willingness to produce a memorable concert each time they perform. Also there is an effort to bring some of the best musicians from everywhere including those who work overseas.

Maharaja Swathi Thirunal remains the only musician till date who was equally competent in both schools of music, Carnatic and Hindustani. It is this unique versatility of the Maharaja’s, the festival aspires to celebrate.

Few of the doyens of Carnatic music who have delighted the audience at Swathi Sangeethotsavam are Dr. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna, Dr. T.K. Govinda Rao, Prof. T.V. Gopalakrishnan, Smt. D.K. Pattamal, Shri Neyveli Santhanagopalan, Shri T.V. Shankaranarayan, Trichur.V. Ramachandran, Shri T.M. Krishna, Dr. N. Ramani, Shri Kudamaloor Janardhanan, Prof. K.S. Narayanaswami, Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, Shri Sanjay Subramanian, Prof. T.N. Krishnan, Shri Umayalpuram. K. Sivaraman, Shri Palakkad R. Raghu, Shri Karaikudi Mani, Dr.T.K. Murthy, Shri Thiruvaroor Bhakthavalsalam, Shri Tripunithura Radhakrishnan and Shri Udipi Sridhar.

The inimitable Shri N. Ravikiran with his chithraveena, Shri Kadri Gopalnath with his saxophone and Shri U. Srinivas with his mandolin also have left lasting impressions in the musical sensibilities of the listeners.

Accomplished stalwarts of Hindustani music like Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, Smt. Kishori Amonkar,, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Shivkumar Sharma, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Kishen Maharaj and Ustad Fasal Qureshi are only some of the names that have captivated the audience with their performance at Swathi Sangeethotsavam, over the years.

If travelling through the realms of an unforgettable musical journey is your idea of perfect relaxation and enlightenment, Swathi Sangeethotsavam is a never to be missed event. It is also conveniently timed in early January to coincide with the Chennai music season for the benefit of music lovers and artistes visiting the country from the world over.

Note: This is the extract of an article I wrote two years back.