RaRa VeNu Gopala - An Alto Saxophone performance

Jr. has been practicing RaRa VeNu Gopala on her Alto Sax on and off now. It started first week of October as an attempt to peform at Navarathri golus, but she got busy and never got past the first half.

Today she practised the whole thing and did it after 35 minutes of takes and retakes. 

She made me very proud today because she stuck to it and got it done. She had first given up on this because she learns Carnatic music (south Indian classical) with the Indian notation and all her Saxophone lessons are in sheet music and western notation! There is a big conflict in her head when she reads the notation because even the Indian notation is written in the English alphabet for her. When I was a kid used to learn with the notes written in Tamil alphabet.

So what happens? 

Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ni Sa gets written in her book as S R G M P D N S

When I translate the carnatic notes for her to Western, I have to go with a G to G scale and write it as 

G A B C D E F G and the problem is G and D are there is both the representations.. poor thing had to practice it many times to get things going.

Now she is on a roll. Going to get some of her other favorite Tamil Songs converted to her notation so she can play it. 

For what it is worth see the pics of the notes made for her. 

 

We will definitely have a few songs ready by next Golu! 

ps. On a side note, this is part of the basic Carnatic music lessons. Some guy is trying to claim Copyright to Raravenu Gopala and is claiming this is infringing on his copyright! Have filed a dispute. These days it is getting ridiculous.

Rudra blues

My taste in music was and is heavily influenced by Bob Dylan. One of my motivations for coming to the US of A more than 20 years ago was to see Dylan. That was checked off within a year after showing up here. Okay, that was not the primary reason!

Most of you also know my penchant for runon sentences and my liking for using not so easily pronounceable words in conversation.

It is very much possible that my memory, vocabulary, run on sentences etc. all have roots in my childhood. As a toddler I used to sit patiently on my grandfathers lap for hours and listen to him recite scriptures. To this day that is my most favorite memory of him. 

Jr. and the little one are always amazed by my memory and I keep telling them that if they just listen to certain sounds, there is a benefit to their brain and the way they can register things. It is true that I don't have any personal experimental proof of this with the western scientific method, but this is based on what the smart elders in my family concur with and it is possibly working in my favor. Nevertheless, not everything needs a proof this way as some experiements go on for generations over thousands of years! Maybe this is one such experiement in progress where these chants are taught?!

Jr. now knows almost 80% of the Chamakam and recites it with the correct pronunciation.  I am not asking her to recite it, but just sit next to me when I recite. So far, so good..

We (Jr. and me) had an idea to do a video of the last stanza with some inspiration from Dylan's Subterranean Homesick blues. 

It is funny that she was introduced to Dylan before she was introduced to Chamakam.. 

Here is the result..

You will see a video here somday where Jr. recites the entire thing. On a side note, we had a funny incident at home a few months ago when she was conscious of her accent when it came time to pronounce some words. Given that she knows neither Hindi or Sanskrit and only Tamil, she was not comfortable reading it in English. 

My initial reaction was to enroll her in Sanskrit class in hopes that she will pick up the Devanagari script and that did not work out. Did find something else to motivate her.. A video where a bunch of Caucasian folks recite Rudram with perfect intonation (catch it from the 55second mark) that taught Jr. that it has nothing to do with where you are born and what your native tongue is and it is just a question of practice and finding a good teacher!

I called it the Rudra blues because sometimes listening to this or chanting this makes me miss my grandfather and the Kapaleeshwarar temple and also sends me back to simple and innocent days from my past. Then again, watching the kids pick it up makes me feel that some goodness is being transferred to the next generation!

As time flies by

It has been an interesting year so far. Lots of work to keep me focussed and busy! Lots of Yoga to help me deal with the work. 

San at her supporting best helping me keep it together with the Yoga and the work and the kids who are making me realize every day that there are lots of things I have to do before they come and say "I am starting college tomorrow!" or "I want to get married!"

Yes, it is a few years away, but the way time flies by, one does get that thought every now and then.. 

When the little one reaches for the tap without climbing on a chair or on top of the sink itself!

When Jr. declares that mommy's footwear are a perfect fit 

or when she wears a new dress before going to the temple that makes me all teary because she looks so grown up in that dress!

The Jan 2nd to Memorial day stretch of the year is usually the most productive but also the most difficult one as you keep going and going and going. 

We are not there at the halfway point and it already feels like time for a break. 

On the bright side the camera came out of its hiding place after almost a month thanks to Jr.  and on the brighter side the kids are growing up as fast as they are growing old.

Jr. figures it out

Jr. has been playing with the Alto Sax, trying to figure out the Carnatic music scales on the instrument. She saw so many kids perform instrument solos at the Navarathri Golu festival and saw it was an easier alternative to singing everywhere. 

Started with renewed vigor today and she did it! (There was no school today and that meant boredom at home. At least the time was used a little constructively for figuring this out!)

Next year at the Golus... Jr. might be playing a Tamil song on the Alto Sax. Can't wait to see that!

A picture is worth... a short play!

Every year Jr. brings this school portrait picture request from school. It is "attractively" priced at anywhere from 28 to 100$ depending on the package.. attractively for the kids that is! 

The photographer in me is never happy with the pictures and the CFO at home says "Didn't we fund all that expensive camera equipment? No way we need to pay for any pictures!" 

This year when Jr. got me the form and envelope told her "how many times have we gone through this? I am not even going to have this conversation. You can have this one with yourself. Face me and act like you. Then face the other way and tell yourself what daddy will say in response and be done with it!"

She thought it was actually a great idea and humored us with the little one edging her on.

The result is..

she did pretty good. At the end she tossed the form and now she gets to spend 14 or 28$ at Target.. depending on if the little one also co-operates and doesn't insist on a school portrait! 

Next year, we do not even have to do this play. We can just review this video. 

Life just gets simpler every year!!!