The special voice

I cannot claim to know a great deal about music. In fact, I consider myself an insult to a family that is steeped in classical music. But growing up in such a family has a number of advantages. Exposure to some of the finest renditions has been one of the biggest gains. I remember my dad buying me a cassette which featured an assortment of old Hindi songs. My guess is I was about 8-9 years old then and not really old enough to appreciate the lyrics. However, the simplicity and beauty of the music captivated me. Soon I was in a position to understand the language better and grasp the nuances. When I heard the voice of Mohammed Rafi, I was quite literally transported to another world. How could a man's voice be this soulful? Rafi sang hundreds of brilliant songs and many have left a lasting impression. While Rafi's singing overflowed with technical brilliance, Kishore Kumar's genius lay in his ability to challenge the norm and innovate. Kishore could thrill you with one line and infuse a sense of melancholy in the very next line if he so wished. His versatility was scarcely believable. Add to this Mukesh, who had one of the most mature voices I have come across. His Kahin Door Jab Din Dhal Jaaye from Anand is one of the crowning glories of Indian film music. There were the two sisters Lata and Asha, each with varying but effective styles. Lata was the embodiment of perfection and remained the most sought after playback singer while Asha was peppy and the ideal complement to Kishore.

But then there was one voice which I believe trumped all. It was that of Manna Dey. The fact that a singer as good as Dey remains largely lower down the pecking order on the list of great vocalists is Hindi playback singing's biggest paradox. Dey started out as a replacement for his uncle K.C Dey and was sadly typecast as an expert in classical and semi-classics tunes. I did not have as much access to Dey's songs as I did to the others'. However, the more I listened to Dey, I realized that the clarity and control in his singing elevated him to a different level. He was often asked to sing the most difficult compositions which he did with ease. His classical training, although a bane at times, proved to be his biggest strength. Mohd Rafi remarked more than once that Manna Dey was the kind of singer he aspired to be. Given am a cricket lover, the apt analogy would be Bradman telling Stan McCabe that he wished he could bat like him (Stan). Bradman, like Rafi, had all the numbers but when it came to mesmeric performances, he could not match McCabe. This was also true of Dey. When you listen to his Poocho na Kaise maine rain bitai in Meri Surat Teri Aankhen, it makes you wonder if anyone else could ever come close. Dey sang a number of other gems including 'Aye mere pyaare vatan' from Kabuliwala, 'Laga Chunri mein daag' and the immortal duet 'Pyar hua ikrar hua'. He also sang the comic yet brilliant 'Ek Chatur Naar' from Padosan where Mehmood (voice of Dey) and Sunil Dutt (Kishore singing) go head to head in a singing match to woo Saira Bano.

Of all the great songs, his 'Ketaki Gulab Juhi' from Basant Bahar stands out. Dey had to share the stage with the legendary Hindustani vocalist Bhimsen Joshi. Dey was understandable nervous and had to be convinced and encouraged by his wife and the music director duo Shankar Jaikishen to go ahead. What followed was history. Dey matched Joshi and the two produced a classic for the ages. Joshi in the end acknowledged Dey's extraordinary ability to pick up the complex Raagas and excel. This to me is the essence of Manna Dey- he was never the most sought after name in Hindi playback singing but whenever a song that could not be attempted by even the best came up, the answer was Manna. Long live the memories of the genius. His stirring voice will never go away.

Metamorphosis

"True life is lived when tiny changes occur." - This line by Tolstoy prompts me to wonder about how my life is heading. The last few years have truly been eventful, albeit rough at times. Everything was smooth through school and college days and not a day passes without me yearning to go back to those halcyon times. Then came the trip to the US. This changed everything including my persona. I wasn't quite a different person but was subconsciously transformed into a more independent, confident individual who sought knowledge more and cared less for academic success (read grades). A struggle for over a year during the recession taught me to respect the uncertainties and vagaries of life and to stay humble. This is a lesson I have not and will never forget. Even as life was pretty much in its doldrums, I learned the value of focusing on my passion and more importantly, making the gutsy call of pursuing it. Working at Cricinfo was a pleasure and a most unforgettable experience. The joy of the game, together with the fantastic crowd and the intellectually stimulating discussions made every moment of my stay worthwhile. Nothing can come close! But then, life had to move on and I chose to pursue my MBA at ISB. I had indulged in what I loved the most for nearly three years but felt I had much more to achieve and offer.

ISB is a place respected for its diversity. After all, the students are the creme de la creme of the top colleges and companies in India. It has done a fabulous job of bringing together some of the most fascinating minds. The course structure is superb and the professors are world class. The facilities are on par with the best. Isn't everything sounding perfect? Not in my opinion. At least not so far. It might well be the case with few other top institutes too in India (based on discussions and not assumptions). What is it that plagues me then? For starters, it is an 'INDIAN' school. Now you might wonder what the hell that means. India has for long dived so deep into the sea of grades and marks that it finds it nearly impossible to think of an alternate way of measuring a student's abilities. Personally I have no issues with exams. But the very attitude of students, with tension writ large on their faces makes me ponder if it's the only way out. Every second person complains about lack of time, sleep deprivation, pressure, stress and every other problem one can envisage. Is this what one paid to go through? Wasn't it supposed to be a place one came in, learned, networked, learned more, experimented both in courses and extra-curricular activities? Why has this entire vision vanished? Why are students so hell bent on gaining the five marks even as they fail to take advantage of the amazing peer quality around them? Isn't the vision myopic to say the least? Don't the immortal words - "lose the battle, but win the war" come to mind? Why and when did acquiring knowledge cease to be the priority?

I have tried to answer these questions with varying degrees of success. Maybe my stint in the US helped. Scratch the maybe, it is surely. My outlook was altered positively. I began to think of subjects and topics very differently and realized that the best aspect of that country lay in the fact that you were respected for what you were as a person and not the qualifications, which was (and still is) the case in most parts of India. We were always taught to believe that the higher the marks, the greater the respect in society. Somehow this belief has never quite changed. One can continue to blame society till the cows come home. But introspection can be quite revealing in this regard. If each individual were to start analyzing why he/she is caught up in this vortex of grades/marks/scores/exams/tests and realizes that the only way forward is to adopt a more holistic knowledge-based approach, then society stands to gain at large. This in turn is likely to change the perception in the years to come. Easier said than done though I must say!

Quite a few professors who teach in US schools visit ISB and many of them have expressed their surprise at the academics-focused atmosphere. I don't blame them for they have not been witness to this for years now. It is sad that most students fail to leverage the extraordinary knowledge that the professors bring as most interactions end up being restricted to classroom-centric discussions. Quizzes and club events tend to record scant attendance. Interesting ideas tend to be classified as 'spam' while the real spam often goes unnoticed. The diversity in the batch at the beginning is slowly eroded as the group converges towards the mean over the year. How does this augur well for the students as well as the institute? Why should people be told or taught that a career in 'X' is better than one in 'Y'. Why not let them play to their strengths and figure out? Peer pressure, wrong guidance, ill-informed choices and most of all, a tendency to follow the herd are noticeable in most batches. Maybe it's just me though I wonder at times. Am I not changing enough to fit in? Where did the whole Roman in Rome policy go this time around?

Change is constant they say. I'd like to believe so too. But change ought to be for the better too. I have, after much deliberation, realized the right way (at least I'd like to think so) way of going about in my career and life. Money is vital but not all important. Success has no single definition. Never live life by others' rules. Ultimately, education can be valued only if one can claim to have gained knowledge and never otherwise. Studying at such an institute is a wonderful opportunity to interact with and learn from the best in the business. It is also a place where one can attempt to trace paths that are usually avoided. Most importantly, it is perhaps the final chance to forge great friendships and develop personal and professional contacts for a lifetime. Academic success is important but comes well below in the pecking order for me. At least that is the way I think nowadays. I might not have been able to prioritize the same way ten years back but am glad the metamorphosis has had a positive influence. It is hard to speculate how things are likely to be but I am hopeful the attitude around changes soon.

Courage under fire

Often, in this bat-dominated modern age of cricket, it is very easy to lose sight of the fact that batsmen did have it tough on quite a few occasions in the past. For many years, playing on uncovered pitches after an overnight downpour was as challenging as it ever got. 'Sticky Dogs' as the pitches were referred to, were minefields that could be most unpredictable and surviving for an hour on them could be deemed as an achievement. There has been the rare occasion in the last twenty years when pitches have been as treacherous. A quality knock in these conditions has always been a stand-out feature on a batsman's resume. For many days, I have been pondering about those lesser-known, almost forgotten classics on dangerous pitches. The knocks may hardly carry the weight (in terms of runs) of a triple-century on a featherbed at Antigua or the SSC, but outlive them in memory simply because of the quality, guts, concentration and technique on display.

Here is a selection of a few of the finest such knocks. Of course, the list is hardly exhaustive and there is a significant possibility of missing out on a few gems.

1. Wally Hammond's 32 at the MCG in 1936-37: Now this match is far more renowned for Bradman's brilliant 270 and his 346-run sixth-wicket stand with Jack Fingleton, who made 136. But then, why would this 32 stand out? The match was played on a terrible MCG wicket which had turned into a 'sticky' after heavy rain. When Australia batted first, the wicket was normal and most batsmen managed to get off to good starts. England, who were up 2-0 in the series, had the upper hand at the end of day one when Australia finished 181 for 6. Overnight downpour, however, turned the match on its head. Australia's total was now more than useful. In Morris Sievers (fast medium), Bill O'Reilly(leg spin) and Chuck Fleetwood Smith (left arm chinaman), Australia had the ideal bowlers for the surface. Hammond batted beautifully for his 32, taking a few risks, and faced 88 balls, more than a third of what the England team managed (224 balls). He was out eventually to an extraordinary catch at short leg. Bradman, realising the demons in the pitch, promoted the tail-enders and came in to bat when the pitch was docile. The rest, as they say, is history!

2. Len Hutton's 30 at The Oval in 1948: Hutton, the Yorkshire classicist, had started his career with a bang, scoring 364 at The Oval in 1938 as England beat Australia by a massive innings and 579 runs. However, his superlative 30 out of a total of 52 against Lindwall, Miller and Johnston at the same venue ten years later easily ranks as one of his finest displays. England were being outplayed totally by Bradman's invincibles and trailed 3-0 going into the final Test at The Oval. Heavy rains had lashed the ground leaving the pitch completely unprepared. Lindwall was lethal and burst through the England middle order after lunch with 5 for 8 in eight overs. Hutton played a masterly knock dominated by a solid defence. He was the last man out to a leg side catch off Lindwall for 30 off 147 balls. In all, the entire England team managed to last a total of just 253 balls. The match though, is more famous for Bradman's duck in his final Test.

3. Len Hutton's 62 in Brisbane in 1950: Harold Pinter, the great English playwright once wrote a one-line poem that said "I saw Len Hutton in his prime. Another time, another time". The period just after the war must have been Hutton's prime. England had done well to restrict Australia to just 228 with Neil Harvey scoring 74. A storm left the ground inundated and play resumed only late on the third day. By now, the pitch was totally unpredictable and tested every aspect of a batsman's technique. England declared their innings at 68/7 in the hope of making Australia bat on the dangerous track. Australia were rocked by Alec Bedser and themselved declared at 32/7, the lowest ever a team has declared on. The target of 193, however, proved to be virtually impossible as England were reduced to 30/6. Hutton, who had been asked to bat lower down the order to provide stability, responded in a manner that left Australia stunned. With only the tail for company, he launched an assault on the bowling playing drives and lofting effortlessly. Neither the turn nor the bounce in the wicket fazed the great batsman as he kept producing superb shots. It was not to be, however, as the remaining two wickets fell. Hutton remained unbeaten on 62 in 90 minutes - perhaps one of the all-time great batting performances.

4. Brian Lara's 45 in Barbados in 1997: Lara took over the captaincy of West Indies after a period of turmoil. The home team had managed to score 298 with the help of Shivnarine Chanderpaul's century. India, led by Tendulkar's excellent 92, managed to eke out a small, but valuable lead of 21 on the surface. In the second innings, the pitch had turned into a minefield. Alternate balls skipped along the ground and bounced over the wicketkeeper. Even a moderate Indian attack was looking extremely dangerous. Lara, West Indies' solitary hope, brought out his repertoire of strokes and played a few gorgeous drives. He was fifth out with the total on 86. A few runs from the tail took the target to 120 which eventually proved more than enough on a Barbados pitch, which lived up to its reputation of being a result-oriented wicket.

5. VVS Laxman (69), Sachin Tendulkar (55) in Mumbai 2004: Led by Adam Gilchrist in the first three Tests, Australia had produced a stunning team performance to take an unassailable 2-0 lead going into the fourth Test in Mumbai. With humiliation staring them in the face, India responded by going for a wicket that was likely to turn square from ball one. And the wicket did not disappoint! India were bowled out for just 104 with Dravid standing amidst the ruins with 31. Australia, led by the in-form Damien Martyn, grabbed a lead of 99 which was massive in the circumstances. In India's second innings, Laxman and Tendulkar, who had both done little of note in the series (Tendulkar missed the first two Tests and Laxman had a poor run), combined to turn the match around. Tendulkar was more aggressive and pulled off high-quality shots against both the pacemen and spinners. He reached his half-century in just 62 balls and fell eventually for 55. Laxman gained in confidence soon and provided glimpses of his shot making during the immortal 281. The innings ended swiftly after Laxman fell but India had the runs on the board. On a wicket where 38 wickets fell in just two days, Australia fell short by 13 runs chasing 107.

Random distribution

A random crossword... variety of topics.. have fun!

Please message me on fb or mail me the answers at madhusudhanramakrishnan@gmail.com. Kindly refrain from posting as comment on the blog page/on the wall on fb.

Across

3. Plays colonel Trautman in the Rambo series -(7,6)
5. Word for slaughterhouse (french origin)- (8)
7. Author of Gulag Archipelago - (11)
12. Eusebio turns it around 0-3 to 5-3 in the WC. Venue? -(8)
13. 'Mere pas maa hai' - who plays the ma in this Hindi movie which features this legendary line?-(6,3)
14. Joseph Von Ryan in the war classic - (5, 7)
17. India-Pak ODI game abandoned midway after news of Indira Gandhi's assassination. Where was the match?- (7)
18. German invasion of the Soviet Union - (10)
19. Produce 'seedless' fruit - (13)
20. Who said this about Sanskrit? "more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin" (7,5)

Answers (across)
Richard Crenna
Abattoir
Alexander Solzenitsyn
Goodison Park
Nirupa Roy
Frank Sinatra
Sialkot
Operation Barbarossa
Parthenocarpy
Sir William Jones

Down

1. Middle name of MS Subbulakshmi - (14)
2. A call for a run from him should be treated as no more than a basis for negotiation. Who said this about Denis Compton? - (6,6)
4. Property of Carbon to form long chains - (10)
6. Genetic disease predominantly found in Ashkenazi Jews (3,5)
8. The Nautillus' captain in Jules Verne's classic (4)
9. Traditional practice in Wimbledon abandoned in 2003 -(6)
10. What do AR stand for in the expansion of HAART? (4, 10)
11. Led the Khmer Rouge for 35 years - (3,3)
15. Krishna:Panchajanya::Arjuna:?- (9)
16. Genus of the bacteria causing cholera - (6)

Answers (Down)
Shanmugavadivu
Trevor Bailey
Catenation
Tay Sachs
Nemo
Curtsy
Anti retroviral
Pol Pot
Devadatta
Vibrio