TUNE IN TO THIRUVAIYARU

I am neither a music buff nor a great fan of Classical music. As of Carnatic music, all I know is from my Class 6 CBSE text book, which said that Carnatic music is a form of Classical music played in southern part of India, especially Tamil Nadu. Still, I hop into a bus from Trichy to Tanjore, with a bunch of my friends to attend Shri Thiyaga Brahma Mahotsava Sabha, a Carnatic music fest in Thiruvaiyaru, near Tanjore.

The Aradhna is a ten day event, set in front of Shri Thiyagarajar Samadhi on the bank of river Cauvery in a small town called Thiruvaiyaru. This Carnatic Music festival attracts Carnatic singers, musicians and audience, belonging to all age groups, from all around the globe, especially Tamil Nadu.

As I start my journey, I don’t know what is attracting me to that place…… may be it is the craving for a new experience or something to write about or may be because my friends were making fun of the fact that I am going to attend a Carnatic music festival!  As of now, I am enjoying a comfortable bus journey in cool cloudy weather and the recently constructed Trichy Tanjore Highway. As we take a break at Tanjore to change bus, a crisp dosa and strong filter coffee welcomes us. Now with our enthusiasm fuelled with food, we proceed towards Ariyalur, on the way to which lies the town, Thiruvaiyaru.

As we walk towards the venue from the Thiruvaiyaru bus stand, loudspeakers playing the compositions being played at the Aradhna intimate us that we are going on the right way. Within no time we reach the Thiyagaraja Samadhi. The mandapam is covered with a canvas canopy, decorated with colorful frills on the inside. At one end of it is the Thiyagaraja Samadhi and on the other end is a stage, divided in two parts with a group of singers and musicians on each of them, playing alternately. I am told that a Carnatic Music concert is called a Kacheri, and here, two Kacheri’s were going simultaneously.   

First I visit the Samadhi to pray and then settle myself in the Shri Thiyaga Brahma Mahotsava Sabha to enjoy the Aradhna. This Kacheri, in particular, is dedicated to the ‘kritis’ by Shri Thiyagarajar and most of them are in Telugu! As a clueless visitor belonging to Gujarat, sitting in Carnatic music concert in Tamil Nadu, listening to Telugu compositions…… I looked around to realize one interesting thing about this concert. This is one event which attracts crowd from far and near, striking the common chord among them…… Music! The crowd here was not Shaivite or Vaishnavite, but just music lovers. Amazing to see how Music crossed the barriers of Caste & Creed, Cults & Sects, Male & Female, Language & Dialects, to bring one and all together. Surprised with what I just realized, I look back at the stage with a whole new perspective to appreciate this very Music. To be truthful, I am now enjoying it. Contrary to the notion I had about Carnatic music being calm and solemn, it’s vibrant!  The orchestra comprises of Mrudangam, Violin, Ghatam (a pot), Tambura and Morsing. But, the most impressive part is the voice of the singers. A well controlled voice with pitch modulating with every word in a range I have never heard before. Just as the singers close their eyes and tap their palm on thighs, music rises and a melodious voice sets the ambience, which cannot be described in words. The only words which could describe my state right now are ‘spell bound’!

   Since its time for us to go back, we take a walk along the bank of Cauveri in shallow water before we leave the place. Though water wiped off the sand from my feet, I know nothing can wipe the memories of Thiruvaiyaru from my mind. For me, something so unique and amazing has never been seen or heard before.

Kacheri

Shri Thiyaga Brahma Mahotsava Sabha

A WALK ALONG PAMBAN

THE PAMBAN BRIDGE (BASCULE PART)

THE NEW AND THE OLD PAMBAN

All the pain I had from the last night’s bumpy ride from Trichy to Rameshwaram went away once the strong breeze of fresh air brushed my face. After a strenuous effort, I open my eyes to see the heaven on earth. One of the most picturesque views I had ever seen in my entire life. Blue Ocean, rocky beach on one side and sandy on the other, green trees behind the beach, huts arranged along them in the most perfect manner possible and in front, the engineering marvel of the pre independence time, the Pamban Railway bridge. I am standing on the recently built vehicle traffic bridge along the Pamban Railway Bridge, which is also called Pamban Bridge. It bridges the Rameshwaram Island with the mainland of India, which is divided by Palk Strait.

The view of fishermen fishing, their boats dancing to the tune of the waves and prize catch shining like bronze medal in sun is something that capture my eyes for so long that I forget what made me come here. Suddenly, I hear a train’s whistle rising between the chorus of waves and then I turn my head to the Pamban railway bridge. An engineering masterpiece sculpted in steel, so amazing that it took my breath away as my eyes witnessed a train actually rolling over it.

Surprisingly this 93 years old railway bridge, constructed in 1914, is made of steel in world’s second most corrosive environment. Bridging a gap of 2.3 km., this bridge stood as the longest bridge in India till Bandra Worli Sealink recently surpassed it. The bridge is a cantilever bridge which accommodates a single broad gauge track. Not surprised? Well, the interesting thing is that still it stands a functional double leaf bascule bridge which facilitates the passing of ships under it by opening up in the centre from two sides, a feat that still remain a challenge to the world’s greatest bridge builders.

As I stand here admiring the shining steel wonder against the blue water, with a slice of juicy pineapple in my hand, a group of travelers get off their bus. Within no time I am surrounded by another bunch of awestruck admirers covering their mouth with their fingers as if trying to avoid a fish to pop into their open mouth. Well, I can’t blame them; it is something which will leave anyone spell bound. After a 45 minute conversation among my friends which only comprised of “whoooo….”, “amazing”, “breathtaking”, “superb” and few other words that came out of excitement but didn’t mean anything; I start walking back to the bus stand on the Rameshwaram side of the bridge. Though I walk back to keep up with my schedule, I just can’t resist looking back at Pamban for one more time.

CRYSTAL PALACE: THE FIRST STEP......

All the Steel buildings that shine in your eyes, the glass facades that reflect the futuristic Architecture and the monumental steel & glass buildings that capture your imagination, would have never grown and flourished, hadn’t the gardener sown the seed of the future in Hyde Park, London in 1851 for the Great Exhibition.

Though discriminated initially as a Gardener’s design and criticized after construction as a glass monster, Crystal Palace, built as a temporary building, still survives at Sydenham Hill (shifted after great fire) and the heart of the people.

Not only did Joseph Paxton ignite the furnaces for Glass with Crystal Palace during industrial revolution, he also paved the path for many new concepts of Architecture which are followed to this date.

The roots of Modular Coordination, Reuse of materials, Prefabrication and Factory production of buildings sprouted in this very Exposition Hall. Though this gigantic structure is about 1850 feet long, 450 feet wide and 130 feet high; it was built with the basic module for the construction being the glass panes, which merely measured 1220mm X 250mm, prefabricated wrought iron elements based on 1.2m module and construction grid of 7.32m. The components were prefabricated by the respective companies, transported to the site and assembled in situ in just nine months; which is one of the most important aspect of modern construction techniques.

Even though Joseph Paxton, a gardener by profession, had used glass and cast iron structures in green houses earlier, Crystal Palace was the conclusion of his earlier work on ‘glass and cast iron’ structures and ‘ridge and furrow’ roofing.

The exhibition was organized for showcasing the technological advancements made during the industrial revolution and thus attracted huge crowd from near and far end of the world. The Crystal Palace provided the organizers with a perfect platform, as it was not only an exhibition space; the Crystal Palace was an exhibit itself.

PEN HUNT at PARRY'S

GEM & CO.

If you want a good fountain pen at an affordable price, just walk your way up to the corner stationary shop. If you want a great fountain pen, with your heart ready to loosen up your pocket, grab your car keys and drive to the nearest mall. But, if you want to buy a great fountain pen at an affordable price, plan a trip to Chennai and board a bus there with “BROADWAY” written in bold letters on its placard.

Fountain pen, especially, since long have been a passion to many a people and an identity to most of the Artists and Architects. Every drop of ink that flows through the shiny metal nib, expresses your thoughts and feelings on the paper. Every curve of script you write and every stroke of sketch you make is a conscious effort which your enthusiasm plans for you even before you remove the cap. Eventually, with every passing attempt, you get addicted to materialize your expressions on a paper and this is when you realize what a mere fountain pen can do to you!

Well, this very addiction bought me a bus ticket to Chennai along with a fellow connoisseur and a generous man who provided me with food, shelter and direction in the city. And thus began my “PEN HUNT”! Being a student of Architecture with a knack for fancy fountain pen, I often find myself admiring collections of exquisite fountain pens over the internet and this is where I found the address to my dream fountain pen collection, which read……… Oh God! I forgot the address ….. and so did my fellow pen raider! And yes, at this moment we were at Broadway Bus stand! All we knew was that it was in Parry’s area near Broadway and all we could make out from the vague recollection of its photograph on the internet was that it was taken from distance, thus we came to the conclusion that the shop was not in some alley. With this information, we began our final phase of pen hunt.

As we walked out of the Broadway bus stand, with peanuts in our hand and fountain pen in our mind, we were greeted by a huge crowd moving all around in a specific direction like ants!  But when we tried to join them, we were pushed out, but this didn’t discourage from our hunt. Just as I got an opportunity to raise my head, I read a shop address which said NSC Bose Road. Suddenly there was a click of flashback, as we recalled that Internet also pointed out NSC Bose as a part of the shop address. After a sigh of relief, came the very obvious question…… should we proceed on left or right hand side? So we all tossed a coin inside our head and a unanimous decision was taken…….Left!

The next two and a half hour was a long walk under bright sun in a crowded street and taking a sneak peek into the stationary stores along the road. For those Chennaites who are not aware, NSC Bose Road is a mine of stationary in Chennai. From pocket diaries to executive folders…. from use & throw pen to pen with warranty…. all could be found here at Parry’s. Anyways, browsing through the shops with eyes wide open, we came across a shop with a huge replica of a fountain pen hanging inside it. We bent backwards to read the board which said “PARRY PEN CORNER”. Assuming that it was the shop we were looking for, I exchanged a victory smile with my partner and a smirk with our rest of the companions who didn’t believe in us, and barged into the shop shocking the other customers. Looking at our tired but enthusiastic faces, the shopkeeper opened a few cases filled with GAMA pens and welcomed us. In a fraction of a second the pen caps started popping like soda, as we started inspecting the pens with a curious face. Though I and my fellow pen enthusiast are final year students, for those 20 minutes, we turned into kindergarten kids standing in a candy shop, delighting ourselves and annoying our rest of the tired company. Soon (though our company disagrees with this adverb) we picked the pens of our interest and started discussing them like some wine taster discussing their wine. The only things missing were monocles and money. Anyways, scratching our wallets yielded some money and pens were packed in envelopes. Though we stood victorious in our pursuit of pens, we did realize that another mission was on its way once we step out of the shop, “THE ATM HUNT AT PARRY’S”. Luckily our desperate eyes found an ATM across the road, so we took another sigh of relief and ordered for lime soda from one of the many petty shops along the road, knowing that companions had money to pay for it. Once the bubbles of sparkling water burst their energy into us, I and my friend took a stroll across the road to the ATM, just to read a board hanging over its knob saying “ATM not working”. All the recently gain energy was lost…. the stroll turned into a tedious effort of dragging our feet as we started crossing the road back to our rest of the company.

Just as we were about to reach the signal in the center of the road, my eyes caught a glance of a huge board on the top of a shop with “GEM & CO.” embossed on it. This was it! This was the very shop we were looking for! The shop on the internet! Within a blink of an eye, we found ourselves running towards it like a lady who just spotted a 50% off poster on the window of a boutique. Oh God! the excitement was back again as I threw a half burnt cigarette to enter the shop.

This shop was bigger than the previous one, had a better collection of pen and before anyone could stop me, it was Rachit in wonderland all over again. The shelves start sliding, the cases start opening, pen caps start popping and the next thing I know is that I am having the same old animated conversation and yet again sans the monocles and money. Pens were amazing, ranging from writing to sketching, antique to executive and from affordable to definitely not affordable. Luckily I found some emergency money in my travelling wallet and crossing the fingers praying that nothing goes wrong during our trip, I let my desire for pen take control over me. I bought myself a Rotring Calligraphy Pen and a Gama pen with a Sheaffer nib for fine writing, an addition to the collection of my most prized possession.

The most notable thing about these shops I visited, which distinguishes them from the mall and corner stationary store, is the service they provide. The person across the counter knows what he is selling and respects your price constraint. He would suggest you pen, let you check it and would also offer you tips for usage & maintenance of fountain pens, before he packs them in an envelope and write you a bill with a smile.

Anyways, once I paid the prize for my most prized possession, I obliged him with a smile, turned back with my head held high and walked out. I stood valiant in my PEN HUNT AT PARRY’S.

MY FIRST SNIFF OF SNUFF!

   Sometimes Universe conspires to make you do what you really want to. This is just another example of it. Sitting at Selvam, our regular tea joint in front of the college, sipping my regular sugarless coffee reminded me that nothing new has been done since a long time. So that obvious question popped....what should it be?

   Sitting by a tea shop can definitely give you weird ideas. So, I decided to try snuff! I had seen some elders at my home keeping a well crafted pint sized steel container with a pleasant smelling powder. They would proudly take it out from their pocket, take a pinch of it and would sniff it from their fingertips. It looked cool. Since I too have attained the legal age to carry out these experiments, I looked up to it as an opportunity to break out and add a bit of sugar to my monotonous sugarless life.

   Since I wasn't aware of what it is called in Tamil, the local language, God sent Gokul, who explained it to the Selvam Akka (the shopkeeper) and bought it for me from the tea stall we were sitting next to. All my jobless friends gathered around the small sachet and I decided to pioneer the experiment. This is how it went.....

"a chilly like, but sweet smelling, powder entered my nostrils, struck my brain and pushed tears out of my half open eyes. Head started spinning and I started sneezing......"  though I tried to control it till all my friends tried it too, my effort went in vein as tears started trickling down my eyes......

   All I could see through my tear filled half open eyes was the Selvam Akka, who was smiling and nodding her head suggesting that I shouldn't try this and that very instant the decision was taken. This was my last sniff of snuff.

Need for Flexibility of Spaces in Architecture.

Since the very existence, humans have always derived their comfort from the knowledge and materials available to them. Every community’s need and aspiration differs from that of their surrounding people and so does every individual’s from his neighbour and this is why no two structures are same and may differ either in their form, function or character. Being Architecture students, we are always reminded to cater these very needs and aspirations, but can we actually address to all of them?

During our recent visits to the Gandhi Market, the vegetable and fruit wholesale market of the city, I realised how every shop differs from its adjacent shop and how same vegetable is displayed various styles in the same row of shops. Though built structures have been provided, they don’t bind the shopkeepers from experimenting with their arrangement of shops.

My Aunt stays in a row house where her neighbours belong to different cultural background. While Mr. Gupta feels that the store room at the first floor is useless, Mr. Chauhan complains that the space given is not enough. But for my Aunt, it’s her dream house. Surprisingly all the families have the same number of family members and belong to a similar taxpaying group.

So, did the Architect go wrong? He probably confined to the standards!

Just when I tried to answer the question above, I realized the need of flexibility in a space, but how flexible should a space be?