The Gruffalo Song by Julia Donaldson

Among one of Atri's favourite songs is the one about the little brown mouse and the Gruffalo.  Originally written by Julia Donaldson, the song is a masterpiece and among my favourite bed time reads for Atri. Here it is reproduced in entirety:

The Gruffalo Song:

A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood.
A fox saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good.

"Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come and have lunch in my underground house."

"It's terribly kind of you, Fox, but no –
I'm going to have lunch with a gruffalo."

"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?

He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws,
And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws."

"Where are you meeting him?"
"Here, by these rocks,
And his favourite food is roasted fox."

"Roasted fox! I'm off!" Fox said.
"Goodbye, little mouse," and away he sped.

"Silly old Fox! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffalo?"

On went the mouse through the deep dark wood.
An owl saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good.

"Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come and have tea in my treetop house."

"It's terribly kind of you, Owl, but no –
I'm going to have tea with a gruffalo."

"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?

He has knobbly knees, and turned-out toes,
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose."

"Where are you meeting him?"
"Here, by this stream,
And his favourite food is owl ice cream."

"Owl ice cream! Toowhit toowhoo!"
"Goodbye, little mouse," and away Owl flew.

"Silly old Owl! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffalo?"

On went the mouse through the deep dark wood.
A snake saw the mouse, and the mouse looked good.

"Where are you going to, little brown mouse?
Come for a feast in my logpile house."

"It's terribly kind of you, Snake, but no –
I'm having a feast with a gruffalo."

"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?"
"A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?

His eyes are orange, his tongue is black,
He has purple prickles all over his back."

"Where are you meeting him?"
"Here, by this lake,
And his favourite food is scrambled snake."

"Scrambled snake! It's time I hid!"
"Goodbye, little mouse," and away Snake slid.

"Silly old Owl! Doesn't he know,
There's no such thing as a gruffal...?"

...OH!"

But who is this creature with terrible claws
And terrible teeth in his terrible jaws?
He has knobbly knees, and turned-out toes,
And a poisonous wart at the end of his nose.
His eyes are orange, his tongue is black,
He has purple prickles all over his back.

"Oh help! Oh no!
It's a gruffalo!"

"My favourite food!" the Gruffalo said.
"You'll taste good on a slice of bread!"

"Good?" said the mouse. "Don't call me good!
I'm the scariest creature in this wood.
Just walk behind me and soon you'll see,
Everyone is afraid of me."

"All right," said the Gruffalo, bursting with laughter.
"You go ahead and I'll follow after."

They walked and walked till the Gruffalo said,
"I hear a hiss in the leaves ahead."

"It's Snake," said the mouse. "Why, Snake, hello!"
Snake took one look at the Gruffalo.
"Oh crumbs!" he said, "Goodbye, little mouse!"
And off he slid to his logpile house.

"You see?" said the mouse. "I told you so."
"Amazing!" said the Gruffalo.

They walked some more till the Gruffalo said,
"I hear a hoot in the trees ahead."

"It's Owl," said the mouse. "Why, Owl, hello!"
Owl took one look at the Gruffalo.
"Oh dear!" he said, "Goodbye, little mouse!"
And off he flew to his treetop house.

"You see?" said the mouse. "I told you so."
"Astounding!" said the Gruffalo.

They walked some more till the Gruffalo said,
"I can hear feet on the path ahead."

"It's Fox," said the mouse. "Why, Fox, hello!"
Fox took one look at the Gruffalo.
"Oh help!" he said, "Goodbye, little mouse!"
And off he ran to his underground house.

"Well, Gruffalo," said the mouse. "You see?
Everyone is afraid of me!
But now my tummy's beginning to rumble.
My favourite food is – gruffalo crumble!"

"Gruffalo crumble!" the Gruffalo said,
And quick as the wind he turned and fled.

All was quiet in the deep dark wood.
The mouse found a nut and the nut was good.

Great bed time read.  I told you!

Welcome My Friends To The Show That Never Ends

Today I went to the circus with family. 

Funnily, the jury's out on who enjoyed it more. For me it was reliving my childhood. Atri was bored in 30 minutes flat. 

As always I loved the acrobats. Costumes, sequins and all!

Syedna Burhanuddin

Today I read about Syedna Mohammed  Burhanuddin's passing. Very saddened. 

Among the greatest spiritual leaders in the world. A man of goodwill, fortitude, love and peace. 

For all the good he has brought to us, may his soul find rest. 

Forgive Us Our Cynical Thoughts

There is a delightful song by a band called Rush.  It's called Emotion Detector.  The first lines of which run thus:

When we lift the covers from our feelings
We expose our insecure spots
Trust is just as rare as devotion
Forgive us our cynical thoughts

I am constantly amazed by the insecurities of the people who surround me.  It makes it difficult for ME to trust THEM, unconditionally or otherwise.

It's almost as if I measure them often and find them, well . . .  - Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin  - if you get my meaning.

Octave Mirbeau

As I start 2014, I remember Mirbeau's singular quote from the Torture Garden, a book I read over 2 decades ago:

"You're obliged to pretend respect for people and institutions you think absurd. You live attached in a cowardly fashion to moral and social conventions you despise, condemn, and know lack all foundation. It is that permanent contradiction between your ideas and desires and all the dead formalities and vain pretenses of your civilization which makes you sad, troubled and unbalanced. In that intolerable conflict you lose all joy of life and all feeling of personality, because at every moment they suppress and restrain and check the free play of your powers. That is the poisoned and mortal wound of the civilized world."

My continuing resolution for the coming year is Never More.

S

Pictures of Home

Somebody's shouting
Up at a mountain
Only my own words return
Nobody's up there
It's a deception
When will I ever learn?

I'm alone here
With emptiness, eagles and snow
Unfriendliness chilling my body
And whispering pictures of home

Wondering blindly
How can they find me
Maybe they don't even know
My body is shaking
Anticipating
The call of the black footed crow...

I'm alone here
With emptiness, eagles and snow
Unfriendliness chilling my body
And whispering pictures of home

Here in this prison
Of my own making
Year after day I have grown
Into a hero
But there's no worship
Where have they hidden my throne. 

I'm alone here
With emptiness, eagles and snow
Unfriendliness chilling my body
And whispering pictures of home. 

Just brilliant. Deep Purple Mark II folks. That's what it is. 

Homeland

Just finished the finale of Homeland S3.

Speechless and teary eyed. Evoked many strong emotions within me. The raging fire burns but finally is quenched. 

RIP Brody. 

Redemption. That is the answer we seek in life. If we attain it, we possess everything of value. 

The funny thing is . . .

. . . Irony and sarcasm are like boomerangs. If they don't hit their intended targets, they likely seek their casters 

Valmiki-an Syndrome

Most of us in India have heard of Valmiki, the sage who composed the rāmāyanā, India's enduring myth. 

I am not so concerned with the sage as I am with his life before he became one. Myth has it that he was a notorious highwayman named ratnākarā, who waylaid travellers and robbed them of their belongings after killing them. 

One day, our hero accosted a sage with intent to loot and pillage. They got talking and the sage told him that taking a life was bad with the accompanying bromide - eternity in "hell", no turns at the salvation lottery and so forth. 

The sage then asked him why he thieved to which ratnākarā replied that he had to do it to feed and take care of his family. 

The sage told him that he'd wait while asking our hero to return home and find out from the latter's family whether they would accept their share of the attendant sin from the homicides for material gain or just plain boredom (who knew?). 

Our friend went back home and had a conversation with his family - which we were led to believe comprised his parents, wife and children - on the lines of something like this executive summary:

ratnākarā: I kill and loot people to provide for you all. Will you also take a share of any sin that accompanies the act. 

Family: It is your duty to provide food for us, shelter us, take care of us and our needs. As far as partaking of any karmic or other consequences of your actions. . . . ummmm, no. 

Basically, they told him to go FUCK HIMSELF with knobs on!!

And that dear readers is the Valmiki-an Syndrome. People will freely partake of benefits when offered; never in the underlying risks and actions that made them possible.

The Revivalists

Watching the Revivalists, a southern rock band from New Orleans. The usual neighbourhood brew pub. Southern, as in more from geography and less from genre. 

Quite like the music. Reminiscent of the bands I watched play at the Waterstreet Music Hall. 

And quite a generous use of the wa-wa. 

Too many passings...

... in our family. People I grew up with, people who took care of me, people who gave me food and shelter. And much much more.

Death is only the beginning.

The void stares back at me. 

Just checking in

Been a hectic two weeks with some travel to Chennai thrown in.  I am officially exhausted. Have had almost little to no time to do the stuff I enjoy doing namely running and general goofing off.

Well, time to remedy that beginning tomorrow!

Sometimes it is good not to . . .

. . . do the math. 

Freestyle workout in the gym the other day. Basic skipping and walking. Which lasted all of two plus hours. The new and improved "skip skip walk skip skip walk fast skip skip walk faster skip skip jog skip skip jog fast skip skip jog faster skip skip skip" routine. 

The idea is to skip longer (sets of 200 reps) twice followed by 10-12 minutes on the treadmill, regardless of pace. 

Keeps the HR in a 145-150 zone and gives you a HUGE endorphin bank to squander in the remainder of the day. 

I finished the routine with tadāsanā and vrkāsanā. 

I did not keep accurate track of how much I ran or skipped but would guesstimate I finished the sequence as I had planned it. 

Carnatic Jazz

Attended a performance of carnatic prog. Prasanna, a friend from many moons ago and his carnatic jazz quartet. Music is the best. A balm to ease the worries of our daily lives. 

Finished the evening at Roma and Tony's over some excellent cognac. 

Feel quite calm after a harrowing week at work. Very relaxing. . . 

. . . And then we went home to the cries of our son missing us. Parenthood brings back reality in the most basic manner. I am reminded of the innocence of children just when I forget it. It slips like water, this living in realtime and so forth. 

Peace to all the two footed and four footed beings.  Tomorrow is another day and we will live to fight!

Lazy Sunday

Mentally sacked out all morning.

Ate some tasty bisibele bath made by wife, for lunch. 

Drank a chilled glass of wine. 

Played with son. 

Total serenity. Am on the Lunar sea :)

Craftworks One

Attended a private party to celebrate our neighbourhood brew pub's one year on earth. Fab evening and night. 

The band for the evening was Suresh Peters' and (I never would have expected it) Prasanna. Now, I've heard Prasanna play when I was a impressionable teen. He's ex-IIT and just google or YT him please. No further intros needed. 

Great evening. What topped it off for me was that Prassi played Blues for Saraswati, impromptu though it was, on a personal request from me. We got talking and then some. 

Excellent company as well - Nandita for starters (superlative) as well as Roma, Tony, Pooja and Jiggesh, Smita and Akhauri, Zibi and Navin and several other folks we met through the evening. Great banter and fun all through. I had some excellent conversation with Tony, which will probably need a separate blog post, or more likely a blog by itself.   

Lively music including some terrific tamil and hindi songs. I became quite inebriated on the whisky and the food - pork, chicken, prawns, et al. 

So much so that I danced to Roadhouse Blues, the finale of the evening, with my beautiful missus. 

Special thanks to Ajay Nagarajan of Craftworks, Kamal, Adrian, and all the TE-H staff for a great night out. 

Tomorrow is another day. 

PS: Prasanna is back in B'lore soon and we will be watching him performat  Craftworks. A "Save the Date" for sure!!

Father Time

Took Atri out this afternoon for burgers and ice cream to our neighbourhood mall. 

I ate the burger, he ate the fries. We then went to Cream n' Desserts for ice cream. Atri loves their chocolate scoop and I usually go for the Fig and Honey (my favourite flavour of all).

One evidently happy lad!!

A Krash Kourse in Kollywood

On the way back from a one day trip to Chennai.

My cab driver to the terminal, a lad named Karthik, seemed most enterprising. He and five other friends run a private ferry service to the airport, rail and bus stations. 

In between taking fresh bookings for the night, I received a crash course on the Tamil film industry.  

We discussed the relative popularity of Surya and Vijay, the box office success of new comer Siva Karthikeyan (?), the oomph appeal of Anushka Shetty, Tamannah and Bindu Madhavi as well as the rising fortunes of comedian Santhanam. 

Also touched upon the music of Anirudh, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Harris Jayaraj. 

An entertaining ride to say the least. Have received recos for a few Tam flicks as well. Which I shall attend to soon. 

Nom Nom Nom - Chinese Style

Went for lunch to Yauatcha on 1 MG Road. I've eaten at their London counterpart as well as their sister restaurant, Hakka San.

Starters were classic prawn dumplings and a plate of crispy duck rolls (with Hoisin sauce). I gorged on both. 

The dumplings were cooked to perfection, no sticky dough tearing and mucking up the edges of the chopsticks. As was the prawn filling inside - pink and nicely steamed. 

The rolls contained a generous portion of shredded duck. Well cooked without sacrificing the taste of the meat. 

It is also a HUGE and I mean HUGE relief to eat with a pair of good wooden chopsticks - not the slippery plastic ones or the disposable pairs you encounter usually. 

My mains comprised the Mongolian Lamb Chops served with Udon noodles, Sprouts and mock meat, accompanied by a black pepper sauce.

The chops were good. Marinated well and cooked right. I could chew and swallow the meat quite easily, rather than feel it turn to tasteless rubber in my mouth (yes, I have sampled Camlin erasers as a child, hurr hurr). 

The only taste that put me off was an slight excess of salt in both the chops and the noodles. So, overall 7-8/10 for mains. 

Dessert was an excellent raspberry delice served with dark chocolate mousse and raspberry ice-cream. Apparently the most popular dessert on the menu; I did not argue much and truthfully, I did enjoy it. So, full marks to the punters who preceded me. 

All in all, an excellent lunch. 8.5/10 overall. 

YT Picks

A YouTube find from yesterday.  I think John Lawton is a severely underrated vocalist.  I preferred this version to Sloman's from the Conquest album



Happy listening!

A Curtain Raiser: The Vedic Originals

Before I get into a discussion about the rudra-adhyāya and the ensuing vasordhāra, a brief introduction is needed on the vedic originals - brahmanaspati-vishnu-rudra - of the puranic and present day triad - brahma-vishnu-śiva.

The deities in the veda were ascribed importance based on the functions that they performed in the internal and external planes; functions that were directly causal for the psychological discipline and progression of the rśi.  To that extent, the three godheads - brahmanaspati-rudra-vishnu - provided the conditions of the vedic sacrifice and assisted it from behind; unlike their more active counterparts including agni, indra, aśvin, varuna, mitra and the maruts.

brahmanaspati - the deity within us that creates by the Word (brahma) - creates the divine consciousness within us as also sends it on its way from the pathways of darkness to those of light, towards their supreme goal.

rudra - the deity within us that supplies the upward push to the divine consciousness created by brahma - is the violent force that leads the charge; intolerant of defect and crookedness, he battles against the forces of evil - vala, vritra and pani, among others, smiting them down and breaking defective formations on the journey upward.  This is the violent aspect that is first propitiated in the rudra-adhyāya.  rudra has an aspect that is benign, as well.  Called on for aid, he heals all wounds and suffering. He is the master of the force that acts in the planes and the one who enjoys the final liberty and peace.

vishnu - the deity who sits in the plane of bliss - supplies space, the ordered movement of the planes and the ascending levels to support the creations of brahma and the actions of rudra's force.

It is to rudra - the godhead of destruction and benevolence - that I will soon return to. 

anuvāka 4.5.1 through 4.5.11 of the taittirīya samhitā deal with propitiating the destructive aspect of rudra.  anuvāka 4.7.1 through 4.7.11 seeks the blessings of rudra, given to us as various vital and mental powers.  anuvāka 4.7.12 through 4.7.15 deal with the birth of plenitude and all energies in us, and concludes with a prayer of thanksgiving to several deities.

Onward and upward.

PS: I remain grateful to that great teacher, śri aurobindo, whose guidance I always receive, within and from beyond.

Onam and then some. . .

Went to the temple for my usual Monday prayers which involves chanting the rudram-chamakam. 

I had just finished the first part of the chant and was starting the second part when I had an epiphany of sorts.

Indescribable but it sort of filled me completely and the bliss just brought tears to my eyes. Had to literally pause a while before I started off again. 

Also recited the purusha-sūktam and the nārāyana-sūktam, something I have not done in a long while. 

My mind is quite clear about the future course of action and what I need to do to reclaim lost plenitude.

Attended an onam lunch at a friend's residence. A very tasty and varied meal. One that I was quite grateful for. 

A thought runs through my head now. One that I read from a Tom Holt novel, "Losses are a bit like diamonds. You've got to be careful about cutting them, or you end up doing a lot of expensive damage."

On that sombre note, I will ruminate further into the evening. 

S

PS: I think a post on the plenitude spoken of in the rudram-chamakam is long overdue. I shall start gathering the relevant material. 

Zone training: Heart rate

After a morning of intense meetings and conference calls, I managed to have a late, albeit light lunch comprising idlis soaked in sambhar. 

After a light snooze, I went to our community gym for some "zone training". 

My definition of zone training is maintaining heart rate (HR) during the exercise period at 80-85% of optimal HR. 

My optimal HR stacks at (220 - 43) or 177 and the desired zone HR would measure between c141-150. 

The exercise involves skipping and treadmill running alternatively. 

Skipping: Two sets of 150 skips each, with a 30 second interval between the sets. 

One-two minute break

Running: Start at a pace of 6.5kmph and walk one kilometre

Repeat skipping 2 x 150 with break

Running: One kilometre at 7.5 kmph speed

Repeat skipping 2 x 150 with break

Running: One kilometre at 8.5 kmph speed

Repeat skipping 2 x 150 with break

Running: One kilometre at 9.5 kmph speed

Repeat skipping 2 x 150 with break

Running: One kilometre at 10.5 kmph speed

Cool down: 3-4 km easy speed (6-6.5 kmph) across our community walkways.

Summary: 10 sets x 150 of skipping and c9km of walking/running. 

Measured HR in zone varied between 135 (initial running) to 182 (during skipping HR rose from 120 levels to peak at c180 levels)

Of a total 1h40m of training, was in zone about 80% of the time. Good progress for today.

I will drink a dram or two of Laphroaig tonight to celebrate. 

Manuel Valera and New Cuban Express

Am sitting at the local brewery next to home. 

Velvet jazz. Smooth beer. Tranquil evening. 

“Information is not knowledge.

Knowledge is not wisdom.

Wisdom is not truth.

Truth is not beauty

Beauty is not love. 

Love is not music.

Music is THE BEST.” ― Frank Zappa

So true. 

A familar routine . . .

That I need to break quickly. The usual Sunday long run this AM. 

Ran the same route as the fortnight ago, except I made a U-turn at Mantri mall and went back to Cubbon Park where I hung out for a while. 

Need to start running in less populated areas soon. Just to see more of Bangalore in the early waking hours of a Sunday. 

Wished ten odd complete strangers who were also running (against my direction though) this AM. There's a kindred spirit amongst runners that few other sports engender. Imagine showing camaraderie towards a stranger on the street. If you are not a runner, you'll probably not get it.

Breakfast now and a well deserved rest today

L T O

Attended a Chef's Tasting at an upscale restaurant in Whitefield tonight. 

Appetiser was a Chili, Soy and Grape Glazed Pork Ribs with Raw Papaya Salad, followed by the mains - Pan seared Sea Bass with seasonal vegetables, mashed potatoes and tomato, lemon grass broth.  

Accompanying them were small plate portions of vegetable dim sum, prawn sushi and crispy squid with green chili, coriander and lemon sauce.

Dessert comprised portions of Kaffir lime crème brulee with Cinnamon crumble and lime gel, Apple streusel Cheesecake Tart with Crème Anglaise and Chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream.

Washed this down with fresh lime juice and some hot Apple toddy.

A most excellent repast and impeccable table service. 

Off to bed now, I have a very early start.

On 6 September

Woke up at 3.15 AM. Did not want to run on the streets. Opted for the easy way out. 12.8km on the clubhouse treadmill. 

By the way, I bought myself a skipping rope yesterday. And broke it in. 

Skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip trip skip skip trip skip skip skip skip slip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip trip slip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip skip . . . ZEN!

Rinse and repeat.  Easy enough once you get the hang of it. 

I have a feeling it is going to be a frabjous day today. 

A cure for melancholy..

I often find that the music of Rush and the lyrics of Mr. Peart work wonders for melancholy. 

Just finished Signals. Listening to Clockwork Angels now. 

Lovely. 

Ulysses

Had an opportunity to read Lord Tennyson's Ulysses again, this AM. The closing lines.

We are not now that old strength which in old days

Moved heaven and earth, that which we are, we are

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield

Sublime and worth a ponder.

S

Götterdämmerung Opera

Listened to the Herbert Von Karajan conducted Götterdämmerung Opera.  Berliner Philharmoniker playing. Earlier today.  Feel blessed to have listened to this lovely opera after a long while.

The audio was routed through a set of speakers and valve amp custom built for me by an audiophile and a genius sound engineer (you can find him at www.starcaudio.com). 

Phenomenal experience. To quote Frank Zappa (and the moments I feel quite acutely for what he said are frequent more these days):

"Information is not knowledge - Knowledge is not wisdom - Wisdom is not truth - Truth is not beauty - Beauty is not love - Love is not music - Music is the BEST."

Happy ears

S