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In-House Doctor – An Interview with Geeta Rajagopal

In-House Doctor – An Interview with Geeta Rajagopal

People Archive

“Feng Shui is really about making your surroundings work for you.”, says Geeta Rajagopalan, Feng Shui consultant, who prefers to call herself, a ‘House Doctor’. She adds, “I prescribe remedies for the problem, as well as some ‘multivitamins’ to boost the overall health of the house. However, a Feng Shui consultant is only required when a house is ‘unwell’.”

“I have made the spaces I have worked on, very ‘un-Feng Shui’, in the sense, the changes are very discreet.” says Geeta, and this reflects in her home too. I expected to see an excess of the customary red-tasselled ‘Feng Shui-ware’ but was pleasantly surprised to find a harmonious living space that has, among many things, a collection of Ganeshas, a console with family photos aplenty, and many paintings by the lady herself! It’s easy to see, that she puts her clients at ease within minutes, as does her home. They say, a person’s home provides an insight into the person. I found it true in Geeta’s case.

So, how did she get started? An incident at Prague converted Geeta into a believer and then a practitioner of Feng Shui. “A bolt of lightning struck the beautiful house we lived in. As the house owner was carrying out extensive repairs on the house, we shifted to a different house. From the time we began to live in the new place, things started going wrong. One of my friends who practised Feng Shui offered to look around the house and finally told us that this house was bad for us. It had been hardly 3 months since we moved to this place but she insisted we move again, also accompanying me for house-hunting trips. We finally shifted to yet another place (approved by her) and found that everything in our life was back to normal again. This got me started on Feng Shui. Also, in Prague, one cannot just practice, there are courses to be done, and one has to work for a while on mock projects before finally getting an opportunity to practice.”

Geeta has been practising ever since she came to India, five years ago. She speaks of her experiences where her clients have benefited from her advice. She has BPOs who won’t move a chair until she approves the move! But there are also some rare occasions, when she has had to request a client to move out of a house. She adds, “I also get calls from time to time saying I’m the last resort to a terminally ill person. I’ve had to tell them, that I am sadly helpless in this regard as I cannot heal people.”

So, how does a Feng Shui consultant work? “The client sets an appointment with me, I go across to their house and after interacting with them for a while, I assess the space. I then suggest changes in position of certain objects and also the addition or removal of certain objects. Some clients call me with a feedback and some give me a feedback in their own way, by recommending me to their friends.”

One final word of advice from Geeta on the Feng Shui merchandise available in the market today, “Everything has its purpose, but it is imperative, that you must be fully aware of what it’s for. If one of these items is placed in the wrong place, it can do more harm than good. It’s like taking a medicine without knowing if it will help you or not.”

Finally, what sets Geeta apart is her innate interest in people and spaces, as well as the interplay between the two.

(edited version published on May 7, 2005 in Madras Plus, the city features supplement of The Economic Times, Chennai. Pic by Seven Shots for Madras Plus)
How Mani? – An evening with Mani Ratnam

How Mani? – An evening with Mani Ratnam

People Archive

Normally, when noted film director Mani Ratnam attends an event in the city, people descend to the venue in droves to see, listen and hopefully, speak to him. And in an event that included a retrospective of his films, coupled with the DVD release of some of his movies, there was a near stampede. On Saturday, 26th February, even thirty minutes before the event, there was a dearth of chairs for the audience at Landmark’s Nungambakkam bookstore. 
Navin Jayakumar, Master of Ceremonies and Quiz Master-extraordinaire, enthralled the audience with his questions to ‘Mani’, his questions to the audience, and humourous repartees to the mike-grabbers in the audience. The big man himself, was no less – his sense of humour was in fine form, as he deftly handled many a bouncer from a room (should that be bookstore?) full of fans, friends and well-wishers.
The evening’s proceedings were based on thematic perspectives from Mani Ratnam’s movies – those of subtlety in the projection of relationships, sensitivity to current issues, the picturisation of songs and the choice of cast & crew. Each perspective was introduced with appropriate clippings from his movies, followed by relevant questions from Navin to Mr. Ratnam.
Some sound bytes from the man himself:

“For the first schedule of my first film, I had put together flow charts, budgets and cashflows for the project. At the end of the week, I tore it all up.”

“While ‘Roja’, ‘Bombay’ and ‘Dil Se’ were about issues that are very personal to us, ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’ had to have an outsider’s perspective. Hence, the Lankan situation worked better as a backdrop to the main story of the little girl.”

“I am very much a commercial film-maker. While I have been trying to move towards making movies without songs, if you take away songs, my movies just won’t be the same. Songs play many roles – they depict emotion, reach a peak or simply, give a pause in the story. However, if the script is worked well, one can make movies without songs. ‘Kurudhip Punal’ is one such example.”

“Both Ilayaraja and A.R.Rahman are brilliant composers, and I’m lucky to have worked with both of them. They are opposites in terms of style and the way they operate, notwithstanding the fact that one works in the day and the other works at night!”

“An actor is the most important person – he/she takes the character, hitherto envisaged on paper, forward, adding that little extra in the process.”

“Giving a title for a film, is like naming a child. It stays through the process of the development of the script, sometimes, even defining the look of the film.”

“Converting a novel to a screenplay is as difficult as, if not more difficult than writing a fresh script. As film writing is not taken seriously, there is a dearth of writers who can do this in the industry.”

“I depend a lot on my cinematographers. The relationship between a director and a cinematographer, is like a marriage.”

It was the audience’s turn to ask the questions, and they ranged from ‘Are you a communist?’ to ‘When is your next movie with Kamal Hassan?’ to ‘When do you incorporate songs – during or after writing the script?’ to ‘Will you make a songless film?’.

Actors Surya, Madhavan, Cinematographer/Filmmaker P.C. Sriram, and Keerthana of ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’ fame, all turned up to say a few words about the experience of working in a ‘Mani Ratnam Film’.

Surya: “The heroes in a Mani Ratnam film are always shown as intelligent. I’ve always been an average student right though school and college, and I’m glad I was depicted as one of his intelligent heroes. In fact, for the scene in Aydha Ezhuthu, where I’m supposed to take a class for my classmates in a jail cell, I had to mug up the equations for half a day!”

Madhavan: “I got a message on my answering machine when I was told to come for a screen test for ‘Alaipayudhe’. I still have that message and will play it to my grandkids!”

P.C. Shriram: “Working in Mani’s films, one can go berserk. We both push ourselves to see the unknown film after film, and are yet to see it. He’s open to trying new things, and he’ll get the best out of you.”

Keerthana : “I was given the script for ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’ in the beginning itself, but I didn’t go through it in detail, as I wanted it to be a surprise before every shot. In fact, till I saw the movie, I didn’t know what it was about!”
The films released on DVD were those directed by Mani Ratnam, as well as some produced by him. They were, ‘Roja’, ‘Bombay’, ‘Thiruda Thiruda’, ‘Iruvar’, ‘Uyire’, ‘Alaipayudhey’, ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’, ‘Aasai’, ‘Nerukku Ner’, ‘Dum Dum Dum’ and ‘5 Star’.
DID YOU KNOW?
· The first ever film directed by Mani Ratnam was ‘Pallavi Anupallavi’ (1983). The film was made in Kannada and starred Anil Kapoor.
· Mani Ratnam’s second film, ‘Unuru’ was in Malayalam.
· The first Tamil film directed by Mani Ratnam, was ‘Pagal Nilavu’.
· The first Mani Ratnam movie that actor Madhavan auditioned for, was ‘Iruvar’.
· Mani Ratnam narrated the theme of ‘Roja’ to his wife, Suhasini, on a flight and asked if she’d make it. She asked him to make it himself.
· In ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’, the sequence with a suicide bomber that takes place in a park, near the venue in Sri Lanka where Madhavan’s character is giving a speech, was actually shot in Pondicherry

· The song ‘Chandralekha…’ from the movie, ‘Thiruda Thiruda’ was shot at the Art Gallery in the Government Museum Complex in Egmore.

(edited version published on March 3, 2005 in Madras Plus, the city features supplement of The Economic Times, Chennai)
Soaring Skyward – An Interview with Aasma

Soaring Skyward – An Interview with Aasma

People Archive

“Something funny happens at each of Aasma’s performances.” says Sangeet Haldipur of Aasma. “At one concert, my leather trouser came apart along the leg – I had to keep it covered with my guitar and tone down some of my movements on stage. Another time, after a concert, one of the organisers mentioned to Jimmy that his fly had been open, possibly for the entire duration of the concert!”
It’s this heady mix of humor, zest and talent that seems to be the key to Aasma’s popularity. For the uninitiated, it’s a four-member pop band comprising Sangeet Haldipur, Jimmy Felix, Neeti Mohan and Vasudha Sharma. Although all four have visited Chennai at some point in the past, they performed here as a band for the first time yesterday at Lifestyle as part of a tour to kick off the store’s Lifestyle Weekends concept in Chennai.
Flashback to just over a year ago, when they were selected among 15000 hopefuls across seven cities in India, as part of the Coke [V] Popstars 2 Talent Hunt. While the selection process was gruelling, it was only the first step for the foursome. What followed was four months of a rigorous regimen to groom them in all it takes to be a pop band, be it voice training, dance or the look.
Vasudha reminisces, “We were trained by the best talent in the country and had the opportunity to work on our first album with some of the most respected music directors and lyricists. That was a valuable experience. And the biggest challenge for us was to learn to sing together as a band. We were no longer individuals, we learnt to complement each other.”
And look how far they’ve come already. They’re one album old and their debut performance was in front of a crowd of 40,000. They’ve opened the show for Bryan Adams at Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and performed international shows at Dubai and Malaysia. They’ve appeared in two television serials, ‘Saara Akash’ and ‘Shakalaka Boom’ as well as sung the title track for the Star Parivaar Awards.
Owing to the popularity of one of the tracks, ‘Chandu ke Chacha’ from their debut album, a second version of the music video was created showing the country dancing to the tune. Not to mention the fact that it has spawned off over 40 remixes on the web as well as bhajans written in the tune!
Neeti recounts one very touching moment. “When we performed ‘Chandu ke Chacha…’ at the Spastics Society at Mumbai, the kids got so caught up in it. You could see it in their eyes. In fact, we’re still in touch with them and their parents.”
And what’re their plans for the future? “Our second album is in the pipeline. We’ve just worked on a jingle. A dance track, composed by Salim-Suleiman and written by Abbas Tyrewallah is also on the cards.” Says Neeti.
Jimmy adds, “We’ve also recently created our website, www.aasmaworld.com, which our fans can check out and get to know us. They can write to us through the site and we promise to reply to each one of them. We’ve been doing that, but people don’t seem to believe that it’s really us replying to them!”
A recent development has been Aasma’s nomination under Best Indian Pop Band at the Sangeet Awards to be held in the Royal Albert Hall, London on October 1. “It’s an honour for us to be nominated and we’re looking forward to attending the awards.” says an exultant Vasudha.
Let’s hope Aasma’s visit and the response to their performance provides a much-needed shot in the arm for efforts to bring music bands down to Chennai for concerts. 
Pic courtesy Third Eye
An edited version of this article was published in Madras Plus in 2004.
Vaishnavi Krishnan & Nora, the Nonapuss

Vaishnavi Krishnan & Nora, the Nonapuss

People Archive

“I prefer writing descriptive poetry” says 11-year old Vaishnavi Krishnan minutes before a reading at the Goodbooks Store a few days ago. The reading was of ‘Nora the Nonapus’, the story that Vaishnavi co-authored with three of her classmates while in the fifth grade at the Estes Hills Elementary School, North Carolina, United States last year. Although the shy Vaishnavi was nervous about being the centre of so much attention, she read the story and sportingly answered questions from members of the audience, which was predominantly children her age.

But the real news is this. Not only have Vaishnavi and her classmates written and illustrated the story, they have also won a prize for it in Scholastic’s Kids Are Authors competition. For this contest, the writing had to be done as a team, as a collaborative effort and was open to children between the Kindergarten and the Eighth Grade. In this case, Vaishnavi’s team mates were her classmates, Zoe Gan, Susan Cavender and Alison Smith.
“I was very happy when it was announced in front of all the students that we had won the contest. None of us knew about it until then!” effuses Vaishnavi. Among thousands of entries, this book was selected for being published and distributed by Scholastic. As for the award itself, it comprises a medal and a certificate for each author, along with a copy of the published book.
The role of the school in encouraging young writers is all-important. In the case of Vaishnavi and her classmates, while in the process of developing the story, they were exempted from some classes so they could work on it. To recognise its efforts in honing such keen talent, the school will be given books from Scholastic as well as 100 copies of the published book.
“All four of us worked on it equally.” says Vaishnavi, eager to share the limelight with her classmates and co-authors. “We talked about what the story should be about, and when we decided on an octopus, we started writing it. Then we divided up the pages between us to do the drawings.” It took about 4 weeks for the foursome to write and illustrate the story, who had paused only to research on volcanoes, as this forms an important aspect in the story
About the story itself, Vaishnavi says, “As ‘Octa’ in the word ‘Octopus’ means ‘eight’, describing the eight tentacles that octopuses normally have, Nora is a ‘Nonapus’ as she has an extra tentacle making it nine.” This difference is all-important, as we gather, in a story of adventure and also, to an extent, of knowing one’s true worth. 
This thought stream of being ‘different’ seems to have manifested itself early in Vaishnavi’s writing – as early as in Kindergarten. She surprised her mother with her depth of thought back then, with a story about a ladybird with no spots. Again, the concept of ‘different from the lot’ is the primary theme. One wonders then, if perhaps being an Indian in a predominantly American educational setting, could contribute to writing of such intense nature, as early as in kindergarten. After all, when the child escapes into the world of make-believe, he or she could derive comfort from the fact that not only is being ‘different’ alright, it could also save the day, as in the case of Nora.
In addition, Vaishnavi has written poems among other things, about a tiger, a lily-pond and an old man. The poem about the lily pond was written when her class was taken to a botanical garden and asked to write about something they saw there. In another exercise, she was shown the portrait of a wizened old man, and she wrote a poem about him and his difficult existence. All her work, be it poetry or stories, are evidence of Vaishnavi being a very deep thinker for her age. Perhaps this will go a long way in her chosen profession, of which Vaishnavi says, “When I grow up, I would love to be a writer. Or a journalist.”

Pic courtesy Third Eye
An edited version of this article was published in Madras Plus in 2004.

Journey of Hope – Krishna Narayanan

Journey of Hope – Krishna Narayanan

People Archive

 
“My body is my prison, and my senses are the bars that imprison me.” It’s a telling comment on the nature of autism by 33-year-old Krishna Narayanan. Diagnosed at the age of four, he started conveying his feelings in writing to his mother at the age of 23. Since then, a whole new world of communication has opened up with his family and, through his books, with countless parents of autistic people. Krishna’s first book, “Wasted Talent – Musings of an Autistic”, gives a poignant insider’s perspective on autism. Krishna sets an example of sensitivity, intelligence and, above all, great determination and hope. 
Krishna’s family lived in America at the time he was diagnosed. Although the hospital there insisted that he would not be able to respond, his mother refused to give up on the basis of lack of information on the ailment and set about teaching Krishna skills as basic as chewing. As autism renders imitative learning skills void, every action was an uphill task. 
Krishna’s mother, Jalaja Narayanan, herself a writer, says: “Teaching an autistic child is like making pathways in the brain. Every task accomplished is like a milestone and one worth exulting about. One of the first milestones was crossed when he was two-and-a-half. After an intense day of teaching him over and over again, he finally took one sip of orange juice instead of his usual milk.” Although this seems a simple enough task for most of us, the nature of autism itself is to blame for the challenges. 
Not much is known about what causes autism; if it were known, perhaps more could be done about it. Krishna mentions this in his book, “Autism is a complex disease marked by gripping fear, scorching tension, lack of coordination and little speech. More often than not, it is mistaken as insanity and sometimes even misdiagnosed. The difference between insanity and autism is that insanity means losing one’s mind, whereas the autistic is fully aware.” An autistic person may be extremely brilliant and possibly a genius in the making, but is unable to communicate due to lack of speech and poor coordination. 
Although Krishna’s learning to write was a major step forward, it has been the culmination of painstaking work that started right from childhood. With writing, he was able to tell his parents about what he had experienced but could never convey. They realised, among other things, why he used to shy away from touch, why he was afraid of strangers, why was rigid in his habits, how brushing his teeth or getting a haircut were excruciatingly painful. Even less monumental but nevertheless emotions came to light; the tantrums he made on one particular day, he revealed, were due to the turmoil he felt when he was being read about Sydney Carton’s choice of love over life in Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities.” 
Krishna was developmentally delayed, but he has crossed milestones in flying colours. He has read Dickens, Austen, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Hugo, and has a passion for mathematics, instilled by his father who first introduced him to algebra, calculus, and non-linear differential equtions. Krishna later moved on to quantum physics and acoustics; in his first book, he even explains a parallel between relativity and autism. 
A second book called “Quest; Search for a Quality Life”, that Krishna has authored along with his mother, is being released soon, and he is in the process writing his third book, a novel. As for his future plans, Krishna writes: “So what is my future? I really don’t know, but I can dream. The dreams make life worth living though the current reality is stark and dreary. On the other hand, dreams free the mind and let it fly in the wide space of the future.” 
Krishna Narayanan’s first book, Wasted Talent – Musings of an Autistic and Jalaja Narayanan’s book, From a Mother’s Heart – A Journal of Survival, Challenge, Hope are available at leading bookstores in the city. The new book, Quest; Search for a Quality Life is expected to be available soon. 
Pic courtesy Third Eye

An edited version of this article was published in Madras Plus on June 26, 2004 .
Who reads what? Sanjay Subramanyan

Who reads what? Sanjay Subramanyan

People Archive

A Chartered Accountant by profession, Sanjay Subramanyan is better known for his on-stage persona. He started out learning to play the violin under the tutelage of Shri V. Lakshminarayana. When the switch to vocal music happened, he learnt initially under Shrimathi Rukmini Rajagopalan and later, under Vidwan Shri Calcutta K.S.Krishnamurti. A renowned and much sought-after vocalist today, he is appreciated for his passionate rendering of many a Krithi and a Raaga.
His passion extends beyond singing, to other areas of Carnatic Music as well. He has organised heritage walks around places of musical interest in Chennai in December. Music-related trivia are at his fingertips and a wealth of information, on a website he has, called Sangeetham.com

In the midst of a hectic schedule, he does manage to do a fair amount of reading. Sanjay recounted, “Last year, I was reading Tamil fiction. Although I read P.G. Wodehouse every opportunity I get, and I’m up to date on the Harry Potter books, I am currently reading an e-book called Don’t Know Much About History by Kenneth C.Davis.”

As an avid reader, he regularly looks to download e-books off the Internet. Coming back to the e-book at hand, “I was reading various reviews on a website, and came across one on this book. The review mentioned that it was interestingly written unlike other books of its genre which end up sounding like textbooks. So, I downloaded it and started reading it” says Sanjay.
The book narrates the history and development of America in a witty, coversational style. It dispels some myths while clarifying some facts. Right from Christopher Columbus to Clinton, the Rosenberg spy case to September 11, from gun control to the death penalty, the book relates America‘s historical, social and political issues. It deals with questions as diverse as “Who really discovered America?”, “Did the Indians really sell Manhattan for $24?” and “Did Pocahontas really save John Smith’s life?”
Sanjay added “The format of the book, in a Question and Answer style, makes even the more complex topics in American History, easier to understand. It is a very elaborate subject and has been well written.It truly is a fascinating study of American history and brings to life the events and the people who were responsible for its development.”
Pic courtesy Seven Shots
An edited version of this article was published in Madras Plus in 2004.

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