Unique "Murchana" Record

In Hindustani music, "Murchana" means shifting the Shadja to obtain a different Raga. Ustad Imrat Khan, the Surbahar & Sitar Maestro, has recorded an unique LP where he has used this technique to use his two different instruments to play two different ragas so that they sound like a continuation rather than two different ragas.

Raga Abhogi is played on Surbahar, which is tuned a fourth lower than the Sitar. The notes used are S R g M D S, the semitonal intervals between the notes being 2,1,2,4,3. This is followed by Raga Kalavati played on Sitar, the semitonal intervals between notes being 4,3,2,1,2. If the Madhyam of Abhogi is used as the Shadja, one may obtain the notes of Kalavati. Conversely, if the Pancham of Kalavati is used as Shadja, the notes of Abhogi may be obtained.

"Jasrangi" developed by Pandit Jasraj also uses the same technique but in Jugalbandi between male & female vocalists, whose natural Shadja is half an octave apart. So they can sing two different ragas at the same time, sounding as if they are in unison! The man may be intoning Pancham, which may be the Shadja for the woman (in another Raga, the intervals of which should be the same as the different Raga being sung by the man!)

In the extant YouTube video, Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande is singing Abhogi whereas Pandit Sanjeev Abhyankar is singing Kalavati in unison!

Humility & Humiliation

In the book "Holy Thirthankaras" by Daaji, a story from the life of the 11th Thirthankara of Jainism, Shreyans Nath, is narrated. Amongst his disciples, there was a monk who was unable to fast completely. He was insulted for this & another monk even spat into his plate of food. The "insulted" monk forgave the spitter instantly & as a result, his karma was exhausted immediately & he became liberated.

A similar idea is propounded in Matthew 5:5 (from The Sermon on the Mount) where it is stated, "The meek shall inherit the earth." This paradoxical quote interprets "the earth" to mean peace or everlasting liberation.

In Kathryn Hulme's book, "The Nun's Story", the ritual of the "Culpa" is explained. In a convent, it is the proclaiming of all your faults before your sisters. After that, the sisterhood are invited to complete, for charity's sake, those faults, which you might not have mentioned. For a new nun, it was a trial by fire.

Even in John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress", the pilgrim Christian had to pass through the "Valley of Humiliation" to get to the Celestial City, the abode of God.

In more practical worldly situations, the doctrine of civil disobedience (inviting a lot of humiliation) was employed by Gandhi in the freedom struggle. Later, Nelson Mandela in South Africa & Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the USA also used it.

Audio Power: RMS value & PMPO

In the case of DC signal, it is easy to calculate as it is always positive & unvarying. But in the case of AC, it is sinusoidal in form, which is continuously changing in amplitude & shifting between positive & negative values. If the values are just averaged out, the positive & negative may just cancel each other out, giving a fallacious value.

So the Root Mean Square (RMS) value is computed to get a more realistic value. First each number of the dataset (of the sine wave) is squared as even the square of the negative numbers in the dataset (or the portion of the sinewave below the X axis) get a positive magnitude. Then a mean or average is worked out to get a single workable value. Then the (square) root is taken of this value to correct the squaring done at first (to absorb the negative values). This is the RMS value of the power rating of the audio amplifier, which gives a realistic approximation.

However, some manufacturers quote a PMPO (Peak Music Power Output) which is the maximum sine wave power obtainable before presence of the signal has time to degrade performance. However, this is just a marketing tool to impress the gullible customer. For example, a popular brand markets its system as having 4000 Watts PMPO whereas it's RMS value is 45 Watts.

Super Filial Sons in Hindu Mythology

In 'Ramayana", we have Indrajit, son of Ravana, supporting his father in his unrighteous ways, instead of advising him to desist as his uncle Vibhishana did.

In Ramayana itself, when King Dasharatha unwillingly imposed exile on Rama, even his brother Lakhmana reportedly protested.

In "Mahabharata", Bhishma, to satisfy his father's desire to marry Satyavati, though he himself was the heir, decided to remain celibate. (He also abducted three princesses as brides for his stepbrother.)

Again in "Mahabharata", one comes across Prince Puru, sacrificing his youth to his father King Yayati to enable him to enjoy.

Even though filial piety is a noble virtue, it can be carried too far, as mentioned above.

A glorious exception is Prahlada who courageously stood his ground against his father King Hiranyakashipu in worshipping Vishnu.

Pride & Shame: The Two Great Human Motivators

It is highly instructive to note how the above two have shaped human behaviour across time. For example having a profitable start-up is a matter of pride nowadays. But in earlier times, engaging in trade, though profitable, was a socially demeaning activity & its practitioners termed "upstarts". Their lack of culture & philistinism exposed them as "noveau-rich" behaving in a shameful way. However rich they may become, they were social pariahs.

That such an attitude was not wholly irrational is being reinforced by such people now throwing their weight around & asking "Do you know who I am?" whenever they think they have not got VIP treatment. This goes for most politicians also. So their "Pride" is actually really a matter of "Shame."

Another conundrum is many captains of industry like to pose as philanthropists, providing employment & hence livelihood to many. But do the employees share this view? On the contrary many feel they are exploited & made to work in glorified "sweatshops". So what is the truth? Are the employers prideful "compassionate captalists" as they would like to believe or shameless "savage slave drivers" as many employees feel?

Second Amendment & Children's Literature

The Second Amendment to the Constitution of the USA guarantees the right to bear & use firearms by the citizens. The collateral damage of this is becoming more evident day by day. Ironically, this is buttressed by two classics of Children's Literature.

A Swiss pastor, Johann David Wyss, inspired by Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crutsoe", wrote "The Swiss Family Robinson" in 1812. It is the story of a shipwrecked family with four sons surviving in a deserted island. The surprising thing is, in spite of being a pastor, he had no qualms about encouraging his sons to mercilessly hunt down the various animals & birds there, with no concern for ecological balance.

Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote "The Little Place in the Big Woods" in 1867. This is an American family living off the land in a hard unforgiving terrain. The descriptions of wild, untamed nature are no doubt enthralling. But what shocks the reader's sensibilities is a little four year girl being trained to make bullets, handle a gun, kill small animals for food.

The Real Education: Music Education

While medicine & engineering are sought after professions, they may not always fulfil all human creative needs. That may be why many eminent people of those professions, also cultivated their interest in music.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a doctor who practiced tropical medicine in Africa with his wife Helene serving as his anaesthesiologist when he performed surgery. He was also an authority on Bach & wrote books on Bach & also on the art of building Organs.

Albert Einstein was an excellent violinist, who used his violin playing as a brain storming tool when he had problems with physics.

Homi Bhabha, the nuclear physicist was a Western classical music enthusiast who felt that music was as important as maths & physics & made life worth living.

Raja Ramanna, the nuclear physicist, had passed a Trinity College exam & was an accomplished pianist. He also authored a book on Western & Karnatic music.

Dr. Abdul Kalam was playing the Veena & his ambition was to play "Endaro Mahanubhavulu" on it.

The high school students in western countries are encouraged to learn to play a musical instrument of their choice. During their "Cultural Revolution", the Chinese foolishly destroyed many musical instruments but they quickly realised their mistake & now there are many Chinese virtuosi on the international stage.