A-V-I-A-L

Its an odd name for a band and is certainly not the only odd thing about them as a fan would tell you.Despite their long list of musical inadequacies they are quite a phenomenon among young malayalies as was obvious by the overwhelming turnout for one of their recent concerts in Kochi.For the longest time good music in the state was confined to the genius of Dr.K.J.Yesudas  and a few others but it didn’t really produce music that connected with a broader audience. Mallu music had reached an impasse in terms of creative work when avial arrived on the scene around a decade ago. 


Non-existent lyrical brilliance is what hits you first when you listen to their songs but over time you learn to see past that and sometimes(like in my case) even enjoy it.But they are by no means a prolific band,infact it took them 4years after they announced their self titled album for it to finally see the light of day.But they made it well worth the wait with what I thought was a brilliant first album. Avial has 4 permanent members as of now.Rex Vijayan on the guitar gives the songs a tone that makes them distinctly avial .He used to be with motherjane before shifting his loyalties.Tony John is the band’s vocalist.Naresh kamath,the bass guitarist is the only non-malayali in the band and Mithun Puthanveetil on the drums is the son of a popular politician in kerala.


A very politically aware band, their songs discuss important social issues ranging from deforestation(aadu pambe) and aanakallan is a satirical take on the issue of fraud swami’s  and one of their songs features  brief recordings of Achuthanandan’s and Karunakaran’s(both ex chief minister’s of the state) campaigns. They have some of the best instrumental play I’ve heard in any band and even zar’roc who’s by far the biggest music geek I’ve met agrees with me on that front which is pretty weird because we have so very different tastes when it comes to music that everytime he hands me the earphones to listen to some song that he thinks is good I brace myself for an acoustic barrage. Plus another good thing about them is that they try to sound original  and no two songs are alike.


All of their music combines indie rock and folk to form what the band members like to call ‘alternative malayali rock’.Everybody has songs that they’d skip from their playlist when it comes up but I doubt if I’ll ever skip one of theirs.Motherjane is touted by many as the best mallu band yet and is said to be the shining example of the convergence of native music and the west but I feel that avial makes a stronger claim for the spot of the best mallu band especially since their songs are actually in Malayalam as opposed to Motherjane’s (heavily accented)English ones.They dared to defy convention and succeeded in a field plagued by pretty egregious work and if the previews of their new albums are anything to go by Motherjane’s locating new nadir’s with each of their songs while Avial only seems to get better.


Sure,their songs depict the decadent state of a society thats increasingly becoming inseperable from the west but,I think bands like avial keeps us rooted all the same,serves as a silent reminder of who we really are and where we come from.I have very few friends who enjoy their kind of music except maybe frodo(they sort of bring out the guitar fanatics in us). If you’re one of those people who are not exactly amused by  avial then I’d urge you to keep listening to them because they have a tendancy to grow on you and also because no other band can so wondrously turn a ? in to a !.

To be or not to be

Whether or not one believes in god is one of the most important moral questions we come across in life.One way or the other though,it always  tends to end up in an inordinately biased judgement.It has a lot to do with the way one has been brought up.Its in human nature to unquestioningly trust elders on their judgement.From an evolutionary perspective<winks at zar’roc>this helps our survival.But like any other system it is not without its flaws.Sometimes this mechanism misfires and in the case of religion,so much so that one does not see the blatant fact that it isn’t different from any other superstition.The only thing that gives religion the illusion of credibility is the fact that its an epidemic of sorts.

Being an atheist or at least sceptical almost always indicates an active and healthy mind.

That some of the most brilliant minds of our generation are atheists is testimony to this fact.

Oscar Wilde put it brilliantly when he said ‘If god existed religion would seem much more of an insult to him than atheism’. Consider the scams that happen in our country in the name of religion.Whether or not god exists may be open to debate but the notion of god manifesting himself in human form is ludicrous and outrageous at the very least.Sathya Sai Baba(said to have performed several “miracles”) declared himself the re-incarnation of Sai Baba of shirdi (who was a famous saint who died a few years prior to baba’s birth) around 1940.People/followers were so naïve that they didn’t see through what was very obvious sleight of hand.And it seems his death(curiously off the date he had predicted) was god showing off his sleight of hand.The amount of publicity and following such a person (arguably a giant fraud) gets in our country is appalling.In a country like India this event seems to draw parallels with the apotheosis of Tendulkar in which case the man did not ask for the adulation he receives moreover, it is warranted.

Sometimes people in an effort to validate the existence of god argue that there are many questions science still can’t answer.But such a question raises another-how is god any better?How is the concept of god by any stretch of imagination, a better alternative?.Creation was the great deed that god had supposedly performed.Darwin gave us something else entirely.Science has always been asked to back up its claims but when it comes to god,it smugly asks us to get rid of our rational mind, abandon all reason and embrace blind faith.Science hasn’t shown us that god doesn’t exist but,it has shown us that he does not have to exist.

Right from the beginning the human mind has been plagued by a baseless entity-an entity that is omnipotent and omniscient at the same time.For some people it is a figure to be feared,feared because he’s always watching,keeping count.I mean,some creep this god is!

Considering the things people do/don’t do in fear of god wouldn’t life be easier without him to worry about,to just let go?If you are confused as to where you stand and if god turns out to be more than just a figment of people's imagination, wouldn’t he respect you more for showing some spine and firmly believing in his non-existence than some nut job pretending to be a staunch believer for fear of retribution?The world might not be ready for a massive spiritual and religious revolution just yet though.Most people are so hopelessly dependant on religion that they will fight to protect it.

Like Douglas Adams said-‘Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe there are fairies at the bottom of it too?’Enough said.

(The following link is not intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments,its just amusing is all.)

 http://www.paucisverbis.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/religions-of-the-world.jpg

Proust Questionnaire

Any way i was reading this interview of Kamal Hassan in the papers and i noticed that the heading said ‘Proust questionnaire’.A quick search on wiki revealed that Marcel Proust was a French writer who answered a series of questions that are intended to reveal your character and is used commonly as a form of interview. I looked it up and though some of the questions seemed absurd and bordered on the trivial it seemed worthwile to answer them myself.If you plan to take the questionnaire yourself I should warn you to not take a look at Proust's own elegant answers first as they tend to influence your own.I'll get to it then...

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

To not be able to live in the present,to worry too much about what you've done and what you must do.

Where would you like to live?

Wherever feels like home.Is that still a cliche?

What is your idea of earthly happiness?

Being around people who enjoy the same things you do, who are very similar to you but at the same time people from whom you stand to learn so much more.

To what faults do you feel most indulgent?

Amusing ones.

Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?

Howard Roark for being the man i can possibly never be,for knowing exactly what he wants and standing by his ideals no matter what.

Who are your favorite characters in history?

Ashoka-for symbolizing everything my country should be about

Gandhi-for being an astute politician

Lincoln-for being the charismatic leader that he was,for being way ahead of his time in thought and action.

Who are your favorite heroines in real life?

All single mothers.

Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?

Not many names come to mind but Scout from 'To kill a mockingbird' was particularly endearing.

Your favorite painter?

Ravi varma

Your favorite musician?

It changes constantly but Hans Zimmer and Zeppelin are my all time favourites.

The quality you most admire in a man?

Loyalty, courage, zeal.

The quality you most admire in a woman?

Tenderness,someone with a sense of calm and soft beauty.Well read and intellectually stimulating would be a bonus.

Your favorite virtue?

Intelligence.

Your favorite occupation?

Watching a really good movie on a holiday with no one to bother me.

Who would you have liked to be?

No one but myself of course because lets face it,i'm awesome.

What do you most value in your friends?

Frankness,loyalty,their tolerance for silence when they’re with me.

What is your principle defect?

Procrastination

What is your favorite color?

Black

What is your favorite flower?

Jasmine

What is your favorite bird?

The Eagle.

Who are your favorite prose writers?

Ayn rand, J.K.Rowling,Harper Lee.

Who are your favorite poets?

I haven't read enought to make an informed decision but i always thought keats was pretty good.

What are your favorite names?

Logan,Albus

What is it you most dislike?

Arrogance,Pretentiousness,the false sense of superiority I see in some people.

What historical figures do you most despise?

General Dyer

What event in military history do you most admire?

India-Pak war of 1971.

What natural gift would you most like to possess?

To think of good retorts during an argument and not after i've lost it miserably.

How would you like to die?

Happy and content might be too much to ask for so,quickly would be fine.

What is your present state of mind?

Lazy and disorganized.

What is your motto?

Failure is acceptable but not regrets.

Avant garde art

When the oscar nominees were announced recently my eyes immediately and quite by reflex devoured the entire list and  stopped at the best director's list for a closer scrutiny.

Something seemed wrong.it was not a list any person in his right mind would make at all.

A best directors list with no place for nolan is like cricket in India without Tendulkar or ‘House’

without Hugh Laurie (or something like that).

Frodo seemed to think it was a good idea to write about it anyway,So i sat down in front of the pc,leaned back and set my music player to play the incredible soundtrack of inception on loop,(you know, just to set the mood).

Talking about inception-well, when i left the theater after watching the film,i knew i had seen something unreal,something truly pathbreaking.I’ve watched a lot of movies  and i can tell you,i haven't felt that way after a film my whole life.We have been making motion pictures now for like atleast a 100 years and it felt like all those years of film making,all the great films of its times right through Hitchcock, Fellini, Bergman,Coppola, Kubrick, Spielberg,The Wachowski brothers, all those years of triumphant filmmaking had culminated in one scintillating spectacle-Inception.

From the incredible mind of Christopher Nolan,the man who makes it a point to introduce novelty in every one of his movies ,the man who has reminded us to bring our brains along when watching a movie,for him this movie was no different yet somehow this one stands out from the rest.

Yet the panel chose to honour David Fincher for a film that has its claims to merit but is not even close to being in the same league as Inception.From Fincher’s point of view this is a recognition long overdue since he was denied the award twice for Se7en and Fightclub with the latter going on to garner cult status after its release and fetching Chuck Palahniuk from whose book the movie was adapted immediate world wide acclaim.

The fighter (which is a mediocre film at best) is a surprise entry too.The film is just another boxing movie and not a watchable one at that either with Christian Bale looking like an exhumed corpse in what is widely considered the highpoint of his career.And lets face it ,True Grit (the other movie chosen ahead of Inception) isn’t a movie for the ages and I can tell you that by just looking at the basic plotline..

Its almost as if Nolan was deliberately overlooked,Perhaps the oscar panel has a fetish for insulting great films and genuinely awesome movie makers. Maybe they just take themselves a little too seriously,maybe they see some sort of pretentious greatness in choosing crappy films over brilliant ones.Nolan has truly outdone himself in this insanely brilliant modern-day classic..To quote imdb

“In a decade ‘incepion’ may be a religion” and I couldn’t agree more.