Maaralente

A few months ago, I transcribed some choral samples for AR for a Telagu film called 'Komaram Puli' and conducted the KMMC Chamber Choir to record on the third track called 'Maaralente'. It was a great experience and I got a chance to improve my ability to take musical dictation. Man, it's tough! Check it out!

Mugdha Hasabnis

UPDATE: Mugdha mentioned my name on the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa website! Check it out!
http://srgmpss.zeetv.com/mugdha-hasabnis/

I am very proud of my student Mugdha Hasabnis who is doing a wonderful job singing on the 'American Idol' of India - Sa Re Ga Ma Pa! Here are some clips of her singing:





Cross your fingers for her! I am!

Questions about Westernization in India and Feminism

Growth: Questions about Westernization in India and Feminism

As globalization and westernization of the eastern world continues, I am wary about its effects on the average person living in India. India is developing at a rapid pace – every major city in India has shown dramatic growth in infrastructure and capital in the last ten years and the country is finally acquiring a substantial middle class due to the emergence of capitalism; not unlike America in the 20th century. In just two years in Chennai, I have seen almost a dozen flyovers come up, roads have been paved and re-paved, high-rise office spaces and apartment complexes have been erected, clubs and bars are opening left and right, malls and shopping centers boast western wear; not to mention western prices, and going to the beauty salon in India has become a religion in itself where women attend their weekly appointments with the same fervor and intensity as black women in America.

But is India growing up too fast? What are the consequences of developing too quickly without having the educational grounding beneath it? Should anyone ever do anything without knowing why they’re doing it? Shouldn’t lice-less hair, and personal hygiene take precedent over mini skirts and clubbing? Shouldn’t literacy and numeracy be promoted before promoting cell phone use in rural spaces? India has the unique opportunity to examine and analyze the development of the west and take the ‘good’ and reject the ‘bad’. Instead, because of globalization, because of the world wide web, because of terrible commercial American films that seem to do astonishingly well at local movie theaters, it seems that India is being bombarded with superficial aspects of western culture and it is happily sucking it all in like a sponge.

I am particularly disturbed when it comes to women and their ideas of Feminism. In a country where sex-education is still rejected as being unnecessary and too liberal for the average parent, is it really advisable for young women to be going out to clubs and bars at 18 wearing nothing but a mini skirt and a tube top? There seems to be an odd disconnect between logical thought and action in this situation. It seems that it is not appropriate for women to learn about sex, but it is okay for women to look like sex. What happens when the young woman gets into a situation that she doesn’t understand? Who does she blame? Who is accountable? In a country where sex is still not something you ever discuss, whom does she go to when she is taken advantage of? Not only is sex-education not promoted and/or available, but there is absolutely no support system for women who do happen to find themselves in a sticky situation (no pun intended). So now what? She wanted to be cool, she wanted to be hip, she wanted to go out– she has embraced American binge drinking culture (Chug! Chug! Chug!), and now she’s seeking an abortion clinic where the idea of doctor/patient confidentiality is merely wishful thinking. Yes, women own their bodies and yes, women can wear what they want, but every woman must be properly equipped with the education necessary to make informed, responsible decisions while being aware of the possible consequences that exist based on location, time, and culture.

Oddly enough, sexual repression in India seems to promote homosexual experimentation amongst young men and women. Because casual heterosexual interaction is still frequently discouraged and romantic interaction highly controlled, hormonal adolescents find it easier to sexually experiment with their friends of the same sex, than to interact with the opposite sex and risk ostracism from family and peers. Open heterosexual interaction has the potential of gossip and scandal – what better way to avoid that, than to gain some harmless experience and feed the hunger with your BFF? This is in stark contrast to teen sexual culture in the United States. Our western proclivity for logic and science makes us compartmentalize sexuality and place ourselves within a rigid sexual label that most people don’t deviate from.

Even more curious, same-sex experimentation amongst adolescents in India doesn’t change or alter their sexual identity. Teens don’t seem to feel any guilt or find the need to declaratively change their ideas about their own sexual identity once they have had an experience with the same-sex. This type of experimentation is shaken off, not talked about, and seen as trivial. In the west you hear the phrase “everyone is straight… until they’re not.” In the east you just hear, “everyone is straight, period.” Apparently here, actions do NOT speak louder than words.

Moreover, because the open declaration of homosexuality is avoided like the plague, even those who seem to be 150% gay (Heeey Grrrrrrrrl!) call themselves bi. Um honey, FYI - you aint foolin’ nobody.

Is this a new development in a developing world? Is the exposure to western sexual culture changing India’s youth or has this always existed? Is this the consequence of conservative British colonial rule?

What are your thoughts? More to follow…