Ever since my friend Mahesh succumbed to Cancer , I have not had the inclination or should i say courage to watch a movie that has cancer as its central theme.....even Philadelphia kind of got me all soppy - that was not because of Tom hanks or Denzel.
I had the chance to facilitate and train in Ahmedabad yesterday and we passed the campus of the famed Indian Institute of Management , my memories went back to my interview for admission and the manner in which a Prof Meenakshi Mallya ( i think i have the name right? ) cornered me and of course thankfully refused me an admission. Thankfully because it gave me my life's loveliest two years .... listening to mahesh play and of course my friend T.T.Srinath sending me up on Stage for the first time ( I did get on stage in my school days though) to play a small sketch based on "the tea house of the August Moon".
I was also remembering how I cycled to Mahesh's house, in the lane next to ACM Rakeswari Kalyana Mandapam, when in my 8th standard with my new BSA Aristocrat bicycle , the coverage of the article in a Tamil magazine on Mahesh and his group "Versatiles" - called Kalyanaththil Come September ( Come September in a Marriage), the practice sessions in that house behind Nageswara Rao Park - they were trying to get Solitary Man going.....and friend ramaswami Subbiah was also going...his own way. Much to mahesh's chagrin. Great times.
Well we had even greater times in those wonderful musical evenings at my place and the memories as years rolled on and alcohol clouded were a bit dimmer than the school/college day memories.
In the seminar i had been exhorting people to unblock their minds, remove bias and prejudice, overcome irrational fears and face life square on. Hence, when I got back home past midnight - terribly long hopping flight from there to chennai - I decided to watch - "The Bucket List ".....
Boy what a film and what performance. That settled , self assured , dignified performance from Morgan freeman and that flamboyant , leery , devil may care one from jack Nicholson. No , I did not cry for I was just so enthralled at this display of histrionic brilliance that I did not feel anything else but a deep desire to applaud genius.
My friend mahesh too had a Bucket list of sorts...only this was to his friends after he kicked the proverbial bucket.....to do 'something' for the Cancer Hospital in Adayar. I am so proud that his friends have all done him proud - The Mahesh Memorial Paediatric Ward was inaugurated and is doing well - Kudos to Chithra and the other Trustees of the Mahesh memorial trust.........
For those who want to listen to what the Big B had to say about the Trust I give the link to my you tube posting of the "kaun banega Crorepathi" episode that Mani Ratnam , another friend , was able to get going for us to raise funds.
I have posted a few snaps we took during those great music sessions.........check out PICASA
http://picasaweb.google.com/mohanraman/MaheshAndMusicalEvenings?feat=directlink
Well mahesh....your Bucket is nicely full my friend...... while many of us dont seem to realise that we have to get our respective bucket list ready....and pray that we are able to inspire our friends the way you did with aplomb and ease.
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8 comments:
Beautifully narrated memories, I should say :) and the post surprised me this morning. Usually, am very much aware of Music Director’s name and was wondering how I missed this name in the industry (probably due to not many films he worked on). Hence, did a Google search!! The search results gave me a sweet surprise –I’d been a craze of “Nammavar” movie songs especially the “Udaiyodu Pirakkavillai” song but never knew the name of the composer till I read this entry and proceed to do my search! It is an amazing song and more than happy to know finally I discovered who the composer was, that too through a friend of HIM! Sad to hear that he is no more, though.
The Bucket List – What a coincidence! It’s more than 3 weeks now I’ve placed my request to the library for this DVD and still it is not back from loan. Now, that you have said so much about the movie, I’m losing my patience to wait any longer. Hope to watch it soon!
Keep posting!
Cheers
Shaams
Very nice one, enjoyed reading..Also saw the photos on picasa...:) You seemed had lot of fun on the younger days.. No Pun Intended
Wonderful! Even though I'm a Class of 2010 XLer, I wish I'd been around back to see him! :-)
Mr.Mohan Ram,
It is so nice to see your childhood with Mr.Mahesh, one of my favorite MD's. It was such an irony that he had to compose music for "Nammavar", which incidentally had Kamal as a cancer patient. Having said that, he is a great musician. I love his song "Poonguyil paadinaal". He was extremely unique in one way where he composed a song without any musical instruments. Thanks to the wonderful chorus work and of course Kamal's mimicry and singing stuff,"Edhileyum vallavan da" and who can forget the other "Sorgam enbadhu namakku" in the same film!!! MAY GOD rest his soul always in peace.
Sincere Regards,
ASHOK RAMAMOORTHY
My thanks to all of you....I chersih the memory of my friend,not just for his musical genius , just because he was ...mahesh.
Nice meeting you at the Tag Centre this morning. came home visited your blog and read about Mahesh. He and I learnt sitar together and his charming smile and nimble fingers flying across the frets was melody to the ear and treat to the eyes. Before the ustad used to arrive to take classes he used to play little pieces composed by himself. He loved movie background scores and i used to share my collection scores from Dr.Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and Benhur and Ennio Morricone scores etc. We also discussed the scores. He always had a wish to publish his background score for "Kuruthi punal"
T.S. Gopal
The photograph of Mahesh looking the same (boyish, smilling,) as I remember him in the late sixties. Standing outside Music Academy waiting for the school bus. May his soul rest in peace.
My wife had been dreading the 'C' word to such an extent that even a casual reference to it was enough to upset her. There is a famous dialogue in the movie Anand "Lymphociroma of the intestines...". She could never sit through that sequence.
About an year back the same movie was on TV and we watched the scene and dialogue with bated breath. We were expecting her biopsy report around that time.
It was positive and she had to undergo two surgeries, chemo and radiation. Thankfully she is allright and progressing well.
I truly believe that we have reached the point where technology has become one with our world, and I think it is safe to say that we have passed the point of no return in our relationship with technology.
I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Ethical concerns aside... I just hope that as the price of memory falls, the possibility of downloading our brains onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could experience in my lifetime.
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