When life spills blood..

My country boasts of its 'Unity in Diversity' and we were brainwashed, of course for good reasons, about the so called 'National Integrity' right from our elementary schooling. Even the 'Pledge' starts with 'My brothers and sisters of India...', our national anthem; penned by the world acclaimed poet 'Sir Rabindranath Tagore'; gives you a picture of a united India. The very term 'Sub- Continent' explains how varied we are as we have everything to constitute a continent. Our nation was built on the very foundation of 'National Unification' which drove the 'British' away from the land. 'Unity' was such an inspiration to fight against even the impregnable enemy. But I feel both bewilderment and frustration, as we as a country, have not been able to get our basics right even after the sixty years of Independence.

In these sixty years of journey, we have made politics a 'mockery', and the 'Constitution' is a tool for exploitation; rule has no meaning, and it is executed to the fullest degree when a big man has to do something with it. To unfold a newspaper is a terrifying feeling only to find out that some folk died somewhere. Accidents are a common sight and killing is an easy choice,Panic and fear grip everywhere. This will only take me to inevitable conclusion that we live in a unsafe world. Look what we done to ourselves. Even if God gives a million years to be changed, we won't. I shall continue to write for a few up coming days on this subject. To be continued....

I know not how to play 'Piano'.

'Rhythm' has always been an inexplicable and intergal part of music even from the earliest days of human history. Each culture is proud of their own genre of music. If 'Scottish Pipes' have their charm; 'Sitar' and 'Tabla' have their own too. And endless types of drums find their roots in Africa.

Even in rurual Andhra pradhesh, the 'Drum' has earned a distinct recognition for its simplicity of accebility and playability. It requires no professionalism to play it. Its roots traces back to many generations down through the centuries. When there were no modern gadgets to produce 'rhythm', people opted for it. If a drum has to be made, there needs to have been a killing of a goat taken place. Having soaked the skin for several days, it is dried out, before it is scrwed down to be expanded. No wonder, it is associated with the 'outcastes', as the 'bloodshed' is inevitable!! Who is more audacious as well as adamant than a 'Dalit' to be involved with the humiliating act of killing an animal to make a drum just to tap his foot?!!He made the drum centuries ago to find solace and comfort to forget all the pain he had to carry in and outside of his life. He brought back smile on those whose lives were filled with tragic stories of exploitation and victimisation.

When the 'Missionaries' shared them the Gospel, they also encouraged them to worship the Lord indigenously which made the 'drum' to be the integral part of the worhsip services in the villages. When one is unaware of the intricacies of modern or classical music; will it not be good enough to sing praises unto the Lord, when the drum does its duty?