३० जुलै, २०१०

३० जुलै, २०१० - डॉ. वसंतराव देशपांडे यांचा स्मृतिदिन.

वसंताची गायकी परंपरेच्या पालखीतून संथपणे मिरवीत जाणारी नाही. दर्‍याखोर्‍यातून बेफाम दौडत जाणार्‍या घोडेस्वारासारखी त्याच्या गायकीची मूर्ती आहे. भर ऊन्हाळ्यात पलाशबनात अग्निपुष्पे फुलावी तशी ही गायकी. ती फुले पहायला ऊन्हाची तिरीप सोसणारी जवानी हवी. - पु.ल. देशपांडे

फार दिवसांपूर्वी ’नक्षत्रांचे देणे’ या कार्यक्रमात शंकर महादेवन यांनी ’बगळ्यांची माळ फुले’ गायले होते. त्यावेळी गाण्याचे मूळ गायक ’वसंतराव देशपांडे’, अशी प्रथमच माहिती मिळाली. पण, वसंतरावांची पहिली खरी ओळख झाली ती पुलंनी त्यांच्यावर लिहीलेल्या एका लेखातून. त्यानंतर, वसंतरावांची मला झेपतील अशी गाणी मी नेटवरून शोधून काढली आणि सर्वच्या सर्व गाणी भुरळ घालणारीच होती.

पुलंनी वसंतरावांना बर्‍याच मैफिलींमधे पेटीवर साथ केली होती. आता, या सर्व मैफिली शास्त्रिय होत्या आणि त्या प्रांताचा आणि आमचा तसा संबंध असण्याची गरज भासली नव्हतीच. तरीही गाणी केली डाऊनलोड. शास्त्रिय संगीतातलं काहीही कळत नसूनही ती सर्व गाणीही प्रचंड आवडली. आजकाल तर दिवसातून एक-दोनदा तरी त्यांची गाणी ऐकतोच ऐकतो.

पुलंच्या त्या लेखानंतर वसंतरावांबद्दल जाणून घेण्याची फार उत्सुकता लागून राहिली. शोधता शोधता एक असाच दिर्घ लेख हाती लागला (विकीपीडियावर वसंतरावांच्या पेजवर खाली दिलेल्या एका लिंकमधे तो उपलब्ध आहे). एवढं उत्तुंग व्यक्तिमत्व, पण गर्व, मीपणा याचा नावालादेखील लवलेश नव्हता. वझेबुवांबरोबर ते तालमीत जायचे. त्यांच्या दोन-अडीच वर्षांच्या ओळखीत वझेबुवांना एकदाही कळले नाही की वसंतराव गातातही म्हणून.

कोणत्याही घराण्याचे पाईक म्हणून त्यांनी मिरवलं नाही. एका मैफिलीमधे, त्यांच्या अतिशय रंगलेल्या गाण्यानंतर एकाने त्यांना विचारलं की, "काय हो देशपांडे, तुमचं घराणं कुठलं?" त्यावर ते ताडकन उत्तरले की, "आमच्यापासूनच सुरू होणारं आहे आमचं घराणं". पण गातानाचे वसंतराव आणि गृहास्थश्रमातले वसंतराव यामधे कमालीचा फरक. अगदी दोन ध्रुवच.

गाणं शिकताना त्यांनी कसलाही पडदा मनावर पडू दिला नव्हता. ज्या नम्रतेने त्यांनी लाहोरच्या दर्ग्यामधे पटियाला घर्‍याणाचे उस्ताद असद अली खाँ यांच्याकडे ४-५ महिने फक्त मारवा शिकला, त्याच अदबीने सुरेशबाबू मानेंकडे पुण्यात गाणं. गाणं गातानाही स्पृश्य-अस्पृश्यता अजिबात नाही. म्हणूनच, जेवढं ’सावरे ऐ जय्यो’, ’ना मारो पिचकारी भर’, ’शतजन्म शोधिताना’, ’सुरत पिया की’ ऐकताना आपण तृप्त होतो, तेवढाच आनंद ’कोंबड्याची शान’ किंवा ’कुणासाठी सखे तु’ सारखी तुलनेने हलकी-फुलकी गाणी ऐकतानाही मिळतो.

मी त्यांच्याबद्दल काही लिहीण्याची तशी काही गरजच नाही. तसा मी काही त्यांच्या कुटुंबाच्या परिचयाचा नाही किंवा त्यांच्या गाण्याविषयी लिहीण्याएवढा जाणकारही. पण त्यांचं गाणं फार आवडलं, त्यांच्याबद्दल वाचलं आणि वाटलं की आपल्याला जे माहिती झालं ते शेअर करावं.

शास्त्रिय संगीत कळत नसलं तरी गाणं ऐकण्याची आवड असणार्‍या प्रत्येकाला त्यांचं गाणं नक्कीच मोहिनी घालणारं आहे. शारद पौर्णिमेला रात्री बरसणारं चांदणं अनुभवायला ’खगोलशास्त्रि’ असणं गरजेचं नसतं. वसंतरावांचं गाणं तर त्या चांदण्यापेक्षाही मोहित करणारं आहे....

खालील लेख जरूर वाचा.
http://cooldeepak.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-post.html

http://www.sawf.org/newedit/edit07232001/vasantrao.htm

Be a SHARK of your COMFORT ZONE

Many a times when I do not have anything to do, I happen to ask one question to myself, 'while most of the people I know, keep themselves busy doing some or the other activity, why can't I?' The reply is obvious that people go stretching beyond their limits of thinking to keep themselves busy. Many persons are master in this. Even after knowing this, I still can't do that.

While doing my MBA, each of our faculty used to tell us that how it's important for one to come out of closet and try doing things that he/she would not have done otherwise. This according to them and to many, will lead you to be ahead of the current stream and become one of those that are ahead. I agreed fully with them, but still didn't bother to act on the thought.

Now here's the present day and I'm still sitting idle. For some strange reason, I started remembering this whole 'comfort zone' theory. After thinking a while on this, I said why a person can't be different by being in his own comfort zone.

I had seen a lot of programs on TV about sharks and their superior skills. They say, it's very difficult to survive a shark attack. Somehow, I started relating sharks to the thought of comfort zone. Here's how.

As everyone of us know that the sharks cannot survive out of the waters. So I call it their comfort zone. But it's not that they are the ultimate predators just like that. It's their skill set that creates all the difference. You can survive and succeed by being in your comfort zone but for that, you must DEVELOP a certain skill set.

Let me push the thought by relating it to some of the sharks attributes.

Sharks must keep swimming in order to not to sink in the ocean. Likewise, one must keep on TRYING to survive or simply to be present in the league. It's always better to try and fail than being aloof without trying.

Sharks have a very unique ability and that is 'replacing teeth'. A shark's teeth keep on replacing. In this fast paced world which has no dearth of quantity, quality and variety of talents, one must keep on acquiring new skill sets to be in the race. Gaining knowledge is not only about learning new things, it is also about being updated about the developments in one's field of interest. We are in a time where there are sophisticated means of discovery available. The whole process of discovery is constant and endless. So dig in and enjoy the learning. There's no end and no logic as to what to learn and to what extent to learn. That's why we see a scholar in economics is equally passionate about and interested in music. It's just like having different set of teeth of shark. Few of them are razor sharp and pointed while other are grinding teeth. So each passing moment, we must keep on indulging in things that may be too diverse from each other.

Sharks have amazing sensing skills. Any solid object create waves of pressure as it glides through water. Shark senses this with the intensity of a physical touch. They can smell a drop of blood from a distance of a quarter of the mile. So, be alert in sensing the opportunities. Opportunities are generally nothing but the possibilities that can be fruitful if one decides to work towards it. There are always a number of opportunities that we choose to let go, because of some or the other reason. Getting hooked on to a right thing is an outcome of one's logical ability to translate that into a worthwhile result. Worthwhile of the efforts and resources that he's keen to put into it. Being first in grabbing an idea is not important at all. It's how you choose to work on it that matters a lot. Otherwise, Martin Cooper would have been more popular than Nokia, Apple and Sony.

Sharks glide through the water with great ease. If it fails to capitalize on one hunting opportunity, it doesn't simply stops. It continues hunting again. And the process goes on all its life. So, whatever amount of the hurdles, failures, losses one may face, he must learn to 'move on'. For the simple fact that it's only if you move on, you'll come across another opportunity.
If you really don't want to come out of your closet, make sure that you become a SHARK of your COMFORT ZONE. Being successful after failures will still keep you in the crowd of successful people. It’s being different will make you stand apart.

Keep on Hunting!

Nobody cares a DAM(N) about democracy.

Yesterday, while watching Marathi news channels, I came across a news stating, 'Chandrababu Naidu' to lead a protest Yatra to Babli Dam project. This Babli project is being executed in Nanded district of Maharasthra. The funny reason that protesters have given for their rally is that they want to ASSESS the construction work there and will then submit a report to PM. Hmmmm..the reason apparently doesn't really go down well to me. Why? Here's the reason for that:

There's another state which is in row with AP over the same issue - a Dam. This time it's over the fact that Karnataka state is considering to increase the height of a dam called Almatti on the river of Krishna. Now, both the issues relate to a same thing, with different states and guess what, the approach of same LEADER to both the issues is different.

Maharashtra has always been seen as the reflection of India. Don't take me otherwise. I'm talking in terms of the inter-state relations. The mindset that India has towards its foreign counterparts is same as what Maharashtra Govt.(all the govts since 1950) has towards neighbouring states, i.e. 'let go' or 'jaane do yaar, hota hai'. Is it the reason why Mr. Naidu decides to STORM into Maharashtra whereas he chooses a more democratic way of protest when it comes to Karnataka? One of TDPs MLA D.U. Rao has staged a Dharna on National Highway 5 against the failure of the state government over the issue. There's a notable part in the news that "Mr. Umamaheswara Rao said if Karnataka and Maharashtra were allowed to continue with their 'irregular' and 'unauthorised' irrigation projects, Andhra Pradesh would suffer heavily in the coming years." http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/05/stories/2010070560350600.htm .It clearly states that his party recognises that the both the projects (Babli & Almatti) will cause severe water problems in the AP areas adjacent to these projects. But a question remains to the core that why Mr. Naidu is not being so DARING when it comes to lodge the protest against Karnataka? The answer is simple. Maharashtra govt won't really opt for harsh treatments towards such things. Isn't it?

Now let's see a basic allegation that both, the state govt of AP & the oppositions in the state, are putting forward i.e. Maharashtra is violating Supreme Court's verdict in the Babli case. OK. But if that's the case, then why don't they choose a democratic (and a logical) way to lodge their sentiment of discomfort and violation in the Supreme Court? If the Court thinks that there are conflicts between its verdict and the actions of the Maharashtra Govt, it will certainly pull the CM over it and ask for immediate stopping the work at the place.

But why am I writing about this issue? A simple reason- I want people to think otherWISE. They must find out why Chandrababu (who has been termed as 'a closed chapter in Andhra Pradesh politics' by a Mining King, of course from Karnataka http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/andhra-pradesh/article48110.ece ) is desperate to feature on each of the forum that will fetch him even an inch of the publicity space.

Also, we must find out why is Maharashtra opting for this project? If completion of this project will affect the people in AP, then non-completion will affect the people in Maharashtra. So, isn't there any way out it? As of now, no one knows. But one thing's for sure, if both the state opt for a democratic way of finding the solutions, we can see a middle path. But for now, let the people like Mr. Naidu have the much needed publicity....