A chess talk

The venue was awesome- one of those halls in the Chinnaswamy stadium. And it was meant to be a chess event! It was the inaugural NIIT corporate chess championship held under the guidance of United Karnataka Chess Association. Nearly 180 participants from about 30 organizations participated in a 4-day event from 17th to 20th December and we understand from UKCA that this is a 'Record by many lengths' in the history of corporate chess in Karnataka. The big deal was that the top 20 players from the individual events would get to play Viswanathan Anand in simultaneous chess!
We participated in team and individual events and one of our team guys getting to the top 20 was the spotlight. And it was an amazing experience to watch Anand.

He wouldnt think about his moves (and if he thought, he cant be the Grandmaster that he is), and if he paused near a board for a couple of seconds, that meant the opponent made a good move and that was really when we could hope to take a picture of his. Otherwise, he would just move so fast that we couldnt get a proper snap.

Depending on the opponent's move, he would either give him a cold stare or a mild smile! He played for 1 hr and 15minutes and the game stopped irrespective of the positions. And then he walked to each board, rearranged the positions to that of the middle game and analyzed the game, explaining how the position could have been improved. He told a few opponents- 'I dont see how I have an advantage. We are equal on positions'! It was amazing that he remembered the positions of all those 20 boards and could re-arrange the board himself to explain the opponent.

And now came the best part of the event- his talk. I am quoting some of his words here, which I was impressed with:

"You can relate chess to life or business. It is not about how to get to a good square, but it is about winning a game. You need to learn how to be dettached from the results. The best players are those who have learnt to forget their defeats and get along. Some are even able to do that in a game after they have made bad moves. At any point, you should think what is the best move givene current position, instead of reflecting on the bad moves you have made.

And you shouldn't think about the outcome of the game when you are playing. If you are more keen on the result, misery is sure to follow. And if you let the defeats play on your mind, chess is sure to fall off the cliff.

Some people asked me if I remember every move I made on all boards. Honestly, I don't. But I remember the positions. If you have seen 1000 boards, the positions are bound to repeat. And as soon as you see the same pattern, you would recognise and know what's the good move to make. When you come across a pattern that you haven't seen, sometimes you make a move out of intuition. At the point of making the move, you wouldn't know why you made it, but when you go home and analyze, you will realize that it was the best move. This kind of intuition comes naturally to you after years and years of repeated hard work and practice. And all the practice you do is really to get this intuition!!"

At this point, I felt he was talking the highest philosophy!

An amazing person, he gave autographs and posed for snaps with all the people who requested for it, he played the simulatenous game and analysis for 2 hours and still gave a 30-minute talk and participated in a close-to 1.5 hour prize distribution ceremony, and told the players that they were all playing almost equal to him!

Something different this time..

Just realising that reading newspaper is not a waste of time after all..

This was an article in the 'Deccan herald'- 'Open Sesame'- Oct 9 '09 - written by a Class-5 student. It is a biography of a 'five rupee coin' :-) Sounds funny, but this is the first time I have read something so creative.
..and it reads thus:

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Hello! I am a five rupee coin. I have had many interesting adventures so far and would like to tell you about some of them.

Here goes! I was first owned by a little girl named Nandita (hehe, yeah- this was the name used by the student, I was like- 'wow, ok..') who was very forgetful (and now-I was like- 'oops!'). One day she put me in her pocket and went to the backyard to skip. She forgot all about me and did not even realize when I fell out of her pocket. When she finally realized, a wild goose chase started. She hunted for me all round the backyard. “Will she ever realize I’m on the window sill?” I wondered. After what seemed like ages, she found me.

Nandita had a friend named Aarya. Both their families were close friends. Aarya’s father was an umpire. One day he asked Nandita if she had a five rupee coin in return for two 2’s and one 1 rupee coin.
So I was given off to the umpire, who took me to the next cricket match he attended. I was used there for the toss. I actually got to be flipped by Dhoni and watched by the other greatplayers! After the match was over the umpire was walking home with me in his pocket. On the way he stopped at a small roadside shop.
I was given to the shopkeeper for a cup of tea.

Now I was really tired of being given from one person to another.
Thankfully, kind Mr. Shopkeeper kept me in his table drawer for a few days. Then I was given to a girl called Shruti as change. She put me in her pocket and took me home. So here I am now, sitting in her piggy bank with loads of other coins and rupee notes.
I have made a lot of new friends here. I’ve heard that Shruti’s saving up to buy a present for her cousin, Aditi. I know that one day I will be used to buy something that will make Aditi very happy, and that I’m going to have many more adventures that I’ll tell you all about.
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The name of the student who wrote this was Aditi and the name of the article was: 'Dhoni and the five rupee coin!'
Imagination knows no limits.. Wonder how she got the idea to write about a coin and how much time she put in to imagine all this.. I would say- 'Well written, kids of this generation really have a lot of talent in them!'

Another awesome number..

A must listen.. Here's another awesome song by Annamayya. Extremely melodious..

This link has lyrics of almost all Annamayya keerthanas in pdf format- in 5 languages. A great collection worth having..

In this kIrtana, "chUdaramma satulArA", Annamayya narrates to the ladies...(Oh! SathulArA !) about the great qualities of Goddess AnDAL (Padmavathi) , the consort of Lord SrInivAsa. In every stanza, Annamayya uses the word "chUDi kuDutha nAnchAri", which melodiously fits in to the song... (This word is actually a Tamil word and familiar to Sri Vaishnava sampradAya , which refers to "AnDAL")

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"chUdaramma satulArA" lyrics

pa :
chUDaramma satulArA sObAna pADaramma
kUDunnadi pati cUDi kuDuta nAMcAri

Oh ladies ! See HER (AnDAL) and sing for HER well being. SHE (AnDAL) is now with HER consort (Lord vEnkaTEswara).

ca 1 :
SrImahAlakShmiyaTa siMgArAlakE marudu
kAmuni talliyaTa cakkadanAlakE marudu
sOmuni tObuTTuvaTa soMpukaLalakEmarudu
kOmalAMgi I cUDi kuDuta nAMcAri

SHE is "SrI MahA lakshmi"(Goddess of wealth) HERSELF, where is the paucity of wealth to HER. SHE is the mother of "kAmuDu"(god of romance), then where is the paucity for HER Beauty(chakkadanamu). SHE is the sister of "Moon" (god of 16 beautiful arts), then where is the paucity of HER beautiful artistry (sompu kaLalu). Thus chUDIkuDutha nAnchAri is so beautiful with all the above qualities.

ca 2 :
kalaSAbdhi kUturaTa gaMBIralakE marudu
talapalOka mAtayaTa daya mari Emarudu
jalajanivAsiniyaTa calladanamEmarudu
koladimIra I cUDi kuDuta nAMcAri

SHE is the daughter of "kalasAbdhi" (god of milky ocean with humble nature) , then where is the paucity of HER humility (GambhIramu). SHE is the mother of the whole universe, so where is the paucity of HER mercy(towards all the creatures). SHE resides on the Lotus (Jalaja nivAsini) , then where is the paucity of HER cool nature (to take care of HIS devotees). ChUDikuDutha nAnchAri is thus incomparable (matchless) in the above said qualities.

ca 3 :
amaravaMditayaTa aTTI mahima Emarudu
amRutamu cuTTamaTa AnaMdAlakEmarudu
tamitO SrIvEMkaTESu dAne vacci peMDlADe
kaumera vayassu I cUDi kuDuta nAMcAri

SHE is praised by all the gods (amaravandita), then where is the paucity of HER power. SHE is the relative of "Amrutamu" (the symbol of bliss, immortality), then where is the paucity for HER bliss. Knowing that SHE has all these great qualities in HER, lord SrI vEnkaTEswara directly came in love of HER and married HER (As SrI RanganAtha of Sri Rangam). Such a young beautiful goddess is chUDi kuDutha nAnchAri.

Annamayya song- the language so close to the heart

This is an awesome song by Annamayya where he describes symbolically the cycle of creation as the divine sport of the Almighty. He visualises the swing as the cosmos with Dharma as base.

The lyrics themselves are full of content, but it seems that the song has derived its beauty from the richness inherent in the language of Telugu, so beautiful that the language comes extremely close to the heart. The language adds melody to the great song composed by this great person. I consider it my great privilege to have been acquainted with this great language.. It seems to me that language is extremely important to convey an idea and I almost consider this language equal to Sanskrit.

The song is available here and the lyrics+meanings follow:
alara chanchala maina - madhyamAvati -Adi
P
alara chanchalamaina AtmalandunDanee yalavATu chEsE nee uyyAlapalumAru nuchvAsa pavanamandunDanee bhavambu delipe nee vuyyAla
Oh Lord,You shine in all souls and also in the air we breathe.The transcient nature of creation is your divine leela and splendor. It is the divine swing.

C 1
udayAsta Sailambu lonara kambambu lainauDumanDalamu mOche nuyyAlaadana AkASa padamu addou dulambainaakhilambu ninDe nee uyyAla
The dawn and dusk are mountain-like pillars and the sky itself is beam across, bearing the swing-like cosmos.

C 2
padilamuga vEdamulu bangAru chErulai paTTi verapai tOche uyyAlavadala kiTu dharma dEvata peeThamaimigula varNimpa narudAye vuyyAla
The Vedas are golden chains holding the swing safely.The seat of the cradle is Dharma.It is indeed an amazing swing.

C 3Melu kaTlai meeku mEgha manDala mellamerugunaku merugAye vuyyAlaneela Sailamu vanTi nee mEni kAntikinijamaina toDavAye vuyyAla
C 4 pAlinDlu kadalaga payyedalu rApADabhAminulu vaDi nuchu vuyyalavoli brahmAnDamulu vorigenO yanibheeti noyya noyya nairi voochi ruyyAla
C 5kamalakunu bhupatikini kadalu kadalukumimmu kougalimpa jEse nuyyAlaamarAnganalaku nee hAsa bbhAva vilAsa mandandu chupe nee vuyyAla
C 6 kamalAsanAdulaku kannula panDugaigaNutimpa narudAye vuyyAlakamaniya murti venkaTa Saila patineeku kaDu vEDukai vunDe vuyyAla

The panaromic clouds enhance your brilliance, shining like a blue mountain.The clouds are your your ornament.Beautiful women feared that the cosmos would tilt but they continue to push the swing swiftly.The scary movement of the swing made you embrace your consort. The celestial women found your delight and happiness in the swing.It is a rare feast to Brahma and other celestials to worship you. The magnificient Lord of Venkatadri is extremely delighted with the swing.

"Tumhara tyag tumhara bhushan hoga"

“Tumhara tyag tumhara bhushan hoga’’

These words were scribbled by Gandhi while signing an autograph for a 16-year-old girl on January 13, 1934 at Vatakara in Kozhikode. The ‘tyag’ that the Mahatma wrote about was the girl’s renunciation of all the ornaments she wore when he went there in connection with the fund raising for the Harijan Sahaya Nidhi. The girl was Kaumudi, or Kaumudi Teacher as she came to be known later.

I had not heard of her till I read this news article and this blog posting is mostly taken from that article. How many of us have heard this before?

Gandhiji himself wrote about Kaumudi’s gesture in ‘Harijan’ as well as other journals. Here’s how he described it.

"..I cannot recall a scene more touching than that of the Harijan cause. I had just finished my speech at Badagara. In it I had made a reasoned appeal to the women present for jewellery. I had finished speaking and was selling the presents received when gently walked up to the platform Kaumudi, a girl 16 years old.

She took out one bangle and asked me if I would give my autograph. I was preparing to give it, when off came the other bangle. She had only one on each hand. I said, “You need not give me both, I shall give you the autograph for one bangle only.” She replied by taking off her golden necklace. This was no easy performance. It had to be disengaged from her long plait of hair…!!

“But have you the permission of your parents?” I asked. There was no answer. She had not yet completed her renunciation. Her hands automatically went to her ears and out came her jeweled ear-rings amid the ringing cheers of the public, whose expression of joy was no longer to be suppressed. I asked her again whether she had her parents’ consent to the sacrifice.

Before I could extract any answer from the shy girl, someone told me that her father was present at the meeting, that he was himself helping me by bidding for the addresses I was auctioning and that he was as generous as his daughter in giving to worthy causes. I reminded Kaumudi that she was not to have the ornaments replaced. She resolutely assented to the condition.

As I handed her the autograph, I could not help prefacing it with the remark, “Your renunciation is a truer ornament than the jewellery you have discarded.” !!

These words from Gandhiji kindled an undying spirit of sacrifice in Kaumudi teacher who got the honour of being the first Hindi teacher in Malabar. She retired from service in 1972 and worked in the ashram of Vinobha Bhave in Thiruvananthapuram. Kaumudi teacher’s heroic sacrifice has been included in text books as well. She remained unmarried and has been honored by Gandhian organisations.

Wow! Such lives are a real source of inspiration. This land of ours has had many such people and needs many more such... They are remembered, though not as well as they deserve to be.

My favorite tune

Vara leela gana lola...

I have been listening to this awesome one. Enthusiasts of classical music would love the tune.

The song sung by Unnikrishnan can be found at this link and the meaning/lyrics here. Wait..

I recorded this song sung by a couple of young girls and uploaded it here. (I wasn't familiar with any site where I could upload audios. So, I found this 'zshare' site. You might encounter some nasty ads! Pls recommend a better place to upload audios if you are aware of) You might encounter some background disturbances in this recording, but I would recommend listening to this, concentrate on the song and the tune- no instruments, no editing, more natural and simply superb. I have been playing this non-stop. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

Pallavi:

vara-līla gāna-lōla sura-pāla suguna-jāla bharita nīla-gala hrdālaya śruti-mūla sukarunālavāla pālayāśu mām

Charanam:

sura vanditāpta brnda vara mandara dhara sundara kara kunda radana indu mukha sanandana nutananda nandanēndirā vara

muni cintanīya swānta narakāntaka nigamānta carana kānta kuśa lavānta rahita dānta kuja vasanta santa tāntaka stuta

vara bhūsa vamśa bhūsa nata pōsana mrdu bhāsana ripu bhīsana nara vēsa naga pesana vara śēsa bhūsa tōsitānagha

sukavīśa hrnnivēśa jagadīśa ku bhava pāśa rahita śrīśasura-ganēśa hita jalēśa nayana kēśavāśamīśa durlabha

ranadhīra sarva sāra sukumāra budha vihāra danuja nīra dhara samīrana karunā rasa paripūrna jāra cōra pāhi mām

nara raksa nīrajāksa vara rāksasa mada śiksaka sura yaksa sanaka riksapati nutāksa harana paksa daksa śiksaka priya

raghu rāja tyāgarāja nuta rāja divasa-rāja nayana bhō jagadava nāja janaka-rāja jaya virāja rāja rāja pūjita

Few thoughts

I have hibernated enough. Resuming now, after realising that blogging is not a bad habit after all. For those of us who have mostly been working in the IT industry, we might hardly find time to do anything else. Amidst all this, there are people who continue to pursue their passions as their main goal and are able to treat their job as just an occupation. Hats off to them.

But anyway, I feel we may not find many people who say that they have enough time on their hands. When I got some time off work, I found I had plenty of time, with absolutely nothing to do. I dont remember the last time I found myself so free to do anything. No, not even the summer vacations during schooling, not even the break after the college, this was something different. I was thinking, what are the other professions I can choose, what can I do other than staring at the computer in a cubicle for the rest of my life. You could be working on an advanced technology, could be involved in an Apple notebook design or could be designing a silicon like 'Atom' that would go into handhelds and netbooks, but a question comes at the end of it all, a strange one indeed. I was generally observing the daily happenings in and around my house, people doing different kinds of jobs -rushing back to their homes at around 5pm, generally observing 'lives' and things around. It seemed as if I was doing something strange at 5pm that I never did for the past 5 years! What have I done all these years inside the air-conditioned office infront of my laptop was the question. It seemed as if the whole of the time that has gone past is gone so fast. Why are we so addicted to the computer, one day without broadband and we are handicapped. Look at our dependencies..And we are talking of some billions of interconnected devices by 2015, each individual owning a PC- atleast for basic browsing purpose like a netbook (I am not doing an advertising for Intel's Atom here!), each student having a mini PC etc. Schools might not see a library anymore, there may be no more written exams, no visitors to book shops, just imagine where the world might be heading with the so-called technology.

Slightly digressing... now, there are thousands of villages in India. There are villages in which there are many old people who have been abandoned by their children, have no basic amenities, no way to earn and they cry at the sight of someone giving them a 10 Rupee note. Yes, this has happened and I am not exaggerating. There are people even in the so-called well developed cities like Bangalore who think that sending their girls to college will spoil them and stop their education at the school-level. They get them some work and get them married, making them slaves for the rest of their lives. And it is very difficult to change the minds of these people. There are people involved in building constructions who take their kids along to play in the heaps of mud and stones, who would never see school or learn to write or read. There are places where there is only one school without any proper facilities. Are there no rural development authorities or can nothing be done about it? Talk about NGOs- of course they do a good job, but there are remote places where they don't approach. These are basic problems and they will remain so, forever in this great land of ours.

And on the other hand, we will continue to enhance our technical knowledge, develop more concise, smaller, thinner, power-saving processors and laptops and handhelds with higher performance, continue partying, visiting countries, making more and more money and become technologically well advanced. We will continue to spend millions of dollars on sending someone for space walk, while these people in our villages will continue to be in the dark not able to digest the value of a 10 rupee note. It sounds ridiculous. How do we bridge this gap? Who will strive towards it? Who wants to strive towards improving this? How selfish we really are. We are sitting within our own small minds, thinking of how to better ourselves either technically or personally, but how do we attain overall growth? Why shouldn't we think big? When it comes to thinking big- we think- 'Ok, I will write GMAT and do an MBA from Harvard or do an MS from MIT and work for Apple in Cupertino!' Really big! Too big infact! Just some schooling and professional advancement? Is this all we can come to? Where is the real growth? Of course, we cannot go build a nation or change the lives of billions, but I feel we can definitely do something more than what we are doing. It requires a heart, some effort and if we are able to touch the hearts and lives of even a few people, it would give us immense pleasure and growth than designing a Macbook!