Kodambakkam Area

No! No! Naan inga Kavignar and Kalaimamamamani Perarasu'vin ponn varigaL konda Sivakasi (classic) padathu 'melody' pathi solla varalla.

It is by birthplace (err.. I was actually born in a nursing-home in Nungambakkam and after discharge from there, was put up in my Uncle's house in T.Nagar for a week or so for 'obvious' reasons... we shall discount all that). It may be surprising for many on how could a place which is sandwiched amongst commercial chaos be so peaceful, so peaceful that sometimes you can hear the trains running, from good 200 meters away from the tracks!. I spent good 20 years in Rangarajapuram, and would relate every stage of my growth to it. If only I was as creative as "Sujatha" Rangarajan, I could have written down my version of "Devathaigal" about the place.

Some to remember are: the first time I was asked to go to a store to buy stuff, first day I came down to play(cricket, ofcourse!) with other apartment kids, watching mid-day horror movie with slightly senior kids with a pitch dark setting in the house, New year celebrations in the apartment, learning to cycle, going to Sahasranaamam classes, brief stint at a sanskrit class, 'graduating' to street cricket, a jogging routine in the circular road - which started and ended the same day, scooty lessons to amma in UI colony, Weekly temple routines, Margazhi maasam at Chakrapani street Sannidhi, going for a walk through Duraiswamy subway (perhaps the busiest place on a saturday evening, in the entire city), waiting for 12C and 11D which never come, 'migrating' from my apartment to another set of cricket mates, trying to learn stotrams with Hemu akka - but managed to attend only one class, while my mom was building dreams of me learning Raghuveeragadyam!!, and many many many more.

I now feel, I must document them down - not that I will forget any, but to read them for myself. Rangarajapuram perhaps was the most complete road, with every commodity just at our doorstep. A pharmacy, bakery, pawn shop (:P), electrician, a nadar shop (provisions) all across the road, with a general physician a couple of doors farther; to our side of the road - a flour mill next door, laundry, waste paper mart, bicycle shop (puncture kadai), potti kadai, tea stall, tailor, another doctor, another nadar kadai, a barber, coffee mill and a internet browsing shop that came up later, along with a tasmac (:&).

I remember I was 6, when my mom dared to send me out shopping by myself, that too to go to Murugan stores, which is across the road. Mind you, I was allowed to cross the road alone, carry money and buy stuff in a provision store - all for the first time!. Items in the list were 1 kg table salt and 1 kg kall uppu and the total cash in hand was a Rs 5 note. Back then, I was always apprehensive about keeping anything in my touser pockets. I took the money in my shirt pocket, touching the pocket every other minute from the moment I stepped out of the door.

I looked back to see mom watching me over from the verandah. I got nervous when I crossed the first block, beyond which I was all by myself, for having walked sufficiently beyond blind limit from my mom's perspective; Spent a good minute watching over, before I crossed the road; reached the store. I managed to find one familiar face, one of the store boys - Sekar, who almost always comes home for the monthly provisions delivery, spotted and came to attend me. I choked first, then swallowed, gathered myself and asked for the items in a single breath while neetifying the money. Many towering figures around me looked at me with amusement, and also was Sekar anna. Fortunately, the shopping expedition did go through well.

A few years later, a 5 or 6 year old kid came to the store, stretching his arm with the money while asking for 3-4 items in a single breath. Now I was one of those towering figures for him. I was sure, he should have rehearsed on what he should be doing, atleast 10 times since he left home. Good job kid! you made it!

On a side note, I remember an incident stated in Srimad Bhagawatham, when Vamana moorthy leaves his ashramam to Mahabali's yagna saalai, with hands in a seeking posture. He walked all the way with His hands in that posture, because, He who is always used to giving, and was seeking for the first time ever. He managed to take it a level farther, when He entered the yagna saalai, walked straight to the King, and went about asking "I want three footsteps of land", without any formal salutations and introduction.

Moral: Shop-keepers should treat any kid coming to shop the first time without being "used" to "their ways", as a ThirukuraLappan Himself. But what if they get scared of losing everything soon after? ;-)

Who am I ?

Tension aaga vendam! I am not going to run a philosophical grinder here. Nor am I attempting to establish an identity for myself.

In the last few years, I have been very interested in tracing my lineage and knowing more about my ancestors, especially on what they were around 4200 kali. First time when I came across my family name was in my upanayana pathrikai, where my thatha's name was written as Konerirajapuram Asuri Srinivasa Iyengar. When I asked him what the "Asuri" tag was all about, he told me that it was just a family title that we carry for quite a number of generations now, and unfortunately he did not know any further details.

Next reference to that name was on the subasweekaram day after his demise, when the Vathiyar who was giving the mangalabashanam on the day mentioned about the greatness of Asuri family and someone up in the lineage was a celebrated acharyan; I did not pay good attention to the details, and nor did my parents or anyone in their generation. One of my classmates was a Nallan Chakravarthy and from what he had to tell about the significance of his name, I assumed that Asuri could be one such continuity of a title.

Three years later, in the US as a grad student; having a lot of vetti time during semester breaks to research about wierd stuff, one day I ended up searching for Asuri. Surprisingly I found a research page belonging to an European researcher on Indian Philosophy, and it was mentioned that Asuri was the primary disciple of Kapila (Kapila was the son of Vrishabadevar and regarded as the father of Sakhya Yoga, which formed the basis of Jainism at a much later time). Brahma passed the Yoga sastra to Kapila, who in turn to Asuri. Also, so typical of western rhetoric, the name Asuri was synonymned with 'demonic' as it is one of the ways the name could be constructed as. But according to Vishnu puranam Kapila was an Avesha avatar of Sriman Naryanan, and samkya was only ment to be a science of reasoning, which later was took to extreme limits and ended up defying existance of Brahmam (Hawking's theory of "God is not necessary" was perhaps original but definitely not new! :P).

Adding to this information was a bigger surprise that Emperumanar in his poorvashramam belonged to Asuri Vamsam. His father was Asuri Kesava Somayaji, and he was Asuri Ramanuja till his grihastashramam days. Interestingly fate so had the first Asuri to preach samkhya which was tailored to become an atheistic philosophy and later had one of his descendants break it apart. From that point, I tired tracing his parental cousins, for I could possibly be their descendant. It was then I got to know that one of my school seniors' was also an Asuri and had done some research on that accidentally while trying to read about architecture.

Her hand on this threw a wider door open on the distribution of Asuris to many parts of the world, where in a small section of nature worshippers migrated to Persia and a large population came to South and got settled in Thodai and Chozha kingdoms and established Ghatikas. Inscriptions are available about two schools, one in Kanchi and another in Vizhuppuram were run by Asuris. Kanchi Ghatika is the one which is popular as The authority to approve any vedic scholar in the world. With the philosophical revolutions between 3500-4500 Kali, people got divided and realigned into different groups, which might account for the fact that she was Ashtasahasram Smartha, and the only Smartha family associated with the Asuri tag known to her in her search. Nevertheless, our attempt to collect some common information of Asuris available on orkut was that all of us belonged to Harita Gotram.

On my part, I tried asking a few elders in my family, and got very little input. Also Swami U.Ve. Velukkudi Krishnan said that there are a few asuriars in Sriperumbudur and Srirangam who can throw some light on the matter. Also I got to know that 4 generations back, our dhayadhis were associated in Mutts; one of them was a nominee to pattam at Sri Ahobila Mutt and another became a Srikaryam at Periyashramam. Perhaps the old records of the Holy Peetams could give some lead to this search.

Offlate, I came across the list of 74Simhasanadhipadhis from Sri U.Ve. Puttur Krishnaswamy Iyengar's Acharya Vaibava Manjari, whci mentions that the 42nd Mudhali was called Aasoori Perumal. And also, I happend to see an old book "Sriman Nigamanta Desikan Vijayam" in Adisesh Iyengar's mediafire folder.

"Yaaro oru mahanubavar ennoda signature'a potturukaarupa!" :)

One Fall Evening

One ordinary evening and not an extraordinary post.

This fall, biting cold has set in way to early, and recent rain has stopped trees from vannam saathifying onto themselves. Unusually this fall semester has been quite demanding and also alarming with obvious research pressures which I have happily been able to procrastinate till date. Looking into the last 2 years on what I have done, leaves me only with Edison's lab with N number of failed attempts (limit N -> very large). I keep telling myself "Its' high time I pull up my (made-in-pakistan :P) socks"; and still keep wondering when Attiyooran will actually pull it up.

When my department built this new ERC-South wing, they must have planned for huge rooms for faculty offices. That could be the only explanation for keeping temperature control in every other rooms!. My office is sandwiched inbetween two of the facultys' and they both have the controller and not me. Adding to that the physical plant has a power saving policy of cutting down heat and ac after 5pm (Well grad-students don't have a 8-5 office... or do they ?), and I need a button be pushed in the room nextdoor to survive beyond 6pm. Atleast my advisor was kind to give me his fan-heater incase of difficulty, but what about students in other rooms ? With the need to work extended hours, sitting in the office for late hours in these conditions doesn't sound encouraging.

One good thing for the day has been

Why doesn't youtube have a continuous playback option?