Pet-toons

Introduction

All of us are familiar with cartoons. One of the dictionaries defines a cartoon as “a simple drawing showing the features of its subjects in a humorously exaggerated way” (emphasis added). The subjects are either humans or animals in their own worlds, at least till recently. I have now begun to see many cartoons where the subjects are not any animals but specifically pets in their interaction among themselves or in relation to their owners. Most of them are very good and some are brilliant. This blogpost is about this genre of cartoons which I am calling “pet-toons” to distinguish them from their regular progenitors.

The World of Pets

I feel that pet owners, as a class, do not care about what the pets may be thinking about their life and that of the owners or about their interaction. Owners tend to treat pets as toys – creatures to play with, cuddle, feed, take care, etc. This is not due to lack of interest but of imagination. Only an artist with his creative mind can step into the world of the pets and express what they may think or say to or among themselves. Such an artist must be a creative writer of some sort. I have not come across any writing, fiction or otherwise, that looks at this sub-set of the animal world with a touch of humour. However, I have seen a number of cartoonists post their work on social media. I share in this blogpost some of the best.

Dogs and Cats

Worldwide, dogs and cats are the most popular and beloved pets. They have differentiated, distinct characteristics that fall into six groups.

1. Social Behaviour

Dogs are usually more social and form strong bonds with the families they are part of. They are loyal and eager to please their owners. Interaction with humans keep them stimulated.   Cats are independent and do not seek constant attention. They do not also show their attachment to the owners openly.

2. Training

Dogs are very trainable and learn a wide range of commands and tricks eagerly and correctly. Cats can be trained about their litter box and that is about it.

• Exercise

Dogs thrive on regular physical activity such as walks and even exercise. Cats are lazy and consider playing with their toys to be adequate.

• Grooming

Dogs need regular grooming, including brushing to control shedding and maintain a healthy coat. Cats are essentially self-groomers who keep their fur clean and tidy on their own.

• Space

Though they adapt well, most dogs require expansive spaces to run around and play in. Cats do well even in apartments and indoor spaces.

• Affection

Dogs are affectionate and enjoy closeness and physical touch with the owners. They seek attention and bond easily. Cats can be affectionate too but are less demonstrative. Not all of them like cuddling.

These are generalisations and the behaviour of a particular dog or cat may not always to the generics portrayed here. The purpose of this elaborate differentiation is to show how well the traits of dogs and cats are captured in the cartoons. If these pets could communicate, what may they be telling their owners? What may they say to their own species or other animals? If they model their behaviour on that of the owners, how may that reveal itself? What if they take to technology and use paw-held devices? Would they have their own clubs or support groups?

Pet-toons in this blogpost come up with funny insights into the world of pets and answer some of the above questions. I have arranged them in four categories. You may discover, as I did at the end of my cut-and-paste job, that the cartoonists have made us think about the relations between pets and their owners – them and us – in completely new ways that can us all better human beings. If only we can imbibe some of their qualities! I salute all the cartoonists for making us think and learn through humour!   

To view these pet-toons, please click here.

The Last Woofs and Meows

I have shared these pet-toons with the family on Signal and WhatsApp over many months now and they have enjoyed them. Yesterday, I thought that I may as well share them with others through a blog. Hence this ‘quickie’ with about 900 words and 56 pictures. Or 56,000 words as per the adage. I am sure that it is the longest blog that I will ever write. It took me about three days to finish the blog and post it. That is 21 dog days! That again is likely to be the longest turnaround but most pleasurable time I have taken over a blog!  

We are a family of pet owners with two streeties – one rescue dog the family adopted and another stray that adopted us. Our son in the USA has a dog and two cats. He is convinced that I dislike cats. My nieces have dogs. The extended family too has many dog owners. I hope all of them – and pet owners among potential readers of this blogpost – will agree that I have been even-handed about both the pets even though I must confess that I cannot relate to cats. They are just too snooty for me!

Enjoy! Today happens to be our late father’s 105th birth anniversary. I hope he and my mother who was loved by all the pets her children and grandchildren chose to take care of see these pet-toons and have a good chuckle!

S. Krishna Kumar

29^th July, 2023

Bengaluru

Blogpost # 74           

The New Kid On The Block

Introduction

Almost everyone who watched the Wimbledon 2023 Men’s Singles Final on Sunday night were left in no doubt that a new tennis star from the next generation had risen and that the era which belonged to an older set of players is coming to an end. As we watched the presentation ceremony after nearly five hours, our emotions and thoughts on the generational shift were mixed. We were thrilled that the prodigiously talented Carlos Alcaraz did not falter in execution in the biggest match of his young career, particularly in the final set. There was a tinge of sadness that the aging but fit Novak Djokovic could not summon his prodigious resilience to win the fifth set as he had always done in the last decade. In this blog, I put aside these mixed feelings, at least in my own mind, and look at the prospects of the ‘New Kid on the Block’.

About the Kid

I confess that prior to this Wimbledon, I had not watched Alcaraz much. So, I did not know a lot about his game or career. As he was the top seed, I made it a point to watch his matches in the run-up to the finals. His ascent to the top has been quick but not sudden. These are the highlights of his incredible career so far.

• He started playing club-level tennis in Murcia, a city in southeastern Spain, where his father, was director of the tennis academy. He made his ATP main-draw debut at 16 in the 2020 Rio Open. He was the youngest men’s quarter-finalist in the Open Era at the U.S. Open in 2021. He was the first teenager to beat Nadal and Djokovic in the same tournament when he defeated them on consecutive days to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open in 2022.

• He defeated fifth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud to clinch his first major title at Flushing Meadows in 2022, becoming the youngest champion at the hardcourt tournament since American Pete Sampras (19) in 1990.

• He is the youngest world number one in ATP rankings history.

• He won nine titles as a teenager and is behind only Bjorn Borg, Nadal, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker and Andre Agassi.

• In June, playing in only his third grass-court tournament, he won his first title on that surface at the Queen’s Club to regain his world no. 1 ranking which he had lost to Djokovic after the French Open.

The Match

In his post-match interview, Djokovic used the phrase ‘even-steven’ to set this painful defeat off against his five-set victory against Federer in the 2019 Wimbledon finals. Collins Dictionary lists even-steven as an adjective that implies players who are evenly matched or are on an equal score. Djokovic ran away with the first set 6-1 in 34 minutes before Alcaraz could get his rhythm. But Alcaraz fought back and took the second set in 85 minutes in an 8-6 tie-break. He survived 13 deuces to win the third set 6-1 in 60 minutes. Djokovic took an extended bio-break after that and came back to win the fourth set 6-3. It was even-steven at that stage. History showed that in five-setters, a Djokovic win overwhelmingly probable. But Alcaraz who had other ideas was in full flow in the final set and dominated Djokovic with his all-round game to win the set and championship in 4 hours and 42 minutes. Commentators kept reeling off statistics to forecast a Djokovic win. In the end, possibility trumped probability and a new star was born! Simon Briggs, Tennis Correspondent for the Telegraph of UK wrote the next day “Novak Djokovic may have left a dent on the net post, but it was Carlos Alcaraz who stamped his authority on Wimbledon. The 20-year-old pretender came of age in one of the most spectacular finals this court – and indeed this sport – has ever seen. After all the farewells of recent years, after the losses of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams, his five-set victory felt like a symbolic moment of rebirth.”

Reflections

Lest we succumb to the euphoria that follows the arrival of a new star, let us look at how good Alcaraz is in comparative terms. At age 20, Federer had just one ATP title while Djokovic had 5. The best of the Big Three was Nadal with 17 including 2 French Open titles. Alcaraz has 12 already with 2 grand slam major wins. With age on his side, he will likely better the records of the other three at comparable ages.

Another metric we can use is the highest ATP ranking at the same age. After his win at the US Open in 2022, Alcaraz became the youngest male world no. 1 in history at age 19. Nadal and Federer managed this feat only when they were 22, while Djokovic was 24 when he finally became no. 1. However, Djokovic holds the record for the longest time spent in top spot – 389 weeks. Thus, Alcaraz will have to retain his no. 1 spot for at least seven more years to be able to catch up with Djokovic. And the Serbian is not done yet.

We can also look at the number of grand slam titles at age 20. As pointed out above, Alcaraz and Nadal have 2 each. Djokovic had won only his first Australian Open at that age, while Federer won his first at age 22. Only three other players have won grand slam titles in their twenties – Wilander (4), Bjorg (2) and Becker (2).

A final comparison can be the playing style. His forehand is as devastating as that of Nadal. His composure and fortitude are reminiscent of Djokovic. His understated first serve and elegant net game have the Federer stamp. As Djokovic posted on Twitter, “People have been talking about his game consisting of certain elements from Roger, Rafa, & myself. I’d agree with that. He’s basically got the best of all 3 worlds… I haven’t played a player like him ever.”

At 20, Alcaraz looks more a finished product than a work in progress. As he plays more, his game is bound to improve as also his temperament. Moreover, as the Big Three helped each other to excel themselves, Alcaraz may find challengers-cum-collaborators in Medvedev (27), Ruud (25), Tsitsipas (25), Rune (20), Rublev (26) and Sinner (21) who are the next six ATP-ranked players after himself and Djokovic.

However, Djokovic is not done yet. It is widely believed that he can win many more grand slam titles, given his fitness, all-round game and mental toughness. That opens up the mouth-watering prospect of many repeats of the memorable Wimbledon final last week.

Final Thoughts

In life, sunrise is celebrated while sunset is neglected. In sports too, there is a tendency to worship the rising star and ignore the players who may be past his peak. In the past, fans gradually got to applaud and appreciate a new champion. However, in the social-media driven world of today, the switching of loyalties is almost instantaneous. In each era, two players personify the generational shift. The 1980s began with Bjorg seeing off Connors. McEnroe’s rise came after the unexpected retirement of Bjorg. Lendl was McEnroe’s nemesis. Sampras dominated the 1990s. But his five-set loss to Federer in the 4^th Round of Wimbledon in 2001 marked the generational shift at the beginning of this century. The last twenty+ years have been dominated by the Big Three with some like Murray or Wawrinka getting an occasional title. With his confident win and comprehensive win at Wimbledon 2023, Alcaraz has shown that his time has come and that he may dominate the game like some of his worthy predecessors.

Before I close, let me quote what some tennis greats have to say about Alcaraz.

• Wilander was one of the few who thought that Alcaraz has what it takes to beat Djokovic on grass. “That match was absolutely incredible. To have played on grass as little as he has and to be up against Novak is unbelievable. I’m nearly speechless. What a great champion we have in Carlos Alcaraz, and everything he does on a tennis court is so admirable to me,” said Wilander after the match.
• “Once you love this tournament and love the grass, you are going to be coming back and feeling like you can win it every year. I think we are seeing a multiple Wimbledon champion before our eyes right now. Alcaraz is a complete player at 20 years old. It is going to be incredible what he achieves because this was maybe the best Wimbledon match in terms of its level that I have ever seen,” he added.
• Laver tweeted “Congratulations on your first Wimbledon crown Carlos Alcaraz. You certainly found your feet on grass this summer, an astonishing achievement against one of the greatest champions ever, Novak Djokovic. I’m sure there will be many more magnificent battles between you two.”

Social media is already full of predictions that Alcaraz will win at least 30 grand slams and that anything less will be a disappointment. Here, a word of caution may be in order. “There’s no telling. You never know physically, if he’s gonna get injured. But if he’s healthy, he plays this kind of tennis – he’s only gonna get better.” says Wilander. “And I put him down to [win] somewhere between 10 and 15 [Grand Slam titles], I think is realistic. But even if he ends up on five or six, he’s too important for our sport to be counting numbers already.”, he adds.

For the sake of tennis and our own enhanced appreciation of it, let us hope and pray that Carlos Alcaraz’s career is long, active and competitive. The titles will take care of themselves.

S. Krishna Kumar

19^th July, 2023

Bengaluru

Blog # 73           

Shivaranjani

Introduction

On Thursday mornings, Radio Ceylon airs Sargam, a 15-minutes program based on Hindustani music. On 6^th July, Raag Shivaranjani was featured on this program. However, the four songs chosen were not among the best of that raag. Shivaranjani is well-known in Carnatic music too. Hence, I thought that a blog on the overall features of Shivaranjani covering both film songs and traditional concert pieces may be of interest.

Shivaranjani

In Hindustani music, Shivaranjani is a pentatonic raag for late nights (12 to 3AM) and invokes tranquillity and contemplation to show both romance and sorrow. Such raags have only 5 of 7 notes in the ascent and descent. In Carnatic music, it has a similar structure and is known as an audava-audava ragam. In the Hindustani style, Shivaranjani is more often played on an instrument. In Carnatic music, it is used to sing the light pieces at the end of the concert. With that not-too-technical introduction, I present a few songs based on Shivaranjani in four different sections.

Hindi Films

There are numerous Hindi film songs in Shivaranjani. It was a favourite raag of Shankar-Jaikishan. Others like Lakshmikant-Pyarelal and R D Burman too have used it well. I list six of my favourites here.

Lage Na Mora Jiya, Sajna Nahin Aye Haye – Lata – Ravi – Ghunghat (1960)

Piya Milan Ki Aasre – Lata – S N Tripathi – Piya Milan Ki Aas (1961)

Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil – Lata – Hemant Kumar – Bees Saal Baad (1962)

Dost Dost Na Raha – Mukesh – Shankar-Jaikishan – Sangam (1964)

Mere Naina Savan Bhaadon – Kishore – R D Burman – Mehbooba (1976)

Tere Mere Beech Mein – Lata-SPB – Lakshmikant-Pyarelal – Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981)

In her solos, Lata brings out the pathos associated with Shivaranjani. In the first two, she twirls and elongates the words Sajna and Piya to give us a flavour of the raag whereas she goes with the steady tempo of the third song to achieve the same effect. Shankar-Jaikishan deploy the raag in two songs from Sangam. In O Mere Sanam, O Mere Sanam, they use the sitar extensively to bring out the classical origin of the melody. In Dost Dost Na Raha, the piano serves them equally well. I have picked Mere Naina to show Kishore’s mastery over all genres of music. Even a trained singer may not have conveyed sadness better through Shivaranjani than Kishore. My last pick demonstrates that our gifted music directors can use the same raag to depict sadness as well as playful romance!

Tamil Films

Compared to Hindi, there are many more Shivaranjani-based Tamil film songs. Some of them use ragas Nilamani and Vijayanagari which are akin to Shivaranjani. A few of them are best described as Mishra Shivaranjani or hybrids. Some are ragamalikas where Shivaranjani is used only in the opening stanza. I start with the song that introduced the raga to me even when I was in school. I have selected other songs which were huge hits though most listeners may not have known that they were Shivaranjani-based. I present six songs under this category too.

Soppana Vaazhvil – M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar – G Ramanathan – Sivakavi (1943)

Idayaveenai Thoongum Podhu – P Susheela – K V Mahadevan – Iruvar Ullam (1963)

Naan Pesa Ninaippadhellam – P Susheela-TMS – Viswanathan-Ramamoorthy – Paalum Pazhamum (1961)

Enna Vegam – TMS-A L Raghavan – M S Viswanathan – Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum (1965)

Yaar Azhudhu Yaar Thuyaram – K J Jesudas – Ilayaraja – Kannukkoru Vannakili (1991)

Kannum Kannum – Mano – A R Rahman – Thiruda, Thiruda (1993)

The above songs are either straightforward or innovative adaptations of the raga. In Enna Vegam and Kannum Kannum guitars, drums and the fast beat make you almost forget the classical origin of the songs.

Carnatic Music

In Carnatic music, till recently, Shivaranjani was used in thukkadas or light pieces towards the end of the concert. Nowadays, we get to hear alapanas of Shivaranjani by artists like Sanjay Subrahmanyan. Purandaradasa’s Yemanelli Kanendhu Hela Bedaa was popularised first by MLV and is now sung widely. Another song Vaa Velavaa composed by Dr. S Ramanathan was sung by his disciple Sowmya. The first stanza of Kurai Ondrum Illai written by Rajai and immortalised by M S Subbalakshmi is in this raga. Lalgudi Jayaraman and Maharajapuram Santham have both composed Thillanas in Shivaranjani which are a delight to listen to.

Hindustani Music

In this section, I include a presentation of Shivaranjani by Shivakumar Sharma on the santoor and a dhun by Hariprasad Chaurasia on the flute in the same raag. I am sure that the melody from these tracks will make you recall the film songs listed in the blog and many more.

Anth Me Anthem?

Even if some of you cannot relate to Shivaranjani presented in its many avatars in this blog, there is a fascinating link to the raga from a totally unexpected quarter. The signature tune of AIR that has woken up millions of Indians across generations is based on Shivaranjani. I will let you watch the linked video and savour the feelings inspired by that story!

In conclusion

This blog is short on words but long on music. Rather than hear all the music in one go, I advise staggered listening. I also recommend listening to the film songs along with the corresponding classical genre of music. This will help you appreciate how well the music directors have adapted the same melody to different situations in the films and to portray diverse emotions and feelings. Obviously, those of you who listen to Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam or other songs may discover that of some them are also based on Shivaranjani. Speaking for myself, I have greatly enjoyed SPB’s Abhinava Tharavo from the 1978 Telugu film named after the raga.  

As this is a blog on a melody, I have provided mostly audio rather than video links to the music. As usual, you need only to click on the highlighted lyrics or the names of artists to listen to the embedded music. Enjoy!  

S. Krishna Kumar

Bengaluru,

8^th July 2023

Blog # 72  

Doppelgangers in Music?

Introduction

We often come across songs whose tunes resemble each other. In Indian film music this happens quite frequently. Almost all such songs are those of music directors with a reputation for artistic integrity. Hence, we can rule out plagiarism, except in rare cases. Over the years, I have heard so many of these songs from Hindi films that I felt it will be interesting to list at least some of them in a blog.

The field of genetics distinguishes between monozygotic or identical and dizygotic or fraternal twins. Unrelated pairs of look-alikes who resemble twins are called doppelgangers. Doppelganger is borrowed from German and literally means double-walker. A doppelganger is thus a biologically unrelated look-alike or double of a living person. If we can have doppelgangers among humans, why not among two musical creations? That explains the title of this blog. Without much further ado, let me dive straightaway into some of these serendipitous musical pairs.

Pair 1

Yeh Raat Bheegi Bheegi – Manna Dey & Lata – Shankar-Jaikishan – Chori Chori (1956)

Wo Chand Muskaya Sitare Sharmaye – Lata & Manna Dey – Madan Mohan – Aakhri Dao (1958)

This is the first pair of songs that has kept me wondering for over sixty years how two great composers could score nearly similar tunes. These two songs could well be identical twins. From the instrumental intro of the Chori Chori duet, one can seamlessly transition to the Aakhri Dao duet. The fact that both songs have been sung by the same singers adds further to the feeling of similarity.

Pair 2

Mushkil Hai Bahut Mushkil – Lata – Khemchand Prakash – Mahal (1949)

Tum Na Jaane Kis Jahan Mein Kho Gaye – Lata – S D Burma – Sazaa (1951)

Here, in the opening refrain of the first song, Lata sings Mushkil Hai twice, first in a high and then in a low pitch. Khemchand Prakash provides a short instrumental intro which takes your mind to the Burman hit that was to come two years later. The resemblance is enhanced by the fact that both are Lata solos.

Pair 3

Mehfil Mein Jal Uthi Shama – Lata – C Ramachandra – Nirala (1950) 

Do Din Ke Liye Mehman Yahan – Lata – Shankar-Jaikishan – Badal (1951)

These two Lata solos are not a very obvious pair. As you listen to the second song, it is only in the third antara, particularly the last two verses,

Jalta Hai Jigar Uthta Hai Dhuan, Aankho Se Meri Aansu Hai Ravan,

Jalta Hai Jigar Uthta Hai Dhuan, Aankho Se Meri Aansu Hai Ravan,

Marne Se Ho Jaye Dafa, Jo Marne Se Ho Jaye Dafa,

Aisi Ye Meri Mushkil Hai Kahan

that the resemblance strikes you. Lata’s voice is the common ingredient here also.

Pair 4

Bhool Jaye Sare Gham – Rafi & Lata-Nausherwan-E-Adil – C Ramachandra – (1957)

Pyar Mein Milna Sanam – Subir Sen & Lata – Ardhangini – Vasant Desai (1959)

The first duet has been an old favourite of mine. I had known the second too but when I heard it again this morning, I was struck by the similarity of the tunes. That is what pushed me to write this blog today. As I was at that task, I recalled another song that has a somewhat related tune – Bikhra Ke Zulfein, a Mukesh-Lata duet composed by Ravi for the film Nazrana in 1961. I find the Rafi solo Main Apne Aap Se Ghabra Gaya Hoon by Iqbal Qureshi in Bindiya (1960) to be an even closer to this pair.  

Pair 5

Nainon Se Naina Lage – Asha – Lighthouse – N Dutta – (1958)

Main Yahan Tu Kahan – Rafi & Lata – Bedard Zamana Kya Jaane – Kalyanji Veerji Shah (1959)

The resemblance between these two songs arises due to the fast tempo from start to finish. This is one of the hit films of Kalyanji before he teamed up even more successfully with his brother Anandji a couple of years later. He has repeated this tune in another Rafi-Lata duet – Door Kahin Tu Chal – from the same film.

Pair 6

Apni Ulfat Pe Zamane – Mukesh & Lata – Shankar-Jaikishan – Sasural (1961)

Agar Mujhe Naa Mili Tum Toh – Mahendra Kapoor & Asha – Ravi – Kaajal (1968)

Though the first song is one of the many hits from Sasural, the Kaajal duet was a surprise, even for me. Who would have imagined a sequence filmed on Padmini and Dharmendra?  And yet the resemblance in the two tunes is unmistakable.

Observations

As I clarified at the outset, these are not songs that were copied by one music director from another. Nor are they tunes based on the same Raag like a Bhairavi or Yaman. And yet, they bear a strong resemblance to each other. That is fortuitous and there is, or need be, no other reason for it. In his comedy hit, Pammal K Sambandam (2002), Kamal Haasan’s funny punch line is “Pazhamozhi Sonna Anubavikkanum, Aaraya Koodadhu”. Similarly, doppelgangers among Hindi songs need to be enjoyed, not explained or analysed!

It is also not my case that the two songs I have paired are replicas of each other. In almost all the songs, the music directors impart their own signature cadences and nuances and stamp their individuality on phrases other than the ones that bear similarity to the other. This is particularly true of Madan Mohan’s use of the ‘aha aha’ humming by both the singers in the Aakhri Dao duet. Similarly, the Lata solo from Badal draws from and foreshadows other great songs she had sung for Shankar-Jaikishan.  

I am sure that there are many more such pairs of songs not only in Hindi but also in other Indian language films. I hope that readers may point them out to me.

S. Krishna Kumar

4^th July 2023,

Bengaluru.

Blog # 71