Music would have been a greater journey, If only his journey had not ended - H.Sridhar remembered

One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain – Bob Marley

Bob Marley couldn’t have perfected that line better. Music is something that transcends lives. And only people, who understand the true essence of music, live them.  Though I might not be competent enough to talk about him or this subject, you can take this as a reflection of a person, who simply enjoys the nuances of every note in music. As my friend says, you don’t have to be a musician to enjoy the music.

December is generally the music season in Chennai. Accidentally, on this day (December 1st) I couldn’t think of a better person who lived his music, however ironic it might sound. H. Sridhar, was one of the most desirable & gifted sound engineers that the world has ever seen. It would be unfair to him, if we just limited him into the Indian music scenario.  H.Sridhar, was a man who read between notes & experienced the mood of the music. Not many people are aware of the fact that he was the main strength behind A.R.Rahman’s music. With over 200 films in his 20 year long career, almost all of the leading directors & music directors have worked with him & more importantly enjoyed their stints.  

In my view I think his success was mainly because, he had the ability to turn simple music into an extravagant experience. He gave the right music it’s deserved due.  He was a person who matched the brilliance of Rahman’s music during production. Only a person who can understand the soul of the music, and the importance of every single track involved in the orchestra can be a good sound engineer. His empathy towards every single track gave him the opportunity to understand the value of music when it came together. This could have helped his unmatchable rapport with Rahman.

Movies such as Lagaan, Dil Se, Kannathil Muthammittal & Dil Chahtha hai were pioneer movies, mainly because the music & soundtracks in the movie uplifted the entire experience. I’m sure in each of the movies mentioned above; you would have surely shed a tear at some point of the time. If you‘ve noticed keenly during those scenes, it might have been the actors who have done a fabulous job. But if you stop to recollect that moment; it’s because of the arousing music during that scene, which would have let you reach for your handkerchief. The music subconsciously plays a huge role in affecting your senses. And only music can never help you achieve that objective. If you really need to touch the heart of millions through music, you need to provide them with the right amount of music at the right levels & at the right moment. H.Sridhar was a wizard of that art, who clearly distinguished between noise & music.

You might think, a person with such a craft would have gone a long way in his studies to get to where he began. Surprisingly, he was a self taught audio engineer. It was his pure passion towards music that had driven him to where he began.  He was a pioneer in introducing DTS mixing to Indian music while engineering sound.  He has bagged 4 national awards for the best Audiography for following movies:

·         Mahanadi (1994)

·         Dil Se (1999)

·         Lagaan (2002)

·         Kannathil Muthamittal (2003)

Of these national awards given to him, my personal favorite is that of Lagaan & Kannathil Muthamittal. Both of these movies are of completely different genres & the music needed to be designed in distinct manners. In Lagaan, the scene where Bhuvan invites Kachra (spinner) to be part of the team & later hugs him, had music get into every neutron of your body, instigating a unanimous standing ovation, otherwise simply said as ‘Goosebumps.’ 

Another of my favorites is the climax of Kannathil Muthamittal. The climax is about 14 minutes, with a very volatile scene, which defines the title of the movie demanded impeccable sound engineering. With a perfect mix of the ambience sound & the characters voice, you could gradually feel the music grow on you & towards the end leaves you spell bound with tears. With due credit to Rahman, H.Sridhar’s masterpiece emerged.

Not to forget his Grammy for the best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, for the movie Slumdog Millionaire, Rahman duly recognized Sridhar’s contribution for getting 2 Oscars. Another great distinction in my view was the way he worked with both Rahman & Ilayaraja. Both are legends in their respective rights. But both have distinct sounds & music, which have created their own trademark & authority in delivering such music. To swiftly adopt with ease is another thing that I’d always admired about him. Not many people could toggle various spaces of music at such a short span of time. It was not only the Indians that he had worked with. Musicians such as George Harrison of The Beatles, John Neptune Kaizan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Zakir Hussain, L. Shankar and John McLaughlin too had the privilege of working with this mastermind.

Here are few of his masterful works: (Thanks Wikipedia)

1.       Slumdog Millionaire (2009) (Sound Engineer)

2.       Connections (2009) (Sound Design & Final Mix)

3.       Dasavathaaram (2008) (Sound Design & Final Mix)

4.       Jodhaa Akbar (2008) (Music Mix & Song Mix)

5.       Cheeni Kum (2007) (Sound Design & Final Mix)

6.       Bombil and Beatrice (2007) ( Audiography & ReRecording Mixer)

7.       Sivaji (2007) (Mixing Engineer)

8.       Guru (2007) (Audiography)

9.       Dharam (2007) ( Mixing Engineer)

10.   Provoked (2006) (sound re-recording mixer)

11.   Godfather (2006) (sound engineer)

12.   Water (2005) (additional music editing) (sound engineer)

13.   Ramji Londonwale (2005) (audiographer)

14.   Ah Aah: Anbe Aaruyire (2005) (sound mixer)

15.   Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005) (music programming) (sound engineer)

16.   Swades (2004) (sound engineer) [fr]

17.   Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004) (sound engineer)

18.   Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004) (sound designer)

19.   New (2004) (sound mixer)

20.   Boys (2003) (sound)

21.   Saathiya (2002) (sound designer)

22.   Om Jai Jagadish (2002) (sound re-recordist: Media Artists)

23.   Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) (re-recording and song mixing)

24.   Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) (sound mixer) (DTS mix)

25.   Nayak: The Real Hero (2001) (sound recordist)

26.   Dil Chahta Hai (2001) (final mixing)

27.   Lagaan (2001) (final mixing engineer) (song recording)

28.   Tera Jadoo Chal Gayaa (2000) (sound re-recordist: Media Artist, Chennai)

29.   Pukar (2000) (sound re-recordist: Media Artist, Chennai)

30.   Alaipayuthey (2000) (dts mix)

31.   Thakshak (1999) (sound mixer)

32.   Mast (1999) (audiography)

33.   Vaastav: The Reality (1999) (re-recording and mixing: Media Artist)

34.   Sooryavansham (1999) (audiography: Media Artists)

35.   Kaun (1999) (sound designer)

36.   Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (1998) (re-recordist: Media Artist)

37.   Dil Se (1998) (audiography) (song recordist: Panchathan Records Inn) (sound mixer: Panchathan Records Inn) # Satya (1998) (sound designer)

38.   Kabhi Na Kabhi (1998) (song recordist: Panchathan Recording Inn, Madras) (as Sridhar) (sound re-recordist: Panchathan Recording Inn, Madras)

39.   Aflatoon (1997) (sound re-recordist: Media Artists, Chennai)

40.   Daud: Fun on the Run (1997) (music mixer)

41.   Jeet (1996) (background music recordist)

42.   Mumbai (1995) (song recordist) (sound re-recordist)

43.   Rangeela (1995) (music mixer: Media Artistes) (sound effects: Media Artistes)

In my view music can never be written for it to reach the soul. It needs to be experienced. H.Sridhar was a man who provided such magical experiences along with various musicians. I trust that he was one person who took music from the ears to the heart. That’s the most difficult journey any musician/ technician would yearn to conquer. He did that in his own way of presenting music as a final product. But I’ve always wondered what this fatal connection between music & death was. A lot of legends have reached peace, much ahead of their times. Music would have been a greater journey, If only his journey had not ended.

             

We have found our new SPIN TWINS !

“There are two things in life for which we are never truly prepared: Twins.” – Josh Billings

The word ‘twins’, always brings in the ‘Wow!’ expression on everybody’s face. With that it brings to fore a sense of nagging curiosity, where you’d want to closely witness either version of a twin, for your eyes to believe it. In India, people like to believe in identical twins, so that it’s easy for the naked eye to verify their existence. Non identical twins are often looked over under this category, where the ‘Wow!’ is brought down to a mere ‘Oh!’  

An interesting observation says that, Families with Twins have a higher chance of producing more twins than families without twins. Given this observation I have no doubts that the biggest family which produces twins in India is the BCCI. Scrolling down the pages of history can give you more affirmation on this thought. And when you do so, you’d realize the word ‘Spin twins’ have created quite a stir in long equal intervals.  The word ‘twins’ in its literary meaning might say ‘either of two persons or things closely related to or closely resembling each other.’, but when it comes to cricket , the meaning can undergo a paradigm shift i.e. ‘ 2 spinners who spin the ball either ways, complimenting each other at any surface & backing his better half  to take wickets’. That was quite an elaborate one, but cricket buffs can surely make much more meaning out of it.

The story of spin twins over the ages has often created a flutter in many a cricket playing countries.   Not many countries have had the gift of producing such unique twins. We have had amazing pairs & partnerships in batting, fielding & even fast bowling for that matter. With due regards to the Indian fast bowlers, it’s the spinners who have contributed immensely for India over the years.

During the 60’s & 70’s, an attack which was considered to match the deadliness of the West Indian fast bowling attack, was the ‘Spin Quartet’ , featuring Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkatraghavan, Bhagvat Chandrashekar & Bishan Singh Bedi. The cricketers then were pretty clueless about who would turn the ball which way, making it mentally difficult for the batsman to adapt to a delivery. The batsmen were often victims of a combination of their own indecisiveness & the bowlers wily thought process. It was then not possible for all four of them to feature in the same team, but atleast a couple of them were compulsorily part of the 11 at any surface. The journey of various era’s called the ‘Spin twins’ began then. It is an outstanding feat created by a couple of spin twins then, where they had nearly 850 wickets in 230 test matches between them. An off-spinner & a leg spinner were usually part of a fraternity unique only to India called the Spin twins.

After the retirement of the quartet, many spinners came & went. They turned the ball quite a long way, but were unable to find the right support at the other end, thus denying them an opportunity to be a part of the famous fraternity. Often players forced themselves to find a partner, but by doing so they ended their careers with that elusive search which went in vain.

There emerged a spinner, with round spectacles & a quick action. Batsmen were often baffled with the speed & turn with which the ball would approach them. It was Anil Kumble, who didn’t know that he was going to be part of the fraternity & pioneer it for the ages to come. There were many bowlers who tried to match him in that period, but perished in vain. Anil Kumble’s style needed a bowler, who could support & compliment him, instead of a bowler who could match him. His aggressive style needed a bowler from the other end, who could keep the batsmen under control & keep him guessing. By the time the batsmen realized it, Kumble would come on to bowl & claim his victim. Many spinners came close to doing it, but it was destined for a young Punjabi lad, who had a lot of heat within him & the urge to learn and perform under the shadow of a true teacher. Little did Anil kumble know that it would be a thin, frail framed teenager, who would help him continue & be a part of a famous fraternity called the Spin twins. Anil Kumble was then complimented by Harbhajan Singh, who is now famously known as the Turbanator.

It was during the late 90’s & the beginning of the new millennium that saw them, work in tandem to produce results like never before, especially in test cricket. The witty mind of Kumble & crafty spin of Harbhajan proved to be a deadly combination. Harbhajan was willing to work under Kumble, who is a much experienced statesman than him. That was a major factor that helped them perform together. ‘Bhajji’ acted as the perfect foil to the ‘Jumbo’, as between them they totally have nearly 1000 test wickets. Batsmen were often tied down by the variety that these two brought onto a pitch which was named a batsmen’s paradise. The wicket taking ability was so infectious when they used to bowl in tandem. If one picks up a wicket, the spinner from the other end is spurred up competitively, leading to a havoc which creates a collapse in the opposition’s camp. H.Singh grew tremendously in stature, giving him the nick name ‘Turbanator.’ He was single handedly winning games for India.  

Everybody ages, every cricketer has an end. Kumble pushed himself to a very large extent with the company of Harbhajan. But it couldn’t happen for eternity. The retirement of Kumble, left Harbhajan to handle the entire load all by him. By this time, Indian cricket reached to a point where, it weighed heavily on spinners. The vacuum left by kumble could never be filled. Harbhajan was left alone & during his search of a partner who be parented by him was reaching new heights. He often bowled with part time spinners or spinners who were ineffective to fall under his line & understanding. Not many fit the bill to become his new spin twin. By this time, a new lease of life called the IPL emerged. Many finds were made during the IPL. The ladder got by IPL was exactly the opposite of the ladder climbed by Harbhajan Singh. It was test cricket, One day & then T20. But IPL swapped the ladder & players climbed the other way round. This could have possibly left Singh in a cusp of change, where he couldn’t find the right partner. There were ‘bits-and-pieces’ bowlers emerging, who weren’t tested properly. This inability to find the right talent at the right time could have given a light sense of irresponsibility to the turbanotor. But India was getting ahead of times, and had a completely new approach after the disastrous England tour.  H.Singh seemed to have taken his place for granted. His minor injury, gave emergence to youngsters. The selectors soon realized that it was the opportune moment, to test the bench strength.  

In came R.Ashwin & P.Ohja. Both of these bowlers had been performing really well given their opportunities, but unfortunately couldn’t find their places cemented. That was mainly due to the stagnation of H.Singh, who’s an instinct bowler. In the sense, 1 wicket was enough to get him going on a roll, but he struggled to get that inertia to start off well. P.Ohja was bowling well in patches before, when he was on & off the team list. But his homework during the list A games & his stint with the English county club, Surrey gave him life changing lessons. This move too was mooted by spin bowling legend, Anil Kumble.

While R.Ashwin kept performing well during the IPL season, who emerged to be an attacking bowler who could bowl during the power plays. That provided the Indians to have an attacking option within the power play. His attitude & grit helped him gain a spot in the Indian ODI plans. Both in England & India against England, he had performed really well, masking the absence of Harbhajan Singh. He led the spin attack with his unique carom balls & attacking off spinners. This was the bite Harbhajan Singh was lacking in the recent past. His defensive approach in the later part of his career played into the hands of R.Ashwin.

The series against West Indies was about to begin, where Harbhajan Singh was not picked. This was the first time in his career that he was dropped & the first time in a decade that they have played without either of Kumble or Harbhajan. The team announced looked a bit questionable especially without any of the leading bowlers. Cricket pundits thought it was a brave move to drop someone with such caliber, especially in Indian conditions. Ashwin & Ohja took up the challenging task.

Even though the West Indies were considered an easy opposition, the bowlers still had to do their job. It was in question, whether Ashwin & Ohja had the temperament & variety to get 20 wickets in a match. As the series unfolded, so did a surprise. Irrespective of the opposition, these 2 young lads showed much more than just spin bowling – a lot of heart. It is a known fact that any spinner needs to have a lot of patience & a big heart if he needs to succeed in any conditions. With all the 3 games giving very little for the spinners in the first 3 days, you could have had young, inexperienced spinners waiting for something to happen rather than taking initiative at the cost of their spot. But these spinners, looked like they were bothered more about winning the test match, rather than saving their spot for the next game. The approach was refreshingly new for a test spinner, who’s looking for a long future with Indian cricket. The results were evident. They were given the new ball during quite a few occasions by a captain, who is the agent of change. Ashwin’s variety & Ohja’s nagging line were a perfect foil to each other bowling in tandem. Ashwin & Ohja backed up each other so well, knowingly or unknowingly. In their first ever test series together, have got nearly 42 wickets in 6 innings. The math is pretty simple. That’s 7 wickets on an average between them, every innings.

This stupendous performance has now left a very narrow door open to Harbhajan Singh. This has shunted him out of the upcoming Australian test series, against whom he was magical once & got his name -Turbanator. This performance has not only mounted massive pressure on him to perform but also given the selectors immense belief on the new spin twins.

Though this might be too early to rule out the possibility of Singh’s comeback, given his caliber & his experience, this sends an alarm to the entire team that, no one’s place can be taken for granted, EVER. This selection of R.Aswhin & P.Ohja would do a world of difference to their morals, and re-instate the belief the selectors have in them.  Remember that Families with Twins have a higher chance of producing more twins than families without twins - that’s Indian cricket for you!

Cricket lovers & Indian fans believe that they are about to witness the new era of  young guns in Indian cricket, & this recent performance gives them every chance to think that we have found our new “SPIN TWINS !”

“There are two things in life for which we are never truly prepared: Twins.” – Josh Billings. I’d mentioned this at the beginning of my blog. So true, if Harbhajan Singh had said this!  

Match-fixing has now turned into a synonym for unbelievable performances, good or bad.

Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje – Does this name ring a bell ? One of the most gutsy captains who led the resseruction of South African cricket. It was during the 1996 World cup, that they had a 10-match winning streak, but chocked leading into the quarter finals, falling for the brilliance of the Legendary Lara. A perfect gentleman, who seldom speaks, but makes up for it with his cricket. A very decent middle order batsman, who can bowl gentle pacers, often creating a sense of confusion in every batsmen’s mind.  In fact he was the first captain since W. G. Grace to win a three-match series after being one down. He would have loved it if he was remembered for his feats, but rather unfortunately, the new millenium didn’t bring him luck, instead brought him Match-fixing.  There has always been something mysterious about Hansie, be it his cricket life, his death & his realtionship with former coach Bob Woolmer. Not many can forget the incident that occurred in India, when he walked into the field wired in with an ear piece, that connected him to Woolmer from inside the dressing room. It might not be fair to say that he ‘pioneered’ the concept of match-fixing in cricket.

At the stroke of the millenium, there was an ugly-rising, potentially a sport killing phenomena – Match fixing. How often have I wondered, why sportspersons indulge in fixing games. The answer might be obvious, which is simply wealth accumalation. But at the cost of what ? Respect, Self-esteem, National pride, Dream etc., all of which are intangible, which shouldn’t even be compared to something as cheap & materialistic as money/wealth. Especially in cricket, as a youngster you see other legends representing   your country with great pride & a sense of responsibility, you’d want to emulate them. It is a long process to get to the top & represent your country.  It can never look tiring if it’s your passion. It will be an once in a life time opportunity, you  will be a single person representing the millions, especially if your from the sub continent. That excitement is a fascinating high that any cricketer would die for.  That incentive to represent a million people’s hopes is good enough for a player to play cricket. The question that instantly pops up is “Do yo need more?”

The answer is an untold yes. Players who come from a good pedigree, who are well-educated & have self taught values , genuinely keep the name of the game – Cricket, A gentleman’s game. But what about players from a humble-middle-class background, who have always struggled to pull the strings of their families together, performed really well for their nation & yet not be paid or well nourished by the boards. In an interview with Shoib Akthar, when he was asked about match-fixing he states “Whoever comes from, like myself, a humble background, if he is not preached well, not brought up well by the parents, he is bound to indulge in this (match fixing) and get tangled.” It can be the truth, but using sport to its undue advantage, kills the purpose of it. It is a disease which spreads like forest fire. Akthar further added “In Pakistan, there are six children in one household, with one bread-earner who has a salary of Rs. 2000. So you come from that culture and you're not educated as well.” If this is the kind of attitude any player shows, it clearly means that he’s not fit for sport. In a crude sense, selling yourself for money at the cost of the nation is good as being a “you-know-what.”  I hope there's no day which comes, where young kids decide to play cricket for money, much more than passion.

What is sad to see is that budding youngsters who have not crossed even their teens have been brainwashed into such shameless scams. Mohd. Aamir, for example, is a terrific bowler, just 19 years of age, he had a good 10-12 years of quality cricket ahead of him. The problem of such cricketers are, they don’t have the mental capability to assess the future goals, especially when you have struggled financially through your life and all of a sudden a few thousand dollars are shown to you. What they don’t take into account is that, they might not only be ending their career, but also possibly face imprisonment. In the quest for some quick bucks, the dollar note blinds their eyes into something as suicidal as match fixing.  

What has this led to? Every close match, a tied match, a team collapsing after a position of strength, or an underdog team winning has recently led to a comment, “ Aaah, the match is fixed ”, which boils the blood of any cricket fan. Why cant teams genuinely perform badly, why cant teams perform the act of a pheonix, why cant an underdog team win. Match-fixing has now turned into a synonym for unbelievable performances, good or bad. This surely sucks out the true grit & hardwork of any sportsman, who gives his all for the nation. But unfortunately, tainted cricketers have brought this plight upon cricket, in a situations where a comman fan can just pass a stare, helplessly.   

But what has happened now, after the jury was out in the recent spot fixing scandals, has sent a deaffening alarm to the enitre world of sports, especially the cricketing fraternity. This decision of the Southwark Crown Court, in london would have sent a chill down the spines of players who have indulged in it and gotten away with it, hoping that no bookie turns back on them, during any length of their lives.  Players need to develop  ‘Zero-tolerance’ towards any fixing approaches. The bookies should be reported and stern action should be taken against them. The boards need to nurture the budding youngsters well, not only financially, but also inculcate & reinduce the glory & passion for representing your country. 

We all say, cricket is a game of glorious uncertainties, let the glory stay; Let the uncertainty be, hopefully on the field and not off it.      

A few players who were involved such match fixing scandals were

1.       Salim Malik

2.       Hansie Cronje

3.       Herschelle Gibbs

4.       Nicky Boje

5.       Mohd. Azharuddin

6.       Ajay Jadeja

7.       Manoj Prabhakar

8.       Marlon samuels

9.       Mohd. Asif

10.   Mohd. Aamir

11.   Salman Butt