music « Selective Amnesia

23Mar/102

For your Aural pleasure

Posted by Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

Filed under: General/Unclassified 2 Comments

28Feb/100

A love poem

Posted by Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

More translations, this time it is Kannadasan, Illayaraaja, K.J Yesudas and Kamalhassan

where can the river go, but to the sea
where can the river go, but to the sea
the waiting flower it is for the bee

a dice throw pitched us together
I will hold you, treasure,
as I fight fate, bitter fate

I quite like the way this has come out. Chenthil tells me I have a patented free-verse style. So I shall exercise my IP, and build on my style.

bittersweet love, delirious dreams
I held on
my iris, my precious,
you were all my reason
my only theory
I lived a life to be yours,
your shadow, your image
Overlooked as I am, forgotten as today
you’ve moved on.
I am an idol without temple, a war without end
no peace, no salvation without you.

Filed under: Random Writings Continue reading

25Feb/104

Rhyme, reason – lost in translation

Posted by Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

போகும் வழி நூறானதே, கண்ணீரினால் சேறானதே
இல்லாத உறவுக்கு நான் செய்யும் அபிஷேகம்

path lost in the maze, I cry. Tears
make mires of tracks. Here
I offer them in worship of us who never were.

Filed under: Random Writings 4 Comments

5Jan/101

It’s 6:28 AM, and it is my third night running that I’ve stayed up, un-sleeping-ly, reading, researching, note-jotting for my 5000 word essay. Make that two essays, minimum length 3000 words each. While I am no stranger to late nights, (*) what makes this bloody difficult is that I miss the unique sounds of a Chennai night.
There were no dogs barking/howling. No watchman thumped the platform with his stick. No creaking cots. No sudden blare of a car horn as a late night reveler/worker sped past. No mosquitoes. In short, nothing familiar about this bout of insomnia.
As morning approaches, and as the skies pink at the horizon, Madras’ many temples wake up. December/January is devoted to LR Easwari, SP Balasubramaniam and Seergazhi Sivachidambaram and their multiple gods. Tinny speakers on temporary poles borrowing electricity from the closest apartment, out-shouting the other shrine not more than 20-30 feet away.

Suprabhatam or Bhaja Govindam plays, and in the rare case of absence of that particular tape, any MS offering. Not cliches, not perpetuating blind stereotypes. Even in August 2009, I assure you, early morning Kelly’s performed to this particular mix.

Like Kamal in Pushpak/Pesum Padam, I think I should get me a tape of these sounds.

(* Aargh. The Brits have got me. The line – no stranger to late nights – HAS to be understatement of the decade past, and the decade present.)

Filed under: General/Unclassified 1 Comment

2Dec/093

The twentysixth Chennai PhotoWalk/Mylapore Festival Walk

Posted by Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

The PhotoWalkers, particularly me, like Mylapore. Which’s why, 5 photowalks have happened there. In fact, the very first Chennai Photowalk in, um, Chennai, began at Mylapore. Vincent D’Souza of Mylapore Times has long been a Chennai PhotoWalk enthusiast and supporter. He is also one of the principal agents behind Madras Week and Mylapore Festival, two events I cannot stop gushing of, like a high-school boy on his first crush.

So, it was only natural that at some point the two (not the high school boy and the crush. PhotoWalk and Mylapore Times) would come together. And that is now.

Announcing the first ever Mylapore Festival PhotoWalk/Exhibition and the 26th Chennai PhotoWalk.

The idea is simple. This December, the PhotoWalk gang will grossly invade privacy of home owners in Mylapore by taking photographs of classic Mylapore houses. Once we shoot the houses (with the permission of the houseowners, of course.) we will exhibit these photos as part of the Mylapore Festival, to be held in January.
This promises loads of fun and the only official chance to walk into a random house and shoot the owner. With Cannons.
And Nikons and Sonys and Pentaxes and Olympuses, as well. This also promises good fame and popularity and press mentions and a chance at becoming the future prime minister of India.
So anyway, that’s the big picture idea. Now to the details.

Since I am here, in Bristol, and slaving over a presentation I have to give in two days and have no solid material to work with, Vatsan is organising the walks and doing the routes. He’s come up with the following.

Walk #1 will be on the 13th of December, starting from the 16 Pillar Mandapam of Kapaleeshwar Kovil at 7 am

Walk #2 will be on the 20th of December, starting from the Kutchery Road Police station. at 7 am

Further information on exactly which houses to photograph etc will be provided soon. All you have to do now is mark your diaries and your calendars and your best aperture number, and wait. With breath bated or otherwise.

Filed under: Photos, Travel 3 Comments

23Nov/092

The first Chennai PhotoWalk?

Posted by Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

Reasons yes: Super cool, twin-lens reflex camera, and Photowalk former regular, Anand K.
Reasons no: They are in a car. Lame!

Filed under: Travel 2 Comments

30Oct/093

On loop

Posted by Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan

I definitely needmusthaveimmediately சுட சுட சுட சுட சுட இட்லி.

Filed under: General/Unclassified 3 Comments

About

Chandrachoodan Gopalakrishnan is a copywriter, photographer and goofball from Chennai. He is also an archaeologist, historian and a city lover. He is currently a documentary film-maker and desk-monkey for a film production house.