South Africa's redemption and date with destiny!

South Africa have perennially been the most unluckiest team when it comes to the sport of cricket. They have produced absolute genius cricketers across their rich history but when it came to world cricket tournaments, luck always deserted them. Due to apartheid, they were cut off from the cricketing fraternity for decades together deeming them not being able to participate in any of the first 4 ODI World Cups held in 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1987. Their casting away from the game also meant that few of their hallmark cricketers such as the Pollock brothers Peter & Graeme, opening batsman Barry Richards, all rounder Mike Procter and a slew of others got limited opportunities to represent the Rainbow nation and showcase their prowess on the global stage.

Once South Africa made their way back into the cricketing circle from 1991 onwards, ill luck has hit them constantly like a plague which just seemed unrelenting. It was almost a case of 'oh so near yet so far' every time that it felt like a farce with them repeatedly failing towards the final hurdle come what may. Also some of the consequences made it feel like as if there was an almighty's curse hanging on around this nation for eternity. This was however not resonated in the other sport which South Africa is passionate about viz Rugby where they were able to reel off 4 World Cup titles in which they always used to have that extra ammunition to win those major titles. The killer instinct and that lady luck was more prevalent with the Rugby team and an ample example of that was them winning the 2023 Rugby World Cup Quarter finals, Semi finals and Final all by a solitary point.

When it came to cricket, since their readmission, they have been one of the most consistent teams but without any result to show of. Apart from spells of bad luck, they've had a tough time dealing with their arch enemies from the Southern Hemisphere Australia especially and New Zealand to some extent when it came to knockout clashes. In every alternate ODI World Cup from the time they started participating viz 1992, 1999, 2007, 2015 and 2023, the Proteas were undone in the semifinals with luck also playing foil against them.

When it came to ODI World Cups, they had a sterling display in their very first major tournament viz the 1992 ODI World Cup held in Australia & New Zealand. In their semifinal encounter, they were robbed off against England when a despicable rain rule put paid to them going further in their frontier. With 22 required off 13 deliveries, rain intervention revised it to 22 off 7 and then finally 22 off 1 delivery which meant South Africa's stellar progress ended in a rather dubious and wretched way. This streak of bad luck that got implanted in 1992 just continued on and on across years and decades. In the 1996 ODI WC, they had an unblemished record winning all 5 games convincingly in the group stage only to play the lowest ranked side from the other group West Indies with Brian Lara scoring a brilliant century and knocking them out of the WC in the only match which they lost. 

1999 was the most hurting as they again had a seriously amazing campaign and went out on a tied encounter with the Aussies in the semifinals. They had the match in the grasp but unfortunate turn of events made them fall short in their progress yet again. The 2003 home ODI WC was a bitterly disappointing experience for them with rain again playing havoc and a wrong reading of the rules making them exit the tournament much to the chagrin of the home fans who were shattered no end. There was a misreading of the DLS par score which the Proteas thought was the winning score only to be later told that they ended up one run short marking a shocking exit from the tournament in the group stages.

The 2007 WC in the Caribbean again saw them through in their passage to the semifinals setting up a mouth watering clash with their hardcore rivals Aussies who were instrumental in knocking them out from the 1999 WC. It was a chance to avenge revenge but alas it was not meant to be as an invincible Australian side was just too strong on that day. In 2011 South Africa were the only side to defeat eventual World Cup champions India but came a cropper against the Kiwis in spin friendly conditions despite not having to chase a major total in the quarter final stage.

When it finally looked like the moment of reckoning was going to be fulfilled, South Africa were knocked out in the semifinals of the 2015 ODI WC in a clash of the ages against the hosts Kiwis. It was shell shocking to see their 2 marquee men Dale Steyn and AB Devilliers crestfallen no end. Here again it was a rain curtailed match which somehow played in the hands of the Kiwis. One would reckon that a full 50 over game could have had a different result but that's the way it is with luck and South Africa always going in polar directions. The 2019 ODI WC was a rebuilding phase with many of their senior pros not being part of the squad and it ended in a dismaying outcome where they couldn't qualify to the semifinals. This was probably the only ODI WC where South Africa were nowhere near coming close to being champions.

The 2023 ODI WC saw a familiar story unfolding. After a creditable run in the group stages, they set up a clash with the Aussies in the semifinals who they were facing for a third time at this phase. When questions were asked whether South Africa would be third time lucky, the same hoodoo transpired yet again. It was a double whammy as they not only lost to Australia their perennial rivals but also to rain with weather playing spoilsport as always is the case with them. Kolkata was in the midst of cold hazy climate with ball swinging in all directions and the Aussies exploited the early advantage by scalping quick wickets and putting the Saffers on the mat. Despite defending a low score, South Africa fought hard and made a meat of it but again it was the grit and resolve of Australia who are always known to be exceptional in such stages that managed to win a closely fought low scoring chase.

Apart from the ODI World Cup, this pandemic hex was evident in the T20 World Cup as well albeit not to the same extent in terms of foiled attempts. In the 2009 T20 WC, South Africa came in as firm favourites winning all their games setting up a semi final shootout with Pakistan. In a closely contested game, the Saffers lost out eventually falling short by 7 runs. The 2014 T20 WC semifinal saw them being gunned down by India courtesy largely a Virat Kohli chasing masterclass. The indisputable crowning choking moment was reserved for the T20 World Cup final of 2024. South Africa who were always vary when it came to knockouts and especially semifinals finally got a shot to play their first ever World cup final with their opponents being India. Chasing a target set of 176, South Africa were well on course and firmly placed to win with just a run a ball 30 to get off the last 5 overs which in general parlance of a T20 format or any version whatsoever is a walk in the park. But they bottled it up by choking at the most inopportune time with just 26 required off the last 4 overs. It was a fightback of epic proportions by India and South Africa's worst fears came compounding drastically as they lost this final title clash by a mere 7 runs. All those history of bad luck got accentuated and this almost felt like a God sent message that South Africa can just forever bid goodbye to winning a world title. It was just too hard to digest the pain for a South African supporter after all the years of extreme disappointments notwithstanding. South Africa's only triumph remained the title won in the inaugural ICC Champions trophy held 27 years back in 1998. At that time it was christened as the ICC Knockout. Since then 27 years have passed with no major world title of repute.

And then when it all felt lost, finally the moment of reckoning culminated and got conquered on 14th June 2025. It was the 3rd World Test Championship and it was the first time that the Proteas managed to reach the finals. The format of this test cycle has been questioned and debated a lot but South Africa did no wrong in managing to reach the final across 2 years of competing with 8 other teams in the competition. And guess what their final title rival was yet again Australia who have been their nemesis on multiple occasions across decades. This was seen as a David vs Goliath battle with Australia red hot favourites to lift the WTC title for a second time running. All of South Africa's heartbreaks with Australia have always come in the semifinals having lost the ODI WC of 1999, 2007 and 2023. In 2015 when an impending ODI WC final looked like looming large between Aus vs SA, the Kiwis came in the way and averted it. Thus for the first time, South Africa got to play Australia in a final but having known Australia's daunting record in finals and also their hegemony at Lords having hardly lost a test match there over the last century, it seemed too hard an ask to even expect for the Proteas to topple the men adorning the Baggy Green. Over the last 25 years dating back to 1999, Australia had won 9 of their 10 finals adding 5 ODI WCs (1999,2003,2007,2015,2023), 2 CT (2006,2009), a T20 WC (2021) and defending champions of WTC (2023). Their only defeat in the final over this period was to England in the 2010 T20 WC. 

South Africa however finally managed to have their slice of history which they had been waiting with bated breadth for 27 years. The Proteas eventually won a World cricket title after years of agony and pain. It came in the most purest form of Test cricket deeming it extra special. To add to the touch of magic was that it was against their greatest cricketing rivals Australia who have been one of the major adversaries in South Africa being traumatised down the years especially in global ICC events. Another tinge of icing was the fact that the weather for once actually saved them by enabling to bat on a Day 3 Lords pitch which had eased out with the sun shining leading to perfect batting conditions. It was however not all hunky dory as South Africa were shot out for a paltry score in the first innings conceding a good enough lead of 80 runs to the Aussies. In the second innings, with Australia reeling at 73/7, South Africa's perpetual woes of not closing out things came to haunt with the lower order contributing over 130 runs setting up a competitive target of 282 runs.

It was however South Africa's moment in the sun having gutted out and putting a performance of fine calibre shunting out the Aussie bowlers by having a remarkable Day 3. The resolute partnership between centurion Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma blunted out the Aussies from making any sort of comeback. And when the final runs were scored, it sparked off a sea of celebration with an air of excitement that was palpable. South Africa had finally achieved their pinnacle moment of winning a World Championship for the first time ever in their storied cricketing legacy. It was also their first global ICC tournament victory which had come after 27 years in 1998.

South Africa's cricketing journey in the global stage is punctuated with acrimony aplenty with them being labelled as everlasting chokers. Two of their defining disheartening defeats came in the month of June, one being a year earlier to India in the 2024 T20 WC and the other being almost 26 years to the day in that epic semifinal showdown against Australia at Edgbaston in the ODI WC 1999. This victory ironically was also achieved in the meritorious month of June making the bitterness of the past deliciously extra sweet. This has been a long time coming and they deserve to cherish and celebrate every bit of this momentous occasion that will be etched in South African cricketing folklore. This win by South Africa is a story of redemption and hope for what the country has gone through all these years and it's befitting that they finally marked their date with destiny.

Alcaraz's Remarkable Roland Garros Conquest amidst Crazy Coincidences!

Carlos Alcaraz pulled off one of the greatest heists in ages to seal an improbable Roland Garros Championship. It was virtually gravity defying as just around an hour earlier in to the match, he was on the back-foot staving off 3 match points in the fourth set. To surmount a comeback from that stage by turning it around and winning an epic 5 set thriller caps off one of the most miraculous achievements ever witnessed in sport.

It almost looked like a foregone conclusion as it seemed impossible for Carlos to spot any aperture with his opponent Sinner literally unrelenting not giving any room whatsoever. What Alcaraz did to make a way back will be etched in sporting memorabilia and remembered as a history defining sporting moment. It also reinforced the important life lesson of  "nothing is impossible" , "never give up" and "it's never over till it's actually over".

Going into the final, both the challengers had an unblemished record in Grand Slam finals with Alcaraz winning all his 4 slam final prior and Sinner emerging victorious in all the 3 slam finals that he had participated in. So, it was a given that one record was on the line with a final defeat inevitable for either one of them. Also it was after a long time that the World #1 was going head to head in a clash with the World #2 with stakes being extremely high. Sinner was the man in a rich vein of form going into the final having won all of his 6 encounters without dropping a single set along the way. This also included a convincing victory over the all time leader in the Grand Slam pack viz Novak Djokovic thus preventing Nole from adding a 25th Grand Slam to his tally. Though Alcaraz didn't feel like he was at his real best in this tournament, he did have a one-up over Sinner having just recently coming out on top in the Rome Masters final which was a clay court event played a week before the French Open. This one seemed like a battle between a missile machine in the form of Sinner against a mercurial maverick in the presence of Alcaraz who's known for doing mind blowing things on the tennis court when on song.

It was not just the victory which was super savoury sweet but also the crazy coincidences at play with the universe probably egging Carlos Alcaraz on to recreate history and making sure there was a bizarre alignment with his fellow Spaniard and local childhood hero Rafael Nadal. When Rafa had won his 5th Grand Slam in 2008, he was 22 years, one month and 3 days old. The cosmic energies played a upending trick by making Alcaraz play his 5th Grand Slam final weirdly at the exact age of 22 years, one month and 3 days old in 2025. This seemed pretty outrageous to even apprehend. For a better part of the match it did look like it was only a hoodwink and that the result wouldn't go according to plan what with Sinner dominating the initial part of the match and setting up 3 match points and on course to win a pretty comfortable final. But remarkably from out of the blue, Alcaraz rose like a phoenix from the Ashes and staged a turnaround which was much beyond the realms of a fairy tale to script a win out of the extraordinary to match the feat of winning his 5th Grand Slam final at the exact ditto day, age and month of Rafa Nadal. I am still gushing for words as to how the almighty could write such a script for 2 spectacular Spanish super stars born 17 years apart from one another (Nadal 3rd Jun 1986 and Alcaraz 5th May 2003) and 2 Grand Slam tennis tournament finals held 17 years cut off from each other. (Wimbledon 6th July 2008 and French Open 8th June 2025) [The exact difference between both being 16 years 11 months and 2 days]

Apart from the age being exactly akin, there were few more similarities brought forth to the table. Both Nadal and Alcaraz won their respective matches outlasting their opponents in 5 set thrillers. The icing on the cake is that when Nadal prevailed over Federer in the dim evening light of Wimbledon in 2008, it was considered to be one of the greatest matches ever to be played in the hallowed turf of grass. He also in the process prevented Federer from winning his 6th straight Wimbledon title. Likewise with Alcaraz winning Sinner in a slug fest of a 5 setter by coming from 2 sets down, this marks as one of the greatest matches ever to be played on the red clay of Paris in a final. Both these encounters would arguably compete against each other in being the finest Grand Slam final ever to be played in tennis history. Also at that time in 2008, when Nadal finally overcame Federer it was the longest ever Championship match lasting 4 hours and 48 minutes. This was however overtaken in 2019 when Djokovic defeated Federer in the final lasting 4 hours and 57 minutes. Incidentally Djokovic also came back from match point down to win the final in another of Wimbledon's greatest finals. Alcaraz winning over Sinner incidentally happened to be the longest ever final in Roland Garros extending to 5 hours 29 minutes being even longer than the Nadal vs Federer clash in 2008. In both occasions it was the longest ever final at that particular moment in time. Another eerie similarity to take note is that in both the finals pertaining to 2008 and 2025, 2 of the sets were won by a scoreline of 6-4 and two of the sets were won in a tie break 7-6. However back in those days, the final set wasn't decided through a tie breaker and kept lingering on with Nadal prevailing 9-7 whereas in this case Alcaraz won the deciding 10 point tie breaker with scores level at 6-6 in the 5th set. To add to the murkiness, in 2008 Wimbledon Federer was seeded 1 and Nadal 2 with the latter becoming the victor and voila the same happened in 2025 French Open with Sinner being seeded 1 and Alcaraz 2 with the latter again coming out on top. To add to the spine chilling effect is the fact that both the opponents who lost were August month born and Leo Sun signs. (Federer 8th Aug 1981 and Sinner 16th Aug 2001)

One must be privileged to have even been witness to such breath taking borderline brilliance. It's a pity that one had to lose in this rivalry. Arguably this comeback by Alcaraz to win the French Open final of 2025 should rank in as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sport. It was simply sheer spellbinding and master craftsmanship at it's zenith. It's really hard to choose whether this would usurp the Nadal win over Federer in 2008 as both had it's moments etched in unrivalled artistry. Both the 2008 Wimbledon Final and the 2025 French Open Final would be celebrated for eternity and remembered for eons to come. The mysterious coincidences making a wizardly symmetry just adds that extra bit of sparkle deeming this tennis match final extremely special and truly mind boggling.

Kadhal Kavithaigal - SPB's field territory!

Some compositions are just tailor made and feels like it's been composed exclusively for SPB to do full justice. And boy oh boy does he do a wondrous job of it by elevating the number a further notch through his energetic rendering. The song in question is Kadhal Kavidhaigal from the movie Gopura Vaasalile.

It's a love byte set to tune in Malayamalava Gowla ragam. The prelude begins with the lady conveying her excitement towards her lover through the words "I love this lovable idiot" and then gets taken over by a gush of violins galloping in a gorgeous gusto followed by the chiming in of the wind flute to add some chirpiness.

And when SPB begins singing Kadhal Kavithaigal Padithidum it's a chilling feeling with love abounding in breathtaking fashion. There is an extra zep in his soulful rendition that brings out the love pep brimming in full finesse. Chitra complements SPB beautifully but the out and out show-stealer of this riveting composition is the man with the golden vintage voice.

This song also touches upon the 'Thala' in a lovely manner. Normally when a melody starts with the beat, it's termed as 'Samam' but when it starts at a different point from the beat it's known as 'Vishamam'. When melody starts first followed by the beat it's called 'Athitha Eduppu' whereas if the melody starts after the beat it's known as 'Anaagatha Eduppu'. This song employs Athitha Eduppu by having the melody line starting ahead of the beat.

I attempted a small take on the veena beginning from the Charanam and then connecting it back to the Pallavi where SPB is in his true elements decisively lighting up and lilting the number to glory beyond uncharted territory. This is an evergreen love song for the ages that always leaves a smile on your face. Sharing this sizzling song as an ode to SPB as a remembrance on his birth anniversary.

RCB's IPL 2025 triumph and the divine interplay of #9!

It was 18 years in waiting for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as they finally managed to win the coveted IPL title that had been eluding them for all these years. It was a testimony to the fans who have stood by the team through thick and thin despite the disappointments repeating time and again. It was also the moment of reckoning for King Kohli who has been the face of this franchise right from it's inception in 2008. 

18 years is a long period of time and he has been the one cricketer who has solely believed in this franchise and been steadfast in support of this team not being veered away despite all the tribulations that have come by. As ex RCB player Ross Taylor aptly put it "No one deserves it more than him for carrying on the hopes of millions of fans with unmatched dedication and belief". It was pretty emotional to see him running towards his better half Anushka Sharma soaking in the jubilation of victory. Also it must have been special to have 2 of his ex mates AB Devilliers and Chris Gayle in the house cheering him on to finally achieve this dream come true moment for RCB.

The streets of Bangalore have been lit with fireworks ablaze amidst the city congregating in unparalleled joy in celebrating this win for the ages. It is a city known for it's partying and rest assured that the fun will be lasting for a long time to come. It's a drought that has been ended and there is no second guessing on what this means to them. As a cricket crazy city who've lived on hope since time immemorial for this moment to happen, this is what they were all waiting for and you can expect Bangalore to be buzzing with an insanely electrifying atmosphere.

Hard work plays a major role and in RCB's case it has been evident the way they have played this year especially at venues away from home. There have been good performances put up by the team in previous seasons as well but the luck was always faltering upon them. It almost seemed destined that RCB were just not cut out to win. They have also been a side who have choked on the all important encounters giving their fans heartbreak time and again. Efforts apart, there is also some divine intervention required and this time it seemed imminent that God was willing to grant his blessings onto them.

In relation to this, it was hard not to notice a strange synchronisation with #9 in RCB's triumph which seemed to kind of indicate that destiny was with them. As per Numerology, No.9 which also includes numbers that add up to 9 such as 18,27 etc is represented by the planet 'Mars' and from an Astrology standpoint, the 9th is indicative of 'Bhagya' which means Luck, Destiny, Fortune. There were so many coincidences of 9's at play converging together kind of symbolically conveying that a higher realisation was with RCB this time in their quest towards their maiden IPL triumph.

It seemed even more evident when the dates of the whole tournament got changed more than midway through on account of unforeseen incidents which indirectly paved the way for everything to nicely fall in place perfectly for RCB. Signs play a role in pointing things out and it was vividly clear that #9 was coming to their aid and telling them that this was the year they were waiting for. Let's briefly look at the all the events inter-playing with the number 9 connection.

- Season 18 (1+8 = 9)
This was the 18th edition of IPL which saw it's script implanted in 2008. No.18 adds up to 9. In seasons prior, RCB had come close to winning on 3 occasions but each of the finals ended up in heartbreak.

- Playoffs Reached 9
Despite not winning the actual tournament, RCB have been fairly consistent in reaching the playoffs but without having the luck to go through further. This was their 9th attempt in the playoffs and the dividends finally yielded fruit

- Years since Last Final 9
The last time RCB had reached the final was 9 years back in 2016. They were also playing the final at their home stadium of Chinnaswamy but it ended in bitter disappointment with RCB missing out on crossing the finishing line by a whisker much to the chagrin of the partisan home crowd who were rooting no end. After 9 years they reached the final again and voila finally the dream was conquered.

- Date of Final 3rd June (Date 3 + Month 6 = 9)
This was another strong indication of RCB winning this time. The final as per the original roster was scheduled for 25th May but later got changed to 3rd June due to the impending border tensions and 3rd June when adding up the date and month is 9 which again proved to be lucky for RCB. Adding up of the date and month is also termed as "Achievement Number". In fact even a multiplication of the date and month would result in 18 which again adds up to 9. 

- Year of IPL 2025 (2+0+2+5 = 9)
Adding up of the digits of the year of IPL results in 9 which again brought fortune RCBs way.

- Date Month and Year of IPL (3rd June 2025 = 3+6+2+0+2+5 = 18 = 9)
This is known as the destiny or life path number where the date, month and year are all summed up to denote a number which is again 9 mysteriously signalling signs of positiveness for RCB.

- Jersey Number 18 (1+8 = 9)
RCBs talisman and legend of the game Virat Kohli sports a #18 jersey which is representative of RCB's number. Here also 18 adds up to 9 denoting a divine significance.

- Jersey Colour Red (Red = Mars = 9)
RCB adorns a jersey largely comprising of the colour 'Red'. Here again, the final was played on a Tuesday which is reflective of Red colour and ruled by the planet Mars which is again assigned Red and denotes No.9

- Day of Final Tuesday (Tuesday is ruled by Mars which is assigned No.9)
Conventionally not just IPL but across most sporting events, the final invariable always gets played out on a Weekend. As per the initial set up, the final was expected to be held on Sunday. But due to external circumstances, the schedules at the end got tweaked resulting in the Final being played on Tuesday. This day is said to be ruled by Mars and represented by #9 again bringing luck to RCB. All the 3 finals which RCB had contested earlier all took place on Sunday.

- Tithi Lunar Day of Final Navami (Representative of 9)
A Tithi Lunar Day occurs based on the angular distance that is created between the Sun & Moon as they revolve around the zodiac belt of 360°. Every 12 degrees of movement by the Moon away from the Sun gives rise to a Tithi and hence there are 30 Tithis (360°/12) in total with 15 being part of the brighter half or what is known as Shukla Paksha and the latter 15 being part of the darker half or Krishna Paksha. At the commencement of the final, it was the 8th Tithi in operation viz Ashtami. RCB didn't start off that well and it appeared like they didn't set a par for the course total. However miraculously things changed with the emergence of Navami Tithi from approximately 10PM with RCB seizing the initiative and exerting the breaks on the opposition eventually winning the match and the title.

Additionally to add to the list of significance is the Nakshatra (star of moon) that was in operation during the match which was 'Poorva Phalguni'. Though as per modern convention 'Ashwini' is said to be the first Nakshatra, but as per Classic Vedic Astrology (Atharva Veda), 'Krithika' is said to be the first Nakshatra which symbolises ignition of fire and 'Bharani' is the last Nakshatra on account of being ruled by Lord Yama who is the God of Death emblematic of a completion of life. If Krithika is indeed considered as the first Nakshatra, then Poorva Phalguni (Pooram in Tamil) would be the 9th Nakshatra again bringing into light the #9 significance. Also RCB's star player Virat Kohli was born in Uttara Phalguni Nakshatra. As per the sacred text 'Kumaraswamiyam', the 27th Nakshatra that adds up to 9 which in this case is "Poorva Phalguni" indicates "Abhishekham" or coronation that translates to good and auspicious things tending to take place and that's exactly what happened with him being blessed and conferred with an IPL title after years and years of toil and hard work.

In essence, it can be said that RCB deserved to win the IPL 2025 which is also reinstated and reaffirmed by all the divine patterns at play pointing to No.9 denoting auspiciousness. Finally that wish of "Ee Sala Cup Namadu" has transpired.

Kapi and Captivating!

Ilaiyaraaja is a magician when handling Carnatic Raga's as he knows how to bring out the inherent subtlety of it without diluting the essence one bit. Even if he adds an alien note or two, it just doesn't seem out of place at all. Prima-facie all this appears to be a mystery but the way he manages to do it is simply impossible to comprehend.

One of the Raga's where he has showcased his mastery time and again is 'Kapi'. Kapi is a derivative of the 22nd Melakarta Ragam Karaharapriya and uses a pentatonic scale on the ascendancy but on the descendancy it touches all 7 notes. It is a mood inducing raga known for it's twists and turns. Both the Nishadams (Ni2 and Ni3) are used judiciously and you'll see a leapfrogging texture that adds a distinctive unique quality to it. 

A majority of the compositions which Ilaiyaraaja has employed in Kapi ragam have been nothing short of astounding. He is literally seen toying with the ragam and since this is an experimental scale, you'll see pyrotechnics at play eventually resulting in an aural spectacle.

I have handpicked 2 masterful compositions of his in Kapi Raaga - one from Kannada (Sandalwood) and another from Malayalam (Mollywood) to showcase the prowess in using Kapi Ragam. 'Jeeva Hoovagidhe' has been a perennial favorite and is an evergreen iconic love composition sung by Dr Rajkumar & S Janaki. 'Thumbi Vaa' is a song which has been redone in multiple languages but nothing beats the original from the movie Olangal sung by S Janaki with chorus back up.

I've attempted a tiny lunge at both these songs trying to intersperse one onto another to show the delightful curvy flavour that is Kapi. Began with the middle portion of Jeeva Hoovagidhe which gets transported back to the starting portion. From there picked up on the Charanam of Thumbi Vaa and traversed along to the opening bits of the song finally ending with a touch of the famed 'I Love You' line from Jeeva Hoovagidhe.

Coffee comes in many different flavours and the decoction plays a role in determining the firmness of it. It can be light, medium, strong or whatever. Similarly Kapi ragam like it's drinking mate has a quality where the concoction that is thrown up decides the variety of the outcome. And IR is simply a kingmaker in knowing how to handle the mix as seen from these 2 captivating Kapi numbers.

Nostalgia Revisited - Transporting the time clock back to Y2K 2000!

I randomly stumbled upon the song "Pachchai Nirame" on my musical playlist and that ended up being the springboard to reminisce waves of memories from the bygone era relating to the year '2000'.

It's unfathomable and flabbergasting to think that 25 years have passed since then. I just about bloomed into being a teenager and few of the moments from that year are vividly etched in the mind. Most of these are from the music, movie and sporting world.

I recall the Khans ruling the roost in Bollywood and in the very first month of January 2000 were 2 big releases lined up for Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan in the form of 'Mela' and 'Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'. The title song of the latter was already airing as a full music video in the musical channels and appeared to be instantly catchy. But however there was a movie sandwiched in between these two viz Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai starring debutante Hrithik Roshan which took the nation by storm. The movie had a dream run and just rampaged the releases of 'AK' and 'SRK'. Hrithik was the new heartthrob in town and he was splashed over everywhere from news bulletins to magazines to paper cuttings to what not. I remember magazines like Filmfare, Stardust and Cineblitz all had cover stories of him in dashing avatars and he was touted to be the new supremo in the Bollywood Industry with the Khans being pushed to the backside. His fanfare was equated to Rajesh Khanna's stardom plenty of years ago.

Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was also a movie which I saw in the theatre for the maximum number of times and if my memory serves me right, I recall watching it 7 times with few of the shows viewed in the now erstwhile Melody theatre which used to solely host Bollywood movies.

In Tamil tinsel town came the star studded Kamal Hassan directed 'Hey Ram'. The movie was promoted in a major way with SRK himself starring in a small guest role and appearing for all the screenings. The movie though highly critically acclaimed tanked at the Box office but the songs were cherished and especially the smooth piano run ins in the melody soaked 'Nee Partha Paarvai' remains a favourite to this day.

Around the period of 'Chithirai Maasam', roughly from mid April to mid May came 3 big Tamil movies in the form of 'Alai Payuthey', 'Kandukondein Kandukondein' and 'Khushi'. I recall lapping up the songs of all these 3 movies fervently. After a hardcore film in the form of Dil Se in 1998, Mani Ratnam went in for a saccharine sugary sweet love story in the form of 'Alai Payuthey' starring newcomer R Madhavan in the protagonist role. He was an instant hit with the masses and celebrated as the new chocolate boy in town. The movie redefined the boundaries of love and remains an evergreen tale of romance to this very day. Those dialogues featuring Karthik (Maddy) echoing his proposal to his lovey dovey Shakti (Shalini) amidst the background noise of the train is iconic even today. The entire album of Alai Payuthey was laced with spectacular compositions and we even decided to use one of the tracks 'Kadhal Sadugudu' for our light music event at school with the other being the dance number 'Ek Pal Ka Jeena' from Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.

AR Rahman made another mammoth leap with the mind-blowing soundtrack of 'Kandukondein Kandukondein' which released just a fortnight later after Alai Payuthey. The audio launch was held in March and my parents were lucky to be given a pass to attend the event. Unfortunately I couldn't go because of running annual exams. It was an album which I adore even today and consider one of ARR's very best. This was Rajeev Menon's second release after 'Minsara Kanavu' which also had memorable songs. Seeing Aishwarya Rai in a green Kanchivaram saree dancing to 'Kannamoochi Ennada' made me to think that there was nobody more beautiful than her in the entire world. She was the sheer epitome of unparalleled beauty. That was the time I understood what the word 'Ethereal' meant. The summer holidays were spent at our home in Colombo, Sri Lanka and I recollect watching Khushi over there. The Vijay-Jyothika starrer stomped the box office with collections aplenty registering a second running back to back hit for director SJ Suryah who directed Vaali in 1999. The songs tuned by Deva were catchy and the stormy dialogues between Vijay & Jyothika set the pulse racing.

In June, Bollywood was gearing up for it's biggest release in the form of 'Refugee' starring Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek Bachchan and Raj Kapoor's grand daughter Kareena Kapoor. Virtually every celebrity in Bollywood stood in line attending the preview show and showering the couple with blessings. The event was covered vigorously in the TV channels back then. The movie however received a lukewarm response at the box office. I however loved the compositions from the movie and feel that it was perhaps the best album ever produced by Anu Malik.

Also around this time, there was the SRK release 'Josh' where incidentally he played the hero's role but was the brother of the heroine 'Aishwarya Rai'. There is an anamnesis of a bunch of us from Class IX A in P.S Sr Sec School barraging into an auto and watching the movie at Melody theatre which was quite a surreal experience. Also after Hrithik Roshan's runaway hit Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, came his second release 'Fiza' where he incidentally like SRK in Josh played the brother's role to the heroine Karisma Kapoor. I recapture being the first to buy the musical cassette of Fiza at the now defunct 'TicTac' store in R A Puram. Those cassette days have a memory all by itself. Around the end of the year precisely during Diwali saw SRK and Hrithik going toe to toe with their respective third release of the year viz Mohabbatein and Mission Kashmir. I remember visiting Coimbatore that time with my parents. They had some work which I didn't need to go and decided to watch Mission Kashmir instead in the theatre which was placed just beside the hotel where we were staying. Incidentally it was the first movie that I watched all alone by myself. Have an evocative memory of a Kashmiri ethnic clad bubbly Preity Zinta going full throttle all out dancing and crooning to the song 'Bhumro Bhumro'.

On the Tamil front, there was one more brilliant album unleashed by AR Rahman in the form of Rhythm. It was based on the 5 elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air & Ether and the compositions were quite extraordinary. There is a faint memory of us discussing this album in detail especially during our walk to the school annual day programme in 'Narada Gana Sabha'.

Other than on the movie and music world, in the cricketing front Indian cricket hit rock bottom with charges of match fixing being rampant. India had also given away it's proud home record by succumbing to South Africa accounting for their first ever test series defeat on Indian soil since 1985. Azharuddin played his 99th test and recorded a century but could never play a test after that due to the match fixing saga. He remains a rare instance of a batsman scoring a hundred in both his first test and last test match. The match fixing took a turn for the revamp with an all new Indian side being appointed captained by Saurav Ganguly. A new era dawned in Indian cricket. The results were instantly seen with India winning the home ODI series vs South Africa. The Indian team were however plagued with losing finals and they were unfortunate to come second best to the Kiwis in the Champions Trophy final despite being the best team on display. It was a horror run of 9 consecutive final losses till it was finally arrested with victory in the Natwest final on their 10th attempt in 2002. In football, the French dominance was in full force with them winning the Euro 2000 capping off on the World Cup victory of 1998. World of Tennis saw Pete Sampras conquering Wimbledon for the 7th time watched by his parents in the audience. The year was also witness to the Summer Olympics hosted by Sydney, Australia with the opening ceremony being decorated as one of the best to have ever been witnessed in recent memory.

In the political arena, things got really heated up towards the race for the US Presidential elections. It was the longest ever running battle with results going back and forth with both candidates Al Gore and George Bush Jr being called out as winners. At the end, a recount of Florida resulted in Bush winning over incumbent Democrat Al Gore to garner a victory for the Republicans. This drama was abuzz in all the news channels with confusions aplenty and wild counting swings causing mayhem. The elections which started counting on 7th November was eventually declared won on the 26th November. It was a field time for news channels with the world hooked on with the news of the impending next US president.

As I ruminate, these are few of the remembrances that I reminisce as a young boy growing up in Chennai with respect to the year 2000. When I look back, it looks like Y2K has been quite a historic year with regard to a number of events. However my photographic memory is stuck to a few topics of interest such as music, movies and sport. The redux on politics is just because of the chaos unfolding on TV with respect to the US election results. The year 2000 is not going to come back anymore and is a closed chapter in history but in hindsight it was quite a mind embracing journey to ride the time machine backwards and renew moments from the bygone past of 25 years back to the year 2000.