Mesmerised by a great showcase of choral music

I've just returned after a performance at The Festival of Christmas Music conducted by the Basel Mission which was held at the Bishop Cotton Girls School auditorium. A well known carol competition, the festival features top choirs from Bangalore, all vying to be the best.  This is the third year I've participated in the prestigious event and it never fails to impress. 

Being a big fan of western classical and choral music, I look forward to this festival each year. Although I've been part of the audience since I was in school, participating in the festival was something I always wanted. In the final year of my graduation, I joined a small choir called Vocal Enigma - brainchild of a brilliant musician and friend - Maneesh Dasanayake. It was the opportunity I dreamed of and though we were only fifteen in number, we were ably led and soon became one of the most prominent choirs at the college level.

The first Basel Mission was also our best. We tied for first place along with the Christ University Choir, a powerhouse among choral circles here in Bangalore. Victory was sweet, and as days went by our repertoire grew. We participated in numerous other festivals and shows and won many accolades. But the win at this festival was always dearest to me.

After graduating, we hoped we could still keep the choir alive. But work schedules often clashed with practice and most of us couldn't find time. Maneesh too had to return to his home - Sri Lanka. However, some of us still wanted to keep going, we did the best we could to practice on weekends, when most of the working people had a holiday. And this year under the name Choral Blueprint, we gave what we felt was our last performance at Basel Mission.

There are three categories for judging - Junior Schools, Senior Schools and Colleges. We were an independent professional choir and were not judged under any category but were allowed to participate as guests. Nevertheless, doing our best was the aim. Although we couldn't compete we felt like champions. The competition, however, was as fierce as ever. Choirs performed works by Handel and Rutter. Just listening to those arrangements gave me goosebumps. At the end Christ University were declared winners. They deserved it.

The best part about every Christmas season for me is the carols. And the best part of caroling for me is the performance at Basel Mission. Winning never mattered, not this year atleast. But the mere fact I performed there for one last time probably was a rewarding experience indeed. So kudos to the winners and thank you Basel Mission.

Aspirations need to be fulfilled someday, somehow.. (My first blog post)

The jump from the IT field to media has exposed me to experiences I never thought I'd have. Blogging being one of them. I have started this blog with a vision: Improve my writing skills and also show them to the world in the process. And I'm happy as I write my first post.

Let me start with an introduction to myself and my blog. I aspire to be a journalist. From the time I was in high school, I was always interested in it. I would watch the news everyday seeing journalists jostle with their colleagues to get the latest news. I would attentively watch press conferences where journalists would eagerly wait their turn to ask a question. A turn which may never come. But their zeal would never die. They would chase the person who held the conference just to get the answer to that solitary question they may have.

Pressure from family and friends led me to pursue Science at the Pre-University level and though my parents wanted me to do engineering, I somehow managed to convince them to let me opt for a BCA degree instead. For three years it seemed my aspirations were lost. After graduating, I joined two companies in a span of one year. It was then I realised this wasn't for me. Eight hours staring into a computer screen only gave me more reason to get back to by boyhood dream of being a journalist. So I made my choice.

I applied for a post-graduate course in Mass Communication at St. Joseph's College, Bangalore and  sailed through the admission process. And here I am now. Enjoying every moment of it. And I know with every passing day, I'm inching closer to my ambition. Now it has become my calling.

Now, about the blog. I plan on writing about anything and everything. And also everyday. I will write about everything I see, hear or taste. Subjects would include travel and politics...yes, politics, another interesting thing I picked up after entering this field. Basically, I want to write purely for pleasure.

Well, here it is, my first blog post and also what I think is a fairly good introduction. I will enjoy filling this blog as I hope you would enjoy reading it. That's it for now. See you soon.

 

Freedom to speak and express... do we have it?

Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India says "All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression." This freedom, however, is not absolute but is subject to certain "reasonable restrictions" which are given in Article 19(2) of our Constitution. They include restrictions on acts which interfere with "the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence"

In my opinion, free speech must not have any restrictions other than for those speeches that directly incite violence, are slanderous and libelous. I do not believe that speaking anything against the sovereignty and integrity of India by any person is going to cause a collapse to our sovereignty or integrity. I believe these restrictions should be removed. Unless the speaker (or writer or anyone using any form of expression) causes people to commit violence which threatens the sovereignty of our country, there is absolutely no reason, in my opinion that his/her speech needs to be restricted in a democracy.

Decency and morality have not been given a fixed definition. On what basis can one judge whether something spoken or expressed is decent or moral? What is indecent to me may seem alright to another.And something I consider immoral may not be thought the same by my peers. For example, wearing shoes and entering the kitchen is a complete no-no to my mother since she considers the kitchen as a sort of holy place. but I see no reason why I must not wear my shoes to the kitchen. To me the kitchen is only where I get my next meal and, being an atheist, I see nothing holy about it.

In the name of protecting this decency and morality and "culture," we have seen atrocious acts committed by people. The recent attacks on young women sitting in pubs and partying at a homestay in Mangalore is a grim reminder of how vigilante groups have full sway over innocent people. What a girl chooses to wear or where she chooses to be is entirely her wish. Assaulting people for any reason is a criminal act. People can surely have a dissenting opinion in a democracy, but committing violence should not be allowed. That attack, I felt was an attack on the girls' freedom of speech and expression.

Sedition is another law which must be repealed. Article 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) explains sedition as, "Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India." Why does this law even exist? People have the right to speak against the Government in a democracy. If there is no opposition to the Government, then we are under an authoritarian government and not in a democracy.

There are many other laws like section 66A of the IT Act and so on which must be repealed. Section 295A of the IPC allows prosecution for the smallest offence rendered to any religion. What if you have no religion and think all religions are false? You absolutely have no place to voice that opinion and thus, your freedom of speech is restricted by this law. Religion should not feature in any law in a secular state according to me.

I feel the government and our judiciary must do more to ensure that the citizens' freedom of speech and expression is preserved. I feel we must not take lightly these laws as they are truly oppressive. Many other laws similar to the ones mentioned here are in practice in India today. Many people do not even know that such laws even exist. I hope this article will make you search for them and understand their implications and more importantly, I hope this article will help you fight for free speech and expression in our country.