For some strange reason, there is a sense of nostalgia today. Discussions with a colleague yesterday brought a flood of memories from bygone days. And that wonderful gadget iPad ( I can't imagine how I lived without it in the past ) allowed me to rediscover my taste for good music through some great youtube videos today.
The discussion with my colleague took me to my college days when I was very close to my late father. In mid 1980's, my father, who had come up the hard way in life, and a self made man, observed that a Savings in Cash of Rs 2.5 lakhs was critical, because Rs 2.5 lakhs invested in 12% p.a Fixed Deposits would fetch a monthly interest of Rs 2,500/- which was more than sufficient for a slightly upper middle class family to live comfortably, then. Anything less than a saving of Rs 2.5 lakhs meant you start eating up your capital to meet your operating expenses, while anything greater than Rs 2.5 lakhs resulted in your capital appreciating with savings from accrued interest, after your expenses. Times have changed since those days. Taking a rain check a quarter of a century later, I just imagined the plight of a person having only Rs 2.5 lakhs as savings, giving a monthly income of Rs 2,500 ( well he wont get that because the interest rates are much lower, though it has risen during the past year ! You can't survive for 3 days with Rs 2,500, even in rural India! The Reforms and the resultant inflation has meant that you need to have at least Rs 30,000 every month to lead a decent life, which means that your savings has to be Rs 30 - 40 lakhs at least!!. And are we happier than we were then? I just don't know. The way the economy is developing (!), if one is in his 40s now, he need to save at least Rs 3 Crores during the next 10 years for him to barely meet his middle class life style when he retires in say 2030. A sobering thought!
Teaching has been a passion for me all these years. I just love to teach, train or mentor. It comes naturally to me. Couple of years ago, I noticed that I was slowly getting out of touch with the new generation, their expectations, study ethic and value system, which resulted in lot of stress in me. When I got a chance to move away from Kuwait, I took the opportunity to bid goodbye to formal teaching forever. And frankly I am more at peace with myself these days. One of the things I am as passionate about teaching is carnatic music. Work pressure, lack of access to CD's and lack of opportunity to hear concerts meant I was living in the past - thinking that good Carnatic Music was what was being rendered by T N Seshagopalan or Balamuralikrishna or Maharajapuram Santhanam or GNB or MLV or D K Pattammal to name a few. Being abroad meant I was not exposed much to the new generation of singers. But the iPad and the you tube took me close today to Sanjay Subramaniam, T M Krishna and O S Arun, and I was amazed at their divergent approach to music and their expressive singing. It was as if a new door was opened for me. The feeling of melancholy still rankles as I type this post. How time flies? Just the other day I was into my 20s, listening to Carnatic Music over my Philips Transistor during my MBA Days to familiarise myself with Carnatic Ragams, and later on opening the newspaper everyday during my 5 month stay in Chennai to check where a good concert was held that day, before rushing back from the office and taking the Pallavan Transport Bus to the various Sabhas and Halls to listen to the Maestros. This was in 1989! A good 23 years ago! Some of the new singers of today were young kids those days like U Srinivas, N Ravikiran, Nithyasree, Vijay Siva....... When I saw many on iPad today, they were getting into middle age. And suddenly I rushed to the mirror to see my own reflection - and what I saw was a fat balding man in his late 40s looking every inch his age, with lines drawn on the face! I am getting old. The only solace is that I have a mind young enough to accept the new, and not to live in the past. Thank God for small mercies!
