The first part of the interview with Mr. Mehmood Khan can be found here.

Me: How do you ask a young kid to go school when they dont have food to eat.. I know education adds value.. but the returns are so long dated.. The current problem should be resolved first right? I always have this thought in my mind..

MK: Parents are actually convinced that education adds value. Now the rest boils down to the education system. The most of the parents want their kids to be educated today.. As I mentioned earlier, society is now ready for the change. Now the government has to be pushed to provide the service.

Now there is an act passed called right to education. All children from age 6 – 14 are provided with facilities and training in reading and writing skill.. Ofcourse there is scope for improvement. The skill gap will continue. Slowing down of the economy leads to some soul searching.. We have 100,000 children coming in every year.. 95% of those who go to school come to job market.. How do we make them relevant to the market.. Extrapolate this to the whole country.. We have one australia coming into the market every year..

Me: Do you think the model which RKK trust is developing, is a scalable model which can be transported to other villages? or should each village be analyzed independently and model should be customized depending on its needs?

MK: Model can be applied any where. Somthings have to be tweeked to the local environment. Farming for example, might depend on the region.. Rice and paddy will require water.. So it has to be customized. But the model will scale.. We have to work with the community.. Bring partners… Technology, finance, marketing etc.. So.. sustainable model has to be tweeked based on the needes..

Me: What do you see are the current challenges..

MK: Well many.. Firstly, Talent.. Rule India has a lot of raw talent.. But they have to shaped and moulded to be productive.. A lot of such talented people leave the villages and go to city.. We dont have IITs and IIMs there.. We have to retain talent there..

Second challenge is the local stake holders.. There are always hinderances and blockages to positive forces.. A lot of beurocracy feels uncomfortable or out of comfort zone when such initiatives taken. But when they see that it does have positive impact, they join the force.

Me: How did you find your purpose..

MK: Well, I would say it is a part of the learnings from the vedic period. What is the meaning of life? It has various parts. Initially you build a character in the age of Bramachari. Then you move on to the family life. You earn enough for family etc. Then you reach a stage when you realize enough is enough for yourself.. You start thinking about the society as a whole.. By then you would have raised children.. saved money for wife etc.. Now you want to put youwr body to use for the society.. I think I am in this stage in my life cycle.. I want to put my time to society’s use. This keeps me happy.. It is a process of mind I think

Me: Why didnt consider settling abroad?

MK: Well, I have a base in London, Mongolia, USA etc. I can go whenever I want. But I belong to the villages. Whereever I can add value, I belong there.. To be honest, we are in this virtual world.

Me: What is your message for Indian Youth sir?

MK: Today the Indian youth are in their 20s.. When they come to my age.. India would be the world’s no.1 economy.. Within the next 30 to 40 years.. it will be No.1.. There is no doubt about it.. But the question is.. do the youth want a choatic way to reach that stage or do they want to reach it in a planned way..

The real challenge is what role they want to play.. How they want it shaped.. Every body will add value.. You will prosper along the way.. Just how you want it to be is a choice that you have to make it..

I made no sacrifices.. No favour to any one.. I am doing these activities for the peace of my mind.. Youth can contribute to the underprivileged in a number of ways.. through jobs.. through education.. monetarily .. Infact, it is in ones own interest that we contribute to the upliftment of the society.. to make the democracy work.. otherwise, we will have unequal distribution of wealth and serious problems on earth..

People abroad can also contribute.. World has become a single place.. There is no difference between India and abroad.. Technology is uniting us.. You are in London now. but I can see you taking notes real time… People can contribute to the society wherever they are.. and in whatever way they can!

Good luck!

Me: Thank you very much for your time sir!

Readers, hope you enjoyed this edition of Coffee With Experts.

Previous interview – Anil Gupta – Founder of Honey Bee Network
New Year Message - Be a Seeker! Happy 2012
Latest Art work - Tum ho tho

Stay tuned for more!

In the new year, CWS continues the search of role models for Indian youth! Today, we have a very very special guest – Mr. Mehmood Khan, Former head of global innovation at Unilever, who recently returned back home to his native village, to turn it around. There are a lot of people and NGOs out there addressing different problems in the economy. But here is a man, who is reviving the economy of a village in Mewat. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Mehmood Khan, IIMA Alumnus with rich corporate experience who is here to share his story! The first part of the interview is here today!

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
MK: Mehmood Khan – Managing Trustee, Rasuli Kanwar Khan Trust

MK: I am born in a village, I was the youngest of 5 siblings.. So I would say I was a spoilt child. I grew up in abundance. My family was a farming family.. But my father and mother ensured that I had a plenty of everything.. Ofcourse I did walk to school to another village.. About 2 kms.. I dont think I would ever complain.. I studied in a government school, where the teachers were very sincere.. They taught us to read, write, maths etc. Then moved to middle school, high school.. the usual school life.. I got the best in the circumstances.. A rural upbringing.. but definitely an upbringing of abundance..

Me: Did you join Unilever immediately after your education at IIMA? Can you share some of your anecdotes while you were there..

MK: I worked for 2.5 years in voluntary sector.. and then 2.5 years in a corporate sector.. So I had 5 years of experience before joining Unilever.. When I joined there, Forex was very important. So, I was earning FX for them. Govt. of India had a number of restrictions.. So I worked there for 7 years to help them build their balance sheet..

Then I went to Holland.. Berlin wall had just fallen.. I was managing the pioneer market.. basically all the ex. communist countries.. I then opened unilever office in Vietnam.. then Singapore.. where I set up a full fleged operation for Unilever in east asia, which includes Vietnam, China etc.. By then I had gained cross country experience in various global roles.. Then I moved to London, where I was their Head of Innovation till 2009.

Me: You are currently the managing trustee of Rasuli Kanwar Khan Trust NaiNangla, which is transforming lives in rural Mewat. Can you talk a lot about this role..

MK: In 2003, I got engaged with India’s Pratham. Between 2003 to 2009, I was in Unilever but was guiding them part time, weekend etc.. That is how it all got started.. Pratham sent volunteer in the area I work now.. They gave reading/writing test.. That is when I realized that situation was very bad.. Then we did voluntary class.. 1 volunteer was doing classes.. The society was ready for change..

We organized a stake holder meet and prioritized what we wanted to do.. We realized that we needed a total transformation of the village.. This includes work in key areas such as
- Education
- Employment
- Water
- Hygiene
- Infrastructure

Enrolment of children in our volunteer programs gave us the confidence that the society was ready for the change. The government and system was not ready or prepared sufficiently, but society was waiting and supporting any new initiatives. A series of volunteer classes were organized.

We also tried to stir the economic activity of the region. We negotiated with the Dairy which procures directly from the villagers. This helps the villagers to get better prices. We also worked with the companies to recruit youth from the region. We continue to improve the lives of the people at different levels.

Now we have 95% of the children in schools now. We are always looking to improve the quality of education. We tied up with NIIT to install computers in the school.

Me: What are the challenges you face?

MK: Well, these initiatives are never easy. We have to work continuously. We are continuously engaging at different levels. You must understand that if a region is backward, there is a reason for its backwardness. So it is a continuous battle to turn the tide. So it Work in Progress. We get bright students. For e.g., parents have told us that they have learnt more in 6 months than in the last 2 years.

We have 650k villages in our country. Job is never enough done. You know the real problem I face is not these difficulties. But the difficult of retaining the talent. People and talent go to urban localities. Very few people stay back and turn around the villages. The real challenge is to turn these from negative to positive force.

Me: What kind of feedback do you get from firms such as ICICI and GenPact etc, where you place people..

MK: They are quite happy with our youth whenever they carry out their expansion plans. But companies are themselves facing a lot of ups and downs.. For the last 2 years, they have been in consolidation model, except say mobile operators and FMCG. So they are not really recruiting from the villages now. All the firms have their own priorities. So, last 2 years rural participation has reduced. But we carry on with our work. It is currently not a part of their core strategy. Mewat is a small village, so it is not a part of their core, which understandable. Marginalized region wont fit a part of their plans. But our activities and effort continues.

There are new initiatives. Vijay Mahajan has started an initiative to bring the unbanked to the banks. There is a Govt and RBI stipulation on the banks to bring in more people in through their virtual branches. This new initiative is helping our youth.

Another initiative is the First Village Factory concept. A garment factory has been set up. It is a challenge for us to make it a viable and we have added it to the portfolio of initiatives.

Previous interview – Anil Gupta – Founder of Honey Bee Network
New Year Message – Be a Seeker! Happy 2012
Latest Art work – Losing myself to you!

Stay tuned for more!

Part 1 of the interview with Padmashri Anil Gupta, founder of Honey Bee Network can be found here. Let us continue with the part 2 of the interview today.

Anil Gupta’s TED talk on India’s hidden hotbeds of invention can be found here.

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
AG: Padmashri Anil Gupta, Founder of Honey Bee Network

Me: The way I see Honey Bee Network is that.. it is trying to build an ecosystem to facilitate grass root innovations.. Sustainability of such ecosystem would require an organization in the ecosystem.. which ensures the quality of the goods & services meets a certain minimum standard.. Do you have such players at all.. How do you ensure that the goods and services created are of good quality?

AG: Fair point.. For example, take a food product.. We will not accept a lower quality product just because it comes from them.. We have to meet the minimum standards.. This is where we need institutional support for testing the product.. But what is happening is that.. testing of quality and regulatory requirements are quite expensive.. Many innovations cant afford these.. For example, a small tractor innovator cannot afford the same price for testing as a big tractor.. While the standards to be met have to be the same.. the cost of testing have to be different..
I keep writing about this to various authorities.. reading it in council.. I am sure someday a solution will come.

Me: In the polycentric model of innovation.. do you see the concerns of reinventing the wheel across different groups.. What I mean is.. there are going to be same innovations being made.. same mistakes being made at different parts of the world! How often do you see this? Do you see challenges in knowledge seeping through from one set of learners to another?

AG: Yes, we share ideas.. I do walks across different parts of the country to share ideas from one region to the other.. Recently, I was in Meghalaya… I have walked in Assam, Andhra, Kashmir.. in 22 states of our country.. And all we do there is to diseminate ideas from different parts..

To increase the diffusion, we work with ICAR – the agricultural research centers.. These can be science centers where people can come and see various ideas in action.. I do believe in the need for large scale trial and demonstration..

Me: How do you think common man can contribute towards increasing innovation and thus improving the lives of the people behind such innovations..

AG: I think every person irrespective of place & profession can contribute to this ecosystem.. Say for example, if you work in Govt office in Tamil Nadu, when you get free time in the evenings.. you can translate the information in tamil .. or translate the information from tamil to other languages.. This way.. his or her community can get the information.. You can send CDs to villages.. to the village school you have come from.. do a video conference to school children.. one person can reach many many school students that way.. so there are many ways one can contribute.. So, one can help in dissemination of information and inspiring people.. inspiration is also very important..

For example, you are can be a illustrator.. I have seen your cartoons on the website.. You can probably help in propagating ideas through comic strip…

If you are scientist.. engineer.. or a website maker.. spanish person.. german.. anyone can contribute.. You can get the ideas across to the different parts of the world! There is no one who cant contribute to this ecosystem..

Me: What is your message for Indian youth..

AG: I would say please identify & empathize with problems of people in this world! This as a global citizen.. Dont be interwined in your own world! Make this world a society which is empathetic.. Experience the pains of others and not just live on your own..

Please make an effort to overcome habitual inertia.. In Rajasthan, a 7th std student Md. Anzar came up with a tool to sort rice.. He lives in slum and had seen his mother do this.. This saves a lot of time, effort & energy..

Sow the seeds of impatience and contribute to the larger good of the society!

Me: Thank you very much sir. Thank you once again for your time.

Readers, hope you enjoyed this conversation with Mr. Anil Gupta. Previous interview with Padmashri Anandha Shankar Jayant – Renowned dancer and figher of breast cancer can be found here.

All interviews can be found at: Coffee With Experts.

In today’s show in search of role models, CWS introduces you to a person who created Honey Bee Network to support grassroots innovators who are rich in knowledge, but not in resources. Please join me in welcoming Padmashri Anil Gupta. Mr. Gupta found ways of capturing inventions at grass roots, writing them up for a worldwide internet audience, getting the most ingenious ones manufactured so that the inventor can benefit financially from an idea which previously might have helped only friends and relatives. This is the concept of Honey Bee Network, which now has over 100,000 inventions and discoveries on its website – http://www.sristi.org/hbnew/

Anil Gupta’s TED talk on India’s hidden hotbeds of invention can be found here.

AG: Padmashri Anil Gupta, founder of Honeybee Network

AG: Sure.. The concept is actually more than 24 years old.. I have been studying studying creativity of people since 1980s.. In 1984, I was working on how farmers solve problems in such a high risk environment.. In 85 – 85, I was in Bangladesh, trying to study farmers and farming system research.. I came across a vast range of innovations.. But hardly any one of of them got the due attention.. When I came back, I wrote various reports about the same.. all these reports didnt seem enough to me in terms of giving back to the people from I studied the ideas.. I wanted to do something more.. I had that guilt sown in me.. That is when the thought came about the interaction between the flowers and honey bees.. The pollination of flowers by honey bee is a mutually benefitial process.. This acted as a guiding priciple of the network.. It slowly started identifying creativity in 1999.. By 2000, Shriti was set up and was announced in budget.. A microventure financing was set up in 2003.. Many have heard of venture financing.. This is the something similar, which looks for innovation from the informal sector.. Last year, technology acquisition fund was set up when we acquire innovative solutions and take it to the next level..

Me: You have witnessed a number of amazing innovations in the bottom of the pyramid.. Like the coconut tree climber to mobile washing machine.. What in your opinion is the driving force for such inventions.. Is the necessity indeed the mother of all innovations or do you see any other of factor influencing it..

AG: First of all, it not correct to use the term “Bottom of the pyramid”. It not a fair term. They might be at the bottom of economic pyramid. That doesnt mean that they are at the bottom of every pyramid.. we are distancing ourself from them by using such terms.. Companies are trying to sell things to them.. But where will they get their money to buy things if they cant sell what they produce.. We need tools, techniques and institutional support..

If you look at the inovations at lesser known hot beds.. First there is motivation, which in turn leads to initiatives.. and that will lead to innovations.. There can be a number of triggers which change motivation to initiative.. but for translating the intiative to innovation.. there is a need for favourable social, ecological & institutional systems in place..

Having showcased these innovations, we still dont see massive effort in this direction.. of the 60,000 Crore budget, only 8 crore was allocated for these initiatives.. That too was allocated last year.. before only 1.4 crores were allocated.. Institutional support is very scanty.. True potential is not yet harnessed yet.. Growth of the Indian economy itself wont include the entire society.. We need to think how to reduce this widening gulf.. And their innovation provides this possibility..

Me: What are the key challenges you see for such innovations? Does it attract a critical mass to support itself if such ideas are translated into ventures.. Although scalability is a secondary issue, there must be self sustainable local acceptance in the first place.. In other words.. Do see sufficient market for such innovation to survive..

AG: There are a many challenges to overcome.. many bottlenecks to overcome.. first and foremost, financial resources are very scanty.. Except Futures Group, no other large corporation has an inclusive CSR.. secondly, if you see.. the rate at which these innovations add value is quite slow.. There are constraints in finance, design, capacity etc.. Unless people conserve these innovations, we can only go so far..

Here is where I think technology should be linked to value adding activity.. For example, in www.techpedia.in 104,000 engineering projects are there.. about 50,000 students across the country are participating in projects which assist small & medium enterprises in the informal sector.. Mr. Mehta, a student who started this is now leading this initiative.. Every engineering student should define the problem and solve a problem for society.. This should be made a part of every corriculum.. Solving such micro problems helps in innumerable number of ways.. there are projects in crop growth, vet. medicine, plot growth.. etc..

Advancements are encouraging to push the affordability frontier.. We are coming up some really amazing low cost products.. For example, a wind mill was developed to pump water at just Rs. 65,000/- Two innovators made a Rs. 5000/- wind mill for their paddy field.. This was made in Bamboo.. There are solutions to reduce the cost.. in pollution.. in pest control.. safer & affordable technologies are being developed.. most importantly.. accountable technologies are being developed..

Me: What about the scale? Do they self sustain?

AG: Agreed.. Scale is necessary.. But there might needs, which only 500 people in the society might need.. Denying them a solution, just because there is no scale.. is just unfair.. If demands of such small groups are not met, there are social strifes and unrest.. This is where state and markets become helples.. Heterogeniety and diversity is not bad.. For the sake of scale, everyone cannot wear the same dress.. eat the same food.. like the same music.. Sure, they might bring down the cost.. But is such a life worth living? How will we innovate.. Different thinking is good.. You shouldnt kill the golden egg just because you want scale.. Neighbour community is as important as 100,000 acres.. Scale is important, we welcome it.. But it should not be a necessary condition.. We have 130,000 post offices across 650,000 villages.. We can use this as a way of sourcing and diseminating ideas.. Some of our ideas do have scale.. I have written quite of few of them on my blog..

Continuing the part 1 & part 2 of the interview with Padmashree Ananda Shankar Jayant, today we have the part 3 of the interview with Mrs. Ananda Shankar Jayant

Please find the TED Video of Mrs. Jayant here.

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
ASJ: Ananda Shankar Jayant – Padmashree Awardee – Contribution to Arts

ASJ: As I said, even during chemo therapy my husband’s advise, of ‘ Think of it as Amrutam”, really helped. I have been giving full-fledged dance performances soon after surgery, during chemo therapy and during radiation also.

Yes your body does take a toll during chemo, but half the battle is in dealing with the mind.. If you are going to allow your mind to succumb to the bodily changes and weakness, then that will be one’s reality, but if you say to your mind, that this is good for you, and the weakness etc is only for a short phase, then immediately you get on top of the situation.

Further, focussing on the good that is expected to come out of the chemo is better, than focussing on the side effects.. Think of it as Amrutham.. nectar.. and whoever said that life giving nectar has to be sweet??!!
It is important during treatment, to focus on happy things, and not watch every miserable story being dished out on TV.. It is also important to keep the mind otherwise occupied, by reading, listening to music or whatever animates you (mine was dance), and not wallow in self pity.. that leads you no where except to more misery.

It is good to get a clutch of funny movies and watch them! It is also important not to give the cancer TOO much importance.. I said.. ‘Hail fellow well met but I really do not have time to indulge you!’

Remember, whatever you give attention to is your reality.. so focus on the good, and good will emerge dancing during therapy both my Doctors (Dr Raghuram a well known oncoplastic breast surgeon, Dr RV Rao, medical oncologist, and Dr Nalini, radiation oncologist) and my family have been of great support. They never stopped me. I was advised to listen to my body. If I felt I could, they didn’t stop me. On the other hand my family went all out to support me and be with me during such programmes. My mother in law, shifted to our home to take care of my diet, which needed to be a highly nutritious diet. They even accompanied me during my programmes.

A lot of emotional support from my sister, and friends especially from the dance world, helped. It is important for the family, to not mope around and look at the cancer patient like death incarnate!
They need to take it in their stride and go about their routine as normal.. Usually in such cases, I have noticed. that families, go around with the longest faces possible..:) and will go to visit a cancer patient and sit there recounting all the cancer patients, they have heard about, who died…??!! Can you imagine what that can do to the morale of the patient?

Visitors too need to observe prudence and know what to talk! .. reg strength
My biggest source of strength has been my husband Jayant Dwarkanath. He has never allowed me to lose faith. He himself has been so confident and sure, that it gave me immense strength. Sometimes when I would be miserable (especially during chemo therapy), he would cheer me up. Never once has he shown despondency. His strength has been supreme.

Further, he never stopped me from dancing, or doing anything I could. He never made me an invalid. On the other hand he would goad me to be up and about. This helped in a big way, as I never felt I was a patient undergoing a lengthy treatment. Only, patience, positive outlook towards a healthy future.I never questioned: Why me? Did I ask myself the same when I got national awards like the Padma Shri? So when I could take those with pride why can’t I take an illness with equal acceptance?

I would like to request all women over 35/ 40 years of age to take their health seriously and go for periodic check-ups. A mammogram after 35 years is an absolute must. An early diagnosis is the greatest gift you can give yourself or your loved one. So, men, instead of buying your wife/ girl friend/sister/ mother/ mother-in-law that pattu saree, gift her a mammogram, once every year. This is the best gift you can give any woman..

Me: How are you doing now? Have you fully recovered from cancer? Or you on medication?
ASJ: My 3rd year review went well. Im still on oral medication and this will continue for a few more years.
Me: Glad to hear that maam.

Me: Art is often considered as liesure.. But you are using it as a medication.. I also interviewed a lady by name Usha Rai.. who started painting at 60 to over come her accident trauma and has successfully conducted an art exhibition.. What is your view on this..?

ASJ: I disagree with you.. Art is not leisure.. Art is life.
And life will throw challenges at you. Art helps you ride out the challenge, and also learn from the challenge

Me: “Your mind is your final frontier!” I loved your words.. I find that people who are content in life.. have some kind of spiritual connection.. though various forms.. some find their connection through the work.. through art.. through service to man kind.. but this is very common.. What are your thoughts on spiritual development..

ASJ: Yes you are what you think! I think we as a race have started to focus so much on the outside world, that we spend all our time reacting to every little input from outside. Instead if we act upon the world, by having our mind in our control, then you paint the life you want and visualise

Me: What are your other initiatives or projects that you are working on..?

ASJ: Other than dance I love Carnatic music. Though I have learnt it I only sing at home. I have learnt the veena and am keen on pursuing it again. I read a lot.. anything.. fiction to philosophy. Im now also the convenor of Asha a breast cancer support group. Asha is a cancer advocacy and support group of the Ushalakshmi breast cancer foundation. Such groups are needed, because it helps, in patients and their families, understanding the illness, its recovery process, and also the million nitty gritties of questions that assail patients and their care givers.. such as what REALLY happens during chemo? Where can I get a smart wig? When will my hair be back? What diet should I take? What exercise can one do? Where to get a prosthetic bra(for those with mastectomy) Yoga lessons, meditation classes, etc, and sharing stories.. all these create a huge wellspring of confidence, which is usually at its lowest ebb for the patient Also Asha, raises funds for helping underprivileged women with screening..I think such initiatives, are very important, and takes the edginess off cancer

Me: Thank you very much man. You are indeed an inspiration and a great role model for Indian Youth!

Please find the previous interview Mr. Guruprasad – Collector of Rare photographs here. All interviews on CWS can be found here.

Continuing the part 1 of the interview with Padmashree Ananda Shankar Jayant, today we have the part 2 of the interview.

Please find the TED Video of Mrs. Jayant here.

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
ASJ: Ananda Shankar Jayant – Padshree Awardee – Contribution to Arts

Me: You mentioned that you teach adults as well.. What should a “late beginner” seek to get out of the art..?

ASJ: Students can join me from the age of 7 years. However I also have students who come to me who say when they are 25 years .. after they have a job! That’s ok as long as the student is willing to work hard on a recalcitrant body which is going to ache a lot more than if he/she started learning at 7years! The need is for the elder student to supplement the dance class with other body training such as yoga, running etc to overcome the pain barrier that comes with taking up a physical art late

Me: Art for the sake of learning art is indeed a very noble intention.. What about the livelihood.. what is your advice for people taking up arts professionally..?

ASJ: Yes in today’s world art is still a difficult livelihood proposition. My advise would be for youngsters, to find a good job that will put the bread on the table, and then also pursue art as a dual career.. It only needs extraordinary time management skills and organizational acumen.. But it is possible !

Me: In Indian art, and to some extent, eastern culture.. art forms are taught by replicating a certain method or grammar.. but in the west.. art form is more free.. where every artist.. “finds his or her own style”.. what your thoughts and views on the methods of teaching and learning arts such as dance..?

ASJ: I think each art form derives from the geographical, historical, and sociological situation that it is placed in. Both have their merits. Having said that, in the eastern arts, there is as much improvisation possible too. Every musician does this at every programme in the form of neraval or kalpana swaram! Dancers too, learn the grammar and idiom, as taught, and then by making it their own they carve their own self into the art.

Me: How did you react to the news of cancer.. I dont know what question to ask you here.. Can you share your entire experience… your initial reaction.. how did you cope with it.. the struggles.. the challenges.. the support.. and coming back to normal health.. what does it even mean to go through all these.. reaction & sympathy from people.. self pity.. physical problems.. hair loss.. The “Why should it happen to me” feeling.. how did you get over all these.. ?

ASJ: After feeling a small lump in my left breast on the very eve of going to USA for a Kuchipudi Conference, I went immediately to get a mammogram done, and left the following evening to USA. On my return after 2 weeks, my husband met me in Mumbai, and slowly told me that the biopsy was malignant. He had fixed up my appointment with the Doctor the very same evening, of my return.

Like all others, initially it did upset me when quite suddenly, I was diagnosed with cancer of the breast. But then, it was really for a brief spell. I decided not to allow something as transient as an illness to takeover me and my mind.

The very same evening I came home and told myself and my family 3 things
a) I will ride this out, and I won’t allow the cancer to ride me
b) I will not say Why me? I will not ask God or anyone , if I was being punished for something
c) This is only one page of my life and I will not allow this to impact the rest of my life

Further, I unburdened myself from the secrecy associated with it. I myself told the world about it. This way , whoever came to see me came with cheerful faces and not with tears! I told myself, that It has got to be handled like any other disease. It is not so insurmountable that I succumb to it and give way to pessimism. This thought entered my mind and I got ready for the surgery like I go about staging a new choreographed piece.

It is this very positive outlook that helped me come out of a major surgery and within 3 weeks , I conducted and presented a five-day Sangeeta Natak Akademi national dance festival on one hand, while rehearsing with my students on the other.

Actually I was less worried about the therapy rather than the gap it was likely to create in my scheme of things. And that is because of the long-drawn process of treatment. My husband Jayant had something really nice to say at this point. That I should take this period as a holiday.. I did precisely this. Even during chemo therapy my husband’s advise, of ‘Think of it as Amrutam”, really helped. I have been giving full-fledged dance performances soon after surgery, during chemo therapy and during radiation also. I also conducted regular dance classes at my institution Shankaranda Kalakshetra

Readers, hope you enjoyed this part of the interview. Stay tuned for the last and final part where Mrs. Jayant talks about the way she overcame cancer.

Please find the previous interview Mr. Guruprasad – Collector of Rare photographs here – Part 1 & Part 2. . All interviews on CWS can be found here.

Today we have a special guest.. someone for whom dance is an integral part of life… someone who lives and breathes dance.. A strong woman who danced her way out of cancer! Please join me to welcome the renowned classical dancer and a generous contributor to the field of arts – Padmashri Ananda Shankar Jayant!

When I first saw Ananda’s TED talk, I was awestruck! When I wrote to her, I was pleasantly surprised to find an affirmative answer for an interview from Ananda Maam. And today I hope to share with you some of the anecdotes from the interview with Ananda Shankar Jayant – A true role model for Indian Youth!

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
ASJ: Ananda Shankar Jayant – Padshri Awardee – Contribution to Arts

ASJ: I am a Tamilian, and hail from the Tirunelveli district. However my family have settled in Hyderabad. Hence my education and upbringing has been in Hyderabad only.

My father Sri GS Shankar, was an officer with the Indian Railways. My mother Smt Subhashini Shankar, was a teacher with Keyes High School, and was a well known musician and violinist.

Born in a middle class Tamil Brahmin family, Tamil by birth but Hyderabadi in upbringing, I am a product of multiple cultures. My school education has been at St Ann’s High School, Secunderabad, and later on at Kalakshetra.
I have thus imbibed the best of both worlds, and am a true cosmopolitan.

My passion for dance began early in life – a chance meeting at the Subramanyam temple in Secunderabad, when I was 4 years old – a comment that ‘This child’s eyes are large – you must teach her dance’, had my mother Subhashini Shankar enroll me with Smt Sharada Keshava Rao. I later trained with Sri KN Pakkiriswamy Pillai (brother of Sri KN Dandayuthapani Pillai) who then taught dance in Hyderabad.

Invited on a scholarship to Kalakshetra, after winning the All India Gold Medal for dance in the Junior section, I joined Kalakshetra, Chennai at the age of 11 years. During one of our summer vacations when we visited our grandparents in Chennai, during the hot summer of Madras in May. My mother and I wended our way nervously into the courtyard of a building in Tiruvanmiyur. We waited outside the office, after having sent in a message, eagerly waiting to be called in. But we were not summoned inside. Instead, the very person we wanted to see came out to greet us.

The lady was none other than Rukmini Devi Arundale, the Director of Kalakshetra. After the traditional namaskaram, I remember asking her naively to bless me to be like her someday. “No, no, I bless you to be greater than me”, said the beautiful lady, swathed in a maroon silk saree, with her freshly washed hair falling down on her shoulders. What a blessing! This is really one unforgettable experience of my life.

She, Rukmini Athai, had made the decision for my parents and me. She scoffed at the worry of my parents about putting me into a hostel. She promised them that I would be safe and well looked after. I was admitted into Kalakshetra , to take up dancing full time. Such was the force of Rukmini Devi’s personality that it affected all who came within her radiating aura.

I joined Kalakshetra, exchanging pinafores and school bags, maths and science classes for Pavadai – Davani and dance classes. It was a sea change! Life in a hostel for most students in the first few months can be traumatic – and for me the different life styles that I was encountering in a matter of a few days were enormous. Yet, Kalakshetra, and Athai, enveloped me in their bosom, with lots of love and affection; that the transition from convent school to traditional Kalakshetra was ultra smooth.

Growing up in Kalakshetra, was great fun. Learning Bharatanatyam from Padma Balagopal, Sharada Hoffman and Krishnaveni Laxman was wonderful. Crying on Neela Aunty’s (Neela Sathyalingam) shoulders for a role in a production that did not come my way, listening to Jaya Teacher (N.S. Jayalaxmi) expound on the Nava Rasa or Tala Dasha Prana, tiptoeing into Peria Sharada teacher’s class for PG Diploma Theory, her giving us a detailed understanding and analysis for our roles in the dance dramas of Kalakshetra, learning from Janardhan Sir, Kaikottukali, as well as different roles in dance productions along with a brief introduction to Kathakali, learning folk dance from Anandhi teacher, perfecting concert roles with Krishnaveni Acca and learning philosophy from Shankara Menon Sir – He went on to compare my memory with his fabled memory power – Oh what a day that was – that too in front of the whole morning prayer.! O! What a life!

Life in boarding – friends from all over – studying by the dining room and common room lights, while others slept and I had exams coming up; actually quite enjoying the hostel food (I hated the upma though) sharing Avvakkai and Sohan papdi with friends, my parents receiving complaints that I laughed too much and read too much James Hadley Chase! Looking forward to my mother picking me up every 3 months to take me home to Hyderabad! O life was one roller coaster.

Being selected to participate in compositions such as Matsya-Kurma Avataram, Meenakshi Vijayam etc., when Athai composed was, I think the greatest learning a student of dance could ever dream to have. In retrospect, I think, it was being part of the coveted concert section, and participating in the various dramas in roles from sakhi, to Apsara, that I imbibed the aesthetics, the group dynamics, stage design, lighting, entries, exits group choreography etc., inherent in the Kalakshetra training.

I spent six years at Kalakshetra, learning Bharata Natyam, Carnatic music, veena, dance theory, philosophy etc., and acquired a Diploma and a Post-graduate Diploma in Bharata Natyam. I also learnt the grace of a firmly executed movement, the need to perfect the bodily stances and thereby forget the body and rise above it, to think, to create, to go beyond and to ascend to realms of a higher consciousness.

On my return to Hyderabad, I also learnt Kuchipudi from Sri Pasumarthy Ramalinga Shastry.

Simultaneously I started teaching. Interested parents wanting me to teach their children and my own interest in sharing my art – made me a teacher of dance at the age of 17 years. I began with six students and grew up with my young students. They call me ‘akka’, elder sister. My dance school in Hyderabad, Shankarananda Kalakshetra, now has about 80 students and the relationship is that of a large family, a true guru-sishya relationship. My students learn to balance the traditional with the modern, the static body with the soaring mind. They experience the freedom to feel, to know, to break all bonds, all barriers, in an effort to touch one’s self.

Some time when I was in Kalakshetra I think I realized that dance was my calling
My Natya journey is that of living in dance and with dance inspite of a full time career in the India Railways. I have been able to perform, teach choreograph travel etc, as a full time dancer would inspite of another very different career. This strength too has come to me from the dance itself..

Me: What do you think are the high points and low points of your dance career.. Can you talk a bit about it.. Can you also talk about Padmashri award and your contribution to the field of arts..

ASJ: I think the best thing that ever happened to me was my 6 years training in Kalakshetra The six years at Kalakshetra, taught me a way of life – where dance transcends mere skill and becomes one’s very persona. My parents were great inspiration. The very fact that they pulled a high performing eleven year old out of school, to pursue dance, with schooling being utterly nebulous, trusted me enough to complete my education on my own, and backed me throughout, in spite of middle class worries about money – knowing fully well that this chosen career could well not be highly paid, is a great blessing and speaks of a family’s commitment to the art.

In today’s global world I am a composite of many cultural influences. My memories and life’s experiences need to be reflected in my language – which is dance. My personal, political and social concerns need to find voice in my dance – for that’s the way I speak, the only language I know. I as an artiste cannot live on the external fringes of society, irrelevant except as mundane entertainment. Sometimes I feel we artistes live on another orbit. My dance cannot just be pretty, beautiful and artistic. I need to voice my concerns. I need to integrate my artistic voice into the fabric of society. Thus I questioned myself:

Can I divest myself from the problems that surround me?
Can I live in an ivory tower and be just a pretty dancer?
Can I relate to traditional poetry with contemporary sensibility?

What About Me?, which premiered in 1999 was my reaction to the scarring gender issues, that surround us. Can I be inured and unaware of happenings around me? Can I eschew and ignore gender issues, racial and religious violence, and caste polemics? Is dance a mere bread winner, a performing profession? Or is it my life breath?

If it is my life breath, then I told myself, I cannot divide myself into neat compartments – espouse and speak up for causes dear to me but not relate them to my dance. Sure, to me dance exists on multiple levels, the physical, the esoteric and the spiritual. Sure, I relate indelibly to the jeevatma – paramatma theory and the bhakti bhava (devotion) in dance, training as I did from Kalakshetra. But, this search, this quest is a personal one. Yes, my art will lead me to spiritual upliftment, but my dance has also to touch base with the issues that surround me. I cannot look at the burnt face of a dowry victim and not allow it to find a voice in my dance.

Not only have I dealt with gender issues, but also with a fun production like Panchatantra. My belief is that dance is on one level my spiritual journey, but it is also my greatest communication tool. My dance is my best language. And yes dance really is my life breath! Why? How can I answer, why or how we breathe??!! When I saw my name in the Padmashri list on 26th January 2007… I couldn’t believe it.. I immediately missed my mother, and Gurus. How they would have been proud of me!

Readers, hope you enjoyed the part 1 of the interview. Stay tuned to hear more from the Ananda maam in part 2 about her tryst with Cancer and how she overcame the same. Previous interview with Guruprasad – Collector of Rare Photographs can be found here – Part 1 & Part 2.

All the interviews on Coffee With Sundar can be found here.

Today let us continue with the part 2 of the interview with Mr. Guruprasad. Part 1 can be found here.

Just to remind you, here is a brief introduction of Mr. Guruprasad. Guruprasad, Bangalore based engineer has found his calling in looking for rare photographs and information.. which makes you think deeper.. Guru’s blog is Deeply Thinking.

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
GP: Guruprasad – Collector of rare photograph

Me: Guruprasad, Last time you shared some really outstanding images. Can you share a few more this time as well..

GP: Sure..

A newsarticle from 1930s in which Gandhi condemns the rampant corruption in Congress. Most of us are under the impression that corruption in Govt is a recent phenomena. But this newsreport shows us that such problems existed even 70 years ago:

http://deeplythinking.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/1939-corruption-in-india/

Flight attendants of Air India in 1946. Very interesting to find that Air India’s flight attendants had European dress code in those days unlike today’s traditional Indian wear:

http://deeplythinking.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/air-india-flight-attendants-in-1946/

A snapshot of Budget report showing the exhobirant taxes upto 98%. The photo narration also tries to analyze the root cause of Brain Drain and relates it to high taxes of those times:

http://deeplythinking.wordpress.com/2011/06/02/high-taxes/

Photo of Steve Jobs promoting his company after being fired from Apple. The photo narration is inspirational because it demonstrates the proverb “When all else is lost, the future still remains”:

http://deeplythinking.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/steve-next/

Aerial photography from National Geographic. Its more like an optical illusion but the photo narration tries to relate it to philosophy of judgement:

http://deeplythinking.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/ngc-camels/

Me: Thanks Guru for those thought provoking photos.. What else do you do.. you seem to read some really amazing books.. Can you talk about it..

GP: Yes, I do read some interesting books. I just visit a bookstall once in 3 months, spend 2 hours at the non fiction section and browse books. Being a technology oriented person, I make use of my smartphone also to the fullest. When I find an interesting book in the bookstall, I check for its online price and decide where to finally buy it from. But because the bookstall gives us a platform to browse books, I make it a point to buy atleast 2 books from the stall and rest of the books online at discounted prices

Recently, I have started a new hobby of composing poems which are thought provoking. One of the intenion of writing such poems is to bring in dignity of labour in our country. We have to realize that every professional is equal. There is no big or small profession. All are required and equally important for the development of our country.

Apart from these hobbies, I go roaming around the city with friends and trying out restaurants. I go for long drives and love to spend time in nature (Coorg is my favourite hangout for such getaways).

Me: What are your future plans.. Both in terms of your hobby and your professional life..

GP: In terms of hobby, I will continue gathering information, reading more books, watching documentaries and searching for rare/interesting pics, narrating it and sharing it with people. In terms of professional life, as I mentioned earlier, when it was mobile revolution, I wanted to be part of it. When it was smartphone revolution, I wanted to be part of it too. So, lets see what is the next revolution in technology. That might help me in deciding where to move in professional life. But nothing is planned yet. Whether I still want to be into purely technical field or something related to branding, strategizing etc or something else, only time will tell. Many people tell me that I should think of what I specifically want to be in life and work for it. But I believe that once you finalize on what you specifically want to be, the fun is gone

And everything is unpredictible. We have to change with times and evolve. For example, one elderly person in 1990s decided that he wants to be the top dealer in India for pagers. But by 2000, pagers were gone and he did not know what to do next

I believe in Steve Jobs’ philosophy of taking life as it comes, explore every opportunity as it knocks and join/connect these dots in the future. Always be hungry for knowledge (Stay Hungry), Never think you know everything (Stay Foolish). Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish

Me: What else.. Anything else you would like to add?

GP: I would like to add few things about our nation. If you would have noticed, there are lots of thought provoking pictures related to our nation in my album. Most of the people have lost faith in our nation and many dont believe that India can succeed looking at the current state of affairs. We all know that for the country to prosper, the system has to change. But I am trying to provoke people’s thoughts that before changing the system, we should first change ourselves. For example, we always blame traffic policemen for corruption. But we dont realize that most of the mistakes are on our side. We should not break rules in the first place. However, mistakes happen, we break rules sometime. But after breaking the rule, we should face the consequence of paying full penalty. We pay part of the money as bribe and later say he is corrupt. But are we not twice as corrupt as him here?

I am very optimistic about the new generation of India. They are 10 times more clever and intellectual than us. They have very good judgemental & reasoning capability. If only we are able to provide education to every kid in the nation, the day will not be far when India will be the most prosperous country and a superpower in economy, culture & technology

Me: Absolutely Guruprasad! I soo totally believe in the potential of our youngsters and the nation.. Thank you very much for your time today and good luck for the future.. It was really nice to know you.. And I hope you can be a role model for many young indians who specializing in niche areas…

Readers, hope you enjoyed this edition of Coffee With Experts.. Previous interview with Vairam on Sangam Literature can be found here.

CWS is going to host Padmashree Anand Shankar Jayant for the next interview! Stay tuned!

Please join me to welcome Mr. Guruprasad from Bangalore, who is looks at the same internet like you and me.. yet has come up with something different and amazing.. Guruprasad, bangalore based engineer has found his calling in looking for rare photographs and information.. which makes you think deeper.. Guru’s blog is Deeply Thinking.

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
GP: Guruprasad – Collector of rare photographs

GP: Hi Sundar. Thank you for having me on this show.

Let me tell something about myself now. Born in Bangalore, in the 1980s, I feel I am very fortunate to have witnessed some of the major revolutions like economic liberalization on 90s and IT revolution of 2000s which have kickstarted the country’s progress in a good way. My father works for National Aerospace Labs and is an electronics engineer by profession. He is my inspiration for my fascination towards engineering & technology. My mother being a housewife has been very supportive and motivational in all my walks in life. I did my Schooling at MES, Bangalore, and had very inspiration teachers whom I can never forget in my life. After that, Pre University at Vijaya College (RV Road) Vijaya College being one of the oldest colleges in Bangalore (established in 1940s), there were some old time professors who used to lay lot of importance to Indian culture & heritage (Our Maths teacher used to spend 45 mins solving problems and 15 mins talking about Indian heritage). They have also been one of my inspirations to know more about our culture in different perspectives.

Having witnessed the IT boom, Infosys & Wipro stock prices soaring in late 90s, I had always wanted to work in technology industry. So, I took up electronics engineering at PESIT, Bangalore. As most of the Bangaloreans know, PESIT is a very strict college which emphasises on discipline and their mission statement is “Discipline, Dedication & Deference”. In a way, it helped me understand the importance of discipline, dedication and respect towards others. It was initially tough to cope up with their strict rules, but after getting used to it, it has made me more disciplined in life.

By the time I finished my engineering, the mobile phone revolution had begun and I wanted to be a part of it. I realized that working for a mobile phone startup company would help me understand the domain and dynamics better. So I joined Sonim Technologies, a startup company which makes the world’s toughest phones. Based in San Mateo, US, they had their whole engineering division in Bangalore which gave us a complete picture of what we are actually doing. By 2009, the smartphone revolution had begun with iOS, Android etc picking up. I wanted to be a part of this revolution now So, I joined Samsung Electronics in 2010 and have been working on developing smartphones. It is a very dynamic market. With features becoming obsolete within months and new features introduced every few months. I am getting to learn lot of things, both in terms of technology as well as market dynamics.

Me: When did you start this hobby of collecting rare photographs? What inspired you.. How did you become serious about this?

GP: Sundar, to be frank, collecting rare photograhs was never my hobby. Instead, collecting interesting and rare “information” and sharing it with friends was my hobby. Till my graduation, I used to read novels and some good books like Sherlock Holmes. But after that, my reading habits changed totally. I started reading a variety of books related to history, economics, statistics, Indian culture, Indian freedom struggle and other such books. Also, at the same time, I got high speed broadband at home and started downloading tons of interesting documentaries. After reading a book or watching a documentary, I would share those information with friends. I had always wanted to share these with more people but did not know how to. Recently, I realized that facebook can be a good medium for it. In the form of photo albums and my write-ups and thoughts for it, I thought it can reach more people and started this new hobby. In fact, when I started this album, I had only 4-5 rare photos but tons of information. I knew that since I have the info, I can search it on internet and present these in an interesting format. That is how this new hobby started i.e transformation of information and thoughts into picture stories and the album is gradually building up with inclusion of more pics.

Me: Very interesting.. What is the process involved in collecting these pictures..Can you take an example picture and say how did you manage to find the picture.. do the research for it etc..

GP: On a lazy sunday afternoon or whenever I get some time, I try to recollect information from all the books and documentaries and find if there was something interesting that is worth sharing. Then, I dig for a relevant picture on the internet, come up with a narration and upload it to the album.

For example, when I read the book “Freedom at Midnight”, it said that during India-Pakistan partition, everything had to be divided into a 4:1 ratio including libraries, books, tables and office chairs. The interesting part was that because of this irrational way of dividing, there were instances where out of a 20 volume book, 4 were sent to Pak and 16 were retained in India. One day, I recollected this interesting fact and searched the internet for India-Pakistan library partition and found this picture:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1913515766844&set=a.1921166078097.235311.1510418566&type=1

One day, I was watching NGC in which they showed a Grizzly bear waiting for a fish to fall directly into its mouth. After the programme, I spent sometime trying to relate it to real life and thought that being at the right place at the right time (like the Grizzly bear) is also important apart from hard work and risk taking ability.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1929966218095&set=a.1921166078097.235311.1510418566&type=1
This way, all the pics and writeups has been a result of reading books and watching something and relating it to real life.

Me: Can you share some of other your interesting collection and why you like them?

GP:  Here is a 1940s photo of Taj Mahal with protective scaffold during world war. The reason why I find it interesting is because it shows how the same set of people who praise you during moments of joy can be the same who will be ready to trouble you during crisis:

http://deeplythinking.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/bangalore-map-of-1791/

Readers, hope you enjoyed this edition of Coffee With Experts. Please stay tuned for part 2 of the interview with Guruprasad with more exiting photographs. Please find the previous interview with Mr. Vairam on Sangam Literature.

Today, in Coffee With Sundar, I am happy to introduce you to a passionate young man.. who started just like you and me.. when he was young.. he hated the language courses.. But he didn’t know that fate had other plans for him.. He has fallen in love with the Sangam Tamil.. and leaving no stones unturned to spread its beauty! He is also the founder of the website – Karka Nirka! and a role model for Indian youth!

Me: Sundar Rajan G S
PV: Palaniappan Vairam – Founder, Karka Nirka

PV: I am a Telecom Engineer based in Washington DC. Most of my childhood happened in Gopalapuram in Chennai where I have both my school and house. School days were fun, I was not a studious one but always managed to get good scores in my finals. Last minute study was my mantra and mastered the art through my school and college days. I completed B.E in Instrumentation with a distinction. I did my M.S.(in Elec. Engg) in University of Texas at Arlington with a scholarship. MBA is in pipeline later this year. The profile might suggest I am studious and really interested in studying – but last minute slogging has some how worked out well for me!

Me: That is interesting.. Can you talk about Karka Nirka.. When did you.. What is the story behind this..

PV: Karka Nirka was started on March 15,2008. I was trying my hand at blogging for while but it was so bad even my friends wouldn’t read my blogs. I had to work in a computer lab for 6 hrs, it would be really boring so I started reading Ponniyin Selvan translation. But the blog which had the translation had only 41 chapters. It was such a page turner that I decided to read the rest of the book in Tamil (except for few magazines never touched Tamil lit. before). The book was so good that I read 2000 more pages in Tamil. That was first exposure to Tamil. Then I decided to build on it, accidentally I got hold of book Smile of Murugan by Kamil Zvelebil. The author who is a Czech introduces Tamil to the world audience and he gives example of Tamil literature brilliance and tells the world why they have to read Tamil literature. Reading it I felt so ashamed that a person from Europe can love Tamil Literature so much and me being a Tamilian I have never even read the beautiful poems he has mentioned. So went to my University library and to my surprise there were translations of Sangam literature and Silapathikaram. What surprised me more was all these were literature on love and romance. To my knowledge I knew Tamil literature mostly was didactic or religious literature. Romance especially in Silapathikaram was surprise. So I decided to share the poems which pleasantly shocked me. I thought Blogging would be the right medium and this time it worked.

Me: Can you talk about how did you got interested in Sangam literature and decided to take the deep dive..

PV: My first introduction to Sangam Literature was essays on Sangam literature by Dr.Kamil Zvelebil in his books Smile of Murugan. Then I got to read translations of Sangam litertaure by A.K.Ramanujan and Dr. George Hart. What attracted me most was that the emotions potrayed in Sangam litrature are so universal. 2000 years later still lovers would go thorugh the same emotions. The poets have beautifully blended the nature around them with the emotions of characters to give unique poetry which would just melt your heart.

Me: Was it one of those late bloomers experience.. What made the tick?

PV: Very very late bloomer. I hated my Tamil lessons. I some what felt that Tamil non detail lessons were so boring and were always about rich people exploiting poor that it made me hate Tamil literature. I never had any liking for poetry too. Still I dont think I can appreciate most poetry. But some how these sangam poems caught my attention , I guess the human emotions just made me fall in love with it.

Me: What is the meaning of your website title.. How did you come up with this name..

PV: Actually I wanted to keep Katrathum petrathum – rip off from Sujatha’s famous title. But it was not available. Idea being Sangam poems are what i am learning now.. so want to share with u, so had to search for other titles. This one was long there in my mind because my vice principle in school whould often quote this kural ‘karka kasadara katravai katra pin nirka atharku thaga’.. He had very dep voice so always remembered this kural in his voice. So the words Kakra (learn) Nirka(stand by it) was on the similar line of what i was looking for. So that immediately became the title.

Me: Wow.. What is sangam literature all about.. (What are the interesting trends in Sangam period..

PV: Sangam literature is a big misnomer, lot of scholars have pointed this out. The name came up since it was belived that Madurai had a centralized acadmey for Tamil where each poem will be approved. Academy- sangam. So the literature was called Sangam literature. But historically if we see the sitatuion, we understand that Madurai could have had an academy but not a centralised one like it is potrayed to have. Poets were from all across Tamil nadu, kerala, karnataka, Andhra. Sangam Litertaure is basically court poetry. There were court poets and free lancers. Court poets enjoyed having a patron hence had more comfortable life and had better literary outputs. Most famous poets of Sangam like Kapilar, Auvaiyar, Paranar had patrons. Freelancers went to court of kings to sing their poverty/praise the king and get gifts.

We also see that the freelancer had complete democracy of choosing whom the want to praise and get gifts. This one poem where the poet feels the king hasn’t given enough and he goes to another kings sings in praise of him and gets a gift of an elephant (which is valued to be really high) and he goes and ties it in the sacred tree of the first king to show the king his worth. On the other hand Kapilar when his patron Pari died shifted his base to Malyanman country and became the court poet there. Same was case with Auvaiyar who shifted base after Adhiyman Anci died and went to the Chera court. We also see poets advising the kings on various issues and some poem even show poet and kings being really friendly and playing games.

There were three major kings and many small warlords and chieftains. The situation then is mostly comparable to the Samurai period in Japan – no major kingdom and always waging war. Most small kingdoms didnt have own source of water, so in periods where their water resources dries out they have to steal food from other kingdom or wage war. So it was necessity of the time. Only Cholas in the 10th century where able to solve the water problem with building of many tanks and channels. Sangam kings were always at war because that was a necessity not that they were barbarians.

Akam poems were either sung before the patron to entertain or used as indirect sex education for the people. Akam poem indirectly tells us what is proper love. Unlike later didactic literature these poems dont tells us the rules, rather it portrays emotions of the people involved to help us understand what is right and wrong.

Me: Very interesting.. What are we missing out on by not reading about sangam literature.. What is so special about it that it gets so much praise..

PV: First of all it is literature of a common man and not a literature on science and religion. If you look into any ancient literature of India they are either religious text or Sutras on a subject. Sangam Literature differs from all these literature since they just potray the emotions of common people.

Sangam literature can be spilt into two parts namely Akam and Puram. Akam deals with love and Puram deals with any other subject like war, heroism, kings, beneficence, poets, poverty, poets advise to king on various subjects etc.
Akam poems cannot contain any personal names or references since it dealt with emotions and personal life.

What really interested me in Sangam poems were that the emotions potrayed in those poems are exactly the same emotions experienced by people in love even today. We may have changed us and our evnivroment rapidly in the 2000 years, but our basic emotions have been the same.

Sangam poetry is a treasure house of description of nature, flora and fauna. The poets have by then, mastered the use of similes and visual imagery. They have beautifully blended the environment around them with the emotions of the people in love. These poems have to be experienced. The experience is such a beautiful one which I am enjoying for last three years.

Me: Can you suggest some books to pursue sangam literature..

PV: Smile of Murugan by kamil Zvelebil would be a great starter. Interior Landscape by A.K.Ramanujan is a very easily available classic translation of Kurunthokai.. Sips from Sangam cup is excellent starter from Sangam poems
Literary conventions on Akam poetry by Kamil Zvelebil is an excellent read on Akam poetry.

For more books you can check this post from my blog - http://karkanirka.org/books-you-should-read/

Me: I find that a good number of books on this subject are written in english by western authors.. Why is that so?

PV: The truth is there are excellent research work by Tamil Scholars too, but early books were written in Tamil.

We have scholars like K.Kailasapathy, A.K.Ramanujan, K.Shivatambhi, A.V Subramaniyan, N.Subramaniyan, Raghava Iyengar, V.S.Rajam and many more literary giants. The western scholars had the need to introduce the language known only to few to many people across the world. So mostly all the basic introduction for Sangam poems are written by the western scholars, but for that reason we should never forget the contribution of native Tamil Scholars.

If there was no Damodra Pillai and Swaminathan Iyer we have no sangam literature (they literally roamed around every house to collect all Palmyra scripts and re discovered sangam literature and published them as books with commentary!)

Me: From sangam.. back to your website.. What are the inspirations for your post.. What kind of topics do you choose from a vast array of sangam literature..

PV: The truth is I have no recipe nor I am a cook. I just read poems/translations – if some thing holds my interest and blows me away I try to check for word by word meanings and try to understand the poem in its original language, it gives me more insight into the poem. Then all I got to do is try to make it as easy as possible for the reader to understand and experience the same happiness I had while reading the poem. I experiment with different ways so that it becomes easier for the reader to understand. It started with detailed commentary , then pictures/illustrations and now it has ended up with graphic novel style presentation of poem. The idea is reader should understand the poem completely (which one usually misses just reading a translation). I should say the poem chooses me than me choosing a poem!

Me: What are your future plans? You also plan to do an MBA.. Can you speak about your personal plan and also plans for you website..

PV: I am going to do my MBA in Asian Institute of Mangement in Philippines from September this year. I want to come back to India for good (been in US for 5 years now). I see my blog growing into an organisation. I want to take Sangam literature to students. Sangam literature is lying in scholarly circle for too long. Its time we all understand Sangam literature is our cultural treasure. Its only literature in India which preserves the culture of pre-aryan/sanskritized India. It is an universal literature. I see it as crime that we people are not aware about our own cultural treasures. I want to take this to the students. Only when we catch them young they would have enough time to spread it to others. These students would be much more creative and dynamic and would take Sangam literature to more people. I want students to learn and write about Sangam and other good Tamil literature. I want Sangam litertaure to be inspiration for arts and movies. All these are running as Ideas in my mind. But I want to give them a very practical form and start of from the school I studied and try to inspire few students to read and write about Sangam Litertaure. This is one of the major reasons among others I want to shift base to India.

Me: Very interesting thoughts Vairam.. Anything else you would like to add..

PV: I really dont want to put some list of things to say why you have to read Sangam literature, give it a try I am very sure you would love it. Lot of people comment on my blog saying I have great Tamil Patru to write my blog. I usually disagree with that sentiment. If had come across poems as beautiful as Sangam Poems in Japanese language I would be writing my blog on Japanese litertaure rather than Tamil Literature. Sangam literature is a very beautiful literature read it just for its beauty…

Me: Thank you Vairam for your time.. On behalf of the readers of Coffee With Sundar, I wish you good luck for your MBA.. and most importantly spreading of Sangam Literature..

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