Sampath-Musings

  FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:       COOKING – AN ART AND SCIENCE   Cooking - a science, art, and creative craft, especially Indian cuisine - is exceptionally diverse and many items incredibly delicious and delectable line up. Perhaps, India is home to a food wide-wonderland with a large number of edible items.   Here, I don’t intend to deal with any recipe or the know-how of cooking different meals but would like to dwell on the psychological, emotional, and empirical aspects thereof more than the physical ones.   Nothing else other than food leaves an everlasting effect on our taste buds. This behaviour of food makes it remembered as an art as well as a science; it is also like physical and chemical engineering blended together. Cooking is again synonymous to taste. No wonder, the versatile nature of cooking and the impact and imprint that it has on our senses make it one of the most influential arts human life has ever known.   ...

  FROM SAMPATH’S DESK:     VANI JAIRAM (30 November 1945 - 4 February 2023) On 4 th February 2023, the mellifluous and honey-dropping voice of the veteran, multi-lingual, and versatile VANI JAIRAM (Kalaivani) became silent - suddenly and eternally.  She was born in Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Her singing career spanned over 50 years.  Her voice and versatility had a perfect sync complementing and enriching each other. She had sung over 10000 songs in 19 languages, mostly in South Indian languages.  They included film songs and Carnatic-based devotional numbers as well as Hindustani-classical-based Bhajans, Thumri, and Ghazal, among others.   Music has a universal appeal transcending all natural differences and man-made barriers. Music or singing is a powerful unifying force that inspires individuals to action and even initiates the process of healing in times of personal tragedy, societal estrangement, or national crises. Musicians/singers ...