My 50 Greatest Films of the 21st Century
Selecting my 50 Greatest Films of the 21st Century – the effort turned out to be a deeper than expected enquiry into myself. The introspection was far lengthier than I perceived and the exercise led me into thoughts, emotional realms of the period. A challenging exercise it was. My set is a rather modest proposal […]
An account of Japanese Architecture
In 1933、having fled to Japan from a Germany where Nazi power was on the rise, architect and theorist, Bruno Taut was moved to tears at the sight of The Katsura … Continue reading
Hymns in Granite – The magnificent temples of Tirunelveli
Nellaiappar shrine at Tirunelveli town, Brahmadesam temple at Ambasamudram, Kasi Viswanathar temple at Tenkasi town & Venkatachalapathy temple at Krishnapuram – all found in the Tirunelveli district of Southern Tamil … Continue reading
TM Krishna – Rebel with (many) causes
A little over a decade ago, my dad inspired me to go listen to TM Krishna stating he was amongst the last disciples of the legendary vocalist Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer & that … Continue reading
125 yrs of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
An orchestra is inseparably woven into the fabric of the local community. It serves a great purpose – inspiring generations to take up the arts, skills those who want to … Continue reading
Film Review – The Last Man On The Moon
The Last Man on the Moon brings to us the captivating biopic of Gene Cernan – the last of the 12 humans to set foot on the moon. Over the … Continue reading
Can John get his mojo back?
A few summers ago, my friend Elmer & I were wondering if it was really worth a 3 hour queue in the hot Chicago sun to see John, a budding … Continue reading
Exquisite Architecture of Sree Padmanabhaswamy shrine, Trivandrum
A 100-foot tall Raja Gopuram, exquisite life-like granite sculptures, colossal pillared corridors – Was I really in a temple in Kerala? The fairly recent find of vast treasures (in excess of $20 billion) … Continue reading
Sumathi’s mellifluous voice
Friends of our family know that my sister, Sumathi, has a fantastic voice & is an Indian classical vocalist. During a lazy evening this past week, she reeled off 2 AR … Continue reading
Madan Thinks 