I found this article interesting.Thought will share with you all.
Date:02/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/02/stor ... 540200.htm
New initiative of the Music Sabhas in Chennai
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erode14
- Posts: 726
- Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 21:43
I request our respected members to translate the following, as I don't think I can do a good version in english amidst mrudangam works, concerts and special classes for students from abroad. I sent this to some popular magazines, which publish reviews of the season and to some sabhas too...
please, do it and enable all our members read it and register their views for the sake of the physically challeneged and senior citizens...
*******************************************************
படிகà¯ÂÂ
please, do it and enable all our members read it and register their views for the sake of the physically challeneged and senior citizens...
*******************************************************
படிகà¯ÂÂ
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erode14
- Posts: 726
- Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 21:43
(I sent that to some magazines last year).
I tried to upload the same as image files, for members who can read thamizh, but, who don't have the required fonts installed in their system....
How to upload images?
I tried to upload the same as image files, for members who can read thamizh, but, who don't have the required fonts installed in their system....
How to upload images?
Last edited by erode14 on 03 Dec 2008, 00:49, edited 1 time in total.
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PUNARVASU
- Posts: 2498
- Joined: 06 Feb 2010, 05:42
Shri Nagaraj,
here is my attempt at translationg what you wrote.
Re: New initiative of the Music Sabhas in Chennai
*******************************************************
Have you ever got scared looking at steps?
Measuring the height of the steps with eys, approaching them and counting them
Seeing if there are are handrails and if yes, whether they are on the right or on the left
And if they are strong enough to bear my weight ,
And also how to manage if it is on the rightside or left side
Lifting the whole body with the support of the two hands and dragging it (the body) forward
Getting in from the outside of the auditorium, looking inside and then dragging the body to the stage Which is in the opposite side, gasping for breath,gathering energy and again CLIMB a few steps
Calming my breath, sporting a brave smile, hiding my fatigue
Adjusting the shruti and that is how start most of my my concerts.
Steps will be dry in summer, I will climb with the hand gloves (shodden hands?)
What if it rains?
Do the fashion elites who wear shoes to walk on the slush, think ever of our ‘FOUR-LEGGED WALK’
Have your palms or knees ever been hurt /bruised/pricked by the sand grains or little pebbles of the dry earth?
If it is an uncivilised, inhuman behaviour to to remind a heart which bleeds from the loss of a husband, Or the death of a child or from the pains of getting betrayed by somebody
And WHICH it wants to forget
It is a shameful sorrow in this world of advanced science that
It reminds me every time of my disability, of my inability
Thes steps which are great stopping stones in my journey
Which I take as STEPPING STONES
Making my clan gasp for breath
These steps in the sabhas which we can not climb with our wheel chairs
Which keep us away from all the things
We also would like to enjoy
Do you know that just as there are building withouts lifts, there are also
Sabhas and their rest rooms which do have
LIFTS, but not a ramp leading to them
Even the pavements on the roads have no ramps and the roads have lamposts in the middle which hamper our movement
PLEAS,please think of us, who may not be in huge numbers
But also think of those seniors who are great rasikas and also GREAT PERFORMERS themselves
For how long will we be keeping away because we have no proper approach to the sabhas?
For how long can we go on with what little physical enregy we have?
It is said ‘KEEP OFF THE EVIL’
But what about miseries?
For the miseries we undergo, sympathetic looks are no solution.
"If you are not part of the solution then you are the problem"
Please, provide us ramps and make the places user friendly for the physically challenged, who are willing to be part of this Carnatic Music, the ageless art.
here is my attempt at translationg what you wrote.
Re: New initiative of the Music Sabhas in Chennai
*******************************************************
Have you ever got scared looking at steps?
Measuring the height of the steps with eys, approaching them and counting them
Seeing if there are are handrails and if yes, whether they are on the right or on the left
And if they are strong enough to bear my weight ,
And also how to manage if it is on the rightside or left side
Lifting the whole body with the support of the two hands and dragging it (the body) forward
Getting in from the outside of the auditorium, looking inside and then dragging the body to the stage Which is in the opposite side, gasping for breath,gathering energy and again CLIMB a few steps
Calming my breath, sporting a brave smile, hiding my fatigue
Adjusting the shruti and that is how start most of my my concerts.
Steps will be dry in summer, I will climb with the hand gloves (shodden hands?)
What if it rains?
Do the fashion elites who wear shoes to walk on the slush, think ever of our ‘FOUR-LEGGED WALK’
Have your palms or knees ever been hurt /bruised/pricked by the sand grains or little pebbles of the dry earth?
If it is an uncivilised, inhuman behaviour to to remind a heart which bleeds from the loss of a husband, Or the death of a child or from the pains of getting betrayed by somebody
And WHICH it wants to forget
It is a shameful sorrow in this world of advanced science that
It reminds me every time of my disability, of my inability
Thes steps which are great stopping stones in my journey
Which I take as STEPPING STONES
Making my clan gasp for breath
These steps in the sabhas which we can not climb with our wheel chairs
Which keep us away from all the things
We also would like to enjoy
Do you know that just as there are building withouts lifts, there are also
Sabhas and their rest rooms which do have
LIFTS, but not a ramp leading to them
Even the pavements on the roads have no ramps and the roads have lamposts in the middle which hamper our movement
PLEAS,please think of us, who may not be in huge numbers
But also think of those seniors who are great rasikas and also GREAT PERFORMERS themselves
For how long will we be keeping away because we have no proper approach to the sabhas?
For how long can we go on with what little physical enregy we have?
It is said ‘KEEP OFF THE EVIL’
But what about miseries?
For the miseries we undergo, sympathetic looks are no solution.
"If you are not part of the solution then you are the problem"
Please, provide us ramps and make the places user friendly for the physically challenged, who are willing to be part of this Carnatic Music, the ageless art.
Last edited by PUNARVASU on 03 Dec 2008, 06:51, edited 1 time in total.
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vasanthakokilam
- Posts: 10958
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01
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arasi
- Posts: 16873
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
Punarvasu,
Thank you for enabling Nagaraj's words (plight) to reach those who cannot read or understand tamizh. He had sent the same to me this morning and as I was translating it, I saw your post.
While we excel in fine arts in bhArat, we are insensitive to issues which scream out for assistance.
If the state of thing are so pathetic in the city, imagine Nagaraj traveling to (pain in itself) to remote parts of the south for concerts! The steps, lack of them, broken and uneven ones, pot holes and uneven surfaces--all are a nightmare. As a senior citizen, I am wary of stepping out into the hazards of the streets. How about those with disabilities like Nagaraj who carry on because they are brave and love their art? I am not mentioning money because I know it does not amount to much at all for a mrudanga vidvAn! We appreciate your spirit, Nagaraj...
With the advent of the season, A PLEA TO SPONSORS OF EVENTS:
Please earmark some of your financial contributions specifically for better access to sabhas and of course, for toilet maintenance...
Thank you for enabling Nagaraj's words (plight) to reach those who cannot read or understand tamizh. He had sent the same to me this morning and as I was translating it, I saw your post.
While we excel in fine arts in bhArat, we are insensitive to issues which scream out for assistance.
If the state of thing are so pathetic in the city, imagine Nagaraj traveling to (pain in itself) to remote parts of the south for concerts! The steps, lack of them, broken and uneven ones, pot holes and uneven surfaces--all are a nightmare. As a senior citizen, I am wary of stepping out into the hazards of the streets. How about those with disabilities like Nagaraj who carry on because they are brave and love their art? I am not mentioning money because I know it does not amount to much at all for a mrudanga vidvAn! We appreciate your spirit, Nagaraj...
With the advent of the season, A PLEA TO SPONSORS OF EVENTS:
Please earmark some of your financial contributions specifically for better access to sabhas and of course, for toilet maintenance...
-
erode14
- Posts: 726
- Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 21:43
I am happy with the attitude of the sabha secretaries as they take care by receiving me, helping me by carrying the mrudangam to stage, whenever I play at non-user friendly venues of the city.
The main problem with regarding to venues is they deny avenues even when using wheel chairs!
1. Some of the halls have one side access(!?), i.e., outside the hall it is a ramp, but it becomes a flight of steps while descending into the hall (venues colony asthika samajam and narada gana sabha main hall).
2. Some do have lifts, but one needs to climb at least 4, 5 steps to reaching the lift itself! And the highlight of this is the lifts won't give room for the normal size of a wheel chair! (Mini Halls of Music Academy, Barathiya Vidhya Bhavan, Vani Mahal and Narada Gana Sabha).
3. The floor is wet most of the times, as the rest rooms are just on the way to stage. (Krishna Gana Sabha and Rama Rao Kala Mandapam).
4. While talking about the concert halls situated in the ground floor, it is sad to mention that there are halls situated in the first and second floors, without lift facilities.
5. Well, when we talk about the issues regarding how friendly the sabhas for the differently abled are, we should also be aware that many sabhas don't have their own auditoriums.
6. Government should make it clear that providing access to the persons with special needs is compulsory to get approval for constructions (public places).
I also take this opportunity to thank my friends, fellow musicians, rasikas and organizers who help me withstand the practical difficulties that stay a hurdle in my musical career.
I hope that the organisations and their sponsors would do the needful, since media has started throwing a 'light' on this 'heavier' issue, getting a sabhash for sabhas, if they reallise...
erode nagaraj
The main problem with regarding to venues is they deny avenues even when using wheel chairs!
1. Some of the halls have one side access(!?), i.e., outside the hall it is a ramp, but it becomes a flight of steps while descending into the hall (venues colony asthika samajam and narada gana sabha main hall).
2. Some do have lifts, but one needs to climb at least 4, 5 steps to reaching the lift itself! And the highlight of this is the lifts won't give room for the normal size of a wheel chair! (Mini Halls of Music Academy, Barathiya Vidhya Bhavan, Vani Mahal and Narada Gana Sabha).
3. The floor is wet most of the times, as the rest rooms are just on the way to stage. (Krishna Gana Sabha and Rama Rao Kala Mandapam).
4. While talking about the concert halls situated in the ground floor, it is sad to mention that there are halls situated in the first and second floors, without lift facilities.
5. Well, when we talk about the issues regarding how friendly the sabhas for the differently abled are, we should also be aware that many sabhas don't have their own auditoriums.
6. Government should make it clear that providing access to the persons with special needs is compulsory to get approval for constructions (public places).
I also take this opportunity to thank my friends, fellow musicians, rasikas and organizers who help me withstand the practical difficulties that stay a hurdle in my musical career.
I hope that the organisations and their sponsors would do the needful, since media has started throwing a 'light' on this 'heavier' issue, getting a sabhash for sabhas, if they reallise...
erode nagaraj
Last edited by erode14 on 03 Dec 2008, 15:53, edited 1 time in total.
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sramaswamy
- Posts: 366
- Joined: 24 May 2006, 22:29
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Sam Swaminathan
- Posts: 846
- Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:45
Any sensible building codes should have taken care of the problems highlighted by Sri Nagaraj....these are absolutely fundamental in nature. The fact these have been ignored in most of these sabhas indicate lack of knowledge on the part of sabhas, architects, planners and engineers and most importantly town councils and/or corporations which approved the construction of such buildings. Making special provisions for physically challenged persons should be the priority when buildings, particularly, catering to the general public, are being undertaken. Special attention should be paid to toilets for physically disabled. In our country we proudly beat our chests that we have been to the moon, but we have put our head down in shame for failing to take care of the elderly and physcially disabled as well as the general public.
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grsastrigal
- Posts: 884
- Joined: 27 Dec 2006, 10:52
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rajaglan
- Posts: 709
- Joined: 29 Dec 2006, 21:34
Hi all,
The initative is very good. If the initative is emerging out of helping disabled and senior citizens , then it is a great to hear that.
But if it comes as a realisation of missing crowd (most crowd for CM is seniors) , then I can imagine what happens during Sudha, Nithyasree and Aruna, Sanjay , TMK concerts. With the crowd these initiatives will be missing.
The initative is very good. If the initative is emerging out of helping disabled and senior citizens , then it is a great to hear that.
But if it comes as a realisation of missing crowd (most crowd for CM is seniors) , then I can imagine what happens during Sudha, Nithyasree and Aruna, Sanjay , TMK concerts. With the crowd these initiatives will be missing.