SPIDEY: MY FIRST MARVEL ICON.

“With great power comes great responsibility.”

This tagline was made famous by none other than Marvel’s Uncle Ben. These were literally the final words shared by him and his nephew, Peter Parker.

Peter heedlessly ignores the chance to stop a fleeing burglar. His nonchalance cynically catches up with him when the same thief later robs and (accidently) kills Uncle Ben.

Spiderman hunts down Uncle Ben's killer.

If only Peter had been smart enough to stop the burglar/thief when he had the chance, his uncle would’ve been alive. He then subdues the killer with his abilities and only then realises the importance of the famous saying of Uncle Ben’s; that with great power there must also come great responsibility. This gave rise to the wall crawling, web slinging teenage totem-- Spiderman. A perfect head-start to the world of the human spider.

Sam Raimi’s Spidey Trilogy shows Peter Parker, played by Tobey Maguire, possessing organic web shooting abilities. That was disturbing. Comic fanatics went berserk since the comics show Peter developing a device exclusively for web shooting, which would operate by the slight pressure of a finger after having fastened it to each of his arms. The concept is logically sound.

Peter tests his Web Shooting devices.

 Coupled with dynamic flexibility and core strength, Peter also gets abilities to which he refers as his “spider sense” that alert him to danger; enabling him to detect the frequencies of obstacles thrown at him or to navigate electrical impulses in dark rooms, etc.

In comics, wavy lines around his head is used to represent his spider sense. Sometimes the tingling senses are shown by a symbolic half-mask appearing on his face.

Peter senses electrical impulses using his Spider Sense.

VILLIANS

Spidey v/s The Sinister Six.

Spiderman’s perpetual villains include Dr.Otto Octavius, the Sandman, Kraven the Hunter, The Vulture, Electro and Mysterio. Together they call themselves The Sinister Six--- a group they formed to take down Spiderman. Some of the vital rivals of Spidey include the Venom and the Carnage. 

Spiderman…A Hero or A Menace?

 

J. Jonah Jameson.

J. Jonah Jameson is the editor-in-chief of New York’s Daily Bugle. Spiderman having attracted the attention of the media, Jameson tries to destroy Spidey’s reputation by trying to unmask the spider vigilante. Here’s one of the main reasons why he despises Spidey.

Jameson’s son, John Jameson, was set on a journey to outer space; his mission was to orbit the moon. On his way back to earth, disaster struck; a small section of the space shuttle started to malfunction. Even the essential guidance unit couldn’t do anything about it. So Spiderman tries to counter the press by rescuing John from danger. Jameson, instead of acknowledging the fact that Spiderman saved his son’s life, accuses the hero, in front of the press, of manipulating the situation to his own benefit.

Throughout the Spiderman series, JJ tries to learn the truth behind the vigilante’s mask. And fails to do so every time. As the story proceeds towards the end, JJ finally admits that he envies him, that he wants the wall crawling web slinger prosecuted. He realises that Spiderman risks his life day after day with only one goal in mind—a safe city. Why else would a millionaire, civic leader, editor in chief try to tear down the heroic icon of New York City? So all that remains for JJ to do is to bring him down. Pure jealousy. 

Stan’s Web-Slinging Journey

Stan the Man

Well, Stan Lee does know how to cook up a good story line. The reason why I got in to the “Comic Crazed Culture” is because of this comic icon.  A piece of brilliance, truly. I mean (unaware of DC doing equally well), who would’ve thought of creating a character, in the 1960s, who can spin webs and wall crawl; a human spider?  Stan Lee did, and continues to do so even today. Long story short, its imagination at its best. In alliance with Steve Ditko and Jack Kirkby, both world famous comic book artists and writers, Stan Lee created The Incredible Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Thor, The X-Men and many more fictional characters that rocked the world of comic books. 

The interesting part is that he insists on giving all his characters first and last names that start with the same letter; for instance “Peter Parker”, “J. Jonah Jameson”,  “Bruce Banner”, “Reed Richards”, “Sue Storm”, “Otto Octavius”, etc. Very few may have recognized the use of such alliterations in his names.

When Stan put forward his idea of Spiderman to his publisher, this is what he got as a response:

“First of all, people hate spiders, so you can’t call a book Spider-Man. Secondly he can’t be a teenager—teenagers can only be sidekicks. And third, he can’t have personal problems if he’s supposed to be a superhero—don’t you know who a superhero is?”

Stan really wanted this idea of his to do wonders. So he hired an artist to sketch the icon in to the Amazing Fantasy Series, which later became a huge hit. This is what the publisher had to say after:

“That’s okay, we’re friendly, and everything is fine. Marvel now has the best writers available, they have the finest artists … they just can’t do a bad comic book, and they certainly cannot do a bad movie.”

Stan Lee and Spiderman.

Stan’s response to Spiderman’s success?

“I never thought that Spider-Man would become the world wide icon that he is. I just hoped the books would sell and I'd keep my job.”

Spiderman is the reason I chose to read comics. He is an inspiration to all the comic fanatics. I hope Stan continues to make us fans MARVEL at his magic.    

THE LIFE OF AN ARTISTE.

Boredom gives you the opportunity to think. You have all the time in the world to laze around or to start planning your activities for the rest of the day. I was bored. I wasn't thinking. My college was coming to an end in around a couple of weeks. Being the final days of the semester, lectures won’t happen, they’d get canned or faculties won’t show up. So it’s kind of a leisure time I’ve got here. No college or work. What do I do when I’m bored? I usually draw to keep myself busy. I was bored to draw. Playing video games is like planning a trip to Neverland. That didn’t work out either. Boredom was winning. Did I say that it gives you ample time to think what to do with your life? I did. I somehow managed to activate my little grey cells. Thanks to the keen interest I have in music, I play the violin as a hobby. Now was the perfect time to listen to classical; the mood wherein you're lazy and you can't think of anything else to do. I plugged in my MP4 player and started on a solid I don’t know how many hours of melodious music journey, eventually dozing off in the middle of a long Panthuvarali raga by T.N.Krishnan. Music is considered to be the most difficult, yet the most beautiful form of Art. May it be any genre; western, classical, Hindustani, Carnatic, etc. Listening to music makes you feel happier even in the weirdest of situations. No doubt that it soothes your mind. So, the next time you need a boost of emotion, you know what to do. Music is like medicine having a therapeutic value. It’s a perfect substitute for a tablet that you think would help you stay relaxed and stress-free on a busy day. Another advantage is that it helps you sleep better. Yeah, I may have highlighted this point pretty well a couple of lines ago.

I love attending live concerts. Any music lover would. All the time I used to wonder about the amount of effort put in by these artistes to give a mind blowing performance in front of thousands. The only self-explanatory fact is that most of the times, these musicians have their lineage filled with great music pundits, making them child prodigies. I wanted to know more. More about how he/she prepares for concerts; basically his/hers’ professional life. I’ve summarized my early research in the following to come.

Music means a lot of things. It varies from person to person. In one of his interviews, the renowned violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan, summarized on what a composition actually means. “We create only music. We give the freedom to create whatever you want. For example, one composition can mean something to you, something to somebody else, something to the camera person, something to the director and so on. In short, everyone can have their own idea about their composition. ”.

Ganesh Rajagopalan on releasing a Neo Carnatic Instrumental track "Milky Way".

Carnatic music, according to today’s world, is vocally dominated. Now how would a violin artiste respond to that?

“When we do music, we’re musicians. Not violinists per se. First ask yourself this, “Why is music a very unique form of art?” It differs by a huge scale when compared with other art forms. Many people will answer this differently, no doubt. What I feel is that music is the only non-visual art form. It means, when you make it in to a visual form, it immediately becomes the subsidiary of that form! Now that’s instrumental music.” Ganesh Sir’s reply to the above.

How well put. The natural sound that the instrument produces is to be listened and enjoyed. No need for it to be seen.

Having listened to a lot of recordings of the violin maestro T.N.Krishnan, his style of playing is what intrigues me the most; every time I listen to him play the violin, I seem to be discovering and learning something new. He just amazes me with the way he delineates the raga to bring out its beauty in just two phrases.

A musician’s style and class is what is appreciated. The unique way they make music sound melodious is what amuses the audience. During practice, they constantly start, stop, back up, and repeat, making split-second decisions as they review every aspect of technique, interpretation, and performance. That is, they know how to attain perfection.

Here’s one of the most common scenarios that every learner may come across. At least I have. They often make the mistake of blindly imitating the artiste (the one they look up to, that is). It is very difficult to be able to do that in the initial stages. Later the learner doesn’t succeed in doing so and is lead to give up. Artistes are experienced performers. Music is their profession. They devour music. They dream music. Their life is music. It’s a cake walk for them, but a struggle for the learner. Following such practice isn’t right.

“For amateur learners, it is very important for him/her to accompany experienced and accomplished artistes in concerts. Only then will they gain thorough experience and will be able to achieve great heights”, highlighted T.N.Krishnan in between one of his concerts. It’s the experience through which the learner gains an in-depth knowledge of the music and that every time he accompanies different artistes, he tends to learn how to sync his style of playing with the host performer. After months and years of such experience, the learner would’ve developed his own style of playing.

T.N.Krishnan performs at YAKSHA 2013 (A Classical Indian Music and Dance Festival)

While going through certain concert videos of Prof. T.N. Krishnan, I came across an article (The Hindu International Edition on 8th March 1994); an interview of his where one of the questions he was asked were regarding his practice schedule during those days. He said, and I quote, ‘It started at 4 am. My father would wake me up. Practice started immediately from 4 am to 7 am. Then I had coffee and a break for half an hour. Again the lessons were continued till 9.30 till I started for school. During the lunch interval between 2 and 3, I had another short practice for half an hour. In the evening again from 4 to 7. It’s because of my father that I am what I am today.’ Now you know what made him the violin wizard.

Singing requires loads of practice. Also, producing the same in an instrument is a challenge. There is one such artiste that I’d like to write about in particular.

Holder of the Padma Shree, Padma Bhushan, and the Sangeet Natak Academy Award, and the pioneer of the Gayaki Ang (to play as though sung), Dr.N.Rajam, a great violin virtuoso, is known for her Hindustani classical. Her music is referred to as “The Singing Violin”. It means that the singer and the violin player are in unison; producing sounds through the violin which emulate the voice. It is certainly very difficult to imitate each and every vocal notation on the violin and to be able to make it sound just like the way it’s sung. N.Rajam does that with ease.

“We had no external distractions like outings, festivals or any other form of entertainment. It was just practise, practise and practise of the violin for us which brought us to this level”, said Dr.N.Rajam in an interview. She spent her entire life in achieving the dream of becoming a world famous maestro.

Being T.N.Krishnan’s sister, both of these living legends lead a very strict and a disciplined childhood.

“My father was an austere man. Practice was the only word he was well acquainted with. During his sleepless nights, he would wake us up and make us practice until he was satisfied. The amount of hard work that we put in during those days were unimaginable. It is thanks to our father that we are what we are today.”

The music doesn’t end here. Ms.Rajam has trained her daughter, Sangeetha Shankar, and her grandchildren, the upcoming artistes, Nandini and Ragini Shankar. And not to forget her niece, Kala Ramnath. As “The Three Generations”, they give concerts all over the world, bringing musical serenity and emotion to the minds of the audience.

·        The Three Generations: (From left) Ragini Shankar, Dr.N.Rajam, Sangeetha Shankar, and Nandini Shankar

“To be able to incorporate the teachings in small children ranging from the age group of three to twelve is not an easy job. But when the child reaches the age of twelve or more, he starts realizing the importance of the subject and starts practising. He immediately develops a keen interest in the field”, added Ms. Rajam.

Well, here’s another gist of a short documentary I saw online. Another violin professional Mrs. Viji Krishnan, T.N.Krishnan’s daughter, in preparation for her concert at the Music Academy in Chennai, dated on the 24th December 2014, was interviewed on the day before the concert. Following were the questions she was asked:

1. How long does one need to practice before concerts?

2. How does an artiste mentally prepare himself/herself for concerts?

Mrs.Viji Krishnan during her "Malabar to Morocco" album launch

Mrs.Viji replied, “About four hours for a one hour concert. Not practice, prepare. Carnatic music is different from western classical where we don’t have pieces that we say we’re going to play. For instance, when we play in a concert, ninety percent of the time most of the items are not planned. We just have a whole list of things to choose from. So from a list of ten, one might be one and from another list the other song might be two and so on. So we have to have an epitome of almost 50-60 songs ready for a two/ two and a half hour concert, because we don’t know what we’ll play.”

·        (From left) Sriram Krishnan, T.N.Krishnan, and Viji Krishnan performing at the Music Academy on a Christmas holiday playing to a fairly large Christmas audience.

      

“The most important thing is that it (the music) should synchronize. Being a trio, we have to match each other while playing. There should be a sense of understanding and anticipation between each other onstage. Being able to anticipate what the other person is planning to play or playing is very important.” T.N. Krishnan answered.

T.N.Krishnan and Viji Krishnan

For the second, Mrs.Viji responded, “Suppose if the concert’s at 9 in the morning the next day, I’ll be up and running around 4 in the morning, practice till about 6 am. This helps to warm up the fingers to get comfortable. It starts like, for the past three days I’ve not done much, going out or…you try to stay in the zone and not deviate too much from focusing on what you actually need to do. Because there are too many other distractions that sort of affect you in some way. So mentally, you’re not in that zone. You try to stay in there as far as possible.”

Here’s an important notice to all the artistes. According to T.N.Krishnan, an artiste should keep refining the method of presentation and approach. “I have been playing the Thodi ragam for almost 70 years. Even today when I go up on stage I think of newer and better ways to explore and engage with the ragam. For the sake of the audience, the same ragam must be played in different ways. What’s the point in repeating the same again and again? You need to be totally involved in it to make your music vibrant and refreshing. In modern terminology, it is called job satisfaction,” he laughs.

In conclusion, all it requires is tons of hard work and loads of devoted practice hours.

And such a promising phrase by Brian Lynch, the famous jazz trumpeter; makes me want to read it all day long:

“Practicing is the job, and that if you don’t truly enjoy practicing then you may as well find another job that you do enjoy, because life’s too short.”

Music requires passion. It comes with the prerequisites of interest, dedication and willingness. Having the passion, one will automatically develop the skill to perfect it. You have the interest, you work for it. Sky’s the limit. Reach for it.