Improve vocal intensity

Singing priest,’ Fr. (Dr) Paul Poovathingal explains the techniques

Vocology, the science and practice of voice rehabilitation, may be in a state of infancy in India but well developed and practised abroad. The Chetana National Institute of Vocology in Thrissur is one of the first of its kind and its director is Fr (Dr) Paul Poovathingal. The first Christian priest to obtain Ph.D. in Carnatic music from the University of Madras, Fr. Paul had his lessons in vocology under Prof Jeanne Goffi of the University of Columbia and Prof. Ingo R Titze, the director of the National Centre for Voice and Speech, Denver, the U.S.

Prof. Titze, acclaimed as a pioneer in the field, earned a diploma from the University of Iowa, Colorado. Back home in 2006, he founded the institute and opened a weekly clinic, where people with varied voice problems queue up to be treated, sans any surgery or medicines.

And the voice disorders apart from puberphonia, include those caused by vocal cord nodules, vocal cord paralysis, insufficient phonetory gap, ‘Spasmodic Dysphonia,’ muscle tension Dysphonia and vocal cord cancer as well as stammering. Paul ascribes all these to unscientific voice production.

Interestingly, Paul’s treatment is a blend of both Indian and western techniques. Voice is the manifestation of breath and once exercises for correct breathing is practised almost all problems can be remedied, he holds. Lung pressure therefore is of paramount importance for vocal intensity and stamina. This is judged by measuring the Maximum Phonation Duration (MPD). After holding the breath for some time, duration of exhale is checked using a stop-watch. While fifteen seconds is ideal, for singers, it has to be above twenty seconds.

Pranayama practised regularly for 15 minutes and voice warming up exercises for 12-20 minutes early in the morning on empty stomach improved MPD considerably. Pranayama of four kinds are insisted — Anuloma-viloma (alternate nostril breathing), Bastrika (bellow’s breath), Seethali (cooling breath) and Ujjayi (victorious).

Opening of the mouth fully several times helps the patient to unlock the Tempro Mandibular Joint (TMJ) of the jaw thereby reducing the tension in the chin muscles. The movements of the tongue are rendered effortless with exercises.

Production of the sound ‘shick’ helps to activate the abdominal muscles, the very origin of voice. And when done with rendering the vowels, it can help correct pronunciation as well. Artificial yawning creates more space in the pharynx which improves the quality of voice through resonance. Paul adds that Puberphonia is essentially psychological. Even after attaining the age of puberty, the patient’s subconscious mind retains the voice of his mother or women in the family and he imitates the same. This is a fall out of the falsetto muscles getting connected to the brain. The treatment involves reconditioning the vocal muscles through exercises and finally connecting them to the brain, which result in the production of typical matured voice.

Stammering is a phobia, which can be hereditary as well. Paul’s advice is to stop speaking and take a quick breath. This is repeated many times.

The patient is made to read a passage for 15 minutes so that the eye sight, syllables and the respiratory muscles get synchronised. The voice of a patient affected by Spasmodic Dysphonia lacks clarity and intensity. This happens when the nerves from the brain connected to the vocal cords are damaged. It is a neuro-vocal problem.

Paul is in constant touch with speech pathologists across the globe and has been introducing the latest breathing exercises like Lax Vox Voice Therapy (LVVT), which is the discovery of Dr. Marketta Sihvo of Finland, an acclaimed voice therapist. This involves singing or speaking through a straw so that the vocal cords can vibrate more freely. The straw phonation exercise is also the remedy for Semi-Occluded Voice Track (SOVT), arising from a narrow vocal track.

The clinic at Chetana is well equipped with modern gadgets. Only a few cases need more sittings whereas feedback from most of the patients, who exercise regularly are all praise for the ‘priest with a healing touch.’ The institute organises annual vocology workshops that are attended by voice professionals from many States.

Many are the ENT doctors who refer cases to Chetana as they have realised that surgery is ineffective. Veteran musicians have directed singers for treatment by Paul. Incidentally, Fr Paul is also a disciple of K.J. Yesudas in Carnatic music. Popularly known as the ‘Singing Priest,’ he presented concerts at the Rashtrapati Bhavan when A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was the President and also for M.S. Subhalakshmi in Chennai when he was a student of University of Madras.

Interestingly, the students of Chetana Music College, of which Paul is the founder-principal, follow the syllabus of his alma mater. A globe-trotting musician, he cured a voice patient in Milan, Italy during the last tour.

"Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me."

Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa, in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, 'I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together.'

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, 'Why were you late?' I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, 'The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait,' not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: 'There's something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn't give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it.'

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.

I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence."

"Forgiveness is giving up my right to hate you for hurting me."                     as received through whatsapp 

Dhravya was sent to Kerala with 3 sets of clothes to find employment

☆☆ SOME FOOD FOR OUR THOUGHT  ☆☆

Surat diamond magnate Savji Dholakia caught the world's attention two years ago when he rewarded nearly 1200 employees with extravagant Diwali bonuses that included cars and apartments.

Mr Dholakia's 21-year-old son, studying business management in the US, has now laid claim to his own share of headlines. In service to a family tradition, Dhravya was dispatched for a month to Kerala with three sets of clothes and a modest portion of cash for emergency use only to find employment and lodging in a city he had never visited.  

NDTV spoke to three employers who described Dhravya as a diligent worker who appeared to have little to his name including a cellphone. Dhravya spoke to ndtv.com by phone to share his experiment of four weeks as a young man struggling to make a living.

Edited excerpts below:

Q. What was the idea behind the trip?

A. The idea was to see how the common man lives in this country. To leave behind all the resources I am accustomed to and try making a living in a completely unknown city. Before me, three of my cousins went on a similar expedition 12 years ago and another one had his shot six years ago. This year, during my summer break from college, it was my turn.

Q. How did the idea come about?

A. I come from a fairly privileged background, a place where we can get things without looking at the price tag. So it's difficult to understand the value of money. The idea behind the expedition was that: to understand the value of money and also find out the struggles of people.

Q. What made your father send you on such an expedition?

A:  All parents want their children to not go through difficult times but if the outcome outweighs the difficulty,  then it becomes worth it. Money can buy a lot of things but not experiences. Some things you have to experience to learn from them.

Q. Were you up for it or did you have reservations?

A. I was completely up for it. I wasn't apprehensive because there were people in my family who had done it before me. So I was quite excited to test myself.

Q. What did you take with you? What were the rules?

A. I packed three pairs of clothes, toiletries, and Rs 7,000 as emergency cash. I was not allowed to spend it unless in absolute dire necessity. I had to earn my own living - food, accommodation, everything. And I could not work at one place for more than a day

Q. Tell us about your experience, how it unfolded.

A. I started on June 26. Packed a duffel bag with the bare necessities. Until I was at the dinner table the night before, I did not know where I was about to go. My father had booked my tickets. I learnt I was going to Kochi in Kerala.

For the first five days, I struggled with finding a job, a place to stay and trying to afford food. I had no identification, I had a language barrier - why would anyone hire me? But on the sixth day,  I managed to find a job at restaurant. I sold bakery items over the counter. I lived with the rest of the staff, ate what they ate. But my week was running out. So I started looking for a new job.

After much effort, I convinced the owner of an Adidas showroom to hire me. But on the first day, they realized I was not cut out for it and asked me to come back later so that they could train me and then hire me. It was sort of a way to let me go.

Dejected, I struggled a little more and finally landed a job at a call centre. The company sold solar power services to customers in the US. I had a fair bit of success there and started doing well. That was why they agreed to pay me per day. But it was a small startup,  so the pay wasn't very good. During this time I had lived on one meal a day - a plate of sambar rice. In the evenings, all I would get to eat were glucose biscuits served in the company.

On the last leg of my expedition, I managed to find work at a McDonald's for Rs 30 an hour but I did not have to work there because the next day, my father's associate came to bring me back. I spent the last two days going around meeting everybody who had helped me during my time in Kochi and presented small gifts of gratitude.

Q. So what did you learn?

A. The biggest thing I learnt was empathy. Often in life we are too harsh with people without being considerate of their circumstances. My experience taught me to value a fellow human's suffering. Everyone has a soul and I realized I must think about that when turning someone down. I think because of this I will remember how it feels to be rejected and dejected. I will be a more considerate person.

Q. Any people you remember from your travel?

A:  Quite a few. There was one elderly gentleman at a photocopy store who did not take money for documents I needed photocopied. He said 'you can pay me back when you get a job'; a security guard, who offered to share his home and food with me when he learnt I was not able to find a job; and my more than 30 colleagues at the Aarya Hotel.

Q. What is the one specific change that you brought back?

A. Well,  I feel freer from materialistic needs. I had a thing of collecting shoes. Now I am thinking I am going to start distributing them to people who need it more. I also feel much more confident about tackling adversity in life. I have a feeling that even when times are difficult, I'll be able to make it.

as received through whatsapp

Some funny oxymoron's

One interesting word in English. Oxymoron:

An Oxymoron is defined as a phrase in which two words of opposite meanings are brought together....

 1)  Clearly Misunderstood
 2)  Exact Estimate
 3)  Small Crowd
 4)  Act Naturally
 5)  Found Missing
 6)  Fully Empty
 7)  Pretty Ugly
 8)  Seriously Funny
 9)  Only Choice
10)  Original Copies
11)  Open Secret
12) Tragic Comedy
13) Foolish Wisdom
14) Liquid Gas


Mother of all Oxymorons is-

15) "Happily Married".

Difference between Sales & Marketing through tamil explanation

சிலருக்கு மார்க்கெட்டிங்கை பற்றி தெரிந்திருக்கும்,

ஆனால் அதன் வகைகளைப்பற்றி தெரிந்திருக்க‍ வாய்ப்பில்லை.

பலருக்கு மார்க்கெட்டிங் என்றால் என்ன‍வென்றே தெரியாமலும் இருக்கிறார்கள்.

அவர்களுக்காகவே இந்த பதிவு.

நீங்கள் ஒரு விருந்தில் அழகான, ஒரு பெண்ணை பார்க்கிறீர்கள். நீங்கள் அந்த பெண்ணிடம் சென்று “என்னை திருமணம் செய்துகொள்ளுங்கள்”என்று கூறினால் அது Direct Marketing.

உங்கள் நண்பர்கள் அந்த பெண்ணிடம் சென்று உங்களை காண்பித்து “அவனை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்று கூறினால் அது Advertising.

நீங்களே அந்த பெண்ணிடம் நேரடியாக சென்று அந்த பெண்ணின் தொலைப்பேசி எண்ணை வாங்கிகொண்டு, அடுத்த நாள் அந்த பெண்ணை தொலைபேசியில் அழைத்து “என்னை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்று கூறினால் அது Tele Marketing.

அந்த அழகான பெண்ணே உங்களிடத்தில் வந்து “என்னை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்றால் அது Brand Recognition.

அந்த அழகான, பெண்ணிடம் சென்று நீங்கள் “என்னை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்று கூறுகிறீர்கள்.

உடனே அதற்கு அந்த பெண் உங்களின் கன்னத்தில் சப்பென்று அறைந்தால்… அதுதான் Customer Feedback.

அந்த பெண்ணிடம் நேரடியாக சென்று “என்னை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்று கூறியதற்கு, அந்த பெண், தனது கணவரை அறிமுகம் செய்தால் அது Demand and Supply gap.

நீங்கள் அந்த பெண்ணிடம் சென்று நீங்கள் பேசுவதற்கு முன்னால் வேறொரு நபர் வந்து அந்த பெண்ணிடம் “என்னை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்று கூறுகிறான். அந்த பெண்ணும் அவனுடன் சென்றுவிடுகிறாள். இது தான் Competition eating your market share.

நீங்கள் அந்த அழகான பெண்ணிடம் சென்று “ என்னை திருமணம் செய்துக்கொள்ளுங்கள்” என்று கூறுவதற்கு முன்பே உங்களின் மனைவி அருகில் வந்தால் Restriction for entering new markets.

இப்போது உங்களுக்கு புரிந்திருக்குமே Marketing Concepts என்றால் என்னவென்று….!😀

Difference between complete & finished through tamil explanation

ஒரு முறை லண்டனில் நடந்த கூட்டத்தில், ஆங்கிலத்தில் "complete " என்ற சொல்லுக்கும் "finished " என்ற சொல்லுக்கும் உள்ள வித்யாசம் என்ன என்று கேட்டார்கள்.

கூட்டத்தினர் இரண்டு சொல்லுக்கும் எந்த ஒரு வித்யாசமும் இல்லை என்று கூறினார்கள். 

அப்போது சாம்சுந்தர் என்பவர்கூறினார்....

"நீங்கள் ஒரு சரியான பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்தால், உங்கள் வாழ்கை "complete ".

அதுவே "நீங்கள் ஒரு தவறான பெண்ணை திருமணம் செய்தால், உங்கள் வாழ்கை "finished ".

அதுவே அந்த சரியான பெண்உங்களை ஒரு தவறான பெண்ணுடன் கையும்

களவுமாக பிடித்து விட்டால் உங்கள் வாழ்கை "completely Finished " என்றார்.

இந்த விளக்கத்தை கேட்ட கூட்டத்தினர் எழுந்து நின்று 5 நிமிடம் கை தட்டினார்கள்.

படித்ததில் ஈர்த்தது.... as received through whatsapp