Good Audio file compression software

I am an educator - and often take classes online on various topics.  I provide high quality audio recordings of my class to those who missed attending my sessions - and these audio files for a 1 hour session typically run into 800 MB to 1 GB, which is fairly large and bulky to send over email.  And if I upload into the cloud it gobbles up precious cloud space.

Hence I was on the lookout for a good app for my Windows PC that can compress the size of these audio files.  There are some online tools available - but I found them unreliable and of poor compression quality.

I was pleased when last week I discovered a software called Audio Compressor on this website which is quite efficient and quick.  It helps compress files to less than 10 % of the original file size.  So an audio file of 800 MB is shrunk to about 60 MB, making it very convenient to store and share without taking up too much bandwidth and cloud space.

Audio Compressor is a free to use software for home users, and can be downloaded easily to your Windows PC from here.  There is also a paid version for professionals and business purposes which has some extra features built in.  However, for amateurs, the free to use version is adequate and serves the purpose.  This software has helped me clear up a lot of my cloud drive space, and I would definitely recommend it.

Ravi and Guru Purnima

Every year on Guru Purnima day, the students of the noted violinist Pandita Supriya Pathak gather at her home to perform in her honour on this momentous day.

The Pandita is very particular that all of her students should perform on that day. But then she also expects everyone to practise and rehearse so thoroughly that they give as close to a flawless performance as possible. When her students perform she sits close to them and listens to them very minutely. Mediocrity is frowned upon, and she would rather a student completely drops out from performing than render a shoddy performance on this great day. 

Ravi, who has been studying with her for the last 4 years dreads this particular day. Ravi is a self taught violinist who wanted to become a better violinist after his early retirement from his corporate career. So when he heard that the Pandita has finally started offering online classes he joined her online classes with great enthusiasm. He was already playing confidently in a small local band, and he imagined that learning under the Pandita will make him a more refined player which will enable him to join a bigger band. 

However, soon after he joined the online class, Ravi realised he has bitten off more than he can chew. Firstly the Pandita told him that he had to unlearn a lot because he was using wrong bowing techniques. Secondly he had never learnt music in a formal manner so he did not understand anything about notating and scales. He belonged to a group who had all studied some music formally so he became the odd student in his online group who could not comprehend what was being discussed in the class. Finally, he realised that learning to play violin online was very difficult as some of the wrist movements and bowing techniques require a lot of sensitivity, and this was difficult to teach/learn using an online format. 

Consequently he started dreading the weekly violin classes as every class was sheer struggle. Earlier he used to play the violin for the sheer joy of playing it, but now he stopped playing it for enjoyment - nowadays he plays it only to finish the homework assignment that the Pandita gave every week. 

The Pandita is a very encouraging and dedicated Guru, but how can he keep telling the Pandita that much of what she says in the group class just flies over his head? And the Pandita had the habit of mentioning names of her brilliant students in her class and narrate how well they were progressing, and how quick they were in comprehending. For Ravi, this subtly meant that he had to compare himself with the bright students in the class - all of whom were less than half his age and who were all talented and aspiring professional musicians.  The comparison element made the fun element disappear in music, and even though Ravi was competitive in his corporate career he disliked comparisons because he had left his career to discover his own path. 

So with Guri Purnima approaching Ravi started feeling a deep dread even when he is sleeping. He took the help of a musician friend to figure out what to play and organised the script, and practised like crazy for the next 1 month.

On Guru Purnima a procession of the Pandita's students performed, each better than the previous. Ravi's turn was next and the cold dread again started, and he cursed himself for being in a situation where he felt that some 60 experts (all the Pundita's disciples) were evaluating him and passing judgement over him. 

His fingers were clammy, and the accompanying tabla player got into a faster rhythm than Ravi could manage comfortably. Yet he played as best as he could, and was glad when he played out the last line of his piece without too many errors.

He knew he could have done a better job - but somehow the stress got into him - and he fails when there is no joy.  His peers from the online batch told him he played well, but he felt they were saying it merely to make him feel better about himself. 

"There is pain in learning anything new - but is this level of pain not crossing my threshold? Is all this stress worth it - and for what purpose if I have stopped enjoying playing the violin?" he asked himself as he went to bed that night. 

The Disciple Who Won Despite Losing

The King had organised a competition among all the potters in his land to identify who is the best potter amongst all. All the master potters and their disciples were eligible to participate and submit their best entry in the form of a drinking cistern.

In a small dilapidated hut, the master potter and his favourite disciple were both at work, each crafting their respective Cisterns. The master potter belonged to a particular school of pottery which embellished their work with a technique called Shimmering which gave a glazed feel to the final product. The master potter was proud of his unique technique and had asked his best disciple to also participate in this competition so that at least one of them would win the competition, and do the technique proud.  

The disciple casually looked at the Master giving the finishing touches to his masterpiece. His Master's piece was really superb - crafted in the traditional design, and - with the finishing touches the master was giving, it was acquiring a shimmer that none others can create. It was his master's trade mark style that he taught only his most favourite disciples.

The Disciple then looked at his own unfinished creation - it also looked good - after all his master had trained him really well. Then he wondered how should he give the finishing touches. Should he give it the shimmer that his master prefers, or should he do something very different from what his master has trained him to do?

His love for his master made him hesitate.

Ultimately the disciple decided to do something different and finished his cistern using a new technique that came to his mind at that moment. 

The master's entry won the competition easily. The master felt happy that he is still the best Potter in the land. Then the master looked at his disciple's entry and started to chide him for forgetting the lessons he had been taught. The disciple looked distraught but kept silent. Then the master stopped scolding as it suddenly dawned on him as to why his favourite disciple had disobeyed him for the 1st ever time.

The master looked at his disciple and thought "Only a true Guru and a true disciple will figure out why my favourite disciple behaved the way he did. My disciple is a better person than I am - he has more faith in me than I myself. He is my worthy successor and from now on whatever knowledge I have is his".

The benefits of a fat wallet

When UPI was introduced, the size of my wallet visibly shrunk. I stopped carrying much currency notes, and the wallet was basically for only carrying my various ID cards and ATM cards.

When I travel I make an exception as most of my travel happens by train and it is necessary to have notes of small denomination (RS 10, 20, 50 etc) always available. This however results in a rather bulky sized wallet which I dislike as it ruins my dapper good looks by its ungainly bulge from my back pocket.

However, I realized the benefit of a bulging wallet yesterday when walking on a rain drenched passage I took a major tumble and landed on my back with a big thud. 

Serious damage would have certainly resulted to my hind-side but for the cushion that the bulky wallet provided as it absorbed the bulk of the impact.

I won't curse fat wallets any more - even if it is seriously ruining my good looks.

Karma - and why the world is round

It is close to bed time and I am lying on the bed after a hectic day. I am feeling a bit peckish and am munching some cashew nuts from a big box of dry fruits that my daughter gifted me.

I am feeling it is Karma. I used to regularly gift my mother packets of dry fruits. For me it seemed like a small gesture, and I never used to understand why her face used to light up with happiness whenever I gave her the dry fruits. Now while munching the dry fruits my daughter gave me, I know the reason. It is not as if I cannot buy it myself - I can buy stuff anytime (though I rarely do - my parsimonious nature does not allow me to buy anything "indulging" for myself). 

The happiness is because it is the thought that counts - the love that gets shown through simple gestures from your loved ones. And anything prepared or given with love always tastes so wonderful. 

Bless all those who give only from love.

Scintillating Notes of a Harmonist

My name is Virat Sharma, and I am a harmonium artiste in the town of Malpuri.  Until recently this town had only 2 reputed harmonium artistes.  Both of them were getting old and over-worked, so it must have been a relief to them when I, a young artiste with modern ideas, decided to offer my newly honed harmonium skills to this town.  So now there are 3 reputed harmonium artistes in this town.

As you know I share my first name with a legendary cricketer - so it is not surprisingly my fans call me Virat Kohli of Music. Right from childhood I wanted to be a famous cricketer with crowds applauding my batting, but destiny made me a musician. 

But so be it, I have shaped my harmonium playing style after my namesake legendry cricketer - and try to bring the same entertaining spirit into raag music.  When I am accompanying someone on the harmonium, I visualise how Virat Kohli would have faced a ball and hit it for a 4 - and I then hit a particular musical phrase out of the auditorium for a 6.  The audience obviously love it when I bring some excitement - so I keenly wait for such opportunities.

Today, for instance, I was accompanying 2 lady vocalists at a concert.  In the audience I can see some VIPs and I acknowledged their presence.

The lady in blue saree (blue lady) started her Nat-Bhairav alaap.  Ah, this is a raag that is very familiar to me - so it is a great start for me.  The blue lady's voice was a bit soft, but I more than made up for it by playing my harmonium loudly so that the audience can clearly make out what raag she is singing.  For some strange reason, the lady started gesturing to the sound engineer that the harmonium sound should be reduced - but fortunately the sound engineer was too busy looking at his mobile phone so he did nothing.  In any case, I am always prepared for such eventuality - and ensure that my harmonium has a loud and clear sound so that the last row audience can hear and appreciate the harmonium clearly even without a mike.

Then the lady in pink saree (pink lady) joined in the jugalbandi.  This pink lady does not seem to have practised because her voice was feeble, seemed to lack self-confidence and she was leaving a lot of space between phrases.  I don't believe in leaving a lot of empty space, so I made it a point of filling up all the spaces with a lot of new phrases that I had recently learnt.  The audience should get value for their money, and we should give them as much music as possible - all these leaving lots of empty space while singing is just a waste of audience time.

I was getting a bit irritated with this unenergetic pink lady.  We might bore the audience this way.  When it was time for her to get into the anthra I thought she had forgotten the anthra so I helped her by starting the anthra for her (I know 2500 bandishes).  

The next item was a raagmalika, which is a complex piece with a different raag for each line.  I have not heard this particular raagmalika but that is not a problem as I can play any raag.  In the 1st para they sang Jayjayvanthi and Rageshri.  I quickly found a gap and played a stirring piece on the harmonium.  And I innovated by introducing Bageshri into the mix so that the audience can enjoy. The audience really appreciated and said "Wah wah".

The next piece was a Miya Malhar.  The blue lady started on her taans (fast melodic phrases).  Now here is where I am different from other harmonium artistes.  Other harmonium artistes will be quiet and only echo the ending part of each taan. But my style is new and different.  When the lady sings a taan I simultaneously play another taan (of course of the same raag) on my harmonium. So the audience gets to simultaneously enjoy 2 different taans at the same time.  I think I hit a big 6 on this, and so I looked at the 1st row VIP audience meaningfully - and they applauded.  I really love this very appreciative and knowledgeable audience.

Now they started singing a song which reflects the different seasons.  They started off with the summer season piece which was good because it was very energetic.  But by the time the piece reached the winter season, they seemed to have again lost their energy and there was too much of weakness and melancholy in their voice and I could barely hear them.  But I again made up for their lack of energy by playing some fast bright energetic notes and filling the concert hall with a scintillating display of my dexterity on the keys.

Of course the strain of me single-handedly holding up the concert did get to me at times - and on a couple of occasions I did fumble.  I wondered whether I should touch my ear to acknowledge the error like some of those oldies do - but then I decided not to.  Why draw audience attention to a mistake which they do not seem to have noticed?  

Finally we reached the end of the concert.  Both the ladies seemed tired and confused.  The tabla player too looked defeated - initially he tried to compete with me by unnecessarily trying some fast thekas and playing the tabla loudly; but towards the end he realised he did not have my experience - and humbly gave me full control.  I am glad he did that - all artistes should learn to be humble - that is what my Guru always says.

Overall, it was another good day for me, and I am so happy and proud that the audience can now go home content and happy.  For me, the audience is God, and knowing that I had made a difference today to the audience was the most fulfilling aspect of my day.

Shalom, My Friend

This is my reminiscences delivered at my class-mate and close friend's 1 year remembrance function held at Kochi on 27th January, 2024

Today we are here to celebrate the life of an extra-ordinary person – and not to mourn his absence – however greatly we miss him.  What I have to say today may sound a bit longish – but pardon me – this is the bare minimum one can say about a person who has had such a major influence on whoever came to know him.  Also one caveat – while I say this in the 1^st person, the sentiments I mention are shared by many of my class-mates and friends from Britto School and Cochin College.

It was way back in 1976 that Ketan suddenly burst into my life at the annual prize distribution ceremony in Britto school.  I was in the 5^th standard and was feeling thrilled that I was going to get the first ever prize ever for me in “General Proficiency”.  Imagine how humbled I felt that day when a portly and energetic boy going by the name “Ketan.D.Mehta” trotted up the stage several times to collect at least half a dozen prizes – for subjects ranging from academics to extra-curricular activities.  My father who was attending the function prophetically remarked that “this boy Ketan is going very far”.

My relationship with Ketan was initially a bit complicated and competitive.  We were both competing for the attention – and love – of our teachers – so this keen competition did initially lead to a bit of friendly jostling.  Ketan would pull my leg for my “serious” focus on academics; and I will retort with a pun on his name and call him “K.Thendi.Mehta” (Thendi = Vagabond).  To Ketan’s credit he thought that was a very clever pun and he said that he felt good with that pun as it signified to him that his parents had foreseen that he will travel a lot. (Which he did!).  Ketan’s quick sense of humour and his ability to poke fun at himself (his non-existent goal-keeper skills – and later on in life – about his favourite rackish cap to hide his thinning crown) endeared him to a lot of us, and he led by example on how we should approach life – with humour, love and forgiveness.

Ketan really came into his own when we reached high school.  This was when Ketan’s multi-faceted personality became manifest.  He was literally everywhere – from inventing the most creative “Eratta peru” (nick name) for his friends to playing cricket, from participating in Elocution competitions to easily topping in Academics (topped school & University), from fooling around with his friends to being the darling of his teachers, Ketan was a maverick – and a loveable one at that.  His network of friends was very strong, and his friends loved and respected him for his wit and helpful nature.  Indeed, he was a born leader and a very inspiring friend.

Ketan and I got even closer when we joined Cochin College for Pre-Degree.  He joined the Commerce stream and I joined the Science stream - so he in his self-deprecatory style mentioned that he is glad that we are in different streams as we will not have to now compete academically.  I replied that I had long given up trying to compete with him academically.  Because of our mutual interest in Quizzing and Debating we both came under the influence of some inspiring teachers such as Ajit sir, Nithyanand Bhat sir, and Kilikar sir who provided us a lot of guidance and mentoring that stood us in good stead later.  We both used to participate as a team representing Cochin College in various inter-collegiate and Inter-university competitions, and after such competitions we would go over to Ketan’s home where his mother would treat us to delicious dinner.  After dinner, Ketan, his father (Sri. Dilip Mehta) and I would then get into a very stimulating discussion on subjects ranging from current events to Science to Poetry – and I understood the strong influence of both his parents in shaping Ketan’s persona, and how grateful Ketan always was for this immense blessing.

Ketan went through a major health scare in his early 40’s.  On one of his visits to Dubai we met and he opened his heart to me about how that health scare had further broadened his perspective – and of the importance and significance of little Dev in his life.  I was really struck by how deeply he had thought through about life issues – and how cleverly he hid it behind his witty remarks and jokes.  In fact if at all I have a complaint against genius, it is that it is so difficult to penetrate their core thoughts because they always conceal it behind a wall of irreverence and self-deprecatory humour.  But one thing stood out the more I understood Ketan – he was a man now who believed in doing maximum good in this transient passage called Life.  Many are the instances where he has silently helped friends and unknown people – either monetarily or by deed – because of his large heart and generous nature.

Whenever Ketan came to know that any of his class-mates or friends based outside Kochi are in town, he would quickly organize a get-together.  A couple of years ago he surprised me at such a get-together by suddenly producing a small piano and asking me to play an impromptu piece on it.  Last year when I told him I am visiting Kochi around end January he said “Ram – please extend your stay in Kochi by a few days as I am in Maldives.  We have to definitely meet up”.  I agreed immediately to his request – I looked forward to any meetings with Ketan, and his family – Heena, Dev and Ketan’s parents.  Little did I realise then that that meeting will not happen – at least not on planet Earth -and that may be fate had something bigger and better planned.   

Ketan, wherever you are now - I am sure you are beaming down at us right now – wearing your trade-mark cap at a rakish angle – and getting ready to unleash your “Mazal Tov” and your next witty remark on us.  Shalom, Ketan.