I guess it was in the year 1987 I was invited to the CSI convention; then it was in Madras [it was yet to become Chennai]. At any time at least three parallel sessions were going on [CSI was especially popular in those days One of the sessions was on the art of making (newspaper) stories with a computer. That must have been great with Dr R presiding. As usual I raised a question, wrote that on a piece of paper and passed on to Dr R. That was only to mark my attendance. The question and the one who posed would be minuted -- so my official tour would be approved and my TA Bill passed. That done I moved to another session on computer applications to music presided by Dr S -- in order to raise a redundant question. After fifteen minutes they were looking for me everywhere in the Adyar Gate Hotel -- when I was peacefully having my afternoon nap at Saidapet.

Every story has to have a have a beginning. While there are innumerable possibilities I am going to only consider the one adopted by Tengachi Swaminathan or TS for short. Last Monday he started a story. Then there was a rich man in a certain town. I looked for that beginning -- since I need some lead for my operations.

I said he had a daughter. Almost immediately TS repeated the same words inside the Sun TV. I could have added the daughter was beautiful, accomplished et al. But a consideration for the precious time within the idiot box refrained me from saying so

Next I found myself saying -- the rich man had to go out on a travel. It could have been for business or pleasure. But TS insisted on saying the same thing on the TV

I added -- the man was looking for somebody who will take care of the daughter while he was away. Not surprisingly TS continued to utter the same requirement next

The story is not important. I have neither heard the story before. I should have completed the process within the computer on my head -- in order to know what happened in the story further. A catalyst like the presence of TS was an essential requirement to complete that process

With that I can now be proud to confess that I know of the algorithm that makes a story . And that happened becoz I attended the class of one Dr S R in Madras in 1987

I can predict a story of TS becoz I know his taste and therefore my intuition can prompt me in guessing what would come next. Even if there was a small mistake, the algo takes that into account recursively and applies correction immediately -- that is why presence of TS is so essential. A positive confirmation similarly reinforces the story. In the absence TS immediately confirming so, I cannot possibly tell what happened in the story further. So without TS I would never know the story line

Well so much for the taste and intuition. Now substitute music for story and Madurai Mani for TS in the above. Presto -- you have now defined an algo for another fine art like Carnatic Music