Another Day Another Tag!

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?

    Need a shave

2. How much cash do you have on you? £20

3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? SOAR

4. Favorite planet? Earth ( janani janma"bhoomi"scha swargadapi gariyasi )

5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell? PA

6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? Airtel tune ( composed by Rahman )

7. What color shirt are you wearing? Light green

8. Bright or Dark Room? not too bright not too dark 

10. What does your watch look like? Rectangle dial

11. What were you doing at midnight last night? working :(

12. What did your last text message you received on your cell say? You have a missed call blah blah..

13. What's a word that you say a lot? alrite

14. Who told you he/she loved you last?  my son

15. Your worst enemy?  comfort zone

16. What is your current desktop picture? ruins of badami ( karnataka, india )

17. What was the last thing you said to someone? see you tomorrow

18. Do you like someone? yes

19. Would you move for the person you loved? yes

20. Name three things that you have on you at all times? wallet , mobile , wristwatch

21. What’s your favourite town/city? Bangalore

22. Do you have friends at work? yes

23. Apple or Potato Chips?  both

24. Favorite part of the day? Evening , so I can get out of work and go home

25. You tag? Krupa

Angry,Sad,Helpless

These were some of the emotions going through my mind since the tragic, fateful seige of Mumbai came to end.

My anger is mostly towards the politicians who put up hoardings advertising their parties commitment towards honoring heroes, as if they own them.. who have the take their sons and film directors to the aftermath site and defending it as if the whole thing is a movie tamasha. If not for the high profile nature of the places that were attacked , I am sure even this attack would have got a coverage of week or couple and then easily forgotten by all of us. An ger towards the media who cover the incident as if it were a scene from a bollywood masala movie.. eagerness to get first word from the terrorist himself !

I am Sad to see the kind of horrific torture my country and its common men/women/children are put through time and again, without having any hope of justice.

I am frustrated at the helplessness that most of feel against the perpretrators, and become mute spectators of the political tamasha such attacks end up being.

Atleast this time , the anger is palpable among the residents and wider public in the country. I can only hope this does not turn into a political mud slinging tool for the personal gains of the netas and their parties. Hope the costly price paid in terms of lives lost does not go waste this time.

I also think we as indians take these kind of situations for granted. It will be there in news for sometime and then "resilient" , "never say die" indian mentality takes over and we forget all that happened. I believe that its good to be resilient and all.. but it is highly important to keep the scars alive. This helps to bind us together during grief and make us more resilient. We seem to have lost a sense of pride towards our country and there is too much importance given to individual achievement and personal development.  

I am signing off with a thought provoking poem written by lyricist Prasoon Joshi ( RDB, TZP ..) on the tragedy. 

Is baar nahin

Is baar jab woh choti si bachchi mere paas apni kharonch le kar aayegi
Main usey phoo phoo kar nahin behlaoonga
Panapney doonga uski tees ko
Is baar nahin

Is baar jab main chehron par dard likha dekhoonga
Nahin gaoonga geet peeda bhula dene wale
Dard ko risney doonga,utarney doonga andar gehrey
Is baar nahin

Is baar main na marham lagaoonga
Na hi uthaoonga rui ke phahey
Aur na hi kahoonga ki tum aankein band karlo,gardan udhar kar lo main dawa lagata hoon
Dekhney doonga sabko hum sabko khuley nangey ghaav
Is baar nahin

Is baar jab uljhaney dekhoonga,chatpatahat dekhoonga
Nahin daudoonga uljhee door lapetney
Uljhaney doonga jab tak ulajh sake
Is baar nahin

Is baar karm ka hawala de kar nahin uthaoonga auzaar
Nahin karoonga phir se ek nayee shuruaat
Nahin banoonga misaal ek karmyogi ki
Nahin aaney doonga zindagi ko aasani se patri par
Utarney doonga usey keechad main,tedhey medhey raston pe
Nahin sookhney doonga deewaron par laga khoon
Halka nahin padney doonga uska rang
Is baar nahin banney doonga usey itna laachaar
Ki paan ki peek aur khoon ka fark hi khatm ho jaye
Is baar nahin

Is baar ghawon ko dekhna hai
Gaur se
Thoda  lambe  wakt  tak
Kuch  faisley
Aur uskey baad hausley
Kahin toh shuruat karni hi hogi
Is baar yahi tay kiya hai 

Chandrayaan

The aptly named project by ISRO has completed yesterday. The sattelite has reached its final orbit and soon a probe will land on moon. The most important thing on the probe ( for me atleast ) is the tricolor.

Just yesterday I was showing the moon to my son. I remember the mesmerising effect it had on me during my childhood , especially those clear blue skies on full moon night. That spectacular sight has never left me since. Even today I look up the sky and try to spot the moon and feel rejuvenated by its serene light. Somehow it takes me back to my hometown and my home garden.

To build a indigenous sattelite and launch it using indigenously built launch vehicle is a great achievement. Kudos to everybody involved in the conception and development of the project. Personally I would like to convey my gratitude to Abdul Kalam. He has been a symbol of all the great virtues of India.

Jai Hind

Yuvvraaj - Music Review

Hope I got the name right.. all this numerolgy thing is driving Bollywood directors crazy I think. How else do you explain the spelling of new Subhash Ghai movie "Yuvvraaj" !!!

Anyways, getting to the point.. Music for the movie is given by my favourite A R Rahman.

I have always been wondering how on earth music directors keep coming up with tunes and compositions, none better than maestro Rahman himself. This is his 4th album of the year and he keeps bettering himself and re-inventing himself all the time.

As I write, I am listening to the songs and as is the usual case some of the songs registered immediately and some are growing on me gradually. My favourite at this moment is "Zindagi". Melodious track with a melliflous voice of Srinivas. Lyrics is topnotch ,cant expect anything else from Gulzaar though.

Next on my list is "Dil Ka Rishta". A difficult structure to the composition , that makes it hard to take instant liking to this song. But repeated listening makes you come back to it again and again. Will have to wait and watch the picturisation of the song.

Another surprise is "Manmohini Morey". A semi classical song with strong vocals from Vijay Prakash. Since the time I watche a youtube clip of him singing in sa re ga ma , I have always been on the lookout for songs by him. So moment I saw his name against this song , couldnt resist listening to it straight away. He does not dissappoint.

To hear Alka Yagnik was a pleasant surprise. I have not been a big fan of hers, but do like some songs of her. She has done a good job , but I think her days in the industry are numbered.

All in all, worth a hear .. rather repeated hear.

Long live Maestro , Long live Music.

Jamboo Savari

Old habits die hard. And in this case it should also :). I was desperate to see the famed howdah that goes around my favourite city Mysore on Vijayadashami day and trust Doordarshan to help me out and they did :).

I could not believe my eyes when I got to know DD Chandana is broadcasting the Dasara procession live via a webcast (http://www.mysoredasara2008.com/webcast.html)

I become very nostalgic during festive season as it makes me miss home. Dasara is one of the festivals. I remember the pustaka (books) pooje that is performed at home for eveyday during the navraatri period. This is symbolic of worshipping wisdom and goddess saraswathi. The entire town seems to be decked up for the festive season, temples are bustling with people offering various pooja's and archane's for the well being of family and friends.

Jamboo savari is the clumination of the famed naada habba ( state festival of Karnataka ). I loved watching the magnificent golden howdah being carried by the majestic decorated elephant and also wonder how the whole thing would have been at the peak of Mysore Maharaja's reign. So to see the procession live , just the way I used to do it in my childhood, sitting in from of my work PC was very surreal. Thank you very much for everybody involved in making this webcast happen.

Jai Chamundeshwari, Jai Karnataka

A Wednesday - A review

Its not a coincidence that I have chosen today to review a movie that I watched recently.
Name of the movie is "A Wednesday". Theme is fight against terrorism. But more importantly the means adopted to counter terrorism would have saddened Mahatma Gandhi. May be not , looking at spate of recent bombings across India, Gandhi might have been a bit sympathetic towards the means portrayed. Hypothetical , but very relevant discussion I guess.

Coming to the movie , the plot is unique, well executed and very relevant. I was both shocked and satisfied by the climax. Its totally unexpected. I am not going to reveal the climax and spoil the fun.

Anupam Kher as the police commissioner of Mumbai , is the ideal police commissioner that every city would want to have. He is quick to respond, level headed, knows what he wants to do and is in total control. How I wish we had such courageous , intelligent and passionate cops around us.
Naseeruddin shah fits the role perfectly. Watch him in the climax when you realise what he is upto and his exchanges with Anupam kher. Hats off Naseer.

All in all a brilliant movie and thought provoking storyline.

Please do yourselves a favour and watch "A Wednesday".

Rafi Resurructed

I have been a listening to Rafi's melodious voice since I don't know when. I definitely remember falling in love with his mellifluous voice from day one.
I have loved his romantic numbers , sad songs and I love them to this date. The emotion that he managed to bring in to those liltful lyrics was out of the world. To name a few of my favourites

Ahesaan tera ho - Junglee
Choudvin ka Chaand Ho -
Pukaarta chala hoon mein -
Dil ke Jharoke mein - Brahmachaari
Woh jab yaad aaye -
Ae watan Ae watan - Shaheed
Jahan dal dal par sone ki - Sikander-e-azam

I am controlling myself not to type in 100 more songs in that list, but I think I make my point very clear. His patriotic songs are one of the best and every time I listen to them my eyes go moist.

So when I heard about a "never to be attempted again" album called "Rafi resurrected" , I jumped with joy. This is a unique experiment , first of its kind that I am sure will be a trend setter.
Sonu Nigam, worthy enough to carry forward Rafi's mantle, teams up with Birmingham’s world-renowned orchestra, to perform 18 legendary hits. The songs selected are good and orchestra quality is great. Sonu's voice brilliantly brings out the emotion of the original. Only thing missing is the percussion ( tabla's and dholak's ) from the original , but hats off to whoever conceived this idea.

Thank You.