The two faces

Hello reader,

Today, I want to talk about evil, Satan and being bad.
Ravan had 10 heads, Voldemorte had 7 lives and each one of us has two personalities: A good and an evil one. It is always said that evil, seldom loses to good. But in recent times I don’t see that happening. People love the evil, the black. People want to be bad. It happens when the evil part of you attracts your mind more than your good side. It’s up to you to choose with path to follow. Mostly it may attract to the evil side because from the outside, it looks lovely. And what people first look at is the cover page, not the contents. The path of evil is a shortcut to what you want. Like, you find a wallet lying in your college campus with the same amount of cash you are in need of. What would you do? Keep it for yourself or return it to the person it belongs to? It all depends on what your mind bids for at that moment. Where there is good, there is evil too.

That’s why, when Shahrukh Khan plays the character of Don on screen and loots a bank or kills his enemies, people love it. They like their favourite star playing bad sometimes. Where, the bad Don never dies. Being bad is now a style and especially when we have trend setter like Shahrukh himself. The movie was awesome with international quality cinematography. I loved it. And so are the stories written where almost every time the villain is showcased as more powerful. Although in the end, as we have seen in the movies, it’s the white which always wins. But people know evil never dies. And again every time an evil takes birth in different avatars, a hero is born to finish its story.

Today, in India, resides a villain, a terrorist, who was responsible of killing hundreds of people. He has been kept safe and it is taking ages for Indian officials to prove his crime. He is not the only one, there are many like him who feel safe living a luxurious life in Indian jails. So what is happening now is that evil is being kept in like our own guests and are being fed healthily. I don't see the evil losing. Where are our heroes? Heroes have chosen the path of evil too i guess. Everybody knows how corrupt the politicians are, common man always curses them, but do they ever think if they are at the same position with all that black money, would they not think about the personal pleasures? It’s all about where their mind asks them to go. And the evil welcomes with wide open arms. Why wouldn’t evil grow?

Now, in modern India, even the pub culture is an evil. Drinking and smoking wasn’t really a common activity a few years ago. The youth gets attracted to it. Then they look for the next level in being bad. And when the future of India has no problem in getting committed to evil, why wouldn’t evil grow?
I guess I am too good to see the evil win. I always try not to choose the evil.
It’s time to discover and erase your inner Satan. It is really powerful and it grows. But we are gifted with the angelic part too. Let the evil not take over that. We all have a hero inside, don’t we?
It’s all up to our decision and then why wouldn’t the angel grow?

Ashish

Mirror, Diary and Headphones

Hello Reader

Many at times, the only person you want to be with is yourself.
Only you and nobody around.
Mostly when you are not happy or angry. May be your loved one ditches you, something not happening like you wish the things to go like.
Sadness is a part of life for every human. Only difference is the period of sadness. For some, it remains for too long and they ultimately start being alone and away from the rest of the world around them, shattered.

Otherwise, people always celebrate their life, every moment.
And even after the loud parties and joyous rides, one always seeks peace, silence, some time to spend with themselves.

And in all these times there are some very precious accessories and stuff which they always want to be with them in those lonely times. Those non living items carry a lot of emotions. They are just a medium to talk to yourself. Introspect and reveal yourself to yourself. In knowing the people around, we forget to think about ourselves. And then these mediums help you to discover yourself.

Mirrors. When you look into a mirror, it doesn't just tells you whether you are looking good for the party or not but it tells a lot more. When you look into your own eyes, you get to know if you are being true to yourself. It shows us our real face. Even the professional dancers and actors rehearse in front of a mirror before they go for the actual performance on stage before the crowd. When you are on a phone call with your loved one, look at yourself and it will show you, your emotions. Smile?

Diaries. Diaries can be your best friend once you put forward your hand to it and it won't deny your friend request. When nobody is with you to share or you don't want certain things to go public then all you need to do is ink out everything on your mind into your diary. And diary may show you a way, lead you out of the darkness and solve all your problems. Believe me, diaries talk. When you have something inside which is burning you. Hold a pen and start scribbling all that on to your dear diary. And then your tears start flowing faster than the ink off the nib and you feel relieved. Sad?

Headphones. Depending on the mood, people select their playlist and songs. The lyrics convey the same message they want to read, the same emotion they want to feel. A punk emo follower listens to a hard rock metal scream at a corner of a deserted place, a usual sad person may walk along a silent road and listen to some sad, blue song and a very happy person may find himself dancing in middle of a crowded bus stop and people staring. It all depends and headphones are the medium which connects you to that emotion and makes you feel every note of music that enters your head. And as the music plays, you walk along, not thinking about the random people around you, the music plays only for you, the lyrics match and you walk along with the beats...apni hi shun mein. Lost?

This Christmas, fall in love with yourself. Lets get committed...

Ashish

The C word

Hello Reader

In my last post, I narrated the story of onions. It was about how they were considered untouchables during Hindu rituals. And onions were never added in the food prepared for Hindu Brahmans.
Similarly, like onions, years ago in India, people were categorized. The rich, the landlords and the poor, their servants. The poor became the backward category and untouchables. This trend was followed after that and is still being followed.
But now, the scenario is completely different. The people then poor worked hard through ages and with the help of affordable education policies run by government, got educated and rich.
After the Independence, once a proper government was stabilized in India, all those poor people started getting reservations. The categories were named Scheduled castes (SC), tribes (ST) and Other backward classes(OBC).
And I think it was a thoughtful decision by the government to give reservation as a tribute to the hard work they did for the richer people for ages.
The reservation till their lives got stable was proper. The reservation till they could earn enough to satisfy their basic needs was proper.
But today, even if a person is rich and falls under on of the three categories gets reservation.
Now, this is not at all thoughtful. This is rather stupid.
This is the time where only those people should get reservation who are economically backward or below poverty line. But this is not happening. Even a person who calls himself SC, ST or OBC, earning more than a general category person gets reservation.
Why does he need that?
If a person is economically poor he should be given reservation because he cannot afford to get education. But why should a person get reservation of seats in a college or a competitive exam if he can get and afford good education?

When I appeared for AIEEE exam 3 years ago. The cutoff for eligibility was 100 for me.
80 for an OBC category candidate and 44 for a SC/ST candidate.
44?
I don't see any sense in categorizing people on the basis of caste..
If someone is poor, he should be helped.
But the rich people can help themselves.
And all SC, ST and OBC people are not poor! So Why reservation?

What should be done?
The categories such as SC and ST should be removed completely. There should be only Two based on the individuals economic stability. If a person is really poor and cannot afford proper education. He should get it.
And the rich people who consider themselves under those categories should get it themselves if they really are bright rather than enjoying the shortcuts.

Why is this not possible?
Everything comes and ends at only one thing: MONEY.
And even behind all this, lies big amount of money. Till the government waves green flag for reservation, they 'll be getting more and more votes to be in power and take in more and more money to eat.

What to do now?
Chuck it. Let it be as it is and move on with whatever you get. Nothing can be done until people widen the narrow paths inside their minds and build a new smart n wide highways,
until people delete the C word from everywhere.

Ashish

The Story of Onions

Hello reader,

This is a tale which my mother once told to me. It is about onions. In Hindu culture, in some traditional poojas when the food is prepared, onions are not included in the ingredients. And this story tells us why they are not included.
Of course, this is NOT how my mother narrated the story to me...

"Many years ago, somewhere, someone threw a grand party, a luncheon where all the great gods and goddesses were invited. Everybody gathered in the great hall to gulp in the free lunch.

And back there, in the kitchen the chefs were busy preparing the food with utmost care. There was this store room where all the raw stuff was dumped together. Vegetables, grains, fruits, meat, chicken etc. were all kept in the same room. Though the vegetables were kept separate from the raw non-veg stuff.
Two of the onions rolled down to the other side. These two onions of the lot were in love and decided to cross the boundary. Forgetting about all rules and customs, the two onions ran away to the other side of the room, where all the non-veg stuff was kept to live a happy life together.
And then, some agent found out about it and informed it to the host. They couldn't stand the fact that the two onions were happily enjoying their life in the non-veg world and they decide to cut them from the community for crossing the limits and not only those two onions suffered but their entire family of onions became a disgrace to the society, even their descendants had to bear the pain.
And from then on, onions were never used while cooking in the typical Hindu customary, rituals and Poojas."

These onions made me cry :'(

Ashish

The Pub Culture

Hello reader,

People are either happy or sad. When happy, they drink. When sad, they drink.
It's like saying "I drink only twice a year. One, when it rains and second, when it doesn't."

And Pubs provide the space, the privacy, the comfort zone for that.

College event? Festival? End of exams? Birthday party? a free Weekend?
There is only one way to celebrate...
"Let's Booze!"
Yeah!
Boozing is no more a bad word or taboo from a youth's point of view. Plus to add on to it the number of pubs opening up are attracting more and more teenagers to let the divine liquid flow down their esophagus. The pubs too have lot many attractive offers which at least, the girls cant put down. Happy hours where you get discount on beer!!
The evil inside you grows big, the door of the pub opens automatically, you are pushed in and before your 'angel' part can stop you, you'll be in a completely new world. Dim and colorful lighting, high bass music, smoke and that smell.

Tension at work? tension with friends? tension in a relationship?
There is only one way to tolerate...
"Let's Drink!"
Yeah!
However deep misery you may be going through, you'll be dancing with your friends to the loud foot tapping bang-bang beats. This is the new trend. After a full busy hectic week, all one needs is a drink. To forget it all for some time.

A few years ago, this surely wasn't a common activity. Things have changed, people who never drank were considered to be well mannered and good people and now the one who drinks more becomes the hero.
But even today, go and ask a random middle aged or old person about it and they surely will have a problem and probably call it against the Indian culture.
But the youth have been falling for the western culture from ages. Be it the western music, way of dressing, then eating, so after all these globalization and cosmopolitanism in the society, the pub culture had to come. And it is slowly climbing the steps, one by one. Another plug-in to the Indian culture.

Yahan 'rab' bhi hai aur PUB bhi ;)

A house made of ash

Hello reader

Behind my college campus, at a very walk-able distance, there is a multistoried building. The owner lives in the ground floor with his family. On the ground floor there is also a shop where you get all the daily needs.
Daily needs like cigarettes.

Let me take you to the flashback.
A very innocent me joined the college. And every time a senior asked me if i smoke. I had a very obvious no in my answer. But soon I came to know about the number of people addicted to smoke. In my hostel, in my classroom, smokers were everywhere, everywhere around me. And the number always increased. You like it or not, smoke takes you in. You yourself may not smoke but you will be a part of passive smoking which is very bad.
Then I came to know about the spots where smokers jam. One of them is the shop i mentioned. It used to be a single story house with a small shop in the front when I was in the first year. Then soon the owner got a sparking idea and he started selling cigarettes. He made it convenient for the students and some faculty of our college to go and have a puff or two in every break or lunch time. And even the hostel guys didn't have to go out kilometers in search of cigarettes. It was just a blink away.
And the owner of the house is now earning big time.

And today, after 2 years, that house is now a 3 storied building. Nearly of the same height like that of my hostel building. And soon, he'll be giving the rooms for rent for the students of our college in a cheaper rate. Then those students will also be seduced by the smoke and add profit for the owner.
When you go near to that shop, you'll find the thousands of burnt cigarette buds lying on he ground everywhere. The ash of which helped the owner to grow big.

The biggest irony about this is even though it is clearly mentioned that 'smoking is injurious to health' with a picture of lung on the packet, people still buy it and suicide. And this dirty addiction is being properly used by the people who want to grow in fast rate. Even the government. They earn big profit from it. As it gets high taxes on the sale of each packet. That is why cigarettes are never banned no matter how dangerous they are to those who consume it and even to those who don't.

Anyways it is solving the two important issues of the country by reducing population and growing economy.
Everyone is building houses. Houses made up of ash.

Poem: Words get Bitter

Hey Reader,
a small poem describing my anger towards everything that was happening against my wish. Now i don't want to keep it inside me.



Of the many avatars,
Here is one more of mine.
Talking to me and to all others around,
Loud, clear and fine.

The time is now past,
for you, to test me.
The time is now past,
For me, to tolerate you.

Smile is what the world can see,
Not, what’s on the backstage.
The cover may be dancing free
But the pages are burning with rage.

Give me a will against my heart
And watch it pump the venomous blood.
Boiling inside for too long, is desperate,
to flow out like a flood.

The time is now,
For you, to listen
The time is now,
For me, to spit it out


My world has made me think so dark
That even the brightest day has lost its spark.
The poisonous words are waiting like a dart
To poke,
right in the middle of your heart.

Naaraz Parindey

Used paint brush after a long time...
Here is the output

'Naaraz parindey vs Naadan parindey' featuring angry birds...
:)

Poem: A dream

Hello reader,

I saw a dream last night. It was very beautiful.
Expressing the same in this poem...

                                                        "Standing on the edge

of the roof,

that girl,

in white gown,

was holding a white flower.

She was plucking the petals

and the breeze carried them.

The petals flew down,

to the ground,

like droplets of shower.

There were no more left,

petals and hopes.

She decided to cross the threshold,

the voice inside her said.

The droplets falling down,

were now tears.

Then out of the dark,

like a dream, she saw a light,

a hand that wiped her tears,

pulled her to a safe place,

and assured,

no more fears."

That's all folks. :)

You Might Also Like: Zero Mile

-Ashish

Love for Maggi

Hey Reader,

Maggi may be just a packet of noodles for many... but its actual value can be seen in the places like hostel. During the times of late night studies, exams and even when the food at mess is not eligible to be called 'food', then we have only one simple solution called MAGGI!


It sounds like a simple childish rhyme but it has got some meaning.. :)


I ♥ Maggi ~

"Itni curly kitni girly ho tum
raaton ke khaalipan mein saathi ho tum
Itna pakata hun phir bhi complain nahi karti
Rooth jao toh 2 minuntes mein phir se maan jaati
Bolne ko toh 5 rupees mein,
but tum ho priceless, tum mein hai kuch baat
3 am ho ya pm,
but tum ho humesha saath.
I love u maggi"


Keep Smiling :)

Being Human?

Hello reader
While reading newspaper this morning, I found an article, on how unsafe our country has become for women. It made me feel sick and very angry of the people responsible for it. Only after reading the bitter reality, I have no doubt stating that India is nowhere towards any better. Nothing except population, petrol prices and molestation rates are increasing. 800% rise in molestation cases. Pretty good, isn’t it? What a raise, dude!
I may sound really negative. But I think it’s important to be negative towards negative stuff like these. Really feel sorry for the victims, the girls who go through such a thing and then nobody support them, not even their own families. And why is that? It’s because, they are a considered as a disgrace to the society. They bring home a bad name. People make them feel as they are the guilty-ones rather than victims. People stare at them as if they committed the crime.
The innocent ones are once again blamed and the criminals fly back freely to plan their next crime, their next hunt.
Who is responsible for this bloody pothole?
I have a list of people to blame. First are those who think that the females should be tied back inside the cage. These people who don’t want their own women to leave the house but themselves go out and tease and comment on women they find outside. All because of their low mentality, the way they see a girl and talk about her, may be about her dressing style. These are the people who discriminate them. They don’t consider a girl’s freedom can be ever equal to a boy. It’s her wish! What to do, when to do. Then, society is the word which comes into the picture. What is society? It’s all about law. When a guy can do anything, so can a girl. Remember? That’s why we were taught about the fundamental rights: The Right to Freedom. Who are the people in society to decide that?
The family of the victim comes next. When her own people won’t support her and blame her for being too liberate then certainly she has nothing left in this world, which she can call her own? She can trust nobody, can have faith on nobody. It’s the duty of her family to support her at the worst time of her life. But they prefer to stand by the so called rules of society. Because, they feel they have lost all respect. Well, a parent who can’t support her own child at such a bad time certainly doesn’t deserve any respect. What they deserve is a nice tight slap.
Then the poor security of our country is to be blamed. When a person can walk in and place a bomb inside the parliament, it’s certainly a piece of cake to molest a lonely girl. In the case I read about, the girl wanted to keep the story confidential but because of the stupidity of the police men working in the case were responsible in leaking the story outside. She would have faced lesser shame only if the police could work a bit more smartly. And even if the culprit is caught, what’s the use? He will come out as a reference of some high profile person or bribing the police. They are treated like guests. And the one who is the victim is ill-treated: forcefully interrogated. The doctors who do the report work do the same.
The condition of the victim gets so dreadful that they have to go through a counselling session for days to be something closer to normal. And all this happens only in case the victim is a strong enough person to face it. Otherwise it is certainly a suicide case.
These were the victim’s own words “People look at me and make me realize that I am the one who was raped. It’s horrible.”
It made me sad after reading all this. And I wanted to share it. I really feel sorry for the helpless victims. And it rages me when I think about the vegetable-like people who don’t bother to help this serious issue and don’t want to get into this for the sake of their ‘name’ in the society, the jerks who consider girls as nothing more than a body with no heart and soul, about the criminals, the murderers who deserve to be hanged, are still roaming freely, and the blind society I am living in.

Ashish :(
Everything I wrote is based on true facts.
Courtesy: The Times of India

Random Post : Vellai Pookal

Heya reader

This is a tamil song called 'vellai pookal' sung by the genius himself: A R Rahman. But i unfortunately don't understand this language but i love the song a lot. So during a boring lecture, i tried writing the english lyrics for the same tune...

Every time that you speak,
makes me feel awake
Every time that you sing,
so mesmerizing...

Every word that you say,
Shows a way
Every game that you play,
from far away

Please don't, never ever let this end
I 'm in love with this trend
Please don't, never ever let this stop
That's my wish, looking forward with hope


And my phone gives a blink,
Only you is what I think
Is it magic in your text
Makes me think, what from you, what to me,
could be next?

Every time that you speak,
makes me feel awake
Every time that you sing,
so mesmerizing...

Every word that you say,
Shows a way
Every game that you play,
from far away

Music is my love,
that you and I would play
with a guitar and a Piano
Someday...

Every time that you speak,
makes me feel awake
Every time that you sing,
so mesmerizing...

Every word that you say,
Shows a way
Every game that you play,
from far away

Please don't, never ever let this end
I 'm in love with this trend
You're the one, I never wanna miss
No more...
Scribbling your name on a frozen glass

Every time that you speak,
makes me feel awake
Every time that you sing,
so mesmerizing...
------------------------------------------

That's all folks
i know it's poor.. :P

Anyways, Thanks for reading...
Ashish :)

Choose one: Money or Love

Hello Reader

There are times when people ask you to think or speak practically. What do they mean when they say that? They want you to apply your words to the real life examples and rethink for the possibility of what you are saying.
Often happens in the state of great dilemma. Like you have two choices either stay back with your family or move out of the house and explore the world. Being with your family gives you priceless moments and joy. Moving out gives you experience or to be precise: MONEY!! You have to choose between emotions and practicality.

Practically, if you see, nobody can survive without money. So if a person says "I don't need money. I have my love with me". For sure, both him and his love would die of hunger. So it's the money which is making this world move on. To have a shelter to live, cloths to cover yourself and food to eat and survive, all you need is money, money and more money(in case you are too hungry). What would poor people dying of hunger get if you go and show some love, sympathy to them? Give them money and there you go, look at their cheerful faces.

Before some overheated people read my beautiful words and come to knock me. Let me make this clear that i am not at all against love. Let me re write what i stated.

Emotionally, if you see, nobody can survive without love. So if a person says "I don't need love. I m the richest damn thing". For sure, he won't take all that money with him inside his grave. Till the date you are living on this planet is more important. Even if it is just for a few days. Without love and affection, you won't feel like living even if you own Taj Mahal (or if you had no love, for whom would you have built it for?). Eating without your loved ones, without sharing food with them, won't digest your food properly. Humans eat together to share, because they care. And coming to poor people, love binds them. Even in the little they earn, they share it with their family. Sharing is caring and caring is loving. It's the love among them which keeps them moving. An aim to care for their families gives them a reason to live. Though they don't get the high priced comforts but they feel happy to earn whatever is in their reach.

And here's the million dollar dialogue "Money can't buy love". :)

Practicality comes into question in relationships. I don't know from when but it exists. If a guy is attracted (or love, that's what he initially thinks) to girl, he starts with being friends, starting to chat, exchanging numbers, more chatting, dating, more chatting, gifts, spending money, proposing, ring ceremony (if yes), marriage, a magic and finally Kids! Kids, on growing up, proceed the same steps.

Some, very Practical people cut all those steps short starting with a 'hello' and ending up with the 'magic'. As they feel 'magic' is after all the ultimate aim! Very proudly they also call themselves "eff buddies"...which i don't want to elaborate.
Hmm...once again where is the emotion? It dies at the very first 'hello'. The love in those cases never actually begins. There is no shortcut in this case.
So, the real fun lies in following the protocol.

But its always an individuals wish at different stages of his life to chose to be practical or to be emotional?

Thanks for reading.
Practically wrote, emotionally thought,
Ashish

Credits: Arpita Saha (my friend), for giving me this idea.

Do you actually love from your heart?

Hello Readers.

At a point of time in life, everybody falls in love with someone. Then, everything around you seems to be bright and beautiful. This actually happens. You keep waiting for the messages. Every time your phone beeps, you anticipate it to be from your beloved one. You start loving even the most boring love stories of the world. And music and the lyrics drive you crazy, makes you jump and dance.You start writing their name on the cold glass covered with mist when you miss them. You feel each song as if it were written for you. The world around you becomes a poem for you.

Now coming to the point. Do you feel all that from your heart? Emotions and feelings are some actions which get actuated at your brain. Where does this heart come from then? If you see someone amazingly attractive, through your eyes the image is sent to your brain and it makes a special space for him/her in your memory.

What does heart do then?
Pumps and circulates blood. Blood contains the important nutrients which our body needs. That's all. Keeps us alive so that we can live and love other fellow beings. It is not where the feeling of love begins. It's true that Heart does a big job keeping the body working.

Out of 100 people, 99 people would say its Heart. Why?
It's a misconception which through ages is being followed. Aristotle said that heart is the one responsible for doing all these naughty tricks with one's life.Yeah! i m talking about love.
And from that day onwards even though everything is scientifically proved, people sing "Dil se" ..from the heart. It's more like a proverb saying "pyaar dil se hota hai.." but is actually not true. Pyaar dil se nahi Dimaag se hota hai.

Yes, pounding of heart does take increase on finding love of your life. But, even that happens when our body needs more energy that is more nutrients that is increase in circulation of blood. So more pumping. So nobody's inside your heart knocking it from inside.
People say if i have had thought from brain i would have never fallen for him/her.
Oh! my innocent people. Its again all about mind games which people play. Soft corner is a place in your brain not in your heart. Try GPS . Find it again!

What else can be the reason of heart being considered as the reason of people falling in love? the red colour? Again its just blood.

One funny thing about blood is that it flows in both the causes: Love and War. Love or war ..you see the same blood red colour. Hmm!

So think from your brain about what you just read. Heart never thinks.

Thanks for reading.
I have put my heart writing this post.

Revolution in Indian Music

Hello Readers.

I talked a lot about revolution and bringing the change. Today,I dedicate this post to my favorite music composer of all time. Dr. A R Rahman.

He is not just A music composer but a revolutionary. He brought in India such genres and instruments which one would have hardly thought of tasting. From his first album 'Roja', all his work is pure magic.

And his latest album 'Rockstar' has compelled me to write this post. He is the master of all genres of music. Every album of his is a surprise pack. You listen to a very soulful sufi song and the very next song would be a rock, a romantic number, a jazz..u never know! It's like eating a Jalebi after a Pizza :)

He is one of the first to use Electronic Keyboard in India, Bringing the 'digital music' or 'computer music' as many called, First to bring the rap to India. And some instruments you cant even name...'Continuum' being one of them.

He went beyond the rules. He broke the rules. He worked as a Music arranger for many music composers from tamil music industry like Sir Illayaraja in his early stages. Then Jingles for ads and Finally he got such breakthrough and he never looked back after the success of 'Roja'. He did exactly what he wanted to do. Not following any rules or tradition that was popular then. He gave freedom to the musicians and singers working for him. Not following the same old musical arrangements like the trend and made his own new trends. Instead of making a playback singer sing for a particular actor, he imported singers from all over India. Otherwise who would have heard singers like Udit Narayan or Adnan Sami sing a tamil song?

But, as they say Music has no language. Music is always true. It's above all the words. Because Words may lie, music will never.

Though many of the veteran singers hated that. But the Mozart of Chennai didn't care. He did what he wanted and now there is hardly anybody who hates his work. People kept talking and he flew and reached the sky. But the sky is limitless and so is his talent. Limitless.

Rangeela, his first hindi album made him more popular in Hindi film industry. Gave a new definition to patriotism through his song 'Maa tujhe salaam'... And then came a row of music albums. which not only made him popular in India but then the world knew him. He won Grammys and Oscars for his work in his album Slumdog Millionaire. And today he is one musician in the world who has touched nearly all the genres from across the world.

And a special mention to his beautiful creation 'dil se'. This album was a benchmark.

Maestro's priority had always been sound over lyrics. this is one reason that while composing the music some of his self improvised words/ hummings are often used and become catch lines of his compositions. Humma Humma!

Khwaja mere khwaja a song that connects you to a divine power. It's like angels sing together with it. Takes you to a all new world. One song that made my eyes wet.

And then he researched over all the world genres and offered the Indian Audience/ Music freaks something beyond their imagination. here are a few examples to prove that...
Western classical in Yuvvraaj... Indian Classical in most of his albums like Water, Kannathil Muthamittal...actually you find Indian classical mixed with other genres at lots of places...which brings us to fusion...Sufi and qawwalis...the soulful tracks like khwaja, piya haji ali, kun faaya, arziyan are unbeatable. They for sure take you to the parallel world :) Bombay, Lagaan, swades, 1947 earth, jodhaa akbar gave us the sound of indian instruments ..Youth frenzy soundtracks in jaane tu..., rang de basanti. And there were some albums which were Multi cuisine Delhi 6, Taal, Yuvraaj and the latest ROCKSTAR offer us variety. Each song telling us a new story. Each song having different elements which make you go GaGa.

And I hope this Journey goes on...

I really feel proud to be born in his era and lucky enough to have been gifted with a pair of ears through which i m able to listen to his divine Music...

Thanks for reading.
Em off to my headphones. Rockstar is waiting.
See ya!

The tale of two cities

I consider myself lucky in one aspect that i have got a chance to live life in a small city as well as a big city. I have seen both and i know the differences.
Talking about the big cities: The first thing that anybody living in the city or any outsider will only tell the benefits, the facilities that people get, the lifestyle. On the other hand there are small cities which are under developed or developing. People living here won't be satisfied with the facilities at all. The lifestyle is just about average.

I 'll take Bangalore which is soon going to be a metro city, the fifth in India. A very busy place. People have got no time. For now, i ll be considering just the common people you find roaming in the malls and on the footpaths in market place. I look at them but i think those people are too busy to look back at you. Ass if everybody has been programmed to finish a task and they walk fast without looking left or right...they just start at the origin, go to the destination, finish the work and get back. They walk fast. Very fast. So fast that it can be called a slow marathon race.As if everybody is here to blow life into famous quote "life is a race, if you don't run fast others will overtake you". Of course it is a race. A hurdle race in fact. Hurdles such as the traffic jams. Long lasting traffic jams. And long lasting unpleasant noise of horns and engines. You always find people waiting at the bus stops. In summer, in winter and in rain too. And then when the desired bus arrives another race begins as everybody wants to occupy the best seat. People run behind the buses. May be that is why another dialogue in a movie was said about "Ladki, bus aur train". If you are living in a metro you should have a lot of patience. But sometimes even that doesn't work. Keeping patience may lead to wastage of time. And in these cities, going one place to other is quite a mission. Then people go to the different malls. People buy things and come back. The relation between the customer and the seller is very professional. You buy a thing, you pay for it and you don't care after that. People don't know you. There is hardly any chance of getting recognized in a crowd. Unless you are a celebrity or something. And coming the plus points of living in a big city is that you get whatever you want. Of course if you have got money. Any sort of thing. And roads are wide and good. There are strict traffic rules. Zebra crossings. There is nice and frequent bus service. What I find missing in a big city is people don't have a great social life. many a times people don't even know who lives next door. Maybe because they are so busy with themselves in absorbing so much that the city gives them.

Bilaspur. Where is it?
It's 150 k.m.s from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. The is my home. Where i grew up. It is not a village but a small city. Not very popular geographically. Whats bad about this city?
The roads. There's even a big shopping mall and two multiplexes opening shortly. But the roads are hard to find. People in big cities don't want to move out of their homes because there is too much of traffic which will ultimately waste their precious time. People here don't want to come out of their homes because the roads suck. But then there are too many vehicles. Full on traffic. And no traffic rules. No zebras. Only dogs and cows on the roads. What I don't like here is people don't want to explore things and try new stuff because of lack of variety in the store. You visit this place today and come back after a year, you hardly find any change other than some more pit holes and dirt. People are happy with the limited things they own. They don't want more.
But then people are good. People care. They know other people. What's happening in the city. They always find acquaintances when they go out. You sit in a restaurant and you find your colleagues eating on the next table. Everybody recognizes you at least by your face. The waiter, the manager, everybody. You go to a shop and the shopkeeper smiles and offers you the best products he has got and not just because he has to sell everything anyhow and anyway. And may be because of this even the god doesn't want these people to change in years. These small cities are places where you actually feel that people know you. You have a social life. People don't have to wait at bus stops here. Also the distance between two places isn't too much. A man in medical emergency would reach hospital on time. A man would never be late for his train. One more good thing about a small town is you can feel very safe and peaceful unlike the metros where life is at risk all the time. Cost of living is quite cheap in such places and anybody can survive. I have seen a homeless, skinny, almost skeleton like man roaming around in the streets since i was a child and he is still there. Very much alive. Even this man hasn't changed a bit just like my birthplace, Bilaspur. Both are same since i am seeing them except that people have now started ordering pizzas on phone. Hungry kya?

The History itself is the witness

Continuing from what i had written in my last post, this 65th independence day was indeed different except for the Prime Minister's same old speech and same old promises. But yes, the promise that Anna Hazare made to the people was not broken. He once again knocked the doors of government of India and peacefully appealed for the lokpal bill against corruption. And history has witnessed whenever somebody goes against the system, that person will be suppressed. And today even before Anna and his supporters could make his move, he was arrested. People call it a deja vu of what happened with Gandhiji.

Once again common people of India were on the streets everywhere. Candle march, protests and strikes in every state. Unity was redefined. And all this just after the night of 65th independence day. India has always won when its people get united. Everybody except the government officials, the politicians, were supporting Anna Hazare. Because the politicians are scared that if the bill passes everybody will be behind the bars. Its all transparent.

And like always the young population of the country are on the roads . The Angry birds are all in open to hit the swines (politicians). It was young fighters like Bhagat Singh for India's Independence who are considered as the seed to thousands of such young fighters who are against the system. Even in those days the Congress was the one who made wrong decisions. The time has changed but the scene is the same.

I wish there were no parties like congress, bjp and so many more. There should be just one party. And the best man from the party should be the leader. Having so many parties only brings up more fights and controversies. If party A makes a decision Party B wont agree. And in middle of all this politics, the people suffer. Constitution itself is wrong. Party A rules the centre and B rules the state. How stupid is that!

India and Pakistan were one 64 years ago. Its only because of two different parties that they had to settle with partition and even today the fight over Kashmir is on. Only because of greed of ruling the country. It was Jinnah versus Nehru then. And now its India versus India. Party A versus Party B. State Government versus Central Government.

I am witnessing everything that had happened in 1947 and throughout the freedom struggle in a mordern way though.
Like Bollywood remakes old movies. This is a remake of reality. And as people say Anna Hazare is the new Gandhi. In this way our own Government is our biggest enemy. The fight for poorna swaraj is still on. Long live Revolution!

It's all about unity

It was the day I always wanted to witness. The day India was united again. Even after being so colourful, it reflected just one colour: blue. It was the day when India won its second One day international cricket world cup. The triumphant screams still buzz in my head when I remember it. The crowd was on the street celebrating a common festival and dancing to the Indian victory. No political party bias, no caste bias, no religion bias. In fact they all followed just one religion: Cricket. Lovely it was.
The emotion was the same just like that when India won its Independence from the British. The rare emotion of smile and tears could be seen on many faces. It was wonderful to watch the joyous faces of different colours smiling for the same reason. I bet people would have witnessed a similar scene when India was a free nation on 15th August 1947. And all that was made possible by the young and rocking Indian cricket team.
But then, Indian Premier League arrived. It is a game of pure politics and business played by biggest players of the country. No emotions, no heart. Many innocent people of my country start supporting these colourful IPL teams reflecting different colours once again.
To add to this, our honourable politicians are always ready to dig the paths. I can write so much negative about them but I don’t want to. And it’s of no use either. It’s of no use because everybody knows about it. Everybody knows about it but nobody raises their voice against it. Nobody raises their voice because, once again, we all know it’s of no use. But then, some heroic personalities stand up to make a difference. Anna Hazare is the latest name. This man has stood up to bring the change by forcing government to issue a new bill against corruption. I won’t go in much detail about the bill. There were hunger strikes, lathi-charges and lots of conspiracies happening in India once again. And in between all this stood one more man to raise his voice with Anna: Baba Ramdev. The popular yoga guru fell into the scene out of nowhere in support of the bill and many of his own new ideas to erase corruption. Many of which are really lame as I feel. And not only that, he said no to food and water for several days till he was actually so weak that he had to finally stuff in. It’s all up to you to decide if that is for the sake of country’s welfare or publicity.
The fight is still on with lots of debates, strikes, politics and interruptions. The deadline date given by Anna to the government to pass the anti-corruption bill is the next 15th august. The modern Gandhi, as people call him, is all set to go on a strike with a full on expected support by promoting his venture through sms and social networking to the youth. And look, he is trying to repeat the history on the same date.
I am looking forward to it as the cause is really good. It’s not about the cause of stabbing corruption but about the cause of India being united once again to fight against their biggest enemies: the corrupt politicians. It would be just the same like the night of Indian victory. I can wait for my entire life to see such a night again as one such night is enough to satisfy all the pleasures of your life.