Subah Shaam Sahana

These days, Sahana has become one of my better companions. She is not a companion who would annoy me no end by babbling things about which I don’t give a damn. She is also not the one who would doze off the moment she boards a tram or bus. She sings for me any song I wish to listen to. May be, she would make me deaf in due course. May be one day she would lead me straight into an approaching vehicle while I am totally absorbed in her music. But, that is not going to discourage me from considering her a great companion.

If you haven’t yet guessed who Sahana is, she is my mp3 player. Today I named her Sahana :)

Here are songs (in no particular order) I listen to frequently these days.

Pal pal hai bhaari from Swades
Another gem from A. R. Rahman. Javed Akhtar sparkles at “Mann se Ravan jo nikaale, Ram uske mann mein hai”. This sentence never fails to gives me goose bumps even now, when I hear it for the hundredth time. Beautifully sung by Madhushree. It is a Ram-leela kind of song. I was a bit taken aback when I heard the song for the first time. It is a heavily classical song with nowtanki-style interludes. Odd combination. But, like most of Rahman’s songs, it grew in me and I started loving it.

Ek nazar mein bhi from Taxi no. 9211
A groovy track from Vishal-Shekar. Kay Kay and Sunidhi Chauhan at their best. This is one such song that would automatically make your body move to its beat.

Tere liye from Shaadi se pehle
Not a great one. Himesh Reshammiya, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik – they all have done a decent job. It is a feel good song that would make you smile. It is a proof to the fact that the early 90s style music still remain catchy.

Satyam Shivam Sundaram from Satyam Shivam Sundaram
When I read William Wordsworth’s ‘The Solitary Reaper’ at school, I used to wonder what on earth could a melancholy be. I knew the answer when I heard this song (I realized how powerful a melancholy could be for the second time when Swarnalatha shed buckets full of tears, and thereby making the listeners to join her, in ‘Porale ponnuthayi’ from Karuthamma). Lata Mangeshkar has sung her heart out. I didn’t get to watch the song for very long. I was like – “This song could very well qualify as one of the best devotional songs ever composed. Why wouldn’t TV channels show it?” Haha… When I saw it, I understood why it neither qualified as a song to be shown on prime time nor as a song to be telecasted late night. Naughty Raj Kapoor :P

Beedi from Omkara
Now this is a song with loads of attitude. Sunidhi Chauhan and Sukhwinder Singh have spelt magic. It is a choreographer’s dream. A la “Babuji zara dheere chalo”. Let us wait and watch what Ganesh Acharya has come up with. For some unknown reasons I am glad to know that this song is filmed on Bipasha and not on Kareena.

Bheegi bheegi si from Gangster
Pritam has done one hell of a job in Gangster. All the songs of this album are beautifully composed. James succeeds in making this haunting song to reach your heart.

Ya Ali from Gangster
Another masterpiece. A killer tune. Zubeen does full justice to it. Whether they give quality movies or not, you can always trust the Bhatt clan for good music.

The album Dhaani by Strings
An exquisite album. All the songs are treat to listen to. On any day, I would prefer the old fashioned originals from Strings to the remixes and bhangra pop that flood the market. It is so refreshing to know that there still exists a band that believes that magic can be created by vocals without heavy ear-jarring noise. Strings seem to know what to do with guitar. They are rightly named ‘Strings’.

Yeh hai meri kahani from Zinda
Another jadoo by Strings.

Bang bang (My baby shot me down) by Nancy Sinatra
Heard this song in Kill Bill Vol. 1. An intriguing song with minimal music and eerie lyrics. A spooky one.

A whole new world from Aladdin
A fancy feel-good song. Takes you on a pleasant magic-carpet ride to a whole new dreamy world.

Lucky day!?

Had to buy a fresh strip card. Went to the HTM counter at the Central Station. Couldn’t find any card reader at the counter. So, decided to buy the strip card at HTM’s counter in Grote Markt. Had seen a card reader there.

Went to Grote Markt. Found a coin on the road. Yipee!!!

A passer by smiled, “Seems to be your lucky day!”
“Seems so. I got ONE EURO :)”
“Yeah… can’t do much with it. Get a spray and paint a wall”.
“Ha.. ha.. Sure.”

Found that there were 20 more minutes for the counter to be opened. The HTM employees were already behind the counters. But, they would start working only as per schedule. They had reported for work and ready at their counters a good 20 minutes before schedule. What the hell... Ha.. ha..

20 minutes is quite a long period when you have nothing to do. Went back to Central Station. Decided to pay for the strip card in cash. Stood in the queue. The guy before me waved his debit card at the counter. The person in the counter pushed a tray out. There was a card reader. Damn. Why did I go up and down Grote Markt? I paid through card.

I was late to office. Why wouldn’t I if tour around half the city on the way to office? And why am I holding that one-euro coin all day?? I think I am going mad.

Spooky spook

The moment I stepped out of my apartment building I realized that I forgot to wear my chain. It is a cool ‘Om’ symbol that I adore.
“How did I forget? I don’t remember the last time I forgot to wear my chain”.

The spooky me said, “That is odd, buddy. It is a sign. Something strange is gonna happen today. Better go back and get your chain”.
The rational me was annoyed, “Arre… Chod yaar. You are getting late to office. Nothing will happen to you if you do not act stupid. Only a stupid would walk back to the house just for the sake of chain”.
As always, I listened to the rational me.

Evening. When I packed my things to leave the office the spooky me shouted, “Take the bus pass and put it in your pocket”.
The rational me sulked, “You are getting late yaar. Rush. You can transfer the pass while walking to the bus stop”.

I did what I always do. I forgot about the pass when I walked to the bus stop. I reached the bus stop exactly when my bus reached there. The timing had never been so perfect. I got into the bus and looked into my bag for the pass. It was missing. I checked my bag thoroughly. Then I checked my pockets.

THE DAMNED PASS WAS MISSING.

I used my emergency strip card for the journey.

When spooky things like this happen to you, I think you have no other choice but to be freaked.

Baby watch

The City hall was pretty crowded. All kinds of people were there – Asians, Africans, South Americans, people from Middle East and lot more.

A mom was with her hyperactive boy at the clerk’s desk. The boy was about to outgrow his cart. His mom may decide to dump his cart any day. He rolled his cart around. He then kicked it towards his mom. The mom threatened him not to disturb her. She asked him to sit with her. But, he had other ideas. He took a walk around the hall. A serious looking girl was with her parents, who were waiting in the queue. She was visibly in a bad mood. The hyperactive boy went to the serious girl. She was unperturbed. He stood in front of her and smiled at her. She looked at him as though she was looking at a cockroach. When he went near her, she glared at him. May be, she had had a bad day. May be she was feeling sleepy. Or may be, she was fed up with stupid kids hitting on her. Whatever it was, the glare was enough to drive the hyperactive boy away from her.

The hyperactive boy then roamed around. He saw a cute girl walking with her dad. She was cuter than the Barbie doll she carried. The hyperactive boy followed her. She didn’t even turn towards him. She was busy chatting with her dad. Her dad would have realized how tough it is being the dad of a cute girl. He would have had a sample of the exasperation that he is very likely to go through in the years to come. The cute girl continued to ignore the boy. After some time, the hyperactive boy went back to his mom. He has a bright scope of growing into a big time Casanova.

And then, there was an annoying kid who was troubling an unfortunate guy endless. The unfortunate guy was trying to fill in an application form. The annoying kid kept picking at the unfortunate guy’s bag, books, pen, etc. The unfortunate guy looked at the annoying kid’s parents for help. They were into an animated conversation, unaware of the world around them. The unfortunate guy then packed his things and moved to a far away place. The annoying kid went in search of another unfortunate person.

The other day I saw these noisy Japanese identical twins at Media Markt. The noisy girls ran around shrieking at each other. They found a confused boy. They stood on either side of the confused boy and continued shrieking in Japanese (or, was it Chinese or Korean or some other language?). The confused boy became more confused and he kept blinking at the noisy twins. He looked as though he would burst into tears any moment. His parents saved him and took him away from the noisy girls. The noisy girls ran away. But, I was able to hear them shrieking till I left Media Markt.

Boredom

Boredom is just another state of mind. You get bored only if you wish to. If you decide not to be bored, you will never. People say that they are bored of a variety of things - the place they live in, people around them, their job, their LIFE for God’s sake and what not? They are the people who want to be bored and they will remain bored no matter what happens to them. One of the main reasons given for boredom is monotony. Anything is monotonous only if we thing so. There are countless ways to avoid monotony.

I have heard a lot of people saying that they are bored of waiting in public places like queues, tram stops, railway stations, restaurants, etc. I have never been bored of waiting. The secret is – Kid Watching. Kids are such amazing characters. You never get bored watching them because they are never bored. Watching kids is one of my favourite pastimes.

Lambe bal

Arre yaar... I am just growing my hair a bit longer than usual. Why would everyone think that I am terminally star-struck and am trying to emulate Anniyan or Krrish? All the three characters exhibited by the Anniyan with Multiple Personality Disorder freaked me out. They are so abnormal and I would never wish to be like any one of them even in my nightmares. If I were allowed to switch anything with Krrish, I would rather go for his biceps than hair.

I just want to see how I look with long hair before I get bald. Well, Agassi did it. When I get bald, I would like to show my people my photographs of ‘now’ and ‘then’ (Epdi irunda naan… Ipdi aayitein – How I was… How I am) or ‘before’ and ‘after’ (like they show on Tele Shopping Network). My receding hairline and hair fall are alarming these days. The fact that my dad is bald doesn’t console me either. They say that baldness is hereditary. Damn. Of all the things, why would one pass on baldness through genes? A good reason for anyone to hate heredity.

Now that I am away from home, this could be my only chance to grow long hair. My mom would definitely freak out when she receives me at Madras Airport early next year. I hope she doesn’t faint, or worse, create a nasty scene at airport. I am sure my dad would be proud of me. He would merrily boast to his friends “You see that lousy guy with shaggy hair? That is my son. I was like him when I was his age”. But he would not show off his glee in front of my mom. He may even pretend that he doesn’t approve my hairstyle. Well, nobody messes up with my mom. Why on earth would we infuriate her with something and get ourselves reminded of it on all sorts of random occasions for months to come? We know each other too well and we see trouble when it is miles away.

I sort of love this game I play with my mom. Get on to her nerves till it is about to explode and retreat at the last moment. Who said I am scared of adventures? When I go back home, she would manage to keep her cool with the only intention of not to shout at her son, who had been away from home for around a year. I would visit my barber before she gets a good chance to take a dig at my long hair. Ha.. ha.. I am now a pro in safely ducking away from my mom’s lethal digs. Well, I am a peace loving person at heart and I am not fond of being terrorized.

A lot of things about me freaks my mom out.

“Indu, turn off the TV and get some sleep”
“Just 10 more minutes, Amma. This is the greatest movie/documentary ever made”
Those 10 minutes would extend to at least an hour.

“Wake up, Indu. It is 8 AM”
“I am feeling sleepy and it is weekend for God’s sake”
“No wonder you feel sleepy. I asked you to turn the TV off and go to sleep last night. When was the last time you listened to me?”
Just to escape from the long boring lecture about to follow, I would scamper away to brush my teeth.

“You have again bought dark colored dresses. They don’t suit our dark skin tone, Indu”
“Come on, Amma. Pale colors stand out distinct from our skin tone. Darker colors merge with us”
“I have never ever heard a more stupid argument”

“How come you watch a whole test match? That too when India is not playing?”
“How can you say that, Amma? It is CRICKET”

“Why do you wear ‘Om’ around your neck? I have no doubt that you are a goddamned atheist. Do not dare to make fun of my Gods”
“Amma. Calm down. I like the symbol. It is cool”
I then try to keep the chain safely in my travel bag whenever I go to Pondicherry.

I miss her tea. I miss her egg-curry. I miss her smile. I miss her shouting at me. I miss her a lot.
My long hairs are not long enough yet. I think they would take a couple more months to touch my shoulder. It is perfect when they are wet with water or hair gel. When they dry off, hairs curl up and look like a bird’s nest on my head. Hell. At those times, I have this strong temptation to run straight to a hairdresser and have a crew cut. But then I convince myself saying that this could be my one and only chance to grow long hairs. May the force be with me to stay strong in my ambition. Amen.

Passion

Sunday, 9th of July 2006. Rome was on a high. Nearly half its population was in blue jerseys, with the mandatory word ‘Italia’ and optional number or player’s name. Italian flags were everywhere – rooftops, balconies, windows and a lot of people were proudly waving it all over Rome. The shops were rapidly running out of blue jerseys, national flags and plastic trumpets. Big screens were installed near the majestic Roman architectural wonders.

As the day passed, I found that the number of blue-jersey-wearing-Italian-flag-bearing-trumpet-blaring-chirpy-people around me was increasing. Even the attendants at Mc Donalds were wearing the Italian blue jerseys. Towards the evening beer was flowing down the roads of Rome. The drunk got noisier. Flag waving people were rushing through the streets in their vehicles.

By 7 PM the traffic was quite thin and was getting thinner. A few on the roads were rushing as though mad dogs were chasing them. Probably, they were getting themselves positioned in front of TV sets at home and big screens all over Rome.

Leonardo Express took me from Rome Termini to Fiumicino Airport. While moving towards security check at the airport, a couple of guys were kicking a football. I think the securities and airport authorities at any Indian Airport would have gone crazy at such an action. They smiled at us and we smiled back. One of the guys kicked the ball towards us and my friend kicked it back to them. Smiles were exchanged once again.

We were waiting for the flight. Suddenly a bunch of people went ecstatic. One of them was on phone. He conveyed some news to his group and the group went mad. They were jumping up and down and punching their fists in the air. May be the team they support had just scored a goal. My friend was so upset that the match was not telecasted live at the Airport.

We boarded the flight. The pilot made his customary speech welcoming the passengers and giving a few details about the journey. He then continued to make a sheepish laugh and announced that France and Italy were tied at 1-1. During our journey, the pilot announced that Italy had become the World Cup Champions. The passengers greeted the news with spontaneous screams and applause. They congratulated each other. One waved the Italian flag inside the plane. A kid went to the mike and shouted “Viva Italia!” with joy.

That was pure passion or mania. Passion is a funny thing. Passion leads us either to celebrations are heartbreaks. I shall be passionate about my studies. I shall try to learn anything and everything about my favorite subject. But, I cannot assume that my favorite subject is better than the other subjects. I shall be passionate about my work. I shall put my 100% in whatever I do. I shall try to design and develop efficient, bug-free applications within the given deadline. But there is no point in being devastated if something goes wrong. I shall take it as a lesson learnt and try to do better the next time. Life is a continuous process of refining oneself.

I shall be passionate about myself and my family and friends. But that doesn’t mean that I should believe that whatever I do or my family or friends do is always correct. I shall be passionate about my country and my culture. That doesn’t mean that I have to consider that India is the best country in the whole world. I shall always believe that India will become a lot better in the future and shall do whatever is possible towards it. I shall be passionate about my mother tongue and consider that it is a great language. But, that doesn’t allow me disregard other languages.

On a lot of occasions, we are passionate about things that are out of our control. I shall be happy if India wins in sports. But, what is the point in painting the player’s house black and burn effigies of players if they lose a match? I love arts. I like to read literature, listen to music and watch movies. They entertain me. But forming fan clubs, watching movies on first day first shows… I think that it is more of madness than passion.

I have my own opinion about politics. I like and dislike certain agenda of certain parties. I believe that politics is one of the best means to serve humans. But I can only feel pity for people who neglect themselves and their family to put politics and politicians ahead. It is more of stupidity than passion.

Passion is for lesser humans. Lesser the passionate, greater the human you are. Passion narrows down one’s mind. Passion makes you see only what you want to see. It doesn’t allow you to see the truth. Being neutral and level minded may help you to see the real scenario. Being devoid of passion may help you to prevent unwanted heartbreaks. But, on the flip side, it could make you boring. A passionless person is always considered a boring person no matter how practical he may sound.