BUZZz

End of an Icon....MJ the legend

2009-06-27T09:56:00.000-07:00

It takes few moments in our life to make you realize that how our emotions and past experiences continue to remain with us forever. Like many others, the sudden demise of MJ took me for the journey back into the days of teens when music meant Michael and our window to the world was very limited. There was no Google or napster so we had bank on Sun or RSJ and archie’s song books to read the lyrics of latest hits.

MJ was part of our youth, each and every song meant a new lease of life, and every album was a cherished memorabilia. I don’t recall how many tapes of Thirller, Bad and Dangerous I would have brought and many more were flicked by friends and relatives.. I bet most of us have twisted our ankles once atleast trying to emulate his steps and move in our teens. Moonwalking was perhaps the biggest buzz word, still recall the nth number of times we saw his moves in slow motion …he was a cult, a prophet of music who cut across all boundaries. He was the idol, the biggest showman who would set the stage on fire with his energy and passion for music.

Mj was never just about music, his style, his moves and everything he did was larger than life .He was perhaps the most gifted singer and entertainer of his times , he always stood for more than just music. His songs epitomizes the spirit of the global youth, despite all the odds surrounding the allegations leveled against him, he was always a super star.

Perhaps grossly misunderstood, as he was a child in an adult's world ,who was always berated for not being one of them. Imagine as a kid he was the leading singer of a band from the age of 11. When kids of his age where being nurtured by their parents, this young lad was the bread earner of his family and spent nights and days practicing his moves and perfecting his notes, touring.

They saw him on stage, dancing and singing but his songs really brings out the agony and pain of being hounded and pained by the way the world treated him. In one of his songs he brings out how he has been a victim of hate and greed. One can imagine the stress and pain he would have undergone as he was victim of his own fame and talent.

Tell me what has become of my life
I have a wife and two children who love me
I am the victim of police brutality, now
I'm tired of bein' the victim of hate
You're rapin' me of my pride
Oh, for God's sake
I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy...
Set me free

He gave up and the rare talent of the genius was overshadowed by the trails of media and press. I just hope that people realize how all this has led to a slow death. Everyone wanted him to comeback for once on stage, for all the critics who wrote him off, they were in for a big shock when the tickets of his “this is it” series disappeared within 10 mins after sales started. It’s a cruel world, even today millions are busy encashing his legacy and perhaps they just want to ensure that each moment of his fame is encashed.

He has left for good into a world where we wish him peace and harmony. He will always be “The King” and the best, with him a part of our youth and memories have gone. Every time we saw him speak, sing and move we relieved few moments of our past …for all you gave us, you deserve all the respect, peace, and love. Let’s remember him for all the joys and thrill he gave us and pray for his soul.There will never be another Michael Jackson; this is it…the end of a true superstar, a legend a true icon of global youth and equality.

My Pledge

2009-01-25T15:01:00.000-08:00

Here comes another Republic day of India.

My generation takes freedom and independence for granted. It takes motley situations of different nature to stir them up from deep slumber and inertia. It could the images of terrorist bleeding the heart of Mumbai or even a A R Rehman’s song. We are free, independent, vocal, intelligent, smart …….yeah we are cool about it.

We don’t compromise on “my space” “my life” “my time” “my friends” “my career” , it goes on and on. So when it comes to “WE as a nation” it really makes us think hard. I thought about it “kya kare” am I doing my bit? Is it good enough? Net activism and candle light processions will not make difference to the lives of millions. Just can’t procrastinate it any more, I’ll always find reasons to say “next time” after I’m done with this responsibility of mine. So finally it’s come to a point where I said myself “It’s now or never” and let me do introspection on what I can do as a citizen first.

So I’ll make an honest attempt to do my “2 cent (aana) “and try and be a better, more responsible citizen. My wish is that every citizen has a “things to do” list for himself and let’s just try and make an honest effort. I guess most of us are doing it, or may be helping the ideas in some or other way. We need to keep emphasizing these virtues in our day to day life.

Let's take this simple 8 point citizens pledge for India. Let's so our bit in making this country a better place. This is no political party or a social movement, these are simple things which you can do in your daily life and make a big difference.

· I will cast my vote to decide my public representatives.

· I will pay my taxes on time.

· I will never pay any bribe.

· I will report any act of crime, corruption and public nuisance.

· I will never litter at any public place and follow traffic rules.

· I will contribute few days in a year for philanthropic cause.

· I will donate a small part of my party budget to support child education and health.

· I will respect and give equal treatment to every citizen, irrespective of gender, caste, religion and region.

Take your pledge today, join us on facebook page.

Follow me on Twitter

2008-08-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

follow me on Twitter

They are back :)

2007-10-13T03:22:00.000-07:00

We've just been sort of waiting for some of this bad music to die down, for
certain trends to go away, so we can get out there on the dance floor again."

Don Henley

Well in case if you have been thinking that the good old days of “Menz” rock band are over and that you will never get to hear the big guys …..just think again because the menz are back with a bang on the music scene and they are better than ever before.

The Eagles are back with a brand new album and they sound better than ever before.Lets hear and read what the big boys are talking and also don’t miss the video from the new album “Long road out of eden”. Don Henley talks about Eagles first studio album in 28 years (yes almost as old as I’m) :DD.

He says” "I just turned 60... I'm thrilled and delighted. None of us ever thought it would go on this long. But we are a determined bunch of guys. We take our time, we are not afraid of the passage of time.

Check out the new video from the album with is likely to be released on 30th Oct.

This is not the end of the good news folks, our big man Mark Knopfler's new album “Kill to crimson” is another treat from the legendary king of Guitar.The song “true love will never fade” is really a treat for all knopfler's fan.True to his style its groovy, soothing and trademark knopfler strings and his baritone just sounds perfect.Check out the live performance of the song in Berlin.

चक दे इंडिया

2007-09-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

T20:New age cricket

2007-09-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

For the first time I saw the T20 match in which India played and just it was a strange feeling of excitement. The way the match went just gave me a feeling that this format is really going to be a big hit in the days to come and will change the way people watch cricket as entertainment. The game is likely to become more interesting just like one day cricket is more unpredictable than test match. The T20 format will bring more uncertainty into the game.

This means that the dominance of any team in the game will be difficult and the fate of the team may be decided in one over or ball or even bowl out as we saw in the India Pakistan match. T20 reminded me of good old days when we used to play pithoo(laghori) ,exciting match and this format will surely take the game to next level.However the format will do one thing for sure, it will make it a more team oriented game as the difference between a great player and an ordinary player will reduce. However the good ones will continue to make merry.

Cricket although a team game is still followed due to star players and I'm hoping that people will come to watch the match rather than individual players perform well. With huge prize money and different formats this surely indicates that everyone is betting on T20 as the next big thing in cricket. The addition of another format of this game we will have cricket 360 days a year or even more as we may have different teams for different versions of the game.

Internet's black holes

2007-09-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

I wish ....

2007-07-21T03:15:00.000-07:00

It happens once in a while, you look back and realize how things change and how much you wish at times they remain the same, but then change is the rule of the game.

Wish I can do more,

Wish I can dream,

Wish I can change things around,

Wish I can make a new world……..

Wish I can give all that I have

Wish I can make others happy..

Wish I can see her smile every moment..

Wish I weave a magic world…

Wish I can live in a peaceful anger free world.

Wish I can fight battles of our lives better…

Oh how I wish I can make things better.

My Blog Rating

2007-07-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

Mingle²

Dedicated to Annie

2007-05-06T00:24:00.000-07:00

This happens to be one of my favourite love songs.John dedicated this song to his then wife Annie.Wiki says that Denver "wrote this song in about ten-and-a-half minutes one day on a ski lift" to the top of Bell Mountain in Aspen, Colorado as the physical exhilaration of having "just skied down a very difficult run" and the feeling of total immersion in the beauty of the colors and sounds that filled all senses inspired him to think about his wife.The song has since become a wedding standard and an expression of love for many people, due to its grand imagery and the fact it could apply to anyone (Annie is not mentioned by name in any part of the song).

Legends of all time

2007-04-14T02:28:00.000-07:00

Awesome ...what else can be said about these two legenda in act together.Mark and Eric happens to be my all time favourite and to see them perform together is perhaps the most memorable life time experience.If one is the Sultan of swing the other is revered as "The God".Enjoy this masterpeice.

Happiness and choices in life

2007-04-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

Often we come across choices when it comes to make decision. Sometimes we consider ourselves to be lucky when we have multiple options before making a choice. The choice could be either of a job, your TV show, your choice of MP3 player or even a life partner.

Sometimes I remember the good old days when we use to have those old magnetic tapes and we relished each and every song in the tape. Today with MP3 disks we have the choice of 125 songs to choose in a disk and we often end up forwarding most of the songs without enjoying any. So with more choices we have become more choosy and particular about our decision making. The same applies to consumer durables,cars,bikes,even hair style or something as small as a sachet of a shampoo ,we often end up analyzing our choice.

Wonder if we have become better in making decisions about out lives and are happy with the choices we are making. So with multiple news channels and radio stations around are we enjoying the life as much as we used to do when we had limited choices?

May be as individuals we condition our mind to be content with the reality when we have limited options or choices. May be happiness lies in understanding the reality that we need not have the best of everything in life to be happy and sometimes the best choice may not give you what you may need to make you happy.

-->

Barry Schwartz is a sociology professor at Swarthmore College and author of The Paradox of Choice. In this talk, he persuasively explains how and why the abundance of choice in modern society is actually making us miserable.

My Visual D-N-A :)

2007-02-16T11:22:00.000-08:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The way I see life !!!

2007-02-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

We shall Overcome !!

2007-01-23T11:18:00.000-08:00

The Man who moved a Mountain

2007-01-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

"Courage easily finds its own eloquence." — Plautus, Roman comic dramatist (c. 254-184 B.C.

It’s difficult to give words to some experiences in life. There are times in our lives when words simply are not enough to express the vortex of emotions which is felt when one comes across something like this.

The courage and will of legendary Dasthrath Manjhi is one of those rare real life incidents which will continue to inspire mankind for ages to come. Our man from Gaya had the fortitude and conviction to move mountains and he made it happen by his sheer perseverance and faith is his efforts to move the mountain. He is an inspiration for all us and just when you feel chips are down and the road ahead seems insurmountable, put yourself in his shoes and imagine the courage it would take to move a mountain.

I have not seen Hanuman and Ram nor do I believe in living gods (read-modern guru’s) but Dashrath Manjhi comes close to be a god and he epitomizes god like virtues.

Today’s TOI also covered his great saga.Over four decades ago, a frail, landless farmer got hold of a chisel and a hammer and decided to change the face of his village nestled in the rocky hills of Gaya. Dashrath Manjhi tore open a 300-feet-high hill to create a one-km passage. Manjhi knew it would he easier to move a mountain than an apathetic government. He knew writing to the powers-that-be would only leave the hill tied in red tape. Instead, Manjhi, then in his early 20s, took up a chisel and hammered at the rocks for 22 years.

This feat, part of local folklore now, stemmed from Manjhi’s love for his wife. For, when she slipped off the rocks while getting food for him as he worked in a field beyond the hill and broke her ankle, it became a burning passion to tame the formidable hills that virtually cut his village off from civilisation. And he completed the Herculean task — creating a short-cut which reduced a long and arduous journey from his village Gahlor Ghati to Wazirganj to a walkable distance. Manjhi hasn’t forgotten the public ridicule when he began hammering at the hill. “They called me a pagal but that steeled my resolve,” he says.

Even his wife and parents were against this “adventure,” especially when he sold his goats to buy a chisel, a hammer and rope. But, by then, Manjhi was a man possessed. He shifted his hut close to the hill so he could work all day and night, chipping away, little by little. “I did not even bother to eat,” he says. With most of the cultivable land and shops across the hill, villagers had to cross it many times a day, braving dangers. It was after 10 years that people began to notice a change in the shape of the hill. Instead of a defiant rockface, the hill seemed to have a depression in the middle. Climbing it became a little easier. “All those who had called me mad began to quietly watch me work. Some even chipped in,” he recollects.

In 1982, twenty-two years after he had started out, Manjhi walked through a clear flat passage — about 16-feet wide — to the other side of the hill. But his victory was tinged with sadness. His wife, who inspired him to take on this task, was not by his side. “She died of illness. We could not take her to a hospital on time,” says Manjhi. But, the villagers were there. They got him sweets, fruits and all that they could afford. Says Ram Avatar Yadav of Bhitra village: “We grew up hearing stories of the man who wants to move a mountain. Today, it’s a reality and a boon for me.”

Cat Stevens Returns

2007-01-06T06:54:00.000-08:00

Cat stevens is back in his old avatar with An Other Cup, his first secular studio album in 28 years. The disc contains old songs that were never recorded, songs he wrote in the last couple of years, and songs that he came up with on the spot, once he reached the studio.

Born as born Steven Demetre Georgiou on July 21, 1948, he adopted the name Cat Stevens; under this moniker, he sold over 60 million albums, mostly in the 1970s changed name to Yusuf Islam in 1979. Stevens became a convert to Islam in 1977, after a near-death experience when he nearly drowned surfing at Malibu Beach [1]. He adopted the name Yusuf Islam in 1979, and became a pious advocate for the religion, devoting himself to educational and philanthropic causes in his community. A decade later, controversy arose when he was reported to have made comments that seemed to support a fatwa calling for the death of author Salman Rushdie, but he claimed to have been misinterpreted.

He has given some of the memorable hits like Moonshadow, Morning has broken, Wild World, Father and Son and First cut is the deepest.

It is believed that he didn't touch a guitar for many years, until two years ago, when his son brought a guitar into the house. After picking it up in the middle of the night and discovering that he could still play, he felt the spirituality in his playing that he said had been missing from his music back in 1978. This week, Yusuf Islam was awarded the Mediterranean Prize for Peace, as he continues to re-enter the spotlight as a musician. Recently in a live concert he commented on why he didn’t touch the guitar for so long, he said , ''to stay out of trouble more than anything.'' But when he picked one up a little over two years ago, ''My fingers just felt at home.''
The 2004 tsunami inspired him to write a song, ''Indian Ocean,'' for a charity album; it's a long, detailed narrative about an English family on an island holiday that takes in an orphan after the tsunami.

Just another year ? :o)

2006-12-31T23:24:00.000-08:00

Here comes another new year, new day and new beginning. This happens to be the first post of my year and I decided that it has to be on my first blog buzzz ;o).Buzz continues to be the only space in my virtual existence where I share my personal thoughts, feelings and life experiences. Despite being a blogger for almost two years now I have never been able to express my day to day experiences and intense personal thoughts on my blogs.

I decided this post of mine will be an exception, just another way to kick start this new year. One of the reasons why I seldom share my personal experiences is due to my indecisiveness in working out the significance of the event in my life. I think its always better to look back after a while and give your experiences a different perspective.

Last year was significant in terms of some of the ideas on which I have been working over for some time. Projects and ideas close to my heart are shaping up well and its been very satisfying and an intense, profound experience of sublime humility to see them in action. I think blogging has also been a part of that experience and the amazing reach and connectivity and impact of the blogs and social network continues to make collaboration and reaching out an exciting experience.

Work has been good fun and somehow I have been able to manage and prioritize activities much better than last year and just get a feeling that I can survive in chaos ;o)…its so much fun to be a little disorganized and still continue to chase your dreams. The interesting thing is that my 360 degree feedback shows I need to improve my time management skills but I guess it wont be fun be a perfect one ..heheheh.yes I can afford to laugh on myself today…

So what next ???

Well I continue to have more fun blogging and chasing my dreams. I’m very lazy when it comes to change myself and yeah I think the imperfections makes me always strive for something better, so no new resolutions and I’ll be just what I am .I guess my neighbours must be disappointed to know this as they may be hoping I do not blast music at high decibels as I have always done in the past. There is a part of me which is highly non conformist and borders on the verge of a rebel. I have always been a passive admirer of this non-rational, emotive and passionate part of me which is more spontaneous and vulnerable. At the same time I think my grey cells continues to make a more condensed and phlegmatic to life’s vagaries. I guess you can call it a war of heart over mind, but I feel there is no point in being so evaluative and critical of myself today. Let us celebrate what we are and make the best of our ability, I just hope I am able to give my existence a better meaning and a relevant existence to my human identity and be a better human being.

Enough….I will continue to get up late, I will continue to be a teetotaler, a veggie, a die hard music buff, 24*7 blogger, romanticist, Theist, erratic, …and last but not the least hopefully happy and single :D)

Happy New Year Folks !!!

2006-12-31T12:42:00.000-08:00

American Pie

2006-12-15T23:06:00.000-08:00

Music Video:

Right here waiting

2006-12-15T22:29:00.000-08:00

This is the end .....

2006-12-10T09:23:00.000-08:00

Looking back at life today, I realize how much I have lost and found,

The touch, the pain, anger and joy, the agony of losing someone you love,

The angst of loneliness, the dreams which always remained unfulfilled,

My wanderings which I never expressed, thoughts which never got words,

Lonely tears of a wailing heart, the lacerated soul, ever searching ghosts of mortal desires.

The end of innocence, the pangs of the bitter truth that you are gone,

How the music faded, how the sun went down,

How the innocence of youth gave way to the ways to the mundane jaded world.

How I lost the precocious unbridled charm of a passionate heart,

My destiny, my pain, how the child within me cries every night,

How my faith belies my own hopes, my vices smirk at my virtues,

How truth fought the lonely war, loosing you means loosing my innocent self, my faith, my god, my life…..

2006-11-10T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have wings

Great stuff.The moral of the story is really good.Take a look.

Back again !!

2006-11-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

One of the sad truths of life is that all good things in life must come to an end. Vacations are over and I’m back to my usual chores. It was hectic, fast paced and even before I could realize that I’m on vacation the short but sweet 12 day break ended. Going home is always worth cherishing but getting back to work is something you can’t avoid.

Meet some old friends, spent some lazy afternoons doing nothing, did some usual time pass with my friends, did few things, meet a lot of people whom I’d interacted virtually.The only regret is that I wished I could have spent some more time with my family. The journey was full of its usual elements of surprise with delayed flights and missing trains.

Well the saddest part is that when you get back to work you have to make up for the days you spent doing nothing. But that’s life and it will always be like this…

Take me home....

2006-10-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

All my memories gathered round her, Miners lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky, Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrops in my eye
Country roads, take me home,
To the place I belong….. John Denver

So finally I’ll be going home this week for Diwali and Chatth Celebrations. Last time it was a short but sweet visit .So loads of plans and memories of the days coming back. I keep reading about the good things happening back home and believe me nothing gives me as much joy as the memories of my day’s in Patna.

Although I left the city last year during the same time but I continue to display Patna in my location details as somehow I can’t see myself detached to the city. Some may think its funny or rather foolish sentimentalism but I really don’t know why I feel so strongly about my roots. I was not the same while I stayed in the city all those years of my life but perhaps the journey to different places has made me realize my emotional connect with the state and city.

The festivities and the regular Dhamal and times spent doing nothing is something which made life back in city so special. For me it’s not the flashing lights or the purple haze which makes life beautiful. It’s about the things you believe in and feel that you must stand for. Sometimes I wonder how important has been the role of my city in shaping my ideas and thoughts as an individual.

It’s hard to find that out but as they always say “You can take a man out of Bihar but can’t take a Bihari out of him”….so here I go , back to the place I belong to.

Heehe :0)

2006-10-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

What do you say ????

One of my all time no.1

2006-09-30T12:22:00.000-07:00

Music Video:STAND BY ME (by Ben E. King)

Music Video Code provided by VideoCodeZone.Com

Modern Times !!

2006-09-27T05:57:00.000-07:00

Bob Dylan’s new album is creating waves all over once again and the poet philosopher singer is enjoying his popularity with the generation Y fans. Bob Dylan's first new album in five years, Modern Times, will was released on August 29. The artist's 44th album features 10 new songs recorded this past winter with Dylan on keyboards, guitars, harmonica and vocals, accompanied by his touring band.

While it has been marketed as the third in a conceptual trilogy, beginning in 1997 with Time Out of Mind, Dylan himself has rebuffed that notion; in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he stated that he "would think more of "Love and Theft" as the beginning of a trilogy, if there's going to be a trilogy."

The Rolling stone says that Modern Times is something different. It's less terrifying, less funny on first listen. But it has more command, more clarity. There is none of the digital murk of Time Out of Mind, and the snakebite live sound of Love and Theft has softened. This music is relaxed; it has nothing to prove. It is music of accumulated knowledge, it knows every move, anticipates every step before you take it.

I just heard couple of songs and as usual was lost in his haunting melodies.It has Dylan in a classic mode and as usual the songs will require repeated listening (like many other Dylan songs) before you finally get in the grove.

2006-09-23T00:07:00.000-07:00

Mile Sur Mera Hamara

Wonderful Stuff...

Those days...

2006-09-06T06:22:00.000-07:00

Last night I was listening to a movie song which was released when I was in school. As the music played a strange sense of melancholia and deja vu struck me. It was a haunted feeling of years gone by, strong emotions overwhelmed me. I went in a flashback mode and tried to recall how things were in my life exactly 10 years back.It was 1996 and India-Pakistan hosted the Cricket world cup. I still recall the dilemma I faced when India played Pakistan in one of the most memorable World Cup contest .The Quarter final match was held a day before my 12th Boards Literature exam and I had to make a tough choice of between studying and watching the cricket match.

I fared very well in my board exams. On the day of the results I was sleeping carelessly till my friend arrived and informed me that the results are out and that I’m the school topper. I still remember calling him a jerk since I felt he was playing fool. I was expecting good marks but I was never ever sincere enough to expect the Top rank.

Life seems to have changed so much in the last 10 years. I still remember being one of the biggest pranksters in my school. I was literally thrown out of the school on ragging charges, in which I was falsely implicated. I am not sure where most of my classmates are now, cant help recalling eating out the tiffin of my classmate everyday. Those were the days when life was made of simple things and the joy of youth lied in sharing moments of laughter, cheers and pranks with my chums. Those were the days of innocence and camaraderie, life was password free and key strokes were alien.

My days in college started on a different note as I found the college life very peculiar. I think I’m lucky to have made couple of friends who still very good pals of mine and have been able to stay I touch despite all odds. One of things which you always wish in your life is to relive those days when you had some of precious moments of your life with your friends and mates. When you wake up every day and spend times with people around, you seldom realize the memories of the days will brighten up your life some other day when your chips are down.

How often we forget these simple moments spent with people from different stages in your life. I may never get to meet or hear about those folks ever in my life but then life never fails to surprise you. I wish I can tell all those people I still remember and would like to know where they are today.

We are so hassled by the ways of the world today that we seldom take a break and reflect on our past experiences. The pace of lives has changed so much that we seldom find time to think about present .So the best thing to make life a pleasant joyride is to try and make the best of what you’ve got today, think about ways how you would like to introspect and look back on your life few years from now….

Another year passed by....

2006-08-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

They say it’s my Birthday today :-) , so what the heck I’m supposed to do ? Look myself in the mirror and wonder ……

I think it’s time for some serious retrospection and set my priorities for the coming year. Looking back I think this has been a quite a momentous year. Lot of changes happened at personal as well as professional front. To some extent I miss leaving my beloved home at Patna and the quite life I lived there. However it has made me realize and made me more committed to the social cause than ever before. I have taken the changes in my stride pretty well and just hope to meet some of the other targets which I have set to achieve in the days to come.

Overall I think it’s been a good life till date. I had my share of good and bad experiences and to some extent my belief system has also undergone some changes. I feel I’m less judgmental and easier today than I was ever before since a right balance of pain and pleasure in your life makes you equipoise. My only concern is that I expected myself to be more serious in the days to come but it seems my clock is turning the other way round and I love being a wisecracker more than ever before.

SO what next ………..here goes my wish list. I hope to check this next year.

Top 3 personal

1) Try and improve my execution ability.
2) Prioritize my short and long term goals .
3) Stay connected and keep blogging .

I also plan to focus on improving my reading habit, which is pathetic to say the least. I’ll continue to dream Big and dream endlessly. I somehow feel dreaming is more important than reading .Too much reading does gives you an understanding of divergent viewpoints but at the same time it makes you opinionated. So I’ll continue with my good old funda read all but respect and believe in your own views and don’t forget to question the wisdom of anything sacred.

I’ll end this post on my one of my favoirite John Denver Song “Poems,Prayers and Promises"

I've been lately thinking, About my lifes time, All the things Ive done,
And how its been , And I cant help believing, In my own mind,
I know I'm gonna hate to see it end ,I've seen a lot of sunshine,
Slept out in the rain, Spent a night or two all on my own , I've known my lady’s pleasures, Had myself some friends, And spent a time or two in my own home...
And I have to say it now, Its been a good life all in all
Its really fine, To have a chance to hang around
And lie there by the fire, And watch the evening tire
While all my friends and my old lady,Sit and pass the pipe around
And talk of poems and prayers and promises And things that we believe in,
How sweet it is to love someoneHow right it is to care, How long its been since yesterday
And what about tomorrow, And what about our dreams, And all the memories we share,
The days they pass so quickly now,Nights are seldom long
And time around me whispers when its cold,The changes somehow frighten me
Still I have to smile,It turns me on to think of growing old,
For though my life’s been good to me, There’s still so much to do
So many things my mind has never knownId like to raise a family,Id like to sail away ,
And dance across the mountains on the moon I have to say it now,Its been a good life all in all….

This is awesome :-)

2006-08-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

You must see this :-)

http://www.fugufish.org/frog/?p=38

Paisa Vasool

2006-08-14T04:44:00.000-07:00

Just saw Omkara and Pirates of the Caribbean this Saturday .Two very different but engaging movies in special ways. Omkara has got mixed reviews for the ingenious desi depiction of Shakespeare classic Othello. Although reports suggest that the movie has not done too well on the box office but the movie has a touch of reality .I guess we are too happy watching the typical pop corn –chewing style movies which are now where close reality .

Well the movie has got almost every thing right from the cast to cinematography .The music and cinematography deserves a special mention as it sets the context. People may crib about the use of foul language but it adds a touch f reality in the movie.

Well the same junta who is cribbing about the foul language may be happy watching the phoren movie which uses the F** word more often than .However when it comes to Hindi movies they might crib it’s indecent. Double standards are not new to us.

Well as a viewer I had a 100% paisa vasool and would expect more of such classic from Vishal Bhardwaj's in the days to come.

What's on my Mind

2006-07-25T07:56:00.001-07:00

Life has been hectic as usual work…family…projects…dreams …the list is endless.24 hrs in a day, and so much to do, so little time. Sometimes I often wonder am I doing justice to all the projects and initiatives which I have taken. It started with HR Funda Yahoo Group, then came Buzz, HR Funda Blog,Cool Bihari , The Job Shop and finally Patna Rice. Some people have started assuming that I’m a full time blogger and I’m paid for my blogs …well I wish I were :-)

I think my own space Buzz I have not been able to express my thoughts and views on life around. I always want to be aware and conscious of the changes which I feel my thoughts are undergoing ,but sometimes the turn of events are so fast that you really don’t get to ruminate about your experiences.

What’s on my mind ………well I just wish I could change few things in my life ….

So true..

2006-07-21T03:51:00.001-07:00

This is the End...

2006-07-12T07:42:00.000-07:00

Can't express much about then pain and agony which I felt one must be undergoing after the bloodbaths in Mumbai yesterday.Just read these lines from "The Doors" song "The End", it truly makes me numb and thoughtless after seeing all this...

This is the end Beautiful friend This is the end My only friend, the end Of our elaborate plans, the end Of everything that stands, the end No safety or surprise, the end I'll never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be,So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...stranger's hand
In a...desperate land Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane,All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the king's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, babyRide
the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...he's old, and his skin is cold
Driver, where you taken' us

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived,
and...then he Paid a visit to his brother,
and then heHe walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...i want to......Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill
This is the endBeautiful friend
This is the end.My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

Times they are ......

2006-07-08T05:41:00.000-07:00

We live in a greedy little world--that teaches every little boy and girl

To earn as much as they can possibly--then turn around and Spend it foolishly-

We've created us a credit card mess-We spend the money that we don't possess-Our religion is to go and blow it all
So it's shoppin' every Sunday at the mall

All we ever want is more-A lot more than we had before

So take me to the nearest store -When you're broke go and get a loan-

Take out another mortgage on your home-Consolidate so you can afford-

To go and spend some more when you get bored-All we ever want is more-

A lot more than we had before-So take me to the nearest store-

Let's swing Dig deeper in your pocket

Oh, yeah, ha Come on I know you've got it Dig deeper in your wallet Oh

All we ever want is more-A lot more than we had before-So take me to the nearest store

Ka-Ching by Shania Twain

Journey Continues...

2006-07-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the greatest of discovery of one’s life comes through self introspection. At times I seriously feel that my thoughts and beliefs on certain issues in life are firm and unwavering. However to my own surprise and amusement I find my beliefs changing with passage of time.

It creates some confusion in my mind about my own self; the harder I try and understand my self, more confusing or rather surprising the outcomes are. May be I’m expecting my revelation to happen to soon, but the constant thought of self-awareness does leads to a heightened awareness of one’s own thought and actions.

A conscious effort to monitor one’s own action leads to some peculiar situations. Many times you’ll encounter a situation in which your mind and heart will be under perpetual conflict of arriving at a decision. In my earlier days I thought that’s part of growing up process and time will come when things will fall alright and I’ll overcome the constant ???

But the journey continues and so the surprise of discovering a new person within yourself which you never thought you were.

Mark of A True Software Professional

2006-06-24T01:06:00.000-07:00

Mark is Back

2006-06-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Mark Knopfler and country's Star Emmylou Harris have come together and released a new album titled "All the Road Running.

Having met at a Chet Atkins TV special, Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris began recording songs like "Red Swaggering" and "Donkey Town" for Knopfler's 2000 solo album Sailing To Philadelphia.

Mark Knopfler liked the songs so much he kept them off the final album, hoping that Harris would be able to find the time to cut some more tracks with him. Over the next few years, the dynamic duo found time in their hectic schedules to add to their song collection and finished off the opus over a week in the studio last year.

With heartfelt songs like "Beachcombing", "If This Is Goodbye" and "Beyond Belief",All The Roadrunning finds Knopfler's bluesy voices merging with Harris's angelic country harmonies rekindling the glory of the great country duets.
For a country and slow rock buff like me this is going to be one helluva album.

Busy :-(

2006-06-08T02:11:00.000-07:00

Human Spirit

2006-05-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally".

Nick Vujicic was born on the morning of the 4th of December 1982 in Melbourne (Australia), was born without limbs and doctors have no medical explanation for this birth “defect. The doctors we shocked and had no answers at all! There is still no medical reason why this had happened and Nick now has a Brother and Sister who were born just like any other baby.

The law in Australia didn't allow him to be integrated into a main-stream school because of his physical disability. Her Mom fought for the law to be changed and Nick was one of the first disabled students to be integrated into a main-stream school.

Nick says “It was very hard for me to get used to, but with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes and values which helped me overcome these challenging times. I knew that I was different but on the inside I was just like everyone else. There were many times when I felt so low that I wouldn't go to school just so I didn't have to face all the negative attention. I was encouraged by my parents to ignore them and to try start making friends by just talking with some kids. Soon the students realized that I was just like them, and starting there God kept on blessing me with new friends.

There were times when I felt depressed and angry because I couldn't change the way I was, or blame anyone for that matter. I went to Sunday school and learnt that God loves us all and that He cares for you. I understood that love to a point as a child, but I didn't understand that if God loved me why did He make me like this? Is it because I did something wrong? I thought I must have because out of all the kids at school, I'm the only weird one. I felt like I was a burden to those around me and the sooner I go, the better it'd be for everyone. I wanted to end my pain and end my life at a young age, but I am thankful once again, for my parents and family who were always there to comfort me and give me strength. Due to my emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self esteem and loneliness, God has implanted a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever challenge they have in their life and let God turn it into a blessing. To encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams.

Food for Thought :-)

2006-05-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

I believe in Music

2006-04-22T02:47:00.000-07:00

In the late 80’s and early 90’s it was really difficult to find tapes of quality international music in small cities .I still remember the days when we were left with no other option but to buy pirated copies of latest music and wait endlessly for new international releases to reach India.

In fact in those DD serials like Top of Pops, Europa Rock and Grammy Awards were must watch for us. Being close to Nepal we were privileged to watch some exclusive music videos on Saturday Night show on Nepal TV. Then came Magnasound, BMG and things improved amazingly, the quality, packaging and availability improved, finally with the advent of MTV in early 90’s the entire international music scene in India changed .

Angereeze (English) Music which was passion for selected few in metros and big cities also reached to small towns from Bhilai to Gaya. Now everyone can watch the latest music videos on the TV and go for buying the music tapes in the stores. Those were the good old days of magnetic tapes. Finally CD’s started making waves by mid 90’s but still in those days it was accessible to privileged few . As a school going chap I was never able to buy CD’s since I could never afford it, so tapes remained our favorites and I still savor the gusto of listening to some good old rock and roll music in good stereo output in my walkman.

The music industry made good profits in the 90’s, riding high on the popularity of Music channels, but unfortunately the sales started to dip by late 90’s as MP3 made its way. Suddenly the music lovers found an affordable, easy and almost dream come true medium called MP3 .This compressed music format changed the way we listened, brought and stored music. Suddenly my entire tape collection started looking pale and it was tough to buy tapes as the prices touched roofs.

But on the other hand MP3 democratized music distribution and also gave the consumers lot of varied music to experiment with. Since the music was easily available via net and easy to store and potable we tried out all kinds of music. This was good and bad, good because the genre of music people listened to was now wider, bad because the sales of records fell as it was freely available on multiple music channels and also easily shared via Mp3.

Napster and other Music sharing tools created a new medium of on line music sharing and finally even that was made official by making it pay to download music. However as a music listener one has always thought about having a tool which can allow them to experiment with different kinds of music and have a recommendation on different types of music. The music genome project in which on January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.

Together they set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. They ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.

Over the past 5 years, they've carefully listened to the songs of over 10,000 different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as they endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.

I think the way music I heard and stored today (with Ipod’s Second generations) musical adventurers in the day are going to be all then more exciting. Neil young newly recorded protest album "Living with War," including a song calling for the impeachment of President Bush, will be posted for free Internet streaming next week, his label said on Friday.DOORS ,Perl Jams the classic rockers are now also joining the league. Now that artists are going to use online medium as a tool for music distribution big music companies will have to find out new ways of promoting and making money from music artists.Also to add to that you haev lot of customisation happening the way way people to radio,we also have personal online radio's now.

Nearly one quarter of frequent online music users say that the ability to share music with others is a key factor when selecting an online music service. And a third were interested in technology that helps them discover and recommend music, such as tools that allow Internet users to publish and rank lists of their favorite songs. Perhaps most important for the recording industry, a tenth of those surveyed said they frequently make music purchases based on others' recommendations.

Already artists encourage free distribution /or at nominal rates to make their music more popular and make money by going for live shows and radio shows.

So the mantra is that if you have the talent pick the microphone and get started .New age music listeners will decide who is the king.

Believe or not

2006-04-18T00:58:00.000-07:00

The Unsung Hero

2006-04-14T02:33:00.000-07:00

Only a life lived for others is worth living: Albert Einstein

Courage, Determination, Humanity, Empathy ……..these may appear only words to few but for some it means more than life.

Words really can’t describe the valiant effort of Javed, 18, who was a resident of Mandawli in east Delhi, was working at a clothes stall at the Brand India fair on Monday when the fire broke out. He got out unhurt, but went back in when he saw the children trapped. He collapsed after his sixth attempt, and suffered 70 per cent burns.

Friend Sarfuddin said: “He heard the cries of small children and rushed back inside to save them. He saved many lives and then a piece of burning synthetic cloth fell on him and he got badly burnt because of that,” he said.

The student of Sarvodaya Boys Senior Secondary School at Vinod Nagar in east Delhi had just sat for his Class XII CBSE examination. He took the job at the Meerut fair to help his father Mizaz Ahmed, who does embroidery work for a living. Javed was the eldest of three sons; his brothers are 12 and 9.

First admitted to Meerut’s Sushila Jaswant Rai Hospital, he was moved to Safdarjung Hospital where he died.

“I lost my son because they did not take good care of him. If they had taken good care, he would still be alive. The Meerut doctors kept him alive for three days but as soon as he was brought to Delhi, he died,” his mother Anida Begum cried.

What was meant to be a visit to a fair ended up in a visit to death bead? There are too many controversies surrounding the death of Javed whose effort saved the life of six kids.

Now for moments just imagine the kind of empathy and humanitarian values this young man showed when he saw the kids stranded in the fire. I’m sure many people would have been around, expressing dismay, fear and pity for the kids who were left helpless, but hats off to the courage shown by the young man who sacrificed his life for others.

Now compare this with what Bangalore experienced yesterday after Dr. Rajkumar’s demise. With due respect to Dr. Rajkumar I can safely say that the unsung heros of the world deserve much more than the silver screen heroes who simply do what they are paid for.

The Brighter Side of the Story

2006-04-12T04:37:00.000-07:00

A lot is being debated about the proposed reservation policy in media and blogsphere.I am somehow little reserve about expressing my personal view on on this subject.But on the other hand i think it is just one of the things which will continue to happen because of the vote bank politics.I am getting so many mails on my groups regarding this, we also have an online petiton going on to protest against the move.Now instead of getting into the negatives of this Pandora's Box let's have a look at the likely positives of the coming reservation policy.

1) As the no. of people from reserved category increase in institutions the first thing which may happen is that the so called elite institutes will open gates to people from all strata's of societies.

2) This may lead to greater sensitivity towards the development cause of the BIMARU states like Bihar,UP ,Orissa and MP as I have every reason to believe that people from less privileged sections of the society have a greater urge to pay-back to the place where they belong to.

3) With greater no. of seats getting reserved across spectrum the biggest flip to this would be industrialization. Now if you remember correctly few years back some section of our society would never venture to any entrepreneur initiative on their own .The general mindset was that this not their cup of tea.

4) The last decade saw a big change in the mindset of this segment of society which was simply happy getting the degrees from universities and doing the BABU TYPE-SARKARI-SECURED- jobs. One of the great demerits which these jobs created was that we had a very risk adverse society which would never invest or venture out .The new wave of industrialization took away old structure by storm and now the same segment which was meritorious but unadventurous took the plunge to entrepreneurship and working towards creation of greater wealth in society.

5) One of the likely fall outs of the proposed scheme could be that more and more people will think about alternate careers and diverse approach towards life and work. Probably we'll also see technology being used extensively for creating more alternate jobs. As a society we will simply be not happy having any engineering or Doctorate degree but would be more appreciated for creating value and doing different things.

Having said that I would also like to assert that one of the best things which you can do to adapt to the change is "to choose what you want o choose or you'll be forced to choose what you don't want to choose".

So next time when your kid come and tell you that he wants to be Indian Idol (be serious about it and don't chide him to go back to studies).

Changing times.....and so the worries

2006-04-06T03:05:00.000-07:00

With changing times the aspirations, habits and culture of our kids also are undergoing a dramatic shift. I’m sure all of us are quite amazed by the IQ level and street smartness shown by the kids of today. One of most important engagement of today kids happens to be the television and Satellite channels. I guess kids today can do without their parents but can’t do without Cartoon’s, Movies and Music channels.

TV seems to be the biggest influence on the generation today, be it food, cloth, music, ring tones, nothing seems to have escaped from the impact of the electronic media today. Sometimes you are faced with piquant situations in your own family when you almost become the villain in the family if you disturb your folks while watching any cartoon, serial, games or some weird www stuff. We generally shrug it off thinking that it’s natural for the child to behave that way but a reputed Media House has come with some disturbing analysis on the influence of TV on kids, Fox News has a report on this.

From obesity and social isolation to early sexual initiation and aggressive and violent behavior, 15 new studies link exposure to media images with a broad range of negative health, behavior and lifestyle issues in children and teens.

Moreover, the studies found that the harm begins early in the preschool years and continues through adolescence.

The findings reveal interesting patterns:

--The more time kids spend watching violent TV programs, the less time they spend with their friends. This isn't true for nonviolent programs.

--The more time kids spend watching TV with friends, the more time they spend doing other things with their friends.

--Kids in a room with the TV on aren't outside getting more exercise. But they're also seeing TV ads. And TV ads on children's programming tend to sell high-calorie junk foods.

--They watch more TV -- becoming even more socially isolated, and even angrier.

The worst impact of TV seems to be having on the sexual behaviour of Kids as they are highly influnced by the sexual and adult content of TV.By the time children are in their teens, it may be too late to begin restricting the kinds of TV they can watch.

And if you though your child was watching some gyan ke batein on TV here's a warning "You could be an upper-income family, with lots of educational toys in the room, watching educational videos. And your child is still at three times higher risk of overweight than kids who do not watch TV." The kids who watched the most TV were most likely to be overweight. That was especially true of girls, the study shows.

"Television viewing should be regarded as an important contributing factor to childhood obesity," write the researchers in the International Journal of Obesity.And it's not just the content the commercials alos matters.Television can expose your child to things that you have tried to protect them from, especially violence, drug abuse, sex, etc. In addition to the actual television show, your child can also be influenced by what she sees during the commercials. One study showed that Television-viewing habits and sleep disturbance in school children, found that watching too much TV during the day or at bedtime often caused 'bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and anxiety around sleep, followed by shortened sleep duration.'

Now the next question is how to overcome the situation.One of the things advocated is Active parenting as it can ensure that children have a positive experience with television. Parents can help by:

Viewing programs with your children

Selecting developmentally appropriate shows

Placing limits on the amount of television viewing (per day and per week)

Turning off the TV during family meals and study time

Turning off shows you don't feel are appropriate for your child In addition, parents can help by doing the following: don't allow children to watch long blocks of TV, but help them select individual programs. Choose shows that meet the developmental needs of your child. Some children's shows on public TV are appropriate, but soap operas, adult sitcoms, and adult talk shows are not. Set certain periods when the television will be off. Study times are for learning, not for sitting in front of the TV doing homework. Meal times are a good time for family members to talk with each other, not for watching television.

New Blog

2006-04-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

My new Photoblog has finally been up and running...Check this out

Virtual View

Unfortunate Truth

2006-04-03T03:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it often baffles me beyond imagination that some of the best rock legends have either died young due to some or other unnatural cause of death. The history of Rock music is replete with numerous cases of suicides. It’s an irony that some of the greatest philosophers and erudite minds in history also died young.

Now what is it that provokes these singers and artists to commit suicide .A study conducted to understand the linkages between artists, depression and suicidal tendencies has some insight on this.

Only in the last 25 years has scientific evidence demonstrated that creative people are more vulnerable to depression and suicide, regardless of whether or not they become famous. More research is needed to determine which:
Patients suffering from depressive or manic depressive disorders are most vulnerable to suicide
Treatments will control the disorder without interfering with the artists’ ability to create.
Throughout history artists, writers and musicians have seemed to suffer disproportionately from mood disorders.
Only recently has research concluded that a high percentage of artists — both past and contemporary — have, in fact, suffered from affective illness, particularly manic-depressive disorder.
Treatment of major depressive illness in artists has presented unique problems; partly because of a concern that creativity and the disorder are so intertwined that treatment might destroy the artists’ unique talent.
An interesting comparative study on death history of rock legends has this amazing data.The Average Age at Death of Rock Stars :36.9 Years and the maximum no of deaths is primarily due to
Heart Attack :42 , Drug Overdose:40,
Misc. Medical:37, Suicide:36
Auto/Cycle Crash: 35, Cancer:25,
Airplane Crash:22,Unknown:21
Murdered:18, Alcohol:9
This just proves the fact that the life in the fast lane is not always shiny and true, perhaps talent comes with its own share of liabilities and the one who are artistically gifted or talented are emotionally unstable and desperate to some extent. Not only rock musicians the history of philosophy is also similar and some of the greatest philosophical minds have had unnatural deaths. Socrates, Machiavelli, Descartes are just some of the names which comes to mind.
So does it means that talented minds are always the other extreme and if not engaged in right activities may meet any unfortunate end ?

Way to Go Man...

2006-03-28T20:54:00.000-08:00

We have heard many stories about Heroism and leadership, and nothing inspires me as much as real life stories of folks who have charted a new path for themselves by there acts of courage conviction and self belief. Sarath Babu is another hero who covered the journey from the slums of Chennai and selling idlis on the street, to an MBA degree from IIM-Ahmedabad.

Like millions of other Indian kids who grow up in abject poverty, he dreamt of earning enough some day to take his mother away from the one room hut they stayed in, to a life of comfort. For most, such dreams remain stillborn. But Sarath Babu took life in both hands and looked fate in the eye. Last week, he emerged victorious. Today with an MBA degree from the country's premier BSchool, Sarath knows his and his mother's days of poverty are over.

I had a tough childhood and till I joined BITS-Pilani for my graduation, I thought everybody had a similar life,"he smiles, sitting in his room inside IIM-A.

"I was six when my father left us to face starvation. With a meagre salary of Rs 30 that my mother earned through a job in the state government's midday meal scheme, she managed to educate me and my siblings,"he recalls.

But despite all her problems, Deeparamani (Sarath's mother) never gave up. "She would make idlis and I would sell them on the streets. My mother has been my biggest inspiration,"he says. But if the story of a poor idli seller's son making it to a B-School raises eyebrows, what he has done now, leaves one stunned.

Just last week, Sarath refused a tempting package of Rs 8.5 lakh per annum - to start his own catering business.

"It would have been very easy to take up a corporate job and give my family all comforts they never had. But that's not my ambition. I'd rather have my own company and employ one person who can support four other lives,"he smiles.
And if you are wondering why he left the oh so cool corporate offer to start his actering business here what he had to say

"Serving someone food is an extremely satisfying feeling. The smile you get after giving good food to someone is an experience to cherish.”

Way to go man….

Playground for Imagination

2006-03-28T02:21:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel I'm not able to do justice to this personal blog of mine as I'm really stuck with my other blogs HR FUNDA,THE JOBSHOP and COOL BIHARI. Although all my blogs have content for specific target group but Buzz happens to be my personal space.

I've seldom posted about my personal stuff, day to day happenings and encounters on my blog. If I were to start writing about all those stuff then I'm sure I'll have to make a living out of it. I’ve already planned a new blog for another passion of mine which is Photography. In fact it’s an old passion which I always had apart from music. The only problem which I face in staring a photo blog is uploading the pics. My new found passion for weekend exploration tours has helped me in getting some real cool pics ,although I’m still in the process of learning this art, I’m sure this is going to be exciting.

Buzz has a guitar in the background and probably that just explains one of my most coveted but unfulfilled ambition of my life. I guess that’s one thing I’ll definitely try out before I die. In one of my earlier post I’d written about the history of guitar and its evolution. Perhaps Buzz is one such medium which allows me to give some outlet to my musical aspirations. I'm sure in the days to come I'm going to improve upon this.

My Style

2006-03-24T05:09:00.000-08:00

You Should Be a Science Fiction Writer

Your ideas are very strange, and people often wonder what planet you're from.And while you may have some problems being "normal," you'll have no problems writing sci-fi.Whether it's epic films, important novels, or vivid comics...Your own little universe could leave an important mark on the world!

Check This out....

Mass Media and it's Repercussions

2006-03-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

We have seen the role which mass Media plays on various issues. I don’t think any other medium has had such a profound impact or rather control on common man’s perception as Media. Although this has its own advantages but the disadvantages can’t be rules out too.

Robin Good has a powerful and convincing article on “Weaknesses and Limitations of Commercial Mainstream Media”.

Some of the powerful assertions he raises in this post are very true for our Indian Media.

Mass media are inherently corrupting. A small number of owners and editors exercise great power over what is communicated to large numbers of people. Mass media should be replaced by participatory media organised as networks, such as telephone and computer networks.

Strategies to supersede mass media include:

a) changing one's own media consumption patterns, b) participating in alternative media and c) using nonviolent action against traditional mass media.

Complaints about the mass media are commonplace.

To begin, there is the low quality of many of the programmes and articles. There is the regular portrayal of violence, given an attention out of proportion with its frequency in everyday life. More generally, most of the mass media give much more attention to crime, deaths, disasters, wars and strife than to harmonious communities, acts of kindness and win-win conflict resolution.

The mass media frequently create unrealistic fears about criminals, foreign peoples and mass protest.

"News" often is more like entertainment than information or education. News reports, especially on television, are typically given without much overt context. The latest events are described, but there is no explanation of what led up to them or caused them.

Consumers of the media consequently hear a lot of facts but frequently don't understand how they fit together. "Context" is the result of the assumptions behind the facts, and this context is all the more powerful because it is neither stated nor discussed.

Even the "facts" that are presented are often wrong or misleading.

Advertisers influence what types of stories are presented.

The problem is not with media in general, but with mass media, namely those media that are produced by relatively few people compared to the number who receive them. Most large newspapers, television and radio stations fit this description.

Mass media by their nature give power to a few and offer little scope for participation by the vast majority.

Can't agree with him more on this .....

Exam Time ...

2006-03-10T05:23:00.000-08:00

Its exams session now and you’ll find parents along with the examinees are equally engrossed, stressed out for the exam preparation. A blanket ban on TV, music and masti is imposed in these houses, its curfew time until exams get over. Well I really had a unique experience recently in my locality when my security guard requested or rather berated me to play music at lower decibel since many students in the locality have there exams and my free music service was not being appreciated at all.

I saw some news clips showing student’s committing suicides due to exams stress, someone committed suicide due of failure in exams. What a shame…..some news channel is also running a debate on this. We have counseling sessions being organized by various NGO’s health agencies and even CBSE to help out students cope with pressure of exams.

I am tempted to share this story about my board exams, during my 12th board exams I faced a piquant situation as India was playing Pakistan is world cup match at Bangalore and I had my papers the very next day. The temptation of watching the humdinger Indo-Pak world cup match and fear of exam was giving me worst possible quandary in my life .I finally deiced to watch the match and Boy what a match it was…..I really don’t regret having a not so good paper.

Phew…these kids are really emotional kind these days. I’ve interacted with some really bright and so called studious students and one common characteristic which I’d seen in them was confidence. Somehow the fear of failure seems to be the worst enemy which any student can have. Parents have got the most critical role to play in building the psyche and emotional framework of the child and personally I feel that more than the students it’s their parents who need all kind of psychological help to stop being paranoid about the child’s academic performance. Parents have been wrecking havoc on the child mind by pushing them against wall for a secure career.

If your cousin, brother or any relative friends happens to be in IIT, AIIMS or any good institute, school, college worth its name, be assured, your life is doomed till you are in school or college. That constant comparison will drive you nuts.On a serious note I feel this has got lot to do with our changing pattern of societal fabric. As a society we have never been so fiercely competitive and individualistic, being average or a failure was never considered taboo in Indian society. We have always worked to live not lived to work. Career has always been important but never the most important thing. Although the board has been trying its best to reduce the stress of exams still we find the situation getting worst.

Indians have been able to make their global presence felt in the field of academics, science and medicine because of the fact that they have had excellent academic record .The fact that we have some very successful faces in public life despite being not so successful academically we Indians continue to fall back on our certificates and degrees when it comes measure success in life.

T-Shirt for Buzz

2006-03-08T02:53:00.000-08:00

Do you also want this for your blog...check this out

Just Remember Death is not the end

2006-03-07T01:05:00.000-08:00

Oh, the tree of life is growing
Where the spirit never dies
And the bright light of salvation shines
In dark and empty skies

When the cities are on fire with the burning flesh of men
Just remember that death is not the end

And you search in vain to find just one law abiding citizen
Just remember that death is not the endNot the end, not the end:
Bob dylan

Like many others in blogsphere I’ve been watching, reading the Jessica Lal murder case with great interest. The kind of media coverage, support and mass debate and public trail which we’ve witnessed in this case was perhaps never seen before.

It has raised some uneasy questions about the judicial trails and police investigation procedure in our country. Everyday we find some or other ex-officer or bureaucrat ,legal eagle, a typical pg 3 celebrity and last but not the least , new age gung-ho electro-journalist trying ot deliver justice or rather deliverance to the poor departed soul of Jessica lal via television channels.

We also have petitions, SMS petitions, blog petitions and god knows what else, reports that people in Manu Sharma’s home town are boycotting him socially .In Delhi people took out candle light procession , staged a Dharna to protest and raise their concerns.

What more even Sheila Dixit had to speak her mind out “I think the Jessica Lal case is a touching case in which justice does not appear to have been done? I think all women are feeling extremely distressed about it. And I do hope that the law will take its proper course and justice will be brought to the case, which has suffered from injustice", she told reporters in New Delhi.

OK ……what’s the point of saying all this on Blog………..

First let me make this very clear that I support the drive to book the culprit and must appreciate the fact that suddenly people realize that how easy it is to getaway with murder in this country.

But now my question is why these people can’t come out in protest of the poor and common man when females are paraded naked and stripped to death.

Children, women’s and families have been massacred over the years in the various parts of the country. I guess they are not even aware of these issues.

Most of these Pg3 people who take give emotive speeches on channels questioning the whole judicial process in the country will never blink an eyelid if they ever get an opportunity to circumvent the system and get away with something as heinous as murder.

What pains me the most is the fact that IT TOOK A MODEL TURNED BARTENDER murder by Manu Sharma in a typical socialite party, which was attended by more than 100 people from the high flying pg 3 crowd, to raise this debate and protest.

My only concern is how long the media trail and public consciousness will continue to drive to make the necessary efforts for bringing in better trails and investigation system in the country.

The question is here is not just that of a murderer getting away on account of lack of substantial evidence but the fact that do we need only celebrity trails to shaken our consciousness and awareness about our system?

Who will speak for the common man?

Who will debate for a speedy and just trail of the thousands cases of murder, rape and other heinous crime which are never heard or covered by the media?

Will the same group of people come out with candles if it were not for high profile case like Jessica?

Mind Music

2006-03-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

Every now and then I am struck by the simplicity and lucid expressions of human survival by some very ordinary works of art. Words when mingled in the background of some esoteric and haunting melodies always take me for a journey which is next to route of nirvana. One such very powerful song is “return to innocence” by Enigma.

That’s not the beginning of the end that’s the return to yourself, the return to innocence.Love – devotion, Feeling – emotion, Love – devotion, Feeling - emotion.
Don’t be afraid to be weak, don’t be too proud to be strong, just look into your heart my friend, That will be the return to yourself, The return to innocence.
If you want, then start to laugh, If you must, then start to cry, Be yourself don’t hide
Just believe in destiny, Don’t care what people say, Just follow your own way
Don’t give up and use the chance, To return to innocence.That’s not the beginning of the end, that’s the return to yourself, The return to innocence.

This reminds me of psychedelic music “which is a musical genre inspired by or attempting to replicate the mind-altering experience of drugs such as cannabis, especially LSD. It is not rigorously defined, and is sometimes interpreted to include everything from Acid Rock and Flower Power music to Hard Rock.

Psychedelia began in the United States folk scene, with New York City's Holy Modal Rounders introducing the term in 1964. A similar band called Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions from San Francisco were influenced by the Byrds and the Beatles to switch from acoustic music to electric music in 1965.

Although these days Trance is also believed to be a form of Psychedelic music but purists have their own reservations. More about it here.

On Second thought

2006-02-27T22:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I thought I'll to stop the tagging chain ,but I guess I'll have to change my mind .So folks get ready: Mayank , Shuchika ,Frank and Indira.

I'm sure all you people will enjoy the 7 heaven tag series.

Check list for me

2006-02-26T22:09:00.000-08:00

Well ...I have been tagged by Mandrake (Rajat).I guess this is one last thing you expect being a blogger.Here it goes ...

Seven things I plan to do before I die:

Serve the humanity, to the best of my ability;and try and make a difference (seriously)
Learn how to play guitar(honestly)
Learn how to drive(it's a fact)
Read, Read and Read
Do something adventurous...i'm really sedate
Be famous.
Become a social Entrepreneur

Seven Things I can do

Give some(loads) of gyan.
Ride a Cycle.
Irritate others.
Be damn funny.
Cut, copy and paste.
Walk for long hours.
Listen to music at any possible decible level.

Seven Things I can’t do

Ride a Motorbike and drive car
Get up early
live without music,internet and newspaper
tolerate hipocrasy.
Watch Prabhu Chawla on Aaj Tak
Go to Gym.
Listen and read interviews of Actresses and Pg 3 celebrities.

Seven Things that attract me to the opposite sex

Simplicity , elegance and grace
Intellectual ability
Humour
Eyes
Voice
Hairs
To be honest I think I like them all.

Seven Things I say most

Ok.
Accha.
May be.
I don't know.
Hey.
Really.
Do you know ?

Seven Celebrity Crushes

Salma Hayek
Rani Mukherjee
Alicia Silverstone
Kajol
That' it yaar

Seven websites I Visit

Yahoo
Sify
Blogger
Google
Desi Pundit
HR sites
Blog links

Gosh this was really tough...I mean it's diffucult to recall all these things at one go.For a change I'm not going to tag anyone and let this saga end here itself.

The Elusive Truth

2006-02-21T01:12:00.000-08:00

I'll buy you a diamond ring my friend if it makes you feel alright I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright 'Cause I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love”

This famous Beatles song was written by Paul when the band was in Paris in January 1964 during their 18-day concert tour at the Olympia Theatre.

What was true some 40 years back is very much true even today.Life has some eternal rules ,which never change at all .Mankind’s quest for Happiness is one such elusive journey which every one undertakes but realizes that like life the journey may not have any destinations at all.

The reason I wanted to explore the relative concept of happiness is not because I want to be happy but the truth is that we find reasons to keep ourselves unhappy. “They say Ignorance is bliss” & “Knowledge is power” the knowledge of not knowing what you don’t know is what leads to the blissful state of ignorance, otherwise one will always strive to know more.

What leads to Happiness?

This is the questions being asked every now and then, from Gita to Bible, Koran to Modern Age guru’s everyone has an answer. Some academics have spent years pursuing the link between happiness and money. To some, the link is the keystone to why we spend. And spend. And spend some more. In a research work by groups of people from academics, psychologists, economists and social scientists from places like the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon and the University of Virginia came up with some interesting findings.

Money doesn't really make us very happy. Not only do we want what we don't have, we really don't know what we want, and we think the things that we want will make us happy, which they tend not to do.

The Bhagvata Gita says “You have said that happiness is the highest object. I do not comprehend this. This attribute of the soul that (you say) is so desirable is not sought by the Rishis who are regarded to be engaged in something promising a higher reward. It is heard that the Creator of the three worlds, viz., the puissant Brahma, lives alone, observant of the vow of Brahmacharya (celibacy).

He never devotes himself to the happiness obtainable from the gratification of desire. Also, the divine Master of the universe, the lord of Uma (Siva), reduced Kama (the deity of desire) to extinction. For this reason, we say that happiness is not acceptable to high-souled people. Nor does it appear to be a high attribute of the Soul.Ultimately for true happiness, transcend, renunciation or acceptance. Both presuppose egoism and attachment which spring from ignorance.

The Bible says “Blessed (happy) is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding". Prov 3:13. Acc. to the Koran “ Absolutely, God's allies will have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. They are those who believe and lead a righteous life. For them happiness in this life, and in the Hereafter. Such is God's inviolable law. This is the true triumph [10:62-64]

The real happiness lies in the truth and awarenss about the fact that the sheer desire to achieve happiness and strive for it, will lead to unhappiness.So the mantra is "accept your life the way it is" and always strive to make others happy ,I guess that will never make you unhappy.

The Guitar Story

2006-02-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

No other musical instrument has had such a great impact as guitar on the mindset, lifestyle and values of generation across ages. To see a great guitarist play in full swing is a sight of immense pleasure and satisfaction for the soul. For some playing guitar is one form of playing tribute to the ultimate power and for few others it’s also a path to nirvana.

The word guitar comes from a middle ages instrument called a guittern.Here’s the Indian connection to guitar from Indo-European roots: guit-, similar to Sanskrit sangeet meaning "music", and -tar a widely attested root meaning "chord" or "string"..

The history of guitar is very interesting and it’s the only musical instrument which plays the most important role in deciding the genre and type of music being played. The history of guitar is very interesting to say the least .It dates back to the 15th century in Spain and this early instrument was a "four course" guitar, from which the ukulele is derived. The first guitars were very small, and were originally strung with four pair of strings. Each pair was called a course. During the Renaissance, the guitar never had the respect the lute enjoyed. It was not considered a serious instrument.

During the Classical period there were many publications, composers and performers. Fernando Sor, Mauro Guilliani, Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Carulli and many others wrote music, published methods and performed concerts.

Sor played the guitar as a solo instrument at the London Philharmonic Concert in 1817. At the end of the 19th century, the guitar had fallen out of favor, but was resurrected by Francisco Tarrega Segovia was one of many guitarists that were influenced by him. Tarrega began the tradition of playing with the fingernails.

Up until this point the instrument itself was small and narrow. Antonio de Torres (1817 - 1892) worked with the design and construction of the guitar. He increased the size and experimented with anything that would improve the sound, and was especially interested in volume. He was the first maker to use "fan" bracing underneath the top. He once built a Guitar with a spruce top and paper mache back and sides to prove his theory that it was the top that produced most of the volume. He was the father of the modern guitar.

Although Segovia did all these things, the real debt that we owe to him is that of making the guitar truly a world instrument. By traveling and performing throughout the world, he brought respect and recognition to the instrument.Nylon strings were a big improvement over gut strings. They replaced gut in 1946. The first amps came out toward the end of the 1930's. However, the main improvements were made by Leo Fender. The first electric guitars were hollow bodied models. Enter Les Paul. His first electric hard-body guitar was basically a log (it was even called “the log”) with a neck and two double-coil pick-ups set into it. He gave it its distinctive look in order to make it more attractive, and then sold the idea to Gibson. And they still make it. An then came blues, rock and roll and the rest is history…….Some of the legendary guitarists of all time have been profiled here

Strange but true

2006-02-15T01:43:00.000-08:00

I gave this funny but exciting quiz and you can see the result. It’s true that the instrument you play, the kind of music you listen to and your basic personality type has very strong linkage.However most of times I find that the choice of music depends more on individual’s mood and particular situation than just one type of music. But I guess the choice of instrument one play's is definitely an indicator of one's individual's personality.

You scored as French Horn. French Horn, eh?"Umm

If music is the food of love

2006-02-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

I am really excited since I’m going to prepare my recommendations for all time favourite love songs of all time. Initially I thought about coming up with a list of Top 10 but then I felt I would not be able to do justice to my favorite one’s .So finally I’ll put them under broad categories. This valentine day here’s my recommedation for the very best in music.

Top 5 oldies love songs

Stand by Me: Ben E King
Unchained melody: The Righteous Brothers
All I have to do is Dream: The Everly Brothers
Vincent: Don MacLean
Crying in the Rain: The Everly brothers

Top 5 Country love songs

Annie’s Song: John Denver
For You: John Denver
You are my best Friend: Don Williams
If tomorrow never Comes: Garth Brooks
Before the next teardrop:Freddie Fender

Top 6 All time Great love songs

Forever Young: Bob Dylan
Lady in Red: Chris de Burg
Wonderful Tonight: Eric Clapton
Everything I do: Bryan Adams
Sealed with a Kiss: Bryan Holland
Sacrifice: Elton John

Top 5 Love Ballads

Always: Bon Jovi
I live my life for you: Firehouse
Love Bites: Def Leopard
Love Hurts – Nazareth
Heaven:Bryan Adams

I never knew this was going to be so tough but I feel really unhappy since I have left out some of my all time fav out. But I guess coming up with a list of Top 10 or even 100 is very difficult because all great songs have something special about the them and it just depends on the mood and emotion of the listener, how one relates to it.

Saint Valentine vrs Lord Kama

2006-02-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

Sound's funny but this valentine day I'm going to play Cupid.Well it's not a deliberate decision on my part to play angel but part of my job.

Now some may feel it's a wonderful role to play but the sad part is that you end up having no valentine for own.....

Anyways the fact that some people are dead against the whole concept of celebrating a day for love and that it's against the so called Indian tradition has really made me curious about Lord Kamdeva.Here's what the I found about him.

Kama is the god of love in Hindu myth. He is a son of Lakshmi. Kama is represented as a winged youth bearing bow and arrows (similar to Cupid). Kama uses the cane of sugarcane as the shaft of his bow and a line of buzzing bees as his bowstring. He rides a parrot across the three worlds shooting his five flower-tipped arrows that arouse the five senses and enchants the mind with visions of beauty.
In the Rig Veda, Kama (desire) is described as the first movement that arose in the one after it had come into life through the power of fervour or abstraction.
In the Atharva-Veda Kama does not mean sexual desire, but rather the yearning after the good of all created things.
Later Kama is simply the Hindu Cupid. While attempting to lure Siva to sin, he was destroyed by a fiery glance of the goddess' third eye.
Thus in Hindu poetry Kama is known as Ananga, the " bodiless god." Kama's wife Rati (voluptuousness) mourned him so greatly that Siva relented, and he was reborn as the child of Krishna and Rukmini. The babe was called Pradyumna (Cupid).
He is represented armed with a bow of sugar-cane; it is strung with bees, and its five arrows are tipped with flowers which overcome the five senses. A fish adorns his flag, and he rides a parrot or sparrow, emblematic of lubricity. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911)

But Kama is not worshipped. He has been identified with the principle of desire that entraps the soul in samsara. In fact, in Buddhism, he is called Mara, the demon, and enemy of all enlightened beings.
I guess after reading about Lord kama one can draw his own conclusion.

Stuck in the Moment

2006-02-09T00:55:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite bands U2 U2 won big. The Irish rock act upstaged everyone by picking up five awards, including Song of the Year (Sometimes you can't make it on your own) and Album of the Year (How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb).

The band also won awards for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group, and colleague Steve Lillywhite was honoured as Producer of the Year.

After "Beautiful Day" won three Grammy Awards in 2001, in 2002 U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind received eight nominations in seven categories. Both the song and the album, Bono said, were dedicated to his late father, whom he thanked 'for giving me the voice and a bit of attitude to use it.'

A year after the band won three awards for Vertigo, the first single from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, tonight the album itself and the next two singles stole the show.City of Blinding Lights won Best Rock Song while Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own took Best Vocal Rock Performance.'I don't know what to say,' said Bono, on one of several trips to the stage. 'This is really a big, big night for our band.'

The charismatic frontman, wearing a cowboy hat and shades, thanked everyone from Paul McCartney (cryptically, 'for discovering this country') to Gwen Stefani, but summed things up as he accepted the Song Of The Year trophy: 'If you think this is gonna go to our head -- too late!'

One of the best all U2 favourite happens to be stuck in the Moment and One.

In the Name of God and Civil Society

2006-02-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

Mankind always finds strange reasons for confrontation and what is even more surprising is the fact that few themes for confrontation are common. What started with a mere cartoon in a Danish newspaper has now taken mammoth proportion in terms of arousing public sentiments and hell lot of debate on Press freedom and religious icons.

Historically we have seen many such debate and protests over few symbolic issues of religious faith. We have had the famous case of Hindu god’s images being depicted on undergarments by American Fashion designer, Sikhs being disallowed to wear turban in French schools. However the debate here is the freedom of expression vrs the religious sentiments over the world and every society undergoing transition has seen such conflicts. Infact yesterday I saw a news report in which M F Hussain the legendary artist was been asked to apologize for depicting Mother India in an offensive manner semi nude way.

Now the question is how fair it is for artists, journalists, writers and media to take such liberty with religious symbols. The Danish newspaper's culture editor, Fleming Rose, says he intended simply to test cartoonists to see if they were self-censoring their work, out of fear of violence from Islamic radicals. He cited a Danish comedian, who said in an interview that he had no problem urinating on the Bible but that he would not dare do the same to the Koran.

"Some Muslims try to impose their religious taboos in the public domain," said Mr. Rose. "In my book, that's not asking for my respect, it's asking for my submission."

Mr. Rose wrote to the Danish Cartoonist Society, inviting cartoonists to depict their interpretation of the Prophet — whose likeness many devout Muslims believe should never be depicted. Some refused on the grounds that the exercise was a provocation, but a dozen complied.

"It wasn't meant to insult or hurt anybody's feelings," Mr. Rose said, drawing a distinction between criticizing religious authority, "which goes all the way back to Voltaire and the tradition of the Enlightenment," and the "far greater offense of denigrating a specific ethnic group."

Well such experiments have resulted in protests and violence all over and it has also led to boycott of Danish goods in Islamic Countries. Rather surprisingly NYT has decided against depiction of these cartoons.

Here’s what the editor had to say “The easy points to make about the continuing crisis are that (a) people are bound to be offended if their religion is publicly mocked, and (b) the proper response is not to go on a rampage and burn down buildings. If Muslim organizations want to stage peaceful marches or organize boycotts of Danish goods, they're certainly within their rights.

The pictures, one of which showed the prophet with a bomb on top of his head in place of a turban, violate a common belief among Muslims that any depiction of Muhammad is sacrilege. The paper that first published them did so as an experiment to see whether political satirists were capable of being as harsh to Islam as they are to other organized religions. If that sounds juvenile, Americans still recognize it as within the speech protected by our First Amendment.

The New York Times and much of the rest of the nation's news media have reported on the cartoons but refrained from showing them. That seems a reasonable choice for news organizations that usually refrain from gratuitous assaults on religious symbols, especially since the cartoons are so easy to describe in words.

Now that’s what I think is responsible journalism, and any artist, public media or even govt. needs to take into account the likely fallouts before coming up with something sacrilegious .

He came, He Banged,He Conquered

2006-02-07T01:54:00.000-08:00

To read more click here

Wheels of Life

2006-02-02T03:14:00.000-08:00

Who is it ?

2006-01-31T22:18:00.000-08:00

Lost in the clouds

2006-01-31T22:15:00.000-08:00

Paradise Lost

2006-01-31T22:13:00.000-08:00

Reflections

2006-01-31T22:06:00.000-08:00

A Rare Living Legend

2006-01-30T05:24:00.000-08:00

Awesome, amazing, exquisite, class, elegant, breath taking, touching, fabulous, unforgettable , are just few of the words which comes to my mind when I try and find words to explain my experience of watching Manna Dey perform live recently .

Very seldom do we come across situation when words fail to capture the moments of ecstasy ,joy and bliss one experiences in life .Watching and listening the legendary talent perform live was one such moment in my life. My mind went numb, my ideas stopped flowing, and my critical faculties stopped questioning for those very special moments of musical sojourn.

Manny dey is perhaps the only living legend of the bygone era when Indian film music produced prodigies and artist with such special talent. SD Burma, Hemant Kumar, and Manna dey have a very special place in the history of Indian Cinema and Indian Music. Together these three legends formed a special school of music which was inspired by the legacy of Bengal school of Music.

Haunting melodies, romantic duets, classical ragas or melancholic elegies, they had all class, style and a special touch which can only be experienced in this style of music.

Bron in 1920 as Prabodhchandra Dey ,Manna Dey was in two minds after graduating from Vidyasagar College, Calcutta - whether to become a barrister or a playback singer. He was under the mesmeric spell of his illustrious uncle K.C. Dey, the well-known singer and popular star of New Theaters. The uncle took the nephew under his wings and the result was the phenomenon called Manna Dey (petname 'Manna' was given by K.C. Dey), who would go on to enthrall millions for five decades with his lilting songs that refuse to age with time. Manna Dey grew up to the soft strains of Baul songs, Rabindra-sangeet, and khayal. K.C. Dey put his nephew through the paces acquainting him with the subtleties of tappa, thumri, bhajan and qawwali. With the disintegration of the New Theaters in 1940, K.C. Dey left for Bombay in search of fresh pastures.

Manna joined his uncle and started off in Bombay as the assistant to music director H.P. Das. His first break came a year later when he recorded a solemn number for the character of Valmiki in Vijay Bhatt's "Ram Rajya". Years of struggle followed, at times compelling the talented singer to wonder if his choice of career was the right one, and what followed next is history.

Manna Dey has always been a perfectionist, and he continues to remain so at this age too.He is the only artiste who makes notations before recording a song, so that he can sing and record a song just after one rehearsal. Anil Biswas rightly observed that though Manna Dey could sing everything that Rafi, Talat and Mukesh sang they could not sing what Manna Dey sang.

During his five decades in the film industry, Manna Dey always marshalled all his recourses to render his songs to the highest standards he was capable of achieving to the demands of the moment.

Hit numbers such as ‘Poochho na kaise maine rain beetayee’, ‘Laga chunari mein daag’, ‘Aye meri zohra jabeen’, ‘Na to karavaan ki talaash hai’ and ‘Chunri sambhaal gori’ (the last with Lata) and the absolutely mad ‘Ek chatur naar’ from Padosan to name a few, spin a tale of Indian life. ‘All that I have attained in music is because of my uncle's training,’ says Manna Dey with a sense of modesty. The last film he sang for was Nana Patekar’s Prahar.

He rarely lent his voice to any hero of great stature except occasionally, for Raj Kapoor. While Talat Mahmood and Mukesh went on to become the voices of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor respectively Manna Dey was banished to complement the acrobatics of Mehmood in songs like Ek chatur nar kar ke singaar; Aao twist karen; Hato Jaono jhoti banao batian; Pyar ki aag mein tan badan jal gaya; Khali dabba khali botal etc.

The singer’s had a special affection for R.D.Burman and Shankar -Jaikishan.Manna Dey sang a song ‘Aao twist kare’ for Mehmood's ‘Bhoot Bangla’ which was a lift from ‘Come let us twist’. Before recording the Hindi number, R.D.Burman sang the original English song in such great style that Manna Dey, the recordist and the musicians were breathless.

With Shankar –Jaikishan too Manna Dey shared a special bond of affection and friendship. He cherishes his long meetings with them in their music room where he would sing for them for hours. The singer won his Filmfare award for ‘Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo’, the toe-tapping number, from Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker.

To know more click here and here

Days of Innocence

2006-01-16T02:16:00.000-08:00

Some images evokes very strong and strange emotions .This image of the child lost in wilderness brings back those memories of yesterday years .It revives my memories of those days of innocence and siblimity when life was simple and keystroke free.Reminds me of the Brayan Adams song summer of 69 words;

" Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Ya - I'd always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life "

Human Truth...........

2006-01-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

My World My Vision

2006-01-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

Your perception can be someone's reality.

Mind Speaks

2006-01-02T07:11:00.000-08:00

Amazed,challenged,PAIN,ANGER,LOVE,PASSION,GREED,fear, desire,confusion,Compassion, truth, values, harmony, Peace, destiny, excellence, challenge, Destruction, Nature, Deceit, SHAM, SCANDAL,

Happy New Year

2005-12-30T04:39:00.000-08:00

Life goes on......

2005-12-26T02:31:00.000-08:00

Exemplary Mortals

2005-12-19T04:21:00.000-08:00

Time magazine in its latest issue has names Bono, Bill and Melinda gates as the persons of the year.

It’s really pleasing to see non political figures coming as the names which have been able to make difference to the lives of common man. What makes these names all the more special is the fact that they did not strive to become and achieve for which they have been named as the person of the year.

Another thing which is common amongst all great legends is the desire and dream to achieve much more than what other expects them to do and what they themselves set to achieve.

They rise above the normal and do things which can change our lives. Perhaps the greatest thing which makes them special as people of excellence is that they never stop of achieving the very best and continue to achieve more despite reaching great heights.

Bill has been drawing great criticism for his ruthless approach to monopolize software market and earn super normal profit by stifling competition. But still one must admire this man for his creativity, aspirations and a strong conviction to bring about change in the lives of ordinary people.

He still has the enthusiasm of a 15 year old school kind whenever you talk about technology or any other realted software stuff with him. His wife has been leading the world’s largest private NGO; the Seattle-based foundation has an endowment of approximately $28.8 billion.Here’s what they had to say after being given the honour.

We’re honored to have been named, together with our friend Bono, as Time Magazine’s Persons of the Year.

“We’re grateful that Time recognizes the importance of the world's inequities, whether they are in the United States or thousands of miles away. We are also pleased by Time's recognition that we can solve these problems and that many people must play a part in doing so.

Bono (Born as :Paul Hewson)the most famous Irish name, on the other hand started his musical career in 1976 and went on to receive world wide accolades for the great work of art.

He has repeatedly flogged himself in the press for not being a proper "pop star" and has continually expressed a desire to become a great singer. Yet his powerful voice has evolved and morphed over the years with a versatility rarely heard in most rock bands: at the start of the decade, it was a teenage croon full of longing and rebellion on such 80's albums as "Boy" and "War"; near the end, it was a throaty roar full of anger and passion on "The Unforgettable Fire," "The Joshua Tree," and "Rattle and Hum."

Though he is known as a socially-conscious songwriter who has tried to inspire crowds with his lyrics, Bono is a rarity in that he also tries to connect with them physically during a performance. The best example of this was seen by millions during the 1980's...especially the Live Aid concert in 1985, when (mid-way through an epic rendition of "Bad") he leapt off the stage, over a security barricade to the floor of the arena, and pulled a woman from the crowd to dance with her.

In the 90's, when U2's political earnestness ultimately threatened to turn them into a caricature (due mostly to Bono's often politically-charged, on-stage sermonizing), the band vanished into Berlin, Germany to remake itself with a new sound.

Beyond U2, Bono has extended himself to other projects and causes, and has emerged over the years to be both a social animal and an activist...and has rallied numerous actors, artists and activists to his cause...

Times they are changing

2005-12-15T02:58:00.000-08:00

At times I often look back at see how my passion for things in life has undergone a sea change. When I look back at some of the major events in my life I suddenly realize they are not as important as they may appear at times. I guess it’s a process of learning or rather growing which we tend to acclimatize with and adjust.

Change is often an unconscious process sometimes if you try and make it happen it never works, at least I have seen it in my case. It really thrills me when I try and analyze the different perspective different cultures have towards life changes. Geert Hofstede Model of Culture has a wonderful note on this

“Every person carries within him or herself patterns of thinking; feeling; and potential acting which were learned throughout their lifetime. Much of it has been acquired in early childhood, because at that time a person is most susceptible to learning and assimilating.

As soon as certain patterns of thinking; feeling and acting have established themselves within a person’s mind; (s)he must unlearn these before being able to learn something different; and unlearning is more difficult than learning for the first time.”

“Culture is always a collective phenomenon, because it is at least partly shared with people who live or lived within the same social environment, which is where it was learned. It is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.”

If we analyze the eastern philosophy and western concept of change the contrast is quite interesting. The eastern approach is based on Karma and Destiny of previous and present lives while the western approach is more methodical and they see change as a conscious effort. But I guess as a young chap you must have felt that change can be brought about with action and that’s also true to some extent however as times changes and you put more weight and your hairline’s recede the whole approach goes for a gradual shift.

But On a different note I think few things in life only get better with time and become all the more special as you enrich yourselves with the various interpretations and one of them is my favorite Bob Dylan song written in 1963.

Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam'
And admit that the waters Around you have grown
And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you Is worth savin'Then you better startswimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who That it's namin'.
For the loser now Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land
And don't criticize What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command
Your old road is Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn The curse it is cast
The slow one now Will later be fast
As the present now Will later be past
The order is Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Globalization:Random thoughts

2005-12-14T05:04:00.000-08:00

Here's a humorous although thought provoking definition of Globalization.

I am sure you'll be left with few words by the end of it.

Question: What is the truest definition of Globalization? Answer: Princess Diana's death. Question: How come?
Answer: An English princess with an Egyptian boyfriend crashes in a French tunnel,
driving a German car with a Dutch engine,
driven by a Belgian who was drunk on Scottish whisky, (check the bottle before you change the spelling)
followed closely by Italian Paparazzi,
on Japanese motorcycles;
treated by an American doctor, using Brazilian medicines.

This is posted by an Indian, using Bill Gate's technology (an American), and you're probably reading this on your computer,
that use Taiwanese chips,
and a Korean monitor, assembled by Bangladeshi workers in a Singapore plant, transported by Indian lorry-drivers,
hijacked by Indonesians, unloaded by Sicilian longshoremen,
and trucked to you by Mexican illegals.....

That, my friends, is Globalization.

Well this thought reminded me of Adam Smith's good old "division of labour" concept and I'm sure he would be proud of this idea of globalisation.Poor Chap, he wouldn't have ever thought in his wildest imagination that actually his ideas would really trickle down to this level.

The End of Innocence

2005-12-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

It seems that Electronic Media is going berserk with the "secret camera revelation”. Almost each news channel is trying hard to make its presence felt on the idiot box by coming up with some or other visual titillations to make us sit back and stop pressing the channels button. With almost 20 channels running round the clock, each one is jostling hard to catch viewers eyeball.

The competition has lead to some not so pleasant events which comes more as a shocking revelation to Indian viewers who have been happy watching DD’s good old sarkari views for ages. In the early 90’s the media focused more Political infighting and corruption at lower level, then came Tehelka episode and it changed the definition of journalism and added a new buzz word to the lexicon of Indian journalism called “ sting operation”.

Indian Media was never the same, the good old Khadar Dhari ,Jhola types, gave way to suave ,technically savy, mobile and yuppy journos.The days of penury for the good old Jhola types was gone and they represented a new face of Indian journalism.

The viewers thought they were having a ball since they were being pampered to the great extent. Public figures who were considered sacrosanct till date were now being reduced to rubble by media with one shot .Media spared no one the high and mighty politician, film stars, power brokers, cricketers, senior officials ,babus ,judges,army officers ,police and even academicians. The age old shibboleth was broken and the lakshman rekha was crossed.

The best part was that some good old media folks were also enraged with the new breed of journalists; they felt that the symbiotic relation which has been fostering between media and power groups for ages has been broken with this spate of sting journalism. This was a new world in which nobody trusted nobody, and as a consequent the internecine battle for eyeballs continues and the holy institutions of Indian social life has been reduced to a nautanki.

Perhaps the worst fallout of these events is the fact that the new generation will become all the more cynical to the existing institutions. What took ages to build being reduced to mere sensational clips? I guess all this is no excuse for exposing the truth because many feels that we must know the truth, however the truth comes at a big cost which I’m sure everyone realizes.

The fact that every exposure brings more cynicism and erosion of faith in public figures mean that we need new role models ,new champions and new leadership which espouses the virtues of high moral and ethical based practices.

We must not overlook the fact that these incidents leads to generalization of common’s man perception about the public figures, so if you have seen one of the cricketer taking bribe then every time a wicket fall you’ll find people questioning the credibility of the individual. The worst part is that its not that only failures will be put to question even success will be treated with skepticism.

I guess the situation is here to stay and probably it would mean we have to find answer to some greater questions which incidents like these leaves unanswered? How and where do you draw the line????

Remembering John Lennon

2005-12-08T22:43:00.000-08:00

Moments of Realisation

2005-12-07T20:52:00.000-08:00

Another picture story without words ....Sometimes your imagination works best when you allow your thoughts to wonder .Infact it works best if you dont use words to create the story.The truth of reality and perception dawns upon you.One feels stoic at this new discovery but nevertheless its a great discovery and realisation of our power of imagination and intrepretation.

I guess it also leads to a journey of introspection and change of point of reference of one's own imagination.

Mr. Tambourine Man

2005-12-02T21:03:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest all time Musical legend, singer, songwriter, poet and a great philosopher of modern time Bob Dylan has inspired generations of musicians. He has a world wide fan following which cuts across all age group .Born as Robert Allen Zimmerman, on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota Dylan was greatly influenced by the music of Elvis, Little Richards and Jerry lee Lewis. While performing some country and folk music at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, he was named “Bob Dylan,” after the late Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.

Later he dropped out of college and went to New York and then started his sojourn of great musical works and went on to become one of the most celebrated Musicians of all times. The Times They Are A-Changin’, firmly established Dylan as the definitive songwriter of the ‘60s protest movement, a reputation that only increased after he became involved with one of the movement’s established icons, Joan Baez, in 1963. While his romantic relationship with Baez lasted only two years, it benefited both immensely in terms of their music careers, as Dylan wrote some of Baez’s best-known material and Baez introduced him to thousands of fans in her concerts.

By 1964, Dylan was playing 200 concerts annually, but had become tired of his role as “the” folk singer-songwriter of the protest movement. Another Side of Bob Dylan, recorded in 1964, was a much more personal, introspective collection of songs, far less political in its messages. With his unmistakable voice and unforgettable lyrics, Dylan brought the worlds of music and literature together as no one else had.

In 1989, when Dylan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Bruce Springsteen spoke at the ceremony, declaring that “Bob freed the mind the way Elvis freed the body….He invented a new way a pop singer could sound, broke through the limitations of what a recording artist could achieve, and changed the face of rock and roll forever.

To read more about the legend click here.

Music:Divine Mantra for your soul

2005-11-28T04:51:00.000-08:00

The colour of love, the language of music, the passion of sports and the fear of death are some of the most enthralling puzzles which plagues my mind. The more I try and analyze and comprehend the meaning, the interpretations become more and more intense as I delve deep into these themes.

Music is something which I feel have really explored to the best. Why I say this is cause I try and immerse myself in all possible kinds of musical influence I can .Believe me right from country to folks, hard rock to trance,bhojpuri to bhangra,sufi to reggae , Mozart to Yanni, Alla rakha to Jethro Tull,A R Rehman to Leonardo Cohen, everything kind of music give me the best possible kick. It gives a new perspective, a new meaning new vision. Perhaps I consider myself blessed to be born in a country which has given me the opportunity to listen to so many variations of music.

My musical journey has been a roller coster, initially it was eclectic and I tried only special stuff, but with passage of time I realized that music can’t be divided in categories. I guess the thing that's the real beauty of this most passionate experience. Puritans say that Music was Devil's gift and gosh what a gift to mankind.

Probably music is the single most powerful medium which unites mankind. No other medium can cut across race, religion, nation's boundary, colour and age as music does. Internet has become a force to reckon with in the recent years but the history of music uniting mankind goes back to centuries. Let’s just hope that we have greater Messiah of this wonderful medium in the days to come.

And as Shakespeare said "If music be thy food of love play on"....So play on folks and spread the message of love.

Fear of the Dark

2005-11-21T05:28:00.000-08:00

Often people ask me about the layout of this blog. Probably the black layout makes it appear a little mysterious than most of the regular layouts. If you were to go by the popular notion Black represents power, passion, greed, anger, mystery, death, evil and also its an inauspicious one.

Somehow on the contrary I have a strong affinity for the shade. I guess it’s not as unreliable and confusing as any other colour. Perhaps a shade of grey is all what can confuse you but other that that it's pretty neat.

However darkness is something which brings the best out of some of us. At times darkness spurs me to think very innovatively and creatively about issues which I generally ignore or fail to take notice during daytime. Not that I prefer nights over day but perhaps darkness has its own aura and charm.

The fear of unknown and the unseen lurks deep inside all and that’s what makes it all the more fascinating. The silence of the night and the eerie of nothingness leads to strange reactions.

At times it will make you shudder, give you a swing of mood, inspire you to push yourself and sometimes may bring the evil side of you. I guess this observation helps you a lot to know yourself much deeply and the unexplored part of your persona.

My Dark Shadows

2005-11-17T05:36:00.000-08:00

My fascination with my shadows continues.Just came across some wonderful thought provoking images.Just couldnt resist the temptations to share.

Another Part of me

2005-11-17T04:57:00.000-08:00

Its feels so nice to be back in your own little world of lost dreams and incoherent thoughts. Probably that’s the reason I missed so much my blogs so much when I am unable to key my thoughts and ideas.

In some of my previous post I experimented with the ideas of pictoral expression and I felt it was really exciting. It’s a nice feeling to find pictures which express thoughts ideas and connect to our emotions instantly. Probably pictures also carry a stronger feeling and in today’s world of instant emotions, they are really effective in striking a chord straight ahead.

At times I feel that people who know me should not read my posts on my blog.Now that's a real strange thought ,even I think so ,but then I believe the one's who do not know me will surely interpret the thoughts differently than the one's who know me personally. Ideally I would love to see the different interpretations the same ideas could generate and the possible impact of perceptual interpretation. Often wonder that perhaps the notion of prejudging is much stronger in each one of us that we actually know about. I guess it natural but then it also predictive which makes it that much boring.

I would love to be an incognito, at least on my blogs and then express my inner most thought. I guess that would really allow me to experiment a little with my thoughts. I guess most of us structure our thoughts, expressions as per the social milieu around, that’s just to gain social acceptance. However somewhere I feel lies a different person within all of us, having different aspirations, ideas and dreams. I just wish this blog could be my window to the unknown part of me.

Journey Continues.....and so the lessons

2005-10-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

Just when your faith in destiny gets shaken a miracle happens,just when you feel that the script of life can't change, for anything but fate will strike and prove you wrong.Be prepared for the unforseen and unthinkable ,you never know what life has in store for you.

Guess who I am

2005-10-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

Can you see my pain ?

Can you feel my agony ?

Can you hear my silent wailing ?

Can you read my mind ?

Can you feel the lonliness inside me?

Can you hear my prayers?

Can you understand my pangs of failures?

Can you share my life's miseries ?

Guess who I am ......A part of your morbid unending desire's .

Are You a Freak

2005-10-15T01:39:00.000-07:00

Hey here's a test which I'm sure bloggers around the world would love to try..I guess often this question comes in my mind too...

ARE YOU A FREAK ?

Try out this test u'll know the answer....click here

Feel like.........

2005-10-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Nature's Fury,Mankind's agony

2005-10-11T11:13:00.000-07:00

The Nobel Cause

2005-10-08T04:23:00.000-07:00

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to International Atomic Energy Agency and its director Mohamed ElBaradei. The selection of the agency and its Director has created lot of buzz , some feel that the prize is recognition of the agency's work, and the greater challenge of keeping the world free from Nuclear War. Baradei is a Bachelor of Law from the University of Cairo, 1962, and doctorate in International Law at the New York University School of Law, 1974.

He has also been the recipient of various honorary degrees. Later he joined Egyptian diplomatic service in 1964, and has served missions to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, in charge of political, legal and arms control issues.

He was was special assistant to Egyptian foreign minister from 1974 to 1978. In 1980 became senior fellow in charge of international law program at U.N. Institute for Training and Research. From 1981 to 1987 was adjunct professor of international law at New York University.

He was appointed International Atomic Energy Agency secretary-general effective Dec. 1, 1997. again reappointed to second term in September 2001, and third term, September 2005.

However the news which really got wide coverage in India media was the issue of the Nobel Prize not being given to Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi, revered as the Father of the nation in India, was nominated for the prize in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and, finally, a few days before he was murdered in January 1948, notes Шyvind Tшnnesson, a former Nobel E-Museum Peace editor.Here’s what Professor Jacob Worm-Müller, the committee who wrote a report on Gandhi,thought about Gandhi”

He is undoubtedly a good, noble and ascetic person - a prominent man who is deservedly honoured and loved by the masses of India...(But) sharp turns in his policies, which can hardly be satisfactorily explained by his followers. He is a freedom fighter and a dictator, an idealist and a nationalist. He is frequently a Christ, but then, suddenly, an ordinary politician," the evaluator noted, according to the documents made available on the foundation's website.

Worm-Müller expressed doubts whether Gandhi's ideals were universal or primarily Indian: "One might say that it is significant that his well-known struggle in South Africa was on behalf of the Indians only, and not of the blacks whose living conditions were even worse."

The Nobel committee's advisor, historian Jens Arup Seip, wrote the evaluation report, which was not as critical as the earlier one but focused only on the Mahatma's role in India's struggle for freedom. It was not "explicitly favourable" either.

The argument that went against Gandhi in 1947 was that the Nobel Peace Prize had never been awarded for any struggle for independence. The qualifying clause is the closest the committee came to honour the 'great soul'

Well the fact that even after 57 years of being nominated for the award his candidature for the award is being reviewed and thought about, this demonstrates the greatness of the man who despite human facilities truly led the nation and was an apostle of peace.

But the irony remains that he couldn’t be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, though he continues to inspire generations.

Which India are you living in

2005-10-05T04:20:00.000-07:00

The Rural Urban divide has attracted lot of heat and debate .Lot has been written about the impact of globalization on the poor and the marginalized sections of the society.

Madhukar Shukla has written a wonderful piece on this phenomenon of two different India co-existing together.He calls the upper and middle class as the visible India, and the rural so called below poverty line or struggling citizens as the invisible india.

Here’s a brief of the post:

* Visible India contributes substantially to India’s GDP. For instance, during 2004, its inhabitants downloaded ring-tone worth Rs. 400 crores (Rs. 4bn) on their mobile/cell phones, and they contributed an estimated Rs. 1500 crores (i.e., Rs.15bn) to GDP during Valentine Day, and so on…

* The inhabitants of the Visible India also like words such as “privatization”, “globalizations”, “competitiveness”, etc., which they see as signs of progress and development.

* Citizen of the Visible India like to live on debts – credit cards, consumer finance schemes, loans, etc. – the higher the debt, the greater one’s “credit worthiness”.

On the invisible India

* About 92-93% of India’s active workforce lives in this reality… Actually, they live in slums, shanties, and villages

* Most of the workers in India’s 3.2mn SMEs – that accounts for India’s 40% of manufacturing sector and 36% of exports – are also a part of the Invisible India (in 2003, when the India’s pharma company, Ranbaxy Ltd. registered $960 in its overseas sales, Dharavi – Asia’s largest slum in India’s financial capital, Mumbai – exported goods worth an estimated between $690 and $1.84bn).

* The Invisible India also accounts for the bottom 10% of India’s population which owns 1% of country’s assets (as compared to the top 10% in the Visible India who own 48%).

* …and account for 60% of India’s GDP!
To read the complete article click here .

Bapu:The Eternal Legend

2005-10-01T23:25:00.000-07:00

India Uncut:Lage Raho...

2005-10-01T01:50:00.000-07:00