Nevermind

बारिश की बूँदें!

2011-04-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

जीवन की बारिश का हर पल हैं बूँदें
यूँ मिट्टी सी महकती, चहकती बूँदें
आसमां से गिरती, पल भर में छू होती बूँदें

दमकती दिखलाती इठलाती बूँदे
शीशे पर टिमटिमाती, रोशनी को समाती बूँदें
जिसके मन में है जो भी, उसको वो दिखलाती बूँदें

रुआँसे नैनों में लप लापाती बूँदें
किसी की मेहनत में टिप टिपाती बूँदें
बेरंग होकर भी जीवन का हर रंग हैं बूँदें

कुछ बहकी, कुछ महकी, पल भर की
बस यूं ही बहती रहती, मानो कुछ कहती
पूरण जीवन सार समा के भी चुप चाप है बूँदें.

"Where do you think you're going"

2010-12-30T15:13:00.001-08:00

"Where do you think you're going?"

Owing
More than ever before

Moments
moving away
faster and faster

People
more and more
but less than before

I seek
that I hardly know
and I know that it will go
anyway

Late in the night
the question keeps echoing
And I know not
If I'm here to stay or am I going?

A Really Good Cloak!

2010-06-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Child
Wild dreams
vivid!

Stars
Marks of Faith
stupid?

Beliefs
Invisible cloak
Life...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2Wi4k_NeFA

[Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_zBBoTzghs]

You my woofer, I your amplifier!

2010-05-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

The bestest imagery created in a song this year:

"ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye, - Come sit in my car

ni door tenu lehja, we arriye - I'll take you far away

ni woofer tu meri,meri - You are like my woofer

mein tera amplifier, fier - I am your amplifier"

Lyrics:
"Kaaliyan baariyan we gaddiyaan nu mein lawaan

speed mein 220 di chalaan, POLICE de samne mein nai rukhda

I am a knight rider

breakaan maar maar tardi mein chiekh kad da

sari loki takde we ki hogeya, lagda we injh mera dil rukda

unu mein puchda

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,

ni door tenu lehja, we arriye

ni woofer tu meri,meri

mein tera amplifier, fier

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,

ni door tenu lehja, we arriye

ni woofer tu meri,meri

mein tera amplifier, fier

gaddi meri tenu wi awaaz mardi,

black leather seetaan uttey aah bendhi

tenu weh main ser karawanga ni

puri dunya di

Kendi, garmi we lagdi weh seene ni

pijh gai weh kurti paseene di

challi digrees di tooph pendi

on kar AC

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiye,

ni door tenu lehja, we arriye

ni woofer tu meri,meri

mein tera amplifier, fier

ni gaddi sadi bedhja ni jattiye,

ni door tenu lehja, we arriye

ni woofer tu meri,meri

mein tera amplifier, fier

jaandi eh club das tere ki erade

Dj nu puch ki lewa main tere gaane

lehja mein lehja tenu jithe we tu chaawain

ekh waari aawe moodh banawe(x2)

ni gaddi sadi beja ni jattiya

ni door tenu lehjja we arriye

ni woofer tu meri, meri

mein tera amplifier fier(x4)

(meh tera amplifier fier)(repeatedly then fade)

love you imran brother"

Death by Information!

2010-04-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a joke! The article is about 'Death by Information' and look at the number of information sharing options that it provides :)

जी लेंगे यूँ ही

2010-02-18T13:42:00.000-08:00

Table किनारे पड़ा वो glass जो दिखा
क्या मालूम था
कि इसे तो बस
पल अगले ही
था छलक के गिर जाना

क्या मालूम था
कि कितनी ही कोशिश क्यों न कर लू मैं
ना आसान होगा अब भूल जाना अब कुछ
सब कुछ
कभी
न रहेगा पहले जैसा

पर कोई बात नहीं
जी लेंगे यूँ ही
जो हैं अब बची कुची ...

'sup

2010-01-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

Oh me!

eccentric

a kid

for sure

And you?

a feather

a gentle touch

Why not

then,

what say?

I say

Hey!

tell me babe

watsup?

Mesmerizing Sufi Folk Music

2009-12-06T00:27:00.000-08:00

There seems to be this music programme on Pakistan Television called 'Coke Studio', which is airing some unique and excellent live music. A couple of my picks:

Echo of Recall - Prelude 4 7 15

2009-12-04T10:24:00.000-08:00

एक missed call
देखी आज मैने
बात हुई
सालों बाद
भी यादें सब
थी बरकरार

हमने तो उसे बस ईद पर ही याद किया
वो सेवैयाँ , वोह मुस्कान, वोह शायरी

लेकिन वो कहता है
की उसने तो
जीवन के हर मोड़ पर हमें पूँछा

क्या मालूम था
कि एक फजूल की cycle
की भी इतनी कीमत होती है!

i closed my eyes
Chopin
where had you been
here i am
suffocated
as your notes
pang my soul
walls around
that i know
that i built
long ago
suffocated i dance
as you play
i swivel around
nevermind underground
in me
your notes
come
and go
and as i opened my eyes
raindrops clear
were there

Best Stats You've Ever Seen

2009-08-17T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here is an amazing video, which shows - how much data there is around us, which can be meaningfully converted to information, through thoughtful interpretation and creative presentation.

In the words of TED:
"You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called 'developing world'."

Hans Rosling developed this breakthrough software behind his visualizations through his nonprofit Gapminder. The free software — which can be loaded with any data — was purchased by Google in 2007.

Small is Beautiful

2009-08-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

These days reading "Small is Beautiful - A Study of Economics As If People Mattered". I think this one quote from the book pretty much tells what the book is all about:

"A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption.... The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity. Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity."

Gandhi, Tagore on Symbols

2009-07-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

We are doing a course called "Business, Government and Society" here at IIM Bangalore. Today there was a lecture on 'Sense Making by Public' which talked about importance of symbols, stories and metaphors in driving Public Policy/Opinion.

This reminded of some readings I had done long back on Tagore and Gandhi's ideological differences. Particularly, how Tagore would criticize Gandhi for using symbols to amass people, which he considered would harm in the long run. Compared to Gandhi, Tagore's focus was on self-motivation rather than on discipline, and on fostering intellectual curiosity rather than competitive excellence. This mission, ideology or emphasis was clearly visible in the symbols, metaphors they would advocate or promote to drive the people of India - to eventually become the India of their dreams!

Some quick excerpts from web:

"The first subject of discussion was idols; Gandhi defended them, believing the masses incapable of raising themselves immediately to abstract ideas. Tagore cannot bear to see the people eternally treated as a child. Gandhi quoted the great things achieved in Europe by the flag as an idol; Tagore found it easy to object, but Gandhi held his ground, contrasting European flags bearing eagles, etc., with his own, on which he has put a spinning wheel. The second point of discussion was nationalism, which Gandhi defended. He said that one must go through nationalism to reach internationalism, in the same way that one must go through war to reach peace."

Tagore, for example, remained unconvinced of the merit of Gandhi's forceful advocacy that everyone should spin at home with the "charka," the primitive spinning wheel. For Gandhi this practice was an important part of India's self-realization...If Tagore had missed something in Gandhi's argument, so did Gandhi miss the point of Tagore's main criticism. It was not only that the charka made little economic sense, but also, Tagore thought, that it was not the way to make people reflect on anything: "The charka does not require anyone to think; one simply turns the wheel of the antiquated invention endlessly, using the minimum of judgment and stamina."

Tagore upbraided Gandhi for stating that a massive 15 January 1934 earthquake in Bihar constituted divine retribution for the subjugation of Dalits..."A man like me," Gandhi argued, "cannot but believe this earthquake is a divine chastisement sent by God for our sins" — in particular the sins of untouchability. "For me there is a vital connection between the Bihar calamity and the untouchability campaign."... However, Tagore hated the epistemology implicit in seeing an earthquake as caused by ethical failure. "It is," he wrote, "all the more unfortunate because this kind of unscientific view of [natural] phenomena is too readily accepted by a large section of our countrymen."

Two of Tagore's more politically charged compositions, "Chitto Jetha Bhayshunyo" ("Where the Mind is Without Fear") and "Ekla Chalo Re" ("If They Answer Not to Thy Call, Walk Alone"), gained mass appeal, with the latter favoured by Gandhi.

References/Further Reading:

[*] Just ordered the last one from flipkart :)

Let me take the side walk

2009-07-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

There's too much traffic on the road
Let me take the side walk

Amidst all this pressure, confusion
Let me walk my talk

Don't want to fell deep into
The hollowness of power and wealth

Just want to stick to - No inhibitions
And do what I want

Nevermind the them and they all
Let them grow, grow tall

I ll just look around - click, capture, compose
And all I want to do - is explore

I will just stay off the road, make my way
Got no ambitions - to reach the top

There's too much traffic on the road
Let me take the side walk

है क्या?

2009-03-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Not sure, पता नहीं

बेचैनी हैं बस
कुछ चुल्ल
शायद ख्वाहिश कोई
कोई छिपी आरज़ू

पर for sure
कोई कोशिश कही नहीं
न कोई खोज है
न ही genuine इंतज़ार

पर फ़िर भी
कभी कभी
कुछ कशमकश

ये मस्त मौसम
जगमगाता चंद्रमा
मंद हवा

अब मैं फूहड़ क्या जानू
तू ही बता
Knock, knock
हैं क्या?

There's Just No Pleasing Some Folks

2009-02-02T23:49:00.000-08:00

Cheese Omlette

2008-12-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

एक और साल,
आया,
गया,
आ रहा है,
फिर हो जायेगा गुम एक साल बाद |

***
साल नहीं, ये बस लम्हे है,
निबट रहे है ये यूँ फटाफट,
सो इससे पहले हो जाये देर,
Basically, before it's just too late
उडा ले मौज ऐ मन, हपाहाप,
हपाहाप,
हपाहाप...

Oye dar-ba-dar Oye!

2008-12-18T07:48:00.000-08:00

Last week was eventful. I had my moments. The moments took me back into the memory lane into other i-got-lucky life changing experiences...

1) There are moments when you see something and you can't believe how a single creation can artfully blend such beauty, such skill and such perfection. They make you feel good.

The guitar solo played Mark Knopfler at one of his many many performances of "Sultans of Swing" that set me off to hitchhike to Mumbai in my final year at IITK with Moitro buddy

The "Henri Cartier-Bresson" interview that made me realize how I can also indulge in photography to vent my creative chullis

And last week, this particular scene from Miller's Crossing made me wonder and wonder and wonder...

2) There are moments of nostalgia

Flop Show: the greatest and most saturated piece of satire that so very much reminds of the people I saw day-in day-out in daftars, bazaars and colouny in my early days.

Doordarshan: nostalgia forever

And last week, "Oye Lucky Oye" gave me that feeling again. 'bhai sorry yar bhai' - 'tilak nagar se rajouri'- 'bilack beauty' - 'bhai bas depot jayegi'. All this made me feel that I am in some foreign land here in Bangalore - away from my Dilli.

3) There are moments of realization where you are exposed to something so new and so out-of-this-world that your life is changed forever.

Bade bhaiya at Vidyamandir Classes.

Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy: the towel & the 42

Monty Python

Gunda: do-chaar-chhai-aath-das ... bas!

And yesterday, thanks to Tikliji again, I became to audience to another awe-inspiring out-of-this-world stuff - "Om dar-ba-dar". It's a movie about a young boy having pink floyd's syd barrettish psychedelic trips into imagination and what not. The best part is that we have seen not more than 15 minutes of this move as yet

It started of when we are talking about the awesome trailer of another Abhay Deol flick "Dev D" and its song "emosional atyachaar". Typically, some R&D was done and it was found here here that the song was inspired from a 1988 classic "Om Dar-ba-dar" . The baraat song sequence which inspired the Emotional Atyachaar is this:

And once we were on youtube, the next video that made us jump out of our chairs was "Terrorist Tadpole"

There were 2 more more videos on youtube, albeit small: frog & diamond and om fights the bicycle. Further research led us to this interesting article published in the Hindu in 2004, which said,

"Why did Om Dar-b-Dar enrage the censors? "They didn't really understand it," recalls the director. "They kept looking for a story line or a political message in the songs. They even called in a maulvi to check out if one of the songs could possibly be subversive. Of course, it wasn't."

Now, we are just dying to get the full movie from anywhere @ anycost !!!

For the enthusiasts, the lyrics of the baraat song of Om dar-ba-dar go something like this:

A! A! A! Mohabbat Humsafar ho jaa!!!
B! B! B! Mohabbat humnafar ho jaa!!!

DE! DE! DE! Mohabbat Humsafar ho jaa!

Meri Jaan AaaAaaAaaAaa

Meri Jaan BeeBeeBeeBee

Meri Jaan Dededededede

Meri Jaan Ceeeceeeceeceee

Pritam aao Sitambar tabse, haseen mohabbat ka maheena X 2

Pritam aa gale lag jaa! gale lag jaa! gale lag jaa!

Dill toot raha hai! Jaan jal rahi hai! X 2

I say it baby X 2

O My BRIDE!!!! X 2
It's like a sea, baby! It's like a mountain, lady X 2

MITHYA HAI SANSAAR!!!! MAYAA HAI SANSAAR!!!!! X 2

It's like a sea, baby! It's like a mountain, lady X 2

Mooh pe lagaya powder, baalon mein scent dala, ]

Hotel mein raat kaati, theater mein din guzara ] X 2

Naye fashion se (ahn haan), nayi pojition se (oh ho) X 2

Bolo haseen, dill mein ja phasee X 2
Phir bhi mainnn!!!!!

Nature Calls Asynchronously

2008-12-08T08:08:00.000-08:00

Secure Against What?

2008-10-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

Movie: "Das Leben der Anderen"

2008-09-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

Just saw this German movie "Das Leben der Anderen" (English: The life of Others). The movie deals with secret monitoring and policing in East Germany. It's a beautiful movie - fascinating and moving - capturing ethical dilemmas, development of a character and artistic cries!

One such artistic cry really struck a note:

"Lenin said about Beethoven's 'Appassionata', "I can't listen to it,
otherwise I won't be able to finish the revolution."

Can someone who's listened to this music ...really listened...still be a bad person?"

(by Georg Dreyman, in a moving scene, where he receives the news of the death of his close artist friend Albert Jerska and plays "The Sonata of Good Men" on piano)

During the course of my life, I have had several such moments where I felt that "how can a person who has read this or listened to this or seen this - be a bad or may be an unmotivated or some other type of person".
That is to say that some pieces of art affect you so deeply that you can't help wonder how can they not affect every other human soul in a same way!

Younger Generation

2008-08-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a great number by John B Sebastian about the paradoxes and dilemmas about growing old to become a parent and then having a look at your kids. This is one of my favorite tracks from Woodstock'69.

This particular video also has another song about youth's perception and reaction to the stand of US Government on the ongoing Vietnam war back then.

"Why must every generation think they're folks are square?
And no matter where they're heads are, they know mom's aint there.
Cause' I swore when I was small, that I'd remember when,
I knew what's wrong with them, that I was smaller than.

Determined to remember all the cardinal rules.
Like, sunshowers are legal grounds, for cutting school.
I know I have forgotten maybe one or two.
And I hope that I recall them all before the baby's due.
And I'll know he'll have a question or two.

Like, hey pop. Can I go ride my zoom?
It goes twohundred miles an hour, suspended on baloons.
And can I put a droplet of this new stuff on my tounge?
And imagine puffing dragons, while you sit and wreck your'e lungs.
And I must me permissive, understanding of the younger generation.

And then I know that all I've learned, my kid assumes.
And all my deepest worries must be his cartoons.
And still I'll try to tell him all the things I've done,
relating to what he can do when he becomes a man.
And still he'll stick his fingers in the fan.

And hey pop, my girlfriend's only three.
She's got her own bitty phone,
and she's taking LSD.
And now that were best friends, she want's to give a bit to me.
But whats the matter daddy? How come you're turning green?
Can it be that you can't live up to your dreams?"

तुम नहीं ग़म नहीं शराब नहीं

2008-07-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

What do I listen to?

Anything that makes me feel something - joy, pain, energy or calmness; or something that makes me wonder or opens up a window into the creator's mind. When I peep into that window, often I get another perspective - a new perspective to life that is - ऐसे भी तो सोचा जा सकता था, यूँ भी तो किया जा सकता था.

Here is one such piece of wordplay:

तुम नहीं, ग़म नहीं, शराब नहीं
ऐसी तन्हाई का जवाब नहीं

(ग़म : grief, pain; तन्हाई : loneliness, solitude)

गाहे-गाहे इसे पढा कीजे
दिल से बेहतर कोई किताब नहीं

(गाहे-गाहे : once in a while)

जाने किस किस की मौत आयी है
आज रुख़ पर कोई नक़ाब नहीं

(रुख : face; नक़ाब : veil)

वो करम उन्गलियों पे गिनते हैं
ज़ुल्म का जिनके खुद हिसाब नहीं

(करम : good deeds, favours)

I Have No Idea

2008-06-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Great minds - need not think alike!

2008-06-13T22:44:00.000-07:00

Mahatma Gandhi: "Never make a promise in haste. Having once made it fulfill it at the cost of your life."

Rabindranath Tagore: "Fling away your promise if it is found to be wrong."

पथ पर, अग्रसर ...

2008-06-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

औकात कि तो बस मत पूछो,
मालूम नहीं हैं खुद मुझको,

बस जो दिल को भाता हैं,
वहीं हस्त्र किये चला जाता हैं |

कर सकता हूँ भी, कि नहीं,
होगा क्या इससे, अच्छा या बुरा,

क्या मालूम, क्या ही फ़िक्र अभी
कभी फ़ुरसत मिलने पर सोंचेंगे ।।

As Expected

2008-03-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

>>> ? >>>

2008-02-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

We played king of the mountain out on the end
The world come chargin' up the hill, and we were women and men

And what once seemed black and white turns to so many shades of gray

We lose ourselves in work to do and bills to pay

The child is grown, the dream is gone

Will we ever know what the answer to life really is?
Can you really tell me what life is?

Maybe all the things that you know that are precious to you
Could be swept away by fates own hand...

Family photograph

2007-11-26T11:32:00.001-08:00

2007-11-13T11:11:00.001-08:00

"Let me handle this Di,
as I got a trick, up my fingertip,
and it might just click"

जय श्री गणेशाय नम:॥

2007-11-06T11:30:00.001-08:00

What to do?

2007-11-03T12:58:00.001-07:00

"I am being used", thought God. The tiny, toddly thought galloped in the infinite stream of ultimate consciousness of him, himself. "But, then even if I am being used, what's with it? Is that wrong in anyway?". Then he looked around. The look being around of and totally submerged in and actually completely inside of him, himself.

"I guess, it doesn't really matter if it is actually right or wrong, as long as it does greatest good to the greatest number"

"But, then probably, this usage can be done in a more efficient way"

"Anyway, efficient or not; what matters to me is what am I getting out of it. Is this a parasitic or a symbiotic relationship between me and the user?". And then he sneezed. Tiny droplets of his sneeze spread all along the environment around him. His sneeziness baffled a lot of them. But, all the bafflement too - was a part of him, himself.

"Is this biology or economics? Or a plaintiff charade of ethical economic dialectic doldrum?"

*phew*

And then God turned racist. Somewhere, along the boulevard of conscious flow, he lost his watch. The watch was his temper. The temper being of the highest quality - unbreakable, unstoppable. But, then he lost it somewhere.

If its outside of you, you can at least look around to find it. But, then if its within - how can one find it. All one can do is to wait for that moment of chanceful rendezvous, to just happen. All one can do is to wait and watch. But, then the watch was lost.

What to do now?

"What to do now?", thought him too.

Slight Return!

2007-11-03T02:52:00.000-07:00

"...cause I'm a voodoo child
Lord knows I'm a voodoo child baby
I want to say one more last thing

I said I didnt mean to take up all your sweet time
I'll give it right back one of these days

Oh yeah!

And, if I don't meet you no more in this world then uh
I'll meet ya on the next one, And dont be late
Dont be late..."

2007-10-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

"No, it is true...And one day there will be no more frontier. And men like you will go too, like the Mohicans. And new people will come, work, struggle. Some will make their life. But once, we were here."

- The Last of the Mohicans(1992)

Once upon a time...

2007-10-21T00:06:00.000-07:00

"Once upon a time, in some out of the way corner of that universe which is dispersed into numberless twinkling solar systems, there was a star upon which clever beasts invented knowing. That was the most arrogant and mendacious minute of "world history," but nevertheless, it was only a minute. After nature had drawn a few breaths, the star cooled and congealed, and the clever beasts had to die.

__One might invent such a fable, and yet he still would not have adequately illustrated how miserable, how shadowy and transient, how aimless and arbitrary the human intellect looks within nature. There were eternities during which it did not exist. And when it is all over with the human intellect, nothing will have happened..."

(An Excerpt from "On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense", by Friedrich Nietzsche)

Red

2007-09-26T13:05:00.001-07:00

"To finger paint is not a sin
I put my middle finger in...

...Your monthly blood is what I win
I'm in your house now let me spin"

Blowin' with the wind

2007-08-29T12:47:00.001-07:00

For i am just a drop of rain falling in the ocean. But, a look around, reveals all too soon that there are rivers galore. Rivers, part of which when evaporated, gave me substance. Rivers, that flow. Rivers, around which people gather and grow. Rivers.

And i.

I, evaporated out of a river. I, tried to reach the sun - before the winds blew me away. I, raced along with many like me. And, finally when the race ended, i came back to where i belonged; where my mother river was already waiting for me - the deep blue ocean.

And i.

Bukansan Trek

2007-07-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

"A thousand mile journey starts with first step"

(Chinese Proverb)

Our destiny lies somewhere on this map.

पहले थोड़ा पानी...

"वहाँ जाना हैं"

पानी पीं कर, अब सोचेंगे ...

चींता खुश़ अपने असली घर पहुँच कर ।

थोड़ा ठंडा हो लिया जाये ।

Pandey on the move...

Korean बा़बा़ का आशीर्वाद !

आशीर्वाद पा कर चींता फ़िर खुश ।

Yo! Pandey

उउउऊपर जायेंगे !

Peace!

बग़ल वाली Peak पर ।

Final photu :)

Few more pics here.

Trip to Seoul Grand Park

2007-07-15T02:29:00.000-07:00

This is the rainy season in Korea. If it doesnt rain on a weekend, we thank God.

We thanked God for half a day, last Saturday (7 July, 2007). We went to Seoul Grand Park.

Here are some snapshots & videos of that fun-trip:

- Seal & Dolphin Show:

(Two seals rocking the dance floor)

(Dolphin Show starts)

( Few nice moves)

(This one's the best. Check out the cute kid dancing along, trying to mimick the dolphin acts)

- The Zoo

- Sky Lift

---

Some Useful Info:

Where we went?
- Seoul Grand Park

Who all went?
- Me, Lalit, Sid, Shankar, Roopa & Uday

How to go there?
- Get off at Seoul Grand Park Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit No. 2.

When can one go?
- Open year round
- (Apr. ~ Sep.) 9:00 a.m. ~ 7:00 p.m.(entrance permitted until 6p.m.) / (Oct. ~ Mar.) 9:00 a.m. ~ 6:00 p.m. (entrance permitted until 5p.m.)

Highlights:
- Seal & Dolphin Show
- A decent variety of wild animals from Africa, India, South America.
- Ride over SkyLift

Also nearby:
- Seoul Land
- National Museum of Contemporary Art

चल चंचल मन

2007-07-10T08:30:00.001-07:00

चल चंचल मन, चल उड़ ले आज,
कल मिले न मिले, खुला आकाश ।

चल ऊपर चल, छोड़ धरातल,
सुन ले तू वायु का कलरव ।
नीले गगन में गोते खाले,
बादल के चंद टुकड़े चुरा ले ।

उड़ के फ़िर जब़ नीचे आये अखिल,
बिना किये बर्बाद भी एक़ पल,
सों जा चाद़र ओढ़ के सर्पट,
मिले नींद भी क्या मालूम, के अब क़ल ।

Incredible Image Ready & Blogger Bug

2007-07-09T11:19:00.001-07:00

On Day 1.5 with Adobe Image Ready, I came up with 2 scribbles(gif animations):

Scribble 1 - 'Blob-a-facia'

[Please click on the pic to see the animated gif]

Scribble 2 - 'Scratch-a-facia'

[Please click on the pic to see the animated gif]

Now, the interesting thing was that I was able to upload the Scribble 1 quite easily, but scribble 2 was not coming up fine. On uploading to blogger the animation was lost. On downloading the uploaded image I found - for some funny reason, Blogger is converting this "gif" file to "png" file.

On checking out the forums, I found that this seems to be a known issue . So, finally I uploaded the gif using my old yahoo-geocities webpage's file manager.

*sigh*

2007-05-07T08:39:00.000-07:00

किसी ने तो कहा था:

"आलस्यम् हि मनुष्यस्य महारिपु।"

पर अब मैं उन्हे क्या बताऊँ, कि ये आलस ही तो हैं जो मुझे ज़िन्दा रख़े हैं ; वरना मैं तो कब का थक गया होता !

"Not Naughty, But Naught"

2007-03-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

"Daily Iterations of Mind"

2007-03-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

"Of that, that is not"

2007-03-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

Roger Waters - Us and Him!

2007-03-10T21:07:00.000-08:00

"Dark Side of the Moon was an expression of political, philosophical and huminatrian empathy that was desperate to get out."
- Roger Waters

"I certainly realised then that year, that life was alreay happening. I think this was because my mother was so obsessed with education; and the idea that childhood and other lessons and well evreything was about preparing for a life that was gonna start later.
And I suddenly realised that life was not gonna start later. That is it starts at dot and it happens all the time. And that at any point you grasp the reigns and start guiding your own destiny. And that was a big revelation to me. I mean it came as quite a shock..."
- Roger Waters

The Show Must Go On:

Amidst all the running around, hectic work schedules, long journeys and laziness galore; I did manage to just make it to the Roger Waters' - "Dark Side of the Moon" concert in Mumbai on February the 18th. Can't believe its almost a month now. But, then whats this short time in the whole lifetime (let's better not talk here about the shortness of the whole lifetime itself :P); when experiences such as these are once in a lifetime!

Won't put much of that experience in words meself. Rather, I ll put TV's post-that-was-awesome-experience email here. Followed by Mama's reply. Here it goes:

Tvac's e-mail:

Hi,

I attended Roger Water's live in Mumbai, with some 15,000 other people. I was in the front stands, watching Roger Waters perform and despite what other people say, he still has his voice. Ofcourse, it's different from the voice we are accustomed to hearing on winamp, but he still has it. Hasn't burnt out.

The stage was the usual huge stage in MMRDA grounds, right in front of my office. They had a projector going on. Initially, they had a radio projected with a bottle of whisky and some 30 cigarettes in an ash tray. Before they started playing live, they were playing some Chuck Berry songs and all from tape. Everytime a song got over, a hand came, filled the glass, took a sutta and fiddled with the radio knob. It was sweet watching it.

Then ofcourse, they came over and did their thing. Needless to say, the line up was as ever - 3 women for the chorus (and the Great gig in the Sky!), a guy in a suit, playing the tenor and the alto saxophone, 2 keyboardists, one lead guitarist - on a fender strat (looked like a limited edition strat), a rhythm guitarist on a gibson lespaul (orange sunburst colour), another guitarist with perhaps the ugliest guitar that i have ever seen; and ofcourse a drummer

I don't remember their first song. The second song was "Set the controls for the heart of the sun". Followed by "Wish you were here". Then "Have a cigar", followed by "Shine on" :). All along, on the big screen (the back wall of the stage; akin to the projected surface on the iitk audi stage, there was some awesome stuff being projected - very floyd if you know what i mean - pictures of generals posing with a dagger in their backs, pictures of men playing a gramophone speaker with a man buried head down in sand, only a few to recall. I remember, when they played shine on and when the vocals started, they had Syd Barrett's pictures behind. The crowd just went crazy. Oh, btw, the second song was "mother" - my favourite line being "mother do you think they'll break, my balls?" :).

They played Great Gig in the sky, with one of the women doing the legendary vocals. They sang "Time", "Have a cigar" and we sang with them. Picture this, 7000 people - indians, firangs, aliens like gupak and me, dopeheads high on grass, hash and what not - all singing (there were about 7000 of us in the first stands).

They took a break, and returned to play the dark side of the moon. They started "money" and I just couldn't help marvel that everything sounded just like the original - note for note. Then came "Us and Them", with the same video projected on stage as it has been for other concerts.

Then came a single - "Leaving Beirut". This is a new one. A long time back, when Waters was 17, he was in Lebanon. His car broke down. He hitch hiked his way back to London.He stayed one night in Beirut, in a cripple's house. The cripple's wife was a hunchback. They served him food and the woman did not eat as there was not enough food for them. He slept on their bed while they slept on the ground. He left in the morning. Then he became the front man for Floyd in due time, but he always remembered them. He wrote this song after Lebanon was recently bombed.

While the song played, they had illustrations, akin to a comic book, the kind with pencilling and light shading, being projected. There was a lot of humor and the lyrics were on it, in bubbles. He attacked george bush with lines like "surely that texan education has fucked with your head". There were many more such lines, which were simple, full of feeling and they hit you full thrust. Look for the lyrics on the net and maybe that would do justice to it. Whenever he sang the punch lines, all of us there clapped. That was some high!

The best part of it was when a huge pig flew into the sky. On the ass "impeach george bush", dotted lines on the neck "cut where marked", on one side "sarva jati saman" (in hindi), other antiwar slogans and the woodstock pot leaf flag too :).

They played, Vera, Bring the boys back and a few others. At the end of it, they took a break or something and junta started shouting "we want more". They came back to play Comfortably numb, with the 2 guitarists splitting the solos among themselves and then they played Another Brick in the wall, preceeded by The Happiest days of our lives.

No matter how much I write, I cannot capture the feeling of being there and listening to the guy who had penned down those songs and played them for years and watching him on stage with his flare and force, still shinging through.

All said and done, floyd is floyd. As kutta shat all over his s.o.p.
"its a pleasure and a previlige to have heard them".

--
tvac

Wish you were Beer.

Mama's reply:

An acquaintance who went to the gig..his comments:

Some hilarious moments to my left and right:

Left channel:

Girl: Someone from Pink Floyd passed away recently right?
Guy: Yeah that was Syd Barrett
Girl: No, no I think it was David Gilmour. I'm pretty sure it was David Gilmour.
Guy: Shhh pipe down, you'll give people here a heart attack, shouting out that Gilmour is dead

Right channel:

Girl: Will he play "Where were you?"?
Guy (shaking head vigorously in obvious horror): That's "Coming back to life". No, No.

--
Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light.

PS:

TVAC & Mama - fellow buddies from IITk

Holding the Korean flag, Suwon Fort, Korea

2007-03-10T01:43:00.001-08:00

Holding the Korean flag, Suwon Fort, Korea
Originally uploaded by Gupak!.

Dawn at Suwon Fort, Korea

2007-03-10T01:42:00.001-08:00

Dawn at Suwon Fort, Korea
Originally uploaded by Gupak!.

Aerosmith coming to India too!!!

2007-02-25T02:35:00.000-08:00

Its true!!!

Aerosmith coming to India too.

Date: 2nd June, 2007
Venue: MMRDA Grounds, Mumbai

Man! this is going to be one hell of a rocking year in India.

\,,/

Iron Maiden: A Matter of Life & Death!

2007-02-22T06:44:00.000-08:00

The wait is over!!!

Not long after Roger Waters (ex mastermind Pink Floyd), mesmerised Indian junta with his psychedelic, progressive, creative or in-short-pink-floyd-version of rock music; another British Rock tycoon is here to rock the shores of India. Its the most awaited and perhaps one of the greatest Heavy Metal band ever - its Iron Maiden!!!

A Matter of Life & Death Tour, India'07:

If Mumbai was lucky last time, its Bangalore who's on bright side of the moon this time. It seems that three other bands will be headlining for Iron Maiden. The first one is Lauren Harris. She is the daughter of the Maiden's founding member and bass guitarist, Steve Harris. Not much heard of her as of now, but her vocals seem to be backed up with an impressive line-up. She's also been toured alongside Iron Maiden in Japan & Europe. Let's see, what she's got to offer.

The second one, ofcourse, is the good old Parikrama - with their 'peace, trees & rock-n-roll. Not much need to talk about the greatest Indian rock band ever. They seem to just get better and better with age.

Anyway, the third performer as per the poster is supposed to be the winner of Campus Rock Idols'07. As per the information here, the lucky band to perform alongside Maiden seems to be Adroit. Haven't heard about them. They are not even listed on RSJ. Not sure, whats coming our way. We can only hope for the best and pray thats is not one of those typical unnecessarily cool dude band -with no-music-no-soul. Anyway, I find any info about them, I ll update here.

Current members of Iron Maiden:

Bruce Dickinson – lead vocals (1981-1993, 1999-present)
Dave Murray – guitar (1976-1977,1978-present)
Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals (1980-1990, 1999-present)
Janick Gers – guitar (1990-present)
Steve Harris – bass, keyboards, backing vocals (1975-present)
Nicko McBrain – drums (1983-present)

\,,/

The News For Parrots

2006-05-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

Good evening. Here is the news for Parrots:

No parrots were involved in an accident on the M-1 today when a Lorry carrying High-octane fuel was in collison with a bollard. That's a BOLLARD and *NOT* a PARROT. A spokesman for parrots said he was glad no parrots were involved. The Minister of Technology today met the three Russian leaders to discusa a 4 million pound airliner deal....None of them entered the cage, or swung on the little wooden trapeze or ate any of the nice millet seed. Yum, Yum.

And while thats going on, here's a parliamentary report for Humans:

In the debate, a spokesman accused the goverment of being silly and doing not at all good things. The member accepted this in the spirit of healthy criticism, but denied that he had ever been naughty with a choir boy. Angry shouts of 'What about the Watermelon then' were ordered then by the speaker to be stricken from the record and put into a brown paper bag in the lavvy. Any further interruptions would be cut up and distributed amongst the poor. For the Government, a front-bench spokesman said the Agricultural Tariff WOULD have to be raised. And he fancied a bit. Whats more he argued, this would give a large boost to farmers, him, his friends, and Miss Moist of Knightsbridge. From the back benches there were opposition shouts of 'Postcards for sale' and a healthy cry of 'Who likes a sailor then' from the minister without portfolio. Replying, the Shadow Minister said he could no longer deny the rumors, but he and the Dachsund were very happy. And in any case he argued Rhubarb was cheap, and what was the harm in a sauna bath?

We're not involved.

The Minister of Technology met the three Russian leaders to discuss a 4 million pound airliner deal....none of them were indigenous to Australia, carried their young in pouches, or ate any of those yummy Eucalyptus leaves..Yum Yum. Thats the news for wombats...now Attila the Hun.

(From: Monty Python's Flying Circus)

Some flicks of my office in Suwon, Korea

2006-04-28T21:39:00.000-07:00

The two tall towers of Samsung Electronics @ Suwon, Korea - from a distance

IT Center, Samsung Electronics @ Suwon, Korea - where I am working these days.

---

More flicks will be coming soon ...
---

Bluish scribbles - a meta account

2006-04-27T03:04:00.000-07:00

a shot
at what was not
me
but,
rather
a reaction
that ceases to be
that pleases
no more
any part of me

uncaused
it was
unreal
I despise myself
as I tried
as I failed
when I tried
to be thee
I was not
when I cried
tried
to feel
to heal
your fears
tears
in your eyes
my lies
dont lie with me

I learned
and now I yearn
all the more
more of me
from me
and i flee
off thee
lest
I shall rest
myself
and me...

Scribbling blues

2006-04-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

Why do all my scribblings have to be about me ?

Let me try to pen down some thoughts -

for instance,

of a lonely school boy
a wet windy night,
an ocean that was blue,
a jewelled thrilled sky,
or the day when I was high.

Why is it always about my ways?

Why not talk about -

dreary droughts
thirsty clouds
rock n roll
american asshole
travelling trains
penny lane
highway blues
adventerous crews

a boy too stout
a shameless lass
gameless draws
cindrella fable
cups on the table
a lonely voyage
a gay geek
and of toads that tweek

Why not pay some due
some respect to the forgotten -
An old warrior of folklore
a horny whore
or the girl next door.

But, why is it so,
that always I end up writing
scribbling me
my thoughts - my emotions
me - myself - me
and everytime - its
only 'me' to the core

And if you are getting fed up
Nevermind babe
Even I am getting bored :)

*chow*

little plastic castle

2006-04-22T01:22:00.000-07:00

"...they say goldfish have no memory
I guess their lives are much like mine
the little plastic castle
is a surprise every time"

(from song "little plastic castles" by ani difranco)

Ahhh! I keep loving it

2006-04-20T05:15:00.000-07:00

My new look desktop, with some google ad-on toppings and the God of guitar...Ahhh! I am just loving it :)

--

Living in the Past

2006-04-18T01:39:00.000-07:00

Came across the following article published in THE HINDU archive, by MUKUND PADMANABHAN, that echoed much of my feelings after the Jethro Tull concert:

Living in the past

CHOOSING between Bryan Adams and Ian Anderson is the easy part. After all, a chart-busting pop singer with a gravelly voice is no match for the legendary pied piper of rock music. Even so, the thought of attending the Jethro Tull concert at Bangalore raises three anxieties. First, the usual band members — led by the outrageously talented lead guitarist Martin Barre — will not be there. Second, the concert will be staged in an unfamiliar campus and not in Palace Orchards — Bangalore natural venue for rock concerts — the spacious and comforting open air grounds in which Adams is scheduled to perform two days later. Finally, there is a worrying question mark about Ian Anderson himself. Some of his recent work has met (and deservedly) with lukewarm reviews. The man who introduced the flute to rock music has been in the business for four decades. Could the 59-year-old, to borrow a line from one of his songs, be "too old to rock and roll and too young to die"? Is he worth making the trip all the way to Bangalore.

He is.

But it takes almost two hours before this becomes apparent. Rock concerts are expected to get under way fashionably late, but it is somewhat ridiculous that the warm up act for Jethro Tull — Thermal And A Quarter — should take the stage three-quarters of an hour after the scheduled start. The Bangalore-based band is an enthusiastic act, kicking off with Queen's "Radio Ga Ga" and then plunging into its own compositions of variable quality. There are flashes of talent here and there, particularly in Jupiter Café at the very end. But to a hungry audience, the support act is like being served a tepid chicken frankie (the only edible thing available at the IIM grounds) before a gourmet meal.

Odd choice?

It is 8.45 p.m. by the time Jethro Tull kicks off. Ian Anderson appears on stage to a roar of applause and the concert is launched without much ado with "My Sunday Feeling". It is an odd choice, as most of the audience seems unfamiliar with the hangover song ("Won't somebody tell me where I laid my head last night?") from the debut album "This Was" — a pretty average and somewhat unsatisfactory blues-rock offering. The story goes that Anderson insisted on calling it "This Was" in order to signal the transitory nature of the band's musical style, which he planned on taking in other directions (which he did).

Range of flute play

"Life's A Long Song" is next and Anderson goes into acoustic mode for this soft rocker, starting with the guitar and ending the song with an intricate and loosely structured coda on the flute. By now the adrenalin has started to flow. There is a folksy and spirited rendition of "Eurology", which may be a lightweight instrumental but which allows Anderson to show off the full range of his flute play — deftly balancing his guile with his sense of mischief and playfulness. The opening bars of "Living In The Past" — Tull's deceptively simple melody wrapped tightly and warmly around the flute — are greeted with a cheer that seems entirely appropriate; after all, isn't this exactly what the thousands of people gathered here are doing?

In its 38-year-old life, Tull has been many things — an R & B band, a progressive rock oufit and a group that looked at increasing musical influences — folk, celtic, classical — to reinvent itself. "You know I like to bugger around with classical music," jokes Anderson before working up a mischievous and playful medley of Mozart; as one might have expected, the familiar and cheesy version of J.S. Bach's Bouree, from the album "Stand Up", is also part of the programme.

Since not even Anderson can play the guitar and the flute at the same time, the softer folksier tunes inevitably take on a more muscular bluesy character. There is also the matter of Anderson's vocals. One couldn't help feeling that his voice has not weathered well — the quirky nasal tone is missing and there are moments, particularly when he draws away from the mike, when it simply fades away.

A classy stage act he is, though engaging the audience with his puckish humour and cavorting and posturing on the stage in his waistcoat and bandana — swaggering, smug, self-satisfied; by turns, imp, satyr, jester. The substitute band members provide wonderful support (the lead
guitarist is particularly accomplished) and by the time Anderson delves into "Thick As A Brick" — the title song from his delightfully self-indulgent and rambling album — he has truly hit his stride.

There are moments of sheer epiphany during the elaborate and highly wrought version of "Budapest", reminders that one is listening to one of rock music's greatest bands. As one expects, Anderson signs off with the song from the eponymous album that cemented the band's place in history: "Aqualung". The opening blast of the classic on paedophilia ("Sitting on a park bench/Eyeing little girls with bad intent") is haunting and disturbingly familiar and Anderson brings the song to a rousing climax.

As always, there are demands for an encore and Anderson has accounted for that. He has not yet played his other great hit and as expected we are swiftly transported along into the shuffling madness of the Locomotive Breath.

(by: MUKUND PADMANABHAN/ THE HINDU)

Mandal's True Inheritors

2006-04-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

This article came in The Times of India Editorial (by CHANDRA BHAN PRASAD). In light of current issue of Reservations in IITs and IIMs, the article is both informative and insightful:

A quarter of a century has passed since the Mandal report was submitted to the president on December 30, 1980. Since then, tonnes of newsprint and plenty of air time have been consumed debating Mandal.

But rarely do we confront a basic question - why did L R Naik, the only Dalit member in the Mandal Commission, refuse to sign the Mandal recommendations?

While submitting his report, chairman of the commission B P Mandal wrote to the president on why the commission could not arrive at a consensus, and referred to L R Naik's note of dissent.

That letter forms the inaugural part of the report. How could V P Singh ignore the very first page of the report, which refers to Naik and his note of dissent, while posing as a crusader for social justice?

During the Mandal controversy, the Congress only mildly opposed the report, saying it was not properly debated.

Its think tank knew of Naik's thesis, but didn't raise it openly. Clearly, V P Singh and Congress had similar political compulsions.

Fifteen years have passed since Mandal was implemented in August 1990, but neither the Left and nor the Bharatiya Janata Party talk of Naik's thesis.

Cutting across party lines, all are afraid of discussing his observations. Naik said that OBCs were made up of two large social blocks - landowning OBCs whom he describes as intermediate backward classes, and artisan OBCs whom he describes as depressed backward classes.

According to Naik, intermediate backward classes or upper OBCs (Yadavas, Kurmis, Jats, among others) are relatively powerful, while depressed backward classes, or most backward classes (MBCs), remain economically marginalised.

He argued for splitting the Mandal quota into two in order to safeguard interests of MBCs, as he feared that upper OBCs would monopolise Mandal jobs.

Naik said this 25 years back when the nation did not know of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav or Nitish Kumar.

Today, most states are ruled by upper OBCs, who have evolved into lords of the countryside. People have a fair idea of upper OBC affluence and political power.

But who are MBCs and where are they situated in the caste hierarchy? Of this, people are less aware. As traditional service and artisan castes, MBCs are spread all over India.

In fact, there can rarely be a village without MBC castes. With the introduction of modern farm equipment, blacksmiths have become irrelevant.

Modern kitchenware did the same to potters. Has anyone seen palanquins in contemporary India? Only a century back, several hundred thousand people belonging to a caste called Kanhar shouldered this human-powered transport.

What happened to them? What happened to Noniyas, the traditional earth movers? Has anyone seen traditional oil-pressing tools in recent times? With motorised oil presses, the bullock driven tool has disappeared.

Hundreds of such professions disappeared with the arrival of machines and modernity. What happened to the people involved in those professions?

Traditional artisan and service provider castes called MBCs form more than 50 per cent of the OBC population. With the disappearance of their trades, most of them turned agricultural labourers.

In most indices of development, they often fare worse than Dalits. Since they are spread all over India, and divided into so many smaller caste groups, they do not become electorally decisive in any assembly or parliamentary constituency.

MBCs have neither political leadership nor any lobby in business or the intellectual world. Unlike MBCs, upper OBCs are traditional peasant castes, who have now turned into landowning castes. They control most of the countryside's wealth and institutions.

As masters in booth management, upper OBCs control politics at the grass roots, which is reflected in the composition of state assemblies and Parliament.

OBCs invest least in education of their children and block their money in immovable assets. They need a social movement, not reservations.

Naik advocated the cause of voiceless MBCs a quarter century ago and demanded splitting of Mandal quota into two to safeguard their interests.

In 2006, justice demands that upper OBCs be expelled from the Mandal list, as MBCs are the truest inheritors of Mandal quotas.

V P Singh refused to buy Naik's thesis because his eyes were on the powerful upper OBC vote bank. He spoke of social justice but quashed hopes of MBCs.

The intelligentsia, which harps on social justice, too stood with upper OBCs, leaving MBCs to their fate. Fifteen years after V P Singh's assault on social justice, the Congress-led UPA government is going down the same path.

Congress seems to have decided to be the upper OBC party of India. Or else, upper OBCs have blackmailed the UPA government.

It is time that the nation got together to redefine the very meaning of social justice. How can the country treat MBCs as social orphans just because they are not a political force?

The anti-Mandal lobby gained in legitimacy simply because Mandal went the wrong way. It is in that sense that Mandal hurts even Dalits.

Much of the anti-Mandal steam will evaporate once Mandal is handed over to MBCs - its truest inheritors. The writer is an ideologue on Dalit issues.

For the onlooker - the trigger...

2006-02-20T07:43:00.000-08:00

And hereby you step in my world
and see
me
and you get some notions
emotions
as you look

You trigger a key
that rings the dormant
in me
as I cry an exclamation
a creation
comes out of me
for thee
that inspired

So, why not
just forget
as
the-me
doesn't crave to be
a demi
of whatever it be

As the me,
moves on
towards the infinity
as I too shall be gone
one day
like them all
to see me
to be me
no more
any more

As the me,
the Nevermind!
moves on
anyway...

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!

2006-02-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

THE GOOD:

I was a little apprehensive, when I decided that I will be going to the Jethro Tull concert at IIM Bangalore. This was because I hadn't heard much of the band till then. I knew about the band. I knew it was great. It was eccentric. It was different. It was progressive. It had Ian Andreson, the flute guy. I knew, this was the band that made the album 'Thick as a brick', which is one hell of an awesome album - a concept album, which was made as a disclaimer for the previous album, Aqualung - which many people called a concept album - but, Mr Anderson called not so. And I knew, that the band gave a song called "Too old to rock and roll, but too young too die" - a song, which vividly describes life of an aging rockstar and a song, which I love - esp the acoustic version. The album, the song - inspired me to go to the show. But, I was still a little apprehensive, how good will it be - the lead guy - Mr Anderson, who is almost 60 now, the lead guitar - Mick Abrahams, who was no more there, replaced by some new German guy...
Anyway, I went...
And, my o my, it was one of the best concerts, that I have ever attended. The music spoke first. It sure was different and it was GOOD!
Ian Anderson - the frontman of the band, sure lead from the front - switching quickly between his flute - his acoustic guitar and the unusual, eccentric vocals. The guy sure was an entertainer - the way he started each song, with typical British puns - the way he ended songs, with typical Anderson flautistic stunts. The puns switched between wide range of topics like Medicine, Europe, Bush, Mozart to the good old 12-year old little boy Gerald Bostock. And if you want to know what I mean by flautistic stunts, just listen to the first 40 seconds of his song called Cross-eyed Mary. His style of playing flute is no doubt unique. Sometimes he will create a stuttering kind of effect, very similar to the sound made by a motorbike, when it starts. And sometimes, he would push some vocal sound into the flute, along with normal air. All this was on top of normal classical flautism. It is also, interesting to note the fact that the dude actually learnt it all, right here in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh!
On the lead guitar was some yound lad from Germany - donning his Gibson - Les Paul with great pride and flamboyance, and he didnt disappoint at all.
It was music!
There were bass guitar solos - there were harmonica-bass jugalbandis - there were symphonies - there were compositions - there was humor in the air - the atmosphere was light with the thunder of the drums - there were improvisations - there was music!
What more can one ask for...
Some of the songs that I can recall, being played by the band:
- Thick as a brick,
- Living in the past,
- Eurology,
- Life is a long song,
- Bourée,
- Mother Goose,
- Locomotive Breath,
- a Symphony, by some 18th century French composer(which was actually a copy of 20th century Bollywood song for sure, but which I won't like to name here, just out of respect for that great composer)
- a medley of his song, 'Songs from the Wood' and a Mozart symphony (which I can recognise, but whose name I know now :( )
and the band aptly ended with one of their greatest and most famous song: Aqualung!
_____
THE BAD:
Well, on the same weekend there was also Bryan Adams concert. But, I decided against it.
Why?
Because, I believe that for these pop guys, there aint much difference between a live performance and a studio recording. They do it as it is - from start to end.
But,
on Sunday,
as I was listening to FM Radiocity, "Summer of '69" came on the air and I felt BAD.
Why?
Because, I realised that no matter what, this guy deserved more respect. As a tribute to the fact that this guy gave the world this one song to all of us, I should have gone to the concert.
____

The UGLY:

I don't even want to write to much in this section. Everytime I think of this horrifying incident of my life - I feel disgusted - this sure was the UGLIEST incident of my life. I really feel shameful for the most unethical act that I ever did - I went to the Rasmus concert. As I said, I won't write much here. Just two things:
1. The band went up on the stage, played and went back - and I felt nothing - not even repulsion.
2. Just look at the photo: you can see the fan - it was meant to give air to the hair of the guitarist (no-no-i-cant-call-him-lead-guitarist) - for effect! Simple and ugly fact - the band was all air - all video - all effect - NO music!

Anyway...wat can be done...
There is always The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...
Nevermind!

As my D500 gently clicks!

2006-02-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

I have uploaded some of the photographs taken by me here and there, on the move, today here .

Jethro tull coming to India...

2006-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

So, the wait is over and Jethro Tull is finally coming to India!!!

Here are his Tour dates:

JAN 29 Bombay RACE COURSE (MEMBERS ENCLOSURE)
JAN 31 MumbaiShanmukhananda Auditorium

FEB 1 Mumbai Shanmukhananda Auditorium
FEB 3 Bangalore IIM BANGALORE Grounds
FEB 5 New Delhi Hamsadhwani Open Air Theatre, Pragati Maidan

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About the Band:
Yet another 70s British band, with Ian Anderson as the frontman of the band, who is popular for his unique vocals and lead flute style.

Genre: Progressive/Alternative rock

My favourite number: "Too old to rock n roll, but too young too die" (the song is too good, esp the acoustic version)

Album to watch out for: "Thick as a brick" - this so called concept album, was actually a sattire on the popularity of concept albums of that time. The album is a running joke: a poem by an intelligent English boy about the trials of growing up. The album cover claimed, outrageously enough, that the lyrics had been written by an eight year-old boy, Gerald Bostock, and set to music by the band. Even today, Anderson still gets the occasional person asking about Bostock or commenting about the prodigy's advancing age. In fact, the original LP cover was a spoof of a 12 by 16 inch (305 by 406 mm) multipage local newspaper ( "The St. Cleve Chronicle" )with stories, competitions, adverts etc., lampooning the kind of horribly parochial and amateurish local journalism that still exists in many places today. It was written by Ian, Jeffrey Hammond, and John Evan, the paper actually took longer to produce than the music

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Some more exotic Desktops!

2006-01-15T09:11:00.000-08:00

Photoshop atlast!

2006-01-09T07:17:00.000-08:00

So, finally I was able to find a suitable excuse to get Adobe Photoshop on my comp in the office. The excuse was simple. I convinced my Division head that it would be a nice idea to make a poster for the play which were going to perform on the company's annual function last weekend.

And about the poster: the two characters that you see are 'me' and Ashish Chamoli(company colleague) morphed onto bade miyaan chhote miyaa! The play was actually based on a shorty story by Anton Chekov called Chameleon. So, our hindi version was called "Girgit". (I guess you can make out, how I tried to camouflage the word girgit :P)

hail photoshop!

Descartes' First Meditation

2006-01-09T05:54:00.000-08:00

Some two years ago, I read the First Meditation of famous mathematician and philosopher. To be very frank, I have never read a piece of prose so beautifully written, with such great clarity of mind. It echoes the thoughts that come to my mind in the moments of solitude, in moments when I talk to myself.

So, I would go no further describing it. Rather, I would like you guys to read it as well and tell me how do u feel about it. Please don't be perturbed by its length. I can sure you that it is very much worth a read. Here it goes:

1. SEVERAL years have now elapsed since I first became aware that I had accepted, even from my youth, many false opinions for true, and that consequently what I afterward based on such principles was highly doubtful; and from that time I was convinced of the necessity of undertaking once in my life to rid myself of all the opinions I had adopted, and of commencing anew the work of building from the foundation, if I desired to establish a firm and abiding superstructure in the sciences. But as this enterprise appeared to me to be one of great magnitude, I waited until I had attained an age so mature as to leave me no hope that at any stage of life more advanced I should be better able to execute my design. On this account, I have delayed so long that I should henceforth consider I was doing wrong were I still to consume in deliberation any of the time that now remains for action. To-day, then, since I have opportunely freed my mind from all cares [and am happily disturbed by no passions], and since I am in the secure possession of leisure in a peaceable retirement, I will at length apply myself earnestly and freely to the general overthrow of all my former opinions.

2. But, to this end, it will not be necessary for me to show that the whole of these are false--a point, perhaps, which I shall never reach; but as even now my reason convinces me that I ought not the less carefully to withhold belief from what is not entirely certain and indubitable, than from what is manifestly false, it will be sufficient to justify the rejection of the whole if I shall find in each some ground for doubt. Nor for this purpose will it be necessary even to deal with each belief individually, which would be truly an endless labor; but, as the removal from below of the foundation necessarily involves the downfall of the whole edifice, I will at once approach the criticism of the principles on which all my former beliefs rested.

3. All that I have, up to this moment, accepted as possessed of the highest truth and certainty, I received either from or through the senses. I observed, however, that these sometimes misled us; and it is the part of prudence not to place absolute confidence in that by which we have even once been deceived.

4. But it may be said, perhaps, that, although the senses occasionally mislead us respecting minute objects, and such as are so far removed from us as to be beyond the reach of close observation, there are yet many other of their informations (presentations), of the truth of which it is manifestly impossible to doubt; as for example, that I am in this place, seated by the fire, clothed in a winter dressing gown, that I hold in my hands this piece of paper, with other intimations of the same nature. But how could I deny that I possess these hands and this body, and withal escape being classed with persons in a state of insanity, whose brains are so disordered and clouded by dark bilious vapors as to cause them pertinaciously to assert that they are monarchs when they are in the greatest poverty; or clothed [in gold] and purple when destitute of any covering; or that their head is made of clay, their body of glass, or that they are gourds? I should certainly be not less insane than they, were I to regulate my procedure according to examples so extravagant.

5. Though this be true, I must nevertheless here consider that I am a man, and that, consequently, I am in the habit of sleeping, and representing to myself in dreams those same things, or even sometimes others less probable, which the insane think are presented to them in their waking moments. How often have I dreamt that I was in these familiar circumstances, that I was dressed, and occupied this place by the fire, when I was lying undressed in bed? At the present moment, however, I certainly look upon this paper with eyes wide awake; the head which I now move is not asleep; I extend this hand consciously and with express purpose, and I perceive it; the occurrences in sleep are not so distinct as all this. But I cannot forget that, at other times I have been deceived in sleep by similar illusions; and, attentively considering those cases, I perceive so clearly that there exist no certain marks by which the state of waking can ever be distinguished from sleep, that I feel greatly astonished; and in amazement I almost persuade myself that I am now dreaming.

6. Let us suppose, then, that we are dreaming, and that all these particulars--namely, the opening of the eyes, the motion of the head, the forth- putting of the hands--are merely illusions; and even that we really possess neither an entire body nor hands such as we see. Nevertheless it must be admitted at least that the objects which appear to us in sleep are, as it were, painted representations which could not have been formed unless in the likeness of realities; and, therefore, that those general objects, at all events, namely, eyes, a head, hands, and an entire body, are not simply imaginary, but really existent. For, in truth, painters themselves, even when they study to represent sirens and satyrs by forms the most fantastic and extraordinary, cannot bestow upon them natures absolutely new, but can only make a certain medley of the members of different animals; or if they chance to imagine something so novel that nothing at all similar has ever been seen before, and such as is, therefore, purely fictitious and absolutely false, it is at least certain that the colors of which this is composed are real. And on the same principle, although these general objects, viz. [a body], eyes, a head, hands, and the like, be imaginary, we are nevertheless absolutely necessitated to admit the reality at least of some other objects still more simple and universal than these, of which, just as of certain real colors, all those images of things, whether true and real, or false and fantastic, that are found in our consciousness (cogitatio),are formed.

7. To this class of objects seem to belong corporeal nature in general and its extension; the figure of extended things, their quantity or magnitude, and their number, as also the place in, and the time during, which they exist, and other things of the same sort.

8. We will not, therefore, perhaps reason illegitimately if we conclude from this that Physics, Astronomy, Medicine, and all the other sciences that have for their end the consideration of composite objects, are indeed of a doubtful character; but that Arithmetic, Geometry, and the other sciences of the same class, which regard merely the simplest and most general objects, and scarcely inquire whether or not these are really existent, contain somewhat that is certain and indubitable: for whether I am awake or dreaming, it remains true that two and three make five, and that a square has but four sides; nor does it seem possible that truths so apparent can ever fall under a suspicion of falsity [or incertitude].

9. Nevertheless, the belief that there is a God who is all powerful, and who created me, such as I am, has, for a long time, obtained steady possession of my mind. How, then, do I know that he has not arranged that there should be neither earth, nor sky, nor any extended thing, nor figure, nor magnitude, nor place, providing at the same time, however, for [the rise in me of the perceptions of all these objects, and] the persuasion that these do not exist otherwise than as I perceive them ? And further, as I sometimes think that others are in error respecting matters of which they believe themselves to possess a perfect knowledge, how do I know that I am not also deceived each time I add together two and three, or number the sides of a square, or form some judgment still more simple, if more simple indeed can be imagined? But perhaps Deity has not been willing that I should be thus deceived, for he is said to be supremely good. If, however, it were repugnant to the goodness of Deity to have created me subject to constant deception, it would seem likewise to be contrary to his goodness to allow me to be occasionally deceived; and yet it is clear that this is permitted.

10. Some, indeed, might perhaps be found who would be disposed rather to deny the existence of a Being so powerful than to believe that there is nothing certain. But let us for the present refrain from opposing this opinion, and grant that all which is here said of a Deity is fabulous: nevertheless, in whatever way it be supposed that I reach the state in which I exist, whether by fate, or chance, or by an endless series of antecedents and consequents, or by any other means, it is clear (since to be deceived and to err is a certain defect ) that the probability of my being so imperfect as to be the constant victim of deception, will be increased exactly in proportion as the power possessed by the cause, to which they assign my origin, is lessened. To these reasonings I have assuredly nothing to reply, but am constrained at last to avow that there is nothing of all that I formerly believed to be true of which it is impossible to doubt, and that not through thoughtlessness or levity, but from cogent and maturely considered reasons; so that henceforward, if I desire to discover anything certain, I ought not the less carefully to refrain from assenting to those same opinions than to what might be shown to be manifestly false.

11. But it is not sufficient to have made these observations; care must be taken likewise to keep them in remembrance. For those old and customary opinions perpetually recur-- long and familiar usage giving them the right of occupying my mind, even almost against my will, and subduing my belief; nor will I lose the habit of deferring to them and confiding in them so long as I shall consider them to be what in truth they are, viz, opinions to some extent doubtful, as I have already shown, but still highly probable, and such as it is much more reasonable to believe than deny. It is for this reason I am persuaded that I shall not be doing wrong, if, taking an opposite judgment of deliberate design, I become my own deceiver, by supposing, for a time, that all those opinions are entirely false and imaginary, until at length, having thus balanced my old by my new prejudices, my judgment shall no longer be turned aside by perverted usage from the path that may conduct to the perception of truth. For I am assured that, meanwhile, there will arise neither peril nor error from this course, and that I cannot for the present yield too much to distrust, since the end I now seek is not action but knowledge.

12. I will suppose, then, not that Deity, who is sovereignly good and the fountain of truth, but that some malignant demon, who is at once exceedingly potent and deceitful, has employed all his artifice to deceive me; I will suppose that the sky, the air, the earth, colors, figures, sounds, and all external things, are nothing better than the illusions of dreams, by means of which this being has laid snares for my credulity; I will consider myself as without hands, eyes, flesh, blood, or any of the senses, and as falsely believing that I am possessed of these; I will continue resolutely fixed in this belief, and if indeed by this means it be not in my power to arrive at the knowledge of truth, I shall at least do what is in my power, viz, [ suspend my judgment ], and guard with settled purpose against giving my assent to what is false, and being imposed upon by this deceiver, whatever be his power and artifice. But this undertaking is arduous, and a certain indolence insensibly leads me back to my ordinary course of life; and just as the captive, who, perchance, was enjoying in his dreams an imaginary liberty, when he begins to suspect that it is but a vision, dreads awakening, and conspires with the agreeable illusions that the deception may be prolonged; so I, of my own accord, fall back into the train of my former beliefs, and fear to arouse myself from my slumber, lest the time of laborious wakefulness that would succeed this quiet rest, in place of bringing any light of day, should prove inadequate to dispel the darkness that will arise from the difficulties that have now been raised.
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DON'T MISS!!! (for those in Bangalore)

2005-12-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

BANGALORE - HABBA!
__________________

Friday: 9th Dec:

6:30 PM / Palace Grounds: PanditJasraj and Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia-Jugalbandi Hindustani Flute and Vocal
7:30 PM / Rangashankara: “Dancing on Glass”- Ram Ganesh Kamatham

Saturday: 10th Dec:

5:00-6:30 PM / Sigma Mall: Acoustic Music
6:30 PM / Palace Grounds: Strings and Indian Ocean- Rock Music Jam
7:30 PM/Rangashankara: "Molly Sweeny" by Brian Friel- Rehaan Engineer and
the Industrial Theatre Company

Sunday: 11th Dec:

5:00-10:30 PM/St. Joseph’s Indian High School Grounds: College Teams- Music Finalists, Parousia-Rock, Milind Deora- RockGroup, Mother Jane- Rock Group
6:00-7:30 PM/Sigma Mall: Acoustic Music
6:30-8:00 PM/ Bangalore Central: Rock show

For more info: http://bangalorehabba.net

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Passes are available at all the venues three hours before a show on the day of the show
Available at:
Bangalore Central Big Bazaar- Banashankari Big Bazaar-Koramangala Pantaloons (Sigma Mall)
Café Coffee Day Outlets for Pass Distribution
Malleshwaram- near Food World Jayanagar, 4th block Forum Garuda Cunningham Road Brigade Road Bangalore Central Gandhinagar Bazaar Indiranagar 100 ft. Road Sheshadripuram Frazer Town RV College BEL Road Prestige Meridian Richmond Road Sadashivnagar J.P Nagar

It Rained...But, It didn't ruin!

2005-12-03T23:53:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, We guys went to attend a Parikrama concert at M S Ramaiah college. It was quite a unique experience. It was not a normal headbanging session. It rained. But, it didn't ruin, atleast for me.
As soon as the opening band finished off, the heavens started pouring. So, they had to cover all the equipment, so that it doesn't get damaged. Actually, it was not really raining cats and dogs. But, it was the wind, which was taking all the water up to the middle of the stage. So, they had to take the necessary precautions.
BUT, then the lead singer of the band, Nitin Malik, just strapped on his lovely acoustic guitar and took a seat in the middle of the stage. What followed was delightful - sweet- ecstasy. He started off with Patience (by Guns n Roses). The song is an acoustic delight. The lyrics pour right from the heart:

"Shed a tear 'cause I'm missing you
I'm still alright to smile
Girl, I think about you every day now
Was a time when I wasn't sure
But you set my mind at ease
There is no doubt you're in my heart now
Said woman take it slow
It'll work itself out fine
All we need is just a little patience
Said sugar make it slow
And we'll come together fine
All we need is just a little patience... "

But, it didn't stop then itself. It was followed up by more and more ecstasy!

Then came all the Floydian favourites - "Wish you were here!", "Comfortably Numb" and "Coming back to Life"... I felt shivers running down my spine twice during the concert. Once during the Wish you were here song:

"We're just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.

Wish you were here. "

As this song was played, as it was drizzling all around me, as I was walking across and back - here and there, looking at the ground, catching a glimpse of the heavens - all my memories of IITK just flashed across my eyes...aaahhh! How I wished at that time, that my buddies were there...
Then came Comfortably Numb. And I felt that little pinprick...aaahh! and it hurt just a little bit - again.
In between, he played the opening of 'Dooba Dooba' (by Silk Route). And then he played some part of Stairway to heaven.

"My five friends at the side of the stage are feeling really jealous of me, at this moment of time", said Nitin then and giggled. BOY! such is the passion of the band for their performances and for music! Many other bands would have just come and on a glimpse of rain - aborted. This is the kind of dedication of the band and thier work ethics, which has earned them such good name. I remember, when I saw this band perform for the first time - at SRCC, Delhi.

"We are gonna play your favourite song, in our own different way. And we are sure you r gonna like it!" - that was in that concert, four years ago - when, they played the intro of Sweet Child of mine with violin - when they had half an hour of jugalbandi of violin and guitar - that was in my first year - that was just the beginning of my love for music. I distinctly remember that, I saw people literally crying to the song "But, it rained". The memoris of the Kargil war were still fresh in the minds at the time. This song is actually dedicated to those brave soldiers, guarding our frontiers.
That concert and this concert. Its been a long musical journey for me, but, still a long way to go...

Coming back to this concert. After these floydian numbers, he played 'But, It rained" and "Yellow" (by Coldplay). Then, he ended this acoustic session with BELIEVE IT OR NOT "Highway to Hell" (AC/DC). Seriously!!!!!!!! This guy's got awesome vocals man!!!! Frankly, it was largely vocals that kept the number alive. But, who could even dream of playing this number with an acoustic guitar in his hand...And with this, this an awesome awesome -once in a lifetime- acoustic session ended.

But, they didnt stop!

These guys managed to do some setup on the right corner at the back of the stages. Except for the bassist and Nitin, all the others packed themselves in the right back corner of the stage. And they played!

Actually, the only low point of the whole concert was the crowd! It really sucked! I could have never imagined such a pathetic crowd in Bangalore. Particularly the host college MS Ramaiah - MBA college really sucked! I dont think I need to tell what kind of crowd it is that sucks at a rock concert. Frankly, I really tried hard to mention only the good things about the concert in this post. BUT, let me WARN you, that 'Please NEVER go to a concert to this college, UNLESS it is Parikrama' :)...So, these guys had to play some popular numbers of Queen and Deep Purple to keep these suckers entertained a bit.

But, even in that performance, when they played "Coming Back to Life"....aaaahhhh! That guitaring in the beginning sent those shivers down my spine (this was the second time). The wind was hitting right on my face. The raindrops - the drizzle - was soaking my head. And my soul was being pierced by a thousand needles. I felt the pain - the anguish - an orgasm - a delight. Coming back to Life!

\,,/ hail Gilmour! hail Floyd! \,,/

\,,/ hail Parikrama! hail Rock'n' roll! \,,/

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The Band: PARIKRAMA

Nitin Malik - Vocals
Sonam Sherpa - Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar & Acoustic Guitar
Saurabh Chaudhary - Guitar & Backing Vocals
Chintan Kalra - Bass & Backing Vocals
Subir Malik - Piano & Organ
Rajat Kakkar - Drums

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At the office!

2005-11-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

This is how the desktop of my laptop looks!

And this is how, I look at the desktop of my laptop !

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My way - Hi way!

2005-11-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

hi!

Just to fill up some space
in wasted years of sub-conscious disgrace
in haste
i scribble
on yet another eve at work
unplugged
from the rest of the world
but, connected
eternally
virtually
through the windows
through the wire
to the very end
across the states
meeting new friends
new trends
on my way...

what are balls anyway!
aaah!
hitting them with a stick
putting them in a hole...

my way, hi! way...

ANTARAGNI ' 05 - A Glimpse!

2005-11-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

IIT Delhi team in 'Trip the toe' (The Choreography competition)

NIFT Delhi(most probably) in Rithambhara (The Fashion Show)

Them Clones in Synchronicity (The Rock concert)

yeah! Y1 was there again!

"Moitra, Ravi, Me and Vatsan"
- posing in front of the audi backdrop...

Grace Slick - my latest crush!

2005-10-10T06:05:00.000-07:00

_____________________________

"Sometimes I feel so happy,

Sometimes I feel so sad
Sometimes I feel so happy,
But mostly you just make me mad
Baby you just make me mad"
_____________________________

Go ask Alice!

2005-10-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

"One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small,
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all.
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall.

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall,
Tell 'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call.
Call Alice
When she was just small.

When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low.
Go ask Alice
I think she'll know.

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead,
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "off with her head!
Remember what the dormouse said:
Feed your head. Feed your head.Feed your head."

___________________________________________________

"This song is a slap towards parents who read their children stories such as Alice in Wonderland* and then wonder why their children grew up to do drugs"
- Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane)

*(in which Alice uses several drug-like substances in order to change herself)

___________________________________________________

These days this song is really rocking my soul. It is called "Go Ask Alice" or "White Rabbit" and is by Jefferson Airplane. The lyrics were written by Grace Slick, who has also sung this song. The vocals in this song are simply unbelievable. If you have heard the song Zombie by The Cranberries and thought that the vocals of the song were awesome. Listen to this song and you will know which one was the inspiration and which one is the better one!

And the lyrics. They are very typical of the era. For Grace and others in the '60s, drugs were an inevitable part of mind-expanding and social experimentation. Look at the lyrics carefully and you will know what I mean. "pills, mushrooms, larger-smaller... With its enigmatic lyrics, 'White Rabbit' became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio. In fact, this song by Jefferson Airplane is said the mark the beginning of Acid-rock era.

\,,/

Band review: LIQUIDGROOVE

2005-10-06T23:31:00.000-07:00

Band: LIQUIDGROOVE
Genre: Rock/funk/blues...
Place: Bangalore
Since: October'03

Band members:

Anirban Chakravarty (lead guitar)
Abhijit Sudhakar (vocals)
Abhishek Nair (bass)
Ujwal Arkalgud (drums)
Lakshmi Seetharaman (keyboards/vocals)

" Anirban was awarded as "The best guitarist" at GIR'05"

Songs:

Dreams: This is my favourite Liquidgroove number. I don't know how many times I have heard it. I have two versions of this song (downloaded from RSJ). The first version was smaller, kinda incomplete - but i think it had a better beginning (much more energetic). This is perhaps the only song in which vocals are given by Lakshmi.
At stake: This song made its way into GIR'05 album. I really love the way Anirban plays this song differently everytime. I have seen this song being performed at GIR'05 as well as the Freedom Jam. Also, I downloaded its live version performed in some other college. All the three version are unique and awesome!
Others are Sailing on, Reasons, Step inside, Fender speaks...

Performances:

At Cubbon Park, Bangalore (December,2003): Unfortunately, by the time we came the band was already about to finish. But, I still have the memories of this awesome guitarist. These guys were playing Sultans of swing (or was it Money for nothing) of Dire straits. Butm the memory of that boyish looking guy, doing such NEAT guitaring is still in my mind. I was with my buddy Kiritee(more popularly known as punnam). And he was actually more impressed by Lakshmi and he went upto her and talked to these guys as well
Great Indian Rock (GIR)'05, Delhi : When I came to know about GIR'05, it was Kiritee only who came upto me and reminded me of "Do you remember that Liquidgroove" band. I said "NO". Then he reminded me of the Cubbon Park and all that stuff and the memories started coming back. And boy! didnt these chaps rocked that nite!!! They started off a little slowly though and received rather cold initial reception from the Delhi crowd, which is otherwise used to more of Deathmetal-heavymetal-headbangin bands. But, this band looked like a bunch of schoolkids or something. But, once Anriban started off with his guitaring stunts and all that magic, the crowd was mesemerised. In fact, this was the only band, for which the junta actually stood up and clapped! (For rest, of course there is just a \,,/ and some shouting and all). Perhaps, this was the biggest nite in the history of the band, as Anirban was declared 'BEST GUITARIST' and was given a 70k odd guitar (I dont remember the make now *phew*).
Freedom Jam'05: This time things were different. I had already downloaded lots of their songs and knew them well. But, these guys managed to still pull off 'At Stake' in a completely different and remarkable way. These guys rock man!

And this should now come as no surprise that LiquidGroove is my favourite Indian Rock band these days!!!

hail Liquidgroove!
hail GIR!
hail FreedomJam!

\,,/ Long Live Indirock! \,,/

Band review: SPEAK

2005-10-06T23:28:00.000-07:00

Band name: SPEAK
Artists: I don't know the names, this band is still not listed on RSJ
Genre: Alternative rock
Performance: Freedom Jam (Woodstock stage)

Now, what is this band about, that I am going nuts over it?
This was the first band that I listened to, at Freedom Jam (more than 50 bands performed). There were three stages at the Jam - Pro, semi-pro & woodstock (for the new bees). This band was at the woodstock stage. Why? because it was their first gig ever!
Believe it or not. These guys played the kind of music, I have never before heard in my life - LIVE (except the knopfler concert of course). They had prepared just 3 songs and all the three were AWESOME! My favourite was a piece was the pure instrumental composition. The band was so good that it was called again to perform somewhere in the eve. And I was lucky to get a chance to hear them again. (because there were 3 parallel performances on the tree stages and was easy to miss wat was happening on the other 2)

All the songs were composed by the base guitar guy(BG), who was also the lead vocals. The most unique part of the band was the 'keyboard' guy (KG). He played unbelievable, breathtaking stuff on the keyboard. It was as if he was playing lead guitar. He had this small thing at the side of his keyboard (like the small handle on the side of electric guitar), which he was using for distortion. Seriously, I havn't seen, heard play keyboards the way he did!!! Never ever...
Even the lead guitarist was pretty good. He wasn't one of those chink, long hairy speedos, but he was in total control. Much like Dave Gilmour (see Live at Pompeii - Echoes or Comfortably numb solos). The drummer too blended well in those compositions and I remember a nice drum solo part coming in the instrumental composition.

And now the most interesting part. Last weekend, when I went for the Rock concert at IISc (feat. Moksha, Motherjane and Yell-o). I met the Keyboard guy and he told me that 'the band was formed JUST 15 days before the Freedom Jam'.

Oh my God!

I am really looking forward to attending one of their gigs in near future!

\,,/ hail Freedom Jam! \,,/

Just a humorous query!

2005-10-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

What is humor?

It's a sense they say, that one may possess

But, is it like the common sense?
which almost every nobody seems to not possess

Is it something that makes you laugh?
makes you tickle
a little funny
- basically fun

or is it something that makes you wonder?
something you gotta catch,
or else you miss.
a rational connection between things poles apart
- more of a pun

Is it a mere play of words?
that suggests
that hints
that hides and conceals
and yet so much it reveals
an eclectic-esoteric-erotica !

Does it have a reason ?
Is it meant to pull a leg
or to show the path
- see and make others see,
that, which is otherwise between
the lines and the lies

Or is it meant to be pure non-sense?
a sense that senses that, which cannot be sensed otherwise
something totally out of the blue
no logic, no reason
just a tickle
a relaxation to the faculty of reason
that was long overdue

Is it really important
or a mere triviality?
A reality
or an illusion?

Or else,
is it just an error?
- an unhandled exception.

ok!
guess, its just total cowshit
a piece of dung
hiding in the dungeons of our minds
Its not an enemy
but, a relative - so is relative
what looks like a wife to me
might be somebody else's sister
what makes me cry
may send other down to tears of laughter

whatever it is, its cool.
though -
sometimes, if misunderstood by a fool
might make him angry.
But, it's like I made love to her like a wife
but, she was his sister.
Basically, what was humorous for me
made him go blisters!

Anyways...
As long as it's my wife and his sister...
Nevermind!

2005-06-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

My Astha-bhuja avatar!

2005-06-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

The Convocation Day had cometh!

I am mine!

2005-06-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

When, I said that I was doing it for 'the rest'
I know now, that I was actually doing it, just to 'get some rest'.
I felt blessed in ignorant bliss,
was waiting for the rest to take care of me,
to take me to the crest.
I was just keeping within me my best.

Back then,
I was just getting dressed.
When you talked to me,
it was not I, who was being actually addressed.
oh yes!
I had digressed
from the path;
was wilting, was motionless.
No one else knew of that immobility
and it is only now , that even I, can see it clearly.

It takes a forever,
to never ever deliver.
But takes a mere moment,
to keep performing
and to stay in hunt.

I know now
that all this metaphysical world is, but a circle
and submersed in it is humanity:
an error, a linearity
that moves
keeps moving in one direction
only a forward motion
a linear thrust
an everlasting
everincreasing thirst!

I am a human,
reason my only virtue
my only gift, my ability
and my only duty - action!
MY action - MY responsiblity !
no time to whine
there is nothing called divine
there is only one absolute truth
that 'I am mine'

(at the core: I am my mind
and practically, whatever I call mine, is I )

My stay @ IITK - ii

2005-06-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

- All I know and all I wonder about those four years: "Why one was here?!" (Y1 was here!)

My stay @ IITK

2005-04-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

"I didn't miss the fun then,
So I'm gonna miss it all my life"

"It was a Four year long vacation,
with each semester beginning and ending with only resolutions."

Bohemine Crapsody

2005-04-02T05:45:00.000-08:00

I am told that now, I am grown and I should behave likewise.

But, why should I ?

When i know, I dont wannabe, just another of those misfits in the society. Mauled, maligned and marginalised by mushrooming mountains of modern malls,overhauling the little pleasures.
That 'gust of wind' on my face, when I sit by on fast car window! That delight, that i get, when i see those innocent smiles on the moons of the little ones! Those cutie little kids, who stand by their friends like brothers and for each other fighting all the others! But, fighting only physically that is - "not really" - not really like those friendly-acting elders, exercising every muscle but the one in their heads, who have forgotten the true colours of that pleasing feeling to feel that first outburst in the sky! That smell of sand when falls on the land, that first drop of water! Those paper boats,running after stray dogs,and chasing the goats! Climbing up three storeys,afraid,but not scared by the old uncleand get the cricket ball back! To unpack that first gift, only after the last guest has left party! The B'day party, that had only come again after a year long wait.
And to hate from heart and soul those uncool kids,who didnt know the rules of the game, those guys from the other gang, those shitheads full of gas.

Where has all that fun gone?

Terribly trapped in isolation of the crowd, mysterious markets all made up, make-up's making up the modern woman, beauty getting covered by deep skin of powder, cobwebs of concrete all around.
And all that is left in our minds are deadlines of submissions, due dates of pending bills. And the journey uphill getting higher and higher. That tip of the mountain getting more and more out of sight. The light getting dimmer and dimmer. All that was once black and white, getting greyer and greyer. Those three dots after every line making the journey more and more tiresome, unending, uninteresting and unreasonable.
And all landmarks that i see look more like Question-marks now !!!
And in all this darkness dark, I see disco lights, sometimes on - sometimes off, changing colors, misleading, showing what is not real and hiding what is there.

Where is that candle?-which mama used to show,when the light used to go...But now what i see are only man-made 'Generators' destroying what was there, creating a world unreal. And man-made 'Inverters', inverting the world and make it look upside down.

Can somebody pause for a second,and answer this one question.Why the hell am I here?
Here in this world, pondering uselessly, living tastelessly, growing old everyday, unsure about everything, dying due to deeds of adam and eve, inquiring into everything, with the only knowledge that I cannot know. Why am I doing, what has already been done?Running in a never ending race, chasing the every other.

Sometimes, I really wondered that was I the only one clever, differentiating the glitters from the gold, kid at my heart, not growing old. But, then I listened and read those utterances of the past, though not really long ago. Those acid sniffing eccentrics, pissed off as I am, by the system, writing their hearts out, scribbling over the six stings!
They were Gods really, fighting their ways out, but all they could fight for was 'three days of peace and love' !
But even they died...Even they were hardly understood...rather mostly misunderstood...and for them "Head bangs" became "head shots", those followings for them were no good...But, their strings still sting my heart!And I look back again and again...

But alas! I got no choice, I 'have to' live in today,when, "FART IS ART" and "SHIT IS WIT"
That's why 'spice is success'and gluttony seen everywhere. But, I can only speak and write words,which, I know might never ever be read.

What do I do then?
I dont really know now and know that, will know not soon. But for the time being, I prefer being a kid! Atleast, a kid at heart and no more that 21 all my life, because that is the minimum one has to bebecause, that is the criterion of eligibility! ;)

Just pen and paper!

2005-02-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

Poetry for a poet
is as if
there is nothing
beyond ecstasy,

To be free
once again
from the one
who was to be,

The meaning
never meant to be
of the lines written
unsure unclearly,

But still a flow
rising high
ebbing low
so very close to me,

When i write
i put my pen to the paper
and
its all a part of me,

To be eternalised
with some uncouth language
captured
in an innocent dream!

For the people

2005-01-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

For people with signatures
no eyes or ears
For people with opinions
no thoughts or stakes
For people with votes
no identity to share
For people who know
but hardly care
For people just born
who are mislead by peers
For people who believe
nothing less than sensational stuff
For people who are so ready
to get themselves raped
For people who'll then later
only crib about being raped
For people who'll be sad
about their own helplessness
But the people who'll gather
on just one call of the killer-the leader
For people who'll then
follow every instruction STRICTLY to the dot
For people who dare
to follow only emptiness, religiously
For people who are there
almost everywhere,
My only 'misfortune' it is,
that for all these people,
'I still continue to care'
EVEN NOW, and not just previously!

Set me free!

2005-01-07T13:24:00.001-08:00

Just making a move,
to remain aloof.
Life has been
but a comedy spoof
of the eternal drama
-a never ending story
of endless trauma.

My thinking just not stops,
my heart just not
continues to throb,
for anyone else but me,
only whose existence,
I can not doubt.

Everything seems too unreal,
but still so beautiful
and yet so god damn cruel.
A continuous duel
between me
and everything else.

Parallel existence of thee,
so easy to accept,
but so hard to feel.
I live in a different world
which no one else can see.

Trapped in my body,
my mind
wants to come out,
to touch you,
to feel you,
to know you,
to kill you
and set my soul free!

"Eyes speak Lies"

2004-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

Eyes speak lies
Lies beneath the depth of the oceans

Oceans of deep emotions

Emotions that make the moment

The moments of joy and pain

The pain of a lost friend

A friend for whom i waited all my life

A life that was never too short

Too short to be lived twice

Twice she bid me goodbye

A goodbye followed by a cry

a cry for a cry

an eye for an eye

yes,

eyes speak lies...

Somewhere, Someone, for whom something is good enough

2004-10-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

An aging tortoise
a raging voice
noise
in which thou found
pearls diamonds
in ocean dark deep skies
loud cries
unheard unreplied
flies a question
abegging unanswered

what do i want ???

needs desires
crossfired
one thing or two things ?
this thing
or that thing ?

a question to each wing
whether something
or anything ?
nothing
or everything ?

well, the reply :

"everything
i dont need
nothing
i cant do with
and anything is
a losers' bet
so, something
should be good enough
and i would be happy
because something
is something
that you 'take'
as well as you 'get'."
good enough !!!

to bUg oR to not to bUg, thAt iS thE quEstion...

2004-10-15T10:54:00.000-07:00

he's back , back again
the Mr. BUG's bunny

he's fun, an ass in the pain
but it ain't funny

jobless, but not jobless always
when with his pop n mummy

caring, but nevertheless dareless
aint no need to worry

spontaneous, loads of patience
will give ya a run for ur money

seen everywhere, but largely unseen
there's lots more to come , honey...

a poem : "Hail the system"

2004-10-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

who ll take the first blow
the first guy, in the first row
last man standing in the field
alone, still fighting, the scarecrow
lonesome is the path less travelled
unknown soldier lying low
marching through, trying
hollow head hallucinated
life' true flavour so cruel
just before the line
last drop of fuel
finished
again
now a march
towards eternity
so lonesome
again
scarecrow scared himself,
the sacred scavenging
the skin of the dead crows
encore,
encore !!!