Thunderstorms and mellow winter sun

I savor...

The afternoon mellow sun in winters caressing my face...soft, warm and gentle in it's embrace.

Thunderstorms...lightening, strong winds touch my face, dance through my hair. Rain lashing out on the window pane, pitter-patter on tin roofs.

Walking barefoot on dewy fresh green grass.

Wandering through the morning mist of the hills...sinewy paths of tea-gardens.

The music of the ocean, soft silky sand, rustle of the palm leaves.

Sleeping under a starlit night sky. Drape it around like a blanket...soaking in the beauty of solitude and silence.
_______________________________________________

Much of my craving for nature, beauty, sights and sounds are based on my childhood experiences i reckon. I am attached to my past and i try to cling onto the beautiful sights and sounds and crave for those long lost serene moments when life was without complications...when life was relatively innocent.

My earliest memories would be that of North Bengal. The tea gardens, train chugging along - windows open to the lush greenery. The cobbled walkway to someones bunglow...i can't remember whose...

I remember Bhutan, Pungshilling...teesta with water so clear you could see pure white stones on the river bed. My tricycle...shambhu the boy who used to work with us - who took me out on my tricycle every evening...Vague memories of the restaurant we used have rosomalais from.

The first taste and sight of snow when we moved to Tsimalekha...Huge windows with breathtaking views of hills...the tin roof, Bukharis (Bhutanese version of room heaters!)...Bhutan was one of the best time of my childhood...though i was quite young at the time i have quite a number of memories of Bhutan...The palace at Thimpu, Paro....beautiful mountains...friends collecting wild strawberries, wild flowers...

Even to this day i have dreams of Phungshilling now and then...the winding roads and small bhutanese cottages. I would keep walking on these roads...neverending - never knowing where I'm heading...

I would like to revisit all these old places once before i die and soak-in the changes...I feel I'm an old soul who has preserved centuries of feelings and memories inside and not being able to let go. I would like to revisit and let go...let go off everything in the past and be excused from this cycle of birth-rebirth and endless burden...

Kandisa

Someone gifted me this CD on my recent visit to India and i have been hooked onto it ever since. Kandisa is a brilliant album by the rock group Indian Ocean.

Quite honestly i am not much aware of the rock scene in india much of which has been over powered and dominated by bollywood music, quite unfairly so. If not for the overpowering presence of hindi film music, the alternative music scene would have flourished as it has been the case with our neighbours.

But coming back to the subject, this album is awesome...this is of course a personal opinion. What i liked about this album is that it doesn't seem forced or pretentious. There is this soul enriching quality to it. The music grows on you, the hymns - shlokas are not aimlesslessly scattered around to impress...hence the unpretentious feeling that one gets from it. The vocals and the intruments blend into each other perfectly.

My favourite track is of course 'Kandisa' which we are told is based on a Syrian Catholic hymn in the ancient language Armaic, interspersed with vocals in hindustani classical and the blending is flawless. I also like the track 'Leaving Home'.

It's great to come across such good work from the non-film section of the indian music scene or perhaps i have been totally out of touch in which case i shall have to make amends and be more aware of the music scene back home!