Take a joyride with Bunty Aur Bubli

Bunty Aur Bubli rocks! Trust Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy to come up with yet another great piece of work. The flavour of this album is undoubtedly local. UP to be precise. My favourites are 'Dhadak Dhadak', 'Bunty Aur Bubli', 'B n B' and 'Kajra Re'.

BnB is westernised...its as one would say very 'catchy'. :D

Dhadak Dhadak, Bunty Aur Bubli are very hindustani, very UP. You can visualise the lanes-bylanes of Uttar Pradesh, pan-chewing men, women in their seedha-pallu saris or salwaar-kameez, busy railway platforms, small boys with kulher-chai.

Kajra Re is an awesome qawaali. Reminds me of the qawaalis of the 60s and 70s. RD's qawaalis. Saucy, naughty, sadak-chaap but still very very likeable. Never expected Alisha Chinoy to sing a qawaali! It's one of those songs when your head moves, fingers tap and you end up muttering a 'wah wah'! :D
I haven't watched the promos, but i reckon this one features Ash, AB and Abhishek....can't wait!

Chup Chup Ke is very melodious and romantic but a little tame and predictable in comparison to the above mentioned ones. There's also the mandatory Punjabi number - Nach Baliye, which i didn't warm up to.

I got a very RD feeling from these songs [especially the above-mentioned ones]. RD had composed some awesome hindustani, street-smart songs, capturing the essence of the local culture of UP-Bihar belt.

I think my dad will love these songs :D

Listen to the songs here: http://www.musicindiaonline.com/l/17/s/movie_name.7864/

Joe loves Connie and Yuki is lonely

I took these pictures a few days back at Stanley beach. Stanley has these rock formations that run into the sea. Its beautiful, the waves crashing-on the rocks but never too wild. It's a lot of fun, jumping from one formation to the other and somehow managing to reach the tallest/highest one, and for a second feel triumphant! :-)

Most of these rocks have all kinds of scribbles, grafittis painted on them. Reminded me of a particular menace historical sites in india have to face. Lovers of the world leave their autographs, testimonials of their love on these historical monuments. 'Neeraj loves twinkle', 'Ravi - the ever applicable heart symbol - Renu', 'Bunty loves Bubli' - oops!! I'm listening to Bunty Aur Bubli songs as I write! :P

It also reminds me of the bollywood movies of the 80s. It's the woods. The hero and heroine running through the woods, singing-dancing. Hero scribbles something on the tree-trunk. Looks at the heroine with a 'look' in his eyes, heroine looks at his artwork - zoom onto the tree trunk....and yeah it's there...the hero's heart carved out nicely and precisely!!

Okay I should shutup now :-)

How many stories do you hide behind those lines

A picture taken by me at Dilli-Haat this January. I chatted up with this man selling musical intruments. It is indeed amazing how people respond to just a little bit of kindness and willingness to listen. He ended up telling me where he was from, what he did for a living, how long he has been a musician and how difficult life is.
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Often times when I look at the elderly, the slouching shoulders, the slow shuffling gait, the clouded eyes, the wrinkles, I wonder how many stories hide behind those sinewy lines that crawl through their skin over the years. Its' as if you can trace back history running your fingers through these lines.

How much history, pain, laughter, romance, sacrifice, anger, passion, regret hides behind. How many of these stories are told and how many die with them. How different did they look when the skin was taut, when the feet were sprightly. It's amazing how even viciousness either fades away or is overlooked in the elderly.I feel like digging deep into their lives and know what it was like to be born at the time they were born. What was it like to live through an era which was so different from this one. I want to dig deep and soak-in all the water buried beneath.

Often times I have wondered if I will even live long enough for anyone to dig deep into my stories. Which of the stories will I be willing to reveal, the heroic/strong ones or the ones that are humbled by failures. Im not sure I want to...live that long that is. I'm scared of too long a life.
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"Didi". I wish my own grandparents were living at this point when I have started taking an interest in photography. I would have loved to photograph them.

Musicology

Yeah...so I borrowed the title from Robbie Williams 'Escapology', or on a more politically correct note - I was inspired! I do read a lot of interviews given by our bollywood music directors you see. Besides I am a big Robbie Williams fan.

But let me not digress from the intent of this post...

Music to me is my life blood. Something that I need everyday. Every freaking day!! If I were to take away that part of me which thrives on music, I will be a dead soul. It's part of my very being and thankfully I am not averse to variety. Language has never been a detterent.

I used to sing. Used to. Past tense. A friend of mine who was/is a very good singer himself and played the guitar very well was my singing partner and we had some very good musical sessions together. But that is all in the past. A few days back, owing to one of those whimsical moments, I tried recording a song - in my voice. While I was recording, I thought wow this sounds good! That was perhaps because I had my headphones on with the audio of the music that I was singing, playing loud. Needless to say, it was a different story when I playbacked my recorded song. I couldn't bear listening to it! And I was sad, sad that I have managed to loose a gift I was born with. But perhaps I havent lost it all. Yet.

It's quite sad that music being so much a part of my life, I never had any formal training. I can't read musical notes neither can I play any musical instrument.I would like to change that though - hopefully soon enough.

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Some of the songs I'm currently digging (All thanks to Launch Cast Music!):

Top of the list is -

Blower's Daughter - Damien Rice

When I listened to this song, I thought now here is this person who can sing while he speaks. It's a beautiful song and beautifully picturised. The raging sea, the flowing curls, you can feel the attraction between the actors, the pull, the tension between them. The words and anguish in the voice touches your heart...it's just beautiful. (this song features in the movie - Closer)

Take a look at the video here - http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com/damienrice/

Now the rest:

The Remedy (I wont worry) - Jason Mraz
Give a Little bit - GooGooDolls
Lonely no more - Rob Thomas
Dakota - Stereophonics
I dont want to be - Gavin DeGraw
Falls On Me - Fuel
Wherever You will go - The Calling
God Put A Smile - Coldplay
Calling All Angels - Train
Best I ever Had - Vetical Horizon
Somewhere only we know - Keane
Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
Heaven - Los Lonely Boys
Bright Lights - Matchbox Twenty
These Words - Natasha Bedingfield
24 - Jem

There i go again - the curious me!

Now i am not the one to pry into others lives. But i do indulge in a little bit of curiosity once in a while [I am an avid reader of all agony-aunt columns one can come across...so get the drift?!].

I was browsing through one of those free magazines that one gets in cafes. I like browsing through them...some of them are well designed and are interesting reads as well. I also intended to take a look at the classifieds where one might come across good design job-opportunities. Anyway...as i was browsing through, i came across 'The Personals' and as usual my curiosity-meter went up a notch...and i HAD to look at each and every one of them!

Women wanting Men
Men wanting Women
Men wanting Men
Women wanting Women
Just Friends
Services

Following are some of the more interesting ones i came across. Enjoy! :-)

Always dreaming about how it feels to get close to woman physically.
Can you give me chance? Me:34/170/61; U:non-fat; non-smoking.

Do you want to recover from a broken relationship?
A curing pill is in front of you!

Male, 24, Chinese looking for Chinese women aged 28-49 for
short-term relationship. Lets have fun together!

Cute French Master is looking for his slave. You want to be dominated...
Let me be your guide..Let you live your dream.

International.Hollywood. Delightful, charming feminine lady will make
your evening pleasent & enjoyable. Relaxing and totally rewarding.
Domination special equipment.

This one was well written i thought:
Needle in a haystack. An attractive Chinese professional in his mid 30s
is turning to the personals in the odd chance that an equally cultured
Western bloke (>35 years old) might be reading this advert.

And now the best one!
Sexy Angel Pure Asian virgin, HK seeking expatriate for development.
I am good nature, sincere. Need ABC or Western guy for my first time.

:D

The little man-boy

I took this picture a few days back. The sun was out and it was warm with a nice breeze. So i went to Tsim Tsa Tui from where one can see the the skyscrapers dotting the HK harbour. A lovely view...the sea, ships, boats, HK harbour...one can spend hours just sitting, watching and observing. And i did precisely that!

As i was walking along the Millenium Walk...i saw this little boy walking behind his mother. He had just lost his balloon, and he threw the stick on which the balloon was perched in disdain, put his hands in his pocket and continued walking.

There was something about his gait, which made me take this picture...I was extremely amused to watch this little boy walk like a man. There was this 'I am a man of the world' attitude in this little boy who perhaps measured a little higher than my knee...

I am a non-believer! And thats great!

I do not believe in religion.

I do not believe in the conventional notions about 'god'.

I do not like the 'my religion is better than yours so let's convert you' attitude.

I believe religion has nothing to do with any kind of 'god'! Religion is simply a set of rules that conform to what is perceived by any particular society as the good and moral way of living. Unfortunately these rules and ideals have brought about much grief and intolerance in this world.

The concept of religion is peculiar to only humans because we can form ideas and are empowered with the gift of imagination unlike any other species on this planet.

Religion at best is something that gives one strength and hope because humans are essentially weak...they need assurance of protection from pain, from the unknown, from unhappiness. At its worst religion brings out the nastiest in us, disregards anything logical, compassionate and humane.

I do not believe in segregations set-up by the society. Black-white-yellow-brown-casts-religion. Underneath, we all are the same. Almost always. Attention seeking-fake-real-unhappy-happy-dissatisfied-amorous-saints-sinners-searching-groping-greedy-giving-puzzled-arrogant-craving for love...that's a few of the things we all are...inside. The rest is all superficial, pigeon-holes...and immaterial.

I believe in greys, not black and whites. Some dark greys, some lighter shades. But all greys.

I believe in evolution.

I believe in nature. Patterns of nature. The cosmos, the planets, the moon, the tides... perhaps even destiny.I do not believe that 'god' is a 'he'. Its perhaps a power, a pattern, an energy, god is an 'it', not a 'he'.


In a few billion years from now, the sun on its death bed will engulf this planet and our existence on it. Something that we take for granted. Our 'gods' who we pray to won't come to our rescue in all probability...space science will! :-)