A tribute to Kishore Kumar : In my own way

Today, the 4th of august, is the 81st birth anniversary of the music maestro, Kishore Kumar. I am (my whole family is, for that matter) a huge fan of his songs, like millions of other Indians. I remember, when in school, we just begun to know the beauty of music, our parents, mother especially, introduced my sister and me to the magic of Kishore Kumar. She categorically pointed out the lines of the songs, where the voice of Kishore Kumar touches your heart in such a way that lasts forever. The more we listened, the more addicted we went on to be....to the charm and melody of his voice. So much so, that I remember, when in high school, my sis and I only listened to him in our tape recorder. We were even so expressive about our love for his songs that even our close friends gifted Kishore Kumar audio collections to us on occasions.
     Kishore Kumar is often aptly described as the quintessential dreamer or the eccentric genius. I find myself short of words when listening to his songs. Be it rib tickling “chil chil chillake” or “my name is Anthony Gonsalves”, romantic “tum ho mere dil ki dhadkan” or “bhawre ki gunjan" or “main pyaasa tu saawan”, or sad renditions like “beqarar dil tu gaye jaa” or “badi suni suni hai”.......it touches my senses in an incomparable sort of way.  I am thankful that I get to hear this eternal magician of melody. He is versatility personified. I am amazed to observe the various moods his songs so perfectly exudes. He quenched the best from the brilliant compositions through his golden voice. The greatest thing about Kishore Kumar is that almost all of his songs are chartbusters, each one a masterpiece in its own way....and each of his songs, at the same time, were so earthy that anyone of the masses can relate to it, can sing or hum a line or two on his own.
     Thank you Kishore Kumar for making us more intuitive towards our emotions.




Image Cortesy: http://www.buzzytimes.com

Just Like That..

Life does not turn out to be that fun always.....Sometimes it brings boredom or sadness or something-not-right kind of feelings in us. I, personally go through this many a times, and so thought about sharing it with you all. But of course, when such things happen, we by our natural tendency to get over odd situations, try something different. That way, the crisis tides over in a smooth fashion. The method of bouncing back from an odd situation is different for different individuals, I'm sure. What works for me is creating or making something from scratch. That works wonders for me when I get into a bad mood, I'm upset, or simply sad. 


A few days ago, during this kind of a bad patch in my daily life, I baked a cake, not knowing the fact that the work will upbeat my mood suddenly...but I was excited to observe that I felt much better...Believe me or not, it happens. Because, the joy of creation is one of the greatest joys of the world. Making something or cooking or baking a cake, for that matter, may not be as mighty as the creation of a life, or something like that....but still it works. Thereafter, whenever I find myself in a not-so-good frame of mind...I try to cook a delicacy, or bake a cake, or draw a picture. In general, I make something on my own. Writing may also be an option, but I write/blog whenever I feel an urge to say something. But in sadness, I somehow do not feel the urge to talk...


I leave this post open to your experiences and suggestions...
I hope you also face situations like this sometimes.....
What do you do to get over, my friends?

I Hate Bad Love Stories

For a movie buff like me, to sit through a bad movie can be very very depressing....and after that I'm venting it out by writing. I thought the ideal fun on a lazy Saturday afternoon will be to watch a movie...and going by the recent mass adulation on 'I Hate Luv Storys', I decided to watch that. But what was this?? I can't believe this came out of Karan Johar's production house. Now, for the critics here of KJo, let me tell you, like it or not, I'm a huge fan of his cinema. The sincerity and love with which he makes not-so-real and not-so-possible things believable, touches my heart and gives me immense joy.


But I am disheartened with IHLS. The only consolation is that it is not exactly a KJo's film.....like, as in, he didn't direct it, and I'm sure it would have been far far better if he did. The film is childish to begin with,very immature in both conceiving and conveying, nobody cared about the story, acting was mediocre(the lead actors were not even half-used), the script totally lacked the conviction and focus...oh...!!!! I guess, the director hardly even knew what he's trying to portray...how can it ever come across as believable? The film gets awkwardly predictable with clichéd lines, clumsy sets and very commonplace costumes. It was not even a tenth of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Johar's most naive creation. This film awfully lacked the wit, passion and smartness his banner exudes. I wonder whether he ever was present when the film was shot....!!! 


I am disappointed will be an understatement. For one like me, who takes films personally, this was a terrible experience. But for the songs, nothing in the film stands out. Wake Up Sid, another recent film of the same production house was a way too good.


 I love love stories but this was a bad one..

From my balcony...while it rained outside

I feel wonderful whenever it rains, more so when I don’t have to go out …so that I can just sit and watch the rains. Sometimes again I enjoy going out in the rains and that is a thing of immense fun for me.

Today it’s raining the whole afternoon and it’s good to see and feel this sitting here, in the balcony of our apartment. The balcony faces the rear side of the apartment property, lined with maple trees and conifers. It’s very green and I love this.

I had taken an afternoon nap while it was raining outside (another favorite) and came out here just moments ago. My senses are enjoying the sights and sounds of the downpour amidst the trees. The needle leaves of the conifers holding the raindrops like the dew in the grass, the scent of the wet soil and the sudden freshness in the air upbeats my evening mood.

The squirrels and the little birds, which are very much there when it’s not raining, are not being seen now….off to their homes, I guess. I often see the squirrels here running up and down the stems of the trees. They are slightly bigger in size here and also don’t possess the fabled ‘3-finger mark’ of Lord Rama on their back, like those in India have….just a passing thought, though…which came up.

Anyways, back to the rains, which are pretty much as wonderful as these are back home (India). But somehow, I miss the thrills of going through water-clogged streets with friends, suddenly getting drenched out as a vehicle pass by (I know, it’s distressing, but c’mon it’s fun, too) and the ‘pakoras’ and ‘samosas’ from the shop at the street corner….wow these can be really good sometimes. The change in weather brings so much alteration, good and bad, in the whole ambience of being, which certainly adds to the whole experience. Now come on, what’s a good thing without a dash of distress and upset attached to it? :) :)

Here, rains don’t bring you these add-ons. It is just very beautiful but yes, a bit boring.

Football Frenzy....!!!

It's over....finally. The month long craziness revolving around the Football World Cup is done with now.
I'm not a soccer person at all, but I enjoyed the frenzy...be it the news channel, social networking sites, people everywhere...everybody..was talkin' of only one thing for the past one month. Had the final match been less boring, the whole tournament could have ended at par with the madness of its fans.
The add-on for this year's World Cup was of course, Paul, the octopus. The hard-core non-believers also were not able to ignore the predictions.....and how precise of those, too...!!! 
I really don't know much of the game, so shall not indulge in much details.
I,thus record here the two things that caught my attention during this time.......the Fans and the Fore seeings...!!

Work and Play

The past 6-7 months, in Kolkata, was very hectic for me....I remained much occupied with various activities. First I was preparing for an examination, attending classes, studying and all kept me very busy. Then there was my sister's wedding, and that took almost a month including the pre-wedding preparations and post-wedding hang-overs...:) And then there were some official paperworks that I had to finish up on behalf of my husband, who is in USA......so all these things kept me real busy and half a year of visit to my homeland was up and so imperceptibly the time passed....and I loved it.
Now I'm back to USA and joined my husband here, and suddenly, all the buzz is over, and I have all the time in the world. I am busy only watching movies, reading, surfing the net etc. I am happy getting the time to nurture my hobbies, but somewhere inside I also know that I will not be as happy after a few days. I'll soon feel that I need to have a working schedule again and crave for that 'busy-ness'
So, now I'm sort of enjoying this short leisure, before gearing up for what the life will offer me next.
Every night, before I fall asleep, my mind gets filled up with ideas, the 'to-do' lists, and the how and when of certain things I need to accomplish, and those include some hobbies and some real work, as well. 
So I feel that its time I get over my laid back state and start some good work. Because, it is very truly said, that : "It is only work that truly satisfies".

It's Politics...

...And It is about politics in India.....which is passionate, and equally dirty. Director Prakash Jha, in his latest 'Raajneeti', has captured uncensored, the passion, die-hardness, strategic manipulations and smuttiness (sad, but true) of it.

The story of the film was never a problem....because the premise is based on the most dramatic political saga ever written in human history -- the epic, 'Mahabharata'. The rest of the film's integrity has been assured by the casting director, who brings in an ensemble cast of brilliant actors who gave, quite expectedly (and some, to our pleasant surprise), powerhouse performances. The director's genius lay in creating the sync between the prehistoric epic and contemporary politics.

The movie has never once, been shallowed by what would have been undesired interruptions in this context -- full-length songs or unnecessary sequences involving the female lead (often thought to be the glamour quotient in films which has nothing much to offer otherwise). The glamour of 'Raajneeti' lies in its raw depiction of a religion in our country, called Politics.

The beauty of the film lies in the revelation of the reality. As for the other expertise in the making of the movie, the costume designers need a very special mention. They really made the actors look according to the mood of the film. Actors Ajay Devgn, Nana Patekar, and Manoj Bajpai proves their mettle once again, and Arjun Rampal showed that he is just getting better and better with each new role. The treat was to watch Ranbir Kapoor as the main strategist, in a never-seen-yet act filled with class, finesse and restraint.

To sum up, 'Raajneeti' successfully manages to show what it intends to, and holds the excitement of the opening sequence till the end of the movie.