A song to sing,
A poem to read,
A walk by the river,
A glimpse of the greenery,
And the loved one by my side,
They are all I need to build a heaven.

When you say nothing at all

I love this song. The music and the lyrics - they go hand in hand. One of my favourite romantic songs;-)

It’s amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don’t say a thing

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

All day long I can hear people talking out loud
But when you hold me near, you drown out the crowd
Old mr. webster could never define
What’s being said between your heart and mine

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There’s a truth in your eyes sayin’ you’ll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you’ll catch me if ever I fall
You say it best when you say nothing at all

There is a book - Living Without a Goal by James Ogilvy. No, I have not read the book. But the title caught my attention.

Living without a goal- hmmmm........ Will such a life be worthwhile? I cannot go on rowing my boat endlessly. I need to reach a bank. And then, continue my journey from there. Whenever I reach these intermediate banks, I definitely feel like a winner.

I need goal in life- be it short term or long term. Someone told me that setting a goal curtails your freedom. Nope, I dont agree. In fact, I think it gives you more freedom to dream because you know that your dreams will come true if you work towards them. Setting a goal and working towards it probably brings out the best in you. It fine tunes your strengths. Your dedication, determination, perseverance- they all emerge when you work towards your goal.

Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner.
-LES BROWN

Man is a goal seeking animal. His life only has meaning if he is reaching out and striving for his goals.
- ARISTOTLE

My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.
- RONALD REAGAN

The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.
-JIM ROHN

This weekend, we attended a concert by two, not-very-famous but very, very talented artists. The concert featured Sitar recital by Shafiq Khan and Vocal recital by Jayateerth Mevundi. I had heard Jayateerth Mevundi a few years back and his music had left a long-lasting impression on me. So I was eagerly looking forward to this concert.

The concert commenced by the Sitar recital. Shafiq khan started off with Maru Bihag and then ended with Kalavathi. I think he is a really talented musician with lot of potential. He definitely held the audience's attention with his performance.

Jayateerth Mevundi sang Raag Marwa, Kedar and Bhairavi. His performance surpassed all my expectations. I am definitely awed by this musician. He sings with so much of involvement and ease that he makes his music very gratifying to listen. His taans are the main highlight of his music. It is sad that he has not got much of recognition here. Maybe because he does not stay in bangalore. Anyways I am looking forward to listening to more of him in future.

Here is some info I got about Jayateerth Mevundi from the WEB:

Jayateerth Mevundi hails from the land of great vocalists and maestros of Hindustani Classical Music, like Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Dr. (Mrs.) Gangubai Hangal, Pt. Mallikarjun Mansur, Pt. Basavraj Rajguru and Pt. Kumar Gandharva and so on. Born in the year 1972, Jayateerth, according to many connoisseurs and critics of Hindustani Classical Music, is considered to be a torchbearer of Kirana Gharana. Jayateerth received his initial training in music under the tutelage of Sangeet Ratna Pt. Arjunsa Nakod of Gwalior Gharana for about 10 years. Since the year 1994 on wards he has been receiving musical lessons under the able guidance of Pt. Shripati Padegar, who is a disciple of great vocalist of this country, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi of Kirana Gharana.

Jayateerth Mevundi has won many accolades and awards, to name a few :
Second prize in “AIR” Hindustani Classical vocal competition during 1988-89, at Ahmedabad.First prize in the competition held at Dharwad in 1989-90, organized by “Karnataka Kathak Kendra”. First prize in the competition organized by :“Sangeet Research Academy”, Calcutta.He was awarded a scholarship for 3 years (1986-88) by “Karnataka Sangeet Nrutya Academy”, Bangalore and Mrs. Yamunabai Shahane Shastreeya Gayana Shishyavrutti by “Gaanavardhan” in 1993, Pune.He is a recipient of “Pt. Jasraj Gourav Puraskar” for the year 1995. Mewati Gharana Sangeet Gourav Puraskar is also awarded to Jayateerth for the year 2000.Jayateerth has participated in several music conferences including the ones at Mysore Dasara Festival, Sawai Gandharva Music Festival at Pune in 1995 as well as Kundgol, Alladia Khan music conference, Kumar Gandharva Music conference etc. He received many accolades at the 20th Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Smruti,Samrat Sangeet Sammelan, Goa in January 2000.

Jayateerth has several private and public performances to his credit all over India. He has also rendered classical recital (three Raagas of 25Min.each) for E-TV, Marathi Channel.Jayateerth’s sonorous and mellifluous voice has been recorded in Audio Cassettes and released by ALURKAR MUSIC HOUSE, PUNE. In April 2000, two more audio cassettes have been released by Alurkar Music House, Pune.At present, Jayateerth is working at All India Radio, Panaji, Goa, and is an “A” grade artiste.

Things work out

Because it rains when we wish it wouldn't,
Because men do what they often shouldn't,
Because crops fail, and plans go wrong-
Some of us grumble all day long.
But somehow, in spite of the care and doubt,
It seems at last that things work out.


Because we lose where we hoped to gain,
Because we suffer a little pain,
Because we must work when we'd like to play-
Some of us whimper along life's way.
But somehow, as day always follows the night,
Most of our troubles work out all right.


Because we cannot forever smile,
Because we must trudge in the dust awhile,
Because we think that the way is long-
Some of us whimper that life's all wrong.
But somehow we live and our sky grows bright,
And everything seems to work out all right.


So bend to your trouble and meet your care,
For the clouds must break, and the sky grow fair.
Let the rain come down, as it must and will,
But keep on working and hoping still.
For in spite of the grumblers who stand about,
Somehow, it seems, all things work out.

- Edgar. A. Guest

How does a boxer feel when he is knocked out? How does he feel when he hears the spectators cheer his opponent? How does he feel when he is lying down helplessly with blood streaming down his face in the boxing ring? How does he feel when he sees the opponent rejoicing? Does he feel like a loser? Does he feel like running away? Does he feel like quitting boxing? Well, I don't know the answers for these questions. But I see boxers coming back to the boxing ring even after they have lost championships. They continue boxing regardless of victory or failure. I think this spirit is the cause of birth of great champions.

Ajja

I remember him every day. I miss him a lot. It is often difficult to believe that he is no more. He was there with me during all of my growing phase. I expected him to be there till the end of my life. But then, world doesn't work that way, does it? He passed away about one and a half years back. But he still exists in my memories, my thoughts. After all, he is my "Ajja" ( In kannada, we call grandpa as Ajja).

Ajja was a very special person. He had this magnanimous personality. He had this fierce temper too. Mom tells me that his temper was unbearable sometimes during his early days. But we grandchildren never experienced much of his temper. In fact, he used to be very, very patient with us. Ajja was multi-talented. He stayed at Kalbagh, a small neighbourhood in a village called Areangadi. His main income was from the arecanut plantations. But he did not live his life only as a farmer. He was into music, drama and yakshagana ( folk dance of North Kanara).

He invited eminent musicians home and learnt music from them. He also compelled his children to get into music. It seems that he made his children ( that included my mom) get up at 3 in the morning and practise music. He played a host to lot of musicians ( both popular and budding musicians) and organized lot of music concerts ( some of them at his house). He helped lot of new musicans in earning their bread.

He was the director of many plays. He also used to perform the key roles in those plays. Those plays that he directed were musical plays. People tell me that his role of " Sathya Harischandra" is very memorable. He was also very interested in yakshagana and encouraged the artists.

In spite of his talents, Ajja never wanted to become famous. He preferred staying in his remote village and continued his service to art. In a way, he worshipped art. He had all the primary musical instruments at home.

He was not very educated. But he knew life. He knew its depths and intricacies. He helped people in their times of distress. And he helped them without any expectations.

Personally, I was very fond of him. He too, was very fond of his grandchildren. He eagerly waited for us during every vacation.

Ajja might have left. But as I mentioned before, he still exists. He exists in music, in talents of his children ( all his nine children are talented musicians) and in memories of those people whom he helped.

It was a pain to see him in pain during his last days. He did not know that he had cancer. He believed that he would become fine very soon and nursed dreams of doing lot of things.

Thank you, Ajja, for being with us. Thank you for teaching us life. Thank you for bringing music into our lives. We will always be proud of you.

Something splendid happens to me whenever I listen to Raag Lalit Bhatiyar sung by Bhimsen Joshi. I got to know that this raag is one of his creations. No wonder that he has rendered it so, so, so beautifully. Lalit-Bhatiyar is a combination of 2 raags- Lalit and Bhatiyar- both are morning raagas. When I listen to this raag, I feel this aura of early morning and spirituality. Bhimsen Joshi renders "O kartar" in Lalit Bhatiyar very very soulfully. His taans simply astound you. He proves that he is one of the greatest musicians that Hindusthani classical music has ever seen.

"Twenty years from now
you will be more disappointed by the thing
that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do.

So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor
Catch the trade winds in your sails.

"Explore, Dream, Discover"

- Mark Twain

Yesterday I watched the movie, "Mangal Pandey- The Rising". There are lot of controversies going on about this movie. The reviews have not been very good. Even then I wanted to watch this movie badly.

I liked the movie. No, it is not the best movie I have ever seen. But it is a good movie. I think patriotism + Aamir Khan makes the movie worth watchable. It definitely throws light on the life of the forgotten hero. Aamir has provided full justice to this role. He does not have too many dialogues to deliver in this movie but his eyes say them all. An excellent actor, Aamir ( will blog about him some other time). I was disappointed by the music of the film though. The title song was the only one that impressed me. Rahman was too good in "The Legend of Bhagat Singh". Didn't find the same calibre of music in this film.

About the real Mangal Pandey- he started the war of independence. He sort of awakened the people of India who were in deep slumber and who were getting used to slavery in a way.
I got the following information from various sites:
" Mangal Pandey (d. 8 April 1857) also known as Shaheed Mangal Pandey, was a soldier of the 5th Company of the 34th Bengal Native Infantry (BNI) regiment of the British East India Company. He was born in village Nagwa in district Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.
An english scholar "Fisher" has written that Shri Mangal Pandey was having all qualities of a good soldier. He was so brave and capable to embrace his death peacefully.According to the records available in Jabalpur museum( general order books). Shri Mangal Pandey was due to be executed on 18th April but he was hanged ten days before i.e. 8th April and it was kept secret. Because english rules were well aware of the fact that if Mangal Pandey remains alive it will endanger British rule.
Thus Mangal Pandey became the first freedom fighter & and martyr of 1857. The name of Mangal Pandey became an emblem of revolt against British rule. "

Amazing! In one of his interviews, Aamir Khan said that he found it difficult to act out the scene in which Mangal pandey is hung. He kept wondering about how could people accept death so gracefully, fearlessly and selflessly.

A big salute to all those people who gave up their lives for the sake of our nation. Their bravery will always be unmatched and commendable.

Don't Quit.

Don't quit when the tide is lowest,
For it's just about to turn;
Don't Quit over doubts and questions,
For there's something you may learn.
Don't quit when the night is darkest,
For it's just a while 'til dawn;
Don't quit when you've run the farthest,
For the race is almost won.
Don't quit when the hill is steepest,
For your goal is almost nigh;
Don't quit, for you're not a failure
Until you fail to try.

~ Author unknown~

Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're truding seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit --
Rest if you must, but don't you quit!

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a person turns about
When they might have won had they stuck it out,
Don't give up though the pace seems slow --
You may succeed with another blow,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown!

Success is failure turned inside out!
So stick to the fight when you are hardest hit!
Its when things seem worst that you mustn't quit!

written by
Author Unknown

You are contemplating a problem since many days. It has been on your mind all the time. And then one day when you are working, a solution hits you. All of a sudden, the fog clears. The mountain reduces to a mole hill. You feel like running out and shouting " Eureka, Eureka".

On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, I thought I would write about someone special, my bro.

He is 7 years younger to me. So he has always been a kid to me. We fought, fight and will fight a lot always.:-) Because of the age gap between us, either I became a kid or he grew up to my age many a times. We are very different from each other but have lot of common interests, especially in music. So somewhere along the line, a beautiful friendship has nurtured between us. He listens to my woes and I listen to his teenage worries. He is the biggest critic of whatever I do. But at the same time, he has been one of my pillars of strength.

Bro, I love u for whatever u are. You might have confiscated my room, my belongings, my books , my cassettes and so on.:-) But you have also encouraged me in my new ventures, supported me in my moments of crisis and pointed my mistakes to me. Thanks for all these. Thanks for helping me out to become a better person. Thanks for everything. Thanks for being my bro. U rock:-) No doubt about that.

Ahem! Bro, just because I wrote this blog, don't ever think I will stop fighting with u. Hehehehe.

A long weekend. Thanks to independence day.

I always buy a small flag on independence day every year( this time, I bought a cloth flag instead of a plastic one). I think of people who gave up their lives for our freedom. I hum patriotic songs. That is my way of celebrating independence.:-)

But I think Independence day is best celebrated in schools. In school, we started our day early on August 15th. We had to stand for hours listening to all the speeches before the flag hoisting ceremony. Pride swept over me when the flag was hoisted. We then performed march fast and saluted our flag.. At the end of the function, sweets were distributed. So we used to celebrate Independence day in a true sense.

But now, indepedence day is just another holiday. Most of us don't even think of the spirit behind this day. Probably we don't realize the value of freedom because we never had to fight for it. We were all born free.:-)

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Speaking about freedom, isn't it true that most of the times, we shackle ourselves with all these customs and traditions in such a way that our freedom is curtailed? These customs, these traditions, that were made for the betterment of life, become suffocating when they become rules. Instead of understanding the meaning behind such customs, we tend to follow the procedures blindly.

Ashaji rocks

I was listening to "Bheeni Bheeni Bhor" by Asha Bhonsle. She has rendered this song so beautifully. No one else could provide full justice to this song as she did. I have always been a great fan of hers. I have heard lot of debates about who is better- Lata or Asha. I dont think it would be fair to compare both of them. Both of them have their unique voices and styles.

But, yes, I always feel that Asha has not been given full credit for her achievements. Most of the people tend to associate asha with seductive, cabaret, disco songs. But I think she has given her best in ghazals and semi classical songs. Be it "Jhoote Naina Bole", "Dil cheez kya hai" or "Bheeni Bheeni Bhor" or "Mera kuch samaan" or any marathi abhang. My mom always tells me that no one can sing a marathi abhang like Asha Bhonsle. The main thing about Asha is her versatility and adaptability. She can provide complete justice to any song she sings- be it a foot tapping number or a ghazal.

When R.D.Burman passed away, I thought that was the end of Asha's singing career. But I was wrong. She came back with a different image- an image that appealed to the youngsters. She tried Pop, remixes and also experimented with western boy bands. Her ebullience is amazing. No one can beat her at it.

Thanks, Ashaji. Please never stop giving us these beautiful songs, especially the semi classical ones.:-)

Are smiles expensive?

In my neighbourhood: I see this lady everyday when I come to office. She also probably knows where my house is exactly located. She takes her dog for a walk everyday at the same time when I start to office. So today when I saw her, I smiled at her. She looked at me and walked away as if she had never even seen me. I felt as if I was smiling at some lacuna.

At my office: I know that this person works on the same floor as I do. We almost bump into each other everyday. So I smiled at him when I saw him today. He looked at me very suspiciously and turned away. I felt like an idiot.

Well, I have mentioned only 2 situations here. But this happens almost everyday and in most of the places. Somehow when it comes to a smile, people become very ungenerous. I have seen this trait especially in Indians. Many a times, the foreigners who are total strangers greet us with a smile. Anyways, it is not the question of nationalities. It is just that, maybe smiles are expensive now a days.:-)

Whatever it is, I shall continue my efforts in smiling and making others' smile. Who knows, one day they might finally take out their masks and smile at me!!!:-)))

Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,
Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani

How true! Only when you think about the results, you feel disappointed, frustrated. In this process of worrying about the result, we forget to enjoy our work or duties. Good result will follow automatically if a good job is done.

The above shloka from Bhagavad Gita has always been my motto in whatever I do. I hope to follow it regularly in my life.

Addicted to music

No preconceptions. No analysis. No judgements. I close my eyes. I listen to the music. I feel the mood of the Raag being played. I become one with it. At that moment, my mind is blank. No thoughts, no tensions. My mind is absolutely free. And only music can do this to me. No wonder, I am addicted to it.

Lot of stochastic thoughts coming in. About life, friends, achievements, dreams............and so on.

Heard many people cribbing about life. Well, what shall I say? I think we are the lucky ones chosen to live. We make or mar our lives. Let us be happy what we have got and lead our lives with a smile. What is the use of cribbing about things that never happenned, that will never happen and that have already happenned? Let us make the best of what we have.:-)

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One's mind always feels destressed when it is in present. Stress is mainly the result of primarily thinking about past and future. I completely concur. Most of the times our minds are running behind our past failures and future apprehensions. Instead maybe we need to stop for a while to feel the fresh air (ok, u dont get it everywhere), look at the pleasant colors around, admire the smiles on faces around, sip your tea and listen to ghazals ( especially Jagjit Singh's "Aahistha aahistha";-)) and feel alive.

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It was friendship day yesterday. Life has given me lot of valuable friendships. Many people have stood by me through all the good and bad times. I have been very fortunate to have met all kinds of good people. Be it my school mate, college mate, ex-colleague, present colleague, bus stop friend, train friend- all these friendships have been very very valuable. I have learnt and am still learning a lot from them. Life would be really bland without these people. Thank God for all of them in my life. Feel like humming KK's "yaaron" today.

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I never miss any opportunity of attending a classical music concert. And it is really nice to see that many hindusthani classical musical concerts are happenning in the city. These concerts make u feel so grateful, so thankful for living this life.:-)))

I wanna do lots of things....I have lots of dreams.........But then, just dreams or desires won't help. I need to put them into action. I will have to start planning to make those dreams come true. And I better make those plans fast 'coz time will sped up and I might never get chance to exceute the plans.

EGO

What is Ego?

I got some of the following definitions from the Web:

• In yoga, the limited sense of "I" that is identified with the body, mind, and senses; sometimes described as "the veil of suffering."
• The mistaken notion of "I", a separate self, from which all confusion and suffering arises.
• The self, especially as distinct from the world and other selves.
• Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem.

Well, I just wanted to understand this word that has been the root of most of the problems, troubles or hassles everywhere. Even though one of the definitions say that ego is self esteem, this word is mostly used in a very negative way. It is normally referred to as "I". So is ego a weakness? Or is it one's strength?

"I" is a very complicated concept. Too much of "I" have led to wars and destructions. But then I think it is very, very rare that you find someone with no "I" at all. The measure of "I" will definitely differ from one individual to another. So is it really bad to have this "I"? From spiritual perspective, only when "I" is NIL, one can achieve moksha.

Anyways, I shall keep researching on this "ego" until I find a satisfactory answer.