A charmer

One fine afternoon, I was napping, as usual. Suddnely!

Hit it. Hit it! Kill. Kill. There! There! Go. Go. Thud. Thud. Thump. Cling. Cling. Thud! Followed by a silence. Then,  ”I think it is gone”…

This woke me up. I did not know what was happening. In that drowsy state I thought I was in some sort of a war zone. But my mom told me that our neighbour caught sight of a poor serpent and that they were behind that, trying to kill it! People know that snakes don’t harm them unless they do, but still they get terrified at the sight of a snake and, immediately want to kill it.  Somehow the snake hid in a very comfortable place, away from its killers. Now that they know a snake is there in their backyard, they wanted to make sure that it is either killed or driven away. So, they decided to call a snake charmer and catch it.

I was intrigued. Can he catch it? Like we see in the movies? It was the first time I was going to see a snake charmer. I waited but unfortunately couldn’t see it since I had to go to my friend’s place. My dad like the rest who gathered there (there was a huge crowd, seriously) had taken the video of it.

This is what happened. This is what I saw. This guy comes in, enthusiastically. He had already become a hero – all were expecting him to catch the snake. He enquired my neighbour and they pointed to the location where they saw it last. He moved here and there. Made some skillful moves and pointed to a direction and said don’t go there the snake might be there. He placed something (the thing wasn’t clear in the video and dad also doesn’t know what it was) there. And after sometime, the snake came from exactly opposite direction! The snake charmer said, “See, didn’t I tell you it is there?”, pointing to the snake. (Dude everyone knows the snake is there, and that is the reason you are here). But nobody said a word. My neighbour wanted the snake and the others wanted some entertainment for that evening. Both got what they wanted, they were happy. He then caught the snake tactfully, skillfully, removed the poison and was posing for the photos. Lots of clicks. A new hero was born there.

The snake charmer absolutely charmed the crowd, I’m not sure of the snake. Hope he doesn’t kill it.

Live and let live (be it an animal or a human being)

Thanks.

Thanks!

Thanks to…

SivaAnna, Vek, Ramji, NivinM, Vivin, Aaru, Sayee, Rajgopal, Suruchi, Abillash, Harish, JaiShankar,  Aswathi, Bharu, AlVinod,  Jai(Ho), Subbu, MSK, Vikas, Soma, GayathriAkka, Mappi,  Sukanya, John, PinkyChechi, Dharani, GuruAnna, VijuEta, Jeydev, Maku, C, Abhishek, Jagan, Sunny, Sujatha, MenonSir, Gaurango, Jithu, Venkitesh, Anjana, DeepaChechi, Pooja, Nandita, Sarang, SaravanaAnna, VickyAnna, Vicky, Chicken, Janaki, Karthik, VivekSudan, Taunkji, Pradeepo, BalBalaji, Karthi, AswathEtta, AjithEtta, SwapnaChechi, Dhanya, Meera, Dhrishya, Coundz, SharadaChechi, VigneshSuryah, Shimranath, Dileep, Vaishak, Gokul, Thiru, TheMaester, Kishore, Ashwin, ArunSundar, Chakki, KC, Arjun, Mapla, HariEtan, Sudeep, Senthur, Tamil, Kalro, SltRohit.

Thank you so much guys, for your wishes! This is the first time so many people have wished me on my birthday. Till now only a few of my friends wished me but this time…! Wow! Thank you so much!!!  Never expected it!

Thanks for all the scraps, SMSs, and calls. You made it a happy day!

Thank you guys. Once again.

D.

A recent IM conversation

This is a part of the conversation I had with one of my friends Krishna Kumar aka Mappi, two days back. Have a look at it!

20:10

me: mappi.. wat is irony actu.. always had this doubt

Mappi: ummm

u say one thing

and something exactly opposite happens

kinda like

u say u can nvr be beaten

and when ur done saying it

ur on the floor

haha

me: oh ok!

Mappi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony

irony cannot be exactly described

hahaha

me: thats the irony part

Mappi: i was partly right i guess

direct opposite of the percieved truth best example of irony

i got was from a cartoon

haha

“so much a part of me and yet, I have to rip u apart”

^.^

me: hypocrisy is wat u said

rite?

Mappi:            no

Mappi: hypocrisy

is different

hypocrisy is claiming you are something you are not

me: ok!

Mappi: irony

is close to the truth

but just not true enough

its something like

I believe I’m the strongest on this planet, until i got

beaten 2 secs   later

haha

me: hmmm

Mappi: hypocrisy is saying I am as bad as K* at amrita

:p

me: hehe

Mappi: and yeah

another good example

u see droopy?

in tom and jerry kids?

me:      yea

Mappi:droopy says, “I’m sooo happy!!!”

with a blank face

irony

^.^

me: hmm…

the word itself is confusing

Mappi: irony is so much a part of our life

yet we know very little about it

:p

the very fact that we are going to work in a software company

after studying mechaal engg

is ironic

^.^

me: hmm..

Mappi: yeah

u know what?

what we are discussing proves how jobless we are…

me: very true man!

Mappi: ironically, people might think we are pursuing a degree in english

:p

me: hehe

wat the hell are we discussin!

Mappi:irony

haha

…

This continued, to various topics like the movie QGM, existence of God etc., till my mother called me for dinner. I never thought I would chat on topics like “irony”! The sad thing is that even after such a long discussion I’m not sure what irony really is. It just shows how awfully jobless I am now. Thanks to recession,I reckon most of the engineering graduates are in similar condition. God save us!

Yawn!

Good night!

India Forces into F1 Arena

I never thought Force India car would finish a race this year. If I am not wrong, the team’s plan itself was to finish a race in this season and may be think of a podium finish in the next. But to everyone’s surprise its a podium finish today at Belgian Grand Prix, missing the first position by .9sec. I guess even Vijay Mallya would have been surprised at this result.  But Fisichella raced really well. If Ferrari did not have the KERS system, I guess Force India would have finished first and we all could have heard Indian anthem in Belgium. But then, a good race. Well done mate. Next time finish it off!

Life at crossroads…

Life, at times puts you at crossroads. You just can’t decide what to do especially when there are many options open before you, each alluring with its promise of success and happiness. You yourself have many dreams and on top of that other people- those who care and also those who don’t – opine. You are not sure which is correct- yours or the others. Believe me, it is tough.

People opine with respect to their right and wrong, their concept of success and failure, which is always subjective. They won’t know what exactly is good for you. When you decide on something, you take into account what is good for you and what is not.

By making your own decision, you are doing something that you want to and not what others want you to. Then again, making the right decision alone is not everything, what really matters is what you do after deciding. How well you execute your plan afterward. That is what makes something fruitful.  Since you are following your dream and want to realize it somehow, you will give your one hundred percent.

At end of it you either regret your decision or feel content. But it was your decision… you wrote your own destiny, which is the most important thing. You did not live someone else’s life! Follow your dream- something which I did not exactly four years back and I regret that now.

This is my opinion. A lesson learnt from a decision I made previously. Life could have been different, had I learnt this earlier… if I had just given it a thought, then.

Does opportunity knock the door for the second time? Hope it will, for one last time.

Good day folks!

Some Qs w/o As

Looking for answers to the following questions.

• I’ve heard so many people talk about how great Indian culture is/was. But do they really know what Indian culture actually is?
• What happens to the costumes -which are worth some thousands- that the actors and actresses wear in movies? Do they reuse it in another movie or keep it for themselves or are they auctioned? (I know there are crazy people dying to buy them).
• Why are most of us only concerned about salary and not about the kind of work?
• How is the new gay law going to ensure equality in India, as they say? What did they mean by that statement?
• When the English doesn’t mind speaking erroneously, why do we Indians give more importance to English grammar?
• Is there any reality behind the so called reality shows?
• Is Google really spying on us and is it going to rise above everything and rule us one day? If you are not sure of what I am talking about check this.
• What happens to our e-mail ids and social networking site profiles and all those online memberships, after we die? Who owns them afterward?

But, why am I writing this here when I’m sure nobody is even going to read this?

Alright now that you have read this, and before you declare these to be stupid questions let me ask you, do you have answers? Please let me know. Eagerly waiting…

Cheers!

Entangled in the web

After my college, life hasn’t been beautiful. Lots of time to kill but there is practically nothing to do or that is what I feel. I’m just aimlessly idling in bed or in front of the computer, signing-in to the virtual world. That’s it. The only good thing that has happened during these days is that I’ve started reading books. Thanks to my friend without whom I wouldn’t have started. He influenced me in a sense.

Computer and internet play a major role in our lives these days. It has actually crept into our system that we are dependent on them so badly. Whenever I misplace something or finding something becomes difficult, I wonder if I had a google.com or a Ctrl+F shortcut key… This shows how dependent I am on computers/internet. I’m addicted!

On one hand these social networking sites help us to keep in touch with our pals but on the other it has also enslaved us. Like all the other technologies, internet has its own advantages and disadvantages. Unfortunately our human mind easily succumbs to the disadvantages. I don’t know whom to blame – the technology or my monkey mind!? I should find out a method to come out of this addiction. Is there any rehabilitation centre for these addictions?

Every night I say to myself, “Ok I should stop this. I’m not going online tomorrow”, but the first thing I do is that. I go online saying, “I’m just gonna check my mail. That’s it. Its gonna take few minutes.” Later I realise that it has been more than an hour, I’m not checking mails but I’m somewhere else, entangled in the web! May be I have a very weak will power.

Though being online, browsing and reading, downloading stuffs, chatting etc. have helped me a lot but it is taking away my sleep – sleeping at odd times. I’m missing all the fun in the outside world. I knew Obama was going to have a new pet even before he actually bought it but didn’t know that my neighbour died, I knew it only two days after! I also miss one or two odd cricket matches that I used to play with my friends. The casual talk with my family and friends. I used to do a lot in those days, not now! I miss them!

There should be a way out to stop this! But the question is, can I? Any remedies guys?

-A frustrated addict yelling for help.

Officially the last day…

 

…in Amrita School of Engineering. Four years went by so fast, especially the final semester. The initial days are still fresh in my mind. Had some wonderful experiences in these four years, both good and bad. Learnt a lot from this college. Today was the farewell day.  Our juniors had arranged a wonderful function. Everyone had a great time – posing for photos with their friends, loved ones, teachers, pulling other’s legs and many other activities also. There were some wonderful  miss you all speeches, musical treat by Joseph and Nakul (two persons whom I expect to be famous in the future) and some snacks to end it. Last few moments to cherish.  And at the end of the day we really had fun! On this occasion, I want to thank everyone for making these four years memorable. Thank you guys! 

 

Amrita Vishwavidya Peetham

 

 

Though officially today is the last day, tough times are ahead, especially the project review. Should work hard .  Hopefully everything ends well! 

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

Good day!

 

PS: Wishes to the Master Blaster on his 36th birthday. Wish that you become fitter as each day goes by and play for India atleast till the  2011 WC! 

Who will win the IPL Season 2?

 

I support Mumbai Indians forever!

Hail Mumbai Indians! Hail the God of Cricket!

-Das

Khamosh Raat – Silent Night

 

In this post I’m trying to review a song by A.R.Rahman.

The two times Academy Award winner A.R.Rahman, our own Mozart has been reinventing the way music is being composed in the Indian film industry. He started a revolution which not only exposed western music to Indian music lovers but also made the West recognise the beauty of Indian music. 

The song which I have taken now, Khamosh Raat, is from the Bollywood flick, Thakshak. This is a typical ARR album, consisting of songs of various genres. Some of the songs are originally from Tamil movies. It is a listener’s delight. The only off song is Toofan Ki Raat. 

The song Khamosh Raat is a very soft, melodic song. This song is sung by Roop Kumar Rathod. The lyrics is by Mehboob. I find it hard to determine the genre of the song. 

The song starts with the strumming of guitar. It seems as if the guitarist was learning to play the notes and Rahman recorded that. I have heard that Rahman records every sound that materialises in his studio during the recording session. 

Slowly the singer starts. The tune seems simple. The song gradually picks momentum. When it starts there is no percussion as such, only jingles and backing up by guitar riffs, some bells and violins and a flute (for about a second). I love the part (1:27) when the singer sings Yeh Sachh Hai Ya Sapna! 

The drum beats start slowly with jingles still continuing in the background-a typical Rahman style. There will be a base instrument which will continue till the end- here it is jingles – all the other instruments are added one top of the other. On the whole, a musical treat for the ear. This can be found in most of his songs if not all. 

The tune of this song is simple but complex when one looks into its intricacies. In most of Rahman songs there will not be a set pattern. Usually it is like this- first stanza will have a tune, followed by a background score followed by the second and third stanza which will have exactly the same tune. But you cannot expect this in ARR’s song. In some songs he would have repeated the same tune, but no one would have known. This is mainly because of his layering- the way he adds instruments as the song progresses.

Coming back to the song, the singer’s voice is kind of husky which suits the mood of the song.  The song progresses smoothly where drum beats and other instruments are added one after another.

After the first stanza there is a small BGM with Hawaiian guitar. It is simple. The tune after this BGM for the lines, Jhoonki Jhoonki Palkein Jab Uthi, I have no words to describe. Totally different from the previous stanza. You must listen to them- it gives a very distinct feeling.  The tune makes the listener jump in joy (I was excited). A good orchestration can be found. It transforms from a somber to a pleasant mood. The sudden female chorus singing the swarams Sa Pa Pa Ma Ga Ma Ga Ma Pa… Ga Ma Ga Sa Sa Ri Sa Da Sa Ri is surprising.

As the chorus fades and eventually stops, Hawaiian guitar plays the swarams or tune which forms the second BGM. Everything except the pads comes to a sudden and unexpected halt, when Roop sings Jeene Ka Tha Hum Mein Dum Par Nahi Tha Koi Hum Dum. Good piece of poetry says my friend. You can hear the female chorus and the pads in the background. At about 5:23 the song reaches its high part (crescendo) with violins playing in the background. The Hawaiian guitar again plays the swarams in the background and when the song reaches the end, male backing vocal joins, singing the swarams previously sung by the female chorus. 

The song fades out. You feel like listening to it once more? Go on, enjoy and try to discover subtleties which words fail to describe. 

Cheers! 

Good day folks. 

PS: This is my first attempt in writing a review for a song as a whole. So please bear with any mistakes, especially technical terms. I would be pleased to read your comments.