IT ALL WORKS OUT IN THE END...

Everybody loves to catch up with friends. But in this busy day and age to actually meet up and hang out with people outside of work place or educational institution is very difficult. Its the eternal problem of TIME.

Strangely I found a few friends all relatively free on the same day, when I had the time and opportunity for a house party.Now, here comes the catch....I knew each one of them from a different place viz. one from pune, one from my building, one from a class that I once took etc and some of them were bringing their friends to boot.

So, not only did my guests not know each other, I had guests whom, even I didn't know.
Now, if you have ever planned a party you know, that this is a sure shot recipe for disaster!!
Guess what....
Surprisingly, it was a HIT!!

People started arriving at around 6 in the evening. Every time a person came in there was this introduction session, but I restricted it to who's who and left them to figure the rest in the course of the evening. Till around 8, when my last guests arrived, it was pretty interesting and you could literally see people "getting to know each other" over a couple of drinks.
Its funny how comfortable the whole atmosphere became. Not a SINGLE person, and i don't exaggerate, not a single person was left out. Yes, there were some jokes that were sometimes lost on a few people, a few lapses of memory(i.e."Oh sorry, what was your name again?" kinds) and some verbal faux pas, which could actually happen anywhere.

A multi-cultural, multi-professional and metropolitan crowd, it was quite a stimulating and fun place to be.

Dinner was an even better affair. Despite it being a Friday night we decided to take a chance at a restaurant, without prior reservation. Piling into rickshaws, after 2 tries we finally got a decent table at one, where NONE of us had eaten before (For those in Mumbai, its called "Restaurant 5", in Santacruz, around Rs.250-300 per head, exclusive of alcohol) . It was one of the best meals I've had in a really long while. Pleasant ambiance, amazing food and even better company!
Funny stories from school, college, work place from such a broad spectrum of people...It was fascinating! Not one boring moment.

We then headed to Bombay Blues, for our eternal favourite, Sizzling Brownie Sundae. There outside through the glass we were entertained by a couple of kids diligently practicing their WWE moves.That kept us for about half an hour.

All then camped at my place for the night..Floyd in the background(minus the vodka, unfortunately).There was a chaotic mess of people who had to get to work and college and stuff from 6 o clock in the morning, and all this from people who had finally condescended to sleep at 5 am.

I was left behind with a messy house, impending studies for my next paper and a sense of happiness.

Everyone here last night had a good time and has made a minimum of 2 new friends.
We figured out rock music is a common interest and most of us are meeting again tonight at 'Livewire'..the am-band finals and rock show as a part of Mood Indigo, at IIT Bombay...

so go figure!!! :) :)

I should try this more often...It all seems to work out in the end!!!

Light is as surely a hoax
as is the adage
"Everything happens for the best";
Negating the ephemeral nature
of things to come;
Misery persists as sure as darkness;
We remain forever,
remain in the uncertain flicker of dusk;
Unavoidably...Inescapably
But sometimes,
Joy like music, transcends
all barriers and emerges
in the form or irridescent bubbles;
Ensconed in these bubbles
we see a pleasantly distorted world;
And finally
All our hypotheses are disproved
and our analysis rndered useless....

Story of my Love Life....

i never thought i would find a song that aptly describes any part of my life....
but i recently found a song that describes my love life perfectly...

ONly his name isn't DREW....and i don't play the guitar...lol...
but in essence its the current state of my love life...
not really my kinda song...but the lyrics just HIT home!!

its called "teardrops on my guitar" by an artiste called Taylor Swift...
here are the lyrics..
Teardrops On My Guitar Lyrics


Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I'm needing everything that we should be
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without

Drew talks to me, I laugh cause it's so damn funny
That I can't even see anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right,
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night

[Chorus:]

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do

Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly,
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky cause

[Repeat Chorus]

So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light
I'll put his picture down and maybe
Get some sleep tonight

He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into..

Drew looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see.

do check out the video on youtube....

MORNING OF MUSIC

Now I have to give some background here..I come from a family which knows how to appreciate music. My dad was very much a part of "Beatlemania" in his day and remembers the lyrics to most of their songs even today. My mother predictably likes Mohammad Rafi and Jagjit Singh and old Hindi film music. And both of them like Hindustani and Carnatic classical music and are regulars at various concerts in Mumbai. And given all of this, I'm the kind of person to who can have Bob Dylan, Metallica, Pt.Bhimsen Joshi and Bunty and Babli on the same play list(sorry but I cant stand the likes of Britney Spears!!) and enjoy them all.

But to be honest I have heard all these at home...and have witnessed only rock concerts, live!(I think I once saw a Jagjit Singh program as well)..

OKAY..NOTE....I said I enjoy all this music...but my knowledge concerning them is close to zilch..So if any facts in the following post are erroneous then I apologize profusely and welcome any corrections..

My parents happened to be going for a concert by Padma Vibhushan Gaanasaraswati Smt.Kishori Amonkar, on 24th June,Sunday at 9.00 am, at Nehru Center(Worli).The show was principally a Charity Concert, organized by the 'Bade Gulam Ali Yadgaar Sabha'.

I have heard a few of her songs before..She is basically a Hindustani classical performer who sings khyal in the Jaipur gharana style. She is currently 76 years of age and is most famous for her brilliant rendition of "baabul moraa".



We awoke in the morning to lashing rain, with grim forecasts on the news for the day ahead. After debating for a while, we decided to go ahead and reach the concert. The roads were not a good sight! It had only been pouring a few hours, but the roads were flooded with water that submerged the car tyres. Slowly, cautiously, weaving our way through fallen trees and flooded roads, with rain only giving us intermittent respite.

When we reached Nehru Center her popularity was reiterated, because the place was teeming with expectant music lovers. We had to reach the conclusion that 'Whether rain or shine Kishori Tai's(an affectionate term for older sister) program cannot be compromised'. Her music seemed to transcend all barriers of age, race, sex and time. Audiences old and young, from different classes of society-right from the 'air kissing' high society ladies to the simple middle class music enthusiasts, waited patiently as the show was delayed by almost an hour.

The rising curtain had a dramatic stillness about it.The compare introduced her and opened the show saying
"Aaj meri prarthna kuch aisi thi,
Aae baarish thodi der ke liye tham ja,
Ki Kishoriji yahan aa sake;
Aek baar woh yahan, aae aise barasna,
Ki woh hame chod ke jaa na saake!"

Kishori tai tuned up her 'swaramandali' and the 'tanpuras'.She seemed to have some trouble with her throat in the first 15 mins, but once her voice opened up, it was like a downpour of melody. Her voice filled up the auditorium like the sound of bells in a temple.The first half was dedicated to a composition called 'Mahadeo' in what i think was the Raag Bhairavi. She gradually built up the registers with amazing variations and aalap sung relentlessly for an hour and then completed the composition in the next half an hour. Ashwini Bedekar, one of the accompanists at the tanpura, supported her in this composition. I apologize as I didn't catch the name of her accompanying artists at the tabla and the harmonium.

Following a ten minute break.The organizers called upon Nana Patekar, who was a part of the audience to felicitate all the artistes with bouquets. He praised her saying "Sur hamare kaan mein atak gaye lekin tere gale mein bas gaye isiliye tu yahan aur hum wahan baithe hai!" She then spoke a few words in Marathi, through which she gave a heartfelt message, the gist of which she summarized herself in english, her last statement being "Children come back to the sublimity of classical music!".

The second composition was a beautiful rendering of "Devebhyo", followed by "Pavan Batariya" which I'm quite sure was in Raag Alaiya Bilaval. Here her other disciple at the tanpura was supporting her, a young girl with a lovely voice. On further inquiry she turned out to be Tejashree Amonkar, Kisohiriji's Grand daughter, genetically blessed with a beautiful voice and polished under the tutelage of her illustrious grandmother. She obviously doesn't hold candle to Kishori Tai yet, but I personally feel that classical music lovers should look out for her in the coming years.

Finally she sang "Ghat Ghat Mein Panchee Bolta" a doha by Sant Kabeer. This was the part of the performance that i most enjoyed. A noteworthy feature of her rendition was that she gave full play to both antaraa's, ending with a very evocative recital of all the lines strung together. A great finale to a memorable morning!

I hummed all the way back home in considerably reduced rainfall and rather clear roads. I cant remember when i last enjoyed a morning more!