Life recorded...

"Bhooli bisri...chand ummeedein.... chand fasaane yaad aaye......Tum yaad aaye...aur tumhare..saath zamaane yaad aaye"....... from the Great Mehdi Hassan saheb... takes you to a relaxed and cultured environment...so alien to today's fast paced and self-centred world.....

I bought this cassette in Mumbai when I had recently started working after my graduation....it had all old classics from Mehdi Hassan....and straight away I started liking his pure way of singing...and as usual...I associated these gazals with my time in Mumbai...with sharing the flat in Borivali with my wonderful roommates....and with some really good time spent with them roaming around in Mumbai...!!!

So everytime I listen to this gazal in particular...all those memories come alive....that's my way of memorising my life story....ever since I started appreciating music...ever since I realized that I can't live without music....I started tagging my life with music...I identify various stages of my life with specific songs/gazals. Each song recalls the memories from the past...and brings joy/sorrow...all resulting in a drop or two of tears in my eyes...hehehe...I have heard that tears are good for eyes...improves farsight..!!

I think...I can not survive in this world...it's too harsh...and there is no margin for error...there is no place for somebody who doesn't understand 'duniyadaari'. Well....goddamn...who cares abt that...I am not going to change for the sake of surviving.....jab tak jiyo...dil se jiyo..majboori me nahi..!!

Mera saya

'Tu jahan jahan chalega...mera saya sath hoga'.... did I ever write about Lataji? She is absolute bliss....her voice...with all the emotions of the world...my god....it brings tears to the eyes...listening to her songs...!!

What a voice...and what control...just perfect..isn't it? I really love to listen to her old hindi film songs...specially 60's & 70's ....when she worked with SD burman, RD burman, MadanMohan etc..

I think no one can match her when it comes to bringing out the mood and emotions of a song..theme..or a raga....and that's what makes her different...and far ahead of all other singers..!

I always wanted to sing...but alas....these days I don't feel like I can be any good in any field...the confidence is just not there....but music is the only thing where I feel at home...at peace...at my own self...hmm....now that's beer talking...!

bye bye 39 fountain street

I miss 39 fountain street.....Gautam was the last person to leave...and we no longer will see this house no more..!! Me, Gautam and Soumen 'the jhaal' had some really good time here...and I miss all that even now! We had some great parties in this house with other pals...and also out in Leeds between 3 of us..together....and don't talk about the everyday hihi-hahas...we used to have.... pulling each others leg & all. Boy....when Soumen used to take command of the kitchen...my goodness...'dhoom macha deta tha launda'...he was our speciality chef...thai specialist..hehe! Aur ye log meri arabi ki sabji...ya patta gobhi aloo nahi bhulenge...3 hrs me jo banti thi....with 'in background' Jagjit singh hardcore on offer...hehe! Bytheway...Gautam was the best cook..his biryaani..his baingan bharta were awesome...and after few drinks his college time stories...boy he's got all the stories at his fingertips...and ask him anything abt any goddamn bollywood movie...he knows in & out..!! It was really a nice time of our lives we spent together... I think aise yaar bahut kam milte hain life me....aur inke saath naata zindagi bhar ka naata hona chahiye....ye nahi ki saath choot gaya to dosti bhi..!! I'll try to be true to my word!! Amen...!!

Humility- endangered species

Khuda humko aisi khudai na de...ki apne siva kuch dikhai na de.....! Indeed if I would believe in God and if at all I would want something from God...then I would ask for that..! Humility...I consider it the greatest of all the virtues of the world. I would never want to be blinded by whatever I have got...by whatever so called qualities I think I have...but I think in today's world humility is considered as a negative trait rather than a quality...those self praising so called music directors and singers who judge these mindless musical competition tv shows....are the typical examples of that. I don't think these guys have any right to be a judge to a music competition...and to pass comments on the legendry singers and music directors of yesteryears...but they do that frequently...they are famous...and they are rich...success means only fame and money these days...so they are successful!!

Mehndi Hassan- A phenomenon of its own kind

I didn't know about Mehndi Hassan much....must have heard his name somewhere in the musical circle..nothing more than that. Well...I already had Ghulam Ali thanks to my father....and then I had Jagjit Singh and Hariharan....thanks to my elder brother..so already 3 gazal maestroes..I was familier with..and I admired all the 3....so there was no place for a 4th one..!!

But after college...during my initial days of Job in Trivandrum..sourthern part of India...a cassette happened to catch my eyes in a music shoppe...Ghulam Ali & Mehndi Hassan - First time together! I thought why not try this...lets explore who's this guy called Mehndi Hassan.

So that was my first introduction to Mehndi Hassan...and it was a wonderful experience...his voice had a unique calmness..and softness...totally opposite of Ghulam Ali's restless one!

I really took a liking to his beautiful number ' Mai khayal Hoon kisi aur ka'....a complicated and serious gazal 'Ab ke hum bichhde' in a rare raga Bhoopkali...and some Rajasthani Folk as well...and then I bought some more of his stuff...and it was really good.

His style is very relaxed and he takes his time to expand and express the meaning of gazal woven into a raga...displays all the intricacies of the raga. He normally composes the gazals in a single raga...not mixing 2 ragas..tries to maintain the purity of the raga. The calming and soothing effect is awesome...and there are no parallels to it.

World of Finance

My cousin doing his MBA today met me online, he was writing some paper which he had to submit today on the subject 'World of finance'. He wanted me also to have a look and comment. So while going through it, I thought why not try this subject today for my blog...hehehe...!

World of Finance: It’s very boring....I hate financial jargon...like investments, shares, liquidity, interest rate, CRR, etc etc....I can relate to finance only to the extent to which any other common man could relate – Managing one’s money in such a way that one can run his/her family. Now I know that ‘running a family’ is a broader term, and for different people it can mean differently, the scale can be different – for a poor farmer, it might mean being able to cater for only the food, shelter and cloths for his family, whereas for a rich man, it would be being able to live a king size life. Still, more than that, I wouldn’t know about finance. But probably that might be the root...where this finance starts....people want to feed their family, they want them to wear good cloths, they want to live in a good accommodation, basically everyone wants a better quality of life...everyone wants to improve... so there is always a need...humans always need something...they are rarely content with whatever they’ve got...that might be the starting point of finance...may be.

Now the important question...am I good at it...am I good at managing my money? I am not... but what to do...mostly I spend money when I feel like spending...ofcourse my middle class upbringing makes me think about it once or twice but it fails to stop me though...investment, future planning...these things cross my mind but yet can't stop me spending when I want to.

But probably it'll all going to change soon..! I guess everyone must give some thought about investment and making one's wealth grow..it's hight time I should start the same.

That's world of finance for me...so mean so self centered isnt it?