The Shire!

Violin...Flute...Bass Guitar...little drums...all in harmony....that's the the background score of the epic movie 'The Lord of the Rings'........in particular the background score for 'The Shire' ....the small village of hobbits is awesome!  I simply love this background score...amazing....beautifully composed.....the beautiful green village of Shire comes in front...and that sweet smile of the protagonist 'Frodo'...small huts..narrow clean roads..all the greenery around (Beautifully shot in New Zealand)... these small creatures -'Hobbits' living there a peaceful life...with their share of occasional thrills. It all starts with 'Gandalf the Grey' visiting the Shire...as he's been invited for the birthday celebrations of an old hobbit 'Bilbo Baggins'...an adventurist traveler....and the story goes on.. I love this movie...though I have not read the actual epic written by J.R.R. Tolkein....but after watching the movie...I feel pretty sure don't know why that the director has done full justice to the epic...I am sure Peter Jackson hasn't missed anything! Great dialogues..and the English...so beautiful...I love speaking out loud..the dialogues from this movie..! :-) ....it was not the usual slang and ungrammatical usage as we see in Hollywood....but it was like the 'Sanskirtized' dialogues in our old DD-1 epic Mahabharata!  Some good ones to quote:


Frodo: You're late.
Gandalf: A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times; but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought...isn't that?

Gollum: We wants the precious...!  ( The only character in the movie.. who had no regards for grammar! :-) ). Some gems from Gollum: We wants it...we needs it...they stole it from us! Sneaky little hobbitses. Wicked, tricksy, false! 

They do not see what lies ahead, when Sun has faded and Moon is dead. 

Sam: What we need is a few good taters. 

Gollum: What's taters, precious? What's taters, eh? 

Sam: Po-tay-toes! Boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew... Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish. Even you couldn't say no to that. 

Gollum: Oh yes we could. Spoilin' nice fish. Give it to us raw and w-r-r-riggling; you keep nasty chips. 

Sam: You're hopeless. 

The background score is excellent....and as I have mentioned before...music is the ink with which my memory logs are written in my mind...so this 'Shire' piece takes me down the memory lane...I still remember watching all the three parts of this movie with my good old friend 'Adi' in the sleepy town of Morley, UK...during the Good Friday-Easter long weekend of April 2006 at King street TCS hostel (Now plz don't think that TCS provided us a hostel in UK..but we called it so....as all the three back to back flats were occupied by TCS guys in that old Victorian age building)! The flats were at the first floor, and the entrance to the building was into a narrow lane with iron stairs...I often used to say that this entrance looks like those narrow & dirty HongKong streets which they show in those Kung-fu movies!


Later on in the next long weekend during May....we visited Scotland for the first time....and some places there in the countryside reminded us of some of the 'Lord of the rings' stuff....mountains...some misty..some icy....large pieces of land..some barren...some full of grass...beautiful lochs (Gaelic word for Lakes)...it was 'middle earth' indeed! 

Some good time spent!...Some memories to cherish!  Now when I look at my writing...I started with the movie...the music...and ended up in Scotland!

Hindustani Classical Concert

A Masters degree in microbiology, a doctorate in biochemistry, a beautiful and sweet voice able to move across the three octaves effortlessly...all in one named Dr. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande! She is one of the leading vocalists of 'Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana', of Hindustani Classical music.


I got a chance to go to this concert the other day at Karnataka Sangh hall in Matunga...where Ashwini Tai performed in front of a very small audience. The hall is comparatively smaller than other auditoriums in Mumbai I have been to and it was a free entry...yet there were very few people and most of the seats were vacant...for me the good thing was that I was able to see all the artists quite clearly from such short distance. I could see her face...sometimes smiling....concentrating at other times... She was looking so graceful, in a silk sari sitting with a tanpura in her one hand, eyes closed as if in meditation..!  The swaras (notes) were coming out with such ease yet with utmost purity and with perfect emotional quotient.


She started with Raag - Tilak Kamod...what sweet, pleasant and peaceful raag (Reminded me of a concert recording of Mehdi Hassan, wherein he mentioned about this raag, that 'Tilak Kamod' and 'Desh' are quite close in their structure..and it needs skills and caution so as to not to mix the two while singing).  A relaxed and gradual unfolding of the raag with emphasis on emotions was the trademark of Ashwiniji's style. Since I am a novice in the classical music field and have had no classical training, my limited understanding and knowledge has come solely from listening to the maestros through such concerts and recordings..especially in the last few years, ever since I joined my job in Mumbai. So mostly I am not able to follow much on the rhythmical patterns and other technicalities of a typical classical composition...but I think I do have some patience to wait and listen...and more often than not, the patience pays off..I am more for the emotional appeal of the composition...and if the intricate 'taans', 'harkat' or 'murki' are all for bringing out the emotions and the 'rasa' of the raag...then that's what I am looking for! And precisely that's what I got in Ashwiniji's all renditions last night...sweet singing...well prepared and cultured voice...and a graceful and joyous stage presence.


Her second composition was in a raag, the name of which I could not hear exactly...probably some form of 'Kanada'. It was a quite unique composition..with many short and lightening fast taans. I was able to grasp that some note or the other, is oscillating between two adjacent notes..which was giving a mystic yet soft touch to the song...and when I tried to play out the notes today on my keyboard (Thankfully I had recorded some part of the song in my mobile!)...it turned out to be two such notes - G (Gandhar) and Ni (Nishad) which were 'Andolan'. Again, my knowledge about andolan was purely based on the great Mehdi Hassan's old gazal recording, wherein he talked about the raag in which he composed his gazal 'Ek bus tu hi nahi, mujhse khafa ho baitha'..he explained then, about 'andolan' swara or note...that it can not be played on a Harmonium as it is oscillating between 2 notes...it's neither one note nor the other...it's something in between. Just found out about it on internet today that a note is called 'andolit swara' when a note oscillates between 2 adjacent notes.


She was going to end it there, but due to audience insisting, she ended the evening with an 'Abhang' (A devotional form of marathi poetry in praise of Lord Vitthala - an incarnation of Lord Krishna) in raag 'Bhairavi' (I am told that, that's the custom - usually Bhairavi is sung/played at the end of a concert!). I think I have never ever heard a devotional piece with so much sweetness...when I looked around...the audience was literally swaying sideways in a pure devotional atmosphere...the feeling was of being at the peak of the bliss!


The average age of audience must be atleast 50-55 years...that too..very few people arrived! You can guess the situation..me encircled by handful of elderly gentlemen and ladies with hardly 1 or 2 youngsters! It's indeed demotivating to see very few souls around you in a concert hall. For most of the performers that's not a very encouraging sight either. Well...I was least bothered about it once Ashwiniji started singing.....and I suppose she herself was hardly bothered at all...being totally immersed in her music.


At the end, I must mention that all the accompanists were playing for the first time (Tabla - Prasad Padhye and Harmonium - Sidhhesh Bicholkar), with Ashwiniji, but it never appeared so. At the back were two girls with tanpuras, I think probably were the 2 disciples of Ashwiniji and they added their voices from time to time at Ashwiniji's nod. Ashwiniji was encouraging and appreciating all her accompanists with smile on her face..and I am sure they were all enjoying to accompany her. Few days back I had mentioned humility is endangered in today's world...but I stand corrected today..it isn't....as long as true artists like Ashwiniji are there!


For the first time I was disappointed for not having a high-tech mobile with bigger screen, higher resolution camera etc...when I was trying to record whatever I could with my poor samsung mobile 3 mp camera! :-)


I have become a fan of her singing now...I need to collect her recordings now to quench my thirst...as I checked in my music folder and found none of hers.

Rafi, the versatile..!

Wadiyan mera daaman...raste meri bahein...
Jao mere siva....tum kahan jaoge...


Jab churaoge tan....tum kisi baat se...
Shakh-a-gul chhed degi mere hath se...
apni hi zulf ko...aur uljhaoge....


Jab se milne lagi...tumse rahein meri...
Chand sooraj bani...do nigaahein meri...
Tum kahin bhi raho....tum nazar aaoge...


Mohammad Rafi...a voice immortal...the emotions speak through his voice...as I promised myself to write about my affection for Rafi saheb's singing..here I go!


I don't remember when did I fall in love with Rafi saheb's voice...it just happened..I think it was the musical show 'Saregama' with Sonu Nigam as host....some participant sang a Rafi song 'Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hain'..and probably it hit some chord within me... and then Sonu being himself a fan of Rafi..used to sing a lot of his songs..once he sang  'Do sitaro ka zameen par hai milan aaj ki raat'...wow I thought if it sounds so well in Sonu's voice..then the original song must be wonders. One of the participants sang ' Aanchal me saja lena kaliyan..zulfo me sitare bhar lena...' and the other 'Man tarpat hari darsan ko' and yet other one 'Aaiyaiya karoon mai kya suku suku.. and I thought all of these songs of different moods have been sung by the same Rafi..I was amazed by his versatility...


It wasn't like I had never heard him before...as a child and a fan of 'Chitrahar & Rangoli' of the good old DD-1 (That was the only TV channel available those days), I must have listened to many Black & white and eastmen colour era songs...but as I have mentioned before, it was only in the age of  the musical show 'Saregama',  I started to take notice of the melodies of old, and the maestros who composed and sang them!


Mohammad Rafi belongs to the golden era of Hindi Film music....and his contribution to make it 'Golden' is really immense. His was a classically trained voice of Punjab, with so much sweetness and continuity..that many times his voice seems to be effortlessly dissolving into the infinite sea of swaras..! Am I making any sense here...?  He has sung for numerous bollywood actors and his one specialty was to be able to mold his voice according to the characters played by those actors in the movie.


When you listen to 'huyi shaam unka khayal aa gaya' .... just see how he caresses each word like a silk touching past your skin..! All the sweetness of the world in voice..while he sang this beautiful gazal...bringing out the pain & unsuccessful attempts of a separated lover to forget his beloved!


Another song with somber mood..'Din dhal jaye raat na jaye' ...is a trademark Rafi song...delicate pronunciation of words and small vibrations in voice..that's called 'Expressions'....an intoxicated & dejected Devanand comes in front of our eyes while listening to this song!


When you listen to 'Man tarpat hari darshan ko' ...you can see the God thirsty devotee in front of you...can't you? A divine journey...is what his voice takes us through...!


He has also sung numerous peppy and fast numbers like 'Aja aja..mai hu pyar tera', 'yahoo chahe koi mujhe jungli kahe'...and you are awestruck with the range and versatility of his singing.


Just few days back, I came across a documentary on a TV channel about Rafi...wherein his son quoted an incident when once Rafi saheb came back home in an exited and a child like joyous mood and told his sons that today the superstar Amitabh Bachhan came to meet him in the recording studio or something like that...he was really exited that he was singing for a superstar like Amitabh, and Amitabh himself came to see him!!  Such a humble and innocent man he was.....that he didn't even know that he was a superstar himself!


I am not sure if the same can be said about today's singers and composers whom we often see fighting with each other in the musical reality shows on TV! But alas...that's the scene in each and every field today...not only music. Humility is indeed an endangered species today!

The Golden Era of Hindi Film Music

The piano start...and there enters tabla...Rafi Sahab starts the first line...'Kaisi haseen aaj...baharo ki raat hai.....ik chaand aasma pe hai ik mere sath hai'.... here comes Talat Mehmood...'O dene wale...tune to...koi kami na ki.....ab kisko kya mila....ye muqqadar ki baat hai'...!  It's a unique jugalbandi of the two legends..two stalwarts of expressions...if one wants to learn the importance of pronunciation and expression of words while singing...then what better way could be, than to listen to these two maestros...learning and joy at the same time!


Mohammed Rafi and Talat Mahmood belonged to the golden era of Hindi Film music...(I guess 'Hindi Film music' is a musical genre of one of its own kind in this world), when some great composers of the likes of MadanMohan, Naushad, Khayyam, SD Burman, RD Burman, OP Naiyer, Roshan, Salil Choudhary and many more, created some unforgettable melodies for the Indian masses...when poets of the likes of Hasart Jaipuri, Majaruh Sultanpuri, Kavi Pradeep, Shakeel Badayuni...poured their hearts out in their poetry... It seems, to match up to such legendary composers and poets...God had to send these beautiful voices in the form of Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, Lata, Asha, Kishore da. And as they say, rest is history....a new musical genre was born, like classical, folk,western etc...'Hindi Film Music'! Even today, the music...the melody created by them is alive...those songs still have the very freshness and originality...and people like me (and I am sure there are many more...:-) ) still love to listen those songs.


I was never a fan of Moh Rafi in my college days....I was more for Kishore da's lively and macho voice and free flow singing....but gradually when I was exposed to more of Rafi songs specially composed by SD Burman and OP Naiyer...I started following him more....what versatility..what expressions..a playback singer in true sense! Sure I would need a separate blog solely for him!
Talat Mahmood was another gem of a singer... with his unique vibratory voice..giving a vulnerable texture I would say...don't know how to express it otherwise! His voice..just perfect for Gazal singing... 'Jalte hain jiske liye' is my most favorite.


Let me come back to the song....Naushad sahab always methodical and cultured in his music arrangements...has used western instruments more like piano in this song..but the emphasis is more on singing part as always. He successfully managed to bring these two greats together in an emotional melody...utilizing their uniqueness...giving both of them a stanza each, and keeping the last stanza of the song for both of them. Let me take you through my experience of listening to this song:


1st Stanza by Rafi:
Chhaya hai husno ishq pe..ik range bekhudi...(Typical Rafi harkatein...in 'ik range bekhudi')
Aate hain zindagi me ye..aalam kabhi kabhi....(Observe singing of 'Zindagi' and 'Kabhi kabhi')
Har gam ko bhool jao...khushi ki barat hai... ik chaad aasma pe hai ik mere sath hai..

2nd Stanza by Talat:
Aai hai wo bahar ke....nagme ubal pade (Different dhun from the 1st stanza...in lower notes..perfect for Talat!)
Aisi khushi mili hai...ke aansu nikal pade...(Really results in a drop or two from eyes!)
Hotho pe hai duaayein...magar dil pe hath hai....ab kisko kya mila...ye muqqadar ki bat hai. (Oh..what moving voice...god damn!!!)


If this wasn't enough....the last Stanza by both:
Masti simat ke pyar ke gulshan me aa gai....(Rafi brought in masti..)
Meri kushi bhi aapke daman me aa gai....(Watch how delicately Talat sings 'aa gai' at the end...awesome)
bhavra kali se dur..nahi sath sath hai.....ab kisko kya mila ye muqqadar ki baat hai.


Wow...they used to sing.. totally immersed in the song...Hats off to the legends!

Samvedna

"Door kahi..koi rota hai... tan par pahra...bhatak raha man...sathi hai keval soonapan...
bichhad gaya kya....swajan kisi ka.....krandan sada...karun hota hai....


Janam divas par...hum ithalate....kyun na maran tyohar manate...
Antim yatra ke avasar par...aansu ka ashakun hota hai".... (From album 'Samvedna')


When Atalji penned this poem during the emergency..(as described by him in the prelude)...in all probability...he wouldn't have imagined that his deep thoughts will be composed so beautifully..so aesthetically...yet so simply..! Jagjit Singh composed the music and sang it such that....these simple words just got dissolved in the veins...permeated right through...!! - Don't know if I am able to express myself here properly...
What use of Violin, Strings and Flute...subtle and beautiful...contributing in bringing out the right emotions... A sense of peace...melancholy...a sense of loss....everything..!!


"Ek baras beet gaya.... Ek baras beet gaya.....
Jhulsata jeth maas...sharad chandni udaas....
siski bharte saavan ka....antar ghat reet gaya...


Path niharte nayan....ginte din palchhin..
laut kabhi ayega...man ka jo meet gaya..."


Beautiful words by Atalji...( His style of saying 'siski bharte savan ka antar ghat reet gaya' ..is just awesome! :-) I still remember his election rally some 15 odd years back..when he came to Jabalpur...never have seen any better orator than him!) and Jagjit sang in a very slow tempo...and in low scale...as if the world has stopped and you have all the time to watch it..feel it...feel the 'jhulsata jeth maas', the brutal Indian Sun of May-June...feel the 'sharad chandni'....the winter sky filled with stars..!


Most of the poems of the album Samvedna, are in slow tempo...are of philosophical demeanor...but the music grows on you. Every song starts with a small commentary by Atalji where he either gives a little background of time when he wrote that poem or he utters the first 2 lines of his poem in his unparalleled & relaxed style. These songs remind me of my initial days in UK's chilling winters...some memories to remember!

Passion Vs Profession

They show this bollywood movie '3 idiots' many a times on TV... watched it yet again. I won't talk about the movie as such, but about the idea the movie tried to communicate. One of the idiots, Farhaan (Played by Madhavan), says to his father.. 'Rancho bahut simple si baat kahta hai daddy, us cheej ko apna profession banao, wo kaam karo...jisme tumhe maza ata hai, man lagta hai...fir kaam kaam nahi lagega...khel lagega!' This idea has been of many...that there is nothing better in this world than having your passion as your profession! You never feel tired or bored pursuing your passion...there is no chance you would complain about lack of job satisfaction when your passion is your job!

But easier said than done...there are many questions in my mind....can we really do that...can we really leave everything aside and pursue our passion? I often wonder how many of us do have a real passion for something? They say it's never too late to go for your passion...but is it really true?  

First of all, how can we define passion...and how can I identify what my passion is? Does passion derive from hobby? Don't know.....let me explore hobby and passion out here...!

In layman's terms, I would think a hobby is something, which I like doing the most. Something I can do all the time, 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week..yet can't get enough of it..can't get bored of it. Something I enjoy doing the most...Something that always makes me curious...Something I want to know more about..

I think a hobby would become a passion when you start feeling that this is your life....this is what you are born for. This is what you want to be known for (..if at all you bother about what others think of you!). You can live without your hobby...but I wonder if same can be said about your passion..! - Probably that's the difference between 'just a hobby' and 'passion'!  But come on....who thinks or talks like that...? All this 'funda'...and language is used by Philosophers, spiritual guru kind of people...isn't it??

Let me think what my hobbies are...which I would love to call as my passion (or are those already my passions?),  well, it took 30 years, to realize that there are two things in this world that give me immense joy & satisfaction...that fulfill my sense of creativity...that make me at peace with myself and also with the world....and those are: Music (to be specific - it's Singing...to be more specific - it's singing Gazals!) and Writing. Nothing gives me immense joy and peace other than singing a Gazal of maestro's like Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali or Hariharan, Talat mahmood, or Mohammad Rafi. Same joy and peace flows in and out of me, when I am able to write down my thoughts..when I am able to express my views & feelings in written words!

But what is my profession right now? For the past 8 years I have been known as IT professional, and have enjoyed the life as such without many complaints...going to onsite trips.. roaming around the world, having a salary which can't be termed hefty, but enough to lead a comfortable life...let me frame it as 'upper middle class' life in a metro city. Am I used to all this ease & comfort now? If I were to go for my passion now, lets say music, then I can see what lies ahead  - Some real hard-work in terms of learning the nuances of formal classical music and then the struggle in the music industry to carve out a career..I'll loose this consistent supply of a monthly salary I am so used to of! No surety that I will be able to establish myself as a successful singer or composer...there are millions who come to Mumbai to try their luck!

So going for the passion seems to be like taking a plunge into unknown...into uncertainty...! 

I am sure everyone of us has thought about living their passion at some stage in their life...but only some have the will and strength to go for it.


May God give that strength to the rest of us! - Wishing everybody a Happy Diwali!!

Tribute to Jagjit Singh

Jagjit Singh ji is no more....a loss to Gazal gayaki and sensible music. As it happens with me always....I didn't realize what does this loss mean to me? Though I got the news and said to myself and friends it's sad etc etc...but as such I was unaffected...I was busy with my normal daily routine..going to office...coming back and so on...suddenly one day while on-route to office in the bus, when I switched on my iPod and selected a song from 'Samvedana', an album by Jagjit where he composed for Atal Bihari Vajpayee's poems, it struck me that this person is no more in this world..whom I am listening to right now..! I am not going to see him again...! (it's not as if he was my neighborhood friend and I used to see him daily..but still) I used to attend his concerts in Mumbai, as & when I got a chance...and although off-late I used to get a bit disappointed with his singing in concerts as he used to experiment too much...but yet his uniquely deep & sensitive voice always used to enthrall & amaze. Often I have craved for his earlier concert singing...especially when I listen to some old concert recordings...like 'Duniya jise kahte hain' , 'Fir usi rah guzar par Shayad', 'Shola hoon bhadakne ki guzarish nahi karta' etc. I often wished I was there to attend his concerts when he was at his prime!


For me, he along with Ghulam Ali has been a great influence....I grew up in a family where hindustani classical music was the most played music(till we arrived on the scene! :-) ) my father & grandfather both knew playing Tabla & Sitar respectively. But we children.. were hardly impressed by classical music and looked at it as boring stuff. :-) Though now I appreciate classical music much more.


I remember listening to Ghulam Ali first time when I was a child and my father would often play his cassettes. Then later on I was introduced to Jagjit Singh by my elder brother when he entered his engineering 1st year. That was the time when a musical program called Saregama had also started on TV with Sonu Nigam as an anchor. For me, this program really generated an interest in the old Hindi Film music and other non-film music genres such as folk & gazals and even classical music...otherwise till then, for me music meant the then trendy hindi film music with numbers like...'tu cheez badi hai mast mast'  :-).  So from there on, I got attracted to Jagjit's deep voice with his unique small vibrations (harkatein). Jagjit and his wife Chitra  made a really great singing pair...their contrasting natures of voice (While Jagjit's voice is deep & at lower octave..kind of outside-in, Chitra's is at higher octave...inside-out) seemed to complement each other's singing.


I have associated different phases of my life with one or the other Gazals of these two maestros. So whenever I recall past..the associated gazal comes first in mind! - That's the kind of attachment has been with Jagjit Ji & his gayaki, for me. But I often think that.....that's the beauty of these legends...they have left a legacy..they have given the world which will remain there even after them...even after they have passed away...the music..the compositions created by Jagjit will always be there with me...with other fans!


To conclude with one of his composition.. this is what he means to me - 'Jate jate wo mujhe achhi nishani de gaya.....Umr bhar doharaunga..aisi kahani de gaya.'

Power of Compounding

I came across this article about ‘Power of compounding’ in DNA money, Oct 5^th 2011 DNA newpaper’s financial and economic news section. I found it very interesting and thought you too would like it and may benefit from it, so reproducing the whole article here:

Power of Compounding:

“In the book, ‘Once upon a Wall Street’, Peter Lynch, one of the most successful mutual fund managers that wall street has ever seen, narrates a story.

Consider the Indians of Manhattan, Who in 1625 sold all their real estate to a group of immigrants for $24 in trinkets and beads. For 363 years the Indians have been the subjects of cruel jokes because of it- but it turns out that they may have made a better deal than the buyers who got the island. At 8% interest on $24 (note: let’s suspend our disbelief and assume they converted the trinkets to cash) compounded over all those years, the Indians would have built up a net worth just short $30 trillion, while the latest tax records from the Borough of Manhattan show the real estate to be worth only $28.1 billion.

Give Manhattan the benefit of doubt: That $28.1 billion is the assessed value, and for all anybody knows, it may be worth twice that on the open market. So Manhattan’s worth $56.2 billion. Either way, the Indians could be ahead by $29 trillion and change!

This little story conveys you the power of compounding and the fact that the earlier you start investing the better it gets.

Illustration

Let’s try and understand this through an example of two friends Ram and Shyam. Both start working at the same time at the age of 23. Ram starts saving when he turns 25 and invests Rs. 50,000 every year. Assuming that on this he earns a return of 10% every year, at the end of ten years, Ram has been able to accumulate Rs. 8.77 lakh.

However, due to financial constraints Ram is not able to invest any more money after the 10^th year. At the same time he does not utilise the fund that he has already accumulated, hoping to live off it when he retires.

He lets the Rs. 8.77 lakh grow and assuming that it continues to earn a return of 10% p.a., he would be able to accumulate around Rs. 95 lakh by the time he turns 60. So the Rs. 5 lakh (Rs. 50,000 x 10 years) he had invested in the first ten years of his working life would have grown to Rs. 95 lakh. This, even though he stopped investing entirely after the first ten years.

Now let’s take the case of Shyam. Shyam believed in enjoying life, spending money recklessly rather than save regularly.

However at the age of 35, reality suddenly dawns upon him and he starts putting aside Rs. 50,000 every year. Unlike his friend Ram, who stopped after the first 10 years, Shyam religiously invests the amount each year for all of 25 years i.e. till he turns 60. Now, assuming he also earns a return of 10% per year on his investments, in the end, Shyam would have managed to 

accumulate Rs. 54.10 lakh.

Putting it differently, even after investing Rs. 50,000 regularly for 25 years, Shyam has only managed to accumulate Rs. 41 lakh lesser in comparison to Ram. Remember Ram has ended up investing only Rs. 5 lakh in total over the 10 years that he invested. In comparison, Shyam over the 25 years invested Rs. 12.5 lakh (Rs. 50,000 x 25 years). So even by saving two-and-a-half times more that Ram, Shyam has managed to build a corpus which is 43% lower! This happened because Ram started investing earlier which in turn allowed the money to compound for a greater 

period of time.

Also, as the corpus grows, the impact of compounding is greater. Ram as we know had managed to accumulate Rs. 8.77 lakh after 10 years after which he stopped investing, allowing the accumulated corpus to compound for 20 years more. In other words, the total life of the investment was for 30 years. However had his investment time-frame been till he turned 55 i.e. had the money compounded for 25 years instead of 30, then at the end Ram would have accumulated a corpus of around Rs. 59 lakh. By choosing to let his investment run for just an additional five years, Ram managed to accumulate Rs. 45 lakh more.

Real life illustration

In terms of a practical example, let’s take the case of HDFC Equity fund. The 5 year return of this fund is around 13% p.a. On the other hand from inception (December 1994), the fund has returned 21% p.a. Now, had an investor invested say Rs. 50,000 five years back, the investment would have grown to around Rs. 91,000.

However had the investment been made at the inception (allowing the money to compound over a greater period of time) the investment would have grown over 24 times to around Rs. 12 lakh.

To sum up, Albert Einstein himself called the power of compounding the 8^th wonder of the world. In this article we have given various examples of how potent this power is when combined with its ally—Father time. It’s never too early nor too late to begin investing. Or to put it differently, better late than later.”

After reading this, I can see where I am, my situation being pretty much similar to ‘Shyam’ of the example! But since now I know about the power of compounding, and as they say better late than later, I intend to chalk out my own financial planning. Hope this article will make us think about investments and financial planning a bit more seriously, especially for the new ones who have recently come out of their colleges & have started earning!

Concert update

It was to be a concert bringing the two greats...two maestros of 'Gazal' (Gazal can be termed as a light classical indian musical genre...wherein poems written in Urdu language are sung expressively) together...Jagjit Singh and Ghulam Ali..for the first time! I have followed these two greats since my childhood...thanks to my father who was a fan of Ghulam Ali and my elder brother who became a fan of Jagjit during his college days..! I was looking forward to see them singing together.. interacting together..but something unfortunate happened. :(

I was on my way to the concert..when I got a sms from organizers that Jagjit Singh would not be able to perform due to health reasons and instead..Hariharan is going to join Ghulam Ali. I was a bit disappointed ..though Hariharan is a wonderful singer...but expectations were already set to see the two Gazal maestros together whom I have admired for years. I sincerely pray to God for his quick recovery...a great singer who made Gazals accessible and popular among masses...Jagjit Singh ji...you have been an idol for me!

Hariharan started with some of his popular gazals like ‘kash aisa koi manzar hota’.. ‘mai khayal hoon kisi aur ka’ , 'mareez-a-ishq ka kya hai’, ‘patta patta buta buta’….all with some wonderful improvisations and he created some breakthrough moments when you automatically start clapping and sighing ‘wah wah’….but with due respect to him…somehow that ‘rooh’ was missing…

Nevertheless he was simply superb when he sang what he calls ‘urdu blues’, a gazal from album kash ‘ye aaine se akele me’…. because according to him when he was composing this track the notes resembled a lot with ‘blues’…a western musical genre. I have been to few other fusion concerts..but none of them generated much interest..all sounded like an stretched & forced alliance of eastern & western forms! But here…it was a wonderful seamless fusion of western and eastern music..I just wondered how effortlessly Hariharan was playing with notes as he wished and all that play was making people wanting more & more! 

Then came the maestro himself…Ghulam Ali…but he was a pale shadow of his own brilliant past…age seems to have affected his voice…he had to put a lot of effort in singing….still he pulled it off quite nicely..through his unparallel earthy eloquence…there is a lot to learn from him in the art of engaging the audience in a performance…his style of singing  some brilliant ‘sher’s..2 liners, explaining meaning of difficult urdu words…polite manners…quoting some old interesting stories about his musical journey..cracking jokes…all was quite charming.  He was absolutely brilliant and sometimes unbelievable on Harmonium….he didn’t need another Harmonium player..he played all by himself….and it would have been just perfect if his singing was also like the old days…. I was able to understand his ideas..& what he wanted to sing but couldn’t. I was thinking oh God...if only I was born few years earlier so that I could have attended his concerts when he was at his prime...! :-)

The concert ended with a jugalbandi, Hariharan giving company to Ghulam Ali for ‘Barasan lagi’ a dadra in raag piloo (a semi classical form) …quite melodious…was good to watch audience humming the ‘dhun’ of a semi classical stuff which was not that famous either.

Overall a good concert...but one who has listened to Ghulam Ali’s old concert recordings…he’ll be disappointed…badly missing that voice and style.

Learnings...

Just thought to write down the learnings from my life so far... will try to keep adding new learnings on a daily/weekly basis...

16th July 2011:

- There are indeed some basic principles that govern the life on earth...there is definitely a 'right way' to live....and if we don't live in accordance with those principles...we find ourselves in pain, agony and sorrow. Those who lead a life in sync/ in tune with these principles, are happy forever...always filled with eternal bliss.

For example some principles are:

Honesty, Integrity, Quality, Fairness, Growth, Service etc...things that define Humanity..things that differentiate Humans from the instinct driven animals.

- The material wealth...and sensory pleasures do give us happiness...joy...and even peace sometimes...but that's not long lasting...that's transient...temporary. And the trouble is the sorrow it gives...which is long lasting...even permanent in some cases!

But the long lasting bliss...peace and happiness can be found only within...only through meditating onto our true-self...which is not just the body....we are soul...we are GOD.

Hence we must know what we should be after..in our lives...temporary or permanent?

- I do believe in Hindu spirituality's following concepts: God has given a 'free will' to human beings...and a man can find true happiness when his will is in accordance with God's will... when this free will is in sync with God's will. One must understand or must try to remind oneself...that this whole world is an illusion...and we are nothing...it's not I who is taking decisions..who is running this world....but it's the almighty! There is no 'I'... the 'Ego' is an illusion..so just get rid of this ego...and start seeing God in everything and everyone in this world.

- Man's true nature is 'Divinity' and not animality...God has given a unique quality to Humans..that makes them different from animals... discrimination & conscience...i.e. their ability to differentiate between right and wrong...truth and lie....good and evil. Every Man deep in heart knows what he's doing...and whether it's right thing to do or not. So keep a basic faith or trust in people while dealing with them in our daily lives....and refrain from the instinct driven acts.

- Instinct driven acts can give some temporary joy but eventually it erodes self-esteem and character, causes guilt and suffering. Actions based on principles...rather than the instincts...will build our character...and will lead us to happiness and satisfaction within.

- I do believe in Karma theory...'Your present is the result of your actions of the past.' And hence, if we extend the theory a bit, today's actions will make tomorrow...so in a way 'Our future is in our own hands'. So plan for the future, list down your priorities, and start working NOW...stop 'just thinking', and start acting on that thinking.

- Past is past...you can't go back in time and change it. So accept your past as a fact of your life...and remember, that your past doesn't define you. You are much more than what you have been in past...You are DIVINE. Similarly Future is non-existent..only thing that exists....the only truth is 'Present'...this very moment of time...this is what exists...Past and future don't. Hence what matters is the present...and what are we doing in the present...and only that defines us.

- Learn from past....understand what mistakes you made...and remember not to repeat the same mistakes again. The Past should be used to become wiser and stronger.

- When ever you are feeling like going for one of the many choices you have......don't commit...take a day more to think about it and then go for it. At the outset, things might look simple and straight forward, but it can get complex and tricky....so always seek more time before committing finally. Once committed...give your full effort into the commitment.

- Difficulties/Failures always teach something...and we come out stronger...and remember only those fail, who have tried....so keep trying. Sometimes, your faith is tested by God..by life...by nature....so don't loose hopes soon...keep trying your best....it's only going to make you stronger and better than before.

- There are always 2 options to choose when we come across a problem in our life - Either to face the challenge and try to find the solution...or else try to avoid it...blame others...find faults in others...blame your fate..blame God...ask God why he made me so weak..why it's always me..etc..etc. The choice is ours...and so are the results.

- Whatever the failure is...and whatever the reasons are...and whoever apart from you was responsible for that..... it's always in our best interests..if we concentrate upon our own shortcomings...if we ask ourselves...that what I could have done better to avoid this failure? Finding faults in others is always easy.

- Whatever you are today in your life...you and only you are responsible for that.... understand this and take full responsibility of your own life. Don't blame anybody else at all for your failures...and give all the credit to GOD for your success. This will make you humble...and will open the gates for further success.

Mumbai...city of slums

Mumbai....some place..! I think I have a love-hate relationship with this city....financial capital...city of dreams...city of stars...at the same time...it's also a city of slums...abject poverty.

Today I was headed to the 'Mumbai property exhibition' held in the western suburban area- Bandra... this is supposed to be one of my serious initiatives in the direction of owning a house in Mumbai...if not to live myself...then may be as an investment...

As usual... I took a local train from Borivali and got down at Bandra this Sunday afternoon....but as I looked for exit at Bandra east platform, I found that due to some walker's bridge work.. I would have to take an exit route via the slums situated near the railway lines....my goodness... the sight of those clumsy slums was heart wrenching..... so called small huts or shanties...nothing but structures made of few wooden/steel bars and some large cloth covering it from top & sides....but I think probably there was a fire accident which burned down number of huts and these structures must be temporary ones....because I have seen slums in much better conditions...

Little children inside..some sleeping...some playing....ladies busy washing utensils..near sewage water...there is dirt and shit all over the place...it was like a scrapyard....so terrible conditions to live....looked like a refugee camp out there.....'how can human beings live in such conditions...that too not for few days or months...but for the whole life?' I thought, but then I was not watching this for the first time in my life...many a times I have seen slums and poverty in this city of dreams...! But I don't know why...today I was feeling ashamed of myself....I was thinking that I am so god damn lucky to be born in a well-to-do family....Suddenly I felt that God has given me everything....I grew up in a loving family....got well educated...got a decent job...got opportunities to see the world... yet I crib.....about high rents...unaffordable housing prices... and here millions are living out their whole lives literally in a toilet! Yet I have misused whatever God gave me.....I take all this comfort for granted...!

Another thought came in ..why there is so much poverty...and why such a huge divide between rich & poor? Why some people have to live like this....and some roam in air conditioned cars....just recently I read in the newspaper that these days lots of Indians are going for high-end luxury cars generally priced around Rs. 1 crore going even upto 20 crores! Such difference...Such gap...?

I don't know the reason .....there can be many....historic...karmic....economic...

Can't everyone get at least good and honourable living conditions....? What it would take to achieve that?

I don't know the solution either....

hmmm...Forget about it man....just sporadic thoughts...as usual...and no action....you are soon going to forget all about it and carry on your selfish living...so don't try to be a sympathetic hero of only words and no deeds...you moron!

Simply Simple!

Simple people...with a smile on their face...so talented...so learned...yet so down to earth...humble..such was the experience tonight...when we went for a concert..Hindustani classical..and got to meet such simple people. An eighty year old veteran...performed with the energy of a youngster..the sight of the audience in such small numbers...didn't make him discontent...he carried on..so engrossed into his music...it was like filling the empty canavas with vibrant colours...with beautiful imagination...and the mood..or rasa of the raga was totally extracted and sprinkled all over the audience...!!

All the artists...the percussionist, tanpura wadak, harmonium player... looked so happy while performing...truly enjoying their music....

I straight away felt like....I want to live my life like this.....I want to be there on stage...I want to be with them...learn this art from such great gurus....live out my passion and be happy like them...why can't I be happy chasing my dream?

I think...never in my life till now....I have done something with full devotion..determination....I have not given my everything to one goal.... but now I feel...that this is the goal....this is my destiny....

I don't know if I will succeed or fail......moreover....that also depends on what do I consider as success..! But if I can remain true to my own heart.....and carry on...on my chosen path with complete faith in my decision....that no matter what may come ahead....ups & downs..good times bad times...if I can carry on & on & on....then the journey itself will be fulfilling and satisfying...and ever blissful....and I think this is what the success is for me......the material benefits..money...fame...power..etc..are not at all the benchmarks of success...definitely not for me!

Run Forrest Run!!

'Mama always said, Life is like a box of chocolates Forrest, you never know what you are gonna get!'

Forrest Gump.....when I first time watched the movie...since I am a music buff...grew a liking to the background score of this movie quickly....the music adds on to the appeal and the emotional quotient of the movie.

"I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time."

When Tom Hanks said these dialogues....Forrest's whole life story started moving in front of my eyes...& then when I started looking at my life so far.....I thought, yeah....may be it's both...Forrest is so god damn rite! And that's why the life itself is so interesting....full of surprises...full of everything.... oh god....thanks for granting me a human life....

I don't know when the life will end...but I think one should live his/her life by following anything else but his/her heart....just like Forrest did....because heart never lies.