Mar 03

Books to change your life!

This blog has tried to feed varied tastes, and more so tried to showcase the varied interests that I share in my life! But I realized that I still haven’t given the stage to one of my most passionate interest – Books. I do not boast of being an ardent reader who devours every best seller, but I can still humbly talk of a refined taste in terms of books. The reason I treasure them so, is probably because they were the sole companions I hung on to during my periods of introvertness, and even during the period of extrovertness! I run to them in moments of solitude, and in moments of celebrations! They were privy to my fears, my flaws, and my feasts! They have seen me grow and mature, and what more! They have been a part of it!
In the first account in this blog on books, I would like to write about 2 of my most precious books, that I have in my possession. These books have been my light, my guide and my inspiration in moments of darkness, doubt, & despair. Both of these books have been authored by an eminent and renowned writer – Richard Bach.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull : The story of a seagull who flew only for the thrill of flight! The story of a being who craved to be different from others, and suffered for being so! The beginning of a journey in the path of love! This book which is slightly more than a 100 pages, with half of the pages carrying images of sea gulls, nevertheless is an ocean with waves of inspiration to flood one’s being with! I am yet to find a person who woudn’t recognize one self with the sea gull, or grow to admire it! It is a story close to our heart and talks of our struggle. It assures us of an happy ending – something which sometimes, we aren’t so sure of. These are the kind of books that leave a mark on us, an indelible one at that. However small it may be, the mark shall grow – under the right support and environment, only on the longer run to bear the fruit of happiness and contentment.

Illusions : The book above started a journey in the path of love, while Illusions takes us into the realms of self-realization. Unless we understand ourselves, and love ourselves for being what we are, we shall never grow to love others. We need to be our saviors – our Messiahs, in order for us to heal others and more importantly ourselves! It’s all an Illusion! The World is an Illusion! The pains, sufferings, horrors we see, everything is an illusion as also the beauty! So whatz the one thing that is real? It’s the truth! A Truth that never changes! The story of how a barn stormer’s life is changed by his ‘chance’ meeting with a messiah turned barnstormer is what this book is all about. It is tough to understand the essence of the book in a single reading! What more? Read the book over and over again in different contexts, at different junctures of life, and it makes different sense each time! It is the ending of the book that still startles me to this day!

Both the books are filled with quotes that seem to make a difference into our everyday lives. These are normal things stated so profoundly under such unique circumstances, that the characters that say it stand out of the book in front of your eyes, and look directly into you and speak to you. The words hit like bolts of thunder and shake your beliefs! Sometimes, it seemed as if someone rudely threw me off of the bed in my deep slumber and brutally woke me up by shaking the hell outta me! We all tend to be comfortably settled down in what we think is our limitations, our beliefs of what we can do and what we can’t! We accept them, and make them a part of us! These are the books that convince you that we are ‘limitless… children of the Is… playful spriritual beings …’. The author writes in Illusions –

“Argue for your limitations and sure enough, they are yours”!!

“In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice”.

“The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly”.

Some of these will not hit right into us in the first reading. And I feel they must not too. I revel in digging into the essence. And both of these books however simple they may sound, are profound in every sense! Get these books if you want a treasure house for a lifetime!

Mar 03

Whose Tag is it Anyway!!

It had been quite a while since we played the game of tagging the fellow bloggers! There were a few questions that have been playing pranks in my mind. So here goes a list of questions and my answers for the same. And me being the originator, the bloggers I’d like to Tag with these questions are – Kishan, Manju, Chandan, Velu, Giridhar Narayan, Madhuri, and Divya (Enigma). Hope they respond duly in their respective blogs!
  1. Name :- Praveen

  2. Date of Birth :- 19th of March

  3. Ambition in Life :- To be successful and stay happy in any endeavour that I may take.

  4. Your Asset(s) :- My patience, smile, sense of humor and the talents.

  5. The biggest flaw in your personality :- Indecision and procrastinations.

  6. What gives you the greatest pleasure? – Being the way I like to be!

  7. What hurts you the most? – Anger, misunderstanding, hypocrism.

  8. What motivates you? – Challenge and urge to learn.

  9. Who has had the greatest influence in your life? – My Aunt.

  10. What is your idea of perfect happiness? – A mind free of fears, concerns, and guilt.

  11. What is the best gift that can be given to anyone? – To love them for what they are.

  12. The biggest mistake you ever committed in your life? – Thus far it has been to lose sight of my goal. As for future, too early to say anything ;).

  13. What, in your opinion, is Life? – Matter of perception.

  14. What is the toughest thing to do in this world? – To let go.

  15. Humanity is at cross-roads. What do you suggest as a remedial measure? – Be truthful to yourself and set off on any road – You can always take U turns.

  16. On what scale do u measure friendship? How much would u trust your friend? – I don’t measure friendship. I trust my friend 100%.

  17. What is the quality you like the most in a man and a woman? – Respect and Love.

  18. How would you like to be remembered after your death? – It is to the prerogative of the person who wants to remember me.

  19. Message to the world? – Treat others the way you would want to be treated if in their position.

  20. What attracts you the most? – The S O S of life – Simplicity, Originality and Sincerity.

  21. How would you describe yourself in a single adjective? – A Hearty Explorer.

  22. What do you look for in a relationship? – I do not get into a relationship hoping to profit from it! But I’d look for mutual trust, respect and Love.

  23. The person you would like to be in your next life? – ME!!

So, these were the questions and my answers for ’em. I hope my fellow bloggers would respond soon and favorably!

Feb 24

Guru for fusion: Prem Joshua

Fusion music – is not about just mixing two different styles of music together, it is a very delicate interleaving of the two with neither of them losing its identity individually, but yet on the whole appear in a different pattern of waves that seep through you and reverberate deep within the heart and mind! It is about blending cultures without offending any of the primary components, and as such is far more challenging in the musical world. There has been experimentation on using different instruments for different styles of music. Pt. Vishwamohan Bhatt, who won the Grammys speared the use of Hawaiin Guitar for Classical traditional styles! But there is a group of people class apart from the usuals, who have a passion for experimenting in different styles/traditions of music across the world and bringing them together. And when it comes to blending Eastern, and more so Indian Music with the Western, the one name that stands out all by itself is that of Prem Joshua.
Prem Joshua was born in Germany and took to music at a very young age, and started experimenting in many contemporary styles of West – Rock, Jazz, and fusion. His unsatiable quest and spiritual inquisition soon brought him to India – the place where he (in his own words) felt “instantly at home”. By then he had also studied the Islamic music, as well as been to Greece, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. He had once heard a CD of Ravi Shankar, and that instantly transformed him. To him, that music gave him one of the most ethereal, and divine experience he had ever felt. Well before long, he did win the accolades from the master himself as well as his daughter Anoushka. Prem’s teacher was Maestro Ustad Usman Khan. He even plays flute, Sax, guitar, tabla, drums, bass and several other instruments. His many albums vividly put to tune several Sanskrit and Sufi hymns. The stand alone factor is nevertheless the music that portrays the main style presented in the album – be it sufi, or tantric, or the soothing meditative style. His albums include “The Dance of Shakti”, “Water down the Ganges”, “Shiva Moon”, “Dakini Lounge”, “No Goal but the path”, “Tribal gathering” and few others. What strikes me the most in his music is the distinct sounds that he produces, some of them rather weird, by using a medley of familiar instruments!! His combination of the acoustical effects and the infusion of words in between give a transcendental feeling to the listener.
Prem Joshua continues to tour the World over, giving his mesmerizing performances to the growing number of fusion enthusiasts accompanied by a highly complementary band of musicians and performers.

Feb 23

My Grouse on Weight Loss!

I am shooore that many of my friends who have seen me, would agree that I have no need whatsoever to workout! But then, my mom has quite a different perspective on my physical structurization. Alas! She is my mom and a damn adamant one at that! So when she gave me an ultimatum on Sunday that I either shed those extra pounds showing around me, faster than Udita Goswami can shed her clothes, or else, let her find a girl for me, I was left with no choice! Now now.. not that my mother wouldn’t have chosen a girl good enough for me, but then, I would’ve lost the simple pleasures of seeking! So having settled that, I chose to go with the devil and even coaxed a friend of mine to be my accomplice in this ritualistic sacrifice of the triglicerides in the body!
On an auspicious moment of the Monday evening, me and my friend embarked on the arduous journey to the altar of body building! Now, I am not the one who generally takes to think low of my esteemed self! And my initial impression of the one’s working out there didn’t seem to do any harm either! Those wretched souls with their thin lean bodies looked utterly famished, and produced in me a sniggering much as erst while villains like Vajramuni/Pran sported! My well fed body knew what it was in for, and slightly shivered at the thought of becoming one of those leanies! It shuddered even as I held the handle of the peddler! Not to be undone, I set the program up, and started to peddle! My muscles let out a shriek “Nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin……… keh do ki yeh jhoooT hai…. aisa nahin ho sakta… choD do mujhe.. kameene.. tere paas aur koi body vody nahin hai kyaa…” but I peddled on.. and on.. till the shrieks turned to silent sniffs.. and then there was silence. Oh! Curse my villainy!!
Now! what in heaven’s name is wrong in being, well a little chubby in all the cute places!! I am sure girls would love to pull my cheeks and maybe rest on my soft tummy! But no! that is not to be done!! Well after burning a 100 calories on the peddler, I went over to the circuit room. Now herein, they have arranged a whole array of machines chosen exclusively to work every part of your body! And what more! they even have an automated system that tells you when to start, and when to stop and move to the next station! Kewl eh? Ah! but the drama was yeddo stard! For there was this immense gargantuan specimen of homo sapien species working out over there! On the weight lifting stations, this King of a Kong, had set the weighs to 200 lbs!! thatz even more than my body weight and the scales that I can lift combined!! Now, having been well aware of my immense physical abilities and not willing to give him a complex, I decided to reduce the weight to the minimum.. and set it to hehehehehe 30 lbs! All was going on well, till that species decided to go over the stations once again, and as he approached the station that I had worked on, his eyes nearly popped out of his thick skull! He looked at me, as if looking at the most poor and wretched creature that one may find in the remote corner of the kitchen cabinet! It’s a feeling that says.. “Oh! you poor thing! look at you! I can crush you like a piece of overcooked potato but then, whatz the fun in that!” and then u sweep it up and trash it out!! Albeit here he obviously couldn’t trash me out, and so gave his “you despicable creature” look and set the weights back to his capacity! And I! much relieved at the end of it all, rushed home, and complimented myself by eating a vanilla chocolate ice cream that incidentally had 136 calories in it! Amen to that!

Feb 20

2 Movies and a Nite!!

So you guyz already know what this is all about! Yeah! Watched 2 movies tonite! “Rang De Basanti” and “Main Meri Patni Aur Woh“. Both the movies were drastically varied in many ways, but yet provided quite a wholesome entertainment! And here I am, providing a review of both, as per my tastes, and interests!

Rang De Basanti :- The story of the young generation that is awakened to the condition of the country by embarking on a journey through the history of freedom struggle, sounded extremely promising! Indeed the first half kept the spirits alive, only to be hastily put down by the second! Disappointing? To a certain extent.. yes! Was it the hype the media created? Or was it the way the first half of the movie portrays itself to be? Or is it something that my personal perception is finding hard to digest? I dunno! I felt that the movie did not do justice to what otherwise was an excellent story line!
Ups of the movie :- The par excellence acting by all the actors! The music scored by A R Rahman, the beautiful locales chosen for the picturization, and the innovativeness of the idea. The portrayal of the gradual change in the outlook of the main characters has been well handled, not to mention the interleaved sequences of the freedom struggle. All the main characters have excelled in their performances. Soha Ali khan has given a wonderful performance considering this to be her first movie!
Downs of the movie :- The dramatization of the events, which is far from truth, even in the present India! That the goverment would storm the Akashvani building with Black commandos to kill the college students, who are on air confessing their crimes and exposing the reasons behind it is quite hard to digest, let alone the portrayal of the police beating up a peaceful candle light vigilance. Ace actors and actresses like Waheeda Rehman, Kiron Kher, Anupam Kher and Om puri are wasted in very small roles! Though, they have all rendered their roles wonderfully well, there could have been more room provided for those characters! The parallel drawn between the main characters and the freedom fighters too seemed a tad over cooked! To say that they were influenced by them, is one thing! But then to compare their acts with the freedom struggle did not really seem convincing! With all due respects to his acting prowess, Aamir seemed out of the group amidst all the young actors!
Overall view :- I’d certainly recommend everyone to watch this movie. It is fresh as far as its idea is concerned. But I would not recommend high expectations on this. Sit back and relax, and do give a thought to the ideas portrayed. To that extent of getting the viewers mind to think on the story and thus about the condition of the nation, this movie indeed has been successful. Rating:- 8.5/10.
Main Meri Patni Aur Woh :- In a period where Bollywood relies very heavily on a studded star cast, exuberant settings, posh locales, and loaded concepts, here comes a movie that is down to earth in the literal sense – A less known star cast, a very simple, and normal story line, and highly simplistic portrayal of the same. Yet, it wins over you instantly. Though I must say at this point that this movie ran into controversy – accused of being a remake of a Malayalam movie – “Vadakkunokkiyanthram”. The same concept was also used in a kannada movie, “nanna hendati cennagiddale” (literally translated means, “My wife is beautiful”). So controversies apart, the story is about a middle class guy Mithilesh Shukla(Rajpal Yadav) known popularly as Chote babu, who, as fate would have marries Veena (Rituparna Sengupta). His wife is well educated, from a higher economic class, and above all extremely beautiful! Her beauty only adds to the woes of Mithilesh, who starts eyeing every person around him suspiciously and hence tries hard to keep them away from his wife. Enter the erstwhile friend of Veena, Akash (Kay Kay), and all hell breaks lose! Akash is better than Mithilesh in all respects, and what more! He is creative too! Well then there is the brewing misunderstanding, and then the cloud clears, and before long, its the usual happy ending that we all look forward to! The movie is extremely promising, and is very hearty. The emotional scenes are very short lived, and deftly handled. The movie is extremely smooth in its flow, and will leave the viewer smiling for a long time to come.
Ups of the Movie :- Absolutely superb acting by Rajpal Yadav and Rituparna, excellent direction, well handled story line, melodious and lilting songs. It is a tragedy that in the glitz and glamour of Bollywood the true talents like that of Rajpal Yadav, and the director Chandan Arora (who also directed “Main Madhuri Dixit Ban na chahti hoon“) are over shadowed! I would not be surprised if this movie is not nominated for any awards or even if it is, it may fail to rake any! That is just how superficial and hollow the industry has become. To praise the acting of Rajpal yadav would be an arduous task, as all the adjectives that one may use will seem hackneyed, and I am not able to coin new terms as of yet! He acts as naturally as he breathes! The song “Aaj maine dil se” remains echoing in the heart long after the movie has ended! The movie is extremely easy on the mind and heart of the viewer and maintains its lightness all through to the ending! It would be a crime to miss out on such a beautiful movie.
Downs of the Movie :- I really can’t think of any as of now, except that this movie is a Bollywood movie! In that, as I already mentioned, it will fail to receive the due appreciation and accolades it so richly deserves.
Overall Rating :-10/10. Again, Don’t miss this!

Feb 16

Hum pyaar karne waale!

Well, stupid cupid’s day is over!! I am sure he shot quite a few arrows! And just how many hit, and how many missed will be known before the year ends ;). And yeah, this blog including, all the media swayed for the romance in the air! There were celebrations of great romances and every friggin’ lover thought that he was yeddanoder Romeo (RSS/Shiv Sena Patronists read Heer/Majnu) and every heart broken dude spoke of the pointlessness of such celebrations (ignoring the protests of the so called protectors of culture). eeeeeeeeneyways! Now just like yin-yang, black-white, beautiful-ugly, amitabh-kishan, madhuri-meghana, our bollywood has given us the best and probably the most awful lovers/love stories! Now I know that all you people have been fed up and are ready to puke out the names of the best ones! But then, to counter that, lets think of the really repulsive lovers we have seen on screen! What say you? 😉
  • Vikas Bharadwaj-Meghana (Classic-Dance of love) :- For crying out loud! What was Subhash Ghai thinking when launching this movie through his productions or I guess he truly wasn’t! Ever had an experiencing of groping in the dark corners of the bench you are sittin’ on during your first date with a gorgeous babe, looking for something and end up with a sticky mess “that must not be named” -much like a relic of someone?! And there is so much embarassment, shock, and trauma! And you have this demented and shocked monkey look on your face! Trust me! That sounds far better than the experience of watching this movie! Herez a sample for ya all – The lead actress named Doli (no comments.. trying hard not to kill myself!) is watching the movie “Romeo and Juliet” with the lead actor (oh boy! He can put a fossil of a wood to shame and kill it all over again with his acting prowess). The scene is of Romeo makin’ out with Juliet when they meet secretly in her room. And voila the female lead realizes that the film is in English!!! And she goes “yeh kaun sa piccar dikhaa rahe ho hamein, hamein toh yeh bhaasha samajh mein hI nahin aati“!!!! (Comeon! don’t stop me! I wanna die!!!!). And thatz when the Mr. Woody Vikas goes on to explain the situation of the movie, slowly seducing her! I mean! Dude! You could have done that using any porn! And she pretty damn well would have understood!! More Duh!! And if Bappi’s music did not tip me off, the fact that this movie was directed by the same person who made that wildly junglee movie “Tarzan” must have!! I am planning to sue them for intense psychological disruption and demention of my mental status!
  • Fardeen Khan – Meghana Kothari (Prem Aggan) :- Ok! Now was this meant to be a funny movie? No? Oh! I guess you wanted this to be a sexy and sizzling movie? Not even that!!! Hmm.. lemme think! Ah! Yeah! Oh My! How could I not see it! Isn’t this supposed to be a horror movie?!! Whatz that! Oh comeon! the only person allowed to curse around here would be me! And boy oh boy! this movie did leave me dumbfounded to even speak! Here is a guy loving this thing called a gal, making out like dogs in barns! They have to just see a snake, and before long they are out there trying all postures and positions that their bodies can manage! She goes “aaj mujhe us har dard ka ehsaas karaado, jisse mera yeh jism sirf tumhaara ho jaaye” – now was this an invite to make love?! I am sure there was a mis-communication! For Fardeen does get on to her like a mad dog, and before long he goes “nahin mein yeh nahin kar sakta (shocked expressions!! Oh dude, that has some serious repercussions)!!!”
  • Sanjay Kapoor – Tabu (Prem) :- Nature is a known for its peculiarities and weirdness – and then there is Sanjay Kapoor!! I am sure even the maker must have squirmed in his seats when he made him! And here he is going “saamne hai par nazar atti nahin… atti nahin…” doing in the hall what may seem a neandrethel form of dance, except that the fire was missing! And oh yeah! the story! oh gosh! Now thatz what love is all about! 7 births and they still are in love with eachother! Now Tabu did seem an intelligent girl! And the same mistake in all the 7 births!! Oh comeon!!
  • Govinda – Aishwarya Rai (Albela) :- Ok.. let’s start with what went wrong. Ah! that’s right! This movie was even considered worthy of thinking let alone make one! And then, they paired up Govinda with Aishwarya Rai! It is not even putting a new label on an old bottle!! And what more! Jackie is the lover boy and then there is Namrata Shirodkar! Need one say more? No? Oh comeon, I need to share the agony! Ah! the story! Tourist guide meets phoren girl. Desi girl sets eyes on guide. Journalist doodle eyes phoren girl….zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
  • Hrithik – Kareena (Yaadein) :- Woah! Whadda movie! I remember going into a long depression soon after watching this mistake of a movie, that seems to have taken a set of gobbledygook hotch potch and tried to concoct what seemed to be a run-away success in driving away the viewers!! While it was a torture enough to bear with Jackie, add to that those weird antics of Hrithik (the torture of bearing with hundreds of Hrithiks dancing with guns in their hands, while one was quite a lot to handle), and whatz more? Shaadi.com!! thatz what!

Much as I would like to include Mallika-Himanshoooo (“Khwahish”), SRK – troupe of monkeys (“Mohabbatein”), Salman-Diya (“tumko na bhool paayenge”) and many many more, I would not want to deter dear ol’ cupid! But then what can one say! He certainly goofs up sometimes! And what more! Bollywood celebrates it! Now, I am exiting, to go through yeddanoder round of pyschological counseling for intense trauma and tension! For all those who read this, do write to me for free aspirins!