Twenty Six Eleven

Its been a while since I penned / blogged about something that changed me as a person.
It happened 2 years ago when a know-it-all son of a gun (literally) massacred a lot of helpless people at VT. And it changed the mindscape of Mumbai forever.

Our XIC class decided to do something about it. Led on by a free minded prof, we gathered at Gateway and started to circle the area around the Taj. The idea was to chant a line in unison and create a monument of sound to fill the cracks that were caused. We began to chant softly at first then rising in tempo and volume, "Aatank se hum kabhi nahi darenge, nafrat ka saamna pyaar se karenge."

Soon people started asking us which party we belonged to, and which organization we were from and what was the purpose of all this. Surely enough there were many like us who decided to come to Gateway that day in the memory of a murdered Mumbai. But we continued to do our chanting.

That day something happened, while we were standing holding hands of the many random people who helped us to form a circle of trust. The person next to me started to chant with such belief and gusto that I could not help but wonder how a small line had changed him. The grip with which he gripped my hand had just made me a believer.

Here is a dedication to all my XIC classmates for making me believe that change is only possible if you believe in it!

Mix-and-Mash!

Everytime that I look at my profile,
All the Farmville requests seem so vile,
The notifications are long,
Helping to move right along.
Isn't that the way,
Everybody's got some spam to clear away!

I know nobody knows,
Where do Wall archives go,
I know its everybody's sin,
Limited profile views for your kin...

Half my life's in Facebook pages,
Lived and learned from photos and status messages,
You know its true...
All the spam, comes back to you!

Post with me, post some messages,
Post for the laughter, post some cheer,
Post with me just for today,
Maybe tomorrow everyone will block you away!

Dream on, dream on,
Its gonna be a while till the spams gone!
Dream on, dream on,
Its gonna be a while till the spams gone!

- Based by Aerosmith's "Dream On", Inspired by "The Social Network" and a tribute to all my "likes!"

New Scrubs

Lately I have been watching Scrubs, and I must tell you some stuff there really that gets me. In this one episode, in one of the first few seasons, there is an old lady who tells the protagonist JD to just go to a park and lie down on the grass. That part really set me thinking. I began to wonder when was the last time I did something like that? And then I thought that the time I was tackled and fell down in my building's garden didnt count.

Lately, I haven't had any time for myself. Let's repharse that and say that I haven't taken time out for myself. Hardly it seems that there is a moment that I am not doing anything. Weekdays are anyway full of things and so are some weekends. So even my leisurely Saturdays are spent catching up on sleep. When I started working, I had decided that I am not going to be one of those guys who just immerses himself in work and doesn't have time for anyone, but lately I am becoming one of those guys. All that talk about how I won't let my work mess up my (supposedly) vibrant social life is making its way to the scrapyard.

So come Diwali I made myself a resolution, that I will really take some time out for me and reflect on life. So far no progress, but I have a feeling that this year is going to be good. I remember a particular strip of Calvin and Hobbes, where they are arguing and in the last panel they show Hobbes all curled up on a patch of grass, with a big smile as he sleeps in the sun. And Calvin says,"How can you argue with someone who is that happy?" That is what I hope to get this year. All that other hogwash about success, fame and what not is secondary to this feeling.

Look, I know I have issues, some of you may know what I am talking about. But I realised that these are merely like stains on a pair of scrubs, change it and you are good as new! So thats what I am going to do, put on a fresh new pair and get ready to face the world. Coz till I don't that patch of grass under the sun keeps getting farther and farther.

Lyricism

Music is one thing in my life that I value dearly. I realised early on that there is LOT of music that we never discover because we listen to only a certain type of music. So I try and keep an open mind about music and listen to every genre. I don't think many of you know but I have learnt Tabla for 4 years, from my 7th to my 10th. It is horrible that I haven't found time to restart my classes. But I am going to. That is going to happen.

So I owe my liking for Classical music to my guru. I don't really understand the nuances of the music but I like listening to it. As a friend of mine had once said, "Listening to Classical is like coming home." It gives me an inexplicable peace. On another level, when I hear the great maestros sing their heart out, I feel so small and insignificant in comparison to their voice. Like a little soul looking at an endless canvas. The way it fills up the entire room "like a serenade of sound" is just amazing to see. It makes me want to immerse myself in it. I feel the sound going through me and making me complete one sur at a time.

Lately I have been attending concerts organised by the Indian Music Group. Damn those guys are doing a phenomenal job. See the IMG for those who dont know, is a student run organization, originally started by the stalwart Late Ustad Allah Rakha and it is continuing on its musical journey. Every month they have a concert by an artist and I love going there. This way I get to interact with the Greats from close quarters. It is a wonderful experience and you just know you are at the right place once the concert starts. On a completely different level, the IMG gives me a reason to continue listening to Classical and to keep visiting college. The last 5 years that I volunteered for Janfest, IMG's Annual Musical Extravaganza, have been some the best so far. I have so many happy memories of it and I keep telling my friends about all the little Artist Management stories.

I fondly remember this one time I walked into the IMG and the then librarian Frank, played Pt. Bhimsen Joshi's Abhangs, I wont forget that ever. We shared that, our liking for Bhimsenji.

So, what I love the most about music is the lyrics, there is such lucid simplicity in them that it is merely impossible to not be amazed with the clarity of thought.
Pair that with impeccable mastery over surs and taans and that when you realize how small you are.

Ode to a Grandfather

I remember that day when I said, "Aajobaa, tell me about your life?"
And you said, "There's so much, where do I begin?"

I said "I have all time time in the world"
You said, "I hope I do too."

And then it began, I heard so much that day and yet I remember every last detail. How you worked in the Navy, how you struggled to make ends meet, how you heard every political leader that came to Shivaji Park and how you lost your dear ones to the bubonic plague. Yet I remember only one thing more clearer than all this. The day I pulled your long beard and you smiled the most amazing smile. Dad went, "Yashad, aajobaana tras deu nako (Dont trouble your grandpa) and you just went, "Its okay I know he recognizes me, if love hurts like this then he can pull my beard all he wants!"

My grandfather has the most amazing white lustrous beard, all the small kids call him "dadhiwale aajobaa" (The long bearded grandfather). He is an engineer by education and he learnt medicine from reading books. He is very religious and still gets up in the morning at 5 to go pick flowers for morning pooja. You should see his physique. At his age, he still has the strength to hang clothes for drying. I mean he still has more muscles than me, and I work out! Even at his age he still walks like he is in his prime. I have to make an effort to keep up with him sometimes.

He has a hauntingly beautiful bass voice. When he starts talking, you automatically get lost in his words. But more than all this, I love him because he always has time for everyone. You can go visit him any time of the day and he will take an interest in your life. He has a phenomenal memory, and to this date he never forgets my birthday. He is the first one to come to my house and wish me.

He taught me to never give up, to always say true to myself and most importantly to care for everyone. I am blessed to have a Grandfather like him.

By the way, he is 89 yrs old, and yes, he is going to around for a long time.

Happy Birthday Anna Aajobaa! (7th August)

The First Post

Here goes, my first blog post. Its been a while since I have actually had the time and/or the inclination to sit down gather all my "random" thoughts and write. Long time ago a dear friend of mine told me a few lines by Alexander Pope,

"Words are like leaves, and when they are most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found"

This makes me think about my first post currently being written and I think that I should write something that people should find interesting enough to keep them coming back to my blog. But then I think that the purpose of a blog is to make the author voice his opinions and mullings to the world, so I shouldn't really care too much about it. So as I think and write I don't have a clue about what to write here, yet I go on typing endlessly. This is something I wrote a while ago,

"I look at a blank page.
No lines, no margins.
And I wonder what I should write.

I set the limits,
No one knows what to write here, but I know
Do I write about life, reality, dreams?

I write about ME."

I do have an active poetry page online, but I don't think many people know about that. Its just that I feel that I should write a blog too. See where it gets me. The title "Random Thoughts" is one I have been meaning to keep for my blog. I always thought that would be the title of my first book of poems.

Many of you must know by now that this post has absolutely no essence about it, but come on, its my first blog post. I hope that you shall follow the lines of Emily Dickinson and,
"Judge tenderly of me!"

PS: More deep posts are in the pipeline. This post is a mere alibi to write a blog, I wanted this post to be an apt rendition to my blog title.