Kolkata!

Its time to head back home for a bit...

Since my joining date at work is still a little way off, I will be visiting home after a gap of almost a year. Looking forward to it in a big way. My old room, the home food, the city's twinkling neon lights, the traffic jams, the noise and the lure of meeting old friends all seem very enticing. The funny thing is sometimes I feel like just chucking it and going back for good. Being away just makes you more homesick I guess, nothing more. When I had come to Singapore, I had these big dreams of making it in the financial markets in this region and the whole global experience thingy seemed very exciting. It still does, especially now when I have a foot in the door at least. But this thought creeps in once in a while. I guess it'll go away as soon as work life starts...

In other news, my flatmates (also my batch mates) are likely to join Indian companies and look set to head back. Its highly likely that when I return, I might come back to an empty house. Its a scary thought, believe me. This place had just started feeling like a home and we felt like a family. We celebrated together, we shouldered the bad times together, laughed and cried with each other and were each others' strength and weakness alike. Now its time for everyone to go their own way and a part of me sometimes doesn't want it to happen. Selfish, I know but its true. I guess I'm in the transition phase and its just a matter to sticking it out and getting used to the next routine. I guess this has added to the way I am feeling about home. Makes you realise that Home is indeed the people you come back to.

Anyways, enough whining. I shall be in Kolkata for close to 3 weeks and hope to partake of all that it has to offer to the fullest. There will be luncheons at relatives places, kilos and kilos of fish, dinners at Peter Cat (Ron, I owe you a virtual meal there!), Mocambo, BBQ, Blue Fox, Oasis (the mixed grill sizzler is divine!) and Tangra, movies with the galphriend, addas with the 'para' boys and cups of 'bhaander cha'. And this time I intend to see the whole of the National museum! I will be updating my blog there as well, so watch out for more photoblogs on the wonderful city of Kolkata. Home.

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Luncheon with the President

The Nanyang Technological University was fortunate enough to be one of the destinations of HE APJA Kalam's Singapore official visit. Students of the university were given the opportunity to hear the President at a luncheon at the University. Students from all disciplines, both undergraduate and postgraduate registered for this event with much enthusiasm. I myself jumped at the opportunity as it would perhaps be impossible to get this sort of an event going in India. Ironic ya? The school of Biological Sciences had the responsibility of hosting the president. We all showed up the designated time of 11 am.
The famed Indian Standard Time reared its ugly head again and we were made to wait for a another couple of hours before the President actually arrived with his entourage. The small hall with around 150 students stood up and applauded his arrival. After a few cursory welcome messages by the the Dean and Chairman of the University, the little fisherman's son came to the microphone. He spoke about the technological convergence of biological sciences, nanotechnology and information technology. It was part of his bigger vision of how science and education can together uplift the youth of emerging countries and contribute to growth and prosperity. He was aided by a fancy Powerpoint presentation (a tool which he regularly uses for all his speeches, I understand). During his speech he also paid homage to the great Indian scientists like Vikram Sarabhai, Chandrasekhar and JC Bose. He also spoke about his association with a few of them and regaled the audience with some tales from their lives. The teacher in the President got the better of him on most occasions when he started explaining the scientific terms that he used in his speech. He actually described in detail what the Chandrasekhar limit was! He had to check himself on more than a couple of occasions lest he got carried away. His speech ended with how Singapore and India could cooperate on scientific issues for mutual and global benefit. He also mentioned that he was very impressed with the technological focus of the University and spoke about the work that he had seen in the laboratories.
For me, it was a moment of pride. It was a reflection of a changing and fast moving India. How many Presidents in the world can balance science and politics as easily as this man? How many of them have such impressive resumes? That he is from a very humble background is also testament to how India is a land that can truly nurture talent, no matter where its origins lie. We have a lot to do and a long way to go, but it truly was a great occasion to celebrate India. The President then had lunch with the students and obliged photographs and autographs alike. He does have an endearing quality about him. A demeanor of a lovable professor rather than that of a politician. But I guess thats because thats who he is and we are all the better for it. I'd rather have a man like this than a hardened and corrupt politician. He truly commands respect. 'Jai Hind' to that.

PS: The President begins most of his replies with the line. 'see, its like this...'

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Moving on...

My long relationship with unemployment finally ends. A crazy British bank has been brave enough to offer me a position as a Management Associate. And I've taken it up. Quite a few formalities are still to be completed but I think the deal is done. I've signed the offer letter, so I think its safe...
Well the first feeling that washed over me once the call came was one of immense relief, rather than happiness. It was getting a little difficult living the life of a 'bekar jubok' (unemployed youth) indefinitely. I guess happiness will make its presence felt in due course. I was also in contention for a higher paying job with a smaller French bank, and when that didn't come through, dejection and hopelessness reached new levels. Wet hens would feel quite ecstatic, compared to my situation. Months of waiting, calling people, getting rejection letters, hounding contacts made at networking sessions was taking its toll, but I guess it has finally yielded something. But its all about the 'Bhagvan' (as someone recently said), and He took care...
So things will change now. The boy must turn into a man. The frivolity and the boisterousness must go and gravity and focus should replace them. Family life and responsibility will soon approach and I can tell you that fear and panic has arrived sooner. Will I cope? Will I be able to balance all the acts well enough? I don't know. I guess these answers will only come with time. Lets see where life takes me from here. For now, I'm good. And ya, Mr. Bartender, I'll have another one...

Cheers!
Abhishek.

The Nanyang MBA Series - 3 (The Rooftops) - Photoblog

The 'Rooftop' was something that the class of 2004-06 had turned into a lifestyle. What a few years ago was a bunch of haphazardly arranged benches and clothes lines, quickly turned into the most lively junction on campus. The concept isn't too complicated. You enter Graduate Hall. You take the lift to the 8th floor. You plonk yourself on the benches with a motley collection of Graduate students, PhD uncles and assorted strangers. You connect with people from different countries, backgrounds and courses. You leave having had a blast. Note - You don't get do any of the above if you don't bring alcohol! True, we had the odd hiccup (no pun intended), with campus security warning us to keep the decibel levels down and sleep deprived students in adjacent rooms threatening to throw stuff at us in an attempt to catch up on much needed sleep before class the next day...but by and large the gatherings were peaceful and without incident. It was almost a weekly ritual. We've met the warmest and the craziest of people there. Exchange students were initiated, birthdays were celebrated, 'F' grades were railed against, sparks of

romance were ignited and drunken songs sung. We did it all at the 'Rooftop'. See for yourselves...

Hello people..space for one more?

Ashwin through a smoke haze.

'JD' gets ready to enthrall...'today was gonna be the day...'

Ashwin, yours truly and Gaurav

The devil woman reads Simi's future while Bruno looks on

Cheers!

Abhishek.

Songs of a lifetime - 5

'Four seasons in one day'. This classic by one of the most underrated bands ever, Crowded House, is one of the most bittersweet numbers that you'll ever hear. The Finn brothers infuse magic into the insightful lyrics with a great melody. The song is about life's full circle. Whatever goes around comes around. There are days where you are elated, demoralised, happy, sad, anxious and carefree all within 24 hours. Its like all the emotions you had played out one after the other. Its like you receiving all of life's lessons all at once. Its a warning as well as an uplifter. This song has got a lot to do with how I'm feeling recently and hence is close to the heart.


Four seasons in one day
Lying in the depths of your imagination
Worlds above and worlds below
The sun shines on the black clouds hanging over the domain
Even when you’re feeling warm
The temperature could drop away
Like four seasons in one day

Smiling as the shit comes down
You can tell a man from what he has to say
Everything gets turned around
And I will risk my neck again, again
You can take me where you will
Up the creek and through the mill
All the things you can’t explain
Four seasons in one day

Blood dries up
Like rain, like rain
Fills my cup
Like four seasons in one day

It doesn’t pay to make predictions
Sleeping on an unmade bed
Finding out wherever there is comfort there is pain
Only one step away
Like four seasons in one day

Blood dries up
Like rain, like rain
Fills my cup
Like four seasons in one day

Cheers!

Abhishek

Apaharan

Prakash Jha's 'Gangajal' was engrossing fare, hence I was eager to catch his next venture, 'Apaharan', based on the state of general lawlessness in Bihar and focusing specifically on the kidnapping trade there, which has almost taken shape of a parallel industry.
The movie didn't disappoint. It is an honest effort by a talented director. The story line shows how normal, middle class, educated youth lose their way and enter the underworld due to a lack of options. The end of all this can only be bad and the director leads the film onto its tragic and bloody conclusion. The casting is superb. Ajay Devgan as the youth gone astray is very good and gives an understated performance. The other actors, Mohan Agashe, Mukesh Tiwari and Dayashankar Pandey are very good as well. But Nana Patekar as the corrupt politician steals the show with a brilliant performance. He steers clear from being loud and verbose, something he has been guilty of doing in some of his past performances. He also delivers some of the best lines in the movie and gets ample scope to show his range. Bipasha Basu, in a blink and you'll miss it role, is unnecessary and wasted. The story could have done without her.
Some people might think of the film as dark and depressing, but I felt that the subject deserved to be treated in this manner and films like these are only diluted if subjected to too much of the commercial formula. Prakash Jha, however could not resist adding a mindless item number. The second half tends to be longer and more dragging than the first and this is my only major criticism of the film. Otherwise, a well made picture with solid performances.

3/5

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Crash

The new year, unfortunately did not start as smoothly as I had hoped. I fell sick on the 1st itself! I'm guessing it was the influenza bug. Was laid low with high fever, a congested throat and an acceptable amount of phlegm. Did feel a bit better over the last couple of days, so my flatmates brought home a couple of movies. 'Crash' happened to be one of them, so I was immediately interested. I had heard very good things about this film.

The movie was better than I had expected. 'Crash' takes an unflinching, head on and sensitive look at the state of racism in America today, post 9/11 and Iraq. People are scared, confused and misguided. Not many are free today in the 'land of liberty'. Paul Haggis, uses the same formula he tried in 'Magnolia' to tell this story. Five or six different stories run parallely, each with different characters, who keep colliding into each other, thus giving racism a chance to raise its ugly head. The movie has a deeper message though. It drives home the point that we all carry some misunderstandings with us much longer than necessary. It also sensitively shows how essentially good people are capable of despicable deeds and even the not so holy can sometimes be your only helping hand. The only minor drawback I felt it contained was that that it didn't offer any solution. The film just leaves us with the problem, but does such a great job of it, that the view alone leaves you spellbound.

The acting is first rate. Don Cheadle, Matt Dillion, Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, Terence Howard and Ryan Phillipe are do a fantastic job. The movie also has one of the most memorable opening lines in a long time. A must watch!

4/5

Cheers!
Abhishek.

10 things you didn't know

Random bits of information about myself:

1. I hate being right handed. Lefties are so much cooler!
2. Only two things can make me cry. India and Innocence.
3. Sometimes I wish I could chuck it all and pursue a career in the arts...music, cinema, photography, anything. Creativity stirs something in me. I also regret not being able to pursue a career as a cricket test match umpire...sigh!
4. If I could change something about my appearance, I'd remodel my nose.
5. Bengali, Urdu and Telugu are sweetest languages I have ever heard.
6. I can never choose between mountains and beaches. I love them both!
7. Words I use most frequently these days are,'whatrussaying?', 'what bloody?' (I'll explain this later) and 'right'.
8. I am too much of an idealist for my own good.
9. I beleive religion is divisive.
10. My favourite food in the world in 'parshe macher jhol'.(Quite unsure what its called in English. If any of you know, please let me know.)

Well this is 2005's last post. Hope you guys have a blast bringing in the new year. Please be careful and responsible in your revelries. Hope to see you all in 2006!

Cheers!
Abhishek.

The one about Christmas

Hi! Heres wishing you all a VERY MERRY XMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR AHEAD!

Christmas is here. I don't know what it is about this time of the year that cheers me up without fail, baar baar lagataar. The truth of the matter is that the manifestation of this cheer is in the form of decorated streets, resplendent Xmas trees, huge shopping discounts and loads of drinking by all and sundry. SO what is it about this time of the year?

The universality of the message is so hard to miss. Its hard to explain...I always find myself cheerful and in high spirits (no pun intended) during this time of the year. 'Jaane de yaar, Its Christmas!' is what I find myself telling most people with any sort of cross to bear towards me or any one else. Most things are forgiven, faces are more cheerful and plans involving togetherness are charted out. Anyways, heres to another Merry Christmas and a New Year!

My fondest memories of Christmas are:

1. Mass at St.Xaviers' College. We were in the School then, but still made it a point to go to the College Church and attend mass. The tree was modest but truly beautiful! The serenity of the place is something I have not experienced anywhere else. There would be one mass before the school closed for the holidays and I made it a point to attend that one as well. The walk back home with a couple of friends, entailed giving dirty looks to our contemporaries in La Martiniere and getting the same treatment in return of course. (I remember asking one of them, 'Oh so you're from La Marts?' and he totally freaked out...most of them did. 'Its La Martiniere', they would correct you. It was good fun. Just some healthy school rivalry, nothing dangerous, I might add. I made some great friends from LMB later.)

2. Christmas lunch at Calcutta Club. I quite hate place for its snobbish attitude and its inability to be flexible. A relic of the Raj, the place is ,I tell you. I have heard old men shout out to bearers there, 'Boy! Ek whisky pawni lao!' Where are you, dadu? Sussex, 1943? Quite disgusting. But quintessential Calcutta. But the Christmas Lunch is something I was forced to go for year after year by my folks and after a while the event started to grow on me. The best turkey I've tasted, a menu that hasn't changed since 1923 and the company of good friends. A cold traditional institution turns into a cosy and fun place, albeit for an afternoon.

3. Santa Claus. I believed. For too long. Far too long. My parents used to humour me. I once wrote a letter to Santa and even left him a piece of chocolate! Poor chap, all that traveling and climbing in and out of people's chimneys... a snack would do him good I felt. I was 10 then (go ahead, chuckle). The excitement of waking up on Xmas morning and checking the Christmas stocking is something that my childhood will always cherish. When I would say the blasphemous words, 'I dont think Santa exists', my parents would take me to task and vehemently oppose my views and reinforce the faith. Thanks Maa and Dad, for letting a little kid continue to believe in all the good and virtue that Christmas stands for a little longer than most.

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Ten best film soundtracks of 2005

ItÂ’s that time of the year again! Awards night, if you will. End of another year. Musically, unfortunately, this year hasnÂ’t been very rich or exciting. There have, however, been some outstanding talents that have made their presence felt through some truly brilliant film scores that they have composed. Otherwise its been a barrage of studio mixed techy sounds and item numbers, each as difficult to distinguish from the other as it is Shahrukh Khan's performances. Anyhow, below mentioned are the musical highlights of the year gone by, according to yours truly.

10. Salaam Namaste (Music Dir - Vishal-Shekhar): This light, young soundtrack makes it into my top ten. Tracks like 'My dil goes mmm..' and 'Salaam namaste' are bouncy and tuneful. The other two songs aren't too bad either. It would be very easy for the film director to fill up this 'phorein' love story with mindless songs, but thankfully he doesn't and the final outcome is pleasing.

9. Paheli (Music Dir - MM Kreem): The movie's music is nowhere near his 'Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin' and 'Zakhm', but the soundtrack does have its moments. 'Dhire jalna' is the standout tune of the album and is perfect in the context of the film. 'Kangna re' and 'Phir raat kati' are also pleasing to the ear. Shreya Ghosal and Hariharan stamp their class all over this decent collection.

8. My Brother Nikhil (Music Dir - Various): This delightful soundtrack has some great contributions from various music directors like Vishal-Shekhar, MM Kreem and Vivek Philip. My favorite song from this collection is 'Le chale' from Philip. Great tune, softly and sensitively sung by KK and Sunidhi Chauhan. 'Mere sapne', 'Woh kaun hai' and 'Kabhi' are worthy inclusions. Not original compositions intended for this picture, but a great listen in totality.

7. Kisna (Music Dir - Ismail Darbar and AR Rahman): The movie bombed but the soundtrack did well. A spat between Darbar and Rahman ensued and it was in the news for all the wrong reasons, but some of the tracks here are beautiful compositions. The mujra song, 'Chilman' does justice to its seven minute-over length. Darbar's 'Woh Kisna hai' is a good composition by any standards and Sukhwinder Singh's rendition takes it to the next level. Rahman's 'Hum hai is pal yahan', is good but not at par with his best. The 'Kisna theme' isn't too bad either. Good album.

6. Lucky-No Time For Love (Music Dir - Adnan Sami): A decent transition for the singer into the role of music director. What lifts this album from mediocrity is the singing. Asha Bhosle, Adnan Sami and Udit Narayan put in honest and soulful performances. 'Sun zara' is the stand out effort. 'Chori chori' and 'Jaan meri ja rahi hai sanam' are also good compositions. 'Lucky lips' is passable.

5. Chocolate (Music Dir - Pritam): I chose this album from amongst the many soundtracks in this genre, like 'Dus', 'Kaal' and 'Bluffmaster'. This one emerges a winner simply because of the energy it exudes. Sunidhi Chauhan and Sonu Nigam are at their exuberant best. 'Mummy', 'Bheega bheega' are peppy and picturised well on the latest Bengali bombshell, Tanusree Dutta. 'Zahereeli raatein' is also not bad. My favorite track is, however, the enigmatic 'Khalish si hai'. You feel you've heard these songs before, but a young upbeat set of tunes.

4. Bunty Aur Babli (Music Dir - Shanker Ehsaan Loy): Perhaps the most popular soundtrack of the year, this album has some huge hits. Shankar Ehsaan and Loy succeed in adding an earthy dimension to their music. The anthemic 'Dhadak dhadak' is fast paced and racy. Then there is the absolute rage 'Kajra re'. I didn't believe that it was SEL's music when I first heard it! The lovely 'Chup chup ke' is a gem. The title track and 'Nach baliye' are acceptable.

3. Shabd (Music Dir - Vishal Shekhar): By far the best effort by VS this year, this perhaps is the most underrated soundtrack of the year. The film didn't do too well, and hence was relegated from public memory. 'Khoya khoya' and 'Bolo na' are pure magic. Kudos to the duo for these two beauties. Sonu Nigam puts in one of his finest efforts of the year on the first of these songs. 'Sholon si' and 'Chahaton ka silsila' are also very good contributions. Solid effort.

2. Yahaan (Music Dir - Shantanu Moitra): This album is pure magic. Moitra has serious talent and I'm sure we'll hear much more of him over the next few years. He puts together some brilliant compositions on this soundtrack and extracts a fine performance from Shreya Ghosal. 'Urzu durkut' is simply sublime and so is 'Naam ada likhna'. Add to that some ethereal lyrics by Gulzar and you have a classic in the making. 'Mele chaliyan' isn't too far off the mark as well, though it tends to get a little monotonous in pieces. 'Ajmer wale' is situational and an average devotional track and is the only filler here.

1. Parineeta (Music Dir - Shantanu Moitra): This one will be remembered for a long time to come. Each and every song here is great! Moitra at it again. Original, fresh and high on melody, these songs will have you humming in an instant. I would wager that most people would vote in this soundtrack as the soundtrack of the year. 'Piyu bole' and 'Soona man ka aangan' showcase Shreya Ghosal's considerable talents. The latter has a huge Tagore influence as well and should delight lovers of the great poet's musical talents (just a thought, apologies to puritans). Sonu Nigam gets his moment of glory with 'Kasto Maza'. My favorites are, however, the classy cabaret by Sunidhi Chauhan, 'Kaisi paheli hai ye zindagani' and Chitra's beautiful, 'Raat hamari toh'. This one is a keeper and will be reference point to many budding music directors in years to come.

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Tainted Love

An email from a gay friend of mine set off the thought process for this post, a while ago. Being busy hasn't helped my blog updates, so putting this down only now. Anyway, getting back to the issue...he mentioned that he had broken up with his boyfriend of three years and was now back in Calcutta for a bit to take care of some family formalities. We hadn't been in touch for quite a while and hence he wanted to know if I was in Calcutta then. I obviously wasn't and I rattled off a cursory email about how shit happens and that there were plenty more fish in the sea and the like. Having sent the email, I realised how insensitive I had been. And did it have anything to do with the fact that he was gay? Hmmm...maybe. Since he had 'come out' more than seven years ago, I had found it hard to take the guy's sexual preference seriously. Someone in our friend circle even suggested that he was doing this just to be 'cool'. At some level, I guess we even believed this theory. When he insisted, we said we were cool and agreed with him, but I guess we never thought too much about it to form a strong opinion. And it had reached a level where, when one my closest friends emails me with problems in his love life, I reply with a cliched bullshit one liner? Had any other friend of mine said the same thing, I'm not sure, but I'm inclined to believe that I would have mailed more than a one liner. 'How did it happen?', 'Why can't you write her?', 'C'mon give her another chance, one fight and you guys split!!?!' Might have said something like that to them. I always thought that I was absolutely cool with people being gay and that I treated all alike, regardless of division of colour, creed or sexual preference. But I sure didn't behave like I was! I was angry and full of self loathing. How was I, as an educated, forward thinking, progressive youth, different from the vociferous and 'closeted by religion' likes of millions in this country. Ashamed, I realised that one needed to think about how big this distance had grown. It wasn't on the surface, it was in the subconscious. I just hadn't taken my friend seriously...and if I had, I could have been more tuned in to his life and behaved in the same way as I might have with someone else. He wasn't asking me for favours, he just wanted me to be normal with him.

And this is what all homosexual people in this country are looking for. A chance to be as normal as the next guy. In a country, where we don't like discussing what we do behind closed doors, why should we discriminate against people with different bedfellows, behind those same closed doors? Lets just not discuss that as well because we don't like discussing it in anycase, right? In a country with a section 377, change is going to take time. Forget marriage, adoption of children for gay couples in India is a distant dream. I doubt if parenthood is driven by what your sexual orientation is. Changing diapers in the middle of night has got nothing to with your love life either. It has to do with something much more basic, the desire to care for and raise a child.

I for one, have had a wake up call from this personal experience. I feel sorry that I kept believing that I was 'with it' with regards to this sort of thing. I feel sorry that I let something like this, this issue of great social importance, slide into the recesses of my mind. But much more than that, I feel sorry that I got lulled into something much more elementary and important... Insensitivity towards a dear friend.

Cheers!
Abhishek.

"Crashed on the floor when I moved in,this little bunk alone with some strange new friends"

So its done. Finally moved out of Graduate Hall and into this flat in Yishun, with three other batchmates. I've never lived in a house on my own or shared one with others before so I'm enjoying the ride so far (I'm not counting living in hostels and the like). Its a 3 bedroom, hall and kitchen setup and is spacious enough for 4 people. I have my own room because of different budget constraints of my flatmates. Its a nice place and the stay so far has been pleasant. The area is quiet, calm and mainly residential. There's the amazing Yishun park next door, which is a great place to enjoy nature, jog or play whichever sport you may fancy. The greenery of the place just amazes you! With foodcourts next door and at regular intervals, we have variety in food as well. But we have cooks with enviable resumes. Ashwin is trained in continental cooking (he's a hotel management grad), Brij and KK can both cook Indian stuff like rice, varieties of dal and subzies (should have used a 'j' there perhaps). I, on the other hand cannot cook to save my life! I think the best thing to have come out any cooking initiative on my part has been an oddly shaped omelet. Of course, in such a situation one feels like a free rider. Hence I have volunteered to wash all the dishes after the all the cooking is done. Fair, methinks, ya?
We have been cooking fairly regularly, except for occasions when the maestros get back late from work. Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a VCD rental store next door so that's a huge plus.
Looking forward to this new experience. The only bummer is that I miss my ceiling fan from hostel. What's this about Singapore and HDB flats. Very few of them seem to have ceiling fans! I wonder why? So stand and table fans have been procured. But its just not the same, you know. And another thing that constantly bothers us is our neighbor's 'chirpy contraption'. Every time one passes by his door, this funny birdy thing goes off and its chirping its head off! Once or twice is fine, but everytime!!?! Tempted to yank out the wires from that thing... But will wait till I've stayed a while longer...

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Of Kishore Kumar and seven hidden gems

If I haven't mentioned it before, I am a huge KK fan. Always was and will be. He deserves a whole huge post to himself and that will come I'm sure (as soon as I can find some time!). The man could do practically everything...act, sing, produce, direct, compose and write lyrics! This led Lata Mangeshkar to call him the 'Danny Kaye' of Hindi cinema. I think Danny Kaye wasn't a patch on our man from Khandwa.
Anyway, in this one, I want to concentrate on some hidden gems in Kishoreda's repertoir. We have all heard the classics and the numerous hits. Give the following songs a listen. They didn't catch on and were not that big in terms of popularity, but were no less brilliant than the golden greats. Enjoy!

(in no particular order)

1. Aaj rona pada to samjhe (1960): From the film, 'Girlfriend', this classic showcases Kishore in a soulful and sad mood. Who says the man couldn't sing sad? Listen to him rendering the lines 'Apno ki mohabbat kya thi, Gair hona pada to samjhe...'. Hemant Kumar's music is brilliant.

2. Jaane bhi do yaar (1987): This track from the film 'Inaam Dus Hazaar' is quintessential Kishore. Back to his playful best, the man breezes through this mid tempo joyride. Though the movie was made during RD's forgettable years, 'Pancham' still gave music way beyond the capabilities of his then contemporaries. Add to that Kishore's voice and it's pure magic. Another beauty from this soundtrack is 'Chand koi hoga tumsa kahan'.

3. Bahut door hoke (1988): 'Namumkin' had a great soundtrack. And it had this gem of a solo from Kishore Kumar. The longing in the singer's voice is so palpable when he sings, 'Meri Dhadkano Mein Jane Kya Tarane, Dhime Suro Mein Gati Ho Tum, Jane Kis Jahan Se Leke Kya Sandesa, Sanson Mein Aati Jaati Ho Tum.' Hrishikesh Mukherjee could have made a better film, but the soundtrack was on par. A classic, but forgotten, love song.

4. Kabhi kabhi sapna lagta hai (1979): This duet with Asha Bhosle is sure to be catch your attention. The RD/Kishore-Asha/Gulzar team at it again. Beautiful song. Not in the 'Hazar rahein' league but pretty good just the same. The film, the Hema Malini-Girish Karnad starrer, 'Ratnadeep'.

5. Diya hai aapne bada hasin sahara (1966): This will suprise you. Very rarely has Kishore sung for OP Nayyar. You can almost tell that this song was written and composed for Rafi. A quintissential OPN number (no, it doesn't have a 'tanga tune'), but in Kishore's voice. The song is all the better for it! A bubbly Kishore does a fantastic job in this track from 'Akalmand'.

6. Waqt waqt ki baat hai (1978): This track from 'Bhola Bhala' is perhaps more accesible than most others. Kishore in a reflective mood. A great song none the less. A few 'hah hah's from KK ala 'Yeh lal rang' and 'Yeh kya hua'.

7. Main bangali chokra (1958): This delightful track from 'Raagini' has to be one Kishore and Asha Bhosle's duet high points. A love story revolving around a 'Bengali' guy and a 'Madrasi'
girl, this song captures the essence beautifully. A light, 'halka phulka' and witty song, it is sure to make you smile. Also look out for KK singing a few words in Bangla as well.

Cheers!
Abhishek.

The problem with Sourav Ganguly

The man is back. Again. But Saurav Ganguly's star is slowly fading.
I have been a huge fan of the man and the spirit he's brought to the Indian team, but he pretty much dug his own grave by going to the press with his dirty linen (even though it was wrong on Chapell's part to ask him to step down before the first test in Zimbabwe). One could have expected restraint from the skipper. To top it all, the man proceeded to get injured and then was sidelined for the next couple of series. The team, since then, has done exceedingly well and the man who built this team, now finds himself alienated. 'Dada' has since then done a decent job in the domestic matches that he has played, but that might do little in getting him back into the side. The selectors have, under pressure, got him back into the test team, with the explanation that he is a batting allrounder! uumm...they could have as well said that he was their fitness coach or reserve wicket keeper or something...Ganguly has traditionally made good use of chances offered to him and one hopes for his sake that he uses this chance well. Its ironic, that he has to sit out of the one day game and make a comeback in tests, an area he has been weaker at. I would have felt that slowly bringing him back to the opening slot in one dayers would have been the way to go. Get those two boys, Sachin and Sourav back at the top and perhaps hope for some magic of the old. But the selectors cannot select on hope and must carve out a team for the 2007 World Cup soon.

The seeds of the problem might have been sown with the successes of the Indian team. Carried away with the accolaes and the wins, Sourav had perhaps let his own personal development as a cricketer slip. He developed the demenour of ownership of the team. Being the leader started meaning more, I guess. His missing test matches on account of injuries and bans didn't help his cause either. His work ethic to fitness was also deplorable. The man could field, at one point. I have seen him pull of some fantastic catches in his time. All that is now a thing of the past.

In his defence, I would also like to say that there are other team members (namely Tendulkar and Sehwag) that have not really lived up to their superstar billing over the last year or so and they have been excused time after time. Saurav's record over the last year or so in ODI's has been better than Sehwag's. If performance is the only benchmark then these players should also get the same treatment. Also, what Chapell thinks of Ganguly is now playing a huge part, which I think is unfair. His inclusion in the test side could be as politically intriguing as the 'Mahabharata'. Who do the younger payers side with? How will the coach handle his inclusion? What statements does Dravid, the new captain come out with?

All I hope is that all this is caste aside and Sourav and Team India perform to potential. Sourav should realize that he must play well as a batsman and contribute as a player first. Team India should focus on playing a good game and Dravid and Chapell should look at strategy and developing a good work ethic.

I have been a huge fan of the Bengal southpaw, and I would love to see that blazing cover drive, that lofted six off the spinner, those gentle medium pacers and that combative spirit...there's a lot left in the Prince of Kolkata yet, but this, perhaps, is his last chance to prove it.

Songs of a lifetime - 4

Remember this one? The famous 'ek anek' song. I found the lyrics to this, surfing the web the other day and I just had to do a ctrl c - ctrl v. This song brought back so many memories. Of a simpler and more innocent time gone by. When wants were modest, and there was wonder and joy in most things we did. There was learning and discovery to action and most things made us smile. Just imagine, all the kids in my colony gathered around the TV to watch this one, whenever it came on. And ya, we used to sing along as well! "champaaa chameliiii!!"
Don't laugh...This was high entertainment television once.

Didi ye anek kya hota hai ?
Anek…. anek yani bahut saare….
Jaise…suraj ek…chanda ek…taare anek…
Achcha to taron ko anek bhi kehte hain ?
Nahi nahi!! dekho phir se batati hoo
Suraj ek…chanda ek…taare anek…
Ek gilhari, …ek aur gilhari...ek ek ek karke ho gayee ab anek gilhariyaa
Ek titali, anek titaliyaa…ek chidiya.. ek ek anek chidiyaa
Anek chidiyon ki kahani sunoge …?
Haan sunao…
Ek chidiya anek chidiya….dana chugne baith gayee thi …..(chorus :)
Didi humen bhi sunao...
Phir se suno…ek chidiya, anek chidiyan dana chugne baith gayee thi …..
Wahin ek byaadh ne jaal bichhaya tha…
Byaadh, byaadh kya hota hai didi?
Byaadh … chidiya pakadne walato phir kya hua, usne chidiyon ko pakad liya,unhe maar diya
Himmat se jo jute rahe to bada kaam bhi hove bhaiya..bada kaam bhi hove bhaiya …1..2..3.. (furrrrrrrrrrr)
Chatur chidiyaa sayaani chidiyaa, miljul kar, jaal le kar bhaagi
Chidiyaa door ek gaaon mein chidiyon ke dost chuhe rahte the
Unhone unka jaal kaat diya…dekha ekta mein kitni shakti hai
Didi agar hum ek ho jaayen to kya koi bhi kaam kar sakte hain? Haan haan kyon nahi
To kya is ped ke aam bhi tod sakte hain ?Haan magar jugat lagani hogi
Jugat?
Achchha ye jugat … wah bada mazaa aayega
HO GAYE EK …BAN GAYEE TAKAT...BAN GAYEE HIMMAT
Hind desh ke niwasi sabhi jana ek hain, rang-roop vesh-bhaasha chahe anek hain

Bela gulab juhi champa chameli…
Phool hain anek kintu mala phir ek hai …ek-anek-ek anek suraj ek, chanda ek, taare anek,
Ek gilhari , anek gilhariyaan, ek titli, anek titaliyaan, ek chidiyaa , anek chidiyaa
Are bela gulab juhi champa chameli..phool hain anek kintu mala phir ek hain…


Cheers!
Abhishek.

Movie Marathon!

The last few days have seen me do the following. Work a little bit on my new internship, apply to a multitude of companies and watch a gazillion movies! Since I find the first two too tedious to write about, I shall write about the movie marathon that I have indulged in over the last few days...
It all started with a waste of time called 'Chot', which had a promising start but was pretty much a disaster from minute number thirty one. The premise seems plausible, marginalisation of UP-ites in Mumbai (I've known this to happen) and their subsequent fightback. Ashutosh Rana and Sharad Kapoor do decent jobs, but the film, after a while, became an excuse for blood and gore. Then came the excrutiating 'Rain' (we got this from the library solely because there was nothing else and a few of us had to see something!). Less said about that, the better. Meghna Naidu's ample bosom was the true protagonist there. An empty house, a blind lady and a suspicious reporter all built up the premise well for this low budget titilator, but again execution is not something that our filmmakers are very good at. The day after we picked up a few DVDs from the school media library. I caught up with Mira Nair's seminal work, the bittersweet 'Salaam Bombay!', which was a pleasure to watch! The street children, the streets of Mumbai, Nana Patekar and Raghubir Yadav and L.Subramanium's music kind of restored my faith in cinema after the suffering of the last day! The DVD also had a special feature tracking the lives of the street children and how their lives had changed for the better thanks to the movie. A well spent couple of hours. After that it was on to Bollywood again, with Hriday Shetty's 'Pyar Mein Twist'. Watching Rishi Kapoor and Dimple again after 'Sagar' was a breeze. The actors were pretty lovable and by the looks of it, must have had a ball making the movie. However, I felt that the relationship between the aging couple could have been developed further rather than spending frame after frame on the lives and bickerings of the loud and insensitive children. The music of the film wasn't too bad either and had a cover of the naughty love long of yesteryear, 'Khullam khulla pyaar karenge'. The marathon neared its conclusion with Peter Weir's 1975 eerie classic, 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', a supposedly true tale about the mysterious disappearance of 3 college girls from a picnic site. The film is brilliantly made, with great footage of the Australian outback and fantastically atmospheric music. Though slow paced and ambiguous in its explanation of the disappearance, the film itself is an education in the art. Convincing performances from the cast also helped. The last film was Mira Nair's 'Vanity Fair'. The film had colour, good performances from its cast and lots of India in it. Becky Sharp has been explored, but not enough, I felt.

Anyways, enough of movie watching...have to send out a few more applications!

Cheers!
Abhishek

House hunting horrors

Given that we need to move out of Graduate Hall soon (end of this month, to be precise), three of my similarly afflicted friends and me commenced house hunting last month. I was meaning to blog about this in one of my earlier posts but I came to the conclusion that this one deserved its own space. Since we started searching for that dream apartment, we've had some amazing, and some downright hilarious experiences, and since this is the first time I have been part of such an enterprise, I have enjoyed the ride thus far tremendously!

House#3: We walk in to be greeted by the house owner. Huge guy, 6 ft plus, built like a tree trunk. Clad in a 'lungi' and a sando 'ganjee'. Indian or Malay, we guess. The tattoo on his arm says 'KILLER'. The house is dark and has a funny smell. Scenes from 'Texas Chain Saw Massacre' and 'The house of 1000 corpse' play out vividly in my mind. Apparently Brij is thinking the same and is already looking around for creaky floorboards and bloodstains. Our agent tells us to take a look around. Mad axe murderer says nothing, just stares. We look around. The place was nice but we had already decided not to be tenants of 'KILLER'. Our agent tells us to talk about rent. We look at the owner and then look at each other...silence...the owner finally speaks. The voice is shrill and weak and almost like a girl's! 'Oye yaar, terah sau se kam nahin loongaa!'. Apparently he was a sardarji from Amritsar who moved here in the 80s. We ran out and burst out laughing! Final outcome: we didn't get the place because of budget constraints on our part.

House#5: We are in Holland Village. The agent from the owners' side is with us. Since we are 4 people, we had clearly mentioned that we would need atleast 2 functional bathrooms. The agent had assured us. We see the first toilet. There's a commode, but no shower. We see the second one, there's no commode, only shower. That was the end of that!
Final outcome: Left hurling abuses at both the agents.

House#9: Good place. Duplex. A mansionette, they called it. We are ready to finalize the deal, when the sound of a local train thundering by takes us by surprise. The place is right next to an MRT track! It was night time and hence it wasn't visible when we came in. We had mentioned in our specifications that we would ideally like a place close to a tube station. However, I guess we needed to be more specific! With 2 of us having lived in Mumbai and roughed it out in local trains (one of us actually lived close to a train track for bit!), this was too much. Loving home and all I can understand, being woken up at 12.30 pm by the sound of a rushing train, I cannot!
Final outcome: Begging agent to work harder!

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Songs of a lifetime - 3

I'm sure there are times when we think about the 'what ifs' in life. There are times when we wonder if things could have been different had we turned another corner. I guess only the hardcore optimists would think otherwise. I love this song by the Stereophonics which sums up this feeling perfectly. Chances missed, decisions taken, things said. Are there things you would have done differently? Even then, at some level, just thinking about this stuff makes you appreciate what you've done so far, take heart from it and move ahead a stronger person. I guess I've had a pretty comfortable time to date, but yeah, I would love to go back in time and change a few things. Wouldn't you?

It's your time
It's your day
It's never too late
To change lanes

How's your life?
How's your place?
Was it where you wanted
Your head to lay?

But wait, you can breathe
You can see what I can see
Don't waste your time
You can't make back

If you could rewind your time
Would you change your life?

Do you like you?
Do you love your wife?
Or did you pick what
You're told was right?
Dream and be
What you feel
Don't you compromise
What you wanna be
Cause change is okay
What's the point in staying the same
Regrets, forget what's dead and gone

If you could rewind your time
Would you change your life?

If Jesus rode in on a camel today
With your cross on his shoulder
Time to take you away
Have you done all you wanted?
Are you happy and warm?
Do you miss someone special
You don't see anymore?
Have you blood on your hands?
Do you dream of white sands?
Can you sleep well at night?
Have you done all you can?
The place I was born in
Stays crooked and straight
I see innocent blue eyes
Go blind everyday

Rewind your time
Would you change your life....Today....

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Global Risk Analysis

My last course in the MBA was a subject called Global Risk Analysis. The course gave us an amazing insight into the volatile world of macroeconomics. All of us study the subject some time or the other, but this time it was very practical and we could actually relate it to everyday events. The fact that the course was taken by a visiting faculty from MIT, made it all the more special. He introduced a concept called 'teleology', where managers should be able to look forward a few steps from any event and hence make strategic decisions accordingly. He ighted the example of Nokia, the cell phone giant, and the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Managers at Nokia, sensed an opportunity that with two nations coming together, there would be need for seamless communication. Nokia put all its eggs in the Cell Phone basket. And the rest as they say, is history. It was riveting stuff. Given below are his predictions for the year 2006 and the future in general:

Global Trade: It is in danger, thanks to an unstable dollar (undermined by Bush's twin deficits), and US's undermining of the WTO. Global trade, the main driver of global growth, might slow down.

Trade Blocks: The future shapes up not as a common world market, but a set of three trading markets, with single currencies - Asia (yuan), Americas (dollar) and Europe (euro). There will be therefore only three exchange rates. There may well be tough non-tariff barriers between the blocks. Any country not in the three blocks is doomed to stagnate.

Accounting: There should be one set of global accounting rules. Its happening already.

Global Teams: Teams will continue to get more and more global. Companies which use global teams will leverage each country's competitive advantage. Experts in America will define customer requirements, British will define product attributes, Australians will define technology architecture, Indians will do the software, Germans the manufacturing and the Taiwanese will take care of the packaging. Happening? Oh ya!

Nanotechnology: The next big thing. Will be used in laptops,tennis racquets, glass and suntan lotion.

Global optimism and values: An economic survey shows 34% of respondents think 2006 will be better than 2005. Optimists outnumber pessimists 2 to 1. Still 29% expect the dollar to tumble and 41% predict the house prices to tumble. Basic values remain strong. When asked 'what is most important to your personal happiness?' in 2006, 78% said health, 62% said family relations and only 13% said material well being. 'I'm a material girl', sang Madonna '..in a material world'. Happily, only 2 in 15 people think the same.

Cheers!
Abhishek.

Some conclusions...

This week has been slow. Very slow. Its been a holiday week here in Singapore. So things have been kind of on and off, if you get what I mean. I mean its like watching life in slow motion. You want to make it move fast, perhaps get in on the action happening all around, but somehow even a part you doesn't want to and you just want to see it all go by, even with the knowledge that it might pass you by if you don't get more proactive.

Don't know if I made sense there, but there have been some goings on this week and some conclusions. These are:

1. The man-woman relationship is the most complex relationship there is. Its full and final. No two ways around that. I was looking for a theme on which to base my script (yes, that's right, I can write!). And now I'm sure that this is going to be it. 'that's tha one!' as we say here in NBS.

2. Job hunting is no cake walk either. Trying to make contacts, following them up and sometimes plain groveling can be tough. Sending out resume after resume, cover letter after cover letter, making call after call and waiting for a response is gruelling and can be frustrating at times. But I'm sure there's light at the end of the tunnel.

3. 'Kasak' is by far the worst film I've seen in a long time. It makes Bengali jatras like, 'Shidir Tolay Bidir Dokaan' (The Bidi Shop Under The Stairs) and Italian giallo flicks like 'Strip Nude For Your Killer' seem like works of high intellectual accomplishment. Lucky Ali should stick to singing and Meera should well...perhaps return to Pakistan, because I'm sure she would get much better offers there. There's no point traveling all the way to India to act in pure drivel, is there? Special mention of the dialogue writer though, for classic lines like, 'Tum shocked ho? I hate shocked people!' and 'Tumne mujhse revenge liya?' MM Kreem too, who generally does a good job of making music, seemed to give up on this absolute piece of tripe. No point wasting time writing a review for this one.

Cheers!
Abhishek.