Rudyard Kipling's poem If

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

wiki link on poem If

""If" is a poem written in 1896 by the then 31-year-old Rudyard Kipling.It was voted Britain's favorite poem in a 1995 BBC opinion poll."

"Humlog ordinary log hain--Aam Janta--The Mango People"

Mohit Chauhan has undoubtedly become my favourite singer. I am not qualified/knowledgeable enough to comment intelligently on what is good about his singing, so if I can use that much bandied term, I would just say his voice is soulful and connects with you at some level.

It certainly helps that he has got some of the best songs to have come out of Bollywood in recent time. I credit Rahman for bringing him full throttle in Bombay films when he gave him the opportunity for that stirring rendition of the song Khoon Chala in Rang De Basanti. ( I remember watching this movie in Alpana theatre, Model Town , Delhi and felt that the effectiveness of the scene of police lathicharge was elevated to a different plane because this song accompanied it.). Even though his song "Sabse Picche Hum Khade" was used in the 2004 movie "Let's Enjoy", how many people really watched that movie?(6, including the director and producer? :-))

Then came Tum Se Hi from Jab We Met and he started getting his due share of recognition.

Masakalli from Delhi 6 brought out a different playful side of him.

And then comes Ye Dooriyan from Imtiaz Ali's contemporary take on relationships and love "Love Aaj Kal"

(Last scene where Saif comes to meet Deepika is so touching..
I can't help but provide a running commentary of that scene...

Deepika is in workman's clothes, painting an old fort like building..she is in old building renovation ...She is on a platform at a height close to the ceiling ....
Camera is on Deepika's face and then Saif's voice comes..
"Dekho main pile on nahin karana chahta huun"
Deepika looks down and finds Saif...Camera is on Saif's face and he says
"Magar yeh Romeo Aur Juliet, Heer ranjha, Laila Majnoo - yeh janam janam ka saath type ke log - yeh sirf kahaniyon mein hote hain, right?"
Camera back to Deepika's face for a fleeting moment and then back to Saif and he continues..
"Tum aur main..humlog ordinary log hain...aam janta--the mango people--humein marke amar nahin hona hai...humein saath rahana hai...isi janam mein saath rahna hai...kya bolti ho?"

Camera on Deepika and she says
"Angle naya hai...mujhe lagta hai..ise aur discuss karna chahiye"..
Saif-"Tum hamesha correct baat bol deti hai Jaaneman"
Deepika-"To main neeche aa jaaon"
Saif-"Aa jao kyonki yeh long distance relationship chalta hi nahin hai"

And then camera on Deepika..she breaks down..and Mohit Chauhan' voice takes over
"Kaha bhi na mene
Nahi jeena mene
Tu jo na mila
Tujhe bhule se bhi na
Bola na mene chahun fasla

Bas fasla rahein
Ban ke kasak jo kahen
Ho aur chahat yeh jawan
Teri meri mit jaani hai dooriyan
Begani hai dooriyan

Hat jani dooriyan
Fanah ho sabhi dooriyan"

And then Deepika-"Dekhte hi rahoge"
Saif-"Dar lag raha hai....toot na jaoon"
Deepika-"Tod Do".....(Just too good)

I just love this movie...Imtiaz Ali specializes in the RomCom genre..Romance Comedy...though the comedy part is a little less than Jab We Met..but is more than compensated by scenes like this and the intelligent, fresh dialogues
(Other favorites are the break up scene
Saif-"Tumne mere mail ka jawab nahin diya, tum kabhi call nahin karte, jhagde shikayat"
Deepika-"Aur kiske liye..Tum to ho nahin mere saath ...jo accha part hai, woh nahin hai...lekin jo problems hote hain"
Saif-"Yeh karo woh mat karo"
Deepika-"Woh sab hain"
Saif-"Stress"
Deepika-"Main stress nahin banana chahti"
Saif-"Of course"
Deepika-"Especially because itna acchha tha hamare bich"
Saif-"Oh God..past tense...tha.."

The scene after the song "Chor Bazari"..
Depika is visibly drunk and Saif is dropping her
Deepika-"Main chali jaaongi"
Saif-"Kisi aur ke ghar chali gayi to..koi faayda utha sakta hai"
Deepika-"Tabhi ghar tak chhodne aa rahe ho..haan"
Saif-"Faayda hona hi hai to mera ho jaaye" ...hilarious

And Deepika saying to Chowkidar,"thank you bhaiya" and then "maar dalegi firangan" :-)

"Kaun dekha,Kaun dekha,Kaun dekha,Kaun dekha, Kaun dekha,koi nahin..."

"yeh old building ka restoration karti hai..fresco,tum jante ho na fresco""Nahin main sirf disco jaanta huun" :-))

p.s.:-- The song Yeh Dooriyan is written by one of my favourite song writers Irshad Kamil

My old post on Irshad Kamil

Guncha Koi--amazing song by Mohit Chauhan

Music Director :Mohit Chauhan
Singer:Mohit Chauhan
Lyricist:Mohit Chauhan

Guncha koi mere naam kar diya.....
GUncha koi mere naam kar diya.....
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...
GUncha koi hmm.......
Tum jaisa koi nahi is jahaan mein
Tum jaisa koi nahi is jahaan mein
Subah ko teri zulf ne shaam kar diya
Subah ko teri zulf ne shaam kar diya
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...
GUncha koi hmm.......
Mehfil mein baar baar idhar dekha kiye
Mehfil mein baar baar idhar dekha kiye
aankhon ke zazeeron ko mere naam kar diya
aankhon ke zazeeron ko mere naam kar diya
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...
Guncha koi hmm.......
Hosh bekhabar se huye unke bagair
Hosh bekhabar se huye unke bagair
Hosh bekhabar se huye unke bagair
Woh jo humse keh na sake dil ne kah diya
Woh jo humse keh na sake dil ne kah diya
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...
Guncha koi hmm.......
Guncha koi mere naam kar diya.....
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...

Doris Day's Que Sera Sera and STI

Heard this wonderful song today on K-dio(IIMK Radio)

Doris Day song Que Sera Sera on wiki

When I was just a little girl
I asked my mother what will I be
Will I be pretty
Will I be rich
Here's what she said to me


Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera

When I was just a child in school
I asked my teacher what should I try
Should I paint pictures
Should I sing songs
This was her wise reply

Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera

When I grew up and fell in love
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead
Will there be rainbows day after day
Here's what my sweetheart said

Que sera sera
Whatever will be will be
The future's not ours to see
Que sera sera

Now I have children of my own
They ask their mother, what will I be
Will I be handsome, will I be rich
I tell them tenderly.

Que Sera, Sera,
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours, to see

Que Sera, Sera
What will be, will be.

What will be, will be
Que sera sera...


This song featured in the movie "The Man Who Knew Too Much by Hitchcock", sung by the actress Doris Day. It won the Academy Award for best song. Pukar movie's song "Que Sera Sera, jo bhi ho so ho" shares the mukhda with it.




Discovering this amazing song today, that thought again came to haunt me - there is so much to enjoy, to know, to experience in this world that even if one limits one's interests to, say one or two fields like movies and music, one can just keep on exploring that field without ever reaching the possibility of exhausting it.

Same holds true for any of the "complicated" issues India is facing...terrorism, casteism, J&K, India-Pak relation, North East, Poverty, unemployment. As one of my favourite teachers said in the class,"Mr. X says that elect us to power and we will solve the J&K and Pak problem in three hours..three hours...three hours are not even enough to get a first reading of all the complexities of the issues..forget about getting to any sort of architecture of solution..." and probably the single most important thing which I learnt from the amazing course Social Transformation of India is that all the issues have at least two ways to approach and though it is important to take a stand(There is no neutrality involved if innocent people are being butchered either in Manipur, J&K or Gujarat), before committing ourselves to one stand , let us first know how the issue looks from the other side of the fence. In short, there are multiple ways in which issues can be seen and people may have different viewpoints on them and we have to respect each other's viewpoints and we can agree to disagree on how we look at a particular issue.