tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73556469050680908252024-03-13T21:27:35.039+05:30Books, Movies, MusicByomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-5497229334477259162020-12-31T21:00:00.001+05:302020-12-31T21:00:04.237+05:30Books I read in 2020<style type="text/css">
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<tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th>S. No.</th><th>Book</th><th>Writer</th><th>Format</th></tr>
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<tr><td>1</td><td>Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies* (9% read) </td><td>Jared Diamond</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>The Brothers Karamazov* (14% read) </td><td>Fyodor Dostoyevsky</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>A Room of One's Own</td><td>Virginia Woolf</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us</td><td>Daniel H. Pink</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Start with Why</td><td>Simon Sinek</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers</td><td>Robert M. Sapolsky</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Mort</td><td>Terry Pratchett</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Sacred Games</td><td>Vikram Chandra</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>My Struggle: Book 1 // A Death in the Family</td><td>Karl Ove Knausgaard</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant</td><td>W. Chan Kim, Renée Mauborgne</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>A Fine Balance</td><td>Rohinton Mistry</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>Up from Slavery</td><td>Booker T. Washington</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>The Name of the Rose</td><td>Umberto Eco</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>My Struggle: Book 2 // A Man in Love</td><td>Karl Ove Knausgaard</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>The Little Prince</td><td>Antoine de Saint-Exupéry</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>The Confessions of St. Augustine** (68% read)</td><td>Augustine of Hippo</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>Infinite Jest** (29% read) </td><td>David Foster Wallace</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>One Hundred Years of Solitude** (5% read) </td><td>Gabriel García Márquez</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>19</td><td>Plato: Complete Works** (5% read) </td><td>Plato</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* Started in 2019 but finished in 2020.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">** Started this year but not yet finished.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*** Sorted in the order in which they were completed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-62688247264391458452019-12-31T21:00:00.000+05:302019-12-31T21:32:13.236+05:30Books I read in 2019<style type="text/css">
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<tr><td>1</td><td>A History of Western Philosophy*</td><td>Bertrand Russell</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>Anna Karenina*</td><td>Leo Tolstoy</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Uh-oh: Some Observations from Both Sides of the Refrigerator Door*</td><td>Robert Fulghum</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Tao Te Ching*</td><td>Lao Tzu</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>The Martian</td><td>Andy Weir</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever</td><td>Michael Bungay Stanier</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Measure What Matters</td><td>John Doerr</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind</td><td>Yuval Noah Harari</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets</td><td>Nassim Nicholas Taleb</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>If Tomorrow Comes</td><td>Sidney Sheldon</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany</td><td>William L. Shirer</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>The Buddha Said: Meeting the Challenge of Life's Difficulties</td><td>Osho</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>Mindfulness In Plain English</td><td>Ven. Henepola Gunaratana</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>A Prayer for Owen Meany</td><td>John Irving</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>The Gene: An Intimate History</td><td>Siddhartha Mukherjee</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>Tess of the D'Urbervilles</td><td>Thomas Hardy</td><td>Paper book</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies** (91% read)</td><td>Jared Diamond</td><td>Audiobook</td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>The Brothers Karamazov** (86% read)</td><td>Fyodor Dostoyevsky</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* Started in 2018 but finished in 2019.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">** Started this year but not yet finished.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*** Sorted in the order in which they were completed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-51877709259635412862018-12-31T15:36:00.000+05:302018-12-31T15:36:42.561+05:30Books I read in 2018<style type="text/css">
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<tr><td>1</td><td>Rework</td><td>Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>1Q84</td><td>Haruki Murakami</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Birdsong (French Trilogy #2)*</td><td>Sebastian Faulks</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Walden*</td><td>Henry David Thoreau</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>A Christmas Carol</td><td>Charles Dickens</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Brave New World</td><td>Aldous Huxley</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</td><td>Lewis Carroll</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* These books were started in previous years but finished in 2018.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-73487087299515330742017-12-31T11:00:00.001+05:302022-12-20T15:17:43.887+05:30Books I read in 2017<style type="text/css">
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<tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th>S. No.</th><th>Book</th><th>Writer</th><th>Format</th></tr>
</thead><tbody>
<tr><td>1</td><td>Love in the Time of Cholera*</td><td>Gabriel García Márquez</td><td>Print book</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>War and peace*</td><td>Leo Tolstoy</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>The Adweek Copywriting Handbook: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Powerful Advertising and Marketing Copy from One of America's Top Copywriters*</td><td>Joseph Sugarman</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking</td><td>Susan Cain</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Graphics Design*</td><td>Ellen Lupton, Jennifer Cole Phillips</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Little Women</td><td>Louisa May Alcott</td><td>Print book</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Bourne Supremacy</td><td>Robert Ludlum</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Zen Mind Beginner's Mind*</td><td>Shunryu Suzuki</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future</td><td>Peter Thiel, Blake Masters</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>The Magician's Nephew (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 1)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 2)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>The Horse and His Boy (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 3)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 4)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 5)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>The Silver Chair (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 6)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>The Last Battle (The Chronicles of Narnia - Book 7)</td><td>Clive Staples Lewis</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>Middlemarch</td><td>George Eliott</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>Bossypants</td><td>Tina Fey</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>19</td><td>Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life</td><td>Anne Lamott</td><td>eBook</td></tr>
<tr><td>20</td><td>Tuesdays with Morrie</td><td>Mitch Albom</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>21</td><td>The God Delusion</td><td>Richard Dawkins</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>22</td><td>The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers<br />
<br /></td><td>Ben Horowitz</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>23</td><td>Principles: Life and Work<br />
<br /></td><td>Ray Dalio</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
<tr><td>24</td><td>Mindfulness for Beginners<br />
<br /></td><td>Jon Kabat-Zinn</td><td>Audio book</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* These books were started in previous years but finished in 2017.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I did better this year, if I just go by numbers of books. I finished 24 books this year</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> compared to 15 books of last year.</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-49b409cc-8cab-654e-7684-611e5db3865b" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Settling on a book format</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I experimented with all three formats this year -- Paper books, eBooks and Audio books.</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">But, I have more or less settled on Audio Books as the primary format. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">With so many professional and </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">personal</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">commitments clamoring for my attention, it is </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">increasingly becoming difficult to squeeze in time for reading eBooks or Print books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have recently subscribed to Audible and have been trying to listen </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">for at least 30 minutes daily.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Going for "Tough Reads”</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">I have started including a few “Tough Reads” in my reading list.</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">L&D practitioners swear by </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/70/20/10_Model_(Learning_and_Development)" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">70:20:10 model</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">, which posits that 70% of lessons learned by </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">effective managers comes from working on challenging assignments i.e. “Tough Jobs”. In the same vein,</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> I define “Tough Reads” as those books which help us to grow by broadening our horizon and </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">getting us out of our comfort zone.</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Tough Reads help to crystallize our thoughts, change our </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">opinions, inform us of </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the opposing</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> viewpoints, develop fortitude to weather out difficult life situations, foster empathy for people different from us and inculcate tolerance for dissenting opinions.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre;"> </span>They may be like </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Middlemarch, which</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> dissects the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">motivations and psychology of its</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> characters</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> so minutely and elaborately that you get </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">some kernels of universal truth about human nature</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Or, they may provide you a research-level exposition on a topic, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">say “Atheism” in “God Delusion”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">To figure out such books, I started researching more while choosing which books to go for.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Trawling through Goodreads reviews is an excellent way to help pop out the next challenging read.</span> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Favourite book</span> <span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19089.Middlemarch" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Middlemarch</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"> is </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">my favourite book of this year.</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Favourite quote</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">There couldn’t be a more sobering and liberating sentence than George Eliot’s concluding</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sentence in Middlemarch. </span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">rest in unvisited tombs.”</span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">It makes one wonder whether the underlying assumption prevalent among today's achievers, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">that you matter only if you are able to make a Jobsian scale “Dent in the Universe”, is</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> blindsiding us of other ways of mattering in the world.</span>
Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-66212190538397251912016-12-31T11:18:00.002+05:302017-05-28T15:03:47.267+05:30Books I read in 2016<style type="text/css">
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<tr class="tableizer-firstrow"><th>S. No.</th><th>Book</th><th>Writer</th></tr>
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<tr><td>1</td><td>Les Misérables*</td><td>Victor Hugo</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>A Short History of Nearly Everything*</td><td>Bill Bryson</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Fahrenheit 451</td><td>Ray Bradbury</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</td><td>Roald Dahl</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Golden Compass</td><td>Philip Pullman</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>Subtle Knife</td><td>Philip Pullman</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>The Amber Spyglass</td><td>Philip Pullman</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Lyra's Oxford</td><td>Philip Pullman</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>Once Upon a Time in the North</td><td>Philip Pullman</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>The Collected Works of J. Krishnamurti, Vol 1 1933-34: The Art of Listening</td><td>Jiddu Krishnamurti</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>Meditation: The First and Last Freedom*</td><td>Osho</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>The Richest Engineer</td><td>Abhishek Kumar</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>The Design of Everyday Things*</td><td>Donald A. Norman</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design*</td><td>Bill Buxon</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability</td><td>Steve Krug</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* These books were started in previous years but finished in 2016.</span><br />
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I made a conscious effort this year to read more.<br />
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I am still having fallow weeks of not reading a single page followed by weeks in which I devour more than three hundred pages and will need to discipline myself to be more consistent next year.<br />
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Being more into audio books for last two years, I switched back to ebooks at the start of this year.<br />
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Les Misérables is one book which is going to stay with me forever. These <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3208463-les-mis-rables" target="_blank">quotes</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24280.Les_Mis_rables" target="_blank">reviews</a> will give you a flavor of it.<br />
<br />Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-72845864657130893922012-10-07T20:48:00.000+05:302017-06-17T14:52:59.095+05:30Siddhartha book review<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>/* Multiple spoilers ahead */</u></b></div>
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Siddhartha is a bildungsroman which follows the journey of a boy, born in a venerated Brahmin family, as he progresses through the Vedic stages of life as a student (<em>Brahmacharya</em>), a homemaker (<i>Grihastha</i>) and a hermit (<i>Sannyasa</i>).<br />
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Defying his father, Siddhartha leaves home to become an ascetic and live a life of self-denial. In his meditative quest on the meaning and purpose of life, he is accompanied by Govinda, his childhood friend. They meet Gautama Buddha (founder of Buddhism). Govinda joins Buddha as his follower. Siddhartha, while acknowledging that Buddha has truly achieved the enlightened state which he had been so far seeking, refuses to join the order of Buddha and places the value of experience in imparting wisdom much higher than teachings imparted by any guru.<br />
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Fourth chapter of first part Awakening begins here and is instructive in understanding Siddhartha. He repudiates that the acceptance of Buddhist tenet of detachment from world or Hinduism philosophy of <em>Sansar Maya Hai</em> is necessary for a fulfilling and awakened life.</div>
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<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em>"When someone reads a text, wants to discover its meaning, he will not scorn the symbols and letters and call them deceptions, coincidence, and worthless hull, but he will read them, he will study and love them, letter by letter. But I, who wanted to read the book of the world and the book of my own being, I have, for the sake of a meaning I had anticipated before I read, scorned the symbols and letters, I called the visible world a deception, called my eyes and my tongue coincidental and worthless forms without substance.”</em></strong> <strong><em> </em></strong><br />
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Now, Siddhartha meets Kamala, a courtesan, and gets drawn by her beauty. She asks him what he can do in exchange of her favours. He says, “I can think. I can wait. I can fast.” Siddhartha explains that he is capable of rational analysis and logical deduction, through which he can set and shape his desires into goals. Also, he has the virtue of patience and art of waiting to understand what goals to pursue and what not. Since he also has learned the practice of fasting (a common practice among ascetics of going for long periods without food), he can’t be broken down by hunger to do something against his will.</div>
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<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em>“When you throw a rock into the water, it will speed on the fastest course to the bottom of the water. This is how it is when Siddhartha has a goal, a resolution. Siddhartha does nothing, he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he passes through the things of the world like a rock through water, without doing anything, without stirring; he is drawn, he lets himself fall. His goal attracts him, because he doesn't let anything enter his soul which might oppose the goal. This is what Siddhartha has learned among the Samanas. This is what fools call magic and of which they think it would be effected by means of the daemons. Nothing is effected by daemons, there are no daemons. Everyone can perform magic, everyone can reach his goals, if he is able to think, if he is able to wait, if he is able to fast."</em></strong> <strong><em> </em></strong><br />
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Kamala guides him to a businessman Kamaswami. He initiates Siddhartha in his trade impressed with his fast grasp and superior thoughts.<br />
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Even though initially Siddhartha thinks himself as just an observer, ultimately he gets appropriated by the hitherto despised vortex of wine, gambling and lust. As that Hindi idiom says, “<em>Kaajal ki kothari mein kaiso bhi sayaano jaaye hai, ek leekh kaajal ki laagi hai, laagi hai.</em>”</div>
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In his forties, disgusted by his sensory, libidinous life, Siddhartha renounces his comfortable palace and goes to forest. This is just a day after Kamala is impregnated with his child. He goes to the river and contemplates suicide by drowning. He is saved by the awakening of his inner voice, which had in recent years been dwarfed by the cacophony of his materialistic life, and hears that most holy word in Hinduism <em>Om.</em><br />
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He then starts living with a ferryman, Vasudeva, on river banks. Vasudeva is portrayed as a man of few words but deep understanding, a little less conventionally educated but more than compensated by his observing and absorbing nature. Vasudeva teaches Siddhartha and the reader the importance of listening.</div>
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<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em>“He was taught by the river. Incessantly, he learned from it. Most of all, he learned from it to listen, to pay close attention with a quiet heart, with a waiting, opened soul, without passion, without a wish, without judgement, without an opinion.”</em></strong><br />
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In this fast paced life, if people dread having real conversations and “we need to talk” moments, it is because we have just lost the ability to listen. We do not know how to react when listening to someone who is elated, frustrated, accusatory, angry or grieving. We want to butt in with that witty remark, plug in that “similar-thing-which-happened-to-me” story, when may be the speaker is counting on us just to lend him our ears and not our views or commiserations. A side effect of this is that we keep having shallow conversations based on facts and opinions and never on feelings.<br />
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Hermann Hesse' depiction of the river as someone who hears without being superciliously judgmental, spuriously sympathetic or cruelly dismissive reminds me of the horse in Chekhov's <a href="http://www.eldritchpress.org/ac/jr/045.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Misery ("To whom shall I tell my grief?")</a> to whom Iona tells about his son’s death.</div>
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But I digress. One day Kamala gets bitten by a snake near Siddhartha’s hut and dies leaving her child. Despite Siddhartha's subtle attempts to instill Sanskar, his son is obstinate and unyielding. One day he flees after stealing money from the hut. Siddhartha goes after him but then realizes how he must have pained his father, when he left him for an ascetic life. It appears to him that river is explaining to him the cycle of life.<br />
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In the final chapter, Govinda has a chance encounter with Siddhartha. By that time, Gautama Buddha has died. But Govinda is presented as still-seeking, still-grasping.<br />
<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em>"It's true, I'm old," spoke Govinda, "but I haven't stopped searching. Never I'll stop searching, this seems to be my destiny. You too, so it seems to me, have been searching. Would you like to tell me something, oh honourable one?" </em></strong> <strong><em>Quoth Siddhartha: "What should I possibly have to tell you, oh venerable one? Perhaps that you're searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don't find the time for finding?"</em></strong><br />
<strong><em><br /></em></strong> Siddhartha tells him that if we remain focussed on the destination, we remain oblivious to the experiences and pleasures of the path. As they say journey is the goal.<br />
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We find that Siddhartha has evolved in his thinking from the time when he was talking to Kamala about goals. This chapter is important as it finally crystallizes the thoughts of Siddhartha.<br />
<strong><em><br /></em></strong> <strong><em>Spoke Siddhartha, "... To thoroughly understand the world, to explain it, to despise it, may be the thing great thinkers do."</em></strong><br />
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Siddhartha exhorts us to lessen the importance we place on thinking, analyzing, explaining. He wants the thinkers to move away from explaining life by deductive reasoning of facts to an inductive deciphering based on experiences and observations. And for this it is essential that they get in touch with their emotions and feelings.<br />
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Hermann Hesse was influenced by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer argued that the world is not rational. Therefore, a spontaneous, instinctual approach, curtailed desires and goals and striving for universal beneficence is the solution to this imponderable, uncontrollable and unfathomable life.<br />
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Siddhartha places the quest of unreserved love, admiration and respect for everyone, including oneself, as being the true north of one’s life.<br />
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<strong><em>Spoke Siddhartha, "...I'm only interested in being able to love the world, not to despise it, not to hate it and me, to be able to look upon it and me and all beings with love and admiration and great respect."</em></strong><br />
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<strong><em></em></strong><strong><em></em></strong>I would interpret the journey of Siddhartha as the expedition in which finally one is at peace with oneself, neither too happy with one’s goodness nor too self-flagellating for one’s meanness. (“<strong><em>a person is never entirely holy or entirely sinful.”― Siddhartha</em></strong>). Then, if one finds some things abhorrent, like Siddhartha does when caught in the material world, to strive to change that, and without ever forsaking one’s faith in the redemptive nature of human will and determination. This is the only way to get a very high self-respect. And, my hypothesis is that this self-respect and self-belief has to compulsorily predate and be necessarily present for the universal respect and admiration for others, regardless of their national, regional, religious, educational, professional, gender identity, to evolve.<br />
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This is a book which can help you in illuminating blind spots, clarifying muddled values and straightening out bigoted acceptance of one truth.<br />
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“<strong><em>I have found a thought, Govinda, which you'll again regard as a joke or foolishness, but which is my best thought. It says: The opposite of every truth is just as true!</em></strong>”<br />
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Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-68558174588029571302012-09-16T19:35:00.003+05:302017-06-17T14:53:52.207+05:30Barfi Movie Review<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>/* Multiple spoilers ahead */</u></b></div>
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When last year I first read that Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra play a deaf-mute and an autistic character respectively in Barfi, somehow I slotted it in the Black, Guzarish and Taare Zameen Par category which place the disability of their protagonist at the heart of the story.<br />
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But the atypical trailer of Barfi piqued my interest<br />
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Instead of the pathos I was expecting, it tried to induce chuckles.<br />
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Make no mistake! Even though it has dollops of slapstick and who-done-it?, essentially Barfi is a love story. Narrator Shruti perhaps sums it best when she says something to the effect "Mujhme aur usme yehi anatar hai..usne soch kar pyaar aur shaadi nahin kiya..ki is se shaadi karne par itne paise mlilnege...usne bas pyaar kiya"...basically don't base your love or marriage decision on ROI calculations.<br />
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Movie starts with a foot tapping "picture shuru" song during the initial casting. Ileana D' Cruz, Saurabh Shukla and Ranbir Kapoor are quickly introduced and then on movie goes in <a href="http://www.billstifler.org/papers/Conrad_Joyce.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">analepsis</a> and the inter-weaving of three different time periods to bring twists and turns in the narrative and keep you glued.<br />
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Barfi is a damn-good-character and is closer to an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anand_%281971_film%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anand </a>than an <a href="http://bollyspice.com/2682/scene-by-scene-we-care-about-ishaan-in-taare-zameen-par" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ishaan</a> or a <a href="http://sitagita.com/bollywood/unforgettable-characters/michelle-mcnally-black.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Michelle McNally</a>. He just accepts that he can't listen and speak. But that never seeems to diminish his <span class="highlight">joie de vivre</span>..always ready with a new prank, always testing his friends with dares, takings setbacks on his chin and moving on. I mean the scene in trailer where Shruti (played superbly by Ileana) kicks his imginary heart and still he finds "Oh, you are smiling. There is still hope" is not one-off. Later he offers the same heart on a plate, with a rose. She tells him a no. With a "koi baat nahin" attitude and "I am deaf-mute but good from heart" sign communication, he passes it on to her friend. After any setback to his plan, he just says c'est la vie! and moves on. He may occasionally get angry...as he does during his outburst after she picks the more certain, convenient, comfortable choice, but he doesn't hold that against her long.<br />
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He is the Jerry to the Tom played by the inspector Saurabh Shukla (as he laments, "Aaap pucchti hain kya kiya hai isne..ye dekhiye", showing his loose pants with oversize belt,"Iske picche bhaag kar maine apani kamar 52 se 42 karwa li" :-)).<br />
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Songs are the soul of this movie. Watch Ala Barfi sung by Mohit Chauhan<br />
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Swanand Kirkire (of Three Idiots & Munna Bhai fame) etches the character though lines like<br />
<i><br /></i> <i>"Ala ala matwaala Barfi</i><br />
<i>Paanv pada mota chhala Barfi<br />Raaton ka hai yeh ujaala Barfi<br />Gumsum gumsum hi machaye ye to utpaat<br />Khur khur khur khurafati kare non stop<br />Khur khur khur khur bud bud bud bud </i><br />
<i>Gud gud gud gud maula isi se bachaai le"</i><br />
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Ranbir Kapoor keeps setting new bars and is becoming the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Bubka#World_record_progression_by_Bubka" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bubka </a>of Bollywood :-) He is turning out to be the most versatile amongst his contemporaries and equally shines in a subtle, under-stated movie like Rocket Singh, screwball comedy like Azab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani or a bad movie like Rockstar with his angry portrayal of rebel-without-a-cause (script's flaw). He has the difficult task of enacting scenes which inevitably draw comparisons with greats like Chaplin and Raj Kapoor (even the pants are only up to the hem of the socks in some scenes), but more than holds his own.<br />
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Shruti gets torn between love and a comfortable life and has to keep making harsh decisions. She asks for one more ticket after getting handed over first ticket and director subtly provides the clue to dilemma in her heart. Then, she gives Barfi just one ticket and doesn't entrain herself till the very last moment. In the last scenes, when Jhilmil shouts Barfi and Barfi is carrying on dejectedly oblivious of her shouts, you can notice the drama going on in Shruti's divided heart reflected in her face as she is deciding whether to tell or carry on.<br />
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"Phir le aaya dil" is an achingly beautiful song. Rekha Bhardwaj's soothing voice echoes the longing and wistfulness of Shruti.<br />
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After Yami Gautam in Vicky Donor, Ileana D' Cruz plays the role of a Bengali girl and wife better than many of the actual bong girls in Bollywood.<br />
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Romance between Barfi and Shruti is developed in the foreground with Main Kya Karoon song forming the background. Main Kya Karoo song is sung by Nikhil Paul George and Swanand Kirkire pens it with beautiful lines like<i> Is pe toh dhun chadhi Hai pyaar ki Na jane Gum hai kahan Baton mein hai pada Bekar ki Ulti yeh baat hai Aise halaat hai Galti kare yeh Main bharu Uf dil ka main kya karoon Main kya karoon..Is dil ka kya karoon Main kya karoon.</i><br />
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Jhilmil is autistic and has difficulty communicating. But Barfi finds it is only she among his friends who doesn't flinch during his "dare". She is insecure of losing Barfi to Shruti and clutches to his shirt in the train or puts an outright challenge to Shruti to come closer in the last scenes with her hand around Barfi. Initially Barfi isn't in love with her. He likes her and was just making sure that she gets taken care of well. He leaves her with Maasi till she comes following the bus.<br />
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Priyanka Chopra is strictly ok. Don't ask me why because I don't really know. May be the same thing that Rani Mukherjee's performance was good in Black but not out-of-this-world.<br />
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Anurag Basu is in command of his material, both as writer and director. He adds many deceptive directorial touches (check out Main Kya Karoo video at 0:47s), almost as if he is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feint" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">feinting</a> with viewer's mind dodging its next move. Except for Kites, he has been mostly good from the usual low standards of Bollywood. (Though I wouldn't be the first to testify in his favor if charges of derivative film making and outright plagiarism are leveled against him).<br />
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It is refreshing that some filmmakers are discovering cities other than Mumbai. There have been many in recent years capturing Delhi (Rang De Basanti, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1370429/" target="_blank">99</a>, Band Baaja Baaraat). Kolkata and Bengal (Parineeta, Kahani, Vicky Donor) are getting their due share now. Watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhau_dance" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chhau</a> is a good sign that at least some directors are moving beyond just using the conventional tropes (Howrah Bridge, India Gate) to geographically situate a movie.<br />
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As the writer, Basu must be applauded for writing a great love story meandering in mystery genre, in which the fact that some protagonists suffer from disabilities becomes just a footnote. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_%28narrative%29" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">conflict</a> of this story is not the disturbing albeit box-office friendly core of <i> </i>Taare Zameen Par, Black<i> -- "</i>In spite of their unfortunate condition, will they achieve that elusive dream - painting or graduating - which will redeem them?<i>"</i>. What happens if they don't? Do they become less of a human?<br />
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<br />Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-30470736096892996442012-05-26T05:05:00.000+05:302016-03-05T22:12:34.518+05:30Gangs of Wasseypur music is simply majestic!Gangs of Wasseypur music released recently and I have been hearing it almost on a loop. Gangs of Wasseypur may become the magnum opus of Anurag kashyap. It shows that he has the guts as well as the gumption to pull off the music which suits the grand vision of Gangs of Wasseypur...revenge drama covering three generations.. powerful actors Manoj Bajpayee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui (who played nasty inspector Khan in Kahaani), Richa Chadda (check her out in Oye Lucky Lucky Oye in which she magically captures the body language, mannerisms, lingo and accent unique to Delhi while saying "<i>Touch Ho Gayi Main, By God</i>" and <i>"Main Tujhe Hoat Nahin Lagti"</i> )<br />
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Sneha Khanwalkar is a dynamite of talent..Her choice of singers in Gangs of Wasseypur is impeccable (Listen to Hindi singers in Hunter song)..Varun Grover as a lyricist stamps his mark on the whole album with his authentic, precise, often unusual but seldom incongruous choice of words..<br />
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O Womaniya is a delightful song sung by Rekhaa Jha and Khushboo Raaj..It has its origins from the culture of wedding songs in Mithila and other parts of Bihar where ladies sing suggestive or abusive songs teasing brides/grooms..it is in the same category as "<i>Saas Gaari Deve</i>" from Delhi 6..Only it goes a little further in terms of saying what many a times remains unsaid.."<i>Bole ka babuna, chal jahiyo Patna; Patna bahane woh chahe hai Satna</i>"...pronouncing "O Womaniya" as "O Omaniya" is fresh and one more proof of how much research must have been done to create the rooted feel of songs ..This may be the first time I have heard the word "<i>Kaniya</i>" (Bahu/bride/daughter-in-law) in Hindi songs..With Gangs of Wassepur set in Bihar/Jharkhand and Richa Chadda, playing a role which ages from 16 years to 60 years, there may be lot of wedding occasions which may cry for this type of song to create the feel of the area. <br />
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"<i>Jiyo ho Bihar ke Lala</i>" is the signature song of Gangs of Wasseypur..<br />
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It looks almost paradoxical that for this movie which is all about dhishoom dhishoom, knives and guns, singer should urge the <i>Bihar Ke Lala</i> to "<i>Tanin Taan Khinch Ke Tansen Kahlawe ho Bhaiya</i>".. basically urging him to sing, dance and create a <i>maahoul</i>...And when I heard "<i>Tani auka bauka teen tadoka, tani chandan maati chauka kaathi"</i> in this song, touch ho gaye hum by God :-)<br />
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Hunter song may easily win the award of double meaning song of last two decades... I mean after the spate of such songs initiated by Choli song in Khalnayak in early nineties, I really don't recall such song in commercial movies. But this song has the potential to become the next <i>Emosional Atyachar</i>. Reportedly for the Hunter song, Sneha Khanwalkar traveled to Trinidad-Tobago to find the authentic <i>Chutney Music</i> which is a heady concoction of Bihari and Carribean music (with its roots in migrant Bihar labourers)...Rajneesh, Shyamoo and Munna pitch in for Hindi part of songs and what a contrast it creates with calypso style singing of Vedesh Sookoo! (who incidentally also pens the predominant English part of song)..Check out for <i>"Hai Bahut Bhokali" "Heyllo" "Phamous" "Bebas" "Hum hain sikaari".</i> If you are planning to listen to just one song this year, I think this may be that..You don't believe me! check its cool trailer below.<br />
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<i>Ae Jawano </i>is a peculiar song. I just can't figure out in which situation in Gangs of Wasseypur, it would serve as the backdrop. <span style="text-align: left;">It </span><span style="text-align: left;">starts with a public address system voice used in large gatherings. In a very thick Bihari accent, lead singer of Ranjeet Baal Party (Gaya) (I am not kidding! they indeed are the singers :-)) recites philosophy of life </span>encapsulated in the catchy couplets and pithy cliches found behind many rickshaws or trucks in North India. "<i>Ae jawano! garibi tod deti hai jo rishtey khaas hote hain...Aur paraye apne hote hain, jab paise paas hote hain</i>" <i>"Har yaar wafaadar nahin hota, har pathhar chamakdar nahin hota! na jaane bun mein kitne phool khile hain, har phool khushboodar nahin hota". </i>This song fizzes out after the promising start and I didn't particularly like it. </div>
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After Gulal, Piyush Mishra once again displays his metier as a wizard of words in the Ek Bagal song with great lines like <i>"Honi ko thenga dikhakar khikhilate jaenge"</i><br />
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<i style="text-align: left;">Teri Keh Ke Lunga</i><span style="text-align: left;"> catchphrase may sound vulgar and double meaning even by the permissive standards of this album but as Anurag Kashyap explains in his Rediff interview that in the geographical areas where the movie is situated and takes its inspiration from, it basically means "I will not attack you from behind. I will tell you the date and time and then will attack and kill you". </span><span style="text-align: left;"> It is sung by Sneha Khanwalkar and Amit Trivedy. Sneha at many places sounds almost like Sunidhi Chauhan. I just can't stop myself from repeating this song endlessly because of the verve and vigor infused by Sneha in the song. That girl sure needs to take breaks from composing music and get behind microphone more often!</span><br />
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<i>Aaaj Dil Man Mauji </i>sung by Usri bannerjee is very sweet, soft, <i>purane jamane ka pyaar</i> wala song.. <i>"Tambu mein baraat, akeli jaat dare, kya karna hoga..ha ha-2...Khula hai bajuband, phata hai kaaj, sambhal ke chalna hoga -2". </i>very unusual and earthy kind of lyrics with<i>"Raat mein jhingoor bole" </i>and why not? In the villages, all the nocturnal amorous adventures are punctuated with the sounds of jhingoor and croaking of frogs. Isn't it? Only grudge is that at 2:53m running time, it almost ends as soon as it starts gathering its tempo and growing on you.<br />
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And now I come to the most experimental sound (nah! it is not really a song), and one of my favourites, <i>Tain Tain To To</i> composed and sung by Sneha Khanwalkar. No lyrics as such, just plain gibberish in the form of Tain Tain or Kain Kain but what an infectious beat and tempo. Bravo lady!</div>
<br />Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-81989467547661666962012-03-24T17:48:00.001+05:302012-03-24T17:50:06.290+05:30Quote“The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile, but that it is indifferent. If we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death, our existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” - Stanley KubrickByomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-17259941451929331522012-02-07T15:19:00.002+05:302012-02-08T12:18:50.907+05:30QuoteIn my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.<br /><br />"Whenever you feel like criticizing any one," he told me, "just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had."<br /><br />-Great GatsbyByomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-14725123951536598202010-01-06T14:43:00.009+05:302017-05-14T09:50:44.884+05:30LuckOpening scene from the movie <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/match_point/">Match Point</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Allen">Woody Allen</a><br />
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"Christopher "Chris" Wilton: The man who said "I'd rather be lucky than good" saw deeply into life. <b><span style="font-weight: bold;">People are afraid to face how great a part of life is dependent on luck</span>.</b><span style="color: rgb(255 , 0 , 0);"> </span><span style="color: red;">It's scary to think so much is out of one's control.</span> There are moments in a match when the ball hits the top of the net, and for a split second, it can either go forward or fall back. <span style="color: #3333ff;">With a little luck, it goes forward, and you win. Or maybe it doesn't, and you lose.</span>"<br />
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2009 was an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annus_mirabilis">annus mirabilis</a> for me with marriage and admission to IIMK.<br />
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This year my promise to myself is what Eldo Raine says to his soldiers in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, "<span style="font-weight: bold;">We're gonna be doing one thing and one thing only, read more books.</span>" :)<br />
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The number of fiction novels read by me in 2008-09 can be counted on fingers. Most of them were trashes except "Wuthering Heights" and "Surely You Are Joking Mr. Feynman". I need to reduce the number of novels from my "Good But Haven't Read" list this year. <br />
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I'll keep you updated on the novels I am reading. Current one is Animal FarmByomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-72599802817986399602009-12-20T01:03:00.007+05:302014-04-26T14:59:15.651+05:30Random one-liners from my FB status/emailsMost of these are from FB status updates, emails I have sent to friends<br />
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1.) Someone asked me my birthday but you know, in this era of gender equality, if I can twist that one-liner , I would say "Never ask a man about his age and a woman about her salary":-)<br />
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2.) Finally started cleaning the room...whenever used to be fed up with the room's bad state in the last 3.5 months here , I used to go for long nap , wishing things would be a little different when I get up...but now have accepted the finality of Newton's First Law of Motion, "Things at rest remain at rest unless acted upon by external unbalanced force" and NO! mental force doesn't count :-)<br />
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3.) A joke from my Macro Economics notebook (Credit to Sir) "What is the politically correct term which Economists employ when they want to call someone 'kanjoos'? His Marginal Propensity to Save (MPS) is higher than others" :-)<br />
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4.) Contexual joke KGP 1st year<br />
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Miss World competition or something like that was there..and models were getting scores of 9.3, 9.2, 9.8 out of 10 ...<br />
"Inka CGPA hai kya yeh" :-)<br />
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5.) On slowdown/recession, from one of my email<br />
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I thought this slowdown has not touched my company until they started giving us bananas instead of apples in the morning canteen :-)Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-65819028079106625632009-12-17T14:44:00.006+05:302019-02-18T00:51:37.886+05:30My article in IIMK magazineBYOMEE’S CORNER<br />
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Sometimes it takes just one knock on your door to change your life. 30th October 2009 11:30 PM Yes..That was it..I open the door; “We are from Tadka”.I couldn’t believe my ears. The day I was waiting from my childhood had come. I grew up on stories of my father telling about an IIM which will come in the sylvan surroundings of God’ Own Country and how its students will get into uncomfortable situations, get scolded from Professors, make interesting pairs with members of opposite sex, will plant imaginary escapades to fuel the rumour-mills just to get featured in that magazine which will become the lodestone of every budding and hidden writer of that campus-Tadka.<br />
The next day mandate was given, "You have to give Gyaan". I said, “Did you say I have to give Gas or Gyaan?””Ek hi baat hai..Just stick to 300 word limit. You See, we have sharper scissors than Indian Censor Board and any attempt to exceed this 300 will result in complete removal of all the vowels from your article.”<br />
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<span style="color: rgb(255 , 0 , 0);">“Main Apni Favourite Huun”</span><br />
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The biggest problem in life happens when we start comparing ourselves with others. Always remember, If you are not as smart as XYZ, probably he thinks that he is not as dynamic or jovial as you are. If you are not as handsome as Amir Khan, may be Amir Khan thinks he is not as handsome as Tom Cruise. The crux of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity as given in the seminal research paper “Separating Wheat From Chaff: Relativity Revisited” by Byomkesh Kumar is just this, “Benchmark yourself against your past. Relative grading means “You have to always do better in your next endeavor than in your past.””<br />
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Singing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asaCQOZpqUQ" target="_blank">Pink’s song “Don’t Let Me Get Me”</a> with lines which run “Don't wanna be my friend no more, I wanna be somebody else. Don't let me get me, I'm my own worst enemy” was cool in the Stone Age. This FB-Twitter generation’s buzz word is what Kareena says in Jab We Met when Shahid asks, “Tum apne aap ko bahut pasand karati ho na.” “Bahut, Main apni Favorite huun”. But how do you become your favourite?...(Snip Snip...Scissors at work)Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-70015610931221322732009-12-10T21:58:00.006+05:302012-02-08T12:47:49.817+05:30Song in My MindEuphoria's Sone De Maa<br /><br /><a href="http://byomblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/segmentation-and-positioning-in-indian.html">Indian Pop</a><br /><br />My lines on this song from the above post--- <br /><br />Before Kya Itna Buraa Huun Maan(TZP) and Lukka Chuppi(from RDB) by Prasoon Joshi , these were some of the best lines written on that atavistic wish which everyone feels after frustrations, struggles of adult life to get back to his childhood, to let someone else care for "aanta, daal ka bhaav", to keep doing what one likes, to just sleep at leisure without the rude alarm clocks waking you up and deadlines to be taken care of, to be simple again, to be a child again, to let the Pleasure Principle of Id rule you without being quietened either by the realities of Ego or ethics/morals of Super-Ego, neither to feel pressurized to catch up with workaholics in weekdays nor succumbing to peer pressure of "having to do the in-things" on weekends<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego">Id, Ego, Super-Ego on wiki</a><br /><br />When it was used in the soundtrack of Shootout at Lokhandwala, the lines were something like this<br /><br />lyrics of Sone De Maa<br /><br />Ho Maa, Ho Maa, Ho Maa<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Teri Kahaani Mein Jita Tha Beta Tera<br />Tu Hi Bata Maa Kya Jhuta Tha Kissa Tera</span><br />Aansu Baha Na Maa, Ik Din Yeh Hona Hi Tha<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lamha Lamha Jita Jahaan, Ladate Ladate Main Thak Gaya</span><br />Sone De Maa Main Nahi Jeena - 3<br />Sone De Maa, Sone De Maa<br /><br />Kabse Hai Tumane Maa Aawaaz Di Na Koyi<br />Kabse Andheron Mein Ghar Mera Khoya Kahin<br />Sadiya Huyi Tere Aanchal Mein Soya Nahin<br />Lori Koyi Phir Se Suna<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Chalate Chalate Main Thak Gaya</span><br />Sone De Maa Main Nahi Jeena - 2<br />Sone De Maa Nayyo Jeena<br />Sone De Maa<br /><br />Aakhari Angadaayi, Nind Mujhe Aayi<br />Dheere Dheere Dhundala Sama<br />Hasate Hasate Abb Kar Vida<br />Sone De Maa Main Nahi Jeena - 2<br />Sone De Maa Nayyo Jeena<br />Sone De Maa<br /><br />Sone De Maa Main Nahi Jeena<br />Sone De Maa Nayyo Jeena<br />Sone De Maa<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Teri kahaani mein sacchayee jeeti sada,<br />Tu hi bata maa kya jhootha wo wishwaas tha,</span><br />Bikhri kyon maa mere sapna ka sansaar tha,<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lamha-lamha dhokha naya,<br />Tanha-tanha main thak gaya.</span><br /><br />Sone de maa ab na jeena * 4<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sapna jo toota bhi, dekho main roya nahin,<br />Saaya jo toota bhi, khud ko main bhoola nahin,<br />Sadiyaan hui tere aanchal mein soya nahi.<br />Lamha-lamha jeeta jahaan,<br />Tanha-tanha main thak gaya.</span>Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-23058090242270888972009-11-25T13:09:00.002+05:302012-02-08T12:48:06.092+05:30Song In My Mind"Kya Hai Tera Mantra" by Euphoria<br /><br />MANTRA<br />Intro: Na na...<br />Kisne ye jaana hai ye kitna puraana hai,<br />Jaata kahaan ye silsila?<br />Phir se na aana hai ye kitna suhaana hai<br />Pal ye jo humko hai mila.<br /><br />Kisne ye jaana hai ye kitna puraana hai,<br />Jaata kahaan ye silsila?<br />Phir se na aana hai ye kitna suhaana hai<br />Pal ye jo humko hai mila.<br />Is pal mein aao khud ko jaan lein pehchaan lein hum,<br />Aao dekhein jeevan ke rang sabhee,<br />Bhoolein na beeti jo thi, dekhenge hoga jo bhi,<br />Pehle jaane to sahi, kya hai tera mantra?<br />Hai jeet kya aur haar kya, gham aur khushi ke paar kya,<br />Hai megh ke aasaar kya, toofaan kya majhdhaar kya,<br />Hai baadlon ke paar kya, koi aur bhi sansaar kya,<br />Bas jaan lo hai pyaar kya, hai ye mera mantra!!<br /><br />Dekho pukaarein tumhe nabh ke sitaarein,<br />Baahein phailaaye aasmaan,<br />Bahti hawaaein tumhe kahti fizaaein,<br />Dekho thamey na kaaravaan.<br />Lekar chal yaadein kal ki, karta chal tu waadein kal ke,<br />Is pal pe tere kadmon ke nishaan,<br />Dekhenge aane waale, manzil ko pane waale,<br />Poochhenge chalne waale, kya hai tera mantra?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mehnat bhi hai, himmat bhi hai, thodi si, haan, kismat bhi hai,<br />Aankhon mein hain kuchh khwaab bhi aur seene mein hasrat bhi hai,<br />Hai saanson ka aadhaar kya, aur zindagi ka saar kya,<br />Bas jaan lo hai pyaar kya, Hai ye mera mantra!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Aao na, socho na, dil se mita dein sab faaslein,<br />Sarhad na, mazhab na, hum sab rangein hon,<br />Ek rang mein, ek rang mein.<br />Tera hai apna kya, tera paraaya kya, tera hai aasha kya, tera hai jeevan kya...<br />Tera hai sapna kya, tera hai Eishwar kya, tera hai bhaasha kya,<br />Tera hai mantra kya...?</span>Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-26625185236493556232009-11-23T05:51:00.001+05:302009-12-19T22:33:41.372+05:30Movie Scene In My Mind-1"Mia: Don't you hate that?<br />Vincent: What?<br />Mia: Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it's necessary to yak about bullshit in order to be comfortable?<br />Vincent: I don't know. That's a good question.<br />Mia: That's when you know you've found somebody special. When you can just shut the f*** up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence." fave scene from Pulp Fiction Uma Thurman & John TravoltaByomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-45147887682194387072009-11-20T02:39:00.016+05:302014-04-26T14:57:40.298+05:30Segmentation and Positioning in Indian PopEven though pop music in India has at least a decade back origin, I would say that 1993-94 was when we Indians woke up to the fact that songs can be made without the need to situate them in movie. Baba Sehagal’s RAP songs (someone said to me RAP stands for Rahein Aap Pareshan :-) ), Alisha's Made In India song and Biddu's Boom Boom song sung by Nazia Hussan (featuring a very young Anupama Verma, yes the same from Big Boss 1 ) were the catalysts along with Daler Mehndi's Bolo Tara Ra.
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It was the same time that we middle class Indians were slowly realizing that not English movies have a corrupting influence on character. This was courtesy Jurassic park of Spielberg. This reminds me of an interesting anecdote narrated by one of my friends in college. He was watching Titanic in TV (Of course, all art dilettantes who wanted to appreciate Leonardo do a live portrait of Kate Winslet were hugely disappointed with the censors going snip snip on that scene, and movie was de-toxicated for TV viewing. ). His grandmother came and scolded him something like, "Kya gandi picture dekhte rahte ho?" and then she switches the TV channel to a Hindi movie channel showing Helen dancing in a slit-thigh gown trying to patao Amitabh in Don :-)
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So, the realization that "English movies don't have songs and English bands release albums without placing them in movies" and "evolution of desi pop" was almost simultaneous.
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As happens in any industry with almost no barrier to entry, there were lot of new entrants with different positioning and segmentation. Following is my attempt to slot them:--
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1.) Region<br />
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i.) Punjabi pops Daler Mehndi<br />
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ii.) Altaf Raja targeting UP, Bihar with Subah Pehli Gaadi Se
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2.) Location<br />
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i.) College – Yaaro yehi dosti hai by KK; Purani Jeans<br />
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ii.) That Girl Next Door to Your Apartment – Aankhon mein tera by Aryans ( featuring Shahid – if you watch him in that video with Hrishitha Bhatt, it is so difficult to believe that a Jab We Met type restrained // Ishq Vishq type probably the most confident debut in a comic role by any male actor in recent times (Just watch the scene where Satish Shah tries to explain “Birds And Bees” to his precocious son Shahid or his advice to fake Sachin to impress Shenaz something like “haan square cut thoda kum aur apna elbow sidha rakhana ..”) // Kaminey type quirky performance is lurking inside him
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3.) Extraordinary feats<br />
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i.) Underwater shooting in Dooba Dooba<br />
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ii.) Breathless song
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4.) Gender<br />
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i.) Phalguni Pathak's Maine Payal hai chhankayi (featuring Riya Sen and, if you did not notice, Ayesha Takia in one of her first pop songs appearances, after that Complan ad she did with Shahid in her childhood "I am a Complan Girl; I am a Complan Boy")
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5.) Age group wise<br />
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i.) For kids -- Amitabh’s classic Ek Rahein eeir, ek rahein bir, ek rahein phatte aur ek rahein hum ; Sunidhi Chauhan’s “sunk-without-a-trace” kid pop song Aira Gaira Nathhu Khaira(her first album after she won Meri Awaz Suno on DD)<br />
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ii.) Teen school going/college going love -- Shaan's Lovology<br />
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iii.) Twenties love (Sonu Nigam’s Ab mujhe raat din from Deewana album (IMHO, his best album)<br />
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6.) Based on music genre<br />
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i.) Classical – Piya Basanti featuring Nauheed<br />
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ii.) Rock – Parikrama<br />
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iii.) International type – Seulmont by Alisha<br />
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iv.) Remix -- Someone rightly said “R. D. Burman kab tak inke ghar ki roji roti chaleyenge”<br />
Nahin Nahin abhi nahin (featuring Ayesha Takia in a lift..why exactly is she taking a spoon of coffee syrup like medicine in that video .. I never understood..but it worked for me)
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7.) Behavioural/ Situational/ Mood segmentation<br />
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i.) Madly, Truly, Deeply wala love songs – Dooba dooba rehta huun by Silk Route<br />
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ii.) Feeling wala nostalgic love – Maaei Ri from Euphoria featuring Rimi Sen<br />
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iii.)Unrequited love – Woh Pyaar Mera featuring Amrita Rao by Alisha<br />
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iv.) Junooni pyaar – Apki Dua Hai by K.K.<br />
"Uski Hi Dhun Mein Hoon Mujhe, Tum Deewaana Kaho<br />
Aap Ki Dua Hai Pyaar Hua, Ishq Ka Mein Beemaar Hua"<br />
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v.) Hyper-confident, possessive love – “Kaise bhulegi mera naam” from Euphoria (my favourite band)<br />
"Tu hi meri zindagi, tu hi meri har khushi,<br />
Tu hi meri preet hai tu hi hai meri jaan.<br />
Tu hi meri dhoop hai, tu hi meri chaaon hai,<br />
Tu hi mera dard hai, tu hi hai muskaan.<br />
Kaise bhulegi mera naam!!<br />
Sakhiaan teri deti taane mujhe dher sare,<br />
Gharwaale ne tere itna bhala-bura kaha.<br />
Din bhar kaam karoon, raaton ko main dhundhoon tare.<br />
Samjhegi tu to mujhe isilye itna saha.<br />
Kya ho gaya sanam, mila koi naya sanam,<br />
Chaahegi tu aur kisi ko, mane na kyon mera yah man.<br />
Hoga to wahi sanam, kuchh bhi karle jatan,
Ek din banegi tu meri dulhan!<br />
Tu hi meri zindagi, tu hi meri bandagi,<br />
Tu hi meri subah hai tu hi hai meri shaam,<br />
Tu hi mera geet hai, tu hi mera meet hai,<br />
Tu hi mera puja hai, tu hi hai mera Raam.<br />
Kaise bhulegi mera naam!!<br />
Kya hua ke agar milna sake hum,<br />
Kya hua ke mere waadon mein na dum<br />
Pyaar to hua na kam, Jeeti tu haarein hain hum<br />
Sun liya maine, sah liya maine,<br />
chheen lunga tujhe abki baar.<br />
Kaayar na hoon main, jhoota na hoon main,<br />
Kamzor na hoon, bas karta tujhe pyaar"<br />
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vi.) Egoistic love Kabhi aana meri gully by Euphoria<br />
“Kya karegi tu ghar se nikalke, jaaegi tu kahaan,<br />
Kya dekhegi tu Taj Mahal ko, main na hoon jo wahaan,<br />
Kya nazar aur kya nazaare, kuchh nahin inmein baat,<br />
Nagri-nagri kya dhoondegi, main nahi jo tere saath.<br />
Kabhi aana tu meri gully
Tujhe palkon pe rakhoonga ji.<br />
Baat dil ki karoon Hindustani jo hoon,<br />
Jab jee chaahe to aaja na jee.<br />
Kabhi aana tu meri gully-2<br />
Kya karegi tu Kashmir jaake, swarg tera yahaan<br />
Kya baithegi tu Ganga-kinaare, main na hoon jo wahaan.<br />
Kya ye jannat, kya ye teerath, kuchh nahin tere kaam<br />
Ho jaaenge dhaam saare, legi jab mera naa-ha-ha-ha-haam.”<br />
<br />
vii.)Sensitive love – “Ab Naa Jaa” song by Euphoria featuring Vidya Balan<br />
“Aankhen band kar loo jo mein dekhu bas tumhe<br />
khwabo mein hi keh sakta hoon apna tumhe<br />
rehne de mera yeh vehm pe hi yakeen
naa ja abhi<br />
pyar ki yeh raat hain
ab na jaa
chotti si ek baat hain
ab na jaa<br />
tumhhi se hain meri neend
naa bhi ho to kya<br />
tumhi see hain meri battein
naa bhi ho to kya<br />
kehne do taaro ko kahani ankahi
na jaa abhi”<br />
<br />
viii.)Inspirational – Kya Hai Tera mantra by Euphoria<br />
"Kisne ye jaana hai ye kitna puraana hai,
Jaata kahaan ye silsila?<br />
Phir se na aana hai ye kitna suhaana hai
Pal ye jo humko hai mila.<br />
Kisne ye jaana hai ye kitna puraana hai,
Jaata kahaan ye silsila?<br />
Phir se na aana hai ye kitna suhaana hai
Pal ye jo humko hai mila.<br />
Is pal mein aao khud ko jaan lein pehchaan lein hum,<br />
Aao dekhein jeevan ke rang sabhee,
Bhoolein na beeti jo thi,<br />
dekhenge hoga jo bhi,
Pehle jaane to sahi, kya hai tera mantra?<br />
Hai jeet kya aur haar kya, gham aur khushi ke paar kya,<br />
Hai megh ke aasaar kya, toofaan kya majhdhaar kya,<br />
Hai baadlon ke paar kya, koi aur bhi sansaar kya,<br />
Bas jaan lo hai pyaar kya, hai ye mera mantra!!<br />
Dekho pukaarein tumhe nabh ke sitaarein,
Baahein phailaaye aasmaan,<br />
Bahti hawaaein tumhe kahti fizaaein,
Dekho thamey na kaaravaan.<br />
Lekar chal yaadein kal ki, karta chal tu waadein kal ke,<br />
Is pal pe tere kadmon ke nishaan,
Dekhenge aane waale,<br />
manzil ko pane waale,
Poochhenge chalne waale, kya hai tera mantra?"<br />
<br />
ix.)“Boy asking naughty question, Girl giving sensitive answer, boy getting emotional” song
Lucky Ali + Kavita Krishnamurthy<br />
"Male:- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gori teri aankhen kahe</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">raat bhar sooyi nahi</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">chanda dekhe chupke kahi</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">aur taare jaante hain sabhi</span><br />
ke kisne dil le liya
kisko dil de diya
yeh dil ka lagana koi jaanta nahi<br />
Gori teri aankhen kahe
raat bhar sooyi nahi<br />
Female:- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dil mein teri yaad basi</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">tu samjhe ga nahi</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">jo hain mere paas hai tera</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">mera kuch nahi</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">kyun akhiya chupao</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">kyun tujhko satao</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">dil tod ke tera</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">mein kya pao</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">bol piya bol piya bol</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">piya bol piya bol piyaaa bol</span><br />
saajan teri baatein badi
ke mein raat bhar sooyi nahi<br />
chanda ne bhi dekha nahi
aur taaro ko yeh maloom nahi<br />
ke meine tujhe dil diya
tera dil le liya
mera tu hi hain bahana
kyun manta nahi<br />
saajan teri baatein badi
ke mein raat bhar sooyi nahi<br />
Male:-- <span style="font-weight: bold;">Aate jaate mausam jaise </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">lagte the sabhi</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">humne bhi to manga rab se</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">apna bhi koi</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Duniya se bachao</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">palko mein chupao</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">dil jeet ke tera</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">sab ko batao</span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">sun gori sun gori sun gori sunnn</span>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">sun gori sun gori sunnnnn</span><br />
Gori teri aankhen kahe
jaane anjaane mein kahi<br />
chanda ne bhi dekha nahi
aur taaro ne bhi jaana nahi<br />
ke tune mujhe dil diya
mera dil de diya
mera jeene ka bahana
koi aur nahi"<br />
<br />
9.) Family relation<br />
<br />
i.) Sibling rivalry -- Riya Sen in Jab Saamne tum aa jaate ho by Jagjit Singh and Asha Bhonsle<br />
<br />
ii.) Maa -- Euphoria's "Sone de maa" ---Before Kya main Itna Buraa Huun Maan and Lukka Chuppi(from RDB) by Prasoon Joshi , these were some of the best lines written on that atavistic wish which everyone feels after frustrations, struggles of adult life to get back to his childhood, to let someone else care for "aanta, daal ka bhaav", to keep doing what one likes, to just sleep at leisure without the rude alarm clocks waking you up and deadlines to be taken care of, to be simple again, neither to feel pressurized to catch up with workaholics in weekdays nor succumbing to peer pressure of "having to do the in-things" on weekends<br />
"Teri kahaani mein sacchayee jeeti sada,<br />
Tu hi bata maa kya jhootha wo wishwaas tha,<br />
Bikhri kyon maa mere sapna ka sansaar tha,<br />
Lamha-lamha dhokha naya,<br />
Tanha-tanha main thak gaya.<br />
Sone de maa ab na jeena * 4<br />
<span style="color: #000099;">Sapna jo toota bhi, dekho main roya nahin,</span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;">Saaya jo toota bhi, khud ko main bhoola nahin,</span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;">Sadiyaan hui tere aanchal mein soya nahi.</span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;">Lamha-lamha jeeta jahaan,</span>
<span style="color: #000099;">Tanha-tanha main thak gaya."</span><br />
<span style="color: #000099;"><br /></span>
10.)Those which defy characterization/ refuse to be slotted<br />
<br />
i.) Daku daddy 2008 song featuring Hrishitha Bhatt and Shakti Kapoor<br />
<br />
ii.) Aie hip hop hopper tu pyar to kar by Sunidhi 2008
Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-16206011167722661882009-11-08T16:40:00.002+05:302009-11-20T14:34:24.519+05:30When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine That's amoreMust listen song -"That's Amore" by Dean Martin<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That%27s_Amore_%28song%29">song "That's Amore" on wiki</a><br /><br />""That's Amore" is a 1952 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks. It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin in 1953. Amore means "love" in Italian, giving a general translation in English "that's love"."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.weddingvendors.com/music/lyrics/d/dean-martin/thats-amore/">lyrics of song "That's Amore"</a><br /><br />In Napoli where love is king<br />When boy meets girl here's what they say<br /><br />When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie<br />That's amore<br />When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine<br />That's amore<br />Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling<br />And you'll sing "Vita bella"<br />Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay<br />Like a gay tarantella<br /><br />When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool<br />That's amore<br />When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet<br />You're in love<br />When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not<br />Dreaming signore<br />Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli<br />That's amore<br /><br />(When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie<br />That's amore<br />When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine<br />That's amore<br />Bells will ring ting-a-ling-a-ling, ting-a-ling-a-ling<br />And you'll sing "Vita bella"<br />Hearts will play tippy-tippy-tay, tippy-tippy-tay<br />Like a gay tarantella<br /><br />When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)<br />That's amore<br />(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet<br />You're in love<br />When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not<br />Dreaming signore<br />Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)<br />That's amore<br />Lucky fella<br /><br />When the stars make you drool just like a pasta fazool)<br />That's amore<br />(When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet<br />You're in love<br />When you walk down in a dream but you know you're not<br />Dreaming signore<br />Scuzza me, but you see, back in old Napoli)<br />That's amore, (amore)<br />That's amoreByomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-9690984473438170632009-11-06T17:24:00.019+05:302014-04-26T15:05:34.410+05:30Madhur Bhandarkar moviesI am back after a month and the main reason why I am writing one day before the Management Accounting paper is this review by Raja Sen (one of my favorite Indian movie critics...one of the few critics who understand Cinema and review it without fear or favor)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://movies.rediff.com/report/2009/nov/06/jail-review.htm">Review of "Jail" on Rediff.com by Raja Sen</a><br />
<br />
I remember a year back when Fashion released, I was asked to go for it and I torpedoed the proposal saying I find Madhur Bhandarkar a pretentious director.
Mind you, just a few days back I had watched Dil Kabaddi (atrocious copy of Woody Allen's gem "Husband And Wives" with a 100% rottentomatoes rating) and I am the same person who can watch all the eighties formulaic movies on Zee Cinema non-stop.
But I find the presumed self-righteousness dripping from his movies, stars fawning over him and media lionizing and anointing him the "New Age Director" just plain nauseating.<br />
<br />
Pray tell me what is his "Claim to This Fame"?<br />
<br />
A completely undeserved, fortuitous National Award for Chandani Bar or a highly over-rated Page 3 (though marginally better than others in his so-called "realistic" oeuvre -- Traffic Signal, Fashion, Corporate, Jail).<br />
<br />
People say he has the ability to "shock your conscience with his hard-hitting realism". If you are referring to the scenes like actress-art director angle, socialite & foreigners with street children in Page 3 or boy being assaulted in Chandani Bar, I would say either I have a very shock-proof, hardened conscience or you need movies to tell you, "You know dude fashion industry is all dirty..It is about drugs, egos, wardrobe malfunction". Thank You Mr. Madhur. We know that. See, we also read the same newspapers from which you cull the stories.
What kind of a shock you are talking about? Only shock I feel is when I see such pedestrian cinema being hailed as "showing new direction" to Bollywood in TV channels and only shock I see is, when in the movie breaks of Page 3, advertisements of Havells Switches "Shock Laga! Shock Laga!!' come :-)<br />
<br />
Many people have used this strategy of getting a profession/business/social setting and basing their story on that. But it works when you bring some fresh perspectives, when you do a thorough research on the turmoils, trials and tribulations of the protagonists. When the setup is a part of the story being told, but story is not being told only because there is a setup.
See, if you start discussing a movie like Shawshank Redemption with friends, you talk about hope, human determination, cool nonchalant acting of Tim Robbins and, most of all, the felicity with which Bob Gunton has played the part of a disgusting, corrupt, cruel warden.[Just watching him say "I want him found. Not tomorrow, not after breakfast - *now*" after Andy escapes is a moment of joy]<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shawshank_redemption/">Shawshank on RT</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/quotes">Sahwshank movie quotes on imdb</a><br />
<br />
Movie offers amazing insights in prison life, including how that old man refuses to go out of jail after spending most of his youth because he simply doesn't have anyone to go to. Prison is his home. And then when he is released, he commits suicide.
Then you start thinking...then you are shocked...not in that Hila Ke Rakh Diya way, but more subtly because the movie has questioned your basic assumption that everyone inside the prison wants to go out to be free..not true..prison has become such a part of their identity that even when we outsiders can see their loss of freedom, they are either not aware of it or are ready to compromise with the curbs put on their liberty..because they derive their identity from it..because they just can't fit in anywhere else..
If you'll allow me some more minutes of your valuable time, let me say that this is a problem you'll see in many of the arguments or issues concerning India (or World) - Prison is just a metaphor and, in reality, you may be caged because you are born in a particular religion/caste/nation and your have sub-consciously tied your identity so closely with it that any attempt of slightest insult to the symbols of your religion/caste/nation by such insular people from some other religion/caste/nation is met with violent retaliation from your side...Result riots and societal disharmony.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">You are more than "I am a Hindu upper caste male from the most advanced city of India belonging to the most upper class by income"...You are what you like, you are what makes you laugh, you are what makes you think, you are what kind of books/movies/music/games/hobbies you prefer, "you are what you think should never be done, what can be 'its chalta hai' and what you will always do" i.e. your values, and of course, you are what makes you angry.</span><br />
<br />
Yes! I am talking about movies which can generate that kind of thinking and not those which resort to cardboard characters, stereotypes to tell us what we already know in the name of hard-hitting cinema..To such filmmakers, please hit me a little more hard. I still can't feel a thing.<br />
<br />
And for that you need filmmakers who themselves don't live in their ivory towers surrounded by sycophant actors/actresses trying to get in their good books
Just read Mughda Godse's interview on Rediff.com..<br />
<br />
<a href="http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/nov/04/slide-show-1-interview-with-mugdha-godse.htm">Moghda's interview on rediff.com about Jail movie</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">"Working with the same director on films with different genres is very challenging."</span><br />
<br />
Films with different genres ...LOL. Excuse Me, Ms. Mughda...Though movies can be vaguely made, words like genre have very specific meaning. Crudely speaking, movies can be comedy, tragedy, action, suspense type -- these are different genres..You don't say different genres to refer to similar documentary style movies made with different settings. Just because you have heard someone to use that word, it doesn't obligate you to use that word without knowing how to use it correctly, right Ma'am?<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">"And such challenges can be taken up only with directors of Madhur's caliber."</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">"He is a very fun loving person. Jitne serious inke films hai utna hi funny hai yeh."</span><br />
<br />
Have you noticed how before the release of any of these movies such type of fun stories start spreading in umpteen media interviews given by stars. Oh! fun loving..Is it "Made-up-stories-of-actor/director-playing-silly-pranks-on-heroine-meant-to-be-released-to-news-pr-person-just-before-release-of-movie" wala fun or that cliche "He-works-hard-and-parties-harder" wala fun..Please elaborate<br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta;">"We just didn't realize when we started shooting the film and when we finished it."</span><br />
(kucch hona bhi chahiye movie mein realize/yaad rakhne ke liye))<br />
<br />
And if you did not already know, this is Madhur Bhandarkar's movie just before Chandani Bar<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7kl5b4bY05s/SvQqYwlm6fI/AAAAAAAAC1o/a7yez4QuiYU/s1600-h/trishakti-wallpaper.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_7kl5b4bY05s/SvQqYwlm6fI/AAAAAAAAC1o/a7yez4QuiYU/s320/trishakti-wallpaper.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400988457971935730" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 320px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 219px;" /></a>
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410809/">
movie Trishakti on imdb</a><br />
<br />
Yes, he was/is "that" type of director. And then he gets, to his utmost surprise, a National Award..finds a formula and starts milking it.. Kab tak? kaath ki haandi baar baar nahin chadhti, mere bhai.Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-32999622207121126102009-09-25T17:12:00.001+05:302009-09-25T17:14:47.501+05:30Rudyard Kipling's poem IfIf<br /><br />If you can keep your head when all about you<br />Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;<br />If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,<br />But make allowance for their doubting too;<br />If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,<br />Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,<br />Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,<br />And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;<br /><br />If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;<br />If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;<br />If you can meet with triumph and disaster<br />And treat those two imposters just the same;<br />If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken<br />Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,<br />Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,<br />And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;<br /><br />If you can make one heap of all your winnings<br />And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,<br />And lose, and start again at your beginnings<br />And never breath a word about your loss;<br />If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew<br />To serve your turn long after they are gone,<br />And so hold on when there is nothing in you<br />Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";<br /><br />If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,<br />Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;<br />If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;<br />If all men count with you, but none too much;<br />If you can fill the unforgiving minute<br />With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -<br />Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,<br />And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! <br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If%E2%80%94">wiki link on poem If</a><br /><br />""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."Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-14713663529999869802009-09-20T07:51:00.017+05:302014-04-26T15:12:56.259+05:30"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. <br />
<br />
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? :-))<br />
<br />
Then came Tum Se Hi from Jab We Met and he started getting his due share of recognition.<br />
<br />
Masakalli from Delhi 6 brought out a different playful side of him.<br />
<br />
And then comes Ye Dooriyan from Imtiaz Ali's contemporary take on relationships and love "Love Aaj Kal"<br />
<br />
(Last scene where Saif comes to meet Deepika is so touching..<br />
I can't help but provide a running commentary of that scene...<br />
<br />
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 ....<br />
Camera is on Deepika's face and then Saif's voice comes..<br />
"Dekho main pile on nahin karana chahta huun"<br />
Deepika looks down and finds Saif...Camera is on Saif's face and he says<br />
"Magar yeh Romeo Aur Juliet, Heer ranjha, Laila Majnoo - yeh janam janam ka saath type ke log - yeh sirf kahaniyon mein hote hain, right?"<br />
Camera back to Deepika's face for a fleeting moment and then back to Saif and he continues..<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">"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?"</span><br />
<br />
Camera on Deepika and she says<br />
"Angle naya hai...mujhe lagta hai..ise aur discuss karna chahiye"..<br />
Saif-"Tum hamesha correct baat bol deti hai Jaaneman"<br />
Deepika-"To main neeche aa jaaon"<br />
Saif-"Aa jao kyonki yeh long distance relationship chalta hi nahin hai"<br />
<br />
And then camera on Deepika..she breaks down..and Mohit Chauhan' voice takes over<br />
"Kaha bhi na mene<br />
Nahi jeena mene<br />
Tu jo na mila<br />
Tujhe bhule se bhi na<br />
Bola na mene chahun fasla<br />
<br />
Bas fasla rahein<br />
Ban ke kasak jo kahen<br />
Ho aur chahat yeh jawan<br />
Teri meri mit jaani hai dooriyan<br />
Begani hai dooriyan<br />
<br />
Hat jani dooriyan<br />
Fanah ho sabhi dooriyan"<br />
<br />
And then Deepika-"Dekhte hi rahoge"<br />
Saif-"Dar lag raha hai....toot na jaoon"<br />
Deepika-"Tod Do".....(Just too good)<br />
<br />
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<br />
(Other favorites are the break up scene<br />
Saif-"Tumne mere mail ka jawab nahin diya, tum kabhi call nahin karte, jhagde shikayat"<br />
Deepika-<span style="font-weight: bold;">"Aur kiske liye..Tum to ho nahin mere saath ...jo accha part hai, woh nahin hai...lekin jo problems hote hain"</span><br />
Saif-"Yeh karo woh mat karo"<br />
Deepika-"Woh sab hain"<br />
Saif-"Stress"<br />
Deepika-"Main stress nahin banana chahti"<br />
Saif-"Of course"<br />
Deepika-"Especially because itna acchha tha hamare bich"<br />
Saif-"Oh God..past tense...tha.." <br />
<br />
The scene after the song "Chor Bazari"..<br />
Depika is visibly drunk and Saif is dropping her<br />
Deepika-"Main chali jaaongi"<br />
Saif-"Kisi aur ke ghar chali gayi to..koi faayda utha sakta hai"<br />
Deepika-"Tabhi ghar tak chhodne aa rahe ho..haan"<br />
Saif-"Faayda hona hi hai to mera ho jaaye" ...hilarious<br />
<br />
And Deepika saying to Chowkidar,"thank you bhaiya" and then "maar dalegi firangan" :-)<br />
<br />
"Kaun dekha,Kaun dekha,Kaun dekha,Kaun dekha, Kaun dekha,koi nahin..."<br />
<br />
"yeh old building ka restoration karti hai..fresco,tum jante ho na fresco""Nahin main sirf disco jaanta huun" :-))<br />
<br />
p.s.:-- The song Yeh Dooriyan is written by one of my favourite song writers Irshad Kamil<br />
<br />
<a href="http://byomblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/irshad-kamil.html">My old post on Irshad Kamil</a>Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-77749498847344207642009-09-09T02:41:00.004+05:302014-04-26T15:10:45.958+05:30Guncha Koi--amazing song by Mohit ChauhanMusic Director :Mohit Chauhan<br />
Singer:Mohit Chauhan<br />
Lyricist:Mohit Chauhan<br />
<br />
Guncha koi mere naam kar diya.....<br />
GUncha koi mere naam kar diya.....<br />
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...<br />
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...<br />
GUncha koi hmm.......<br />
Tum jaisa koi nahi is jahaan mein<br />
Tum jaisa koi nahi is jahaan mein<br />
Subah ko teri zulf ne shaam kar diya<br />
Subah ko teri zulf ne shaam kar diya<br />
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...<br />
GUncha koi hmm.......<br />
Mehfil mein baar baar idhar dekha kiye<br />
Mehfil mein baar baar idhar dekha kiye<br />
aankhon ke zazeeron ko mere naam kar diya<br />
aankhon ke zazeeron ko mere naam kar diya<br />
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...<br />
Guncha koi hmm.......<br />
Hosh bekhabar se huye unke bagair<br />
Hosh bekhabar se huye unke bagair<br />
Hosh bekhabar se huye unke bagair<br />
Woh jo humse keh na sake dil ne kah diya<br />
Woh jo humse keh na sake dil ne kah diya<br />
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...<br />
Guncha koi hmm.......<br />
Guncha koi mere naam kar diya.....<br />
Saki ne phir se mera jaam bhar diya...<br />
<br />
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<br />Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-90669291366659372502009-09-09T00:53:00.011+05:302019-08-03T20:51:51.639+05:30Doris Day's Que Sera Sera and STIHeard this wonderful song today on K-dio(IIMK Radio)<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Que_Sera,_Sera_%28Whatever_Will_Be,_Will_Be%29"><br />Doris Day song Que Sera Sera on wiki</a><br />
<br />
When I was just a little girl<br />
I asked my mother what will I be<br />
Will I be pretty<br />
Will I be rich<br />
Here's what she said to me<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Que sera sera<br />Whatever will be will be<br />The future's not ours to see<br />Que sera sera</span><br />
<br />
When I was just a child in school<br />
I asked my teacher what should I try<br />
Should I paint pictures<br />
Should I sing songs<br />
This was her wise reply<br />
<br />
Que sera sera<br />
Whatever will be will be<br />
The future's not ours to see<br />
Que sera sera<br />
<br />
When I grew up and fell in love<br />
I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead<br />
Will there be rainbows day after day<br />
Here's what my sweetheart said<br />
<br />
Que sera sera<br />
Whatever will be will be<br />
The future's not ours to see<br />
Que sera sera<br />
<br />
Now I have children of my own<br />
They ask their mother, what will I be<br />
Will I be handsome, will I be rich<br />
I tell them tenderly.<br />
<br />
Que Sera, Sera,<br />
Whatever will be, will be<br />
The future's not ours, to see<br />
<br />
Que Sera, Sera<br />
What will be, will be. <br />
<br />
What will be, will be<br />
Que sera sera...<br />
<br />
<br />
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 <span style="font-style: italic;">mukhda</span> with it.<br />
<br />
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<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-82200100301942235742009-08-28T17:56:00.005+05:302014-04-26T15:18:40.356+05:30My TrialI wrote this in January 2003 for my college Hall magazine.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">My Trial</span><br />
<br />
The stories are meant to amuse but at the moment weighed by my own sense of heavy guilt, I am at the worst case of writer's block and I want to push a purely personal problem through this story. You may accuse me of washing my dirty linen in public, but do I have a choice? Can I be a judge in my own prosecution?<br />
So, let me put before you the facts of this case. I will try to keep the facts detached from my interpretation, but human as I am, if they do creep in, you will have to bear with me.<br />
<br />
I was six year old at that time and was one among the many that lived in this <br />
non-descript village. My father, sister and mother-that was my world before that ill-fated train ride. I was naive who believed that men are inherently good. I was gullible who was repeatedly told that good always triumphs over evil.<br />
<br />
And on that day, we were traveling by Swarnamati Express. I was not in the best of my moods. To me, trains had become synonymous with eatables. But, as if sensing the future, all the pheriwallas were conspicuously absent. The occasional cries of "chai garam" didn't do me any good.<br />
<br />
The train reached a station. I tried to read the name of the station.<br />
"Po---kh----ra! Pokhra!!!Papa. This is Pokhra station."<br />
"Yes"<br />
<br />
Suddenly I spotted a tea stall owner. With his imposing height and long beard, he was busy with his customers.<br />
"Papa, he has something to eat. I want it."<br />
<br />
My father, who usually didn't yield to my peremptory orders, suddenly seemed too docile and got down to bring something for me.<br />
<br />
People of religion X were there on platform. They were raising slogans in name of their God and had banners, placards and ribbons round their forehead. (Incidentally, I, too belong to X religion, based on the single undeniable fact that I was born in X family.)<br />
<br />
Amidst the din and obstructed view, I could barely see or hear my father. But it looked to me as if there was some hot argument between tea stall owner and few X people including my father. Before I knew, there was total commotion on platform. Shutters of windows were drawn. My father comes inside with his dress ruffled and brows knit. He looked worried. I didn't dare to ask for anything. He kept muttering, "This shouldn't have happened."<br />
<br />
The train started with a jerk and windows were opened. With the whiff of fresh air which came in, the pall of Pokhra seemed to pass (or were we letting our guard too early?)<br />
<br />
The train stopped one hundred and sixty seconds after it started (I know it! I know it!! I was looking at my father's watch wondering what was inside this which discriminated in favor of second hand and moved it faster than minute and hour hands.) <br />
<br />
Train was getting late and passengers chafed at the bit.<br />
<br />
I then saw what stubbornly refuses to be wiped by time. A mob of people were rushing towards our coach. They were shouting the name of their God (which was different from us as they belong to Y religion.) I turned to ask my father "Papa, why was train--?" but stopped on seeing that look of terror and helplessness in his eyes. <br />
My father ,my strong father never looked as vulnerable as now. Meanwhile, cries of "Help us" ranted the air. The whole coach was on fire. Flames of fire like tongues of demon danced before us. The smoke and smell of charred bodies became unbearable for me.<br />
<br />
I lost my naivety, gullibility and consciousness in one go. And so it was some time before I came to know that my world had lost three quarters of its population. Many worlds were destroyed. In total, fifty eight peoples didn't see the day light again.<br />
<br />
I woke up to find another bearded person looking at me. I searched his eyes for hatred towards me, all I found was sympathy. Didn't he know about my being of X religion? He looked as if he wouldn't have cared had he knew this also.<br />
I said, "My Papa!". He said with palpable sadness, "None in that coach S-6 survived except you." I again fell unconscious.<br />
<br />
I woke up again only to find myself in the bearded person's house. His wife was happy to see me. She asked, "You want something to eat?" I said "Yes."<br />
<br />
You may accuse me of being opportunistic, of being co-opted by a new religion which played its part in my father's killing. But, as a six year old, my religious moorings were not strong enough to override my hunger pangs. In a space of two months, I got used to my new family. I especially liked the bearded person. We together spent evenings playing. I could not forget my old decimated world but couldn't help myself getting sucked into a whole new world of saintly, bearded man and his angelic wife.<br />
<br />
In the meanwhile, our villages were burning. X men were killing Y men, despoiling their God, burning children. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, police and the state shed their impartiality and helped perpetrate the genocide either covertly by being silent spectators to the brutalities or sometimes in a more overt, brazen way by leading predators to preys.<br />
<br />
It had been three months. Barring sporadic incidents, the violence seemed to subside- eight hundred and eighty eight people were killed.<br />
<br />
I felt pretty much secure, but I couldn't say same for my mentors-the bearded man and his wife. Though they tried to put a brave face, I could sense the fear and terror beneath the veneer of normalcy they tried to project before me.<br />
<br />
One night someone knocked our door. The bearded man took his pistol with him and asked, "Who is it?" "Police. We have to search your house.". He opened the door gingerly only to let a storm of people pull him out of the door. They had Trishul in their hands and were raising slogans in the name of their Gods. They started beating, abusing the man. I was frightened. His wife ran outside. One of them carrying a Trishul came to me, "Why do you live with them? Don't you know they are Y?" I hawled, "Leave them." They disrobed the man and his wife. There was fire burning round the ground. They pushed them in that. They were thirty in all against two.<br />
<br />
The smoke and smell of charred bodies became unbearable for me. I lost unconsciousness. I lost my second world.<br />
<br />
------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<br />
Don't you find me responsible for the killing of nine hundred and fifty three people from both the religions? Where and when did it all start? It was from that scuffle between my father and the tea stall owner, wasn't it? Why did my father went to that tea stall owner?to fetch me something.<br />
<br />
You may say I don't have any mens rea. But, the albatross round my neck now has a weight of nine hundred and fifty three people. I can't bear it anymore.<br />
<br />
I find a deeper rooted, seemingly preposterous but plausible motive. Were there forces that were bent upon severing any familial ties I may form? When I was as X man, these forces came garbed in people with beard. When I became Y man, they came carrying Trishuls? It seems to me these forces have hidden their ulterior motives behind their religiosity. (Do I sound like a precocious six year old? But the events of these few months were so rapid; I literally had to outgrow myself to keep pace.)<br />
<br />
Let me tell you one thing, if you intend to pronounce me guilty, I would like to bring two of my accomplices in the court -God of religion X and the God of religion Y. Because were it not that the bearded men ,who burnt the coach S-6, shouted that their God was great? And did not the men with Trishul claimed to carry out murders to uphold the dignity of their God?<br />
<br />
To me everything seems to be orchestrated by these Gods only, perhaps in collusion with each other.<br />
<br />
And now I can't convince myself to call him God, who is invisible, perhaps just a notion but in whose name so many lives were lost, can you? I pause for a reply.Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355646905068090825.post-59356077977129106212009-08-14T03:49:00.005+05:302014-04-26T15:22:46.897+05:30WordsUsed to like this song a lot during college days..This song was a regular on MTV Select some time back when MTV was true to its name Music TV and had not degenerated in to the most unreal channel playing 24*7 reality shows (splitsvilla and roadie et al) (BTW, If this is the real India, isn't it a little scary?)<br />
<br />
This song was originally written and sung by Bee Gees and was later performed by Boyzone in their 1996 album<br />
<br />
Smile an ever lasting smile<br />
a smile can bring you near to me<br />
don't ever let me find you gone<br />
'cause that would bring a tear to me<br />
this world has lost its glory<br />
let's start a brand new story<br />
now my love<br />
you think that I don't even mean<br />
a single word I say<br />
<br />
it's only words<br />
and words are all I have<br />
to take your heart away<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
talk in ever lasting words<br />
and dedicate them all to me<br />
and I will give you all my life<br />
i'm here if you should call to me<br />
you think that I don't even mean<br />
a single word I say<br />
<br />
it's only words<br />
and words are all I have<br />
to take your heart away<br />
<br />
it's only words<br />
and words are all I have<br />
to take your heart away<br />
<br />
da da da da da da da<br />
da da da da da da da da da da<br />
da da da da da da da<br />
da da da da da da da da da da<br />
<br />
this world has lost its glory<br />
let's start a brand new story<br />
now my love<br />
you think that I don't even mean<br />
a single word I say<br />
<br />
it's only words<br />
and words are all I have<br />
to take your heart away<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/w_Rut4qm33g" width="420"></iframe>Byomkeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04636326612363469639noreply@blogger.com0