Bazinga!

This poem was inspired by the character, Sheldon Cooper, from the sitcom The Big Bang Theory. This expression was used by him in one of the 3rd season episodes and it's been stuck in my head ever since. This is a sort of tribute to him....I give you "Bazinga!"

"Goodbye, cruel world!", cried the man, "So long and Adieu.

My life has been a nightmare; and it's all thanks to you!

I feel so melancholy, frustrated and whatsmore,

You all bring me down further, each time you me ignore!"

"So thanks to you all, here I am ready for sweet release

It's my extreme forlorn attempt to find some inner peace.

I'll jump off this water tank and that'll be that;

The next and final sound you'll hear from me will be a loud "SPLAT"!"

Panic and pandemonium spread like wildfire all about

People were screaming, yelling, imploring, "Please come down", they all did shout.

"We're sorry for what we've done! We apologize and sincerely you beseech;

Never in a million years will we ever you disregard". (Apparently Hyperbole was a popular figure of speech)

But then, just as the women and children broke down and began to cry,

"Bazinga!", hollered the man, "I don't plan to die!"

As the crowd looked on startled, the man offered to explain,

"It was all just a practical joke to drive you all insane!"

"Booya!", declared the man, "I sure had you sons of bachelors there";

Oblivious to the furious eyes below and their incinerating stare.

"The Master of practical jokes! Upon myself this title I do bestow."

"The very brilliant", observed the man, "The brightest mind here, don't you know."

And just as he prepared to take his grand finale bow,

Several strong hands seized him and tossed him off the tank straight down below.

"Help! Help!", he bellowed, as he groped for something to break his fall.

Slim pickins though. He crashed and that was all.

So here's the lesson, dear readers, from the ol' ATH school,

Use "Bazinga!" wisely, it can be a very lethal tool.

A poorly timed "Bazinga!" can result in death, as you see;

By the way, "Bazinga", good folks! The man on the water tank was me!

Farewell, Rohit....May your soul rest in Peace

But I could have told you, RP....

This world was never meant for someone as beautiful as you...

What is it that determines a person's life span?

Is it his diet, his habits, the company he keeps, his upbringing, his genes, his work environment, stress, peer pressure? Or is it all of the above?

In that case, isn't it all like the working of a clock? A perfect assembly of gears and cogs all contributing to the smooth functioning of the body. All that energy flow, all that wear and tear, all that friction running in the background. But all we see on the surface is the smiley face of the clock, day in day out, tirelessly, displaying the time for all to see.

So, what happens when one of the cogs snaps? The clock stops working! In that case, you get it repaired - make minor adjustments or replace the damaged part if necessary.

And what if the damage is irreparable? You replace the timepiece altogether. It's as simple as that! Right?

Yeah! Sure....in the case of clocks.

Not so with humans, unfortunately! The human body is a perpetual working machine with many factors playing key roles in keeping its operation smooth and strong. If even one constituent shifts from equilibrium, as in the case of the clock, adjustments must be made to restore the body to normality.

But there are 2 primary distinguishing factors between the clock and the human body:

1) Time - Time is critical for the human body. The timely detection and rectification of any aberration is crucial. A mere minute's delay could result in a lost life.

2) Complete replacement - A clock can be replaced. A HUMAN CANNOT!!!

I know, I'm probably not making sense to most of you reading this or perhaps I'm stating the obvious to others....But, I really don't know what I'm writing here! My thoughts as I write this piece are hazy and nebulous.

I lost a friend today. A great colleague, coffee-buddy, bus-buddy and most importantly an excellent human being.

I met Rohit on 15th July, 2008, when we had joined JD as Trainees. Our interaction was sporadic. My significant association with him began only a month later when we started to work on the same project. Shank joined us too. We really bonded in that period. Partners in crime, were we!

A really bright lad. He had a lot of ideas. He had the urge to improve where there was scope for improvement. Always thinking out-of-the-box. Sometimes his ideas were downright cookie though...but that was the best part of hanging with him.

Rohit wasn't much of a conversationalist per se. He'd generally keep to himself. But he did open up if he knew you well enough or perhaps trusted you enough.

We'd often stay back late at work (working, of course) and head back home together in the same bus where we had some great conversations - shared our experiences - both personal and professional, musical interests, jokes.

On Friday, 28th August 2009, I hadn't met Rohit all day. I saw him later in the evening. He was passing by my desk. I was on a call and so we spoke through gesticulations. He told me or rather signalled to me that he'd be staying back late that day and so was heading up for dinner. I signed back that I'd be leaving early today and will catch up with him on Monday. We stuck our thumbs in the air - the universal sign of "Cheers, mate!" and he set off for the cafeteria.

I wrapped up my business and went home, happy at the thought of going home early on a Friday. Saturday was quite uneventful. Sunday was the same for the most part. And then at about 11pm, I got a call from my buddy - Swanand. When he didn't quite respond the usual way to my cheery "Wazza, bro??", I immediately sensed something wasn't right. The conversation was as follows:

Swanand: Hey man! You remember Rohit Patil, right.

Self: Of course, I do! Why?

Swanand: Yeah! Well....er.....he's gone...

Self: What? Gone where? (At first, I figured he'd probably left JD and gone back home or something)

But then Swanand completed what he'd begun to say...

Swanand: He's gone forever, man! He passed away today! Heart attack. Today afternoon. At his uncle's place. Very few of our colleagues were able to be there for the funeral. Not too many people found out about it in time. His father's come down here. His mom's no more. I know, man. It's really sad. Almost hard to believe.

Throughout this time I was busy interjecting him with "What?", How?", "When?", "Who went there??" and what not. I was struggling to make sense of it all...but I just couldn't!!!

Rohit! Gone! Just like that! How could this happen???

He was young, athletic, led a normal life with no bad habits. How could this happen? It sucks!

I tried sleeping on it. But I couldn't.....I mean...How could I?...after what happened. It just doesn't make sense. Does that mean there's really no telling when any of us could just pass away...just like that. Is life that fleeting? That temporary?

It really makes you wonder about the trivial things we worry about each day:

1) How's my hair looking today?

2) OH NO! I'm late for my Applied Mechanics lecture! Woe is me :( !

3) Dagnabbit! I ordered Diet Coke and they brought me Regular.

4) Aw Nuts! All my homies have original Adidas and all i have is a local make :( .

Do these things really matter if you might not get to see the light of day tomorrow? Do your possessions or a missed lecture make any difference? Do these mundane events have any meaning in the long run? So why bother?

Why not make each moment count? Why not spend more time with family and friends - with your loved ones - with people who really matter, people who'll remember you when you're gone....rather then wasting time worrying, burning the midnight oil in office, killing yourself over a passed deadline or an overdue assignment. Life's too short, guys!

Live your life while you can! Enjoy these few brief moments we have here! Quit focussing on the problems...concentrate on that silver lining. Let Rohit be the guy driving the snow-plough on the road....clearing it up for us to drive safe. Let him be our example, our path-definer.

They say the best way to judge a man's life is to count the number of people who remember and miss him when he's gone. I'm glad to say that Rohit certainly touched a lot of lives while he was here. The whole office maintained a 2 minute silence the next day in his memory. Our whole department spoke of him and his antics for the rest of the month. And I'll remember him all my life.

Goodbye, RP!!! Gonna miss you, bro!!! Peace!!!

Song of the Post:

Switchfoot - Yesterdays

(A tribute to my dear friend and colleague - Rohit Patil (RP) )

Unfinished Business/ Hail Lavie

Everyone of us.........That's right!!! I said "Everyone"......not "most of us" or "almost everyone"!
So, as I was saying......Everyone of us has some "unfinished business"! Something we always wanted to do....but could never manage to accomplish. This could be anything.....Writing a rap song, singing on stage in front of a mammoth audience and maybe even attempting a stage-dive, understanding Einstein's Theory of Relativity, travelling around the country on a bike or whatever, developing six-pack abs or whatever it may be. But the fact of the matter is that we all have something like this we always wanted to do.....but for some reason (laziness/ procrastination, peer pressure, financial crunches, bad timing....the list is endless) we miss out on doing these things. We go on with life as though everything is fine and dandy....but inside us, however, there's always that feeling that we've missed out on something big in life. You always dream of the moment when you've reached your target. You play the air guitar in front of the mirror, trying to pretend its in front of a huge crowd moshing and head-banging to the tunes emanating from your guitar (this is just one specific example). You always think about what could've been.

I say DON'T!!! Quit imagining! Stop day dreaming! Cease wishing and hoping! Life is too short! Before you even know it.....it's already passed you by and you're busy making an appointment with the lords above for your ascent. Okay....I apologize for the grave talk in the last sentence. But the point I'm trying to drive home is......DON'T LET YOUR DREAMS DIE UNFULFILLED!!! It's not always possible to do so.....sometimes goals are really unrealistic. Like this one dude who told me his "unfinished business" was never acting alongside Brad Pitt in a movie. Now that's an unrealistic goal and more importantly its plain gay. I'll obviously not tell you who the fellow was (for the sake of protecting his privacy). It's good to have surreal aims...but when it comes to "unfinished business", I'm referring to more realizable goals.

Don't give up on them. Live it up. Go ahead and get those things done. Trust me...it'll be the best thing you would've done all your life. It'll be like flying in the clear blue sky with outstretched wings, like eating a whole triple ice cream sundae in one sitting, like the tingly feeling you get when you feed a stray dog a pack of biscuits and he wags his tail copiously showing his appreciation. The sensation is invaluable.

So, go ahead and do those things you long to do. Embrace life! Lead a complete and gratified life.
Do let me know when you've finished that "unfinished business". Peace.

Aight! And now the music update. I thought I'd seen all the song videos there were to see. Now, believe me when I say I've seen a lot of videos. Right from Pink Floyd's psychedelic ones to Blink182's extreme, break-the-rules, crazy ones and even the cool, animated videos like Riley Armstrong's "Sleep" and The Magic Numbers' "Forever Lost"....I've seen 'em all! And I actually believed for a while that there could never again be a song video with a novel theme or concept. But about a month ago.....I was proven wrong. My sister stumbled across a video on a blog she frequents and she just happened to view it on a whim....and within a few minutes....she had her mind blown away......and a few hours later so did I! Oren Lavie is an Israeli singer, songwriter, playwright and theatrical director (Is this guy gifted or what???). He's won many awards and laurels for his theatrical work. He has recently come into the limelight as a musician thanks to his outstanding and enchanting video for his song "Her Morning Elegance". His album "The Opposite Side of the Sea" is available in stores now. Unfortunately, none of the other songs seem to have the same impact and pizzazz as "Her Morning...", but its a neat, soothing album nevertheless. But getting back to the video....he uses an animation technique called "Stop Motion"...which involves taking multiple photographs of an object moving it by slight amounts each time and then combining them together, giving a feel of continuous motion (very similar to the flip books we were so fond of in our younger days :) ). The same concept is used even in clay animation. People who've watched the universally acclaimed film "Taare Zameen Par" would be able to relate to the clay animation reference better. But the brilliant part about "Her Morning..." is the simplicity of the setting/ background. There's no unnecessary frill and gloss...just the bare essentials......and that's what gives the video character!




Recently, Lavie even performed this song at The Jimmy Kimmel Show. I've added this video primarily for 3 reasons:
1) You can see the exemplary instruments used in the song (especially the Xylophone, which by far is the most serene musical instrument ever)
2) There is a really cool, red creature in this video that totally cracks me up :)
3) He sings the song pretty well too :P

So go ahead and dive into the wonderful and idyllic song that is "Her Morning Elegance".....Peace!




Song of the Post:
Switchfoot - Gone
(Switchfoot takes a shot at punk rock and the outcome is sheer brilliance)

	Switchfoot - Gone
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

What the World needs now.../ Chocolate Rain

I suppose you're wondering what the "/" is doing in the title. You see....I felt really guilty about scratching Oasis' name off the title in the last post. Considering that it has merited a substantial amount of space for itself....it deserves to have a mention in the title. So, I've decided to have 2 titles separated by a "/" if the post discusses 2 topics in sufficient detail. That way everyone goes home a winner.....and so consequentially there are no LOSERS (except for Pundoo of course...but that can't be helped. He's always been that way :P).
Anyhoo....jokes apart......I've realized something recently. And its huge. Its probably something most of us knew all along but never gave much thought to. But finally.....a few days ago....it dawned on me. One might even say I had an epiphany. It hit me like a thunderbolt. It was brilliant. Now, I don't know if you've ever had an epiphany before, but believe me the sensation is awesome. It's like a hot cup of coffee in the morning, a cool swim on a hot summer's day, a Sum41 song heard full blast on good quality headphones, a Hrithik Roshan flick first day first show (Ok...that last simile was kinda gay...I admit). But you get my meaning. It's a fantastic experience.

Here's what happened. I was staying back late at work (I know what you're thinking...."WHOA!!! Weak dude!!! ATH having to stay back....that's crazy!!! I rely on his AWESOME posts for my personal well-being. If he overworks himself...how will he keep on posting!!! Oh...What treacherous fate belies us :( !!!"). But never you worry. You can't stifle the ol' ATH with a little extra work. We Likhites are made of sterner stuff. We descend from a rich line of rebels or rather visionaries...men who stood up for what they believed in...who didnt kowtow to their suppressors.....strong willed men who weren't afraid to fight the system. These were the people who believed in "doing" rather than "getting done"....they saw a job that needed doing, and immediately dug their hands into it and began. These were the people you'd look upto....You'd see them on the street and say, "Now, there go some awesome men. Real champions. I wish my ancestors were as cool as them." You get my meaning. Of course...all those qualities and all that charisma and all that spunk was lost at least 3 generations before me....and now all that I have passed on from those heroes is curly, unkempt hair.....but yet a few stray genes from that elite race surely did find their way into me. I don't know if I've ever mentioned a certain library incident. You'll love this....its a story of great strength and power. It was back in 1997 I think. I, a lil' boy of about 10 years of age at the time....entered the library with a firm resolve to read an encyclopaedia....and not just any encyclopaedia...but the Britannica series Volume: A (Yeah! I know! I was pretty lame back then). Now any true-blue, dyed in the wool reader would know....that's one heavy book. So, there I am in the library, with the urge to read and a song on my lips. When all of a sudden I see it.....the "Britannica Encyclopaedia Volume: A" on top of a huge shelf and that too with 3 other volumes stacked on top of it. Now any weak-willed fellow would probably have followed two paths of action at this point:
1) Gone to the librarian and requested her to help him out (Ugh!!! Loser!!!)
2) Called the whole thing off as a bad joke and scampered off to engage in a lively game of Tree-to-Tree.
But...not us Likhites! As I mentioned earlier.....we're made of sterner stuff. I stepped up to the challenge. I looked adversity in the face and spat on the floor. I threw caution to the wind. I grabbed the bull by the horns. I....you get the point. I grabbed a chair, stood atop it, opened the shelf and here's the best part......picked all 4 volumes (that's right....all "4" volumes....the 3 volumes on top and the Volume: A book) all at once and brought them down and placed them on the table. Quite a Herculean task you say. Hah! Not for a Likhite it isn't!!! Now I don't like to blow my own trumpet...but that was no easy task. Sure, I was out of commission for a week. Sure, the doctor advised me to go easy on the strenuous activities for a while. Sure, I couldnt bend to lift a pencil...if it fell to the floor. But....the thrill and glory of the feat is priceless....it makes it all worthwhile. Who said the stellar Likhite genes had missed me? I sure showed him.

But anyhoo....as always I appear to have digressed from the topic at hand. My epiphany! So there I was stayin back late at work.......when a colleague and I struck up a coversation. Started out kinda the usual way...
Self: How's it goin', bro?
Colleague: Not bad, man! All good!!! How bout you?
Self: Myah! You know....stayin alive :) !!!
Colleague: Hehe! Good one :) !!!

And you get the idea. But then as the conversation progressed.....I realized he really needed to have that conversation. He'd been living alone, away from home, and he was getting kinda lonely and this was a brilliant platform for him to vent, bond, share. We spoke about his college days, first crushes and the like. And that's when it struck me....Everyone just needs TO BE HEARD!!! And that, my dear friends, is the solution to half our world problems. LISTEN!!! There's a lot of stress and frustration all around. In today's fast paced life, no one has time for anyone else. Everyone's too busy minding their own business. And that's why there are so many anger bursts, psychiatric cases, divorces and the world is infested with negativity like hatred, violence, abuse. Even criminals can be turned around if someone would just listen to their fears, their thoughts, their worries. But sadly, no one does.....coz no one cares....coz everyone is too busy in their own life looking for someone to listen to them. Everyone is too engrossed in his own tensions to be bothered about others'.
But this can be changed. This can be resolved. Its time for a Revolution. A Change. Be that change. Go to anyone you know or love or care about or someone you feel needs to vent and tell him/her that he/she can count on you to listen....to be that shoulder to cry, to share, to rest, to rely on. It's not easy....I admit. But it's not impossible either. It's a small price to pay for a very big social obligation. So please everybody (or the 4 people who read my blog).....please join me in this Change. LISTEN!!! I'll come up with a cool logo and share it with you too :P !!!

Alrighty!!! So...the existential part's over. Its now time for the music update.

"Chocolate Rain" - A phrase that meant nothing to me until a few days ago......suddenly became something I saw everywhere. You could even say it was ubiquitous. And it boggled the mind to think how I could've missed it all along. Sung by Tay Zonday, this song has won many accolades and awards these last few years. It put young Tay on the map. The song is most famous for its video which features Tay with a piano singing into a mic with a deep baritone which most people figured was probably a fake voice. But my extensive research (checking out more videos of his on Youtube) proved it isn't really false. He's gifted with a really deep voice. Pretty neat lyrics....repetitive score though. This song was even covered by Tré Cool (Green Day's drummer) and John Mayer.....goes to show how popular it is. But that's not even the best part. Get this! This is one of the most viewed videos on Youtube with over 36 million hits.....with self (ATH) contributing to that figure being the 35,964,234th viewer and watching it a few more times thereafter. In the video, Tay moves away from the mic to take breaths and he's added that as a comment too - "I move away from the mic to breathe in". This particular comment earned him a lot of skepticism. People called him an amateur, a loser, a wannabe and what not. Well, I don't know about any of that, but he's been on many talk shows, performed with some famous artists, acted in some sketches and lots more. His infamous "breathing in"comment can even be found in the ever-so-popular game Guitar Hero. So I leave it to you decide what he is or isn't. So check out the video and do let me know what you think of it. Until then....Adieu and Auf Wiedersehen. Peace!!!



Song of the Post
Lostprophets - Rooftops
(Nice sound.....fresh feel)

An hour at the bus stop...

The original working title for this post was "Ode to Oasis". But in light of my riveting experience at the bus stop recently....I decided that the title needs to be revised.

Now I've written an essay on this topic several times before in school in various languages. But its always been some hogwash conjured up while frantically trying to complete my exam papers.
Eg. "I saw a poor, hungry man who begged me for a rupee. My heart melted and I pulled out my tiffin-box and emptied all of its contents (vegetables, rice and all) into his hands, the milk of human kindness sloshing about inside me. I went hungry that day......but the satisfaction of having fed someone far more needy than I, made that day the best day ever."
A very touching tale. Touching, but flawed.....and I say "flawed" which is a gross understatement. Infact, its downright baloney. Here's why. Firstly, I'm a pretty sad kid.....or atleast when it comes to food. Anyone who knows me personally can vouch that food is something I don't part with easily.....not to say that I'm fat (but certain people have felt inclined to call me "healthy" (but more on that later)). And worse yet, I said vegetables, rice and all. Now who'd pass off rice like that. Now Rotis, I can understand, but RICE. No way brother. So, to reiterate, my essays were more fiction than fact.
But on Saturday, 7th March, 2009, at 10:30pm at the bus stop I spent an hour that actually merits being documented in this distinguished journal. I reached the bus stop, after an eventful day at my alma mater, complete with close friends, cricket watching and some jamming (with guitars and singing....not actually making jam....as I'm sure a few of you misconstrued. Yeah...I'm talking about you. I'm sure you're probably sniggering at yourself right now...going, "Heehee...Jamming. What a funny word! My bad!"). So I reached the bus stop....

Checkpoint question:
What time did I reach the bus stop?
A) 10:30pm
B) 10:30am
C) Brad Pitt
D) Bus stop??? Weren't we talking about Oasis???

If you answered either C or D.....Dude! Its way past your bedtime. Why don't you continue reading tomorrow, huh?
If you answered B....Close man...but not quite there. Maybe you could wash your face and get back.
If you answered A....Buddy!!! You're a genius.....what are you doing wasting your time reading this??? Go ahead and play "Who wants to be a Millionaire?", win a million bucks and share the winnings with me (you know coz it was my idea).

But if you're free and don't want to follow any of the above suggestions.....do read on...

Well.....I've taken up quite a bit of space and I've still not even begun the tale nor have I brought up Oasis (which is ironic...considering they were the original theme for this post).
So, tell you what! I'll cover the Oasis subject now and I'll regale you with the bus stop story in the next post. Deal? Cool...

"Coz maybe.......You gotta be the one that saves me,
And Afterall......You're my Wonderwall!"

Every morning, for weeks, I used to begin my day with the vociferous Liam Gallagher echoing these words over and over. "Wonderwall" was my first rock song. And boy was I hooked. I'd be humming that tune during lectures in college. I'd be screaming the chorus repeatedly during my morning shower (an act frowned upon by the rest of the family). I owe Oasis for my keen interest in rock.......they made me what I am today. "Champagne Supernova" was the second track I heard. This song is quite the opposite of Wonderwall. Its a soothing, take you along with its flow kind of number. The sound of the ocean in the background only enhances the serene, calming effect. "Morning Glory" and "Don't Look Back in Anger" are a couple more of their songs that I'd recommend. Catchy to the core.
Oasis truly deserves the awards its been pulling in all these years. Their new album "Dig out your soul" was out in stores last year. The first single from this album, "The Shock of Lightning", is a fairly decent number. Definitely commands a second listening. You'll have to find out about the rest of the songs yourself..........or drop me a mail and I'll reply at the earliest.

In conclusion, I'd like to thank Oasis once more for making me the rock-buff I am today. Cheers to ROCK!!! And as they probably say in France.........(this is just conjecture).............Viva la Rock!!!
Song of the Post:
Capital Lights - Mile Away
(One of the most evergreen songs I've heard till date)

And the game begins...

Ah! Here it is, at last! My first post! I've been procrastinating way too long to begin this! But here I am typing it out........spilling my thoughts. I've often been asked by people, "Dude! What's your blog called? Would love to check it out! I'm sure it's totally ridonculous!" And when I say, "Um...I don't have a blog. Somehow I never really fancied writing one", it's always the same two responses:
1) Duuuuuude!!! What's wrong with you??? It's like the über-cool thing these days!!! Everybody's doing it!!!
2) Damn, bro!!! You're way behind the times, aren't you???

So, partially to avoid these kinds of reactions and as I've mentioned in my profile to share my musical interests and views........here i am! I can't promise unblemished, side-splitting, drink-spilling kind of humour or even nail-biting, bullet-sweating mystery and thrill or mushy, tear-bringing, sorrowful, sappy tales or even.........wait.....why am I writing this blog again? Anyhoo....but one thing I can promise......you won't regret reading this blog. This is the ATH (Anirudh The Hopeless) guarantee.

You'll get to know about some awesome bands, maybe some you didn't even know about, song recommendations, online comics worth reading, some original poetry and songs (penned by Yours Truly) and maybe if you're really lucky....even some happenings in my life ;) !!! So do visit here and see you soon. Cheers...

Song of the Week:
The All American Rejects - Gives you hell