Musically Yours

Always remember to "DABBA"le check / Run DK, m'boy, run

2011-05-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

Bollywood has certainly matured over time. The quality of movies being churned out of late has only improved and they've now begun to cover previously unthought of issues and scenarios. Of course, there still always is the occasional "Dabangg", that leaves the audience pondering - not over existential beliefs or societal stigmas, but more on the lines of, "Why did I spend 300 bucks on this film :( ???"

But Indian cinema has largely fermented into a cultured, thought-inducing arena. Even the music appears to have blossomed over the years. Although it's a prominent shift from the good ol' halcyon days of RD Burman and Kishore Kumar, nevertheless, the Bollywood tunes of today are fantabulously catchy and intricate with very insightful lyrics. Kailash Kher's "Alvida" from Dasvidaniya and Atif Aslam's "Le ja tu mujhe" from F.A.L.T.U. being a few exemplary tunes.

Since my last day at JD, I now find myself with phenomenal amounts of freetime, most of which is spent watching movies I've always put aside thinking "I'll watch 'em when I can afford to!" Well, I finally can =) ! And believe me when I say it's been a mindblowing adventure. I began with Kathik Calling Karthik - a gripping thriller of sorts. Then it was Dasvidaniya - a fantabulous story of a dying man and how he ties all loose ends (yes...a Bucket List inspired film).

And finally, I came across "Stanley ka Dabba" - a very low-budget and off-beat film - that many people appear to have written off as a Taare Zameen Par spin-off. The movie written & directed by Amole Gupte (the curly haired fellow on the right in the picture here) and starring his own son, Partho, as the protagonist Stanley, is about this extremely popular and affable kid, who's always the cynosure of all eyes and about his dabba that never makes an appearance till the near end of the film. A stellar storyteller and public speaker, Stanley has some wacky ideas and anecdotes to share that make him a hero amongst his classmates and English teacher, but largely despised by all other subject teachers, particularly by Babu Bhai "Khadus" Verma, the Hindi teacher, who much to his dismay finds himself contending with Stanley to get at the other kids' dabbas. It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes to figure out whom the kids would rather share their lunch with, which ticks off ol' Khadus all the more. He banishes poor Stanley from school until he gets that elusive dabba. The remainder of the film takes us through Stanley's perseverence to get into an inter-school concert, his friends' loyalty and his true story and life. All in all, a well made, concise, pertinent and touching story.

Most of us will be able to relate to the teachers depicted in the film. Mom was hysterical throughout the film explaining amidst interspersed laughter, "That's exactly how my Hindi teacher was! HAHA! I actually know a lady who speaks like that! Hahaha! Typical science teacher! Bru-hahaha!" We've all had classmates and teachers like those shown in the movie

The soundtrack is fresh and lively and rife with some fairly big singers like Shaan, Shankar Mahadevan and Vishal Dadlani. The lyrics are all penned by Amole Gupte himself, so kudos to him! An amazing background score throughout the film makes it a fantastic 90 minute journey till the end! So go ahead unhindered and watch "Stanley ka Dabba" when you get a chance =) !

And now the music update \m/ ! This song's been in the news for all the wrong reasons, but you'll all have to admit it's one catchy tune and you can't help but jump and scream along with the chorus. The song I'm talking about of course is "Bhaag DK Bose" from the Aamir Khan produced Delhi Belly. There's a brilliant punk rock video for the song with the cast - Imran Khan, Vir Das and Kunal Kapoor. The video's obviously a colossal hit as well with several hits over the last couple of weeks. Sung by Ram Sampath and written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, this song shows a lot of promise of going down as the song of the year 2011. Finally, stereos the nation over will be able to play something other than "Sheila ki Jawani" or "Munni hui badnaam". Surely that's some respite for the poor boomboxes =) !

There's a large chunk of people who insist the song is a Green Day rip off and should be "disliked" (to use the Youtube term) and discarded as a cheap imitation. It's ironic that people get so stuck-up into believing that nothing original can come up in the country and anything different being tried out is always ridiculed as being pretentious and fake. If you try hard enough, you'll always find a song to be similar to another you've heard in the past. But that shouldn't make the song any less worthy. If it's good in it's entirety, I say, go ahead and listen to it with reckless abandon. Besides another way of looking at it is ol' Ram Sampath's getting Green Day to the masses in a form they'd understand and love. So turn up those speakers and have them blare out "Bhaag Bhaag DK Bose" (have a good explanation ready for your parents though ;) )!

Song of the Post:
Allstar Weekend - Not your Birthday
(Amazing dance/rock track! Makes you want to bounce =) !)

The day the nation stood tall and united

2011-04-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

It feels phenomenally blessed to be a part of a defining moment in history. We'd hear our parents talk incessantly about the Indian team's epic victory back in the 1983 Cricket World Cup at Lords, England against the unopposed champions - West Indies. They'd talk of Kapil Dev's spectacular catch to take out the then insuperable Viv Richards. They'd relive with unsuppressed glee, Amarnath's dismissal of the last man Holding to seal India's win and thereby mark a historic moment in Indian sporting history.

We'd always think, "Man! I wish something like that happens in my lifetime! That would be so brilliant!" But Darn it! That cup kept eluding us all along! Sure we took home the Under-19 World Cup twice thereafter and the T20 World Cup too; but the true blue (all pun intended) cricket fan will have to admit that that surely doesn't cut it (as I reckon they say in Italy). We still needed a win in the major and unarguably original form of the game.

But tonight, 2nd April 2011 - India brought home, or rather "kept back", considering the tourney was largely played in India, the most coveted trophy in the world, doing every Indian - right from the Ambanis, who were there at the Wankhede stadium to egg the team on, to the kid nextdoor whose fingers spend more time up his nose than doing anything constructive - proud! They took down the Sri Lankan lions in a fantastic battle to the end! It truly was a beautiful game, definitely befitting and matching up to the hype and talk surrounding it! Many people have even likened the game to the Ramayana! The modern day Ramayana - who shall prevail? Well we knew the answer to that all along, didn't we? The benifits of reading up on your Hindu mythology =) !

Come 1:30pm IST today, nearly every Indian across the globe was hooked onto some media that would display the match for his/her viewing pleasure. Someone had once said that cricket in India is not merely a sport. No, sir! It's a religion! Well, that someone couldn't be more right even if he calculated the value of pi to the 50th decimal. On days when cricket's on - all across the nation, you see people thronging every electronic store to watch the games and share the experience with other blighters who for some cosmic reason outiside of their sphere of control are away from their trusty TV-sets back home.

The build up to this day has been phenomenal too. The Indian team vanquished the 3 time consequtive winners (4 overall), Australia, in the quarters. Even better - they beat arch rivals, Pakistan, in the semis. Boy! Was that a match worth watching! I chewed my fingernails so deep, I figure I won't need to cut them till the next world cup for sure. The celebrations after that game were stupendous! The roads in Pune were flooded with adrenaline-rushed kids screaming patriotic slogans and waving the Indian flag high! Firecrackers were lit, and not sparingly if I may add!

On Saturday afternoon, emotions ran amock as people geared up for the final showdown against Sri Lanka. Everyone knew it wasn't going to be an easy battle, but expectations still were high. When the national anthem came on, I dare say, I had goosebumps (as I'm sure would've many others). The match started off quite well, and largely in India's favour with Lanka being pushed on the backfoot, but something went awry around the middle. The Indian innings was impressive to say the least! Despite a scary start, with both openers sent back to the dressing room before they even had a chance to parade about in their fine poshery and make a substantial entry for themselves into the scorebooks, the middle order put up a stellar stand to see us through! Kudos to Gambhir, Dhoni and Kohli in particular!

Dhoni managed to give the game a fairytale ending with that massive six to close the deal. People asked for it, and he obliged without restraint! An explosive finish...literally! Once that ball reached the stands, the crackers began to set off all around the neighbourhood! Even 70 year-old gentlemen, who on most other occasions would be found hitting the sack by 8:30pm, went berserk tonight with some Laxmi bombs in their hands and the chant "Bharat Mata ki Jai" on their lips! Even as I write this piece, people drive past the roads honking and screaming their hearts out!

"This one was for Sachin", say the lads as Sanjay Manjrekar sticks a mic in their face,"We wanted to give him the true farewell he deserves. He's carried the nation's burden all these years, it's about time we carried his!" WOW! Couldn't have put it better myself, I thought! Sachin has been an integral part of the Indian side. He's seen us through many matches and to many victories! He's the most accomplished cricketer till date. It's only pertinent that he signs off with a win in his last World Cup! The team carried Sachin on a lap around the stadium, truly a deserving honour for the man who gave us his all!

People wept tonight! The phones were perpetually off the hook! The atmosphere was electric! The family danced and yelled out songs glorifying India and all its people - particularly the 11 men in blue who saw us through (unintentional rhyme)! The dog looked from one of us to the other and eventually concluded that it was about time we retired for the night!

But in the end, this is a big and momentous occasion for India! We've proven ourselves yet again! Yuvraj Singh already with his 4 Man of the match trophies, held on steadfastly to the Man of the Series trophy as well. And finally the champagne cork was popped and the celebrations began at Wankhede! Congratulations, Dhoni! Props to the Indian team! And thanks for the memories! Live large....it's your moment in the sun =) !

Guzaarish - A bittersweet tryst with life

2011-01-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, a piece of art is created that shakes the thinking man by his foundations, strikes him deeply, makes him question the beliefs and principles he once held as gospel and strove to abide by, and most importantly, teaches him to learn to love and cherish this life and the people who make it worth living.

"Guzaarish", the story of a phenomenal magician and illusionist, Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), who in a tragic and nerve-wracking "accident" was rendered a quadriplegic for the rest of his existence, and his struggle to seek the sweet release of death to end his misery, is one such work of art. Guzaarish is the story of a man who once was the most graceful, respected and talented magician in the world, a man who was universally accepted as the greatest magician to have ever lived and even knighted "Merlin"; a man who in a horrendous and scornful case of betrayal by his own best friend was left incapable to move of his own accord ever again.

Ethan lived his life even after the accident with a strong heart and mind, and a trenchant sense of humour, hosting a radio show - Radio Zindagi, that he credited being the most joyful show to have ever existed. He was a source of inspiration for people everywhere. His book "Learning to Fly" was still used as a textbook in Goan schools. Through his radio show, he even convinced a heart-broken man to refrain from committing suicide and insead fight to win back the love of the woman he lost. That man not only ended up being married to her, but now also has a daughter to boot (no pun intended ;) ).

But 14 years down the line, Ethan decides he can't take it any more, and would like to file a petition in court for Euthanasia (mercy-killing). And that is his guzaarish (request). His claim is declined by the court citing moral grounds. He then launches a poll on his show, Project Ethan-asia, asking people to vote in favour of or against his being granted Euthansia. People, vociferously and unanimously, call into the show imploring him not to go ahead with it. They try to highlight the many joys of life, the many reasons to want to live. Even other quadriplegics call trying to dissuade him. But, afterall, noone can really understand, or even hope to reckon, the mental suffering a man who could once fly before an audience, perform some of the most superhuman and fantastic illusions ever known, would possibly be going through now, when he can't even raise an arm on his own.

I guess the movie struck a chord with me because I could relate to it better. As a young kid, I saw my own father be defeated by cancer, in quite the similar manner. A happy and athletic young man rendered bed-ridden and incapable of eating by himself or even performing his own bodily functions without artificial intervention. I can assure you it's not a happy life. We read about such cases in books and magazines, we see them in movies, but believe me, nothing compares to the real thing.

The platonic relationship (Thank you, Swati, for setting us straight on the usage of this term) between him and his caretaker for 12 whole years, Sophia (Aishwarya Rai), is something that is really characterized fabulously in the movie. Full marks to the screenplay writer. The dialogues throughout the film are something to reckon with.

The soundtrack is exquisite and delicate and every song is pertinent and befitting the scene. The highly interesting and, possibly, even eyebrow-raising fact is that the music in this film is by none other than Sanjay Leela Bhansali himself. Surprised? Well, don't worry, you're not entirely alone there....so was I. The song "100 gram Zindagi" would, without a doubt, be my pick of the lot. With some of the best lyrics I've come across till date, the song spectacularly describes the many vicissitudes of life. Props to Kunal Ganjawala on singing this song to perfection. I couldn't resist including the first verse in here.

"Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai...
Sau gram zindagi, sambhal ke kharchi hai
Asli hai, joothi hai,
Khaliz hai, farzi hai
Sau gram zindagi...
Sau gram zindagi yeh, sambhal ke kharchi hai
Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai...
Thodi si meethi hai, zara si mirchi hai..."

Ethan does get what he desires in the end, despite the court ruling, and he has all his friends and family, by his side, when he does, and he with a boyish laugh and smile. Truly Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus with the most amazing lighting, dances, backdrops and imagery. A must watch for people of all ages and men who aren't afraid to shed a tear every so often.

I feel it's only apposite to culminate this piece with these lines in the movie that touched me the most due to their poignancy and relevance in our fastpaced lives today. I sincerely hope we can all commit these lines to memory and learn to live by them for eternity.

"Life bahut choti hai doston;
So go on, break the rules,
Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly,
Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably,
And never regret anything that made you smile!"

Song of the post:
Kunal Ganjawala - Sau gram zindagi

	Kunal Ganjawala - Sau Gram Zindagi .mp3

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Kotov Syndrome / Passion Pitted to the Core

2010-09-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Someone once said, "You learn something new everyday!" I don't pretend to know that fine gentleman personally, for I have unfortunately never had the chance to share a brew or a couple of badly timed and obnoxious high fives with the said gentleman (would've been fun though).

But the bottomline here is that that man, whoever he may have been, knew what he was talking about! If ever there were a competition on knowing what you were talking about, needless to say, our gentleman would surely have my vote, for he, in fact, did really know what he was talking about. This, of course, is a refreshing change from and quite unlike a few others who apportion a phenomenal chunk of their time to being existential and conjuring up rhetoric quotes like "Money can't buy happiness".

Well, anyway, getting along with the tale here, I find the quote on learning something new each day quite apt. Each day is a fantastic new experience, a door opening into an infinite, nebulous world without. I learnt something new today myself - "Kotov Syndrome". Now this is a very interesting development! Many people have often reiterated that you'll learn nothing listening to music and that it's just a way of squandering time away. Well, perhaps they're right! But then again, I came across the expression "Kotov Syndrome" in a song by alternative/punk band Rise Against, and so "Ha!"

"Kotov Syndrome" is a coinage accredited to the Chess Grandmaster, Alexander Kotov, who in his book "Think like a Grandmaster", descibes the Kotov Syndrome as a situation wherein a player takes far too long to think of a move and then finding himself uncomfortably low on time and still miles away from figuring out an appropriate solution, makes a poor move, usually a blunder! Nasty, yes! But it does happen! And that's when it struck me - that's my average workday in a nutshell! I spend all day thinking of what to do, and by closing time I realize I really haven't done anything substantial. So, the last hour of each day is spent panicking and squabbling, and primarily engaging in damage control.

All those of you who can relate to that, say "Aye!" And for those of you who cannot, say "Aye!" anyway! Why do you want to be left out? There's comfort in numbers, or so they claim!

And now the music update! This update is overdue by over a year. Not cool, I know. But, as we've always maintained - "Better late than never!" Everyone's always out to find the best song ever. Legend tells of many great, fearless men who set out on a voyage towards unchartered territory in search of that one song. They tried to cover up the mission by claiming they were going to discover new lands and countries or trying to prove the earth is round, but underneath the charades and veneer we all know they were only looking for that one song that would change the world forever! People have scaled the Himalayas to find saints who they believed had the answer, but they were almost always unsuccessful.

But I have a brilliant and startling new announcement to make, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. I have found that song. I kid you not. For those of you who've spilled their beverage while reading that last line, feel free to wash and clean up and get back in a bit. For the rest of you who're still staring at the screen with disbelief or incredulity - without much further ado, I give you - "Eyes as Candles" by Indie rock band Passion Pit! The song is perfect by all means. It's got a fantabulous intro, superb vocals and music, brilliant/contemporary lyrics and to top it all off an ingenious video. A perfect 10! Sadly though the song hasn't received any of the recognition or acclamation it so deserves. Heck! The video uploaded on Youtube even has the name of the song keyed in wrong! But afterall as they say - Virtue is it's own reward! So the lads of Passion Pit should feel pretty happy and smug about putting such incisive and brilliant music out in the world! Huzzah!

Song of the Post:
Wild Nothing - Chinatown
(Beautiful tune! Calm and serene...mesmerizing!)

The Return of the Dragon / Commercial Success

2010-06-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Dear faithful readers,

To begin with, I'd like to extend my sincere apologies to each and every one of you for this long, indefinite, unplanned, unannounced sabbatical I've taken from blogging. No doubt a lot of you may have been rendered incapacitated without your daily dose of ATH wisdom.

I'm afraid long hours at work have bogged me down all this while. The old ATH spirit and fervour I fear to admit has not been up to snuff these last few weeks. But you needn't worry! Your beloved, friendly neighbourhood ATH is back. Quite like a Phoenix that rises from its ashes to soar yet again into the wide, open yonder like an eagle (or rather a Phoenix), I'm resurfacing into the wide, open space that is the internet.

This reminds me of a curious incident that involves a certain gentleman I had the pleasure of making an acquaintance with a while ago. Now this gentleman, a father of two and a husband of one (we suppose), suddenly vanished one fine morning and wasn't heard from for 3 strainght days. Three days later he shows up at home, where his wife and kids are worrying and panicking over his mysterious disappearance, with a "What ho! Lovely day out there today, isn't it? How's everyone doing?" A brilliant idea, I figured. Keeping it fresh! Gives one a chance to collect oneself together, get one's bearings, have the old bodily fluids flowing again as per heavenly design. Unfortunately though, this particular gentleman's wife felt otherwise. Apparently, he's now on the street, divorced, paying heavy alimony and a chronic alcoholic. To this day, no one really knows where he was those 3 days. Many suspect he was frozen in a time capsule. I personally beg to differ. I mean, if you are going to freeze someone in time, it should be atleast for a few decades to make the return more dramatic. Freezing someone for 3 days is as effective as 1 push-up in a lifetime is to your physique.

Well clearly that's not the most ideal way to "keep things fresh"! Make sure you think your plan thoroughly through prior to execution. But still here I am - back for good with truckloads of updates and tales to share. I will be blogging more frequently and that, my good friends, is the ATH promise. I should warn you though that the ol' ATH promise is not and will probably never be as reliable and impeccable as the TATA Promise, but nevertheless it's indubitably something you can put your money on, rest assured. So you could look forward to the upcoming posts.

By the way, for those of you who are wondering what the title signifies, it's based on the 1972 Bruce Lee film by the same name, which seems to succinctly summarize my reemergence to the blogosphere. Besides dragons are just plain awesome \m/ !!!

I've come across some brilliant commercials of late! These ads are absolutely prefect by all means - creative, innovative and ingeniously humourous. This surely bodes well for the field of advertising that most people feared had saturated and could no longer instigate novel and impactive ideas. I've added a few commercials below in the reverse chronological order that I discovered them...

1. Malibu Rum commercial - "Sunshine"

2. Fosters' Beer commercial - "GPS" and "Yoga"

3. Vistaprint commercial - "Make the right first impression"

Song of the Post:

Captain - Keep an open mind
(Amazing tune, catchy chorus and the video's not too bad either)

	Captain - Keep An Open Mind .mp3

	Found at bee mp3 search engine

Bazinga!

2009-12-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

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

2009-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-17T21:39:00.000-07:00

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

2009-03-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

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...

2009-03-07T23:36:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-03-01T04:45:00.000-08:00

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