WAH USTAD!!!

Music is said to be the bridge connecting oneself to the supreme self.The songs appeal to the cognitive part with the thought provoking lyrics and the music along with the voice which render it soothes senses.Being a music lover who enjoys all genres ,I still had apprehensions about my ability to enjoy instrumental music until I heared two greatest artists who literally took my breath away.
Pandit Shivkumar sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain are one of the most popular pair in Hindustani Jugalbandi.The stream like sweetness of the Santoor when joins the storm of Zakir's Tabla create an out of the world experience.In the end Zakir performed such unbelievable strokes as if he unleashed the power of all elements into the concert hall.
It was amazing to see such greats with so much of humility and abundance of talent.They truly represented the secular India.
Jai ho
let there be light

FAITH

Faith is one word which can be used in different ways.It is an emotion,an identity and more than that a great force which literally, can move mountains. In the name of faith the maximum number of bloodshed happened.People are very posessive about their faith and they are ready to die and kill for it.Because they believe that their faith is the truth, nothing but the truth.This belief has been the root cause of all wars.But how can a noble emotion become a killer?
Faith in mass level can be a larger energy reservoir which can be used by a manipulator.When faith turns to a concrete religion,the list of do's and dont's adds up and any violation ends up in destruction.
All the established Religions in the world are now in a dilemma because leaders of religion never tried to re interpret moral code of conduct in holy texts which are actually mere reflections of the reality of the time of its creation.Anything which does not try to adapt is supposed to perish in the near future,as per nature's rule.But religious fundamentalism is growing because of people's fear of new phenomena like globalisation.
In Europe,the Catholic religion is deeply criticised by many new age film makers.Many protest all over the world is happening against religious hegemony which is the source of inequal laws.In India where religion is part and parcel of life,one still wonder about faith because it has more connotations than religious.
Faith is that belief in something which you hold strong when something goes wrong.It is your backup when you fail.It is the extreme trust that things are going to be fine.If this can be kept in an individual level,it can create wonders.It gives immense strength to one .All people who changed the world had faith in plenty.But equally important is that one should never impose this faith on anyone else.One has to search and find it freely without any bondage.Only a strong person can stick to it.Weaker people forget the core and run for symbols and become faithfully FAITHLESS.
Everybody has to have faith in something and it should be whole hearted.Let us forget the boundaries for a while in this New Year eve and hold our FAITH tight for a better tomorrow.
HAPPY 2010.....
LET THERE BE LIGHT....................

THE MOVIE MAGIC

Films are an integral part of our life now especially in India where people live and die for their favourite stars.It is an industry which is a prime employer to many and at the same time a complex expression of art where many talents come together. There are people who think about it as a weapon of social change and political propaganda. But majority take it as a method to relax.Some movie makers only like abstract ways of telling a story which they claim as realistic.Some like to show more violence to make things real.Some prefer pornography.Well, whatever be the theme, the way it has been told matters a lot.
A good movie is one which communicate the feelings and situation of characters to you.A good screenplay,proper casting and characterisation with good editing and moreover the sincerity of the film maker makes a movie memorable.It should use the visual possibilities more rather than depending entirely on dialogues.Movies like WAY HOME(KOREA) in spite of simplicity atracts you because of these factors.It should not shout the social message louder but help the viewer to interpret things in a subtle way.
I wish to share some of my all time favourite movies here(The list can be longer,of course but I am sticking to 10).
1 BICYCLE THIEVES: The Italian neo realist classic of the early 50's is still surprising with excellent camera and universal theme.
2 AMADEUS : What matter when you love and hate someone so much at the same time?Watch Murray Abraham as Saliery in this wonderful musical to know.
3 SOUND OF MUSIC :A tale of bravery with immortal music.
4 CHILDREN OF HEAVEN : The most sincere movie about children.You start adoring every character.
5 SHATRANJ KE KHILADI : The best example of a story adoption to movie.A master stroke by the great Satyajit Ray.
6 MONSOON WEDDING : Get transported to a Punjabi wedding where some universal family issues attract your senses.
7 CHAK DE INDIA : The best Indian sports movie(IQBAL IS ALSO GREAT BUT THIS ONE WAS TOUGHER)
8 I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND : Erotically humorous.
9 NOTEBOOK(malayalam) : Extremely bold,balanced and sincere take on teenage.
10 RATATOUILLE : This animation movie talks about importance of being yourself in a very different way.
I prefer positive movies and like Hrishikesh Mukherji's movies very much.Action and thriller also are always welcome.
Hope to see more...
LET THERE BE LIGHT,camera and action!!!!

AGE,RESPECT AND WISDOM

Whenever there is a quarrel between two people of considerable age difference, the old one in almost all cases end up saying"I have seen more than you".With the number of years he/she lived in the world to support this claim, this statement is a trumpcard of the senior in every game of generation gap.Well, it is technically correct.But can it be a general rule that elders know more?Can a man of forty who never experienced anything other than his daily routine claim this to a younger fellow with more experience of the world?
In simple societies where everyone does the same kind of work,age and experience are directly correlated.But in a complex world with so much of professions an aged person may not always be the most experienced or knowledgable.
O K; But what about the wisdom? Younger people are supposed to know more nowadays but they lack wisdom: that is what many think.Another complaint which we hear often is youngsters do not respect age now a days because they think that they know better.But the truth is wise people irrespective of age are still being respected now.
Wisdom is an ability to think beyond mere facts which helps one understand people better.It is a gentle,cool way of analysis based on one's experiences.And to be frank, it again has nothing to do with how long one has lived in this earth.If one continue to fail to learn from life,he cannot be wise.You do not even need to be a voracious reader or a big traveler to gain wisdom.It comes from understanding the rules of nature and more than that understanding oneself.A wise person will have a lot of common sense and humour sense like the zen gurus.He will not take life too serious but just flow like a river.
Wisdom is like a bell in the jungle.It may not be visible easily.But when a breeze touches it,it sweetly chimes which can be heard miles away.Only when situation arise,wisdom can be perceived.A younger one can be wise if he/she is true to him/her self which is the greatest posession one can have.So age alone does not guarantee any one respect unless they are wise.
LETS BE WISE...........
LET THERE BE LIGHT...........

I HAVE A DREAM

When we hear about children who fulfilled their parent's dreams we praise them.But have we ever thought what happend to those children's dreams?Every children have their own dreams but most of the parents manipulate them according to their ideas.The child may be a natural in music but the parent may force him/her to become an engineer which they think is "more secure and profitable".In the most important years of life,children will be forced to learn things in which they are not comfortable.This is the greatest wastage of human resources one can think of.
Every child have abilities and aptitudes which can be identified since childhood.If someone pursue his/her career based on these two criteria, success both at the level of financial and satisfaction will come even if it takes some time.But when parents think too much about "what if my kid does not make it'?,and work out the back up plans first,the chances for the kid to fulfill the actual dream is nil.The parents take the kid's victory as their pride and the failure as their shame.So for the sake of family pride, people pursue things in which they may not be good at.The animals and plants are luckier than Homo sapiens here because nobody try to make a deer into a lion.
In a Reader's Digest article,Jacquelyn Mitchard asks:Why to teach kids to ignore their instincts?The parent's role is to help and support the children to make right decisions.This will happen only when both share a close relationship where open communication is apreciated.If parents want their children to succeed in life,there is only one way;allow them to do what they know best irrespective of your ideas.After all ,nobody have a right to dream for others.Reserve your dreams for yourself not for your kids.You are just an instrument to bring a new life to this world.The child is an independent entity with brain and passion which will fully bloom in due course of time.
In a rock concert recently,I was alarmed at the amount of display of violence by the young audience whenever they hear heavy metal songs.They seemed to be angry at people who did not allow them to follow their dream.
The best plan is your original plan and if you plan well you are going to make it sooner or later without back up plans...grab it and give it a full shot....success will come your way.....
So dear parents,have patience;observe your kids and help them when needed.Help them to make good decisions and be independent..They are not your reflections...........
LET THERE BE LIGHT

BOND WITH THE BEST

When the Indian students in Australia were subjected to attack,people once again started thinking about going back home were they are safe.In normal situations itself,people who start live abroad get some kind of guilty feeling that they left their motherland.We were always being remind of our roots.But can one feel a sense of belongingness to a place just because one's forefathers lived there?
Whenever thinking about this situation,Ruskin Bond is there giving a beautiful answer to the problem.This Welshman fully belong to Mussoorie and he understand Indian soul much better than many Indians.So if we think of roots,where will we place him?He, through his amazingly simple literary works reminds us that you belong to the place where you feel at home.He recently celebrated his 75th birthday and still writing beautifully about the India he loves.
You are a product of your experiences and feelings.So your roots are your comfort zone, not necessary be your place of birth.So people who feel fine abroad need not come back to SWADES just because they are persons of Indian origin.After all "Yatra viswam Bhavatyeka Needam"(the world is a big nest) and you have to bond with the best suitable environment for you like Ruskin Bond.
Long live BOND.............
LET THERE BE LIGHT

THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL............

People are generally interested in success stories.Especially when someone achieves against odds.For many,winning is proving a point.But defining a winner is rather difficult because it is a state of mind.
Achievement which comes as a result of meticulous planning and hard work is definitely a moment of success.But for some it is the most natural thing to happen.They may not feel any joy but relief.Sometimes,when the achievement comes as a surprise beyond expectations, it may result in shock even.You need time for the information to sink in.
For some people,achieving anything means celebration.They forget everything at least for sometime and feel great.There are others who keeps complaining about the winning itself also because they feel that they did not get proper justice.Some people do anything to achieve things.For them only result matters.So who is a winner?
When you have anything to prove to the world,showing your achievements can be the best way.But to feel like a winner,your satisfaction matters a lot.Even if you do not have any big thing in your credit,you end up as a winner..It is a sense of fulfilment which make you happy.When you do things just to show off,you may not enjoy the process or may not be in a position to celebrate.One who keep learning never fails.So if u want to be a winner,keep doing the things you love no matter what is the result.Everything will be fine.

BE A WINNER..........
LET THERE BE LIGHT............................