Musical Instruments "Kotha Bole"(Speak)!!!

In the beats of the Tabla lies the splendour of life, in the strings of the guitar progresses life from childlike shreaks to the gravity of Dadu's advice.....in the rippling notes of the flute...you may sway into the tranqulity of love and romance ...far away from the troubles of day to day life!They all speak...believe me ..they do!Much like you would hear a family in your neighbourhood speaking Tamil/French, a language you may not understand..and smiles may be the only conversation you are able to strike with them...around us resides a Family....around us...!!Let me play "Tulsi" from the "Sas Bahu fame" and introduce to this family...all of them speak!!;))

Tabla:Look at it carefully..The cute figured Tabla...is the wife...she speaks in a sharp tone and talks alot...and her pot bellied,squint eyed husband will interupt her in between all the time..."Dhab Dhab"!yet she keeps the tempo on...the lovely mommy with her "Dugga"(thats what it is traditionally called)hubby..sticking on to each other...playing the music of life together!

Guitar:The teenage Son!The spoilt brat!Whichever chord you wish will play the octave as beautifully as the other!Just like a college dude has so many career options and he seems to be good in all of them;)Very popular due to his good looks and the world seems to be at his feet.


Drums:Guitar's friends gang in college!!never get tired of making too much noise!

Synthesizer:Girlfriend...sometimes get to stay with him....looks very pretty and sounds sweet...rich(expensive as it is)good taste for clothes,hairstyles and accessories,like handbag,watches and clips.Its a surpirse package all the time!Friends call her "casio" like a brand..and for ease!

Cannot forget her world travelled and experienced Dad,The Grand Piano!!Whatever he talks makes alot of sense...and when casio gets older...will look like Big Daddy!


Violin:The girl of the family...a not so pretty version of her brother,Guitar...very quiet and cries alot...because she wants to be more popular...so cute...she wants to marry...so keeps crying...but no one notices her:(

Sitar and Veena: Are the maternal and paternal Grand moms...in some sense they look similar...sound similar and have similar tastes....by some strange coincidence:)



Flute: Cant forget the family doctor,counsellor,good person...who donates blood and does social service...someone you turn to when all is lost...he will speak healing things:)


See..there is a Family aRound us...and we haven't noticed them!

Your Eyes see what they want to see, your life is like how you see it to be,happy or sad....only two options

A Fresh Page: A New Place to Stay

Its not that crackles of snow falls on your head in this part of the city
But winds of change sway you into hitherto unexplored spots of the same universe that we abide in
Till you mix and become part of it, you know that it was precisely what was meant to be!

The small square room with a window facing a non vegetarian kitchen with a pungent odor suffusing the little air in it….beamed a strong orange late afternoon beam of light on my wooden cot where I lay thinking thoughts of a random mind. Out of the random thoughts one of them dipped humugously low into the depths of hell like the stock market on Black Thursday and then suddenly shot up into the thought that it was some how a time to move on….

I had been nesting in a paying guest accommodation for over two years ….and the honesty of my supposition will proclaim that I had been subconsciously waiting for my dream man to come into my life and pull me out of all the adjustments I made in my Pg, praise me head over heels for all the good things I did for my blind inmates there and make me realize that I am good girl…Jand I in turn would forget all the people who have been rude to me hitherto in life because it is in his arm’s that I will learn to forgiveJWell..…the dream crashed into reality and the highway man came riding and went back without picking me up on his white horse….in the darkness of the night I did catch a glimpse of a pretty lady on the rare of the horse…it wasn’t me so never mind….all I knew was that it was not my high way man….and waiting for his arrival is a collasal wate of timeJHe will come when he has to…

I decided to move.Yes.With all those apprehensions of having hairy boyfriends inside the house, girls like chimneys and sponges when it came to cigarettes and beer when I found that things weren’t that bad either. My inmates were grumpy and silent as if they didn’t want me there..so I wondered why they had put an advertisement on our company bulletin board that they needed a third roommate.Oh yes,…the rents are on the higher side!I parked my car in the basement of the house and entered the room. It was a neater house much newer compared to my old room…much wider, much more positive and beautiful. The cleanliness of the floor attracted me…..I could imagine piles of unwanted hair that I used to shamelessly pick up with my hands and push into a dustbin that never existed….in my pG,,,and the hygiene standards of my house made me feel like am in heaven.

The white tiles were shining and sparkling in the sunlight as I rubbed my eyes and splashed water from a sink which twenty girls weren’t there to use and unclean….my own sink and my own bathroom…..!My eyes widened into surprise as a sudden gush of adrenalin rushed into my veins!

I had never cooked anything in my entire life will be an unimaginable story for many 27 year olds but somehow was a truth in my life. Yes…I bowled my maiden over of cutting onions, tomatoes, potatoes….and mixed all the spices an Indian kitchen deserved to have,,,,well…don’t ask me their names….they were all kept in transparent glass bottles and I used a pinch of all of them. I dipped my finger into the vessel of boiling curry and licked it soon after. I knew I had learnt to cookJThe onions I chopped made me weep so much that it flushed out all the sadness inside me…and now I knew why God made women the manager of the kitchen and why onions worldwide make it into a staple kitchen mandate.. Onion—the women’s outlet for emotional outbursts because men never let them express their tears adequatelyJ

Days passed and I didn’t open the window of my balcony because my roommates had forbidden me to do so…”There are pigeons”….I had spent a few summer evenings meshing around with the curtains trying to watch the pigeon sitting under tiny tennis ball like eggs. Last evening, the air became cooler and my roommates whom I hardly met were not there….the aroma of tingling wet mud…the one which I wanted to eat and taste when I was a baby girl with mango ponytails on either side of my head……….caught my nostrils….and the wide road overlooking my apartment was wet with a much needed shower…I could see a south Indian cyclist paddle tightly against the water current….he was perhaps rushing home..where he was meant to be that whike.. .I opened the balcony door and let the wet fresh air gush in. To my surprise the pigeons weren’t there…the eggs had hatched…revealing two tiny pigeons trying their best to fly.. the rain lashed on my face I closed my eyes and felt the wind hitting my face….when I opened my eyes…pigeons flew away..into the fresh blue firmament where they were meant to be.

“Driving Home the Fundaa of Life”

Driving a car on a Bangalore roads
Identical to life with its satirical anectodes

The homecoming drive from showroom to house
Identical to happiness brought by new girlfriend or spouse

First timer’s accidents and bangs leaving unforgivable dents
Identical to shattered dreams your heart for long time repents

Ummm…now you bang someone car’s with unforgivable dents
And you may say “its not my fault,I don’t repent”


Insurance cover sets the car right after a while
Identical to parents and close friends who cheer you with a smile

With all this you finally learn to drive the car,gear,accelerator, clutch and brake
Only then can you say you are fit for a family life putting happiness of single-hood at stake

Traffic horns, auto drivers, cars and buses
Identical to people you meet and part as friends or enemies and worldly fuses

Gears up on highways and night driving
Identical to challenges in job and hobbies you enjoy to crack in life thriving

Clutch brake accelerator in traffic you coordinate
Saving yourself, your car and other’s car
Identical to interpersonal, personal and social relationships may leave no scar.

Ups and Downs ;a bumpy ride
Driving home the fundaa of life!!

:-Fashion Ka Hai Yeh Jalwa:-

Priyanka Chopra and her movie is making big news in Bollywood after Madhur Bhandarkar decided to cast her in his brand of “realistic cinema” recently. Lest my post sounds like a clichéd read of a rediff or yahoo or a magazine clipping, I have more to say as a review and critic after watching the movie because it touched my heart in a special way.

Realistic cinema to an outsider’s eye rolls into the bottom of his heart to imagine if reality can bite really that hard as it is portrayed. For those who haven’t watched this brand of films or particularly this film, it is about a small town girl, perhaps like me, with different aspirations of course….to become a successful model. In her struggle to reach the top she clambers so fast that she does things which make her lose her self worth and self identity at some point of time. A point where she cannot recognize herself, who she is and what she is doing. Eventually however she recovers and hits at her aims again and the whole world views her come back as her success.

My critic’s eye watches the cause of confusion and anxiety in the glamour as its belongingness to a huge socio cultural community in which it breeds…. the “Indian” value system. It is depressing to imagine that someone must trade their values to become successful in his or her own country. Besides societal norms do not leave them to the mixed culture that they develop. Belonging to a Punjabi mother who wants to get her son married to a nice innocent girl is actually dating a guy because he has a different sexual orientation! Such challenges are a reality in India. In the west perhaps society would easily accept his preferences and he may not be ex-communicated from his tribe or culture. What I can drive home is the criss cross of diversity of the western influence in a conservative country like ours doesn’t allow women and even men… to grow in certain professions like modeling, glamour and some other allied career fields which perhaps have the same respect that a teacher, a software professional or a doctor may have in western countries. I am not being a problem solver to deny the right to a woman who is an aspiring model but perhaps then her self worth must remain intact irrespective of what challenges she night need to face in her journey to success.

Another aspect that touches my heart most about the film is the loss of “atma vishwas”(self confidence). Not exactly related to the world of fashion but just it is a generic truth. When you want something very badly, and you get it all of a sudden, you are unable to handle it and you tend to prefer more of it; you are ready to trade anything to remain there. Strange is the psychology of human beings, we want more of it till we actually trade off , in the process something either more meaningful which we actually want. The model runs after success and receives what she wants; but in her journey she has traded something more precious to her; her self respect.

My friend, Anusha wanted to marry the boy she was dating, so badly that she kept stifling him with her needs for security and possessiveness; subconsciously; in her need that he remains with her. She couldn’t handle the joy of having to date him perhaps. Eventually she lost her self respect in his eyes because these negative qualities were overshadowing the numerous good qualities for which her guy had liked her initially. And in no time she found him dating another girl who was more confident and balanced. I am not sure what genetic, hormonal or experiential difficulties have subconsciously made her have some gaps left to be conqured; where she has lowliness and depression, she is defininitly on the wrong end…its not for any reason that when every girl feels possessive , only this guy should decide to date someone else. She traded her self respect there. I feel she and the model converge in the same platform in life. The loss of self worth in the hurry for something you want really badly that you lose the same thing as fast as you got it.

Whatever may be the case, the pace of what you want needs to be slow and steady and that can only happen when you have confidence that you need not trade your time with yourself, friends, your identity and good qualities and talents for someone else…somewhere she lacked that, subconcicously…you should not trade your values for something you want…these external gains will make you suffer not only a loss within but also eventually the loss of the momentary external gain.

Now Anusha is paving the way to self confidence and fading the rich annulars of low self worth hitherto encompassing the beautiful personality she has by re-emphasizing her talents, being passionate about what she does and learning to give more than take. What will happen to my needs of security and my ambition is a selfish human being’s word. How about giving away as much as you can? One step towards self confidence and we can eliminate the realms of insecurity and embrace the light of happiness beaming in to embrace us every morning of our life!

Jab I Met Myself....(Again)!

Purple evenings and watching the rain
The little heart will not know pain

Politics and games she may listen and learn
Literature, art and history she cannot unlearn.

Childlike mannerisms she imbibes from school kids
She says their creativity can know no bids.

Indian classical music and her relationship no one can define
Punjabi Dhol and beats still turn her on at party time!

Movies, books, theatre and art
With her personal opinion she cannot part

The corporate ladder cherishing knowledge with compassion she climbs
Still not losing her creative chimes.

Gym calls her early out of warm winter bed
Dance and rhythm burning calories she drops dead!

“I am flying without wings in the music of the dawn
Now my happiness and joy no one can pawn”

Home food, fruits and milk and a healthy life style
Steaks, pasta and pastry can have once in a while

Adorable friends from different states of a vast country like mine
Still in the magnitude of her own sub culture the small Towner shines.

Sadness loss and possessiveness she combats
Family and friends help by their adorable pat

Lovely inmates , shopping , parlour , soft toys and earrings… nothing to bar
She drives everywhere in her new blue car.

At relationships or participation she aspires to be best
No matter how life says how difficult is your test.

Celebrating Life:)

“The night is darkest before it is dawn
Often hath my life thy shown”

At the wet droplets of marshy rain slings, a Bangalore dawn awoke to a fresh new day. I rubbed my eyes and peeped out into the chills of the morning. Within seconds, the semi-darkness of the wet sky gave way to the spills of majestic orange hues of a bright sun…I knew it was time to smile at a new morning of life :-)Here’s how I embraced life..

Driving School and my 1st Car:Sitting on the driver’s seat in a car is a fresh feeling of responsibility. No longer had the engine groaned to pronounce it was ready to help me drive, my past called on my cell phone…”Don’t ever keep in touch with me…”..the engine groaned again and I burst into giggles…”I wont”…my beautiful blue car torqued into the turning of life amidst the greens of the residential area. The car never looks back, I noticed. The clutch, the accelerator, the brakes…somehow all of these want the car to move forward!!...My hair played giggles on my cheeks and my car swayed rushing into the forwards of life and embracing it.

Work, Studies and Responsibility: “Take charge of me..take care of me”…shouted life behind my back….don’t complain and whip me..just help me change…gradually….and I started liking work better. What a miracle the human brain is, am writing codes these days despite never having studied programming ever…and the satisfaction of automation is uncomparable..Dark night pronounces slow downs in success rates, but the dawn says life will give you a second chance, knowledge is power and power can make you a winner. Dawn witnessed me so busy over looking for finances for my car finding out about engines, mileage and car accessories that the darkness of the night was spilt with icy blue hues of my near to accomplished dreams.

Salsa and Aerobics: The silence of the dark night over waded the beauty of music, everything coming to a stand-still…no rhythm moved it nor smile could please it….but come the dawn….i was at the dance floor again…and as the music blazed into enchanting beats, my feet started hopping again. I knew what the dark night had been preventing me from! Soon after I decided to join Salsa classes, the latino style!! ..hoping to the grooves of the music I could see my co-dancer giving an enchanting smile..i was celebrating life….now now….everyone’s been asking me how the salsa partner is..(giggle)..my answer: he has one nose, one mouth two eyes(err..actually four) a pair of hands and feet each!!!and that’s all I care for;-))

Music: Many times we have people in our life, like our parents or friends whom we always take for granted…music to me has always been such a friend to me. Sur kaku’s cash gift for me to learn music has been lying in my bank account like a least priority fund and in my profession they say, if you don’t invest, you lose money on interest and the worth of your money stagnates. It is now that the investment is happening. Classical music was always my forte and now am persuing it in full swing again. Holding the sixth string like a baby I have been craving to mother, the fulfillment is mine. Its sleek body charms me…its handsome looks gives me the confidence that my baby is getting more and more talented to play the music of life!

Friends, movies, books and the moral of the story: The prophecy in the thriller stories and the conviction of contemporary writers are calling me and am sitting an questioning life?!sigh!!!:-) Insecurity is an evil in the mind which spoils our friendship. So what if Sandy and his wife decide to pack their music kit and whatever belongings a young couple can have and move out of the country, so what if Deepu goes to Germany on an onsite tour, friends will be there for us. Gripping us in hard times, playing cards, badminton and enjoying pani puri!!... In luie of separation why spoil the beauty of present and more so thrust the risk on a concentrated portfolio of a single person or friend..??Diversify and risk…returns will defintinelty follow! His undying spirit teaches me that the joy of relationship is more in giving than receiving and I was subconsciously doing it the other way round. Besides if he also imbibed the good nesses he noticed in me, the purpose of both our lives in enhancing and being better human beings stands accomplished and regret-free:).

The seemingly invincible dark night transcends into an orange dawn. The shallow beams illuminate a “dark knight” who was standing outside the castle of sorrow..ready to protect and I didnt notice. A friend who has given-given and forgiven when I have taken-taken and forgotten. Its time to balance the table to his comfort zone now so that we can celebrate the date

Ghare Baiyre

Recently I read a story written by Rabindra Nath Tagore called Ghare Bayre.(The Home and the World) and places in the story has been so concretely touchy that I am motivated to share my compassionate experience of perceiving the writer's views.

Rabindra Nath/Robi Thakur(1861-1941) may need no introduction as an artist, devotional writer, musician, composer and lyrisict.This book, however brings out a distinct essence of the socio-political scene in the pre-independence period and precisely when the Swadeshi wave was catching up like wild fire in Bengal.The true essence of the impact on the trading class who were hitherto thriving on British stocks.There is a love triangle in the story where Bimala(the wife),Nikhilesh(husband)and Sandip(the lover)are distinclty different from each other in their concepts of life and imagination of what would be their ultimate ambitions.Truely hued by the flavour of political wave, their intentions take a swerl towards supposedly non-societal and perhaps immoral actions.This not only helps our reverred writer to potray the intense strength of the character and personality of the story but also how social, political and moral myths can dampen in their illuminity.

They say that the novel had created conteversy in Bengal on the grounds of immorality and non traditional vibes intended to infest the character of Indian social life.I stand to appreciate the boldness of potraying Bimala's courage when she steals her husband's money to fund Sandip's Swadeshi movement stunts.It also shows a glimpse of comparison between the 'moderate'(Nikhil) and 'extremist'(Sandip) view to one's love for the country and may be,life in general.How moderates get trapped into the philosophy of life on an overall perspective when a task beckons him...compared to the extremist's take on immorality,unvirtuous and may be socially incorrect intentions and a nver-say-die attitude which mingles their tasks to their ulimate goal in life.

Another beautiful thing about this peice of writing is the elegant potrayal of women in society.Not many writers have potrayed the true essence of the character of a woman being torn in the heart when options lie forth with her.....is it her love for the family or her self respect, is it her lover or her husband....how their immense courage has a boundary of fear...on the men who stand to guard that boundary can partake of any amount of love and repsect from her.Such a deep understanding of women touches me deeply.

There is a subtle element in the story line which makes the story to transcent over changing social, political and economic scenerio by touching the route of human intentions that spring from his basic character.It calls for readers to understand, appreciate and criticize the moves of modern day politicians.Calling a bandh may not be the best way to solve the Nandigram riots as may have adverse affect on the ventures of IT companies which may otherwise have the state to flourish.

:-DUSSERA PROCESSION AT MYSORE:-

Known for its magnificent Palaces and Majestic buildings, sprawling gardens and tree lined boulevards, Shimmering Silks and Sandalwood, the 'City Royale' ....Mysore....thats where is where my family decided to spend the Dussera vacations this year...!

The Maharaja province of Mysore welcomed us on a breezy evening lit up with uncountable little lights adorning the state buildings and government offices.The Mysore palace looks like a newly wedded bride dressed for her wedding rituals over the 10-day festival.The city celebrates its royalty, its rich history of art, music and heritage of emperors like Nawab Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan who not only gave a brave and daring fight to the British who invaded our country but were noble patrons of art and lierature.They contributed to societal transformation, land and revenue, reforms , art and architrecture.

Basically, Mysore Dasara is a Royal Festival Celebrating victory of Truth over Evil. Legend has it that the Goddess Chamundeeswari or Durga slew the demon Mahishasuran on Vijayadashami day. Dasara is a 10-day festival in the region culminating on Vijayadashami. In Karnataka, Dasara is observed as State festival - Nadahabba, because of the celebration of the festival is steered by the Royal Family of Mysore. The royal family of Mysore performs special Pooja on the occasion of Dasara. During Dasara, the entire City is decorated and illuminated. Cultural programmes by famous artists are arranged in the Palace along with Sports, Wrestling, Poet's meet, Food Festival, Film Festival witnessed by a large number of people.

Early that morning we prayed to Goddess Chamundeshwaree...whose temple is constructed in true essence of the Hoysala style of architecture depicting its period of construction.It was only after breakfast that we realised that how the power of the Goddess has mesmemerised the city crowds as they lured into the temple like a an unending sea of human assemblies...!

On Vijay Dashami keeping up the historical Dussera celebrations of the last Wadyar dynasty of rulers of this princely state, a stint of the unique culture and sub-culture of the state and nation, initiatives of the govenment and the message of peace and celebration is depicting in the hour long procession starting from the palace and touring the streets of the city with colourful costumes, models, make-up, ornaments and models along with royally adorned elephants and horses.

The procession we saw had puppet shows, glimpses of the Karnataka local dance form called Yakshagana.An array of custumed folk dancers playing the drums to the rhythm of a festive heart beat pumping exotic enthusiasm and flung their bodies up in the air and back on the drum....Another array of dancers jumped into the streets following their counterpats in yet different costumes and clanging heavy metal cymbals on thier palms to demonstrate the power of the celebration. The exotic dance exhibition was shimmering with the enthusiasm of traditional devotion and a true respect for Art, the Maharaja and the Almighty who tailed the assembly line as crowds stood up to salute the magnificience and prodigy of the festival!!

The end of the procession witnessed the city crowds dispersing like wild rat on the roads everywhere....and not out place would be to mention that behavoir of the congragation of village and city suburb masses on the streets is an element which can typically connote a nation's carnival and so it is for a Golden Nation sparkling with the legacy of Maharajas and prodigy of an ultra rich heritage--India!