Heartless

As many would know already, the party scene is quite grand in Sydney. Parties are on every night…and go on till very late. At times this comes as great surprise to Indians new to Australia. In India, there is a ban on pubs to run past midnight. In Sydney, parties normally start warming up at midnight .

I haven’t been out a lot in the past couple of months. Not really a new year’s resolution, just haven’t had the chance. Owing a lot to the partying before, I have become a huge fan of RnB (Rhythm and Blues). Some of the artists currently hot in my playlist are: The Pussycat dolls, Rhianna, Chris Brown, Craig David, Jordin Sparks, Kate Perry, Shontelle, Ne Yo, Wyclef,  and Kanye West.

If you haven’t, please get hold of Kanye’s new song: Heartless

The lyrics of the song (courtesy Lyrix.com)

In the night I hear them talk, The coldest story ever told,
Somewhere far along this road, He lost his soul,
To a woman so heartless…How could you be so heartless?

How could you be so, Cold as the winter wind when it breeze yo
Just remember that you talking to me yo…You need to watch the way you talking to me yo
I mean after all the things that we been through….I mean after all the things we got into
And yo I know some things you things that you aint told me
And yo I did some things but thats the old me

And now you wanna pay me back…You gonna show me
So you walk round like you don’t me…You got them new friends
Well I got hommies…But at the end its still so lonely

In the night i hear them talk,The coldest story ever told,
Somewhere far along this road…He lost his soul,
To a woman so heartless

I just like the song…does not imply or suggest anything else…not at this point in time anyways

1 second of fame

I was deep into a conversation with my Dad. About life in general, work, what lies ahead….family….and so on…Suddenly he said…”Oh yeah…I forgot to mention, your snap was on television”….and I am like…”WHAT??”

Apparently this was on a programme, titled “Housefull” on Zee TV Marathi (8th Jan 2009). Curious I asked them, what was it about. Although I should I guessed. Housefull normally showcases new plays, playwrights and whats happening in general in the theatre scene in Maharashtra.

Mahesh Elkunchwar was being paid a tribute in the “22nd Arvind Deshpande Smruti Mahotsav (Festival)” produced/sponsored by the “Avishkar” group. I have mentioned before that Mahesh Elkunchwar is my grand-uncle on my father’s side.  I am sorry to say that there was little/no information available on Arvind Deshpande. I will have to some more digging and I promise to have someone knowledgeable (mostly my Dad) to fill me in on this. The Festival itself is said to run from the 6th-10th of Jan in Mumbai (not Pune, I stand corrected) at the Yashwant Rao Chavhan Theatre. They are to showcase numerous of Mahesh-kaka’s plays.

While this tribute comes as no surprise, since he is one of the most well known playwrights in Marathi Theatre, it always is heart warming to see people rekindling his magic on stage. While we all Elkunchwars feel proud and are in awe of his achievement, my parents just got a tinge of pride to see his snap with me on the Tele. Take a peek for yourself…This was taken at his residence some 3-4 years ago or so.

Thanks Dad for uploading this video. I am sure Lucky (the neighbour’s dog) and their squeals of laughter and pride when I come on, do not interrupt the user experience . I hope you watch the video, and if you are keen on knowing I appear for 1 second…between seconds 57 and 58 .

It is funny, to even think about this, but I am curious to know if they asked for his permission to display these snaps.I would be most surprised if they did. I guess, they could have used so many snaps…I just tried to Google Mahesh Elkunchwar under images and got a lot of good snaps. I saw some of them in the video….this one with me and him…appeared third on the list …. I guess I am partly to blame as I put it up on my blog before….and as far as I remember I don’t recall seeking his permission either That doesn’t mean this was “ok”.

Taken out of context, snaps could be shameful and disastrous in the tabloids. I am not a famous personality caught doing suspicious things on camera. He is one though….thankfully…neither is he…in this case and well…. I am not flinching one bit. May be my only concern was that the snap could have been a touched up a bit …I am not as dark as I seem in that snap….come to think of it, neither is he .

I hope one day, people will look at my snap…and the person next to me…will well up with pride….for now…I will take the other stance….cherish my 1 second of TV fame…congratulate Mahesh Kaka….and well…bask in the glory of being an Elkunchwar

Voice – Pentagram

Sometimes, I feel that I am not able to say what I want to…and sometimes…I think I want to scream out loud, but can’t find it in me to do. Lately, I have been too skeptical … and strangely think things over before I do them; I know its sounds good, but I have always been a spontaneous person and never really cared about rules, boundaries and limits. I am sure its not the cliche – “I am growing up”…That still is a long way away I think . But I am getting there…slowly but steadily. At times when I am lost in retrospection and am looking for answers….I think I hear a voice in my head while its really loud…inside….its a muffled whisper if I try to scream…At such times, I resort to this song.

Over the last few days I have been crazed by the new song by Indian Rock Band Pentagram. While it has a very Modern Rock sound to it, I am constantly amazed at the creative genius of Vishal Dadlani who also is an Music Director for Hindi/Bollywood Films!! The song is simply awesome and is damn addictive.

Here is the official video (courtesy YouTube)

Voice – Pentagram

Lyrics:

Are we gonna ask the questions that scare me….Are we gonna break the bonds of silence…yeah
Will I find the truth in my reflection…Will I see the meaning of my defiance..
Coz there are words that must be said…. And there are words that must be heard
And that they’re not as really quite absurd…And there’s a footstep in the clouds
And there is warmth in drops of rain…And there’s a meaning to the words i say
I need a voice now….Come be my voice now
Find me a voice now…. yeah…
Come be my voice now….Give me the choice now

What about them roots?

My friend Nikhil Kardale recently had an interesting rendezvous with the “Indian National Anthem”. While I replied/commented on his post, I thought that I should make it a point to just put my comment here. Here goes.

About the National Anthem. What a wonderful anecdote mate. You talked about people standing up to show respect as they must…I have two questions..one…how many of them do it…out of respect or with a “matter of fact” attitude? Two: how many people treat it as a “commercial” and show up after it? It sucks why people don’t respect our roots. I can’t be the one to talk about it either…as I am in a foreign land planning to apply for citizenship. I am no hypocrite.

While it is weird to say it is NOT a compulsion, its not..we have freedom of expression don’t we? It is definitely implicitly implied. Having said that they should not feel obligated to do it…but WANT to do it, without any initiation. What say ?

As kids in school, MES BSM EMS we were taught the values of being good Indian citizens. At home we were taught to respect our roots…Owing to personal and professional choices…I am in a foreign land…and still try to nurture my values, culture and upbringing.

I think no other ad made in India and there are quite a few good ones…compares to this one..have a look

Bloggers

It is amazing how many people are blogging. I stumble upon on new bloggers and am amazed every time !!Sometimes its because how different they sound…and sometimes…..how strikingly similar…. Whats really refreshing to see or rather to read is that so many of my friends are blogging. Its such a shame that I seem to “stumble” on to them. I mean I could have been an avid reader all this while !! Now I have huge amounts of posts to go through . In the last few days, I have a taken step back and have been reading more than writing something. Well they say that better not to say anything…if you don’t have anything good to say. Actually that’s totally out of context…but seems awfully relevant doesn’t it?

That’s that for now…