Thursday, October 27, 2011

A new perspective to life!

I look back 5 months from now; I realize how much things in my life have changed. I was a Delhi wala then, now I am a Chennaite. Then, I was a complete atheist. I questioned each and everything. I wanted scientific explanations for everything. Now I know that there are certain things that just can’t be explained. They can just be felt. Then I was a 100% non-vegetarian, now I am 70% non-vegetarian, 25% pure vegetarian, and 5% fruitarian. Explaining that is too complicated. I have now given up on one and half years of hard work on a project, may be because it demanded something from me and my life wanted something else, and I chose my life. Again something too complicated to explain. Of course it was hard, but one great thing out of it is that, now I seem to have a lot of time for myself (readers discretion required on gauging the scale of "a lot"). And I have finally started watching a serial in IIT-M. Its not that I don't like serials. But I don't like serials that do not get over in just a single episode. They sort of either make you too anxious for the next episode or they become too predictive, that you don't really have to see the next episode. Plus they are an addiction. So if you haven't seen them before, don't start figuring them out now! My list of serials were always one episode affairs, and were essentially on travel, food or music. Some of my favourites were Highway on my plates, Musafir hoon yaron, Zayka India ka, Rangoli (I loved Rangoli on DD). Recently, I came across the Dewarists. I saw it and was honestly blown away. This is just the right combination of music and travel. I have seen two episodes of it and its just amazing.
Minds without fear, when it started off with the beautiful Samode Palce, I got reminded of my own memories of the pink city and its beautiful palaces. Vishal-Sekhar, by far are my favourite composers. Love each and every song of their's. Starting right from the likes of Musu Musu Hasi, Bahara, Allah ke Bande to the likes of Cash and Chammak Challo! The song that they made in the episode was superb. I would quote Drew Barrymore here, something she said about music in the movie, Music and Lyrics, and I liked it a lot, that "A melody is like seeing someone for the first time, the physical attraction, the sex! But then, as you get to know the person, that's the lyrics, their story, who they are underneath. Its the combination of the two that makes the magic!". (On a side note, if you didn't really like that, for me, Drew Barrymore's accent is enough to like anything she says.. :P) In this case there was the lyrics of the Minds Without Fear, by Rabindranath Tagore, and the melody of Vishal-Sekhar and Imogene Heap (Didn't know her, but a Grammy to her name, must be someone great!). It had to make magic!
Kya khayal hai, again a great combination of Indo-Pak. If you cut the shit out of the Indo-Pak relationship, its just the same country with two different names. We all have grown up to the same "Mughalon ki kahaniyan" the same Sufi Music, the same Ghazals, the same Ghulam Ali, Jagjit Singh, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the same Javed Akhtar, the same Hindi Movies, and even the same street food. I know, as I am writing, I am getting reminded of Chawri Bazar, and Chandni Chowk, the Parathe wali gali... I miss Delhi... Among all the four in this episode, I only knew Shantanu Moitra, especially for Parineeta, and the song Bawara Mann. This episode and the song Kya khayal hai, also turned out to be really superb. 
Now what I would really like to see one day would be a fusion of Rajasthani folk songs, Punjabi, Hindustani Classical and any other Indian traditional/folk music, something crudely in the lines of Mile Sur. Of course it's really really difficult, but just may be, one day!
The bottom line is, I have been through a really really tough times in the past five months or so, the most harassing, emotional, and testing times of my life. Thank you for being there with me, you know who you are. Even when you were not, I imagined, you were. I thoroughly regret and repent those two words, and always will. After a few great weeks now, the great Diwali, I find my jovial and funny moods are back. I am happy that I am back!! :)