Sunshine Melodies

February

2012-02-02T17:43:00.003+01:00

Evening falls, amidst
familiar, silent strangers,
Bone chilling wind, and
a mild snow flurry,
My guitar sings in tune
Harmless melancholy, hot soup,
some rice and spinach curry.

Auroville, Pondicherry

2011-08-22T05:59:00.006+02:00

I did sleep quite a bit during the overnight bus journey...Reached Pondicherry at around 7 in the morning after about 7 hours of being on the road! After the usual haggling with the autowallas, managed to reach Auroville and settled down in the Centre guest house. Auroville is a nice place, lush green, peaceful, a model 'village' for pursuing spiritual uplift. It's a pretty much international village...people from all over the world, I could hear French, English, German, Korean and what not, some looking for Nirvana, while most others were there just as tourists !!!

Visited the Matrimandir, though only from a distance, it was fully booked for the two days we were there and so had to miss out on the meditation experience inside it. Given the unplanned nature of our trip and the three days' weekend holiday, it didn't surprise us. In the evening, we went to the souvenir shops, bought a t-shirt; browsed and bought some books: Biography of Sri Aurobindo, a book on Sri Aurobindo's views on Hinduism, and another book on his teachings and techniques. The weather was very hot and humid, the sun too harsh, still we did some velo ride in the village...Despite the thermal shocks, cycling on the country roads felt very good...Took lots of pictures. After water, lemon juice, coffee etc. we went back to the guest house. Wanted to rent a bike but it couldn't be arranged as the minimum renting duration had to be 2 days, that meant we had to cancel our visit to the Auro beach :( , and be content with the free bicycle.

At night, after a pretty early dinner(7-7:30) our discussions invariably veered from spiritual to social to the political spectrum...So much so that a person from the nearby room had to knock and ask us to be quiet, since even though it was about 9:45, the usual inhabitants of the guest house were either asleep or trying to be so since they have to wake up at 4 AM!!! We felt guilty that we disturbed them...Anyways after some more discussion in hushed tones we too went to sleep.

Next day it was 15th August, our independence day and incidentally also the birthday of Sri Aurobindo! We missed the flag hoisting ceremony in the morning as we didn't know the venue...We went to the Savitri Bhawan, where in front of Sri Aurobindo's statue some kind of program was going on...Some recordings of the Mother's talks were being played, while everybody listened to in silence. Samosas and sweets were distributed to the people present there (that included us!!) and then we went to see the exhibitions: The first one was on Savitri - the story that is a part of Mahabharat, based on which Sri Aurobindo had composed a 24000 lines long epic poem. The other one was Sri Aurobindo's life in pictures. Pretty interesting. I had mostly known Sri Aurobindo for his revolutionary activities against the British rule, I had only a faint idea about his spiritual side, and hence the visit to Auroville helped me get more exposure to this aspect of his life! The previous night I had started reading his biography too (I am yet to finish reading). Roamed around Auroville a bit more, went to the bookshop again as my friend wanted to buy another copy of the book I had bought! Gulped down some local fruit juice cocktails to fight the heat.

Called a taxi to reach the Pondicherry town, went to the Aurobindo Ashram, visited the Samadhis of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, bought some more books and walked to the beach overlooking the Bay of Bengal in the Indian ocean. Spent the evening there, watched the independence day fireworks, had our dinner and went to the travel agencies to look for bus tickets, luckily we found the seats, at slightly higher rates that usual. Another overnight bus journey and we were back to Bangalore. Met a couple of more friends that day, at night went to watch the newly released movie "Arakshan" at Inox. My friend dropped me to the pick up point for bus to the airport at 3 am. This is the downside with early morning flights, it ruins a night's sleep! Anyway that sums up my enjoyable visit to Bangalore!! Now I am relaxing at home, looking forward to the next leg of my India travel : It's going to be the unseen north-east this time :)

Delhi, Home, Bangalore, and a bit of Kolkata

2011-08-20T18:33:00.010+02:00

Yo!!!! 15 days in India, already!!! Continuing from where I left last time.

Because of some weird customs of the French bureaucracy and my being on a student visa instead of a scientific one, my residence permit couldn't be extended for another year before I left Grenoble a The folks at the prefecture asked me to come just 5 days before the expiry (when I'd be in India), while normally it can be done within 2 months before the expiry. So the first thing I did after putting my stuff at a friend's place in Delhi, was to run to the French embassy and apply for the visa de retour (got a call from the embassy a couple of days back confirming the issue of the visa, which I can collect any day before my departure) !! So I am gonna go back to Grenoble again in time :)

Spent the next two days meeting a couple of friends, one entire afternoon at the Akshardham Temple. It's an awesome piece of architecture, spread over a huge area and perhaps it is one of the most well maintained temples in India. It made me think of the innumerable temples of exceptional grandeur that were destroyed and lost in the 1000 years of Islamic tyranny; and how important our freedom is for saving whatever remains we have of our past and the present. Fun Facts: No use of steel or concrete in the structure!; Largest Hindu Temple according to the Guinness Book of World records; Use of granite makes it effortless to walk on the floor exposed to the sun which otherwise could cause blisters.

After the short stay in Delhi, boarded the Purushottam express for going home...pretty boring journey...read a bit of the 'reality novel', "A year in the Merde" written from an Englishman's perspective. I generally can't stand long fiction, but this was something any new comer to France could relate to, so found it to be interesting enough to hold my attention! Looking at the green fields and the monsoon drizzle from the train's window were a treat to the eyes. @Bokaro: all the usual stuff...rested for 2 days then left for Bangalore via Dhanbad and Kolkata. The AC in the train from Dhanbad made me sick (+having taken bath at 4 in the morning, wet hair etc !). Had a short meeting with a friend before boarding the flight in Kolkata.

It was good to be back in Bangalore after 4 years. The city has seen a few constructions projects completed like the new airport (really quite far from the main city), flyovers and a metro link (yet to open for public)...Met quite a few friends...eat idlis and dosas after long :) We had planned to go to Munnar on a 2-3 days trip, but by the time I reached Bangalore I had symptoms of full blown cold, and so we dropped the plan to go to the rainy hill station :) ...So where else? Coorg, Ooty, just roam around Bangalore?? We decided to visit Sri Aurobindo's ashram and Auroville in Pondicherry!!! That evening we set out on a bike to book tickets for buses. After much searching we could get the tickets for the onward journey but could not get tickets for returning.. We inquired at no less than 10 travel agencies..."Full Book Saar" that was the reply from each of these ! So we decided to go without return tickets :0

Bharat Visit

2011-08-11T11:46:00.002+02:00

I am back to India! ...I am planning to pen down my experiences during this one month long vacation. So...here we go...

Left Grenoble on the 4th of August. Generally the buses to the airport run every half an hour, except at 14:30, and could just manage to reach the bus station when the 2 O clock bus left the gare routiere!!Ah Merde!! That meant wasting about an hour, people watching, fiddling with my luggage, sipping some water, a little purturbed as I guessed it would be a little tight situation if the airport is too crowded. Reached the Lyon aeroport at about 16:10...Hurriedly got the boarding passes printed and the baggages weighed...18.4(limit was 20) and 4.7 Kgs. Didn't have much to carry! Had a cheese sandwich on the flight which didn't taste good at the beginning but felt ok a couple of bites later...It was a bright, sunny, quite hot day...It always feels good to be above the clouds. Had a two hour long gap at the Munich airport before the forward flight to Delhi. Most of the people boarding the flight were Indians, as expected.

A French couple requested me to exchange my seat as they wanted to sit together. They were a little surprised, or acted so when I agreed readily...perhaps felt that I don't understand English and had said yes without understanding what they asked for! (I can write with more satire, but let me spare them for now!) Anyway , the flight took off. My co passenger was a Polish woman, who could speak decent English, and so we could talk. Last one year in Grenoble has been kind of filled with too much of silences simply because the it's close to impossible to strike off a conversation with the French without speaking French...Leaving out a handful of exceptions(my lab-mates, advisors) and other non-French folks...She was quite friendly and we talked about a lot of stuff...Like most people landing at Delhi, her itinerary included Delhi, Agra, Jaipur and Varanasi...I tried to watch Kung Fu Panda-2, and with a few breaks for food (Indian vegetarian; was good) and talks, did finish it...I had seen the first part a few weeks before in an attempt to explore animated movies; of which I wasn't a big fan earlier!

Then mid way during the flight we were handed out India-entry forms asking for details like passport no., flight no, puspose of visit etc, too many fields to irritate anybody and confusing for first timers. I could see the French lady across the even took out a dictionary!! One point made me a bit uncomfortable and made me think: NRI, Am I an NRI ? I have been in France only for 1 year, and will be there for 2 more years, does that make me a "Non Resident" Indian? I ticked yes, and moved on....had to help my new friend with some of the weird terminologies and do a cursory check of her form.. We exchanged contacts and she invited me to her home if someday I happen to pass by Auschwitz, or may be the conference in Krakow!

I tried to get some sleep, but could only manage to close my eyes and rest for a couple of hours. I hate it when the plane started to descend because of the the pressure on the ears.And to add to that there was a wailing emotionally deranged woman quarreling with her family members a few rows away. Anyway the flight landed in time. Hired a taxi from the pre paid booth, and there I was: back to where I belong, India i.e. Bharat! More writing will follow >>

Life, Beliefs, Suffering, Freedom of Religion

2011-07-04T22:23:00.001+02:00

Life is sacred, beliefs are not.
Freedom of religion ends where human or animal suffering begins.

Il fait chaud!

2011-06-27T22:18:00.002+02:00

It was 30-35 °C outside today..Pretty much the same temperature range as in India these days...So the real Grenobloise summer is in. I don't know why, but I love summer, even if the heat sometimes freaks me out, but it makes me feel alive too, gives me a message that the earth still exists..that in the end everything will be all right.

Summer of Duh Meel Onz

2011-06-26T14:59:00.004+02:00

For the last 10 days I have been mostly away from doing some real work of my own (even right now I could have been away from the lab had the summer school being organised on a nearby mountain were centered around topics of my interest!)....Last Thursday and Friday, our lab had the 2 days' Journée Scientifiques (kind of a summer retreat) on a mountain resort at La Ferriére (breathtaking, yes) where the we (the PhD students) had to present a bit of our work and future perspectives...It was a good break if I leave out the presentations delivered in French (too many, actually; I still don't understand why do people want to do technological research in French when nobody outside this country is going to understand the work in this language; still, somehow my group has the most number of international students, so had some understandable presentations on the second day), the meat based main courses in the répas (though the breakfast was good and deserts yummy, no doubt), and the bad weather (It rained and ruined our plans of doing paragliding)..I hope it turns out better (brighter) next time!

Then this week, I contributed to the organization of a conference (4 days), and listened to most of the tutorials and talks..It was a really nice experience...met a lot of researchers from around the world...had some discussions (though very few people were from the modeling and simulation domain), enjoyed the food and the boat ride on lake Monteynard and the dinner in the Château d'Herbelon (over talks on food, politics and girls :D, add to this the fact that I was the only guy around the table who could "speak" French, haha) On Tuesday night roamed around the streets of Grenoble listening to a wide variety of music by passionate musicians of the city : It was 21st June : The day of Fête de la Musique : An annual musical celebration!! Here is a collection of some videos shot by me: Enjoy the music, while I prepare to get back to work (It's been a beautiful sunny day today :)). Cheers!!!

Fête de la Musique 2011 - Grenoble, France par carpediemtd

Springtime

2011-04-23T03:23:00.002+02:00

Alors! C'est le printemps!

Back to the blog after a long time...No posts in the last six months!! Time flies so fast here...After a really "real" winter, the weather again feels agreeable! Bright, sunny days have replaced the cold, gloomy times...The days are quite long, and they will continue to get longer...So, when you look out of the window at 7 PM it seems more like late afternoon than evening!

Didn't write much during this period, though started writing in Hindi again after some 3-4 years!!! Alas, I have lost all those wonderful readers of my poetry - I remember they were so welcoming back then, but since I stopped writing, I guess my blog got dropped off their lists...Anyway here I am again, and hopefully I'll be scribbling more often.

Started out on trying some fingerstyle, started with a book, but got irregular and kinda stopped practicing with a schedule and target(nothing new here, :D )...But still I enjoyed playing random songs on my lovely Art & Lutherie. Maybe I should get back to learning new stuff (mainly technique wise, too bad : lost the thumb pick before I could even start fooling around with it! ) systematically, else the "stuck in a rut" feeling will overwhelm me :D And I guess it applies to other aspects of life too! Hehehe..So much so!

Did manage to learn a little French, so now I can understand bits and pieces of conversations and if required, get the message across too (in the process mutilating the language; but who cares!)

It's the Pâques (French Easter) holiday time, but work wise I am a bit busy these days...A bit lost too sometimes...Perhaps I need some real change in the way things are moving...

A bientôt!

A month in Grenoble

2010-09-26T21:45:00.002+02:00

Whooa!!!
So, it's been a month now here in Grenoble!!!
So, a bit of looking back...

Time: It flew faster than ever before!!! Maybe since a lot of threads were running parallely in my head, I just couldn't keep pace with time!

French Keyboard: I still feel it's quite irritating, but have adapted a lot...Typing numerals on this keyboard freaks me out!

French Windows (7): Hmmmm, hard initially, but it helped me almost double my French vocabulary in a couple of days!

Food: Quite a lot has been sorted out now that I started cooking since last week! Pizzas, fruits and yogurt, fish(yup!) and sometimes vegetables (merely boiling and sprinkling some salt qualifies as been 'cooked' here) at the CROUS canteen, and coffee from the machine can carry me through the day...Eating a decent breakfast before leaving for the lab is something that I have been consistent with. Cooking (often with other Indians here at RHB) at night has made sure that I eat a stomach-full of Indian food at least once a day!

Language Problem: Continues to make life really miserable at times :) Hopefully, from this October, I'll join a course either at the Alliance Française of Grenoble or at Stendhal.

Work: Ok, the "real" thing...I need to pick up speed from tomorrow ! Sounds similar to the ending of my last post...can't help it right now!

Gym : Need to start something...I didn't even go for jogging. The amount of butter and cheese I end up eating every day needs to be taken care of!

Weather: I think the I arrived here at the awesome-weather-time at Grenoble....Mornings were cold enough to make you appreciate and enjoy the morning sun's golden rays, the days were warm enough to make you feel 'at home' and nights were comfortably cold, so that you don't need a fan.Things have started to change from this week, particulary today it feels like I have reached the place where the cold wind blows!

Hello Again!! From Grenoble!

2010-09-19T20:24:00.008+02:00

11 PM, 19 Sept 2010
Résidence de la Houille Blanche,
Grenoble.

It's been ages since my last post on this blog. Now that I am slowly getting settled (well...at least to some degree!) in Grenoble, I guess, I have a lot to share with the known and unkown (once) readers of the blog.

A lot of writing on these pages will follow as I explore the French way of life during the coming three years. I quite liked the city at first sight; the mountains follow you wherever you go, as do the tramways and the buses; Constant invocations of Bonjour and Merci and general politeness was indeed very much welcome but kind of unsettling at first. The week long integration activites during each aftenoon and parties in the evenings made the welcome into INPG really memorable.

Now talking of the hard sides of the 'culture shock', language is a major issue here and I have had only five days of French classes that I guess was only for "getting started". It's gonna take considerable time for me to start communicating in French. One day, over lunch, one of the (female) professors in the group quipped, "Find a French girlfriend :) ". Nice suggestion, but then it's like a feedback problem, and I guess there is a particular term for it which I can't recall at the moment. Anyway, I need to enquire about the next stage of the classes and get enrolled soon.

Food- is another fundamental aspect of the life here that I need to tackle properly : The French have a penchant (or maybe that's how the society evolved here over the millennia ) for eating meat - almost everytime they eat...So for a non - beef/pork eater, finding edible vegetarian food is not an easy task. Even some of the innocuous looking salad items have meat. So "sans viande" is the magic phrase for me in the CROUS canteen where I have my lunch everyday. Now that I have started cooking (yeah, even I can cook now!) the food problem is kinda resolved, at least from First order perspectives, if I can manage to regularly at least once in the weekdays and twice in the weekends, which I guess is pretty doable! Kitchens are shared, so it's not so comfortable, but then you get to meet new people while trying to push your culinary skills to new heights!

It's always great to find people from your own country, here too we have a few (very few) Indian students. Met some more people from India through the guys who have been here for a year or more. Homesick ? No, not at all. I am quite used to being a nomad, a musafir - and I like it that way. But I do miss a lot of things back in India and people of course. I think there is no Durga Puja celebration held here (so much unlike the US) . But then there is internet and it has really made the world shrink!

On the whole, it feels excitingly good to be back to university. My supervisors have been awesome - much more that I had expected. My PhD work has started too, though I need to speed up a bit now :-). Will write more in the next post.

As Usual

2009-05-16T17:12:00.000+02:00

Feeling dozy on a Saturday afternoon
'Coz I slept late last night, almost when
the sun took over from the moon
And..I still have lots of simulations to run..
Before I can claim...Whooa...it's all done!

Holi Day!

2009-03-11T17:47:00.009+01:00

It's Holi night.You are a hosteler. For dinner, you go to one of the few restaurants in the area. You find the place to be excessively crowded.And then you notice something bizarre....Much of the crowd consists of families, yes full families competing with the insti kids for a place in the restaurant - on a day which the families are supposed to celebrate in their homes - teach the young ones the significance the festival - cook delicacies and exchange good wishes with relatives and neighbours. I wonder what kind of memories the children of these families will grow up with. I agree, this is only a fraction...a little fraction and perhaps a particular subclass of the people living here, but still it is very much unexpected and disturbing. This cheap imitation of "eating out" trends in metros being copied here in this town could be understandable had it been some kind of an alien "XYZ day"...but it's a traditional Indian festival! I don't know how much and in what ways the traditions are changing in other parts of the country. I wonder if we are heading towards a cultural void!

The first time I encountered this was on 1st year's Diwali. We learned our lessons and this Diwali, we reached a restaurant for dinner by 7:15...It worked...in 15 minutes or so the place was full. During this Holi, since it's kinda mid-sem break very few ppl stayed back in the hostels..And so the real tussle in the restaurants was among the families...No wonder we hadn't even finished our dinner the waiter put a "reserved" board on the table!!! And as we were coming out, we saw chaos outside the door..kind of...

Genetic Evidences Against AIT

2009-02-22T15:41:00.012+01:00

Well, it's been quite a while sice I last jotted down something on my blog. And the last phase of my post-graduation has already begun, so will be quite absorbed in research and simulations. And since me and my blog have kinda implicit understanding that under normal circumstances, I won't be publishing technological stuff here, the long hiatuses will be a consistent feature of this blog!

Continuing from previous posts - here and here, on the impossibility of the Aryan invasion, here is yet another post. That the AIT does not have any archaeological or literary basis - is now pretty well known in today's academic circles, still some iota of confusion or lack of clarity due to lack of knowledge can always be there - as far as non-experts are concerned.This iota stems from the differences in the skin-color and physical features of the people from the northern and southern parts of the country. This dissimilarity is often used over-zealously to claim that the Northerners are Aryans- outsiders and such crap stories.

And to add some scientific flavor to these theories some people claimed that some genetic study has shown higher degree of genetic closeness between upper caste north Indians and Europeans. Although it does not prove that there was any invasion , the AIT supporters used this to fit it in their story by saying the Aryans are of foreign origin. Why don't they consider the other possibility - that the foreigners have Indian origin !! Well that's another way to look at it indeed, and as I will mention in the following paragraphs, it is in fact proven by some geneticists!.

The genetic analysis do have a lot of importance. But the various genetic studies done have not produced identical results. For example, this particular paper by Bamshad et al(which is sometimes quoted as "proof" of foreign Aryans!) says that mtDNA analysis shows each caste in India is more similar to Asians than to Europeans but the similarity with Europeans increases with caste rank.While the Y-chromosome variation each caste was found to be more similar to Europeans than to Asians.The way this paper indirectly attempts to reach to the AIT conclusion is too sloppy and not only that, the Bamshad paper has remarkable inconsistencies of which I came to know from this article.

In contrast, I found a good number of papers in scientific and historical journals that point to no genetic discontinuity throughout ages and among tribal and caste populations. Most interesting is the fact that the great human migration that started from Africa some 50000 years ago had India as a stop-over point. Europe and Australia were populated by humans coming from India.This is a non-refutable scientific fact. So I guess, even if some study finds similarities between Indians and Europeans - it's pretty much natural, and not due to some imaginary invasion. In fact in current historical research, the "Out of India" theory is also being studied in the light of new linguistic and genetic insights; though nothing conclusive in this regards can be said as of now.

Here are some interesting links to articles and papers from journals that espouse my points mentioned above:

Genetic studies by Stephen Oppenheimer have shown that people moved into India from Africa initially and rest of the world population were descendants of this group. So if there was a
migration, it was from India to Europe and not the other way.

Genetic studies by Kivisild et al: Indian tribal and caste populations derive largely from the same genetic heritage of Pleistocene southern and western Asians and have received limited gene flow from external regions since the Holocene.

Macaulay et al., claim to have found evidence that there was only a single dispersal of modern humans from Africa and that this dispersal was through India. According to this account, several generations of the ancestors of all non-African people would have lived in India. The ancestors of Western Eurasians (including Europeans) would have spent several thousand years in India until the climate improved to allow them to migrate North and West out of India about 45000 years ago.

Studies by scientists in Calcutta with colleagues in other countries.

California School Textbooks Issue
Witzel's Lies
==========================================================

Movie Review!

2009-01-21T14:35:00.004+01:00

This one is due to Jazzy:

Given the sTupidity(T) of the audience is constant, the number of Prizes(P) won by a feature/movie is inversely proportional to the factual and logical Validity(V) of the script. Mathematically:
PV = kT, where k is a constant of proportionality.

-- Boyle's Law (Danny Boyle), 2008 AD.

Mission Dehradun!

2009-01-05T19:10:00.005+01:00

Accomplished. Nothing serious, but important nevertheless!
Need to get some sleep now.

Blissful Moments

2008-11-02T11:11:00.004+01:00

Just got a little time..
Off my degenerately doped life
A moment to think about nothin
An opportunity to ride on a fling

Felt at peace...
These days, peace to me is akin
to an evening after rain...
When the horizon looks clear...
and a fresh, cold wind comforts you

I yearn for minutes like these..
Free of the clutter and
the usual hustle and bin.
When I can stare blankly at the
color-splashed, noiseless sky
Without mulling over the many
things that have (merely) been.

A Nation On The Edge

2008-09-17T19:26:00.008+02:00

The empty ashtray toppled...
Nothing else moved...
making the fall seem illegitimate..lonely..
The mind wandered, changed course...
Like Kosi did, a few days back...

The dampness was tell-tale,
the smells, familiar ...
and so were the wails...
Receding waters had left a trail,
buoyancy had betrayed,
like everyone else...
Handpicked by a strange looking child
was an old, plastic, mud-bathed toy...
Reminiscent of the old, almost carefree boy..
Who had once played with paper boats in the rain..
The contrast was saddening...the situations
so different...

No resistance and negative gain...
The weary mind wandered again.
The storyline got snapped by the so called "myths"
and supposedly "misunderstood" tenets of a "faith",
that have been proven to be true, umpteen times..
From medieval ages to the modern days...
On the streets...in local trains...market places...
temples, stock exchanges, even hospitals...

Seems time has run out...
The menace has grown manifold.
And if this were not enough,
Now some people are on overt "missions"
to "harvest" souls..

An impotent government, funding biased shows
Macaulay's children taking anti-national vows
A country engulfed by dangerous pseudo-isms,
and taken hostage by evil, immoral attitudes
while it's people bereft of any moral certitude...

Lost in the swinging flashbulbs,
and reverberating dark shadows on the wall...
Thoughts got stuck...suffocation was in the air
Don't know if people can still live as if
"Sab chalta hai"..."Hota rehta hai..."

Continuity of the Indus-Saraswati Civilization

2008-09-09T20:00:00.005+02:00

Attended this lecture by Michel Danino. He is a French author and had participated in the translation and publication of the works of Shri Aurobindo and of The Mother. He was also associated with the preservation of tropical rain forest in the Nilgiri hills. In 2001, he convened the International Forum for India's Heritage (www.IFIH.org). He has lived in India for quite sometime, and has done lots of research on the history of the Indus Saraswati Civilization. He is the author of "The Invasion That Never Was", a book refuting the Aryan Invasion Theory.

Interestingly, a few weeks ago, I had a small debate on this same very issue with a friend here at IIT Roorkee. Since the time I came across this stupid theory long back during my school days, I knew something was seriously wrong. The (boring) NCERT texts would proclaim "1500 BC - Aryans invade India"...damn.... In fact I probably believed in those times(class 4/5 or so) that Aryans were a race like the other invaders like Shakas, Huns, Kushanas etc and like them all, it too disaapeared later..But the stupidity of the theory struck me when in later years (class 9th), the meaning of the theory actually became clear - that the so called foreign Aryans who displaced the orginal inhabitants were OUR ancestors and Hinduism, Vedas and everything we hold allegience to is linked to a nomadic tribe from central Asia or northern/western Europe!!! Damn!!! And that 'our' culture was established in India only after 1500BC! Since I have alwayas had lots of interest in Indian history (mostly ancient history and the history of the freedom struggle), I have had done a bit of study on the issue on the internet myself and was convinced by the tons of archaelogical evidence against the invasion theory, so when I and my friend were discussing the various aspects of this invasion theory, I had my facts ready to counteract the old school of this crap theory. Unfortunately the Indian textbooks are still propagating this myth kept alive by it's ardent supporters, even though the current historians have conclusively disproved the theory.

Danino's lecture was focussed towards showing the continuity of the Indus Saraswati Civilization
that had it's mature era from 2600 BC to1900 BC, to the culture of the region belonging to times later than 800 BC....and continued to today's India. Danino's lecture had lots of pictures of seals, artifacts etc from the great civilization and maps, satellite images also. Some important points from the lecture:

Firstly the civilization should be called Indus-Saraswati civ and not just Indus civ since comparable number of sites have been excavated on the banks of the river Saraswati in the last century. There is data from ISRO's research on the river to show the path of Saraswati river and how it used to meet the sea at the runn of Kutch.
The Indus-Saraswati civ was quite advanced than the other cultures, say those of Egypt etc...interms of architecture, well calculated town planning, use of proportions, number systems...
Surprisingly the weight system was binary based - in powers of 2.
The drainage system was quite well planned. People had individual bathrooms. The famous "great bath" was probably used for some rituals.
No palace kind of structure was found in the remains, indicating the absence monarchy.
The bricks used were of very good quality.
Another interesting fact was the use of trapezoidal bricks while constructing wells, a remarkable feature not found in any other civilizations.
Statuettes of horses have also been excavated , as also some horse bones, disproving the theory that the so called Aryans brought the horses!
Similarity in architectural designs of the Indus-Saraswati civ and later times(many of those can be traced to even today) signifies continuity.
Swastika symbol's presence in Indus-Saraswati civ and it's significance in Hinduism(and even in Jainism and Buddhism).
A couple of Shiva lingas have also been unearthed.
Similarity in the artifacts of those days and these days.
Then there was a statuette of a woman who was wearing lots of bangles on her arm(between the joint with the shoulder the elbow) - part of the traditional attire of many Rajasthani women.
The geometry of the fire alters was one of the three types used in Vedic traditions.
Use of vermilion/color on the head where the hair part (maang!) found in some women figurines, again pointing to the Hindu custom of applying sindur.
The similarity of the boats depicted in seals and the boats used by the prsent-day people of theregion of the Indus river. etc etc...
About the Indus script : Though many people have deciphered it , (e.g by Natwar Jha and Rajaram (who say the language is Sanskrit)), many linguists don't accept these as the inscriptions on tablets are not long enough to establish one-to-one relationship; and secondly absence of any bilingual tablets which could validate the decipherment.
No Biological/Demographical discontinuity has been found.

The death of the invasion theory has been accepted by most historians. But still many people in the academia cling to this absurd theory because ...I'd quote Danino - "they have built their careers on this", and these anachronistic historians can't disown their own preachings now even though the archaelogical evidences point otherwise.

Also, NO archaeological proof has been found to support the invasion theory. Isn't it strange!!! No remnants of the so called Aryan's culture have been found, no mention of the land from where they had supposedly come has been found in any of 'their' literature! The vedas worship the mighty Saraswati while it had dried up by 1900BC (Proved by researchers from TIFR that no fresh discharge took place in the river after 2000BC or so), clearly making the vedas a lot older than what the invasionists would like us to believe! Then why keep clutching to this illogical theory? Why ?

Archaeological evidences have proved the continuity of the Indus-Saraswati civilization through ages.Unfortunately, Indian children are still being taught the incorrect history about their country. As Danino said "Indian history textbooks are lagging behind by 50 years' time". Hopefully, Indian history textbooks will be soon re-written to teach the truth-the correct history to the school children and Indians in general.

Aryan Invasion Theory - Debate!

2008-09-09T19:28:00.002+02:00

Well, this post contains parts of the debate that took place last month between me and a friend on the Aryan Invasion Theory. The debate started over some document containing a time line of Indian history in which I found some absurdities. It was an xl document titled "The Royal Chronology of India". Try Googling. U'll be able to find it....Read On...
====================================================================
TD:
"The Royal Chronology of India":

-Royal ???
-Contains some historical inaccuracies and erroneous interpretations (esp in the comments).
e.g. Indo-European Migration before 4000 BC??? never heard of this!!! :D ...the guy who wrote this doc has tried to pre empt any attack on this migration story by setting the timing between 10k-4k BC!! hahaha!!! utterly stupid though....Initially I thought it to be the Aryan Invasion Theory(the 1500 BC wala), but then later found that the doc mentions AIT later(and RIGHTLY calls it a myth)....All this makes me think that it is written by some amateur guy (other than the usual Marxist dominated and influenced, often doctored, propagandist , anti nantionalistic history of India that u find in history textbooks in india ) who has made a fool of himself in some parts of the doc...Though I think the guy has done a tremendous job on the whole by compiling it at one place...good work....but has to be taken with a pinch of salt...
-Blasphemous comments on hindu gods makes this doc unreliable.(at least the sources from which these sections were lifted were the works of some anti-hindu/marxist historians)

COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS/DHARMAS:
-seems to be a very personal interpretation of hinduism and divisions thereof. seems stupid...

KBS:

Response to your comments on Royal Chronolgy

Yes, Even I take it with a pinch of salt
Secondly I havent studied it completely myself
Also the problem with mythology is that people
tend to take very binary stance on things
To me Vedic history is a combination of fiction
and incompletely understood facts, difficult to
separate (gray not B/W)
The fiction is primarily due to exaggeration of
facts during history reporting of that period,
a phenomenon not uncommon in history

Regarding dating the chronolgy to 4000BC,
there have been two schools of thoughts on this
The general academic acceptance (including Marxist)
is that Vedic/Arya civilization dates to 1500BC to
500 BC, after decline of Indus Civilization, and
before birth of Mahavira/Buddha

TD:
-Firstly,
It's pretty clear the guy who wrote this doc has done so by compiling the data from a varied number of sources (from wherever he could!!), and doesn't seem to subscribe to any specific group of historians as such, and most probably is not any of those self proclaimed "eminent historians". So, obviously, u will find that the doc is not 'coherent' with regard to any particular "school of thought". And portions of it do belong to the communist historians which when examined critically (without giving in to any assumptions), clearly show rampant bias and distortions. So, let's forgive the poor author of that doc [:D].

u said: "To me Vedic history is a combination of fiction and incompletely understood facts, difficult to separate."

- That's ur personal assumption.
KBS: yup it is.

Studying history has to be based on archeological, documentary and socio-cultural evidences and logical arguments and not on plain assumptions. Moreover, there are ppl all around the world who have understood the Vedic stuffs that u haven't.
KBS: yes there would be.

u said: "The other school of thought which is a bit weak in its argument is placing Mahabharata at 3900BC "
-How is it 'a bit weak' ? Any pointers?
The Indus Civilization is dated to be 2600BC-1700BC, and by putting Mahabharata at 3900BC, we have overlap, yet Vedic literature does not mention things as excavated in Indus civilization, neither do we know why Indus language/script is so different from Arya language and why no mapping (I do not think Indus script has yet been deciphered)

TD:
u said : "Vedic literature does not mention things as excavated in Indus civilization"
td: ARE U KIDDING ? Read my previous reply on AIT. & about Indus civ from other sources.

What do u mean by "Arya Language" ? Actually, although the proponents of AIT made up stories of nomadic Aryans invading and settling in India, they never bothered to propose any theory or unearth any details about who the Aryans were exactly? What was their exact land & culture before suddenly turning into sages and settlers with stable communities? And of course, in none of the literature/vedic scriptures do we find any mention of any foreign land from where the Aryans might have arrived. Instead all the literature is full of praises for their "new home"!

Anyway, I think u mean to refer to Sanskrit as the "Arya Language" ? . FYI, The Indus script has been deciphered by scholars' in the last couple of decades. The findings were that the Language was indeed Sanskrit, and that the Indus script was similar to the Brahmi script which came later. I guess not many ppl know abt this. The writings on the famous seals found in Indus civ have been decoded. No question of mapping as it was Sanskrit and not any other language.
U can google and u'll get authentic info(details of research work and books containing the decoded script in detail ) on this. I had read abt it on the internet sometime back. Dont remmbr the authors/researchers' names.

Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT)/ Aryan Migration Theory (AMT)

======================
First, abt the timing: I don't know abt any historian claiming the Invasion/Migration before 2nd millennium BC. So the 10k-4k BC timing seems to be a gross error, rather than the view of ANY 'school of thought'.

Aryan Invasion Theory (AIT)
------------------------------------
The AIT has been thrown into the dustbin by most modern historians as no conclusive archaeological evidence to support external origin of ppl in the northern part of India has been found - neither around 1500 BC nor in any prehistoric time. AIT was just a theory that was too absurd to be true, and was forced on the academia by the divisive British and zealously supported by the Marxist historians of India and other "racial(read '19th century Biblical'; 'White Supremacy' etc) schools" of thought. And later research have conclusively shown non-occurrence of any demographic changes/ invasion by nomads. I can continue and elaborate on the proofs & arguments on how the AIT myth got broken, but that will require a lot of time...

Aryan Migration Theory (AMT)
---------------------------------------
It's nothing but a modified version of AIT. When no proofs of invasion or it's effects were found (it's now well accepted that decline of Indus valley civ was due to environmental changes, and not by invasion of any nomadic, virulent tribes from central asia/eastern europe. A major jolt to the "Indians are non-indigenous ppl theory" was the discovery of Saraswati river, and it's well known that vedic literature is full of references to the Saraswati river....incidentally Saraswati river dried up before or around 1500 BC, I m not sure of the dating here.).

And when AIT was discarded by modern historians, AMT came up, which is even weaker and more absurd than AIT as a theory. It's preposterous to think that migrants (instead of the killer tribes of AIT, were they cattle rearing shepherds or what?) can displace the original inhabitants from their homes, and force their culture, language and religion on the original inhabitants. General trend in history is that it's the migrants-turned-settlers who adapt to the local way of life and culture, and sometimes religion too, not the other way round. Of course, if the local ppl are all-encompassing ppl (like us Indians through out the ages), an exchange of ideas does take place and have taken place all along history, but without the extinction, displacement or domination of the locals and their culture by the migrants.

'Aryans' & the Language Connection:
----------------------------------------------
During the infancy of AIT/AMT, linguists grossly misunderstood the origin of the Indo Europian languages of modern Europe and their relation to Sanskrit and the Dravidian langs...and used those primitive research to explain AIT stuff...But Linguistic research done in the last century have refuted those claims...I am not an expert on this , so can't go into details, but u can find lots of stuff available online on this and other aspects of AIT/AMT.

Epilogue:
=======
THOSE NCERT TEXTBOOKS WE READ IN SCHOOL ARE NOT THE ONLY THINGS KNOWN TO ARCHAELOGISTS AND HISTORIANS ACROSS THE WORLD. We Indians have the misfortune of being taught the biased history written by a bunch of historians like Romila Thapar & Co. Kids in the schools should be encouraged to question any Theory that seems absurd and dissect history scientifically without any constraints of being "politically/ideologically correct". History has to be seen the way it was, not the way anybody merely believes or wants others to believe it to have been.

-td. 9 Aug 08

TD: u said :"The political reason for the second school of thought is to assert the indegeniety of Vedic/Arya and identify them to be same as Indus civilization, since dating of Indus civilization is now irrefutable and immovable."

-I don't get it. 2ndly ur comment on dating of Indus civ is WRONG if u think it to be around 1500 BC.

KBS: (I am not putting it at 1500BC, but 2600BC-1700BC)
TD: 1.Dating of the Indus civ does NOT prove any Aryan invasion or migration either in 1500 BC or in 4k BC.
KBS: Yes It doesnt, I do not hold Arya speaking people responsible for decline of Indus civilization, but if we out Aryan migration to 4k BC, we cannot explain the overlap as explained above
TD: Refer to the beginning of my email
TD:2. Though the AIT is asserted to have 'taken place' in 1500 BC, IT DOESN'T MEAN that no civ existed at times much prior to 1500 BC, e.g. Indus civ was itself flourishing in the 3rd millennium BC...Loads of archae stuff been dated to such times.
KBS: Very much Agreed

TD: # Excavations done at numerous sites around both sides of the Indo-Pak border (e.g Rajasthan, Haryana and punjab province on the other side) yielded data that provided conclusive archaeological proof of the Saraswati civ (that existed circa much earlier than 1500BC) along banks of the river Saraswati(which dried up long ago). It is now well established fact, DATING 4TH MILLENNIUM BC. Satellite data confirms the Saraswati basin etc fundae. So the civs in the subcontinent existed at times much earlier than 1500 BC and were NOT localised to Indus valley only.

# The indus civ + saraswati civ was quite a huge civ (ppl have the common misconception of the Indus civ as a tale of just 2 cities - harappa & mohenjodaro!!! ...pity them). And it was quite an advanced civ in terms of agri, metallurgy, architecture, urban planning and trades(these were seafaring civs...remember Lothal port?).

Bottomline : U don't need to have any "political reason", for there are enuff "factual reasons". And yeah, if u are under the impression that the AIT rebuttal is some "Indian right wing" idea, you are completely wrong. Historians and Indologists of repute all round the world have discarded the invasion/migration theory after detailed research. Do a bit of googling and u'll know. Of course, our anachronistic and biased communist historians are still clutching to it.

KBS: The political thought for/against the entire AIT/MT was by the British to justify their Indian invasion. It was at first seconded by the elite of the country trying to align themselves as cousins of white Europeans, later turning into opposition. The theory then degraded into a North-South / Dalit-UpperCaste theory with each group supporting/opposing it for selfish reasons without verifying the veracity of it.

TD: True. The British supported the AIT to justify their own invasion. And the reasons for the Marxists support mainly stems from the class/caste related implications of the AIT, which is at the centre of their existence.

TD:
Saturday, August 10, 2008.
Let me clear a few things first:
The debate is not on
AIT/AMT in 1500 BC Vs AIT/AMT in 4000BC or before.
What I am/was arguing about is AIT/AMT Vs NO AIT/AMT ever.

The Dating Issues of Vedas wrt AIT:
If one assumes AIT to be true, the dating of Vedas and other scriptures is also assumed to be after 1500 BC.
Else if one subscribes to the "NO AIT" theory then the datings of the Vedas etc are not constrained to times after 1500BC.

BTW, I had read that all this AIT and Vedic literature's dating was influenced by the Christianity based notions of beginning of earth's civilizations etc at the beginning of the Julian calender (i.e. beginning around 4000BC). I guess, the British theologists didn't believe in humanity's existence before 4000BC.

The Dating of Vedas : I am not very sure of the exact dating ascribed to the vedas by current historians. As much as I know, Vedas are dated to times before 3500 BC. In the Vedas u'll find copious mention of the Saraswati and other rivers of the north western region.
This fact proves that the Vedas predate the time when Saraswati river dried out (the drying occured sometime during 2000 BC....). One way I have know of the 3500 - 4000 BC dating of the Vedas is based on the astronomical/astrological data available in them which were recorded when some astronomical phenomena took place at those times, & it is confirmed by astrological back-calculations by scholars in modern times.

The Dating of Mahabharata: I didn't know this before as I never read abt it's dating or discussed abt it's dating with ppl...I googled a bit and found this http://www.boloji.com/astro/00325.htm .The approach is similar to the dating of Vedas based on astronomical events.The page suggests two possible years : 3129 BC
and 2559 BC.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

KBS: I never had the chance to read NCERT history, and my study of Arya theory in school was largely confined to a couple of chapters in Std-V i.e. 1993
I however had reading Romila Thapar in the last couple of years, and I do not think that the Marxist historians have a blind support for AIT/AMT (Please read the Thapar Article I have uploaded if you have time - I read it a long time ago and I do not remember what she says)I think its just that we have two different view on the topic, that identifies Vedic/Arya civ to be same as Indus-Sarasawati Civ and another view that doesnt both of which cannot explain every things.

TD: Marxist historians DO have a blind support for AIT/AMT. If u think otherwise, then perhaps u don't quite understand the attitudes and the heavy ideological baggage carried by these orthodox Indian communists.

History as reported by Marxist historians contains too much of bias against Hindus, and the indigenous cultural heritage of India. Suppression, omission and deliberate wrong interpretation of many important and well known historical facts about the spread of Islam and Mughal rule in India is a much criticized aspect of their biased history. And of course, when anybody tries to correct them with solid proof, the resort to neglect, negationism, lies and name calling (e.g anything that doesn't fit their scheme of things is termed as "Hindu fundamentalism", "communalism" etc etc..), and even violence - the well known tools used by them the world over. The effect of the pseudo-intellectuals' hypocrisy, biased history teaching by the Marxist authors and continuation of the Macaulay-type education in India is quite apparent. Even in this age people find it fashionable to follow the Marxist/Eurocentric interpretation of our own history and many of us don't go against them for the fear of being termed "Hindu fanatics".

I too had read the Thapar article long ago....if i remmbr correctly, the lady tried to leave the AIT shrouded in mystery and as other Marxists do, she didn't accept the demise of the theory. Anyway, it looks too boring...can't read again... :-)

TD:
u said : "I think its just that we have two different view on the topic, that identifies Vedic/Arya civ to be same as Indus-Sarasawati Civ and another view that doesnt
both of which cannot explain every things "

td: It was indeed the situation a few decades back. Not anymore. The fact is : AIT myth has been busted. U don't need to get this fact attested by Thapar or her tribe, just like the fact that "sun is at the centre of the solar system, not earth" need not be attested by the Pope. Period.

My First Composition!!!

2008-05-26T18:25:00.006+02:00

I did it!! Well...I mean it happened...just a few mins back...It's all of five lines only currently....For the first time poetry came to me in the form of a song...And the strange thing: It's in Bengali!!! I haven't written anything in Bengali for the 'don't know how many years'...Well...well..what I wrote is not something that will make Robi dadu feel proud of me...Perhaps it's all crap :D...But I like it...And that matters!!! I took my guitar, and tried some chords....and that's it...Jotted down whatever felt right... It feels great...yeah...really great to play it on my guitar!!!! I won't publish the poem(or song or whatever one might want to call it) as of now. Let me see if I can complete it (someday :D). It's called "Shei Purono Din". Whoooaaaa!!!!

Summer Song

2008-05-13T10:50:00.004+02:00

Tanha.... Main Akela
Tuta Tara....Koi
Aasman Mera...Meri Zameen
Manzil Khoi Khoi
_____________________
(Kishore Da)

Raison D'etre

2008-04-26T04:20:00.007+02:00

For me, the purpose has always been more important than the act. But sometimes the intention behind doing something may get lost in the rigmaroles of the society we live in and the 'system' that we are part of. So much so that we might be made to believe in a different set of 'goals' that we are supposed to strive for...so much so that we may lose sight of the final cause we had originally planned to accomplish...And sometimes the alternate motivations that drive the anachronistic 'system' are something you might have always despised...something that belittle the very act itself. It's a difficult situation then...As the world around you sings to a different tune, a tune you scorn at, while you feel like you have lost your own music.

What is important is that one shouldn't get so much disillusioned that the 'act' may seem to be of no value. True, the juice has to be worth the squeeze, but the worthiness has to be measured carefully, with an eye on what we truly want and where we were headed towards when we had begun the journey.

Silk Route @ IITR

2008-03-31T16:51:00.003+02:00

Date: Yesterday,
Venue: ABN grounds, IITR.

The first band to perform was something called musafir...What a piece of crap that was.....The worst performance I have ever seen. Mostly they just covered some songs..And in the process they murdered the songs...cheap stuff..pretty ordinary...Certainly not better than a decent college band.If that was not enough, it was sickening when they performed 'bc sutta'...I don't have any liking for stuffs like that...Damn...they sucked.I guess they could have done better...

Then, it was the turn for Silk Route - the reason I was there at the concert.It was a good show.Silk Route's unique style and rich sound was enthralling. They started with Jaadugar, then came a previously unheard song in English, called The Wind, then Sapne, Saujha, Boondein, Sabse Peeche Hum Khade - all my favourites and off course Dooba Dooba. Also they sang Chakkar Ghor hai, Tumse Hi (from Jab We Met)and another unheard song called Dosti.It was a great experience to see one of my my favourite bands performing only a few feet away. Guitars, mouth organ, saxophone, tabla, drums and a soothing voice with brilliant original compositions that in someways you close to nature and close to yourself....that was music for the soul...Though I ended up inhaling tonnes of dust in the process(some people did dance..even to Sapne, Boondein ..donno how!!! i guess ..they danced just for the sake of it...for some people it doesn't matter if it's heavy metal or bollywood item no or light music...they danced because they had to.!!!)...Whatever..all in all...mazaa aa gaya.

Sapne hain..sooni aankhen...Jane kyoun kho gaye...
Socha Tha Saahil Pe Milega...Thehra sa Ek Pal...Ek Pal...

Chaandni hain ye raatein...fir bhi tute sitaare ...
Dhoondhte hain ye zameen pe.. Thehra sa Ek Pal...
Andheri daastaan ...Kho Gaye Kahan...
Hum to rah gaye fir wahin

Aati hai ek sadaa ...Waadiyon se kahin...
Ajnabi rahon pe milega...Thehra sa Ek Pal...Ek Pal...

Autumn Leaves

2008-02-09T04:29:00.000+01:00

The autumn leaves
Lay littered on the ground
The trees had to shed them
A part of life, a ritual, they say ..
As winter had arrived...

I spotted a rare bird,
Out there in the open,
on a mad, cloudy afternoon
As if I heard an old tune
That had got buried
under the autumn leaves

Perhaps I smelled a known fagrance
Or maybe it was altogether new
I felt a mesmeric charm
Like that of the glistening morning dew
resting on autumn leaves

Often, I end up looking at the beauty..

so natural..that is...
and her joyous, penetrating,
Overwhelmingly mysterious eyes.

And I bid futile goodbyes, thousands of them...
as the autumn leaves.

End of Tuning Blues

2008-01-27T18:00:00.001+01:00

Found this great tuner software: http://www.aptuner.com/. Tried it this morning and found it to be nothing less than a life saver!!! Was looking for one since long , but somehow never searched on the net. Experiments with my guitar will be a lot more interesting now !!!! :-)

Taare Zameen Par

2008-01-09T20:49:00.001+01:00

If I were a film maker, this is something I'd have loved to create...Liked the movie a lot...Impacted me emotionally...touched my heart.

The portrayal of sensitivities was amazingly brilliant - successfully bringing to fore the subtle and faulty parental attitudes and their often 'hard-wired', 'non-negotiable' expectations from their children. For example, check out the dialogue between the kid's father and aamir khan at the boarding school where he tells "khayal rakhna kise kehte hain". I guess that dialogue had something that has probably never been touched upon by any other bollywood movie...A clear and sraight faced attack on the misguided perceptions of the parents and their inability to actually comprehend a kid's needs and his psyche.

There were a couple of excellent scores, and lyrics too.
Have been listening to this one in an infinite loop. A 'roobaroo' kinda song. Awesome sound. :)

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Strongly recommended(in case u still haven't watched it!!!!!).

-td

Eva Cassidy

2007-12-02T11:03:00.000+01:00

Discovered this wonderful voice a few days back. Was searching for the song "fields of gold' by Sting..Downloaded an mp3 , and to my surprise I found it to be a different version, in a female voice , and the it left me mesmerised...The file properties was showing "unknown artist" and "unknown album" (the guy who had ripped the cd hadn't cared to edit the file info)..Anyway, a couple of searches on google and I discovered this singer.She is no more though and it was sad to know she became faomous only after a few years after hear death in 1996 due to cancer.She sang many beautiful pieces(like "over the rainbow" and many more) in her short life time of 33 years. And I loved her guitar playing too.

Here is the "Fields of Gold" song - the Eva Cassidy version:

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And here are clippings of a tv show about her:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd9pWLrjyUg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6EelwKYLEU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWbTi66Fvj0

Perennial Dreamer

2007-11-12T01:16:00.000+01:00

And here I am...
Laying awake in my bed
Waitin for the east to turn red...
I couldn't sleep, my eyes refused to close
Now I struggle to think, as my mind chokes

The day will break soon
breaking with it
some unfinished dreams..
Dreams I'd seen with open eyes...
The light of the moon will give way
to the 'eye opening' brightness ...
The birds will chirp ,
Perched on the tall trees, surely they will
And the sun will make shadows
of me and her too somewhere..

The day will pass
Consuming moments from my life,
mere moments...
In no time, evening will dawn on the planet
And the birds will chirp again
The combined cacophony will
try to make me mad,
And I'll try to ignore it all,
Looking at the sinking sun,
Perhaps, I'll smile, perhaps...

In Pieces

2007-11-07T22:59:00.000+01:00

Too many things
to separate
The ways my mind
and heart operate
Nascent will,
and long known sadness
Swarming crowds,
and hurtful loneliness
A heart flooded with
emotions..
And the inherent
emptiness...

[June '07]

A Lost Story

2007-10-30T20:34:00.000+01:00

His heart had started paining ..
Tired of carrying a sack full of
pertinent regrets...
the only possessions he had,
remnants of his soul's solitary passion

He had seen it all
He had risen, he had let himself fall
He had spent moments
Amongst muted shrills
and painful smiles
He had been hit hard
by destiny's heartbreaking guiles

So finally, he left the place,
the place of hidden scars,

and unfulfilled desires..
Of animated beauties and butterflies
Of futile truths, and counterfeit lies
Of scentless breeze, and heartless rains..
To forget the unforgettables,
He went away.

[September' 07]

Life & Music

2007-10-15T18:03:00.000+02:00

The 2nd mid terms got over today...leaving me (and all others on the campus) totally exhausted...2+3 papers in 2 days. Had never experienced this kind of strenuous marathon...and given the attitude of disregard I have for exams, it was certainly not something I enjoyed...[:D]

Okay...let me talk about something else.
Hmm....I in love....with my guitar...that is....And the best thing is that it's sounding better and better with each passing day...Though I am only a beginner, but one thing is for sure, I am getting addicted a bit too much. Music..Music...Music...!!!

Here are a few quotes I happened to see on the net, and liked a lot:

"I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours. But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places. Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. "

"It is cruel, you know, that music should be so beautiful. It has the beauty of loneliness and of pain: of strength and freedom. The beauty of disappointment and never-satisfied love. The cruel beauty of nature, and everlasting beauty of monotony. "

“Music is an outburst of the soul.”

"The best music... is essentially there to provide you something to face the world with."

A Poetic Night

2007-09-18T13:37:00.000+02:00

A 'Kavita Sammelan' was organised here at IIT Roorkee on the evening of 14th September - the Hindi Divas. It was a great experience. Had the chance to listen to some renowned contemporary poets. It felt really good. The kavita paath started at around 10:15 , and continued till 2 AM.

I thanked myself for making it to the Sammelan...There weren't many takers for it..Some people had reluctantly agreed to join me for the 'show', but they too changed their minds later.Then there was the Indo-Pak cricket match, which acted as a ready alibi for not turning up for the sammelan(As I stopped watching cricket some years ago, it now feels so stupid how I used to spend hrs and days and weeks following the game!!! ...well that was another time, another place,...and another me!!!). Hmmm...the fact is - not many people are actually interested in poetry or in attending kavi sammelans.Well, they don't know what they are missing.

Anyway, it was a good sight when I reached the auditorium.It was almost full. And people didn't budge from their seats till 1 O clock...And more than half of the crowd was still there-mantramugdh - as they say, till the end...It made the poets happy...especially the chief guest - Kanhaiyyalal 'Nandan' (It's another matter that I came to know about him only after seeing the poster for the event.) I have read very little poetry....and hardly any contemporary stuff...so I felt quite cluesless about the poets on stage...Anyway, it was a memorable event...Enjoyed it thoroughly :)

Exams

2007-09-06T17:51:00.000+02:00

Irrespective of what u know, how much u understand, how clear ur concepts are, how much u can analyze, how much u can build on ur knowledge...the fact remains: If u don't mug, u fail...or almost fail...It's that simple.

Starting Off...

2007-09-01T17:10:00.000+02:00

Ever heard of "Parkinson's Law" ? It says "Work expands to fill the time available". Right now I am attempting to prove the converse. At least I have begun...and I hope it's not too late.

My Love

2007-08-31T19:39:00.000+02:00

My love for you left me paralyzed...
It's too complicated, can't be analyzed...

Only You

2007-08-27T18:35:00.000+02:00

I can give it all away
I need just you, only you
I can leave it all away..
If you are with me, only you.

Wherever I go, whatever I do
I can't find the worth..

I am ready to get lost, once again
If I can hold on to you, only you.

I know I may not me in your memory..
But I feel you can recognize me..
For I have been with you for so long
in all my dreams, girl, it was you, only you...

A Bad Day: My Cycle Got Stolen

2007-08-16T18:44:00.000+02:00

I had never thought I'd ever write this kind post, simply because what happened with me today was something I had never expected.It's not about being optimistic or pessimistic, rather it's about the feeling of being 'safe n secure' inside the country's 6th(or whatever) best engineering institute.My new bicycle was stolen from...any guesses...from my department between 2 and 3 pm today. I had parked it at the cycle stand near the department(E & C) office. It was a red-black Hercules Thriller.It had not completed even 48 hrs under my ownership...had cost me Rs 2400. You can very well imagine what I felt. One of my friend's cycle's chain-lock was also missing....so...the thief(this word sounds too innocent..isn't it )had tried to steal his cycle too. Anyway, called one of my friends to have a look at the cycle stand so as to check if my cycle was really not there anymore...It wasn't there.I went back to hostel...took the the receipt and then went to the insti security centre in the main building.Talked with the guys there.They called the security people at various gates and alerted them about the incident.Wrote an 'application'.They required a copy of the receipt and my I-card. As the application was to be forwarded by the chief warden of my hostel(though the theft occured at the dept, not at the hostel), I called the hostel supervisor to tell him the story before calling up the chief warden.Then went to the chief warden's office and got the 'application' signed. Submitted at the security office. Just then the incharge told me that a cycle has been 'captured' from someone at some gate and it was also a new hercules.Went to the gate with one of the security officer. The cycle wasn't mine...it was of a different make. So returned back to main building, thanked the security people there for all their efforts - though I know I'll never get back the 'thriller'...met the hod, then returned back to hostel.

Some "responses":
"tumne nayi cycle li hi kyoun"
"ye to bahut kaaman hai ...hota rahta hai "
"kuchh din pehle ____bhavan ke do bachhon ki cykilein chori ho gayi"
"tumhe chain bhi lagaani chahiye thi"
"beta...tumhe second hand cycle leni chahiye thi...400-500 me mil jaati"

On asking why there is no security at the department...not even a pot-bellied-lathi-wielding-old chowkidar :
"department walon ne security maanga hi nahi"
"security!!! kahan security...sab jagah to aisa hi hai"
"ye to aapki jimmedaari hai"
"careless nahi hona chahiye...cycle lock karna kaafi nahi hai"

Whoever heard my story recounted similar stories with similar comments, and it weren't only new cycles that are stolen regularly...even second hand cycles also get stolen.

So...what does it all mean...???
Does it mean you are not safe inside IIT Roorkee? That your belongings can be stolen anytime anywhere unless you are "extra" cautious? That some people are always there looking for a suitable moment to lift your stuff from wherever they have been kept unless you take "extra" care...it's so f**** sickening...isn't it ? I mean if someone can remove/break a cycle lock from inside the department premises, they can very well enter the labs, and lift some equipments or do whatever they want to do..(after all dept ne security to "maangi" hi nahi...so there won't be anybody to block any such attempts...so easy...isn't it? )...and is it our job to keep an eye over any suspicious person and do some chowkidaari, maybe bunk some classes and guard our property...or maybe periodically poll 'possible target locations'... maybe design some biometric access system or a wireless alert system for bicycles!!!fkkk..... or press the authorities to do something real to get the lax security tightened inside the campus or... just live with the way things have always been at this oldest engg institute...just forget all that I wrote above....n sleep over it?...how shameful...

Well...when I had come here I had taken a vow that I am not going to complain about anything....simply because I thought (pretty rightly) that I would hardly have any time and energy to complain or fight to "change" any "possible drawbacks" here, and fortunately I found the insti to be rather good..it has got lots of positive attributes...good profs...wi-fi..library...facilities for recreation etc, though it does need improvement in quite a few areas..but that..I thought was okay...after all it is a "sarkaari" insti and the newest IIT...and you can't expect everything to be perfect or in-tune with the best in the world. But security here is a real serious issue that needs to be attended to by the authorities. It has to be improved.Remember the terrorist attack and murder of a prof at IISc? no insti is perfect. But what happened with me today was bad...real bad...and it just broke my beliefs.You can't take anything for granted. Nothing is safe in this part of the country, not even a petty bicycle - A lesson learnt the hard way.

She

2007-08-15T18:49:00.000+02:00

She filled an empty picture frame
Gave 'her' a name...
Made me feel something
I had felt never before..
She changed me forever..
that's for sure...

Thinking of You

2007-08-14T18:23:00.000+02:00

Drenched with feelings that can't be left behind
Tonight I am losing myself in the wind
My aching heart is still beating
And my lonely mind is still
Thinking of you

You have been the reason
Each and every season
Who kept me drowned in love
Literally smothering me
Without knowing a thing

One Of Those Days

2007-08-11T19:12:00.000+02:00

And there she was
My wistful eyes could see her
Out of the mistful window

And she was restless
Like never before
Like sea waves hitting the shore

She had missed her bus
She had woken up late
And I was thanking my fate

Our eyes met, as usual
I was awestruck, once again
We both glanced away

My heart got inundated
By sudden rush of emotions
And I needed some answers

.................................................
.................................................
.................................................

The quarter hr journey ended
For me it was nothin less than
a roller coaster ride, emotionally

Anyway,soon our paths diverged
But I wasn't sad, for I knew
We'd 'meet' again...as usual.

Still Loving You

2007-08-10T18:27:00.000+02:00

Okay, I fell in love with her...alright...
Can still see her even if she isn't in sight
But times aren't the same anymore
I better realize, all my broken dreams
have been washed to the shore

She will never be mine...
Maybe I'll never see her again
But the truth remains the same...
And, it's a matter not of my will
Aah...I love her still...

Tanha Dil ...Tanha Safar...

2007-08-08T16:57:00.000+02:00

Part-1 :

It's been about two weeks since I reached IIT Roorkee, and I haven't done a single post. So just to start off the 'Roorkee chapter' on my blog...here I am posting something different...travelogue...hmmm... u may call it so as this post is a description of the journey from home to this place.

It was 23rd July, a sweaty summer afternoon at my hometown Bokaro.I was to board my train(Howrah - Jammu Tawi) from Dhanbad which is about 1-1.5 hrs drive away...had booked a taxi and it reached my home at around 2'O clock...and as usual I hadn't finished all the packing....so we (baba was accompanying me till Dhanbad), started off at around 2:20 pm ...amidst sparse, but hard hitting water drops of a typical monsoon shower(it started raining just when we began loading the taxi)...The downpour was a great relief .... the ride was also good.Reached Dhanbad railway station well in time.The scheduled departure was at 5:15.So had to spend a lot of time at the platform doing nothing but just getting bored...and off course keeping an eye on the heavy luggage I was carrying - 7 packets in all..including my desktop and my guitar...and the bags were painfully heavy...stuffed with clothes, books, printouts....and what not...I had already paid about Rs 270 to the coolies at Bangalore and Bokaro for it.Here too, we had to settle for 100...(the coolie would place the luggage into the coach on the train's arrival).There was a sardarji around at the station...he was an employee of the BCCL a govt enterprise for coal, mines etc) he began speaking with baba...."Is desh ka kya hoga" talks..he was frustrated with the state o affairs at the company..the way the new joinees work, their lack of expertise and their attitude towards work and older subordinates, money wasted for training engineers abroad, import of costly machines which remain idle at the sites, corruption etc etc.I felt bad too...and made some general comments...

My train was late...So had to keep waiting...Then to my surprise, just a few minutes before the arrival of the train, I discovered that the guitar bag had got wet.There was a small opening at the platform's tin roof,and rainwater had been dripping over it since the time it was kept there, but the process was pretty slow and not noticeable...had to take the guitar out...(Oh!!! at that time ...so many eyes were on me as if I was going to stage a live 'platform concert' hahaha..... anyway wiped it with towel and stuffed some newspaper sheets inside the bag that absorbed quite a bit of the moisture)My train finally arrived at around 6' O Clock..Will tell the rest of the story sometime later...[:D].

Minutes to Midnight

2007-07-22T15:30:00.000+02:00

Yeah, I am talking about the latest Linkin Park album released about a couple of months back...Liked most of the songs...some have a good acoustic touch...have been listening to the tracks for quite sometime now...especially whole of this week. Curiously, this album has a "Parental Advisory" rating!!!I guess it's because of the use of the f-word in a couple of the songs.(Didn't have an idea of this kind of censorship on music albums!!!)

Just for the sake of it, I was thinking about the genre to which LP belongs. I am not an expert on the numerous categories of music, so it's difficult for me to put this band into any specific genre(I mean even metal has so many 'head-banging' variations). Though it started as a Nu Metal/Alternative rock band, but I guess with this album, it has become more of pop-rock. And I hate those shinoda rappings(that makes it rap-metal...or rap-rock !!!) (only exception is 'in the end' ). This album, too has two 'rap' songs...but who cares....it has got Chester....and it has it's own distinct sound(albeit this album is somewhat different from the older ones) and as long as LP keeps producing music that can accompany you on drives along the emotional highway, they will definitely continue to 'rock'.

My favourites:
In Pieces[awesome lyrics(I wish I'd written those!) & sound...loved the guitar solo]
The Little Things Give You Away
What I've Done
Valentine's Day
No More Sorrow
Shadow of the Day(Sometimes beginnings are not so simple, Sometimes goodbye's the only way.....)

Broken

2007-07-20T20:50:00.000+02:00

You can listen to the cracks
that have started appearing...
Like soft, raw wood left in the sun..
These fissures can't be undone

Now nothin can console the heart
I am breaking down, part by part..
All my defenses are gone
I am losing all I have...one by one

And I know, no one will surmise
Not even you...
That I'd been running a race
that had no prize.

-td, April/May '07, Bangalore

Introspection

2007-07-19T21:02:00.000+02:00

Sometimes I find myself at the edge
I look back, and compare
What did I do..
How did I fare..

I find a question killing me
Burning me to ashes..
Why didn't I dare ..
Too much of thinking..
and needless extra care

Oh..
I knew it was so rare
Still I let it slip away
That wasn't fair

Now I'll have to live with it..
Moments of emptiness and loony dispair
Sadly, it's all of my own making..
So I can't escape even my own stare.

-td, April/May '07, Bangalore

Freedom

2007-07-19T20:25:00.000+02:00

I wish I could be freed
From the endless mires
and bumps in the day dreams

I wish my mind could read
The plots of my destiny
and reasons behind the 'schemes'

I wish someone could pay heed
To my aching heart...
and listen to the silent screams

I wish I could find a way out
I don't want to sleep
in my own prison anymore.

-td, '07, Bangalore

Love U

2007-07-19T20:07:00.000+02:00

Gotta post some unpublished stuff...all written while I was in Bangalore.

Every moment I think of you...
My heart is screaming
"Something is due"
There is so much to tell
But words are few...
Just want to say
I Love U.

-td, '07, Bangalore

Morning Musings

2007-07-14T06:52:00.000+02:00

Just woke up this morning...
with you in my head.
Looked outside the window
Golden rays of the sun
had hit the neighbourhood
And I could feel a sparkle
somewhere in my mind space
I know it were you...

There was no wind blowing
But I saw something flipping
I am sure it was your black hair
Somewhat wet, undone, freed

Temperature was on a rise
My throat felt parched...
But not my eyes...
Well...Monsoon is in
Hope it will rain today...

Moving On...

2007-07-07T20:14:00.000+02:00

I am leaving Bangalore tomorrow..with a lot of 'stuffs'...yeah... just too much ... This week has been the week of farewells..of saying goodbyes...It's always a tough time when you leave a place for good(well..I agree life is uncertain..)...Leaving behind emotional attachments...friends...some unfulfilled dreams...some life altering experiences...some undetachable linkages...some moments of happiness...some times of grief...All in all... you leave behind a part of yourself... And at the same time, you know deep inside that somethings are never going to leave you.

My five years of southern sojourn will come to an end tomorrow. Four years of engg...one year of corporate life...I am moving out ...as a changed man. Life... I guess, has to be seen as a learning experience...a process...And the good thing is that I am moving back to university(this time it's IIT Roorkee)...to involve myself with something I love, something that can provide me with a goal worth pursuing.

I don't have much time in my hands right now..
I'll end the post with these lines from one of my favourite songs - 'Good Riddance' by Green Day.

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while

Goodbye.

Blogging from Mobile

2007-07-03T18:17:00.001+02:00

[testing] Last few days...

A Year in Bangalore

2007-06-21T14:17:00.001+02:00

Today I am completing one year in Bangalore.

One year of corporate life...One year of unforgettable experiences.
One year of watching life take twists and turns.
One year of guessable episodes ...One year of unpredictable happenings.
One year of changes...One year of constancies.
The year had it all.

It was certainly the most 'eventful' year of my life. Feels strange..well...no...'strange' is not the word.The feeling can't be described by any word. It's around 5 PM and I am sitting in my office...It has been a pretty 'easy' week.I hardly had any work...and as I type these words, the intial days of my becoming a part of the city are hanging around my head...of course, covered under the cumulatively synthesized envelope that is the result of my trysts with life during this year. And one more thing that comes to my mind is that this year demonstrated the importance of my friends in my life, without whom I can't imagine how the journey would have been. Thank you all.

The weather these days has become quite similar to what it was exactly a year back. Somewhat cold...pleasantly cold...So pleasant that my attempts to catch the 7:30 buses have repeatedly failed[:D][Add to that my latest addiction - my guitar...and since I live alone, there is no one to stop me from creating my 'weird' music ...so end up sleeping at 2-2:30-3 am]...Anyways, who would want to leave the bed and warmth of the blanket just to reach the office early...The only flip side is that I miss the breakfast.

Well...all this will soon become just a memory[though sections of it will be with me till I exist.. and who knows...beyond (sorry...if I sound like a psycho [:D]). I am leaving the city in the 2nd week of next month...in search of an alternative...something I might 'love'.

iLove

2007-06-16T11:38:00.000+02:00

Sometimes back I was flippin through some hindi poems on the web...this one caught my attention ...written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan...

आदर्श प्रेम

प्यार किसी को करना लेकिन
कहकर उसे बताना क्या
अपने को अर्पण करना पर
और को अपनाना क्या

गुण का ग्राहक बनना लेकिन
गाकर उसे सुनाना क्या
मन के कल्पित भावों से
औरों को भ्रम में लाना क्या

ले लेना सुगन्ध सुमनों की
तोड़ उन्हें मुरझाना क्या
प्रेम हार पहनाना लेकिन
प्रेम पाश फैलाना क्या

त्याग अंक में पले प्रेम शिशु
उनमें स्वार्थ बताना क्या
देकर ह्र्दय ह्र्दय पाने की
आशा व्यर्थ लगाना क्या

-हरिवंश राय बच्चन

I Quit

2007-06-04T20:38:00.000+02:00

Leave Leave ....Runaway !
I always hear this voice,
Every moment the belief gets stronger
that I have no other choice

Trapped - this is what I feel
in this world that is so unreal
Treading different paths
my mind and heart
are both so unsure...

My hands, my feet
Are all tied ,
My mind is tired..
No longer feels the heat…

I know I need to look forward...
Dont wanna go back either..
But now what remains
is only the cap, no feather

I wanna begin anew...
Even though the spirit is gone
I still wanna move on...

[Written on a sleepy afternoon in Aug/Sept ' 06 inside
'Dolphin'...Perhaps the soporific effect was too much... even
these lines are seeing the light of the day(err...night!) now.
...after having slept peacefully(?) for months ! Or were they
just waiting for an 'occasion' ?]

Life Matrix

2007-05-13T23:34:00.001+02:00

I just got this thought while I was taking a walk alone after having dinner tonight. If you consider life as a 'matrix', then at any given time or phase of your life, you'll find yourself trying to get solutions to various problems, and depending on the 'coefficients' attached to the 'unknown elements' or the 'solution set' you are trying to generate, and the additive 'factors' that contribute to create a set of 'non - homogeneous' equations( which, in general, will be non-linear...but just for the sake of simplicity, let's view them as linear (well ...I mean, it might depend on how you look at it!)), you have a system of simultaneous equations. And you desperately need to carve out a solution so that you may spend your life with some relief. But the problem is, you don't have a sweet solution waiting for you everytime....(I mean most of the times) .

Let's take each case one by one :
Sometimes(very rarely/if you are too dumb) you don't know what's causing the problem..so here it's the classical case of number of equations being less than the number of unknowns, hahaha..Theoretically you have infinetely many solutions...and so you can only keep guessing....till you get some more clues...hahaha...

Sometimes, you don't need to think too much, and you will find a so called 'trivial' solution staring at you.You have the option to accept it (if it's good enogh!), or may reject it(say you get a all zero set...or some kind of null and void stuff!!!), and begin a fresh analysis... and/or modify the 'coefficents'.

Then sometimes, if the conditions are very precisely understood, and you have luckily(or unluckily !) got into a situation where the 'ranks' of the two 'matrices' (I mean the extents of two versions of your life - one with and the other without the set of 'additive factors' => the augmented matrix!) , and the solution set you are trying to possess are in some kind of agreement (this agreement is utterly subjective in nature (:D), so can't be defined), then you get a unique solution.Haah..In other words, you have have only one solution...So here you know what's to be done...Sounds good, isn't it ? Well...not always. Sometimes, it may not be a realizable solution for you mortal...You may need to 'elevate' yourself...if you can...

And then there are situations, when your life is so badly fukd up that...everything seems to go haywire...whatever set of equations you come up with end up being incosistent..and you have no solution.
....................................................................................................
"To a mathematician, real life is just a special case. "

Excessive Happiness

2007-05-06T20:18:00.000+02:00

Yesterday night, feeling quite tired and bored...somewhat lost in thoughts, I switched on the idiot box....a rare event in the sample space of my current life.Generally I don't watch television and if I do, I don't watch anything other than the music channels e.g.VH1, MTV or V etc...Movies are out of question as I can't tolerate the repetitive pesky ads in between.And news...The news channels just take too much time to tell a story... quite irritating. Once upon a time I enjoyed reading the newspaper.Now even that has become a 'once in a blue moon' phenomenon.So for news I end up using the GPRS based internet connection on my cellphone during the everyday commutes. So last night, I was just randomly surfing through the channels, not looking for anything specific.....and then I happened to go to Zee Cafe....A movie was in progress, and the scene on screen was that of some university and a young, pretty lady was trying to make a point while discussing something with her peers in the library....Now beautiful women and libraries (or for that matter , a movie with a university in the backdrop) are something that are impossible to be indifferent to! So..I stopped...and for the next 1.5 hrs or so I was glued to the box.The movie was "Patch Adams". I liked it(though I missed some part of it at the start). It's based on a real life character of the same name as the title, though I can’t say how much of the movie was real, but it was worth watching.It’s about a medical student, who tries to use unconventional ways to treat patients, incorporating humor and personal care. One can't help but compare it with the desi version "Munnabhai MBBS". Though the storylines are quite different, but at least they have some things in common(say 'jaadu ki jhappi' etc), so maybe Munnabhai is atleast somewhat partly 'inspired' from Patch Adams . For more details you can go here or here...I am feeling too sleepy to either read these or copy-paste anything from there.So if you have time and/or if you feel interested you can have a look at those webpages or better still...watch the movie.

I'll end the post with this beautiful, oh-so-true poem of Pablo Neruda that found it's way into the film:

"I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. "

N.B : Don't ask me what the title of this post means... the phrase has been taken from the movie, and you need to watch it to know the meaning.

Shaken & Stirred

2007-05-02T17:10:00.000+02:00

Tired of fighting lost battles,
I am losing the desire to win
Living under shadows of doubts
And fears unseen

But I don't want to lay dead
In the asylum hidden inside my head
So I'll keep walking along my own path,
As I prefer not to be led

Strings of feelings, chords of memories
Are taking me to different scales,
They are pushing me, stirring me up
To tell the world my untold tales

I'll keep on being a part of the 'act'
Even if I may not change a 'fact'
Life is here...I know I'll live it for sure
Don't care if I'll ever find the cure

জীবন জীবিত থাকার অভিনয়

2007-04-29T02:02:00.001+02:00

উফ্ কতদিন তোমাকে দেখিনি
দেখতেও চাই না, একথা মিথ্যে নয়
আসলে জীবন বলে সত্যি কিছু নেই
জীবন জীবিত থাকার অভিনয়

- ফসিল্স

Art imitates life .... And sometimes(rather, far more often, as Osacar Wilde said) , it's the other way round...and can be real disaster.

Post Mortem

2007-04-23T21:47:00.000+02:00

I can almost visualise it
I can feel it coming...
Like a huge snowball
It tries to dislodge
all my defences and
wants me to get
swept away with it

It attacks when you are alone,
somewhat disenchanted
with yourself,
Especially when something
reminds you of all that's missing...
More often than not, it's easy
to fall into the trap,
and allow yourself to get
smothered mercilessly

And you don't get to choose
Whether to eschew or embrace
To fight or give in...
To win or lose...

Do it!

2007-04-23T21:45:00.000+02:00

A life strewn over tricky times
Fed by hard luck, silent chimes
Sometimes I feel I have lived enough
Trying, Suffering, Fighting, Waiting

The question is not “how much” or “how far”
What I am asking myself is “how long”…
It's aching all over...my body, mind, soul..
It’s got to end, life’s got to take a turn

All I have got now are broken arrows
and a burnt out spirit...
The more I think, the more I wonder
How have I made this far

So now I am taking the plunge
To wash away all the grunge
Don't know if I'll come out alive
But I've gotta take the dive

I know I have nothing to lose
Still it feels like everything's at stake
But if I don't try
It will be my biggest mistake

PS: Written a couple of weeks back

Nothing Else Matters

2007-04-23T21:34:00.000+02:00

Times change, People change
Doesn't it seem strange
That some things never do?

This world has turned its back on me
But no, I don't have to say sorry
Time may be against me
But no, I won't let myself worry

I'll have to fight my fate...
May be I am a little late,
But that may still be the beginning
Of a new story, my dear...

PS: Written a long time back

Can't Wait Any Longer

2007-04-23T20:55:00.001+02:00

I feel so sad,
'Coz you are not with me
'Coz you don't see in me
what I find in you

Life is tough
Times are rough
Holding so much inside
I can't breathe

I am on the verge of insanity
there is just too much to express
And each day it's getting harder
To tell you how much I love you,
And that you are my only need

I feel like drowning
It's like controlling a volcano
My heart can burst anytime

I don't have words to desrcibe
I can't wait to break the shackles
of my own making

PS: Written some time back

Sometimes

2007-04-20T11:34:00.000+02:00

Sometimes you feel your life
isn't your's anymore
And you see your ship sinking
right at the shore

Sometimes you are all alone
Lost forever in day dreams
Losing track...losing sight
And you feel like giving up
without a fight

Sometimes your whole life
seems just like a bad patch
A never ending strife,
Without any prized catch

Love Unexpressed

2007-04-20T09:34:00.001+02:00

Pent-up feelings,
Words choked inside my heart...
My days, my nights in constant search
for a flawless alibi
that can give her a clue
to what's going on inside of me
To make her aware of my existence...
I am trying hard with painful persistence
Each hour I find myself
Devising a new way
Of saying the things I want to say
I am not running out of stupid ideas..
What I am running out of is time.

PS: Written some time back.

Found and Lost ?

2007-04-20T09:27:00.000+02:00

The heartbreak verses...

I am at a crossroad, and I see
Hopes pitted against setbacks
Looming large are shadows
and mercurial despondencies

Now I know what it feels
laying in a pool of tears
that aren't coming out
With all your heart you shout
And nobody hears you

Now I know what it is to get drowned
Even before taking the plunge.
How a story could end
Before even finding a start.

How can I forget
The inexplicable feelings
The emotional turbulence
I am living through...

The game is not over yet
Biased perceptions,
extreme optimisms
Will continue to fight
And I ain't givin up...

It's Raining

2007-04-19T17:03:00.000+02:00

"Here comes the rain again
Falling from the stars
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are

As my memory rests..
But never forgets what I lost
Wake me up when september ends "

- Green Day

8:44 PM, Electronics City:

It's raining quite heavily outside. And so, here I am - stuck in my office. This week has been a rainy week here in Bangalore. Streams of water have indeed rolled down. Yesterday too, I got caught in the rain, and since my apartment is about a kilometer away from the bus stop, there wasn't any other option but to allow myself feel the rain. And I didn't resist.I just wanted to get drenched to the skin. It felt good somehow, though I was really missing my bicycle back home. It used to be real fun getting caught in the rain while coming from school....pedalling away at full speed, spreading water on both sides...and....simply enjoying the rain...what else...

It's 9 PM now...Don't know if the rain has stopped...Anyway, I'll be boarding one of the 9:30 buses..So...still I've half an hour's time to spend...

What to do....

Just checked the 'unpublished' folder inside the 'poetry' folder...There are quite a few poems I have written in the last few days/weeks/months....some were written at my den...some here inside this office...some while I was travelling...So...just thinking of publishing some of them....

Hope the rain has subsided by now.

Hope!!! Really, it's 'the' thing that keeps the world going.

Btw, the day is 19th April...there is a Bengali movie by the same name... Unishey April...good movie...it had won some national awards too...

Ok..enough for the day...gotta go now...may be I'll publish the poems from my room....or may be tomorrow...

......

12:18 AM, April 20, Location : My apartment.

Managed to reach here at around 11 O clock.Before that I alighted somewhere near the Sony World junction, Koramangala...By then the heavy rain had turned into a mild drizzle...Took an auto..only to get stuck in a traffic jam...Some of the auto/bus drivers were seen trying their hand at traffic signalling...But despite their efforts people remained stuck for about 5 minutes...Finally some movement occured and the ways got cleared...

Now I am feeling quite tired... gotta sleep ...

Shubho Nababarsha !!!

2007-04-15T15:02:00.000+02:00

Today is the Bengali New Year day. Being an Indian has it's own advantages...You get to 'celebrate' the 'new' year twice a year!!! The second instance depends on your birthplace or the linguistic community or culture you belong to. The Bengali new year is definitely something I look forward to...But this time I had almost missed it...It could have come (and gone) without notice...but greetings from friends made me realise "oh! it's 15th April" ! It's also known as Poila Boishakh (1st day of Baishakh - the first month)...I remember the time when I was a kid , and used to wonder on seeing new year ads as poila boishakh is written as ১লা বৈশাখ (1 la boishakh) - making it sound like Ekla(lonely) Baishakh !!! (Of course, I had got it clarified from people around me).

So here it is...the year being ১৪১৪ বঙ্গাব্দ (1414 bangabda). Though there is hardly anything to celebrate...still, this day gives you a chance to look back at the last three and half months and mend the things you screwed up during this time or may be, you can even bask for a moment in the glory of your achievements (if any!). It's natural to do some kind of introspection and take a hard look on yourself from a distance.

Wish you happy times ahead.

নতুন বছর নিযে আসুক নতুন আশা

পূর্ণ হোক তোমার সব সুস্বপ্ন

মুছে যাক জমে থাকা দূঃখ

জীবন ভরে উঠুক অশেষ ভালবাসায

ইতি,

তাপস,

১লা বৈশাখ, ১৪১৪

Can't Let You Go

2007-03-25T22:29:00.000+02:00

Day after day
Time passed away
And I just can't get you out of my mind
Nobody knows, I hide it inside
I keep on searching, but I can't find
The courage to show, to letting you know
I've never felt so much love before
And once again I'm thinking about
Taking the easy way out

But if I let you go, I will never know
What my life would be, holding you close to me
Will I ever see... you smiling back at me?
How will I know if I let you go?

Night after night, I hear myself say
Why can't this feeling just fade away
There's no one like you
You speak to my heart
It's such a shame, we're worlds apart
I'm too shy to ask, I'm too proud to lose
But sooner or later I gotta choose
And once again I'm thinking about
Taking the easy way out

But if I let you go, I will never know
What my life would be holding you close to me
Will I ever see... you smiling back at me?
How will I know... if I let you go?

-Westlife

Sad Harmonics

2007-03-23T12:39:00.000+01:00

Swimming in sad harmonics..
Deafened by my heart's own rhetorics
I am going down into a buttomless pit
With my soul imprisoned in mired mirages,

And intellect lost in obscure orphanages..
I try to look beyond the overwhelming shallowness
I make brave attempts to fill the hollowness
I even try to laugh at the pranks played by destiny...
But I fail miserably...
'Coz...After all...in the end...it's just me...
Only me ... the lonely me...!

Where are you ?

2007-03-23T09:58:00.000+01:00

It's been quite a while
And still there is no sight of you...
My mind feels blank...My eyes blind
Each passing day is only making me older
While the world surrounding me is getting even colder
Baby, you've gotta show up...

PS: Written some time back.

Fighting it out

2007-03-22T09:00:00.000+01:00

My weary eyes
want some sleep
My tired body

is asking for some rest

But I can't afford
these luxuries...
I know it's too late
And there's no use blaming fate

Now I must pay for
The times I whiled away
For I didn't make hay
when the sun shone

Submerged in a sea of mediocrity,

My own inadiquacies,

And the same jaded recipies,

Are all trapped in a vicious circle

Deceived I am...by a cryptic destiny
But no, I won't let it end in irony
I'll have to fight, I can't pretend
I know it well, where I stand...

PS: Written some time back.

The Moment

2007-03-05T13:10:00.000+01:00

Was I under a spell
Or was it a case of my heart
sensing what I truly needed
Maybe somethings are not meant

to be understood...
Some codes can never be read...
Though the story looks simple...
One fine day, came she...
And stayed...

The Silver Lining

2007-02-22T15:15:00.000+01:00

The day is
ending
The dreaded loneliness of my room is
calling
The approaching night is
lurking

I catch the bus at the last moment
running
I spend time in the bus
dreaming
I cross the busy road
jaywalking

I enter my colony blindly
looking
The street dogs are
fighting
The lone lamp is still
burning

Suddenly it starts
raining
Bathed in the streetlight,
The slight drizzle is
shining
There is a strange silence
Today, nobody is
whining.

Finally I reach my apartment
tired, drenched,
sweating
As I throw myself on the bed,
I hear the raindrops' intensity
declining
The window flips open,
I can feel the cool and moist wind
blowing

I stare at the white
ceiling
Pondering over the days bygone...and
wondering
If every cloud really has a
silver lining !

Love in Vain ?

2007-02-19T21:17:00.002+01:00

"A mighty pain to love it is,
And 'tis a pain that pain to miss,
But of all the pains,
The greatest pain is to love,
But love in vain."

- Abraham Crowley

Eternal Spell?

2007-02-19T20:29:00.000+01:00

"To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else's heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell".
- From "Love in the Time of Cholera" (Gabriel García Márquez)

Hurt All the Way

2007-02-16T21:37:00.000+01:00

There is indeed a void inside
Which none can see
It can only be felt
By souls like me

An unloved heart is hurt again...
Tearful eyes can't wash away the pain...
Dry lips and a sad face
Are only adding to the disdain.

Will this darkness ever give way
to the eternal light?
Will the sun ever rise on my horizon?
I know not all has been said, not all is done...
Yet time has moved..why is she still not gone ?

Sometimes I look back at my own life
Do you know what I see ?
I find a barren wasteland..
All my hopes, all my dreams
Buried deep in sand...

I find some flowers too,
That had once bloomed - now dead.
I find some tinsel memories...
All frozen, all locked up ...
Slowly disappearing
into the brazen surroundings...

Life Again

2007-02-15T11:08:00.000+01:00

Life is short...
Shorter that what I earlier thought
And it's an unpredictable game,
Uncertain enough to put
any Heisenberg to shame.
It's so unfair,
Never gives even a fair advantage.
However hard you toil,
In the end,
Something causes all your efforts
to foil...

Single Point of Failure!

2007-02-13T20:38:00.000+01:00

It was the month of October, last year. My project specific training was going on. There was a session on High Availibility Systems and Backups, pretty basic concepts in the storage industry. As the session was drawing towards the end, the instructor tried to emphasize the importance of redundancy by giving an example. He said " Take the instance of human body. We all have two eyes, two ears, two kidneys etc.....but only one heart...And this constitutes a single point of failure..." I couldn't agree more...

Disillusioned

2007-02-13T11:02:00.001+01:00

Sometimes you feel nothing..
Nothing affects you anymore
It's not that your senses go numb
But a chord is snapped somewhere

You don't expect anything
You are too tired of hoping
It's not that you are free from desire
But you don't want to wish anything

You drift away on the streets
But you find only strangers
It's not that they don't see you
The invisible walls are just too thick

You feel weightless
Your body doesn't follow you.
And you don't want to think anything
Your mind goes stateless.

Sometimes you get too inert to react
There is pain, but you don't want to fight
You are too tired of living the same old story
Devoid of love, devoid of glory.....

Be Careful

2007-02-13T10:33:00.000+01:00

"To err is human.
To really mess things up requires a computer."

I had first seen this poster at a friend's apartment...and
the happenings of the last week have proved it beyond
any doubts. Shit!

Rise

2007-02-01T19:11:00.000+01:00

You have 'fallen' enough
Now it's the time to rise
Choose your moments
Let there be no surprise

It's the time to identify
Blessings in disguise
Stay awake, keep runnning,
Don't care for the prize

Nothing should stop you now
It's high time you realise
There is no truth,
And that there are no lies.

PS:
For the record : This is my last post from M-2 office. I am moving to EC.

Fading Notions

2007-01-31T15:18:00.002+01:00

Surging emotions,
Fading notions,
Insatiable hunger
Driving me crazy...

Why...tell me why..
I get stuck,
And as time goes by
Everything gets hazy...

Coming Back to Life

2007-01-17T14:47:00.000+01:00

"Hey, don't I look happy ?" I asked, adding
"I've put all that pain on the back burner
Hope it will languish there and slowly disappear"

I wasn't confident, though I was trying hard
To get back to life, all I needed was a little help
I still remembered promises I had made to myself

Something inside me whispered, "Why worry, dear ?"
"All this will fade away one day, leaving nothin
Neither you nor me, one day, it will all dissolve."

I understood what was being said.
But I couldn't accept, I couldn't reciprocate
I don't know what held me back... maybe it was too late.

The Evening Times

2007-01-15T13:54:00.000+01:00

Yet another ordinary day
has come to an end,
Now I am sitting in the bus
Not listening to what others say.

Everyone is busy,
with their own lives
Some are sad...
Those who are not
make me wonder
if someone
can 'really' be happy!

These times make me feel
the emptiness
of an overcrowded place
And the surrounding darkness
tries to entice my impulses
to remain hidden.

The bus starts off finally,
Like I do every morning..
Only to get stuck
Time and again ,
as if it's a ritual,
an accepted rule..

I feel suffocated inside
So I open a window...
to let the cool wind in...
It makes me feel good
when I breathe the fresh air
and feel it against my face
It takes me away from
myself,
away from the routine
negativity..
And then..
I smile,
engulfed by
a new lease of hope.

Void

2007-01-11T12:58:00.001+01:00

Soon it will be dark
I will feel tired,
My eyes will tend to close..
The empty coffee cup
with it's stained porcelain,
will again stare at me,
as if saying,
"You are no different"

Strange Life

2007-01-08T10:37:00.001+01:00

A melting heart,
in a world so cold.
A living man,
cast in a mould.
Deepest love,
unknown to all.
Every moment,
a wake up call.

The Last Shot

2007-01-05T08:26:00.000+01:00

You can't falter now
You'll have to make it somehow
Don't get lost in someone's thought
Dude, it's time to load the last shot.

Red:Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a
dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
Andy(in the letter): Remember Red, hope is a good
thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing
ever dies.
- From "The Shawshank Redemption"

Simulating Life

2007-01-04T13:49:00.001+01:00

What do I do
When they tell me that she
can't be mine
And the world around seems
so heavy

What do I do
When the mind says
let it go
But my heart says
no

What do I do
When I try to reverse
the changes
Only to realise whole of me is
messed up

What do I do
When there is a sinking
feeling
And I find it so hard
to breathe

What do I do
When reality is hijacked
by my dreams
And even hopes want to
shy away

What do I do?
Well...I simulate
Yeah...
I simulate
I simulate 'life'

Missin You

2007-01-02T06:41:00.001+01:00

It's a new year,
A new day, a new morning
Songbirds are singing
Horizon is donning a fresh hue
And I am just sittin here, missin you

New Year's Day

2007-01-01T17:14:00.002+01:00

The new year has arrived...
So what ?
Does it change anything ?
Just a new calander..
Will it make any difference ?

Hope it will...for the better...

Over the years ... I feel these 'special days' ...these anniversaries etc have lost their meanings . The only purpose they serve is to help in reconnecting with friends and relatives...and perhaps that's a reason good enough to 'recognize' these days...They do make you feel different from the other 'ordinary' days...in some ways...

Whatever...
Welcome 2007 !
I wish all the visitors the best of times in the new year...
Cheers !!!

Bye Bye 06

2006-12-28T07:51:00.000+01:00

Goodbye 2006.
Go away.
I don't want you back.

You tore everything apart, Messed up beings
What did you bring ? What are you leaving behind ?
Some broken hearts, Some wedding rings ?

Goodbye 2006.
Get lost in the whirlwinds of time.
Nobody wants you back.

I Love You

2006-12-28T07:39:00.000+01:00

I don't know
If I'll ever tell you
Or if you'll ever know
'Coz I don't know how to show

I just want you to know
O my electric glow
I Love You...
Yeah... I still do...

Head-On

2006-12-22T11:27:00.000+01:00

Hard rocks still pressing against my head
Seems they won't stop even if I am dead
But I'll rise above this and all
No matter how deep be the fall

Pain

2006-12-21T12:47:00.000+01:00

Can pain mitigate pain?
May be yes....at least to some extent.....but there is a precondition : the instances should be strictly independent.
Or may be not...it can just be a transient feeling of relief that arises because of a change or a new addition to the list of pain-generating agents....what results is dilution....leading to a delusion of receding pain. But then isn't pain itself an illusion ? There is a problem then : if you consider pain to be an illusion then you will have to consider everything else too as illusion...

Wandering Alone

2006-12-20T13:20:00.000+01:00

I am wandering alone
And it's not easy
Livin an aimless life,
Strolling along an ever changing
Promenade in the woods

A rambling mind, a broken heart...
Tumultous times striking hard
Trying to make a start
And still out of the chart

Time seems motionless
How're u doin ! dear ,
Laughs me in my face.

Every morning from the east
Fresh sunlight falls on me
Trying to make up
for the missin warmth

As the day moves on,
I get surrounded
By voices and faces
I get lost in the large crowd
Sometimes deliberately...
Lookin for someone
Who'll probably never be mine

I am wading through mirages
Braving the scorching rays
Still believing that one day
I'll find a way
To the ‘oasis’.

At Times

2006-12-19T14:33:00.000+01:00

At times, I turn off my mind...
Don't care who is ahead
What lies behind..

Cramped feet, swollen face
You throw light,
Only to find
Reflections in disgrace..

Half asleep, half awake
I roam around
this stony jungle
Though I know it's fake..

A heavy, silent sigh
From a heavy heart
Trying to fly so high
Alas ! the wings are cut...

Clueless She

2006-12-13T08:37:00.000+01:00

Ah! She doesn't know
How he always thinks of her
Shredding rose petals
And listening to the Beatles

He needs her so much
But his love for her is such
She doesn't have a clue
Why he always looks so blue

She is so unaware
Of the chain reations that start
In his fragile heart
When he thinks of her

She isn't near now
He can't get a glimpse
But still he can feel her
inside, somehow

His stoical self won't let
Anyone know the pain
Even she fails to understand
His loss is someone else's gain

Now he knows what is love
Now he knows what is pain
Now he knows the nature of heart
Now he knows what it is all actually

He had never imagined
This could happen to him
And whatever the future be
He'll always love his 'clueless she'

Love

2006-12-09T16:34:00.000+01:00

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible, isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.”

- Neil Gaiman

Focus

2006-12-01T08:08:00.003+01:00

Focus is a strange thing. Often, when you try very hard to focus on something, you are tormented by all sorts of distractions.You have to control your mind so much to be able to concentrate.

Then there are those rare times in life when you just 'get focussed' on to something so intensely, so uncontrollably that you stop being your 'normal self' and you don't even realise this...Then if for some reason you try to get yourself out from that feeling, that stuff, that idea...you find that all your attempts are going in vain...Your thoughts, your dreams, your desires all get watermarked by that 'something'....You try out numerous deviations but your heart and mind don't let you off at all...Just a little reference, however remote or indirect or even apparantly unrelated - and you are back to the same state. Finally you understand that 'that something' has become a part of you for the rest of your life, and that it can't be detached...no matter how hard you try(and sometimes you even don't want to try)...You are left with no other option but to learn to live with it and say : Ab to aadat si hai mujhko aise jeene mein...

My Playlist!

2006-11-30T08:14:00.000+01:00

Why am I posting this? Don't I have anything else to write or am I suffering from extreme joblessness? Well...a bit of both..Actually, I write a lot...and obviously there are some stuffs that I don't want publish right now...I mean not everything can be posted on a blog...isn't it ? Then, a couple of days back I happened to visit Auri's blog where he had done this post. I got 'inspired' and in fact I needed some 'distraction' like this.....so here it is - a list of the songs I have been listening to in the last few months(not an exhaustive list...off course...and not in any particularly planned order).

Music is something that keeps me going. Be it my den, office or when I am mobile, it's a constant companion.This post is a small 'thank you' to the gifted beings who have created so much without which I can't imagine life.

Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris.
No Mercy - Where Do You Go
Vitamin C - Friends Forever
Scorpions - Winds of Change
Pink Floyd - High Hopes
Tumse Youn Milenge (Ankahi)
Bheegi Bheegi (Gangster)
Aisa koi Zindagi mein Aaye (Dosti)
Abhijeet Sawant - Lafzo Mein, Kya tujhe pata hai
Hoobastank - The Reason
Knopfler - A place where we used to live
Bon Jovi - Destination Anywhere, Staring At Your Window
Marc Antony - When I Dream At Night
Stevie Wonder - I just called
Linkin Park - Saturation, Numb

Rupam (Fossils)- Tomar Chokher kalo, Neel Rong Chhilo Bhison Priyo
Fossils - Aro Ekbaar, Hasnuhana, Dyakho Manasi , Haarina..(...all the songs...)
Nachiketa - Nilanjana, Anka Banka Sarakta
Anjan Dutta - Purono Guitar, Brishti
Manna De - Hoy to tomari janna
Indrani Sen - O Ki Elo, He Khaniker Atithi
Hemanta - Tumi Ki Keboli Chhabi

Shaan - Tishnagi, Tanha Dil, Wo Pehli Baar
Avril Lavigne - Things I'll never say
Jal - Bikhra hoon Main, Ik Din Aayega, Najaane Kabse

Dido - Slide
3 Doors Down - I won't duck & run
Euphoria - Pyaar Hi Tha, Mujhse Kaha Na Gaya...
Eagles - New Kid in Town, Tequila Sunrise
Matchbox 20 - Unwell
Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai,Tere Bin
Bas Ek Pal, Sau Dard
Rog - Khoobsurat, Maine Dil Se Kaha.
BSB - Incomplete
U2 - Stateless, Walk On

The list can go on and on...At first I thought I would put the top 10 songs....but could not resist extending the list.Well...it's time for lunch and my friends are calling...Gotta go...The day has been pretty boring till now....Hope the lunch is not that bland...

Why ? Why ? Why ?

2006-11-28T11:49:00.000+01:00

हर किसी को मुकम्मल जहाँ नहीं मिलता
कहीं ज़मीं तो कहीं आसमाँ नहीं मिलता

तेरे जहाँ मे ऐसा नहीं कि प्यार न हो
जहाँ उम्मीद हो इसकी, वहाँ नहीं मिलता

(Lines from an old Hindi movie song)