Zendagi Migzara

The beauty of being a child is that you don’t realise and don’t know the multitude of differences between people and places, castes and faiths. Especially if you are Indian, it doesn’t really matter where you are from : North, South, East, West. You are all just all similar because you share the experiences you share, laugh at the same jokes, fear the same things, love summer vacations and hate exams. This is also very true if you are an Army child. You’ve grown up being friends and living with people from all parts of the country:  it’s the best secularising force ever! It is only later when we grow up do we begin to differentiate and separate a Bengali from a Kashmiri and  a Keralite from a Tamilian. So “I am from Coorg” didn’t really mean too much for me as a child, other than most people not knowing what Coorg was! Well, the last part hasn’t changed even today. Until I was about 10-12, my visits to Coorg were just annual trips to heaven - where your grandpa...

"मेरी हर मनमानी बस ततुम तक बातें बचकानी मेरी नज़र दीवानी बस  तुम  तक मेरे सुख दुःख आते जाते सारे  तुम तक तुम तक तुम तक तुम तक सोने यार तुम तक तुम तक तुम तक सोने यार तुम तक तुम तक अर्जी मेरी फिर आगे  जो मर्ज़ी...."  ~~ Raanjhanaa ~ Irshad Kamil This was my movie to watch out for in 2013. I think much bigger than Shahrukh's Chennai Express. Coming from me, that's saying a lot. I don't know why though. It just looked so good and from what I had heard of it, the storyline sounded good. And there is a charm in stories that are based on smaller towns and cities of India. And since this was a movie shot in Benaras, I was excited and looking forward to it. When the trailer came out i was ecstatic because from the looks of it, it was matching up to my expectations. The music of course was breathtakingly beautiful. So this post, is not a movie review, it's my experience and my emotional take on Raanjhanaa. If there is one song, that d...

बन्नो रे बन्नो मेरी चली ससुराल को  अखियों में पानी दे गयी  दुआ में  मीठी गुधानी ले गई  रे कबीरा  मान जा  रे फकीरा   यूँ ना जा   आजा तुझको पुकारे  तेरी पर्चियाँ  कैसा तू हैं निर्मोही  कैसा हर्जाइयान  ~Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani ~~ Amitabh Bhattacharya I had been waiting for this movie to release for a long time. Simply because it just looked so good. Of course if Karan Johar has anything to do with a movie it will be visually appealing if nothing else.That man knows how to design a bollywood set! Anyway, it released last weekend and I hoped it would release in Singapore at the same time. I think I would have cried literally if all my friends in India watched it and I couldn't!  So, when it finally did I was thrilled and vowed to watch it that weekend or the following week. I watched it last night. and loved it. You shouldn't take my word for bollywood movies, ...

tomaro ashime, prano mono loye joto dure aami dhaaee kothao dukkho, kothao mrityu, kotha bichchedo naae mrityu she dhore mrityur roop dukkho hoye he dokkhero koop toma hote jaabe ,hoeye bimukh  aaponaar paane chaayi ~Rabindranath Tagore My favorite version on YouTube This is a love story. It's Debashish and Nondini's story. It's about their endless and everlasting love for each other. But it is also a love of God. Debashish and Nondini both were from Kolkata. Both from well to-do families in Kolkata. Nondini was from a family of musicians. Her father taught Rabindra-sangeet. The love of music flowed in Nondini's veins as well. Her heart and body always had music in them. In her saddest moments, music comforted her. In her happiest moments, music elevated her joy. Debasish was also an artist. He wrote and directed plays. He loved Kolkata and the life there. Yes it wasn't the best place to be if you w...

When I watched Jab Tak Hain Jaan, I was in a trance. We had all heard about this movie for so long, that it was almost of case of publicity being pushed down your throat! And if I  as a Shah Rukh Khan fan was saying this, imagine what the others might be feeling. I still remember, Shah was supposed to be hosting this interview with Yash Chopra and it was on to be aired live on YouTube and I was thrilled. This friend of mine and I sat on a Friday night after everyone had left and projected this interview in one of our conference rooms and sat and watched Yash Chopra narrate incidents and stories from his life and career. And when he announced that jab Tak Hain Jaan was to be his last movie, we were both shocked! Only God knew, what we were watching was also to be his last interview. He passed away soon after and India grieved. If you are a Bollywood fan and aren't a Yash Chopra fan, there is something wrong with you. Jab Tak Hain Jaan took on new meaning, for me. And many of...

हीर हीर ना आँखा उडियो मैं ते साहिबा होई घोड़ी लेके आवे ले जाए घोड़ी लेके आवे ले जाए ओ मेनू , ले जाए मिर्ज़ा कोई ले जाए मिर्ज़ा कोई ले जाए मिर्ज़ा कोई -Gulzar -- Jab Tak Hain Jaan I love this song from Jab Tak Hain Jaan. While its difficult to capture the essence of the song in words, I'll try to. In Indian/Punjabi folklore, there are two very famous love stories : Sahiba - Mirza and Heer - Ranjha. In both tales, the lovers dont live happily ever after. In the second story, heer and ranjha never get together,  heer's brothers taking the couple's  love as an insult to the family's reputation kill him. In the first tale of Sahiba and Mirza, Mirza comes on a horse and takes Sahiba away, for a life together. But their journey is interrupted by Sahiba's brothers, who kill Mirza, thus ending the love story. In the song, a lady sings and says - don't call me Heer, I'm wish my destiny is like that of Sahiba's, i aeait a Mirza, who'l...

Na jaane mere dil ko kya Ho gaya Abhi toh yahin Tha abhi Kho gaya ~ Anand Baksi ~~ Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge I think I've have visited my blog after ages today! And I choose this song from Shahrukh's iconic movie, simply because it started playing as soon I hit'New Post'. Even this online radio channel knows I am kinda mad about him. Well, a lot has happened since i last blogged. I've moved to Singapore from Hyderabad and as my friends can't stop reminding me, have acquired the much envied "NRI status". It's funny how in India we are still crazy about our NRI cousins and all the goodies they bring back on their annual visit home. I mean, we even get Oreo's in India now and I have seen some stores selling MnMs too. But it's just this awe of living abroad that fascinates us. And of course, unfortunately it's true that India has a long way to go to catch up with living standards and lifestyles of those abroad. So yea, I...