Diwali - A Feeling

The day was fabulous.Beautiful morning.Complete chutti from work and regular activities.Ideal break one can wish for after such a long week.Visit to friend's place and purchase of fire crackers for the perfect firework in the evening.

Diyas !!

Deepak !!

They r the perfect example of a person's life.They can teach u a lot.Just need to have a look at them.Observe right from the beginning when it is lighted and the fabulous flame growing just like a baby.

In the process of lighting them in the evening i could feel how nice it is to create something.The flame,the light,the child.For the first time i could feel how great it must be to be a dad.How gentle a just born child would be ! How caring we need to be to nurture and protect our children.How amazing it must have been to be a father.How proud u feel when u r a dad and when u r successful in growing your child where u want them to be.This all feeling came to me as i went on lighting diyas one by one.Giving birth to a new life.A new world.That which could not manage to sustain its own weight(the flame i am talking of ) ,that which has no existence of its own without my support, would very soon give light to the world.Remove all darkness and bring in all that happiness which we aspire for.

I also realized that nothing happens so easily.A diya which promises to enlighten everything and be a great warrior against the darkness,also has to take time to come up to its potential.It is potent enough to do so.But it also needs time.It too has to struggle against all odds.I could see that every time I lit a diya it was not suddenly that it got into its actual form.It took its time fighting against the wind.When the light itself takes time to come up why do we being just humans want everything to be done instantly.Why do we want to achieve everything without doing anything and any struggle? That everything has to undergo a natural and gradual process.We need to give in our hundred percent.

The diya gives happiness and light to all.But what does it get?Its own base is in darkness.Burns itself for others just to get nothing for itself. We too need to be selfless and now I just remember one of my friends saying me "bas social work and service kar....kya milta hai? doosron ka kaam hi bas karta reh..."

I can just say that I would still go ahead with my social service or whatever u name it just for the reason dat i wud never aspire to get anything in return.I dont expect anything.Its just my pleasure.

Mind - Rambling Around

I have been going through lot many thoughts these days. Just didn't the outlet till now. Thank god. Few proxies too work at office :)

Before I get started, I would like to give the news up front. Finally I accepted a project at Pune. Sometimes we need to adjust to circumstances and let life play. Have been really busy these days and this is the time which makes me think. Thoughts keep crossing without giving you a chance to even think about that thought.

Recently when I was with my room mates discussing everything on the top of the world I got a suggestion from one of my very good friends, Rahul, to write a book. I mean I know I can write a book. He could convince me that I can get along and think seriously to write a book. I too want to write a book but had never analyzed anything on what kind of book it must be. But yeah, after the suggestion that night I could not stop thinking about the subject. I got it and even I have planned for it. The way it would start and the whole story is before me. But I don’t know seriously when I can begin it. May be I can start after this year. But definitely that discussion with Rahul and Vivek has opened the flood gates for me to think for my dreams. A publishing house of my own is a dream. But how far I achieve this is a big question mark.

My leaves have been cancelled for the Puja vacation and I would only be taking a leave after 15th, Jan 2009. That’s sad but currently I am focused on my job and may be this is the field which I have ignored the most. But slowly but steadily am getting everything into the groove. Things are settling down and I have started enjoying what I am doing. That’s the most important thing which I need.

Getting back on track feels great and in the process I’m least bothered about anything around me. Things are changing but I have taken this responsibility to make things the way I want it to be and leave the rest what I don’t care about. Loving this time where I have found time for myself. Orkutting, checking mails and of course blogging have made life better and of course the new pressure cooker situation is making it feel good. Few movies in the last few weekends complete the quota of movies that I needed to complete. Few night shows and small hang outs at Adlabs make life better. The best ones being Jaane Tu…Ya Jaane Na, Bachna Ae Hasino, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Rock On. A trip to Mumbai two weeks back was more special with Chicku and her friends. Mumbai is no doubt a city of dreams – “Sapno ki Nagri”.

I have seen many Oriyas who stay outside Orissa and forget their own culture.Came across a good fine friend who proved me wrong. Having stayed outside the state since birth, it is expected that you won’t know anything about your motherland. But it was surprising to note that the person is grounded to the roots which made me feel great at office. Such people are examples for those who don’t give a damn to their culture when they leave their own land. Its not about an Oriya or Marathi but what I want to project is that we better know our own culture. Some people may not agree with this thought but I don’t feel sorry for what I say. Rather we can look at this thought from a broader sense. We as Indians don’t actually understand our own priceless history and culture but ask an NRI who has not visited India since 10 years. He would rather be more connected to his/her land. He must be asking his children to learn more about their country India but we as Indians fail to feel great about our own country. We have proved to be the best in all the fields and even we are improving in Olympics but we don’t care to take this forward. Few weeks back Abhinav Bindra wrote for The Times of India as a guest editor. His thought was really very crystal clear and he has proved to be worth his Gold Medal. I have been following his few interviews and other pieces of articles that come about him and his take on the field of sport needs to be considered if we want India to excel in Olympics. We need to grow as a country and be proud about ourselves.

Singur crisis has uncovered the truth about politicians who do anything for their own good. Tata industries have the reputation of being an organization who has given back to the society and to the country. The Nano Car being the best example. Even the employee satisfaction and the way they feel for their people need not be mentioned. But after all this that they have faced, I feel if these things continue it would be never in near future that we can see India as a super economy. For the petty politics and self benefit, our politicians would ruin the country and seeing India at the top would always remain as a dream. Its sad that the whole country is busy watching game shows, not at all funny comedy shows and the pathetic news channels. But in all this, the way Mukesh Ambani, The Birlas and The Godrejs have come up addressing the issue and shown their suppprt for The Tatas, no doubt our Corporate have been progressive and matured themselves to a great extent for the development of the country leaving aside their own rivalries and cut throat competitions. Definitely a good sign for the growth of the country.

Sound of Soil

Tanmay Bose !!

The name is sufficient for anyone who has witnessed him ever.

When I heard about his concert at Swabhoomi, I was not that sure about his talent or about his aura. But anything related to classical music and of the sort has always fascinated me. There have been times in the past when I have been quite inclined towards it. Classical music has the perfect blend to make your nerves get electrified. This was proved by Tanmay Bose.

A perfect ambiance to start with. Perfectly located with the open air waiting to be blown away by his concert. Never during the whole concert did I feel that it was a classical concert. Perfect blending of east and the west. The best part was the way the instruments that we generally find in a rock show giving support to the classical music. It was as if the instruments were in their best form.

One thing that touched deep into my heart was "Music is not entertainment...its dedication and focus which brings about this magic".

The other thing that was quite amazing was that classical music can be so rocking which I had never realized before. Unbelievably I found myself banging head to the jugalbandi of Tabla, Mrudang and Pasa(not sure what it is called). The jugalbandi was a great display of musical talent in the whole troop. Tanmay Bose was again superb in creating magic with tabla. The co-ordination was something to be looked at. It almost blew myself out with appreciation and surprise as well.

The music was so original and to the base of being classical that it could justify the name of the whole concert. As if sounds were coming from the five elements with which our world is made up off. Its often said that classical music can create fire and make rain. And now i realize that's not impossible. Quite possible. The other side of classical music is that it brings about so much of happiness and balance to the soul that it erased pain and calms you down to the lowest level of energy with positivity flowing within like a current. People generally comment classical music to be boring and slow but this display made me realize how wrong we had been. It was no less than a rock show which makes you dance to the music. I had my legs and hands moving and for a moment I had the feeling of standing up and dancing to the tunes and the beats.

Another item was east vs west. The eastern packed instruments and the western modern drums and co...For a moment i got confused whether the vocalist was trying to present the sound of the instruments or the instruments were singing like a human. It was really tough to distinguish which was which. All sounds were similar and synchronous that it gave a perfect feel to the ears. With all this it was crystal clear to distinguish the sound of each and every instrument being played. It also turned out to be a jugabandi towards the end and was really amazing to find the vocalist competing with the sounds of the instruments. Just perfect !!

There was a moment when tabla's echoing sound was perfectly caught by the vocalist in his rhyming tone. Just amazing is all I can say.

Thanks to Sutapa for giving this opportunity to experience this event of lifetime. My faith in classical music has been more strengthened by this concert and my belief in our own culture has been rooted deep within me. Our heritage and culture goes long back which the western music can never catch up with and I bet had there been any linking park or britney spears, they would have failed to create the magic that Tanmay Bose could create. They could not have even stood beside him and try and make a jugalbandi. Forgot to mention about the bass being produced by the guitarist. It was even more than any professional rocker from the west with the best of the best electrical/electronic guitar.If you love banging head to rock music then you should have definitely experienced today's concert. It had all in it to make it a PERFECT show.

Hats off to Tanmay Bose and his team for creating the magic and thanks to Sutapa for this great evening.

Thanks to Her once again.