Its over, finished, forever shall remain undone
As she picks up the pieces, she realizes its time to move on, time for change, time to welcome something new into life
Its a time of loss, of destruction.

When the old crumbles, something new replaces it, that is the law of nature isnt it?
As an old life breaks down, a new one emerges, like a new dawn, a new sunrise, a fresh morning.

And she rises, hope aglow, like a phoenix rises from the ashes, flying ever closer to the sun on her shining new wings of freedom.

How to deal with a problem/deadlock in life (aka how I am dealing with one in life at the moment)

In a cold rational fashion, focusing on what to do and what needs to be done in the future. No emotions, just clarity on the steps to be taken to solve the problem. Because one should be aware of the fact that one always has options and strengths that one can capitalize on. It just needs a bit of preparation for future contingencies that can arise.

No need for an emotional reaction, just cold calculated rational thought would do..an almost detached orientation that makes it easier to think thru the problem and reach a solution...

(this post is in progress, shall come back to this soon..)

Birthday stuff

A Cake with strawberries, raspberries, chocolate chips and vanilla with a blueberry and chocolate sauce filling inside..
Filled also with love and joy and fun and happiness that feels so warm
A time to renew, be grateful and also to look ahead with hope and optimism
A time to prepare, plan and be ready to accept change with grace and calm
A time to be confident, to dare to look beyond..

BIRTHDAY MUSINGS

As I turn a year older in about 15 more minutes (yeah well local time!) the following are some things running thru my mind.

1. Need to learn to stay calm
2. Need to stay focused
3. Need to think clear, rational, logical
4. Be aware that there always are options
5. Cultivate strength and endurance and grace to know life as it is and accept it for what its worth
6. Know that with everything going on, life is still beautiful (its tough to see it thru rainy days and rainier life but still)
7. Keep the faith
8. Trust yourself
9. Build strength, courage and endurance
10. Hold on
11. Think on your feet
12. Keep your options ready
13. Be prepared for anything
14. Work hard, trust your effort and sincerity
15. Value yourself
16. Don't be afraid
17. Count your blessings
18. When swinging from happy to sad and back, be aware of things or people that keep u happy, not sad
19. Take things head on
20. Know that whatever happens, is for the best and rest in knowing that a better tomorrow awaits each and every one of us

HAPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYYY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY TO MEEEEEEEEE!

Enter Gandhigiri?

Saw lage raho munnabhai a bit later than the rest of the country..and the reason that this post finds place on my usual blog instead of my entertainment blog is because the movie is good food for thought. Is this the revival of interest in Gandhi, an awareness of what we have been missing so far from history? Only time will tell. For now, its just interesting to know that movies like LRM are a breath of fresh air to the audience.

More on Gandhigiri here, as for the practise of Gandhigiri, watch out this space for more in future as there could be possible 'real-life' stories of Gandhigiri in action! ;)

And we thought Dhoom was just a story! Here's a real story 'Dhoom'-related! :D

Way to go, guys!

Today's news..

Its an imperfect world we live in, I agree, but there are some situations where we cannot afford imperfections or errors, specially when a few thousand students' lives, aspirations and careers depend on one exam. Finding three errors in the recently concluded CAT exam, in addition to the leak of the same exam paper a few years ago doesnt say much about the strictness with which this and other national exams are conducted. Give the students atleast something to respect in the educational system, let us begin by restoring national entrance exams to what they are meant for: to select potential candidates for their chosen careers. If we cannot even ensure that students can get a fair chance at appearing for national entrance exams, there is very little faith that an aspiring student has left in the system.

This is an appeal to all those who work to make our educational system better, please ensure that such things do not happen, otherwise it can cause further disillusionment among the student community. Among larger and long term implications of this cynicism could be in terms of the potential impact that erroneous selection procedures (such as leaked exams or typos in exams) have on eventual selection and placement of students in industry.

To begin with,the selection process is inherently fraught with all kinds of biases, both personal and methodological. While we can only use statistics or other methods to minimize biases, we can never totally eliminate the chance of some bias creeping in. And the first step in doing that is ensuring that someone proofread the final exam paper before its sent out for printing. That is the absolute least one can do.

Someone sent the following article to me the other day from fortune.com and its worth sharing with those of us striving at work to improve..:)

What it takes to be great

Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work

By Geoffrey Colvin, senior editor-at-large

(Fortune Magazine) -- What makes Tiger Woods great? What made Berkshire Hathaway (Charts) Chairman Warren Buffett the world's premier investor? We think we know: Each was a natural who came into the world with a gift for doing exactly what he ended up doing. As Buffett told Fortune not long ago, he was "wired at birth to allocate capital." It's a one-in-a-million thing. You've got it - or you don't.

Well, folks, it's not so simple. For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don't exist. (Sorry, Warren.) You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful.

Buffett, for instance, is famed for his discipline and the hours he spends studying financial statements of potential investment targets. The good news is that your lack of a natural gift is irrelevant - talent has little or nothing to do with greatness. You can make yourself into any number of things, and you can even make yourself great.

Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn't mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It's an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well. British-based researchers Michael J. Howe, Jane W. Davidson and John A. Sluboda conclude in an extensive study, "The evidence we have surveyed ... does not support the [notion that] excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts."

To see how the researchers could reach such a conclusion, consider the problem they were trying to solve. In virtually every field of endeavor, most people learn quickly at first, then more slowly and then stop developing completely. Yet a few do improve for years and even decades, and go on to greatness.

The irresistible question - the "fundamental challenge" for researchers in this field, says the most prominent of them, professor K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University - is, Why? How are certain people able to go on improving? The answers begin with consistent observations about great performers in many fields.

Scientists worldwide have conducted scores of studies since the 1993 publication of a landmark paper by Ericsson and two colleagues, many focusing on sports, music and chess, in which performance is relatively easy to measure and plot over time. But plenty of additional studies have also examined other fields, including business.

No substitute for hard work

The first major conclusion is that nobody is great without work. It's nice to believe that if you find the field where you're naturally gifted, you'll be great from day one, but it doesn't happen. There's no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice.

Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule.

What about Bobby Fischer, who became a chess grandmaster at 16? Turns out the rule holds: He'd had nine years of intensive study. And as John Horn of the University of Southern California and Hiromi Masunaga of California State University observe, "The ten-year rule represents a very rough estimate, and most researchers regard it as a minimum, not an average." In many fields (music, literature) elite performers need 20 or 30 years' experience before hitting their zenith.

So greatness isn't handed to anyone; it requires a lot of hard work. Yet that isn't enough, since many people work hard for decades without approaching greatness or even getting significantly better. What's missing?

Practice makes perfect

The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call "deliberate practice." It's activity that's explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one's level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.

For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice.

Consistency is crucial. As Ericsson notes, "Elite performers in many diverse domains have been found to practice, on the average, roughly the same amount every day, including weekends."
Evidence crosses a remarkable range of fields. In a study of 20-year-old violinists by Ericsson and colleagues, the best group (judged by conservatory teachers) averaged 10,000 hours of deliberate practice over their lives; the next-best averaged 7,500 hours; and the next, 5,000. It's the same story in surgery, insurance sales, and virtually every sport. More deliberate practice equals better performance. Tons of it equals great performance.

The skeptics

Not all researchers are totally onboard with the myth-of-talent hypothesis, though their objections go to its edges rather than its center. For one thing, there are the intangibles. Two athletes might work equally hard, but what explains the ability of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to perform at a higher level in the last two minutes of a game?
Researchers also note, for example, child prodigies who could speak, read or play music at an unusually early age. But on investigation those cases generally include highly involved parents. And many prodigies do not go on to greatness in their early field, while great performers include many who showed no special early aptitude.

Certainly some important traits are partly inherited, such as physical size and particular measures of intelligence, but those influence what a person doesn't do more than what he does; a five-footer will never be an NFL lineman, and a seven-footer will never be an Olympic gymnast. Even those restrictions are less severe than you'd expect: Ericsson notes, "Some international chess masters have IQs in the 90s." The more research that's done, the more solid the deliberate-practice model becomes.

Real-world examples

All this scholarly research is simply evidence for what great performers have been showing us for years. To take a handful of examples: Winston Churchill, one of the 20th century's greatest orators, practiced his speeches compulsively. Vladimir Horowitz supposedly said, "If I don't practice for a day, I know it. If I don't practice for two days, my wife knows it. If I don't practice for three days, the world knows it." He was certainly a demon practicer, but the same quote has been attributed to world-class musicians like Ignace Paderewski and Luciano Pavarotti.

Many great athletes are legendary for the brutal discipline of their practice routines. In basketball, Michael Jordan practiced intensely beyond the already punishing team practices. (Had Jordan possessed some mammoth natural gift specifically for basketball, it seems unlikely he'd have been cut from his high school team.)

In football, all-time-great receiver Jerry Rice - passed up by 15 teams because they considered him too slow - practiced so hard that other players would get sick trying to keep up.
Tiger Woods is a textbook example of what the research shows. Because his father introduced him to golf at an extremely early age - 18 months - and encouraged him to practice intensively, Woods had racked up at least 15 years of practice by the time he became the youngest-ever winner of the U.S. Amateur Championship, at age 18. Also in line with the findings, he has never stopped trying to improve, devoting many hours a day to conditioning and practice, even remaking his swing twice because that's what it took to get even better.

The business side
The evidence, scientific as well as anecdotal, seems overwhelmingly in favor of deliberate practice as the source of great performance. Just one problem: How do you practice business? Many elements of business, in fact, are directly practicable. Presenting, negotiating, delivering evaluations, deciphering financial statements - you can practice them all.

Still, they aren't the essence of great managerial performance. That requires making judgments and decisions with imperfect information in an uncertain environment, interacting with people, seeking information - can you practice those things too? You can, though not in the way you would practice a Chopin etude.

Instead, it's all about how you do what you're already doing - you create the practice in your work, which requires a few critical changes. The first is going at any task with a new goal: Instead of merely trying to get it done, you aim to get better at it.

Report writing involves finding information, analyzing it and presenting it - each an improvable skill. Chairing a board meeting requires understanding the company's strategy in the deepest way, forming a coherent view of coming market changes and setting a tone for the discussion. Anything that anyone does at work, from the most basic task to the most exalted, is an improvable skill.

Adopting a new mindset

Armed with that mindset, people go at a job in a new way. Research shows they process information more deeply and retain it longer. They want more information on what they're doing and seek other perspectives. They adopt a longer-term point of view. In the activity itself, the mindset persists. You aren't just doing the job, you're explicitly trying to get better at it in the larger sense.

Again, research shows that this difference in mental approach is vital. For example, when amateur singers take a singing lesson, they experience it as fun, a release of tension. But for professional singers, it's the opposite: They increase their concentration and focus on improving their performance during the lesson. Same activity, different mindset.

Feedback is crucial, and getting it should be no problem in business. Yet most people don't seek it; they just wait for it, half hoping it won't come. Without it, as Goldman Sachs leadership-development chief Steve Kerr says, "it's as if you're bowling through a curtain that comes down to knee level. If you don't know how successful you are, two things happen: One, you don't get any better, and two, you stop caring." In some companies, like General Electric, frequent feedback is part of the culture. If you aren't lucky enough to get that, seek it out.

Be the ball

Through the whole process, one of your goals is to build what the researchers call "mental models of your business" - pictures of how the elements fit together and influence one another. The more you work on it, the larger your mental models will become and the better your performance will grow.

Andy Grove could keep a model of a whole world-changing technology industry in his head and adapt Intel (Charts) as needed. Bill Gates, Microsoft's (Charts) founder, had the same knack: He could see at the dawn of the PC that his goal of a computer on every desk was realistic and would create an unimaginably large market. John D. Rockefeller, too, saw ahead when the world-changing new industry was oil. Napoleon was perhaps the greatest ever. He could not only hold all the elements of a vast battle in his mind but, more important, could also respond quickly when they shifted in unexpected ways.

That's a lot to focus on for the benefits of deliberate practice - and worthless without one more requirement: Do it regularly, not sporadically.

Why?
For most people, work is hard enough without pushing even harder. Those extra steps are so difficult and painful they almost never get done. That's the way it must be. If great performance were easy, it wouldn't be rare. Which leads to possibly the deepest question about greatness. While experts understand an enormous amount about the behavior that produces great performance, they understand very little about where that behavior comes from.

The authors of one study conclude, "We still do not know which factors encourage individuals to engage in deliberate practice." Or as University of Michigan business school professor Noel Tichy puts it after 30 years of working with managers, "Some people are much more motivated than others, and that's the existential question I cannot answer - why."
The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will. Strangely, that idea is not popular. People hate abandoning the notion that they would coast to fame and riches if they found their talent. But that view is tragically constraining, because when they hit life's inevitable bumps in the road, they conclude that they just aren't gifted and give up.

Maybe we can't expect most people to achieve greatness. It's just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.

Tip Sheet: Perfect Practice

1. Approach each critical task with an explicit goal of getting much better at it.
2. As you do the task, focus on what's happening and why you're doing it the way you are.
3. After the task, get feedback on your performance from multiple sources. Make changes in your behavior as necessary.
4. Continually build mental models of your situation - your industry, your company, your career. Enlarge the models to encompass more factors.
5. Do those steps regularly, not sporadically. Occasional practice does not work.

MONDAY MORNING..

Well my Monday began with a bit of a sour note, so nothin like a bit of Algerian music (check the Jukebox for more info on this) and news such as this to perk me up! ;)

Another news worthy of the caption: GO INDIA!!

India tops foreign student enrollment in the U.S. Story here

GO INDIA!

I write this in a moment of grim clarity..I was writing a previous post about what life would have looked like if it had turned out differently for me. I was feeling vacant, bored, empty, directionless, inspite of the many deadlines that are a common feature of academic life. I was reminiscing, just dreaming, wondering what if I had achieved everything I had wanted in life.

Then I read this news story. Its one that is all too familiar..academic stress leads a student to take the extreme step. Graduate life has claimed one more casualty. Who is most affected by this? Just the student's immediate family. Do we bat an eyelid to do anything at all as a remedial measure so that we can prevent this from happening to someone we know or work with? Is life really that fragile that one setback or a series of them are enough to throw us off balance and take the extreme step? What can we do as students and as concerned individuals to prevent oneself and others from slipping into a dangerous cycle where we think we have reached the point of no return?

I for one can say that I have had to face my share of setbacks, some of them very severe, and that resulted in a state of depression that lasted many days. But thanks to family and peers, I slowly and surely recovered. I did have dark thoughts about the future, and the very dangerous 'what if..' question. But I never did act on it. Call me chicken, call me whatever you like, whenever there's something negative that threatens to take me over, there's just this small voice, a tiny force that says, 'hang on, fight one more round, see how it goes, its not over yet'..the support of others around you, is valuable, i agree, but there is something that one must look within, dig deep within oneself and draw on our own personal strengths to hang on.

I dont know how the future will turn out, whether it will be good or not. I can control and focus on TODAY, on NOW. And maybe, just maybe, it will all be okay. Graduate life specially when one begins to think deeply about one's research, can be often a lonely experience, one that takes us down the path of rumination, and is not just a cognitive but also an emotional experience, the thrills of discovery, the joy at solving a problem are all too familiar to most of us, as are times of sadness when the problem we are working on just wont develop, ideas just dont come to us, and things are in a lean phase-it is at this stage that one should be careful to do the things one likes to do, talk to people, read, watch movies, listen to music, do anything, but do not allow ureself to fall into the negative mindset. Bullet points would be a good idea at this stage, to offer a brief action plan on what to do to deal with lows as a graduate student (believe me, this is just someone who is a grad student herself, so perhaps, my tips wont be all that fancy, just very simple things that I do to get rid of or deal with the blues..)

1. Sing a song-works for me ALL THE TIME ;)
2. Listen to music-works for me MOST OF THE TIME
3. Talk to friends, family
4. Read your favorite books, authors
5. Write a blog, poem, article, or just a journal
6. Jog, walk, swim, dance, cook, meditate (some of my most focused grad student friends meditate, and the results are there for all of us to see :))
7. Go to the movies
8. Take up a hobby or develop an existing one
9. Invite friends out for a meal, or go visit them
10. Ask for help, reach out
11. Smile, just practise that-develop a sense of humor
12. Develop a step by step (psychologists like to call simple things fancy names, so well, develop a 'problem-focused';)) strategy to deal with the problem at hand
13. Be aware of life outside of work, read extensively-develop a broader outlook to life. REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU ALWAYS HAVE OPTIONS
14. Be patient, a lot of anxiety is because we are in a hurry to get things done, if something isnt working, set it aside and return to it later
15. Remind yourself of the good things in life, and the people to share it with
16. Also remember that there is nothing embarassing about feeling depressed, or thinking dark thoughts-it might seem like the end of the world, but it really isnt, if u find yourself sinking into a stage where you think you might do something drastic to hurt yourself or others around you, call a friend, talk to someone. DO NOT ACT ON IMPULSE.

I would like to think that each of us is a special person, and no matter who we are, we have a unique contribution to make to those around us, and to the work we do. It perhaps takes time, but we are on earth for a reason, and yes, perhaps for some of us (like me) that reason takes longer to figure out than others, but doesnt matter, I still can persist, if I am good at it, well good for me, if not, I can work on making it better.

I know a lot of us who are working under immense pressure at either academics or at work. And I would thru this post, like to reach out to all of us in similar stages in life, and say, hey I am going thru the same feelings and thoughts..this is just my way of dealing with them.

Breathe deeply. Inhale. Look around, its a beautiful world. :)

Amazing songs from the movie Trishul

Jaaneman tum kamaal karte ho..(kishore and lata)

Mohabbat bade kaam ki cheez hai

Thank you you tube for making the videos available..

the songs are great! enjoy! :)

Khayalon Mein Kisi Ke

Khayalon mein kisi ke is tarah aaya nahi karte
Kisi ko bewafa ke tadpaya nahi karte..
Khayalon mein kisi ke.. (2)

Dilon ko raund kar dil apna behlaya nahi karte
Jo Thukraye gaye ho unko thukraya nahi karte
Dilon ko raund kar...

Hansi phoolon ki do din chandni bhi chaar din ki hai
Chandini chaar din ki hai
mili ho chand si soorat to itraya nahi karte
Kisi to bewafa ke tadpaya nahi karte
Khayalon mein kisi ke

Jinhe mitna ho woh mitne se dar jaaya nahi karte
Woh Dar jaaya nahi karte
Mohabbat karne wale gham se ghabraya nahin karte
Kisi ko bewafa ke tadpaya nahi karte
Khayalon mein kisi ke

Mohabbat ka sabak seekho, yeh jaakar jalnewalon se
yeh jaakar jalnewalon se
ke dil ki baat bhi lab tak kabhi laaya nahi karte
jo thukraye gaye ho unko thukraya nahi karte

Khayalon mein kisi ke, is tarah aaya nahi karte
kisi ko bewafa ke tadpaya nahi karte
Khayalon mein kisi ke

Movie..Bawre Nain (1950) Sung by Lata Mangeshkar (?) and Mukesh

Got up dreaming about this song in the morning, it was playing in my head as I woke up and I haven't been able to shake it off since..so had to listen to it and also pen the lyrics down..perhaps the DJ inside my head can change the track! ;)

Or not.. ;)

Cheers
M

I was here when they held it in New Delhi in Dec 2004. Was a great occasion to represent my department at IITM.

Glad to see the efforts made in this direction.

Good luck! Keep up the good work. :) Hope to be part of it some day. :)

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Wonderful things are wonderful the first time they happen, but their wonderfulness wanes with repetition: psychologists call this habituation, economists call it declining marginal utility, and the rest of us just call it marriage."

Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling on Happiness

Drops of Jupiter

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey

Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there

Now that she's back from that soul vacation
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo
Reminds me that there's time to grow, hey, hey

Now that she's back in the atmosphere
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol' Jane
Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky way
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind
Was it everything you wanted to find
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken
Your best friend always sticking up for you even when I know you're wrong
Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance five-hour phone conversation
The best soy latte that you ever had..and me

Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day
And head back toward the Milky Way

Repeat 1st Chorus

(Thank you for the song, PS) :)

Closer than my peeps you are to me..

Singapore 2006, in a cab with friends on the way to a dinner, and the radio plays Shaggy's Angel..and that's enough to send me into a flashback rewind to 2003, to Vizag..RT, HV, Mru, SM, me, SS, A n Macha...the Shaggy album had released then, and I couldn't get enough of the album, Shaggy was a constant request from me, and graciously granted by whoever happened to be driving at that time! ;)

"Life is one big party when you're still young.." and yes what a party it was in Vizag! One of the most memorable times of my life..

Flashforward to 2006..In infrequent contact with everyone, but got mails from RT and HV, both invitations to their lovely wedding in Jan..here's to both of you for a great life ahead..love you both! :) Shaggy's Angel dedicated to both of you..:)

Lyrics of Angel here

SOMETHING GOOD

The pursuit of excellence
Kindness towards all
A generous spirit
Laughter joy and cheer
Optimism, a positive outlook
Something good..

(I'd written this a long time ago and saved as draft, just publishing it now coz I feel I could use 'something good') :)

Delightful qawwali..infact all songs in this movie are great..the magic of OP Nayyar, Mohd. Rafi and Asha Bhonsle.. ;) lyrics of the qawwali..

Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962)

THINGS TO DO BEFORE LEAVING THIS PLANET

1. Read great classics in literature
2. Read historical accounts of different cultures
3. Understand religious dialogues/discourse
4. Learn atleast one more new language in depth, study linguistics
5. Learn to play atleast one musical instrument well
6. Write a book/novel/article for others to read, a personal account of the way I see the world
7. Meet a musician/composer/singer and talk to them about inspiration
8. Understand great works of art
9. Travel
10. Learn pottery

What does one psychologist say to the other as they meet in the hallway?

'Hi! You are fine, How am I?'

;)

Niluvadhamu Ninu Epudaina.. from Nuvvosthanante Nenoddantana (2004)

..and its Tamil remake...Unpaarvaiyil from Something Something Unakkum Enakkum (2006)..heard it on SUN TV this morning, and its stayed in my head since then.... it did sound familiar..A, thanks for telling me about the Telugu remake of the Tamil movie..both tracks are superb! ;) Their chorus sounds a bit like the chorus of another Tamil song..'Asai asai'..anyone else think so? :D

Another good soundtrack is from the new Tamil release Jillendru Oru Kadhal (2006)..

Nice music. Enjoy!

Compassion in practice..When you study positive psychology, you use that lens to see the world..and things that would have otherwise missed one's attention get posted on a blog.

Positive everywhere.. :)

Word of the day:

"Brave"

Synonyms-

fearless adjective unafraid, courageous, valiant, intrepid, valorous, gallant, plucky, lion-hearted, stout-hearted, heroic, bold, daring, confident, audacious, indomitable, doughty, undaunted, unflinching, unshrinking, unblenching, unabashed; inf. game, gutsy, spunky. (ref: Oxford)

All this and more!

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS

...or the curse of being hypersensitive!

Its in the stare of a person, the look that someone gives you..

Its in the deafening silence that follows a supposed "joke",

Its in the way people don't say something, and yet the message is louder than the loudest noise you can hear,

Its in the smile, more than the tears that flow through one's eyes..

Happiness, sadness, thrill, loneliness, delight..all revealed in everything but words..

We are a funny race, aren't we? When it comes to the most intense expressions, they are conveyed in silence..language has no role in it, its all about behavior.

Food for thought as I close yet another day...

Oprah quotes..

"You know what my biggest fault is? I don't have the courage to be disliked."

Her ten commandments:

1. Don't live your life to please others.
2. Don't depend on forces outside of yourself to get ahead.
3. Seek harmony and compassion in your business and personal life.
4. Get rid of the back stabbers-surround yourself only with people who will lift you higher.
5. Be nice.
6. Rid yourself of your addictions-whether they be food, alcohol, drugs, or behavior habits.
7. Surround yourself with people who are as smart or smarter than yourself.
8. If money is your motivation, forget it.
9. Never hand over your power to someone else.
10. Be persistent in pursuing your dreams.

Glinda, the good witch in The Wizard of Oz: "You don't need to be helped any longer. You've always had the power." (On a wall in O's home).

Oprah's commencement address at the Wellesley College in 1997:

1. Life is a journey. Every day experiences will teach you who you really are.
2. When people show you who they are, believe them the first time. This is especially helpful with men. Don't force them to beat you over the head with the message.
3. Turn your wounds into wisdom. Everyone makes mistakes. They are just God's way of telling you you're moving in the wrong direction.
4. Be grateful. Keep a daily journal of the things you are thankful for. It will keep you focused on the abundance in your life.
5. Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life because you become what you believe.

(Ref: Janet Lowe (1998) Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insights from the World's Most Influential Voice. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. NY)

To my blog readers,

Yes you, both of you! ;)

I'm afraid I've been treating my blog a little like a scrapbook lately, but its only coz I haven't found the time or the mental space to devote more time to my writing- the thoughts are there, but no energy or will to organize them and express myself. I will come back surely with something, but till then please bear with my little links about things I read, saw or heard! ;)

Take good care of yourselves.

God Bless! :)

RICKY DOES CARE!

A few months ago, I had blogged about how I love Ricky Martin's track 'I Don't Care'..here's one more reason to love this fabulous singer..

Ricky does care! :)

A little refresher..here is where you can find 'I Don't Care' in English and in Spanish. And I love the Spanish version too! :D

WHY AMERICA DOESN'T BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION

Full story here

I cannot even begin to comment on this article, I am just surprised that there are some debates that go on forever..even things we take for granted as having been proved and scientifically established are still questioned by a section of the population. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Happy reading.

MISSING: THE ORIGINAL TAPES OF THE LANDING ON THE MOON..

Story here

And I thought I was absentminded!!

TALE OF TWO CITIES-INDIAN STYLE!

Every city has its own history. Here is the story of two cities that I feel connected to ;)

Chennai and Hyderabad.

Thanks, NDTV.com ;)

INSPIRATION

Mozart's 40th Symphony and pop music? huh? Is that possible? Well, when we are talking about music, I guess creativity is unlimited! ;) Check out this new video to know what I mean. Thanks for the song, A! This track certainly put the hip back in my hop! ;)

Well, we all know how songs 'inspire' other songs right? Well check out this Hindi song from the movie Chhaya (1961). Sounds familiar? Yes! Yet another song to be inspired by the symphony mentioned above. :) Goes on to show that something that was originally composed in 1788 can still inspire music down the ages! Here is where you can find info on the original symphony.

Enjoy!

Lovin' it..
M

Now why didn't I come across this earlier?! ;) A university course on 'Popular Hindi Cinema'!!!! Check out this link..

The site has some interesting thoughts on some great Hindi movies of our time. Interesting because its fascinating to read how Hindi cinema is perceived in other parts of the world..Hmm..one more thing on my 'To Do' list..take a course in 'Popular Hindi Cinema'! ;)

Cheers

M.

CHAUDHVIN KA CHAND

Listen here
Lyrics here

A song that is timeless in its quality and in its beautiful poetry (only a genius could write, "Chehra Hai Jaise Jheel Mein Khilta Hua Kanwal, Ya Zindagi Ke Saaz Pe Chhedi Hui Ghazal..). Everything about this song is perfect..the playback by Rafi and the picturisation on Guru Dutt and the lovely Waheeda Rehman, make this song an all time favorite with listeners of all ages..and certainly one of mine! :D

Moments of glory, a celebration of success and all the good things in life
Reunion with loved ones
A time to heal, to restore and revitalize
Back with a bang!

signed: A budding writer! ;)

DAWN OF A NEW ERA?

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing. Even if its an old email id! ;) yes, since morning today I have been unable to access my age old yahoo email id. I had last accessed it not less than 12 hours ago. For some reason it doesn't accept my login password, or my answer to the "trick question" I supplied it all those years ago. Lets see, now, I have been using this id since 1997, and boy this email id has seen a lot. Friendships, fights, making up over email, secrets shared with "special" people, listening and helping friends thru a rough spot, getting help from others, sending out work emails, getting in touch with long lost friends and relatives..this yahoo id had seen it all..and this morning, I guess very naturally, yahoo just decided that this id had worked enough, and it no longer is accessible.

I remember it was SG who had first started her email id, and had talked me into starting one as well. Filled with nervous excitement, I had taken my first trip to an Internet cafe, asked the guy how to access a website, and like magic, opened my very first mailbox on the web. This was followed by chatting online, and very soon an entire network of friends were online chatting from one small yahoo account.

Yes, its been a long fascinating journey with a dear friend. Its time to move on. Hopefully to meet again someday, but happy in the memories that surface each time I think of my first email id! ;)

TIME GONE BY

This has been a long tough month. By far one of the busiest here. Time has flown, a month has gone past, and some work has been done. Some learning has happened. My blog has received relatively little attention and all I can find are scraps here and there, interesting bits of information I found here and there. No time to think for myself and generally mull about the state of things. Some sense making needs to happen, when and how, I do not know. Some rest, some time to reflect, relax and wonder about the path one is on and the place where one needs to go.

Learning yes, that's the only thing I can call this past month. A month of learning, a time spent on understanding how to do certain things, how to go about reading, writing, analysing, thinking. Although I can in no way claim to have achieved something great, I have spent this time in working on a few things, some things I like, some I do not like but are still part of my role as a student.

Some changes are in the offing with regard to my current house, and changing home is something that changes one's life in several ways. In ways that I can only anticipate, but cannot express yet, since I have yet to experience the change first hand. For better or for worse, we move on, learning in a whole new way.

That seems to be the only word I can think of right now. 'Learning'. Psychologists say that an experience can be called learning only when it changes our behavior in a significant way. I wouldn't know about the 'significant' part, but yes, this past month has certainly changed the way I relate to my work in a small way. Doing what one likes is never a problem, since one already likes what one does, so its by choice, by volition. Trouble starts when one does not like or has no interest in what one does, and is still supposed to do it as part of one's job. How does one go about doing it then?

This month I had to do something that I had neither the interest nor the expertise to carry it out. But slowly and steadily, I learnt how to go about working on the problem. I spent a lot of time on it, thinking and even dreaming about the problem and the hitches in the project. I spent a lot of time reading up on it and working on several alternate ways of solving it. Eventually I did finish the task I was supposed to do, and I did submit it. And I realized that I still had fun doing it. I was surprised. Since here was a project I didn't like for several reasons. But I still was able to put that aside and come up with a decent output. I have yet to get external feedback for it, but a big part of what one does in life should satisfy us personally, professionally and intellectually. That satisfaction should be enough motivation to carry on. And that is what has happened. That is what I have learnt.

So I think there is something good in everything. Even in things we do not like at first! It's not always Love at first sight, sometimes its a whole lot of work before one can begin to like it. Its the journey that turned out to be fun, irrespective of the destination! :)

Happy learning!

WINDS OF CHANGE

As I stand before this road today, I know I have no map, no guide, no compass,

The road ahead is a long and arduous journey uphill, towards a destination that I cannot see yet,

'Will I ever make it?' is a question I often ask myself,

Its a pretty natural state, fellow travellers tell me, those before me who have been on this road,

They say its natural to feel this way and think the way one does.

Looking around, I can see winds of change, that bring a new hope,

A hope that perhaps shall guide me to reach the goal, one that perhaps will make the journey more interesting and fulfilling,

I think the learning is in the journey itself, it is in all the questions we ask ourselves and of life,

The learning is in the effort we put in, minimal on a daily basis maybe, but it all comes together, fits in in the end

Is there really an end or just the beginning of another journey?

I wonder....

Need I say more?! ;)

What I'm listening to:

The Marriage of Figaro by Mozart.

Majestic. :)

Saamne ye kaun aaya dil mein hui halchal...

Listen here

Lyrics here

Great song! :D

A touching story from NDTV.com

Reaction to the story above from the government. Overwhelming.

Way to go, Garima!

Hats off to NDTV!

Here is what the Time Magazine says about India in this week's issue. Worth a read.

Cheers!

Quotes from Jerry Seinfeld, one of the most brilliant comedians of all times and one of my favorites.

Erratica by Bachi Karkaria-a review

Bachi Karkaria is one of my favorite journalists. I have grown up reading the Times of India and Ms. Karkaria's writing has been staple reading for me for most of my life. Her writing is creative, humorous and has a wit and style that I have found quite interesting to read. She is entertaining and informative. She is able to draw the reader into her world and to be concerned about whatever issue she is addressing in her column. I have often wondered how she writes the way she does. Her recent book 'Erratica' is a collection of her articles published over the years in the columns of the TOI. The book contains her observations on life, culture, politics and society. I have read the book several times over, and each time her writing still remains fresh and new like its the first time I am reading it. That, according to me, is a mark of a gifted writer.

Ms.Karkaria, here's looking forward to many more years of your incredible writing! :)

What I'm listening to..

Rock n roll soniye, dole ye man tere liye!

Shankar Ehsaan Loy back with this great song number from the new movie KANK. Just this song that I liked from the soundtrack. I expected a bit more from the gifted muscial trio, I guess I might like the rest of the soundtrack after I listen some more. Let the music grow on me types. As of now, this one song is worth posting about! ;)

I wonder who performs the song in the movie. I just hope its SRK and AB together..that would be complete paisa vasool for the movie! ;)

This song goes out to dudee..enjoy! ;)

Mohabbat bade kaam ki cheez hai.. Yahan suniye..Yahan padhiye..

This amazing song by Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and K. Yesudas is an interesting debate on the ways of love put into song. Listen in for yourself and decide whom you agree with! ;) It is from the movie Trishul (1978).

Quite meaningful if you think about it! ;)

Remember that old song program on Doordarshan a long time ago? Chitrahaar?! yeah! This song used to play often on chitrahaar. ah..those were the days..the time that TV was just introduced...we had very few programs to choose from..and chitrahaar was one of them..it was either a choice between watchin Jumping Jack Jeetu doing his jig with Sridevi..(remember 'Tohfa Tohfa..laya laya"?! haha!!) or watching some bored newscaster doing the daily news on the latest roundup of news/sport/other things I couldnt possibly care for! Chitrahaar it was for me, even today I might pick chitrahaar given a choice. No choice as of now, coz no TV for the past few years. :P Daily source of infotainment therefore comes from the internet..boy have times changed or what?!

Calling all Dilbert fans! :)

Some thoughts on the real world by one who glimpsed it and fled. Here.

By Bill Watterson

SOMEWHERE IN INDIA

The morning begins at 5 am

The melodious notes of the Suprabhatam waft through the air

The world awakens slowly

Courtyards getting washed and decorated with rangoli

The newspaper boy delivers the world at the doorstep

The milkman calls out to the lady of the house

Children getting ready for school-half excited, half sleepy

Are adults going to work any different?!

The morning traffic jam

Noise, crowds, skillful driving on the road

Papers to be signed and filed away at work

Time for a snack?

Time for lunch?

Time for coffee...

Time to return home before you know it!

Time with the family, pleasant and cheerful

The events of the day exchanged

An evening out with the family

Watching the sunset with a loved one

Time for quiet reflection, unspoken thoughts understood, minds read..

Time to rest for the day

To dream of things to come

To wake up refreshed to face another day..

Somewhere in India..

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS

A ray of sunshine
A breath of fresh air
Pouring rain

The smell of coffee freshly made
A new morning
A new beginning..

SOMETHING GOOD

The pursuit of excellence

Kindness towards all

A generous spirit

Laughter joy and cheer

Optimism, a positive outlook

Something good..

(I'd written this a long time ago and saved as draft, just publishing it now coz I feel I could use 'something good') :)

WORD OF THE DAY

col·lu·sion: A secret agreement between two or more parties for a fraudulent, illegal, or deceitful purpose.

(Source: www.dictionary.com)

Hindi Song Title: Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui
Hindi Movie/Album Name: BAAZI
Singer(s): GEETA DUTT

Hindi Lyrics:

hey hey hey hey, hey hey (2)
(tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer banaa le, taqdeer bana le
apne pe bharosa hai to yeh daanv laga le
laga le daanv laga le) 2

hey hey, hey hey
(darta hai zamaane ki nigaahon se bhala kyun
nigaahon se bhala kyun) 2
insaaf tere saath hai ilzaam utha le, ilzaam utha le
apne pe bharosa ... daanv laga le

hey hey, hey hey
(kya khaak woh jeena hai jo apne hi liye ho
apne hi liye ho) 2
khud mitke kisi aur ko mitne se bacha le, mitne se bacha le
apne pe bharosa ... daanv laga le
hey hey, hey hey

hey hey hey hey, hey hey
hey, toote hue patwaar hain kashti ke to hum kya
haari hui baahon ko hi patwaar bana le, patwaar bana le
apne pe bharosa ... danv laga le
tadbeer se bigdi hui ... daanv laga le

Listen to the original track here

Selective Amnesia or early onset of senility??? I dont know which one it is, but a strange thing happened to me today. Went for my weekly groceries and on my way home stopped by the ATM to withdraw some cash. So I just put in the card as usual and well then comes the screen that asks me for my PIN number..and guess what? I had FORGOTTEN IT! It is one of the most regularly used numbers for me, its like forgetting one's phone number, and no I didn't do the "smart" thing by making my date of birth my PIN number! Anyways, I tried every possible combination, but nothing worked. Came home and frantically searched my papers, and lo and behold I had the answer staring in my face! Thank God for an organized paper filing system! ;)

Funnily enough I could remember ATM Pin numbers I had had in the past, say a few years ago-I even remember my IITM Bank ATM Pin number, but the current one just vanished out of my short term memory, it was like someone had erased that bit of information from my mind! Well, I since then been able to locate my number, it is ********! ;)

It is said that when one is preoccupied, one's brain, limited as it is in its storage capacity tends to forget the most important things. And guess what, there have been things on my mind, so much so that my afternoon nap isnt complete without a dream or two about it!

This too shall pass..hopefully!

Moral of the story: People reading this blog, please ensure that you have your essential numbers stored in multiple locations, do not rely on any one single source for all that info-your brain has limits to what it can take!!!! Mine sure does!

LESSONS IN LIFE..CONVERSATION WITH MYSELF

1. Know whom to trust.
2. Network. Network. Network.
3. Know your strengths, accept your weaknesses and work with them.
4. Accept responsibility for your work.
5. Be aware of what is ethical and what is not.
6. Be clear on your stand and on your ideals-people might blame you for something you didnt do, or didn't intend to do in any case-learn to draw the line between what is acceptable and what is not.
7. Be grateful for what you have.
8. Strive for your goals. Aim high.
9. Work hard.
10. Disappointment and failure are part of every journey, every endeavor. When they happen, it can be very demoralizing. Learn to see beyond them. Know that nothing is final, and one always has the opportunity to correct the mistakes.
11. Evil might confront you. Accept its presence, and use it as an opportunity to appreciate the Good that there is in this world.
12. When you face injustice, do your best to learn from it. You may not be in a position to change the way others behave, but surely use that as an opportunity to know how NOT to conduct oneself in life.
13. Know that there is a Greater Force that protects us. Surrender to it, place your faith in it, and know that it will guide you to a better tomorrow.
14. There is the Good, the Bad and the Ugly all around us. Learn to tell the difference.
15. Fear might engulf our imagination when we are weak, remember that fearful thoughts are just imagination, and remind yourself that you are capable and strong to deal with the reality of the situation, which may or may not be what you imagined.
16. Therefore be prepared.
17. Be patient.
18. Stay focused.
19. Be happy. Laugh a lot. Take care of yourself. Indulge.
20. Keep the faith!

(Note: This list is by no means exhaustive, and will be updated periodically.)

Being Cyrus

One of the most unusual movies I have come across. It is hard to place it in any particular category. Saif Ali Khan is great in his role as Cyrus Mistry, and the rest of the star cast is truly gifted too. The director has appropriately cast Dimple Kapadia, the great Naseeruddin Shah, Boman Irani and Simone Singh-they fit their roles to a T, and deliver memorable performances. Unexpected in places, the story takes its own life as it takes the audience through many a surprising turn. With lines such as 'Life is like a game of chess, once it is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box', the script has been well crafted, peppered with a lot of wit and dark humor.

One of the few English films in India with a mainstream star cast. I hope the first of many more to come! Indian cinema has come a long way, and I hope we will continue to see movies such as this in future.

Bottomline: Go watch it!

Couldn't help but smile at this. Something to cheer about on a cloudy day. :)

THE KNIGHT AND THE DRAGONS-PART II

The Knight returns from battle, battered and bruised. Sword broken, armour dented, riding on a tired steed. Its time to rest now. The dragons have been vicious, but have not been able to break the spirit of the Knight. The female Dragon has been the most dangerous, her allies secretly empathize with the Knight, but are in her vicious grip-trapped, just like the Knight. The wounds might slowly heal and disappear and the memory of the battle will become a distant dream. The Knight will remain noble, faithful and loyal-the Dragons might raise their ugly heads again, but the Knight remains hopeful that the Dragons won't make that mistake. So far the Knight has been patient, it would be a mistake on their part to underestimate the might of the noble Knight.

For now, peace prevails. The battle is over. Rest. Cheer. Celebrate.

God is watching, I just know,
I feel comforted, loved,
In this moment of strife,
When everything seems difficult, distant, lost
There comes a messenger with a gift,
A gift of faith, of truth, of triumph,
A ray of hope shines through cloudy skies of distrust,
As I pray for a time when..
This too shall pass.

One of my favorite role models is Oprah Winfrey. Here is where you can find some of her quotes. At this point in life, I think I can use some wise words. Here they are..words of warmth, comfort and support in difficult times. Her website is here.

Hope you enjoy meeting Oprah as much as I do!

See you!

Thought for Today

Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back into the same box.

Cyrus Mistry, talking about the game of chess in 'Being Cyrus'.

As the brave Knight fought on relentlessly against the hissing, fire-breathing Dragon, the monster gained in strength when other dragons joined forces to attack the battered, lone Knight. The Knight on his part was aided only by the strength of his will and the faith of the Teacher in him. 'Do not give up,' the Teacher had said, 'you will emerge victorious one day. Do your job. Just keep fighting. You are strong and courageous. Don't let the dragons defeat you. You are born to fight, this is the fight for your life. Prove yourself. I am always with you guiding you. You will win.'

Renewed in hope and faith in himself, the Knight continues to fight the dragons.

May the force be with him!

MEANING IT OR FAKING IT?

How many times have we come across situations where we meet people and tell ourselves, 'I think I'm going to like her/him', or 'Umm..not my type, but its ok, I don't think I'll be meeting her/him again or that often, so let me just be polite this time round'? How many times do we speak to our close friends and secretly think 'I wish (s)he wouldn't be so annoying'? And one final question, how often do we really think, 'Wow! what a great person, I wish I knew her/him earlier/better..I wish (s)he were my friend!' ?

I am sure we all have had such instances in life. Somehow we all seem to be in this game, a grand game of social interaction, where we genuinely like a few people, but just pretend to care about others. Inventions like the phone or the Internet have been instrumental in bringing people closer, creating a boundaryless world..but they also serve as excuses for not being in touch. Some of my favorites: "Oh my answering machine didnt record your message", "My internet is too slow, I cant access my inbox"..ad infinitum. Equivalent to the classic: 'My dog ate my homework'! ;)

All I am saying is this: Its all about our different selves, who we think we are, who we say we are, and what we actually are to others around us. We all wear different masks while dealing with different people we meet in life, but one must be aware that at the end of the day, the mask(s) must come off..we must know who we truly are and what we would like to be, both to ourselves, and to our friends.

Thought for the day: Turn the fake off!

(Disclaimer: Any resemblance to any person/thing/event is purely coincidental. The thoughts here are the author's own..and bear no connection to any person/thing/event).

THE WEEKS THAT WERE

Heartwarming generosity, kindness and love,

Exciting places seen and experienced,

Meeting old friends, renewing old bonds-creating new ties.

Saying goodbye, waiting to meet again,

Not an easy thing to do by any means..

Memories of places visited fill me with joy and sadness all at once.

Making plans-having them materialize in totally unexpected ways,

Ruffled feathers, unkind phone calls,

Pleasant evenings, with a tinge of guilt.

This is what life has been in the weeks that were,

Varying shades of emotion, a rollercoaster ride,

Didn't expect life to be this unexpected-yet lived to tell the tale!

(Disclaimer: The author of this post makes no claims to being a poet. She might have violated all of the rules of good writing, but these are her thoughts all the same! Kindly bear with this post!) ;)

Happy reading! :)

Interesting read

Calling all the Dilberts of the world, interesting article here. Worth a look!

Happy working!

THAT'S AMORE

Wondering what the title means? Just follow the link below-the song speaks for itself. Nothing like a golden oldie to tell it like it is!

Lyrics and song here

Lots of love!

ONCE BITTEN TWICE SHY?!

In an earlier post I had introduced the KITCAT, that mischief of the Kitchen God that (sometimes literally!;)) spices up one's day. Well, suffice it to say, that that is not where it ends. In a classic case of the once bitten twice shy rule, I am now mortally scared of boiling milk in the oven! Although before the KITCAT, that has been something I have done almost unthinkingly, now I am very scared to heat my daily mug of milk in the oven for fear of future KITCATs! This fear does not extend to other cooking activities, even those involving the oven in question. Just the milk that is all! Still figuring out a way to overcome my fear of this particular KITCAT!

Learning behavior is an interesting phenomenon. Some things in life we learn because of positive reinforcement-rewards, both tangible and intangible; and some behaviors are unlearnt because of negative reinforcement-punishments, both tangible and intangible! The latter category is where I would place my fear of the KITCAT(s).

Research in organizational learning documents an interesting phenomenon called 'superstitious learning' whereby a firm tries to mimic the practices of another successful firm, just because the former views the practices of the latter as having led to the latter firm's success. Such behavior, researchers say, overlooks other possible factors which might have in fact contributed to the success of the firm. Thus firms are said to be bounded by their rationality, or limited perception about the nature of success or the nature of the environment in which they function.

This behavior at the organizational level also finds parallels in individual behavior. We try to follow the leader without actually analyzing as to what led to the leader's success to begin with. What is true of positive behaviors like striving for success, is also true of negative behaviors, such as avoiding risks, fears, anxieties, worries, etc. Individuals also possess 'bounded rationality'-a limited perception about the choices available, or information about their environment. Economics offers theories of individual (economic) decision making, and explains individual bounded rationality in much more detail.

Awareness that one's information or skills may be limited in dealing with a particular problem, or in overcoming certain fears, is the first step towards solving that problem. Thus when confronted with a problem (or a freak occurrence like an exploding mug of milk!) one should seek further information on possible causes of that problem. Does that mean I am going to run to the University library to borrow all the books I can find on malfunctioning microwave ovens? Probably. Is that information going to alleviate my fear? Maybe. Maybe not. This brings me to an interesting dilemma: why is it that given ALL the information I can find in this world, I still choose to listen to what I feel, and not necessarily what I think?

I dont know! Never thought about it!

The previous post was about food for the mind, here is something for the soul. A series of lectures on music from this year's Reith Lectures. It is truly a great mind that can articulate what we ordinary mortals can only feel but cannot yet express. This lecture series succeeds on accomplishing that purpose-it puts words to our feelings about music.

The lectures are on Western Classical Music, but a lot of the observations also apply to other genres of music, since I think that music is universal. :) Don't you agree? :)

Ever wondered why we think, dream, believe, feel? Want a new perspective on behavior? You might want to read what I am reading now. These series of lectures are informative, and offer a creative view to these age old questions. I had the honour of listening to Dr.V.S. Ramachandran at the IITM and his lectures are as exciting and thought provoking to read now, as they were when I first heard them almost two years ago.

Revisiting his ideas on the brain and behavior offers good food for thought!

Watch this space for a review of his book, 'Phantoms in the Brain' in a later post.

Happy exploring!

PIYA BOLE..

A late review of Parineeta coming up. Well haven't watched a lot of movies lately, so maybe I'm suffering from a bit of the Hindi movie scarcity syndrome..but this movie is really superb!

Vidya Balan is perfect in her role as Lolita-hoping to see more movies from this gorgeous actress!

As for the soundtrack, all the songs are superb, but I am partial to 'Piyu Bole' which is totally my kind of song! ;)

The first Hindi movie that I saw with English subtitles..the subtitles can be very enlightening, coz the way I understood the song 'Piyu Bole' in Hindi, is a little different from the English translation. Now the song makes more sense than it did when I first heard it and sang it in Hindi! I know its surprising, but there are always words and phrases (even in the languages we think we know very well), that we can still learn.

"Piyu bole, piya bole, kya ye bole jaanu na"

translates as: "the lass spoke, so did the lad, what they spoke, I don't know"

I wouldn't have known this was the meaning of the line if it weren't for the English subtitles!

Allow me to sing it! Listen to it here.

Piyu Bole..

You’re mine, say you’re mine

What do you think?
Piyu bole piya bole jaanu na

Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na
Not bad, ab yeh suno

Dil ki jo baatein hain, baatein jo dil ki hain
Dil hi mein rakhna piya
Lab to na kholoon main, kholoon na lab to par
Aakhon se sab keh diya

Piyu bole piya bole kya yeh bole jaanu na

Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na
Piyu bole piya bole kya yeh bole jaanu na

Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na

Ek nadi se maine poochha itla ke chaldi kahan

Door tere peekha ghar hai balkhaake chaldi kahan

Thoda woh ghabraayi thoda sa sharmaayi

Ujhli yahaan se wahaan

Saagar se milne ka uska jo sapna tha meri hi tarah piya

Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na

Piyu bole piya bole kya yeh bole jaanu na
Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na

Maine poocha ek ghata se itra ke chaldi kahan

Pyaas ki bari zameen hai barson bhi tarsao na

Thoda woh gurraayi thoda sa tharraayi

Garji yahaan se wahaan

Preet rootha thi phir cham cham woh barsi hi teri tarah piya
Piyu bole piya bole kya yeh bole jaanu na

Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na

Piyu bole piya bole kya yeh bole jaanu na

Jiya dole hole hole kyon yeh dole jaanu na

Piyu bole piya bole jaanu na

Hats off to Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam for this song!

(Lyrics courtesy musicindiaonline.com)

UNBELIEVABLE KINDNESS

Well my previous post was about rumination and possible punishment, but just a phone call from the person concerned just simply made my day. The person was not just helpful, but also warm and kind. I was told, oh its ok, here is what you need to do to send it to me. Dont worry about it, its fine if you do it when you are free.

It is such acts of kindness that add happiness to the world! :)

RUMINATION

Just remembered that I forgot something. Weird, isnt it? And depending on how important was the thing that one forgot, one is either pained/upset or just plain annoyed at one's forgetfulness. Its amazing how I still can be overly stressed about making mistakes, not because of any other reason, but simply because I know that the mistake could have been avoided, in hindsight. In this case, its a minor administrative errand that has been overlooked. In the larger scheme of things, does it matter? I guess not. What are the possible repercussions of such an oversight? Well depending on who it is that one is dealing with, the oversight can mean punishment, a warning, or just a line going, 'oh that's ok, never mind, here is what you need to do to correct the problem'. How come very often, its not the last alternative, but one of the earlier options? Or am I being too scared? I dont know.

Fingers crossed, hoping to correct the oversight with minimum pain! ;)

VIRTUAL REALITY

Has life really gone that virtual? Am I truly and officially a net freak now? Let me explain. As the Internet opens up news ways of expression, it also opens new channels by which one can be affected or bothered by what people say to you or about you in a public forum. It may be just an email, a comment or a post-if its positive, it makes us very happy, if we think its not favorable, then well, it bothers or upsets us. Should we really be that sensitive to this mode of communication- especially since the risk of being misunderstood is far higher than when communicating in person? I think a sense of overraching trust in humanity at large is necessary while communicating over the Internet-either through email, or blog or any of the million other ways that have sprung up online in recent years. One might say something that is intended in one context, while the other mis reads our statement to mean something totally different. In this situation, one might just say, well, (s)he is having a bad day, or did not mean it or use some such rationalization.

It is interesting how we as users of the internet still operate and react to internet communication like we do in personal communication. I happen to be one such user. I think it is dangerous to not dissociate the internet with personal communication-and one cannot just stop using the Internet-that would be akin to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The internet is a pretty powerful mode of communication, and well to that extent it deserves some credit. However, as a means of communicating the exact metamessage that the sender intended, is something that the Internet has not been able to do yet. Simply put, meta messages are the meaning or the cognitive/emotional undertone that underlie a message.

Having said that, there are also times when what we read on the Internet leaps out to us, grabs our attention and holds us in its sway exactly as the writer intended. In this case, I would think that it is the writer's skill at communication that enables the writing to make such an impact on the reader.

Online communication is thus an interesting reflection on the personality of the user-in good hands, it is a powerful, even inspiring mode of communication; at other times, it is hurtful, discouraging or just annoying. What is the need of the hour is to have a general agreed upon sense on netiquette, basic rules of communication that one might adhere to while using the internet to communicate. By this I do not mean a dry standard way of writing, but basic rules which are flexible to accommodate one's inspiration and creativity while writing. I doubt if we do have or follow any latent/overt rules of communication, but deeper examination of the dynamics of online interaction holds the key to effective (even inspiring) communication.