Silence?

Your silence is killing. Your presence in it even more.
Sometimes I wish I went deaf to the silences with incoherent voices of the past.

My favorite songs of the month

I guess I have been listening to some amazing music. Not promising any of it is really new but just wanted to share my list nevertheless.

Race with the devil on a spanish highway (One the best jazz numbers)

Drumming is awesome, guitaring even better. It is sheer joy! Jazz in many ways is a game of maths, timing and numbers. Once you get the hang of it, it takes percussion to a different level and makes it an enjoyable experience.

A piece of Hindustani classical that is just too captivating to common man and otherwise. It is not too complex a piece but the benaras gharana tabla is just too appealing. Also the variety of notes and pitches the singer is able to touch at points is not easy to reproduce at all.

Jagjit singh at his best: Trying to get my hands on a recording I have on my disk. Love this one for the lyrics especially and there is a version where Jagjit sign shows the difference in the words Janaab and Huzur via his singing in the last stanza. That is the part that appeals the most to me.

Some amazing classical by a lady becoming my favourite: Malini Rajurkar:

Veena tai for I have a special affinity to her voice. Sounds like someone I know very much.

Heard her live in Bangalore and was a concert I will not forget.

Hope you all enjoy these as well.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

What a movie! It took me a while to enjoy it simply because the first time you watch it, the mind needs to get aligned to whats coming. I loved the movie for it is

• Cool
• Brilliantly Shot
• Has a background score that will haunt you forever
• Has a message somewhere.
• Has some brilliant acting (Tuco!!!)

You might not enjoy this movie if you like realism, don't expect a few snags and if you are not looking for any macho-ism on display. This movie to me draws a parallel to Sholay. It would have set a precedent in its time and it is not so much Clint Eastwood but the overall experience that made this movie worth a watch a number of times. It is epic! I plan on catching up on my movie list yet again.

A new start?

Settled in London, found a house and checked in. Its strange how the process repeats itself all over again every single time when you setup a house and yet there is no short cut. You just have to go through the grill.

I have had interesting times, felt bad about moving continents, leaving an apartment behind and most importantly my friends and family in a time zone 5 hours away. At the same time I am excited about this new phase for it promises a lot of experiences.

• Marked my first day with a run in Regents park. Watched rugby, got wet in the rain and listened to music at my pace in my way and just experienced sheer bliss. I don't know if it was the run or the rain or was the fact that I knew I had established a new rapport with this city, marked my territory in the park with so many joggers, passers by and tourists, but something was monumental about my run today. I made a new memory with a new song and a new story.
• Met interesting people at a friends party and firmly believe that the world is indeed a small place and London even smaller;-) Connections from the past linger by and interesting times are yet to come.
• Learnt to play my first set of chords on the guitar - D, C, G, Am and struggling with my Open F!
• Have a long list of to-buy, an even longer list of to-dos and heck a hectic week ahead.
• Excited that my folks will finally be around and I can show them Europe and hope that the weather is not too harsh.

Looking forward to watching many a concerts and all the plays and learning some art direction. I had promised myself this year would be about re-defining myself and so far I have been at it. Whoever told it would be easy?? I was only told it would be fun!