Poem - Innocence Lost

Innocence Lost

From the belief that inanimate can talk
To the notion that talk does not matter
From the purity of love in a tight hug
To the superficiality of air kissing
From the genuine desire to learn by questioning
To the mental block of a know-it-all attitude
From the light of bliss in the eyes that behold
To the void look when the world passes by
From the joy of loving something over and over
To the tireless quest of the unknown and undefined
From the simple pleasure of sharing
To the jealousy of possession
It's all about....
... Innocence lost!

Music Review - Raavan

Raavan (2010)
Music Director: A R Rahman
Film Director: Maniratnam
*ing: Abhi, Ash, Vikram et al

Khili Re - I listened to Khili Re first. Nice romantic song, can distinctly feel the Bengali style here. You can imagine this song being sung on a boat on Hoogly or Brahmaputra in a moonlit night. Not sure of the actual picturization. But, yes, something to watch out for!

Behene De - Initial parts remind of "paani paani re" from Maachis. The echoing bells and haunting background symphony are similar. Thereafter, the song picks up pace and stands on its own. ARR is using a lot more chorus based creations than earlier. Beautiful interweaving of solos and joint singing. Towards the end, there is a persian+underground mix that brings a terrific effect in a good audio system. Makes the hair stand on its end! Terrificilious!

Beera Beera - Anybody else could not have made a song out of so many different sounds - er, maybe Sivamani. Well, is Sivamani the brain behind this song? I would not be surprised least bit. Awesome percussion!! Would have loved the song to stretch atleast half a min or so more. (And is that some native tribal dialect? sounds vaguely like saying "kilimanjaro". a la deep forest?)

Thok De Khilli - It will take multiple listens to understand the underlying feel. I particularly loved the loud sounding of trumpets, as if to announce the arrival of a King. I have heard these instruments in real life, and they inspire awe. So, it is a great use of the instrument in this song. It's combination with electric guitar riffs stamps POWER all over this song. This could be really a morale building march song, "I am going out there to defeat the enemy and come back victorious" types!

Kata Kata Ila - The shehnai interlude is somewhat misleading, I felt. I particularly loved the rustic feel brought in by Ila Arun. String instrument arrangement is awesome! Can imagine the fun environment. I think this is more of a Bachelor Party song... raunchy, mischievous... even lyrics seem to suggest the same. Nice euphoric ending.

Ranjha Ranjha - I think this is the song of the album! Complex, bewitching... everything about this song is awesome... orchestration, chorus, lyrics, even the background humming. A casual listener will need to be patient in understanding the beauty of this track. It is a connoisseur's delight.

My #1 for now : Ranjha Ranjha and Khili Re (trying to decide on one of these, but unable to!)

BTW, read this after I was done and was just about to send out. Nice read!
http://www.planetbollywood.com/displayReview.php?id=m042310081210

Enjoy the treat to your ears!

Are all nursery rhymes safe for children?

Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.

When you read this, it sounds like any other normal poem. Right?

Now read this page.

After reading the above page, I am not sure if I want my daughter to recite such a poem. Not sure how many poems are packaged as nursery poems and actually have a murkier significance.

Sigh!

Fall Foliage in New Hampshire

My grandmother once told me - Even if you forget that nature is changing, nature will make sure to let you know. My previous experience in the US helped cement that statement. However, it was apparent that something remained to complete an unknown void. Vivid Fall Foliage. And that too in US North East.

So, this time around, I made sure that I drove up north to New Hampshire (NH) to see what is famously touted as the best fall foliage seen on Earth. While I expected to see a lot more colorful scenery, what I saw was not less than splendid.

We left last Saturday at 2:30PM and reached Keene, NH at 7:15PM. We checked into a hotel and then walked around Main Street. Keene is a nice little town, having an old English flavor. People are cordial and nice. I did not notice any other Indian family there other than us. And probably more than 95% people are White Americans.

The route that we took for the scenic drive was the same one as proposed on visitnh.gov. We drove through the towns of Keene, Jaffery, Dublin, West Rindge, Peterborough, Hancock, Stoddard, Marlow and Gilsum.

We left Keene at around 2:30PM on Sunday. It took us a good 6 hours to return because of traffic snags. You could see all vacationing people returning back to their homes in CT or NY or NJ or probably further on. We did some intelligent decisions by taking exits that took us on State Routes so that we could join the Interstates after the exits where snags were being reported. It did help us save upto have hour or so.

The pictures are uploaded on Picasa Google and Flickr. Though the colors were not as vivid as someone has seen in Vermont, I did get to see colors that NH is famous for. Check the albums for more. Here are some of my favorites.

Magic or what?

I got this video in my email today. And it amazed me. We all know there is no such thing as "real" magic and that there is always some reason to every trick. But this defeats all reason! Give it a look.



Am sure if the secret is out, many would benefit. Most significantly, it would be the girls during their marriage. Tell them how they can do this, and they would bless you for eternity!!