The last hurrah

A harbinger of hope or the culmination of an extra-ordinary journey.

A big night or a bigger dawn ?

It is yet to be seen if the political will can be renewed or if the potential for participatory democracy been really knocked upon.

Nevertheless, what an inspirational story it has been of personal triumph against all odds.

The "last hurrah" or can there ever be one ?

Ya Rab, na woh samjhe hain, na samjhenge meri baat
de aur dil unko jo na de mujhko zubaan aur
- Mirza Ghalib

15 more days and I will be seeing her.

Humsafar

Hum jo chale tum bhi chalo saath
Phir kya khabar ke din hain ke raat

Bas mein nahin rahenge jazbaat
Tum jo sanam humaare chalo saath
Hum jo chale...

Sur se saji geethon si teri yaad
Tujh bin sanam bhaaye na koi baat
Kaise kaho akele chaloon aaj
Tum aao sanam soone hain dil ke saaz

Kaisi bhi raahen ho kaisi dagar ho
Koi bhi rasta ho koi safar ho
Chalte rahen hum jo duur humsafar ho
Hum jo chale...

Din yeh kahe baitho humaare paas
Aao idhar ishaara kare raat
Hum ko magar chaahiye wohi shaam
Jis par sanam likha ho tera naam

Chandni raatein ya ghirti seher ho
Chahe din ka wo koi pehar ho
Chalte rahen hum jo duur hamsafar ho

Hum jo chale tum bhi chalo saath
Phir kya khabar ke din hain ke raat

Bas mein nahin rahenge jazbaat
Tum jo sanam...

Galiyon mein phirta hai banjara dil ye
Tujh ko hi dhoondega awaara dil yeh
Karta hai jaane ishaara kya dil yeh

Hum jo chale to tum bhi chalo saath...



Listen to the song here.

Singer: Mohit Chauhan
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi

Bantureethi Kolu ...

Music without lyrics is incomplete and a mere transliteration/translation can never do justice. Though my telugu allows me to appreciate the lyrics only to a limited extent, Tyagaraja's compositions are of a different class.

I have been hooked to "Bantureethi Kolu" for over a month now and I am deeply enamored with this composition. I would rank this as one of my favorite non-pancharatna Tyagaraja kritis.

Surprisingly enough, I haven't found a single vocal rendition of this kriti to my satisfaction. If you know of one, please do drop a line. For now, Listen to this on Veena by ChittiBabu.

Sicko

If you are from a country where nearly 400 million people still live below poverty, you should probably not be complaining about the health care system in the United States. But if you have lived in the US for sometime, it would hardly go unnoticed that the health care system is such a farce. 50 odd million people (i.e. nearly 15% of the population) are uninsured (health care without insurance in the US is worse than the worst nightmare!). It doesn't stop there. Even if you are a middle class citizen covered by a "good" health insurance, you would still dread at the thought of visiting a doctor.

Michael Moore is direct, ruthless and when given a chance, strips down his opponents with utter disregard. I was thrilled when "Sicko" was released this friday, especially because the 2008 campaign has just picked up pace. and boy, has he done a good job! It will be interesting to see if the documentary has any influence on the voters or the intent of policy makers at the Capitol.

I can't stop thinking about the pros/cons of organized lobbying and how it would fit in a more complex democratic framework like that of India. Are we much better off now? I don't know.

Democratizing Commerce

Interesting Talk by C.K.Prahlad. Check the video here.

Tasveer Banata Hoon, Tasveer Nahin Banti ...

Tasveer banata hoon tasveer nahin banti
ek khwaab sa dekha hai taabir nahin banti
[Tasveer-Picture, Khwaab-Dream, Taabir-Interpretation(of dream)]

Bedard mohabbat ka itna sa hai afsana
nazron se mileen nazrein mein ho gaya deewaana
ab dil ke behalne kee tadbir nahin banti
[Bedard-Heartless, Afsaana-Story, Tadbir-Plan)

Dum bhar ke liye meri duniya mein chale ao
tarsi hui aankhon ko phir shaqal dikha jao
mujh se to meri bigdi taqdeer nahin banti
[Taqdeer-Fate]

Singer: Talat Mehmood
Lyricist: Kumar Barabankvi
Music: Naushad

Listen to the song here.

Check the alternative version here by Jagjit Singh.

Political Courage ?

" ...It may perhaps seem odd that in my private life I go around interfering and giving people advice like this without having the courage to come forward in public life before you, the people and give advice on matters of public interest. The reason for this is what you have often heard me talking about in all sorts of places, the kind of divine or supernatural sign that comes to me. Perhaps this is what Meletus was making fun of when he wrote up the charge against me. It started when I was a child, a kind of voice which comes to me and when it comes - always stops me doing what I am just about to do. It never tells me what I should do, it is this which opposes my taking part in politics and rightly opposes it in my opinion.

You can be sure Athenians, that if I had tried in the past to go into politics, I would have been dead long ago and being no use at all either to you or myself. Please don't be anooyed with me for speaking the truth, there is no-one in the world who can get away with deliberately opposing it or any other popular assembly or trying to put a stop to all unjust and unlawful things which are done in politics. It is essential that the true fighter for justice if he is to survive even for a short time should remain a private individual and not go into public life. ..."

Apology(audio or text)
-Socrates as accounted by Plato.

Surmayee shaam Is tarah Aaye

I consider two lyricists/poets clearly a cut above the rest, though their approach to poetry is very different. Sahir ludhianvi was a revolutionary, his songs make you think, question and revolt like no one else's can. and then there is Gulzar, who blends reality with abstraction to perfection.

Sometimes, I find myself in a blissful state, where I could completely forget my existence and just enjoy each and every moment of it. and more often than not, such a moment is accompanied by a song that I love. Gulzar's lyrics over the years has provided many such beautiful moments.

Gulzar creates magic in this song, and Suresh Wadkar's voice is as sweet as nectar.

Listen to the song here or here.

surmayee shaam is tarah aaye
saans lete hai, jis tarah saaye

koi aahat nahin, badan ki kahin
phir bhi lagtaa hai, too yahin hain kahin
waqt jaataa sunaayi deta hain
tera saaya dikhaayi deta hain
jaise khushboo nazar se chhoo jaaye

din ka jo bhi pehar guzarta hain
koi ehsaan sa utarta hain
waqt ke paanv dekhtaa hoon main
roz ye chaanv dekhtaa hoon main
aaye jaise koi khayaal aaye
saans lete hai, jis tarah saaye

-Gulzar