Sunday started off as usual. Me waking up late, getting yelled at for waking up late, watching TV in spite of the din and on phone with Ramya, blah blah… you get the drift. Plans were finally made with Ramya to go to T Nagat to finish some shopping left from the previous day. I announced the same at lunch to mom and dad and tackled their volley of questions and cross-questions.
And then, I was off!
I picked Ramya up at her place and we reached our hot destination. It is hard to explain in words the thrill and excitement of shopping on the streets. There is nothing like it, I tell ya. If you have never done it in your life, it is high time you start.
We just had our usual girl-girl day; shopping, talking non-stop, and passing comments about any random person (You may think it’s evil, but who cares. It’s fun :P), and when we got tired and hungry, we stopped at Ananda Bhavan for a ‘small’ snack. We then went to Jhillmill to get some stuff for Ramya, and I ended up getting four pairs of ear rings. :P
I had parked my bike in the parking area behind the building. It was quite a huge area with space for both car and bike parking. I had parked right at the end. It was dark when we left the building. We went to my bike and I noticed two water bottles in the front compartment. I was puzzled how it got there and took it out. It was empty. Ramya said someone probably just dumped their empty bottle there. I got miffed and promptly threw it away.
I then inserted my key and tried unlocking my bike. It wouldn’t budge. ‘It’s stuck’, I told her.
Only, it wasn’t stuck. You see, the bike wasn’t mine in the first place.
Okay, laugh all you want. But in my defense, it was dark and neither of us noticed. :P
We were laughing like two crazy girls there, when Ramya said ‘Oh my god, you threw the bottle away’. I tried searching for it but then we decided it was more imperative to leave before the owner of the bike came.
Even now, I can’t believe I did such a thing. It was hilarious on one hand, while on the other, I was appalled at the state that I was in! I realized it was high time I stopped getting so wound up and be a little upbeat and relaxed. My preoccupied mind couldn’t even make out which my bike was. This only makes me think what next!
Well, what can I say. I am lucky the owner of the bike wasn’t around to witness the debacle. :P
I recently had the opportunity to listen to the songs from Paa. I was very intrigued the first time I received a forward about the movie. Well, anybody would be when the star cast of the movie says 'Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan and introducing... Amitabh Bachchan'.
Paa is about a child with a rare genetic disorder called Progeria. The result of the disorder is early aging. The child hence looks like he is 60 years old, when in fact, he is just 13. Big B plays the role of Auro, the child. Abhishek and Vidya play the role of his parents. A very rare father-son, son-father movie indeed.
The first thing that struck me was the Big B's disguise. It is truly noteworthy. If the titles didn't mention him, I would never have guessed, just like you wouldn't have from the picture above until you read it. I am looking forward to watching the movie solely for Big B.
Sadly, I cannot say the same for the music. I was looking forward to listening to the songs because they were Ilayaraja's compositions and I kind of liked the track they played in the promo on TV. With deep regret of having taken the pain to download the songs (even if it was free download done through office internet :D), I inform that it really wasn't worth it.
We South Indians have literally grown up listening to the maestro's music, which only pushes us to expect more out of him each time. There is no denying that he has given us the most enthralling melodies. Well, not this time. I noticed his repetition of tunes in Cheeni Kum, but never dwelled on it, attributing it to a 'tune-block' phase that they go through. But now, it has just gone too far.
The album consists of eight tracks. In brief - almost ALL are repetitions. Either of his older compositions from Tamil/Malayalam, or of each other.
Muddhi Muddhi appears thrice in the album. Two versions are by Shilpa Rao and one by Shaan. Both the versions by Shilpa are peppy, while Shaan's has an unplugged feel. They are good in their own way, nice to listen to. Only you get bored of listening to the same tune again and again masquerading as three different songs. It is not like a remix or a reprise. Just the very same tracks. So similar that while downloading, I thought I was saving the same song too many times by mistake when I saw the similar names.
So that's 3 out of 8. Easy way to increase number of tracks I say. :P
Hichki Hichki sung by Sunidhi Chauhan is an average number. Frankly, it didn't impress me much. I just found it to be a random mixture of beat and rhythm.
The next original track in the album is Paa, rendered by Big B himself. He has modified his voice to suit that of a child. Aside from the baritone of his voice evident in a few places, it is pretty hard to make out that it is him. It is more like reciting poetry than singing, which is okay considering that it is a child singing according to the story. The emotions he has put into the words are really good. This song will truly have its impact when watched in the movie, I hope.
Halke Se Bole and Gumm Summ Gumm are rip offs from his compositions in Tamil, both super hits in their time. The last track in the album is the Paa theme. Nothing much to write about it. Just usual theme music that you can expect in an album.
Ilayaraja has been one of our very first smash hit music directors. It is surprising that he is fending off of his own compositions now, which only makes me think that he is out of new tunes. Even if the songs were not going to break records, it would have been better if they were at least new, original pieces. He must be well aware of the fact that Hindi movies are widely watched here. The tune might strike a chord in the North (I really don't know in how many places), but it is just old wine in new bottle for us, which might diminish its takers here.
Well, I have never been a die-hard Ilayaraja fan anyway. This post is just an outcome of the mild frustration that I felt upon hearing the tracks. I was appalled at the dearth of new tunes.
Mr. Maestro, a small piece of advice. Music does not die with age or time. It is okay if you are not able to come up with new tunes now. But please don't reuse your old tracks to such an extent that one day all you might hear is 'Oh that guy? Yeah, once upon a time his music was good. Now I find it hard to explain to my kids that these new tracks are not original.'
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.
Well, that was easy for Bob Dylan to say and make some money out of it. :P
We all like to believe that the times are changing and beckoning us to a better future, given that we were born in a very conservative land. We are more open to the cultures around the world, our ideas have changed and we are looking to an entirely different way of life from our fathers, let alone our forefathers.
At this time, we look to our older generation for a little understanding, the absence of which makes the meek ones nod their heads to their elders’ commands and the bold ones (me, one among them, most of the time :D ), revolutionaries.
The question here is, just because some of us want to live our lives our way, which is perfectly legal as long as we don’t do drug trafficking or something, is it fair to immediately brand us disrespecting or valueless or, like in some cases, the anomaly of the clan?
I was talking to a very dear friend last night. She works for a software company and was given an opportunity to travel abroad as a part of her job. This means a lot to us software engineers both professionally and personally. Our career graph immediately shoots up after one visit abroad due to the knowledge we gain. On the personal front, well, you know, the glitz and glamour of the world outside is never tiring…
I was shocked when she told me that she refused the offer. Reason – her mother asked her not to take it up as they were fervently trying to get her married. Apparently, in her community, girls who are well-read, with very good qualifications, are seen as arrogant and ‘not the family type’. I couldn’t believe my ears when she said ‘They (relatives) already make a face when they learn that I work. Almost all the alliances that come look out for a non-working girl. If I travel abroad, that’s it. I will never get married. ’ Being the meek girl that she is, she didn’t object to her mother’s wishes.
Okay. Century check. Am I in the 21st century or 16th?
It doesn’t matter what century we live in. It is still a man’s world. The most important ambition in a girl’s life according to the older generation is still, getting married, pregnant, barefoot and in the kitchen. There are very few who support her dreams. You finish school, college and work by chance. If there is that one different thing that you want to do, they wouldn't hear of it. What?! You want to waste two years on post-graduation when you can get very good alliances? You must be nuts.
Which law divides dreams and ambitions based on gender? Does the Bible or Geetha ask man to treat women in a subservient manner? How difficult is it to understand that women too, have a mind of their own? They have similar ambitions and desires as that of men. It is atrocious that our parents support this too. Why, in the first place, would I even want to marry a guy who thinks that my ambitions and the loans that come with it are a burden to his family, instead of being proud of such a wife?
I once got a forward that goes like this:
Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;
One, who has dreams and aspirations just as
you have because she is as human as you are;
One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your
Sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system
that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements
One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as
much as you do, for 20-25 years of her life;
One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family name
One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen
One, who is expected to make tea, first thing in the morning and cook
food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more,
and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother,
a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as
to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;
One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;
Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply
Because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise
One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;
One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important,
relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some
and trust her;
One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it.
This might outline the perfect man, but essentially, it is also a message for all the elders out there. If not anybody else, at least our mothers should understand our predicament as they only know too well what it feels like to sacrifice. They like to claim that they are open-minded, but put a limit to how open minded they want to be.
There are possibly only three things that we can do – bow our head and accept whatever they say, or try and make them understand, or, as a last resort, go ahead and do what we please irrespective of what they think about us. It is the choice we make that will decide our future.
Yes. We all like to believe that the times are changing and beckoning us to a better future. It has happened for some of us. Some are still fighting, some have given up.
Software engineer, hate. Artist, love. Highly opinionated, not generally appreciated. Fiercely passionate about life. A die hard Calvin and Hobbes fan.
