Monday, April 6, 2009

Small things make life Wonderful

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together."
-- Vincent Van Gogh

I always cherish small things and that’s the reason I sometimes embellish when I comment on something …but what is life without excitement and bit of fantasy….
How many of us enjoy a cup of hot tea standing in the balcony, enjoy a ride in the car with moon roof open, smile when we iron the shirt perfectly for the first time, beam when the queue in grocery store billing counter is less, enjoy the final layer sticking in the vessel in a chicken biriyani, enjoy the smell emanating after the rain, relish when somebody wishes you “Good Morning” when you have no clue who the other person is , enjoy the making of the film even after the film is over and titles start rolling, feel sigh of relief when our desi aunties has left at least some good lady’s fingers after breaking the tip of most in an Indian store ..etc ., the list goes on and on ….I personally enjoy all of these except the last one since I feel our aunties can show some pity on the bachelors…he he ..

We feel very blissful when dollar exceeds 50 rupees forgetting that our roots are from India (no showoff I also do this), very happy when Citi exceeds our credit limit or offers a good balance transfer deal, very happy when India wins the trophy …..no harm in enjoying all these as these would really swift gears and make you smile. The only thing is why don’t we give some if not equal importance to the small things ……I personally believe one who enjoys small things will always have a smile in their face …..


Also many of us in this modern era get restless very often …..if we see we don’t get parking lot near the doorstep of a store we gently scold shoppers ….the moment our internet starts to buffer at regular intervals we immediately say “why is internet very slow today?” without realizing all of our roomies are streaming a dvd version of a movie,scold our own driving skills missing the traffic signal by arriving a few nanoseconds late. I myself do all of these and that’s the problem with everybody these days. We get restless very often as we need everything very soon.

I wanted to write this blog to say to myself and to anyone who reads this blog to enjoy small things in life and not to get restless for petty things. This is not an advice just a message from your friend. Live life to the fullest and enjoy every bit of it as it is a gift from god.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Jai ho AR Rahman ji

Well it’s been some time since ARR won the coveted Oscar award ….I wanted to write a blog right away as I thought that would be my way of expressing happiness …life these days are so saccharine that I don’t even find time to convert my rough drafts to actual blogs …..well it was a bit cold Sunday evening when several of us assembled in one of our friend’s house to see the award ceremony …never in my life I have watched an Oscar show ..that too ‘live’ on television ……when the number slowly began to increase we decided lets munch something which we are pretty good at. It was decided Samosa would be the dish and on top of this rasamillai was on the way ….that was perfect and ceremony began ...we all were excited to see whether media would catch ARR among the crowd to say a few words …to be frank all of us were watching as if India were playing Pakistan against a world cup finals ….the ambience was bit tensed and only noise was from the people who were preparing samosa ....

Slowly awards were given for each category ...for every award Slumdog millionaire won we were whistling and bustling ...Slumdog millionaire was a film based on India but actually taken by British guy …many technicians were also outside India …but still since the movie was picturised in India we get a feeling its totally an Indian film …..when the nominations were announced under music category I just saw some of my friends and pondered whether they need a nail cutter for the coming months ….and finally ARR’s name was announced and all of us were on our feet just racketing and expressing our happiness ..and when ARR spoke in thaimouli Tamil …I personally was moved and just felt like removing my shirt like how dada did back in lord’s ……thank god due to members from my opposite gender was controlling my emotions …..and to add icing in the cake ARR got the second award and also performed on stage …that was truly a magic moment ….a moment to relish for every Indian and Tamizhan ....we all were also happy that none of the neighbours complained as the sound coming out from the room must have been lot of decibels ....

We personally know ARR for a long time ….we have listened to far better songs than the ones he composed for SM ….he himself accepted that he composed music for the entire film within 3 weeks of time ….his songs from his maiden venture is still hummable ……As a brand he has terrific track record in making his songs a super hit …..also one has to confess he approached right channels and his name crossed Indian borders due to the directors and people he worked with. Myself being a very big fan of Raja sir felt bit disappointed why he did not win any Oscars ….the sound coming from his composition is unique and as many he does not rely on software …he uses number of instruments and always has numerous people playing it just to get a kind of music he wants ….not being a technical savvy in music I do not know how to explain it …but one thing for sure Rajs sir’s music is always exquisite…Bollywood is a major place to put your name in Global map as the reach is much wider ….but that said ARR has to be appreciated and congratulated for bring home two Oscars and making every Indian and tamizhan proud …..as I read lot of biographies I have seen this quality among great men ….that they are ‘modest’ I don’t know to put it in which voice (active/passive) whether ‘great men are always modest’ ..or ‘modest men are always great’.

What this would mean to Indian music or Indian films on a whole ……this would definitely bridge the gap between west and east ..and also faucet many such talents and many would get exposed to the global arena …..Indian talent will be looked upon with great respect ….Since India always stands for cheap labor Hollywood may gauge this and the logistics may change slightly if not much and ARR will be remembered when all of this happen as he is the man who started the whole new show ...we also wish him and his three daughters to carry the torch for the coming generations ...
Thank you ARR ....