Gaal pe teepna, bewajah tab

I don't need to wax eloquent about the wonderfully crafted soundtracks of the movie 'Kaminey'. Just notice the lyrics... wow !! The way Sunidhi Chauhan and Rekha Bharadwaj's voices keeping popping in without even a hint of difference.... never knew it was not one singer. And the great panache with which Vishal Bharadwaj has sung the title track. Gulzar knows that Vishal Bharadwaj will treat each word with the importance that it deserves in the smaller scheme of things. Yaaa.... words have a macro as well as micro meaning. A good poet will try and reveal these two meanings to the listener.

But overall this collection is worth a standing ovation for Gulzar and Vishal's ability to bring forth newer dimensions of mainstream music. I couldn't have missed one of my favourite singers Suresh Wadkar, leaving his touch on this colletion. Suresh has been underutilized by the industry and Vishal knows what magic singers like him, sukhvinder singh and kailesh kher bring to the soul of the song.

Love this collection.... loved 'Machis' for shaping my appreciation for poetic music and love 'Kaminey' for revealing a genre of music that is surprisingly mainstream. Ya, how did this soundtrack manage to be mainstream... is still a huge surprise for me. Lol !!

Matchbox Rains

At 2 am, there is precious little anyone can do apart from the obvious. Some lucky ones keep it going till that long...boy I envy them. But then in the event of such pleasures escaping my life totally, there is only one thing I am supposed to do that late in the night. But then I was not.

I was twelve when I realised that the only thing good about the rains is that you can sit on the window sil of our old house and watch the rain with a cup of tea and some hot 'pakodas'. Rains have always been bad for me because it falls when I have to go out to play. "Rain Rain Go away, Little Johnny wants to play" I would wail ! My nursery teacher never meant her students to sing it that way. Anyway.

So, the red of the night shone sombre and I fought off my fear to look through. I found a spec of the light particle shining, not through, but up and over. The sky's stretch marks were quite unlike humans'.... duh ! The light spread and it seemed the drops were going to form a swing.... a swing on which swayed the little child clouds... laughing and frolicking around the mother clouds.

I rubbed my eyes again in disbelief. How can this be beautiful and so soothing? How can watching the pitter-patter of the rains from inside the confines of the house be so enthralling and that too at night. Isn't night supposed to be dark? Has God missed a trick here or has she/he slept off in the night, just as our watchman Mr. Gorkha. The matchbox like appartments in the city forbid any thoughts that you might harbour of an expansive view of anything for that matter. One balcony opens smack into the bedroom window of the opposite building. Now dimwits like me are so scared of being a vouyers, that we refrain from even looking outside our balconies, lest I accidently catch a couple opposite my building in that act. Oh ya, I still am living in my teen fantasy of every boy, that the only thing that a couple does when they go inside a bedroom is..well, ummm...eeerrr.. you know ( see, i can't even type the damn word )

But at this time of the night or rather morning, I am unafraid. I look out and fall in love with the idea of watching rains from my window sil again after so many years. Well, after so many years of walking in the rains, there is nothing much left to do other than finding a shelter and watching it pour. It feels great that at least the sky cries in a refreshing manner. ....

Clarity

one trait that any professional must have is - Clarity. This is one trait that I feel any recruiter must look out for in the prospective candidate.
My big boss Mr. Vijay Dogra, shines through everthing else, due to this wonderful virtue of his. The clarity of thought is amazing...

Over the period of my experiences in my work-life, I have found that the people who have impressed me and have gained my respect are having this one trait in common.

The way one speaks and conducts is a reflection of the clarity of thought of that person. I have always tried to be clear myself but amazingly it varies a lot... what I mean to say is... in some situations, like when I am dealing with my team members, when they come to me for guidance, I am very clear. But at the same time, when I am working with a senior colleague, I tend to be confused. Its so strange and frustruating. Inconsistency in clarity is again an issue, since you confuse the people around you. One day you impress your colleagues with your wisdom and clarity and the next day you goof up and make them re-think on why they thought of you as a good professional in the first place.

Anyways, take this exercise... pick the people that you admire and see if they have this one trait with them. More than knowledge, humility, skill, oratory, attitude, charisma.... more than any of these... its the clarity of thought that makes them stand apart and take the right decisions. Or rather, ask the right questions.

Why Democracy is more acceptable, although flawed?

"Communism/Socialism, in it's ideal state, is better than Democracy/Liberalism in it's ideal state.
But Democracy/Liberalism in it's flawed state is far far better than Communism/Socialism in it's flawed state."

And 'ideal' is not an attribute associated with Man. Hence Democracy is more acceptable to the world. I guess !!!