Winter Shaayri

Dekho in waadiyon ne
Ghane kohre ka naqaab pehna hua hai,
Jab dhund ka parda hata,
Toh maaloom hua,
Dilli ke koochon ne
Waadiyon ka mukhauta pehna hua hai…

Translation (not word to word)

Look, the valley
Is engulfed in the veil of thick fog,
And when this curtain of fog was lifted,
One realized that,
The lanes of Delhi,
Had worn the mask of a valley...


 (c) Chala Denominator, Numerator Ban-ne

Delhi Trivia again

Overheard by a cousin during Navaratra time in Delhi- A very pious Delhiite giving instructions to the thelawala- "Oye, navratre chal rahe hain. Omlette mein pyaaz mat daaliyo!!"

Delhi Trivia

Delhi Trivia- Out there in the heart of north campus is the Vice Regal Lodge. They say that Lord Mountbatten proposed to Edwina here. And guess what, just outside this building is a forlorn looking bust of... you guessed right... Pt. Nehru!!!!

Dev gave us a lot of Anand

I woke up yesterday to the news of Dev Anand's demise. Unbelievable, for more than evergreen, I've always perceived him as eternal.

Dev Anand and his movies have influenced more than one generation. I know a lot of people from Dad's generation who sported a puff in their hairstyle some decades back. I know a lot of us who still sing songs from his different films at different occasions. More than anything else, I have been highly inspired by the spirit he has shown in life. He cared two hoots on whether people watched his movies- he just made them for himself. People may say he was full of himself and oblivious to public feedback... To me, he represents the pinnacle of an internal locus of control. To me, he represents a group of people who kept himself relevant for so long as he walked the earth... A true Hero indeed.

I have some very fond memories associated with his songs. I remember, years back, in D School, I sang this song for a girl- during a class where the teacher (the ever elegant Mr. Gera) wanted a break and asked any of us to sing a song. I sang tere mere sapne and till date have never heard any song that expresses love so beautifully. Watch the video if you haven't and you shall know what I am saying.

During those same college days, during times of frustration (with specific people or just in general), I remember going to Parived's room to listen to dum maaro dum. The line "Duniye ne humko dia kya, duniya se humne lia kya" was a favourite with both of us. Parived and I were the most graceless dancers in the batch and could not dance to save our lives. But banging our heads to this song is a special part of my memories of college. That song was a cult song in the 70's and it was a cult song in the 2000's.

That immortal song "Maen zindagi ka saath nibhaata chala gaya" represents the legend so beautifully. His times can be most aptly summed up in that line. Lines from that song "har fiqr ko dhuey mein udaata chala gaya" was relevant in the 60's and remains relevant now and shall be so a thousand times later. Life's philosophy can't be more beautifully explained- "Gham aur khushi mein farq na mehsoos ho jahaan, maen dil ko us maqaam pe laata chala gaya". And every time there was a heartbreak, I tried telling the heart- barbaadiyon ka jashn manaata chala gaya...


Whenever in self doubt or whenever I have felt like one selfish being, I have taken great inspiration from Dev Anand's potrayal of Raju Guide... The novel was a classic... but Dev Anand gave it a life beyond the Guide in the book (and mind you, i am a big big fan of R K Narayan)... The transition from being an ordinary man to a man who does something great in life is so beautiful in that movie...

Last week my fiancee was in town. She was leaving the next morning and I dropped her back at her room the previous night. I was driving back home when the radio played Abhi na jaao chhodkar and i remember smiling to myself saying "Apt".

There are many such memories where Dev Anand may not be a direct player in the scene in our lives, but something related to him or his movies just add charm to the scene.

The world is a lot less charming today. As the Times of India put it, "India just lost its youngest star"... For making Indian films more beautiful...for making life more beautiful... a big Thank You to Dev Anand....

She and me...

When she first stepped into the car, Rumi's words were playing on audio... :-)

Coincidence???

 Na!!!!

Consulting Rules #1

The real risk in consulting is not if your clients are relevant for you. The question is, how relevant are you for your clients?"

#conversations-with-mentors

Metaphorically Yours...

Maybe you should open up more...", I tell a friend.

"You should help yourself first...", the friend replies.

I chuckle.

I think to myself. I am holed up inside a fortress. I dig a hole inside, bury myself deep and close my eyes.

Its worth a chuckle :-D Indeed!

(c) Chala Denominator, Numerator Ban-ne

kaise bataaoon

It is exactly a year now.

Standing inside Subway, I listen to Kailash Kher's rendition of "Kaise bataaoon". Serendipity- its the same song.

There is a smile on my lips now :-)

(C) Chala Denominator, Numerator Ban-ne

Goa, Dosti etc...

Ma’am, take this please- just 50 rupees. You take it and I will be happy and I will go away.” This kid was probably 10 years old. She carried with her a whole lot of women’s accessories- the arbit things women wear around their neck and their ankles, I guess.

My friend, with the gentlest smile on her face told her that she was not interested.

The kid persisted- “only 50 rupees, you take it and I go away”- the most innocent of tones, but still persistent and determined.

The innocence of childhood and the street-smartness of a childhood lost.

“Do you go to a school?”- My friend asked. The kid nodded in the negative and almost appeared indifferent to the question.

My friend took one accessory, put it on and gave her a 50 rupee note.

“No ma’am, I can’t give you this for Rs. 50. This is much bigger than the others”.

“I don’t want this- I was taking it just for you”, my friend said to the kid.

No impact.

Some negotiations later, the kid and my friend settled at a price, the kid walked away and my friend had this “thing” around the neck.

This scene on the shores of the Baga beach would remain one of my most cherished memories from my visit to Goa.

Goa- the land of those beaches and bikini clad women sun bathing on the sea shores, of those immensely stylish looking locals, of bikes and gypsies, of sea food and feni, of discs, alcohol and chillum, and most importantly of lethargy and relaxation. I have never felt a more relaxed air in a long time.

So we arrived on Thursday for this offsite of the company. For a 50 day old baby in the company that I was, on Thursday, this was almost a slightly deferred induction. I have heard somewhere that people may or may not remember the content of an experience, but never ever forget how they felt during an experience.

Never is it truer than during the banter and the chatter that one does during such times. One may or not remember the jokes that one cracked, but one shall not forget the way one laughed at such times. The butt of jokes would change, the laughter was consistent though.

There is something about such sessions. People you have hardly known for a day or sometimes, an hour, appear as though you have known them forever.

Conversations… there is something about them- especially by the seaside. On a starry night (sadly, minus the moon), when you sing around with friends, it is a very nice feeling- especially when you have at least one sureeli singer amidst us besure. The icing on the cake is the pulling of legs- attributing songs to people, mimicking people and their styles…

Driving around in Goa… visiting a desolate fort late in the night… sitting in the shacks by the sea, watching the tides, uninhibited conversations… shaking legs at a shady disc…lazing around at a mast Café by the creek… super experiences…

As I sign off… this entry is dedicated to some new friends…

This person with a deadly combo-an amazing sense of humour and super high maturity and clarity... This classic character who reminds me of my college days in Delhi University- fulltoo fun and masti… This “wall” of a friend who so reminds me of myself- confused, clear and unadulterated fun- all at the same time (yeah peoples, I know- I know you don’t associate unadulterated fun with me)… And yes, I instinctively like it when somebody is from Trivandrum and if I actually connect with the person- that’s sone pe suhaaga- never enjoyed ES’ing and IS’ing more with anybody in quite some time now…

Cheers to friendship!!! 

Closing this with these immortal lines- Kaheen toh ye dil kabhi mil nahi paate, kaheen se nikal aaye janmon ke naate...

woh jo kal guzar gaya, ajnabee na thha..

On the 3rd of September, i.e., a few weeks back, my friend Sonal and I had a rare honour of watching Jagjit Singh and Ghulam Ali together. To the Ghazal connoisseur, it cannot get better. Well, so it was that evening too- a concert we will never forget.

When Jagjit sang "Hoshwalon ko", I remember thinking to myself that once Renjini moves to Delhi, we should go to a live performance of Jagjit together. That live performance again, alas, will never be.

Yesterday, the world woke up less melodious than ever (as a friend puts it). As another puts it, alcohol won't be the same, heartbreaks won't be the same.

Jagjit Singh- I got introduced to his music through a friend in KMC. Tolerance to ghazals turned into curiosity and then into admiration and at one stage, even addiction. When I heard his rendition of Ghalib's "Hazaron Khwahishein", I thought I had heard the most complete song ever- I hold on this thought even today.

The memories are many. And many of them flashed back in front of my eyes y'day when I heard of his death. When I was driving back, I heard his "Chitthi na koi sandes" on FM. I was in tears. That song has always brought tears to my eyes, but my heart was never as heavy as y'day. The tragedy was well reflected in this tweet- "zamaana bade shauk se sun raha tha.. Jagjit so gaye daastan kahte kahte!"

The ultimate heartbreak song, "Baat niklegi toh door talak jaayegi" gives me goosebumps everytime I listen to it. The last few lines of the jilted one, and I present them here-

Log Zaalim Hain Har Ek Baat Kaa Taanaa Denge
Baaton Baaton Mein Meraa Zikr Bhee Le Aayenge
Unkee Baaton Kaa Zaraa Saa Bhee Asar Mat Lenaa
Warnaa Chehre Ke Taasur Se Samajh Jaayenge
Chaahe Kuchh Bhi Ho... Sawaalaat Naa Karnaa Unse
Mere Baare Mein Koi Baat Na Karnaa Unse
Baat Nikalegii To Phir Door Talak Jaayegee


No other voice could reflect the pain as well. Same goes for the song "Mitthi da bawa", the song of the childless woman who makes a baby from sand/ soil and complains that the baby doesn't speak to her or respond to her.

Sing a "Tera chehra kitna suhaana lagta hai" to a woman and see her reaction. That Amar song, "Honthon se chho lo tum" or a "Tumko Dekha toh yeh khayaal aaya". The repository of Jagjit's love songs is a treasure-house.

That all time song that makes you drown in nostalgia- "Woh kaagaz ki kashti". Or the emotions in "Hum toh hain pardes mein, des mein nikla hoga chaand".

That naughtiness while singing "Kal chaudhvi ki raat tthi"...

The transition from one ghazal to another during live performances and then coming back to the 1st ghazal. The unwillingness to wait for the applause to end while starting to sing a new ghazal. The contemplation in "kya khoya kya paaya jag mein"...

Those conversations with friends around which of these was his best...or just around a ghazal apt to a situation...those will continue...

The voice will continue to live on... Hope you have a great next life, Jagjit Singh...

Afterglow: This appeared on the net. Somebody remarking about Steve Jobs' death followed by Jagjit- "Pehle ooparwale ke mann mein iPod ki chaah samaayi... ab woh usme ghazal sun-na chaahta hai"...

A rewind button...Pranayam aftermath

There is this climax scene in a classic Malayalam film called Meghamalhar – Two much married couples in their 50’s bump into each other outside a hotel. The guy in one of the couples says a polite “Hello” to the lady in the other couple. She nods back and says hello too. And they move on…

These two, as the film reveals in the reels before the climax, had an affair in their younger days and eventually fate forces them to split. To me, this is one of the best ever meeting scenes between any We-loved-each-other-but-could-not-marry-each-other couples in Indian cinema.
There have been many films that have dealt with triangles and love failures. I was expecting Pranayam to be one such film.

To connoisseurs of Indian cinema, a Blessy movie is an event in itself. As with other Indians world over, Malayalees in particular, yours truly too has been deeply touched and moved by Blessy movies like Kaazhcha and Thanmatra. You probably already know the theme of the movie. The characters played by Anupam Kher and Jayaprada love each other, elope and get married and have a baby. A turn of events makes them separate, legally. She gets married to the character played by Mohan Lal and has a child. He stays single and the child grows up with him.

In the autumn of their lives, the ex-husband-wife duo bump into each other. A friendship is renewed and this also includes the husband of the ex-wife. It is typically a difficult meeting- meeting the husband of an ex-wife/girlfriend/flame- difficult for all the parties I guess. Amongst the best scenes in the movie is when the two men meet each other for the first time- one of them who is recovering from a second heart attack and the other, a semi paralysed man confined to his wheel chair.

The dialogues are superb and the performances are superlative. The background music is apt and the photography and art are superb. This may not be Blessy’s best, but ranks amongst the best Malayalam films I’ve seen in the last couple of years.

Let me highlight to the readers a few scenes that touched me. As with most languages, there are some words that leave an impact only in one particular language. Translation cannot do any justice, for example, Ghalib’s “..Mat pooch ki kya haal hai mera tere peechhe, tu dekh ki kya rang hai tera mere aage…” … No point in writing the dialogues here…

There is this scene… the setting is a small platform on the Arabian sea shores of Kochi… The character played by Anupam Kher throws a stone into the sea and then, another. The second one travels a greater distance than its predecessor. He then compares this as an analogy with second innings in life, about men and women having a second chance to relive certain moments/ situations or just living life anew- again. I guess all of us go through such moments in life when we feel, “…if only I had done that differently…”. That feeling can be quite depressing if not addressed in its budding stages… We often end up wishing if the lord-up-above-the-world-so-high had given us that rewind button… Isn’t it?

What I like best about all the characters is the maturity with which they accept the present and act without malice or grudge.

What I also like is the complete trust between the characters played by Mohan Lal and Jayaprada… the husband and wife have 100% trust…not an iota of distrust. That scene…when Mohan Lal sings “I am your man”…sitting on a wheel chair in a lounge bar is superb…
So is the climax… na I’m not giving you what that is…

I only wish Malayalm films that release in the north release with subtitles. I sincerely wish some of my friends who do not understand Malayalam could see the film.

Blessy begins his film with a rather controversial statement- “One always returns to one’s first love”. I am not sure if that is correct and am certainly not sure if that is good. As I said earlier, Blessy movies are an event and here he certainly does not disappoint. If you have the time, do watch Pranayam.

aaj rang hai..

The moon shines in all its glory tonight- it is a special full moon- it is Guru Poornima today.

The Qawwaal, his back towards the Dargah of Aamir Khusro , front facing the Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin, sings the eternal “Aaj Rang Hai...”.

A power cut.

Just the moonlit night, the dargah and the divine song.

Heaven.

ghanan ghanan

"The sky over Delhi is in a state of continued labour. It is pregnant with clouds, but not delivering the rains..."

(c) Chala Denominator, Numerator Ban-ne

Of happiness and barking dogs

"Unhappiness remains; causes change" #ConversationswithHP

So..once there was this conference of dogs and big...handsome...well-fed American dog meets this skinny, poorly-fed dog from India...

The Indian dog looks with envy at the American counterpart and says..."wow, what a life you seem to have...great food...great life...you have all that I aspire for...you can do all that I can only dream of...wow"...

The American dog takes in a deep breath and says, "well, you can still do something I really wish I could do, but I never can do"...

Perplexion in the expression..."What is it?"...

"You can bark as much as you like, any time...any where.."

#Grassisalwaysgreenerontheotherside
#ConversationswiththeSages

Life Rules #2

The Mentor looks with amusement at the Confused taking a pill for headache and says, “When I have a headache, I don’t take a pill or apply a balm.”
“So what do you do?”, asks the Confused, almost as if he doesn’t really care about the answer.
A pause... and a deep breath later comes the reply.... “I go through the pain.”

#DialogueswithARA

(c) Chala Denominator, Numerator Ban-ne

life rules#1

"It is good to be idealistic. But do not remain a prisoner of your own ideologies."
# conversationswithforefathers
(c) Chala Denominator, Numerator Ban-ne

sentimental... na... kilomental

I distinctly remember my first day at Oxford school. I stood outside classroom VIII-A, saying "may I come in" to the lady who was my class teacher. She did not hear me. I remember the boy sitting in the first bench saying something to me. I could read the lips- "zor se bol". The looks were enough to confirm that this guy was south Indian. For somebody from the south who'd moved to the north, this was a very very comforting factor.

I think what brought me close to him in the initial years was the south-India-familiarity factor. We grew closer in the days ahead for reasons beyond sharing Tamil as our mother tongue.

We were both entering our teens when we first met. Our friendship was not without its share of skirmishes. He was and has always been an embodiment of all that is conventional and I have been at the other end of the spectrum. He was the perennial front bencher and I was the proverbial last bencher. Our teachers often wondered how we stuck to each other. Our friend- Scientist (Mridul) completed our gang.

When I look back at my life@Vikaspuri, I always have a smile- primarily due to this gang. Our regular visits to Rathore for the chaat, our half yearly vists to Satyam, the very regular sessions at Arjun park, visiting each others' places regularly and definitely on Diwali... And girls are a definitive factor in the life of all teenaged guys... and in adult life of course...

These 2 friends have always been there- to share the happy and not-so-happy moments in life... to share happily that I cleared this entrance test...or to complain that my love interest is marrying somebody else... To happily share that I got my dream job... or to happily reminisce at this that I was at a place we visited together.... These were amongst the first few people who I informed from the Thiruvananthapuram airport that I finally got hitched :-)

I will always thank God that he has always brought some wonderful human beings into my life.

As I stood clapping watching you go on your knees and put that ring on to Radhika's finger, I knew that my next entry on the blog was for you ;-)
This is for you, Gautam... I wish you and Radhika a very happy life together.

This is for you, Scientist. You suprise me hamesha... As I type this, my eyes are moist... You are absolutely mast... Your strength is an inspiration...

This is for you, Anusha... Kid, I want you to know that you are the only reason I have ever envied Gautam for...