Disc Drop

Everyday Conversations

Me: I deleted this one file randomly... n now I think I will need it
Him: Look for it in the recycle bin
Me: I don't just delete, I Shift + Delete all the time!
Him: Even I do the same thing.. hmmm... We should recycle you.. :D
Me: We should Shift + Delete you! >:|

The Sound of Music

There are so many songs that I totally connect with and my heart fills up with an emotion which is very abstract, something I can't place a finger on, something difficult to explain. I can feel the very heart or pulse of the song, in some way I believe that I understand what the composer wanted to convey, or atleast a part of the idea or an emotion which he never thought of evoking, probably beyond. The most amazing thing about music or any art for that matter is that it can paint a thousand pictures. It can mean several things to different people. Music is like love,it is pure, flowing, timeless, boundless. When added with lyrics that justify the melody it is only magic and nothing else.
Here's one such song that totally pulls at my heart, lights up certain areas of my brain cells, a song that resonates in my soul even after hearing it:) This alchemy of music and lyrics can only be created by the likes of Rahman & Gulzar
Movie: Dil Se
Song: E Ajnabi
Music: A.R.Rahman
Lyrics: Gulzar
Singers: Udit Narayan & Mahalakshmi
The translation has been taken from here, but I have edited some of it looking at this.
Here it goes...

paakhi paakhi pardesi	O Wandering bird, visitor from a distant country
Chorus:
e ajnabi tu bhi kabhii awaaz de kahii.n se	Hey stranger, do call out to me sometimes from somewhere
mai.n yahaa.n TukDo me.n jii raha huu.n	I'm living here in pieces --
tuu kahii.n TukDo.n me.n jii rahii hai	somewhere you too are living in pieces..
roz roz resham sii hava aate-jaate kahatii hai bata	Day after day, the silken wind, as it comes and goes, says, "Tell me!"
resham si hava kahatii hai bata	The silken wind says, "Tell me!"
vo jo duudh dhulii maasuum kalii	She who is as pure & innocent as a flower-bud
vo hai kahaa.n kahaa.n hai	that girl, where, where is she?
vo roshanii kahaa.n hai	where is she who is like a beam of light
vo jaan si kahaa.n hai	where is she who is like my life
mai.n adhura tuu adhuri jii rahii hai	I am incomplete, and you're only half-alive.
Chorus
paakhi paakhi pardesi	O Wandering bird, visitor from a distant country
tuu to nahii.n hai lekin terii muskaraahaT hai	You're not here, but your smile is.
chehara kahii.n nahii.n hai par terii aahaTe.n hai	Your face is nowhere to be found, but the sounds of your footsteps are here.
tuu hai kahaa.n kahaa.n hai	Where are you, where?
tera nishaan kahaa.n hai	Where is the sign of your presence,
mera jahaa.n kahaa.n hai	Where is my world?
mai.n adhura tu adhuri jii rahii hai	I'm incomplete, and you're only half-alive.
Chorus

This is an social awareness ad put up inside a multiplex theatre by the blue ribbon campaigners for socially underprivileged children, urging people to contribute for the cause. I thought it was highly effective way of advertising. It is life-size poster of a shoe-polish boy we usually see on road-sides or on railway stations. A few things like brush, laces, soles, polish is kept and his carrying case is the contribution box if you can see the pic clearly enough.

It reads:
Inke aage pair nahin, apna haath doh.
padhayi ke liye inka saath doh.

Translation:
Don't give your feet to them, give them your hand.
Support them for their education.

Dear blog and the blogging world, I'm back. This may not mean much to the rest of the world, but means something to me. It is just something I had to do, if you know what I mean..
I'm even considering a new blog but that will have to wait for the time being, something I'm mulling on. My thoughts are now crowded with things I want to put in here, but let me take one step at a time.
Furst things first ;) let me allow you to glimpse through what I have been up to in the year 2008.
The things I did last year- some I always wanted to do and some of it well...just happened.
1) Joined dance classes- Salsa, Jive,cha cha cha and I'm still learning, man I can't believe my commitment, 4 months now and still going. If you don't know me well enough I'm easily bored, impatient so yeay! *pats her own back*
2) Taught in an NGO for 2 months. I really wish I had continued this but for some reason it didn't work out on a long term. I feel guilty about it. Anyway sigh! *bad shobz! No cookies for you!*
3) Went to Coonoor - Ooty after say 9 years( I lived there for 2 years, met a friend after 13 years and had a rocking time!)
4) I hitch-hiked on the trip to Ooty! Our bus broke down and we were stuck between Ooty and Coonoor so we took a lift in vegetable van!
5) Colored my hair. I got red-streaks done and yes it is a big deal for me :P
6) Got my nose pierced. It only stayed a month and then it came off. Might try that once more...*thinking* Ya I will...
7) Learnt to play poker. Though its not something I always wanted to do, it was something new I did last year.
8) I saw The Taj Mahal in Agra once again. Its absolutely mesmerizing no matter how many times you see it. My cousins and I were only wondering what if Shah Jahan's dream to build a black Taj right behind it had come true! And ya I saw Akbar's tomb in fact I touched it! Ain't that awesome! Especially after watching the movie Jodha Akbar just before going there you can gauge my excitement. I also saw where Shah Jahan was locked up by his son Aurangzeb during his last days, where he died watching the Taj Mahal. What a tragic life! And the marble dais where Tansen sat and sang for his King Akbar.
Okay I think thats about it and enough of history lessons!
Will add new things if I remember them later.
Now to things I want to do this year!

This is a part of life list, but this is a short-term plan for this year.
Yes I'm the kinda person who has a BIG plan and a realistic immediate plan.
Don't ask me about the BIG plan now!
Trumpets and Drum Roll!!! 20th Century Fox style;)
Here is goes- my list for the year 2009:
1) Do the beginner's course with the art of living foundation.
2) Learn something new again - kick-boxing, guitar.. just anything new and fun
3) Travel a bit more, visit a place I haven't been to before. That's something interesting b'cos I been to most of the touristy places in India. Ya I know I am lucky :)
4) Do some amount of photo blogging.
5) Dance dance and keep dancing :)
6) Buy a Digi SLR or the Wii console
The list is not yet complete, people can help me here with ideas.. though I think the one I have made so far is a tall order!

Till my next post.... Au Revoir!

Nutty Professor

Let me introduce him to you as Zee Bee for the sake of anonymity- ZeeBee who kept us all Beezee studying! For those of you who know him, zip it!

Well, it all began on a day when we were silently insulted by this man who calmly stood on the podium looking down on us for not reading the article he had asked us to, a week in advance. This composed demeanor did what all the months of screaming didn’t and couldn’t do…. It made us realize this one can’t be taken on a ride, he dictates and it’s up to us to either listen or not attend. He taught well, he brought a whole new dimension to the subject… there was less teaching more learning, more thinking, pondering and discussing of various subjects so that made up for what he expected… seemed like a fair deal.

He has a very carefully designed evaluation technique where you were free to stay away from class to escape the truck loads of articles and endless assignments with details from the word count, font size, 7x7 ppt rule, the number of slides to the quoting of source was mentioned. I think he only left out the color and the ppt design out; otherwise nothing was left in doubt or better to our imagination! But then escaping all this cost you when you saw your mark sheet.

We all felt trapped and going on a one way road to becoming a workaholic in those months with sleepless nights and tension packed mornings. He pushed you to the very limit and it only got harder. Emails send 5 minutes before deadline and acknowledgements received within an hour at any god forsaken hour of the night. We only shook our heads and felt sympathetic towards our friends who were going to specialize under him and prayed for their mental well-being.

Their torture as predicted only grew worse with reading material provided on cds to reading fat books of 20 chapters for a miserable 5 marks test!

We all crack up on this joke by my friend JR, if ZeeBee’s essays (which were endless and numerous) had a word count of say, 2000 words, the minute a person hit 2000 he would just stop even if the last word was an incomplete sentence or ending in and!

When my friends asked him for guidelines for a project he sent a long winding mail. What I read only made my laugh till my sides ached! :D

Here’s a situation… if ZeeBee were to choose a girl in marriage:

The girl wishing to marry me and stay under my shelter will be expected to comply with the following guidelines.

The selection will include the following phases:

• Cooking review with a synopsis of methodology followed
• Primary data collection from friends and acquaintances
• In-depth compatibility study and analysis of the outcome
• Minimum of 5 references from non-family members with nos. and email addresses provided
• Decision to whether marry or reject

The cooking review is to have an understanding of the culinary capabilities of the girl with ateast 10 dishes in 3 cuisines to test for consistency and accuracy for a period of one month.

The primary data will be collected from at least 50 friends from each social network like facebook, orkut etc. if not applicable other sources such as school, college, building and office friends will be tapped or 20 neighboring families to test for behavioral inconsistencies and the frequency.

This round two is an elimination round if cleared, the candidate is eligible to participate in round three.

The compatibility study comprises various parameters such as characteristics and behavior which will be ranked and rated. The data will be analyzed by using Z score to assess the level of significance and margin of error.

The girl is deemed ready for marriage only if the final conclusion is approved by atleast 5 references who are non-family members with names, nature of relationship with the candidate, numbers and email addresses are provided in the prescribed format.

Based on the above findings the final decision will be taken.

Those who wish to apply will be provided with best sources for cookery books/ recipes and the guidelines to join at least 1 social network. For the data analysis, you will have to arrange for and study the software yourself.

Once you decide upon whether you want to apply and have the basic methodology in place, you are free to call and fix up a meeting!

All said and done he is still one of my favorite profs. After all he did make us feel we are worth every effort we put in, every time he nodded in satisfaction or uttered ‘good’ it was like holding the Oscar statuette in your hands. And not to forget he taught and also got me interested in a subject which was considered by most of us as a hopeless invention of an idle mind!

My Lucky Star

Looking for magic

Looking for perfection

Looking for you

A figment of my imagination

The quest never ends

And I won’t quit

You keep coming back to me

Till someday we meet

Waiting to be mesmerized

Waiting to be charmed

To be in a state of wonderment

To be warmed

I look for you in stars

I look for you behind the trees

I’ll look for you everywhere

But nothing puts me to peace

You tease me in my dreams

And again I start looking

Till someday I find you within me

Till someday I feel complete

Copyright 2007 Jade