Straight from Japan ..

....Cherry Blossoms.
My nephew is enjoying a lovely spring in Kanagawa, Japan these days and can u believe he clicked this amazing snap ...

My Dad Blogs too :)

My dad has a new blog to publish the poems and articles he writes in Malayalam ..
http://www.kochuchinthakal.blogspot.com/

Happy 1st Birthday Aditya

My dear Nephew is one year old today !!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADI

Urdu Blues

My love for Ghazals started with Hariharan and his rendering of "Ehde Masti HaiN, Log KehteiN HaiN"

Since then, I have played with Jagjit Singh, graduated to Ghulam Ali, dabbled a bit in Mehdi Hasan, but I have never stopped enjoying Hariharan. I love the way his mellifluous voice can spread sateen over the ambience, and his Urdu diction is perfect ! The thing I love most about him is, however, his sense of experimentation.

Last year, we went to one of his concerts in New Jersey and he was mentioning a new Genre he wants to promote; Urdu Blues - A fusion of Jazz/Blues in New Orleans style with Ghazals. I think he has been trying to do this in a couple of his earlier albums too, but his latest album “Waqt Par Bolna” explores this Genre in much more depth than the earlier ones..

Check out the intricate juxtaposition of the piano notes with the slightly more predominant tabla beats in this one ..
(Jab Bhi Milte Ho, Muskuraate Ho; Itni KhushiyaaN KahaN Se LaateiN Ho .. )

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Or the more overt Jazz notes in this one ..
( Galat HaiN, Muskuraana Chahte HaiN; Woh Apna Gham Chupaana Chahta HaiN)

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And if you enjoyed that, you should check out the track "Mujhko Chooke Pighal RaheiN Ho Tum; Mere Humraah, Jal RaheiN Ho Tum" which exemplifies Urdu Blues ..

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Respecting the Flag

The next time you decide to prop your legs up on the table, think twice !

(Photo courtesy: AFP)

This is the picture that got Sania in trouble for showing “disrespect” to the national flag !! I am surprised by the obsession with “disrespecting the flag” in India, where almost nobody takes the effort to proudly display the national flag in spite of a new law that allows private citizens to display the flag. However, there are enough people on the lookout for media attention, filing cases for dishonoring the flag. It is Sania now; it was Tendulkar a couple of months ago (for cutting a cake with the Tricolor) and Mandira Bedi before that ..

That’s what you get when you have lawyers with no work and a media that laps up anything as news …

A Melodious Start to 2008

I started the year rekindling my love for Ghazals!

I have been a Ghazal aficionado for almost two decades, but somehow the passion had taken a backstage in the past couple of years. As we were cleaning out the car a couple of weeks earlier, I came across a CD I had compiled with my favorite Ghazals of Ghulam Ali and that is what probably sparked the desire again (or perhaps it was the Idea Star Singer Ghazal round ..Or the fact that I missed a 19 year school reunion – you see Ghazals go well with nostalgia !! )

Anyway, here is the list from the Ghulam Ali CD that I found...

1. KAbhee KitabooN MeiN Phool Rakhna, Kabhi DarakhtoN Pe Naam Likhna; HameiN Bhi Hain Yaad Aaaj Tak Woh Nazar Se HarfeiN Salaam Likhna
2. Nain HaiN, Yaake Jaam Saaqui Ke; Ho Gaye Hum Gulaam Saaqui Ke
3. NIgahooN Se HameiN Samjha RaheiN HaiN; Nawaazish HaiN Karam Farmaa RaheiN HaiN
4. Koi Raat Aisi Bhi Aaye, Ke Yeh Manzar DekhooN; Teri Peshaani Ho Aur Apna Muqaddar DekhooN
5. Lutf Joh Uske Intezaar MeiN HaiN, Woh KahaN Mausam-e-Bahaar MeiN HaiN
6. Aaj Tuje KyoN Chupp Si Lagi Hain; Kuchh to Bataa Kyaa Baat Hui HaiN
7. Chamakte Chaand Ko Toota Hua Taara Banaa Daala; Meri Awaargee Ne Mujhe Awaara Banaa Daala
8. Gali Gali Teri Yaad Bichee HaiN, Pyaar Rasta Dekh Ke Chal; Mujhse Itni Wehshat HaiN To Meri HadooN Se Door Nikal
9. Mein Khayaal HOon Kisi Aur Ka, Mujhe Sochta Koi Aur Hain
10. Woh De Raha HaiN, Dilaase To Umr Bhar Ke Mujhe; Bicchad Na Jaayen KahiN Phir Udaas Karke Mujhe
11. Chupke Chupke Raat Din, AasooN Bahaana Yaad HaiN
12. Kal ChaudviN ki Raat Thee, Chath Par Raha Charcha Tera
13. Dil Se Mere Woh Sitamgar NIkla, Aaina Tod Ke Pathar Nikla
14. Dhalte JaayeN, Shaam Ke Saayen, Lekin Saajan Tum NahiN Aaye

and here is something for you to enjoy ...

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A Message to my Old Friends at the GREMS Batch of 89 Reunion

Dear friends,

Welcome to the first reunion of the GREMS class of 87(X)/89 XII).

Although I am not physically present here today, I wanted you all to know that I am here in spirit and hence this welcome message (which Rajesh graciously asked me to deliver – Thanks Rajesh). It gives me immense pleasure to welcome you here today – an idea that started with a casual chat that Rajesh (Umatt) and I had a couple of years ago has finally turned into a reality!! By sheer will power, today we have turned back the clock a score or more years back.
The GREMS batch of 87/89 – A group of naughty, screaming kids, that were all bunched together one fine summer morning in 1975 in the Junior KG class at the Refinery English Medium School in Agashe Madam’s class (for me and many others) to start a magical journey of education, discovery and growing up together. Over the next 14 years, many joined and many left the group, but the bond that ties us all together is here to stay. It is said that true nostalgia is an ephemeral composition of disjointed memories – and I am sure that today as you meet old friends and teachers after almost 2 decades what you feel, and what I feel sitting home talking to my dear wife about old school days, is nothing but true nostalgia - Nostalgia about those wonderful years we all spent together and impressions of which have left an indelible mark on the futures that we have built for ourselves today.

Since leaving the school and parting each others company almost 19 years ago, all of us have followed our destinies and today reached a point in our lives where we are enriched with many more relationships and friendships that we have formed in our college, professional and personal lives. From personal experience, I can tell you that after years of not being in touch, I have never been able to pick up and continue a conversation with any of my friends from college or work, like I have been able to with many of my friends from the school days and many of you would have felt the same thing as you talked to each other in preparation for this reunion. Yes, there is something about the bonds of friendship that we formed in those early years of our lives that will always be missing from all the other friendships that form over the entire course of our lives – perhaps it was the lack of an ulterior motive, or perhaps it was that we were too innocent to be judgmental – whatever it is, these friendships always go the extra mile.

Going back to the subject of nostalgia – they say it is never safe to be nostalgic about something until you are absolutely sure there is no chance of it coming back. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no chance of those days ever coming back, so it is safe to be nostalgic about it today. That is what the excitement of a reunion is all about – meeting old friends, hugging them and sharing memories that have been sweetened by the passing of time.

I will get you started with some of the wonderful memories I have from the 14 years I spend at the school and with all of you. On the “decent” side, there are the morning assemblies, reading the news, post-prayer talks on the stage, the exercises after the morning assembly on Fridays/Saturdays, the house quizzes (Go RED!), essay competitions(Go RED!), debates (Go RED!), school elections (Way to go! Anu), Interact clubs, the fun fairs, the picnics to Xeshwars (Uthkantheshwar, Galteshwar, Jalkantheshwar .. ), walking to school with Rajesh (Umatt) and Dashrath (Vala), Father Julius, who wanted me and Ganapathy to sit separately because we “talked” too much …. great 2 hours each day on the school bus (khataara) with Shailesh (Manwar) and Pankaj (Patel) and the cricket matches that we played before the assembly began !!, walking to the school bus stop on cold winter mornings and the “Taapni” we used to make .... On the other side, there are fun memories that can still evoke laughter every time they cross the mind – like the Saputara trip that many among you who were in the Interact Club would remember, Avtar Singh and his obsession with Samantha Fox or the occasion when Ashish (Chaubal) begged and got a beedi from the “mama” that was working outside in Beena madam’s class!!

Well, those are just a few strands from my own web of nostalgia. Of course, everybody here would have enough of their own to weave a carpet of old memories to share and I hope you do. As this evening wears on, all of you would have created another set of memories that you will share with your spouses and children for many years to come. I hope that in the midst of our busy lives, this trip back down the memory lane provides a welcome relief and reawakens the child in all of us and rekindles friendships that were on the back burner.

As we celebrate this reunion, please remember that this is but only a rehearsal for a grander reunion – a reunion where we should strive to get at least 85% of the around 85+ friends that are inherently part of this group. In the last 19 years, not many of us have kept in touch – perhaps due to the lack of infrastructure to facilitate this, or perhaps due to the hectic pace that life has taken. Let this be a new beginning and let us all strive to maintain this “new found” old connection. Please continue to try and locate as many more of our classmates as you can and bring them into the folds of this group. As you talk to each other tonight, I also encourage you to brainstorm ideas for giving something worthwhile back to the wonderful institution that molded our futures.

As a reminder, there is a Yahoo Group which has been the main tool of communication for friends from our batch. The email id for the group is grems@yahoogroups.com and the website is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/grems/

Last but not the least, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous efforts that all of you have put in to make this event a reality. I hope the next time around there are more of us available to help and organize a grander reunion.

Thank you all for a memorable childhood!
Enjoy the evening, make new memories and I hope to see you soon again

Best Regards,

Bala