Spring colors

And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodil(s) - William Wordsworth

Guess Who's Back?

The bigger picture: India vs. Australia at Sydney

Following years of being taunted at and literally having had stayed mum, the Indian cricket team is now beginning to make noises about being 'unfairly treated'.
Hmm..I like the sights and sounds of it - Don't you think it points to a larger idea - that the India of today is bolder, more confident, even brash? Short of being accused as being a nationalist, I have to admit that it is a token sign of a social and cultural shift in outlook from a nation that has been ever so comfortable taking a back seat, never really leading the way or being the one that demanded anything. Am curious to see what follows all of this. Will this new India be demanding apologies from western occupiers of a few centuries ago? Ahh..well maybe not so soon, but who knows what an energised and motivated nation can do. With tails up, here they come. I am tempted to analyse the racial aspects of all this ..but that will be some other time.

Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya

http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/hindi_bollywood/s/movie_name.8651/

Agle janam mohe bitiya ..... Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar have scored a home-run with this emotional treasure of a number for the new Umrao Jaan (released late 2006). I don’t know if the song is circumstantial , as in if it plays in the movie during a particular event or incident, but it has a very universal message that has moved me tremendously. The lyrics are soulful and hint 'resignation' all over it. The melancholy of Richa Sharma’s voice point to an eventuality that the situation isn’t going to get any better.

It is essentially a humble grievance , in a very conversational manner, from a mother to the creator that something is not quite right in the world of the girl child. She is not furious at her condition but is just expressing her inability and helplessness to change the status quo. Her hands are tied but she has not given up altogether. A very subtle layer of ‘respect for the almighty’ comes through intertwined with a woman’s ability to ‘communicate her frustrations’. And that delicate fusion adds beauty to this musical creation. While she is at it, the singer uses the opportunity to express her dissatisfaction over the fact that her lover/ husband/ partner has abandoned her and she hints that she could almost have another session about that aspect of her life. But for now she is focused on the plight of the daughter.

Knowing a little bit about the movie (courtesans of the Nawab era in Lucknow), one can visualize the setting as being the very ugly and shameful side (aka the flesh trade) of all that ‘pehle aap’ and courteous culture that happened in the name of art and royal living.

It is a relatively short song and as it gets more intense, one then wishes to want to hear more of it, partly out of a feeling to want to give the singer a stage to express more. It quietly shook me out of my sense of complacency about the 'girl child' and other women’s issues. Of course the song was penned, maybe, in early 20th century Lucknow, but so much of it remains true even today in large parts of the Indian society and also the world over.

After this expression of her distraught state, I would not be surprised if the woman went right back to the chores of her mundane life and nobody in the house would even have noticed her state. She will still love her family the way she always does. Any mother cares for her children more than anything else in this whole world. She will not discriminate between genders and will cherish her kids with utmost concern.

Wow, there is a lot I can try to deconstruct from the lyrics and the mood, but I shall recommend you to hear it for yourself and think about it. Al in all, a rare gem of a musical product when you least expect it!

Green Escapes

Auckland has elaborate 'walkways' throughout the city. well marked and some interesting names as well. the yellow and black sign leads one along what is called a 'coast to coast walk' - it takes the walker from one harbor to the other via some speical landmarks within the city. And because the city is so green, its an easy escape from the rush of the streets and cars.

Rangitoto - a volcanic reminder

Click here

for a lot more information about this very 'young' volcanic island. All that black in the pictures are porous basaltic volcanic rock created when the island was formed. There is no soil nor surface water on Rangitoto, which is a 30 minute ferry ride from the piers of downtown.

Maritime Life

The ocean is just a way of life here in the City of Sails. Boats, ferries, ships, dredges, jet skis, yachts - all abound on the waters around the country.

Oh Open Sea - Where can you take me today?

Arjun's very first beach day - at the calm Orewa Beach just north of Auckland.

BUNGY right Here

One does'nt have to go too far in Auckland to Bungy Jump. Find the sign that says "dive off from top of the Sky Tower" into the crowded streets of downtown!

City Centre

Aotea Square in Auckland with the Town Hall in the backdrop.

When the Gypsies came to town

At a Gypsy Fair in the Three Kings Area of Auckland.

City of Auckland

Looking over the Harukai Gulf towards the downtown area - the unmistakably elegant Sky Tower stands sentinel.

Water baby

The boy is a charm

Holy Sweet Sewage!

http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=72647

Maybe it is better than 'pesticide laden' Cokes and Pepsis? And hey, its free and approved by the gods, apparently!

Ponder This

Today on the summer solstice, a few sunny thoughts to reflect on:
(Try to read each one aloud and chew on it for a while before moving on)

" Seize the moment!"

Ask! You won't be killed for it.

A good night's sleep is precious. Treasure it.

Cool is being absolutely self-un-conscious.

Its OK not to know something.

Honesty IS the best policy, most of the times.

Seek soulmate(s).

Learn a foreign language. Its worth it.

The whole bunch at downtown San Francisco

Spring Break in the Bay Area

Arjun in Holi colors. I miss being with the boy.

The boy and his mom

in memorial - the f-1 sleeps forever

Five years ago, to this date, I had obtained the much coveted f-1 visa. It was a dream come true and also a window to many more and larger vistas. Today, after an eventful half decade, it lapses. My f-1 visa breathes its last. That colorful and precious document of the US govt. stayed on my passport as a badge of honor, of a promise for a greater future. After all these days weeks and years, its time to let it die. I shall carry the expired body with me until it gets replaced by the h1b coming december. But the soul of an f-1 will live on.

On this day of mixed feelings, I humbly thank my buddies for making the times past all that more remarkable. We all came with bright eyes, sincere passions, unbending ambitions and a couple of suitcases containing our earthly belongings. These f-1 years saw changes, upward, downward,from city to city from apartment to apartment from cloud to cloud. They say that the world has changed forever. I say that we are instruments of that change.

long live the f-1, long live graduate school and cheers to our unstoppable glorious futures.

in solemnity,
Amit

The Seven Dos and Don'ts

7 things i have mastered to do very well:

sulk at the state of the environment
criticize all and sundry
doze off mid movie
eat, at any time of the day
frown
stress on some personal ideas of perfection
spend countless hours staring into the ether

7 things i still do not do quite well:

sleep like a baby (i used to do so a few years back)
save
share my thoughts
love anybody for too long
be focussed
math
plan much ahead