frame less

The original has a frame, a birthday gift from my friends.

Auron ko hanste dekho Manu, Hanso Aur Sukh paavo
Sukh ko aur Vistrit kar lo, Sab ko sukhi banao
-Jaishankar Prasad

औरों को हँसते देखो मनु, हंसो और सुख पावो
सुख को और विस्तृत कर लो, सब को सुखी बनाओ
-जैशंकर प्रसाद

Starry Night

I heard this composition, soothing and at the same time stirring in some strange way by Don McLean during my college days.

Starry, starry night.
Paint your palette blue and grey,
Look out on a summer's day,
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul.
Shadows on the hills,
Sketch the trees and the daffodils,
Catch the breeze and the winter chills,
In colors on the snowy linen land.

Van Gogh's inspiration for the painting. However, one line says : "Look out on a summer's day." which is a false statement as Van Gogh was in an asylum at Saint-Remy, and was not able to paint picture from an actual view point, it is strictly from his mind.

Starry, starry night. Flaming flowers that brightly blaze, Swirling clouds in violet haze, Reflect in Vincent's eyes of china blue. Colors changing hue, morning field of amber grain, Weathered faces lined in pain, Are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

These are references to other Van Gogh paintings. # Flaming Flowers: The Sunflower Series # Swirling Clouds: Starry Night # Field of Amber Grain: Wheat Field with Crows # Weathered Faces: The Potato Eaters.

For they could not love you, But still your love was true. And when no hope was left in sight On that starry, starry night, You took your life, as lovers often do. But I could have told you, Vincent, This world was never meant for one As beautiful as you.

This is Van Gogh's tragic Death. Even though he loved painting, his paintings could never love him back.Van Gogh attempted suicide by shooting himself in the chest, which ultimately led to his death two days later.

Starry, starry night. Portraits hung in empty halls, frameless head on nameless walls, With eyes that watch the world and can't forget. Like the strangers that you've met, The ragged men in the ragged clothes, The silver thorn of bloody rose, Lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow.

Van Gogh's artistic legacy is contained within his paintings, drawings and writings. They are everlasting and will never "forget" the style that created them. They are Van Gogh's eyes that watch the world. This is all metaphorically speaking though.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me, How you suffered for your sanity, How you tried to set them free. They would not listen, they're not listening still. Perhaps they never will...

Finally we come to the conclusion of realizing Van Gogh's eternal struggle with insanity.

Lyrics and background Credits : http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/starrynightlyrics.html

Fog on 520

Bharat Ratna - Pt Bhimsen Joshi

A close encounter with Pt. Bhimsen Joshi. The name synonymous to Indian Classical music, a true god gifted artist who was honoured with the highest civilian award, given to any Indian, The Bharat Ratna.

I was about 6 or 7 years of age, not much sense of notes nor beats but a liking for music for it was part of the family. My parents take me and my sister to this concert. The venue 30 miles away, here starts my vague recollection where we meet the doyen of classical music Pt Joshi at the inspection bungalow.There was brisk activity in this big hall, we enter and see panditji I bow down and touch his feet as instructed by parents. Parents exchange greetings and continue with conversations, panditji enquires about my grand parents. Only years later I learnt that Pt Joshi and his family have been family friends going back to my grand parents. There was also a story about how Panditji relished "Mandige" a sweet cooked at my grand parents house .

Truly blessed to have seen and heard Panditji.

Small things in life ....

View from my office window

late night melody

Only because I recorded this late in the night ...

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Fall colors

The Mannequin World

Peeping into a window I saw ....

A woman, A man and their children two,
All seem happy, they did yesterday too,
they wore the same clothes and the smiles,
they always looked bathed, without any spoils.

Their neighbors were the other kind,
young, hip and ready for party fun,
be it morning, evening or the afternoon sun.

Then there were some around the block,
some standing, some running but still was their clock,
No smiles or cries nor faces to put them on.

They all looked out of the window and saw the moving mannequins,
Wondered, there is change but saw there was pattern.
Things move but they repeat,
Things after all were not very different.

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi !

Mailbox peak

As a kid I used to look forward to my yearly vacation trips to Bangalore. The idea of train journeys, food on stations (idly vade) , in trains , haggling with porters, auto wallas all used to be one experience, more on that some other time. Scenery, rising hills, crossing rivers , vast farm lands and cattle grazing peacefully was a significant element of this journey. Every time I saw these hills from the window, the mind wandered with numerous possibilities,

-who lives up there?
-how do they get to the top ?
-how far could they see, even wondered how if I could jump of the train hike up the hill and see it for myself.
I did something close to what I used to wonder as a kid. Hiked up to the top of a peak off of I-90 close to Seattle called the "Mail box peak". This has been by far the toughest hike I have done, not that I am an avid hiker but sure of the opinion that one should go take a hike on a gorgeous summer Seattle day.It was an early start, we were out on the roads by 7:30 on a Saturday morning ! for directions and more details click here.It was a steep peak we gain 4000 ft in 2.5 miles. The unmaintained trail added to the challenge and we took close to 3 hours to get to the top. I should say we were a touch slow, we could have done it in 2.5 hours. The hike was steep with a narrow trail, it sure tested one's endurance and mental concentration. About 2 miles of the hike displayed typical rain forest of the pacific northwest. The last .5 miles stretch is the carrot at the end of the stick, it is worth all the energy invested. Breathtaking views of the cascade range and wild flowers all along the path make it worth while. Watch the video below for a 360 degree view from the top of mail box peak. I would suggest go out do some hiking before you take on mail box and no doubts you will enjoy it.

View Larger Map

attention to ..

A bomb defusal expert defuses a bomb near Amraivadi Police lines in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Attention to detail or attention to the obvious here, this super trained commando does not have any cloves on, looks like these bombs are the kind which hurt everything but your hands.

In waiting for the sun rise

In waiting for the sunrise, playing with thoughts,
making stories and breaking them, to make them all over again .

Seeing light and visions of the new day to come,
bringing people to life and things I have seen before,
making memories with my thoughts,
real are these as much are the real ones.

It is not too long before the sunrise now,
I am waiting to see a new memory unfold.

Durga - early night raaga

Raag Durga for the gen-x(z) from Advaita. It is such a beautiful and powerful melody that hits one with its energy and leaves one intoxicated.



This is from the one and the only ustad Bismillah khan.



Another vocal performance by Anuradha Kuber

Mein Ban Ki Chidiya

She:Mein ban Ki chidiya, banake ban ban boalon ree..
He:Mein ban ka panchee, banake sang sang doalon ree..
She:main daal daal ud jaon, nahi pakadai main aaon
He:tum dal dal, main paath paath bin pakade kabhi na choodu sang sang doalon ree..

Hallmark of vintage Indian cinema, was made in 1936. Ahosk kumar's voice was the same even when he was really young :).

Score runs and also save wickets

The Indian government is at logger heads with the left parties (which are part of the coalition) on the nuclear deal. The left parties are threating the government to withdraw their support if the government goes ahead with the deal.

Here is what Ram Vilas Paswan said when asked, if the government faces any issues and would it be dissolved."We are trying to score runs and also save wickets, the government will stay and we will also work on the nuclear deal " - fine analogy.

Friday humor

Charlie bit my finger !

Soccer - fun evening

Yesterday after dinning at P F Chang's my fortune cookie said - "Something you have been waiting for will happen soon".

Today while on my usual evening jog and my routine of stretching around the local soccer field, I was waiting for the game to begin ( I watch these games a couple of minutes, generally a lot of fun) and wonder if I could go and kick the ball around myself.And it happened the guy across the fence called out and said

he: "hey do you play soccer.."
me:"ya.. I can play if you don't have enough players.."
me: to myself - hmm I signed up but haven't played in 14 years now.. but should be ok..

I walk up, put on the red jersey, feel the air, stretch back-front-sidewards crackle and loosen up.
The team I am playing for had players mostly from eastern European countries, tall and sharp. We were playing against green looked like most players were from Latin American countries ,short but swift.

Enjoyed next 45 minutes of fast play, blood rushing into all the vessels , supplying that much needed extra punch of oxygen.

Away from home

Bobby Bare(1963)

I'm five hundred miles away from home
Teardrops fell on mama's note when I read the things she wrote
She said we miss you son we love you come on home
Well I didn't have to pack I had it all right on my back
Now I'm five hundred miles away from home
Away from home away from home cold and tired and all alone
Yes I'm five hundred miles away from home

........

The Brothers Four


If you miss the train I'm on, You will know that I am gone, You can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles. A hundred miles, a hundred miles, A hundred miles, a hundred miles, you can hear the whistle blow a hundred miles.....

Note the audience participation in this ...

One for the night - Shudh Kalyan - Sarod

Play this (early night) just before calling it a day. Close your eyes, lie down, relax and relish...
Click Here

Bhakti sangeet - Vachana

Over the years their have been sages, saints, thinkers disseminating seeds of spirituality. Music has been the means to reach a wider audience to strike the right chord, to induce that extra level of emotional/spiritual high.

Here is an example of bhakti sangeet, after listening to this Vachana, by Allama Prabhu a 12th century saint, I couldn't resist myself from trying to get to its meaning. I called my dear aunt (who has herself excelled in bhakti sangeet) to get a better insight.
Below are the lyrics and the gist.

Bhavadalobba devara madi,
manadal-loondu bhaktiya madi.

kayada kaiyali karya untee,
vayakke balaluvadu nooda..!

yattaneeri yettanarasuvadu,
yatta hodaraiyaa guheshwara.

Make your god(peace) yourself, build devotion/love around it.
there is not much in the hands of this mortal body,
don't go looking for it elsewhere, where you can't find it.

Pandit Venkatesh Kumar renders it so powerfully and soulfully that it is hard to shield oneself from getting overwhelmed by the music and the message it conveys.

Hill Train

listen to the "Hill Train..."

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One of my very favorite sounds tracks growing up.
Composer: Anand Shankar

man anand.. anand

Raag - Ahir Bhairav
Beautiful rendition.
Movie: Vijeta (a must watch for a parallel/art cinema buff)

ummm..!

3 scopes of breyers vanilla , 3 strawberries, half pear , half ripe banana with sprinkled golden resins all floating atop thick mango juice.....

nice ad ...

Updated.. full ad

Janappa the friendly barber...

Sunday mornings would start early the day there was an appointment with the village barber Janappa. Janappa a middle aged man a full time worker at the local mill carried the legacy giving hair trims to every one from the vegetable vendor to the village head. He would be there at the doorstep sharp at 7 ringing the bell and calling out "sahebra". Janappa would be greeted with a hot cup of tea before he got down to business. He sipped the tea and savored every sip "surring" it before he swallowed.

He had a compact box for his equipment much like a surgeon's case. It had some sharp scissors, shaving blades, a small green cup with soap which had a neat depression right in the middle, one that had formed due to regular use. Janappa was skilled in his art and took pride in it. He had a rhythm in his style, much like that of a percussionist following a certain pattern of beats. He would get into his form like a performer and end his beat cycles in anticipation of a round of applause.He snapped and snapped moved carefully along soft skin lines near the ears
made round edges at the back cleaning all the hair on the neck. Jannappa didn't end at trimming hair, his specialty was the refreshing head massage after the hair cut. He beat the top and the sides, pulled ears at regular intervals, like a drummer hitting the drums the snare and tinkering the cymbal occasionally.

While he did this there was an air of importance that clouded him, he gloated on how all powerful, weak, big or small had to bow their heads for him. How his profession was a great equalizer.This was such an event that it made it for waking up early on a Sunday morning.

Raag Nand, Lata and Ghalib.

I am a frequent visitor of Ranjan Parrikars articles on classical music. Last night while I was sampling renditions in raag Nand I stumbled upon this beautiful sher sung by Lata Mangeshkar.

Click here to listen.

It sounded so beautiful that I had to look for its meaning and I found it on this blog.
The message sure fills one with its profoundness and to top it Lata Mangeshkar's voice; her eloquence is simply divine.

Credits:
The below section is from sukhanwar-ghalib.blogspot.com.

naqsh fariyaadii hai kis kii shoKhii-e-tahariir kaa
kaaGazii hai pairahan har paikar-e-tasviir kaa

[naqsh:copy/print, fariyaad: complaint, tahariir: writing]
[kaaGazii: delicate, pairahan: dress, paikar: appearance]

In this sher Ghalib complains about the existence of mankind to the Creator. ‘Naqsh’ represents mankind, which complains to the creator represented here by the ‘Tahrir’ of which it is a part. O God!, why did you create me in your playfulness? The second line elaborates this complaint by saying, “Kagazi hai pairahan har paikar-e-tasveer ka”. In ancient Persia, there was this tradition of wearing paper attire whenever any complainant went to the Sultan for the redressal of his grievance. So Ghalib laments that all existence is nothing but a complaint.

Holi Hai !

Aayi aayi rangon ki holi |
Khushiyon se bharne ham sab ki jholi ||

Udati hai rang gulabli |
dhodeti har jag ki kharabi ||

Neela jo hath se choote |
roothe preetam ka man loote ||

Hara jo ud ud aaye |
tan man ki klesh mitaye ||

Aayi aayi rangon ki holi |
Khushiyon se bharne ham sab ki jholi ||

Cricket Ka Karamyudh

Very well made ad, some observations.

• They have sold this idea of cricket where teams don't play for their nations. It is interesting the way they have branded it as "Karma yudh". The players play to exhibit their best skills, the best of what they have practiced for years.
• Very impressed by the music and the tempo it builds, it makes it seem big and important.
• Finally well made graphics, this ad makes the point and makes it effectively.

The world's largest experiment

Attended this lecture by Uwe Bratzler a physicist on what is said to be "the world's largest experiment".

This experiment is an attempt to simulate the bing bang which occurred around 15 billion years ago. The summary of the talk better explains the experiment. The large hadron collider is expected to produce the elusive Higgs boson ("God Particle"), and throw some light on how other elementary particles acquire mass.

Apart from such deep theories on particle physics, the quest is to answer the fundamental questions around the evolution of universe. Wouldn't we all all want to know how did it all start, from nothing to something and how it would all end.

This first stanza is in Sanskrit (Rig Veda, Book 10, Hymn 129)

nāsadāsīn no sadāsīt tadānīṃ nāsīd rajo no vyomāparo yat |
kimāvarīvaḥ kuha kasya śarmannambhaḥ kimāsīd ghahanaṃ ghabhīram ||

Srishti se pehle sat nahin thaa, asat bhi nahin
Antariksh bhi nahin, aakaash bhee nahin thaa.
Chhipaa thaa kyaa, kahaan, kisne dhaka thaa?
Us pal to agam, atal jal bhi kahaan thaa.

Truth/Good did not exist before the Universe came to be
Neither did Untruth/Evil
Neither did Space
Neither did the sky
What was hidden? Where?
Who had covered it?
At that moment
Unmoving, strong ocean was not there either

-credits http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat_Ek_Khoj

listen to these beautiful lines here



The above lines were made famous by the show "Discovery Of India"( it was played in the title track).

These are the very questions which men pondered upon might have some answers after this experiment.

More on CERN and their experimental setup.

Bhatiyar - early morning raaga

I heard this melody growing up in Rashtriya Saaksharta Abhiyaan ad campaign. It would leave an impression on any listener. One could say it has a calm expression of hope.

Purab se surya uga, faila ujiyara,
Jaagi har disha-disha jaaga jag saara...

For an avid classical music listener I would encourage listening to this beautiful rendition by Shruti Sadolikar Katkar. The mood is still early morning, but the emotions are that of yearning.

Balama na aaye more dwar,
Sej sajaon aur daloo har
Sagari raina more jagata beeti
tadap tadap jiya raha bulawe..

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World Wide Telescope

Demo - Worldwide telescope at ted.

No kidding !

Cleopatra Stratan - Ghita , she is the singer and 3 years old

Friday Dinner - Pitla and Chapati

Chapati, Pitla, curds and sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper

Another of my recipe blogs,

Pitla or Jhunka is one of those side dishes cooked either when there is no vegetable at home or one is too lazy to cook an elaborate sabzi. It goes well with both hot rice and chapatis.

Main ingredients : 4 table spoons of besan (gram dal powdered) and 1/2 finely chopped onion.

1. Heat 1 tsp oil add asafoetida and some mustard seeds wait till the seeds splutter.
2. Add cumin seeds and chopped onion, some salt and turmeric.
3. Once the onion gives itself to the heat and turns tender add some chili powder or green cut chili both work.
4. Add 1/2 cup water and let it boil.
5. Now is the tricky part, add besan to this boiling water spoon by spoon and keep stirring. The idea is not let it form lumps, if need be add more water.
6. Let it boil a little longer to get nice uniform consistency( you want all the besan nicely cooked to avoid any uncomfortable consequences the following morning :) )
7. Salt status check, add accordingly. Squeeze some fresh lemon on top and garnish with coriander.

Add ghee while serving and serve it hot.


After food and a glass of nice cold water, it is time to chew some beetle nut(I know not all would approve of this....:) ) and wander about my small patio.... that completes the experience.

Photosynth

Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth (based on Seadragon technology) creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation. Its architect, Blaise Aguera y Arcas, shows it off in this standing-ovation demo. Curious about that speck in corner? Dive into a freefall and watch as the speck becomes a gargoyle. With an unpleasant grimace. And an ant-sized chip in its lower left molar. "Perhaps the most amazing demo I've seen this year," wrote Ethan Zuckerman, after TED2007. Indeed, Photosynth might utterly transform the way we manipulate and experience digital images. - from ted.com

Yeh faasle teri galiyon ke

Yeh faasle teri galiyon ke hum se tayen na huye
Hazar baar ruke hum, hazar baar chalen

- Gulzar

I couldn't walk the distance.. I started a thousand times and stopped a thousand times...

Listen to this beautiful gazal by gulzar..

All you die-hard romantics...

Play the song and sing along !

Before I could catch

The sun set before I could catch.

chakshu rakshak

M K Gandhi died 60 years ago...

While he was alive, he was impossible to ignore; once he had gone he was impossible to imitate.
- Shashi Tharoor (The great Indian Novel).

Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je

Happy Republic Day

Wishing all a very Happy Republic day.



Bismillah Khan playing the mangala vadya - Shehnai this auspicious occasion.

Lazy weekend and Remington Steele

My lazy weekend is coming to an end. Finally Seattle's winter got to me and I am down with cold.

Spent yesterday and today watching Remington Steele a detective series which I used to follow a long time ago. Thanks to a friend who told me about hulu.com which has the entire series online.

Oneliners from the series...

"Irresponsibility is not a sickness. It's an art."
"Remington Steele never shows up wrinkled."

Amazing combination Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist.

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do....

Video recommendation for this week...

Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better.
I have been telling my friends around to watch this talk, very inspiring.




In this fast-paced talk (clocking in far shorter than his typical three-day seminars), iconic motivational speaker Tony Robbins explains how to unlock your true potential, and asks the audience (including former Vice President Al Gore) for a bit of high-level interaction. The spontaneous on-stage interaction between Gore and Robbins creates an unforgettable TED moment, and also demonstrates the power of Robbins' direct -- even confrontational -- approach(From ted.com)