NEWS, VIEWS & SERENDIPITY

Manchester City Wins the EPL

2012-05-14T11:22:00.002+05:30

Soon does not mean 4 years, but at least I did make a prediction to this effect. Here: Manchester City Will Win Premier League Soon. I wonder what Wagner has to say now.

Cricket in New York

2011-11-24T12:12:00.000+05:30

This is a photograph that appeared in an otherwise well written article in The Economist. Question: Is this how they play cricket in US? All the slip players are on the other side!!!! Unless the batsman is gifted and is a switch hitter.

Why Indians do not Stand in Queues?

2011-11-07T10:05:00.001+05:30

Indians just don’t like to wait patiently in a queue. Why? It took me years to figure out why, but now I am convinced that the reason has nothing to do with mutated genes or skewed education or indiscipline or lack of consideration for others. It is a cultural thing. Cultural??? Come, let me take you back some 5000 years (give or take a few 1000 years, depending on who you believe). We are

Jagjit Singh Passes Away

2011-10-10T10:32:00.002+05:30

People die. The man with silk smooth voice, Jagjit Singh, is no more. All we can do is listen to his gazals over and over again. There will be no new ones any more. Sad. I wonder how Chitra Singh will take this. First son. Then daughter. Now husband. But she is a brave woman. And this too shall pass.

Pursuing French

2011-10-10T10:24:00.000+05:30

A very effective way of committing oneself to a project is to open up. This works in a very paradoxical way. On one hand you would like to keep things to yourself, especially if you are a private person. And therefore, opening up to public scrutiny makes you feel vulnerable. On the other hand, however, once you are open to public scrutiny, and because you are in open to public scrutiny, you may

Karnataka Heritage: Story of 3 Rocks

2011-09-09T18:12:00.000+05:30

It did not strike me till the guide at Hampi told me so. Karnataka has three types of rocks: a) Soap Stone, b) Granite, and c) Sand Stone. Hampi (a UNESCO World Heritage) ruins are made of Granite. The temples of Pattadakal (a UNESCO World Heritage) and the Badami Cave temples are of Sand Stone. The temples at Belur and Halebid are made of Soap Stones. Follow the stones and you would have

Emotion Sweep

2011-09-05T13:20:00.001+05:30

I have just about started reading this book and I already have three of the most common emotions sweep already over me: 1) Envy: When I read this: "Sheena Iyengar is a professor at the Columbia Business School, with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology". A women writing a best seller and is doing better than me! (I guess a bit of caveman is still alive in me) 2) Shock: When I

My first visit to France

2011-04-25T16:31:00.001+05:30

The year is 2002. This is my first trip to a non-English speaking country. I am going to France. I land at the Toulouse airport via Milan. Upon landing I search for immigration. To my surprise, I cannot find it. Funny! How do I enter the country? I approach a person who seemed to be wearing a police uniform. I ask him about immigration. He rattles off something in French pointing to doors marked

Music Instruments - see and listen

2011-04-23T07:16:00.000+05:30

Have you seen a Rudra Veena before? Did you know that Shiva created the instrument inspired by Parvati's shapely figure? No? Then head straight to Instruments in Hindustani Classical Music This page shows how the instruments that are used in Hindustani Classical Music looks like, how it sounds and in some cases how it has been used in popular songs. Have fun.

The Big Two

2011-04-05T09:28:00.000+05:30

My musical reminiscences couldn't have possibly completed with out paying by obeisance to Rafi and Kishore. So here it is: Rafi: The Voice that Launched 1000 Romances Kishore Kumar: The Man with the Golden Voice Did you know that in the earlier days of Kishore Kumar's career as an actor, Rafi was the playback for Kishore? It feels very surreal when you hear Rafi's voice when Kishore is

Celebrating Lyrics

2011-04-01T08:03:00.005+05:30

Quick! Name 5 lyricist from Bollywood. Go on ... I can hear you ... Gulzar, one. Javed Akhtar, two. Very good. Go on ... Hmmm. I see you are struggling. Oh ... oh ... Anand Bakshi, ..., yes ... this is so difficult. And yet the songs that you have appreciated over the years are so much about lyrics. As are all songs. A pity that lyricists are a neglected tribe. One name we tend to overlook is

Searching for Heroes

2011-03-30T09:25:00.000+05:30

Remember the glorious songs of yester-years: 'yeh hai reshmi zulphon ka andhera', 'zindagi ittafq hai', 'Allah yeh adaa kaisi'? Remember the actress who made these songs memorable on screen? Oh yeah! I am talking of Mumtaz. Did you know that of the 17 odd years of her career, she spent only 7-8 years as a top rated actress. Before that she struggled as an extra, heroine's friend, supporting

Remembering Jaidev: The Musical Genius

2011-03-28T11:10:00.001+05:30

Recently, the movie Hum Dono was re-released in colour. The movie was a rage when it was first released. The songs were very much appreciated. During its re-release in colour, Hum Dono trended to the top 5 spot on Twitter, the present generation social barometer. On the eve of the re-release, Devanand spoke highly of Asha Bhosle's philosophical 'Jahan Mein Aisa Kaun Hai...' and Lata Mangeshkar's

Did Amitabh Bachchan Kill Melody?

2011-03-28T10:19:00.000+05:30

It is commonly assumed that rise of Amitabh Bachchan as the Angry Young Man in Hindi Movies is responsible for the death of melody in Hindi film songs. With a complete entertainment package like Amitabh in a movie, perhaps the emphasis on good music decreased. But is this impression really correct? I have compiled some of the most memorable songs sung on Indian silver screen by Amitabh. The

If Lata is in, can Asha be far away?

2011-03-25T11:30:00.000+05:30

I must say, I have never enjoyed myself more. Making web pages dedicated to the golden era of Bollywood music was the best decision I have ever taken. I bet I would have visited these webpages more than anyone else. Whenever I get a chance, I pop in and do a quick listen to one of my favourite songs. And this time I am back with Asha Bhosle. I was very uncomfortable with the fact that I had a

Binaca Geetmala

2011-03-23T08:09:00.003+05:30

People of my generation and above will remember the Wednesday evening 8 p.m. This was the Binaca Geetmala and the golden voice of Amin Sayani time. Binaca Geetmala was the most definitive music countdown show for India. Times have changed. With a surfeit of TV channels, each having its own 'top 10' shows, no one really bothers. So, how about recreating the romance of Binaca Geetmala. I have

Musical Lenses Featuring Lata, Kishore, Manna, Hemant and many more

2011-03-21T07:57:00.001+05:30

The last week and the weekend were spent in absolute ecstasy: listening and choosing music of the golden era of Hindi playback singing. There is magic in these songs and now that I have created webpages that is a mini-collection of sorts, I now have two wishes: a) that more people listen to these - both those who understand Hindi and those who don't b) that these songs find their rightful place

The Sachin Tendulkar Factor

2011-03-14T09:21:00.002+05:30

Everyone who has once held a bat in hand seems to have an opinion on the Indian cricket team. So here's my two bit: The reason why Indian batting order collapse after a great start involving Tendulkar is because Tendulkar is so good. This may seem to be a cock-eyed logic but hear me out ... Because Tendulkar is so good, and because he bats so effortlessly when he is in full flow, the rest of the

My 50 Squidoo Pages

2011-03-12T09:13:00.000+05:30

Finally! This is one milestone that I was aiming for, for quite some time. With the lens on the book review of the book Mother Pious Lady I managed to hit the 50 Squidoo page mark. And did one better: the lens on the Assyrian Lion Hunt in the British Museum makes it the 51st. Please visit these pages and let me know what you feel about these.

The Indian Museum

2011-03-10T09:20:00.000+05:30

Sad, but true. Not many Indians like visiting Museums. Though every largish city in India has one. The Science Museums are usually visited by children as part of their trips organised by school, but that's about it. The museums that are related history and culture are given a pass. Now you may argue that this is not true. That you have visited the museum in your city. Possible. But how many times

Mother Pious Lady

2011-03-10T06:59:00.001+05:30

Sometimes knowledge is packaged in a certain way that you would not grasp its utility unless you actually encounter it. So it is with this gem of a book: Mother Pious Lady by Santosh Desai. Packaged as a current affairs book, it is actually a gold mine for advertisers and marketers. I can see it as the basis of thousands of advertisements and marketing initiatives targeting the existing and for

Bodh Gaya: Photo-Lens

2011-03-09T07:57:00.000+05:30

A few of you may have noticed that the list of World Heritage Sites visited has an additional entry - The Mahabodhi Temple. Yeah, I finally visted Bodh Gaya. You can find lots of pictures and some details in my 'photo-lens on Bodh Gaya: Land of Enlightenment. Let me know what you think of the pictures.

Indians in Business Novels

2011-02-18T22:25:00.002+05:30

That Indian characters are increasingly finding a central place in Business Novels is a sure sign of Indians having arrived. At least in Harvard Business Review Press books. However, if the author is not very conversant with the culture, it could lead to some awkward situation. Especially, when the culture in India is as varied as it is. In the otherwise delightful and very knowledge-imparting

India and the Millenium Development Goals

2011-01-21T17:58:00.000+05:30

There are times when growth and progress needs to be seen from the perspective of human development; and not just in terms of % GDP growth or industrial output. The UN Millenium Development Goals (MDG) provides an alternative reference point. The UN published a report on where the world stands with regards to meeting the MDG in 2010. There are three references to India in the text of this report

Swear if you care

2011-01-12T08:52:00.000+05:30

Once in a while you stumble upon information that forces you to think. It might also push you beyond your comfort envelope. The information can come to you from any domain, even mathematics. Especially when it comes in the form of an article titled 'If mathematics is a language, how do you swear in it?' One instictively knows that this article by David Wagner would be an interesting read and