crisis

clicking the frames together until i see you accumulate

move into focus by degrees of colour washed into brightness

until i can say the word realistic

until i can feel my fingers move down your shoulder

until i can convince myself that you exist

NB: Only God knows how much I love you.

Once again the Buendia family will experience One Hundred Years of Solitude

and Macondo will see no more Leaf Storm.

Florentino Ariza will no longer teach the world to Love in the Time of Cholera.  

Alas! No One Writes to the Colonel and tells The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor.

No Strange Pilgrims will speak Of Love and Other Demons.

In Evil Hour, Memories of my Melancholy Whores will be the abyss of disenchantment.

The uncountable time of eternity had come to an end in Autumn of the Patriarch.

With Chronicle of a Death Foretold, you are Living to Tell the Tale.

Now the world will see no more of magic realism

…but, there is always something left to love.

“For you was I born, for you do I have life, for you will I die, for you am I now dying.”

Why this Kolaveri Kolaveri Di?

Why this kolaveri kolaveri di?   

True. For me the song has no rhythm, no tune, no lyrics. I don't understand Tamil, I only understand the English words used in the song. Then, why do I keep humming "Why This Kolaveri Kolaveri Di?" 

 

This song has proved that music has no boundary. 

It depicts our moods. It talks about us.

That's why there is this kolaveri di  everywhere.

Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time there was a dream. The dream  was beautiful, it had the colours of the rainbow.
The dream grew big. The dream grew mighty. It got a deadline. So there was a dream with a deadline.

The dream with a deadline was soon fading away. It ceased to be a dream. It was on the verge of becoming a reality. The dream with a deadline evolved into a goal.

The goal was met.

The dream was to say, "I am Content."

Yes, I am Content. I do not have a dream anymore. I have achieved my goal. Now I have a long way to go. Everyday, I have to tell myself and hear others telling me "I am Content."

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika: The Bard & Legend

It is an age-old idea that music is a form of creative art through which emotions and sentiments are expressed. When we look at it in terms of the myriad folk musicians in India our understanding of life gets a better comprehension. Most of these singers are unknown to the world owing to several factors. It is a known fact that these singers are a treasure, the value of which has never been gauzed. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika is one of such singer and composer who is rooted in the folk tradition of Assam and made it popular across the boundaries.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s songs not only reflect the emotions and sentiments that we come across in our day-to-day life, but they also approach the realities, the social problems at the moments of depression of common men. Moreover, his music has proved to be an important agent for raising our social consciousness, and that is why every Movement and Revolution of North-east India is found to be associated in a number of inspiring and motivating songs.

As a young man, Dr. Hazarika was a friend of Paul Robeson, the Afro-American singer, actor and civil rights activist. Robeson’s passionate crusades for social justice and black pride have permeated Hazarika’s own worldview. As an outcome of this friendship, one of the greatest compositions of Dr. Hazarika, ‘Bristino Parore’ was born, which was inspired by Paul Robeson’s ‘Ol’ Man River’. Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, of ‘We Are in the Same Boat Brother’ fame gave rise to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s soul-stirring song on universal brotherhood ‘Ami Ekekhon Naore Jatri’. Dr. Hazarika was also greatly influenced by Pete Seeger, a prominent singer of protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and environmental causes.

Allying himself with the Indian people’s theatre Association (IPTA) – the cultural branch of the Communist Party of India – Bhupen Hazarika started expressing his social and political consciousness through Assamese folk music. Thus came the famous song ‘Dola O Dola’ which musically is set to the rhythm of the barefoot run and quick breathing of the men carrying the palanquin of the king across the hilly areas of Assam. The text of this song is in the form of a monologue of the palanquin bearers. The best example of the humanitarian ideal that instills his works is the song ‘Manuhe Manuhor Babe’ composed in 1964.

Dr. Hazarika was without doubt one of the greatest living cultural communicators of South Asia. He has swayed the hearts of millions with the power and passion of his voice, and the call for universal brotherhood and humanism, which comes through his songs. He straddles both Assamese folk tradition and his lineages with the political and social issues in his songs and compositions. With this increased alertness towards the situations of the North-east Indian people and his constant engagement with the problems of the downtrodden, Hazarika is staking a claim at the helm of social criticism.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s music has pronounced affinities with traditional language and methods with all its informal characteristics and remains as a purposeful activity rather than simplistic entertainment. His music is always political and is a medium to resist oppression.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika—the true son of the mighty Brahmaputra—has gained immortality through his music not only among the people of North-east Indian but among all Indians.

You are a legend, a phenomenon. You are larger than life.

Long live Dr. Bhupen Hazarika!

looking glass

do you know you are My looking glass?

at times I see a ovewhelmed person
sometimes a jovial spiRit,
a loveR of arts and  humanity
i eye my weaknesses as well as find my ambitious sOul
you aRe my silent audience and i am the play

you detest me, yOu applaud me, you envy me,
castigate me, Fustigate me

love Me, respect me
it is when I am in front of you i see mY self.

your criticism hurtS me
your lOve enthralls me
bUt i will always want you to be there
because you are the mirror of my souL.

Jobs & Me

Prologue

Steve Jobs’ demise was received with mixed feelings. Some were sad, some were shocked and for some “it’s not a big deal, there are more problems to worry about than to ponder over an individual’s death.” Well, that’s true! Death is a very natural process. The way Steve Jobs died, Unix founder Dennis Ritchie died too.

On the morning of October 6^th, I was awakened by a message on my mobile which said Steve Jobs is no more. Reading the message, I felt heartbroken and literally pulled my hubby out of the bed. My otherwise lazy hubby was wide awake and comforted me, “It’s okay, Jobs gained Nirvana”. I glued on to the TV and surfed the news channels to get more details on the death of Steve Jobs for hours. It was noon by then and I didn’t eat or drank anything. My hubby got bugged up asking me to have breakfast and said “Why are you so upset? You didn’t even know Steve Jobs two years back”.

True, I didn’t know Steve Jobs a couple of years ago. I just knew Apple and that Apple makes PCs, iPods, and iPhones. Then, why I am so sad? It’s just not a person died, with Steve Jobs died his ideas, his great innovations, his philosophy. 

At this point, I wished Jobs had been a doctor. He would have contributed the world of medical science to a large extend. I believed he would have invented a method of body swapping, as we see in movies. I think that would have been a great invention because when the body fails just as in his case, the soul could be transported in a new body and great ideas would prevail on earth forever.

I got acquainted with Steve Jobs after I joined my present organization. My present job requires me to research on the wonderful wireless duniya, design, forms, new platforms as well as operating systems and latest gadgets. Soon after I joined, the iPad was launched, I had to make a presentation on the iPad for my Boss. This is when I can say I got introduced to this great visionary and was greatly motivated by his philosophy and ideas. He taught me the basics of design, user interaction and the importance of user experience. Steve Jobs inspired me to be passionate about everything I do.

Epilogue

The work experience in my résumé can now be divided into Pre- and Post Steve Jobs periods. Mr. Jobs, I know a lesser mortal like me cannot be an equal to you, but you will always continue to inspire me. I hope one day I will be able to cultivate at least a few coffee beans if not an Apple.