Saturday 23 July 2011

A few completely random things about me

  • I simply adore Hindustani classical music,and I feel it is one of the most divine things.It is such a disciplined form of music,yet it can be so wildly powerful and evocative.Trying to discern which raga is playing is a fun activity I indulge in,apparently with very limited success,but when I do recognise a raga right,I can't help feeling a bit self-important. I consider myself fortunate to have taken birth in a nation which is home to such an invaluable treasure of supremely magical music and where such talented artistes perform miracles with their music.Considering Hindustani classical is fast losing its fan base among today's youth to popular music,I try to popularise it among people I know. Don't believe me? Go search 'Desh Raag (Doordarshan)' on youtube,you will enjoy the next 8 minutes of your life like anything... :)
  • I am obsessed with the color 'blue',which to me symbolises wonderful things;calmness,intensity and profound thoughts,like the tranquil and deep waters of the oceans.
  • I am quite a bit of an idealist perhaps and can get highly philosophical at times,getting carried away by things considered rather trivial by most people...but at times,I wish I was a thorough realist,taking things a little more pragmatically.
  • In future,I intend to travel a lot,eat exotic food and try out a lot of exotic coffee from all over the world,being the epicure and coffee addict that I am.Also I like to believe that some day, I would be able to write something meaningful, something that will make a difference.
  • Not very often, but at times, I tend to judge people based on what kind of music they listen to.I get very thrilled when I find someone who shares my choice of music, mainly because such people are hard to come by.My taste in music is kind of niche and 'not so appealing to the masses'.People think it's anachronistic and rather boring but I like to believe it is just different.Talk to me about a Beatles song you like,or share an anecdote about Ustad Amjad Ali Khan,and you might have won my favor and respect already. Haha !!
  • I claim to have many friends,but in reality I am quite a bit of a loner,having felt a really special connect with hardly 4 or 5 people in the past 20 years of my existence,people who are/were at some point of time very dear to me.I even think of myself as a 'misfit' at times,which explains the name of my blog...
  • At times,I secretly wish the Pink Floyd were my neighbors and people who have misunderstood me or moved away from me came back,just listening to 'Wish you were here'...
  • As a kid,I used to love playing with action figures !! I still have a huge collection of action figures and comics!! :D
  • At times I wish I was born somewhere in the 60s or the 70s in order to have witnessed the revolutionary world music scene of those decades with my own eyes.
  • If I were to have dinner with a celebrity,it would have to be with Anoushka Shankar and I would ask her to get her sitar along !! :D
  • I like to read a lot and I can spend hours together in a quaint little bookshop or a music store or a museum or maybe an art gallery.I want to visit the Louvre atleast once in my life,and simply stand there, gazing at the marvels of the Renaissance wizards.
  • If I were to go to a foreign land right now,it would be Rome,Venice and the Vatican.
  • I think Indian women are,by far,the most beautiful women in the world.
  • I simply love history,especially,the history of the ancient Romans and of the WorldWar2
  • I do NOT believe in the concept of 'love at first sight'.
  • At times,I wish there were no countries,no states,no cities,no castes,no races and no borders whatsoever.I would have liked the world to be just a big cosmopolitan global village,with nothing to fight for and no one to fight against(reminds you of John Lennon,doesn't it?) 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' indeed !! But considering how impractical it is, such a thing is very unlikely to happen.
  • I eat a lot of paneer.In fact,Mutter Paneer and Palak Paneer that my Mom makes are two of my most favorite dishes.
  • I like Friday evenings a lot, as I can unwind in peace,looking forward to not one,but two holidays. :D
  • I feel in order to be really good at an artform,be it music,writing,painting,dancing,one has to be a good human being first and have a big heart.Therefore,I believe that almost everyone who has excelled in their art is a  very good human being...virtuous,noble and humble.
  • I love my city, and I feel it has a distinct character,an interesting history and a sharp but pleasing flavor to it,perhaps because of the people,quite substantially. No other city I have visited has caught my heart like Mumbai. The much talked about 'Spirit of Mumbai' is indeed very impressive.
  • Contrary to the popularly held belief,I think 'likes attract',rather than opposites. :)
  • I can be very boring and even irritating at times.
  • Being true to my zodiac sign,I withdraw into my shell,when disappointed or upset,and can take quite some time to venture out again...

Friday 1 July 2011

Mankind heading towards complete abomination?


        I was watching Arnab Goswami(Editor in chief of Times Now) discuss the verdict of the Neeraj Grover murder case in a segment that was being called 'India's most macabre murder' on Times Now,with four gentlemen,Emile Jerome's lawyer,Maria Susairaj's lawyer,the public prosecutor and finally Late Mr.Grover's father.Kannada actress,Maria Susairaj,one of the two perpetrators of the heinous crime,had been let off lightly,being convicted for just 'destroying evidence'.(yeah right !! Conspiring a murder,chopping the body into pieces and then setting it afire is simply 'destroying evidence'!! ).Susairaj is likely to walk free today.
Parts of the conversation that transpired revealed a side of the lawyers,so deplorable,that it could have put even the most savage animal to shame.


Mr.Goswami to Jerome's lawyer : Could you tell me what the role of Maria Susairaj was in the murder?


Mr.Jerome's lawyer(first beats around the bush trying to prove his client innocent) : I cannot say what Maria's role was.


Mr.Grover : Maria shouldn't have been let off so lightly,she was the sole conspirator.Jerome didn't even know my son,why will he kill someone he doesn't know unless at the behest of Susairaj.


Miss Susairaj's lawyer : The media has wrongly sensationalised the case...Mr.Neeraj Grover's body was cut into just 3 or 4 pieces and not 300 pieces as the media claims...


Mr.Goswami(almost breaking down like any other man would have, if he had even of iota of humanity left in him,interrupts) : 3 pieces or 300 pieces,does it make a difference Mr.lawyer?Do you have any idea what societal impact this is going to have?


Mr.Jerome's lawyer: Of course it makes a difference,had the body been cut into 300 pieces,the case would been much more sensational and brutal than it is now,the media is to be blamed for spreading false rumours like 300 pieces and the like.Actually,there never was a conspiracy...


That was it...I was extremely shocked and appalled at the depravity of the defence lawyers and couldn't take it any further...And to think these gentlemen who claim to be the defenders of law and order,infront of an old father whose son had been so badly and unforgivably denied justice,were trying to justify how many pieces his son's body was chopped into,were trying to root for their clients desperately alleging "No,no the body was not cut into 300 pieces,it was cut into 'just' 3-4 pieces"...Had they no heart at all? Criminal lawyers have to be such wicked,heartless wretches,I thought...they must sell out their conscience to the devil,perhaps...else how would they show the unflinching support for their criminal clients,despite knowing evreything about their clients' unspeakable crimes.


The question stands... 'Is mankind heading towards utter abomination?'


PS: Sorry for this morbid post,guys...I had to vent my anger out somewhere...