Wednesday, May 27, 2009

4 things I wanted to do but couldn't and why

1. Vote. Couldn't do that coz my name wasn't in the voter's list!

2. Wanted to shoot Mandira and co. for the crappy IPL coverage. Couldn't because the bullets were too costly to be wasted on trash.

3. Start a Sitcom on engineering. Couldn't because I realized that engg tales are more suitable for epic tragedies than comedies.

4. Threesome with Laetitia Casta and Monica Bellucci. Couldn't because I didn't have time in my busy schedule.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hemant Kumar's Best

This is a post I've wanted to write since quite sometime, finally found the time to do it. There are few singers of the old days who are still relevant today. Those who still are, like Kishore Kumar, Rafi, Mukesh, Manna De were immensely popular in their times. However, the depth in voice which Hemant Kumar possessed could not be matched by anyone back then or now. Hemant Kumar is probably not as famous as any of the above listed names today, because he didn't do as much work in the Hindi Music Industry as the rest of them. But the two songs which I love of his far surpass those which any of the other legends have sung. The one thing which all the legends had in their songs was more focus on vocals than instruments, that's changed today [there's nothing wrong with it], but it's just that if you go to a live concert of any of the current day singers, you can be surprised by the dip in quality over the studio versions of their songs.

If you haven't heard these 2 songs, please give them a listen immediately:


Tum Pukar Lo from the movie Khamoshi -

Hm hm hm hm
Hm hm hm, hm hm hm

Tum pukar lo, tumhara intezaar hai, tum pukar lo
Khwaab chun rahi hai raat beqarar hai
Tumhara intezaar hai, tum pukar lo

(Honth pe liye hue dil ki baat ham
Jaagte rahenge aur kitni raat ham) -2
Muqtasar si baat hai tum se pyaar hai
Tumhara intezaar hai, tum pukar lo

(Dil bahal to jaayega is khayal se
Haal mil gaya tumhara apne haal se) -2
Raat ye qaraar ki beqarar hai
Tumhara intezaar hai

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The above song I had heard when I was just about 6 years old, that was a time when DD was still a relevant channel on TV. They were showing this brilliant movie called Khamoshi which was a trendsetter in terms of a storyline involving a mental patient and a lady doctor who get romantically involved. If the brilliance of the movie itself wasn't enough, there was this amazing song which just blew me away in terms of lyrics and music which touches your heart. And even at that age I knew I'd continue to love this song for years to come.

__________________________________________________________


Jaane Woh Kaise Log The Jinke Pyar Ko Pyar Mila from the movie Pyaasa

Jaane Woh Kaise Log The Jinke Pyar Ko Pyar Mila
Humne To Jab Kaliyaan Maangi Kaaton Ka Haar Mila

Bichhad Gayaa Har Saathi Dekar Pal Do Pal Ka Saath
Kisko Phursat Hai Jo Thaame Deewane Ka Haath
Humko Apna Saaya Tak Aqsar Bezaar Mila
Humne To Jab...

Isko Hi Jeena Kehte Hain To Yunhi Ji Lenge
Uf Na Karenge Lab See Lenge Aansoo Pee Lenge
Gham Se Ab Ghabraana Kaisa Gham Sau Baar Mila
Humne To Jab...
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This song from Guru Dutt's masterpiece Pyaasa is a classic. I love it far more than the other classic in this movie "Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai".

I salute this brilliant singer and music composer.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

The Perfect Ten


Ok, I have never till date written a blog post about any semester result. But then something happened on the 23rd of May 2009, which doesn't happen that often. I understood what one means by the term "The Perfect Ten". As always I wont divulge any personal details on the blog, but those who should know, will understand what this post is about.

I owe a huge debt to some of the best seniors in the world, who I have always bugged with mostly unnecessary doubts and queries, but who have always patiently answered all of them. So thank you guys.

A very big thank you to Akash and Mrunal, my B Tech project partners. And above all a huge thank you to the Almighty, the Lord of all GPAs ;)

And now that I am officially an Engineer, I am free to post about any past experience, so do expect some insane stories from my engineering days :)

Friday, May 8, 2009

Mijuk

I saw this hilarious thing on TV, where the legendary Bappi Da was talking on one of those Talent Contest shows, i think it was on ZEE. He said this -

"Mijuk is Laaab, Mijuk is Laaaife, Mijuk is Soul, Every-bhaan needs is the Mijuk in Laaaife!"

Bappi Da was spreading gyaan about Mijuk i.e. Music :D :D :D

Later that day I saw a repeat telecast of The Great Indian Comedy Show where they had made a spoof of Bappi Da on the same Mijuk dialogue! Insanely funny stuff.

I laaab mijuk!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

David Flabbergaster Is Back

Some more random quotes and stuff from the legend himself:

I may not know how to write an SQL Query, or how to make a webpage, or how to write code in C or Java or any other language, but I do know how to make programs run... and sometimes in life, that's all you need to do!

The only reason for a guy to cry at a farewell party in his Engg college isn't nostalgia - it's if he walks in for refreshments and realizes all the drinks are gone and there's no food left.

I looked into her eyes, she looked at mine, she smiled at me, I smiled at her, then she asked me if I had some change, I told her No and the signal turned green and we never met again.

The people you have harmed in your previous life will come back to haunt you in your current life by trying to destroy you every year - we know them as THE EXTERNAL EXAMINER


I look at the sex ratio in some states of India and somehow i know that if the old tradition of no inter caste/state marriages continues, there'll be a lot of bachelor dudes left in some parts of the country.

If you ever think Himesh is the worst singer of all time, then please do not forget the legendary Anu Malik, I still shudder when I remember the songs - "My Adorable Darling, I think of you every night every morning" [from Main Khiladi Tu Anari], or the painfully disastrous "Bahar baarish ho rahi hai, it's raining... it's raining... it's raining! Mera Dil Ro Raha hai, it's paining... it's paining... it's paining" [from some God-forsaken album]

I had a nightmare that Megan Fox called on my cell, and it was not reachable!

If anyone ever criticises the summer heat, he's obviously never been to a quality swimming pool, where the sun's rays and good old global warming make women want to wear 2 piece swimming suits!

Dear diary, today I moved from Base 1 to Base 2, it was a lot of fun.
Dear diary, today I moved from Base 2 to Base 3, it was much more fun.
Dear diary, today I finally reached Base 4. What an achievement!
Dear diary, this game of Shaolin Samurai Sword Fight has only 5 bases, it's too short. Damn these demo version games!


Ted Mosby from HIMYM once said the single greatest word in the English dictionary is "YES". Well, he obviously never asked his boss the question - So am I fired?

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Commercialization of Cricket

"Ati Sarvatra Varjitey" - This is one of the first ever Sanskrit phrases I ever heard, and it totally applies to all aspects of life. I just read a good post by Shirin on her blog and thought of adding some thoughts of my own.

One doesn't need to be a genius to understand that Cricket today has changed, and not every change has been for the best! The author of the post I was referring to hit the nail on the head when she mentioned that people shouldn't start calling a SIX, a DLFer, but it happened during the match between Delhi Daredevils and KKR. It was unbelievable. I had just read the post a few hours back on the above mentioned link and here I was watching a match in which a SIX wasn't called a SIX, not once! It was called a DLF maximum! WTF?

Commercialization of Cricket is going to hurt the game very badly, the quality of what one see's will indeed be affected adversely. In terms of broadcasting, SET MAX literally destroyed the broadcasting fun when they brought on Ruby Bhatia a few years back, and quickly replaced her after she goofed up completely. Then Mandira was unleashed upon this world. I have no issues with her, she's just doing her job. But the problem is, it started a downward trend.
There are now so many channels on air that they've run out of experts. They bring in any unheard of player and call him an expert. Each channel has it's Arun Lal and Maninder Singh [no one I know can remember any significant on-field contribution that they ever made].

Something about TIMES NOW - They have a guy called Boria Muzumdar, who originally started ramming his mouth of on air under the tag of "Cricket historian"! Yeah, right! I know a couple of guys in my college who could quote any score of any match played since they were born, only they haven't figured out a fancy title for themselves and haven't been hired by a channel, yet!
Anyways, now, he is a "Cricket Expert"! We have, hold your breath, Arbaaz Khan, that's right, Arbaaz Khan... the man who starred in blockbusters[?] like "Qayamat" and his views are taken on Sachin Tendulkar's innings and Shane Warne's captaincy.

CNN IBN - These guys at least don't pretend to be serious about their IPL coverage, their show is titled CRICKET TAINMENT. With Cyrus Broacha cracking his, mostly lame joke brand of humor. Anyways, so now we have Cyrus, Arbaaz, Sameer Kocchar and the guy who lost out on Indian Idol, Mayang Chang - covering the IPL. W G Grace, may your soul rest in peace!

The point that the "Mandira" supporters make is, that it sells! Well my friends, it sells because it's what the fools running these channels decide to show us. ESPN STAR is like the shining beacon for us Cricket lovers, they too have had to change a bit because of the ensuing madness that rival channels have started. But look at the people they have in their fold, Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Akram, Harsha Bhogle, Alan Wilkins - all exceptional commentators and people who can claim to say they know what they are talking about.

I saw this match yesterday in the IPL, where Ranjit Fernando was on air and he delivered this piece of idiotic commentary -

[Batsman slog sweeps... mistimes]

Ranjit - Oh, that has been savagely hit!

[The ball lands just outside the 30 yard circle, talk about savagely hit shots]

Ranjit - He didn't really get too much bat on it.

[WTF]

How the hell did a savagely hit shot, not have too much bat on it?

Anyways there are far worse commentators on air than Ranjit Fernando, but i was just citing an example that came to mind. Another incident involving Mayan Chang comes to mind, the guy is so poor in his Cricket knowledge that he at times forgets team names! Why the hell is he covering a cricket match?
I have nothing against any of the individuals who are named in this post, they're all doing what they've been paid to do, but the point is why, oh why have they been hired?
To a cricket lover who has seen the glory days of Cricket coverage, when Geoff Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar used to deliver brilliant and exciting commentary, for the people who have heard Tony Greg delivering lines like "This little man is the closest thing to Bradman there's ever been" - it's close to torture to watch the insanity that is on AIR. Watching Danny Morrison near the boundary rope with a cheerleader sitting on his lap was utterly distasteful.

Another thing is that, player's who haven't done any great deed in their career are incapable of truly understanding greatness or actually criticizing stupidity.

Case in point - when Buchanan came out with his 4 captain theory, Gavaskar took him on with a scathing attack! Well, now it's clear why Sunil Gavaskar used such strong words to criticize an idea which is fundamentally flawed. KKR is at the bottom of the table and don't look like they're gonna get up at all!

At that time I remember, a pathetic loser of a former cricketer on a news channel saying, "T20 is a game of constant innovation, Gavaskar may be a great batsman, but i think we should accept that the past generation cricketers cannot accept such innovation easily!"
That dimwit didn't realize that Gavaskar was part of the ICC Technical committee which allowed ideas like Free Hits and Bowl Outs to enter the cricketing world. There are times when even these greats make mistakes, no one is perfect. But what sucks is to watch mediocre people act as if they are great experts in the field.


Coming back to the Sanskrit phrase I quoted at the start, it's a fact that there's too much of commercialization taking place in cricket and borrowing a line from Shirin's article, it'll be the death of cricket the day a wicket is no longer called a wicket and instead called a "Citi moment of success"!