83, the achievement, the movie

Good movie.

I was born in 84, didn’t watch the event live. But as an Indian I have watched the highlights excitedly so many times, however missing out on the story behind the scenes.

Thank you Kabir Khan to help understand that feeling of victory, victory when no one believed, victory when nothing else mattered. It didn’t matter how poor we were, how divided we were or how less the world thought of us, because they didn’t know what was there in our heart, or at the very very very least, one heart.

We had an awful record, one win across two world cups, that too against a team that wasn’t a nation but more of a bunch of Patel’s and Shah’s in some east part of Africa, but we had the experience, the skills that mattered in England and once in a millennium, we seemed to pick the right team at the right location and an absolutely correct choice of the captain.  

An event that engaged civilians,  military personnel, politicians and nay-sayers alike.

Kapil - as he said “What else we here for? We here to win”. Broken English, but, absolutely  clear thought. Righteous inspiration from Mom - play to win.

P R Man Singh and Pankaj Tripathi - standing by the man that believed when most run away because that is much easier. Simply great acting as usual by Pankaj Tripathi.

Yashpal Sharma - highest score in World Cup for India when he scored against the mighty West Indies to inflict their first loss in any World Cup , performing without fear at the biggest stage, brave batting, a lion personified.

Mohinder Amarnath - great focus, understanding the magnitude of the situation, knowing when a talent like Srikanth needs to be let loose, consistent performance with the bat and the ball and the cricketing acumen that makes an all-rounder tick. 

Gavaskar - inspiring the team and Captain, despite a poor personal performance. Not wearing a helmet and relying on his instincts and skills. Toughest role in the movie, kudos to the actor Tahir to keeping it below unnecessary glorifying. 

Sandhu, Srikanth , Patil - tad crazy yet priceless contributions. Flamboyance of Patil, rashness if Srikanth and simple mindedness of Sandhu.

Srikanth in the movie, summed it up the best, a mad Captain believed and hence the team eventually performed.

Kirti Azad , Shastri, Kirmani, Madan Lal -  keeping the team going with performances whenever they mattered the most.

Some of the scenes featuring Shastri really bring out the proper “Mumbaiya” nature of his persevering talent and wit.

Binny - achieved zenith of personal excellence fuelled by a determined, an almost delusional captain.

Vengsarkar - excellence and determination - cut short by excellence (read Malcolm Marshall).

Kudos to Kabir Khan to cast Jimmy Amarnath as his father, a character that epitomized the longing of Indian cricket lover for the team to excel. Only blemish could have been the casting of Patil and Vengsarkar, actors who didn’t show any merits for selection but nonetheless the director got the right stuff out of them.

Farookh Engineer played by Boman Irani, his yearning for the Indian team to dish it out to earn the much deserved respect from a prejudiced English pundits and audience.

Kapil Dev - a miracle himself and performing a miracle, be it the 175, or beating the West Indies twice, to catching the King incredulously, to leading a team from an extremely low-confidence nation, uniting them through sheer determination, almost delusional beliefs, to making it count when it mattered the most (the 175*), understanding the difference between being an excellent potential to performing excellently, an epitome of Indian simplicity, self-belief, determination!! “Loss or win should be evident in the scoreboard not in your eyes” or don’t give up till the end!

Kabir khan - thank you for making a movie about a sports achievement, about the 83’ World Cup and keeping it strictly within the lines (except a few). Thank you for highlighting  some of the nuances of that win - right players for the right conditions, basic principles of cricket, impact of the conditions (Gomes and Richards can be effective bowlers on some day, Binny on some, Roberts and Marshall on other), you always have to take a chance and the value of all-rounders. Capturing the impossibility of containing a storm that was Viv Richards, the king! And the self belief and astute understanding of the game - “You have scored 183 but they still have too, so you have the upper hand!”. Only blemish possibly not showing Kapil shying away from the crowd after that “once in a lifetime catch”.

Best scene has to be Bob Willis setting an off-side only field with India needing just one scoring shot to win, to get his players to safety from an impending Pitch invasion by Indian fans. However it does pale compared to Kapil catching the King.

And the actors to truly surrendering to the characters they played (did they really have any option?)

Parcham lehraa do!!!

P.S : unity might be over-rated but it’s invaluable; inspiration might seem frivolous but it matters; a story might be known but needs to be re-lived, re-told.

@ Tigin of Stamford

How charmed were those days
Those evenings when we would
Just close work at the office
Go and drink as much as we could

That pub in downtown
An Irish place called Tigin
Live music and unsure feet
Beautiful ladies, spirited evening

And that wily old friend
Who knew how to make us talk
And make us drink that one last pint 
And would drive us home, never walk

Endless talks of girls and love
And romance and chance
And of taking that leap
And asking her for a dance

That hope that stayed
As rest all did fade 

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay

Date of Visit - 5th Feb
(Sunday - lots of pre-montessary school children making a lot of noise. Lot of foreigners too. Me and My friend Yuvraj probably the only representatives of Mumbai in 30-35 age group)

The Museum is housed in a remarkable structure and its environs are surprisingly well maintained.

 

 The museum houses many collections of the Tata Family

The sculpture gallery is quiet special, providing a glimpse into Indian religion, tradition and history.

Artefacts are collected from all over India. Seeing quiet a few from my native place Chaul, was special. The descriptions are also very illustrative and captivating.

 

Lord Garuda in a unique pose 

The Durga figurine on the right (above) is made of bark of a tree Sholapith - simply amazing.

There is a separate section which captures art, sculpture and history of Jainism in India.

The birds and animals section.

 This was an interesting one, this creature (saw fish) washed up onto Mumbai shores around 1930s. It would be so nice if it could make some regular visits now (just to terrorise a few 😊 )

There are also sections for coins, weapons, clothes which make you walk more even after those first 3 hours after which your feet have started feeling the pain.

If you wanted some souveneirs

Did you notice the ubiquitous Indian blessing for the bride?

Coinage of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj - Shivrai Hon

The one on right spells Shri Raja Shiv, the one on the left (reverse) spells Chhatrapati.

Jai Shivaji!!

And about these other coins (notice the part that satavahana dynasty mention mothers clan name with rulers name - the only one)





Just in case the ladies get bored

And then there was Gandhi and Shakespeare (beat that !!)

Kanu Gandhi's Photo Exhibition

The great english bard

New observances - in the digital world - because we should

Leave that whatsapp group day

Unlike/ Unfriend that dork/devil day

Say Hi after 5 (yrs) day

Change the DP today day - it's been freaking 5 years

Make fake profile day - that friend who thinks he is too cool to be on social network - 1 April

Heritage month - don't share, post originals - entire month - 31 days of July

Uff!! mere ye aadarsh!!

Being principled has always seemed to be a costly option.That the principles have become obsolete is a different matter altogether. What was newly revealed to this blogger, is the correlation of principles which helps them co-exist.

Principles/beliefs in the mix:

1. Conserve earth, plant more trees
2. Compassion towards birds and animals, sometimes above and over human life
3. Though shall sow, and not expect the fruits

Revelation:

I have 3 flower-pots in my apartment. I water them daily. Apart from an over-zealous "Curry leaves" plant that is housed in one of the flower-pot, nothing else has lasted long. The problem - pigeons and sparrows. I have made repeated attempts to plant seeds in the other 2 flower-pots, only to see them sprout, grow a little and then have the pigeons and sparrows ravage on it.

So, I take efforts to water the plants. I see the pigeons and sparrows finish them off. I cannot hit at the birds to protect the plants (Uff!! mere ye aadarsh!! - well actually I do shooo them off many times - but I cant really be with the plan 24*7 - still got a day job). And then the 2 flower pots remain barren, which the pigeons consider a vacancy - and use it as a nursing home. So, my flower pots are blessed with pigeon-lings once every 3 months (and hence not barren?!!). So, while I sow plant seeds I get pigeon-lings which would become pigeons and make my gardening that much more difficult. That is 90% of the story. The rest 10% is the shit. The pigeons/pigeon-lings - shit a lot. Now that could be manure for my plants - so I would plan to sow more seeds going forward, only to see the leaves being eaten off in 3-4 days by the same marauders. And here comes the last principle to rescue - or to dissuade me from victimizing myself - though shall sow and not expect the fruits - in fact what you might reap is pigeon-lings and ..... shit!!

Sketch(s)

तस्वीर बनाता हूं

तस्वीर नही बनती

Chemical Tathastu!!

Yesterday a facebook friend posted an event - he got married. I know him from my school years. He was a fun to be with. His facebook post was interesting - "My better 2nd half started" & "bonding between 2 chemical engineers". I wished him the very best. I have become awestruck by marriage (the ceremony, the new relationship and the changed way of life) - and as other English phrases fail me - am a huge fan. So I completely agree with his sentiment, it is indeed his life's better 2nd half. And his wife being his "better half" is such an Indian-English cliche`.
I had not been in much contact with him for some time now - lets say 15 years - that is how most Facebook friendships seem to be - so he being a chemical engineer is something that I would say I knew, but honestly I just have some vague recollection. I wish this "bond between 2 chemical engineers" be always strong. The particular words however, enticed me, taking me back to my HSC years. If marriage is indeed a bond and in this case it being between 2 chemical engineers - it has to be a covalent bond where different atoms share there electrons - no acquisitions, just merger. Let the 2 persons involved share their joys, sorrows, abundance and replenish each other. If only there was a chemical equivalent of Tathastu!!

Cancer will fall out??

Recent news articles have claimed that Cancer occurrences in 90% cases can be put down to bad luck.

The cells behave randomly and abnormal cell growth that is the cancer signature is put down on luck.

Is it then that this study might not have considered effect of change in lifestyle, exposure to radiation, complex foods and stress.

And then the cancer occurrences are symptoms that a body is not yet prepared for these changes genetically and hence as the genes get adjusted to these changes over generations, cancer would cease to exist?

Death Penalty

(In preparation of my P6 speech as part of toastmasters competent communicator manual)

“An eye for an eye would leave the whole world blind” – these famous words are commonly attributed to Mahatma Gandhi in reference to his non-violent struggle. Similar thoughts are also seen in the Holy Bible. It says “An eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth would lead to a world of the blind and toothless”.  Extrapolating the same thought – a murder for a murder would lead to a world of dead bodies. Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters and guests, for generations legal justice systems, humanitarians, politicians and common man like you and me have pondered the necessity and evil of the death penalty.  Does the government or any ruler have a right to take away a person’s life and is it a lesser sin than the sin committed by the person? Should perpetrators of heinous crimes be not punished by death or what would be a sufficient retribution for their acts ?

Death Penalty or Capital punishment is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. This custom has been around for ages – used to punish crime or to suppress political dissent. Earliest communities meted out such punishment in public to discourage individuals from breaking law. In feudal world the rulers ensured the discipline of their subjects through its use. Dark Ages are replete with stories of how the unjust and selfish leaders exacted vengeance on the people they saw as a threat to their success.

The exact form of execution of the punishment has varied across the ages. Since the act was meant to send out a strong message to the adversaries, it was often gruesome. Boiling, burning, crushing, crucifixion, dismemberment, disembowelment are some of such barbaric acts that we have all heard of. Some of the current methods are more humane like hanging, lethal injection. Although its’ difficult to comprehend how these methods are humane, the argument is that the victim suffers less pain and its’ visually less offensive. Currently 58 nations actively practice death penalty where as 97 have abolished it – and there are others who have not used it for 10 years or allow it only during exceptional circumstances like wartime. However, the four most populous countries amounting to 60% of world population – China, India, USA and Indonesia – practice it.   India retains capital punishment for a number of serious offences. More importantly Supreme Court of India in 1983 ruled that the death penalty be imposed only in “the rarest of rare cases”.  These rarest of rare cases are those in which the “collective conscience of the community is so shocked that it will expect the holders of the judicial power to inflict death penalty”.

On one hand we have perpetrators of such heinous crimes like genocides, cold blooded murders, terrorist attacks, sexual assaults and many more. How can we agree to not have a judicial system which provides for the severest of punishments to them? On the other hand how do we agree to a system that acts as violently as the criminal? Most judicial systems and governments around the world guarantee a right to life. Does the government’s duty of justice trump the individual’s right to life? Also not less important is the question of severity of crime – how do we distinguish between a person who has committed a murder and a person who has made the victims life impossible through death threats or other abuse? There are also instances where people have been wrongly convicted only because they were at a wrong place at a wrong time. There have been cases where people on death row have had their sentences reversed once new evidence was available.  When no judicial system can be always correct in ascertaining a crime how does it commit to a death penalty ignoring the slightest possibility of it being wrong?

Common logic dictates that unless there is to be a deterrent to crime or bad behavior in general it will be difficult to ensure that all abide by the law and hence the necessity of punishment. But where lays the balance between the necessity and the evil? Cesare Beccaria, an 18^th Century Italian jurist, philosopher and politician put forth some of the first modern arguments against death penalty. His work was founded on two central arguments. First argument was that objective of punishment was dual – to deter future such repetitions of crime (by the guilty or others) and to reform the offenders. Death penalty does not achieve the first objective as such crimes do repeat. It cannot achieve the second objective as offenders cannot reform after execution. Second argument holds that the state’s right to take a life of its citizen is illusory since a person (the guilty) agrees to the existence and creation of the government and the social contract expecting his progress and protection of his life and hence the death penalty breaks the contract and is unjust.

Death Penalty is thus exactly, that “great power which comes with great responsibility”. Its use has to be restricted to cases where there is enough evidence and where the crime outweighs the punishment. Its use has to be to deter crime but in no way encourage violence. 

-- 
It is what it is!!

Beautiful People

Its spring elsewhere
Sweet smell fills the air
Warm winds carry it all over
But am a garden bereft of flowers

Last spring it was the same
I called each of their names
None called back
None came

And it was so the year before
I kept looking at the shore
Neither a boat, nor a lonely bird
None that I did adore

So for spring I shall not care
I await the cold harsh air.

enroute

Tipu Sultan had sent 3 warrior ships to General Washington to fight against the British. (reference: Bharat Ek Khoj - Episode 40)

Paranormal - Toastmasters Project 5 speech

(Goals for P 5 speech were to make appropriate and sufficient gestures to convey the right meaning and emotions - I included a bit of drama)

Did you just see that? There was a lady that came straight out of that wall and went straight through the window. She was dressed in a white bridal dress. She was very beautiful but looked very sad. You did not see her? You are not telling me that I was just hallucinating, are you? Was that a ghost or a spirit or a full bodied apparition? Did someone die here who was beautiful and lonely? Did I just have a paranormal experience? Questions and more troubling questions. Brain refuses to accept what senses have grasped. But I stand by what I believe I saw.

            Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters and guests – welcome to the world of paranormal. What is paranormal? The word paranormal is derived from 2 root words – para – meaning above or against and normal. Hence paranormal – that which is above or against normal. Paranormal, the term, is used to describe experiences that lie outside the range of normal experience or scientific explanation. For example, you are haggling with your boss to get a 5% raise in salary and the boss insists that you must get a 7% raise. That is paranormal – beyond scientific explanation. Now true paranormal believers definitely would raise some interesting questions – was your boss possessed? Did his eyes turn red or black or purple when he agreed? Did you smell any sulphur? My grandmother would have asked you to check his feet – were they pointing straight?

            Paranormal world has a variety of characters, activities, events – a wide gamut of human behavior and experiences. To the uninitiated, paranormal world starts with ghosts. You all know what are ghosts? Have you seen one? You have heard of ghost stories right from your childhood, haven’t you? Any given bunch of kids definitely has that one single person who is the know-all of this amazing world. “There is a ghost on the top floor of our building.” He would say so and swear by its truth. “Have you seen it?” you ask him. 9 out of 10 times the answer is no. The actual seeing part is done by the elders. The most plausible reason behind this rumor is that the elders did not want him to go to the top floor for some other reason. But what are these ghosts? In traditional belief ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person. It is also called as phantom or apparition. In most ghost stories a person dies, most often unhappily, and comes back to haunt the people who wronged him during his life. This is revenge in after-life. And then not all ghosts are bad – there are some like in Bollywood movie Bhootnath or Hollywood movie Ghost who help the protagonists. Most of these movies also tell you that once you become a ghost you still have to learn things, for example, its not as easy to just start throwing things, there is a technique. (Gesture with arms to lift something from a distance and throw it).  Sometimes these ghosts might just show up and scare you. However, there are advanced levels here. There are also other special entities (higher qualified designations) of demons, vampires, were-wolves and what not. There is poltergeist – where a ghost doesn’t show up at all, however, it manifests itself through violent actions. Imagine you are sitting in your kitchen and suddenly all your cabinets just spring wide open.

            Paranormal world’s next favorite phenomenon is the Extra-terrestrial life and UFOs. “It’s a bird, It’s a plane….Its Superman”… Or is it? Could that be an intelligent form of life from outer space doing a reconnaissance of our amazing planet? Unlike ghosts UFO’s and ET’s are a newer phenomenon from the 1950’s when, around the world people started seeing things flying through the sky and did not know what they were. Interestingly this was also the time of the advent of airplanes and spaceships. There were sightings of objects flying so fast and which were so technologically superior that people said that they could just not be human made. Then there were incidents where such UFOs crashed and witnesses saw alien bodies which within hours vanished – hidden away by the governments, they said. Aliens are believed to make elaborate plans to come to earth to take away our natural resources, while at other times they are just interested in drawing crop circles. Not to be taken lightly though. Paranormal enthusiasts believe that many an enigmatic structures like Stonehenge, ancient cave paintings, Egyptian carvings, the pyramids and much more are alien creations.

            Paranormal believers would think that I was possessed by a highly devious demon, if I were to not mention the cryptids. A cryptid is an animal whose existence is not confirmed by science. There are so many of them and each has its own glorious story and has enthralled many a believer. There is big-foot – a giant ape like creature which inhibits some forests here in North America. There is yeti – which is similar to big foot and is found in the Himalayan regions. There is Loch-ness monster – which is so cryptic – that no one knows yet what it is – a giant snake, a fish, an anaconda or something else.

India is no stranger to paranormal phenomenon. One excellent morning, people went running to temples because idols started drinking milk. We had a three-headed villain terrifying the sleep out of our young ones. And then there are paranormal beliefs of our politicians that they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai – no scientific explanation. But all said and done the world stands divided into two factions of believers and non-believers. And again the question arises– to believe or not to believe?

Scientifically ghosts are optical illusions. Some theories also point towards heavy magnetic fields stimulating a person’s brain to make him see things. There can be other environmental factors – which may be as trivial as a mirror far away casting crazy reflections elsewhere. Extra terrestrial life has scientifically not beenproved to exist – but scientists have enough proof to believe that life in some form may exist outside of our planet. The first aliens to contact us may turn out to be smarter than us but it may also be true that we might have just forgotten how we erected the Stonehenge. Bigfoot, Yeti and Loch-ness monster may exist – but how can we discredit the notion that it was just a tall man wearing a weird suite scaring kids away from his farm. UFOs are unidentified flying objects because we have not understood them yet. May be they are just advanced devices created by our own scientists.

Technology and knowledge seem to be the main pranksters dividing the world here. In a remote village in India, using my phone to unlock my car will be considered perfectly super-natural. However, I still think there is someone standing in that corner. He is looking straight into my eyes. His finger nails are growing bigger as I speak, so I would request the TMOD to come and take over the podium.

You will come, right?

ती चांदणी
येता नभी
त्या भव्य कमानी खाली
भेटेन मी

येशील ना
तू साजणी 
त्या भव्य कमानी खाली
भेटेन मी

लाटांवरती
घेऊन होडी
जाऊ सखये
त्या दूर किनार्यावरती
सायंकाळी
वाळूत रुपेरी
शपथ घेऊ ग
कधी कधी ना अंतर्ण्याची

सुरुबनात अलगद लपुनी
पांघरू धुक्याच्या शाली

ती चांदणी
येता नभी
त्या भव्य कमानी खाली
भेटेन मी

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxL1OqfMaSE



As that star
comes in the sky
I will meet
under that huge arch

You will come,
truly, Oh dear?
I will meet
under that huge arch

Upon the waves
taking the boat
We will go dear
On that far bank.
In the evening
In the silver sands
We will vow dear
Never ever to part.

In the oak forest
Quietly we will hide
covered in
blankets of dew


 

ToastMaster P2 - Thou Shall not be angry!!

(I have recently joined ToastMasters. The basic aim here is public speaking. There are different speech projects which one has to deliver, with each project focusing on certain public speaking fundamentals. This is my Project Speech 2 - the emphasis was on organizing the speech into different sections, transitioning smoothly across sections and to capture attention through proper introduction and conclusion. This is what I wrote, I may have skipped a few points during the actual delivery .... all the nervousness)

"Mr. Dawar, even today I do not accept money thrown at me". This is Amitabh Bachchan's famous dialogue from the 1975 movie 'Deewar'. It is one of many such dialogues which ushered in his image of the 'Angry young man'. His fans have worshipped that image and it has silently made its way into their hearts and brains not escaping immitations. While we understand that the dialogue itself depicts a lot of anger of a suppressed, wronged young man, there is neither much in his facial expressions nor is his voice loud. He seems rather calm. Mr. Bachchan's dear friend, Mr. Dharmendra though, does not hold back in that area. In the movie 'Sholay' of the same year, he yells out "Dog, I will drink your blood". Anger in his voice, his expressions and his whole body frame. The words he used, amuse me. "Why blood?, why dog's blood?". With his hands tied up and his dreamgirl being harrassed, isn't he better off wishing to drink some milk or eat some spinach like Popeye and break open his chains? The words he used, illogical that they may seem, do a lot to communicate his feelings to the audience and I am sure to his nemesis. Angry people, today, are an essential part of a Bollywood movie, but its not uncalled for as you look around and you see people angry everywhere, everytime and angry with everyone. People are angry with the politicians, the bureaucrats, the police, the bus conductor, the rickshawallahs, their neighbours, their parents, their spouses, their bosses, their colleagues and more. People are angry at home, at their workplace, during their travels and people are angry 24 by 7. India is angry with Pakistan, Apple is angry with Samsung, Anna is angry with the government and people are angry with Anna.

Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters and guests 'anger' is a human emotion much like 'happiness', 'sadness' or 'love'. It is an emotion that one reflects due to a feeling of being overpowered, offended, wronged or denied. In some cases, however, it is just a tendency to react through retaliation. Psychologists recognize three types of anger and these help us understand anger. The first form is 'hasty and sudden anger' which is connected to the impulse for self preservation,  something which we share with non-human animals. The second form is 'settled and deliberate' . It is a reaction to preceived deliberate harm or unfair treatment by others. These first 2 forms are cognitive and include some level of thought processing by the person and then the anger follows. The distinction between the 2 is the reaction time. The third form called 'dispositional' is, however, related to character traits. 

Irrespective of the form of anger, it is an emotion that evokes response. Sometimes when a person gets angry others may try to irritate him further. Sometimes a loved one would reciprocate that anger with empathy. An angry person often, however, is feared by others. This fear is due to the potential that the anger carries. Anger can mobilize psychological resources and boost determination towards figthing injustice, correcting the wrongs. History shows us that our national heroes channeled their anger to do brave, daring acts. The enlightened souls were able to spread the message of love and peace because of their anger and because they knew how to use its potential. On the other hand, anger tends to be destructive. The Hindu scripture Bhagvad Gita rightly captures this destructive nature of anger. It says "Anger leads to delusion which leads to bewilderment of memory which leads to loss of intelligence which would lead  to fall". The occurences of shooting sprees across the world are on a increase today. These are instances of uncontrolled anger. Angry person, often loses his empathy, prudence and thoughtfulness and causes harm to others. I would like to believe that Hitler did what he did, because he was angry about something. What he did may never be justified, but to imagine that his acts were not out of any anger would leave this world without reason and logic. I similalrly like to believe that the perpetrators of 09/11 and 26/11 were angry about something. 

Last year a simplistic song, with not much to show in terms of lyrics and not much in terms of music barring the 'hummability', took the nation by a storm. The words were as simple as they could be 'Why this anger?' Whereas anger being an emotion may not be easy to avoid, I think its essential that one learns and strives to control and channelise it. Today, if Moses, who gave his people the ten commandments from his Lord, were to revisit Mount Sinai, he would have asked his Lord for a eleventh commandment and that could only be "Thou shall not be angry". Which tablet the God would then prefer to write his commandment on is a different thing altogether.

My infinite playlist

The new ones
Youtube playlist:

1. Kehne ko jashne bahaara hai
• Jodha Akbar - Hritik Roshan(a), Javed Akhtar(l), A. R. Rehman(m), Javed Ali (s)
2. Nahi Saamne
• Taal - Akshay Khanna(a), A. R. Rehman(m), Hariharan (s), Anand Bakshi(l)
3. Maula mere Maula
• Anwar - Nauheed (a), Roop Kumar Rathod (s), Mithoon(m)
4. Tere bina
• Guru - Abhi-Ahs(a), A. R. Rehman(m,s), Gulzar(l)
5. Bol na halke
• Jhoom Barabar Jhoom - Abhishek, Preity (a), Mahalakshmi, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (s), Gulzar(l), Shankar Ehsaan Loy (m)
6. Aaj din chadhiya
• Love Aaj Kal - Saif, Deepika (a), Rahat Fateh Ali Khan(s), Irshad Kamil(l), Pritam(m)
7. Kabhi Kabhi Aditi
• Jaane tu ya Jaane na - Imran, Genelia (a), Abbas Tyrewal(l), A. R. Rehman(m), Rashid Ali(s)
8. Salaam e Ishq
• Salaam e ishq - Salman (a),  Shankar Ehsaan Loy (m), Sonu, Shreya, Shankar, Kunal, Sadhana, Jasbinder N(s), Sameer (l)
9. Tere Mast Mast Do nain
• Dabang - Salman(a), Rahat Fateh Ali Khan (s), Sajid Wajid(m), Faiz Anwar(l)

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA77B131C90507E97

सौमित्र - बघ माझी आठवण येते का

**********************************************
मुसळधार  पाउस  खिडकीत  उभी  राहून  पहा
बघ  माझी आठवण  येते का


हात  लांबव,  तळ हातावर  झेल  पावसाचं पाणी
इवलसं तळ पिऊन  टाक  बघ...  बघ  माझी आठवण  येते का


वाऱ्यानं  उडणारे  पावसाचे  थेंब चेहऱ्यावर  घे
डोळे  मिटून  घे,  तल्लीन  हो 

नाहीच  जाणवलं  काही,  तर  बाहेर  पड
समुद्रावर  ये
तो  उधाणलेला  असेलच
पाण्यात  पाय  बुडवून  उभी  राहा
वाळू  सरकेल  पाया  खालून
बघ  माझी आठवण  येते का


मग  चालू  लाग
पावसाच्या  अगणित  सुया  टोचून  घे

चालत  रहा  पाउस  थांबे  पर्यंत

तो  थांबणार  नाहीच
शेवटी  घरी  ये
साडी  बदलू  नकोस
केस  पुसू  नकोस
पुन्हा  त्याच  खिडकीत  ये
आता  नवऱ्याची  वाट  बघ
बघ  माझी आठवण  येते का

दारावर  बेल  वाजेल
दार  उघड
नवरा  असेल

त्याच्या  हातातील  बाग घे

तो  रेन कोट   स्वत:च   काढेल
तो  तुला विचारील तुझ्या  भिजण्याच   कारण
तू  म्हण  " घर  गळतय"
मग  चहा  कर
तुही  घे
तो  उठून  पंकज  उदास लावील
तू  तो  बंद  कर
किशोरीचा  " सहेलारे " लाव
बघ  माझी आठवण  येते का


मग  रात्र  होईल
तो  तुला  कुशीत  घेईल
तो  म्हणेल  " तू  मला  आवडतेस "
पण  तू  हि  तसच  म्हण
विजांचा  कडकडाट  होईल
ढगांचा  गडगडाट  होईल
तो  त्या  कुशीवर  वळेल
त्याच्या  पाठमोऱ्या  शरीरा  कडे  बघ
बघ  माझी आठवण  येते का


त्या  नंतर  सताड  डोळ्यांनी  छप्पर  बघायला  विसरू  नकोस
या  नंतर  बाहेरचा  पाउस  नुसता  ऐकण्याचा  प्रयत्न  कर
या  नंतर  उशी  खाली  सुरी  घे,  झोपी  जाण्याचा  प्रयत्न  कर

येत्या  पावसाळ्यात  एक  दिवस  तरी  बघ.. बघ  माझी  आठवण  येते  का .
**********************************************

खड्डे मार्ग

खड्ड्यात पाय पडतो
तेव्हा तोल ज़रा ढलतो
ह्रदय थोड़े खचते
आणि डोक ज़रा चढत

खड्ड्यानचिये वाटे
भानगदिचे साथे
वाकडा होउनिया कितीदा
पाय मोड़े

पुन्हा पुन्हा निराशा
ही खाद्द्यान्चिये भाषा
खड्डे म्हणजे वाक्यात्ल्या
रिक्त जागा

खड्डे ओलाखावे
जागा भराव्या

अप्रैल २ २०११

April 2, 2011.
A day India would never forget.
A day I would never forget.
The Indian Cricket team won the 10th Cricket World cup.
70% of World populace may have no idea what Cricket means. No I am not referring here to any kind of insect.

Cricket is a second religion to the Hindu's , Muslim's , Christian's and many others in my country. For many its even their first.
Their religion may have 33 crore Gods or 3 Gods or just one but their Cricket has its own Gods.
There is the God Almighty - Sachin Tendulkar - the embodiment of virtue and ability. There is the God of offside - Saurav Ganguly - a volcano of finesse and flamboyance. A God of resilience - Rahul Dravid, a God of chill - Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The pantheon and more has Gambhirs, Yuvrajs and Zaheers as the demigods.

India loves its cricket. It plays its cricket, but more so talks, walks, acts cricket and more. The NYSE INDEX may not so much as shiver if USA were to finish second in Olympics, but the BSE crashes with the Indian cricket team. Schools, Government offices and all trades and commerce grind to a halt on that Summer afternoon when Sachin is creaming the Aussies in Wankhede or Saurav is punishing the Pakis at Eden Gardens. Crackers dont go off in India only during Diwali or any other festivities but also every time India wins Cricket tournaments. American President Barack Obama recently observed that his nation's productivity goes down by 30% every time Sachin bats. He is correct. But what might also be true is that India flourishes on the day following Indian cricket's each and every triumph. Every Indian in every corner of this world is inspired (probably even gets 'high') after seeing his team win.

For years Indian Cricket was ordinary. There were class acts but team performances could not reach any measurable heights. Then Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar brought an identity to Indian cricket. Sachin's early career got modeled into a "One-man show" time and again. But in the last few years "Team India" has been a real and vibrant entity. This world cup win was more so a team effort. Different players making there presence felt at different points in the tournament. They kept saying it was for one man - one God - Sachin. But they have ended up doing it for 1.2 billion Indians who believe that their Cricket team is "awesome" and know that their Cricket team can be "pathetic" at times and also know that their entire nation is definitely coming of age.

What does this win mean to India or every Indian? I may not know that, but I know this much that as I saw that man, my God - Sachin - hold that World cup - I felt that extremely positive energy gush through me. That says to me that perseverence is good. Good deeds pay. Success is wonderful, good enough to strive hard, to bear pain, to endure, to sustain, to aim, to believe!

Thanks Team India, Thanks Indian Cricket Gods, Thanks Cricket.
'What a game, keeps messing up my life, and in the end there is only one question - "Whats the score?"'

Cheers!

लागेल जन्मावे पुन्हा

माझी न घाई काहीही,

जाणून आहे अंतरी .

लागेल जन्मावे पुन्हा,

नेण्या तुला माझ्या घरी .

तू झुंजू-मुंजू हासशी,

जाई जुइचे बोलशी.

मी वेंधळा मग सांडतो,

थोड़ा चहा बाहिवरी.

तू बोलता साधे सुधे,

सुचवून जाशी केवढे.

मी बोलतो वाचाळ सा,

अन पंडीती काहीतरी.

होशी फुलासह फूल तू,

अन चांदण्या सह चांदणे.

ते पाहणे, इतकेच मी,

बघ मानले माझ्या करी.

म्हणतेस तू मज आवडे 

हा रांगडा सीधेपणा.

विश्वास मी ठेवू कसा?

ह्या हुन्नरी शब्दावरी.

लिहिती बटा भालावरी

 उर्दू लिपीतील अक्षरे.

हा जन्म माझा संपला

ती वाचताना शायरी

लागेल जन्मावे पुन्हा नेण्या तुला माझ्या घरी...

Another attempt at translation

Still behind that bush, the periwinkle laughs at us both,
And by our remembrance, the shevanti still blushes.

Having seen us then, the dew still shivers,
For the half-spoken whisper, the champak, so stern, still crumbles.

Reminiscing your crystalline back, the grass is still damp.
To kiss your fee, the butterflies yet crave.

Jasmine is still intoxicated by the fragrance of your hair,
Hithero in that grassy blade resonates our laughter.

Still under that hazy moon, my desires wander
Filling the song with venom, the wind babbles.

http://www.aathavanitli-gani.com/GenPages/Song.asp?Id=126