Choti Si Baat

There are probably not more than a couple of movies I've seen more often than this one. Its one of the cutest movies ever made - simple, entertaining and insightful. I don't know who this actress is, but she's so right for the part! Amol Palekar, on the other hand, is at his usual best. Colonel Julius Nagrendranath Wilfred Singh has given my so many kicks and highs as a kid. I thank my mom for introducing me to this genre of cinema and Choti Si Baat is my favorite amongst the lot.

I hope this song had a piano version. I can even imagine it in my mind's ear. The song has a beautiful melody and is sung with casual brilliance. Maybe the next time I get my hands on the piano, I'll try this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h1Vc_ur0Dg

"Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow"

Leaving Home

I just spent my best few days in this country last week, visiting a friend in a part of the globe I hadn't even heard of before last year. Now that I'm back to Pittsburgh, I feel like I'm back to KGP after the winter break.

Amongst several things we did in those few days, was playing cards. Of course, with music in the background...great speakers too! We heard our favorite tracks, revisited some forgotten songs and traveled across the dimensions of time and space in music.

But for some very weird reason, this song stood out in my memory. It connected probably as a true representation of the house, rather home, that I visited. Just like the "gaon" in the song, there was love in the air and a feeling of being loved.

If you know me, you know what I'm talking about and whom this post is dedicated to.

http://new.saavn.com/search/virasat

Song: Ek Tha Raja

By the way...this was an awesome movie, with shockingly good music from Anu Malik.

Other songs from the film are also highly recommended.

Try,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAzmlFpDg7A

"Melody and rhythm find their way to the secret places of the soul"

An era

Every day here seems like a year. A mini like a decade. A semester like an era. And not in a bad way. Far from it. In a very very good way. My time feels well utilized. And thats a good feeling. I was just talking to my mom saying that "too much free time" is basically the root cause of most things that are wrong in the world.

So if anyone of you ever wondered whats causing stress/distress, just consider the lack of an interest or hobby as a possible cause. If you can't think of anything to do, do what I do : make random theories, link it to a song and share it. If nothing else, people will appreciate Rahman's music.

By the way, this song is extremely beautiful. Unfortunately, the screenplay has two cartoons in it. Please ignore them and the childish choreography and concentrate on Rahman's beautiful melody.

There is so much of music squeezed into this one song, much like so many things squeezed into this time in our life, making it seem like an era.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PQKBDhrXpE&feature=related

"Music is what feelings sound like.."

Stand By Me

Diwali is probably the only festival I truly believe in. The festival of lights, the victory of good over evil, the story of the Ramayan..its fascinating...whether mythology or fact, it has a lot one can learn from.

I've experienced various kinds of Diwalis in the past few years, from the homely pooja to "illumination" in KGP and now in the US. The experiences have been far too diverse and needless to say the homely Diwali is definitely the most satisfying. But even the others have been very enjoyable. Only better each year. And its because you know you have someone to stand by you, each time....and the list becomes longer and longer.

This is one of the those songs which you HAVE to like. Its one of the top 100 things to have happened last century.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM&feature=related

Won't do justice without adding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM&feature=related

And, the original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbg7YoXiKn0

Not to mention, the fun

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7P5jWu9JLo

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid, no I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me

Best of me

Two fascinating lectures.

1. Goldman Sachs tells us how funding against the fed funds effective rate for collateralized OTC trades challenges the traditional discounting based on LIBOR. As interesting as this was, I fear we'll be obsolete even before we graduate!

2. From the Binomial pricing model to the Black Scholes. One of the most ingenuous derivations in financial mathematics. A Nobel prize winning idea. We're ready to listen to it from the horse's mouth next week.

I'm sorry to be so geeky and selfish today. But I won't say much more.

Suffice to say, this day pretty much got the best of me :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF-F_Jlk9HQ

"When you want it, when you need it, you'll always get the best of me..."

Back home

The first day of a new week of a new term in college. Felt at home, at peace, getting into the routine, in familiar territory.

In a short span of time, I've started referring to this place as home. Its not replaced Mumbai by any stretch of imagination, but I'm still far more home than I had anticipated three months ago when I came here.

As much as I love New York, I missed CMU while I was away. It took me a year to get attached to IIT, a fortnight to get attached to this place. Its magical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3LpeMF-I4A&feature=related

"Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end"

High Hopes

I've had a largely music-less past month. Its unfortunate. But my time has been mostly well spent. So I'm not too sad about it. There was one song though which carried me through these very involved few weeks.

I traveled two 8 hour bus journeys last week through the beautiful countryside of eastern Pennsylvania from Pittsburgh to New York. Colors...yellow, orange, red, pink, hint of green still. Autumn, vibrant as ever.

Spent some very busy days in the financial capital of the world.

But ended it up with a fun filled day. Worked like a medicine to my tired body and mind.

Don't you love New York in the fall?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqvcmud3LFQ