Rising STAR – ADELE

A deep, raw voice holds your attention for a while, making you wonder what the song and music is all about?   Then you want to listen to some more songs, and start paying attention to the lyrics and by the time you have heard 2-3 songs, she consumes you! Yes that is what Adele’s voice and songs do to you. Its an addiction you can’t get rid off! And must say this young 23 year old singer is extremely talented, along with her powerful vocals, she can also play the guitar, piano and percussion and the keyboard.

The songs that she writes makes one ruminate about how deeply she was in love and with what intensity she hates her ex! Her song reflects varied emotions of anger, revenge, heartbreak, self-examination and finally forgiveness. Not to mention her voice leaves an awe-inspiring and splendid effect on the listener. She has sung each song with great intensity and that translates into her voice and reaches your heart. Sort of pierces it through. You can feel the pain and anguish in the songs and wonder, such a talented & blessed person has gone through love-crisis and the best part of it all, it made her what she is today.

Unlike other artists who sell skin apart from theirs songs, and which of course is a talent, Adele has a very unassuming attitude and has a very mellow look on her face. At 23, Adele has achieved a great amount of recognition, fame and success. She won 2 Grammy Awards for her debut album in 2009 and in 2011 she won 3 Grammy awards – for record of the year, song of the year and best female pop vocal performance. In all she has won 24 awards thus far, which I am sure is a great achievement for any artist.

To sum it up, I would say, music industry gets yet another gifted and talented artist. Wishing Adele all the luck and success all through her career!

 

Christmas is here!!!!

Well well it is that time of the year when cool breeze kiss your cheeks, Mr. Sun says good morning a little later than his usual time, your winter wear are all out of the closet and yes it is time for CHRISTMAS! As a kid Christmas used to be and still is the most awaited festival of the year. You get new clothes, Secret Santa gifts, lots of sweet dishes, the yummy mummy special plum cake, Christmas carols, friends and relative visiting you, putting up the Christmas star,  decorating the house and the ecstasy remains throughout the month.

People commonly associate Christmas with partying and merry making, as wine and cake and other hard drinks are a part of it, and also because it is followed by New Year. So from media to sponsors, to event organizers everyone makes the most of it and ensure that they get a share of their cake, publicity :P. But honestly, Christmas is not just about partying or shopping. It has a very significant message that people often tend to miss out. The season of Advent which marks the beginning of Christmas starts from the last Sunday of November or the first Sunday of December (which ever falls on or before December 1st). Advent is a Latin word which means coming and is absolutely apt as Christmas is coming :). Jesus the son of God, was born in a manager, in grueling conditions with animals and shepherds surrounding him. Here, the message that Christmas gives out to people, is that one should be humble and try to reach out to the needy. one necessarily doesn’t need to donate money to be humble, but simple acts like extending a helping hand if you see a visually impaired person trying to cross the road, offer your seat to an old person standing in the bus, do not waste food, give the excess to someone in need. There are loads of small things that one can do to celebrate the true essence of Christmas.

Even as a kid, amidst all the thrill and excitement, Mum always told, this Christmas don’t ask Santa for a gift, but gift someone in need and do a humble deed. It is only then you are actually celebrating Christmas. On this note, I wish all my blog buddies and everyone around A very joyous & blessed Christmas 😀

 

100th post special….

I am glad and my emotions are elevated as I write my 100th post… Its been close to 3 years since I started blogging and I should have ideally crossed this milestone long back. Never the less, I am glad that I started blogging because it gives me a sense of satisfaction when I  write and share my views. With a lot of initial hesitance and uncertainty, I started as a naive blogger and today can feel the exuberance in me, every time I write a new post.  And I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude and say a huge thank you to all my blogger friends without whom my blog would be just another rant script 😛

Well I must not miss out on mentioning a few important things that coincide with the completion of this post…Completed a year of marriage few days ago, got promoted at work, became an aunt to my cute nephew, got my passport done (like finally :P), went on a wonderful trip to Goa (till then I used to call myself such a looser :P)…..

It feels really amazing to be a part of the bloggers’ family….I may or may not have seen my blogger friends, not met them either, but have established a bond…Thanks for all your support, and I promise to continue with my crazy, serious, funny, satirical posts till the time I have access to the internet 😀

 

Nothing else mattered when Metallica played in Bangalore!!!

After a wait of close to twenty long years, Metallica fans in India got an opportunity to witness their favorite rock band perform live. Metallica was slated to perform two shows in India – one in Delhi on the 29th of October & on 30th October in Bangalore. Unfortunately the Delhi concert got cancelled much to the disappointment of the fans who went berserk! But fortunately for Bangaloreans, the concert did take place and it was one helluva experience for me and the people who witnessed the concert.

Metallica coming to India was a dream come true for many many rock music and Metallica fans. India is a land of music and rock music definitely is a huge influence on teenagers and adults alike. In my husband’s words, ” I started listening to rock music after I heard Metallica at the age of 19″. Another friend of mine says, “amongst the many heavy rock metal bands, Metallica stands out for its style and music and so he loves it”. Bangalore has seen lot of rock concerts including Iron Maiden – twice, Deep Purple, Megadeth, Aerosmith, Lamb of God, Scorpions etc. and Metallica was the most awaited after all these concerts. The concert was expecting a crowd of 25-28 thousand people which went upto 35 thousand. Fans from Chennai, Kerala, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata & Delhi had come to witness the first ever concert of Metallica in Bangalore – India. One could spot fans with Metallica t-shirts, caps, banners and even Metallica name tattooed which was a spectacular view.  And oh it was crowded and crazy and NOTHING REALLY MATTERS WHEN METALLICA IS PERFORMING 😀

Well people had started gathering for the concert from 3 pm onwards, while Metallica was to perform at 8 pm. Despite the heavy showers of rain from 5.45 pm to 7.00 pm, fans reached and made it for the breathtaking performance. The band opened with Creeping Death which was followed by fade to black, fuel, sad but true, One, seek & destroy, Sanatorium, nothing else matters ….. James Hetfield, the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist was full of energy and so were the other members of the band. The crowd was singing, waving hands, clapping and shouting their lungs out to the Metallica. With fireworks to give the fiery effects to the songs, it was truly an experience of a lifetime!

 

Bangalore Metro – Rhetorical!

“History teaches us that men & nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives” – Abba Eban

Finally the much awaited Namma Metro started operating on October 20, 2011, much after the set deadline which was March 30, 2010. I wonder at times why does Indian Government have deadlines at all? Who has ever adhered to them? Well I am sure our Government has enough and more funds to bear all the delays and of course the additional costs of everything, right from raw material to labour to interest rates on the borrowed amount from other countries!

After the smooth running Kolkata Metro & the successful Delhi Metro, the IT city of India decides to roll out its grand and ambitious metro project to alleviate traffic woes in the city. Definitely a great initiative by the government. But of course with the most corrupt politicians waiting for every opportunity to fill their pockets, how could one every think of metro starting its operations on the dot! I read in the newspapers that the approximate cost of Bangalore Metro with the delay comes upto Rs 6400 crores, and and this is the cost of phase-I which covers 8.7 kms. Phase-II has begun and the cost is estimated around Rs 25000 crore which will cover an area of 70 kms. Ambitious again! I know I am being extremely cynical here, but then the public at large, rich & poor alike have to bear the brunts of the corrupt practices of these politicians. Of what I read, (I would like to believe the media here, though they blow things out of proportion) and also heard from an insider (political house), Mr. E Sreedharan, the managing director of Delhi Metro was to take charge of the Bangalore Metro as well. But then, knowing his reputation of finishing work as per the deadline, he was kept away from taking over the project. Isn’t it obvious that he wouldn’t be allowed to undertake any such projects, or how else will the politicians survive?

I haven’t taken a ride on the Bangalore metro yet, but i am looking forward to the test drive and will come back with my view or review of the metro and its functioning 🙂

 

Some rare pictures!

Elvis Presley in the army

Titanic under the sea

Evolution of Coca-cola

construction of Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janerio

Charlie Chaplin & Gandhiji

Titanic on its maiden and last voyage

 

mIXEd bAg….

Growing up or growing out

Growing up years are so much fun. School, competition, those bruises while playing sports, a tab of innocence with a dust of envy, the fragility etc, so many emotions and situations and yet they are the best years and you want to revisit them so often 🙂 Then comes this scary phase when you are neither a child nor an adult! Absolutely hanging in the air, trying to figure out things. Confusion becomes your pal, your choices are many a times weird, impulsiveness becomes your second nature, indecisiveness is a result of perpetual wonder. OMG! feels like the world is coming tumbling down. And then there is this phase when you are all grown up like the ripened fruit. Your decisions are respected, advice acknowledged, choices accoladed. Feels like never being out of this phase, but then such is life. Phases and changes are a part of what we define as life. It can’t get stagnant and if it does, then there is some problem which you need to immediately fix.

While growing up is fun and full of memories, growing out is crazy. Friends are a major part of most people’s lives- social beings that we are. Giving a listening ear to someone in trouble or crisis is an essential element of friendship, which I am sure if not all but most of us do. Well I have always given a listening ear to my friends (though I am a chatter box myself), and well, I am not the agony aunt sorts. I suddenly realised one day, that the weirdest things my friends would tell me and think I would judge them, seems to be just another situation which needs to be dealt with. And then I started thinking to myself, am the weird types myself or have I just grown out of the years where things seem to be odd or incorrect? I remember as a teenager when one of my friends confided in me and told me that she lost her virginity and loved the fact, my jaw just dropped open in shock. I started telling her how it was not right and how it could lead to pregnancy or she might even get STD. Every time I think about this instance, I have a hearty laugh and my hubby refuses to believe I was so innocent :P. Jokes apart, nothing seems to shock me anymore. I have had a friend telling me something like being in this habit of changing boyfriends every quarter, because she gets bored with the guy, which is obviously a little to odd to digest. But I dint find it odd, instead gave her an easier solution to kill her boredom. Not that I can give solutions all the time, but sometimes the bulb in my grey cells just lights up :D. And a couple of days back when I was walking back home I was thinking to myself, is it odd that I don’t find things odd or have I just grown out of the weird feeling phase? Dint get an answer yet, but that’s fine, coz I read somewhere I guess, that instant solutions to problems of answers to questions are nothing but a frame of mind! Ouch scary!

Revelation

From no sense of style to making one’s own fashion statements, every woman has this chapter registered forever in her life. The day a woman graduates from an eye blinker to a head turner, is wow I achieved it day for her. Who doesn’t like compliments? – here men and women alike! God has definitely made every being on earth in his own likeness and image, but yet humans distinguish, judge and assume about people by their appearance, which I think is a very shallow thing to do. But on a lighter note, girls love to dress. And if I am not wrong, most men have this misconception that women dress to impress them. But that is not the truth! Most women dress up or look beautiful not to impress men all the time (though we enjoy the attention especially when we are head turners), it is the confidence and the self appreciation that she enjoys. Who wants to be judged all the time? Let the fashion critics do their job. So what if I may not be as curvacious as Kim Kardashian, I am miss beautiful in my own way 🙂 Those nice little things about a woman that sets her apart is so admirable. And the greatest blessing that God has bestowed on a woman – being able to give life and bring a new being into this world (of course the contribution by men is absolutely essential) is the ultimate gift in disguise. Well yes it comes with a package of hormonal changes, weight gain, mood swings etc., but I am sure the feeling is supreme and amazing 🙂

Well I know it is neither women’s day nor mother’s day, but who wants a day to feel special. Every day is special in a women’s life and with both my hands up in the air- yayayayayyyyy to all the women for being the woman they are 🙂

 

Chaos everywhere!

I am sure everyone around the world knows India for the diverse culture people live in, its growth & development, the ever booming Bollywood and of course the tourist attractions from Kashmir to Kerala, Goa to Sikkim, Rajasthan to Assam and the never ending list. But India is also known for its poverty, crook set of politicians and of course the undeniable corruption. Corruption in India is like ancestral property, passed on from one generation to the other. And very few people stand against it, because nobody wants to pay a heavy price for being honest.

While we all crib and whine about corruption and the corrupt politicians nobody has the guts to stand against it. But recently one man took a stand and is trying his best to a put a full stop to corruption and its menace that people have been bearing for years and years together. Anna Hazare is the man behind the popular Jan lokpal Bill to be passed in India. While the media blew his 13 day fast out of proportion, obviously they were getting great TRPs (television rating points), people were joining the crusade and voicing against corruption in their own ways. Government was under tremendous pressure and last it gave into Anna’s staunch demand and is willing to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. So I would say hurray to Anna Hazare 🙂

Mumbai was just out of the 26/11 terror attacks, when yet another bomb blast occurred on July 13, 2011. There is no place in Mumbai that is less crowded or not busy. Innocent people have to pay the price for the insensitive behavior of these terrorists. And then Miss Barkha Dutt goes on to say, ‘Spirit of Mumbai’. Reporting live from NDTV – Mumbai, “people are back to normalcy. The daily routine doesn’t stop. The local trains are moving and people are back on their feet resuming work and the regular life”. I mean does it even make sense to say such things, when you know people have no choice at all. They cannot accommodate fear, least they will have to sleep hungry! All we hear from the government is that “measures are being taken and we are doing everything possible to ensure people’s safety”. But honestly we are yet to see those measures in actions

Barely 2 months after Mumbai blast, we hear the news of Delhi blast. Feels like safety is not our right but an obligation that government bestows on us. Kasab is still enjoying 3 meals a day and the safety, infact high security from our country. I fail to understand what is the government waiting for? If all this while he hasn’t revealed any information about his group of terrorists, I have my doubts if he will give into the pressure any time soon.

With so much of chaos around, I feel that the animal world is much better than ours. They at least know and live by the rule of survival of the fittest. God has given humans brain & intelligence which we utilize worse than animals. How can humans be so insensitivity and cold blooded that another human life hardly matters. I don’t know what kind of future and life will I give to my child ( though I don’t have one now) with so much of spite in the minds or people!

In the words of Rabindranath Tagore, ” Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held, Into that Heaven of Freedom my Father, let my country awake”.

 

misS 21st centuRY!

So what answer do you get when you ask yourself, am I a 21st century girl/woman? Of course YES is the instant answer like the instant coffee,piping hot and refreshing in the initial few sips…..but then as you reach somewhere mid-way it gets colder and bitter. Even the greatest coffee lover in the world cannot deny it. Well this is the thing with most (if not all) 21st century women. The fact that we are bestowed with best education, are given the liberty to make choices, decisions are at our disposal etc., gives the boost to engrave in our minds and hearts that we are the 21st century woman. But then what I wonder at times is what defines being  a 21st century woman? Good education, freedom of choice, adapting the western culture, being able to smoke and booze and yet not be judged by the society or people surrounding us or walking back home late at night with no fear of being molested or raped? Or yet a level below, not being beaten up by your drunk or conscious husband/ boyfriend (educated men included), not being sold to brothels by father, brother, uncle or husband,  or being modern and yet keeping the traditional ties intact. Honestly I am confused!!!

Rape, dowry deaths, suicides due to in-laws harassing may sound primitive, but they still make headlines in our daily dose of news and very much exist in large numbers in our society. What we call a modern day life has lead to in increase deaths due to depression, loneliness, stress and pressure. Something astonishing that I read a few days ago was about the increase in the number of suicides by young and successful models. They define what we call the modern day, independent girl/woman, living life at the edge. But in the glaring lights of fashion and glitterati, they are all lonely beings who live in dark holes where drugs, cigarettes and alcohol are their  only friends and their path to solace! Very unfortunate indeed.

While fashion and glamour world is an extreme example of a girl’s modern life, there is something in between that exists which is equally dangerous and terminal. Its like cancer that crawls inside one’s body for a very long time and then finally kills the person. Most of us lead our day to day lives very normally without even realizing that something of this sort exists. As a woman, she is expected to be great at multi-tasking. Gone are the days when woman took pride in being homemakers. Today women live by ambitions, and dreams to make it big. But that doesn’t giver her the liberty to be a mediocre at managing things at home. Maids these days are not easy to get and even if you manage to get one, they are definitely far more demanding than you would be at your work place. What I fail to understand is the fact about women being constantly judged. Judged by parents – (is this seed going to reap fruits?), colleagues ( eg- who said a girl wearing short skirt is trying to seduce men at work or trying to get an easy promotion?), critiques – (Will Mamata Banerjee be able to transform or reform Kolkata? ) husbands – (if a wife does not manage her career and house equally well and pleases his parents and relatives she is not a good wife or is not as good as his mother.)

Success doesn’t come in handy, one has to strive and struggle to taste success. And for today’s woman I guess, it definitely comes with a lot of SACRIFICE, STRIVE & STRUGGLE.

While nobody said it was easy, no one ever said it is going to be this hard!!!

 

Sex & Marriage!

Oh yes, it reads correct- SEX & Marriage. Well not that we are unaware of the facts of life, but ya there are doubts we all have. And this question mark expression on my brow for sometime now lead me to brood and  finally write this post. We graduate, from crushes to puppy love, flirting, dating, falling in love and then finally getting married. But then as we grow out of one phase & grow into another, what defines it as ‘the ok or alright thing to do in that phase’?  I have of course gone through all of these stages and have entered the sacrament of matrimony and decided to settle with it.

But what I wonder more often than just accepting facts is, what expectations do men and woman have from marriage and specifically from Sex? I know how it feels during the different phases in life whether it is kiddish, stupid, foolish or even conniving. And hearing this from most of my female pals, that when you outgrow your puppy love or dating phase, you feel so stupid about what you did, I think we all learn only when we experience what is wrong or incorrect or maybe realizing there is a pit only after falling in it. Well  after a certain age when you mature enough and realization descents upon you, you grow wiser and become prudent. Experience is the mother of all the gyan (speeches, counseling etc)  that people in the world give and many pen it down and publish it making it best sellers as well. But do normal people like you and me go by what we hear, read or watch? I don’t think so. Situations vary so do people and their perspective about life.

And that’s precisely why I chose to write about sex and marriage. For most women (not all of course) marriage is the epitome of love and commitment.  It is a different & new life altogether, where she would feel secure, taken care of, be independent yet depend, in short give her a new lease of life. Well it is not the case with men (has never been from Adam’s time). For most men, marriage is another goal in life which is achieved by losing his freedom to a woman. A compatible sex partner and a girl who will make his house a home and of course take care of all his needs, while he earns max part of the bread. Though this is the generic stuff, there is lot more to do with sex after marriage. Not that people wait till marriage to indulge in the act, it becomes more of the thing to do when the man hits the bed. I may not be cent percent right here. But in the recent past came across a lot of such incidents that lead me to think why do men keep emotions at bay while making love, or consider sex as the ultimate form of pleasure?

A couple of months back my best friend (who had a love marriage) gives me the good news that she is pregnant. And since they had planned the baby, she was very excited and happy to welcome the baby. So was her husband. My friend is a prankster and so she thought of playing a prank on her husband. She told him that their doctor has asked her to refrain from sex till the time their baby is born. He was literary shattered. He was extremely disturbed and was not able to concentrate on work. After 2-3 days he told my friend to go for a second opinion and see if they could have sex at least till the 5th month which is the normal thing. She laughed and laughed and then told her husband that she was just playing a prank on him and it would be ok till the 5th month. I too laughed when she told me this, but then I was wondering, shouldn’t the husband be ok with it, if the mother and baby’s health is going to be at risk?

Yet another friend of mine called me and was weeping and weeping (not that I am an agony aunt, just that I become good listener if some1 is in trouble). I was obviously wondering what had happened till she told me that her sister’s husband was having an affair with someone while her sister is 7 months pregnant. I was shocked and had no clue what to say. I just couldn’t believe my ears, because I know this guy and he seemed to be the most sweet and understanding & responsible guy. I dint know what the hell was he doing sleeping with another woman when his wife was due to give birth to their child in 2 months.

A good friend of mine married this guy against her parents’s wish. The guy seemed to be good, decent and responsible. Was doing well for himself and above all loved my friend to death. So we all supported her and they got married. A year later they had a baby boy and both were very happy till the guy got a better opportunity and had to move to another city to pursue his career. My friend was not in a position to quit her job and move with him, since the baby was just a year old, and thus decided to stay back in their hometown. He come once a month to visit her and their baby and things were going fine till one day she got to know that he was having an affair with his colleague. Apparently the guy never told anyone that he was married and had a baby. My friend was shattered and dint know what to do as she could not even tell her parents about it and friends were her only comfort. I was extremely disturbed and upset seeing my friend with a 1 year old baby go through this turmoil.

I quoted these examples and have heard and seen many more incidents where infidelity wrecks marriage and if not all the time but most of the time it is men and the sex. Is sex so important that people leave their morals and become selfish enough to forgot everybody who’s lives are involved along with theirs?

I have often heard my male friends and men say that it is not only difficult but impossible to understand women. But I have a question here, how is the importance of sex for men justified and how easy is to understand men with such immoral and selfish behavior?