COL FLASHBACK 2 : THE FUN ABODES..

It is often said that college life is another synonym for fun and I do agree with this statement after completing my 4 years degree course. When I was a school student, I had heard a lot about the college life and all the ‘masti and maza’ associated with it from my parents, relatives, my elder cousins etc. The picture of the fun places that formed in my mind after listening to the different college tales didn’t consist of classrooms or labs or libraries but all the one outside the college building like canteen, grounds and often places way outside college premises. It was only when I entered into the engineering did I realize that even lecture theatres can be a place of fun. I spent a major chunk of my college life in LT’s (most of the engineering students have to) and I do miss it. We had our share of fun in the grounds and galleries of the college (excluding canteen. What an irony that the place that rocks in most of the colleges was the most sucking at ours) but I would like to write about the places that are rather unconventional or even weird for many, but were fun abode for us.

LECTURE THEATRES are the most unconventional places to have fun and enjoyment, but believe me some of the finest memories of my college life are associated with the LTs. Almost everyday consisted of some sort of ‘tamasha’. Every class consists of a bunch of funny people who keep you engaged with their witty lines and pranks even when the lectures are downright boring. Ours was no exception. Everyday someone would become a target of their jokes and pranks (actually only a few chosen by them). Sometimes even chits would move from bench to bench consisting of some funny lines about their target without being noticed by the lecturers.

In fact, lecturers too wouldn’t be spared. A new lecture was always tested by these people. A new lecturer was often subjected to tortures like giggling, sharp but funny one liners and a request to ‘explain again’. But these folks were smart enough to sense who the right person to have fun with was and who wasn’t.

Different LABS throughout our degree course were of 2 to 3 hours. The intention of university behind providing so much time is to make sure each student gets ample time to perform his/her experiment in a proper manner. But in most of the cases the experiment is finished within an hour. Very few students cared about the intricate details of the experiments and even lesser were interested in taking multiple readings. For the rest, labe were a perfect place to chat. It wasn’t possible in LTs to roam around, but there were enough excuses to help you in moving within the lab from one person to another. The excuses included taking pens, registers etc. or to understand a certain experiment from a certain student and the weirdest of all, ‘bas yun hi’.

A large table was provided at the centre of each lab so that students could do their file work there. It served one more purpose by allowing having chatting sessions as almost whole group would sit there. Though, when the strength would be less sometimes, the labs would become almost unbearable too.

TUT ROOMS were designed to accommodate 20 students as each group consisted of maximum 20 persons only. These rooms allowed the ‘lesser talented people’ to come up and show their wittiness (I’m not that witty, but when I moved into a new group in my 3rd year, I found the class a bit dull. Then I decided to throw in sharp one liners in between to somewhat create the fun environment I was accustomed to. It was easier to do so in tut room where you had a small group and even if your jokes backfired, there won’t be that much of embarrassment.)

These rooms also allowed to freely interact with the lecturer and to know him/her more. This interaction used to be friendlier and often a lot of information would be exchanged.

CONFERENCE ROOM was the coolest place in summers (there were ACs). We were not frequent to the conference room and would be called only for special lectures or guest lectures. We would go there early and grab the seats where there was maximum coolness and we could listen and see the presentation easily. As per our Indian tradition, there was always a gap between the scheduled time of the lecture and the actual time when it would begin. By that time we would enjoy the ACs and chatter with the fellows or the other guys of different branches with whom we had less frequent interactions. Many times it would become chaotic and a faculty member had to stand up to make the students go quite.

Now I’m writing about a place which many others would found weird but for the students of our branch it is a place worth remembering. The WATERCOOLER at the end of the gallery of the first floor, that also marked the entrance to the electronics section, was the center point of our gossiping and chatting in the last two years of engineering. The last five minutes of previous lecture and first five minutes of the subsequent lecture would be spent there. Drinking water was just an excuse. Most of the times there would be small talks about the previous lecture and if anything funny happened in the class, or pulling each other’s legs. It used to be a sort of refreshment for all of us. During free periods too, we would go there and either listen to the music or do some serious (yes, sometimes) talks about our career, about many other things. Many secrets have been spilled out there, many truths have been spoken. There had been fights and the reconciliation. A place I would love to visit even after 20 years.

That’s enough in today’s college flashback. See you soon. Bye.

BEING SMALL TOWN PARENTS...

Last week I visited one of my friend’s home who has joined an MBA institute in Pune about a fortnight back. I could sense that his parents were missing him badly already. His mother summed up her feelings when she said,”khana banane ki icha hi nahi hoti?” My friend’s sister got married in January and now his parents are alone at home.

One of my other friend could only manage a little smile when his mother posed him a very simple question, “can’t you find a suitable job of your field here itself?’ The very painful thought that their children are going to leave their homes for their career is in the mind of many parents; only few though are able to express their feelings. Which parent would like to become a hindrance in the career of his or her children?

Glamorous jobs with fat packages always belonged to metros and other big cities. Although smaller cities and towns are creating more jobs than before but for the professions like engineering, management and accountancy, metropolitans are the ultimate destinations. A surge in our economy has created a lot more job opportunities in these fields and so the employable work force is being looked for, beyond the cities in the smaller towns and cities. As a result, small town youth is getting more opportunities to go into these fields and they are moving towards big cities like never before.

But is it a new phenomenon? Not really. This has been going on since independence. People used to move out of their towns and villages to bigger cities in hope to make it big there. Many of them aspired to become big business man. Others just wanted to get suitable employment and earn money. But the whole scenario was different then, economically as well as socially. First of all, that period belonged to joint families. Many times the migration to the big cities was more an inner urge to do something beyond convention rather than the need. If they didn’t succeed in their endeavor, they would return to their homes, to their families.

But today, in the present era of nuclear families living on the concept of ‘hum do hamare do’, this migration has a lot more effect on the social life than ever. If a family consists of two children, a boy and a girl then the things become more complicated when the girl is married off and the son goes to big cities for job hunt. It results in a creation of void for the parents. More often the job scenario is such that it takes a person around 4-5 years before he attains some stability. By that time he often has to wander from one city to another city due to the job. After that only he can ask his parents to come and stay with him. In few cases parents too don’t want to leave the place where they have lived for so long, the place they know and where they have relatives and friends.

Let’s talk about girls now. Though parents are more forward now, they still hesitate in sending their daughters alone to big cities far away. A sense of insecurity coupled with a certain reservations in their minds leads to forbidding their girls to pursue their dream jobs. More often than not they end up as lecturers in colleges or are married off. They don’t get much opportunity to plan their careers their way. But are the parents really to be blamed? I don’t think so. It is really very difficult to imagine what is going on in your parents’ mind until you yourself become one.

As I was writing this post, I came to know about the ahemadabad blasts. The first thought that came into my mind was about the increasing woes of the small town parents. As the terrorism is becoming a part of day to day life of the people of metros, the small town parents too would have to learn to live in this manner. As my friend commented after the bangluru blasts, "the most difficult thing for me when I will leave my home will be to make a promise to return soon. "

Is sach ko magar...

Har saher khud se tujhe bhool jaane ka wada kiya karta hun
magar dil hi dil me to tere laut aane ki dua kiya karta hun
Yun to chhod gayi teri kashti mera saahil kab ka
hawao se main phir bhi use mod lane ki umeed kiya karta hun

Tera saaya ban manzil tak saath chalne ki khwahish thi meri
waqt ki lehron  se bas itni si hi gujarish thi meri
aaj magar jab juda ho gaye hain hamare raaste is tarah
tere aks ko dil me basaye main din raat safar kiya karta hun

Wo haseen lamhe aaj bhi meri yaadon me chhaye hain
teri ek jhalak ko ab bhi dhundhti meri ye nigahen hain
Dariya ban tum to kab ki behkar ja chuki ho
Main to talab ka pani ban phir bhi tera intezar kiya karta hun

Aakhir kyun yun basant ke baad patjhar ka aana hota hai
kyun achanak khwabon ka tut kar bikhar jaana hota hai
jaanta hun ye ki har hasrat haqeeqat nahi ban pati
is sach ko magar roz jhuthlane ki koshish kiya karta hun...

Ek Kavita : for my Grandma..

There is a gap of 3-4 days between this post and my last post.Well there were a no. of reasons behind it, one of them being my monitor creating a problem and secondly a bit of laziness on my part. But I'm back now. This particular post is dedicated to my GrandMa whom I lost sometime back. I'm expressing my feelings through a Hindi kavita.

Beetey Lamho ko yaad kar main yun hi muskura deta hun
inhi palon ke sahare to main aapko phir se paa leta hun

Darwazo ke kinare kabhi-2 mujhe aapka aks nazar aa jata hai
ye waham bhi mere dil ko magar kitna sukoon de jaata hai

Aapse kuch sun na tha, kai baatein mujhe kehni thi
kya khabar thi ki zindagi yun hi yahan se chal deni thi

Kaash ye waqt yun is qadar beraham na hota
ek bar peechey mud jaane ka chhota mauka to deta

Zindagi ke safar ka shayad yehi aakhiri fasana hai
insan ko bas ek tasveer me simat ke reh jaana hai

Main magar zinda rakhe hun aapko meri yaadon me
aapke kisse kahaniyo me, aapki bholi baaton me

Magar har saher mujhe jab neend se jagati hai
meri palken aansuo se phir bhi bheeg jaati hain

Hai ehsas ki ab raah me aapka saaya saath na hoga
magar mere dil ka jahan to aapki yaadon se aabad hoga..

Few gems of unconventional nature...

A couple of days back I watched one of the most critically acclaimed bollywood movie of this year ‘Aamir’. The movie was no doubt superb in terms of script, pace, cinematography and acting. But one thing that blew me away was the music which ably supported the movie in every frame. The lyrics of the songs are in perfect synchronization with the situations depicted in the film. I hadn’t heard the songs of this movie before, so when I was listening to them a thought came into my mind which has culminated into this post.

In the modern music world driven by the aggressive marketing strategies, where most of the songs have a very little shelf life, we often miss out small gems. There may be a no. of reasons behind it like the music not being promoted properly (it often happens with small budget films) or a song which has been overshadowed by the other chartbusters of the same film. One of the primary reasons though has been the ‘unconventional nature’ of these songs which limited their reach to a small no. of people. I have compiled a list of 10 such songs since 2005.

1. Aashayein(Iqbal) :- A gem of a song with a composition by Salim-Sulieman and voice of KK. The lyricist is Irfan Siddique. The song is about hope , determination and aspirations. Songs with such positive elements have been penned very few times before and this makes the song more special. KK has sung it marvellously.

2. Apni julfen(Tajmahal:An eternal love story) :-The movie was a crap, but that can’t be said about the music. This was the last film of legendary composer Naushad. The music is no way near to his old classics but it is better than many other films releasing now and then. This particular ghazal is the best composition of the film. I never liked Hariharan’s ghazals from his private albums but this time he has delievered. Naqsh layallpuri has written the lyrics of this ghazal.

3. Naam Ada Likhna( Yahaan) :- Yahaan was a small movie that went away without a whimper. The music had a similar reception. It was composed by shantanu moitra and consisted of some beautiful songs but this was the best. Shreya ghoshal is in full form and is ably supported by Shaan. The lyrics of Gulzar provide the finishing touches, capturing the essence of this movie set in Kashmir.

4. Yeh haunsla(Dor) :- Another Nagesh kukkunor film, another Salim Suleiman composition , another song with positive vibes and another winner. The lyrics this time though are by Mir ali hussain and the vocals have been provided by Shafaqat amanat ali, this song is in complete contrast to his earlier hit ‘mitwa’ but ali has done full justice with the song. Unfortunately, the song had similar fate as the songs mentioned above.

5. Neele neele( Holiday) :- This movie was one big flop but the music by Ranjit barot was a winner. I loved all the songs of the movie but this is my personal favourite. Shreya ghoshal produces magic yet again. The lyrics by Neelesh mishra are simple and beautiful.

6. Jaane kya chahe ( Pyaar ke side effects) :-This song was a pleasant surprise for me as rest of the songs of this multiplex movie are fast paced hip-hop and bhangra numbers. After a song with high notes‘ya ali’ Zubin makes a transition to semi-classical and comes out with flying colours. Mayur puri has written the lyrics and Pritam is the composer. Alas! The song was overshadowed by other big hits of this film.

7. Halke-halke( Honeymoon travels pvt. limited) :- Neeraj shridhar got a perfect song from Vishal-Shekhar to show his verstality and he doesn’t disappoints. And when you have lyricist like Javed akhtar, the final outcome is bound to be an absolute delight for the listeners.

8. Kasak( Chhodo na yaar) :-Music director Anand raj anand is the single creative force behind this song, penning lyrics as well as providing vocals. The song is a semi-classical and different from the beats-oriented songs for which anand is famous. It is an instant relief to the ears. If only the movie would have been as good.

9. Aaoge jab tum(Jab we met) :- This song was a minor hit but it deserved more. When you have such youth oriented tracks like 'mauja hi mauja' and 'yeh ishq hai', a song with classical touch was bound to be overshadowed. Ustad Rashid khan’s voice is mesmerizing. Irshad kamil’s lyrics provide the necessary feelings of longing for a loved one.

10. Ya rehem( Aamir):-Finally the song which prompted me to write this post. The whole creative bunch behind this qawalli is comparatively new to the film industry but they have done a superb job. Amit trivedi and Amitabh have performed a dual job of singing & composing and singing & writing respectively, but none of them disaapoint. The third singer is Murtja-qadir.

This list is my personal favourite. I might have missed out a few other songs, but would be very happy if the readers are able to mention few more. See u soon with my new post.

The Poems

SAAYE ME DHOOP

kahaan to tay thaa charaagaa har ek ghar ke liye
kahaan charaag mayassar nahii shahar ke liye

yahaan darakhton ke saaye me dhuup lagatii hai
chalo yahaan se chale aur umr bhar ke liye

na ho qamiiz to ghutano se pet Dhak lenge
ye log kitane munaasib hain is safar ke liye

Khudaa nahiin na sahii aadamii kaa Khvaab sahii
koi hasiin nazaaraa to hai nazar ke liye

vo mutama_in hain ki patthar pighal nahiin sakataa
main beqaraar huun aavaaz me asar ke liye

jiyen to apane bagiiche mein gulmohar ke liye
maren to Gair kii galiyon mein gulmohar ke liye

STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

ROBERT FROST AND DUSHYANT KUMAR : PART 2

‘Stopping by woods on a snowy evening’ by Robert frost was one of the three English poems in our course book, but only this poem attracted me. Leaving the simplicity of the language apart, the relevance of the poem to my (and many others) life at that particular time drew me towards it. The 12th standard is a crucial juncture in a student’s life. The final step before a person takes a plunge into waters of college life which eventually decide his /her future course. This poem reflects a student’s thoughts at that point where he makes up his mind ‘to walk many a miles before stopping’ I was no exception. The last 4 lines of the poem sum up the motto of life- ‘go on and on’. This poem still encourages me whenever I feel down and out. Many of you would have already observed that I derived my blog’s name from this poem’s last line only.

Now let’s talk about the 2nd guy, Dushyant Kumar. His ‘Saaye Me Dhoop’ is a masterpiece in itself. Apart from one or two typical words, the poem is understandable. It doesn’t match ‘Maithilisharan Gupt‘s typical Hindi poetry or Mirza Ghalib‘s heavy Urdu ‘Shero-Shayari’. But what mesmerizes you is the way simple Hindi and Urdu words have been used to create some very beautiful lines. Consider this

KAHAN TO TAY THA CHARAGAN HAR EK GHAR K LIYE
KAHAN CHIRAG MAYASSAR NAHI SHEHAR K LIYE
YAHAN DARAKHTON K SAAYE ME DHOOP LAGTI HAI
CHALO YAHAN SE CHALE AUR UMRA BHAR K LIYE

MAYASSAR: - AVAILABLE DARAKHT: - TREE

I became obsessive with the word darakht due to this poem. I use this word often in my poems and all posts in this blog are under the name ‘Darakht’.

Whenever I will get opportunity, I would discuss more about Dushyant Kumar and his ‘Ghazals’ as well as one more poem by Robert Frost. So , this tale about two different poems and their effect on my life comes to an end. See you soon with my new post. Till then enjoy both of these poems.