A question

Why is the reference made to "genda phool" in the 'Delhi 6' song? Is there some special property of "genda phool" because of which it has been referred? Mostly it is rose/lotus that is referred to in songs/poetry. Genda phool seems to be quite a unique choice.

crap

"Har koi chaahta hai ik mutthi aasmaan
Har koi dhoondhta hai ik mutthi aasmaan"

but..

"Kabhi kisi ko muqammal jahaan nahi milta
Kahin zameen to kahin aasmaan nahi milta"

so...

if you find the earth slipping from beneath you, you know the reason...

Tag 3

I haven't written almost anything on this blog for quite some time and whatever little that I had, I wasn't sure how crappy it was.. even deleted a mini post yesterday. Want to get back to writing but nothing much to write about.. or maybe the right words aren't there.. So, a tag comes to the rescue.

If you have followed this blog for the last few months (I hope "the trio" still reads :)), you know what the title of the post means. Others... well.. figure it out.

So vibhav wants me to write about little things that piss me off. Just want to mention that most of the time I don't get pissed off but there are many things that can piss me off sometimes. Here are a few among the many....

1. Perfectionism - It is a disease and there are no two ways about it. If you feel uncomfortable seeing a tiny speck of dirt somewhere or are troubled by a comma missing in a text document, you suffer from this disease. It is hard to recover from it. The amount of effort it takes to make something 90% perfect is about one-tenth the amount of effort you need to achieve the remaining 10%. You have to be crazy to do that.

2. Niceties - Repeated use of "thank you" and "sorry" .. saying "nice meeting you" after meeting someone.. saying "take care" as a rule at the end of a conversation.. it is irritating. Yes, I understand that it has been programmed in the individuals so much that it is hard to avoid it but it is not fun. The attitude of 'being nice to everyone because you never know when you might need someone' sucks. Big time.

3. Misleading quotes - Especially those that are popular among kids. A stupid quote can have strange influences on kids. An example - "A friend in need is a friend indeed". If you don't get why I don't like this one, let me know.

4. The rise of expectations as you grow up -That you should behave in a certain manner.. that you should be responsible.. I don't enjoy it

5. Typecasting - Some statements that I keep hearing too often here .. "You are from India, you should like spicy food" or that "you should drink tea" or "you should feel cold" .. pleeeeeaaassseee.

6. In fact any kind of 'shoulds' piss me off e.g. even things like "you are boring if you don't like to travel"

7. Lying/Artificiality - Cliched, I agree. I hate it nonetheless.

8. Degrading the popular - Some people argue against any actor/player/artist/whatever who is the most popular just because he is the most popular. This is also a disease. This thing used to piss me a lot some time back and I have had loads arguments supporting Sachin/SRK/Federer. Not any more, though. Mostly I am able to passively enjoy arguments these days.

9. My weaknesses - Yes, they do. Can't help it. Won't give details, though.

The trio (:D) is already tagged.. so the tag does not pass........

zindagi

Deleted post reappears

Zindagi ko to hamesha hans ke kubool karte hain hum
Par zindagi hai ki soch soch ke kadam badhaati hai

Fitrat kuchh feminine si hai zindagi ki

:D

Khayaalon mein apne kuchh khoya sa hua tha main
Achaanak tezi se ek seb aaya aur tod gaya wo chain of thoughts

Aur tum kehte ho zindagi ke raaz dheere dheere khula karte hain

Tujhse naaraaz nahi zindagi, hairaan hoon main, tere maasoom sawaalon se pareshaan hoon main

Questions! Without answers!!

Why do we not understand others so well to realize what they want/mean/intend?
Why can't we just say out what we feel instead of expecting others to understand us?

Why do we not trust enough and start making strange assumptions when we don't get a reply to a phone call/message/letter/email?
Why do we expect people to understand us when we are just too lazy to reply to a phone call/message/letter/email?

Why can't we suppress our taste buds and eat healthy food always?
Why does all the unhealthy food in the world have to taste so bloody good? :D

Why do we not appreciate the concern/love/care of people around us and keep missing people who are physically far apart?
Why do we feel bad/helpless when some close friend around us says he is missing his old friends/family?

Why is it "distance makes the heart go fonder" when we are thinking about someone and "Out of sight, out of mind" when someone is (not) thinking about us?

Why do we expect people to behave responsibly after a certain age?
Why do we want to shun all responsibilities and stay a kid always?

Why doesn't everyone always remain a kid?

Why isn't everyone happy all the time?

Why does random blabbering feel so good?

Happy New Year

Hanste hanste, kat jaayen raste, zindagi yun hi chalti rahe
Khushi mile ya gham, badlenge na hum, duniya chaahe badalti rahe

Jambool

Jambool is hiring.

In times when the job market is going through an absolute low, this will be very good news for many, I guess. So, if you know of someone who might be interested and is good enough, just pass on the info. It might be a very easy 1500 dollars for you.

For more info, leave a comment here or on the blog post at the above link.. or write to
vikas AT jambool DOT com

...

An attempt at Triveni, that also reflects the current state of mind. Actually it is more the latter than the former. Gulzaar Sir, maaf karna :D


Kuchh waqt se zindagi kuchh bhatak si rahi thi
Najaane kahaan se achaanak aashiyaan mil gaya

Upar kahin kisi ko shaayad taras aa raha tha!

What Lata doesn't have and Asha does!

[Disclaimer: This post, I guess, is going to invite a lot of aggressive opposition. Let me make it very clear in the beginning that this post suffers from exaggeration which is the most fun part of any conversation :) .. might have a few personal remarks too, but then personal remarks against isn't too bad , is it? The probability that any of them is going to come to read my blog is almost zero. Also, Lata is one of my favourite singers .. she comes 4th on my list, after Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhosle, Shreya Ghoshal in that order. Aur aisa nahi hai ki I don't believe that everyone has a right to have their own choice etc etc etc, par bas aaj mood aaya hai bakwaas karne ka! ]

Log mujhse poochhte hain, why Asha is preferred over Lata. Kuchh gustaakh log to ye bhi poochh lete hain ki why Kishore and not Rafi. Koi batlaaye ki hum batlaayen kya? While even trying to the latter would be too much of an insult to Kishore Da, I will make an attempt to answer the first one. Just to seal the debate once and for all. At least seal my opinion about it. Mujhe tark right time pe soojhta nahi hai na, isliye likh dena achchha hai :)

So what does Asha have that Lata doesn't? Ok, lets start this way! What are the best Lata songs you can think of. I know it is hard to choose but here is a very small sample set of what comes to my mind immeditately - "Jab Pyaar kiya to darna kiya", "Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai", "Aaj kal paon zameen par nahi padte mere", "Dikhaayi diye yun ki bekhud kiya", "Humne dekhi hai in aankhon ki mehekti khushbu", "Baahon mein chale aao", "Zindagi pyaar ka geet hai" (Note that I am not being unfair and these are among my favorites). While all these are absolute gems, I think a lot of other people deserve more credit than Lata for these - the sheer grace and the amazing expressions of the actresses on which they have been picturised make some of them very special e.g. "Jab Pyaar kiya to darna kiya", "Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai", "Baahon mein chale aao" or the sheer brilliance of Gulzar and gang (i.e. the lyricists) is what makes these special more than the singing. Would these have been less special if Asha had sung them. I don't think so. I cannot think of any Lata song which can generate the Oh-my-God-I-can't-believe-this feeling just for the way it is sung. Not one. Kishore does that to me quite often. Asha does it so very often too. One should listen to "Ye hai reshmi zulfon ka... " or "Chhoti si kahaani se..." to get what I mean.

Maza nahi aa raha, nahi? Let's get a little personal, as we promised :D

Have a look at Lata's personal life section on her wikipedia page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lata_Mangeshkar

What do you find about her personal life? This is what I find

"Lata Mangeshkar was born a Konkani Marathi speaking family in Sikh Mohalla, Indore, which then used to be in Central India Agency and is now in the State of Madhya Pradesh. Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother, Shudhhamati, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, BhaawBandhan.^[2] Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Hridayanath, Asha, Usha, and Meena are her siblings in sequence.

Lata took her first music lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (sangeet naatak in Marathi). Her father's recitals and lessons left a strong impression on her, as did the songs of K.L. Saigal, who was her favorite singer and idol. Her formal education was limited to one day in the school. On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school."

Sounds quite boring. What did you say? "That's it!???" Exactly. What has Lata's life been about? What exactly? Singing, and singing, and singing. Some call it dedication? Their choice :)

Do you want to compare that to Asha's personal life. Here is the link. Quite eventful a life, right? Sample this

"At the age of 16, she eloped with 31-year old Ganpatrao Bhosle (1916-1966), marrying him against her family's wishes. Ganpatrao was sister Lata's personal secretary. The marriage failed miserably. Her husband and in-laws mistreated her. After a few years of marriage, Bhosle was turned out (around 1960) by a suspicious Ganpatrao^[6] and she went to her maternal home with two children and pregnant with her third child, Anand. She continued to sing in films to earn money."

Infact there is quite a lot of interesting stuff you can find there on that link. Now, I don't intend to say that Lata should have eloped with someone while she was still a kid to be able to sing better but a job like singing is probably hard to do if you haven't experienced any emotion similar to what you are being asked to present. They don't write lines like "Ashkon mein jo paaya hai, wo geeton mein diya hai" for no reason at all.

Let me look at a few Asha songs that make me go WOW and think what would have happened if Lata would be singing.

Supppose Lata is asked to sing the song "Aage bhi jaane na tu...". She reads the lyrics and she is like, "Hey, what does this mean? What does this talk about?? Uncertainty? Where the hell is uncertainty in life. Is there anything else in life except singing? I think not." A better version for her would be something like "Aage bhi gaana gaoongi, peechhe bhi gaana gaati thi ... yahi zindagi hai nahi aur koi aarzoo" :D

Or lets say Lata sings "Mera Kuchh Saamaan....".. I am sure that if she would sing this song, it would sound like, "Hey, you stole some furniture from me.. Please return it back" :D

And she can't even attempt to sing "Raat Akeli Hai..". Simply impossible.

Or the out of the world songs "Chhoti Si Kahaani Se.." or "Justuju jiski thi.." .. talking of the feeling when desires go down the drain.. an emotion which might be a total stranger to Lata Mangeshkar. Not that she won't be able to sing these but the flair won't be there

Bottom line - Sur aur aawaaz to practice kar kar ke perfect kar leejiyega .. par nasha kahaan se laaiyega :)

And if it is just the voice quality and melody etc, you appreciate Lata for, you got to listen to Shreya. I get a feeling Shreya is better on that front. Not way better, but better. Just that she does not get the same quality of songs to sing, unfortunately. Now this might be a bit of a bias because of the kind of person Shreya is (or the kind of person I think she is :P).

Ok - kaafi ho gaya.. I am sure I am going to get some murder threats pretty soon :D

Ignorance is bliss

A strange kind of magic there was in that darkness
The pen was copying down on paper
The flights of my fantasy

Smiling, and enjoying myself thoroughly,
Unaware of the surroundings
I continued to write my poetry

I waited for that day,
When light will spread on paper
And I will see, and feel proud of,
The result of my creativity

And suddenly one day
Light came from somewhere
Excitedly, I looked at the paper
To see the reflections of the dreamy me

What then, you ask me?
Well, the paper was blank totally
The reason, as I realized after a little while:
The pen, my friend, had no ink

I laughed, till I .....

Bada sambhaal ke rakha hai us kaagaz ko aaj tak
Wo kavita jo kabhi likhi na gayi
Uske nishaan us kaagaz par aaj bhi nazar aate hain

Ye kissa kuchh ajeeb sa hai shaayad
Sunne waale kehte hain
Laane ko nayi syaahi
Aur likhne ko wo kavita phir se

Syaahi to zaroor mil jaayegi aaj bhi
Par un palon ke ehsaas ko kahaan se pakad laaoon,
Phir se

Ab to bas intezaar hai us andhere ka
Jo aayega phir se
Aur us kore kaagaz ko
Kavita bana dega phir se

Note to myself

Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, I remembered these lines today.

"No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare."

Don't even remember where and when I first read it and who they are from.. sometime way back, though. However I am pretty sure I didn't understand them till today and all I had noticed earlier was the "rhyme" in them. Wow.. poetry is one thing(probably the only thing) that I understand better today than a few years ago. Better only than myself though ... no big claims!! Some recent indulgences have really helped, it seems. I should start reading poetry again.

Aaj maine machhli khaayi

Galti se!

Aye pardes.. aur kya kya din dikhaayega tu?

Ek funda

Almost always:

- People understand you more than you think they do!

- You understand people less than you think you do!

That's good for you, right?

Perspectives

Have to attend a certain didactics workshop tomorrow. A workshop where they teach us how to teach! In preparation for it, they asked for this:

"Please bring along an object that is (or was in the past) important or meaningful to you for whatever reason.It should be a symbol that stands for something. We will use these objects in our round of introductions. Please choose carefully, and think about what you want to say about the object and about yourself."

I put that as my gtalk status asking for suggestions. Here are some of the "suggestions" I got from some friends. Apne reactions to kya hi doon!

1) "Take your degree :) .. it will remind you of your professional life"
2) "Take my pic."

3) "CD of old songs .. since a TV will be too big to carry"

4) "TV ka remote."

5) "Playing cards"

6) "Okay, Okay ... I am not objectifying :) but shreya ghoshal ki photo le ja. "

*Photo!!!!! Hey Bhagwan*

7) [Edit .. by a certain late lateef] so how did the didactic thing go. my suggestion would have been a pic of Shahrukh Khan or Federer

Random

I saw you today after a long time,
Thought of going over to you
Of making good old memories revive

But stayed back, fearing to face a familiar indifference
Yeah, maybe it wouldn't have been as bad
But then this "maybe" is necessary for me to survive


PS: too many words in the second paragraph .. someone has suggestion on how to shorten it and make it more rhythmic?

Escapism :D

God helps those who help themselves
God helps those who can't help themselves
God helps those who don't want to help themselves
God helps those who don't help themselves
God helps

So chill :P


Post taking off from a comment on the last one (to be taken seriously at your own risk)

Opportunities given by the written text

As commanded by vibhav in the comments on the previous post, I had to write a post on this and it has been long due. It got a little delayed because I left for home (am still there). So, here it is. In case the previous post left any misconceptions, let me clarify that I like written mode of conversation a lot.. in fact, I am dependent on it a lot more than you can imagine. In the last post I just wanted to say that written text can be misinterpreted very easily.

Text is like voice for most introverts and its significance cannot be over-emphasised. In fact I think I enjoy writing more than reading, given that what I write is read by people. You might consider this self-obsession. Whatever. So here are some "opportunities" I can think of from the top of my head.

I normally do not argue with anyone for anything and I hardly ever feel the need to convince anyone about my point of view unless the person is very close. In fact I don't have a strong point of view about anything. But there are times when it is fun to argue and to 'win' an argument. Just for kicks. However I am not so very quick with arguments. This is where the written text comes in handy. In college, we used to have newsgroups for internal discussions. There were these certain people who are so so well read that they seem to know everything about everything. Almost. I distinctly remember those occasions when I jumped into some argument and kind of 'defeated' them. It felt real good, you know. I know it sounds stupid and foolish and kiddish and any other adjective you might want to add. But it is a lot of fun.

What else? Well, less things give a smile better than reading something you wrote long back.. or reading some older conversations. The main purpose of this blog is that too. Ek baar kabhi first year of college mein personal diary likhne ka josh chadha tha mujhe. I wrote all kind of things there and it was crappier and hence even more fun than this blog. A few days later I misplaced it and then suddenly got hold of it one fine day a year or so later. The delight on reading that at that time was immense. Don't know if anyone else would enjoy it but I loved it. I regret having not kept my childhood essays. It would have been great fun to read those. I used to write pretty good in those days. At least that is how it seemed to me :D

Writing helps me distil out my thoughts and they become very clear when put on paper. This helps a lot even in research. This is one thing I have learnt from my advisor. Earlier I would find writing out the ideas formally a very boring exercise. While writing proofs formally still gets a little boring at times it is really really helpful to be clear about the thought process.

There are some people I would very much love to talk to but I would never ever go up and talk to. Simply because I won't know how to do so. However writing to them is much easier. At times just reading what these people write is satisfying. I can't explain how. But, for example, the blogosphere helps in this regard. There are a lot of blogs in my blogroll of people I have never ever talked to and probably never will and who don't even know I read their blog. It is still fun. So written text is useful you see.. be it others' or mine.

There are some things that are so easy to say in writing but are very embarrassing or almost impossible to say in verbal communication. Even to the closest of people. I won't elaborate on this, I guess. In fact I think if/when I get married I will end up having a lot of conversation with that certain someone in writing :P

Ok, enough self stripping for the day ... baaki phir kabhi.. ye blog to rahega hi :)

Tag 2

Tagged by Vikram. Rules are there on his blog... not adhering to them strictly but am sure no one minds :)

"Oozing Happiness"
Jaane bin baat ke chhalke jaaye hansi, dole jab hawa laage gudgudi
Sambhloon, gir padoon, arre arre arre tauba kya karoon (in fact the whole song)

"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things ... blah blah"
Mere haathon ki garmi se pighal jaayengi zanjeerein, mere pairon ki aahat se badal jaayengi taqdeerein, ummeedon ke diye lekar, ye sab tere liye lekar, zindagi aa raha hoon main

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder"
Najaane kyun, hota hai ye zindagi ke saath, achaanak ye mann kisi ke jaane ke baad, kare phir uski yaad chhoti chhoti si baat

"Ignorance is bliss"
Aye kaash ki ab hosh mein hum aane na paayein, bas nagme tere pyaar ke gaate hi jaayein

"Live everyday as if it were your last"
Uthe sab ke kadam ta ra rum pum pum kabhi aise geet gaaya karo, kabhi khushi kabhi gam ta ra rum pum pum hanso aur hansaaya karo

"Passion looks just like madness to the observer"
Apne hi bas mein nahi main, dil hai kahin to hoon kahin main, koi na roko dil ki udaan ko, dil wo chala aa ha ha ha ha ha

"Life goes on"
Gaadi bula rahi hai, seeti baja rahi hai, chalna hi zindagi hai chalti hi ja rahi hai

"Good night"
Kal ki haseen mulaqaat ke liye, aaj raat ke liye, hum tum juda ho jaate hain, achchha chalo so jaate hain

"Chicken egg paradox"
Geet pehle bana tha.. ya bani thi ye sargam

"Mutual admiration society"
Tum kitni bholi ho
Tum kitne achchhe ho
Tum kitni seedhi ho
Tum kitne sachche ho

"Divine intervention"
Tera mujhse hai pehle ka naata koi, yun hi nahi dil lubhaata koi

“Rage against life”
Dekha hai zindagi ko kuchh itna kareeb se, chehre tamaam lagne lage hain ajeeb se

"Wine, women and Song"
Jo maikhaane ja ke main saagar uthaoon to phir ye nasheeli nazar kis liye hai

“Far from the madding crowds”
Chala jaata hoon kisi ki dhun mein, dhadakte dil ke taraane liye

“May the will to live never die.”
Ye jeena hai angoor ka daana, jitna khaaya meetha tha jo haath na aaya khatta hai

“She came. She knocked. I said “Shit!””
Milo na tum to hum ghabraayein, milo to aankh churaayein humein kya ho gaya hai

"Actions. Not words"
Kuchh na kaho, Kuchh bhi na kaho. Samay ka ye pal tham sa gaya hai

Greedy today :)

Jo kehte hain chaahiye bas ik boond paani
Unhein wo ik boond de do
Baaki samundar ka saara paani mujhe de do

Jo kehte hain chaahiye bas kuchh pal shaanti ke
Unhein wo kuchh palon ki shaanti de do
Zindagi bhar ki muskuraahatein mujhe de do

Jo kehte hain kuchh baatein band honthon se hi hoti hain
Unhein unka ji bhar ke khamoshi de do
Saare meethe bol, saari hansi ki aawaazein mujhe de do

Jo kehte hain chaahiye bas thodi si jagah kisi ke dil mein
Unhein wo thodi si jagah de do
Baaki bachi jagah sab ke dil ki mujhe de do

Jo kehte hain thoda hai thode ki zaroorat hai
Unhein unka 'thoda' de do
Baaki saara jahaan mujhe de do

Jo kehte hain mujhe laalchi,
Unhein kehne do, khush rehne do
Bas jo bhi chaahiye mujhe, har wo cheez mujhe de do

Sponti :D

I asked her a question
The lips trembled
Probably in response
But there was no sound
Or maybe there was
That my fear didn't
Want to hear

I closed my eyes
And dreamt a dream
Again the same question
And the same response again
But how could that happen
This was supposed to be
MY dream

Why, O' Lord?
Why do you do this?
Do what you want to with the realities, lekin
Apne khwaabon se khelne ki ijaazat to
Maine kisi ko nahi di thi
Not even to you, O' Almighty.
And yet again the same response,
Trembling lips. Silence.

PS: One line is in Hindi because ijaazat word mein jo feel hai wo permission mein aa hi nahi sakti :)

Trust

In this post(that happens to be the best post on this blog, btw), I briefly mentioned my lack of ability in being able to comprehend the word 'privacy'. 'Trust' is another of the kind. And there are so many others. You might say that a word is just meant to communicate and as long as it does convey what you intend to, the choice of word should not matter. Quite right. But the catch is right there. Does it convey what you intend to? What do you intend to, anyway? What do people intend to say when they say, "I trust you/him/her''. It really confuses me. Let's see what the dictionary has to say to it. I will pick the first meaning -- "reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence." So, what does it tell you? I am still confused.

We don't seem to be getting anywhere, are we? Ok, let's ask this question. Is 'trust' transitive? If I 'trust' someone, should I also 'trust' the person he/she 'trusts'. I would guess 'yes'. If you 'trust' someone, why would you not 'trust' his/her judgment too? It makes sense to me, at least, to do so. So, I make this (controversial, probably but seems fine to me) assumption that 'trust' is transitive. Now, this simplifies things, thankfully :)

Consider any reasonable 'trust' model of the world. If you are a cynic you would probably not 'trust' anyone. So, what about the rest of the world. Everyone will have a certain set of close people that they will 'trust'. All those you 'trust' can't be cynics, right? Another assumption, I agree, but not an unreasonable one. Look now, draw a graph to model the world if you want to, and you will see that in all likelihood you will connect to everyone - yes, most likely even cynics, for they may not 'trust' you but you might still 'trust' them. Wow!!!!!!!!! A few simple and 'reasonable' assumptions and things simplify dramatically. So either you be a cynic and trust no one or trust everyone. I choose the latter. You?


PS1: I was going to say 'trust' as an equivalence relation but probably it isn't reflexive. That is another thing to be thought about. I used to believe it is a symmetric relation but of late I have begun to doubt this too. For those of you who have forgotten high school math here is a reminder of the definitions.

PS2: Writing is a good exercise. It helps you distill out your thoughts and makes you begin to believe yourself and understand things better. Some other words that I am so not able to understand what people (or even I, myself) mean when they say are 'love', 'friend', 'hope', 'self-respect' and some others too, probably. As a result I make minimal utterance of these words and question myself of what I mean whenever I do utter them. I guess the main problem is consistency of opinion regarding their meanings ... anyway, will write a post on each of them probably some time in future. Of course not right now, and only if people, on reading this post, don't start to think I have gone mad :)

everything

Orkut says

Today's fortune: Everything will now come your way

Hum intezaar karenge 'everything' ka qayaamat tak. Khuda kare ki qayaamat ho aur 'everything' aaye. :D

Madness revisited - Roland Garros is round the corner

Come Roland Garros, and you see a certain freak going mad shouting all around the place that Federer will win RG this year. This phenomenon has been repeating itself for 4 years now. And this year will be no different. So what if Federer hasn't won any tournament this year. So what if Nadal has defeated Federer on clay twice recently. So what if a certain Serbian is looking just too dangerous this year. So what if Federer has lost this year to players who I could myself defeat(exaggeration is fun). Fanaticism doesn't understand anything.

I know I might have to eat my words like I did for the last few years par girte hain shah sawaar hi maidaan-e-jung mein, wo tifl kya girega jo ghutnon ke bal chale ...

So, yet again, I make a claim that Federer will complete the Grand Slam this year.

Federer has his long awaited date with History on June 8, 2008.

Raza

Khudi ko kiya buland itna
Ki khuda ne khud aa ke poochha, bata teri raza kya hai
Tab samajh aaya, bulandi wulandi tak pahuchna to aasaan tha
Par is sawaal ka jawaab dena mushkil kitna hai
Kaha khuda se, tu kar jo tujhe karna hai
Mujhe to tere khel dekhne mein maza aata hai

Tag-1

Tagged by Vibhav ... and how I have waited for it!

First things first: Almost ever since I got addicted to these three blogs, I have been waiting to get tagged. I saw this game on their blogs and it seems like a lot of fun. So, when I was blogrolled on all three of them sequentially(I am not too sure of the sequence, though) I knew I would get it some time soon..and here it is .. and the title of the post is such in the hope of more. I do get happy over little things .. kya karoon? :). And yes, I am normally pretty bad at expressing gratitude but I'd say this much.. it is quite flattering to know that some people read whatever crap I write ... ok, maybe not everything, ...but dil ke khush rakhne ko Ghalib ye khayaal achchha hai.

Now for the others..What's a tag: Well, this is what I understand from it... It is a game on the blogophere where you can start with anything (quiz, questionaire, wish list, something, anything) and pass it on to people. What do you get? The person who sends it does it (probably) to get to know/hear something from other people. Just for fun. The person who is tagged gets reason to blabber about without having to think much and hence get an increase in the blog count by one. It's a win win situation basically :D

Finally!!

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
Taare Zameen Par

2. What book are you reading?
Love in the time of cholera

3. Favourite board game?
Carrom

4. Favourite magazine?
The only magazines I ever read are Filmfare and Stardust .. they are good when you are travelling in trains.

5. Favourite smell?
must be some food .. but can't think of anything right now.

6. Favourite sound?
Shreya Ghoshal. Singing. Speaking. Laughing. Anything. I have a big crush on her. Any contact info, anyone, btw?

7. Worst feeling in the world?
Parting.

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
I think I should not go to sleep again. And then I sleep again.

9. Favourite fast food place?
Pizza Hut. I prefer slow food, waise.

10. Future child's name?
if I have to decide it, it will be Muskaan.

11. Finish the statement, "If I had a lot of money, I would...
give it to some one who needs it. I don't."

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Pass.

13. Storms - cool or scary?
Scary.

14. Favourite drink?
Ganne ka ras. (Writing that in English would rob it of its flavour, you see)

15. 11. Finish the statement, "If I had the time, I would...
give it to someone who needs it. Some people really do, you know. Is time transferable, waise?

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yes.

17. If you could dye your hair any colour, what would be your choice?
Black is fine, I guess.

18. Name all the different cities you have lived in?
Chandigarh (17+ yrs.), Kanpur (5 years minus vacations), Zurich (1.5 yrs and counting), Bombay (2 one-month long stays) and a few month summer stays at various places that are not worth mentioning.

19. Favourite game to watch?
Keeps changing. It used to be cricket when Sachin used to play well. Now it is tennis but only when Federer plays. AOE isn't too bad to watch either though it's been a long time since I did that.

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Is sensitive and is one of the best unpublished writers I have read. At times I visit blogs just to read his comments on posts. Vik did a good job of describing him with those two words - "Wordenful Vibes". More than one thing ho gaya par chalta hai. :)

21. What's under your bed?
Zameen.

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Depends on what I get to chose from. If I have to chose from the people who already exist or have existed then it has to be me only. If I could put in some greed, I would like to exchange my voice with Kishore Kumar. Par hansi mujhe apni hi chaahiye.

23. Morning person, or night owl?
Never had a sleep schedule.

24. Over easy, or sunny side up?
Both.

25. Favourite place to relax?
Anywhere sunny.

26. Favourite mithai?
Gulab Jamun. Serve them hot, please.

27. Favourite ice-cream flavour?
Butter Scotch, Pista. Vanilla is fine too.

28. Of all the people you are tagging it to, who's likely to respond first?
Everyone.

Tag passes to no one. Everyone who reads this blog regularly/occasionally/accidentally will most likely find this too kiddish ... so no point.

A thought

Kehna zindagi ko bewafa to sab ne seekh liya
Kya hai aur koi iske siwa jo umr bhar saath nibha de?

And today

A song by Avdhoot Gupte for all who have lost their innocence. Successfully.

"Ek waqt tha jab hansne ke liye zarooratein kitni kam thi ..
Aur aaj ...
Ye fark jab mehsoos hota hai to lagta hai
Ki yun manzilon se manzilon tak chalte hue maine kitna kuchh paaya hai ..
Lekin kho di sirf ek cheez ... maasoomiyat

Oonchaaiyon ke khwaab the, oonchi thi saari manzilein
Aur har manzil pe milti, aur saari manzilein
Manzilon se manzilon tak, bhaagte ye raaste
In raaston mein kho gayi, maasoom muskuraahatein

Likhta to pehle bhi tha, aur aaj bhi likhta hoon
lekin aaj kal sochne laga hoon likhne se pehle ki
chalega.. nahi chalega.. hit hoga ... nahi hoga
Pehle main apni marzi ka raja tha
Likhta tha apne liye .. sirf apne liye

Janm lete roz nagme, aasmaan ko dekh kar
Kaagazon pe raat behti thi sitaare odh kar
Shaam dhalna, din ka chalna .. sab tha mere vaaste
Ab na hai wo raat din .. bas manzilein aur raaste
Manzilon se manzilon tak, bhaagte ye raaste
In raaston mein kho gayi, maasoom muskuraahatein

Pehle koi jhoothi dosti karta bhi to kisliye
Kya tha mere paas
Par ab agar sachcha dosti ka haath bhi aage badhe
To lagta hai
Ise kya chahiye mujhse, ye kyun dosti karna chaahta hai mujhse

Aaj kyun har muskuraahat jhooth lagti hai bada
Dosti ka haath bhi lagta hai kuchh lene badha
Haath daaya aaine mein haath baaya kyun lage
Ye aaina bhi mujhse kuchh hai chaahta, aisa lage
Manzilon se manzilon tak, bhaagte ye raaste
In raaston mein kho gayi, maasoom muskuraahatein"

Ghar se masjid hai bahut door

Have been listening to this ghazal by Nida Fazli since morning.

"Ghar se masjid hai bahut door chalo, yun kar lein
Kisi rote hue bachche ko hansaaya jaaye

Humsafar koi to ho waqt ke veeraane mein
Sooni aankhon mein koi khwaab sajaaya jaaye

Roshni ki bhi hifaazat hai ibaadat ki tarah
Bujhte sooraj se charaagon ko jalaaya jaaye

Gam akela hai to saanson ko satata hai bahut
Dard ko dard ka hamdard banaya jaaye "

Each line is awesome. The third stanza is especially superb. So, if you feel like the setting sun, remember to do your duty before you vanish. :)

Observation/crap

Most (probably all) of you must have seen something similar to what is written below between the lines somewhere on the web at some point of time. That is an advertisement for "Attitude", whatever that word means

--------------------------------------
What according to you are the important things in life?


Expected responses: Money, Luck, Family, Friends, Hard work, Joy, Education, Career, Respect, Love, Aptitude etc etc etc


Now replace each letter in the alphabet by its position in the alphabet


A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7, H=8, I=9, J=10, K=11, L=12, M=13, N=14, O=15, P=16, Q=17, R=18, S=19, T=20, U=21, V=22, W=23, X=24, Y=25, Z=26.

So, what do the words add up to:

MONEY = 13 + 15 + 14 + 5 + 25 = 72

LUCK = 12 + 21 + 3 + 11 = 47

HARD WORK = 8 + 1 + 18 + 4 + 22 + 15 + 18 + 11 = 97

APTITUDE = 1 + 16 + 20 + 9 + 20 + 21 + 4 + 5 = 96

You can add up the others accordingly.
Then see what ATTITUDE adds up to.

ATTITUDE = 1 + 20 + 20 + 9 + 20 + 21 + 4 + 5 = 100

In all likelihood, no other word will add up to 100.

Conclusion: 'Attitude' is the most important thing in life

---------------------------------------------------

That "all-likelihood" claim at the end is fun, isn't it? I thought of a few words that also "add up to 100" .. I am sure there are at least a hundred more

In no particular order, they are: STRESS, STATUS, WRITING, TELEPHONE, CULTURE

Any conclusions, anyone???

PS: No judgements about me please .. this was just a random observation.

Happy Budday to me

I am punctual .. Aur koi ho na ho :D :D

24 today. Phew!!

Bol Na Halke Halke

The following are the lyrics of a song by Gulzar. I have been confused about the meaning/interpretation of the highlighted lines(in the context of the song, of course) for quite a few months now. I have asked several people and have got answers ranging from "I don't know" to "This is crap" to "These lines can only be felt. They cannot be explained." Since some enlightened people have started treading this space of late, I thought I might as well try here. Can anyone help??

"Dhaage tod laao chandni se noor ke
Ghoonghat hi bana lo roshni se noor ke
Sharm aa gayi to aagosh mein lo
Saanson se uljhi rahi meri saansein
[Bol Na Halke Halke 2
hoth se halke halke
bol na halke ]2

Aa neend ka sauda karein
Ek khwaab dein ek khwaab lein
Ek khwaab to aankhon mein hai
Ek chand ke takiye tale
Kitne dinon se ye aasmaan bhi soya nahi hai
Isko sula dein...
[Bol Na Halke Halke 2
hoth se halke halke
bol na halke ]2

Umrein lagi kehte hue
do lafz the ek baat thi
Woh ek din sau saal ka
Sau saal ki wo raat thi
Kaisa lage jo chup chaap dono
Pal pal mein puri sadiyaan bita dein

[Bol Na Halke Halke 2
hooth se halke halke
bol na halke ]2"

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
And dreamt a thousand dreams
Each dream was worth dying for
Or at least so, to him, it seemed
(Ghalib turns in his grave)

Plump and jolly, round like a football
They called him Teddy Bear
The King loved him, and all in the kingdom
He was everybody's dear

They laughed at him, he enjoyed the attention
They said, "Oh! He is such a clown"
Self indulgent, he walked on the streets
Nothing could put him down

Then came the momentous time
Something happened that no one had wondered
Descended an angel from the heavens
She came, he saw, she conquered
(Now it is Julius Caesar's turn to turn in his grave :P)

She had all the charms that myths are about
Infinite amount of grace
Humpty was in seventh heaven
His dreams had found a face

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
In love he fell so deep
Every little gesture, even a smile from her
Made him lose his sleep

He thought she loved him too
This, of course, was wishful thinking
For how could an angel love him
Just an ordinary earthly being

One fine day, without saying a word
The angel retreated to heaven
And all the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again

The story doesn't end there, there is a twist in the story
Humpty did rise and faced the test of time
He still sits on the wall and dreams
The number now being nine ninety nine.

Orkut says, "Share your happiness with others today!"

So, I share here :)))))))))

check karo, mili kya??

khamoshi

Khafa hain wo humse, kehte hain
Alfaazon ka istemaal na karo
Khamoshi ko baatein karne do
Shaayad kahin se sun aaye the
Ki 'ye fasaana to nigaahon se bayaan hota hai'

Hum kehte hain
Aji chhodo ye sab bekaar ki baatein hain
Humaari taraf dekhna tak to aap chaahte nahi
Nigaahon mein jo likha hai, kya khaak padhenge?

Far behind

They are all running so fast
I am falling far behind
How do I catch them
Is all that occupies my mind

But why do I want to catch them
What is so special about them
All right all right they can write a bit
But it is not all there is to life, is it?

I want to become a poet
They say I cannot
I see the gifts they have
But don't see what I have got

All this jealousy is momentary
Just a different mood
And as I make you read this crap
I know that life is good.

wah wah :P :D :D

Just to make it clear .. this is not what I mentioned in the previous post .. that is still pending ... don't know when/if it will come out .. will mention when it does :(

Main shaayar kyun nahi?

Trying to write a poem since morning, but failing miserably .. a nice idea, but the words aren't coming out :(

Anyway, sangharsh jaari hai :)

It is a good morning

Pata nahi ye kyun likh raha hoon yahaan .. bas mann kar raha hai

I got up today and talked to this friend I hadn't talked for a while. Within a minute of our conversation, he said, "Never change! I want to see at least someone live his whole life like this" :)

I love this "never change" compliment. It sounds just as good every single time I hear it from anyone. It is a beautiful morning :)

I would have said thanks to you Ankur, but as a famous dialogue from one of my favourite movies goes, "Dosti ka ek usool hai, no sorry, no thank you" :P


Song of the day: Badle duniya saari, tum na badalna :D

Zindagi kitni sasti ho gayi hai!

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7062140&ch=4226720&src=news

Is that all there is to life?

Cat Nationality

You might have laughed at Amrish Puri talking about the nationality of pigeons and the difference between the British and Indian pigeons in DDLJ but I believe there is some truth in there.

I am sure that you must have noticed that cats will ALWAYS make an attempt to cross your paths whenever they can. I always believed that it is natural for a cat to do that and this tendency of theirs has made people believe in the famous superstition about cats that we have. However, here in Switzerland you will never see the same. Whenever you come across one, either it will keep sitting as it were or walk off from the side but not once have I ever been crossed by one.

Its strange how social training can affect a whole species....

"Into" -- is it just me?

I was having an academic discussion with my (PhD) advisor yesterday when I used the phrase "A into B" for "A times B" (what A and B were is not relevant) and he was like 'What???' I immediately 'corrected' myself but I was wondering what it really means. It does sound strange if you think about it. We just grew up using that word in this context. If I remember correctly, even the teachers did that at school. Does anyone know how or where it comes from? I am still puzzled about this one. Strange I never thought about this earlier. And is it just Indians who do this?
Now I know why 3*9 came out to be 3 in Taare Zameen Par, btw... the kid used the correct interpretation of the word 'into' ... but unfortunately the exam was objective type... poor him

It is funny how we grow up speaking words that we understand and know what they mean but don't know why they mean what they mean! I distinctly remember I used to think '2 twos are 4' as '2 two zaa 4' or something like that for a long long time.

A Swiss woman .. or .. an Australian animal

Yesterday, when I was playing tennis, I noticed something really interesting. I saw a woman had tied something on her waist using some kind of a rope ... with both hands free for carrying stuff that was maybe more important. I stopped to look at her closely, and then I realized that this "something" was in fact a kid. Probably her own child. Found this quite amusing, so thought I should post here.

Anyone ever noticed something like this in India? I haven't! Now don't you start talking about Rani Laxmibai!

written on July 18, 2008

here because I don't want a random passer-by to read it .. will be kind of embarrassing :)

Kabhi na poori hone waali koi aarzoo si hai
Koi jo kahin hai hi nahi uski justuju si hai
Par najaane wo kaun sa ehsaas hai ki
Saanson se ruh tak sab mehkaane waali koi khushbu si hai

Lagta hai jaise anjaani kuchh kami si hai
Palkon mein jaise kuchh nami si hai
Par najaane kaunse wo sapne wo yaadein hain unhi palkon mein
Ki muh par ek muskaan jaise thami si hai

Khwahishen shaayad kuchh khokhli si hain
Zindagi shaayad kuchh dhundhli si hai
Par mujhe neend se jagaana na koi,
Band aankhon se duniya dikhti kuchh bhali si hai

India begin world cup campaign in style

Is this the one fall that India always needs before rising to the occasion? Or does this mean India will come back home soon to enjoy the spring season? Well, I have put in hope after a long long time! Won't lose it soon .. I still hope to see India lift the world cup. Go Sachin ... I am with you :)

An old memory - some kid math

Please don't get turned off by the mention of the word 'math' there ... don't worry ... I know my readers :)

Being at home brings back a lot of childhood memories and they are always fun to be talked about. And parents and relatives all around are only too pleased to reiterate them. Anyway, what I intend to bring here is my first mathematical 'discovery', which, to this date, I consider as one of my biggest achievements considering the age at which it came. I thought it had to go somewhere .. so why not here!

I was in class 5 or 6 I guess and so about 10 years old. We were taught congruence of triangles in school. For those who have forgotten this or those who never went to primary school (this is for you, Chandan :D) here is a link providing a description of the 'four' axioms for congruence. http://www.kwiznet.com/p/takeQuiz.php?ChapterID=2817&CurriculumID=24
Please don't take this as an insult if you remember this. This set me into thinking how these axioms guarantee congruence of triangles. This is one thing about that age ... you tend to ask a lot of questions to yourself and to others .. I probably still do .. but that is maybe because I haven't really grown at the same pace as others.

So I was soon fiddling with my compass and pencil trying to figure out a reason for these axioms. I soon figured out the reason, which in itself was an achievement, I think. The reason is of course pretty simple. For example consider the first one on the above link. If two sides and the including angle are given then we can draw the triangle uniquely using pencil and compass. Each of those axioms is based on a similar criterion. However, the fourth axiom (RHS) kind of confused me a little. What was so special about that angle being a right angle. I didn't really understand. While drawing, I tried to alter that angle a little. I soon saw that as soon as you reduce the size of the angle a bit there can be two possible triangles with the given dimensions. This was a good enough justification. But then ... wait!!
It doesn't work for acute angled triangles. But what if we make the size of that angle a little bigger? A little more than 90 degrees. It still works, or so it seemed. And then I drew again ... and then again .. yes, it was working!!!!!
So why restrict this axiom to just the right angle case .. it works for all angles greater than or equal to 90 degrees.

So now, what was the next question in mind? Or rather what were the next questions? Am I the only person to have discovered this? No, it can't be! But then it could be true as well! Most people around are not so smart anyway :D ... I was half imagining myself besides the likes of Srinivas Ramanujan with my picture in the next edition of that Mathematics book. It sounds a little funny now. However, it all just stayed there itself. I couldn't really discuss it with the teacher at school because I was never really liked by math teachers ... too bad this went unpublished until today :D. Probably what I "discovered" is well known by all and was well known even then.

But I still don't understand why that axiom was restricted to right angles in those text-books.

Sachin Tendulkar - दिल है कि मानता नहीं

After having watched cricket quite religiously for a number of years, I almost quit watching cricket a few matches after last world cup. And during the time I watched cricket, it was more for Sachin than for anything else I guess. It might sound foolish but it gave some satisfaction to watch a graceful shot come from Sachin's bat as compared to it coming from any other. And then when I realised that it would be really unlikely to see the same old Sachin back given the age and the injury worries, I quit watching cricket and shifted to tennis. Most probably, I will quit watching tennis too when Federer retires. Probably that is what passion is. It blinds you! It makes you think one-dimensionally. But I like doing things that way :)

Anyway, passion is not what I want to talk about here. Now that the world cup has begun and India's campaign will begin soon too, here is a review of the previous world cup and a preview of the current one with respect to Sachin, as I see it, of course.

World Cup 2003: India started out on a disastrous note with a dismal performance against a minnow (I don't remember which one it was and am too lazy to look it up) followed by an equally bad performance against Australia, India looked all set to come back home empty handed. But our dear Sachin Tendulkar had different plans. He realised that, as usual, he has to do most of the work alone. Next came England. With this shot against Andy Caddick http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMbIO5aCBI0, Sachin announced what plans he had for World Cup 2003. The rest, as they say, is history. Sachin led India to the final almost single-handedly. What next? Well the whole of India was waiting for the cup. Various statistics came up. I remember myself going around telling people that the cup is India's because India has never lost a world cup final (India played only one world cup final before that) while Australia loses every alternate World Cup final. These stats are a lot of fun :). However, Mr. Zaheer Khan had different plans. Having reached the final, our dear Indian bowlers began to think they are the best in business, almost equivalent to the likes of McGrath and company. Result - Zaheer Khan began the first over with a lot of aggression, a lot of sledging, those exchange of looks with the batsman .. all so perfect. The only thing that was below par was bowling. We almost lost the match in the first over. The rest of the match was just resting on the hope of a revival which was never to be. India had to chase 360. Sachin got out in the first over and with him went India's hope of lifting the cup. The rest of the match was merely a formality. So as I see it, the rest of the ten players owe the world cup to Sachin and to me.

World Cup 2007: After having enjoyed detachment from cricket (yes, detachment is really really peaceful), I want to once again follow this world cup with the same amount of enthusiasm, maybe one last time, hoping for a positive result. This is most probably Sachin's last world cup, and probably the only achievement missing from his glorious career. He has promised the fans back home that there will be something to cheer about when the team returns. I would be waiting for some six off some 'Caddick' announcing Sachin's intentions. I know there are a lot of players in the current Indian team who are looking good .. and also that Sachin has not been doing all that great in the past some time .. but I still believe or maybe want to believe that Sachin Tendulkar can still do anything. I want the WORLD CUP ... बस मुझे और कुछ नहीं पता :D

On the way

Have been off blogging for some days .. but will resume soon ... for now .. am at home .. Zurich can rest in peace for a few days, people can sleep in their rooms without having to worry about the laughter of a certain Indian guy living in Turnerstrasse 21.

Btw, the flight was great .. there were two Hindi movies in the flight ... Jaaneman and Khosla Ka Ghosla. Chose to start with the former 'coz of Preity Zinta :)

However, couldn't bear that one past the following few lines of the opening song

"Main Pareshan Hoon Ek Majboori Par
Hoga Gam Jaankar Saath Hoon Main Magar
Mujhko Rehna Padega Zara Doori Par
Sirf Do Hi Mahine Hai Seh Lo Agar
Mera Future Hai Teri Kasam
Mera Future Hai Jismein Piya"

I couldn't stand this even for Preity Zinta!

Anyway.. so then moved on to this other movie .. Khosla ka Ghosla .. this one was total fun. 2 hrs of total entertainment. A story about a typical middle class man KK Khosla who spends all his savings to build a "ghosla" to live in after retirement only to find it being possessed by a certain Mr. Kishan Khurana ... played by Boman Irani. And then it is upto the Khosla household to cheat back Kishan Khurana and get their house back. If Bollywood moved a step in the right direction with comedies like Hera Pheri and the MunnaBhai double, this one takes it a step further!

And yes, I don't know why ... but I listened to the last song "chak de phatte" of the movie at least 20 times ..maybe it just sounded too Indian .. or too Chandigarh'ian' :D

Randomisierte Algorithmen und Probabilistische Methoden

Don't look for your dictionaries - you won't find these words. This is the title of the course whose exam i have tomorrow. The lecture notes are in German and am having a great time learning German and Randomised Algorithms at the same time. What is more interesting is that the exam is open notes. Real fun!!!! You can't imagine how much fun it is when you come across words like 'Aufrittwahrscheinlichkeitserzeugende'. This is how the instructor puts it. In front of the class, she looks at me and says .."Well .. er .. how should I say .. er .. this .. er .. is an advantage for those who were born and brought up here in Switzerland. I am sure you will do well without the lecture notes too". And I was like .. "if you say so!" :D. But no matter what they do, no one can make me write lecture notes in class.
Btw, I am by no means complaining. In fact, I am pretty sure there is no univ in the world that could be better for me than this one .. this is even if I overlook the fact that it is in Switzerland :).

Just that I was getting a bit bored with the Google translator .. so thought of uttering a bit of crap here.

Something totally random

here are a few lines I wrote recently ... my first attempt at "so called poetry" .. and it is here unedited :)

Title : SNOW

There was a child
So innocent, so pure
Transparent like droplets of rain
Now he has grown
To be so serene, so calm
So composed, so correct
But, not transparent any more
The innocence, the purity are long gone
Or maybe not
Probably they still remain
The look is beautiful
Maybe more than ever
But it is all hidden behind that white cover
And yet that cover probably has to be there
For the world outside is too cold!!!


I didn't force you to read it :D ... however, now that you have read, please leave a comment.. Please note that I would consider it very very rude on your part to read this and not leave any comment!

An evening with Kishore Kumar :)

Today, while listening songs on musicindiaonline I landed at this.http://www.musicindiaonline.com/music/compilations/s/album.3369/
This is a compilation of a live show at Los Angeles performed by the legendary Kishore Kumar, arguably the best (male) playback singer of all time. It is quite a fantastic collection of songs. It starts off with the light comedy songs and then moved on to "heavy-weight music" as he puts it. Ended again with a few light ones where he was at his yoodling best :). I just wished the show would have ended with "Chalte Chalte mere ye geet ... ".. I think all Kishore Kumar shows should end with this .. probably he forgot about this song or maybe this was released after that performance. Anyway it was two hours of great entertainment. I thoroughly enjoyed the awesome Sunday evening with Kishore Kumar!!
By the way, if you are interested in listening to the songs at the above link, these songs are listed in alphabetical order .. I would suggest listen it in the order in which they are given here. http://www.yoodleeyoo.com/database/index.php?load=film&film=Kishore+Kumar+Live+at+Los+Angeles
This is the order in which they were sung at the show. This way it is much more fun, especially as Kishoreda gives an introduction before every song every time starting with "to doston ..." .. it is very very likeable. You get the feel as if the performance is going on for real. How I wish there was just one more enthusiast here for similar stuff. Life would be so much more fun then. Damn CKD!!!