A Pioneer

I don't know what winter does to me. Today was another sombre day at home. Fortunately, I put on a Begum Akhtar CD on the music system and it helped a lot in stabilizing my senses :)

Now, I have earlier remarked that BA, is one from my list of three favorite singers. She had pioneered the "semi-classical-ization" of the ghazals in our country. The album is unique in the sense that every ghazal is preceded by a short dialog by the 'Mallika-e-Ghazal'.

Below is ghazal that was all over me today, and a down-sampled version of the same.

ख़ुदा के वास्ते आ बेरुख़ी से काम न ले,
तड़प के फिर कोई दामन को तेरे थाम न ले|

बस एक सज्दा-ऐ-शुकराना पा-ऐ-नाज़ुक पर,
ये मैकदा है यहाँ पर ख़ुदा का नाम न ले|

ज़माने भर में हैं चर्चे मेरी तबाही के,
मैं डर रहा हूँ कहीं कोई तेरा नाम न ले|

मिटा दो शौक़ से मुझको मगर कहीं तुमसे,
ज़माना मेरी तबाही का इंतकाम न ले|

जिसे तू देख ले इक बार मस्त नज़रों से,
वो उम्र भर कभी हाथों में अपने जाम न ले|

रखूँ उम्मीद-ऐ-करम उससे अब मैं क्या 'साहिर',
की जब नज़र से भी ज़ालिम मेरा सलाम न ले|
-- साहिर भोपाली

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Blame

It is again that time of the year here. Sun disappears from the sky during the days and cold wind blows, pricking every skin. For me it is the time, when I am low-down, most disgusted with my life and my achievements of the year. Somehow I am always able to put the blame on the same thing.

Wonderfully said by 'Mahir Ratlami'

उनके आशिक़ की ज़िंदगी 'माहिर',
कितनी नाकामयाब होती है|

The 'matla' is interesting too....

जो नज़र कामयाब होती है,
आप अपना जवाब होती है|

Subprime Crisis

The US economy is in a bit of a problem. The subprime mortgages issue is now at its peak. I was just reading an article on the internet, which was detailing the efforts of the US State Treasury Department in mitigating the crisis.

We all have a lesson or two to learn from the situation. Do not borrow more than you can repay. And nothing in this world always surges northwards. Yes, not even property prices. Nature and time are powerful factors that can make any speculation or rule go wrong.

The US State Treasury also deserves some praise. It has stepped in and mediated at the right time. The lending firms too realize that it is fruitless to stress on contractual agreements, when their borrowers are in no position to pay the higher interest rates. The significant comment that came from the Senior VP of Mortgage Bankers Association that, "All these people are contractually obligated to pay these loans on the terms they agreed to pay on. We need to focus on people who, without this help, wouldn't be able to stay in their homes".

The last line in the above statement is a perfect balance of business continuity and the human factor of doing business. Can such a thought even occur to entrepreneurs, politicians, trade union leaders and business houses of our country?

Theory and Practical

In every field, be it religion, science, arts, sports, economics and others, there are two different kinds of contributors. One are the researchers who dwell in detail about a single topic and come up with new theories in their respective fields. These theories provide the stepping stones for the other genre, the "implementors" who actually put this theory into practice, by their innovations, experience and talent. Theory which gathers dust in the books is of no value, till implemented for public use. Let us take examples of some "implementors" in this blog.

Religion: Here in the name of texts we have the sacred "Veds" and "Upanishads". These are very difficult to understand as they dwell upon the basic structure of our existence. However, there have been a number of preachers who have brought the core knowledge to the common man in a palatable format. For example, Sankaracharya with his "Advaita Vedant", Swami Dayananda with the establishment of "Arya Samaj" and Swami Vivekananda with his speeches on Hinduism in the U.S. and his complete works, that try to simplify the language of the "Veds".

Science: Offers plenty of examples. Thomas Alva Edision, is one who probably revolutionized the entire concept of using scientific research, for commercial purposes. His entrepreneurship opened the flood gates for inventions of technological devices in the field of science and technology.

Sports: For this I will select a more contemporary and "local" hero, Rahul Dravid! Yes, in case you have watched him bat, he demonstrates that all that is written in the text books on batting in cricket, can actually be applied on the field. What is more important is that he is phenomenally successful, and improvises on all conditions across the entire world where international cricket is played. Though the "best batsman" of our times can go wrong in tough conditions, "The Wall" rarely makes a mistake.

Art(Music): Some may even chuckle after reading the name, Jagjit Singh. But the fact is that he has always tried to package the Hindustani Classical music into a more attractive form for the younger generation which is bombarded by the western music broad casted from the skies above. In return he has always received brickbats and criticism from the "connoisseurs". He has been critised for introducing santoor, guitar and synthesizers in 'ghazals'. Seniors have frowned when he demonstrates his strong knowledge in sound recording and sound engineering. But these masters, forget that the entire non-film commercial music industry was brought in by him in our country of which even the classical music is an integral part now.

To finish off, just a small sample, where the master is trying hard with the sound-engineer, to get the difference between a note to the correct frequency. Isn't it great to see a "semi"-classical singer trying to get the sound effects right, so that it pleases the audience?

This was on 6th of May 2006, before the San-Fransico concert. Along with the usual band of his musicians, it is a pleasure to see Deepak Khazanchi on guitar, albeit a much older look now!