अजीब बात है

अजीब सी बेचैनी है|
न जाने क्यूँ आज ऐसा महसूस होता है,
तस्सव्वुर में भी तो वह अब नहीं,
रातें भी इतनी तन्हा नहीं| :)

मेरी तन्हाई मेरी तन्हाई है.... :D

Chandrayaan - I

Just read a detailed write-up on the Chandrayaan - I, India's first launch vehicle to the Moon. It is supposed to be launched sometime in September this year, though a final date is not yet confirmed.

Chandrayaan - I will primarily be a remote sensing satellite, for sensing the lunar surface. This satellite is expected to map the lunar surface and create a 3-D atlas of the topography. The entire launch vehicle will contain 11 payloads, 5 by ISRO and 6 by international agencies like NASA, ESA and The Bulgarian Space Agency. The spacecraft will be launched by a modified version of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) PSLV-XL. The PSLV is the workhorse of ISRO, with a string of uninterrupted successes till date. The spacecraft is supposed to reach the moon in 5 and 1/2 days time.

There is a wonderful site put in place by ISRO covering all aspects of the mission. In case one is interested, it can be visted here.

Waiting eargrly for the launch and the pictures! By the way, here is a sample picture of central Delhi taken by the CARTOSAT-2A and presented to the Prime Minister by the ISRO team. CARTOSAT-2A was the main payload of the epic PSLV - C9 launch, which put 10 satellites into space creating a world record.

It is good to see, the space programme of our country now yielding commercial results in big magnitudes.

Blast It!

This is the expression I would like to borrow from Bertie Wooster, to describe the current political situation of my country. The entire world is under a tremendous economic stress, and all that our politicians can think of is the approaching general elections. Energy needs of our country, rising inflation and cross border terrorism are all at their disposal to exploit public sentiments and influence the voters. I hope we are educated enough to understand what is going on, and teach these people a lesson.

On something refreshing now. Watched a small clip of JS reciting "Dil mein ab dard-e-muhabbat". It sounds so different in his voice! Notice the way in which he comes down from the "meri ibaadat" to "ke siwa" in the second line of the verse. With all due respects to Lata Mangeshkar for her version, this short one truly brings out the feeling of the poet.

Yes, that is Babu in the frame to the left of JS.

A Small Change

As was expected the Reserve Bank fiddled with the rates, and forced the banks to up the lending rates for home, personal and car loans. I think I will wait for a couple of months, after which I will make my purchase, anyways.

The big question is whether to go in for a diesel, petrol or a dual one with LPG and petrol model of the stuff. Since LPG and the dual ones are really a pain to fill up in the city, I would prefer to choose between the diesel and petrol only versions.

Among other things, there would be a small change at my workplace. Let us see how it works out. It is better to do some work, rather than not having to do anything at all!

The IT return deadline is just a month away. Things have been simplified to some extent, and I am considering filing it through the online process this time. Hmm... seems interesting.

High Price - No Car

After the fuel price hike, we now have an inflation of around 13%. I have heard that the Reserve Bank of India, will further tighten the monetary structure. This means that lending rates are bound to increase. Already, the RBI has hiked the repo-rate, in effect discouraging the banks from lending. What impact it will have on the industries and the growth rate of the economy, is to be seen next.

I was planing to buy a car, which I've put on hold as of now. There is no point in applying for a car loan at a premium rate. Though the car loan rate may come down in the coming months, I suspect if the petrol and fuel prices would. There seems to be a genuine shortage of oil around the world.

With the government in election mode and all other political parties taking it to task, it seems our nation's economic policies are governed by election dates, rather than a comprehensive fiscal policy.

Khoya huya sa kuch

Well, here is another ghazal, which has been on my mind for sometime now. A typical "Nida Fazli" stuff about life and our involvement in it.

देखा हुआ सा कुछ है तो सोचा हुआ सा कुछ,
हर वक्त मेरे साथ है उलझा हुआ सा कुछ|

होता है यूँ भी रास्ता खुलता नही कहीं,
जंगल सा फैल जाता है खोया हुआ सा कुछ|

साहिल की गीली रेत पर बच्चों के खेल सा,
हर लम्हा मुझमें बनता बिखरता हुआ सा कुछ|

फ़ुरसत ने आज घर को सजाया कुछ इस तरह,
हर शय में मुस्कुराता है रोता हुआ सा कुछ|

This is from Nida's book, "Khoya Huaa Sa Kuch". By the way, the ghazal is a 14 syllable beher named: muzaari musamman akhrab makfuuf mahzuuf with the pattern: 221-2121-1221-212

Can you decode this yourselves? :-)

Another Analysis

Another ghazal, and it's beher analysis. This one is by "Bekhud Dehlvi", a poet of the patronage of "Daag". His real name was Sayed Wahiduddin Ahmed.

This time I will present the ghazal first and then give the syllabic breakdown.

न कह साक़ी बहार आने के दिन हैं,
जिगर के दाग़ छिल जाने के दिन हैं|

अदा सीखो अदा आने के दिन हैं,
अभी तो दूर शर्माने के दिन हैं|

गरीबाँ ढूंढते हैं हाथ मेरे,
चमन में फूल खिल जाने के दिन हैं|

घटाए ऊदी ऊदी कह रहीं हैं,
मय-ऐ-अंगूर खिचवाने के दिन हैं|

Now for the syllabic breakdown:

न(1) कह(2) साक़ी(22*) बहा(12)र_आने(22*) के(2*) दिन(2) हैं(2),
जिगर(12) के(2*) दाग़(21) छिल(2) जाने(22*) के (2*) दिन(2) हैं(2)|

Notice in the matla above, the 'R' of 'bahaar' merges with 'AA' of 'aane', to become 'Raane'. If you hear JS in the album recording, he always pronounces 'Raane ke din hain' giving him that extra beat to drag it and make it sound awfully well. Obviously, in the concert version, the rythmic beat is not required and you will notice he pauses at will, between 'bahaar' and 'aane' in that version. When a consonant(C) is followed by a long vowel (V), the consonant can be merged to the vowel allowing an extra syllable.

अदा(12*) सीखो(22*) अदा(12*) आने(22*) के(2*) दिन(2) हैं(2),
अभी(12*) तो(2*) दूर(21) शर्माने(222*) के(2*) दिन(2) हैं(2)|

'sharmaane' is scanned as 'shar(2)maa(2)ne(2*)'

गरीबाँ(122*) ढूंढते(212*) हैं (2*) हाथ(21) मेरे(22),
चमन (12) में (2*) फूल (21) खिल (2) जाने (22*) के(2*) दिन(2) हैं(2)|

घटाए(122*) ऊदी(22*) ऊदी(22*) कह(2) रहीं (12*) हैं(2),
मय-ऐ(12*)-अंगूर(221) खिचवाने (222*) के(2*) दिन(2) हैं(2)|

'Angoor' is scanned as 'Ang(2)-goo(2)-r(1)' and 'Khichwaane' as 'Khich(2)waa(2)ne(2*)'

The ghazal is a 11 syllable beher: hazaj musaddas mahzuuf, with the pattern as 1222-1222-122.

You can check all the sher fit the beher exactly.