When the streets they shine under borrowed light and the people brush against each other very few souls can claim to be immune from the general excitement which lingers in the narrow alleys of The Lower Bazaar.
I don't venture out there quite often but when I do I can't hold myself back from marvelling at the insane cacophony produced by the crowd which in spite of itself doesn't actually hurt your ears . The same cannot be said about the noise which those machines generate , even when they are the sole occupants of premises where they are placed .
Evenings are cool at this time of the year and hence one can see people all dressed up in their heaviest attires which to be sure may eventually turn out to be superfluous items given the fact that the human body itself emanates a good deal of heat . We can then see young children pestering their hapless parents to allow them to remove those heavy woollen jackets which were placed upon their slender shoulders by the concerned mothers before leaving for the Lower Bazaar.
One often gets confused in the Bazaar . So many bodies and so many faces . Some look familiar while the others actually are . In small towns all faces are familiar. Everybody is an acquaintance . It's really nice to see smiles waiting to break out on their faces just as they come near you. My hands are always cold , thus it's a nice feeling to shake hands with warm ones .
The Bazaar is located on the slope of the hill and as you go higher you come closer to the Ridge. It's a kind of social elevation too. The narrow alleys soon give way to broad roads , but what remains the same is the conspicuous presence of human population .
The wind up here is a lot cooler and now those jackets and coats reacquire their lost dignity and from being otiose items hindering our movement become our second skin. I feel a little sorry for the mendicants who have no choice but to wrap themselves up with those sorry looking rags which till quite recently were used by the more privileged classes to protect inanimate objects from the chilling cold.
When the time comes to return back home I feel like breathing in the cold mountain air and taking in the sights and sounds of the market and the Bazaar. My stride is leisurely but I can sense that it is also brisk , even as the the warm breath from my mouth rises above in the cold air and disappears without a trace.
October 22, 2009
October 15, 2009
Diwali shopping and the Perils involved
This small article is meant for those who are keen on protecting themselves from unprovoked attacks from fellow shoppers and their kids.
When a crowd gathers in a shop which is almost half the size of an Industrialist's drawing room, what follows is a belligerent spectacle where the consumers who look quite innocuous , suddenly turn into ferocious creatures competing with each other to gain the upper hand in the on going tussle to grab whatever comes their way while they swiftly and to some extent indecently scamper past the fully loaded shelves of the glittering store.
Dexterity and adroitness are really tested in such establishments when a man's body shape determines how easily he can maneuver past his peers to reach the gift hamper placed on the last visible shelf ( which to be sure was placed there for allowing people to display acts of gallantry).
Another interesting feature of these stores is the presence of an outrageously large number of salesmen who instead of helping out the consumers act as impediments when it comes to browsing through the shop and discovering the prices of various goods.
It is in such stores and on such occasions that male-female bonding is seen to reach it's highest point as young men devoid of any intimate female presence in their lives try to deliberately place themselves near attractive wenches so that the latter may have the opportunity to brush against their bodies and send down some delectable shivers. It is in such stores that certain acts which would have been called uncouth behaviour in the non-festive season are suddenly branded as the signs of efficiency and alacrity ( and include snatching the chocolate box before the old lady can lay her hands on it, breaking the billing queue by sneaking in while others are fighting for space, shouting the lungs out to hasten the departure of the person waiting to get his gifts wrapped, pushing and sometimes pulling others and then uttering an accented sorry etc.).
Anyone who is new to this country would mistake such stores to be charitable institutions distributing free goods and all those who have gathered there as well dressed beggars. Such is the anxiety and desperation to barge into the stores and buy as many things as possible.
The store which a month ago would have been a picture of lazy elegance now gets transformed into a wall hanging depicting The American Civil War (sans Vivien Leigh) . The metal detecting machine which used to resonate with the beep occasionally before the festive season now wears an exhausted expression and some say has stopped giving any sound at all owing to the presence of more metal than in the coffers of the Oil Barons from middle east.
If patience is a virtue and bargaining our need, you just have to look around yourself to confirm the fact. In spite of the mad rush and apparent impatience , people actually are the human personification of patience. Notwithstanding the fact that their child is being pushed around by men 3 times his height or that their clothes are undergoing barbaric torture at the hands of the unruly mob of consumers, they still have the patience to bargain and ask for discounts . Even while hundreds of people are waiting to get but a glimpse of the displayed merchandise which currently is being blocked by their shapely figure, they merrily spend more time than is necessary in finally making a decision as to what to buy and what to just behold, admire and then place back on the shelf (an action is instigated by the price tag ) .
Another danger which lurks around in the precincts of such stores is that of pick pockets and other such damnable characters who often face disappointment due to the excessive expenditures already incurred by their potential victims at the behest of their wives.
In such commotion and conundrum we can always spot a couple of fellows who have decided upon dispensing with the last part of their business commitments before leaving the store and hence are scene shouting at the top of their voices into their mobile handsets and also staring at other loudmouthed individuals as if to remind these others of their impertinence and ill mannerisms.
Consumerism has had had one very important effect upon the psyche of the people. Unlike the ancient times of chronic impoverishment when every purchase elicited a rather apologetic and almost repentant reaction from the consumer , nowadays the happiness which marks the faces of the victorious lot is enviable. How happy and cheerful their faces look, their sense of achievement may only be paralleled by Archimedes' uncensored elation at having discovered the first principles of buoyancy.
The entire street and nowadays malls ( for those who frequent those establishments) where such stores are located looks a lot like Noah's ark where a variety of each species has been warmly accommodated.
Festivals truly remind us of who we actually are, and this I say to honour all those who have become experienced campaigners when it comes to shopping during this season and under such demanding circumstances.
When a crowd gathers in a shop which is almost half the size of an Industrialist's drawing room, what follows is a belligerent spectacle where the consumers who look quite innocuous , suddenly turn into ferocious creatures competing with each other to gain the upper hand in the on going tussle to grab whatever comes their way while they swiftly and to some extent indecently scamper past the fully loaded shelves of the glittering store.
Dexterity and adroitness are really tested in such establishments when a man's body shape determines how easily he can maneuver past his peers to reach the gift hamper placed on the last visible shelf ( which to be sure was placed there for allowing people to display acts of gallantry).
Another interesting feature of these stores is the presence of an outrageously large number of salesmen who instead of helping out the consumers act as impediments when it comes to browsing through the shop and discovering the prices of various goods.
It is in such stores and on such occasions that male-female bonding is seen to reach it's highest point as young men devoid of any intimate female presence in their lives try to deliberately place themselves near attractive wenches so that the latter may have the opportunity to brush against their bodies and send down some delectable shivers. It is in such stores that certain acts which would have been called uncouth behaviour in the non-festive season are suddenly branded as the signs of efficiency and alacrity ( and include snatching the chocolate box before the old lady can lay her hands on it, breaking the billing queue by sneaking in while others are fighting for space, shouting the lungs out to hasten the departure of the person waiting to get his gifts wrapped, pushing and sometimes pulling others and then uttering an accented sorry etc.).
Anyone who is new to this country would mistake such stores to be charitable institutions distributing free goods and all those who have gathered there as well dressed beggars. Such is the anxiety and desperation to barge into the stores and buy as many things as possible.
The store which a month ago would have been a picture of lazy elegance now gets transformed into a wall hanging depicting The American Civil War (sans Vivien Leigh) . The metal detecting machine which used to resonate with the beep occasionally before the festive season now wears an exhausted expression and some say has stopped giving any sound at all owing to the presence of more metal than in the coffers of the Oil Barons from middle east.
If patience is a virtue and bargaining our need, you just have to look around yourself to confirm the fact. In spite of the mad rush and apparent impatience , people actually are the human personification of patience. Notwithstanding the fact that their child is being pushed around by men 3 times his height or that their clothes are undergoing barbaric torture at the hands of the unruly mob of consumers, they still have the patience to bargain and ask for discounts . Even while hundreds of people are waiting to get but a glimpse of the displayed merchandise which currently is being blocked by their shapely figure, they merrily spend more time than is necessary in finally making a decision as to what to buy and what to just behold, admire and then place back on the shelf (an action is instigated by the price tag ) .
Another danger which lurks around in the precincts of such stores is that of pick pockets and other such damnable characters who often face disappointment due to the excessive expenditures already incurred by their potential victims at the behest of their wives.
In such commotion and conundrum we can always spot a couple of fellows who have decided upon dispensing with the last part of their business commitments before leaving the store and hence are scene shouting at the top of their voices into their mobile handsets and also staring at other loudmouthed individuals as if to remind these others of their impertinence and ill mannerisms.
Consumerism has had had one very important effect upon the psyche of the people. Unlike the ancient times of chronic impoverishment when every purchase elicited a rather apologetic and almost repentant reaction from the consumer , nowadays the happiness which marks the faces of the victorious lot is enviable. How happy and cheerful their faces look, their sense of achievement may only be paralleled by Archimedes' uncensored elation at having discovered the first principles of buoyancy.
The entire street and nowadays malls ( for those who frequent those establishments) where such stores are located looks a lot like Noah's ark where a variety of each species has been warmly accommodated.
Festivals truly remind us of who we actually are, and this I say to honour all those who have become experienced campaigners when it comes to shopping during this season and under such demanding circumstances.
October 13, 2009
On a Political issue.- please pardon the grammatical errors.
Yesterday I was watching N.D.T.V. 24/7 ( I am sorry I don't have any means to insert the multiplication symbol) . Barkha Dutt was hosting a talk show who's name I deliberately choose to ignore. The hot topic of discussion was whether Mumbai should be called Mumbai or Bombay .......
Yes this show was for real . Being hosted by Barkha Dutt it would originally have been telecast at prime time (although I managed to watch a repeat telecast at 1 in the afternoon).
Now in a city where the mafia is thriving, the local transport system is in tatters, where freak accidents are gaining alarming proportions, the drainage system is pathetic, where Terrorists attacks are an impending danger and have claimed atleast 10,000 lives in the last 20 years ( in the form of attacks and riots) , this issue was the last thing which any conscientious citizen would have expected to see on television.
I sincerely believe that the question discussed in the show is quite important for all the news channels and some political parties . For the news channels it is important because they would have to then change their news reports accordingly , substituting Mumbai for Bombay or vice versa.
As far as the political parties are concerned their obsession with Mumbai shall end with it's importance as the financial capital of the country. I believe the Thackrey clan wouldn't have given a damn for the Mumbai issue had it been just another ordinary Indian town with ordinary citizens and not some rich industrialists or filmstars.
There is one more point I want to make. Maharashtrian identity and culture is not reflected in Mumbai. Mumbai has been , from the time of it's inception a cosmopolitan city...the city's heritage buildings bear testimony to that fact...what from Prince of Wales Museum to The Victoria Terminus.
I have no idea how these petty parties have been able to declare Mumbai as the representative of Maharshtrian identity. There is nothing remotely Maharashtrian about Mumbai. Having stayed for 5 yrs in Pune I can assert this quite confidently. If at all you want to relate any city with Maharashtrian culture I would point to Pune.
How can we call a city intrinsically Maharashtrian when it has never been culturally dominated by the Maharashtrians. The real agenda behind this senseless movement , which tries to cheat us into believing that Maharashtra is Mumbai, is that the power hungry politicians want to control the rich municipality and administrative regime of Mumba,i to fill their own coffers.
I would also like to say something about the Thackrey clan. They to be fair are not a unique family and have no unique agenda. Each state where the local population (historically speaking) is in the danger of being overrun by migrants , has many such self proclaimed protectors. And this has been true from times immemorial. In Maharashtra, this problem has been reduced to Mumbai. The Shiv Sena or the MNS have placed themselves in major urban centres of the state and indulge in hooliganism in the name of what not. Anyone who has heard them speak specially two leaders from these parties , would easily recognize them as petty local goons and lowlives who are thriving because the public in this country is dumber than they are. In fact this holds good for almost the entire breed of politicians.
As far as the congress is concerned I feel it is time that they stopped being hypocrites and came forward with a solid and digestible stand. The NCP is a good for nothing party which ,even for the sake of it ,has no ideology and hence has tacitly admitted that it's only ideology is to promote power grabbing policies.
I am writing this article not as a distant observer governed by bias, but because I have had the privilege of staying in Pune for 5 long years as a student. And hence I had every opportunity to investigate each and every minute feature of this issue.
Apart from the fact that each state and people have their own culture and social temperament (with the exception of the Punjabis who are largehearted and hence accept everyone for what they are) the local residents were as far removed from the MNS or the Shiv Sena as the "Outsiders".
Even if we admit that outstation students were targeted by these goons, it does not mean that the local Puneite was garlanded by them.
What this means is that such parties rake up non existent issues and blow them out of proportions ;to make the matters worse the people in general are waiting to be defrauded by these lowlives.
I would thus appeal to the common man (If there is anyone who can be called so) to be well informed on such issues and take intellectually motivated stands and not follow pricks and thugs under the illusion that they will fight for your rights. No one out there cares for you. To force them to do so, you'll have to thrash them politically as well as physically . Those who claim to be your benefactors are in fact trying to demean your status to further dominate you and control your behaviour. After all, once this ludicrous issue ends, what would inspire you to vote for them?
Please wake up.....this isn't about Maharashtra..it's about Mumbai...! Why not pressurise the state governments to decentralize the economy so that migration is curbed. That ways Mumabi would no longer need MNS and Shiv Sena . Their existence is purely dependent upon Mumbai's unique status of being the financial capital. If this is the attitude then Delhi, the country's political capital should be claimed in equal shares by the Punjabis and The Haryanvis!
Like South Africa we should now have more than one capital . That ways petty provincial politics shall recede to the background and it would also pave way for the eventual overhauling of our useless economic system..by transforming it into a decentralised economy where each region has cities as employment friendly as Mumbai.
Yes this show was for real . Being hosted by Barkha Dutt it would originally have been telecast at prime time (although I managed to watch a repeat telecast at 1 in the afternoon).
Now in a city where the mafia is thriving, the local transport system is in tatters, where freak accidents are gaining alarming proportions, the drainage system is pathetic, where Terrorists attacks are an impending danger and have claimed atleast 10,000 lives in the last 20 years ( in the form of attacks and riots) , this issue was the last thing which any conscientious citizen would have expected to see on television.
I sincerely believe that the question discussed in the show is quite important for all the news channels and some political parties . For the news channels it is important because they would have to then change their news reports accordingly , substituting Mumbai for Bombay or vice versa.
As far as the political parties are concerned their obsession with Mumbai shall end with it's importance as the financial capital of the country. I believe the Thackrey clan wouldn't have given a damn for the Mumbai issue had it been just another ordinary Indian town with ordinary citizens and not some rich industrialists or filmstars.
There is one more point I want to make. Maharashtrian identity and culture is not reflected in Mumbai. Mumbai has been , from the time of it's inception a cosmopolitan city...the city's heritage buildings bear testimony to that fact...what from Prince of Wales Museum to The Victoria Terminus.
I have no idea how these petty parties have been able to declare Mumbai as the representative of Maharshtrian identity. There is nothing remotely Maharashtrian about Mumbai. Having stayed for 5 yrs in Pune I can assert this quite confidently. If at all you want to relate any city with Maharashtrian culture I would point to Pune.
How can we call a city intrinsically Maharashtrian when it has never been culturally dominated by the Maharashtrians. The real agenda behind this senseless movement , which tries to cheat us into believing that Maharashtra is Mumbai, is that the power hungry politicians want to control the rich municipality and administrative regime of Mumba,i to fill their own coffers.
I would also like to say something about the Thackrey clan. They to be fair are not a unique family and have no unique agenda. Each state where the local population (historically speaking) is in the danger of being overrun by migrants , has many such self proclaimed protectors. And this has been true from times immemorial. In Maharashtra, this problem has been reduced to Mumbai. The Shiv Sena or the MNS have placed themselves in major urban centres of the state and indulge in hooliganism in the name of what not. Anyone who has heard them speak specially two leaders from these parties , would easily recognize them as petty local goons and lowlives who are thriving because the public in this country is dumber than they are. In fact this holds good for almost the entire breed of politicians.
As far as the congress is concerned I feel it is time that they stopped being hypocrites and came forward with a solid and digestible stand. The NCP is a good for nothing party which ,even for the sake of it ,has no ideology and hence has tacitly admitted that it's only ideology is to promote power grabbing policies.
I am writing this article not as a distant observer governed by bias, but because I have had the privilege of staying in Pune for 5 long years as a student. And hence I had every opportunity to investigate each and every minute feature of this issue.
Apart from the fact that each state and people have their own culture and social temperament (with the exception of the Punjabis who are largehearted and hence accept everyone for what they are) the local residents were as far removed from the MNS or the Shiv Sena as the "Outsiders".
Even if we admit that outstation students were targeted by these goons, it does not mean that the local Puneite was garlanded by them.
What this means is that such parties rake up non existent issues and blow them out of proportions ;to make the matters worse the people in general are waiting to be defrauded by these lowlives.
I would thus appeal to the common man (If there is anyone who can be called so) to be well informed on such issues and take intellectually motivated stands and not follow pricks and thugs under the illusion that they will fight for your rights. No one out there cares for you. To force them to do so, you'll have to thrash them politically as well as physically . Those who claim to be your benefactors are in fact trying to demean your status to further dominate you and control your behaviour. After all, once this ludicrous issue ends, what would inspire you to vote for them?
Please wake up.....this isn't about Maharashtra..it's about Mumbai...! Why not pressurise the state governments to decentralize the economy so that migration is curbed. That ways Mumabi would no longer need MNS and Shiv Sena . Their existence is purely dependent upon Mumbai's unique status of being the financial capital. If this is the attitude then Delhi, the country's political capital should be claimed in equal shares by the Punjabis and The Haryanvis!
Like South Africa we should now have more than one capital . That ways petty provincial politics shall recede to the background and it would also pave way for the eventual overhauling of our useless economic system..by transforming it into a decentralised economy where each region has cities as employment friendly as Mumbai.
October 8, 2009
On SHAVING
I don't know why I started shaving (or may be I do)
but the fact is that I hate shaving.Every third day when I face the mirror it shows
the emergence of facial hair.I get concerned but do nothing about it.
After a day or two I don't have to look in the mirror to confirm my fears
that a beard has grown in the place of those infant hair because not only can I feel it but also the look from my mother puts to rest any doubts on the issue.
I don't fear it's growth per se but I hate it because it's arrival also brings along the pious moment when I would be coerced into shaving. Normally I shave once a week although many have told me that daily shaving is the way to go the mere thought of picking up the brush on a daily basis to soften the beard and then to wash the blade and use it on your innocent skin.
For me shaving even once in a week is such a cumbersome activity that it
forces me to acquire a rather serious and to some extent irritated countenance
whenever I have to prepare for that ordeal.
Shaving is so unnatural but I don't know why people associate virtue with it.
They feel that those don't who don't shave (I am talking about those who like me don't want either a full beard or a clean shaven face due to the inconveniences posed by both of them) are people of shoddy moral values and of an incorrigible indolent disposition. The fact is both these things especially the latter is true to a great extent but then you can't generalise.
Shaving is a waste of time and resources(both natural and man made) if done periodically. If however it is left to the whims and fancies of the individuals it would lead to the holistic growth of the society as well as the hapless individuals like me who till this point have been at the wrong end of the barrel.
but the fact is that I hate shaving.Every third day when I face the mirror it shows
the emergence of facial hair.I get concerned but do nothing about it.
After a day or two I don't have to look in the mirror to confirm my fears
that a beard has grown in the place of those infant hair because not only can I feel it but also the look from my mother puts to rest any doubts on the issue.
I don't fear it's growth per se but I hate it because it's arrival also brings along the pious moment when I would be coerced into shaving. Normally I shave once a week although many have told me that daily shaving is the way to go the mere thought of picking up the brush on a daily basis to soften the beard and then to wash the blade and use it on your innocent skin.
For me shaving even once in a week is such a cumbersome activity that it
forces me to acquire a rather serious and to some extent irritated countenance
whenever I have to prepare for that ordeal.
Shaving is so unnatural but I don't know why people associate virtue with it.
They feel that those don't who don't shave (I am talking about those who like me don't want either a full beard or a clean shaven face due to the inconveniences posed by both of them) are people of shoddy moral values and of an incorrigible indolent disposition. The fact is both these things especially the latter is true to a great extent but then you can't generalise.
Shaving is a waste of time and resources(both natural and man made) if done periodically. If however it is left to the whims and fancies of the individuals it would lead to the holistic growth of the society as well as the hapless individuals like me who till this point have been at the wrong end of the barrel.
On Female Emancipation
Before I write something let me take some precautions by apologising to the whole creed of die hard feminists whose appetites are fed by inflammatory articles such as this . Feminists are wonderful creatures who have taken upon themselves the onerous task to work for the betterment of their kind (although no one really knows what their kind really is). Most of them the times their arguments commence with female foeticide and ended with females' absolute right to dress whichever way they want to . It is thus quite reluctantly that I have come before the keyboard today , given their well known belligerent and extremely cynical nature.
There are a great many number of N.G.O's working towards female emancipation in this male dominated society but I am quite skeptical when it comes to rating their credibility.
Most of them comprise of the wives of well to do bureaucrats and corporate 1st ladies who need to kill time and consume freebies. All such gatherings are marked by elegance and finesse ....freely flowing beverages and exotic snacks...not to mention the 7 course meals which are served in the best bone china ever manufactured by the enterprise. The nature of these gatherings stands in sharp contrast to the cause for which they have been allegedly convened. For example : A party in Sun n' Sand, Mumbai would be organised to discuss the plight of the destitute. And we'll have Mrs. x seductively sipping on a Hawaiian cocktail while trying to come out with a workable solution for providing clean drinking water for the slum dwellers nearby.
Coming now to the issue of Women's rights...these N.G.O.'s have indeed done remarkable work. All their deliberations are structured keeping in mind the oppressed females of posh localities who feel terribly exploited and oppressed if they are not allowed to have extra marital affairs and sport revealing evening gowns. I sympathise with the male species. Women decorate themselves so that the males should look at them...and when they do those very females feel insecure and in danger of being robbed of their modesty.
All such feminist moves thus originate in the drawing rooms of the elite and are completely exhausted before they can travel beyond the confines of their big mansions. The result is that those who actually need a dose of emancipation don't even come to know of the grand designs which their benefactors and patrons have sketched out sitting in a room 1000 miles away while munching on grapes from Seville and apples from New Zealand.
In class, I often got confused when each and every reference to female emancipation triggered a synchronised sigh and self conscious reaction from my female classmates there. Now the point is that female emancipation is not an issue which concerns those who already are in a super emancipated state .
Female emancipation concerns those who aren't allowed to watch Television and hence can't view those psuedo intellectual debates on feminism. It's about those who don't even know what this feminism is all about.
I shall continue this discourse but write now I need to eat food....
There are a great many number of N.G.O's working towards female emancipation in this male dominated society but I am quite skeptical when it comes to rating their credibility.
Most of them comprise of the wives of well to do bureaucrats and corporate 1st ladies who need to kill time and consume freebies. All such gatherings are marked by elegance and finesse ....freely flowing beverages and exotic snacks...not to mention the 7 course meals which are served in the best bone china ever manufactured by the enterprise. The nature of these gatherings stands in sharp contrast to the cause for which they have been allegedly convened. For example : A party in Sun n' Sand, Mumbai would be organised to discuss the plight of the destitute. And we'll have Mrs. x seductively sipping on a Hawaiian cocktail while trying to come out with a workable solution for providing clean drinking water for the slum dwellers nearby.
Coming now to the issue of Women's rights...these N.G.O.'s have indeed done remarkable work. All their deliberations are structured keeping in mind the oppressed females of posh localities who feel terribly exploited and oppressed if they are not allowed to have extra marital affairs and sport revealing evening gowns. I sympathise with the male species. Women decorate themselves so that the males should look at them...and when they do those very females feel insecure and in danger of being robbed of their modesty.
All such feminist moves thus originate in the drawing rooms of the elite and are completely exhausted before they can travel beyond the confines of their big mansions. The result is that those who actually need a dose of emancipation don't even come to know of the grand designs which their benefactors and patrons have sketched out sitting in a room 1000 miles away while munching on grapes from Seville and apples from New Zealand.
In class, I often got confused when each and every reference to female emancipation triggered a synchronised sigh and self conscious reaction from my female classmates there. Now the point is that female emancipation is not an issue which concerns those who already are in a super emancipated state .
Female emancipation concerns those who aren't allowed to watch Television and hence can't view those psuedo intellectual debates on feminism. It's about those who don't even know what this feminism is all about.
I shall continue this discourse but write now I need to eat food....
October 7, 2009
ON Music in general
I confess that I have not earned any degree from Trinity in music but that in no way is something which can legitimately hold me back when it comes to appreciating and talking about life in general and music in particular.
Before we officially launch into the realm of Rock music and start dissecting each and every form it is desirable to get a bird's eye view of the whole concept of music and it's antecedents.
My brain which is fond of instinctive speculation takes me away to the first century of civilization when Human intellect for the first time identified itself. Prior to this our intelligence had an unnoticed existence. By recognizing it's existence we validated it's purpose.
Music, brethren, is an intelligent form of human behaviour( although headbanging may seem to refute this claim)
The ability to identify musical patterns, appreciate them, compose them, perform and lastly enjoy them requires great proportions of sagacity and intellect. But what makes music such a delectable human activity is the fact that unlike other scientific pursuits music can be audaciously experimented with.
A tribesman who derived pleasure by playing on a piece of wood is as great a musician as Mozart in his hey days.
Music is a term so generous that it envisages almost every artistic amusement involving humming and swaying as music short of noise and rioting.
To fully appreciate music two things are necessary: Temperament and Temperance.
By temperament we mean looking upon music for it's own sake. By temperance we mean uncommon secularism when it comes to critically analysing art.
Any art to be fully appreciated requires that the person appreciating it divorces himself from preconceived prejudices, morality and biases.
Unless this is done no art can be properly understood.
October 5, 2009
A Valley
A small herd of schoolgirls dressed in Pink and white made their way out of the unfenced ground. Marching to the tune of the fife and the Drum whose membrane bore the signs of years of heavy beating and affection. Just a few feet beneath the field was a small stream or rivulet...you may call it whatever you want which didn't seem to be in a hurry and was flowing with a carefree stride. The mountains were looking down upon their wards and their ever watchful gaze placated the concerned mothers of the errant boys who broke the files to scamper past the old school building and into the corn field where stood cute scarecrows which beckoned youth and infancy alike to flock to them.
The beauty of the scene lay not it's simplicity but in it's complexity. Behind all those simple and plain portraits there was a complex maze of contrasting emotions and overtures.
I stepped out of the car to click a snap and ended up clicking a small piece of life all alive and dancing before my eyes.
Valleys are beautiful because they are closer to the earth and nearer to the mountains. There is a sense of calm and serenity which resides there. One can rise up and stoop down all at the same time without actually doing either. The lull which marks the dusk is occasionally broken by a couple of young children who play blissfully in the silence and seclusion of their world.I also saw some girls thursting their beautiful backs on to the pile of fodder and chirping away with a wild excitement in their eyes. An old farmer returning home with a shabby bag clinging on to his muddy shirt. A woman with a sickle in her hand briskly walking on the extreme corner of the road staring inquisitively at the presence of an alien being.
The beauty of the scene lay not it's simplicity but in it's complexity. Behind all those simple and plain portraits there was a complex maze of contrasting emotions and overtures.
I stepped out of the car to click a snap and ended up clicking a small piece of life all alive and dancing before my eyes.
Valleys are beautiful because they are closer to the earth and nearer to the mountains. There is a sense of calm and serenity which resides there. One can rise up and stoop down all at the same time without actually doing either. The lull which marks the dusk is occasionally broken by a couple of young children who play blissfully in the silence and seclusion of their world.I also saw some girls thursting their beautiful backs on to the pile of fodder and chirping away with a wild excitement in their eyes. An old farmer returning home with a shabby bag clinging on to his muddy shirt. A woman with a sickle in her hand briskly walking on the extreme corner of the road staring inquisitively at the presence of an alien being.
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