Tuesday, October 12, 2010

An Ode...

She gave me a reason to smile each day
Whenever I was lost, she showed me the way
She was the guiding light, when I was in the dark
In every little thing I am today, she left her mark

She was my friend ... when I wanted to talk
She was my companion, in life's every walk
She was my music, she was in every song...
With her in my life, nothing could go wrong

She gave me the strength, when I would feel low
Every time I needed her, she would just know
Her love was unconditional, so divine and so pure
For all my problems, she was the remedy..the cure

She was the answer to every question I had
Always by my side, in times good or bad
Whenever I had bruises, she would hug me tight
She taught me to be a winner, never give up without a fight

She celebrated my success, my joys she shared
When I was lonely, she told me that she cared
She was there to comfort, when I was in tears
She gave me the courage to fight all my fears

She was my guardian angel who gave me hope...
When I faced challenges, and situations I couldn't cope.
I asked her for anything ... she would never say no
Made me wonder, without her ... how far will I go...

She taught me a lesson ... Life isn't always what you expect
I should work towards my dreams, never look back in regret.
I did not believe in God, I believed there is none
But I sure believe now, in Her ... I have seen one!

I asked her once, "tell me..are you for real?"
"You are always there for me ... so special I feel"
"Son.." she answered, "Dont forget..I am your Mother"
Well I know for a fact ... there can be no other!

But then came a day, when she was gone..
Her journey was complete ... and I need to move on...
She has gone to heaven, I dont believe it still
In fond memories she remains, and always will...


I miss you mom!
Maybe in another life...I will find you there!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

footprints in the snow...

I'm always there...when your heart is filled with sorrow and despair 
I'll carry you...when you need a friend 
This is all that you need to know... 
You'll find my footprints in the snow...

Thursday, July 8, 2010

hold me down...


I don't know why everytime I wanna fly 
somebody always tries 
to hold me down... hold me down... 
I'm losing my faith every single time I try 
no one is on my side 
don't let me drown... let me drown

thats me in the corner

That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight, I'm...
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it

Thursday, April 22, 2010

commentator / repeater..

yes.....we have heard this before...now how many times will you rant the same lines...think of some new lines. i can now almost predict what the commentators are going to say during the IPL match...
here is a collection of lines which you will get to hear in every single IPL match.... our commentators follow some strict guidelines and scripts...cant blame them...he he :) its their 'style'!
01. "thats the MRF Blimp.. (ohhh WOW!!...what is a blimp??)...flying high and overseeing things. This is the first time we see a blimp in India, technology comes to IPL. MRF is the leading tyre manufacturing company
in India and also runs the MRF pace academy, the legend Dennis Lillee is the director..(yawn ....abe kitni baar bologey?). Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma are the ______..." so on and so forth. Sometimes, the same lines are repeated in each innings...it is irritating.
my question - Why is damn blimp there... what technology and what purpose? it does not even give you any aeriel shots of the ground, neither does it fly arround and tell about the weather....its like a gas balloon with wings and an electronic advertising board flashing MRF....crap
lesser known fact - The blimp actually never travelled to all the venues....broadcasters fool the TV audience by showing in between recorded footages of the blimp ...even when the blimp is NOT actually there....haw! I was there for the Delhi - Bangalore match at Kotla... and the freakin blimp was nowhere in the horizon on a clear night....cummon ... itna jhooth! Why ?
02. "there is the Commisioner, Lalit Modi - he must be a happy man seeing the way things are going..." Yeah...we know that prick...and why shouldn't he be happy! Hats off to him for keeping the scandal under cover for 3 years in a row! hail Modi ... he should be the PM of India....
my view - Lalit Modi and his goons should be kicked out...and he should just stay away from cricket....he is a virus! And yes...has spread it well across the system. Dont know what impact all this will have in the next edition of this carnival.
03. whenever a young under 23 cricketer takes a catch, dives and saves a run or hits the odd boundary - the commentator goes.."..he would be in reconing for the under 23 cricketer of the year....what a young talent. Rohit Sharma won it last year..."
04. even when those sitter catches are taken by the fielders, they are quoted as being "Karbonn kamaal catch" - its like qualifying each catch as the best catch of the match...
05. Ravi Shastri at the toss..."..we have the 2 captains, the match referee...ALL IN READINESS."
06. Siva on Praveen Kumar - "He has the ability of swinging the ball both ways." (whack - he goes for a boundary!) And Siva says this every time without fail...does he realize?
07. Kumble on screen - "Kumble - the wily ol' fox...a fierce competitor...always looking for wickets..he does not turn the ball much...."
08. when Muralitharan is rested - "...wonder why Murali is not in the playing 11, he can make the ball turn even on glass...and would have been very useful on this wicket...."
09. At the MoM awards - "That was a terrific innings. blah blah ... you paced your innings well....what was going through your mind when you were out there in the middle? Did you set yourself a target...."
my thought - I dont think when the batsman is out there in the middle, he calculates so much....his focus is on the next delivery to be bowled. Who has the time to set targets....but when one wins the MoM for batting... it seems it was all planned and easy.
10. the pitch report by far seems to be the most useless piece of information provided by the so called "experts" - they cover almost everything, all possible conditions in one breath - just to be safe...e.g. " This is a hard, dry / flat wicket....patches of grass here and there, well rolled in. There is a bit of moisture and will get to see some swing in the early overs. Batting would become a bit easier as the game progresses...spinners can get some purchase on this wicket. Overall a good wicket to bat on...if the side batting first can see through the first 6 overs or so, I think a big total is on the cards." OR " The wicket is a bit 2 faced with some variable bounce...there is something in this wicket for the bowlers. The odd one will stay a bit low...having said that, it will hold for the 40 overs and wicket wont change much...if the batsmen spend some time in the middle, the runs will flow in..." Ohh...cummon ....i understood it all, whats new here? And by the way....what is the mathematics / science behind arriving at those "par" scores for the match - how do they predict the total score a team will put up .... "150 will be a par score....anything above 170, they have a real good chance" Yeah...Einstein!

can you think of more?? add on in your comments....

Thursday, March 18, 2010

literally... in the end

यह एक बात के साथ शुरू होता है ... it starts with one thing
मुझे पता नहीं क्यों ... i don't know why
कोई फरक नहीं पड़ता, आप कितनी भी कोशिश करें ...it doesn't even matter, how hard you try
ध्यान में रखना , यह कविता मैंने तैयार करी है ... keep that in mind, i designed this rhyme
ताकि सही समय पर समझों ... to explain in due time
सब मुझे पता है ... all i know
समय एक महत्वपूर्ण वस्तु है ... time is a valuable thing
उसे उद्ते हुए देखो जिस दौरान पेंडुलम झूलता है ... watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
उलटी गिनती करते हुए देखो दिन के अंत तक ... watch it count down to the end of the day
वह घड़ी टिक टिक करके जीवन को दूर कर देता है ... the clock ticks life away
इतना अवास्तविक ... it's so unreal
नीचे भी नहीं देखा ... didn't look out below
समय को खिड़की से बाहर जाते हुए ... watch the time go right out the window
पकड़ने की कोशिश करता हूँ, पर पता भी नहीं ... trying to hold on, didn't even know
मैंने सब व्यर्थ गवाया , तुम्हे जाते हुए देखने के लिए ... I wasted it all just to watch you go
मैंने सब कुछ अपने अन्दर रखा और हालाकि मैंने कोशिश भी करी, सब टूट कर बिखर गया ... I kept everything inside and even though i tried, it all fell apart
मेरे लिए जो उसकी अहमियत है , अंत में एक समय की स्मृति बन कर रह जाएगा, जब ... what it meant to me, will eventually be a memory of a time, when

मैंने इतनी मेहनत करी, और इतनी दूर पंहुचा ... i tried so hard , and got so far
लेकिन अंत में कुछ नहीं हुआ ... but in the end , it doesn't even matter
मुझे गिरना था सब खोने के लिए , लेकिन अंत में कुछ भी नहीं हुआ, कुछ भी नहीं ... i had to fall , to lose it all but in the end , it doesn't even matter

एक बात मुझे पता नहीं क्यों ... One thing i don't know why
कोई फरक नहीं पड़ता, आप कितनी भी कोशिश करें ... it doesn't even matter how hard you try
ध्यान में रखना , यह कविता मैंने तैयार करी है ... keep that in mind, i designed this rhyme
ताकि मै खुद को याद दिला सकूँ कि मैंने कितनी कोशिश करी है ... to remind myself, how hard I tried

जिस तरह तुमने मुझसे मजाक किया, उसके बावजूद ... in spite of the way you were mocking me
अभिनय किया जैसे कि मै तुम्हारे जायदाद का हिस्सा हूँ ... acting like i was part of your property
उन दिनों को याद करता हूँ - जब जब तुम मुझसे लड़ी थी ... remembering all the times you fought with me
मै हैरान हूँ कि बात यहाँ तक पहुच गयी ... I'm surprised that it got so far
अब चीज़ें पहले जैसी नहीं रही ... things aren't the way they were before
तुम मुझे पहचान भी नहीं पाओगी ... you wouldn't even recognize me anymore
ऐसा नहीं कि तुम मुझे पहले नहीं पहचानती थी ... not that you knew me back then
मगर अंत में, सब कुछ वापस मुझ पर आ जायेगा ...but it all comes back to me... in the end
मैंने सब अपने अन्दर रखा और हालाकि मैंने कोशिश भी करी ... I kept everything inside and even thought i tried
सब टूट कर बिखर गया ... it all fell apart
अंततः यह सब एक समय की याद बन कर रह जाएगी, जब मैंने ... what it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when I

इतनी मेहनत करी, और इतनी दूर पंहुचा ... tried so hard , and got so far
लेकिन अंत में कुछ नहीं हुआ ... but in the end , it doesn't even matter
मुझे गिरना था सब खोने के लिए , लेकिन अंत में कुछ भी नहीं हुआ, कुछ भी नहीं ... i had to fall , to lose it all but in the end , it doesn't even matter

मैंने तुम पर मेरा भरोसा रख दिया है ... i've put my trust in you
जितनी दूर जा सकता था...गया ... pushed as far as I can go
इस सब के लिए, तुम्हे सिर्फ एक बात याद रखनी चाहिए ... for all this , there's only one thing you should know

मैंने इतनी मेहनत करी, और इतनी दूर पंहुचा ... i tried so hard , and got so far
लेकिन अंत में कुछ नहीं हुआ ... but in the end , it doesn't even matter
मुझे गिरना था सब खोने के लिए , लेकिन अंत में कुछ भी नहीं हुआ, कुछ भी नहीं ... i had to fall , to lose it all but in the end , it doesn't even matter

song credits and copyrights - Linkin Park लिंकिन पार्क (in the end - इन दी एंड)
translation credits - n e o

this song is my anthem....and apologies to all linkin park fans if i have hurt their sentiments in any which way!
दी एंड the end

Monday, March 15, 2010

land ahoy!

nothing unusual about this ship...docked at the kolkata harbor, under the azure skies...

now the bigger picture....
actually, the ship is docked on the rooftop!! a wonderful piece of architecture and someone's great imagination. i came across this house when i visited my aunt who stays in behala. the house is a local attraction and popularly called "jahaj baadi" or the 'ship house'. a landmark you cannot miss...
infact, when i entered the lane looking for the banerjee residence - i asked a 'bhadralok' for directions.
"the corner house bang opposite the jahaj baadi" - he answered! 

frozen in time

i visited my ancestral house in srirampore, west bengal last year after a gap of over 15 years. it was a walk down the memory lane, i spent time comparing the visuals in my head with what i saw. time takes its toll on most things...there was change all around, but a few things had not changed...they remained…just as they were...and perhaps will remain like that - frozen in time. i had very little time during my visit - managed a few hours at our house and then a hectic drive around kolkata. it was a great experience nevertheless...
Here are some pictures i clicked during my visit.


the corner chair and table fan in one of the rooms - these items have never moved an inch...as far as my memory takes me. The interesting part is, the table fan does not work (and has been like that for several years) - it remains, quiet...the blades move once in a while when there is a gush of wind.
It is dusted regularly…

this is the "sill-batta" or stone-grinder...don't really know the correct term. The modern mixer grinder has replaced this stone-age 'gadget'. It remains at its original place...just outside the kitchen door, on the corridor... must be 40-50 kgs in weight.

the sewing machine - 100% manual, rooted to it's original position - ever since it came home...some 30 years ago. still used by my grandma occassionally and neatly covered up after use...


this is a view of the kitchen - and thats my grandma inside (making tea for me). outside the kitchen is the high-stool on which my grandpa used to sit, supervise the cooking, enjoy his cups of tea, smoke, chat, read the newspaper...its been over 12 years since he passed away...but the stool never seems empty. i sat there for a few minutes...and sipped the tea that she made...the moment was awesome and will be etched in my memory forever..
a wooden showpiece - of a kashmiri boat ...a lady with the missing oar. history - years ago, i broke this piece while playing, the oar could not be placed back - but the lady was fixed, thanks to fevicol! no wonder, the shikara never moved...as she still waits for the oar!
i have heard stories of great swimmers in srirampore (who have swam across the ganges countless times), this is the place where it all starts...a pond next to our house. look carefully...people had made starting platforms and lane markings (at the other end) and neighborhood had an olympic size (probably larger) pool - its free, its for everyone. anyone walking by becomes a coach cheering young kids...the water is dirty, but who cares!
yeah...it's still there - the kolkata trams! not the preferred mode of transport anymore...(cycles are faster!) - blame it on the road traffic and ever increasing car population, demand of road space, etc. etc. it wont be long before the tram will rest peacefully in a heritage museum..







the Victoria Memorial at the Maidan, Kolkata – one of the most visited places (any trip to the city of joy is incomplete, if one hasn’t seen the memorial). there sits Queen Victoria...watching the world change...