Thank you papa!

By now, readers of this blog would be aware of my love for music and relationships for sure. Music and relationships – both of them connects. Both brings you joy and infuses so much of energy to live the life in a more meaningful manner.

Today, I decided to write something about father and son relationship. Though I did not have many words to say (I believe the feeling is much more stronger than the words), I can say to the least that it is a relationship that has depth of magnanimity to the core and it is a relationship that has hardness of a rock on the top. Magnanimity that keeps them closer despite of distances and hardness that keeps the mutual love and respect safe and safe inside.

All what I am today is because of my father and I love him like a crazy baby. I never understood his words of wisdom because it was never meant to be understood. It was meant to be felt through silence. I never understood his level of caring because it was never meant to be understood. It was meant to be felt through a deep silence.

I wish I could explain what I felt and learned through that silence. Somebody said you do not realize what a father is until you become a father. Indeed, true! With all due respect to what I said above, here is a special tribute to all the fathers in the world who are always the best for their children.

If you are a father, please accept humble respect and appreciation for what you do for your children and if you are a child, then please join me in offering humble respect and appreciation!!!

Tagging on the blog with books

Having written about my favourite movies and songs, I come to the last part of the tag which I picked up two weeks back. Though my knowledge of songs and movies is decent, picking up favourite books was a real tough one for me and with the alphabets of my name, all the more difficult. I wish I could read more and more books. With the little of what I read, here is what I could enlist as my favourite books, of course, tweaked to match the alphabets of my name:

India after Gandhi – A book which takes us to beautiful journey of 60 years of independent India and celebrates Victory of democracy. There is something about this book which tells me why India still survives after so much of diversity. Indeed, a true treasure by Ramachandra Guha.

Ignited Minds – Written by former president of India, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, the book has tremendous energy on offer. This was one of my favourite book during college days. The power of vision and dreams is indeed infinite and incredible. A must read for all youngsters who would take the world towards a new horizon.

Sachin Tendulkar – A definitive biography written by Vaibhav Purandare, the book lets us know each and every thing about Sachin the Legend. Vaibhav himself played against Sachin during school days and throws extraordinary insights on why and how Sachin became the legend.

How series by Dale Carnegie – Short books by Dale Carnegie are real useful for self-development. In particular, I like the one called “how to stop worrying and start living.” The book simplifies stress management and contains success stories of several great people.

The Alchemist – This book is not unknown to anyone and is inarguably one of greatest best-sellers in the history of books. Paulo Coelho has created a wonderful plot and bounded everyone with a mesmerizing theme. The book takes you to a different journey to wherever Santiago goes in search of “Personal Legend."

The Little Prince – One of my friends gifted me this book around six years ago and I am glad that I read the story of "The Little Prince." Most fascinating thing about “The Little Prince” is that the essence of the story has been explained with very naïve and innocent thoughts. It is so pleasing to realize importance of little little things that happens in day to day life. A great book to read and cherish!

Tagging on the blog with music

That was a wonderful win and memorable night. Wasn’t it? With the ultimate joy in my heart, I continue with the tag on movies, music and books. So here are the songs which I like to the core of my heart:

Vande Mataram – Yes, Bankim Chandra wrote this beautiful patriotic national song about more than a century ago. Considered to be national song of India, the meaning and relevance of the song has been lost somewhere with the new generation. Here are two versions of the song, which I like the most – one sung by Lata Mangeshkar in a movie and another composed by the great A. R. Rahman.

Itni shakti hame dena – Never thought, this prayer was originally a part of a hindi movie, until I found some years back. Very close to my heart since my childhood. A prayer which fills the heart with hope, faith, serenity and inspiration. Truly wonderful.

Smile an everlasting smile – Words are all I have to take heart away. The song speaks volumes of feelings for people in love. An all-time super hit songs from Boyzone. As I write, I can hum the entire song. Here is a live performance from Boyzone of the immortal song.

Har ghadi badal rahi hai – Title song from the movie Kal ho na ho. The movie was a remake of all-time great movie Anand and the song perfectly demonstrates the message of living life to the fullest. Sung by Sonu Nigam in his trademark voice, the song can be watched here.

Akele hai to kya gham hai – Wow, what a song! A beautiful love song from late 80s. The song is a favourite for all those in love. The soothing tune of the song takes the mood to a different level of joy.

Love me for a reason – Another beauty from Boyzone. I could say no more about the song. Please enjoy a live performance of the song. To be continued…

The Moment of Glory

There had not been any world cup tournament where the final battle was fought between two sub-continent teams. It happened this time in 2011 – India and Sri Lanka up against each other for the most coveted trophy of cricket on 2nd April 2011. Sri Lanka pounded 274 runs in their innings with the help of a magnificent ton from a great competitor – Mahela Jayawardene.

As the teams vanished from the grounds for the innings break, Indian fans and supporters felt the moments of fear and anxiety. No cricketing nation had ever won the world cup at the home soil, highest total ever chased at Wankhede Stadium stood at 225, highest runs ever chased in a world cup final stood at 241, side of the century hitting batsman had never lost a world cup final. The odds seemed to stack up high considering these facts.

While the moments of fear and anxiety existed, there existed moments of inspiration and optimism too. The pain of not winning a world title for 28 years was excruciating and it was getting no lesser with every passing 4 years. The pain of the loss at 1996 semi-final against the same team was still suppressed in the hearts of many and there was no better time for redemption. Little master had already served Indian cricket for 21 years and was left yearning for “the ultimate prize” in 5 previous editions of the tournament – 2011 being virtually his last. This was supposed to be the fitting finale for our own Don. What more? No wicketkeeper batsman had ever lifted the trophy and there was no better person than MSD to do that for India.

At 31-2 in 6.1 overs, the anxiety seemed to get better of inspiration. Fear seemed getting better of optimism. Malinga had trapped the imperious duo of Sachin and Sehwag within half hour. Exactly at this juncture, I had to switch off my cellphone due to mandatory aviation rules and I took off from Delhi for an official tour. I told my colleague that there is only way India could win – “MSD needs to come at no. 5 ahead of Yuvraj and Raina” and with all hopes tied to an Indian win, we were air-borne. Two hours later, the pilot informed us that the Indian score is 205-3 in 38.1 overs with MSD and Gautam batting. The Master Stroke Decider once again seemed to work for India and there was no way India could loose from that position.

Inspiration and optimism vanquished fear and anxiety finally. Team India pulled off a stunning win with a trademark MSD shot over long on. Bewilderment and loss of words surrounded MSD, ecstasy choked Yuvi on the other end, joy erupted in the dressing room and off went the nation India into never ending night of celebrations, dance, joy and partying. The wait was over, it was time those hands held the trophy, it was time they kissed the trophy and it was time the nation became united in joy and happiness. A moment which comes once in a lifetime or twice at best!

For me, it can be only once. I curiously looked at the watch as I landed in Dubai. It was about to be 00:00 hours and I gleefully accepted best ever birthday present from the men in blue.

Hail team India! Hail Guru Gary! Hail the leader and skipper MSD!

Sub-continent teams fighting it out for cricket supremacy

Exactly 40 days ago, I had put my bet on India Sri Lanka final in the world cup here and would you believe it – that is the only talking point going into Saturday’s title clash between exactly these two sides. To be honest, these were the sides going into the tournaments as favourites. They had the preparation levels, they had the variety in bowling and they had the top-scorers in form. And everything went as planned for them which justify my prediction as well. Had any of these two teams played sub-optimal game on a given day, the situation would have been different.

Now then, what about the grand finale at the God’s own den - Mumbai and the build-up leading up to it? I could add no more comments on the build-up as the media and networking websites is covering every bit of this. I will not be watching the final few hours of this final match including presentation ceremony but I can tell you: this is the time for team India and God will definitely churn Sanga and team to offer that nectar to all my countrymen who are going berserk in each corner of the country. India holds the edge simply because of their ability to pick-up at absolutely the crucial time. Sri Lanka on the other side is equally competent and talented but they may falter in their lower middle order – even more so in case Angelo Mathews is ruled out due to an injury. Writing no more on this topic, I pray and wish all the best to our dear Indian Cricket Team and hope they would end wait of 28 long years to give us back THE MOMENT OF GLORY!

P.S. - Going by the sentiments at this moment, I chose to write about the world cup one more time before I would continue with the previous tag on movies, music and books.

Tagging on the blog with movies

Blogosphere is such a wonderful place. Ever since I started following few blogs some two years back, it has been a true revelation to be on this space. Thoughts and creativity that flows through various pages on these posts offer so much to learn and understand. There is one such page which is supposedly meant for business posts but believe me; you will find unparalleled level of knowledge combined with unique eloquent way of writing on this blog. Fortunately, I had a chance to meet with this blogger during my recent visit to Bengaluru and boy, I enjoyed each and every moment of my meeting with him. Thank you Ramesh!

As promised here, I pick up a tag which is basically about discovering new movies, songs and books. So here are the rules which I must post:

1. The tag has three parts: Movies, Music, Books/ Authors.
2. Write a movie, book and author with each alphabet of your first name. The book, movie or song should be one that you really liked. If you say why it matters to you, it would be great! We will all discover new songs, movies and books this way.
3. Tag as many people as there are letters in your name. (If your name has 4 letters, you have to tag 4 people and so on)
4. Mention that the tag originated here and link back to this post :-)
5. Copy paste these rules :)

Considering the higher difficulty level of the tag, I will post the movies, songs and books piece of it separately. So here go the movies with the alphabets of my first name VISHAL:

Veer-Zaara – A timeless saga of cross border love between Veer Pratap Singh (IAF squadron leader) and Zaara Haayat Khan (daughter of a Pakistani politician). The movie depicts immortality of love beautifully and culminates into an outstanding climax. The sacrifice made by the protagonists for each other touches the heart and leaves one mist-eyed. Here is a wonderful scene from this movie.

Ishqiya – Whenever Vishal Bharadwaj is associated with a movie, you know that you have a treat on hand. Be it Omkara, be it Kaminey or be it Maqbool! The best thing about Ishqiya is its plot and outstanding screenplay. The movie is shot in rural India and has a wonderful soundtrack. You may listen to one of the best songs of 2010 from this movie here.

Sarfarosh – If Ishqiya was shot is central rural India, here is a movie shot in deserts of Rajasthan. The movie was based on the issue of cross border terrorism and contained a splendid performance from the perfectionist Aamir Khan in the role of ACP Ajay Singh Rathod. The movie is famous for outstanding dialogues (here is a piece) and an all-time favourite Ghazal from Jagjit Singh.

Hum Aapke Hai Kaun (HAHK) – A Sooraj Barjatya film produced by Rajshri Productions. Though this was a remake of Nadiya Ke Paar – a Rajshri movie released in early 80s, this symbolized the rituals of North Indian marriages in a meticulous way. HAHK once again proved that there can be only one Prem in Rajshri’s movies i.e. Salman Khan and there is only one contemporary actress yet to find an able replacement – Madhuri Dixit. A complete family movie with a complete soundtrack that has Lata Mangeshkar and S.P. Balasubramaniam as the lead singers. Here is an entertaining scene from the movie.

Anand – An old classic very dear to my heart. I remember watching this movie several times as a kid. This movie had a strong message to live life everyday as it comes and enjoy it to the fullest. Anand Sehgal played by Rajesh Khanna leaves a footprint before succumbing to an incurable disease and teaches his friend a lesson for the lifetime. Additionally, the movie had immortal songs in the voice of Mukesh and unforgettable dialogues from serene Gulzar. The movie’s climax still echoes in the memories of several of us.

Lagaan – Who can forget a energetic, down-to-earth and optimist leader called Bhuvan, who can forget autocracy of Captain Andre Russell in imposing unwarranted higher taxes, who can forget selfless love of Russell’s sister Elizabeth in helping Bhuvan understand an alien game and who can forget an image of strong and sweet Indian lady called Gauri standing by Bhuvan throughout the tough times? I simply cannot. As I write, I recall each and every scene of this historical movie. Nominated in the category of best foreign film at the Academy Awards in 2002 and ranked 55 in Empire Magazines 100 best films of world cinema, Lagaan is a masterpiece which combined histrionics of Ashutosh Gowariker, perfection of Aamir Khan, greatness of A.R. Rahman and expertise of Javed Akhtar. Though each scene of this movie is a master piece, I liked this one to the core. To be continued...