Sri Sri on Love

"when there is so much love, you take total responsibility for any misunderstanding. for a moment you may express dismay on the surface. but when you do not feel that dismay in your heart, you arrive at a perfect understanding. you are in a state where all problems and all differences slide away and only love shines though.

usually we are stuck in our differences because we have lost sight of ourselves. in the name of love we try to manipulate and control the other person. it is natural that when we love someone, we want them to be perfect.

that is when when you love someone, when you are close to the, you find faults in them. but finding faults destroys love and instead of helping to fill the holes we run away. when you love someone and see their faults, stay with them and help them fill the holes. this is wisdom."

"if love is based on the qualities of a person, that love is not stable. after some time the qualities change and the love becomes shaky. loving someone because they belong to you, great or otherwise" is unconditional love.

knowledge, along with sadhana, seva, satsang help to engender a sense of belonging. when love springs from a sense of belongingness, then the actions and qualities do not overshadow the love. neither qualities or actions can be perfect all the time. only love and a feeling of kinship can be perfect."

"only one who has renounced can truly love. to the degree you have renounced, to that degree will you have the ability to love.

true love is not possessive; it brings freedom, and renunciation is nothing but freedom. only in freedom can love blossom fully. when you are in love you say,"i want nothing; i just want this," renunciation is, "i do not want anything. i am free." in love there are no other needs. renunciation is having no need.

only renunciation can sustain love and joy. without renunciation love turns into misery, possessiveness, jealousy and anger. renunciation brings contentment and contentment sustains love. without renunciation one gets discontented, frustrated, sad, fearful, suspicious, analytical."

Sometimes . . .

Sometime the day breaks in my life
Sometime the sun shines in my life
Sometime things work right in my life
You are my sometime, you are my sometime,
You are my sometime . . .

When shackles fall from my heart
When the rocks seem to roll from my way
When I find myself open to love
You are my when, you are my when,
You are my when . . .

For the ending of being alone
For the believing in the smiles and warmth I feel
For our leavings to come back again
You are my for, you are my for,
You are my for . . .

Sometime don't come every day
When seems to never get here at all
For is the future I never could face
And you bring them all to me . . .
You are my sometime
You are my when
You are my for...ever.

*Bernice Reagon, Sweet Honey in the Rock, 1980

Secrets of Love

The First Secret - The Power Of Thought
*****************************************
Love begins with our thoughts. We become what we think about. Loving thoughts create loving experiences and loving relationships. Affirmations can change our beliefs and thoughts about others and ourselves. If we want to love someone, we need to consider their needs and desires. Thinking about your ideal partner will help you recognize her when you meet her.

The Second Secret - The Power Of Respect
*******************************************
You cannot love anyone or anything unless you first respect them. The first person you need to respect is yourself. To begin to gain self-respect asks yourself, "What do I respect about myself?" To gain respect for others, even those you may dislike, ask yourself "What do I respect about them?"

The Third Secret - The Power Of Giving
****************************************
If you want to receive love, all you have to do is give it! The more love you give, the more you will receive. To love is to give of yourself freely and unconditionally. Practice random acts of kindness. Before committing to a relationship ask not what the other person will be able to give to you, but rather what will you be able to give them. The secret formula of a happy, lifelong, loving relationship is to always focus on what you can give instead of what you can take.

The Fourth Secret - The Power Of Friendship
*********************************************
To find a true love, you must first find a true friend. Love does not consist of gazing into each other's eyes, but rather looking outward together in the same direction. To love someone completely you must love them for who they are, not what they look like. Friendship is the soil through which love's seeds grow. If you want to bring love into a relationship, you must first bring friendship.

The Fifth Secret - The Power Of Touch
***************************************
Touch is one of the most powerful expressions of love, breaking down barriers and bonding relationships. Touch changes our physical and emotional states and makes us more receptive to love.

The Sixth Secret - The Power Of Letting Go
********************************************
If you love something, let it free. If it comes back to you it's yours, if it doesn't, it never was. Even in a loving relationship, people need their own space. If we want to learn to love, we must first learn to forgive and let go of past hurts and grievances. Love means letting go of our fears, prejudices, egos and conditions. "Today I let go of all my fears, the past
has no power over me - today is the beginning of a new life."

The Seventh Secret - The Power Of Communication
****************************************************
When we learn to communicate openly and honestly, life changes. To love someone is to communicate with them. Let the people you love know that you love them and appreciate them. Never be afraid to say those three magic words: "I Love you." Never let an opportunity pass to praise someone. Always leave someone you love with a loving word - it could be the last time you see them. If you were about to die but could make telephone calls to the people you loved, who would you call, what would you say and..why are you waiting?

The Eighth Secret - The Power Of Commitment
************************************************
If you want to have love in abundance, you must be committed to it, and that commitment will be reflected in your thoughts and actions. Commitment is the true test of love. If you want to have loving relationships, you must be committed to loving relationships. When you are committed to someone or something, quitting is never an option. Commitment distinguishes a fragile relationship from a strong one.

The Ninth Secret - The Power Of Passion
*****************************************
Passion ignites love and keeps it alive. Lasting passion does not come through physical attraction alone; it comes from deep commitment, enthusiasm, interest and excitement. Passion can be recreated by recreating past experiences when you felt passionate. Spontaneity and surprises produce passion. The essence of love and happiness are the same; all we need to do is to live each day with passion.

The Tenth Secret - The Power Of Trust
****************************************
Trust is essential in all loving relationships. Without it one person becomes suspicious, anxious and fearful and the other person feels wrapped and emotionally suffocated. You cannot love someone completely unless you trust them completely. Act as if your relationship with the person you love will never end. One of the ways you can tell whether a person is right for you is to ask yourself, "Do I trust them completely and unreservedly?" If the answer is "no", think carefully before making a commitment.

What's wrong in being a fool? - Sri sri

We want to find a reason for everything, a purpose for everything. We want to analyze and understand everything. People even try to understand their dreams. What is the use? Whatever dream you have had, so what? Whether you are sitting on horseback or on top of a train in your dream; whether you see a crow or a duck or a pigeon or swan or a mouse or a cat in your dream, what does it matter? Why do you waste so much time interpreting dreams, trying to know something about dreams? We call ourselves wise because we want to understand. We want to do something only if we get something out of it.

A fool is somebody who does something and doesn't get anything out of it. Their foolish acts, even those you can interpret into meaning and purpose, you see they do them without any purpose, without any meaning. Since childhood we have been told, "Don't be a fool." What is wrong with being a fool? What is wrong with standing alone, apart from the crowd? Let the crowd act however it wants. I stand apart from that. I act my way!

A fool is somebody who does something very unique, which is not accepted by others. All entertainment, including games, are foolish acts. Just think of a person from another planet, maybe Mars, comes here and sees a huge crowd watching a team of boys on this side and another team on that side, trying to fight for a ball and put it into a basket. It would appear absolutely funny! One ball in the middle, a team of boys here, trying to push it there, trying to push it that way. Why all this trouble? Why don't they just take the ball and put it in the basket? What difference does it make whether they put it in this basket or that basket? It is so foolish, playing soccer, playing basketball. For hours together other people sit there, howling and yelling and clapping. George Bernard Shaw said somewhere, "Cricket is a game where eleven fools play and eleven thousand watch." It is true. All games are foolish acts. A game is a game because it is foolish. If you find meaning, purpose, aim and competition, you destroy the whole game.

If you are not foolish in your life for some time if possible all the time, if not possible, at least some time-you miss your life. You miss the joy in life. If somebody calls you a fool, how do you act? Your eyes become red. You start grinding your teeth! However, it is a great compliment. You should wait for such a compliment because this is very difficult to get. People may feel that you are a fool and they often don't say it to you. If some people, with great courage, come and tell you that you are a fool, you should feel happy. The greatest problem for us is being a fool. We try not to be fool.

All our life we resist and fear arises in us. A fool is one who acts with freedom, who has all freedom, isn't it? That is how he could be a fool. If somebody has not experienced freedom, he cannot be a fool. Freedom is behind every fool. God loves you being a fool. He doesn't love wise men so much. He is bored of their philosophies. He is terribly bored by all the books written about Him.

Make the whole life a game. A game means there is no purpose, there is nothing. Just take it lightly, easily. Play the game. That is worship that is celebration. There is nothing that you do that will please God. There is nothing that you will do that will displease God. He is not waiting there with a staff, just waiting for you to do a mistake so He can punish you. Don?t have such cruel picture of God as someone who is judging, who is going to punish you if you do this or that. If He doesn't want you to do something, you can never do it. It is impossible. The very fact that He has allowed you so much freedom to do anything you like, means He says, Don't take anything seriously, it is all a game. It's all like a dream!

from "eat, pray, love" by elizabeth gilbert

"The Yogic path is about disentangling the built-in glitches of the human condition, which I'm going to over-simply define here as the heartbreaking inability to sustain contentment. Different schools of thought over the centuries have found different explanations for man's apparently inherently flawed state. Taoists called it imbalance, Buddhism calls it ignorance, Islam blames our misery on rebellion against God, and the Judeo-Christian tradition attributes all our suffering to original sin. Freudians say that the unhappiness in the inevitable result of the clash between our natural drives and civilization's needs.

The Yogis, however, say that human discontentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws and resentments and mortality. We wrongly believe that our limited little egos constitute our whole entire nature. We have failed to recognize our deeper divine character. We don't realize that, somewhere in us all, there does exist a supreme Self who is eternally at peace. That supreme Self is our true identity, universal and divine. Before you realize this truth, say the Yogis, you will always be in despair, a notion nicely expressed in this exasperated line from the Greek stoic philosopher Epictetus: "You bear God within you, poor wretch, and know it not.

Yoga is the effort to experience one's divinity personally and then to hold on to that experience forever. Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from the endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise. Only from that point of even-mindedness will the true nature of the world (and yourself) be revealed to you."

AoL Course

Organized a "Art of Living" course in RPI from 11th-15th of April 2007.

from the movie "shopgirl"

"... that it is afterglow that is important to a woman, much more important that the sex act itself.
a woman needs to be held, even if - and science has shown this - its by someone she doesn't care about. protective hormones are released and the amount of hormones released depend on the degree to which she is held.
the first and best is the complete surround - he wraps her in both arms, whispers how beautiful you are. second best is the arm around - he is next to you with one arm around you. third is just next to you on his elbow but he rests his hand on your stomach and looks at you. fourth is you snuggling up to him with your head on his chest while he looks away into space.
but when the first and best happens you feel completely and wonderfully like a woman."

A Story

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists."

"Why do you say that?" asked the customer.

"Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."

The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist."

"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"

"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."

"Ah, but barbers DO exist! " answered the barber. "What happens, is, people do not come to me."

"Exactly!"- affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don't go to Him and do not look for Him. That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."

if i just lay here, would you lie with me...

i really like this song "chasing cars" by snow patrol from their 2006 album eyes open, recently featured in the season finale of grey's anatomy - the only serial i follow.

here is the video:


here are the lyrics:

We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

I don't quite know
How to say
How I feel

Those three words
Are said too much
They're not enough

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

Let's waste time
Chasing cars
Around our heads

I need your grace
To remind me
To find my own

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?

Forget what we're told
Before we get too old
Show me a garden that's bursting into life

All that I am
All that I ever was
Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

I don't know where
Confused about how as well
Just know that these things will never change for us at all

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me and just forget the world?


ps - also great another song by snow patrol "chocolate" from their 2004 album final straw was the theme for the recent movie the last kiss.

love & renunciation

"only one who has renounced can truly love. to the degree you have renounced, to that degree will you have the ability to love. often people think whose who renounce cannot love, and those who love cannot renounce. this is because renunciates do not seem to be in love, and so-called lovers are possessive and greedy.

true love is not possessive; it brings freedom, and renunciation is nothing but freedom. only in freedom can love blossom fully. when you are in love you say, "i want nothing; i just want this." renunciation is, "i do not want anything. i am free." in love there are no other needs. renunciation is having no needs. love and renunciation, although appearing to be opposites, are two sides of the same coin.

only renunciation can sustain love and joy. without renunciation love turns into misery, possessiveness, jealousy and anger. renunciation brings contentment and contentment sustains love. without renunciation one gets discontented, frustrated, sad, fearful, suspicious, analytical. and the whole soap opera begins.

so-called renunciates have run away from life frustrated and disappointed. real renunciation is born out of knowledge and wisdom - knowledge of life in the background of time and space and in the context of this magnanaimous universe."

- sri sri ravi shankar

hold you in my arms

posting my favorite song from the soundtrack of the movie "the last kiss". its titled: "hold you in my arms" and its by ray lamontagne.

<bgsound src="http://www.rpi.edu/~tekir/Media%20Files/Hold%20You%20In%20My%20Arms.mp3">the lyrics go as:

When you came to me with your bad dreams and your fears
It was easy to see that you'd been crying
Seems like everywhere you turn catastrophe it reigns
But who really profits from the dying
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you in my arms forever.

When you kissed my lips with my mouth so full of questions
It's my worried mind that you quiet
Place your hands on my face
Close my eyes and say
Love is a poor man's food
Don't prophesize
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold you forever.

So now we see how it is
This fist begets the spear
Weapons of war
Symptoms of madness
Don't let your eyes refuse to see
Don't let your ears refuse to hear
Or you ain't never going to shake this sense of sadness
I could hold you in my arms
I could hold on forever
And I could hold you in my arms
I could hold forever...

the last kiss

i am really looking forward to this movie "the last kiss" starring zach braff and rachel bilson. its about a guy who has just turned 30, his longtime girlfriend is pregnant; and he meets an attractive college student and he finds himself questioning if the life he has is the one he really wants.

one of the reasons i am looking forward to it is that i really liked braff's earlier movie "gardenstate" and this movie has kind of a similar look and feel. the soundtrack of gardenstate is at the very top of my list of all time favorite soundtracks. the soundtrack of this movie is itself quite good, but pales in comparison to gardenstate - in my opinion. the other reason i guess is that the movie seems to be an interesting take on relationships, on making choices in life.

the trailer looks nice - it can viewed HERE.
the tag line for the movie reads: "we all grow up, we all face doubt, we all make choices, what's yours?"

this makes me ask some questions about relationships:
how do you know that someone is the one for you? is there really someone just for you in the first place? how do you make a commitment? how do you decide if you want to spend the rest of your life with someone? how can you guarantee that you won't change with time? where do feelings come into all this? is there a practical aspect too to the relationship? do you decide with your heart or your head? where does society come into all this, does it have a say in your relationship or is it just between the two of you? should you care about your parent's views? do they know what's good for you better than you yourself do? is there a need to give a name to every relationship? why do we want to be in a relationship in the first place?

Sri Sri on Love

here are the signs of love:
when you love someone you see nothing wrong with them. even if you see a fault in them you justify it in some way - "everyone does that; it is normal." you think you have not done enough for them and the more you do, the more you want to do for them. they are always in your mind. ordinary things become extraordinary. a baby winking at its grandmother becomes an extraordinary event. when you love someone, you want to see them always happy and you want them to have the best.

favorite ghazal rendition

going through my old blog, i remembered that i had this short phase where i translated a couple hindi songs/ghazals into english. seeing that i felt like doing so again - so here goes my attempt at translating my all time favorite ghazal rendition: "yeh karam tanhaiyon ka" - written by nasir and set to tune and sung by ghulam ali.

a kind series of solitary moments will be all that is left,
in between you and me an emptiness will be all that is left.

all the reflections will get flown away in the sunny flood,
and there looking over into the waters someone will be left.

oh fellow traveller i am walking along such a path,
even if the destination is reached a distance will be left.

people will fall asleep tucked under a blanket of silence,
and wandering about in deserted lanes the moon will be left.

that which she once read having borrowed from me,
my name scribbled in those books will be all that is left.

Spiegeltent

This past sunday I went to a concert "India and Beyond" (featuring performances on the sarod, flute & percussion) with a friend of mine. This was a part of the Bard College's SummerScape festival - SpiegelPalais - being held in a Spiegeltent.

"Spiegeltents are hand-hewn pavilions used as traveling entertainment halls and wine-tasting marquees since the early 20th century. There are only a few of these unique and legendary "tents of mirrors" left in the world today. Built of wood, mirrors, canvas, and leaded glass and detailed in velvet and brocade, each has its own personality and style. In their heyday, Spiegeltents toured the lowlands of Europe as traveling dance halls, wine-tasting marquees and cabaret venues. These famed “palaces of mirrors” were so called for the myriad glittering mirrors that made possible discreet eye contact with other visitors." (Above is a picture of the Spiegeltent at Bard).

The concert was pretty good - they played some soothing indian classical ragaas and a couple of folk tunes. The lighting, decor and atmosphere inside the tent was amazing. There was seating outside too, with some nice home-made food being served in the tents. I had a fresh mozerella tomato sandwich with potato salad - it was delicious. The ambiance was nice too, with a almost-full moon shining down and some pleasing cool breeze blowing; it was all very quiet except the music coming from the tent and the continous chirping of crickets around. Overall a great evening.

DCFC lyrics

haven't posted song lyrics in quite some time.
so here is two of my favorite songs from two of my all time favorite albums "plans" (2005) and "transatlanticism" (2003) by my all time favorite band "death cab for cutie":

Transatlanticism

The Atlantic was born today, and I'll tell you how:
The clouds above opened up and let it out.

I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole.
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean,
Making islands where no island should go.
Oh no...

Most people were overjoyed; they took to their boats.
I thought it less like a lake and more like a moat.
The rhythm of my footsteps crossing flat lands to your door
Have been silenced forever more.
The distance is quite simply much too far for me to row
It seems farther than ever before
Oh no...

I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...

- instrumental break -

I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...
I need you so much closer...

So come on, come on...
So come on, come on...
So come on, come on...
So come on, come on...


Marching Bands of Manhattan

If I could open my arms,
And span the length of the isle of Manhattan,
I'd bring it to where you are,
Making a lake of the East River and Hudson.
And if I could open my mouth,
Wide enough for a marching band to march out,
They would make your name sing,
And bend through alleys and bounce off other buildings.

I wish we could open our eyes,
To see in all directions at the same time.
Oh what a beautiful view,
If you were never aware of what was around you.
And it is true what you said,
That I live like a hermit in my own head.
But when the sun shines again,
I'll pull the curtains and blinds to let the light in.

Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinhole.
Just like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the sound.
But while you debate half empty or half full.

It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown...
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown...
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown...
It slowly rises, your love is gonna drown...

Your love is gonna drown...
Your love is gonna drown...
Your love is gonna drown...
Your love is gonna drown...
Your love is gonna...

new albums

some really nice albums i've heard recently. all of them are a great listen.
(the brackets denote my personal relative ratings out of 10)

> camera obscura - let's get out of this country [10]
> the age of rockets - the drive home [10]
> her space holiday - the past presents the future [10]
> built to spill - perfect from now on [9]
> sunny day real estate - how it feels to be something on [9]
> the decemberists - picturesque [9]
> broken social scene - feel good lost [8]
> seam - the pace is glacial [8]
> smog - the doctor came at dawn [8]
> talk talk - laughing stock [7]
> ben folds five - whatever and ever amen [7]
> the walkmen - bows + arrows [7]
> okkervil river - black sheep boy [7]
> codine - barely real [6]
> low - long division [6]
> scissor sisters - scissor sisters [6]

my picture

i like this pic - taken by asma at rishikesh (on the way from raam jhula to lakshman jhula alongside the ganges) in march 06.

today

- entered a micro-fabrication clean room for the first time.
- saw the season finale of "grey's anatomy". it was the best two hours of a tv series i ever saw.

one minute wisdom II

Listing a few more related to enlightenment:

"What did enlightenment bring you?"
"Joy."
"And what is joy?"
"The realization that when everything is lost you have only lost a toy."

An affluent industrialist said to the Master, "What do you do for a profession?"
"Nothing," said the Master.
The industrialist laughed scornfully. "Isn't that laziness?"
"Heavens no. Laziness is mostly the vice of very active people."
Later the Master said to his disciples, "Do nothing and all things will be done through you. Doing nothing really takes a lot of doing. Try it!"

"What must I do for enlightenment?"
"Nothing."
"Why not?"
"Because enlightenment doesn't come from doing? It happens."
"Then can it never be attained?"
"Oh yes it can."
"How?"
"Through non doing."
"And what does one do to attain non doing?"
"What does one do to go to sleep or to wake up?"

It always pleased the Master to hear people recognize their ignorance.
"Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one's awareness of one's ignorance," he claimed.
When asked for an explanation, he said, "When you come to see you are not as wise today as you thought you were yesterday, you are wiser today."

The master would frequently assert that holiness was less a matter of what one did than of what one allowed to happen.
To a group of disciples who had difficulty understanding that he told the following story:
"There was once a one-legged dragon who said to the centipede,
'How do you manage all those legs?
It is all I can do to manage one.'
'To tell you the truth,' said the centipede,
'I do not manage them at all.'"

The master once told the story of a priceless antique bowl that fetched a fortune at a public auction. It had been used by a tramp who ended his days in poverty, quite unaware of the value of the bowl with which he begged for pennies.
When a disciple asked the Master what the bowl stood for, the master said, "Your Self!"
Asked to elaborate, he said, "All your attention is focused on the penny knowledge you collect from books and teachers. You would do better to pay attention to the bowl in which you hold it."

one minute wisdom I

Came across this nice little book titled One Minute Wisdom by Anthony de Mello.

Its a collection of short conversations between a master and his disciples. Am listing a few of them related to worldly affairs:

The visiting historian was disposed to be argumentative.
"Do not our efforts change the course of human history?" he demanded.
"Oh yes, they do," said the Master.
"And have not our human labors changed the earth?"
"They certainly have," said the Master.
"Then why do you teach that human effort is of little consequence?"
Said the Master, "Because when the wind subsides, the leaves still fall."

To a woman who complained about her destiny the Master said, "It is you who make your destiny."
"But surely I am not responsible for being born a woman?"
"Being born a woman isn't destiny. That is fate. Destiny is how you accept your womanhood and what you make of it."

The disciples were involved in a heated discussion on the cause of human suffering.
Some said it came from selfishness. Others, from delusion. Yet others, from the inability to distinguish the real from the unreal.
When the Master was consulted, he said, "All suffering comes from a person's inability to sit still and be alone."

A newly married couple said, "What shall we do to make our love endure?"
Said the Master, "Love other things together."

"Nothing is good or bad, but thinking makes it so," the Master said.
When asked to explain he said, "A man cheerfully observed a religious fast seven days a week. His neighbor starved to death on the same diet."

To a disciple who was forever complaining about others the Master said, "If it is peace you want, seek to change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to carpet the whole of the earth."

QT desktops

ps - QT is the name of my 12" apple powerbook; the top picture is of
sri sri ravi shankar & the bottom one is of a telugu movie actress.

new music

when it comes to music, think one is looking for "my kind of sound" - some songs / albums come close to it, but guess its very hard to find that exact sound.

anyways here are two really cool sites to learn about new albums / artists / songs, which are similar or closely sounding to your current favorites:
>> MUSICMAP <<
>> PANDORA <<

post trip update

> its exactly a month now since i returned from india.

> my roomie's been away for more than two weeks now. he'll be back in another week or so. really like having the whole house to myself. pretty nice days - these... eventful in an uneventful way.

> put my netflix subscription on hold a few days back. hardly feel like watching movies now. didn't even watch the last 2-3 movies properly, they didn't really interest me. maybe i have exhausted all the good oriental movies at netflix, or maybe i'm just done with movies for the time being...

> thoroughly enjoying my ipod nano. bought it soon after i came back from the india trip. listen to songs while walking to and back from lab. gave me a reason to walk to the univ rather than take the bus (also weather-wise its not that cold now). also go to the library to listen to songs as a mid-afternoon break.

> movies seen: ramadasu (telugu), the motorcycle diaries (spanish), parineeta (hindi), alexander (english), love & sex (english), the virgin stripped bare by her bachelors (korean), joint security area (korean), so close (chinese), bhadra (telugu), light of my eyes (italian), 3-iron (korean), the isle (korean), chukkallo chandrudu (telugu).

> books read: narada bhakti sutras (the aphorisms of love) - commentaries by sri sri ravi shankar.

> new music heard: funeral - arcade fire, without you i'm nothing - palcebo, places you have come to fear the most - dashboard confessional, speak for yourself - imogen heap, turn on the bright lights - interpol, in the reins - iron & wine, around the sun - r.e.m., simple things - zero 7, details - frou frou.

> tv shows followed: grey's anatomy, pepper dennis.

> not much to do at the work front. had to repeat some experiments for my paper this week. the paper should be sent out by next week. had been looking at new stuff to work the past few weeks. but seems like every topic in the nano- area has been beaten to death. not exactly sure what i'm gonna work on from next week onwards.

> also been taking lunch from home, instead of spending money on tasteless junk available in the university, for the past few weeks. actually started doing that since my roomie left. which also means that i've been cooking stuff, rather than just eating noodles all the time.

> have stopped smoking after the trip. don't feel like it now. maybe it was something i picked up just for the winter months or maybe there was something more to it. also stopped eating non-veg, even eggs.

> had bought this assorted tea packet from india - comprising of darjeeling, assam and nilgiri teas. drank them alternately the first few weeks. i liked darjeeling the most, then assam and then nilgiri.

> for a brief period had this idea of buying a used car. asked around a bit, contacted some car dealers, the bank for loans etc. and found that its a tad bit expensive for me in the current financial situation. and i don't see the situation improving as long as i am pursuing my phd. moreover i don't even have money for downpayment - my savings are zook as of now (actually i still have to return 500 bucks i borrowed from a friend's friend for the trip). maybe later if and when i'm able to save some money - don't really see that happening though...

ugadi

Today is the beginning of the Telugu new year (Ugadi). What is the first season (rithu) of the year? It is the season of spring (vasantha-rithu). What is the most important month in the year? It is the first month of the year (chairtra masa). The bright fortnight (sukla paksha) is the better part of the month. Among the days, the first day of the lunar month is important. As all these important elements are present today, it has special significance as marking the commencement of a new year (described as Ugadi).

i was there

at the art of living silver jubilee celebrations at bangalore, india from 17th-19th march 2006.

sanskrit

"The extraordinary thing about Sanskrit is that it offers direct accessibility to anyone to that elevated plane where the two - mathematics and music, brain and heart, analytical and intuitive, scientific and spiritual - become one."

sanskrit - the mother of all languages: website.
a tribute to hinduism - sanskrit: website

funeral

the album i'm listening to currently is funeral by the indie band
the arcade fire. a very good album - nice sounds and melodies.
the songs really grow on you.

read the album reviews at metacritic.

on happiness

Pleasure depends on things, happiness does not. As long as we believe that we need things to make us happy, we shall also believe that in their absence we must be miserable. Mind always shapes itself according to its beliefs. Hence the importance of convincing oneself that one need not be prodded into happiness; that, on the contrary, pleasure is a distraction and a nuisance, for it merely increases the false conviction that one needs to have and do things to be happy, when in reality it is just the opposite. But why talk of happiness at all? You do not think of happiness except when you are unhappy. A man who says "Now I am happy" is between two sorrows, past and future. This happiness is mere excitement caused by relief from pain. Real happiness is utterly unselfconscious. It is best expressed negatively as: "there is nothing wrong with me, I have nothing to worry about".

- nisargadatta maharaj

3-iron

saw 3-iron, by korean director ki-duk kim. he makes varying and pretty interesting movies. other movies of his i've seen are "bad guy", "the isle" and "spring, summer, fall, winter,... and spring". i've noticed that in all the above movies the main character(s) hardly speak.

this one is about this homeless guy (he never once utters a single word throughout the movie) who breaks into people's houses when they've gone out on vacation or something - stays there for a day or two, uses their bath and kitchen, clothes etc.; but doesn't steal anything, and moreover repairs any broken stuff, does their laundary and keeps everything back in place before leaving. the movie eventually becomes a touching romance - visually poetic, emotionally poignant and makes very beautiful use of silence.

"The movie notes that the human eye is able only to take in 180 degrees of vision, and it strongly recommends using the remaining 180 for our heart's most secret desires. As long as we're very, very quiet about it."

I Promise - Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

If I had to promise you something, what would it be?
I can't promise you'd always be comfortable...
Because comfort brings boredom and discomfort.
I can't promise that all your desires will be fulfilled...
Because desires whether fulfilled or
Unfulfilled bring frustration.
I can't promise you that there will always be good times...
Because it is tough times that make us appreciate joy.
I can't promise that you will be rich or famous or powerful...
Because they can all be a pathway to misery.
I can't promise that we will always be together...
Because it is separation that makes
Togetherness so wonderful.
Yet if you are willing to walk with me,
If you are willing to value love over everything else
I promise that this will be the richest and
Most fulfilling life possible.
I promise your life will be an eternal celebration.
I promise to cherish you more than
A king cherishes his crown.
And I shall love you more than
A mother loves her newborn.
If you are willing to walk into my arms,
If you are willing to live in my heart,
You will find the one you have waited for, forever...
You will meet yourself in my arms...
I promise.

For more on Sri Sri click here.

am back

came back from the india trip day before yesterday night. the trip was nice - the "Art Of Living" course and mahakriya went well, roamed around bangalore, hyderabad and delhi; went to rishikesh too, had a great train journey , caught up with some old friends, ate a great variety of indian dishes, shopped a lot, and had a good time overall.

feel a bit different and strange after coming back - guess still stuck with some india blues. the food here seems to suck as of now, and the whole place seems bit empty and lifeless. guess will take some time to get used to here.

going home...

going home to india for a month - yay!
from 11th feb (sat) to 13th mar (mon).
will be going to bangalore, hyderabad and delhi.

ninna

ninna nenu lab ki dumma petti, okkade crossgates mall ki elli, na kosam oka old navy full sleeves collar t-shirt konukunnanu. akada "brokeback mountain" chitram koda choosanu.

movies seen (jan 1st - feb 3rd)

the starred ones are worth a see:

01. suzhou river (chinese) ***
02. marriage is a crazy thing (korean) ***
03. the interpreter (english)
04. memoirs of a geisha (english) ***
05. love me, love my money (chinese)
06. fallen angels (chinese)
07. star trek: the search for spock (english)
08. farewell china (chinese)
09. bad guy (korean) ***
10. the vertical ray of the sun (vietnamese) ***
11. touch of zen (chinese)
12. jai chiranjeeva (telugu)
13. batman begins (english) [2nd time] ***
14. not one less (chinese) ***
15. scent of the green papaya (vietnamese)
16. warriors of heaven and earth (chinese) ***
17. king kong (english)
18. needing you (chinese) *****
19. sin city (english) [2nd time] ***
20. manmadhan (telugu)
21. lost and found (chinese) ***
22. fighting for love (chinese)
23. a moment of romance (chinese)
24. children of heaven (pershian) ***
25. stolen kisses (french)
26. harem (turkish)
27. fudoh (japanese)
28. take care of my cat (korean) ***
29. balzac and the little chinese seamstress (chinese) ****
30. late marriage (hebrew)
31. good boy (telugu)
32. yi yi (chinese)
33. brokeback mountain (english)
34. bhageeratha (telugu)

thats exactly a movie a day on an average. for some reason the above gives me a sense of accomplishment. :)

life in living room

video of my living room taken on the last day i was going to be alone in my apartment, ie before a new roommate moved in. this is where and how i've spent most of my time at home for the past month. think i will miss these days of living alone...



ps - the song playing through airtunes is the main theme from wong kar-wai's movie "in the mood for love".

not knowing

a zen koan: (from "the book of serenity")

Attention! Jizo asked Hogen, "Joza, where have you come from?"
"I pilgrimage aimlessly," replied Hogen.
What is the matter of your pilgrimage?" asked Jizo.
"I don't know," replied Hogen.
"Not knowing is the most intimate," remarked Jizo.
At that Hogen experienced great enlightenment.

when i have...

when i have a smoke,
life seems a bit more beautiful;
when i have music,
life seems a bit more enjoyable;
and when i have...

new albums

new albums i've heard in recent times: (along with my personal relative ratings)

> cat power - the greatest ***
> radiohead - hail to the thief ***
> rufus wainwright - poses ****
> sun kil moon - tiny cities **
> sufjan stevens - seven swans *****
> zero 7 - simple things ***
> a r rahman - rang de basanti (hindi) *****
> yuvan shankar raja - happy (telugu) **
> death cab for cutie - plans *****
> iron & wine - the sea & the rythym [ep] **
> red house painters - down colorful hill ****
> spoon - kill the moonlight **

favorite song:
> tu bin bataaye - rang de basanti

noodles again

today is the fourth consecutive day i've had noodles (top ramen or maggi) for dinner - but i don't mind that at all - its kind of fun to eat using chopsticks. think its more to do with the fact that i get to use chopsticks than anything else.
ps - went on to eat the same for another four days.

my cig

camel lights are the best. (turkish and domestic blend)

"turkish tobacco is the world's smoothest, most aromatic leaf. blending it with more robust domestic tobacco is the secret to camel's distinctive flavor and world class smoothness."

my zodiac profile

i was jobless enough to give all the 12 individual quizzes (see previous post):

i'm 73% pisces,
i'm 73% virgo,
i'm 67% sagittarius,
i'm 53% libra,
i'm 47% scorpio,
i'm 47% aries,
i'm 40% capricorn,
i'm 40% aquarius,
i'm 40% cancer,
i'm 40% gemini,
i'm 27% taurus,
i'm 20% leo.

[from the same quiz set as below]

so i'm only half a scorpio!

You are 47% Scorpio

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

some dune sayings

think the dune series by frank herbert is one of the greatest science-fiction series ever written. what i like best about them are the famous "dune sayings" - sayings attributed to various characters in the novels. some of the pithy gems are:

- What do you despise? By this are you truly known.

- Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.

- Truth suffers from too much analysis.

- Without a goal, a life is nothing. Sometimes the goal becomes a man's entire life, an all-consuming passion. But once that goal is achieved, what then? Oh, poor man, what then?

- Man is but a pebble dropped in a pool. And if man is but a pebble, then all his works can be no more.

- The ultimate question: Why does life exist? The answer: For life's sake.

- Truth is a chameleon.

- Nature commits no errors; right and wrong are human categories.

- Too much knowledge never makes for simple decisions.

- There is no reality -- only our own order imposed on everything.

- Love is the highest achievement to which any human may aspire. It is an emotion that encompasses the full depth of heart, mind, and soul.

- What is each man but a memory for those who follow?

- The mystery of life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced.

- The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill; The willingness to learn is a choice.

- The greatest and most important problems of life cannot be solved. They can only be outgrown.

- Why look for meaning where there is none? Would you follow a path you know leads nowhere?

- How will I be remembered by my children? This is the true measure of a man.

- Though death will cancel it, life in this world is a glorious thing.

random crap

- everyone is busy. most people are busy working towards the goals set in life or something they want in the immediate or not so immediate future. people are motivated to achieve something in life, they have goals and are working towards those goals with more or less passion. everyone is immersed in something or the other most of the time. hmmm...

- i don't seem to be passionate about anything in life, have no set goals, no real direction, haven't yet found out what i would really like to do with my life. but don't mind doing what i am doing right now - things are fine by me, life seems to going along quite smoothly. but...

- believe everything in life is a question of balance - balance leads to harmony and harmony leads to peace. one needs to have a balance in everything - work, rest, play, effort, service, passion, relationships, materialism, spiritualism, ...

- smoking seems to be akin to alone time for me. there's just me, the cig, the breath and the smoke... now people who know will say - surely you are joking, how can you possibly need any more alone time - to them i say that with a cig its different.

- think we all knowingly or unknowingly put on a mask in front of people. its something that comes very naturally to us, we don't even have to think about it - we behave differently in company of different people. so this makes me conclude that our most natural, unmasked, original self comes out when we are alone. that is the face behind the mask. also the "thinner" the mask we put on with someone, the more closer we are with them. our ideal or real friend would be someone with whom the mask is almost not there, ie someone with whom we are comfortable enough to be just ourself...

- you can learn a lot about people - their lives, cultures, habits, likes, dislikes, possible idiocyncracies, etc. - from the movies. movies can also teach you a lot about life itself...

- music can provide you with something to go along for any kind of mood you are in. its like the perfect company - you don't have to put on a mask with it, you can just be yourself. it has something for every state of mind. sometimes even silence can be like music to your ears...

- this is all one needs to get through life: the strength to change the things one can, the courage to face the things one can't and the wisdom to know the difference...

- most people have a certain goal or aim in life. that is akin to having a destination, ie they want to go to a certain place. in other words they are not really happy where they are standing right now, otherwise why would want to move from that place. now when you want to go to a certain place, you try to go in that particular direction. you may get lost, wander around a bit, find obstacles in your path etc. but if you have no specific place to go to, then you are never lost. you are exactly where you want to be at all times, because you are perfectly content being where you are. but then again, you would never come to know the joy that one feels when one does manage to reach the destination. and harder the path one has had enroute the more joy one feels at the end. but how many of us are able to reach that destination in life. there are so many things that are not in our hands, all the things thrown at us in our path influence us a lot. so i guess the ideal thing would be is to have a general idea of our destination, and not have a very specific destination point and also be flexible enough to change the goal as and when circumstances dictate. and always have a broad sense of the direction you are headed...

- ultimately all i've said in the previous paragraph doesn't make any sense to me too. i have no satisfactory answers to life's questions. but i do think that if we stop trying to make sense of life, stop trying to find all the answers we'd be better off in lots of respects. but then again...

hmmm....

came across this paragraph from a blog - is pretty interesting.

"We feel we are doing the world a favour by taking care of our own problems. We pride ourselves in not "burdening" anyone. If we can go through life without putting anyone out, we figure we've done a great deed. But what if that's all wrong? What if the whole idea and purpose of life together on this planet is to care for one another - instead of desperately working towards the absence of reciprocity? What if we were meant to depend on each other? What if we were made to need each other? What if avoiding the need for help is robbing others of their true purpose of being alive? It might explain the massive increase in depression over the last century. Maybe the more individualistic we become, the more we lose deep meaning. We have preached relentlessly about serving others, but seldom talk about being vulnerable enough to accept a helping hand..."

favorite movies (again)

watching "needing you" made me want to list down my most favorite of the favorite chinese/korean movies, now that i've watched so many of them. well actually it seems more like a list of my favorite movie of each of the few leading ladies (name given in brackets) i've come to know in the ones i've seen. guess they are one of the reasons why i am seeing chinese/korean movies. what are the other reasons - i'm not really sure.

chinese:
- the road home (*ing zhang ziyi)
- needing you (*ing sammi cheng)
- in the mood for love (*ing maggie cheung)
- chungking express (*ing faye wong)
- zhou yu's train (*ing gong li)

korean:
- failan (*ing cecilia chung)
- il mare (*ing ji-hyun jun)
- christmas in august (*ing shim eun-ha)
- oldboy (*ing gang hye-jung)
- the garden of heaven (*ing eun-ju lee)

needing you

just finished watching the chinese romantic comedy needing you starring sammi cheung and andy lau. its was really "quite funny, marvelously charming and unabashedly enjoyable" - inspite of having a formula plotline.
sammi cheung is definitely the high point of the movie and she alone is enough to warrant a look at this movie. she is quite adorable and cute as the quirky secretary who joins andy's company.
the scenes where - when she is upset over something and begins to just start cleaning whatever she can lay her hands - are my favorite.

floating in my head

i'm gonna make you lonesome when i die ...

something to post

sitting in my lab
having eaten a veggie wrap
and browsed through random blogs
and having
stared at my blog page
for some seconds;
i suddenly
get this idea
to write this poem
on how i feel like posting
something on my blog -
to express myself,
let myself be known
and understood
by people out there
but then again
i think
how does it matter.

yesterday

yesterday was the first day in lab after some two weeks. managed to reach there by 10:15, but found that it was a staff holiday (martin luther king's birthday or something) and the whole univ was deserted. tried to do some online search for sometime and got tired of it. went to grab a bite but there wasn't anything decent. just had some mediterranean soup (it was too watery) and then decided to go back home. came home around 1, had the same ramen noodles, saw parts of telugu movie indra on google videos and then with nothing else to do - went to sleep. think i got up around 6, had tea, a smoke, and generally passed time.
night watched "two and a half men" and "out of practice" and then made aloo parathas. i had the dough kneaded from yesterday and only today found out i used whole wheat flour, its not the same as the flour in india used to make rotis. no wonder it looked brown. anyways hoping it wouldn't give me any stomach trouble i proceeded to make the parathas. they came out pretty decent. only i didn't have any curd to go with it, both the curd jars had fungus in them by now. that sucked since i really like aloo paratha with curd. anyways then stayed up till think 12:30 listening to some old hindi songs and then went to sleep.
hope i get some work done today, research seems like such a drag nowadays. for some reason or the other work has always been a problematic issue for me. hope one day i figure out what i really want to do.

2006 horoscope

for scorpio - from mystic stars:

For many Scorpio 2006 will bring an intensely private or almost spiritually renewed faith in relationships through the experience of trust, shared responsibilities and daily acceptance. Over the past 3 to 4 years many Scorpios may have felt detached in relationships or unwilling to reveal their true feelings. All of this changes early this year. After January 26th a 7 week period of deep relaxation and personal healing arrives. Many Scorpios will leave behind the disappointments or romantic scars of the past. Much of this is private; there is no real need to explain these feelings to others or attempt to describe your inner journey to loved ones. Astrologically, the emotional and romantic theme is 'welcome home'. To those that love you, comfort and acceptance won't need to be publicly acknowledged. After mid-to-late March many Scorpios will also experience an active stage of flirtation and open romantic communications. Enjoy this stage and let others know that you would very much like to expand your social and family life. Unattached Scorpios will at this time likely begin extremely powerful and passionate relationships. If so, expect new relationships to be unique, unexpected and very quickly established. Late in July watch also for outside family announcements or home pressures to have an influence in your love life. Many Scorpios may experience a short period of miscommunications or disagreements with in-laws, family members or close friends. Not much you can do here: set firm boundaries and protect your interests. A remarkable year; emotionally, you have arrived: don't look back.

random jotts

with my quals over last thursday, life is kind of back to normal. i cleaned the house, arranged stuff and put out all the trash which had been collecting for quite some time. still no roomie, and now with nothing much to do - feel more alone at home than before. so mostly passed time watching movies - went to catch a telugu movie at the univ - had some homemade mirchi bajjies there. the movie sucked but having camel light smoke in the interval was really nice, especially with it raining outside.

also saw - star trek the search for spock, a korean movie - bad guy, and a vietnamese movie - the vertical ray of the sun. the star trek movie was crap but the other two were nice. the korean movie was kind of strange and i couldn't really understand the characters and why they did the things they did. its about a small time gangster who sees a pretty young privileged girl sitting in a park one day, and instantly takes a liking for her; and when she turns him down, he arranges to put her into prostitution and watches her with the clients from behind a two-way mirror. and strangely at the end the girl chooses to stay with him inspite of all he did to her. the other movie was set in hanoi and very beautifully shot. its the tale of three sisters, two of them married - about their everyday life, their affairs (including extra-marital ones) etc. the best part of the movie was its soundtrack - the youngest sister and her brother get upto some very nice music in the morning - velvet underground's "pale blue eyes" and lou reed's (who is the lead singer of velvet underground) "coney island love" - both are among my all time personal favorites. i had forgotten about the first song till this movie reminded me of it.

well today i made wheat atta chappatis, they didn't come out like at home - don't know if its the wheat we get here or maybe i still don't know how to make it properly. anyways it was a change from eating noodles. but i kind of enjoy eating noodles, mainly because i get a chance to use chopsticks. today i put some scrambled egg in the shrimp ramen noodles and it tasted better then just plain noodles. and also think hagen-daaz's vanilla swiss almond is one of my favorite flavors of ice cream.

i don't know what i would do, or rather how i would live if i didn't have my apple powerbook, itunes and especially apple's airport express, all of which allow me to play songs wirelessly from my powerbook through my music system. the songs are the only company i have nowadays, and i keep listening to something or the other all the time through airtunes. thats the reason why i park in the living room all day and go the bedroom only when i have to sleep.

well tomorrow's monday and its back to research and the usual crap. luckily i am not taking any more stupid courses this semester. the lab will be empty for one more week, which is when my other two labmates who have gone to china now will come back. plus i am going home to india in feb, so its just a matter of less than four weeks. looking forward to this trip and sometimes i wish i didn't have to come back from there...

zodiac match test

from the zodiac match test at tickle.

Rxxxxxxxx, the best Zodiac Match for your personality is Virgo.

Virgo, the Virgin (August 23 to September 23):
This intelligent and diligent partner is just your type. Initially, a Virgo may catch your eye with their put-together look and attention to the details of your courtship. But as you get to know them better, you're even more likely to be drawn to your Virgo's strong convictions and practical nature. People born under this sign are typically very good with money and tend to be conservative overall when it comes to risk. In fact, most Virgos have a discerning nature that can make them seem a bit critical at times. However, they're also almost always open to discussing the emotional side of any matter in a relationship. In the bedroom, you'll likely find the Virgin both reserved and cautious, especially when your relationship first becomes sexual. Overall, Virgos are typically highly loyal partners and firm believers in marriage.

recent stuff

- had the second part of my DQE today
- first part was on monday
- been studying for it since jan 1st
- also managed to see some 9-10 movies
- used to go for combined study from 2-6 types
- been living alone since 26th of dec
- park mostly in the living room now
- listened to songs all the time using airtunes
- smoked about 3-4 cigs a day
- ate noodles most of the time
- drank lots of coke and also a 6-pack of mike's hard lime
- started using chop-sticks for noodles
- also been doing k once & s twice daily
- cleaned the kitchen and bathroom today
- had a potluck dinner in the night today
- then went to a lake late-night for a few smokes
-

fav band

finally i can say i have a favorite band: death cab for cutie, at least currently.

posting the lyrics of the song that introduced me to DCFC, from the soundtrack of the 2005 movie shopgirl - "the sound of settlling" - from what most consider to be their best album - transatlanticism:

i've got a hunger
twisting my stomach into knots
that my tongue was tied off
my brain's repeating
"if you've got an impulse let it out"
but they never make it past my mouth.

baa bah, this is the sound of settling
baa bah, baa bah ...

our youth is fleeting
old age is just around the bend
and i can't wait to go grey
and i'll sit and wonder
of every love that could've been
if i'd only thought of something charming to say.

baa bah, this is the sound of settling
baa bah, baa bah ...

i've got a hunger twisting my stomach into knots.

Yeh karam tanhaiyon ka

Think this has to be my all time favorite ghazal, esp. its rendition by Ghulam Ali:

Yeh karam tanhaiyon ka silsila reh jaayega,
Tere mere darmiyan bas ik khalaa reh jaayega.

Aks beh jaayenge saare dhoop ke sailab mein,
Aur koi paaniyon mein jhaankta reh jaayega.

Mujhko mere humsafar aisa safar darpesh hai,
Raasta kat bhi gaya to faasla reh jaayega.

Log so jayenge khamoshi ki chaadar oadhkar,
Chand soone aangalon mein jaagta reh jaayega.

Jo kabhi usne padhi thi mujhse "nassir" maang kar,
Naam mera un kitabon mein likha reh jaayega.

QT's desktop currently

itunes - can't seem to live without it

the 17 genres in my iTunes library:

01) background score
02) devotional
03) english album
04) english album mixed
05) english assorted
06) ghazal and qawwali
07) hindi movie new
08) hindi movie old
09) hindi movie recent
10) indipop
11) indian classical
12) jazz & blues assorted
13) new age & world
14) tamil movie
15) telugu movie new
16) telugu movie old
17) western classical

wintery whiteness

2006: beginning of the end!

lets see what this year brings.
its my personal year 9: the end of a cycle - the year of completions and endings...

top movies in 2005

25 movies i liked the most:

- the road home (chinese)
- 2046 (chinese)
- falian (korean)
- serenity (english)
- in the mood for love (chinese)
- chunking express (chinese)
- to live (chinese)
- christmas in august (korean)
- 7 g brindavan colony (telugu)
- saving face (english/chinese)
- indochine (french)
- before sunset (english)
- garden state (english)
- ashes of time (chinese)
- ran (japanese)
- sliding doors (english)
- baran (iranian)
- anand (telugu)
- the constant gardener (english)
- spanglish (english)
- oldboy (korean)
- swades (hindi)
- empire records (english)
- il mare (korean)
- twelve nights (korean)

top songs in 2005

25 english songs i heard/liked the most:

- wake me up when september ends by greenday
- boulevard of broken dreams by greenday
- carry me ohio by sun kil moon
- goodbye my lover by james blunt
- i wish i felt nothing by the wallflowers
- you're beautiful by james blunt
- hear you me by jimmy eat world
- woman king by iron and wine
- day after day by alan parson's project
- someday you will be loved by death cab for cutie
- consequence by the notwist
- lose you by pete yorn
- you and me by lifehouse
- everytime by britney spears
- in the dark by al stewart
- main theme from in the mood for love
- i've got a feeling by ivy
- the sound of settling by death cab for cutie
- you'll never find another love like mine by michael buble
- graduation song by vitamin c
- desperado by the eagles
- i believe in you by neil young
- a pillow of winds by pink floyd
- fearless by pink floyd
- they are night zombies!! they are neighbours!! they have come back from the dead!! aahhhh! by sufjan stevens


20 non-english songs i heard/liked the most:

- dekho na from swades by a r rahman
- kitni baatein from lakshya by shankar ehsaan loy
- meri zindagi from aur ek prem kahani by illayaraja
- dil ne kise apna kaha from dil ne jise apna kaha by a r rahman
- jeene ke ishaare from phir milenge by shankar ehsaan loy
- suttum vizhi from ghazni by harris jayaraj
- uyire en uyire from thotti jaya by harris jayaraj
- saanwariya saanwariya fromswades by a r rahman
- tum hi se from sunoh by lucky ali
- antha naal from anthu oru kanaa kaalam by illayaraja
- nuvvunte from arya by devi sri prasad
- om nahama from gitanjali by ilayaraja
- tera mera pyar from tera mera pyar by partners in rhyme
- yeh karam tanhaiyon ka silsila by ghulam ali
- ninne ninne chustu from grahnshana by harris jayaraj
- kannula baasula from 7g brindavan colony by yuvan shankar
- meri nazar from kabhi by josh
- tanhai mein basi from kabhi aisa lagta hai by lucky ali
- bombay city from kadhal samraajyam by yuvan shankar
- pudhu kadhal from pudhukottaiel iraundhu saravan by yuvan shankar

top albums in 2005

15 english albums i heard/liked the most:

- back to bedlam by james blunt
- woman king by iron and wine
- transatlanticism by death cab for cutie
- ghosts of the great highway by sun kil moon
- garden state soundtrack by various artists
- meddle by pink floyd
- american idiot by greenday
- musicforthemorningafter by pete yorn
- after the goldrush by neil young
- bringing down the horse by the wallflowers
- plans by death cab for cutie
- down colorful hill by red house painters
- i robot by alan parson's project
- mellon collie and the infinite sadness by smashing pumpkins
- 69 love songs by the magnetic fields


10 non-english albums i heard/liked the most:

- gharshana by harris jayaraj (telugu)
- 7 g brindavan colony by yuvan shankar raja (telugu)
- swades by a r rahman (hindi)
- super by sandeep chowta (telugu)
- twinkle twinkle little star by illayaraja (tamil)
- june r by sharath (tamil)
- anand by k m radhakrishnan (telugu)
- arya by devi sri prasad (telugu)
- ek aur prem kahani by illayaraja (hindi)
- kashmakash by alms for shanti (indipop)

looking back at 2005

things i did this year:

- completed 26 years on earth
- flew to states (again)
- moved to a new apartment (twice)
- went to washington dc, baltimore, boston, ithaca, new york city
- went on hikes (cascade mt, straton mt, buck mt)
- went on drives (new york, vermont, maine)
- bought apple powerbook, ipod shuffle
- got the hang of os x
- filled my itunes lib with tons of songs
- bought cell phone, nautica wrist watch
- bought bose multimedia speakers, a yamaha keyboard
- got back my old electric guitar from baltimore
- grew long hair (again)
- got my nys drivers license
- rented car couple of times and drove around
- drove to ithaca all alone
- did sahaj course in kingston
- went swimming (finally able to do breast stroke)
- played cricket and soccer (again)
- started a blog
- watched lots of movies from netflix
- took to watching chinese/korean movies
- did 6 courses
- had a reunion with undergrad hostel-mates in nyc
- got root canal treatment done
- learned karate
- got cleared as an engineer for university radio station
- did pooja during navaratri and on diwali
- met sri sri
- hosted radio shows on my own
- caught up with some old friends (esp school)
- chatted quite a lot online
- had a thanksgiving party at home
- bought just one cd [back to bedlam by james blunt]
- had alcohol (mike's hard lime)
- played paintball for the first time
- played poker for the first time
- smoked first cigarette pack (marlboro lights)
- wrote & submitted a paper
- flew on a 3-seater glider (fly-by)
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