I am

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings #152 - Lost

Getting lost
in my own world
amidst the daily humdrums
A dreamer, they call me!

Staring at a distance
in search of someone,
amidst the gathered crowd
A loner, they call me!

Gliding through the clouds
seashore abound with footprints,
sulking in the beauty
A wanderer, they call me!

Feeling his presence
my heart skips a beat,
the sweet end to my quest
A romantic, they call me!

A musical week!

Ever since the exciting news about Rahman winning the Oscars came out, it has been a musical week for me. My iPod and iTunes have been put to best use. Although I love to listen to music, it hasn't been such a continuous flow of beautiful songs one after the other from morning as soon as I login to my laptop until midnight when soothing melodies put me to sleep.

As every Rahman fan would say, Slumdog Millionaire isn't one of his best compositions. I was also of the same opinion until I started to listen to "Latika's theme" in repeat mode. What a magical tune that is! I can't seem to get enough of it. With just the humming and a caressing tune, this masterpiece makes me so happy. It strikes at such a deep, emotional level everytime I listen to it. The other songs of SDM are not so great.

Since 2008, Rahman has been churning out one album after another in quick succcession that one has very little time to get used to the tunes. With SDM taking the limelight, there is another beautiful album "Delhi-6" which shouldn't be ignored. The sheer variety of tunes in this album keeps me hooked onto them forever. "Rehna Tu" sung by the Mozart of Madras himself is just too good. The peppy number "Genda Phool" is so catchy and the singer's voice suits the mood perfectly. This could be the Bollywood equivalent of "Yaaro yaarodi".

A completely unpredictable album is Rahman's Connections. I'm hooked onto "Mann Chandre" for its soft beats and Sukhwinder Singh's superb renditions. The soothing instrumental to listen to just before you go to sleep would be the "Silent Invocation A". The mesmerizing flute piece cannot be explained in words.

Even the average album like "Yuvraaj" has an amazing number "Zindagi" sung by Sreenivas. I'm not sure how many people have actually heard this song but since this album didn't become so popular, it's sad that such a nice song didn't get the deserving credits.

There are a few such albums by Rahman which had brilliant music but somehow didn't become very popular. One such album is "KangaLaal kaidhu sei". I like 4 out of 5 songs in this movie. What a romantic melody "Azhagiya Cindrella" is! Hariharan's voice has made this song even more special. But the picturization was pathetic for such a brilliant song. There are many songs of Rahman which didn't get the appreciation because the movie was bad and it flopped. A few of these good songs below:

"Sevvaanam chinna penn soodum" from Pavithra (God only knows when this movie released but I know this is a Ajit movie!!)
"Sonnalum ketpadhillai" from Kaadhal Virus (Unnikrishnan and Harini at their best)
"Thoda thoda" from Indira (the least popular song in this movie)
"Kaathu kaathu" from Uzhavan (A peppy drizzle dance number)
"Orunaal oru pozhudu" from Andhimandhaarai (don't know if this movie was ever released)

If you get a chance, listen to them and you will become a Rahmaniac like me!

முதல் தேடல்

காத்திருக்கிறேன் அவன் வரவுக்காக
கண்ணில் சிறு தேடல்
அதை மறைக்க கையில் ஒரு புத்தகம்

எதிர்பாரா நேரத்தில் உன் வரவு
என் கண்ணில் சிறு மின்மினி
எதையோ நினைத்து ஒரு புன்னகை
என்னவென்று கேட்க துடிக்கும் என் மனம்

அருகில் வந்து அமர் ந்தாய்
இதயத்துடிப்பு அதிகரிக்க
ஒரு சின்ன வார்த்தை "அலோ"
எத்தனை அர்த்தங்கள்
ஒளிந்திருக்கும் சிறு குறள்

மெய்ச்சிலிர்த்தேன் அத்தருணத்தில்
என் பேனா எழுத துடித்தது
மொழி கண்ணில் மறைய
உன் வடிவம் என்னில் கரைய

Break free

I want to break free
from the entanglements of everyday rigmarole,
fly far until my wings show me their full potential

I want to break free
from the information overflow engulfing my thoughts,
seek serenity until my left brainwaves slow down their speed

I want to break free
from the noises emanating from all directions,
admire the stillness until my ears could hear soft music

I want to break free
from the responsibilities and society enforced restrictions,
walk with the full moon until my footsteps make rhythmic raps

I want to break free
from the pressures of time and mood swings,
romance around until my heartbeats echo my love

Dreadful word called "exams"

During casual weekly conversations with my dad, he asks me "When is the final exam?". When I tell him that I don't have final exams this quarter, he wonders what kind of a course it is without a final exam. Currently I'm working on a business plan evaluation paper and trying to come up with a new business plan for my eBusiness Models course. These assignments demand a greater amount of effort and thinking than the conventional final exams that we are so used to giving after every semester.

One of the many good aspects I like about my PGSEM program at IIMB is the evaluation. In the past 1.5 years, I have done many group projects, individual assignments, case analyses, role plays, a couple of self reflective papers, two business plans, a movie review etc apart from a few exams/quizzes. I like this variety of options offered in different courses. Although it involves considerable effort throughout the quarter unlike the last few days of preparation in my engineering days, I am having fun as I work through these evaluations.

It would have been a different learning experience if a similar evaluation was adopted for Engineering courses as well. The one final exam where 100% is at stake does not auger well for our engineering education although people who write "Made Easy" books have become richer year after year.