Rock On

The channel, MTV, has been long known for airing preposterous shows brimming with vulgarity. However, Kurkure Desi Beats – MTV Rock ON came as a refreshing change.
A music show where people grouped into bands perform original compositions, compositions blended with a flavor of desipann and predominantly, the typical vocal chord straining, head banging hard rock element.

Though I was not regular in watching the audition sessions, I happened to see the Kolkata auditions episode. I must accept, the place teems with musical talent. Sambit, a drummer and Raahi, a vocalist, caught my attention with their zeal and energy. They got selected and in fact, sailed till the end.

The show had Ram Sampath, a music director, Kailash Kher, a superb singer and Nikhil Chin-up-aa, MTV VJ as judges. I spent months of Aug-Oct 2009, waiting for Sat 7pm, watching this program, loving it for the fact that it did not focus on vocalists alone but gave importance to instrumentalists as well. I genuinely feel that instrumentalists are more gifted than vocalists, they understand the most subtle nuances of music which are easily forgotten or overlooked by vocalists. Ironically, it is also true that they get lesser recognition and credit.

This show on MTV turned out to be my favorite for 3 reasons –
1) I loved music
2) It did not carry the conventional ingredients of a MTV show – cat fights, drama in name of road adventure, verbal abuse, churlish quotient etc
3) It had adults as participants. Not young, schoolchildren who left behind their bags/books, spent all time in the studio recording/singing only to get dejected and utterly lost on the day of elimination. To make it more traumatic, the child’s parents sob, whine, sulk and fight, creating a picture of irreversible damage to the child’s career and life.

The participants from auditions were put through multiple rounds of elimination, usually attended by a guest, an external judge apart from the usual three. Their inputs were valuable but also surprised me at times; they excused many a mistake from some but showed the door to few who went wrong just once.

Out of the eliminated participants, I loved Parul, a vocalist. She rendered the remix version of the Hindi film song, Soni de Nakhre very beautifully. Mr.Mari, a saxophone player, though not versatile in tunes and style, his age (60+) and passion to play alongside people in 20s undoubtedly deserved accolades. Agnithra, a tabla player, Keshav, a guitarist and Jared, a guitarist (though not a vocalist, he rendered a superb version of “Genda Phool” in baritone voice) are other names I will remember.


Decisions marking exit for some came very late, as in case of Geetharthi, Abhinanda, Anish and Bikram, all are vocalists. They had the clear advantage over instrumentalists, after all a band requires some one to sing and take centre stage. This gave them the edge, even when they lacked potential, over instrumentalists for whom a single error cost heftily, the toughest competition reigning in the guitarist’s category.

The BEST survived and formed three bands.
Dhairya – comprised of Iman Sen, a vocalist from Kolkata, perfect playback singer material, great voice with immense depth, who put his heart and soul to every song he sang. His clarity, seamless transitions between notes, passionate and zero inhibition performances were a treat. I would love to see his name on the Bollywood playback charts some day.
Then there is Aviv, on guitar, highly talented leader of the band, Collins, the rapper, bringing hip-hop flavor to the song, a total enthu guy, Akashdeep, truly talented bass guitarist, Parth on flute (a very disciplined and down to earth performer, highly gifted musician) and Yadhu Nandan on drums adding life and vital beats to the song.
Iman and Parth, in my opinion, were always flawless and rocked every episode.

Khilaugh – This band is a precious gem, a star-studded collage. All members of this band are my favorites. Each member is a king and together, they ROCK on stage. They are very adorable, devoid of ego, and full of a unique sense of friendliness. They might not have bagged the first place in the competition but I am sure they will walk away with bigger and better laurels some day if they continued to perform together.

The leader is the “Raakshas Gaayak”, sobriquet provided by Kailash Kher to Raahi for his orotund voice. He always ensured that you banged your head, tapped your feet, clapped your hands and enjoyed his song as much as he did. He would tear his vocal chords apart with a never say die attitude. Sambit, on drums shared equal fervor.
Kaushik, Ashok and Pratyush on guitar, though relatively soft natured people, stole hearts with their fingers playing meticulously over the strings. They were the magicians of the band. Of all guitarists in the finale, Pratyush, Kaushik and Ashok were my hot favorites. They wore sweet smile on their faces when they crafted their parts in complete sync and perfect harmony with the others; there was never a clash between the three guitarists of the band. Then there is DJ Saab with an element of style, revolutionizing modern day music with his turntable. With whack, whacky turns on the turntable, he created sounds that provided a never heard before funky quotient. They were unbeatably the best in every sense. “Jugni”, a song performed by Raahi in one of the elimination rounds is a superb piece to watch.

Saadhak – The winner of the competition comprised of very talented musicians. With Nirdosh, the guitarist on the forefront, there was no looking back for this band from start. Nirdosh was way above his peers and no novice to music, his desipann and musical acumen conquered his tunes. Indigenous elements were mixed boldly by Naitik on percussion (the dhol). Tanmoy, on drums, left no stone unturned. Sachin, the violinist, a prodigy, ensured that the music delivered was always of A1 grade. Raj, the KILLER bass player let his hair loose and played with immense fervor, getting deep down to intrinsic notes of the song, leaving his stamp of perfection on each one of them. Willy, though not talented as other vocalists - Iman or Raahi, mingled well with the masters in his band.

The problem with this band was copious ego among its members – Nirdosh, Naitik and Sachin were too excessively talented to shed their differences and come together. Sachin, especially, as the sole violinist in the contest threw tantrums and worked to dominate the centre stage. The differences between them were so huge at times that they expressed dissent openly in recording studio before Ram.

For this flaw, I feel they should not have won the title in the grand finale. Music is the primary element in judgment, but being happy and natural, playing as a band also matters, when on stage in front of an audience. After all, when music is the primary element, discord between people who render it sounds absurd. Members of Saadhak never seemed to complement each other, rather they appeared juxtaposed with one another, bundled together to achieve a dream. However, taking their creations, “Bulle Shah” and “Billo Aunty” of two varied genres– the former being Sufi and the latter, a happy go lucky, naughty song, as instances will reveal why they grabbed the big pie.

To know more about these bands, to download their compositions, one can check - http://rockon.mtvindia.com/
Read more: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloids/rocking-trio-727

Why so diplomatic?

Today we are completing an year in sheer disbelief, anguish and shame, of how a terrorist attack, of an unprecedented scale, masterminded by our neighbour, executed by a group of 10 ruthless scavengers held the nation on tenterhooks for 62 hours. Toll in hundreds, bloodbath in iconic places in the financial capital, unimaginable scale of destruction to prestigious builidings, tragic loss of heroes from State Police and NSG who faced terror without the slightest hesitation, forgetting their families so that the larger population could watch their bravery on television - the thought sends a chill down our spine.

You don’t need to be a Marathi to feel this pain; you don’t need to reside in the city to share the fear, being an Indian will suffice. Every time visuals from the episode an year back, flash on TV or a 11-year-old kid quizzes on TV why his parents were killed in CST on that fateful night, you hang your head in shame to know how easily security lapses lead to such humongous loss of life. Nobody has talked of these lapses, the reasons behind not being able to uncover the operation in planning phase itself. The newspapers said that the terrorists were well versed with different places of attack, they did a recee before arriving, what were we doing when they did this recee?

We are sadly, the neighbor to a nation that foments terror every day, a nation that in spite of vivid proof tactfully declines our carefully prepared dossiers. We are neighbor to a nation that strikes terror on a visiting cricket team and thereby ruins our chances of a hosting an internationally important event, because you never know where terror will strike, you have to be paranoid. Millions of rupees as revenue from the IPL2 was lost so that loss of lives is avoided. Not bad at all, but how long do we cow down under fear and pressure? Why cannot we question from within, why are we not preparing dossiers on the officers who failed to do their duty in national agencies, who in spite of information input failed to see a catastrophe so bleak, in the making? When you have a rotten neighbor who is unrepentant for unleashing terror on your soil, why cannot you be more agile, buckle up and be prepared always?

Why this diplomacy, why mellow down as if nothing has happened at all?

Why shake hands with such a neighbor at Sharm-el-sheik? Why talk of Baluchistan, the biggest ever gaffe one can imagine? The people of India are still frustrated with what happened, they are still teeming with anger and helplessness. As an elected representative of the people of India of the highest order, is’nt the Prime Minister of India supposed to give a cold shoulder to the neighbor, shake hands with all leaders but meekly ignore the presence of this neighbor in the meeting room. I would have given a perfect 10 on 10 for such an act. Why have cultural, sports, or any ties in any field with such neighbors who cannot live and let live?

Strokes of diplomacy surface again with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the White House. Obama gave India a nice thrashing during his visit to Beijing, bestowing supreme powers on China to poke their nose in matters related to India –Pakistan border.

Where we stand in United States perspective was evident from Obama’s Beijing visit? For a nation that treats India like a pet Pomeranian, should we not assert our position and self-respect rather than respecting an invitation to a black tie dinner at the White House?

We must not sulk, that is immature, we must treat people with respect and be diplomatic, come what may. May be this is what the head of the nation is trying to teach us all.
Nevertheless, I find it absolutely impossible to draw a trace of logic from such actions.

Why be so diplomatic? Sometimes it is important to show your anger and emotions, of course, through right channels, which is when others know you are not to be taken for granted. Ten months into presidency, Obama has started playing games with India like his predecessors. Turning down on an invitation from the White House, a never given before to invite to an Indian on the pretext of some pressing official/national work, may be some security meet to not let another 26/11 happen would have been a good reply to the world’s Big Brother.

After all we have been diplomatic for a long time now.

References : Inspired by an article that appeared on Sunday Times, 22nd Nov 2009, by Mr. MJ Akbar - http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/TheSiegeWithin/entry/terror-threat-we-have-lost

All that glitters is GOLD

My attention, in the last few months has been directed towards soaring prices of GOLD, primarily, due to my father’s occasional cribs that he missed out investing on them when it was 1150 Rs/gm. Sure, even I feel I have missed out on a golden opportunity for the metal is priced at 1700+ Rs/gm today.

A casual browse through some archives of National Geographic magazine brought me to this article – “The real price of Gold” from the Jan 2009 issue (refer http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text) and this blog post is inspired from it, a 13 page long article that kept me hooked to it despite its length.

The article opens with a narration of artisans and miners at the world’s highest town, La Rinconada in the Peruvian Andes mountains. Possesed by gold, these artisans lead their life under a cachorreo system where they toil at the mines without pay for 30 days in a month and use a single shift on the 31st day to make their fortune, dig and gather as much ore for 4 hours; carry as much as their fatigued shoulders can. All this with some coca leaves to satisfy their hunger and with constant prayers to return home alive and LUCKY.

In a town, about 17000 feet above the sea level, tunneling through curves under glacial ice sheets, at elevations where even oxygen is denied, residing at homes which lack sanitation facilities, these people set out to work every day with the hope of making a big fortune. They wait for that 31st day when the ore they carry bares some microscopic, wondrous particles of GOLD. Most artisans use mercury to separate gold from the rocks casually, inhale mercury fumes in the process, blissfully ignorant of the damage they do to themselves neurologically and to future generations genetically; to the environment, releasing the poisonous metal in liquid and gas states. Such is the frenzy for GOLD that it shrouds and suppresses all humanly instincts, that of hunger, thirst, hygiene and most importantly kindness to fellow humans and to nature. We do not require exemplary instances of the 1848 gold rush in California, the Bulgarian Gold rush, from the multiple conquests in ancient times to the many civil wars in African nations to validate this statement.

However, worse than all this is the current trend of rising GOLD prices, skyrocketing to a pinnacle that will send the whole planet plummeting to an infernal state. The article in NatGeo shifts from Peruvian Andes to Indonesia, the Batu Hijau operations by Newmont Mining Corporation. The Denver based, world’s largest mining corporation is steadily driving ecological disturbances at a determined rate through its huge open pit mines and fleet of super size Caterpillar machines.

The article provides a stark fact – to produce gold required for a typical wedding ring – 250 tons of rock and ore are removed. The people on this island Sumbawa, in Indonesia grew up hearing bedtime stories of gold cached behind the green mountains. Currently, they are employed under a foreigner to dig open the Earth’s crust to reveal this tantalizing metal. The inhabitants of this island cleared large areas of rainforest to create the open pit mine, cleared more rain forests to accomadate heaps of waste rock and ore, they being citizens of a developing nation bore the brunt of the company’s wastes disposal down into their sea floor. They are paving way for their destruction, steadily and carelessly towards a catastrophe on this earth; all in exchange for good roads, some apartment complexes, an international school, pizza restaurants for the 4000 mine workers in the town ship of Batu Hijau.

The toll will be a hefty one but it is strategically masked by a handsome and regular monthly pay sanctioned to the miners, truly a paltry amount considering the profits, the mining company churns out of its mammoth scale activities. The irony is gold is elusive for these miners at Batu Hijau, they still have not seen a speck of it. The ore with the green rock (gold is usually associated with copper) is promptly transported to smelters abroad and only the chemical wastes return days later. In Ghana, a Canadian company, Bogoso Mining Limited was in headlines for releasing cyanide from open pit mining operations into the local water supply.

So despite all this, what is it that makes us run behind this metal with the chemical symbol – Au? When we were at school, we hardly came across chemical equations having Au, typically because it is chemically inert; gold is immortal and so is its shine, the properties of malleability and ductility. We learnt that only aqua regia dissolves it and yes, we were done with this metal Gold.

How did GOLD become so significant in an educated middle class Indian family? Frankly, gold transcends all barriers in India, that of religion, language, class, race, sect, and castes. All want to possess it; from birth to death, to more importantly during the marriage phase in between. The author of the Nat Geo article ridicules the omnipotent desire of Indians to amass this metal both for adornment and investment reasons.

Take a gold loan if you cannot afford it, join a chit fund even if the agency is not reliable, but buy GOLD; particularly accumulate GOLD from day one if you have a girl child. Even if you don’t have money, buy gold on Akshaya Trithi, it brings good luck. I remember one of the Tamil movie comedies by an artist, Vivek in this reference, where he wakes up an unconscious woman, placing a loud speaker in her ears and announcing an offer on gold in shops at Panagal Park, Chennai. Panagal Park in Chennai teems with gold shops and hoardings with beautiful actresses adorning gold jewellery.

Does soaring price of gold stop this mad rush? The answer is a blatant and a quick NO.

When you are about to amass this metal, just think for a brief moment, the extent of environmental damage that you advocate. Think of nations that suffer at the hands of exploitative companies and multinational giants, lives of millions of people without basic amenities, toiling their way blindly to meet your insatiable demand for the metal.

I pray for the day to dawn in India when the government will issue statutory directives against exchange of gold in any form between concerned parties in wedding and will advocate a system of non-ceremonious/register marriages. Sadly, this day will never dawn. The metal gold is very tightly interwoven into our spirit and culture, so tightly that a mother does not mind strangulating her baby girl to death in the fear of her inability to accumalate gold for her wedding years later.

There is no exaggeration in how strongly I feel against amassing such precious metals – be it gold, or even opulent craze for platinum and diamonds. I would prefer leaving something intact behind on this Earth for the generations to come rather than photos of me adorned in gold necklaces, bangles, earrings and saris woven with gold thread.

One thing is sure – for the demand that gold has, for the rate at which these mad miners are excavating the earth, its every nook and corner; nothing will be left of it. We will be left with a solitary question, "Do we possess GOLD or does GOLD possess us? " as asked by Peter L. Bernstein, the author of The Power of Gold.

Silk Route to Bollywood

“Dooba Dooba Rahta Hoon Aankhon mein teri”… were the lines Mohit Chauhan sang in a soft, sleepy, romantic voice, for his debut album "Boondhein" as a lead singer of the band Silk Route. The band did a couple of albums before dissolution. People then, were not much bothered about Mohit’s individual identity.

Years later, came the song "Tum Se Hi" from the movie Jab we Met. A boffo at the box office, crafted and enacted to perfection, the movie's music smashed top charts and Mohit rode on the success vehicle with the rest of the team. “Who sang Tum se Hi?” “Very beautifully sung in a soothing voice, the singer has sung it with his heart and soul”. Compliments poured in and it came to the forefront that Mohit Chauhan was no novice to the industry, he had already rendered "Khoon Chala" of Rang de Basanti fame.

In film playback industry which is a frenzied melee, millions of singers, professionally trained and non trained, from different age groups, backgrounds, regions/mother tongue - fight for a bigger piece of pie. Making heads turn, winning critical and popular acclaim is a Herculean task. Mohit Chauhan did just that by singing “Masakali” in Delhi 6 movie, a song, I must say, Rahman would have felt proud composing. There are some special, never-heard-before elements of music in it. As Mohit starts humming ... "Hey he heey hey hey nana nnaanana naa", one sails seamlessly with the melody.

The recent movie Love Aaj Kal turned out to be a huge disappointment in all aspects - story, cast, direction and screenplay. It did not live up to the standards of an auteur like Imtiaz Ali. The only vantage point in it was the song “Yeh Dooriyan” sung by Mohit. The song scored a perfect ten for its soulful lyrics and flawless rendition.

Mohit did not fail to deliver again! With his latest romantic ballad “Pehli Baar Mohabbat ki Hai” in movie Kaminey, he is definitely making people sway to his mellifluous voice. 

The launch pad for success is in place for this talented singer. He may only possess countable songs in his kitty but each song has received phenomenal recognition from audience. Mohit’s journey from Silk Route to Bollywood has been a commendable one, but if it was smooth like silk is a question, he alone can answer. After all, fame cannot be earned easily. A free lunch is only found in mousetraps.

Quotable Quotes

• Harsha Bhogle, the veteran cricket commentator in his book - "Out of the Box" said,
  "Since T20 is the next big thing, the one thing I would go for is longer boundaries. The quicker the boundaries come in, the shorter it will become and the quicker it will die out because at the heart of cricket is a contest between bat and ball. The day you make one of them irrelevant, it's not cricket any more. So for T20 cricket make the boundaries distant."
  
  
  SRK on being detained at Newark airport, US for 2 hours, said it was not a drama and he needed no publicity stunt. In his interview to TOI, he was quoted saying the lines below. Quoting German pastor Martin Niemoller, Khan said, ‘‘They came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.’’

• From May 10th 2010, we get a new term, better said, an alternate expression for a very common idiom. Foot in mouth - is an idiom, all of us are familiar with, we might have done it/witnessed others doing it many a times. To put foot in mouth means - to say something that you regret, something embarrassing, something hurtful/silly/stupid. Well, from now on, we can even say - I did a "Tharoor". When one says something ridiculous, makes a preposterous remark, even a sensible remark at a wrong time to a wrong audience in a wrong forum/venue , we claim the person has done a "Tharoor". The derivation is from record of many such foot in mouth events by Mr.Shashi Tharoor, ex Union Minister of UPA cabinet who was forced to resign after the brouhaha surrounding sweat equity, office of profit and his more than mentor like involvement with the Kochi IPL franchise. Jairam Ramesh, another Union Minister of the UPA government, follows Tharoor as an ardent disciple in this context. Feel free to use this new term :)