Mar 26

Dear Mr. Salif Rasaki…

From the laptop of,
KYOUOWNWOH OUAGADOUGOU
My Apartment, Landlord’s building Complex,
Boring City, Equally Boring State,
Whachamacallit Country.

NOTE:- The contents of this mail is absolutely public and highly non-consequential, and is absolutely aimed at digressing all limits of rationality and decency. It is aimed at ridiculing you and your institution, and any resemblance between you and an African chimpanzee drawn is absolutely intentional and well-deserved.

Dear Mr. Salif Rasaki,

Sub:- Regarding the transfer of 2 million dollars to my account!

I am absolutely dumbfounded, astonished, and shocked! No! It has nothing to do with Miss Neha Kapur winning the Miss India pageant! It is because of the fact that you were able to find me out inspite of me being undercover! Yes! And now I am going to make it public that I am not who you think I am! I indeed am the kith of the royal family of OUAGADOUGOU! I infact am the next prince to rule the land where ur Bank of Efrican is located! And because I with my genuine power of foresight (bestowed to me by dear ol’ Baba Bhaijaan, about whom I will write later) had realized that a military coup will result in the destruction of my entire family, and so I escaped in the middle of the night ala our Bollywood movies amidst thunders and torrential rains, and after crossing saat samundar changed my identity and my looks (well u know.. color and all that). But you still found me out! The FBI and CIA gotto learn something off of you!

Neeeeewaaayssss.. so as my esteemed self had predicted, the military coup was a success and you have written that all of my family alongwith with my relatives were killed while trying to escape in a plane! Oh! Woebegone on the Kenyan Airlines! I always knew they couldn’t be trusted! That was the reason I walked all the way!
Oh Well! So I believe that you were spared by the military coup! Well, good for u! What was that? You had to dress like a female gorilla and hide in the jungles? Awwwww… what!! eeks! that must’ve been painful! I bet the male gorilla had no idea! Well .. well.. now now.. comeon no hard feelings Mr. Rasaki! Well its the order of the nature! Males.. females.. u know how it goes.. don’t you?!
Whatz that? Oh ok.. coming back to the point! So my father had deposited 20 million USD in your esteemed bank. Eh? And now you have been so generous enough to have found me out, and want to give it back to me! Well, I know, that if I come over there as Prince OUAGADOUGOU, the coup may try to assassinate me too! And so, you have devised this ingenious plan (how very wily and clever of you my dear Rasaki! Oh! How rude of me to have compared u to a chimp! I am sorry .. chimp!) well.. so, you want me to give you my details as the long lost relative of the royal family now residing in this whachamacallit nation, but never really show up! Oh! How convenient!! All u need is my account number, with the routing number for the bank and the personal phone number and address. Isn’t it? Well, u already have my address at the start of this mail, so thatz settled! Now you wanna keep 60% of our bank balance with yourself, and then u want to visit me with your wife, and children, and at that time u will discreetly, and under utmost secrecy and protection, transfer the all of the amount to me in hard green, USD!!! For the love of chimpanzees! Hold me.. nay pray support me, lest I shalt faint in utter surprise and merriment!
[Playing in the background “mujhe mil jo jaaye thoda paisa.. thoda paisa..” and “Money money money.. must be funny for the African bankers… “(with due apologies to ABBA)] Now herez what I am going to do Mr. Salif Rasaki, I do not quite trust the security of these emails and so have deviced an equally ingenious plan as yours. I shall encode my personal details in a blog, and write it out, and embed in it, using complicated extrapolated algorithm of random number generation, the place for our secret meeting! You will, I am sure, realize that it is the secret forest next to the palace of OUAGADOUGOU family! Now you wear your female gorilla costume and make sure that u are there at the right time, to receive my account number and bank routing number, which I shall embed in a male gorrilla! How is it gonna give u those details, you ask Mr. Rasaki?! Now, now. comeon.. u know.. the male.. female.. nature thing! What say you? Eagerly waiting to receive those 2 million dollars!
Yours absolutely wasted,
KYOUOWNWOH OUAGADOUGOU!

Mar 24

Soulful Songs for Soul – Bhaavageete – II

Previously, I had listed a set of songs, which are poetic compositions and have formed a new genre of music – “Light Music” or more rightly termed “Bhaavageete” in Kannada. These songs describe with fervor the passion, the pain, and beauty of the various emotional upheavels a person goes through under different circumstances. I would like to add a few more songs as promised earlier, to the list erstwhile!
  1. Enee Mahaanandave :- There may hardly be a Kannadiga not aware of Shri DVG (D V Gundappa) or his magnanimous work – “Mankutimmana Kagga” that has been aptly regarded as the summary of all epics and vedas. His another brilliant work is “Antahpura geetegaLu” that has verses composed praising the beauty of the sculptures in Belur and Halebid – the “shilaabaalikeyaru”. This particular song is picked from that collection, and has been sung by Smt. Ratnamala Prakash. The poet thrills at the various dance postures exhibited by them, and wonders as to what led to the merriment with such aplomb, clearly oblivious of others! These beautiful damsels engage in their art to please the Lord Chennakeshava, who is hinting at them from the corner of his eyes!
  2. O nanna chetana :- Kuvempu’s vishwa maanava sandesha has been wonderfully embedded in this beautiful composition that wishes for the soul to rise and spread! To go beyond the limitations of the mundane existence and reach its full potential and cover the entire space! I feel a certain inspiration emanating from the song, that asks of the mankind, not just the soul, to reach out to its full potential! A very inspiring composition indeed!
  3. ellAdaru iru eMtaadaru iru :- Always remain a true Kannadiga! The supreme message, the call that Sri Kuvempu gave out to the multitudinous population of Kannadigas the world over, that lit in their hearts a flame of love and devotion towards their mother tongue! For a true kannadiga every part of his environment, his surrounding reminds him of his motherland, and symbolizes his mothertongue. Yet another awe-inspiring composition by the master! His many other songs that are my all time favorites include “doora balu doora“, “chandramanchake baa chakori“, “tEna vinaa“, “nUru dEvaranella“, “brundaavanake haalanu maaralu“, “teredide mane O bA atithi“, and many others.
  4. yaava mOhana muraLi kareyitu :- Composed by Sri Gopala Krishna Adiga, to summarize or explain the essence of this song is something that I have never felt capable of. The deep rooted philosophical significance of man’s desires, their influence on his life, is all strikingly expressed in just one line of the entire poem – iruvudellava biTTu iradudareDege tuDivude jeevana (To ignore what we have, and yearn for what we don’t – that is life).
  5. Ondu munjaavinali :- Shri Cennaveera kanavi is yet another poet who revived the dharwad style of kannada, in kannada literature after Sri da.ra.bendre. This song describes the beauty of a rainy morning! The earth looks like a newly wed bride, as the sun rises in the east, smiling softly behind the white clouds! It is as I always say, a verbal painting. My other favorites from his compositions include “Elenna manadanne“.
  6. Ello hudukide illada devara :- G S Shivarudrappa, a contemporary poet has been lauded as “samanvaya kavi” – for he blended different styles of modern kannada literature – navodaya, navya, and bandaaya. His poems are lyrical, and talk of nature, human emotions, the exploitation of the underprevileged, etc. In this particular composition, Dr. GSS, writes of how man vainly searches for the supreme spirit in temples and other places of worship, without realizing that he dwells inside us, as love, compassion and understanding. He regrets the importance man gives to his ego, than to love and caring. The other compositions that are amongst my favorites are – “haadu haleyadaadarenu bhaava nava naveena“, “ede tumbi haadidenu andu naanu“, “udugana veshtitha“, etc.
    Well, this in brief is about some of my favorite poetic compositions. I must’ve most certainly left out a lot of songs, but will keep writing often about them, time and again. So thatz it for now!

P.S: Several readers have appreciated and posted comments on this section and its really heartening to see the interest in the light music and compositions. However, I strongly suggest the readers to buy the CDs (they are priced really slow and cost less than a cup of coffee at CCD!).  This way you’ll be promoting the language and music.  And I do not send out songs to anybody’s email IDs. So please make an effort to buy and not share over emails! 🙂

Mar 22

Midnite Musings…

It is the middle of the nite, 2 : 14 AM.. and am sleepless in Wichita! The fact of the matter is that I slept early, and woke up in the middle of the night, and realized that I was thinking of someone! How often does this happen? The feeling of missing someone so close, its so intense, I can hardly breathe!
I turned 26 on 19th of March! Several wishes, several greetings, parties, treats, gifts, and all that jazz! I got up and looked at all of ’em once again. So many relationships.. some old.. some new! Friends since my school and pre school days… friends just a few months old.. relatives, family.. wishes from everyone! A few so special, that they made me feel so blessed for being me! I feel blessed for having them in my life!
It was supposed to be spring in Wichita! Surprisingly enough, its freezing outside! Rained continuously for 2 days, and even snowed heavily in parts of Kansas! The weather too seems to be revolting against man! Giving warning signs of his over exploitation. The heart thinks otherwise! Did someone send forth this coldness?
Sunday, I returned to RJing after a sojourn for almost 6 months. Not many of my readers here may know that I am also an RJ. The return was indeed welcomed, and got really good responses too! There is something to be said of human connection! It’s just a voice, of a person many haven’t even seen, or have no idea of! And yet, it somehow touches you! The feedbacks were heartening!
Got a whole lot of work coming up in the next couple of weeks. A couple of important things of my life will be decided in the forthcoming weeks! Am I tense?Strangely, I have no idea of it! Is it that I have become numb to such feelings?
I just wish.. that my mind would stop thinking for a moment, and be still. I guess I’ll try to lull it to sleep somehow…

Mar 15

Reinventing Wheels :’Julie’

Statutory Warning:- If you do not like me sounding archaic in my preferences, STOP READING this post rite now!
Be in any Indian Film Music, I have never felt comfortable redoing the tunes of one, into another! Bollywood is notoriously famous for lifting its tunes from every nook and corner of the world, and the trend does trickle down and Kannada Film Industry (Sandalwood), is no exception for that. So whatz my issue on it? Well just that, it is not necessary!! Ever since past few years, there is growing instance in KFM (Kannada film Music) to lift the tunes off of other language movies. I feel remaking a movie does not necessitate the inclusion of the same tunes as in the original! For one, it leads one to compare the two, and obviously as is in most cases, get disappointed with the newer version. 2006 has seen the release of the movie Julie – a remake of the classic hindi movie “Julie” – that won for actress Lakshmi her first Filmfare award! This movie stars the current hottie Ramya cast opposite Dino Morea (for crying out loud!!!!). The songs not surprisingly are entirely rip offs of the hindi version.
1. Nanna ninna preetiyalli :
Singer:- Kunal Ganjawala, Lyrics:- K Kalyan, Music Director:- Rajesh Ramnath
“dil kya kare jab kisise” – Kishore kumar’s oozing sensuousness in this song is something that is stark missing in Kunal’s voice. The thing about writing reviews for such is that I fear that I may sound biased! But seriously, Kunal’s voice is that of a young boy who hasn’t matured at all or who is waiting for his voice to break! The sensuality that is supposed to be in a guy wooing a girl is the last thing one can think of listening to this song! The lyrics are good, what with them being K Kalyan’s penmanship but still bear resemblance to the original! As for Rajesh Ramnath’s music, well an orchestra would have produced the music! It’s a copy after all!
2. My Heart is beating :
Singer :- Chaithra, Lyrics :- Hrudayanath, Music Director :- Rajesh Ramnath
Chaithra is refreshing! She is a certain welcome as compared to Preeti Sagar! The lyrics are the same as in the original version, penned by Hrudayanath Chattopadhyay. Her voice is extremely fresh, and provides a new dimension to the song as compared to a bland version in the original.
3. Ee haadu modala haadu:
Singer :- Priyadarshini, Lyrics :- K Kalyan, Music Director :- Rajesh Ramnath
“yeh raatein nayee puraani” by Lata Mangeshkar is immensely more likeable than this song. Lyrics is passable.
4. Dava Dava edeyali :
Singer :- Udit Narayan, Chaitra, Lyrics :- V Nagendra Prasad, Music Director :- Rajesh Ramnath
A rip off of “bhool gaya sab kucch” with the male voice rendered by Udit Narayan is nothing but a crude murder! The sentences seem needlessly stretched in order to introduce a sensuousness that is never present! And why has Udit started to sound nasal like Kumar Sanu! There are instances in the song where is sounds deeply constipated and in terrible pain at the thought of love making! Well less said better about this song!
5. Navaneetha Chora :
Singer :- Priyadarshini, Lyrics :- K C Kiran, Music Director :- Rajesh Ramnath
Another song that is sung very distinctly from the original movie, and one that stands on its own self in a good stead. Singer Priyadarshini sounds fresh, and has a long way to go. Lyrics is well worded.
Well, over all, I’d say the songs could have been a lot more better, and maybe original and not try to follow the scores already set. Hopefully some day its gonna stop or atleast improve their skills in copying!
You can listen to the songs here.

Mar 08

Ravindra Jain : The Return Of A Legend

I have several scores that I would want to settle with Bollywood. And this is not just about having species like Meghana Naidu, Payal Rohatgi, Udita Goswami, et al around!! Time and again, I have pointed out the several talented stalwarts whom the industry utilized and later on sent them to the oblivion. In the genre of Music Directors/lyricists, the one of the names that rings true in this context is that of Ravindra Jain.
Ravindra Jain was born on the 28th of February (a Piscean like me!!!) 1944. His foray into the hindi film industry wasn’t smooth. Inspite of the initial set backs, the first movie that finally was released with his music direction was Kaanch Aur Heera (1972). Immediately after that, the Rajshri Productions lapped up this talented Music director for their production – Saudagar (1973) which starred Amitabh Bacchan and Nutan. This movie gave the necessary fame needed for Jain to set his foot firm in the soils of Bollywood.
His growth and flourish was nevertheless established over the decades by several movies. The songs of Chor Machaaye Shor (1974) (le jaayenge le jaayenge dilwaale dulhaniya le jaayenge, ghungaroo ki tarah) created a ripple in the heart of music lovers and Ravindra Jain became a familiar name. What followed were a series of memorables that have ever since ruled the hearts of music lovers – Geet Gata Chal, Chitchor, Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se, Fakira, Kotwal Saab, Dulhan Wohi Jo Piya Man bhaaye, Pati Patni Aur Woh, Insaaf Ka Taraazu, Nadiya ke paar, etc. He is credited with introducing several talented singers such as K J Yesudas, Hemalatha, Jaspal Singh, Aarthi Mukherjee, etc.
Raj Kapoor was looking for a seasoned talent for his new venture and immediately raked in Jain, and the legacy of “Ram Teri Ganga Maili” still continues to enthrall the listeners, and history repeated itself through “Henna“. Then followed the tragic decline of the talent vested in him. The physical blindness that he suffered from never proved a liability as did the blindness that the industry suffered with! Rajshri Productions abandoned him to include Ram Laxman, and the offers that he started getting were not even remotely mentionable, what with most of the movies being B grade flicks or ones that were not released nationwide.
Just when he seemed long forgotten, Rajshri Productions have rejoined hands with him for their latest production – Vivaah. Will this provide the much needed comeback for this music director, is for time to reveal. When challenged, Ravindra Jain has always delivered phenomenal music, and let’s hope that this shall create history as did the rest.
Now for my favorite songs listing :-
  1. Le jaayenge Le jaayenge dilwaale dulhaniya – Chor Machaaye Shor
  2. Ghunghroo Ki Tarah Bajtaa hi rahaa hoon main – Chor Machaaye Shor
  3. Geet Gata Chal O Saathi – Geet Gata Chal
  4. All the songs of Chitchor
  5. Ankhiyon ke Jharokhon Se – Ankhiyon ke jharokhon se
  6. Sun ke teri pukaar – Fakira
  7. Dil Mein tujhe bithaakar – Fakira
  8. Le toh aaye ho hamein – Dulhan wohi jo piya man bhaaye
  9. Sunayana – Sunayana
  10. All the songs of Ram Teri Ganga Maili
  11. All the songs of Henna

Mar 07

Academi(y)c Blunder!

The 78th Academy Awards were given out on the 6th of March, evening at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood. The highlights of the award ceremony were obviously the regal selection of movies – some of which were never a hit in the box office list. This went to assure us movie fans that Oscar Awards did not after all get ruled by the numbers and fame! Or did I speak too soon? Well, there were a couple of surprises in stack, after all habits are hard to get over. Isn’t it?
When the nominations were announced, the fact that Brokeback Mountain was selected under 8 categories (the highest in the list this time) came as a welcome breeze! Hollywood seemed to have finally stepped out of the oblivion in encompassing issues of Social concern, which even drove the political campaign in the United States. Not just this movie, but the others selected under the best movie category too showcased the same! But hardly a few were as hard hitting as the former. I’d say that Crash would follow Brokeback Mountain. The theme dealt in the movie Crash, was equally sensitive, and very novel. The 2 days that seemed to bring different people (from different cultures) and different issues altogether, leaving a lasting impression on the minds of the characters (and also the viewers) and changing them forever, is a theme that very few films can do justice to! And in this venture, CRASH wasn’t a debacle at all. No sireee.. on the contrary, it nailed the issue to the point, right on the head, and drove it straight where it had to be driven! Yet, at the end of the day, the story that showcases the hypocritic attitude of the society towards the ‘queer’ community is one, that makes us stand still. Typically the academy had been following the tradition of awarding the best director, and the best movie to the same Film (except the past couple of years). When Ang Lee won the award, I was all set to watch Brokeback walk away with the best movie award too. Am I disappointed that Crash got it? I woudn’t say so. But yeah, Brokeback Mountain deserved it.
The awards in the category of best animations, was yet another surprise! Tim Burton’s “The Corpse Bride” was several times enjoyable than “Wallace and Gromit…”. The former was, if I may say, more sassy, classy, witty, and definitely pleasant! I did have high expectations on the “Howl’s Moving Castle” till I watched the movie. For those of us who expected another “Spirited Away” or something better, this movie was indeed a let down of the size of King Kong. The best make-up award being given to the team of “Chronicles of Narnia” was yeddanoder surprise, what with the contender being “Star Wars-III Revenge of the Sith“. And forgive me for sounding archaic, “In the deep”(Crash) was a much better score than “Its hard out here for a Pimp”(Hustle & Flow). The couple of movies that I felt richly deserved the awards they won, were ofcourse “King Kong” and “Memoirs of a Geisha“.
Finally, yet another annual event of great expectation is over, and another series of movies shall be screened in hope of winning the big ‘O’. Hopefully if the last year was any hint of what is coming forth, we may see Hollywood churning out movies that are more meaningful and bearing more impact. If it may seem like the Academy Awards is making up for the negligence is showed earlier, then better late than never!
As a passing thought, whatever made India send the repulsive “Paheli” to the Oscars while there was the mesmerizing “Black“?!! Guess some things are just universal!