Bingo!! Ghazal in "Main Meri Patni and Woh"

Finally after days of extensive search on the net, I managed to get a source. You can listen to the song here (preferably use IE and you should have real player installed). The name of the song is Guncha (meaning: blossom or flower bud). It’s a beautiful song, pay special attention to the lyrics. The voice is so different; anyone knows who the singer is?

Here’s the lyric, enjoy!!

guncha koi, mere naam kar diya -2
saki ne phir se mera, zaam bhar diya -2
guncha koi……

tum jaise koi nahi, is jahan main -2
subeh ko teri zulf ne, shaam kar diya -2
saki ne phir se mera, zaam bhar diya
guncha koi……

mehfil main baar baar idhar, dekha kiye -2
aankhon ke zazeeron ko mere, naam kar diya -2
saki ne phir se mera, zaam bhar diya
guncha koi……

hoosh Bekhabar se hue, un ke bager
hoosh Bekhabar se hue, un ke bager -2
wo jo humse keh na sake, dil ne keh diya -2

saki ne phir se mera, zaam bhar diya
guncha koi……

guncha koi, mere naam kar diya
saki ne phir se mera, zaam bhar diya -2

Update: The singer is Mohit Chauhan who is also the lead singer of the band 'Silk Route' (remember Dooba Dooba?). You might probably find the song now on coolgoose.com or listen online at musicindiaonline.com. Thanks to all those who responded.

The Fun That was Goa!!

We went on a office offsite to Goa last weekend which explains why I took so long for my next post! Well, we stayed at the Taj property, Fort Aguda Beach Resort and The Holiday Village which are just next to each other. Still trying to get back to normal state after three days of complete masti!

Goa was fun as usual! Since it was an office trip, most of the time we were in the hotel involved in some activities or games which again we enjoyed thoroughly. We did spend some time Saturday evening at the Baga beach and most of the first timers got the flavor of what Goa was about - just lying at the beach all day sipping beer and occasionally getting into the waves!! I will post some photographs and more about the trip soon, keep watching!!!

F1 2005: A Great Season Comes to an End

And here we come to the end of the 2005 season!! Alonso powered Renault to win the Constructor's Championship with another race victory, what a way to finish the season!

And McLaren, well!! Hard Luck for Montoya who had to retire yet again, or would have seen a much closer fight. Raikkonen with second place finish was again at his best!

A great season that was!! And the biggest winner of all was the sports itself! Check out the official website for details!

Ghazal in "Main Meri Patni and Woh"

There was a ghazal in the movie featuring Kay Kay....I could not find the lyrics anywhere on the net. Anyone has it or any pointers? Any idea where I can get the song?

Bangalore.......dead???

Went to Taika last evening, one of the popular discos' in Bangalore but no dance floor anymore and the music turned out to be boring so decided to hit Zero G. Again, the place was already shut by then. Finally landed up in Java City for some coffee and pizzas. By 11:45, that place was also closing.

I wonder if Bangalore would be back to what it usesd to be 6 months back!! When these places used to be open well past mid-night....when you could shake your legs all night at the dance floor.......when you had so many places to have coffee and snacks late in the night.....when Bangalore was the city which did not sleep!! Really miss Bombay and Delhi!!!

I wonder....after having told by the cops when to sleep.....where to dance (which is NOWHERE!!!).....when 2 pegs of Bacardi result in 85% alcohol in blood....I wonder where is Bangalore going!! Its like poor infrastructure....heavy traffic.....there were not enough problems!!!

Is the city dead?
I dont know! Maybe it is!

Who killed it?
Who?

Cops? Politicians? people?
I don't know! Maybe everyone has a role to play!!

F1 2005: The Grand Finale!!!

A great finish by Raikkonen saw him through to his seventh win this season, in what turned out to be the best race of the season. And the excitement is at the peak with just two points separating McLaren and Renault for the Constructor's Championship!! Who are you putting your money on? Mine is on McLaren!!

You don't wanna miss the final race this Sunday!!

A Smile is Worth a Thousand Brawls

As you travel on life's way
With its many ups and downs,
Remember, it's quite true to say,
"One smile is worth a dozen frowns."

Among the world's expensive things,
A smile is very cheap.
And when you give a smile away,
You get one back to keep.

So, when a friend has sadness on his face
With troubles 'round him piled,
The world will seem a better place,
All because you smiled.

I don’t know who wrote this, but I try to derive inspiration for this poem while driving on Bangalore roads. Every second you find an indisciplined auto driver overtaking you, lanes don’t seem to exist; or a car or an auto parked on a narrow busy road causing even more commotion. Honking on a red light is a common practice. Well, who wouldn’t get frustrated, it’s just a matter of time? And the way things stand as of now, it’s not getting any better.

To top it all, every now and then I find someone giving me a stare like I have committed the worst crime in the world or shouting nasty abuses. Getting into a brawl or exchanging “pleasantries” is not very uncommon.

Now I have two options. One, succumb to the pressure and add to the growing number of people with angry frustrated faces. I have seen this happening to me of late; the moment I get on the road, I start finding faults with the way people drive or jump signals and end up cursing them, or get into occasional verbal exchanges, without realizing I am no different. Others are probably thinking the same about me. And end of the day, this does no good, I end up reaching office in a very bad mood, still cursing the auto wallah who overtook me or the driver who honked at me!!

The other option I try sometimes is raising my hand and giving a smile, it could be an understanding or an apologetic smile. It doesn’t matter who is at fault. More often than not, I get a similar response. After all, the other person is probably going through similar emotions and a smile is always a welcome change. This is not easy as it is against your instinct. And of course, this doesn’t change the way the traffic flows or people drive in the city and I still get a little frustrated when on road but it does make me feel much better in the end. Who wants to see angry and irritated faces around oneself? I have noticed, even a single person giving an understanding smile dissolves all my anger and invariably makes me smile, and if I can do that to someone, that lightens both our moods.

They say smile is contagious. Maybe this will bring about smiles on the faces of a few more people. And may be, just maybe, some might change the way they drive.

Formula One 2005

I have been following the sport for past 2-3 years, especially after coming to Bangalore last year I hardly missed a race. Well, sitting at TGI Fridays' with a bunch of friends sipping beer, there is no reason why I should. In fact, the first time I watched a race was in Bangalore when I visited the city for the first in 2002. I am really impressed by the kind of following this sport has in the city. And with our very own Narain Karthikeyan now racing, the excitement and awareness for the sport has grown tremendously.

Well, I have been a Ferrari fan ever since I started watching, probably because they were winning and I didn't know better. But I am not one of those die hard fans, pretty flexible in whom I support. Also, it wasn't fun any more watching the one sided races the whole last season. So, it was quite refreshing to see the duo of Alonso and Raikkonen battling it out for the Drivers Championship this season. Even though the championship is already decided with Alonso becoming the youngest ever driver to win the title, you would not want to miss the remaining two races as a very close battle is still on for the Constructors Championship.

The season started off on a disastrous note for the reigning champion Michael Schumacher who had to retire early in the Australian Grand Prix. Though Barrichello did bring a podium finish for Ferrari with his second place finish, the stage was set for a tough season for the Ferrari but it was still too early to rule them out. The Renault has been showing good pace throughout last winter and the result of the race, with two podium finish, emphasized that this form had not been illusory. McLaren had to content with just four points, with both Montoya and Raikkonen suffering errant barge boards during the race.

Nothing much was expected of Karthikeyan in his debut race but he looked quite at ease in his Jordan and performed well to prove his critics wrong who had made disparaging remarks about his lack of experience.

The Formula One 2005 season was on!!

Renault went on to win the next three races with Alonso popping the Champagne each time. They couldn’t have expected a better start to the season. Their car was not only fast, but also the most reliable on the circuit. McLaren on the other hand had to wait till the fifth race to register a win; they were the fastest no doubt, but the engine and the car reliability was something they had to struggle with throughout the season. Ferrari had a mountain to climb if they were to retain their title, but the chances looked slim with Renault and McLaren outshining Ferrari in all departments. But the big surprise was Toyota which made its presence felt with its speed and consistency.

Renault and McLaren took turns winning the next few races with the exception of Indianapolis where the race itself turned into a fiasco after all the teams running on Michelin tyres opted out on Michelin’s advice that it could not guarantee safety on Indianapolis' banked high-speed turn. It was a big disappointment to all F1 fans and left a big question mark whether Indianapolis would be a race venue next year. This was Ferrari’s first and could very well be the only win of the season. Karthikeyan on his Jordan, one of the three teams running on Bridgestone tyres, finally managed to get some points but was outpaced by teammate Monteiro for a third place podium finish.

With thirteen podium finish and just two retirements out of the seventeen races so far, drivers’ championship was never a real threat for Alonso. There was very little to choose between Alonso and Raikkonen though, both are young and a treat to watch and we could hope that this performance continues next season. If it wasn’t for the poor reliability of McLaren, the fight would have been much closer, though McLaren did come up with a much improved car performance towards the later half of the season and the fans finally got to see a McLaren one-two finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

As far as Karthikeyan goes, he began the season on a promising note, consistently outpacing his teammate. But then, when he was expected to settle down and give a mature and intelligent show, he lost ground and found it even difficult to stay ahead of his rookie teammate, who on the other hand grabbed this opportunity and has already impressed many. There is no doubt the responsibility of carrying the expectations of one billion Indians is not easy. I do hope he gets more consistent without losing his aggressiveness, for that is his main weapon. Retaining his spot in the team might not be easy but it would be good to see him drive next year. Thanks to him, the country is more interested and curious about the sport than it was ever before.

With two more races to go, the Constructers Championship is still wide open with just two points separating Renault and McLaren. So, grab your beer and get ready for the action, Formula One was never this exciting for a long time!

Check out the Official Formula One Website for Race Results, Schedule, Technical Insights and much more!!

Cricket Again....

Cricket is something which is close to most Indians and no matter how much we get disgusted by the ineptness shown by the BCCI, or the bitching about inside and outside the dressing room, the sight of Sachin or Sehwag hitting a Six or Kumble getting someone with his googly just makes you forget everything for a few moments.

I was reading the newspaper this morning and there was an article on the front page about BCCI putting Dada on some kind of notice. And I thought what this was, after having "solved" the rift between Chappell and Ganguly. But after wasting a couple of minutes on the article, I had no more information than I already knew.

Quoting from the article,

“To a specific question on whether Ganguly should continue as captain, Mahendra said "It is for the selection committee to decide and the Board does not interfere in the matter." The BCCI chief also rebutted suggestions that the Board was turning a blind eye to Ganguly's poor form and his tendency to get embroiled in controversies which was a dangerous sign for the country's cricketing future.”

"See what you are saying could also be the feeling of many other cricket fans in the country. But let us all not forget that recently Ganguly has scored a Test hundred in Zimbabwe", he said. "Ganguly also might be seriously thinking about his form. So to say that we are not concerned or bothered is not right, we very much are," Mahendra said.”

Well, thanks Mr. Mahendra for thinking that many in country "could" also feel for the country's cricketing future. Maybe, in another few years, he will know that many "do" feel for the country's cricketing future. And about Ganguly's century, I don't have words to talk about it. And about Mahendra himself, why can't he get Dalmiya to write his public speeches as well and keep a spokesman for giving all interviews and reading out the speeches on his behalf? He might make more sense that way.

Love or Misery?

Currently reading Short Story Masterpieces by 5 British Masters, Oscar Wilde, Hector Hugo Munro, D.H.Lawrence, Joseph Conrad and Charles Dickens. Just completed couple of stories by Oscar Wilde, short, very simple but conveying a strong message at the same time.

From one of his stories, The Model Millionaire, loved this part, kind of funny.

"Unless one is wealthy there is no use being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic. It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating. These are the great truths of modern life which Hughie Erskine never realized. Poor Hughie! ........ He had tried everything.......Ultimately he became nothing, a delightful, ineffectual young man with a perfect profile and no profession.
To make matters worse, he was in love."

I wonder, why does love always add to your misery?