"My only regret is that i could never see Pink Floyd Live!" - Richard Wright

A few ramblings to celebrate the life of Richard Wright...

Its strange but was just mentioning to a friend that Richard Wright had passed away due to cancer he had this Richard Who ? look on his face. I guess when we do think of Floyd the names that do easily Spring to mind are Barrett(Syd), Waters (Roger) and Gilmour (David). Its strange how some are so easily remembered and the others almost disappear without a trace. Its like you remember Jim Morrison , but how many of you remember the rest of the band ? or Bono and the Edge in U2 , Sting in the Police... and the list is probably

Its hard to imagine all your favourite songs without his magic on the piano / keyboard though during the bands prime he had pretty much stopped writing his contribution to the band was immense and its hard to imagine Floyd without him... Ironically though he was a founding member , its strange that he was the one who was fired caught in the crossfire between Gilmour and Waters he subsequently rejoined the band. The joke goes that he was the only one of the band members who made any money during the expensive "The Wall" tour, because he was just a paid hand :-). But to think of the some of the most beautiful music ever created is testament top the fact that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of it parts, it took all of them to create the magic!!

Pink Floyd is arguably the best Rock Band of all time and its is my personal all time favourite. Both the Waters concerts today to me hold a lifetime of memories, and the reunion at the Live 8 concert was an awesomely special moment! Imagine 15 people in a room with the alcohol flowing all night waiting for that one magical moment and this fifteen minute act that gives you the chills that you are watching something special.... even if its only on the telly a thousand miles away...

So at a time when words fail to do justice to his contribution to a musical legacy,and a feeling that all who love and are moved by music will understand, Its time to salute a legend who has left for his final "Great Gig in the Sky"...

Women's Day ....
There are times when u wonder is a day for Women still relevant ? We work , play , fight pretty much together , been bossed by them , had a few work for me...but then you open the days paper, or watch the news, and it seems like a whole different world out there... eve teasing, female infanticide, dowry deaths. Even some of the most fun and fearless women that you met in college often toe the family line and not always out of choice. the list seems endless..... so till then... wishing all the women a happy woman's day! Hope you cherish and celebrate the women in your life everyday.

18 till i Die - The Music Tag

This post is a bit delayed (like most of my posts) ….but MM here goes…

In hindsight a lot of awesome songs/albums came out that year (strange that it didn’t seem so at the time); here are a few of the highlights….

Nirvana hit the big time with “Smells like teen spirit” (personally the unplugged is my favourite Album)

REM rocked with “losing my Religion”

GnR Release Use your Illusions I & II

Freddie Mercury died of AIDS – Bohemian Rhapsody was a Christmas no 1 in the UK

Well here are some of my favorites from the year

Silent Lucidity by Queensryche
Awesome song from one of my favorite bands, loved the lyrics the vocals the subdued guitar work, one of my favorite Rock Ballads. My standard for what rock ballad should be!

Losing my Religion / Everybody Hurts / Man on the Moon
What can I say but listen to REM at their best….

Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohen
Liked the voice but really Loved the Piano in this one…. perfect soft soothing music. Was supposed to be a tribute to Elvis (quite a few references to him in the Song)

Baby Baby – Amy grant
Well I think Amy grant is “hot” and it was just a lighthearted fun song. (Liked quite a few songs from the album actually)

Winds of Change – Scorpions
The whistling at the beginning of the song was just awesome; also for me the image of the Berlin wall coming down is forever linked with song.

Rush Rush – Paula Abdul
Actually like the video more than the song itself…

It ain’t over till its over – Lenny Kravitz
Just love anything sung by him.

Wicked Game – Chris Issak
Awesome video, Chris Issak frolicking with a half naked Helena Christiansen- what more could you ask for ;-)? Loved the song too ( and the movie)

Unforgettable – Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
Awesome Ballad! (personally preferred it without Natalie Cole though)

Learning to Fly / Into The great wide open – Tom Petty
Just absolutely love Tom Petty!

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
Just listen to this song and u will know why !!!

Some of the other notables during the year

Cream – Prince (or was it the “symbol’ of “the artist formerly known as prince)
Enter Sandman - Metallica
Everything I do I do it for you - Bryan Adams
I want to Sex you up – Salt ‘N Pepa
More than Words – Extreme
When a Man Loves a Woman – Michael Bolton
I want to Sex u up - Color me Badd
Joyride - Roxette

Thanks MM, that was a fun TAG…

"Sorry for the inconvenience to my fellow countrymen"

When the Gujjar reader Col Kirori Singh Bhaisala said these words with while announcing the end of the agitation, is it just me or does that seem to lame ? I mean there are around 30 odd people dead , scores of people injured property destroyed, the capital city was brought to a standstill and all he could say was sorry for the inconvenience! That does not wash for me. I hope that this is not let go off. The supreme court has made some noises that indicate some movement in the right direction, but i may be in a minority but to me no cause justifies what happened in the past week and we cannot let them get by with such a cursory apology. Its strange but nothing seems to cause even a ripple of outrage with us anymore! Its time the caste system was abolished in its totality and we need to ensure that we are not at the begining of reverse casteism.

All we can do is remember the victims and their families in our prayers, and hope for some positive lessons being learned!

Do you live to work or Work to live....

Well its just a thought .. why do you work ? Well what really brought this on is my boss calling me to work on a holiday, which wouldn't be so bad if there was really something important to be done. But what really bothers me (besides ruining plans for a fun picnic) is that i am only needed in case he might need some info. Well fortunately for the most part my boss is well trained, don't expect me in on my days off unless i have an assignment pending, no late nights just waiting for him. Its finish your work and get the hell out of there, no waiting for my colleagues or my boss to leave before i do (hey i can't help it if I'm efficient!)

So which brings me back to the question, why do you work. I do know of a lot of people who can't wait to get in in the morning and hate to leave. Wonderful if you really love what you do. Personally, i can't ever see the day where for me work would be the end all... but to those who do, hope its worth it !

Birthday Boy....

Its my birthday , and as i sit and write this after partying to bring the birthday in with a few close friends, just a few random thoughts.

Well as i sit back i sort of evaluate my life , sort of look back on whats happend , what i have done, what i haven't i can't help but thank God for giving me some great friends (they sure threw some great parties over the years) and family. I realise that i not quite where i would like to ideally be , but with almost half my life behind me all i can say is that i am in a "happy place" . I remember a list that someone sent to me some time back on the things to do before i am 30 and i was happy to note that i coule tick most of the items on the list, guess that leaves me with some fun stuff to do the next year ;) . My parents and a lot of my family probably don't quite see my life quite the positive light that i do , but all i can say is that i am happy with most of whats happening right bow so leave me be! With it also being easter week , also got me into a whats the meaning of life , and why am i here, and how have i lived my life modes. I have always had a pretty much had a simplistic definition , of living a a good honourable life. My defintion is , if there is one person on this earth , whose life is a lot better because of you , your life is worth it.
So when a friend of mine mentioned this , and i quote," i can't think of a single person who hates you, most people like you or love you". Well its one of the nicest things that anyone has said to me , and i totally do not agree with it. But it also got me thinking if it was a totally positive thing or is rubbing a few people the wrong way make you more involved and passionate, and would those people you rub the right way be a lot more blessed.... Just a thought ...

Overall i am not too much of a birthday person , in that i love the gifts and the wishes, but i don't quite enjoy the spotlight. It also got me thinking about how i celebrated some of my birthdays. I guess one of the constants in my earlty birthdays was my moms cakes, she used to (and still does) make some of the most amazing cakes , and she used to shape the cake like a cartoon , or some other fun image . I also remember one particular birthday with my grandmom and an aunt. There is a gap in between for some of my birthdays , because my parents were not aound or school. I remember my first birthday in Bombay , my mom made a cake in the shape of a cricket field. I also remember the fisrt time i baked a cake for my mom on her birthday, again in Bombay. The last few years have been pretty similar with friends coming over for a party at home , i vividly remember one birthday when there were a couple of women friends (who were in town after a long time) in my room and i said hi to the usual suspects (my defacto room mates) and i went to my room to change and here i was cooly stripping without realising there were women present (fortunately i didn't get too far) . All i all a good start to the day, We actually met up at my place after a long time!

One final thought as i wind down this post, for a long time my birthay was all mine, i didn't know anyone else who shared my birthday. But of late have been bumping into a lot of them, ( i guess its inevitable with 6 billion people and only 365 days to go around) . The one fun thing in all this is that there is this one colleague and a close friend who i share the day with . Though ideally its not a day one would like to share with any one (i know she will not feel the way i do), but to me its a privilege and an honour and i am most happy to share this day with her.

Happy birthady Aunty... Cheers

ps.... hope i am awake at work tomorrow.

In Defense of Ash.... not that she needs it !!!

Well this is sort of a reply to a post that i read.... but also in general to some of the stuff i heard recently. Well it all started about a year back , when the rumours of Ash and Abhi were going around , and we had a visit from these 3 women from a client banks treasury. We were just chit chatting and then suddenly one of them some how veers on to how she no longer likes Abhi, coz he is now dating ash. Now these were not exactly the most gorgeous women in the world or for that matter charming or hip or even plain nice ! And i am thinking to my self , hello like he gives a shit!

Well i must admit a soft corner for Ash, to me she is one of the most beautiful women i have met (albeit briefly , and before she became famous) . Suprisingly a lot of people disagree with me , and don't really find her beautiful, but i guess that's what makes the world go around. Now all in all i don't have a problem with what people say about Ash, i mean it probably doesn't affect her but why me ? But generally it has got me thinking, who is this person we are talking about ? An actress ( i haven't seen any of her movies so i can't comment on how that's going, but from reviews i am guessing she is not great ), a beauty queen. Now these are not exactly the people that you model your normal life around. Sure its probably entertaining to read about all the juicy details, but not being someone with the journalistic connections, i don't really know her , so am in a position to judge ?

Bottom line is that i have just 2 points. One , she is an actress and if i were to model my life around her, it would be mostly restricted to her profession. Secondly she was the alleged victim here , now given that the alleged aggressor, still is a popular matinee idol, is still known for his temper, has driven over a bunch of people (allegedly) and he is still a free man! So would u really want to go up against that ? Strange but in a lot of ways it seems to me that we are punishing the victim , and not the person who committed the crime !!! I can't believe that anyone could forgive and accept anyone who beats up on a woman !!!

Finally someone mentioned that she was probably the wrong person to play and promote the movie "provoked". Well again i disagree, two points again. One for her it was probably the best way to get the trauma and anger out of her system , by playing someone else who went through something similar. Second , perhaps this is her way of speaking out and supporting a great cause without making it about herself!

I guess sometimes we just dislike people and nothing can change that. We always expect a lot from people who are in the limelight and they often disappoint, but on this i could not in all good faith fault Ash. But then again this is just my opinion.

Postscript ....
Just to add to the previous post, did something i haven't done in ages! Not that it was something major, but managed half a pitcher of beer (bottoms up) without embarrassing myself. It was in response to a bet. I know its kind of silly , but its fun to know that u still have some of those skills, and its not always a case of the spirit being willing but the body not keeping up.

Cheers , Hic hic hooray !

Over the hill... or still very much hip and happening?

Just caught up with a few MBA friends after a long time , lots of laughs, memories and just catching up on old times ... at Totos (where else ;) ) . Nothing strange or surprising abt that, but here was i the lone single dude among the group and the guys also in the act of ribbing me on a potential wedding date! As i sat there kinda letting them have their fun, couple of friends walked in , and as the intros were being done, something just hit me....

I suddenly realised that all of a sudden i happen to me hanging out with a lot of my sisters classmates. Ordinarily thats not such a big deal, i mean close friends of mine are most happy to be around their sisters friends ;) . The funny thing is my sister is a lot younger than me and i never really hung around with any of her friends as a result (my loss , some of them are really HOT!!!) , and now i keep bumping into them all over the place.... so thats what got me wondering ... am over the hill still trying to hang on to my youth ? or just a chilled out hip and happening dude ;) ...

Not that it really matters either way ... just one of those random things that you sometime wonder about ...