Emmys 2010

Emmys played in the background last night as I caught up on my Sunday evening chores.  I caught a few moments and here is my fragmented spill on Emmys – not so boring like the Academy Awards…

·         Jimmy Fallon and his Guitar. Well anytime Fallon was on TV, I was forced to put down the laundry I was folding… he was that good!

·         I realized, I hate George Clooney! Nooooo I love George Clooney… George Clooney has got only one suit and it is magical! It makes any man (and some women) look like George Clooney. Seriously – this dashing man got a well-deserved Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.  Do I hear President Clooney?

·         Jewel Kilcher performed an unrecorded song as the montage of all the Industry people who passed away this year rolled. It was beautiful  - there is a hole in my heart / and it is in the shape of you! … what an amazing poetess – she is capable of manufacturing tangible inspiration:

if I could tell the world just one thing, it would be we are all OK,

not to worry cuz worry is wasteful and useless in times like these,

and I won’t be made useless and be idle with despair,

 I will wrap myself around my faith, cuz light is the darkness’ most fear… (from: Hands)

·         2 desi gals in the house and both took home an Emmy!: Padmalakshmi  for her “Top Chef” show …I am taking notes – to be so beautiful and be a cook who has her own TV show! I think she is living the dreamlife. This is the ultimate combo! & Archie Punjabi – won for the best supporting actress for “The Good  Wife”. Her speech was ummm … kk and her dress was safe!

·         The evening was full of jokes but here is my favorite cuz nothing makes me more happy than the circulated-to-death email-jokes retold in an entertaining manner:

A neutron walks into a bar and says, “how much for a drink?"

The bar-tender looks at him and says, “for you, no charge!"

tee hee!

Inception in 3 seconds!

From Perez Hilton's TwitPic.

Droolicious !

Un-Courtesy of: Nikhil (From his Facebook)

This evil photograph was posted by Nikhil this afternoon, right about lunch time. After looking at this, my options seemed drastically limited for the first time ever - considering I am located in a highly eclectic downtown especially when it comes to the culinary varieties including Indian cuisine!

This is being posted here because misery loves company!

tu dhoop hai, channnnn sey bikhar!!!

 …. The title has absolutely nothing to do with this post... It’s just that, I really like this line.  

Moving on from the tenth grade to the eleventh grade, one of my teachers had asked us all to write a letter to self which she said, she would post when we went into the twelfth grade. While the rest of my class mates got busy grinding the lead of their pencils, I pulled out a dollar bill and wrote – “today you are a dollar richer.” Wrapped it up and gave it to my teacher. She looked at what I had written and gave me a quick hug!

I used to write a journal even back then but I was in a habit of tearing up the old journal when I started the new one.  I only have two journals starting from 2002 onwards.  A few entries made in my journals is rather interesting – makes me realize that I have actually gotten quite foolish with age. That “me” who wrote that journal was far wiser … That “me” who left a dollar was wiser than the “me” who received it.

All the knowledge that experience brings with age on one hand and wisdom of that child-like innocence on the other  – is the trade-off really worth it?

Anyways – aging is mandatory. You must learn to carry the corruptions that time adds on to your character because some of them are mandatory for survival in this world. . . finally that is sinking in my head! Trust carefully! But still write a few lines somewhere about “who you are?” every so often so that in the future when everything else may become a big question-mark, you can remind yourself of “who you are!” … don’t lose that essence of YOU …

Om in differnt languages!

share-worthy!

Thought for 8-24-2010

I died from minerality and became vegetable;

And From vegetativeness I died and became animal.

I died from animality and became man.

Then why fear disappearance through death?

Next time I shall die

Bringing forth wings and feathers like angels;

After that, soaring higher than angels -

What you cannot imagine,

I shall be that.

-Rumi 

Wadali Brothers - Tu Mane Ya Na Mane

rab bande di zaat ikko
jiven kapde di zaat hai roon
kapde de vich roon hai lukiyaa
jiden vich bande de toon
aapey boley aap bulavein
aap karein huu huu

tu maney yaa naa maney dildaara
asaan tey tenu rab maneya
das hor kehra rab da dwara
asaan tey tenu rab maneya

apney tan ki khaak udaai
tab yeh ishq ki manzil paai
meri saanson ka boley iktara
asaan te tenu rab maneya

kisi key naak mein heera, kisi key kaan mein heera
humein heeron sey matlab kya
mera to yaar hai heera
asaan te tenu rab maneya

tujh bin jeena bhi kya jeena
teri chaukhat mera medina
kahin aur ka na sajda gawara
asaan te tenu rab maneya

hastey-hastey har gham sehna
raaji teri raza mein rehna
tune mujhko sikhaya hai yaara
asaan te tenu rab maneya

*This Qwaalli is from Wadali Brothers' album, "Dil Dena Dilbar Ko".
**The Wadali Brothers (Puranchand Wadali & Pyarelal Wadali) are Sufi singers and musicians from Guru ki Wadali in the Amritsar District in Punjab, India.  
**Also watch The Wadali Brothers perform Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib's Yaad Piya Ki Aaye - absolutely divine. I have a decent collection of Khan Sahib's Thumris and I am certain he would have been mesmerzied as well if he heard the brothers perform... 
***Per tradition, Sufi music is romantic because Sufis address to the almighty as their lover and thematically  based on longing of the lover! There is a sense of abandon of all but love and longing for the object of their affection, one and only Lord Almighty. It has a very universal voice which makes it very popular with majority of Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi speaking populace. 

On Time or In Time

Jai Ho!

I am sitting with my copy of “An Advanced History of India” by R.C. Majumdar, H.C. Raychaudhuri, and Kalikinkar Datta. Why? I am writing for a friend’s blog on Indian Independence Day 2010 … So anyways, I have been collecting keywords on a piece of paper I keep on me all the time.

I get distracted by T’s “I hate India” rants on my Facebook wall to which I retort back “I will convert you into a Hindu soon!” Hehehe … He will be at my desk on Monday morning to relate the horrors he witnessed in my motherland. I say – Dude, spend a night in East Side Oakland and then complain. All nations have their share of puss-filled boils that mar the beauty of the rest of their landscape.

I feel like I am in college again trying to meet a homework deadline!

As I write, I can’t seem to move away from the mundane complains in regards to Indian system. Perhaps reiteration is the key and not forgetting the issues is far more important than being entertaining in this matter.
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How do you know

I watched the trailer of “How do you know” on imdb.com today. Steller cast – Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson AND Jack NICHOLSON!!! Oh – I like films based on contemporary themes.

Here is a dialogue to encourage you to click on that hyperlink and watch the trailer:

“How do you know you are in love with her?”

“Here is how I figure it out - I think I am in love with somebody when I wear a condom with other girls”

“uhhh.. I think I am in love”

It’s set to release coming X-mas. Hmmm … my favorite X-mas romance movie is definitely, “While You Were Sleeping”. Set in Chicago, it captures the 90s holiday spirit. It has that warm-fuzzy thing going for it. Loved the ending!

So – I was thinking of giving the “love guruess” in me a rest for a while but it’s not my fault, I am a chronic romantic. I have always been “in love” with time, nature, good-ole-almighty’s beautiful creation, the trees, the way the sky looks – that far away cloud in the clear blue sky today… the plastic rose someone gave me eons back which still sits in the pencil holder on my desk. I would rather have this mystified feeling than get all bitter and skeptical. Being a skeptic is just so distasteful – like, to not trust people – oh, that would be really horrific.

That reminds me of my brother’s brotherly advice: make sure you find someone who takes a drink or two (that is more for the comfort of his Punjabi soul than mine) but he justifies it – men who drink are not afraid to speak the truth. Okay second, make sure he uses cuss words! Huh! Again some honesty related justification is provided. But jokes apart, the most important advice – his ego is not more important than you… hmmm this makes sense. He said that after fighting with his wife he doesn’t feel the need to even the score; he would rather apologize to her than see her sad … wow – now you must know this is not a guy who does not believe in “forgiving and forgetting”. Do not cross his path! In the past, he has he has surprised me at times at how long he can carry a grudge …

So - there is method to figure out how you are in love but how do you ensure you have fallen out? I think it’s a very clear cut transition – you have that mind-numbing sadness à the absence of happy and sad both – a neutral state of mind! Of course there is more to it but this, I think is the simplest diagram of what happens…
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Music and Mehndi

Welcome fall and my favorite TV show is back – Sa Re Ga Ma. I only caught the last few minutes of the show. The judges gave a fifteen year old girl to sing for them although due to age restrictions, she can’t participate in the show. She sang Asha Bholse’s “Dil Dhadakne ka Sabab Yaad Aaya” from Meraj-E-Gazal.

Daler Mehndi, one of the judges was so mesmerized that he sang a couple of lines – took me back to the time when he was struggling in the bay area. My family used ot be invited to Mehfils where the Mehndi brothers would sing. I remember the host, a very well known Sitar artiste had learned of my love for Gazals and one evening they asked me to put in requests and they sang. I was such a young one – I felt so special that evening … I vaguely remember them performing this song as well…I am glad, I am reminded of how musically blessed these brothers are! For the most part, I have forgotten those days and think of them as the jokers they seem on TV.
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Life is too short … to do what?

Lately lot of  people are using the “Life is too short”  prefix for their facebook statuses …. followed by a didactic nonsense for their facebook buddies! Their advice is too obvious that it sounds foolish! … Yes, life is too short if you don’t respect today because if you don’t respect today, you will have a lot of catching up to do tomorrow! & Yes, time is kind that way, it keeps the second chances hidden away in surprise pockets of the future! 
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More Rosesh ki super-hit Kavita
(Mirza Ghalib would have been sooo happy if he had met him)

aasmaan mein udh raha hai kabootar
aasmaan mein udh raha hai kabootar
FLUTTER ... FLUTTER ... FLUTTER
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The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown

The stunning decline of Barack Obama: 10 key reasons why the Obama presidency is in meltdown

Read worthy article... it takes Brits to point this very in-the-face ten-point line-up for us!

Some ਬਟਾਲਵੀ

aise hi!

wondering: why can't you have YOUR cake and eat it too? 
isn't that the whole point of buying the cake!


-jm 


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Rosesh ki Kavita 
(ultimate example of optimism)



is teen pair valey kuttey ko bhagana nahi padhta, 

isey susu kartey waqt apna pair uthana nahin padhta.

I wish, I was ...

The owl is scratching my window again! I enjoy the nocturnal predator’s random visits!  

I continue my humming --- yup, I am creep, I am a weirdoooo / what the hell am I doin’ here? I don’t belong here … nananana – RADIOHEAD rocks! They gave that insecure little someone, who hides inside everyone, a song to sing --- I WANT A PERFECT BODY/I WANT A PERFECT SOULLLL … I wish I was special …

…. but all I do is hide behind veils and cloaks of words and seven notes … till a few days back I had a curtain of curls to hide behind but they came under the attack of a vicious pair of scissors handled by an evil troll who looked like a nice hair-dresser at the first sight! Before I knew it, a good four inches were chopped off! I was not prepared for this – after the shock wore off, I cried a tear or two... Now my cloak of hair is gone that would constantly fall on my face and I must face the world in all its unglory… whosoever said, it’s a harsh world out there probably said so after a fresh bad hair cut…

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 maybe only in California or maybe at other places too – I think God’s cameraman changed the tint filter of the daylight. Last few days have been seeming slightly fuzzed out with a shade of blue. I mean, I am not complaining; its kinda cool – even my worn out jeans look brand new.

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Its fall! My most favorite time of the year – I think I like it because in my mind it is associated with the “sepia” tone of the spectrum. Sepia is like the past that embraces you and holds you a little while longer before you forge into an unknown future …

Uncontrolled Sepia would be orangish – like the real pumpkins sitting outside people’s houses who celebrate Halloween …. or like Thanksgiving’s slightly over baked pumpkin pies…maybe thats why holidays seem out of control. I always get a feeling of newness around holidays ... maybe its the new year approaching that kicks in its enthusiasm.. whats really the big deal about new things? i like old and mundane far better - its familiar like family or the old dog whose signs you can read so well that you have full on conversation with him. 

... This fall I wish for “green” tone instead …

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bhi chus shab sa subah

milyth doshvai juda

bhi chus labh sa dua

milyth doshvai juda … I wish I could write music ! I wish I had been more proactive and done a lot of things I did not do …

I wish I could sing as sweet as the humming bird and I wish I could dance like Sinatra …

Saajnaaa …. Maahiyaaaaaaaa…

I have decided, in my next lifetime, I am going to be a music composer … a really good one!

Tickets go on sale now …

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I feel like including one of my favorite "happy videos" here; its random snippets of Audrey Hepburn's dance scenes from various movies:

lovely kaur ke saral nuskhey!

if there is a dream job out there for me, it is that of an "agony aunt"...the following dialogue (very real/not fiction) demonstrates how good i would be at my job! ... any takers???

lovely kaur: hello ji ... i am lovely kaur. i will solve all your life problems. 

     pati ho yaa wife, 

     aao chai peeyain 

     aur solve karein life! 

dukhi aatma #1: hello ji, meri biwi ghar sey bhaag gayi hai par bhains abhi bhi theek thaak ghar mein hai ... madam kya karoon?
lovely kaur: leh, you are to bhai very lucky!
    what would you do if bhains bhaag jaati aur biwi reh jaati? 

sukhi aatma #1: hahahah ... badi true gal kitti hai lovely ji!

lovely kaur: vadhia; ok ji - agla swaal koi bibi puchegi!

dukhi aatma #2: mera pati meri saath vaali ko dekhta hai, par uska pati mujhey nahin dekhta ... kya karoon?
lovely kaur: pados badal lo. you live in the wrong house! vastu dosh hai...
    kisi numbri kaminey ki padosan ban jao... pati pareshaan, tum hairaan, ...sab kuch fit fataang!
sukhi aatma #2: hahahaha ... tussi great ho lovely ji..

lovely kaur: bas ji ... itni appreciation bhaut hai; main to apki seva mein hazir hoon ji.
sukhi aatma #2: thank you hai jee!!

I Likes!

Mahatma Gandhi walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. So he was a super callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis. 

~unknown

*tee hee

**as you can tell by now, don't like the guy - just don't!

***I couldn't agree more with Osho when he called Gandhi the most Conniving Politician 

**** Freedom at Midnight

*** Article: The Real Gandhi: Schizophrenic and a Sadist

**Personally, I don't get the point - whats the relevance between his odd and unhygienic personal habits and being a Mahatma.  I don't believe renunciation has anything to with a man's moral character! 

*For those who disagree, do so on your own blog!

*?*

Me thinks the teachers were all wrong in phrasing the questions - for example, "what will I do when I grow up?" ... The correct question would have been, "what will I do IF I grow up?" 

Raghu Dixit's Ambar

ambar par milte hain kadmon ke nishaan, tere hi har shaam, 

khidki pe likhe os ki boondon se, tera hi naam . . . 

* Share-worthy artist: Raghu Dixit has a very unique voice and delivery. He has a crystal clear voice with a free flowing like a river quality. 

** The YouTube video uses a still-shot of Raghu Dixit (I am assuming); I loved the feel effused by that picture - he is wearing ghunghroo as he plays and sings to little kids! Check out the joy on their faces... 

*** @ 4:11 - there is a Sitar interlude with Sitar being the primary instrument and the Guitar giving it a background support. Heavenly! 

Quote: August 1, 2010

If it is true that there are as many minds as there are heads, 

then there is as many kinds of love as there are hearts. 

-Tolstoy