Sunday, December 14, 2008

The God of Bald Things !

I am not sure whether the winters have suddenly become warmer here in Ahmedabad or if the impending release of Gajini has brought this catastrophic turnaround, but WIMWI suddenly looks to have found its new fad these days.

There was an era when ruffian hair and sideburns took the cake. Today the trend has reversed. There has been a sudden flurry of clean shaven craniums all around. I could buy it if one said before placements, i want my hair to regrow and look just perfect. I could also have bought it if one was aiming to beat the heat. But this is suddenly a mushrooming of the vogue.

I can count atleast 4 people in my section alone who have gone in for the Shaakal look, and probably double the number across the other sections too. Pray, explain, what the professor would feel when a triad of baldies are staring at him, sitting right next to each other. These days with the SBC presentations going on, it becomes difficult for the cameraman to record all the live videos with the light shining off the oiled convexes ! "It hurts the eye" is what i heard one of my classmates quipping to the guy next seat.

Now that you come to think about it, all these magnificient bald busts are so different amongst themselevs. Round, oval, egg shaped, close cropped, crystal clear, 'protrusions of a second kind' ! I am beginning to have mixed thoughts on the long hair that i am trying to grow and maintain. Is the fad really out? Or is is this just a passing phase. Are the damsels in distress stumped or 'bald' over ?

What i surely do know is that IIM-A's new hottest telecast that is topping the ratings, is a show called the "The Bald and the Beautiful". Lets see how much longer this show keeps up the steam.


Thursday, December 11, 2008

Tabla Beat Science

While for most of us who continue to be mesmerized by the maestro Ustaad Zakir Husaain, it would be absolutely entertaining and a dash of sheer brilliance to listen to him performing with the other giants of the percussion world in a clash of the titans, giving to us some of the best world fusion music.

At times even the blogger fails to capture the music on paper. However a short note copied verbatim.

"Call it an aggregation of some of the best contemporary percussionists: Trilok Gurtu, Zakir Hussain, and Asian Underground star Talvin Singh combine under the sonic washes of producer Bill Laswell to show the possibilities of Indian percussion. It's definitely a beatfest, but one of subtlety, where what is being said isn't as important as the way it's being stated, and the dialogue between hands includes a lot of silences. Gurtu comes from a more jazz tradition, Hussein a classical background, and Singh represents the brash young things of the dance floor. Mostly Laswell leaves it to them to provide the sonic entertainment, which is as it should be with delicate swathes of sound barely intruding, just coloring the proceedings. While it's not for everyone, those who love Indian percussion in all its forms will find this album a complete joy."
--Chris Nickson

In moments like these i am helpless to comment on greatness well beyond my mortal humble self.
So here are a couple of videos that have just raised the bar of instrumental music for me and left me dumbstruck.

Video 1 : Palmistry by Tabla Beat Science




Video 2: Mengedenga by Tabla Beat Science


Monday, December 08, 2008

Toccata & Fugue

When one has had a long break away from writing, when one has turned rusty enough, when one has dried up the thoughts that made life worth enjoying, one often wonders what next to pen down. And often it is the next topic, that next incident, you wish was worth more interesting than the previous one and hence flies by a narrative that was never told, a vision unseen, a voice unheard. It is at times like these that one must find that spark to set things straight, set the wheel of joy into motion.

Strangely enough, for me it happened today. And from the most unexpected sources as well. Of all the weekends i have spent wasting or getting wasted here at wimwi, this one was quite a different experience. I spent almost the entire afternoon and evening listening to (rather more like watching) videos on YouTube. And i probably covered an entire gamut of instrumental music that my heart seem to have yearned for in ages.

It is rather surprising to find myself not falling to sleep listening first to all the jazz of the 40s and 50s and then moving onto my favorites - the string compositions. It was a day of pure ecstasy hearing violin renditions of Bach and Chopin sonatas performed by the Berlin Philharmonic and Vanessa Mae. Aah ! The sounds say it all - a feeling of pain, of pleasure, of joy, of sadness, of longing, of sorrow, of desires, of passion, of fear, of strange whispers ...

But the best probably had been saved for the last. Toccata and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach. A mix of haunting notes (remember Addams Family) followed by a high pitch energetic stretch of the chords - covering more than 3 octaves. The sheer pace of the beats, and yet the ever so subtle hand movements. It seems like magic out of thin air. Fresh, pleasant and infused with all the serenity one needs to calm one's mind. And to top it off, the duet between an electric guitar with distortions and a violin.

It just cant help one fall in love all over again. Poetry is good, and ballads even greater. But there is no describing the charm brought on by a piece of well rendered instrumental classic. Close your eyes, and the energy will surround your senses. It takes you to a plain so far away returning seems next to impossible. One simply wishes to stay there forever. All alone, all by oneself - with no soul to break the silence. Just sheer melodious aura and nothing more. Maybe a gentle breeze to carry you on.

I am nearing that state of Tabula Rasa I always wished for. In time i will. There is still a hard path ahead to make peace with my inner self. Till then, it seems like things are not so bad after all. There is still some hope out there - pure, innocent, untouched, uncorrupted, vibrant. Those old memories return. And another phase too shall pass, bringing us closer each day, with Toccata and Fugue and so many more like them to guide us through.