The Mountain Playlist

Yes, it was time that I return to my love for mountains and this time it is a compilation of songs that I never leave behind when I travel to those magical snowy peaks. *_*

• Maahi Ve from Highway – For obvious reasons and also Rahman’s magic.

• Preet from Khubsurat – The echo in the music and the voice make it perfect for the mountains. Another reason could be that I heard it for the first time while travelling in a bus in McLeodganj.

• Ye Haseen Vadiyaan from Roja – Like every other song from Roja, this one was way ahead of its time and the lyrics are so so beautiful.

• Naam Ada Likhna from Yahaan – Shot in Kashmir (sorry for the video quality), again the echoing factor makes it a song for the mountains.

• Khul Kabhi from Haider – Kashmir at its best and Vishal Bhardwaj too.

• Shikayatein from Lootera – When the part in the mountains begins, my love for the movie makes it all the more special.

• Deewana Hua Badal – I heard it for the first time on some music/antakshri show sung by someone else, and what imagery man! A cloud going crazy. This has to be on every nature lover’s list!

• Sham from Aisha – A very trip-py one.

• Tu Bin Bataye from Rang De Basanti – Rahman and that voice!

• Big Rock Candy Mountain from O Brother, Where Art Thou? – Please please I beg of you to watch this video, it’s like one of the cute-est things ever.

Shaitan and The Bling Ring

These two movies are one of my favourite movies in this genre. They are kind of like crime thrillers, but then, not really. Have a look at the trailers first, in case you haven’t seen the movie, maybe you will get a vague idea of what they are about.

Maybe I am wrong when I say they are very similar but the characters definitely are. Teenagers/Young Adults with the will to live life to the maximum on their own terms with not one care in the world. The former are compulsive thieves and the latter get pulled into it due to a series of accidents. But the way they both begin with a larger than life lifestyle and the former ends with kind of a resolution and let’s just not talk about the ending of Shaitan. It’s also about the hidden evil in everyone. The youngster of Bling Ring, the characters will keep you on an edge and will keep you thinking about what will happen next. The ones in Shaitan take one wrong step and this one step leads to a hundred other wrong ones. What they don’t realise is some things can’t be reversed.

What both talk about is the what is considered “cool” by the youngsters of today. What could happen if they stray from the right path and the usual question “Is youth wasted on the young?”

Also check out these two similar-ish music videos from the movies.

P.S. The soundtrack for both of them is simply amazing.

True Incident (Lame) (Don’t Read)

During my last vacation when I visited Kasol, I was on the Hauz Khas Metro Station waiting for the next metro. An Anglo-Indian looking woman (sorry for the stereotyping but she had blonde hair which looked natural) was standing right next to me. Suddenly she dropped her I-Phone 6 and it bounced and fell on the tracks. The station wasn’t very crowded and 3-4 girls just looked at what happened and went back to doing their work. I told her to rush to the office and call some men to pick it up. Thankfully she didn’t try picking it up herself. I had once seen a man doing this at Kailash Colony Metro Station where you can’t even see the train coming because of the curve in the tracks. So, she told me to look after the phone while she went to fetch someone. I waited and waited and waited and missed 3 trains until she came back. She thanked me for about 2 minutes and then until we waited for the next train she asked me where I was going. I had a small backpack (I pack really light). She asked me first if I was coming back from school (It’s been 5 years out of school now). She also had an accent. I told her I was going on a vacation and she thanked me again for helping her and told me how her whole life was on that phone. We soon said goodbye and she wished me a happy journey and I told her to keep her phone safe (being the awkward self that I am). I don’t know why I am retelling this story. I just felt like it, I guess. And I really like Train Stories – be it the local, the metro or the Indian Railways. Few more coming soon. Wait for it. 😛

Books v/s Movies

No this is not a debate about whether books that are adapted into movies are better. It has always been an unresolvable debate. What I want to talk about is whether people who read books are more knowledgeable or people who prefer movies. I might be a little prejudiced here but I really really want to go with the answer – BOOKS!

I was just looking at an Instagram account of a girl from EFLU (English and Foreign Languages University) and she was very very well read. All of that reflected in the way she wrote her comments and captions. I know I shouldn’t be judging all this given such a small sample but it just began a stream of thoughts that have now translated into writing. And this is also what I have seen in my meetings with people. Not to stereotype but people who read books were a walking bank of knowledge and slightly more introverted then movie aficionados. Also it should be noted here that I feel more people find watching movies easier than reading books for pretty obvious reasons. Isn’t that proof enough that books require more stress on your mind and makes you think more than a movie ever could. Maybe except if it’s a Nolan movie. 😛

This wasn’t meant to hurt any sentiments. I love both equally, it is just something to be pondered upon.

Happy Reading! 😉

HONNE

Thanks to YouTube I came across this amazing song called “Warm on a Cold Night”. Before I begin talking about it, here is the video:

I know I am treading on thin ice when I start talking about Lesbian Relationships, because I have no authority to do so and also, it’s just an outsider’s perspective. But this video was just so beautiful that I couldn’t resist. The voice reminds me of Sweater Weather or maybe it’s the lyrics that are similar. What I noticed about the video is that nothing is said throughout, it’s just the song playing in the background and lights on the road passing by. They finally stop at a secluded parking area and take off their sweaters but it is not what you think it is. They get out of the car and start dancing together. I was so pleased with the way they have represented them, no male gaze in action and they seem to be having as much fun as we have watching their fluid movements. I thought that the girl who had a greater stature must be the one who was more in power but in the last scene of the video these assumptions are proven wrong. Both of them hold an equal standing in the relationship and the taller one looks at the other one adoringly. So much is shown and done without even doing anything. There is another song that I really loved which you might want to check out.

100 Follows

When I joined WordPress, it was just a way to express feelings, reflect, wonder and things like that. 😛
Now I am at a 100 followers, I know that’s not much but it is unexpected considering that very few of my friends follow me on WordPress. I really didn’t tell many people about it, just a select few. It’s good to know that 100 people might read something that you wrote.
I remember a friend used to bug me to death until I responded to something he wrote or drew or a song that he had told me to listen to. I was never that way. Not to that you extent, at least. I think that also borrows from how you were in your childhood. I was never the kind who would raise their hands if I knew the answer, who would jump up and show the teacher that they had finished the sum. I was the kind who would not turn submit the homework just because no one else in the class did. Enough digressing, this is for whoever is following this blog – which is more of an effort at self-reflection. Keep following and thanks for sticking by me. Suggestions are always welcome. 🙂

NH7 Weekender

Early this month I got the chance to visit the 3-day fiesta that was NH7 weekender in Pune. Never have I seen the world in this way. I finally learnt on reaching there, what they meant when they called it the’Happiest Music Festival’. The energy and vibes were crazy. And so were the people. The first day began with us reaching in time to watch The Clameens and Baiju Dharmajan Syndicate. We also witnessed the amazing performance by Dualist Enquiry, the man’s hands were like rubber! But my favourite was definitely Prateek Kuhad, for which I stood in the first row and stared at him like a child lost in love. Alas, he didn’t sing my favourite song “Raat Raazi” but did sing my second favourite “oh love”. There were also amazing bands like Dhruv Voyage and Erotic Market. We just sat on the grass and enjoyed the shows. It was a very chill day. Like very very chill.

The second day I reached before my friends. I stood and waited in the first row for Rodrigo y Gabriela’s show and was it worth it! Except for some drunk French people who almost flung a burning cigarette butt at me, all was fine. A girl, now a friend, came to my rescue, and Nidhi and me spent the rest of the day together. Man! She was some party-hopper! We ran from one venue to another, always in the first or the second row, it was fabulous. Vishal Dadlani’s tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, ft. Neeti Mohan, Harshdeep Kaur, Shekhar Ravjiani and others was an absolute delight. We unfortunately missed Mark Ronson and Nucleya, but there were no regrets! 🙂

The highlight for the third day was the one and only A. R. Rahman. I might have shed a few tears and there were obvious bouts of goosebumps whenever he took over the stage. From E.D.M. to folk to Reggae, there was not a single genre he didn’t play that night. There were moments when I would just close my eyes and sway to the music and his voice, oblivious of the crowd and I finally understood what they say, when they say that Music is food for the soul!

Angry Indian Goddesses

If you haven’t watched the movie, go watch it now. Because seldom does Bollywood make so much sense! 😛 This post is about the music in the movie that has caught my fantasy.
Here are the hilarious lyrics.

Teri teenage umariya,
Ladaaye nazariya,
Teri teenage umariya,
Zero figuriya,

Galliyon se jaaye,
Mera dil lalchaye,

Tu dikhta hai singham,
Mere pehle you don’t come,
Tu dikhta hai singham,
Hone de sangam,
Chipku badan se jaise ho chewing gum,

Main aayi leke aas,
Par na bujhe meri pyaas,
Mera dil dola re,

Mera pyar atom bomb,
Ashiqon ka nikle dum,
Mera dil dola re,

Main hun chori no.1,
Babua stop making fun,
Mera dil dola re,

Hmm..
Chal hatt..
Chal muye..
Aaye haaye,

Kayi lene aaye the,
Kayi lene aayenge,
Meri thokar khakar rote jayenge,

Koi churan khata hai,
Koi tonic pita hai,
Par mere saath na koi jeeta hai,

Dikhta na koi,
Gabru jo de de,

Dikhta na koi,
Gabru jo de de,
Mere jism ko,
Passion ka lesson,

Main aayi leke aas,
Par na bujhe meri pyaas,
Mera dil dola re,

Mera pyar atom bomb,
Ashiqon ka nikle dum,
Mera dil dola re,

Main hun chori no.1,
Babua stop making fun,
Mera dil dola re!

The song takes a hilarious take at men who are not able to please women. A woman is expressing her sexuality by asking her partner to perform better and she is also making jabs and taunts at him which will definitely bring a smile to your face. It is amazing how they have tried to capture the lesser talked about side of sexuality which is a woman’s perspective in this song. It is the female gaze coming into action who demands just another basic right which is more than often either taboo-ed or forgotten by half of the world. The word play will tell you, she isn’t afraid of resorting to other means to please herself since she has been searching for a very long time and no one has come up to the mark.