My heart says something ... No.. not really !! - A silent melody that spells magic

Pathos in this song has indescribable beauty.. the expression of a solitary shy girl telling her emotions to the nature.. seems like the untold inner conversation of countless such human lives

Can't spend this endless night of seperation ! - the melody, lyrics, acting and the setting .. all a rich experience

The daughter sings a song she learned from her father who worshiped music and poetry. In the song, she is reminiscing and misses her mother who passed away a few years back. Her singing brings back the memory in her ailing father and he joins in. She comforts her father in his concluding days who suffers from a life-threatening disease ..

Such richness and depth in seemingly ordinary lives ?!! Unbelievable ..

Re-living an unforgettable melody ...

I'm a hopeless romantic and this melody has had profoundly haunting effect on me. The totality of its music and ideas in the lyrics take you deep into a hidden yet familiar dimension within. I know that this melody has touched millions of hearts. Friends often have asked me to sing it and I find myself humming it frequently ... especiallythe sound of the shower does wonders in bringing it out. Thought I'll record my unplugged version of this great melody.

The song carries the idea that life with its relationships is essentially eternal. Love that we may feel for someone is profound, extending beyond surface into inconceivable depths. We're mostly unaware of this deep past (and hence its continuation into future) that we share, that makes us feel romantic in unexplainable ways.

The lyrics go...

Neither you know me, nor I'm familiar with me.
But I feel as if I have met my Humdum (soulmate until the last breath).

The nature and the night are quiet.
The lips are speechless as well.
The silence itself seems to be telling a story,
As I look at you with the language of my heart.

Neither you know me, nor I'm familiar with me.
But I feel as if I have met my Humdum.

For the original song click:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4AbGqHdMjI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlP3Kq2-YpA

Born to be Free

We composed this song days before Nelson Mandela's release from prison as a tribute to his victory. Mandela was released from prison on Feb 11, 1990 and exactly two years later the greatest thing occurred in my life.

This was the first and the only shot we -the Architypes - had as a band in writing, composing and recording songs (We only had a night to finish ... phew !!). I guess the songs came from our heart of indisputable admiration for Mandela as a champion of freedom and justice. I didn't know at that time that I would soon after meet my life-mentor Daisaku Ikeda on Feb 11, 1992 at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi, India. Only weeks before, our band had played to a full audience in this auditorium. How rhythmic !! It was a transforming point in my life. Both Mandela and Ikeda are world leaders and friends and have dialogued on a number of occasions. They both defend and advance the cause of freedom and empowerment for people in their own life arenas. I wanted to do my part as a token of appreciation for great inspiring life-examples.

The lyrics go ...

My words are only for those who care
Guided by the winds of yesteryears
My time has come and gone, I'm living on
A prisoner of time - the world left behind

Those sullen walls around my only friend
Standing by me in mute defense.
Cracks on the floor and walls, lines on my face
Thirty years behind, and the sunsets of my mind

You were born to be
Like the restless wind,
You were born, born to be free

-------------
Architypes line-up for this song:

Harsh Mishra - lead vocals & rhythm guitar
RC Joshi - bass, lead guitar & vocals
Anil Nangla - drums
Sawan Dutta - keyboards & vocals (not seen here)

Other key members of Architypes who could not be a part of this recording:

Indrajit Dutta - lead guitar & vocals
Pauly - drums
Shailesh Dongre - keyboards

Sitaara

Sitaara
I wrote and composed this song in 1989. It is a song of hope symbolized by a bright star that breaks you free from despair and pulls you closer to infinite possibilities in life.

Around this time, I produced several songs. A friend and I wrote, composed, arranged and recorded these for a demo. It all happened in New Delhi. As an amateur musician, it was my first attempt at composing & song-writing.

Basically, used up all student savings to experiment at a basic 8-track studio. Somewhere down the line though, I got disillusioned by the commercial aspect of music, lost enthusiasm and a year later, moved to US.

I intend to revive my interests, refine these songs and compose new ones. But this time I have a different agenda. Since music is to create harmony, friendship and peace among living beings on our planet, I wish my music can inspire someone.

Reminiscing the woman from past..

Someone so much like her.. even simpler and more innocent.. had stolen my heart .. Have never met her ever since.. Wherever you're, I wish the best for you !!

Into the memory lane ...

Rediscovering and reaffirming love hidden in history .. haunting melody and lyrics of deep substance

An emperor by constructing the lovely Taj Mahal
Has gifted the whole world a universal symbol of love

A classic song and the love story behind the Taj Mahal (film)

Pathos in seperation - Chand Phir Nikala - Here's moon again but you're nowhere to be seen

I love B&W settings for such emotions..

Ethereal Melody - Woh Jab Yaad Aaye

Such a cutie..

This video reminds me of my baby friend Jessie when she was 2 years. Can never get tired of it ..

And here's Jessie:

Celebrating first love in rural India

Sheer joy in social spirit of co-existence

Romance par Excellence

History in making - Anti-Nuclear Declaration Speech

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda’s
Historic Anti-Nuclear Declaration

Message to the Civil Society Peace Forum
held at The Cooper Union, New York City September 8, 2007

On September 8, 1957, Josei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai and the man I look to as my mentor in life, issued a declaration calling for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. This was just months before his death; he poured his entire being into making this declaration.

This was at the height of the Cold War, and the competition to develop and deploy nuclear weapons was heating up. Yet Toda condemned—in powerful, even strident, language—the destructive human impulses that underlie these weapons. Rooted in the perspective of Buddhism, which seeks to shed light on the inner workings of life itself, Toda denounced anyone who would use these weapons to jeopardize people’s fundamental right to live as “a devil incarnate, a fiend, a monster.” Toda had the insight to understand that the logic that justifies the possession of nuclear weapons grows from the most extreme form of human desire—the desire to dominate and bend others to our will, the readiness to annihilate them, destroying their lives and livelihoods, should they resist. Toda solemnly entrusted the mission of achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons to the 50,000 young people who had gathered in Yokohama to hear him on that day. Fifty years have passed since Toda issued this declaration.

While humanity managed to avert the global cataclysm that was an immediate danger throughout the Cold War, efforts toward nuclear disarmament are now stalled, and the threat posed by the continued spread of nuclear weapons has become critical. Now is the time, in the midst of this deepening crisis, for ordinary citizens to raise our voices in a united call for nuclear abolition. Now is the time to forge a new culture of peace in which the human dignity of all can truly shine.

In the teachings of Buddhism we find these words: Life is the foremost of all treasures. Even the treasures that fill the entire universe are no substitute for life.

From this perspective, the life of each individual is an inestimable treasure filled with infinite possibilities. Nothing is more precious or of greater value. No one has the right to rob others of this most precious treasure of life. The injunction against killing, present in all spiritual traditions, must be the eternal guiding principle for humankind.

Nuclear weapons can instantly and brutally slaughter vast numbers of people. The survivors are condemned to a lifetime of suffering from the aftereffects of radiation—a lasting burden of misery that will be visited on subsequent generations. What are nuclear weapons, if not a barbarous and unmitigated evil that denies and tramples the inherent dignity of life itself?

It is vital that humankind develop a shared consciousness that nuclear weapons are an absolute evil whose existence can never be justified—for any reason or under any circumstance. We must free ourselves of the notion that they somehow serve as a necessarily evil deterring conflict or war. We must promote the understanding that it is impossible to construct one’s own happiness and security on the fear and suffering of others; and this understanding must be coupled with the compassion, empathy and courage to resist all attempts to do so. This same outlook is fundamental to efforts to resolve the global issues of poverty, ecological degradation and grave abuses of human rights.

Today, many people have given up on the possibility of nuclear abolition. But peace is always a competition between resignation and hope. Indifference and acquiescence in the face of evil must be recognized as negative, destructive functions of life; to submit to such impulses is, ultimately, to side with the forces of destruction. It was human beings who gave rise to nuclear weapons. It cannot therefore be beyond the power of human wisdom to eliminate them. Buddhism asserts that human life holds within it sources of wisdom and compassion powerful enough to rise above any temptation or threat. I believe that humankind’s continued survival hinges on the success of our efforts to bring forth these positive, creative capacities in all people and forge from them a new solidarity.

This is a challenge of epic significance in human history. The greatest single force to achieve this on a global scale is the power of dialogue—dialogue among individual human beings and through expanding friendship and exchange among the world’s peoples.

Dialogue starts from the courageous willingness to know and be known by others. It is the painstaking and persistent effort to remove all obstacles that obscure our common humanity. Genuine dialogue is a ceaseless and profound spiritual exertion that seeks to effect a fundamental human transformation in both ourselves and others. Dialogue challenges us to confront and transform the destructive impulses inherent in human life. I earnestly believe that the energy generated by this courageous effort can break the chains of resignation and apathy that bind the human heart, unleashing renewed confidence and vision for the future.

The hope-filled leaders at the forefront of this great struggle are always young people. “The new era will be created by the power and passion of youth.” This was the unchanging, lifelong conviction of Josei Toda, who himself waged an uncompromising struggle of resistance against Japanese militarism during World War II. Deeply partaking of my mentor’s conviction, I am determined to dedicate my life, alongside the youth of the world and together with our distinguished friends gathered here today, to the cause of nuclear abolition and the peaceful coexistence of humankind.

It is my hope that we will make today, September 8, a day of reaffirming our shared vow, as people living into the 21st century, to create a society in which all people may fully and consistently experience the joys of human dignity.

In closing, I would like to recall these words of Abraham Lincoln, spoken here at The Cooper Union in 1860, as an expression of my best wishes for the continued health and well-being of all our friends gathered here today.

“Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.”

Daisaku Ikeda
President
Soka Gakkai International

Ethereal melody

Simply classic !!

My ideal voice Rafi

My sister's favorite

Vande Maataram - Gratitude to Motherland

The national song from India .. gratitude to mother earth. Sung with sign language and featuring beautiful ancient tribal people ..

The following is the Sanskrit text of the song:

Vande Maataram! Vande Maataram!

Sujalam, suphalam, malayaja shitalam,

Shasyashyamalam, Maataram!

Shubhrajyotsna pulakitayaminim,

Phullakusumita drumadala shobhinim,

Suhasinim sumadhura bhashinim,

Sukhadam varadam, Maataram!

Vande Maataram! Vande Maataram!

I have modified the English translation of the song rendered earlier by Sri Aurobindo to
reflect my own spirit:

I bow in reverence to you, my Motherland,
I bow in respect.

Richly-watered, richly-fruited,
Cool with the sandal fragrant winds of the south,
Dark with the crops of the harvests,
O Motherland!

Rejoicing her nights in the glory of the moonlight,
Beautifully clothed with her trees in flowering bloom,
Gentle in humor, sweet in speech,
Fulfiller of wishes, giver of happiness, o Motherland

I bow in gratitude to you Motherland,
I bow in reverence.

Classic debate sung beautifully

The worldly woman scolds the ascetic Yogi ...

A classic philosophical/religious debate between life-affirming and life-renouncing views on life ... an eternal inquiry.

"You keep running away from the affairs of this life, how can you obtain the truth you seek.
If you could not accept this world, won't you also regret in the other world?"

Feminine !!

Such pure and natural feminine expressions ! Super song !!

Classical touch

What a song !! A beautiful rendition of some pure Indian classical raga (scale). Does anyone know which one? Lata's voice at her best ...

Beauty in Pathos - song from the broken Heart

"My heart like a delicate toy is broken
Alas ! Someone has robbed me."

A village damsel's heartthrob has gone away leaving her behind to face the rigid social structure which doesn'to even acknowledge the existence of love .. hence oblivious of joy or agony that accompanies the person.

Note that she's visiting all those favorite spots that she once had with her beloved.. missing him immensely..

Never break a woman's heart for it makes the universe shed tears ...

Your melody and my poetry - Tere Sur Aur Mere Geet

I was looking for this song for a long time. How deeply it had touched me as a boy of 10 ! The story ends in a great tragedy .. I was devastated for days..

Feather Romance

Inspiring Song on Global Warming

Madonna did a great job !

Live Earth 07.07.07

SOS at http://liveearth.org/

SOS (Saving Our Selves) from Global Warming and indisputable climatic changes around the world - like my home town of Ranchi, India ... a naturally air-conditioned place for all time is now burning hot like any other place. The solutions to this issue of prophetic magnitude lies in our own life .. in our own habits.

I'm determined to change the light bulbs in my home for eco-friendly bulbs and switch off lights when I don't need them. That'll save significant dollars I need for the Mangorita on a warm Florida beach..

Ex-lover's compassion

Except your eyes, there's nothing else - "Teri Aankhon Ke Siwa"

My favorite composer Madan Mohan. I consider him most gifted of all. Perfect lyrics too ..

Lady Chatterjee

Lady Chatterjee

"I'm Lady Chatterjee .... and I chat online all night .. all morning" - the debut video of Sawan Dutta's album 'Lady Chatterjee' in Bengali.

Sawan is a special friend and an extremely talented person. In my Delhi college days in the late 80s, she played in our rock band 'Architypes' as a keyboardist . We took on a few challenging numbers of the intricate British rock band 'Deep Purple', songs such as "Highway Star" or "Pictures of home". For her it was all a cake walk playing difficult captivating keyboard solos all too smoothly. She's a natural composer, gifted instrument player, intelligent architect .. sweet yet sharp witted like a sword. She does everything in her songs scratch to finish. Perhaps only such talent in India today...

Her husband Arun has done this amazing video animation.

Check out another video of hers: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1225724516

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=2812845

A woman's love

My favorite song. Classic words, unparallel melody and the ethereal voice. Watch her eyes, her expressions, grace and the unadulterated love ...

The power of worldly love wins over the austerities of an ascetic world and the ascetic woman breaks into a love song ...

Ah, his body fragrance like the soft sandalwood
And his restless character
Coupled with a gentle smile
World o world ! Blame me not
If my heart loses self-control ..

The Rainy Month - Sawan Ka Mahina

This was the first film of my life. I saw it with my parents. Must have been 5 years of age then. Characters moving in the screen looked so real, colorful and animated... I was awed !! Couldn't get my little sparkling eyes off the screen. Watching a movie in a small town theater was a rare practice, perhaps once in 6 months for my family. Dad was a busy man ...

Vividly remember this particular melody. The guy here is teaching the young woman a folk song from his village. The film told a story of lovers seperating and uniting lifetime after lifetime only to seperate again in death .. love between a rustic fisherman and this young soulful woman from a conservative aristocratic family. They face immense social barriers. Even as a child, the story left deep impressions on me. The song has the beautiful dialect and tone of my home province Bihar (where "shor" is spoken as "sor"). The meaning goes..

Ah, the month of rains is here,
The swift wind is making a that unique noise.
And my heart is dancing in joy just as a peacock dances in the jungle.

(I'll translate and put complete lyrics later. Good night ..)

Simple dream

I have had this one simple dream so many times - Ek hee Khwab, kai baar dekha hai maine ...

I was in love with this song in my 9th grade. First exposure to the magic of an acoustic guitar. I was enchanted. Great lyrics, great voice, romantic and simple ... The calmness in the song brings out the restlessness or the longing to have some ..

Tony Award Winners 2007 - what's common?

Ten dollar question - What's common between the prestigious Tony award winnersof this year Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater and me the commoner.
Answer: Not doubting your intelligence, but I bet you couldn't have guessed. Well, we each chant NMRK and have the same life-mentor. Sorry, I get to keep the buck.

Isn't it a great title for their musical on youth - "Spring Awakening". I have to go see it on Broadway. Besides it's easy for me since I live on Broadway. Keeeep walking .... in the direction of your nose ...
Duncan Sheik's heart was with youth for a long time since his own. Remember the foreward he wrote for The Ways of Youth?

Tony award website:
http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/shows/200705141179150676307.html

"A Mighty Heart"

... straight from the heart.

Remember the brave, touching, and inspiring life experience of Mariane Pearl? Amidst her personal tragedy, she personified strength and composure and carried the message of human dignity even towards the perpetrators. I met Mariane briefly at an SGI discussion meeting in Woodstock, NY. By her side was the little Daniel Jr. busy playing and hugging his mom. She came across like an ordinary woman with extra-ordinary conviction, more than many. And now this movie with mega-stars ... Nichiren says," "The heart alone is what really matters."

'My Happiness is True Revenge' Q & A with Mariane Pearl - Newsweek
Interview with "Real" Mariane Pearl
Angelina Jolie talks about playing Mariane Pearl, and her off-screen role — as mom to an ever-expanding family: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18833893/
'A Mighty Heart' is the story of Mariane Pearl's unquenchable spirit.

What's on my mind today?

I'm a spontaneous kinda guy. No planning, never self-disciplined, no roaming around with a to-do list. But now I feel different. "SELF-DISCIPLINE".Give me tips, how do I switch ...

Pure spirit!

How pure a human and community spirit underlies this song !! Rain, dance, romance, teasing, celebrating others, spirit of coexistance.... you name it. Seeing and hearing this song fills my heart with joy, I reminisce and long for the rural India of my childhood with tears of appreciation rolling down. We have to revive this spirit in modern living ..make it a reality snatching it from the hands of mere ideas.

P.S. If you're not Hindi speaking, I can send you the meaning of the lyrics. Meanwhile rejoice the music !!

Me and Soka

Classic romance Indian style

This scene from an old Indian movie (in the 50s) says a lot about the power of romance over erotic passion largely devoid of substance. We find love, desire, benevolent participative nature, purpose, philosophy, and vision --- all in this short clip. Half clad women or muscular men with chiseled faces these days are not 10% as attractive as the couple in this song. The woman demonstrates true beauty of emotions and the guy is gentle, respectful and deeply caring. There is much we can dialogue on the value of the modern cinema beyond momentary entertainment ..