Guitar Gurus

"Bring umbrellas, raincoats, picnic rugs etc." True to those words, these were essential at last night's concert.

The Event: Guitar Gurus - An all night performance by five of India's finest guitarists. An hour performance by each artist and then time for them all to jam.

The Venue: Fireflies Ashram (Don't ask me why Ashram, that's just the venue) The amphitheatre set around a huge Banyan tree.
Finding the place was a big adventure, but one we saw the setting, the effect, the acoustics, we knew we were in for a treat :)
Though it rained continuously through the night, we huddled under umbrellas and enjoyed the warmth of the music.

First Act: John Anthony and his band Karnatriix

Guitar - John Anthony

Percussions - "Darbuka' Siva

Sarangi & Vocals - Faiyaz Khan

East meets West
(Sarangi & Electric Guitars)

The music was a blend of classical (Carnatic & Hidustani) and western. The band played one of my favourite songs of Saint Tyagaraja - "Entharo Mahanubhavulu", Pancharatna Kritis (Five gems of Carnatic music).
Click here for the video of this song from an earlier concert.
You should also check out a better audio of this song on the Karnatriix website.

Second Act: Amit Heri and Sanjay Divecha
This act had no percussion, no other accompaniments ~ just plain guitars.
Amit and Sanjay performed a couple of their own compositions - Peace song & Africa. After which they played some Jazz as well.

Amit Heri

Sanjay Divecha

Earlier in the blog I had made a mention of Charminar, this can be found on Amit Heri's site under Music and album -Morning Raga. Such a short piece, but such strong emotions.

Third Act: Derek Julien and his band

This band started playing at 1AM and they pumped up the volume and the rhythm and had everyone swaying to their music.For a sample of what they played last night click here.

Fourth Act: Vikramjit Banerjee aka Tuki
As it was already 2AM, we didn't stay to watch this act.

The event had such variety, with each group showing off their own unique style. It was a perfect blend of talent and melody. Definitely a musical night to remember. And yes, I'm picking up the albums of these guys. :)

though the event was great, there are two things that I was disappointed with:
1) Timing - The show started more than an hour late, we therefore could not watch stay till the end.
2) A group in the audience (obviously high on something) who created a lot of disturbance and did not let others enjoy the music. People are free to do as they please, as long as they don't bother others.

Good Bye

I don't like saying good bye, its one of those sad things in life.
In some cases, we're more than happy that the person is going away
And then others, when we wish the person would but just stay
Any other category? Not to be bothered about, as it makes no difference whatsoever.
But when it is time to use the *G* word... just have to do something to cheer up.
May be its time to flip through The Blue Day Book again.

The Constant Gardener

Based on the novel by John Le Carre, The Constant Gardener is a story of a Diplomat who tries to find the reason for his wife's murder. In his pursuit, Justin Quayle (played by Ralph Fiennes) discovers that his wife Tessa (played by Rachel Weisz) and her friend Arnold were trying to expose a conspiracy involving major pharmaceuticals and aid organizations in the African continent. Brilliant performance by all the actors, beautiful cinematography and hard hitting reality all well complemented by the music of Spanish composer Alberto Iglesias. A definite must watch, according to me.

Rambling on

Today begins with this song:

<Come As You Are - Nirvana

Come as you are
As you were
As I want you to be
As a friend
As a known memory

This week had to do some 'work from home' testing. Though this has become a very popular option, working from home has its pros and its cons.
Pro - you get to be @ home
Con - you have to work :)
Jokes apart, working from home is a pain because:
A) You never get to take a break - who do u go to have coffee with. You turn around and there's no one to speak to... just the 'study' table looking at you expectantly or the bed looking cozy and tempting.
B) You just can't get up and go away for a while - Just when you tell people brb, there's an urgent request that you have to handle immediately.
C) When you are at office, you can just turn around and ask people to do whatever it is that they've got to do. When you're at home... you patiently wait for them to do it. Patience! Its such a virtue...I've learned.

Another thing I've learned and seem to keep learning every single day is that you never really get what you want, you just have to learn to want what you get.
You get back home early, but its not the right day for it. When its the right day, you're in office working late. Finally its the right time, the right day and you're back, but it begins to rain... so disappointing! Then what you do is enjoy the sweet smell of the rain and the cool breeze, because complaining is not going to change a thing.,, so might as well enjoy the pitter-patter.

Watched two movies:
I am Sam : Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer in what I consider their best performances. And Dakota Fanning, to play such a powerful role at that age. Amazing!

The Apartment: This is an old classic that I've been waiting to watch for a long time now. An insurance agent who rents out his apartment to the biggies in his office, such that they have a place to take their mistresses. A romantic comedy that makes you smile all through.

There, another week goes by. In a couple of weeks, it'll be June and we'll already be half way through the year. That's another thing I've learned, no matter what you're doing/thinking, the clock just keeps ticking. Might as well do things that you like and get past the time, than wait for the right time... if there ever is such a thing as that!

That's enough rambling for now. Ciao

Movie Time

Off late, I've been watching a lot of movies. Many movies on my 'to watch' list have now been struck off. I enjoyed watching most of these, but in a couple of cases... I thought the hype was a bit too much :)

Before Sunrise/Before Sunset:
I had watched Before Sunset a long time back and loved how the movie was so non-movie-like. Every action, every dialogue felt so real. It just takes you to a totally different world that is so beautiful. After watching Before Sunrise (the prequel - if I may call it) I think Sunset is better. But then, both movies are awwww so sweet.

The Visitor (2007):
The story of a professor, who travels to a conference to find a couple living in his home. the couple happen to be illegal immigrants. How this incident changes the professor's life is what the movie is about. The movie gets you thinking.... but I somehow felt there was something lacking in the movie. whatever said and done, the message is very powerful.

The Graduate (1967):
Dustin Hoffman, a graduate, returns home from school and only to be enticed by the wife of his father's business partner. Agreed, the movie has great acting and a very different storyline... but not too sure why the movie falls in the 'One of the greatest movies" category.

Mama Mia (2008):
Meryl Streep rocks in this musical :) Any ABBA fan would enjoy this movie. But what I loved the most were the locations - the Greek islands, the beaches, the chapel atop the hill and of course the Music.

mama mia, here I go again
my my, how can I resist you
mama mia, does it show again
my my, how much I've missed you

Rachel Getting Married (2008):
This is completely an off-beat movie. Many parts have been shot like it is a documentary. You think you've seen Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries and Devil Wears Prada and thought she was cute? Watching her in this move, you'd hate her, because of the character she plays. That's the brilliance of her acting.
Anne plays a drug addict who returns from rehab for her sister's wedding. The relationship she has with her family and they with her and most importantly she has with herself is what the movie is about. Every part is played so perfectly - Anne, her dad, her sister and the man she is engaged to - very well made movie.

The Dark Knight (2008):
ha! what do I say about this movie, except that it is so brilliant. Don’t know why I missed this when it was showing in the theatres.

P.S. I love you (2007):
I know the title sounds cheesy, but the movie is a really nice one. Its about a husband, who through his letters to his wife, teaches her to live life. Hilary Swank. who plays the wife, receives the letters after her husband's death, when she really is in need of someone to guide her. Each letter perfectly timed, makes her smile, makes her laugh and makes her do things that she loves. They bring her back to life. Gerard Butler, who plays the husband makes the perfect match for Hilary in this movie. In case you are looking for something to warm up your heart, this is one movie to watch.

Man On Wire (2008):
You just have to watch this movie to understand what a masterpiece it is. No amount of description would suffice. Related link: If you want to fly

His Girl Friday (1940):
When Cary Grant comes to know that his ex-wife, Hildy is getting re-married, he tries every possible trick to get her to stay. The story is revolves around a newspaper office that is covering the story of a man accused of murdering a policeman. The movie just belongs to Rosalind Russell who plays Hildy in the movie. It is quick paced and has great comic-timing.

Atonement (2007):
Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, this movie is about a child who accuses her sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit. This is a life changing event for all of them. The surprise comes right at the end when you know the true story. Another movie that is very well made movie.

Thank You For Smoking (2005):
First it was No Reservations, then Dark Knight and now its Aaron Eckhart in this movie as well. Each role, completely different from the other, but played so brilliantly well. Nick, the protagonist works as the spokesman for a cigarette company. Though the public hates him, yet how he defends the company is what the story is about. He knows that smoking kills millions of people each year… It is a job that I do well and it pays my mortgage, thus I do it – is his answer to the question, why do you do it. A must watch for Aaron’s great performance.

Today

Indira Gandhi International Academy is an organisation that takes care of children of Sri Lankan refugees. There are over 250 children here and the organisation takes care of the food, clothing and educational needs of these children. The organisation, I understand, is in need of food supplies, school supplies and other things that the children need in their daily lives. There are many corporates and NGOs that have taken up projects to help out these children.

We are currently running a Toiletries Collection Drive - whereby we're collecting soaps, toothpaste, shampoo sachets and other items to be donated to the school. Most part of today went in co-ordinating and collecting these items. The end result was pretty phenomenal.
At the end of the day we were told that our department had made the maximum contribution :) Such satisfaction to have been able to make a difference.

Unable to find an official web page... a related link : http://www.onlytoday.org/causes-india1.php

One thing that puzzles me is - why someone would not be willing to contribute? Is the cost of one bar of soap/tube of toothpaste too much that you are unable to donate? When will this mind-set change?