vel...

मनाचा एका अंधार-कोपर्‍यात तर बरंच काही आहे,

काए काए सांगू अरे मित्रा मी तुला,

लहान मोठी तर गोष्टी बर्‍याच असतात सांगायला...

पण खरं तर... मला वेळ नाही मिळत... आयुष्यच जगायला !

Krishi Manthan : The Second Green Revolution

In the 2nd semester at S P Jain, I am mostly having specialisation courses - that makes it all the more interesting [thx to no-Finance subjects!!! :) ] One of them was Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) which is a management approach that examines aspects of a business and its interactions, and attempts to improve the efficiency of the underlying processes. It is a fundamental and radical approach by either modifying or eliminating non-value adding activities. BPR - an absolute buzzword for an MBA grad - but not sure how much it is relevant and practical in today's world; rather how many instances will i find ahead where this will be applicable!!! In our course, each project group had to take up a case of BPR and give a presentation on it.

So there we were racking our brains thinking about the topics and justifying it to be a BPR and not just a small tweaking process. Also the results had to be dramatic and change should be fundamental - the 2 basic necessities for a process to be called as being re-engineered. One of my group mates, Siddharth who is an avid lover of the ITC eChaupal came up with the idea to do somewhat similar to this. We started developing the concept and the whole thing came out to be something very novel and appealing!

Here are the excerpts of our experience from Sid's blog who has worded it very well...
"As a project for this subject we took traditional Mandi model for trading of farmers grain. Mandi which was set up government to help farmers in selling their produce; is now controlled by moneylenders, agents and is not giving farmers the full benefit of their produce. There are initiatives by private companies, which claim to increase the living standards and income of farmers to certain extent, however the benefit of this system is yet not percolated to the smallest of the farmer in remotest of village.

Moreover these companies are not helping farmers to move up the value chain. Private players reap the maximum benefit of commodities trading and food processing. They are not pumping back the benefit to the farmer community. We have re- engineered the process to a cooperative of farmers, which would increase their income and setting up of a grameen innovation center. Now as a cooperative decision making lies in the hands of farmers; They can deicide if they wish to keep their produce to sell it later in future, how much of produce is to be sent to the community processing zone to add value to wheat and convert it to flour or other products. We call this change mechanism as Mandi Manthan. you can read about mandimanthan presentation which we presented.

We call it the second green revolution. Focus of first green revolution was on quantity to meet the immediate demands; focus of second green revolution is quality and equality of farmers.
This project was actually a group work, my group consist of 7 ignited minds. You can see the pics representing blue print and thinking process of our model a night before the day we were supposed to present.

By the way it was not all work and no play ….

p.s. This presentation is inspired by the ideas from C.K. Prahlad’s Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid and Dr Kalam’s India Vision 2020. Some slides are
adapted from their work."

Our sincere thanks to Prof Prem Puri who showed faith in our project and motivated us to go ahead with this!

Btw, Sid is a prolific blogger and an 'early adopter' for writing reviews/opinions about any new technology product launched! Also he is a lover of open source and a big fan of Mozilla and all its products. You can read his blogs at http://siddharths.wordpress.com/

Moved to a new world...

It has been almost a month that I am in Singapore now. Yes, Singapore is indeed a new world which is very different than Dubai. A place which has its own charm. A small island, this was a tropical forest (...more apt will be a rainforest!!!) which has been able to retain much of its greenery. Right now its the monsoons here, and I am being well compensated for all the rains I missed, while staying in the desert land... See the change for yourself, which happens to the landscape here almost everyday (thats Gillman Heights Condominium visible from my window)


The sessions have started with full bang and now am nearing the end of this term too! I know it won't be far before this term gets over and next thing will be this whole course! :) The fortnight's break in India was like...kab aaya, kab gayaa...kuch pata hi nahi chala. Spent most of the time with friends, hogging Indian food (though not maa-ke-haath-ka-khanaa,as mommy dear was in US), and just chilling myself. I had a big surprise in store for me...Ravi, my school friend was getting married!!! This was an absolute news to me. And we kinda celebrated this on my birthday morning with a coffee, at the usual katta...Checkers @ VCA! Damn! I had to get up so early on my birthday morning, but then who cares!!! Nothing like spending time with old pals...anytime of the day

Being here in this new world, it will be novel to learn about a new part of the earth, which is so much talked about. Be it the money-minting business here or the tourism, it is an overwhelming feeling as am getting an opportunity to meet people forming a major part of this continent.

Don't know what all is there in store for me. A decision to walk on a path not walked before brings so many new challenges and experiences. Absorbing them over a period of time and becoming one with them is just another way of living life! As of now just want to enjoy the remaining days of the paathshala and make the most of it...before the ball sets to roll again!

Adios.

Zindagi...

zindagi ek ajeeb paheli hai.

jab duur usse hona chahte the hum,
to kareeb kisi aur ke le aati hai vo,
jab bhulana kisi ko chahe hum,
to nayi yaade kyo banati hai ye zindagi,

naye naye rang dikhati hai kyo khub saare,
ab to sirf reh gayi, raat ke kaalikh si ye zindagi
yaadein aur tanhai to hamesha saath rahengi mere,
ab to bas khud ko bhulane ki chah hai, ae zindagi.

kyo aai pehle, khub saare khwaab sajaakar,
kyo baandhi khushiyon ki ye patti aankon pe mere,
ab to kismat bhi ooper sarak gayi hai,
aur ban ke baithi lahu se sani, kafan si ye zindagi.

khoon ke aasu ab beh rahe hai meri aankho se,
jo na kabhi badal paaya, vo ab kya badal sakta hu,
tu hi saath rahi, tune bhi khub samjha mujhe zindagi,
ab to manzil mere saamne hai, mein aa raha hun, ae zindagi

Intezaar...

Gazal ho tum, ya ho tablay ka peshkaar,
Sangeet ho tum, ya ho nupur ki jhankaar,
Phool murjha jaenge, patte bikhar jaenge,
Aa ke milo, tumse milne ko hai dil bekaraar.

Yaad mei tumhari, pal pal aahe bharta hu,
Tum na aati, to chaand mei khoya rehta hu,
Nasha ho na ho, mei to bas tumme rahu sarobaar.
Ab to behoshi mein bhi karta hu, tumhara hi intezaar...

The Last Warrior...

Nashaa

Nasha ‘gar hota sharaab mein, Nasha ‘gar hota sharaab mein
To naachti ye botal, Nachte shehar ke saare mehkhaane,
Lekin kambhakht nasha to hai dosti mein,
Doston ke saath banai rangeen mehfilon mein,
Raat bhar jag kar ghulaam ali ki gazalon ke saath,
Haal-e-dil bayan karna, nasha to isme hai…

Ruthe hue ko manane ke liye jaddo-jahat karna, nasha to isi mein hai,
Manane ke baad phir se jab ruth jae, to phir manana….nasha isi mein hai
Haari hui jung ko phir se jeetne ka jasba jab dil mein ho,
Saare gile-shikwe mita kar, ek hi junoon jab sar pe sawaar ho
Manzil ki ore ekjut hokar jab chalne ka josh ho,
Asli nasha to mere dost bas isi mein hai…

Aur manzil ko paane ke baad jab jaam chalakta hai,
To vo kaanch ke chanakne ki awaaz mein, jo mazaa hai,
Sachcha nasha to usi mein hai…
To bas doob jao tum bhi usi nashe mein, jiske mehkhaane ho
Doston ki mehfilen aur jaam uthe…dosti ke naam!

Side Effect of the 'blood test'...

This happened on the eve of our blood test, a.k.a. Marketing paper and we were probably so overwhelmed by it and such was the intensity that it brought out our inner selves and 'jagao'-fied the dormant kavis, shayars, et al !!!
'However' the exams were not over and there was an HR paper in the pipeline scheduled for the next day...
sab bolo 1..2..3.......5..6

:)

Enjoy the read...

Sameer:
zindagi ke jis mod per khada tha mein,
najane kise dhoondh raha tha mein,
vo kaha thi, ye janta nahi tha,
bas isiliye reh gaya ab mein, mein aur mein...

akele pan ka ahsas bahot hai ab,
use kho ke phir paane ki khwahish hai ab,
katon ke saath khoon ki bhi hoti hai chubhan,
katein to nikal do, lekin rago mein behta khoon nikalu kaise ab.

ek bewafa…

Easwar:
Bewafa woh nahi ye tanhaai hain kambhakt saath hi nahi chodti 

Sameer:
tumne galat samjha dost,…
bewafa vo nahi, hum hi the….

Dipika:
Havent penned it down but still…

Aaj bhi unki nazron mein raaj wohi tha
Chehra wohi tha chehre ka libaas wohi tha
Kaise unko bewafaa keh doon yaaron
Aaj bhi unke dekhne ka andaaz wohi tha

Easwar:
Bewafai ko kyon dosh dete ho?
Who to tanhai mein bhi saath chodti,
Yaadon ko saath leke chalti hain!
Gam ke saagar ko khudko dubate kyon ho?
Tham le yaadon ka sahara aur zindagi ka rukh badal le!

Sameer:
bewafaa ab koi haemin kya kahe,
kisi lafzon ki jarurat hi nahi,
jab khud ki nazaron mein gir gaye hai hum,
to jameen se nazare uthne ki himmat hi nahi…

Easwar:
Kaun keht hain aasmaan mein ched nahi ho sakta?
Tabiyat se patthar to uchalo!!
Bewafai zameen sir ankhon sahi,
Zindagi itni bhi buri nahi!

Dipika:
zindagi se hum gustakhi karenge sirf ek baar
yaar chalenge paidal, kandhe par hum sawaar

Amey:
Kaise likhte ho yaar ye sab … mai din bhar alag se baithke sochun fir bhi ek line bhi nahi likh paunga …

Dipika:
Muze tumse gila koi, tumhe muzse shikayat hai
Magar fir bhi muze teri, Tuze meri jarurat hai
Main ye ikraar karta hun, main tumse pyaar karta hun

Zindagi aa raha hun main………….

Easwar:
Yaadein sahara hain har muskil mod parr,
Log chale jaayenge unki yaadein reh jaayengi,
Saaye ki tarah zindagi ke har mod parr,
Phool murjha jaaye parr khusboo reh jaayegi!

Sameer:
bahot khub, bahot khub tumne hai farmaya dost,
english aur hindi se ab tum nikal rahe ho most,
yunhi shabdo ke fer-badal se, dil ka haal sunate raho
lekin bas, isi chakkar mein kabhi tum ho na jana deep-frost !!!

(desperation to make it rhyme :) !!! )

Easwar:
Lajaawab to tum bhi,
Shagird ho main tumhara,
Kavita likhta hoon yu hi,
Shayad koi kali mil jaaye b4 I die kuwara!!
:)

Dipika:
Zindagi saaz bane
soz na banne paaye
dil to tute magar
aawaj na hone paaye

now i dun remember the meaning of soz

Sameer:
channnnnnnnn !!!! :)

Easwar:
Madira ki talap se bhari thi kavita,
Kisi ke deedar ko tadapti hui,
Ankhon se main chalakte hue!
Rhyme nahi hua to kya but its still a kavita!

HR ke ppt mein doob jaao ab…Madhushala Madhushala

Sameer:
Dubakkkkkk

Madhushala to likhi ek Bachhan ne hi thi,
Lekin vo jamana to gujar gaya,
Lage hue hai aajkal ye baap-bete dono,
‘Kajrare-Kajrare’ sunate hue logo ko, in stereo and mono !!!

(another act of desperation !! )

Amey:
This is for Easwar …

Bhagwaan jiske saath apna naam share karta ho …
Chahane wale jiske liye itna care karte ho …
Tumhe tumhari KALI jaroor milegi mere dost…
Because u are a bachelor sought after the most …

Easwar:
Jiski smile ho full 10 mile,
Doodh jiske saamne de blushing smile,
Amy tujhe prapt ho teri cricket admirer,
Tu runs banate jaaaur aur karr de uske dil ko beqarar!

Dipika:
AAMI AAAMI :) :)

Sameer:
ye ‘cricket admirer’ ka kya hai naya silsila?
doston ko nahi bataya, kya humse hai koi gila,
kaun hai jo tumhare smile pe ho gayi hai ghayal,
hamein bhi to zara batao, hum bhi to hai tumhare kayal !!

Dipika:
The crowd was roraring with shouts
When Aami achieved an amazing feat
Couple of them said there’s no doubt
‘Aami is so sweet!

And this was the grand finale of a session that lasted around two and a half hours !!! Wish more of such 'blood tests' happen... :)

Kavi Sammelan @ SPJCM

This is what was going on in one of the lectures !
with the silent audience recording the proceedings :)
Be patient, and read the 'masterpieces' by my batchmates !!

Easwar:
The war was never so intense,
Nemesis meets once again with no pretence,
Battle has taken a war stance,
May the best man have the sustenance!

Vivek S:
Baa baa black sheep have u any wool,
Yes ******* , three bags full,
One for my master, one for my bitch,
One for the horny boy who screws like a witch….

Errr..Censored stuff...yikes!

Easwar:
Jolly was I ere I saw poem so horrendous,
Vulgarity it poured and the sin was ominous,
Revealed it did a personality not so porous,
I can hear clangs of battle onerous!

Vivek S:
The battle tided over, the victor has won,
Does not get the point, this EJ –son of a gun,
Give up O pseudo poet, the master hath speak,
Barking at the sun??? shows u r weak!!

Easwar:
Brains that thou have if any,
Have evaporated penning this epiphany,
Darned would I be if it were worth a penny,
Poet or not my ethics are strong not fragile as tiffany!

Vivek S:
Count down it is I agree,
Who is ousted we shall have to see,
Ephiphany, tiffany words of lost cause,
You wanna win? Give up to the boss!!!

Siva:
An effort worth trying,
But what to write – still wondering,
In front of boss panicking,
Will not be thwarted – assuming.

Vivek S:
An excellent effort I must say shivvvy,
But the point is to put EJ in his place, that paavi,
‘Silence is golden’ , people say, I agree,
But does it signal his loss, and my victory??

Easwar:
For the moment sabbath I take,
For I shall not miss the lecture else I shall rue my mistake!

Anup:
Easwar and Vivek S are similar PER SE, HAMARE LIYE?
Jaise Gandhiji aur Mallika they – India KE LIYE,
Gandhiji ne kapde tyaag diye, Desh KE LIYE,
Aur Mallike, hum jaise desh-waasiyon KE LIYE

Vivek V:
Reading this mail,
Has just made me die laughing
Cant hold myself any further...
Ladies and Gentlemen,Make way
coz elvis is gona enter the building?

Dipika:
Victory for you is miles away
Not a word against my bro, PER SE

Siva:
Oh!! What a support,
Trying to get cut-throat,
Never a chance to reach finish line
Continue thinking about it offline

Vivek S:
I know Siva, I agree with you,
That was a stinker, but as expected, right on cue,
You are right; it is getting cut-throat,
All for supporting a mustached goat!!

Siva:
Ho Ho – as the competition rise,
Inviting response as wise,
Though not from anyone else,
Where are you? Someone feeling brotherless

Vivek S:
O! Peeps, hope a lesson is well learnt,
Support Mr. Epiphany, and now your finger is burnt,
War is on they said, ‘the lines are drawn’,
But Peeps, do you realize you guys lack brains and brawn??

Bhakti:
Thy daunted bro o fair damsel has taken a sabbatical
The decorative nomenclature is proving to be an obstacle
Pray for thee o lady to help him overcome the hurdle
Assist the befuddled and thwarted duke out of the muddle…..

Anup:
Oh what a pity, thou poetry standards,
Not in sync with my Vocabulary standards,
O dear poet, please explain your verse,
If it goes on like this, I may have to use WEBSTERS

Dipika:
You will get to see the brains as well as the brawn
Just wait until the dawn
The mystery shall soon unfold
O world behold!

Dipika:
Aag lag rahi hai
Dhuaan sa uthta hai
Kyun nahi jaane dil kiska jalta hai
Dil kiska jalta hai…

Vivek S:
Water tankers on it way!!!
I’m there to help u out

Anup:
Sir - Is jawani mein ye josh dheek nahin hai, 'OK'
Hamara kya hai, hum to poetry likh rahe hain 'SO-KE'
Koi tho hamen bachao, 'PER SE'
Laakhon Duayen milenge unko - 'SAB SE'!!

Bhakti:
Siblings in arms against weapons of mass (verbal) destruction
Together affright with severe opposition
Doubt the valor and ability of the competition
Sister fighting the battle whilst the bro shies away from confrontation……

Sameer:
band karo band karo band karo ye atyachaar
shobha nahi deta ye, hum sab hai ek hi parivar,
doston ke ‘gun-gaan’ phir bhi tum gaye jaao,
biguul jab baja diya hai to, talwaar ki dhaar badhae jao…. ;-)

Siva:
What say the result of a two liner?
Can’t be as perfect and finer,
Before you could say start,
It went shoot, sharp and fast

Dipika:
What matters is not if the lines are two or four…
As long as true feelings galore

Easwar:
Valour was held aloft while my sabbatical,
Damsels held nerves under assails bordering satirical,
Steadfast did my sis stand under missiles so categorical,
The battle is still on, of classrooms and moors, do not discount my silence as my foible!

Easwar:
Vulgarity and insane madness I curse thee,
Thaws away friendship that was frozen away till eternity,
Aye with my sis all that matters is this earthly canopy,
Profanity and unwarranted gestures are sheer atrophy!!

Easwar:
Deserts so barren, days so long,
Where art thou? Saccharine November I forlorn,
Olfactory glands abate gourmet wafts that reek strong,
Heart meanders, mind says ‘2 more months to tag along’

Easwar:
Yo Man,Check who is the latest Tam in Town,
Wrapped in 9 Yards and wearing a frown,
Yo Man, Check who is the latest Tam in Town,
Bal by name,wearing malli pu as a crown,
Yo Man, Check who is the latest Tam in Town,
Trying hard to practice Tamil, All the globe shall do a Mexican show down!
Yo Man, Check who is the latest Tam in Town,

Bhakti:
What’s this half-tam business can u plz explain
The incessant reference to it is chewing up my brain
My ignorance and impatience to the reference I cant contain
From Retaliating to these Digs, I could abstain

Bhakti:
Oh fugga, My fugga what have u done,
Linking up pals u think its fun…
Earl, a fitting rely to their query u must return
Fugga,Await your nemesis, let this conundrum adjourn………….

Anup:
Come on maaan. What are you waiting for EJ?
Do you think we are cracking a PJ
During such an interesting session like DBMS per se,
‘Haan’ bol dena is awzar par hum sab se!!!

Easwar:
Aggrieved I am on the consequences I see,
Pairing up is a tea time policy,
Friendship has been labeled to the extent impurity
I urge thee monkeys to get back to humanity

Pausacha ek themb.

Missing the good old monsoons back home! And its time for 'Friendship Day' too.
This is for both...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pausacha eka themba saathi aaj he man kasa vihvaLun gela aahe…
Ithe aalo aapan sagLe, jivanatla ek maarg shodhnya saathi,
Pan aayushyacha asha kityek chaurastya ver, aaplyala ya themba-chi aathvan yenar aahe….
Yachi jaaNiv tar aaplyala jhalich asaNar…

Ekmekannchi sobat, haach ithe ek saglyat mottha aadhar aahe.
Yach aadharela, ya maitri la majhi ek bhaavpurna pushpanjali !!!

ek mitr.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Post First Brush...

Dubai – The City of Gold ! Finally landed at the airport >> Dubai International Airport or DXB. Foreign land. The first breath. Smelling the air, a ‘new air’, I was feeling like a foreign creature landing on a new planet. That feeling was strengthened by the marvelous sight of huge construction everywhere, in all possible shapes and heights…with the golden dust settling all over. (That was actually dust, construction dust, and lotsa sand in the air!)The airport itself is a huge place and after meandering through three floors of labyrinth, we reached the Immigration Check counter. All along the way were several duty free shops…yess, the charm of Duty Free lurks everywhere and then finally made our way outta airport after almost an hour and a half.

There we met our SPJain guy who had come to receive us. On our way back…we got a glimpse of this city. The first thing that I noticed were right there on the roads – Cars n Cars n Cars…lotsa cars of all possible brands in the world !!! You name it and you have it on the road in Dubai.In a short drive of 40 mins from Airport to Al Barsha ( our refuge for the next 6 months), I saw Toyotas (the most common here, even the taxis here are Camry and Corolla), Nissans (again plenty of them), BMWs, Hondas, Porsches, Ferraris, Pontiacs, Mercedes (ohh…those twin seaters SLK 350 are a beauty to die for), GMCs, Land Rovers, Prados,Lexus, Infinitys,Lincoln, Fords, VolksWagen, Mazdas, Peugeots, Opels, Audis…(ohh yes how could I forget the awesome Audi TT Coupe’), and the list just goes on and on and on…

The second thing that hit me was the speed. Driving at 100-120 kmph was normal and the major roads were with 12 lanes .Throughout the trip I felt I was on Express Highway!!! Apart from this what hit me were the buildings, especially the Emirates Hotel Tower and the most coveted Burj-Al-Arab on Sheikh Zayed Road. It was like a mirage (well atleast it was happening in an apt geographical location), coz just a couple of months back some one had forwarded a presentation on Burj-Al-Arab and I never thought that I‘ll be seeing that in brick and mortar within six months! It is an architectural wonder with its unique shell structure and an ostentatious entry fee of 200 Dirhams (which is roughly Rs. 2500)

In around 40 minutes, we ‘pit stopped’ at the coveted Green Villa in Al Barsha. This Green Villa happened to be the only entity closest (resemblance) to the green environment. The locality was an upcoming one and boasted of one of the best bungalows in town (undoubtedly), but invariably it kept reminding me of the life in the desert! Till now this is my closest brush with it…

Hoping to experience it more and in a true sense in this part of the world very soon.

First Brush...

So finally we were off to the ‘phoren land’…shayad onsite ka sapna jo har ek software engineer dekhta hai….vo kuch is tarah pura ho raha tha. Finally the PG thing was being realized. I was joining SPJCM, Dubai – Singapore for one year MBA program.
Sitting in the Oman Air flight WY836, departed on 6.30 am, 8th June 2006 from Hyderabad, India, these were the thoughts crossing my mind.

Landed in Muscat’s Seeb International Airport was the first brush with the phoren air. The flight was pretty cool and as we approached the land my excitement was increasing. Geography was pretty strange with only sea to my right and only brown barren mountains to my left. Not a soul in sight. Finally I saw a couple of white tents on land, a lone merchant ship on the sea and then the airstrip ahead. Getting out of the flight, I felt the hot burnt desert air brushing against my face and it was just 10.30 am, local time!

We moved to the airport lobby where we got the boarding passes for the next flight to Dubai, Oman Air flight WY685, scheduled after 2 hours. Approaching the waiting area, I see the first ‘duty free shop’!!! Alas, finally the duty free shops!! The famous duty free shops!! But despite the duty free, the costs were still sky rocketing…Just outside the shop was a white Lexus GS300 luxury car, an absolute eye candy and next to it was a black Yamaha quad bike!! ‘That’s some treat now!’, I said to myself.

After a long wait, finally we boarded our flight and flew towards our final destination >> DXB !!

On The Deathbed…

Huge lobby with white marble flooring. Huge statue in the center with both arms open and pointing towards the sky. Green curtains everywhere. A very typical smell. People around in a very typical dress. Sitting there in the hospital’s lounge, my eyes were gazing at a face. A face which I don’t think I can ever forget in my whole life. It was probably the most expressive face I had ever seen in my entire life…except that the expression on that face was…rather there was no expression on the face, and it still had the capability of narrating an entire epic.

An epic of sadness. An epic of loneliness. An epic of despair. The face saw something imminent. Something unavoidable. Something that the tattered body had made a compromise with. Something to which the willpower had given up. Given up and accepted defeat. Its gonna be, anyway, the last fight for her. The statue in the lobby which symbolized hope…which looked like receiving the blessings from up above, suddenly posed a different meaning. The open hands were calling to the Divine as if a child seeking his mother’s embrace after a tiring day at play. Yes, the play was about to be over. The time was near for the eternal embrace.

The drooping shoulders were telling a tale about the burden they had lifted the entire life. Burden…rather, responsibility of being in a family, supporting another and probably raising one. Playing the role of a daughter, sister, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, the life was a fully lived performing all the roles with utmost perfection. Performing? Yes. As Shakespeare had very aptly said, "All the world’s a stage and all us humans mere actors. All of us have to come on stage, performs our stints, and make an exit." On this stage everyone has his or her shares of ups and downs. Sometimes the actors forget the dialogues; at times the music man plays the song in the wrong scene; even worse, the light man gives a spotlight when the stage is supposed to be pitch dark! But the show must go on…It sure goes on. But the act has to come to an end.

And there she was. Lying on the deathbed. Deathbed, which is going to put an end to her act. But the show sure goes on.

Third Time Lucky

The news was out…I could not believe my ears, my eyes, my lenses and my senses! The news was like a dream come true…Jus’ like the ‘Summer of ’69…err…. I mean the summer of 2002.

It was a hot draining afternoon in room 101. Location: PICT Boy’s Hostel, Pune. Preparations for my third year second semester practical exams were on in full swing (Uhh…What a time that was!!!) and someone broke the news…Bryan Adams is flying down to India and will be performing LIVE in Bombay and Bangalore…This was the news in May 2002. This was Second Time Lucky. Someone screamed from the end of the corridor….BRYAN ADAMS !!!….WOW !!! But what to do with these goddamn exams??? In that exam time ka ‘mahol’ this news got kinda hush-hushed….and everybody was back to business. I couldn’t believe I was gonna miss this show which would be happening jus’ 150 km from my place! Bryan Adams man…It was Brandy! Performing Live….but the chances of attending the concert in the mid of exams was very very bleak….and then it happened. We buddies took the ‘kasam’ >> ki boss!…agli baar ye banda jab bhi India ke kisi bhi kone mein perform karega, iske concert mein to jarur jayenge…phir vo Arunachal ke jungalo mein hi kyu na ho…

Circa 2006.

It was a cool afternoon in a white cubicle (Thanks to the dear old A.C., which has become a ‘part and parcel’ of our lives). Location: Office in Mumbai…News was making rounds, rather zigzagging in between the cubicles that one Mr. Bryan Adams will be performing in Bombay and Bangalore. News was ‘supplied’ by one of my colleagues who recently got hooked to Raak music and was extrrrremely keen on attending all raak concerts happening in Mumbai!…This was the news in January 2006. This was Third Time Lucky. Yes…Finally he was back (First of all I thanked God he was not performing in Arunachal). Bryan Adams was performing right here in Mumbai…aamchi Mumbai!! I got a déjà vu…It WAS a dream come true. The entire happenings of that afternoon in the hostel jus’ flashed by in front of me…

It was Showtime!!

Rather it was time to climb down from Cloud Number Nine and take some quick action. Action like >> buying the tickets before all are sold out!! So I, along with two of my colleagues, rushed to the nearest outlet to collect the tickets for the show and after spending a bomb amount, held them proudly in my hand. It was a shiny dark green piece, with a golden hologram emblazoned on its surface, a list of sponsors on one side and a number of instructions on the rear side. It really was a gate-pass to the wonderland. We gladly celebrated our little victory and geared up for the bigger one.

Real Showtime!!

The D-day arrived. 4th of February. It was no less than 4th of July (American Independence Day) for me…I was feeling so liberated after all. The concert was arranged at MMRDA Ground, BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex). The show was supposed to start by 8:00 pm but the beeline was already there since 4:00…And boy…what a CROWD!!! Perfect ‘Eyetonics’ dressed in their best of attires to woo and get woo-ed and did we fall for the PYTs (Pretty Young Things)…You bet! So Here I Am…err I mean I was right at the doors of Heaven. I could see the Stars too… :-) I stood in the loooo…ngg line, which seemed to touch eternity. It seemed that the whole of Mumbai had turned in for the concert. The area enclosed for the show was a huge huge space with bright lights and equally huge banners screaming out the sponsors’ names. At one side was a huge wooden stage built up for him where few band members were arranging the instruments and doing the last minute checks. The wait, though very long was worth every second and people jus’ didn’t stop coming in. Deluge. Flood water flowing over the water gates.

The show started by a salsa dance presentation and a few rock gigs by some local bands. And then he barged in with his band. Bryan Adams in all of flesh and blood performing right in front of me…Man! And I really tumbled down the rabbit hole (This one is for you buddy!). He started with Cloud Number Nine (I need not mention the girls screaming at the top of their voices…who intelligently occupied the front most rows :-)) and moved on to few old ones from his album Reckless. After which he belted out hits after hits…18 Till I Die, Heaven, Stars, Everything I Do, Please Forgive Me, Back To You, Cuts Like A Knife, …. The best was when he started this song by saying: ‘If you haven’t heard this song yet, I don’t know where you had been’….
(guitar strumming)…
I got my first real six strings, bought it at the five and dime,
played it till my fingers bled, it was the Summer of ’69…

This man’s energy was worth envy. He sang with such amazing intensity and passion that I could feel my emotions changing with the songs. But, such is the power of music and when there is none other than Bryan Adams to hypnotize you, to be there in that moment, then one is simply left…speechless! Junta went in frenzy, screaming and responding to the magic that he created there that evening. Everyone singing along with him, hands in the air, and all in perfect blissful harmony jus’ like devout bhakts getting mesmerized by the bhajans in their Lord’s praise (though here the bhajans too were sung by the lord himself…). The ‘pooja’ lasted for around two and a half hours. And as he was about to wind up and leave, people started screaming for one more song…The scream was maddening…sure to drive even Bryan Adams nuts. And I guess after little negotiation with the event manager, he was back on the stage and gave us another hit! I was simply overwhelmed at the end of it…and there were several PYTs all teary-eyed bidding adieu to Bryan at the end of show.

It’s more than a month after the show now, but the music mania that Bryan Adams created that evening feels like yesterday evening and will sure be like this for some more time to come…

First Blog

My first text in the blogosphere ! Will be posting a lotsa stuff...some impromptu....some planned !!

have a dekko soon............