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Showing posts from January, 2013

The Joy of Uncertainty (it's all about jamming)

Uncertainty is nerve-wracking and exciting. It is the feeling you get when you're about to make a jump from a height. The possibilities are limited but the experience is highly rewarding. The scientists attribute the feeling to the release of a hormone. Thank you God for making such chemicals! It's been about a month since I started jamming with a local musician in Bangalore. It started as an exercise to experiment. We started out sharing music and then decided to experiment with original compositions. We even came up with three original compositions; still a long way to go but excited. I had never jammed before, so I wasn't sure what would be the outcome. Therein lays the problem of all problems. I've got so used to achieving something that I've lost the ability to enjoy the process . I read about journey is more rewarding...blah blah...however I'm more worried about the destination . I went into jamming with the same mindset; to get a result.....

The Art of Waiting (and it's use in elevators!)

Acting can be called the art of waiting and then reacting. I am good at waiting; whether it is waiting at the traffic signal or waiting for a friend at a bus-stop. I am sure (in fact I bet) all of us have waited for a fair portion of our lives when those seconds are added cumulatively. There is in fact a strange joy and sense of impending excitement in waiting. So many times when I'm waiting at the traffic signal (which happens a lot in Bangalore) I observe the surrounding with an entirely new perspective. A lot many times the stillness of a traffic signal instills unknown corners of my mind. Instead of honking or cursing the driver in front of me I decide to wait for the light to turn green (which eventually and always happens). Somehow this waiting time manages to give  a chance for random thoughts to blossom. A melody or a line or a revelation is common for me at the signal! I wonder what is it about waiting that is providing such fertile grounds to imagination. Ain...

Your Very Own Philosophy

Finding Me My life is not a dissertation, so there are bound to be flaws in my opinion, so please understand that's exactly what it is - my opinion. The words to follow are my set of belief that are laden with prejudice and to some extent not entirely founded on proof or certainty. However in the interest of all those who might just agree with me - I'll have to write this piece of opinion. In a world filled with human beings every opinion is evaluated on the criterion of usefulness of the opinion towards the society (or some may say a greater good served by the opinion). To me an opinion serves a much different purpose as well. It forcefully opens a new door in the mind of the reader. It gives you a new direction to channel your thoughts. And after going through with the flow and meandering through the alleys filled with bias and disagreement/agreement you reach your own decision. At the end of the day, I've to decide what drives me or what is worthy of a more p...

A Boy's Freedom to Experiment

FADE IN: INT: A SCHOOL FILLED WITH KIDS BUSY DRAWING WITH A TEACHER LOOKING OVER THEM - EVENING (CIRCA 1989) Flashback:  A four or five year old boy was asked to draw a picture of three trees that filled up the space. It was supposed to include a mango tree, an apple tree and a plum tree. The teacher didn't ask the boy to follow any instructions; just be free . The boy drew a picture with two trees and a man with a pointy red had standing nonchalantly between the trees. The audacity didn't end up there; the picture he drew included two apple trees. Probably mango and plum were not favourite. That wasn't the end of "experimentation" either; the fruits of the second tree were slightly triangular in shape! The boy is happy with the outcome . Present Day: The boy is now a twenty-nine or thirty year old man. He decides to "create" a poem so he can play with the words for fun . He sets a goal to write a poem; however this time arou...