tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-136998262024-03-06T23:41:21.369-08:00Da Black Mambarandom thoughts ... on a small planetThe Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-50336416788736231862007-05-22T13:39:00.000-07:002007-05-24T10:36:48.229-07:00A Bay usque ad MareOf elvii, paris hiltons, beer-chuggers, bong-smokers, nekkid people (tastefully covered with monokuro boo here in this blog), potheads, very small people with haight-ashbery street markers, borat, google-recruiting and what not - 7 miles, 60,000 people - Bay to Breakers, SF 2007.<br /><br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8459245@N05/sets/72157600259586061/show/"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5068176180594792498" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDwNQr6OjiO8YP5XyINQlENgawRMj8ANcmEmlviyQXqsjs-9OZYwJHRVaPkmIUUXnyJAsa9k801eipA0EzZ7QA19-_SwvUHdyQ4nNYIg6arRzENkXJDOMH9r3y5OtNrbv-s0/s320/60000.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><p align="center">more pictures <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/8459245@N05/sets/72157600259586061/show/">here</a>.<br /><br /><br /></p>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-45967348264535692332007-05-01T18:03:00.000-07:002007-05-01T18:20:02.646-07:00Louis Malle<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WjHHvFwlEOJ6k_n9ARUXe49_-wIFo02z_G8o5znsg95nno6PlJIuPgM2lvZzYUsNZxPJstt0WUSCEGY84FWGyZDfu0syZfH_z-nDNkyMuntyqrs5TzxNH59nUfyNvHzyxkM/s1600-h/louis_malle.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5059763147153519234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WjHHvFwlEOJ6k_n9ARUXe49_-wIFo02z_G8o5znsg95nno6PlJIuPgM2lvZzYUsNZxPJstt0WUSCEGY84FWGyZDfu0syZfH_z-nDNkyMuntyqrs5TzxNH59nUfyNvHzyxkM/s400/louis_malle.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">laurent chevalier. 2007. pencil on paper. blackmamba</span></em><br /></span><br /><br />ok, so we spend insane amounts of time watching these films, but never write about them. (no, we really want to write about cinematography ... but never do ... anyway). So figured might as well post one iconic image from films that are close to our heart, every week. first in the series - <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067778/">Le Souffle au coeur</a> (Murmur of the heart) - for no good reason. </div>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-20663660418845964102007-04-19T14:51:00.000-07:002007-04-19T15:44:12.910-07:00April 16, 2007<a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/04/19/world/19iraq.600.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/04/19/world/19iraq.600.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />This post is not about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_16#Events">deadliest mass shooting</a> in American History, the Virginia Tech Massacre. Instead this is about how we are affected by incidents like these and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/19/world/middleeast/19iraq.html?ref=todayspaper">worse</a>. Why some gain more importance in the media, while the others languish in the unseen corners of our psyche?<br /><br />Most people I know were shocked by the allocation of real-estate on the front-pages of newspapers. How does one decide what is worthy of a larger font and photographs, interactive personal histories, and what is not?<br /><br />There is more to this biased attention than meets the eye. It is not just that Americans were killed in VT. America does not mourn thousands of its fellow countrymen(though significantly less than the number of Iraqis) who die in Iraq the same way. All they get is mourning on the public radio, once a week, where their names are read out between two news segments.<br /><br />One reason for the shock and empathy in the case of VT is the fear that it could have been me, my family, my son or daughter, my friends. This is a university classroom, people are struck by the fear that if it could happen here, it could happen at their workplace, grocery store or parking lot. I think, this motivates the interest people are taking in this tragedy, more than they are willing to admit. And case in point, some of the most popular desi blogs have posts that detail the Indians who were killed at VT, while making a respectful but brief mention of all the others who died. Why? Is this a bias? Or is it just that we have accepted that we are wired to be more concerned about <em>our people</em>?<br /><br />As a child, when I watched movies set in Europe or America in the early 1900s I would always wonder, didn't these people know that India and so many other countries were struggling for their freedom, there were famines and people dying everyday. How could one explain the indifference these characters display? They just care about their shallow insecurities, parties and fishing. But now, when I look at Darfur or Iraq, what have we done?<br /><br />But then again, I do agree, at least in some cases, <em>indifference is the least/We have to dread from man or beast</em>, especially after seeing the havoc uninformed, insensitive meddling can result in.<br /><br />There are so many cynical ways to look at why this particular tragedy has gained more prominence over many others, but lets not even go there.<br /><br />Also read - <a href="http://2x3x7.blogspot.com/2007/04/indifference.html">Indifference</a>.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-16407046594097819922007-03-19T22:03:00.000-07:002007-03-19T23:09:45.663-07:00Hanami<span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanami">Hana (flower) + mi (see)</a></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">scent of plum blossoms<br />on the misty mountain path<br />a big rising sun</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.cs.rice.edu/%7Essiyer/minstrels/poems/56.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"> Matsuo Basho</span></a><br /></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vjAVVAxpjqm15wvJeAGuE8JyX-KTC4FYoXxqfztvan3PrFtCxzmO5UU169xQylK7ErMqy7F3wzajt6J-6DJAGsyX0eXJWV49fkuD0LBbTfeb7sR5rUUbnYpU1B9wmO8CCK0/s1600-h/42.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0vjAVVAxpjqm15wvJeAGuE8JyX-KTC4FYoXxqfztvan3PrFtCxzmO5UU169xQylK7ErMqy7F3wzajt6J-6DJAGsyX0eXJWV49fkuD0LBbTfeb7sR5rUUbnYpU1B9wmO8CCK0/s320/42.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043874904051530258" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, it is that time of the year again ... when you drive out of your garage, tiny white petals get swept away from your path. And when the wind blows, a shower of white petals cover the path again.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBteevycI4ugN2rcy5fupGInMiD4oq3ZFJfxguGZeeew1xkUmm1_I3x02jWHd251Pwcd8RgIDYb06lm5rZRLnOGzbZjweKfzMcb8UjrYwGMlqp0BaZpIO7s7-KxuopUqAKgU/s1600-h/43.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBteevycI4ugN2rcy5fupGInMiD4oq3ZFJfxguGZeeew1xkUmm1_I3x02jWHd251Pwcd8RgIDYb06lm5rZRLnOGzbZjweKfzMcb8UjrYwGMlqp0BaZpIO7s7-KxuopUqAKgU/s320/43.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043869943364303330" border="0" /></a><br />And what is better than not having to even get out of bed to see such lovely mountains framed by these beautiful flowers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWFaHJqkGbTTaYIKiJlv7UyYTtNwsg3kRYzgXJfWKpRYT9vY0HOomEPtK0YYjYLIifeIsoZH2bG3NaWQ-dspIE9PzV0Xhi-na3fVeeFrcbUe8hIbBRKbKs-HV4ByklhFlAS8/s1600-h/41.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJWFaHJqkGbTTaYIKiJlv7UyYTtNwsg3kRYzgXJfWKpRYT9vY0HOomEPtK0YYjYLIifeIsoZH2bG3NaWQ-dspIE9PzV0Xhi-na3fVeeFrcbUe8hIbBRKbKs-HV4ByklhFlAS8/s320/41.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043870987041356290" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dJC4qlRvBmUIuBXwLlh76HK9sCC1Ld8SUWzZFV1SIfCTy2m2qZK3iw8JhmenqPh5WZDNw4PoY-xtaXy0KiMxZfeZboduBYRxgYS6xnUpENHfcPprSiGFgmHhs0NpVourWLY/s1600-h/44.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4dJC4qlRvBmUIuBXwLlh76HK9sCC1Ld8SUWzZFV1SIfCTy2m2qZK3iw8JhmenqPh5WZDNw4PoY-xtaXy0KiMxZfeZboduBYRxgYS6xnUpENHfcPprSiGFgmHhs0NpVourWLY/s320/44.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043870858192337394" border="0" /></a><br />[All images shot from my bedroom window.]<br /><br />Other rooms with a view - <a href="http://choultry.blogspot.com/2006/12/room-with-view-with-some-observations.html">[1]</a> & <a href="http://mentaldeviation.blogspot.com/2006/03/room-with-view.html"> [2]</a>.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-68359663193005334392007-03-08T13:59:00.000-08:002007-03-08T18:12:13.816-08:00My Action Hero from the Land of the Rising SunEverybody needs an <a href="http://blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com/2007/02/blank-noise-action-heroes-online_28.html">Action Hero</a> and mine is from the other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arunachal_Pradesh">Land of the Rising Sun</a>.<br /><br /><em>No place is safe and no person is trustworthy – for a woman.</em> It isn't just the faceless man on a nameless street that is a threat, even a classmate in the confines of her own high school could be a harasser. It is at times like this that solutions like building a (physical and emotional) cocoon around women to <em>protect</em> themselves lose all meaning. There has to be a place where one can be free and open to new experiences – for that is where life unfolds and people grow.<br /><br /><a href="http://blanknoiseproject.blogspot.com/2007/02/blank-noise-action-heroes-online_28.html"><img style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://static.zooomr.com/images/493599_2ceb3d4d5e_m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the story of Sunanda, my Action Hero. Sunanda was a year ahead of me in high school (I was in 10th grade then). She was a tall, intelligent, beautiful girl with an infectious smile. I had bumped into her quite a few times in school. But it was fighting that brought us together. :) We went to the same Karate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dojo">Dojo</a>, twice a week. And over a year we had been sparring partners a lot of times and had gone through many a grueling (to us, then) long run, frog jump or pushup session. Those were times when I could only envy her toughness, and her ability to always leave me with more welts than I could ever manage to inflict on her.<br /><br />The incident that made her my hero however occurred not at an evening session at the Dojo, but one sunny morning, about quarter to nine, at school. There were still 15 minutes before the entire school met in the quadrangle for the morning assembly. I was at my desk, wrapping up some homework problems (perhaps) or maybe chatting with friends. Since my seat was next to the window, I looked out and saw Sunanda standing at the far end of the corridor on the first floor [1], where both our classrooms were. She was looking over the playground, with kids running around, playing etc. Suddenly Rakesh (her classmate, who rode the same airforce shuttle – a school bus of sorts) appeared and tried to smooch her [2]. I am still in awe of her amazing reflex – she immediately swung her arm and gave him one tight slap – one so hard – that I could see blood splatter from his mouth though I was about 10 meters away. He was in so much pain and such shock, that all he could do was stand there stunned and unable to move.<br /><br />There were very few witnesses to this event, a few of her classmates and a stray audience, liek me, who happened to be looking out the window, at that exact moment. But this did end pretty badly for the boy (suspension from the school etc). There were speculations as to why he did something this stupid and it turned out to be a dare, some petty bet with his friends, who had egged him on to go kiss her. This is in my mind a more serious problem - how women, even your own classmates are so easily objectified.)<br /><br />She was an instant hero in our school, and to say the least - our Dojo [3]. But the rest of the world did not think so (or so we were told). We were asked to maintain her anonymity, for knowing who she was would (supposedly) only encourage other (hooligans) from trying to harass her on the streets!<br /><br />She might not be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks">Rosa Parks</a>, but to all of us who saw her that day, she showed us the power of standing up and hitting hard at the hideous face of harassment wherever it loomed.<br /><br />[1] The 2nd floor in the US<br /><br />[2] Well, I need to explain that this was not a standard occurrence at our school. People might have held hands or kissed each other in some remote corner, where such “dark deeds” did take place, but there was no room in our school campus that allowed such behaviour,...<br /><br />[3]All that our <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensei">Sensei</a> had to say was, “Why didn’t you use your perfect <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundhouse_kick">roundhouse kick</a>, while you were at it?”<br /><br />[4] On a slight tangent, here is David Unger's hilarious, informative (but ouch) <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431674">report</a> on a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krav_Maga">Krav Maga</a> school in LA.<br /><br />This story is part of the <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431674">Blank Noise Project Action Heros Online</a>.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-70618979100453675772007-03-07T13:52:00.000-08:002007-03-07T17:39:02.253-08:00One Ring to rule them all<em><span style="color:#333333;">Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. (</span><a href="http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/6350/Nazgul.wav"><span style="color:#333333;">listen</span></a><span style="color:#333333;">)</span></em><br /><br />We have a new Ringbearer <a href="http://choultry.blogspot.com/2007/03/plugs-for-local-events.html">too</a>!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqA1tbYZz0F3Y2LFl11kJY9Itvcyjb6m4qGKFO7SehaeSwewEGvXTmjI7oB9vkJZc9Qug_5a-0RUZtCwHbSkxFXGqXHoIuYfHtM0-Xfa2ZbpiLkY1J_m8F0BXz0_YQtb7B10/s1600-h/ringbearer.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039305497279467314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHqA1tbYZz0F3Y2LFl11kJY9Itvcyjb6m4qGKFO7SehaeSwewEGvXTmjI7oB9vkJZc9Qug_5a-0RUZtCwHbSkxFXGqXHoIuYfHtM0-Xfa2ZbpiLkY1J_m8F0BXz0_YQtb7B10/s320/ringbearer.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And as with any new ringbearer, we are now at a loss, which ring shall the bearer bear?<br /><br />All you wise ones, which one rings the bell, for you?<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-STYLE: italic; TEXT-DECORATION: line-through">Narya</span> Blondie<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkh3qFk3Uh446aQawhQbYfQAPlSA1NL0n8rj0iEhuFmMePtN8WLiEXqgw1ZY8WNuR7kznNoNmHcMUMlcGyzNGDf3tdc1Yz3-Pj_UmoxbZVni0xdSJXHwYJdzV-XrN9KpMqEro/s1600-h/c.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039311295485316930" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkh3qFk3Uh446aQawhQbYfQAPlSA1NL0n8rj0iEhuFmMePtN8WLiEXqgw1ZY8WNuR7kznNoNmHcMUMlcGyzNGDf3tdc1Yz3-Pj_UmoxbZVni0xdSJXHwYJdzV-XrN9KpMqEro/s320/c.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKlxyoPNaFI">The Good, The Bad and The Ugly theme</a> - Ennio Morricone<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-STYLE: italic; TEXT-DECORATION: line-through">Nenya</span> Waterboy<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3BLAq9wjk8EMuXHxqjsEax1Xi15mUJBggS87lqb1j-rv6N4Xg1lVx4dNDtdClrtdSyhuunrC1kPjfxqLZPcESy8VC_9sEGRo0un0EARkTzg3DQRKTF-xf7pzdkUymUAWL3M/s1600-h/w.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039314563955429202" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3BLAq9wjk8EMuXHxqjsEax1Xi15mUJBggS87lqb1j-rv6N4Xg1lVx4dNDtdClrtdSyhuunrC1kPjfxqLZPcESy8VC_9sEGRo0un0EARkTzg3DQRKTF-xf7pzdkUymUAWL3M/s320/w.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhAwIve5nV0">Evian Waterboy - Rock You </a>- Queen (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlFZ2w0RV-8">orig</a>)<br /><br /><span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-STYLE: italic; TEXT-DECORATION: line-through">Vilya</span> Austin<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIp4yk_QtROBDTYyki_gs07SI77FZE9D-blR6M8dEbMaiurjXpHs85Rp_0EvHGXhFBQJRajCQVhaXERM6Zah7hdcWpZ-5WGRzn4D6kjTCRjVqGdwJPzWlwXwFasoRrVTONGq4/s1600-h/austin+powers.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5039318429425995650" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIp4yk_QtROBDTYyki_gs07SI77FZE9D-blR6M8dEbMaiurjXpHs85Rp_0EvHGXhFBQJRajCQVhaXERM6Zah7hdcWpZ-5WGRzn4D6kjTCRjVqGdwJPzWlwXwFasoRrVTONGq4/s200/austin+powers.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLh5kpkP6HA">Austin Powers Theme</a> - George S. ClintonThe Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-62774194181330371962007-02-08T21:07:00.001-08:002007-02-23T14:14:27.081-08:00Dhyaan and the Art of Oxford* MaintenanceDid you know - Zen is Japanese for Chan (in Chinese), which is Dhyaan in Sanskrit?!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">* While on Bael Gaadis(bullock carts) - could not resist this PJ from Munnabhai<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">MUNNA BHAI</span> : Circuit, bole toh yeh Ford kya hai?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">CIRCUIT</span> : Bhai, gaadi hai.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">MUNNA BHAI</span> : Toh phir, yeh Oxford kya hai?<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">CIRCUIT</span> : Bole toh, simple hai bhai, Ox mane Bael, Ford mane gaadi. Oxford bole toh Baelgaadi.</span>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1164943142504075262006-11-30T19:02:00.000-08:002006-12-01T20:29:10.030-08:00Baawre DhunRarely do I continue to love a <span style="font-style: italic;">copy</span> after seeing the original. But what are rules worth, if you don't break them?<br /><br />Dheemi Dheemi from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_%281998_film%29" target="blank">1947 Earth</a> is among my favourite songs made in Hindi cinema. I have so been in love with the raw tenderness (and Hariharan's voice, Rahman's music, Nuttgen's camera, Nandita and Rahul's innocent romance that oozes from the screen, oh, everything).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=pw_qWoO4iQE" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6848/1212/320/381549/1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=pw_qWoO4iQE" target="blank">Dheemi Dheemi</a> (on YouTube)<br /></div><br />Betrayed, is exactly how I should have felt when I saw Raindrops in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Cassidy_and_the_Sundance_Kid" target="blank">Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</a>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=howEAqstkzQ" target="blank"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6848/1212/320/164931/2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=howEAqstkzQ" target="blank">Raindrops</a> (on YouTube)<br /></div><br />But, all copies are not equal. Transplanting the essense of a classic, halfway across the globe and making it work so beautifully, is art in itself. They have done a great job in keeping the most important elements - two beautiful people. check. excellent composition. check. great voice. check. beautiful tones and camera. check. Seriously, what the world needs is more copies of this kind.<br /><br />Thanks to <a href="http://kundalini1.blogspot.com/" target="blank">Kundalini</a> for linking to <a href="http://media.odeo.com/8/2/0/bavra_mann.mp3" target="blank">Baawra Mann</a> (from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazaaron_Khwaishen_Aisi" target="blank">Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi)</a>, that brought back memories of these two wonderful songs.<br /><br />Note to self: Refrain from having a single song on the playlist - which one ends up playing 9 hours straight (while at work). That song (aka my <span style="font-style: italic;">precious</span>) this week has been <a href="http://media.odeo.com/8/2/0/bavra_mann.mp3" target="blank">Baawra Mann</a> (mp3).The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1164405916661722292006-11-24T14:02:00.000-08:002006-11-25T01:57:53.986-08:00Death by Chocolate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6848/1212/1600/172959/Thanksgiving%202006%20016.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/6848/1212/320/965672/Thanksgiving%202006%20016.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/102366">black-bottom chocolate pie</a> from epicurious. The most wonderfully decadent pie I have ever made.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1164008882926549222006-11-19T23:43:00.000-08:002006-11-20T17:24:02.543-08:00Down the Memory Lane<span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/kaifi.3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/kaifi.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/kaifi.jpg"><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ajeeb aadmi tha woh<br />Mohabbaton ka geet tha,</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> bagaawaton ka rang tha</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Kabhi woh sirf phool tha,</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> kabhi woh sirf aag tha</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ajeeb aadmi tha woh<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(He was a strange man</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">He was a song of love</span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> who wore the colours of rebellion</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Sometimes a flower, sometimes afire</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">He was a strange man) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">- Javed Akhtar's Ode to Azmi. </span><br /></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.kaifiaurmain.com/" target="blank">Kaifi Aur Main</a> is touring North America. An extremely well-executed ode to Kaifi Azmi. Shabana Azmi reads her mother Shaukat Azmi's writing (Yaad Ki Raah Guzar - Down the Memory Lane) and Javed Akhtar reads Kaifi's poetry. And some amazing songs performed by Jaswinder Singh</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (which makes the show worth it even if you are only familiar with Kaifi's <a href="http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2002/may/11kaif.htm">bollywood lyrics</a>).<br /><br />You get to know Kaifi, the diehard romantic (who wrote the entire script of the movie Heer-Ranjha in verse), Comrade Kaifi and Kaifi - the little boy from Azamgarh, who wanted to be a poet, whose child-like humor brings chuckles, (for instance, when he describes the song-writing process in films, where the tunes are set and then the poet is asked to fit a poem to the tune, he compares it to digging a grave and then finding a body to fit it, and goes on to say, how his <i>bodies</i> were known to fit just so) :) . And the intense sensitivity and pain, in the poems about his paralysis (where he compares himself to Sita and the lines of fate on his palms to the Lakshman Rekha and how he would rather have Ravana rescue him from the pain, if Ram could not make it).<br /><br />You also meet Shaukat Azmi, as an innocent young girl whose admiration and adoration for Kaifi turns to love and see their life together through her words.<br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.sanmathi.org/anasuya/2006/08/01/flower-and-fire-a-tribute-to-kaifi-azmi/">Commentary</a> on the play, at Sanmathi and more on Kaifi by <a href="http://bhupindersingh.blogspot.com/2006/11/kaifi-azmi-poet-who-would-die-in.html" target="blank">Bhupinder</a>.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><i></i></span>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1162890494944668322006-11-07T00:37:00.000-08:002006-11-09T18:31:20.083-08:00Away with music...err.. a way with musicSpent about two hours last friday, studying <a href="http://audiopoetry.wordpress.com/2006/11/04/the-many-faces-of-jazz/">Jazz Faces</a> - a concert, a theatre, which means a much larger sample space :)<br /><br />Sadly, had to resort to this kind of amusement at the SF Jazz Fest concert, with Charles Lloyd, Zakir Hussain and Eric Harland.<br /><br />Have heard some good fusion, this wasn't it. Great musicians, no doubt, are like perfect nuclei. But that alone does not make good fusion - that explosive energy. Energy like when <a href="http://www.innerviews.org/inner/shakti.html">Remember Shakti</a> performs. (Listen at the <a href="http://cosmicelevator.blogspot.com/2006/10/shakti-divine-mother_06.html">cosmic elevator</a>).The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1160970779659517482006-10-15T20:33:00.000-07:002006-10-16T14:39:34.073-07:00Exposed<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/book_back.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/400/book_back.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />To the explosive music of the fabulous <a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/index.html" target="blank">Fishtank Ensemble</a> this friday. Roma, klezmer, flamenco and Japanese, French swing, Transylvanian... Amazing music!<br /><br />Some of the songs in their new album <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Raoul" target="blank">Super Raoul</a> -<a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/music/Bordeas.mp3" target="blank">Bordeas</a> , <a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/music/Ringo_Bushi.mp3" target="blank">Ringo Bushi</a> (or the "Apple Song"), <a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/music/Le_Kidnappeur.mp3" target="blank">Le Kidnappeur</a>, <a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/music/Hopa_Di_Bida.mp3" target="blank">Hopa Di Bida</a>, <a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/music/Shamisen_Master.mp3" target="blank">Shamisen Master</a> and <a href="http://www.fishtankensemble.com/music/Suite_Romaine.mp3" target="blank">Suite Romaine</a>.<br /><br />Listening to them perform at this tiny, ill-lit, but cozy room brought back memories of an interesting baroque concert I attended at a small church in Austria several years ago. Only with a generous dose of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0208092/" target="blank">Snatch</a> added in. ;)<br /><br />Some really cool instruments too - do you know how the Violatromba sounds? or (ok, this might be more common) heard someone play a saw?The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1160024570956433832006-10-04T20:30:00.000-07:002006-10-09T00:24:27.390-07:00Culture Is Like CoffeeFor some, it is an addiction - culture, coffee... I am not one of them.<br /><br /><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Renoir.0.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/Renoir.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/litchenstein_kiss.0.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/litchenstein_kiss.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />It is shows like the <a href="http://www.doubletakeexhibit.org/" target="blank">Double Take</a> at the <a href="http://www.emplive.org/" target="blank">EMP</a> that make me want to break on through (to the other side).<br /><br />If you live in or plan to visit Seattle, and are either extremely interested in art or completed bored by it - go see this show. Here are the few reasons you should -<br /><br />1) These are some of the best pictures ever created by some of the greatest master artists.<br />2) Some of them have never been on public display in more than 50 years*<br />3) You don't need to <span style="font-style: italic;">know</span> art** - the audio-guide is one of the best I have ever used in any museum. It gives you enough technical details on each piece, but also lets you form your own impressions.<br />4) Just 28 images, so you will not be overwhelmed!<br />5) You can walk up close to the picture/photograph and actually see the texture - yes, you can get that close.<br />6) There is something for everyone - Manet to de Kooning.<br />7) At $8, its less than a movie to go see it!<br /><br />The exhibition lets you plunge into a pool of great works, with no historic anchors or cultural shackles - so you are free at last to look at these paintings as they were meant to be. It lets you see the abstract in impressionist paintings and the realism/emotional core of post-impressionist or modern art. You finally see the great masters for who they really were - innovators, rebels, risk-takers. And discover the sea of emotions and grace that lies beneath the seemingly loud and rebellious art of the post-impressionists.<br /><br />And what is even better, its not a tedious art history lesson, but something you will just experience as you walk through and see each set as it is laid out.<br /><br />The curator, Paul Hayes Tucker, has neatly divided the 28 pieces into small sets. Some of the pairings are absolutely daring and bold. There are sets where the audio-guide is indispensable. But once the context has been set by the guide, you begin to have these amazing "ah-ha" moments, that are completely your own.<br /><br />For instance, Gauguin and Yanobe - who would have thought?! But once you are walked through the essential color, line, shape, space and texture..., you slowly begin to see the alienation and longing. Initially the Gauguin is the one that seems real, but wait, isn't the Yanobe a photograph (and hence more real)? Slowly you see facades disappear and the art appear.<br /><table><br /><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/GauguinMaternity.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/GauguinMaternity.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Gauguin</span><br /></div> </td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Yanobe.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/Yanobe.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Yanobe</span><br /></div> </td></tr><br /></tbody></table><br />Another set shows you how even great artists sit on shoulders of giants who preceeded them. Here is a perfect example, the Grand Canal in Venice. Over centuries so many renowned artists had painted it, that Monet is said to have been absolutely reclutant to go there - what could his work possibly add?<br /><br />But as you can see below, his work is a culmination of sorts, of all the great artists before him - Canaletto's photographic accuracy, Turner's dream-like hazy quality, Manet's bold strokes. Now when you look at Monet's Grand Canal, you see how all these pieces contribute their own influences to his and yet, his work is just as unique.<br /><table><tbody><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Canaletto.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/Canaletto.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Canaletto</span><br /></div> </td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Turner.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/Turner.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Turner</span><br /></div> </td></tr><tr><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Manet.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/Manet.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Manet</span><br /></div> </td><td><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Monet_Venice.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/200/Monet_Venice.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Monet</span><br /></div> </td></tr><br /></tbody></table><br />And no visit to a gallery is complete, until you discover a few new artists. One of my artist-discoveries here was - Eric Fischl (below, is his - <span style="font-style: italic;">Krefeld Project, Bedroom, #6 (Surviving the Fall Meant Using You for Handholds) (2004)</span>).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/Fischl.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/Fischl.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" border="0" /></a><br /></div> Makes you almost lookaway, like you are going to be caught peeping through the blinds...<br /><br />* They might never be displayed in public ever again - they are from Paul Allen's personal collection.<br /><br />** And a very accessible introductory video featuring Dr. Neils Crane (aye, of Fraiser fame) and the curator Paul Tucker.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1159566646324091932006-09-29T14:47:00.000-07:002006-10-04T16:13:04.310-07:00Rang De<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/portrait7a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/400/portrait7a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">sardar. 2006. pastels on paper. blackmamba<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(Inspired by a photograph tagged <span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">INDIA</span> on <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a>.)</span></span><br /><br /></span></div> no writing is happening, what to do. some portraits are happening though, so here is one.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1157875030402667022006-09-10T00:54:00.000-07:002006-09-10T23:51:03.263-07:00Pining for the Opposite of Loneliness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/p1-i2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/p1-i2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Once in a while, there comes a movie that leaves you in awe. But these are the movies where you watch the movie and then all the other "bonus features" the DVD has to offer... and watch the movie again with the director's commentary (yes, you do, just admit it).<br /><br />Then there are movies where one element simply stuns you. It could be the music or an actor or the cinematography. It is as if you have spotted a work of art - you don't need to watch the additional scenes or have the director point out things to you. No handholding required. You can just watch the movie over and over again, to catch that one element.<br /><br />Fa yeung nin wa (In the Mood for Love) is one of them movies. But this is not a review of the movie, or the director (Wong Kar Wai). Both are fabulous(, if you really need to know).<br /><br />It is just about my impressions on the costumes and art direction in the film (both by William Chang). Costumes? Art Direction...?! I know, I know...elements that are often taken for granted. After all, how can it matter what someone wears, as long as it looks authentic and the same goes with the sets. Watch this movie - to see the power clothes can have on your emotions.<br /><br />Art Direction. The color palette here is predominantly sepia and lighting adds just the right tone to all the colors. The movie is set in the Hong Kong of the 60s. Kar Wai has not taken upon himself to recreate more than a few fixed indoor locations - crowded apartments, offices, a diner and a small place to grab a quick meal. And some dimly lit streets. Nothing else. Oh yes, the mirrors and curtains, the rain and (cigarette) smoke. The entire movie is closed in on the two main characters. But you could not care less about the rest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/bookPg5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/bookPg5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>To see what I mean, just look for the repeated scenes where Cheung goes out with her <span style="font-style: italic;">tiffin-carrier</span> type box to get dinner from a hole-in-the-wall diner. The exposed lightbulbs and the depressed and exhausted men, the walls, her wait and the walk back home. As a director, I admire Kar Wai, for having put so much faith in these elements. He does get to choregraph the slow motion moves. But after a while, you realize that the slow motion shots are just so you can drink in all the images and carefully hold them inside of you. For words are hardly the best way to convey a mood this intense.<br /><br />Maggie Cheung's cheongsams (about 20 of them, I think) can add about 4 more layers of depth to the story. The high collar, fitted style, her coiffured hair, impeccable makeup and those dagger heels. All this just throws her right in character - its almost like one of those ornately twisted and braided bamboo displays you see in chinese stores. Her stifled expressions and few words are almost a distraction. All you need to do is watch her as she sits or stands or moves in these cheongsams.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/mood10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/mood10.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>At the end of it, you are not in love, but in the mood for it, most definitely.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: italic;">"It was from an essay of G. K. Chesterton's on a fairly unknown painter called G. F. Watts. "Man knows that there are in the soul tints more bewildering, more numberless, and more nameless than the colors of an autumn forest. . . . Yet he seriously believes that these things can every one of them, in all their tones and semitones, in all their blends and unions, be accurately represented by an arbitrary system of grunts and squeals. He believes that an ordinary civilized stockbroker can really produce out of his own inside noises which denote all the mysteries of memory and all the agonies of desire." In other words, language can never accommodate the enormous reality beyond it...."</span> (src: a <a href="http://www.pen.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/120/prmID/547" target="blank">PEN</a> article on Borges)<br /><br />* The title comes from the wonderful little book - <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404030/" target="blank">Everything is Illuminated</a>... rather the motion picture based on the same. Alex Perchov, the Ukranian has a 'premium' english vocabulary. Go watch ;)The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1156440229004315472006-08-24T10:15:00.000-07:002006-08-24T14:33:31.143-07:00Long live Pluto!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://greeting-cards-4u.com/platinum6/pictures/images/GraphicsPlus/Toons/Disney/MickeyMouse/MickeyPlutoSpace.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://greeting-cards-4u.com/platinum6/pictures/images/GraphicsPlus/Toons/Disney/MickeyMouse/MickeyPlutoSpace.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The God of the Dead is Dead[1]. After 76 years as a planet, Pluto has been <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Planet-Mutiny.html?hp&ex=1156478400&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;en=85bb38024b6fc8ff&ei=5094&partner=homepage" target="blank">demoted</a>.<br /><br />Given that it takes the "drawf planet" 248.5 earth-years to make one circle of the sun. It has only been a full planet for about one-fourth of a year - one season?! So, alas! <span style="font-style: italic;">Now it will be the long winter of its discontent</span> [2].<br /><br /><br />[1]<span style="font-size:85%;"> <span class="hw">Plu·to</span><br /><i>n.</i></span> <ol> <li><span style="font-size:85%;"><i>Roman Mythology.</i> The god of the dead and the ruler of the underworld.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"> The ninth and usually farthest planet from the sun, having a sidereal period of revolution about the sun of 248.5 years, 4.4 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) distant at perihelion and 7.4 billion kilometers (4.6 billion miles) at aphelion, and a diameter less than half that of Earth.</span></li> </ol> [src: answers.com]<br /><br />[2]the <span style="font-style: italic;">Unfinished, sent before his time into this breathing world, scarce half made up</span> - bit would work nicely, too.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1156199637619836302006-08-21T15:06:00.000-07:002006-08-21T18:48:48.906-07:00Song of the Little RoadI recently watched the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apu_trilogy" target="blank">Apu Trilogy</a> and was struck by the amazing music. Who can forget the Shehnai piece by Ustad Bismillah Khan[1] in Pather Panchali? It takes great genius to get noticed over the startling, stunning scenes by Ray and to the Ustad, that comes naturally.<br /><br />My lessons in Carnatic music (ages ago) barely help me understand the nuances of his performance, I cannot even place the raag he plays, but all that hardly matters.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" ><br />"<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">At the Everyman Cinema there is a season of </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyajit_Ray" class="extiw" title="w:Satyajit_Ray">Satyajit Ray</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">. He watches the </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apu_trilogy" class="extiw" title="w:Apu_trilogy">Apu trilogy</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> on successive nights in a state of rapt absorption. In Apu's bitter, trapped mother, his engaging, feckless father he recognizes, with a pang of guilt, his own parents. But it is the music above all that grips him, dizzyingly complex interplays between drums and stringed instruments, long arias on the flute whose scale or mode - he does not know enough about music theory to be sure which - catches at his heart, sending him into a mood of sensual melancholy that last long after the film has ended..</span>" </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apu_trilogy" target="blank">J.M. Coetzee's Youth </a></span><br /><br />Notes:<br />[1] May his soul rest in peace. <a href="http://2x3x7.blogspot.com/2006/08/bidai.html" target="blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/003712.html" target="blank">2</a>, <a href="http://search.blogger.com/?q=ustad+bismillah+khan&btnG=Search+Blogs&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;hl=en&ie=UTF-8&bl_url=&x=33&y=9&ui=blg" target="blank">3</a>...<br /><br />[2] <a href="http://www.satyajitray.org/films/pather.htm" target="blank">Song of the Little Road</a> is Pather Panchali.<br /><br />[3] Incidentally, there was a piece on the Saarangi that I heard this Saturday that was just tantalizing. This is the first time I have got a chance to really experience the instrument being played live (as in, not the cheap-seats so far away, I might as well have watched the performance on television).<br /><br />This was part of a wonderful musical night organized by friends. The performers were an eclectic bunch - from grandfathers, to young mothers, to 10 year olds, to semi-professionals, to the sound engineer's stunning ghazal (from Umrao Jaan). What made it so special and inspiring was the love and respect each brought to his/her practice. I was more than impressed to hear that this was their 9th annual concert - given that it is all planned, set and performed by people who claim to be amateurs. :)The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1155246936740864712006-08-10T14:54:00.000-07:002006-08-10T14:55:36.753-07:00flying east<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.simplych.com/light.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://www.simplych.com/light.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1154455811556089902006-08-01T10:46:00.000-07:002006-08-04T15:28:59.983-07:00Octopi in the Sky<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/octopi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/octopi.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /> and <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/frogs.jpg" target="blank">frogs</a>, <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/wine.jpg" target="blank">wine bottles</a>, an <a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/elephants%26cows.jpg" target="blank">elephant and a cow</a> ... all soaring in the sky, on a nice summer day.<br /><br />It isn't a Dali or a Frida... - duh! its the kite festival! Madness I tell you, absolute madness.<br /><br />On the way there my friend tells me he had the weirdest dream - and someone chuckled and said, <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">"Did you see a flying pink elephant?"</span><br />and I quipped, <span style="font-style: italic;">"<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);">How wonderful it would be if we could just connect a printer to our brain and print the images we see!"</span></span><br /><br />As they say, be careful what you wish for, it might just come true!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/elephants%26cows.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/elephants%26cows.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And the craziness was not just in the sky, it was all around us.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/kn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/kn.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I tried shooting a couple of clips on my digital camera - <a href="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-6032113391055574714" target="blank">some maverick kite flying</a> and a <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6524288955859810825" target="blank">kite fight</a>.<br /><br />Of course, it ain't a <a href="http://bhc.com/tokaido/kitefly.html" target="blank">Hamamatsu kite fest</a> until a real kite ( made of paper, bamboo and hemp rope, and launched by a dozen or so people and held by a single person) flies!<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k7.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/k9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/k9.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1152639730084167112006-07-11T10:41:00.000-07:002006-07-11T10:42:10.096-07:00Blastupdates, info ... here<br /><br /><a href="http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/">http://mumbaihelp.blogspot.com/</a>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1151625527421681122006-06-29T16:40:00.000-07:002006-06-29T21:42:19.826-07:00Municator<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yellowsheepriver.org/cebit/IMG_0145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.yellowsheepriver.org/cebit/IMG_0145.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.yellowsheepriver.org/index_e.htm" target="blank">YellowSheepRiver</a> Municator<br /></div><br />At under $150, you can buy it today. Many have compared it to the OLPC project's <a href="http://dablackmamba.blogspot.com/2006/05/dreams-come-true-in-greenorangeblue.html" target="blank">$100 laptop</a> and fairly so. Both independently try to close the digital divide. The spec for those who are interested is <a href="http://www.yellowsheepriver.org/products_e.htm" target="blank">here</a>.<br /><br />A demo at <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9203462148706105599" target="blank">CeBIT 2006</a>.<br /><br />This reminds me of the very first computer I ever used (when the number of years I had spent on this planet was still a single digit (decimal!) number). The <i>dB Spectrum</i>. The whole PC was built into the keyboard. You plug the keyboard to your television and a tape recorder - any programs you wrote ( in BASIC) or any games you played could be stored on a cassette. I remember spending long hours on it with my sister, meticulously typing out programs that would in the end printout some banner on the television screen and playing games with the most original and thrill-inducing(chuckle) names like, <i>bombjack</i> and <i>checkered flag</i>.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1149873304447250502006-06-09T10:04:00.001-07:002006-06-09T16:49:50.810-07:00Funeraldeath happens :(<br /><br /><i><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">What can you say about a twenty-something guy who died? That he was funny and alive. That he loved Girls and Making Jokes. And Life. And all of us loved him very very much.</span><br /></i><br />A friend of mine - R, went missing last month. And yesterday R's family claimed his body from the police. His body had been found and buried anonymously, a month back.<br /><br />R left home one evening and never came back.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Wish I had kept in touch. Wish I knew you would leave so soon.</span><i><br /></i>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1149746686429343502006-06-07T23:01:00.000-07:002006-06-09T10:34:24.776-07:00Photos<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);font-size:85%;" >Photogenic:<br />adj. Attractive as a subject for photography.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Biology</span>. Producing or emitting light; phosphorescent: <span style="font-style: italic;">photogenic bacteria.</span><br />Caused or produced by light: <span style="font-style: italic;">photogenic seizures.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"> </span><br /><br />"Wow, you look so nice in the picture."<br />"Is that really you?"<br />"If you took better care of your skin, you would look so much better"<br />"Did you get your hair set for this? It usually looks so wild"<br /><br />And all along you thought that is how you looked - because you never found/took the time to look in the mirror on your way out.The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1148976485526302112006-05-30T00:51:00.000-07:002006-05-30T02:00:38.166-07:00Imagine<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Imagine there's </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: line-through;">no</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> heaven</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It's easy if you try</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/IMG_3622.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/IMG_3622.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/IMG_3618.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/IMG_3618.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/1.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/IMG_3621.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/IMG_3621.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/IMG_3561.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/IMG_3561.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/1600/4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6848/1212/320/4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A little trip to Carmel Mission and the drive along the breathtaking Pacific Coast Highway<br /><br /></div>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13699826.post-1148591131914845062006-05-25T13:59:00.000-07:002006-05-25T14:05:31.930-07:00Dreams come true in green...orange...blue<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.flickr.com/47/152018199_c4eb35cd36.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://static.flickr.com/47/152018199_c4eb35cd36.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Folks the $100 computers from MIT are here - these are the first real functional <a href="http://www.0xdeadbeef.com/weblog/?p=201" target="blank">prototypes</a>. In all the brightest colors :) You can take a sneak peek on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pete/sets/72057594143224765/" target="blank">Flickr.</a> And more info on the neat <a href="http://www.eschoolnews.com/eti/2006/05/001414.php" target="blank">UI</a>.<br /><br />And now its time for a challenge! You buy one for $300 and two kids get these for free! - <a href="http://www.pledgebank.com/100laptop" target="blank">The Pledge Bank Challenge</a>The Black Mambahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03292928242786159625noreply@blogger.com0