Rising of a soul lost in translation....

While getting lost in a life full of thousand translations...
I was hold back by you from falling into the deep crevasse of my horrifying childhood
Roads had gone haywire in those untraversed paths as I failed to put my feet on them..
Days of sorrow...Days of anguish had put a pain in my distant past...
Just a little plant imprinted in the open heart of my craving soul had asked you to be the light in the blue...
You were the beacon of the eternal soul whose love full of care was thrown once on my little shoulders as I spread out my hands into the dark...
The lighthouse in the far away sea had spread its light all around on a moonlit night when you had come to me to sit by my side and show me love..
But I was a deaf commuter in the world full of silence and so I failed to hear the call of the sky through your inner soul...
Suddenly in the spark of the moment...
A moment full of serendipity flashed its light....and the call of the wild voiced its laughter in the Amway bush to make me hold on tight to you…
There I was amidst the entire arena of my loved ones...everyone by my side...
All my fears were thrown out to the light to make me free and release me to dwell out on the golden fortunes of a Pleasantville drive in the eternal world...
As I rode the chariot of gold...with you in my hand...the ropes were released for me...
We rode away in that night of dreams when the bud of our sunshine love bloomed out in full….
It felt like a Xanadu in those grassy lands....
Little Buddha was watching us with his Lotus bloom away in full...
The blessings of all were bestowed on us as we sped away with the love full in bloom....

Close encounter with the river…and the rising sky..

The river was on its way to the kingdom of love when she met me on her path…
As she stopped for that brisk moment of time I was standing there in those leaflets of little water to listen to her…
Oh! My river lady why did you take me to those distant lands when I was in need of you…
The more I try to drift away from you the more did you bring me near like a hungry tide amidst the frontal waves…
The gazing sky was the only witness to this moment of silence when you had stopped by my side to take me on your wings of love and be lost in those transatlantic waters…
The colour of your love and the colour of the bridal sky was the treasured gift of my heart….when I was weeping in the corner of an unknown destiny –
But as you made me flow like a mad stream of current in those river-blue waters and the sky put the cloak above my head to unmask thy inner self…I was for once sure that I was never alone…
Life kept changing and so did we all but you both always there as two budding blooms in the nomads land of fortune paradise…
As the sole guiding force of light which can’t be seen with those wordly eyes but with the eyes of the beloved…You chose me to be the faith of your life….
…and as you kept your wings on me and the arms on my shoulder I was relieved of all the worries in my life…
I was declared a free bird after all…I was declared a free bird after all….

The Finale of Our Space Odyssey...

Tears of my eyes....Tears of your eyes were once there to hold us back from crossing the river...
But as you took the first step to the mindful solitude...
The road ahead of us steered clear of all the dangers we sensed within our soul.....
--holding hand in hand...you felt on me like a blue lotus who had the desire to sleep in my golden arms...
--and me like a child-mother had felt the warmth of your little bud....
---and let it grow in that eventful night of the starry skies....
The sky above our head were full of those starry tinklets who dropped on us in the silence of the gazing night as droplets of the little ocean on our enamoured faces....
We kept lying that night under the roof of the world...
She was our only shelter since she had given birth to us and had kept me there in the kingdom of love to take care of you and to make you dream forever my child....
--to make you dream forever
.....never feel the darkness within
....am there within you-
Hear to your soul and hear to your beloved....you can hear nothing but those falling drops of water on the leaves of my imagination and the wings of fortune waiting for you with the chariot of our love to leave on our final journey...
The final spacewar is yet to begin on a new note....
--since the world is coming to an end!
---- and we are the only two people in this lonely world to take care of those blind souls who are waiting for our hands to be held in theirs forever so that they can also begin their journey as the little angels of love...
That is how a new era will begin....
A new world will begin...
where there shall be no Neos but the soul of the eternal Neo...
...feeling and spreading the love for all with guiding light in his mind and seeking destiny forever and ever…

Reaching the unbound Sky...

Here I was strandled amidst the holy abode of God while on my way back to Kolkata from Bangalore in the Air-Sahara flight - the day was entering the closet of the darkness and that's when I decided to open the shutters and capture the imagery in my soul, knowing it very well that using an electronic gadget esp. a camera wasn't at all allowed in a flight. But who cares to listen and remember the stupid and funky rules of the useless aviation people when you are lost in the arms of the beloved sky...the colour of the sky had turned beautiful...a riveting crimson gold..the plane kept tilting sideways to make it easire for the inner child of my heart to see her through my eyes wide spread...how I wished to be out there alone in that souless flight where everyday had turned blind since they could not see the beauty of the mothersky - she was up there in the sky spreading her wings only and only for me to return once more into those gentle laps to be nurtured forever..the best journey of my life on air...gave me the go ahead to just do it once and for all and made me realise that these precious moments in your life don't come every day...they come once to you and whisper the song of the unknown to open your eyes and senses to the beautiful world outside...feel the pulses within and lap it up all over yourself before it melts...

Let it flow like a candle in the wind...

When your mind keeps flowing...
Just let it pass through the eternal day like a candle in the wind...
Never try to hold it back to yourself..since She was never meant to be yours...She had to flow away....
--and fleet past you like a stray of light which never grew up in her mind....
The shadows of the distant storm gave you a lightning from the grazed sky.....and asked you to let go of her as you had kept your grip firm on her....
She doesn't belong to this eternal world...She is not ours...so can She never be yours...
dream her alive....and you shall never feel her absence since she was meant to be with you..
Just with your eyes wide shut and her soul kept at the hideous safe in your mind!

You are the only one I know....

You are not a beauty to me...but You are the seeker of my distant soul...
--have you ever touched the beauty of my inner self...no You have not..
It is only when you feel me with your eyes closed...You can touch my fragrance..my soul...and my spirit...
--which remains as the guiding source of llight in your life...
You seek me forever...I hide myself in those bushes....and give You glimpse of thy self
on those wintery nights...when you come galloping in a horse....
To take me away from all...
and shower me with the love of the beloved....
You are the only one I wait for...since You are the only one I know!

Dreams...Faith....Spirit of thy Soul...

Dreams of despair....touch of my faith.....the soul of my spirit....
--shall bloom out in the richness of the stark beauty of thy love....
Mild tenderness in those caring hands shall lead me to the path never traversed before...
Eyes closed with you...
--the feel of the eternal shall never leave a doubt in your mind because she has started to be with us...
The spirit is thus raised in your heart....
Feel the joy of the moment....
Aspire to reach the goldness in the dark shadows of your life....
Spread your wings with me...
Come lets fly to those distant lands where there would be just the two of us stepping on the first stone of the life's dream in the no man's land...
Come let's fly as the world seems to come to an end...
Come let us bend the rules to get the call of the soul....the wisdom of thy mind...
Let us behold the truth of the darkness to bloom out in full...
Come lets fly my child...Come lets fly....

Budhha & the Lotus Bloom...

Years of drudgery....months of agony.......weeks of despair......
--all turned black when I first smelled the colour of joy....
The day unfolded into a lotus bloom....
The Budhha in disguise held his head high and took me into his closet...
The tender touch of the beloved....the feel of the abode...
--turned special as both of us walked hand in hand by the river side where the calmness of the waterflow touched our hearts....
I was for once in love with the serenity of the place.....
....the leaves of fall
....the warmth of the spirit hold me once and for all-
Asked me would I be in unison forever...how could I behold the sky?
I just swept pass the breeze and lost myself in those shadowy stretch of the wild forest..
.... where the eternal beauty took me in her arms and left for the dreamland in the galactic ship of the spacewars...

Ignite the Fire within....

The imagery of my eye sees the fire of my inner soul caught in the worldweb of my thoughts!! Coming to the terms and conditions of this holistic world let me tell you all that this shot was taken while I was on a vacation to a place called Kalimpong, quite a surreal place to feel the ecstatic beauty of life and I was as usual lost in the heavenly abode of God's own creation. What a special feeling it was as I was walking down those hilly bends alongwith with my friend for life tugged along my neck. It was suddenly at a roadside juncture when I first experienced a cold feeling through my inner self, the forest by my side was speaking in volumes....cold blood of shiver flowing down my spine as I started marching ahead - it was then when I noticed the woods up in flames, cannot describe you the feeling of seeing the nature's balance suddenly dropping down the tilt. The fire was finally ignited within my self, the feeling of a strong pulse running down my whole body as if nature had gently touched me...the first touch of wilderness, the first stroke of love running down!

Frozen Ice of my distant heart...

The feelings are like the frozen ice of my distant heart...
The touch struck a chord within me....waiting for the joy....waiting for the moment...
--the day's beginning came to an end as darkness crept in through the farflung oceans....
....but out of the colour of black rose the smell of the joyous-
....and it is something which I shall forget never-ever!
Word seems to flow.....mind seems to flow....
---they were the only possessions I had, before I came into this world to smell its love....
But as the day showered in the light to make me think out to the loud...
.....reach out to the unknown!
Words seemed less.....the Mind turned unmindful
It is then when I first felt your absence...
....since you were not there to be with me at the time of my creation
The first touch of feeling special....the first touch of the unknown...The Touch of Thy Love...

The Rising Budhha...

This image was taken while I was on a vacation last year...once again to remind you all before leaving the HOLY ABODE OF GOD...i.e. My Home for the Journalism course at the ACJ. Me and my family had gone all the way to a place called LAVA in North Bengal from Kolkata by car - a journey to be enamoured and enjoyed throughout my life, a transition to an altogether different realm of my life. The whole idea of spirit as it is known to all had changed for me, once I stepped into the kingdom of Budhha - there was a spirit of Zen flowing by, reminiscing my childhood through the fragrant palm leaves of my inner soul, I kept walking on my own till I stopped before him when he was at a distance. Never did he notice me following in his footsteps but I could see him taking me away and away from all these worldly dreams where words have no meaning....people cannot hear anything since they fail to feel the beauty of life...the beauty of love...As those moments of silence were nearing an end I could hear the call of the wild....the eternity and the day gave me a call to keep him captured not in a wild cage but in my inner soul whom I still worship as the Little Budhha in the Rising....

Echoes of your childhood....

The river bends along the curve...and flows in a wind...
You know that the little bird still waits there in her perch....
--You sweep her through the wind and take her up in your lap...
She is child......my dear........She is child....
Hold her in your arms to smell her fragrance....
--- the fragrance of love....
---the fragrance of thy soul which was once lost in these greenway bushes....
They were returned to you today as a gift of your childhood…
The longing of being united with her comes back to you…
She is a child my dear…She is a child …
--as She comes back to you…

As night creeps in.....

This is the only time of the day when am in my own self....
– My core blooms out in the full... and I enjoy this silence around me...
Creepy sounds....weird fantasies...knitting the way to the kingdom of dreams...
The silence around me is like the silence of eternity....
.... the day in its bindings....stretches away to the farthest land..
The call of the wild reverberates in this ocean of love.....
Close your eyes and think about the river deep...
--you shall surely hear the sound of music...
-- the sound of your soul....
-- the sound of your true love....
The call of the child shall echo through your mind.....your pulse...
You shall feel it every now and then....just believe in me....thy soul...
Call out to the wild...reach out to the unknown and you shall know your path...
Close your eyes once and feel it with me.....my river....feel it with me....

Shadowy stretch of the far away land….

Everything that has a beginning has an end is what comes to my mind every now and then...
The shadowy streches of the far away distant land calling me to begin a new life with you as my one and only friend in those neverwinter nights...
Oh! what an immense joy in the heart to have gotten the oppurtunity to look at life in such a different way...
....Seems like the world has given me the eagle's eye to watch with the owl's mind ---

The Many Images of Myself...

This shot was taken a couple of days back when I was in New Market trying to catch some glimpses and moments of this city life burning like hell in the arms of the Sun God as I refer to this scorching heat out here mostly!

The time was close to dusk....Due to construction of a new pedestrian plaza..the roads of New Market at this time are always congested, and as I was trodding along I suddenly saw this lady walking past me looking at my lens while I was viewing her through the viewfinder..I saw a great chemistry of a rickshaw puller racing by and a woman focused in a direction looking at me like she was gazing through my lens into my soul, trying to look deep into this world full of silence...words were of no use at that point of tim...it was just the feeling and the thin line of relation that was needed then to be strewn forever to make a bonding come alive....

River flows across the bend….

The river should flow as and when the bend comes..
Why this twist and turn in your life should take away the mast from your hand??
Be not afraid...hold your head high...
Steer clear of all the dangers with the dagger given to you on a wintery night by the Lord of the land......
.....you shall surely bypass all the traverse...amidst the leaves spread in the red carpet garden!!

A Journey's End.....

This breathtaking shot...(according to me though!!) was taken at about 5:30 A.M. sharp when we all had gathered at the hotel rooftop to get a panoramic view of the Himalayan Peaks from a place called Gyalshing previously known as Geyzing in the western part of Sikkim....never did I know the truth that this shot is going to be my final journey towards the path of the profound ZEN peace which I have found in the fragrant palm leaves of my life....
There was a pindrop and paeceful silence all around the hills...the hills being the symbol of the universal mother stretching her arms out to me and welcoming all of us to get inside the kingdom of love and beauty...As I took out my camera the first specks of sunlight fell on the peaks and I went on taking shots of the....Today as I keep on scanning my eyes through these images...I see the land of peace returning back to me again and again....the Call of the Wild....the words of the beloved and her gentle touch is something I would want at every step of my life....

Neverwinter Nights....

Neverwinter nights always calls upon the thoughts of the Penchant beauty when she was on her way to the greenhold bushes.......
Once a little bud, now grew into a blooming quiver of gushes....
He was waiting there in those winterless cold nights when the angel of the farthest land came accross the wind and swept pass their lands to call her to get into the closet of sleeper's den.....
- Oh! that is the call of the Christmas, the call of the winter....
The carriage van goes amidst those dark alleys...leaves her in the middle
Strandled in the midst of those shady bushes she cries out in fervour and there he stands ...
With the mask of the zorro unmasked in front of her.....
Arms widespread to call her back....
Never did they come back to these candlelitten places but...
.... promised once to get united one day in the light of the eternal
Neverwinter nights called upon the Penchant thoughts.....

The First Raindrops of my life...

As I smelt the fragrance of life....heres' what I experienced...

The first rain of my life or should I call it the first shower of love in my life. I simply don't know how to call her or was that he?? I fell in love with the rain yesterday.

A long awaited shower when the city was absolutely getting caught in the arms of the Sun God, tremendous heat just killing those innocent Child Gods. It was time to pee for me when I first heard the drops of tinkle, the little of droplets of water making their way through the surface of my world and joy evoked in my heart with memories of childhood. Oh! my Lord!! the first rain of my life. I ran shot straight to the roof after peeing, nobody could see me in the dark of the night, nobody cared to and I din't even bother to. I preferred the silence of the community and I danced amidst the little buds shouting out to my friend for the day in the sky.

The sky became the lone audience to me where the world became a stage for the performer for the day, the path was laid down for me. I shouted in anguish, in pain, in laughter amidst a vast complexity of my mind but in the end laughter and my little happiness snatched away the victory mask from all. There was no one to spy on me, no one to see me. I kept shouting in joy, an immense joy, the most of which I am finding hard to express in these letters.

They shall always be hidden in one corner of my heart, those little alphabets cannot take away my secret, my first love. I danced and danced and kept talking to the sky till I felt the droplets asking me to make a way to the world I came from cause she was concerned about me. I spoke a lot, most of which is lost in mind, they are not willing to come out now, but I shall surely pen them down for you when they bloom out in full.

The day is not that far away, but I am being in a hurry and it is this hurry today which is taking me away from you at times but I do not want you to go away because it is only you who can hold me back despite all the storms even if I drift apart. Oh! you are the sailor of those galantric ships who has me as the one lost soul and you can bring me out and the rain, he shall always be there masked in the darkness of the night where you don't seem to be seen from that far away distant land but it is you who comes to me in the darkness with tears of your eyes rolling down the face of earth. They cease to be tears anymore, I shall not let them be so, courage from you and courage from her shall always hold me alive!

Hey a new experiment with my stupid soul...through the eyes of Logitech!!

Just was playing around with my new webcam...when the thought of capturing myself through the eyes of Logitech clicked my dumbo mind...so clicked a couple of them and finally chose this one out...quite a striking resemblance with the funny side of Me/ Myself or my Soul??? Techy Lensman caught me finally in its worldweb...

Remembering my MEYEBELA....Taslima Nasreen bear with me please..

This is a shot I had taken when I went to Dello...last year with my family before leaving for Chennai to do the Journalism course from ACJ..

We had reached Dello sometime before dusk fell...and I could see a Bus standing on the grass through the hotel window....I took up my camera and put my hand in front of the lens so as to give the impression in the final image as if I was lifting the bus like a child's playtoy. The image was that of remembering some of my childhood dreams...suddenly coming back to me through the windy hiils and sweeping past me....

Fleeting past life like a train of light...

This shot was taken a year back but I thought to put it on my blog today so that those willing to see my portfolio gets a glimpse of it...

The evening on which I took the image was an uncommon one! Never did we know that this was going to be our then Prime Minister of the NDA Govt..Atal'jis last visit to Kolkata, the city of Joy as a PM...

Our honourable PM was to drive by our home and I was standing on the first floor verandah to get a glimpse of him...rather his car!! i realised rather later.. I was holding my cushababe..trusty Sony Cybershot and his car was still nowhere in the sight when suddenly I just took up my cam and started shooting. After taking a few shots I reviewed the images I had taken and this image struck me as of myself shooting past a great world like a beam of light......

Cool Gmail signatureeeeee....

Hey folks found this cool way out to use your gmail signatureeee.....I had copied the url for doing what I did from my fella bloggie Vimoh's Journal but am a born callous as usual...I lost it...shall try to get hold of the url so that you guys can get one too going as your signae.....

De 3 Angels....

Some day back I had gone to the Victoria Memorial, here at Kolkata to do some casual shooting...Dusk was falling and I suddenly saw these three crows perched like little angels of darkness on three distinctive lamp posts. With the backdrop of a blue setting sky I took a moment to capture this image in the haunting of the twilight...

Triumph of will - An Article by Minky Tejpal before the launch of Sufiana Music Genius RABBI - da puttar!

I read this article in Tehelka...written way back in September, 2004 just a lil before the world was going to witness the launch of one of the greatest stars of Sufiana Music genre the world has ever produced or witnessed. Yes guys! I am talking about RABBI SHERGILL who has at last smelled the fruits of success after 4 long years of trial for the world to start noticing him....a brilliant article which is definitely going to inspire all those who have been dreaming their dreams all these while with just one hope in their mind that someday someone shall surely notice you... just read it....

There are many things tehelka did that every spook agency in Delhi, Britain and god knows where else would love to know about. Let me be the first to tell you about Rabbi Shergill. An artist we signed on at tehelka in April 2000. A poet and a singer. Who you still havent heard of.I first heard about Rabbi in 1998 during my stint in Mumbai as Executive Producer, Channel [V]. As head of programming I was meeting all kinds of people associated with the music industry. One day, a bandanna tying KJ Singh, producer and sound engineer, told me about this sardar singer based in Delhi. He plays Sufi Punjabi music rock style! You have to hear him. KJ had recorded a demo track but wasnt carrying it. So whats he doing, I asked? Doing the rounds ...a bit unsuccessfully, I was told. Keenly aware of the inability of stunted heads at the music companies to spot the real McCoys, I stored the information for further use. All the greats in Indian pop music are those first kicked out by these guys. I knew that much. So Rabbi was off to a flyer.The millennium turned. Y2K never happened. And I never met Rabbi. I did however leave Channel [V], get divorced, increase smoking and move back to Delhi to take up the first job with the only man willing to employ me my brother! I joined Tarun and Aniruddha Bahal as a founder in the heady journey of tehelka. Rabbi was still on my mind I traced his number and called him. Sometime in May 2000, in the midst of putting together the match-fixing expose, Rabbi Shergill walked into the tehelka office. He was wearing a calm, gentle demeanor over his trademark kurta pyjama. Smart sardar, looks like a bard, I thought. He spoke fluently in Punjabi and English, narrating a familiar tale of music companies hustling him, not recognising his talent. Yeah, sure. You got a tape, I asked? Rabbi fished out a tape with just two two songs Bulla ki Jaana and Aj Nachna. I heard Rabbis music for the first time sitting in my car. It was stunning great voice, haunting lyrics and some real melody unlike any other Punjabi music I had heard. It was music that touched you, made you ache inside and yet lifted you. We went for a drive, as I listened some more, getting to know him. Tarun and Aniruddha heard the music and liked it. I pitched it to them we have to do his album, I urged. He is the real thing. For a man ready to take decisions that would soon rattle governments, it was a no-brainer. Go ahead, said Tarun. Rabbi, being a true artist, was of course ready to go with a company that had nothing to do with music, and was still buying computers!Rabbis faith was well placed. In a mercenary industry where new artists are not even advanced Rs 500, we gave Rabbi a lakh plus to go abroad and buy some music equipment he needed. Being creative owners we took the decision in five minutes. When I mentioned this a year later to Sridhar Subramanium, ceo Sony Music, he was stunned. We cant even buy a flute in a corporate set-up, he remarked. kj was contracted to identify studio, draw up a budget and get recording dates. Our message to Rabbi and kj was, just go do your music we are behind you. Over the next year, the two sardars started recording Rabbis debut album in Studio Satya, Mumbai. I would keep ducking in and out of Bombay, adding fizz to the mix.

As the dust settled over the cricket expose, Rabbis music kept trickling back to Delhi. By now Bulla ki jaana had become an anthem for us. A bunch of senior editors Kajal, Bhanot, Parsa, Shoma, Geetan had heard it playing constantly on Taruns computer, and everyone wanted a copy a sure sign of a good product! Tarun would bat them to me, and I, a specialist in being rude, refused all, wary of it being leaked. I kept refusing till November 8, 2000 when we gave Rabbis first cd away. On that day, tehelka had its first Board of Directors meeting in Taruns bright, stately office. Marked present were Sir VS Naipaul, Khushwant Singh, Amitabh Bachchan, Tarun, Aniruddha, Sudhir Verma [our ca] and me. As Tarun was explaining the tehelka vision, as only he could and still can, he mentioned the music we were producing. I played the two tracks (on the computer!). While Sir Vidia looked on disapprovingly, Amitabh gave the verdict just hearing the first two stanzas its amazing, very good. Who is he? (You do know that the Big B has a tremendous ear for music, right?) We were ecstatic. Can I get a copy, asked Amitabh? I hesitated, looked at Tarun. He nodded urgently. Cut. A few months later Shweta Bachchan Nanda dropped in at tehelka to discuss the Big B autobiography, which Amitabh wanted Tarun to handle. During a conversation about her fathers music tastes she casually dropped a bombshell. Shweta told us Amitabh listened to Rabbi all the time in his car! By now everyone in the family had heard it and liked it! Rrrrright! And he had even played it to Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan. Whooooah. Meanwhile back to Nov 8, 2000. The Board meeting had ended. In the evening, I was dispatched to escort Sir Vidia and Nadira from their hotel to a function. Tarun gave me strict instructions dont talk, dont look, dont smoke, just try and breathe. You are going to escort the greatest living English writer in the world, and he is smarter than all of our uncles and us. Being an army kid I followed his instructions to a T with one exception. Rabbis songs were playing in my car as we drove off, with the Naipauls ensconced in the back seat. And then Sir Vidia spoke, You know Minty, that music you played today was good. I didnt understand it but it was very, very soulful, very deep. Thank you, Sir, I will send you a copy, I stuttered, half turned in my seat. And so we charged on. Rabbi swept us away with the breadth and range of his music. He was like a wandering minstrel, a bard regaling us with some fabulous Sufi music. When he sang at a party at my place, my friends were floored. When he played in our office, his originals Totian mein Motian, Tere Bin, Gill te Guitar kept resounding in our ears long after he had strummed them to the clicking of typewriter keys.

By August 2001 Bangaru Laxman had graced tv screens across the globe and a job we thought we deserved a pat for was squeezing us to death. We were attacked from all sides in bewildering ways. Zee backed off from investing in tehelka. There were death threats against Tarun and Aniruddha. Shankar Sharma was hounded, and eventually jailed. We were surrounded by cops and the cbi. The Venkataswami Commission started its proceedings. Meanwhile in far away Bombay I was hustling to realise the dream of Rabbi. We had finished recording nine tracks for his debut album and the final mix remained to be done. We were already stretched for funds. Rabbi was staying in my one bed flat in Bombay, while I stayed with friends. We were recording on credit [thanks to Vishal Bhardwaj], while kj searched the net for cheap studios. We had no money. And we wanted to do the final music mix in London. Yeah right, we Punjabis, want the tandoori chicken and the rum.

By October 2001, the three of us at Tehelka stopped taking salaries (the joys of being a founder!). Many investors led us on, but nothing happened. During the next year kj and I met all the big music guys in Bombay. On one notable day, we went to the big three Sony, Times Music and Sa Re Ga Ma [hmv]. Everyone liked Rabbis music. Some wanted to squeeze us, with others it didnt work out, the rest were scared. Sridhar Subramanium was the first to support us. Though Sony had stopped doing pop by then, he was willing to pitch in 25 lakh for duplication and distribution. But we still needed to get the money for the videos. I went to the corporates a big liquor company got excited, made big plans, stretched us for months...then nothing. Talvin Singh heard it. He tried to woo Rabbi away with offers of pounds. Rabbi unconvinced, kept him at bay. Then, in mid-2002, we met Shashi Gopal of Magnasound, for my money the savviest man in Indian pop music. The king hustler who spotted most stars from Colonial Cousins to Adnan Sami. He heard all the nine tracks, asked pertinent questions and declared it a winner! He said this was the first sound that would sell in Punjab and the rest of India. (The Punjabi music market is strange. Local Punjabi artists who are big in Punjab dont sell in the rest of India; conversely Daler is not that big in Punjab). The trick was to market him just right, he said. He would make Rabbi a star around the world, and we poor sods at tehelka were not going to get much money. Ha ha ha! thats funny. But good job done and tough shit, he patted us, and then kicked us out of his office.For the next six months Shashi Gopal kept us going. His Delhi manager, a man we were informed has a reputed ear, came home to listen to Rabbi. Good, he pronounced, it would do very well. Hit hai. Hmmm. Then Shashis suave brother-in-law flew in from Chennai. Over drinks at my house (I served my best scotch, wily tycoon that I am] he pronounced Rabbi a winner. And also told us that it was he, not Shashi who discovered Adnan Sami. Okay, but can we have some money? Yeah, yeah, soon. Then Shashi sent contracts. We negotiated. He disappeared. The seasons changed. Then around March 2003, Magnasound went bust. Shashi Gopal ki tai tai phis.Suddenly we were back to square one. Tarun, KJ, Rabbi and I spoke. We realised we had to let the dream of Rabbi being a tehelka product go it wasnt fair to Rabbi. And I, a recent father, was tired and broke. As for Rabbi, despite the frustrating gloom, or perhaps because of it, he was churning out even more involved lyrics. Amazingly he always kept the faith, knowing it would happen, appreciating the things we were trying. By now, album two, which sounded even more beautiful, had started getting ready in Rabbis head. But nothing was happening on the money front. Illai po !For a while more, we tried everything. Tarun took us to the Oswals farmhouse. Oswal Sr and Abhey Oswal Jr heard it in their private disco (yup, they got a private floor at home). Then Rabbi played on his guitar, an event that usually blows people away. Papa Oswal heard and turned to his singer son and asked Haan bhai tu bhi kuchh baja leta hai ke nahin ? Abhey, wounded, glared back. We looked on politely.

Then many big-big guys heard it. Zee Music heard it. Very good sound they agreed. Then I played Rabbi to a bunch of directors in Mumbai. Shashanka Ghosh loved it. He wanted Bulla for Waisa Bhi Hota Hai, I said cant do. He got Kailash and Allah ke Bande well done. Then Aditya Bhattacharya wanted to use Bulla for Dubai Returned. I politely declined cant give you one song. Then he wanted to cast Rabbi in his proposed film Avataar (proposal is still there guys). Then Mahesh and Pooja Bhatt heard the music. Pooja loved the sound and immediately wanted three songs for Paap. She even offered good money. Rabbi was uncomfortable starting with playback singing. Though we were at our wits end, we were forced to agree. We said no, apparently something you dont do with the Bhatts. Pooja got pissed off with me. Okay, what now, we thought. They all loved the music, but wanted bits and parts, never the whole. We were not willing to do that.Then in August 2003, I played Rabbis music to Anand Surapur, the director of Phat Phish, a young Bombay-based, independent film-making company. Anand had earned his spurs in Channel [V], producing some of the Channels best known promos. He immediately offered to get involved in the project. Anand too had a dream of setting up an independent music label, to promote real music, not re-mixes, and screechy sound. And unlike all the big boys, he was willing to put up the money. In November 2003, KJ, Rabbi and I went to London to do the final mix in Townhouse Studios. Yesss! dreams do come true.In December 2003, the ultimate irony happened. Rabbi went on a cultural binge to Pakistan, and played for the first time in public. In Karachi. They loved him and his Sufi music. Rabbi was a hit in Pakistan, extensively covered by the media. Yeah !On January 29, 2004 as Tarun launched the tehelka paper, Rabbi played for the first time at a public function in Delhi. It was a very special moment for us. And everyone was stirred by his music.After that Anand Surapur and his team at Phat Phish Records have been fighting the odds. Now, they are finally ready to release Rabbi. I believe his music will carry around the world. Please listen to it. We aim to get by...with a little help from our friends.
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My latest blob...

Check this out..my latest blob..am supposed to be leap-frogging here..

Lessons for your life from Bunty aur Babli...

Hi folks i read about this article from rediff.com and thought to share it with you guys..

Do let me know about this...

apki naukri mein na izzat hai, na mazaa hai aur na matlab (Your job has neither respect nor fun nor meaning)," declares the new tall, angry young man.

A man whose father would like nothing more than a son who follows in his footsteps as a ticket collector.
The young man is Abhishek Bachchan, giving voice to the hopes and dreams of the Average Young Indian, in Yash Raj Films' summer caper, Bunty Aur Babli.
Whatever its storytelling flaws, this is one sentiment the scriptwriter has identified perfectly. Move over, Abraham Maslow, this is 21st century India's 'hierarchy of needs' (Maslow is known for establishing the theory of hierarchy of needs -- he said that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs, and that certain lower needs need to be satisfied before higher needs can be satisfied).
Izzat (Respectability) x Mazaa (Fun) x Matlab (Meaning) = Career Satisfaction.
Apply it to just about any industry or profession. And it works!
All mazaa, no izzat
Take BPOs, which are worried about employee attrition. These companies provide young graduates with the best of everything -- money, work environment, career growth. Even fun, in the form of special allowances, movies and parties.
The mazaa angle is, thus, well taken care of. But what about izzat?
'I work at a call centre.' Despite ads from e-Serve, which pretend otherwise, that statement will not really impress your girlfriend's father.
At the end of the day, the job essentially lacks matlab. You work for one company but answer calls for another. There is no shared vision or mission beyond answering the next call. What you do never really seems to make a 'difference'.
In the Izzat x Mazaa x Matlab equation, there is only one variable the young person can control. And hence s/he hops from job to job in search of more mazaa (money).
Izzat and mazaa, but no matlab?
On the other hand, IT, which mainly employs young engineers, has a better chance of retaining its employees.
Not only do they provide decent starting salaries/ fabulous campuses, there is the additional mazaa angle of being sent abroad to work within a couple of years of joining.
Plus, saying you work for Infosys, Wipro or Cognizant Technologies receives a respectful nod from peers and parents.
The reason many still quit IT is the matlab angle. Those who equate coding work with being a cybercoolie often choose to go abroad for further studies or try an MBA.
Not that life after the MBA may offer any more in terms of matlab, but having the IIM or Bajaj tag adds to izzat value. And if you are lucky enough to be placed on Day 0 or Day 1, the mazaa factor is multiplied as well.
The quest for matlab
The relative importance of these three factors -- izzat, mazaa and matlab -- varies from person to person.
Matlab, in fact, is the most personal variable. Some of us can happily buy into the mission statements of the companies we work for. We can find personal meaning by reaching our goals and targets as well as be a tough but fair boss/ employee/ coworker and a loyal and loving spouse/ parent/ friend.
But to others, 'meaning' comes from doing what you are passionate about, something you really care for. This definition of matlab is often swept under the carpet at an early age when we follow the herd towards the engineering/ medicine/ MBA degrees we never really wanted (but were assured was the only way to go).
In the long run, we try and make up for the absence of meaning by trying to maximise on the other two fronts.
Yet, when any of the three variables actually becomes zero, the equation comes to naught. So every now and then, an individual will take the bold step of pursuing matlab even if it comes at the cost of mazaa, ie lower salary or perks.
These are the folks who choose to quit their fancy jobs and join the non-profit sector. To them, the loss of some money and perks is evened out by the thrill of making a 'difference'.
Similar is the choice of becoming self-employed. While a handful are 'entrepreneurs' in search of size, scale and summits, the majority are 'alterpreneurs', who strike out on their own -- leveraging their knowledge, skills and contacts -- as an alternative to the regular corporate grind.
Control over one's life and time equals more mazaa even if you work equally hard to make the same kind of money.
If you are a young doctor, often, it is only the matlab factor that keeps you going. Given the salaries and working conditions at public hospitals, the mazaa factor is extremely low. And given the commercialism that has crept into the profession, izzat -- although still high -- is on the decline.
On the other hand, professions like modelling and acting which, a couple of decades ago, commanded no izzat, are now seen with awe. The only problem is, there is an additional variable in the equation: risk.
This risk varies from 0 (absolute flop) to 1 (making it big).
Izzat x Matlab x Mazaa divided by Risk could mean you become a Priyanka Chopra or one of the millions of aspirants who never makes it beyond the casting couch.
The same applies to other creative and thode glamorous professions, like copywriting, filmmaking, dance, music and art. But if you really have the talent and belief in yourself, the risk is worth taking.
The trick, really, is figuring out your own personal equation, instead of living by what you saw scrawled on the Blackboard of Life by people before you.
Because two equations could be completely different, yet add up to that mythical '42'.
The answer to life, the universe and everything that makes you truly happy.