Musically Tagged!

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Thank you Nancy..Love you for this tag!

Since you wanted me to post something to make you feel less terrible...this is the one! I dedicate each song in this list to you...Nancy!!!

I am an old hindi songs freak! I literally grew up on them. My father had a huge collection of lovely rare songs. On his frequent trips to Delhi and Bombay, he used to bring back such gems! So there is absolutely no way I can restrict myself to just 10 favourite songs. But I will try. But only after officially placing on record that I love all the masterpieces by Roshan, Naushad, S D Burman, Madan Mohan... and any song that Mukesh has lent his soulful voice to..

To reduce the number I shall not list the ones that are global favourites..that are definitely acknowledged masterpieces..like Duniya ke rakhwale...mere mahboob... etc. I shall list the one that affect me personally....

So here goes.. in no particular order...and with aplogies to the ones I have failed to list here.....

Old Hindi songs
---------------

1. Lag ja Gale: I just love this song and can hear it any number of times...Could be the despair and the 'no tomorrow' feel in it....

2. Baharon ne mera chaman lootkar: I don't know why I love this song..but I do... It is saaaad and Mukesh is great...

3. Abhi na jao chodkar: Just lovely...It was kind of our hostel anthem!

4. sawan aaye ya na aaye: This is a lovely duet...from dil diya dard liya

5. Yeh shaam ki tanhaiyan: Pathetic...beautiful...I heard the song long before I got to watch the movie..and I must say the picturisation in my imagination was better...

6. Unko yeh shikayat hai... I love the ghazals in movies..and this one is a classic..(I have to mention two more here...I really do!!! ...yun hasraton ki daagh...and hai isi mein pyar ki aabroo from anpadh though a friend says the latter one is too 'doormat'ish for the girl to sing!

7. beeti na bitayi raina... I cannot resist anything semi classical...Hindustani classical music is so lovely...(and also raina beeti jaye)

8. Then the soft melodious ones by Talat Mahmood...Jalte hain jiske liye... and also humse aaya na gaya... How romantic can one get!!!!

9. Then the dancer in me...and the songs that make my heart and feet dance....Madhuban mein Radhika... Also the lovely Garjat Barsat saawan...And Manna Dey's 'hato..kahe ko jhooti..banao batiyaan'

10. Ankhiyon ke jharokon se.. Though I had heard it before, it became a favourite only recently....


I must also just mention my husband's masterpieces 'Jab deep jale aana'..'jeevan se bhari teri aankhen'...

And there is this song which I heard my husband sing first before listening to the original...and just loved it...'chehre se apni'...from the movie Palki...

Other languages, namely Tamil and malayalam. I again have several favourites... just listing a few...very very few....

Tamil
1. Kalyana Then nilaaa - I can listen just any number of times to this one...
2. Nee Katru Naan maram - Amazing lyrics and the inimitable Hariharan!
3. Malare mounamaa... needs no explanation
4. Konjam neram Konjam neram
5. Raa .. Raa
The last two might be better heard than watched!

Malayalam

1. pinneyum pinneyum aaro kinavinte music, lyrics, picturization...just lovely
2. aaro viralmeetti manassil
3. varamanjalaadiya...
4. Chentharmizhi...Poonthenmozhi - It could be the fact that Vineeth acts in it that makes this my favourite! ;)
5. arikil nee undaayirunnengil - Oh! What a song!!!

All these songs are available on Music India Online as well.. I put you tube links just because it is easier... My advice is not to let the visuals distract you and listen to JUST the music!!! What bliss!!!

oops! Forgot that I need to tag people....

I tag

Colours... I know you are busy..still you'll love doing it..come on!
Tys? .. You said something about downloading and listening to songs...didn't you? Wanna try?
Bins.... Interested?
RustyNeurons... How about you?
Onlooker... Come on.. people from Trichy have to be music lovers!!!

Random 25!!!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Colours and Reflections tagged me on this one!

Rules
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you.
At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged.

Well..there is an earlier post here on 6 quirks...just in case I cannot find 25 random things..you know!!!

So here goes....

1)I love anything chocolate... dark chocolates, chocolate cakes, chocolate ice cream, chocolate shake...Found a partner in crime in my Project Manager during an onsite visit to the US way back in 2000 and we used to sit and hog Double chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce and chocolate chips...much to the disgust of the others!

2)I was the shortest in class from the 8th standard or so...In the 10th, I used to make a funny sight, walking first in my line, going for the assembly behind the tallest guy in the previous line (class 12) who was some 6'3'' or 6'4''! I became immune to ragging right in school because I was the favourite target for the guys who used to say stuff like 'Yesterday I saw a Kinetic Honda go without a driver' or 'How do you get off your Kinetic Honda? You hold the breaks and jump?'. I used to bring out the creative genius in them and they used to come out with IIT questions which invariably started out like 'A ladder x m high was kept against a wall and she was standing on top of the ladder...etc..and always ended with..what is her height?'

3)Now, in spite of my height, which unfortunately is still half inch short of 5 ft, I used to play basketball in school! Did I hear any sniggers? But seriously! I love the game and I used to play quite well too. Of course, if I play with real tall people or professionals, I am sure I stand no chance to even get my hand on the ball. But in school, with people equal in talent, I used to play well...they used to get bugged of me coming from nowhere and tapping the ball away...

4)I have done so many different kinds of dances...I have learnt 3 Indian classical dance forms and just love all of them. But in our school, every other day was some 'day' and for each of these I used to be one of those on stage. We have danced classical, folk dances, tribal, Naga dance, folk dance of Himachal pradesh, dappan koothu....anything. Once we wore black Naga dresses and danced on the roads in Cochin....that tricky stuff with sticks and us girls jumping in and out of them...says a lot about our self confidence doesn't it???? :P

5)Every year for the 'Ramayana' day/week, I was Sita and that too the one in the forest!And every year, shamelessly, I used to borrow the sari from one of our teachers, who was the only one who had a saffron coloured one! She used to exclaim..'you are Sita? Again???' :D

6)I did not know cycling. I directly learnt to drive a Kinetic Honda. And then went back to cycling during my PG in the campus!!! I miss my Ladybird!

7) Talking of riding, I am a typical 'female' when it comes to driving, road sense and directions. I got my driving license in India and tried driving on 1 or 2 Sundays to office when the traffic was comparitively decent. On the second day, I got scolded by other drivers at two signals and I promptly took the car back home, parked it and went by auto to office!!! I am thinking about going for driving classes in Dubai...for the last 4 years!!! I admire and envy women who drive well!

8) I have never been thin...in school, I was not considered thin..in college, when I looked at my school snaps, I thought I was thin...then during my PG, when I looked at my graduation snaps, I thought I was thin then...now when I look at my wedding snaps, I think I was thin then...I add weight slowly and steadily...try and imagine what I look like now!

9) I am a movie buff...love all kinds of movies...The platinum jubilee of Indian cinema was during my 10th std public exams. And in those days of only Doordarshan, they were playing Guru Dutt movies, Satyajit Ray movies, Raj Kapoor movies - one every night! I watched every single one...exams would come again!!!

10) I am a crime buff..not a criminal...I love crime in books and movies...investigative thrillers...not movies full of violence...Recently, I discovered a treasure house of onscreen mystery stories (Poirot and Holmes) on the net...and I cannot explain how thrilled I am! May God bless the guy/girl who uploaded those!!!

11) Nancy's post reminded me. I had an imaginary little sister too when I was small. Being an only child, I guess that was a wish coming true through imagination. Her name was Shalini and was modelled on Baby Shalini, the child artiste!

12) My husband and I were at school together..from class 5 to 12! :-)

13) I am extremely bad at decision making - especially personal ones. I conventiently blame it on my sunsign and even proudly tell myself it is because I have the ability to see all sides of things!!!

14) I once danced on the streets of Coimbatore! For a classmate's sister's wedding. The music was a band playing Rajinikanth songs...you know...naan autokkaran, vandenda palkaaran and the like... :D It was atrocious and fun!!! Colours was with me too...remember how we hid to avoid having to follow the bridegroom's car around the city dancing and still ended up dancing on the road just outside the wedding hall????

15) I am the happiest in the company of family or friends - laughing, making wise cracks and pulling legs...even though more often than not I am on the receiving end!

16) I adore old Hindi songs...1950's and 1960's are my favourites...Beyond 1980, I hardly listen. But the new ones are good...so I am back to listening now....I go crazy about the lyrics in the songs...and love romantic, soulful, sad melodies...esp of Mukesh! I have surprised many of my North Indian friends with my knowledge of old Hindi songs and movies!

17) I am not good at housekeeping and household chores..I think I am tolerated only because of my charm...which again according to Ms. Goodman is not to my credit..but due to my sun sign! sigh!

18) I have a beautiful mother who is supposed to look like the actress K R Vijaya and a granny who is so fair that she is almost white. So I always considered myself dark and ordinary looking. So I still find it difficult to believe anyone who pays me a compliment on my looks.

19) I had long, thick, wavy, black locks of hair when I was younger. It's almost all gone now!!! :((((

20) I smile/laugh easily. Most of the time, I have a toothy grin. I have a set of white, evenly placed teeth but they are a little to the front due to thumbsucking while I was a baby! I shall never forgive our dentist who told my mother I do not need braces unless she was planning to make me a film actress. Well..I solve the problem by totally avoiding profile photographs...hee hee...

21)We were a gang of 10 at college and all of us loved music. There were some extraordinarily talented singers in the group. We spent a lot of time visiting temples in and around Trichy, talking, laughing,singing songs and eating prasadam. This would sound extremely tame to the the clubbing, dancing, pub going generation...but we had some great times.

22) Talking of clubs and pubs...I haven't been to one. And isn't that so bad! There were some DJ programmes at office while working in India and I liked it. I love fast music and dancing. So I think I'll like it. But I don't like cigarette smoke, crowds and loud noise...so I don't know! Should try it out some day!

23) I have always had many many friends. My mother used to say every new place I went, I would add friends and there would be no subtraction. I am still in touch with some people with whom I studied only from class 1 to class 4.

24) I can lift my eyebrows one at a time. I developed that skill by regularly practising in front of the mirror while I was small.

25)I love babies and small kids. Every morning, when I go to my daughter's daycare (which is in fact a nursery school), I come out smiling at the sight of the cute,little,two-and-half-year-olds in tiny school uniforms, some smiling, some talking, some in tears. If I lose my job due to too much blogging during office hours or the recession, maybe I'll do babysitting!

I don't know 25 people to tag! So I tag anyone who reads this and wants to try their hand at it!!!

Tagging Away!!!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

It's her again! Tagged by the Reflector!

And how I wish I could think of some funny answers!!!! I couldn't. So here goes my serious answers to the tag...and its all more of less hypothetical when you are someone who has been married for almost 10 years and are the mother of a seven year old. Maybe I should answer the tag again as I would have answered it some 10-12 years back.. ;)

If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?

Ahh... a hypothetical question! Someone betray ME?? Hah! Anyway...I guess it would be 'He that betrayeth is no lover'... :)

If you can have a dream come true, what would it be.

I guess world travel...in the company of anyone to whom I can talk 24 hours without getting bored....

Whose butt would you like to kick?

One of the caretakers sin my daughter's daycare... someone so unpleasant and impatient has no right to be doing such a beautiful job!!!

What would do with a billion dollars?

I'd save some, spend some and give away some!

Will you fall in love with your best friend?

I might... but I used to hate it when friends fell in love with me... :(

Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?

Being loved... loving someone is half blessing and half curse....

How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?

Till we fall out of love with each other... which is bound to happen...

If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?

Assuming it's an attachment that he cannot break, I would ensure that I do nothing that makes me lose his company forever...

If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?

Food and healthcare for every child in the world.

What takes you down the fastest?

An Escalator??? (yahoo... finally a funny answer!)

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

Helping my daughter prepare for her 12th standard board exams.. ;)

What’s your fear?

That my daughter will fall ill.... I'm silly but unable to get over that fear...

What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

Friendly and fun!

Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?

It would be an impossible task for anyone to stay single AND rich for long....

If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?

Do people do that??? If there is one place where I cannot do multi-tasking, it is falling in love... one after the other, maybe...but not together...

Would you give all in a relationship?

All my love, yes.... but I'd like to keep my independence and my friends please...

Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?

I don't know...haven't had anyone do anything horrible to me... or did I just forget???

Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?

In a relationship... I'm a die-hard romantic!

Now I need to tag someone. And Nancy has tagged everyone who reads my blog! But then my twin is there...Colours...do you dare do this??? ;)

And read2blew, I think you would have some interesting (read Mean!!!) answers to these questions...Wanna try???

Tagging on....

Sunday, August 31, 2008

A long overdue tag - tagged by Nancy.

The Rules are as follows..
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs, letting them know that they have been tagged.

I'm not sure if these are quirks at all...still...here goes...

1. I think in English and not my mother tongue and I'm not one of those people who do not know their mother tongue well... I have always spoken Malayalam at home and I'm good at talking, reading and writing it...but still I think in English!

2. I am a MAJOR day dreamer... and I day dream all the time that I'm not talking or listening or reading! ;) Especially when I'm in a car or bus... I have even day dreamt while I was driving pillion on a scooter! :D

3. I dream a lot in my sleep too...sometimes I wake up feeling I have never slept and have been running around all the time. When I was younger I could remember my dreams too... now I forget them most of the time...

4. I just LOVE courtroom novels and movies...Started with Perry Masons pretty young and later latched on to every Grisham I could find. While flipping through channels, if I see a courtroom scene anywhere (even in an old Hindi or Mallu movie) I get stuck! It's almost the same with thrillers and murder mysteries too...the investigative kind...not the gory kind..

5. If I get an interesting book (or a magazine), I cannot postpone reading it. I have even read books while cooking...I can read and make dosas...sometimes even chappathis...the bottle of oil or some tin would hold the book open! You should try it...makes cooking more interesting! ;)

6. I love babyfood! While in hostel, Colours and I used to get Farex or Cerelac from the shop in the campus and eat it in our room...Also at that time, I was using Johnson's baby soap and baby powder on doctor's advice to reduce my pimples..... I'm sure the shopkeeper thought one of us had a baby hidden in our hostel room!!! :O

7. I suddenly break in to dance while at home...When I was younger I used to dance more than I used walk at home... My grandma used to ask me to close the windows lest people outside think I'm mad!

Well..that wasn't so difficult...and I thought I wasn't quirky....maybe I'll find more if I think...but will stop with 7 for now! :)

No idea whom to tag...Colours, you want to try? And anyone else who reads this and hasn't done it already!

Tagged!!!!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Tagged by Nancy!!! Here goes....

I am: quite a normal person...and hence this is going to be a boring tag ...:(

I think: but I don't dwell...so I stay happy...

I know: just enough to manage with...

I want: a little bit of everything...

I have: been very lucky....

I wish: I was taller..well...I manage quite well with platform heels...

I hate: crowds and loud noise...

I miss: my father...he went before I could know him as a normal person...he is still the worshipped figure on the pedestal...

I fear: mosquitoes in India...and all that they bring with them...

I feel: hot! Hey, it's June in Dubai!

I hear: my daughter, talking to herself... :)

I smell: nothing fishy....

I crave: for fun times with old friends...like we used to have in college...

I search: for the right dupatta...which is assuming I found the salwar AND the matching kameez.... you can imagine the mess

I wonder: at my husband's patience...

I regret: being lazy with house work.... :D

I love: words.....and admire people who have a way with them...

I ache: when my child falls ill...

I am not: moody or sulky....

I dance: all the time...if my body is still, I'm dancing in the mind...

I sing: only when my singer husband is not around...

I cry: while watching movies... sometimes even for the not so sad scenes....

I dont always: fight...even when I probably should...

I fight: fair...when I do... though I manage to avoid it most of the time...

I write: nothing...only type...

I win: arguments with my daughter....so far....

I lose: track of stuff that I should finish doing...

I never: miss some birthdays...

I always: wear a watch...

I confuse: my husband by arguing both sides of a point....

I listen: to others....try it, you would get to hear some interesting things....

I can usually be found: grinning....

I need: to be liked...

I am happy about: who I am...

I imagine: the unimaginable.... and daydream the impossible.....

I tag: Colours and read2blew