November 14, 2011

Love actually

This post was in my drafts for quite some time now. Remembered it when I was watching 'Do pal ruka' on a music channel in the weekend! Posting it now.

Note: Long long post, so read it when you get time.




Re-discovering Veer-Zaara! A tale of epic romance and sacrifice.!

I loved this movie! :) Some of the scenes were brilliantly shot. Watch out esp for the scene where Saamiya (Rani) finally sees Zaara (Preity) in Punjab. Her look of defeat followed by surprise and then the satisfaction. Wow!
The scene where Kirron Kher pleads with SRK and SRK tells him he would let Zaara go, for a mother!
The scene where Preity convinces Amitabh to educate girls in the village.
Powerful scenes.

Also the
'Main qaidi number 786' (no, don't read it out as 786. Read it as saat sow cheyaasi) rendition by SRK was beautiful. When he says:

Woh kehte hai yeh tera desh nahi

Phir kyun mere desh jaisa lagta hai..


I literally had tears in my eyes. Hats off to Yash Chopra for the direction (the camera slowly zooming in and the background music) and Aditya Chopra (he wrote the poem actually!)


You actually feel so sad for the protagonist, how he must have spent 20 yrs in the prison in silence just to protect his lady love's reputation. And how she, on the contrary, rebels against everyone and goes to India to fulfill his dream! You sort of start believing in love stories again.


And oh the songs! Madam Mohan's soundtracks were used for this, after some changes done, I think, by Anu Malik (not sure about this though. Please correct me if I am wrong about this)


A song for each occasion - love, romance, sacrifice, patriotism, hope, festivals. A very balanced album this one is.


Do Pal Ruka,
is one which is very very close to my heart!

Jaanam Deklo
was brilliantly sung by Udit Narayan. Listen to the authoritativeness in his voice which the song demands.

Hum toh bhai
was ok. Sung by Lata Mangeshkar, this song was important to set the character of Zaara and I loved the colors of Priety 's dresses in this song! :)

Aisa Desh hain Mera
- patriotic song with a feel-good factor. I, esp, liked the part sung by Zaara (Lata again) where she says 'jaane kyun yeh lagta hain mujko jaana pehchaana..yahan ki wahi shaam hain wahi savera..aisa hi desh hain mera..jaisa desh hain tera..'

Lodi song
- It glorifies Punjab which is a taken in most of Yash Raj movies anywaz.

Aaya tere dar par deewana
- Veer comes to Pakistan and sees Zaara in the darga and this song is in the background. Very apt! Shahrukh has a haunting look, which goes well with the song. Also check the scene where Zaara suddenly stops praying and turns around as if she was expecting Veer to be behind all along! The song ends beautifully too - Zaara rebels against everyone and goes and hugs Veer. Waah!

Tere liye
- very nicely shot - the aging sequence. Lovely lyrics which talk about the sacrifice the two have unknowingly made for each other for the past 20 yrs. Haunting.

Well, the above were popular songs. The ones below are not that popular, most of them would probably not have heard of them too. But I loved these.


Yeh hawa
- the title track! Sonu Nigam proves why he is so good again! It comes at the beginning of the movie when they show the credits. The poetic rendition by Yash Chopra was soulful (have written about it here)

Yeh hum aagaye hain kahan
- a very happy light romantic number which the movie so needed, after all the soulful, strong songs! I can literally see Udit Narayan jumping about while singing this. :)

Jaane kyun
- this song was canned. Very slow, nice track. The only problem, Lata Mangeshkar's voice. But still she has sung it soulfully, it comes through beautifully. Lyrics are amazing too. (check my post about it here)

Phew! Guess that's it.

No wait! How can I not list the 786 poem. Here it goes.
Courtesy: hindilyrix..com again! (I just love this site!!)

Mein qaidi number 786, jail ki salakhon se bahar dekh ta hoon.

Din, mahinein, saloon ko, yug mein badal te dekh ta hoon.

is miti se mere bauji ki kheton ki khushbu ati hai

yeh dhoop meri matti ki thandi chaas yaad dilati hai


yeh barish mere sawaan ke jhoolon ko sang sang lati hai

yeh sardi meri lodi ki aag sikh ke jati hai

woh kehta hai yeh tera desh nahi

phir kyun mere des jaisa lagta hai

woh kheta hai mein us jaisa nahi

phir kyun mujh jaisa woh lagta hai


mein qaidi number 786 jail ki salakhon se bahar dekh ta hoon

sapno ke gawn se utri

ek nanhi pari ko dekh ta hoon

kehti hai khud ko Saamiya aur mujh ko Veer bulati hai

hai bilkul begaani par apno si zid woh karti hai

uski sachi baaton se phir jeene ko maan karta hai

uske kaasmon vado se kuch karne ko maan karta hai
-----> how sweet right?

Mein qaidi number 786 jail ki salakhon se bahar dekh ta hoon

mere gawn ke raango mein lipti ek nayi Zaara ko dekhta hoon

Mere khwabon ko pura karte

khud ke khwab bhool chuki hai woh

mere logo ki sewa karte

apne logo ko chor chuki hai woh

uska daaman aab khushion se bharne ko jee karta hai

uske leya ek aur zindagi jeene ko jee karta hai --------> such a lovely para!


Woh khete hai ke mein, mera desh uska nahi

phir kyun mere ghar woh rehti hai

woh kehte hai ke mein us jaisa nahi

phir kyun mujh jaisi woh lagti hai


mein qaidi number 786 jail ki salakhon se bahar dekh ta hoon

Woh khete hai ko woh koi nahi teri

phir kyun mere liye dunya se woh larti hai

woh khwta hai ke mein us jaisa nahi

phir kyun mujh jaisi woh lagti hai


And here is the video:




P.S1: Wow, just realized this is my third post about this movie and its songs! Am in love or what! ;-)

P.S2: If you did manage to come till here, then a round of applause from the house!


November 2, 2011

half a year

The kiddo turns 6 months old today! Phew! I am now a little relieved, a little stress-free (maybe 0.0001%) than before for having achieved this milestone with no major issues. (says a little prayer quickly)

Sid now scouts around the room, looking at his parents/grandparents/others who are present, and voluntarily calls them by 'hoon'ing, if they don't see him instantly. He repeats this until he achieves his goal - the person in question looks at him and talks to him. Immediately his face radiates with a big toothless smile.

He loves tapping objects or someone's hand/legs, his own legs. Its like, he first tests the sturdiness of the object by tapping on it. If it passes his test, he continues to do so until something else amuses him.

With light objects and toys, paper, small plates, he has learnt to flip it. He also moves them from one hand to the other. This also keeps him occupied for quite sometime.

He turns and crawls pretty fast now and has started going towards anyone who extends their hands and says 'baa' (come).

As always he absolutely loves talking to the maid! The conversation could go on for hours if the maid didn't have to work.

He has started noticing the changes, if any, in the house. If there is anything extra kept on the bed, he rolls over and goes towards it. If it is something out of his reach, he keeps staring at it. It is very amusing to see him do that!

2 months have passed since I started working from home. It is now time to go to office. I don't know how Sid will react (doubts arise whether he will miss me or will be too busy playing to even notice that I am gone for half a day?) or how I will manage without seeing him for nearly 4 hrs.

As Josh says, interesting times ahead! Notice the word - interesting. It can be anything - happy, sad, exciting, disappointing, pleasing...the list goes on.





October 28, 2011

This and that

Sid is close to 6 months now and has started identifying people and his surroundings. Anything which looks new on his radar excites him to no end and he either stares at the new thing/person constantly or he tries to reach out and grab it.

Now I know why mothers get only 2/3 months maternity leave at work! Its
soooooo much easier to leave the kid at home and go to work when the kid is 2-3 months. Now, he smiles, talks, recognizes you and what not! Its going to be very tough leaving him and going to work. Working from home was better.

Deepawali
was fun with family. Sid was the star attraction of course! He must have enjoyed it thoroughly, as he refused to be put to sleep 2 days in a row!
My experiments with the oven continues and the oat cookies I tried came out burnt. The temperature is to be further reduced and the heating coils need to be taken to task! :-|

Sid typed on the laptop for the first time. These were his exact words/lyrics..call it what you want to!
sa szh jk ,mwcxa,mnaZgv za b xmn;'p-mklpl-okm mds?/zas[k,asdcpj[ko,[x .'z  'eee /M,LM,mndz /     u ;l,'m

At 11.00pm, Josh nudges me and suddenly asks - 'Do you know what gives me immense satisfaction?'. A few things come to my mind. Maybe the fact that he put the kid to sleep and in spite of the cracker sounds in the neighborhood, he has not got up.. Or maybe the fact that he cleaned his beloved cycle and changed the tire's tube today?
Aloud, I ask, 'What?'
He says 'There is a whole stack of pigs and with 1 single yellow bird, you hit the wooden base and all the pigs fall and die'
A moment of silence and then I said 'This is so going on my blog!'

October 24, 2011

A different Saturday

Josh and I took Sid to a photo-exhibition. It was a first for the 3 of us! The theme was wildlife and Josh's colleague was one of the exhibitors.

It was at Chitrakala Parishat. What a beautiful place that is. So calm. There were some classes happening outside, children trying to draw/paint. All this amidst lush greenery. Truly enjoyable for a kid on a weekend.

We enjoyed the display very much. And Sid enjoyed it as well, oohing and aahing at the bird photos, lion photos that were on display!

October 13, 2011

October 10, 2011

Conversation


Sonny boy having a meaningful conversation with our maid. She delights him to no end and he ALWAYS starts conversing with her, no matter how sleepy or hungry he is!

October 4, 2011

Doodling

The thing I miss most about not writing in a book or on a paper is doodling. Ahh, the idle times spent creating 'patterns' or a fancy way of writing your name. I used to have a lot of doodle 'art' (yeah, that's what I like to call that) in the last page of every notebook I owned! So when Josh opens his notebook to jot down some chip measurements while working at home, I quickly grab the pen and book and write my name or draw a flower or some such stuff.

I think we should have a social nwing site for doodling.
DoodleTwitter anyone? Remember, you heard it here the first time!

September 26, 2011

Madno

One more song which we started humming in the morning while bathing the baby.

Good one from
Lamha. Very easy on the ears. Soulful too. The singers are really good - Chinmayi and Kshitij. Had not heard of them before. Turns out Chinmayi is the one who has sung 'Tere bina' from Guru and one of the popular songs of Kshitij is 'Beete lamhe' from The Train.

I like the contrast in the lyrics.
For eg, Main hoon shab tu subah..dono juD ke juda
also Haan Iss safar mein to mein hoon..Par sang tere na ruk sakun

Listen to it here or check it out below.





Lyrics: http://www.top10bollywood.com/2010/06/madhno-re-song-lyrics-from-lamhaa.html


Hai dil ko teri aarzoo
Par main tujhe na paa sakun

Hai dil ko teri justaju

Par main tujhe na paa sakun

Main hoon shab tu subah

Dono jud ke judaa

Main hoon labh tu dua

Dono jud ke judaa

Madno, mashuko, dilbaro, madno re


Kayi khwaab dil tujhko le kar sajaaye

Par khauf yeh bhi kahin par sataaye

Ghar yeh bhi tootey toh phir hoga kya re

Mujhe raas aati hain khushiyaan kahan re

Kyon dil ko dukhana bewajah madno re

Kyon dil ko dukhana bewajah

Phir aansu bahana ik dafa

Phir aansu bahana ik dafa


Main hoon shab tu subah

Dono jud ke judaa

Main hoon labh tu dua

Dono jud ke judaa

Madhno, mashuko, dilbaro, madno re


Tu hi to har pal bandha hai

Lamhon ki inn zanjeeron mein

Tu hi to har dum raha hai

Khwaabon ki har taaberon mein

Tu hi to har din dikha hai

Dhundli aur ujli tasveeron mein

Tere hi to hai khusboo mujh mein haan madno re

Tere hi to hai khusboo mujh mein haan

Ab tu hi to har su har jagah

Ab tu hi to har su har jagah


Bhi chus shab sa subah

Meelyth doshvai judaa

Bhi chus labh sa dua

Meelyth doshvai judaa
=======> must be kashmiri?
Madno, mashuko, dilbaro, madno re


Haan tera saaya to main hoon

Par sang tere na reh sakun

Haan iss safar me to main hoon

Par sang tere na ruk sakun

Main hoon shab tu subah

Dono jud ke judaa

Main hoon labh tu dua

Dono jud ke judaa

Madno, mashuko, dilbaro, madno re

September 23, 2011

Its a first!!

The kiddo had his first juice drinking session today. It was like a major event, with both grandparents and mommy, your's truly that is, involved right from the inception till the end!

Oh the joy of squeezing the sweet lime, measuring the quantity so that I can add the exact amount of water to it. Mixing a little sugar into it and hoping and praying that the kid takes a liking to it. :-) We used a filler to give him the juice. Initially, he was a little unsure about what was being put into his mouth. He then started sucking the filler with vigor and I must think he enjoyed drinking it. We just gave him half of the concoction and hope that it doesn't affect his digestive system very much.

Ah, the joys of watching a baby's first milestones. The day he smiled for the first time, the day he rolled over, and the day he crawled! Yeah, he did start crawling from yesterday! I must say, its the cutest thing I have ever seen!

As I was rejoicing a thought stuck me. Its amazing how we celebrate and enjoy a baby's first actions/milestones. What happens to that enthusiasm when adults start something new for the first time. Why isn't it given that much of an importance? We encourage the kid when he does something new, hug him, kiss him, show our appreciation. Am sure that makes the kid happy and motivates him to continue. Shouldn't the same be applied to adults as well? A word of appreciation goes a long way! I make a mental note to start appreciating people more often now, will you??

September 22, 2011

Aaoge jab tum o saajana

One of the lesser heard songs from Jab We Met, albeit a beautiful one.
Aaoge jab tum oh sajna, angna phool khilenge..basrsega saawan..barsega saawan..jhoom jhoom ke..do dil aise milenge..

aahh..pure bliss. The song, the voice, the music and the video! Yeah, the video too. Shahid and Kareena at their best I think.

Enjoy and have a great day!



Lyrics: (from hindilyrix.com)
======

Aaoge Jab Tum O Saajana
Angana Phool Khilenge
Barsega Saawan, Barsega Saawan Jhoom Jhoomke
Do Dil Aise Milenge
Aaoge Jab Tum O Saajana, Angana Phool Khilenge


Naina Tere Kajraare Hai, Naino Pe Hum Dil Haare Hai
Anjaane Hi Tere Naino Ne Waade Kiye Kayi Saare Hai
Saanson Ki Lay Madham Chalein, Tose Gaye
Barasega Saawan
Barasega Saawan, Jhoom Jhoomke, Do Dil Aise Milenge
Aaoge Jab Tum Ho Saajana, Angana Phool Khilenge

Chanda Ko Taaku Raaton Mein, Hai Zindagi Tere Haanthon Mein
Palkon Pe Jhilmil Taarein Hain, Aana Bhari Barsaaton Mein
Sapnon Ka Jahaan, Hoga Kela Kela
Barasega Saawan
Barasega Saawan, Jhoom Jhoomke, Do Dil Aise Milenge

Aaoge Jab Tum O Saajana..