What is it with some songs and the effect they have on us. Im stuck on one particular one right now, its from the second Aladdin movie, Return Of Jafar. The song is called Forget About Love... go figure! Over the last say, 3 days i think iv heard it over a couple of dozen times... yes, a couple of dozen!! And here i go again putting it on my itunes single repeat mode!! Im going between singing Jasmine, Aladdin and Iago's parts... all that at the moment seem equally relevant to me... which is funny cause the Iago is saying exactly the opposite of the other two... but then again... thats what love does to you right...! Im used to singing Aladdin's part alone, as my ex used to sing Jasmine's part... this is of course where the problem lies i suppose... the absence of another singing voice... both metaphorically and literally speaking... as for Iago... ummm... I'v never sung any songs that he was in... till now i guess!!

Why do i do it? im wondering about that myself... if one were to see me do it... well, lets just say.. its quite a show... especially when im trying to be two characters at the same time... sometimes i just cant decide see...! Anyway, i get all into it and dance around (when the space permits)... make all the right expressions and sing better than usual, as most do when there is no one really watching... then of course, an hour ago i got caught doing a sober version of this in a rickshaw... yeah yeah, i got carried away okay...!

Here is what im thinking, sometimes its cause your hearing what you really want to but no one will tell you cause its not going to happen for you... i know that one sucks big time... if its not this one your on another stage, it'l be because your hearing something you want to say to that person (a lot of times this stage has painful, angry and even hateful music) or of course, when u dont have the courage to say how you feel and thats why... (ps. if its the last one, sing it to her/him... always works!! :-P ).

anyway, the point of all of this... im reminding myself why I love music so much and why its so important to me... it really does help a lot of the healing and growing that we think we have to do alone...!

(CHECK OUT THE VIDEO OF THE SONG...!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMrbT4Ycv1A&feature=related )

The patriot, not me...

A couple of months ago a close friend asked me if I was a patriot. The answer was an instant and definite no! The conversation fizzled out eventually though leaving me with a lingering thought of why this word did not apply to me. I care deeply for my country, I am committed to making it into a country that I can love and be proud of. I feel that the responsibility of making it reach its potential is every individual’s and mine and that running away and settling abroad for a better pay (what they call the brain drain) is being escapist!

Unfortunately, I have come to think of the word patriot as akin to extremist. This I blame on the connotations the world around me have attached to it. Patriots are those who beat up a fellow Indian because they have an opinion that breaks away from the norms of our society or what Hindus call themselves when trying to purge those who believe in another or no god. Patriotism to me is intolerance.

On the other hand I have to say that in the last year I have realised that many of my friends and acquaintances, most of whom are still finishing their education, seem to agree with my views on India and are almost as committed as me to making India a place they want to live in. This change of heart and sudden absence of the need to leave a.s.a.p came as a surprise to me but is encouraging and hopefully will be an inspiration to others. It’s a very comforting thought that I wont be the only one fighting this battle, I never said it was going to be an easy one!

It’s all very well for people to point fingers and blame each other and usually the government for everything that’s wrong with the country, but they make it sound like we have our own Wizard of Oz sitting in a booth somewhere flicking switches to make things happen. Well guess what, we don’t (!), and it’s as much up to the average Tom, Dick and Harry, or Raju, Rani and Rakesh in our case to ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ as Gandhiji said and personally, I think sometimes all it takes is to be true to yourself and be brave enough to be an individual who cares...