Man vs. Beast

Man is like all other living animals. He has the very same instincts for survival and sustenance. Whilst animals are bound by their instincts and cannot really act against them, man doesn't always have to do the same.

He's not a beast... he doesn't have to be one. Whilst he shudn't be ignoring his instincts, he does not have to bow down to them. He has the gift of intelligence and discretion at his disposal. To differentiate between right and wrong, gud and bad, is what separates him from the animals.

You may not be able to control what ur instincts tel u to do, but u can very well stop from retracing ur steps back into becoming beasts, by using ur power of discretion to act against them!

Music vs. Lyrics

Through and through, with very few exceptions, i'm a MUSIC kinda guy... Not paying too much attention to the lyrics, hidden meanings and emotions they convey! I might pay attention to lyrics in very few cases like Pink Floyd or Pearl Jam etc. In my case the lyricist / songwriter is almost redundant.

I guess music touches u directly. Whilst lyrics have a barrier of language and comprehensibility, music is universal...

I tag all my readers to put in their opinion of music vs. lyrics!

(What do u pay attention to and why?)

Rock Bottom...

We're always worried about something... And related worst case scenarios...

Mebbe kinda like we're afraid of hitting rock-bottom...losing everything...everything we worked so hard for...everything we accomplished...everything we treasured so damn much...

But rock-bottom isn't all that bad u see... Cos nuthing is permanent and there's only one way to go from there...UP!

U learn a small but valuable lesson...ur confidence builds...U fight...U rise...U shine!

Always listen to elders...

And yet again, I learn something the hard way...

My Guruji told me, dont bend the strings on your sitar as yet... neither you, nor the sitar is ready for it...

I was feeling low... so took my favourite thing to cheer me up... Me music and me sitar... and in a fit of musical enthusiasm... I tried playing a very fast jhala and then giving a meend from Re to Pa...

The string snapped... have to wait till Saturday to get the strings replaced !

NOW I'm really depressed...

Cars and Bikes

Ok mebbe these aspects of human evolution are what I love the most, after music... Or mebbe at an equal level, depending on my state of mind...

Was just going thru an article by James May on the Top Gear website... He wrote some stuff about a CBR1000RR..

What we lesser mortals know just as a Fireblade...

Point being, ive had some debates with frnds on Bike vs. Car... and I agree that both are capable of taking you to amazing levels of mental awareness!

They can both give u the adrenaline rush and the overall experience, but they arent without their certain drawbacks...

1. Cars are much bigger and cumbersome to handle in traffic with their width

2. Bikes have a very very narrow, almost non-existent... safety margin (First person, third person experiences)

3. Cars are way to expensive to buy AND to run...

4. Bikes cannot corner as qucikly as cars can...

5. Cars are definitely preferable in bad weather...of any kind !

6. Bikes have an amazing riding position...

7. Cars have stereos !

8. Clutches and gearshifts are easier on the bike !

And so on n so forth... But the bike can give you a distinct experience that the car cannot...

Bikes are liberating ! No two ways about it...

Be it a 60 cc scooty, a 150 cc bike or a 1000 cc monster...Bike rides are liberating...

So much so, that after a long drive (in my car) I long for a small 5 min ride (on my bike)...

And long rides liberate too !

Looking forward to my next one ! Mebbe after the rains are over...(If they started in the first place, that is...)

And I dont mind havin a Porshce 911 Turbo or a Ferrari 430 Scuderia either !

Then and Now...

Tagged by the Great Lord M... Here Goes...

The nickname mom gave me as a kid...?
Ronu.

The nickname I have now...from mom, friends and colleagues?
RAVAN - Mebbe not Mom...

Any one thing I never understood as a kid?
Why did Mom have to carry cash whereas Dad used a cool plastic card ???

Any one thing which I dont understand now?
Finance

Any one thing I loved doing as a kid?
Reading

Any one thing which I love doing now?
Playing football, CS, my Sitar and my Bike...

Any one thing which I hated as a kid?
Drawing Sessions in School... Nightmares... Never Got it...

Any one thing which I hate now?
Meetings...Absolute waste of time... no conclusions at all...

Any one thing I heard dad say many times when I was a kid?
Stop doing this, else ur gonna get some thrashing...

Any one thing I hear dad say often now?
Ive been tellin u for weeks...Can u please do it ATLEAST TODAY ???

Any one thing which you did not understand about women as a kid?
They seemed pretty cool to me...

Any one thing which you did not understand about women now?
They seem to be everything BUT cool to me...

Any one thing you dreamed of as a kid?
being an Air Force Fighter Pilot...

Any one thing you dream of now?
$$$ and playing the sitar to a certain level of perfection...

I didnt quite know what it was to be tagged until the great Lord M explained it to me...

Hence , here goes a tag to all readers...

Alone - Listening to Music... Playin the Sitar...

Wid Frnds - Football... CS... Eating Out... Some Movies...

Wid Family - Concerts... Movies... Dinner... Music...

Wid Colleagues - Not much of TP there... But cud be cribbing abt da BOSS

Wid Boss - Trying to get my document approvals from him... He discusses EVERYTHING in the WORLD except WHAT im there for... Its His Idea of timepass !!!

When Travelling - Gotta be MUSIC!!!

When Working - Surfing the office internet for queries I had the previous night !!! I mean where else do you get such amazing download speeds ???

Of Humans and Gods...

As kids, ur parents are r Gods for you... They can do anything !

As you grow older these images start changing... You start to think differently and have an argument quite often...

Slowly you realise they're merely humans...with certain flaws...And not everything you thought they cud do, is possible!!!

As you go ahead towards more responsibility in your own life, there comes a point of time when you realise its not a cakewalk if atleast not a bed of roses...

And this is when you really really GAIN RESPECT for those MERE HUMANS, whom u call Mom and Dad...

Janfest - It was for real !!!

Amazing performances on both Sunday and Monday...

Loved it... Didnt realise how quickly time flew from 5.30 to 9.30 on sunday evening... Santoor by Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma was Surreal...

Next day went for my FIRST Sitar class... at the end of it felt my finers wud SNAP into two pieces... Hurts like Hell... And NOT AT ALL used to sitting cross legged for 2 hrs... Legs went numb every 10 mins... Wondered how I was gonna continue...

Then in the evening attended Sitar by Ustaad Nishaat Khan... I'm NOW looking forward to my next Sitar practice and next lessons... Really really waiting for it...

And Kishoritai Amonkar... If sound could be velvet... its her voice... And ABSOLUTE COMMAND on the recital...

These performances weer BEYOND entertainment... They were Divine... And probably thats how these artists approach it as well...

On another note, I realised Kishoritai Amonkar and Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma were beyond 70 yrs of age... Forget complex Santoor hand movements or Vocal control over 3 octaves...

At that age, it wud even be a miracle if I cud tie my own shoelaces or speak clearly !!!

Hats Off to them... They've kept this great art and legacy alive... The applause at the end of their performances isn't just for the great music they've given us.. its ALSO an acknowledgement of their tremendous sacrifice and dedication to their own arts !!!

Janfest - The Anticipation

Have been looking forward to this since almost 2 weeks now...Waited over a year for another classical concert...

But learnt so many things and found so many more brilliant little masterpieces on the way here... That probably makes the 2 weeks of anticipation, feel like 2 months now !!!

Kept running around here and there trying to find what was missing...Think this is it...

I hope I have ARRIVED at the starting point of the journey to my ultimate goal!!!