Happily lost

Raised eyebrows were the reactions from my Tabla classmates when I informed them about the Usha Uthup concert I was going to attend. According to them, Indian classical music lovers usually do not like her Indian pop music. Do not get me wrong here, I do enjoy a four hour long show by Pandit Mukul Shivputra, Kishori Amonkar’s ‘Sahela re’, Prabha Atre’s version of ‘Jamuna Kinare Mora Gaon’, devotional songs like ‘Sri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam by M.S. Subbulakshmi’ and the list goes on.

But being a Tabla student since past 13 years, I have been stereotyped that I only enjoy Indian Classical music. Like come on, no classical singer is ever going to start dancing in the middle of the show or sing the title song of James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’ and make it sound sexier than any of the Bond girls. Not caring about them, I did go for the show and there Usha was wearing a shiny saree, her iconic big bindi on her forehead and carrying her aura as always, dazzling throughout the show. She sang all her famous songs as I fell more and more in love with her. How can someone aged 70 still be so vibrant with her stage presence? I was glad that I attended the concert and not care about anyone.

One big thing that people fail to understand is that a person can love complete opposite styles of music. A major reason for this could be the lack of curiosity to explore music. In a conversation with an Uber driver, he told me that he has certain albums in his CD and he listens to it daily. I obviously introduced him to new music, but it struck me that most of the people have a certain liking of music and they never get out of it to find new taste.

My dad is one of those people who loves listening to new artists and the best thing he does is he makes me listen to them too. Maybe this is how I got the habit of always surfing for a new music on the internet. It was in 2009, when Michael Jackson passed away leaving a whole legacy of pop music behind him. That was when I was first introduced to English songs. It all started from ‘Beat it” and ‘Smooth Criminal’ as I shifted to ‘Earth song’ and ‘Heal the World’.

The charity song —’We are the World’— got Stevie Wonder into picture for me. Ever since, he has been a ‘Part Time Lover’ when it comes to romantic songs playlist. It is fascinating how a blind person can become a singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist to colour the world of music with his songs. Not only did he make music but also recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 25 Grammy Awards. He was one of the most-awarded male solo artists, and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. No doubt, I respect the Aalaps sung by the classical singers—which most of the people find boring— but Stevie wearing dark glasses singing ‘I just called to say I love you’ makes me wonder what love was he imagining of.

In the same year, my school friends befriended me with rock music. Any guesses by which song? Indeed, the all-time favourite, ‘In the End’ by Linkin Park and ‘Summer of 69’ by the evergreen Bryan Adams. Then later, I myself went surfing for other hits in that decade as I came across Sean Paul’s ‘Temperature’, Akon’s ‘Smack That’ and the feature artist in it, one of the greatest rappers, Eminem. The school years for me, then revolved among these legends (not to forget Shakira and Shaggy).

It was again when my dad who familarized me to classics of 1970 when he was watching the movie ‘Staying Alive.’ The title of the film was inspired by the song by ‘Bee Gees’, which hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. I must say John Travolta’s strut through New York in the final scene did justice to the song like none other.

Those years my phone’s playlist shuffled among bands and artist like- The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Queen, ABBA and Ricky Martin.  This was when I realised that I had found love in classics as some of my friends termed me ‘old fashioned’. The degree college years took me jazzing through Frank Sinatra and Johann Sabastian Bach.

During those years, there were TV series and movies that made me go and listen to an artist I never heard of. Suits introduced me to Charles Bradley, The Shawshank Redemption made me familiar with Hank Williams and I am more than thankful to Saving Private Ryan for opening the doors to French music through Édith Piaf.

When it comes to Indian or mainly Bollywood music, there are all time favourites like Allahrakka Rahman and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Arjit Singh is the recent shining star in the music industry. With all due respect to his talent, but to be brutally honest, I am bored of listening to his voice in almost every Bollywood song. Indian Ocean is undoubtedly my favourite Indian rock band. If not for Black Friday, I would’nt have known about this band for a long time.

The movie Karwaan gave me hopes that Bollywood music is changing when Prateek Kuhad sang and music directed two songs. He and Ankur Tiwari have distinctive type  of music which is loved by the younger generation. Ankur’s reluctance and Prateek’s hope for love is immaculately toned in the song ‘Dil Beparvah’. The song according to me is one of the best duet song of the decade, not forgetting the coke studio version of ‘Afreen Afreen’ by Momina Mustehsan & Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Talking about solo songs, ‘Udd Gaye’ by Ritviz tops the list.

The new music maybe trending, but the heart still finds home in the evergreen 90’s. No song till date defines friendship like KK did it in 1999 with his song ‘Yaaron’. Lucky Ali’s travel song still rocks every road trips. Bombay Vikings, Silk Route and Shaan are still on my recent searches in music apps. The 90’s surely do own a corner in everyone’s heart and we are more than grateful for it.

There are many more artist—western and Indian—to write about, but the main purpose of this article was to break people’s stereotypical musical taste. I urge everyone to listen take out time from their busy schedule and listen to one new artist once a week for 30 minutes. One should not only listen to music to pass time but to appreciate it as well. Thanks to the unlimited data plans provided by mobile network operators, that one can browse as much as they want. This has allowed me to keep an empty playlist offline as the world of music is open to me all the time through music apps online. If not for them, how else would I be happily lost in the universe of music.

A need for Fred Rogers in neighborhood

Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)0

India was shocked and taken aback due to the recent Pulwama attack on February 14. The terror incident cost life of our 40-brave men, which led to a wave of anger around the nation, and rightly so. However, there was a lot more hatred than anger. There were demands made for another surgical strike. This maybe right or wrong, but what was worse was that infants were dragged in rallies, chanting slogans and holding posters. The kids, not knowing the seriousness of words or the situation readily joined in. At hard times as such, most of the adults start giving their expert advice, but what they miss the most is talking to their children about their understanding.

This same situation was encountered by Mr Fred Rogers in the 1950’s, when television had stepped in the American society. He believed that the shows for children were “perfectly horrible.” Rogers knew that childhood was much more than clowns and balloons. He spent his rest of his life focused on that part of childhood that no one showed or talked about and used TV as an influential medium.

Rogers, an American, was born on March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. He was in his teenage years when the great World War 2 concluded. Being a fat boy from a rich family, he was often bullied. His introversion made him spend time with himself and play the piano as escape. Maybe this is why he understood children and found childhood in everything he did. Rogers was an adult always wanting to be a child, and succeeding in it.

His show, ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,’ first aired on national television in 1968 and ran 895 episodes on National Education Television, which later became The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The show lasted for more than three decades. It focused on complex social issues like divorce, war, competition, and even death. He just had a conversation with children, respected their opinions and used silence as a powerful weapon. He thought silence was a great gift to human and felt downhearted that our society were focused more on information than wonder.

Being an accomplished musician, Rogers wrote and composed more than 200 songs for the show. The songs had a piece of daily life and weren’t voiceferous, but soothing. He always changed into a sweater and casual shoes at the start of the show to connect better with the kids. In one of his episode, he thought the children to find the happiness in doing rather than doing it perfect. He allowed imagination to flourish without the barriers of competition. He used his puppets as a medium to talk with kids. His self-made, self-voiced puppets.

There were some hard times in the career of Rogers, when he had to talk about the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and racism. He very patiently explained the meaning of the word ‘assassination’ and made children experience grief over hatred. He considered peace far more than the opposite of war. There was a time in America, when a wave of racism flowed in the streets. The African-Americans weren’t allowed to be in the same pool with white people. To tackle this, in one of the episode, Rogers soaked his feet in a kiddie pool alongside officer Clemmons (African-American), to subtly spread the message against racism. The scene was unhurried and made a bold statement.(Image below)

The pièce de résistance of the show was undoubtedly the opening & closing song. The songs had distinctive features and understanding in them. The song in the end, was the message every kid in the world needs to know. He explained the real meaning of unique in it and made kids want to be special by being themselves.

“You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you; and I like you just the way you are.”

The show also covered children with disabilities. Children who hated their life and felt they were not even loved by God. Rogers, in one of the episode, invited a young quadriplegic boy, Jeff Erlanger. He showed how his electric wheelchair worked and explained why he needed it. Erlanger and Rogers, both sang a duet of the song “It’s You I Like.” When Rogers was inducted at the TV hall of fame, Erlanger came on stage to surprise him. Seeing him Rogers rushed on the stage to hug and tell that he was happy to see him. The moment rolled many teardrops that day, receiving a standing ovation.

Rogers was not only a star for kids, but also for animals. Koko, the Stanford-educated gorilla, who understood 2000 English words was a regular viewer of the show and hugged Rogers as soon as she met him. Gorilla even took Roger’s shoes off like the same way he did it in the show. They both conversed in American sign language and shared a bond beyond belief. This speaks for itself, that love has no language.

In 2003, America and the world lost its neighborhood. However, his legacy lives on. His website, http://www.misterrogers.org showcases the episodes of his show and continues to work for kids. In today’s world of terrorism we need peace, we need love over hatred, we need silence over chaos, understanding over argument, a helping hand of knowledge. We need Fred Rogers in our neighborhood, not only for children around us, but also within us.

This Valentine, get yourself a Ross

No, it isn’t a typo, you read it right. It is the same Ross from Friends. Alright, he might not be your favourite character, but you have to agree, without him Friends would have been incomplete. No, this is not an article like the one David Hopkins wrote for ‘The Medium,’ where he claims that, Ross deserved better friends. This article talks about the sweet and the romantic side of Ross.

For many, Ross was the only guy in the group who would flaunt his knowledge and get mocked for it, or even marry someone who he just fell in love with. But if you think about it, Ross did not have a best friend in the series, that is because he was in his best behaviour with everyone. This is what made him the sweetest.

The series starts with Ross getting divorced because his wife turns out to be lesbian. Although, he initially expressed his sorrow by mocking it but never disapproved. Note that this was in 1994. Apart from this, when his ex-wife’s parents disagree to attend her (lesbian) wedding, it is Ross again who walks her down the aisle. He also dances with her partner — who he first hated — at the wedding.

Do you recall, how Rachel came to know about how much Ross loved her? Yes, it was when he had gifted her the perfect present and Chandler just puked something out and one thing led to another. Ross has always been in love with Rachel throughout the series. He did not only love her, but also respected her. He had the same respect for her from the time that she was working in a coffee shop, till she made it big. Agreed, he slept with another woman when he had just broken up with Rachel. But come on, they “were on a break.” He even lied to her about getting the divorce after their accidental marriage in Vegas. But he was only saving himself from one more divorce, which eventually did happen.

However, think about the sweet things he did for Rachel post their break-up. He missed his ‘Discovery’ channel interview —which was going to be telecasted on TV— just to take Rachel to the hospital, while anyone of the friends could have gone with her. He also did not inform her in prior, or she would force him to go when she needed him. He even went with her to Barry’s wedding for moral supporting. He should seriously get an award for rejecting sympathetic sex with Rachel when she was going through a rough patch. Apart from all of it, he was ready to keep aside his feelings when Joey and Rachel were dating. Ross-Rachel getting back together was like cherry on the top in the end.

Phoebe gave Ross one of his worst childhood memory, she mugged him as a child and took away his precious comic book. Nevertheless, Ross got her a cycle knowing she never owned one as a kid. He even took the efforts to teach her to ride. Ross was the one who kissed Joey to help him with an audition. Everyone knows he was a family person and there were reasons why his parents loved him more than his sister Monica.

When we talk about Ross, we cannot ignore the ‘Elephant in the room,’ marriages and divorces. Ross did give nearly convincing reasons to how it wasn’t his fault, but it still cannot go unnoticed. The number of weddings he did was a proof that Ross always took love seriously. He even chased down Emily to London and waited in rain overnight by her door-steeps. Later, he postponed their wedding dates so they could get married in her favourite church. However, him being destined to end up with Rachel was the thing that tore the marriage apart.

Unlike Joey, who always objectified women and Chandler, who criticised every woman he went out with, whereas, Ross always accepted and cherished his women as they were. He even stood firm on his decision to date Elizabeth —who was younger to him —despite his friends’ constant mocking.

In the midst of all the bromance between Joey & Chandler, Monica’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, Phoebe’s weirdness and Rachel’s beauty, we tend to forget Ross’s kindness. Ross was never joking when he claimed himself as “rare species.” He truly is the friend we all need in our life and most importantly a lover to be found. So this Valentine’s day, I hope you find your Ross and never leave him or at least not divorce him if he has married you already.

Kalaghoda: In and as Mumbai

Have you ever mistakenly entered a Virar train during peak hours, when you had to get down at Borivali or felt the crowd barge in at Dadar? Yes, it was the same feeling this year at Kalaghoda Arts Festival. There were never-ending queues at the main entrance and even more people on the artistically decorated street. Although this year, there were 3 different venues, the main street attracted most eyeballs.

Me being a loyal visitor, went to appreciate art this year as well. In fact, what attracted me most was the free Hertiage walks that they had organised with open-top tour buses. On most of the days I went to the registration desk only to face rejection for the next days tour. In a way I was happy to see people actively anticipating these walks. Many of my friends who did not visit the festival told me that it was over-crowded and the art forms weren’t that great. I do not agree to the latter. Firstly, liking towards an art form is subjective and those who know to appreciate art will never find it ordinary.

However, the way people gathered around the art forms, made it lose its essence. In the below image, you can see people sticking to the art forms and clicking selfies/pictures and what not. There were few structures which had to be observed from a certain distance, but we as visitors, have a terrible habit of not reading the placard attached to the installations. The way art was made local to everyone makes me believe why people find peace in abstract art.

However, I have to agree that this year the festival was jam-packed. But what I saw in it, was that it closely resembled the city we live in. Mumbai. It is the fourth most populated city in the World with over 21.5 million people and this increases each day. Just like this festival, Mumbai too attracts everyone with its glamour. And like most of the visitors, who had nothing to do with art were like many out-station people also do not understand Mumbai as well. If you have visited the festival, you too have felt the suffocation at one point. Imagine how this city mothers everyone, every day and makes sure no one sleeps empty stomach.

In the image above you can see a boy entering in between the art form to get a perfect shot, this is exactly how the empty spaces in the city gets filled with habitation, so one can dream of having a perfect life. Like the city, various types of people visited this festival and had their own fun. It was also the most happening place in Mumbai throughout the week. One can even name the remaining two venues as Thane and Navi Mumbai, who came into limelight because of Mumbai, but were unique in their own way.

The footfall for the 9-day festival was more than what the neighbouring Jahangir Art gallery gathers in a year. The variety of stalls felt like the numerous opportunities that the city offers. The coloured staircase were like Marine Drive, from where you can see the charm of the city and no matter how cramped it is, you will always find a place for yourself and a chai-walla to pour you hot tea.

Un-block printing

The blocks helped us un-block our imagination and bring out the child in us.

My first visit to the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum was 4 years ago when we had got an assignment from college. I wasn’t fond of visiting Museums then as I am now, but the state of art architecture and the interiors of the Museum left me in awe. I gaped at it for hours and tried to capture it, but no picture can describe what it is to stand inside it and admire the ceiling.

However, it’s been a year I have started visiting the Museum more often, as I enrolled to the email notification for events. Having been attended many events alone, — like movies at the Museum, talks, story telling — I came across one for family. It was block printing workshop and the best part was you could get your own fabrics. With my Baba (father) being in textile industry and Aai (mother) helping him out, I thought of this to be a perfect event for family bonding. And I was right.

Many families marked the event with their presence, which was followed by a general tour of the current theme of the Museum, ‘Connecting Threads: Textiles in Contemporary Practice.’ For my family, our mutual interest in fabric tightened our bonds as we block printed our creativity on plain cotton bags. The workshop was being held in an open space behind the Museum building. It literally had no walls of restrictions for creativity. What better than painting a story on cloth, beneath a tree and under a open sky with family around? Sunday doesn’t get any better, does it?

It was an art by heart workshop, where one had the freedom to print/paint what they loved.

The innocence of the kids was the pièce de résistance of the workshop.

Families indulged together painting a large picture.

There was no bound to imagination, as this girl was building a house with wings (a flying house).

While some painted the real image.

Baba posing with the bags we painted.

This is all the creativity I got. Made some bookmarks for myself.

Young lads looking forward for more events.

Undoubtedly, Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum stands up to its name, a city Museum indeed.

 

Ranveer Singh forced me do it

Picture Credits: Youtube

I never imagined myself writing on Entertainment, especially on a fanboy/girl moment, but Ranveer Singh forced me to it. I mean, name one actor in the industry who would run and jump off the ramp during a music launch. The music launch of ‘Gullyboy’ was not only unique from other launches, but also it separated Ranveer from all the actors in Bollywood by far.

When was the last time you saw the lead actor dressed in neon with green shoes, wearing a silver jacket and killing it on the stage? I’ll tell you, never. Even the next time you’ll see it, it will be Ranveer again. Because only he can pull off such stuff stunts and be loved for it. He sang all the famous rap songs from the movie, along with real rappers and made you believe he was one of them. You know he is electric when you see him running out of breath but not energy.

There have been instances where actors have played very intense roles on screen and during their promotion, they are back to their sophisticated self.  This is about almost every actor, and then there is Ranveer Singh. Him consulting a psychiatrist after Padmavat or crying during the shoots might have seemed like promotional activity for few, but Gullyboy proves it, that it isn’t. The way he is indulged in being a rapper will make a third person wonder, if he is acting or playing himself. This could be the first time that most of the people are looking forward for the release of ‘Gullyboy’ than Valentine’s Day. I wouldn’t be surprised if the movie is trending over lover’s day on twitter on February 14.

I believe the thing that has made Ranveer a superstar over the years, is his originality. He is himself no matter what and the way he carries it is insane. His movies make you wonder that all of it is not heroic stuff. The way he pulled out ‘Bittoo’ in his debut film made youngsters believe that they can become successful wedding planners. His roles in Sanjay Leela Banshali film were also very acceptable. He was real and very local, until Rohit Shetty signed him. However, he is back to being local in Gullyboy, where he gives the streets a screen and rappers a stage.

Next year Ranveer completes 10 years in the industry and that would be the most amazing #10yearschallenge for him and the industry as well.

Dion: From streetlamp to spotlight

Dion now ages 79 and stays in Florida with his wife Susan.

What comes in your mind when I mention Italian American? ‘The Godfather’ right? The mafias. However, this was all just stereotypical of Hollywood. This is a story of no mafia but a ‘Rock and roll’ legend, Dion DiMucci. Dion, born in Bronx in 1939— which was known as the ‘Little Italy’— grew up listening to Frank Sinatra and greatly inspired by Hank Williams. He faced tremendous family problems—mostly financial— while growing up, which led him into the gangs and bad habits. His parents would go on arguing for hours, as he mocks saying that this habit has probably gone into him when he sings in shows for long hours.

It was when Dion was 10 years old his parents gifted him a guitar and all he could do was imitate his idol Hank Williams. His father, who was anyways jobless, saw something in him and started booking gigs in bars. By the age of 12, Dion was up there and performing and with his dead handsome looks he was very appealing as well. However, with that also came in the addiction. He started drinking and doing drugs from the age of 14 and it stayed with him for another 14 years. However, he was very much focused on his music and became serious when he met the love of his life, Susan Butterfield.

Dion in his book, ‘Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth,’ described Susan as “beyond gorgeous.” Ever after all his focus in life was to prove his worth to Susan. He would sing on streets and usually take trains to Harmlem’s Apollo Theater to hear the hottest bands. This is where he came across the genre, ‘doo-wop.’ He claims it was originated there, as bands did not have the budget to buy the costly instruments, the members use to sing out the sounds created by them.

It was Dion’s dad again who took him to Mohawk Records for an audition. It was here where he recorded his first song, “The Chosen Few.” It was a ready made song to which he just added vocals even though he did not like it very much. This was the recording company’s debut in the music industry, and with them the debut of teen Dion. To his fortune, the song was a regional hit and the company was ready to invest in him.

Dion now had a choice of his own, as he was a regional star and the company was ready to take him into consideration. This is when Dion formed a band with Angelo D’Aleo, Carlo Mastrangelo and Fred Milano. He named them from the place they lived, the Belmont Avenue.

The group, ‘Dion and the Belmonts,’ soon had their first release in 1958, ‘I Wonder Why.’ This song became an instant hit which peaked number twenty-two on the U.S. charts and a ten-week run on Billboard’s top twenty. This song is also a perfect example of the doo-wop genre. After this hit there was no stopping for Dion. Their next single, ‘Teenager in Love,’ ranked in the Top Ten and they were in full demand. Dion had become a star when already in his teens.

This success led him to ‘The Winter Dance Party Tour’ with some of the big names at that time. The discomforting school bus which kept breaking down in the whole tour frustrated Buddy Holly— one of the headliners in the tour— and made him book a plane for the next gig. However, the plane did not have enough sitting for all the members. A ride to the plane would cost each member 36$. Now here, these artist were earning 800$ a week so money wasn’t a real problem but as mentioned above Dion’s parent’s always had a fight over money and money here included the rent of their house as well. Coincidentally the rent was the same as the fight ride and Dion having seen the argument over and over decided not to take the flight. There was news of a plane crash the next morning. Everyone including the pilot were dead. This incident shook Dion to the depth.

In October 1960, Dion and the Belmonts separated on personal, musical and financial differences. This was when Ernie Maresca stepped in and Dion started taking active participation in writing. Like Hank Williams, Dion’s songs also based on piece of life moments. His first greatest hit ‘Runaround Sue’ which hit the top of U.S. charts and sold a million copies was based on a girl from neighborhood who would toy around with boys and Dion suggested everyone to be far from her. There were theories that ‘Sue’ in the song was Susan but he dismissed it all in his book.

His next hit and his signature song, ‘The Wanderer,’ was also based on a guy from his area who had tattoos all over his body and a playboy image. The song reached No. 2 in the charts. Now not many got the real meaning of the song here. Even if you hear it first you may believe it embraces the Casanova image of the the character in the song. However, that wasn’t the case. The last paragraph in the song has a dark meaning which was recognised by Bruce Springsteen (known for his song ‘Born in the U.S.A.’). The lines which talk about the Wanderer in a dark sense were:

I roam from town to town

and go through life without a care

I’m happy as a clown

with my two fists of iron, but I’m going nowhere.

These lines were proof that Dion was way ahead of his time in terms of his music. You can relive that moment in an interview of Dion with Raymond Arroyo which was recorded in 2011. You can see in the first 20 minutes how lively Dion is when he talks about those days.

These two hits led Dion to become the first rock artist to be signed by Columbia. The early years with Columbia earned him lot of fortune and fame with songs like ‘Ruby Baby,’ ‘Drip Drop,’ and ‘Donna the Prima Donna.’ Again, Dion makes us experience piece of life from his songs in those years as ‘Donna the Prima Donna’ was tribute to his sister. However, later Columbia tried to make Dion the new Sinatra, which he was not very fond of.

Until this time the roller-coaster of Dions life was on the up. It was in the later years when it started descending. At that time Dion was married to Susan and raising a family his drug addiction got worse. He used to believe he was God’s gift to the World and could do nothing wrong. He became very self centered. This was when his Father-in-law helped him to overcome this by introducing him to prayers and and God. If you read his book, the first few chapters consist of all the hits, drugs, shows, fame and wealth. And the later ones consist of prayers, Church, Gospel, Bible and Jesus. The change in his songs (and look) is clearly visible. He became a Gospel singer later.

• 

  The Dion post 1970 was surely not the one who stole your heart, but the one who touched your soul.

He had his tad movement of upward twist and turns when he returned to Rock and Roll in 1989 in an album ‘Yo Frankie.’ One of the big artist who also featured in the album was Bryan Adams. The same year Dion was inducted in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His induction was controversial as ‘The Belmonts’ were left out.

This Rock and Roll phase did not last for long as Dion went back to Gospel singing. He became so religious that he did not even drink a sip of alcohol or sniffed any drug since 1968. He even visited churches and helped drug addicts recover.

In the 2011 interview with Arroyo, as mentioned above, Dion sang the song ‘Pictures from life’s other side'(1951) of Hank Williams without having much trouble recollecting the lyrics. He even did a trial of Wanderer and few other songs. The songs which he was known for. The song which described Dion as the boy from the streets.

In the same interview when Dion was asked to sing few line of a song, ‘I put away my Idols,’ from his 2007 album (Gospel), he could not recollect the lyrics. His transformation to a religious person was for good of his health but it seemed like Dion belonged to the streets more than the Church.

The later part of the interview mentions about an interesting thing Springsteen said about Dion. If you go to see Sinatra had his Blues and was the owning airwaves in his time, he had his own area. With Hank Williams it was like he sat on the fence of that area with his country music. But as immaculately said by Springsteen, Dion was the one who crossed the fence and became the “link between Sinatra and Rock and Roll.”

The songs he recorded became a real version of his life and he went about it. His parents may have been a bad example to him and made many bad decision, but the best decision they made was buying Dion a guitar and allowing him to flourish. Dion was the one who got the streets on stage and himself from streetlamp to spotlight.

The last sparrow chirping

We decided to cover our windows with fabric nets the day after the crows hunted down the squabs from our balcony, which was (had become) the maternity home to the pigeons for the past 2 months. However, the carpenter misjudged the length of the window and had to join two separate nets with strings. This was enough to keep the pigeons out but and had a corridor for the tiny sparrows to enter.

There were times when sparrows used to sneak in and had troubles finding a way out. It used to be scary as the fan in the room was sharp enough to kill the pocket-sized creature. It’s been half a decade and nothing has sneaked in through the gap.

During my school days I remember a dead tree brought alive by the sparrows in the evening. They served as leaves to the tree, looking for a place at night. A flock of sparrows used to gather around there, and it sounded like their fish market in the evening. The fish market now takes place like a silent auction, a silence not appreciated.

Think hard, go back in time and recollect the last time you spotted a sparrow. Can’t remember right? The day is not far when we will have to refer to the internet to see how it looked.

The other day coming from the airport I saw an electronic board on the road which calculated the current air quality in the city. It showed severe, the Air Quality Index (AQI) being 201-300. The current state can cause diseases like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly cancer for humans. These names were probably too big for the sparrows out there.

We humans are being selfish with our approach towards nature, albeit we are digging our own grave. Not long ago did a picture of a boy wearing mask and bursting crackers was trending on social media. No political party wants to focus on the environmental issue. The government too wants to bring in infrastructural development, but no leader wants to descend the slippery slope of extreme climate changes.

(Photo by Mohd Zakir/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)Times via Getty Images)

2 years ago, DNA posted an article on reasons why sparrows are disappearing from Mumbai. The research was done by Mohammed Dilawar, President, Nature Forever Society (NFS). He saw it coming, and rightly so. No wonder one can find parks in the city with speakers installed playing audio of birds chirping. Yes, it has come to this.

My school-going younger brother wrote a sonnet on the same. Writing a sonnet being too mature for someone of his age is also worrisome, as the fact that the problem is too big to go unnoticed by anyone.

It is high time we pay heed to the outcry of the dying sparrow, to not hear the last one chirping in wretch.

First and last

It was clear that the second Test between India and West Indies was a 3-day affair when the visitors were in all sorts of trouble at the end of the second day. I somehow managed to get the tickets for the third day of my first and God’s last Test match.

Yes it was November 16, 2013, the last time Sachin Tendulkar took the field for India. I could hear loud cheering voice as I stood outside the stadium waiting for my ticket to be delivered. There was cheer for every shot played by the West Indies batsmen, because that meant the spectators will have one more chance to see their God bat. 

It took me a while to enter the stadium as I went searching for my seat in the full house. It wasn’t the best view, but a seat to witness history was more than enough. The cheering for each shot increased as there was pin-drop silence for every wicket. Such was the effect of Tendulkar on his fans or devotees, that they would want every batsmen of the opposition to score a ton only to see him bat again. 

The wickets started tumbling down as the heartbeat of every Indian fan thudded. Everyone knew that the end was near. The lunch time was pushed forward as Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Shane Shillingford to reduce the visitors to 9-down. It was right in the next over of Mohammed Shami, that India wrapped up things winning the match by an innings and 126 runs.  

This was it, the time had come. Just as the match was done and the payers celebrated and greeted each other, Tendulkar was in tears and so were his fans. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni lifted him up on his shoulder as they took the rounds of glory over Wankhede. The stadium had a huge role in Tendulkar’s life. It was where he played cricket in his initial days and also where he lifted his very first World Cup. With his last match also been played there, it seemed like an entire circle had been completed and for many cricket still revolves around that circle.  

After a while, all the players gathered for the presentation ceremony. I had almost lost my voice while screaming my lungs out. The awards had been distributed and it was the time for Tendulkar to deliver his speech. With every word he uttered I went under paroxysm if sadness. For what we knew, this was the end. Soon after the players returned back to the dressing room, Tendulkar was back on field to pay his last respects to the pitch. The memory of that still gives me goosebumps.

Cricket was everything for Tendulkar, he took it up as a religion. The same religion to what he became God for. Ever since, Wankhede became a temple for me. It was where I watched all the matches live and also where I got call for interning in a cricket website. That call helped me decide that I wanted to make a career in this field. 

It has been 5 years since Tendulkar’s retirement and his straight drive is still irreplaceable. Although, I look out for him in Ajinkya Rahane’s upper-cut, Cheteshwar Pujara’s leg-glance, Virat Kohli’s cover drive and in the celebration of every century scored by any player. In recent time, there has been Prithvi Shaw who has been following his footsteps coming from the same school of cricket. Ravi Shastri rightly quotes it as, “There’s a bit of Sachin there, a bit of Viru (Virender Sehwag) in him and when he walks — there’s a bit of (Brian)Lara as well.” 

It was in the early 2000, that I started to understand the game. By that time, Tendulkar was an established star. My childhood memories of him trace back to celebrations at home everytime he scored a century and the turning off of TV when he got out. He was truly the God for all the cricket lovers and he lived up to that reputation till his final game.

Happily lost

Raised eyebrows were the reactions from my Tabla classmates when I informed them about the Usha Uthup concert I was going to attend. According to them, Indian classical music lovers usually do not like her Indian pop music. Do not get me wrong here, I do enjoy a four hour long show by Pandit Mukul Shivputra, Kishori Amonkar’s ‘Sahela re’, Prabha Atre’s version of ‘Jamuna Kinare Mora Gaon’, devotional songs like ‘Sri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam by M.S. Subbulakshmi’ and the list goes on.

But being a Tabla student since past 13 years, I have been stereotyped that I only enjoy Indian Classical music. Like come on, no classical singer is ever going to start dancing in the middle of the show or sing the title song of James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’ and make it sound sexier than any of the Bond girls. Not caring about them, I did go for the show and there Usha was wearing a shiny saree, her iconic big bindi on her forehead and carrying her aura as always, dazzling throughout the show. She sang all her famous songs as I fell more and more in love with her. How can someone aged 70 still be so vibrant with her stage presence? I was glad that I attended the concert and not care about anyone.

One big thing that people fail to understand is that a person can love complete opposite styles of music. A major reason for this could be the lack of curiosity to explore music. In a conversation with an Uber driver, he told me that he has certain albums in his CD and he listens to it daily. I obviously introduced him to new music, but it struck me that most of the people have a certain liking of music and they never get out of it to find new taste.

My dad is one of those people who loves listening to new artists and the best thing he does is he makes me listen to them too. Maybe this is how I got the habit of always surfing for a new music on the internet. It was in 2009, when Michael Jackson passed away leaving a whole legacy of pop music behind him. That was when I was first introduced to English songs. It all started from ‘Beat it” and ‘Smooth Criminal’ as I shifted to ‘Earth song’ and ‘Heal the World’.

The charity song —’We are the World’— got Stevie Wonder into picture for me. Ever since, he has been a ‘Part Time Lover’ when it comes to romantic songs playlist. It is fascinating how a blind person can become a singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist to colour the world of music with his songs. Not only did he make music but also recorded more than 30 U.S. top ten hits and received 25 Grammy Awards. He was one of the most-awarded male solo artists, and has sold over 100 million records worldwide. No doubt, I respect the Aalaps sung by the classical singers—which most of the people find boring— but Stevie wearing dark glasses singing ‘I just called to say I love you’ makes me wonder what love was he imagining of.

In the same year, my school friends befriended me with rock music. Any guesses by which song? Indeed, the all-time favourite, ‘In the End’ by Linkin Park and ‘Summer of 69’ by the evergreen Bryan Adams. Then later, I myself went surfing for other hits in that decade as I came across Sean Paul’s ‘Temperature’, Akon’s ‘Smack That’ and the feature artist in it, one of the greatest rappers, Eminem. The school years for me, then revolved among these legends (not to forget Shakira and Shaggy).

It was again when my dad who familarized me to classics of 1970 when he was watching the movie ‘Staying Alive.’ The title of the film was inspired by the song by ‘Bee Gees’, which hit the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. I must say John Travolta’s strut through New York in the final scene did justice to the song like none other.

Those years my phone’s playlist shuffled among bands and artist like- The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Queen, ABBA and Ricky Martin.  This was when I realised that I had found love in classics as some of my friends termed me ‘old fashioned’. The degree college years took me jazzing through Frank Sinatra and Johann Sabastian Bach.

During those years, there were TV series and movies that made me go and listen to an artist I never heard of. Suits introduced me to Charles Bradley, The Shawshank Redemption made me familiar with Hank Williams and I am more than thankful to Saving Private Ryan for opening the doors to French music through Édith Piaf.

When it comes to Indian or mainly Bollywood music, there are all time favourites like Allahrakka Rahman and Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy. Arjit Singh is the recent shining star in the music industry. With all due respect to his talent, but to be brutally honest, I am bored of listening to his voice in almost every Bollywood song. Indian Ocean is undoubtedly my favourite Indian rock band. If not for Black Friday, I would’nt have known about this band for a long time.

The movie Karwaan gave me hopes that Bollywood music is changing when Prateek Kuhad sang and music directed two songs. He and Ankur Tiwari have distinctive type  of music which is loved by the younger generation. Ankur’s reluctance and Prateek’s hope for love is immaculately toned in the song ‘Dil Beparvah’. The song according to me is one of the best duet song of the decade, not forgetting the coke studio version of ‘Afreen Afreen’ by Momina Mustehsan & Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Talking about solo songs, ‘Udd Gaye’ by Ritviz tops the list.

The new music maybe trending, but the heart still finds home in the evergreen 90’s. No song till date defines friendship like KK did it in 1999 with his song ‘Yaaron’. Lucky Ali’s travel song still rocks every road trips. Bombay Vikings, Silk Route and Shaan are still on my recent searches in music apps. The 90’s surely do own a corner in everyone’s heart and we are more than grateful for it.

There are many more artist—western and Indian—to write about, but the main purpose of this article was to break people’s stereotypical musical taste. I urge everyone to listen take out time from their busy schedule and listen to one new artist once a week for 30 minutes. One should not only listen to music to pass time but to appreciate it as well. Thanks to the unlimited data plans provided by mobile network operators, that one can browse as much as they want. This has allowed me to keep an empty playlist offline as the world of music is open to me all the time through music apps online. If not for them, how else would I be happily lost in the universe of music.