Yet another day where minutes blurred into hours and that made the day flow past by like crazy. I started at 9 AM and before I got the time it was 4 PM. And then I blinked next, it was 8 PM and here I am, trying to make sense of what and how and why.
These days the highlight of my day is this couple of times when I make myself some coffee. I mean I don’t really make coffee per se – I just boil water in an electric kettle and pour it over a coffee bad. But these two times during the day are the ones when I get into this meditative trance-like thing. Apart from that, it is a whirlwind of mindless activity. There is no work “work” per se but there is a lot of madness around things!
So the day goes past in a blur. Without a lot of action. But the day does pass by none the less. With each passing day, there are less and less of these moments that I want to cherish and save and remember once I grow old.
Except flashes of brilliance once in a while.
Like this song that a stranger shared with me on Instagram. Its called Baagey and a modern rendition of Jagjit Ji and Chitra Ji’s Tappe. Listen to Hari and Sukhmani. It is on Spotify here and I’ve been tripping on it since morning! And it is becoming an earworm and I can’t get enough of it!
So, last weekend, I had an opportunity to see AR Rahman perform live. And thanks to a friend who was there to manage a part of the event, I had the best seat in the house. You know, the one at the console and next to the stage? That! And I have to say, it is worth all the hype. The guy is a genius, a magician and everything else that you have heard about him.
He did a Sufi music set and while I could not understand a lot of it, I could see the amount of hard work and dedication it would have taken him and his team! They performed in Hindi, Urdu and some more languages that I could not place. I am guessing Arabic. But I would never know.
The point is, while I was there and even though I could not understand what he was saying with his songs, for once I realized that music does transcend boundaries. Not everyone may understand the sounds and sights and the voices and the narratives but the music allows you to communicate without words. When they were performing, they had their eyes closed in prayer, their heads were covered, the hands folded and all of them were barefoot.
There is this reason that they seemed to be chasing with their songs. There was this orchestrated rhythm to what they were doing. They were not merely performing, they were in this zone where they were meditating. There was this deliberate practice that shined through their songs. In their singing, there was this reverence that you typically reserve for kings, or Gods or both.
And why not? A lot of Sufi music emerged where these singers and preachers and practitioners will sing songs of kindness, forgiveness, and praise for God. The songs talk about how the almighty is kind, gracious, caring, forgiving and more. And often they would compare their kings to God! If I could use a Hindi (or is it Urdu?) word, the songs are meant to shower tareef on their beneficiaries. Both, spiritual (God) and financial (King).
If I could decode the songs and the meanings, I would probably find the connection!
In fact, one of the crew members from backstage told me that ARR does a recitation of Namaaz every time he goes up on stage. I am not sure if this is correct. But may I say that I am inclined to believe? It sounds like truth. After all, there is so much feeling of peace that, sort of, dawns upon him (and the audience) when he is singing!
Thing is, I love these traditions. These norms of how they’d work together. They add meaning to what you are doing. The traditions also help create this bond between everyone that is a part of the entourage. You know, the backup singers, the musicians, the technicians, the support staff and more. After all from what I can estimate, it would have taken more than 500 professionals to make ARR sound like God!
Traditions help instill discipline. Traditions help navigate the unknown. Traditions help ease the new ones into the fold. Traditions help the old ones grow taller in stature. Traditions is what separates great from good from average to poor.
And why not? After all their music, their work is a thing that is bigger than them. Their work, their songs give words to prayers that everyone else may not have had. Look at me for example. There are so many things that I feel so strongly about and want to say them in so many ways and yet words fail me all the time. To a point that I feel helpless and stifled. I am sure I am not alone, no one else is. The uniqueness of an individual and even thoughts is a myth. I often come across terms and phrases and expressions and ideas and incidents that help me describe things that I can’t find the words for. Music, I think does that. It gives a medium to communicate. And just for that one thing – giving others an ability to communicate – is a large enough reason to ensure that music is deliberate, disciplined and follows the norms and traditions.
I think this is true for all art forms. Music. Painting. Writing. Acting. Even the newer art forms like photography and others. Just that the impact that an AR Rahman and his troupe singing live can have on you is so large, so lasting that so many thoughts strike you with such a velocity that your brain jolts from its perpetual slumber into a whirlwind that can lift you higher and take you farther!
Oh, and as I end this, lessons for me? Well, two.
a, Need to add deliberateness to what I do. This is also what Shanta Gokhale Maam told us at unBlock105. Read more about it here. She said that every line, every sentence that you write must be a deliberate act. Something that you are conscious of. Something that you know you are working on. Each attempt at writing has to like your riyaz, your sadhana, your deliberate practice that you do NOT miss for anything.
I need to think hard about it and do it.
b, Need to create traditions in how I work. If I am writing, I need to find a way to start with something that allows gets in the flow. If I am going to talk to people, I need to remind that I need to be kind when I talk to them. If I am thinking of a thing, I need to first take a deep breath before I start. Of course, all these are examples. But I do hope that you get the drift.
With this, over and out.
Do consider attending one of AR Rahman’s concerts. It could be life-changing!
So, last night, I went to this musical mehfil, as the curator put it. They had three groups performing their sets. While all of those are fairly known in their circles (of musicians, producers, community, etc), I was unaware that they existed. And I was in for a surprise.
The music was EXACTLY the kinds that I like. Earthy, Hindustani (mix of Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Bhajan, etc), with meaningful lyrics, played without any bells or whistles (acoustic mostly), by young people (that are not chasing frivolous rewards that come along with success in performing arts industry).
While I was there, my head had a million thoughts running amok in it.
Here’s an uncontrolled stream of emotions thoughts.
1.
It is sad that there is so much talent and yet they have to live in relative anonymity. What I mean by relative is that they are still unable to fund their lives from their music. They have to supplement it with other things.
Of course, they may be content with a life like that – where they are forced to do multiple things to earn enough to get to practice their talent for an hour each day. They may even be happy about it. I am no one to impose things on them!
Who am I to preach this?
But I really really want to do something to help them! Here’s a twitter thread that I just wrote (while the post is about musicians, the thread is about indie artists per se).
2.
I work in the events business (I do corporate events) and I have seen my share of rockstars and I have worked with them, their managers and their crew. And most are not really the most pleasant to work with. Of course, the fame and rockstar image requires them to be assholes but there has to be this niceness in the world! The kinds that indies bring to the table.
So, I often recommend these indies to my clients. But then I am dissed most times – the audience wants to enjoy and have a good great time when they are at a corporate event. And wants to show off!
I mean with an indie, they may enjoy more (they would be more flexible, accessible and all that) and could have the best set ever. But people are happier with a mediocre set where half the times the singer may even be merely lipsyncing.
Why? Because most people just want to harp about things they are doing in life, on Instagram and Facebook and all that. And a selfie with a star singer gets them more likes on their Facebook than a relatively unknown one. And that is what matters more than anything else.
3.
Of course, there are varying degrees of talent and performance by these indies. Some are better than pros, some are so bad that I could do better than them. Most are somewhere in the middle of this continuum. In the ideal world, the ones that have made it must support the ones that are a rung lower than them. The run lower must, in turn, support the ones that are one step lower than them and so on and so forth. You know, this chain of niceness has to pass down to a person like me that wants to be an artist but does not have the talent. Someone a tad better than me must teach me what they know. And in turn, they must learn from others that are ahead of them in the journey.
The top of the ladder is not stardom per se. But an opportunity to make a living that allows them to hone their craft. You know, how kings of the yesteryears would give residencies and grants and largesses to artists to roam around free and create work.
4.
So, I have a finger in multiple pies (books, films, photography, art, travel, etc) and I think I can try and give these indie musicians an opportunity to do more!
Here’s a long list…
With TRS, we just started publishing videos of conversations. These videos need intro and outro music pieces. What if we get some original compositions for various episodes and share credit with the ones that create? If their work is out there, there are higher chances of them getting discovered. Plus they can add TRS as a “client” on their portfolio and start approaching more people!
With TRS again, we do live events where we have stalwarts from the industry come and talk to a group of aspiring filmmakers. At each event, we could open with an indie band. And then if location and time permits, do a longer set as people disperse. Again, an opportunity to perform!
With Red Carbon, I can mandate that each film I produce, I would have a track by an indie! And not just the track, I can mandate that the musician would appear.
For Podium, on each podcast, I could end it up with a track by one of the artists. Assuming it does not take away from the listening experience.
At C4E, I can start C4E Indie where I could feature indies and create opportunities for them! I could create a podcast, a media property, a talent management company, a brand solutions company and I don’t know what all. Ideally, this should be done by a large brand per se, the biggest I am a part of is TRS but then they are about films. May not be a fit. Or may be. Will have to think.
I could create an event on the lines of Sofar Sounds that allows me to create these gigs across the country, invite indie artists and get the long-tail to pay and make the model sustainable. And from whatever little I know, Sofar has been able to raise some seed funding already. How about a clone? May be. Lemme think.
Of course, all these require money and I don’t have a lot of it right now. So, someday!
5.
When I heard some tracks in English, I could not relate to words. They don’t talk to me as well as Hindi and close cousins do. Ditto for a bunch of languages from East India and South India. I can pick some words that are inspired by the language I speak but I can connect with it.
I’ve always believed that music transcends boundaries but for some reason, I continue to remain disconnected to music that is alien to me.
I need to be able to appreciate a larger range of music. And other art forms!
6.
Where tf is the money in this? No art form, no endeavor exists unless there is a commercial angle to it. Not even religion for that matter. You need to feed people. You need to pay the bills. You need to buy instruments!
Someone has to crack it. Could there be a collective that builds a temple or something and everyone just joins it volunteers to run and thus control costs? I don’t know man!
7.
Music and writing and poetry and acting and other such things can teach you so much and so much better than traditional methods. Must use these more liberally in whatever I do!
8.
So, for all musicians and artists, there are some adjacencies?
Lemme give examples. There was this pianist that makes money by teaching others piano. There is this painter that teaches others to paint. There is this waiter that writes stories at night. There is this actor that works at a film portal.
The idea is that all of them do something adjacent to what they want to do. And each day at “work” makes them practice and hone their art better.
Can I create economically viable businesses and ideas around these adjacencies? Workshop for actors, coaching classes for musicians, etc, etc.
9.
Can I link various art forms and create a system per se where they seek help and work from each other and pay each other in-kind? Say, you are doing a concert and you need a poster for that. You tap into this network and get a poster designed. You now owe the network a unit of work. Someone else needs a piece of music and you owe the network one unit and you now create a piece of music that is worth that unit.
Am I making sense?
10.
And in the end, who even reads these posts? Do you?
Its 6:43 PM and while I have a mile long list to be done, I have consciously chosen to put everything on side and write. And no, I dint have to push myself too hard for it. And yes, this is a fascinating thing. From literally no writing for almost a month to the 4th day on the trot, I am on it!
Yeah baby! This is what I was talking about yesterday when I said that once I start writing, I will be back to being a writer that cant stop!
Ok I spoke too soon. I cant seem to find the right words. Wait. I cant even find the right thoughts. I am blank. Blank like a child in a topless bar (as Navjot Singh Siddhu would often say – that man! The gift of gab he’s got!).
So while I was waiting for inspiration, I put on Netflix on another tab and I am going to watch Sacred Games. Why do I want to see it? A because the entire world is watching it and B because its at the intersection of so many things that I want to be doing with my life – entertainment, business, content, technology and so on and so forth.
The kind of things that lead to Ikigai. Read about it. It’s a fascinating subject. I recommend you start here. See the photo below.
Damn ! lost the thread at the time I was writing. I came back to this after doing a few other non-productive things.
So something really fascinating happened today at work. The kinds that move you, stir you. The kinds that Anton had when he discovered the source of the Ratatouille he had. While you are at it, do see this.
A disclaimer before that. My general rule of thumb is not to talk specifics about work but I will break the rule today.
At work, there is this intern in the client servicing team. Lets say that hes neither the brightest, nor the sharpest. And thus hes always remained under the radar. And he’d probably stay there because there is no way he can shine. I am not sure if hes slow or what. May be hes got some learning disability (a few days back someone told me that I may have some sort of ADHD – which I’ve suspected but have been far too reluctant to go and get checked).
So this guy, lets call him A, is a client servicing intern. The person he reports to, lets call her B.
Unlike A, B is pretty sorted with her work. No non-sense. On point and all that. Has expressed in as many words that A needs to pull his socks if he has to stay gainfully employed. But since neither works with me directly, I let them be.
Today when most people had left (at around 8 PM – the magic hour when teams are built. #note2self. I HAVE to write about this), B came up to me and asked me if I have 5 minutes to spare for A.
Now, typically I dont want to be interrupted when I am trying to write writing (there’s this pitch tomorrow that I can NOT lose) but when it comes to young ones, I am little flexible.
So I gave in.
B made me sit and asked A to start. I was like, what’s going to happen. I was fidgeting with my phone already and thinking of some excuse that I could make to get away from it.
And just about then A started his act.
And oh my fucking God! If there is a thing called God.
He was insane.
Brilliant.
Left me in a spell. I could not think of a thing but him while he was performing.
I could not take my eyes off him!
I was mesmerised – the way I’ve never been.
I am lost for words. On a blog. Really!
His talent, his art, all of it belongs to the people of the world – on stage, on the screen.
Not in front of a computer paddling material to clients!
He’s got a gift that needs to be showcased.
He really does.
I felt the same rush, same excitement when I first met Imtiyaz.
In Imtiyaz I saw someone who had to be on a larger platform, entertaining more people. And in A I see the same. And I am sure there are millions of people like Imtiyaz and A that need more audience. What can I do for them?
After his 5 minute performance, I started to talk to him. I had to!
Turns out he plays the guitar as well and can compose original music.
So I asked him if he could teach me and he agreed.
Yay!
But then teaching me wont help me go to a larger platform.
I need to help him find work audience.
So, I’ve asked him to a track for TRS. Lets see what he comes up with.
And in the end, I gave him the offer. The Offer. That I give to every deserving young person I know. That they can use me as their launchpad to do more things.
So I told him that in case he wants to put his material up on YouTube (shoot the content etc) or create a professional portfolio or something, I will support him. And then its upto his talent and luck where he reaches (in an ideal world, I dont want to let luck decide on the fate, the outcome. I have to manufacture success for my people. Need to figure out how. #note2self).
When I was with him, trying to talk to him and make him understand what I want from him, I was IN THE ZONE. The one that is increasingly hard to get into! I just need more of such days and incidents. I need to see these things through. I need to ensure that I get him where he belongs.
Just that I dont want to give him hope. I am not a great judge of talent but what I saw, I was amazed! And I am not easy to impress. So lets see what I do with him. If only I had the money. If only wishes were horses!
Coming back. Here’s a question for you.
When and what was last time you were in the zone AND you were creating something? Think and tell me.
And if that thing that you were doing then repeats often, like clockwork and has patterns, maybe that’s where your life’s purpose is. That’s where your Ikigai is.
Oh, and you know the best part about this entire episode?
No. The Zone is not.
Neither is discovering my Ikigai.
The best part happened when I asked him which college he went to.
He said, Wilson.
And you know what was my first thought?
That he could help me meet Sudhakar Solomon Raj – one of those people that I am DYING to meet (read this and this about him to know more about him). I first heard about him from HV (a friend who’s long deserted ghosted me after showing a lot of promise in the early days). And since then I’ve pestered her, tried on Facebook, wrote into him and what not. Prof has been elusive.
So, I asked A for a favour.
If any of the things that I am helping him do works out, he will help me meet Sudhakar Sir!
Yay!
They are right. Happiness does come in patches and at times when you least expect it.
Oh, the best part?
The realisation that Universe does fucking conspire to make things happen. If you want em real bad. It really does.
Time for you to make a wish. And want it bad.
And discover your Ikigai. And lemme know if I could be of any help.
PS: I wrote on the sgEchoChamber today. Yay! So yeah, a good day for writing.
Why? I dont know what to do there. I dont drink. I dont enjoy crowded places. I dont have the balls to be able to strike conversation with strangers. Wait, I dont even wear shoes that allow me entry into most party places. If I am allowed entry, I can’t dance. As they say, I have two left feet.
But I do love music. But then I am too much of a Delhi guy. So my music better be Hindi. Or may be Punjabi. Which is often a problem in Mumbai. Too hip.
Funny because I am in the entertainment business and nothing like parties if you want to understand the entertainment business.
Why this post? I went to a party last night. And for a change I wore shoes. White one at that. Saboot here. And a party where I stayed till the end. Well, almost. And where I danced a bit. Whatever my two left feet could manage. The only step I know. The Bhangra one. Where you point a finger and move it up and down. Oh, you must check out those Bhangra Empire vids on Youtube.
Thankfully the first place we went to played some Hindi music. And Punjabi. The kinds I’ve grown up listening to. The like of Kawa Kawa, Kaala Chashma, Gori Naal Ishq Mita etc. Rarity in Mumbai if you ask me. But then Mumbai is one of those places that always had this harmonious coexistence of polar extremes – rich vs poor, celebration vs hardwork, house vs punjabi. You get the drift.
The point of the post is that while the DJ played some hindi remixes (of Kishore), I realised a few things. Here they are in. In no particular order.
I miss company. I miss people. I miss “my” people. My refers to people that are mine. Where I am on in their VIP / Favorites list on their phones. I miss things that I could do with friends. Places I could travel to with friends. Impromptu drives I could go on (Addendum: Need a car for that Mr. Garg). One look back at life I realise that I haven’t done too much. Most plans gets cancelled for some reason or the other. And I believe that busy is just another work for having things low on the priority list. So, I dont have too many “my” people. I have tons of connections that I could do things with. But I dont have too many people that I want to go back to. And the ones I have, they’re married, with kids and thus busy. And I am too old busy to make new friends. So, in all, it sucks. I think I belong but I dont. Anyhow. Big deal.
There is all sort of music in the world. The kinds I love. The kinds I want to groove to. The kinds that I play on loop all the time. Like the recent favorite – Aazadiyan. And then, and then ladies and gents, there is Kishore Da. You play a song by Kishore Da and you are teleported to a different zone like no other. Which is amazing. I wish I could see him perform live (which I know by experience is probably half as cool as recorded music). The closest I’d ever come is this.
The concept of shoes suck. I have no clue why they make the shoes mandatory to allow people at fancy places. What does it say about a person? Rather, what does it hide about a man? More on this some other day.
The youth of the country (and not so youth) is MAD about partying. Both places I went to, I could see hundreds, if not thousands of kids, youths, oldies binging on alcohol, dancing and making merry. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the jubilations and fumes from other drunk people around them. Guess that’s the point of alcohol. Or maybe they faked things well. To someone like me (who wants to make people happy, give them joy and make money from these things), the realization was a cool one!
What next? Well, next time I am invited to a party, I am going to say an emphatic no. Unless it is SUPER important to/for someone I know that I attend the party. As I move onward (and hopefully upward), I need to find sanity in life and make time for more important things – partying is definitely NOT a thing that I want written on my epitaph.
When is the next post? When? I dont know. Subscribe to the feeds 🙂
P.S.: Before last night, I can’t remember the last time I went to a party. May be a new year’s party in 2014. Yes, I am that old boring.
When I was young, I used to love this band, Euphoria. At MDI, I even got an opportunity to host them at our cultural fest (and like a starry-eyed kid, I was mesmerized with them and loved while they were performing for us. Of course I took pictures with the band.)
Fast forward to 2014. While browsing random videos on youtube, I stumbled onto this song, Tum. It looked like a modern version of a song that I loved when I was young. Thinking that I may have out-grown the love for a love song, full of mush, I initially wanted to skip it but then something in me asked me to give it a chance and listen to it.
And I was blown by it.
Funny this is that the new avatar is almost like the old one. The lyrics are essentially the same. The music is what it was back then (except a new instrument). And the energy is as much as you expect from a Euphoria song.
And yet for some reason, this time, the song sounded more beautiful. It came across as lot more meaningful. it brought back all the good times that I’ve spent with sgMS.
To end this, Tum has to be one of the most beautiful songs. Ever.
P.S.: This is the first time I am writing a post with the help of Hemingway app. Do let me know if you like this post any better from the other ones that I’ve written.
What do you do on a Sunday evening when you are randomly depressed? You turn onto youtube and hunt for some nice interesting mushy music. And that’s when you stumble onto Jagjit Singh singing Tumko Dekha To Ye Khayal Aaya.
This has to be amongst the best written AND performed love songs of all time. All time. Here. Enjoy it. I would some day, write a longer post about this.
Here is the lyrics…
Tumako dekha, to yeh khayaal aaya
Jindagi dhoop tum ghana saaya
Aaj phir dil ne ik tamanna ki
Aaj phir dil ko hamane samjhaaya
I haven’t written anything on the blog for a while. It’s about time I put an update. Even if its insignificant and is of no consequence. The very act of writing is important to me.
So while I write this, I am tripping on music from MTV Unplugged Season 3. MTV Unplugged has to be one of the best music shows that I know of. The concept is very simple. As simple as they get. They get an artiste and ask that artist to re-imagine, re-create, re-sing some of their most popular songs. Right now, I am #CLT to Kabira by Arijit Singh. The next on the list is Yaaron by KK and Tum Ho by Farhan Akhtar.
And I am having a tough time deciding which one is the best. You must try them. Here, I made a playlist.
So the point of this post is two fold.
One is to write for the sake of writing.
Two, make public yet another hidden wish that I have harbored since I gained consciousness. If I could change something about myself, I would want to be able to sing well. No, I don’t have aspirations to go sing on stages et al. I don’t even know how that would feel like. I don’t have a reference point. But I know that I want to be able to sing well.
Sing well enough to be able to open my throat and sing at any place without running the risk of dogs chasing me. Sing well enough to be able to not get ashamed about my voice when I am tripping on a song. Sing well enough to probably learn a guitar or something and play for myself when I am down and about.
But then, at my age, I am not sure if I can learn how to sing. I think I’d have to stay content with my singing experiments in the confined and cramped walls of the bathroom. Atleast there, I dont run the risk of getting pelted by stones et al!
Oh, one more thing. If you could change something about yourself, what would you change?
After quite a few days, I have new song that I am tripping on.
This one is called Har Kisi Ko Nahi Milta, from the movie Boss. Ofcourse I haven’t seen the movie. Ofcourse I don’t know the background of the song but its sounds amazing!
Here it is.
Its a remix of an old song. But unlike all other remixes where they just add beats and sounds et al, these guys have actually re-written a large chunk of the song, ofcourse inspired by the original.
This is how, in my humble opinion, the songs ought to be remixed. Take the original. Understand the context. Add a fresh take on it – could be music, could be lyrics, could be context etc. And work hard on it. Hard as in real hard!
This one fits the bill to the T. +1 to guys who worked on it.
P.S.: Just realized ofcourse is not really a valid word in dictionary!
It was that kind of the day. The day when you were unwell and you did not know what to do to cheer you up. The day when you’ve tried looking at pictures from good old times when you dint give a fuck to days like today. The day when talking to your special someone actually makes the day tougher than what it has been.
And then somehow from somewhere you hear faint traces of a song playing. A song that you know you’ve heard somewhere. Was it at a Rahul Vaidya show at your last event? Or was it playing on FM? You know that song is the answer to every tough question that the day has asked you.
What song was it? Oh yes, unbelievably, its Balam Pichkari!
Not kidding. Put on the headphones and hear it. And see all your sorrows just leave your skin. And see yourself dancing to it like no one’s watching. And you dance like mad, so mad that even you yourself cant imagine yourself to have that kind of energy.
A. I do NOT belong to a family that teaches their kids to speak English before they could start walking. In fact English is a very new phenomenon to me, so new that I can clearly see the day when someone asked me to talk about “honesty is the best policy” for 1 minute for a job interview at a call centre and all I could do was repeat the same line again and again for about 30 seconds before I was interrupted and was told to leave.
B. Since I am new to English, I do not really enjoy western music as a matter of policy. There are some that I do love but in general I do not like western music.
C. I went from a totally nondescript college to one of the best in India for my post graduation. And since I was at this totally cool place I wanted to be accepted in the herd. So much so that I faked all I could. Not that it helped me. I am still as socially inept as I was when I got there but I did learn how to mingle without getting noticed. I think I am so invisible in a party that if it was crashed by kidnappers wanting to take hostages, I could dance in the middle of the room and not even one person, hostages or kidnappers, would notice me.
And here is the rant.
So we have this tradition of a freshers’ bash at college where they throw a party for the incoming class and everyone gets drunk like shit. The lucky ones get to score, the partying ones get to party hard and people like me get to learn. And the first thing I learnt there was, how to dance. Not dance as in contestants on Indian Idol or Dance India Dance or something but like a chicken, who’s feet have been tied together and is trying to escape the butcher. Its a huge step up for me, the last attempt to dance before this resulted in my parents getting worried and calling a doc.
The second thing I learnt was this song called, 24 years living next door to Alice. The song was like any other English song that I had heard till then. Someone sang in English that was mostly incomprehensible to me, save a few words here and there. And then the singer would take a break, a riff would play and the song would hit the crescendo and send the audience in maddening frenzy. However, on the Alice song, when the singer took a break and the riff came, I learnt that I was supposed to yell, “Alice! Who the fuck is Alice?” as loud as I could and if I did that, I’d become part of a really cool set of people. The ones who know their music, English music. And who knew all the cool things to say. And the ones who laugh like mad people after that. I loved it. For the first time ever, I was a cool dude. I thanked God, for I was a believer then and requested the DJ to play it over and over again so that I could yell the expletive again and again.
And after that freshers’ party on a summer sultry day in 2004, its been almost 10 years now, every time I hear the song, my mind automatically inserts “Alice! Who the fuck is Alice?” in that silence. Like the Pavlov’s dog. Life was all good and I got giggles and smiles from the members of opposite sex when I yelled those words out loud. I thought it was the secret to the game. So I mastered it and whenever I wanted attention, I would get the song to play and then I would yell out the magic words and lo and behold, I would become a huge magnet to attention and envy. Totally loved it.
But then one day last week, en route to office, I heard the original Alice and my whole world came crashing down around me. It never occurred to me that the song could exist without the reference to the question. I mean I have often pondered over the song and I could never understand why such a beautiful love song has those agonizing words. The song is like a beautiful tribute to the memory of a girl that you could never talk to. It has happened to me so many times that I could be my story. In my case the names would change to D, M, A, R etc (each word is the first letter of the name of a crush that I have had for long but could never express).
I had to stop my car, park it on the side of a flyover that looks down to a huge green park and I thought and thought about it, till my head starting hurting. And then I said, “what the fuck, who the fuck is Alice” and I moved on. And then, it hit me. The real meaning. Of Alice. And who the fuck is Alice.
Do listen to the original. Its one of the most beautiful songs ever written. And yes, if you are curious, you may read about it here. And yes, this page, someday would be a part of my biography. And like all my other books, you may pre-order my biography here.
After ages, here is a song that I think is worthy enough to get a mention on my blog. Its one of those tracks that you need to hear on are you crazy levels on your headphones and play it on a continuous loop.
