Bengalis have a wicked sense of humor — especially when it involves poking fun at themselves. I speak as if I wasn’t a Bengali myself. Truth is that I was born and brought up outside Bengal; so I can’t claim to be a true blue Bengali.
My siblings and I speak Hindi quite well. Our relatives in Bengal did make fun of our broken Bengali infected with Hindi words. Well, in turn we found their attempted Hindi to be hilarious. Continue reading “Bengalis Speaking Hindi”
I admit that quite a bit of my philosophy and convictions come from songs. Or perhaps it’s the other way around: I like songs that fit in with my philosophy and convictions. For instance, my pacifism leads me to songs like “Soldiers who wanna be heroes” and “Gun Shy.” I like “Dust in the Wind” because it accords with my view that the phenomenal world is impermanent.
Songs that tell a story speak to me. Here’s one titled “Sailing to Philadelphia” by Mark Knopfler, who was previously with the band Dire Straits. Continue reading “Mason-Dixon Line”
Rashid Khan, a preeminent Hindustani classical vocalist of the Rampur-Sahaswan gharana, passed away on Jan 9th. He was only 55 years old. The man was incredibly good. Here’s a traditional song sung by Rashid Khan and Saurabh Kadgaonkar. It’s from the movie “Me Vasantrao“. Lots of great music there. I note that they included a harp in the composition — unusual in Hindustani classical. Continue reading “Marwa Blues”
On Christmas, I like to listen to a favorite Christian hymn — Abide with me. It is a “Christian hymn by Scottish Anglican cleric Henry Francis Lyte. A prayer for God to stay with the speaker throughout life and in death, it was written by Lyte in 1847 as he was dying from tuberculosis. It is most often sung to the tune “Eventide” by the English organist William Henry Monk.” Continue reading “Christmas”
It’s time to muse about music. The words muse and music are related, as one can guess from the spelling. The big dictionary says that Muse refers to “any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology presiding over song and poetry and the arts and sciences.” That suits me since who wouldn’t be in favor of songs, poetry and science, I ask you.
In my formative years, I was exposed to a healthy dose of music and poetry in various languages. English and Hindi language poetry predominated as did English and Hindi language songs. I took special delight in the songs of The Moody Blues and The Beatles. Their songs particularly resonated with me because those two bands were heavily influenced by Indian philosophy. I’m still crazy about them after all these years. (Did you get the reference to another band in that last bit?[1]) Continue reading “Across the Universe”
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe …
Words magically conjure images in our minds, especially if they are not reportage but instead are attempted expressions of the ineffable. That is why I like certain songs not just for their musical quality but those with lyrics that evoke mystery and longing.
The words quoted above are from the song “Across the Universe” by the Beatles. They evoke images in my mind that are like the image (at the top of this post) of the barred spiral galaxy discovered by John Herschel in 1835, NGC 1300. It is about 110,000 light-years across and 61 million light-years away. We are unlikely to visit it anytime ever. Continue reading “Across the Universe”
You’ve probably heard this story. A man was relaxing by the sea shore one morning. A passing wealthy man asks him why he was just sitting idle. “I am enjoying the day, now that I’m done with fishing for today,” he replied.
“Why don’t you go catch more fish?” the wealthy man asks.
“And why would I do that? I have enough for now.”
“You could make more money if you caught more fish. Then you could buy another boat. And then you would be able to catch more fish and end up with a large number of boats. Then you’d be wealthy.”
“And then what?” asked the fisherman.
“Then you would be able to have a relaxed life, free from worries.”
“Well, I’m doing that already, am I not? Then what’s the point of going through all that trouble?” Continue reading “Well-being”
I like the rhythms of Native American music. I have a collection of songs that are based on them. I say based on them because they essentially are “covers”, not the originals. Here’s one — Gesso’s Guitar Song by Mystic Rhythms Band.
A couple of decades ago, I had rescued a CD from a pile of stuff my friend Courtenay was about to trash. It was titled “Sacred Spirit.” The songs grow on you. I find them soothing. Here’s a song from that CD: Yeha Noha (Wishes Of Happiness And Prosperity).
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.
Time for a musical interlude. A few fun songs. The first is from a one-hit wonder Jamaican band Musical Youth.
When I first heard the song long years ago, I mistakenly thought that “pass the dutchie” meant pass the bong. Only recently I learned that dutchie refers to a “dutch pot” and the stew-like dish made in it. It’s food that is being passed. Hence the words, “How does it feel when you have no food.” Continue reading “Pass the Dutchie”
I am partial to Spanish guitar compositions. Here are a couple I especially like.
The wiki has details of the composition Asturias by Isaac Albéniz (1860 – 1909.) He was a child prodigy who first performed at the age of four. Continue reading “Two Guitar Pieces”
Atanu Dey : Life is a Random Draw 