Slumdog….Is this Rahman’s best?

Well, to every Indian and especially A R Rahman fans, it was a sight to see him walk up the stage and receive the golden globe award for the best original score. At Golden Globes, he was not nominated for the best song.

Sumdog Millinaire has also received 11 BAFTA nominations. At the oscars, Rahman has a stronger chance of winning an oscar because he has received 3 nominations. Firstly for the best original score and 2 in the best song category (Jai Ho and O Saiya).

All indians will await and watch with excitement the day oscars will be announced. Finally, Rahman is getting his due. Per me, he is one of the best, or for those who think it is controversial statement, Rahman seems to be the only Indian composer who can raise his game to match the best in the business. 

But, at the same time, a questions haunts us. Is Slumdog Millionaire his best work…..There can be different opinions on that. Further in the blog, we will try to give us some pointers to help you make your own judgement. Of course, it is an individual call. The true answer is known to only 2 …..Rahman himself and the almighty.

One can listen to Slumdog Millionaire songs here. 

However, some of notable works of Rahman can be found here.

I personally, liked his work in 1) Swades, 2) Rand De Basanti, 3) Saathiya/Alaypayuthey.

His use of Shehnaai and Flutes for Swades, the way he sang “Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera” were mesmerising…..i am sure many of you will agree with me here. It wouldnt be complete, if we dont mention, “Piya Haji Ali” . It was nothing less than divine. 

My point is not that his work for Slumdog is not worth a Golden Globe/Oscar, it is just that if he wins an academy award for Slumdog, it shouldnt have been his first !!!!

Beaten in their den….

I thought of writing this piece last night, but held on to the thought until SA actually won. A little superstitious.
This morning, SA made 183 needed for a series win against AUS. They have won the 3 match series 2-0. Many said, Australia like we know them, will come back strong at MCG after the lost test at Perth, but that was proven all wrong by Graeme Smith and his men. Beating Australia isnt a very difficult task now. Other countries can definitely fancy their chances against the Aussies.

Just about a year ago, India was very close to do this to Australia, on their own turf. If it wasnt for Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson, India would have definitely won.

Good they had a home series against NZ between away series with India and home series with SA, otherwise, it would very well have been successive losses.

This series loss should make the Aussies a little worried. Ponting is still doing good as a batsman, but may be his time has come. Sooner or later, we will hear the announcement.

But, may be he still fancies breaking Sachin’s records. However for that to happen Sachin will have to stop playing

Kartiki Gaikwad – unplugged

Tuesday night was another memorable episode of Zee Marathi Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs.
Suresh Wadkar graced the show.
This episode was kinda dedicated to Shrinivas Khale. Many people will disagree and they will be outnumbered by those who agree, about a claim that he is amongst the top composers in the whole world.

It is worth wondering, kids are such good singers, Prathamesh Laghate is destined to win, Mugdha is everyone’s pet, yet Kartiki got the best performer award. Once from Devaki Pandit and the second time from one and only Suresh Wadkar. Isn’t there some thing special about her that they understand…?

Kartiki is, without the slightest of doubts, a special special talent. She comes from a place divine to every maharashtrian on this earth…Devachi Alandi. Her father teaches her music and she is eleven years old. Every time she sings, it sounds so true to you..she touches the soul….something surely to do with the place she hails from. What strikes most is her choice of songs. Kartiki does not really worry about the popularity of the song. Most of the times, she chooses to sing her father’s songs or even songs sung/composed by lesser known people.

She may not win and may not become the ultimate little champ….but she surely would have touched million hearts with her singing……

कार्तिकी गायकवाड………..

Before today’s episode started, i wondered if Kartiki stood a chance of coming back into the competition. I thought it was just a mere formality (the call back episode) and the wildcards were already decided. 

My mind was clouded. I was proved wrong one more time and how pleasant it was. Kartiki has made it back to the competition after being eliminated few weeks back. Her dad’s eyes said it all. 

I dont think she will make it till the last, let alone win the competition because of several reasons, however, it will be a pleasure to be able to hear her sing again.

There have been better performances than hers, but she is a special one. Her singing pierces you straight into your heart, what else do you need.

PS – Kartiki Gailkwad is a eleven year old contestant in Zee Marathi’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa “Little Champs” competition. You can download the songs sung by her and other contestants on the website.

विलासराव आणि नैतिक जबाबदारी

R R Patil’s resignation made Vilasrao’s fight to retain the Cheif Ministership of Maharashtra all the more difficult. What added fuel to the fire was Congress’s inability to take a quick decision.

Finally, Vilasrao Deshmukh resigned from the post. Who would replace him was the next question. Narayanarao Rane has been vocal about his aspirations and was a strong contender. However, there are several people who do not want him to be at the helm and they did their best to get Ashok Chavan into the fray. Other names were Sushilkumar Shinde, Prithivraj Chavan. But at last, Rane and Ashok Chavan were the real competitors.

Sharad Pawar added to the pressure on Congress by nominating Chagan Bhujbal to replace RR Patil (Home Minister and Deputy CM). Congress was left with no option but to take a call quickly and Ashok Chavan was named as Maharashtra CM.

This has triggered a fiery response from Narayanrao Rane. He has never veiled his aspirations to be the CM and that he joined congress party only if he was made the CM. However, that has not been. 

So he is sure to do somethings. Lets see how this matter unfolds in the coming week.

It is going to be very tough task for Ashok Chavan for the next 11 months. There is a very high possibility that his long term chances will be ruined. This is what generally happens with the short term / stop gap arrangements.

Lets see.

बिच्चारे आबा…आणि राम गोपाल वर्मा चे नशीब……

Controversy keeps following Mr R.R.Patil, affectionately known as “Aaba” by people close to him. Aaba addressed a conference following the terrorist attack on Mumbai and the journalists were not disappointed. Like always, Aaba opened his mouth and fell into a hole dug just for him.

Such things happen in cities like Mumbai was his statement, now whether he was referring to the terrorists attack or some thing else is a matter of debate between supporters of Aaba and others.

However, if ever he was taken out of context, this is not a statement to make when the public opinion about the state government is not so impressive. Sadly, there was a lot of immediate reaction and the deputy CM (and also the home minister) had to put down his papers. It could not be just because of this statement that he had to resign, but a result of the things that have happened over the past few days. His tenure as the deputy CM and Home Minister has not been a smooth ride. 

NCP will choose their candidate to replace him. Chagan Bhujbal is the front runner for the post. 

Now to the story of the top man in Maharashtra. Vilasrao Deshmukh (Chief Minister – Maharashtra). He visited Taj post the NSG operation to take stock of the situation. Guess who accompanied him: Along with several people, it was his actor son Ritesh Deshmukh and film producer/director Ram Gopal Verma. Little did Vilasrao know that along with Ram Gopal Verma came his fate. Vilasrao got into trouble for his casual attitude. News papers reported this story and it was not welcomed by people across Mumbai.

Soon after stories of Vilasrao Deshmukh’s head are doing rounds. He is the next in line to fall out. Sooner or later, he will have to step down. Will Mr Rane get what he has wanted all this time is still to be known. It seems that even if Vilasrao resigns, to chose Rane as Maharashtra CM will be very tough for Congress. That is not a decision people of Maharashtra will like.

Who then? Whenever such situations have happened, Sushil Kumar Shinde’s lamp starts to run brighter. Prithviraj Chauhan is also being talked about.

Lets see who is ready to accept the highest post in Maharashtra at such a difficult time.

Yeh Honsala……

Soon it will be 48 hours since the nightmare began. It is just not ending. Around 125 people have lost their lives, no one is sure how many are still in the hotel rooms.

Three officers of the Maharashtra/Mumbai police are no more, 2 NSG commandos are dead while fighting the terrorists. People who had done nothing wrong got hit by bullets.

Do we have any words for their families? No, i am sure no words can console them at this time. All the speak about “Spirit of Mumbai” and “Honsla” is on shaky grounds. Saying, we are behind you at this difficult hour is difficult to understand for the people who have lost their near and dear ones.

This is terrible time, may be seen only in the movies until now. Investigation will take its own time and then for justice to prevail (if it does) may take several more years after that. Will all that time heal the wounds? Absolutely not.

People who are responsible for this are not afraid of death. That is what makes it difficult for the forces fighting for the good side. The bad side has nothing to loose and such battles are always tough even if you fighting for the good.

However, we are not tired of being known for our ability to forgive and for being all inclusive. I am not sure if such things continue, we may like to be called that. It will not be long before we loose our calm, patience and our ability to forgive. That is not a difficult task, however, we will think hundreds of times before we do that.

We just pray to god to let THEM think twice if not hundred times, before they do such things.

Testing the Windows Live Writer

While i was surfing through del.icio.us found this article.Desktop Blogging Tools – Review.

Out of the tools mentioned here, Live Writer had been installed on my PC as a part of the windows upgrade. So decided to do a test.

After i opened the Live Writer, the first question that came to my mind was whether, Live Writer will support a Blogger Account. However, against any doubts, Live Writer did. It supports a host of Blogs. It was quite easy to configure my blogger account.

So here i am writing my first blog through windows live writer.

From now on is going to be a testing time. Will i go back to the old habit or will i stay good – Time will tell.

Well, its not being alcoholic, it is about being workaholic. Last year, same time, it was a bad situation. I knew nothing but work. It was only work. Not that i like to – but it was more out of fear.

Project was in an unprecendented crisis and i was always under a fear of escalations. Which made me logon to office repeatedly even when i had returned from work.

Some where in Aug/September last year, my laptop got tired and gave up. I tried to get it repaired, but to no success. Since then the habit broke.

Last week, the laptop was repaired – today i got the VPN working again. Now i am scared, it is the same time as it was last year. Lets see……

The scared champions

Since the last 5 days, it was good to see two people, two great judges handing out penalties to the criminals…err….innocents….(well doesnt matter actually) with such authority….second to none…They had their justice delivered.

The judges knew who were to be punished…and that is enough isnt it. They were in control for most of these 5 days, but for a few times when they asked for help from their colleague sitting upstairs and he answered THEIR call.

Also, only once did they consult the prosecutors (seems the phones to upstairs werent working). The question was to the point.
One of them asked, “Mr Prosecutor, do you think, this person has killed the victim..”.
“Yes, my lord, i am 100% sure”, said Mr Prosecutor.
“Ok then, that’s what i like to hear…100% sure, off you go Mr Defence….Thanks a lot Mr Prosecutor”.

Such a good example of trust ..Indeed thanks to you Mr Prosecutor. You have been such a good judge yourself. While once in trouble, you decided that you hadnt commited the crime even though you were caught on the wrong foot. How noble of yours and how decisive.

It has been a pleasure seeing all these great people in action and teaching us how to live our lives.

I am sure Mr Bucknow, Mr Benson …Mr Ponting and your brave soldiers..there are a billion people on this earth who appreciate what you did and your efforts in helping the indian cricket team learn a lesson or two about how the game should be played.

We are humble people, known to still bear ghosts from across the seas on our backs even if it has been long since they were buried.

I am sure, we are hospitable too…

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Wish we were still in those days where the rules of the jungle played….An eye for an eye….
And we have a reason to belive that dont we. Though i am taking about cricket, it doesnt take away the gravity. The judiciary isnt to be trusted. We all saw what happened.

I remember, we once had a hero named Bhuvan who gathered a bunch of freaks and pitted them against..you know who…..He did what ever it took.
Time to do it again and break away from the oppression. I am sure we all agree ….and i hope you will honour my invitation to Mr Bucknor, Mr Benson, Mr Ponting and his ….you know who…..

Lets not forget this day.