Manoj-Monisha Murali Nair - A blessed treat

It was the 10 years completion celebration in E-TV bangla on 23rd March, 2010 and as usual I was not interested, was rather busy working on the computer, until I heard some male voice singing a Rabindra Sangeet...immediately I ran to see who it was. I found it was Manoj Nair so I could guess very well that the beautiful lady standing next to him was Manisha - they were the famous brother-sister duo Manoj-Manisha Nair. I had heard a lot about them from my mother and also from her narrations of the music concert reviews published in Desh...but it was the first time I was seeing them.

I had anyway much interest in them for obvious reasons that being Malayalee how they can sing Rabindra Sangeet so well...no 'so well' is not the correct expression...it should be 'so divine'....yes...divine it was their performance on the stage of E-TV Bangala which was waiting to be shaken on the foot thumps of the actors from Bengali film and television industry. Thanks to the channel that they decided to start their programme with them...and I could see the programme...

I don’t remember the first two songs...the first being a very known song by Manoj and second being a very uncommon by Manisha....they had some surprise for the third and fourth....After the secoind song was complete (which was by Manisha Nair), Manoj rendered a brief Karntic alaap and started Ei Akashe Amar Mukti Aloy Aloy. They performed it together and it became just mind-blowing as they inserted some very minute and subtle Karnatic mir.... it was something that I had never heard before and I forgot that I also know the song! It was such new and fresh and extraordinary!

Then Manoj started rendering some English lines tuned in proper English classical music...the lines were about 'Light'...and after 1-2 lines I could guess the song correctly...it was Alo Amar Alo Ago Aloy Bhubon Bhora....they picked the song from the second stanza and it was just marvellous....

I wish I could have the recording of that portion somewhere. I searched for it in the Youtube but I couldn’t find it :(

Thanks Manoj and Manisha...you are blessed by God and Rabindranath both....your blessing is boon for us.... :)

One Hundred Years of Solitude

What a novel it is by Gabriel Garcia Marquez! I just cant get over from the nostalgia of it. For last couple of days, the Buendias almost became my own family. Living the days with their days and nights.

But the most enchanting thing about the novel is how the the magical and unreal world mixes with the real world. And it mixes such a way that you do not really feel that that's something dosnt happen in our lives. For example when Jose Arcadio Buendia dies, yellow flowers shower continues and the entire Macondo gets covered or when Mauricio Babilonia comes, the yellow buterflies fly over his head and how Amaranta announces her own death time, or how Melquíadesdies twice and his perchments are read only after one hundred years....there are countless instances which when you come to know separately you feel these are unreal, but once you read the entire novel and most importantly read the minutest details, you feel Macondo to be a world where all these things really happaned over a period of one hundred years.

Thanks Tareq for giving me the book :) It was a real pleasure reading and living every word of this magnificant book. Now I feel lonely that no more Buendia is with me....I wish this book were never finished!

Shashi Tharoor - a sad story

Shashi Tharoor being forced to resign by the Congress heads seems to me a case where the big national decision is being influenced by yellow journalism. It became quite clear 1-2 days before what the meeting between Tharoor and congress heads would result.

In a country like India where we have been seeing criminals and illiterate MPs and MLAs and hence have been hating this profession more than anything, Shashi Tharoor had been a refreshing change to our look towards politics. But clearly he couldn't survive in the system being too many reasons for his 'different' approaches.

Whatever his involvement in Rendezvous consortium was, I don't understand a single point that after winning the bid, and after being aware of Lalit Modi's intention, why did he bring the entire episode under full media view? He being a minister of state and thus a powerful man, why didnt fight with the Chairman of IPL Modi, another powerful man, in a more private and subtle way? Why did he bring the matter under public view when it is quite understood that Indian media runs after only gossips and here when his beautiful friend Sunanda Pushkar is involved in the share, the media would just go mad with so much juice in story. Can anyone give reason to those mushroom like channels and news portals and their novice journalists that the concept of giving a share in the deal as the corporate payment is quite common or that a minister's interest in a deal may not be only for money? Only thing that they would be interested in obviously in the amount of deal and a beautiful lady who is involved while the minister is already twice married. So, that is going to be the only story!

So, lesson is learnt. No more tweeting even if you think you are honest, and Congress is loyal to none just like it was not loyal to Krishna Menon.

Diwali - 2009

Diwali was fun too. Totai, my sister came from Jaipur and we all had a very good time :)

Some pics:

Our balcony

Nothing can replace the earthen diya

Me and Totai making the rangoli

It's complete

Lakshmi Puja - 2009

It was fun as it was my first Laxmi Puja after marriage and I followed all rituals by fasting and preparing sweets for the puja. And finally I started giving alpona. always love to make alpona. I remember how I used to decorate the entire house with alponas and how the next day I used to spend the entire morning cleaning the floors. This year too I gave alpona and lucky they are that they got shot; thanks to my hubby; and I thought to post them here though this year I had no time alpona like earlier years. Here they are :

After Marriage

Things change. Here are some things that keep happening to/by me:

The shopkeepers now calls me 'baudi' and not 'didi'.

I have become 'aunty' to so many kids who otherwise would call me 'didi'!!!!!!!!!!!

I have started to wrap a saree in less than 5 minutes! Time doesn't vary with the change of texture...the time taken is same for cotton, taant, silk or chiffon!!!!!!!!!

Unknown people start talking to me in Bengali in the shops, market, roads in a city like Delhi. Thanks to my Shankha and Pola. It took me some time to figure out the correct reason though!

People don't hesitate to ask me personal questions like "hey, yours was an arranged or love marriage?" I dont remember to ever confront questions like "hey, have you got steady boyfriend?" or "hey, you're single or committed?" before!

In the shops, the shopkeeper gives the bill to my husband and not me!

Durga Puja - 2009

First time that I was away from my mother :(

First time after my marriage :)

Second time in Delhi :

First time that I didn't wear a single new dress :(

First time that I didn't see any puja apart from the own locality one :

First time I was so unwell that I visited doctor's house more than the Puja pandal :)

Life moves on :) :) :) .............................