Music

Day 3

It's surprising that there were so many things worth observing when the danger of exams loomed over my head, whilst now when there is actual free time the many things just dry out!
Well after quite a work out to my rather worn out mind (my exams were dragged too long, people in MU will sympathize), I decided to fixate on the topic of MUSIC.

Music is many things to different people, for some it's an art to be appreciated, to others it is travel companion and to a very few it is the ultimate source of solace. So what is this music to me?
Music for me is a source of expression, a new language, a companion in solitude and comforter in grief..
Music goes beyond boundaries of definition:

The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.

This is how Google defines music. It's a rather much more eloquent note on music than given otherwise by standard lexicons.  So many people can be seen today in any mode of public transport plugged in to their various devices listening to music. Such is music that it transcends barriers both cultural and economical. Few things can truly be the great equalizer (pun for those who get it) than music.

I'm asked at most occasions on what type of music I like. A fair question since as social behaviour dictates the grouping of people is similar to the grouping of songs into different genres. My answer has always been: "Anything that's good." That is true, I have never liked any particular genre per-se but anything that sounds different and vibrant I do listen. 

Some songs do come as a surprise, for what I have seen so far the indie music scene here in India isn't that popular. People are more mainstream, but there are so many gems in them and they do satisfy the craving for variety 
One such is the band Tiny Victories

Their song Mr. Bones is so intriguing that it took me quite a while to listen to anything else. I suggest hearing that song once just to hear the electronic pulse, it's psychedelic if you will!

Another band I found good was Elliott Brood

Here I'd suggest listening to Lindsay, a very captivating song, that.

And my friends who are forever fixated with mainstream, Coldplay has been a truly consistent band, producing path breaking songs some of which always end up in repeat in my phone!

Well these are just a few of the ones which caught my fancy. I think that music, as phenomenon will forever shift and change and for anyone who is an ardent fan of music, be it of any form the search for the song that  fits their own definition of music will go on. For that I think it's time to plug on your headphones and search for those little oldies which have been lost in the sea of playlists and find out why you liked them in the first place and maybe then you'll find your own music and not depend on a friend for new ones. Music expresses as much individuality as one's own fingerprint. Are you willing to kill it or raise it back? Godspeed to you...

Music is forever; music should grow and mature with you, following you right on up until you die.

~Paul Simon

The Little Things

Entry two
Another fresh new day and many more things to talk about. What are those things again which are worth a second shot.

My semester just got completed recently and my plans for the limited vacation period was as had always been to laze around with my novels and not lift a finger. Now after meeting up with a friend and having a conversation with an even older friend there came..surprise surprise a second thought.
Is the vacation only about secluding oneself into tiny room and poring over novels and stories, reading and re-reading the same stuff? Has the outside world lost it's own inherent mystical charm and intrigue? Cannot the same stories be disguised in the patterns of the grey clouds and gentle mist?

A common view among many is to view the rainy weather as one of gloom and withdrawal. Many lament about missing outdoor activities fearing mud, water, flu. Others provide the rain with poetic words, bathing it in ephemeral droplets of highly fashionable tosh. All things said, as with anything comprehensible to humans there are extreme views in perception. I, am neither an enthusiast nor a hater. I fail to smell what is described as the deep rich aroma of the soil after the first rain, frankly I found it smelt no different. I don't question it, merely site my inability to perceive it. Nor do I understand the near vehemence towards an otherwise harmless weather change. I understand that things get mucky and damp, but then what's not to like in that? The cool breeze and misted hillsides are constantly a source of festive imagination.

This little path in any other day would hardly be something..but add the mist and the usual sudden burst of greenery and it turns into a dirt path worth a short hike. A road to the unknown, a short adventure?

The scenic beauties aside there are the traditions of childhood, the fascination with rain and thunder and the brilliant lightning! One cannot immediately forgo such memories for even in the old the memory of youth is quite deeply etched.

The evening tea time with hot snacks and torrential rains outside? An opportunity worth the sacrifice of a million other commitments.

As it lashes beautifully outside I choose this time to not stay cooped up with comforts. It's time to venture forth. Promises to keep and fun to be had. Why must one not brave the torrent for after all if it weren't for the rains we wouldn't enjoy those small comforts at home and what better excuse than the rain to "stay" at home and skip work? ;)

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.

~Gilbert K. Chesterton

First Entry

First ever blog entry!
Thought about a blog to express views to a larger hopefully accommodating audience..
As the title suggests, my blog will consist of things which we in our hectic daily pursuits fail to spare a second glance. For to observe a thing another time is to spare it a second thought. A second thought is a largely honourable gift for objects which we might never see again but it is that very thought which gives us an opportunity to set it down into our minds and in days of seldom company and even seldom thoughts we remember them as fascinating things which for a brief minute had given us a refreshing change from our monotonous thought processes.

How many things are worth our second thoughts?
=> A warm cup of coffee                                        

An espresso or latte is something we barely pass a thought to but on a nice rainy day it's an elixir worthy of the gods!

=> The Rain

After a blistering summer the monsoon is nothing short of a treat. These torrential delights are something of a nuisance to the average busybody but how many countless childhood hours have been devoted to the singular pleasure of all the mischief this season offers? Of paper boats and rain dance and the ubiquitous umbrella fights!!

"When we have 'second thoughts' about something, our first thoughts don't seem like thoughts at all - just feelings."

                                                                                                         ~Sydney J Harris