Duniya badalne chale, hum akalmand nahi the
Humen sab pasand, hum sabki pasand nahi the
-----
Kya khoob teri adaayen thi, kya khoob tera bahana tha
tum keh gaye ki fir miloge jab laut ke nahi aana tha
-----
Ye na poocho humse, ki kis taraf ishara hai
vo ho jaye badnaam, ye na hume gawara hai
-----
ghum-e-dil ki ghazal hum yun gunguna lete hain
dil se nikali aahon ko shero mein suna dete hain
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beenam the, aaj shoharat ki unchaiyon tak utha diya
kabhi nazaon se gire the aapki, aaj palkon pe bitha diya!
-----
(c) Akshay Iyer MMIV
Monday 25 October 2004
Wednesday 20 October 2004
The right to say NO!
Democracy is a great concept. It allows people to say what they want, and gives them a chance to get it. At least this is what the conventional models of democracy are based on.
Democracy is a funny thing. Funny because people often end up getting what they never wanted. Because they never get the chance to say what they do not want.
We have had numerous examples like this in our country ever since it embraced democracy. As an illustration, consider a legislative assembly constituency that has three candidates standing for elections. The mandate is distributed and the relative percentages of votes that each candidate (for our example, A, B and C) gets is 40%, 30%, and 30% respectively. Clearly, none of the candidates has found the support of the majority, and A wins simply because he or she has got more votes than the others.
Now, what if the other 60% (those who did not vote for A) never wanted A to represent them. We have a situation where people have found a leader whom the majority did not want! Ironic it is, right?
It is time that we "modified" the definition of democracy to cover this loophole. Every voter should be asked to select two candidates; one that he or she wants, and the other that he or she would never want. The end result (or worthiness) of a candidate can be measured by simply doing a subtraction between the number of "positive votes" and the number of "negative votes" that one got.
This way we may not get the leaders that we wanted, but we can certainly prevent the ones we did not want to lead us.
Democracy is a funny thing. Funny because people often end up getting what they never wanted. Because they never get the chance to say what they do not want.
We have had numerous examples like this in our country ever since it embraced democracy. As an illustration, consider a legislative assembly constituency that has three candidates standing for elections. The mandate is distributed and the relative percentages of votes that each candidate (for our example, A, B and C) gets is 40%, 30%, and 30% respectively. Clearly, none of the candidates has found the support of the majority, and A wins simply because he or she has got more votes than the others.
Now, what if the other 60% (those who did not vote for A) never wanted A to represent them. We have a situation where people have found a leader whom the majority did not want! Ironic it is, right?
It is time that we "modified" the definition of democracy to cover this loophole. Every voter should be asked to select two candidates; one that he or she wants, and the other that he or she would never want. The end result (or worthiness) of a candidate can be measured by simply doing a subtraction between the number of "positive votes" and the number of "negative votes" that one got.
This way we may not get the leaders that we wanted, but we can certainly prevent the ones we did not want to lead us.
Thursday 14 October 2004
Swades - Music Review
After reading the music review that my friend Aldrin posted on his blog , I was inspired to write my own music review for Swades
The soundtrack of Swades is a unique mix between the music of Taal and Lagaan. Well, that is a very vague statement to start a review, but believe me, you will feel the same when you hear the soundtrack.
The opening song "Yeh Tara Vo Tara" is a song with a social message that will remind you of the song "Mitwa" from Lagaan without the considerable energy that the latter carried. The song is good and the lyrics, though not of the best quality, are meaningful.
This is followed by a lullaby "Aahista Aahista" which is so good at its soporific job that if you are not careful enough, you might find yourself waking up from a deep slumber while the album is nearing its end.
The song "Ye jo Des hai tera" is a soothing song with a mild flowing quality about it. It definitely reminds one of another of Rahman's creations "Nahin Saamne" from Taal. And if you are tired of other NRI-directed patriotic songs, this one is for you. It will sure inspire you to some extent.
If "Radha Kaise na Jale" was the best song in Lagaan, Ashutosh Gowarikar tries again in Swades with a song dedicated Lord Rama this time - "Pal Pal hai Bhari". The song is composed on the context of Ramlila. It does not have the charm of its counterpart in Lagaan, but is good nevertheless. The lyrics, keeping with the trend so far, are good.
The song "Dekho na" is passable and "Sawariya" is plain bad. Rahman should be doing better than these.
But the best of the lot is "Tu hi chala chal". The song is beautifully sung and the music is catchy to keep your feet tapping throughout the song. No wonder, it is turning out to be the most popular song from this movie.
Overall, the album is a good buy and one would not be entirely disappointed with the offering. Certainly not the best of Rahman, but then, a mediocre Rahman is still better than all other Bollywood Music directors at their creative best with all numerological assistance. :-)
The soundtrack of Swades is a unique mix between the music of Taal and Lagaan. Well, that is a very vague statement to start a review, but believe me, you will feel the same when you hear the soundtrack.
The opening song "Yeh Tara Vo Tara" is a song with a social message that will remind you of the song "Mitwa" from Lagaan without the considerable energy that the latter carried. The song is good and the lyrics, though not of the best quality, are meaningful.
This is followed by a lullaby "Aahista Aahista" which is so good at its soporific job that if you are not careful enough, you might find yourself waking up from a deep slumber while the album is nearing its end.
The song "Ye jo Des hai tera" is a soothing song with a mild flowing quality about it. It definitely reminds one of another of Rahman's creations "Nahin Saamne" from Taal. And if you are tired of other NRI-directed patriotic songs, this one is for you. It will sure inspire you to some extent.
If "Radha Kaise na Jale" was the best song in Lagaan, Ashutosh Gowarikar tries again in Swades with a song dedicated Lord Rama this time - "Pal Pal hai Bhari". The song is composed on the context of Ramlila. It does not have the charm of its counterpart in Lagaan, but is good nevertheless. The lyrics, keeping with the trend so far, are good.
The song "Dekho na" is passable and "Sawariya" is plain bad. Rahman should be doing better than these.
But the best of the lot is "Tu hi chala chal". The song is beautifully sung and the music is catchy to keep your feet tapping throughout the song. No wonder, it is turning out to be the most popular song from this movie.
Overall, the album is a good buy and one would not be entirely disappointed with the offering. Certainly not the best of Rahman, but then, a mediocre Rahman is still better than all other Bollywood Music directors at their creative best with all numerological assistance. :-)
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