Dedicated to the Singing Sensation of our times…

There was a time when only Kumar Sanu used to be the ‘singing voice’ of all our bollywood actors, then came the time of Udit Narayan who had taken us by storm, n then it was just Sonu Nigam who made us fall in love with music again and all this happened after the reigning legends (Kishore, RD, Mukesh and the likes) who lived their times creating their musical legacy…

But times change soon, bollywood evolved and competition has grown enormous, now the times of single singer living his own era has bygone and the times of multiple singers has come up all luking for a small pie. With so many talent search contests luking for the voice of the nation…every year around 10-15 voices get the nation’s attention but it takes weeks rather than months for them to vanish in thin air…poor them…!

But this one post is truly dedicated to the one who came from nowhere, and very slowly and steadily, while creating a niche with his magical voice, he has quietly (don’t get to the literal meaning of the word) become one of the most sought after singers of our times. Many of us still don’t even know, who this guy is, but somewhere down the lane with our sweetheart, sometimes driving between a row of green trees, sometimes on FM on a nice dark evening, somewhere walking in the park, when we listen to his songs, they strike a chord in us and we start drooling…and all this happens subtly…very very subtly…

We know what a magic music can create in itself, but the best part about this singer is that he is not over-exploiting his best times. He knows his importance and is aware of his magic. He is being very strategically selective and he knows his niche. By just giving his voice to one song in almost all of the movies, he is slowly making us all chimered by his romantic voice. The point is that some songs twist us for some time and then they become so boring that we start running away from them, but this guy and all his numbers are what we call in our parlance, “lambi race ke ghode!!!”.

Now, enough of foreplay for you people, let’s just cut out the long build-up and though I know, many of you have correctly guessed the name and for those very few of you who are still clueless and getting restless (I’m lovin it!), the name is “Mohit Chauhan”, the ultimate singer with his niche-silky-romantic-voice which makes u just fall in love with the songs he sings. Now, refraining myself by sharing any more gyaan on wat it does to me…lemme just keep this one crisp by gifting him this post from this small blog of mine ;).

Some facts (as part of my research on MC):
• The guy is a pahadi, born and brought up in Himachal Pradesh. Started his early years in a small cottage in Nahan. N yeah he is an amazing pahadi singer for obvious reasons.
• He is so very down to earth, at least not smitten by the moh-maaya till now. Not like those celeb types. And as a friend of mine (ky), who's met him a few times being from the same place as he is, shared with me, “he is really shy of girls”.
• As all of us know, he started his singing with his first album “Boondein” as the Silk Route band with the unforgettable beautiful under water video number, “Dooba Dooba”. Believe me, this song has always been in my best songs playlist right from the day I heard it for the first time.
• His amazing n successful experiment with Masakalli has already been shared with all of you in an elaborate entry earlier…

Interested to get more info…here I wud like 2 share three important must-track-links-if-u-r-Mohit’s-fan:
• His Wiki entry
• His Homepage
• His Facebook page

I would love to share his Bollywood journey till date, n u all would be surprised 2 know tht there are still a lot of his beautiful numbers which we u even didn’t knw abt…so go thru the list below n grab all of these amazing renditions of the magician:

• "Pehli Nazar Mein" - Road (2002)
• "Rumi Sahab" - Main Madhuri Dixit banna Chahati Hoon (2003)
• "Sabse Peeche Hum Khade" - Lets Enjoy (2004)
• "Khoon Chala" - Rang De Basanti (2005)
• "Guncha Koi" - Main, Meri Patni aur Woh (2005)
• "Paintra " -Main, Meri Patni aur Woh (2005)
• "Tum Se Hi" - Jab We Met (2007)
• "Is This Love (Kahin Na Laage)" - Kismat Konnection (2008)
• "Yaad Teri Aaye" - Ugly Aur Pagli (2008)
• "Ek meetha marz de ne" -Welcome to sajjanpur (2008)
• "Kuch khaas" - Fashion (2008)
• "Aankhon hi aankhon mein" - EMI (2008)
• "Masakali" - Delhi 6 (2009)
• "Gulon Mein" - Sikandar (2009)
• "Kuchh Is Tarah" - 8 X 10 Tasveer (2009)
• "Haafiz Khuda" - 8 X 10 Tasveer (2009)
• "Jaana Hai" – Let’s Dance (2009)
• "Tune Jo Na Kaha" – New York (2009)
• "Ye Dooriyan" – Love Aaj Kal (2009)
• "Pehli Baar Mohobbat" - Kaminey (2009)
• Coming soon - Kites (2009)

Now, once u have all of the above in your kitty, just put all of them in a single playlist and put the shuffle on…n believe u me, u have a perfect recipe for a perfect lovely moment ready…;)

While, I’ll collect my consultation fee for the same sometime later, here’s more for you frm my end…I am sharing some unplugged moments I had with the super singer in Delhi sometime ago…and here they go…








Lastly, your last task of the day, you have to tell me which one is your all time favorite song from all the creations of Mohit Chauhan…I know it might be the toughest ask, but be a sport and share your coolest pic from the most sensational singer of our times in the comments section…Njoy!!!

The Deadly M Word !!!

Let me narrate what happened last Wednesday while I was in Jaipur. It was my cousin’s engagement, a full family, big time gala party with about 500 people at a 5 star. Festive moment, fun evening, I was enjoying my time with my cousins and relatives...and pop came the call from Paa. Asked me to meet one of my uncles whom I call as Doctor Mama.

Now, let me give a brief description about Dr Mama of mine. He has a kid who is in his Class 10th or 11th, so till date mainly the discussions we have had in the past surround his school, his subjects and his career counseling, etc. etc. like what subjects he should opt for, what are the various career permutations and combinations which he can pursue and all…

So, you can imagine, during that party, who would like such a discussion, yet again! But then Paa’s order and so I followed. There sounded nothing sneaky about the meeting at the outset. Doc Mama was sitting with my Mausaji and another uncle whom I hav met before, but I didn’t remember, when and where?

Doc Mama (With an astounding energy and smile on his face): Hey Akash! Wassup! Just pull a chair! Sit Sit!

(N so I did, sat down facing the three of them, smiling socially. Doc mama introduced me to the unknown uncle, his name was Sitaramji…:))

After the normal Namastes n all.

Sitaramji: So Akash, Where are you working?

Me: I’m working with Perot Systems in Noida, unc…(He didn’t let me finish :()

Sitaramji: Acchha, kya karti hai aapki company? (I hate that question, as always)

Me: It’s an IT company, unc…(He didn’t let me finish yet again :()

Sitaramji (With all the more excitement): Acchha, aur tumne MBA kaha se kiya hai?

(And there I thought, finally we are again heading towards another career counseling session)

Me: Uncle, IMT Ghaziabad se, it’s been a year now. (This time I smartly put the word in the start only, I win! :-))

Sitaramji (came the next question): Acchha, age kitni ho gai aapki?

(Wat the F? ^^&*&$^…Those were the first words which came up in my mind and I soon realized that boss this is leading towards a big trap…beta Akash jaldi se yaha se bhaag le…nai to pata chala Sitaram Ji ban gaye aapke Uncle se Relative…!)

I mean everything was fine till the MBA question, but this last one took the all steam away from my smile. And it took me a fraction of a second to realize that this is leading somewhere else, this is not one of those normal career counseling sessions which I used to give. Yaha to boss koi apni hi lene pe tula hai…

Me: Uncle, abhi poore 2 saal aur hai…! Tension naa lo!

And as they all broke into a big laughter, I was vanished from the scene in no time, much before they could come back to being normal selves.

______________________________________________________

So now you can imagine, what life is turning into. It’s quite wierd...I mean I don't belong to all this...Why the hell...!!!

To be very frank, I just don’t understand the logic of arranged marriages, I mean I think I am not cut out for all of these arrangements. I don’t know what’s in store in the future, but one thing which I don’t want to happen is this important decision to be an arrangement for me and there are reasons for my saying that and explaining the same to my relatives.

Marriage I think is a sacred phenomenon; it’s something which can’t be imposed on anyone. Also, I believe it’s a trap in which one should fall only when he or she wants to be fallen into the same. I mean when I see people around me, the married ones somehow don’t look that happy and the unmarried ones are always so full of so much more, so I just think that why is it that I get into that loop and kill the happiness which surrounds the unmarried, at least for now, when I can be single and happy.

Let me make it clear that it doesn’t mean that I won’t get married, Yes I will, Yes definitely. But that will happen, when I would make a decision to get into the mould of not being just happy but where I would rather start giving happiness to the girl who would give me the responsibility for keeping her happy for life.

Ideally, as they say, when I would make myself necessary for someone and would have someone without whom life will be nothing, that’s the time, when I should be tying the knot and that’s the person with whom I should decide to spend my life. But before that, I am sorry. All my relatives, mom-dad, mamas and their Sitaramjis of the world, it is not gonna happen so easily!



PS: On deep thought I realize the reason for this anxiety for getting me join "the league of married gentlemen" is just that all the married ones in the family are somewhat jealous of my freedom ;-)…hmmmmmm…caught the motive folks…I won’t let u guys catch me so young!!!


PS2: The highest record age of any male getting married in my Rajanthani family stands at 23 and guess what, I’m the “Change Agent”, having survived 25 years of happiness, I would say, my education saved me till last year. But, now the talk of the town is, “you’re next!!!” And I loathe even the shape and size of this M word completely! My success depends on how far I can evade it n still live Happily Freely Smilingly Livingly 'Unmarried'!

the lovely PAIN is back!!!

(Think of a dull mellow boring music in the background while u r reading this part)!

IPL is over :(…life seems 2 b on an all time low…nothings left…those 37 days were so full of life, excitement, discussions, ice-creams (1 sponsored after each match on the basis of result) and what not!!! Now, there is no zeal going back home frm office except on the weekends (for obvious reasons). When I come 2 office in the morning, it feels like “abhi to gaya thaa!” while during IPL, there used to be a different world at home too….N now, the differentiation has vanished.

N on top of it, the game of politics is almost over too, settled well for the next 5 years, I suppose…to ab hum naujawaan kare kya!!!

(Think of a sudden fast pace background music like Rocky to gain volume while u r reading this)!!!

Getting bugged wid evything, I decided to hit back again at the place which has always enthused me, The Gym. Not a big time body builder, but yeah, this is my fourth credible attempt at the coveted place. The first one: When I was in school, and believe u me, it was love at first sight, the only issue was that, I could never indulge in this adrenaline rush love due to the persistent exams and studies…u knw!!!

The second and third attempts were fruitful 2-month stretches of gymming, which I have talked abt in my previous post. So, finally comes the fourth attempt and so comes the PAIN…Five regular days in the gym and every muscle of my body is paining like anything, every move I make like even raising my neck stretches the side muscle and I feel IT, but believe me there are only a few kinds of pain which one can love. And this one for me is lovable to the core. Even right now, while m writing, my elbow is pressing against the handle of the chair which triggers the pain, but nay, soon I get my elbow again over to get the same sweet feeling again and again ;-)

I knw its sounding weird, like a masochist, but its not that at all. If u’ve never paid a visit to The Gym, there is something which u will never experience and that is called as the lovely pain of the working out…the only pain which will might make you smile...as they say, "u hav to feel it to believe it..."

Some are sufferers of the pain of the heart,
Some are bugged by the pain in the a#^%,
Some have it in the soul; some have it near the broken bone,
Some experience it mentally, some loathe it physically,
Some run away from it, some wish to never chase it,
But all I m sayin, is jst experience it once…the pain of a work-out sane…!

:)


PS: I told my trainer at the Gym abt this pain, n he told me tht it stays jst for a week…:(…some1 just overheard and said, “Yeh meetha dard hai miyaan…!” N popped the other one, “Nay, how can it b meetha dard…! Meetha dard to kuch aur hota hai!”, n there was a laugh riot at the gym!

Here comes the PM...

With no Bollywood flicks around, the only three things which I’m engrossed with these days are nothing but IPL, Zoozoo ads and Elections…

Having already created a lot of buzz on the former two via Facebook messages, Gtalk lines, blogs n what not …, today, I’m making an attempt to talk about the latter one, which actually is a story that’s gonna impact the maximum part (hopefully next 5 years) of our upcoming lives…n yes, it is more influential than any of the Zoozoo’s antics and Cheerleader’s latka-jhatka…

So, the match or the mis-match begins this Saturday i.e. the May 16th and believe me or not, I am waiting to watch this one much more than even the next Rajasthan Royals match…

But let me get this straight right away, that I call myself a nobody when it comes to politics and I even couldn’t vote this year because of our sheer archaic system where even if someone who wants to vote, he/she can’t since they have a Voter id card which belongs to their hometown, but beyond all that, still I can say it out loud that it is the first time in my life that I hav found myself having a newfound interest in the Indian elections and this is first time I hav a real enthu to know its outcome too…!

So whatever gyaan I hav borrowed with this diligent followership, I wish to rage a young debate to know who will be the better PM of our country, some say that the current elections makes us choose the best amongst the worst two candidates which I don’t really agree to…

So, out of the options we have on cards, the following can be the PM of our country this year…

1. Singh Saab: Some call him weak, some the best economist, some a rubber stamp…whatever he might be, I think he and PC are still the two best economists in the country…wasssay? However, they can form govt. only with Left’s support or if they can manage a single majority party. The second option even sounds like a distant dream and the first one will again be like “a bird dying to fly yet caged”…end result…no reforms…a repeat of last 5-years dismal performance???

2. L K Uncle: He can come with the support of Mayaji and Jayaji only. And believe me or not, it might be worse than Option 1. These guys might try to act bold in the beginning but with Jayaji and Mayaji’s persistent tantrums for becoming the PM, the govt. might even not last its full term…what say?

3. Lefty Karat: Faaaaaaaar chance, but believe me, if any of the leftists come to power, than our economy will be down to the drains and the first thing I will do is to sell of all my stocks…:)

4. Five PMs in 5-years: Oh yes, that will happen if Third Front comes to power…Oh, you guys don’t know what third front is…even I don’t know…so plz…don’t take ur slippers out…, lets say, this is NOT happening, for now!

So, while we wait for our own Obama of Change, I think that’s what’s on cards for this year. Now, I wish to understand what do you guys think, is the sentiment against the incumbent orrr the Gandhian Surd will rule the game again orrrrrrrr there will be some1 else, the unexpected, who will make us Dance on the tune of Democracy…what’s your best bet?

Whatever it might be, m ready with my popcorns n couch to watch this piece of action which starts this Saturday…what about u…???

IPL Top 3 Battle !!!

IPL Fever has started givin us sleepless nights already...and as we all know the IPL Season 2 has begun with a bang. Yeah, its gonna b keeping many of us completely hooked onto the television for the coming 35 days...thankfully after a long time there's something worth watching for us too...;)

So, here I m picking my Top 3 for the IPL2...n request all of u to do the same...we have done this Top 3 selection already at my home among my flatmates...n guess what, the in-house battles & chearing hav begun...the house stands completely divided...(Wish the government won't b...;))

Here r my Top 3...right frm my heart...

1) Rajasthan Royals (Die Hard Rajasthani!!!)
2) Kolkata Night Riders (Soft Heart 4 Bongs ;))
3) Delhi Daredevils (NCR is taking gud care of me these days..)

So, its now ur turn 2 pick your Top 3. Lets start the battles here...think before u make ur choices...n u can also state ur reasons in the braces just next 2 ur team...many ppl wud like 2 knw tht too ;)

Those of u who have a Facebook account...click here...rest of u can make ur selections here only in the comments section...but 4 sure...this battle is more fierce on Facebook only...

So think...but try 2 make sure tht u don't join this bandwagon on the day of the finals...:P...coz u neva knw thr might b some cheers in the offing 2 the winners too...;)

Parent's Day Out...Shock n Surprise...!

Imagine it’s a Saturday morning and u r drop dead (asleep) as expected on ur bed and suddenly u receive ur Dad’s call that he is standing outside ur door...guys I know u wud think tht it’s a wild nightmare tht u r in and u wud continue sleeping…phewwwwwwwwww!!!

But that’s how my weekend almost started this Saturday. The only sollid difference was just tht even after my mom’s persistent asking me for my Noida address over the phone calls frm last 8 months, I somehow managed to dodge the question abt my exact address in the city…n that’s what actually saved my a^$e…;)

Received the call at 10:15 AM, midnight was in full swing and that was the time when all my frens at my place were cozily sleeping in their own dreams…but not any more…within 30 seconds of my informing thm abt the situation at hand…everyone was running…here n there…koi kuch utha raha tha to koi kuch theek kar raha tha…Kahi se kuch nikal raha tha…to kahi se kuch gayab ho raha tha…

Just 10 minutes after I received the call frm Paa, I called him back again, n was relieved to know tht thr were still 20 more minutes for them to reach my place…courtesy the Delhi traffic…I loved it for a moment…! Khair, sparing no more time, the mobilized frens and the “munnabhaish” hullaballo and the running around paid me a fortune in the end…

By the time my mom n dad stepped out of the car, we all had taken our bath in our own ways and the place was spic n span…literally…kudos to my frens support and our righteous actions at the spur of the moment. N so…here they were, started with a Charan Sparsh!!!

So, after the initial introductions, as I had imagined, all flat-mates went quickly in their own rooms, nobody wanted to talk much, I don’t knw whether they were shy or what but m sure they were being really very careful. Must hav been their planned strategic move so tht even a shudder of our lingo doesn’t comes out. The restraint for them, yeah, I can imagine what they might hav been goin thru…kudos again!!! :)

So, the time was running quite quickly, with lot of talking and with the mixed n more positive shocking surprise sentiments which I was going thru. Knowing my mom, I had already warned my frens, tht she wud definitely take an inspection round of every nook and corner of our place n their rooms n so she did…but we were all very well prepared for the ‘worst’ n so the inspection round too went smooth…we had a smirky winky smile on face…yipppie…we won…!

N believe me, the lunch tht we had at home was one of the most sane lunches which I was having for the first time post my coming to Noida…the plates were all flowing properly, there was a lot of passing of dishes around, there were meaningful discussions on the table and what not? We all had kept my mom (even after her several attempts) stay away from the kitchen and had served the maid-prepared food on our own…which I shud quote here as a commendable gesture frm our side…

The evening was full of showing around the Noida place with full zeal and zest, wanted to show thm around everything I cud, everything which has actually been a part of my recent past life. N yeah, I concluded the day with a visit to a nice temple which definitely had set the best possible holy chord. But this was my choice only, so no pun intended here.

The next day of “Parents day out” started with another surprise but this time, not a shocking one but a highly pleasant one. Guess a dream came true! My mom decided, that she wud cook the breakfast for us, so she asked the maid to leave tht part of the cooking for her only. N believe me tht was a TREAT for all of us! We had an amazing round of “Bread-rolls” as our breakfast, after a long long time…kudos to mom n the magic of her hands, as always!

The high point of the day was also the visit to my office, which was to let my mom-dad know, tht my company not only exists, but it rests on a nice green lush green well maintained 25-acre campus, and yeah, I hav been well taken care of, courtesy all your wishes.

Believe me what started with a shock, ended with a lot of emotions…Firstly, I had not imagined tht they wud leave my place with a smile, but they did leave with a smile. N yeah, the smile was accompanied with my mom’s characteristic tears which always trickle down at the time of parting. I guess moms are blessed to bless us with them.

But after coming back home, even I felt too lonely again and was a lill jittery definitely for the ntire evening, the smalltime which they spent here with me definitely was great, it was as if even Noida was a complete home, for some time...Having the same food which I daily have, visiting the same places where I visit, walking the same lanes where I walk…they lived a piece of my life, n even I tasted a piece of home life here at Noida...

Kudos this time, to my mom n dad for showing up with the stylish surprise…I truly loved it and thankfully made the most of it!!!

. . . . . . . . . . . Professional Life. . . . . . . . . . . A life full of colons : and closed braces )

We are living in a life:

Where we get more “pings” than ‘hello’s or ‘hi’s,
Where we get more of : ) than ‘real smiles’…
Where kiss has become a 5 letter word (muaah) and it has to be read not felt…
Where we have our conversations over Orkut’s scraps or Facebook’s walls, rather than over actual face to face talk which our ‘ancestors’ used to do…
Where if we are not “Online” or havn’t “Logged in” for a few days, than news starts flowing in the wired world on scraps saying…’mar gaya shayad’…
Where the long letters which people used to write have become small lettered hinglish SMSs where one can make multiple sentences with the letters i, n, u, 4, c, b...

Oh yes, we have advanced so much:

So much so…that weeks and months and ages go by, but we don’t get time to meet our friends living in the same city…
So much so…that we wait for them to come online one day rather than just picking up our phones and have a 2-minute chit chat only…
So much so…that we forget their birthdays since we didn’t login our favorite social networking site on their birthday…
So much so…that we even sometimes can’t attend our fren’s weddings as we were hooked onto some “highly important” official deadline that day…
So much so…that we actually run away from the one small phone call which our parents make everyday from a faraway place to just say Hi beta/i…as we were planning a night out in the office…

The professional life changes us…it cripples us…it takes away the life which used to run through our veins...I knw many of you won’t like this…but it makes us selfish…it makes us politically correct at every instance of life…it teaches us how to lie…how to bluff…how to dodge…and yeah, it teaches us not “how to run!” but “how to run away!”

The long and lovely discussions about the football or cricket matches in college canteen becomes the discussion about a persistent backache, the layoffs/pink slips, the recent cost-cutting campaign in the company over the same stale coffee-break which we take once every hour…

The physical stress which we used to have after our PT session in school becomes the mental tension…courtesy those daiiiiim deadlines, those COBs, those EODs, which haunt us, always…

The treat which we used to love at a roadside hangout place or a restaurant during our MBA days becomes a slice of cheesy Domino’s pizza in the office meeting room…”30 minutes...nai to gaye”…

Over and above all this, if you are an “MBA” too, than you are nothing but chained for life. You have to be over professional…at all times…in the lift, in the conference room, in your cubicle, while luking at a girl and even during the time when you are in the loo…

And if you are an “MBA in an IT company”, tab to aapko bhagwaan nai par ek presentation hi bacha sakta hai…The prize which an MBA gets in an IT company is a laptop which comes wid ur availability quotient at all times…on all days…at every occasion…on every call…and in every meeting. Ur deadlines are set according to the speed of the processor in your laptop…

Such instances are aplenty and we all think about thm some time or the other...But the end result remains the same...nobody is happy with his/her job...no point wondering why???...but lets try n do something abt it.

Lets stop worrying about appraisals/no appraisals, the swipe-ins/swipe-outs, the unread mails/forwards, the bad food/stale coffee in cafeterias, the status on gtalk/facebook. Stop worrying about everything…go offline for once and stand up on that 4x4 cubicle, luk around and you wud find eyes dying to do the same…

Break the shackles…come out of the norm of those colons and closed braces...
SMILE…
Meet a friend…
Make a call to your home…
Organize a reunion…
Shake hands with the person sitting next to you…
Plan a holiday trip…
Hug ur beloved…
Do one thing which the professional life has curbed u in doing…& believe you me…life will be different…!!!

PS: The above thoughts are inspired by a lot of conversations, chat sessions, scraps, pings, missed calls, emails, and other forms of communication, which I have come across over the past 9 months of my corporate life…They are not personal to anyone but they definitely affect the personal life of a lot of persons in the professional world...