Life, as we know it, or do we?

What is life? No, seriously, what is it?

I know, we all know that there are atleast one zillion ways you can answer that. Some people who have tried on doing many a things and have failed would probably tell you that life’s a compromise. The other lucky ones who have tasted success by doing what they always wanted would probably tell you that everything is just great. A guy on the road who’s starving and begs to fill his stomach or probably his kids’ would tell that life is miserable. A teenager would define it in his own way, so would anyone, based on their own experiences, or the way they have been going through things in their lives. But the bottom line is, what is it any way?

With the current state of mind, I honestly don’t know. I don’t know if it’s about compromises, if it’s about achieving, if it’s about just going with the flow, if it’s just pleasing someone for whatever reasons. It gets a little tricky to make a general definition for this question. Just today, a while back, I saw something that said something like this - “why do they say that life’s short when that’s probably one of the longest things you ever have?” Well, that’s kinda true. I think why they say life’s short is mainly because of the encouraging vibe that line gives. Come on, life’s short, let’s do this, let’s do that and so on. Is it really like that? Does it happen that way? Who knows?

What life becomes is eventually a mystery. We start with something in mind, it takes it own turn, adapting to the uncertainties of time. And then by the time we realise something, it’s all too late. It’s very comforting to say that a good time is going to come, that times change and all that. I’m not saying it never will, it’s one thing to hope but another thing to realise the practicality of it. 

Random Ramble - 3

Well, hello.

One of those days where you open blogger after what seems like ages without a set agenda in mind. You really don't know where to begin, what to address or what to ramble upon. I should probably start naming these in sequence. But again, for the frequency of my writing, I might not even remember the previous number. I'm quite sure there is at the very least, more than one blog which says random something. Anyways, let me begin, somehow.

So, its September. The dreaded month. This time, I think it is in conjunction with its predecessor, August. There was an onslaught of a very courageous mosquito(es) who escaped the electric bat and made their way into finding us and infecting all of our blood streams, resulting in quite a prolonged viral infection. It was quite terrible, with all of us at home sleeping through the day, unable to move a muscle. What's worse is that even through half of September, the body pains haven't reduced. Quite a strong mosquito, maybe. So since September joined hands with August, I'd not blame most of it on the 9th month.

End of August is when our own brand of shirts - Rue mode launched, under the aegis of That Corner Store. We started off this after a lot of planning and research. We have presence on Amazon and Snapdeal and lot of local orders. That's about the publicity I can do. Maybe we need to get a professional fashion blogger to talk about it and promote it.

One thing about working with a labour class oriented industry is that you learn a lot. Learn to explain small things, learn to do the same things in different ways and so on. Its been just over two years since I started working here and boy, it is taxing. Draining mentally more than physically. To top it all, you find clients who screw you over and just when you are settling, demonetisation hits you in the face again. Problems are endless, but again, if everything went smooth, what would be memorable?

Nope. Still don't have anything concrete to talk about. Rather, there is just so much to talk about. I should probably revisit with a little more organisation in thought.

Ta!

The apathy of Music, or what is left of it.

I have been observing a very disturbing trend off late. I remember writing about how people want everything instantly in today's times, some 4 years back at least. I'm surprised that tables haven't turned since then. What's disturbing is that probably they won't, ever.

Its a little appalling, the approach people are taking toward art forms. This is probably a lament on similar lines that I remember was happening when there was a debate going on as to how much technology should you let into your music. While there were pros like different artists not being available together for a recording, there were also cons that robbed songs off their expression because of various breaks during recording, off the chemistry and bonding that would have been if not for technology. Taken in with a pinch of salt, since technology simplified the work of the sound engineer, it reigned supreme.

Today, its the exposure. Social media has played and will continue to play a very important role in our lives. People decide to showcase the food they eat, the people they have gone out with and the like. But when used properly, social media can serve as a very powerful tool for the required exposure. With a lot of people - young and old taking up music and taking up gigging on the rise, its only fair that they require their followers to increase, recognise them so that they get more shows, hoping their musical career would get an upstart. Its very heartening to know that youtube sensations have gotten big breaks earlier. So that one reason is enough for us to hope, and thus, perform and publicise.

I'm not saying publicity is bad, neither am I saying marketing ourselves is bad. There needs to be an aggressive push in the market if we are looking for people to notice us. What is appalling and steadily deteriorating is the quality of music.

We all think of getting on stage and covering classics. Few people shy away from covering them because they would be worried that if its not reproduced the same way as of the original, the crowd would well, boo them. Few people take the brave step of acing the guitar riff or the solo the way it is with rigorous practice. Few people play the part with their modifications and then stand by it saying its their own version of it. I've seen all these kinds of people. One simple thought we need to stop sometime in life and ask ourselves is this. Why did these bands become classics? Why have few bands like Iron Maiden perhaps stood the test of time? How is it that anything that's new isn't termed a classic, or how is it that it fades away too soon? I'm not trying to demean any artist here. All artists, in my opinion are trying to give it their own flavour to it and only few are successful in getting a taste of it. As kids, we've heard stories of musicians practicing for days on a particular scale, conducting workshops only about a certain raaga and the various ways it can be interpreted.

I used to have many such discussions at music class. In view of getting likes of going live, or just publicising our work, we get into the field like half baked chicken. Here, the musical ability is limited, there, audience doesn't give a damn as to what you play as long as you entertain them. It could be death metal, it could be carnatic classical. That has forced a new breed of musicians to evolve, the ones that don't care. The ones that are ok with learning for 2 years and then going all out on promotion. Yes, it has become a business, it has become very commercial. Gone are the days when music used to sell because of a certain person. Now its the package. That's no harm either. But its art form. Art is liberation. For liberation to happen, there has to be a proper means. Every art form is an ocean. An ocean that needs to be worshipped, needs to be revered. Its what is referred to as 'Saadhana'. Having heard stories of artists who would just lock themselves up and play one particular raaga for days together, getting inspired from them, and looking at people who have an attitude of not wanting to take in new things, not wanting to evolve, not wanting to experiment, but just rely on instant fame is a little too disturbing. Again, its the ones who can actually have a certain discipline that can really stick around to anything. But this trend can surely be changed by proper education, by proper upbringing. Its not fame or success that matters. Its the discipline and the perseverance. Its the practice. Its how you express your liberation after that. But for liberation to happen, you need to know what you are capable of. 

Evolution

I don't intend to make this a discourse on human evolution. But hey, come to actually think of it, it might just be that. Well, to another degree or dimension, I suppose.

There's this thing I keep reading here and there. I think I turn away from it voluntarily because its the truth. I don't think any of us have the balls to face the truth as it is. Well, lets not make it about anybody. Let me talk for myself - for if I do evolve, this will serve as a nice memoir. But seriously, the thing I kept evading every now and then was - 'People are only important to you at specific times'. I thought it was kinda rude to make a statement like that. But its the truth, isn't it?

We all have grown out of relations, out of friendships, out of relations that we can't give a name to. We have evolved out of them. I've heard people say that those who were important to us at a point of time are like plain glass now - we look through them. Why did that happen?

There are probably two things at play here. One - We change. We conveniently say out loud that people change, he/she has changed and blah. But how many times do we stop to realise that we are included in the people? How many times do we think if that other person thought the same about you, some time? Its all laced with self pity and distress that we quickly shift the blame away from us. But, turns out what I read was true.

We all make relationships. We never start a relationship with an intention to make sure it lasts for 2 months. (We call them flings.) No, but seriously, at that point of time, that person would mean quite a lot to us. I don't mean to make this sound in a way that would make people selfish and 'use' the person for some gains. That is a whole new game. But its okay. I'm really convincing myself here that its okay to grow out of relations. But I guess the harsh reality just bites you in the ass. We all consider that person important in that phase of our lives. Priorities change. We change. They change. We find others, they also do. We grow out of it. They do too. Its only the ones who stand the test of time that are laud-worthy. Not to mention, a rarity.

State of mind

Well, hello there.

So it turns out that this is the first blog of the year. I was so hoping that I'd open my blog to find a couple of entries already in Jan. But, it turns out that they just ended up as being plans after all. With a gleam of hope that I'd miss my Feb entry by hours, I immediately rushed to open the screen of my MacBook, but seems like it is right on time to make my first blog entry!

I wasn't lying about making those plans of writing blogs. There was Pravasi Diwas that happened in Bangalore in January. I was a little too perplexed with the way things unfolded during those few days around that event. Greenery everywhere, even planted with due care in the underpasses. Like I heaved a sigh of exasperation about how much of effort would go down the drain for some excessive ornamentation of our 'Garden city', which really did, sooner than expected. This was to form a blog in entirety. I don't know how, please don't ask me. Maybe out of sheer frustration, I'd have ended up typing fancy words at furious speeds.

But without planning (like many times), today, as soon as I wrapped up my now-a-relatively-little-bit regular vocal practice (of which I was mighty disappointed), I just thought to myself - I could take it to two extremities. I could sulk that I'm out of touch and ruin my mood, or I could say it was just one of those days when things didn't turn out to be that hunky-dory. Now, this, too is very subjective. It really depends on the state of mind during that part. But, how many times really have we actually rued about things that have happened and not found a way to brush it off saying, 'its ok, it was just a one off incident'. Reminds me I was cribbing about something that had happened for atlas weeks after the incident till I actually convinced myself - with great motivation from some wonderful people around me of course.

I remember telling a friend recently - a quote that I read somewhere in a very disturbed state of mind. You know when you are all a little upset about something, you are trying hard to get rid of it because its affecting your efficiency and all that. So, I was a little preoccupied with some thoughts when I saw this - 'If you are upset about something and really can't do much about it, close your eyes for a minute and think if it would affect you in some way in the next 5 years. If it would, you better pull up your socks together and do something about it. If it doesn't, then you have your answer.' Some quotes like these at the right time can make wonders. In your head. 

We are all human after all. We all err. We all are meant to. Or else we never learn. We never get motivated. Have you ever thought that motivation doesn't come by looking at videos? Neither does persistence. Neither does a state of mind. This reminds of another incident that most of you would have read about - the cockroach story. You know a lady freaks out in a restaurant when she sees a cockroach at her feet. The dude next to her freaks out too, and as a chain reaction, all people start scampering and shouting. The poor cockroach, oblivious to all the commotion is trying to find a place and running pillar to post. A waiter comes along, confidently picks up the cockroach by the antenna and throws it out. What was on display here? The waiter's ability to not get affected by the cockroach, because, duh, it really didn't mean to affect you in any way. So, similarly, state of mind is created by us. We are upset because we let ourselves become upset. We are happy because of similar reasons. We get motivated when we want to, and the days we aren't, we blame it on something silly. Its never an external force. Its all us. Its all inside us.