Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sufi music for the Soul

An Overview of Jamil Khan’s performance at Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication
-Devang Bhandari
Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication

“The moon was shining bright; the candles lit the way, and there was a feeling of warmth for everyone!”
The 7th floor of the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication never looked as beautiful, as it did on the night of the 27th of January 2010. Thanks to Spic Macay, ICCR and Jamil Khan!Well, the 1st year and 2nd year undergraduate batches from Symbiosis, got a once in a lifetime opportunity to watch renowned Sufi musician Jamil Khan and his troupe perform heartwarming songs in a two hour extravaganza.They say music knows no boundaries. And only when the cadences of tunes fill the air and when the wind carries the vocalist’s voice to your ears, does the essence of the music sink in! And this is exactly what happened!The terrace of the SIMC building had been decked up like a bride - making it THE place to be in. Symbiosis, in association with Spic Macay, had two days prior to this event, organized an Odissi dance performance for its students which had left them spell bound and amazed. But this, our Head of Department Prof. Anupam Siddhartha, had promised would be a totally different experience!And wasn’t he right!In the entire show which lasted a good two hours, the SIMC undergraduates never felt like leaving their places- so enthralled were they by the music. Another reason, apart from the music, was the setting. The moon was shining bright, small diyas lit every step you took and the night was perfect to sit with your batch mates and relax- and just enjoy the music! The finesse and sync with which the musicians were performing, it was impossible to even think that they had received no formal training and just picked up music as they went along!

If “Kesaria Baalam” set things off in a touching fashion, Jamil Khan did not disappoint till the very end with foot tapping songs like “Hibadha” and “Mast Kalandar”!

The amount of cheering, “woo-hoos” and “encore’s” that Jamil Khan received, especially after “Mast Kalandar” in itself told a third person viewing the show how successful it had been.
The night truly was an unforgettable one!

For some this show had been their first brush with Sufi music and it was one which they won’t forget in a long while to come!

A member of the audience came up with a few lines to sum up the whole performance, with which I would love to end:

“Music filled the air,
The setting was perfect as diya’s lit the way
Time came to a standstill
The day’s rigors lay forgotten as happiness spread everywhere!”

Finding yourself in the lights!



Its not easy to build a name for yourself! What's harder is maintaining it! Finding where you shine and then doing whatever it takes to keep the shine constant is the way to go. Not many choose to walk this line.
But those who do, are the ones we listen to.

It's all a game of choice, credibility and continuity!
Best of luck!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Peace of Mind- what is it????

The sound of silence can often be so deafening. Even with no sound around you are compelled to think about so many things happening around in your life. We spend every moment in our life fighting for work. We work all our life to fight off our problems. Isn’t the peace of mind anything to us?
For a student, is peace achieved when he or she gets good grades in his academic life? Or is he/she at peace just enjoying life- smoking, drinking, chatting away with friends- passing away precious time knowing full well that it will never come back to him.
We go to college and so many times just do a proxy and leave- to escape the boredom of sitting through an hour of “non- sensical” jabbering or sit in class and just try to memorize everything that is said- after all we have to top the exams isn’t it?
We have to show everyone how brilliant we are! We need to tell everyone who’s the boss!!
Is this a way of attaining the peace of mind?
Every individual has his or her own perception about this.
I have mine too!
I like bring quiet sometimes. Just stand in the Activity Lounge and stare at the tennis court in the opposite direction.
It’s as if I am staring into blankness.
At that point of time my mind is totally empty, devoid of emotion, expression and any kind of thought what so ever!
Writing this right now reminds me of one of the sessions we had in Panchgani. Mr. Joshi was telling us about how we should keep silent for a few minutes daily and listen to our inner voice!
I try doing that a lot nowadays!
Time stands still and I recall so many things which normally I wouldn’t have even bothered thinking about!
The fights I have had, the conflicts that I so often find myself a part of, all come into my head and slowly I begin to see a solution for it all!
Whoa I just read what I had written and it all sounds so philosophical as if I am attaining some kind of Nirvana or Enlightenment!
Is this peace of mind?
For me the peace of mind is something that exists but very hard to experience!
In your daily life you have so many things going on- assignments, tests, love, issues with friends etc. so how can you be at peace or experience that feeling?
There are so many distractions. There is so much that zooms in and out of your head so much so that sometimes it becomes hard to even focus on your daily routine!
There is so much stuff to do; so much on your mind that having time on your hands soon becomes a luxury you rarely can afford!
My question is- what is the peace of mind?

Monday, January 18, 2010

What else for a first?

I'm not going to say that we're 'still' talking about it. There's nothing 'still' about it.

After nearly 2 months now, we're so not over Panchgani. And, boy, am i glad it's so! Like for every other single person, that trip kind of marked my time in Symbiosis as a clear, thick band of unforgettable memories, feelings and bonds. 

The other day, casually talking about nothing in particular, Panchgani came up and i remember voicing: "Damn, if only we could do it again"

"we can go, individually..." came the reply and we left it at that. There was no point in saying the obvious: the whole lot of US wouldn't be there. I guess it was because we felt, for a precious few days, as one single being. And it feels amazing to belong. It's what most of us are still looking for, isn't it??

Maybe it's so precious because it's something we all did together and something we know we wont be doing again. Atleast not like that...

Maybe amazingly wonderful trips like that are beautiful because of their singularity.

Whatever it is, i  know i'm not done talking or writing about it.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Lights And Smoke

I saw it coming
In my eyes



I felt it was on me
It engulfed me



I was it
I was breathing it
In and then out



I couldn't help it 
Not anymore



It was a habit
It was a compulsion



It was what I started 
It was addiction
It was my choice.



Poem by: Akanksha Arya
Photos by: Me again!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

random, very random...

at some point of time in your life you are blessed with meeting someone who touches your life in a way that no one else has before and for that reason friendship, like no other feeling is a mutual linking of hearts, so special right from the beginning, even if u have known the person for a short time ...
When we all joined SIMC, nobody knew who was who. Someone came from Coimbatore, :), while somebody came from Bhopal, :) :).
And not only from India, but people came from Dubai, Muscat and God knows where else did they come from. So, basically, coming from somewhere totally different, leaving your parents behind, leaving your friends behind, for an unknown place, where you don't know what life is going to be like...
But, leaving all that aside, we all came, met, became friends, fought, laughed, loved, fought...again and again....laughed, loved, lived... it just happened all together. and see, we are still friends...all most 6 months, 15 days later, with 501 and 601 still the best yet the worst places to be, hiras', moushis', now added to the routine...604, shooting floor, computer lab(which we are finally learning to love, well...not all ;)), corridors, the activity lounge...at its' best in the evenings withe the cool air blowing against our faces, wiping away all the tensions for those few seconds, the bathrooms...ah! stress busters... ;) :D :P , Ayush Internship...still begging to us to write in to them...hahaha, what a joke...and writings behind the walls, the doors (the bathrooms to be specific, please grow up people...shame on you, such kiddish behaviour, and trust me, I ain't speaking this in my context)...

well...guess i said too much, but then....whatever, said what i had to.

So, anyway, all I wanted to say, I conveyed in those few lines at the beginning of this blog, rest all...just random thoughts, had them for so long, thought should let them out.
:)
good day to all.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Sleep Sweet

Sleep Sweet

Sleep oh sweet friend of mine sleep
Close ur eyes but keep the ones in ur heart open wide
Let ur mind wander
Let it go free
Let ur imagination run wild n explore the world as far as ur minds eye can see
N in ur sleep think of the pain u ve inflicted...the pain u ve gone thru
Bcuz in ur sleep u ll be able to think clearly of the reasons u never knew
Sleep wit hope in ur heart tht every dawn will fill ur soul with happiness anew...
G'nite my friend,
Always remember tht an angel protects u overlooks ur every move
N tht i love u :)

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Observations. :P

Ok...So We're done with the 1st Sem...Well...A list of few thigns what we all know (OBVIOUS)..

1. 501 & 601 [:P]

2. Hira's ( All Hail Smoke )

3. Faasos

4. Lift Record (Current 17) [:o]

5.Warning Letters are no more a threat....

6. A.S. is unpredictible

7. Media Laws is Really Important...Like REALLY !

8. Attendance is the only thing IMPORTANT !!!

9. Making Short Films is NOT a Joke

10. Mess Food Sucks

11. Cafeteria is Awesome

12. Sleeping early at 0100 Hrs...is Like very GAY !

13. You have to check SIMC Mail every 6 Hours

14. Comp Lab is the place where most of the Gossips/Bitching take place.

15. Activity Lounge is a Hangout Lounge..more than the activity.

16. Pavement + Evening Time + Friends + A Smoke = Awesomenesssssss !!! [;)]

17. Mercury is just a 2 month baby with Loads of Visitor.

18. Sitting at your Home betn 6 PM - 10 Pm.... is So NOT Cool !!!!

19. Rasoi, Punjabi Dhaba, Venky's, Megabite, Chang's, Chopstix, Bawarchi Etc.

20. Sai Dristhi is Hell..for Everyone

21. You've have to atleast... have a Vada Pav with a Chai n A Smoke @ Mausi Ji, Once

a day during the free time

22. 602 is used for Jamming Sessions !

23. College Wi-Fi Irittates with the Firewall and Shit

24. Every one has become a better Photographer.

25. You don't ask the Senior about : " Hey what's the whole deal with The Heart and

Mind ? "

26. Davidoff/Marlboro/Verve/Ultra Mild/Classic Mild/Gold Flake.

27. Boozing on Terrace is Like Woah !!!!!!!!!!

28. Cafe 9.

29. Neco Gardens

30. CAD B

31. Being Nice is GAY . Being Mean and a Bindaas Person is being normal in

SIMC.

32. Editing Suite is hardly a "SUITE".

33. Communication teacher ko Hindi aur Angrezi nahi aati !

34. You Don't Mess with A.S.

35. Peon Bhaiyaa's are easy.

36. MRA - Asia Plateau is Like.. WOW !!!

37. Panchagani was everyone's favorite..that happened lately

38. Lalwani Vastu A2-301 and Sreemangal Padma 204.

39. Thrusdays at High Spirits.

40. Everyone knows what's a Shamiana.

41. You take out your cell phone and switch on the stop watch at movies.

42. There’s something wrong just because you’re wearing a round neck T shirt.

43. Corporation bank Shows you an error most of the time when asked for 1000 INR or more :

44. Mhada vs Sakore Nagar =D.

45. Thankfully, there are no Hippies in SIMC, like the other colleges of Symbii.

46. Every one wants to act in one movie or the other.

47. Seniors love Shyama Ma'am, for Obvious reasons.

48. Assignments have never been such a Pain in the Ass.

49. Ajay Zad is not easy.

50. Everyone is happy that 1st sem is over. =)

51. Everyone is happy that 2nd sem is full of Photography and Electronic Media.

- Chirantan Mahajan.