In pursuit of happiness...

This is one of those random thoughts I had when I found a few hours of idle time amidst my otherwise busy schedule...those few moments which are spent contemplating on life and such...

All of us have dreams/aspirations/goals in life, small or big, doesn't matter. We visualize, plan, prioritize, chase and strive hard to achieve those *objects of desire* or fulfill those dreams. I've been there, done that too. But I have noticed that whenever I reach a goal or acquire that *object of desire*, it never makes me as happy and thrilled as I had thought it would, when I started off. In short, it doesn't live up to the initial fantasies. It really makes me wonder why?! It cannot be becoz I dont want to be at that stage anymore or I dont like that *object of desire*, coz I would have put in days, months & sometimes years of effort behind it... Then, is it becoz my priorities changed during the course? I guess not, coz then I would have not pursued the goal or chased my *object of desire* till the end! So what else could it be??

I do realize that as human beings, we are never content with what we get. We always aspire for more. It's like someone wanting to buy a house all his life and when he actually does, he'll wish he owned a bigger house or a house by the sea side. What's the guarantee that the same feeling wont pop up again? There's no limit to being satiatiated....

After much contemplation, analysis, thought & discussions, one answer did satisfy me to an extent. It's always the "pursuit" which is more exciting than the "attainment" itself. "Wanting" seems to be a much stronger emotion than "Having".... the happiness actually lies in the pursuit itself and not the end point or the goal ". So when you actually attain it, you wonder Now What?! Of course there is a short period of excitement when we attain the goal, I dont deny. But very soon we are back to picking on the next goal and sailing on the same boat, striving hard all over again...

The best analogy here could be climbing a mountain. You trek all the way up for many hours to get a glimpse of that beautiful view from the peak. But the time spent there is just a few minutes....The excitement and joy is more in the journey to and from the peak...

So in short, attaining a goal or the *object of desire* is not an end by itself.... it's the journey that matters and is more enjoyable ; pursuit is where the happiness lies...

IndiRank

Indiblogger is a community of Indian blogs; a site which maintains a database of blogs in the Indian blogosphere. So it's a good platform to gain more visibility for your blog, connect with fellow-bloggers and also find some of the best blogs around. My blog has been a part of this directory for quite a while now (more than a year).. I logged in today after ages to check the stats and was quite suprised to see what turned out below...

1. IndiRank 73/100 !
2. Google Page Rank - 3 !! (What is page rank?)
3. Frequency of Posting - Very Good

Kahi door jab din dhal jaaye.....

I was stuck in a crazy traffic while driving back from work today and was held up on the road for quite a while. It can sometimes frustrate the heck out of you, especially if you havent slept the previous night and studied the whole day and given a 2 hr exam in addition to a stressful day at work... My car doesn't have a music system, so that leaves me with very few options at such situations! I was just gazing through the window and it was just that time of sunset and I found this very pretty sight and cursed myself for having forgotten my cam. Anyways....got whatever I could with my mobile, but disappointed that the pattern it formed in the sky couldn't be captured (image above). There's very little that a 3.2mega pixel cam without a zoom can do :)

There is something about watching the sunset that I really like.. it's such an indescribable feeling...very relaxing and extremely soothing! Watching it across the sea or atop a hill would give me the best feeling ever!!

How I met your mother..

I recently started watching this sitcom and surprisingly have been quite addicted to it so far; 2 seasons,45 episodes in 3 days (currently watching season 3)......that's how interesting it got!

Honestly, in my opinion it's nothing very different or classy. It's like any usual laugh-track-with-romance-filled-show that you can think of.... but again, this recipe is what makes it click I guess! I've enjoyed watching FRIENDS, SCRUBS and SEINFELD a lot and though 'How I met your mother' doesn't fall in the same league, it does come pretty close..

The first episode starts off sometime in the future (like the year 2030 or so) with Ted Mosby (the architect) narrating the story to his son & daughter of how he met their mother. I think the 5th season is getting aired currently and till now who actually the 'mother' is, is not revealed. So, that's one concept that keeps the suspense on and the show going...Am not sure how far they can actually keep this concept going. Am curious to watch :) I absolutely love the character of Barney....a very interesting and super cool guy, who is the main attraction in the sitcom; he surely does manage to tickle that funny bone a lot!

Definitely worth a watch...it's one of the new funniest sitcoms of this season..

I have a lot more shows lined up to watch...

- One Tree Hill

- 24

- Lost

- Boston Legal

that's quite a lot to keep me busy for months! :)

Featured!

On a gloomy monday, it was a pleasant surprise to know that my previous post on Wake up Sid won a spotlight on the Sulekha Movies website and was selected by the Sulekha Team as their "Featured Review" for the movie!! :-)

It's strange that small things like these brighten your day to a great extent!

You can find the link to the featured review here

Wake up Sid!

A must watch, preferably in the theater!

I don't have to think much on giving a 5 star rating for this movie. I've been waiting to catch this movie since the time I saw the promos in August; so am glad that I watched it today

I dont know where to start my review - acting, screenplay, music, direction, dialogues...I loved every part of it. It's a mainstream bollywood movie, nothing extraordinary nor is it off beat yet it strikes refreshingly different. The entire movie is shot in Mumbai...You can smell the freshness in it, just like those rain drops in the first showers of the Mumbai monsoons shown in the movie. You can feel the love for the city, which every Mumbaiker holds dearly in his heart. Debutant director Ayaan Mukherjee has done an awesome job with his screenplay, casting and direction! The dialogues are very simple and in a casual conversation style which you can well relate to and you will be ready to emotionally invest through out the movie. Well, am sure you got my point by now... you walk out of the theater "feeling good"..

The story is probably a one-liner and predictable yet you cant complain! When the movie goes deeper, you dont need words to describe the story. The more I watched Sid (Ranbir) and Aisha (Konkona), the more I wanted to know them better. The 'nice'ities of their relationship is well depicted; the screen time is shared well to show how their friendship develops, how they grow fond of each other etc..

One striking part of the movie was the acting. Ranbir turned out to be a total surprise package. I really disliked him as an actor till I saw this one! I was awestruck. He just spellbinds you with his acting, making a flesh and blood character out of Sid; so natural, so effortless and very impressive, I must say! He is well complemented by Konkona. There is truly no doubt about her acting skills, she is as good as ever! The casting is quite unusual with a lot of new faces playing important roles, and they totally fit in...

Last but not the least, the trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy create magic with their music again. I loved all the songs...but the title song and "Iktara" are extremely catchy and lovable...it definitely adds to the whole movie experience.


You can draw comparisons to Dil Chahta Hai at quite a few parts, but heck, so what?! Similarities always exist but this one still maintains its own identity at the end...


A very competent effort by a first time director and the movie definitely has its heart in the right place...

Whos Among Us..

I found this pretty cool site (stat tool) Whos.Amung.Us which tracks the visitor statistics of your blog. I use both Google Analytics and Feed Burner for my blogs which obviously are quite detailed and exhaustive but the best part I liked about this site is the tracking of visitors "hour wise".
So it gives u a widget (scroll down the right bar of my blog) that displays the number of users currently viewing your webpage and clicking on that takes you to their site where you get a detailed report of the users online per hour, a map pinpointing the location of the users down to their city, and a monthly statistics report.

To top it all, u dont even need to register to use all these features, it starts tracking right from the moment you link it to your blog......its free and simple! :)

"Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realized that failure whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of pyschic rewards. Never regret your past, rather embrace it as the teacher that it is".

- The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma

[Click here to read my review]

Om Mani Padme Hum...

All of us have heard of the mantra "Om" which is considered as the universal sound, made of 3 basic sounds A, U, M.... Each sound creates a different vibration; so it is used to cleanse the mind and body and its one of the most powerful sounds to meditate on. I've noticed that just playing the Om chanting in my room it has a very calming and cleansing effect...

That being said, not many of us would have heard of "Om Mani Padme Hum" (Hail the jewel in the lotus). It is derived from Sanskrit and the originations are traced back to Buddhism and associated with Dalai Lama. I read a couple of books by Thich Nhat Hanh a few months back and that's when I had come across these words but never bothered to find out more. Yesterday a friend of mine told me the meaning of this and I immediately read up more about its benefits and also found a link to the chanting in Youtube....

Just listening to it for 10 mins had such an amazing effect! It's incredibly peaceful & calming and the tune used is so soothing that it takes just a few mins to relax your mind and body... It's purpose is to generate positive, peaceful vibrations and mainly vibrations of compassion.

OM (Ohm) - symbolizes the pure noble body, speech and mind
MANI (Ma Nee) - the jewel, symbolizes factors of method, compassion and love, the altruistic intention to become enlightened
PADME (Peh-d-May) - means lotus and symbolizes wisdom. Growing out of mud, but not being stained by mud, lotus indicates the quality of wisdom, which keeps you out of contradiction.
HUM (Hum) - means inseparability; symbolizing purity & can be achieved by the unity of method and wisdom

More details here if you are interested:
Wiki Link

Meaning and Pronunciation

Now I play it in a loop even when I am browsing, reading a book or sometimes just in the background and the whole atmosphere feels rejuvenated and peaceful... Try it, to experience it! You can even meditate on this by just closing your eyes and listening to it and focusing on the words or reciting it yourself....

There are different versions, but I liked this the best...

Pranic Healing

I was introduced to Pranic Healing 2 years back by a friend and just a few sessions had immense benefits on me. Right from that day I've been wanting to learn this myself and explore the fascinating subject further...to create a good mental, physical and spiritual health.

Over the weekend I attended the Basic Pranic Healing Course for beginners (Level-1 Certification) which is a 2 day course conducted by the Pranic Healing Foundation Center in Bangalore. With this basic course itself you actually learn all the techniques to heal your own self as well as others, starting from minor physical ailments like headaches to major ones like Cancer, strokes, tuberculosis etc. This includes distant healing as well (the patient can be in any part of the world). You can also heal to a certain extent, psychosomatic ailments related to emotional stress, anxiety and tension. But the Psychotherapy by itself is a Level-3 course, before which the Advanced Course needs to be completed.

For the benefit of those who haven't heard of this term, first of all Pranic Healing (PH) is NOT the same as Reiki. It is based on the same principle of energy and life force, but the technique is completely different and more advanced and powerful than Reiki. Surprisingly, I came across this article on Natural Healing in TOI today & it clearly describes the essence and the basic principle of PH as below-

We all have a subtle body made of energy. This subtle body is made up of life force energy; it runs through subtle pathways or meridians and centres of energy, also known as charkas. One of the main ways that a skilful healer helps the body to heal is simply by stimulating and unblocking the meridians so our natural energies flow freely bringing mental, emotional and eventually physical balance and well being. This is the main way that most natural healing therapies work. Life Force Energy is the subtle foundation of all life, a sort of cosmic soup that supports, nourishes and sustains the cycle of birth, life and death of all forms of life....

The real meaning of natural healing is to restore a person to wholeness and having a healthy body is only a small part of this. A good natural healing treatment has the effect of restoring openness to our energy system so we can receive a well balanced flow of Universal Life Force Energy that is often cut off or restricted by illness. Being cut off from this life force is often the cause of much illness

So fundamentally it is based on "Life force" or "Prana" or "Breath". The same principle is used in Yoga and Pranayams. By regulating the breathing and making it rhythmic you can activate the different energy centers (chakras) in your body which in turn control the health of different organs (see image below)...That is why yoga is both a spiritual as well as a physical exercise...It works on the subtle energy layer (aura) which is invisible to the naked eye and nothing mystical. (The concept is scientifically proven - these energy centers/chakras are nothing but the points where a large group of nerves join together which when activated send signals to the organs that they control....)

The 2 days workshop was truly an amazing experience. We not only learn the theory but also perform healing on each other in the class so that by the end you are confident of using the techniques. You will learn how to sensitize your hands to feel the energy layer and the experience was mystical. You will be amazed to feel something that is invisible to the naked eye! It's performed completely by non-touch, scanning only from the distance without touching any part of the body and I was surprised to see some of my minor pains like headache and cramps disappear within a few minutes of self healing on the very first day of the class (without taking any pain killers!). I've also tried healing my mom thru distant healing and she could notice the relief significantly....

You also learn the "Twin Heart Meditation" which is the basis of PH which energizes your body with prana (divine energy) and it can increase your psychic, intuitive and healing abilities, leading you towards spirituality. It is one of the most powerful forms of guided meditation techniques that I have come across and doing it just for the last 4 days has helped me immensely. (Will write a separate post on this soon...)

PH is not a substitute to medicine...especially when its a chronic problem. PH is more of a parallel healing method which helps in increasing the body's natural ability to heal itself faster. Some of the top hospitals in Bangalore now have a separate department for PH and they do recommend patients to try this and some of them have been cured miraculously even when the doctors had completely given up.

PH works mainly on faith. If you have faith in the technique, you can heal; if not, u won't see an iota of difference! The person being healed should at least be neutral/receptive even if he/she doesnt believe in it... a complete mental block prevents the healing...

Last but not the least PH is a skill and needs to be mastered gradually (just like driving). You cannot acquire it in few days or give up hope. It is said that healing comes only by practice & sometimes it takes years to develop the skill. But just following the basic steps does give you the desired relief, till u master it!

Looking forward to doing the Advanced & Psychotherapy Courses (level 2 & 3) in the next couple of weeks...

The Paradoxical Commandments

Someone forwarded a mail today on this ... felt good reading it and had a strong urge to share it here... Sounds so simple and paradoxical of course! But quite difficult to implement for sure..

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

by Dr. Kent M. Keith

Book Giveaway: Dancing With Ana

Here is a chance to win 3 free copies of the book 'Dancing With Ana' by Nicole Barker, which is a Young Adult fiction novel. This giveaway is open till September 10th 2009 and the winners will be announced the next day on my book blog.

The author sent me a review copy a few weeks back and this being my first expermient with the YA genre, I absolutely loved reading it... very heart warming, light and fun to read. Click here if you want to read my review of the book.

Click here to participate in the giveaway and win a copy for yourself.

Yeh dooriyan..

Yeh dooriyan, In raahon ki dooriyan,

Nigahon ki dooriyan,

Hum rahon ki dooriyan,

Fanaa ho sabhi dooriyan....

Kyun koi paas hai, Door hai,

Kyun koi,Jaane na koi yahan pe....

Aa Raha paas ya door mein ja raha,

Janu na main hoon kahan pe....

Yeh dooriyan, In raahon ki dooriyan,

Nigahon ki dooriyan,Hum rahon ki dooriyan,

Fanaa ho sabhi dooriyan....

Kabhi hua yeh bhi, Khali rahon pe bhi,

Tu tha mere saath

Kabhi tujhe milke lauta

mera dil yeh khali khali haath,

Yeh bhi hua kabhi, Jaise hua abhi,

Tujhko sabhi mein paa liya....

Tera mujhe kar jaati hai dooriyan,

Satati hain dooriyan, Tarsati hain dooriyan,

Fanaa ho sabhi dooriyan....

Kaha bhi na maine, Nahi jeena maine,

Tu jo na mila, Tujhe bhule se bhi,

Bola na maine ki chahun fasla

Bas fasla rahe, Ban ke kasak jo kahe,

Ho aur chahat yeh aur jawan

Teri meri mit jaani hai dooriyan,

Begani hai dooriyan, Hat jaani dooriyan,

Fanaa ho sabhi dooriyan....

Kyun koi paas hai, Door hai, Kyun koi,

Jaane na koi yahan pe....

Aa Raha paas ya door mein ja raha,

Janu na main hoon kahan pe....

Yeh dooriyan, In raahon ki dooriyan,

Nigahon ki dooriyan,Hum rahon ki dooriyan,

Fanaa ho sabhi dooriyan....

Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Have you ever found your "perfect" book? It's an amazing feeling to read the perfect book at the perfect time in your life! This one was mine :-) It's one of the most AMAZING books that I have read so far and something that I'll read it over and over again and treasure it in my bookshelf. I highly recommed this book, especially if you are looking out for some kind of an inspiration in life, or if you are going through a journey of finding your true self! This one might just do the trick for you.

Click here if you want to read my review of the book.

This book is full of anecdotes and pieces of wisdom scattered through out...I absolutely loved them; something that I want to keep reading and reminding myself often..am sure you'll know why, when you read these :)

*********

“[My guru] says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that’s not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it…”

*********

"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select what clothes you're gonna wear every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control. Drop everything else but that. Because if you cant learn to master your thinking, you're in deep trouble forever"

*********

I was full of a hot, power sadness and would have loved to burst into the comfort of tears, but tried hard not to, remembering my Guru once said - "You should never give yourself a chance to fall apart because, when you do, it becomes a tendency and it happens over and over again. You must practice staying strong, instead".

*********

'Guilt’s just your ego’s way of tricking you into thinking that you’re making moral progress.’

*********

You are, after all, what you think. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts and you are the slave to your emotions

*********

"In desperate love we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding that they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform the role we create in the first place".

*********

Ketut said he could answer my question with a picture. He showed me a sketch he'd drawn during meditation. It was an androgynous human figure, standing up, hands clasped in prayer. But this figure had four legs, and no head. There was a small, smiling face drawn over the heart.

"To find the balance you want, this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. That way, you will know God"

*********

The other problem with all this swinging through the vines of thought is that you are never where you are. You are always digging in the past or poking at the future, but rarely do you rest in the moment. It's something like the habit of my dear frined Susan who - whenever she sees a beautiful place - exclaims in near panic "It's so beautiful here! I want to come back here someday!" and it takes all of my persuasive powers to try to convince her that she is already here!

Now, give me one good reason why you wouldn't want to pick up this book! :)

Early bird...

(Photo courtesy: Google search)

Till about a year back I used to be like a night owl, sleeping late and waking up late. It's different when you are studying in a B-school; there you dont have a choice but to make your days as long as possible. But when you get to doing the normal things in life and get set into a routine of going to work every morning, waking up early becomes inevitable.. Even then I used to wake up just an hour before leaving for office, leaving me with enough time to get ready and scoot!

My schedule completely changed once I started doing yoga in the mornings. Waking up at 6AM sharp seemed quite difficult initially, especially during monsoon & winters when you feeling like snuggling up! But now, after a year of waking up at 6 everyday, I realize that my biological clock is so well tuned that I wake up without an alarm at 6am sharp including weekends and it seems so easy and natural and feels great... Sometimes seems like a miracle, how our bodies are made up to function this way!

Why am I writing all this? Well, few people at work often ask me why I am an early riser and what I get out of it...I thought this would make a good post!

We've all heard of this famous quote since childhood days -

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” - Ben Franklin

I don't know about the latter two but makes u healthy for sure!

I've derived a lot of benefits switching from being a night owl to an early riser-

• Amazing start to the day by doing yoga/exercise. Maximum amount of calorie burning happens when you exercise the first thing in the morning and also improves your metabolism. So obviously your health improves!
• Grow yourself - Quiet time for yourself to meditate, contemplate and introspect!
• Watching the sunrise feels good (Well you cant literally get to watch amidst these concrete buildings in bangalore, but u get my point? :) )
• Fresh air - which otherwise is impossible to get in a crowded city!
• Productivity increases - I sometimes keep my most important work for mornings coz the mind is fresh, concentration levels are high without many distractions
• Beat traffic - starting early means less traffic and commute time, so in turn lesser stress
• Enough time to have a heavy n healthy breakfast which is the most important meal of the day

Read this article - Tapping the power of your morning routine by Jim Citrin. He says "The quiet of the morning is often the time when your mind is at its clearest and most well-suited to solving important problems". 80% of the executives he questioned, wake up 5.30am or earlier.

So you get to grow yourself professionally, emotionally, spritually, mentally and physically!

All about books..

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." - Mark Twain

I just noticed that since I started my new book blog, I have stopped writing about books in this space completely. The last time I made a post on books here was in April and since then my reading has picked up pace like crazy! Considering the fact that my job is so hectic these days and consumes most of my time during the day as well as the night, I am glad that my reading has increased beyond my expectations. My colleagues ask me how I manage to read so many books when all of us are so engulfed with proposals/deadlines/calls et.al... well, even I am suprised that I am able to squeeze in so much reading off late. Maybe becoz I have made it a habit to shut down my laptop and read for at least 1 hour before I sleep everyday and substitute the time spent watching the idiot box and the stupid reality shows with a good book! It has become a ritual now, which cant be broken :)

And of course, just the thought that a good book is waiting to be read at the end of a long day makes the day happier...

Just a quick peek into the books I read in May & June. The list looks quite long for a 2 month period, doesnt it? ;-)

Books read
1. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
2. Buddha Mind, Buddha Body - Thich Nhat Hanh
3. Keep off the grass - Karan Bajaj
4. Stay Hungry Stay Foolish - Rashmi Bansal
5. Dont lose your mind, lose your weight - Rujuta Diwekar
6. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
7. Energy of Prayer - Thich Nhat Hanh (Not reviewed)
(Click on the titles to read the reviews)

Currently Reading
Princess - Jean Sasson

On the Shelf
1. Kafka on the shore - Haruki Murakami
2. The Guns of Navar One - Alistair Maclean

Federer wins wimbledon... Roddick wins hearts

Yesterday's wimbledon finals was way more sensational than last year's. Roger Federer was playing for his 15th grand slam and Andy Roddick for his first wimbledon title. The synopsis - "Roger beat Andy in 5 gruelling sets. For almost 30 games, they went back n forth holding their serves until Roger broke Andy's serve to end the longest fifth set and create history".

But the 4hr15mins game tells a slightly different tale! Before and after the match started, most of the world including me would have wanted Federer to win. Winning a 15th grand slam & making that mark in history is something I felt he deserved.

But Roddick shocked the millions of Federer fans by winning the first set and left us groaning! Then on continued his impressive play till the last game, with an amazing level of energy, grit and determination. Even Federer couldn't manage to break his serve...not once in the entire 4hrs!! Roddick played exceptionally well, it was not only his serve that was strong but once the ball was in he was so aggressive and controlled the points at the baseline, running to the net and thru the entire court!!

In the 5th set, though my heart was wishing Federer to win, I did secretly pray for a Roddick win sometimes. Not because I started disliking Federer but Andy Roddick was undoubtedly playing better tennis and he truly deserved to win yesterday's match. With too many unforced errors and inability to convert multiple break points, Federer definitely did not play his best game...not expected out of someone who has won 14 grand slams before. But he did show his class by shooting out aces like fireworks and showed his experience and character by maintaining a calm & composed outlook as Roddick came forward and attacked him, though he was not having his best day.

"I just want to say congratulations to Roger", Roddick said after the match. "He's a true champion and he deserves everything he gets....It was a pleasure playing him today". The sight of watching Roddick see Federer lift that cup, with moist eyes wud have brought tears to most of the viewers. But sports is cruel, there can only be one winner. The sad part is, Andy won 39 games and Roger 38 and yet ended as a runner-up! Hmm...so is life..its unfair...

I feel Roddick played like a true champion and he deserved the tile as much as Federer, if not more. To me, they both were winners, even though Roddick lost the match..

Music or Reality?

I strongly feel that MTV should change its name to RTV! (Reality TV). A channel that was started more than a decade back, whose sole purpose was to play quality music is now showing everything other than music....It's almost as if they feel there is a dearth of good music in this world and they are doing everything to fill up the 24hours with these chain of reality shows...

It started off with Roadies and now there is Splitsvilla, Teen Diva, Fast & the Gorgeous, Airtel MTV Connected (some new show about twins).. I might have missed out quite a few here!! More than being entertaining, they are all just bitchy, full of drama and fake. But I can understand why people end up watching these... Having watched 2-3 episodes, I myself have got hooked onto Roadies/Splitsvilla just to see how stupid people can behave...Sometimes there is nothing good to watch on TV over the weekends and you just end up seeing this crap!! Whatever the reason, MTV's TRP seems to be soaring high...

But I sometimes wonder, even if MTV stops making these reality shows and gets back to playing music like good 'ol days, will people still watch it?? I guess 10-15yrs ago people used to wait in front of this channel to see their favorite song/video (when tapes and CDs were expensive to buy)... but with technology at our fingertips, we probably can get any music online and any video on youtube. So MTV probably did have to rethink its strategy and do something else other than playing just music! It's fairly obvious that it can no longer be a primary source of music like it had been for years. But I dont think they can afford to change the channel name either... "MTV" as a brand has built a great value over decades and changing it would only mean losing this entire brand value...

So I guess all they can do is to try and increase their viewer base and TRP with these stupid-fake-quasi-reality shows...

Thursday Tidbits: #5

2 minutes to a happier you

- Found this nice article on the Prevention magazine's website...

As per this, below are some simple ways with which you can lift up your mood... (For the complete article, click on the link above)

• Flip through your old photos
• Munch on Nuts
• Inhale a calming scent
• Open your shades - let the sunlight stream in
• Walk around the block
• Clear away clutter
• Think Fast - Turn your thoughts into a race!
• Cue up YouTube - for a hearty laugh
• Rethink your retail therapy - before you plunk down that credit card
• Put on a happy face - just smile! :)
• Zone out - rest, peace, quiet and solitude
• Chat up a friendly neighbor - socialize with a cheerful person
• Chop veggies - good unwinding technique
• Do a good deed

Agnee

....the new face of Indi-rock is the perfect blend of contemporary musicians. The band formed about a year back comprises of the trio - Arijit, Koko and Mohan. What adds the majaical touch to this band is the unique individual styles and influences that each of these members bring with them. Arijit with his Jazz-Rock, Koko with Classic rock/pop/indian and Mohan with carnatic/hindustani classical music. That's indeed a huge pool of talent!!!!!

Though I havent heard too many songs by them, the very few that I have listened to, have mesmerized me. I absolutely fell in love with the new theme song that they composed for Splitsvilla-2 (why I watched that crappy show is a totally different post by itself, so no questions entertained right now!!) . I've been desperately looking for the source of this music and finally managed to find out today and I'm damn thrilled about it :)

Here's the song I'm talking about. I *loved* the melodic content of it...beautiful!!
(The band was invited on the show to play the song and the video below is that part..)



More details on the band here

I've heard and read that they have a great stage presence... waiting to see them live on stage sometime..