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Singing my heart out!!!

I love to sing... sing at the top of my voice...get lost in the song..the lyrics...the music.... but there is one BIG problem.... I just cant sing....I am extremely 'besura' and I cant stand my own voice...
My love for singing probably started in school where we used to sing during assembly everyday. Singing during assembly was one of my favorite things... it was amazing how the entire school could come together and put in so much energy.... I used to just let loose and sing....and the best part was that nobody could hear you coz it was really loud.. I really miss assembly.... what a funny thing to miss doscos might say but i really do miss assembly... I fished out my yellow song book and now keep it near my bedside. Its like a guide.. a 'sacred book' there are many answers to life's questions hidden in those prayers and songs.
But after school the only place i could really sing was at this pub we used to frequent called blues in CP which played my kind of music..really loud which permitted me to SING without people hearing me...So a beer in hand I would go higher that Axel Rose or Steven Tyler and get lost in the music....at home I would play comfortably numb really loud before sleeping and in that dreamy half asleep stage sing it....and play air guitar lying in bed during the guitar solo...
Once after a few drinks with other doscos we took an auto home and resorted to playing auto antakshari... teams divided between autos.....with the cold winter air hitting us numbing our faces assembly songs were sung one after the other... when we had exhausted the songbook we just restarted with lab pe aati hai dua again...
Today I was alone at home and started singing school songs.... i cud not stand my voice... s i visited the nostalgia section of my schools website found the songs and played it very loud and sang my hear out.....
it felt so so so good.... I was almost waiting for the HM to read out the announcements after it ended...
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Saturday, February 12, 2011 No comments: 
My World Cup preparation! 1983 was a long time back... a world cup victory that I have watched again and again almost like a favourite classic movie. I feel proud that we as underdogs announced our arrival in the world cricket scene by beating the mighty West Indies and becoming world champions but I cant really relate to it as the players are like actors acting out their role...I dont know them, their temperament or their careers.
I need a new blockbuster a new world cup that I can watch again and a gain ball by ball and can discuss it for years to come and tell future generations about. My parents still get excited when they watch Kapil's 175 and his brilliant catch in the final. Binnys lazy action and the stories about champagne in the Lords dressing room.
Its a dream we came so close to in 2003 but the only real memories I have of that world cup is Sachin 98 vs Pakistan and try to forget about the final.
Tendulkar,Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, Kumble era have made us reach the pinnacle in test cricket and we will talk for years about their contribution but we need a one day memory... a world cup victory that this generation of cricketers truly deserves... the team is on a high... no injury worries... home turf... a very good coach.. a captain who has lead us to the t20 world cup and a legend playing probably his last world cup trying to climb that final peak and win the greatest honour for his team.
I am sure Sachin would love to be know as the batsman who won the world cup for India rather than one of the greatest players ever for the game... The world cup dream will always haunt him... the victory he wants more than all the other heights he has scaled.
I have been dreaming this dream since 1996 the first world cup I remember watching.. the scenes in Eden Gardens in the semi final with all the bottle throwing....in 2007 watching the great upset of being beaten by Bangladesh and the coming back into form ever since then. How will this tournament end... will we see India in the final or will it be another disappointment.... The pressure on the players must be huge... hopefully they will be able to rise to the occasion....
I often dream about Sachin's last innings.... watch him retire in a blaze of glory and not just fizzle out... he is a hero.... a country's hero...and every time he raises his bat and looks into the sky I feel patriotic..... I see him in a dream kissing that world cup and looking into the sky.......... the final chapter in the career of my favourite cricketer.
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Wednesday, February 09, 2011 No comments: 
Foodie vs Exercise

As I have confessed earlier im very very fond of food and not only knowing, reading and tasting but eating really large quantities of it as well..however this little passion of mine is rather unhealthy as I am rather lazy when it comes to exercising.
When im at the gym and after a workout or a swim I feel fantastic and treat myself to an even larger meal... but to get myself to wear my running shoes always seems so tough... There is always a force holding me back. Fellow weight watchers and those averse to exercise please sympathise. I have putting on weight genes!!!
Having said that... once in a few months after a long gap I get all motivated and join a gym and make a semi successful attempt at shrinking or at least keeping fit.
My last attempt lasted 10 months- my longest and I was so happy basking in the glory of ppl commenting that I've lost so much weight that I put it all back on in 5 months.
So I got back to the gym this month and after a slow start with many aches and pains and hurting muscles and lots of 'breaks' staring at myself in the mirror I have somehow got back into the routine.
Today I had a plan to watch dhobhi ghat at my usual gym time so I decided to go early. The gym was packed with numerous aunties chatting away and I had forgotten to bring my ear phones that day. So I start my run listening to songs from robot and other telugu music making a mental note never to come at this time again. But a few minutes into my run two aunties get onto treadmills on either side of me and start discussing recipes over me..
There I am trying to sweat it out, push myself to run faster for longer trying to cut myself out from the beautiful world of food and lazy sunday brunches and I have these two aunties discussing FOOD... from how she powders the coconut to the price of onions and even a yum sounding charu recipe.
Initially I got rather annoyed with them... and as I ran fighting with all the calories that must have entered my body at last nights binge aunty one and aunty two brought food back on my mind!! I gave up....I lowered the speed and tried to decipher the telugu to try making what they were talking about at home. Food won yet again....exercise lost.
Instead of putting up posters of very ugly looking men with huge muscles like they used to earlier to motivate a fit body..... gyms should have calorie charts to send ppl on a guilt trip im sure it will be good motivation.
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Saturday, January 22, 2011 1 comment: 
~~~Christmas Lights!!~~~ The weather has just become awesome here in Vizag. Your woollens can stay in the cupboard but there is a nip in the air at night which is perfect for sitting out and lighting up a barbecue.
Vizag gets not more than 15 days of good weather and we try to make the most of it. Its the only time when we can use our garden and have a nice leisurely garden party. My father's birthday which is on the 30th of December is usually a good excuse- if we are not travelling to call some friends over for lunch and enjoy the shade thrown by the avenue of Asoka trees and the large colorful pipli umbrella. The grass in nice and green and the flower beds are usually full of flowers.
The other thing I like about this season no matter where I am is the color of Christmas... The reds, greens and the neons instantly cheer me up... I love markets all dressed up for festivities with the Christmas lights and shiny decoration. Malls, hotels, restaurants all have a special glow during Christmas. Its like Diwali but much more sober...Carols and cake instead of crackers and mithai!
Thanks to the impact of Western movies Christmas has always been a fun season. Santa only visits during Christmas!! Its such a nice thing to believe in... adds so much excitement...and fun...
I aways wonder what it would be like to spend frozen Christmas in New York or Paris or London.... or maybe a sunny Christmas in Australia.
I din realise how much festivals excite me... they kind of divide my year into segments....and get me all excited and all!!!
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Saturday, December 18, 2010 2 comments: 

Its been a month since I have posted anything... guess I'm suffering from some sort of a writers block. With Christmas approaching I'm sure ill feel like writing some more... the initial josh has died out I guess..not that I have not had thoughts that I have wanted to write down. Its just that i have not done it..
Not good...
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 No comments: 
Work- first impressions

I find myself in a situation today which I never thought I would ever find myself in once I started working....
I have always been surrounded by people around me cribbing about how much work they have to do and how they have no time for anything apart from office... enjoy being a student they say.... work life will kill you....
I have been working for 6 months now and I am still waiting to even see a glimpse of such death....
I really enjoy what I do. I drive to work everyday listening to music... getting myself ready for a day at work. When I enter office I'm ready to give in my best for the next couple of hours.. pumped up and ready to learn... face new challenges...make mistakes... learn from them... and at the end of the day contribute towards writing down a small part of history.
They really dont make me work enough....sitting vella writing this because I have no work in front of me. In an hour ill have so much I wont belive I wrote this a short while ago. Ufff.... crib....
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Wednesday, November 17, 2010 No comments: 
Satya Niketan

For most people who studied in south campus Satya Niketan was a shady colony full of tuition centres and cheap eating joints with people not venturing past Barista or CCD.
But for me Satya was home for 3 years. I do admit that I was mostly in Lodhi with Dada or In VV with Veer but Satya has this character to it that many colonies in Delhi cannot boast about. When I first moved in I was in a fairly large flat much bigger than I needed. The original plan was to find a roommate but I never did find someone suitable and my flat became more of a hangout where I made my first friends in college.. and dealt with numerous gate crashers. I always liked hosting people and would love to have people over.. Classes were bunked....friends were made... lots of alcohol was downed... food dialed in... and over the years I have learnt of many stories retold by people of experiences in 235 Satya Niketan that I had no idea about. Faraz and Kartik once sat on the staircase outside my house with a beer 2 years afetr I had moved out because they were missing the place and had nowhere else to go. I later moved to a much smaller place which I personally have the most fantastic memories of. The old pad was more like a club...with a constant stream of visitors.... this was more like a home.
Satya was a completely different place at night.... Once the visitors to the area had left and only residents (mostly students) were left it was a nice place to hang out. The shady boys riding their bikes and trying to woo girls just somehow blended into the atmosphere.
Cheap food... momos.. roll... fruit juice..keventers..south indian. Chinese..tiffanys, china bowl,Cafe 57 etc... there was such a variety.
I had two colony friends Masooma who stayed in Satya for 3 years like me and Arundathi who shifted in only in her last year. Friends like Rishabh, Clifford, Nima and Vaibhuv would often stay back till late and we would sit- especially during the winter near the Momo guy and the Juice shop and chat for hours. Arundathi and I developed this special bond with a chai walla who would make some really nice chai(rs 5 instead of the normal rs 4) and offer arun omelets made using 50gms of butter.
The rolls were a big hit- a part of your daily diet until you got sick of them and stop eating them for a few months. Natasha and her friends in LSR would love them so I would often pack rolls and carry with me in the afternoon and take for them.
Satya even had its own park where I would often go for a run or go to study when exams were on. It was quite a nice park actually because so many ppl thought it was shady and would never venture in. The other nice Jogging routes were the Jog on JMC road past the embassies. The Taj CCD was another favourite hangout in the winter.
There are so many little incidents that have occurred in this colony that come to my mind... very fond memories of college days.... fantastic times.....
I was extremely nostalgic when I finally had to leave Satya I never thought the dirty little colony I thought it was would come alive and become such an integral part of my college life.
I revisited a year later and the place had grown... the tiny shops had renovated(due to the amt of business i had given them) and had become larger and there were more fancy restaurants but when I walked down and saw many strangers standing outside giggles and drinking banta I instantly felt a part of them.. I felt a connection... I ordered my banta...giggles uncle laughed and asked for a rupee more... price rise I tell you...... the colony will always be very special...
Posted by Jaideep Deo Bhanj on Monday, November 15, 2010 No comments: