Am I any longer a Geek?

One of my favorite Wodehouse title is Carry On, Jeeves, a collection of short stories. The first story, Jeeves Takes Charge, introduces us to Bertie and Jeeves and tells the story of how Jeeves came to be Bertie's boss, I mean valet. In this story, Bertie is engaged to the autocratic but beautiful Lady Florence, who wants to improve his mind by feeding him a book titled Types of Ethical Theory that contained this memorable prose.

Of the two antithetic terms in the Greek philosophy one only was real and self-subsisting; and that one was Ideal Thought as opposed to that which it has to penetrate and mould. The other, corresponding to our Nature, was in itself phenomenal, unreal, without any permanent footing, having no predicates that held true for two moments together; in short redeemed from negation only by including indwelling realities appearing through.

Right Ho. Naturally Bertie's engagement did not last much longer. I found this to be a funny story without paying anymore attention to it.

Recently I saw that my friend had posted on Facebook a comment on NP-Complete problems and remembered reading about this in graduate school decade and a half ago and actually doing well enough to get an A on that course. Since I no longer knew what it was, I looked my favorite source, The Wikipedia and, I kid you not, this was what I read.

In computational complexity theory, the complexity class NP-complete (abbreviated NP-C or NPC) is a class of decision problems. A decision problem L is NP-complete if it is in the set of NP problems so that any given solution to the decision problem can be verified in polynomial time, and also in the set of NP-hard problems so that any NP problem can be converted into L by a transformation of the inputs in polynomial time.

Quite lucid you say

I on the other hand am no longer feel smart enough to comprehend such material.

Music I Like

Single place for all the lists that I have published. This article will evolve as I create newer lists.

Asha and Rafi Top 10
Asha and Rafi Next 10
Asha and Kishore Top 10
Asha and Kishore Next 10

Lata and Rafi Top 10

My first century (of anything)

I have never been associated with the number 100. You know how you finish your exam and when you get it back, the only questions your parents ask you were

Who got first? -- And the answer invariably did not include me. It was always one of the three girls Sangeeta Chandra, Namita Giridhar, Renu Aggarwal! Well no surprise; Sangeeta is a doctor from Maulana Azad and the other two went to DCE with me.

Whom did you leave behind the 5 marks for? It is not like the teachers were asking for some! -- Sarcasm was a wonderful tool. Of course it was always one-way, since talking back was not an option. I have tried and there are a few dents in my head to show for the effort.

Why am I reopening those wounds? This post is all about me reaching a milestone.

This post is my one hundredth!

I have been writing for a little under 5 years. When I started I had no suspicion that I would write for so long. I started writing about the books I read. I found out very quickly that they were not popular, I mean the posts, not the books! The change in focus came when during a trip to India I wrote about my experiences. Some people liked it; a little; and that was encouragement enough for me to keep writing. It was not like I was getting rave reviews and encouragement. Initially it was read by no one, now I have graduated to rarely read!

It is more of, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears ....". You know how that goes. No matter. I knew I had many things to say, even if like the proverbial fallen trees, there is no one to hear them.

Today I wanted to explore one of my favorite topic; Bollywood Music, of which I have now written a few posts. But for this one I could think of no two persons worthy of dedicating it, Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

I will list here their Top-10 duets (In my not so humble opinion).

1) Dil Pukare, Jewel Thief (Audio|Video)
SD Burman is amazing in this movie. Listen to the complex orchestration combined with great melody.

As is usually the case in all my post, there is a digression. There is another song in this movie where Tanuja literally throws herself at Dev Anand; in this really sexy song, Raat Akeli Hai (Audio|Video) only to be rebuffed! You see the song and tell me if the hero is not totally nuts! There are not many songs even in today that is this sizzling hot! Asha Bhosle's dynamics of voice is amazing. I am sorry I digressed about Asha in a post about Lata!

2) Paaon Choolene Do Phoolon Ko Enayet Hogi, Taj Mahal (Audio|Video)
The singer tells the heroine to let the flowers touch her feet as it will be a compliment to the flowers (as best as I could translate Urdu)! Beautiful sentiment.

3) Tasveer Teri Dil Mein, Maya (Audio|Video)
I noticed a pattern of Dev Anand dominating my lists. Salil Chaudhary was an amazing composer! The only nit I can pick is the heroine. I never liked Mala Sinha, although to be fair, she was one of the most successful female star of her era.

4) Tere Husn Ki Kya Tareef, Leader (Audio|Video)
The hero and heroine praise each others looks but pretend they are scared to say nice things about the other, since they are afraid that it would be mistaken for love. Dilip Kumar is one of the few actors who looks like he is the one who are really singing!

5) Agar Mein Poochon Javab Doge, Shikari (Audio|Video)
A really beautiful song, nice lyrics, wasted on two unknown actors. Who are they?

6) Jhilmil Sitaron Ka, Jeevan Mrityu (Audio|Video)
This movie is a Decently Bollywoodized remake of the Count of Monte Cristo. Dharmedra plays the role of Edmond Dantes and Rakhee plays the role of Mercedes. In a change from the original and to suit the Indian sensibilities, the heroine does not marry unlike in the book. I have always admired Rakhee for her acting, but in this movie she was actually thin! See the video if you do not believe me.

7) Chand Jaane Kahan Kho Gaya, Main Chup Rahungi (Audio|Video)
How the devil did Sunil Dutt make it to the big leagues? Was there such a dearth of male stars in those days?

8) Dekho Rootha Na Karo, Tere Ghar Ke Saamne (Audio|Video)
Nutan won 5 Film Fare Awards for Best Actress. Dev Anand just exists!

9) Do Ghadi Voh Jo Paas Aa Baite, Gateway Of India (Audio|Video)
What a beautiful song? Another hero about whom you wonder, How the devil did Bharat Bhushan make it big? That he was paired with Madhubala is the height of injustice!

10) Jeevan Mein Piya Tera, Goonj Uti Shehnai (Audio|Video)
This song starts rather slowly and feels like onset of some tragedy. The song quickly makes a recovery and never looks back. Lata and Rafi sing with a gusto. I do not know who this actress is either.

PS: If you the impression that I had tough parents, it is not all poor Raag. I was a difficult child too. There never was a punishment I did not deserve and more.

Top 20 - Rafi and Asha

A year and half ago, I started making lists of songs I like. I started with a Top-10 of my favorite couple, Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle. Recently I had an opportunity to review that list when I discovered two songs that should have been in it. I also discovered that I could easily come up with another 10 songs that were quite worthy of an audience. Here it is.

11) O Haseena Zulfon Vali, Teesri Manzil (Audio|Video)
The first movie for which RD composed music is Teesri Manzil. What an amazing debut!

12) Main Pyar Ka Rahi Hoon, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (Audio|Video)
It is almost like hit duets come in threes. Here is a movie with three Asha-Rafi duets. Unfortunately I could not find any video.

13) Humsafar Saath Apna, Aakhri Dao (Audio|Video)
Nutan has always been a favorite actress of mine; I do not know the name of the hero. Very touching song and haunting melody.

14) Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko, Yaadon Ki Baarat (Audio|Video)
Zeenie Baby, Wow! It took 25 more years before the rest of the Indian Film heroines had a figure like that! I am sorry I had to delegate this song so far down the list. I definitely am partial to the classical period of Hindi Film Music, if I may refer to 1950s and 1960s in that manner.

15) Aap Ko Pyaar Chupane Ki, Neela Akash (Audio|Video)
Sounds like the tale of my romance!

16) Haay Re Haay Ye Mere Haath, Kashmir Ki Kali (Audio|Video)
Well another movie with three Asha-Rafi duets.

17) O Mere Sona, Teesri Manzil (Audio|Video)
Do you feel like my comments are sometimes repetitious? Another movie with three Asha-Rafi duets in it.

18) Ye Raat Ye Fizayen, Batvara (Audio|Video)
A very haunting melody. Starts slowly and picks up tempo, barely.


19) Yeh Ladka Hai Allah, Hum Kissi Se Kum Naheen (Audio|Video)
This movie had only two great Asha-Rafi duets! Bummer! I do not know who the hero or heroine are. They could not have acted in many more films.

20) Baalam Tere Pyaar Ki Thandi, Ram Aur Shyam (Audio|Video)
I like this song a lot although it seems to be quite low in the list. Also I prefer the Tamil version of this movie, Enga Veetu Pillai, with MGR in a double role it.

Mohammed Rafi

I believe there is a god. There must be. After all Mohammad Rafi lived in this world. Please let me indulge in hyperbole for an instant.

Most popular singer of his era, unarguably the greatest voice in Bollywood, smooth as silk, soft as velvet, a genius, voice like an angel, unmatched versatility, unmatched vocal range, career spanning four decades, still displaying an ability to connect with connoisseurs nearly three decades after his death. His existence cannot be ascribed to chance.

Ergo, there is a god.

Rafi's music definitely has addled my brain; I am sorry; I stand by everything except the last and I am sure you will also agree with me. I mean, about Rafi music being unparalleled not my brain being addled.

So I started making a list of solos that I like and someone pointed that they are all sad melodies. In my opinion happiness does not have the same depth of sadness. I also realized that it is hard for me to mix moods. I cannot listen to Chahe Koi Mujhe Junglee Kahe or Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra after listening to one of the songs listed below.

So without much ado, here is a list of top 10 Rafi sad melodies

1) Din Dhal Jaaye Hai Raat Na Jaaye, Guide (Audio|Video)
The line that leads to this song is "Zindagi bhi ek nasha hai dost, jab chadta hai to poocho mat kya aalam rehta hai, lekin jab utarta hai ....". Very beautiful song.

2) Koi Sagar Dil Ko Behalata, Dil Diya Dard Liya (Audio| Video)
Dilip Kumar does a wonderful job in this song; you get the feeling that it is he who is singing not Rafi!

3) Khabi Khud Pe Khabi Halat Pe Rona, Hum Dono (Audio|Video)
Have a glass of wine in your hand when you listen to this song. It just makes sense. But unless you are a fan of Dev Anand, you will agree that he does not do justice to the pathos Rafi injects into this song.

4) Yaad Na Jaaye Beete Dinon Ki, Dil Ek Mandir (Audio|Video)
I saw this movie at an age when I could not appreciate it. I was 12 and there is nothing worse than a romantic tragedy. No dishoom dishoom.

5) Yeh Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai (Audio|Video)
From my favorite director, Guru Dutt. Fifty years later we still do not make such movies.

6) Zindagi Aaj Mere Naam Se Sharmati Hai, Son Of India (Audio|Video)
The next line is "Apni halat pe mujhe khud bhi hasi aati hai".

7) O Duniya Ke Rakhvale (Audio|Video)
Rafi shows amazing range. There is an urban legend associated with this song; that it hurt Rafi so much to sing this song that he spat blood after the recording!

8) Taqdeer Ka Fasaana, Sehra (Audio|Video)
Forget the stupidity of this movie; here is another song where Rafi shows amazing range.

9) Raha Gardishon Mein Hardam Mere Isqh Ka Sitara, Do Badan (Audio|Video)
The number of romances Pran has ruined is countless. Man I hated him so much. Although in this particular movie I do not understand why Asha Parekh is sad. There are worse things than being married to Pran; being married to Manoj Kumar!

10) Hui Shaam Unka Khayal, Mere Humdam Mere Dost (Audio|Video)
Because Dharmendra is a hunk, he is underestimated as a serious actor. He was my favorite hero and for a while it used to bother me that Amitabh was more popular.

This list naturally represents my opinion and it is by no means complete. I was easily able to identify another ten songs that could have reasonably made this list.

Maybe that is for another post. What do you think of this list?

Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child

Growing up in socialist India, there was always less of everything. Material things were for the capitalist. Take the case of marbles; There are several aspects; my mother considered it a waste of money; she thought it cost too much; and she believed that only bad boys played with marbles. On my side; I did not have the guts to ask for them. You know what happened to Oliver Twist when he asked for more!

So what did I do? When I had a chance I took 4 marbles from my neighbors house! You could replace took with stole and the previous sentence would be more accurate!

There are people who exhibit sangfroid after committing a crime. Our politicians are famous for that. Shame or fear are not words in their dictionary. I on the other hand lived with the fear of discovery and took care not to take the marbles out in front of anyone. This lasted several weeks when in a fit of bravado I played with them in front of my parents. And then came the inevitable question.

Where did you get them?

I was never good at lying and I did not fail this time either.

I got them at school

This led to the obvious follow up question

Where did you get it in school?

I told them about this hole in the ground in our school where one could dig and find marbles. Can you believe the crap of an excuse I made!

My parents naturally wanted to see this amazing hole and told me that they would be in the school the next day. Pretty much cornered, the sordid truth came out.

What followed was the climax; my parents outdid themselves. I have been beaten many times and in fairness to my parents, I deserved every one of them. My mom was good at it and my father had turned it into an art form. but never before was I thrashed more soundly.

The motto of this story to me is
-- Do not steal
-- If you steal, do not get caught
-- If you get caught, for god sake, come up with a better story next time!

My car runs on water

I purchased my first car in 1989. I got it from a guy who after graduating from masters program and getting a lucrative job in Santa Clara, decided to go for an upgrade. It was a 7 year old car of indeterminate color. You could call it gray. Of course that was not the real color, it was probably silver. For reasons unknown; probably acid rain; the paint had been stripped clean showing the metal in many places which gave the car its ineffable complexion. While I lived in the Bay area, I did not talk much about my car. I had a beat up Civic, others had a cool Mazda Miata. My car had indeterminate color, other had a bright red.

In short, I had a mutt, they had a pure breed.

Then I moved to Detroit for graduate school and it was here that my car and I came into our full potential. Most of the international student population did not have a car and had to walk to the nearby Kroger in cold weather; whereas my roommates and I would go out to Dearborn, Michigan to shop. Every weekend we would go out to the suburbs. Although we did not have much money to spend, thankfully gas was under a dollar! We would go to the mall and look at all the clothes and electronics we could not buy and come back. Spending 5 bucks at McDonald's was out the question since it represented a substantial portion of my weekly grocery bill.

I may not have indulged myself, but I treated my car like a baby. I changed oil every 3000 miles like clockwork and rotated the tires regularly. My car was my asset. It was a status symbol. It represented mobility and aspiration that two thousand other students yearned for. I would tell everyone about the wonderful mileage it gave me and how it was all due to the care I took.

During the time I was engaged to Jannavi; I think it probably was fall of 1991; Jannavi, Girija who was then Jannavi's roommate, and I went shopping. On the way out Jannavi pointed out that the car was low on gas. I launched into my usual story of how well I maintained my car and capped it with a boastful sally - Don't worry! My car is so efficient, it would drive itself even if I fueled it with water!

Yup, I was proud of my car and you know the adage - Pride goeth before a fall.

As luck would have it, on the way back, about 2-3 miles from the campus my car coughed a couple of times and simply stopped running. I had the sense to put it in neutral and take it to the side. It was dark and trust me, Detroit in 1991 was no place to stranded at night. Jannavi, I could see, was furious. So I quickly opened the trunk, took out my gas can, and after telling the girls to lock the car, went looking for a gas station.

It is hard to describe Detroit unless you have lived in a city struck by industrial blight and mass exodus of its richer population. The road was dark. I had not realized how much a simple thing like street lighting transformed a dark and scary landscape into a reassuring one. Here and there a few shops held out like beacons of hope. Most others were boarded up with graffiti all over. Any that was not boarded had all its windows smashed. Empty lots were mostly filled with trash and broken bottles. The pictures you saw in magazines (this was before the internet) hardly did justice. The despair one felt in the air had to lived through to make sense.

On top of all this I was petrified both for myself and the two girls in the car whom I had left behind. I was also berating myself for my foolishness. Detroit after all was known as the crime capital in those days.

Luckily there are good people in this world. Some people like to help others. One such good Samaritan saw my predicament and gave me a lift to the gas station. To me it was like manna from the heavens. Someone had thrown me a life line and boy did I hold tight. The man not only waited for me to fill up gas, but also gave me a ride back to where my Civic was stranded by the freeway!

I was relieved to see both the girls safe. Now that my fear had abated, I was left with a shame and guilt for both my foolishness and boastfulness. Without meeting either of the girls eyes, I quietly filled up the tank and after thanking the man profusely, drove back to campus.

What an hour? I had lived and died a few thousand times during that time.

I had learned my lesson. Since then I have never been stranded.

I also learned another lesson. I never boast about the mileage I get. You know what a phenomenal memory some people have; especially when it pertains to other people's failures!