Sunday, January 10, 2010

2441139

“Hello, 2441139, Can you hear me, Bela Bose?”

Anjan Dutta sang this song a decade back. And yet, to some people like me, it still rings a bell deep inside. Although the original song is quite pacy, Mr. Dutta performed an acoustic version sometime back, with his son, Neel, which really melts the heart.

This song has a special memory of my childhood. As a child, we always look at things at a different perspective. We seldom realise the intensity of the moment. “2441139” was a fun song for me and my cousins in Coochbehar. We play the song until the last part, where Anjan Dutt repeated sings “Hello, 2441139; Hello, 2441139....” We would dial 2-4-4-1-1 (back those days, telephone number used to be of 5 digits). An old lady would pick up the phone and we would bring the receiver close to the speaker of the stereo and Anjan Dutt would do the rest. “Hello 2441139, Hello 2441139...”

Then it was growing up and stages of infatuations, understanding love and finally, falling in love. Unless one falls in love, the stages of depression are hard to understand. Those stages of depression are spent listening to morose numbers in dimly lit rooms. There was “2441139” then too.

As we mature, things look clearer. Anjan Dutta tells of a sad love story so simply. The boy calls up his beloved, who is about to be betrothed to someone else, informing her that finally he has managed to get a meagre job, which could sustain their togetherness. She could now tell her mother that she is not marrying. That is the simple message of the phone call. Somehow, Bela is quiet. In her quietness he recalls the good old days together, and his dreams for their future - a small house, a small family together. But Bela never answers.

Why Bela doesn’t answer is unknown. Or maybe, it’s too obvious. Human beings are after all, well, human. Who doesn’t want a secured life? Bela is a symbol of that want of security, which sometimes surpasses the goody goods of love, compassion, sacrifice. Bela is that desire that defies definition; that might seem selfish and yet be practical too!

Most music loving people, who have been in love, will be able to relate to the song at some point of their life. Though we all hope that every story ends happily, some heart-breaking stories like Bela Bose do exist. No one really knows what happens in the end. How does this story end? The last stanza of the song is terrific – “Are you weeping silently, Bela? I really got the job! The days of sorrow and tears have some to an end... can you hear me?”

In her silent tears, Bela is probably consoling herself and slowly trying to realise the bare truth. Truth that shatters dreams and changes lives.

Truth is everyone knows Bela Bose now, but that lonely boy, standing in a public booth, trying his best to live up to his promise, to hold on to his most prized possession, has got lost somewhere in the pace of life.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Guitar Chords for Give Me Some Sunshine – 3 Idiots

Everyone is humming this tune. Every guitarist wants to play this number! These are the complete chords I deduced for the song. It’s originally from C, but I play it from G, as it helps me when I sing! (Yes, I do occasionally try to scare the mosquitoes away!)

Intro

G5 - -àC5 x 3

G5 - -àD x 1

Verse1:

G5 D

Saari Umr Hum

G5 D

Mar mar k jeeliye

G5 D

Ek pal to ab hume

C5 D

Jeene do, Jeene do

G5 C5

Naa na na na x 3

G5 D

Na Na Na na naaa

Chorus:

G5 D

Give me some sunshine

G5 D

Give me some rain

G5 D

Give me another chance

C5 D

I wanna grow up once again

Verse 2: (chords same as previous verse)

Bachpan to gaya

Jawani bhi gaye

Ek pal to ab hume

Jeene do, jeene do

Rest of the song is the same as the first verse is repeated. Alternatively, you can also play G and C instead of G5 and C5. Just make sure the E string (top E, bass) is free when you are playing C and C5. Happy Strumming! And kindly feel free to comment on improvement opportunities and how it sounds!

3 Idiots to 100 crore Idiots!

Next time someone calls me an Idiot, I’ll be glad!
This exactly was my reaction after watching “3 Idiots”. The movie brings in different kinds of realisation into you. What I realised are:
• We all need good friends to survive and stay alive. Friendship is more than having fun and hanging out, it’s standing up for one another. This movie makes me realise how lucky I am to have people who are always there for me, but more than that, it makes me sit back and wonder, am I that good a friend? That question, unfortunately is for someone else to answer!
• Amir Khan is the best, simply the best performer there is! Be it is Bhuvan from Lagaan, ASP Rathod from Sarfarosh, Akash from Dil Chahta Hain, Nikumbh Sir from Taare Zameen Par or Rancho from 3 Idiots, He has done it all. Playing a college student when he’s 44, that’s a “Chamatkar” (couldn’t refer to the * word from 3 Idiots, this is a family blog!). I was a Amir Khan fan for as long as I remember and in 3 Idiots, he made me so glad and won me over a thousand times again.
• I have to visit Ladakh sometime in this lifetime! I don’t know when. It’s strange that Indian film makers go for foreign locations when we have such exquisite places in India itself!
I was amazed by the movie. Fresh story and wonderfully, it’s one in which romance takes a back seat, while other values of life take the front row! Friendship, compassion, sacrifice, these are some of the values of life we learn about during growing up, but sadly when we do grow, they are left behind in the pages of the moral science text book. I see school students around, competing for that extra mark, while sadly the school play ground remains vacant during the afternoons. This was an issue I put up during a recent discussion with one of my teachers, and I remember what Sir said – “You were lucky then!” I remember my school days. We had a big school ground and a small ground adjacent to it, within the school compound. I remember that we never got chance to play soccer in the bigger ground as a kid. It was always filled with seniors with soccer boots on. We had a part of the smaller ground to ourselves, where we’d play. Studies were never the problem then, seniors with better soccer senses and skills were! But the desire was common among all of us friends, and we went on to the bigger ground too. Later on, even during my college and university days, never was my passion for the beautiful game jeopardised for studies.
If there was a competition to reach the ground then, there’s a competition now too. Then it was testing your ability and making yourself deserving; now it’s competing against the burden of studies and career. Thankfully we succeeded then, but unfortunately now, career and studies have the last laugh. Yes Sir, we were lucky!
The world has changed now, everything is fast. Take a breather and the world moves ahead and you spend the rest of your life playing catch up. It’s about time we gave ourselves a reason to stay alive, instead of following the trend. For me, my passion for soccer and music is what keeps me alive and helps me when the going gets tough!
Kudos 3 Idiots team, you have taken a step towards a better world. I look forward to the day when India will have 100 crore such Idiots to accompany the 4 ( yes, kindly count me in!)!

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