Category: August Half Marathon

  • Indian Classical – tunes which I love

    Indian Classical – tunes which I love

    Music, a thing which captures the mood of the human mind and comes out as a tune which one hums. It doesn’t matter what language you speak, soulful music plucks the right strings in your heart and makes it resonate with the tune. As everyone has a unique taste, the choices of music also differ. Some souls are attached to rock music, where others choose country. Some of my fellow Indians can’t live without Bollywood music and films songs and EDM and trance music is key to some souls. However, My personal choice is Indian Classical music.

    One when it resonates for the first

    Like many foods and drinks, classical music is an acquired taste. One has to develop the likings towards it with a repeated exposure. I was getting that exposure at my home itself. Back then, it was an era of tape recorders. We had a nice one at our place. I remember, one day my granddad got a couple of cassettes. They had pictures of some old men in front of a microphone with closed eyes, wide open mouth and hands with some odd gestures on covers. Enthusiastically, I put one in and started to listen. The singer just droned elongated sounds for almost 15 minutes. I got bored by it and just left the room.

    When I remember this incident today, I find it very funny. I wasn’t even aware that those covers were pictures of the legends. Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Kumar Gandharva and Pandit Jasraj. I hadn’t even heard these names before that point. Grandpa kept listening to those cassettes and I kept moving out of that room for quite a few months. However, It all changed suddenly one day.

    I put one cassette in the tape recorder and played. It was a misplaced cassette of Pandit Kumarji’s finest renditions in the cover of movie songs. I was about to turn it off and change when it happened. Something in his voice booming out of those speakers touched the chords deep inside. My hand stopped on buttons and I continued to listen. Since then, I have grown my likings towards Indian classical music. Now I am at the point where my first choice of music is something from the huge ocean of Indian Classical music archives available on the internet.

    My favorites from Indian Classical

    Voice of Kumarji still continues to fascinate me even after hundreds and hundreds of revisits to the same tracks. However, other maestros join in the stage of my personal conference with their renditions of amazing Bandishes, semi classical formats. It would be unfair to name one or two artists as my favorite. Vasantrao Deshpande, Bhimsen Ji, Vidushi Malini Rajurkar, Ustad Rashid Khan Kishori tai, Arti Ankalikar and the list goes on. Their voices always fascinate me. Recently, I have been listening to Pt. Vyankatesh Kumar, Rahul Deshpande, Anand Bhate and a young maestro Nagesh Adgaonkar. Classical instrumental artists like Anoushka Shankar, Shujat Khan, Saumik Dutta, Ustad Amjad Khan, have their special place in my heart. Sarod, Sitar and Violin make me happy. 

    There are so many tracks which are dear to my heart. I am going to list a few tracks of vocal and instrumental music which are on top of my head right now for you all to enjoy. Hope they touch the chords of your heart and resonate with you too.

    Raag – “Nanda” by Nagesh Adgaonkar
    Raag Durga by Pt. Vyaknatesh Kumar
    Lasya by Anoushka Shankar
    Rain Ragas by Ustad AMjad Ali Khan

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Faith – it’s good to have some

    Faith – it’s good to have some

    Last Saturday, I was searching through the Kindle Store to read something. I came across a very very tiny book called “Kind of Hindu” by Mindy Kailng. It’s a very short story of 10-12 pages about her reconnection with the faith, religion and its role in her life. When her daughter was born, she felt it necessary to find out what’s her relationship with her roots, her culture and values which she inherited from her parents. She has penned this very personal journey of thoughts very nicely. I believe at some point in life, everyone takes this path to ascertain their bearings about these aspects of life. 

    Incidentally, last week, I came across an article by Dr. Anil Awchat about his relationship with faith, rituals and religion in one of his books which I am currently reading. What could have been the chances of me coming across these two similar things back to back? Even ‘Why I am a Hindu’ by Mr. Shashi Tharoor has been on my TBR for many days. This fundamental question about ones identity pushes one on this journey. For some, it’s a conscious choice and for others life forces it upon them. Things which one sees, reads and listens to, shapes the thoughts. Every new day brings a better understanding of oneself. My journey keeps taking me back to the touch points revolving around festivities, rituals and other events I witnessed and enjoyed growing up.

    Rituals – Why are they must-haves?

    I remember my childhood when we used to recite some chants daily. These chants are traditionally recited in almost every Hidnu household at dusk when the lamps are lit at the shrine at our home. Back in those days, I wasn’t even able to pronounce the words, understanding and knowing what they mean was a distant thing. I was growing happily at home enjoying all the festivities and witnessing my grandfather offering daily prayers and poojas. Whatever piety I had then was just because of these observations and experiences. 

    By the time I gained a bit of autonomy and freedom of movement, I started my own journey. I used to visit a particular Ganesh Temple or sit in the Kalaram Temple in Nashik. It wasn’t the “journey to search for the truth” at all. These visits just the routines which calmed my mind back then. It led to discussing things with a few of my friends who had this inclination. And the journey continued. Even today, I don’t think I am on THE journey of search. But I read, I ponder and sometimes write about it.

    Faith – Fluid and evolving power

    I ask the question to myself which Mr. Tharoor asked, “Why am I a Hindu?” And then it goes on and on with many follow up questions. Is it just because I am not born in a family with some other cultural or religious moorings? What do I believe in? Does god even exist? Does my questioning the existence of God make me a non-Hindu? And so on. The search for the answers is still going on. It’s just the beginning. I have even heard that one may take many births to understand the answer to just one of these questions. Learned people say that ancient scriptures have answers to all the questions. Yet, I feel it is difficult to dig them out. 

    On the other hand, the things which I have a strong faith in are the values and hardwork. This journey has definitely evolved the power of my faith on these things. Today, I find rituals and festivities as a way to reassure oneself. This reassurance is important. I feel they give a sense of belonging as your kith and kin gather around that common thing. And who can ignore the delicious food prepared on the occasion. If you ‘believe’ in being atheist, enjoy them for the food and fun. By the way, being atheist is a faith in a way. So, just chose your way, and be – Faithful.

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • एकच प्रश्न

    एकच प्रश्न

    आहे सभोवताली
    शब्दांत खंड नाही
    हृदयात भावनांना
    जागा पुरेशी नाही

    प्रेमास ना तुटवडा
    जगण्यास बंदी नाही
    आहेच प्रश्न हा की
    तू सोबतीस नाही…
    ~~~
    आदित्य साठे
    ०५-०८-२०२१

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Audiobooks – a newfound joy

    Audiobooks – a newfound joy

    If you are a bibliophile on the move, carrying a book in your backpack is the only option to quench your literary thirst. Wait what, it’s 2021, I am sorry guys, please forget the thing I mentioned. One about a book in a backpack being the only option. Today we are living in the digital age. The era when things which make us happy are at our fingertips. Music is streaming endlessly, movies are getting released on mobile applications. How the world of books will stay out of this game. Now we can enjoy books like we used to enjoy bedtime stories with audiobooks.

    Where book reads itself

    I got introduced to the wonders of audiobooks last year. It came as a surprise gift from one of my friends. That gift membership of Audible gave one audiobook free per month. Ohh boy! It won’t be a lie if I say I was amazed with my first ever audiobook. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was on my TBR for a very long time. It immediately popped out from the list which was on my mobile screen. I picked it as my first experience. Adjoa Andoh, the narrator, brought the world to life penned by Adichie. The way she narrated the story has completely hooked me to audiobooks.

    Audible, the amazon company, has an amazing collection of English audiobooks. However, they lack a collection of Indian regional literature. This is where I got introduced to the amazing platform of Storytel. I find these platforms of Audible and Storytel India are a gift of a bibliophile on wheels. 

    Nowadays, almost every book is getting published as an audiobook along with its physical and eBook versions. As of now, I have finished listening to some 10 odd books on Audible as well as Storytel. And oh boy, none of them has disappointed me. Every experience was so captivating it kept me wanting to listen to the book till it ended.

    Recording my own audiobook

    While enjoying the audiobooks I had thought of recording my poems and creating my own audiobook someday. However, I wasn’t expecting that dream to become reality so soon. Earlier this year, after the first wave of COVID pandemic receded and we got some freedom to get out. And I got an opportunity to record some of my poems for an audiobook. A fantastic publication house called “Prose Publication, Pune” published my first ever audiobook चिमुकली स्वप्ने (Tiny Dreams) in March this year. Recording session was a very unique experience. That hour in a small air conditioned recording room was magical. You can enjoy my poetry on Storytel, and don’t forget to tell me how you like it.

    Cover of चिमुकली स्वप्ने (Tiny Dreams)

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • eBooks and a joy of traveling lite

    eBooks and a joy of traveling lite

    You can take it from me, that the struggle of urban gypsy is real. If you are not sure what I am talking about, you must have missed ‘Urban Gypsy vs Paperback Loyalist’. Let me tell you one thing, shifting to new rental houses almost every year is hectic especially if you are a bibliophile having a large book collection. And when you love your books and reading so much, traveling to outstation with at least three novels in your luggage makes it very tiresome. This is the reason why I had shifted my focus from physical books to digital ones. Very unique experiences opened up in the form of ebooks.

    When you flip pages of eBooks on screen

    eBooks have evolved from stiff rigid PDFs to swanky, lively eBooks. There are a number of platforms where you can enjoy your books like Google books, Wattpad. I have tried all of them, however my favourite remains the Kindle by Amazon. Thing which sealed a deal for me is not just the huge book library / catalogue they have, but the experience of reading books on Kindle is amazing. 

    The only thing about which I have a complaint is, the Kindle device, that sophisticated eBook reader is damn costly. That’s why owning a Kindle Paperwhite still remains my dream today. But, their free Kindle mobile application comes to my rescue. The app is fluid and reader-friendly with choices of choosing background colour and text size for a comfortable reading on screen. Animations in the app give you the feel of turning an actual page. A bibliophile in me feels good because of such small things. As a result, I started buying more of the eBooks than paperbacks. 

    kindle Unlimited – New avatar of good old library

    Hunger and ambition to have my own collection of books and to display them proudly on a beautiful bookshelf turned me away from actively looking out for a library when I moved to Pune back in 2010. It all changed when I stumbled upon something called Kindle Unlimited. It’s a subscription model where you can borrow upto 10 books at a time from their wide ever changing collection. They even have some collections of literature from indian languages added up in kindle unlimited package.

    Initially, It was a struggle for me to adjust to the new not owning the book I am reading. I took my time to adapt to these new changes and enjoy the library system again. Now I have eased into this system and my membership gets renewed all the time. Probably, I am turning myself into a Digital Dragon. Digital Dragon who’s Paperback Loyalist deep down in his heart.

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Urban Gypsy vs Paperback Loyalist – very exciting tussle

    Urban Gypsy vs Paperback Loyalist – very exciting tussle

    In 2010, I shifted to Pune. My aunt’s house was my first abode in Pune. As time passed, my younger brother joined me from Nashik and we took our first rental place. I packed my bags and moved out. A journey of an Urban Gypsy began. It was easy as I mostly owned only study materials and clothes back then. I was struggling to find a library in this new town. It’s not like that Pune has no libraries. However, a new aspiration has taken root in my mind. As I had a place which I can call my own home, I wanted to have my own collection of books too.

    As I told you before, I started visiting book stores in Pune. Back in those days,  there used to be a huge Crossword on Jangli Maharaj Road. It has become one of my regular spots. Later, I started frequenting the Crosswords in City Pride cinema, Kothrud. I used to do my annual book hauls of Marathi books from the Akshardhara annual exhibition. They hadn’t started their book gallery back then. With these regular visits and annual hauls, I had managed to collect quite a collection.

    And then it hit with very heavy weight

    It was all going smoothly. My book collection was looking pretty on a bookshelf. I was happily  enjoying  reading those lovely paperbacks while sitting on the terrace or by the window. Everything was going merely. But destiny had some other ideas. Wait… no, the homeowner had some other ideas. Destiny was too busy toying with other mortals. I had to shift again to another house. 

    Soon the bags were packed again. My good, that was the moment when I realised literature is a heavy thing. Stack of books was the heaviest from the cargo to be shifted. But now there was no way to complain. We shifted to the new place and the books were settled in their own corner again. New members of their clan kept coming and joining them. Some of them carried more weight with their snobbish hard-covers with shiny dust jackets. For some time,  these snobs tempted me but I remained  loyal to my lovely paperbacks. But these merry times didn’t last forever either. Soon it was time to put on that gypsy hat and move out to look out for a new place to call home.

    Adopting to urban gypsy ways

    In this journey of I have shifted 9 places in the last 10 years since I shifted to Pune. Meantime, my own book collection kept increasing and reached over 300 books. I am a very proud owner of those lovelies. However, when it comes to shifting, I always feel the weight of them crushing me. There’s another point I would like to highlight about this shifting problem. And I am sure all the bibliophiles will agree with me. Not always you will get a good bookshelf. It hurts to see the books stacked and stashed away in some corner of the house. You have to dig deep to get the book you want to read. It hurts. And this has brought me to a very very difficult crossroads. “To be or not to be, that’s the question”. Title of the ‘Paperback Loyalist’ (PL) is at stake. 

    A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon the ease and convenience of ebooks by chance. Free subscription to Kindle Unlimited was that sinful apple. The timing of that membership was so perfect as if it was planned deliberately by the enemies of Paperback Loyalists. I was traveling and those ebooks allowed me to travel light. Thoughts about  easy shifting, not worrying about more and more space to shelve my precious collection started corrupting my PL mind. And today, when I am still settling in after my recent shift, I feel almost ready to relinquish my title of being Paperback Loyalist. 

    Even though I will never part with my books, sadly I can not bring more of those lovelies home. My heart always aches when I see a bookshop. Now I avoid visiting my favorite shops and stick to my mobile phone to do my book hauls digitally. The only solace in this tough choice is, they can’t take my title of “Bibliophile” when they revoke the other one. With a heavy heart, I bid goodbye to “Paperback Loyalist”. At the end, scores are, Urban Gypsy – 1 vs 0 – Paperback Loyalist

    This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.