Saturday, January 1, 2011

New Year resolutions! How Painful?

Usually, with my interest in being up to date with bollywood songs , I’d always have an appropriate list handy to play at any occasion from my iPod! On New Year’s Eve…at the gathering we were in, we wanted to let ourselves go wild and dance to some Bollywood’s knee cracking numbers.

Most of us, not trained to dance to any music under normal circumstances, are equipped with bodies that can move and shake wildly under conditions that can be created artificially. Say, if we had played a rustic bollywood bar song like “Beedi” from Omkara,  that would make us involuntarily get down on one knee and put our hands up in the air like a Cobra and move vigorously forward like it was out to hit anybody who dared to step forward and dance. I know one person who can do that..so good, my brother (although I don’t know which bollywood song would set that condition ON for him)!.  We had had the honor of witnessing this talent of his during our summer visit from last year. This dance form, if we were to do even a milder version of it, scares us to watch ourselves doing it in well lit conditions, that we choose to put the lights off while engaged in it! :-)

In the New Year’s eve party, people did their part. To turn to me..for any bollywood song that I would suggest.  I sucked so bad. I lost all the respect I had created from a while ago for myself…It was an ultimate lose of reputation (petty issue for sure..still, I end up writing about it!!).

Music in any form, wild Bollywood to Classical, is something that comes a little easy to me..so, this was something that I couldn’t accept of myself!   It sent me rolling in a mode, where I felt the need to make some serious resolutions for the new year, which, I’d never done before.

I had played some music from the yester years like “Desi Girl”  or “Uff Teri Ada”  or “Hoth Rasile”.  But, as I said, these were from the yester years and have lost their luster. Nobody cared for it now, even I would not, if I were in their shoes!   And, how do you keep a crowd satisfied with music, in a language, they do not recognize themselves with and how can I blame them for getting frustrated with me and my choice, while they wait patiently to shake a little on the floor under the influence of music that suits their palate, they would tell me (without actually talking the words out!)

“Can you get your iPod out from here and give us a break? We would like to play some of ours!”

I had not kept myself abreast with the recent music of 2010. The first half  of the year, I had whiled away learning and listening to Indian Classical Music and the second half in photography, apart from the rants I kept posting on blogger and being a mom to 4 kids.  I had had no time to keep the playlists in my iPod updated with the recent happenings like “Sheila Ki Jawani” from the movie “Tees maar khan” or  “Munni Badnam” from the movie “Dabbang”, although, the mere mention of these songs only brought to my mind the comments, my music teacher had made about it…

”Yeh, koi gana hai…yeh bhi koi bol hai? Mai Zandu Baam hui..Darling tere liye!, Aise koi bol likhta hai kya?” while she showed me how the dancer rubbed her butt in the video!

(Literal Translation from Hindi to Hinglish would be:

“Is this a song? Do you call these lyrics? “I became a Zandu Balm, Darling for your sake" Does anybody write lyrics like this?”)

But how can I explain this lady who even teaches Kathak (an Indian Classical dance form) to my kids, that, give these songs to people on the dance floor, and they can go crazy, especially, the WILD dancing kind, me, my brother, Pavan’s nephew and other’s not wanting to be named included!  :-)

I had been so unprepared. I was so disappointed in myself, that I  earned myself a new year’s resolution.

There had been only one thing lurking on my mind..One resolution for this year..how to reduce the time I spend on my computer? There had been occasions during the year, when K had casually commented saying “Mama, is a computer addict”.  The message had reached me clear and right, but, now-a-days, how can one do without being at the computer?  Still, if I had set out to achieve this impossible, how was I to achieve it because it totally, doesn’t sound close to my plans for this year.

If you look at some of the things that I had been planning on doing this year, I would be left with nothing to do if I considered the..”reduce computer time!” resolve.

  1. Get better at Mommy-ing and shrewd at wife-ing! Children are growing..they need me more mentally than for physical help. And stop coining atrocious words!
  2. To get back to my workout schedule, to Yoga and swimming that I had been so regular at, once upon a time, that, I still continue to wallow in its glow..shamelessly!
  3. To learn to use this new software I got a couple of weeks ago..Photoshop! Its a tool so huge..I still haven’t figured out the basics of how to start using it.
  4. Get my grip on bollywood music back without losing out on my classical music time. Update my playlists and albums on my iPod!
  5. And still be able to spend time with my Camera..To experiment with different lights and lens and people pictures..candid emotions. Again, I sucked so bad on New Year’s Eve..I forgot to take my camera with me.  I had breathed, eaten and done everything pictures the last few months..that the camera seemed more my dress code now, than, what I wore…and I forgot my costume! How inexcusable! Lost lots of photo ops :-(
  6. Of late, I also lost almost all the vine Jasmine plants from my collection of Jasmines, except, for the Royal Jasmine. Somehow, the setting inside the home isn’t suiting this group of plants, why? I need to figure out.
  7. Value added blogging,...while continuing to improve on my writing and language skills.

The Mommy part is my life..I have no choice..Sincere work there, no escapisms. For the wifey part of the resolution…I have a plan, to rely on wisdom from the movie “My big fat Greek wedding”.  I will most willingly give the title of “The Head” to my hubby.

“You want to be the head of us, the boss of us!…fine, the title is all yours to take!”

I then become the neck and turn the head which ever way I choose too. Everybody can have their cake and choose to eat it the way they want to.

Now for some support on the other resolutions from hubby dear..by, not taunting me for having to reheat my coffee because I was doing something on the computer, by not interrupting me when I’m lost in thought, making me feel guilty about the time I spend in all these activities..would be so acceptable but, I doubt I can just get all that without any resistance!

P.S.   Anybody with suggestions of Bollywood songs to dance to?

6 comments:

Renu said...

I can so much relate to this post.at one time I was considered know all about bollywood, but today's songs I cant remember.

I like people danceing on Kajraare from Bunty and bubli and there are a few from old movies.

Unknown said...

I can't dance, whatever maybe the song :( but I realized too some tiem back that my Bollywoodsong lists are in state of decay...so what I do is, I download all the top 10 lists from various websites!This keeps me up-to-date but also it means sometimes having Himesh Reshamiya's songs on my I-pod!!
But I've come to live with it now..there's no time to listen,filter and download :))

Gayatri said...

Hi Renu, My favorite too is the Kajraare..I think that one is going to stay for a long time.

Gayatri said...

Hi Sara, I dance with my left feet too! :-( Although I wish I could. And, I can't keep still too.

Your a Himesh fan! Good to know. Looking for the top 10 is my way of getting in touch too. I set out trying to know the 2010 and there are quite a few I like.

M'Bai Madrasi said...

even i dont understand what they mean in these recent item songs in bollywood.its like u have to have some lyrics for the song and you can write any crap for that...
For the ganesh chaturthi festival here in mumbai..most of the pandals had this munni badnamming lord ganesh...disgusting..

and yeah kajrare is indeed a good song for the dance..atleat it is far better than munni's and sheila's..!

Gayatri said...

OMG! item songs from Ganesh Chaturthi Pandals..nowadays!! This is really disgusting. I remember listening to MSS's Ganesh Pancharatna, Shiva Bhajans like "Brahma Murari Surarchita Lingam.."..etc in my times.

Recently times,There is a lot of new music, I love. Especially, the fusions and the way they bring classical out even in a western beat..Sufi numbers are also so great, especially "Saiyyan" by Kailash Kher..My favorite singers..Sankar Mahadevan, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and even the songs by Mohit Chauhan..Some of them are too good.