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My Vineyard |
Art, the gist of life, the meaning of life. How I remember Prof. Roy words, looking at the stained glass in Von Gogh museum that when coming to look at art, you forget science and technology. Words from a person who's been into technology all his days. I believe that I am looking for a piece of art wherever I go, whatever I do...
A good conversation is an art, a good natural scenery is an art, good food is art too, so whatever I do, its the art I am looking for.
Isn't it trivial when we realise that art is but communication of expression, well...
Anyways, fine arts is my developing passions. These days I find myself lost, many a time, looking at a painting... the first one to blow me away were some impressionist paintings from Monet and Cezane and Renoir... then the modern paitings by Ed Hopper, Jack Vettriano... some of these later american artists are truely inspiring. The Lawson Gallery in Cambridge saw me a lot. Kandinsky and Modigliani amazed me...
Present favourites include Joan Miro and Jackson Pollock.
Some of my favourites are listed here. The order in which I like them keep changes, so down here they are in no particular order. I have worshipped as well as got terribly bored of nearly all of them at one time or the other. All in all, I think they are/were great artists. Sadly, many of them ended up being corporate brands. Anyways, the marvel of real art and its performance always remains for those who seek just that. Just that!
. James Brown ~ |
Play that funky music, Sex machine, Please please
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. Eric Clapton ~ |
Promises, Lay down sally, Layla, Knocking,
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. Led Zeppelin ~ |
Trampled underfoot, Immigrant's song, Fool in the rain
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. Iron Maiden ~ |
Running free, Transylvania, Hallowed be thy name
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. Jimi Hendrix ~ |
Purple Haze, Foxy lady,
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. Norah Jones ~ |
Cold cold heart, Come away with me, Sunrise, Carnival song
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. The Eagles ~ |
New York Minute, Taquila Sunrise
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. Janis Joplin ~ |
Me and Bobby McGee
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. Frank Sinatra ~ |
Strangers in the Night |
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. The Doors ~ |
Universal mind, Gloria, Riders on the storm, Who do you love
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. Jethro Tull ~ |
Locomotive Breath, Aqualung
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. Creedence Clearwater Revival ~ |
Lodi, Suzie Q, I heard it through the grapevine, Travelling Band
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. The Beatles ~ |
Twist and Shout,
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. Eminem ~ |
Without me, Loose yourself, Real slim shady
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. Elvis ~ |
Return to sender, Wooden heart
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. Dire Straits ~ |
Sultan of Swing, Romeo and Juliet, Walk of Life,
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. Simon and Garfunkel ~ |
I am a rock, Emily
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. Pink Floyd ~ |
Money
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. Bob Marley ~ |
No woman no cry, Rasta man chants
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. Nirvana ~ |
In Bloom, Pennyroyal Tea,
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. Syd Barret ~ |
Effervascing Elephant, Bike
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. Black Sabbath ~ |
Iron Man, NIB, Crazy Train, War Pigs
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. Lynyrd Skynyrd ~ |
Freebird, Tuesday's gone
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. Linking Park ~ |
Crawling, Paper Cut
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. RHCP ~ |
Scar Tissue, Under the Bridge, Purple Stain, Give it Away
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. Alanis Morissette ~ |
One hand in my pocket, You oughtta know
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...updates Dec 2005, as I rightly predicted, none is a favourite now, I am on a lookout for happy music, for example, the ramones, and the latest and most contemporary stuff on yahoo launchcast. and nothing else matters. all loyalty shatters.
Ever since I bought a computer, I have a so called 'monotonoustly increasing' personal collection of movies. While most of them are famous or recommended ones, some of them are lesser known. I have come across very less number of newly made hindi movies that are good and many of the popular ones have actually disappointed me. A technically sound movie with no deliberate attempt towards entertainment is usually likeable. These deliberate attempts is something that I call 'violence' in show-business. Whenever I say or think about this, I remember Audlous Huxley's article on modern interpretation of entertainment and pleasure. A lot of gibberish...
. Internet Movie Database / Top 250 movies on IMDB / Movies on Yahoo
I think I have had a great childhood, blessed with great mummy, who'd never turn my requests for comics down. I was a champion of hindi comics during my childhood, and I had Rikki-the-great's great company. And then one day he showed me those small moby-books classics. I still love reading them, one with a picture on one page and text on the side. Latest classic tales I read is the Last of the Mohicans and still remember the Moby Dick. Rikki's favourite used to be Dumas' The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. He told me the story so vividly that I feel to have read the story myself.
Amar Chitra Katha's used to pull me in, I'd read them from cover to cover. Great prints, so colorful, they were amazing, and all the characters would really exist. Gaurav would not read, but just watch them, its only now, 20 years later that I can understand why.
In one of the summer holidays I could actually get hold of Jim Corbett's book, one which already contained story from my English textbook. I thought the the textbook stories get generated from within the closed book only, but they were real world things, open and available. I actually started to collect and read books from then. But I think English language was a big challenge and burden to overcome. I managed to read some good books, many of them were great recommendations from Krishan. Collected, read and re-read all Tin Tins and Asterix, and they still have some touch in my present sense of humor, or interpretation of humor. Sometimes, I just get tired of books, and last one year or so had been like that, but I am again getting geared up, and I again want to read more and more, atleast know more and more about things. But its more and more an indifferent disloyal relation than what it used to be. Meanwhile, some great links I found from the net.
. Internet texts at East of the web / Bartleby /
. Poetry at Wondeing Minstrels /
. Dictionary of Literary terms / Wordlist / download another wordlist and change extn to .zip /
. Calvin and Hobbes / My selected ones /
I studied Aerospace Engineering for several years. I have a special interest in Turbomachinery. I have a general interest in all types of technology and like to listen to what people have to tell me about it. I relish listening to people's work in their projects and if its totally unrealted or new to me, that makes it even more interesting to listen. I try to develop an intution instead of expertise, and therefore keep cutting corners, while still keeping myself informed to a level of being a capable listener of any discussion, provided its not for the sake of it.
. 3-D animations of links and mechanisms / UCI synthetica link /
I have a recently developed interest in philosophy. People who know would remember my spending the whole night at the coffee shop in Delhi with a book called the history of philosophy by Frank Thilly. I like books like these which have a survey rather than a specific thing to tell. Another by Will Durant is lying in front of me right now. I saw another one by Burtrand Russel at Jannu's place in Bangalore. Think the say good things in Philosophy good at times, you know, shake you up, make you think. I like Philosophy for the same reasons that makes it called so, the love for knowledge. No great claims though, just leave me alone with it, for my own weird reasons. And comeone, ofcourse you don't have to confuse me with an intellectual. There are marked and easily observable differences between the two of us. Some internet resources that I adore.
. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy / Philosophy pages / Internet Encyclopaedia of Philosophy
It is true that I started studying psychology with certain 'vested interests'. Now these interests are as too natural as a man like me getting attracted to a young dusky woman, but the response or the approach isn't very common. Instead of concentrating onthe woman, I concentrated on the subject. As a result, I don't know where the girl's gone but she did leave me with a personal collection of psychology books.
Like everyone, atleast many, I too think that Ian Wright is has the best job in the world. There are so many places on this planet which I want to visit. I have never thought of the origin of my wanderlust, but it is persistent within me. The magnitude keeps waxing and waning but that's allright. Though not travelled as much to be recognised as a traveller, I have had some good tourism, the Bihar trip, the journey to Leh, the Delhi to Bombay road trip and ofcourse the European excursion. After some time, there will be a Rajasthan tour to remember to. I like to keep it slightly less organised and down to earth economical. The two of these become conflicting most of the times. I have come to a realisation that its difficult for me to travel alone. The Bhutan attempt and the Shimla trip were a disaster. Still I think that it can be done in case I am not able to fetch anyone, again just a matter of where my present levels of Wanderlust are. Thought I'll make it to 20 countries before I am 30, but it seems difficult task to aim, and I am not living upto oen single fixed aim anyways, but I still still look forward to it. Till now, I have managed to sneak into 7 countries around the world, last one being Switzerland. Waking up at the Atlantic face in the Isle of Skye was something most eternal and divine I have felt. Kovlam and Palolem (Goa), you have them in my heart. Jungles, I belong to you. My truest passion... is beating the bush in wilderness.
Travel Guides at Lonely Planet
Domestic Travel : Bihar / Rajasthan / Leh
International Destinations : Singapore / Kenya / Bhutan
I was fat. Now I am not. And I am happy, and bloddy proud to say that. But that doesn't mean I am a lesser epicurian now. Food, the word itself is very good. I think that good food is the best thing in the world. Let me betray my roots and say that I have a low opinion about the north Indian cuisine. I think its very limited in variety. A lot of oil and spices isn't the only thing that makes good food. I also think that extreme is not something that the taste-buds should encounter. Rather, the goodness lies in the subtleness. My favourite cuisines are Manglorian and Mediterranean, though these days, anything that's freshly cooked and warm that's not from the can feels so right. A quick check for healthy food in the westerm world is that it has to be hell expensive :)
I have an interest in studying history. Its like stories. I like to know study through alternate sources like movies and discovery channel programs. I have special interest in World War - II, Medivial Indian history i.e. the Mughal period. I used to have a good deal of interest in the history of the Indian National Movement, but in recent times, there are so many versions floating around, condemning each other, the whole issue is so politicised and I like to keep myself off.
The geography quiz on Microsoft Encarta is wonderful. My highest score is 490/500, second to Vishal whose, as you'd have guessed is 500/500. Well we hit another 500 together too. I cam to Cambridge and met people from you-name-a-place. Haiti, Togo, Chile, Uganda, Tibet... I have been getting my informal education through talking to Andrea and reading National Geographic lately.