Music and Memories

Music can have this amazing effect on you. You can remember exactly what period in your life you heard a particular song. When you hear that song again today, you kind of travel back in time and revisit that period. There are some songs that make you feel so nostalgic, they can move you to the core and bring tears to your eyes, some others can make you laugh, still others just make you feel good all over.

There is a song in Marathi... mogra phulala....it used to be on one of the tapes we had when I was maybe in first grade। To this day, when that song plays, I feel I am sitting in a cool room on a hot summer day, curtains pulled, everything very peaceful and content, one of the best times of my life. My mom was trying her hand at recording songs from the radio on our brand new tape recorder that my dad had picked up from Germany. Tapes were kind of a precious commodity then. Lots of songs were packed on these tapes, not necessarily categorized according to genre. It is amusing to think of the sequence of songs.Some other favorites that were on the tapes my mom recorded were hindi songs like yeh parbaton ke daayre, and raat suhani jaag rahi hai, soft, slow numbers that are lilting and calming. These songs take me back to quiet after dinner times, late in the evening, relaxing on the couch. TV was nowhere on the horizon then, radio was the king.

A rather surprising partner to these songs, are songs from a prerecorded tape, one of James Last's finest, called Hair. All jazz instrumentals, I loved the compositions and can sing along when it plays even today. One kind soul has the whole album up on his blog. Thank God for such kind souls! As I looked up the history of the HAIR musical, I am glad I did not what it was about back then. I like the music, but do not care much for the hippie movement. Ignorance sure is bliss sometimes.

Sunday afternoons used to feature English songs. Yesterday once more, a song by the Carpenters was my favorite. Again, a very soothing song. Oh for nostalgia!
In later years at school, we truly believed that listening to new songs alone was 'the' thing to do. Mom would keep reminding us that developing a ear for melody was listening to different kinds of music. She would listen to Radio Ceylon a lot. Classical music was played often. I would not be too happy about that, but mom firmly believed that that was how you developed a ear for good music. I sort of agree with that today. Dad kept bringing great Western music, from Mozart's symphonies to Country to the Beatles, we had it all.

A partner for the tape recorder was a small record player. We had a bunch of 78 rpm records. Then 33 and 45 rpms joined them. We had good music, almost all of which is considered among the 'timeless hits' today.

All these songs build our memories. Little did I know of it then. I keep telling myself that we need to choose what we do today, and how we spend our time, as these will be memories of tomorrow. Something we will feel nostalgic about, hopefully.

Spring is on its way out!

A better way to put it would be - Summer is already here! We felt the heat in mid May and then a cool front moved in. Thank God for small mercies. The roses went into another budding and flowering cycle. The yard looked nice for a little while longer. The next three months will be HOT, no doubt. If the thunder showers keep rolling in every now and then, things will be bearable, if not, we are in for a bad one. I would love to keep the hurricanes out this year. We had more than our share last year, and I would like a nice quiet summer.

On a recent trip to India, I have already experienced summer for three weeks. It was so HOT, you could fry an egg on the sidewalk, and while you tried to do that, you could sweat a bucketful. It would be a good bucket to water the plants. Urghhh, I am getting nasty, blame it on the NASA reports where they said that the astronauts recycled even their own urine. Those guys are awesome, what a feat! Rejuvenating a 19 year old telescope and being successful at it, is nothing short of spectacular. Five spacewalks, in a place where space debris is supposedly common these days, dealing with sometimes hard to loosen bolts, replacing gyroscopes that were as large as pianos, they managed to get the thing going for at least another five to ten years. Hats off to you guys!

What I am in total awe of is the fact that people (the number will go up to 6 soon, from the present three) live up there in space aboard the International Space Station (ISS). I am particularly impressed given the poor state I am in even after a 9-12 hour flight. These guys live there, and it is not very big. Great going guys!

What an accomplishment for Man this whole venture has been. Space Exploration is simply awesome. What is amazing is that in spite of all we have achieved, NATURE is still so in control. Atlantis could not land in Florida because of all the rain, it had to land in California and NASA will have to spend $ 2 million to bring it back to Florida on piggyback a 747 jetliner. Hurricanes will continue to torment coastal regions and wreck havoc in those areas. Earthquakes will happen, and so will floods and droughts. I wonder when we can find a sure shot cure for these calamities.

Till then, I prefer to salute the people who got us this far, with the hope that they will take us further down the path of wonderful exploration, keeping in mind and respecting the laws of nature.

Whoa, it's been a while!

It's almost spring, after a terrible winter. Terrible not because it was very cold, but because it kept going from cold to warm and then back to cold, with each extreme staying on for not more than two days each. I had put a jacket in the car and had decided not to get it out, one never knew when it would be cold, and when it would get warm again. The weather guys did their best, but then how do you predict exactly what time a cold front will move through your area and drop temperatures 20 degrees in 30 minutes?

Well, I am glad that it almost over, though we are not completely out of the woods yet. The spring flowers are blooming and complaints of allergies are everywhere. We have this inherent tendency to complain, too cold, too warm, allergies, too sunny, too dull, too wet, almost drought..... well, we are all HUMAN! :)

The azaleas up front put up a nice show.




That little rabbit is a fake one, and while I took pictures of the flowers, I realized something was moving among the bushes behind. A closer look revealed a surprise, because what I thought was a baby bird that was learning to fly, turned out to be this guy....




You can hardly see him but it is a rabbit, with its shiny red eye... Easter is round the corner, and I hope people don't let go of bunnies that they decide would be a handful in the house. I am not sure if these things can become pests.

Spring cleaning is almost done. Am I kidding myself? Does cleaning ever get done? I did give away lots of clothes that had gone small and some other stuff. However, I guess about three fourths of it is done and some areas need re-visiting.
How does one accumulate so much stuff? I consider myself to not be a pack rat and I do throw away things every now and then, even then, things just keep accumulating. The weird part is that even after being very organized, when you need something, there is that fifty percent chance you are not going to locate it almost immediately. That feeling when something is not found is the worst feeling there is. You know you just saw it there a few days ago, you could swear it was right there and it eludes you.

Oh for spring cleaning! I need to get back to it.

Another New Year!

Well, it's that time of the year again. The first week of January, when you feel like you can actually get things done as you fill out your new calender and planner. As you write (type) your list of things to-do in the blank space, you tend to think, YES, this time around, this IS going to get done. It may be just me, but I like that feeling. 'Resolutions'- as a word, has lost its charm. Yet hopefuls like me love to think that these goals can and will eventually be met. Never mind that in a few days, as one sinks deeper into the year, the whole optimistic feeling gets nudged aside by excuses, about how you meant to, but could not get to!

Why is it that you are always looking for time when it comes to doing chores and never seem to find it, yet there are periods of time when you are bored and cannot think of what to do? Why is that the time when you can return calls is always full of other stuff to do, and when you do find time, it is an awkward time to return that call? I admit that these are the calls that you simply must make, and cannot avoid. The others where you want to call a dear friend always get ahead on the priority list.

I am not even going to get started on the losing weight goal. I know everyone is fed up of reading about those. That is not even a goal anymore, it is just a fleeting dream, of me in some wonderfully fitting shirt with abs as flat as .......ermmmmmm.... never mind!

I want to read more books this year, I want to be able to get back in the form I was in 4 years ago, cooking for ten families at one go. I just don't seem to have the confidence of doing that anymore (the thing is they should want to eat what I cook, so that's my goal). 

I want to be able to make some really wonderful jewelery, the kind that you don't feel like selling ever, though I admit I had a couple of pieces like that last year! I want to be able to predict how a particular stone will behave when strung with a particular bead.
I want to be able to get my kiddo to be more independent, will my patience help him in getting to that goal?I know, I know, I don't want to sound like a person with tons of things to do, that never get done. I am pretty much up to date with most of the mundane stuff, except for a lone overdue library book, and maybe some ironing. However, when it comes to some ideas that have been hovering in my head for the longest time, I am really bad. I have this wonderful picture in my head that needs to transfer itself on wood with Plaster of Paris! Will people in 2009 finally see it the way I see it in my head? I have some really great ideas for drawing and painting that I could transfer on paper, will I sit down and let my creative side take over for a bit? Only Time will tell! :)

The Backyardigans

A surprise visit to the backyard this morning turned out to be very interesting. The hummingbirds have left for the season , and I was very disappointed that they had not allowed any decent pictures to be taken of themselves having a fun time on both the bottle brush bushes. Hurricane Ike tore one of the bushes in half, but there were flowers on the other half and and the other bush and the hummingbirds were having their field day. Every time I would step out discreetly, I would realize that it was not 'discreet' enough, much to my chagrin! All this fuss about being photographed, got me thinking they were scared of me. Then Ike loomed in the gulf and ominous forecasts sent me scurrying into the yard to pick anything that could be turned into a missile. I realized that I had accumulated plenty of missiles and it took time to get them all indoors. As I did this, these little guys were indignant that their space was being invaded. They did their angry dance over my head ordering me to leave them alone. I was indignant too.... hey... this was my yard and I could be there as long as I wanted. I admit I got the bottle brushes just so I could watch these little fellows frolicking in my backyard in the Spring and Fall, but the yard was still mine. That's when I knew that they were not scared of me, they just wanted their space and on their terms, and photography was strictly prohibited! Now they were gone after spending much of September and October in this area. I had not gone looking for anything in particular in the yard after putting all my decorations back up, since they were not going to be used as missiles anymore. This morning, my better half asked me to come look at a funny looking home on the rose bush. I went to look, and this is what I saw-




This weirdo was sitting there, guarding it's brood of about a 100 young ones. That was a neat little nest it had up there. I got out my camera and found it staring at me not quite knowing what to do. My plight was not very different. I was not sure how a bright green spider with spiny legs would react when a potential enemy was standing in front of it. It did let me take pictures of it (which went a little out of focus because I was scared it would jump out at me any minute). Right below this humble dwelling, was this lovely English rose.  

All things bright and beautiful.............



The Bottle brush Restaurant was not exactly going out of business because the Hummingbirds had left. The beautiful and graceful Monarch butterfly was a regular visitor. It had no dearth of company, what with the bees and wasps all frequenting the joint every now and then.



As I was trying to get close to the Monarch to get a good shot, something jumped out of the Asian Jasmine (Mogra) bush and I let out a scream. I had to laugh at myself soon after because it was the cutest and smallest little frog I had seen. It disappeared into the bush only to be seen again a little while later, lying in its hammock, enjoying the weather. Or perhaps waiting for a princess to turn it into a prince!

It was the smallest frog I had ever seen, it was not much larger than a Mogra bud.

All creatures great and small..................... 

All this drama right here in my backyard. I wish I went out there more often to see what a diverse place it was. I have decided I am going to spend more time there. The last few blooms of the bottle brush are putting on a show now, before going into the rest mode for the winter. It will be full of flowers in Spring, right in time for the Hummingbirds again. 



All things wise and wonderful, evolution made them all!  

Now that I have started with the blog, I decided to put down a few thoughts. Lots of things going on in the world. We, in this country (though I am yet to be part of that process), elected a black President, the first black President. The man has good oratorical skills, and probably good intentions to make a difference. However, he has a daunting task ahead of him. Good luck to him in turning things around.
Meanwhile, we are getting to that time of the year that I really enjoy. The weather is getting very pleasant. The stores are gearing up for the Holiday Season. There's something nice in the air this time of the year. I do hope all the economic woes do not dampen the spirit of the season, though it seems highly unlikely that the effect will not be seen.
My brush with Applied Behavior Analysis for the kiddo did not turn out too well, and I have asked that further sessions be deferred till the Spring of next year. Why ask for trouble when it is relatively smooth sailing right now....
My jewelery making is making some progress, I just need to find a few people who think it is worth buying..... (fingers crossed). I met a nice lady at Michael's today who had some great tips. I also got a 'half off' coupon for next week that I will put to good use.
Suddenly, I find time a precious commodity. It is fun when it is like that, rather than having lots of it on hand.

I am writing a blog for the first time. When I was asked what I would name it, 'My muses' was the first thing that came to my mind. On checking for availability of the name, I realized that I was really late in getting on this bandwagon. After trying several names, I decided to go for 'Random walks through life' because I am not going to find time for a 'Daily muse', that's for sure.
Also, it was a tribute to this wonderful book I read when I was working for my PhD, called 'A Random Walk in Science'. That was at an age when you feel you can take on the world single handed and can actually change it or help shape it. Well, after many attempts at changing and shaping, some successful and others not, some aimed at the world (those were mostly the unsuccessful ones) and others at people, you realize that things are not easy as they once seemed. Anyways, that book made me the see the humorous side of Science.
I was always told that I should write, and the blogger is a perfect tool for that venture, which I am starting years and years after I was encouraged to write. So, for those who care..... read on.........