2011

2010 was pretty much fucked up. Yeah, a few good things did happen, but on the whole the proportion of bad to good was overwhelming. I'm not getting into the specifics, 'cause I'm not here to whine about it. 

The good thing about bad times is that, at the end of it, you emerge a stronger person. And I believe, so have I.

Here I am - embracing the new year with open hands - embracing hope, life, passion and positivity, with an intense urge to realize life's potential to the fullest and make a mark on this world.

Hope it's something similar, if not something better, for you.

Wish you a very happy, prosperous and fruitful 2011.

Goa!

I turned 26 a couple of days back. I feel a bit more comfortable with my baldness, as it is a bit less "premature" now.

The week before, I was in Goa. Instead of the usual "get-drunk-and-waste-away-at-beach-shacks" routine, this time I just rent a bike and toured across the length and breadth of the northern part of this beautiful state at 70kmph. I know plenty of you end up in the Calangute-Baga region whenever you end up going to Goa, so instead of giving off-beat semi-pretentious suggestions that in all probablity are not going to be of any use to you, here are a few tips you can probably try out:

(1) Food/Drinks: Do try out the Sea-food Platter at Infantaria (near Calangute-Baga Jn.) and the breakfast at Cafe Lila (near Baga Bridge). Amongst the beach shacks, Zanzibar in Baga was much better than the rest. And I found the restaurant Asia, right next to the Calangute beach, quite good in terms of food and service (especially), but not that great if you are (a)price-conscious and/or (b) don't have earplugs (the 'live music' wasn't too inspiring, to say the least). Tito's is a bit over-rated. Drinks-wise just one tip: don't try cocktails at beach shacks - even if they offer them for free!

(2) Places to go to: Candolim beach was heavenly. Serene, peaceful, not-so-crowded. Great place to chill out. Great for swimmers too. Try that on a Wednesday so that you can try out the Anjuna 'flea' market too - nothing extraordinarily brilliant, but nonetheless you get the best prices for all the crap you normally end up buying in Goa. Fort Aguada gives some great views. A lazy Sunday walk through Panjim was a surprisingly good experience. The bike trip to/through Old Goa was nice too.

(3) Places to stay - Calangute Residency is in a prime location and I've stayed there before, but if you're looking for a bit of peace and tranquility and/or not getting a booking there, don't worry - there are an infinite number of hotels on the Calangute-Baga Road. I stayed at Hotel Shelsta, and found it quite nice. The best part is, it has a 24-hour Subway on the ground floor - it saved my life on more than one occasion.

Enough gyaan. Just go there, guys...hire a bike, roam around, have fun. Life's too short to waste away in your cubicles, staring onto your laptop screens, checking worthless spam and wondering what to buy next.

Btw, did you know Goa is the state with the highest per capita income in India?!!

Some Candid Confessions

#1 My favorite instrument (which I can somewhat play) was, is and (I think) always will be the Flute. I always feel like it's an extension of my soul - as if I sing through the Flute.

#2 My favorite instrument (otherwise) is the Piano. And the Organ. And the Accordian. Okay - Keyboards - get the point? It's the tones that turn me on, to be honest - be it a Rhondes Electric, a Hammond through Rotary Speakers, or the alien-ish textures Röyksopp generates from their MS-20s. Tones give me kicks.


#3 Same goes with Guitars - am a tone freak more than a serious player (hell, I learnt Guitar so that I could play along and sing - I started playing leads 'cause somewhere down the line I realized I'm not that great a singer, and I had to do something with the instrument...Ok make that #4) - my favorite "tones" people: Clapton (almost all electric), Di Meola (both his acoustic an electric tones), Eric Johnson (Cliffs of Dover is still the benchmark according to me), Andy Timmons, Satch (his cleaner and mid-heavy tones), Gilmour, Paul Gilbert, Morello, Guthrie Govan, Petrucci (though somehow Rudess' tones sound better :P)...


#5 Rabindrasangeet is my favorite "genre" of Music (however, not necessarily in the manner the world is used to listening to it - I think it sounds best when accompanied with a Piano or a Sarangi, and sung on loose rhythmic structures; and I somehow feel rains amplify the magic!). Jazz (Modal/Modern/Free - equal respect for all three), Blues, Alternative Rock, Avant-garde Electronica, Hindustani Classical and some select Bangla Rock/Alternative finish close, more or less in that order, if you press me; though I never believed much in this whole "genre"-al divisions in the first place.

#6 I always wanted to be a drummer. It kinda weird that I ended up being almost everything except that :-/


There, now you know so much more about me.


And, oh yes - Hi. I'm back to blogging again. Hope you have fun reading.


Time to get back to my studio. G'nite, God Bless.