Thank You for the Music

As I walked out of my apartment and into the lift, I checked my song list for any songs by Michael Jackson. I could find a lot of rock, few hip-hop and some retro. But only one Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. How I have moved on in my taste for music. To develop a sense of music, do you need a strong foundation? The first time I heard Heal the World, I could hear Michael Jackson telling me, 'It is all in the melody girl!' And when I heard Thriller and the rest, I could see that there was a lot more to beat and rhythm than I had hitherto known. Frankly speaking, for an initiate, I could not understand what Michael Jackson was saying in his songs. [But he is a shade better than those Linkin Park's and others whom I listen to nowadays] But then,... who cared. When I was working about the house, the beats of Smooth Criminal, Remember the Time, Blood on the Dance Floor [picture me with the mopping stick mopping the floor in tune with the beats of this song...sometimes Queens can do the weirdest things. It comes with the position :)] used to keep me focussed. On my evening walks, Gone too Soon, Liberian Girl and Heal the World kept me company with their haunting music. Of course, They Don't Really Care About Us was quite therapeutic in my run-in with the authorities once in a while. My My! How have I moved on since those early days of my initiation into music. Most of all, Michael Jackson taught me to have a ear for beat, rhythm and melody, something that came in quite handy when I dabbled in playing a musical instrument. And he didn't stop there. He taught me how to appreciate music and enjoy it more. What Milton said of Shakespeare maybe quite true of Michael Jackson - he doesn't need a tomb in stone. His works become a standing testimony to his art - a vast sepulchre they will form - a sepulchre of songs that you keep returning to. As I hear the news about his untimley demise, I do wonder whether there was more to come out of him. Perhaps what he said of Aaliyah maybe true for him - I can't help but feel that he has Gone too Soon. Thank you for the Music, Michael Jackson!

Chasing your dreams with a mug of coffee

The night had been different too. For a change, Hyderabad witnessed some much needed showers, and a consequent drop in temperature. Morning had only brought a reminder of the storm that had passed the previous day - both on the landscape and the inscape. Dreams had been buried.

I have my one favourite coffee mug - Archies - with the message, 'Attitude is everything'. I mixed the instant coffee and made it sure that the mug was filled to the brim.

And as I slowly made myself comfortable on the chairs and with my laptop, with occasional sips of the instant coffee, peace dawned. A peace that passeth all understanding. A peace that promised that the joy lies, not as much in achieving the dreams, as in chasing them. A peace that said that you have at least tried, instead of regretting for the rest of your life that you could have,...but you didn't. A peace that said that this too shall pass. A peace that told me, never...never to stop chasing my dreams. My day moves on, as the last night remains just another chapter in the book of life. There are fresh pastures to be explored,... and I move on, creating and chasing new dreams. My book needs to be written...and it is going to be a tale filled with happiness and joy.