Love Untold - A musical journey

Music, as perceived by many, is a rhythmic, melodious composition of musical notes. For many years, even I connected with music in the same way. I would listen to a song and I would like it only if the singer qualified for my personal criterion of “My Favorite Singer” and also if the song was catchy. My perception of music changed when I listened to a randomly chosen song at my uncle’s place using his headphones. All I can recollect is that I could hear every musical instrument being played in that song! I was amazed! A new curiosity had emerged in me. I wanted to listen to every song with such detail! I identified several unheeded beats, strums and tunes in a song. Sometimes it occurred just once in the middle of a song! But I waited to hear it (Try it. It’s fun!)

And so a year passed and I developed a lot of interest in music. I even went to a crash course in guitar, (Although I did not master it. Read my blog post "Strings and Frets"). And then I wanted to compose my own song. I know I had started dreaming big without knowing the A, B, C of music. But I badly wanted to compose a song which had a meaning in it. Which is not just catchy, but which can match up with the songs sung by international artists. So then I set of on the task of composing a tune for my first song. I did this while carrying out my daily tasks, humming a tune, trying to find out if it matched with any of the songs that I know of. One day, while washing my clothes, I found a melodious tune(that’s what I think of it). I noted down the tune i.e take a guitar, play the tune and note down on which string and fret of the guitar it is played.  Well this is how I write down my compositions.

So now I had a composition. All I needed is the lyrics for the song and then my song would be complete, or so I thought. I sat down one day and wrote a story. It took me quite a while to convert that story to decent lyrics. I named the song “Love Untold”. Now everything was ready. I had to only record the song and then I would upload it on YouTube, get a million hits, become an international superstar and play golf with Hollywood celebrities. But there was something missing. Something that made me to not record it in a professional studio. It was the zeal to materialize my composition.

Three years passed, I graduated, got 1 year work experience but I had still not recorded the song. The lyrics had undergone several modifications.  My excuse was that I had no musical background and dint know where to record a song. Two of my friends motivated me to record the song. One by saying that it will top the Billboard charts and the other by giving me the push to "google" recording studios at where I reside. So Google searched a recording studio for me. I was a bit hesitant to approach the studio manager. What if he says that he doesn’t cater to such foolish requests like recording just one song. I feared I will be embarrassed if he/she asks me any details about the composition that only trained musicians can explain. I thought they will laugh at the lyrics that I had written.

But then I just wanted to give it a try. Let them laugh or say whatever they like. I did not want to regret not having tried. So I ended up at a recording studio after convincing my family that I was on my way to stardom.  After asking the cost of recording and pretending that I was not actually worried about the cost, I showed a sample composition of my song I had created using a computer software. Unbelievably, he heard the entire  2 minute composition. And then he told me to sing the song with the lyrics. I was ready for him to smile at me when he heard the lyrics. But he did not. He listened intently and carefully. He even gave me some suggestions on how to make the song sound better. He then gave me a date to record the song. And from that day till the day of the recording I persuaded my friend to listen to me singing the song everyday and correct me if I would go wrong in the pronunciation or tune. I practiced the song as much as I could. Then came the day of the recording. I was very nervous. I met the studio manager. He had already composed the background score. Blasting from the speakers in the sound proof room, it sounded fabulous! I stepped into the live room where there was a microphone which looked more like a gadget from the future. I put on the headphones and after the recording manager instructed me by counting 3 on his fingers, I sang the first verse of the song. The first verse was over and then I got to hear myself. I was surprised at the quality of the recording. We had a few more recording rounds and then an hour later we were done with the vocals. In the next 2 hours we mixed the song with the background score and a bit of technical mastering and mixing gave the final touches to the song.

I uploaded it on YouTube and waited for stardom to approach me. Well, it did not. And that was not my intention. I had materialized my dream of composing a song. Music is not just about sounds emanating from a speaker or from musical instruments. It is about emotions being told by someone. It tells you a story, an idea within someone’s mind. From this experience I learned that a simple excuse in life can make you miss a lot of targets. If you dream something, then you better start materializing that dream. Stop giving any excuse. Do not wait for the right time. Every day is a good day to start anything good. I may not have achieved something great. I may have not matched up at all with the songs sung by international artists, but I am content with the smiles that I see on anyone’s face when they listen to my song.  Your dream can be achieved, it can be made real, but not with just your efforts, it needs the efforts from your near and dear ones to motivate you to achieve it.  It needs the help of strangers who are willing to help you in your journey. Be humble, accept that you cannot achieve everything on your own in this world and live your dream.

Listen to Love Untold here.

A chilled summer!

Being in Goa, in the month of May, can be one of the “stickiest” experiences one can have. With the temperature and the humidity soaring up early in the morning, one just feels like going to Antarctica  So one of my friends had come up with an idea of spending a holiday away from the Goan summer…..not in Antarctica  but in Ooty. The hotel rooms, the train tickets and the traveler was booked using the magical Internet facility. And so came the day when the ten of us office colleagues( more of college friends) had to leave to Ooty in the world famous Mangala Lakshadweep Express, which travels through a 500 km sea tunnel from the Lakshadweep Islands all the way to the railway station in Margao, Goa. We boarded the train (which arrived 3 hours late) at 11 pm and sweated in the Sleeper Coach as we lay in our individual berths trying to get some sleep. By the way, I was kidding about the sea tunnel part.

We arrived at Kozhikode, Kerala the next day at around 8 am, from where we had to travel a 6 hour journey by road to Ooty. The climate in Kerala was no different than that in Goa. We met the driver of our uber cool, 75bhp tempo traveller. After setting our luggage in it, we were all set for the road journey. But first we had to have breakfast! Now, South India is very famous for its breakfast of Idli, Vada-Sambar, Masala Dosa etc. So no matter if you would give us the entire Mc’D menu for free, for our breakfast, we wanted Idli, Vada-Sambar, Masala Dosa etc. So we stopped by a restaurant on the way. I don’t remember there being a time shift of 12 hours between Goa and Kerala, but the waiter offered a dinner menu for us! And for vegetarians, he specially went to the chef to ask for the varieties in vegetarian dishes and told us that they had Vegetarian Khurma only! It seems that in Kerala, the breakfast consists of parathas, chapaties and khurma and nothing else. So we had our compromising breakfast and set off to Ooty.

The very humid climate in Goa and Kerala, made me believe that there can be no other place on this entire planet which can be cold during May. When the driver told me its going to be cold in Ooty, I could not believe him. I mean, Ooty is where? Antarctica ? With a Bollywood movie playing for 2 hours, we reached the out skirts of Tamil Nadu. (Summary : Margao is in Goa, Kozhikode is in Kerala and Ooty is in Tamil Nadu). The temperature was cooler, the humidity was very less and people were actually wearing sweaters! Now either it gets cold in Ooty or people are pretending to make tourists believe that the weather is cold. I still did not believe that a summer can be cold. As our vehicle swirled through the scenic mountain roads, calm lakes and the misty clouds welcomed us here and there. Thick pine trees covered the mountains from the base and smooth roads surprised us with splendid scenery at every turn. Cruiser motor bikes roared past us, as groups of bikers made their way in a biker’s paradise. We reached Ooty around 3pm and checked in to our hotel. After a refreshing meal we headed to the Ooty market. We found a large number of shops which sold warm clothing. Most from our group at once started buying sweaters, sweat shirts and mufflers which were available at very affordable prices. And as we walked through the city streets, the weather grew chilly. This was what I was waiting for. I did not wear a sweat shirt just to enjoy feeling the cool weather. Vapors blew out of our mouths as we spoke in the cold night. And, I had to agree that it really was cold in Ooty.

We woke up the next day to visit the nearby tourists spots. The morning was warm and crisp. After a much awaited South Indian breakfast, we visited the Pykara water falls, which did not have much water in it. After that we headed towards Pykara lake for a boat ride. With the click of cameras surrounding everyone of us, we climbed the boat which took us into the waters. 

Pykara Water Falls 

Pykara Lake

By late afternoon, the weather got cloudy and it started raining! Not only was the summer in Ooty cold but it was also wet! As the heavy rains slowed down to a drizzle, we visited 9th mile. This is a vast mountain grassland with lot of tourists. With steaming, boiled, spicy peanuts and sweet corns in our hands(and mouth) we climbed the slopes of the grassland.

9th Mile

Any cow will be extremely happy to see a mountain full of food! It was just grass and grass everywhere. The clouds hovered around us to give a mystical feel to the place. After having clicked pictures with poses suitable for Mr.World and Miss World competitions, we left 9th Mile for the famous Botanical Garden. The Botanical Garden is a gardener’s paradise, with a guy like me finding it more of a forest than a garden. There were just plants around everywhere, just like in a forest, but with sign boards next to them. After the hour long walk in the Botanical Garden, we warmed ourselves with a cup of cutting chai and signed off the day by buying lots and lots of home made chocolates.

Botanical Garden

The next morning excited us with the Toy Train ride. It traveled from Ooty to Connoor winding up the slopes of the hills and overlooking the small town of Ooty. The train took us through pine forests and over high bridges.

Toy Train, Connoor

 We reached Connoor and traveled by road to a tea garden. The tea garden was indeed beautiful! With 70 year old tea plants lining the slopes of the billion year old mountains, we were introduced to the sight of endless greenery. 

Tea Garden, Connoor

A local guide took us through the tea manufacturing process and let us do what we had come for – take photographs. And we clicked of course! We clicked as if that was the last chance of our survival and we clicked until the battery in our cameras could take no more. After the tea garden we traveled through the steep, winding slopes to Dolphin’s Nose. The roads leading to Dolphin’s Nose were stone paths. The surroundings, with beautiful mansions, circled by well kept gardens made me feel as if I was in Italy! For the first time, the vehicle in which I was travelling created a traffic jam. We were stuck at a turn as huge cars zoomed on the other lane and our vehicle could go ahead only by crossing to the other lane and then taking that hairpin bend. Me and my friend got down and stopped the vehicles on the other lane for a while so that our vehicle could move ahead. After having successfully regulated the traffic, we climbed back on our vehicle and reached Dolphin's Nose in 10 minutes. Dolphin's Nose is a mountain peak overlooking the tribal villages in Connoor. As we finished touring the location fast, we had a quick lunch and set off to the railway station to board our toy train back to Ooty.

Once we reached Ooty in the toy train, we visited the Thread garden and Rose garden. The Thread garden is a garden full of various flowers stitched and embroidered by hand over a period of 12 years! And the Rose garden is a garden full of extremely healthy rose plants and the roses that grow on them are LARGE! I wanted to see a black and a green colored rose, but could not find them.It was getting cold and we were tired to appreciate the intricacy of every rose and also there were some thousand roses in the garden. So we decided to return back to our hotel and pack as we were leaving to Goa the next day.

Thread Garden, Ooty

Rose Garden, Ooty

We had to check out of our hotel the next day at around 11:30 am so that we cover the 6 hour journey to Kozhikode by 6 pm. We had to board our train from Kozhikode to Goa. The return journey to Kozhikode was not as exciting as the earlier one. Most of us slept as we were drugged by anti-puking pills. We reached the railway platform around 6:30 pm, just in time for our train, which arrived 10 minutes later. As we traveled in the train we went through all the pictures that were clicked in Ooty. 

Ooty Railway Station

(In picture, from left, Me, Shweta, Mayuri, Shuchi, Prema, Shreya, Gauree, Rachna, Priyantha, Pushkin)

It all seemed like a dream now, as the weather of Kerala made us sweat in the train. The green hills which kissed the skies, the cool lakes with smooth ripples, the pleasant weather which gave peace to your mind were all being left behind us. Truly, nature's wonders can relax us and make us awe its creations all the more!

How to make an effective ppt presentation.

I am now in the corporate world and ppts (power point presentations) are a “Look-I-did-some-work” tool here. Some great person has really done a good job by inventing this tool that simplifies the method of transferring knowledge. Personally, I love giving presentations as they give you a creative means to present information. I have attended a lot of presentations till now, but I can say that rarely have I seen a presentation that keeps you interested all the way till the end. You may blame me for my wrong conclusions as you may say that it depends on my interest to conclude whether a particular presentation is arid or interesting. But I too have presented on various topics and I think I have caught in the interest of those remote minds flying in eliciting dream lands. In this blog post, I will explain how to create and deliver an effective ppt presentation. I would like to keep you informed that I am not very experienced in this field, but this smattered information may be helpful for those who would like to improve on their presentation skills.

1.How easy is your topic ?
Understand what your topic will mean to your targeted audience. Usually, presentations are delivered to an audience who do not have complete knowledge on a particular chosen topic. So try to categorize your chosen topic into
a) A topic that is familiar to everyone. ( Ex: How to bathe your dog)
b) A topic that is a complete stranger to everyone. ( Ex: Dual chambered liquid propellant systems )

2.Gather information
Once you have categorized your topic, identify the tit bits of information that will go into your presentation. For example,
a) If your topic is “How to bathe your dog” then you don’t have to put in information starting from the evolution of dogs and their skeletal structure, the molecular structure of water etc. Your agenda should be as below
· What is a dog?
· What does bathing mean?
· Why do dogs need a bath? (Advantages)
· Steps to give your dog a bath.
· After care
· Precautions

b) However if the audience is unfamiliar to your topic which may be “Dual chambered liquid propellant systems” then your presentation should cover the following(note that this is not the agenda, but it just indicates the flow of information) :
· What is a chamber?
· What is a dual chamber?
· Where is a dual chamber used?
· What is a propellant?
· What is a liquid propellant?
· Where is a liquid propellant used?
· Dual chamber and liquid propellants – An amazing combination!
· The dual chamber liquid blah blah system – What it actually is.
· Uses of the dual chamber blah blah.
· Advantages and Disadvantages.
· Conclusion

3.Slide Construction
After you have gathered all the information then it is time to put them in your slides. DO NOT put complete sentences in your slides. Put the information in points ONLY. Remember that you are not making a presentation to give sentence reading classes to your audience. Lengthy sentences on a slide make the information look more complicated and thus make the audience uninterested in the presentation.
Consider the following two examples if present in a slide.

• The introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation are known collectively as the Green Revolution, which provided the increase in production needed to make India self-sufficient in food grains, thus improving agriculture in India.
• Hybrid high-yielding wheat was first introduced to India in 1963 by Dr. Borlaug. Borlaug has been hailed as the Father of the Green Revolution. The methods adopted included the use of high yielding varieties (HYV) of seeds.

The above information will just overwhelm your audience when presented on a large white screen and they will prefer to skip it. So this information can be presented articulately as below.

Green Revolution, India(Slide 1)

• Introduction of high-yielding seed varieties.
• Increased use of fertilizers and irrigation .
• Increased production.
• Improved agriculture.

Hybrid high-yielding wheat (Slide 2)

• Introduced in 1963 by Dr. Borlaug (Father of the Green Revolution).
• Methods - Use of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of seeds.

Observe that even though the topic was introduced out of nowhere, it is pretty easy to comprehend the information in the second format.

4.Speaking while presenting
You may miss out on a lot of information if you present the data in points. So how do we present this data? Elementary, my dear readers. Just speak it out. DO NOT read out whatever is there exactly in the slides. Explain it to your audience. While presenting DO NOT speak “Now we come to green revolution in India. What it gave is introduction of high yielding seed varieties increased use of……” Your audience is well capable of reading the slides on their own unless you are presenting it to kindergarten students. Describe every point on the slide in an easy way. You may say “So now we proceed to the Green Revolution of India. As the name describes, it was a revolution indeed which brought about increased use of fertilizers and irrigation by introducing HIGH YIELDING SEED VARIETIES”. Speak out unfamiliar words slowly ( words indicated in CAPS above). Your audience may lose track if you speak too fast. Speak out the information like you are telling a story to a child, with lot of expressions and emphasizing important terms. This will keep the audience with you throughout the presentation till you conclude.

5.Timing your presentation
Know how much time you have for your presentation. Do not speak too fast or too slow as you may have to compensate on time later. Do not keep moving on the stage as that will distract your audience. Stay calm and composed and let your body posture be straight. Look at the audience, throughout the presentation. Be well versed with each slide so that you may not spend your entire time staring at the slides. At the same time, do not keep looking at only one person in the audience. Keep looking at all of them while speaking. This indicates that you want everyone to receive your speech. . Be fluent in whatever language you are presenting. That does not mean that you have to be language expert. Be audible to your audience.

6.Confidence
Finally, we come to one very important factor – confidence. Developing confidence is a gradual process unless you are someone who is blessed as being a confident person. Practice speaking before the final delivery of the presentation. Have thorough knowledge on what you are presenting.

These were some of the important points that may be used to deliver an effective presentation. The aim is to keep the audience interested by making it easier for them to comprehend. The above steps can help you in bringing a substantial improvement in your presentation skills! I may have missed out on some points, so please feel free to add in by commenting below. All the best for your next presentation!

MS Paint-ings

 I decided to use MS Paint in a different way. And, so got created my first painting blogpost. Click on the paintings to get an enlarged view.

How to make your child to study.

Introduction (Why am I writing this and blah blah….you may skip this if you are in a hurry and about to launch a satellite)

I wanted to write a blogpost today on something that I have some knowledge on. After a little analysis of what areas I may be able to give my opinion, I zeroed in on studies. That’s because studies was something I was good at or that’s what my report cards say. I will not tell you my exact scores or  give you a hint of where I stood among my classmates as I feel that I will be boasting. So you will have to trust me if you want to believe in whatever I say below. Of course the below may not hold true for every child who does not study but to a vast majority I think this blogpost may be helpful.

It starts here….

I have been approached by many parents to counsel their child to develop seriousness in his studies. The reason that people approach me is somehow they come to know about my scores in my studies. To be honest I was a below average student until my 10^th standard. After that during my Higher Secondary the lack of knowledge followed by self embarrassment (read competition) led me to develop seriousness in my studies.

So what do you do if your kid does not study? Make him study! That’s quite difficult. You can take a horse to the pond, but you cannot make it drink water. Similarly you cannot make your child study unless he wants to. This made me think on the reasons that encourage a child NOT to study. The reasons are based on the following principle: If you need it for your survival, then you try to get it. If your child does not know the aim of studying then he will have the least interest in studying. Most of the parents who approach me to counsel their kids are very well settled in life. These kids are provided with many unnecessary luxuries. Having a smart phone, a high speed “get-where-you-sit” internet connection are the two major distractions that I have come to list out which are preventing your kid from studying. Control the availability of all these facilities. You should make your kids understand how to earn in life. Teach them how difficult it is to be independent. Do not start buying them whatever they ask for. If you are doing that then you are holding your child back from knowing the value of things. The kids of the present generation know the cost of everything, but very few know the value. The following are the reasons that I listed out that are preventing your kid from studying. Each reason is followed by a solution that will indulge your kids in studies.

Your kid is not studying because….

1.     Your family is well settled and secured.

Solution:  Parents teach a lot of aspects to their kids, directly or indirectly. Even though a child does not know his father’s bank balance, the behavior of his parents indicates whether he is supposed to own any responsibility. As the kid grows up, if you being the parent do not educate the child about how difficult it is to be independent, how hard it is to earn a single Rupee then your child probably does not know what it is to earn. Do not wait until your child finishes graduation and expect him to handle a family all of a sudden. Chances are that he may stay home or end up wasting a lot of money as he knows you will be able to support him. Make him understand the weight of responsibility.

2. Your family is not well settled and secured.

It may happen that your child is not getting a good environment to study. If there is no peace at home then your child’s mental health may be hampered and he may not feel like doing any activity. Tell your kid about the circumstances that you as a parent are facing and how he should not let anything come between himself and his studies.

To sum up, I would say that one has to be motivated to study. Your child must face some kind of competition, some kind of hurdle that he will be able to overcome by studying. One may say that studying is not the only thing to achieve something in life and I second that. But for an average Indian middle class family, education is a great means to secure their living. Because no one can steal your knowledge from you.

Wake Up

The leaves nest the dew, so fresh, so pure

 sparkling in the sun rays so still they lay.

One such morning you lay awake,

with wonderful dreams at your mind’s bay.

You seek to sail over them and explore the world,

and not a single night do they not occur.

You seek to hold her hand because she needs you,

you need to be with her.

On this pleasant day out of your several dreams,

one of them will turn out to be true.

You can be the best in the world, you can be a leader,

if you realize that every opportunity is meant for you.

Rain

The cool breeze blows,

the wet weather shows,

the mighty clouds have traveled a very long way.

To shower the leaves,

to wet the land,

to give the world a wonderful rainy day.

Under a root, over a rock,

the sparkling water dances along.

The river is filled, the trees are fed,

the rainy season goes on and on.

The sky is clear, the stars still shine,

above the clouds, this is true.

The birds take shelter,

as earth quenches its thirst,

the rain drops fall

to relieve us all.