Starry, Starry Night

I'm fairly acquainted with Western rock music, having spent most of my teenage years listening to various rock bands (thereby angering many a flustered neighbour). The Indian rock scene is vague to me and I can only take a few names without resorting to the 'search' button on Google - Motherjane, Pentagram, Indus Creed etc. Now I can add Parikrama to the list. Having attended their concert at NITIE this Friday, I'm convinced our 'desi rock bands' (as Anusha Dandekar irritatingly chirrups on MTV) are as talented as their Western counterparts. We're not far behind!

The beautiful and sprawling campus of NITIE (It has a lake! It looked fabulous by night!) at Powai served as a perfect backdrop for this 2-hour rock extravaganza. Having entered the grounds, I nudged my way forward with my pals to the front, towards the moshpit of the sweaty, smoking, head-banging crowd (quite an eclectic bunch; we had one whale of a time yelling out at them!) and voila - there they were - Parikrama in their element! Special mention goes to Sonam Sherpa (we lovingly called him 'Motuu') who plays the lead guitars (and also the harmonica) in the band. He was the cutest & best-est!!! His fantastic rendition of 'Saare Jahaan Se Achcha' was superb and had us all chanting in rhythm. Another guy who stood out was the violinist - Imran Khan. What a stunning performer! He played the violin like someone possessed. Hats off to these wonderful, gifted guys - it ain't easy to get to the top - especially in a niche market like India. A google search revealed a surprising fact - these guys have been around for nearly 18 years! Sad that only a handful know of this extremely talented band's existence. Here are a few pics from the concert - hopefully these guys will be around, enthralling us for a long time to come :) Heartfelt thanks to Mayank for the passes and Vibz for some of the photos below (your digicam was a lifesaver!)

When we entered...

Lights, (my camera) and Action!

Imran, doling out a spellbinding performance

Imran & Sonam (Motuu.. I luv uuu) - what a duo!

Lakeside, fooling around :)

I'm not here, am I?

Have barely got the time to relax this past month - so blogging is a remote possibility. Allow me to tell you why (as if you, poor reader, have a choice). There's always a price to pay for being efficient. And one must inevitably and quite deservedly pay for being an insufferable workaholic. By the latter kind I refer to one of those smart-alecs you may bump into: the omnipresent geek, the irritating prissy or the self-righteous know-it-all -- take your p(r)ick. They're all equally disastrous. Now, I don't know which category I fall into, but I certainly know I am not a geek (atleast not anymore), I barely have the bodily-constitution to make my scrawny-self available at any occasion that may or may not demand my presence and neither I am a full-of-myself-know-it-all. In fact, I am just a beginner. Still the new-kid-on-the-block. Yet, I am given responsibilities way beyond my calibre and capability. Why? Because I am good at what I do. Organized work is my forte. Shabby jobs, incomplete reports or missed-deadlines are out of question. Blame the Virgo in me for being a tad too finicky (to the point of manic obsession). And this very inherent trait is taken advantage of by all who are aware of these vulnerabilities. 'Avanti kar legi,' is the widespread assumption. Avanti is the one you dump your worldly worries upon. Avanti is the one who will make life easy for everyone around her. And Avanti is inadvertently THE damsel who will respond to distress. Unflinchingly. Gee, I feel like Mother Teresa already.

In all fairness, I consider myself fortunate that I am the first person that comes to the stumped mind in the event of dire straits. Still, I'm tired of being the fallback gal. I'm tired of being the resident, local dump. I must learn to protest. I must learn to say 'No'. And most importantly, I must give myself more of my own attention. Till then, the object of my all-too-frequent rants should be me. No one else.

So if I don't fade away into oblivion soon, see you at the next post.