Thursday, January 24, 2008

I Salute You Thee, My Motherland..


As a proud Indian,
Here I stand,
To Salute You Thee,
My Mother land.

For, You are the land
with Unity in Diversity
Guarded by the Majestic Himalayas,
and three deep blue seas.
Rich in Culture and Rich in Heritage
Multi-Religion, Multi-language
Mother, You are,
The embodiment of Peace and Prosperity.

Known for the Great Epics,
Kings and Warriors,
Who would fight for You,
Amidst all Barriers.
You are the blessed land
To give birth to many many National Heros,
like Gandhiji, Tilak and Subash Chandra Bose,
To brake the chains of colonialism
and spread the sweet scent of Freedom!

Mother, You are known as,
The land of Writers and Thinkers,
The land of Scientists and Hard- Woke rs.
The land of Winners and Great Sporters.
The land of Truth and Courage,
The land which spread the message of Peace.

Today, You Shine,
In the field of Agriculture,
In the field of Business.
In the field of Science,
In the field of Technology,
You are one among the first to the lead a war,
The war against Terrorism,
That has threatened us all.
As, a proud Indian,
Here I stand,
To Salute You Thee,
My Motherland.
Bharath Matha Ki Jai!

Today, as I write , I am happy and gay,
To Wish One and All
A Happy Republic Day!
The Day, When ,
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, had solemnly resolved to constitute
India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation."


As a proud Indian ,
Here I stand,
To Salute You Thee!
My Motherland!

With Love and Respects to My Motherland,
I sign off for the day,
Meera.


Enjoy this song

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Jodha Akbar- A Tribute to History..



What does public look for in theaters? A good story, excellent direction, top stars, rocking music and a good 3 hour enjoyment.Well, looks like "Jodha Akbar" has it all! Directed by Aushutosh Gowrekar, the director of Oscar-Nominated "Lagaan", featuring Hrithik Roshan as "Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, and Beauty Peagant Aishwarya Rai as "Jodha- The Rajput Princess - the daughter of King Bharmal of Ajmer" and enchanting music by A. R.Rahman, will the movie step its foot into the Oscar Nominations again and win it?Hopefully it does!

Story: The story dates back to the 16 century and talks about the untold love story of Akbar and his wife Jodha(Hira -Kunwari before their marriange). The marriage alliance between the Mughals and the Rajputs was mainly to strengthen Akbar's Political Gain. This alliance led to the merging of two cultures and religions and does Akbar know he has stepped into another journey, a journey of love, to win the battel of love and does he succeed in winning the love of "Jodha?"

The Music Score:The album was finally released and is already a super hit. A.R.Rahman has done it again. The album opens with the song Azeem-O-Shaan- Shehanshaa. Once the song started to play, I was taken into the world of Akbar and could picturise the Great Emperor marching with all power and vigour. The song is picturised on Hrithik and is rich and brings out the power that the King possesses. The song has fantastic drum-beats and strong lyrics. The song is rendered by Mohd.Aslam, Bony Chakravarthy and group.

"In Lamhoon Ke Daman Mein" a beautiful melodious number rendered by Sonu Nigam and Madhushree. I was surprised to read the review in India FM ,which said that this number did not make an impression. It said "boring" was too harsh a word to describe this song. Well I bet this guy was out of his minds when he heard the song.hehe.Is this too harsh?? This is one of my favorites in the album and is magical- taking you into a world purely filled with love.

"Jashn-e-bahaara hai" sung by Javed Ali is another melody number. Javed Akhtar has as usual played his games with words and they are as always the best."Paas hai Phir bhi Paas Nahin", wow it means so much! The singer sings with full passion and I have no choice of words to describe the song. ARR has proved his genius again.

"Khawaja Mere Khwaja" a slow, Kawwali number rendered by Rahman himself, is one of his usual additions and will surely be loved by Rahman fans!Nice lyrics, nice music , with Rahman trademark.

"Man Mohanaa" by Bela Shande is a devotional track sung in praise of Lord Krishna. Its a lovely number resembling a bhajan. The lyrics rock. Bela has sung this really well and has done total justice by bringing out her feelings in her mesmerising voice. She sounds the best when she reaches the highest octave while singing "Man Mohanaa" towards the end.
The instrumental music foe Khwaja mere Khwaja on Oboe and Jashn-e-bahaara on the flute is also very scintillating.

On the whole the album rocks and I enjoyed all the songs and hope the movie would also come out great.Its seems really after a long time that Bollywood is coming up with a nice movie based on history. When I saw the trailers of Jodha Akbar on the official site, it was amazing. The background score, the war scenes, the costumes, sets, everything was at its best and was rich! Looks like Maharani of Jaipur has also given her approval...

The Theatrical trailer:


Also you can listen to the tracks on Music Plug.The quality is real good.
Waiting to watch the movie,
Meera signs off...

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Valentine Special-A Short Story

"Kahin na kahin, koi na koi to hamareliye banaa hai!", says Madhuri Dixit in DTPH movie... Sahana had seen the movie last night and was fast asleep but smiling and giggling to herself though, when the hostel warden, was shaking her "Get up! Dreamer! Get up! You have a phone call!". Shaken all of a sudden she rushed to the phone, yawned and said,"Hello?" "Hey Sahana, Sunil here." answered a husky voice from the other end. Sahana's and Sunil's parents had arranged their marriage a month ago, and there was hardly a few weeks left for their marriage.

"Can I see you in the Elizebeth Park in an hour?'" asked Sunil.


Sahana
blushed , her cheeks were red and she said,"Oh yes!"
Quickly she went to have her bath, chose her best dress, a lovely pink lucknovi chudidhar, that fit her so well and she looked stunning. She left her long silky hair loose wore the best accessories and she hurried to the florist nearby took a single rose and headed for the park swiftly in her Scooty.

"Happy Valentine's Day", both of them wished each other. They went out ,ate a wonderful lunch, saw a terrific movie and he dropped her off in the hostel and she got her first enchanting kiss that night! The cool breeze blowed when they were lost in that wonderful long-lasting kiss!

A chill crossed her hands when Sahana was thinking about the first Valentine Day before they got bonded and tomorrow was the first Valentine's Day after their wedding and Sahana wanted to make it really special. Sunil had left for work. Love was in the air. Stores were filled with young lovers buying cards, gifts, chocolates.Everyone was contemplating on what to buy. She managed to complete her shopping and got back home.

VALENTINE'S DAY: That morning Sunil kissed her goodbye and left. He did not even wish her. She even wondered if he remembered that it was Valentine's Day.Sahana busied herself the day's chores. That evening, she prepared all his favorite food. She decorated the house. Fresh flowers, Room Freshner, Valentine balloons, adorned the house. She set up the table for a romantic candle-light dinner. All dishes beautifully arranged at the table. Desert cups filled with Falooda was a treat! Sahana freshened up and dressed up in her best attire- A lovely deep-blue silk saree- Tassar silk . One should see her now, they would be awed and struck by her beauty.

Sunil knocked and she rushed to open the door and said,
"Darling! Happy Valentine's Day!"
"Sorry Sahana , I was totally involved in work, I totally forgot. Same to you and you look striking!"
Sahana managed a disappointing smile. Sunil freshened up and they had a lovely dinner. Nan, Gobi Mutter, Peas Pulav, Raitha, Kajerela and more. Finally Falooda and Sunil loved it the most.Sahana also presented him a cool wrist watch and a lovely silk tie.

"Wow that was really special darling... Sorry I just could not do a thing." Saying so he held her in his arms really tight and again a soft wind blew with a sweet smell of love. Entering into a world of eternal love and happiness they had the best night. Sahana and Sunil were in each others arms ans Sahana said "Its OK, you are my best gift."

NEXT DAY:Sahana woke up lazily switched on the lights of the washbasin and looked at herself...She was Stunned ! Excited! Bewildered to see a beautiful Heart-shaped Diamond Pendant dangling in her chain and boasting of its colors while dangling. She kissed his forehead and went to the kitchen... to see

The kitchen filled with all colours of Rose Pots -White, Pink, Red, Yellow, Double colours... whatever you could think of and Sahana's happiness knew no bounds ! Sahana rushed to give him a big hug and she said," I love you Sunil! You are the best!" They both had a hearty laugh .
Sunil had taken the day off. They went out , ate a lovely lunch, saw a terrific movie, and this time he did not drop her off, both of them went home!