On my playlist

You can think of this as the filler post when I feel compelled to write but when words do not oblige. So I make do with my most material friend and report on what it plays for me. My top 5 for today:

1. Poker face by Lady Ga-ga: It is an addictive song that enters your mind and refused to be uprooted. My only regret is having watched the video: someone get that girl a stylist who makes her look good or a video director who shoots a better video.

2. Rehna Tu from Delhi-6: The lyrics are a killer and each time I hear this song, I catch myself wondering how a song dedicated to a city can feel like the most appropriate dedication to M. "Kabhi neem neem" from Yuva comes close though it gets a bit coy at times.

3. Maula by Atif Aslam: This is one of my favorite running tracks-gives a whole new meaning to getting to the destination. Something on the lines of U2's "still havent found what I'm looking for". Especially true when the restlessness at not having figured out purpose and lifemap, has not ceased. Credit to Panda for the introduction to the song.

4.Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas: The lyrics are silly but then this is one of the kickass songs that packs in such a punch that you can't help listening to it-the bass creates the same impact as a 'dhol' on your heartbeat.

5. Paper Planes by M.I.A- This is my favorite song on the album. Delivers the right level of angst and recklessness that a life on the street will witness. The dark undertone makes it delectable.

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On a side note- has anyone watched this ridiculously bizarre piece of advertising for Amul Macho or some such chaddi-baniyan brand- it starts with how men are bowing down to women in every situation that was traditionally male dominated (e.g. karvachauth moon viewing, the arranged marriage tea tray scenario, eve teasing in bus, bike ride with brake for sufficient contact...you get the picture, yeah?) and then the pleas of the "abla Indian male" are finally heard and he gets a boon in the form of a banian- that too in a temple no less. Instructions from higher powers are to "stop this nonsense and become macho". The guy dons the banian and takes bold steps towards a gang of girls who are appropriately scantily clad. (Of course, the sheher ki ladki wears a hot red dress to a temple at night, didn't you know?). The swagger inducing banian also enables the guy to make lewd gestures and cause the gang of girls to shriek. Having put them in their place (beside the guy, with apsara like servile gestures), the guy faces the camera and the Voice over tells us " Yeh toh bada TOING hai".

WTF?

Kill me now.

The one year old nest

Two young birds
Setting up a nest
A space to call ours
For succor and rest

Things aren’t perfect
There are color clashes
And gross mismatches
There’s a chip coming off
And a light that flickers.

There are wires peeking from that corner
I can sense newspapers hiding somewhere
Old junk that’s been hoarded
Hundred keys abandoned with zero care

But then there are memories
In each direction that we turn
Of things old and new
What we bought and earned

The moments we spent on the easy chair,
Give it the comfort that holds you so
And it is the warmth of company
That gives the candles their lovely glow

Masks and paintings and souvenirs
They are but mere props
The lead actors are the inhabitants
Invariably, the drama never stops

The bell chimes a welcome
And familiarity ushers you through the door.
When you enter you feel different,
The harsh spotlight on you, no more

It is then that we realize
it’s not the twigs we collect nor the leaves we store
But the residue of happiness
That gives our nest its real décor,

We may trade this space with another
And our possessions may change too
But our home will always have a perfect view,
Because I will see it with you.