I really like what he says about death.I quote :
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past [...]

I don’t know what to say really.
Three minutes
to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play
till we’re finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the shit kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into [...]

अब अक्सर चुप-चुप-से रहे हैं यूँ ही कभी लब खोले हैं
पहले "फ़िराक़" को देखा होता अब तो बहुत कम बोले हैं

पूर्ण मदः पूर्ण मिदं पूर्णात पूर्ण मुदचत्ये,
पूर्णस्य पूर्ण मादाये पूर्ण मेवावशिश्यते

परिपूर्ण पूर्ण है पूर्ण प्रभु, यह जगत भी प्रभु पूर्ण है,
परिपूर्ण प्रभु की पूर्णता से पूर्ण जग सम्पूर्ण है,
उस पूर्णता से पूर्ण घट कर पूर्णता ही शेष है,
परिपूर्ण प्रभु परमेश की यह पूर्णता ही विशेष है।
This is absolute and that is [...]

तबीयत इन दिनों बेगा़ना-ए-ग़म होती जाती है
मेरे हिस्से की गोया हर ख़ुशी कम होती जाती है
I am getting indifferent to sorrow
as if my share of joy is getting reduced each day
क़यामत क्या ये अय हुस्न-ए-दो आलम होती जाती है
कि महफ़िल तो वही है, दिलकशी कम होती जाती है
What’s happening to the beauty of heaven and [...]

O Fortune
just as the moon
Stands constantly changing,
always increasing
or decreasing;
Detestable life
now difficult
and then easy

Murli Master is known as Shahan Shah e Qawwali and his rendition and style was so impeccable that Nustrat Fateh ali Khan was one his biggest fans

कोई दोस्त है न रकीब है,
तेरा शहर कितना अजीब है.                              
यहाँ किसका चेहरा पढा करूं,
यहाँ कौन इतना करीब है.
मैं किसे कहूं मेरे साथ चल,
यहाँ सब के सर पे सलीब है
वह जो इश्क था वह जूनून था,
ये जो हिज्र है ये नसीब है.
तुझे देख कर मैं हूं सोचता ,तू हबीब है या रक़ीब है,
तेरा शहर कितना [...]

I will choose my own sky
And  how and where I fly
I will make my own road
And near or far I’ll go
I will fight my own battles
And decide if I lost or won
I will find my own love
And be chaste or corrupt
I will live my own life
And be man or a bird as free
Posted in बकलम खुद, Poetry, Thoughts Tagged: freedom, life, livingstone seagull, love, Poetry

The film is a realistic portrayal of Student Politics in UP which to a certain extent explains the absence of educated young people in the Political arena.Caste politics is quite evident from the scenes in which Ran Vijay Singh(Irrfaan khan) is a Thakur and Badri shankar Pandey(Ashutosh Rana) is a Pandit.
Personally the film brings back a lot of memories from the time when I was a student at Lucknow University.
Watch it.It’s just amazing !
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This song is a treat too.Don’t miss out.
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The complete movie is uploaded on You tube numbered sequentially 1/15 through 15/15.Type haasil Movie in search and see it if you liked it so far.
Posted in Politics, Thoughts Tagged: haasil, irrfan khan, Lucknow, Politics, UP

Satyajit Ray’s Shatranj ke Khiladi is one of my favorite movies.It not only takes me back in time to an era which transformed the fate of the people of Awadh but is also a treat to the senses with brilliant research,narration and performances.
I am giving below a few scenes that would help you appreciate the Nazaakat,Nafaasat and Tehzeeb (culture) of Lucknow which was called the constantinople of the East.
Munshi Premchand’s story,Screenplay and direction of Satyajit Ray,Narration by Amitabh Bachchan and some brilliant performances by Sanjeev Kumar,Syed Jaafri,Victor Banerjee and Amjad Khan.It could’nt get any better than this.
Scene 1 :
Its the opening scene along with casting and a superb narration by Amitabh Bachchan.In his book Premchand has described the Lucknow of those times so beautifully that I have read the paragraph many times.I am reading a book by Sharar called ‘Gujistaan Lucknow’ which has vivid details of life in those times.I can now realize the genius of Premchand and satyajit Ray to have captured the mood so brilliantly.
The residents of lucknow had built a world of their own which was centred around the idea of pleasure in all its forms.They flew kites,sang Ghazals,watched dance performences by nautch girls as well as Kathak Ustads,had animal fights,ate the best of food in their dastarkhwans and of course played chess.
It is believed that Wajid Ali Shah ’s dinner camed from Six different Kitchen out of which the the main Kitchen had an expense of Rs 800000 annually in those times.There were other Nawabs who were famous for their taste and used have as many as 25 types of Pulav’s every day for dinner.
By the way there is big difference between Biryani and Pulav and Lucknowites belived Biryani to be a food of lesser mortals.It was considered a tuaheen if Biryani was cooked instead of Pulav for dinner at someone’s place.
You have a taste of the Nawwabi of Lucknow’s public in the scene below

Scene 2 :
This is a scene from General Ou