30.6.13

Sunday ka Funda

"Open your eyes, look within.
Are you satisfied with the life you're living?"


— Bob Marley

I just feel so elevated listening to this. With eyes shut.



21 comments:

  1. Such versatile taste, interest & execution ... Nice.
    Bye

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  2. FV, TY for the Music. So the words are the equivalent to the Bob dylan lyrics quoted...seems to me but my hindi/urdu is rusty, to put it mildly.
    -Al

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  3. FV, I meant Bob Marley, not Bob Dylan. What was I smoking?

    -Al

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  4. Al:

    Not quite. Marley's words and the lyrics here are different. It's me going off at a tangent!

    beehere:

    Hmm...

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  5. FV, The wonders of modern translation technology: I painfully typed the lyrics into a translator and this is what I got.

    "Why be flocking in nano"? Definitely good question, given that the Nano is a pretty small car, but I fail to see why this has to be sung so emotionally. I am doomed to never understand all these modern love songs. At least I will never ever mistake mora for Zia ever again.

    -Al

    "Zia Zia Zia said this sight
    Ray ray of sight
    simply by not knowing
    what not saying
    dont lage lage lage
    lage lage lage
    Mora is not not not Zia

    Why be flocking in Nano
    Mora Mora balma balma
    Nano why be flocking in
    to tell you how you tell how
    ratiya severed severed ratiya

    lived it say sight sight simply
    by not knowing what not saying
    lage lage Mora Zia
    Lage lage lage lage
    not not not not"

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  6. Hey Al,

    >>"Why be flocking in nano"? Definitely good question, given that the Nano is a pretty small car, but I fail to see why this has to be sung so emotionally.<<

    Excellent question (and one which may likewise touch on your second concern – your apparent lot in life to “never understand” – effectively “not knowing what not saying” – “all these modern love songs”). I've come across this same sort of perplexity in youth getting them to appreciate the silent movies from bygone days. Without speech to clue the audience as to what's transpiring on the screen, performers must necessarily over-dramatize their actions so that audiences then could keep up. Until it's explained to them, youngsters today just figure it's bad acting.

    Of course, with music and lyrics (and save for the occasional pelvic thrust and dancing around the stage) there's not a whole lot of visual going on, and so, similarly, certain significances may be lost in translation. I'm guessing this is why music-videos took off in a big way a couple of decades ago. Before that, all we had was the album cover art – for example, Pink Floyd's colors refracted through a prism – which is basically what we're given this week in Farzana's Sunday ka Funda selection (music, lyrics and album cover art), make of it what you may, lol.

    >> At least I will never ever mistake mora for Zia ever again.<<

    Same here. I see you picked up on the triple negative, i.e. Mora is “not” Zia means it's not; Mora is “not not” Zia means it is; Mora is “not not not” Zia turns the double-not, “is,” back to “is not” again.

    There does appear room to suggest Mora as Nano, however.  :)

    M.

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  7. Hey mstaab,

    "Without speech to clue the audience as to what's transpiring on the screen, performers must necessarily over-dramatize their actions so that audiences then could keep up."

    True. Saw Fritz Lang's Metropolis recently and all the overacting stood out, but the storyline is al least interesting given this was long before talking movies were invented, so at least they had an excuse for overacting unlike hindi and tamil movies, especially big budget ones -- prancing around trees and pelvic thrusting and other silliness is to make up for the lack of acting and the lack of a plot or story or anything halfway intelligent.

    " I'm guessing this is why music-videos took off in a big way a couple of decades ago. "

    May also have something to do with the fact that most people don't really listen to music more than get boggled by visuals and blinky lights -- house music and such nonsense would not be a billion dollar market if people actually paid attention to music, I think.

    My brain just sits down and falls asleep after the first three minutes of "dishp dishp dishp dishp" beats with some well-timed gurgling from some synthesizer. But that is what young hipster doofuses seem to prefer these days. FV's sunday ka fundas has new lines of music that I usually never encounter (still have not finished listening to all music from the 50s, 60s and 70s)

    -Al

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  8. "Mora is “not” Zia means it's not; Mora is “not not” Zia means it is; Mora is “not not not” Zia turns the double-not"

    mstaab, perhaps you noted the quadruple not in the final line of "lage lage lage lage not not not not" -- reminds me why I try and stick to instrumental music most of the time. reduces the chances of the brain leaking out through the ears after encountering such lyrics.

    -Al

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  9. Hi Al,

    I hear you.  :)

    >>. . . prancing around trees and pelvic thrusting and other silliness is to make up for the lack of acting and the lack of a plot or story or anything halfway intelligent.<<

    There is that; but, while there may be other sorts of complications, the mechanics of sex aren't especially complicated – certainly not in an especially intellectually stimulating way. Likewise, the question, “Why be flocking in Nano,” might be suggested as more of an engineering concern than anything else . . .

    >>[The popularity of music-videos] May also have something to do with the fact that most people don't really listen to music more than get boggled by visuals and blinky lights -- house music and such nonsense would not be a billion dollar market if people actually paid attention to music, I think.<<

    I think so too; though, having sampled some house musics, my impression is that these sequences are more sort of “theme music” for what goes on in the house.  :)

    >>My brain just sits down and falls asleep after the first three minutes of "dishp dishp dishp dishp" beats with some well-timed gurgling from some synthesizer. But that is what young hipster doofuses seem to prefer these days . . .<<

    I rather suspect that's what young hipster doofuses would have likewise preferred back in the day, lol. Perhaps the “middle-man,” so to speak, was somewhat more energetic then?

    >> . . . perhaps you noted the quadruple not in the final line of "lage lage lage lage not not not not"<<

    I did, and “noted” expresses it precisely, imho. In this instance I think we might consider the quadruple “lage” as more of a notational sequence, with the immediately following quadruple “not” not so much following the formula of the prior triple-not (i.e. 4 x “not” = “is”) as it echoes or parallels the four lages. Thus, with however many lages an equal number of nots are expected (unless, of course, lage is prefaced by “don't” – then, it seems, we can have as many lages as we like without their accompanying nots).

    >>. . . reminds me why I try and stick to instrumental music most of the time. reduces the chances of the brain leaking out through the ears after encountering such lyrics.<<

    I too am given to wariness where it has to do with the double-intonations of music and lyrics. This is not to say, however, that I eschew such fare completely. I agree Farzana's Sunday ka Funda selections are exceptional.  :)

    M.

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  10. mstaab:" the mechanics of sex aren't especially complicated – certainly not in an especially intellectually stimulating way. Likewise, the question, “Why be flocking in Nano,” might be suggested as more of an engineering concern than anything else . . ."

    mstaab, I was thinking that the question was broader in scope encompassing mechanical engineering, acrobatics and possibly human biology. More of a "why be flocking in a nano, when there is an ambassador car nearby and the whole world is wide open?" Or maybe I am reading too much into the wise words of Dr. Google translate.

    -Al

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  11. An Ambassador! Indeed, functional and roomy, with (for some) aesthetically pleasing lines (at least, as I recollect, this was so in '71 – alas, save for the roll-out of the “people's car,” I haven't kept up with Indian motors). I remember the Ambassador used as taxis and as limousines for government functionaries of a certain rank – perhaps that's changed? Perhaps Farzana's Sunday ka Funda selection is singing the government functionary “blues,” so to speak?

    Gosh, that's funny.  :D

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  12. "An Ambassador! Indeed, functional and roomy, with (for some) aesthetically pleasing lines (at least, as I recollect, this was so in '71 – alas, save for the roll-out of the “people's car,”

    mstaab, this was among one of two (or three) car models available to the Indian public in the 60s-70s. The other one being Fiat (Premier Padmini model). Ambassador was manufactured by Hindustan Motors with "new" models only cosmetically different from previous ones -- the only noticeable difference between mark III and mark IV was a checkered grill and square headlights. Clearly innovation was not HM's forte.

    " I haven't kept up with Indian motors). I remember the Ambassador used as taxis and as limousines for government functionaries of a certain rank – perhaps that's changed? "

    That is true re: Ambassador being the official chariot of government bureaucrats and politicians, though I believe that has changed today given the increasing number of car models nowadays, relative to the 70s/80s. :)

    Funny to imagine this as a sad song of a bureaucrat lamenting about the Nano as his official govt. car :)

    -Al

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  13. mstaab, check this -- and see if you can spot the difference between 'the latest ambassador' model and the one from 30 years ago. Looks like the design is still mostly faithful to original "1957 British Morris Oxford Series III" that this is based on.

    This "king of Indian Roads" would fall apart at the seams if you tried to push it past 80 Kmph -- the entire chassis would shake pretty violently at that speed, and when on bumpy roads at high speed, you got the impression it was about to fall apart, and many times it did fall apart.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindustan_Ambassador

    -Al

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  14. Al, Mark:

    Do you even realise how completely at a loss I am with what is going on?!

    I read the translation Al posted and laughed a lot. It was hilarious. Then I see the discussion has transformed into something profound with Fritz Lang vs. Bollywood. Just as I was warming up to it and thought I'd provide some little input, I saw some engineering stuff. I figured it was a boys' day out thing...now I am convinced that it was all about a car. Or two cars.

    And I have forgotten to hum that song I started with, you heathens!

    PS: If you noticed I skipped this Sunday's offering. Call it my dissent :-) But, no. I see you are enjoying this, and, vicariously, so am I!

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  15. >>I read the translation Al posted and laughed a lot.<<

    Yes, but how do you stop?  :D

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  16. "Do you even realise how completely at a loss I am with what is going on?! "

    FV, you seem to imply I am aware what's going on?! :)
    mstaab has this talent of getting me to go on a tangent about lungis, ambassadors and such, and I am endowed with the shortest attention span outside of a gnat (too cramped to have a short attention span inside a gnat). But all of this has inspired me to write "the bureaucrat's blues" in honor of the original tune:

    "Ain't got a red light on my vehicle,
    Ain't got a chauffeur to abuse,
    Ain't got not fancy ambassador
    Got nothing but a nano with no juice,

    Ain't got no free ride for perks,
    Just have pile of files and an ink thumb,
    From mornin to night, mama, I works
    I ain't got nothing but a nano with no juice

    When my nostrils flare up
    And stress gets my hair up
    I just can't make it come down
    Believe me pappy,
    I can get snappy
    Since my ever lovely amby was yanked
    Ain't got no place for my noon siesta
    Can't be flocking in no nano
    Got piles of files and no rest yeah
    I ain't got nothing by a nano and I be out of juice

    Ooh yeah, mama, it be too cramped
    too cramped to flock into my nano
    ooh, how I remember all officially stamped
    and roomy and regal my amby was ya know
    But all I gotz me is a nano and it be out of juice"

    (To be sung to the tune of "ain't go nothing but the blues")

    and please don't mind the heathens....your Sunday ka fundas selections are always luverly as you know :)

    -Al

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  17. Mark:

    {>>I read the translation Al posted and laughed a lot.<<

    Yes, but how do you stop?  :D}

    I do?! At best I convert the laughter into a lazy smile :-------)

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  18. Al:

    Delightful! These limericks for you:

    He writes the bureaucrat's blues
    And figures it'll work like a noose
    In no time your neck's in
    And gets a good crick
    To find you're on the loose

    Ne'er mind the car he talk about
    He's got other plans in the snout
    The nose sniffs out your perks
    Oh, he's sure you lurks
    Show him the money or get out!


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  19. Ooh, Thank you, FV! :-) I be kicked like a mule.

    "He writes the bureaucrat's blues
    And figures it'll work like a noose

    Ne'er mind the car he talk about
    He's got other plans in the snout"

    You make me sound so sinister like a minister. :) my intentions in writing such blues pomes are entirely honorably in its entirety!

    -Al

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  20. Thanks again, FV. Love your limerick. Cheers!

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  21. Thanks, Al! No you aren't sinister, but poetic licence spares none :-)

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