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The legend with a baby face

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 Rahat Fateh Ali Khan brings in so much energy and heart into his songs. Brings a lot of joy to the audience, and when the audience claps and cheers, he knows and then he smiles, like a child. Every single song had this pattern pretty much. Some songs he would feel has not landed deep enough, and he follows with high octave high speed gymnastics of notes, and bring the song up with the rest of the songs.  Oakland Arena acoustics beat the little two JBL speaker setup I have at home by a windfall. Till yesterday, I would have vouched for my system. The energy of the songs can look hard core rock in the eye. May be not beat that energy, but pretty high up.  With recent introduction to Sajjad Ali's "Har Zulm", and other instagram posts about how Pakistan has got the music scene right and way better than India, this experience landed in my lap out of the blue. Raviyettan from MIF had posted two tickets in the whatsapp group with fastest finger first offer, and just at that min...
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Only you know

 After I sang the song, you said "Aapne to mausam hi badal diya..". That was a beautiful compliment. And if you had not said that, I would not have known. I would not have felt the joy. If you had told me that the song did not come right, I would have to believe you. Live experience is something the audience has, the singer does not.  The singer can think that he did great. He can have a chip on his shoulder. Only you know.  I am always unsure. Only you know. I can never know. After I sang "Hoshwalon ko kya khabar", many kind folks offered me words of appreciation. And each of those words served as insights for me. Another room lit up. I really have no clue how well the song came out. I can judge a few things - my voice did not crack, timing was right. But the overall result is something only you know.  I am like a beggar receiving alms.
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Thaaram Onam 2026

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  Great participation across the board     It was gratifying to see even participation across the entire group. Heard some new voices at the karoake ad-hoc session. Visiting parents mingled with each other and with other members of the community. New folks introduced themselves and got themselves inducted. Lot of good banter.  Democratization of singing At a recent amateur singing event, I had sung directly from smule on the iPad. Typically, I need to download and provide the track file. I found this exciting for how easy it would be for anyone to come in ad-hoc and participate. A teenager suddenly feels like singing a modern english song - come over to the stage, search the song, and sing! A visiting parent has a desire to sing a nostalgic old song - come over, search and sing. Anyone can come in and sing their favorites! That was the vision.  Had a discussion with Girish on this, and we came up with the plan to bring in an iPad, an iPad stand, a cable that wou...
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Art and Life

Art surpasses Life.  Art just got expressed through a person. The life of the person who participarted in the art really has no bearing on the life of the art itself.  The life of the art is determined by the art, not by the artist.  I heard Simbu reference a statement from ARR that he would no longer create anything "negative". In that conviction, there is a realization that he sees that the art is going to be "out there".  Bach's music feels omnipresent. He is referenced in many Bergman movies. I wonder if the new generations would have any appreciation for his movies.  ARR music should also live on far past his lifetime. I recently caught up on "Dil gira kahin per dafatan" which he released a solid seventeen years back.  Bach died in 1685, 340 years back! His music lives on strong.
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Masala Coffee Concert

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  Packed two hour performance. Two lead vocalists, the drummer, the group lead were very impressive.  Drums were kept inside a transparent acrylic wall. The purpose is to prevent the drums' sound from leaking into the vocal mikes and overpowering the show. Sound quality is the goal. Sound isolation.  Drums was very impressive. From the perspective that there are enough singers in my friends' circles, drums stood out as something not easy to replicate.  Vocalists are the heart of the show. Instrumentalists do not come anywhere near the vocalists from the perspective of the impact they are producing on stage. So, if singing is your passion, then there is no reason to dissipate your focus.  A good percentage of the audience are here to support the group. People are not here because they are fans. They are here because they want to support a group of passionate musicians who have chosen this path of music for their livelihood, and that alignment in love for music is...
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Cape Verde vs Argentina

Second goal from Cape Verde was brilliant. Loved the way Cape Verde played.  Nice confidence. Level headed play.  I found myself vouching for them even when I am a Messi fan. These games basically reveal who you are.
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Bergman and Lynch

 I had just finished the series "Twin Peaks - Return". Stylish. David Lynch writes up his fantasies, and films it exactly as he sees it. Beautiful models, surreal situations, state of the art technology.  Switched to Bergman. The idea was to watch movies which do not have the backing of the crazy technical support that current movies have.  Just finished "Crisis" - black and white movie, made in the 50s. Excellent dialogues and narrations. Very very impressive.  The depth of the characters, and how they talk. Pure poetry in the conversations.  Dissections into psyches. Those movies have to impress with way less access to "gimmick"s.  Even while I am a big fan of Lynch, Bergman has already surpassed him even while the viewings were in the morning,  partially distracted.
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