Cheeni Kum Music by Illayaraja

Cheeni Kum is the latest Hindi movie in news. The startcast of Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Paresh Rawal, and Zohra Sehgal is very attractive. I am hoping to catch the flick in the hall when it releases here in Atlanta. There was a lot of hype about its music release. But I did not care much about it, as most music today is pretty unattractive. Moreover, I fear I might have to end up listening to Himesh Reshammiya! The other day while having dinner at an Indian restaurant, my eye fell on the promo of Cheeni Kum playing on the TV in a corner. That is when I glimpsed Illayaraja's name as its music director. Now I was excited! Ever since marriage, which led to my introduction to telugu films and film music (thanks to my hubby), I've grown to love Illayaraja's compositions. At my earliest chance (which was today), I opened Smashits.com to check out songs of Cheeni Kum. I was a little disappointed to note that two songs "Cheeni Kum" and "Sooni Sooni" both are just a reuse of a song from the old Telugu/Tamil movie Mouna Raagam (also composed by Illayaraja). While the song "Cheeni Kum" is a happy version of "Mallipoola Challa Gaali"/"Mandram Vantha", "Sooni Sooni" follows the same sad tune of the original song. Shreya Ghoshal does a decent job with "Cheeni Kum". Vijay Prakash (never heard of him before) however, is a disappointment. There are two new songs (the movie has four songs and two themes) "Batein Hawa" and "Jaane Do Na". Both are pretty good. Though "Batein Hawa" does not scale to Illayaraja's famed standards. Maybe I'll like it more after listening to it a couple of times more. "Jaane Do Na" is enjoyable. It has typical Illayaraja style music...so much that listening to it made me feel like I had heard this song before. The best is the theme song on saxophone. Yeah, that one is interesting. The sax if used well in songs is a really cool instrument! Hindi music hardly uses it anymore. Illayaraja also uses the sax in "Batein Hawa" at a couple of places. Well, I hope we have better, more exciting, and some fresh music from Illayaraja in future. I am still looking forward to the film...just hope that will not be a disappointment.

One of the Gulzar-RD Burman masterpieces

Few people know about Gulzar's unreleased 1988 movie Libaas, starring Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi. There is one very beautiful romantic song in the movie, "Silli Hawa Choo Gayi". The lyrics are of course by Gulzar and the music is by RD Burman, and singer the melodious Lata Mangeshkar. This song is very difficult to find on the Internet, or to come across on television or radio. I saw this song on Doordarshan several years back, loved it, and ever since it has been on my mind. The slow, soft music and the amazing poetry wrapped in Lata's voice this is clearly a musical masterpiece. Click the play button on the player below to hear the song.

Slow Dance

Have you ever watched kids
On a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain
Slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day
On the fly?
When you ask "How are you?"
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done
Do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores
Running through your head?
You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child,
We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste,
Not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch,
Let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time
To call and say "Hi"?
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

I've read this poem several times when I received it as a forwarded chain email. I was reminded of this poem on reading this article in the Washington Post that my husband forwarded me to read. Probably nothing says it better than this article to slow down and enjoy the beauty and the miracles that life has to offer you.

Blogging Food

Recipe books and websites of "famous" chefs always disappointed me (mostly Indian chefs'). They usually have recipes that require several exotic (hard or expensive to procure) ingredients or have a very elaborate process. The explanation of the cooking process is sometimes poor or insufficient. On trying out those recipes, I'd on most occasions end with an unsatisfactory output.

The advent of food blogs is a great blessing for people like me who are not very versatile cooks and could use help with authentic recipes to dishes that can be prepared using readily available ingredients. I like the step by step explanation of the recipes in these food blogs. Many of them even have photographs of the steps to cooking a dish. Now whether I need a recipe for a traditional dish for regular dinner/lunch, or a party dish, I first hit the food blogs. The blog owners belong to different regions of the world, from different cultures. When they share recipes of their traditional dishes, you can be sure that you are looking at an authentic one.

Indira of Mahanandi is one of the most popular food bloggers around and is almost kind of a pioneer in the area. Incidentally, hers was the first food blog I visited about an year and a half ago. I got addicted ever since and check her blog for updates, every other day. Through her blog, I was introduced to several others. Indira's Mahanandi won the Indiblog award 2006 for the best food blog.

Here is a list of Indian food blogs that I check out:
(These blogs also include recipes from other regions and all around the world)

Mahanandi - Andhra cuisine
Ginger and Mango - Kerela Cuisine
Bong Mom's Cookbook - Bengali Cuisine
En Ulagam - Tamil cuisine
Aayi's Recipes - Marathi cuisine
AkshayaPatra - Tamil cuisine
Sailu's Kitchen - Andhra cuisine
Malabar Spices - Kerela cuisine

Three cheers to the food bloggers!