The cat that was....

It all began when my cat was attacked by some 5-6 stray dogs in the backyard.It was a horrific attack and yet somehow the cat miraculously survived but with lot of wounds.

We waited for 2 days with a hope of any improvement.None came.The cat barely ate or moved from his box.

So we had to call a vet finally.This guy from neighborhood was a good one we were told.

We have never seen a vet before.Or rather never felt a need of one.This time it was bit serious.

The vet arrived.Examined his wounds.He said that he should have been called the same day.

The cat was weak and wounded.Yet it required 4 of us to hold him down while the vat treated him.Yet he managed to defy us all with uncanny strenght for an animal wounded that much.(I was holding his front legs,which wasnt appreciated a lot by him.So while squirming it bit me twice.Which resulted in me taking 3 anti rabis injections myself :( )

His second dose was a quicky.Got over in a jiffy.This time the crew was much more alert about his strengh and quick maneuvers.Thankfully nobody apart from the cat had to take injection this time.

After the 3rd and final injection the cat was in full force and spirit and it struggled successfully to avoid the application of any oinment on his wounds by vet.

But all in all the vet was very happy with his progress and assured that the wound would be healed in no time.Also there were no more injections.(Me and dad let out a sigh of relief)

The cat was quite composed and looked hale and hearty.We were happy.

Before sleeping I made sure all the doors and windows are closed.I even got up in the midnight to check whether the cat was there..He was very much there happily snoring in the chair..

Somewhere late in the night I went to sleep.

Today morning around 10

Got up.Checked the cat in the hall,felt relieved and went on with the morning chores.

I had a 2 hr mock test in the morning.So at around 11 I started it.After it was over I came outside as usual to check for the cat.

The cat had gone.There was a window in my dads room that was opened.

Fuck!!

How in the world did I overlook that.

I went outside to see if the cat is in the neighborhood.(Which it usually is).No signs.

To add to my qualms I saw a flock of stray dogs,the ones which had attacked the cat in the first place just outside.

Mind just wasnt ready to accept that his lifeline is over.Maybe because it was too unfortunate and painful to be true.Specially after his near death experience,the way he survived and held up,the way we could successfully nurse him back to health....It just cant be.Fate cant be this cruel.But then he has never been out for this long.He wasnt home for almost a day.I tried to search him (or his torn up body if in case :( ) in the colony...All I could find was a different flock of mongrels.

Well,the mind slowly began to accept it.The hardest part.Which every pet lover fears of.The death of his beloved pet.

Although this cat wasnt exactly as close to me as the previous ones.Still we had our moments.

The sight of him cozed up all nicely in the softest part of the bed,waking up for nothing but food,completely indifferent to any distraction,any noice of any level(except that of food jars).

Sometimes these are the things where we find our solace in.The connection is unexplainable.It just feels good.To pet him.To irritate him.To feed him.I guess thats what the pets are for.They are precious.But sadly they are living things.They have a finite life.They play their part,become a part of you...and just leave some day.

Being a pet lover is a blessing and a curse too.

Today Evening around 7

I wake up.Desperately looked for any sign of him in the hall.No luck.So it was confirmed.I accepted it.felt really really bad.

While I was sitting dully remembering him,Mom came from the office.

Before I could tell her the terrible news (even she is fond of this cat as much as I and dad are) she asked me what was the cat doing on a tree outside.

An instant shot of adrenalin injected into me.I literally ran outside.Chuckled a bit around.

Something fell down from the nearby tree.It was living.It was moving.It was black and it was white.And it had a tail as well.:)

My beloved and stupid cat came running towards me.

A sad day culminated into a pleasant evening :)

Meao-nara. :)

PS:Herez that crook btw (Notice the black patch on his lower jaw.My sister says it makes him look like charlie chaplin)

The music sings itself...

Hey guys

Just want to share with you a video I came across recently and which influenced me a lot.

Check this out (Warning:Not for those allergic to Goosebumps)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA&feature=related

How was it?

I did not understand the word he sang.I did not have a clue of the genre of the song.I did not even know whether it was a sad song or a happy one.

And yet it choked me.More so after that old lady wiped her tear.It must have struck them.Gave them the goosebumps.It must have that tremendous force that pierced through the strongest of the hearts and mellowed them.

The roaring applause between and after the song is a testimony to that fact.

But did they expect this beatification when he came to the stage?...I doubt so.

When this goofy looking guy confronted the mic more than half the people including the stone-faced judges(and me) must have thought that he is going to botch up.Especially after his inital introduction,his below ordinary looks and personality.

And how wrong were they.

He just blew them all apart.In first few seconds his song destroyed all their prejudices and first-impression to smithereens.

Really How quick are we in judging others under the yardsticks of one's looks,talks and thousand other discriminators.

I watched this video tons of times after that.Not for the song but to experience the gradual revelation and revelry of the audience and judges.That's really the quintessence of this performance that you dont need all those stereotypical traits to conquer hearts. :)

Really valuable and inspirational lesson to learn.

If I am able to achieve even a quarter of what this guy did in those 4 min,Ill consider myself the luckiest person.

Adios.

PS: This one is even more cogent.Please check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&feature=related

Contd..

Comfortably Numb

This song is an epitome of psychedelic rock.The Pink Floyd are known for their song writing and soulful solos in their songs.

It made me Dav Gilmor as my favorite guitarist.

This song just takes you to another level.It starts really slowly.Allowing you to settle into it.There are ghostly sort of veils that can be heard throughout the song creating an amazing effect.

Vocals commenced by Roger Waters joined by mellow voice of Dave Gimor,while they still lurk in your mind,the opening verse ends.

And then without warning....the haunting solo starts.When you hear the first note,you just know that a tranquilizer has been injected into your brain through your ears.Its sad..Its painful...its beautiful.Its soothing.It takes you high.It makes you fly.

This is one of those solos that should be listened with your eyes closed.Just enjoy that particular minute of the beatific journey instrumented by David Gilmor's magical fingers and his characterstic subtle inimitable vibratos.

David Gilmor is a type of guitarists who would convey a ton of feeling with as little notes as possible.Every note is there for a reason.He doesnt 'play' the guitar.He just glides through it.Figuratively the smoothness of the solos is resemblant to a hot knife through butter.

In the epilogue solo,he sets free in top gear....albeit bit elongated it is kinda mood shifter of the song.It has a much cheerful overtone to it than the first solo.

No wonder both the solos have been cited as one of the best in the guitar world.Again another of my most favorite ones.

Contd...

Hotel California Live

If master of puppets is a thrash metal anthem,then this one has to be crowned as an acoustic guitar lover's anthem.

You tend to understand the power of the sound of a well tuned acoustic guitar over the electric one.(Personally i like acoustic more :P ) not to mention the amazing utility the song has got.When you are able to play the song end to end,you end up in learning n number of guitar techniques like Hammer On,pull offs,slides arpeggios etc.

The songs is one complete dulcet package of most of all that is there about the acoustic guitar.

Of course it is played on classical.But it can be played and heard just as nicely if not better with acoustic guitar.

The original song was played with 12 string acoustic for the epic instrumental ballad to the vocals,with a highly acclaimed electric guitar solo at the end.

The Live version,where the actual action is,tweaks the original song heavily,to a better effect,richer passages and a lot more depth to the song.

It starts with a Spanish sounding intro,with the 12-string strums intermittently while none from the crowd having a clue about where the intro is taking them to.Just as Don Felder finishes his flamenco-esque intro everyone chips in with their guitars and play the famous hotel california ballad.

And thats when the crowd realise what is going on and what is going to happen marked by a huge applause.Its one of those moments that makes hair on your neck stand up.

If anything that could surpass the sweet,mellowed intro and the cruchy high pitch and yet awesome vocals of Don Henley is the outro played by both Felder and Welsch.Notes and notes of melody poured in by both of them structures the outro beautifully.

This also is one of my favorite songs.Infact it has a special place in my heart for being the first high profile stuff I could play from end to end on my guitar(atleast the outro and intro).And trust me it adds some stuff to your guitar techniques repertoire.

My ears dont get tired of it...Dont think they ever will.

Songs I like...

Hey ppl

Wanted to right this one since long.

Disclaimer:

I am a music lover.I listen to Hindi(old/new),Marathi(Old/new) and English songs.

But my vocabulary(if thats the right word) is very limited.Specially of English and new hindi songs.

This article is about the English songs I love to listen to.

Let me warn you that this Ill be commenting on them mostly from a guitarist's perspective.As I can play at least some part of each one of them. :p So maybe its difficult for some of you to relate to it and you may find it a bit too colourful and over the top.

It has happened many times that I started liking certain songs after hearing them 10-12 times.(This happened when you put on a song in the background while playing Fifa for hrs).I dont know whether the repeated listening has any subliminal effect which makes you like the song.I wont be talking about such songs.

Then there are certain songs(not new all),previously known to me,previously disliked/uninterested by me,which i started liking as I started learning guitar.Funny aint it.So this article is about those handful of songs through my ears.These are the songs which I happen to listen everyday while traveling either because I am too lazy to upload new songs,or when I get

stuck in a zombie traffic when plugging my earphones is a far less detrimental than pulling my hairs out of frustration(An article on Mumbai is due :p)

So let me disclaim again,this might be the old stuff for many of you,there may be many more and better songs out there of which I am unaware of(hoping to listen more of them).

Ill post it in parts lest it should be more readable.Do provide your comments.

So let the sound of music be heard.

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Master Of Puppets

This should go down as The Anthem for the thrash metal Genre.

The legendary bass intro riff with fat crunchy sounding notes boding a glimpse of stuff to come.Followed by the main rhythm riff,joined by James growling yet a very apt-to-the-song vocals.

The song is signatured with extensive down-picking.The powerful and aggressive downpicks give the song it teeth and rage.

Then there is a very melodic interlude om clean guitar.Even though there is this sudden shift from the fuzzy distortion and snarling vocals to a clean electric slow section,you somehow dont feel disconnect.These guys know their stuff.The clean interllude is actually a built up to the shred-solo by Kirk,just before a small riff played by James.

Both James and Kirk's guitars are harmonized with each other superbly.

Lyrically,the song's just fine.The theme is well played.Neither too wordy nor vulgar.The song is such that it does total justice to the instrumental part.

All in all,excellent rhythm,very melodius clean guitar parts(can be played on acoustic),a superb solo and a powerful vocal makes this songs one of the things to swear by.

Playability index....well I would say apart from the main solo which requires a tinge of lightning in your fingers,I would say the rest of the sections are quite learnable.

This is officially my most favorite song of the genre.I literally listen it everyday.The more you listen to it the more it is etched onto your music receptors.It needs to sink into.

PS:Once my friend listened to this song,he said he thought it was noise..But then,he listens to Lady Gaga :p

Contd...

See the champions..take the field now :)

Hey pals.

A fun filled colourful month marked by cheers,passion,emotions,celebrations and the entertainment of the highest order(read football) laden with the intermittent ballads of "Waka waka" and the beutiful,high spirited "waving your flag"..finally culminates today. :(

I was supporting Germany.(just because I supported them last 2 worldcups :) )
It was one of the youngest teams of the worldcup and without their captain "der feurer" Michael Ballack.
Even though Germany enjoys being considered as one of the most formidable contenders in every worldcup,not much was expected from this young inexperienced and to some extent Ballack-handicapped team.They were clearly the dark horses.

But they did well.Extraordinarily well.
Right from the match 1 they provided a plenitude of team play,lethally efficient counter attacks and most importantly a feast of goals.A slight glitch could have been the only blemish(Against Serbia) till Spain ended their glorious journey.
Though the third place win is always disconsolating,everybody enjoyed their unconvetional flamboyant game.

But at the end,like a true frustrated Indian sports fan I couldn't help mulling over India's chances of getting into competitions of such level.(WC,olympics)
Is it even realistic??...if yes the how long...10 yrs?? 100?? ever??...
Following are what I think could be the excuses.

We are not genetically stronger.We lack that sort of physique required at this level.
(Then how did Japan/Korea/China qualify.Whose average height and built is definitely shyer than most of the Indian population)

We lack the necessary infrastructure and funding required for the game of football.
(What about the poor underdeveloped African countries which make into worldcup.That too bearing some of the toughest competition in the world)

Football is not popular here.
(That might have been case few years back but not now definitely.With the increasing popularity of the EPL much of the youth are turning to football.
And as per the status quo football is anything But not popular in India.)

Cricket influence
(Now this is valid.One of the only outdoor sports which demands very little athleticism,fitness levels etc compared to other sports.Hence no wonder we are good at it.)

Corruption
(Spot on.Most of the control boards for sports in India are under some or the other misisters who lack the knowledge/experience/expertise except greed for that sport.For apparent reason.
No remedy for this other than the Utopian solution of flushing them all into toilet..)

We cant have quality players of the international level.
(I dont believe this...)

So summing it up,between India and the FIFA world cup lies an eternity.
But I am optimistic.Just want to cheer for our country in football world cup atleast once in my life time.

I know the above analysis was really not required in this mood but cant help it. lol

Also this world cup was further spiced by a certain 8-legged creature with psychic powers AKA Paul who picks his meal from the box labelled with the flag of a country which would supposedly win.Its really hilarious how people can come up with such stuff.Nevertheless he got all his predictions correct for this world cup.However ridiculous this affair sounds it did provide a different flavor of excitement.Obviously looking at his popularity other creatures from around the world had to show off their talents. (the parrots..the alligators)

It was a mini world cup of words on social networking sites as well..Esp facebook.
Will miss those squabbles.Putting on Inflamatory status on facebook...the debates....mocking other teams etc etc...it was superbly entertaining. :(

But then all the good things are short lived.Lets hope the Final today perfecty climaxes and bids Adieu to this colourful world cup of the most beutiful game in the world and lets hope the coming 4 yrs gallop along fast.

See ya.

PS: Neither supporting Spain nor Dutch today.Just hoping for a quality game.Hopefully going till the penalties.

PS 2: Ok.Had to edit the post after the final.It was as fierce as expected.And thankfully not at all disappointing.The match was showered with the confetti of yellow cards :D
I would have loved it to go till the penalties.
Anyways props for Spain!!The best team won.Although we would have prefered them to be not so mingy about the total number of the goals scored.(Seeing at the quality of the players they possess).Hard luck Oranje.

PS 3: Good news for us German fans as well.Thomas Muller deservedly got the prestigious Golden Boot for having scored 5 crucial goals and 3 assists.Hail Deutschland. :)

Probability is God is Probability

Maybe it has been stated before.But its fun to independently prove an existing theorem.(Besides its one of my favorite topics.hehe)

All it needs to prove it is one simple experiment.
Throw a coin 10 times.Lets consider getting a head all 10 times as success.
Now before every coin toss pray to god that it is a head.
Count the number of heads at the end of the 10 tosses.
Now perform the same experiment again.Only this time dont pray and just note down the number of heads.Repeat this as many times you want.
I am sure you wont be able to tell the God-influenced coin tosses from the normal coin tosses.Hence it is proved that the probability is as powerful/influential as god.But nothing is as powerul as god but the god.Hence Probability is god. :)

Let me also tell you from my personal experience.I was a very pious theist once...until I found God is a redundancy.
There were ample times when I prayed to god and did not get what I want.There were ample times when I didn't pray to god and I got what I want.
So you see...it really doesnt matter.Things happen the way they want to.There isnt an evidence substancial enough to vindicate the present of some god governing them.Its plain probability.Hence Praying to God translates to praying to probability which sounds kinda ridiculous.

Its been 2 yrs since I became an atheist.And frankly speaking nothing drastic(good/bad) has happened to me since.
When you think over it with a reasonable mind then you'll realise at some point that you dont "need" god anymore.Your conscience is capable enough to distinguish between right and wrong.And trust me Its a very cool position to be in. :)

PS: Its totally a personal opinion.You are free to disagree with me. :)