Didjeridoo

Dave J is a one man Didgeridoo orchestra showcasing the unique sounds from the Didjeribone, a recent innovation based on the traditional instrument. What does that mean? For one, Didgeridoo is the indigenous Australian wind instrument. Pronounced dij-uh-ree-doo, it is said quite exactly the way it’s spelt.

For another, real-time sampling and looping technology allows the artist to create rich multi-layered soundscapes live on stage. Hence the one-man orchestra, bringing together acoustic sounds with cutting edge audio technology.

The Didjeribone is a slide Didjeridoo that can be used to play rhythms, riffs and melodies in up to 10 keys. Amazing? Not quite yet. The sounds from the Didjeribone are amplified by the 'Face Bass', a piece of technology that sits inside the mouth and uses an earthquake sensor to pick up the vibrations from the Didjeribone, face & vocal chords and record it at the end where the music comes out. Now that’s amazing. He uses sound on sound recording- from live recordings on stage adding it onto the bass line, vocals, acoustics, and incorporates it into other instruments. Sound like fusion? “Depends on how you define fusion,” the artist says.

'Tribal Techno', 'Electro Acoustic' or 'Didjeridoo Disco'. He finally settles on ‘Didjeridoo techno funk’. “Because of the instrument it is quite a new genre of sound,” he adds.

DaveJ has released his debut EP Organic Electric that showcases his distinct, eclectic sound all created live with no pre – recorded sounds or drum machines. “I have it in mind that the music will make you move ” he says about his album.
Besides the Didjeribone, he also dabbles with drums, bass, guitar, keyboard and “a little bit of piano and the saxophone.”

He discovered electronic and dance music in his travels to Europe where he spent four years listening to some of the greatest musicians like Carl Cox and Sasha among others. He first came to India three years ago on his honeymoon. On audiences reaction to his music so far, he says, “I’ve had really positive vibes, quite similar to the audiences back home. What I do is unusual and when people listen to me, they try to work out the music that flows. Just listening to the sounds that come out of the instrument, the music and the sounds that are created and the visuals it compounds.”

He enjoys both open-air and playing at clubs saying, “They’re both different. While a club is more intimate, the dynamism of interacting with a lot of people is also exhilarating.”

Dave once had an Australian guitarist from a rock band come up to him and say it was amazing that from a 16 year old to a 60 year old were seen enjoying his music at a concert. “They enjoy it for different music or perhaps by the end of it for all the same reasons. It’s music. It’s rhythmic,” he adds.

Gold Coast Tourism Corporation brings you DaveJ at Prive on May 2 and Zenzi on May 3.

300 movies you must see before you die

Maxim's list of 300 movies to watch before you die. List includes: Comedy & Buddy; Action, War & Westerns; Rebels, Cops & Criminals; Horror, Sci-fi, Art house & Mindbenders; Classics, Nudity & Train wrecks. http://www.maxim.com/The300moviesyoumustseebeforeyoudie

Drum rolls please

Shahbaz is here to let the drummer kick. A hand percussionist armoured with the djembe, he brings in a fusion of the sounds of the tribal African drum and infuses it into his own organic sound. He describes his music as “percussion-based tribal music in an in-house organic sound”. Inimitable? Perhaps. But what he inculcates into a wide array of musical genre is the beat that brings in the energy to a level of elementary vibes albeit the histrionics.
Shahbaz has been seen on stage with his drums internationally with live jazz and rock bands, live vocal lounge performances, indulging and connecting with all forms and genres of music. His collaboration with acts in Canada has even charted for over 25 weeks in Europe and Canada. Born and raised in Canada, the intensity and depth of the wide spectrum of Indian classical music has lured him back to tracing his roots to explore the plethora. On asked about percussions and genres of music like jazz, he replies. “If there’s a certain 4 by 4 beat or a 6 by 6 beat, I play on top of that. The drums rhythm out on the music. I’m not a vocalist, so with my music I try and bring the drum to the forefront.”
Trained on various percussion instruments, like the djembe, dharbuka and congo, Shahbaz creates an explosive tribal atmosphere infused into a certain amount of organic house music that seems to transcend the classifications of genre. “Drums have always appealed to me the most out of all instruments. I find it therapeutic and it kind of brings in some sense to whatever music you play. It’s like the heartbeat. No heartbeat, no heart,” he says.
“When I’m performing with a band, I’m only an element of the different sounds being infused. But when I play alone, there’s a lot more energy since I’m the only one bringing in the organic sound. I tend to innovate and change compositions as I go along,” he adds.
In India he has performed with the likes of DJ Aqeel, DJ Ivan, DJ Nikhil and DJ Pearl and all across the country from Delhi to Cochin, from Pune to Kolkata. Shahbaz has also created original music and the background score for a new Indian animated movie and Indian television shows which he: “cannot speak about because they are all under post-production and I am legally not allowed to do so”. He does all of these with his production partner Pritpal Sehgal under the Label Karma Fusion. “Being a musician and a music producer is completely different. There are a lot of different sides to it and a lot of elements that comes into play that you cannot use in both fields. Production ranges from all kinds of sounds while performance has a lot to do with ambience and change,” he adds.
While the music industry is very different here from the one he has grown accustomed to, and with the lack of piracy laws, Shahbaz is yet to release an independent album. About percussions and clubs he says, “They should have been incorporated here a long time ago. It’s already a strong trend everywhere else.”
The drums come alive on April 25. Share this unique beat at the Rouge in Malad.

Luxury Commoditized!

If luxury is becoming a necessity, what tipping point is needed for it to
become a commodity? From renting art at an affordable price to co-
owning yachts and private jets without the hassles of maintening them.
Sound like something you'll only read about in your spam mail? Well,
clubs like Privada in Mumbai, Club One Air and the Art bank in Delhi
make it all possible for you to ride the high wave of luxury.
For all those savvy millionaires or even if you are just another person
waiting on the sidelines, it may finally be time to become a member of
the luxurious lifestyle. Art lovers or if you are just looking to be a part
of the art boom without understanding the finer nuances of it, the art
bank in Delhi may just be what you are looking for. Also if your
favourite artists' works are way out of your budget, the art rental
scheme provided by the bank caters to just that.
Set up by Adeshwar Puri in October 2007, in Delhi, the Art Bank rents
out art in the time span that varies from three months to a year and the
rental prices range from Rs 500 to Rs 5000 a month depending on the
size of work, the artist and the period of rental. When the rental term
expires, one can actually acquire it permanently by buying it or return
the art work. "We have a database of 70 artist, including Maqbool Fida
Hussain from which clients can choose. Our database is only growing
and we have even tied up with private collectors," says Adeshwar Puri.
The bank has over 2000 art pieces in stock.
If art is not your forte, perhaps travelling in luxury is. Owning a
personal jet was limited to the elite few. But now with Club One Air,
you can actually partly own your own flying machine. The club offers
what they call Aircraft fractional ownership which provides all the
benefits of a privately owned jet or helicopter, at only a fraction of the
cost, and without any ownership responsibilities or liabilities.
"Private jets have access to many more airports in India, and with
helicopters having the ability to land almost anywhere, you get
unmatched connectivity to every corner of the country as compared to
regular commercial airlines" says Joydeep Sen, general manager club
one air.
Flying private saves time and allows you to run your business, personal
or professional within the country and overseas. You could actually be
omnipresent in more than three cities in a day by choosing your own
timings and arriving or departing at any time of the day or night. Their
fleet comprise of aircrafts and helicopters especially suited for Indian
weather conditions and smaller airports with short runways and limited
facilities. Depending on the percentage of your share and the aircraft
you buy, you would be entitled to a certain number of hours of flying
each year. If that's not enough, you can be a part of its Statesman Card
Program that involves pre-purchase of fixed number of flying hours as
per your annual requirement.
And if flying is not for you, then it's seaward bound. Buying a yacht
brings with it a considerable amount of time and money required to
manage and maintain such a boat. But Club Privada, India’s first
luxury boat club offers you the opportunity to access a fully crewed
and maintained luxury yacht and the lifestyle that comes with it for a
fraction of the traditional cost. "Membership right now is based on
invitation only," says the clubs' director. The membership offers a two-
tiered programme - Privada Gold and Privada Platinum that gets you
exclusive access to to its fully serviced and crewed luxury yachts for a
specific number of days per year for the duration of your membership.
The route includes Murud Janjira, the Elephanta caves, Kashid,
Ganapatipule, Shriwardhan and Goa.
With personalised culinary preferences on board, Club Privada comes
well equipped to cruise the coastline whether its for business or for
pleasure. It has a fleet of four boats-three Larson Cabrio 350 and one
Azimut 50 - and caters to clients across the board- party people,
corporates and families. Current membership includes a discreet list of
industrialists, builders, hoteliers and bankers.
"People are realising that instead of owning an asset you can just buy
the experience, making luxury more affordable," says Joydeep Sen.
There is an accelerating phenomenon on the luxury-spend spectrum.
Jets, yachts, vacation homes, autos, vineyards, golf clubs, you name it.
Selling variety, convenience and utility, without the hassles of
ownership. For the uninitiated, the old lexicon of luxe is only a rental
away.

Mumbai pumped up the volume and brought the beat down with Wyclef Jean on saturday night at the Hard
Rock Cafe. Organised by VH1 as part of its ‘Handpicked’ programme, the event kickstarted with dancers
high up on the stage gyrating to samba. From where i stood, it looked like the bar roof was about to cave
in! People (mostly employees of Hard Rock) with tacky masks and lit up shades paraded the cafe and
somehow the female crowd around me seemed largely amused by it. Where were we at a rave? It felt like
some sadistic bastard was drawing out all the oxygen with a vacuum pump as i was left sweating and
gasping for air. So were my buddies. Add to that having to move, twist and turn everytime someone passed
because there was just no place to stand. Of course it didn't help that i had come straight from work to
cover the event with my huge g-star bag which only drew a lot of snide remarks. Well who really did care
at that point. And most of us hadn't eaten anything. It really didn't help that the rest were either half drunk
or too stoned. Even smoking a joint right in the middle of the cafe. But hey, they did realize by the time
anyone actually makes it there to throw us out, either the joint will be done or we would have been shoved
to an unknown corner even we would fail to recognize.
It took us ten minutes to get to the bar by which time the space we had occupied didnt even exist. Another
ten to get our drinks (which was steep by the way. 185 for a 25 rupee beer? Man Wyclef better be good!).
The crowd was getting really impatient by then. The heat, sweat and crowd wearing everones temperament
on a thin line. And please Hard Rock, the YMCA routine is kind of stale now. It wasn't even that amusing
while it first started!No offence Natasha. Good moves but they have got to come up with something new.
The waiters doing the routine looked like the only ones having fun. Is that the image you want to
project?While the rest of us boil in our misery? And no way would anyone wanna watch a bunch of terrible
waiter-dancers do the YMCA when we paid just so we could watch Wyclef. Not a good way to appease
people. My buddies grew tired of boo-ing and demanding for Wyclef. Turn around to your drinks. My beer
bottle had suddenly turned into a hot rod and i had to let it go. What a waste!

It was only an hour later than the slotted time did the event start with guests showing signs of restlessness
in the packed venue. But then what else is new. Once the artist came up on stage, he had all the revellers
grooving to his most popular tracks and covers. Really? That was for the paper so i had to use words like
that. But it's not entirely untrue. The crowd loved him.

The ladies in the house particularly had fun with Wyclef's popular track ‘Hips don't lie’ with a few of them
heading up to the stage to shake their hips. He was everywhere to the crowds delight, from the elevated
floor to the section upstairs (where some unenthusiastic pseudo-important people strayed far off the
madding crowd!), keeping the audience on their toes. His track ‘jump around’ brought in a different kind
of vibe as the mosh that was the audience started jumping, heads popping everywhere.
People kept climbing onto the barricade blocking our entire view, at which point we had a tiff with this
bulky American dud who just wouldn.t get down. He was earlier seen waving the menu for his half baked
girl so she could prevent her cake that was her makeup from melting. Well that was that. The dude later
apologised anyway.

Audiences even found space to let themselves go in the venue that somehow began to resemble a fast local
train during rush hour on a hot summer day. Whether it was Wyclef or the lack of air in the venue,
something definitely did set the temperature rising!
Wyclef was later joined on stage by who he called "Brother for another mother", Aadesh Shrivastava
whom he had collaborated with as a part of his Indian tour. He even sang along lines in Punjabi with
Aadesh. "Who's he? Go home!" was a very common murmur.
A kid rapping his current popular track ‘the sweetest girl’(although I didn't hear a thing he was singing. He
did quite an impromptu jig which ranged from monkeys swaying on discovery to Bollywoods ridiculous
moves to a little bit of krumping and poppin!), an eclectic bunch of people on stage with him(caucasian,
African, Indian, lotsa chicks with short skirts and celluloid and a platinum blonde guy), his bodyguard
prancing on stage, naming himself the ‘don’ of hip-hop; those were the antics but it was a seemingly
orchestrated tryst with the deadline by police that set the crowd wild as he increased the volume a notch
higher and continued with his songs.
Gone till novenber of course that kept us crowing along. Don't know about his obsession with covers but
there were hardly original compositions. Of course fugees songs which a lot of people were acrediting to
him. If i were president of course. That songs makes so much more sense when your'e stoned.
Hands in the hot air, and the energy levels of the crowd not swaying for a single moment, Wyclef was in
his element and for the record, you better not mistake him for Will-i-am from the black eyed peas. Who?
We were all beat just as the show was coming to an end. Empty stomachs, extremely dehydrated from all
the profuse sweating, and dead tired. Be gone till november.

'Latin' Chef

Bill Marchetti. Celebrity chef, restaurateur, business man, author, educator and now consultant. Many hats
to be worn by someone who has been touted as the pacesetter of Italian culinary. Having been in India for
several years working with the ITC welcome group and running his signature restaurant ‘Marchetti at West
View’ with the group, he now brings i n his expertise to the blue food group.

‘I’m a self- confessed India lover since 1981, when I came here for the first time,’’ he says. For a chef who
's been amazed by the wide range of taste that Gujarati food offers and swears by Bengali cuisine, he
punctuates his unaccented English with theek hais, and hanji, an Indian touch that seem to come naturally.

At the pizza fiesta, the pizza piemontese, (Prosciutto or cured ham and gorgonzola cheese on a tomato
paste) and the insalata ai spinachi (baby spinach and goat cheese in a balsamic dressing) went down really
well with the Maison Pierre glass of wine he recommended. His Prosciutto and goat cheese had come all
the way from Spain. "Although you do get a lot of the ingredients in India, everything here is available
only in wholesale and nothing in retail." says Bill Marchetti. He uses imported pepperoni salami from
Naples, to olives from Spain, his country’s best extra virgin olive oils and cheese while making sure his
Parma ham is thin enough to read through.

"Every chef has to educate. But I believe in seducing. If I put out interesting, appetising looking dishes, my
guests are bound to get lured into trying them" said Bill. For someone who refused to make pizzas when he
first started his restaurant Latin in Melbourne with his then wife, he says palates have changed in India
from just "bloody steaks, pizza and grills" to a finer awareness about the nuances of culinary differences.

But how different are his Italian fare from the hordes of other 'authentic' Italian joints that run across the
city? "In Naples, where pizza originated, you can order only two kinds of pizza, with cheese or without.
But if you give that to a non-Italian, they’ll never like it. So I try innovations that suit the local palate." he
replies.

While he waits for the five-star hotels to die out, he plans to open up a gourmet style restaurant "when the time is just right!"

Intimate energy for music lovers

Shakira, Beyonce, 50 cent, Akon, Buddy guy and the rest. Only got a glimpse of the top of their head the
last time around at the MMRDA grounds? Would you prefer a more intimate personal experience with the
music and the artist that you love? While musicians and artists especially international acts have almost
always been known to play concerts in large venues (read MMRDA in Mumbai), with the likes of clubs
such as Blue Frog and the Hard Rock Cafe, many more artists are looking at playing gigs in smaller
confined venues.

Wyclef Jean of the fugees fame has performed at the Hard Rock Cafe recently. His first professional visit
to India, and he hasn't performed at a large scale concert anywhere in the country unlike other international
acts. Rather Wyclef has performed at the Hard Rock franchises in Pune and Delhi and Bangalore. While
live band venues have always been a phenomenon all over the world, leaving out local bands and artists no
international act is known to have played a gig at such confined arenas in the city. But the trend seem to be
slowly edging out with the likes of the Hard Rock Cafe and Blue Frog providing a platform for a more
intimate personal experience.

While the Hard Rock Cafe,to a large extend, caters to commercial well known artists, Blue Frog
differentiates itself by not conforming to a particular national or artistic stereotype. With international acts
coming in every week to perform, the long list of artist that have performed there include artists from
Holland, France, Sri Lanka, Italy, Germany, USA, Austria. The list goes on. The genres of music that these
artist play ranges across transcendental, break beat, d&b, elctronica, progessive house, fusion, folk to
acoustic folk, beatbox, drum and bass, tribal, and more of the likes that you probably have never heard of.

"International artists are more than willing to come and perfrom in such venues. One major reason being
the tremendous legal hassles that they have to go through in terms of performing in larger open-air venues.
Also co-ordinating with event producers, taxation and rules regarding loud noise beyond a certain time
greatly hinders such events, huge sums of money not withstanding," says Rayna Jhaveri, Communications
Head, Blue Frog. "Artist touring Asia would have normally given venues in India a quick miss what with
the tribulation holding such events entails. However with clubs like ours, we provide a perfect platform for
them to make a pit stop. It's not that these artist wouldn't like to perform in India. They do. We just provide
them a more intimate and personal experience with music lovers in the city while also providing state of
the art equipment what with Blue Frog coming equipped with its own studio," she adds.

Hard Rock Cafe has already seen the likes of international artist like Daniel Bedingfield and Simon Webbe
perform at their venue last year. While Bedingfield was here as a part of charity dedicated to the upliftment
of underprivileged children, Webbe performed to promote his album. "The response in India has been
tremendous and people have appreciated the close experience with the artists that hard rock provides.
Performances like these provide a much better way for our clientele to get up close to their favourite
artists," says Sanjay Mahtani, executive CEO, Hard Rock Cafe. They plan to bring in atleast four renowned
internationals acts to the likes of Aerosmith and the Black Eyed Peas within the next six months. The cafe
is also testing the markets to try and bring in something on the lines of what they do in Hyde Park in
london frontlining several known artists.
Well, get ready to get closer to the feel of the music that sway your notes into play.

Lord save me...

In my coke induced haze, i dont recall if i spoke to him. I do vaguely remember saying something about working at 4:30 in the morning when asked why I was up so late. That's around 5 in the evening for him. Did i unleash my melodrama? That was the only thing that was pounding in my head other than the substance going down. Hung over, I frantically scanned my phone for dialled numbers. I possibly couldn't have. Checked roomies phone. Nothing. Could I have possibly deleted call records. Possible.
I muddily recall standing by the window, downing a glass of cheap rum. Quite a large one at that. Was that the moment in the conversation? I never heard from him so did it happen? If it didn't why is something playing in my head?
I also recall slumping onto my bed because my insides hurt. Not physically. But it hurt. Sheering pain immoble and piercing through my very consciousness. I wanted to scream but no voice was heard. I was crying inside but not a tear fell off my eyes. I squinted, clenched, squirmed but my physicallity would not allow any of the pain to show. I wanted to bawl but all i managed was a scowl. I drifted off pathetically feeling how weak a person he's brought me down to...

Moments of consciousness

Defying the framework of conventional still camera, Vishwanath Math's "Moments of Consciousness" displays images captured from video clips to create graphic art. The displayed work include 40 frames of video installation and prints on archival paper.
"My current exhibition ‘Moments of Consciousness’ is a confluence of images captured from video and then imbued wih my own aesthetic expressions,"says the artist. He has experimented with video footage from his own experimental films and worked upon them graphically using photoshop to create these images and decided to call it "ClipoGrafee". Asked about the unusual type of work Vishwanath replies, "The images when layed on the time line, its thousands of subliminal frames transcend the threshold of the subconscious, beckoning our consciousness to make a final choice." ClipoGrafee has been established as a new medium of expression from the artist's need to assert himself.
"It is an exhilarating but ardous process. To finally zero in on one particular frame, one has to scan through thousands of frames; because on an average 25 frames exist in one second of video footage. Sometimes I have used 2 or 3 frames overlapping them to create one final image," says Vishwanath.
For him, art is an expression of oneself using various mediums. He has dabbled in multi-tasking as a commercial artist, photographer and cameraman for feature films, corporate films, documentaries and music videos providing him the requisite skills for his subjugated passions — photography and painting. He had a video installation for New York based artist Kim Sooja. This provided him the experience of working with international artists and the vision to pursue his own vision with fervour. Through this, he started applying his gained technology to infuse life into his works of art which has culminated into his current exhibition.
"Instead of using conventional tools like paint and canvas or a still camera, I decided to experiment and this new medium of expression evolved. I do not want to be bogged down by the limitations of any one medium. The world is yours to conquer and one can experiment," says the artist.
His exhibition includes a varied interplay of colours with the imagery. "None of the work on display is manipulated, rather captured in the moment to be seen in the context of the persons consciousness," says the artist. He has worked on this collection for over a period of three years .
Vishwanath has had several exhibitions and group shows but this is his first solo exhibition.

Although his response were almost monosyllabic, i kind of sensed some depth and sincerity in his voice. Also i received three documents (from his PR and himself) which contained the same material only with a certain variation in usage of tenses and first-second person response. He was also kind enough to send me an interview that someone else had done on him earlier. He also asked me to view his entire work and perhaps we'll talk more on it. Still sincere. Amen.

To Dearth, to dearth

He picked me up. From the same place he always does. Right outside the grand hotel. Whenever i meet him at his neighbourhood that is. The same spot. Only this time there was no bickering. Albeit my drama.

Or his understated one.

No hugs. Just muted greetings.

We drove off. The same question. The same respond. Where do you want to head? I don't know.

He finally figured a new coffee shop that had just opened up. Costa. As i stood in front of the cafe, looking at the ugliness that retail follows, he parked his car. We went in. Not even the slightest of something so close that could have once existed. Not even a trail. Not a flicker.

It was pretty crowded. The only table that was available looked rather uncomfortable and was too close to a large group of people sitting beside it. Wouldn't help the awkardness.

I guess people were out for their after meal cofee. It was around 11 in the night. He was leaving the next day. We decided to sit outside. I hadn't smoked a single cigarette. Not because i didn't want to. I just don't know why. He hates smoke.
We placed our order. His hot chocolate. My tea. He gets the bill. He mostly does. I notice their other branch and i say out loud that i was just there a week ago. My supposed holiday. The guy behind the
counter hears me, smiles and says that was the first in the country. I smiled back.

We head out with the waiter carrying our drinks.I'd have preferred a drink. Alcohol. Even if i wanted to, he wouldn't have. He had a flight to catch. And something could have slipped his mind while packing. He had to be ready. He's always anxious. He'll be stopping over in Japan anyway. I don't see the big deal. Lots of 'em hot Japs. Jealousy won't work with me tonight.

The furniture outdoors were probably in good shape and taste when they first started. Even the design. I liked it. Stylish. But now they just looked impractical. Much like us need i say?
Ashtray placed in the middle. Others billowing in smoke. I didn't even wish for a single one. Odd.

His attention was anywhere but here. As if suddenly aware that we were amongst other people. Or maybe scanning the other people around. Someone directly behind me seem to have caught his attention. Because that's where his glances were directed in that tone cold moment of ours.

Hows your Dad?hows your life?I just got accused of being a magazine spy? pfft!they probably just found someone better! I never really liked that magazine anyway. Just write and you'll find your footing. Still glancing elsewhere.
Soothing?Encouraging? Don't know. Definitely not music to the ear when it comes at you with an indifferent bland of incredulous banality. It's like soup. Clear soup. Bland. No feeling
whatsoever.

How are the twins? Adorable. The Sister? curt and kind of snappy reply about something i don't quite recall. Irritation. Annoyance? Perhaps. Invisible gust of magnetic wave over my chest. Im overreacting.
Its definitely something to do with my head. I'm hunched. I don't know why. While he sits there high and mighty like a king on a throne who couldn't dare look at a measly subject least he has something contagious that could rub off on his robes. Im overreacting.

Gulped down the last of our drinks. Cold. Much like the realm around us.Think you should get home. So you can be rested. Just a little longer. I'm being mature. That's new.
My chest is thumping with things i need to blurt out. My head's exploding from every single reaction and observation i make. I restrain myself. Somewhere i know i don't want to look like a fool. Which i probably am anyway.

We head out. Done for the night. For life. I say i'll grab a cab here. He says he'll drop me halfway. Didn't want to argue or make a scene. Still in my maturity. I don't know where the strength
comes from.

We head to his car. Sit rather quietly. Surprisingly, nothing new there. We reach an intersection. He says i'll have to get out here. I turn around and give him a hug. Have fun. Yeah.
There seem to be no cabs around. I get off anyway. We've been on this road before. He usually waits till i actually get into a cab. And after calls in to check if i'm home safe.

I get off and look far ahead for any sign of one zooming past the oncoming traffic. I turn around, longing, my body giving in to all those pent up feelings, nostalgia, melancholia, profound sadness at something that seemed to have writhed out of my energy, being. Nothing there. Left long before i turned around. I didn't even see his tail lights.

Took me a while to get into a cab. No 'will call'. No i'll see you when i get back. No take care of yourself. Nothing. Just stepped up to the green light without even a trail of smoke behind.
Young souls bruise easier. Two hands tugging at my cardio-muscle. Trying to rip it apart. I need air. My head feels like a thousand ants nippling at it as they march along. Not a single virtuos drop from my cornea. They seemed to have dried up sometime ago. The hair on my neck seem to be uprooting itself. The breeze breaks into my clothes. The city lights blind me in all their tawdiness. every face I whizz past is an insignia on themselves. Traffic din bore into my ear drums. My bones seem to disintegrate at the very feel of anything human. My lungs feel like it's filled with a thousand gallons of saliva. I radiate. I radiate.

I light up a cigarette. Drag that nicotine into my throat. I'm home. Or to a place i know. Familiar faces that wrought my mind into someplace I can find certain bliss. I smile. Light up another cigarette. I smile. Grin. They can't see it. I take a drag. And another. And yet another as i lay down in the haze.....

Equilibrium

18 year old takes on the art world
Maaria Sayed, the 18 year old granddaughter of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr A.R Antulay forays into the art world with her painting exhibition titled "A Raw Teenage Retina." With 46 canvasses to be displayed, she has worked on her paintings over a period of three years.
Medium of choice: oil, acrylic and charcoal.
Maaria drew inspiration for her paintings through the life she leads as a teenager and hence the title of her exhibition. Her theme for her paintings is her need to attain equilibrium as a person. She says the strong influence of religion and her firm belief in it has helped her find a certain balance which translates into her art, a few of which features writings in arabic.
Her paintings have been worked around five themes which include teenage dreams, women empowerment, standardisation of society, the environment and spirituality. Her paintings explore themes of ethnocentrism and xenocentrism through the usage of many colours and heavy texturing. What is unique about the young artists' paintings are the usage of wooden frames, each one of them different from the other indicative of certain obstruction that the artist had to face due to 'our cocktail culture.' She describes her work as 'raw, rugged and unfinished' and rightly so with uneven usage of heavy and dark wooden frames. "I believe that the painting is the soul and the frame the body," she adds. Each one of her rugged frames are uniquely designed in tune with the mood of her paintings. As the artist says, "My paintings would be incomplete without the frames."
This strong, idealistic youth first published her book "My thoughts at sixteen" when she was just seventeen years old with a grand launch by none other than Shobha De. "A Raw Teenage Retina" will be unveiled by the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh at Blue Sea, Worli seaface, Mumbai on the 12th of April.
Speaking of her themes, Maaria talks about how teenagers should be allowed to dream and dream big without any restriction and be given the complete freedom to persue what they want. The need to confirm to ideals laid out by society only leads to standardisation 'due to which we crave our sense of identity' which brings us to her second theme. The 'cocktail culture' that she finely mouths leaves us lingering between the explorer and the curious side and the valued and stubborn side, according to her. "Diversity in unity...that's what we have now.." When it comes to her theme of women empowerment, she describes how women need to be looked beyond just being beautiful objects and women empowerment and expression in its truer sense rather than just the thought of it. Interestingly, her theme on the environment talks about how when we destroy the earth, we destroy ourselves and this creation of negative energy needs to be rid of. Harmony with the environment can only cause us to radiate the individuality that we all possess. for her spirituality is religion and it is with religion that spirituality lies. Her faith brings her closer to her roots adds she.
When asked if she had ever been trained or taken art classes, she says all that she creates are her vent to express herself which puts a strong inclination on all her work. Maaria says shes always been a performer and she won't do anything unless convinced of it. She's never studied anybody else's art which she adds can only limit ones ability. her entire work is her expression of extreme emotions, "i can't be running down the streets telling people what i feel...so i translate that energy into whatever i'm working on."
She's a normal teenager. that is if normal is being published at 17, galka paintings at 18, teaching spech and drama at Trinity (for which she is qualified!) and still manages time for her English Literature classes at one of the country's premier colleges.
Maaria's self confidence and warm nature is really infectious. I wonder why she has an extra 'a' to her name? well i'll just have to wait and find out on the 12th because 'lil ol' me has been specially invited to her opening!