Sound of Love

This was published in The Hans India, a reputed daily in Telangana 

Come 14th February, Valentine’s Day carries its own mystic air of romanticism for young couples - assorted chocolates, bunch of fresh blooms, colourful love bands, cuddly teddies, are the norm of the day. However, what’s a romantic day without a few soul-stirring love songs to warm up the heart?!  This 14^th February, here’s our pick of 14 most beautiful love songs to revel in and cherish the bond of love all over again.  

First on the list, Beatles’ ‘She loves you’. A foot-tapping number whose lyrics happened almost accidentally - John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote them on a tour bus to Yorkshire, England. The rest is history, the song caught up with love birds like wildfire.

Stevie Wonder’s ‘I just called to say I love you’ never fails to strike the right note. So much so that Bollywood film makers snatched and played a part of the melody as their theme song in the flick ‘Maine Pyar Kiya.” What’s remarkable is even in Hindi the melody was a runaway success.

Another haunting love song is ‘Nothing’s gonna change my love’. Although singer George Benson was the first to sing this pulsating number, it was Glenn Medeiros, the Hawaiian singer, who made it hugely popular. Sung way back in the early 80s, this enchating number even today connects with young couples like no other.

Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’, when it first got released, swept people off their feet. The story behind the fascinating lyrics is that when Richie greeted James Anthony Carmichael, with the words, ‘Hello, is it me you are looking for?’ Carmichael said, “Lionel, finish that song’s lyrics please”. It’s needless to mention the heights of popularity the song scaled later.

Berlin’s ‘Take my breath away’ is no less romantic either. The theme song of the flick ‘Top Gun’ has made inroads into the youngsters’ hearts with its breathtaking music and has won awards for its haunting rhapsody. Roxette, Swedish pop rock duo, performed an array of interesting love songs. Sung by Marie Fredriksson ‘It must have been love’ is a romantic number, which served as the perfect background song for the movie ‘Pretty Woman’. Undoubtedly, a must-listen for young couples.

Another perfect illustration of how a lovelorn feels is ‘Everything I do, I do it for you’. Brian Adam, who shot to higher plains of glory with this number, tenderly puts forth how the world of youngsters turns up-side down when in love. A song definitely for the love-stricken.

Whitney Houston’s ‘I will always love you’ speaks of her musical genius. The song gives chills as the composition peaks to unimaginable heights, which only Whitney is capable of performing. It’s bound to give you goosebumps.

‘My heart will go on’ is much on similar lines. Celine Dion’s iconic theme song from ‘Titanic’, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s thrilling escapades on board the Titanic, has transcended and grown to be one among the most sought-after romantic numbers.

‘You are still the one I love’ - Shania Twain, who also sang several heartwarming country songs, stops dead in your tracks as she croons this unorthodox number in her soulful voice. A love song whose melody you can’t but appreciate for its sensuous appeal.

Beyonce Knowles, the diva of today’s music world, has her own inimitable style for ‘Crazy in love’. With rapper Jay Z lending a touch of class to the love song, its rendition is so magical it places youngsters on a different plateau altogether.

Taylor Swift’s songs are incredibly haunting. ‘Love story’ is one among them. Based on her own life, the song outlines the story of Romeo and Juliet, ironically, with a happy ending. The tune is so soothing; it would be hard to get it out of your head, once you hear it.

Adele’s ‘Make you feel my love’ is a soothing melody that comes as a breath of fresh air. First, written by Bob Dylan, many artists have sung this song later. But with her soulful voice, Adele literally owns this number.

Rihana’s ‘Diamonds’ is another classic love song in its own right. Interestingly, the song’s a tad different as it sidesteps her regular theme of songs and presents zestful feeling of love towards life. A must-listen love song on the Valentine’s Day.

To access the e-paper please click on the link below:

http://epaper.thehansindia.com/1102651/SUNDAY-HANS/Sunday-Hans#page/15/1

Awesome Anthem. Irksome Move!

It’s been sometime, since I watched a movie in the theatre. I knew they were playing the national anthem in theatres, but was completely surprised that I had to stand and religiously honour it. This is sheer non-sense. I don’t mean to demean the national anthem, but I feel this is supposedly useless and ill-thought of ‘calisthenics’ of the white kurtas.

Why should the general public be put to inconvenience? I go to a theatre to get entertained, not to entertain anybody – especially not the government, which hasn’t had the decency of offering me one single government job so far. All it did was to stealthily put its fingers into my wallet and pick my money in the name of taxes.

Well, if you think I haven’t applied to government jobs, you are wrong. I had applied to several and a few of them called me for an interview and few others didn’t even bother to. The ones, who did, asked me all the wrong questions - deliberately. Later, I came to understand the jobs were handed out to people who didn’t even appear for an interview. Perhaps I wasn’t into greasing hands except watching few snippets of ‘Grease’, where John Travolta greased his hair so much, I lost all appetite for greasing. You don’t believe it?! Believe it (Stole it from the Ripleys! Sorry, it was too good to miss it ;))

Anyway, talking of government driven issues, the sliminess gets even dirtier. I once wrote a PhD exam and the results looked a little tampered. Later, the newspapers carried in the headlines that the pre-doctoral entrance exam was all gobbledegook.

Worried about my future, I rushed to meet the Director. His interest in what I was doing and why I was wasting my time pursuing a doctoral degree caught me completely unawares. When I questioned what he was driving at. He moved closer and whispered, “These exams are for time-pass. Most students get into the doctoral stream so they can avail the university’s boarding and lodging for at least five years”. I was gobbledegooked, again!

Cutting to the chase, why on earth does the government play the national anthem in theatres?! The other day while surfing on the topic I thankfully found a friend who aired similar views – Ram Gopal Varma, the notorious film director. Not all his views match with mine. Which incidentally is a good thing.
  

Ram Gopal Varma’s stinging remarks “If you plan to play the national anthem in theatres, why not in bars? Why not in nightclubs? Why not print it in the first page of the newspapers, everyday?!” created a quite an uproar. But the point wasn’t really taken seriously for the simple reason that it was Ram Gopal Varma’s opinion.

Varma isn’t taken seriously by anyone. Well, how can they?! Especially, when he writes a book and names it ‘Guns & Thighs’! The title is so horrendous, people from literature background wouldn’t know where to hide?! And Nobel laureates would die of shame. Unawares, Varma shamelessly claims the book has a terrific title and is selling like hot cakes. One can do nothing but pity him at times!

However, with all his insanity, he shared one sane opinion ‘Ban the national anthem from playing in theatres’. Finally, someone calls a spade a spade. Although never a fan of Varma, I for one wanted to hug him on his perspective of this illogical and dim action of the government. May Varmas of this kind increase in their tribe!  

New Year Greetings

For long, it has been mandatory on my blog to begin the year with greetings. This year, I won't bypass that rule either. So, here's wishing my readers a happy new year and adventurous and fun-filled  days ahead. Though this greeting comes a tad late in February, it's my request that you dwell on my sincerity rather on the delayed greetings. Cheers!