Saregamapa

It was the evening of June 15th 2006, when I broke my leg while playing soccer. Life has never been the same again, in more ways than one. I am not going to talk about how the incident made me a better person, because there are serious doubts about that. So after being crutches-ridden for the better part of 3 months, my days were spent in front of the idiot boxes-the pc and the TV, trying to take my mind off the relentless frustrating scratch in my leg. Of particular interest were the shows, Saregamapa and Rockstar SuperNova (see the connection?). Saregamapa, because my Mom and Sis loved it to death and wouldnt let me watch anything else then. It was like the contestants had developed special relationships with my Mom and Sis, they used to discuss them like family! And not just the live telecasts, we used to watch even the many reruns during the week, just to observe different aspects of the contestants each time. Then sadly, the plaster came off, and I had other apparently "more interesting" things to do, one of which was to come here for my graduate studies. One year has passed, and I have re-discovered the lost voices [:P].

One friend gave me the link to all the Saregamapa episodes online, and, the past two days have been the most exciting of my past year. I realize that this sadly doesn't say much about my personal life, but, its just that I never knew I loved the show so much! For the past two days, I have done nothing but sit and watch all the episodes, one after another, and sometimes more than once. There is something about watching contests on TV, with all the emotional roller-coaster being enacted to perfection, that it becomes impossible resist. And they appeal to the very basic human nature of judging and criticizing other people. Since this a contest, we have the right or rather are obliged to critique on the basis of anything we choose to, and not feel guilty about it. But once you get past the initial pleasure of criticizing everybody, you start to appreciate the talent on display. The comments of the judges are deliberately controversial and stir up the crowd. The program is made even more palatable by airing some behind-the-scenes footage and off-stage lives of the contestants. Of course, the infighting between the judges adds some spice, and some of their passion penetrates the screen. But, the killer has to be that the public gets to decide who is eliminated and
who goes into the next round. So we get the impression that our opinion is of some value. Added to the fact that there's a latent performer in all of us, its very easy to imagine oneself in the contestants place, and just enjoy the two second fame. Unashamedly, I just enjoy thoroughly those two seconds in my fantasy. It is this mixture of fantasy, reality and competition that has made the show such a huge success. To put it in the Gurus' words "Mindblowing, excellent, 100..." . The show has another goal, to popularize Bollywood music in the world, which I think is a worthwhile endeavor. I have rediscovered my passion for Bollywood music because of this show, and hope everybody who watches the show does the same.

Coming to the judges, Vishal-Shekhar (Hit-It Squad) is my favorite gharaana. I have been a fan of Pentagram (Vishal's Band) ever since they performed at Mood I, really love their energy. And they manage to give the same energy to the songs they compose. They have some amazing singers in their gharaana as well. Raja Hassan has been, by far the best so far. His renditions of Naina Thag Lenge (part III), Mahiya (part VIII), are simply mind-boggling. Of the female singers, Mauli is hot, watch her performance of Maiya (part IV) and No Entry (part V). But the best singer is probably Sumedha (part VI). But who knows who will win, till then it is entertainment at its best!

"Yeh nasha kya nasha, hain yeh kaisa nasha, jispe saara jahaan dil haar gaya." :D

From the Maiden, Floyd days to the present Vishal-Shekhar ones, its been a very long journey indeed! HIT-IT!

And, current favorite is the soundtrack of Cash, V-S rock!
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