Let's Kindle the Fire to read

Kindle, one of my most prized possessions, was gifted by my brother when I didn’t even know e-book readers existed! Anjan had pre-loaded it with enough fodder for reads and I absolutely loved every feature on this gadget. I went on to buy the next generation when I lost this Kindle on a flight, and I now own the super light Kindle Paperwhite (PW).

My friends around never fancied reading on Kindle earlier due to various reasons, but have now developed a great liking to it. There must be more than one good reason that Kindle has makes its customers so happy? Though you might miss the feel and smell of flipping through the pages of a new book, the pros of Kindle outweigh the cons much convincingly. Reading generally sedates me; to get up to switch lights off at that point can be quite disturbing and lethal to sleep. The inbuilt light on PW obviates the need to keep lights on at night while reading and you can drop the e-reader the moment sleep comes in. Primarily being an activity before going to sleep, it’s troublesome to keep changing sides on bed while reading right and left pages on a harcdopy, the sleeky reader saves efforts here as well. Not to forget its e-ink feature, which makes reading experience least stressful to eyes (just like a normal book), unlike flashing tabs and phones.

One generally comes across unfamiliar words while reading and this necessitates looking up a dictionary, I’m too lazy at times to do and save it for later. A directly linked downloaded dictionary, enables checking meanings and related information instantaneously by long pressing the word, this is one of my favorite features. The capacity to store a lot of books in this lighter-than-mobile device, allows voracious readers to read multiple books at a given period, saving the burden of carrying individual hard copies. The same applies to the library of books that occupy a significant amount of space in a limited room and all the hassle of shifting/shipping while making a move. Most importantly, this eco-friendly digital technology saves tonnes of papers killing hundreds of trees. Battery consumption is minimal, so Go Green!

While it’s a boon for readers, the low price kindle editions probably put the authors at disadvantage, which has initiated library rentals for e-books.  As a reader, I totally believe it’s a worthwhile investment to make your reading experience much exciting, convenient and enriching.

                 Musical High with the Maestro: Sonu Nigam

My boundless excitement and thrill to attend this much awaited concert after 6 long yrs was evidently palpable; all my friends bear a testimony to that. To keep the enthusiasm mounting, a hand made October calendar flew onto my fridge magnet, counting down to the concert day (10^th Oct), striking every day off by the midnight. The D day saw me able to focus little on my work with periodic whatsapp chats with friends for evening plans. Reaching the venue, Vinaya, Lavanya and I, being just a few rows away from the stage, were almost jumping on the seats imagining the legend live, conveniently ignoring the stares from people around. With a mindblowing orchestra set on stage playing a warm up piece, MC for the evening Shruthy Menon welcomed the audience and there came on stage Jonita Gandhi. Winner of Sonu ji’s MJ contest, Jonita kicked off the show with a few hit numbers like Main Pareshaan, Dum maaro dum etc. 

The auditorium was jam-packed to capacity; with a burst of adrenaline rush on, it was an impatient wait to see the man of the evening on stage. Dazzling dancers first made an entry blocking centre of the stage, when THE melodious voice from background went live with a beautiful aakar leading to Shukran Allah. The group swiftly gliding aside, exposed the Star of the Evening- SONU NIGAM; he was greeted by a deafening cheer and hoot by thousands of crazy fans. Ever-charming and ageing like wine, Sonu ji was decked in all-black attire, he paused a bit-- courteously acknowledging the audience, further continuing with the song. Sonu ji being an improvisation king, can twist the song in a way so as to keep the crowd guessing – next on the list was Mera Rang De with his brilliant modulations. A series of slow, melodious songs like Mannat, Sun zara, Chanda ki doli followed; scintillating lights falling complementing the song pace. One of the most powerful skills he possesses is engaging and interacting with the crowd, which totally keeps them bound and captivated. Giving the audience an opportunity to sing in one of my favourites- Tere haath mein, the fans threw themselves together into giving their best singing. Getting his hands running on his Pianica he shree ganesh-ed one of his most recent “Dildaara”; thanks to twitter I’m all updated with new ones too.   The music of what seemed like “Soniyo”, went onto one of the most soulful romantic songs- Chori kiya re jiya, with the audience swaying into the music. Yes! The divine out-of-the-world hit in Sonu ji’s voice, Soniyo followed it with the graceful dancers back on stage. Wittily enough, Sonu ji just stopped when the guys held female dancers on their shoulders, taunting them- “Kahaa tha, auratein bhaari padti hain”, leaving the audience of the lion city roaring in laughter. He ended Soniyo so beautifully taking “Tu bas de de mera saath” to higher scales and reaching highest octaves, leaving us all spellbound with his ability to recast every song in a different manner. 

 

Well aware of people’s itching ichcha to dance, Sonu ji started with his high energy numbers calling it “asliyat pe utar aana”. A hybrid of retro lyrics, “Pyaar hua, Iqraar hua” from Rab ne.. got the audience on their feet, he effortlessly blending in some yesteryear hits like Sapno ki raani, bachna ae haseeno. Bringing in some humour, he mimicked a section of audience who had their hands rigidly clasping their cheeks, some of who seemed like attending a “Satyanarayana Puja”, encouraging them to leave their inhibitions to dance. He was also impressed with and appreciated the audience participation and synchronizing calling us a surili janta, while honestly it sounded harshly cacophonic contrasting with his melodious voice. Then came a super lively song Dil maangta hai, merging in Kajra Mohabbat waala; it was an awesome combo which woke up even the zombies from their slumber to come onto the floor. Jonita joined Sonu ji at this point for a couple of duet songs like Mahi ve, Bole Chudiyan, with some amazing dancing in the background; though went less noticed owing to the show stealer Sonu ji. He shared with us his challenging musical journey he started at the age of four, ofcourse there was a short teaser of his impeccable mimicry of singers, making the audience split their sides. There followed an amazing mix of old and new songs, subtly amalgamating different emotions, leaving us gasping for more. The most awaited song took its turn- Bijuriya, with crowd dying to watch Sonu ji do the famous step; his control on his breath simultaneously singing and dancing was beyond commendable. Style personified, his hands and legs were moving as fast as a buzzing bee in rhythm with the percussion beats, he simply left us in awe of him. Organizers of the day thanked and felicitated Sonu ji, he paid tribute to Jagjit Singh ji singing “Hothon se choo lo tum, Jagjit amar kar do”, marking his third death anniversary.

 

Sonu ji generously dedicated last leg of the concert to “Janta ki Farmaishein”, when his fanatics took their liberties to crowd up near the stage, catching a closer glimpse of him. Sonu ji being audience friendly, shooed the security away, allowing them to dance, swing, scream, some of them jumping to touch his hands (I remember when this happened with me 8 yrs ago, I didn’t wash my hand for 2 days!). From a rocking yeh dil deewana, he smoothly transited into a meditative state, dedicating “Abhi mujh mein kahin” to his mother, with everyone in rapt attention respecting its sanctity. The concert concluded with the song that hardly any Indian would be unaware of- Kal ho na ho, with a bit of somberness pervading through the air anticipating the end of this magical night. It would have been delightful to watch the Kolaveri rockstar Nevaan who sometimes accompanies Sonu ji, singing dauntlessly in front of huge audiences. I’ve had the opportunity to attend three concerts of his, each being uniquely memorable in its own way. Master of all trades, a nifty concoction of music, dance, wit, humour and mimicry makes him an absolute performer. It’s a task to comprehend his skills and innovativeness- he’s a music software/technology who can stretch at ease to a range of voices at any scale, pitch, frequency of humans and instruments: Massive respect.

 

I had a second time privilege to meet this human I have admired, loved, respected and looked upto ever since I can remember myself. With not an iota of pride being the most idolized contemporary singer, Sonu ji treated me like a kiddo friend; calling him humble would be an under statement. The meeting was surreal: it was unimaginable to have a casual conversation with this celebrity who is worshipped worldwide and was thronged with a multitude of crazy fanatics just ten minutes ago. I was shocked to know Sonu ji was ailing and on antibiotics for the past week and still performed with great gusto as he would have otherwise: a non-stop 3 hour blast performance. I’m still recuperating from the hangover of the musical high on Friday, with Sonu ji’s magnetic voice resonating in my ears. Wishing him a speedy recovery and hoping that his next concert here happens before I finish my doctoral studies (2016)!