“In the kindliest spirit I suggest that your eyesight needs medical attention.”
“My eyesight? My eyesight? Do you know who you’re talking to? I am Sahib Biggar.”
“I regret to say that the name is unknown to me. However, Sahib, I can only repeat…”
“In this country I use my title of Captain.”
“Sahib or Captain, I still say that you have made the pardonable mistake of misreading a licence number.”
Before speaking again, Captain Cuthbert Gervase 'Bwana' Brabazon-Biggar was obliged to swallow once or twice, to restore his composure. He also took another nut.
"Look," he said, almost mildly. "Perhaps you're not up on these things. You haven't been told who's who and what's what. I am Captain Biggar - the White Hunter, the most famous White Hunter in all Africa and Indonesia. I can stand without a tremor in the path of an onrushing rhino ... and why? Because my eyesight is so superb that I know ... I know I can get him in that one vulnerable spot before he has come within sixty paces."
“I concede that you may have trained your eyes for that purpose, but, poorly informed as I am on the subject, I do not believe that rhinoceri are equipped with number plates.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Millicent Threepwood
"Ever read Schopenhauer?" she asked, after a silence.
"No."
"You should. Great stuff. Schopenhauer says that all the suffering in the world can’t be mere chance. Must be meant. He says life’s a mixture of suffering and boredom. You’ve got to have one or the other. His stuff’s full of snappy cracks like that. You’d enjoy it. Well, I’m going for a walk. You coming?"
"I don’t think I will, thanks."
"Just as you like. Schopenhauer says suicide’s absolutely OK. He says Hindoos do it instead of going to church. They bung themselves into the Ganges and get eaten by crocodiles and call it a well-spent day."
"What a lot you seem to know about Schopenhauer."
"I’ve been reading him up lately. Found a copy in the library. Schopenhauer says we are like lambs in a field, disporting themselves under the eye of the butcher, who chooses first one and then another for his prey."
"No."
"You should. Great stuff. Schopenhauer says that all the suffering in the world can’t be mere chance. Must be meant. He says life’s a mixture of suffering and boredom. You’ve got to have one or the other. His stuff’s full of snappy cracks like that. You’d enjoy it. Well, I’m going for a walk. You coming?"
"I don’t think I will, thanks."
"Just as you like. Schopenhauer says suicide’s absolutely OK. He says Hindoos do it instead of going to church. They bung themselves into the Ganges and get eaten by crocodiles and call it a well-spent day."
"What a lot you seem to know about Schopenhauer."
"I’ve been reading him up lately. Found a copy in the library. Schopenhauer says we are like lambs in a field, disporting themselves under the eye of the butcher, who chooses first one and then another for his prey."
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Out of Africa II
One of Africa's music icons - Angelique Kidjo. She must easily be the most famous Beninese by a million miles and more. (Capital of Benin, anyone?) Here she's performing Adouma - one of her populars track in 1994. Okay, the audio quality is pretty poor in this one.
Eight years later, Adouma was one of the most popular tracks in Carlos Santana's new CD, Shaman.The African charm of the song is quite lost in this piece Shaman Adouma
But it's fun watching two greats having so much fun - amost like watching Edberg play Becker or something...
Eight years later, Adouma was one of the most popular tracks in Carlos Santana's new CD, Shaman.The African charm of the song is quite lost in this piece Shaman Adouma
But it's fun watching two greats having so much fun - amost like watching Edberg play Becker or something...
Monday, May 10, 2010
El Secreto de sus ojos
El Secreto de sus ojos (The secret in their eyes) - the Argentiine film that won this year’s Oscar for foreign films. Title is kinda melodramatic but it quite good. May be, not as impressive as the Das Leben der anderen that won the Oscar 2 years back, but still. A detective story, a romance, a writer, soccer, Peronist political background, a good satisfying ending.... What more can you ask for? And Ricardo Darin, the superstar of Argentine filmdom, is very impressive.
Based on the novel La Pregunta da sus ojos (The question in their eyes). Come to think of it, that might have been a better title. But then again, you can't expect Latin american to 'tone it all the way down'.
Based on the novel La Pregunta da sus ojos (The question in their eyes). Come to think of it, that might have been a better title. But then again, you can't expect Latin american to 'tone it all the way down'.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Bend it unlike Beckham
I was watching Bend it like Beckham recently after a while, and I kept wondering about all this unfair hype about Beckham and his bender-freekicks. He’s certainly not the greatest bender-freekicker of his time. Here, watch this freekick by Roberto Carlos....
From a purely projectile-motion physics' perspective ( on a roll with my alliteration here...), watch the trajectory of Carlos’ kicking leg, the follow-through with his body, the cramped space between the right post and the goalie that he has to work with and of course, the trajectory of the ball. Makes one wonder as to why we design such sophisticated control systems to guide the trajectory of missiles and drones. Why not let Carlos and his Clones kick the missiles off literally. It’s as if he has a tracking system embedded in the ball with the exact path he had imagined in his mind...
I only hope that when they make a sequel to Bend it like Beckham, they’d name it Kick it like Karlos... (I know but alliteration is an important requirement for a movie title in this series)
From a purely projectile-motion physics' perspective ( on a roll with my alliteration here...), watch the trajectory of Carlos’ kicking leg, the follow-through with his body, the cramped space between the right post and the goalie that he has to work with and of course, the trajectory of the ball. Makes one wonder as to why we design such sophisticated control systems to guide the trajectory of missiles and drones. Why not let Carlos and his Clones kick the missiles off literally. It’s as if he has a tracking system embedded in the ball with the exact path he had imagined in his mind...
I only hope that when they make a sequel to Bend it like Beckham, they’d name it Kick it like Karlos... (I know but alliteration is an important requirement for a movie title in this series)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Discovering Club 8
It makes for a nice day, if you can discover something new that day. Not discover as in 'discover America' (WHAT? Some Columdufus has already done that? Damn! May be this could be my discovery for the day..) But something 'you' didn't know existed. Here's mine for today - Club 8, from Sweden. And here's their latest...
Club 8 - Western Hospitality
Club 8 - Western Hospitality
Baaba Maal is the man from Senegal.
I had assumed all along that when it comes to Senegalese music, Youssou N’dour was the man. Apparently, I was so yesterday. Or last century. Or whatever.... Not to take anything away from N’dour, it looks like Baaba Maal is the new man. From Dakar. Even their voices are similar.
Here's Television from his latest CD.
Here's Television from his latest CD.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Same Mantra, Different language...
Mahakaraunikaya Dharani in Chinese (Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin)
The first minute and a half or so, is the Nilakantha Dharani in Chinese - chanting of the 10 vows to Guan Shi yin, who is the chinese female version of the Avalokateshwara Bodhisattva.
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Zhi Yi Qie Fa!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao De Zhi Hui Yan!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Du Yi Qie Jong!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao De Shan Fang Bian!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Cheng Bo Re Chuan!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao De Yue Ku Hai!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su De Jie Ding Dao!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao Deng Nie Pan Shan!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Hui Wu Wei She!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao Tong Fa Xing Shen!
The Mahakarunikaya Dharani starts around the 3:04 mark with the 'na mo ho la da na do la ye ye'- and it's the longer version.
Back to the language thingy... you know listening to two people speak Chinese, you'd never believe that it could sound this sweet. And hear how the sanskrit 'namo' becomes'nammo' in Tibetan and split-syllable 'na mo' in Mandarin. Similarly, the oblation 'swaha' in sanskrit becomes 'shoha' in Tibetan and 'sa po hu' in chinese.
Neat isnt' t, how everything gets broken down into simple syllables in chinese?
Never thought that you could find common roots between Indian langauges and chinese, unlike european languages like English, French, German, Spanish, Italian where the etymological roots of many words are one and the same.
I wanted to write a bit about the first time I heard this when I was in Beijing. Some other time...
Mahakarunikaya Dharani (pinyin)
1. na mo ho la da na do la ye ye,
2. na mo o li ye,
3. po lu jie di sho bo la ye,
4. pu ti sa do po ye,
5. mo hu sa do po ye,
6. mo hu jia lu ni jia ye,
7. un sa bo la fa yi,
8. su da na da sia,
9. na mo si ji li do yi mung o li ye,
10. po lu ji di, she fo la ling to po,
11. na mo na la jin che,
12. si li mo ho po do sha me,
13. sa po wo to do shu pung,
14. wo si yun,
15. sa po sa do na mo po sa do na mo po che,
16. mo fa tu do,
17. da dzu to,
18. on, o po lu si,
19. lu jia di,
20. jia lo di,
21. yi si li,
22. mo ho pu ti sa do,
23. sa po sa po,
24. mo la mo la,
25. mo si mo si li to yin,
26. ji lu ju lu, jie mong,
27. du lu du lu fa shu ye di,
28. mo hu fa shu ye di,
29. to la to la,
30. di li ni,
31. shi fo la ye,
32. zhe la zhe la,
33. mo mo, fa mo la,
34. mu di li,
35. yi si yi si,
36. shi na shi na,
37. o la su, fo la so li,
38. fa sha fa su,
39. fo la shu ye,
40. hu lu hu lu mo la,
41. hu lu hu lu si li,
42. so la so la,
43. si li si li,
44. su lu su lu,
45. pu ti ye, pu ti ye,
46. pu to ye, pu to ye,
47. mi di li ye,
48. na la jin che,
49. di li so ni na,
50. po ye mo na,
51. sa po hu,
52. si to ye,
53. sa po hu,
54. mo ho si to ye,
55. sa po hu,
56. si to yu yi,
57. shi bo la ye,
58. sa po hu,
59. na la jin che,
60. sa po hu,
61. mo la na la,
62. sa po hu,
63. si la son o mo chi ye,
64. sa po hu,
65. sa po mo ho o si to ye,
66. sa po hu,
67. zhe ji la o xi to ye,
68. sa po hu,
69. bo fo mo jie si to ye,
70. sa po hu,
71. na la jin chu bo che la ye,
72. sa po hu,
73. mo po li song ji la ye,
74. sa po hu,
75. na mo ho la ta nu do la ye ye,
76. na mo o li ye,
77. po lu ji di,
78. sho bo la ye,
79. sa po hu,
80. un si den,
81. man do la,
82. ba to ye,
83. sa po hu.
The first minute and a half or so, is the Nilakantha Dharani in Chinese - chanting of the 10 vows to Guan Shi yin, who is the chinese female version of the Avalokateshwara Bodhisattva.
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Zhi Yi Qie Fa!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao De Zhi Hui Yan!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Du Yi Qie Jong!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao De Shan Fang Bian!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Cheng Bo Re Chuan!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao De Yue Ku Hai!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su De Jie Ding Dao!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao Deng Nie Pan Shan!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Su Hui Wu Wei She!
Na Mo Da Bei Guan Shi Yin, Yuan Wo Zao Tong Fa Xing Shen!
The Mahakarunikaya Dharani starts around the 3:04 mark with the 'na mo ho la da na do la ye ye'- and it's the longer version.
Back to the language thingy... you know listening to two people speak Chinese, you'd never believe that it could sound this sweet. And hear how the sanskrit 'namo' becomes'nammo' in Tibetan and split-syllable 'na mo' in Mandarin. Similarly, the oblation 'swaha' in sanskrit becomes 'shoha' in Tibetan and 'sa po hu' in chinese.
Neat isnt' t, how everything gets broken down into simple syllables in chinese?
Never thought that you could find common roots between Indian langauges and chinese, unlike european languages like English, French, German, Spanish, Italian where the etymological roots of many words are one and the same.
I wanted to write a bit about the first time I heard this when I was in Beijing. Some other time...
Mahakarunikaya Dharani (pinyin)
1. na mo ho la da na do la ye ye,
2. na mo o li ye,
3. po lu jie di sho bo la ye,
4. pu ti sa do po ye,
5. mo hu sa do po ye,
6. mo hu jia lu ni jia ye,
7. un sa bo la fa yi,
8. su da na da sia,
9. na mo si ji li do yi mung o li ye,
10. po lu ji di, she fo la ling to po,
11. na mo na la jin che,
12. si li mo ho po do sha me,
13. sa po wo to do shu pung,
14. wo si yun,
15. sa po sa do na mo po sa do na mo po che,
16. mo fa tu do,
17. da dzu to,
18. on, o po lu si,
19. lu jia di,
20. jia lo di,
21. yi si li,
22. mo ho pu ti sa do,
23. sa po sa po,
24. mo la mo la,
25. mo si mo si li to yin,
26. ji lu ju lu, jie mong,
27. du lu du lu fa shu ye di,
28. mo hu fa shu ye di,
29. to la to la,
30. di li ni,
31. shi fo la ye,
32. zhe la zhe la,
33. mo mo, fa mo la,
34. mu di li,
35. yi si yi si,
36. shi na shi na,
37. o la su, fo la so li,
38. fa sha fa su,
39. fo la shu ye,
40. hu lu hu lu mo la,
41. hu lu hu lu si li,
42. so la so la,
43. si li si li,
44. su lu su lu,
45. pu ti ye, pu ti ye,
46. pu to ye, pu to ye,
47. mi di li ye,
48. na la jin che,
49. di li so ni na,
50. po ye mo na,
51. sa po hu,
52. si to ye,
53. sa po hu,
54. mo ho si to ye,
55. sa po hu,
56. si to yu yi,
57. shi bo la ye,
58. sa po hu,
59. na la jin che,
60. sa po hu,
61. mo la na la,
62. sa po hu,
63. si la son o mo chi ye,
64. sa po hu,
65. sa po mo ho o si to ye,
66. sa po hu,
67. zhe ji la o xi to ye,
68. sa po hu,
69. bo fo mo jie si to ye,
70. sa po hu,
71. na la jin chu bo che la ye,
72. sa po hu,
73. mo po li song ji la ye,
74. sa po hu,
75. na mo ho la ta nu do la ye ye,
76. na mo o li ye,
77. po lu ji di,
78. sho bo la ye,
79. sa po hu,
80. un si den,
81. man do la,
82. ba to ye,
83. sa po hu.
The Mahakaraunikaya Dharani
As the Dalai Lama - someone I have enormous respect for - visits the WH, here's a music track that I've become very fond of - The Mahakarunikaya Dharani (The mantra of Great compassion)...
The Mantra:
Nammo Ratna Trayaya
Nammo Arya Chyana SagaraVairochyana,
Byuhara Chyara Tathagataya
Allahate, Samyaksam Buddhaya
Namo Sathwa Tathagate Bhyay
Allahata Bhyah, Samyaksam Buddhe
BhyahNamo Arya Avalokite
Shoraya Bodhisattvaya
Maha Sattvaya, Maha Karunikaya
Tadyata Om Dara Dara
Diri Diri, Duru Duru
Itte We, Ittiye Chalye Chale
Purachale Purachale
Kusume Kusuma Wa Re
Ili Milli, Chiti Chvahalam, Apanaya Shoha...
The Mantra:
Nammo Ratna Trayaya
Nammo Arya Chyana SagaraVairochyana,
Byuhara Chyara Tathagataya
Allahate, Samyaksam Buddhaya
Namo Sathwa Tathagate Bhyay
Allahata Bhyah, Samyaksam Buddhe
BhyahNamo Arya Avalokite
Shoraya Bodhisattvaya
Maha Sattvaya, Maha Karunikaya
Tadyata Om Dara Dara
Diri Diri, Duru Duru
Itte We, Ittiye Chalye Chale
Purachale Purachale
Kusume Kusuma Wa Re
Ili Milli, Chiti Chvahalam, Apanaya Shoha...
Draussen Am See
Draussen Am See (Losing Balance)...
Nice film... I have been quite lucky with my choice of german films.. I saw Das Leben Der Anderen (The lives of others) long before it was in the Oscar race. Oh, and though it was not in german, The Reader - for which Kate Winslett won the oscar - was great too...
In Draussen Am See, Elisa Schlott plays the teen-aged protagonist is a delightful precocious kid, with her penchant for collecting and remembering cute factoids at odd moments. She seems like a mix of Abigail Bresslin, Dakota Fanning and Drew Barrymore from her ET days.
Once I never thought I would say this - that I'm beginning to find the German language euphonic. I always thought German was a much harsher/harder language - like the Slavic languages than say, French. Plus the german accent tends itself to be parodies so much on TV comedies here. May be....
But just listening to Jessika (Elisa) shout 'Ja ein mehr,' (Yes, one more) as she rides on the pillion. Okay it's also her almost-babyish voice, but it sounds so mellifluous. I think I'm turning into a germanophile too...
Nice film... I have been quite lucky with my choice of german films.. I saw Das Leben Der Anderen (The lives of others) long before it was in the Oscar race. Oh, and though it was not in german, The Reader - for which Kate Winslett won the oscar - was great too...
In Draussen Am See, Elisa Schlott plays the teen-aged protagonist is a delightful precocious kid, with her penchant for collecting and remembering cute factoids at odd moments. She seems like a mix of Abigail Bresslin, Dakota Fanning and Drew Barrymore from her ET days.
Once I never thought I would say this - that I'm beginning to find the German language euphonic. I always thought German was a much harsher/harder language - like the Slavic languages than say, French. Plus the german accent tends itself to be parodies so much on TV comedies here. May be....
But just listening to Jessika (Elisa) shout 'Ja ein mehr,' (Yes, one more) as she rides on the pillion. Okay it's also her almost-babyish voice, but it sounds so mellifluous. I think I'm turning into a germanophile too...