There's a song in this heart of mine...

This post is not to give gyan as usual but to rave about some beautiful songs that I have heard in recent (or maybe not-so-recent) times. I dont know (and maybe dont care) how many people will agree with me but I like these songs nevertheless. So, here goes:
1. Chalo, tumko lekar chalein from Jism: Shreya's voice, expressions and the lyrics make this song an out-of-the-world experience!!
2. Jadoo hai Nasha hai (again) from Jism: I hate the duet but the solo by Shreya again is a treat! After these 2 songs from Jism and Bairi Piya from Devdas, I'm completely in love with this girl's voice. Hats off to her!
3. Sajna ve sajna from Chameli: This song has a very sweet memory associated it. One of my close pals from college got married last year. During the sangeet ceremony, she had performed for this song (yes, the bride performed/ danced during the sangeet ceremony of her wedding!). The song was so situational and meaningful that I was bowled over.
4. Kaatril Varum Geethame from Oru Naal Oru Kanavu-A beautiful song with good synchronisation among the singers. A good blend of Carnatic music and ghazal form. 'Halka halka-sa yeh nasha' from Chocolate in Hindi is also a good example of excellent synchronisation and good lyrics.
5. Pani Thuli and Kanda Naal Mudhalaai from Kanda Naal Mudhal-The former is a wonderful duet except for the jarring chorus bit. Kudos to Shreya once more and KK. The beats are not conventional and make a good impact. Kanda Naal Mudhalaai reminds me of the classical numbers from Alai Paayuthey and Kandukonden Kandukonden.
6. Noothana from Karka kasadara: A very different song. I love the combination of beats, flute and violin. Somehow, reminds me of 'Thom Thom Thithithom' and 'Narumugaiye', both excellent numbers! 'Minmini Kangalil' from the same movie is also worth a hear because of the violin bits but Sadhana Sargam's pronunciation puts one off. This one is similar to the umpteen heroine introduction numbers, the best of them being "Chinna chinna aasai" from Roja.
Other recent favourites already feature on everybody's favourite list. So, I prefer to restrict the list to the above melodious numbers. But who knows, as I listen to more songs, I may add sequels to this post:))
Signing off with a few favourite lines from a song that I just remembered for no specific reason:
"You know, I love the rain,
I love the rain..
There's a song in this heart of mine,
There's a smile on my face everytime
Because I love the rain!"

What we have always known

Again, there's been a long gap between my last post and this one. I will not claim the dumb reason of not having time. It is just that I have been feeling for quite some time now that, "Who am I to comment on something?" Even now, I am writing not because I wanted to voice my opinion on a topic. I just wanted to put down a few stray thoughts into words so that I can mull over them further. Last weekend, I had registered to attend the Landmark Forum. For people who asked me what it is, I couldn't really say anything beyond "It is a self-development programme". I attended it on Friday from 9 am to 12 am (midnight) and decided that I wasn't really doing it out of my own interest but just because I couldn't say 'no' to my brother who recommended me to it. It is so easy, isn't it-putting the blame on others? Anyway, my other reason was if I continued the 9 am to midnight schedule on Saturday and Sunday as well, I would be too exhausted to attend office on Monday. So, I silenced the little voice in my head which was telling me, "Oh! But you are wasting so much money!" and skipped the course on Saturday and Sunday. Mind you, I did not find anything wrong with the course. I would still recommend it to people who want to better the quality of their lives by overcoming shortcomings.
The thought that surprised and annoyed me was that most of what self-development books and courses tell us are what we have always known. "Be authentic","Be forgiving","Don't read more meaning into things than what they actually are" and so on. As the instructor of the course said, "Do you take notes to learn and remember how to ride a bicycle?" Or walk? Or speak? These are things that just get imbibed and stay on. You never really forget them. Then, why do we need other people and situations to remind us about our humane side? When and how do we stop being considerate?
The flip side of this is I know I am not a saint and I don't think anybody is. So, why do self-development books and courses tell us to be saints? To never lose our temper? To forgive wrongs that others do to us and not nurse grudges? So, is sanity in striking a balance between both the above and continue to be what we are?

Make me not God Almighty,
Nor in the Devil's league, do consider me .
Let me just be human but
What is it to be human, can you tell me?