Miminality

Day 14: A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love

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I sometimes feel dismal about the Hindi songs I must put up for this challenge. There are songs I like more but cannot find a category in this list to fit into. I quite enjoy the song I’m going to post right now, even though it probably won’t feature among my top ten favourite songs from Bollywood. The point of this category is to post a song that no one would expect me to love, right?

So yeah, the main love song from a wholesome, family-watching-type Bollywood film is usually not my cup of tea. (The song that features in the first trailer, you know what I mean.) The Udit Narayan-Sonu Nigam (or alternately Alka Yagnik et al) school of melodious love-song voice leaves me out cold. I like the second or third song from the soundtrack of a regular Bollywood film, if at all. I like a well-written item number — all the good poetry and good singing these days can be found in item numbers. Unfortunately enough, I really like the main love song from this film that’s absolutely rubbish otherwise. Its words are stuck in my head. The singing (guess what? Udit Narayan!) and arrangement are unremarkable, but the faint touch of the transcendental in the lyrics absolutely does me in.

Day 4: Favourite Book Of Your Favourite Series

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It is quite unfair to ask me to pick my favourite Discworld book. I’ve read them for too long and under too many moods, I’ve grown up with them and returned to certain books one or two years later to discover entirely different points of joy. The world of the series is too large and diverse. There are too many characters and too many trajectories, and I have my favourites among all of them. I don’t know how to choose one over the others, so I’ll make up this post with the two books that I’ve gone back most often to read. These would be:

Both are Ankh-Morpork books and by listing them I feel I’m doing injustice to the Ramtops witches, to Death, and even to Rincewind and the wizards of the Unseen University. Too many excellent characters and stories are being left out. If you haven’t read Discworld, this post and the last will do no justice to it at all.
On the other hand, if you have, let this be my opportunity to entreat you to wear lilac two days from now in honour of Truth, Justice, Reasonably Priced Love and (not to forget) A Hard-Boiled Egg.

Day 13: A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure

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Because I can’t be bothered to look up a song from a band I hate, I’m skipping right over to Day 13: A Song That Is A Guilty Pleasure. The song I’ll earn the hatred of multitudes for liking. The song even Britney Spears refused to sing. Presenting to you:

It’s one of those things like shopping, brand-whoring and calorie-watching that ‘intelligent women’ indulge in and absolutely refuse to admit. (I shall plead guilty to two of the three charges myself.) All in all, if you don’t find that hook ridiculously catchy, well, expect me to disagree.

Day 3: Your Favourite Series

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There was a time when the only attraction of going to the library was to borrow a new Discworld book. (School texts and other ‘necessary’ books were only the veneer.) This could be an entirely Discworld meme instead and I would’ve had no difficulty in filling it up at all.

What can I write about this series? I’ve often started and then backed away from trying to analyze it; I’ve tried to write fanfic and been hit by serious inferiority complex; and anyway, more or less all the intelligent people I know have read most of the books. I’m tempted to fill this post with pictures, since I love Paul Kidby‘s illustrations almost as much as I love the books themselves. (But if I begin with pictures, this post will never end.) Never have I suffered from a worse ‘literary anxiety’ than Pratchett’s Alzheimer’s. Never have I so constantly prayed that anyone should write one more book before he gives up for good. (The ‘one more book’ wish keeps being extended, of course. The next book — called Snuff — is to be published in October and I can hardly keep myself calm! A Vimes story! The cover is already out!) The day there will be no more Discworld to look forward to will be the day I’ll be truly, completely sad. Like all great anticipated tragedies, I try not to think about it or believe it will actually come.

Day 11: A Song From Your Favourite Artist/Band

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The first song I heard from the man, and although I’ve come to love almost everything else by him, this one still makes my day every time I listen to it. Adapted from a poem by another favourite poet, one I had translated (a little differently) in second year. This song has been very much of an obsession for very many years.

(And this is the first time I saw the video. Thought I would mention.)