Curtains raise...let the ten-headed evil mind come...

Raavan has come, riding with it expectations as heavy as anything, yielding his ten heads and ten minds on a horseback. Two names is enough to make you swirl around with expectations at this album- Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman.

Without giving verdicts, I'll get straight to scrutinizing all the songs.
Beera Beera

Obviously an introduction song for the main character in this movie- Abhishek's Raavan. Set against the backdrop of a rural area, the song has an unique mixture of African and Indian folk, and the result is just as good as any. AR Rahman hits the notes right once again to bring out the entire environment and a glimpse peering into Raavan's characterization. The song oozes with energy, and celebrates Raavan to the tilt. Vijay Prakash has become such a favorite of Rahman's that he is being used in all colors of songs by Rahman in recent times, coming in the back of the super-melodious 'Hosanna' in VTV, he's here stretching his vocals for 'Beera', accompanied by Mustafa Kutoane.

Now you are in the vehicle, you know the atmosphere, a solid start to the album.

Ranjha Ranjha

Don't expect a Tere Bina in Raavan. Obviously Ratnam has set the tone for all of Raavan's songs to fit a more situational frame, in flow with the entire narrative structure; and Ranjha epitomizes that perfectly. Rekha Bhardwaj dominates with her impeccable rendering, and once again ARR throws in a surprise with Javed Ali sounding unconventional supporting the vocals.

This song too brings out the vague smell of the terrains of the more rural areas in Madya Pradesh, which is where the film is mostly set in. Full of life and full of environment (atypical of ARR), Ranjha is just as pleasing.

And we go on knowing its getting better.
Tonk De Killi

Look for the name Sukhwinder Singh, and you'd know what to expect right away. The song is absolutely high on spirits, the sounds and beats staying with the environment of the album so far. Nothing too spectacular, but good nevertheless, but might end up looking as exquisite as anything on the screen. Earmarked.

Khilli Re

If I had not mentioned it so far, Aishwarya Rai plays a singing tutor in this movie, and this song definitely has something to do with that fact. For some reason reminds me of Thalapathy's Yamunai Aatrile. Minimal instruments, mainly classical, with the full scope given for Reena Bhardwaj to take centre stage and deliver the best of her vocal capacities.

Breezy.

Kata Kata

Remember 'Rukumani Rukumani' from Roja? Mani and ARR revisit among their first ever hits together with Kata Kata, which is also a song about a newly married couple, but the beats is even more livelier, and seems to go one better than the classic hit 18 years ago.

Just like 'Beera', the orchestration is heavy and vociferous, and ARR even interludes at some points. Listen to it a couple of times, and you are tapping your feet at the really catchy beats- ranking right beside Alaipayuthey's 'Yaro Yarodi' in terms of overall impact.

Very Good.

Behene De

A killer of a song. Karthik is sensational once again in this situational song that definitely to be used as an all-important number to move the story. Infused with such passion and deliverance of atmosphere, Behene De makes for a good impression.

On an overall note, Mani and ARR prove once again that they are in their own league. ARR still gives his best for Mani, and Mani still extracts the very best of Rahman. And that magical combination wouldn't waver anytime soon. 18 June shall come, and I'd be among the first to grab the tickets.

Come with your ten heads, ten minds, and a hundred voices Mani. I'm awaiting it.

Verdict: 9/10

Why we need to grow up?

Grow up. Grow up. Stop acting like a kid.

We probably have heard this statement repeated over in almost every household there is in this country- after a certain age, parents, or any elders that be, would nail the point hard through to the teenagers- the time has come for us to start acting adults. We need to talk mature, learn how to live (or survive), be cunning enough in our acts not to be taken advantage upon, learn how to earn money, not to be choosy, not to ask too many questions, and just live with a given situation.

You are walking flanked at either side by few of the most significant peoples of your life, on the midriff on a Sunday afternoon, the sun blazing nakedly over the horizon, unleashing its utmost ray- literally bathing you in sweat. You obviously don't like it, you have walked a far distance, and there's still that substantial amount of journey to go. Suddenly you see an elegant-looking car swoosh past you at the highways, covered in hue dark tinted windows, barely revealing the individuals inside. An element on mystery, an epitome of comfort. You envy at that drive, you wish immediately that you are in that car, and you tell yourself you will be in that car one day.

Few years later, you are in a very similar car, breezing past the terrains- watching from the cold, cozy comfort inside your car- and you witness a flock of people walking and talking with each other. You look at the vast spaces of your car and there you are, driving alone, and for the split moment, you'd think you make do without your shades, comfort, and elegance if you could take that walk again- flanked by people you love talking to, making them laugh and letting them make you laugh. You want, for once, for the journey to last longer so that you feel fulfilled when you reach home. What's the point of running to the destination? That one day in your life in which you will look back and say you wish- it will come.

Only that there is no reprieve when you are driving. You tell to someone the stories of your past, but indulging in past won't yield you a bread for the future, you have been told. On that ashen-faced day when you are actually sweating and walking, you take a cold drink with the people around you and bask at the great relief it provides. You don't feel like you need to be in that car anymore, all there is is a flicker of light in your eyes, gazing the future, imagining the day when you will have that elegant car in your possession, but with these people still around you, to enjoy it alongside you.

When you do drive, you realize you don't have time for that people anymore. They don't have time for you. All of you, as simple as it gets, have grown up. You have attained your pursuit, but why you wanted that pursuit in the first place has been long blown away with the wind- now brushing off the eyes and the minds of another young person, standing aloft with the world at his disposal- or so he thinks.

And then you think- that's life. And you say it with a sigh.

But why do we grow up? Why that maniacal need to grow up? It was once said that kids are God's favorite children. Ever wondered why? Is it just because they are small, innocent, unknowing? The answer is no. A child asks questions aplenty. Why is that tree green?- a child might ask. Why is the sky blue? Why don't rainbows last forever? Can we go nearer to those stars? What's beyond those skies? Why is this man begging to earn money? Can't we help him? How many countries are there in this world? Can we go around the world one day? Can we go to the sea?

What happens to all these questions? Do you get answers for them as you grow up? Obviously you don't. You just cease to ask those questions anymore- because you are told, those questions are not part of life as they say it is. Are they not? Have you figured out what life is all about? For sitting in your balcony one day and gazing into an empty space, sighing, and saying 'that's life' within the frames of your mind doesn't seem an exactly glittering way to look back at the form of life.

How do we smile when we look back? Only if we had had the courage to pursue what our hearts wanted. It's like a loose string when you let your heart rule you in life- instead of the more disciplined, rigid spaces of your brain with spoon-fed ideas, the heart's desires take you places, makes you take risks, makes you fall into deep wells, yet clamber back up to redeem yourself. The heart makes this life an incessant journey as long as there is breath in that body of yours.

And to pursue the heart's desires in the purest of senses, one must first have the ability to look at this world the way the eyes of a kid would look at it. Why shy away from questions? Do we, as the ever self-conscious adults that we are cultivated into, know all the answers that be regarding what life is all about, or even the world? We do not know anything, no matter if we are adults or kids. Why then, shouldn't we ask questions? Only then can we open new avenues for ourselves, can we conquer uncharted territories. Why look at life through the confinements of what the society thinks life is made up of? Look at the world and life, and start asking questions. You will realize there are much more answers to be found out there-- enough answers to last a lifetime. Stop sitting around, and start to make that journey that improve you as a person with every little baby steps you take. You won't end your life knowing everything even when you do that, but when you reach that twilight zone, you will know that you treated life as a journey that its supposed to be, and that you have traveled as far as you could.

The world is always at our disposal- waiting to be discovered, new wonders waiting to be unearthed. Only if you make that journey will you understand what's beyond those stars, and what's beyond those horizons. Some of us think we can't find answers by traveling at the very surface of this earth, but lest do we realize, the answers for everything in life lies right around you.

Can you be a kid again, attain that innocence and purity again, and ask those questions again, with an urge to discover?

The lines of a traveler

Oh traveler,
You shall go on.

Behold,
The beauty of this world,

Forget your sorrows,
Bask in the blossoming of that new flower,

And embrace the colors of this world.

This path now tells me,
Someone, somewhere is waiting for you,

Why this restlesness?
Whom shall I meet in this journey?

It might be that your destiny,
Is about to happen.

For that oh traveler,
You shall go on.

For life is a vehicle,
And time are the wheels.

The is a river of tears,
And a garden of joy,

The journey is yours to travel,
Oh traveler.

Whenever I gaze through and beyond these paths,
Colors flicker across my eyes.

There's a cool breeze that tells me to keep going,
And I wonder whose village may be beyond those terrains,

The clouds have moved apart,
I could only see the clear sky,
How far has my heart brought me- I wonder;
For with each new step, I beckon a new dream,
And the journey prolongs.

Every single dream does come true,
Oh traveler,

If only you lit every passion of yours with the ray of love,
And choose the path your heart points out to you.

Time is an oyster,
Travel with love,
Oh traveler,
And you shall find the pearls in every oyster there is
All by listening to your heart.

Why does my heart feel light?
As if the breeze has carried off with it all the burdens of distress,
As if I am once again a kid,
Untainted, Innocent,
Gasping at wonder at every new nook this world has to offer,
And finding answers for every little question I ask myself.

I am wet, fresh,
Dipped in pure water,
Cleansing myself with only the forthcoming journey beckoning me.

My heart has only excitement,
Bonds are renewed and ebbed,
Life feels new.

There's love in my life,
There's a song on my lips,

This is the only ingredient of victory,
Oh traveler,
For those who can love purely can conquer your paths.

Wherever you shall go,
Never shall you lose love.

Light the lamp of love,
And brighten every road you travel on,
For it will make your paths visible.

Oh traveler,
Who is there calling out to me?

I look at the river, the mountain, the lakes, the streams and the jungles,
All seem to signify a sign,
Whose signs are these?
What are they trying to tell me?

Go on,
Oh traveler,
Destiny beckons.

All that She is.

She loves coffee.

She's hyperactive at late nights.

She hates chocolates.

A sucker for shoes.

A Gossip Girl freak.

She dies for Harry Potter and anything to do with it.

She reads Enid Blyton to pass a short leisure time.

She can 'ter'-sleep whenever she's on the bed.

Her nails are always polished with various colors.

She's obsessed with Anushka Sharma.

Milo is her diet drink, and also the only remote form of chocolate she consumes.

She tortures her roommates by singing to them.

She's a no.1 person.

If allowed, she'd stare at me the whole day.

Gulab Jamun- another one of her obsessions.

Penang is the best place in the world for her.

Hanuman is like her imaginary friend, at all times.

She says I make her heart smile.

Little things makes her happy.

She has the best smile in the whole freakin world.

She can go on and on and on, and I can listen and listen and listen, and never ask her to stop.

She can be utterly childish and amazingly adult at the same time.

She can write, but she doesn't.

She dislikes labs for one main reason- she has to cut her nails.

She loves to cross her legs.

She hardly drags her feet.

She has fears- fears that makes me take her in my arms.

She has strength- strength that makes me lean on her shoulders.

If nobody ever says a word against it, her whole room will end up flooded in pink.

Green are Red is what you will see associated with her when Pink is absent.

If you see a salon, then watch for her gaze.

Food is the main reason why she loves this country.

UK is where the fairytale future lies for her.

She'd sleep on a bed of tulips.

If there is a personality test, the teacher will suspect her of having copied me blatantly, even though we didn't sit beside each other.

She loves being hugged from behind.

She's a Vijay fan...duh

AND

She is what Love is all about.