Saturday, December 31, 2005
An introspective reflection of 2005
Those who live intensely in the present will shape the future. That has been the ubiquituous theme in everything I dedicated myself to over the past year- be it saving up the little that I had, to afford a trip to the ecologically abounding regions of Central America; or a race against all odds and time to write up a statement of purpose for graduate school, which ideally requires limitless thought, foresight and a bit of soul searching; or, the ongoing fight to succeed in graduate school.
Then there's my time in Turkey, which left me constantly grappling with reality to wade past the tumltuous, often incomprehensible day to day challenges in Adana and still give holistic meaning to my three months there. There were times when I wanted nothing to do with sultry Adana, my unpredictable boss and the hell hole of an apartment I lived in. But more often than not, and in retrospect thankfully, the optimist in me surfaced. Each day was a battle. A battle to not wholly submit to the emotional vagaries of the moment and thus loose sight of the ulterior goal of such an immersion experience. One might argue that the three months is nothing in comparison to say a year or two years. I agree, and infact I am confident had I chosen to survive those same conditions for longer I would be a different person today. To date, I have infinite respect for my good Romanian friend Liviu who had survived close to two years under those very circumstances, while living off a meagre salary. When I met him, about a year and a half into his experience, he had already "come of age" and had amassed sufficient wisdom to guide him through it all. There were others who I met who could barely muster enough courage to survive a month of it. In this light, I have infinite respect for individuals who can leave their comfort zone, sans a preconcieved mindset, and set forth on a capricious journey into foreign lands that is guaranteed to change you for life. That to me is the essence of "nomadlife." All in all, my experience in Turkey any day over a khushy job with a renowned corporation anywhere. Certainly, at this age I am best poised to take on the former while the latter could come whenever and I would be ready for it.
Hands down, the most intense experience for me this past year has been keeping my head above water in graduate school. My decision to postpone my entry into the corporate world and instead stay in school has had me quesitioning my rationale and goals from the outset. Having successfully survived what was possibly the hardest semester of my life, I can confidently say I have adapted well to academia, at the graduate level. Infact, I have taken such a liking to it, I am now entertaining the possibility of staying in school a little longer to get the appropriate credentials that I will need to do the work I want to do. What the latter is I will save for a later post.
The next year looks a lot more predictable than did 2005, when it came about. I am not the sort of person to make resolutions or publicly announce my personal goals, especially at the dawn of a brand-spanking-new year. But, out of all that I could wish for in 2006, I have two simple desires. To unearth the beauty of the national parks that this country boasts of and touch foot on atleast two new countries - one of them being Canada.
With that, I wish you a fantastic year ahead and for all you beatnicks, hipsters, travel whores, corporate figureheads, shamans, lovebirds and fools let this be the most intense year you have lived thus far. Shalom.
Then there's my time in Turkey, which left me constantly grappling with reality to wade past the tumltuous, often incomprehensible day to day challenges in Adana and still give holistic meaning to my three months there. There were times when I wanted nothing to do with sultry Adana, my unpredictable boss and the hell hole of an apartment I lived in. But more often than not, and in retrospect thankfully, the optimist in me surfaced. Each day was a battle. A battle to not wholly submit to the emotional vagaries of the moment and thus loose sight of the ulterior goal of such an immersion experience. One might argue that the three months is nothing in comparison to say a year or two years. I agree, and infact I am confident had I chosen to survive those same conditions for longer I would be a different person today. To date, I have infinite respect for my good Romanian friend Liviu who had survived close to two years under those very circumstances, while living off a meagre salary. When I met him, about a year and a half into his experience, he had already "come of age" and had amassed sufficient wisdom to guide him through it all. There were others who I met who could barely muster enough courage to survive a month of it. In this light, I have infinite respect for individuals who can leave their comfort zone, sans a preconcieved mindset, and set forth on a capricious journey into foreign lands that is guaranteed to change you for life. That to me is the essence of "nomadlife." All in all, my experience in Turkey any day over a khushy job with a renowned corporation anywhere. Certainly, at this age I am best poised to take on the former while the latter could come whenever and I would be ready for it.
Hands down, the most intense experience for me this past year has been keeping my head above water in graduate school. My decision to postpone my entry into the corporate world and instead stay in school has had me quesitioning my rationale and goals from the outset. Having successfully survived what was possibly the hardest semester of my life, I can confidently say I have adapted well to academia, at the graduate level. Infact, I have taken such a liking to it, I am now entertaining the possibility of staying in school a little longer to get the appropriate credentials that I will need to do the work I want to do. What the latter is I will save for a later post.
The next year looks a lot more predictable than did 2005, when it came about. I am not the sort of person to make resolutions or publicly announce my personal goals, especially at the dawn of a brand-spanking-new year. But, out of all that I could wish for in 2006, I have two simple desires. To unearth the beauty of the national parks that this country boasts of and touch foot on atleast two new countries - one of them being Canada.
With that, I wish you a fantastic year ahead and for all you beatnicks, hipsters, travel whores, corporate figureheads, shamans, lovebirds and fools let this be the most intense year you have lived thus far. Shalom.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Iron like a lion in Zion
To see a world in a grain of sand
And heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
and Eternity in an hour - Shakespeare
Just returned from Nevada and Utah. Couldn't have asked for a better trip to bring closure to this year. More to come. Boston bound.
And heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
and Eternity in an hour - Shakespeare
Just returned from Nevada and Utah. Couldn't have asked for a better trip to bring closure to this year. More to come. Boston bound.
.Sunday, December 11, 2005
Anthems of the week
It feels like ages since I spent an unhealthy amount of time roaming the vacuity of cyber space aimlessly. Ok, its been a little over a week but thats what we blog addicts call withdrawal symptom. The last week of class had me "in the zone" switching between one hundred odd tasks. It took large overdoses of caffeine and several snow fights to get me through the week. I am slowly but surely mastering the art of being a full-time insomniac. It ain't over; in fact I am still in the thick of it but I want to believe the worst is behind me.
Moving on, so the primary inspiration for this blog post is mama Africa and the sweet sounding music that she has borne fruit to over the years. On any given day I average anywhere between five to twenty different radio stations, most of them online. Shoutcast is up there always - gives me everything from heart racing trance to reggaeton to music straight from the streets of Ivory Coast. Couldn't ask for much more of an eclectic variety. This evening, by sheer luck I tuned into this quality African radio show that played some spectacular tunes, all of which get voted as 'anthems of the week.' They had this live rendition of Jorge Ben's "Samba Esquema Novo" by Miriam Makeba which needless to say was awesome. Two other songs were equally outstanding and warrant a post.
The first is, well, the good old classic "Yeke Yeke" by the world famous, legendary griot from Mali - Mory Kante. If you haven't heard "yeke yeke" then do yourself a favor and check it out here. Catchy isn't the world. Mory Kante's music is phenomenal and his life story should be an inspiration to us all.
And the next song is apparently the biggest African hit since "yeke yeke" which is saying a lot because "yeke yeke" came out a while ago, in the early eighties. This one is called "Premier Gaou" by this group from Ivory Coast called Magic System. I remember listening to this song while sipping on some Gulder with Jesse on bar beach in Lagos last December. Never heard it since. Sadly, I can't seem to find a copy of the song online to showcase its simplistic brilliance.
Africa never dissapoints. The variety of music that the continent produces is mindblowing. Its a pittance that they are so under represented in the international arena. Oh well, my respect goes out to the supporters, ethnomusicologists, fanatics and music makers who are keeping the true spirit of music making alive in the continent.
Moving on, so the primary inspiration for this blog post is mama Africa and the sweet sounding music that she has borne fruit to over the years. On any given day I average anywhere between five to twenty different radio stations, most of them online. Shoutcast is up there always - gives me everything from heart racing trance to reggaeton to music straight from the streets of Ivory Coast. Couldn't ask for much more of an eclectic variety. This evening, by sheer luck I tuned into this quality African radio show that played some spectacular tunes, all of which get voted as 'anthems of the week.' They had this live rendition of Jorge Ben's "Samba Esquema Novo" by Miriam Makeba which needless to say was awesome. Two other songs were equally outstanding and warrant a post.
The first is, well, the good old classic "Yeke Yeke" by the world famous, legendary griot from Mali - Mory Kante. If you haven't heard "yeke yeke" then do yourself a favor and check it out here. Catchy isn't the world. Mory Kante's music is phenomenal and his life story should be an inspiration to us all.
And the next song is apparently the biggest African hit since "yeke yeke" which is saying a lot because "yeke yeke" came out a while ago, in the early eighties. This one is called "Premier Gaou" by this group from Ivory Coast called Magic System. I remember listening to this song while sipping on some Gulder with Jesse on bar beach in Lagos last December. Never heard it since. Sadly, I can't seem to find a copy of the song online to showcase its simplistic brilliance.
Africa never dissapoints. The variety of music that the continent produces is mindblowing. Its a pittance that they are so under represented in the international arena. Oh well, my respect goes out to the supporters, ethnomusicologists, fanatics and music makers who are keeping the true spirit of music making alive in the continent.
