Kangal Irandal from Subramaniapuram

A beautiful song composed in Reetigowlai - here is a snippet sung by yours truly.

Chand Phir Nikla - Paying Guest

This song is so beautiful! Mahita posted it on her facebook wall and it was just too beautiful to not sing. So, here is my version :)

Moon Song - Karen O - Her

Hi blog! There is finally something to talk about today. I recorded my first singing + ukulele song. This is a cute and maybe slightly melancholic song from the movie Her. I saw the movie today and it was a refreshing change from the usual drivel that I see these days. My attention span has been reduced tremendously and I was glad I finally found a movie I could sit, watch and finish. Anyway, here is the song :)

Happy Independence day

I am usually not very patriotic, but as I learn more about our history and about "real life", I truly appreciate the efforts of our freedom fighters. It gets harder and harder to speak out and to be a voice against the system as life progresses. So thank you, freedom fighters, for giving all Indians a chance to progress. Happy independence day everyone!

Nee Paartha Paarvai - Hey Ram

The first song I recorded in 2013 is this beautiful gem composed by Ilayaraja from one of my most favorite movies of all time. The lyrics are also stellar! I will attempt a translation (with a little bit of interpretation on my behalf)  here, but it is difficult to do justice to it.

Thanks to your gaze that caressed me
Thanks to the night that brought us together
Thanks to youth, so lovely, you can keep looking
Thanks to those memories, they shall remain forever
Come, my love

Let us forget the word, me
You are indeed me now
We do not need to pray for favors any more
Where can we find a heaven like this
Come, my love

The drama has ended now
Why is the acting still going on?
Enough of these charades, my lady
Thoughts of you will stay with me till my life is no more
Come, my love

Here is my rendition of the song. As an additional treat, apart from singing I also play the piano! Please comment if you like it :) Your appreciation/criticism matters to me.

5 things I would like to be able to do 1 year from now.

1) Play Comptine d'un Autre from the movie Amelie flawlessly on my keyboard.

2) Run a sub 1hr 45 minute half marathon or full marathon.

3) Be ready to graduate and develop a neat sense of time. Be better organized with my life so that I can be more creative with my work.

4) Sing a Kailash Kher song and do justice to it.

5) Develop a sense of inner peace rather than be enveloped by existential angst. I will do well if I just remember this everyday.

Not for me

The middle is not for me
I am either the best or the worst
The middle is not for me
The average is a dull number
I increase the standard deviation
The middle is not for me

What has stability given anyone
except a crushing sense of helplessness
and a sudden anxiety
The middle is not for me
I jump from one end to the other
I am either the violet or the red
The middle is not for me

I cannot calm my mind
I cannot sit at a place and do my job
I cannot count chickens
And be happy that I did
what i was told to do
The middle is not for me
I am either Mercury or Neptune
The middle is not for me

Nijanga Nenena - Kotha Bangaru Lokam

Here is a song that I sung sometime back. This blog is dying and I plan to rejuvenate it soon. I am getting back to my creative side :) Lets go!

http://soundcloud.com/indiansinger/nijanga-nenena_sung-by-harish

If you prefer a shorter version, here is a shorter video on youtube. For the best quality however, download it from the soundcloud link above.

Happy Birthday Daddy

I think of you every day. 

Birthday 27

This is a list of achievements, just to make myself feel a little better and focus on what I wish to do this year.

Achievements:

1) I bought a car - my own vandi. It is not new and it is not fancy, but it is mine and it is special because it is perhaps the biggest purchase I have made with my own money.  

2) My internship over the summer was very fruitful and gave me a quick glimpse into the maze of corporate research. It also got me some new awesome friends. 

Resolutions:

1) Now that two half marathons have been completed, it is time for a full marathon.  Will be training for the one next October, on my birthday.

2) I am already getting better at badminton. I can feel more power to my smashes and a sprint to my step. I need to focus a little more on developing some of the muscles key to explosive power. This essentially means more sprinting and lesser long distance. This will perhaps also help my long distance speed.

3) Most importantly, I need to prelim by February. That is the only way Ill finish my PhD on time.

Indianapolis Half Marathon - 2

Whats that first half marathon medal? You found yourself a friend? Another half marathon medal? WOW !

Indy Half Marathon on October 15th completed. A nice pre-birthday present :)

PS: For the uninitiated, a half marathon is race for 13.2 miles which equates to 20.25 km roughly.

An interesting conversation

An interesting conversation
walked up to me tonight.
I said,
"Hey! How are you doing?"
"Its been a while! "
She walked away.

-- Harish Suryanarayana

Azhage Azhagu - Raja Paarvai - Sung by me

  Azhage Azhagu - Raja Paarvai - Sung by Harish by IndianSinger

Support

Crying for a sign
Crying for some foresight
Crying for a definition of what is
right and wrong
I am not strong, I am not
a pillar
to lean on.
There is no one to speak to
no one will understand
or will they, only too well.

I have only you
the darkness of the night
the quiet whirring of the fan
to keep me company
Do not leave me now
I need you to speak to
to scream at
to claw my way out of this delusion
a deluge of delusion
web after web, wave after wave
I create my own world
and soon it becomes true
It becomes life
and I sit content
on my rocking chair,
pulling at the threads
in the abysmal depths of night
one by one by one.

-- Harish Suryanarayana

R

a gentle smile

a knowing look

wisdom

mirth

-Harish Suryanarayana

One more test.

This is interesting !

Verbally and mentally fluid, you are refreshing and illuminating to those around you. This is occasionally somewhat discounted by the obvious pleasure that you take in exercising your mental acuity. Although generally peaceful you can often take a verbally aggressive tact in relations with the world, which can often be misunderstood by those around you. Innovative in the extreme, you can often think yourself right out of the correct answer to a given problem. Many times you are referred to as your own worst enemy. You tire very quickly of routine and so make poor clerks or administrative help. You also have no respect for authority and little patience for those you regard as inferior, most especially those in charge. Experimentation is your watchword and can occasionally lead to experience for its own sake and shallow decadence. Your thought can sometimes be scattered and disconnected.

http://www.hypnoid.com/psytest2.html

A day at work

- - -

- Harish Suryanarayana

New Year 2011

Dear blog,

I have neglected you over the last few months and have treated you very badly. I have been a very bad boy. I am sorry. I have however, forgotten completely, the art of writing things down. In a world obsessed with being connected to everyone else, I have lost a vital connection to my feelings. Writing it down, especially to you, dear blog, was one of my favorite activities. I will first of all, get back to writing and reclaim my connection with you. I shall now continue with my actual blog post.

2010 has been a very eventful year. I have learnt quite a bit. I have grown emotionally. I am much more patient that I ever used to be. I have learnt the meaning of responsibility. I have learnt the meaning of irresponsibility. I have grown lazier. I have started losing track of time and the harsh schedules that I decided to impose upon myself. I am back to a position where I am almost a sinking boat again. Why does man have such an affinity for self-destruction? Maybe it is programmed in us. We do not grow without struggling.

These are my aims for 2011.

1) Finish my Prelim before the next New Year.

2) Run a full marathon this year and train religiously for it (Indianapolis - October) .

3) Change my schedule ( MOrning 7:00 - Evening 5:00) No late nights/night outs. The fact that I am writing this at 3 AM at night, 2 days late is proof that this is vitally important for my life.

I will also talk to you more often. Wish me luck.

Patience

Even if the wind blows east
and the sails are tied up tight
memories of a storm this summer
stirs up butterflies
The might of the ocean
and its vacillating moods
a naughty sprite one moment
an irascible Poseidon the next.
Patience, sailor, patience
when I set sail
I closed my eyes and prayed
the ocean is what it is
my boat is what it is
and only with time will I learn
the true nature of the ocean,
of the boat, and of myself.

- Harish Suryanarayana

For Sandya

Our journey begins
with large Peruvian jars
filled with autumn leaves
of hopes and dreams
buried deep
under the impure sands
of our daily lives.

And as we sit on our beach
contemplating
sharing the little space that we have
seashells echo
the intermittent whispers
from a fisherman's old radio.

And all consciousness
is held together
by a dark strand of music
as we float
across a serene amethyst-violet sky.

-- Harish Suryanarayana

Sandya and Bheeshu, congratulations and wish you a delightful married life. (June 21st, 2010)