Learn N Blog #10: Ringa Ringa Roses

Source: Wikimedia

Ring-a-round of rosies

Pocket full of posies

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down!

All of us have played that kindergarten game where the kids move around in circles joining hands, singing and falling down with the last line. [Video]

When I was young, and not sure about the exact words, would still sing along making up words. So ring-a-round became ringa ringa, rosies turned to roses, posies transformed to poses and as for the third line, it was just random mumbo-jumbo, which we could never figure out.

Now was reading Dan Brown’s Inferno, where the same song was referenced. One theory (which Dan Brown subscribes to) says that this song was about the Great Plague of 1665 in London. Apparently a "ring around the rosie" referred to the pustules which developed on the skin indicating a plague infection. Posies were flowers carried in the pockets to counter the stench of plague. Victims generally just fell down and died and finally were cremated in a bid to destroy the plague (turning into ashes).

While an interesting theory, it is subject to speculation of being just an urban legend. However, how such a lyric became a children’s play song is certainly beyond my comprehension. Children falling down to enact plague victims’ deaths is quite a dark representation! 

Further research on the subject led to snopes.com. They categorically say that this seems a revisionist version of history. There are many versions of the poem with different lines (also explains why I never got the exact words at the time). While the song has been around for centuries, documentary evidence linking it to plague starts appearing only in the middle of the twentieth century. Certainly seems more a case of a theory being fitted to a fact and then the believers taking it up. Dan Brown certainly is known for using lots of symbology in his works all of which are open to interpretation based on your willingness to believe in them.

Overall, the origins are unknown with speculations ranging from simple play-song to church banning dancing to plague. Take your pick.

More Readings

• Ring-ring of roses (Wikipedia) 
• False: Ring-around-the-rosie (Snopes)
• Great Plague of London, 1665 (Wikipedia)

Not a pocket-full but a Bouquet of Posies

Previously on LearnNBlog: Repechage

MovieNotes: Deadpool

Title: Deadpool (IMDB)

*ing: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein

Language: English

Director: Tim Miller

Genre: Comic Book, Superhero

Basic Premise

A mercenary, who has been stricken by a life-threatening disease, agrees to undergo a radical procedure. The procedure induces mutation which gives him super healing powers but alters his appearance. He uses the powers to find the man responsible for his scarred appearance in order to reverse them so that he can go back to his family.

MovieNotes

Deadpool is a super hero who doesn't take his being a super hero too seriously. He has his own little mission, find the man who he thinks can heal his scarred appearance so that he can go back to his wife. No grand notions of fighting crime or saving the world here. He just wants to get on with his own life.

Even the movie makers don't want the audience to take things too seriously. Thus the opening credits seem more like the ones made by the Honest Trailers team than a top Hollywood studio. The movie is truly self-deprecating with comments about producers not giving enough budget to get more X-Men characters into the movie. Deadpool even comments that Ryan Reynolds gets movie just because of his looks and not any acting skills.

The best bits of the movie are when Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and starts talking to the audience. 

And you have to love a movie which begins with the song "Mera Joota Hai Japani". 

Mandatory India connect - The Indian taxi driver.

Rating - 8/10. For bringing a self-deprecating sense of humor into the increasingly similar superhero genre.

Previously on MovieNotes:  The Jungle Book

Bonus: The song मेरा जूता है जापानी from Raj Kapoor's Shree 420

Friendship Day

Friendship Day 

Its nothing more than a marketing gimmick. An innovative way to make money by selling cards & bands & small items of little or no use. Some would say just crass commercialization of basic human feelings.

But its a concept which has arrived and with the increased reach of social media is here to stay. So we mark it by sending/receiving wishful messages from "friends". Every such message brings back its own share of memories of the particular friend. Memories of the times gone by. 

So in all, not a complete waste.

So here I go, marking the occasion with a little compilation of songs dedicated to all friends that I have ever had.

1. Ye Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge (Sholay) - The first song that comes to anyone's mind when in company of friends.

2. Yaari hai Iman Mera (Zanjeer) - If friendship is your religion then most of world's problems wouldn't have existed

3. Mustafa Mustafa (Duniya Dilwalon Ki ) - Was quite in vogue when leaving school

4. Dil Chahta Hai (Dil Chahta Hai) - why you want to be in company of friends all the while

5. Har Ek Friend Zaroori Hota hai (Airtel Ad) - Friends come in all sorts of packages. And every single one is essential.

Wishing a very happy Friendship Day to all those whom I have had the privilege of being a friend of at different points of my life. Cousins, Neighbours, Classmates across schools & colleges, Office colleagues & all others -  a post for all of you.

Ten From Twenty12

Twenty12 the year is coming to an end. And like every year this blog tries to make a list of 10 random things to remember the year gone by. (2011 compilation is here)

1. Hero of the Year
They named her Damini, Nirbhay, Braveheart & Amanat. She was most likely just one in a billion. But the brutalities committed against her shook an entire nation like never before. While she rests in peace, a change comes to the Indian society she left.

2. Non-event of the Year
December 21, 2012. The world was supposed to end as per some interpretations of the Mayan calendar. But on the chosen day, nothing happened. The world is still there, though you sometimes wish it had because humanity certainly ended long ago.

3. Fad of the Year
Online activism & Outraging. We have a lazy laidback attitude to our society. If we do not like something we outrage. And that too online. Assuming that we will somehow inspire someone else to be outraged enough about our outrage to do something.

4. Kolaveri Di of the Year
If 2011 was the year of Kolaveri Di, 2012 was the one of Gangnam Style. A Korean guy running around mimicing riding a horse while singing Korean words is now the biggest star on this planet. Unlike Kolaveri which launched millions of spoofs, Gangnam Style stayed true to the original and went on to become the first ever video to garner a billion (i.e.1000000000) views on youtube.

5. Storyteller of the Year 
Arvind Kejriwal. Once upon a time leader of the anti-corruption movement. And now a full time politician. Started telling interesting stories on corruption. There was a new big bang story every week and then it all disappeared. Am I supposed to believe that there are no more corruption stories or that the media has lost interest? Most probably the latter.

6. Jump of the year
A man went up 24 miles into space and then jumped on to Earth. Lots of distance covered, yet no displacement :P. Fantastic effort by Felix Baumgartner for making the biggest jump by a human ever. Red Bull certainly gave you wings.  But the jump of the year award goes to Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II for parachuting into the Olympic stadium to inaugurate the Games.

7. Fall of the Year
Lance Armstrong. Cancer survivor and 7 time winner of the Tour de France. He was a hero to all. But that was before the fall. Given cycling's reputation, the drug results did not actually come that much of a surprise. but what did surprise was the extent of organised doping and lies which had gone about in creating the Lance Armstrong myth. 

8. Shahid Afridi Stay forever young Award of the Year (sponsored by Santoor Soap)

And it goes to the-youth icon-who-must-not-be-named and refuses to grow up.

9. Rising statesman of the Year 
Very very difficult choice to make. It seems every time an Indian neta opened his mouth, his perceived IQ amongst the public fell down. And it was true for politicians cutting across all party lines. But finally at the end of the year with his "dented & painted" comment, the award goes to Avijit Mukherjee, MP. Although he must also be given the bravery award for offering himself before Arnab Goswami after making these remarks.

10. Blogging Moment of the Year 
Sachin Tendulkar announced his retirement from ODIs. And countless articles, editorials & blogs get published at that instant (including yours truly's). Some gave the impression that they had been in draft for ages and were constantly getting updated. Now waiting for the Test retirement so that more drafts can be written and published when the moment comes.

So that was 2012. Not a great year in general for the world. Lets see what 2013 has in store for us.
Wishing a very Happy 2013 to all 

Always

Sherlock Holmes to Bon Jovi via Severus Snape.

3 characters totally unrelated.
1st one - A Fictional detective (though there are many convinced he does exist)
2nd one - one of the biggest pop stars on this planet
3rd one - the most enigmatic fictional character ever created (IMO)

Now how did I get connect this trio?

I was watching Sherlock (the BBC series). Its a modernized take on the Arthur Conan Doyle creation set in the 21st century. (In my opinion a simply Bloody Brilliant one). Now while watching the series realized that Benedict Cumberbatch (the actor portraying Holmes) sounded pretty familiar. In fact he sounded like Alan Rickman's portrayal of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter movies. 

Did some Google research on the subject. Landed up on a set of videos where Benedict Cumberbatch was actually mimicking Alan Rickman. Also found that I wasn't the only one who found the voices similar. Check this combo video)

Related videos sent me into the Harry Potter World. Lots of fan made videos on Severus Snape. A few on Snape's love for Lily Evans which were a compilation of scenes from across the Potter movies. The background track playing was Bon Jovi's Always. A catchy sound track with lyrics which seemed to have been written for this story. (Funny how I had this song in my music collection for years but never listened to it). 

And since then this has become my favorite number.

P.S. Found this interesting line as well: "Dear Romeo, this is how you die for your love, Regards, Severus".

Ten From Twenty11

The year 2011 A.D. is going by. Before we go on into 2012, its time to step back and remember the events to remember 2011 by. Following is my compilation of how 2011 went by. 

1. Trending Topic of the Year - R.I.P.

2011 took away a lot of legends. RIP was an ever trending topic on twitter. India lost legends like Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Tiger Pataudi, Sai Baba, Bhupen Hazarika, Pt. Bhimsen Joshi, Jagjit Singh, Ustad Sultan Khan. The computer world lost Steve Jobs & Dennis Ritchie. Dcitators and despots also seemed to be having a pretty bad time with bin Laden, Gaddafi & Kim gone (though hopefully no RIP for them)

2. Year of Movements

Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Bahrain, Syria and even India all saw major upheavals backed by the people. Social media acted as the mass mobilizer. Time magazine declared "The Protestor" as the "Person of the Year". However people on the roads certainly wasn't always a good thing. The riots in England & Vancouver, the attack on female journalists covering Tahrir showing up the ugly side of the people agitation. 

3. Overhype of the Year (sponsored by MRF Blimp)

As Diwali approached, there seemed to be only one event happening in India. The release of Ra.one. The promos were here, there and everywhere. It popped up in cricket ad breaks, sneaked on you through youtube, jumped on you through newspapers. Anywhere you went, you just couldn't escape the Chhammak Chhalo. In the end the marketing worked, as it could lure in big audiences before the critical (read bad) reviews had a chance to come out. 

P.S. Kareena Kapoor looked absolutely ravishing as the Chhammak Chhalo (the only universally agreed upon redeeming feature of the movie)

4. Picture of the Year

Quite a few competitors. There were quite a few movements (point 2 above) and natural disasters (e.g. Japan earthquake & tsunami). But the picture of the year comes from the Vancouver riots following an ice hockey match (!!!) as a young couple kiss on the road.



5. Doodle of the Year

Google have been playing around with their logo for quite a while now. Earlier it used to be just an image. Now they have shifted to making animated & interactive doodles. There were a few contenders for the doodle of the year, but to me the best was the Google Guitar, played on June 9th to mark the  anniversary of Les Paul. (incidentally also the anniversary of my joining my current company)

6. Song of the Year

Why this Kolaveri, Kolaveri, Kolaveri Di. So asked Dhanush. And soon the whole world was asking the same question. And everyone had their own version of it. There is the cute Nevan Nigam version, the dancing girls, the Arabic, the local boys, the chipmunks and the best of the lot the Punjabi version. Even CNN declared it to be the song of the year. And yet the question remains. Why This Koaveri, Kolaveri, Kolaveri Di?

7. Understatement of the Year

Planning Commission's revised poverty line which came up to Rs 32/day. While it was immediately hyped up without trying to make full sense of the statistic, it showed a grim reality. There were nearly 40% Indians surviving on even less. Point to ponder upon.

8. Camouflage of the Year

Baba Ramdev dressed in salwar kameez. With his appearance wonder how much of a help was this dress.



9. Self -created newsmaker of the year

Poonam Pandey followed Larissa Riquelme's footsteps. Unlike Ms. Riquelme who fulfilled her promise inspite of Paraguay not winng the football world cup, Ms Pandey did not despite India winning the cricket world cup. And she hitched her name to the team without any rhyme or reason and continued with her weird antics throughout the year. Wondering if the Indian team's inconsistent showing post the World Cup was a result of this? (:P)

10. New borns of the year

There were some famous new borns in the year. First came the so called 7 Billionth baby, who was born in at least 3 different places. Then followed the media frenzy over Baby B. If this is the frenzy on just being born wonder what would happen if they do anything notable.

So this was 2011. Lets see what 2012 has in store for us. Though if the Mayans are correct, this might be the last year-end list I would have end. Certainly a nice thought to enter the new year.

Wishing all readers a very Happy & Prosperous 2012 :)

In Remembrance - The Evergreen Star

A post dedicated to a true legend of Indian cinema. By the time I came into being his heyday may have been gone but the legend was very much there. His recent films may have been eminently forgettable which is probably a good thing since they should not take the gloss of the exemplary work he did in the 1950's, 60's and 70's. Probably the greatest style icon - his pose on the stage while collecting the Dad Sahab Phalke award from APJ Abdul Kalam is unforgettable.

RIP Dev Anand - a true cinema legend. I am not qualified to write/comment upon such a personality. What I can do is compile a list of my personal favorite Dev Anand numbers. 

In no particular order here goes

1. Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya - (Hum Dono) - A song which is probably everyone's favorite Dev Anand number and also in every one's greatest Hindi film songs list.

2. Phoolon Ke Rang Se - (Prem Pujari). Song appears on radio/TV and you have to sing along to it

3. Kabhi Khud Pe Kabhi Halat Pe - (Hum Dono). Perfect comment on life

4. Hai Apna Dil To Awara -  (Afsana). A great number on the mouth-organ

5. Wahan Kaun Hai Tera - (Guide). Probably SD Burman's best sung song. Also sets the tone for a brilliant movie.

6. Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya - (Guide). If your life suddenly hits a terrible phase, the song appears somewhere in the mind's playlist.

7. Ye Dil Na Hota Bechara - (Jewel Thief). A fun song for the road. Just wondering where he found that fish.

8. Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka - (Hare Rama Hare Krishna). Dedicated to everyone's sister.

9. Di Ka Bhanwar Kare Pukar - (Tere Ghar Ke Saamne). Innumerable quizzes have had this question in the video clips section. Where is this song shot? (Ans - Qutub Minar)

10. She Ne Khela He Se Aaj Cricket Match - (Love Marriage). Totally surprised that in a cricket mad country like ours this song is hardly heard.

10 is a very insufficient number to capture my personal favorites. I can count many many more. 

RIP Dev Anand

The Cricket Song

Cricket is the flavour of the season. The world cup is on. There have been a been a few cricket themed movies  (Lagaan, Iqbal, Awwal Number, Bodyline... come to mind immediately) and a few but nothing which really invoked the cricket spirit. Then I came across this uniquely cricketing love song here.

From an old Hindi film "Love Marriage" (1959) starring the evergreen one and only Dev Anand with Mala Sinha.
With lyrics which go like
She ne khela He se aaj cricket match... ek nazar me dil bechara ho gaya LBW

Definitely worth a watch

Its Raining

5 nights ago, I wished it would rain. There were intermittent, sporadic showers. But no monsoon rains. At least not until today. It rained in the night, It rained during the day. And I got a little wet coming back from office. But absolutely loved the weather. There is something marvellously uplifting about the rain. The pit-pat-patter of the raindrops on the windows, getting soaked in the showers. Just marvellous. 

And the rains will make the heart want to sing. Here is list of random rain songs which came to my mind.

1. Shubha Mudgal's - Ab Ke Saawan Aise Barse
 Hoping for a great rainy season. Full of energy, this is a song celebrating the arrival of the monsoon.

2. BJ Thomas - Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
If I am outside while it is raining, the song automatically starts playing in my head.

3. Saawan Barse Tarse Dil - from the movie Dahek
Soft romantic number, and Sonali Bendre, nothing more to be said.

4. Ek Lakdi Bheegi Bhaagi Si - all time classic from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi
Kishore Kumar, Madhubala, a rainy night, a broken down car and simply MAGIC.

5. Saawan Ka Mahina Pawan Kare Sor - from the movie Milan
Shor nahi baba sor, SOR