Miscellaneous posts & comments on Facebook in August & September 2018
When author of post or comment is not mentioned, it should be assumed that it is me (Ravi S. Iyer).
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2295275400689024
Really enjoyed this young man singing the old time hit of Mahendra Kapoor - Nile gagan ke tale!
https://www.facebook.com/dn.reddy.52/videos/1878685132213823/
===============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2295096500706914
Its really been awesome to see Stevie Wonder in this 2015 video. I remember being wowed by him in the 1980s in the USA! What a hero that man is!
Around 11 mins, Stevie Wonder Carpool Karaoke, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqrvm2XDvpQ
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2284183528464878
The Czech lady spoke far better Tamil than I can. I did not learn Tamil in school and at home we used to speak a Tamil variant which had a lot of Malayalam (Palaghat Tamil, I believe is what it is called). And I only studied Sanskrit for 3 years in school. So I can't even speak Sanskrit though I can read it and get some understanding of it, and also read it aloud (the script is same as that of Hindi and Marathi both of which I studied in school much longer than I studied Sanskrit). The Czech gentleman seems to speak very good Sanskrit! Interestingly his talk referenced Bhagavad Geeta, Upanishads and Manava Dharmasastra. His
BTW the lady who spoke Tamil said that she has also studied/studying some Sanskrit.
I am bowled over to see these Czech folks' efforts in the field of Indology (the study of Indian history, literature, philosophy, and culture). Bravo!
https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/videos/853133595076820/ , 9 Sept. 2018
[Caption for above video]
President of India
“Tamil is a very beautiful language" - Simona Czielova, student of Indology at the University of Charles shares her experience on studying Tamil
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2282905365259361
Thoroughly enjoyed this oldie Hit Hindi film song about Bombay (Mumbai) rendition by the Czech folks!
https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/videos/304257203684706/ , 7th Sept. 2018
[Caption]
President of India
“Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan" another touching rendition of the iconic Mohammed Rafi's song by India-Czech Sinfonietta orchestra
----
The original film (1956) clip - grainy and the not so clear audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7EjxI27aMc
----
A nice recent rendition of it (seems to have been done in the past few years): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bedDhDCNDnw, The whistling at the end (an encore is demanded and rendered) is a treat.
----
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2282512008632030
Thoroughly enjoyed this 2008 SNL video featuring the Late John McCain, on the eve of the 2008 US presidential election where he was the Republican candidate competing against Barrack Obama of the Democratic Party. McCain sure had some sense of humour including the vital aspect of cutting jokes about himself! John McCain and Sarah Palin Do QVC - SNL, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pix6pJUW5-s
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2281327572083807
Couldn't resist sharing this. I think (US) Senator Rubio handled this with a lot of cool and humour. Alex Jones played an agent provocateur role and got his news coverage! But then he has been banned on some social media channels and so perhaps he is fighting hard to get those bans lifted. Alex Jones is viewed by mainstream US media as a conspiracy theorist. He does espouse some strange views like saying that the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting was staged and for which, if I recall correctly, he is being sued by some of the parents who lost their children in the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Around 3 mins, Alex Jones Heckles Marco Rubio During Interview, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH0WavrlPjw.
Here is an article on it giving some of the choice words used in the exchange: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-alex-jones-marco-rubio-interview-20180905-story.html
Please note that I have a PUBLICLY (POLITICALLY) NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about USA politics. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me having voted in USA elections.
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277964919086739 , 2nd Sept. 2018
Then US Presidential candidate (Late) Sen. John McCain's very gracious and extraordinary concession speech in 2008, 15 min video (the speech ends earlier), Senator John McCain Election Night Speech (Full Video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvgqRKYapU8
========================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277962925753605
George W Bush: 'McCain loved freedom with the passion of a man who knew its absence', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXnDt3Jpcl0, Nearly 8 mins
========================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277957649087466
Barack Obama: 'Honor McCain by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or power', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FPdATbjpps, 19 mins, 21 secs
========================================================================
From my FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277693935780504, dated 1st Sept. 2018 :
Will finish today's Time Pass Hindi film songs session with the superhit song of the late 60s which remained very popular in the 70s as well, starring the superhit pair - Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore. Incidentally, Sharmila is picturized reading an Alistair Maclean novel with Alistair Maclean being a very popular novelist among English readers in Mumbai of my 70s and early 80s teen and early twenties' years. I have read so many of his books. Think I should read one of Maclean's books again just for the fun of it. Perhaps that should be 'Where Eagles Dare'. And also James Hadley Chase. Perhaps I should read Chase's 'The way the cookie crumbles' :-).
Anyway, here's the Aradhana 1969 superhit song: Mere Sapno Ki Rani - Aradhana - Rajesh Khanna & Sharmila Tagore - Superhit Song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U, 4 min. 12 secs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On my Fb post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2274023369480894, dated 28th Aug. 2018, I wrote:
Music is one thing. Reality and philosophy grounded on reality is another. So the Imagine song is great music but it is NOT a philosophy grounded on reality.
The shared post in it is https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/photos/a.102107073196735/2498899450184140/?type=3, dated 28th Aug. 2018, of Humans of New York, where a 'Human of New York' who now seems to be homeless and in difficult times, is reported as saying, "..I was somebody once, and people used to look at me without any barriers or animosity. I can tell you this: when John Lennon sings ‘Imagine,’ it’s complete bullshit. He was living in the Dakota when he wrote that, overlooking Central Park. Imagine no possessions? He should have written a song about all the wonderful things that he had. Imagine nothing to live or die for? No Yoko? No career? No child? No fame? No status? Well here I am. There’s no peace here."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an FB post on 23rd Aug. 2018 I wrote (slightly edited)
My impression is that this is mainly an --snip-- people group. Note that the name of the group itself is --snip--. I think besides worldly matters some limited expression of members ***polite*** views on the two big divisive areas of society which are religion and politics, should be okay.
BTW I would like to share a related anecdote about Major Bhat of Datamatics in 1985 counselling Vinay Ugrankar, Srikumar Natarajan and me, just before we left for our first foreign assignment to Wang International Telecommunications Research Centre (ITRC), Brussels, Belgium. If I recall correctly, the three of us had gone to Embassy Center, Datamatics' Nariman Point office where Major Bhat had his office then. What I still recall from that session we youngsters had then with the forceful and boss personality that Major Bhat was, was his advice to us to steer clear of two topics in our discussions with others while we were abroad - religion and politics!
Over the past five years or so, I have publicly become a social media writer mainly on spirituality and religion (I started my first spiritual blog under a psuedonym around September 2011). So I have a far better understanding now of how right Major Bhat was in his advice to us then to avoid talking about religion and politics when we were going on our first foreign assignment as youngsters, as such discussions could easily get into divisive arguments and strain relations.
As mature persons, I think we surely can engage in elaborate discussions on politics and religion in a polite way on social media. However, that should be on social media pages dedicated to these topics.
On this --snip-- group page, I think limited mention of spirituality and religion may be OK but not a regular dose.
That's my humble view. Others are free to disagree with it.
----
Building up on what I wrote about my view that limited mention of spirituality and religion may be OK on this page, I thought I could share here that over the past few weeks I sent, or offered to send, the paperback copy of my first published (self-published) book - 'Who am I? I am I - Ultimate Existential Reality Answer; Vedanta; God and Science conversation', https://pothi.com/pothi/book/ravi-s-iyer-ultimate-existential-reality-answer-vedanta-god-and-science, to many ex Datamatics colleagues of mine as well as some of my seniors & bosses in Datamatics.
In that process I was able to renew contacts with many, including my boss in Datamatics - Mrs. Usha Rao and seniors like --snip--. Two days ago I spoke to --snip-- who also was my project head for one of my Datamatics projects.
Soli provided the first public feedback for the book. Folks who are interested can view that here: http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2018/08/feedback-on-my-book-who-am-i-i-am-i.html .
I also got in touch with Dr. Lalit S. Kanodia's P.A. (Pamela) and sent a paperback book copy to her which she confirmed that she has received (a couple or so weeks ago). But I did not hear anything back from her (or LSK). It was great to know that Dr. LSK is still active in Datamatics! Great energy!
I recall that sometime in the second half of 1980s I had to pick up Dr. LSK from his hotel room in Lowell, Mass. USA and drop him at the airport (Logan airport in Boston, I guess). At that time I was the resident manager of the 30 to 40 odd Datamatics folks on assigment at Wang Labs. Lowell. I had to pick him up early morning and when I called on his room, he was fresh and ready! He had had quite a packed schedule the day earlier, if I recall correctly, and I was quite impressed to see him being fresh and ready, early morning the next day!
Of course, later on in my career I observed that heading a software export company requires lots of physical energy. I mean, one has to travel around the world, and sometimes be ready to travel to the other side of the world at very short notice. Dr. LSK then had that energy and drive.
BTW I was very happy to note that Dr. LSK now has a wikipedia page on his name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalit_Surajmal_Kanodia .
----
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From my Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2263606250522606, dated 19th Aug.
Hindi film oldie goldie, Itna Na Mujh Se Tu - Asha Parekh, Sunil Dutt, Chhaya (1961) Song (Duet) [Singers: Male - Talat Mehmood, Female - Lata Mangeshkar; Lyrics - Rajinder Krishen (as per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhaya_(film))], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClAXd0itpsA, 7 min 38 secs. [The song seems to be repeated after around 3 min 55 secs.]
The first lines of the song are:
Male: Itna na mujse ty pyaar badhaa ke mai ek baadal awaara
[English: Do not increase your love for me so much as I am a wandering cloud]
Kaise kisika sahara banu ke mai khud beghar bechara
[English: How can I be a supportive companion of somebody as I myself am homeless and helpless]
Female: Isliye tujse mai pyaar karu ke tu ek baadal awara
[English: I love you because you are a wandering cloud]
Janam janam se hu saath tere hai naam mera jal ki dhara
[English: I have been your companion from birth to birth. My name is the flow of water.]
-----
From comments on above post:
A nice latter day rendition of the same song - live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKTPJg7p9_k
----
An old man who was part of orchestra of well known singers in the past, sings the song and plays the harmonium on the street. Quite a feat! The couple have fallen on hard times. May God help them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d7Y7WyfV98
----
--------------------------
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2295275400689024
Really enjoyed this young man singing the old time hit of Mahendra Kapoor - Nile gagan ke tale!
https://www.facebook.com/dn.reddy.52/videos/1878685132213823/
===============================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2295096500706914
Its really been awesome to see Stevie Wonder in this 2015 video. I remember being wowed by him in the 1980s in the USA! What a hero that man is!
Around 11 mins, Stevie Wonder Carpool Karaoke, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqrvm2XDvpQ
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2284183528464878
The Czech lady spoke far better Tamil than I can. I did not learn Tamil in school and at home we used to speak a Tamil variant which had a lot of Malayalam (Palaghat Tamil, I believe is what it is called). And I only studied Sanskrit for 3 years in school. So I can't even speak Sanskrit though I can read it and get some understanding of it, and also read it aloud (the script is same as that of Hindi and Marathi both of which I studied in school much longer than I studied Sanskrit). The Czech gentleman seems to speak very good Sanskrit! Interestingly his talk referenced Bhagavad Geeta, Upanishads and Manava Dharmasastra. His
BTW the lady who spoke Tamil said that she has also studied/studying some Sanskrit.
I am bowled over to see these Czech folks' efforts in the field of Indology (the study of Indian history, literature, philosophy, and culture). Bravo!
https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/videos/853133595076820/ , 9 Sept. 2018
[Caption for above video]
President of India
“Tamil is a very beautiful language" - Simona Czielova, student of Indology at the University of Charles shares her experience on studying Tamil
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2282905365259361
Thoroughly enjoyed this oldie Hit Hindi film song about Bombay (Mumbai) rendition by the Czech folks!
https://www.facebook.com/PresidentOfIndia/videos/304257203684706/ , 7th Sept. 2018
[Caption]
President of India
“Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan" another touching rendition of the iconic Mohammed Rafi's song by India-Czech Sinfonietta orchestra
----
The original film (1956) clip - grainy and the not so clear audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7EjxI27aMc
----
A nice recent rendition of it (seems to have been done in the past few years): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bedDhDCNDnw, The whistling at the end (an encore is demanded and rendered) is a treat.
----
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2282512008632030
Thoroughly enjoyed this 2008 SNL video featuring the Late John McCain, on the eve of the 2008 US presidential election where he was the Republican candidate competing against Barrack Obama of the Democratic Party. McCain sure had some sense of humour including the vital aspect of cutting jokes about himself! John McCain and Sarah Palin Do QVC - SNL, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pix6pJUW5-s
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2281327572083807
Couldn't resist sharing this. I think (US) Senator Rubio handled this with a lot of cool and humour. Alex Jones played an agent provocateur role and got his news coverage! But then he has been banned on some social media channels and so perhaps he is fighting hard to get those bans lifted. Alex Jones is viewed by mainstream US media as a conspiracy theorist. He does espouse some strange views like saying that the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting was staged and for which, if I recall correctly, he is being sued by some of the parents who lost their children in the Sandy Hook tragedy.
Around 3 mins, Alex Jones Heckles Marco Rubio During Interview, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH0WavrlPjw.
Here is an article on it giving some of the choice words used in the exchange: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-pol-alex-jones-marco-rubio-interview-20180905-story.html
Please note that I have a PUBLICLY (POLITICALLY) NEUTRAL informal-student-observer role in these posts that I put up about USA politics. Of course, as I am an Indian citizen living in India, there is no question of me having voted in USA elections.
================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277964919086739 , 2nd Sept. 2018
Then US Presidential candidate (Late) Sen. John McCain's very gracious and extraordinary concession speech in 2008, 15 min video (the speech ends earlier), Senator John McCain Election Night Speech (Full Video), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvgqRKYapU8
========================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277962925753605
George W Bush: 'McCain loved freedom with the passion of a man who knew its absence', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXnDt3Jpcl0, Nearly 8 mins
========================================================================
https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277957649087466
Barack Obama: 'Honor McCain by recognizing that there are some things bigger than party or power', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FPdATbjpps, 19 mins, 21 secs
========================================================================
From my FB post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2277693935780504, dated 1st Sept. 2018 :
Will finish today's Time Pass Hindi film songs session with the superhit song of the late 60s which remained very popular in the 70s as well, starring the superhit pair - Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore. Incidentally, Sharmila is picturized reading an Alistair Maclean novel with Alistair Maclean being a very popular novelist among English readers in Mumbai of my 70s and early 80s teen and early twenties' years. I have read so many of his books. Think I should read one of Maclean's books again just for the fun of it. Perhaps that should be 'Where Eagles Dare'. And also James Hadley Chase. Perhaps I should read Chase's 'The way the cookie crumbles' :-).
Anyway, here's the Aradhana 1969 superhit song: Mere Sapno Ki Rani - Aradhana - Rajesh Khanna & Sharmila Tagore - Superhit Song, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1MykK4u8U, 4 min. 12 secs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On my Fb post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2274023369480894, dated 28th Aug. 2018, I wrote:
Music is one thing. Reality and philosophy grounded on reality is another. So the Imagine song is great music but it is NOT a philosophy grounded on reality.
The shared post in it is https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork/photos/a.102107073196735/2498899450184140/?type=3, dated 28th Aug. 2018, of Humans of New York, where a 'Human of New York' who now seems to be homeless and in difficult times, is reported as saying, "..I was somebody once, and people used to look at me without any barriers or animosity. I can tell you this: when John Lennon sings ‘Imagine,’ it’s complete bullshit. He was living in the Dakota when he wrote that, overlooking Central Park. Imagine no possessions? He should have written a song about all the wonderful things that he had. Imagine nothing to live or die for? No Yoko? No career? No child? No fame? No status? Well here I am. There’s no peace here."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In an FB post on 23rd Aug. 2018 I wrote (slightly edited)
My impression is that this is mainly an --snip-- people group. Note that the name of the group itself is --snip--. I think besides worldly matters some limited expression of members ***polite*** views on the two big divisive areas of society which are religion and politics, should be okay.
BTW I would like to share a related anecdote about Major Bhat of Datamatics in 1985 counselling Vinay Ugrankar, Srikumar Natarajan and me, just before we left for our first foreign assignment to Wang International Telecommunications Research Centre (ITRC), Brussels, Belgium. If I recall correctly, the three of us had gone to Embassy Center, Datamatics' Nariman Point office where Major Bhat had his office then. What I still recall from that session we youngsters had then with the forceful and boss personality that Major Bhat was, was his advice to us to steer clear of two topics in our discussions with others while we were abroad - religion and politics!
Over the past five years or so, I have publicly become a social media writer mainly on spirituality and religion (I started my first spiritual blog under a psuedonym around September 2011). So I have a far better understanding now of how right Major Bhat was in his advice to us then to avoid talking about religion and politics when we were going on our first foreign assignment as youngsters, as such discussions could easily get into divisive arguments and strain relations.
As mature persons, I think we surely can engage in elaborate discussions on politics and religion in a polite way on social media. However, that should be on social media pages dedicated to these topics.
On this --snip-- group page, I think limited mention of spirituality and religion may be OK but not a regular dose.
That's my humble view. Others are free to disagree with it.
----
Building up on what I wrote about my view that limited mention of spirituality and religion may be OK on this page, I thought I could share here that over the past few weeks I sent, or offered to send, the paperback copy of my first published (self-published) book - 'Who am I? I am I - Ultimate Existential Reality Answer; Vedanta; God and Science conversation', https://pothi.com/pothi/book/ravi-s-iyer-ultimate-existential-reality-answer-vedanta-god-and-science, to many ex Datamatics colleagues of mine as well as some of my seniors & bosses in Datamatics.
In that process I was able to renew contacts with many, including my boss in Datamatics - Mrs. Usha Rao and seniors like --snip--. Two days ago I spoke to --snip-- who also was my project head for one of my Datamatics projects.
Soli provided the first public feedback for the book. Folks who are interested can view that here: http://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2018/08/feedback-on-my-book-who-am-i-i-am-i.html .
I also got in touch with Dr. Lalit S. Kanodia's P.A. (Pamela) and sent a paperback book copy to her which she confirmed that she has received (a couple or so weeks ago). But I did not hear anything back from her (or LSK). It was great to know that Dr. LSK is still active in Datamatics! Great energy!
I recall that sometime in the second half of 1980s I had to pick up Dr. LSK from his hotel room in Lowell, Mass. USA and drop him at the airport (Logan airport in Boston, I guess). At that time I was the resident manager of the 30 to 40 odd Datamatics folks on assigment at Wang Labs. Lowell. I had to pick him up early morning and when I called on his room, he was fresh and ready! He had had quite a packed schedule the day earlier, if I recall correctly, and I was quite impressed to see him being fresh and ready, early morning the next day!
Of course, later on in my career I observed that heading a software export company requires lots of physical energy. I mean, one has to travel around the world, and sometimes be ready to travel to the other side of the world at very short notice. Dr. LSK then had that energy and drive.
BTW I was very happy to note that Dr. LSK now has a wikipedia page on his name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lalit_Surajmal_Kanodia .
----
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From my Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/2263606250522606, dated 19th Aug.
Hindi film oldie goldie, Itna Na Mujh Se Tu - Asha Parekh, Sunil Dutt, Chhaya (1961) Song (Duet) [Singers: Male - Talat Mehmood, Female - Lata Mangeshkar; Lyrics - Rajinder Krishen (as per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhaya_(film))], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClAXd0itpsA, 7 min 38 secs. [The song seems to be repeated after around 3 min 55 secs.]
The first lines of the song are:
Male: Itna na mujse ty pyaar badhaa ke mai ek baadal awaara
[English: Do not increase your love for me so much as I am a wandering cloud]
Kaise kisika sahara banu ke mai khud beghar bechara
[English: How can I be a supportive companion of somebody as I myself am homeless and helpless]
Female: Isliye tujse mai pyaar karu ke tu ek baadal awara
[English: I love you because you are a wandering cloud]
Janam janam se hu saath tere hai naam mera jal ki dhara
[English: I have been your companion from birth to birth. My name is the flow of water.]
-----
From comments on above post:
A nice latter day rendition of the same song - live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKTPJg7p9_k
----
An old man who was part of orchestra of well known singers in the past, sings the song and plays the harmonium on the street. Quite a feat! The couple have fallen on hard times. May God help them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d7Y7WyfV98
----
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