The Bhutani Dhaba

I wonder if dreams ever really mean anything. Wrapped in my quilt, warm, and snugly tugged in, it was a perfect night for sound sleep. A few minutes into my comfort, I found myself in a strange place, the Bhutani  Dhaba.

I was dreaming, of course, a very, very lucid dream. So clear, it almost seems like I am narrating a real incident, a real legend that was fortunate enough to be a part of.

I was sitting in a corner of a little room, with four long wooden benches for seats,hugging all the walls, a break in one corner lead to the kitchen. About five people were seated with me, all busy with talks of their day to day lives, and the owner, the Bhutani, standing inside the kitchen door wearing a blue jacket, with a seemingly permanent smile on his face.

Everything about the the place spoke of honesty and a humble Pahari (people of the Himalayas) nature. I was oblivious to the world when I found myself sitting there, the chilling cold felt like the Dhaba was somewhere close to the actual himalayas. It was probably snowing outside, and as the steam from the rasoi (kitchen) escaped into the main room, the Bhutani burst into laughter, in a conversation with a local-ite. He got along well with them, I guess.

He served everyone food with the same smile, and then came and sat with us. There was no business, no pretence involved here, it was all survival. Although the place was extremely small, no one was cramped, and everyone was comfortable and warm. It felt nice being there, nothing else mattered.

Outside, a cold world slowly became colder, but did nothing to endanger the warmth inside. A local-ite asked him energetically

 “Bhutani, Ghar kab jar aha hai?” (When are you going to your country?)

“Abhi jaoonga kabhi bhee” (I will go soon, Anytime now!)

“Sath le chalega?” (will you take us along?)

“Naam likho, sabko saath le chaloonga” (Sign on the wall, I will take you all with me!)

He pointed outside the window to a wall made of stone and clay covered with an old, rusted iron sheet to protect against a melting snow seeping through. I got up and wrote my name with charcoal…

I wonder what my dream meant..

HP SUCKS

I POSTED THIS ON HP'S WEBSITE(support forums)

Hey everyone.

I am a musician and recently i purchased an HP Pavillion dv6 1152tx with 4 gb ram and 500 gb hard disk.

I was pretty excited to get the new machine, but i must say i am thoroughly disappointed with not only HP's after sale service and support, but also their idea of technology and the quote "the computer is personal again".

Lemme explain why.

1.) Being a musician, it is essential for me to hear what i am playing for recording.

The laptop has three 3.5 mm ports for audio...for one microphone and two headphones Anyways, in ANY other machine, after plugging my console into the line in/microphone, i am able to hear myself provided the microphone is unmuted.

In the case of my laptop,no matter WHAT i do, i can't hear myself!

The audio can be recorded... but what should i record.. if i can't hear myself??

I googled quite a bit and it turns out that the INPUT MONITOR option has been DISABLED BY HP/MICROSOFT DELIBERATELY

For some reasons...

and guess what... the thousands of bucks i spent on this machine are rendered completely useless to me because of the INSENSITIVITY of Hewlett packard and MICROSOFT.. i dont care whose bright idea it was...

i called Hp, but they dont care, they never called back, the customer care guys dont know what input monitors are, they are too dumb too understand what i mean by "i can't hear the audio i am feeding into the mic port that i am feeding frim my recording console"

HP is NOT HELPING anyone regarding this issue...

I will be grateful for anyone who can help me in this regard... hp or non hp..if this problem is not fixed, i will strongly suggest every single person i EVER meet NOT TO BUY HP PRODUCTS because they sell computers with features that THEY DON'T LIKE,DISABLED.

The solutions available online for this kind of problem are registry keys which dont work for my version, because i am stuck with IDT DRIVERS.

2.Hp comes with VISTA, and i tried getting rid of it,but the bootable xp sp2 disk just won't boot, giving me the BSOD while trying to boot from the cd.

3. the drivers are EXTREMELY unstable, one update can destroy your seemingly perfect machine.

4.HP has the guts to call me regarding extending my warranty for thousands of more bucks, but is WAY TOO INDIFFERENT to fix my problem..

This clearly speaks a lot about HP's policies of complete indifference towards customers...

5.The computer is NOT PERSONAL AGAIN, It is in HP's control... they make it frustrating enough to compel users to commit suicide, and deliberately add ways to make sure the user is not able to get rid of windows vista...

i see all of this as a sadist's way to torture...

I'd write a death metal song about HP, but because of Hp, i won't be able to f****ing Record it...

p.s. If you think hp is not all i think it is, help me fix my problem, and CHANGE MY OPINION

Anything For metal

I live for metal.Metal sets me free.Metal is bliss,metal is oblivion...Metal is HOME, metal is painlessness,metal is heaven; metal is the god that doesn't fail, the friend that never disappoints, the pillow when the neck hurts,the shadow that doesnt leave when it's dark.. Heavy metal changed my life the moment i felt it... From the day i was born, i only count the days of metal when i really lived.Success, failiure;doesnt matter....
Metal will be there for you! It is the mother who nurtures me when i am in pain, the father who gives me the courage to be different and the sibling i can confide into.. It is the endless ocean of freedom and its waves symbolize strength, sanctity and purity of thought.
No matter what happens in the world around me,deceptions,manipulations, and attempts to change me will always be futile, and i will always be screaming my heart and lungs out.. i started growling a few months ago, and i just realized i have replaced my "hello" with a growl on "ANYTHING FOR METAL"

However, if you expect to find me in a hard rock or heavy metal concert's crowd, i might not be there.. BECAUSE I WILL BE BUSY LIBERATING PEOPLE UP ON STAGE... I have committed myself to playing in Wacken and Download one day!


ANYTHING FOR METAL \M/

I don't wanna miss a thing...

Love is so strange! From the time I couldn't live a waking minute without hearing her voice to not being able to hear from her for months together, the moments of my life have transformed from perfect, to a constant fight against destiny...
The times that have been, are beautifully embedded in my memory like jewels on a rhinestone cowboy....
There have been moments in my life which are simply the most beautiful experiences I've ever had, and aerosmith's lyrics from "i dont wanna miss a thing" take me those very moments lost in time...

"I could stay awake just to hear you breathing
Watch you smile while you are sleeping
While you're far away dreaming
I could spend my life in this sweet surrender
I could stay lost in this moment forever
Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you baby
And I don't wanna miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing...

Lying close to you feeling your heart beating
And I'm wondering what you're dreaming
Wondering if its me you're seeing
Then I kiss your eyes
And thank God we're together
I just want to stay with you in this moment forever
Forever and ever

Don't wanna close my eyes
I don't wanna fall asleep
Cause I'd miss you baby
And I don't wanna miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do,
I'd still miss you baby....
And I don't want to miss a thing

I don't want to miss one smile
I don't want to miss one kiss
I just want to be with you
Right here with you, just like this
I just want to hold you close
Feel your heart so close to mine
And just stay here in this moment
For all the rest of time

Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
Cause Id miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing
Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
Id still miss you baby
And I don't want to miss a thing

Don't want to close my eyes
I don't want to fall asleep
I don't want to miss a thing...."

Music | Feel vs. Technique: My journey so far

Music is the language of the soul. Without music, life would be an emotionless journey, a meaningless road from cradle to grave, a sky without any stars.

Rock and heavy metal music originate from the blues,and thus inherit all the technique,style and tricks with a few modifications suited to the subgenre.Over the years, Lead guitar gained more and more respect, and as a phenominal Amount of new bands became a part of mainstream rock, This area became a competitive environment where only the best survived.

In my journey of learning the intricacies of the wonderful 6 stringed instrument,
I quickly discovered that there were two ways to go about the process of playing lead guitar.
Both these approaches were new to me, and i got my feet wet in both of them.
Based on approach,leading can be broadly classified into two formats:
FEEL BASED and TECHNIQUE based.
Technique is often difficult and takes a lot of practice time, patience and hardwork to be good at, whereas developing feel requires a lot of playing and listening experience, and often develops automatically with time, and as the ear becomes trained, the fingers just sort of seem to know where to land at the right time.
Virtuoso Guitarists such as Marty Friedman often rely heavily on some technique,and a large dose of feel.
"Alternate picking", a known term amongst lead guitarists, is totally ignored by the likes of Friedman, and he suggests that with experimentation, "quarks" can be developed,memorised, and improvised with feel, making lead guitar an interesting practice routine.Friedman believes in developing one's own technique, and beautifying it.
A lot of bands come up every single year still, and the leading bit may be completely based on feel or be knee deep in terms of technique, but the reason that 99% of them never make it to the fame is because failiure to blend the two together, in just the right proportions to bring out the beauty of the emotion which each and every song is about.

In the end, although technique matters so much,it is the feel which decides the extent upto which the listener assosiates with the song.

In my journey of being a lead guitarist, the perfect combination of Technique and feel is one i am yet to achieve.When I do, you'll be the first one to know :)

Painkiller

Sometimes while walking on the lonely streets of dreams, things go wrong and helplessness arrives. Shallow imaginations and persistent nightmares do nothing to relieve you of pain, helplessness and loneliness.

The days get darker and the nights, colder as little by little, we lose everything we thought we had, and are left blaming the empty black sky, screaming for justice.
We may have given our best, our 100% but being unappreciated can make anyone hollow form within.

It happens.
Some things don't work out; But it's our reaction on the situation that can really affect the outcome. Being patient and methodical during every step in life may not seem the logical thing to do when a storm in life hits you... yet it pays off, and everybody knows that.
Eagles fly highest, AGAINST the storm.


The only way around this, is patience and persistence. All that matters in this regard is your point of view, and if you can stick to your guns and stay true to what you believe in.

The only power that can Really cure your pain, and get you what you desire so dearly is your own WILL POWER.
Will power can carry you over chasms of failiure,
if you only give it the chance....

Reflections | Who am i?

Walking My Own Way

Stumbling, yet stern i often ask myself this question... "Who am I?"
Withering in Emptiness
Shallow, and alone
I work up no answer..
Am i Lost? Am i Dreaming?
Immersed in Forgetfulness, Buried in pain

I have no idea how i got here!

Was i on a ship? And did a storm Destroy my existence?
Numb and Unconscious, i lay on a sea shore
No contact with the outside world
When another storm Twirled,
Woke me up from my slumber
Gave me one more chance to live
It's waves Battering my body
and it's strength shattering my soul

I Crawled away from death, you see...
i walked away from it all;
yet nothing felt warm again,
then i felt nothing at all
just a spine chilling pain....

Facing many Fears
Running away from truth;
Distracted by my journey
i wandered wihout youth


As a dark Part of My life got progressively darker,
Shadows seemed to emit the radiance that sunshine once did.
Everything i ever had-ALL taken away!!
Found myself fallen on my face, half asleep, half dead...
Amidst my Sadness,failiures and pain,
i found happiness!!
I realized, all one has to do to Find Happiness, is to look for it!

It's when i decided to Keep trodding on the Path i have chosen that i discovered who i am...
and that i am FREE to accomplish what EVERYONE (else) in the Universe thinks is impossible!