Category: Music the life

Here we look to upload new songs …and comment on the way they are directed and composed

Born a Crime -Trevor Noah Book review!

Born a crime @trevornoah is an interesting read giving insights on how it is growing up in South Africa. 
This book indulges in the stereotypical South African life and it also describes how interesting place South Africa is. The book is titled “Born a Crime” Because in South Africa his mother was black and his father was white…. 

The immortality act 1927 is the reference to why Trevor Noah was born a crime. 

1.Any European male who had illicit carnal intercourse with a native female, and any native male who had illicit carnal intercourse with a European female…Shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonments for a period not exceeding five years …
2.Any native female who permits any European male to have illicit carnal intercourse with her. And any European female who permits any native male to have illicit intercourse with her shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for a period not exceeding four years …

The style of the book written is interesting every chapter has a brief summary of what the chapter is about.
South African are divided into different tribes like Zulu, Xhosa,Tswana, Sotho, Venda, Ndebele, Tsonga and Pedi are just a few of them.  
Just like our Indian caste system has the Kshatriya who was known as the warriors & kings The Zulu tribe in South Africa to are known as the Warriors & like the Bhramin priest and the academics the Xhosa are the thinkers in South African tribe. 
Trivia : 

1. Streets  in Johannesburg are named after cars 
Jaguar streets, Ferrari street etc…
2. Rockery street is also known as the main strip in Johannesburg is one of the popular street filled with restaurants & bars.
3. Chinese in South Africa were classified as black and Japanese as white as they wanted Japanese fancy cars & electronic to be imported.


If you want to read something totally different this is the book! Stories from South African childhood. Interestingly this is my second South African author who I have read and realised personal stories are so interesting to read. The 1st South African Book I read was the tales of the metric system by Imraan Coovadia and the blurb of the book had caught me the attention but what lacked in the book was the storytelling. 

Over 10 chapters and 40 years—from 1970 through the end of apartheid, the election of Nelson Mandela, and the 2010 World Cup—multiple narrators provide varying perspectives. Each chapter showcases a short period of time, from a few hours to a day, in a character’s life. The small moments captured by Coovadia are snapshots of South Africa’s cultural change. 

But Trevor Noah doesn’t disappoint you at all. It’s funny, Interestingly told the story of his life in South Africa.

Travelogue!

Travelling has been the constant change that keeps teaching  me a lot.
The recent event in Sri Lanka.Was another such trip that taught me that it doesn’t matter how much time and effort you give into something.If on the the day you can’t execute and deliver it’s of no use.
And doing events in other countries & states teaches you a lot about the attitude of the people.About an individual and about the place through experience.You live through the whole experience rather than just hearing it from a third person.
Travel also teaches one that people are the same everywhere.You just have to be a good judge of their character.
Colombo,Sri Lanka,I learned how to play pool over the three days I was there.
Every afternoon we played pool at Pebbles restaurant in Taj Samudra and in the end I finally learnt how to strike the ball and position myself for the perfect “Pot”.
Played Table tennis after so many years.It’s was one of the best workouts to chase the ball and concentrate on the ball.
The three day break in Colombo has been the best time during the “Event” time so far.
Sri Lanka is a good place just for a weekend .Otherwise it could be a challenge to live there since it’s an Island and people are lazy and very laid back.
Travelling has made me sure of one thing that I like buzzing cities More than towns.

Cocktail Tasting 🍸

Working for a event company and handling F&B(Food & Beverages) the clients when hiring the bartenders for their weddings.Would occasionally if they aren’t too sure about the bartenders.Want to taste cocktails to get an idea of the bartending companies combination and  balance of spirits with the mixtures they will be using.

The Oxford Dictionaries define cocktailas “An alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice or cream”. A cocktail more specifically may mean a beverage with at least three flavors, one of which is alcohol.

This was my first experience. For somebody who isn’t fond of alcohol and has a brief idea of the variety of spirits and knows about the classic cocktail (Gin & Tonic) (Vodka with orange) (Bloody Marry) to name a few.

Was getting questioned and envied on the social media post. How will you judge the spirt ? Do you  also know how the  spirit taste  ? Can we switch jobs ?

Hate your life. All these by who are very fond of drinking and clubbing. How Ironic was the night for someone like me who is a teetotaller doing a cocktail tasting.

Yes,I had small sips from a variety of spirts and combination-Gin,Whisky,Rum,Vodka and Kamikaze shot(Vodka,Triple sec and lime juice ) with sweetened caviar was interesting . Popcorn flavoured cocktail with vodka sport I guess was the one that blew my mind with another one being the bubble tea cocktail and changed its colour after bubble Tea was poured.

This would have been the perfect start for Ones who love drinking ,But For me it was an experience worth sharing. I was literally high on spirts by the end of the cocktail tasting.

Bryan Adams:The Ultimate Tour 2018 !!

Bryan Adams:The Ultimate Tour 2018  last night was my 1st ever concert With this big magnitude ever attended in my life.

Bryan Adams as a personality had some super energy and a great sense of humour. 

The complete production -The synchronisation of the video to his performance was conceptualised interestingly. 

The in between act of singing songs randomly to get the audience attention.

The performances on the guitar by the man himself was like something never seen before.

The humming of songs of his greatest hits by the audience was a great vibe to witness. 

The Band member was in-tune with Bryan Adams and occasionally outperformed Bryan.The weather was so humid,the sweat was dripping through the ninety minute he performed. Traffic to reach the venue was crazy enough to cover 1 km distance in 90 minutes…It took longer to reach the venue then the duration of the artist performance. 

Being his 5th Tour in India so far.There is hardly any doubt that India isn’t his favourite country to perform.

1994 was the first time ever Bryan Adams came to India,Mumbai and performed. 

And sharing anecdotes of his first visit to the fifth one last night.

It’s been 24 years since then and he has already performed 4 more times here. May be it’s the classical and hits of mid 90s and early 00s that keep our audience in India hungry and asking for more. 

Trivia:

1.Keith Scott Adam’s guitarist has been with him  since 1979 -that’s 40 years since they have been together.

2.Summer of 69 passes as a Hindi song in India.

3.Everything I do for you one of his biggest hit was written for 1991 movie Robin Hood:Prince of thieves.But didn’t become part of it.

4.He is not just a singer but a professional photographer.Published a book in 2013 wounded:The Legacy of War.And shoots for fashion magazines.

5.One of the photos of queen Elizabeth was used a Canadian stamp in 2003.

6.He himself has also being part of Canadian  stamp collection in 2009.

7.He signed his first contract at $1 in 1978.

8.Summer of 69 is not about the year but about the sex position.

Open -Andre Agassi

Open – Andre Aggasi’s Autobiography teaches you so much about tennis and the life of a sportsman.

This autobiography interested me because There was so much to learn about the sport & about a personality who never liked Tennis. But played it anyway until he retired in 2006.

From the day he was born Andre’s Was born to be a tennis player, and at an age when you are still learning and enjoying your childhood.

Andre’s Father bet $10,000 on his son for a match against Jim Brown.

While the father went home to get the cash. A senior tennis club manager begged Jim Brown to lower his stakes…

The only thing Andre did was Play Tennis. A sport which he hated all his life. But, Became his life and became one of the few greats in Tennis we know today.

This blog ain’t about him personally, But on what do the different tournaments means, The different types of courts and the common terms that are used in tennis.

The first (and now oldest) tennis tournament was held at Wimbledon in 1877 and hence it’s called the Wimbledon and considered the prestigious Grand Slam. The Grand Slam tournaments are the four most important annual tennis events. The Grand Slam consists of the Australian Open in mid-January, the French Open in May and June, Wimbledon in June and July, and the US Open in August and September. Each tournament is played over a period of two weeks.

The matches in the Wimbledon

are known as Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s singles and doubles.

and not the men’s and women’s singles and doubles as known in the other tournaments.

Trivia on the Wimbledon:

1. An important Wimbledon Member Rufus the Hawak flies around the court each day to move on any trouble-making pigeons.

2.34,000kg of strawberries and 10,000 litres of cream are consumed at Wimbledon.- Strawberry & Cream

The Types of surfaces in tennis – There are mainly 4 types of surfaces. clay courts, hard courts, grass courts and carpet courts.

Wimbledon is the only tournament in tennis that still since 1877.uses the Grass courts. Grass courts are the fastest type of courts. And another reason why they aren’t used in any of the other Grand slams (Australian Open from 1905 to 1987, the US Open from 1881 to 1974) It’s because it is difficult to maintain and the cost of maintenance is very high.

The French Open is the only Grand Slam tournament to use clay courts.

Clay courts slow down the ball and produce a high bounce.

hard courts have been in use at the Australian Open since 1988 and the US Open since 1978.

“Carpet” Yes that makes you wonder – What type of court would this be in fact in it tennis means any removable court covering. Since 2009, their use has been discontinued on the top tier of the ATP.

I am sure, you must have come across these terms, and for someone who doesn’t follow tennis, this is what the terms related to the term ‘Grand Slam‘ really mean.

* ‘Grand Slam’– Winning all 4 Grand Slams of the year

* ‘Golden Slam‘- Winning all 4 Grand Slams along with an Olympic gold       medal in the same year

* ‘Super Slam’– Winning all 4 Grand Slams along with the ATP/WTA finals in the same year.

* ‘Calendar  Slam‘- Winning the Slam in the same year or in a single year

* ‘Non-Calendar Slam’-Winning the slam in a period of 12 months

* ‘Career Slam‘- Winning the slam overall in the career i.e. winning all the    events of a slam in the career once

They are each called “Grand Slam tournaments” because they are the tournaments that make up the “Grand Slam”.