He ain't heavy, he's my brother

I didn’t really get the meaning of this song before , but yesterday after a conversation with a friend, I heard this on the radio and it all made sense …. This is more a diary entry for me ..and I’m the ‘brother’… though at times I may have been the ‘narrator’, but hopefully never someone who totally goes against the values mentioned in the song ... So help me God. What strikes me most are these lines -

If I'm laden at all, I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness
Of love, for one another .

HE AINT HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER – The Hollies
2 weeks at #1 - 11 weeks on chart

The road is long, with many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong, strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go, his welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know, he would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all, I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart isn't filled with the gladness
Of love, for one another

It's a long, long road, from which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

Some Recepies..

Copyright :Spice Corner

Sometimes a post comes along and I just HAVVVE to plug it ….but this is an entire blog I want to plug.. seems like it already has a fan following …


Any way here’s Sups’ cooking blog…great 'Karnatakan' and Indian recipes for the day when I can actually think of cooking … Supriya is my roommate from undergrad so we are peers but at this point (like with most of my peers) our passions diverge a little bit..she prepares Medu Vadas and Idlis from scratch … I microwave Amy’s Paneer Masala from Publix to get my ( barely) desi khana fix ….
It’s a fantabuloustic blog …

Words to live by

The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates. At the first gate, we ask ourselves, 'Are these words true?' If so, we let them pass on; if not, back they go. At the second gate, we ask, 'Are they necessary?' At the last gate, we ask, 'Are they kind?' -Eknath Easwaran (1911-1999)

- from my favorite quote book …. And here it is in its original context

Meditation by Eknath Easwaran
Chapter 5, Training the Senses
Section 7 of 9

Selecting Entertainment


“……………………..In the name of hard-hitting communication, the media increasingly also offer us debased language – a few shopworn vulgarities, hauled out to serve every occasion. Presumably they are supposed to shock us, but what I find shocking is that people will allow the full range of their expressiveness to be encapsulated in a few stale interjections. It may seem old-fashioned, but I would recommend standing guard over the gate of the mouth to ensure that only the right kind of words come out. It is another form of sense training. Vulgar speech, sarcasm, gossip, even pointless chatter, should all be denied exit visas.

The Sufis capture this idea in a splendid metaphor. They advise us to speak only after our words have managed to issue through three gates. At the first gate we ask ourselves, “Are these words true?” If so, let them pass on; if not, back they go.

At the second gate, we ask, “Are they necessary?” They may be true, but it doesn’t follow that they have to be uttered; they must serve some meaningful purpose. Do they clarify the situation or help someone? Or do they strike a discordant or irrelevant note?

At the last gate we ask, “Are they kind?” If we still feel we must speak out, we need to choose words that will be supportive and loving, not words that embarrass or wound another person. All of us understand what blows can do to someone, but we do not realize that words can create a more painful injury, one that can last for many years. Nor do we understand the terribly destructive impact words can have on the consciousness of the person who uses them………………….”

Indian Pop Art ....and then some..........

Gotta Louuuve Indian Calendar Art ( nothing makes me as nostalgic as the familiar drawings from waay back that I don’t get to see anymore!!! )…Googled Indian Calendar Art and Indian Pop Culture to find the following :









From here and here and here.

******************************

Has anybody else used those educational paper ‘charts’?!?! (I always thought of charts as something involving thick paper ) the ones made of flimsy paper and we’d cut out relevant pictures and paste in our notebooks as kids…pretty neat they were….








They usually were of national leaders or national monuments or national scientists, sometimes domestic animals , national flower(s), types of houses ..and I’m racking my brain to think of the various pictures I had pasted on school books over the years.. wonder if they still make them...
*********************************

Let’s stick with nostalgia for a bit …here are some print ads I remember from my Amar Chitra Katha’s , Tinkles, Chandamama’s, Champaks , the Indian Disney comics, and a couple of Mandrake comics I own ….










The above are from the following AWESOME sites this one (Great online desi vintage ad archive) and this one ( Really neat site for people who grew up in 1980’s India ;but some of the content isn’t exactly kid friendly!!!)
*************************************

Anyhooo back to the present…………….. aren’t the following pictures really Cute!!! Awwww................




Check out the website here .

True Love(Poem)

True Love

True love. Is it normal
is it serious, is it practical?
What does the world get from two people
who exist in a world of their own?

Placed on the same pedestal for no good reason,
drawn randomly from millions but convinced
it had to happen this way - in reward for what?
For nothing.
The light descends from nowhere.
Why on these two and not on others?
Doesn't this outrage justice? Yes it does.
Doesn't it disrupt our painstakingly erected principles,
and cast the moral from the peak? Yes on both accounts.

Look at the happy couple.
Couldn't they at least try to hide it,
fake a little depression for their friends' sake?
Listen to them laughing - its an insult.
The language they use - deceptively clear.
And their little celebrations, rituals,
the elaborate mutual routines -
it's obviously a plot behind the human race's back!

It's hard even to guess how far things might go
if people start to follow their example.
What could religion and poetry count on?
What would be remembered? What renounced?
Who'd want to stay within bounds?

True love. Is it really necessary?
Tact and common sense tell us to pass over it in silence,
like a scandal in Life's highest circles.
Perfectly good children are born without its help.
It couldn't populate the planet in a million years,
it comes along so rarely.

Let the people who never find true love
keep saying that there's no such thing.

Their faith will make it easier for them to live and die.

-- Wislawa Szymborska

Live your best Life (TM -O magazine!)

"The great secret, Eliza, is not having bad manners or good manners or any other particular sort of manners, but having the same manner for all human souls: in short, behaving as if you were in Heaven, where there are no third-class carriages, and one soul is as good as another."
-- George Bernard Shaw, "Pygmalion," act 5

Interesting Video from the Dove Campaign...

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/

Behind the Veil

Barkha Dutt

Managing Editor, NDTV 24x7

Saturday, October 28, 2006:

It's the classic cliché: meek eyes staring out from behind miles of cloth; the grim black color making the perfect style statement for suppression.

But is it really that simple?

Is the veil a symbol of equality or entrapment? Does it stand for religious freedom or retrograde ritualism? At a time when the globalisation bulldozer is swiftly flattening out individuality and turning us all into assembly line productions, is the veil a healthy assertion of multiculturalism? Or is it simply sexist in the extreme?

Jack Straw, England's former foreign secretary, kick-started the row when he declared that he would prefer Muslim women in Britain to completely discard the full veil. Salman Rushdie was even more blunt: the veil, he said, "sucks" and was just another way of taking "power away from women".

And Tony Blair joined the chorus: the time had come, he said, to step outside the boundaries of political correctness and debate the place of the veil in a modern, secular society.

So which side of the debate are you on?

I have to confess that despite being an unabashed liberal feminist, I'm pretty confused.

Sure, I'm instinctively revolted by religious dogma and sickened by the subtext: stifle female sexuality in swathes of impenetrable dark cloth. I have always argued that certain principles of equality must override and supersede religion. So while Jack Straw's comments were restricted to the niqab that cloaks women from head to toe, personally I find even the hijab or the headscarf scarily suggestive of subservience.

But it disturbs me only as much as the ghungat in Hindu homes of rural India or the feudal chic of urban socialites who dress up in fancy chiffons and pearls and then demurely drape their heads and reach for their husband's feet if required. The veil offends my notion of equality just as much as temples that deny entry to women or churches that believe priesthood to be the preserve of men.

The fact is that gender is always on the wrong side of faith. And so by definition, the classic feminist position is always at loggerheads with tradition.

The problem as many feminists (including myself) have discovered is this: our ideology often doesn't have the width for the world's complexities. It ignores socio-economic realities and how inextricably culture and identity are linked.

In real life, context is everything: and the truth alters as the context shifts.

I remember being in Kashmir in 2001. A shadowy militant group was trying to push women behind a blanket of black: the veil was being enforced in a valley where many women traditionally never wore it. Outspoken young girls went on record to protest the infringement of their freedom and the distortion of their culture. As we aired these reports on television, a fatwa was slapped on my head warning me against traveling to the state.

A few months later, 9/11 shook the world, and I was in New York. This time, there were threats too, but of an entirely different kind. Muslim women were being compelled to discard the safety and comfort of the hijab.

At the city’s community center for Arab-Americans, social workers were advising women to dress in a way that would blend them into the mainstream: no headscarves, skirts and dresses, if possible. At a peace vigil, I met a Bangladeshi woman who suddenly broke down and wept; it was the first time she had stepped out her house without wearing the customary salwar-kameez.

Freedom had really become another word for nothing left to lose. And suddenly what could have been a symbol of oppression in another place, at another time, had transformed into an emblem of religious pride.

So when Jack Straw says that the full veil is a "mark of separation" and a custom that segregates the community, it raises all sorts of other questions. The assimilation debate is always a dangerous one; must Muslims conform to an anglicised notion of dress to be considered regular people?

London-based journalist Zaiba Malik was one such "integrated" Muslim who had never worn a veil before, but decided to conduct a little experiment. She shrouded herself in black and walked across the city. Among the slew of comments heaped upon her: "You Paki terrorist, go back home".

Reading about her experience, I thought that one remark would have enraged me enough to want to wear the veil forever.

On the other hand, there is also no doubt that across the world, there is a crisis of modernity and leadership in Muslim communities. As terrorism plunges the world into a Samuel Huntington styled clash of civilizations, Mr Straw is right in saying that cities must not be split into self-contained ghettoes. The question is this: did his controversial remarks actually end up achieving exactly that?

There are no simple answers. Modern politics has got caught in the polarisations of the West vs Islam battle, and the modern gender debate is tragically trapped in extremes as well.

Read the furious bloggers on Jack Straw’s comments. One of them, a young Muslim, demands to know: "What are Straw's views on teenage pregnancy, on young girls going out dressed in next to nothing?"

Beyond the obvious cultural clash, the comment got me thinking. Would there ever have been a public debate over whether women dressed in handkerchief skirts and bikini blouses were appropriate role models?

Of course not.

Today we believe women have traveled a long way because we are able to flaunt our sexuality and strut our stuff. To question to that is to be labelled prudish and backward. And yet, I often wonder, is this progress or merely the circle completing itself?

The debate reminds me of one of my favourite stories, one, some readers of this column would have heard before. I first met "item girl" Momed Khan during the recording of a television show on censorship. The sultry, long-haired, short-skirted Momed, best-known for her seductive serenade in the hit song Dekh Le, sprang to her feet, and pointed aggressively at the skirt riding up her leg.

This is what women wanted to be, she said, almost yelling. The age of the salwar-kameez was over. As the audience applauded, I thought: here's a 19-year old Muslim woman from conservative Lucknow, in Thackeray's Mumbai, defying convention and norm. That seemed pretty radical by any standard.

Yet I kept thinking: What did she really stand for? The manufactured sexuality, the crafted coquettishness — it seemed to me that we had just gone and replaced an old stereotype with a new one. Had she turned up draped in a full veil instead, would she have been a different woman beneath the black?

Somehow I'm not so sure.

Modernity is a confusing business, and sometimes moving forward is the same as going back.

A question of faith

I’m at a stage of my life where I have to restore conviction that there is someone one looking out for me .. and in the end things will be alright…..

I truly believe that faith can move mountains .This conviction has guided me through most of life ..but a couple of years ago I became sort of blasé about the whole thing.. there are something’s in life that you just cant change… or things just not meant to be, or so I thought …...

Anyway I’ve recovered some hope and have started reading Norman Vincent Peale books and such like to get back the power of Positive Thinking..

It's good to have purpose to cling to in trying times ..something that you know if all the mountains come crashing down will still exist… I alluded to a lack of purpose in an earlier post ..purpose can mean ambition , strong love for a person or for god ..


Faith is a powerful and beneficial concept , but it can be negative at times ; I got to thinking about this after watching an episode of Law and Order SVU.. the story was about a lady who commits murder because of her faith in a person who we find out in the end doesn’t exist ( this imaginary person was a work of con artists ) …So faith drew this seemingly well adjusted ,well educated woman to murder ….

But it was misplaced faith… we all know about cases of misplaced faith , from my real life experiences I can state the examples of people who turn their back on family and close friends at the insistence of jerk best friends and lovesofthierlife , only to realize at the end that they had given on up on the people who truly cared for them .And jerk lovers/best friends being the way that they are; disappear when it comes down to the crunch ….This is of course an example on a small personal scale on a larger scale it could involve people drawn into malicious cults ,terrorist groups etc etc…

What happens to people who don’t end up in prison, or don’t get blown up , or aren’t left friendless and desolate….because of strong faith and belief in an undeserving cause??? They lose the ability to believe in worthy causes i.e. themselves, love, God……

I was spurred to write this post after Reading about this game in Aswin’s Blog ..found out about the post via Sharath…
Aswin asks :

Can you imagine ever having such a cause or Ideology in your life that you are ready to die for ? Your cause could be Absolutely Anything. I don't mean just Religion, Idea, etc - Your cause could be as noble as 'Ending poverty', or it could be as personal as curing your loved one's illness, it could even be something fictional like bringing someone back to life(?) , it could be, like I said, Absolutely Anything.

He goes further and reduces the penalty from Death , to years in prison to giving up all your wealth , education , memory ..to find out how much a person would be willing to forsake and for what cause

Here’s my comment :

Hi Aswin , Got the link to this post via Sharath, very thought provoking!!!

I wouldn’t die for a cause, because I believe life is precious and I don’t like to encourage suicidal tendencies of any sort..

Would I die to save a loved one??… Maybe, that would be the only instance I would consider this option ..Die to save a hundred dying people ?? ( maybe if it unequivocally resulted in their survival)
Would I die for my Country , Religion ,State or Planet??

…A resounding NO!! I believe all these disputes are politically motivated and everyone’s life is more precious than giving in to the whims of manipulative powerful people.. it’s the same as the case of the Indian soldier who died in Iraq fighting for the US army ..He only recently migrated to the States… and was brought up in India ..God Bless his Soul, but it wasn’t his war to die fighting … Maybe in an Armageddon situation, a war against planets, I would consider joining an army. The job of the United Nations and Peaceniks like me is to ensure that no world wars occur.. the world is no longer as isolated and countries and people aren’t as disconnected as they once were..

I would however risk my all my money ,incur the wrath of my friends , possibly switch careers to stick to my personal beliefs i.e. : open mindedness, the war against bigots , individualism, family ties and self respect .
I would also contribute as much as I could to the elimination of poverty.
This is starting to look like a letter :)
Regards,
N

A New Direction......

I don’t remember watching any American non presidential elections happening… ( I’ve always tried to follow Presidential elections,via my parents ..and they are always exciting )..but I spent the entire evening today watching CNN…… nail biter to say the least….

Living for the past two years in one of the more republican (if not the most republican) of American States…I realized that not all Americans think like Hollywood ( ok I’m not being serious here ;)) , I also realized that the heart of America was probably more conservative than I was…. But these two years didn’t particularly endear me to the Republican Party… so watching the Dem’s win the house is elating ..seeing the first female speaker in the history ( from ‘San Francisco’ and all the liberal connotations involved in that…) of the United States being chosen ( can you imagine for a country which has taken many strides for female empowerment , there hasn’t been a lady in this high a position ( next in line after Vice –President) let alone being president ( but now is a good time as any to start)…..

So this is the first national victory for the democratic party after 12 years; the time line goes like this- Bill Clinton’s impeachment , Dubya taking charge, September 11, the war on terror and the second Iraq war…. Yup definitely the American people could do with a change ( the years with the Republican stronghold weren’t too great )…..A lot has been said about lack of charismatic leadership in the Democratic Party, but on the other hand you’ve got Dubyaman ( who’s only saving grace was acting ultra conservative )!!?!?!

Right now the Senate race is still undecided..Virginia with ‘Macaca’ Allen ..in a neck to neck………. All very exciting .. maybe during my next year in America ,there will be more open minded people in Government ….and hopefully that seeps into the mainstream…

I guess as an Indian Citizen I shouldn’t be too bothered with what happens …but as someone brought up in the Middle East , from India and presently in the US .. I know how far reaching the Governmental situation in the United States is… I hope it isn’t too much wishful thinking to hope for a Democratic President in 2008.

12 Days of Christmas

What the …… but it is funny…
First of all the guy has an ambiguous accent like Apu from the Simpsons…. If these are in fact desiboys singing why can’t they impersonate an Indian accent properly??
Nonetheless it IS funny, and really good animation, listen till the end!!!…. If you haven’t checked it already from Sepia Mutiny..Here is a Desi Version of the popular X’mas carol Twelve Days of Christmas….Enjaaai??!?!!!!!

Celebration

Thanks to Mich for the fwd... the hostel/maggi noodle lines bought back memories.. :)

enjoy people.....



Celebration means......

A winter evening.
Four friends.
One barsaat.
Four glasses of chai.

(OR)

Hundred bucks of gas.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.

(OR)

Maggi noodles.
A hostel room.
4.25 a.m.

(OR)

3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.

(OR)

Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakoras deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.

(OR)

You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.
Gossiping about absent family members.


You can spend
Hundreds on birthdays,
Thousands on festivals,
Lakhs on weddings,

but to celebrate
all you have to do is spend your Time .

Keep in touch with your loved ones

Theres more to Me and You!!!!

‘There’s more to me’ ..Well I did mean all of the lines in that poem.. I was getting more than a little tired of people assuming things about me , based on a few facts and not the whole..(which is more than the sum of the parts)..anyway Sharath has been kind enough to mention the poem in his blog.. here’s his entry followed by my comment….

Anything more to know ?
Natasha's blog which I frequent (frequently!) has a few nice words up there.

I know its a poem, maybe she doesnt ( or perhaps she does ) expect me to take it literally. But think about it - if you were to describe to person A all the attributes of another unknown person B that Natasha says are not the only attributes that matters, A will still have a really really good idea about the person that B is !! ( books, significant relationships, failures, where u grew up, good/bad habits, overriding passions, job etc. etc. )

Yes, I agree that there will still be lots of 'undescribables' about people - there is nothing like knowing a person for a length of time. But undescribable doesnt mean undeterminable - many of those undescribables will already be determined by all the attributes Natasha has covered.

Besides, the extent to which we intend to know a person depends on at what level, for what duration we deal with her/him. To be fair to Natasha, she is probably talking about intimate people in one's life, presumably what you need to know before you choose a spouse or so, in which case that would be more accurate.

My comment:

Interesting take Sharath!!! When I wrote those lines I meant precisely that people cannot make assumptions based on all those attributes listed …… I guess I was talking about the intangible stuff you mention later… all the above mentioned tangibles do play a part in influencing what you are inside.. but I believe that there is more to a person than man made categories, when I wrote this I was of a mindset that there are only certain parts of myself that I show to people ,or only certain attributes of myself that some people choose to see in me … this will not give an accurate representation of who I am … and this isn’t only for really deep life long relationships ..if acquaintances saw me as more than just the sum of these attributes. .I’d be grateful for it!!!!
Having said that , I have to admit that I may be guilty of analyzing people using only characteristics mentioned above .i.e guy/girl, black/white, etc etc

P.S. I made it a point to mention all the generalisations people make that i could think of :)

There is no word yet for old friends who have just met

I have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.
-- Rebecca West, in 1913

I was about half in love with her by the time we sat down. That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they're not much to look at, or even if they're sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are.
--J.D.Salinger, from The Catcher in the Rye

In later life, as in earlier, only a few persons influence the formation of our character; the multitude pass us by like a distant army. One friend, one teacher, one beloved, one club, one dining table, one work table are the means by which one's nation and the spirit of one's nation affect the individual.
-- Jean Paul Richter


Two step formula for handling stress:
1. Don't sweat the small stuff.
2. Remember that it's all small stuff.
--Anthony Robbins


When one loves somebody, everything is clear - where to go, what to do - it all takes care of itself and one doesn't have to ask anybody about anything.
--Maxim Gorky

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
-- e. e. cummings


Serendipity -The pleasant surprise of happening upon a fortunate discovery when you weren't in search of it.
Coined by Henry Walpole in The Princess of Serendip (Ceylon), (1754)

Here today, up and off somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement!
Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows (1908) by Kenneth Grahame

Even Santa Claus believes in YOU, Can you picture that?
from 'Can You Picture That?' sung in The Muppet Movie (1979), by Jim Henson's Muppets

There is no word yet for old friends who have just met.
from The Muppet Movie (1979)

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.
from Orthodoxy (1908) by G. K. Chesteron

We are the music makers,
We are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams; --
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
We are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.
Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1844-1881)

Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles, with sniffles predominating.
from The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry (William Sidney Porter) (1862-1910)

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: 'It might have been.'
from Maud Muller (1856) by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)

We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.
* W. Somerset Maugham


True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen.
* François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

There’s more to me …..

There’s more to me than my skin tone..
There's more to me than my problem skin!!!!
There’s more to me than the places I’ve visited …
There’s more to me than the exams I’ve managed to clear and the degrees I have..


There’s more to me than the people I know…


There's more to me than the sports i (don't)play...
There's more to me than the parties I go to...
There's (slightly) more to me than my overriding passions....
There's more to me than my good (or bad) habits...


There’s more to me than the caste (community) I was born in ………
There’s more to than which school I went (go ) to……………………
There’s more to me than the way my hair looks on a bad day……………
There's more to me than my jobs........
There’s more to me than being my parents’ daughter………….
There’s more to me than being my sister’s sister………..


There’s more to me than the people I hang out with……….
There’s more to me than my failures…………..
There’s more to me than being an “Indian” .………..
There’s more to me than my mother tongue or the languages I speak …………….


There’s more to me than my choice of diet ……………………..
There’s more to me than the amount of makeup that I (don’t ) wear……….
There’s more to me than my measurements………..
There’s more to me than the way I look………..


There’s more to me than the books I’ve read and songs I listen to………..
There’s more to me than the way I speak……………
There’s more to me than my age……….
There's’ more to me than my religion…………
There's more to me than my relationship status...........


There’s more to me than my significant relationships or friendships ………………
There’s more to me than the clothes I wear……………
There's more to me than my bank balance…….
There’s more to me than how “cool” people think I am (not)………………

There’s more to me than your opinion of me……………

Free Hugs Campaign. Inspiring Story! (music by sick puppies)

I’ve been checking emails after a looong time and finally got to watching this video a friend sent …Thanks Friend!!! Watch it…a smile/hug costs nothing but means so much!!!! Very Chicken soup for the soul ..and check the oprah link on youtube as well….

100 Greatest Songs Of The '80s

This is why I LOVE VH1.... they do these awesome retro countdowns, and play music videos that aren’t exactly the current hot thing…. I miss that about music channels ( what does a girl have to do to watch some old videos!!) anyway I’m watching the show right now , saw it yesterday as well.. thank goodness people at this site complied a list.. otherwise I would have made one myself !!!!..highlighted are songs I haven’t heard or don’t recall hearing…( actually there are quite a few i havent heard..just havent highlighted them all ;))..Again AWESOME list!!!!

100 Greatest Songs Of The '80s

.
(Vh1) "100 Greatest Songs Of The '80s," the five-part program will countdown classics from '80s icons like Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, New Edition, Journey, Guns N' Roses and Duran Duran. With 44, 000 votes received, the list was determined by an online poll at vh1.com where viewers had the opportunity to pick their favorite songs from the '80s whether it was rock, pop, rap or R&B. Join VH1 as it counts down the coolest, gnarliest and most awesome songs of the decade that gave us hip-hop and hair metal. Premiering with back-to-back episodes on Monday, October 30 at 9 PM*, "100 Greatest Songs Of The '80s" brings viewers each tune's back-story told through new, original interviews with the musicians who created them, as well as the legendary artists they inspired. In the tradition of VH1's hit "100 Greatest" specials, the show features archival clips, classic performances, plus exclusive interviews from Chaka Khan, Deborah Gibson, Dee Snider, Jordan Knight, Bananarama, Bret Michaels, Terri Nunn, Darryl McDaniels, Rikki Rachtman, John Oates, Def Leppard, Young M.C., Jane Wiedlin, INXS, Fred Schneider, Joe Perry, Stephen Pearcy, Jack Blades, Barenaked Ladies, Chris Booker, John Cena, Mark McGrath, former MTV VJ Nina Blackwood among many others. Episodes 3 - 5 of the countdown will premiere Tuesday - Thursday at 10 PM*

01 Bon Jovi / "Livin' on a Prayer" 1986
02 Def Leppard / "Pour Some Sugar On Me" 1987
03 Duran Duran / "Hungry Like the Wolf" 1982
04 Michael Jackson / "Billie Jean" 1982
05 Prince / "When Doves Cry" 1984
06 Hall & Oates / "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" 1981
07 Guns N' Roses / Sweet Child O' Mine 1987
08 Madonna / "Like a Virgin" 1984
09 Run-D.M.C. / "Walk This Way" 1986
10 AC/DC / "You Shook Me All Night Long" 1980
11 Journey / Don't Stop Believin' 1981
12 Whitney Houston / "How Will I Know" 1985
13 U2 / "With Or Without You" 1984
14 The Bangles / "Walk Like an Egyptian" 1986
15 Van Halen / "Jump" 1984
16 INXS / "Need You Tonight" 1987
17 Whitesnake / "Here I Go Again" 1982
18 Dexy's Midnight Runners / "Come On Eileen" 1982
19 Cyndi Lauper / "Time after Time" 1984
20 Rick Springfield / "Jessie's Girl" 1981
21 Michael Jackson / "Beat It" 1982
22 The Cure / "Just Like Heaven" 1987
23 Cyndi Lauper / "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" 1984
24 A-Ha / "Take On Me" 1985
25 Go-Go's / "Our Lips Are Sealed" 1981
26 Guns N' Roses / "Welcome to the Jungle" 1987
27 Kajagoogoo / "Too Shy" 1984
28 Wham! / "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" 1984
29 Talking Heads / Burning Down the House 1983
30 Pat Benatar / "Love is a Battlefield" 1983
31 Queen and David Bowie / "Under Pressure" 1981
32 Night Ranger / "Sister Christian" 1983
33 Soft Cell / "Tainted Love" 1981
34 Poison / "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" 1988
35 Phil Collins / "In the Air Tonight" 1981
36 Tommy Tutone / "867-5309 / Jenny" 1981
37 Aerosmith / "Janie's Got a Gun" 1989
38 U2 / "Pride (In the Name of Love)" 1984
39 Modern English / "I Melt With You" 1982
40 The B-52's / "Love Shack" 1989
41 Mötley Crüe / "Dr. Feelgood" 1989
42 The Clash / "London Calling" 1982
43 ABC / "Look of Love (Part One)" 1982
44 Bananarama / "Cruel Summer" 1984
45 Janet Jackson / "Nasty" 1986
46 The Police / "Every Breath You Take" 1983
47 Twisted Sister / "We're Not Gonna Take It" 1984
48 Bruce Springsteen / "Born in the U.S.A." 1984
49 Beastie Boys / "Fight For Your Right" 1986
50 Eurythmics / "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" 1983
51 Ratt / "Round and Round" 1984
52 Dead or Alive / "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" 1985
53 Billy Idol / "White Wedding" 1988
54 Salt-N-Pepa / "Push It" 1986
55 A Flock of Seagulls / "I Ran (So Far Away)" 1982
56 Bonnie Tyler / "Total Eclipse of the Heart" 1983
57 Toni Basil / "Mickey" 1981
58 Culture Club / "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" 1982
59 John Mellencamp / "Jack & Diane" 1982
60 Young M.C. / "Bust a Move" 1989
61 Styx / "Mr. Roboto" 1983
62 Berlin / "Take My Breath Away" 1986
63 Devo / "Whip It" 1980
64 Paula Abdul / "Straight Up" 1988
65 Foreigner / "I Want to Know What Love Is" 1984
66 Depeche Mode / "Just Can't Get Enough" 1981
67 REO Speedwagon / "Keep On Loving You" 1980
68 Public Enemy / "Fight the Power" 1988
69 R.E.M / "It's The End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine)" 1980
70 Joan Jett & The Blackhearts/ "I Love Rock N' Roll" 1981
71 Rick James / "Super Freak" 1981
72 The Fixx / "One Thing Leads to Another" 1983
73 Nena / "99 Luftbaloons" 1983
74 George Michael / "Faith" 1987
75 Prince / "Little Red Corvette" 1983
76 Thomas Dolby / "She Blinded Me With Science" 1982
77 New Edition / "Candy Girl" 1983
78 Blondie / "Call Me" 1980
79 Human League / "Don't You Want Me?" 1981
80 Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock / "It Takes Two" 1988
81 Cameo / "Word Up!" 1986
82 Squeeze / "Tempted" 1981
83 Prince / "Kiss" 1986
84 Lionel Richie / All Night Long (All Night) 1983
85 Robert Palmer / "Addicted to Love" 1985
86 Bow Wow Wow / "I Want Candy" 1982
87 Falco / "Rock Me Amadeus 1986
88 Chaka Khan / "Ain't Nobody" 1989
89 The Pretenders / "Brass in Pocket" 1980
90 Tone-Loc / "Wild Thing" 1989
91 Katrina and The Waves / "Walking On Sunshine" 1983
92 New Kids on the Block / "You Got It (The Right Stuff) 1988
93 Gary Numan / "Cars" 1980
94 The Rolling Stones / "Start Me Up" 1981
95 Debbie Gibson / "Only in My Dreams" 1987
96 Men at Work / "Down Under" 1982
97 The Romantics / "What I Like About You" 1980
98 Bobby Brown / "My Perogative" 1988
99 Wang Chung / "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" 1986
100 Loverboy / "Working for the Weekend" 1981

Sar Kiye Yeh Pahar - Strings

Hindi movies and movie songs kick ass( most of the time…) but when it comes to rock songs and TV serials …our friends across the border do a better job!!! I mean I’m listening to this compilation of songs from Pakistan and they sound so good.. sounds like rock and roll and its in Urdu/ Hindi ( which is the same thing really.. Pakistani neighbors have asked my mom and dad “ Aap itni acchi Urdu kaise bolte hai?? “ ..(of course they wouldn’t say the same thing to me)…… anyway was listening to Sar ki yeh hai pahar after maybe 12-13 years…Awesome song..Good thing the boys from Strings are still rocking :D

Edison Lighthouse - Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)

I soooooooooooooooooo will marry the person who sings/records/dedicates this song to me ;)……………………………or maybe not……………..:D

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)
By: Edison Lighthouse
(Barry Mason - Tony Macaulay)
1970

She ain't got no money
Her clothes are kinda funny
Her hair is kinda wild and free
Oh but love grows where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me


She talks kinda lazy
And people say she's crazy
And her life's a mystery
Oh, but love grows where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me


There's something about her hand holding mine
It's a feeling that's fine
And I just gotta say (hey!)
She's really got a magical spell
And it's working so well
That I can't get away


I'm a lucky fella
And I just got to tell her
That I love her endlessly
Because love grows where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me


There's something about her hand holding mine
It's a feeling that's fine
And I just gotta say (hey!)
She's really got a magical spell
And it's working so well
That I can't get away
I'm a lucky fella
And I just got to tell her
That I love her endlessly
Because love grows where my Rosemary goes
And nobody knows like me


Fadeout:
It keeps growing every place she's been
And nobody knows like me
If you've met her, you'll never forget her
And nobody knows like me
La la la- believe it when you've seen it
(Nobody knows like me)