I have been struggling to write something in the last few months. My dry run has almost made me barren, sick and predominantly complaining. Almost when I thought I was quitting writing, Sandeep slapped me with a suggestion, " There is no point cribbing about something not happening; unless someone works on to do away with the irksome experience". I hated him, but liked his idea. As I finally threw of all my other preoccupations on Sunday, I listened to Nostalgia...Ityaadi, my friend Manash Mahanta's new album.
The weather was further chilled with a careless coming of the drizzle, that hopped mind to eclectic heights; Nostalgia without a Nature's bliss had been incomplete, at least for me.This has to be a distant stroke of irony, that the Distributors(outside Assam) of the album, would take a while to feel-pill the songs, which are definitely not for all and sundry.Are they for me, or the owner's of 100 Dreamz Street?
I have been avoiding this question, because I believed in the power of a product or service or someone, do all the talking on its/their behalf. If you ask Manash, he would say, " I am not looking at what my songs entail for the audience in particular; to the extent that I would refrain from discovering a genre for my songs, nor would I proclaim that this album is for every music lover; but yes, if someone wants to believe that Music cuts across borders, not limiting itself to sardonic melody or heart-burning renditions, then of course Nostalgia is for you".
Am I such a believer? I doubt. For me, music is anything that solace my tiring sensations. I chill-humm the restless cry of Adi( my nephew) and the indefatigable efforts of his grandmother to keep him at peace and would love to club that as music. I love to hear, when people point out, I have no Music sense. That is a fact and there is no denying to it. And pretty much for my inclination for nonsense in life, I have decided 100 Dreamz Street would happily endorse Nostalgia....Ityaadi. Our belief had been founded on the conviction of a dreamer, who was trying to make sense out of nonsense.
Very few people would know, the idea called 100 Dreamz Street was coincidentally a sibling of Nostalgia....Ityaadi.I am referring to almost August 2008, when I and Manash failed to celebrate the holiday of India's Independence Day with the silent pouring of the red on ice.To make for the coveted loss, I invited him for an aroma of the Lavazza, at South Extention Part 1.We met after an epoch; if honesty comes into play, then we would safely conclude, we had never met before as such. We preserved a plethora of mutual admiration, majorly unexpressed; sometimes it is a necessity to let the reservoir go the torrent way. " Bondhu, thanks for taking the time out", with which Manash greeted me. I liked the way I was being addressed, very much however reluctant to accept such a amazing demeanor, knowingly fully that I heard about Manash a lot,but never heard that he would have ever known any of my secrets. The very few occasions when I had met him before, I faintly remember he never had long hair or beards. But when I saw him with the look of...I love to call that as the NCD( National Creative Director) look. And it did never shake me even for a minute to unearth his associations with companies like Leo Burnett, ESPN etc. " What do you do", Manash asked me when he was starting to stir the conversation with the flow of a Mocha; I preferred to tell him, what I was trying to do. I was on the lookout for my soul-searching; a well paid job with distant hopes of fueling success was not tickling my aspirations, very much for the fact that monotony reigned in with supreme authority. I had been wasting many weekends over the errand boredom, my such reverberations were exercises in futility. All those unproductive months and by-years, led me home to only one belief, " Kuch Karna Hain". And I had no intention of sending this jingling phrase to Ekta Kapoor's or Karan Johar's,but to keep very much to myself, " the fact that you have come here to meet me, has inspired me to kill my numb self.", I told Manash that I want to launch my own venture, into anything, with a special focus on the Media and Advertising. And of course, such a venture would love to foray into commercializing, dreams. 100 Dreamz Street, was in my mind; it was a heart without a soul back then.
Manash then told me, he has recently quit his job in order that he records his maiden album. I was not thinking that he was about to just do a Harakiri; but I was astonished to know, a bathroom singer or a far from being a singer would try to wear shoes of a singer without socks. Funny was what I thought of his idea, I could not but admire the lyrics of the title song; I sort of questioned myself, " Who says that only a singer maketh a song?"; intelligence lyrics sung in a ordinary fashion can make music too.
Our respective cuppas were empty with our Dreams pouring onto each others knowledge. Far from being friends could never be friends, but they could very well be partners in crime; particularly, if committed to enthrall the world with the fact that its not the bed that decides a dream, but the curvy-bendy road that leads to its destiny.We took a leave from each other, without however promising that we would ever meet.
It was very much on the designed lines, that we hardly met after that meeting in South Ex. And pretty much on the unwanted ways that, 100 Dreamz Street was still wandering for want of any concrete headway.For, the only developments that happened, I found Partners to take the venture forward. But no one was still sure, what to do.But somehow Manash again called and said lets catch up. I somehow liked the idea. When nothingness prevails, some crime partners might just break the Jinx.
South Extension Part 1, Cappuccino was still waiting. Manash told he was ready with the songs. I almost forgot that he was with his crazy idea for so long. He played the songs, as expected those were far from being songs, which a typical music lover would embrace with open arms. And i sort of knew, people would question his guts. I told him, " Even Galileo was burnt alive, but his idea was epoch-making.So its good if people try to resist your idea".The best part was Manash himself was away from the word success,but obsessed with a biased for doing what he felt would give a new way of doing things. He found sponsors; he was just days behind to see his baby doing the birthday bash.
He then asked about me, how my 100 Dreamz Street doing. I said, " I won't say it is still dreaming,but yes it is yet to get out of the bed". While saying that, my sleeping senses were actually rising, realising that the Dreams I was planning to support are here. Manash Mahanta, is the first dreamer I met and Nostalgia... ...Ityaadi was dream coming true, so why not fly with this dream, serving a much needed idea for 100 Dreamz Street. Distributor of Nostalgia...Ityaadi, was a not a bad idea at all.
Today, when I am writing my blog, I am happy; my dry run ends here, with something which I love to talk about. If you still have doubts about what 100 Dreamz Street wants to do, then yes it is definitely not that we are promoting an album; but a Dreamer and his vision with a difference.
Till the time I find my next Dream, I would urge everyone, to get swept away in the memoirs of Nostalgia.......and many more Ityaadis............:-)
