The Two Things Making Me Smile These Days...

...don't have too much to do with Bollywood. Well, they do, but not directly.

One of them is the new Ali Zafar album Jhoom. I promised myself I would keep an eye on the boy, and yet somehow the album fell off my radar. But I am so happy I was reminded of it, and to make up for my tardiness, I have been listening to it non-stop since I got it.



And I swear it's not just this video that makes me happy (ok, it is a pretty darn sexy video, so it definitely helped)! But beyond the video I was swept off my feet by the silent strength of the slow songs and the understated joy of the more bouncy ones.

If I had to associate one word with each song, it would go like this:
Jhoom - peace
Tu Janay Na - teenage love
Jab Se Dekha Tujhko - cherry blossoms. By the way this is one of my favourites, and I suspect it's not because it's the greatest song of the album (because it's not) but because I can actually understand the lyrics (for the most part). I have a special relationship with the songs that don't require hours of looking up translations, so, good or bad, there are a few I love just for giving me this satisfaction. What can I say, it's tough listening to music when you don't know the language. It makes for a completely different type of listening.
Jee Dhoondta Hai - haunting. I swear I woke up with this song ringing in my head more than once. It's so beautiful!
Koi Umeed - longing
Jaan-e-Mann - photography. Don't laugh, it's probably the title, or the piano, but I can see this track rocking in a Bollywood movie with a picturization in sepia or something old and a tad blurry...
Nahin Ray Nahin - flight
Yar Dhadhi Ishq - home. It sounds a little Turkish, a little folk, very Eastern. I want to dance to it!
Dastaan-e-Ishq - summer sunrise. My other favourite.

And this one not because I get it, because truly, I don't understand a word outside the title and a few verses about halfway through. Really guys, Hindi is difficult enough, when you throw Punjabi at me too... it's just not fair! But this song is so amazing that I don't even need to know what it's about (well, not that I wouldn't want to, don't get me wrong, so any help is appreciated).
Allah Hu - silence. I know, it's odd for a song to evoke silence, but somehow this one does.

I deleted the RnB remix of Jhoom as soon as I listened to it, it just doesn't belong on this album in my opinion, but I very much appreciate the dhol version of Dastaan-e-Ishq. There is no such thing as spoiling a song by adding a bit of drums.

Yes, Jhoom makes me happy in a very serene way. Especially since I never saw this coming listening to Ali's previous hits. A lovely surprise!

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And because everything has to be balanced for me, the other thing that makes me smile these days, and this one in a very exuberant way, is Allu Arjun's wedding. Which coincidentally is taking place as we speak (give or take a few hours). But seeing all the pre-wedding functions practically live on youtube and in pictures, and knowing that the main event is broadcast live on TV gives me such a kick. It's like being there!

Lots of sparkle,  some incredible jewellery, some fabulous traditional outfits for both the bride and the groom for every one of the events in the past few days, my favourite so far for Arjun being the midnight blue one from the Sangeet. Unfortunately, none of the 672 photographers present had the common sense to take a picture of it, so it can only be seen in video form. Not that I mind very much...



And after all the glamour and glitz, and after all the talk about it being an arranged marriage, imagine my surprise when I find this picture of the soon to be happy couple lying around on the Internet.

*Whistle* Way to go Bunny!
Ah, so cute! Wishing them both all the best!

Yes, the strangest things make me smile these days. And to show my appreciation for both people making me smile today, I end this by doing that gesture where you bless someone by catching their face in your hands and then hanging it by your own ears. Er... yes, this is probably the most ridiculous way to describe it, but I'm sure most people can figure out what I'm talking about... I hope... well, I'm doing it anyway! In my culture I'd be symbolically spitting them to protect them from the evil eye, so trust me, this is better!