Music

Surprisingly, I end up indulging in new music around exam time. Sometimes it'd not be music, but a whole bunch of films, or a new TV series (for proof, refer to 'tale as old as time'). I'm glad it's music this time, since I can listen to it whenever I want, wherever I want, and I can study with it too. A good classical piece can bring you inner peace during a stressful period. A loud rock song can express all the stress better than words alone ever could. Singing any song can relieve the frustrations that lay buried deep inside.

I normally listen to music as I study because it helps me block out the rest of the world. Most times, I play a track on repeat during this time. Because one track gets repeated close to a hundred times (some days, not even that far) I get used to the song, and I try to find new tracks to listen to. This is where my physics major best friend sitting miles away from me comes into picture. She is currently taking a music theory class at her university, and she came across a lot of new music (ok, well, new to my ears, not so new to the world). She sent me a few of the tracks she had listened to in class, and I fell in love with the simple yet complex classical music, felt at peace with the music from the middle ages, and was blown over by music once again.

I have learnt Carnatic music since I was 5 years old. Singing is not something new to me, but I am choosy about my audience. I usually sing to myself, my teacher, my family, and a few family friends. My sister and I (she learnt for a few years, but not as many as I) are the only ones known to sing in my family. But, in a recent Skype session with the family, Dad started to sing a song that was very popular, but as I had not learnt it, I was not familiar with the lyrics. And so we let him sing, and although I normally cringe whenever he used to just mock sing at home, I was happy when he sang. He doesn't have the best voice out there, he sings out of tune at times, but he sings without inhibition when he's with the four of us. I admire him for that. I told his best friend, when he called me up last week, about it, and he was surprised. I told my uncle (Dad's brother) and he was quite curious to know about it as well. For a week, I was looking forward to my Skype session just to hear Dad sing more, and this week, he chose a wonderful set of songs, and as the countdown to coming home has begun, I am looking forward to going back and learning these songs that my father has discovered, and brought out the interest in learning the nuances of Carnatic music in him. It is a beautiful art form, one that has been a part of Indian culture for centuries, and one of my favourite genres of music. Many of the songs are devotional, but when thoroughly searched, patriotic songs, songs that relate funny incidents from the great epics, and songs that teach us how to be a good person can be found.

I would like to believe that there are a few things in this world that define who I am : (in no particular order)
1. My love for the medical field. (My excellence in it is a different issue, but I am working on it)
2. My passionate devotion to music. (I have come to appreciate good songs from various genres)
3. My loving and supportive family.
4. My lovable and, sometimes, crazy friends, who make my day so much more brighter.

Mind reading

Mind reading is something that amazes people. It's an illusion, whereby one can interpret the thoughts of another through facial expression. I'm an experienced mind reader for a few people. I am going to use the example of one of my best friends here. I have spent countless hours with her, and I am able to interpret her facial expressions into a full length paragraph, if need be. There are times when I would be able to interpret a text message differently if she adds in a comma, or a full stop. It's not a gift from the Gods, it's not something I was born with; it's a quality I have gained because I spend time with people, and observe their mannerisms, to know them better, and with that knowledge I am able to make accurate assumptions on what is currently playing in their heads.

There is a friend of mine (ok, well, we're standing on the borderline, so where are we?) who uses text messaging and whatsapp as our major form of communication. We do meet up and talk, or talk on the phone once in a while, but texts are how we communicate most days. Initially, I thought it was a good thing, since we're both busy, we have different schedules, we run in different social circles, and although we live on the same campus, it isn't easy to spend as much time together as we'd like. But, when your strongest form of communication is by text message, where the only emotions you display at times are through words and emoticons, how can you develop the ability to 'read minds'? We make assumptions as to how well we know the other, or what the person is thinking, but without an increase in human contact, without the gadgets getting in the way, how much can we actually know someone?

I used to think that, in the days when letter writing was, at times, the only means of communication for some, writing released inhibitions, and that I could express all that I wanted to in a letter, and the person receiving it would know exactly how I felt as I wrote it. Nowadays, technology has manoeuvred itself by taking that to a whole new level, where we display emotions as a range of emoticons that are supposed to help us explain what we would have expressed on our faces had the recipient been right in front of us.

In my texts, I use emoticons quite often, especially when I'm particularly happy, or when I'm trying to make a joke or sarcastic comment. Sometimes, the use of emoticons are not restricted to texts alone. I use them in my notes, and I'm sure I've used them on this blog too. There are days when I'm not so particularly joyful (there aren't that many, I hope) and I don't use any at all. Those who know me would know that, I suppose. But does that really make up for not being able to see the expression on a person's face?

In the end, a mind reader is someone who is able to interpret your thoughts based on your facial expressions and body language, rather than interpret what they can from a text message or email, where messages can be cryptic or naked, depending on the mood of the writer and the context of the message.

Recently, there have been moments where I would have loved to not have to be a mind reader by interpreting texts, as the replies I could have sent to some people would have been snappy and harsh, which is not something I like to do, and I reserve those moments for those that really deserve it.