Embedding Music in Blogs

Updated: 28th March 2009

Like they say "A Picture is worth more than a thousand words", for people who write about music (or at least those who think they write... like me!) or if you are a music artist, its better to let your music do the talking rather than you :-P. That way, the point couldn't be driven home more. Further, you may not fool around the reader to sound as if you know more than you actually do (!!) when the evidence for your view is provided side by side..

But the problem is when it comes to hosting a music clip (mostly mp3) on blogs, the "how to do" part is not always very straight forward;

So here is a Dummy's guide on how to host your own music in your website/ blogs;

There are primarily 3 ways to do this:

Category 1:
You go to a one stop shop, where You let someone else control both your music file and the player it uses.

Mostly these are websites with file upload feature + a (usually flash based) player; Most of the time they allow streaming (i.e., playing the file already while its still downloading). The playback mechanism is native to the player. Since they take care of a to z, nothing specific is needed from you other than, 1.) uploading your file, 2.)Getting the code for 'sharing' and 3.) placing it in your blog post.. All these steps are rather self explanatory once you visit the web site who offers you this service.

There are too many websites who provide this service, both paid and free; You can google out and I am sure you will find zillions of them; I am mentioning two of my favorites;

1.) In the free category, the basic package offered by Soundcloud looks cool; They have lot of cool things such as non-technical easy presentation language in their site which makes the layman orient himself better. The player also allows you to insert comment on the sections of the song while its playing so you can communicate more effectively with your reader about a particular span of the clip while they are listening;
2.) In the paid category, hipcast looks complete; Its very popular among the Indian Audio bloggers in internet. As a regular listener to some of those audio blogs, I find it pretty Ok; But remember it burns a hole in your purse;

esnips seems to be very popular as well; But I've had playback issues with it, although it could be only me.. Plus, their plugin themes are always "hip" and playful; Thats fine for "da ma n newayz" crowd, while their plain themes are rather bulky; Would be nice if they could rework more on their plugin layouts..

I've also seen Muziboo and Picklecast that people use; Haven't tried them myself to comment;

I used boomp3 for sometime and ditched it due to its inconsistent playback;

Category 2:

You control both the file that is played and the audio player used inside the browser. This is a 2 step manual process and
Here is how you can do it

1.) First find yourself where to host your file. Choose one of the many free storage providers in the internet. Pay attention to two factors while you do this. One, They should offer direct access of the file through URLs (Not all do, like MSN's Sky drive is great but as I write this, it doesn't yet offer a direct anonymous access); Two, it should provide a decent bandwidth limit so that your readers are guaranteed most of the time that the file is available (Google pages or its new avatar Google site falls flat here; from my personal experience it blacks out the file after a few many times its been accessed); And then upload your file there. Note down the direct URL of this file;
Note: I use Fileden's free account; It provides 5GB of bandwidth per account per month; Put in perspective, if you are hosting about 5 MB of music in your blog, it plays up to 5000 times per month; I have only about 600 hits or so a month on my music blog; So it works fine for me so far..

2.) Copy the following piece of HTML code and paste it in your blog post:

<embed src="change me" type="application/octet-stream" autostart="false" loop="true"></embed>


Replace the change me with your actual file location noted on step 1;

That's it; You are ready to go;

For the more curious ones, what this code snippet does is, it lets the browser to play the music via the plug-in that you have asked it to to use (this is already configured in IE by default. It uses Windows media player plugin by default; For Mozilla, you may have to install additional plugins). the <embed> tag used here is a native part of HTML specifications and will work for all browsers; Also As you can see, there are two other self explaining parameters in that HTML code snippet; Autostart and loop; if the former is set to true, the file plays automatically when the page is loaded and if the later is set to true, the file will be played repeatedly until you quit the page.

Adv:
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a.) Total freedom on your hands; You can always choose where to host the file and you are using an audio player plugin installed in your computer; If at all you chose any provider from category 1 and if tomorrow he shuts down the free service, you might be left in lurch.
b.)It supports not just mp3 but any file type (such as midi or ogg files) as long as your browser has a plugin for the given file type.
c.) Though manual, Category 2 is very simple (uses native provisions of HTML) but very effective (like it allows streaming as well)

DisAdv:
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a.) In the context of the above point, the 'embed' tag is not a hyperlink and hence it also downloads the file when the page is loaded. Therefore this leads both you and your reader at disadvantage. While your precisous bandwidth is wasted irrespective of the reader listens the track or not, for the reader it takes forever the page to load depending on the amount of content you hosted in the page and his network speed. Besides bandwidth to host the file is a premium now a days; Unless you have your own web server or a private host who can hold your content (Like your ISP), you are at the mercy of free storage providers in the internet for hosting your file. All said, normally they all have a bandwidth limit; The free accounts certainly do.

b.) Although this works in the most common scenario (i.e., if you use Windows and an IE browser, this approach is almost guaranteed to work by default), sadly most popular media files (such as mp3) are not often understood by default in (all) browsers. So sometimes you have to install additional plugins which automatically solves the problems; But if your stars are bad, you may also have to tweak the browser settings on top of that. Check the trouble shooting section below for more info;
But as I said, If you use Internet Explorer, don't bother too much. It will work without any extra efforts.

Trouble Shooting:
================
A General trouble shooting guide to all plugins related problems in browsers can be found here.

Although its guaranteed to work in IE, often an additional plugin is required for other browsers such as Mozilla Firefox; You have to install Apple Quicktime (or VLC Media player plugin) in your computer. Quicktime should also work for other popular browsers. Personally I have had problems with Google Chrome and further looking up revealed that since the browser is still nascent, it might have to travel some distance before it supports lot of features taken for granted now a days. Anyways, Often installing one of this should solve the problem automatically; If it doesn't, try this page for some tips. If you use other browsers, then you may have to look for appropriate audio plugins specific to your browser. (Che.. By giving that useless info, I am sounding too much like the documentation we write for the software we make!!)

Category 3
This is a kind of hybrid option between category 1 and 2; You control the file to play but depend on someone else for the player; The advantages of this category is immense.
1.) Normally these players are browser independent and you shouldn't face any plugin problem and such whichever browser you use.
2.) Unlike the embed tag, the audio track is hosted as a hyperlink. This means the file is streamed/ downloaded only when someone clicks on it. So you save bandwidth and the page loads faster to your reader.

I have seen odeo being one of the most popular player in this space; But I am sure there are many more in this category too. More info on Odeo can be found here and here. However in my personal opinion, the the streaming rate of Odeo is not smooth and leaves one much to be wanting.

For reasons unknown to me, Yahoo Media Player is not so widely used as far as I have seen. However I find this as the magic bullet that solves all the problems discussed above across the categories. The player is sleek, it is guaranteed to work on all browsers. Streaming is really seamless. It aggregates all tracks in your page into a nice integrated playlist (although on some occasions this can be a nuisance). The code to integrate the player to your page is lean and mean; It is supported by a very vibrant community in the internet (so you get nice support from fellow Yahoo Media Player users). The player can be placed inline with the texts in your post. It has some cool features such as tracing the location of song within the page from the player (like a song locator); The code to evoke the player refers to a common link which means, when there is a latest and greatest version of the player released, you are automatically upgraded without any code change; The hidden capabilities and user specific customization possibilities that one can achieve in this player by tweaking its code are immense; At the same time, its also a bit esoteric. For instance, you need a special code to turn off the auto start of next song that you wouldn't know normally unless you google it out or if you are part of the YMP community.

Verdict:
My verdict is the combination of Fileden (to host the files) + Yahoo Media Player (to play it in your page). You can find all about how I have used it in my music blog.

The biggest unintended impact this player has is, since the clips are Hyperlinked, it allows one to link a clip over the portion of text that talks about the clip. The embedding is seamless even if its amidst the paragraphs. The icons indicating the clips are unmissable and non-intrusive. This gives the reader an unique experience of listening to the clip while simultaneously reading about it.

Audio Editing:

For audio editing, Such as clipping only part of a music file, stitching many clips into one file etc., I use Audacity. I find it more than sufficient for my blogging needs.

Disclaimer:
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Please note, options to host music in Blogs is an ever changing space; I am not surprised if a free service for audio hosting is launched tomorrow in this web 2.0 world, which makes this blog post obsolete. Like for instance, I have seen Wordpress blogs having a much more integrated approach to host clips (provided by wordpress) that I didn't even mention. So please keep yourself up to date with latest developments;

And yes, I don't encourage or discourage readers to use any of the vendors listed here; Its just an unbiased amateurish review based on some personal experience; So please be your own judge !

With Love
Vicky

Jaladharangam

I leaped out of my seat listening to the Jaladharangam in the prelude of the song - "Kothamalli Poove" - a not so famous song from the movie 'Kallukkul Eeram'. Ever since I heard the Jaladharangam in the song "Dheena Karunakaranae", I have had a fascination towards this wonderful instrument. But blame it on the 'too-many-choices-available' world, I never really had a moment so far to reflect on this instrument... And this song was a trigger to revive my (listening) interest on Jaladharangam..

Contine reading on Jaladharanagam (only) below.
Contine reading on Jaladharangam, Ilaiyaraaja and "Kotha Malli Poove" here..

So a casual browsing on Jaladharangam or Jal Tarang (So its called in the Hindustani music where its been around for longer than in the south) became a temporary obsession and I used the too-many-choices that was available to my advantage..

Firstly it is humbling to know that its one of the very ancient instruments..
Secondly it is alarming to learn that code red is designated on this instrument as there is hardly any mainstream players left :-(

While the conundrum of music found in nature is easily exemplified by Flute - a case where it is believed that the ancient man noted the wind blowing through the holes in bamboo that are made by beetles created music, I wonder why the beauty of sound waves produced by striking a container that's filled with just plain water (another natural element if you missed it) is often drowned. Also in a literal sense that is !!

There are couple of things that immediately strikes me as far as the uniqueness of this instrument is concerned.

Just think about the beauty of sound engineering here.. The proportion of size of the container viz the level of water in them, producing the same musical notes capable of any other acoustic or electronic instrument.. Also the technology scalable to same frequency ratios between successive notes.

Secondly, as far as I can think right now, this is the only (or certainly one of the very few) instrument where a single working atomic piece of an instrument is used to produce only one note (one swara); In fact what you call as Jal Tarang is a collective term used to denote 22 unconnected different cups placed around the artist. So put in perspective, Keyboard or Violin or Flute or Guitar or any instrument that I can think of has one integral piece of instrument, from which all the swaras can be produced. But here, if you want to play all the 12 notes in an octave, you will need 12 disparate instruments placed next to each other.. So from an acoustical engineering stand point, its as digital as possible that music can get ... With no viability of Analog sound (i.e., no possibility of one note "becoming" another through 'Gamakas'), Imagine the challenge that it poses to the artist as an Indian classical art instrument, a genre where usually a note arrives sliding from/to another... Combine with it, the natural short span of the note produced by this instrument (or 'Sustain'-ability as one would like to call it in musical terms).. With almost no reverb, this makes it unsuitable for establishing notes in a Raaga where usually artists hold on to a swara (especially at high pitches) for couple of Thala vottams.. Yet this is a bonafide classical instrument that has survived the test of time like no other.. Isin't this absolutely unique or am I going overboard here..!!

Next, this is in principle a melody instrument.. but the way of playing (by striking the bowl with a cane) and the crispiness of the output is akin to a Rhythm instrument.. just like a Drums or Mirudangam. So the melody played by this instrument involuntarily gets a rhythmic feel to it.. In fact if tastefully used, this instrument can well be used just as a percussion instrument.. Just a crazy thought crossing my mind...

To round up, I came up with couple of interesting references in the net...
- About an 80+ Maami who is apparently a legend..
- And this video... I was really dumbstruck.... She is so nimble that it completely contradicts the persona.. I was thrilled.. really really thrilled to watch this video. Such artists are one of a life time artists. I only hope that the legacy passes on...




And, If I do get an opportunity, this is definitely the next instrument I am going to learn..

With Love
Vicky

Thunder Usain Bolt

Just a week ago I was celebrating the lone gold medal of my home country.. Hey, I even left a comment on Abhinav's own blog on the same day that he won the gold (although he hadn't blogged yet after his winning at that time ..) Mine was the 788th comment in here... How more personal can you get in wishing the first olympic champion of your country.. !! (and 788th rank out of 1.1 billion is not that bad you know... )

Well, that had re-kindled my Olympic Fever and I wanted to watch the 100 mts Dash finals, the event that caught my fascination as a boy due to the dramatic episode (the rise and fall) of Ben Johnson in 1988 Seoul Olympics.. But I was too busy doing my Saturday chores, that I couldn't watch it live. When I wanted to catch-up online I found that the videos of Usain Bolt's amazing run is hard to come-by until I found one on dailymotion.com. (I guess the clip is again removed...) what a race.. Being Jamaica's first gold in this Olympics, I can imagine how ecstatic the Jamaicans would be feeling now...

Theory of relativity is clearly demonstrated in here.. When you realize that, 9.X seconds is normally the time you associate with gulping a glass of water, You have to admit that time is relative.. these are the fastest 9 Secs ever.. !! :-)

The victory dance that the media highlighted is a bit overdone in my opinion. The slowing down towards the end part is also exaggerated. You do notice a drop in his pace when he crosses the blue hoardings near the finish line.. But Its what I call realization of the victory a little too early and hence going with the flow.

Stumble Upon Raaja

You can define yourself a genuine fan or follower of something when you have learnt the art of distinguishing it/ them from the rest. So I feel, your benchmark to become a true Illaiyaraaja follower can be measured by the same postulate! But the challenge is, souls like Raaja are more trend setters than followers. And there are a few successful followers who tempt you to take the bait. So when you hear a good "Raaja - like" song that you have never heard before, the following can happen.

- You take a cautious approach.. You are not fully sure about its origin. Nonetheless you enjoy the song and make it a point to check who is the composer. When you find its not Raaja, you feel happy because you feel vindicated. (Eg: When I heard "Thulli Thulli pogum pennae"); But at the same time you feel sad because you couldn't be so sure yourself to begin with. You are still a boy, you are yet to make that crossover to a mature fan;

- Or You swear to death that, "this is Raaja..!"; Your beliefs are so strong that when you finally find out that its infact not Raaja, you see more red than disappointed. Because you refuse to believe the reality and rue on your wrong judgment at the same time.. because you have to deliberately downgrade the song you liked as it missed out on your definition of a good song, usually only accredited for Raaja's !! (Eg: When I heard songs like, "Oh... Ponmaanguyil Singaramaai", "Oru Kaadhal Enbadhu" for the first time); And actually on subsequent listening in hindsight, they no more seem as attractive as it was !!!

- Or You just know its Raaja. Verifying its authenticity is a mere matter of formality. (For example When I heard "IlaVenil Idhu Vaigasi Maadham" for the first time)

So recently I heard this one from a Talent hunt show - one from the 3rd category. The decent job of replication both by this aspiring singer and the accompanying orchestra didn't make me miss the original flavour for a first time listening.. The prelude was so rich with its whistle flute (like the one from the orchestration piece of "Isai Paadum Thendral"), that I was immediately convinced this is Raaja. Those Guitar strums through out the song and the rhythm arrangements with those variations.. Those out of the world chord sequences (Don't miss the augmentated chords on "Kathakal sollu nee" in first line.. bliss...) The unorthodox turn midway of the stanza's melody touching the chinna Gha and thus exhibiting the heights of innovation on an otherwise major oriented melody... I was dead sure this is Raaja. And I was smiling when the 2nd interlude started.. because I was expecting it to be strings show and sure it was.. that brahmaastra of Raaja, the "String Ensemble", again stamping its authority all over... my moments of self anointing glory.. for having expected the unexpected...

But a bigger boost when you come across such beauties is that, your day is made and you get this unusual satisfaction as if you have done something good yourself just listening to them while in reality the composer has just accomplished the divine task of exuberating his feelings through the listener.. The composition itself is a 20 or 30 or even centuries old is irrelevant, for its these numbers you call timeless...

With Love
Vicky

PS: Later I learnt from a friend that this song, 'Poonkaattinodum' is one of all time classic songs in Kerala from a movie called "Poomukhappadiyil ninneyum kaathu" and I might actually be jailed for tagging this an anonymous song.. I hope I am not alone !!

Vickypedia-FY08

Since Feb 29, the day when Mr. P Chidambaram delivered his Union budget, I have had few emails to update the Vickypedia. So here I am back with the "Naya Nimbu Shakti", FY 08 compliant Vickypedia - Your Tax dashboard.
(Click here to download now; You can alternately right click and say "Save Target As..")

I also created the below FAQ for the benefit of new comers:
1. What is Vickypedia?
A: A very basic tool that calculates your 'Income Tax' and 'Net take home Salary';
Disclaimer: This tool is designed at the best interests of it's end user. Though at most care is taken to ensure its basic authenticity, this is far from being perfect; Figures are indicative and may not be accurate; Author is not responsible for any discrepancies that may arise in the calculations. Don't use it to finalize the amount that you need to pay to the IT dept!! Use it only for personal reference.

2. There are umpteen similar tools probably available in the internet. So whats different in this one ?
A: In my personal view, Simplicity and Aesthetics are the USP of this tool. Also this is a tool for the "tax payer" made by a "tax payer" (well.. ex tax payer.. .!!); So you can feel that the sheet is made from 'your' perspective and not from your auditor's perspective.

3. So any "tax payer" can use it?
A: No. Its made for salaried employees who pay income tax in India. The salary components used typically applies to professionals in the high end organized labor sector as it assumes a salary structure of Basic + HRA + Special pay etc., It also assumes that you are paying a professional tax of Rs. 200 every month;

4. What are the salient features:
A: There are quite a few actually.
- The complete tool is in fact a dashboard; A one stop overview of your salary and tax story.
- Data is captured in one screen; Results are displayed in the same screen;
- Tool is very printer friendly and is printable in a single A4 sheet for handy reference; (Thank you Yogish)
- The tool has a HRA (House Rent Allowance) Wizard, that gives you the actual component (out of the rent that you pay) that is tax free. It also deduces the maximum rent that one can afford to pay which will make one pay zero tax over HRA, there by taking its full advantage. If your actual rent is above this figure, there is no further tax advantage and if its below this figure you are leaking additional amount as tax on underutilized HRA.
- The tool is focused upon the Net Take home salary. I've even deduced a perceived Monthly net salary component, which gives you the holistic view of the monthly salary

5. What is the tool based on? Is it safe to download this..? Does it uses Macro?
A: This is a simple MS Excel spread sheet. There are no Macros in the tool. I've made this by simply leveraging MS Excel's powerful arithmetic, logical and referential capabilities.

6. Why is the tool not fully editable?
A: The tool allows user inputs as needed on the fields with Yellow background. Other cells are protected because its very easy to inadvertently modify these cells and most of them are formula based. Trust me, some formulas are so long that it will be a mess to fix it again if you change them!! A password will be prompted when you try to edit cells that you needn't.

7. What is "Monthly Take Home - Cash" and what is "Net Monthly Take Home Salary"?
A: "Monthly Take Home - Cash" (cell: G27 in the sheet) is the amount that you usually see on the first of every month in your bank account. "Net Monthly Take Home Salary" (cell: G32 in the sheet) is the figure including the "Monthly Take Home - Cash" and monthly pro-rated values of annual components such as LTA, Medical and other allowances that are paid one time through the year. For instance, a high gross salary may or may not result in a high take home salary as LTA or medical or other annual component might skew up the stack; So "Net Monthly Take Home Salary" completes the picture. Mind you, its still a "real" figure except that you don't feel it that way on a monthly basis.

8. How accurate are these figures?
A: If you have made proper tax savings declarations at the beginning of the financial year, then the actual take home salary should be reasonably accurate. If you change these declarations during the course of the year, then this figure reflects your average actual take home (i.e., Sum of 12 months' salary divided by 12); Similarly, I've calculated the perceived monthly net salary under the maximum tax bracket (30%); So if you are in a lower tax bracket, then expect a more perceived monthly net. (Taxing the perceived net based on one's actual bracket is a little more cumbersome process; May be in the next version !!!) However the actual net salary is calculated properly across all tax brackets;

9. Does it cost anything? Can I re-distribute this tool?
A: This is not a commercial tool and you are very welcome to use it prudently. Always refer the original source to others for downloads. Besides properly crediting the author for his efforts, the end users are sure to get the latest version of the tool.

10. How do I send Comments/ Suggestions/ Errors on this tool?
A: Use the Comments section of this blog or send me an email.

11. What are the known limitations?
A: The tool doesn't cater for advance tax needs of the users such as Tax on Capital Gains, Tax benefits on NSC interest accruals and other special tax exemption sections and categories. Please use the cells C16 (Other components - Taxable) and C17 (Other components - Tax free) for including additional income accordingly. The idea of this tool is to give a bird's eye view on one's salary profile with minimal user inputs and displaying key outputs. While its possible to make it as complete and correct as possible by adding all exotic features, I didn't want to do it at the expense of its simplicity.

12. What is the motivation behind this tool?
A: Doing unofficial tax consultancy was one of my hobbies at my work. And for some reason I always found that the realm of salary, payroll and tax is perceived as the domain of Payroll executives, Auditors and that retired Government Officer uncle who lived next door. Hence I playfully started with a simple tax calculator last year to demystify these notions. I received many encouraging responses and rolled it as a handy, unofficial tool in my local circle. I decided to update the tool and publish it in this blog because after Budget 2008 I received many a enthusiastic shout from the existing users. Beside I just thought of seeding some useful content to Internet, a place from where I've been only leeching info so far !! I would be happy if you felt I've graduated in that attempt after using this tool.

Ski is the Limit !

The only other occasion when I have given serious attention to Skiing is while watching James Bond movies. So when I had the opportunity to do some real Alpine Skiing in Austria along with my fellow colleagues, it was more an experiment to see if its something for me; It was just a 2 day trip.. If it’s a flop, the ordeal would have lasted only a couple of days and neither my stamina nor my wallet would be over drained … More importantly I will have someone to bring me back home if need be!!

And to realize that Skiing is at least not as easy as sipping a Shaken Vodka Martini, one has to be in ones own shoes. Ski shoes I mean. This dawned on me the day when I first tried them on during the trial day in our office; With a couple of kilo grams added to each of my legs and a thick boot arresting my calf muscles, I along with everyone else, was walking like some one who is just discharged from a family planning ward!! “Is this how uncomfortable it’s going to be wearing this thing..?” I asked.. “Yup.. For the whole day”.. a matter-of-factly colleague replied. That evening I was contemplating, “Well.. I still have the choice …!!”

The place was a small ski village in the Innerkrems region of the Kranten province in Austria called Schonfeld, a location which our bus driver described as “middle of no where”. The First session on the first day of Ski lessons was bewilderment. The Ski instructor, one Mr. Roland, an easily 60 plus native but as agile as a rabbit, was explaining how to put the skis on to your shoes. He was locking the shoes with the skis by simply applying a little pressure on the feet while to me it felt as complex as if I am an Astronaut preparing for my first space walk. Despite jumping harder than Javed Miandad imitating Kiran More, I was always caught off balance landing my feet down only to get my boot’s sol thicker by a few centimeters of snow - which in turn made the shoe fitting process much more complex than what it is. By the time I got over it, I was up and running.. quite literally .... because the moment you are on your skis you are on a zero friction surface and even slightest of the slopes is good enough to put you on an involuntary take off that ends up with a grand fall finale unless you know how to stop yourself, which being on my first day I didn’t; If I manage to get up(which is again a very cumbersome and irritating process), within seconds I was moving again mildly along the direction of gravity and a seemingly unsuspecting situation turns to a disaster in no time. I simply could not stand on my own. I ask Roland, “Is there something wrong with the Skis..?” He replied “No... This is one of the best brands...” with a funny look on his face that meant “its not the skis... its you...”

It wouldn't have taken as long for Newton to discover the force of gravity had he skied before he bit the apple. Whatever else I managed further that day in the name of skiing was just fluke. No techniques, No control... At the disposal of Mother Gravity.. However I had found one fall back option to stop in case of emergencies; and what’s that..? I just told you.. Fall Back… !!

Being starters we were practicing on a ski area that was meant for Kids. And there were so many of them skiing so wonderfully well that I was not sure if it was humiliating or inspirational. But by now, I've learnt what I need to learn (!!). My balance while on the move was Ok. I am leaning forward and bending my knees. But I didn't know how to brake, how to steer and how to walk with my skis (Trust me, this is a very essential part for beginners.. Don't forget.. Mother Gravity is always watching you..). Exhausted - both mentally and physically, Score line at the end of day one read: Down.. almost Out...

Back at the hotel, I asked another colleague, for some personal tips. He and his wife were kind enough to explain me the basics. For braking, just make a 'V' with the Skis with the pivot of the V pointing in front of you while simultaneously bring your knees close to each other. (This way the inner skis will make friction against the snow and eventually reduce your speed… Aah…); For steering, Move to your right (as in move your shoulder and right knee a bit forward) and you will automatically turn left.. Do the opposite to turn right. Difficult to visualize..? Well.. Think of birds or Aeroplane.. Now, finally to anchor yourself or for walking with the skis, First get yourself perpendicular to the slope (with the help of stocks); Now peg the ski that’s towards the slope outward, take a small step with the other leg and peg it parallel to the first ski. Small steps.. all the time.. And you have taken a giant leap in skiing..!

Day 2 was crucial. Having learnt the theory I was anxious how am I going to fare in the practicals. Thankfully it was not as futile as my engineering Electronics Devices and Circuits lab (where Milman & Halkias along with the toppers of my class seemed to be the only rare breed to prove what the text book said) but as tangible as the high school chemistry lab (Blue..? Crystalline...? Ok.. Its Copper Nitrate..); Whatever I was told, seem to be working as I realized this is a race between You and Fear.. the winner takes control.. It’s just a mind game…

As I continued, I could slowly overcome the fear.... Then, I started to enjoy it…. And then I became obsessed.... I didn't even go for the first break session and kept practicing; After 3 to 4 routines, I had the confidence to try out the first blue piste. Along with Roland, I skied down a basic slalom of 8 flags; And once I had the hang of it, I repeatedly took the lift and kept skiing ignoring my calf muscles which was throbbing already. After one such slalom, a stranger came to me and asked in his broken German English "Where you from..?" and I replied "India..". "You have mountains in India?...". "Yes.. the biggest of all !!..." "You ski in India? .... ". "No.. This is my first time.....". "Oh! Can I take picture with you..?". Bemused I ask him "Why..?"; He then said "I haven't seen anyone from India who could ski that well..." I was not sure if he sounded like someone congratulating a batsman scoring a century on his debut or someone who found me as amusing as a Pomeranian riding a one wheeled cycle on Gemini Circus. Either ways I had to take heart from the fact I was a subject worth a photograph.

Much of the 2nd day's afternoon was spent taking joy rides on lifts to much higher altitudes and having nice Italian Ravioli for a late lunch at a 6500 feet restaurant that offered some breath-taking panorama of Alpine scenery. Back at my room, that night I saw the clearest sky ever and noticed some famous constellations with amazing clarity thanks to some real wilderness absent from any human light. It was the culmination of a productive trip. From the most miserable starter on day one, I ended the day 2 spotting Orion's dog for the first time together with some confidence to handle a blue piste. I am still just a 2 day old novice slogging to ski and my technique no where near perfection... but these 2 days did re-ignite some long forgotten learning skills;

I am not fit enough to be at your majesty's secret service yet. But I am sure even James Bond started like me... !!

Goa - The Earth on Earth

Geography says, 71% of this earth is Water. In the remaining 29%, one-third is taken up by the Deserts. Endless Mountain ranges, vast Polar Regions, other big fresh water lakes and rivers, and miscellaneous uninhabitable terrains vie for the remaining two-thirds. Sounds like there is hardly any piece of land left to live in the earth. Isn't? But then here we are, 6 billion of us cramping ourselves in whatever little place available and thinking that we are living in earth. A Frog in a well is not nearly as naive as one. So it was a reality check for me when I found myself amidst some real piece of planet earth - full of Flora, Water, Sandy beaches and even a bit of Mountain. It’s not hard to figure out why Goa has come to symbolize the term "Holiday" for every average Indian and the world alike.I am not going to croon here about the Goa which the guide books speak about. Babbling all page about the been there - done thats is redundant. You want to know about the Partying in Baga or the flea market of Anjuna or the tranquility of Paulolem, You would be better off googling out. My Goan experience, like my predecessors has its own unique mystic charm. Here I am with what ingredients go into its making, just like the recipe of a goan fish curry. Never mind I am a vegetarian!!

1. Commuting - Unplugged: How about donning a different cap (or a helmet rather), that of a chauffeur and be the master as well? Confused..? Well, If you aren't hiring a scooter and loosing yourself in the by lanes of goan country side, you sure are missing the real charm of being here. Its cheap, gives you some unbelievable freedom to do what you want when you want and fits well with the geographical fact that Goa is compact enough to do this. By the way, don't worry about directions. There are a million signboards everywhere in the form of ever friendly locals.
2. The mythical Legends: This place is woven so closely with Indian Cinema, that the filmy legends about Goa surely fires up your imagination once you are here.. "You know... Its the Dona Paula where 'Ek Duje ke liye' was shot..."! "Anjuna is the beach where Jackie Shroff spots Urmila in 'Rangeela'.."! " 'Vagator' is the place to ponder about life just like Akash, Samir and Sidd in 'Dil Chahta Hai'.. "! And the Tamils would fondly recall the Goan diversion amidst the movie "Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal". The ever continuing romance of Indian Cinema with Goa can be found all over ...
3. The Portuguese Past: The first typical site to greet me on the drive from Airport to the city was a Hutch banner - a fisher man claiming "Dempo my favorite" while an old lady vouching for "Vasco". Goa is definitely a prominent feather in the cap of Indian diversity. You have to pay a visit to realize its stark contrast, thanks to the Portuguese who irreversibly changed its demographics - be it in the lifestyle, cuisine, architecture or the football. Some of the finest shrines of Christianity in India can be found here in a Goa. A visit to the Churches and the Cathedrals does transport you back in time while their grandeur easily matches up to that of any medieval town of continental Europe.
4. The Goans: "Calangute?" I ask; with lazy eyes he points to his right. "Aguda?" I ask; again a silent gesture by another to his left; The "one line chemistry" between the wandering tourist and the native here is so effective that it leaves high-tech-pre-planned-itinerary-from-google-maps-(elsewhere-in-the-world), obsolete. In Panaji, I was lost and was asking the route to "18th June Road" to a passer-by (what a name for a street..!!, This way you can at least name 365 streets in a town unambiguously :-P ). He wasn't sure. Another gentleman overheard us and suspended what he was doing, volunteered in and gave us the directions, except that he was talking on a roadside PCO!! I approach another, "Which way to the Beach?" .. "Rocky or Sandy..?" comes the reply.. Haven't seen such improvisations in free advice elsewhere... No doubt that the relationship here between the locals and the visitors, like any other tourist place, is Symbiotic. But it’s that ever accommodating goan spirit in the people that makes your visit lively. While on my shopping I ask the shopkeeper, what is truly goan that I can find here.. "Me.. Of course.." he smiled. He did add that, now a days goans are on the decline as they loose people both ways. More goans leaving outside and more establishments in Goa being owned by others. Sad, probably.
5. The Landscape: Goa is one of the best spots all over the world for an ideal beach holiday and rightly so. It’s not only the quantity but also the quality. Shun the popular beaches.. Find a quiet one (and there is no dearth of them in Goa), sit around, do nothing but gaze into the sea, collect some nature’s souvenir in the form of shells and pebbles from the beach, chase a crab and you will surely feel rejuvenated. There are some beautiful relics of many Forts which is a must visit as well. I would recommend viewing the Sunset from Vagator fort for a sublime experience. The country side leaves a metro dweller dwarfed. A pleasant climate (not so sultry compared with other coastal regions down south), Abundant greenery dotted by elegant churches around every corner, no mad traffic on winding and narrow roads along the Natural creeks and of course a lot of sea and beaches... Goa is not a Heaven on Earth. It’s after all, Earth on Earth !