Piano Man

Author: Billy Joel

It's nine o'clock on a Saturday,

The Regular crowd shuffles in,

There's an old man sitting next to me,

Makin' love to his tonic and gin.

He says, "Son, can you play me a memory,

I'm not really sure how it goes,

But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete,

When I wore a younger man's clothes."

Sing us a song, you're the piano man,

Sing us a song tonight,

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody,

And you've got us feelin' alright.

Now John at the bar is a friend of mine,

He gets me my drinks for free,

And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke,

But there's someplace that he'd rather be.

He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me",

As the smile ran away from his face,

"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star,

If I could get out of this place".

Now Paul is a real estate novelist,

Who never had time for a wife,

And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy,

And probably will be for life.

And the waitress is practicing politics,

As the businessmen slowly get stoned,

Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness,

But it's better than drinkin' alone.

Sing us a song you're the piano man,

Sing us a song tonight,

Well we're all in the mood for a melody,

And you got us feeling alright.

It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday,

And the manager gives me a smile,

'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see,

To forget about life for a while.

And the piano, it sounds like a carnival,

And the microphone smells like a beer,

And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar,

And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?".

Sing us a song you're the piano man,

Sing us a song tonight,

Well we're all in the mood for a melody,

And you got us feeling alright.

Pujas at Mangalam Park

Pujas at Mangalam Park are always special. Partly because I get to see my complex mates only during festivals. Durga Puja provides the best five days of the year. Yes, I do have to face ridicules from school mates and relatives for not going pandal hopping or on trips. But these ridicules bring a strange pleasure, the kind of pleasure you get while being mocked for listening to The Beatles, while others are praised for loving Miley.

This year was the best and the last. Our group was not as lively without Vishu, but we enjoyed nevertheless. And I can feel people around me maturing. The change is just too intense to be ignored, especially in people whom you meet after a gap of 365 days. Well, I have enough reasons to miss MP after I leave, and I’m glad about it. =)

Anime

Regretfully, I haven’t been able to get involved into anime watching as much as I want to. I’m limited to the shows of Animax, and very occasional internet downloads.

Nine out of every ten people will discard anime as something childish and meaningless. Just because it is animation, and not real-life. However, it’s something quite different, I assure you. In many ways, it is greater than what real-life is and what it can possibly achieve. Like a fantasy land, where every bit of emotion is amplified, every bit of action is intensified, full of perfect, yet proper romance, and moments full of tears and belly-aching laughter. I’ve often found myself craving to exist in that virtual world as an anime character rather than this one.

One negative point is, definitely, lack of diversity of ‘quality’ anime. You can find countless amazing real-life movies, but you can count amazing animes with one hand. But the best ones are so excellent, that they compensate for the rarity.

Many-a-times simple anime scenes have affected me deeply. I’ll relate two such events.

First, in 5 centimeters per second. The two lead roles, Akari and Takaki, had been living separately for more than a decade. They had been past lovers. One day while walking down a road, they presumably pass and recognize each other, across a train crossing. They both pause and begin to look back, but the passing trains quickly cut off their view. Takaki waits for the trains to pass, but when the view clears, he sees that the woman is gone. She had not waited. After a pause, he smiles to himself and continues walking. Thus the brief chance of reunion vaporized.

Second, in Honey and Clover. Yamada had been in love with Mayama for quite a while. She had never confessed it, but Mayama knew. One night, Mayama was carrying the drunken Yamada on his back, to drop her home. He was mumbling about how precious Yamada was to him, and he didn’t want to hurt her by turning her down. Just then Yamada whispered “Mayama, I love you” and burst into silent tears, moistening his coat. She kept repeating the line for about 8-9 times in a trance. Mayama’s reply was simply “Yeah”. He knew that she would forget this once she’s sober in the following morning.

Both scenes have unexplained sadness attached to them. And both are accompanied by awe-inspiring background music. The first one had an incompleteness about it, which would haunt you for a good many days after watching it. The second one specially, made me want to be in that situation. For a while, I wanted someone to love me that much and to cry for me that way (it was an impulsive thought, mind you). Only, I wouldn’t have been so indifferent like Mayama. At least that’s what I like to believe. It’s a kind of scene which gets your heart desperate for seconds, till your brain pacifies it again.

I know that I have been the cause of a few teardrops here and there. Sorry to the concerned people for that, but I assure you that they were the results of simple misunderstandings.