Livinghigh: Of one-hit wonders, routines, and lost temples
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Livinghigh was here at 4:55 PM /



Of one-hit wonders, routines, and lost temples

Together with the something tragic, there's something special about being a one-hit wonder. It's like a magic feeling, when you look back several years later, and wonder there was no follow-up to that one platinum album, or that one hit song, or that one sterling performance, or that one Nobel-winning idea. Or is that merely the hopeless idealist in me talking?

I'm listening to a collection called Country Roads now, a compilation of songs with many of these one-hit wonders matching melodies with the more established greats. And that, I suppose, explains this current frame of mind. One of my favourite songs of sll time is this one called 'An American Dream' by some people called the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and yet, this collection is the only place where I have come across this band and this song. of course, this may be more because of my ignorance in music matters, than anything else... but then there's also that other throaty wonder, Black velvet, by Allanah Myles, that I adore.

;-)

I've re-touched an older short story of mine, and put it up in Gabbles. It's called A Routine, and while the general framework and idea of the story remains the same from what I had imagined it, two years back, I have rewritten and added several paragraphs. I wonder what people will think about this restoration project of mine. My pick from the story, for livingHIGH is:

There had been others, since then. Five other strokes of their relationship had sounded, like deep, sonorous gongs of a bell, signifying each new beginning and each new climax before she found herself hungry enough for him. It was ridiculous to think of who had won and who had lost. She had extracted whatever he had to offer, and he had been paid in kind. Was there something mercenary about it, she paused to wonder, and her lips, exquisitely pink-and-peach with make-up, quivered slightly. It had been give-and-take. Even marriage was like that, she reassured herself, and finally smiled into the mirror. Her ten strokes were done.

And yes, this para was one of the face-lifts to the story.

;-)

We now switch to current affairs. According to The Telegraph, the tsunami has unearthed several stone blocks and platforms - a veritable complex, adorned with carvings - off the coast in Mahabalipuram (Mammalapuram), near the Shore Temple. This has got hope up in archaeologists' circles that they may finally be on the verge of discovering the Shore Temple's brethren, which were famed to constitute the Seven Pagodas in days long gone by. I had to post this entry here, because Mahabalipuram shares some special moments in my life, while I was in Chennai, and the Shore temple is one of my all-time favourite historic monuments.

The article (front-page, by the way) says:
Among the few strange acts of the killer tsunami was blowing the sand cover off seven boulders with various carved figures on the coast of this ancient town... The underwater discovery lies close to the Shore Temple, reviving the question asked by historians, archaeologists and seafarers from time to time if they are all part of a once-existing complex of seven temples.

Extending both ways, in the sea and towards the land, the discovery suggests a "bigger complex and more structures, besides rectangular cut blocks, of perfect shape lying in alignment, which generally imply they must have been worked upon by people..."

The findings will be presented in greater detail at an international conference in Delhi from March 17-19.

Unfortunately, this comes at a time, when, due to my jaundice, my Delhi trip is down the bogs! Anyone else in the capitol at that time?

Mirror Mirror #11: I am majorly interested in architecture styles. At one point of time, I used to draw designs for buildings - usually five-star hotels and corporate offices, and even debated about going in for architecture, after Class 12, but then decided to concentrate on Medicine, instead. And we all know where that path led me to....! ;-)


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