Monday, March 07, 2005

The Gift of Introduction

Ashi's blog on Mark Knopfler sent me spiraling down memory lane over the weekend. I was transported back to my teens when my room was the "music room" of the house. A time when people automatically talked in very loud voices when they came close to my room, assuming that the stereo was blasting in there. I'm a girl who worships her Beatles and will die worshipping her Beatles. And there will never be a Simon and Garfunkal song that will not make my heart sing in pure joy. I loved Dire Straits because their songs made me think. But most others I would play over and over again because they got my imagination working overtime, whether it was Billy Joel telling us about his lousy luck with the Uptown Girls or afternoons lounging around picturing a day when my prince would sing "Lady in Red" to me or nights brushing my hair imagining Eric Clapton was singing to nobody other than me, cooing to me that I looked Wonderful Tonight. So come saturday I happily zipped up all my old CDs on the hubby's I-Pod and carried it religiously around the whole weekend.

But things weren't that easy back then in the early 90s and late 80s. One had only heard of CDs and no way would such expensive hobbies be encouraged at home! But I was one of the early sporters of the "Brother in the US" tag. And shipments of cassettes covered with the neatest handwriting (a man of thoroughness - artists, albums, song names and all the basic stuff were always covered) along with printouts of the lyrics arrived at a regular basis, much to my parents chagrin (a long letter describing his thesis topic and his eating/sleeping habits would have sufficed in their opinion! ) and my utter glee. And that is how I got hooked to "Western" music. My sister was the one who helped me find my way around the world of ghazals and the Jagjits and the Latas and Mukeshs but I will leave that for another day. Today is about my brother and the world of music he opened up for me. May the music never end in your world Big Bro!!!

11 Comments:

Blogger AmitL said...

Oh,wow,what memories..I remember,CDs in those days were the choice of the ultra-rich..Forget CDs,even a twin cassette player used to be an expensive preposition.But,still,it was fun...my first player was a mono cassette player(Probably extinct by now)..and,the fun I had listening to ABBA and the like,on that player,was much more than today,when there's a music system,a DVD player,MP3 on PCS,etc.Sighh..nice post.:)Good of ur brother to open up this avenue for you.

7:40 PM  
Blogger Alpha said...

amit, did you just call me a cassette player..as in dabba?
gabby, all I can say is that your brother continues to spoil you.

5:13 AM  
Blogger DilettanteMoi said...

That was a good post. Though I wish you wrote about it at length. It felt like you wanted to say a lot more but you got distracted in the middle [with some sale ad on tv I would guess :D]..

See, when I read stuff like this I wish I had a big bro!! :(( Though I had other friends and cousins who would feel sorry and step into the invisible brother shoes and supply me with CDs and the like..

11:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Aaah. The advantages of having a generous elder sibling abroad.

Sadly, I did not have that good fortune and must now assume that role for my younger sis ... *sigh*

4:05 PM  
Blogger phatichar said...

Good post. :) Nostalgic. I remember I had a similar feeling when the Deep purple played in Bangalore. Didn't actually attend the concert but used to work nearby and listened to most of the show from the terrace. ;)

7:59 PM  
Blogger Twilight Fairy said...

u a music lover too.. :)
ya.. those were the days.. somehow it's reduced the exalted feeling one got as a result of procuring some rare cassette, CD.. now everything is available everywhere in mp3..

10:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

...a girl after my own heart..music wise! i didn't have an older bro in the US (younger one who went there way after i'd acquired my tastes in music) but i had a father who had an eclectic taste in music...and a bunch of biker pals who hooked me to the music of our times...:)

10:54 PM  
Blogger anumita said...

I think I can safely say that all girls with elder bros have acquired their taste in music from them.

12:48 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

amitl - i agree!

alpha - i don't mean with the part where he calls you a dabba :-)

funnyC - you're right as usual! i was distracted, by one of the umpteen sex and the city reruns :-)

ash - hey, that's not so bad, bet she's blogging about you all over the place!

9:29 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

Phatichar - LOL!! & away from the crowd, couldn't get any better hahn?

Twilight Fairy - Your name, something behind it? Do tell! & yes, totally. also remember how much fun it was to "exchange" tapes with friends??

ashi - your Dad and your biker pals (love that phrase :-)) did a great job from what i can tell! Nice post of Celebrating Womanhood btw!

Anumita - Really? I had a friend who loved her Carnatic music while her brother (only a year older tho) turned the neighborhood deaf with his Speed Metal! :-)

9:41 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

[snip]I loved Dire Straits because their songs made me think.[/snip]

I love S&G because their songs make me love. :)

Cheers, great read. Thank you for a wonderful time.

1:05 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home