OH GREAT!!! WHAT A ROLE MODEL!!!

The Times of India actually carries an interview in honour of the birthday of.....hold your guns......Sanjay Dutt!!!!! I am so disgusted, I am not even going to provide a link to it and increase the hits it gets.

Haven't we all heard those tapes with Chhota Shakeel? Sanju wasn't forced into those conversations, he was positively pally with the Don. At one point, he cajoles the Don to get him some leather object (dont remember now). He is not just a guy who strayed into the world of drugs and was exploited. He is friends with people who caused the 1993 bomb blasts.

Applauding a thug like this, who owes his freedom only to the deal his father struck with Bal "Woh suticase se letey hai hum breifcase se letey hai" Thackeray, 3 days after the twin RDX blasts is downright insulting to the memory of the victims.

On one hand, these papers will dig up news items from the Urdu press to paint them as anti-national. On the other hand, no one bats an eyelid when a frontline "respectable" publication like ToI paints Dutt like some sort of a wronged hero. Nice!!!

SCREW THESE FUNDOS!!!!!

I am really pissed of these fundamentalists weakening this country by strengthening each others' arms. The two types of loonies just can not exist without each other. Khalid Mohammad in Fiza portrayed their collusion in a crude manner, but he was not far from the truth. VHP gets its strength from the BMAC or SIMI. They in turn are strengthened by the VHP. And so the spiral continues, and will continue unless we stop this degradation into medieval mentality.

What brings forth my latest outburst is Syed Shahabuddin's reaction to the ASI report. It is not that he trashed it that gets my goat. It is the manner that matters. First of all, I think the RJB-BM issue should have been decided using property rights. The VHP keeps saying courts have no jurisdiction on religious matters, but that is hogwash. here you have one piece of land which belongs to someone. Who cares what was there some centuries ago? The most you can do is offer to shift the mosque elsewhere and build a ram temple there.

But no, like prize asses, raging maniacs destroy that mosque(or "structure" as they hypocritically call it), and set off a fresh series of tragic events. From the Bombay riots of 92-93 to the Gujarat riots of 02.....all have their genesis in that damned piece of land in Ayodhya.

Where is the BMAC going wrong? They should decide their stance once and for all. If the matter is to be decided by property rights, then so be it. It does not matter if Ram was actually bron there. If they feel that the proof of a ram temple would be enough to make them give up their claim, then they should take an objective view of it. But no, to have this image of liberal seculars, which they so obviously are not, they keep saying "If you prove that the temple existed, we will give up the claim at once!".

And now that the ASI comes with evidence of a 10th century temple, they trash the report without even reading it. If they had read it and then found it flawed, it was OK. However this came like a knee jerk reaction. Jerks!!!

The fundos keep scratching each others backs while the common man burns.

Thanks!

A big thanks to all those who have left birthday wishes on my blog and in my inbox. :-)

HELP!!

Scene 1
2 p.m. on A January afternoon
On a fort in the Sahyadri ranges in Western Maharashtra

I was feeling a bit tired and that is what probably made me take that wrong step. The grass beneath my feet made me slip and I lost control as I rolled down the cliff for about 15 feet. The drop was about 1000 feet and if I kept falling, I would have been smashed to pulp. Fortunately, after 15 feet, there was a tree jutting out of the cliff and I grabbed to it, hanging by it not unlike a hero in a Hollywood action flick.

It was not a sheer drop really. But it would have been difficult to just climb back, especially with the loose soil of the Sahyadris. I held the tree with my hands, and ventured to take a peek downwards. My trekking bag impeded my vision, but still I saw enough to make me realise that I had a mild problem of vertigo. Having thus analysed my situation for a few seconds, I did what was the only(and therefore the most logical) alternative.

"HELP!!!!!! VAAAAAAAAAACHAVAAAAAAA!!!!!!" I hollered. There was no way I could get out of this by myself. I could only hope that someone would turn up. My hands were getting sweaty and the grip was loosening.

"HELLLLLLLLLLLPPPP!!!" I yelled again. This time there was a response.

A face was peering down at me from the top of the cliff. The face was a wrinkled one, with a long white beard and a bald head. It looked at me and then gave me a reassuring nod. The face disappeared for a few seconds, but then reappeared.

The old man then threw down a rope.

"OK, son, I have tied the rope to a big tree here, so come up hanging on to it." he said in a very sagely manner.

I wondered what exactly an old man was doing trekking here in the unglamorous Sahyadris. But I also thanked my stars that he was there to save me. I grabbed the rope and started hauling myself upwards. 5 minutes later I was dusting the mud off my clothes, as I stood on my two feet. I looked towards the old man to thank him......

Scene 2
3 p.m. on the same afternoon
At a tea stall at the top of that very hill

The tea stall usually had people from the other stalls spending time. January afternoons were anything but profitable. Yet today it was packed. The big group of people that stood there was surrounding a man as he narrated his experience.

Bandu, the curd-seller came to the stall and got into the group.

"What happened?" he asked a guy standing next to him.

"That man sitting there saw the ghost as well."

"Really? It has been a few weeks since we heard anyone say that, right?"

Bandu also joined the group as they listened with rapt attention to the story of the latest "ghostwatcher". He was saying

".....and then I dusted my trekking bag and turned around to shake hands or something. However, he had disappeared. Not a sign, totally vanished."

A collective gasp went up around the room.

"Disappeared?"...more murmurs.

The tea stall owner finally opened his mouth.

"See, this is not the first time someone has sighted that ghost. It has been haunting those hills of the fort since 5 years."

The old man at the centre of the crowd ran his fingers through his beard and looked at him quizzically. For a moment, the sincere face of the young man flashed across his face.

"So there have been other people whom this ghost has taken help from?"

"Yes, and there have been some unpleasant incidents too...."

The tea stall owner had now come into the story-telling mode.

Scene 3
3:15 p.m. on A January afternoon
On a fort in the Sahyadri ranges in Western Maharashtra

I was feeling a bit tired and that is what probably made me take that wrong step. The grass beneath my feet made me slip and I lost control as I rolled down the cliff for about 15 feet. The drop was about 1000 feet and if I kept falling, I would have been smashed to pulp. Fortunately, after 15 feet, there was a tree jutting out of the cliff and I grabbed to it, hanging by it not unlike a hero in a Hollywood action flick.

It was not a sheer drop really. But it would have been difficult to just climb back, especially with the loose soil of the Sahyadris. I held the tree with my hands, and ventured to take a peek downwards. My trekking bag impeded my vision, but still I saw enough to make me realise that I had a mild problem of vertigo. Having thus analysed my situation for a few seconds, I did what was the only(and therefore the most logical) alternative.

"HELP!!!!!! VAAAAAAAAAACHAVAAAAAAA!!!!!!" I hollered. There was no way I could get out of this by myself. I could only hope that someone would turn up. My hands were getting sweaty and the grip was loosening....................

THE END!

Politicians' thunder stolen by terrorists again??

Wont write too much about the despicable acts of terror that took place in Mumbai today.

The whole Mayawati issue reminded me of something. You see, Mayawati has been promising some big news for today, but finally when she did announce it, her thunder was stolen by the bomb blasts. A state assembly being dissolved is big news, sure. But the biggest bomb blast in the country in 10 years is an even bigger news.

I got a sense of deja vu from all this. I remember that a couple of years back, Mulayam Singh Yadav had made proclamations about some major news. I was at home, watching TV and he actually made the announcement in the afternoon......don't remember exactly what it was.....but it was something that would have resulted in fresh elections in UP, like last time. However this was September 11, 2001 and a few hours later, all that one could see on TV was New York, New York.

Lesson for politicians - if you want to make a big announcement, do it as soon as possible rather than build up the suspense. Terrorists might just grab the headlines.

The Swami gets it right again with Serving beef at Ayodhya.

I have long opposed a ban on cow slaughter as a secular liberal. But in the light of Bhavabhuti's narrative, I also oppose the ban as a beef-eating Hindu. I am following in the footsteps of Vasishta, no less.

If the cablewallah ban was hilarious, read this about what the Pakistani press is up to. Apprently, we are building up Iran's nuclear programme.

Pak mantra: Charge India as world charges you

Indian scientists, it added, are believed to be working at Talkhab and Chah-e-Lashkar, suspected sites of nuclear research laboratories and possible enrichment facilities and both sites have a large deployment of India's Akash missiles.
Indian officials responded good-humouredly to the report, wondering what Akash, which is still at the user trial stage in India and has a small payload of 50 kg and a short range of 25 km, was doing at a nuclear enrichment site. "Presumably we are teaching the Iranians to blow themselves up with small nukes," one official remarked.

This reminds me of an article I had read in The Frontier Post a year back or so. It cited the "study" of some think tank in Islamabad to say how the nuclear weapons in India are the most dangerous ones for the Western World, because of "Hindu fundamentalists who hate American ideas like Valentine Day". This was the time when the world was concerned about Taliban types getting hold of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.


On another topic, 4 IIT Delhi students were expelled for ragging a fresher. Initially the punishment given was mild, but thanks to HRD Minister as been made stringent. I applaud Joshi for having taken this move. What saddens me is that a lot of IIT-ians....in fact most of them....are actually saying that the fresher is to blame for "being a coward" and "not taking the heat". One actually went so far as to say that if the guy couldn't take ragging, he should not be in IIT. The most cynical manifestation of the "chalta hai" attitude amongst us Indians.

For once a minister is doing something right, but we oppose it on weird grounds. And then we have the gall to blame everything on corrupt politicians as if our social fabric is any better.

It has been a while since I posted anything about policy. This is something that has been on my mind since watching a presentation some students made in our "Telecom Business Management" class.

The presentation showed me how deep the roots of socialism have sunk into the Indian psyche that even students in an institute like IIM, a virtual breeding ground of capitalists, talk like confused lefties.

We were discussing the Convergence Bill/ Unified Licensing Policy. A brief tutorial for those who don't know what this is. Right now companies who want to provide basic telephone service need a separate license and those who want to provide mobile services need a separate license. The Convergence Bill intends to combine these licenses, so that by buying a unified license, you will be able to provide any or both services.

Now I see a LOT of difficulties in implementing this, but what shocked me enough to write this post is what one guy said. He whined -

"If we allow people with one license to provide all services, then it will lead to formation of telecom monoliths who will, with their deep pockets, drive the smaller players out of business. But convergence bill is a must. So what we can do is allow a unified license and then set a limit on the market share a company can have."

I mean, arrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggg. Here we have even politicians trying to get rid of the license-permit-quota raaj, and here is a guy from a premier b-school advocating the same in a sector as important as telecom. If monoliths is what you fear, then why recommend a convergence bill at all?

Even a basic understanding about economics seems to be sorely lacking. Chuck civics, but teach eco from a very young age.

Hahahahahahaha.
LOL, ROFL and LMAO reading this news -

Pak cable men want Indian channels.

As if the strikes and bandhs in India weren't enough, we have enough "strike capability" to cause them in Pakistan too.

Can't wait to needle Sara about this the next time she comes online. :-P

The brush strokes drown
Me in a splash of purpleish red
First I cringe and frown
For my whiteness is now dead
But then I see my neighbour
Also touched by the artiste's labour
Seems to beam and preen
For it has now turned green
Other spots around me too
Celebrate their brand new colour
While I bemoan my lost pallor
Was that all I could do?
Suddenly I felt elated
For the monotony so squalid
Vanishing though belated
Made my cribs invalid
So happy I sat there
Without a futile care
For I wasn't now white
But something even more right
I got over my pique
The bigger picture cleared
The sameness that I feared
Was gone! I too was unique!

Funny how the human brain works. Some things that happened a few days back slip from the mind, but some little things that happened a decade ago are still as fresh as a moment ago.

There are some people who are not exactly close enough to be called your "friends" in the true sense of the word, but they are also much more than acquaintances. They were probably friends once upon a time, but were separated from you before the friendship could deepen any further.

I spent the first 9 years of my life moving all around the country in different schools. In 1989 I finally joined Abhinav Vidyalay where I stayed till my SSC. I have always been a person who has a very bad memory for faces. The first day I walked into the school ground, I just knew that I was supposed to be in the "4th A" division. The whole school would be standing on the ground, ready for the morning assembly. I asked someone where A div was, and stood in the row there. Typically, I could not remember many faces. The next day, I again asked someone where 4th A was. The third day when I asked the same question, a fat guy with green eyes gave me a big smile and said loudly "Are roz roz kaay tech vicharto? Lakshaat raahat nahi ka kai?"(Why do you ask the same thing everyday? Can't you remember anything?). He was the first person I came to know by name in A Div.

I never got very close to him. But he was one of those chaps whom you could never ignore. Teachers considered him a troublemaker, and many times when I was sent out of the class for not doing homework, he would be there too. However we moved in different circles. He was somewhat of a "thought leader" in the class. The first porn magazine that I gaped at belonged to him. He is the one who boasted about having smoked before anyone else in the class. He also boasted to be the first one to have fallen in love, when in 2nd, he decided he wanted to spend his life with Gauri. It never ever materialised, but his pursuit of her was always a source of entertainment as well as inspiration.

As I said, we moved in different circles, but he was a guy who always got attention. He became Prefect of the Green House, with a thumping victory margin in the elections. However he was always up to pranks. He clearly had brains, but for some reason never used them in academics. He was the sort of guy whom you either love or hate, and I loved him. Maybe on some level I admired his gutsiness at doing all the "forbidden" things at that age like smoking, drinking, picking fights, following a girl home, etc. We sat next to each other for about 3 months when we were in 7th. It was not by choice but because of a seating arrangement. We had a lot of fun during those times. He would tell me what he felt about Gauri and how he was confident she would eventually fall for him. About how his "competitor" Tushar went to the dustbin to sharpen his pencil every period, just because Gauri's bench was close to it. In fact he offered to sharpen my pencils all the time, just so he could chat her up.

In 8th, he went to another division, since he chose to take Marathi as the third subject, while I took Sanskrit. But he kept making waves. He got into a really major fight with a guy once and it was the most brutal fight I ever witnessed. Whenever we met, he would always stop and chat for a while, filling me in on all the details of his personal life. He got over Gauri soon, but his roguishness remained. The most hilarious prank he pulled was when he came to school early one morning and bent the blades of two fans in our classroom, one outwards and the other inwards. It was an age when vandalism could make you very happy.

After 10th, like most other people from Abhinav, he too disappeared from my life. I kept hearing snippets about him. Once when we were in Engineering 1st year, Aniruddha Kane and I met him at the Karve Road traffic signal. Though it had been 4 years, we started pulling each others' legs. Ani said to him "You know, you have grown so fat, you dont look 19. You look like a father of two kids". To which he gave his traademark green eyed wink and said "Well you never know, I might just have two kids." Never short of a retort, with a big smile and an even bigger heart. That was Ranjit Tardalkar. I never met him after that.

I doubt if I even thought about him after that until today when I read this news link sent to me by Satyen. He died just the way he lived, making waves, helping people, and showing ample proof of his big heart.

Rest in peace, my friend. Aaj kahiin mere maazi ka bhi ek tukDa.......guzar gayaa hai.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??

Whenever I check the "last 10 referrals" on the left side of this blog, more often than not I see that one of them is "Google Search: gaurav sabnis". If it was once in a while, wouldn't have been a big deal. In fact even now, it is just a small-to-medium kinda deal.

Who are these people? Is it just one person who has a bad memory, can not remember the URL of my blog and has not heard of this amazing concept called "bookmarking a link"? Or are many people looking for me on google? Do any colleges give "gaurav sabnis" as the topic for a term paper or something? Is there a celebrity by this name that I was hitherto unaware of? What could be the reason that my name gets googled so much? I know we have seen pretty weird search queries over there, but for me nothing will be weirder than seeing my own name there. At times the only plausible explanation seems to be that I am a schizo, and when my alter ego is on the net, it vaguely remembers my name and googles it. As this is all the result of being a schizophrenic, I have no recollection of it.

I guess there are things more perplexing than wondering who googles your name all the time. We don't know the details about the yeti till now and are a bit unclear about the whereabouts of OBL. An AIDS cure is still elusive, as is the answer to the question "What is the use of Tusshar Kapoor?". But if anyone evers bumps into this "god" fella and he is in a very tell-tale mood, slip in my question as well.

Or if you people don't want divine intervention, whoever googles my name is welcome to comment on my blog and tell us what drives you to do it. Believe me, my reaction will be nothing else than a flattered "pshaw!!".

MINOR TWEAKING

Have made a few changes to my blog's look. Calvin has gone to play with Hobbes so I put the snapshot of the IIML road there. I also re-christened the blog "the road goes ever on...". However as I told all my friends, this was just a temporary measure until I zeroed in on a new look for my blog. Went through literally hundreds of templates, but I did not like any layout more than my current one. :-)

However I have put up a new pic instead of Calvin or the road. This image was sent to me by Suku and many of you will recognise the pic as.....hey, why don't we have a mini-quiz(Princess Anya is beseeched not to give away the answer). Let's see who can recognise the pic first.

I changed the name of the blog to "Vantage point" since that is what I think of this blog as. A vantage point from where I look at the world and make onservations.

Happy Viewing!

I suppose you all know about the "Big Blackout in US and Canada" by now. Here are a few musings, which have the potential to spark off a 14th Aug series, like Ravi's SARS series that led to more terror than the disease itself.

q- What is common to India and USA?
a- 14th August was the darkest day in both their histories.



If a large part of America is plunged into darkness for hours at end, it becomes a headline news all over the world. They call it "The Big Blackout". If something similar happens in Pune, we call it "thursday".

New York city is expected to have lost half a billion dollars because of this whole blackout deal. In Mumbai, we would have lost twice the amount. Half a billion during the blackout, and half a billion during the bandh that would be called by everyone (including the ruling party!!!!) to protest the blackout.

Just read this somewhere -
With most of his state back on line, Pataki said a power failure of this magnitude "shouldn't have happened."

*Gaurav stands up and gives a slow applause*. Is this dude articulate and insightful or what? It shouldn't have happened!!! That is brilliant.

Bemaahtaab shab ke andherey mein
Ek jugnoo ki aahaT
Aazadi ka dhoomil ujaala
Kapkapaati raat ki sardi mein
Ek teeli ki siski
Azaadi ki maddham jwaala

On the eve of Independence Day, I wish all bloggers a happy and care-free life. Jai Hind!!

FISHY SERVICE

This happened a couple of weeks back when Sunil, Pushkar and I had gone to Pizza Port. This place makes mean pizzas, but their service leaves a lot to be desired. There seems to be an upper cut-off for IQ if you want to be a waiter here. Getting orders confused is as common as baking a pie here. So we usually don't take much offence when a blunder happens. In fact we have stopped finding it humorous at all.

What happened the other day was however mindbogglingly hilarious. We decided on the order - Chicken fried rice, Veg manchurian, Paneer tikka pizza and garlic bread. Read the order again, it shall play a very vital role as the plot unfolds. The waiter repeats the order thrice and then goes. He has not written it down anywhere despite our suggestions that he should do so. He comes back 5 minutes later and says "Sir what was the order you placed?"

"Chicken fried rice, Veg manchurian, Paneer tikka pizza and garlic bread" I repeat patiently.

"Chicken rice, chicken manchurian..."he starts

"No no, veg manchurian", Sunil the staunch veggie protests.

"Ok, Chicken rice, veg manchurian, veg burger..."

"Burger???? Who ordered burger?" I asked.

I sensed that this would take a while so I again asked him to write it down, but he ignored my request, making me wonder if he was illiterate. Then I struck upon a brainwave. All items in the menucard were numbered. So I said

"We will tell you the number of the item, OK?"

He looked pleased with the idea. Pushkar looked up the menucard, told him the numbers and we sat assured that food would be on its way soon.

Five minutes later, the dude comes back with a very apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry sir, there are no fish items available today" he said looking crestfallen.

The keen reader would recall the order we placed. The not so keen reader should scroll up and confirm the fact that we had not ordered any fish item.

"We didn't order any fish item." I said. However I seemed to have spoken in greek.

"In this season, it is difficult to get fresh fish. So there are no fish items, sir."

"Please understand what I am trying to tell you. We did not order any fish items and we do not want any fish items."

"Very sorry sir. Please order something else instead of the fish item".

Now I wanted to go to the manager and tell him about this. This little joke that had unfolded itself in front of us needed to be shared with as many people as possible. I went to the manager's table and said.

"I have been told no fish items are available."

"That is right sir" the manager solemnly confessed.

"The thing is, we did not order any fish items." I smiled, hoping to elicit laughter from him. The way I saw it, we would be slapping each others' backs howling about this amusing misunderstanding.

"I am sorry sir, the weather is such that the fish we get aren't fresh."

I gave up at this point and said

"OK, you dont have fish, we will order something else." and repeated our earlier order.

Juda hai shaakh se gul rut se aashiyaaney se
Kali ga jurm ghaDibhar ka muskaraana tha

Is that not how life tends to be? Plucking away the slightest bit of happiness that makes its way into your life, like an insensitive brat would pluck a freshly bloomed flower.

Sometimes this fashions the mind into a pattern of uncertainty. So while a short stint of happiness will leave you exhilarated, as it prolongs, the bats of insecurity start making ominous rounds of your top floor. And because of that pattern of something going wrong while everything is fine, your mind starts preempting it. At times it even tries to scuttle a good thing by itself. Like the captain of that pirate ship in Asterix comics. In the first few comics, he gets irritated when Asterix & Obelix sink his ship. Then in one story as he sees them approaching, he takes a hatchet to the hold and sinks the ship himself, just to deny them the pleasure(!) of sinking his ship.

Khud apney haath se shehzaad usko kaaT diya
Ke jis darakht ki tehni pe aashiyaana tha

It takes a lot of effort to actually stop a mind fashioned into cynicism from doing this. To shut those bats out and to accept the fact that good times are here to stay. Cynicism is the worst addiction you can have. It is at the root of all superficial addictions.

Disclaimer for close friends -
The two shers I have quoted are from a Ghulam Ali ghazal called Khuli Jo aankh. Have been listening to it since the past few days. This post is more of a musing on the ghazal and not a reflection of what is happening in my life. No bats or hatchets here. :-)

When that gurgling river
Flanked by dainty hills
Bathes in sunshine
On a bright happy day
When every petal of
Every flower glimmers
With the smug little beads
Of a breezy rainshower
The eye feels content
The heart skips with joy
The hands spread in delight
Every pore soaked in bliss

But will all this change
When the same hills
The same river and flowers
Lie sullenly on a moonless night
No sunshine, no rain
Just crickets creaking
A piercing chill spreads

Yet are the hills
Just as dainty?
Is the river's silence
Just as rhythmic?
Are the flower's closed petals
Just as captivating?
As the chill gnaws into my bones
If my heart can keep
The bitter cynicism
From making a house in it

I shall know

I love the hills
Not just their morning view
I love the river
Not just it's serendipitous music
I love the flowers
Not just the dancing petals

No matter how old you get,

the joy of sighting the first rainbow of the season will always make your heart dance.

the sound of a passing airplane will always make you look up.

you will be just as awe struck everytime you see the vast number of stars on a moonless night.

you will try to make out shapes from the clouds.

You are never to old to find the sky exciting.

How would you feel if the ending credits of a movie rolled up before the opening credits had ended? How would you feel if a bowl full of your favourite dessert ended after you had just taken the first bite? How would you feel if you had to say "goodbye" just moments after a "hello" had left your lips?

Sarika and I know exactly how that feels. We met a blogger we had been waiting to meet since ages, but the three days that he spent in Lucknow were so short to know a person like him. The Wanderer was in the city. It was great meeting him. He comes across as very intense from his entries, but when you meet him you realise that the intensity is very well masked by a very affable and easy going exterior. The three of us spent a lot of time in restaurants, coffee shops, a book shop and my room in IIML. We talked, listened to songs, played games like anti-tictactoe(where your objective is to force the other person to get three in a row), hangman and scrabble. It was as if we had known him for ages. He showed us the amazing pics taken during some of his wanderings, triggering a bout of wanderlust inside us.

But the great time we were having was rushing by so fast that three days got over in a jiffy and we were both standing at the Charbagh Railway Station saying goodbye to him. He leaves to pursue his MS in Ohio later this month. Goodbye my friend, wish you the best kind of success, your kind of success. Looking forward to the day when we meet again.

Every morning is like a glorious dream in Lucknow nowadays. Clouds, mist, often a light rainshower, and symphony on wings. When the tender rays of the orange rising sun gently wake me up, I should marvel at this atmosphere. But for some reason the early morning joy is not as much as this picturesque scene warrants. These lines have been playing in my mind for a couple of days and they explain the reason perfectly -

The dream that is this morning
Glides in from the door
Waltzes in from the windows
But the dream that was in my arms
Vanishes with my sleep
Disappears with the night

Not only is "The Godfather" one of my favourite books and one of my favourite movies of all time, its theme song is one of my favourite as well. This Andy Williams number has been playing in loop on my winamp since morning.

Speak softly Love
(Theme to the Godfather)

Speak softly, love and hold me warm against your heart
I feel your words, the tender trembling moments start
We're in a world, our very own
Sharing a love that only few have ever known

Wine-colored days warmed by the sun
Deep velvet nights when we are one

Speak softly, love so no one hears us but the sky
The vows of love we make will live until we die
My life is yours and all because
You came into my world with love so softly love

Wine-colored days warmed by the sun
Deep velvet nights when we are one
Speak softly, love so no one hears us but the sky
The vows of love we make will live until we die
My life is yours and all because
You came into my world with love so softly love


I was surprised when I searched for this song on the insti network some months ago and could not locate it. Our network usually has the most obscure songs, but such an amazing song was missing. If you haven't heard it, go to www.mp3raid.com and download it at once.