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Rolling Stones magazine reports that Coldplay is coming up with a new album next month (June 17th, actually). The fourth album will be titled “Viva la Vida” and Coldplay has promised a departure from the usual piano and guitar routine that has brought them success in the previous three albums. Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin says even if the album doesn’t do well, at least it will be brave.

Surely, I agree with that. More than a decade ago U2 found itself on crossroads. Fresh by their success in “The Joshua Tree” and “Rattle and Hum”, they had a choice to make. They could have gone with the tried and tested formula, cash in on their reputation and made another Joshua Tree like album. Or they could dump every little thing that they had tasted success with and try out something completely different and redefining. A rebirth. They chose the latter and the result was Achtung Baby. The album eventually came at Number 62 of Rolling Stone Magazine’s greatest 500 albums. More important than anything, U2 had not only got in the money with the commercial success of the album, they also kept the critics happy.

The guys at Coldplay are at a similar juncture in their musical careers. They have certainly started it right by roping in Brian Eno as their producer — The same guy who produced U2’s Achtung Baby. I just hope that in a bid to be different they don’t end up overdoing things. But again, I hope they are not their depressing self, for a change.

A hit here would confirm that Coldplay is indeed “The New U2″, something that I have always wanted Chris Martin’s band to be.

Saturday morning movie shows, perfect for guys like me. Not many people have the tendency to go all the way, alone, to the most secluded multiplex in the city at 10 am on a Saturday morning to watch a movie. Chronicles of Narnia — Prince Caspian, turned out a decent movie. Nothing great about it though. The usual stuff fantasy movies are made of — talking animals and walking trees.

A little before the show starts, thirst strikes and I am compelled to have a drink of water before I enter the cinema. Except that no one is willing to “give” me water. They’d only sell it. Right from the gatekeeper to the boys behind the two counters, no one thinks that it is possible to have a glass of water. Where would you have a glass of water if you were thirsty, I ask. Blank stares. Here I was, going around asking the support staff for a glass of water. And there they were, adamant that I buy a bottle of Aquafina.

Why should I spend money buying an already overpriced 1 Litre Aquafina bottle when I can do with only a glass of water?

So well, here’s another model of India’s economic development. A glittering example of how every little thing carries a price on itself. Probably a century ago, in the west, things like these must have happened and the society there turned to what we call today “materialistic”. How would ours be any different?

“The right way is”, he continued, “to figure out the lesser culprit of all — and vote”.

Teaching a language gives the teacher a whole big playground of subjects to play with. “This is a pen”, “That is a clock” or moving on to a little more complex syntax, “We should all vote”. Complex still — “Who will you vote for?”. That is how this small lecture on politics started, as our Kannada teacher made sure that he put his point through, the responsible citizens that we are, we all should vote.

Not for the first time though. The three sessions he has taken, in a classroom used for teaching Bsc Nursing students that transforms itself into a Kannada school on Sundays, politics is one topic that our teacher seems to enjoy as much as, if not more, teaching Kannada.

The short, stocky, balding man who prides himself for being an ambassador of pure Kannada could very well take pride in the thorough understanding he possesses of state politics. Intellectualism comes in all forms, and sometimes in the least obvious ways.

So while the little man stresses on finding the lesser sinner of all and voting for him, he also mentions one important fact that could well turn out to be the sentiment of the common man — A coalition government just won’t do.

During the coffee break as I stare, silently amused by reading the words “Female Toilet” and wondering if there is a “Male Toilet” I could ‘meet up’ somewhere nearby, our teacher comes up to me and asks if I have my name in the voting list. And then we carry it on to why S.M.Krishna lost and why Kummaraswamy should not come back again.

A few perfectly valid reasons later I am left wondering where did our country go wrong in the last 60 years. For the things that make the common man so “common” deserve much more than the Krishnas, Kumaraswamys and even the Advanis that our political machinery has regularly churned out.

If you read this, whoever you are, leave a comment. I seem to have trouble figuring out how many people even read this weblog. Have I hit an all time low? Maybe. I feel a shadow of my former self. No, really.

Now, as far as blogging is concerned, instinctive, “at-the-moment” writing is not my cup of tea but come to think of it, that made me a better blogger 4 years back. Maybe I have been taking it too seriously. But then again, talking about my favorite color on the blog is a waste. No one is bothered, no one should be bothered.

I have decided that if writing in me has to stay alive, I will have to write more. They say, if you are uncomfortable doing something, you have to do it more to make things in order. So there. If I am to write more, I know I will end up writing irrelevant and then some “not-so-relevant” things. I think if there is a way ahead, this is it.

As I mentioned, I would need you to comment. I know some people who (used to) read me here but never comment(ed). I know how it seems to be in the black — Can’t see or be seen or whatever. It’s not that good a thing, to be a silent spectator. Its unfair. So speak up, please.

The world could do with a few more cab drivers like these…

For the fool’s day, that is what I hope at least, Orkut has turned itself into “Yogurt”.

Take a look:



And to say that those pink letters, they have always reminded me of Strawberry Yogurt…

A month or so back, prompted by this post, I toyed with the idea of writing on a relatively obscure topic. Later I realized, a lot of people found writing an essay on “The Death of the Essay” quite a puzzle to solve.

But I kept toying until the night before the deadline when a friend motivated me — at midnight, to actually start writing on it. I had no leads, a lot of confusion and a tough deadline to beat and then I had to come up with something that made sense.

I ultimately came up with this, what lies below. It was not crap because it did clear the first round. Though it did not make it to the final round, on the points table it landed itself somewhere in the middle of it all.

Last night I woke up at 3 AM. Coming out of the air of haziness was the question — Why would the essay die? That is of course if it’s not dead already, which I don’t think is true in its entirety. Dying? Slowly, yes.

Probably this slow death is something of the writer’s own doing. The essay may be striving hard to breathe but originality is dead and buried. Most believe, people have less patience, lesser time to read and almost no time to ponder. And the writer? Has there been no change in his levels of patience? Can a writer afford the luxury of loosing patience? Most will agree that it’s a crime.

There could be a parallel derived between less patience and lack of originality in prose. Does the average essay writer, and I do mean average, continue to derive inspiration from the simplest things in life? Ominous sign there, if the answer is in the negative.

In this age of less attention spans, the writer’s attempt would be to build around the time given by the reader. Instead, it should be aimed at increasing the span period. Or has the essay writer already given up on it? Certainly old school won’t do here. With some minor tweaking the essay writer could do well with the audience. Theoretically, the writer is on a higher ground — for he is talking and the reader is listening (and won’t talk back). Why can’t the reader be trusted not to be stubborn and to give in? Good prose coupled with a rational point of view is not too hard to recognize and appreciate.

But “Good Prose” has changed. It could mean original, compact, crisp and precise. Would the essay writer listen? He has to come out of the bounds and be innovative at the right juncture. If need be, he has to throw out of the window all that is learnt and devise own methods.

And after all, this is no golden age of fiction writing. Novels aren’t as good as they used to be. Besides, the thing about non-fiction writing is that it can make even the sternest of non-readers come to the book. For a person who doesn’t read books and yet is inclined to pick one, chances are, he’d pick up a non-fiction. There lies an excellent opportunity for the essay writer to build upon.

At 3 AM, I didn’t have the answers but the situation warranted some. A day and half later, I probably don’t even have them now. But I am looking. And it is almost ironical that I seek them while writing, of all things, an essay.