Favorites
On this page, I share some of my favs from across the internet, whether songs, poetry, or self published philosophy articles. Now, of course, these entries are overwhelmingly driven, so don’t quote me. Besides, there would be a lot that I simply won’t be able to recollect at any given time I edit this page.
Songs
1) Sweet Music Man by Kenny Rogers
2) Sukoon by Samar Mehdi (Oh how do I even begin describing my interpretation! He’s not really in sukoon—at least not the sukoon you might think he’s in. Look at how he sings, “ke tere dil ko rahat de saku.” He’s consumed by the urge to provide sukoon to her. And perhaps he’s in sukoon with that very urge. He’s in sukoon about her. For example, when he describes her: “Kahe bin kahe jo aankhon se, chubhey bin chhue hai aisi woh…” This song captures how I’d like to love my girl.)
3) Sung by The Amitabh Bachchan, Kyun Re by Clinton Cerejo (This song peculiarly captures the despair of a lover who knows that his lover won’t return. Bachchan’s character in this movie means it for his granddaughter. She’s dead, and he sings “Jab lautegi tab tak rasta dekhunga. Iske alawa karbhi kya sakta hoon.”)
4) Aguas de Março by Elis Regina & Tom Jobim
5) Goodbye Moonmen by Adult Swim
6) Jawaniyaan Cover by Poorvi Koutish (She sings with her eyes!)
Movies
1) La La Land (2016)
2) Neighbours by Norman McLaren (1952)
3) The Sixth Sense (1999) (SPOILER ALERT—Most films climax by changing the world around the protagonist. This movie climaxes by reinterpreting the protagonist.)
4) Life is Beautiful (1997)
5) The Egg by Kurzgesagt (2019)
Poetry
1) O Qualia! My Qualia! by my Master’s supervisor John Donaldson
O Qualia! my Qualia! the philosophising is done,
Debate has tested every premise, wisdom we sought is won,
The ergo is near, the summa is clear, reason is exulting,
While follows thought the likely truth, the argument strong and daring;
But O pain! pain! pain!
O the vivid hues of red,
For on the page my Qualia lie,
Not even cold and dead.
O Qualia! my Qualia! rise up and hear the truth;
Rise up–for you debates are fought–for you we die forsooth,
For you the verse and gilded tomes–for you the trials of learning,
For you they live, the teeming brains, their eager minds a-yearning;
Here Qualia! élan vital!
The reality of the red!
Is it some dream that in mind’s eye,
Mere illusion in your stead?
My Qualia do not answer, they are less than still,
My vital force feels not my grip, nor imprint of my will,
It is no dream, I can deduce, the point is clearly proven,
To choose to sup from inquiry’s cup cannot be unchosen.
Exult O reason, for truth ring bells!
But to know is to regret,
For my Qualia I can but cry:
Das Nichts, Das Nichts, nichtet!
2) The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost (My interpretation)
3) Kya kehte ho jab kisiko tum bewafa kehte ho? by my best friend Srushti Desai
Aasun ko meri palkon se jab tapakte dekh lete ho
Nazron mein jab dil ki tapish chhalakte dekh lete ho
Kya yeh hain jinhe tum bewafa kehte ho?
Kya kehte ho jab kisiko tum bewafa kehte ho?
Jab kaanpti hasi ke peechhe bikharti siskiyaan sun lete ho
Jab siley hothon se chhipi dabi zubaan sun lete ho
Khaamoshi ke jannaze chadhaayi jab tum pukaar sun lete ho
Kya inhe tum bewafa kehte ho?
Thaamte haathon mein jab chhootne ka, tanha dar mehsoos karte ho
Sang chalte kadmo mein jab aagosh ka safar mehsoos karte ho
Har muskaan mein chhipe vaadon ko jab mehsoos karte ho
Tum inhe bewafa kehte ho na?
Kya kehte ho jab mujhko bewafa kehte ho?
4) To Faiz, With Love by SUNO Jam Poetry
5) Shooting Star by Yahya Bootwala
“Ever wondered what happens to a shooting star after it has been wished on by hundreds of people? It falls and stays alone, thinking, if someone was selfless enough to wish for it to be in the sky again.”