Wetenschappers

Wetenschap is wat wetenschappers doen

Dutch for "Science is what scientists do"

wetenschap !

Is It?

Is the human brain capable of understanding the human brain?

Aawara Hoon

....Kal shab mujhe beshakl ki aawaaz ne chaunka diya
Maine kaha tu kaun hai?
Usne kahaa aawaragi

Ek ajnabi jhonke ne jab pucha mere gam ka sabab
Sehara ki bheegi ret par maine likha aawaragi...

My ongoing translation attempts:

....Kal shab mujhe beshakl ki aawaaz ne chaunka diya
Maine kaha tu kaun hai?
Usne kahaa aawaragi

Taken aback by a voice faceless, nameless last night,
Who are you, I asked?
The Bohemian, the voice answered

Ek ajnabi jhonke ne jab pucha mere gam ka sabab
Sehara ki bheegi ret par maine likha aawaragi..

When a strange unexpected breeze asked me of the lessons of my travails,
On the wet sands of the desert, I wrote - The Bohemian...


-Aawaragi (Ghulam Ali)
Lyrics Mohsin Naqvi

झीनी रे चदरिया (Jhini Re Chadariya)

झीनी रे झीनी रे झीनी चदरिया, झीनी रे झीनी रे झीनी चदरिया
के राम नाम रस भीनी चदरिया, झीनी रे झीनी रे झीनी चदरिया
अष्ट कमल दल चरखा डोले, पांच तत्व, गुण तीनि चदरिया
साइँ को सियत मास दस लागे, ठोंक-ठोंक के बीनी चदरिया
सो चादर सुर नर मुनि ओढ़ी, ओढ़ी के मैली कीनी चदरिया
दास कबीर जतन सो ओढ़ी, ज्यों की त्यों धर दीन चदरिया

This is fine, fine cloth.
It is been dipped in the name of the lord,
The spinning wheel, like an eight-petal lotus, spins,
Patterned with five tatvas and three gunas,
The Lord stiched it in ten months,
The threads have been pressed to get a tight weave.
It has been worn by gods, people, and sages,
But they soiled it with use.
Kabir says, I have covered my self with this cloth with great care,
And eventually will let go of it just as it was.

-Kabir (Translation Courtesy of Nila Kantha-Chandra)

Stubborn...

I do not want my house to be walled in on sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be swept off my feet.

- M.K. Gandhi

Mera Joota Hai Japani,
Yeh Patloon Englishtani,
Sar Pe Laal Topi Roosi,
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani...

- Raj Kapoor, Shri 420

No Respect For Status Quo

Junoon...

...Chod meri khata,
Chod meri khata,
Chod meri khata,
Tu to pagal nahin...

- Sayonee (Junoon)

Like Frankie Said, I Did It My Way

This ain't a song for the broken-hearted,
No silent prayer for the faith-departed.
I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd,
You're gonna hear my voice,
When I shout it out loud.

...My heart is like an open highway,
Like Frankie said,
I did it my way.
I just wanna live while I'm alive,
It's my life.

This is for the ones who stood their ground,
For Tommy and Gina who never backed down.
Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake,
Luck ain't even lucky,
Got to make your own breaks.

Better stand tall when they're calling you out
Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down...

-Deliberately Incomplete Bon Jovi

Bridge Over Troubled Water..

"...I'm on your side. when times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down..."

-Bridge Over Troubled Water (S&G)

Flamboyantly Flies Floyd

So, so you think you can tell Heaven from Hell?
Blue skies from pain...?
Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have you found? The same old fears.
Wish you were here.

-Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd)

Heart and Head

Das Herz ist stärker als Verstand...
The heart is stronger than the mind...

- A Claudia Jung & Richard Clayderman song