Are we that shallow?

A good friend commented today that i should write again. And it so happen that i had just finished watching my weekend favourite show “SAREGAMAPA 2009 Challenge”. It is a yearlong, Hindi singing competition which airs on Zee Tv, channel 108 in astro every Saturday and Sunday at 730pm. If you know me, you will know that i love singing to all sorts of music as long as i like the tune, which explains why i don’t really enjoy hard metal and certain technos. And i dare say that , among all types of songs ie English, Malay, Tamil, Chinese, Indonesian etc, the most difficult songs to sing, are Hindi songs. The vocal range is exceptionally high, and low....therefore, those who can belt a hindi song perfect, to me, you are definitely talented.

Anyway, coming back to SAREGAMAPA, my favourite contestant is Debojit Dutta, from Kolkata , West Bengal. Your first impression of him ie when you look at him, might not be very good meaning appearance wise, he will probably not get your vote. But when he opens his mouth to sing, when you see the emotions he displays on his face to suit each song that he sings, when you see his innocence, when you see his excitement, when you realize that he is a bit quirky and not very normal but is able to sing perfectly every song that he sings, he will get more than your vote...he will earn your respect. He definitely earned mine. =D...I am a fan of Debojit Dutta.
Among all the contestants, he was my favourite from the beginning and i was following the program quite religiously because of him. But today, he was eliminated, leaving 4 more contestants to compete for the title of the best singer. It broke my heart. Too emotional you might say, but it hurt because i realize why he lost. He got the least among votes by people all over India, because people failed to recognize his talent but they were focussing more on his appearance. IT broke my heart. Such a talented singer who never failed even once to get rave and applause from the judges (who are established singers like Shankar Mahadevan, Himesh Reshamiya, Aadesh Shrivastav and Pritam, (the former 2, very very talented established singers and the latter 2, established music directors). In fact, i think he is the only contestant who has got standing applause from the crowd and got judges to run up to the stage to congratulate him. That is how good he is.
Today, he was eliminated. No offence, the remaining 4 are equally good but, i dare say that Debojit is the most consistent and can sing a song with no mistakes in his sur and taal...the judges have even said from the beginning that even if he doesn’t win the competition, he has already reserved his spot in the industry. To see him get eliminated because of shallow opinions, and “sad” mindsets, is a pity. Despite countless quotations and so called fables that tell people to not judge a book by its cover, people still do it. The good example in Malaysia would be, Mawi winning Academy Fantasia and Zahid winning instead of the very talented Bob. Sad but its the truth. We claim to appreciate talent but when we have to choose, we pick appearance, beauty over the actual talent. When will we change? I think it is about time, right? Oh and women, please stop voting for men on shows like AF and Malaysian Idol and so on just because they are cute and cuddly etc. It shows just how " not smart" and bimbo like some of us can be. I use to wonder why men never believed that a woman would watch or appreciate soccer or football for what it is. When i said i supported Liverpool, the reply was ," i am sure you think Gerard is cute, right?" . Now i know.......

On another note, today was a day of weddings. 1st wedding was at Sheraton Subang, a gud friend's wedding, which i wasnt able to really attend since the 2nd wedding was at Bukit Beruntung, a friend/colleague's wedding. So, i went to see the bride of the 1st wedding in her room, passed her the gift, my hugs and wishes, and made my way to the 2nd wedding. Spent quite a bit of time there. It was fun. Then, the thought of making my way to the 3rd wedding ceased all together. Too tired by then.....

"1st of January 2009 is looming ahead. It is time that i stop IT. Stop hoping. But i want to tell you before i move on that, if i act weirdly or strangely after this , please understand that pretending your non-existence is my strategy to move on. I need to do this FOR ME. I cant hope anymore. I can't battle emotions any longer because ive been drained of all energy just doing that for the past 8 months. Wondering what your actions mean, the sudden ignorance, the sudden burst of energy, your sudden sweetness, then the ignorance again, and me reacting to every one of the above which iincludes me ignoring you suddenly, trying to not look your way when you look at me......ALL THESE needs to stop. I have NO MORE energy to serve these thoughts. A few very close people know how i feel, and how much ive put aside my pride and ego for you. And even now, at this point, i can say that i might probably never get over you totally but at least i am going to start trying. Wish me luck!"

Goodnight!