This is the nature of war. By protecting others, you save yourselves.

TED version:

http://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_uniqueness_of_humans.html

Eisman had a curious way of listening; he didn’t so much listen to what you were saying as subcontract to some remote region of his brain the task of deciding whether whatever you were saying was worth listening to, while his mind went off to play on its own. As a result, he never actually heard what you said to him the first time you said it. If his mental subcontractor detected a level of interest in what you had just said, it radioed a signal to the mother ship, which then wheeled around with the most intense focus. “Say that again,” he’d say. And you would! Because now Eisman was so obviously listening to you, and, as he listened so selectively, you felt flattered.

Michael Lewis,  “The Big Short”.

These were called pop songs. The category Sufi-Rock came later. I don’t know who came up with it. Later, with the internet, everything was getting truly democratized and I could easily get songs made on the other side of the border. Fuzon, Strings, Jal came soon. Akash and Roxen came later, I guess. I’ll save separate posts for Junoon, Fuzon, Strings, and Jal (I have an interesting story about Jal). This post is not about the sufi-rock-and-personal-history or Junoon or MTV. This post is about one particular song. The one you didn’t hear, most probably. Or, you heard it once and searched frantically for it. It is MHB’s ‘Andholan’. MHB, or Mekaal Hasan Band created this amazing song. You can get all the details about Mekaal Hasan on wikipedia or on the official website mekaalhasanband.com.  Here’s the song. I’m sure you’ll love it.

Mekaal Hasan Band– Andholan

I generated the following using combinations of coffee, brain, you, and happiness — “You can’t say that of the United States. It’s hard for the brain to be creative all of a sudden. It’s like a weekend in Rome that’s full of coffee sponsored for by the administration of the United States. Who wouldn’t agree that happiness can only be achieved by connecting with the world. I would like to share my experience with this. You are looking at the health of the United States. We a real choice that I often discuss in my seminars. When you look at the student’s, they rely on coffee sponsored for by the administration of the United States. Who wouldn’t agree that happiness cannot be pinned down, it is evasive. It’s the same way that in the middle of all this routine, creativity is essential. How many of you would challenge that? You have a great power with your vote. I’ll give you a couple of examples regarding coffee sponsored for by the administration of the United States.”

Kiarostami believes that he is there to tell a story, not to manipulate the viewer. He chooses stories that are not-meant-to-thrill-or-instigate-emotions and uses very less or no music. He feels that using music unnecessarily in movies is manipulative. It is forcing the viewer “how to feel”. If you look back and see, probably all the movies forced you to feel some emotion or the other, mostly forcefully, using the background music. No, I’m not arguing for or against a concept. I’m just showing the contrast. When you look at it this way, you may wonder how ‘forceful’ directors are!

That said, “Taste of Cherry” is one of the most memorable movies I’ve seen till date. It leaves a strong.. uhh.. what’s the word…aftertaste?. It remained with me  for a few days. Very subtle, but powerful movie. If you get a chance to watch any of Kiarostami’s movies, please do.