Recently VH1 featured a tribute to The Who. One of my favorite songs of all times is their “Love, reign o’er me”. Listening to it always brings back memories of being in the eighth grade on a rainy day and dreaming of prince charming with the song playing in the background. It was here that I heard the Pearl Jam version . Eddie Vedder takes the song to a whole new level. Here’s “Love, Reign O’er me” by Pearl Jam.
Every year Six Flags hosts the Georgia Tech night. The park is booked from 6pm until midnight exclusively for Tech students and families, tickets are subsidized. Every year in the past I planned on going only to cancel for various reasons. This year, since it might be my last here at Tech, I didn’t want to miss it. So me and my lab mate ( the only roller coaster enthusiast in my lab) made an occasion out of it. We first went to Wendy’s, shamelessly stuffed ourselves with burgers and fries, and then went around joy riding to allow the food to digest ( not doing so can result in disgusting consequences post roller coaster ride).
When we finally arrived at Six Flags, it was like a carnival. Everyone was geared in their Tech apparel (that earned you a free pass return pass). Thanks to our arriving early, the wait times were barely a minute long and we rode four rides in an hour. The Georgia Scorcher was the first, followed by the Mindbender and the Batman. These were some of the fastest (max. speeds of 50 mph) and craziest things I ever rode, going 360 degrees, winding and turning and had me shrieking like a banshee for my dear life. Then we took a break and sat on the little Choo-Choo train that took us around the park while the guide put the fear of the Lord in us by announcing the working speeds of the different rides. Then in a supreme error of judgment, we decided to ride the Georgia cyclone. Take it from me, the worst pain a human being can inflict on itself in the name of fun is by riding a wooden roller coaster. The moment the ride took off, my friend and I looked at each other and simultaneously went ‘WTF”. I can’t even describe the remainder of the agonizing 110s. Imagine riding a bullock cart at 50 mph with the bullocks on crack and doing unthinkable acrobatics!. Every time the coaster bumped and plunged (which it did quite a lot) it was like every rib and bone in my body was being dislodged with a nail and hammer. My head was sore with the impact of hitting the hard head rest umpteen times. I thought I heard my neck snap and my back crack. And the worst part was it went on and on. After a point I stopped screaming and just prayed. When the torture finally ended, we both emerged older and wiser, seeing the world in a new light and glad to be alive. Needless to say, we were in too much pain to continue and bid Six Flags adieu.
My Kalpana-obsession continues. Here she sings the age-old Goalporia Lokageet…something I never imagined would be performed on national TV after Protima Pandey. And her jam of this Bhupen Hazarika classic is quite impressive, although I wish she sang the entire song in its original Assamese version.
Thanks to my dear friend Sukanya in orkut, I learnt about Kalpana Patowary. I don’t know much, just found out about her today through this video. Suffice to say that listening to those forgotten tunes in her earnest voice gave me goosebumps. Not to speak of seeing her dressed as a traditional “Bihu Nasoni” 
(For those feeling nostalgic enough for the original score...here’’s the link)