Of Being a Trade Marks Lawyer

One of my first tasks as an employed individual was to file an application to register a Trade Mark for ITC (Imperial Tobacco Company).

The mark coined was Bali Sandal Chimera. Now, Bali is an exotic Indonesian island, Sandal refers to sandalwood and Chimera is some sort of monster found in Greek mythology. They wished to register the mark as representative of a new line of toilet soap that is yet to be launched. Go figure.

Life, fortunately, is making more sense than work these days.

Cheers.

If you were my guitar...

Baby, I'd play you all night long. And you'd believe him, cause well Senor Rudy Wallang can play. Further anyone who has heard or witnessed Tipriti Kharbangar will testify that our man can't really be blamed for his desires.

SOULMATE

Saturday, 18th July, 2009; Someplace Else, Kolkata played host to Soulmate - India's premier blues/blues-rock outfit. I was there. I had to be, there was no way I could miss them. I'd heard about them from a close friend in college who's love affair with the band started when he'd first seen them perform at Haze Blues Bar, New Delhi. They had just come out with their first album, Shillong, and were touring to promote the same.

Soulmate - an electric blues quartet from Shillong, comprising Rudy Wallang (vocals, lead guitar), Tipriti Kharbangar (vocals, rhythm guitar), Ferdy Dkhar (bass guitar) and Sam Shullai (drums) - has been India's most popular export to the world of blues music. A little bit of background research on the internet yields that the band has tasted unprecedented international attention of blues aficionados over the last 3 years. This includes regular performances at The Kathmandu International Music Festival, an appearance at the Bealy Street Blues Club in Memphis, Tennesee; and on another occasion sharing the stage with none other than Buddy Guy after finishing as semi-finalists at an Internation Blues Competition in the United States. Last evening they were promoting their second album, Moving On, at Someplace Else.

Last evening I met them for the first time, and as the evening wove itself into the night, I fell deeply and utterly in love. Soulmate, unlike most other Indian bands in their genre, have very strong original material that in itself defines the band sound. They further spice it up with covers done the way they would do it, thereby creating a continuum of sound that is specific to them. And that sound, apart from being distinctive is beautiful, energetic and passionate. Something that captures your imagination and holds it till the band leaves the stage, and also has a lingering aftertaste. All in all a phenomenally talented outfit.

Further like most bands in general, Soulmate exudes a distinct sexuality through their sound and command of the stage. However, unlike most other bands they cannot be classified merely as masculine or feminine. They are distinctively androgynous. This is what makes them special, in a market dominated by intensely commercial artists like Parikrama or niche performers like Indian Ocean and Agni, or headbangers like Bhayanak Maut (the Indian Megadeth).

I say they are androgynous for 2 reasons.

Firstly, despite three quarters of the band being male, it is Tipriti Kharbangar - their lethally gorgeous and extremely talented vocalist - who consciously commands the stage and the attention of the audience for most of the performance. However, the rest of the band plays truant like playboys, with their sounds circling around her voice, pretending to chase and failing to catch up with her until the very end. For example last night, amongst their other stuff, they played an original instrumental that sounded to me akin to a rock ballad. Probably inserted as a break from the blues for the rock-inclined audience. However, towards the end Tipriti lets her vocals rip through the air with Rudy panting up the incline on his guitar, and before you know its the guitar thats reached her voice and taken over as the lead sound. It was awesome! Fucking brilliantly executed.

Tipriti Kharbangar

Also their choice of songs possess a strange underlying sexual ambiguity when watched live. Again for example, their number 'If you were my guitar' written and sung by Rudy Wallang, is basically a man's song rendered on what seemed like a typical Albert King influenced blues sound. Heard on the stereo its a man who would take to it instinctively. However, in the band it is Rudy's voice that is more sedate and charming while Tipriti's is the screech of an angry young woman. Thus when performed live after one's brain has already experienced the intense onslaught of a leopard-skin top clad Tipriti Kharbangar, Rudy's rendition almost sounds like a seductively playful young woman looking to get you a place to sleep. Ms. Kharbangar on the other hand sways from a dark femininity of numbers like 'My cup of tea' to the passionate rebellion of 'I am' that would put most men of our times, including myself, to shame.

Rudy Wallang & Tipriti Kharbangar do the Blues.

Soulmate further possesses a formidable reputation for their blues covers. They stayed true to their roots by playing a jazz version of Joplin's Summertime, more classic and true-to-the-original versions of Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'Pride & Joy', which Rudy dedicated to Tipriti, and BB King's 'Rock Me Baby'. However, highlight of the performance was definitely their cover of Hendrix's 'Straight Ahead'. Honest to God, I have never witnessed such justice being done to the artist by any other live act. I've watched numerous local bands botch up, or do downplayed renditions of the maestro's works. I've also witnessed wild covers of 'Purple Haze' and 'Voodoo Child' by Parikrama. But none of them can match upto the justice Rudy Wallang and Tipriti did to the song. My opinion regarding this maybe slightly prejudiced cause personally I've always felt that Hendrix would sound much more sexy on sultry and accomplished female vocals, than it does through a male voice. Soulmate proved me right to myself. Their cover was really really sexy.

The gig ended with the band satisfying the crowd's cheers for an encore with BB King's 'Blues had a baby, and they named it rock n' roll'.

I was left speechless with feeling by the end of the gig. The power of the performance was not lost on my friends either, who despite not being blues fans were rendered awestruck. One of my friends instinctively responded to Tipriti's vocals by blurting "her voice flies everywhere man". It does and the best part is that it carries you along with it.

A word to my audience. Do yourselves a favour and catch Soulmate next time they are in your town. Its an experience that was worth the wait for me.

Bandh

My life being one big long weekend now, I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be randomly blessed by an extra 24 hours to the weekend. Today, Friday the 17th, most of middle class, a-political Kolkata finds itself pleasurably cosy in their homes looking forward to some nice evening rain, late night movies on television, and an even later waking hour on Saturday morning. The reason, well we're on our first Bandh (strike) since I returned from Hyderabad.

I can see the silent relief and ease in the mannerisms of my parents even as my father lays back and watches the local news channels broadcasting buses being burnt by the Congress in protest of the Communists chasing their MLAs into paddy fields and what not. And my mother shrugging of her usual hurry and taking her time to prepare tomato-r chutney for me whilst refraining from screaming at me to "hurry up and take a bath".

Its a beautiful lazy day, today. And the best part is that we've still got two such beautiful lazy days to follow suit.

My first Bandh in the longest of times, and I'm loving it.

Becoming an Advocate...

Was one of the biggest challenges I've faced till date. Fortunately for me the curse has been lifted and I have cleared all my repeats. Ergo, moi is a graduate. In other words an Advocate.

Big sigh of relief and lots of alcohol. Peace and love to the world. It already seems like a much better place to be in. Cheers.

Tobacco Causes Cancer...duh!

Wills Navy Cut packets of 10 is now available with an additional feature. The newness is basically a bold proclamation on the pack that Tobacco Causes Cancer alongside a picture of what seems like a pair of blackened lungs; you can't be sure though.

It makes me wonder if any of the regulations designed to combat the phenomenon of smoking actually takes into consideration the habits and tendencies of addicts. For it is my belief that an addict's mind works quite differently from the clean cut-straight mind.

Eric Clapton was once asked for his opinion on junkies after he himself had spent considerable time in a rehab. His initial response was that he hated them. In fact people like that pissed him off. He wouldn't associate himself too closely with such people. Then he tried heroine. Clapton recalls that in the very first time he tried the drug it became patently clear to him "why these guys would rob, sell their own house and even murder for another hit ". And he became one of them. The point being that people consuming most addictive substances grow immune to the consequences thereof. Its a natural progression into the habit, and it also instills a certain kind of fearlessness in the addict. It is the act of consuming and the physical relief thereafter that is of utmost priority. Death can wait darling, there is always time for another drag.

Which is why, irrespective of whether the price of cigarettes go up or there are scary images being printed on packets, smokers will still smoke. As much as they used to. Maybe they'll shift brands, try milds for a while. But they'll still smoke.

(And just for the record, all forms of tobacco is equally cancer inducing. Mild cigarettes merely have a finer quality of tobacco that render them less harsh on the throat. They are no less or no more a threat to causing cancer than regular cigarettes. So the act of switching brands isn't going to hide anyone from death.)

Also tobacco doesn't cause cancer per se. It may lead to lung/throat/mouth cancer in many people, and it definitely aggravates the same if the person smoking already has cancer. But in the larger majority of people, smoking is a habit that simply reduces one's stamina/lung capacity over the years and nothing more. Thus to say that tobacco causes cancer is technically incorrect, though I get the point they're trying to make.

I guess one argument in favour of creating such warnings would be to deter future smokers, especially teenagers. I'm not sure if this actually works, or doesn't. All I know is that I started smoking at age 18, and I would've still taken that first whiff irrespective of what was printed on the packet. But thats just me.

Rabindrasangeet in the air...

New development in my school para (locality). At the Loudon St.-AJC Bose Rd. crossing there is an electronic monotone version of Robindrroshongeet playing 24/7. Its like those sounds cars make while they're in reverse. Except its so loud that it feels like the entire goddamn street is in reverse.

I can't figure what brought this on or why this particular junction. Either ways, the aforementioned crossing lends a surreal tinge to the evening for the passers-by.