Joe Cocker – With a Little Help From Friends

Woodstock was a movie, that one had to stand in long ques because there were very few who used to get out of the Blue Di theater. Such was the magic of that 70’s music. Almost every young person those days, who knew pop, rock, acid rock and stuff like that were into it.

Veecumsees is a theater complex on Mount Road, the present Anna Salai, almost opposite the USIS in Madras the present Chennai.  That theatre complex is supposed to be India’s first multi-theatre complex.  Its not there anymore.  They say Amma pulled it down or acquired it.

Safire, Blue Di (Blue Diamond) and Emerald are the three screens open to the public. Blue Di had a special feature – continuous shows. With Rs2.90 or was it 2.25 (?) ticket you could walk into the theater and watch the shows as many times as you want to until the last show ends at about 12 ot 1 AM.  If you wanted to stretch your legs you could step out into the foyer and enjoy a smoke or a coffee and then go back.  But we are not discussing it here.

Woodstock was a movie, that one had to stand in long ques because there were very few who used to get out of the Blue Di theater. Such was the magic of that 70’s music. Almost every young person those days, who knew pop, rock, acid rock and stuff like that were into it.

Yes, there were many a times we used to bunk classes just to enjoy and sing along. Santana, Jose Feliciano, Joan Beaz et al had the whole world sing along to their tunes.

How many know that Joan Baez’s song “Bangladesh’ was banned in India then?

Woodstock itself was banned. I could get the tapes of Woodstock a few years ago. But now Youtube fills in the gap.

Joe Cocker and their ilk represent an era. It is sad to know that he is no more.

Joe Cocket
Joe Cocker 1944 -2014

Here is Joe Cocker with john Lennon and Paul McCartney’s, “With a Little Help from My Friends.” You can hear him here.

Here are the lyrics:
With a Little Help from My Friends 
What would you do if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I’ll sing you a song
And I’ll try not to sing out of key

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
I get high with a little help from my friends
Gonna try with a little help from my friends

What do I do when my love is away?
(Does it worry you to be alone?)
How do I feel by the end of the day?
(Are you sad because you’re on your own?)

No, I get by with a little help from my friends
I get high with a little help from my friends
Gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody? I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody? I want somebody to love

Would you believe in a love at first sight?
Yes, I’m certain that it happens all the time
What do you see when you turn out the light?
I can’t tell you but I know it’s mine

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
I get high with a little help from my friends
Gonna try with a little help from my friends

Do you need anybody? I need somebody to love
Could it be anybody? I want somebody to love

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends
With a little help from my friends

My List Of “Top Ten Books”

That was the question before me.  Where do I begin?  That pestering question was around me  like a monsoon mosquito buzzing around. Why a mosquito you ask?  Why not a fly?  Fly does not bite though it could kill you.  When did it begin?  On 29th of August, some time around noon I think. We all affectionately call him TRS and apart from other things he is a voracious reader and he tagged me.  Where you say?  Facebook.  That’s where.  For the ”top ten books”.

There were others too.  But I am not mentioning here because here I am going talk about only the English books.

It is a great advantage to be born into a family of letters.  That is until someone comes and asks you for a list, like TRS does here, to list the “Top Ten”

Here is my first one in the series.

Physics for Entertainment.

Yep.  A non-fiction book.  Actually a set of two books.

 Yakov Perelman - Physics for Entertainment
Physics for Entertainment was published by Raduga from the former USSR.

This is the book that kindled in me a certain scientific temperament.  It helped me understand things better and equipped me with the right tools to understand life as it unravelled its secrets to me.

I tore off a page from one of my used rough note book, made a container out of it, and with the lighted candle, boiled water in that paper container!  That was just fantastic don’t you think?

Then I understood how this little bird you see in this picture constantly keeps dipping its head into the glass of water?! Like a perpetually thirsty bird!  I think a whole generation was inspired by this book.

Yakov Isidorovich Perelman was the author of this book.  It is unfortunate that this author died of starvation during the seize of Stalingard, by the Germans.

Yakov Perelmen - Physics for Entertainment
Author of many scientific books and editor of magazines including Nature

This book was translated into many Indian languages.  One of them was in Telugu నిత్యజీవితంలో భౌతికశాస్త్రం.  (nityajiivitaMlO bhautikasastram).

So there you are TRSthis is the first book in my “top ten list“.  I’ll try to post them as and when I find the time.