Monday, October 29, 2012

Hundred Sounds That Would Inspire An Artist



I was at the park. Fifteen rounds in twenty minutes. Ten minutes of breathing exercise. While focusing on breathing, I heard the pebbles being crushed under the jogging shoes of other people who had just come inside the park. I heard various sounds of nature. Then I thought of hundred different morning sounds that might inspire an artist/writer to begin a work:

1.       The murmur that rises from the breathing of your kids or partner. Don’t call it snoring.
2.       An impatient flutter of a dove’s wing that wakes up before the usual time.
3.       The weary whistling of a night watchman who has just woken up from an ugly dream.
4.       Rustle of wings of those ghosts going back to their nether abodes.
5.       Long mooing of a buffalo from a distant stable.
6.       A train rushing against time along the rails made out of the parallel egos of people that never meet.
7.       The gurgling sound of the neighbour’s flush who has just forced his bowels empty along with the nightmares.
8.       A long piercing sound of water cutting water as your urine falls into the pot.
9.       A young boy practicing film songs with so much sincerity.
10.   The twinkling of an anklet worn by that girl who refuses to move out of your eyelashes even after your dreams have ended.
11.   The hissing sound of the refrigerator, as you open it to see the stock, with a yawn.
12.   Moaning of a ceiling fan that has seen the violence of familiar interiors.
13.   Chirping of birds.
14.   A long belching of an old man who has just woken up, accompanied by an uncontrollable fart.
15.   Sizzling of steel as a cup of water boils in it and receives a spoonful of tea powder.
16.   Whispering of two lizards involved in a kitchen conspiracy.
17.   A creeping sound of a cockroach that goes back into the dark secrets of a drain.
18.   The swan song of a moth.
19.   A dragon fly’s grizzly wings fighting against the smooth whiteness of a tube light.
20.   A group of devotees hailing their gods in aggressive mantras.
21.   Sound of a falling leaf.
22.   The sudden shiver of the tree.
23.   Bells of a neighbour’s devotion who had farted a few minutes back.
24.   A muezzin’s call for prayer from a distant mosque hiding from public view.
25.   A die hard jogger’s heaving foot falls.
26.   An old couple wobbling along the grey street.
27.   Ram naam saty hai, a procession leading to the cemetery.
28.   A dead man’s desires walking along with the pall bearers.
29.   A shy sob from a veiled woman.
30.   The thud of a chilli fallen from the beak of a parrot.
31.   Anxious and asthmatic sounds of water pumps vying with each other to suck the last drop of water from the main waterline.
32.   Desire of a young kid to grow at a bus stop.
33.   Fluttering of the eye lashes of a young school teacher.
34.   Zipping sound of a guy who has just urinated at the wayside.
35.   Revving of an engine of an old car that refuses to start on a cold day.
36.   Screaming of a mother at her children.
37.   Hush hush English of young mothers to their young children ready for school.
38.   One last kiss of a young husband on the lips of betrayal before he leaves for the job.
39.   One forced embracing of a wife who knows her husband cheats on her.
40.   A bike that brings milk.
41.   The sound of an aeroplane looking for a space to land.
42.   Blooming of a flower.
43.   Shy scalding of a layer from a sanitary napkin by a young girl who has reached puberty recently.
44.   Desire of girl’s reflection on the mirror.
45.   A cat’s laughter.
46.   A dog’s philosophising.
47.   Love making of pigeons.
48.   Silhouetted sound of a pair of monkeys making love against the rising sun.
49.   A muffled scream of a middle aged woman who has made love with her husband after a long time.
50.   Rhythmic movement of a cot from a neighbour’s house.
51.   Thud of a paper bundle thrown by the paper boy.
52.   Falling sound of a minister.
53.   Breaking sound of a party.
54.   Clashes on the streets.
55.   Shootouts.
56.   Raping of women.
57.   Bomb explosions.
58.   Hacking of limbs.
59.   Rumblings from the stomachs of starved farmers.
60.   Silky sounds of long legged girls walking on runways.
61.   Arrogance of a film star.
62.   A favourite newscaster’s voice.
63.   Kishore Kumar.
64.   Kumar Sanu.
65.   Sonu Nigam.
66.   Shreya Ghoshal.
67.   Mika
68.   Innumerable Punjabi Mundas singing same songs in same tunes.
69.   Two eggs breaking their heads on a hot plate.
70.   A pressure cooker imitating married couples.
71.   Footsteps of a woman keeping pace with her brisk walking husband.
72.   School buses.
73.   School vans filled with dreams, desires and anxiety of growing.
74.   Cycles with ancient memories.
75.   Laughter of a group of old people trying to gain health through grinning.
76.   Two crickets laughing at the boys who play cricket with rubber balls and plastic bat.
77.   Pranayama of people turning violent under a tele guru.
78.   Flapping of flab.
79.   A dog’s breathing nearby.
80.   A bug telling stories to a dew, which is about to fall.
81.   A group of ants marching towards a handful of rice and sugar thrown by a nature lover.
82.   A wind brings the freshness of a young girl’s humming.
83.   A sweeper’s anger turning into clean strokes.
84.   Heaving of the road.
85.   The tickling of a tree trunk by a cow’s neck.
86.   The falling of water drops on the silk blouse of a girl who has washed her hairs a few minutes before.
87.   An evil eye who has just voiced its anger at the girl’s beauty.
88.   Burning of chilli in gas burner by a mother who just realized the presence of the evil eye on her daughter.
89.   Whistling of a young boy.
90.   The dart of a young girl’s long eyes.
91.   Flutter of butterfly wings.
92.   The fast beating of a boy’s heart.
93.   Quivering of wet lips.
94.   The panting of a dream frantically searching for a beautiful sleep.
95.   Opening of Microsoft window.
96.   Various ringtones of mobiles.
97.   Wailing of a group of people on the death of an invisible ideal.
98.   Turning of imaginary wheels.
99.   Admonitions of an old man.
100.                        Sound of an ambulance, police van and a fire engine.

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