Unexpected delights!

Saw 2 movies over the last week. Both were fascinating, completely riveting and rather unexpectedly entertaining. Do watch these if you get a chance...

Strangers on the train:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangers_on_a_Train_%28film%29
(Alfred Hitchcock...always a master of thrills)

The Fall:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fall_%282006_film%29
(A nondescript title but excellent acting and imagination)

Books read over the last week include:
1) Aftertaste by Namita Devidayal. (Strongly recommend, beautiful writing)
2) Not a nice man to know--The Best of Khushwant Singh (Like anything by KS, you can't help but read on and chuckle)
3) In Between the Sheets by Ian McEwan (Brilliant set of short stories. I think, Ian McEwan has a mastery over the language that is unparalleled...)
4) Terrible Matriarchy by Easterine K. Iralu (Beautiful portrayal of life in one family, over the years, as seen through the eyes of a little girl. Set in Nagaland, this story was honest and very in your face)

Mine! :)

One dream up..so many more to go! ;)

On my side table this month...

The experiment :)

The tiny tomato and spinach pizza...with unholy amounts of cheese....perfecto! :)

Movies and books this week...

Cold Mountain by Anthony Minghella (One of my fav directors, the movie is like a beautiful painting, each detail meticulously thought out)
Some like it hot by Billy Wilder (The original comedy that inspired a gazillion remakes in every language possible :)..a salute to Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon...what a pair!)
The bicycle thief by Vittorio De Sica (Undoubtedly one of the great classics, an inspiration to all movie buffs)
Chocolat by Lasse Hallstrom (...because I love Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche)
Vanilla Sky by Cameron Crowe (Very disappointing, couldn't wait for it to end)
Udaan by Vikramaditya Motwane (Refreshing and off beat, worth the watch)
Beauty and the Beast (1991) by Walt Disney feature animation (Big fan of animation/musicals, a classic)

Corner Shop by Roopa Farooki (Brilliant writing, right mix of funny, sad, real and imaginary)
The Counsel of Strangers by Gouri Dange (so-so, can be missed)
Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph (Enchanting, fluid writing, disappointing ending)
Luck by Dhruba Hazarika (Fascinating stories from the North East, simple and unpretentious)

The Mahabharata retold....

I am a big fan of the Indian epics. I grew up in a house where Sunday mornings were reserved for watching B R Chopra's Mahabharat. The booming voice saying "main samay hoon..." will never be forgotten. Every kid in my generation grew up to this phenomenon on TV.

Recently a friend recommended this book to me and the unusual title caught my eye right away...Devdutt Pattanaik's "Jaya, an illustrated retelling of the Mahabharata"

Having bought it, I went through the book in one sitting. It is a magnificent and brilliant reproduction of the epic. What makes this book unique are the fantastic line drawings on each page. The author not only brings out the essentials of this ancient tale, he also illustrates a picture for each sub-plot. The strokes and writing are definitive! An absolute delight for someone who believes that there cannot possibly be a another epic that even begins to cover what this text of Indian culture and history leaves you with.

No where in the book does the author reduce to preaching. He touches up on each story and its connections to modern thinking. Small info boxes between the retelling give the reader the source and origins of the stories. The reader is also informed of any variations to the most popular version that exist. The author also shares current rituals and festivals that are celebrated due to specific events in the Mahabharata.

I completely enjoyed the book. It bought back childhood memories and I found scenes from the TV serial enacted in my head as I read through them in the book. The line drawings deserve an absolute applause. They can only be defined as perfect.

Three Cups of Tea

This has to be by far, the most inspiring book I have ever read.

Reading about one man’s inspiring and tremendous journey, that saw him build schools in what is, arguably, one of the most poverty stricken and cut off areas of the world, makes you want to stand up and salute.

Greg Mortenson is a true hero. The book, beautifully written, in the simplest of terms by journalist David Oliver Relin, sees you through Mortenson’s beginnings, life and ultimately what became his obsession—building schools for children in remotest regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

His spirit and undying devotion to education as a means to better the conditions of life and its ways in such hostile conditions and cultures makes you wonder, as an individual, where the courage of your convictions can take you. What stays with you long after the book has ended, is a strong belief that no matter how many wars are fought for whatever reason, the only means to a peaceful solution anywhere comes through education and tolerance.

You almost “whoop” in delight when you feel the joy of first time students clinging on possessively to their new shiny notebooks. Education, in its truest meaning isn’t just learning how to read and write. It is the opening up of the mind to ideas and possibilities of cultures, languages, people and beliefs. At the very core of this, is the faith, that through educating children, the generation that will come forth, will have an open-mind and better chances at improving their lives, when compared to the generation of their parents.

I strongly recommend this book to everyone. It is a life changing book.
Thank you Greg Mortenson, for making the world a better place, one school at a time.

Also please visit www.threecupsoftea.com to find out more about this education project and how you can help. Pass this on to everyone you know. Every gigantic revolution always begins with silent and small steps.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

"Never love a wild thing ... the more you do, the stronger they get. Until they're strong enough to run into the woods. Or fly into a tree. Then a taller tree. Then the sky. That's how you'll end up, Mr Bell. If you let yourself love a wild thing. You'll end up looking at the sky."
-Truman Capote,
Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Children are Masters of Zen.
Curious about everything.
Adults are serious and boring.
What happened?

-- Kabir Bedi, Actor
(From his short story, "Ramblings on a Beach")

We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood until we move from the passive voice to the active voice--that is, until we stop saying "It got lost," and
say " I lost it."

Sidney J Harris
(Journalist, drama critic and teacher)

Randomness on the phone...

Him: Hello.

Me: Hello.

Him: Hello.

Me: Hi. Who is this?

Him: Who are you?

Me: Who do YOU want to talk to?

Him: Is this Sanjay?

Me (clearly in a girl's voice): No it's not!

Him: But I thought this was my friend's Sanju's phone.

Me: Well, its not!

Him: Who are you?

Me (grrrrrrr...): Check the number you are calling please!

Him (sweetly...): If it's not Sanju, will you be my friend?

Me:...(tongue-tied..then quickly slams the phone)

Come to the edge.
We can't.
We're afraid.
Come to the edge.
We can't.
We will fail!
Come to the edge.
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918)
French poet, philosopher.

N97 Mini

Two touch screen phones...I figure I am generally a lucky bum!
The iPhone however, wins hands down anyday!

No guts, no glory

So I have finally gone ahead and done it!

I have finally quit two popular social networking sites.

Five-six years on Orkut and about two years on Facebook have made me realize I didn’t want to be on them.

I will gladly admit I have made some very good friends along the way. People who I will always cherish, love and pray for. I have also had my fair share of batty personalities, “fans”, testimonials and more “friendsheep” requests than I care to keep an account of.

About two days ago, I got thinking about who I really kept in touch with on these sites? How did they matter? Where were all these people when real ups and downs have happened? Did I really want to read comments on my wall? Did I really want to know if someone played Mafia wars or did some farming? Did I realize I have wasted about half an hour of my life looking up some friend’s friend’s photo album….heck! I didn’t even know anyone’s name in this photo! How did I even get there? Someone please get me back my 30 mins!

I then asked myself if I had enough guts to take the plunge and let go of it all.

I DID.

Why not just keep the accounts and not be active on them?
Good question! I have asked myself that question as well.

Hmm….I find I am a compulsive “reply back” kind of person. So if someone pinged, wrote or messaged me, I would find myself being polite and replying….usually saying something mundane like …"Hey you! Long time no hear! We really should catch up you know!"….By and large, I did not want to “catch up” or really keep in touch. I was merely replying instinctively. I much rather receive a personalized mail than someone “liking” or commenting on a wise-guy comment / link on my wall.

The people who really matter—the bona fide ones that back me no matter what and have been through my thick and thin—know exactly where and how to find me. They don’t rely on some social networking site to figure out how things are with me. I don’t either.

I don’t stand for or against becoming a member of these sites. It’s a personal choice and either ways doesn’t mean a thing.

I figure all the time and mindspace I gain after quitting these sites will make me pursue things I genuinely like doing—like writing for instance…

When I wrote to a few people telling them that I have left these sites for good, the answers I received amused me. “Is someone stalking you?”, “Why why why! Come back”, “Why the virtual suicide?”, “Was it me?”….

All I have to say is GET A GRIP!

It’s not like I am vanishing off the World Wide Web. My blog (this very one that you are reading) is alive! So is my mail account.

Get in touch! Just do it the “old fashioned way”.

Take your time. Write me a mail. I will always reply because I want to ;)

Pain...

Got stung by a bee yesterday.
The pain had tears coming out of my eyes. I haven't had that sort of physical pain in years! Makes me wonder how we took all our falls in childhood? Was it easier then to just accept that it was all a part of growing up?
I felt awful, because of the hurt and because the poor bee died :(

Jeffery Archer…

What a master in the genre of short-story writing!

I have read every single book this man has ever written. There couldn’t be a more loyal fan when it comes to following his short stories.His latest “And thereby hangs a tale” almost has you biting nails and furiously turning pages to figure the twist in the story.

Unputdownable!!

Marley & Me by John Grogan

I will guilty admit that I picked up this book on a whim. It had a cute lab puppy on the front cover! Today as I finished reading it, I can't thank my stars enough for having picked up this book!

The story made me laugh, cry and want to own a dog like Marley right away. Very few books move you like the way this one will.

Beautifully and so effortlessly written, this lovely tale about the life and love with the world's worst dog really reinforces your belief in the art of good story telling. More importantly, it paints a hilarious and true picture about the many benefits and drawbacks of owning a crazy dog as a family pet.

I strongly recommend this book for all dog lovers and would be pet owners.

It's worth every bit of the crazy ride!

Thank you Mr Grogan. It's a wonderful story well-told.

Need and want…

I was doing some random skimming through a magazine last night and a particular article caught my eye. It talked about three women who, despite being way below the poverty line, had adopted children and were giving them a good life.

I started thinking about how many people I knew who would be that selfless. Who would be willing to live a life that is so untouched by greed or want for something or someone?

I couldn’t name anybody L

All of us want something. All of us have a hidden agenda somewhere. Dig deep enough and there is always a motive, no matter how sub-consciously embedded it is.

We all want a vacation.., that salary increase…, that perfect life fraught with materialistic things…Why are these wants so ubiquitous? Before you get rid of one there is another one knocking down your door.

Really come to think of it and you will find that some of the things that bring the greatest joy are not “things” at all. A hidden smile, a private joke, a hug, the feeling you get when you read a warm letter, playing your favourite sport, the joy of singing the way you want to, your dog wagging its tail when it sees you, the smell of your mum’s cooking…this list is endless! Yet all of us strive to make misery where we can.

If you don’t get what you want (and it’s usually something worldly that seems completely absurd after you really think about it) you crib, you cry, you vent, you rave…not once stopping to think about where this is taking me, will this make me truly happy?

What makes us forget the little delights?

As a generation, are we getting so caught up in attaining better, bigger, shinier things and becoming so acquisitive that we forget what is everlasting may actually cost nothing?

There is a very thin line between need and want. Very few people are able to walk that line and be altruistic enough to give back.

I’ll endeavor to get there someday.

:) :) :)

Hmm...

I read this today.....

"Why compound ignorance with inaudibility? Why run and hide?"--E. B. White

I agree with it. Takes guts to face your demons.