20 In 2009

Nope! I am not talking about my resolutions. With the great idea of spending my time more usefully, I have enrolled in the 20in2009 challenge that involves reading 20 books in the year 2009. This should bring in more discipline as far as my reading goes and hopefully writing as well because I fully intend to review the books that I read :) If you are interested you can link to the details of this challenge from the link above or the image below. Wish me luck!

Good Riddance!

In a few hours, another year bites the dust. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I am glad to see this one go – It has definitely been a year of unpleasantness for the world as the financial crisis reared its ugly head leaving many people in undesirable straits. India was threatened by terrorists and many innocent lives taken and blood spilt. It was also the year that history was made – the American continent voted for its first African American president and people all over the world rejoiced! It seemed that everyone believed that Mr.Barack Obama had a magic wand locked away somewhere and a wave of the same would flip the entire world to prosperity in the shortest time possible; can’t blame us considering that he did pack the notion of ‘Yes you can’ into our heads.

Personally it has been a year that pushed me to do many things and realize a lot about the person that I am – I found creativity again when I turned to my pencils and sketch books after many years of dormant activity in this area. I found that for every mean person there are probably 10 good ones around. I survived a lot this year purely because a lot of people helped me during crucial times: friends, my boss, my colleagues and sometimes even a stranger at the bus stop. I may never want to have a roommate again, but I think I have learnt to give those around me at least a little credit by placing some trust in them. In fact the year seems to have had a very theatrical conclusion with a fire in my kitchen 2 weeks ago. I freaked out and refused to cook even after everything was set right until my dad convinced me that the fire was a fates symbolic way of telling me that everything mean and ugly had been cleared away making way for a new future. Well I just hope that it is true.

This has also been a year when I found a few friends on the blogosphere. To be honest, I created this blog way back in 2006 and have torn it down at least twice thinking it was never good enough. I always seemed to be stuck in a continuous state of blocked creativity and imagination; in fact I am still stuck there! I made an effort (though not a very good one) to write even if it seemed silly. Thanks to my friends from the blogosphere who take the effort to read my posts, I have been motivated to do a better job with this blog and hopefully the New Year would see an improvement.

2008 I am happy to see you go! You may have shaken lives and cut down jobs, but that still doesn’t stop folks from shopping; the site of the crowded shopping malls is a delight; you may have reminded us that evil exists; you may have broken many a spirit, yet we face each day with hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Every morning a new day dawns,
Every day a new leader is born,
Each day the battle of good versus evil continues,
That good will triumph is definitely ensued.

A very Happy, Prosperous and Joyous New Year to one and all!!

Of cackling stumps and hopping pots....

If hopping pots and tree stumps had stories to tell this would be it. I just completed ‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ by J.K Rowling. Being an avid reader of the Harry Potter series, I had to read this one too. Meant to be a book of short stories or fairy tales for young wizards and witches, the book gained immense popularity in the final installment of the Harry Potter series ‘The Deathly Hallows’ as the clue to discovering the secret that would end the most terrible war that the magical world has seen in recent times.

The book is most definitely meant for a young audience, but succeeds in tickling the curiosity of adult readers and book collectors. JKR has weaved her magic in narrating the tales of the bard as if they were translated from the ancient runes by Hermione Granger along with foot notes from Albus Dumbledore convincing the readers that this could probably be a real deal. The characters seem funny and clever as in the case of ‘Babbity Rabbity, a witch moonlighting as a washerwomen (she reminds me of Birbal, the wise and witty advisor to King Akbar) or the ‘hopping pot’ a cauldron with a mind of its own’.

Most of the stories and characters draw similarities to the tales from the ‘Amar Katha’ series or ‘Tinkle’ which was a staple literay diet during our wonder years. Every story conveys a moral or lesson for life. My favorite was of course ‘The Tale of the three brothers’ that drives the point that death is inevitable; it can be postponed but never escaped.

A book that can be appreciated by the Harry Potter audience; borrow and read.

To know more about this book visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tales_of_Beedle_the_Bard