Rants 'n' Raves

I moved!

2010-12-16T16:48:00.002-05:00

Hi ... I have now moved to the following location: http://muddledup.wordpress.com

Wordless Wednesday 3 - Leaning Tower of Paapad

2010-10-27T15:16:00.002-04:00

Some Respect?

2010-10-26T11:09:00.002-04:00

Last evening, I spotted this woman bullying her dog. This woman lives in the same community as I do and she usually walks her dog around the time I get back from work so I have had the opportunity to observe her before. I love dogs and they know that. The moment they spot me they will stop and wag their tails and try to jump over me – at least the friendly ones will do that. So the first time I saw Rosy, the beautiful dark chocolate brown/black colored Labrador with eyes that would melt your heart, she was a little puppy. Like any other playful puppy she started wagging her tail and tried to run towards me. Her owner, this young lady who never smiles seems constipated most of the time - let’s call her Miss C, just dragged her using the leash and yelled at her. I just let it pass thinking that Miss C was probably in a bad mood and didn't really feel like socializing. But that was just the first of many such observations - I have routinely watched Miss C yell at Rosy, drag her collar so much that it probably hurts and generally be mean to her. And Rosy would always wag her tail at Miss C looking for some kind of affection or acceptance - I am really not sure what. Rosy was always sweet and her owner just seemed mean. How I wished I had Rosy and not Miss C!! Rosy is more than a year old now but is still as beautiful as ever...

Yesterday, Miss C stopped Rosy right outside my porch during their daily walk, and rolled her palms into little fists and kept punching Rosy on her face while scolding her and Rosy just stood there wagging her tail with a look that said "I love you, why are you always angry?" My brains froze as I didn’t know what to do. They walked away after 5 minutes and I forgot about what I had just witnessed. I feel like a terrible person but I was not sure what I should do? Next time should do I just stop and stare at Miss C and make her feel small so that she may not repeat this kind of behavior? But what would she do to Rosy when they are at home? I don't know and every time I think of this I only wish Rosy had a better human friend...

Why is it that some people are mean to animals? I can never respect those who are mean to animals. There are some those who will purposely stone other animals or throw stuff at them for laughs. I have heard of kids who trick dogs or cats to eat food laced with anti-freeze just because they think its funny that poor animal trusts you and eats that food and chokes on it and dies! What kind of contribution would these people make to this world when they cannot respect another life? We do not have to love everything and everyone but we can at least treat all living creatures with some respect as they have feelings too. I wonder how Miss C would feel if she just woke up one Freaky Friday to find that Rosy was her mistress who would walk Miss C using a leash and punch her on the face. Knowing Rosy, if this ever happened, she would be so sweet to Miss C that the lady would die in shame!

Random Thoughts - 1

2010-10-25T16:05:00.001-04:00

I am pretty amazed at bloggers who post so much of personal information about their lives on their blog and I am talking real personal. Yes the blog is a kind of a journal, but how much of everything which goes on in your personal life would you want your friends and relatives to know? Call me old fashioned but I am a very private person - have always been. Not even my parents would always know what I am up to, especially if it has anything to do about conversations with a guy or anything on those lines. That is classified information and I wouldn't want my parents, friends or relatives knowing about everything that goes on between 2 people....I have not even written about my thoughts and feelings about tiffs with relatives, friends or other crazies that I have met throughout my life. Come to think of it I don't have a problem talking about these subjects :)

I would prefer to maintain a personal journal to record my inner-most thoughts and password protect it! It's the age of digital journals and I can write pretty much what I please without worrying about who would stumble upon my private thoughts and feelings compared to the old days when diaries could and would be opened by anyone from parents to ! Well that's me.

But I should admit, these bloggers have lots of courage and I admire them for that. I love their bindaas attitudes which screams "I don't care what the world thinks!" This is probably the reason why there are many more followers on such blogs compared to other not too personal blogs...Way to go people..hats off to you!

Wordless Wednesday 2 - The Future? Go Green People!

2010-10-20T18:34:00.001-04:00

Different Worlds - some heavy ranting

2010-10-19T15:19:00.002-04:00

It is such an interesting world...there are some countries (like where yours truly is from) where people start work early in the morning and continue late into the night and hardly complain. They go about it like it is their life's mission - the mission which enables them to take care of bills and pay mortgages. Most don't have the advantage of leaving work on the dot at 5:00PM or say something when their boss SMS'es them to be at work bright and early on a week end when they have worked until 2:00PM the previous night or when they are asked to cut short a holiday to get into work just because it is expected of them....Even Tea and Coffee is rationed at most places of work and folks don't get to enjoy long luxurious lunches. Not to mention that the commute to and from work probably leaves them in bad mood for the entire week! If you happen to be a working woman, you have the additional exciting tasks like cooking dinner after a long day at work, cleaning up, wake up early next morning to cook lunch for you and your better half before you both rush to work , put up with your maid (if you have one)etc., If you have kids its even more fun - you just need to manage a sleepy or screaming toddler, drop em off at school or day care and rush to work before the boss can make a comment about why they should not be hired! More about this later.

Then there is the other side of the world - people get into work as they please. The moment they get into the office you will find that they have not even settled into their chairs or checked their emails but there they are already gossiping with others who don't mind listening to their useless banter and the incessant ranting and complains! Some people are always too good for what they do, they are better than everyone else even when they are not, they need to keep telling themselves and you how you can never be the same as them even though you can and you already are (you are probably better). They have the knack of looking busy and stressed thereby exuding an important exterior. Men and women alike think its no big deal to miss deadlines, not turn up to meetings, not answer emails (heck they are busy browsing the internet) and basically do whatever it is that they please. They have great paid vacation time, protected by extremely strong employment laws where you cannot discriminate based on gender, color, race, medical conditions.. you are not even allowed to verify their performances at their previous jobs or for references!! Oh let me add that these kind of employees are rarely ever taken to task!

I am in awe of this world - how does this even exist? How can an organization with such employees show growth? How can such a world bloom and grow? This is a world protected by an excess of everything: land, food, water, strong laws and more. It is a world which going to be filled up with lazy folks who can't do anything few years from now..a world where there would be very few achievers and one that would contain an overflow of those depending on the government to hand out benefits for any kind of disaster or personal problems that rise out of their own making. These folks are too lazy to work so they get fired and the govt has to hand out unemployment! I know of those who make sure that get fired so that they can collect unemployment without doing anything..And because they are unemployed they cant afford medical care so that government has to hand out free medical care! And what is the source of cash to make sure that all these people have a cushy life - tax payers money. A few people work hard and pay their taxes so that the rest of the country and sponge off someone's sweat and blood.

When I think of such deep issues I only wonder if God is being unfair. Did he really create some countries and its citizens to be above others? Did he just create someone countries and its citizens to be slaves to these so called superior countries? Is he just so mad at some countries that he filled them with rotten politicians? What other rational explanation exists? And why is it that hard working citizens anywhere have it tougher than the lazy ones?? So many questions and no real answers....

TGIF!! 15-Oct-10 - Suicide of the Office Supplies

2010-10-15T10:03:00.004-04:00

It's Friday y'all! My favorite day of the week - a day whose evening I can look forward to and a day which makes the days that follow seem exciting. Hopefully I don't have to hear the alarm go off on the week-ends, can laze around and spend time with myself, my family and loved ones. Nothing but pure bliss!

I wanted to share this extremely hilarious photo with everybody. I feel nothing explains the "TGIF" concept better. Last Friday someone at work just attached a pen holder, a docking station and what looks like a punching machine to a string and hung (yes hung) them to the ceiling!We all love our jobs which is probably the reason why we look forward to week ends and enjoy them in the first place. But every now I can't help but not take myself too seriously and cut through the stress to enjoy such silly gestures! Enjoy an have a great week end!

P.S - I have named this photograph "Suicide of the Office Supplies"

I won!

2010-10-14T18:54:00.003-04:00

Today has been a very exciting day for me - I won the chili cook-off contest at work! After years I participated in something and won. My recipe which was a desi version of the westernized Chili was selected as the winner and also found mention for originality and spice /kick! This was my first attempt and the reward is extremely motivating - at least it motivated me to update my food blog after 6 months! Honestly only I know that I was really mad at someone when I was cooking...but seems my anger was channeled well :)

Since I have been working on my recipe, this is my post for today. Interested parties may please click here to read about chili and check if the recipe interests you.

http://yumpalettes.blogspot.com/

Note to self: I really need to work on getting all my blogs in one spot!!! I am just not sure how to do it. if anybody has some suggestions please let me know.

Wordless Wednesday 1 - What's smoking??

2010-10-13T11:45:00.006-04:00

I noticed that Wordless Wednesday is very common across the blogosphere. I think that the concept is great. I wanted to do one too. This is my first one. Here goes....

Girl vs Diet

2010-10-12T14:00:00.003-04:00

It was a boring "Tuesday" afternoon and she was contemplating about her assignment when her colleague made eye contact with her. Get into the kitchen said those eyes and then pointed to the big brown box that she was holding. Oh no! thought the girl - not this not now. Why does this always happen to me? But she couldn't resist walking into the kitchen wondering about what the consequences of her careless action would be. Soon there were others bustling around them as the box opened to reveal its contents. As the girl fought the lat few ounces of temptation her mouth spoke the words - "There goes my diet!!!I will take a slice of the veggie pizza!!!!"

P.S - This is my second post for the day. The first was supposed to have been posted yesterday which is why I have 2 posts today. This is my first attempt a short story like thingie...am going to call these "shorty" :)

The MInd, Body and Yoga

2010-10-11T16:57:00.008-04:00

Ok..so here I am on the path to finding myself and an important part of this project is to have some kind of discipline in life, the ability to shut off negative influences and concentrate on what is important to you as a person, a pure mind and body etc., I am not going to go on cos I might sound like a philosopher which I am not even close to... Speaking of a pure body and mind (ahem!! My body probably cries every time I feed it junk and my brains are overworked as they never rest) I have just started taking yoga classes as an important step of this journey :) I was skeptical at first about yoga - you would be too if parts of your childhood were spent sitting with an aunt who chanted "Om" when you looked on like a deer struck by headlights wondering how this supposed to be fun! Anyways I digress.

Have you ever had the experience of trying to stretch like a cat years after school and college ? More simply put you are no longer between the age range of 16-27?? The only way I can describe how I felt when I tried the most simple and basic yoga stretches is confusion and pain!Here I was trying to concentrate on holding a cat-dog or cow or some kind of animal pose (maybe it was pigeon which actually makes it a bird pose) without tripping on myself or someone next to me! It seemed to be that my body was taking revenge on me for the years of abuse it had been subjected to over the last 3 decades!! And you what they say about pay backs - you get much more than you gave! And it didn't help that some others were doing all of this without breaking into a sweat when I couldn't even touch my toes..Those who know me well know that I am obsessed with touching my toes. It has been a life long endeavour of mine to touch my toes...I couldn't do it when I was a kid, when I was dancing full time and I still can't do it! I keep blaming it on my genes whilst some say its my hamstrings. This "unable to touch my own toes complex" has become a regular joke in my life because of which I have decided to overlook this inability of mine while navigating the journey of life. Getting back to my class, towards the end of it I was desperately looking forward to the death pose where you just lie down and relax!

All said and done a few classes later I find that I can do the cats, cows,dogs and even cobras but not the bird!! I try to take inspiration from my cat who can stretch himself like nobodies business and who thinks I am just being silly when I try to do the cat-cow and dog... he runs beneath me trying to play the "let me see if you will fall" game! But I do look forward to every class so maybe, just maybe I am finding some kind of discipline in my life after all.

So here is to me trying and filing my experiences here so that I can look back one day when I can do all the fancy back bends and remember my humble beginnings and laugh at the girl who was trying to something - I am hoping the future me would have it figured out the "something" by then :-)

P.S - I had a very silly look on my face as I typed out this post - I have missed not posting on the weekend and I had nominated myself for the nablopo of all things....

TGIF!!!!! 08-Oct-10

2010-10-08T11:33:00.007-04:00

It's Friday! Yay! It has been a long week and I am looking forward to this week end more than I normally do! The only thing I have planned is to attend my yoga class. on Saturday. A separate post on that will come soon. What I'd like to do other than that has been summed up well by furry little pal:-)

On a different note I am going to give nablopo a try and am starting off small but cute (with this post) Also going forward I am going to do TGIF posts every Friday. These posts will be the best way for me to unwind after my week...everybody does wordless Wednesdays so why shouldn't I do TGIF Fridays?? :) For those who may not know (though I am sure that is a rarity) TGIF is an acronym for Thank God It's Friday! What do you have planned for the week end??

Of Concentration, Me and MM

2010-09-30T11:36:00.004-04:00

Have you ever wondered what happens to your sense of concentration once you are done with college? I have been trying hard (not real hard though) to start studying for a very important exam which I have been planning to write for quite some time now. Every time I open my books I go through the same experience which can very comically be described like this:

Me: Ok! Time to get serious..I need to pull up my socks and get this done! After all its for my own good...I can snag that corner office with a view some day (soon)!
MM: That's right babe! You can do it...together we can conquer the world!

5 minutes later:

Me: Chapter 1: "XYZ is the term that is used to define process which describes........"
MM: Are you comfortable in this seating position???
Me: Sure...I have never used a table and chair all my life! Why start now? XYZ is the terms that is used to define process which describes........
MM: Sorry to interrupt, but your back is going to get all bendy this way and you will start hunching more than usual....
Me: grrrr...ok fine! I am moving to the table

After moving to the table:

Me:"XYZ is the term that is used to define process which describes blah blah and Blee. Those who are very adept at following these processes are referred to as........"
MM: Gosh! What's the sound I hear?? Is someone walking past your window??
Me: Grrr....shut up and concentrate! "XYZ is the terms...."
MM: Whatever! I think I need some coffee so that you can be fresh and really concentrate..
Me: Good Lord!! U are a pain...fine will get the coffee..

30 minutes later after coffee:

Me: "XYZ is the term....................blah blah.........bleh!" Yes finally I can remember this...I am done with one page! Yippeee
MM: Good Job! U need a break Let's check whats on TV.....
Me: That is so true....we have been working hard on this for the past 30 minutes! Let's check out the telly...

Another 30 minutes later:

Me: Ok lets get back to work...
MM: Yes! Yes!
Me: "Page 2: The entire XYZ process is depicted in the diagram below...."
MM: Speaking of diagrams did you notice that you still haven't finished that painting??
Me: Yes..will get to it soon...."Page 2: The entire XYZ process...."
MM: You have been saying that for some time now...
Me: Can I please finish this page?? "Page 2: ....."
MM: Look you need to tidy up this place first...It is messing up with the Feng Shui of this room..this is why you can't concentrate...
Me: Good Lord!! Please help :(

Finally, I just closed my books and decided that I was just not up to it at that moment. There was a time in life when I could sit at a place with my books and go on for hours! I woke up at 4:00AM and kept going till 9:00AM sometimes even longer with no real breaks! Only my books got my attention and nothing else...I could concentrate...Now I have become lost in this world of multi-tasking where I have to 100 things at a time to feel satisfied: read my book, check my email, clean my room, think of a solution for a work problem and more!Does life makes us this way? Or do the words of a good friend (who rarely reads this blog ) are true when he says: "It's the age! You are just too old for this stuff!!"

Me:Gulp! I hope not.....dear God please help!
MM: Babes don't you worry.....you can do it!

Sigh....

Conversations with MM

2010-09-07T16:55:00.004-04:00

Tuesday afternoon after a long week end my mind (MM)which pretty much likes to do its own thing tells me:

MM: I wanna do something adventurous,
Go back packing some where or just pack and go somewhere (based on convenience),
Stay in a small town, in the mountains....

SR (that's me):Maybe, but please ensure that there is running water and electricity...am all for the simple life but I need to shower everyday and not let the heat and mosquitoes kill me..

MM:(after a whatever expression)....Live the simple life
Write, paint, eat, sleep, grow my own vegetables, cook......

SR: Yeah sure - If we don't get too lazy that is!BTW from where will the funding come for this dream trip??

MM: Why do you have to rain on my parade? Do u have to be practical all the time?? I can't believe I live within you!! I am so adventurous, creative, and happy go lucky and u....

SR: Well.....

- Interrupted by a superior at work (SP@work)

SP@work: So whats the status on the blah blah item we were working on this morning???
SR: Well its going on a blah bleeh mode and should be done soon....

MM: While this silly girl is trying to work on real life let me go back and doze some more before she will let me fly.

Krishna and Me

2010-09-01T12:50:00.003-04:00

Today is one of my most favorite Hindu Indian festivals - Krishna Jayanthi as we tam brams call it or Krishna Janmashtami as the rest of India calls it. I am not sure why this is one of my favorite festivals especially when the other festivals are equally amazing. Maybe it is the food quotient attached to this one.......think about it: seedais, murukus, thatais, milk sweets, fruits basically just about everything. But then every tam bram festival is always comes on top where food is concerned. God! all this talk about food makes me want to schedule a day off and go home right now and start eating. Oh! How I digress!

So why is this special to me?? Cos Krishna is my most favorite God! OK..I know there plenty of you ladies out there and a few guys who might claim the same thing, but for me my relationship with Krishna has been a life long thing. If you are interested about the how and why's read on else you can just skip this post right now!

I befriended Krishna when I was very young! As soon as I started babbling words as a baby. My parents always fondly tell me stories of how I would stay awake (after they though I was asleep)at night speaking to the red night lamp in the room babbling the words "aalithana la lal la lal"!!! Nobody could figure out this meant...almost 2.5 decades later a few years ago my mom who was listening to a discourse somewhere understood what I had meant while saying those words..it was code for aaillai krishna which actually means baby Krishna on a leaf!

I got my first toy a little plastic doll (which I still have btw) right at the time I started to talk... I named him Krishna! Nobody knew why and neither did I. "Krishna papa" stayed with me all the time for a few years. Teddy bears and other toys came and went but "Krishna papa" stayed and enjoys his place on the shelf till date! Maybe one day (hopefully) my kids can play with him.

When we lived in B'lore my mom had this awesome statue of Lord Krishna playing the flute in the living room. She had drooled over this magnificent piece of art and purchased it for its beauty and craftsmanship. One day as she was working elsewhere in the house, I am presuming it was the kitchen, she heard a loud crashing noise. Since it happened to come from the living room she rushed there only to find the magnificent statue of Krishna on the ground broken in several pieces and yours truly standing / kneeling right beside the "holy" mess! Obviously she was flooded with anger as an expensive piece of art was gone and asked me why I broke the statue. The reason lil ole me gave was "I was playing with Krishna and he fell down"!! Needless to say I received a lot of wacks and mom never ever purchased delicate objects of beauty again - at least not until I grew up!

During the summer holidays after completing my 5th grade I was introduced to paints and brushes! It took me a year or two to get really friendly with them paints and brushes and then boom! There I was painting pictures of Krishna one after the other. Some of them hang in my house, some were gifted to others and some are still trying to find a spot on the wall where they can proudly rest....This phase continued despite classes, exams, college projects and more..

I don't know what happened with me since I started working! Seems that the more and more I flooded myself with ambitions to snag a corner office with a view somewhere (which I am sad to report that I have not yet done) and travel the world, I immersed myself in a web of meetings, deliverables, late nights with no sleep and bad food and what not. I didn't even realise as Krishna slowly slipped away from my heart and moved far, far away. He was around but we were not as close as before... On this day as Indians across the world celebrate his birthday I hope to make an effort once more to woo him back to where he belongs which is close to my heart. The first step was realisation and I think I did that pretty well...

Happy Krishna Jayanthi to all....What your most favorite Krishna experience? I would love to know...

An award and other random things...

2010-08-24T15:17:00.006-04:00

I recently discovered that a few months ago I was conferred the "Honest Scrap" blog award, by Swarna for my thoughts and work on "Oodles of Doodles". That blog and this one have been so ignored by me for the past year that I feel I need to hide under a table to avoid my embarrassment from letting laziness and the humdrum of life take over me! So in all earnestness I am looking at this award and the tag that was associated with it as a sign for me to wake up from hibernation and let my mind flow...

So here goes....25 random things about me! 25 is a bit much but I will try! I just hope I can stop :)

I love so many things in life and want to do so many things before I die that its difficult to make a list...........
I savor silence, solitude and personal space
I have a desperate need for everything to be organized and clean that I feel that I maybe a borderline OCD case!!
Even though I don't fall into the short category in terms of height, I am crazy for heels....
I am a very private person and don't like other folks intruding in my space
I believe in God and that destiny shapes a person's life and that a woman's intuition about something must always be listened to.
I love love loooooove my pets! So much that I feel they they are better to hang out with rather than annoying humans!
I always find it difficult to make decisions! Even after I make the decision I always ponder and dissect it to ensure that it is correct driving myself nuts in the process!
If you force me do to something that I am not sure of or don't want to do I will turn around and run the in other direction away from you!
If you were to tell me that I cannot do something, I will always have a need to prove you wrong!
I can eat anything vegetarian as long as its not bitter gourd!!
If you steal my thunder I would most probably hate you!
I dream of the day that I could do what I love for a living
I hate politics - at work and in life!
Books, music and television are very important in my life
I prefer watching comedy genre movies than serious ones!
I don't like crowded places; too much commotion drains me out
Sometimes I tend to talk a lot..so much that you can't stop me
I set the bar really high for myself and am always disappointed if I can't make it
I do what I think is right no matter what the rest of world thinks about it
I don't like to dominate or be dominated by anyone
I have had secret ambitions to be a chef and a writer..
Sometimes I lack discipline when it comes to sticking to an exercise or study routine
I respect those who respect animals! If someone were to tell me that they hate dogs or cats for no good reason I won't think much of them...
Unless they are at an interview I don't think much about folks who keep talking about themselves and try to make themselves seem important and intelligent to get some attention..

OK. time for me to stop!!! If you stop by this blog please do say Hi using the comments section!

And I start this year with......Books!

2010-01-20T19:18:00.005-05:00

Art and Books are perfect beginning for my blogs this year! I have been more regular with my brushes than I have been with my writing! It seemed like I couldn't write about anything when the topics of books hit me...I have been reading two of them this month and wanted to post my thoughts.

The first one was "Devil Bones" by Kathy Reichs. The author is an renowned anthropologist and her life and experiences have been made into the hit reality TV show "Bones" of which I am a great fan of. I had been waiting to read her books for a really long time and finally found them at the local library. Well to say I was not disappointed would be far from the truth. The author says that she is not a trained writer and it shows! This was one book where I actually skipped pages just to get through...it is so strange considering the synopsis of the book guarantees a page turner. This is what the synopsis said:

"In a house under renovation, a plumber uncovers a cellar no one knew about, and makes a rather grisly discovery — a decapitated chicken, animal bones, and cauldrons containing beads, feathers, and other relics of religious ceremonies. In the center of the shrine is the skull of a teenage girl. Meanwhile, on a nearby lake shore, the headless body of a teenage boy is found by a man walking his dog.

Led by a preacher turned politician, citizen vigilantes blame devil worshippers and Wiccans and begin a witch hunt, intent on seeking revenge. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan — "five-five, feisty, and forty-plus" — is called in to investigate, and a complex and gripping tale unfolds in this deadly mix of voodoo, Santería, and devil worship."

This seemingly thrilling plot was intertwined with useless romances of the main protagonist, voodoo and devil worship (which may get a readers attention ) and descriptions of the human anatomy (which is not my strong subject) and high way descriptions of North Carolina! Half way through the book, I forgot who the characters were and what exactly each one was trying to or had done! If you like human anatomy and scientific research give the book a try and maybe you wont feel like me! I was let down - maybe it's because I am so used to the dynamic, intelligent portrait of Dr. Temperance Brennan and the strong, charming and funny FBI agent Seeley Booth on the TV series. Neither the character of Tempe nor the FBI detectives live up to this mark..

Just to balance reading something like "Devil Bones" I started reading Sophie Kinsella's "Can you keep a secret?" OK! I have to tell you I was tempted to pick up this book as this author is frequently mentioned on one of my favorite blogs "Life, Books and More". Plus I haven't read chick lit in years.....now this book was funny and entertaining! The classic story of the black horse that triumphs, only the black horse in this case being Emma - a twenty something Londoner with a crappy job, struggling with crazy colleagues, few best friends, a cousin who stole most of her childhood and other equally crazy characters. While on a business trip, the plane on which Emma is flying heads into turbulence. Fearing that she may die, she gives in to a sudden bout of hysterics and reveals all her secrets including the most embarrassing ones to her fellow passenger. Now for the twist in the tale - she turns up to work the next day and guess who is visiting the company to supervise its European operations? None other than one of the companies founder Jack Harper - the fellow passenger from Emma's flight! After that its a Laughton all the way to the end and how Emma finally gets what makes her happy and her romance with the mysterious Jack Harper forms the rest of the book!

I loved it... It is a wonderful feeling to escape from real life into books such as these. But me being me, my silly mind wandered to imagine how it would be if something like this were to happen in real life... The heroine would probably work in a software company surrounded by colleagues who are silly in their own ways and the bosses would most probably be egoistic middle aged males, if not middle aged I am pretty sure a good chunk of them would be obnoxious.....the chance of romance - pretty much zero! A male reader may be getting ready to shoot me a hate mail but try polling female readers and many would be support what I just said :D

Mr.Monk and the Blue Flu

2009-12-18T15:12:00.005-05:00

I picked this book from a "throw away" organized by a moving neighbour. Since I can't stand books being ignored I picked (rather grabbed) this book and it was totally worth it! A very light and fun read. Based on the popular TV series "Monk" this book is written by Lee Goldberg who penned the screen plays for the TV series.

Adrian Monk is an ex-cop and since the death of his wife suffers from an OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) syndrome. He loves nothing better than order and balance in the universe to the extent that he slices his pizza using a compass to measure exact portions! He carries his own cutlery to restaurants and even washes the dishes (his own and the restaurant's dirty dishes) after his meals there. He can't bear to see a speck of dust anywhere and thinks that the duster and the mop are the best inventions of all time and his way of de-stressing is to clean the house and any ones house at that! At time he is even unable to control the urge to set things right at a crime scene. It is this very characteristic that makes him look at angles and clues that other detectives miss out while investigating homicides and solves cases in record time. The San Francisco police department engages him as their consultant to close out on important cases.

Monk is aided by his very efficient and loyal assistant Natalie Teeger who rightfully describes her job as a baby sitter. She is always there to hand him moist wipes when he needs to clean up after touching a messy desk at a crime scene, hand him his mineral water when he needs it and chauffeur him around the city while he investigates his cases. She tries to make him look sane to the rest of the world.

All these details are humorously narrated by Natalie in this book where Monk takes over as the acting captain of the SFPD when the entire police force goes on sick leaves also known as the Blue Flu so that the mayor of the city can understand their needs for decent salaries and medical insurance. In India we would call that a strike! The mayor hires Monk as the acting captain and also assigns to him a team of equally twisted detectives - a conspiracy nut, an officer with anger management issues and a really old detective who forgets his name every few hours! How this team led by Monk, solve 2 high profile cases dealing with serial killers forms the rest of the book!

If you want to laugh a lot, give this book a go - you won't be disappointed

The curious case of the designer bag

2009-12-10T16:05:00.007-05:00

Have you ever wondered why you can never find something when you need it the most? You are turning the house upside down to locate that important bill that you need to pay today as it is the last day and you just can’t seem to spot it? How you can’t find your keys or those discount coupons when you need to leave the house in the next few minutes? And surprise, surprise how these objects usually turn up in the most unusual places when you are not looking for them! It seems to be some weird law of nature that states:

a) You shall never get anything when you need it the most!

b) One can never stick to a budget when it comes to gift vouchers! You would always have to spend more than what is on the voucher to make us of it!

I am pretty sure there are Murphy’s laws which states these weird ways of life. If you are wondering why I wrote this post, please keep reading as it describes how both laws came to play in a single day though in different ways:

Yesterday I realized that I had a gift coupon from one of the huge stores in the area. The store carried pretty much everything from clothes, shoes, bags, kitchen electronics, bath and bedding, cosmetics, jewelry and more at affordable costs. It was the last day that I could use the coupon before it expired – so I decided to go and treat myself to all the possibilities that the store offered. I was excited to have found the coupon before it expired and not after! The first law was disproved and I was excited. I made a trip to the store and spent about 1 hour walking through the entire store only to find:

The jacket that I wanted was not available in my size. They had a size bigger and a size smaller but no stock when it cam to my size.

The pretty yellow sweater I wanted – they only had the larger sizes

I didn’t want shoes or jewellery so those sections were out of the running

No kitchen electronics to interest me and I didn’t care much for kid stuff or make up!

And the bags – none to catch my interest! I had been looking at the same bags in the store for more than a year now!

What’s a girl to do? The first law was rearing its head again…..Finally I spotted a beautiful handbag in mustard yellow under a mound of dull and boring bags. I have wanted to get a bag in that color for a long time now! So I inspected it and found out that I had to shell out extra cash (apart from the gift voucher) to make it mine! Hello second law!

I walked another half hour throughout the store checking if I could find something else instead. Defeated I finally walked up to the billing counter and parted with the extra cash. The lady at the counter exclaimed – wow you found an amazing deal and all I thought in my head was “Lady, you have no idea!” As I walked out with my new bag, I consoled my self saying that I had got a nice designer bag at an affordable cost. Nature’s laws had struck again but in different ways – I did find the coupon but didn’t really find something worthy of it and per the rule had to spend more to get something worthy. And this is how I ended up buying the mustard yellow color bag which I have wanted for quit some time now.

Book Challenge 2009!

2009-12-09T11:29:00.003-05:00

Yes! I finally did it - completed the book reading challenge. We had to read 20 books in the year 2009... I know I know for some of you this is nothing! You can read 20 books in 20 minutes but then for people like myself it took some discipline though I do read quite a bit. And I am also happy I didn't really cheat - I didn't read books like "Tales of Beedle the Bard" and similar 20 page books for this challenge! I am thrilled about finishing this for the year - I may have not lost my 5 pounds but I did complete the book challenge! I found some friends on the blogosphere thanks to this challenge. Here are the details of the books I completed this year with the links for my take on the books

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
The Rozabal Line by Shawn Haigins a.k.a Ashwin Sanghi
Lords and Ladies by Terry Pratchett
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Princess by Jean Sasson
Catcher in the Rye by J.D Saligner
One Night at the Call Center by Chetan Bhagat
Ghost Stories of Pennsylvania by Dan Asfar
Alice in Wonderland and Through the looking glass by Lewis Caroll
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett
Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
Son of Witch by Gregory Maguire
Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
Life, Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
The Restaurant at the end of the Universe by Douglas Adams

The White Tiger

2009-12-08T10:56:00.003-05:00

I know I was a bit late in the game when it came to this book however I picked up this book with great expectations considering it had win a booker prize and stuff! At the end of it have mixed feelings about the book.

First I appreciate the fact that an Indian author like Aravind Adiga was able to command an international prize and people around the world have been able to appreciate his writing abilities. But then why is that people around the world seem to usually appreciate books that show India in a poor light? Or do the authors deliberately write books like this to expose their talents to an otherwise unappreciative international audience?

I don't feel like reviewing this book at all - it has been done by millions around the world already! I am just peeved about the fact that this book describes India and Indians in a very poor light and books like these will ever change the view of what the world thinks of us! It just pits Indians against Indians and the world will continue to think that they can boss over us! India and its mindset is slowly changing - it is a slow process but it is happening and I think we should stop writing best sellers that show us in a poor light! However the book is gutsy and I guess the author was ready to take the flake from what people like me would say. Pick it up if you like thrashing India and fellow Indians or you think India will never change or if you are just interested in a black humor literature! You will either love this book or will hate it..

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

2009-12-05T15:20:00.005-05:00

Betrothed at the age of three to the crown Prince of England, Arthur Tudor to strengthen the ties between emerging power England and the super power of Europe -Spain, Catalina of Spain (Queen Katherine of England in the future) was always destined to be Queen. With powerful parents in King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabelle of Castille, Catalina grew up in the midst of a holy war to establish Christianity as the supreme religion of the world and drive away the so called heretic religion of Islam (as it was known in the early 15th century) from the face of the earth. Her journey from a young girl from Spain to the most powerful and beloved Queen that England ever had, is riddled with hardships, intrigue, love and the biggest lie of them all.

At the age of 16 after a grand marriage to Arthur and exploring her new life with her young and brave husband destined to be the next King, Catalina finds herself widowed in a new country and clueless as to what her future maybe. The foundation of her dreams and future which was built upon her destiny to become the Queen of England is shattered as she is caught in a political war between her parents the most powerful and feared monarchs of Europe and her equally cunning and savvy father in law king Henry of England. She soon discovers that she is nothing more that a pawn in the struggle for power and she cannot trust her own parents to rescue her from a savage land to fulfill her destiny to be Queen. Refusing to be controlled like a puppet and having her dreams and future destroyed by those who have no personal interest in and based on her promise to her beloved husband Arthur on his deathbed, she tells the biggest lie of them all and takes control of her own destiny - the lie about the truth of her marriage with Prince Arthur.

After a great struggle she finds herself engaged to Arthur's younger brother Harry (a.k.a Henry the VIII) the next future King. She faces the Kings formidable grandmother and puts all those who shamed her in her place and takes her place as the Queen of England. However this journey is not smooth sailing as she strives to be a good queen along side a king who is just a young boy who was not really destined to be the king, cannot stand to have anything go wrong and is vain and selfish to his needs and desires. Slowly but surely she starts running the country with her knowledge acquired over her lifetime with great parents and her husband comes to depend on her to guide him in making England a powerful country!She comes into her own right when she commands the English army to their greatest victory of all times - against the Scots!

The book very beautifully explores her life from a being a young innocent girl transforming to a regal Queen. The emotional turmoil in her mind and her faith in God is shaken a lot but she never gives up. She also learns that her parents were wrong about just driving people and nations that follow Islam and other religions to establish Christianity as the ultimate faith and begins to understand that success lies in driving away the evil and bad that lies in the world and not a particular religion. Her travails as her women as her honor is questioned and put to the ultimate test when her husband tries to nullify their marriage citing Kathrines inability to have sons, to take on a younger queen after more than 3 decades of marriage is very beautifully etched out.

The book started out slowly and I was wondering if it would be as good as the racy "The Other Boleyn Girl". But I was not disappointed, the book gradually picked up pace and kept me glued after a certain point to know what comes next. The beauty of 15th century Spain and savage England is beautifully described. The contrasts between the old English court commanded by her father-in-law to the young court captained by her young husband is also brought out well. The political pulse of the time, the ambitions of the Kings and their willingness to sacrifice anything or anyone to fulfill their own agenda is quite shocking, not to mention how women were given no place in those times where the Queen job was to give birth to the next male heir without which she means nothing. It is pretty ironic that in spite of Harry's obsession for a son, England finally ended up being ruled by women starting from his daughters with his Queen Katherine. Queen Mary and till today is still being ruled by an English Queen! In fact some of its golden years was when it was ruled by Queen Elizabeth again one of Harry's daughters and step sister to Queen Mary, who was cast aside by the great king when she was young. Does that tell you something? Well I think women have powers that even they are not aware of and if only we could channel these powers in a good way rather than idling in gossip or frivolous activities we would make grand strides in every way!

If you enjoy historical fiction, love hearing about medieval England and Tudor history, this book is definitely a must read.

Perfume and Water

2009-12-03T15:27:00.005-05:00

When I go blog hopping I generally notice that most folks write about humorous incidents that have happened in their lives and it just feels so odd that I have never been able to recall anything funny that happened with me while I was growing up. Or maybe it was funny and I just didn't see the humor then! Anyways I have been thinking over such incidents that may seem funny to me now and I remembered this one.

Growing up, my 2 cousins lets call then D and V and myself used to almost always vacation at Bangalore at my aunts place! Being from hot Chennai, it was the 'it' place to spend your summer holidays. Anyhow this aunt had a daughter (she was our cousin too) who was studying medicine. Apparently my aunt and uncle thought their daughter, lets call her S was the best thing that ever existed and there were strict rules about not making too much noise, not disturbing her while she studied blah blah! So naturally most of us were in awe of her as she was destined to be a success story. S had all the nice things a girl could have - fancy clothes, shoes, accessories, perfumes, make up etc., all courtesy my aunt who used to make plenty of trips to the USA to visit her other daughter and son! You see visiting the USA was huge in the 80's...now its like making a trip from Chennai to Bangalore! So getting back to my story, future doctor S had this amazing perfume (again from the great USA) which smelled like a dream!D, V and myself we just wanted to try some - you cant blame kids in the 4th, 5th and 6th standards! So we decided that one day we would definitely try it out!We got our chance one afternoon....

You see D had this habit of sleeping most of the day! She would easily spend about 16 hours sleeping (nights and afternoon combined) so she just missed out on the fun! V and myself went to S's room and opened the perfume bottle. We just wanted to dab a little bit on ourselves and see how it felt. In our efforts to open the bottle and get a little someone (I don't want to point fingers here) ended up tilting the bottle then fell on the carpet spreading perfume all over! None of it was left in the bottle! We panicked not knowing what to do! Then we hit upon a brilliant idea and filled water into the bottle and put it back! Naive as we were it didn't occur to us that the room was smelling like a perfumery! We went about our business for the day and that evening when S got home she got suspicious considering her room was smelling like the perfume department at a fancy store! She discovered the bottle with water and threw a big tantrum and made a huge ruckus! Everyone got so worked up about the perfume and V and me just didn't get why it was so important. It was just perfume! D escaped just because she slept through the whole mischief! Finally we were chided so much and V even tried to blame it on me and tried to take and escape route! I wasn't going to let that go and fought back! She has always been like that - ever since that day I never trust her!We were all so mad at everyone and mentally I thought the future doctor or her parents would not be going places especially when they could be so petty about the tiny perfume bottle and not understand a kids prank! I just remember being mad at everyone and learnt to be wary of everyone since that day!

Today, almost more than 2 decades after that stupid incident I laugh about it. I think it was pretty funny. We wanted something and we went for it - where is that instinct now? I guess I would just have to say that I grew up and these days am concerned about so many other things when it comes to going after something that I really want. This incident did teach me a lot about who you can and cannot trust and that something that may be insignificant to us would be valuable to another - even something like perfume! However I still do resent being called the mischief maker when it was just a childish prank. Well, at least I had fun and the rest of them just wasted a load of their energy trying to think what they could call us kids! Guess I did have the last laugh after all and I sure feel glad that this is now out of my system!

Weighty Woes

2009-11-18T15:49:00.008-05:00

What is it with women and weight? We never seem to be the right size to make us happy! In order to avoid being generic I am going to make this about me and how my mind works regarding this issue. Me - am never happy about my weight! With great difficulty and lots of sacrifices (call it not eating properly cos I was lazy to cook and clean by myself all 7 days of the week!) I did loose a few extra pounds that I carried on me before I moved away from home. Boy! did that make me happy - loosing the weight I mean. All those days of eating whole grains and brown rice and avoiding ice creams seem to have paid off! And then my parents came to visit and here I am few months later finding out that my clothes are a bit snug! Like most other women who obsess about this issue my first reaction was panic! I was on my mothers case, telling her that it was her cooking that caused it (in a fun way of course) - you see its the effect of food being served with lots of love and affection :-) As long as I did the cooking and groceries and maintained my eating habits I did not have this problem...maybe its true, maybe its not.

Anyways now I am left wondering how to get rid of the extra pounds that have found their on me and am making myself miserable trying to think of ways to shed it off! I have been hitting the gym like a loyal dog and I am definitely not feeling very kindly towards all the skinny dames out there who eat as they please and never gain a single ounce! God is just unfair sometimes!!! Man I do hate the gym! I prefer doing chores around the house and walking everywhere!

And the food, the less said on that topic the better! I am trying to get back to my "healthy" eating habits but it is such a tough job after those months where food was served with love :) I have been trying hard to come up with a list of food I can give up. Well there is no way I am kissing cheese good bye! Hey am only human you know and considering all the crazy stuff that goes on in life, cheese gives me comfort and that can't go! I did manage to get rid of a bag of Hershey kisses.. I dumped it in the common candy bowl at work with a really heavy heart! Yesterday I found myself almost throwing away the biscuits and then I came into my senses and hid them in the tallest shelf in the kitchen! I will probably be too lazy to fetch a stool and stand on it to get access to the shelf! At least I hope so...

As of now I have decided to ignore that weighing scale that lies in my room. Checking my weight is a strict no no. The day will arrive when I shall win that scale, when that magic number appears in pretty red digital print. I wait for that day and until then I bid adieu to chocolates, ice creams and all other evil food! My parting words to the cruel food world - Hasta la vista......I'll be back!

The Rozabal Line

2009-11-15T15:28:00.002-05:00

I finished this book at least 4 weeks ago and.....here goes I have mixed feelings about this book. It explores the possibility that Jesus did not die on the cross and once he escaped how he travelled around the world and even came to India. In fact it goes on to state that Jesus lived in India and died there and his tomb exists in Kashmir. All this and more are meshed with the story of a political religious war between the roman catholic church, the free masons and the Islamic war groups. The main protagonists though from different parts of the world are all linked to each other by their actions from their previous births! If this was too much for you to digest the book doesn't stop here...the various religious groups try to plot their terror attacks in a such a way that the final one ends on December 12 2012! Gosh!

The reason I wanted to read this book as it was a historical fiction by an Indian writer! Ashwin Sanghi who actually used his pen name Shawn Haigins for the first few editions! I feel he has a long way to go when compares with historical fiction experts like Dan Brown or Phillipa Gregory. Honestly if this same book were written by Dan Brown it would have been a guaranteed page turner! However this book is rich in its research but its keeps zooming between the present, past and future so quickly that it makes the reader dizzy! I didn't even feel like doing a review about this book because the book is chock full of information and its crazy to remember all that stuff. The book tries to answer the million dollar question..did Jesus really die on the cross? Did his blood line continue? If so what happened to that generation? How different is Islam and Christianity? Does one feed of the other? If you happen to read the book let me know what you thought about it.

Lords and Ladies

2009-10-18T13:25:00.002-04:00

Read this book and am feeling too lazy to do a review :-) I wanted to track it here for my reading challenge....Anyways I loved it, like most other Terry Pratchett books..am glad I have his collection!In a nut shell, this book was an extremely funny take on Shakespeare's "A mid-summer nights dream". If you are interested in the Terry Pratchett books, check out my others posts for reviews on books by this author.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

2009-10-02T14:08:00.001-04:00

I was waiting for this book and thanks to a good friend I received a free copy of it! I am not going to spend too much time reviewing Dan Browns latest - if you have read his previous books this book is not much different. The pace of the book, the narration and story line is almost similar. Just that this time the author moved the wild goose chase from beautiful and historical Europe to architecturally marvelous Washington D.C. The book was pretty interesting, however the last 30-40 pages just dragged and I just wanted to close the book as I found myself yawning - it was a case of too much information and moving in and out of buildings! If you like thrillers filled with a lot of history this book will be enjoyable almost towards the end!

Princess

2009-09-13T20:25:00.007-04:00

The first book in the "Princess" trilogy, Princess gives the rest of the world a privy to the life of Saudi Arabian women - royals and non-royals alike. For the rest of the world, Saudi Arabian royal princesses live a privileged life with no dearth of money or luxury. Little do we know that their lives are controlled by the whims and fancies of the men who surround them. Women are treated worse than animals, denied education, married off to men fit to be their grandfathers, divorced if diagnosed with an illness or if their husbands are bored of them and even killed to protect the family honor! The book was described as a "look into an air conditioned nightmare" by the New York times review.

The book describes the various events in the life of Princess Sultana the 7th daughter of a Saudi Royal Family of Al Saud. From a tender age she finds out that her father would never love her or her sisters and that their brother would have preference over everyone in all matters including food and lifestyle! They were just the "unwanted daughters" who had to abide their time until they could get married to serve their duty as a woman by being an obedient wife and giving birth to plenty of children hopefully male. Most marriages were arranged as strategic business alliances or partnerships and it was and probably still is common for a girl as young as 15 to be married to a man as old as 62! Observing how her mother and the rest of the women are treated Sultana learns to rebel and fight for what is her right in male dominated world where the verses of the Koran are twisted to suit men and men alone.

The events in the book have been based on the stories of a actual princess who requested the author that her story and issues that affect the women of Saudi Arabia be published. She hoped that this would be the beginning of bringing some change to the laws and ways of her land. Of course the name of the princess and others in her life has been changed to ensure the safety of the princess. The book is very gripping and most of the women around the world (if not all) will definitely be grateful to have the access to education and a certain amount of independence. I do not want to come across as someone thrashing Saudi Arabia as I am sure it has changed compared to what it was 20 years (which was the timeline for Sultanas stories though women are still not allowed to drive and a women was arrested as early as March 2009 for driving!

The book was very gripping and I didn't want to put it down until I finished it. We Indian women may celebrate the fact that we were not born in a place like Saudi Arabia but we still have a long way to go when it comes to establishing our place in the society. Certain incidents described in the book like female infanticide, domestic violence and mobbing of women by religious groups bring to memory the various incidents that keep happening through out India almost every day. The day has not yet come when a women can roam freely at night on Indian roads without the fear of being attacked, robbed or killed! It just makes me feel we are in a slightly less cruel version of a Saudi Arabian country. This book is a must read for all women.

The Catcher in the Rye

2009-09-12T11:06:00.009-04:00

Most folks that I know have have read this book when they were in school or college..many of them who studied outside of India read this book as a part of their school curriculum. But then again, I don't think any Indian school (even today) would allow this interesting book as a part of the school curriculum due to what the Indian education board may regard as bad language and other crude references. Even in the west the book was once on the list of banned books before it was hailed a classic owing to the strong language contained in it.

This book published in the 1950's is like a monologue of a 17 year old school student who gets expelled from school. Apparently he has been expelled from many schools in the past and this one is no different. He flunks every subject other than English one of his favorites. Earlier on in the book it is established that he is a good writer and his brother is also a very famous writer who writes screen plays for Hollywood movies. This book talks about the mixed feelings that goes on in his mind about the people around him and the world in general. It is a potpourri of thoughts that go on in the mind of a rebellious teenager presented very coherently by the author J D Salinger.

Many chapters in this book made me realize that that many of us feel the same way about a lot of issues like the main protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Holden feels that world is full of "phonies" and people only act a certain way to be perceived as cool. Men use each other to get what they want and if people are friendly it is not because they genuinely care but because they need something out of the other person. One of the chapters in the book talks about a movie which only has happy endings. Even the Doberman in the movie has a cute litter of puppies which run around the table around the other happy characters when the movie ends. This chapter reminded me so much about our very own Rajshri film productions where nothing ever seems to go wrong! Its a perfect way of representing how the world in general loves to avoid that brutal truths of so that they have something "nice" to cling on to and move on.

The relationship that Holden shares with his 10 year old sister Phoebe (whom he refers to as old phoebe) is beautifully etched out. He is able to connect with her and have better conversations with her than any of the other adults in his life. The monologue spans across 2 days of his life in New York City bringing out the grey areas and life in the city earlier in the century in a very subtle way. Holden cannot seem to figure out what he wants to do with his life - all he knows is that he does not want to be a phony. He does not want to be a lawyer just to make a lots of money as he feels that a lawyer should help save people lives and he does not to want to become a writer either as he feels that most writers end up becoming prey to fame and fortune thus giving up their true talent and creativity. Everyone becomes a phony....During one of his conversations with little phoebe he confesses to her that he visualises himself as standing over a cliff overlooking a huge field of rye where little kids play and every time a child gets too near to the cliff he makes that he catches the kid and makes sure that child moves away avoiding a fall that could hurt them. He feels that the only thing he would like to do is protect these little kids. This piece of text was a perfect analogy to protecting young, innocent minds from the cruel ways and bad beings of the word. All that he would like to be is a "Catcher in the Rye".

The relationship that he shared with his late younger brother Allie runs like an invisible thread throughout the book. When Holden feels lonely he speaks to his brother Allie as he finds a lot of solace in thinking about the child with a pure heart. Holden plans to run away to establish a simple life for himself far away from his current world but changes his mind when he understands that Phoebe does not want him to leave her alone. She even packs her little suitcase to join him!The book ends on a note Holden still trying to figure out what he wants to along with help from a psychiatrist. However he is no longer alone and is surrounded by the people who he regards in high esteem - his older brother DB and sister Phoebe.

Good book if you are a serious reader. I felt that I could not have appreciated this book had I read it in school or college but enjoyed it now!

One Night @ The Call Center

2009-09-01T20:40:00.004-04:00

I know I am a bit late on the list of readers who have read this book, nevertheless I was finally able to get my hands on this one. The book by Chetan Bhagat is extremely realistic and describes the emotions and confusions that engulfs most Indian youth today as we weave ourselves within the webs of ambition, greed, money and false facades. Everyday thousands of young Indians sit in swanky (sometimes not so swanky) air conditioned offices behind computer terminals taking calls from around the world helping out (and taking abuses) from the good citizens of the Americas and Europe. What exactly drives these men and women working at the call centers to stick to their jobs and do the same thing every day in spite of the fact that it makes some of them unhappy?

This book has it all - a bad boss, an underachiever, a journalist who compromised on his dreams to make some money, a wannabe model who finds it hard to climb up the ladder of the big bad fashion world, a traditional girl stuck with a monster-in-law and a cheating husband and the girl who can't seem to be able to shake off her domineering mother. The pages of the book take us through the hours of a night in their lives and how one phone call changes everything for them.

Most of the present day generation of Indians aged 23 and above will be able to identify themselves with almost all the characters in this book. We may not need to work in a call center to appreciate and sympathesize what the characters go through - its enough even if you work at a software firm! We all struggle to become team leads and project managers just like our main protagonist Shyam. We all have had or still have bosses who tell us we can never be good enough. At some point of time we all feel that we have become a rat while trying to survive the rat race and most of us stuck serving "goras" with lesser iq's all for a few dollars and to keep up with the image of what our society expects to be. Some people are lucky and deal with this well and find their true calling while other are still in limbo wondering what their next move should be or if they should make the next move at all.

For those belonging to the later category, this book will definitely inspire you to take risks and try doing something that you have always wanted to do. At least it made me feel that I should get over me fears and failures and move on. God helps those who help themselves. The book definitely drives the point that bad bosses need to be stood up to and it is extremely important for an individual to hold on to his / her self confidence because once we loose that, it will be struggle to gain it back!

However it bugs me a bit that an author who could pen a wonderful book like this one, is settled in Hongkong and works for a huge investment company. Doesn't that imply that he is also addicted to the world of dollars and comfort? Why would he not settle down in the India he claims he loves and be a better role model for folks like myself and others? Seems that his book only serves to inspire and advice others...

Have any of you read this book? What are your thoughts?

Verdict – Must Read

Rating: *****

Guilty or Innocent

2009-09-01T08:52:00.002-04:00

Was tagged by Renu for this tag. I never take tags seriously! Well - am just too lazy when it comes to tag! However this time I took off my lazy cap and completed this tag!

The part of the tag that says that responses should be Guilty or Innocent also helps! I mean one word man and I could copy paste :-). This was a fun tag!

The rules are thus…

RULE 1 You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2 You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3 Copy and paste this into your notes , delete my answers, type in your answers and tag 20 of your friends to answer this.

Asked someone to marry you? Innocent
Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty
Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent
Ever told a lie? Guilty
Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty
Kissed a picture? Innocent
Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent
Fallen asleep at work/school? Guilty
Held a snake? Innocent.
Been suspended from school? Innocent
Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent
Stolen from a store? Innocent
Been fired from a job? Innocent
Done something you regret? Guilty
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Innocent
Kissed in the rain? Innocent
Sat on a roof top? Guilty
Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Innocent
Sang in the shower? Guilty.
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent
Shaved your head? Innocent
Had a boxing membership? Innocent.
Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent
Been in a band? Innocent
Shot a gun? Innocent
Donated Blood? Guilty
Eaten alligator meat? Innocent!Ewwww
Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
Still love someone you shouldn’t? Guilty
Have/had a tattoo? Guilty
Liked someone, but will never tell who? Guilty
Been too honest? Guilty
Ruined a surprise? Innocent
Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterwards? Guilty.
Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty
Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Guilty.
Joined a pageant? Guilty
Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty
Had communication with your ex? Innocent
Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent.
Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Guilty!

Ok!! That's done - but am gonna have to pass on Rule 3! I mean 20 friends!!Really?? Those who know me probably know that the number of friends that I have is a single digit number and of those probably one or two blog and the other blogosphere pals that I could pass this on to have probably been tagged! But I shall try anyway from the pool of the above mentioned combo. Here goes...

Smita
Unforgettable Journey
Crazy Mom
Belle Dame Sans Merci

Have fun!

Ghost Stories of Pennsylvania

2009-08-30T11:22:00.005-04:00

I was thrilled to find this 200+ page book at a part of free give aways from my neighbour who is moving out. The book is a collection of actual events and sightings and gives teh reade a peek into a world of haunted houses, inns,theatres, cabins and even paintings. All stories have been narrated in a manner that makes you look around you to check if someone is watching you. The book also unravels the rich history of Pennsylvania making it an appealing read to historical buffs!Definitely a good book that would be the perfect choice for the month of Halloween!

Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

2009-08-23T09:48:00.005-04:00

Okay! When I saw this book at the store I was surprised - It was actually some 300 pages long! I recall reading this book when I was in school with colorful pictures of Alice sticking out of the little house of the white rabbit and some playing cards painting white roses red and it was about 15 pages tops! Obviously I couldn't resist a detailed novel of the adventures of Alice and the classic book seemed to call out to me. I read it quite patiently... it was pretty interesting at first but half way down the book I couldn't help but thinking Alice was just an annoying little girl.. She reminds me of the likes Miss Goody two shoes and of someone who always seems to act like she thinks beyond her age that its annoying. Well the book with its other fanciful characters like the mad hatter and the hare, the grinning Cheshire cat and the Queen of Hearts did make up more than enough. I could not fathom what kids could learn from this story..however it will feed their imagination. The second part of the book "Through the looking glass" was not as interesting as the first one...or maybe its just me...adults may fall asleep while reading how Alice was trying to move across a chessboard to join the Queen and be "Queen" for a day!

I am waiting for the movie to be released - It will be definitely worth it watching Johnny Depp (Oh yeah!) as the mad hatter and Helena Bohem Carter as the Queen of hearts. The teaser trailer is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiPR6kA4_iU

As for the book, buy it for your kids and read it to them at night, but just make sure you don't fall asleep instead of the other way around!

The Palace of Illusions

2009-08-10T17:07:00.010-04:00

Born from the fire, it was prophesied that princess Draupadi would leave her mark on history. She would be the reason for one of the biggest wars in the history of Bharath which would wipe out the third age of man. We all know the story of the Mahabharatha and how an insult to one women and her subsequent thirst for revenge wiped out an entire clan of more than 100 brothers and others who supported them. But how many of us have actually stopped to think what went through Draupadi's mind during all these moments and events that altered history?

In a world dominated by men, in a world where the role of the wife was just about taking care of her husband and family and their needs, we are given the opportunity to take a look into the mind of the women who changed it all and in the process set the ball rolling for generations to follow. Having said this, I found that I could relate myself a lot to the character of Draupadi - her need to be independent and not really give up her personality traits no matter what....

Some factors stand out throughout the book like its spine; Like how hate and revenge fuel Draupadi's fire to bring down those who insulted her and took away everything from her. It seems as if she has realized that her husbands cannot really help her cope with her loss and she makes the best use of their talents to get back rightfully what belongs to them - the kingdom of Hastinapur and also quench her thirst by destroying those who treated her like some kind of vermin.

Another interesting factor that made its presence felt throughout the book was the "Palace of Illusions" the beautiful palace that was built specially for the Pandavas and Draupadi by the asura Maya. The palace unable to exist without its rightful owners and disintegrates to when Duryodhan tries to claim it. Though this pleases Draupadi, the thought loosing of the only place she calls home, the only place where she was truly herself and found a sense of peace and belonging helps in keeping her hatred for the Kauravas fresh and ultimately destroying them.

Moving on to the colorful characters and what motivates their actions: Apart from Draupadis emotional turmoil, we have the Pandavas agreeing to battle to put an end to the ruling of their bad natured cousin Duryodan and to avenge their wife. Duryodan who all his life always worried about loosing Hastinapur one day to its rightful owners and was obsessed with the need to cheat his cousins out of their rights. His father Dirdhirashta who suffered from an inferiority complex all his life owing to his blindness and could never get over the fact that his better brother Pandu was made King over him and ruled until he was cursed!

And the women Kunti and Gandhari - the former a passive aggressive character making sure that her sons were brought up with the sole aim of claiming back what was theirs. A special mention should be made between the bond that was shared between Kunti and Draupadi - that of a mother in law and daughter in law. It seems that they hated each others guts and character - no different from most MILs and DILs in the world! I found this ironically funny! And Gandhari, if only the blindfolded queen Gandhari taught her sons to share, the whole debacle could have been averted in the first place.

Karna who only wanted to belong but could never find peace while he lived, with Bheeshma the patriarch who was torn between duty and what was right! Topping these characters and more is the dashing and amazing 'Kirshna' whose magic is felt throughout. The special bond that he shares with Draupadi(she feels that they were drawn to each other because of their dark skin), the way he uses his wits and charms to pacify even those who curse him and how he never forsakes his believers makes me a much bigger fan of his than I ever was.

The book just doesn't stop with how the war was won and the happily ever afters! It goes ahead and describes how the Pandavas had to get over the grief of their loved ones killed in battle, coming to terms with their loss, picking up the pieces of a war ravaged kingdom and shaping it back to prosperity and their final journey - their march to death. Even here they are joined by their faithful wife Draupadi - she joins them on a journey that women never make. What can I say other than the fact I totally get her! I mean I always seem to do things that others don't want to do or try and later take the back lash for it and even ignore it! So you see we are all crazy in good way!

Seems I could go on and on about the book and how it has inspired me to read the actual Mahabharatha! Do check out this book - its worth all the bucks you would pay for it!

Fighting Negativity: One Annoying person at a time!

2009-08-10T13:08:00.002-04:00

Some of these random questions have been troubling me of late: Where would you draw the line for those trying to nose their way into your life and yack about how you should or shouldn't be living it? Is it appropriate when relatives want to know how much you earn and what your spending pattern looks like or what you should or shouldn't wear? How do you deal with all those who think that they know all and have it all together? Do people have the right to push their opinions on you whether you like it or not?

When it actually comes to being useful to those around you I feel there are two kinds of people in this world. Those that can actually make a positive difference in your life with kind words, moral support and genuinely try to help you and the others who claim that they know everything (when they don't) and think that they help you while blabbering hours together about what you should and shouldn't do and don't really help you at all! I hate this second category and sometimes I just wish I could do away with such folks. But the journey of life is such that these people get rammed down your neck whether you like it or not and you just can't tell them off [especially when you are related :( ]

The best escape mechanism I have come up with is avoidance! If I think that these people don't exist then they don't! Call it living in denial!! A single phone call from folks like this can spoil you entire day and since I decided that I won't have more days in my life ruined I avoid such calls :) I prefer to read my books, do my sketches, listen to music and basically do everything which in "their" opinion means wasting my life! How do you deal with problem cases like this? Is my way the best way or do you have something better?? Do let me know - Your thoughts could prove to be extremely useful.

Lost and Found!

2009-08-05T12:42:00.006-04:00

It seems that right from the day I created this blog it has been jinxed. I published and took down the first article I ever wrote regarding my frustrations at the work place because many of my friends felt that I shouldn't express my issues with work as freely! This was way back in 2007 or 08 (I don't even remember!) Towards the end of last year I started blogging again about whatever I felt like and was pretty determined to carry on. Well 8 months have passed this year when I try and try to be regular and I just seem to be terrible at keeping up pace with the blogging world! Seems those that I met on the blogosphere might have probably have forgotten me...anyways here is my attempt at this again and for the last time I hope to keep it up.

It seems fitting that I write about (not in detail though) what made me give up all my blogs these last few months! Not wanting to sound too depressed all I can think of are the words 'a few personal road blocks!'Seems that my run of meeting weirdos is not quite over. Somehow I never seem to tire out of the fact that the person in front of me may not always be who he or she actually claims to be. Even when I know this I make the grave mistake of trusting said person and temporarily messing up my life in the process. Maybe its just "Maya", the goddess who temporarily blinds our minds to something which results in our brains not functioning as they should be! Well..it is always easy to blame it on someone and in my case its "Maya"! (Note to self: I should write about this more in the future)

It was during this time that I spent my days reading the book "A Lion Among Men" by Gregory McGuire. I really enjoyed reading the authors first two books "Wicked" and "Son of Witch" but turning the pages of this book seemed like a never ending chore! Like I wasn't depressed and stressed enough! What promised to be a very interesting read took me about 4 months to finish it! Here is the write up that made me pick up the book in the first place!Why should I alone suffer??? If any of you think you may be interested please yourself!Maybe I am still not ready for books like this one!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lion_Among_Men

Anyways I was totally put off of reading books as this one had tired me so much! Another 2 months went by before I picked up my next book!By now I am totally behind on my 20in2009 challenge!Soul searching and in a desperate need for laughter I turned to my favorite author who has never let me down till date - Terry Pratchett! In continuation of Equal Rites and Wyrd Sisters I picked up the third book of his 'witches' series titled 'Witches Abroad'! This book actually did the trick - I escaped into a world of funnies where fairly tales were challenged! Cinderella I mean Emberella did not want to marry the prince (who was actually a frog by night), Count Dracula was killed by a cat looking for his dinner and little red riding hood did not make it to her grandmother's to find her eaten by the big bad wolf. The poor misunderstood creature was just really confused and had no intention of killing anyone and all this was coupled with a magic wand that turned everything to pumpkins! Stringing all these tales together were my favorite witches Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick! Gosh I have missed reading! Be sure to check this one out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witches_Abroad

After a good laugh I have started reading something a little more serious called "The Palace of Illusions" tale strung from the important events from "The Mahabharatha" narrated by none other than Draupadi herself. I shall post a review of this book when I 'm done with it. Finally I think I am back on my blogs and I hope I stay.. I have some great ideas for my other blogs and plan to implement them at the latest! I was lost in the midst of my mundane life and it seems like I found myself here again!

To my blogosphere friends, do leave your comments - it would make me feel at home again! Until later....

Wyrd Sisters

2009-05-22T13:44:00.004-04:00

After ages here I am again.....I wanted to return to my blogs and I couldn't think of a better way than a book review. I managed to read this book (at last!!!) The past months have been crazy in may different ways and somehow most of them relate to work related stress and this book gave me a lot of comic relief during those days.

The second of the 'Witches' series of the Terry Pratchett books, Wyrd sisters is a tale of three crazy witches Nanny Ogg, Granny Weatherwax and Magrat Garlick working together to help return the rightful heir to the throne of the kingdom of Lancre. They are aided by the kings fool, a creepy cat with an even creepier gaze called Meebo (who happens to be the pet of Nanny Ogg) and of course the ghost of the original king of Lancre who was murdered by the duke for the throne of Lancre. The long lost prince however is is no mood to be the king; he wants to become an actor! What happens next? Does the unhappy kingdom get its rightful king? Does Magrat Garlick the youngest of the three witches become queen? The book with its share of crazies is a laughathon and is definitely worth a lot of reads.

Son of Witch

2009-02-27T16:32:00.005-05:00

Title: Son of Witch

Author: Gregory McGuire

Series: The Wicked Years

The second book in the Wicked series is a tale of a young boys search to know himself and what he discovers at the end of the journey. Liir is abandoned in the company of Nanny and Chistery the monkey after Elphaba's unfortunate death. Lonely and confused, Liir arms himself with the cape and broom of Elphaba and sets out with Dorothy, the scarecrow, the cowardly lion and the tin man to the Emerald City hoping to find his probable half sister Nor. This journey takes Liir through the prisons of Emerald City and a quest that ends up with him taking up Elphaba's cause which was to ensure that the Animals had their rights and that Quadling country would be free. In the process he learns to navigate the broom, destroys the Wizards most destructive weapons and finds the answer to the question that has been troubling him all his life. Was Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west actually his mother?

I found the book to be very intense even though its story lines deceives readers, giving them an idea that this is probably a humorous book. The same goes for all books in the Wicked series. The book is rich with language and definitely made me learn a lot of new words. The sincerity of Liir's search for his half sister and the path o finding himself was very endearing. A good read, if you don't mind serious and intense books.

I am definitely going to read the third book in the series which is "A Lion among Men"

Slumdog's Oscar: What it can teach us

2009-02-23T11:42:00.007-05:00

The much awaited Oscar night is over at last and our very own slums shined bright with ARR at its helm. I was bowled over by his acceptance speech which was a 1 minute lesson in humility. Thanking the great G and his mother, he had absolutely no airs about him and could have very much passed for the guy next door who had just strolled onto the red carpet.

I see a lot of people around me who walk around as if they were God's gift to humanity (yeah right!). They talk and continue blabbering because they probably love the sound of their own voices. On more than one occasion I have been able to see through these folks..they have no clue of what is going on and what they are talking about. Having done nothing on their own they seem to live out of someone elses achievements and ideas and lie like nobodies business. Listening to such folks gives me migraines and after a certain point of being jailed in such conversations, my eyes see their lips go blah, blah, blah while my mind is plotting its escape.

In the midst of a world like this, ARR stands out. A man of few words but full of knowledge and talent.First I loved his music but I am convinced that it is his character that probably makes him the genius that he is and my hero! Now, more than ever I am convinced that empty vessels make more noise.How do you deal with empty vessels, nee people in your life?

Equal Rites

2009-02-15T17:58:00.005-05:00

Title: Equal Rites
Author: Terry Pratchett
Series: Discworld series
Genre: Science Fiction, Humor

Summary: The first book in the witches’ series of the Discworld novels. This book is one to tickle your funny bones. The book follows the journey of one girl to attend wizard school at a time when women were not allowed into the university. Esk, an 8th daughter of an 8th son is erroneously made the heir of a wizard before his death. Apparently the dying wizard thought that she was a boy! Granny Weatherwax the formidable witch of the village “Bad Ass” (yes that is correct!) helps her to become a witch and a wizard! The novel is about the battle between the sexes and is filled with plenty of humor, a mysterious staff and adventures that keep you turning the pages.

My favorite character was definitely Granny Weatherwax. An extremely confident and intelligent witch who gets things done her way and fixes most people by just staring at them!

I wonder if JKR could have possibly borrowed a lot of ideas from these books which were published in the late eighties. The book has references to the school of wizardry called the Unseen university with its mysterious cellars, library full of live books, gargoyles on building columns that move away when it rains so that they can avoid getting wet, wizards dueling etc.,! Seems Hogwarts was just a richer version of the “Unseen University” so called because it is not visible to the normal human eye. There are also references to plants that scream when uprooted which was JKRs version of mandrakes and much more. I simply enjoyed the book and would definitely read it again in the future.

Close on the heels of the women in India trying to beat down the Rama Sena and other stupid groups with pink lingerie and more, I thought that it was perfect timing that I chose to read this book!

Verdict – Buy and Read. Definitely one for your personal library.

Finished: 16th February 2009
Rating: *****

The Pink Chaddi Campaign

2009-02-10T20:30:00.007-05:00

This is totally amazing and hats off to the brave women and men who came up with this idea and are doing everything possible to stick it to the Rama Sena. Here is my contribution to your campaign - Right now all I can do is spread the word and pledge my allegiance by sporting the logo of this campaign on my blog! All you fellow bloggers against all this monstrosity, please do join the motion! "Yo Rama Sena! In your face!!!! You guys are pathetic loosers and we will rock u!!"

Here is the link to the details of the campaign. Join and let these jerks know we won't put up with them!

Pramod Muthalik, loads of "jaadoo ki jappis and chaddis coming your way"! Courtesy the women of India who can make chapathis and go to the pubs!

Happy Valentines day all!!!

http://www.thepinkchaddicampaign.blogspot.com/

Life, Universe and Everything

2009-02-07T17:27:00.006-05:00

Title – Life, Universe and Everything
Author – Douglas Adams
Series – Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Genre – Science Fiction, Humor

Summary: Once again, the book was a journey through space and time that made me loose my way around the pages every now and then. This book is no exception to the usual crazy humor that is a consistent throughout the series. Arthur tries hard to find the meaning of Life, Universe and Everything and in the process saves the Universe twice and rescues the ashes. By ashes I refer to the ashes from burning the cricket stumps of England and the cricket series for winning back the same. Being one of the keys to destroy the universe the ashes are stolen by the alien robots from Krikkit so that they can destroy the universe. There is also a lot of insight about the planet Krikkit, which was probably the source for Cricket and the usual weird characters that range from a talking, flopping mattress, a floating couch landing in the middle of Lord’s and and a floating party! Does Arthur find what he is looking for? What is the meaning of life? Is it really the number 42?Find out all this and more while reading this book!

Verdict –Borrow and Read
Finished: 6th February 2009

To the friend I knew..

2009-01-30T12:00:00.003-05:00

It was a cold, dark winter evening,
Another day spent as a drop in the ocean,
Silence hit me and retrospection engulfed me,
When news reached me of your passing.

The brief two years we spent together,
You made me laugh and listened to my blabber,
You were more at home at my house than yours,
People thought that my place was yours.

The years went by and time played its part,
And once again we had become strangers in the journey of life,
Sometimes I wondered where you were,
If you were still as cheerful and without a care.

A decade has gone, since we met and parted,
When I heard that you had left for good.
For a moment my world stood still,
Memories flooded my mind, as I wondered about Gods will.

No matter what people say about the person you were,
I will remember you as the one that smiled without a care.
You may have gone, but the memories you created stay behind,
For those who knew and loved you to hold on to.

May your soul rest in peace

The Canterville Ghost

2009-01-29T21:16:00.006-05:00

Title - The Canterville Ghost
Author – Oscar Wilde
Genre - Mystery, Humor, Classics

Summary: Though I have heard the name of Oscar Wilde, I have never read any of his works before. I happened to come across ‘The Canterville Ghost’ while browsing for books at the local ‘Borders’ and couldn’t give it a pass. The story was amazingly humorous – just the way I like my books! The main protagonist of this endearing tale is the ghost of Sir Simon who haunts an old English country house called Canterville Chase. An American family, the Otis’s move into the house without paying much heed to the warnings of the owner who insists that the house has been haunted for many years and the residents have died due to fear after paranormal encounters. But the ghost is no match for the Otis’s whose twins chase the ghost at every encounter, play dirty tricks on the unsuspecting ghost and even manage to scare it while the lady and man of the house go to the extent of offering the ghost some oil for its rusted chains and medicine for its cough! The ghost feels insulted on not being able to scare the family away and enters a state of depression. This is when the daughter of the house, Virginia steps in to help poor Sir Simon to actually move over to the other world.

The book tickles your funny bones and towards the end of the tale, it also manages to tug your heart strings. It makes you roll with laughter trying to imagine a ghost that’s been played upon by humans and actually avoiding them because it is scared. I am pretty sure that this book has found its way into the reading list of many school and college curriculum's. Well, as for me I am definitely going to read more books from Mr. Wilde.

Verdict – Must Read and Enjoy!

Finished: 29'th Jan 2009
Rating: *****

Today I weep for my India...

2009-01-27T12:27:00.012-05:00

The latest happenings about the Rama Senas attack on girls hitting the pubs at Mangalore makes me seethe with anger and I have half a mind to hurl a bunch of curses and abuses at the people involved! Just that I have a fear that I would end up dead in the process. What makes this issue even worse are the statements of the founder of this backward organisation, Pramod Muthalik, who repeats at every possible opportunity that this is a small issue that has been blow out of proportion!

Yeah rite! Definitely blown out of proportion - an attack by 40 men on girls partying at the pubs is a very small issue. The fact that these jerks have probably scarred these young women for life is a very small issue. The fact that Muthalik states that this was not something that he approved and that things just go wrong in situations like this is a very small issue! I wonder what take the man would have if his daughters, or sisters or any other women that he knew had been attacked this way.

Another ugly side to this whole issue are the statements issued by these sanctimonious jerks about how they are trying hard to preserve the culture of our dear India. Protect and preserve the culture by assaulting women? Is that our culture? Adding more fuel to the fire is the fact that all their righteous crap has been directed only towards women - about women drinking, smoking, partying, dressing up etc? What about men?? Don't we see men drinking and behaving obnoxiously at these very same pubs? Not to mentions other bars and local legalised wine shops in the country, men beating up women, abusing their wives, men trying to take advantage of women and children, ministers practising polygamy, child abuse and the list can go on. Where are these groups when all this is was and still continues to happen? Didn't they feel the urge to preserve our culture? They talk about skimpy outfits but it seems they can't control the Bipashas, Priyankas, the king fisher calendars and others from the fashion and film world who need no excuse to drop their clothes!

To the organisations like the Rama Sena: Why do you drag the country down? Thanks to folks like yourselves our nation can never really move forward. For every 5 steps we take forward, you pull us back by 1000. Please note that the parents and relatives of these women have more to do with the behaviour of these women than people like you who have no connection to them!They have more rights to correct the behaviours of their wards than you and if they don't it is still none of your business. You are not preserving our culture but rather making our country, its people and many other normal decent human beings look bad. Someone rightly mentioned that you are trying to Talibanise Karnataka. That is the biggest insult that can be hurled at anyone and if nothing shames you about what has happened this should.

Will these men get the punishment they deserve for ruining the lives of these women? Or will the loose laws and practices of the land just set them free so that they can prey on more people to satisfy their own agenda? Gandhiji once said "the day that a woman could walk the roads at night without any fear for her being was the day when India would truly become independent". Seems he had the clairvoyance which clearly indicated that chauvinists from groups like the Rama Sena may roam the Indian soil. I pray that the folks involved in this charade get nothing lesser than a life imprisonment. I am still allowed to dream aren't I or do men like these think its against our culture?

Note: I have never been this angry while publishing a post. For someone who is always trying to look at the lighter side of life this was too much for me. I still dream of an India that would be a world leader one day, a India where women are truly free, a India where children are happy, safe and healthy, a India that is no longer a developing nation but a truly developed one. Jai Hind!

The Humble Upma

2009-01-17T22:33:00.006-05:00

My mom used to prepare Upma often for breakfast or quick dinners and on most such occasions, me being myself, used to strike. I would make smart alec comments about why we shouldn't be eating upma. These used to toggle between 'Ohhhhhh...', Uggghhhhhh.....',' Oh no! Not again!', funny facial expressions and more. Exasperated at times, my mom used to unleash upon me her own thoughts about why I would be better off minding my own business and eat if I wanted to or else forego the meal. It has been three years since I moved away from home and I had forgotten all about upma until about 1.5 years ago, I chanced to watch a movie where the hero chided his lady love for not sharing her upma with him. The heroine kept having upma for lunch in that movie! Oh dear! The upma had made it to the movies; it seemed to be screaming "In your face yo!!!" to me.

After the movie, I had this sudden urge to make upma, which I did and attacked with gusto wondering why my preparation did not look as inviting as my mom’s. Since that day the humble upma came to my rescue often when I was lost for menu choices. It could be concocted in about 15 minutes and ready to go. Today as I cooked this for lunch-cum-dinner wondering like always as to why it did not reach the bar set by my mom, fond memories of me bugging her and intimate family dinners came to my mind - those were fun days. As funny as it seems this simple dish helped create some good memories. To those who take upma for granted (am sure many of you do) you can run, but you can't hide! This one will get you!

20000 Leagues Under the Sea

2009-01-14T15:01:00.015-05:00

Title - 20000 Leagues Under the Sea

Author - Jules Verne

Genre - Classic Literature, Science Fiction

A truly classical novel! Set in the mid 19th century this compilation by Jules Verne introduces the readers to an amazing new way of life below the sea. The word 'leagues' in the title denotes the distance that that the protagonists of this novel travel under the sea. The novel is a celebration of courage, loyalty, friendship and sheer brilliance of the mind. Following a chase of a mysterious sea monster Professor Pierre Aronnoax, a French doctor and scientist, his Flemish assistant, brilliant and loyal Conseil and master harpooner and Canadian national Ned Land, accidentally find themselves on board the Nautilus an amazing submarine, a mobile home in the oceans, a window to Gods creations beneath the surface of the land and created with the sole purpose of roaming the oceans.

Manned by the mysterious and brilliant scientist and engineer, Captain Nemo, they travel the seas starting at the Pacific Ocean stopping at the South Pole - a place where no man had gone before at that time and continue their journey to the North again. Their underwater adventures take them through the Red seas where Captain Nemo takes the professor on a tour of the lost city of Atlantis. A legendary city, once the toast of many a poet, philosopher and author, the professor is awed to discover that the city really did exist and is currently buried under the sea thanks to the volcano eruptions that destroyed the city in a day. I particularly found the conversation between Captain Nemo and the professor about the antiques and proof that one could find lodged in the sand if an excavation was carried out at the estuary at the end of the Red sea. Per Captain Nemo's opinion, one would probably find proof regarding the Pharaoh and his way of life as that was the same spot where on the beckoning of Moses the sea closed upon the Pharaoh and his army, as they chased the Israelis who sought to escape his tyranny.

Another interesting tit bit was the fact about the "remora" or sucker fish that attach themselves to the base of traveling ships and sometimes cause the entire vessel to come to a standstill. Found abundantly in the Mediterranean sea, the fish have said to have found their own place in history when an entire school of them brought to a halt the ships of Marc Anthony causing victory to the troops of Augustus CaesarThere are also accounts of the Nautilus floating through the Ganges river during which our protagonists have a vision of floating corpses, hunting on the water jungles of Crespo, fighting nasty killer sharks , exploring the forests of New Guinea and coming face to face with the papuan savages, oyster hunting in the Sri Lankan waters complete with glimpsing at an Oyster with a pear the size of a coconut.

The book also has some humor content every now and then as seen in the dialogues when Conseil captures a beautiful and magnificent drunk cockatoo drunk on the nectar from the fruits of a cashew nut tree. These are often coupled with comments from Ned Land about missing land, normal people and food and his enthusiastic search for normal food at every occasion to satisfy his gourmet cravings and never giving up plotting an escape from the Nautilus.

The mystery of the origins of Captain Nemo and his purpose for living under the sea is kept indiscreet throughout the book. One understands that his companions and himself are victims of the various political oppressions of the time. Having lost their homes and hearths, they choose to avoid the rest of the world and literally go “down under” to fight their battles against the oppressors and their nations. This includes destroying trade ships that travel across the seas and funding national wars by using the treasures collected from the oceans. The brilliant, dynamic and commanding demeanor that makes the captain is elucidated throughout the novel. Though portrayed as cold and emotionless, the man that he was before he became Captain Nemo peeks every now and then.

The novel ends with a very dramatic and edge of the seat battle with a giant squid, loosing another man from the Nautilus to the sea which sends the captain into a mode of depression. Our 3 prisoners finally plot their escape which coincides with a whirlpool entwining the Nautilus. The professor, Conseil and Ned land on the shores of Norway but the fate of the Nautilus, its inmates and its captain is left as a mystery. Did they survive? Did the Nautilus get caught in the whirlpool by accident or was it steered there on purpose by the captain? We will never know the answers to these questions but the memories of the ocean and its wonders from the imaginative mind of Jules Verne will definitely be etched in the minds of the readers for a long time,

The novel would be a delight to ichthyologists, marine biologists and physicists. For someone like me it was a journey through a new and an amazing world – a world where I walked on the sea floors, a world that was lighted by thousands of jelly fish during my strolls, a world where sharks and whales swam past me, and a world that I can visit anytime I choose to.

Verdict – Buy, add to your collection, read and pass on the wonders to the next generation!

Finished - 15-Jan-09

Rating - *****

Raju Ka Dhaba

2009-01-13T17:30:00.007-05:00

Satyam, Shivam,Scandalam? Another one from a forward - Couldn't help myself - I found this cartoon to be a pretty funny way of looking at what had happened!

It Happens Only In India!

2009-01-12T20:11:00.010-05:00

These funny images were forwarded to me by mail by a good friend and I wanted to share them with the rest of the world with some of my own captions. Enjoy!

Cribbers keep out!
Phir bhi dil hai hindustani!

Hum Saath Saath Hai...... Watch your wallets!

We are innovators! No doubts about that :)

Look! We are even more advanced than the nations that are the super powers of this world. Our beggars accept visa - the looks on your faces - priceless!

The simple life!

Finally! A solution to our water problems :) Thanda Mathlab???

Hair raising stories

2009-01-11T11:53:00.008-05:00

Women and hair - the saga continues. This story of ‘never ending love’ never ceases to amaze me. The quest for beautiful, healthy hair is something that I embarked upon several years ago but yet remains an unfulfilled dream. If the range of different hair oils, shampoos and conditioners that line my shelves could talk they would narrate the tale of my quest. This morning I found myself staring at the mirror that stood over the bathroom sink surrounded by the goo of yet another hair pack. Owing to the watery nature of the pack it seemed to be all over the beautiful white titles and for a while it seemed like that more of the pack was on the tiles than on my hair! I was cursing myself and my sensitive stresses, swore to cut off my hair on the third day after a no moon day and made a mental note to block a good half hour of my time during the day to clean the bathroom sink and the mirror.

That’s right! Who needs long hair when short and chic is always in! Especially when I have been blessed with sensitive stresses with a even more sensitive scalp to boot. I share horror stories with my friends who in turn share the same woes. Eat healthy we have been told, no stress, protect your head from the extreme weather, blah, blah! I am a woman I protest, and in this age I can't live in a glass box free from all environmental stress factors!!! Still as someone who has religiously followed some of these instructions while travelling in the fast lanes of life I'd say that my stresses deserve nothing more than a good slap. The strands all over the house stand as a tribute to all my hard work in life. Every strand has a share in some victorious achievement; if I don’t keep telling myself lines like that, I find myself trying to fight off bouts of tears, anxiety and depression which in the words of all the wise people of this world, will lead to more my strands decorating the bathroom floor! Sniff!!!

As I type this post, I find more strands wandering about on my carpets. They snuggle close to my feet and as I pick them up making another mental note to clean the carpets, I wonder if I could a find way to stick these back into my head - that would be genius wouldn't it? I wonder how the protein shafts of the hair follicles can be made healthier. Oops I shouldn't think too hard - apparently using your brains a lot heats up your head and leads to more hair fall. I just remembered, I need to prepare a conditioning pack to go with the pack that’s on the floor, I mean on my head. And the saga continues...

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

2009-01-10T14:10:00.025-05:00

Title - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
Series - The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Author - Douglas Adams
Genre - Science Fiction, Humor

Summary - The second book in the series of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy starts off where the first book ends. Based on a request to grab a quick bite, Zaphod, Ford, Arthur, Trillian and Marvin are whisked off to the nearest restaurant at the end of the universe called 'Milliways' by their ever friendly and polite computer 'The Heart of Gold'. The motley crew witness the destruction of the earth by the duty conscious Vogons and split up along the way completely by accident! The story revolves around Zaphod unlocking the mysteries in one of his brains, paying a visit to the ruler of universe (a senile old man who talks to a table and waits for it to respond), and Ford along with Arthur completing their own time travel that ends with them meeting the early human ancestors, a bunch of crazy and stupid folks who have been sent away from their own planets by other superior beings under the pretext of an impending invasion. The story goes all around the galaxy but comes together in the end and Adams has ensured that the book is as funny as its predecessor. At the end of it, we are left wondering what would come next. Will the crew get back together? What about Marvin the depressed and super intelligent robot? What is he up to? Will they find the meaning of the Universe, Life and everything??I can't wait to read the next book in this totally non serious series.

To those who may be interested in reading these books - please read them in order so that you can avoid feeling like our friends would after a pan galactic gargle blaster :)

Verdict - Read and read again and again and again.................

Finished: 8'th Jan 2009
Rating: ****

'Horror'scopes?

2009-01-01T16:48:00.007-05:00

It’s the first day of the year and I seemed to stumble upon plenty of links with horoscope predictions for the year 2009. Curiosity took over and I read some link where some guy told me that Ganesha foresees this and that during the course of the 09. Well, if this guy was in constant touch with Lord Ganesha, I wonder why he has not been able to predict all other bad things that happen in this world, we could have probably averted the financial crisis, terrorist attacks, earth quakes, tsunamis and more.

Being brought up in a semi traditional household I am quite familiar with the process of reading ‘horror’scopes errrr…… horoscopes. Only two reactions can ensue after this amazing and sometimes expensive process. A sense of calmness combined with smugness as all is well with you even if the rest of world is rotting. The other reaction would be panic! It’s time to pull up your socks and start planning visits to various temples and appease the Gods referred to by the friendly astrologer. And expensive the process definitely is depending on what you choose. You can choose from palm reading, horoscope readings or a very future oriented process, where your fate is written on some palm leaves; if you are even familiar with the words ‘naadi josiyam’ the charade of reading you past and your future from palm leaves written several centuries ago you would nod your head in agreement. It seems that the rishis who lived 1000 of years ago knew you would make your appearance in the world far in the future and they have predicted your fate on palm leaves. An ignorant reader cannot read these leaves; reading and translating them requires a lot of special skills and the narrators at the ashram where these leaves are stored have been specially trained just to do this. Locating your leaves and translating them for you would definitely cost you a few thousands. Come on that a pretty small price when you get to know from where your daughter’s future husband is going to come from! The narrator has told you that’s it is definitely from the western direction and the guy probably lives in a house near the sea so that’s where you need to look – just take a stroll along the coastline to meet to future son in law!!! Oh! Wait it doesn’t stop there – you also get tips on how you can avert all the bad aspects that have been predicted by performing a lot of rituals around temples in India, not to forget that you have to give the ‘guru’ of the ashram some dothis and sarees along with cash and fruits as a form of ‘dakshina’. Seems ‘guruji’ wouldn’t need to shop all year for himself and his family. And those who got a peek into their futures would probably see no difference in their way of life in spite of following everything that was suggested very religiously. Seems these men with super powers can replace the need for a God and even the most educated and wise people fall for this. In the mean time I wonder if the archaeology department of India even validated these leaves and shouldn’t these be in some museum as they are priced treasures from the past?

I see astrology as a form of guidance – it can never be perfect and should never be commercialized. Most of these ‘astrologers’ out there are more interested in draining our wallets rather than really analyzing our stars. I am always ready to listen to wise mind but not one that tells me that he can give me a detailed reading if I am ready to part with a few cool thousands and of course he might just make me do that considering that he just hinted of something very terrible in the years to come. If mere mortals could avert all crises, there would be no need for the Supreme Being. However mere mortals cannot replace the man above – the one that I’d like to call ‘the boss’. ‘The boss’ rocks and rules and occasionally allows a few chosen ones to guide the helpless creatures he has put down on this earth. But he definitely did not ask them to create a business out of it. That’s my case and I am sticking to it! Hopefully people get wiser and sensible to guidance and spirituality rather than spending like crazy to know if they would travel abroad!

In the mean time please amuse yourself with these funny horoscopes – they are bound to make you laugh. I found it extremely hilarious.

http://www.laughsend.net/horoscopes.php

20 In 2009

2008-12-31T20:47:00.006-05:00

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!

2008-12-30T21:19:00.004-05:00

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....

2008-12-27T23:26:00.009-05:00

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

Dear mind, please feel free to wander....

2008-11-21T16:12:00.003-05:00

Ever wondered what is the best way to kill time? Over the last few months I have had plenty of that on my hands but I just didn't know what to do! The only use was obsessing over work and projects as I couldn’t channel my creative mind to make use of all these freely wandering energy matters. Here are a few crazy thoughts from my head - I felt like a part of the Clinic Plus anti dandruff shampoo commercial whose tag line was 'now that your head is flake free your mind is free to wander' and yes, this list seems pretty hilarious to me!

1. I should have been an archaeologist - I would have travelled the world, discovered treasures, be the hot archaeologist who documents her works as a fictional best sellers, make a lot of money, meet prince charming and live happily ever after! Well I am not sure how I could have realized this dream when I could hardly fathom history and geography!

2. I should have taken a course on cake and pastry making, I am sure I would have been pretty good at making some of these fancy cakes that I see on the food network challenge shows. I can open my own joint with a fancy name that would stock and serve jazzy coffees and cup cakes!

3. I should do a beautiful piece of art - something very surreal that would be complicated to make sense of! Well...seems my creative juices have been blocked and my keys to my imagination had been thrown away since I started working and trying hard to locate it....

4. Man! I should have been a chef - I would have opened my own restaurant and churned out colorful cookbooks. I wouldn’t have to worry about projects, interfaces and integration!

5. Maybe I should at least attempt at updating my blogs regularly, that way I could attempt to regain my past glory at churning out essays, articles and crazy poems!

6. I should sketch from my imagination! Stupid girl look for those keys to the imagination that have been lost!

7. Let me design my dream house with Google SketchUp. When it actually comes to constructing said home someday I would be ready with an initial draft! Stupid, Stupid....first find the key, then learn how to use google SketchUp!

8. Why not try writing a book about my experiences over the last few years of living alone, girl power etc.,! God I can’t think of a plot to save my book! I have a character for the vamp based on my last roomie else am just blank! God, I need that key!

9. Anthropology! What is that?? But it sure does look good on ‘Bones’! I blame my parents - I bet even they didn’t know what anthropology was and its entirely their fault that I am not an anthropologist! Come to think of it, now that I do know what this branch of science is I would have probably fainted on the sight of blood and flesh..... Also I don’t think I would have partnered with a good looking FBI agent! This is real life after all...

10. I should have been stubborn and pursued my dancing! That must have been more satisfying; salsa, swing and jazz; there is no way I could have found teachers for these styles in the 90's! God! I am old wah wah…

11. Play out situations in my head wherein I stick it to my detractors! Man! That feels so good...Modeled on superstars words my tag line would be 'Yen Vazhi thani vazhi, kuruke vande.. I will kick your butt!

12. Cheese and Coffee - I love both of these, and I need to take the time to know the different varieties of the same and use it to seem like a smart cookie at conversations... Do you know what differentiates goat cheese from feta?? I can imagine the flummoxed look on the faces in the group where this question was raised!

13. My favorite - Get a dog. A nice yellow Labrador, nope a chocolate lab, nope a German shepherd, nope a golden retriever....maybe a orange tabby cat, no way maybe a Dalmatian, nah a Daschund its smaller and can be in an apartment......what about a Doberman to scare away unwanted guests.....

14. Try and do a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Once it is complete, I could frame it and mount it on the wall of the dream house whose design I am yet to do using Google SketchUp! Darn!

15. Make a list of things to shop for when I win a million dollars at the lottery!

16. Finalize on what I could wish for if God appeared in front of me one day, sick and tired of my wandering mind.

17. I have become the Vice President at the organization that I work for! I have this cabin with an amazing view on the 16th floor with an assistant outside my cabin! I am busy as a bee and I drive a Mercedes. Wow!

18. Try and read Homer's Odyssey! I am a sucker for historical narrations - but I am too busy letting my mind wander and conjure up the above!

And there is more, more and more. But my fingers are too tired to type! Have a laugh at my expense and so let me know the crazy thoughts from your wandering mind :-)

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T12:56:00.000-04:00

The eve of ‘All Hallows’ Even or Halloween is celebrated throughout the western world in a spooky fun way with amazing costume parades, carved pumpkins, trick or treat events and parties. Food and costumes dominate the festival where yummy snacks with wacko names likes ‘Witches Fingers’ (for biscotti’s) and ‘eye of newts’ (for sugar candy) find their way into pretty pumpkin baskets carried by ghosts, monsters, fairies and even the friendly neighborhood spider man. This celebration is not yet a rage in India, where most folks wonder what differentiates a witch from a vampire and didn’t really pay attention to the fact that ‘trick or treating’ found its way into the lyrics of a song called ‘Hum dum Suniyore’ from the movie ‘Saathiya’!

While discussing costume selections with a friend yesterday, it occurred to me that life is like one big Halloween party. The custom of wearing masks and costumes and assuming a new identity for a few hours of fun is something that everyone does unconsciously throughout their lives only minus the masks and costumes and also the fact that we don’t really do it for fun, but actually try to get through the day! Think about it – we usually start the day in a stressed out frame of mind (unless you are superman or woman and even they have had bad days) thanks to the zillion things that we need to do, zip past some bad traffic or take the public transportation, find a parking spots after a lot of hunting but the moment we enter the work place, we greet an annoying colleague with a Colgate smile! We strive to present a better angle of our personality to the world. Most parents are always surprised with their kids who are extremely polite to the folks next door while choosing to be a sour puss with them. Newlyweds and couples in the earlier phases of their courtship are always trying to please each other incessantly, a direct contrast from what is going to follow a few years down the line. A girl at the billing counter bids you good bye wishing for you to have a nice day when hers has been plain rotten and a disgruntled employee makes sure that he makes his boss feel like God while grimacing at the very thought of it! Ultimately what ensues is that we are more hospitable to strangers who have no real place in our lives, while taking for granted our near and dear ones.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could use the masks of pleasantness and gratitude with the people that matter to us? Every day we are courteous to strangers, so why not to those close to us? Maybe we can start this Halloween by putting those masks we use every day to good use – try and start the day with a smile, call your mom and thank her for the delicious lunch she packed, enjoy a game of cards with your dad, treat your family to a surprise dinner, smile at your maid or present some candies to her son, anything that you can think of that would make a difference in a dear ones day; just give your support network a break! Happy Halloween folks!

Rock On!!! Simply Rocks!

2008-09-23T12:27:00.000-04:00

After my allergic reactions to Kuselan, I decided to give the task of watching movies another chance and it seems that this time I selected wisely. It looks like Indian cinema is coming of age with refreshing attempts like ‘Rock On’ that tread the road not taken. With the emergence of off-beat films such as these we bid adieu to romantic heroes and swooning heroines, over dramatic parents, wedding songs and drama, insane action and violence and are introduced to characters that could easily be one of us fighting personal and professional turmoil the way we do.

The storyline is very similar to the much loved ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. The story of 4 friends bound by music and a rock band called ‘Magik’ who have a fall out, pursue their own professional lives whilst the dreams of music takes a back seat and reunite 10 years down the lane to chase their musical dreams and their final performance draws plenty of similarities between the 3 friends of DCH who pretty much do the same thing, with the exception of the rock band and music performances.

All performances are laudable, with Farhan Akthar leading the pack with his singing, acting, producing; the man is a storehouse of talent that has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting audiences. An excellent acting debut and possibly an award winning one! Arjun Rampal convincingly plays the role of the talented lead guitarist, a man of fewer words struggling between chasing his dreams and supporting his family. It seems that no director has extracted the best that this actor could offer until now, with the exception of a Farah Khan in ‘OSO’. Purab Kohli playing the ever cheerful ‘Killer Drummer’ makes drumming look like child’s play and Luke Kenny who plays the man on the keyboard completes the rest of this rock band. The men are aptly supported by the women Prachi Desai and Sahana Goswami, who play their strong and supporting wives, pulling off the most believable casting coup!

The music by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy is rocking (for the lack of any better words that I could think of) and is definitely not like anything you might have heard from them in the past. ‘Indi Rock’ may make waves in a big way thanks to this musically gifted trio. Each of their songs powered by wonderful lyrics and performed by the untrained voice of Farhan Akthar, a change from the usual perfect and sweet voices we hear from Bollywood will make the audience sway and tap their feet. It also gives the movie an essence of being genuine. ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ a song after my own heart takes the cake. Abhishek Kapoor’s directorial attempt is a must watch for all music lovers and audiences who love good cinema. It is all about following your dreams!! Rock On!!

I've been tagged...

2008-09-22T13:32:00.003-04:00

I have been tagged by Renu who hangs out on Anooboothi and its nice to know that there are folks out there who would like to know me better :-) I have made an honest attempt to unlock mysteries of my mind.... The rules for tagging are as follows:

RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.
RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
I would ask him to take a hike, then I'd cry, have a tub of ice cream and thrash him on my blog!

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be
Ummmm......too many to list at this point of time!

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?
The annoying room mate, the annoying ministers and annoying relatives! That was easy....

4. What would do with a billion dollars?
Resign, buy a home at park avenue and invest some money in savings and plan the rest of my life!

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
I could.......though not sure if it would work the other way around!

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
I guess the later is more important for a good life so being loved by someone.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
Until the idiot turns up! Then I'd give him a piece of my mind!

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
Sulk and be annoyed with him!

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
Clean and less polluted environment and SPCA

10. What takes you down the fastest?
Hypocrites and liars.

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?
I don't know where I see myself tomorrow so no way do I know what I'd be 10 years down the lane!

12. What’s your fear?
Spiders, lizards, cockroaches, manipulators and liars.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
I think Renu is an extremely balanced person and very analytical about things that happen around her. Definitely a sweet soul, I guess.

14. Which places would you like to visit before you die?
Italy, Greece and Egypt!!! I would love to extensively tour these places!

15. What did you originally want to do in life?
I wanted to be an architect, but ended up in the great IT industry. However, no regrets...

16. What category of people do you hate the most?
Gossip mongers everywhere and those who try to force their opinions on me.

17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
I don't think I can do either - If the pain is too much the other party is going down!

18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
A balance of both - being in a good relationship with some personal space

List of 6 people to tag: Sorry I still don't know too many people here and the ones I do know have either tagged me or have been tagged. So I am going to have to pass

The coffee break - Electronics and Furniture for sale!

2008-09-19T17:51:00.004-04:00

Since the most popular topic of conversation at the IT office cafeterias is the ongoing Financial crisis, I couldn't resist bringing to you some of the light hearted moments of such conversations. I tried to go one step forward and make a cartoon out of it. These crazy statments are represented from the view point of the coffee cups at the cafeteria - What if they could react over cracks made by people like us? Here is my first one.Since my handwriting may not be legible to all, I have just documented the human dialogues below as well.Thanks to my colleague who cracked this joke which had most of either in splits or emabarassed because we fell into the trap and ended up looking silly!Hope you enjoy it.

Man - Hey! U want to buy a HD Flat screen TV - 52" at 80% discount?

Woman - Sure!!I'm in! Where can I get it?

Man - Lehmans!! If you go immediately u can get bargain rates! Ha Ha!! All office equipment and furniture is on sale! Closing Sale...

Woman - Umm....#$***

[In case you were wondering most large multinationals have huge flat screens for video conferencing and other presentations].

A Random SOS call....

2008-09-17T19:36:00.006-04:00

It’s a roller coaster week – Right now, the world of finance seems to enjoy nothing better than crashing in all directions. The panic is evident among folks from all walks of lives and I bet it is a tedious week for the man (or woman as the case may be) up there who sees and manages it all. A few examples of requests he /she have probably been receiving:

1. The blue collar worker: Dear God let nothing happen to my bank, my money is in there!
2. Employee at the bank: Dear God let nothing happen to this bank, I work here plus my money is in here….somewhere!
3. The board of the bank: Dear God let the feds approve our loan request to bail us out so that we don’t get pelted by our employees and the blue collar workers or anyone else!
4. Employees of an IT company: Dear God we hope that this crisis wave doesn’t hit any of our prospects. We need the projects so badly! Also our money is lying in some of those banks………..
5. Other positive thinkers: Dear God, let my mortgage rates go down, so that my installment years could be reduced from 10 to 9 and our money is in some of those banks!!!

In the midst of these panic attacks, I panicked because I got locked out of my personal email account! Anyone who had chanced to see me this morning, trying to get my email account to open, ignoring my morning cup of tea that lay forgotten on my window sill would have been in splits! I had no money in there though…Priorities you guys! I made it to work, and dragged my way to the cafeteria for my espresso shot (I had forgotten the tea, remember?) and fellow colleagues were animatedly discussing what else but the financial crisis! Most memorable dig at the entire issue was this one liner: What would you prefer: Being stranded in the midst of Ike the hurricane or the East coast financial crisis?

Our time was spent worrying and debating this issue and its possible effects on the economy of a country and in turn its people. At the end of the discussions and with the Feds, republicans and democrats still continuing to fight it out in the Promised Land, we had to put in few extra hours at work to make up for the debate time. I concluded that the solution to this issue is not something we can churn out, so why bother panicking about something that’s out of our hands. Panicking about locked personal email accounts seems more normal! I believe that the money is going to be there because the Promised Land is one power hungry nation and pigs will fly before they let anything untoward happen. As I try to stay afloat amidst these crazy times, my lips involuntarily utter the words: Dear God, please help me survive!

What comes next?

2008-09-15T15:00:00.002-04:00

The latest buzz on the western hemisphere of the world – High Heels for babies!!!! Yes that’s right you can now dress up your infant daughter in pretty clothes with matching high heels to boot. Isn’t that cute?? All the other babies and their mommas are going to be so jealous. In the very near future, this can also be matched up with an amazing cosmetic line with baby foundation, blush and mascara that would come with their very own matching baby eye shadows, false eye lashes for the mascara and the blush brush!

The lines of shoes, aptly titles ‘Heelarious’, a brain child of two Seattle based mothers (yes! Mothers) tops the most ridiculous ideas to hit the worlds this century, “Cheese Masala dosa” and “Sambhar flavored Maggi” being some others (My apologies to readers who may love either of these) I wonder what’s next! A new exercise routine for babies considered too chubby to fit into the new line of happening baby fashions? Or low fat baby food! It is one thing for adults to be conscious about the way they look but why force the idea of false beauty on babies whose mode of transportation is being pushed around in a pram. Do we want ‘generation next’ to grow up with ideas that beauty is skin deep? Whatever happened to the age of innocence? It seems that some folks are in a hurry for their kids to grow up much faster than they ideally should. This can be the only explanation for forcing adult accessories on a kid that’s still in a crib. My take on ‘Heelarious’ is that this is definitely hilarious and I don’t mean that in a nice way.

If you are a parent who is interested in making emergency visits to the hospital for broken bones, you should get a pair for your baby to match her designer diapers who is probably wondering how she got out into this crazy world in the first place and still trying to understand the identity of the mysterious lady constantly feeding and changing her and now fitting her for the new heels! I would like to leave you with these thoughts: Shouldn’t the parents of the world focus on how they can actually help their kids by providing them with good education, help them build character, provide for them a safe and healthy environment and other important issues rather than making a choice between a leopard and a zebra print heel shoe for their babies?

The original news article can be read at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26673132/

My ode to Coffee

2008-09-12T19:40:00.010-04:00

The only time I remember venturing into poetry was way back in primary school. My mom claims I used to churn out crazy poems back then. (Well my mom loves anything that I do and thinks it is cute! In all fairness, all moms are that way :-) ) Anyways I was so caffeinated after a cup of coffee this evening that I started to sing its praises right away! I have been ripping apart some topics recently so I had to write something crazy to make up! This was my attempt. Have a good laugh.

As I get out of bed each morning, sleepy and lazy to move
The thought of you makes me groove,
I miss those days when you used to waft around the house
Jump starting my day as I clicked my mouse,
You have your origin around the globe
India, Ethiopia, Columbia, Guatemala, Mexico and Verona,
The world loves you by the many forms you take
Plain, Espressos, Cappuccinos, lattes, tropical ice-bergs and more,
Many turn to you for their energy shots
Justifying why most folks make you by the pots,
Your enemies say you are bad
But that is just too sad,
They don't know you
Like your friends do,
O coffee wherever I go
I find my way to your abode,
You help me chase my blues away
I can’t survive without you for a day.

Good God No!

2008-09-10T21:38:00.008-04:00

I did not want to do a piece ripping something apart , but it seems that our society keeps feeding us more craziness each day. The latest buzz to make headlines indicating an increased level of insanity among the residents of Tamil Nadu is about a new temple that is going to spring up in the district of Tirunelveli. The special aura about this temple is that the Goddess captured in stone is mortal and would not have the capability to grant any wishes. Confused?? If you have not heard, an avid fan is constructing a temple for the siren Namitha. Apparently the lady, popular for her ever shrinking outfits on her big frame rather than her acting abilities is so thrilled that she is the only actress to have a temple built in her honor apart from the late 80’s and 90’s screen goddess Kushboo. Contrastingly Kushboo was also hailed for her acting abilities. Incidentally Kushboo’s temple was demolished by her fans who had built it post her comments on HIV protection for women; just making it clear how time, money and resources are frittered away in our state on projects that generate no profit. I am just glad it is not the tax payer’s money that is being used for this useless project; or is it?

As a state, we could do with better roads, storm drains, a clean environment, lower levels of noise and air pollution, better garbage disposal etc., Rather our fellow public prefer to splash it on building temples for an actress who has not done anything of great importance even as far as her acting roles go till date. Have our people gone insane? What would be the advantage of investing time, space and people on its construction? How many people would visit this temple and what would be the purpose behind their visit? Normal people go to the temple to pray; would those visiting this temple simply stand there and drool?? This is definitely something that the public would outgrow making its presence questionable.

These questions and more storm through my mind as I wonder about the gradual decadence of a state known for its cultural values. This temple is an indication of how women are still treated in certain strata of the society – as objects of glamour with pea sized brains. We should be setting better examples for future generations in terms of treating people with dignity and respect and churning out leaders and statesmen with good character. If we do have money to splurge on ideas like these why don’t we see any improvement in the lifestyles of our fellow state inhabitants? If only Namitha could advise her fans to put this money to better use rather than making statements on how she wouldn’t mind more temples being built for her, the rest of us may have some respect for her. Your thoughts are appreciated.

O Krishna – This Kuselan has caused a headache!

2008-09-09T13:33:00.010-04:00

Place: I am not sure (My guess is Dwaraka)
Time: A few centuries ago

Name of Act: Lord Krishna and Kuselan - A great friendship.

Main Act: Kuselan a childhood friend and devotee of Lord Krishna lived in poverty and hunger. Taking his wife’s advice, armed with a pack of rice flakes wondering if the Lord would recognize him he proceeded to visit the Lord to request his help to tide over his bad times. Lord Krishna recognized and embraced Kuselan and treated him as an honored guest. He was curious about the pack under Kuselan's arms, the rice flakes which Kuselan had been embarrassed to present to the Lord as it was poor man’s food and not really fit for a king. When the Lord came to know, he chided Kuselan and ate the rice flakes with immense happiness and excitement.

When Kuselan returned to his village, he was surprised to find that his old hut had been transformed into a palatial bungalow!! He had been blessed by the lord and would no longer live a life of poverty and hunger but a life of great comfort and luxury.

Verdict: Touching story of true and lasting friendship.

Cut to present day

Place: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Time: 2008! A lazy week end at the theatres

Name of Act: Kuselan - The movie guest starring Superstart Rajnikanth. Also starring others.

Main Act: The lifestyle of the village barber Balu borders on poverty. He is barely able to support his wife who breaks plenty of cooking pots and kids and is behind on their school fees payment. His business is being stolen by a fellow barber who used to apprentice under Balu. A movie crew visits the village for a shooting and the hero of the movie is a current day superstar Ashok who also happens to be Balu’s childhood friend. The village folk are on Balu’s case, so that they can visit Ashok, snap pictures with him or invite him to preside over their local school functions. Balu hesitates as he is not sure if his friend would recognize him as he still belongs to the lowest strata of the society and Ashok is a larger than life star. Life becomes difficult for Balu as everyone accuse him of lying about his friendship with Ashok. But the clouds of humiliation clears away when Ashok recognizes his friend at the school function and embraces his old friend and returns with him to Balu’s house.

My comments: This movie is a classic example of one that has comedy tracks for the sake of it! None of those tracks managed to make me smile and I found myself mostly squirming out of disgust! Vadivelu needs a serious change of image and dialogue delivery style! The whole idea of an idiot with a greedy and glamorous wife with him being a peeping tom to his fitness conscious wife or an actress changing was despicable! Generating business by drugging and stealing from prospective clients was too much to digest. It just wasn’t funny! To add to this misery, there was another gang of actors who call themselves comedians headed by Livingston and the result – more squirms and an increased headache!

The character of the real / reel life heroine – Nayanthara! Agreed she worked hard on obtaining that body but the lady needs a designer! At this point I wonder how this movie was awarded a ‘U’ certificate. I thought the censor board would do their job in ensuring that close up shots of her ‘wah-wah’s’ are chopped from the film! I pity the parents who had to have ‘the talk’ with their kids after they had watched this ‘family’ movie. And to think that Nayan has stooped so low – literally and figuratively; she is definitely no Kajol when it comes to prancing around in the rain with those ultra mini white skirts and transparent white tie shirts and she could definitely do with a refresher course in basics of acting.

Now for the redeeming characteristics of the movie, the main characters of this movie Pasupathi and Meena did what everyone should have done: justice to their roles of a quiet barber with amazingly high moraility levels and his supportive wife. Superstar Rajini looked good, (however he needs to consider a change in lipstick color, deep maroon doesn’t flatter him) played himself and did it well but he could not carry this disaster on his shoulders. There were two songs that were melodious and other than these factors this was one terrible movie!

Verdict: Does Kollywood churn out quality cinema these days?? Did the producers and directors of this movie think that the public would watch this movie because of the Superstar factor and a leading lady who was willing to drop more than what the pubic bargained for? It seems that they were riding solely on this factor for the film’s success. Well, we are not crazy and that is all I have to say apart from the following! I didn’t want to do another piece featuring the superstar (I like him!) but then the makers of this movie have forced me. On that note, to all parties involved in this project, try watching the movies that you make and check if it is entertaining before you release it. Ever heard the concept of a test audience?? If not look it up! What could have been a wonderful movie on friendship, inspired from the touching story of friendship shared between Lord Krishna and childhood friend Kuselan just turned out to be a big dud because you take us, the paying masses for granted. Our brains function and analyze more than your imagination and we will definitely think twice before putting our wallets on a diet to watch movies from this team in the future.

'Manna' - This stunt aint no good

2008-09-02T13:59:00.005-04:00

Recently I read an article on MSN India about how our Superstar was miffed with music maestro ARR because ARR had requested the superstar’s daughter to meet him at 4.00AM in the morning at his recording studio to discuss the music of the movie ‘Sultan’. (Click here to read the original article: http://entertainment.in.msn.com/southcinema/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1656746). What I failed to understand is the factor that caused the miff and why this made the news in the first place. Working women all over India, with non-celebrity parents, never caused any issues because we were asked to work late or through out the night with a bunch of guys or in solitude. Our parents did not raise their eyebrows at our bosses and management because they understood that the whole team was working and that late hours, early morning conference calls crossed our professional lives more than we would like it to.

If ARR works through the night on his music and asked its producer / director to meet him at his studio to discuss and finalize the same I fail to understand what the hoopla is about? I am sure it was pretty evident that he was not inviting her for a secret rendezvous! If it was it would have been headlines by now!! ARR, the man known for less talk and his quiet demeanor being the better man ignored this jibe and finished his job like he was supposed to. Decency score: ARR - 1, Superstar - 0

To our beloved style 'mannan' – Please do not make headlines about such trivial things that happen in your line of work when it could cause more damage for others especially when it is not their fault. It is just the way they work. We love you for the kind of values you promote, you stylish punch dialogues and much more. Please remember that there are thousands of parents in the state and in India who are miffed and worried sick about the fact that their daughters need to work late often. They take it with a grain of salt because a part of getting the job well done is also being accommodating with the members of the team and this is even more paramount when you are the commanding the ship as in the case of your daughter. We would love for you to be in the news for your movies, your political and philosophical views, your charity works and other great things that would make your star shine brighter than before.

Cartoons in the Bigg House!

2008-08-31T21:12:00.009-04:00

I have never been a fan of TV soaps. The sound effects and zillion camera freezes that change positions frequently in every possible way only give me a headache. However when I heard that Bigg Boss was going to forecast season 2, it got me curious. I had not paid any attention to season 1 though it was all over the news and as a punishment to the sinful mortals Rakhi Sawant was unleashed on 98% of Indians! Anyways, my experiences with living with fellow roommates, (especially one crazy psycho character) got me curious to take a peek into the Bigg Boss house. The motley crew is a mix of politicians, actresses, item girls, non-celebrities of which a good chunk is terribly boring generating huge yawns when they appear on the screen. I have so much to say that I am am going to start from most boring and annoying characters to the ones that are the life of the show.

Dumb and Dumber –> Raja Choudhary and Ashutosh Kaushik: Yawn! Yawn! Yawn! That’s my reaction when you guys appear and try to do whatever it is that you do. By the way what do you expect to achieve from your stint in this show? Raja, if you want to people to understand what your real side is, we don’t want to know! You seem to do nothing other than mope around be a grouch. Well, we have enough grouches in our lives and they are more interesting than you. Next time if you plan to dive into the swimming pool please stick to swim shorts like the rest of the men! Appearances in those briefs will not help you either! Ashutosh the rustic, if you are here trying to get employment in Bollywood the only opening I can see is you setting up a high end dhaba! Just clean up your act rather than using bad language, behaving like the village idiot and being an obnoxiously blunt person which you believe to be an amazing personality trait. Both guys need to control your green monsters with regards to a certain fellow room mate and also stop attacking him for no reason!

Kitchen Matron->Ketaki Dave: A ra ra!!! The kitchen is the only place where you seem to be! Even the guys are annoyed about the fact that you have taken over the kitchen. Now that is a very rare event to happen in the world but when it happens it makes one sit up and take notice! If cooking, cleaning and being a silent part of the circle is all your strategy please do everyone a favor and nominate yourself out. You seem to portray yourself as someone who cares for everyone else. Seriously! That’s all very saintly of you but you need to start behaving more like a normal person!

Videsi mem ya desi!! -> Alina Wadia: ‘Boo Hoo I am a common girl!’ Stop crying about that!!! You knew you were a non-celebrity when you entered the contest. If you want to become one, loose the fake accent for starters. You don’t seem to have a typical English accent but you try to roll your r’s here and there so that we don’t forget that you studied in England! You entered the house with a good girl image and I read that you are not afraid to speak your mind! All that is good but stop gossiping and do what you need to do with élan and dignity and go easy on the ‘F’ word!

Cry baby->Payal Rohatgi: People of the house were right when they joked about you putting on a new face every morning when you did your make up, rather make over. The only entertainment we have had from you has been in the form of tears. Stop trying to be the superior Miss. goodie two shoes that you are not. Oh! Yes! It is pretty obvious that you are being a fake! If only you were yourself folks like me wouldn’t be too annoyed.

King of Drawl -> Ehsaan Qureshi: Stop! Please do more than dragging words when you talk. I for one do not find you funny at all Ehsaan jiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Till date you have made it clear to the junta that you have been possessed by the green monster when it comes to Rahul Mahajan! You seem to be obsessed with the fact that he hangs out with the girls and not you guys! Lets face it: With the kind of grouches and morons that make up the male crowd of the house, not many men would want to hang out with your gang, leave alone Rahul!

Sakuni -> Zulfi Sayed: That sweet innocent face masks the scheming imp behind it! Your gradual foray into character bashing and incessant drilling of a public favorite on his financial matters and embarrassing him has wiped out the clean image that you had to start with. I don’t find you cute anymore. Have you ever thought of joining a political party?? You seem a better fit than even Sanjay Nirupam who was voted out early into the show. If the inmates of the house knew what’s good for them, you would be voted out at the earliest!

Drama Queen -> Sambhavana Seth: Jeez girl! Everything is not always about you!! Get over it! Your constant declarations on how you are the only decent person who did not commence groups in the house is getting too old and on our nerves! Are you attempting to be a better version of Rakhi Sawant?? You come across as a good but annoying person when you are being junglee and attempting comedy! Just stop talking and analyzing what others do and say along with your constant self justification about what others may think about you in your imagination; you may actually find yourself in the race.

Nice Guy-> Debojit Saha: You are one of the best among the guys in the house. You always seem to smile and sing. I haven’t found you character bashing and you seem pretty calm and composed! Keep it up!

Mysterious->Monica Bedi: Not much to say much about you considering that you have probably gone through a lot in your life and have probably paid for the mistakes you committed. You seem to have captured the sympathy of the public and come across as someone who trying to do the right thing when it comes to the politics of the house. Here’s wishing you good luck and also hoping that your behavior and attitudes never change because if it does we will know!

Mr. Sunshine ->Rahul Mahajan: The life of the show! The cheerful face, the never ending enthusiasm, the take it easy attitude and good natured humor is not appreciated by the other men in the house but is a hit among the women! The most delightful Lord Krishna to appear on television after Nitish Bharadwaj, who played the same role in B.R Chopra’s Mahabharat though I have my doubts on how good a politician you may be. You don’t seem to have any of the evil traits that are paramount to become a politician! You smiled and got around the guys when they were provoking and embarrassing you on national TV though your uncomfortable body language was apparent. Anyone else in your place might have lost it. You even clean the bathrooms! Hat’s off to you! You definitely come across as a good human being. I hope you make it among the top 3.

Last but not the least, the hostess Shilpa Shetty. I have not witnessed Arshad Warsi in the last season of Bigg Boss so no comparisons here. Shilpa, India loves you but you need to change your approach to hosting this show which is getting pretty stale now! We have heard enough of ‘The Shilpa Channel’, relating to the participants based on your participation in Big Brother and the usual manner displayed in communicating with the participants each week. Even Pooja Bedi seems to be doing a better job than you on Aakhri Salaam!! Please do something about this and get more sensible with your wardrobe. Your saree on day 1 of the show was simply atrocious!

That it from me folks!! Any thoughts on the subject are welcome!

I Read...

2008-08-27T14:43:00.007-04:00

Here I am racking my brains again on what exactly I should be writing about. Honestly, this is my third attempt at maintaining a blog. All I know is that I have so many things to talk about but my hands fall asleep when I try to convert my thoughts into words. Some of my friends have been egging me for sometime now on how I need to start somewhere so that I could get somewhere as far as my passion for writing is concerned. So I thought I’d write about some of the authors whose books whisked me away to another realm when the rest of the world enjoyed an afternoon siesta or an evening before the telly!!

Here goes in no particular order……

Doughlas Adams – The dude rocks! He has definitely taken science fiction to the most imaginative and humorous extent possible. I fell in love with the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and even more with the paranoid robot Marvin. The very thought of characters such as Zaphod Beeblebrox and the Dentrassis and the concept of the Babel fish bring a smile to my face. Too bad Doughlas Adams passed away at an early age, people like myself will definitely miss any of the other books he would have written.

Robert Asprin – The name sounds like some cure for a headache doesn’t it? Well his books may actually do the trick by making you break into peels of laughter. He takes you on a fantasy journey into the world of ‘Myth’ along with ‘Skeeve’ the thief turned magician apprentice and his teacher ‘Aahz’ the demon that lost his magic due to a summoning ritual gone wrong. Of course the army of imp assassins, the dimension of Deva populated by the deveels and their popular bazaars leave a reader wanting more! I will definitely miss more books from Mr. Asprin. May his soul rest in peace!

Dan Brown – His books got me hooked on to historical fictions. The amount of research that has gone behind each of these books can be felt as one reads ‘Angels and Demons’ or ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Thanks to him I fell in love with Italy / Rome and I also felt sad that I did not pay much attention at the Louvre museum! I also enjoyed his ‘Deception Point’ about a compelling scientific discovery deep in the Atlantic Ocean. However his ‘Digital Fortress’ was a let down… The book dragged on so much that I wished I hadn’t started reading it.

Phillipa Gregory – The lady who got me curious about the history of England, its castles, cultures and the royal way of life! Her book ‘The Other Boleyn girl’ though panned by critics for its historical inaccuracies was a very candid look into the life of King Henry VIII and his beautiful wife, the proud Anne Boleyn who played an important role in shaping the religious future of England. The elements of politics, ambition, love and betrayal in the midst of London, the English country side and France makes the reader sit up and inspires one to know more about the history of their own country. I wish there was a way to introduce the world to our rich history in an interesting way other than just Bollywood!

Michael Crichton – The man behind the ‘Jurassic Park Series’. I was surprised to know the he was also the author of ‘Disclosure’ which was a corporate drama; far from the cry of dinosaurs and Orangutans! I especially enjoyed his travel back to medieval England with ‘Timeline’ and the journey into the deep jungles of Africa with ‘Congo’. The possibilities with science are sure to send a shiver down your spine with ‘Next’.

J K Rowling – I know many of you don’t think much of her writing abilities; however I am sure most of us would agree that she is good story teller. Her books are entertaining, creative and she seems to have a knack of connecting even the smallest of events together. The Harry Potter Series was definitely a page turner and I have not experienced even the slightest boredom in turning the pages even when I re-read the books.

Terry Pratchett – Another great author who gives science fiction yet another makeover by introducing the world to the dimension of ‘Ankh-Morpork’ and a concept that Earth is actually balanced on the back of four elephants trying to balance themselves on the back of a giant turtle! Stunned? His characters like the magician Rincewind, the walking trunk with life and other delightful misfits and imbeciles who create the ecology of Ankh-Morpork would definitely take you on roller coaster of laughter and curiosity.

Stephen King – The undisputed King of horror fictions in my list! The first book I read by him was ‘Salems Lot’. I couldn’t help not putting down the book. The idea of the hunt for evil vampires that have taken over an entire town was novel and scary only after Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Kings other books such as Christine, Pet Cemetery and Thinner made me wonder what kind of research the author had to do to write such convincing plots. Kudos to him!

Sidney Sheldon – I started reading books by this author after finding some of his publications in my dad’s mobile trunk library. I found his books thrilling and they never seemed to give away what’s coming next. My personal favorite was ‘Tell Me Your Dreams’ and among those who have read the book till date, there is always doubt on whether the main protagonists alter ego was really chased away.

Jeffrey Archer – I am not sure how I started reading his books. His books always reminded me of some of our Hindi movies, especially ‘Sons of Fortune’. I also enjoyed ‘The Prodigal Daughter’ where he made possible for the United States to have its first female president. The only other fictional female president I can think of is that of the Geena Davis starring as the American president in the show ‘Commander and Chief’. My favorite book of the lot was ‘False Impression’. No surprise here as it that had a lot to do with arts and artists.

Ayn Rand – I read ‘The Fountainhead’ by this author. Other than the fact she created a character that lived an Utopian existence in the midst of a greedy world, the book did not hold much fascination for me. I found the book packed with too many details that just dragged its story line….

And more…… Hey! Don't think I have run out of a list of authors; its just that I am tired and would like to move on. So until next time share with me any of your favorite authors and books and Happy reading!