"What are your plans for diwali?"...This question was repeated so many times in the past one week, by almost every one of us. Almost a rhetorical question for which we generally don’t expect an answer, or even if we do get one, we are least interested. Let me not put down this repeated question for in my own case, it has often aided to start a conversation, to divert attention from some undesirable topics or in some occasions, to stop a conversation.
Festivals are generally associated with certain standard things. And in the case of Diwali, it inevitably points to crackers, sweets, new clothes and of course the "ganga snanam", the early morning oil bath that leaves all those morn-haters ruffled badly. But then, subconsciously each of us conjure different pictures of any festival, images that are hardly associated with these material aspects.
Elaborating a bit on this, I think talking about Diwali would be apt. Diwali, in my opinion extends much beyond the usual festivities. It is the one day of the year when my entire family comes together. I had always taken this for granted but then looking around I came to see that this was really a rare happening. We've all become so mechanical, each engrossed in his/her individualism that we forget to come together. Now, when I say my family, it isn’t just the four of us (dad, mom, my sis and me). It includes my paternal grandparents, maternal grandparents, my uncle, his wife, her parents and any of my relatives from abroad who happens to visit India during this time. And in this gathering I see more than just the coming together of people. It is more like the breaking down of mental barriers, over-coming of obstacles and unification of spirits. I don’t claim my family to be a perfect one. We all have different shortcomings. We've argued, fought, wound each other's heart and sometimes driven each other mad. But this festival provides an occasion for us to forget it all and those strings of family spirit and compassion keep us bound. The day usually begins with the ladies of our house-hold (not me!!) trying to wake the men and the kids (I come here) up. A really difficult task coz we'd have crashed only at around 2am after long chats. Once we are all up and awake (???), there is generally a round of coffee and then begins the 'nalangu'. It gets everybody into the festive spirits instantly. Nalangu basically includes the application of the nalangu, the oil in the hair and feeding the person with a banana! Most of us hate the oil and the banana part and so the proceedings get funnier every second. Then it is of course followed by the oil bath, new clothes etc. Then comes the bursting of crackers. My uncle (who came from London, where he is currently doing his intern, just for diwali) and Dad are usually the bravest and they test-fire most of those awfully loud stuff. After another round of chatting, it would be time for the family lunch. Another very interesting affair, in which the first 'pandhi' is served by the ladies and the second by the men. A really gregarious and hearty affair, aided by a sumptuous menu, after which most of us would be very drowsy. Then generally we pack up and come to our place, crash and then get ready for the evening dinner at our place where once again the entire family comes together.
Hence for me, diwali flashes an image of all the women-folk busy in the kitchen, the men chatting in the hall, us kids playing (now replaced by watching TV,really!) and the general sense of well-being. I see most festivals in the same eye, like Sri jayanthi involves the family bhajan with every one of us singing away to glory, Pongal, with its 'plate and spoon' orchestra etc. What matters again is that special touch given to each routine by a very special gift called family. And I thank God every single day for that driving force behind each day....My family!
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Perfect- the shortest story....
Herez my shortest post with a 55 word short story...
He looked absolutely charming in the wedding attire. She had dreamt of this since the day she had first met him and all through the years they were in love. Everything was perfect, the beautiful spring day, the flowers, the birds, their music and ofcourse him. Everything except that she was not the bride!
I was tagged by Rajeev and I proceed to tag Sindhu and VJ.
He looked absolutely charming in the wedding attire. She had dreamt of this since the day she had first met him and all through the years they were in love. Everything was perfect, the beautiful spring day, the flowers, the birds, their music and ofcourse him. Everything except that she was not the bride!
I was tagged by Rajeev and I proceed to tag Sindhu and VJ.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Transfer of moods
We can all imagine this scene perfectly as most of us have gone through it or rather are going through it very frequently. Coming back home after a perfectly lousy day, gone completely wrong, when you feel totally dejected and to top it all of, your mom or dad chooses that very moment to pick up an arguement on a very trivial matter. But hey this is not yet over.....If you have a sibling, he or she becomes the vent to all that pent up anger and depression...Or you'd land up wetting your pillows...There is no use of denying that this has never happened to you.
Its now that we have to take a look at this phenomenon of mood transfer. I'd give a small warning to all those people who cannot tolerate even a little bit of boredom, this post might seem a bit boring, but if you do have the patience to read it till the end I guess you'd be doing yourself and the world a good deed.
Most oft than not, we serve as emotional vents or to put it in a better manner, as punching bags to people whom we just cant afford to avenge . And in turn, we pounce on our subordinates or somebody whom we know would not retaliate and they,unable to get back at us,on someone else and this continues on without an end.
I'd like to give a small illustration. It so happened that one of lecturers, seemingly upset over a quarrel with her husband(how typical!), gave us an extra assignment and a really horrifying deadline(she asked us to submit it the very next day). This ofcourse was given a generous dosage of the most unparlimentary language possible in a class. Ofcouse we were all upset and angry, so I entered home, lets say, not in one of my best spirits, just to be further aggrevated when my mom confronted me with something I had forgotten to do. Normally, I might have just accepted my mistake with an apology but being in a state that I was, I retaliated in a not-so-pleasing manner that just was not acceptable from the guilty party. Then again, if my mom was her normal self, she'd have just given me a mild warning and would have left me to brood. But then, having had a long and tiring day with 2 surgeries and post-ops to attend, she didnt let me go that easily. And yeah, before either of us could stop, it grew into a big arguement, which ended with me slamming my door.
If we look into every one of such situations, we'd find that we have erred by not keeping our moods to ourself but by having it thrown upon someone who just wasnt involved. It is completely human to do this. So what I ask of you, is just to stop throwing around your sorrows and fears and trying to spread a little sunshine. Anger often gets us into more trouble than we bargain for. Doing something on impulse not only affects us but all the people around us. The chain of misery gets us all entangled in it and unknowingly we get more and more people entangled too. So please think before you argue. An arguement with an angry person would always end in vain. And when you are angry dont argue either. It takes alot of self control to restrain yourself but then come on, a cheap victory is certainly not as great as a moral one. And remember that whenever you hurt someone, you dont hurt that person alone, but a whole bunch of people who are all least connected to you.
So right now if you are repenting for having spoilt someone's day, just try to make it up to them coz its never too late. A call, a card, a small gift or even a simple hug could make things much better and your heart lighter. Learn to forgive and forget and make lives brighter!
Its now that we have to take a look at this phenomenon of mood transfer. I'd give a small warning to all those people who cannot tolerate even a little bit of boredom, this post might seem a bit boring, but if you do have the patience to read it till the end I guess you'd be doing yourself and the world a good deed.
Most oft than not, we serve as emotional vents or to put it in a better manner, as punching bags to people whom we just cant afford to avenge . And in turn, we pounce on our subordinates or somebody whom we know would not retaliate and they,unable to get back at us,on someone else and this continues on without an end.
I'd like to give a small illustration. It so happened that one of lecturers, seemingly upset over a quarrel with her husband(how typical!), gave us an extra assignment and a really horrifying deadline(she asked us to submit it the very next day). This ofcourse was given a generous dosage of the most unparlimentary language possible in a class. Ofcouse we were all upset and angry, so I entered home, lets say, not in one of my best spirits, just to be further aggrevated when my mom confronted me with something I had forgotten to do. Normally, I might have just accepted my mistake with an apology but being in a state that I was, I retaliated in a not-so-pleasing manner that just was not acceptable from the guilty party. Then again, if my mom was her normal self, she'd have just given me a mild warning and would have left me to brood. But then, having had a long and tiring day with 2 surgeries and post-ops to attend, she didnt let me go that easily. And yeah, before either of us could stop, it grew into a big arguement, which ended with me slamming my door.
If we look into every one of such situations, we'd find that we have erred by not keeping our moods to ourself but by having it thrown upon someone who just wasnt involved. It is completely human to do this. So what I ask of you, is just to stop throwing around your sorrows and fears and trying to spread a little sunshine. Anger often gets us into more trouble than we bargain for. Doing something on impulse not only affects us but all the people around us. The chain of misery gets us all entangled in it and unknowingly we get more and more people entangled too. So please think before you argue. An arguement with an angry person would always end in vain. And when you are angry dont argue either. It takes alot of self control to restrain yourself but then come on, a cheap victory is certainly not as great as a moral one. And remember that whenever you hurt someone, you dont hurt that person alone, but a whole bunch of people who are all least connected to you.
So right now if you are repenting for having spoilt someone's day, just try to make it up to them coz its never too late. A call, a card, a small gift or even a simple hug could make things much better and your heart lighter. Learn to forgive and forget and make lives brighter!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
The Great Spoon Robbery!
I intend on making this a very short post. But knowing me well, I might end up making it the longest. As of now, I am in my fav position with my fingers playing on the keyboard and my thoughts flowing faser than I can type(which is pretty fast). I had never imagined, not even once during my school days, that I would be missing them so much. I remember having whined, complained and bitched about so many things, all of which I am missing now. My friends(though a couple of us are in the same coll we never get to meet as oft as we like),my enemies(too strong a word maybe, but come on I still havent got to liking them....tolerate....maybe), my teachers( really! the good and the bad ones too) and so many other things and people that I have always taken for granted. Most of all I miss my exams. I never slogged too hard, never had night outs, never spent time worrying whether losing a mark would make me ineligible for a campus interview in the final year or by how much my CGPA would fall. Exams were half-day affairs in school, a subject a day, and they used to be spread over a period of atleast 3 weeks followed by a 10-day holiday. Here in coll I am struggling to get used to the idea of writing 2 papers a day, not knowing word, finishing exams in a week and getting the results immediately.
But there ae a few common threads between coll and school. Like the chats in the corridors, sleeping in class( that goes on everywhere!), passing notes in between classes,assignments (I finish them on time though I dont see Mrs.Mary with her long wooden ruler anywhere) and ofcourse the canteen.
My school canteen, as I recollect, had a small counter, which was forever crowded. Not thatit had a great variety of items(it certainly didnt) but it did have a set of 'forever-in demand' stuff like thenmittai(candy with honey inside), macroons, butter biscuits and the star item samosas. These were the standard items till I came to the high school and then the tastes of the students escalated and the management had to makes changes to cope up with it. When I entered the school parliment in 12th, we,the ministers, improvised the canteen and that was one of our first successful acts, as the decisions were unanimous. So when I left school, my canteen has risen to the status of providing lunch which was "Friyani"(for ppl wh are confused as to whatthis strange delicacy may be,let me enlighten you by telling you that it is just Biriyani, a common rish dish, spelt this way on the canteen board) and curd rice.
So one can imagine my awe, on entering my college canteen on the very first day shrugging away the threats of ragging, when I saw a board with around 75 items, classified into 6 categories (God, I'm good at remembering things like this) and seeing the crowd which several times greater than what I was accustomed to. I had the courage to order a sweet lime juice, and with several seniors surrounding me, didnt have the courage to hang around any more than I was supposed to. But then within a week, we had familiarised ourselves with the canteen. It is one of those wonderful places, where everything was cheap but delicious, and there would be a big crowd forever.
It was pretty much of a rude shock, when I was playing "Who dares" with my friends one day, that I was dared to steal a spoon from the canteen. Well some of them had got stuff that were really tragic and horrible and so I was consoling myself with the fact that I was lucky, but still, I was never good at stealing, even something as insignificant and trivial as a spoon from the college canteen.
But then a dare was a dare and I was not prepared to be branded a chicken. And that particular day, the canteen seemed more crowded than ever and I had this eerie feeling that everyone was watching what I did. It took me several moments to shrug off that strange notion and go over to the lunch counter. I had ordered a plate of noodles and gobi 65. While I was waiting in the counter, my eyes scanned for the tray of spoons and fork and voila! I spotted it a few yards from where I was standing.
It was one of those moments, when you are under great strain, that you would end up missing something really stupid, and in my case it was the pockets in my school uniform. Things would have been infinitely smoother if I did have a pocket but then again I didnt. And so I was standing there,sweating hard, trying my best to get my hands to pick one of those spoons. It felt horrible, my hands got clammy, my knees weak, my heart thudding so loud that it reminded me of the drums in a heavy metal band and my mind getting disoriented to the maximum. I dont know how it happened but it did happen and I found myself with a spoon in my hand. And to my luck, the guy handed my parcels neatly kept in a plastic bag and I walked away as quickly as I could manage. When I was finally outside, I tried to put the spoon inside the bad and since my hands were trembling badly, I dropped it. One chappie, who had just come out, picked it up and gave it to me(thanks buddy) and I rushed back to class, nearly ran for my dear life.
Epilogue:
I did complete my dare and it was soon forgotten as most things are by almost all of us (except me ofcourse). I didnt have the heart to keep or throw the spoon away, so I made sure I placed it back in the canteen the very next day, much to the amusement of my friends. This part, I prefer not to describe in detail as I have already exceeded my quota for this post. Then again "All's well that ends well". The end.
But there ae a few common threads between coll and school. Like the chats in the corridors, sleeping in class( that goes on everywhere!), passing notes in between classes,assignments (I finish them on time though I dont see Mrs.Mary with her long wooden ruler anywhere) and ofcourse the canteen.
My school canteen, as I recollect, had a small counter, which was forever crowded. Not thatit had a great variety of items(it certainly didnt) but it did have a set of 'forever-in demand' stuff like thenmittai(candy with honey inside), macroons, butter biscuits and the star item samosas. These were the standard items till I came to the high school and then the tastes of the students escalated and the management had to makes changes to cope up with it. When I entered the school parliment in 12th, we,the ministers, improvised the canteen and that was one of our first successful acts, as the decisions were unanimous. So when I left school, my canteen has risen to the status of providing lunch which was "Friyani"(for ppl wh are confused as to whatthis strange delicacy may be,let me enlighten you by telling you that it is just Biriyani, a common rish dish, spelt this way on the canteen board) and curd rice.
So one can imagine my awe, on entering my college canteen on the very first day shrugging away the threats of ragging, when I saw a board with around 75 items, classified into 6 categories (God, I'm good at remembering things like this) and seeing the crowd which several times greater than what I was accustomed to. I had the courage to order a sweet lime juice, and with several seniors surrounding me, didnt have the courage to hang around any more than I was supposed to. But then within a week, we had familiarised ourselves with the canteen. It is one of those wonderful places, where everything was cheap but delicious, and there would be a big crowd forever.
It was pretty much of a rude shock, when I was playing "Who dares" with my friends one day, that I was dared to steal a spoon from the canteen. Well some of them had got stuff that were really tragic and horrible and so I was consoling myself with the fact that I was lucky, but still, I was never good at stealing, even something as insignificant and trivial as a spoon from the college canteen.
But then a dare was a dare and I was not prepared to be branded a chicken. And that particular day, the canteen seemed more crowded than ever and I had this eerie feeling that everyone was watching what I did. It took me several moments to shrug off that strange notion and go over to the lunch counter. I had ordered a plate of noodles and gobi 65. While I was waiting in the counter, my eyes scanned for the tray of spoons and fork and voila! I spotted it a few yards from where I was standing.
It was one of those moments, when you are under great strain, that you would end up missing something really stupid, and in my case it was the pockets in my school uniform. Things would have been infinitely smoother if I did have a pocket but then again I didnt. And so I was standing there,sweating hard, trying my best to get my hands to pick one of those spoons. It felt horrible, my hands got clammy, my knees weak, my heart thudding so loud that it reminded me of the drums in a heavy metal band and my mind getting disoriented to the maximum. I dont know how it happened but it did happen and I found myself with a spoon in my hand. And to my luck, the guy handed my parcels neatly kept in a plastic bag and I walked away as quickly as I could manage. When I was finally outside, I tried to put the spoon inside the bad and since my hands were trembling badly, I dropped it. One chappie, who had just come out, picked it up and gave it to me(thanks buddy) and I rushed back to class, nearly ran for my dear life.
Epilogue:
I did complete my dare and it was soon forgotten as most things are by almost all of us (except me ofcourse). I didnt have the heart to keep or throw the spoon away, so I made sure I placed it back in the canteen the very next day, much to the amusement of my friends. This part, I prefer not to describe in detail as I have already exceeded my quota for this post. Then again "All's well that ends well". The end.
Saturday, August 13, 2005
The so-called destiny...
The hibernation is abruptly cut short and I am thrust forward to blog something after a long time just because I hate to see my pen getting rusty. Its been pretty long...lets say a month...since my bliss-filled days of pure vettiness faded into oblivion. But these lessons I did learn in those 101 summer days(except for the ones in my entrance classes which I forgot even before the exams)are tucked safely in my memory. These days saw me evolving steadily to accept a new life after leaving my school, my haven for 14 years(thats almost like saying my entire lifetime...I'm just 18!)..This certainly wasnt the most easy part of growing up, aint the best either but just one more milestone crossed.
It was pretty terrifying, this transformation, coz I was warned every single day that I'd be encountering a totally different atmosphere....or to quote most "The real world"....Now being a John Mayer fan, I'd rather say "There's no such thing". Life is pretty much the same, people are pretty much the same, everything goes on as it used to but it is just that I've changed a bit.
Mom always used to say that life is never too fair and that even if you give your best, you might not get back something what equals your effort. Most of my friends did say the same after the results were released, more still after they got into colleges. There was this intolerable barrier of partiality in every single thing I encountered these days, starting from my vacation in Srilanka to the admission process. If merit and hardwork were to ensure success the world would be totally different and I would not have to suppress a cynical outburst of laughter over one of my friends,a truely happy-go-lucky gal, below-average rank holder who managed to scrape through the exams getting into a really prestigious college ,into a much sought after group through recommendation from some big-shot(Anna University, BE Comp Sc) when my school toppers got into some anonymous colleges. Neither of them are to be blamed. Both got something that they didn’t deserve but something they are destined for. And that is exactly where we encounter this phenomenon of a pre-written destiny.
I, on the other hand, never gave much and never expected much either. So there was no room for disappointment. Just maybe a little wave of shock over the stark difference (or indifference) that prevails in this world. Oft I had wondered if every single life was already designed, crafted and set and as Shakespeare enunciates that man is just an actor who merely plays the role offered, a role that was again written well before it was actually played. The feeling that there is something called fate, which is well above the reach of man, well beyond his abilities to alter ,gives me the creeps.
Going a little deeper, I wonder what Karma is all about. So I consulted my residential philosophers(my dad and grandpa) concerning the same and got further intrigued. This age-old story of births, rebirths, the balance of good and bad deeds, chithragupta’s good ol’ black book may not be rediscussed. Most of us even shrug them off as mythical, hypothetical and nonsensical. But come to think of it scientifically, you know what I’m gonna say, but I’d say it again, Newton’s third law. Going a little off-track, I’d like to state that it is one of my favorites as it is simple, concise, the easiest to understand and ofcourse reproduce in the paper. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. This may be the simplest form of putting the theory of Karma. Do good and goodness shall surround you. Do evil and evil would be what you get in return. There is no chance of cancellation of good and evil. If I ever do kill a person to make another live, then I’d be tried for both the actions and the rewards and reprimanding would both be effected to the fullest. No one can escape this cycle.
Observing more and more happenings, I was convinced of the existence of the pre-written destiny. Then, I wondered, why we have to work if our efforts go in vain, why we have to struggle if someone else was to walk away with the benefits or basically why we should go out of our way to achieve if we could get what was destined sitting where we are.
The answer again is pretty simple, and it is just the question without the question mark(wish questions in my exams would be that way{sigh}) We are destined to do certain things that we would end up doing no matter how hard we try not to. A simple example would be that this was definitely not the topic I intended to write on but you know I did end up writing it. There comes destiny again…..
The joy of living would be lost if one were to know the future exactly. But trust me, no one except the Great Maker himself is capable of giving such a detailed account. People say it is possible through astrology, but as far as I know(being deeply interested in astrology), it just gives an outline leaving us to fill the picture. Life would always remain unpredictable to us, bearing loads and loads of mysteries, surprises and twists that would always come as a blot in the clear sky. So then I decided that even though something called destiny exists, it is really good to sometimes just forget that concept and take to life as a new born does. And for all those of you who are really irritated and confused after reading this post, and are right now wondering why you did waste your time reading this, console yourself with the thought that this was a part of you destiny……
It was pretty terrifying, this transformation, coz I was warned every single day that I'd be encountering a totally different atmosphere....or to quote most "The real world"....Now being a John Mayer fan, I'd rather say "There's no such thing". Life is pretty much the same, people are pretty much the same, everything goes on as it used to but it is just that I've changed a bit.
Mom always used to say that life is never too fair and that even if you give your best, you might not get back something what equals your effort. Most of my friends did say the same after the results were released, more still after they got into colleges. There was this intolerable barrier of partiality in every single thing I encountered these days, starting from my vacation in Srilanka to the admission process. If merit and hardwork were to ensure success the world would be totally different and I would not have to suppress a cynical outburst of laughter over one of my friends,a truely happy-go-lucky gal, below-average rank holder who managed to scrape through the exams getting into a really prestigious college ,into a much sought after group through recommendation from some big-shot(Anna University, BE Comp Sc) when my school toppers got into some anonymous colleges. Neither of them are to be blamed. Both got something that they didn’t deserve but something they are destined for. And that is exactly where we encounter this phenomenon of a pre-written destiny.
I, on the other hand, never gave much and never expected much either. So there was no room for disappointment. Just maybe a little wave of shock over the stark difference (or indifference) that prevails in this world. Oft I had wondered if every single life was already designed, crafted and set and as Shakespeare enunciates that man is just an actor who merely plays the role offered, a role that was again written well before it was actually played. The feeling that there is something called fate, which is well above the reach of man, well beyond his abilities to alter ,gives me the creeps.
Going a little deeper, I wonder what Karma is all about. So I consulted my residential philosophers(my dad and grandpa) concerning the same and got further intrigued. This age-old story of births, rebirths, the balance of good and bad deeds, chithragupta’s good ol’ black book may not be rediscussed. Most of us even shrug them off as mythical, hypothetical and nonsensical. But come to think of it scientifically, you know what I’m gonna say, but I’d say it again, Newton’s third law. Going a little off-track, I’d like to state that it is one of my favorites as it is simple, concise, the easiest to understand and ofcourse reproduce in the paper. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”. This may be the simplest form of putting the theory of Karma. Do good and goodness shall surround you. Do evil and evil would be what you get in return. There is no chance of cancellation of good and evil. If I ever do kill a person to make another live, then I’d be tried for both the actions and the rewards and reprimanding would both be effected to the fullest. No one can escape this cycle.
Observing more and more happenings, I was convinced of the existence of the pre-written destiny. Then, I wondered, why we have to work if our efforts go in vain, why we have to struggle if someone else was to walk away with the benefits or basically why we should go out of our way to achieve if we could get what was destined sitting where we are.
The answer again is pretty simple, and it is just the question without the question mark(wish questions in my exams would be that way{sigh}) We are destined to do certain things that we would end up doing no matter how hard we try not to. A simple example would be that this was definitely not the topic I intended to write on but you know I did end up writing it. There comes destiny again…..
The joy of living would be lost if one were to know the future exactly. But trust me, no one except the Great Maker himself is capable of giving such a detailed account. People say it is possible through astrology, but as far as I know(being deeply interested in astrology), it just gives an outline leaving us to fill the picture. Life would always remain unpredictable to us, bearing loads and loads of mysteries, surprises and twists that would always come as a blot in the clear sky. So then I decided that even though something called destiny exists, it is really good to sometimes just forget that concept and take to life as a new born does. And for all those of you who are really irritated and confused after reading this post, and are right now wondering why you did waste your time reading this, console yourself with the thought that this was a part of you destiny……
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
On death and dying...
This is one of the most unexpected topics I'm writing after a series of tags...Even I didnt expect to write this for a couple of hours ago I was working on another...How it struck me is a story by itself...
I was in the middle of a novel, about to fall eagerly into the arms of Somnus, who was enticing me into an aftenoon nap when my mom asked me to send an important mail...Quickly shaking off the sleeping-sand from my eye-lids, I sent the mail and was about to log off when I saw my friend online...It had been nearly a month since we spoke,but we did manage to keep in touch through scraps..Their family had hosted us in Srilanka and they've been our family friends for more than 30 years....So I began chattering a dozen to one(my usual style) and chided her playfully for having been dormant so long...It was then the shattering truth came out, her father was dead! It was like a blow,painful and sudden, I felt hot tears stinging my eyes...For a second I thought(wistful thinking)she was joking...But sadly this is not a matter that one talks about so lightly and I had to face it, he was gone...That one moment bringing back to my mind some dark moments tucked away in my mind,never to be erased...
Death or dying strictly stuck on to the screens in my life for a long time..As a child, I believed that the people who died would just get back to life the very next day(as in movies) and later I believed that they would join the numerous stars in the velvet sky..It was only when I was 13 and my great gran passed away that I felt the pain, the huge void in my heart,in the place where I had placed her..It was quite sudden and my mom kept telling me that she had died a peaceful death without having had to endure too much pain...But for me, it seemed impossible for my life to move along without having her with me...She meant alot to me and it took me years to accept the fact that she was gone....
Then I lost my best friend within a year..Nalini and I were more than friends, we were what they say "twin souls"..It was like replaying the incident all over...A friend calling up one night telling me that she was badly injured in an accident and within a few minutes a call saying that she was dead..It was way too sudden and I was too shocked to react...She was too young to die and I kept wishing that night that someone would call me the next day and would call it a joke and that we could laughter over it together...It never happened....
The tragedy is not death of the person but the death of something in you..When a person means alot to us, they become a part of us...So in their going away, we mourn not only for their departure but for the part in us that has gone away with them...Sometimes it takes so long for people to get over and accept the fact that they could never again come home to see their loved one's face, share a hug, hear their voice or even think about them without feeling the pain...The last moments we spent with them stand in perpetuum somewhere in us...
I remember vividly the time in Colombo when we were playing in the lawns making as much noise as possible and Gemunu uncle watching us with his wife and my parents, everyone laughing at our antics...and the last phone call Nalini made, with both of us giggling over some private joke and discussing about the colour of her prom dress...and the last song I sang to my great-gran the day before she left to the hospital and her smile...some pictures that were painted with a mixture of love,laughter,tears, sunshine, emotions that were too strong,some subtle..with so many things that we just cant describe but these pictures would be wtched in my heart forever,along with many memories....I dont know still what death is and I may not till I die...But all I know is, death is never really the end...In death, we all are born again..in someone's heart as a memory...like an old melody that still floats in the breeze, never to fade away completely....not truely there but always remembered...
I was in the middle of a novel, about to fall eagerly into the arms of Somnus, who was enticing me into an aftenoon nap when my mom asked me to send an important mail...Quickly shaking off the sleeping-sand from my eye-lids, I sent the mail and was about to log off when I saw my friend online...It had been nearly a month since we spoke,but we did manage to keep in touch through scraps..Their family had hosted us in Srilanka and they've been our family friends for more than 30 years....So I began chattering a dozen to one(my usual style) and chided her playfully for having been dormant so long...It was then the shattering truth came out, her father was dead! It was like a blow,painful and sudden, I felt hot tears stinging my eyes...For a second I thought(wistful thinking)she was joking...But sadly this is not a matter that one talks about so lightly and I had to face it, he was gone...That one moment bringing back to my mind some dark moments tucked away in my mind,never to be erased...
Death or dying strictly stuck on to the screens in my life for a long time..As a child, I believed that the people who died would just get back to life the very next day(as in movies) and later I believed that they would join the numerous stars in the velvet sky..It was only when I was 13 and my great gran passed away that I felt the pain, the huge void in my heart,in the place where I had placed her..It was quite sudden and my mom kept telling me that she had died a peaceful death without having had to endure too much pain...But for me, it seemed impossible for my life to move along without having her with me...She meant alot to me and it took me years to accept the fact that she was gone....
Then I lost my best friend within a year..Nalini and I were more than friends, we were what they say "twin souls"..It was like replaying the incident all over...A friend calling up one night telling me that she was badly injured in an accident and within a few minutes a call saying that she was dead..It was way too sudden and I was too shocked to react...She was too young to die and I kept wishing that night that someone would call me the next day and would call it a joke and that we could laughter over it together...It never happened....
The tragedy is not death of the person but the death of something in you..When a person means alot to us, they become a part of us...So in their going away, we mourn not only for their departure but for the part in us that has gone away with them...Sometimes it takes so long for people to get over and accept the fact that they could never again come home to see their loved one's face, share a hug, hear their voice or even think about them without feeling the pain...The last moments we spent with them stand in perpetuum somewhere in us...
I remember vividly the time in Colombo when we were playing in the lawns making as much noise as possible and Gemunu uncle watching us with his wife and my parents, everyone laughing at our antics...and the last phone call Nalini made, with both of us giggling over some private joke and discussing about the colour of her prom dress...and the last song I sang to my great-gran the day before she left to the hospital and her smile...some pictures that were painted with a mixture of love,laughter,tears, sunshine, emotions that were too strong,some subtle..with so many things that we just cant describe but these pictures would be wtched in my heart forever,along with many memories....I dont know still what death is and I may not till I die...But all I know is, death is never really the end...In death, we all are born again..in someone's heart as a memory...like an old melody that still floats in the breeze, never to fade away completely....not truely there but always remembered...
Monday, June 27, 2005
Tamizh film-music tag
Being dead bored and a person with enough tamil film-music knowledge..here goes this post
Number of albums I own
Never bothered to count...Must be well beyond the 500 mark
First Album that I bought
Since my mom and uncle used to collect alot of cassettes(my uncle still does),there has always been a steady inflow..but my very own first album was "P.Susheela's hits"(I generally buy collections)
Last Album I bought(not including downloaded stuff)
”Kalakkal” by Smitha
Ofcourse my sis bought all the latest film songs like Anniyan,CM etc.
Currently listening to
“Snehidhane” from Alaipayuthey
Albums that I'd want to take with me if marooned on a deserted island(20 albums):
Gimme a computer with broadband….I’d run out of the 20 albums very fast..Atleast that’ll help me download songs …I love many a single song amidst the rest in the movie..One day I plan to take a list and compile them into volumes of my favorite songs….As for the 20(I have to answer this question) here is the quickie list..
P.Susheela’s greatest hits
SPB golden hits
Yesudas’s Classical Live Vol-7
Sudha Ragunathan’s “Tamil Golden Hits”
TMS-a tribute
Nayagan
Alaipayuthey
Kandukonden Kandukonden
Iruvar
Sirai Chaalai
Rythem
Mudhalvan
Kadhalan
Padayappa
Thenali
Bombay
Hey nee romba azhaga irukka
Kannathil Muthamitaal
Nerukku Ner
Vetri Vizhaa…
Favourite singers
Male:SPB, TMS ,PB Srinivas
Female:P.Susheela, Chitra
Duets: SPB-Chitra, TMS-P Susheela, UnniKrishnan-Harini
Songs that you are most likely to hear me sing or hum:
I am always known to burst into songs...From new hits to old tunes..herez a list of my favorites...I think I've left out many coz the songs change with moods...
"Nila kaakirathu"-Indra
"Kannalane"-Bombay
"Ennai pandhada pirandhavale"-Ullam Ketkume
"Yenge enathu kavithai" and "Kannamoochi yenada” -from Kandukondain Kandukondain
“Ennai koncham maatri” and “Ondra renda” from Kaaka Kaaka
"Senthoora poove"-16 vayathinile
"Naan sirithaal deepavali" and "Nee oru kaadal sangeetham"-Nayagan
"Andha sivagaami maganidam"-Patanathil bootham
“Raagangal 16” -Thillu Mullu
“Kuzhal oodum kannan” -Mella Thirandhathu Kathavu
“Maalai pozhuthin mayakathile” -P.Susheela’s hits(forgot the movie’s name though)
“Thedinen vanthathu” -Ooty Varai Uravu
“Inji idupazhaka” -Devar magan
These strike me now…I still have plenty to write but then again it would get really boring
Favorite Lyrics:
I love good lyrics and sadly these days the film songs have pathetic lyrics…Here are some of my all time favorites
Kaalangalil aval vasantham…by PB Srinivas..It is a great song…One of Kannadhasan’s best works
“Paal pol siripathil pillai
Pani pol anaipathil kanni
Kan pol valarpathil annai
Aval kavingyan aakinaal ennai”
Minnale nee vandhu ponadhen…May maadham
“Kanneeril thee valarthu naan kaathirukiren
Un kaal adi thadathil thaan poothirukkiren”
Maalai pozhuthin mayakathile…
“Avar maraven maraven endrar udane
marandhu vittaar thozhi”
Vellai pookal..Kannathil Muthamitaal
“Kodi keerthanamum kavi paadum paadalkalum
Oru mounam pol inbam tharumaa?”
Unnakenna melae nindrai…Simla Special
“Paal undu vaazhum pillai
Nool kondu aadum bommai
Nool enna undhan kayilla
Nee sollu nandhalaala”
Pani kaatre- Run
“Iruvarume thoongi vidalaam..silla jenmam thaandi ezhalaam
Kanavil naam thinamum sandhipom”
Idhu oru pon maalai pozhuthu…….
“Vaanam ennakoru bodhi maram
Naalum adhu oru seithi tharum
Oru naal ulagu neethi perum
Thiru naal viraivil thedivarum”
Kannukku mai azhagu…Pudhiya mugam
“Kannukku mai azhagu kavithaikku poi azhagu
Avaraikku poo azhagu avarukku naan azhagu”
Mazhai thuli…Sangamam
“Thanni ila meen azhutha karaikku oru kavalaiyum varuvathillai
ennakullae naan azhudha en kaneer thodaikavum yaaumillai”
Kadavul paathi mirugam paathi…Aalavanthaan
“Nadhakumaara Nandhakumaara
Mazhai neer sudaathu theriyaatha
Kannil vadikira kaneer thuli thaan
Ven neer thuli yenna arivaaya
Sutta mazhayum sudatha mazhaiyum ondraai kandavan nee thane
Kaneer mazhail thaneer mazhayai kulikka vaithavan nee thane”
I think ten should make a decent list…
So I should thank k7 for tagging me and I proceed to tag Sindhu and VJ
Number of albums I own
Never bothered to count...Must be well beyond the 500 mark
First Album that I bought
Since my mom and uncle used to collect alot of cassettes(my uncle still does),there has always been a steady inflow..but my very own first album was "P.Susheela's hits"(I generally buy collections)
Last Album I bought(not including downloaded stuff)
”Kalakkal” by Smitha
Ofcourse my sis bought all the latest film songs like Anniyan,CM etc.
Currently listening to
“Snehidhane” from Alaipayuthey
Albums that I'd want to take with me if marooned on a deserted island(20 albums):
Gimme a computer with broadband….I’d run out of the 20 albums very fast..Atleast that’ll help me download songs …I love many a single song amidst the rest in the movie..One day I plan to take a list and compile them into volumes of my favorite songs….As for the 20(I have to answer this question) here is the quickie list..
P.Susheela’s greatest hits
SPB golden hits
Yesudas’s Classical Live Vol-7
Sudha Ragunathan’s “Tamil Golden Hits”
TMS-a tribute
Nayagan
Alaipayuthey
Kandukonden Kandukonden
Iruvar
Sirai Chaalai
Rythem
Mudhalvan
Kadhalan
Padayappa
Thenali
Bombay
Hey nee romba azhaga irukka
Kannathil Muthamitaal
Nerukku Ner
Vetri Vizhaa…
Favourite singers
Male:SPB, TMS ,PB Srinivas
Female:P.Susheela, Chitra
Duets: SPB-Chitra, TMS-P Susheela, UnniKrishnan-Harini
Songs that you are most likely to hear me sing or hum:
I am always known to burst into songs...From new hits to old tunes..herez a list of my favorites...I think I've left out many coz the songs change with moods...
"Nila kaakirathu"-Indra
"Kannalane"-Bombay
"Ennai pandhada pirandhavale"-Ullam Ketkume
"Yenge enathu kavithai" and "Kannamoochi yenada” -from Kandukondain Kandukondain
“Ennai koncham maatri” and “Ondra renda” from Kaaka Kaaka
"Senthoora poove"-16 vayathinile
"Naan sirithaal deepavali" and "Nee oru kaadal sangeetham"-Nayagan
"Andha sivagaami maganidam"-Patanathil bootham
“Raagangal 16” -Thillu Mullu
“Kuzhal oodum kannan” -Mella Thirandhathu Kathavu
“Maalai pozhuthin mayakathile” -P.Susheela’s hits(forgot the movie’s name though)
“Thedinen vanthathu” -Ooty Varai Uravu
“Inji idupazhaka” -Devar magan
These strike me now…I still have plenty to write but then again it would get really boring
Favorite Lyrics:
I love good lyrics and sadly these days the film songs have pathetic lyrics…Here are some of my all time favorites
Kaalangalil aval vasantham…by PB Srinivas..It is a great song…One of Kannadhasan’s best works
“Paal pol siripathil pillai
Pani pol anaipathil kanni
Kan pol valarpathil annai
Aval kavingyan aakinaal ennai”
Minnale nee vandhu ponadhen…May maadham
“Kanneeril thee valarthu naan kaathirukiren
Un kaal adi thadathil thaan poothirukkiren”
Maalai pozhuthin mayakathile…
“Avar maraven maraven endrar udane
marandhu vittaar thozhi”
Vellai pookal..Kannathil Muthamitaal
“Kodi keerthanamum kavi paadum paadalkalum
Oru mounam pol inbam tharumaa?”
Unnakenna melae nindrai…Simla Special
“Paal undu vaazhum pillai
Nool kondu aadum bommai
Nool enna undhan kayilla
Nee sollu nandhalaala”
Pani kaatre- Run
“Iruvarume thoongi vidalaam..silla jenmam thaandi ezhalaam
Kanavil naam thinamum sandhipom”
Idhu oru pon maalai pozhuthu…….
“Vaanam ennakoru bodhi maram
Naalum adhu oru seithi tharum
Oru naal ulagu neethi perum
Thiru naal viraivil thedivarum”
Kannukku mai azhagu…Pudhiya mugam
“Kannukku mai azhagu kavithaikku poi azhagu
Avaraikku poo azhagu avarukku naan azhagu”
Mazhai thuli…Sangamam
“Thanni ila meen azhutha karaikku oru kavalaiyum varuvathillai
ennakullae naan azhudha en kaneer thodaikavum yaaumillai”
Kadavul paathi mirugam paathi…Aalavanthaan
“Nadhakumaara Nandhakumaara
Mazhai neer sudaathu theriyaatha
Kannil vadikira kaneer thuli thaan
Ven neer thuli yenna arivaaya
Sutta mazhayum sudatha mazhaiyum ondraai kandavan nee thane
Kaneer mazhail thaneer mazhayai kulikka vaithavan nee thane”
I think ten should make a decent list…
So I should thank k7 for tagging me and I proceed to tag Sindhu and VJ
Saturday, June 25, 2005
The "Know me" tag
I thought I had successfully evaded this topic..but then Sindhu has tagged me…
One particular acquaintance of mine called tagging “some jobless moron’s idea” but then, hey ain’t we all jobless as of now(I disagree with the ‘moron’ part though)..So here I go…
Three Names I go by:
Asha
Ash
CC...(never ask me the expansion!!!)
Three names I was give other than Asha:
Ranganayaki
Mrinalini
Charanya
Three screen names:
asha_sunil14
charanya_87
Mystic
Three physical things I like about myself:
Hmm…
My eyes(it is my best feature)
My nose(not too pointed not too stubby..just the right size)
My lips…(a bit small but I like it)
Three physical things I dont like about myself:
Goddamn this question….
My figure..(holidays have generously added some pounds)
My hair..(used to be long and thick but right now it is dry and dull)
My feet..(huh….this is a long story…)
Three parts of my heritage:
Trichy..(the place where I was born and have spent most of my life)
Chennai..(my frequent haunt…used to be my fantasy to stay there..but no longer)
Kumbakonam..(3/4ths of my ancestry traces back to Kumbakonam)
Three things that scare me:
Failure…(I’ve always been scared failure even as a kid…still am but not to that extent…I’ve never understood why I have this fear but this is something that has been my asset and liability)
Most exhibition rides..(like the giant wheel, disco chairs etc...I get very sick after the rides)
Toads and other slimy creatures…(eeks and yuck!!!!)
Three things I want in a relationship:
Love….( lots of it from both sides is more than enough but I have to give two more points)
An easy sharing of thoughts..(something I cannot do without)
Mutual respect…(this is very very essential)
Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to me:
Now don’t say I’m too ambitious coz I don’t really expect much..
Bold and well defined features…(includes charismatic eyes and….hey I better stop before I embarrass myself)
Smile…(with a good sense of humor too…my dream guy should be able to knock me off with his smile)
Hair-style..(note this down coz I feel that the right kinda hairstyle that suits the guy is very much a turn-on)
Three things I want to do badly right now:
Go for a long swim in the river(but sadly no water in Cauvery)
Finish cleaning my room(next to impossible)
Freak out in a party
Three places I want to go on a vacation:
All over Europe…
Hawaii
Australia
Three things to do before I die:
If only wishes came true
Write a best-seller
Go on a world tour
Buy and live in a villa in say France or Italy…..hmm…
Three of my everyday essentials:
My scribble pad
My computer
My bedside novel
Three things I am wearing right now:
A gold chain..(gifted by my great gran)
My T-shirt and baggy..(the T-shirt reads..”If you know what is in my mind..U wudnt be smiling” my cousin’s fav caption)
A large hairclip..(to hold back my hair in a bun)
Three reasons why I'm posting this:
Because Sindhu tagged me
Because my blog lacked my intro
Mainly because I’m jobless for the next 15 days….
Since I have no-one to tag now, I guess I must be the last one to write this embarrassing topic..And if you have read this..I congratulate you for being the most patient person on earth..Thank u..
One particular acquaintance of mine called tagging “some jobless moron’s idea” but then, hey ain’t we all jobless as of now(I disagree with the ‘moron’ part though)..So here I go…
Three Names I go by:
Asha
Ash
CC...(never ask me the expansion!!!)
Three names I was give other than Asha:
Ranganayaki
Mrinalini
Charanya
Three screen names:
asha_sunil14
charanya_87
Mystic
Three physical things I like about myself:
Hmm…
My eyes(it is my best feature)
My nose(not too pointed not too stubby..just the right size)
My lips…(a bit small but I like it)
Three physical things I dont like about myself:
Goddamn this question….
My figure..(holidays have generously added some pounds)
My hair..(used to be long and thick but right now it is dry and dull)
My feet..(huh….this is a long story…)
Three parts of my heritage:
Trichy..(the place where I was born and have spent most of my life)
Chennai..(my frequent haunt…used to be my fantasy to stay there..but no longer)
Kumbakonam..(3/4ths of my ancestry traces back to Kumbakonam)
Three things that scare me:
Failure…(I’ve always been scared failure even as a kid…still am but not to that extent…I’ve never understood why I have this fear but this is something that has been my asset and liability)
Most exhibition rides..(like the giant wheel, disco chairs etc...I get very sick after the rides)
Toads and other slimy creatures…(eeks and yuck!!!!)
Three things I want in a relationship:
Love….( lots of it from both sides is more than enough but I have to give two more points)
An easy sharing of thoughts..(something I cannot do without)
Mutual respect…(this is very very essential)
Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to me:
Now don’t say I’m too ambitious coz I don’t really expect much..
Bold and well defined features…(includes charismatic eyes and….hey I better stop before I embarrass myself)
Smile…(with a good sense of humor too…my dream guy should be able to knock me off with his smile)
Hair-style..(note this down coz I feel that the right kinda hairstyle that suits the guy is very much a turn-on)
Three things I want to do badly right now:
Go for a long swim in the river(but sadly no water in Cauvery)
Finish cleaning my room(next to impossible)
Freak out in a party
Three places I want to go on a vacation:
All over Europe…
Hawaii
Australia
Three things to do before I die:
If only wishes came true
Write a best-seller
Go on a world tour
Buy and live in a villa in say France or Italy…..hmm…
Three of my everyday essentials:
My scribble pad
My computer
My bedside novel
Three things I am wearing right now:
A gold chain..(gifted by my great gran)
My T-shirt and baggy..(the T-shirt reads..”If you know what is in my mind..U wudnt be smiling” my cousin’s fav caption)
A large hairclip..(to hold back my hair in a bun)
Three reasons why I'm posting this:
Because Sindhu tagged me
Because my blog lacked my intro
Mainly because I’m jobless for the next 15 days….
Since I have no-one to tag now, I guess I must be the last one to write this embarrassing topic..And if you have read this..I congratulate you for being the most patient person on earth..Thank u..
Monday, June 20, 2005
Peaceful-the effect
If you were wondering right now whether I am alluding to guitarist Prassana's album, I would answer a yes and a no to your unvoiced question..The album was definitely enchanting especially Culture of Silence and Peaceful-the effect. But then, if you are thinking that I'm going to go any deeper, think again..
Its been pretty long since I woke up in the morning so refreshed, with the wind whistling and painting numerous ripples in the nearby pool of water and the sun hidden behind the clouds with a coy smile.... wait! this is getting a bit too poetic...Not that today dawned literally more beautiful than the rest, but it is just that I woke up in a fantastic mood...I can owe it to the well-rested night after yesterday's endless activities or the successful completion of the painting I began two years ago or even to my sister's thoughtful gesture of massaging my broken leg last night (though it was very painful!).. I guess I'll just lie back typing this and not search for answers...
I’ve found myself humming the lyrics of the famous song “enge nimathi..?” (Where can I find peace…Give me a place to live there?) half-jokingly many a time when I am kinda stressed out…But this is one topic I had enough time to ponder on the past few days…I have always associated rest with peace-which has proved to be totally wrong…So hoping to set myself right, I embarked on the journey for the quest of the ultimate sources of peace…and here I am sharing my ideas and my findings..
I started to first de-stress myself…This was pretty tough for I had to do two really hard things…discover my inner-most feelings that trouble me and get over them…worse still..learn to accept most things that I found unpalatable…I got into a great deal of trouble because of this(not worth mentioning..nah!)..Not that I have accomplished these two tasks to the fullest, but I still gave a solid try…Life, instead of clearing, became more and more muddled…but then again, if life was to be functioning logically how dull it would be..Deciding that I was barking the wrong tree and being typically me..I quit thinking about this and it slowly slipped out of my mind…
It was quite some days later…one night rather…while returning from somewhere(I don’t remember where really)..traveling along the highway, with the wind in my hair, the melodious strains of “Kakka Kakka” songs in the background and my sis cuddled against me in the car that I did start thinking about it again…for at that moment I felt very content(sleepy too) and peaceful…
Peace, as most of us think, is not a commodity…It cannot be bought or brought upon no matter how much we attempt to…It is something that is found in abundance, even in these days, and all we have to do is just to look around just to find that it has already found us…Where we find peace varies from person to person, time to time……
Then I did start listing out the times when I really felt peaceful…..the list was surprising very very long(and to imagine that I hadn’t known that before)..It oscillated between low-key stuff like family dinners, playing with my sister, reading a nice book, hanging out in the veranda after lunch break gossiping, sipping a glass of cold juice after a sports day practice session, writing a poem, laying in a hot afternoon or just gazing outside the window to really conspicuous activities like my class seminars, cultural meets, expensive vacations(ref to Sigiriya in my SL trip)…That was truly surprising coz I never knew that I had thoroughly enjoyed and relished so many moments in the past 18 years…
So..for all those people there, who are really stressed out, in tears, seeking release and relief , I say, don’t wait to remove your stress as it had to be done whenever you feel stressed…. Just drop all what you are doing for a couple of seconds…close your eyes…think of a loved one’s smile and bring one on your lips…hum your favorite tune and feel good….May peace descend in all our lives as subtle and as beautiful as the spring-time breeze or the gentle swish of the dove’s wings…
Its been pretty long since I woke up in the morning so refreshed, with the wind whistling and painting numerous ripples in the nearby pool of water and the sun hidden behind the clouds with a coy smile.... wait! this is getting a bit too poetic...Not that today dawned literally more beautiful than the rest, but it is just that I woke up in a fantastic mood...I can owe it to the well-rested night after yesterday's endless activities or the successful completion of the painting I began two years ago or even to my sister's thoughtful gesture of massaging my broken leg last night (though it was very painful!).. I guess I'll just lie back typing this and not search for answers...
I’ve found myself humming the lyrics of the famous song “enge nimathi..?” (Where can I find peace…Give me a place to live there?) half-jokingly many a time when I am kinda stressed out…But this is one topic I had enough time to ponder on the past few days…I have always associated rest with peace-which has proved to be totally wrong…So hoping to set myself right, I embarked on the journey for the quest of the ultimate sources of peace…and here I am sharing my ideas and my findings..
I started to first de-stress myself…This was pretty tough for I had to do two really hard things…discover my inner-most feelings that trouble me and get over them…worse still..learn to accept most things that I found unpalatable…I got into a great deal of trouble because of this(not worth mentioning..nah!)..Not that I have accomplished these two tasks to the fullest, but I still gave a solid try…Life, instead of clearing, became more and more muddled…but then again, if life was to be functioning logically how dull it would be..Deciding that I was barking the wrong tree and being typically me..I quit thinking about this and it slowly slipped out of my mind…
It was quite some days later…one night rather…while returning from somewhere(I don’t remember where really)..traveling along the highway, with the wind in my hair, the melodious strains of “Kakka Kakka” songs in the background and my sis cuddled against me in the car that I did start thinking about it again…for at that moment I felt very content(sleepy too) and peaceful…
Peace, as most of us think, is not a commodity…It cannot be bought or brought upon no matter how much we attempt to…It is something that is found in abundance, even in these days, and all we have to do is just to look around just to find that it has already found us…Where we find peace varies from person to person, time to time……
Then I did start listing out the times when I really felt peaceful…..the list was surprising very very long(and to imagine that I hadn’t known that before)..It oscillated between low-key stuff like family dinners, playing with my sister, reading a nice book, hanging out in the veranda after lunch break gossiping, sipping a glass of cold juice after a sports day practice session, writing a poem, laying in a hot afternoon or just gazing outside the window to really conspicuous activities like my class seminars, cultural meets, expensive vacations(ref to Sigiriya in my SL trip)…That was truly surprising coz I never knew that I had thoroughly enjoyed and relished so many moments in the past 18 years…
So..for all those people there, who are really stressed out, in tears, seeking release and relief , I say, don’t wait to remove your stress as it had to be done whenever you feel stressed…. Just drop all what you are doing for a couple of seconds…close your eyes…think of a loved one’s smile and bring one on your lips…hum your favorite tune and feel good….May peace descend in all our lives as subtle and as beautiful as the spring-time breeze or the gentle swish of the dove’s wings…
Saturday, June 18, 2005
A tale of tales...
A tale of tales…This is something I’ve always been wanting to write on but never had the push till I was tagged…When I kinda wonder where to start, this little mental image pops up...Comfortable and cozy in my great grandma’s lap, listening with rapt attention to her wonderful narration of mythology, her expressive voice drawing me into the realms of strange kingdoms, wars,princes and princesses…She was my “mobile de bibliotheque”(pardon my French!) a person who inspired me to read, sing and basically live life to the fullest. Born with a passion for reading (not self-praise really!),it became an obsession because of my dad. He was an avid reader who was rarely seen without a book by his bed-side. He was a great story-teller and used to tuck me in to sleep with his ever fascinating stories. I used to wonder as a kid if he’d ever run out of stories..Much to my glee,he never did, still never does but right now he has turned to non-fiction and philosophy.
So I did grow up amidst books. I was often found, as a kid, lost in some fairy tale probably trying to ward off the villains or dance at the wedding of the princesses. Being an obsessive reader, I finished the entire Enid Blyton collection before my fifth standard. I had inherited (?!!) so many books from my mom and dad..Among them, my favorites were a collection of Ukrainian folk tales, some classics like Alice in wonderland, Treasure Island, a set of Tinkle’s mythology series and a sci-fi book called “2000 miles under”. It was some where at that point when I wrote my first story “Ivan and his horse”…I was inspired by this Ukrainian folk character Ivan who of course starred in my first story…
Then there was this period in which I read classics non-stop. That was because of my teacher Mrs.Stephan who introduced the concept of writing reviews of the books we read. Classics certainly gave me more to comment on. First the abridged versions and much later the unabridged versions occupied my cluttered book shelves. I’ve still not got over my liking for classics but hey isn’t that what classics are meant for?
Stepping into adolescence, I started with thrillers, romances and whodunits like Agatha Criste, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and yeah, Mills and Boons did enter my life…Pretty much the same fairy tale structure, same story line but different characters was what I found in most of my M&Bs…I’ve gotta couple of them with me still but the books really worth mentioning are “To marry a stranger” and “Rings of fire”..These stood apart from the proto-type M&Bs with an excellent and sensible story line and fantastic language. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t pay homage to the “queen of whodunits” Agatha Criste…I’ve never put down any of her books before I finished her last page even if it meant a great dose of scolding from my mom…
I often tried to imitate the most famous detective Sherlock Holmes and despite of succeeding very rarely, I still never gave up the idea of becoming his successor..Laugh if you want to but hey, he was one guy whom I never could accept as a fictional character..I guess Arthur Conan Doyle must have been really upset having Holmes cloud his extensive historical works(I’ve tried two books) but Holmes-Watson team surely rules!!!!…I relish narrating these to my sister as her bed-time story..
I’ve surfed through virtually most of the famous works of Jeffrey Archer, Danielle Steel, Wilbur Smith, Sidney Sheldon, Michael Crichton, John Denver, Mary Higgins Clarke, Edgar Allan Poe and the rest…Sidney Sheldon dominated my reading time for a year till I got absolutely frustrated with his style of writing that I switched on to Jayne Ann Krentz…Now she is not so popular but her books are basically on corporate romances mainly and I loved them…
J.K Rowling brought in her magical Harry Potter Series to which I was introduced(rather forced to read) by my cousin…I did enjoy her first three books immensely but then the charm faded..I’ve got a few friends who do go bananas over HP(Daniel Radcliff does play a role in their craze) who’ve booked for their copies of the sixth book about 2 months ago…I say the magic was long lost…
My current pick is P.G.Wodehouse, his not-too-subtle English humor and his comical virtual world..It often made me yearn to be one of his characters whose principal worry was to choose dresses, think about the “annual fat pig contest”, make and break up engagements, have dinner parties and yeah, such trivial but still entertaining prospects…
H.H Munro also has this great sense of English humor though his inclines to a more satirical and subtle humour..I strongly recommend these two writers for a perfect holiday light-reading…
I’ve also had this fascination for serial murder stories(still do) and I’ve read so many of them(most of them really stupid) of which my favs are “Eyes” ,”Preying Mantis”,” The Vanishing Act” and “Somewhere Someplace”…
I did try my hand (or eyes rather) on non-fiction too…This includes a great deal of biographies, auto-biographies and a few books on philosophy…
Well now I think it’s time for me to sum up
1. Books I own…..I really don’t know as I’ve just got too many
2. Books I like……Same here..Too many to name a few
3.Books I recently bought…..Wilbur Smith’s “River God”, Crichton’s “Congo”, James Hadly Chase’s “You find him, I’ll fix him”,Saki’s collection of short stories, “Anthology of Crime and Murders”, “World’s best 500 short stories” to name a few
4. Books I read recently…..Now that I am sitting vetti, I’ve been reading too many books to remember
I really couldn’t give an indepth write-up because I’d never be able to finish it…
Now and then, you’d still find me engrossed in an Enid Blyton, some fairy tale or an Wodehouse ..Well that’s my idea of a perfect escape from reality…
So I did grow up amidst books. I was often found, as a kid, lost in some fairy tale probably trying to ward off the villains or dance at the wedding of the princesses. Being an obsessive reader, I finished the entire Enid Blyton collection before my fifth standard. I had inherited (?!!) so many books from my mom and dad..Among them, my favorites were a collection of Ukrainian folk tales, some classics like Alice in wonderland, Treasure Island, a set of Tinkle’s mythology series and a sci-fi book called “2000 miles under”. It was some where at that point when I wrote my first story “Ivan and his horse”…I was inspired by this Ukrainian folk character Ivan who of course starred in my first story…
Then there was this period in which I read classics non-stop. That was because of my teacher Mrs.Stephan who introduced the concept of writing reviews of the books we read. Classics certainly gave me more to comment on. First the abridged versions and much later the unabridged versions occupied my cluttered book shelves. I’ve still not got over my liking for classics but hey isn’t that what classics are meant for?
Stepping into adolescence, I started with thrillers, romances and whodunits like Agatha Criste, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and yeah, Mills and Boons did enter my life…Pretty much the same fairy tale structure, same story line but different characters was what I found in most of my M&Bs…I’ve gotta couple of them with me still but the books really worth mentioning are “To marry a stranger” and “Rings of fire”..These stood apart from the proto-type M&Bs with an excellent and sensible story line and fantastic language. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t pay homage to the “queen of whodunits” Agatha Criste…I’ve never put down any of her books before I finished her last page even if it meant a great dose of scolding from my mom…
I often tried to imitate the most famous detective Sherlock Holmes and despite of succeeding very rarely, I still never gave up the idea of becoming his successor..Laugh if you want to but hey, he was one guy whom I never could accept as a fictional character..I guess Arthur Conan Doyle must have been really upset having Holmes cloud his extensive historical works(I’ve tried two books) but Holmes-Watson team surely rules!!!!…I relish narrating these to my sister as her bed-time story..
I’ve surfed through virtually most of the famous works of Jeffrey Archer, Danielle Steel, Wilbur Smith, Sidney Sheldon, Michael Crichton, John Denver, Mary Higgins Clarke, Edgar Allan Poe and the rest…Sidney Sheldon dominated my reading time for a year till I got absolutely frustrated with his style of writing that I switched on to Jayne Ann Krentz…Now she is not so popular but her books are basically on corporate romances mainly and I loved them…
J.K Rowling brought in her magical Harry Potter Series to which I was introduced(rather forced to read) by my cousin…I did enjoy her first three books immensely but then the charm faded..I’ve got a few friends who do go bananas over HP(Daniel Radcliff does play a role in their craze) who’ve booked for their copies of the sixth book about 2 months ago…I say the magic was long lost…
My current pick is P.G.Wodehouse, his not-too-subtle English humor and his comical virtual world..It often made me yearn to be one of his characters whose principal worry was to choose dresses, think about the “annual fat pig contest”, make and break up engagements, have dinner parties and yeah, such trivial but still entertaining prospects…
H.H Munro also has this great sense of English humor though his inclines to a more satirical and subtle humour..I strongly recommend these two writers for a perfect holiday light-reading…
I’ve also had this fascination for serial murder stories(still do) and I’ve read so many of them(most of them really stupid) of which my favs are “Eyes” ,”Preying Mantis”,” The Vanishing Act” and “Somewhere Someplace”…
I did try my hand (or eyes rather) on non-fiction too…This includes a great deal of biographies, auto-biographies and a few books on philosophy…
Well now I think it’s time for me to sum up
1. Books I own…..I really don’t know as I’ve just got too many
2. Books I like……Same here..Too many to name a few
3.Books I recently bought…..Wilbur Smith’s “River God”, Crichton’s “Congo”, James Hadly Chase’s “You find him, I’ll fix him”,Saki’s collection of short stories, “Anthology of Crime and Murders”, “World’s best 500 short stories” to name a few
4. Books I read recently…..Now that I am sitting vetti, I’ve been reading too many books to remember
I really couldn’t give an indepth write-up because I’d never be able to finish it…
Now and then, you’d still find me engrossed in an Enid Blyton, some fairy tale or an Wodehouse ..Well that’s my idea of a perfect escape from reality…
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Summer in Srilanka
So it feels great to be back blogging again...esp after a long vacation...And to blog about the vacation feels really nice....Its like gettin to feel the hot sun turning u really brown in Kaluthara or getting lost in the crowds of Kandy on Vesak or just trying to eat hoppers for breakfast all over again......and hey if you still havent gotta clue, I'd been to Srilanka...
Despite many warnings and good natured leg-pulling from most of my friends about LTTE and Tsunami, I did spend a great holiday in Ceylon...Here is a really interesting anecdote to get started with...Did any of you know that the word "Serendipity"(the discovery of beauty by accident or coincidence) is coined from the word "Seredip" which was another name for Srilanka by the ancient seafaring Greeks?I certainly didnt(my ignorance in etimology) and this piece of info that I came across in a magazine and the lovely landscapes in Kanathil Muthamitaal raised my expections about Srilanka...
It was 7:30AM, 22nd May and I was in the Trichy airport to board the flight in about an hour and it just struck me that I'm actually going to an international destination...And when such a thought did dawn in my mind, I got into the "feel-good" factor and when I stretched out my limbs as a sign of total relaxation , I stubbed my toe....The bleeding toe was just the beginning of the very long day that lay ahead....But then I think I can skip the part of me getting extremely sick in the flight, the bumpy plane ride due to the rain clouds and me falling into an uneasy sleep as soon as getting into the vehicle outside the airport....When I did wake up I felt like asking the question "where am I?" but then half scared that my parents would accuse me of watching too many dumb films in the hols, I forced my tired eyes to scan the place....It was the elephant orphange at Pinnawala...Quickly recovering and regaining my spirits, I joined my family to take a look of the baby elephants being fed.....There was nothing unusual but for the large feeding bottles, several litres of milk , tonnes of sugarcane and a multitude of elephants....This was followed by their bathing time(eat and then bathe....how I'd love to do that....).It was really sweet to watch the elephants frolic in the water..For people who plan to spend some more time in Pinnawala consider the option of staying in "Elephant Park Hotel" which faces the river...It was a great place filled with tourists....I resumed sleeping in the van till we reached Kandy...It was nearly 4pm when we reached Hotel Topaz.....Hotel Topaz , I must say, is probably one of the best places to stay in Kandy.....Nearer to the town, with a really cool view and great facilities, it is undoubtly a very comfy place to be in..After struggling with a really weird lunch(?!), we went to the "tooth relic temple”…The temple, in all aspects(expect ofcourse cleanliness) reminded me of Kerala….It was the day before Vesak(Buddha’s bday) and the temple was being decorated for the same…The tooth relic was by itself very unique and beautiful. It was being adorned with 7million dollors worth jewels(as grand as any of our temples)..Then after a walk downtown (it was deserted at 8pm owing to the festival the next day) and dinner, we hit the bed….
The next day I was feeling much better….I started the day with a leisurely swim in the hotel’s pool followed by a hearty breakfast…We visited the botanical gardens in Kandy..It was more or less like Ooty expect it being definitely more cleaner (trust me, I’d keep repeating this)..We were supposed to attend the Vesak procession the evening…So after some shopping for “bhakets”(lanterns) and having a short nap, we just managed to catch a glimpse of the procession…The bhakets were coloured paper lanterns of various shapes and sizes and were throughout the town along with the multicoloured Buddhist banners(I incidentally wore a top with the same colours)..After a visit to a Buddhist temple on a mountain top which had a very large Buddha statue, we enjoyed 2 hours of the cultural show organized in honour of Vesak…Then we decided to take a walk around the town(it being very small)..So we started from the hill top Kandy and then walked around the lake and the temple…This task took nearly 4 hours as the entire Srilankan population seemed to have landed in Kandy that day..The temple esp was so crowded..There was festival stalls and bhaket competition everywhere..This bhaket competition impressed me becoz it involved only youngsters…Their creativity, originality and the multitude of stalls really livened the occasion..My trip was just getting more interesting..
Dambulla caves were at the top of our agenda on the third day….Dambulla was a fortress cum temple cum gallery…It had a collection of really exquisite roof paintings and Buddha statues that really compensated for the long trek and the noisy crowd…It was certainly less cleaner than most other places we saw(there I go again)...After a short stop in a spice garden, we made it to Sigiriya…the place where nature,art and culture meets(so proclaim the SL tourism boards).
In Sigiriya, we stayed at Sigiriya village..This was by no means any comparison to an Asian village(no sir!)….It was set up on the lines of a posh American country resort with artificial ponds and cottages...The cottages though very simple,were definitely elegant and really comfortable...The place Sigiriya was very picturesque with a lot of greenery……The ancient fort and the excavation sites were indeed breathtaking and I guess I enjoyed Sigiriya the most,not only for its scenic value but also for the hotel’s emerald pool and the climate…I could go on about Sigiriya but then I have to move on..
The 7 hour journey from Sigiriya to Kaluthara was probably the most tiresome thing but then the short breaks inbetween at the Sigiriya crafts village and a small wayside inn made it a bit lighter. Reaching Hotel Villa Ocean View at 4pm on the fourth day, we had a light tea and then decided to check out its famous seaside pool….This large pool lay very near the sea and we had a great swim in the sunset..That would probably stand out really long in my memory…The next morn we had a small tour of the town which was pretty small again and left for Colombo…
Colombo was a mixture of the old and the new…Its colonial buildings, magnificent hotels,malls and the beach were really delightful..The Colombo city tour which included a visit to the museum,the old and new parliament houses, embassy areas, beach and the Buddha temple was short but very interesting..The zoological garden in Colombo was a pale shadow of Vandaloor(pathetic is the rite word)..The remaining days in Colombo were spent in the house of our friend(Mr.Gemunu and his family), shopping and visiting other friends..The last day is worth mentioning becoz we kids(me too) got to watch the movie “Lion King 1 and a half” which was downright hilarious with a huge carton of pizza and coke…..Well it did feel a bit sad leaving Srilanka despite the lousy food in all places but Colombo, the unpredictable weather and most of all the enormous differences of entry fee to any place between Srilankans and non-Srilankans(no kidding..in Sigiriya it was Rs.50 for SL and Rs.2000 for non SL…get what I mean)….Though we may encounter many a similarity between SL and India…there are always enough differences to make up for it….
The architecture, the fresco paintings, the cuisine, the people, the crafts and the ethnic aura make Srilanka , “the teardrop of the Indian ocean” stand apart from the rest of the world….Ayubowan….
Despite many warnings and good natured leg-pulling from most of my friends about LTTE and Tsunami, I did spend a great holiday in Ceylon...Here is a really interesting anecdote to get started with...Did any of you know that the word "Serendipity"(the discovery of beauty by accident or coincidence) is coined from the word "Seredip" which was another name for Srilanka by the ancient seafaring Greeks?I certainly didnt(my ignorance in etimology) and this piece of info that I came across in a magazine and the lovely landscapes in Kanathil Muthamitaal raised my expections about Srilanka...
It was 7:30AM, 22nd May and I was in the Trichy airport to board the flight in about an hour and it just struck me that I'm actually going to an international destination...And when such a thought did dawn in my mind, I got into the "feel-good" factor and when I stretched out my limbs as a sign of total relaxation , I stubbed my toe....The bleeding toe was just the beginning of the very long day that lay ahead....But then I think I can skip the part of me getting extremely sick in the flight, the bumpy plane ride due to the rain clouds and me falling into an uneasy sleep as soon as getting into the vehicle outside the airport....When I did wake up I felt like asking the question "where am I?" but then half scared that my parents would accuse me of watching too many dumb films in the hols, I forced my tired eyes to scan the place....It was the elephant orphange at Pinnawala...Quickly recovering and regaining my spirits, I joined my family to take a look of the baby elephants being fed.....There was nothing unusual but for the large feeding bottles, several litres of milk , tonnes of sugarcane and a multitude of elephants....This was followed by their bathing time(eat and then bathe....how I'd love to do that....).It was really sweet to watch the elephants frolic in the water..For people who plan to spend some more time in Pinnawala consider the option of staying in "Elephant Park Hotel" which faces the river...It was a great place filled with tourists....I resumed sleeping in the van till we reached Kandy...It was nearly 4pm when we reached Hotel Topaz.....Hotel Topaz , I must say, is probably one of the best places to stay in Kandy.....Nearer to the town, with a really cool view and great facilities, it is undoubtly a very comfy place to be in..After struggling with a really weird lunch(?!), we went to the "tooth relic temple”…The temple, in all aspects(expect ofcourse cleanliness) reminded me of Kerala….It was the day before Vesak(Buddha’s bday) and the temple was being decorated for the same…The tooth relic was by itself very unique and beautiful. It was being adorned with 7million dollors worth jewels(as grand as any of our temples)..Then after a walk downtown (it was deserted at 8pm owing to the festival the next day) and dinner, we hit the bed….
The next day I was feeling much better….I started the day with a leisurely swim in the hotel’s pool followed by a hearty breakfast…We visited the botanical gardens in Kandy..It was more or less like Ooty expect it being definitely more cleaner (trust me, I’d keep repeating this)..We were supposed to attend the Vesak procession the evening…So after some shopping for “bhakets”(lanterns) and having a short nap, we just managed to catch a glimpse of the procession…The bhakets were coloured paper lanterns of various shapes and sizes and were throughout the town along with the multicoloured Buddhist banners(I incidentally wore a top with the same colours)..After a visit to a Buddhist temple on a mountain top which had a very large Buddha statue, we enjoyed 2 hours of the cultural show organized in honour of Vesak…Then we decided to take a walk around the town(it being very small)..So we started from the hill top Kandy and then walked around the lake and the temple…This task took nearly 4 hours as the entire Srilankan population seemed to have landed in Kandy that day..The temple esp was so crowded..There was festival stalls and bhaket competition everywhere..This bhaket competition impressed me becoz it involved only youngsters…Their creativity, originality and the multitude of stalls really livened the occasion..My trip was just getting more interesting..
Dambulla caves were at the top of our agenda on the third day….Dambulla was a fortress cum temple cum gallery…It had a collection of really exquisite roof paintings and Buddha statues that really compensated for the long trek and the noisy crowd…It was certainly less cleaner than most other places we saw(there I go again)...After a short stop in a spice garden, we made it to Sigiriya…the place where nature,art and culture meets(so proclaim the SL tourism boards).
In Sigiriya, we stayed at Sigiriya village..This was by no means any comparison to an Asian village(no sir!)….It was set up on the lines of a posh American country resort with artificial ponds and cottages...The cottages though very simple,were definitely elegant and really comfortable...The place Sigiriya was very picturesque with a lot of greenery……The ancient fort and the excavation sites were indeed breathtaking and I guess I enjoyed Sigiriya the most,not only for its scenic value but also for the hotel’s emerald pool and the climate…I could go on about Sigiriya but then I have to move on..
The 7 hour journey from Sigiriya to Kaluthara was probably the most tiresome thing but then the short breaks inbetween at the Sigiriya crafts village and a small wayside inn made it a bit lighter. Reaching Hotel Villa Ocean View at 4pm on the fourth day, we had a light tea and then decided to check out its famous seaside pool….This large pool lay very near the sea and we had a great swim in the sunset..That would probably stand out really long in my memory…The next morn we had a small tour of the town which was pretty small again and left for Colombo…
Colombo was a mixture of the old and the new…Its colonial buildings, magnificent hotels,malls and the beach were really delightful..The Colombo city tour which included a visit to the museum,the old and new parliament houses, embassy areas, beach and the Buddha temple was short but very interesting..The zoological garden in Colombo was a pale shadow of Vandaloor(pathetic is the rite word)..The remaining days in Colombo were spent in the house of our friend(Mr.Gemunu and his family), shopping and visiting other friends..The last day is worth mentioning becoz we kids(me too) got to watch the movie “Lion King 1 and a half” which was downright hilarious with a huge carton of pizza and coke…..Well it did feel a bit sad leaving Srilanka despite the lousy food in all places but Colombo, the unpredictable weather and most of all the enormous differences of entry fee to any place between Srilankans and non-Srilankans(no kidding..in Sigiriya it was Rs.50 for SL and Rs.2000 for non SL…get what I mean)….Though we may encounter many a similarity between SL and India…there are always enough differences to make up for it….
The architecture, the fresco paintings, the cuisine, the people, the crafts and the ethnic aura make Srilanka , “the teardrop of the Indian ocean” stand apart from the rest of the world….Ayubowan….
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