All the times
...that I've been low and wanting a strong hand to push me up...
... that I thought men were bastards and wanted reinforcement...
... that I have wanted to hopelessly giggle on absolutely nothing and wanted some more to add on to the gigglathon...
... I just had to say 'I'm feeling low' to get a tirade of 'what happened?' and company coming home with chocolates...
... I've been sick and needed someone by the bed..
... I've wanted someone to reinforce my faith in life
...When boys and men seemed an absolute bizarre species and I needed proof to understand God ain't bonkers
...When I just wanted to know I'm nice, i'm good company and I don't need to have a perfect figure or be hot or look and sound dumb to get approval
...When my intelligence needed to be lauded
when I needed to know that there are people who still cared and shared
You all were there for me my lovely dear friends! You girls absolutely ROCK!!! I wouldn't be me if not for all you've been to me!!! :D
To all my dear darlings in class(Anu, Poonsie, Ahu, Nan, Shab, Ums, Gypsy, Susie, Rinks, Kavithey and not to forget the Mata ji), Prat(I know!), vans,paddu,Chandra, seniors, juniors, Ham, Rumsie, bus mates, office ppl, Preethi, blog mates, Orkut mates, school pals, my two dearest Sangs and Swe, cousins, aunts, my loving mom, etc etc etc!!!
U help me stay alive! :D
GIRL POWER RULES!!! :D
July 22, 2007
Why should we read Harry Potter?
NO SPOILERS AHEAD!
With the world frenetically devouring the final installment of the Harry Potter series, many critics have questioned the literary value of the books and in fact, expressed their fear that the 'quality of reading', especially for adult readers is steadily on the decline!
Literary critics have, as we all know, always been partial to serious plots and writing of a quality that we mere readers most often find very 'heavy'. Bombastic language, meandering lengthy dialogues, war of words and a number of literary devices are employed by in those 'appreciated books' that more often leave you confused with what actually is the story about rather than provide wholesome reading!
Not stealing the credit from the classics or any of the above mentioned books, what one's trying to convey is that literary critics needn't judge a book only by the kind of words used or the high purpose of the book or moral it conveys but by the ultimate feeling with which it leaves a person.
Books, like music appeals only when it is simple, straight from the heart and has a truth and honesty about it! I have found many books that have been lauded by critics, extremely boring, prosaic, didactic and even not worth a single reading! While 'The Scarlett Letter' by Hawthorne could not grip me for more than 5 pages, a run-of-the-mill chick-lit book called 'The Real Thing' would not let me put it down!
Harry Potter has been one series that has, even from a literary perspective, exceptional quality! The writing is simple, the characters-extremely everyday people(muggles or otherwise!) and situations that can be related to the real world! The depth of characterization, the subtle internal struggles between the good and evil in everyones' heart, the various shades of emotions, expressions and thought have had no better outlet than through the words ofJ.K.Rowling. One great thing about her words is that it is unpretentious and clear.
To create a magical world co-existing with the real one, weaving both together in such a way that they fuse when necessary and remain parted at other times is no mean task! What Tolkien did was to create a whole new 'Middle Earth'. It fascinated me- his imagination. But after numerous tries of reading and re-reading, I always tend to stop after a point. J.K.Rowling got the trick right- she made sure we remember the world she created by making it as real and as magical as possible at the same time!
The characters- from loyal, love-craving Harry, sarcastic attention-seeking Ron, brainy steadfast Hermione, happy go-lucky Fred and George, the wise Dumbledore, loving Hagrid, kind Weasleys, brave Ginny, brave yet shy Neville, eccentric Luna, the courageous and caring Lupin, Tonks, Sirius and others on one hand contrasted with the embodiment of evil-Voldemort and all his Death Eaters and their families together, subtly help us learn how to be and how not to be! That we are what we choose to be, could never have been explained in a better and more unconscious way than how Rowling has chosen to do!
In every book, there's something new to learn-not only about the plot but also about the spirit of living itself! What Enid Blyton, L.M.Montgomery, Charles Dickens, Jean Webster, Mark Twain and other children's writers created is what Rowling has also sought and brilliantly achieved! The only reason why people still go back to their 'Faraway Tree' and 'Oliver Twist' is because it has a never-ending appeal. It infuses a hope and faith in life; that all is not lost in this big bad world. There's love, loyalty, brotherhood, sacrifice and truth to conquer even the deepest rooted evil! Harry Potter teaches us that!
For all those who say that 'The Boy who lived' will be forgotten from the world soon after and will maybe just remain a marketing logo, think again!
The truth is, we all are kids within. And once in a while, we need to remind ourselves that! Else, the adult world will ensnare us in its many vicious traps and make us forget that it's not about money and power but it's only truth and love!
P.S.: This is my 200th Blog post! :)
Here's wishing me and my blog and my writing a long long life together!!!
Cheers!
With the world frenetically devouring the final installment of the Harry Potter series, many critics have questioned the literary value of the books and in fact, expressed their fear that the 'quality of reading', especially for adult readers is steadily on the decline!
Literary critics have, as we all know, always been partial to serious plots and writing of a quality that we mere readers most often find very 'heavy'. Bombastic language, meandering lengthy dialogues, war of words and a number of literary devices are employed by in those 'appreciated books' that more often leave you confused with what actually is the story about rather than provide wholesome reading!
Not stealing the credit from the classics or any of the above mentioned books, what one's trying to convey is that literary critics needn't judge a book only by the kind of words used or the high purpose of the book or moral it conveys but by the ultimate feeling with which it leaves a person.
Books, like music appeals only when it is simple, straight from the heart and has a truth and honesty about it! I have found many books that have been lauded by critics, extremely boring, prosaic, didactic and even not worth a single reading! While 'The Scarlett Letter' by Hawthorne could not grip me for more than 5 pages, a run-of-the-mill chick-lit book called 'The Real Thing' would not let me put it down!
Harry Potter has been one series that has, even from a literary perspective, exceptional quality! The writing is simple, the characters-extremely everyday people(muggles or otherwise!) and situations that can be related to the real world! The depth of characterization, the subtle internal struggles between the good and evil in everyones' heart, the various shades of emotions, expressions and thought have had no better outlet than through the words ofJ.K.Rowling. One great thing about her words is that it is unpretentious and clear.
To create a magical world co-existing with the real one, weaving both together in such a way that they fuse when necessary and remain parted at other times is no mean task! What Tolkien did was to create a whole new 'Middle Earth'. It fascinated me- his imagination. But after numerous tries of reading and re-reading, I always tend to stop after a point. J.K.Rowling got the trick right- she made sure we remember the world she created by making it as real and as magical as possible at the same time!
The characters- from loyal, love-craving Harry, sarcastic attention-seeking Ron, brainy steadfast Hermione, happy go-lucky Fred and George, the wise Dumbledore, loving Hagrid, kind Weasleys, brave Ginny, brave yet shy Neville, eccentric Luna, the courageous and caring Lupin, Tonks, Sirius and others on one hand contrasted with the embodiment of evil-Voldemort and all his Death Eaters and their families together, subtly help us learn how to be and how not to be! That we are what we choose to be, could never have been explained in a better and more unconscious way than how Rowling has chosen to do!
In every book, there's something new to learn-not only about the plot but also about the spirit of living itself! What Enid Blyton, L.M.Montgomery, Charles Dickens, Jean Webster, Mark Twain and other children's writers created is what Rowling has also sought and brilliantly achieved! The only reason why people still go back to their 'Faraway Tree' and 'Oliver Twist' is because it has a never-ending appeal. It infuses a hope and faith in life; that all is not lost in this big bad world. There's love, loyalty, brotherhood, sacrifice and truth to conquer even the deepest rooted evil! Harry Potter teaches us that!
For all those who say that 'The Boy who lived' will be forgotten from the world soon after and will maybe just remain a marketing logo, think again!
The truth is, we all are kids within. And once in a while, we need to remind ourselves that! Else, the adult world will ensnare us in its many vicious traps and make us forget that it's not about money and power but it's only truth and love!
P.S.: This is my 200th Blog post! :)
Here's wishing me and my blog and my writing a long long life together!!!
Cheers!
July 21, 2007
AN ALMOST PERFECT DAY :D
It all started with me getting up in the wee hours of the morning(around 4:20) and getting ready- full bath and all!
Fully excited and as hyper as I ever could have got, i went off to Crosswords and grabbed my copy of Potter!
Wanted to stay back till Anu and Hamsini had got their copies... started reading. A Jaya Tv journo asked me to talk for a minute abt the book. i was desperate to read it. I refused initially.. then thinking about how, 2 years down the lane, I might be requesting someone to give me a one-minute opinion and would be really hurt if refused, I obliged and quickly spoke all I could!!!(I was teased to death man!!! :P I declared "i've lived with Harry all along' in my excitement and MY GOD! Everyone from my 12 year old cousin to my 27 year old uncle to my 55 year old neighbour found it hilarious and ragged me to no end with it! And they sniggered! I was only meaning it in the innocent way! :( )
Mom does all she could to publisice my TV appearance! :D I don't proptest nor encourage! I know neither is going to have any effect on her! She's as headstrong as I am! :P
Rush back home to show the copy of HP to sis before she leaves for school. Read from 7:30 am to 6 pm without a break(except one minute loo breaks and a 10 minute lunch break). Finish the book... Laugh, cry, hug the book! :D
It feels SO good! :)
I LOVE the book! I won't say anything more... I HATE to be a spoilesport! :) May the sheer delight of finding things out stay with every reader! :)
AWESOME FINALE! It COULDN'T have been any better! :)
Learn that results are out. Topped the class this sem too though my marks make me cringe in my seat! My al-time low and subjects where I was expecting a 95 fecthed me mere 70s while ppl outshone me in those! :( Was pretty upset...but yeah.. u can't ask for perfection can you?
Go catch my mini-celebrity-level-publicised-one-minute-TV-appearance! :P Got calls after calls as if I'd won the Nobel and that was my thanksgiving speech! :)
THANK GOD I looked pretty decent on screen! :P Phew! The last thing I wanted was oily face, eyeliner running out and kohl smudges! :PCatch Naresh on Koffee with Anu! :D He was AWESSSSSSSSSOME! The way he sang 'Munbe va'! Whoooooo! He won me man! :D And his Hindi rendition of 'Ooh la la la'! Stumped. Hit-wicket.BLOODY Brilliant!!! :D I thought Devan was real entertaining. Anu was pretty bad in this episode! :( I was disappointed. The other 2 girls- Subhiksha and madhumitha- they ARE good singers, i don't deny. But I wished they hadn't come. I mean... they were real dumb! :P And an exclusive show of Naresh or atleast with Devan alone would have sufficed! :(
Nevertheless... I'm absolutely gone on Naresh's voice! :D It woos well! ;)
The best part of the day however was the second I finished the HP book... I sat... hugged it CLOSE to me and looked at the last we ever will see of this series!
It was a bitter-sweet feeling. I LOVED the fact that I NOW know everything there's to know. And I HATED the fact that this was it! The end! The last book!
All sadi and done... today came near the description of a 'perfect day'!!!
Though it did not completely turn out to be so, it has been what can be only described as an 'almost perfect day'!!! :D
July 17, 2007
Ramblings of an over thoughtful analytical mind!
so many wants...
so many dreams...
wish i could turn back time!
and show myself how things could be done better!
wish I could erase some memories
not the bitter horrible ones
but the absolutely perfect sweet ones
which haunt me
reminding me of better times
...a better existence
a life where things happened
stagnation was non-existent
in fact- obsolete!
Those sweet memories
of fulfilled dreams
of cherishable times
of pink blue green lights
rainbow ends
and starburst skies
whither has gone my moonbeam?
to make everyday and night a wonder to live through
the pink glasses- come back again!
to make me love this life as before!
**************************************************************************
One day the weight of expectations will sink in you... and you find that you don't have it in you to carry the load!
Burnt memories flash as embers,
forgotten dreams smirk,
killed hopes haunt you as ghosts
nd you want to cry and drown them all...
and well...
YOU CAN'T!
...and a deep gnawing ache bites through your soul!
so many dreams...
wish i could turn back time!
and show myself how things could be done better!
wish I could erase some memories
not the bitter horrible ones
but the absolutely perfect sweet ones
which haunt me
reminding me of better times
...a better existence
a life where things happened
stagnation was non-existent
in fact- obsolete!
Those sweet memories
of fulfilled dreams
of cherishable times
of pink blue green lights
rainbow ends
and starburst skies
whither has gone my moonbeam?
to make everyday and night a wonder to live through
the pink glasses- come back again!
to make me love this life as before!
**************************************************************************
One day the weight of expectations will sink in you... and you find that you don't have it in you to carry the load!
Burnt memories flash as embers,
forgotten dreams smirk,
killed hopes haunt you as ghosts
nd you want to cry and drown them all...
and well...
YOU CAN'T!
...and a deep gnawing ache bites through your soul!
July 15, 2007
WEIRD WAYS
It's weird... this life.. this everything
a vague attempt to wait..
patiently
endlessly
for what?
We know not!
I seek
I seek
I seek again
blindly..
without a goal,
without a reason!
Why this perennial search?
Why this painful wait?
And for what, I ask again!
I wish i knew.
I wish I could
get to propel forward.
Gone is the hope
the faith, the trust
The world cruelly snips your wings
and asks you to fly!
a vague attempt to wait..
patiently
endlessly
for what?
We know not!
I seek
I seek
I seek again
blindly..
without a goal,
without a reason!
Why this perennial search?
Why this painful wait?
And for what, I ask again!
I wish i knew.
I wish I could
get to propel forward.
Gone is the hope
the faith, the trust
The world cruelly snips your wings
and asks you to fly!
...and when it rains...
...and when it rains...i think of them lost verses...
of those lost words...
of all those lost dreams that come back as the grey falling rain...
July 08, 2007
A dream...
A dream it was
A perfection
A moment for expectations to rejoice
A flutter of hope was born
To take wings to soar in the sky
Clouds float by
The wind buoys it higher
Wake up
Only a dream it was!
July 02, 2007
BOOKIE
Tagged by Nithya :)
1. Books that Changed Your Life
There's just one book that qualifies for this- Anne of Green Gables by L.m.Montgomery! :) No other book has ever meant so much to menor has had a life-changing impact! What I am today and what I'll be tomorrow, is all due to this one book! :)
1. Books that Changed Your Life
There's just one book that qualifies for this- Anne of Green Gables by L.m.Montgomery! :) No other book has ever meant so much to menor has had a life-changing impact! What I am today and what I'll be tomorrow, is all due to this one book! :)
2.A Book that I have read more than once
There are many many books I keep going back to!!! :D ALL of L.M.Montgomery's works, the Harry Potter books and Enid Blyton's books(esp The Faraway Tree, Malory Towers,St.Clare's and The riddle of the Boy next door) are books I would have read a million times over! :) Every yearly compulsory reading includes the above and two of my all-time favourites- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen(words betray me!) and the Moonstone by William Wilkie Collins(a masterpiece in crime!)3. A Book You'd Take onto a Desert Island
Definitely one of the books by L.M.Montgomery- either Anne of the Island, or Anne's House of Dreams or Rilla of Ingleside or The Blue Castle or Emily's Quest or Emily Climbs!!! Oh!!! One of her books... any of her books!!! :D
Definitely one of the books by L.M.Montgomery- either Anne of the Island, or Anne's House of Dreams or Rilla of Ingleside or The Blue Castle or Emily's Quest or Emily Climbs!!! Oh!!! One of her books... any of her books!!! :D
CALVIN!!! :D :D :D
Mama's Pet(Dennis the Menace)
The Riddle of the Boy Next Door by Enid Blyton
Princess Diaries!!! :D :D
5. Books That Made You Cry
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Harry Potter and the Order of the phoenix- when Sirius...
Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince-when Dumblydorr...
6. A Book You Wish Had Been Written
Weird question! How would it be a book if it never had been written?!! :O
Well.. i wish my 'books' had already been published! I have to wait a few more years for it guess.. :)
But yeah.. I would love it if 'Anbe Sivam', the movie, had been written as a book! :)
Weird question! How would it be a book if it never had been written?!! :O
Well.. i wish my 'books' had already been published! I have to wait a few more years for it guess.. :)
But yeah.. I would love it if 'Anbe Sivam', the movie, had been written as a book! :)
7. Books You Wish Had Never Been Written
Every book has it's own merit! It's own beauty or lack of it! There's something to learn from it-how to write a book or how not to!
And well.. I know how a heart yearns to be published! I'd NEVER wish that even for my enemy-that his/her book remain unpublished!Every book has it's own merit! It's own beauty or lack of it! There's something to learn from it-how to write a book or how not to!
8. Books You're Currently Reading
The Alpine Path~L.M.Montgomery
Jurassic Park- Michael Crichton
Shantaram- Gregory David Robertson
and well... a million more books are in different stages of reading and read-ed-ness! :P
The Alpine Path~L.M.Montgomery
Jurassic Park- Michael Crichton
Shantaram- Gregory David Robertson
and well... a million more books are in different stages of reading and read-ed-ness! :P
9. Books You've Been Meaning To Read
Catcher in the Rye
To Sir,with love
Gone With the Wind
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!! :D :D :D
Akin to Anne, The Doctor's Sweetheart, At the Altar, the Golden Road, The Stor Girl and every other L.M.Montgomery creation that I have not read as yet!
Emma, Persuassion- Jane Austen
The Historian
R.K.Narayan's books- the ones I've not read yet.
A thousand Splendid Suns
Rest of the Princess Diaries(read only 4!!! *sob*)
Rest of Meg Cabot's works
Shopaholic series!! :)
other chick-lit! I love 'em!!! :D
I tag:
Akki
Hams
Rums
Yuva
Ceruleus
Anu
Catcher in the Rye
To Sir,with love
Gone With the Wind
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!!! :D :D :D
Akin to Anne, The Doctor's Sweetheart, At the Altar, the Golden Road, The Stor Girl and every other L.M.Montgomery creation that I have not read as yet!
Emma, Persuassion- Jane Austen
The Historian
R.K.Narayan's books- the ones I've not read yet.
A thousand Splendid Suns
Rest of the Princess Diaries(read only 4!!! *sob*)
Rest of Meg Cabot's works
Shopaholic series!! :)
other chick-lit! I love 'em!!! :D
I tag:
Akki
Hams
Rums
Yuva
Ceruleus
Anu
I hereby tag the first time tag-takers :|
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