Here for writing

The last Tamil novel that I recall reading was Sujata's Ganesh Vasanth series, and before that, the whole Ponniyin Selvan devoured in a mad reading spree spanning over a few weeks. Beyond that, I have never gravitated towards Tamil works, even the multitude of Rajesh Kumar crime novels which lay scattered around our home. My dad is a big fan of Rajesh Kumar. He says that Rajesh Kumar is the James Hadley Chase of Tamil writing, of whom we both are huge fans.   So, after many many years, a colleague and a good friend of mine, gave me Jayamohan's collection of science fiction short stories called "Visumbu", which means sky. My friend, who is a die hard Jayamohan fan and an avid reader of Tamil literature, was appalled at my lack of exposure to so many wonderful works in Tamil. "How can you not read the brilliant works in our mother tongue? Some feelings, emotions and thoughts can be conveyed powerfully only in our own tongue.", he said and hunted up th

    Not so long ago, I used to feel that the best way to write is, well...to actually write -with a pen on a paper. But then, typing the thoughts out in a laptop became a lot more convenient. I was trying to post regularly this year and was pretty happy with my consistency. I guess I should have been quietly happy, instead of unleashing a wave of pride, because my laptop promptly conked off.  A moment of silence to remember all the struggles that I had with the 2006 model Acer, to just get it started. Many times, I would have typed out a whole paragraph, before the first word of the sentence appeared on the screen. And one fine day, the laptop refused to even turn on.   So I shoved the laptop in the bottom of my draw and pulled out all the fancy diaries my clients had given for new year. Brought some black and blue pens and cozied myself up in the bed, cradling the diary in my lap...and I just sat there staring at the blank page. I just could not write. Not a single word!

It usually so happens such that I first read the book and then watch the movie. But in this case, I first saw the movie and after about 3 months, read the book. And ever since, "I will do a Gone Girl on you", has been my favorite expression to throw at my husband, to mock threaten him. The best part and also the worst part of reading a book after watching the movie is you just imagine the actors faces when reading the book. Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck are just perfect for the characters. Gone Girl is easily one of the best books that I have read till date. Gillian Flynn has so brilliantly captured the characters that you just can't believe that they are fictitious -even though Amy is someone whom you just can't believe that she actually exists. And there lies the brilliance of the author. By now, am sure you all know the basic outline of the story -Amy Elliot Dunn disappears from her house on her 5th wedding anniversary and her husband becomes a prime su

I have been thinking about verse 22 for quite sometime now. I really didn't know what to write about it, because whatever I penned down didn't really come out satisfactorily to me. But then, somedays back, I got into a heated debate with a friend -about the practice of staunch Iyengars eating food prepared by only those who have their Baranyasam done -the branding of the conch and the Sudarshana Chakra on their shoulders. The practice was more prevalent two generations back then it is now, like most of our customs and traditions. While my friend argued that the practice was completely bigoted and was just a way of reinforcing untouchability, I argued that it was an exercise in discipline. Before I proceed further, let me make it very clear that I don't deny or justify the cruel of untouchability meted out by the so called upper caste people. But, in this case, I feel that we can't deny the amount of discipline and control people had to follow such practices.

Remember this post where I had made such tall claims and wanted to become disciplined and focused overnight? Well, it didn't happen. But, it was not a complete write off either. I was able to work out 4 times a week on all the four weeks! and I have started cycling in earnest. Covering more than 180 Kms by walking, jogging and cycling, I had exercised the maximum number of times and most regularly in the month of March. Yay! But, I have figured a very important thing... I am able to focus fully on only one thing at a time. By focusing on exercise, I have missed out on writing. Even though I have all the posts written in my head, I was not able to type it out, simply because I was too exhausted after all the activities. Waking up at 4.30 am puts you to sleep by 10. And the only time I stayed up late was to finish Gone Girl (review coming up shortly), and a couple of nights at my mom's place where I was binge watching the TV. So, I have to find a way to balance thing

Life is too short to read crappy books. Before I started on this book, I was pushing myself to finish a book called Angelology by Danielle Trussoni and gave up half way through. Then, took up The Shadow Princess and finished the book in two days -primarily because there was just too much description about the Taj Mahal, totally unrelated to the plot, that I happily skipped. Seriously! It was just getting boringly descriptive. For my honeymoon, one of our destinations was the Taj Mahal and the Agra fort. Seeing the Taj Mahal for the first time is definitely an experience to cherish. The grandeur just makes your jaw drop. Such perfection and such beauty! But more than the Taj Mahal, the Agra fort captivated me, because it gave me a glimpse of the opulent life style of the Mughals. We had such a wonderful and knowledgeable guide. I strongly recommend to take a guide when you are visiting historical places, because, they can really make you form a connection with the

There are so many things that I want to write here, that I don't know where to start. But there was one predominant thought I had when I got up at 3.30 am on Sunday morning which I wanted to compulsorily blog about -The Karadaiyan Nombu. For the uninitiated, Karadayan Nombu falls on the first day of "Pangunii" month as per the Tamil calendar. Legend has it that Savitri, rescued her husband Satyavan's life from Yama on this day. So every year, young girls and married women pray to the Goddess to bless them with good husbands and for longevity and good health of their husbands respectively. We wear a yellow thread around our neck on this day and make a special delicacy -the jaggery adai and the salt adai. The time to tie the thread around the neck is usually the moment the month is born. As far as I can remember, it has been at convenient times. Even on those days when the month is born late in the afternoon or evening, we all managed -even if it came on

I don't really understand the point in wishing "Happy Women's Day", on March 8th and just forgetting about the plight of women for the rest of the year. If you are reading this post, then you are fortunate to have an education and the means to own a device to read this post, the time to spare on doing things for leisure and an openness of a mind to explore new ideas. But sadly, not many are as blessed. Even if I am not able to do something concrete for the upliftment of the society and women, I vow that at least I will support those who strive to do more with their lives. By setting aside all judgmental thoughts and feelings, I vow that I will contribute in whatever small way I can for making this world a better place. Letting others just be...as themselves... is very essential, because so often I want people to act and behave in the way I want them to. And here, I take the opportunity to thank my husband and in laws for letting me just be me, because it is no

I went to my very close friend's parents 60th birthday celebrations today. What a beautiful occasion it was! The renewal of vows, something that has caught the fancy of the west in recent times, has been in practice in our culture for ages. Surrounded by all the near and dear ones, uncle tied the knot again to aunty, on his 60th birthday. I could feel the emotions surging through aunty -a bride again and so very beautiful. How blessed the couple are to have lived such a full and wonderful life. I pray God to bless them with many many more years of togetherness in love and good health and happiness.  Time really has the power to make all things right and all things precious. And by the way, is it only me or do many people experience this feeling of guilt when they while away time without doing anything productive? I was trying to indulge in a lazy Saturday afternoon, mindlessly browsing the facebook and happily lolling in the bed, trying to take a short nap. But then, this