The 30-question tag Tuesday, Apr 29 2008

I have been tagged by Sementi. I am taking this up promptly, as I don’t want to break her trust.  

Ok, ok, I am taking it up promptly, as my skull has become four-times-than-usual thick and rays of light absolutely refuse to penetrate through it. I cannot think of anything better to write on. And tags are fun. So, here we go with the 30-question tag:

1)LAST MOVIE U SAW IN A THEATRE?
One, two, three. I was so impressed with it that I wrote a review.

2)WHAT BOOK ARE U READING?

I am reading 2 books currently:

Mahashweta – Sudha Murthy

Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri

3)FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?

Scrabble.

4)FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?

Don’t read any magazines regularly, but I like Reader’s Digest.

5)FAVOURITE SMELLS?

The smells of:

• Good food
• Libraries and book stores
• Mehendi
• Flowers
• Chocolate
• Fresh-smelling body sprays
• Mud in the rain
• Johnson’s baby powder
• Sandalwood

I refrain here…..

6)FAVOURITE SOUNDS?

The sounds of:

• A lot of birds chirping together
• Good music
• The right kind of laughter
• Rain
• Wind
• Waves on a beach
• Sounds made by kids
• Friendly bantering

7)WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?

Feeling like there’s absolutely no one in the whole wide world who cares for you

8)WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN U WAKE?

Oh God, do I need to get up?

9)FAVOURITE FASTFOOD PLACE?
There are many…

10)FUTURE CHILD’S NAME?
Me and child’s papa will think of it in future.

11)FINISH THIS STATEMENT—IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D…
….Do some social service, roam the world, open a firm of my own, take a lot of time off, read more and explore more

12)DO U DRIVE FAST?
I don’t drive.

13)DO U SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
I’m too old for that.

14)STORMS–COOL OR SCARY?

Cool if I’m an onlooker. Scary if I am caught in one.

15)WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
Yet to own one

16)FAVOURITE DRINK?
Clean, cool H2O

17)FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
….read a lot, travel a lot, just be vetti.

18)DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
I don’t eat broccoli.

19)IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
I am happy with the natural colour, and don’t want to dye my hair.

20)NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS U HAVE LIVED IN?
Ahmedabad.

21)FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
None. Not at all a sports freak.

22)ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Quite similar to me in likes and dislikes

23)WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Books.

24)WOULD U LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?
Yep, I would.

25)MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Morning person.

26)OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Er, what??

27)FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
My terrace, a good bookstore, anywhere near the water, a garden, a mall, anywhere with friends.

28)FAVOURITE PIE?
I have never tasted pies.

29)FAVOURITE ICECREAM FLAVOUR?
Chocolate- perennial favourite. Litchee, Tender coconut - as of now. Favourites change as I go on experimenting.

30)OF ALL THE PEOPLE U HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
I tag:

Aparna_S

Vijay Ganesh

Rambler

Who’s likely to respond first? – Umm, not sure. Let’s wait and watch and see who takes it up first.

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Answer-in-one-word tag Sunday, Apr 27 2008

I picked up this tag from Rambler’s blog, as I had absolutely nothing better to do.

Yourself: Tired
Your Partner: Missing
Your Hair: Black
Your Mother: Friendly
Your Father: Quiet
Your Favorite Item: One?
Your Dream Last Night: None
Your Favorite Drink: Water
Your Dream Car: Clueless
Your Dream Home: Countryside
The Room You Are In: Bedroom
Your Fear: Loneliness
Where Do You Want To Be In 10 Years: Happy
Who You Hung Out With Last: Colleagues
What You’re Not: Talkative
Muffins: Chocolate
One of Your Wish List Items: Vacation
Time: 11.50 AM
Last Thing You Did: Reading
What Are You Wearing: Salwar Kameez
Your Favorite Weather: Rainy
Your Favorite Book: One?
Last Thing You Ate: Double-beans curry
Your Mood: Bored
Your Best Friends: Apart
What Are You Thinking About Right Now: Freedom
Your Car: None
Your Summer: Terrible!!!
What’s on your TV: Songs
What is your weather like: HOT!!!
When Is the Last Time You Laughed: Yesterday
Your Relationship Status: Single

18 Responses »

 

Broken Friday, Apr 25 2008

Nope, I don’t love you.

I never did.

You were a fool to think I did, even for a moment.

Were you even thinking?

You are not at all my type.

Style, class, elegance – what do you possess?

Innocence and simplicity is everything. You believed me when I told you that. Honestly?

Why would I choose you?

I just wanted to while my time. And you were an easy catch.

Did you really think I would marry you? Take you home with me?

Ha ha. That was funny.

I am sorry if your heart is broken, but I didn’t ask you to give it to me. Right?

 

Outrageous were the lies I told you,

But more outrageous was the fact that you believed them.

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 Note: For the prompt over at Writer’s Island this week – Outrageous.

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Update:

 

People, I guess I didn’t convey the point I wanted to through the above piece. I edited it a bit (the last part) to convey what I had in mind. Here it is:

Nope, I don’t love you.

I never did.

You were a fool to think I did, even for a moment.

Were you even thinking?

You are not at all my type.

Style, class, elegance – what do you possess?

Innocence and simplicity is everything. You believed me when I told you that. Honestly?

Why would I choose you?

I just wanted to while my time. And you were an easy catch.

Did you really think I would marry you? Take you home with me?

Ha ha. That was funny.

I am sorry if your heart is broken, but I didn’t ask you to give it to me. Right?

 

These and some more

Were the outrageous lies I told you,

But more outrageous was the fact

That you believed them.

 

However, the comments made me look at it in a different way. So I am leaving the original version as it is.

22 Responses »

 

Seasons and reading Thursday, Apr 24 2008

The question over at Booking through Thursdays this week is:

Do your reading habits change in the Spring? Do you read gardening books? Even if you don’t have a garden? More light fiction than during the Winter? Less? Travel books? Light paperbacks you can stick in a knapsack?

Or do you pretty much read the same kinds of things in the Spring as you do the rest of the year?

My answer: No, I don’t think my reading habits change with the seasons of the year. The kind of books I read during a particular time period are dependent on the circumstances in my life during that period and my mood. 

What say you?

10 Responses »

 

I’m game, are you? Wednesday, Apr 23 2008

First things first, today is 23rd April – World Book and Copyright Day. From among the 110000000000001 days celebrated the world over, one which is of significance to bibliophiles like me. Needless to say, I updated my library for the occasion. Padhne waalon ko padhne ka bahaana chahiye…

Additions to my stock of books, which is growing by the day:

• One – Richard Bach
• Messiah’s handbook – Richard Bach
• The bridges of Madison County – Robert James Waller
• A thousand country roads – Robert James Waller
• True love (and other lies) – Whitney Gaskell

Second things second, I came to know of the Orbis Terrarum Challenge, thanks to Nagashri. ‘Orbis Terrarum’ stands for ‘The whole world’. The challenge is – over a period of 9 months, from April to December 2008, read 9 books by 9 different authors, from different parts of the world. The reader should write about each of these books on his/her blog. I am, most definitely, game for the challenge. I am taking it up. I have decided to experiment with different kinds of books, some out of my usual sphere of reading.

Here’s the list of books I am planning to read for the challenge:

• Mahashweta by Sudha Murty – India (An attempt to begin reading a book which has been lying with me for ages)
• The bridge across forever by Richard Bach – USA (An attempt to re-explore and understand Bach’s style of philosophy, which I had left after reading JLS)
• The kite runner by Khaled Hosseini – Afghanistan (Again, trying to read a book that has been with me since long, which I never got around to reading)
• Blind willow, sleeping woman by Haruki Murakami – Japan (An attempt at understanding Murakami’s writing style, which I did not quite relate with in ‘South of the border, west of the sun’)
• Eleven minutes by Paulo Coelho – Brazil, South America (Very different from the usual Coelho books)
• Love among the chickens by PG Wodehouse – England (I haven’t read many old authors, and this is my attempt at beginning to read them)
• The life of Pi by Yann Martel – Canada (Somehow, I never picked up this book, though it has been there with me since long. Now, will do so.)
• Siddhartha by Herman Hesse – Germany (Again, a different kind of author, a different kind of theme for me – spirituality)
• PS: I love you by Cecelia Ahern – Ireland (Come on, I am entitled to one romance novel, simple, easy to read. )

These books might seem to be very light to some of you, but for me, it is something different. I am very excited about the whole thing. You up for it?

Third things third, I came across this site – Booking through Thursday – while randomly browsing. A meme a week, on Thursdays, related to books and reading. Sure sounds like fun. I am game for this too.

That’s it for now. Ciao!

PS: The list of books for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge can be changed later. If you have any suggestions about what I should be reading, please do drop in a line in the Comments box. Thanks.

34 Responses »

 

The bridges of Madison County Monday, Apr 21 2008

I finished reading ‘The bridges of Madison County’ by Robert James Waller yesterday. I bought this book at the recommendation of my cousin, and I must say I was touched by it. Again, it is a tragic story, portrayed in the most beautiful of ways.

Note: Plot revealed.

It is a romance novel. It is a very different kind of story; at least very different from the usual romance novels I have read so far. The story revolves around the heroine Francesca, who is married to a farmer, Richard. Francesca lives in Madison County, which is famous for its covered bridges. Photographer-writer Robert Kincaid comes to Madison County to shoot the bridges, as he is doing a story on them for a magazine. When he is looking for a certain bridge, he loses his way and stops at Francesca’s house to ask for directions. And then, the inevitable happens. They fall in love with each other.

Francesca and Richard’s marriage has not exactly turned sour, but they have indeed drifted apart. There is a poet’s soul within Francesca, which has never been understood by Richard or by the local people. So, Francesca cannot help falling for Robert, with his poetic ways, his intellect, passion for life, elegance, and courteous mannerism, quite unlike that of country people. Both of them realize, in the course of their conversations, that they are soul mates, made for each other. Richard is away with their two children, Carolyn and Michael, to a cattle exhibition, and Francesca invites Robert over for dinner. Francesca and Robert have a four-day affair, and these four days turn out to be the most beautiful and memorable days of their lives.

One would assume that Francesca left Richard and their kids to go away with Robert, but, no, she does not. She stays back, broken-hearted, while a tearful Robert goes back to Washington, where he came from. Francesca and Robert think of each other almost every waking moment after that, but they neither talk nor write to each other. The only exception is the call that Francesca places to Robert after Richard passes away. However, she is not able to reach him. Then, years later, Robert passes away, and asks for his most prized possessions, his cameras, to be sent to Francesca.

When Francesca dies, she asks for her ashes to be scattered in the same river where she knows Robert’s have been. She leaves Robert’s cameras and the letter from Robert she received after his death to her to her two children. Before her death, she writes down the story of her affair with Robert, describing why he was so special to her, so that her children understand it the way she does, which they read and understand after her passing away.

Some quotes from the book that I loved:

In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once, and never again, no matter how many lifetimes you live.

Here I am walking around with another person inside of me.

I don’t like feeling sorry for myself. That’s not who I am. And most of the time, I don’t feel that way. Instead, I am grateful for having at least found you. We could have flashed by one another like two pieces of cosmic dust.

God or the universe or whatever one chooses to label the great systems of balance and order does not recognise Earth-time. To the universe, four days is no different than four billion light years. I try to keep that in mind.

~ Robert Kincaid to Francesca

Looked at without the ‘ethical-unethical’ angle, I would say it is the most romantic thing I have read in quite some time. The description of the romance between Francesca and Robert and their emotions is wonderful, tragic and haunting. I loved the book, and now, I am all set to read the epilogue ‘A thousand country roads’.

23 Responses »

 

The triumph Sunday, Apr 20 2008

A lazy Sunday afternoon,

A blissful game of Scrabble,

He and she play away,

Lost;

 

A little bit of cheating,

Feigned ignorance,

His carefully mis-spelt words,

And her points exceed his;

 

Her lips break out

Into a childish smile,

The sun comes out

From o’er the clouds;

She looks at him with raised eyebrows,

‘I won the game,’

She says, ‘Yay’,

Unbridled enthusiasm spilling out;

 

‘Yes’,

He says, almost to himself,

‘You won the game,

And I did triumph too!’;

 

‘What?’, asks she,

‘What are you mumbling?’

‘Nothing,’ he says,

‘Just that I love you.’

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PS: This is what came to mind on thinking of this week’s prompt over at Writer’s Island – ‘Triumph’.

10 Responses »

 

Life’s like that Friday, Apr 18 2008

These days I feel

The world runs on………

……….. Butter.

The more you apply, the smoother it is for you.

14 Responses »

 

The path they came by… Tuesday, Apr 15 2008

I was looking at the Blog Stats and happened to notice the Search Engine terms. It was entertaining to see how people have landed up on my blog. Here are a few gems:

~ My friend Priya’s birthday is 19th April

Happy birthday, Priya!!!

~ “You are welcome” in Gujarat

Er, who’s this?

~ Can I talk to you over lunch sometime?

Guess this led to my ‘A lot can happen over lunch’ post. Can’t believe people look up these things on Google!!

~ Pink palm trees

Pink??!

~ Buy an elephant

Unbelievable!!!

~ Pariya + Gujarat

LOL…. Nice variation of my name…. “Pariya”

~ Gulab julaab rehte

LOL… LOL….. LOL…. Guess this led to the One-Two-Three post!

~ Lost something nice back home torrent

NIiiiiiiiiiice! ‘The torrent’, perhaps?

~ Crying school

Crying school???!!!!

~ How tall is a normal zebra?

ROTFL

~ I don’t love you.

???!!!

~ Will you tell him?

?????!!!!! again.

Check out your Blog Stats too, people! It’s fun!

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Folks, I have a li’l request. I am fed up of reading stories full of pain and depression and abnormalities. I am also tired of reading deep, heavy stuff. I want to read something light and uplifting. Something sweet, which would not tax my brain, but would remain with me long after I have read it. If you can think of something like that, please drop in a line in the comments section. Thanks.

18 Responses »

 

Happy new year!!! Sunday, Apr 13 2008

Ellorukkum Tamil putthandu nalvazhutthukkal.

Wishing all of you a very happy and prosperous Tamil New Year. May the year be fun-filled and beautiful for you.

Got to hear these early in the morning today, and it made my day!!!

Check them out, while I go and make Pacchadi!

Update: Priya’s kitchen updated with the recipe for Pacchadi. FYI, the Pacchadi turned out to be a nice mixture of bitter and sweet. Legend has it that the way your Pacchadi turns out is the way the year ahead would be for you. Probably the year ahead is going to be a bittersweet experience for me!

 

10 Responses »