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Showing posts from June, 2013

Jack of all trades...?

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People tend to look down upon those who are a jack of all trades and a master of none. Even parents stress upon their children to excel in the one field that they choose. They say hobbies are ok but the one thing that should drive your future should be the one that you excel in. But my heart yearns to learn almost everything that I come across, be it a great photography or a painting or an awesome novel.

For example, whenever I read about someone’s pottery experience, that they have described very vividly, I want to feel that experience. The way they are surrounded with colors, tools for pottery, pots, bowls of different shapes, brushes, and grind natural objects for colors; the way the wet clay on their hands fills them with life; and the way they feel the thrill of creating something new and artful from sheer mud—I really want to feel so, at least once in a lifetime. I want to do pottery. (One of the members of F4 in ‘Boys over Flowers’ did pottery and sold his masterpieces at the …
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Growing up and Change..

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When I think of 11 year olds, especially, boys of age 11, a particular kid’s face comes to my mind. We used to go to school together in the auto with three others from our colony, and I was in 11th grade. He was one of the cherubic kids who’d talk easily with every stranger, and gossip incessantly on any topic he got. I remember how we all played ‘Rock Paper Scissors’ back home from school and how he would wave at every stranger and passersby on the road and say “hello bhaiya”( or didi or uncle or aunty or bacchha). He would exchange pleasantries while the auto is on the go, and the strangers would be looking dumbly at him wondering, “Who is this boy? Do I know him?”. Some of them, rather, most of them were charmed by this kid’s cherubic happy attitude, and they would wave him back.





This routine of him waving at and talking to random strangers was something I really liked. Another incident comes to my mind. It was perhaps my third day at the new school, and we were waiting for the au…
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"Perks of being a wallflower"

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Perks of being a wallflower-- Stephen Chbosky



“the struggle between passivity and passion- a wild and poignant tale of ‘growing up’- high school life.”
It has been a while since i read the book, pdf file actually. And i had jotted down some of my favorite quotes in my diary, and some i got from the net. Charlie's character is so likable. He writes down whatever he thinks, sees or wonders, in form of letters to an unknown imaginary friend, each ending with "Love always, Charlie." It's the mind and innocence of a shy, high school boy that hooks the readers to the story. It's an easy read, but thought provoking. i have watched the movie recently too. it's nice, but the book is much better...

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Do you always think this much, Charlie?"
"Is that bad?"I just wanted someone to tell me the truth.
"Not necessarily. It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life."
"Is that …
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My Last Trip Before Lockdown

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When Covid19 had just put its foot in the country with only 3 cases in Kerala, we had our Ooty trip planned. All tickets and bookings were done since the new year. With just three days in hand, four of us travelled from Mumbai, Pune and Bhubaneswar, to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, to join a few others staying in the city. And the excitement to finally meet one another after 6 months of that trip to Pune, the Lohagard Trek- we were kids excitedly clicking selfies in our face masks, hurriedly putting a quick dab of sanitizer before hugging one another.


Next day early morning we were to start for Ooty. Sleepy heads, gulping a bowl each of muesli, we started onward journey to Bandipur National Park. Devouring uttapams, dosas and piping hot cups of coffee for breakfast at a restaurant by the highway, chit chats were full on, as was the music and dance in the 12-seater vehicle. Funny anecdotes had us laughing our hearts out, gossips were such a thrill and cooking recipe exch…
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Empress Ki : A story of an epic scale

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Empress Ki is the most elaborate, gripping, and thrilling series I have watched this year. And at 51 episodes, it is the longest Korean drama series I have ever watched. Even though the number seems daunting and too much, it’s worth it all. If you like period dramas, you won’t want to give this one a miss.

It was in 2016 that I first read about Empress Ki, the historical drama that had garnered much praise and accolades from the audience and critics alike. Most Korean dramas are just 16 or 20 episodes long. So 51 seemed never-ending to me then. It wasn’t until 2017 that I decided to at least try the first episode. And I was hooked. But owing to the various circumstances I didn’t continue watching it. It was just last month that I remembered this epic story and watched it to completion within just a few days. Believe it or not, midway through it, I was almost literally pulling my hair out, in anticipation of what would happen next.

I would have given this magnum opus 10/10 had it stopp…
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The One To Leave First

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I have always been the one to leave first. Be it luck or circumstance, it has always been this way. Some of the times it has been my decision to venture out of my comfort zone first before all my peers decide to do the same and I am left behind, alone in the old world. The decisions are out of fear of being left alone, most of the times. Or is it self-preservation instead? 

I am a person who takes time to adapt, make new friends, get accustomed to new surroundings- an unlikely one to leave first- yet I do. You might think me selfish, but I am just afraid, and I decide to take care of myself first. Some might see this as a major risk-taking attitude, but I mostly see it as fleeing before the 'desertion' hits me instead. Now that's a strong word indeed. I am always in search of safe ground, always so insecure and calculating my moves lest I end up being alone on the island.
Paranoiac. Several things bother me at once. What if my peers get on with their lives leaving me behi…
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F.R.I.E.N.D.S

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I had expected to be bored thinking it to be some over-the-top comedy and quit watching this midway. I had not expected to be sucked into their lives, in upstate Manhattan, and feel their life change over the ten seasons so personally. Ten years in the lives of these characters. And this attachment to that apartment. I had not expected that this sitcom that had been airing globally for ten long years, to not at all be ‘over-hyped’. I wish I had set aside my judgement and for once watched this during my college days. It would have been such a cherished experience. It would have validated all the emotions of those days.Watching the six friends’ personal trajectory from Season 1 to 10, over the ten years, through ten Thanksgivings and Christmases and Hanukah, was such a pleasure. I never knew I could enjoy comedy, and in comes Chandler. I remember how in the first few episodes, I couldn’t even remember their names, and now they feel as real and relatable as any other person. We all have …
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Burst That Ego If You Want Genuine Connections In Life

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"When the ego dies, the soul awakes." - Mahatma Gandhi
Why do you have such a huge ego? You cannot wear your family's name on your sleeve as an identity forever. The world wouldn't see you through the eyes of your parents who have pampered you so much for the better part of your life. Here in the real world, you will get what you give. Respect begets respect. Selfishness begets selfishness. Hate begets hate. And your 'i don't care', 'i don't give a damn', 'i am paying money for that', 'i will do as I please' attitude will give you the same.

Respect is earned. Agreed. But you should give it first to earn it back. The other person should and must be respected by default despite his class, caste, job and family background, until and unless he proves unworthy of it with time. I stand strongly by this belief.

There can be no excuse for disregard. The way you speak to me about people tells me the way you might be speaking about me t…
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Latest Binge - Emily in Paris

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There is a certain allure to a foreign land, a foreign culture, a different language, unchartered territories and a promise of romantic adventure. The latest offering from Netflix ‘Emily in Paris’ gives us all of these and more. It is all of 10 episodes of 25 or so minutes each, and is worth a binge-watch. It’s about a social media content strategist, Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, who moves to Paris from Chicago to work for a marketing firm, a big career opportunity, dreaming of a wonderful life. It’s about her adventures both in career and romantic front, as she learns French, making hilarious mistakes and feeding her Instagram with all-things-Paris.

We watch the beauty of Paris in its culture of life-first-work-second, all things luxurious- from fashion to perfume to wine, the spiraling staircase of a hundred-year old building where Emily stays, the ornate architecture, the old-world charm mingling effortlessly with the new, the elaborate office dinners, the picturesque water…
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When Breathe Becomes Air

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It was towards the end of the book that I realized that this is almost an unfinished manuscript. But still it feels complete in itself. I was constantly wondering throughout why this book is so short. He is an amazing writer and you know that when you hear his thoughts while reading the book - his narrative - his writing style just reveal his love for poetry, literature, philosophy and spirituality. It was striking that he had persistently wondered about death- the meaning of life- its purpose throughout his growing up years, even while choosing a career. And even after he was first diagnosed with lung cancer, he did the same. 
 "Literature not only illuminated another's experience, it provided, I believed, the richest material for moral reflection." - on the love for literature.Paul draws the difference between a job and a calling, something you are meant to do for the world in the limited span of your mortal life, in the first few chapters as a Doctor, before his diagno…
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The Baztan Trilogy

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The first movie 'The Invisible Guardian' begins with the killings of several teenage girls and elaborate staging of their bodies by the river in the damp valley of Elizondo. Amaia Salazar, our protagonist, returns there, her hometown, as the Chief Investigator for the case. She heads the homicide department. The serial killings seem aimed at young girls who don't uphold the traditional norms and have begun exploring their sexuality. Through the case, Amaia grapples with her own demons, her relationship issues and traumatic memories of abuse from her past. We get to know that her mother had abused her, being seemingly senile herself, and was then admitted to a facility.The setting of the damp valley where it rains all hours of the day, the cloudy scenery, the fog covered thick forest maintain a sinister vibe throughout the movie. It is an apt backdrop for a crime thriller, with supernatural undertones. The mythical beast  basajaun, the big hairy beast of the forest, seems t…
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