Magic Moments

One of the innate and visceral human needs is the need to be remembered, to be missed, to be not-forgotten with the passage of time. Every person wishes to be remembered by at least one person after he or she ceases to exist on the earth. Fear of death is fear of the unknown, but a large part of it is the fear of being forgotten- that you once walked and talked on this land. The very thought is weirdly painful.  I can vaguely imagine the pain the family of a dementia or Alzheimer's' patient goes through. Every single day having to acknowledge the fact that the person who matters so much to you, no longer recognises you. It's sad and depressing. Reading John Green's 'The Fault in our stars' is depressing too. It's excruciatingly slow tragedy- pain comes slowly- rather than coming all of a sudden and drowning you in tears, suffocating your dreams and optimism for just one day, it comes gradually, seeping into your body and mind and heart, and s...

Whatever these producers and directors are doing with us audience is pure, unadulterated torture! How can one expect me and my curiosity to wait till next year?! Yes, I’m talking about Sherlock. It has been a week and I’m not able to get out of it. I’m still living in 221B, Baker Street- John Watson is drowsing, trying to catch up some sleep; and Sherlock is sitting in front of me, moving his eyes and hands frantically- perhaps he is visiting his mind palace. Yeah, I'm totally there and virtually here in Bhubaneswar. I miss everything. I miss this high functioning sociopath, his voice, his authoritative stance, his gait, his walk, his upturned collar, even his cap. Spoiler alert- I hate cliffhanger endings (though I secretly like it too...shhh!). When Sherlock climbed on the edge and called John, I was sure he wouldn't jump. Throughout the emotional dialogues I was sure he would finally find a way out of it. But then he took the leap, and I had goosebumps. He ...

Deep is tall, slim, nerd mama's boy who loves to devour the delicious dishes cooked by his mom. He is an avid reader(just like me!), loves the look and feel of new and old books(just like me!), loves to spend hours at a stretch in libraries(just like me!-excited at the very sight of library and books), and is a huge fan of Harry Potter(oh, again! would have lived in Hogwarts if it was real.). He likes his old Nokia, the one 'built to withstand wars', and his favorite game is Snakes. He has this oh-so-cute boyish charm- he still believes or rather wants to believe clouds are made of fluffy cotton and not vapour; wants to believe that there is actual magic in this world; and that Hogwarts and all disneyland characters are real. And he blushes when embarrassed; is on the verge of tears when shouted at; he's awkward at new places and in front of new people; and shy too as eye contact for him means staring at people's foreheads. I love this character-Deep, with al...

I have been watching ‘Sherlock’- the BBC series, Season 1and 2, and I’m in love with the curly haired, lean built supposed ‘psycho’- modern day Sherlock Holmes(S.H); and his immense talent. Played by Benedict Cumberbatch, he’s just-so-brilliant (even all such adjectives put together wouldn’t suffice). And he unabashedly shows it off too, which rather irritates everyone around him. But I’m so awed and impressed by him, that even in his show-off mood, I'm all praises for him. Everyone around just seems so ‘dull’, ‘boring’, and ‘mundane’ in his presence. I even love the way this insane person says the word ‘boring’ with an elongated ‘O’ hanging in the air. Sherlock has a habit of ordering everyone around. And others have no choice but to succumb to his whims, and moody authoritativeness. This man is a weird creature- literally and officially. He never sleeps when in middle of a case; keeps a severed head (a human head cut off from a corpse in the morgue) in his refrigerat...

Dear Heart Dear heart Let’s not get hurt You and I It’s a deal At least we have each other Let’s not mind the words they speak However harsh may it be Let’s just let it go You and I We'll miss him It’s ok to cry But let’s not weep to sleep Things of past never forever remain But When I try my part at living life You fall back in pace  Be with me, Don't thump at all wrong times Don't beat at his sight  Help me move on. Yes, you and I Let’s be happy again.

   Made by me from wool... Hows it?   the hearts and butterfly you see are colorful cloth pieces, put in between paper.   Corner bookmark made from origami paper...

We are escapists. We just love to escape from the dreary, mundane routine life, into the world of imagination, fantasies and dreams.  Filmmakers and novelists are the djinns making this wish of ours true. They have bestowed upon us many mesmerizing, beautiful worlds; intriguing yet lovable characters and believable magical stories. Let’s visit these lands of fancy that have overwhelmed our minds for years. Let’s get on a voyage to these well created visual treats- masterworks of imaginations.    1)       Narnia:      A visit to C.S. Lewis’ magical snow-clad world of Narnia during the white witch’s reign may seem better than staying in the heat and dust of Bhubaneswar. Narnia’s golden age- when it was under the rule of High King Peter, King Edmund, Queen Lucy and Susane- has the best natural scene and feel. Aslan’s land is ethereal with its trees, meadows, fountains; fascinating land of talking animals, fencing m...

‘Fear’ was something that people dreaded earlier- in the past. But now a days people enjoy ‘fear’. People, especially youths and the younger generation voluntarily want to experience and live this feeling. Remember the mountain dew advertisement and its tagline- ‘Dar ke aage jeet hai’. Many have a knack for adventure sports, risky thrills and activities that fuel the adrenaline rush. Cliff jumping, river rafting on the rocky trails can be challenging and life threatening; but the young mass wants to experience this too. Be it in sports, hobbies, cinema, books or pranks- everything having the ‘fear’ element is popular. Most of my friends love horror movies. They love watching those at night, even though it gives them chills, goosebumps, and sleepless nights for the next few days. I wonder how they enjoy it. Well, whatever it is, I have never felt any liking towards it. How can one enjoy rapid heartbeats, and that super alert feel; fearing to go to another room alone...

I like the setting- the locales of Gujarat- the desert, the village lifestyle, the way of living in that village of Talsagra. I like the house itself- it is so like a thing of the past, a white palace-like bungalow. I like the terrace (marble tiled) where Gulaal comes to dry the clothes in the clothes line. I like the verandah where they dry the kitchen things (food items- chili and grains). I like the very decorum of the house- the way the furnitures are, the way every room is furnished, decorated in traditional style (typical of villages); the way they eat in plates made of brass and bronze, not steel. (Glasses too of brass or bronze). Even the way they cook in the kitchen-not with gas, but firewood and earthen ‘chulah’, sitting on the floor- the most Indian and traditional way. Just love Gulaal’s ghagra cholis , the bangles, green color, all ‘ chunars ’, their turban, and the kurta pajamas. I like the flashbacks, how the past plays an important role in the serial, ...

When I started reading “Beautiful Malice” by Rebecca James, I hadn't expected to be so impressed and so totally blown away by it. I started reading it only to satisfy my curiosity to know the mystery behind the enigmatic cover. After 70 pages, I knew I was going to like the book. Its theme is on life and death, especially death and the void it creates in one’s life. Those who have seen death, experienced the loss, and have gone through the pain of losing someone near and dear forever, are changed entities. They are not themselves anymore. In the first 70 pages, I’ve learnt that it is ok to be sad, to cry. It is ok to complain, and cry to a friend, sharing the long buried feelings- the grief and the guilt; it is ok to open up one’s mind, to put one’s guard down, and be vulnerable to the outward emotions. And it’s normal to fear death, and human nature to be overprotective. But the slow, gradual, mysterious turn of events is not what one had expected earlier. Pe...

25 th September, 2009 When you finish reading a book, especially after the last line, you are left with a void- the world of 300 or 400 pages which you had loved being a part of, has ended, much to your satisfaction or dissatisfaction. You are left with an inspiration, and thinking. You are compelled to give at least a thought to the author’s feelings at the end, his/her viewpoint and all that he learnt through his experiences. It affects you deeply, though sometimes the effect is short-lived. You are left with imagination of the situation, similar incidents occurred with you in the past. You want to believe the lines and everything that is conveyed in between the lines and bask in your own fantasies. Today I finished reading “Delhi is not far” by Ruskin Bond. I would say that the book is not as good as any of his short stories, but then everything he writes urges an afterthought. Though simple in prose and easy in diction, every just-so writing of his is ...

India’s best selling theological thriller “……Dan Brown has an Indian challenger in Ashwin Sanghi ”- The Week. The book jacket reads as follows: “A cardboard box is found on a shelf in a London library. When the mystified librarian opens it, she screams before she falls unconscious to the floor. Within the labyrinthine recesses of the Vatican, a beautiful assassin swears she will eliminate all who do not believe in her twisted credo. An elite army of thirteen calling itself the Lashkar-a-Talatashar has scattered around the globe. The fate of its members curiously resembles that of the Christ and his Apostles. Their agenda is Armageddon. A Hindu astrologer spots an approaching conjunction of the stars and nods to himself in grim realization of the end of the world. In Tibet, a group of Buddhist monk’s searches for a reincarnation, much in a way their ancestors searched Judea for the Son of God. In a strife-torn Kashmir, a tomb called Rozabal holds the key ...