To Catch A Smile.
There are often a lot of requests and favours and the like that everyone has to entertain in life. And from those we chose what we can do – mostly because we want to and/or it is nice. Now there are lot of suggestions/concerns/requests that come in through this blog, and “to catch a smile” was one that I enjoyed. Vivek’s request was that I read his book and review it – thanks for the book!!!
Now the review! What do you get when you combine an Engg. Degree and a PGDBA from IIM-A ? A guy who writes a book? I haven’t researched as yet, but mostly these mba grads write a lot (sometimes a lot equals nothing). Hardly a few of this species make a good read. “To catch a smile” is a first attempt and a good one I must add. 23 short stories that the author says arouse feeling in something that could be passed as mundane. Now when one student asks another for a pen in a classroom, it could be simply put as a sentence, most engineering graduates would make a paragraph of the same to pass in the English paper, and then there are the imaginative ones, who would build a story around it. It could be short, long, or even a screenplay. That is the essence of story telling.
In my first sitting I read three short stories. The thing with short stories is they are – short. The leave you in a jiffy; they leave you wanting for more; the three stories did, and soon the others too. The author surely got his recipe to short stories right. And once I finished the book, I realised that the stories improved, in context, in imagination, in personalities, in theme and in portrayal. And slowly but steadily, what could have passed as a conversation went on to become a short story.
Some of the lines that the author came up with are worth mentioning, mostly because I dare to assume, it comes from his heart, and also because it feels good.
“I wrote my first story to impress someone, and then wrote the subsequent ones to please myself”
“Life can be strange. So strange that it becomes funny, often unintentionally.”
“You begin to find good things in others only when you are told nice things about yourself”
And a book review often ends with a rating, I would rather deal with a recommendation – to readers who want to do some casual reading, enjoy light hearted conversations between characters and go through the simple incidents that, am sure one has experienced in ones life.
Also recommended to those who are bored with reading short stories that probably are equivalent of chapters, these stories are Short! : )
*You can only find the book for purchase online at India Plaza, and if you want to get more about the book, visit tocatchasmile<dot>com
Freedom
On my Nation’s Independence Day, I wish all my compatriots the best of/for our nation and the best that independence can bring upon us. I know it’ll be quite sometime since I-day that this will be published, but nevertheless.
On the occasion of independence, a very good friend asked me what “Freedom” actually meant to me. And a good devotee to my dictionary, I promptly checked its definition. “the power or right to act/think/speak freely; the state of being free; not being subjected to or affected by something/anything; a special privilege or right of access”—that’s what my faithful friend conjured upon me. And although I blame not myself for the healthy habit of dictionary reference, I felt I brought shame to the “freedom of thought” that I was given, and to the question itself, for it was entitled to a lot of thinking.
In a country like India with it’s intricately laid out constitution and a mostly explicable form of governance, freedom means a lot. A lot has happened since the time of independence. Are we still as independent as we think we are?
Imagine this, in 1947, we were free, and celebrated independence. Now, we do celebrate it, but not “freely”. There are a thousand guards and a hundred norms for fear of someone/something that can hinder the Independence Day celebrations. Even the leaders of the country aren’t free anymore – not even free enough to indulge in wrong doing (albeit they still do exercise their freedom to do so)! Our economy too is not as free as it seems to be. If we were fighting for freedom the East India Company then, we are becoming submissive to and being “acquired” by international companies, now(modern day colonization I guess). (FYI, TCS(nor any other Indian co.) is not the largest IT Company in the country). No FDIs, and No Freedom.
Feel bad about the situation in our country? Well, some citizens, the more optimistic ones do think that it is because the country is independent and gives each one of us freedom, that there are people expressing themselves by form of violence; That there are groups of people fighting to free themselves from the tyranny of a free country. Wonder what freedom means to them and how would they define it! And as for the others, the ones neutral are still around and blissfully ignorant about say, the brouhaha about the 123 or the hush-hush about a possible cabinet reshuffle! And the ones who are on the negative end of the spectrum are mostly talking the language of McCain and Obama.
Obviously the salaried person has no freedom in any form, then there are the businesses – questionable again. Finally the government – definitely answerable in the next elections and a parliament session. But really – the Government is free enough to cry “treasury is all empty” and still manage to hike up the government employee’s salaries once every couple of years and manage to pay them by dipping into others pockets. Now that’s freedom – you do something, you are appreciated, your responsibility is done with and you don’t really need to worry about it – ever!
Jai Mayawati!
Freedom to me is a well respected state of doing what I want to, not bringing harm onto any living being, and respecting the rights conferred upon me and the society by the nation, respecting my compatriots’ freedom.
Freedom to me means to be able to question, comprehend and re-define what freedom really means to me.
Drops of Ecstasy
Some times, many a times there are thoughts and then there is vacuum. You may have thought of something before you went to bed last night but now it’s gone. Guess all of us have that feeling. How does it feel to come back to knowing what you initially thought of? That’s the in-expressible abstract noun that I want to call upon.
Imagining a lot of things since childhood, the rains, torrential ones at that, have always been a part of my dreams. And tonight, while on the way back from the library, it happened. Boy, did I always want to get wet in rains that probably were caused due to a dam breaking in heaven. The pain by the sheer force of water was inexplicably soothing. Thankfully I was not carrying books with me, and this gave me the liberty of getting as drenched as I wanted to since I was a kid. Wading through the water is always a possibility in Chennai’s monsoon, but getting wet in rains like this is a lesser chance. Thank you god for having given me a chance to realise one of many things to do before I die. The rains actually made me feel (you are requested to fill in the abstract noun here). It was something that I always wanted to do and thought about, but getting to do it, and the experience, that’s what made my day!
I am sure there has been no one ever in this whole wide world who could have come up with something this mundane to write about. But I guess I am so ecstatic that I did. Ecstasy that probably wasn’t around for so long that the feeling was forgotten.
Sometimes it makes me wonder that everything after childhood has only been a learning experience and not something that you would actually reminisce about; not something that would make you go gaga about it. Something that you wouldn’t be Ecstatic about!
Good Old Romance
I wanted to write about a lot of things recently, but everything narrowed down to one basic element – Feelings. And more in the direction of why feelings can only be regarded as some thing in its element and why feelings are nothing but chemicals.
In faith I do not love You with my eyes,
For they in You a thousand errors note;
But it is my heart that loves what they despise,
Who in despite of view is pleased to dote.
Sometimes it is moments of poetry like this that makes absolute non-sense of chemistry. If I had learnt to treat human feelings and emotions as nothing but a mere display of an amalgam of chemicals and an outburst of an emotion as a goof up of the ratio of chemicals in the amalgam, Shakespeare makes me want to undo my learning.
How beautiful it is when read that you appreciate someone even though they aren’t the perfect Greek god look-alikes, your eyes see the flaws but you over look them for your heart seeks more than that. When that one look into someone’s eye can be worth all of your life time, the look that takes you to a depth, possibly deeper than the depth of the deepest ocean; when chemistry becomes more than just a subject; and when psychology fails to interest you – you know it with your heart.
In an effort to woe the person your heart dotes, you may establish a million standards that you wouldn’t have guessed you would. Sometimes to witness, or to learn about these marvelous tales of love and love’s lustre, you do not have to go to the Taj Mahal or to Venice, just go ask your ancestors and they will narrate some of the most ‘Shakespearean’ episodes of romance imaginable.
Poetry
Poets are the most remarkable of creatures that once lived. Forgive me for the tense, for I am yet to dwell into modern day poetry. Never mind the language, for language in itself is quite too intense for any one of my calibre to understand, twisting it to a degree to convey a message, to create a backdrop, to bring to life the feeling of the love or despair – that requires an intellect above par.
Some of the most humblest of poetry revolves around love, despair, longing, yearning, sorrow, hatred. Forgive me again if I have not mentioned the rest. Be it a tense humid air, weighing against your every move; or an air that is diffused with the smell of champak or a breezy jasmine whiff it does create a certain wanting in us. I want to relish the sense of the same – to feel the smell of the jasmine, to stand near the ocean and champion its moisture laden wind. I also want dim clouds to brighten up to a rich and amber light and then fade away to its silvery hue like it did for Coleridge.
Alas! I have, nor hope, nor health, nor peace within or calm around, to know of these. But how I feel that it’s a world that now lacks any lustre that it had to inspire these geniuses.
No more of you I know my love, no more of you I know!
Staying Single in a (re)productive World.
The title – because I lost count of how many babies my friends/neighbours/relatives just produced over the last few weeks.
One night, during mundane chats online, about celebrity blog ghost writers and other myriad topics, some one asked me about the lamest question by far –how did I manage to be single for so long while a whole lot of others are hitched. Initially the question caught me off guard, but later it was pretty obvious that the question could be laughed off with an equally lame reply.
Here goes… for all those of you, looking for a couple of survival tricks. There are various things that you say to people, as per circumstance and person.
The father
I do not know about your dad, but my father loves his children so much that if I hold his hand and tell him, “daddy, I do not want to get married now” then he would agree, or if he is on one of his stubborn moods, a nice hug, and a “daddy, please, I don’t want to leave you guys as yet!” would make sure that he does not bring up the topic for another couple of months.
The mother
My mom is the best mom! All I need to say is “no” or a “ no ma, I want to study further!” Or “I am not able to afford myself – can’t afford to take another person into the umbrella”and it’s all taken care off.
The sister
Well sibling love can sometimes be hazardous. And if it’s a tiff, she will invariably go and demand that I be sent away from home ASAP, and that marriage would teach me lessons in life that would make me a better person. After innumerable requests and pleas, she will come to realize that my exit would guarantee that I take with me all the perfumes, accessories, make-up and all that we shared with so much love. And well, that settles things down, and my sister would never want me to leave her – ever!
The friends
A lot of them are happily married or so they say. And invariably want you to take the plunge to experience the happiness that they go through everyday. I just have one thing to say to all of them – I haven’t found the right guy. I know there is no perfect. But they wouldn’t dare disagree – because according to them they found their perfect better half. Aha!
Now that is what is kept me so happily single. And if you happen to be anyone of the above mentioned people, Please note, I can definitely come up with a lot of reasons.
Lazy girl… lazy girl…
Frost hasn’t been too busy doing nothing neither did she forget this space. Its just when it comes to weighing reading and writing on two sides, I chose reading. And now when I got the time, I managed to copy almost two months worth of writing onto the blog.
Thanks for dropping by. I know I haven’t been able to respond to comments, they will be taken care of soon. Happy Reading.
