A final tribute...

Death - it has a finality to it. In the past two months I have lost two people in my life. The after events  could not have been more different.

If there is one thing that is sadder than death, it is an end not mourned for. It makes me realize that one of the most primal feelings that a human can undergo - love - is also a two-way feeling. In what way does that make us superior? It is easy to care for someone who is nice to everyone because you are just reciprocating the gesture. But, caring for someone otherwise - not for what they are to you but for what they stand for - is something that sets you apart.

I remember her as a person who was never happy. How is that possible? She had to endure a relationship in which she was thrust into at a very tender age which festered a lustful dislike towards life itself. Outright hatred is always better than ignoring a person because that shows that you have SOME feeling towards the person. She was lost in the sea of people who not only ignored her but also never tried to understand why she behaved the way she did. Maybe all she needed was a thoughtful gesture once in a while, a kind voice or sometimes a listening ear. But being cast into the typical role of a stepmother - which to everyone's acceptance she played very well - she could not be perceived anything but that. As Ra puts it, she probably always felt like an outsider and sadly she dint leave anyone of her own behind.

So, yesterday when I saw the drama unfolding in front of my eyes, I could not help getting away from it all.  A 5 minute wail from a sister who refused to take care of her in her last stages - was that all her life was worth? People unabashedly discussing mundane matters in life just hours into her death, somehow all this was adding insult to the injury. No matter who she was and what she did or did not do, she deserved respect.

I will always remember her fondly as a someone who always asked me if I wanted a cuppa coffee. As someone who demanded a saree whenever I got a raise. As someone who was always there for every occasion in the family. As the only grandma I ever knew.

Will miss her! 

Man of Steel(?)

How can anyone make super man look super boring??? But "Man of Steel" did it! Even Russell Crowe couldn't save the film! Half of the movie I was wondering when will the actual action start? And start it did in the second half and lasted as much - a few seconds. All in all a very poorly made "Super-hero" film with no power or punch - err pun intended :)
PS: I actually dragged three of my friends to the movie and dint hear the end of it for a week!

Innocents and Wordkeepers...

"The Sea of innocence" is a moderately good read...The writing style in itself is not so commanding as the atrocities that are portrayed in the book...Goa- for many still remains as an elusive picture of a paradise lost has in fact a darker and murkier side to it...The story speaks of a middle-aged investigator who gets pulled into the case of a missing 16 year old by her ex-boyfriend of a cop...The things that the girl had to experience at sweet 16 leaves a bitter taste in the reader's mouth...

The narrative is far too predictable and the characterization is pretty weak..I mean you can't just tap into a drug-mafia and come out unscathed...Still, the story of the missing girl keeps you hooked onto the book to know whether she is still alive or not , if not for anything else...While the atrocities are unbelievably true, the characters could've been given some more meat to make the investigation and the conversations believable...

All in all, even though the book was not very well written, "The Sea of innocence" captures you with a temporary spell and leaves you heavy hearted imagining the kind of law-less, corrupt and incorrigible society we live in...


Speaking of Society, I also had the chance of reading another surprisingly well written book - "The Wordkeepers"...Keeping up with the recent trend of bringing mythological characters to life, "The wordkeepers" is the first of a triology that speaks of the last avatar of Vishnu and the Kali Yug...Although not a believer of Kalki, I fell for the book - hook, line and sinker...

There are places where you can make out the nascency of the author (this after all is her first book) but the overall narrative is riveting...Can't wait for the next book!

Of words and oleanders!

Just now finished a couple of beautiful books and my journey which started in Nazi Germany has now ended up in the crowded streets of Kolkatta...

I am so happy reading some meaningful books after the sorry excuse for a book - "Revolution 2020"...It was like cleansing myself raw after a long week of selling fish...

"The book thief" from which the phrase word shaker is borrowed is a beautiful, lyrical narration of the magnificence of human nature...It is amazing the depths to which people go to uphold the honor of their word...It is true sometimes, the worst of the situations brings out the best in people...It is heart wrenching to see the love story unfold amidst the uncertainty that Nazi Germany brought about to the millions of people who were neutral to the anti-Semitic movement....But most of all my favourite character of the book was the fair skinned Jesse Owens...One kiss that's all he asked for...*sigh*...

Then there was this sudden jolt and I woke up in a royal mansion in which the oleander girl is dealing with her uncertainties of impending nuptials and the incompleteness that has filled her life....I usually shy away from the works of Indian authors for the simple fact that almost all of them revolve around the intricate web of emotions that every Indian faces...My simple explanation is I have enough of that in my everyday life, I don't need to delve into someones else's to understand that...But surprisingly and refreshingly "The Oleander girl" takes me with her in search of her identity...The book is very well written without the usual mushiness and has strong characters that hold the fort on their own..Now that I reflect, I guess I liked the book so much because every character in the book is unabashedly themselves without any pretense...All in all a good read...

I have a stack of books waiting for me and cant wait to start them! Till then ciao!