Surprised to see this post after that entire hullabaloo on Hindi serials? Well, every case has its exceptions and it’s the same in this one. I don’t blame you for being so confused though, coz I know that I did go a lil bit overboard with my criticism of saas bahu serials.
Well, coming to the main point-my favorite Hindi serial is Baa Bahoo and Baby. I never miss an episode if I can help it. Many people still feel that it’s a saas bahu serial. Well it is-but not like the ones I so lovingly criticized. It is a serial that everyone can relate to, especially if you know what it is like being in a huge joint family. There is something different about this serial which makes it so endearing. Maybe it is the fact that all the characters of the serial actually look their age .Maybe it is because this is one serial which is purely entertaining, and none of the characters are either evil or schematic ( no, not even the sisters-in-laws of the bahoos!).Or maybe it is because this is one big family who loves each other dearly and is not ashamed to show it. Whatever it may be, the basic fact is that this is sheer fun for anyone who loves their family dearly.
There is no ‘ main’ character of this serial. Every character is equally important, The head of the family is Godavari Thakkar,a powerful yet kind woman with a drunkard for a husband, who has been through many hardships like poverty and corruption to bring up her children as good human beings with good values. Her elder son ,the most conservative of all the brothers Arvind is a total mama’s boy ( or in this case,Baa’s boy!),and wouldn’t listen to anything against her.This quite vexes his wife Leela,a former TV actress,who has to check herself twice before talking about Baa to Arvind.Their son Jigar is a doctor whereas daughter Dimple , who is a little younger than Arvind’s youngest polio affected sister,Baby( whose real name is Radhika!),is a bride.The second brother is Harshad,a well-to-do doctor,who had once left his family for his job but returns back to them due to his Baa’s love and affection.His is probably the most normal family,Then comes Praveen,a total comedian-businessman,who is so stingy that he refuses to contribute to the monthly expenses with the other brothers .His wife Praveena died last year,and so he is a single parent to his kids ,with occasional help from his sister in law,Devaki.The next brother is Subodh,a playwright in his dad’s theater company and his wife Meenakshi,who is extra extra sensitive and burst into tears everytime she sees something remotely touching.Somehow she is the only one who manages to laugh at all of Tushar Kumar’s ( the elder son-in-law ,husband of Charubala,Baa’s snobby daughter!)sick,not-at-all-funny,or in better words,poor jokes!!Next in line is ( I forgot his name;dey r soo many that I cant remember all of them.Readers and avid watchers of BBB…please help and forgive me!)…….called Mafatlal by Praveen who fiancée is this Punjabi girl named,aptly,Gurinder Chadha.And lastly,the most loved character,Gattu,the mentally unstable brother who is the thread binding this lovely family together……..
This is one family which loves each other and is united from every front,despite their differences.This is one family that makes you laugh and not make you thank god for the fact that there love and trust even amongst hatred and evil.
The other hindi serials which I like are Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai,which is hilariously funny.Its about Indravadan ‘ Indu’ sarabhai and his wife Maya,who stay in one of the most posh areas of Mumbai and are a regular art connoisseurs,like many other Page 3 celebrities.Their elder son Sahil, a doctor,shocks Maya by marrying a typical Punjabi middle class girl,Manisha ( whose name is changed by Maya to Monisha,as Manisha is hysterically middle class according to maya!).Monisha and Maya are as different from each other as,well,…there are no words to describe how dissimilar they are from each other.If one holds a book reading session with cocktails in their house,the other buys off antique raddi from the raddiwala!!To top it all is Rosesh,sahil’s brother, a total slave to Maya’s wishes and not to mention,a …err….poet……!!!Their family brings in loads of laughs and hence do good for all people,especially high blood pressure patients.At the end of nearly every episode,the viewers are in splits!!
I think that our producer should dedicate the entire primetime slot to comedy rather than serious saas bahu serials. People nowadays have no time for themselves or their family, and instead of spending the remaining time either grumbling at each other or watching some lousy soaps, they should either talk to each other or at least laugh with each other.Coz, even though we have everything we need in life today, we have no time for some of the most important things in life-like family, love and most importantly-laughter…..
Friday, January 25, 2008
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
BEAUTY:OUTER OR INNER????
The other day,I was reading this novel ( Anything For You,Maam,by Tushar Raheja),and all was fine till I reached the point where he recollects his first meeting with his to-be love ( will not use the word ‘ girlfriend’ here,as any reader of the book will quite easily comprehend!),Shreya..and the same stereotype ‘ She had beautiful hair,eyes touched up with the slightest hint of kaajal on them’so on and so forth.In short-this was another ‘ pretty’ heroine..Then this question came into my overactive, evercontemplating, inquisitive mind-why cant any heroine of any novel be bespectacled, moderately fat ( or atleast overweight),and hair neatly oiled and plaited?And why does the heroine have to have kohl-rimmed eyes?As many beauty analysts will tell,kohl doesn’t exactly suit everyone.Its just this sort of fad that every girl blindly follows ( remember the 90s,when the eyeliner was oh so in fad,and made every girl look either anorexic or malnourished.).And what about those poor girls whose tradition doesn’t allow them to apply kohl on their eyes without the presence of a bindi ( believed to ward off evil spirits),no matter how gorgeous they look with it?I mean,girls cant go on putting a bindi with denims,can they?But this is another story,which will occupy another post…..
Coming back from that minor( yet extremely important) digression,look at any book-FPS( Neha was beautiful,with waist length hair,left open…),One Night…( Ditto Priyanka,minus the long hair!) and blah blah blah….why doesn’t the heroine ever have a bad hair day,or acne ( okay,acne is too much..but a pimple would suffice!)??Yes,I must admit that Indian women are one of the most gorgeous women on the face of earth,but we do have anomalies….well,why isn’t a Konkona Sen as important as an Aishwarya Rai??Isnt Does this mean that girls who are plump,have bad texture of hair,and eyes minus kohl but moderately good looking,will not get the much coveted postion of a heroine in a novel, or do they just remain ‘ good friends ‘ with the hero??( I m sure I am probably being labeled as a ‘ spoilsport’ by all the male readers at this point!!)And if all is said about the heroines,then wait-I’ve not even started on the heroes.In both the above mentioned books,the hero( shyam and Hari;well I am actually reluctant to call Hari the ‘ hero’ of FPS!!) is depicted as this confused, fumbling,totally lost ,but nevertheless sweet guy.I really pity the poor Indian man-he is shown to be weak everywhere-first on television,where his whole world revolves around two woman –his mom and his wife…the more similarities they have ,the better,but again here the wife is as different as the mom as cheese is from chalk!!And now in the novels!!( I must put in a good word for Tushar Raheja;atleast Tejas was not a Shyam or a Hari,even though he showed a few characteristics!!)
And you know the strange part-this,I have seen , is a phenomenon seen in mostly books authored by Indian authors!! For example in this novel ,the hero falls for this heroine who is a size ten( as opposed to the model size 6.Or wait a minute,,was it a size 2?? ),has dry red hair,and is bespectacled with thick framed specs…!!!The hero was just an ordinary average looking guy .And they both end up being happily married!!!
So this comes up to another facet of the Indian man ( this is one topic which will take up not one,but many posts in a blog!!)-they are totally obsessed with the physical aspect of a woman and have considerations as to how her persona is!!
But,you know what,this is also a result of the average Indian mentality.We teach our girls methods to enhance their outer beauty which is totally impermenent,but not once have we taught them to enhance their inner beauty which is permanent.Not once do we think telling a girl how to behave in a pooja,but we think ten times before deciding which sari to purchase for the occasion……………….
Well,there are exceptions in every case.And coming back from another digression ( god!I seem to be getting into a lot of them in this post!!) to the initial topic,I cannot name a book though,but I do know men personally who rely more on the eternal inner beauty of a woman rather than the external and I must say that I am really grateful to have seen such men in my life;they are almost an extinct species now….which shows another important point-let facts be fact and fiction be fiction!!!!
Coming back from that minor( yet extremely important) digression,look at any book-FPS( Neha was beautiful,with waist length hair,left open…),One Night…( Ditto Priyanka,minus the long hair!) and blah blah blah….why doesn’t the heroine ever have a bad hair day,or acne ( okay,acne is too much..but a pimple would suffice!)??Yes,I must admit that Indian women are one of the most gorgeous women on the face of earth,but we do have anomalies….well,why isn’t a Konkona Sen as important as an Aishwarya Rai??Isnt Does this mean that girls who are plump,have bad texture of hair,and eyes minus kohl but moderately good looking,will not get the much coveted postion of a heroine in a novel, or do they just remain ‘ good friends ‘ with the hero??( I m sure I am probably being labeled as a ‘ spoilsport’ by all the male readers at this point!!)And if all is said about the heroines,then wait-I’ve not even started on the heroes.In both the above mentioned books,the hero( shyam and Hari;well I am actually reluctant to call Hari the ‘ hero’ of FPS!!) is depicted as this confused, fumbling,totally lost ,but nevertheless sweet guy.I really pity the poor Indian man-he is shown to be weak everywhere-first on television,where his whole world revolves around two woman –his mom and his wife…the more similarities they have ,the better,but again here the wife is as different as the mom as cheese is from chalk!!And now in the novels!!( I must put in a good word for Tushar Raheja;atleast Tejas was not a Shyam or a Hari,even though he showed a few characteristics!!)
And you know the strange part-this,I have seen , is a phenomenon seen in mostly books authored by Indian authors!! For example in this novel ,the hero falls for this heroine who is a size ten( as opposed to the model size 6.Or wait a minute,,was it a size 2?? ),has dry red hair,and is bespectacled with thick framed specs…!!!The hero was just an ordinary average looking guy .And they both end up being happily married!!!
So this comes up to another facet of the Indian man ( this is one topic which will take up not one,but many posts in a blog!!)-they are totally obsessed with the physical aspect of a woman and have considerations as to how her persona is!!
But,you know what,this is also a result of the average Indian mentality.We teach our girls methods to enhance their outer beauty which is totally impermenent,but not once have we taught them to enhance their inner beauty which is permanent.Not once do we think telling a girl how to behave in a pooja,but we think ten times before deciding which sari to purchase for the occasion……………….
Well,there are exceptions in every case.And coming back from another digression ( god!I seem to be getting into a lot of them in this post!!) to the initial topic,I cannot name a book though,but I do know men personally who rely more on the eternal inner beauty of a woman rather than the external and I must say that I am really grateful to have seen such men in my life;they are almost an extinct species now….which shows another important point-let facts be fact and fiction be fiction!!!!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
ANNE OF THE GREEN GABLES
Author: L.M.Montgomery
Published By: Puffin Books 1997(First Edition by Harrap 1925)
A heartwarming story about a young girl Anne (spelled with an 'e', as she specifies innumerable number of times in the book!!), who, though initially unwanted, later becomes the life and soul of Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, where the Cuthberts reside. The story bears an uncanny resemblance to ‘Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm’ (even the title is similar!), but Anne has something which Rebecca doesn’t- the gift of the gab! Anne is known for her incessant chatter, much to the delight of Matthew Cuthbert and despair of Marilla Cuthbert! Anne is how a normal girl is supposed to be-bubbly, full of life, bustling with energy, and almost, always knee deep in trouble, unlike the prim and propah Rebecca,who,had the age of 13,had a maturity way beyond her years! Anne has the same problems every girl faces in their tweens—their woes about their appearance and most importantly, their frustration at being treated as a child when they consider themselves ‘young ladies’ at the age of 13 or 14….there’s no need to hide that fact. Every girl fumbles through their early teens, probably the toughest times in a girl’s life…I smile as I remember my own early teens and my parents’ woes at being unable to suddenly having to handle a quiet, introvert girl, as opposed to the chatterbox before!!!This book has quite a lot of segments that has actually made me laugh out aloud, much to the alarm of the people sitting next to me! There are two things (especially in a book) that can make the reader laugh-one is pure situational/slapstick comedy and the other is innocence. In this story, however, it is the innocence of the 11 year old Anne when she tells a ‘falsehood’ about a crime which she has never committed in order to go to a picnic, or when, using her extraordinary imagination, she pretends that her old ugly yellowish white wincey dress is actually a pale blue silk or that her much dreaded red hair was actually raven black!!! Imagination is one of those inborn gifts God bestows to us ,but by the time we grow up, some of realize that it is not much use to us, and discard it, whereas some others never realize that they had something in them called imagination, and by the time they realize it, its too late. Some eccentric people ( like me) still continue to treat imagination as our best friend, and escape into these trances in which the world is a slave to our wishes, which help us find happiness in the smallest of things, and never keep us brooding for long and some of the best category of all, convert their imagination into print. And that’s where we get these great books from!!! And you know what the fun part is? Any wish, truly wished from the bottom of your heart, does come true...….i am living proof to this statement …Okay, that’s enough diversion from the main story.This book deals with the first few years of Anne at Green Gables, from the age of 11 to 16 and a half, after which the story proceeds to Anne’s becoming a teacher at the Avonlea School.
Anne’s friends are equally entertaining. Her best or rather ‘bosom’ friend, Diana, without whom Anne, at the age of 12 proclaims to the much surprised Marilla, cannot ‘live’, her other friends at school-Jane, Ruby and her nemesis, Gilbert Blythe and the most arrogant of all her friends, Josie Pye, for whom entire Avonlea shared a deep dislike….all reminders of how our friends and enemies (if we ever knew the exact meaning of that word at the age of 11!!) from our childhood. Every little incident in Anne’s preteen life is a startling resemblance to ours as a child-the fear of being unloved by anybody, the fear of being teased by so-and-so for some ‘ faults’ in our appearance and most importantly, being unable to forgive that so-and-so for apparently ‘ humiliating’ us! It all makes us laugh now for our folly, but at that time it was no laughing matter!!
Anne’s story also brings about the transition of a girl into a young lady. The childlike characteristics, like impatience and her constant chatter seem to fade away as she steps into college, miles away from her home. But the only thing that remains constant in Anne’s life is her innocence-a word that has lost use nowadays. It is her innocence that endears her to the reader and has them captivated, in the frame of not only Anne’s but also their own childhood. As the author said ‘I thought girls in their teens might like it. But grandparents, school and college boys, old pioneers in the Australian bush, girls in India, missionaries in China, monks in remote monasteries, premiers of Great Britain and red headed people all over the world have written to me to tell me how they loved Anne and her successors ‘…….
Published By: Puffin Books 1997(First Edition by Harrap 1925)
A heartwarming story about a young girl Anne (spelled with an 'e', as she specifies innumerable number of times in the book!!), who, though initially unwanted, later becomes the life and soul of Green Gables, a farm in Avonlea, where the Cuthberts reside. The story bears an uncanny resemblance to ‘Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm’ (even the title is similar!), but Anne has something which Rebecca doesn’t- the gift of the gab! Anne is known for her incessant chatter, much to the delight of Matthew Cuthbert and despair of Marilla Cuthbert! Anne is how a normal girl is supposed to be-bubbly, full of life, bustling with energy, and almost, always knee deep in trouble, unlike the prim and propah Rebecca,who,had the age of 13,had a maturity way beyond her years! Anne has the same problems every girl faces in their tweens—their woes about their appearance and most importantly, their frustration at being treated as a child when they consider themselves ‘young ladies’ at the age of 13 or 14….there’s no need to hide that fact. Every girl fumbles through their early teens, probably the toughest times in a girl’s life…I smile as I remember my own early teens and my parents’ woes at being unable to suddenly having to handle a quiet, introvert girl, as opposed to the chatterbox before!!!This book has quite a lot of segments that has actually made me laugh out aloud, much to the alarm of the people sitting next to me! There are two things (especially in a book) that can make the reader laugh-one is pure situational/slapstick comedy and the other is innocence. In this story, however, it is the innocence of the 11 year old Anne when she tells a ‘falsehood’ about a crime which she has never committed in order to go to a picnic, or when, using her extraordinary imagination, she pretends that her old ugly yellowish white wincey dress is actually a pale blue silk or that her much dreaded red hair was actually raven black!!! Imagination is one of those inborn gifts God bestows to us ,but by the time we grow up, some of realize that it is not much use to us, and discard it, whereas some others never realize that they had something in them called imagination, and by the time they realize it, its too late. Some eccentric people ( like me) still continue to treat imagination as our best friend, and escape into these trances in which the world is a slave to our wishes, which help us find happiness in the smallest of things, and never keep us brooding for long and some of the best category of all, convert their imagination into print. And that’s where we get these great books from!!! And you know what the fun part is? Any wish, truly wished from the bottom of your heart, does come true...….i am living proof to this statement …Okay, that’s enough diversion from the main story.This book deals with the first few years of Anne at Green Gables, from the age of 11 to 16 and a half, after which the story proceeds to Anne’s becoming a teacher at the Avonlea School.
Anne’s friends are equally entertaining. Her best or rather ‘bosom’ friend, Diana, without whom Anne, at the age of 12 proclaims to the much surprised Marilla, cannot ‘live’, her other friends at school-Jane, Ruby and her nemesis, Gilbert Blythe and the most arrogant of all her friends, Josie Pye, for whom entire Avonlea shared a deep dislike….all reminders of how our friends and enemies (if we ever knew the exact meaning of that word at the age of 11!!) from our childhood. Every little incident in Anne’s preteen life is a startling resemblance to ours as a child-the fear of being unloved by anybody, the fear of being teased by so-and-so for some ‘ faults’ in our appearance and most importantly, being unable to forgive that so-and-so for apparently ‘ humiliating’ us! It all makes us laugh now for our folly, but at that time it was no laughing matter!!
Anne’s story also brings about the transition of a girl into a young lady. The childlike characteristics, like impatience and her constant chatter seem to fade away as she steps into college, miles away from her home. But the only thing that remains constant in Anne’s life is her innocence-a word that has lost use nowadays. It is her innocence that endears her to the reader and has them captivated, in the frame of not only Anne’s but also their own childhood. As the author said ‘I thought girls in their teens might like it. But grandparents, school and college boys, old pioneers in the Australian bush, girls in India, missionaries in China, monks in remote monasteries, premiers of Great Britain and red headed people all over the world have written to me to tell me how they loved Anne and her successors ‘…….
BLUE SPARK SISTERS
Author: Chrissie Glazebrook
Published By: Arrow Books 2003, United Kingdom
The reason I picked up this book from the shelf in the library after picking up a few other classics was because it seemed like a chick lit by reading the storyline of the back flap and would hence do good for light reading (read: reading done without having to consult the dictionary, so unlike the reading of a classic, where at least 5 words per sentence have to be looked up in a dictionary!).But as I delved deeper into the novel, I realized the true meaning of the phrase ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ (or in this case, by the mini-review on its back flap!).Yes, a female reader can relate to the protagonist more than the male reader, but its not a total chick lit like, say, Princess Diaries, which only a girl can relate to, since it is all about the feelings of Mia Thermopolis….but, coming back to this book, it can be read by male and female readers alike.
Now, coming to the plot of the novel. The story starts when 16 year old, perpetually-yellow latex miniskirt-and black-shirt and tights clad Rowena Vincent escapes from her Newcastle home to Dublin, Ireland, in order to search for her father, who deserted her. The catch (or one of the initial catches??) in the seemingly simple story? She has a photograph of three men, among whom one is her dad, and she doesn’t know which one he is!! To top it all, she suffers from some sort of a personality disorder( or was it an overdose of Vodka??) which makes her stutter, or talk nonsensically, or occasionally, totally puke out at, well, lets say, not the best of times or occasions. She is escorted all the way to Dublin by Herald ‘Hefty’O’Hara (who lives up to his name of Hefty!),believed to be this huge ‘ Big Man’ of Newcastle in every sense of the phrase. He totally takes good care of her, giving her free accommodation and stuff ,and thus helps her find a friend in the waitress of the Hotel, Teresa‘ Texy’ Maguire. But she, who thinks that Hefty is in this huge flesh trade gang, flees from him too, this time accompanied by Texy, who becomes her best friend to Ballyloony, somewhere in rural Ireland. She befriends the barman of the hotel, Matty, who has the hots for Texy and another local ‘Ballyloonite’ as he may be called, Joe.She and Texy visit Hefty’s aunt on Hefty’s insistence (much to Rowena’s reluctance) and Texy’s grandpa, Bobbo, who sees to have taken a liking for Rowena and they also visit a nunvent, where Rowena has one of her PD fits again, and claims to see her father within the clouds in the sky!!!!
However one day, stumbling upon the fact that there was no money with either her or Texy, Rowena decides to go job-hunting. Upon contemplation (read: drooling on the bed with some vodka in her head!) she decides to go to the Nunvent, where, despite her attire, she is accepted. She starts working for Enda in the Cleanliness Deptt. of the Nunvent. The nuns began to look upon her as a reincarnation of St.Vincenza of Verona ,due to their seemingly striking point of view,not to mention the above PD fits of seeing her father( which the nuns mistake as to seeing their father,Jesus Christ!),and some other incidents,which some how make Rowena’s antics get divine interpretations from one and all.Now comes the real twist of it all:She is to act as St.Vicenza at the bicentenary( pronounced as bison teenery by Rowena throughout!!) of St.Vicenza,which coincides on Rowena’s birthday…and the saint was supposedly stoned to death!!With all these freakish events going around in her life,how will she find her dad????Will she even remain alive at the end of it all???And why are the nuns called ‘ The Blue Spark Sisters’??
This book is funny,upto the extent of hysterisis at some points.The style of writing is extremely informal,somewhat like that of writing a personal diary.Rowena possesses all the ingredients of a funny heroine-confusion,delirium and the ( not so)occasional display of madness and hatred for all things ‘ girly’ , something, I am sure which all girls have faced in their teens ( and in some cases,pre teens!) …all in all,which makes her a very lovable heroine……and also the fact that she finds her Mr.Perfect in Joe, a guy who has one blue eye and the one brown one on a partly scarred face shatters our image of the ideal guy having these huge biceps and looks to kill for….it shows that even Rowena, for all her foolhardiness, has her heart in the right place, and chooses a guy who has a heart, instead of a heartless, insensitive hunk!! The story ends with Rowena having found her true home and family----in the most (un)likeliest of places!!
Published By: Arrow Books 2003, United Kingdom
The reason I picked up this book from the shelf in the library after picking up a few other classics was because it seemed like a chick lit by reading the storyline of the back flap and would hence do good for light reading (read: reading done without having to consult the dictionary, so unlike the reading of a classic, where at least 5 words per sentence have to be looked up in a dictionary!).But as I delved deeper into the novel, I realized the true meaning of the phrase ‘Never judge a book by its cover’ (or in this case, by the mini-review on its back flap!).Yes, a female reader can relate to the protagonist more than the male reader, but its not a total chick lit like, say, Princess Diaries, which only a girl can relate to, since it is all about the feelings of Mia Thermopolis….but, coming back to this book, it can be read by male and female readers alike.
Now, coming to the plot of the novel. The story starts when 16 year old, perpetually-yellow latex miniskirt-and black-shirt and tights clad Rowena Vincent escapes from her Newcastle home to Dublin, Ireland, in order to search for her father, who deserted her. The catch (or one of the initial catches??) in the seemingly simple story? She has a photograph of three men, among whom one is her dad, and she doesn’t know which one he is!! To top it all, she suffers from some sort of a personality disorder( or was it an overdose of Vodka??) which makes her stutter, or talk nonsensically, or occasionally, totally puke out at, well, lets say, not the best of times or occasions. She is escorted all the way to Dublin by Herald ‘Hefty’O’Hara (who lives up to his name of Hefty!),believed to be this huge ‘ Big Man’ of Newcastle in every sense of the phrase. He totally takes good care of her, giving her free accommodation and stuff ,and thus helps her find a friend in the waitress of the Hotel, Teresa‘ Texy’ Maguire. But she, who thinks that Hefty is in this huge flesh trade gang, flees from him too, this time accompanied by Texy, who becomes her best friend to Ballyloony, somewhere in rural Ireland. She befriends the barman of the hotel, Matty, who has the hots for Texy and another local ‘Ballyloonite’ as he may be called, Joe.She and Texy visit Hefty’s aunt on Hefty’s insistence (much to Rowena’s reluctance) and Texy’s grandpa, Bobbo, who sees to have taken a liking for Rowena and they also visit a nunvent, where Rowena has one of her PD fits again, and claims to see her father within the clouds in the sky!!!!
However one day, stumbling upon the fact that there was no money with either her or Texy, Rowena decides to go job-hunting. Upon contemplation (read: drooling on the bed with some vodka in her head!) she decides to go to the Nunvent, where, despite her attire, she is accepted. She starts working for Enda in the Cleanliness Deptt. of the Nunvent. The nuns began to look upon her as a reincarnation of St.Vincenza of Verona ,due to their seemingly striking point of view,not to mention the above PD fits of seeing her father( which the nuns mistake as to seeing their father,Jesus Christ!),and some other incidents,which some how make Rowena’s antics get divine interpretations from one and all.Now comes the real twist of it all:She is to act as St.Vicenza at the bicentenary( pronounced as bison teenery by Rowena throughout!!) of St.Vicenza,which coincides on Rowena’s birthday…and the saint was supposedly stoned to death!!With all these freakish events going around in her life,how will she find her dad????Will she even remain alive at the end of it all???And why are the nuns called ‘ The Blue Spark Sisters’??
This book is funny,upto the extent of hysterisis at some points.The style of writing is extremely informal,somewhat like that of writing a personal diary.Rowena possesses all the ingredients of a funny heroine-confusion,delirium and the ( not so)occasional display of madness and hatred for all things ‘ girly’ , something, I am sure which all girls have faced in their teens ( and in some cases,pre teens!) …all in all,which makes her a very lovable heroine……and also the fact that she finds her Mr.Perfect in Joe, a guy who has one blue eye and the one brown one on a partly scarred face shatters our image of the ideal guy having these huge biceps and looks to kill for….it shows that even Rowena, for all her foolhardiness, has her heart in the right place, and chooses a guy who has a heart, instead of a heartless, insensitive hunk!! The story ends with Rowena having found her true home and family----in the most (un)likeliest of places!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
BOOK REVIEW: THE GHOSTS OF VASU MASTER
Author: Githa Hariharan
Published by: Penguin Books India 1994
This book achieves the rare status of what may be called,in short--a beautiful story. Human emotions are articulately expressed through the life of Vasu Master, an English teacher in P.G.Boys’ School, Elipettai.The profession of teaching, said to be one of the most noble of professions, also has the added advantage of being a lifelong profession. The story starts with Vasu Master’s retirement from the school, and the first few chapters describe the school, an overbearing Headmaster, and of course, the students and their (occasional) unruly behavior. This is a sort of an autobiography of Vasu master, and how his life changes when he is offered to teach a slow learner, Mani, who is ridiculed by the whole town. Vasu master takes this up as a sort of challenge, and in the process of teaching Mani about the values of life, actually relives his own memories-right from childhood (where he was almost controlled by his authoritarian vaidya father and his grandmother who, in her entire life, managed to learn only one word of English, and that was what she called Vasu-Nuisance!!) to his adolescence (when he had a huge crush on a foreign model on a pin-up calendar!)to his decision of becoming an English teacher, to his marriage to Mangala, to the subsequent birth of his sons…..everything in his almost monotonous life helped him to teach Mani.
This book definitely reminded me of the Panchatantra stories-the usage of plants and animals to explain a point to children. Almost everyone must have heard the Panchatantra or the Jataka tales. Here, Vasu Master uses the same philosophy while teaching Mani when he realizes that Mani is impatient and irritated with pens, pencils and notebooks. And so the fictitious tale of the Grey Mouse and his neighbor the Crow, the Blue Bottle fly and the other characters. Through the stories, Vasu master not only teaches Mani, but also us. He teaches us the true meaning and the different perspectives of the ‘words’ intellect and love, amongst others. This is in fact a very touching and philosophical take on the persona of a teacher. It has made me look at my teachers as not only the people whose only job is to drill facts into our heads, but also as the people who have their own lives and feelings .It has made me take back every reproach I ever uttered about any teacher of mine and it will make me think twice before I utter anything against my teachers.Coz, believe it or not, every teacher has contributed something to shape a students’ personality, either knowingly or unconsciously.
This story also has a bit of Taare Zameen Par within it, especially when Vasu Master discovers that Mani, who cannot talk properly, expresses himself beautiful through rough and hasty, yet decipherable sketches in which he views everything through a black veil. Vasu master helps Mani remove the black veil and makes him see the world in its true colors...
Philosophical, enchanting and lyrical-these are only few of the many adjectives which can be used to describe this book……….It starts with Vasu master trying to sum up his entire life in a notebook presented to him by his students and ends with him preparing a question paper, not unlike the one a teacher prepares at the end of a year, but only with seemingly simple, yet thought provoking questions about human thoughts and actions and their consequences.
Published by: Penguin Books India 1994
This book achieves the rare status of what may be called,in short--a beautiful story. Human emotions are articulately expressed through the life of Vasu Master, an English teacher in P.G.Boys’ School, Elipettai.The profession of teaching, said to be one of the most noble of professions, also has the added advantage of being a lifelong profession. The story starts with Vasu Master’s retirement from the school, and the first few chapters describe the school, an overbearing Headmaster, and of course, the students and their (occasional) unruly behavior. This is a sort of an autobiography of Vasu master, and how his life changes when he is offered to teach a slow learner, Mani, who is ridiculed by the whole town. Vasu master takes this up as a sort of challenge, and in the process of teaching Mani about the values of life, actually relives his own memories-right from childhood (where he was almost controlled by his authoritarian vaidya father and his grandmother who, in her entire life, managed to learn only one word of English, and that was what she called Vasu-Nuisance!!) to his adolescence (when he had a huge crush on a foreign model on a pin-up calendar!)to his decision of becoming an English teacher, to his marriage to Mangala, to the subsequent birth of his sons…..everything in his almost monotonous life helped him to teach Mani.
This book definitely reminded me of the Panchatantra stories-the usage of plants and animals to explain a point to children. Almost everyone must have heard the Panchatantra or the Jataka tales. Here, Vasu Master uses the same philosophy while teaching Mani when he realizes that Mani is impatient and irritated with pens, pencils and notebooks. And so the fictitious tale of the Grey Mouse and his neighbor the Crow, the Blue Bottle fly and the other characters. Through the stories, Vasu master not only teaches Mani, but also us. He teaches us the true meaning and the different perspectives of the ‘words’ intellect and love, amongst others. This is in fact a very touching and philosophical take on the persona of a teacher. It has made me look at my teachers as not only the people whose only job is to drill facts into our heads, but also as the people who have their own lives and feelings .It has made me take back every reproach I ever uttered about any teacher of mine and it will make me think twice before I utter anything against my teachers.Coz, believe it or not, every teacher has contributed something to shape a students’ personality, either knowingly or unconsciously.
This story also has a bit of Taare Zameen Par within it, especially when Vasu Master discovers that Mani, who cannot talk properly, expresses himself beautiful through rough and hasty, yet decipherable sketches in which he views everything through a black veil. Vasu master helps Mani remove the black veil and makes him see the world in its true colors...
Philosophical, enchanting and lyrical-these are only few of the many adjectives which can be used to describe this book……….It starts with Vasu master trying to sum up his entire life in a notebook presented to him by his students and ends with him preparing a question paper, not unlike the one a teacher prepares at the end of a year, but only with seemingly simple, yet thought provoking questions about human thoughts and actions and their consequences.
The perfect Gentleman in a gentlemen's game!!!
Unassuming,modest and yet so amazingly talented-that’s how I’d like to describe Anil Kumble.Born in Bangalore, a mechanical engineer by education and by profession, a bowler,this is one player who is one of the real ‘ gentleman’ in this gentlemen’s game of cricket. He is probably the best Test captain we have ever had and is a true Indian- converts all his frustration into his passion while playing,and thus maintains a cool exterior.Doesnt get easily excited,as can be seen when Australia lost its last wicket( in the Sydney Test),hence giving the Indian team its first test win against the Aussies after a period of 5 long years.His joy gives him some sort of an inner radiance,which slowly shines through his face.It is his unassuming charm,which in fact makes him more attractive than the much hyped Dhoni or the much linked up Yuvraj Singh.I mean,they are good players in their own right,but none actually have the grace of Kumble.Dravid comes closest in the charm aspect,but he too has been said to be aggressive on the field,as could be seen during the Indo-Pak series in Pak.Also,Dravid is seen to be impulsive.Kumble keeps his cool and relies on logic rather than emotions , especially when it comes to dealing with issues like match fixing,or the much more recent wrong umpiring.An impulsive player would have decided to boycott the next matches to protest against the unfairness of it all,but Kumble decided that it was time for quiet revenge.And not only him,even the other team members seemed to keep their cool during the Sydney test.It was great to see a much more mature game.Perhaps the Aussies also decided to take a leaf out of Kumble’s book…???
And to those critics who said or rather predicted that captaincy would affect Kumble’s form…….need I say anything more??Kumble has already silenced his critics by taking his 600th wicket at Sydney.Take my advice critics,and find some other player to criticize.Or even better,stop criticizing the Indian team for some time.I have this feeling that they will all silence your pen,for once and all.!!!
At the age of 38,which spells ‘ retirement ‘ for some players,Kumble is still going strong………….so go on, Mr.Kumble….YOU ROCK!!!!!
And to those critics who said or rather predicted that captaincy would affect Kumble’s form…….need I say anything more??Kumble has already silenced his critics by taking his 600th wicket at Sydney.Take my advice critics,and find some other player to criticize.Or even better,stop criticizing the Indian team for some time.I have this feeling that they will all silence your pen,for once and all.!!!
At the age of 38,which spells ‘ retirement ‘ for some players,Kumble is still going strong………….so go on, Mr.Kumble….YOU ROCK!!!!!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Pongal
D harvest festival,best celebrated in South India is here.And d worst ordeal for me is being a south indian away from south india.The celebrations go on here,btr widout d same magic as cam be felt down south.For d payasam ( kheer) which is traditionally supposed to be cooked on a ( sort of)bonfire,is now cooking on d gas stove and in sum un fortunate households,its nt being cooked at all!D rangoli ( called by different names in diff areas!)which,once upon a time,was made by zestful little girls in half sarees and pattu pavadai using rice powder,is now drawn,or rather sketched hastily on d floor,n in sum cases,a new ' sticker'is pasted on the floor,which gives pleasure to neither the beholder nor the person who stuck it!There is sumthin missing in d air....perhaps d smell of d wood burnin,d cuckooing of d birds,d excitement of d full family ( yes,everyone from d 90 yr old grandpa to d 9 yr old kid!)looking forward to d festivities,n nt to forget,the payasam!!!
As much as we try to bring d festivities to our homes,we fail.As much as we get up before sunrise n take a headbath,we miss the massaging of our hair using''homemade' oil by grandmothers who do d dual job of commenting and advising us on our hair conditions as well as massaging.Even though we try ( and I did try dis year,breakin d chalk rule!) n make d rangoli wid freshly grounded rice powder,it looks dull widout n e ppl steppin over it by mistake!!
This all problly dusnt make n e sense...bt n e one wid a passion for dese tttly traditional stuffwill know wat i mean.....n e way,Happy Pongal!!!
As much as we try to bring d festivities to our homes,we fail.As much as we get up before sunrise n take a headbath,we miss the massaging of our hair using''homemade' oil by grandmothers who do d dual job of commenting and advising us on our hair conditions as well as massaging.Even though we try ( and I did try dis year,breakin d chalk rule!) n make d rangoli wid freshly grounded rice powder,it looks dull widout n e ppl steppin over it by mistake!!
This all problly dusnt make n e sense...bt n e one wid a passion for dese tttly traditional stuffwill know wat i mean.....n e way,Happy Pongal!!!
Hindi Serials
So, its 1.30 p.m on a cold wintry thursday aftrnoon in india...n , due 2 d lack of n e thin betr 2 do ( for now!) n nt habituated 2 do n e thin else at dis odd tym of d day ( esplly a holiday!),I switch on d television..lo n behold!I have intruded upon d lost territory of saas-bahu sagas!!AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!Disgustedly,i change d channel,bt it figures tat i m stuck wid only 2 more alternatives-one,to watch sum sensational news ( lyk sum xyz actor's alleged break up wid sum abc actress,or sumthin abt how sum jkl person murdered his wife or brother for money...stuff which cn problly take up another topic on my blog!).And d 2nd alternative?To watch dis really huge flop movie( sumtyms,if i have dis really baad luck, dey r dese dubbed telugu/tamil movies.To watch d original movie is one thing, n 2 watch d dubbed one is another!!) starring dese two ttly unknown actors n actresses on a stereotypical love story......I'd ratr go back 2 d saas bahu sagas....maybe i shud try watchin one for a change,and sit watchin a serial in which a lady,who wudnt luk half bad widout make-up bt nevertheless puts on sum,n nt to mention a long snakelike bindi ( i had herd of snakelike hair,bt snakelike bindi??),evilly scheming against her daughter -in -law,who's d very embodiment of truth n sweetness...n tat apparently,accordin 2 d saas , is d bahu's biggest fault....!!Quite used 2 an atmosphere whr d saas treats d bahu as her own daughter,i m unable 2 c dis evil lady ( who,btw luks younger tan her own bahu; do dose anti aging creams actlly work??OPr do d producers think tat der audiences r dese real big fools who wont realise tat a 20 somethin is tryin 2 play a 50,problly even 60 yr old lady!!)plottin against her bahu....I flick d channel n here cums another daily soap...abt dis really ' good ' gal,who does all d housework n is her daddy's favourite ,n how she ends up makin sacrifices for her families,n her family quite fails to understand her!!n den it is revealed tat her husband's ex girlfrnd is tryin 2 ' snatch' d husband frm dis daddy's fav daughter..n tat her mom in law is also involved in dis plan(surprise,surprise!)!!Another saas bahu serial in d makin!!!flick!!another channel appears,andthis really takes d cake-one bahu kills her saas n d 2nd bahu,who,incidentally is d heroine( did i actlly hafta write tat??) is arrested.The serial den takes a few years leap n we c d heroine of d serial lookin d same as she was , 20 yrs back ( in d serial) except for a few gray hairs here n der( with a lil help frm baby powder!)..n she cums back 2 take revenge frm her family..n ends up helpin dem!!Dese serials really scare me 2 death coz of d fact tat one day i might be a bahu,so maybe i will hafta strt all my prayers for a gud saas frm now itself...n d instnt i becum a bahu,i'll hafta strt prayin for a gud bahu,so tat wen i turn into a saas , i dnt hafta sit at home,fearin for my lyf.And maybe i shud strt collecting dose anti-aging creams n hair dyes n stuff.And also-
Well what d heck,I have a betr option.
Click.D television is switched off,n so is my mind!!!
Well what d heck,I have a betr option.
Click.D television is switched off,n so is my mind!!!
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