Well,today after a period of almost a month,I am writing in my blog.Well,what with college work and stuff,one does tend to get busy.And also there was no particular topic for me to write on.I have written blogs on my favourite serials (in Hindi;the English list is likely to come up in a week or two,when,predictably,I will be out of topics again!)
My topic for today’s is something which usually floods all the national newspapers every year at this particular time of the year,every time.No,its not the advent of spring ( spring??Whats that?The whole country is surprisingly freezing this year!)..its , as you must have guessed by now,Valentine’s Day.
Now don’t get me wrong.Its not that I am not a supporter of love or something,its just that anything overhyped is a total no-no for me ( well,anything excludes books).And come Feb 14th( not exactly Feb 14th;it actually starts from the week before,i.e Feb 7th),the whole world is drowned in pink or red or even worse,both.The day when,according to tradition,Cupid strikes his arrow on his victims,is a great day of business for florists ( everyone from the posh florist down your lane to the wholesalers at Baba Kharak Singh Marg!) ,confectioners and gift shop owners.The florist sells the rose you bought for teacher’s day for Rs 5 at Rs 50.And everyone,predictably,and not surprisingly,has the color red included in their wardrobe that day,be it anything-a red sweater,a red hankerchief ( yuck!) or even red earrings.Even guys are seen in tight pink T-shirts ( some guys never realize that the color pink suits very few guys like Hrithik Roshan.On girls,well no other color looked better!)The gift shop put away all their birthday and anniversary and birthday cards and put only Valentine’s Day cards on display,with pictures so predictable ( there are only two designs: a kid of abt 8 yrs old,kissing another kid with a flower in her hand and the second of a couple walikn hand in hand at a beachside in the sunset!)and words so cheesy that you feel that your valentine will instantly faint after reading them!!The newspapers,in addition to remindng you everyday that there are only ‘ four’ days left for the (horror)V-day,also gives you some totally useless tips ( like how to impress your boyfriend/husband by getting a total makeover done at CVFH salon,or how to get your husband/boyfriend away from the girl he likes,or/and keeps comparing you to .A piece of advice to all the girls who’ll actually fall for the latter;one,girls,you need to get away from a guy who compares you to other girls and doesn’t appreciate you for what you are worth,and two,….this is just an example..dont get your hopes up thinking that you can finally get your husband/boyfriend away from that totally hot girl he seems to have fallen for!!!!).
The television doesn’t help .It airs special ‘ Valentine’s day’ programmes.The news channels get in some astrologer,who will ‘ predict’ how the year will be for your love life.The entertainment channels will show how some real-life reel couples are celebrating their valentine’s day ( as if we care!).Some movie channels will screen three flop love story movies in the day time,and think that they can make up for all the horror in the day by screening a hit movie in the night,which no one watches.Even the saas bahu actors are not to be left behind.Even for the special Valentine day programmes,they do not shed their ‘ unnaturally good girl’ image,and the long streak of sindoor ( the unmarried ones;the married ones can keep their sindoor on!).Only the color of their saree changes to-yes , you guesed it right---Red.
Red is after all not a bad color,but come Feb 14th,you feel as though you have been made to see everything through red sunglasses.Even the dogs ( the posh homebred ones) are made to wear red coats ( no offence ppl!!)
Its not that I am anti-valentine’s day or something.Its just that my idea of valentine’s day is not exactly candlelight dinners,salsas on the dance floor in the arms of someone tall and dark and handsome ( as is the vision of the perfect guy for every gal),while the stars glow above in the deep blue velvety sky.My idea of valentine’s day is something like Thanksgiving.Yeah,I no this sounds funny and odd,but still.I think its most important to thank your valentine- can be anyone-your lover,the person you love( yes there is a difference between the two!),your friend,your siblings or even your parents!-for being there for you in your times of need and difficulty.Valentine’s day for me is a day where I try ( note the word try!)to be nice to people and bring a smile on every person I talk to.In short it’s a day when I don’t allow my mood to go wrong,whatever happens.And what do we do on Thanksgiving?well that’s not exactly an issue,as most people don’t even know when Thanksgiving is.Funny right?We somehow manage to copy the concept of valentine’s day from the West,but forget Thanksgiving!!And you don’t exactly need a particular day to profess your love to someone…u can say the three magical words any time of the year………….
Another Valentine’s Day will fly past without any ‘proper’ valentine for me,and I know that it’ll not be my last solitary V-Day.But if not a valentine,I have many more people to shower my love on-my parents,my friends,my 2-year old brothers ( one of them was my valentine the previous year;he gave me his red balloon from McD!!).Maybe I wont be able to give them any roses or any chocolates,but I can definitely give them laughter and happiness-for the rest of their lives.For roses do wither and chocolates never last more than a week.I intend to give them an everlasting glow on their faces and wish them happiness forever……………
My plans for the day are not much;go to college,have a blast with friends , try to decipher what the prof is trying to say,consider bunkin a class or two and having a cup of hot chocolate from Nescafe while walking with my friends in the cold wind near the buses and coming home in the bus,listening to some romantic songs and trying very hard to write legibly in my diary.I’ll probably be dressed in red too( I never said no to dress in red!)….but most of all,I’ll be happy ,satisfied with life and content to know that in addition to my loving family and friends, someone special loves me too and will continue to do so.And as for how my ideal valentine’s day should be---well I m not likely to spill the beans here,on a public site for everyone to see right;)??
Last of all: A very happy valentine’s day to all you people out there!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
My Favourite Serials ( Hindi)
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…..
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…..
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!!!!!
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