which character is it, anyway?

my fave literary characters. tag is flicked from dottie. has been twisted to include comics under literature. but honestly, i LOVE comics!

a. cheshire cat. from alice in wonderland. the words of wisdom. the smile that stays on. holistic gyaan at its best. and most simplified. my all time fave character.

b. nina. from preethi nair's beyond indigo. if someone ever made me a protagonist in a book, i'd like to be like nina. who knows her mind. but is confused at the same time. someone who's not scared to defy norms to get what she knows she wants. what i like most about nina...? she's real.

c. batman. LOVED him since i was a child. my fave superhero. the only human superhero, in fact. no superpowers. just human-created gadgets that help him fight evil. and oh, what gadgets!

d. veronika. from veronika decides to die by paulo coelho. It tells the story of 24 year old Veronika, who appears to have everything in life going for her, but who decides to kill herself. it's base around the subject of madness - or what we perceive as 'madness'. around the theme that collective madness is sanity.

e. gandalf. LOTR. THE wizard. amazes me. i'm in total awe of him.

f. howard roark. of ayn rand's the fountainhead. theoretically perfect. someone i'd idolized at some point of time in life. realized that i'd have to be an entirely different me to be like him. didn't think was worth it to change myself that much. but the admiration didn't wane.

g. the little prince. simplifies the most complex, most profound gyaan. and lends his own unique perspective to everything i see.

h. Mo, the pig. from Animals, Inc. The pig who manages to run an entire farm. a great lesson in business. of how it only takes the right leader to have a successful business. simplified. so that even an actual pig may understand it.

i. jean grey. from marvel's X-Men. have always wanted to BE her. :(


okk... i list only 9. coz i like the number! i tag galadriel, suruchi, loca, pix & the newly found "lost on the street" to do this tag. lost's tagged coz last time she asked me why she wasn't tagged. gurl - piece of advice - don't do that. ask galadriel. she still regrets. :)
anyone else who wants to pick up the tag - plz do so.

look for books...

trishna had tagged me to write abt my fave indian author books a couple of months ago. i hope i'm not too late with it!

i love reading. but i must say, i was biased. i thought indian authors lacked the depth, the fantasizing that made me like reading. and then, i went thru this indian author phase, which lasted almost 3 years! after reading anita desai, preethi nair, kiran desai, tarun tejpal, jhumpa lahiri and a host of others, i realized i DO like indian authors. besides the ramayana, which is an all-time fave, these are d FIVE titles that make it tops.

book title: beyond indigo
author: preethi nair.
her '100 shades of white' is definitely more popular. but this one's a treasure. a simple, kind-of-chick-lit tale. i can relate really, really well to Nina, the protagonist. when i first read it, it was like someone had written about me. and i could SO relate to the writing style. if i ever write a book, it'll be like this!

book title: black friday
author: S. Hussain Zaidi
this book has been researched for 4 years. and is completely factual *or at least as close to facts as can be* extremely detailed, it highlights the conspiracy and the investigation that ensued vis-a-vis the march '93 blasts in mumbai.
i did like anurag kashyap's effort on the movie as well.

book title: queen of dreams
author: chitra bannerjee divakaruni
i like her style. have read all that she's had published. this book is my favorite. it transports me to a different reality. simple language and very lucid. absolutely delightful read.

book title: maximum city
author: suketu mehta
very hyped, so i won't say much. a view of mumbai from the eyes of an Indian who's used to living abroad. very nicely captured. there're moments in this book which set it apart from all others in its league.

book title: girl alone
author: rupa gulab
all time favorite chick-lit. her sense of humour rocks! an awesome blend of wit, non-mushy romance and saucy tips on surviving alone in a big bad (?) city. an absolutely wonderful coffee shop or travel read.

i'd like to tag galadriel & ketan to take up this tag, though it is open for anyone who hasn't already done it.

handle with care...!

i wanted to re-read the alchemist this morning. when i remembered, i'd lent it to someone YEARS ago and that person happily forgot about it. this was when i still loaned books to people. after years of abuse, i've wisened up. i no longer lend books. i'm tired of lending books and then crying about how they come back used and abused or then, even worse - they never turn up!

there've been so many instances when people have returned my book with curry stains or doodlings or arbit phone numbers/mail id's scribbled on the last page. i READ the last page! and even if i didn't, no1 gave you the right to desecrate my book! i think it should be a legal crime to abuse a book! punishable in a court of law!

i very rarely borrow books from people. and i don't like it if someone asks me if they can borrow my book. *this is not applicable to close frenz!* it's like sum1 walking upto you and saying: "i'm really bored. can i borrow your baby today?" the answer wud *hopefully* be d same .. "umm.. well... NO!" they're equally, precious, u see!

let me clarify. "mistreating" my books mainly refers to :
a. folding pages. *invest in a bookmark and learn to use it!*
b. folding d book!!! *u wud be SO dead when i find out!*
c. touching pages/cover with dirty hands. *YES, i preserve d cover too!*
d. dropping food on my book *U will be dropped from grace. for good*
e. tearing ANY part of the cover or page. *WTF?! it's NOT urz!*
f. scribbling on it like it were a notepad. *NO excuse can be legit here*
g. creasing d spine. read at 45 *for odd pages* or 65 *for even pages* degree angles, if reqd. i care more for the spine of my book than ur neck!
h. lending MY book to someone else without my permission. *people do that*
i. LOSE the book. *u lose my fr'ship*

it's not that i'm d only one who cares for books. i DO have frenz who look after their books like i do. and to them, i can lend any of my babies with my eyes shut! but till u manage to enter that realm of comfort with me, it's a strict no-no!!

and of course, if u borrow anybody's book, pls take care of it and do return it to them once u're done reading. don't make ppl use GPS to track their books!

p.s.: i must mention my colleague, Kabir, who once borrowed a book. and returned it in excellent condition *the way it was* with a thank u note. good people DO exist!

it's all in d mind...

woke up feeling a tad blue in the morng. then thot, let's dig in and see if i have my 'wizard of oz' with me. it's been one of my "happy books". along with alice, peterpan & d ilk. checked on books on table. checked in closet. not there. nearing panic, checked in "book corner" *yeah, i have one in my house*. checked in d storage box also. *yeah, u guessed right. we don't have a bookshelf anymore. the old one was emptied & kept on d patio to gather some sunshine. it got soaked in d rain.*

damn! where was my wizard of oz?? "home, in a 'safe' place. with most of your other books." piped up Voice-in-Head sarcily.

maybe it's the day that's doing it. maybe the distance. maybe just age. these days, with me, it doesn't take much for a passing thought to cascade, inadvertently trip over itself, multiply in magnitude, sulk, scream out intense emotions and eventually morph into pure nostalgia.

and so it was, with not finding my Wizard of Oz. at that instance, i knew what i longed for. no, not "books". no, it was nothing tangible. nothing material at all.

i missed the trail of my life. hoarded carefully. sometimes randomly, usually impulsively. over d years. every little detail. every moment. every association. it all amounted to something. or so i liked to think. small incidences and instances that i'd brought home to seek refuge with me that became permanent residents without me realizing it. sometimes, forgotten soon after getting them home. but always available. at-hand, as i like to say! always there when u reach out.

i miss those pieces. those symbols of continuity.

but no sooner did i think i knew, than did Voice-in-Head pipe up again: "what continuity? continuity is a myth. just like forever. what was, is only what you remember of it. your interpretations. shared memories. individual perceptions. and what 'is' is but illusions on the horizon - adaptable, malleable, infinite. reach out, get them & see what you make of them."

and as suddenly as it had piped up, Voice-in Head silenced down. moved on, maybe? leaving no trace that it had been there. that moment. in my head. except, of course, for me. and my perception *knowledge, maybe?* of me having heard. and may i say, comprehended.

happy 2 sniff...

the smell of new books always manages to make me feel happier. fresher.
it's something i can't explain, but no matter what book it is, as long as it's new, it has that distinctive smell which acts like a caffeine boost for me. i remember so many afternoons that i've spent at crossword... smelling most books before i settled into a corner with a calvin & hobbes or some "indian author - fiction" book. *WHY are books categorized??*

after spending almost a quarter of my monthly income in books *the other quarter went towards food & shopping, while half went towards commute!*, i've often been asked *by my parents & now, V* why i can't buy pirated or second hand books?

well, i can't buy pirated books. i have ethical and qualitative issues with that. *i DO download movies & music off d net, tho!* so, it's only where books are concerned that i actually steer clear of piracy! also, the quality of pirated books is really sad *at least all that i've seen with frenz or peers* and sometimes, i've seen the print fade away in a few months time. i'd DIE if that happened to any of my books!

as far as buying second hand books is concerned - i believe that MY books have MY perspective attached to them. *i believe this is true for all my possessions* and buying a book which someone else has owned prior to me, will make ME read the book with THAT person's perspective. i know that defies any & all logic. but well, i believe it. and my belief is far stronger than any logic! so it just has to be new books for me. there was a bookmark i owned which sed "wear the old coat but buy the new book" somehow, that bookmark was SO me!

how & why was i thinking of this now?
well, i woke up feeling rather dull... and this feeling threatened to morph into depression on seeing the neighbour shifting out with her cat. that's when i opened a book *d inheritance of loss, if any1s interested* and smelled the pages. there! now i'm feeling all fresh, happy and alive! i haven't read the book yet. i have harry potter 7 *e-book; thanks, suruchi!* and my GRE and a prospective prof's book to read before i get down to it! but, for now, sniffing it shud serve me just as fine.