2015 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.



Here's an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,000 times in 2015. If it were a cable car, it would take about 17 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Charlie

We got to watch “Charlie” yesterday and boy,it was a very colourful-hippy -movie.



The story in simple sentence,” A quirky girl in search of an equally quirky guy :P”

This is a movie for all those misfits in the society,who dare to do things differently,who has in them what it takes to be weird and be happy about being weird.And I believe at least some point we all too might have wanted such colour and madness in life.

Charlie the protagonist,is a kind hearted artist...magician..rescuer..alcoholic(?).Again,I am not sure how he lives(?) or what he does to fill his stomach(?).His family is  his dad ,who confirms that travelling has made Charlie,who he is now. He also have a huge list of admirers who are bemused by his ways of life and love he showers to everyone of them.He is kind to all and goes that extra mile to help and rescue people in distress.

Now the story is progressed when our lady,Tessa,who also an artist,who had ran away from her mother rents a dingy home previously rented by Charlie,who had left behind a huge collection of his art.Being an artist herself,helps Tessa to admire and be intrigued about Charlie when she stumbles upon his graphic novel.A special mention to this graphic novel,which albeit was the crux of the story.That one was superbly done. :).She is super excited about the prospects of meeting a like headed man,and soon sets out to find him!She uses the portraits Charlie had drawn to find the folks and their stories associated with him and slowly Charlie is pieced together..! Finally,did Tessa and Charlie meet ?If they met,how was that meeting ? :)Thats for you to watch!!

First and for most the costumes,the home,the locations, esp the pooram :)..it was really nice to see so much of color in every frame!! :) and yea the graffiti,the hippy-ness,bohemian style of the movie.It all,added a certain warmth to the story.The music..very refreshing.And it does justice to movie or so I believe.The beauty of kochi,all those lanes and roads and old buildings which I haven’t seen in any other movie was so pleasant to watch,cinematography at the best!!

About the characters,the one person to whom I can totally relate was Tessa.She reminded me of what I used to be :D.And one scene,which struck with me was the eulogy given to self :).That was thought provoking and made me remember passages from Tuesdays with Morrie :).

But if you ask about the story,aah..I could not find one.It was all about one central character and too much of the central character.I was also annoyed at couple of abrupt endings or starting to the people he is associated somehow.

Though,everybody was praising Dulquer for his free spirited acting,I quite didn’t enjoy him.He was making so much of effort to look effortless :P Through out the movie,I was thinking who could have replaced him to throw in that spark to otherwise quirky movie.Parvathy was an absolute delight to watch! Her eyes,expressive and her body language which shows that excitement,with a slight tinge of disappointment whenever she misses Charlie :).Aparna was her usual self of being bold (?).Venuchettan was the most effortless actor,he reminded me of my grand father.And how can one forget about the “Thief”,he was great!

Once the movie was over,my dad exclaimed to have “enjoyed” the new gen movie but it reminded him of Estappan  by Aravindan G. And yeah,so I did dig about the movie!!

The most surprising thing,I found in the movie was the location of “Youth Hostel”.Its enroute to my maternal grandparents home :D, and I could not keep my eyes of the scenic beauty of my place.I was brimming with pride!!

My Rating : 3.5 / 5

My Angel

Overwhelmed with joy
My eyes brim with tears
When I saw my little angel

My hands tremble with fear
On touching her tender face
For i was afraid
My roughness would hurt her

Getting her to my arms
Was a true divine moment
It is no where similar
To what i had always imagined

Holding her in arms
A longing dream of mine
Truly a bundle of joy
That i had in my arms

Cute eyes and small nose
Rose lips and Soft toes
No where she resembled me
As her father said...

Suddenly she twists,
Raising her closed pink fist
As though in protest
For disturbing her sleep

Rocking her back to sleep
I watched my lovely gift
And I realize that,
My life has changed forever

 

Note : This was written even before I had my baby girl :D,I knew I would definitely have a girl,just like me :)

Insipid

It rained heavily
And after ages
Stooping brown trees
Overflowing streams
Wet red muddy roads 
It was indeed,a new life

     Just like the good rain
     Who knows when to come
     I came to your life
     The least when you expecte

It rained heavily,
Again,The next season
Streams still flows
Pregnant clouds filled skies
It was still a new world
But with onset of wrinkles 

     Again we met
     Not just for a season
     From the initial spurge
     Together,we grew old 

It rained heavily
And recurrently
For many seasons
Rivers were born
This seasonal burst
Now was another routine

You...

You, 

     A revelation of my love

Simple thoughts of you 

         Brings out ecstasy in me

I am in love with you,

         And your velvet touch

I am already in heaven

         Bestowed by your kisses

I live now with this purpose

         For being there for you 

 

I know, seasons never come

        Before they ought to !!

Impatiently, I wait for that day

         Until you dawn upon me

Not so far, I can feel,

       This bittersweet wait

Awakened by this,

         beautiful dream 

I sense the tingle

         Of holding your finger

From far across

         Beyond the worldly barriers

 

I realize, I am you !!

Note : I had written this while counting days to my D-date to see my lil girl 'N' :).Its been 2 years,but still remains so fresh in my memory.

Blog Postings

• Monday
  
  
  
  • Monday Blues
  
  
  • Daily Posts
  
  
  • Book Review / Movie Review / Product Review
  
  
  
  


• Tuesday
  
  
  
  • Technical
  
  
  • Technical 2
  
  
  
  


• Wednesday
  
  
  
  • Mommy Story / Cooking
  
  
  • Poem/Short story
  
  
  • Indiblogger
  
  
  
  


• Thursday
  
  
  
  • DS/Algo
  
  
  
  


• Friday
  
  
  
  • Five Friday Finds
  
  
  • Opinion - Week's most happening thing!
  
  
  • Favorites!
  
  
  
  


• Sat/Sun
  
  
  
  • Off
  
  
  
  

 

Sorry,I'm busy

In busy traffic junctions of Indian roads,right when the signal turns red,we can always find a group of people comprising of children,girls,boys,even older folks covering you from all your sides.They all are trying to sell small but cute things or sun shields etc to the people who are stuck in the signal.Occasionally,I do buy something or the other especially if there kids.[Thats why they employ kids!!!]

It was one such day when we were stuck in traffic,the only difference being that I was with my team on my way to a team outing.But that day,it was a very old man who came to us,started tapping on the car window with his bony hand.He was trying to sell a packet of ear buds.He was crying and asking us to buy at least a packet of those ear buds.He really was in hunger,pain and shame :(

But I chose to ignore him.I chose not to look at him[yes,I am a rude-jerk].I am not sure why I did that.I am ashamed of myself,I still am and will always be!! :(

That pathetic look of the old man,is still giving me heart aches even after a year of this incident.After a few days,I went looking for him but could not find him.It still haunts me that when I could have made a difference by buying that kit or even giving him some money or at least even buying him a meal,I chose not to do it.

Its such a relief on being able to tell this out loud,now.

In response to the daily post Sorry, I’m Busy

Monday Blues!

:)

Everything Changes

It was a bad day,a very bad day!!

I was late to my office and my "Amrit, I am so sorry to tell you this.You have stage I ,which is a very common and curable type of cancer".

Amrit head was wobbling in fear,anguish,anger on the prognosis provided by his doctor.Much to his disbelif,he was writing in pain and anger in knowing

“This too shall pass.”

Years,later as I sit in this same spot.I receive yet another note which  made suddenly everything very clear!

"

You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.

"

 

 

 

In response to the Daily Post "Everything Changes"

Next Year...

It was the end of one more grant year for Deeps.She was excited to exit the year happily and was so ready to embrace the new adventures from life.

The new year party was at full swing.It was just few more minutes to 12 O'Clock .The count down had already begun.

"10..9...8..7...",even before the count down could finish Deeps heard loud noise of heavy artillery firing from behind.At first she thought that it was the loud Metallica playing in the fore ground added with the cheerful New Year Party noises of the crowd gathered,but she felt quite uneasy.Her gut told her to move somewhere "safe".Even before she could get a sense of whats happening,the time became still for innocent Deeps.

She suddenly had no more "Next Year"!

 

Note : Paris killings in mind!

 

Favourite book-to-movie

Well,that has to be To kill a mockingbird...



Images Courtesy : Goodreads

The book was so good and the movie was too.Very few movies manage to capture the essence of books mostly due to sheer volume of imagination put forth by the famous books.But To kill mocking a bird as movie was just right.



Images Courtesy : IMDB

I enjoyed the movie as much as I enjoyed the book :)

 

Five-Friday-Finds

Its Friday!!

1. The biggest birthday gift!! :)


2. This article speaks about the happiness myths we behold.


3. A good article on why chennai flooded ?


4. A list of mind altering confusing movies.


5. Do you know about these seemingly known things ?

 

Cheers :)

The Wanderer

 

Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar - Its a dream to see the sunrise from this place!



Next stop - "Paris" .How can one not imagine roaming all day long in Paris ?



Auschwitz concentration camp - This is place I am wanting to visit since the first I understood about Nazi and world war 2.I don't know what I can expect from such a place,but nonetheless it is one of the principle structures that remind me of the cruelty of fellow humans !



CuChi Tunnels is definitely on my travel list.

And finally the majestic and the mysterious Macho Picchu



Well,its just 5 places for now ;)

In response to the Daily Post "The Wanderer"

The guilt that haunts me...

Every single day,my heart is filled with the very deep guilt of leaving my lil one with my mom so that I can go work for securing her a (b)right future(?).The irony of it!!

I have been working since she was 4 months old(yes,I know, its hard) and now that she is close to 2 years,she does know that precise moment I put on helmet and start my scooter.She sinks into herself and says without any joy "mama, tata bybye".That melts my heart away!! I believe she is used to our routine and may not make a fuss whence grows up.(fingers crossed).

I am scared to even think about that day when I would want her to stay back with me,just share something...anything as I am sure that she would ask me "Mommy,where were you when I needed you the most ?".I hope she forgets all of these days :D.Many days I wake from terrible dreams seeing my girl, saying I hate you mom for not being there for me,not playing with me or not seeing what I have drawn for you...

I realize this is what every working_new_mother goes through and we don't have a choice.I used to boast about taking a break of 5 years to enjoy my girls childhood and decide things for her.But my pay check helps everyone in the longer run of the month.And thus,its my mom who enjoys my little ones precious childhood.

Every single day,I go through this torment and every single day I end up praying all I would want is to just hug my girl and see her dance and sing,see her grow up before she is too "Grown up"

In response to daily post The Guilt that Haunts Me 

A Confession...

It had been cloudy all day
Just like my mind
But I am determined
A confession is all need from her
I slowly walk into her room
And open the closed windows
The floral curtains sprung to life
The pages of her book just flipped across
As I turn around to look at her
My heart aches like none
The ruffles of her bed
The dried flowers of vase
The books in shelves
The dusty floral curtains
Everything is as same
But,nothing is same at all
Frozen, I stood near the window
From here,I still see her lifeless body
Lying in the bed I made

November's End

Yet another month has passed.And as I look back,I am pretty much the same person,that I was earlier this month.Only that,I am just more tired!!

With ailing parents , a hustle-bustle toddler,time crunching assignments at office,daily commutes,life was quite busy this November.

And then there were rains.Not like the usual "thulavarsham" we get here at Kerala.But this time,rains were saying hi at all wrong times.It would be sunny all morning and then suddenly out of no where there comes huge rain,just to drench my washed and dried up clothes and then again sunshine.These were not the rains I know of...I am cribbing,I know.I can only assume the loss of chennaites!!Well,I too once was a proud resident of namma chennai.The place where I used to stay is all filled up with water :|.There were no drop of water to drink then and even now though its all surrounded by water.What an irony!

I pray that all remain safe,especially babies,new borns!!

#ChennaiRains

Family

Dad : Hey, son did you have your dinner ? Come down now and have dinner.Mama and me are waiting for you.

Son : Im nt hngry nw!.wil hv lt ltr.

Mom : Its getting cold.If you can better come to eat.I need to do the dishes and then go to sleep.Come down now!

Son : k

Mom : Will you call down her as well ?

Dad : Hey daughter, can you come down for dinner ?Its already 8.

Daughter : I dnt hv tym dad.I hv 2 finis of tis asgnmnt 2 b submitd 2mrw.

Daughter : I nt hngry 2.Mom has made bhidi, which i don’t lik !

Mom : Well the time you take to type of this conversation in whats

app is all needed for you to come down and have the dinner !! :D

 

Note : Inspired by a  present day whatsapp family scene :D,I witnessed recently!!

Monday Blues!

 

We make umpteen number of decisions daily without even thinking.And then we get stuck somewhere in the middle of life not knowing why were are here and what we doing and where we need to go to.That,I believe is the one chance we might get to truly "decide" who we want to become in life!!

Battery Operated

I could not lift the arm.Its unusual.Never once in my life did I have the trouble of using my arm!!

I yelled to my wife,”Honey,I can’t lift the arm” .Can you please help me ?

“Oh well thats because,I forgot to charge the batteries to your arm last night .Can you please use your human hand ??“,my wife yelled back !

Since the whole advent of battery operated hands have taken place,it feels very odd to use my own hand :)

Writing Prompts :)

 

I am just trying to flex my brain into including the above listed writing prompts for whole month of December and I am quite excited to see how well it goes!! :)

Neermathalam Pootha Kaalam…

I always used to step away from Madhavikutty’s novels for obvious reasons(?) which I believed(ignorant me), but now I realize that was a big blunder. This is one memoir that swept me away.I bought the book on a spur of moment, after which I was thinking why did I buy it??It took me some more weeks to actually start reading the book. And what an amazing read!!

I do regret now, I should have read this earlier…Well, better late than never.

Five-Friday-Finds

Its Friday and heres the finds of the day!!

1. These real-life locations inspired some of the Disney movies :)


2. Some things comes to us,but not for others-Privilege


3. Sleep cycles of 90 minutes.This site  helps to find out the right time to sleep to wake up refreshingly!


4. Wish such innovative schools were there in our country as well!


5. 10 Indian Villages which make us proud.Hope more join them !

 

Cheers :)

Awakening

Your Feet

When I cannot look at your face 
I look at your feet. 
Your feet of arched bone, 
your hard little feet. 
I know that they support you, 
and that your sweet weight 
rises upon them. 
Your waist and your breasts, 
the doubled purple 
of your nipples, 
the sockets of your eyes 
that have just flown away, 
your wide fruit mouth, 
your red tresses, 
my little tower. 
But I love your feet 
only because they walked 
upon the earth and upon 
the wind and upon the waters, 
until they found me. 

This is yet another favourite poems by Pablo Neruda.How can any one else describe feet so beautifully ?? :)

The Great Pretender

We all pretend. Everyday.

Well,we need to pretend,right ?

One more time...

Began,that yesteryear day

To an alarm that didn't ring on time

To a broken heater and then a cold shower

To burnt breakfast and cold tea

 To dive into a sweaty jam packed bus

To being late for the stand up call

To the broken coffee machine

To that code which refused to run

To the forgotten wallet

To the empty grumbling stomach

To the sudden evening rain

To the added rain-o-traffic madness

To a messy home with no power

To the unclean kitchen

To piles of dirty clothes 

To the chair,I collapse tiredly

To close my eyes,I try

And then,suddenly,you came,

To pull me and then mumble a silent "mma"

From amongst the other days!

Its this day,for the first time

When you called me,"Amma"

I'd relive that day,for the rest for my life :)

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "One More Time"

Monday Blues

Such a beautiful quote which echoed with me so deeply.Many a times in my life, I might have overlooked that small voice from my gut,for my confusing heart and complicated head!! And at almost all of the times,my gut had been correct..

Sometimes my gut screams at me and at other times the voice is so inaudible that I certainly miss them in the chaos of my inner world.Nevertheless,this quote resonates with me a many levels and I believe it has been put in front of me at the right time :)

Mambhazham

This heart wrenching poem,"Mambhzham" is one of my favourite poems.I still remember my Malayalam teacher reciting this in the class for the first time,I was in tears as soon as she finished(I'm quite emotional even now).Since then this poem had been etched in my mind.The pain of the mother on loosing her son has been so deeply sculpted into your hearts by the poet,Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon that once you finish reading you too will feel the cool breeze!!

The poet depicts pain of a mother who lost her child to death.Her sadness is increased by the sight of fallen ripe mangoes in her backyard without being picked up by any one! 

A book that disappointed me..

It was with huge hype that I bought this book,

Mirroring

[caption id="attachment_781" align="alignnone" width="300"] Mirror image by Negratinta[/caption]

Alone I stand,
In front of you
I wish I could see,
The true me in you
You are a mere reflection
Reflecting me to world

When seen by world
I am selfish
Who beholds the values,
Obsolete to others
Why care ?? It's my life

Confused and worried,
When I look at you
I see a perfect figure
Of myself,
I realize,
I am slave of no one,but Me

Favorite Quotes From Favorite Books

So,lets get started...

• “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”
  ― George Orwell, Animal Farm


• “A small fact:
  You are going to die....does this worry you?”
  ― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief


• "I have, let’s say, sixty years to live. Most of that time will be spent working. I’ve chosen the work I want to do. If I find no joy in it, then I’m only condemning myself to sixty years of torture. And I can find the joy only if I do my work in the best way possible to me. ”
  ― Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead

An Odd Trio

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "An Odd Trio."

It was a new fabric shop and had all sort of quirky items.

"The kind of my shopping paradise",I chuckled and pet my Cat, while browsing their aisle.

There it was the "A beach towel,printed with a cat beaming into a soup bowl"

Need to say,I bought it right away!! :D

The Spell..

Whirling but, 

Fragrant winds 

 

Unsettling, 

Darker clouds

 

Lightening roots,

And deafening thunders 

 

I forget, emphatically

The unopened umbrella

 

As I wait, breathlessly 

For the first shower 

 

In me, 

The hidden child

 

Momentarily reborn

Into a trance... 

 

As I deluge,

The monsoon...

Five-Friday-Finds!

Its been very long since I have posted about my weekly internet finds,well off you go for this week...

• An Underworld.


• Super long hair from China!


• Best parents from literature


• Is your mindset - Fixed or Growing


• The Reasons We Work

Happy Weekend!! :)

Comparison...

Favorite :Female Character

These are the few female characters who came to my mind,

• Kalyanikutty of Nakshathrangale Kaval


• Della of The Gift of the Magi


• Dominique Francon of The Fountainhead


• Gowri of Gowri


• Madhavikutti :) of Neermatalam Poothakaalam

You bet there are so many more!

:)

Routine

It was indeed very cold.

"Unusual" she thought as she wrapped herself in the pallu of her sari against the cold gushing winds flowing from the sea.But that was not enough to protect her from the chilly cold winds.

It was very early in the morning and the coldness still lingered in the air.She ignored and started walking towards the beach.Even though her home was near to the beach,just a couple of minutes away, she only could hear the sea.And in her whole life,was in sync with the music of sea.

The road was deserted save for a couple of joggers.She stopped in between a couple of times due to coughs but was eagerly looking in the direction of the sea.She could  hear the waves crashing against the rocks,which reminded her of something from her past.

A smile instantly crossed her lips...

Favorite : Male Character

Quickly from my mind,they are my favourites,

• Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird


• Howard Roark of The Fountainhead


• Morris of Tuesdays with Morrie


• Sherlock Homes of The Complete Sherlock Holmes


• Christopher Johnson McCandless  of Into the Wild


• Noah Calhoun of  The Notebook 

Finally..!!

Every day, I understand

I either lived, or, I died

Only with the endowment 

Of my faded memories

 

I try remembering 

The other days

I was alive,surprisingly

They are the same

 

It dawns to me,then

A man is worthwhile

As long as his memories are!!

October-A peek back

Its been a long month,seriously :).

I have always felt that slow end of October brings in a coldness or some sort of numbness of the bygone year.Its that part of year which makes me unknowingly realise that its going to be another year end.That smell of the lurking new year night is just right in the corner.An year older,a year wiser.Thats what I am right now.

A lot of things have happened in this month some in favour of me,and some against me.Some has had the capacity to mould me into a different person,than I was a few days ago.

Octobers are long....but then there is the sweet November.....

My favourite writer

As always,we can never single out from among any of our favourites,its a difficult task to just pick one from my list of favourite authors,poets.I always feel that even if a person in his life writes just one line which can touch your heart in any way,(s)he will always be a favourite to you!

Nanditha - a lover of love and of death.She was a versatile and talented poet who has a special place in my heart.



Her words,their meanings ; they sting you so deep...and you are left in awe.

Quoting here is some of my favourite lines from her poems,

” My Mask too fine and serene,
My smile ugly, words worthless
The mask is torn to pieces 
Still I wear a self conscious laugh….”

Goodreads

Musa - The Warrior

Language  :  Korean/Chinese

My Rating :  5/5

My Take    :  Just a word, EPIC !!!

A Korean envoy trying to save a Chinese princess who is being held as captive by the Mongolian army.

Monday Blues!

Some quotes makes me spellbound,speechless.This is one such quote.

I wonder,why I didn't post this earlier!

A book I love but hate at the same time!

Its definitely  Kafka on the Shore,

A book I hated!

I was young,when I read this book and I could not comprehend what the author wanted to convey.I was thinking,what is there in this novel for it to be a Nobel prize winner!!!.I felt absolutely stupid,not being able to get to the bottom.

I hated it.Period.

I want to re-read this once again...who know,may be I can then understand the depth in those words :)

Happy Smileys

This is a sweet memory I cherish with my little brother who is now is some 2000kms away for his job, and ,

I dearly miss him.

My mother never made us any french fries or burgers though we both loved them and absolutely jump into any such occasions when we can have them.Our first taste of french fries came when we were visiting our Aunt.She was very quick in making them.It was so easy peesy!And boy it was yum with the ketchup!! :D.We wanted more,but then my mother was showing her round eyes when my hands wanted to grab everything in the plate.She made fries_not_seen_kid_poker face :D and said to my Aunt that she can never make anything like this.To which my aunt,laughed and told my mom she got these from her nearby super market and was called McCain French Fries

We both noted the name "McCain" in our minds and was waiting for a golden opportunity to lay hands on them,once again.Then a day came,quite a long time after the first tasting.It was when our parents were out of town,we decided to buy McCain French Fries and try it at home.Our parents had given us some money incase of any emergency.I was confident enough to make them as I had already seen how my Aunt made them. And I knew ,I just have to follow instructions on the cover!

My brother went to the near by supermarket and bought a packet of McCain Smileys and Potato Wedges.We were both scared and happy.We placed the oil,lighted the fire,waited for it become hot enuf to put the smileys.But patience was quite less and we added the first one before the oil became hot.Alas,it was kind of soggy.After the first flop performance,we then waited a bit until the oil had heated up.We tried one more of the smileys and whoa,that was just awesome.

I still remember the smile on my brothers face on our success.It was a quick cooking and we finished up everything :D :D.

I was so happy that my little brother was happy.And we promised to have another round when our parents were out of station the next time.

PS: My mother did find out about our adventure from the covers and she asked us to keep for her the next time.:D LOL

Update - 01/Mar/2016 : 

A small decision!

A book that reminds me of home

This is the book that came to mind instantly when I tried to jog my memory about the book that reminds me of home,though this was anything but my home :)

This book is one of the masterpieces of my favorite author Malayatoor. His style is of etching a deep nostalgic mark of the story,of incidents he portrays in his books.Verukal is one such book full of incidents,each a story of its own and collectively the story of the author!

Memories

It was a very cold winter
When I saw 'You' in here
Cladded in your brown sweater,
I couldn’t but only admire

Long legs and slender body,
Blue eyes and beautiful hair,
And a smile so heavenly...
A perfect beauty I have seen ever.

While sipping the hot coffee 
Glancing for a vacant seat
You came right to my table
I knew then, God had intervened in.

Moments I always thanked for
Flew across my mind 
As a bunch of lovely memories
While I walk past "The Cafeteria"

Our House

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Our House."

    My first home as I remember was a white terrace home,which was the first house in a huge compound consisting of three other houses.There was a pathway leading to the home from the gate,alternatively a cement road was also present.It had shrubs which can be called as small trees,and they had lot of nests in them.

The first thing I remember about the home is its colour.It was a bluish white washed home in the late 80s.And it had a pattern grill on the verandah.And it showed beautiful patterns in the late afternoon,when the sun sets!

There was a small room as soon as you enter the home,which I believed was my room.We had a hall cum dining and adjacent to it was the only bedroom.The kitchen ? I don't rememeber :D,but I know there was one :D.

There was a huge open tank just outside our home,on to which I fell and drowned once.Though I don't rememeber,that happening.I was saved coz my mamma was determined enuf not to let me die!! Its a tale to be heard from my mom.

Ah..this was the home from where I disappeared briefly panicking my parents,while I fell asleep under the cot.

This home is where I had my first_friend_sleep_over :D

We welcomed my little brother in this home.I used to sing lullabies to him all the time.I also remember,stealing and hiding his toys and chocolates,and I myself forgetting where I kept it hidden!

...The memories,the closeness,the happiness..childhood..its magical! :)

The book I ended up loving!

A thick book with thousands of words in a single sentence!

I gulped when I first saw the book and I absolutely didn't want to read it,but then I also wanted to know why people were praising this book so much! :P

Thus slowly I began reading the book.It was very difficult especially the first 100 pages or so,but then I fell into a rhythmic track of reading.Slowly I fell in love with Roark,Dominique and their lives!

And when I finished,I became an object-fan of Ayn Rand ;)

Most overrated book I have read

Oh there are so many!! But nothing beats these:





Agreed that these books did instil a surge of "reading" into many new readers esp in our country,but I simply could not agree to the popularity of these books on lines of being great reads!!?? :(

MiTime

Inspired by this quote,today I felt like giving myself a promise to have"5 minutes to myself"!

I simply don't know what can be done in 5 mins or what will I get if I give myself some 5 mins.Well,I even don't know when this 5 mins will come by in my crazy day,but hey I will just try and keep this simple promise! :)

The Lump

Yummy Banana Cake!

Well, this is comfort food..for my husband!! He had been asking for banana cake for so longg  that I decided to bake one just for him! As soon as the cake_bake_smell started spreading in the air,I could see a naughty sparkle in my hubs eyes!! :D

My Comfort Zone ?

I have tried to ignore all those loud noises inside of me to move my a$$ out of my zone of "comfort",and try to change something in my life!!

Sigh!

It is easier to ignore those voices,though day by day they are becoming louder and yesss add the growing guilt of ?!

I have a "basic" job with no promotions !! I know,I struggle to work here.There is no motivation to grow,no good pay even,but yet I have grown roots here :P and now unable to move further.

Well,options ? Replanting myself ?Oh,what if I wilt further ?Then its too late,now with a responsibility of "N" and "R" (of course) I don't see a point in change!!

I am very very comfortable where I am right now.No,I am not.Or am I ?

Voices in my head!!

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Language  :  English

My Rating :  4/5

My Take    :  The first thing I did after finishing the movie was to smell myself  :D. Sounds crazy...isn't it ?. The movie made me think about my most under utilized sense..."Smell".It was not until I watched this movie,that made me realize how lost I am in the vast world of aroma.I could therafter identify anything by the distinct smell associated with it after watching the movie.

Now we all can smell, but how can you preserve the distinct smell of every object we come across ?Is there a smell which can be the ultimate fragrance in this world ? Can any one ever create such a wonder aroma ?

These were the quest of the protagonist in the movie,played brilliantly by Ben Whishaw.

It's not much of a thriller as it claims to be, but yes one will be glued to the movie till the end.

IMDB

My Happiness

Every smallest of activity I do with my little ’N’ gives me happiness.No,nothing has given me more happiness in my life than the growing up with my little one.

That tinge of spreading smile when she finds me right next her when she searches for me makes me happy with pride.

Her tiny hip shaking to Shakira’s song gives me bouts of laughter!

Her way of displaying a naughty wink when she about to do some mischief

When she finally succeeds in matching words with animals

When she opens her mouth for one more spoon of food ;)..

Like the other day when she was able to climb all the way upstairs of our home without my help!

Her tata-bybye-mmmuuuaaahh..see you..Oh I can go on…

Ever since little one has come to our life,every day,every moment has been happiness.I was transformed in such a way that everything I do,I am able to find/give maximum happiness!!

Even when I’am writing this post!! :)

The one book that made me sad!

Though there are many books that had made me sad,this book made me realise how much can the humanity degrade,that was one of a kind of sadness I experienced.!!.It made me so insecure as well,the thought that one mad leader and his charming speeches can make our world a living hell.This book is a poignant read on holocaust!

And I read it during my college days and quite incidentally was all alone at the hostel due a scare of chicken pox ;).I believe that situation added to the melancholy of the book!

Transformation...

I was in pitch dark,

    Drowning deep

I was suffocating

    The death looming beside

I kept holding onto

    That something 

Which no longer existed

I forget to count the days and nights

    And then came another day

I chose to open my eyes

   Slowly darkness left me

I chose to stop my tears

   Steadily I hit the rock bottom

I was alone

   In that scary place

Looking above that deep dungeon

   I saw the blue sky

The fluttering  

   Of birds, trees and butterflies

The swaying fragrance of 

   blooming white lilies

And I decide to move on...

Monday Blues!

For a few days now,I have been feeling terrible...from within me.I was(still am) feeling bitter,worried,sad etc.Its like all of emotions inclusive of happiness bottled up inside me waiting to burst out,the pressure is tremendous.Its a new horizon of feelings and sometimes it makes me wonder  "Am i depressed  ?? ;) "

I am kind of struggling to comprehend whats happening around me.The year till now was a roller coster drive and I think its all getting accumulated fast,faster!!In this course,I have knowingly or unknowingly hurt my dears ones.And I keep on apologising without knowing where or how to change the course of my life!

Sigh!

That being said,is one of the main contributors of my bottling_up_emotions.Well,I believe,no one would longer believe me if I keep up with this trend!! I have to somehow pull myself out from this phase!

Wish me luck! :)

The Song

Caller   :: "Hello"

Anchor :: "Hello and Welcome to "A Song of Your Choice" May I know who is calling ??

Caller   :: I am Mohan.

Anchor :: Hello Mohan,Thank you for calling to "Your Favourite Song".Tell us Mohan,where are you calling from ?

Caller   :: I am calling from Cheppadu.

Anchor :: Cheppadu..hmm near the scenic Allepy right.Well,have you called us before Mohan ?

Caller   :: No,I am calling for the first time.But I listen to your program without fail.

Anchor :: Oh,Thank you Mohan, Its always a pleasure to play the favorite songs of callers like you.So you like listening to songs ?

A book that makes me happy :)

As there is no point in talking about the favourite book from my favourite series,I shall share you about that book which makes me happy, All the time :)



This is the book which transformed me from a just-another-book-reader to a book-worm,at an age about 12-13.

A friend of mine bought this book to our class.Just to show off :P,the kind of books she was reading.Anyways,I also got a peek of the green cover and the small snippet of the story behind the book cover.

"Baammm....I was hooked ".

I wanted to know Totto-chan.

I wanted to read the book somehow.But my friend was in no mood to lend me the book,so that I can read at home.She said,"Mom will scold me for not bringing back the book".

I cajoled,tried to bribe her..even literally begged her to lend me the book.Now to think about it,I didn't know why I behaved so :).Anyways,my friend took pity on me and said she will bring the book the next day as well.Since that day we had some function at school,and there were no class,I could read it :).

Even today,I can vividly see myself bound by that feeling of being able to read Totto-chan the very next day.My restlessness even got me scoldings from my mamma :P.

Next day,I finished the book in like about 3 hours (if i remember correctly,I'm old now :P).That day I realised,

I love books, I am a spreader and most importantly I can do anything I wanted,if I really want it ;) ;)

The book,its green cover,the school,various incidents that happen there,the head master..and most importantly Totto-chan ,everything is still etched in my head.

Every time,after reading a book which made me happy,I realise I can never be happier than the day on which I finished Totto-chan! I am still looking for a book that can bring me the same feelings,I felt after reading Totto-chan :)

Good Byes!

It was late in afternoon and the railway station was flocked with people boarding and departing their trains.

"Thank God" he screamed. We are on time.
"Come on now, run!!,we need to get to the coach as soon as possible".

For past 2 hours we were trying against all odds to reach the Central station and board the Mail.

He went ahead of me with the luggage. It was hard trying to keep up with him. As I tried to run behind him, I knew something was not right. There was an uneasiness in my body and my mind.

Inside the Bubble

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Inside the Bubble."

A month for me,just by me and only with me :)

Lets see,I would definitely pack a book or two.Not more.The ones which I always wanted to read,but never had that urge to read ;)!

I would also pack a few of art /craft works that I would love to complete

Ahh..then there is my ultra secret dream project which is in my head and a month of clutter free time would help me to finally piece my ideas together.

How can I forget Sleep ? I would sleep like a log if I get such a golden chance.Thanks to my lil 'N' :D

Now if I get to cook,I would definitely have a different menu for dinner everyday!

Well,it would great if I had access only to a basic phone to call me dear ones and if there is a view to wake upto :)

Bliss!

My Favourite Book Series ?

Well,much to my surprise and dismay,I realise that I have never read a complete book series !!! :D

Yes,not even the famous Harry Potter Series :)

A book that I have read for more than 3 times..

Well,there are many books which I have read,re-read for more than three times.Then there is,

Randamoozham



which I can keep on reading for any number of times :)

This book is a masterpiece.

Its one of a kind.

And this is the besets book I have ever read! :)

The guts to retell the story of "Mahabharata" which practically every one in this country grew up hearing and to be able to convince or at least put in doubt, almost everyone that his version is truer,that is simply the sheer brilliance of the M.T.

Giving a twist,Bheema becomes the protagonist in this story and the entire tale is told from his perspective.It includes his  joys, sadness, frustrations,vengeance.

Best book I read last year!

Undoubtedly it is "Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick".



I bought this book on a whim during an annual sale of books @amazon.Even though the book was of the genre which I would never have thought of reading :),I certainly did not make any mistake in picking this up!

This book has definitely led me to find a pattern in everything that is chaotic.I was hooked onto this little devil right from the start and each chapter is packed with such information,that I admit James Gleick  has done a marvellous job in giving me an introduction to The Chaos Theory!.

30 Day Book Challenge!

I am so very happy to finally dive into this 30 Day Book Challenge,telling all about my favourite books,characters,authors :) in my favourite place!!

Decisions,Decisions

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Decisions, Decisions."

This prompt made me think real hard on how I make decisions...

Err..not just "life changing ones" but also the small ones like waking up at certain hour..or whether to eat or not to eat that yummy snack right in front of me...or may be what I want to wear to office.

Uff,I think...making and keeping decisions is unknowingly taking up a huge chunk of my time!!

I believe most of my decisions are not throughly thought through or can it be that I am just unable to keep up with them ??

Many of the times when I take a decision I think through it both pros and cons.Then make a very very detailed plan which does take up a huge amount of time but only to abandon the decision and its consequences all together in just few days / hours / minutes.This is happening even if i start obtaining the results I want.Sigh!! The vicious cycle follows!

At other times I just choose randomly..like a thoughtless process..No..no,it does not involve any gut feelings :P

And almost every other time,I simply follow the instructions given by dear ones.I just ask my mom,what should I wear to office,she suggests something which I simply do it without bothering.Then sometimes I ask my dad if I should actualy eat that yummy snack..he says "Why not ?" There I go!!

Hmmm,may be this is what making me lazy and unproductive in decision making?

Ouch,this hurts!!!

Monday Blues!

This quote resonates with me in such a way that it gives me guilt!

No matter how many good,fool proof excuses I come up in not keeping a promise to myself,I still know deep down in my heart that its my non accountability to myself  or risking myself to do something which I always wanted to do is the only reason why I am here and not there, where I want to be.

And today,as I read through the quote,it reflects upon me that no matter how many promises I make and keep my word for others,its only those promises I make to myself and I keep them will bring me the real peace to my inner turmoil.

The more you ignore them,more you get depressed and more you fail to keep promises to oneself.So just one thing, right now "I will be self accountable to myself in decisions I make in my life."

Cheers!

Nammuku Parkan Munthirithopukal

Five Friday Finds

Its Friday and here is my internet findings,Enjoy!!

1. True purpose of solitaire,mind sweeper etc


2. zenpencils


3. Speech and Brain


4. GooseBumps


5. Time-History-Everything

Happy Weekend!

Cheers!

From you to you

It was that time yet again.A new place,a new home,new routines...Yes,we were changing to a new house yet again but this change was quite unexpected.This was supposed to be our home,the sweet home where we planned to finally settle down.

The packers and movers had arrived promptly and were hurriedly dumping away everything into huge carton boxes.My husband was giving away instruction on handling that expensive Television and Home Theatre,while I was looking amusingly at his expressions.And it was then,the old and torn Action shoe box appeared right in front of me out of the blue.Along with it came a flood of memories.

Nothin’ But A Good Time.

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Nothin’ But A Good Time."

Sigh!! The prompt is exactly what I wanted right now in my life.Totally a day for myself!!With a toddler...who effectively handles me all the day and night,along with a very tiring job...add to it woes of moving to a new place.Sigh!,the most ideal idea that is running in my head is "A Good Sleep like Log phase"..phew.

"Yawn"!!

Keeping "sleep" aside..The things I would love to do on a day which I have entirely for myself...hmm..brace for a long list :)

"Helpless."

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Helpless."

“Mama, how does Red sound ? “

Nevin says, "Apple is Red".I know apple,it's that thing we eat,but what is Red ? How does it sound like ?

When she asked me how Red hear like..I was totally helpless to make my blind daughters understand what “red” means..!

Monday Blues!

Well,this quote has helped me immensely in continuing my new work out plan.My new HIIT Circuit,literally drains the whole energy but I still complete the same,even if it means dragging my butt all the way through it :P

Have a happy week ahead!! :)

Five Friday Finds

Quickly I list down my five  single find for this Friday!! - TED Talks

Happy Weekend

Cheers!!

Writing Room

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Writing Room."

This prompt reminded me of the ideal place I had in my head for so many years.In all these years,I have added and deleted things making this my ideal room.

I always wanted to have a small room but with a wall size window overlooking may be a big green oak tree or lush green meadows or a deep dark pond full of life.Add to it a cozy window bed with a small writing table,just enuf to hold a book or a laptop!!The space painted in white sparkling color will contain ordered shelves filled with stacks of my books :).I have always felt that this room would be in the first floor of my home....

I can always imagine myself reading a book while sipping a hot cuppa of Tea and slowly falling into my dreams,all the while its raining outside ;)

Bliss!!

Baby Talks

How chweet does the word "abba" sound to you ? Thats how my little one calls me.Every time she comes holds my hand and pulls me with all her might to take her to the place where she wants to go or to get the thing she needs :)

In her sweetest voice she calls me "abba ba" :).I sometimes ignore her just to hear her call me once more!!

Being mama is bliss!! :)

Change!

A lot is happening in my life right now.And thats the reason why there is some delay in posting over here!

Will be back soon!

The Pain

Deep, dark and intriguing
Was I charmed by her inflicting??

When you left for another  
She was the only one closer

I allowed her deep inside me
Steadily she spread like a tree

In many of those late nights
When me and my sleep fights

I realize her growing strength 
Inflicting me at length

I try to ignore 
But she only bore more

Spreading her vast wings
She engulfed me with stings

A blessing,she was, in disguise
But now a demon for my demise

I decide,I had enough
I had to be the rough and tough

Into a salty sea I jump
To get her drenched and slump

And there,momentarily she was gone
But only to return upon

I spit out venom's of words
To hurt the ones who heard

And there,she momentarily was gone
But it just was for a dawn

Another day,another night
Passes just like that

I am now within her clutch
And, I know I can't do much

I used her for my gain
But alas I am lying all in vain

She is nothing 
but the "Pain",I am in

PS: This was written for a competition.

Quote for the week!

This quote is all I wanted,not just for this week but for a life time!!

Five-Friday-Facts

I'm back with the usual quota of Friday goodness from the internet

1.  There are so many facts in this world which I have never heard about :)


2.  Simulate and defer to more rational selves.


3. Hopefully I will be able to watch atleast a few of these :)


4. Learning Maths :*}


5. False Ego!

Happy Weekend!

Perspective...

I achingly longed for him,

For the silence was deafeaning

He,the one who plays the tunes

And to which, I lovingly sway

Sometimes gently,

Sometime vigorously

Longer are his songs on some days

Just a while,otherwise

At times he brings his friends

Who makes me tingle and sparkle

Mesmerized in their music

I give away my brittle babies

With the bodies of my dead children

He and his friends disappears slowly

While,I wonder where he takes them all

And fumingly I wait for his return

But then,with his approaching music

I forget my dead children

And I simply give way to his needs

For its a vicious circle

His tunes and my dance

Are inseparable

For as long as life exists

Monday Blues!

The quote says it all.

I have been trying to "fix" me up for so long,that every time I make some changes,I fail at some other place or instance in life.I am so unsuccessful in keeping up good habits :(..I started off the Groove Into Routine series with an aim to publicly commit on goal I work upon and to keep track of them.But I should admit,that I am not very good follower of what I commit to do.I can give a lot of excuses,well churn up stories so ridiculous which can convince me and anyone who listens to me :P.

As the quote goes,instead of whole a lot of planning for to do in month or week or day,I think I should just commit to make just this single moment in favour of me.This moment,I take a wise decision,stick to it and complete it.

Choose wisely in this only moment you own!!

I seriously need to step away for a moment to think on this,until then enjoy the quote!

Note: I am discontinuing GIR series for a while,until I meditate upon my habit :P

Five-Friday-Finds

TGIF and here are my favourites once again,

1. MindBodyGreen - Every  morning,I diligently visit this small haven to have my dose of facts,bit of self help,green juices,workouts etc.


2. MadeHow - Would you like to know how our daily use items are made ? Or how computers are made.Just go to this place to know about all those!! :) Quite a site to indulge when you have some time.


3. Learning Android - A good place to start if you are interested in Android Dev


4. So whats your personality ? I am Artisan :)


5. Had to do some work based on Naive Bayes Theorem and stumbled upon this piece.Well had to unlearn to re-learn this :P

That's all for today!! :)

Monday Blues

It's quite easy to say "Keep Going",but the same becomes extremely difficult when the going gets tough.We always want to quit at a point when we feel sad,tired,overwhelmed by sheer amount of energy put into the task.But if we can stop for a moment,pull back ourselves and wait a bit,we can realise that this is a way our determination is being tested(by whom ? ) and If we really..really need that prize which we had set our eyes on at the beginning of this journey.We can also clearly see that the prize is very close by.

Always remind yourself that we can stop right now!!,we can quit!! and we may even have second chances but we still have to start the journey again...make all the way through to reach this point of quitting,just put a step or two to the prize.

We have come far till now... just don't quit...yet!! :)

No posts!!

Couple of commitments kept me away from my posting journey in here!Hope to come back soon :)

Thanks for reading!!

A Tree Talk

My true vacation always had been at my maternal grandparents home.Everything is special about this place.

Our home is surreally situated at Munnar,one of the prime tourist spots of Kerala,amidst a forest-wild-plantation like heaven :)...near a creek surrounded by huge boulders of rocks,covered with huge trees and with lot of agricultural activities happening,be it harvesting coffee seeds or cocco seeds etc ,also,with lots of farm animals with occasional visits from wild animals.My cousins,the local friends I made there,with the labourers working at our place and whole of a bunch of grandparents from neighbouring homes - made my summer vacations,the truest,fullest I ever had!!

Though I always wanted to go back to my home even for the smallest of time I get,I certainly could not because of studies and later work took me far away from home.And whenever I reach there I started to act like grown up for the sake of growing up, though I always wanted to be the same little girl running around everybody , dancing with cows and pigs and making a lot of noise!!.

I visited my home after a long time and naturally I didn’t knew she was no longer a part of my family until my grandmother mentioned to me about her.My grandma said "She was becoming a danger to the family as she had grown roots deep enough to topple the boundaries our families preserved for long."And just like that my favourite hang out place,her home was chopped off.My grandma continued,"She was old and it was good riddance for the family.Sigh!"

Monday Blues

Quote :



Todays quote resonates me at many levels,but this quote has made me think about every one born in this planet till now.Every one of us is different.We simply try to fit into the norms our society had formed...Think about it ?

Are we like our parents,well not exactly right ? Are we like our siblings...No.Are we like our teachers or friends...We are an amalgamation of everyone we have met in our lifetime.We are different,our experiences are different,the way we perceive the world is different.Yet,we need a quote to make that affirmative in our lives!!

Sad state of affairs!!

Quote By : Piglet from Winne the Pooh! :)

Quote Created : QuotePixel

Five-Friday-Finds

Its Friday once again and here I post the links which I found exciting, thoughtful and fun to read,

1. Why do we procrastinate ?- Loved the way the Procrastination has been present.Its one of the best articles I have read on the same!!


2. WallOfWonders : Preserve and Respect the 7 wonders of the world


3. Web Designers - Quite a lot of trends


4. A Head Transplant ??


5. Au Revoir :)

Lucky Me...

Even though I woke up as early as four in the morning,I was running late for work.I ran as fast as I could to catch the bus which ferries me to my workplace.

It was as usual, a hot, sweaty, polluted day.Adding to woes were the suffocating traffic.The only thing that was right for me was to get a seat,that too a window seat.I was glad!! :)

Monday Blues!

Quote of the week

The more you think about this quote,the more clearer it gets pictured in your head.Impossible is only until you have not found the solution.Once we find a solution,we rather move forward to next problem than take a little bit of time to actually reward ourselves for the victory of finding out solution to our problem!

Well,I think we should be aware of our problems,and we should try to solve them and yes,we should be solving them at any cost,some how.But then we must also make some time to cheer ourselves up for solving our problems,how trivial it might sound!!!

Five-Friday-Finds

Its Friday and heres my list,

1.  LibriVox - Anything you would want to read...just listen it over here!!


2. Project Gutenberg - Anything you would want to read - just read it for free.Though,the charm of holding a book to read will not be there,its still good to go. :)


3. X by Y minutes - Learn anything from here in smallest span of time.I started learning Ruby from here.


4. How to debug your brain ?


5. Quotes - Signing off the week with some magnificent quotes by Steve Jobs :)

:)

A Beautiful Wait

"You are more beautiful than you think you are...

Masked

We get lost in the roads of unfamiliar destiny

Catch me if you can...

My life as I have known,have come to a standstill.

I am unable to think clearly and even breathe properly.

I am in a untraceable mess,not knowing how my next minute is going to be.

All I know is I need to be strong for my family...for my daughter and my husband.. And I will be strong as rock,and help secure our life.

I have no idea,I have no means as to how am I going to do that,but I am damn sure,that no matter what,I'm going to make my life happen.

That day,I shall revive my blog to its glourious ways.

I shall share my story,once I come in terms with the sudden,unexpected guest in my home.Coming in uninvited and being so stubborn to go away,I am in all vigour to take him out and trash him away!!

Let me do my job!

Until then,bbye!

Update:

Something have happened in my life which has made me realise what I had in in my life was the most beautiful thing in this world.I am striving hard to overpower the "guest" from our home and help rebuild my life once again.

Hoping to keep going with the blog as well.

Thanks for being there!!

I Died

Yesterday, I died...

Five - Friday - Find's

Its Friday, And here's my Five Finds,

1. Fast Fingers :Quickly,check your typing speed and may be we can try to even improve.


2. The Change Blog : An old article on Changing OneSelf,worth reading!


3. Veg Receipes of India : The first place I look for when I need to cook something unfamiliar.


4. One Word : One word is all it takes to open up our imaginations


5. Vocabulary :The quickest,most intelligent way to improve vocabulary!!
   
   
   

An Open Letter-To Me,From Me