Hamlet...I guess one of the most famous works of Shakespeare.
And one of the most renowned Shakespeare quotes..."To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them."
I have not been a Shakespeare Literature fanatic ever in my life though i used to get impressed by their grandeur. Their uniqueness and richness of language and thoughts is no doubt praise worthy, but i personally never took interest in knowing them or reading them or even watching anything related to them. I have always loved works of literature and was always much inclined towards poetry, and quotes...being much of an impressive orator in my school days i always wanted to learn and recite poems. One of my faves in those days was The old priest Peter Gilligan by William Yeats, which i would have recited some million times i guess. Some other faves were Casabianca (The boy stood on the burning Deck...), The knight and the Lady, etc etc...Anyways, somehow Shakespeare and his "Period" works usually turned me off as something "Boring". Certainly if anyone is asked to quote a line of Shakespeare, then the one that will first come to anyone's mind will be Te be, or not to be...But since i never took in interest in Shakespeare i was kind of naive about this. I happened to tumble upon this quote on one of the displays in World Financial Center towers, here in New York. I remembered watching a bunch of college students rehearsing for some kind of play with a small banner stating "Hamlet: Rehearsals in Progress", may be about a month ago. I did happen to see the same group a couple of more times on my way out from office everyday. Having my office in the World Financial Center Towers definitely has given some major advantages like having free entry to some of the major events in Downtown NYC. The display at the WFC stated that they are screening Hamlet: The Prince of Denmark in the WFC Winter Garden Courtyards from 1st to 18th April.
Guess this time my love for literature has extended its boundaries cuz i was so impressed with the quote that i started searching the world wide web to know the origin of it. I never knew what Hamlet was or who wrote it or who it talks about! I have been reading all the banners and displays publicising the screening of the play at WFC...and i must admit i am so excited about it. I really dont want to miss this when its so much accessible to me. I would love to know the whole story or tragedy of Hamlet which has such inspiring and powerful lines! I know the best way to experience a story is to read it...and i have always believed that some movies/plays do not do justice to the depth of the story! Like A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks was the BEST book that i have read till now which moved me so much, but when i watched the movie...well i was not much moved nor even impressed! But may be i might never have the patience to read the Shakespearean english...and may be if i watch the play first i might start developing some interest in reading Shakespeare also. Actually i am so very impressed with all the lines that i have come across from Shakespeare on the internet, that i really wanna know the story! Must have been a real tragic one...but i wanna know what exactly Hamlet is that motivated/inspired Shakespeare to write such powerful lines! I am just hoping to catch atleast one of the shows within the next couple of weeks...else i have to hunt for a readable version of Hamlet (which i really am very much interested in reading now).
Would end the post with one more of my fave lines from Hamlet...something worth thinking...something thats definitely true! It goes like: There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.
I have been asked to sing a song in the church for the Good Friday Service on 2nd of April. Now this being Good Friday I want to sing a song related to the occassion and not mererly another worship song.
One of my church members, who is organising things for the Good Friday Service, confirmed with me this sunday, whether i will definitely come for the service and will also sing the song as he doesnt have any backups! When he asked me to confirm i dint have to think twice about it cuz I was sure that i will do it, as singing to praise and worship GOD is something i had always enjoyed doing even when i was just a small kid. Anyways while i was trying to think of songs related to Good Friday just one song immediately struck my mind. It was almost spontaneous as i dint have to spend time thinking about it. The song was Kroosil Kandein... i guess its a very old song. I was happy to have remembered that song as it had been one of my fave songs for a long time now. I went home after the church service this sunday and started searching for the lyrics of the song on Google. I believed that i would definitely find either the lyrics on Google or the video on Youtube. But unfortunately even after about an hour of searching i did not have any luck in Google or Youtube. Next day i.e yesterday i took a break from my work at office and searched again on google with some newer options, but again i couldnt find anything. I called up my dad to ask if he remembers any song like that and he sang a completely different song than the one i remembered. I corrected him saying that was not the song i was remembering and sang few lines from what i remembered the song to be like. He did not recognise the song and said he will try to search. I was almost having second thoughts on if the song exists...cuz these days if you dont find something on google...there is much of a possibility that it doesnt exist! But i was damn sure of hearing it and even learning to play it on my guitar...Just then i remembered that i heard the song from one of my Dad's good friends and must be there in some old cassette from that person. Dad said he will try searching and if he gets he will send me the lyrics.
Anyways, while i was struggling to find the lyrics of this song, i couldnt help but remember where i first heard the song...the days when i was learning to play the Guitar (cuz that is when i had learnt this song). Guitar was my only passion in those days. I just wanted to be able to play the guitar the way i have liked the sound of it. Any song with a piece of Guitar tune in it would draw my immediate attention those days...actually, even now! I could recognise how connected i was with the Guitar and its mesmerising sound. And when i was thinking of all this i just couldnt stop myself from thinking about my Guitar teacher, Mareena Didi. She was one person whom i remember, i had admired since i was just a small kid. When i first started admiring her i guess i would have been studying in the 1st grade. She used to sing songs in our church in Bhilai on almost all occassions including Christmas, NewYear etc etc. She had an almost angelic voice and used to play the Guitar like a dream. Though she had a dark complexion i used to feel that she was very pretty. I was a small girl back then and still used to adore her like an icon. I used to admire her for everything, for the way she used to talk, the way she used to dress up, the way she used to tie her hair, the way she used to sing and most importantly for the way she used to play the Guitar. I even remember my Sunday School teacher once teasing me saying you will do everything that Mareena does! Mareena Didi was ofcourse one of the most stylish girls of our church in those days and me being a small girl always was inclined towards style. I used to tell my parents that when i grow up i want to be like Mareena Didi. Finally i was out of Sunday school and i joined the church youth group. Mareena Didi was definitely a very active member of the youth group then, and i was happy to know that now onwards i would be singing with the same group. It was nice to interact with her during those youth meetings etc. Those were some really good days of my life in the Bhilai Church. Going for carols, singing during Christmas services and above everything having song practice everyday in the month of december (and even November). That was the most fun part of it all. There used to be a song competition for all the churches in Bhilai and some neighbouring areas. The event used to be organized by BCC (Bhilai Christian Council) and it was the most extravagant event for christians in that area. All churches used to wait and prepare themselves throughout the year for this chromatic celebration. Some 20-30 churches used to participate in the event presenting songs(solo, duet, group etc), skits, nativity skits etc etc. The event usually used to start about 2-3 weeks before christmas and would last for a week. We used to have so much fun in that one week cuz we used to meet up Christians from the whole of Bhilai. Our church won prizes almost every year in almost all category of songs...solo ofcourse Mareena Didi would win, duet she and her sister would win and group song also we would always get some or the other prize. Those were really good days of our church youth group...mostly becuz of the interest the members used to show in those days and especially becuz of all the motivation of people like Mareena Didi and my Dad who used to lead the church youth activities in those days. Mareena Didi got married after a few years and the church was without a good guitarist (and actually missed a very good singer also). Anyways after that also we had carols and Christmas songs etc but gradually people stopped taking interest in these activities. We could say that the youth was not as lively as it used to be when the previous gang (Majority of which was married now) used to lead the youth group. It was in those days that i told my dad that i would like to learn playing the Guitar. He agreed immediately but also said its not easy to learn it. He himself plays the organ in my church till today but i just never got interested in playing or learning the organ. I just wanted to learn the playing the Guitar. He took me to Mareena Didi and asked her if she would be able to teach me, and she was happy to help. I used to go to her house twice a week for learning to play the Guitar. Her husband also was a guitarist and even he used to teach me sometimes. She now had two kids and both were so really cute. I used to feel really happy spending that small time there and learn what i always admired so much. Actually there was one more reason becuz of which i enjoyed my Guitar classes so much...in those days it was my only resort to be away from my studies for a while. I used to practice religiously whatever i learnt in the class but it was taking way too much time for me to play anything clearly.
I used to struggle playing the chords clearly cuz i would give up very soon...playing chords on the Guitar usually would make your fingers pain alot as you had to press the strings hard with your fingers. The more you played the more you got used to the pain and gradually the pain will not be there anymore and only the sweet melody will remain. In those days after about 6-7 months of regular classes i finally was able to tune the guitar myself, identify chords for a song and actually identify and play interesting leads.
After that however i moved to Chennai for pursuing my engineering degree and lost complete touch of the Guitar. I couldnt meet Mareena Didi also cuz i hardly used to be in Bhilai for more than a week or so. I met Mareena Didi after about 4-5 years on my Wedding Reception in Bhilai. I was so happy and surprised to see her, i even told her "Didi aap aaye tho acha laga...maine tho expect hi nahi kiya tha ki aap aa paoge" . I was surprised to see her kids who have grown so much now. But i was more surprised to know that they still do remember me!! her elder daughter, i remember, used to be very happy when i used to go for guitar classes cuz she could see her mom playing the guitar. Or may be it was the only time that didi will not bother her kids and will be concentrating on teaching me.
Anyways, coming back to my song for the Good Friday Service, now since i remembered that this song was taught to me by Mareena Didi i told my dad if its possible for him to ask her about it. I called up my dad yesterday night and told him to ask Mareena Didi instead of searching for some old cassette (which i had told him earlier). Today when i called my dad, he was at Mareena Didi's house and said didi wants to talk to you...she spoke to me and even sang part of the song for me to remind me of the tune. I was surprised that she actually remembered the whole song by memory and wrote it down for me. She spoke to me for just about 2-3 minutes but i felt so good. Even while talking to her i could remember the good old days...almost everything from my sunday school days to the church youth group days to the days when i was learning the Guitar, everything just flashed in front of me as a series of rolling stills. The way she spoke to me about her daughters and said that they still remember me as the didi who used to learn guitar from her, took me right to those nice days. And when she sang the song on the phone, it was so nice to hear her voice after so many days. It just reconstructed all the images from the days when i used to admire her for all that she was. I still admire her as a teacher...as an icon. My Guitar teacher.
This book, which i had once deserted branding it as a "Boring" book, turned out to be one more of the good books i've read of Nicholas Sparks. The book narrates the story of Wilson, a responsible man, who is married to Jane for 30 years. Wilson has not been much of a Romantic person ever while Jane on the other hand hails high expectations of a romantic life. Her parents had been true romantics in their lives and she believes in long term and lasting relationships filled with love and romance as her parents lives sets an example for her. Wilson had always leaned more on the practical side of life...viewing and prioritising things on the basis of needs while Jane had always had a carefree attitude towards important issues in Life. The story starts with Wilson forgetting his and Jane's 29th Wedding Anniversary. This upsets Jane much and constrains different kind of thoughts in Wilson which he hadnt perceived ever in his life. He doesnt realise forgetting an anniversary as something big until Jane's behaviour urges him to believe that things were not normal! Jane leaves him to stay with their son, who stays in New York, for a couple of weeks. This gives enough time to Wilson to think about his relationship with his wife whom he had loved all his life. He realises how different he and Jane have been as individuals...while he had been more responsible towards his work and earning money for his family, Jane had been the more social member of the family. Jane was the one staying at home and taking care of their 3 kids, socialising with the friends and relatives, putting up with the household chores, cooking cleaning etc making their house more of a home! He realises that she has always been smart and has always thought through the important issues in life...and still she had been able to keep a carefree attitude towards crucial things and enjoyed the small joys of life, while he had just been too busy with his work at the law firm never having time or interest in enjoying the small things that make life worthwhile. He starts to wonder why she ever married him at the first place? He finds himself feeling inferior to her in the numerous things in life which make a difference. He realises that in his pursuit of being successful at his work and earning enough money for his family, he had actually neglected his family in the numerous small things that matter the most. He was always absent in most of his children's special events like their dance at school or their sports finale or their parents teachers association meetings. He missed out on so many of their small joys like the first time they started talking or they started walking etc. He wonders if his family especially his wife still loves him and considers him a part of their life...he is unable to decipher if he is as important in their lives as they are in his life! He realises his delinquency and sets out on correcting himself, on becoming the man that his family needs...more exactly, on becoming the man that his wife fell in love with 29 years ago!
The story is beautifully written with all the intricate details narrated carefully and realistically. There is hardly any point in the whole book where you will feel that it is dragging. I got impressed with the Prologue of the book itself, about which i already blogged a post. The minute details which had been considered while narrating Wilson's endeavors in correcting his wrongs enhance the book's closeness to the life's realities that all couples experience. Wilson gets his inspiration and motivation on correcting his married life from his father-in-law Noah Calhoun, who had been a true romantic in his life. Noah makes Wilson understand why the small things in life are so important, why it is so important to show love to your dear ones even if they know that you love them. Wilson finally conquers to know what Togetherness really is, when all the years of staying together in the same house with his wife, hadnt taught him that.
To me the book is a nicely written and "easy to relate to real life" kind of book with some excerpts urging you to think about the intricacies of married relationships. I wouldnt rate this book as something too emotional like Nicholas' other books, but it definitely is a good book. While reading the book, it did not really seem like i was reading a story, all the events felt like happenings from a real life. For someone who enjoys reading light hearted and more practical books, this is a good choice. I was impressed with the climax of the story much, as i was definitely not expecting so much of a change from Wilson. The author finally answers the question he asks in the prologue. The book will leave the reader with a "feel good" kind of feeling as it has a happy ending unlike a couple of Nicholas Sparks books that i have read in the past. The Nicholas magic reflects in every aspect of the book, if it wasnt for him and his profoundly amazing writing, the story could have turned out boring and predictable.
Nutshell: Amazing author, Good read!
After all the hype given to this one...i just HAD to watch it! First i heard it from my friends here that the songs are Stupendo Fantabulastic!! Then there were others who said that the movie is cute...and then some days back i read a post from one of my friends hyping the movie to greater heights!! And i knew i had to give it a shot this weekend... :)
The movie's story i will say is something different...something that atleast i would not call as being predictable. The story is something very close to reality...the kind of ups and downs that love stories these days go thru...the way emotions have been depicted is very realistic and will keep you glued to your seats. The story though being different doesnt take you into a fantasy world where you will say such things dont happen in real life!! it keeps itself carefully within the limits of realities of today's world. The delicate strings that carry a relatioship thru sweet times and hard times have been beautifully depicted in the movie. I would not rate this movie as one which is very emotional...but yess i would definitely call this one as being close to reality and real world...no bekaar ka rona dhona...
The title of the movie Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya actually carries a much unfathomable thought!! Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya which translates to "Will you cross the Skies and Come". For someone who is in love nothing other than the love for his/her lover matters! The story in the movie depicts how much importance love has in both Karthik and Jessie's lives. I am not here to crack the ending/story of the movie but by the end, the movie does leave everyone with this lingering thought. The movie shows the paths taken by Krthik and Jessie as something that very truly happens in real life. but the thought still lingers...Is there Love still in this world so true? so committed? having no strings attached to it? Are there still people who leave their skies (the lives they live, their families, their comforts, their relationships, their religion etc etc) and come for their love?
The thought provoking storyline of the movie is aptly teamed up with some really beautiful locations in the movie. The locations where the film has been shot are absolutely eluding...the nice play of the right lights and right background music over the beauty of the locations creates an overwhelming aura while watching the movie...it does take you to a near magical trip...esp the locales in Kerala are really breathtaking...and even NewYork looks exceptionally beautiful for the little part in the movie. I particulary like Jessie's house in Kerala and the way to her house...its so romantic...getting there in a boat...walking the lush green path towards the house...and the way the house is decorated on her wedding day is just too dreamy...it looks like the ultimately romantic house anyone would love to spend their life in!! i was glued to my seat entwining a story of my own...i could feel it as a story that many people in todays world will relate to!
Music of the film is superb...A R Rahman scores a big one for this movie..definitely from me he does! The Title song is rendering one...and one of my fave ones...its gonna be difficult to choose any ONE as the best song from the movie...but i personally like the title song then Omana Penne and then Hosanna and then Anbil Avan and Kannukkul Kannai (In that order). But i guess the best song from the movie for me will have to be Mannippaya. This song i guess is something thats the crux of the whole movie...amazingly done by Rahman. I did hear the songs of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya before also when my friends had hyped the music so much...but now after watching the movie theres a little more sweetness qoutient added to the songs!
I enjoyed watching the movie thoroughly and i am happy that i did watch this one...i wont call this as one great movie but i definitely did like the movie...and would call it as one of the few GOOD Tamil movies that i have watched till now.. :)
Did you ever hear that a voice can cast a spell!?
It was a normal work day of the week, i was travelling in the peak hour crowded Path train to WTC train station...my head and mind were immersed into the Nicholas Sparks book that i am reading these days...the train was approaching Exchange Place Station...my ears were tuned to the usual songs i hear everyday...i usually keep the volume less so that i can keep my whole concentration on what i am reading and dont wonder my thoughts to any nostalgic emotions...given the normal "ME" that i am...i would love listening to music and observing the people in the train...or watch each and every scene that passes by me on the way to my office...But these days i am in a phase of transforming myself into developing more serious and less fantasy highlighted habits!! So i was seriously reading this story that i have developed much interest in reading these days....and however interesting things might be going on around me in the train i would just dig my head inside the book that i am reading being just not bothered about whatevers happening...and suddenly there was this one voice that made me absolutely stunned...as if taking me to a different world even while i was reading the book that interested me alot!! I felt as if it was casting a spell on me urging me to listen to it and to just concentrate on it and not on anything else...as if hypnotising me to be attracted towards itself...i gave myself into the magnetic pull of the voice and turned the volume to the max i could....i closed the book which was keeping me so glued to itself till then...i closed my eyes and immersed myself into the little magical moment that was created...after a little while i opened my eyes and observed the huge crowd in the train that i had not been noticing all the while...i opened the music player to see what song it was...it was a song called Tu Jaane Na from the movie Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani...and the singer, Atif Aslam...My immediate thought was...Did someone say a voice can cast a spell on you?? That was the first time i felt that there is something called Magical Voice. When all this while people used to say that someone's got a magical voice...it never did really strike me that magical has this much of an effect...Atif's voice definitely has cast a spell on me...and i guess i dont have the right words to express what it makes me feel like!!
Magical... :)
Cooking!! ME??
yess...thats one of my newly found passions...not only these days but ever since i started cooking i have become a fan of it myself...i LOVE trying out new things...thats in my "Character"...i love experimenting...and in a phase where i am transforming my life for the better...or may be in an attempt to treat myself better i have finally been taking time off to do things which i always wanted to do!! One of the many such relaxing and treating myself right things which i enjoy doing is: Cooking. I always wanted to cook good...but may be i lacked practice...or patience...or may be the tv seemed a more relaxing option whenever there was free time. Since the time i moved into a new house in Chennai in Sep'08...i have been trying my hand at cooking but it was not until i reached the US of A that i started serious cooking and serious experimenting! Most of the time that i was in Chennai i cooked the usual subzi, bhaji, dal and chawal things but since the time i moved to US i have been cooking what all and what not! Thanks to the internet...my most sincere source of motivation...i have been learning some good recipes...trying out at home...and finally have been able to impoverish myself so much that i can say that cooking takes practice! and i am happy that even if i was more enthu when i started cooking first but now i am more practical about it. I learnt some real unique recipes from some of my friends here and i am happy that i learnt such unusual ways of cooking some boring veggies cuz otherwise i would have never even thought of eating any of those. Well thats what i like right now...i learn unusual (But tsaty) ways of cooking the otherwise boring vegetables so that these can also be eaten with pleasure rather making faces! Thats exactly what i am at these days...and i am absolutely enjoying it. i am happy that now i know enough (though not many) nice recipes that i can start blogging about it...or just start being happy that atleast a whole month of stay in my home will not make anyone get bored of food...atleast!
One more thing i have been trying to do is to compile a really captivating recipe archive for myself...to be treasured. I have so many ideas about it but i just havent been able to do it...not having time enough will again not be the right thing to say...so i will stick to saying I have to start taking time off for my special compilation. :)
This post is just a prelusive for all so that you dont get shocked if i actually start posting some recipes here...though i will think a hundred (prolly more than a hundred) times before posting anything here!
Prologue: The Wedding
Is it possible, I wonder, for a man to truly change? Or do Character and Habit form the immovable boundaries of our lives?
I am not gonna ask each and every person i meet to comment on the question that attracted me to the book but i surely do wanna know THE answer to this question. I was talking to one of my friends about these things and he said yes people do change!! He gave me examples about how much he has changed...how much his dad has changed etc etc. Fair enough...may be people change...but i feel what actually changes in a person is just his behaviour and habits...and may be point of view!
Character i feel is a more rigid concept and often cannot be changed! Lemme quote something from what my "Character" is. As i remember myself as and what i know i am...i am the kind of person who has always been more of a people oriented person. More involved in building relationships, making people feel comfortable in my company, having fun and most of all just getting away from any kind of things that can make me tensed. To me what another person thnks about me is kind of a very important thing. Its easy to make me cry as i get hurt easily. But at teh same time its easy to make me laugh also...even small joys can give me alot of happiness. I love to laugh and be completely care free about the major things/issues in life! I have always been the homely kind...decorating home, learning something creative, making artifacts etc etc. I have loved music forever...i always wanted to be able to play some instrument or the other...especially guitar...to sing well...to listen to music whenever i get time.
Well thats a little peep into my Character and may be my hobbies...which are again an extension of my character. Over the years when i have lived far from my family, when i had people around me bitching and backbiting, when i have faced politicts at work place to personal life, when i have seen some really difficult times to some really good and enjoyable times...i guess i have seen and learnt alot. Well everyone learns from experience and so have I. And i know after learning so many things in life...your attitude towards numerous things changes. For ex: when i first started working i used to love my work and respect my managers and use to be happy doing that. I was satisfied with whatever i was doing and never thought that there will be a change to that life...with my manager having a good rapport with me and me enjoying everyday at my work place...i never thought that if a bad time comes no one will think of the good times that we shared...or if i was a good person or not...that i will be dumped out of project cuz of insufficient billing etc etc. I never realised that it was just a job...not a personal thing. As time passed and i worked under different managers and different kind of projects i learnt different realities of work life. And now i have learnt how to handle my work...i know how much priority to be given for what. So i can say...my attitude has changed (Thats still not my character that changed).
Similarly it might happen that i have a point of view about something cuz i am not completely aware of that thing. Some day in my life i learn more about it and that day i realise that what i had been thinking about it all this while was actually wrong. So my point of view changes (Its still not your character that changed).
Similarly say you stay in a place like Adyar, Chennai. Now you have a newspaper mart about 100 feet from your house and you love looking for sales around the city everyday which you get to see in the newspaper. So you started picking the newspaper on the way to office everyday and while you were just interested in looking for sales you kind of started observing the headlines and reading some other news in the paper as well. Finally after a few days it became a habit for you 2 start your day with reading the newspaper on the way commuting to your office everyday. You enjoyed doing that and i guess it became your habit and hobby both. Now you had a change of office or place etc. You dont have any newspaper mart close to the new place of stay. For the first few days you try getting a newspaper cuz you try going out of your way and getting a newspaper. But gradually you stop doing that and find other ways of keeping yourself entertained like may be listening to music on your way commuting to the new office etc. So i guess your hobby/habit changed (Not your character). Now you enjoy listening to music more than reading the newspaper. Not that you will not read a newspaper if you got a chance to do that but right now that is not the priority in your list of things to do for the day.
Similarly your likings and dislikings can change. Say for example that you liked a particular sandwich in your office alot. You liked it because may be it was really good or may be because it was the only breakfast you could have in office thatw as decent enough. Not that there are no better sandwiches in the whole of world. You move to a newer office and start liking another sandwich here...may be cuz it tastes better that the previous one or may be because its the only thing available for you. All i am trying to say is that as per the circumstances your likings might (or might not) change. It might have happened initially that you dont like sandwches at all...you would rather have cornflakes for breakfast...but you couldnt have it then cuz of circumstances you started liking the sandwiches. Its just that your liking to a particular thing is very vulnerable to your surroundings and circumstances. But at most times, not actually your character.
Like for me...if i say my current likings/hobbies are...cooking, knitting, reading (which i never was good at), walking (which always made me tired in the past), Photography (which is one of my newly found passions)...i can very confidently say that most of these things were not my likings before...even if they always existed burried inside my character sometime...while some of your likings are very vulnerable to your surroundings...some others are just too deeply rooted in your inner character to be removed or changed.
The Dictionary defines Character as The aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing. It defines Habit as An acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. Thats exactly what i was trying to accomplish through my contemplation. Character I feel is something so deeply rooted that its hard to change and often does not change while Habit on the other hand is very vulnerable to our environment and circumstances and hence more succeptible to change. To answer the author's question i would say that yes Character and Habit do form immovable boundaries in our lives but not totally immovable while some Habits do change, some are just too deep rooted to our individual character to change.
Of course Change is t he wheeler-dealer who propels the world to its existence and hence even my opinion about Character might change sometime, but as of now these are my thoughts, my conclusion after my contemplation journey.
YEs its the International Women's Day...actually it was yesterday but given my busy schedule at office these days i hardly find time to finish my postings regularly!! As i wrote in my earlier pos...there are so many things i wanna do in my day that i just dont find time enough for everything...i want to finish reading so many books...i want to learn so many new things bla bla etc..etc.. Yesterday being the International Women's Day did not make much difference to me...but i was happy that there are a few things like this to commemorate the greatness of women!! They definitely are a special creation of the almighty and a day dedicated to celebrate women and their umpteen great things...that feels good.. :)
I usually dont consider any of these days as anything special...except for Mothers and Father's Day...though i had always wanted 2 celebrate Valentine's day as specially as i could...but unfortunately i never had a valentine on valentines.. :) and this year when i had someone special...well i was still not able to do that...given the continents and oceans between us...we did send each other gifts...but gifts will never really replace a person's presence!! Anyways let me not deviate from what i am trying to post here...so i never considered Women's day as anything special...though i used to wish my colleagues at work and some of my friends thru mail etc etc...but i never really took time to celebrate it as such!
8th March'2010...It was a hard monday at work...mondays usually are the hardest days of the week...was a hectic day with no time to think about anything...and though i usually always want to leave for home by 4:50....most of the days i end up staying till after 5:30...I finished the work for the day...and started preparing myself to leave office...i was putting on my coat when i realised...i did put my left arm inside the coat first...actually long back one of my friends had read this somewhere that women usually always use their left arm first whenever wearing a dress or blouse or sweater or coat etc while men always use their right...and jus then the thought crossed my mind...its actually Women's Day today!! whew...i dint even realise that it was Women's Day...usually in india i would hav gotten mails from my colleagues at work wishing me a Happy Women's Day etc...but here i hardly get any forwards from my friends in India...Anyways...does it even make a difference? I put on my walking shoes...Checked my desk...picked up my id card and my train tickets which i keep in a plastic case...i rechecked my desk to make sure i dint leave anything important...and i started walking towards the lift...i checked the time in the small tv display inside the lift and felt it was late for me...it was 5:27 pm...i just thought to myself i should start rushing towards the path station...only then i will be able to catch the earliest possible path train to Newark Penn and then atleast catch the 6:02 or the 6:12 NJTransit train from Newark Penn Station...if i miss the 6:12 train...then i hav 2 wait nearly 30 mins for the next one...and i definitely dint want 2 do that after such a tiring day at work. I put my earphones on and started listening to the usual songs on my mobile...the song on the list was dil tho bacha hai ji...one of my faves...i knew i was hurrying up to the WTC path Station and while walking towards the station...all i could think of was...man i need 2 reach there soon...i don wanna miss the last express train to Edison...i was approaching the Vessey street junction where i take a turn everyday to reach the path station...and just then something struck me...its WOMEN's Day...let me go and do something good for myself...i've worked hard and achieved much in life and i should give myself a break...give myself a pat on the back...i should do something for myself also...something that will make me happy...i have forgotten shopping for myself since ages i guess...i did shop in NYC very often...but it was more for others...ya i did SHOP for a wedding dress in the whole of NY/NJ...that was crazzzzy...but that was a necessity...not actually the joy of "SHOPPING" :)
With all the winter clearance Sales going on thru out NYC, i thought i should just go and grab something for myself that will make me happy...though i never did find anything at all in my size in the whole of all places i visited in US till now...and that too in a clearance sale!! Well the chances were less than faint...but i jus wanted to do something that will make me happy...i was still walking to the junction...finally i dint take the turn...i was not thinking anything just listening to the song on my mobile and i found myself not even looking at my watch to check the time...i was heading towards church street...and i knew i will jus go and have a good time for myself...something i totally deserve...atleast on Women's Day!!
So i landed at Century 21...one of the most famous Fashion Stores in NYC...and started checking stuff for myself...i knew i will finally come out all sad that there was nothing in my size...and whatever scarce was there...of course i couldn't like...i was jus thinking when suddenly i figured out where the petite section was...i was kind of happy thinking that i will finally find something here which i mite like...and good Gracious!! i found something that looks like its gonna fit me!! It was an aqua coloured shirt...i liked the cut and the shape...i wasnt very impressed with the colour though... but i was too happy to know that i found something i liked in my size!! i picked it immediately and started walking to the fitting area...on the way i picked up a couple of things that i liked which i was not sure will fit me like i wanted...finally i was waiting in the queue for fitting room...and when i tried the shirt i was happy with the way it fitted me!! i tried the other things that i had picked up from the petite section...and finally had brains enough to check the price on each of them.. :) the shirt that i had liked so much..costed 30 Dollars!! it was pretty expensive for a shirt...but i guess i was too happy to have found something that fitted me...and i dint mind the cost...i just dropped everything else that i had picked up thinking that its better to pick one expensive piece that fits you well than to pick 5 cheap pieces that dont fit you so well!! anyways...being happy with my decision i started walking towards the billing area hoping to find something more that will fit me...and i found something again in my size which was more expensive than the shirt i just chose...but was something i wanted for a long long time!! i dont really know what was gotten into me!! if it was the normal me...i would have dropped both the things and would have walked off...but then today i was in some different spirits...i had made up my mind to spend for MYSELF...so i picked the second peice also...and finally got it billed...the bill was a whooping 75 Dollars for a shirt and a sweater...but i felt it was worth it...i definitely did deserve this!!
I walked back to the WTC Station being a happy ME...i was happy and not even bothered what time i was gonna get the next train to Edison from Newark Penn...i was jus happy! I usually dont read the AM NewYork newpaper these days...but that day i picked it up from the WTC Station and started reading it...and just as i used to do before...i hunted to find the zodiac section...was excited to read what was in store for me that day!! This usually happens to me...i suddenly become very happy when i buy something that i like...everything starts looking good and i am in high spirits...anywyas...being in high spirits i started reading out the Virgo: Your Day Today column...and i was surprised to see what i read...it said " Today circumstances will allow you to direct your passions into growing your beauty"...I dont believe in daily horoscopes but still read them whenever i get a chance...and i had to agree that it was a good day and i did do something good for myself on that day.
So this Women's day embarks a start of new celebrations for me...the start of celebrating my womanhood...celebrating Myself. We as women need to realise that though women have been created to be more patient, more submissive, more enduring...though they are by nature are more generous and have a tendancy to think for others before themselves...it is good to treat ourselves better atleast on some special days! When the whole world unites to commemorate a day meant just for women...we should take full advantage of such an occasion and do things just for us...just for making us happy!! I am not saying that everyone should indulge in reckless shopping like me...but it can be anything just anything that makes you happy! Its a great thing to be a Woman and giving yourself a gift for Womanhood on your special day is definitely totally worth it.. :)
Recently while i was in India, i was reading updates from one of my friends on Orkut, and found a quote that read "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts i want to think, all the walks i want to take, all the books i want to read and all the friends i want to see."
I couldnt relate to the quote at that time...i just thought some people have a busy schedule!
After being married, i am attempting to become the kind of a perfect wife, a perfect mother and a perfect woman i always dreamt of myself to be...Smart yet traditional...liberal yet homely! I wanted to do so many things...i wanted to cook better...wanted to be more knowledgable about so many intricate things that i had never taken interest in learning...wanted to read more books and know more...wanted to decorate my house the perfect way that will make everyone feel welcome and warm inside...wanted to custom make things for my family...be it a cute momento in their rooms or a memorable wedding anniversary or birthday gift...wanted to be able to give myself time to pamper myself to look good and graceful always...etc etc...so many dreams so many desires!! So once i got married i made up my mind and heart to achieving what i dreamt of...And for all this i set out on a voyage to improvising myself...disciplining myself to follow healthy habits in cooking, eating and way of living. I wanted to start with something that i will enjoy doing and hence in turn will motivate me for doing more...so i started with learning to do crocheting...it might sound something boring for many but i always wanted to learn things which only few people will know...and crochet was something i had seen one of my aunts doing when i was very small..and since then itself i was so attracted to it that i wanted to learn doing that whenever i would have gotten the chance to do so. I googled about learning to crochet...found a couple of nice elaborate videos on youtube and next thing i knew was...i was at C.H Martin in Jersey city buying wool and crochet needle for myself!! And when i was at buying the crochet items...i happened to see the knitting needles...though it did not really attract me so much i still wanted to buy it thinking i might learn it in my free time on weekends when i dont go out!! hmmm...i set out on crocheting right away and was quite impressed by how easy it is to learn doing it...was happy to see my achievements. :)
After learning a few stitches on the crochet needle, it was time for me to try my hand at knitting. I am happy that i have been able to learn knitting some basic things, thanks to youtube for the various comprehensive videos. I am trying to use what i have learnt till now into making something meaningful and i am hoping that my attempts will soon be good enough to be blogged on a post. This makes me happy and definitely motivated to getting closer to my goal!
Now being happy i was motivated to try a different and more serious thing...reading! I had always wanted to read more and different kind of books...though i had read a few books in the past but i had been quite selective about what i read. I always wanted to read some good books but anything other than love stories never really kept me glued to the book...all i enjoyed reading was Nicholas Sparks, Paulo Coelho and Chetan Bhagat! I picked up a book by Khaled Hosseini called The Kite Runner and started reading it though was not much interested in doing so and the book did not really appeal to me much...but still i started reading it not knowing how long i will continue doing so!! And the book turned out to be an amazingly interesting one...and i was hooked up to it whenever i found time! Now i have successfully read the book and started a new one which i found very boring when i first started reading it few years back! It feels good to know that i have improved my reading skills to a good extent!
In the meantime while i was reading new things...i also wanted to be more regular on my new blog. I did not want to make this blog as the first one i had and i knew i had to regularise my habits...be more disciplined on achieving my goals! I wanted to improve on my writing skills and write some different stuff than what i usually used to write in the past! I am not sure if i had improved my writing skills...but i am happy knowing that i gave it a start. I am satiated knowing that atleast i am doing better than what i used to do!
Now i was happy that i had successfully achieved a couple of things in my attempt to improvising myself! And i was all set to start cooking better...cooking new things! Husband dear is very choosy about food...doesnt eat quite a lot of things...and whatever he eats he wants variety in that!! He went to the heights of sending me his catalogue of 30 different breakfast items he wants me to cook for him in the first month of we starting to stay together!! i just looked at that catalogue and wondered if i would ever even come closer to cooking so many things!!?? Anyways i knew i had to start somewhere...and very soon realised that mine and hubby dear's taste buds are quite apart when it comes to daily cooking! i love eating sada dal and chawal with some subzi...but he likes having non veg everyday!! i knew i cant be cooking non veg everyday...and i have to start cooking the everyday items with a "hat ke " taste to make him happy! I believe way too much in the saying that The way to a Man's heart is through his stomach! I definitely wanted to be a better cook and satisfy his taste buds! So i set out on learning to cook new things and not only that...learning new ways of cooking the same old boring subzis. Now that was something i would say really takes time and alot of interest and patience.. :) You are one lucky guy Wilfred... :)
After about two months of experimenting and learning new things and improvising myself...i now understand the essense of the quote i started out with...Now completing a whooping 2 months of achieving good things for myself...i have learnt to manage my time in a way that i make time for everything i do or want to do in a day...and still have so many things undone on my catalogue...i have so much to do and so less time to do it all!!
Now i can easily say without feeling guilty about it...that i dont find time enough for all the things i want to do!! At the same time i also know that as time goes by...i will learn newer things and i will learn to make time enough for those newer things too...as they say...Time teaches Everything.
Would end this post with a nice quote by Martin Luther King: " The Time is always Right to do what is Right."
I started reading a new book today...its by one of my fave authors, Nicholas Sparks. The book is called The Wedding. It is believed to be a sequel to The Notebook which i remember reading atleast 4-5 years back. The first ever book by Nicholas Sparks that i read was A Walk to Remember and trust me that was THE best book i have ever read in my life!! it definitely is the kind of book you just cant put on a shelf and brand as "ONE" of the books that you read. For me it surely takes THE most special place...mostly as a collectible. Collectibe!!?? becuz i dint read any other book as special as this one...i dint find another book which would make me feel so alive with the characters as if i was actually living with them. I dint have to take efforts to imagine the characters the characters just emerged out of the book as i read...its THE best book i have ever read!! I read a couple of Nicholas Sparks after A Walk to Remember...which will include The Notebook, True Believer, The Rescue... and i hav read a couple of other authors too...like Paulo Coelho, Chetan Bhagat, Khaled Hosseini etc etc...but even though i have been moved by some books i still have not been able to find another one like...even close to A Walk to Remember.
Anyways...so this post is not about Nicholas Sparks or about the list of his books or about how much i was moved by the first book that i read of him...its actually about an important question that stirred within me when i started reading this new book! The Prologue of the book starts with a question...its a question that i am sure many of us would have wondered about in the past...many would have found answers and many would still be wondering!! Well i am the latter one...cuz i am still wondering...The question in the Prologue is: Is it possible, I wonder, for a Man to truly change? Or do Character and Habit form the immovable boundaries of our lives?
I have never been an avid reader though i always wanted 2 develop my reading habits and if i found something that tugs my interests...then i make sure i read it...and this book of Nicholas Sparks, Even given the fact for the kind of a fan that i have been of Nicholas Sparks books, never could draw my attention. I bought the book a couple of years back in India and started reading it but to be honest, always found it the "Boring" types! I read thru it half way and still couldnt really understand the depth of the story or find any interest in the characters...but now when i am married and am exposed to the intricacies of a married life...the same book now seemed interesting enough that i had to write a blog about it even before i could finish reading it! I dont know how exactly the book would turn out to be...but right now i can relate to the subjects more closely...being married came with some deeper understandings of the Life issues i must say.. :) And may be thats why i am atleast interested enough to give another shot to reading the book!! The first line of the book's prologue stirred something within me and no matter how or what the story would turn out to be...i know this books already important for me!!
I might go on contemplating my thoughts about what it stirred inside of me...and read thru the book to know how it turns out to be...lets wait and keep reading till then.. :)
