The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield

This write-up and next few to follow are going to be brief. It is just that I have decided to keep this blog as up to date as possible and I have quite a bit to update and I am determined to do it today.

Coming to the book and the author- 

This is the first book of Katherine Mansfield's that I have read. Her writing style is quite different from the kind I am used to. Due to this, I had a slow start and struggled a bit to finish a couple of stories. I guess, once you can see through a couple of stories, one becomes more familiar with the writing style and is able to finish the rest of the book quite quickly. I would recommend anyone who plans on reading this book, to start with the story, 'Miss Brill' as it is short and easy to read and will help in 'acclimatise' oneself to Katherine Mansfield's work. I picked the book up at the British Library and what attracted me to it was the word 'Party' in the title. I just thought there would be amazing descriptions of food in it. Though there is some description, not enough :).

As I already mentioned, the writing style is quite different to the one I am used to, I went an extra mile to understand her writing initially. I read about the life of Katherine Mansfield and also read through the critical analysis of some of her stories. It helped me appreciate her work better. Some of the stories in book have been televised and the videos are available on Youtube. These are extremely helpful as well and played a vital role in my appreciating the book.The ending of some of the stories is left to the imagination of the reader.

I also read a lot about comparison between Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf. For me, the writing styles of Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf is quite similar, the major difference being- Katherine Mansfield wrote short stories while Virginia Woolf wrote novels. This work from Katherine Mansfield is indicative of her in-depth study and observations on the society and human behaviour in the early 1900s and reflects in the way the characters have been built in all of her stories.

This is definitely not a book to start reading if one is trying to develop reading as a hobby as it could have a repellent effect. Also, I personally think, that people would like her stories but not necessarily her writing style. Some would label many stories in the book as slow-paced and a drag. 

Will I pick-up a Katherine Mansfield book again? I would only if I want to do some very serious reading. I would rate this book 3.5/5.

Between Then and Now

If my blog was a reference to the number of books I read, it may be inferred that I hardly ever read as my last post was almost a year ago I think. Between then and now I have read a lot of interesting things but unfortunately did not care enough to post. I have made a promise to myself that I will keep this blog   up-to-date. Also, before I started writing this blog, I have read a lot of wonderful work- so much that I cannot even recall what from the top of my head. It is only when I go to bookstores/fairs or look at my own collection or even browse Flipkart that I realise how much I have read in the past. 

Anyway, some of the books that I read between the last time I wrote and now:

- Katherine Mansfield: The Garden Party and other stories
- Sachin Garg: Comeon Inner Peace, I ain't got all day
- P.G. Wodehouse: The Girl in Blue
- Jeffrey Archer: Quiver Full of Arrows
- Agatha Christie: The Caribbean Mystery
- Agatha Christie: Thirteen Problems

In addition I have started reading some books but have not been able to complete:

- Steve Jobs' autobiography
- Jaya

I am currently reading an interesting book called Drop Dead by Swati Kaushal.

I intend to update my blog with my thoughts on all of the above books (except of course, the ones I have not finished reading).

What I also did for a large part of last year since I wrote my last blog post is, watch a lot of televised/dramatised versions of some of my favourite books. Some were very good adaptations, some ordinary and some below ordinary. Irrespective of the quality of the adaptations, I loved to see my favourite books and characters come to life. 

So much for now. I will update this blog soon as promised.

Legends Never Retire...but it is always hard to say Goodbye

It is always difficult to say Goodbye to Sports Icons. I had been a great fan of Steffi Graf all my childhood. So, influenced by her, that I liked to dress up like her, tie my hair up like her and I even took up tennis at school. My only regret would be that I could never play single-handed like her. I tried, but the racquet was too heavy for me at that age. I would never miss a Steffi Graf match and would not change my position superstitiously until she won the match. During some tough matches, I would sit with a string of beads and pretend they were prayer beads and would pray with all my heart until the match was done. When she announced her retirement, it was like the sky came down crashing on me. I will never forget what I felt that day. I watched her induction to the Hall of Fame with a heart full of emotions. 

On 16NOV2013, when Sachin Tendulkar signed off from International Cricket, I won't say it was the same but yes, I did have a heart full of emotions. His retirement speech was that made by a man full of humility and gratitude. I took a look back to see what he meant to all of us and realised that his presence  in cricket was so reassuring. I remember the times when my brother and I would come back from school/work and ask our mom/dad for the score and if it was a poor one, we would immediately ask- ' Is Tendulkar out already?' and when they said No, it gave us some kind of confidence and reassurance and hope that India might not lose. It might have been the case in many many Indian homes. It was observed on several occasions that when Sachin got out, the rest of the team collapsed like a house made with a pack of cards. It only meant one thing, he carried the responsibility of the entire team for a very big part of his career and the hopes of millions on his shoulders at a very young age and did so until his retirement. Since I have seen him play since my childhood and saw his position in the team with permanence, I find it hard to believe that he would not be seen playing International Cricket anymore. This being said, he must have had a very satisfying career with many records being broken and many new ones created, being a part of the winning World Cup Team and the IPL winning Mumbai Indians team, not to forget that he was also a part of the Test team when India was ranked no. 1.

All I can say is Thank You Sachin for everything you have done for this country on field and off-field. Thanks for giving your very best to the sport and the country each and every time you stepped on to the field.

I did not realise how big a fan I am of yours until you bid farewell to cricket. Your retirement is yet to sink in but I trust that whatever you do, it will be in the best interest of the country, the sport and also personally for you as well. I hope we still get to see you on TV close to the cricket field and also, wish you the very best in the new innings of your life. Farewell!

One Done, On to the Next One

Home is where the heart is. On 15NOV2012, I followed my sweetheart to Hyderabad to start a new life in a new Home, Sweet Home. As I complete one year in the new city and look back at the year that was, it has been a colourful one year. I have loved exploring Hyderabad this one year and a lot still remains to be explored. I have grown a lot in this one year, especially in my culinary ability being someone who just hated cooking to someone who cooks for relaxation and de-stressing. 

There are so many things that stood out for me in Hyderabad- the very broad roads, 'Numaish' , some of my shopping trips (though old city still remains to be explored), my job and new friends and acquaintances at work and have the pleasure of getting back in touch with the old ones.

When I first stepped on Hyderabad soil, nothing other than heat seemed very different in the city compared to Bangalore. I was still very 'Bangalored'. Since we arrived on an evening flight and were terribly hungry, we dropped our luggage off at home and headed to the Woodlands Restaurant. Now, Woodlands is a place one goes to when you are hungry and not for celebrations or treats or fine dining experience. Woodlands is being run by people of Karnataka and they have imported all of their staff from Karnataka...at least it seemed that way because almost all of them spoke in Kannada.

We seated ourselves in the A/C dining area. I did not really realise at that moment that I was not in Bangalore in the cool of the A/C and in a 'Kannadified' atmosphere. In my head, I was still in Bangalore. We ordered North-Indian thaali. It starts off with Tomato soup, pappad and Ras Malai. Once we were done with the soup, the main course thaali arrived. They had an assortment of curries. Mutter Paneer caught my eye...I started with Roti and Mutter Paneer and it was that moment....

.....that it struck me harshly and rudely, that I had arrived in Hyderabad. My tongue was slapped and punched with very spicy and strong chillies that no amount of water intake could help. I immediately started tearing up and perspiring. My husband who was quite used to the spicy food of the region could not understand what was wrong. He tasted the Mutter Paneer and it seemed quite okay to him. I ditched the Mutter Paneer and went on to the Mixed Veg curry and the gravy of an Eggplant dish. Each of them seemed to better the ability of the other in terms of setting my tongue on fire. I realised at that very moment, in that particular A/C dining area, in that 'Kannadified' atmosphere that I HAVE ARRIVED IN HYDERABAD. Fortunately, I had saved my Ras Malai for later and pacified my agitated taste buds with its creamy-milky sweetness. I took it as God's way of telling me 2 things-

- I had arrived in Hyderabad

- Ras Malai would come to my rescue so do not eat it as soon as it is served

At the end of the meal, ice-cream was served and I cannot think of any other time in life when I relished it more.

This is one of my first experiences in the city which I can never forget. In this one year that has gone by, I have still not been able to adapt to the extra spice. I tear up almost every other day,to the amusement of my colleagues especially, while eating especially the curries and salads (what??? you thought they can't be that spicy?? Well, come over...the spice route awaits you).

Having said all that I have, I love Bangalore a lot. Once you live in Bangalore, it is not easy to love to live in any other city. Though my sweetheart is in Hyderabad, my very own heart is still in Bangalore. I cannot say there is anything terribly wrong with Hyderabad. It is a fine city to live in and has its own way of functioning and is special in its own way. Slowly, I am learning to like Hyderabad but it can never replace my love for Bangalore as Bangalore has reserved a very special place in my heart for life. 

I hope to write (and remember to write) again sometime around this time of the year in 2014 and see if Hyderabad has made any progress in completely winning my heart over! Hopefully, some day I will also have a special place reserved for Hyderabad for the rest of my life. In the meantime, I am determined to enjoy the Hyderabad experience!

Voice of a Soldier's Soul

I had written this poem a few days back but could not find the time to post it here. It is an attempt at poetry after a very long time. The last time I wrote one was back in my High School days. Back then, I would write poems about anything and everything and they are highly confidential and personal. I just wanted to see if I still had it in me and if words would flow just as easily. It surely has a lot of flaws but hey, I am happy that I at least made an attempt after ages. I would love to improve and get better.
Please do share your feedback.

Voice of a Soldier's Soul

As my soul wanders through the skies,

I see the hills and vale through my soul's eyes,

Whereupon my soldier body lay covered in tricolour.

And weeping eyes, place on me a solitary flower.

I roam across my nation

for which I once had a vision

of progress, of development, of abundance.

But alas, it appears not to be.

My soul weeps in tears silent,

With scams and crimes, my country vibrant,

Where pledge of allegiance seems forgotten,

Where a soldier's death seems too common

And where money prevails over human.

Education and food is in abundance,

But means of reaching my people scarce

And from our neighbours, there is no peace.

Better technology- my heart does cheer

but my people still have so much to fear.

My soldier brothers and sisters always ready

To serve others who are needy,

To give their lives in service if the nation.

My wandering soul has but one question,

Is a soldier's sacrifice not so worthy?

Give me some cheer, O my country!!

My weary wandering soul yearns for rest,

Possible when my vision realised

And I see my country at its BEST.

                                                                                    - SR (Clamourous)

Precious Five

11APR2012 

It was a warm afternoon. News from the earthquake in Indonesia was flashing all over the place. Bangalore too experienced tremors on the day. I was at work with my colleagues when we felt the tremors which were not very brief. There were moments of indecision- what should we do- Run outside? Stay seated and pretend nothing happened? Should we call someone to help us face a possible calamity? There were a lot of discussions going on. There was news of a second one hitting us soon and warnings of tsunamis screaming out on any and every news station. While I participated in these discussions, for a micro second, all the important things to me in life flashed before my eyes. Mind does travel faster than light....and the frames of all that was important came at an unimaginable pace. There were plenty of things that went through my mind at that point in time..a billion important things but I have come to realize that the ones that I really remember after snapping out of the mental state of the time are the ones that are of utmost importance to me.

1.Family and Friends:

The first thing that occurred to me in that micro-second was my family and friends. One of my brothers is in the US. My mom at home, dad at work. My other brother- possibly at a client place. My many uncles and aunts and cousins and nieces and nephews scattered across the globe. I thought about all of them in that small fraction of time. I thought of my new to-be family members- Rakshit and the bit of his family that I knew then. My immediate family, Rakshit and his immediate family and my best friend Malabika  mean the world to me. I always associate joy and happy thoughts when I think of them but this time it was quite painful to think of not being around them.

2. Apple Gadgets:

I am yet to comprehend on why I thought of my Macbook Pro, iPhone and iPod (and also the next buy iPad) at a time like that. It could be that they are quite expensive and I worked very hard and saved a lot to make those purchases or possibly, subconsciously, I thought these are going to help me in difficult times post a natural disaster.

3. Work:

Some people say and like to believe that I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth but this is not completely true. I would say I was pampered and doted upon by my family, especially my parents. My job helped me find myself, made me more independent in my ways, transformed me from being a quiet, shy person to a confident and kind of an outspoken person, not to mention financial independence that it brought with it. 

At that moment I also thought about the teams that I work closely with in India and also outside. They are like a second family to me as most of my waking hours are spent with them.

4. Collection of Books:

I am happy that I own a huge number of books. I am very fond of classics and works of fiction and own a lot of books which I assume are hard to find. It is a little difficult to imagine myself running out of a building with all of them when an earthquake strikes but I surely would love to grab as many as I can or as a part of my disaster facing stratagem, get Kindle so that there is only 1 little thing to run with.

5. Collection of Movies:

Comedy and classics (those which meet my definition of classic) are my favourite genres of movies. I have over a period of time accumulated a sizable collection of movies in multiple formats on multiple devices. It is not easy to build a collection of this nature as it involves a lot of looking about and watching out for some of those rare movies. These bring me a lot of cheer to me and I assume, this is most probably the reason why it occurred to me in this time of confusion and mild panic.

There were a lot of other things which I would consider as weird to have thought about but for some reason I did and I remember- a pot of Aloe Vera gel, Mexican green wave pizza from Domino's, Spicy tomato pasta (fussili) from Pizza Hut, my Parker pens, Lucky and Happiness diaries, my doctor's prescription for glasses, childhood photographs, Crocin, Imol, perfumes, trip to Bannerughatta National Park etc...

One way or the other, I realize that there are so many things that mean a lot to us and we take them for granted and realize how important they are to us only when we are threatened of losing them or after having lost them. For now, I would think these are the most important things to me...

The Comeback!

Back in 2005, blogging was one of my favorite hobbies. For some reason, I totally lost interest in it thereafter. I withdrew all my blogposts that were published. In 2012, I received the motivation from a special someone who writes really well and encourages me to do the same. I am back on a second stint as a blogger..Let us see if my motivation and interest can be sustained for long this time :)