Pirate Coelho

Through mouth-word had I come to know of the inspirational writer Paulo Coelho and his works. Years ago, that was. The Alchemist, Brida and The Witch of Portobello, to name a few by this passionate human. When words about his books had hit my ears, an immediate mental note was recorded in my head that I must read them all someday. An international bestseller, The Alchemist has won accolades and is the first book to have been translated to over 35 languages, if my memory is flawless. Having heard never-ending praises for this book, I couldn’t wait to grab a copy of it.

I did not strain myself to purchase it from the bookshops when I could get it from a library, though I have always noticed it flamboyantly shining on the display at the book vendor’s and had had a deep wish to read it. Once the book was handed to me at the library, I was little puzzled at the size of it, comparing it to the giant reputation it had gained. Perhaps, size of a book need not always be directly proportional to its popularity, I felt. I flipped through its pages, had a glance and reconciled with myself that I should proceed with the read. Back home, I began to read it with all interest and there was this appealing phrase which was close to something like ‘The entire universe conspires when you truly desire something’. The intended meaning was, when you really dream of something, the whole universe comes all your way with open hands and guides you in getting your wish fulfilled. True and very much inspiring.

The pages were swiftly turned and as I advanced to around 40th page, an indefinable hurdle struck and I couldn't continue reading due to a sense of blockage which hindered my reading further. And I didn't want to stop reading either. I persisted and moved forward until I reached 50th page and after that, nooooo... I just couldn't. I closed the book for time-being, hoping that I would be able to catch up from where I had stopped. Flop! I inexplicably and irresistibly felt that such writing style doesn’t suit me. I remember the sentences being too short and hence weren’t too occupying. Not very keen to engage myself with something that didn’t impress me, I gave up reading. The book was returned to the library without any delay. A book of massive fame, not for my average persona.

A year later or so, I read Brida and another book of his whose title no more exists in my brain, which, to me, proved a better reading. But then there was this little concern and tiny lament of still having not read The Alchemist. All that had remained in my memory was a vague outline of the story. Naturally, once the book was out of sight, the story was out of mind. Not completely, though. But the wish to read it prevailed as always. To add to it, more often than not, I kept hearing praises on it and I borrowed it from the library yet another time. Nope. It didn’t work this time too. Incidentally, my full-stop to reading it for the second time was at the same page again. And once again, as you would expect, I gave in to give up the read. I no longer long to read it anymore, although, I wish to know how the rest of the story goes. However, until now, it hasn’t happened for me to come across someone remembering the story. Blithely, I still wait to hear what followed next.  

Nonetheless, I must proudly admit that I was intensely impressed by the philosophy of this author. And I believe that he preaches only what he practices. The abstract on him that I read long back had pointed out how Paulo crossed the various hindrances that he stumbled upon, to follow his passion of writing. A man of dreams and kudos to him!

With a common knowledge that any author is fervent towards saving his/her creations from piracy, would you believe that Paulo Coelho wholeheartedly permits piracy of his books? Really. He trusts that piracy takes his works to millions of people which would result in only increasing the sales of his indigenous collections. And I strongly second his opinion that an elongated e-reading can never equal the pleasures of reading a book as such. Dramatically, he elucidates that the more people read pirated versions on the web, the more they would want to possess an original copy. With all these into consideration, Paulo Coelho has set up his site ‘Pirate Coelho’ and according to him, all of his books are available in it. So, what are you waiting for!! Go ahead, have an enjoyable e-reading and oh, don’t forget to seize the original versions! And do let me know the story of The Alchemist, without fail!! :P

Aren't You Curious?

Nothing could be so strange as human beings in our bluish planet. At times we and our involuntary actions are so cranky and puzzling, which probably indicate that a lifetime is not enough to explore ourselves. Curiosity - to say one. I think curiosity is a part of reflex action, about which I shall illustrate here. So go ahead, feel it all and if you hadn't given a thought on such a thing so far, make sure you observe yourself right from the next time.

Here it goes -

You need to get a book and you step in to a library or a book shop. Assume you know what you need to buy/get. An unknown person next to you is on the look out for say some novel or a magazine irrelevant to what you are looking for.  Now, aren't you curious to turn your head or atleast struck with a  sudden small wish to know what they are searching for? Not necesarily a book shop. Could be a shopping mall, a grocery shop next to your door or anything of that sort. While we know what is required for us to get from a store or whatever, why are we so curious to know about others?!

You have boarded onto a heavily rushed train/bus and with luck wind having blown towards your favour, you got a seat, of course, with an unknown companion right next to you. Before you begin to breathe casually, try searching for something inside your handbag, bag or a purse even if you know it is not worth it. Next step - Be sure to notice that your co-traveler is gazing at you or peeping inside your bag from a distance, curious enough to know your pursuit! And the moment they find it out, there is a almost a sense of satisfaction! But then you were just intending to get something out of your own kit! So why this curiosity with others?

Again, during a short journey, just after you get seated, imagine that your phone rings. You pick it and answer the call. The person nearby has heard your voice as you begin to speak. Yes, now as you would expect, he/she can not wait to turn towards you and see your face. Curiosity to link voices with faces?

All these are just samples from day-to-day lives and a lot more could be listed if we consciously notice such petty things. These are merely weird reflexive actions left unobserved most of the times. So next time, you go out and if you catch similar experiences, feel funny if not amused and do remember to remember this post!

Memories from the City of Palaces

I had always wanted to scribble about my earlier visit to Mysore but was wondering if it is too late and that I may not remember much of stuff to be put into a reasonable blog.  However, things fell into place and my memories refreshed when I came to read today about the cursed royalty of Mysore kingdom (Courtesy - DC's today's supplement). Coincidentally, this day, exactly two years back, was my unforgettable trip to Mysore. So there is a reason for blogging, atleast not a too bad reason to not blog about it :P.

Wandering around the city for two days, I was totally impressed by the tranquility of the City of Palaces and its greenery while getting a glimpse into its beauty. Not to mention, drizzling turned the city a lot more dazzling. Hmmm.. if only this hot Chennai had more trees :(. Back to flashback.  During the visit, I heard from an acquaintance about the curse that the Mysore kings had succumbed to and the kingdom still giving in to it. Here it goes.. (part of this history excerpted from today's DC)...

Raja Wodeyar who ruled Mysore during the 16th Century conquered the fort of Srirangapatna from the then Viceroy of Vijayanagar - Tirumala. Shortly after Tirumala's death, Alamelamma, his wife had safeguarded a collection of magnificient jewellery with which she adorned the idol of Sri Ranganayaki, every Tuesday and Friday. When she was commanded to surrender the valuables to the king Raja Wodeyar, she not only denied but to escape from the king's rage, fell into the river Cauvery with the jewels, after uttering a curse that the Rajas of Mysore would never have their progeny until eternity.

Through my trip, I learnt, history has proven that the curse has turned out true. The successive rulers of Raja Wodeyar have all been adopted (excepting Narasaraja Wodeyar II). Much to my astonishment, I had heard that the adopted rulers have always had offsprings as they are not from the direct lines and then as the curse plays its role promptly, these offsprings would never have their heirs. The story iterates. That was the first time I came to know of a (hi)story on a curse (and that it turned out to be reality) and it made me marvel, how powerful words could be!! Or rather, is it just a coincidence?! I don't think so. Apparently, even the Royal Highness couldn't get away from a harsh curse.

As it would always happen, my mind did a quick Ctrl + F in my brain's memory unit to cross-check if I had cursed anyone, knowingly or unknowingly. And it turns out that, neither am I Alamelamma and I hope, nor would my curses come true, if at all there was any :P.  A serious and quite a lengthy writing on curses and enough on this subject. Other places we visited were the Ranganthittu Bird Sanctuary, Nanjudeshwarar temple, Chamundi Hills and the most exotic Balmuri. We also visited yet another Shiva temple and sought the Lord's blessings. Also etched in my mind is the amazingly beautiful place we got to stay and the fun we had had while gulping all hot food out of hunger. I miss it, for sure :|

Moving on to one another memorable experience. The guide who accompanied us in the mysore palace showed us the 'infinite mirrors'. Interestingly, none of us identified that those were brilliant infinite-mirrors until the guide had actually mentioned it. All that we (including the boys in our group) had done was to stare at our own faces in the mirror and admire if we were looking good or bad or so tired or dull. Upon realising what we had all done in common, there was a hearty laugh amongst us :D. It seems nothing is as admirable as one's own face, we conversed. And that makes a laughable end to this post, I hope!

New Lessons Learnt

I was proven wrong with some of my conceptions recently. Let me explain. Because languages are one of my passions, my spirit had said, two things pertaining to languages are damn easy and strangely, my mind agreed to it. Woo-hoo, my heart and mind finally agreeing on a point! Most of my days end up with an irresolvable dispute between the two and that they both coming down for a reconciliation can be nominated as a wonder of the world! Forget their endless fights, for now. I hope to blog on them when I feel the time is right.

Number one. A thought that existed in my mind, not sure since when, is that language teaching is a cool thing. And to teach your own mother tongue to someone totally strange to it is not a daunting task, either. To merely perceive things when not putting them into practice, is easy, correct? And there came an opportunity to teach my mother tongue to a foreigner and I wanted to utilize it - not for money, I bet. Engrossed in setting up a teaching plan, I was enthralled at how difficult it is to teach someone a language, although the language has been blended so well with your life. I also got to know myself that each language is unique, beautiful and has its own toughness in learning. And at the end, I had to lose the opportunity, just because I was not a professional tutor. I am not regretting it, for it has got me a good learning, changing my perception. Some day if I were given a similar opportunity, I surely will opt for it again, but this time knowing that it requires patience and practice.

Number two. Whenever I watched subtitled audio/video or even movies, it never struck me that transcribing isn't easy. My recent experience proved me how difficult it is. Believe it or not, it takes hours to perfectly transcribe a simple audio/video of 5 minutes duration. Since then, the way I look at subtitling is reversed altogether.

The motive behind sharing these two experiences is just to reflect on how reality is different from imagination. Appearance can many times be deceptive, whether the insight is from your mind or heart otherwise sometimes from within both!

A definition to courageousness

She looks like one of the women-next-door types, but it is stunning to know her achievements. Having got a chance to listen to a motiviational and spellbounding speech by Mrs.Girija Raghavan, I felt privileged and very much inspired. What I knew of her earlier is that she is a television host generally for women-based programmes and I hardly remember her running a magazine targeted at women. The EDP session, however, revealed that this is just one amongst her many facets.

It was during my high schooling that I happened to watch her afternoon programme 'Pengal ulagam', if I remember the name correctly. Time never permitted me to fully watch it as I would be rushing to get ready to school. We had only half-day classes those months, thanks to the twelfth board exam arrangements in our campus. That was the time we had only a handful of private channels and her programmes used to be very simple, yet interesting. And this is how and what I came to know of this lady.

Back to the EDP, she was to give a speech to a heterogeneous group on successful entrepreneurship. And she spoke of herself, the challenges she had to overcome, failures and of course, hitting the peak of success mountain. A lady of total courageousness, who quitted a lucrative bank job to follow her passion founded 'Ladies Special' magazine which today has around 50,000 subscribers to its credit. She shared her first-hand good and bad experiences that she had had with her initial venture of releasing audio casettes. Even with big losses and repeated failures, she never moved away from her passion! And her secret to success is that she made mistakes but never repeated it! It is wonderful to hear that this lady has headed towards social service too. A successful entrepreneur, she leads and guides budding self-employed women, cares for them and for the society. Mindblowing!

To add more to my experience, it was delighting to shake firm hands with this interesting lady. She too was glad to know that I had become a fan of hers :). My respect for this woman increased in folds when she confessed that she has been a single woman for almost two decades! Her point was that if a struggling single woman can achieve this much, why can't the youngsters of today?! Point accepted. Youngsters today have much opportunities and nothing can obstruct if one has the guts to exercise dreams into reality! On the whole, a cherishable event. I hope to follow her footsteps.

The saddest part is that, while she finished her speech and before she prepared to leave, almost 75% of our educated audiences were busy moving out. See how much respect one demonstrates for a chief-guest in our nation. Terrible for the aspiring entrepreneurs to have behaved that way! A high-profiled woman, she didn't mind it, but the attitude of the attendees wasn't a good sign. I think it is high time we learned good behaviours and social gestures.

Lady's day out

Few circumstances led her to stay away from home for a mere two days and it taught her quite a lot. A learning about appreciating what one has in life and be satisfied at, nevertheless not meaning not to aim for a higher purpose. The experience showcased what all good things she has for herself, a safe shelter to reside, good clothes and what not! One among these homosapiens with a 10 feet long tongue when it comes to food and doesn't compromise if any of the taste buds isn't ok with, now knows how fortunate she is to have the food come to her place, dawn and dusk.

I once remember my friend sharing with me one of her acquaintance's issues with life and her continuous struggle which made me wonder why God doesn't help these good hearted humans at big life crisis. And whilst I posed the same question to my pal, the answer was, "She has a whole lot of things to sort out, but she should learn to appreciate what she has got first and try to be happy". And, that is right!

Fascinated by the workings of the mind, one of my constant thinkings is, how the brain chooses to ignore the good and fortunate things it has got and prefers pondering over what it has missed or unlucky at! But by being consious over such popping thoughts, I guess, we can push ourselves into happiness, for our own sake.

Today, I too have taken a resolution to praise all the good ones I own and move ahead towards my destiny.

Hot Water

My latest companion, P.G. Wodehouse's Hot Water. Not too much a fast paced novel, but guaranteed for keeping you occupied. Kinda bored with the adventurous novels these days. Too much of adventure sucks, in my opinion. Hoping for some new plot in the 'Laughing Gas' which is in my hands now after 'Hot Water'. Got to know what it is from its preface, yet to start reading it in a stretch and hope it impresses me this time too. I dream of owning all his books one day, and wish someone gifts me this collection, too ;).

My favourite Deccan Chronicle

An avid reader of Deccan Chronicle, quite fascinated by its new look and its inspirational words of the Sunday Chronicle, is the latest me. To track down the jumble quiz most of the days and to spot the six differences in a complexly resembling pair of pictures actually keeps me high every morning. These are simple tricks to keep your profile high, I discovered recently. Along with that, last few days have run with me immersed in the most adventurous 'If tomorrow comes' by Sidney Sheldon. All these years a thought had prevailed that Sydney Sheldon's writings are not of my 'type', so I never volunteered to try it. Tied by the boredom that usually follows after a hectic and tiresome preparation for exam, I found myself with the book which kept me completely occupied for two days and I loved Tracy Whitney's adventures. It must have taken the author much of an effort for such creativity, not to mention his vocabulary skills.

Was quite surprised coming to know of the fact that a burning candle has millions of diamond nano particles in its flames but one could not extract diamond from it as it is converted into some carbon chemical in less than a fraction of a second. This now comes to a conclusion that, sadly, this information won't quench the diamond thirst that now arises. However, as mentioned in the column, this knowledge would change the way we would look at the flames of the candle, forever. Yesterday when the power was off at night, I could see the nano particles flaming at my home too :P.

Read an interview with the intellectual NRN and it has motivated me. It is astonishing to hear when he says that he never got a first rank at school and the highest one he got was the second. He also speaks of his yardsticks for happiness, dreams and why he didn't build a 27 storeyed mansion which any successful businessman of a gaint company would have dreamt of. It is time that we stopped running behind ranks, grades et all and focus much on creating better human values, a better society.

La langue française - On a funnier note

Divide the world into two genres, classify them into masculine and feminine, now permute and combine with singular and plural. Voila, you are ready with the language - French. Mind you, there is no rule as to what forms a masculine or feminine. Something on it that arose from my brain resembling the famous Mark Twain's writing on German: French is one short of German in not having the gender neute, which will proably make the learners raise their eyebrows, if not making them happy. Back to the note on la francaise, a man is a masculine but a woman is feminine. Well, this is not a great discovery which any species in the earth will know, until you read what follows next. A man turns feminine when he is referred as a person (une personne). Along with that, he/she has the head which is feminine (la tete), a masculine nose (le nez) and a similar reasonless gender classification for the whole rest of the anatomy. And in the case of feminine, feminisme is masculine! Now no patience lies in me to explain the rest, nor do I have much knowledge . What I happened to write is only 0.000000..1% of what the language is all about. Things like these make me wonder who would have had such a cerebral structure, interest and time to create rules for a language on these lines. Inspite of all these contradictions, this language is a poetic one requiring a calculative mind and a good memory to become fluent at, as well as to discover a new world. A definite and enjoyable learning for those who do not get discouraged. 

Good old(?) childhood memories

There are days when you hear a song at radio at your desk, mobile or even on the roadside and you keep humming it through out the day. There have also been times when some song suddenly creeps into your mind with no reason. And trying to look from where it entered into your mind leaves you perplexed. There is one such a song that has been getting spilled from my mouth for almost a complete day or two. The number I am talking about is one from the doordarshan era, the title song of the renowned serial 'Shaktimaan'. There is no peculiar reason for why I loved the song and I can remember few lines of it even now.

While I hum the song I am dragged to the fantastic days of my childhood which was worrilesss, a period of dreams and hopes even during most of the hardships, to add to it. Though I was not an ardent follower of television or cinema (and yes, even at present!), I watched the drama as and when I could and I am a fan of the hilarious Gangadhar. I have patted myself to be lucky for having got a sheet of Shaktimaan lables, which I stuck to my notebooks with all happiness in the world. I can recall profoundly my peeping into kitchen from outside its window during ads, while my lovable mom made the delicious appalam. The soul in me sought the best out of everything and was totally carefree, whilst persuing what it wanted. And the same soul still lives on.

The dreams of the soul have altered now, but its spirit still prevails as youthful as it was then. I am one of the kind to be blessed in finding pleasure in the simplest of things and believe that simplicity is the root to happiness. I dare doing what my heart says, success and failure never matter. It is a dark path that I am traveling, but I am sure to overcome the obstacles and reach where I want to be, in near future. If there is light at the end of the tunnel, I hope to reach it, here and also at the 'other' side. Eventually, I hope to find who I am.

First blog at blogspot

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