Gift for love Or Love for gift??

As the day of Valentine is approaching, I see most pages in newspapers with articles overflowing on love, sharing and everything on Valentine. Turn around everywhere and talks are on about the so-called selfless love, romantic songs falling on your ears from all directions and more so on the idea of gifting beloved ones with which greeting card sellers and flowerists or bouquet vendors would profit the maximum, not unbeknownst to us.

With regard to any celebration, be it birthday, wedding anniversary etc., Valentine's day included, I am totally apprehensive over the idea of gifting. The grown-up in me comprehends that the motive behind gifting or receiving gifts on V-day is to shower your affection on your love-lady/lad. Invariably, I also question if such a custom we have proudly acquired from the west and following with utmost concern than any other from our beautiful tradition has led us to somewhere where gifting has become obligatory. As I view my society, just like how people are enormously pride at watching a newly released movie on the first-show of the first-day, there is a sense of pride in the show-off that goes after  gifting. In other words, besides love, is it also an indication of an irresistible feel for gaining attention amongst friends or surroundings with the richness of the gifts shared?!

At the end of the much-hyped V-day, in case the cupid-struck youngsters are amicably demanded to share what have been showered with on their special day, it is nearly mandatory to bring out the bragger in them, to implicitly prove that he/she is the best lover in the world. Because, innately, deep inside, the world around judges people based on what they gift or have been gifted or they might be mocked at or looked down. 

Personally I feel that such customs have also been a grand factor in the increased expectations of today's world. I remember reading somewhere, 'You are what you gift'. And as with anything and everything, this could be viewed positively or negatively. On the negative front, on such occasions, you are determined by what you present. Sadly, today's 'selfless' love expects it, too.

Once when I shared with my classmates and teacher that it was my nephew's b'day, the immediate question from my teacher was, 'hey, what did you gift?'. I was dumb-stuck as soon as the question was posed at me because, the thought of gifting my two-year old nephew never crossed my mind, until I was asked. Most of the times I go out, I get something or the other for my loveable nephew with all love in the world, regardless of whether he needs/asks for it or not. The love I and my family have towards him is inexplicable. But when I was questioned about what I gave him on his b'day, I had no answers which had the possibility of creating a false impression on the affection I have for the baby. The whole day, I was pondering, how the perception over gifting has changed, over time.

Like I read today, I strongly believe that the concept of gifting has to never be obligatory and it is an involuntary instinctive feeling. Love is never compulsive, and so is presenting gift. In short, if you do not gift your valentine on the V-day and your amour loves you as much as always with no disappointments, then, I hope, it is one of the signs of selfless love and a less materialistic society.

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!

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.

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