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.