Just realized that I'll be home (that is: Home no.2 - Cal!) in less than a month! Booyah! Cannot wait. Just gave me an incentive to sit down and bury my head in books. The mundane things of life (exams :P) I tell you! =)

*Smile*

There's nothing like taking in the smell of a cosy little book shop. I've always liked the smell, but somehow today it felt a little extra special and brought about an elevated sense of satisfaction. Even though I'd vowed not to buy any more books!
After an awesome late lunch/early dinner (what do you call a full-fledged meal at 6-ish in the evening? Oh wait, maybe supper :P) of Shepherd's Pie and a triple cheese omelette and a giant cup of a classic English Tea. Mouth-watering right, but apparently not for my pocket :P Oh well, days like this only come once in a blue moon. You see, Nivendra's come down! All the way from Sri Lanka! And he's leaving tomorrow.
We share an intense love of books and poetry, so after that meal with Linda, we went Book-hunting! Immense satisfaction I tell you! Ironically enough, Niv (being a psychology graduate from Christ- he passed out last year) picked up a book called "Flow" which was what the author called when our senses are at our peak during an experience. The same experience can happen twice, but is most poignant when there's maximum 'flow' in the brain.
Anyway, my hands were itching, as usual to pick up something. There's so much to read and so little time! I know I shouldn't crib because I go by the policy of "where there's a will, there's a way" but even when I get time, my brain is just so tired that there's no peace and my mind constantly wanders. So, I've decided to make some resolutions for the upcoming two-week break after exams. (These cravings always crop up during this time!)

1) Write a play in French (don't ask me why!)
2) Prepare a questionnaire and take a survey of average youth awareness about the country's legal and political structure.3
3) READ till my my eyes POP!

I know those seem very ambitious as I'll only have about 15 days out of which, half will be taken over by a holiday within a holiday *groan* So here's my reading list:

1) Green Hills of Africa by Ernest Hemingway
2) Of Love & Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
3) Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
4) The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

If I manage to tackle even half of those..!
Oh three days ago, I bought a children's Bengali story-book which I shall attempt to finish! Perseverance is the key =)

Anyway, here's something amusing for you Bongs -

"Loojh Canawn" - Manas Chakravarty from Hindustan Times

You Don't get to Live Life Twice!

"Pighlay neelam sa behta hua yeh samaan
Neeli neeli si khamoshiyaan
Na kahin hai zameen
Na kahin aasmaan
Sarsaraati huyi tehniyaan, pattiyaan
Keh rahi hain ki bas ek tum ho yahaan
Sirf main hoon meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein
Aisi gehraiyaan
Aisi tanhaiyaan
Aur main sirf main
Apne honay pe mujhko yaqeen aa gaya"

The above few lines are composed by Javed Akhter for the film “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”. Yes, go ahead and chide me for watching this movie so horrendously late. But, what to do? I’ve kinda grown a habit of watching ‘hit’ movies after all the hype has died down. I don’t do it intentionally; it just so happens that I’ve usually got no opportunity to watch it when it releases in the multiplexes. Even when Harry Potter hit the theatres, Natasha, Vaishnavi & I watched it like a month later! Anyway, so the point being – the poetry in this movie touched me profoundly. Javed Akhter has always been able to create magic in the form of songs, but this was the first time I could appreciate Urdu poetry in its true essence. Of course, my version of ‘true essence’ is still amateurish but it was the first time in a Bollywood film, that I found poetry like this to my preference of style.
Among others poems recited at the most poignant parts of the movie, in this one – my favourite line happens to be – “Sirf main hoon, meri saansein hain, aur meri dhadkanein”
My attempt at translating this, would go something like (although I generally don’t like literal translations) – It’s only me, my breath(ing) and my heart-beats.
Beautiful. Especially in the backdrop of some fabulous cinematography- land, water, air in Spain have been captured in a very picturesque manner. Amidst a pretty old style of a plot, the characters have done a decent job with ‘Imran’s’ (Farhan Akhtar) simple stealing my attention. What I liked most that, although it is life-like, it is not too much of a reality-check, for that can be putting of at times. And Bollywood cinema is notorious for creating melodrama. So I was spared of excruciatingly emotionally depressing scenes, but at the same time the film kept me feeling and absorbing the aesthetics. Zoya Akhtar’s directing has to be commended, though I cannot compare as I haven’t watched ‘Luck by Chance’.