Joys of gardening

Summer is here finally! I long for the sunny days all though chilly, windy winters. This time is definitely fun, all the more so because I have a backyard now in our new house where I can connect to the earth, doing work planting, nurturing plants, watching them grow-this is the stuff I love to do. I can just sit and savor with my eyes the blooms around me. I can say nature is therapeautic.

I have sowed some seeds for vegetables, hoping I can grow them organically. There are some bright pink roses erupting with all their color in our backyard. The purple colored osteospermums in the front yard have already did their turn this season in flowering; it took me a while to notice them, as they were already planted when we moved into the house and I was then too busy to notice the beauty! I have planted some pink Mexican primroses, which I had borrowed from someone; they have already died but are supposed to revive aplenty from the ground.

I have just begun, and I am so looking forward to a full summer of garden love:)

Decodaquote

I am addicted to solving the daily newspaper puzzles. The decodaquote is my favorite. In this puzzle you have to solve a jumble of letters to reveal words that make the quote. Some quotes are really great. I remember a few of these notable ones:

I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. Michelangelo

Some people have money and some people are rich. Coco Chanel

Vegetarian is an old Indian word for a lousy hunter!

No politician in India has the courage to say that cows can be eaten. Indira Gandhi

A thousand splendid suns

A thousand splendid suns is the second novel by Khaled Hosseni who has earlier written the Kite Runner (I liked the movie better than the novel). It is the story of how ordinary lives have been torn apart by the turbulent state of affairs in Afghanistan and this novel tells us that it is the woman who ultimately suffers the most. A mother losing her children to war, a single woman left all alone to fend off for herself, atrocities on women in pro male society, illetracy among women. But then this is the same woman who carries on living with a hope in her heart that she clings on to and weathers through her difficulties. It is the simple things in life that brings her cheer like the birth of a child or like the longing for a child.

Its a great book that I could not put down. It is a heartbreaking story mostly but carries a lot of hope. So much hope and faith in God that the family who suffered so much and left the country, came back to Afghanistan when the Taliban were ousted. I have to mention that the descriptions of the cooking of the kebabs , shorwa and tandoori roti made my mouth water all the time as I read along! That writers have an eye for details and describe so attentively the mundane things is very endearing.

To bee or not to bee

"The power of mind is to perceive differences and the power of heart is to perceive similarities."

The above line is from the book- To bee or not to bee, an inspirational book by John Penberthy that I read today. It is a small book with lots of drawings and quick to read in just under an hour. It tells the story of a young bee whose mind is full of questions and is looking for answer to the biggest mystery of life-the why of it all and why he has to "bee". It is this quest that takes him to a journey towards understanding of life as it is. Things may not seem perfect as they are but as the quote from the book says- perfection is a state of mind and not a state of affairs. The book tells beautifully how to look at life from a spiritual perspective and how everything is connected by a Universal Force. A beautiful read to refresh your moods!

5 people you meet in Heaven

5 people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom.

I had heard a lot about this book when it came around and there was a movie also made on this (Ain't Hollywood quick on making movies, killing desire to read?). I was quite reluctant to read it as I am not too much into fiction these days and I thought it would be preachy.
I bought this book in library book sale for real cheap, I buy books from the sale on the spur for a chance at reading them. This one got the chance as it is pretty thin book ( there are a lot of unread books on my bookshelf, their volume is too daunting) and I finished it real fast. I began reading book on low expectation and quickly developed interest as I read along. The story is pretty simple, but it is made interesting by the suspense created by how the story enfolds and when the facts are presented. And along with the story, there are some beautiful thoughts about life-about sacrifice, love, forgiveness, emotions.

Since this was a used book, the book came to me with thoughtful lines already marked! Here is a beautiful prose from it about love and that it is forever:

Lost love is still love. It takes a different form. You cant see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it. Life has to end, love doesn't.

The take home message of this book is: life that anyone lives is not unimportant. Each human is part of a whole, and gives something to that whole through his/her life. A very effective book.

Summer reads

I was in back home in India this summer for a couple of months and here was my opportunity to catch up on my much longed for reading activity. So I did read a few books. My first read was the autobiography of the Mahatma. It was very interesting to read about the "Mahatma" as an ordinary human being, who was struggling with his own fears and trying to find the answers to life's questions. Hence the tiltle of his book is "My experiments with truth". It is amazing to note that he describes his innate fear of speaking, but eventually he overcame it to accomplish great deeds of courage. This one was a pretty big book of about 500 pages. This translation by Navjivan trust (Gandhi's autobiograpy was originally written in Gujarati) seems hard to read as the language is too wordy.

Next I read the two bestsellers by Malcom Gladwell-Blink and The tipping point. Both are very interesting books. Both talk about how seemingly insignificant/small things in life matter so much. In blink, he talks about the first instinct and in The Tipping Point he talks about small ideas that can be big. And it is not just real examples that he talks about and theorizes, he supports them with evidence from researches. Both books are good food for thought.

My last read was Superstar India by Shobha De. I am amazed that I finished this book for all it kitschy and gossipy qualities. On the other hand I found myself laboring to move from one page to another of The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen, for all its intellectuality. Against the title, Superstar India actually is a trash talk on India, with just one point in support of India-family values. I would'nt want to read such content in a book titled "Superstar" India. Shobha De fooled me with the title.

Currently I am reading "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. Since I am back in US and my reading is on a halt, I wonder if my summer reads would be all that I read this year!

Coming into world of video games.

I am writing this blog while someone is playing Call of Duty on the PS3:) After going between yes and no for long, finally husband bought the PS3. And on top of that, he also bought a Nintendo DS and that too within a span of 2 days! And with them came some days of argument over the use of such time and money squandering devices. I was furious.

As the heat cooled off, I was cajoled into giving it a try, and started playing the New Super Mario on the DS. Now, after completing the game, I must admit that I was hooked. After all it is like a virtual adventure -finding your way towards a goal with thrills of becoming victorious over mean enemies along the way. Wish life was like that.....you knew your goal and enjoyed the journey towards reaching the goal.

Between homes

It has been a long time no blog! I had been to India, and as we all know how busy daily life can be there. I had gotten so used to the US life, quiet and peaceful. In contrast, India is bustling with energy. Vibrant, is how I would describe it. Being a movie buff, I did catch up on couple of movies in the theater, now having so many people to babysit! Saw OSO in Patna and TZP in Mumbai. Both the movies were a great watch, very different stories well told. I thought it was patriotic that they played the Jana Gana Mana in the Mumbai multiplex until a friend pointed out that the anthem itself is not patriotic. Historically, the anthem was written in praise of the British. At freedom, between Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana, Jana Gana was selected as it was easier for the band to play.

Now its back to US, playing mom to naughtier-by-the-day son. Its a delight to watch him. How pure and free spirit he is, checking everything out with curiosity, bringing out all the love from mommy's heart. And of course putting me to a test of patience!

Namesake -book and movie

Can a movie be made on a novel and if not better is equally good? The answer to that is Namesake. I loved the book and liked the movie as well. Its hard to appreciate a movie based on a book if everything is not right. Mira Nair has done an excellent job in the movie. Namesake is story about Indian immigrants in US- why they come to US and what they face when they make a home away from home. The story just touches your heart.

The movie is true to the mood of the book and has brought the characters to life. Great performances in the movie especially from Tabu and Irfan. They are truly believable as Ashoke and Ashima who are adjusting to US life but also longing for home and familiarity. Watch out for their expressions when Maxine comes to visit them. Great cinematography, movie is a visual treat.

The movie ends with Ashoke saying to Gogol at the end of the beach-"We came to a place where there was nowhere else to go". That sums up why immigrants like us are here. We want to do what we want to do in this life when we can and not wait for a donkey's life (thats a translation of a saying in Bihari per our Chachaji)!

Listening to an audiobook

I have always loved reading books. But of late I am missing doing that a lot due to a busy life...not finding time at all. Time goes by looking after the baby and home, working from home. So I thought I would just try an audiobook...that way I can be doing something and listening to a book. I got Man's search for meaning by Viktor Frankl from the public library.

About listening to audiobook....it didn't work for me. I would like to read at my own pace with my own voice in my head. Thats how reading is an enriching experience for me, it becomes a personal experience reading on my own. I would like to stop at some points, reread and ponder. I don't get that in an audiobook. I also tried an audiobook during my long drive to work earlier. That was a Harry Potter audiobook that I got. My advice.......too dangerous! It made me feel more sleepy. Better stick to listening to peppy songs while driving!

Needless to say I could never finish the audiobooks in my attempts in listening them. From what I did listen of Man's search for meaning-

Its the author's experience as a prisoner in concentration camps during the Holocaust and his contemplations on the meaning of life. I slept while listening to the book and the content shifted from the camp experience with insights to very esoteric clinical psychology. Frankl was also a psychologist. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful. The book is really really deep. I may get the book to read another time, but here are some quotes from the book.....full of meaning!

Logotherapy...considers man as a being whose main concern consists in fulfilling a meaning and in actualizing values, rather than in the mere gratification and satisfaction of drives and instincts.

The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.

What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for some goal worthy of him. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost, but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.

We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by doing a deed; (2) by experiencing a value; and (3) by suffering.

A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He who knows the "why" for his existence, will be able to bear almost any "how".

Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.

Back on greens

This time I have decided to quit meat and non-veg foods. I have been back and forth between meat and no meat often before. But this time looks like it is for good, lets see. During my pregnancy I rarely ate meat as I developed an aversion to the smell and taste. And after my delivery, I did go back to eating meat but subsequently I don't feel the need to kill a living being like us for taste when we have other options. Motherhood has made me extremely soft and sensitive, having known what it means to bring a life.

Umrao Jaan and Don

These two remakes of old movies rekindled the desire the see the old ones back again. The old ones were seen such a long time ago I hardly remembered them.


Umrao Jaan.....period theme.....so the movie had the task of creating the old world charm. I could feel the old world charm in the 80's movie, but not quite in the recent one. Maybe its the costumes or the songs or the actors. I couldnt imagine Aishwarya or Abhishek B from that era, Ash's acting was very modernish......rebellious and restless. Rekha's Umrao was also a little of a rebel...but rather a subtle one than an overt one. The pathos portrayal was right on mark. Truly a great performance from Rekha.


Don....the original was all about the Big B and how he carried the film on his shoulders. Smart dialogues stood out so well they they are remembered even now. Now when I see it the movie looks tacky. the new don does score over the old one in technical aspects and how the story is well weaved and looks like a movie of today. But nothing stands out. The dialogues look subdued, characters lack the intensity the older actors had. Still I had fun watching the new Don....racy caper!


Actually, because the old movies existed that I wanted to see the new ones. Its fun to compare and see the difference. Would the new ones have stood on thier own if they had no precedent?Probably not.

NYC

Went to NY to visit relatives with my 5 month old old son on the 16th for a week. Got to see around the Big apple. Walking in Manhattan, surrounded by surmounting buildings, bright big posters makes you feel dwarf as an individual but also makes you feel great as a community...it is amazing to realize the greatness that mankind can acheive.......such huge buildings...beyond what eyes can gaze up to see. Its such a feat! And the city is dotted with some imaginative pieces of modern art.

The thing about NY is the hustle bustle. People seem to be in a rush as they have to catch a bus or a train, they are going somewhere. So generally on the road, you see people moving around fast that they seem to have a sense of urgency and purpose. And some of them are pretty darned fashionably dressed.....very much suitable to the fashion capital of US. All this makes life just looks so meaningful and purposeful on the streets.

Overall the city looks good.

Beginning

I am beginning writing my personal blog. Initiated by my husband, I have been writing a blog for my son, and quite liked the concept.
I consider internet a big boon offering connectivity.
So here I begin! Hopefully I will find time and interest to write often.