The fonts just don't seem nice!!

I'd observed a few days ago that the custom fonts that I had used for my blog have suddenly stopped working. I was irked more than I care to admit. So, for the time being, I've changed the fonts to what I believe are the closest to what I would have chosen if I had all the fonts in the world to choose from.

I'm in the process of finding a good font and the technical know-how of how to put it there. The method I tried last time isn't working. Maybe I'm doing something wrong... maybe the method just doesn't work anymore. The more I undergo these ridiculous issues with my blog, the more I'm tempted to start writing in my own domain. But that requires a little bit of time and money. Even if I do have the latter by God's grace, I am poor on time right now.

So, dear readers whose eye is twitching the same way mine does when a font is just not right, bear with me.

I'll soon find a solution. I can't stand it just as much as you!

So, off I go!  

A little reminder

For anybody out there who has been worried about my absence from this blog, I'd like to reassure them with the news that I am well, if a little too busy. I've gotten myself a better job and a new laptop from which I am writing this entry.

And life has generally been good to me mostly.... actually, there have been some really rough patches here and there... and when I mean really rough, I mean insanely rough. People have asked me in open wonder how I've managed to get through those patches. And I do not brag, dear reader. I don't know how I got through. There was God helping me along the way, I guess. He's always there... always by my side, protecting and guiding me to where I need to be.

This post is just a place holder. A little reminder to everyone who'll chance upon it to smile and believe that no matter how hard life seems right now, it will get better. The whole universe is working hard to get you what you want. Whatever it be! So, don't give up. And remember... there's always hope!

Karna's Wife - The Outcast's Queen: A Book Review

There are stories that we are told right from when we were wee little babies in our crib. Stories that have been passed down from one generation to the next - sometimes as a story that is told or sometimes as a book that is written. If there is one thing that is common about all these tales, it is the fact that they change as we age. What was a mere fable of how Good triumphed over Evil from our childhood suddenly turns into the perfect character study of the complex nature of the Human psyche. And if we were to line up all the stories of the world that boast of possessing such richness of depth, I am in no doubt that India's Mahabharatha will be among the top three.


I remember listening with wide eyes and a gaping mouth as my grandmother extolled tales of the Pandava princes and their quest for justice and cheered whenever they won over the evil Kaurava princes.
And now, a good two decades later, as I re-read the tales, I am able to read between the lines a little more and it amazes me how perfectly this particular epic manages to capture human emotions in all its complexities. The black and white world of my childhood has greyed out into a myriad shades as I see the goodness in the Kauravas and the sliver of evil in the Pandavas.
So, it would be the most obvious guess that I was delighted when I saw Kavita Kané's newest book, Karna's wife - The Outcast's Queen, calling out to me from the shelf of my neighbourhood book store.

"The Book"

The book is from the point of view of Karna's wife - a fictitious character who goes by the name, Uruvi. Uruvi, the kshathriya princess of Pukeya, defies societal norms by choosing the charioteer's son, Karna over the illustrious Arjuna for her husband. And from then on, the book goes on to tell the age old tale through her eyes.

Truth be told, I could not put the book down for the first fifty or so pages - the swayamvara - a ceremony where a suitor is chosen for the princess or one where the princess chooses herself a husband, was so well written that it felt like I was actually standing there, right beside Krishna (the only other person who knows the future), and watching the scene unfold.
But towards the middle, the story sagged a bit. The writer, suddenly, moved from telling the tale from Uruvi's point of view to just giving what seemed like a third person's point of view of the story, just that it was being quoted by some character to the protagonist. I find this a classic example of loss of focus. As an amateur writer myself, I know how it feels - being in the middle of the story, suddenly losing the drive to write, you feel lik you're being dragged down by the scene you're in. You see the end but it keeps moving farther away even as you inch towards it. But the mark of a true writer is not wavering from the mission set and finishing the story as one coherent piece. The prowess to do that sets apart the stalwarts of the trade from us, the mere mortals.
That said, I should say Uruvi is a character with a lot of potential. But towards the middle, she loses that something that makes her relateable. I found myself more attached to Karna - his character being truer to character than his wife. 
The dialogues were, truthfully, very painful to read. Half the time, I skimmed through them without missing much of the story. And that, again is not a good sign. I wish she had been a wee bit more intangibly descriptive - like Stephen King or Herman Hess. But I fear I have very high expectations out of my writers, don't I?!
Characters were slowly becoming two dimensional and the only one who stood above them all as a believable character was Karna. But since the book is not from his point of view, I had to wait with bated breath for him to make an appearance. Kane has managed to make Karna the vulnerable tragic hero that I loved. Towards the end, even Duryodhana, the 'vile' Kaurava prince was portrayed to have a sense of humanity. It brought a sense of familiar perfection that I had long since associated Mahabharatha with.
Everything said, I did feel a bit of a twang in my heart when the final page was read. And that must mean the author got something right!

This is the author's first work. So, I am sure she will only get better with the next one - a take on another amazing epic from India - the Ramayana; only this time, the story is from the point of view of Urmila, the forgotten sister of Sita and the dutiful wife of Lakshmana. I am looking forward to reading that.

All in all, I give this book 3❤'s out of 5.

Interpreting the mundane!

I'm in the middle of a meeting with about five Japanese gentlemen.... make it four Japanese gentlemen and a Korean gent. Or....five Japanese gents of whom two can converse in Korean... You know what? Forget it!

Interpretation.... such interesting prospects! You get to connect two people who would be so pointlessly lost without you. Such responsibility.... such an honour! So wow!!

But today, it was quite the ride, my brethren! And now, as I sit... having struck idle conversation with the one person who actually wanted to talk to the likes of me, I understand it clearly. We're all the same, aren't we? We all bleed red and poop brown.... well, surely we all bleed red at least!
And in that moment of epiphany, I realize... my shoulder hurts like it's been set on fire. I seem to have quite the delicate stomach. And I believe I have a fever. Oh joyful times! Perfect for talking about sales deeds and invoice management!

Blogging from the phone!

This is my first ever post from my android phone! I've had the phone for a while now but never got around to actually using it for blogging! Maybe now, I'll feel motivated to blog as and when the urge dawns upon me!!

And I'm giving you a picture of Sadaharu! Here's her, looking all serious and contemplative!

Doing what you love, loving what you do

The other day, my mother and grandmother all but cornered me asking me what I was doing with life.
The fact that I was earning an average salary in a job I loved didn't seem to be a titular achievement for them. All their friends had children who were either going abroad for studying or for work.
Sure! They were using up their folks' funds like no tomorrow. But, that was immaterial! They wanted to know why I had settled for a seemingly simpler life as mine.

And I can assure you, dear readers... I was a bit disappointed. In them.... and in me.

Don't get me wrong! I love my job! I sincerely feel that every little thing in my life had been for preparing me for this job. Call it destiny, if you will? And furthermore, certain incidents have made sure that I completely re-think the way I lived life. I was very much a "people-pleaser" before. And now, I see that standing up for myself is what I should've been doing all along. Anyway, that's all water under the bridge.

But this... these accusations that somehow, I had failed in life if I did not earn more than the people around me... it fell upon me like the metaphorical 'sucker-punch'. And when I was reeling from its effects (read shed a few private tears), I realized something.

I am me. Yes, it ought to have been obvious by now! I have been going about, telling people to be happy for who they were while in private, I was still worried what my parents would think of me. I was still a closet people-pleaser. Sure, I had started to think for myself and take steps to make myself the most important person in my life (and my companion dog shares that place!). But it was such a radical change from the way I thought of myself from before! I felt guilty every time I did something good for myself, thinking how others were going to perceive it! Oh, heaven forbid! Will they think me selfish and self-centered? Will I not be the same kind and selfless person everybody loved me for!?

You know what? It doesn't matter! Sure, there were so many people who thought I'd changed and they were unhappy with what they saw. And ironically, they were the same people who would always expect me to be there for them, even when I couldn't possibly be! But in the end, I was happy! Truly happy!

I didn't feel wretched every time I did something for myself! I felt loved... and I realized that this is me. This person filled with all these funny quirks and weirdness! This unique work of God or Nature or whatever! This soul who lives and feels the same way as anybody else! Yep... this is me!

I walked back to my mother and gave her a piece of my mind. Sure, she knew it by then that the words she had used weren't exactly kind ones. So, we met each other half-way. We're back to a seemingly normal life now. But I know they will always be them and that's something I need to live with!

And now, my father wants me to look into some job prospect that promises me the Heaven and the Earth.
Like I said, they will always be them. And I will always be me.

Book shopping!!

As many would know, I am a very big fan of Tolkien and the things related to that wonderful and amazing genius of a man!

As many would not know, his books were the ones that held me together when I was going through my bouts of severe depression! He gave me worlds into which I could escape into... a world where I didn't need to worry about fitting in or being one in a crowd!

So, it was quite a disastrous affair when I lost my copy of "The Lord of the Rings" seven years ago! Sure, it was a "pirated" edition (the only edition I could afford back then). But somehow, I never actually bought another copy. Instead, I treasured my other Tolkien books (Silmarillion - my all time favorite and Unfinished Tales) with my life! I never lent out these beauties to anyone! And so, they stood the test of time and are still with me.

I managed to get a copy of "The Hobbit" (The first book of Tolkien that I ever read!) and so, I just needed LoTR to fill the gap.

Well, now that I have a job and am earning enough to buy an occassional book, I've ordered me a copy from Flipkart.com.

I've been hitting the refresh button of their track order page every three minutes, hoping to finally see the message "Out for Delivery"... well, that was three days ago! Soooooooo.... the day has finally come! I just received a message stating that I shall get my book before seven tonight!

I can hardly contain my joy here! And I might just tear up a little when I see the book... only true fans of the series would understand the feeling! So yes, here I am, hoping to find my parcel reach my doorstep any moment now!