Mahabharata is truly a great epic and its impossible not to like it. Jaya is a great book is that sense - because it is made for the mass, very easily readable, a true page turner. What I really liked is the tone of the book - it is a very simple narrative tone without taking any kind of moral stance, descriptive in a way that helps you not to be judgmental and simply enjoy the great story. So far, every other version of Mahabharata I have read falls into the trap of making some hero and some villain out of the story - that is distortion in some ways. This book is able to rise above that and makes you feel like a truly neutral spectator. It had me so engrossed that all it took was one sunday of my time whereas I have been struggling with some other books to make a progress beyond 2/3 pages. 

Jaya is a must read I would say.  

Yeh Jawani hai Dieewnai was a bit of let down, teeny bit though. Because it is slow, quite contrary to the 'raftaar' that Bunny keeps talking about. Its also packed with the tried and tested formula, which I dont mind but it doesnt excite me either. 

It was like watching a DDLJ, 18 years later. First half - snow peaked mountain tour. Second half - grand Indian wedding. Opposites attract. Love happens. Realizations take time. Priorities block ways. All is well that ends well. Taaliyaaan. Songs packed in between :D Only thing is I didnt fall in love with this new DDLJ as much. May be I am too grown up now. Or mostly because Ranbir Kapoor here heavily reminded me of SRK minus much novelty. But if you ever miss those light movies heavy on romance that was SRK's signature type, this is one such movie to watch. 

This new DDLJ has few pluses though. Thankfully there is no last minute change of mind on just before the pheres and all that drama. People are more mature, less dramatic. Deepika cannot probably ever match the bubble Kajol, but the nerdy girl does strike a right cord and you cant help like her too. There are some gorgeous cinematography to keep us occupied for most times, for other times Deepika Padukone helps.  Madhuri Dixit appears for one dance, and reminds us how it is possible to dance so gracefully that vulgarity doesnt come anywhere close despite the tacky clothes and lyrics and steps. There are no lecture on 'what is love' or no friends counselling to make one realize what they want in life. Thankfully 18 years later we have moved to a world where one already knows what is love and who he/she loves. 

Yeh Jawani hai Dieewnai is not a movie I could watch without popcorn & cola, but surely it was my problem alone because on a monday morning the theater was packed to the brim and everyone around me seemed to enjoy the movie, including Gem who didnt even wanted to watch it and went  only because I wanted to watch it so badly. 

I immensely enjoyed the May photo a day challenge I took. It was not for the first time, and I was so excited that I thought of picking up one for June. But that part of who is scared of routine/commitment/discipline freaked out. One topic, one click per day. For 30 days. Again? No, may be I need a break.  

Meanwhile I am enjoying occasional appreciation of those photos. I am also enjoying the conversations around which camera I use, how I edit my photos. These are integral parts of the final photo. But camera and editing software dont take the picture, its the eye that frames that moment, its your heart that finds the interpretation. Whether you type on word processor or pen down on a notebook has little to do with what content is generated. But never mind. 

I realized that I like doing these little things that make my daily life different. So I really want to do something for a month in June, if not photographs. June is going to be busy: my birthday, B. and A. shifting to Bangalore, my chennai trip, my trip to hometown! So I actually may not be able to do one single thing for 30 days. Unless it is tetris :D   

Its no more May, the great month of June has already begun which will bring my birthday soon. But keeping to the topic, I completed the May photo a day challenge so HURRAY! :D

At the beginning there was a bit of inertia of rest, and now I am experiencing a bit of inertia of momentum. In between I ranged between positively enthusiastic to lazy bug to sincere to panicking - that is a big range I see. So is the range of photos. 

It was a great experience, because I both enjoyed it and learned a lot in the process. I learned that everyday morning thinking what to wear is not the only worry, what to click needs some thought. I learned that one must have two cameras - one at home, one at the insti to be able to click whenever and whatever is interesting. I learned that I cannot bring myself to click in florescent lighting, cannot  convince myself that beauty is not bound to colors, I need to take more pics in the portrait frame, I need to click beyond trees and flowers and roads. And most importantly, I simply fail to stick to a discipline. I could not click everyday mostly because after a while its not fun anymore to it like a daily chore. Of course its fun to see the final set of pictures generated out of this month-long effort :) 

My picks among the set is the gulmohar tree (Day 10), scary (day 23), memory (day 14), and path (day 2). The most honest representation is in day 20 (morning) and the least in messy (day 18). The pic I like the least is day 4. water, I feel i did a very shoddy job of a nice topic. But overall I am feeling great that I clicked so many photos. 

I have been using my camera a lot, thanks to this photo challenge. On everyday basis, my tools are mostly computer, phone etc etc. Nothing clickworthy there. So I used this photo which shows tools for painting - things that I aspire to use someday! Also computerji and mobileji present here, what more can I ask. 

As you can see, its a completely ordinary place surrounded by three hostel blocks. The specialty lies in the parties that take place here and many fun events too - making it an iconic place on campus. I like the contrast of stone and leaf here and the symmetry in structure somehow keeps reminding me that MBA education is all about making one more brick on the wall. 

I think it was topics like Fragile and Scary made me clueless about what to click and I almost gave up on this. Then I came across this photo I had taken few months back and I found what I wanted to click. 

 

An endless tunnel and no one to walk with - lonely journey is what scares me the most. 

Missed deadlines are the story of my life! But the wise say better late than never. So I finally managed to drag myself on a rainy afternoon to take more pictures, and added some old one too so that I can finish the list by 31st may - technically on time :D  

These anthills and decaying flowers on one side, and the vibrant green shrubs on the other, do we need more to see to appreciate the fragile beauty and balance of the nature around us. On another note, these anthills on campus are rumored to be the phd students who could not complete their degree. Now that is scary!

As I might have pointed out a thousand time, I am an extremely prejudiced person and every time its a struggle to see things in a new light. So I find this guy Ranveer Singh kind of intolerable - at least in his two movies so far. So I had decided I was done there and wont even try to watch his movies. Almost ditto for Sonakshi Sinha, though I dont mind her as much, but why must she  look same and act same all the time. But then I heard the songs of Lootera and how it altered my decision! There is something so simple, sweet, tender, yet deeply sad in its music, lyrics, singing - it didnt even take time to grow on me. Rightfully it does remind me of the 50's and 60's bollywood. And so are the posters. I think I will brave Ranveer Singh at least one more time, I think.  

 

Google search tells me the movie is based on O'Henry's The Last Leaf. I remember Gem telling me that story very recently. While I enjoyed hearing it from him, at the same time I could not digest the fact that he remembers a story and I, the self-proclaimed story memorizer, forget this one. 

Until a week ago, I was waiting for Yeh Jawani hai Deewani, but now I am not keen on watching it! I will wait and see if Lootera will manage to keep me interested. 

 

I am also very late in trying out the Shiva Trilogy, but ever since I read Twilight I have been extremely skeptical about extremely popular fantasy fiction. Decided that its time to read and get done with it forever.  

Now these books, at least Jaya and Palace of Illusion have earned lot of appreciation and I thinki I should try these too. At least they do have great stories what of known to me, and Asura has interesting cover, so got into the list :D

Because everything I listed was Indian mythology/fantasy related books, thought why leave out Chanakya's chant and Krishna key? Let them find a place on my bookshelf. Jungle book is bought for one my nephew, so is Travellers to India and Hungry caterpillar.  

 I would have stopped here because I did not want to forget the space and budget constraints and didnt want to go crazy after a short period of self imposed book buy ban. But then I saw a copy of Huck Finn in P.'s hand with these words scribbled on first page ‘बहुत पहले पढ़ी कहानियां... फिर फिर पढ़ने के लिए फिर फिर खरीदता हूँ।’ Those lines were so appealing in a way I cannot explain except that I think that is the very reason most books I have been buying are the books I have already read. So I went ahead and bought these four books as well.