Separated by distance ...

" If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we’ve destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don’t you think that we might see each other once or twice? ”
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull



.. This post is for all my loving friends who have flown off or are dreaming of flying off to different shores. Hoping to be separated from you only by distance and not in thoughts...

Happy reading :)

Straight from the heart ..

2 days back I saw this picture on my friend Harshvardhan's facebook profile.It was dated 7th April and it had the caption "poor fellow... lost his mother yday...keeps calling her all the time :( why is nature so cruel???"
The scared,innocent eyes are enough to touch anyone's heart but being an avid cat lover , it had a worse effect on me.Immediately I found myself questioning God "HOW COULD U?" That little one obviously has no one and taking its mother away from it is as good as killing it ! I posted a comment on the pic "Oh ! please tell me that it is safe" .But even as i did this , I was expecting a reply like "No I have never seen it since then" or "No some stray dog killed it" or something worse.Next day Harshu replied "Aga ho..chan motha boka zalay ata to".
And I found myself smiling ,just staring at the pic for some time.It then occured to me that we live in such a cynical world.Perhaps it is because every morning we wake up to a newpaper full of fights,murders,blasts and other sinister happenings.At times it brings us to a point that we doubt God's existence and his will.
I easily thought of the many possiblities how this little one could make just one mistake and it could be the last in its life.But I did not think much of the one case where perhaps there could be someone who would tolerate its continuous mewing ,who would offer it the security of a fence -safe from stray dogs and fast cars,an old blanket to keep it warm in the untimely rains and a bowl of milk and a slice of bread everyday till it became old enough to find its own food.But well the kitten survived.It survived because of the love and compassion shown to it by a complete stranger.Atleast for the kitten God did appear in the form of its protector ^_^

And this whole incidence reminded me of the short story "What men live by" by Leo Tolstoy.If you do have 15-20 minutes ,do read it.
This is the line from the story :
“I have now understood that though it seems to men that they live by care for themselves, in truth it is love alone by which they live. He who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love.”

As for the kitten , I pray that it stays healthy and safe ! :)

Happy reading !

P.S. For all those reading on buzz, if you do wish to comment ,please visit http://pindropnonsense.blogspot.com/

The lost symbol !

Dan Brown's much awaited novel - took him 6 years of research and then after fighting all controversies ,arrived -The lost Symbol ! This blog is spoiler-free.No harm reading ! :)
The book is a typical Dan Brown story.Starts with some tragedy,Langdon is called and he goes through the a historic journey bringing to light old secret rituals,customs and blah blah ! This time the secrets belong to the MASONS.
The book vividly reminds you of Angels and Demons.A couple of times you find yourself saying - "Oh,I can guess what will happen next!"
Not sounding feminist but one thing I like about Brown's books is the way the female leads are portrayed.Unlike some other "authors" (read Chetan Bhagat ) whose female leads are nothing but stupid and desperate damsels (God only knows which world he lives in !) ,Brown 's ladies are always successful and dignified women with excellent professions - cryptographers, scientists, mathematicians,etc who significantly contribute to the main storyline.This time again ,the character of Katherine Solomon - a 50 year old scientist is nicely written.Robert Langdon is as always is impeccable.But the negative characters in his books I must say are becoming monotonous.
The book is too long.You dont give long and boring speeches when you have a mystery to solve and a deadline for it.At times the book becomes a drag.One more aspect where it fails completely is the suspense which is too easy to guess.8/10 readers will know what will happen in the climax about 100 pages before they reach it.
To sum it up, the book is rather a disappointment as compared to Brown's other works.But what can not be denied is the sincere effort and tremendous research behind it.And only for that sake I would suggest all Brown fans to read it.But if it takes 6 years for Brown to come up with this ,I think he should wait 8-9 years before publishing his next one !

Happy reading ! :)

Lord of the rings Vs Harry Potter

1> Frodo Baggins and Harry Potter
Useless characters who make it to the end mainly by the virtue of having more talented friends and protectors.When they are finally done,you have a feeling that a donkey in their place would have sufficed.Two ordinary boys who have responsibility and power thrust on them.
My opinion:I liked neither much.
So LOTR -0 HP -0

2> Samwise Gamgee and Ronald Weasley
Equally useless friends of the useless main heroes described above.Again,two ordinary boys who do nothing but stick close to the main heroes right till the end and get to enjoy the limelight.
My opinion :I think the character of Ronald Weasley is better written than Samwise Gamgee..
So LOTR-0 HP-1

3> Gandalf (the grey and white) and Albus Dumbledore
Old 'know it all' men.These are perhaps the characters who know the end of the story even before the author does.When you reach the end you have no choice but to wonder "Why didnt these old men act when they had time!!!".But anyway the main purpose of their existence is to look after our useless heroes and guide them and make sure they are well protected right till the end.
My opinion : Gandalf the grey is kinda boring but Gandalf the white is equally charismatic as Albus Dumbledore.
So LOTR -1 HP-2

4> Aragorn and Sirius Black
Young men who have been wronged in the past but have never left the good side.They have sworn their lives to the protection of our useless heroes.Now these are perhaps the best characters of both the books.And you feel that they are actually capable of "doing" something.
My opinion : Sirius is no match for Aragorn.
So LOTR -2 HP -2


5> Merry and Pippin and the Weasley twins
Characters introduced for humour.Dont do much right till the end but do manage to entertain you.
My opinion : Merry and Pippin are a tinge funnier than the Weasley twins
So LOTR-3 HP-2

6> Sauron and Lord Voldemort
The two "BAD men(?)".By direct comparison you realise that they would shoo away our useless heroes like a fly on a tea cup.Both surprisingly dont appear in physical form for a very long time but exist as spirits for a major portion of HP and the entire LOTR.
My opinion : Sauron shouldn't even be allowed to stand before Lord Voldemort (\m/)
So LOTR-3 HP-3

7> Other possible comparisons :
Saruman the wise and Bellatrix Lestrange
Legolas and Gimli and Lupin and Weasley
Boromir and Snape
Gollum and Dobby
(All are more or less equally well written)

As far as the books are concerned,LOTR wastes 50 pages on absolutely boring and useless characters like Tom Bombaddil and long songs.HP on the other hand is written quite to-the-point.From readers point of view HP goes way easy on eyes and brains than LOTR.
But when it comes to movies the tables turn completely.HP movies are disappointing.LOTR movies on the other hand are must-watch. (Specially the war sequences)

I assure you that inspite of my criticizing the characters the way I have,I love both the books!
And I am sure many will have completely different opinions.As always ,they are welcome in the form of comments !
Happy reading !

PATHS OF GLORY :)

"Paths of glory" by Jeffery Archer.I finished reading this book last night.
And now it has become my favourite Jeffery Archer book.Mind u- I am a huge Archer fan!

Everyone has some or the other ambition in life.How big is our ambition?Have we ever thought of doing/achieving something that is considered 'IMPOSSIBLE'?Are we ambitious enough to risk our lives to get what we want? What if we do manage to turn this impossible ambition to reality?History reminds us that people have done this in every age.And that is the reason we remember the names of all greats who were the first to do something out-of-the-world.

But what if even after achieving our goal,we are not able to prove it to anyone?What if people dont believe that you did it?This reminds me of a dialogue in the movie 'Kate and Leopald' (A rather forgettable one,but anyway ) - "Dogs cannot see colors..I am the dog who has seen the rainbow..Its just that the other dogs wont believe me!"

This is the backbone of "Paths of Glory".Its inspired from the true life story of George Mallory,the man who dreamt of conquering Everest (29002 ft) in the 1920's when not even the airplanes had ever reached that height ! He never returned from the expedition and his dead body was found in 1999 -75 years after his death (preserved by the ice).There are a few reasons which suggest that he may have reached the summit.Some believe it-others dont!But one thing for sure-history cannot be trusted with the name of the first man to climb Mt.Everest!

Mountaineering was George's life.In one of the press conferences he was asked "Why do you want to climb the Everest?".He answered "Because its there!".These 3 words became a kind of slogan for mountaineers in coming years.

The book is amazing right from the beginning.Archer's writing is as always-impeccable !What touched me most was the way the character of Ruth Mallory-George's ever supporting wife is potrayed.George was so fascinated by the Everest that he called her the other love of his life besides Ruth.Therefore the tag line of the book says "This is a story of a man who loved two women and one of them killed him".Ruth's struggle with herself -about the safe being of her husband and his fascination is the most sensitive part of the book.As in all Archer books there are traces of humor but most of the book is quite serious.The description of mountaineering expeditions especially of the weather changes during the Everest expedition is brilliantly written..Overall an amazing book :)

Happy reading !

Just a trivia : I googled for more information about Mallory.His grandson (also named George Mallory junior) did manage to climb Mt.Everest in 1995.And he kept a laminated picture of his grandparents on the summit and quoted "Just finished some family business" ! (\m/)