Only the children know what they are looking for..

The title of this post is a quote from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I had never heard about it till Anamika mentioned it a few months back. The book is said to be a ‘children’s book’- simple, short sentences, easy to understand, but after reading it I can confidently say that the message of this book is to be appreciated by us - the ‘grown-ups’ too. It is a perfect blend of fantasy and philosophy.

Story:

Saint-Exupéry is a pilot whose plane crashes in Sahara desert. There he meets a little prince who is from another planet. The little prince tells about his journey to earth and also about the different planets which he visited before he came to earth. The people whom he meets on different planets are all ‘grown-ups’, each one being foolish in a unique way. The little prince, with his story, teaches us many lessons. Innocence, I must say, is one thing which children have but is lost somewhere in this chaotic world. It also reminds me of ‘The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas’; for me this movie was all about innocence of children. ‘Enjoyment’ also changes its meaning and becomes materialistic as the number of years spent on planet Earth increment. Anyway, at the end of the story, Saint-Exupéry is heartbroken. Why?? Read it and find, if and when you get a chance. It’s just about 120 pages and hey, it’s illustrated too!

Favourite excerpts:

There are many. I loved this one the most:

When the little prince meets the fox and it tells him to tame him, which he does. The fox makes him realize that his flower on his planet is unique and special for him and not like the several others he has seen on planet Earth because she is the one whom he loves and then he realizes his responsibility for ‘his’ flower. The fox says:"Men have forgotten this truth. But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.”

Another one is when the little prince meets the merchant. The merchant tells the Prince about his product, a pill which eliminates thirst and thus saves 53 minutes a week. Prince asks him that what does one do with those 53 minutes. To this the merchant says that whatever one wishes. The little prince says”If I had 53 minutes to spend, I would walk very slowly toward a spring of fresh water…”

Favourite quotes:

• Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essentail matters. They never say to you, “What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?” Instead, they demand: “How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?” Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.
  
• Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
  
• If you were to say to the grown-ups: “I saw a beautiful house made of rosy brick, with geraniums in the windows and doves on the roof,” they would not be able to get an idea of that house at all. You have have to say to them: “I saw a house that cost $20,000.” Then they would exclaim: “Oh, what a pretty house that is!”
  
• To forget a friend is sad. Not everyone has had a friend. And if I forget him, I may become like the grown-ups who are no longer interested in anything but figures…
  
• It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
  
• “Only the children know what they are looking for,” said the little prince. “They waste their time over a rag doll and it becomes very important to them; and if anybody takes it away from them, they cry…”
  
• “What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…”
  
• "Where are the people?" resumed the little prince at last. "It's a little lonely in the desert..."  "It is lonely when you're among people, too," said the snake.

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Twilight

As you know, I love reading books; I like them or not is another thing. I must confess, lately I have been writing in a really clumsy manner about the books I have been reading. 

Last weekend I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

Story:
Bella, a 17 year old girl, tells about her experiences when she moves to Forks. Here she meets Edward, a really unusual and strange boy. I have learnt not to reveal the interesting parts of any book I write about. So I will not tell why he is unusual. Yes, you guessed it right, they fall in love; but it’s different. Edward keeps reminding her to stay away from him because he is unusual. And considering the facts, she should stay away from him. But does she? Read it to find out. 

Favorite characters:
Edward – for he keeps his words, is caring, liked his attitude.
Bella – for she’s fearless, sticks to the choices she makes.

Favorite excerpts:
I liked most of the conversations they had. The one’s I liked the most were when Edward offers Bella a ride to Seatle and the one immediately after that, during lunch in which Bella says "I just wondered… if you could warn me beforehand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good. Just so I'm prepared." 
The one in which Edward confesses about himself and the way Bella reacts to it is also good.
Apart from the conversations, Bella’s thoughts are beautifully penned. 

Favorite quote:
“When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.” 

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A weekend with books..

“Hey! I read Anything for you ma’am by Tushar Raheja. I loved it! Read it when you have time,” a friend said more than 2 years back. Last Saturday when I was standing among 10000s of books, I decided to take this one. A bollywood stuff; and it kept me gripped! It’s about journey of Tejas studying in IIT-Delhi to meet the girl he loves, Shreya, who lives in Chennai; about his plans; his experiences; about how Mr. Fate intervenes and switches sides to make his life adventurous. It’s funny. Never have I laughed like this reading a book. All characters just fit so very well - loving family, helpful friends, amusing doctor, understanding professors (!), interesting fellow passengers. And yes, he really loved her! At the end, I have only this to say ‘Hey! I read Anything for you ma’am by Tushar Raheja. I loved it! Read it when you have time.’

Almost a year back, or a little more, I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini on recommendation of a friend. It’s a story, staged in Afghanistan, of Hassan, in words of his childhood companion, Amir. He tells how he betrays Hassan in the toughest of his times. After years, he returns back filled with guilt, and discovers facts which really shocked not only him, but me too. It’s touching. Never had I cried like that reading a book! Only the hardest of hearts will not move on reading it. It’s unforgettable. A Thousand Splendid Suns by the same author is equally touching. It’s about Mariam, her childhood and her marriage at the age of 15 with Rasheed whose age is some 30 years more than her. It’s about Laila, who is born in Mariam’s neighbourhood. It tells how wars and changing political situation impact Laila’s life who just wants to live and enjoy the life given by God. It was a surprise, and not a pleasant one, to know how Mariam and Laila are related to each other. It’s well written and full of emotions. Both these books by Khaled Hosseini are, without a doubt, worth taking time even out of busy schedules.

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Of books and books..

Reading is fun! I had some books added to my list in past few months - not in the same order as below.

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga is the Man Booker Prize winner for the year 2008. He tells the story of an innocent mind that gets corrupted by money and even murders for the money. It is good. The description of the situation in villages is touching. Yes, it does speak about ‘the dark’ India but that’s how Indians in villages live. Contrary to the normal stories, the bad guy lives happily ever after. I don't know he was actually happy or not, but at least police couldn't catch him. A realistic ending?

I laid my hands on another Paulo Coehlo book. Brida is a book with a different story. Really different. Nice philosophy, as always. I understood the first half. But when the girl in the story started understanding things, this girl stopped understanding the story. It was a bit too complicated for me and the philosophy a bit difficult to handle. Maybe if I read it once more, I will understand the concept of soulmates better.

Who inspired Danny Boyle to make Slumdog Millionaire? Yes, Q&A by Vikas Swarup is the book behind Slumdog Millionaire. Plot- you would have already heard about it! The twists and the questions are different in book. I didn’t like it much. By the way,  I feel Slumdog Millionaire is much hyped. Loved the Music; it’s magical. A.R. Rahman rocks! Jai Ho! But this one and this too are my favourites by the genious musician.

It was like living my childhood again when I read Aesop’s Fables by Aesop and The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. Mowgli was my childhood hero. I have some precious memories with this serial. Too precious. Here's the song I still love humming.

The short stories by O Henry are good. Lovely. It’s fun reading them. The Gift of the Magi is my favourite. Jeff and Andy stories also kept me involved and then there are many others. I have not finished reading all the 100 that I have.  

These days I am reading short stories by Oscar Wilde. He writes beautifully. I liked all the stories I have read so far. Each one of his stories is so beautifully written that I have fallen in love with his writings. I just wish I could meet him. Must say, I am impressed. I also read some of his poems. They are also wonderful! 

I wanted to read something funny and got nice reviews on this one. So, I started reading The Dilbert Future by Scott Adam. Some of the comic scripts are good. He thinks everything is funny. Read around 200+ pages and then gave up. I didn’t like it. Sometimes, to me his humour came as sadism. 

I added Mein Kampf (means My Struggle) in my list. I read some 100 and odd pages of this book. It’s all history! Not that I didn’t expect it to be a history book. I plan to read it sometime in this year! 

I also tried to read The Fountain Head again! It always turns my head upside down. I should read it sometime in future. It’s almost a year now! 

Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga is in the queue. Not in a mood to read something serious these days. So, didn’t start reading it yet.

I want to read P.S. I love you by Cecilia Ahern. A friend told the movie ‘PS, I love you’ is too good. I prefer reading the book! Gonna buy it this week!

I read a small story this weekend. Writing about it, the way I want to, needs some effort and time. And when I write about it, I will also reveal the name of the story I will be reading next. :)

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The 3 mistakes of my life..

Reading '5 point someone' was not a bad experience, but 'one night at call centre' was a waste of couple of hours i spent on reading it. And now CB is back with his 3rd book(some people call it 3rd mistake of his life). I won't go into the detail of the story. A lot has been said and written about it already.

When I read first few pages, i wanted to like it. Even tough the plot reminded me of 5.sum1, especially the struggle in life of young people who want to prove themselves, I liked it when he showed his prospective about religion and politics in our country. Also, he narrated the cricket episodes in such a way which show that cricket is also a religion in our country. But few more pages proved me wrong. Everything is messed up. Eathquake, cricket, a foreign trip, Gujrat roits, a love affair, business. It is more like a bollywood melodramatic cum romantic cum action movie. The end is just too dramatic. The last scenes (ya, not pages) have too much of unnecessary violence. And I am amazed (not pleasantly) that those 3 guys wanted to save a small guy because they saw him as a future batsman in Indian cricket team and not because they had some sympathy with him that he is a small muslim boy whose parents have been killed. What if he was not a cricketer in making, not a national treasure as they saw him? Would they have sacrificed him? CB's this way of patriotism disappointed me.

Nevertheless, I liked the description of political parties, their attitude and their stand on religion.

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By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

After reading Alchemist and The Zahir, I didn’t find this story too impressive, it’s simple; a girl gets a call from a childhood friend to attend his lecture. She meets him and the bonding gets strengthened. Then she comes to know that he has the ability to create miracles and cure people and he is now in the seminary. He talks about the feminine side of God and spirituality. Now he is torn between his love for her and his responsibility towards fellow humans. By the time she decides to support him in his responsibility, he gives up his ability to be with her. So she runs away from him and writes the story sitting by the side of the river Piedra.

The story line has nothing new to it. We all have heard such stories before. But Paulo makes it special with his words, the way he puts everything and the way he describes the emotions of the characters.

It is about a guy who is torn between love and responsibility. He had to make a choice. A tough one. It is about a girl who didn’t want to fall in love because she knows the risks involved and thus, doesn’t want to suffer. But yet she falls in love and is ready to take risks and suffer. Have you ever come across someone who says that he/she loves so-and-so person but knows that they can’t be together in future and yet he/she loves that special so-and-so in his/her life? Doesn’t it make you wonder why they want to complicate their life? In my opinion, it sounds logical that if you are so sure you can’t be together, you shouldn’t mess your life with emotions like this. Then why does one fall in love in such a situation knowing all the circumstances? This is what this book talks about. Read it to find out more. 

The description of the “Other” in us which stops us from taking some firm decisions is good. I felt this “Other” represents someone capable of taking those decisions which sometimes we don’t take because of the circumstances around us, I mean, if you forget all the circumstances, you will take decisions like that “Other” and not the way you take now.

I was amazed that Paulo gave it a happy ending. Not that I don’t like happy endings. In fact, I love happy stories. But it would have been good if he had ended it with Pilar sitting by the side of river Piedra. It would have been close to reality of those who go through the emotions that Pilar went through in the middle of the story. Paulo says in this book, all love stories are same. Yes, the emotions maybe are same, but then not all love stories have a happy ending. Maybe he should have given it a thought.

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Lessons from a story..

"You can get used to anything."

Read it in the book I finished reading today. Isn't it true? You can actually get used to anything and get over anything, no matter how difficult it might appear initially. It's just the matter of time. The pain remits.

The same book has these lines:

"It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then you can let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse."

Ah.. Unsaid words.. words which we would like to tell someone in a particular situation, but haven’t said.. I remember once I wanted to tell someone "Y don't you just get lost from here?" but I didn't say, I thought it would be rude :-) and once....... hmmm.. It will be a long list if I start writing all I wanted to say once upon a time. Demerits of speaking less and thinking more!!

Just for information, the book is "Life of Pi" -interesting book.

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The Zahir

Yippee.... I finished reading another book by Paulo Coelho.. The Zahir.. Zahir means something or someone which, once we have come into contact with, gradually occupies our every thought. It can be considered either a state of holiness or of madness. The book has nice philosophy in it. I liked it a lot.

Loved the part where author compares himself to a cathedral. The story about circle of love is lovely. “No one should ever ask themselves that why am I unhappy.”— the paragraphs following this line are awesome. A part of the book does inspire to forget your past. I got a bit confused with the explanation of the acomodador part yet liked that too!!

The best part of the book is when he understands what Zahir actually means and writes a few examples from daily life to which we can easily relate.

Now, coming to its plot. I find a few things little ridiculous. According to him, he and his wife, Esther are happily married for 10 long years, having everything one can expect in life. Money, fame and above all, love. And then one day this supposed to be happily married lady leaves her husband without telling anything because she felt something was MISSING. So she herself goes missing!!!!

Now if you feel that something is missing in your life, should you face it, talk about it and try to find a solution, or should you just run away from it in peace, leaving the other person worrying for you. Is it that we don’t realize the worth of what we have till we lose it? And the husband, who claims to love his wife, falls in love with another woman, Marie. Initially it is because he wants to forget Esther. His “this” concept of “love” is beyond my level of understanding. Then he realises that Esther has become his Zahir, but did he think once that even he can be Marie’s Zahir. I was just wondering how the book would look like if Marie writes it in her words if she realises that he was her Zahir!!

Amazing work of philosophy.. Paulo is truly worth all the appreciation he gets..

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows rocks..

This is my first review and I am not a professional as far as the reviews are concerned. So, the readers (though very few) please bear with me.

I took the book on the day it was released, much awaited “21st July” and finished reading it by 22nd July, 8am. J.K.Rowling has definitely met reader’s expectations with her seventh and the last book “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”. It is awesome. Cool plot. Deep storyline. Harry has been fantastic and mind blowing, as always. Ron and Hermione showed their bravery and it matches to that of Harry. So many characters died, disappointing many fans. But as Dumbledore would have said “It was all for the greater good”. There are many twists and surprises many which you couldn’t have imagined. The final duel between Voldemort and Harry was short. But it is ok. There are some 50 pages in between where Harry doesn’t know what to do and you might feel little bored and frustrated just like Ron.

All this time we had been thinking that the Harry Potter series is about Harry. Well, is it? Not exactly. I feel it wasn’t Harry’s game, it was Dumbledore’s game. Right from the beginning till the end, he was the wizard knowing everything, knowing all the details. He knew when exactly what was going to happen. It seems that JKR has written the series on Dumbledore’s command. He is the real narrator of the series.

As expected by many of us, Severus Snape turned out to be on Harry’s side. The Prince’s Tale is the best chapter in the whole book. An eye opener, for those who doubted Snape, and thus Dumbledore. It almost made me cry. Snape had been figured as a negative character in the series and here we come to know the real Snape, who loved Lily more than anything. His love for her was so great that he was ready to sacrifice his life for James’ son. The same James whom he hated a lot, but his love for Lily was much more than his hatred for James . The most touching lines were on page 553 when Nigellus calls Hermoine as Mudblood and snape tells not to use this word. The same Snape ,who was shown hating so-called Mudbloods in the other books of the series.

I think the Half Blood Prince is a true masterpiece, and the Deathly Hallows comes close to it. I would give the book 8/10

Spoilers: (Read at your own risk)
I have a few doubts and all the Potter fans are welcomed to clear these .
1.Hermione said that she obliviated her parents(page 84) and then when they are in the muggle restaurant with the Death Eaters(Page 139) she says that she only knows the theory and has never practiced it.
2. Ron suddenly speaks parseltongue and opens the chamber. (Page 501)

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