The video I've posted here is of Osho Rajneesh explaining how important the word "fuck" has become in our lives...He says if God dies one day, it'll certainly replace the word "God" in our vocabulary...Enjoy!!!!
Tuesday 5 August 2008
Monday 30 June 2008
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head...
The monsoons have started...and as the song goes, "Raindrops keep fallin' on my head...". The weather's become fantastic, it ain't hot anymore and everything's right with the world again!!! Okay, maybe that's taking it a bit too far considering global warming n all...but still...everything does feel right...what with the water drops gently dripping from the leaves, birds chirping, frogs croaking(I personally hate frogs n all reptiles but they do herald the coming of the rains!) and greenery all around...Sigh...It's a field day for the lovers out there for whom this season is the epitome of romance!!!
It's a perfect time to get out with your family or friends or both and go picnicking close by...Entire weekends can be spent enjoying yourself by getting wet in the rain, stuffing yourself with garma-garam chai and kanda bhajji from the numerous tapris or dhabas n of course the quintessential bhutta!!! Now this is the best thing about the monsoons...You get to eat loads of bhutta or corn which the thelewalla cooks slowly over coal n once it's done, the masala n chutney that's applied over it makes it absolutely lip smackin'!!! You can even enjoy the rains sitting at home...Just make yourself a cup of hot tea or coffee, sit in the balcony or at the window n watch the rains making everything wet n green around you...
But every good thing has its side effects too!!! Take for instance, the puddles formed during the rainy season...They are numerous, they are yucky, they are the breeding grounds of mosquitoes n if they are in the middle of a road then god save you!!! Because you never know what kind of a pothole they are hiding...Now potholes are another pain...They are formed because of the rains n of course because the quality of roads in India is poor as such...So, come the monsoons n potholes become a common sight on all Indian roads...Most of the accidents that happen are due to these hell holes as people are either trying to avoid them n crashing into someone or something coming from the opposite direction or they are going straight into them n finding themselves sprawled on the road the next moment!!! This is of course the case mostly with two-wheelers n cyclists...Poor things have to contend with getting wet as well as making sure they don't end up in the hospital...Another thing that I don't like about the monsoons is that there is no sunshine and the sky is a dreary grey...It's nice not to have the sun beating on your back for sometime...But during the rains it never comes out and the beautiful blue of the sky is not visible for days on end...It depresses me quite a lot and during such days I'm dull, lethargic and sleepy...I hate getting out of bed or even getting out of the house and everything about the rains makes me angry...The incessant dripping, the water that gets in between your sandals and your feet when you're walking outside, the icky puddles, the mud...I just wish on such days that the rains get over and done with as quickly as possible!!!
But all said and done...The monsoons are a harbinger of life itself...Every living thing flourishes under its benevolent shower and even human beings can't help but rejoice when it starts raining...No wonder we have so many songs which talk of the rain with such fondness and euphoria...
It's a perfect time to get out with your family or friends or both and go picnicking close by...Entire weekends can be spent enjoying yourself by getting wet in the rain, stuffing yourself with garma-garam chai and kanda bhajji from the numerous tapris or dhabas n of course the quintessential bhutta!!! Now this is the best thing about the monsoons...You get to eat loads of bhutta or corn which the thelewalla cooks slowly over coal n once it's done, the masala n chutney that's applied over it makes it absolutely lip smackin'!!! You can even enjoy the rains sitting at home...Just make yourself a cup of hot tea or coffee, sit in the balcony or at the window n watch the rains making everything wet n green around you...
But every good thing has its side effects too!!! Take for instance, the puddles formed during the rainy season...They are numerous, they are yucky, they are the breeding grounds of mosquitoes n if they are in the middle of a road then god save you!!! Because you never know what kind of a pothole they are hiding...Now potholes are another pain...They are formed because of the rains n of course because the quality of roads in India is poor as such...So, come the monsoons n potholes become a common sight on all Indian roads...Most of the accidents that happen are due to these hell holes as people are either trying to avoid them n crashing into someone or something coming from the opposite direction or they are going straight into them n finding themselves sprawled on the road the next moment!!! This is of course the case mostly with two-wheelers n cyclists...Poor things have to contend with getting wet as well as making sure they don't end up in the hospital...Another thing that I don't like about the monsoons is that there is no sunshine and the sky is a dreary grey...It's nice not to have the sun beating on your back for sometime...But during the rains it never comes out and the beautiful blue of the sky is not visible for days on end...It depresses me quite a lot and during such days I'm dull, lethargic and sleepy...I hate getting out of bed or even getting out of the house and everything about the rains makes me angry...The incessant dripping, the water that gets in between your sandals and your feet when you're walking outside, the icky puddles, the mud...I just wish on such days that the rains get over and done with as quickly as possible!!!
But all said and done...The monsoons are a harbinger of life itself...Every living thing flourishes under its benevolent shower and even human beings can't help but rejoice when it starts raining...No wonder we have so many songs which talk of the rain with such fondness and euphoria...
Friday 20 June 2008
The Lost World & Other Stories
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World and Other Stories is a classic collection of stories comprising The Lost World, The Poison Belt and The Land of Mist. It is an irrefutable claim to Sir Arthur's supreme skill n imagination as a storyteller. He's of course famous for creating Sherlock Holmes, the indomitable detective and his faithful sidekick Dr Watson. But even his lesser known works are a pleasure to read...
So coming back to my topic...I bought the said book alongwith a couple of others on the insistence of Prateek (thanks man!!!)...I read the other two first n let my brother read this one...Then I picked it up n got so hooked that I had a fight with my brother n told him to go to hell in so many words!!! Sir Arthur starts off with The Lost World from the eyes of a newspaper journalist Edward Malone, a charming Irishman in love with a selfish, conceited girl called Gladys...To win her heart, he decides to go on an expedition with the brilliant Professor Challenger to verify some outrageous claims he's making about a prehistoric world somewhere in South America...Accompanying them on this somewhat preposturous mission are Professor Summerlee (a cynical non-believer) and Lord John Roxton (a shikari and a courageous man)...The three gentlemen, without Professor Challenger, embark on the voyage to South America...Just before leaving, Professor Challenger gives them a letter telling them to open it only at the given time and place...As they approach the given time n place (somwhere in South America), our flamboyant professor makes an entry telling them that he'll guide them to this lost world himself...So after a lot of adventures, they reach the botttom of the plateau on which the said prehistoric life exists...Our brave friends somehow find a way to climb this unscalable plateau n once they do, they see a beautiful vista of trees, flowers n shrubs...They set up camp below a huge gingko tree n set about exploring...They have a lot of adventures here which see you either sittin on the edge of your seat or biting your nails in anticipation...Your heartbeat never stays constant n stable during such times...I won't be a spoilsport by divulging much now...But take my word for it...It talks about a Lost World long before Crichton was even born!!!
The Poison Belt comes next in which Malone is again the narrator...The story starts off with our dear old Professor Challenger shooting off a letter to the Times that due to the blurring of the lines of some spectrum (I don't remember the name now!), the world n all living things in it was going to come to an end!!! Of course nobody believes him and he is criticised for his prediction...So he summons his three fellow adventurers (Malone, Roxton n Summerlee) to his home in the country, imploring them to get oxygen tanks with them!!! They are of course quite puzzled by the request but they do as they are told...What happens after that you'll have to read on your own because again I don't wanna spoil it for you...So please bear with me...
The third n final story in this amazing collection is The Land of Mist...It is an exploration of Spiritualism as a religion in post-World War One Britain...It is of course trashed by the Church, its followers n scientific men (the supposedly "sane people")...Here Malone is not the narrator but a character in the story...The main one I should say as it is his journey from non-believer to believer that is chronicled here...He is accompanied by his fellow journalist and Professor Challenger's daughter Enid, who's also his sweetheart...I'm yet to complete this tale though so I'm really not sure what happens in the end...As far as I know, Malone wants to convert the Professor too as his scientific mind doesn't believe in all this bosh!!! So we get to read some spine chilling stories about dark souls who need help n the good ones too...
So I implore you all to go ahead n get ur hands on this book asap...You can borrow it from me too...I'd like to add something else here...Although Sir Arthur was a great novelist, he still had the views n opinions of colonial Britain...And that shows in this book vividly...There are references to the "lower races of Africa and Asia" n these racial undertones do jar your nerves when you come across them in the book...Nonetheless, don't let such a minor thing deter you from missing a classic such as this one...So till the next time...Adios!!!
P.S.:About Gladys...well by the time Malone gets back from his adventure...naah!!! You read it yourself :-)
So coming back to my topic...I bought the said book alongwith a couple of others on the insistence of Prateek (thanks man!!!)...I read the other two first n let my brother read this one...Then I picked it up n got so hooked that I had a fight with my brother n told him to go to hell in so many words!!! Sir Arthur starts off with The Lost World from the eyes of a newspaper journalist Edward Malone, a charming Irishman in love with a selfish, conceited girl called Gladys...To win her heart, he decides to go on an expedition with the brilliant Professor Challenger to verify some outrageous claims he's making about a prehistoric world somewhere in South America...Accompanying them on this somewhat preposturous mission are Professor Summerlee (a cynical non-believer) and Lord John Roxton (a shikari and a courageous man)...The three gentlemen, without Professor Challenger, embark on the voyage to South America...Just before leaving, Professor Challenger gives them a letter telling them to open it only at the given time and place...As they approach the given time n place (somwhere in South America), our flamboyant professor makes an entry telling them that he'll guide them to this lost world himself...So after a lot of adventures, they reach the botttom of the plateau on which the said prehistoric life exists...Our brave friends somehow find a way to climb this unscalable plateau n once they do, they see a beautiful vista of trees, flowers n shrubs...They set up camp below a huge gingko tree n set about exploring...They have a lot of adventures here which see you either sittin on the edge of your seat or biting your nails in anticipation...Your heartbeat never stays constant n stable during such times...I won't be a spoilsport by divulging much now...But take my word for it...It talks about a Lost World long before Crichton was even born!!!
The Poison Belt comes next in which Malone is again the narrator...The story starts off with our dear old Professor Challenger shooting off a letter to the Times that due to the blurring of the lines of some spectrum (I don't remember the name now!), the world n all living things in it was going to come to an end!!! Of course nobody believes him and he is criticised for his prediction...So he summons his three fellow adventurers (Malone, Roxton n Summerlee) to his home in the country, imploring them to get oxygen tanks with them!!! They are of course quite puzzled by the request but they do as they are told...What happens after that you'll have to read on your own because again I don't wanna spoil it for you...So please bear with me...
The third n final story in this amazing collection is The Land of Mist...It is an exploration of Spiritualism as a religion in post-World War One Britain...It is of course trashed by the Church, its followers n scientific men (the supposedly "sane people")...Here Malone is not the narrator but a character in the story...The main one I should say as it is his journey from non-believer to believer that is chronicled here...He is accompanied by his fellow journalist and Professor Challenger's daughter Enid, who's also his sweetheart...I'm yet to complete this tale though so I'm really not sure what happens in the end...As far as I know, Malone wants to convert the Professor too as his scientific mind doesn't believe in all this bosh!!! So we get to read some spine chilling stories about dark souls who need help n the good ones too...
So I implore you all to go ahead n get ur hands on this book asap...You can borrow it from me too...I'd like to add something else here...Although Sir Arthur was a great novelist, he still had the views n opinions of colonial Britain...And that shows in this book vividly...There are references to the "lower races of Africa and Asia" n these racial undertones do jar your nerves when you come across them in the book...Nonetheless, don't let such a minor thing deter you from missing a classic such as this one...So till the next time...Adios!!!
P.S.:About Gladys...well by the time Malone gets back from his adventure...naah!!! You read it yourself :-)
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