Random Thoughts

It's that time of the year again, bitter-sweet when I'm happy about it being my day and simultaneously rue the fact that I'm a year older. I have a close friend from school who was born just 23 days before me and so on my birthday we both laugh about how we've become a year older and probably none the wiser. It has become a yearly ritual of sorts. But, aside from that, I'm at peace with my life. I don't expect or even wish for a celebration. I'm happy being busy, having a perfectly normal day.  Of course, it was different when I was a kid. I used to be very excited and looked forward to gifts and new clothes and just general merriment all in "my honor". :P I don't really miss that now. Maybe it's because I've grown up. But, I think some of my family still thinks I miss it and worse, they get sad on my behalf. This is just unnecessary and frankly, a hassle. Yes, no doubt it's nice when friends or family celebrate your birth...

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the third "Japanese" or "set in Japan" novel that I've read. And, each one of them have had suicide as one of the running themes in them. I wonder if this is the only issue that modern day Japan is dealing with. And then, I went to Wikipedia, and found out that it is indeed a major concern, although it has reduced since 2013. The beginning of the novel was a difficult read as Murakami takes a really long time in setting up Naoko's problems and what ails her. It is hard to connect with while her's is the main story. But, the mood of story starts looking up once Nagasawa and Midori come in. This definitely is a story you should not pick when you're already depressed, coz it takes a really long time for the central character to come to terms with life and show strength. But strength it does evoke towards the end, the fact that sometimes it is best to keep going and live your daily li...

Stories of Ganesha: Divinity in Verse: A Personal Interpretation by Rakesh Chaudhary My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Ganesha stories are told in a very refreshing verse format while never once slowing down the pace of the story. The great thing bout this book is that the tone and the energy of the verse changes according to the scene. The battle scene between Ganesha and Shiva's armies is very vivid, the energy of the battle contrasts so well with the innocence and the sweet smile of the child that is Ganesha. :) The birth and the character of Ganesha is also set up really well, so that you root for the child during the battle. On the whole, I loved it! But, there were a few places which seemed long and overdrawn, such as the last scene in the first story, where Shiva explains to Parvati the reasons for unethically bringing the war to an end and all the virtues of the God Ganesha. I think that is the only part in the book out of all the three stories which I'm not a fan of. O...