Thuggy Thursday

A lot has been happening these past few weeks. My mother’s bag was snatched by two men on a bike. I was right next to her and didn’t know it happened. Since they were on a motor bike and we were on a cycle rickshaw there wasn’t much we could do apart from gawp and feel extremely violated.

So you see we couldn’t have possibly yelled to the rickshaw driver “After them!!”

The crime rate in Ludhiana has shot up disturbingly high in the span of just a few months. We’d heard of car thefts, bag snatching, murder, and rape. But then they were what you heard about only on TV and read in the newspapers. Reality hit when it happened to us. Now we don’t go out at night very often and I’ve had to put away my fake gold bangles. I know they’re counterfeit gold but my gold bangles make me feel cultured and beautiful. Unfortunately, my father went berserk when my mother’s bag was snatched. Strangely it wasn’t about the bag. He was mad because he thought that I was compromising my safety when I wore the bangles.

In spite of how unpleasant the evening had turned out to be there was one thing that warmed our hearts. My mother, Ben, Ben’s mother, and I had gone shopping in two rickshaws. When my mother’s bag was snatched she’d screamed involuntarily but no one heard. However, after a while both the rickshaws stopped. My mother and I were telling Ben and his mother what had happened when a man from a shop nearby walked up to us. He must have gathered that something unpleasant had happened because he asked us what had happened. So we told him.

“Have you called the police?” he asked.

“My phone was in my bag!” my mother replied.

He was very sympathetic and invited us to sit a while in his shop. He offered us tea and said we could use the phone in his shop. But we had no idea what we’d tell the police. It had all happened so fast and we hadn’t been able to note the license plate number nor see the faces of the two men. The kind shop owner listened and said we could come to his shop, sit down, and have some tea anyway. He even asked us if we had money to go home. And when my mother answered that her purse had been in the bag as well, he replied immediately that he’d give us the money to go home. Of course, Ben, his mother, and I still had our money with us. But who offers random strangers money to get home safely? It’s amazing, but this little piece of kindness made my mother and me feel so much better and less frightened and unsafe.

While this experience did indeed make us feel we were living the news, there have been other nicer exciting things happening as well. We’ve been travelling a lot. In the past one month and a half I’ve been to Amritsar and to Shimla twice. 

Choir practices have begun.

(I haven’t taken pictures of our practice sessions yet).

The project I’m working on at work is coming to a close and I’ve been busy preparing for a presentation. Also, now that my contract is coming to an end, the search for a new job is beginning. I’m very confused over the decisions I should make concerning my future. I’m working hard on my resume while still wondering if I should continue studying. But I have to work since I began investing earlier this year! Perhaps I should do both? But what do I want to study? Sometimes it’s easier to just beat my head against a wall than reason with myself.

I’m both worried and excited to leave home. It’s been lovely being able to run to my parents whenever I needed them. And since I’m working in the same hospital that my dad works in and live in the same campus that I grew up in most people are nice to me and very patient with my idiosyncrasies. I’ve been so happy, comfortable, pampered, and spoiled by everyone it’s frightening to think of venturing into uncharted territory. So these last few months that I have left at home I’m using to prepare myself for the future. For one, I’m learning to enjoy cooking.

We’ve passed the 669th word and I’ve explained how I’ve been occupied these past weeks. I cannot promise that I will blog again very soon. But I will try. I like blogging.

Oh, did I mention that I stopped the train on one of the trips to Shimla this past month? Yes, they forgot to serve me my breakfast. I did say I was spoiled, didn’t I? In this case it was a help. If I hadn’t spoken up we wouldn’t have had breakfast until we reached Shimla two hours later! It’s sometimes worth standing up for what you want to sit down to! 

Rhyme Time: For Better and For Verse

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but currently I am working as part of an ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) Project on Thalassemia. I’ve been a part of this project for nearly 2 years. And now that the project will be ending on January 13, 2013  I’m looking forward to that day with both excitement and apprehension.

While I’m excited to be entering a new phase with new opportunities to make new decisions, I find that I’m more confused and unsure about the future than I’ve ever been so far. After having worked in a hospital for nearly 2 years, I feel sure that I cannot bear to work in a hospital setting any longer. But what else can I do? I like business and everyone I meet tells me that I’ve got a very enterprising mind. But how do I start? I like writing. But what do I write about? Should I simply continue studying? If life came with a rewind button I’d rewind to a time when decision making was much simpler.

This poem by D.H. Lawrence captured my heart with its beautiful imagery. It’s also special because it gently stirs up feelings that the person in the poem is feeling as well – nostalgia.

Piano

Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;

Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see

A child sitting under the piano,in the boom of the tingling strings

And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong

To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside

And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour

With the great black piano apassionato. The glamour

Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast

Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

- D.H. Lawrence, 1918

Review: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

When I first picked this book up I thought it would be a task to get through it. And while it is incredibly long and the story slightly slow, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my first impression of Anna Karenina had been wrong.

The eponymous Anna Karenina is one of the loveliest and most charming women in Russia. There are very few people who can remain unmoved by her. She is the central figure that holds together the different stories and characters in this book. While part of the story does focus on Anna Karenina’s immediate family situation, another part of the story focuses on Oblonsky, Anna’s brother, and his wife, Dolly. Another part of the story describes the predicament that Kitty, Dolly’s sister, and Levin, Oblonsky’s close friend face. The novel, Anna Karenina, revolves around these characters, the issues they face with their families and the situations they create. The very first sentence of this novel gives us a hint of what the entire book is about.

“All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

I’m a little hesitant to discuss the story of this novel beyond saying this much as I have a tendency to give away too much. Honestly though, I feel that Anna Karenina is more than just a story. In fact, what I really liked about it was the style in which it was written, the detailed thought process of the characters, and the vivid descriptions of Russian society in the 1870s.

The characters in this novel are annoyingly lifelike and real. At times this was frustrating because they behaved so unpredictably from how you’d expect book characters to behave! But this is really an accomplishment on Tolstoy’s part to have been able to create such characters and breathe life into what would otherwise have been a terrifyingly thick book with a torturously dull story.

I found that I enjoyed reading this book in bite sized reading sessions. I genuinely relished reading Anna Karenina. If you’d like to explore Russian literature, Tolstoy, or perhaps a fascinating tour of the different perspectives in certain social situations, I think Anna Karenina would be a good choice.

Rhyme Time: For Better and For Verse

I read this poem a while ago and I really liked it. Although I’ve been wanting to share it ever since I first read it I’ve been saving it for the right moment.  And since I don’t have a more specific definition of the right moment than a strong gut feeling, I am sharing it today.

Alabaster

Like this alabaster box whose art

Is frail as a cassia-flower, is my heart,

Carven with delicate dreams and wrought

With many a subtle and exquisite thought.

Therein I treasure the spice and scent

Of rich and passionate memories blent

Like odours of cinnamon, sandal and clove,

Of song and sorrow and life and love.

- Sarojini Naidu 

Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

After having put off blogging for a week, I’m determined to tackle the daunting stack of books that are waiting to be reviewed. Also, it doesn’t seem likely I’ll be finishing the books on my list for 2012. It doesn’t help that I lose focus and often read books that aren’t on the list. In fact, the only book that I did read the past week was The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith. Although it isn’t on my list I don’t regret a bit for having read it. It was certainly very entertaining. But returning to those books that are waiting to be reviewed, I’ve decided to begin with The Hobbit by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. 

I’d actually taken this book with me on our visit to Kashmir last month. I honestly didn’t expect to find the time to read it. But as it usually is – there’s always time for anything that a person really likes and wants. So even though we returned to our room exhausted every evening of our stay, I still found the strength to bathe, write an account of my expenses, and read the adventures of Bilbo Baggins and the 13 Dwarves  until my vision began to blur.

The Hobbit is the prelude to The Lord of the Rings, as you’ve probably heard. The story begins by introducing us to Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit in question. We understand that although Mr. Baggins is like most other hobbits and doesn’t particularly like adventures or the unfamiliar, and would rather be cozy at home smoking his pipe, there is a streak of something contradictory in his nature passed down from his mother’s side. But regardless of this tiny streak of courage for adventure, Mr. Baggins is flabbergasted when he finds out that the wizard Gandalf has recommended him as a burglar to 13 dwarves who are on a journey to retrieve their stolen wealth and home.

A blurry picture of the mountains in Kashmir.

The old home of the dwarves is the mighty mountain now occupied by Smaug, a terrifying and very wicked dragon. But apart from the hazardous act of retrieving what is rightfully theirs, the journey itself to the Mountain is dangerous. What with nasty goblins, trolls, one sneaky Gollum, and a few other interesting obstacles.

I thought this book was simply un-put-down-able! Reading in Kashmir made it come even more alive (is that possible?) with the misty mountains that were menacing at dusk and the intense scenic beauty by day. I could visualize it all so clearly. Of course, the book is written very well. It’s intense, and the characters are so lifelike  that I was a little frightened at times. It’s silly, but I would freak out if anything that I knew to be fictional happened to show up in reality. Fantasy has a world of its own and when it begins to edge into my everyday life, it makes me a little nervous.

Another thing that I thought would be interesting is the debate over whether J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are christian based or not. I had read online sometime ago that while C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia are an allegory to salvation, J.R.R. Tolkien’s books are supposedly Satanic. I found that a little difficult to believe because in C.S. Lewis’ book, Surprised by Joy, he mentions that J.R.R. Tolkien had helped guide him to Christianity while they were both at Oxford.

But regardless of its theological depth, The Hobbit is a classic for its gripping description of a unique and enchanting world that seemingly overlaps with our own. It’s story is tightly woven and it’s characters engaging. The book leaves you with the feeling of having seen a brilliant life size painting but only having had the time to focus on one corner. But that minuscule portion is so beautiful and fulfilling that it fills you with awe to think that this is only a tiny part of it.

I loved this book! If you’ve read it, I’d love to know what you thought of it. If you haven’t, do try and read at least the first chapter. See if you’ll be able to stop there!

My Final Post on Kashmir

It’s been two weeks since we got back from Kashmir and I still haven’t stopped talking about it. This post is actually a continuation of the last post (I noticed it was too long only after I began typing it in!) 

Day 3 : We woke up that morning in a mad rush to be ready by 7.30. The vehicle we’d booked would be coming to take us to Gulmarg. Up until we got there I didn’t know much about Gulmarg, apart from its name. I soon found out that it’s a famous skiing place and, of course, another favourite Bollywood haunt. 

We hired a guide so we were able to get tickets sooner than the others waiting in line. Tickets for what? The cable car to the top, of course! The view from the top of the mountains in Gulmarg is supposed to be absolutely breathtaking as it overlooks the Srinagar valley. It baffled me, though, that the cable cars were called Gondolas. But never mind that. The important thing was that we got tickets to both Phase 1 and Phase 2, something that was rather rare that day.

With the weather turning dismal, the only reason we managed to get tickets to Phase 2 was that we were one of the first in line that morning. Although it was foggy and soon began raining, our spirits were far from dampened. It was especially adventurous when there was a sudden power cut and we were suspended some 3000 metres above ground. We were asked to be very still and all was well in 20 minutes. The guide informed us, rather proudly I must say, that he had experienced power cuts mid air for up to an hour! A little difficult to envy that.

See how foggy it was!

We were somewhat amused to find tourists bundled in heavy winter wear at the top of the mountain. We made do with light sweaters and stoles – and later had to thaw with lemon tea and french fries. But in spite of our numb fingers and frozen faces we still had a lovely time at Gulmarg.

Pretty flowers in pink, purple, white, and some yellow covered the mountain side. There were also quite a few interestingly shaped boulders that caught our attention. Even the grass was noteworthy with baby cabbages and succulent little leafy plants. I even saw a couple of mushrooms! Our journey to the top was perfect until the guide informed us that had it not been for the fog we’d have been treated to an enthralling view of absolute scenic beauty! Unfortunately, the fog was too thick and we weren’t able to see the Srinagar valley.

We also saw a couple of rather bored looking mountain goats on our way back

Although we’d spent just three days in Kashmir it felt like we’d been away longer. The quiet old world charm that Kashmir is still steeped in, made this trip different from any other (It helped that we went in September and not during the tourist peak season). Both luxuriously relaxing and blissfully rejuvenating, Kashmir was the perfect mini vacation away from the hustle and bustle of routine. But what made it the perfect escape from reality was knowing that it was only a little more than a hop, skip, and a jump away from home!

The view from our guest house the evening before we left Srinagar.

Beautiful Kashmir : Part 2

Shikaras on the Dal Lake

So our first day in Kashmir  was spent visiting and admiring the Mughal Gardens. Our second day began with us waking up at 9 and Maria didi dashing off to the University. The rest of us, Abhilasha, Nandita, and I, went for a walk after breakfast and tried exploring the campus a little. 

We collected different kinds of leaves and I picked a few flowers  when no one was looking. Except for us, it seemed like everything else was still and mysterious. The tall Chinar trees added a whole new dimension to the picture we’d had of Kashmir on arrival. The Chinar trees were supposedly imported from Iran when the Mughals were ruling India.

But this is disputed. The population in Kashmir is still largely Muslim. In fact that was one reason we’d packed only conservative Indian clothes to wear there. We especially wanted to blend in after someone, meaning well, advised us that although the Kashmiri government encourages Tourism, tourists aren’t particularly liked. But after having spent three of the loveliest days there with everyone being so nice and helpful, we found that last part difficult to accept. 

For lunch one of the professors took us to the university canteen where we had a most delicious meal! Usually, I don’t enjoy meat all that much, but what we had that afternoon was a gourmet’s delight! I think what we had was chicken kebab. For certain, it was something with chicken. And we ate it with Naan. It tingles my taste buds even as a memory!

Almost all Kashmiri food is served with a salad/ chutney/ raita. I’m not sure what it was called but it enhanced the flavours of the curry. From what I could tell, it was made of mint, grated radish, and a few other herbs, all of it mixed in curd. I think we did ask for the recipe but can’t seem to recall anything specific.Well, all in all that was a fantastic meal that was only slightly overshadowed by conversation that was pretty sparkling. 

Kashmiri girls really don’t wear jeans! Actually they do, but they don’t wear them outside their home. How glad we were for that clever person who advised us to pack our salwar kameez, saris, and chudidar suits!

After lunch we were taken shopping by a very nice Kashmiri girl. Her uncle was the owner of a Kashmiri handicrafts emporium, she told us,and would be willing to subsidize rates for us. Not only did we get the best discounts on Kashmiri handicrafts but we were also offered Kahwah, Kashmiri Tea. Apart from Pashmina wool, Walnuts, Apples, its scenic beauty,  Papier Mache  handicrafts, and Pherans, Kashmir is famous for its Saffron. And the main ingredient in Kahwah is the saffron. I cannot even begin to describe how delicious the tea was. The flavour was delicate and its fragrant intoxicating. The herbs in the tea relax and have other health benefits if taken with a natural sweetener. Imagine something so yummy being equally  healthy! These three tourists were in love with everything about the place. 

After having shopped to our hearts’ content we went to the Dal Lake. We actually wanted to take a Shikara to the Char Chinar. But as it was getting dark we just had time to pose in one and then jump into a motor boat to the Char Chinar. 

The Char Chinar is a famous spot in Srinagar as many Hindi movies have been shot there. It gets its name ‘Char Chinar’ after the four Chinar trees on the four corners of this tiny island. By the time we got there it was already dark but still breath taking. On three sides there were mountains and on one side sparkling lights from the city. The perfect view to close Day 2.

This is actually a much longer piece but I don’t want to scare anyone away with a 2000 word post so I will be posting the rest tomorrow.