Sunday Book Review- The Shiva Trilogy

I've finally finished reading this trilogy It started off as a nicely executed and very intriguing story but i was  bored and disappointed by the time i was done.

When “The Immortals of Meluha” came out, I was uninterested. But when my sister bought the book, I read it out of sheer curiousity. Book critiques had been calling him the new Chetan Bhagat. I quite liked many of Chetan Bhagat’s books so I was intrigued by another Indian author who was an IIM alumnus.

The Shiva Trilogy is an interesting rendition of the story of Shiva. The protagonist, Shiva, is a tribal leader in Tibet constantly battling to protect his tribe, the Gunas. He is persuaded to leave the tribal life that is full of relentless petty battles and warfare when he is invited by an ambassador of Meluha, an empire created by Lord Ram, to join their city. The Gunas travel to Meluha and on the first night, they are administered a mysterious potion called the Somras. The effect of the Somras turns Shiva’s neck blue. This leads to the widespread belief that he is the fabled Neelkanth who will bring about great change and the destruction of evil.

But what is evil?

Stories from my scandalous life- I

It was the first day of 11th grade. New school, new faces, new teachers, new school board too. I stuck with the other kids from my school: I dont handle change very well. Luckily two out of three of my BFFs were in my class!  I was casually looking around my class when my eyes locked with someone else...

He was staring at me and looking into the depths of my eyes from the middle of the room. I stared back for a while. Then I sidled into the corner of the desk and looked down. I thought to myself,

"Ew. What a creep!"

Sadly, that was not the end of this one-sided-pyaar-ki-yeh-ek-kahani. This guy stalked me. He told all his friends that he was going to "Make friends with Pretty girl". He got my number from someone and started to text me.  He even added me on Facebook that first day (which i declined immediately, much to his chagrin and his friends amusement). Finally, an old school friend came to my rescue and threatened to cause bodily harm to him if he wouldn't leave me alone. He did. VERY quickly. Btw, dear friend, if you are reading this: "Thank you SO much!"

This incident did not blow up into a huge deal in college but it came pretty close. I was very relieved when he started to chase some other pretty girl with curly hair. I wish things had turned out more smoothly for her though...

Bad Intentions

I was sad because someone was mean to me. And then i read this.

"you deserve flowers on your doorstep
and coffee in the morning
you deserve notes left on your dashboard
and ice cream sundaes at 3am
you deserve honesty every day
and to be kissed every hour
you deserve to be reminded
how beautiful you are"

I just came across it on StumbleUpon while tripping out on Tasty Network's delicious playlist. And i had a heart softening moment.  I cried. Nay. i wept. I wept for all of them. Who are they? They are the ones who quietly bite their tongues when you are rude. Who are polite no matter what. Who handle things with grace and silence. Because they suffer. No one ever tells them that they are beautiful. No one ever tells them they are sorry; its implied.

thats not the way. It breaks them. Every time you push them against a wall, it takes away a little bit: of their self worth, their respect, their ego.

Don't break people. It's such a beautiful life.

(Pop!) - ular song

Sometimes I have nightmares that make me wake up at night with a silent scream. Sometimes I feel so full of despair that I can feel my heart tear a little (especially if I've re-read "To Kill a Mockingbird")Sometimes I want to kick and scratch and throw things around just because I hate them.

Tangles of a stressed out psycho. 

Know the feeling?

But this stressed out psycho has only one therapeutic treatment. Only one as it’s the one that works. Its therapy that involves bubblegum pop and David Guetta.  Therapy that also involves crunking and twerking and all the other dance moves you would pooh-pooh in public. Yeah. The ones that would make you die of pure embarrassment if anyone found out you've tried them out, just for kicks. Yeah.  Those.

If you haven't already realized, I'm talking about dance therapy. As a teenager of my generation, music is a very integral part of my life. Its of herculean importance! I need to keep up with the latest tracks and dance to them . My life would be insipid without David Guetta, Mika, Calvin Harris, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. And there's thousands of songs by various artists I haven't credited that have moulded my view of life. 

David Guetta

Katy Perry

So here's to my top genre! BubbleGum Pop. A genre that faithfully fulfills my therapeutic needs. I'm grateful to Katy Perry and Mika.

They're true artists: talented and with much to say. And they've helped me keep my sanity intact.

Tangles of my shopaholic heart

Roaming the market with a friend has always been one of my favorite exercises. The market will never cease to astound me. Its full of strange people, exotic smells, and funny things to buy. We were just aimlessly wandering when my eyes caught on to something incredible. 

It was miniscule. It was Pink. It was glittery. Did I mention that it was wee?

It was a Tiny Pink Hat.

How can anyone ignore that? A teeny tiny pink bowler hat covered in shiny pink sequins! I was so astonished at finding this object that I was immediately overcome by the insuppressible urge to possess this anomaly. I was a zombie. I HAD to buy that tiny hat! Right AWAY!

Unfortunately (or fortunately), my friend talked me out of it and swiftly pulled me away from the sight of it.  It was a tiny hat. It had absolutely no purpose at all. It wouldn't even fit an incredibly malnourished baby's head.

But I cant help but feel a slight twinge of wonder about the hat. For that second, I was under the spell that everyone comes across in the market. I guess some people call it "Impulse Buys" but to a shopaholic like me…it was simply magical.

Have you ever felt like that? What was your equivalent of my Pink tiny hat?