The ten best books i have read so far. care has been taken to select books from all genres.
the numbering depicts just the order of remembrance and not priority.
1) Pride and Prejudice by jane austen-a good love story
2) The house of the seven gables by nathaniel hawthorne- a captivating story said in strong words
3) The Alchemist by paulo coelho- inspirational
4) To kill a mocking bird by harper lee- light hearted
5)Wuthering heights by emily bronte( or charlotte ..dont remember which)- strong characters set in a slightly bitter atmosphere
6)The da vinci code by dan brown- fact Vs fiction
7)The murder on the orient express by agatha christie- good mystery where the end is beyond guess
8) The scarlet Pimpernal by baroness orczy- a love story set in aristocratic circles with a touch of dare in it
9) The taming of the shrew by william shakespeare(only the non detailed)- comedy
10) Harry potter and the order of the phoenix- no description needed
Friday, June 26, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
The Human Junkyard
Things seem a long time back....maybe thats because time isnt as fast as it used to be then.....I could never think of spending so much time in contemplation back then...when my time was so valuable to me that i named a price for anyone who wanted a share of it....there were a lot of takers too...Today I saw her walking with someone else ....by the treelined avenue that she very much loved but where i never cared to share a walk with her...I am too wise to be jealous now so i admit he looked far more handsome and younger than me...she looked blooming too and the pink in her cheeks showed that she was happy....atlast!!not that i am depressed...she herself told me once that if i left her she would find a better guy in two months.....she wasnt the sensitive sort....i loved her the more for this practical way of thought,she never cared too much for anything.....but there were times when i wished she cared a bit more for me!! it was five years before,during one of the rare occasions when i did walk with her,that we crossed this place ...i didnt know what it was then....i threw the empty popcorn box into the seemingle abandoned space...she asked me if i knew what place lay beyond the rusty gates....it was a graveyard......being at the peak of arrogance then i replied in my characteristic way that there wasnt a better place to throw waste in because this was a human junkyard......just a patch of fertile soil where generations have blended into the dirt. she said with a slight shudder " you should atleast respect the dead... they will turn in their graves if they hear you calling them junk". i laughed that characteristic laugh of mine, nothing less of a snort, and said " anything in this world, once it loses its life, has lost its utility and can be called junk".... she left it at that..... it was this arrogance that took me to where i am now.... i did not heed the doctor's warning... i would never admit i was ill ...and when he adviced caution and care, to take things in a slow pace, i grew more frantic, put in more effort....i thought i could win over death, like i had stomped through the other competitors in my life...but death new its job well and soon absorbed me into its abyss.....today as i lay in my grave, she was passing through the gates, rusty gates as always, the thin wall of separation between the living and the dead,when i heard her say to her companion with a loud laugh " know what, the other guy i told you about used to call this a human junkyard...never had a care for other lives around him... and now that he rests in one of its deep pits it has become a junkyard"..... the guy joined her in her laugh and put his arm over her shoulder as they walked past the gates.......and i turned in my grave!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
non sense
Staring at the computer screen for hours can afflict intense strain on your eyes ...even the fact that there is an exam tomorrow and this drastic measure is required is not justifiable when it boils down to one's eyes. still more than five hours of staring can take its toll on one and one should diversify one's resources elsewhere.that is where the concept of having a blog seems an excellent option.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Solitary Confinement
inspired by a story titled 'the bet' learnt at school.
I was sentenced for solitary confinement because I did not accept the new King. They said that i had committed a grave offence but my idea of crime was far different from theirs. For me , crime was declaring oneself as king of a people and coercing their obedience, snatching their money and spending it on luxury while the true owners live in squalor, denying education which is a beggar's only asset, pushing basic necessities of life far above the common grasp by demanding celestial prices and every other unjustifiable deed that the new King has took upon himself to enforce and I said as much. The last chance of mercy was thus dispelled and the king had no qualms in ordering me for ten years in solitary confinement.He ordered that this was a better punishment to severing my head at the guillotine because ten years with only my shadow and breath to bear me company would leave me deranged for life... a fitting end to one who was insane enough to oppose the king.
And thus began my life in prison. I was soon engulfed by the four massive stone walls .at nights i had nightmares that the walls were closing in on me crushing me beneath their unscrupulous solidity. during day time i spent hours reminiscing my past life , reliving them in full spirit , burning them into memory so that they would never leave me....I was alone here so I cried my heart out, my eyes dry. Food was brought at regular intervals. I tried to keep track of time by noting when the food arrived but the futility of the exercise soon dawned on me and i lost myself to the deep gorges of time. Solitude crept into me from all sides.....
"fatigued and famished, I lie, a mere slave
with bonds of time piercing my bones
memories i try to clutch in vain
desert me and move into the shadows
left here to live, abandoned and alone
to let the past prey on my soul
and let the future dwell in my thoughts
my mind explores ways as yet unknown
where i meet fears as yet unfathomed
wheels of time turn crushing my dreams
but hope lives for ever in my mind and soul"
it was one fine morning when i was running these morose thoughts over in my mind that i realized i was not alone. The sights and sounds of nature, alive and noisy caught my attention...several birds were engaged in a spirited conversation outside the prison walls...days, may be years of solitude have sharpened my hearing skills. The paradox of the situation gave me a thrill. here i was, condemned to solitude, but i was anything but alone. Sight was beyond reach but still i can percieve the falling rain, swishing wind and the birds flying to and fro shouting out greetings to their kin. the rain drops that still clung idly to the air wafted in through the bars at the top of my cell...invisible but betraying their presence when they occasionally came in contact...like a baby's kiss...soft , sweet and warm. the wind was my constant companion bringng me news of the outside world....it brought the fragrance of flowers in spring, the smell of wet earth in rain, and sounds of everyday life uttered far away during nights. Maybe my fancy but i can hear the rumbling sea at night, the waves tirelessly licking at the shore....my monotony was nothing compared to the sea's and still it continued its destiny without complaint. another companion was the guard who used to bring me food. he pushes the tray through the small opening under the door and took it back the same way. but i could hear his footsteps and making guesses about his height, build and what he looked like gave me immense satisfaction. i imagined his life, his wife and kids. how happy they would be when they hear his footfall in the dark alley that leads to their home.
one day, the door, that impenetrable piece of metal that had kept back the world , opened. I said a silent farewell to the generations of birds who have passed by my cell, to the faithful wind, to everything that only this stay had made me appreciate and walked out into the open. i revelled in the suns rays as it blanketed me in its warmth just as a mother would wrap her baby , and hungrily took in the beautiful sights around. I wanted to scream out that i was still sane that the punishment was nothing to me but kept silent because ten years had made me wise and i knew better than to argue with fools.
I was sentenced for solitary confinement because I did not accept the new King. They said that i had committed a grave offence but my idea of crime was far different from theirs. For me , crime was declaring oneself as king of a people and coercing their obedience, snatching their money and spending it on luxury while the true owners live in squalor, denying education which is a beggar's only asset, pushing basic necessities of life far above the common grasp by demanding celestial prices and every other unjustifiable deed that the new King has took upon himself to enforce and I said as much. The last chance of mercy was thus dispelled and the king had no qualms in ordering me for ten years in solitary confinement.He ordered that this was a better punishment to severing my head at the guillotine because ten years with only my shadow and breath to bear me company would leave me deranged for life... a fitting end to one who was insane enough to oppose the king.
And thus began my life in prison. I was soon engulfed by the four massive stone walls .at nights i had nightmares that the walls were closing in on me crushing me beneath their unscrupulous solidity. during day time i spent hours reminiscing my past life , reliving them in full spirit , burning them into memory so that they would never leave me....I was alone here so I cried my heart out, my eyes dry. Food was brought at regular intervals. I tried to keep track of time by noting when the food arrived but the futility of the exercise soon dawned on me and i lost myself to the deep gorges of time. Solitude crept into me from all sides.....
"fatigued and famished, I lie, a mere slave
with bonds of time piercing my bones
memories i try to clutch in vain
desert me and move into the shadows
left here to live, abandoned and alone
to let the past prey on my soul
and let the future dwell in my thoughts
my mind explores ways as yet unknown
where i meet fears as yet unfathomed
wheels of time turn crushing my dreams
but hope lives for ever in my mind and soul"
it was one fine morning when i was running these morose thoughts over in my mind that i realized i was not alone. The sights and sounds of nature, alive and noisy caught my attention...several birds were engaged in a spirited conversation outside the prison walls...days, may be years of solitude have sharpened my hearing skills. The paradox of the situation gave me a thrill. here i was, condemned to solitude, but i was anything but alone. Sight was beyond reach but still i can percieve the falling rain, swishing wind and the birds flying to and fro shouting out greetings to their kin. the rain drops that still clung idly to the air wafted in through the bars at the top of my cell...invisible but betraying their presence when they occasionally came in contact...like a baby's kiss...soft , sweet and warm. the wind was my constant companion bringng me news of the outside world....it brought the fragrance of flowers in spring, the smell of wet earth in rain, and sounds of everyday life uttered far away during nights. Maybe my fancy but i can hear the rumbling sea at night, the waves tirelessly licking at the shore....my monotony was nothing compared to the sea's and still it continued its destiny without complaint. another companion was the guard who used to bring me food. he pushes the tray through the small opening under the door and took it back the same way. but i could hear his footsteps and making guesses about his height, build and what he looked like gave me immense satisfaction. i imagined his life, his wife and kids. how happy they would be when they hear his footfall in the dark alley that leads to their home.
one day, the door, that impenetrable piece of metal that had kept back the world , opened. I said a silent farewell to the generations of birds who have passed by my cell, to the faithful wind, to everything that only this stay had made me appreciate and walked out into the open. i revelled in the suns rays as it blanketed me in its warmth just as a mother would wrap her baby , and hungrily took in the beautiful sights around. I wanted to scream out that i was still sane that the punishment was nothing to me but kept silent because ten years had made me wise and i knew better than to argue with fools.
poem: Alone
disclaimer: 'I' referred to in the poem is not me.
Even when the world around
carry on their noisy chatter
I feel alone in the crowd that surround
my mind shuts out, my senses scatter.
while I speak well and always smile
to the faces I pass, all day I glance
my mind feels void all the while
amidst its purposeful happy stance.
To live in a world where I am loved
where happiness broods ,comforts choke
but no more free to speak out aloud
my mind is hidden beneath its locks
I am a stranger to my own thoughts
I dare not think for fear of sorrow
while around me , my life clots
where every day is like the morrow.
Even when the world around
carry on their noisy chatter
I feel alone in the crowd that surround
my mind shuts out, my senses scatter.
while I speak well and always smile
to the faces I pass, all day I glance
my mind feels void all the while
amidst its purposeful happy stance.
To live in a world where I am loved
where happiness broods ,comforts choke
but no more free to speak out aloud
my mind is hidden beneath its locks
I am a stranger to my own thoughts
I dare not think for fear of sorrow
while around me , my life clots
where every day is like the morrow.
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