Scarlett O'Hara

I've just finished reading Gone With The Wind. And it is, hands down one of the best books I have read! Scarlett O'Hara is one of the most beautiful and real characters created. You hate her, you sympathise with her and finally, you fall in love with her! She is strong, but at the same time longs for someone to take care of her, to pamper her.. To do the same things she does for everyone! She starts off as an attractive young girl, used to the attention of boys, and loving it! Nothing matters to her more than getting a pretty ball gown, and a bonnet to go with it! She doesn't care for literature, or the war that is around the corner! And her infatuation with Ashley Wilkes! She just couldn't stand the fact that someone wasn't beguiled enough by her charms and was marrying someone far less attractive or interesting than she was! Out of spite, she marries his fiancee's brother just to rub it into his face! I like the fact that she isn't a saint. She's a real person with flaws. And that's what makes her all the more beautiful!
When widowed, she longs for the life she had before! She hated black and the fact that she couldn't dance or participate in the merriment. She was only a girl of sixteen, saddled with a child and a duty to mourn her husband. Of course she resented it! But she geared it with dignity, even though on the inside she was screaming. And what girl wouldn't jump at the offer to dance, when she hasn't been offered in the longest time? I don't think she even cared about who it was with, or the scandal that she was causing!
But behind that pretty, dainty face of hers, was hidden a woman of real steel. She was the only one who kept her family going through the hard times. She worked in the fields till she had calluses on her palms, she took care of her father after her mother passed away. She took care of her sisters, her son, Melanie and her son. She provided for them and she also killed to protect them. She always made sure there was food on the table. But the fact is that she longs to be the person she had been before. She longs to not have a care in the world! Although I don't condone the fact that she married her sister's beau without telling anyone, she did it to save Tara, the place she loved and also the place where her entire family was living. I love the fact that even during the time when all women were supposed to do was look pretty and stand beside their husband, she had the guts to run her own business and she was also a darn sight better at it than her second husband.
She may have had her flaws, but she would never ever allow anyone to mistreat the slaves. In fact, she was almost ready to whip the man who wasn't giving them enough to eat. In my opinion, her marriage to Rhett Butler was one of the best decisions she'd ever made, because, even she'd never admit it, he truly made her happy. And he was practically the only man who saw her for what she was. Not the pretty maiden, but a fiery, spirited young woman with so much courage and strength that she would put a man to shame! She shows so much strength when she has a miscarriage, and when her youngest daughter dies. She may be selfish, but that doesn't erase the fact that she is a true soldier. However bad things got, she always managed to pull everyone up, not for a moment did she give up. Not for a moment, did she put her head in her hands and say she couldn't do anything. That, if you ask me is true grit. She is truly one of my favourite storybook characters after Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and Atticus Finch. This is a book that if one reads, one never forgets. Scarlett O'Hara is a person that you envy, love, admire and at times identify with. If you read the book, I'm sure you will love her too!

The Ugly Truth...

Hey! If you're reading this you're reading this, you've lived through doomsday! Sorry! Cliched, I know! Anyway merry Christmas! I know I haven't written in a long time, but I couldn't think of anything to write! Currently, me and my family, are watching the news like crazy people because of the rape case in Delhi. It is such an ugly thing to happen, but as much as I hate to admit it, not an uncommon occurrence in our country! Like my mom repeatedly says, all women in India have been through something unpleasant with men! I just can't believe the gall that most men have! I mean, how dare they think that it's okay to do something like this! And then try to blame it on the women! How is it ever the woman's fault? Is it her fault that she's a woman? Should she not work, wear the clothes she wants to, assert herself, become successful? It's not fair that men act as superior beings! We live in a democratic country, shouldn't all of us have equal rights? I mean our constitution looks great on paper, but when will we actually follow those principles? I was watching a show called 'We The People', where an actor Rahul Bose said that part of the reason this happens is because men  can't deal with the fact that now women are coming up in life, are getting ahead and it infuriates them! How will our country even develop socially, when men can't accept the fact that they have to be equal to women? How can anyone be proud of a country that can't protect it's women? It's a shameful thing and I hope that for once our government does something about this situation!

New years'!!

Hmm.. It's less than two weeks to doomsday and no one really seems to care anymore! Everyone is about their own business and planning for the next year! Me? I'm gonna be planning a farewell party for my seniors! And it just so happens that it falls on doomsday!! Ironic, right? That is also the day my sister comes home from college. I just finished my second semester and I'm now heading towards my finals... God! I wonder when I won't have exams?!?
Life is so fast these days! Before you know it the year has come and gone!! It was quite an eventful year for me! What with my board exams and my sister leaving! It's hard to believe that the new year is just around the corner! And my 17th birthday too! Although I'm not interested in celebrating, it still is a milestone! I'm a year away from driving and voting! It's also my first b'day without my sister! That's gonna be very odd!
I also don't have a habit of making resolutions because I rarely stick to it! As a matter if fact I don't think anyone does! But I guess it's tradition for people to make a promise to be different and better human beings in the new year! But according to me, people don't change, just their circumstances do!! I haven't decided what I'm going to do for new years' this time! Not that I do much anyway! I'll probably just end up having a sleepover with my friends! What about you?

Criticism

Criticism. I've been told about a million times that I can't take it! It is true or my mom and sister won't constantly tell me the same thing! It drives me completely mental! I hate being told my work isn't good enough or I have no sense of humour; that I can't laugh at myself... The list goes on and on! I know that I must learn how to take criticism because I want to be a journalist and a novelist and I'm going to face a ton of criticism before achieving any success. I have to learn how to take it in a positive way, to learn how to improve myself and be able to survive any hindrance and look at it as a stepping stone! But what to do? I have a terrible temper that I try so hard to control but to no avail! I know that it isn't an excuse and I should learn from my mistakes, its easier said than done! My mom hopes that I will one day grow out of it and this is just a side effect of me being a teenager. But I know that unless I work at it, I'm never going to change! I mean, who wants to deal with someone who loses her temper every two seconds? I'd honestly run in the opposite direction. No one will want to be friends with such a person. So, today I promise myself that I will become a better person. Cheesy, I know! But I'm me and I always will be!

Shakepeare!

You know who fascinates me? Shakespeare! I think he is the most brilliant man to have ever walked the earth! I know people think he is a complete pain in the butt, and is hard to understand, but actually his writing is very simple! By that I mean to say, what he conveys through his writing is pretty basic! Shakespeare didn't sugar-coat anything. He portrayed people the way they were! He was a man ahead of his times and wasn't afraid to show ugliness, hypocrisy and evil. Because people don't change. The circumstances do. We are currently covering Macbeth in school, and what Shakespeare tries to say through his characters is is so true. Sure, the language is complicated, but that's the way they spoke! Macbeth represents ambition, greed, envy, weakness. He tries to say that his wife coaxed him into murdering his king, but in the end it was his fault! If he truly didn't want to kill King Duncan to seize the throne, he wouldn't have gone ahead with it. Eventually it was his ambition that brought his downfall, not his wife. His wife is, if possible, even more ambitious than Macbeth. And obviously the stronger of the two. She advises him every step of the way and doesn't feel indecision for a second.
That's another thing I love about Shakespeare. He didn't make his women the cliches, the most of the other playwrights did. You know, the weak damsels-in-distress, always needing someone to take care of them. All of them were strong and had a voice and weren't afraid to express themselves. Thye weren't just ladies sitting pretty. They had backbones! Be it Rosalind in As You Like It, Lady Macbeth in 'Macbeth', Cleopatra in 'Antony and Cleopatra' and list goes on and on!
I could talk about Shakespeare all day long, but I'd probably bore you to death! So I'm signing off, till next time!

The Mark of Athena!

Hi there! I'm both ecstatic and on the verge of tears! I just read 'The Mark of Athena'. And it was AMAZING! The ending? Oh! Heartbreaking! And now I have to wait another year for the next book! I actually couldn't have read it unless I wasn't reading tumblr yesterday! Being the Curious Connie that I am, I couldn't resist reading spoilers, because the book doesn't come out in India for a month atleast!! That is another bone that I really need to pick! It isn't fair that it takes longer to come out in India, than anywhere else! Well, I needn't complain! While reading the spoilers, I spotted a link to the e-book! And it was free!!!!!!
I don't know if I was just waiting desperately for the book to come out, but I think it was one of his best! It was extremely well-written! And the ending? OH MY GOD! He left us at a cliffhanger, both literally and figuratively!! This book had a lot of characters from mythology! Hercules, Aphrodite/Venus, Bacchus, Arachne etc. etc. Frankly, I think I'm going to start all over again, just to savour it all over again! I'm doing my best to not to let out any spoilers! I totally recommend it for Greek and Roman mythology! And for Rick Riordan lovers!

Tumblers and Chocolates!

Hello there! I know I'm a terrible blogger, considering I haven't updated my blog in almost three weeks! But if I just write total crap, because I don't really feel like writing, that's even worse! What is writing, if not from the heart? Currently, I'm on a mission to become super-slim, as I'm told, by my sister, that I've begun to look like a tumbler! That is just terrible! I cannot become fat! So, I've stopped eating chocolates and ice-creams, and I'm participating in a dance in my school's annual day program, to knock off some weight! I've also decided to get into a regular exercise routine, to keep the weight permanently off!
The thing about going on a diet is that, unless you are 100% committed, the craving never stops! Actually, everything starts looking a thousand  times more delicious! Like today! We went grocery shopping, and every time I saw Nutella, or chocolate chip cookies, or Brittania chocolate cake! Oh and Dairy Milk Silk! The forbidden does have a certain allure, doesn't it?
I'm not saying I'm starving myself. I can't do that! I love food way too much! It's just that I've gotten into the habit of really hogging on food and need to start eating in moderation!
 I hope to be very slim by the time it's Diwali, because that's when my sister comes back, and I want to show her that I'm no longer fat! Sorry, random topic! The diet is the only thing new with me! What's new with you?

Gender Equality. Or Should I Say Inequality?

Hello! I just finished my first semester exams! I hope I did well! Fingers crossed!
Anyway, these days I've been wondering what India means by gender equality! Men still walk around like they own the world and everything should happen according to their wishes! Their wives must work, must cook, must clean, must take care of the children, must do everything! Most of us see this everyday! And now, many women are earning more than their husbands! But still! Men feel like they are a superior species!
    If not for women, they wouldn't have even come into this world! Women do everything, and all we expect in return is a little gratitude and love and affection! I'm not saying that men don't do anything. There are some men who help out their mothers, sisters and wives and daughters. But they are very rare exceptions! Like my grandfather, for instance!
  Why are we the ones who always need to make the sacrifice? Why not them?! It isn't fair! Then again, life isn't fair! The world boasts of how men and women are at par with each other. But is it really true? A woman who fights for her rights is considered aggressive and unpleasant, and in some cases, it is true. But do people really expect us to let others walk all over us like we're doormats? We can't be at everyone's beck and call all the time! After all we are just human beings too! Well, we should now not take anything lying down! Who cares if we are called aggressive? The world isn't a kind one, and while we shouldn't be cruel, we should be able to survive and live on equal terms! I hope this wasn't preachy! My mother says I can be like that sometimes!
    

Rumours!

I've been told that my last few posts have been completely indifferent (any guesses on who?). Well, I have to admit that it is true! I really have nothing to write about! I might be suffering from a case of writer's block!
Anyway, today I am going to talk about rumours! Why is it that people believe lies so easily, but when it comes to the truth, they completely tune you out? Rumours that have no solid base, and are completely ridiculous spread like wildfire and before you know it, everyone is talking about it! And if you try to quell them, no one is willing to listen to you! Rumours can be both harmful and harmless! But nonetheless, they hurt those whom they are about! I guess spreading rumours is a form of bullying too! People are much quicker to believe the faults of a person without even knowing them! But when you highly praise someone, why is it that they take much more time to form their own opinion? Is it jealousy? Just like we have more words to describe unhappiness and discontent, we have very few words to express our happiness! Isn't that sad? No one likes being spoken about in a negative way, but one form of comfort is the saying, "what goes around, comes around".I honestly believe that people get what they deserve! If today I say something mean and untrue about one of my classmates or just someone I know, I can't expect that there won't be any consequences for me! Maybe not right away, but there are always consequences! Sorry I chose such a random topic! There is nothing really going on with me, and rumours are a common occurence in school life!

Family and Food! You Gotta Love them!

Hello! As you know my cousins are in town and yesterday, we went to Inorbit mall! So, i got picked up from school by my mom and my cousin Vineet! So, two of my friends, came along with me to say hello! And, he like an idiot, says, and I quote,"Yo wassup? I'm from America!" What kind of weirdo says that? It's so embarrassing! Couldn't he say just a normal hello? Well, that's that! Nothing can be done about it! Anyway, today my sister is coming back!!!!!!!! I'm meeting her after 2 whole months! Family. What would we do without them?
The added advantage of having aunts and uncles and cousins in town, is that the food you get is amazing! Now that Didi is coming, my grandmother is going to make all kinds of amazing food! My mouth begins to water just by thinking about it!!!!! Not that I haven't been getting good food, considering my aunt and cousins are in town! Like yesterday, my grandma made one of my favourite desserts-caramel pudding!!!! Oh, did I mention, my grandma is like, THE best cook in the world! She has the magic touch in her fingers! Mmmm.. her american chopsuey, her ginger chicken, her chocolate cake, her biryani, her cutlets..... The list is endless! I'm probably boring you by now! My mom says my last few posts were completely random! No substance at all! I actually agree with her! It's like I have writer's block!

Independence Day!

Hello!!!!! My cousins have arrived! It's almost been a week! I can't believe it's only a week before they leave! Time really flies when you're having fun, right?!? Anyway, tomorrow is Independence Day-15th August! It's been 65 years since we threw the Britishers out! While, India celebrates only one day when we gained freedom, everyone has days when they gain freedom, don't they? Be it freedom from parents or from bullies or from, just yourself... It's the day you just manage to break free... Show your true colours to the world! My way of expressing my freedom and independence, I guess! But if I'm asking for freedom, it probably won't be so pleasant! It would probably be me screaming my head off and crying! But I've never really had to ask for anything, my mom gives me quite a bit of freedom! But that doesn't stop me from throwing the occasional tantrum!
Anyway, tomorrow, me and my mom are going to do our usual thing. We will go to our colony's flag hoisting, followed by the national anthem and of course, a DELICIOUS breakfast!!!!!!!
So, before I sign off, I wish everyone a very Happy Independence Day!!!!

Dreams....

Hi!!! I officially turn 16 and a half today! My birthday is exactly 6 months away! I'm one of those people who does a countdown for her birthday! Especially when it gets really close! Now I'm 1 and a half years away from becoming 18! Then I can vote, drive etc. etc.! Anyway, today I'm going to write about, well... I don't really know! I actually had a dream about my new blog post last night! But when I look back on that dream, it sounds really silly! I mean, whatever I can remember of it! That's the problem with dreams, isn't it? You never remember them! I wish dreams were like Tata Sky Plus! You could just put them on record and watch it whenever you want! I'd love to know what goes on in the subconscious part of my brain! Then I could interpret it in any way I wanted! Most of the times, the dreams feature people from school and I constantly try to remember what they were doing in my dream! I don't know how people remember their dreams! I wish I was like Rakhi's mother in Chitra Divakaruni's 'Queen of Dreams'! Then I could understand not only my dreams but also others' dreams too! But I guess every coin has two sides, doesn't it? I wouldn't want to predict my own death! I'd rather live in the moment!
That's about it, I guess! Goodnight! Sweet dreams!

Clothes and Phones!

Hello! It's just a few days before my cousins come to Hyderabad! I'm super excited! Just yesterday we were sorting out mine and my sister's cupboards! She has three! One consists of all her kurtis and salwar kurtas that she used to wear to college! One consists of her westerns and another consists of traditional Indian clothes that both of us can wear! Well I can wear all her clothes! But anyone who sorts out her cupboard will have a nightmare of being strangled to death by clothes! I was completely exhausted by the time I was done! The plus side is, I now have a zillion clothes to wear! I always did, but now I can access them easily! I don't have my sister looming over me ominously, threatening to torture me if anything happens to her clothes! I mean, when we were shifting our house, she made me go back to get one of her dresses that was lying downstairs. I went and got it, and I wanted to take some stuff that was left in my cupboard, so I went to get it. Little did I know, she followed me there and when I was upstairs, she started yelling saying her dress was missing! That's how little she trusts her baby sister! Isn't that sad? God, I sound so weird, don't I? Trust me, I'm even crazier in person!
Right now, there is absolutely nothing new with me! As usual! I told one of my friends that I have a pretty boring life and it's very true! Right now, I've finally convinced Mom to buy me a new phone! My actual own phone! Uptil now I was using my sister's hand-me-down! I'm trying to decide which one I want! Any suggestions?

My Week!

Hello again! It's been two days since I've finished my exams and I feel completely lost! Like I have no sense of purpose! Even watching television is not keeping me entertained! The only time I feel really absorbed is when I'm reading! That's also a time when no one comes and disturbs me! Otherwise, people are asking me what to cook, what my plan is for the day etc etc. I just want to be left alone! I like chilling out by myself! It's my time for introspection or even just being! My exams went off alright! Fingers crossed! My classmates have begun calling me 'Oxford Dictionary', because I am apparently very good at English! I know I'm not bad, but I don't want people thinking I'm an expert! I mean, what if I do badly in my English exams? Then what? It would be mortifying! My mom is very happy that everyone seems to think I'm smart. She says it's better than being considered a twit, which it is! Considering Mamma and Didi call me that all the time it's quite an honour to be considered intelligent! One of my best friends is flying in from Ahmedabad on Wednesday and I can't wait to meet her! It's been a month since I've seen her and many of my other school friends! It's a chance for all of us to meet! Anyway, that pretty much sums up my week. I'm currently sitting on the sofa, eating an apple, wondering what to do next. I do have a movie to go to, so, that will be fun! Anyway, see you next time!

Hi! Life feels great! It's been a week since my last post! It's becoming a pattern! I always write only once a week! My mom says that I will become one of those bloggers who posts only once in a year! At the rate I'm going, I might actually end up believing her! I'm truly running out of things to say! Well, I went to see a movie (Cocktail) with a bunch of friends on Saturday! The first half of the movie was amazing! But the second half! Oh god! It was so slow! And so much drama! The final scene where Saif Ali Khan proposes to Diana was so annoying! Oops! Spoiler alert! But seriously, it took him so long to ask him to marry her! There were people in the theatre yelling and saying that any other girl would have run off by the time he got the words out of his mouth! So that was fun! And what else is new with me? My exams start in a week! Midterms, that is! I hope I do well! I have been studying, so that will pay off! My first set of exams in a new school! I'm so nervous! I haven't written an exam in a while! Well, that's about it! I guess with my sister gone, there's nothing very interesting going on with me! Oh right! I forgot something! Today she sent me a message saying she'd murder me if I let Mamma Facebook stalk her! Well, that's about it! Anyway bye! Hopefully I'll post soon!

The Da Vinci Code!

Hi there! Life is progressing at it's usual rate and there is absolutely nothing new with me! I've been reading quite a bit recently! Right now, I'm re-reading The Da Vinci Code for the sixth time! It definitely figures into my list of must read books! Although the movie was a huge disappointment (like all movies based on books), the book is brilliant! Ever since I read it a couple of years ago, I've been anxious to go to Paris to see the Louvre! And when I finally got to go this summer..... I didn't enjoy the museum at all! I mean the Picasso museum in Barcelona and the Musee d'Orsay in Paris was a zillion times better! But anyway, getting back to the book, it is one of the most gripping books I have ever read! It is also the only books of Dan Brown that I actually enjoyed! I mean, Angels and Demons was boring! The movie was way better! The facts given in this book are just so interesting! The theory of Mary Magdalene being in The Last Supper (I hope I get to see the painting in person!) and her being the Holy Grail! Learning about Da Vinci's inventions like the cryptex , (I don't know if it's real, but I like to think it is!) the Fibonacci sequence of numbers, analysis of various paintings! Considering I'm not a very good artist, I have great appreciation for those who are and those who truly understand the in depth meaning of it! Me, I have to read about it to understand it! for those of you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it, especially if you are a fan of thrillers!

School!

So....it's been a week since my sister left for Delhi to do her MBA! As much as I thought I was ready for her departure, the reality hit me like a ton of bricks! The moment i said bye to her, my eyes started welling up and I cried all the way to school and in school too! God! How embarrassing! And to top it off, I went and twisted my ankle! I wasn't watching where I was going as I walked down the stairs and bam! Down I fell! Man that hurt! Anyway, school is fun! I've really started enjoying it! It's not just the students, the subjects are fun too! Especially English! At the risk of sounding like a geek, I can't express how happy I am to be doing Shakespeare! Macbeth is way more interesting! It is a political drama after all! English continues to be my favourite subject and now we have a teacher who's studied at NYU! Isn't that cool? There is a Math exhibition in my school on Tuesday and me and a couple of other girls had to make a chart! When we finished it today, we were covered in glitter! Today was loads of fun! And by the looks of it, everyday is going to be fun! This optimistic attitude is working for me, I think!

I Hate Being Sick!

Hi again! I've been really sick for the past few days! It started off as a terrible stomach ache and continued for three whole days! It was like my insides were being squeezed over and over again! I can't even tell you how I finally got cured! It's way too embarrassing! I kept taking medicines after medicines and the pain kept coming back! My doctor told me that it was because I wasn't eating enough of my leafy greens and was eating way too much chicken! That is true! But I love meat! And I do eat vegetables, it was just in the past few days that I had been eating a little too much! So, after three days when my stomach finally settled down, I kept getting hunger pangs every two hours because for like two whole days, all that went into my stomach was either medicine or the blandest of the blandest khichdis (it's goulash in English!). Anyway my stomach is finally back to normal! No more spasms and no more hunger pangs! God I am so relieved! But my mom has banned meat or any other food that is hard to digest, so that my insides don't act up again! Being sick sucks! I mean, I know people take care of you and all but still! The discomfort you experience is not worth it! Anyway, goodnight and I'll write soon!

A New School

Hi! My school started this week! So I finally have something to do! Today they sorted us into our houses- Diamond, Coral, Sapphire and Emerald! Oh! It is Gitanjali, by the way! It's just a different branch! Anyway, I've been in Diamond House my entire school life and I was praying that I wouldn't be sorted into Diamond! And look at my luck! I was sorted into Diamond! When my name was called out, I was wishing that I never have to wear yellow pants again (I mean, what kind of uniform is that?) and just my luck, I got Diamond house! At least if the sorting was cool, like it is in Harry Potter, it would be worth it! But no! They just sort you into whatever strikes their fancy! And then I found out that the 11th and 12th don't have to wear the same uniform as the others! Frivolous topic, I know! But that's what's on my mind! Now that school has started, I'm back in the same funk! I want a holiday! I mean, is there no pleasing me? My sister was right, I really am an odd little thing!

Home.

All this shifting made me start thinking... What is home? Eric Weiner said, "Home is where the heart is" and someone else once said, (don't ask me who, because I can't remember!), " A place is only as good as the people in it". I completely agree with both statements. Home doesn't have to be an actual place! People are home. Family is home. I admit that a house is necessary, because we need shelter. But how can you call it a home if you have no one to share it with? No one to argue with, no one to cook for, no one to cook FOR you, no one to chat with after a long, long day just to unwind. That's not home. That's just a house! You can be a nomad and still feel at home with your tribe! Because they are your comfort zone. In my opinion, that's home! Home can be anything, but mostly it's the people you're with. Because what is home without friends and family?I chose a weird topic didn't I? I really am weird that way! But that doesn't mean I don't believe in everything I just said!

Moving

God! Shifting a house is such a pain in the butt! There is so much work to be done! The first day, we decided to take all our shoes to the new house. It was just two houses down, (please don't ask me why we moved to a different house in the same colony! I've answered that question one too many times!) so we,(me and my sister) stuffed our shoes into packets and carried them there! And we have WAY too many shoes! Now I get why my grandmother calls us spoilt brats! And those were just the shoes! After that we carried cutlery, crockery and so on and so forth! Finally removed into our new house.... But our work was far from complete! The air conditioners were tripping,so we had to get new MCBs',the television and the DVD players had to be connected! I accidentally screwed up the sound bar wire, earning the nickname 'ruiner'! I've sworn not to go anywhere near the connections again! And look what that resulted in! No one has connected the other DVD player! Someone has to and it ain't gonna be me! The curtains had to be put onto the rods and my sister has gotten into a kind of tizzy! Every single day she wants to do the dusting of the house! She goes to the gym before I wake up and before she comes I make the beds so that she doesn't start screaming about that as well! And dealing with people is not easy! And we've had to deal with a lot of people. Starting with the household help to the electricians and plumbers! Then our Internet got disconnected and it took them a week to connect it again! I was cursing BSNL day and night! Can you imagine a week without Internet? I can live without Facebook, but without Wikipedia and google? No way!anyway, I guess we've finally settled in, but it takes time to adjust to a new house. I still kind of miss our old house, with all it's faults! Nostalgia, I guess!

Movies and Dance!

There are times when I wish I could just escape into the world of movies and pretend to be something I'm not! I think it's much easier than being yourself! My favourite kind of movies are about dance! Every time I watch someone dance, (well, of course!) I wish I could dance like that as well! While I don't have two left feet and I can get the rhythm, I'm not exactly a spontaneous dancer... I've always felt a little self-conscious! But everytime I watch a movie like Step Up, Dirty Dancing, Flashdance etc. I just feel like getting up and dancing my heart out, matching them step for step! Not that I can, of course! Watching those dance scenes never fail to bring a smile to my face. The kind of dance I like best is the one that looks spontaneous... and although it's rehearsed, there's something so joyful in the way they move, trying to outdo each other or just plain tomfoolery! Although I can dance, I need to be taught steps, otherwise I'm just lost! There is something very free about dancing, it's almost liberating! At least that's the way I feel!

My View of Paradise

Hello there! Sorry I didn't write for a long time. I'd gone to Barcelona and Paris! Europe is beautiful... Everyone has their views of paradise. It's mostly a beach with tropical climate but as usual I have a different view of paradise. It's Paris. I can see myself spending my entire life there. Brilliant weather, the most amazing food I've ever eaten, beautiful buildings and lovely people! What more do you need? I can imagine walking down Champs-Elysee's eating crepes or macaroons, visiting the Museum d'Orsay and admiring Monet, getting a caricature done at Eiffel Tower and writing stories in charming little cafes found all over Paris! That's paradise for me! And the added advantage is that you don't need to exercise! Because in Paris, like everyone else in Europe, you walk everywhere! It's a dream come true! Paris was all that I'd dreamed of and even more! I can just close my eyes and find myself there. I definitely want to go there again! I also still have to visit Versailles, so that's a reason. For me, walking through Paris is like jumping into a storybook, a fairytale! I was very sorry to leave-for two reasons- one, I wanted to see more of Paris and two, my board results were due any day. I wanted to live in my fairytale for just a little while longer. But that's the thing about fairytales... they end before you want them to. My results came out today. I didn't do as well as I wanted to but my family is happy and that's enough for me! Anyway, I'll see you soon, hopefully!

My trip to Bangkok

I am seriously running out of things to write about! I went to Bangkok this week! God, the malls there are huge! One time, me and my sister found this really cute shop that sold these extremely cute accessories like hairbands, bangles, clips etc., etc. The next day when we went to buy some more, we couldn't find it! We searched and searched and searched and searched. My use of the word several times should convey how much we searched! It was quite frustrating especially when your sister doesn't listen to you because she thinks you don't know squat! We spent the whole day there and didn't even cover all the floors of the mall, that was how huge it was! And then we bought bags and clothes and shoes! Oh God, the shoes! I think we bought about ten pairs! My sister tells me I'm a useless shopping buddy because I never offer my opinion on anything. There's actually no point in me offering my opinion because she takes it as an opportunity to make fun of me! I think she yelled at me an infinite number of times on this trip. Each time I'd open my mouth to say something, she'd just say and I quote,"Shut up, you don't know anything!".  My best experience was eating the ice-cream! I know, I know, I'm a total hog, but that's just me! The Cornetto ice-cream there is so much better than the flavours here! They shouldn't have removed 'Chocolate Truffle Tempt' and the brownie ice-cream and they most definitely should have kept the blackforest ice-cream the same! Not the disgusting thing that they have now! The original one was so much tastier! Anyway, I ate only two flavours there - Chocolate Royale and Black and White (a mixture of white and dark chocolate). Both were AMAZING! Then I ate gelato! I asked for two scoops and they gave me the equivalent of six instead! I couldn't finish it but it was tasty! Wow, I can't believe it's come down to this... I'm talking about ice-cream. I really do need something to do! My mom was right, I was more creative when I had studying to do! Anyway I also had a sundae, if you are interested! I won't bore you with the details! I'm usually a good flyer, but this time I had a bad experience. First of all, the flight was at 1 in the morning on the way there and then my sister kept fidgeting around in her sleep! Then on the way back, everyone around me was snoring and I was barely able to sleep! In Bangkok, other than shopping, we didn't have much to do so my sister and I watched this show called Greek together and also, of course, fought! My mom would spend the whole day working and then come back to the hotel room and we'd all go out for dinner! That pretty much sums up my trip to Bangkok!

A Little Bit of Everything!

So, I'm running out of things to write about. There is absolutely nothing going on in my life right now. No new experiences, no funny stories. Nada, zip, zilch! My mom says that considering my board exams are over, I should be writing everyday and not wasting my time. I've always wanted to travel, you know. I want to see the world! Well, mostly Europe! I want to go to Athens to see the Parthenon, Rome to see the Sistine Chapel and the Colosseum, Verona to see Juliet's house, Paris to see the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, Belgium to eat the chocolates and Greece to... to just see Greece! It's also the reason I'm waiting for 'Mark of Athena' by Rick Riordan to come out! Because they go to Greece! They haven't given us a sneak peek! I wish the movies based on these books were as good as the books! Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was such a disappointment compared to the book! If you haven't read the book, I'm sure it's very enjoyable but otherwise, it's not bad but not what I expected! It's the same with Harry Potter! The books are sooooo............ amazing! According to me, the last movie was the most disappointing! Even though many people wouldn't agree with me! I wish they'd shown Snape's memories better, shown us more of Fleur (I think she's really funny!), and in general just put more detail! It's really odd the number of people I know who haven't read Harry Potter! Practically all my friends haven't read it! They say it's boring and they might as well watch the movie. How can you call one of the most iconic books published during our lifetime boring? Wow, I can't believe I started this post talking about which places I wanted to see in the world and now I'm talking about Harry Potter! I guess this is the way conversations move too, isn't it? You start off with something and midway you realise that you're talking about something totally different! I think I'm going completely insane! Anyway, see you!(I know that the title is a little misleading because I've talked only about two things but calling it 'A Little Bit Of Two Things' is not as catchy, right?)

Ummmm....

So, I've been doing a lot of reading these days, considering I have so much time on my hands! In the past few days I've read quite a few books of Robin Cook! He freaks me out a little! There's this one book where these two girls donate their eggs so that they can spend a semester of college abroad. One of them, Deborah, is studying microbiology, or something like that (I read it a long time ago, so forgive me if my memory is a little blurry!), so, anyway, she asks for local anaesthesia not general because she wants to know what's happening. Meanwhile, her friend, Jennifer is frightened of hospitals, so she agrees to general anaesthesia. And the doctors take out one of her ovaries! How scary is that! And then, in another book, Coma, some of the doctors, purposely kill off their patients and sell their organs in the black market! The most recent one I read was 'Mutation', where a couple, Victor and Marsha, desperately want a second child, so they try in-vitrio fertilisation and Victor, who is a scientist, fertilises the egg himself. He inserts a special gene into the zygote, so that the child turns out brilliant. He gets what he wants but Victor Junior also turns out to be a killing machine! I wonder if these things can actually happen! Imagine if they did! The world is already scary enough, if this happened, it would be like landing in a horror movie! I mean, we put our lives in their hands! There's this other book, where they purposefully give patients brain tumour! I didn't really understand that one because it had terms that I didn't understand and also that I wasn't really interested! Anyway, as long as this stuff happens in books, I'm fine. So, see you around!

Greek, Greek and more Greek!

Hi again! Last time I told you about my love for mythology but couldn't expand on it because I was absolutely starving and I wanted to eat my lunch! Doesn't it sound cool to be a professor of English Literature or Mythology? If I get a PhD, I'd be called Dr. Pallavi Kumar! As you know, my interest in mythology started because of Rick Riordan, the author of the Percy Jackson series, The Heroes of Olympus series and last but not least, The Kane Chronicles! The first deals with purely Greek mythology , the second is about Greek meeting Roman and the last is about Egyptian mythology! If I were to be a demigod (half human, half god), I'd fancy myself to be the daughter of Apollo because, I happen to think he is the least complicated of all the gods! I mean, Zeus, king of the gods and god of thunder and the sky, has to put up with his henpecking wife Hera and the insecurity that his brother Poseidon might try to usurp his throne, even though he has no such intention!.Hera, goddess of marriage and family, on the other hand has to deal with her cheating husband and obsess over having the Perfect Family, so much, that she actually threw her own son Hephaestus down a mountain because he was ugly, and then blamed it on Zeus! Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes and horses, has to deal with his brother and and manage his realm, that is the sea and deal with HIS jealous wife Amphitrite because of his affairs with mortals! Hades constantly feels that he is not truly an Olympian because he is never included in any of their gatherings on the solstice! Dionysus, god of wine and celebration, is too busy being punished by his father for chasing nymphs and then missing his wife Ariadne! Artemis, the huntress and goddess of the moon, is too busy recruiting young maidens who have been deceived in love and want to swear off men (which, frankly, I'm not that interested in! Although immortality is a tempting offer!). Demeter, goddess of agriculture, is just plain annoying, with her obsession about working in the fields and eating cereal! Hephaestus, master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods, god of fire and the forge, has way too many hang-ups about his mother and his adulterous wife and frankly, I don't find someone who only wants to work in his own garage all the time very appealing! And then he keeps trapping Aphrodite, his wife, and Ares, her lover whenever the meet for a rendezvous! Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty and desire, although indescribably beautiful, is not my type because I highly doubt I'm anything like her. I have no fashion sense, I can't charm speak, so I have virtually no chance of being her daughter! And also, the fact that she has an affair with Ares when she is married to Hephaestus is not a very nice thing to do! Ares, the god of war, I just do not like! He is so violent and nasty and there isn't a single attractive quality about him! At least, according to me! Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy is cool. I wouldn't mind being her daughter either! And lastly, Hermes, messenger of the gods and the god of thieves. I'm not cunning enough to be his daughter! Whereas, Apollo, twin brother of Artemis, god of light, music, knowledge, poetry, prophecy and archery is soooo... amazing! He makes the sun rise and I'd really like to use one of his sonic arrows! He is protective of his sister Artemis and he brings sunlight in our lives. How cool is that? I know it's all not true, but it feels so good just to close my eyes and imagine that it is! In my dream world I've been to the Garden of the Hesperides, I've fought the Nemean lion and escaped Medusa! I know what you must be thinking. I spend half my time in another world! Well, it's true! That's just me! Anyway gotta go, bye!

I Don't Know What I'm Talking About!

It's not very easy to write, you know. It's not easy to express yourself and be completely honest. For me, it's practically the only thing I can do. Otherwise, everyone else considers me to be naive, or more aptly put, stupid! Writing, to me, is like a solace. An escape. It's the one place I get to express myself wholly and completely. Although I'm afraid of showing it to anyone, because criticism puts me into a bad mood, I know I have to, if I ever dream of being a serious writer. I don't have the talent of Khaled Hosseini or Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, all I have is passion and a desire for success and recognition! I started this blog as a rant towards my mother and sister, who still annoy me to a great extent. I started it, because I had something to say and no one to say it to without sounding whiny and self absorbed! I've never been a vocal person. I'm much better on paper than I am in expressing myself verbally. Writing comes easier to me, than speaking. Talking about something makes me nervous, and as soon as I am nervous, I stammer. I have never been able to look at a crowd during a speech, or a presentation and speak smoothly. And even if I do, my heart beats so hard in my ribcage that it feels like it's going to fall out. Writing makes me forget everything. All my troubles, my worries, ( I know what you're thinking, what should a 16 year old have to worry about? Sometimes I ask myself that!) everything disappears, and for a while it feels like the world is perfect. There's nothing to worry about. Writing makes me feel free like a bird! I love writing! My mom tells me that I should start writing about other things that I love. So that, I can make my blog about something. Up until now, the only things that interest me are literature and mythology. I absolutely adore mythology. And the thing that fascinates me about it is the fact that it is so intricately woven, that it's hard to believe it's not true. I got started on Greek mythology when I read Percy Jackson, Roman, when I read Heroes of Olympus, Egyptian, when I read The Kane Chronicles and of course Hindu after reading Ramayana and the Mahabharata and listening to stories from my grandparents! I'll talk about that later, because right now I'm starving, so I'm gonna go eat lunch! Bye!

Who Will I Be?

I'm back!!!!!!!!! My board exams are over!! And I'm bored! My mom says I need to decide what I want to become when I grow up! For the longest time I've wanted to be a writer but Mamma says you don't need a degree to become a writer but I can't imagine myself being anything else! I don't see myself as a lawyer, or a doctor, or anything as a matter of fact! I just see myself writing! Suddenly, I have to make a choice about my entire future! It's so much harder than it seems! Life is moving so fast, that I don't even have time to stop and smell the flowers! It's barely sunk in that I am no longer a part of Gitanjali Devshala, I no longer go to the same school with my friends, I may never see some of them again. And what frightens me the most is what if they don't like me at my new school? What if they think I'm odd? While most people want to find themself, I have a pathological desire to escape! Questions constantly come into my mind- what if I'm not able to adjust, what if no one likes me, what if, what if, what if? So many questions and I don't know who can answer them. What if? That's such a common question that we ask ourselves, right? What if I had not lied, what if I hadn't given up, what if I hadn't yelled...... So many questions, so little time!
How does one expect to find themselves in the midst of such chaos? Forget about anyone, what about me? I'm 16 years old and I don't even know how to plait my own hair! Shameful, right? And to top it all off, my sister is leaving for IIFT in July, what am i going to do without her? Who is going to tell me what to wear? Who is going to call me the odd names she has reserved for me? Who is going to bug the hell out of me? Who am I going to be without her? Maybe it's time for a little introspection. And I've got nothing but time! See you soon!

Sorry I Went Missing!

I know, I know, I'm a bad blogger! But you can't blame me, my board exams were going on! I still have one left - economic applications! But the best part is I'm done with science! I no longer have to care about the principle of a generator nor do I have to know what the characteristics of various acids are, and last but not the least I need not remember what happens during photosynthesis! I know without plants we won't survive but do we have to study it in detail? I know that the very definition of science is the way the world works but I don't want to understand the way the world works! Why can't some things just remain a mystery? Doesn't it make them all the more beautiful? Why do we human beings have to break everything apart to figure out how it works? And then ruin it! The world is not a cuckoo clock! I almost broke into a jig the day I got done with physics! I come from a family of science lovers! My grandma loves telling the story of my sister on the swing asking how she came back to her original position! Mamma says I don't like science because I don't understand it and to an extent it's probably true but I've never thought I was worse off not understanding it. In many ways I'm extremely different from the rest of my family, at least when it comes to favourite subjects! I love History and literature! And my sister, even though she didn't continue with science still loves the subject. Same is the case with my grandparents! My mom, to some extent, is more normal than the rest but she believes if she tried to understand the subject again, she will definitely love it! ( by that, I mean physics!) So, here I am this little oddball, in the midst of my science loving family! Sorry my post was kind of random, nothing's really on my mind at the moment! So, I hope I write again soon! Maybe you'll see me on the 26th! So, till then, BYE!

Best Sweet Sixteen Ever!

I'm finally sixteen!!!!!!!!!!! This day was amazing! It was the best party ever!!!!! I don't think I've ever had more fun at a party! I cannot believe I wasn't looking forward to it!! I can't remember laughing as much as I did today! I take back my previous opinion! Sweet sixteens rock! I got the most amazing presents from my friends as well as my parents. This was possibly the best birthday of my life! Well, now I have to think of return presents to give to my mom and sister. I hope they tell me what they want. Knowing them, I have a pretty good idea of what they are going to ask me. My sister will ask for eternal slavery and my mom will ask for a foot massage everyday and a zillion hugs and kisses. The day just flew by and I didn't even realize it. I've been in a fantastic mood all day. Not a single tantrum from my side, although I did get angry when my mom told me I looked fat in the dress I was wearing. But then, who doesn't, right? Mamma says that it's my only vanity. Maybe becoming sixteen has changed me. Stranger things have happened! Who knows, maybe that can be one of my return presents, not making them deaf, I mean! I hope I'm still like this tomorrow! Even I don't enjoy the screaming much! It doesn't get me anything anyway! Anyway, I'll try to write tomorrow too!

I'm bored...

Sooo... I turn sixteen tomorrow. Old news, I know! But that's the only thing on my mind at the moment. God, I'm writing this while my sister is whining to my mom about something. They are telling me that as soon as I turn sixteen I should stop throwing tantrums and screaming at the top of my voice. Like it's that easy! Didn't I say in my last post that we don't undergo a rapid personality change as soon as we turn sixteen! Unless, of course, tragedy strikes or something like that! And anyway,I don't throw that many tantrums anymore. They just know which buttons to press to get my blood boiling. I know when my mom reads this she's gonna say there's very little that doesn't get my blood boiling and then follows the'no one can make you lose your temper, only you can'! It's not that easy! I admit I'm hot headed and lose my temper a lot but they can't keep egging me on like that. They totally drive me crazy. I mean, they tell me something that's meant to make me start yelling and I know they're trying to test me and I want to prove them wrong so badly, just for once in my life! It's almost eerie(and a little exagerrated)when my sister imitates me and it's creepy when they tell me what's going on in my head. Am I really that easy to read? I wish I wasn't. Oh! According to them I'm a very intrusive person. My sister calls me nosy Parker for God's sake! That's the limit! If anything they are hosier than I am. Anyway I'm signing off for now! See you later!

Why Sweet Sixteen?

Sorry I haven't posted anything in the longest time! I've had my pre-boards going on so I went on stand by. Wow! It's been a month since I've written anything. I've missed writing so much. Sooo..... I turn 16 this Saturday! I wonder why becoming 16 is so important for a girl. It's not like we can vote or get married or drink alcohol. So what's so special about being 16? And it's only special for a girl! Why aren't the other birthdays special??? and why does only 16 get an adjective! You know, sweet sixteen!! Why can't it be Outstanding One, Toothless Two, Talkative Three, Friendly Four, Fearsome Five, Sassy Six, Sunny Seven, Enthusiastic Eight, Troublesome Ten, Easy-Going Eleven, Tender Twelve, Trendy Thirteen, and so on and so forth? Why only Sweet Sixteen? It's not like the day a girl turns 16, her nature changes! It's not like her personality gets a makeover or something, right? According to Wikipedia sweet sixteens are a coming of age. Maybe abroad, yes. I mean, You can drive at 16 but in India? You can't drive until 18! And abroad you have ceremonies on sweet sixteen like the candle ceremony, the shoe ceremony, the tiara ceremony and the father-daughter dance. That's not something we do here. I mean, I know we could but I for one think it's kind of silly. Sweet but silly! Hey , maybe that's why they call it sweet sixteen! What do you think?

Just A Little Dream Of Mine!

I haven't blogged for quite a long time and thought maybe I should post something in the new year. So my mom and I were watching Gilmore Girls and we were discussing a character Jess- played by Milo Ventimiglia and I said that he also starred in Heroes as Peter Petrelli. That's when I proclaimed that I wanted to have superhuman abilities! My mom says having human abilities should be enough for me but I don't know... Wouldn't it be cool to fly or to heal as soon as you get hurt or to have dreams that can predict the future! I think it's very cool to have superpowers! I have always had a certain fascination with fantasy. You know like the Greek Gods being real and having kids with humans producing demigods, existence of Hogwarts, a school of magic and the most recent being vampires and werewolves ( The Vampire Diaries was a major contributing factor!). I,for one keep making up stories in my head about being the daughter of Apollo and fighting Laistrygonians and Kronos and various other monsters! I also fantasize about being a witch studying at Hogwarts! Just like Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley! It's been a dream of mine to battle Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange, attend McGonagall's transfiguration classes, marvel at Prof. Flitwick's shortness and of course, be a member of the Slug Club if Slughorn would let me! I guess it's one of those dreams which can only come true if I'm transported into a parallel universe! Like that's ever gonna happen! But hey! A girl can dream, right?