Love affair with books – then, now & forever

15 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in World of Books & I

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alfred hitcock, amar chitra katha. chandoba, books, childhood, Crossword, enid blytom, famous five, hobby, Landmark, library shelf, maximum comments, paise, phantom comics, Reader

Age 13 and 10 respectively – My brother and I decided to hoard our own library.

Ingenious plan: Papa promised us a new book every summer vacation (… provided we earned it with glowing report cards, obviously.) Only one book apiece! It was a grand beginning. BUT it was woefully inadequate for 2 voracious book-vorous animals. Then we had a brainwave.

If not brand new, Continue reading →

Hello, you old friend!

31 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Spirituality

≈ 37 Comments

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ambition, childhood, cynicism, death, dreams, hope, innocence, Life, maximum comments, promises, stress

‘’Hello, old friend. You failed me.’’

She perched on the edge of the window. Fragile, petite. Huge eyes fenced by inch-long eyelashes. Hauntingly familiar.

I reached to pat her fluffy cheeks, but she dodged it with a lithe ballerina twist, “You promised to teach me dance. You never did.”

I sighed, ‘Kiddo, I tried. We completed 3 levels, remember? “

“But not all 7 levels.”

“You know Life – exams, peer pressure, cut throat competition, corporate world. The innumerable whirlpools that suck one down – Stress, worry, hurry, deadlines, projects. Priorities change.”

She stifled a giggle, “Life has you dancing to its deadlines,” Then she sobered down, “You do know that your Life has its deadline in Death Continue reading →

Arjun – in his Image and Likeness.

24 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Arjun Related posts, Mahabharata, My Pencil-sketches, Random Musings

≈ 38 Comments

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amitabh bachchan, Arjun Related posts, arjuna, clark gable, feroz khan, howard roark, Mahabharata, maximum comments, rhett butler, shaheer sheikh, sherlock holmes

Do you blur the line between an idolized character and an actor portraying him?

Vanaprastham – The Last Dance is a Malayalam film where Mohanlal, a Kathakali artist finds solace in theatre.

Once, his audience includes Subhadra (Suhasini) of an aristocratic family. In love with the valiant warrior Arjun of Mahabharata, she personifies Mohanlal as her dream hero. The eventual affair leads to the birth of a son. However, Subhadra content to be pregnant with the seed of Arjun – her idolized version, rejects the flesh & blood Mohanlal.

The storyline struck a resonance within me.

I remember going to a late-night Marathi musical Saubhadra, based on Continue reading →

Atheism to theism – via a man and a meal.

07 Monday Jul 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Arjun Related posts, Mahabharata, Spirituality

≈ 45 Comments

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Born to a theist Papa and an atheist Mom, I had the luxury of choice. I chose to be an atheist.

Being a science student automatically made me lean heavily towards ‘proof and results’. Temples contributed liberally to my disgust of theism. Think impatient Pujaris (We are the proprietary middle-men to Heaven.) Think lecherous peddlers (A hundred rupees note will get you instant darshan, Madam!) Think repugnant God-men (I distinctly remember meeting one with red eyes, grey beard and saffron robes. When I and my brother refused to genuflect, his eyes darkened in incredulous rage. P.S: The only en’light’ment he saw must be at the end of his ganja–chillum!)

Meanwhile a wily God with a zany sense of humor decided to ensnare me with two most unlikely baits. A man and a meal… Continue reading →

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