Top 5: Children's books

For a person who loves books, I think every child must be exposed to this world of literature and knowledge.

Here's my list of five books you must gift your child.

Heidi.

A simple tale of a 6 year old orphan left in the charge of her stoic and reclusive grandfather, and later forcedly taken away by her aunt to work for a rich family. It's a tale of friendship, bonding relationships and beautiful people. Girls will love it.

ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. So, does in matters of books. It's a perfect escape from serious studies. It's fun to read, and easy to understand. Full of laughter and good morals. Boys will enjoy it.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.

A book both boys and girls will treasure. It's a world of love, friendship, mending relationships and choosing the right course of action. Full of morals, humour, and fantasy. It's my favourite.

Top 5: Children's Books

Continued from my previous blog.

Here's the end list of books I believe every child must read if you wish to inculcate the love and habit of reading in them.

THE JUNGLE BOOK.

Let your child join Mowgli in his everyday adventures of jungle life as he learns of love, friendship, respecting elders, expressing feelings and maintaining relationships from the jungle animals. Full of love, morals and fun. Must for boys, but girls might enjoy it too.

CHILDREN'S OMNIBUS.

A rich and entertaining collection of short stories by Ruskin Bond, traversing various situations, adventures, emotions and phases of children's lives. Full of morals, thought provoking questions and lovely setting. Both boys and girls will enjoy it.

Your favourite fruit too speaks.

Like your favourite colour even the fruit you love says a lot about you.

In main food you may like opposite to your nature but your pleasure does sync with your personality.

SOFT AND SWEET.

Like banana, grapes, custard apple, chikku, etc that are really pliant and full of sugar, are usually liked by people who are very soft at heart and sweet tongued. Easy to handle and loved by all.

CRISPY AND CRUNCHY.

Like Apple, Peach, Guava, Nuts, etc who require little effort and are a perfect balance of taste, texture and nutrition, are loved by people who are strong and bold, who are friendly but at their own terms and serve special purposes with elan.

TOUGH AND TROPICAL.

Like Pomegranate, Jack Fruit, pineapple, etc that need considerable effort, tact and patience to be enjoyed are the favourites of people who require the same treatment from you to benefit from their company. You must prove how much you value them to win their appraisal.

Leaf

A simple verse that I composed in my dream:

"A leaf falls from the tree,
finally glad thinking it is free,
alas!only a moment of life,
then drown in the deep sea".

Memories

"I Shouldn't have re-trudged the path,
And unearthed buried memories.
Oh! They are still so precious like pearls and Nacre of the deepest sea.
But all are lost to me,
out of my reach.
oh! Why did I retrudge this path,
and unearth these memories?

Peace

It's so peaceful when your heart is at peace with yourself.
When it isn't warring with you.
When it isn't wallowing in seasons of the past.

When you can observe the little changes around you,
Without your mind attaching silly hopes to it.
When you stop seeking signs
In moments completely irrationale.

When your mind doesn't wander unbidden,
When the passage of time is simply that.
When you can rein your emotions to gallop only where they are safe,
When you can think of a time
Without forgotten moments forging your brain.

When your shields against pain are up
With a simple shake of your head,
When all pains are just physical,
And when your heart doesn't shrink under your breath.

When all acts are only only mechanical or biological,
When you don't get maudlin or morbid about simply complexities at hand.
When you simply live for yourself and those around you.
When your heart is at finally at peace with yourself.

Top 5: Enigmatic Characters

Not all heroes are charismatic, and not every other character merely for support.

Here are my favourite Top 5 characters with the zeal and the zest.

Estella of Great Expectations.

She is one character who rules the roost in this novel. Her stoned heart, or her sincere discouragements, she is enigma personified.

Hassan of The Kite Runner.

I honestly think whether such characters exist. He's so pure, so perfect, so brilliant...just like a lotus in a mush.

Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

A benchmark character with a enigma still unmatched. There's a galaxy of characters inspired by him but even today when you read the novel you know there's none like him.
Severus Snape of Harry Potter series.

Created as an antagonist only to reveal his true colour postmortem, he won millions of heart with his dour, dark and snarky persona. And only a few must have believed he was evil before the end.

Sherlock Holmes of  Sherlock Holmes series.

Who doesn't know him? Who doesn't love him? The famous detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is enigma personified.

Famous repertoire

So many classics have given us a galaxy of unforgettable words. These are my favourites:

JULIUS CAESAR
  by SHAKESPEARE.

"Et tu, Brute! Then fall Caesar."
 
    --- Julius Caesar to Brutus

MACBETH
  by SHAKESPEARE

"Not all the perfumes of Arabia can sweeten these little hands!"

   --- Lady Macbeth during sleepwalk

THE KITE RUNNER
   by KHALED HOSSIENI

"For you a thousand times over."
  
--- primarily Hassan to Aamir

LORD OF THE RINGS
  by TOILKEN

"Not all those who live are worthy of life. And neither all the dead deserved to die."

   --- Gandalf to Frodo.

HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS
   by J.K. ROWLING

"Words are the most powerful magic known to man. They can either make or mar lives."

--- Dumbledore to Harry

Deforestation

A haiku about the onslaught of human civilization on nature.

"A Sparrow knew not
Where to go, where to re-start
his nest they had fell"

Rain havoc

The recent cyclonic rain affecting Tamil nadu inspired me to write this one.

"Like some cursed weapon,
clouds sheathe my land with rain and dew
god! Forgive us"

Top 5: favourite authors (Indian)

For a person who loves books like gems, it would be unfair to not dedicate a blog post to her favourite Indian authors.

These are my top 5 in the list.

Ruskin Bond.
An exemplary author in English. And if you are Indian you must have grown up reading his stories as part of your curriculum itself. Each story has a life and feel of their own. His Children's Omnibus is a bestseller.

PREMCHAND.
The noted Hindi author whose every book, every story, and every memoir is a bestseller. His stories are full of emotions, morals and depict very commonplace events and people who can make or mar a life.

KUVEMPU.
The legend who composed the state anthem of Karnataka, and is a hero for the state's citizen, actually hails from a small village for Masti. He is the definition of success. The numero uno of Kannada literature.

Top 5: coffee table reading

Note: This is not an official list. Only my favourite English novels I love to read on a lazy evening for mere delight of it.

THE ULTIMATE GIFT.
Jim Stovall presents us with a light hearted tale of a octagenarean who leaves his great grandnephew a legacy of lessons as a gift of various nature to become a better person. Warm, emotional and beautiful in every way.

EARTHSOUND.
A science suspense drama set in present age on a remote island, a scientist unravels the prediction of earthquake, dislodges few blind beliefs and saves his family and friends in a tension building narration and an intelligent storyline.

THE DEVIL'S ALTERNATIVE.
A intelligent political drama between international super powers and a group of rebellions. It is a turmoil of tangled emotions, ethics and loyalty, and above all a story of humanity and manipulation. The bittersweet ending is what makes it an exception.

Top 5: coffee table reading II

Note: This is not an official list. Only my favourite English novels I love to read on a lazy evening for mere delight of it.

IN HER SHOES.
A tale of two sisters opposed to each other like day and night. The elder is the proverbial girl-next-door with an impressive job and fair values, looking for some true love to marry. The younger is a tomboy, fashionista with no job, no worry or purpose in the world and always indulging in flings. It's how their worlds turn upsidedown and their find their treasures in places least expected. Beautiful read.

LOVE STORIES THAT TOUCHED MY HEART.
A anthology of mesmerizing short stories by upcoming Indian authors with tales ranging from love, hurt, deceit and redemption. You will enjoy it. My word.

Top 5: cartoon strips II

Continued from previous post.

Note: This is not an official list. Only my favourite cartoon strips I love to follow in newspapers published in India.

MARVIN.
Not many might know this but this is printed in Deccan Herald and is the everyday quirks of a less than an year old toddler. Funny and lighthearted, it is a perfect reprieve amidst pages filled with disturbing, shocking, and serious facts.

GALVIN.
Who doesn't know this cat, or love his lazy, witty interludes. He's a king of satire, and comedy.

DENNIS THE MENACE.
A star mischief maker 5year old who turned 100 a few years ago, he is a sure heart winner and spreader of joy and laughter unlimited. His mere expressions are enough.

Top 5: Novels

Note: This is not an official list. Only my favourite English classic novels I love to to read.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS.
The amazing bestseller by Charles Dickens, full of emotions, suspense, drama, angst, humour and romance. It's numero uno in my list. A complete saga with full of enigmatic and well known and well loved characters, I highly recommend it to all.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.
A benchmark romance by Jane Austen, and an array of heart winning characters, so lovely that we actually connect with it and dream of such love stories.

THE KITE RUNNER.
Khaled Hosseini outdid himself with this debut novel of his. It changed my perspective of life and people. Every character, every scene, every plot touch your heart and leave a lasting impression.

Top 5: Novels II

Continued from previous post.

Note: This is not an official list. Only my favourite English classic novels I love to read.

SHERLOCK HOLMES.
A magnum opus series of detective cases and drama by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it is a class above the rest. The characters, the tension, the high end suspense and warm emotions make this a must in every collection.

LORD OF THE RINGS.
Superior in drama, plot, characters and narration, this trilogy by Toilken, is an experience, not just a read. Set way into the future, it is so full of notions that disturb and delight us even today. I would give anything to own a copy of it.

Disappointing Bannerghatta

I had been first time to this awesome National Park near Bangalore via a school trip and I was swept off my feet.

Such exotic animals, such dedicated staff, such convenience and caution, I love that place.

So, I was all praise of this place when I returned home and was delighted when my family decided to visit it over the holidays.

On a Tuesday morning, we all set out to revisit the wild beauties, but alas! When we arrived it was closed for the day. It was the allotted rest day for the animals and I had overlooked the notice board. The whole trip turned out to be for naught.

I understand with the locals teeming in on weekends and the tourists preferring the lesser crowded Monday, the animals must be frayed to exhaustion. And for the safety of everyone concerned it is wise to give them a day's rest. Wish I had not overlooked the board.

I've dreamt of visiting that amazing Park ever since.

Way to go, Grandma!

This incident happened a few years ago, and it increase my awe for my paternal grandmother by degrees.

My grandmother usually visits my uncle in Mumbai during my cousin's holidays. And if escorted to and from the stations and seen to her seating arrangements, she completes her journey unchaperoned.

But this time it so happened that while had fallen asleep, the train had encountered a serious problem and had to divert its route thus skipping our junction. Unaware my grandmother couldn't get down at the station nearest to us and when she did wake up, the train had already taken a detour and was heading to Salem in Andhra Pradesh.

Doing the most sensible thing she could, she alighted at Salem and telephoned us from a PCO explaining her situation. But being a miser too, she disconnected the line without hearing our plans or what she intended to do.

Here we were in complete chaos searching for a hired cab in the middle of the night, and trying to contact our relatives nearest to her.

Meanwhile, my grandmother had very calmly boarded a bus to our hometown KGF and completed the rest of the journey with ease.

She arrived near dawn all hale and hearty much to everyone's surprise and relief, without a line of worry or exhaustion on her face.

Top 5: Cartoon strips

This is not an official list. Only my favourite cartoon strips I love to follow in newspapers published in India.

THE COMMON MAN.
created by the amazing L. K. Laxman, this one figure stories portraying a typical middle class public life of Indians is not only entertaining and amazing, but speaks of such reality and drama. It's wonderful.

CALVIN AND HOBBES.
A short strip dwelling on the everyday pranks and muses of a 6year old Calvin and his dialogues with magically endowed speaking toy-a stuffed tiger, Hobbes. It's not only entertaining and witty, even quirky at times but real intelligent humour and lovely in every way.

Why Dreams and Butterflies?

I chose this title because it encompasses the entire foray of my blogs perfectly.

Dreams and Butterflies are two elements that are so contrasting in so many ways yet compliment each other so beautifully.

Dreams aren't real yet we sometimes dwell on them for even eons; on the other hand, Butterflies are very much a reality but often they are ignored into oblivion.

Dreams inspire, encourage, torment and even warn us. Butterflies serve, guide, soothe and delight us.

So, even my blogs will dwell on all things beautiful and not so beautiful. In between such reality and fiction, such delights and despair, hopes and fears, love and hurt we shall endeavour to make our world a better, lovelier and healthier place.

Just like Dreams and Butterflies are wont to do.

Treasure lost

A poem I composed a few months ago with some recent improvisation.

"I Shouldn't have re-trudged the path,
And unearthed buried memories.
Oh! They are still so precious like pearls and Nacre of the deepest sea.
But all are lost to me,
out of my reach.
oh! Why did I retrudge this path,
and unearth these memories?"