Tuesday 4 October 2016

Story of a wallet


A wallet apeared at the coffee table
seemingly ordinary and mundane.
Multiple hands pried at it
something wasn't right.

It contained all the ordinary things
money, coins and cards.
Not a thing was out of place
but something wasn't right.

It was brand new;
It wasn't torn, it wasn't soiled,
neither stuffed nor overused;
but something wasn't right.

It wasnt the only wallet there,
it didnt contain riches
It wasn't branded, infact, the opposite.
 Yes, something wasn't right.

It wasn't flashy, it wasn't cute,
it didnt have diamonds;
it even wasn't pink.
And that was what was wrong.

A woman carried a man's wallet
that was what was wrong.
A wallet was genderized
That was what was wrong.

Thursday 15 September 2016

Emotions

I was reading something the other day and it caught my attention. 
How many emotions can you name? Think about it, 5? 10?

Are those the only emotions you feel? 


Do you have the vocabulary to describe all the emotions you feel?

Do you know the meaning and exact feeling of all the below emotions?


Adoration
Alarm
Anger
Anticipation
Anxiety
Awe
Boredom
Compassion
Contempt
Confused
Curiosity
Despair
Disappointment
Dismay
Disgust
Dread
Eagerness
Embarrassment
Envy
Exasperation
Excitement
Fear
Fondness
Frustration
Gratitude
Grief
Guilt
Happiness
Hate
Hope
Horror
Hostility
Humiliation
Hysteria
Irritation
Irk
Joy
Love
Lust
Loathing
Misery
Panic
Passion
Pity
Pride
Rade
Regret
Resentment
Sadness
Scared
Shame
Shock
Shyness
Sorrow
Spite
Surprise
Suspicion
Terror
Vengefulness
Worry

Does English even have words for all the emotions that you feel?

What about the feeling you get when you have to get on stage to talk in front of hundreds  - My daughter calls it "nervous-cited" - Nervousness + Excitement. Just those two feelings ? That's an understatement. 

What about the feeling that occurs from a sudden realization of a grave mistake? The feeling where your heart seems to have dropped into your tummy and your body is all tingly? Is there a word for this feeling?

There are even many words for feelings in your mother tongue that you cannot translate to English. 

Then how do you communicate?

Friday 27 May 2016

Dreams, Stories and Mr. Murakami

Have you experienced something that you cant explain?

I have been able to successfully explain everything that I am feeling, everything that I want to say. I can put my thoughts to paper and convey the intent, may be not very eloquently, but pretty much. We all know that one person who very passionately explains something for a long time but then you have no idea what he/she is talking. You just don't get it. They ask "You know what I mean" and you nod, just not to be rude.

But I have something that I am not able to explain. This book - Blind willow sleepling woman by Haruki Murakmi. I cant explain this.
When I read a book I must be able to answer few simple questions.
"Is the book good?"
"Would you recommend it to someone else?".
I cant explain this. The answer should be simple - yes or no. Sometimes a "may be" followed by reasoning.
But Mr. Murakami? I don't know. I don't know.

I was drinking coffee at office with a friend and she could tell I was preoccupied.
I tried to explain this to her "I am reading a book, its a collection of short stories. You know its so frustrating to read". She stated simply, "Do you have to finish all the books that you start? Why dont you stop reading it?". I couldn't.

I went on to explain.

Very roughly speaking, a short story has a beginning, story buildup and an ending.
This book collection have stories that are like this. Follow me for a while please.
1) Just the beginning: The "story" goes on randomly for several pages but just 6 lines about the title itself, the story begins and that is it!! THATS IT.

2) beginning and build up, but no ending: They abruptly end without any closure. And then you are frustrated because you did not get your closure. And you read more, hoping that some other story has answers and you end up getting even more frustrated.


3) what's-the-point stories:
There are some stories that were so painful to read and I was wondering what was the point of writing it. Mr. Murakami is a critically acclaimed author. So there has to be something, right?

Story: A Perfect Day for Kangaroos
The whole "story" is about a couple who goes to the zoo to see a baby kangaroo in its mom's belly pouch. They buy some food and then they see the baby and mother kangaroo.

Story: A year of spaghetti.
A lonely man eats spaghetti every day of the year alone. 


OK .. 

Mr. Murakami seemed to be smiling through the pages and saying "There, you have a beginning, build-up and ending. Why are you complaining?" 

Are we being mocked?
This was crazy, I thought. Offcourse there has to be something, some more meaning to the story. Something intelligent that I just dont understand.


My friend looked at me like I was going crazy over a book. 
She didn't get it.

Are you one of those that remembers your dreams?

Dreams. 

You know those dreams that start safe, warm and slow; with people you know and then branches out, literally. 
To a place you have never been, to a situation that you are absolutely sure is dream like. 
You see people you have never met, places you have never been to, creatures you have not imagined.
You fight a poisonous multi limbed monster; you fear an ant.
You brave a huge wave in the sea; you drown in a pool.

Dream that makes you think that surely cant be happening, you are just in someone else's dream.

But you are in the dream, you are orchestrating it. You understand it. 
It all makes sense. But not after you wake up.

Dreams. They are not connected, they do not have a structure, they do not have a story. They are just random frames pieced together.
Or is it not? Is there a meaning?

Do you understand what I am saying?

Friday 22 April 2016

I was wrong about Kindle

I was wrong about Kindle.
I was wrong about not wanting to buy Kindle. Here is why:
  • Books are one-click away from reading, at any time of the day. I didn't realize it was this convenient.
  • You do not have to wait to find a bookstore or go to the library to get your favorite book. 
  • Kindle editions are much, much cheaper compared to the paper edition.
  • Love the vocabulary builder feature of Kindle. Simple tap to lookup a word in dictionary and it is stored in your vocabulary builder. 
  • Some books can be very heavy and a pain to carry around in handbag. Kindle is very light to pop it in handbag and pick anytime to read. Waiting in queues has never been so much fun.
  • It is much more ergonomic to read with my new kindle. I do not have to stress my wrist to scroll pages. All it needs is a light touch of finger to navigate. 
  • My new kindle even comes with an experiment browser that lets me check my mails and do quick google searches!! 
  • I can share my amazon account with my family and friends to share books with each other. 
  • Kindle comes with my favourite book social website - Goodreads. I can read and write reviews, share my books and find my next goodread from my kindle. 
Bonus: I got 5000 free e-books with my purchase which includes a lot of books from my to-read list and much more.