Friendships, me and the like....

A friend of mine wrote a while back about 'friendships going sour'. I could totally identify with it. I mean I am sure all of us or rather most of us have been in that awkward situation caused by something or someone where you don’t know what else to say, or to just walk away… you don’t know what to say that would make it right again, and somewhere you are even sure that things will never ever be the same again. If you have not been in such a situation, then lucky you!

Me – I have been in those situations a lot of times… Some of them have been for no fault of mine, and some of them were because we both saw separate roads and chose to take them… and few for maybe some fault of mine… and even fewer for reasons I still cannot fathom… but they have all had one thing in common. They have all led me to doubt myself at various points in time, wondering if something is the reason with me that stuff like this keeps happening… Of course the hurt too! In some cases!

For all my life, I had thought that friendships happen because of the wavelength-match between two people. In most cases I still do! But in some of the afore-mentioned cases, there have been weird conditions/causes due to which the so-called friendships did not work out. And it’s in those ones where the fault is for no reason of yours that it hurts the most.

But now when I think about most of them, especially the ones that hurt me the most, I find them funny. The reasons said and discussed then, the fights over things that seem so trivial now, and some are not even worth being said or discussed. And I wonder, how my life would have been if those people had still been friends with me. And some of them were people that I thought would turn out to be my best friends. I really did! I mean, at one point of time, we were so close that Damon and Pythias would have had a complex. And then shit happens! But either ways, I guess, things that happen, happen for a good. -I have come to a point in my life where I’ve realized who matters, who never did, and most importantly who doesn't anymore. And I'm not sad.

I thought I lost quite a lot of friends during the past few years, but then, thankfully, I have gotten back in touch with some of them recently enough and the rest of whatever happened seems to be a thing of the past! And I am really very glad about it. Some of those people were absolute gems! :-) I missed them when we were not in touch!

And I have people in my life right now, who not even in my wildest dreams I thought I would be best friends with, who are so close to me in one way or the other that without them, something seems to be missing! Thank god for you guys! :-)

Then and now...

Sometimes I think back about the past and wonder... Where are all those people that I was once friends with? The ones that I met during my course of college, school, clubs and get-togethers... the ones with whom I vowed that we would always be friends no matter what happens and wherever life takes us... 


I am one of the lousiest persons in the world when it comes to keeping in touch. I do! With very few people. On a regular basis. The others, well.. I lose contact within a couple of years... yeah! call me mean hearted and whatever, but that's the way I have been! Admittedly I am a lot better now! Getting back in touch with old classmates and people whom I thought had vanished off the face of this earth, thanks to networking sites like orkut, facebook, linkedin etc.. I at least scrap them or post a msg or a comment on their snaps or something to make my presence felt. 


But thoughts about those people whom I grew up with cross my mind a lot. 


Like, the "ettans" of the colony that I lived in until my tenth... Wonder what happened to that big gang, how many are married and have kids, where they all are now? Would they remember me from that scrawny girl that I used to be riding my cycle at breakneck speed through the rocky colony road and getting scolded... Do they still meet up for old times' sake?


Or the girls in my graduation college that I used to perform all the dances with... The dance gang as we used to be called... I met one of them when I was working in Hyderabad. We were in touch for say, 2 weeks, and then whoosh! Gone! I tried calling, she did not respond. Well whatever...


The guys at the Rotaract club who used to crack us up with their dumb pj's and stupid expressions... 


The girl from school who told me that 'she could not be my friend 'coz she was already friends with this other girl who did not like her being friends with anyone else'...


The instructors who taught us 'tableau' and 'drama' for those school competitions... 


The guys from the rival gang at CBE who used to constantly irritate us with stupid comments...


The girls in my class at school... the ones with whom I used to have lunch with everyday... 


I did try and find a lot of them very recently through facebook and orkut etc.. And of course I hear about a lot of others who are not on these sites from the ones I got back in touch with... Man! Have things changed? Have people changed through the years? :-)


This girl who was one of the best dancers when I was in school (my senior), now is of course happily married with a cute boy baby. I wonder if she still dances! Or whether her husband knows and appreciates the fact that his wife was once an award winning performer.


Classmates of mine, some who have not changed a lot... some who have lost/put on weight, have become more hep and trendy than I remember them to be... Really... girls I never expected to see wearing jeans and kurtas are now dressing up in skirts and jeans and t-shirts... quite an unexpected change, all for the good.. :-)


Its funny how much has changed from back then till now... 


But I guess, that's life! :-)

Stuck in the rut...

One of my 'New Year' resolutions is to blog more and blog regularly. That one I did not write for obvious reasons. But now, I think of it and its been a fortnight since New Years and I have just posted twice. Quite disappointing if I say so myself... 


It crosses my mind at least a couple of times a day that I should blog today but then, something turns up, or I am not in the mood, or worse still, I don't know what to blog about. Really, that's something that annoys me... What do I blog about next? 


Of course there are a lot of mundane topics, you know... like movie reviews, or what we did last weekend, the trip to Phuket and Phi Phi islands... (Next time, its gonna be Krabi... cant wait to do some rock climbing..), how I spend my time here etc etc... 


But they all seem so boring... 


God, I just hope I find something interesting to blog about soon...

Some pics from the vacation at Phuket.

These are the pics that I shot... :D :D


Yes I am narcissistic that way... My Blog... My Pics....


Shot of the sunset from the flight to Phuket

The Sleeping Buddha 

Shot of a cave on the way to James Bond Island

The fishing village next to James Bond Island

Phi Phi Island

The long delayed 2009 recap and the New Year post...

Yes it's long delayed. I have been meaning to post something about the year that passed us by and the upcoming year. But then I did not find time before we rushed to our New Year trip to Phuket and Phi Phi islands in Thailand (I am gonna rub this in quite a lot of times before the post comes to an end :-) ) and then after we came back, i was not quite in the mood to blog. Vacation hangover and all that you see! :)


But yeah, going ahead with the post... 


2009 for me was a year of changes. Some big ones (where I got married and moved to Singapore), some not-so-big but then still big enough for me ones (I quit my job and still waiting to find another one!). 


2009 started with a bang. Nice new years party at a colleagues place, chatting late into night etc etc, usual stuff. And then bang into the next week and our company is in deep shit. Along with it all our jobs too. Yes! Before you confirm, I was working for Satyam. 


And then the following months until I quit were full of confusion and rumors and all sorts of funny stories flying around. It was almost like being in a melodramatic film only that we were the characters. April I quit my job, moved bag and baggage to hometown and waited for a month to get married. Quite a bad month that was, not in terms of waiting but in terms of health. Then came May, I got married, moved here and set up a home here. Started experimenting with food and the like. (I can hear those sighs of sympathy for my hubby!) 


And so went on the rest of 2009. 


Now lets get to 2010. Yippee...


New year always fills me with excitement. The start of something new and the beginning of another year. Makes me feel like I want to start a lot of things, learn a lot etc etc...


We brought in 2010 at Phuket-Thailand. A pleasure trip with close friends and a helluva vacation. Had a wonderful time. Also the beach gets you to start contemplating. About the year that passed by. Flashes of things that happened. 


2009 was the year 


- that I got married. 
- quit my job
- got back in touch with a lot of old friends, classmates and some people I had given up hope of finding.
- had a great trip to India after marriage.
- visited Tirupathy and Kalahasti. 
- met a lot of new people, made friends with a few and learnt that its not that easy to hold onto friendships that you take granted for. 
- learnt that the older you get, the harder it is to find people matching your wavelength
- got interested in cocktails and cooking


And now in 2010, I want to start doing atleast a few of these things like,


- finish a couple of pending certifications
- become an excellent cook
- learn bar tending or at the very least mixing proper cocktails
- visit new places
- learn photography. I realized am quite ok at it and want to get better at it :)
- learn new types of dance 
- start incorporating photos into blog posts.


and the list goes on.......




So that was my long delayed post. 


Happy New Year to all of you :)


Hope you have a wonderful year ahead filled with good health, cheer and a whole lot of happiness.

The perils of growing up!!!

You know, I've always thought of myself as someone who is not too rigid about stuff, kinda dont-carish in a way, and someone who is ready for anything impromptu sorts. But in the recent past, I've noticed stuff about myself that is new to me. I was not like that! In fact I ridiculed people who were like that. And now I am one of them! 


I used to be the kind who was ready for any sort of plan at any time, someone who was not bothered about messy stuff, someone who could pull an all-nighter if required, sitting up and talking till dawn breaks out types. Now, not so much! 


I think twice before making some sort of plan with friends wondering if it would upset my daily routine. I hate it when the kitchen is a mess and there are dirty dishes lying in the sink. I can pull an all-nighter to an extent only that I really need atleast 6 hours of sleep after that. I prefer a small crowd of 4-5 people more than the huge gatherings that I used to like. I like spending time at home rather at going out. And worst of all I hate it when my routine or whatever I have planned for the time being gets disrupted. 


And I have no friggin' clue why! What do I attribute this change to? 


Marriage? Getting older? Or as my mom would like to say, She's finally grown up!! Argh!


As much as I try to be light-hearted and in the moment type as I was earlier, its becoming more and more difficult as days go by. 


I crave for stability and some sort of a routine these days! Of course there is a lot of routine stuff that happens! But you know what I mean! 


Ah well... the perils of growing up! Phew!

Do you think.. ??

--> Do you think, the older you become the harder it is to find people of your same wavelength? 


--> Do you think, the older you become relationships that you took for granted once become increasingly complex?


--> Do you think, the older you become the more hard it is for you to change your mindset about certain things?

Cocktails and Dappankoothu!!

My latest fascination is Cocktails and Dappankuthu songs. Yeah Yeah! I know they are worlds apart but don't ask me for any reasons! 


My ipod is full of dappankuthu songs and ever since I tasted the 'Singapore Sling' a couple of weeks back, I have this huge craze to start mixing cocktails.. As soon as I get the chance and money, I am going in for a bartending course, come what may!!


But for starters, how would Jal-Jeera mixed with an equal amount of Vodka poured over crushed ice and decorated with a sprig of mint leaves with salt on the rim of the glass taste?? 

The Twilight Appeal!!

Where oh where was this book all these years? Oh... I can't believe I found it so freakin' late in my life. 


But then now better late than never!! 


Can't wait to watch the second part of the movie. The first part was awesome. I am sure the second is going to be even better. :-)


Next week ... Before that I have to finish the 3rd and the 4th parts of the book..... 


Phew! 


I haven't been hooked onto a series like this since Harry Potter!! 

Our 'Kurbaan' for Kurbaan!!!

We just got back home after watching 'Kurbaan'. We had heard good reviews about it, the trailers looked promising and Saif being one of the actors, I was really keen to watch it. Good idea about the movie watching, you might think! I thought so too until we actually started went to watch it. 


No, this is not about how good the movie is or what the story is or even what kind of a review I am going to give it. I would have been able to give it a good review had I been able to watch it properly with some amount of concentration that I normally pay to a movie. Leave alone concentration, I just could not enjoy the movie. 


Have you ever gone to a movie that looked and sounded promising and entertaining only to have not enjoyed because of the audience reactions? I have! A lot of times! And more often than not, I have put up with it because some time or the other I have done it myself. Screamed for horror movies, laughed out loud for comedies, passed comments for movies that warranted it and in general had a good time at movies - the how and where of all of it taken into consideration. 


How would you rate 'Kurbaan' looking at the trailers? (I am asking this assuming that you've caught one of the trailers!) A movie dealing with a sensitive subject, taken in a dramatic and serious way and subject to a lot of mixed opinions. This is what I felt when I saw/heard about the movie first. But never in my wildest dreams would I have thought about it as a comedy movie like the group behind me that thought it was just that. Or a high-class romantic movie on the lines of 'Notting Hill' that the couple in the seats right next to our friends thought. 


Dear lady and gent who were in the seats next to where my good friends were sitting, I have a few things to point out to you. 


---> Look! I am all for understanding when you have reached the cinema hall late and you have to get to your seats which are situated right in the centre of aisle 'P or Q' or goddamn wherever! What I am not considerate about is the fact that you step on a whole lot of toes (literally!), spill the coke that is kept on the designated holder without even bothering to see where you are placing your leg and then move over without even apologizing for the fact that you did all this! Because woman or man, if I had my way then my cup of coffee would have found a place over your head! I mean it! 


---> Also, this was not a romantic movie. Guaranteed that there were a few romantic steamy scenes, but that does not give you the right or permission to hold your own romance in the midst of people trying to watch a movie on a sensitive issue. 


---> And once more for this to get into your thick head, you stepped on our toes (again literally and figuratively!) when you went out to buy popcorn and then did the same thing again when you came back to your seat. Seriously!! Do you not look where you place your feet? Really!! Next time, I will place the leftover cheese from my nachos combo right under your pointed heels so that you get the POINT!!! Once I can understand, twice I am ok with it but THRICE???  Jeez!!!


Dear group that were sitting right behind us in the theatre, some words of advice to you too.


---> If you are watching a serious movie, you are supposed to be a little serious when you are watching it. Did that make sense? It did to me! What's the meaning when you laugh at the fact that the guy has been shot and is dying or when the bomb has just blasted off half a station into smithereens? To me it does not mean that you make crude PJ's (poor/pathetic jokes) about it to diffuse the tension. 


---> My seat felt like it was on the Titanic, what with the shaking and prodding from behind. Remember, if you have long legs and you can't keep them in one place. try folding them over one another. It helps! It does not help when you stretch and your legs hit the seat in front of you and I scold my husband thinking its him who's doing the seat-shaking. 


---> I understand that you guys are funny and you use humor as a mechanism for diffusing tense moments, but some of us actually came to watch the movie and wanted to grasp the story being told in a totally uncritical way and you telling corny sad-ass jokes such as,


# Do you know why the guy put the cyanide pill in his mouth, its 'coz he wont be able to take it in his hand and put it in his mouth 'coz his hands will be cuffed. 


Duh! Like we did not know that! Who are you anyways, a dropout from the CBI??


# Oh! They are going to blow up the subways. Do you think they are talking about sandwiches? Maybe the bombs will be put in the sandwiches. 


Okie! What was that all about? Really?? I have heard my share of stupid PJs but that one there swept the awards for the worst joke of the century! 


# Pin-drop silence in the theatre when Saif and Kareena kiss! Silence for like almost a minute and a half. And then BHAM! laughter from the back row when they actually kiss! Now what is there to laugh about? Or did he show some technique there that you were not aware of? 


# Laughter and giggles at all the supposedly sad scenes when people get killed, cars are bombed, and every one is in trouble! Seriously, do you guys have a perverted sense of humor? And that's not just it. Classic 'herd-mentality' in action! One guy starts laughing, the rest join in and then 90% of the theatre is laughing for a scene which is filled with chaos and fire and dead people. Phew! 


I have watched my share of bad movies, I have commented on really really bad ones, created a ruckus in the theatre for movies that had something to cheer about, and generally had my share of merriment! But I have always been considerate of the crowd in and around and kept to my limits! 


This kind of behavior not only spoilt the mood for the movie, did not let us enjoy what could potentially have been a good watch, but irritated us to the extent that we kept on cursing the above fellas for making a Saturday evening start off on a sour note. 


Okie why end this on a bad note?!!?!


The movie is pretty good. Nice songs. Good acting and finally Vivek Oberoi in a sensible role. Saif has done a good job as usual. And also Kareena looks a little old. Kirron Kher has done a nice job and the dialogues though a little hard to follow - 'shudh hindi and a bit of urdu' - are very good. 


Aaaahhh!! Now I feel a lot better after venting it out here!! Phew! :D

Food haunts in Hyderabad!!

Do you like street food? You know, like the roadside paani-puri stalls, the hawkers selling samosas, local tea stalls where they give you the tea in dirty tea glasses? Ah! I thought so! I like them too ... They taste really yummy!!!


My exposure to street food began when I moved to Hyderabad for work. The flat that I was staying at earlier with my friends from college was in a lane that was filled with cheap and local food stalls where you get everything ranging from rotis to chicken to the ever-famous hyderabadi dum biriyani. Hyderabad has a lot of places where you can enjoy a great meal at reasonable dirt-cheap prices and the quality of the food will not be compromised upon either. But apart from that, for the street food that I am talking about, when and if you visit Hyderabad, do check out these places! 


I guarantee that you will like it. 


Now this list of places or eateries are not just street food or local delicacies. They are places that serve great FOOD. 


Disclaimer: this post can tend to get a little long.


Paradise's Chicken Biriyani. If you are in Hyderabad and you are a non-vegetarian, it would be a crime to miss this! This place serves the best chicken biriyani in Hyderabad. And take my word for it, it's awesome! If you like spicy food, when you place the order tell them to make it 'double masala'. Mmm.... :D


Just diagonally opposite to Paradise is a small nondescript vegetarian restaurant called 'Shree Dhaba'. The Paranthas here are mind-blowing. Prices are reasonable too. A little further down from Shree Dhaba is a paan shop where you get great paan called Dimmy Paan shop. They have an amazing variety of paans too. 


On the other side of Paradise is a sweet shop called Dadu's. The jalebis here are mouth-wateringly delicious. They make these hot-hot jalebis right in front of you. One of the best things that you can have when its raining. Also, they have amazing kulfis. And their sweets are out of this world. Really! 


Oh! also Paradise-chai. Best to have this early in the morning say around 6:30 sorts when you are on the way back from a journey. They ope at about 5:00 in the morning and the chai-biskoot is just out of this world. The biscuits just melt in your mouth. 


Okie ... If I start writing like this, I am never going to finish this post. So here's a better way. 


The Bengali paani-puri stall near Nalli's in Begumpet. After you fill your palate with those big puris ask the guy to make you masala puris. These are the dry puris and they taste amazing! 


Maharaja Chaat Bandar near the Kaveri water tank on the way to Hitec city near Madhapur. Try out paani-puris and dahi-puri here. Mind-blowing would be an understatement. 


Mirchi Bhajjis with Tamarind sauce spread liberally over them at 'Balaji Mithai Bandar' at Kukatpally shopping street. 


Chicken lollipops and Rumali rotis at Al-fatha Hotel in Karkhana.


Paani-puri, Sev puri at S.R.Nagar junction. Also the mirchi bhajjis with onions and chutney. 


Chicken Tikka Masala at Hunter's Roost - Yatri Nivas near Begumpet. 


Needs Dhaba in the bylane next to Lifestyle building in Begumpet. 


Punjabi Rasoi near Gachibowli junction.


Eat Street in Necklace road. Try the Ohri's stall there.


Breakfast Bundis at KBR Park. The egg dosa and the onion dosa there is out of this world. 


Right opposite to Motorola building in Hitec city is a small gully that leads to a few places that serve food for the office-goers. Try one of these for good telugu meal with pappu, rasam, podi, etc.


Guntur Idli at the Chutneys restaurant.


Try out juices at the Rasranjan Juice Stall in Abids. Try out the strawberry juice there. Its just brilliant. 


And now for the best of the lot. 


There's this place in Koti where they have these breakfast bundis. You get there at like 7:00-7:30 in the morning and start off by ordering a plate of idlis. I am telling you, they are the best in the world! No, not even mom makes idlis like these! I am sorry Amma! The guy gives you about 4 idlis in a plate topped with chutney and podi sprayed liberally. Oh My God! Thinking about it makes my mouth water. If I can manage 2 plates of those idlis, then think about how good they must be! And idli is never one of my favorite dishes. It falls into my sick-man's food category. But this one... Mmmm... you can just keep eating it... 


And once you are done with the idlis, move over to the shop right at the corner of the street and ask for a 'Paneer Dosa'. Let me explain how this guy makes this amazing mind-blowing, out-of-this-world dosa. He puts batter onto a tava greased with oil, spreads a mixture of the idli podi and chilly powder on top of it, puts a big chunk of masala (the ones they use in a masala dosa - aloo, onions etc) on it, evens it, puts a big blob of butter on that, lets the butter melt over the dosa and then grates paneer over it like no one's business until there's like a huge chunk of paneer on it until you ask him to stop. He just keeps grating it. Phew! And then, he rolls over the edges of the dosa and hands it over to you on a plate with 2 types of chutney. 


Okie I cannot write anymore. Just thinking about it makes me feel hungry and craving for the dosa. Phew! 


Anyways, next time I go to Hyderabad, I will make sure to take a video of this. Its worth it.  Trust me! 


Now I gotta go eat something. Writing about all that food has made me hungry! 


Until later!! :)

Dance performances that stand out!!

Oh! I forgot to mention which performances in particular I like, in the last post. 


Here goes! And yeah, these dances are ones that will stay evergreen forever for me! I have my own reasons for liking these performances and they might not be conventional but they are all related to dance. 


--> Shobhana's dance performance in "Manichitrathazhu - Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya."


--> Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey's final dance performance in "Dirty Dancing - I've had the time of my life!"


--> Hrithik Roshan's dance for the title song of "Dhoom 2"


--> Madhuri's dance for the title song in "Aaja Nachle"


--> Aishwarya Rai's performance in "Bunty Aur Babli - Kajra Re"


--> The scene from "Salangayoli" where Kamal Hassan dances in front of his daughter in different dance forms criticizing a performance she gave!


--> Prabhu Deva's dance in the hall of the house where Nagma stays, showcasing his idea for the Chidambaram Dance Festival, in "Kaadhalan" when he proves a point. 


--> Mohanlal in "Kamaladalam"


--> Revathy in "Devasuram" when she performs in anger. 


--> Revathy in "Punnagai Mannan" when she dances for the entire night to prove that she was passionate about dance.


--> The final dance sequence of "Step Up 2"


--> Shahid Kapur's dance in "Jab We Met - Mauja Hi Mauja"


--> Karisma Kapur's competitive streak in "Dil Toh Pagal Hai - Dance of Envy"


--> Madhuri Dixit in "Dil Toh Pagal Hai" when she dances to Shahrukh's drum beats.


--> All dance sequences in "Singin' in the Rain"


--> The dance party in the lower decks on the "Titanic" with Di Caprio and Kate Winslet.


--> Britney Spears in "Hit me baby one more time!"


--> Ganesh Hegde in "Main Deewana"


--> Abhay Deol and Minnissha Lamba in "Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. - Pyaar Ki Ek Kahani Suno"


Hmmm... These are all that come to mind now and these are the ones that I keep going back and watching on Youtube. 


If you think some more should join this list, feel free to let me know! :-)


Shall keep adding as and when I think of other performances. 

The Western Yodhas and their Brilliant Choreographers. You guys ROCK!!!

There are only very few things that can get me as enthused as a great dance performance. My friends who know me well enough can vouch for this. For me, nothing else is as exciting as a stunning outstanding performance. It fills me up with this kind of excitement that anything else does not come this close. 


There are of course a lot of performances for me that stand out from the rest, both in cinema and in other programmes that I've watched. Whether its any dance programme or dance competition on television, a good performance can leave me filled with high energy for the next couple of hours and an upbeat mood. And some of the dancers who participate are truly mind-blowing. 


There's this dance show on sony television that's being telecast - Dance Premier League or DPL as its known. Six teams. Dance matches. Two big judges. Just another usual dance competition based on the format of the IPL. But there's this one team that truly stands out from the rest - The Western Yodhas. 


Seven guys. One girl. Two Brilliant choreographers. You should see these guys to believe it. 
Oh man! What a group. What a set of dancers. They are the best in the whole competition. Without a doubt. Each one of them. And that includes Vishal who is handicapped. Looking at him no one could say that he cannot hear or speak. Hats off to them. Really! These guys rock!


Here are two videos that will vouch for what I say! Just watch it and they will speak for themselves.


Harshal and Vitthal - choreographers of the Western Yodhas.





And finally the TEAM!!!





Enjoy!! :D


PS: Video courtesy: www.youtube.com

Ok... I finally found a tag. And I did it! :)

You know... for the past 2-3 days I have had this urge to do a tag! I was obsessed to say the least! I browsed through a lot of people's blogs to find out that one tag that I really really HAD to do. 


And then I found this.  :-)


Any surprises that it's related to reading... Lol... I was so thrilled when I saw this! 


So here goes, without much further ado, finally I am doing a tag... yippee! (yes! I get excited at small things!)


Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
I wish I could be all smart and say that, I knew I had a taste for it when I picked up my first book... But nope. 


The answer to this would be I don't know, rather I don't remember how I developed a taste or love or passion for reading. All I know is that ever since I was really young, I have been reading! 

What are some books you read as a child?
Hmm.. When I was a kid I used to read Tinkle, Chandamama, Champak, Gokulam etc. My  great-aunt then gifted me a hard-bound book which contained issues of a magazine called Treasure Chest. I loved that book. It had a whole lot of stories of a range of myriad topics. Then I continued onto Enid Blyton, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and some good classics like Jane Eyre, etc. Also read some easy to understand versions of Shakespeare's novels. by the time I finished these, my so-called childhood ended.

What is your favourite genre?
I enjoy books that are hard to put down. A good thrilling page-turner would be my favorite any day over a romance. I like books which have a lot of facts and trivia thrown in and set within the pace of the story. But yeah, mostly I like the mystery genre. 

Do you have a favourite novel?
I have a lot of 'em. I have this weird habit of reading the same books over and over again. I have no problems with that and I never get bored. My all time favorite novel would be 'Godfather' by Mario Puzo. I would have read this book atleast 20 times by now and I still don't get bored.

Where do you usually read?
Mostly in my bedroom, before I am about to sleep. But the place does not really matter. I can read anywhere and everywhere if a book is really that interesting.

Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?
Earlier - No. These days - Yes. Some of the books that I have picked up recently were not that interesting and then therefore before I finished them, I started off with another. 


But normally I like to stick onto one book and finish it before I begin another.

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
Huh.. Okie.. this one I don't understand! 


I don't normally read a lot of non-fiction unless I HAVE to (read MBA!) or if they have gotten really rave reviews or if its a topic that I am really interested in.

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?
All three. When I was in Hyderabad, I used to buy books. Like every month, I would buy atleast 5-6 books. But here, I have joined the library and that is what I am doing currently. but of course if someone I know has a book that I want to read, or one that they recommend I read, I borrow it.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?
Yes Yes Yes!! :) I love collecting books.

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?
Will let you know the answer to this one in a decade or so! :P

What are you reading now?
Six Suspects - Vikas Swarup.
Critical - Robin Cook
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath

Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?
Hmm.. Not really! I just pick up books that catch my interest when I am browsing through the shelves. Unless its an author that I read and enjoyed before and I have to read them again

What books would you like to reread?
Anything. Comics like Archies, Tintin, Asterix. Classics like Jane Eyre, Little Women. Thrillers and Mysteries. 
Actually I don't know why I am making a list. I reread most books that I have read.

Who are your favourite authors?

Okie.. this is going to be one long list...


Enid Blyton. J.K.Rowling. Jeffrey Archer. Sidney Sheldon. David Baldacci. James Patterson. Mary Higgins Clark. Mario Puzo. John Grisham. Chitra Divakarunni Banerjee. Judith Michael. 
Dan Brown. Sophie Kinsella. Ashok Banker. Abhijit Bhaduri. Chetan Bhagat. And many many more. let's just suffice to say I love them all. :-)


I hereby tag Poornima, Soorya, Vaishnavi, Srinidhi,Gasper and anyone else who shares a love for reading and wants to do this. 

Done and Dusted!! :)

Okie it's been a long time since I did something like this. And 'something like this' translates to starting a book and finishing it in a couple of hours. 


So yeah! I did that - Just finished a James Patterson book, 'Fourth of July' in the span of 2.5 hours. Phew! Right, admitted its not a great book, actually its just an okay book, but then I did finish it! :D


I actually like James Patterson's books. But only those that he authors all by himself. None of the co-authoring books and this one that I finished now was a book that was co-authored. 


But his books like 'Kiss the girls' and 'Along came a spider' are all truly good reads!


Check them out sometime!


And as for me... 


I am onto my next book - 'The Six Suspects' - Vikas Swarup. Yes! The same guy who wrote 'Q & A' now known as 'Slumdog Millionaire'. I quite enjoyed reading 'Slumdog Millionaire'. I hope the same can be said for this one too.. :-)