P.S. I Love you - Cecelia Ahern

Reading is one of the hobbies which keep me occupied when i actually feel bored. It keeps me company when i feel all left alone. Books are no doubt said to be man's best companions. I will not say that i am a voracious reader considering the fact that i have seen people so absorbed with reading, i can find then with books wherever they go, but yes i can say i read a good number of books to say that they are my best companions. Ok fine... I never thought i would be writing a review or an abstract of a book, but some books are so naturally adorable, that you just cant stop mentioning about them.

I normally read the brief description behind the book before purchasing one. And it so happens that i end up picking up books which have an intriguing storyline or the one having some information related to leading life peacefully. I was never a reader of Mills and Boons and hence do not read romantic stories. I happened to go to Odyssey store in Pune to buy some novels to satiate the reader in me. I bought a variety of books and then happened to see the book P.S. I Love you - by Cecelia Ahern. "Oh! Another of those love stories" i thought... but on second thoughts thought of reading the prologue. Instantly the subject seemed to be intriguing and i thought of buying the book.

The book tells the story of a Gerry and Holly. A lovely couple who were childhood sweethearts, married to be inseparably in love for seven years. And then as fate would have it, Gerry dies due to a brain tumour leaving Holly devastated... The once bubbly Holly now forgets to live. She forgets to eat making her all bones. She forgets all the charms of life and starts living life like a zombie.

Holly finds no meaning in life till she gets a package given to her by her mother. After opening the package she comes to know, that her dear Gerry is still with her. He has written her some 8 letters each to be opened on the 1st of every month. These contain tasks to be done which she would earlier either be embarrassed off, dread or just yearned to do.

The author has written the book in a clear crisp language, and you feel as if Gerry and Holly come alive and the book starts unfolding their life right before your eyes.
After reading quite a number of books, i felt this was the book which directly touched my heart and make me feel that life is just not about working, hating and criticizing, but there is just more of life to love, be loved and enjoy the company of your dear ones. The author has portrayed a beautiful story in simple words which looks so realistic.

Ok coming back to our Holly, Gerry even in his absence drives Holly out of the lonely life that she has put herself in. His letters are like the Bible to her, she follows each and every command mentioned to her by Gerry. Gerry in turn knowing Holly in and out, has written all those things for her to follow that she has either been fearing to do or just wanted to do from her heart...

She has bad memories earlier of a Karaoke concert in which she makes a fool of herself. But, following Gerry's advice she enrols herself again and faces the fear she had felt about it... Gerry also before dying arranges a voyage for her along with her friends. This was the one she was so eager to have earlier...

Holly starts living her life slowly... In one of the letters, Gerry makes Holly take up a job(unlike the one she had earlier which she used to hate) that she whole heartedly likes. She starts supporting herself...

Also there are her family members whom she never felt so close before as she felt now... She spends time with her brother(whom she always disliked), her sister( whom she never was in sync with)... her dear brother whom she adored so much... her mom and her dad who support her so much. Her friends who are there for her in such bad times of her.

Then there is this guy whom she starts liking... But then the guy is passing through a rough phase of relationship and then, finally makes up with his wife. And in the end Holly is shown to have become more strong mentally... her relations have taken a new dimension and she lives her life remembering Gerry and the time that she spent with him.

The author has so diligently highlighted the events in Holly's life that it makes you feel like her life is slowly unfurling in front of you. The turn of events in her life makes you think about your life. How would one cope if such a tragedy befalls him/her? I couldn't stop tears from flowing down my cheeks reading some of the pages... The book churns out the stronger of the human emotions... Love, Friendship, relations and life itself...

So... I'd say, this book is a must read for people who feel they can't live without some special person. Its for those people who have a stronger inclination to emotionally connecting storylines. This book will remain in my ever increasing collection as the one which made me see life through a different angle. Kudos to you Cecelia...

TV serials close to my heart..

A couple of weeks ago I was going through some blog regarding the favorite TV serials the author used to enjoy watching. The author mentioned some serials like Nukkad, Buniyaad, Hum Log etc... I have a faint memory of Hum log being played when i was small... but they are very faint memories and i don't remember the story at all...

I thought it would be really cool to post the list of serials i enjoyed watching right from my childhood till now. Though now, it is very rare that i watch any serial, and even if i do, i lose interest so very soon due to the same boring storyline and same "women-are-always-vamps" plots. Though there are a couple of stories i do watch now and then, and i'd definitely like to share my thots across on this blog.

As i said, i don't much remember the Nukkad's and the Buniyaad's... What i remember watching when i was a bit old were serials like Waagle ki duniya, Hum panchi ek Daal Ke, Mr Yogi, Mongeri laal ke haseen sapne, Kakkaji Kahe etc. There were all time favorites like Chitrahaar which used to be broadcast every Wednesday and i remember completing my homework right on time so tht mum would allow me to watch it. Another craze was ChaayaGeet, the old Hindi songs used to be telecast. And yes, Rangoli at 7 on sunday morning... Though Rangoli is still telecast, it has lost all his antique touch, no longer excites me...

Waagle ki Duniya... i remember we used to all watch it... those were the times when there was no Cable TV and we had compulsorily had to watch the good old DD1. The entire family used to sit together to watch Wagle and his antics. Even today when i see Anjan Srivastav on TV, i fondly refer to him as "Wagle". "Mr Yogi... Mr Yogi..." The title song would play and i would start singing along with it. Mohan gokhale played an excellent role in it, and when he passed away at a very young age, we still referred to him as Mr Yogi... So also i remember Om Puri as "Kakkaji".

Another serial i remember watching was Oshin, the story of the Japanese(or chinese?) girl. I used to not understand the wordings so much, but i used to love watching tht sweet girl :). Then there was Alif Laila which used to be played late night at around 11pm(imagine 11 pm was late night at that time). I used to bear all my Mom's scoldings to watch that serial. There was Shekhar suman's Reporter and Dekh Bhai Dekh that i used to love watching.

Ajnabi was my favorite serial which used be telecast on monday night at 10. Danny, Sooraj Thapar and that cute female... And yes, how can i forget Shakur Rana.. My blood used to boil when i used to see him :).
Mitti Ke Rang was a serial of all short shories...Arun Govil as Vikram of Vikram and Betaal...Sudesh Berry in Suraag...
Then here it comes... "Ta na na tana na na na... tana na na na na na na..." Malgudi days. Oh Gosh... i feel like going back to those old DD1 days...

Detective serials were so interesting... Byomkesh Bakshi , Sam D'silva with "Gopi" as his assistant in Tehkikaat etc etc. hey and yes... Mile sur mera tumhara... to sur bane hamara... Can you remember Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar singing it?

The mythological serials were so nice... Ramayan, Mahabharat etc... Chandrakanta, was one serial i used to never miss... It used to be telecast on Sunday at 10 in the morning. Chandrakanta and the Prince and all those wizards and conspiracies...it used to be followed by all the serials for kids... I remember watch Potli Baba ki, alice in Wonderland, duck tales and yes, who can forget Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book and Mowgli, Bagera, all the monkeys and the wolves?

Saturday afternoon used to be time for Oshin, Turning point, Ank Ajube. Saturday evening was the time for "He man and the master of the universe", followed by Sports world. Then there used to be Surabhi which was so informative and episode, they used to make some nice designs of the lakhs of postcards they used to get as reponses from the viewers. Then there was "Bharat ek khoj" i remember it coz i used to see Nehru in every episode :). Samandar was another of my favorite serial.

Later started the daily soaps. I guess i was somewhere in the 9th 10th standard that these soaps started their telecast. I remember Shanti and Swabhimaan prominently. I used to start studing only after watching these serials.
This was also the time when DD2 or Metro started its telecast. Sea Hawks became my favorite.

Of all the serials that i mentioned, i would specially like to speak about "Kashish" A very short serial featuring Sudesh Berry as an egoistic director and "Mona"(i dont remember her name). the story of how he secretly falls in love with her and is very egoistic to let her know or even admit it. This is the serial i remember so distinctly. Wish i could watch it again... I used to love that female lead... she was so cute and starry eyed.

This is not the exhaustive list of the serials telecast on DD1, i just could recollect only a few. But i have missed out on a lot of nice serials which i couldnot recollect due to my faint memory now. And now let me speak about some of the serials i enjoyed watching recently...

"Bani is so sweet and docile..." My mom would say everyday. So i thot of joining her one day to watch the serial and the leading lady she so adorably adored... The leading lady was "Prachi Desai" and the serial... Ekta Kapoor's Kasamh se... it featured the stylish but heavy Ram Kapoor. The serial went on well.. til one fine day i was so pissed of with it, i just stopped watching it... mite be because i lost interest due to its never ending episodes.

and last but not the least, My all time Favorite but recent serial is... "KMH" or Kitani Mohabbat hai... I loved the pair Arohi and Arjun (Kritika Kamra and Karan Kundra). I just couldnt understand how well the chemistry went between them. again it was all ekta Again. This serial was telecast on NDTV Imagine, started in Jan 2009 and got over in August 2009, only 8 months :(. It was a short and sweet tale of both protagonists... So cute couple.

So here i think i should put an end to all listing of all the serials since i can just go on and on and on... Now even though we have so many choices (MTv, Channel V, Zee, Sony etc etc etc... but i hardly watch them. Its like we have lost interest now since every serial is at our disposal, just connect to the net and watch them online or download and watch it later...

The good old DD1 days when the entire family used to sit and watch serials... get so mingled with the characters that they would think them as one amongst them is now no longer witnessed. The wait for the serials to be telecast... the anguish when suddenly there would be a power cut while watching the most wanted episode... the long discussions about the actor's and Actress' life... nothing seems to be the same now...

DD1 has always been special wil remain close to my heart. Wonder if it was all like before, how would it be?? Wish i could once more witness all those crazy times we spent in front of the TV...

My Maggie Experience

A very queer topic to write something about? Well, this stuff was going on a long time in my mind and finally i thot of writing this down. "Mummy bhook lagi hai..."... "Bas 2 minute?" and then Maggie ... thus would go the Maggie noodle Ad on TV a couple of years back. Maggie is presumably the oldest and the tastiest easy to cook snack.

Ok so what made me write this blog about Maggie? A couple of months back, Maggie came up with an Ad asking people to send their "Maggie Experience" to them. The Maggie experience of people and their photos would be printed on the Maggie packet. It sounded a bit interesting to me, since i always found Maggie to be close to my heart, rather to my stomach.

I have so many such experiences with Maggie. I just find it so handy when my stomach growls, and i need something tasty to satiate my taste buds at the same time. My first experience with Maggie was i guess when i was about 8 years old, when Maggie had come advertising the noodles in our school. I remember each one of us getting one packet and immediately after going home, me asking my mom to cook it for me... Though i dont remember having liked it very much that time. I guess after that till my college , i had Maggie only ocassionally.

My stint with Maggie started when i attended my Engineering College: Goa Engineering College(GEC) and had to stay as a hostelite. My college and hostel were situated on a hillock away from commercial shops. The only link to commercial world to us was Ponda... And travel was equally difficult for all of us. We had to either have our own bikes, walk up and down the hill or stay dependent on the College busses which ran on certain timing. One such bus for the hostelites used to start at 7 in the evening and it used to ferry up the hill at 8.30 back. So we had to rely on tht bus itself.

There used to be a dearth of Water in the hostel sometimes. No water meant no Mess.. and hence no food cooked for us... we hostelites had to either make arrangements going to Ponda(Cafe Bhosle or Hotel Sanman) or hav nominal biscuits in the hostel itself. And when it was Semester time, it used to be difficult to go to Ponda, since the bus would be crowded and we couldn't afford to walk up the hill and waste our time. My mom came to my rescue .. She bought a hot plate for me and there i was, started cooking Maggie..rather Maggie to the rescue...

Eating Maggie in the Final year hostel was fun. Me, Rowee and Shilpa cooked Maggie whenever there was a water problem. Thank God we used to store ample water. Chatting with each other during Maggie break(Dinner break) and then studing.. burning the midnight oil :). It was so much fun to have Maggie with friends... We used to pile a stock of Maggie and keep!

My maggie stint continued when i reached Pune. We at I2IT used to stay awake late in the night completing Assignments and projects. Me and My group used to always go down to the Cafetaria at 1.30 in the night to find something to Eat. and that something used to be always Maggie... Rajesh Bhaiyya (The Cafetaria manager) had got so acquainted with our group and our timing... I used to always ask for a Tikhi(Pungent) Maggie. And the moment i used to go to order one, Rajesh Bhaiyya used to say.. "One extra tikhi Maggie"... I wonder how i used to eat it.. it used to be laced with chilli powder... and then my friends used to order banana milk shake for me... I used to hav 2 glasses... The Maggie we got in our Cafe was the best... so many different types... Plain Maggie, Chicken Maggie, Egg Maggie, Omellette Maggie, Cheese Maggie and so many others...

My best Maggie experience was high up in the Himalayas... how?? Well after Marriage, me and sriman had gone for a trip to Manali. High up in the snowclad mountains, there are shops selling Maggie. That is the best maggie i ever had in my life. Its so chilling high up there, and the hot and tasty maggie makes your day. I remember that Maggie everytime i remember Manali. The plain normal Maggie is priced at 80Rs per plate there, but it is all worth the cost.

And Last but not the least, my final Maggie experience in Pune. My Brother told me that one of his friends makes very tasty Maggie, and he just tosses it in Butter immediately before taking off the stove... I tried it and yippie... I made another Maggie recipe... "Butter Tossed Maggie" a delicious one...During my deputation in Pune, thanks to my hectic work , i used to wrap up my work at odd hours when there wouldnt be any restaurants open. And when my Lead asked me about dinner plans, i would meekly say with a giggle.. "Maggie"...

So Friends... here are all my Maggie experiences. I know all of us love Maggie and will have so many such tales to tell.. This is a tribute from me to one of the tastiest and wonderful snack i'd love to have... Thanks Maggie for being there whenever i feel hungry and therz nothing sensible to eat... you make my day...