Home

A place to express my feelings

A meal to appeal my senses

A garden to lovingly tend

A corner to curl up and read my book

A bed to retire after a long day

A nap that washes away my fatigue

A house that is a part of me too

Home, what am I doing without you?

A happiness that touches the roof

A smile that always lingers

A hug that conveys a thousand meanings

A kiss for undying support

A mother to wipe away my tears

A father to look up to

A brother to lift my mood when I'm down

Home, what am i doing without you?

~Purple Mist

Wanderer

  

Wandering through a forest haunted

I listen to the crackling leaves

Hoping that a spirit like minded

will emerge from the trees.

Beneath the storm gathering clouds

A whispering voice threw out a challenge

wanting a resolve far more than an ounce, 

what cowards softly refer to as courage..

I ran blindly through the dense thicket

Searching in vain for an unknown saviour

The life in me drains out bit by bit

And in a flash, there lies the answer!

Foolish was I to underestimate my strength

For the darkness to be quelled till eternity

There is just one, just one such friend

who will save my life and that is none but ME.

~Purple Mist

Life of a medico

All medicos who can relate with this say aye!

Changes on facebook

Just logged into Facebook and saw so many changes. There's a column at the right hand side that lets you track everything that's going on in everyone's life, like a score update. Next thing we know, there will be a second-by-second update about- Twwhbh wyfwvt' has just farted... 'Hgdv Yfdcf' visited a porn site... Come on.. Life isn't so interesting to make each and every detail public! Yes, Facebook lets us connect with long lost friends and let's us have fun and share a few bits of our life with the people that matter. But Mark Zuckerberg has taken things too far this time. We don't want to know when a school friend sneezed or when a colleague at work took a Crocin for his headache. Do we make that clear, Mr. Zuckerberg?

Misty eyes

A smile like the sunrise

A walk like a tiptoeing doe

A word best unspoken

Not that you'll ever know.

Like a stormy night

on the sands of the sea

Like a candle in the gloom

A flickering hope does flee.

Like the winding twilight

on the day of the full moon

I await your presence

but I know it's too soon.

Like the stars that twinkle

on a cloudless night

I make a quiet vow

not to let you know this time.

Like the silence of the woods

is your response to me

Like the misty eyes of solitude

I await the end of infinity.

The other day  I was chatting with a close friend and she mentioned that I tend to 'hate' a lot of things. I thought about it, and boy, is she right! My 'hates' could fill a whole book 3 inches thick! Here are a few items that would definitely make it into that book..

Heights, cockroaches, shallow people, people who speak like loudspeakers in public areas, people who drink, people who smoke, Non Veg food, bedbugs, night calls, senior residents at my hospital, cheats, people who cheat on their partners, Anatomy as a subject in first year of MBBS, Microbiology, arrogant surgeons, the smell of sandalwood, Mumbai's masala dosas, Bengaluru's traffic, a few professors from my MBBS days, most professors from my PG days, dominating people, headaches, fevers, coughs, colds, diarrhoeas, Sunday and holiday calls, blood donation drives (as a donor pricker only, not otherwise), people who assume their Sundays are more important than yours, loud music and drums of processions, crowds, crackers during Diwali, Shahrukh movies, Salman movies, rap music, Kevin Pietersen, Britney Spears, Charlie Sheen, reality TV, MTV Roadies, the smell of sewage, abortions....

Whew!! Did you really read all of this ?! Hope you don't hate me for this post;)

~Purple Mist

Dreams and Destiny

I have been in Mumbai for more than 5 months now, well past the homesickness stage. It's the time when I can now think clearly if this was what I wanted to be and more importantly if this was the place in which I wanted to be.. The answer is still uncertain, if this was an MCQ question, I would have certainly marked the option 'none of the above!' But life ain't so simple and there is never a vague option, but always a regretted decision!

When I was a kid, whenever people asked me what I wanted to be, I always said, "Doctor!" And the wise elders would nod their heads in appreciation. But deep inside I knew... Medical Science had never held my fascination. I wanted to be.. A scientist discovering new alternatives to petroleum and plastic! A librarian surrounded by books! An environmentalist saving the world! A Nobel prize winner! But then I became...

A doctor.

Yes, I am in a field which I had no interest in, but somehow have gotten used to the vagaries of medical life. I do not claim to be the most passionate doctor around, but I know I'm a good one. Do I regret my decision ? Some times.. No, many times. I am pretty sure you haven't met too many doctors who regret being who they are or what they do. But the species in point does exist, for I am a shining example.

Sometimes dreams don't come true, destiny does.

There's a reason..

There's a reason...

Why a crisp green leaf

has to turn yellow.

A reason why, a firefly

cannot see it's tomorrow.

There's a reason..

Why a poor man sleeps

without a roof over his head

A reason why, the cloudy sky

awaits a rainy day instead.

There's a reason..

Why the birdie sings

as he begins his day

A reason why, a mere goodbye

sends a tear drop on it's way

.

There's a reason..

Why the mighty wind

throws close all the doors.

A reason why, this heart of mine

can never fully be yours.

Post no. 9

I read two completely different books than I usually read and hence found it pertinent enough to review them on my blog :) 

Srividya Natarajan's No onions, nor garlic is a humorous take on the caste issues in India with Chennai City being the background. The book is loud and hilarious from page one. Though the book almost exclusively uses casteism and untouchability to entice emotions from its' characters, it's the writing style that ultimately wins in eliciting the laughs. I found that the Brahmin/Non Brahmin war taken a little bit too far- all the villainous characters are conspicuously from the so called 'higher' caste. I can understand what the author is trying to portray- that the whole concept of higher and lower castes is a farce, but she somehow succeeds in making Hinduism as a whole look like one too. I read another review of the same book where the reviewer mentions that an uninformed reader might draw wrong conclusions about Brahmins in general, and I tend to agree. Still, if you are willing to ignore the obvious and instead focus only on the humour, it is definitely an enjoyable read. I only hope that the author refrains from using a similar theme in her next novel, for I prefer to enjoy humour without having to feel uncomfortable. My rating: 3.5/5

The other book that I read during the week- Oliver's Story by Erich Segal. I would like to state at the outset, that I am no fan of romantic novels. I have never read a Mills and Boon and I probably never will. It's just that.. they all seem so sugar coated and superficial. I did manage to read Oliver's Story till the end and let me say this.. I have never been as impressed with a love story ever before! There is a certain touch of sadness associated with the lead character, Oliver Barrett and his journey to find the happiness that he lost after the death of his wife, Jenny. It's certainly the most romantic story that I have ever read. The ending was perfect; and the hopeless romantic in me could not have hoped for a better ending. Segal is also a master in subtle humour. I am almost certain that I will never read Erich Segal's Love Story which is a prequel to this book (maintaining my tradition of not wasting time on soppy love sagas) but hats off to Mr. Erich Segal, your Oliver's Story is a work of art! My rating: 4/5

Musings

There's a steady stream

twinkling in the sun..

A sword, a beam

Crashing so you succumb..

Would there be

A finished tune,

When the night is done?

I do believe

that destiny holds

that key, that fire,

to vanquish the thousand demons,

But where are they? I ask..

Before the dawn breaks,

before the swan takes

it's first flight,

Will there be a new morn?

And before my time on earth is up..

Will there be a new song?

Love..

I don't know why they call it heartbreak. It feels like every other part of my body is broken too..

Chloe Woodward.

Have you ever been in love? Well what a stupid question, you say, for who hasn't? It is a feeling that builds up within you, taking over your life. you stop thinking clearly, forget what the sane people around you are saying- this won't work! Why will it not work, you ask and soldier on, with all the hope in the world that that person who made you feel that way, that person you want to spend your life with, will somehow come to his senses and will tell you that he too feels the same way...

Then one day you realize, that it was not meant to be, and with your heart shattered into a million pieces and ground to dust you realize that your life can never be the same again.. And you don't want to go back to being normal, being the daughter, the sister, the friend that everyone knew you as.. You are a different person now, and view every other obstacle in your life as being there only for you..

But love isn't supposed to make you feel that way, for you are forever comparing yourself to the lucky ones who have managed to snare 'that' person and wonder why are you the unlucky one who could not have that one person that you cared so much about?

And you also wonder will you have the same feelings for someone else ever again, or is it a total waste of time trying to move on when you are stuck with the feeling that you can't, when you have tried for over two years and you have failed, time and time again..

Book review: The Vault of Shiva

The Vault of Shiva
by Andy McDermott
Hachette India
Rs. 299

Hmmm... Here I am reviewing yet another thriller novel. I must admit though, that the title of the book caught my eye rather than the author/ book itself. I had always wanted to read a thriller based on Hindu mythology so I started reading the book with sky high expectations.. The book started off interestingly enough with a group of mercenaries pulling off a rather impossible heist, one that involves Michelangelo's David. And that is just one of the priceless artifacts that have been stolen around the world. 'What' the purpose of the robberies is, and 'Who' the person behind it is, were revealed even before I had finished reading half the book and I was left wondering with 'Why' I was still reading it. Not to be overly critical, but a reader does expect twists and turns of some kind but with all the suspense thrown out so early, the rest of the book seems to be a total drag, to be honest.

Plus, the other major disappointment was obviously in the handling of the Hindu connection. The West never tires of stereotyping India and this book is another such example (What kind of a name is Madirakshi Dagdu?!) The saving grace was of course our protagonists Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase, or maybe I'm just a sucker for a husband-wife crime solving duo!

My rating: 2.5/5 (Being a little generous here!)