Wednesday, June 18

Aeeeee Shantaraaaamm...

Some men are born gr8, others hav gr8ness thrust upon thm. Find ur moment…
– Night at d museum (Hollywood movie starring Ben Stiller )

(Dubbed in Hindi and called “”Museum ke andar fas gaya Sikander” (… so much for innovativeness!)

How you doin ppl? Feels nice eh wid d sun shinin away to glory… some respite frm d fury o d rains… I'v recently joind as an Associate Consultant at Alchemy Mngt. Consultancy Pvt. Ltd. My first full-time day job aftr MA... so far so gud, but hopin tons for d future!

Here’s wat I promisd u d last time – excerpts and (like it or not) my comments on Shantaram, a book by Gregory David Roberts. Aftr havin putting off reading d book (or “Purana” is a betr name, considerin d 930+ pages in d book) for a long time, d critics and my pet bookseller finally managed to convince me to start dis epic. M glad… d book is an amazing read, d language cute, d observations about life and people profound yet lucid (even d parts whr d Indian Hinglish version is writn)… it includes all of India’s potty obsessions and abusive conversations. So, nosing thru dis saga hasn’t been too soporific… Touch wood! Hope it dsnt leme down at d end like JefArch’s POB…

I was tryin to figure out what exactly the foundation of the book was, y it was named Shantaram whn d protagonist is cald Lin (aka Linbaba), and I almost tore my hair whn after ploughin thru a 130-odd pages, dis mystery stil remain unsolvd. Jus like all gud thins in life come aftr delay, d author revealed the secret around the 137th-8th page… It’s coz d protagonist goes to the village and ppl thr christen him Shantaram!

The book is streakd wid a million deep thots and brilliant observations. I luvd sum sentences and ramblings so much dat I had to tear myself away frm d paragraphs n jot d lines down so I cud appreciate their wisdom long aftr I’v read thm in print. And for those who luv intrstg tales bt cant find d time, patience and inclination to read this Mahapurana for themselves, this’s your savior, Anuja…

I deserve smthin for bringin u free knowledge and sensibility, dnt I?! So read my annotations and enlighten urslf patient netsurfer… However, leme warn u at d onset : thr might be a different way I perceive and interpret thins so dnt take all I say on face value, use ur grey cells at least a bit buddies! ;-) Here u go!

- Luv is a sinking lifeboat. You try ur best to keep it afloat; you throw ur pride out, then your self-respect and then your freedom, but u c it’s still sinking so you throw your friends and family out. Everybody. Evrythin. And lo! You’re still sinking…

- Being with a good listener is the second best thin in the world. What’s the first? No, not sex. It’s power. If you take away the biological aspect of it, sex is nothing but power. Love is the opposite of power. That is why we fear it so much…

- Indians have a lot of love in them, that is why they can survive together. India is 6 times the size of France, but has 20 times the population. We know the French to be the most civilized people in the world, yet there would be rivers of blood if they were crammed together in such a small area. Indians certainly are a patient, loving and lovable community! Remarkable, eh! ;-) We nudge and push and scratch and abuse when we are tryin to get on board a train, yet we promptly bend down to apologize by touching a stranger’s leg when we accidentally step on his foot! Wat an irony!

- Even with the purest intentions, we end up making things worse when we are actually trying to do our best to make things better. Every1 has a mission in life, we have all come here to play our roles and do what He bade us to do. It is good to know what is wrong with the world. But sometimes, no matter how wrong it is, you cant change it. A lot of the bad stuff in the world wasn’t that bad until someone tried to change it. Think abt wat happens whn v visit zoos and wildlife parks. V feed d animals thr, so dat v save thm d effort of finding food. But wat hapns aftr u leave? Used to free feedin, they perish and suffer… D same goes for foreigners who cajole tramps for fun-sake. Once the beggars exhaust their 500 rupee note earned by doin monkey trix, they find not a soul to pay for a cup of tea… If only ppl dint try to play Messiah, thins wud b betr…

And here are some of my thots, o lovers of thotfulness and idleness ;-)

- Courage is not just to take initiative and do the dare, but also to realize the silliness of it and say “No” at d cost of being taken as a coward. Just like intelligence is the sensibility to know what to do, and the wisdom to know what NOT to do…

- Luv is so much like sleep… When you’re in luv u think nuthin else can b betr than dis, similarly when ur in deep sleep, u jus dnt want to get outa it, it’s bliss! When ur asleep u dnt think of food or ppl, and likewise u forget hunger and others when u in luv – ur partner’s supreme priority!

- Others have the power to affect you coz you let them. They can make you happy coz you have given them the power to control your happiness, someone makes you sad coz you expect them to make you happy, to care for you, to stand by you. The minute u realiz no1 can decide ur emotions and feelins u’l feel free and happy, complete and content widin urself…

Ahem… ek din ke liye kafi dose hogaya kya? ;-)
Hope u enjoyd dis as such as I did. I apologize if I hurt any1’s sentiments wid my thots, but d germ was in GDR’s philosophizing. So spare me and go after him!

B bac wid mo… thr’s abt 500 pages still to go!

Readin,
Anuja

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