Mahabhaaaarat...

(It's actually spellt Mahabharata, but thanks to the sing-song style of a dear buddy, based on the serial on DD channel, we now refer to it as Mahaaabhaaaaaratttt. Kudos, Puch! You deserve the name Aryaman for your kid now. I'm sorry, you're gona have 2 boys and there's no changing that!)

So, the latest is that Obama has won the US elections and there’s celebration all around. (I don’t know how good or bad that is, but he’s gotta cute smile. So, I'm not complaining when he peeks outta the headlines at me!)

Other updates – Halloween’s gone past (Unfortunately, we do not have an equivalent in India, but that’s ok. We have so many more in number and variety! Cheer up!) And now this one’s atrocious - Pimples are enough grounds for divorce. I mean wat-da-heck???!!! All you acne-blessed and pimply people, you better do something about it lest you bear the brunt...

Here’s some better news from the High Court to raise your dipping spirits - “Kyunki...” is to go off air soon. Whewwww... FINALLY!!! I’m kinda feeling sad for the folks who have nothing to do now in the afternoon-evening as this daily dose of drama (so what if it’s 3rd grade rot!) is bidding adieu. But, I’m glad that Tulsi will not annoy us any further with her silly sermons and crazy, predictable, over-hyped nonsense.

The other thing on my mind is that Abhinav Bindra, Darsheel (of TZP fame) and Himesh are now brand ambassadors for different consumer products. One good strike, and their life’s made... While AB is an attractive fella (being from Chandigarh, what else can one expect?!), I don’t quite understand what the other two are doing in their respective ads – D’s got no dialogue as another gal steals the show, and His Himeshness, with his puppy-dog look, begs for attention. (And doesn’t get it yet. Pity.)

My favorite advertisement till date is of Surf Excel where a gal soils her hands in the mud, and her brother seeks revenge from the gutter. Speaks volumes about brother-sister bonding and cuteness oozes out in gallons. Whatta brain behind the ad! Admirable... Also, the Bajaj Avenger ad that says ”I forgive them all, I feel like God.” (You can check out some of my fav songs and videos on my Orkut profile. Bet you’ll like ‘em!)

One of my MA mate’s tying the knot in December. All of us are very excited. Hope to catch it... My updates? Well, ‘Badal’s and ‘Vishnu’s are not happening for me, so I’m breathing easy as of now...

Not too easy, though, coz I’ve been super-thrilled about the Mahabharata! I could contain my patience no longer, and I eagerly unwrapped the cover the day before. The foreword tells a short gist of the story, and the preface recounts the miraculous birth of Vyas – the author of the Mahabharata.

The book describes the great war 5000 years ago (the incident that signaled the end of the dwapar yuga and the onset of kali yuga) and the events that led to it. The Gita is the heart of the Mahabharata where Krishna counseled Arjun as the latter was mulling over the necessity of slaughtering his own kith and kin.

Electrifying and exhilarating, the modern rendering I am reading by Ramesh Menon is more interesting to a contemporary and young reader (someone like me who doesn’t like direct lessons and morals, but doesn’t hesitate in doling out lessons myself at any appropriate moment!) It has 2 volumes, both a little less than 1000 pages each. A few intriguing details :

- The Mahabharata was written in verses (in the form of couplets) and it consists of 100,000 shlokas (6 lacs actually, but when they were divided amongst the Gods, Pitrs and others, the humans got a measly 1/6th of it. Tally the amount of knowledge and entertainment we missed!). - It is 7 times as long as the Iliad and Odyssey combined.
- Variety, majesty, grandeur, violence, tragedy - Nothing exists that can’t be found within the pages of this legend.

You remember I resolved to read the complete Mahabharata coz I was enchanted by the Palace of Illusions (read this and this)? I think I made a wise decision. A few facts right at the outset held me spellbound - notes about yugas and astounding figures that comprise a single day in the life span of Bramha and Vishnu.

A short story, one that most of you probably know - Vyas requested Ganesh to write this enormous epic for him as he dictated it, and the naughty young God said that he won’t permit any pauses or disturbances. The brilliant muni laid a counter-condition that Ganesh must understand what he writes. And so, they got even and the legend was written. (Apparently, Ganesh broke his own tusk to write – a fact neither me nor my mum knew.)

I got so giddy with excitement as I was reading, that I couldn’t bring myself to proceed, and embark on the actual saga after the preface. I was relishing each word and every paragraph. Finally, unable to control my hunger for the book and giving in to the powerful call of the narrative, I surrendered myself to 14 pages where the Ganga was born as a human on earth to aid the Vasus cursed by Vasisht rishi.

And then I HAD to put a leash on myself. I keep calling out to mum 10 times as I read a single page coz I’m so overcome with emotion that I HAVE to share different facts with her. (Just like I type out the entire sequence in this blog to convey to you.)

Movies... I didn’t manage to catch either Fashion or Golmaal Returns over the weekend. Got too busy, and then didn’t feel like... The reviews for both movies are disastrous, (not that it came as a surprise to me) but nevertheless I’m hoping to catch them this weekend.

Thanks for listening, friends! I’m delighted to see a number of visitors on “Life” from Sydney, Arizona, California, the UK, Johor (I had to Google to find out where that is!) and a host of other locations. Pls leave me your comments and contributions so that we make this a sweeter experience!

Love,
Anuja