E-book Readers

There are two kinds of people, in my opinion, who read - those who love books and those who love to read.
The first like the romance of books. They like to hold and caress them. They usually tend to read the same books over. Or the same writer. The same style.
The latter just like to read. They will read a cereal box if it is around.  They devour words. In any form. It could be paper. It could be electronic. As long as it is available to read.
When I tell people I read on my phone, they ask me "how" or "why". And why they think they never will - how they are not really books. I try to convince them - "It's easy to carry".  "So many books at your fingertips". "Always available". "No need to get up to turn off the lights". And they are still skeptical.
You just need to give it a shot. My mum did. And she is hooked :-)

Ringing in the Dirty Thirties

This was initially a Facebook status message - when I re-read it, I realised, there was so sooo much more to say, so I decided to expand on it.

Watta year 29 has been - I got to do sooo many things.

I visited places I never thought I would, took my first steps on the American continent and earlier than I ever thought I would. I do not regret it one bit. May be just ever so slightly - I got screwed over at work. But they sent me there, so it kinda balances off. And it led to so many firsts.

I met old friends for the first time. We weren't just co-workers - we were friends. And i am grateful I got to meet them. I made new friends - people I never thought i would know. Learnt more about people I already did.

I caught snow on my tongue. Made a snow angel. Heard the first (and only reasonable) explanation about why dogs need clothes/shoes. Tried my hand at ice skating (almost dislocated my leg and had to be carried out of the rink. Then I went back in).

Got a tattoo (shoulder-to-shoulder) on the spur of the moment. It took about 5-6 hours to complete, so I was done by about 3 am-ish and had a million hour flight that evening - all the way from Montreal to Bangalore. In economy. And what a beauty she is!

I went to Italy. I've been wanting to go there for sooo long. I fell in love with Barcelona on the way - the colors!!! It's like a fairytale. And I rode in a sidecar :-).

I stood in the Sistine Chapel. Spent the shortest amount of time to do justice in Venice. Liked Florence better than Rome. Sigh! Plus I have some awesome friends there. :-)

I am so going back!

I got my most expensive phone yet, bought my most expensive shoes ever (and got two more pairs for my birthday).

I caught Metallica in concert IN Bangalore. I also caught Bon Jovi. In Barcelona. In the Olympic stadium. And saw the sun set at 9pm.

I did a bunch of random things this year. Bought random books. Got a 10 year US visa. Took a month off. Got red shoes (2 pairs). And yellow ones.

I can see why it can only go downhill from here.

If I'm cursed to live long (and God knows my family is blessed with that curse), I hope I see more years like this :D

Am I hooked?

So two days before I leave Montreal, I hear about this girl that does tattoos. I gave it little thought and went for it on a whim. It was completely different from the last one I got - it hurt more, took longer and this time I really liked the artist. The last may have been the reason I went for it at all. I totally <3 my new tat!


I remember when I got the first one. I drew it. It made me smile sooo much, I couldn't wait for the next. It took me a couple of years though to find the right art.

This time I'm not dying for the next already. Let's see when it happens. I've always dreamed of being covered in art someday.

I've been told tattoos are addictive. Am I hooked yet? Hmmm....

Today my hands were really itching to paint on jeans.
Finally i managed to bully my cousin into giving me his jeans to jazz up :-)

Here's how it looks :-)

When did you feel like a 6 year old last?
I felt like that exactly a week ago! When I saw this little kit with 2 plastic Dragon figurines, little tubs of paint and a brush.
And I waited all week to paint them.

They didn't turn out as hot as I would have liked...but they still look really cute!

(The colours in this foto are highly animated. The dragons actually a lot more sober than these here)

Go find your dragons!

Timepass

Here's my Art. I've called it Timepass. It doesn't intend to convey anything particular, although it may have captured a mood or a story.

No they don't have names. Feel free to give 'em a title if u like. :D

Here's a few...




(This one was done in the old days wen i used to use ink)

Two funerals...two men...
They were as different as their funerals were.

His was a typical hindu funeral. 13 days - his sons performed all the prescribed rituals.
His was a simple funeral. No rituals. A traditional pyre on a river bank.

He died in the city he lived.
He died in the villiage like he wanted to.

He hadn't seen his family in many years. He made his choices.
He had just spent time with his entire family. Visited all his kids' and grandkids' homes. Watched football everynight with his grandson.

He died among strangers - they were his friends.
He died alone. I think that was how he wanted to go.

He was in his middle years...his kids had just got married.
He lived up to a ripe old age...he played with his great grandson.

Maybe he died doing what he wanted to. We will never know.
He died doing exactly what he wanted to. What he lived for.

Nobody really mourned his death. There was some sadness. Just some.
He is missed by soo many people. We always thought him immortal.

They were both good men.
They were both loved.