Poor Veronika!

heya!

So I mean, yes! I got addicted to Coelho's writings. 

I read another one- Veronika Decides to Die. A young, juvenile, good-looking woman who attempted suicide because her life lacked adventure. 

There were very few characters in the novel (except of course the staff of the hospital). The two mad-women that Veronika encounters during her short stay in the hospital, Mari and Zedka. The schizophrenic Eduard, whom Veronika eventually falls in love with and the main character (actually more significant than the girl whose name has been used in the title) Dr. Igor who happened to be the director of the Mental asylum- Vilette. The writer takes you in to the lives of each and everyone named above (including Veronika herself, of course). Half of the time, I kept wondering that what do we have to do with the lives of those with whom the heroine had an encounter, all we- the readers, needed to know was whether or not Veronika made it in the end (although the writer was keeping up the hopes that she had very little to live but being optimists, we still mange to hope for the things that seem unmanageable, unreachable and impossible). 

So, never mind if Veronika could or couldn't make it through but what I figured out in the end that the story of Zedka (the depressed), Mari (the one who got panic-attacks), Eduard (the schizophrenic) and Veronika herself (the failed suicidal case) was of little importance as compared to the interesting and completely emotionless plot set up by the director of the asylum- Dr. Igor. I must say, Doc Igor! You're the man!

Brida- the witch.

Whoa!

Another one by Coelho finished- Brida. Before I discuss about the story of the novel and the way it has been put forth and the character sketch and the impression the novel has left on me, I would like to share a little history associated with this particular novel. The first time I heard about Paulo, I came home, turned the internet on and searched for this author's work. I found all the novels written by him and the only title that attracted me (more than the title that was actually suggested to me for a read) was this- Brida. I have no idea why but when I wrote Brida in the toolbar of the search engine, I discovered this front cover of the novel:

Surprisingly, I found this cover and again, unknowingly, my interest exceeded. I was desperate for this novel. I downloaded many novels by Paulo but Brida was included in my list of the top three (which was neither suggested to me nor was it in the most famous works by Paulo). And so my curiosity led me to finish it in a mere duration of 24 hours. 

A spell-binding novel, no doubt! Brida- an ordinary Irish girl with a special Gift for witchcraft set out on a journey to find out answers to her questions about life. The first person she came across (the Magus) was the one she is expected to go with in the end but the end turns out to be even more startling and to some extent- frightening for the ones who are hoping to see the soul-mates together. But the aim of the novel, as far as I figured out, was that not all persons necessarily have 'one' soul-mate. And therefore, we shall always be prepared to never try to 'own' or 'possess' somebody we love because we never know what the fate has in store for us but at the same time, never stop loving too- For when we stop loving, we cease to comprehend the meaning of existence.

The novel was, altogether, a good read :)

Something about Coelho.

Well, now then, now then...
I couldn't really recollect when was the last time when I actually accomplished 'completing' a novel. I hadn't found any interesting 'fiction', so I really didn't bother finishing any novel that I started. Then, a suggestion came in from more than one sources to read the work by Paulo Coelho. I collected a lot of his work and then I began to wait when my mid-terms would end and I would actually find some spare time to read it. And then that time arrived too and I found myself finishing three novels in three days (one of which was not by Coelho by the way, but never mind)!
The two novels that I read written by the same man were a total contradiction of views (that I thought it was). The first one was 'The Alchemist', which I am sure many people have read by now and certainly I had to enter in the fan-following of Alchemist as well because it is so close to the phenomena such as philosophy, soul searching, raison d'etre, and of course alchemy itself. The second one was 'Eleven Minutes' and OMG! I could only say- what a daring novel! Personally, I learned a lot of history from that novel (and I am glad that I did not learn anything else) but really, I completely disagreed with the writer's approach of the way of putting a dream into reality. Although, at the end it was mentioned that the novel was partly based on a real story but so what?! When someone has such great a number of people following him, he should at least be a little bit cautious. I did not feel weary of lauding the way Alchemist had been written and I still feel its one of the best efforts made by a writer, in fact any writer! But I think it was my own mistake that I chose such a daring novel written on such a bold subject (which doesn't really matter as far as the right is encouraged and the wrong is discouraged) and in that too, such absurdity of scene description has been made. Eleven Minutes was a novel that might be appreciated by the masses but it really makes one feel as if life has no other aim but sex. The fan, refrigerator, air conditioner, television, telephone, airplane, sophisticated watches and mobile phones and all this advancement in science- isn't it all an outcome of the brilliance of human mind? Okay, keeping science apart- the philosophy, psychology, economics, politics, warfare, sociology, civilization, history... even the invention of a small hairpin, the recipe of making a bread loaf out of wheat, the ability to make larger buildings each day- aren't all these aims of humans necessary too except 'that' one (and which is considered to be the most important topic of discussion as well) aim??
I am not making a review of 'Eleven Minutes' the way I made a review of 'The Alchemist' (how well written it is), but still, my only aim was to bring all those important and significant stuff into consideration that has played a pivotal role in differentiating man from other animals- as simple as this.

Equilibrium

Dear readers!
I had been thinking for a while now, what exactly are the conditions that bring us to sorrow even though we are so cautious at times not to make things go worse and handle the present situation more sensibly than we last did.

But there's always a force that drives us to crazy decisions. At the very moment, it may makes us feel that the decision we made was a catastrophic one! We must had not been in our right mind to decide that, but let me assure you, 90% of all the decisions taken in extreme conditions turn out to be beneficial for us or for our future. But there's one very important thing to remember: even if we have taken a decision that we ourselves do not approve of at that particular time, we need to be determined and stand by our own selves when nobody else is willing to support us. And that is when that driving force comes from within us and helps us stand by what we have done. This force can be named a whim, a rage or simply the strength to believe in ourselves!

This is to strike a balance/ an equilibrium in our life because we can not always be happy and satisfied even if we are provided with the finest of things in our life. We need to experience each and every extreme sentiment so that we can enjoy leisure after hectic tasks, pleasure after melancholy and solace after ambiguity.

So the same thing happened to me today, I was really outrageous at first when I decided on to something really significant in my life (up until now, at least) and then became regretful at the decision too. I knew this one was the hardest amongst all the decisions in my life as yet. I also knew that there would be no looking back from where I am going to stand after making this particular decision but I did (actually, without shedding a drop of tear) yupppee, bravo! ;) But yes, I did feel sad, really really sad! Here, I must mention that decisions taken in an emotional situation are more likely to make one sad than those taken in other situations but when you become the master of your emotions, you give a damn to what you feel! Because feelings makes you go irrational (if exceeded from a certain point/level, of course). And so today, I had a feeling of maturity.

Getting rid of insensible feelings, emotions, believes, stereo-types and people in your life does help you move toward a better position in your life. This is a step toward spiritual satisfaction. Of course, materialistically, you are not getting anything whilst getting rid of such absurdities but spiritually, you are! And that is more important too!

The Silhouette of Quarry- Part (2)

[NOTE: To enjoy the post below, you better relive (re-read) the previous post with the same name :)]

Oh God! It was still after me [at least I felt it]! I experienced things that made me realize I ought to contact a counsellor. Days went by ... I had to lose things that my personality was made of- my smile, my confidence, my esteem, my self. Traumas and dilemmas took over. Stress was there too. I was a freshman and I had no idea that my academic results too were going to let me down [by the way, I should have known that ;)], but that's how it went. I was flabbergasted at my loss after so inferior a thing such as Silhouette. To describe my feelings at that time in a better way, I must suggest you give a listen to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfRLmk7Q_q4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKCek6_dB0M&ob=av3e

A year later, becoming a sophomore was a pleasant experience ... I felt good :) I was returning to be a care-free person I used to be long ago. Oh, I was working really hard to get my grades up and make a good total at the end of the two years of Intermediate. I was sublimating my aggression in the form of creativity. I was the apple of the eye of my teachers [English and English Literature teachers especially, because in English you get to pour all the creativity out in a much classical sense :)] The stress of losing some so-called friends at the end of the first year was also going away, I had new and better ones :) And so the second year gave me good grades, highest marks, appreciation from teachers and everything back that usually the parents need more than the child ;) And the most significant thing to mention here that's exactly in accordance with the title of this post is that I didn't even remember the Silhouette. It wasn't anywhere at least in my conscious or sub-conscious, no idea about unconscious! We might find it out later what made me forget (temporarily) the Silhouette.
So, the third year began, it was this 'sms' that brought the lousy, obscure, cryptic, esoteric and unfathomable past back! To be honest, my reply to the message was- "who cares?" ... may be I didn't know myself, I did.
Back then, I did not have this facility at home that is considered of pivotal importance in making world a global village so I might have had a 1% truth in my response. But I knew, I was going to repudiate. I was not unfaithful after all, at least to my own preferences...

So just then, I was introduced to the second most influential being in my life, the Quarry. Again, in this case, I had it in of front me from the start of that year but it felt like I had been blind-folded. It was introduced to me on the day of perusal and I honestly did not know I was going to get affected by it. Oh, I loved to have a comrade like Quarry. Each day, I waited to have a new and memorable talk with it but it was all fading away in the time being. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I did verbalize my fears and desires to it but all of that went in vain. Bad year that was. I loved, respected, tried, fought and wept again. Altogether, it was again a bad academic year. Quarry was very nice [apparently]. Still is very nice [apparently]. Its very nice to cherish the memories of being asked, being neglected and then finally, being refused. Shame on me, but I still manage to love my inner self ;) And can't manage to forget  the past. Still have regrets, bruises but its the way it is now, nothing can be done with the events that came and went away in the teens [the age of fire]. The after effects include- I often go blank in scrutiny, I experience disorganized speech, I forget things quickly and easily, have become a lot more lethargic as well ;)
But I am a very nice person now :) [sorry, I had to say that myself 'cause I can't afford to weaken the sense of self-efficacy now ;)]
Forgetting and decoding everything from the memory isn't easy. I did manage to get over the traumatic events, to love and leave the metaphysical beings (that's what to me they are now) but I had to compromise certain innate abilities- I had a very good memory and you might know it by now because I have so much mess within my mind that keeps irritating me and makes me write ironic posts like these but, going back to the phenomenon of completely forgetting the Silhouette and partially forgetting the memorable events with the Quarry; since I still have to face the latter everyday, I now realize that I must have taken help of a psychological phenomenon known as 'motivational forgetting (repression)'. And from where did I come to know of it? Well, there's at least something that we learn from the course that we study everyday at our educational institutes ;) And may be this procedure of M.F is responsible for the obstacles I face and have mentioned at the end of the above paragraph.
Waiting for the end? ~ No, I did not forget them both permanently, I do have this facility at home that is considered of pivotal importance in making the world a global village. I do care and I do follow the 'sms', nearly everyday. And I do feel repentant when I get to see the Quarry everyday (when its not a holiday). But I think now I have become perfectly:

Mind-Boggling perspective Photos.

The powerful two chickens!

George Silk photographs swimmer Kathy Flicker in a pool in 1962, and the refraction makes it seem as if her head is separate from her body. 

The obligatory "holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa" photo.

Americans never change!

No Photoshop tricks, just a matter of choosing the right perspective (and an ultra-wide angle works well in this case, too).

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? This bald eagle may look like it is jet propelled - but it's actually been photographed as an airplane flies in the distance. In a once-in-a-lifetime shot, the engines' exhaust trails appear as if they are billowing out of the bird's talons as it soars in the air. The extraordinary moment was captured on camera by Pam Mullins close to her home in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada.                      

A woman in London snaps a photo in Trafalgar Square -- but her position next to a fountain makes it seem as if water is shooting out of the lens.

Climbing a road! But it sure seems like a wall, doesn't it?

Courtesy: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/mind-boggling-perspective-photos-1319756809-slideshow/1-photo-1319755447.html

9 Healthy Snacks for Dieters

9 Healthy Snacks for Dieters

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