Astrospeak: Taurus Weekly Forecast for the third week of February

Every Sunday, I religiously read the 'ASTROSPEAK' section in the Calcutta Times supplement of The Times of India. I am a Taurean and this week's weekly forecast reads, "Events occur as a direct result of your willingness to entertain the unusual and to think out of the box. This aspect favours group activities, financial endeavours associated with groups or organisational efforts, educational pursuits, writing, publishing, speaking and humanitarian efforts." Well, I never quite believed in astro forecasts, but this week, it seems, my astro forecast matches my ongoing activities. After all, I am writing a bit more and a bit more active in my blog. What do you say? But, sadly, there's no financial endeavour associated with my blogging. I am quite unsuccessful at that. Does financial incentives dwindle your passion for something, or enhance it? Share your opinions!

My January In Review

Finally. the first month of the year is over. Though this year we got a mostly warm January, yet it's the best time of the year in a tropical country like ours. I particularly like when people gift me diaries and pens to mark the beginning of a brand new year. And this year, I got quite a few of them.

January is the month when I had a hair-cut and did a new hair style. There was a republic sale on most online shopping sites and I bought quite a few dresses for myself. We had a picnic from office and had a sumptuous menu. On the last day of the first month, I visited zoo after a long time with my son. And yes, I watched 'Baahubali' (Hindi) and loved it. Now I am eagerly waiting for the second part of the film.

But apart from all that, what made this January especially special is the fact that for the first time in life, I tried my hand at short story writing. I wrote for the 'Write India' contest organized by the Times of India. The author of January was Ravinder Singh and I wrote a love story. The process was really painful, for I had to think, to do a bit of research and finally come up with what can be called a story. I submitted it on the last day of the contest and thank god, it was submitted. I don't know how it went, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for this first attempt at writing fiction.

Adieu January! February is really hectic.

LOVE: Is it the elixir of Life?

"We are born of love;

love is our mother.

Through love all that is

bitter will be sweet, through

love all that is copper will be gold,

through love all dregs will

become wine, through love all

pain will turn to medicine."

-Jalaluddin Rumi

What can be a better day for this write-up than today. Today is the eve of Valentines' Day and today , this year, is also the day of Saraswati Puja, the so-called Valentines Day for Bengalis. Of the nine rasa, which are intrinsic to any Indian art form, Love (Sringaram) is predominant, which inits turn, is capable of evoking all the other forms of emotion. Such is the power of love. I recently read an article in Times of India, which I'd like to mention here. There one Lucy Brown, clinical professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, who studies the brain activity of people in love, told, "It's a reflexive urge, like hunger and thirst." And I think, that's the reason people fall in love, even when they don't get it in return.

P.C.: www.intrawallpaper.com

But what happens when that love remains unreciprocated? When the person you love proves to be unworthy of that love? Especially in the Indian context, it often happens that the relationship between two persons doesn't remain a personal and private affair. The family members often interferes too much. And the sweet love turns rancid. Many a times, I have heard about women commiting suicide, unable to cope with the pressure of marital life. But can one love, one relationship define an entire life? Is there any need of such kind of love that takes away lives of so many innocent? What is your opinion? I'd like to hear from you.

Is love confined only to its most popular form? Lastly, I'd love to quote a saying by Ruskin Bond, one of my favourite authors, who is not married, 'My life have been one long love story, and I have loved people, I have loved books, I have loved flowers, the sun, moon and stars, old roads, old trees, children, grannies, butterflies, seashells, fairies... And of course I keep falling in love, for where love begins, there is the border of heaven.'