Review: Custody

Custody by Manju Kapur
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Recently, there was a news article in The Times of India regarding fighting of a divorced couple over the custody of their children. Such things have now become commonplace, with increasing number of broken marriages. How the children suffer in broken marriages? How they cope up with the fact of separation of their parents? These questions intrigued me, as I read the newspaper article. It was then that I decided to read this book.

The author, Manju Kapur, has dealt with a very sensitive subject deftly in this book. The emotional trauma of the couples undergoing separation, the tribulations of the children, all are portrayed very convincingly. I particularly loved the end, where a woman, who is not the birth mother of a child, emerges victorious by getting custody of the child. Indeed, parenthood is not just about giving birth to a child, it's about all the love and care that qualify a person to be a parent.

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Review: And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first book by Agatha Christie. And I am very happy to start reading Agatha Christie.

The story was amazing. It was so gripping that I finished the entire book in just 3 days. Once you have started reading it, you can't put it off without finishing it. The mystery is not resolvable until you have read till the last page. This is a work of sheer intelligence.

Looking forward to read more books by the author.

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Penning the story of my life

If I were the author of my own life, would it have been very different than what it is now? As I am contemplating this idea, the one fact that comes to my mind first is that I was and I am independent, strong-willed, determined to take charge of my own life. I have never let others, not even my parents or my one time partner, determine the course of my life. 

If that is the case, then am I not always the author of my own story?

But then, life has not always turned the way I expected. Whoever be the author, life takes its own course. It is always unpredictable and that's why it is so adventurous. Life is a roller-coaster ride. In one moment, there is so much joy, so much pleasure, the next moment brings excruciating pain. There is peace and calmness in one moment, while the next moment is so much troubing. This, sometimes, makes me so tired that I desparately yearn for some stability in life, whether for good or bad.

If I am the one always, who is the sole author of this story, then why does each twist of the story surprises the author? This is because, I believe, I am not the single author here. Sometimes the flow of events is so beyond my control, that I feel that the god of fate, whom we Hindus call Bidhata-purush, is also writing my story, alongside me. Sometimes the pen is in my hand, but most of the time he snatches it from me and writes as he wants. I feel so powerless, I can't alter his writing.

Take, for instance, the allocation of service after I got selected in West Bengal Civil Service. Just a few more or a few less marks, and I could have easily landed in another person. That means, by now, I would have had a different social circle, met different kind of people, lived in a different place.

Consider the event of my wedding. It could have been with a different person easily. After all, it was an arranged marriage and there were marriage proposals from other guys as well.

But then, destiny takes me where I am today. Where I will be tomorrow will also be determined by the all powerful destiny.

Lastly, I'd like to share a quote from our great epic, the Mahabharata:
"Those who are wise do not feel sorry over fate. Even with the greatest wisdom, that which is ordained will happen. No one can transgress the path that has been laid down."
-The Mahabharata, Anukramanika Parva (Translated by Bibek Debroy)

This post is written in line with the Prompt If you were the writer of your own story - Your Life. How would you have altered it? #choice

Review: Siddhartha

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Heard a lot about this book, saw that the writer Hermann Hesse won Nobel Prize in literature. These motivated me to buy this book and read it with patience. And what a book it is! It's the best book I 've read in 2016 till date and this has the power to inspire you, to transform your life, to make you seek meaning in life! It is all these and more than these.

In very simple, layman's language, this book talks about the deep, spiritual meaning of life, of enlightenment. It's not to finish in a hurry, but to read, to grasp, to contemplate each sentence and the meaning they want to convey.

"Wisdom cannot be passed on. Wishdom which a wise man tries to pass on to someone always sounds like foolishness", so says Siddhartha. So read the book to gain some insights into Siddhartha's wisdom.

This is a book which I'd love to read many times over the course of life, just to seek a better understanding of life and it's purpose.

Highly recommended! A must-read for all!

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White: The colour of elegance

What do you associate with the colour white? Do you think it represents simplicity, purity and goodness? Well, it's all that and more than that. To me, white symbolizes elegance. Whenever I wear white, I feel so elegant, with so minimal effort.

I have bought a lot of white dresses of late. See the salwar suits below. The first one is off-white, with beautiful embroidery at the yoke. I bought this one from ajiolife.

The second one is from Trishaa by Pantaloons, off-white in colour, with an embroidered bodice with embellishment. I bought this from amazon.

The third one is from Biba, white and pink in colour. The kurta is asymmetric, with embroidered button and laces.

Whenever I wear any of these white salwar suits, I wear pearl earrings, white stone embedded bangles, white sunflower hair-clip, with my Yo Jelo black flats to complete the look and amplify my graceful look at any social or official ocassion.

How is this look? Which salwar is the most beautiful among the above three?

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