The real problem isn’t planning, It’s that we take our plans to be something they aren’t. What we forget, or can’t bear to confront is that, in the words of the American meditation teacher Joseph Goldstein – ‘a plan is just a thought.’ We treat our plans as though they are a lasso, thrown from…
Tag: Reading
Don’t Believe Everything You Think by Joseph Nguyen: More room for miracles ✨📖
It was a routine year end visit to the Sapna book house at Indira nagar in Bangalore for the usual purchase of the next year’s desk calendar and a diary; this was easily accomplished on the second floor of the shop. But succumbing to temptation, I went to check out what was on display at…
An enchanting escapism: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles 🏨
But with a dour expression, the German replied that the only contribution the Russians had made to the West was the invention of vodka.”I will buy a glass of vodka for any man in this bar who can name three more.” he said “I will take you at your word and happily accept your challenge.”…
Roads🛣to Mussoorie by Ruskin Bond: A memoir to savour 📚
I can never seem to get enough of Ruskin Bond’s Mussoorie stories; a hill station I have never been to in a district called Uttarakhand I hope to visit some day; but not this summer. May is the second month of scorching summer heat and more cloud watching, hopeful of the impromptu rain to cool…
Onam in a Nightie📚: Buoyant & nostalgic, stories of homecoming and serendipitous conversations 🧳
I kept away from this book as long as I could; I found the title a bit of a put off. But the yellow cover wouldn’t let off, the book appeared in every bookshop I visited and was very visible. I had not heard of the author before and finally in one of the bookshops,…
A delightful Japanese culture trip 🏯: Orienting by Pallavi Aiyar📖
I have watched the series James May: Our Man in Japan on Amazon Prime twice and it was in these episodes that I first heard the Japanese word Gaijin meaning foreigner. It was a good travelogue series and showcased the beautiful and crazy of Japan handpicked from the north to south of the archipelago. That…
Wisdom of the North ❄️: Wintering by Katherine May 📖
January 2022, the Kochi airport departure terminal wears a deserted look. In keeping with the trying pandemic times, the theme seems to have shifted from aesthetics and comfortable experience to merely functional. Most of the eating joints have been shut. As a precautionary measure in the uncertain times I arrived at the airport well in…
Reading lists (2021) 📝
“In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens that he left for you.” reads the lines from The Alchemist. The book whose English edition was first published in 1993, was surprisingly the most popular…
An exquisite deconstruction: City of Djinns by William Dalrymple 🌃
Looking for a travelogue on New Delhi !? Here’s a fantastic read 📖 I bought it second hand from Blossoms on Church Street, Bangalore; published in 1994, the book still carries names of it’s prior owners; a handwritten inscription of Ms. Ramani from London and a sticker at the back with the full address of…
Sparkle for the dreary days✨: How Proust Can Change Your LIfe by Alain De Botton 📖
The edges of the book are worn out; it’s a second hand book from the bookshops on Church Street, Bangalore. The title was first published in 1997. My second Alain De Botton book; the first one was The Art of Travel 👉 The perfect muse to (or not) travel 🧚 I have heard of and…
Landour Days by Ruskin Bond: Seasons in the Hills 🌲🌸
April-May is school vacation; schools close for the summer and families plan to escape the heat and head for the hill stations⛰. Our routine in Kerala for several years was to hop into our car and drive to my parents home. The kid and grandparents are ecstatic to see each other and I am happy…
A charming slice of life 🍰📖
One chapter a day would be the ideal pace for reading the book Goodnight and God Bless by Anita Nair, I reasoned as I ordered the book from Amazon and awaited it’s arrival. The reviews said it was a collection of bedside ruminations by Anita Nair and would be a good bed time read. But…
Free reads from Medium
Taking up the 3 free reads from Medium happens on the 1st of every month and August was no exception. It’s just that getting down to writing about it took some time. Here they are: [1] 5 Things You Should Do Before Lunch by Shaunta Grimes We definitely do more than 5 things before lunch;…
Good reads for the monsoon 2020 #2 🗺
“We were the usual: nine-to-sixers, investment-makers, mall-goers, office-trippers and city-slickers. We were life-going-to-seeders.”…reads the opening para on the back cover of the book. Usual is common and common is boring; so what do they transform into? The authors are the writer couple Devapriya Roy and Saurav Jha. This is my third book by Devapriya Roy….
Monsoon memories 🌧
The books arrived one by one on different days; I tear open the plastic envelopes in happy anticipation. Finally I have the five books to read through the monsoon months of June, July & August. Am living in Bangalore, but half of me is synchronised to the events calendar in Kerala🗓. By 2 June, monsoon arrived…
Good reads for the monsoon 2020 #1 🦋
Alphabet Soup For Lovers by Anita Nair is a fabulous read. This 200 page food love story is perfect to finish in one sitting. However, the end won’t leave you satiated….you will see😃. The back cover of the book detail a Malayalee couple – Lena Abraham and KK who own and run a tea plantation on…
Good reads for the holidays🎄📚
Winter or more aptly the cooler months in south India, free from the heat and rain are ideal for travel. Following the school calendar🗓, opportunity presents itself starting from October with the Puja holidays, followed by the Diwali hols and finally the Christmas holidays. And going by the travel trends reported in the papers, the millennials…
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman 📚📖
Wedding presents – “Two people wander around John Lewis picking out lovely items for themselves and then they make other people pay for them…..I simply fail to see how the act of legally formalising a human relationship necessitates friends, family and co-workers upgrading the contents of their kitchen for them.” says Eleanor Oliphant. I follow…
Good reads for the Monsoon #2 (and a perfect getaway)
If you are residing in a concrete jungle like Bangalore, you will want to get away to some place green and serene given a long weekend to enjoy the monsoon. Where to? Where else but to charming Coorg !! In Coorg we stayed at a resort called Old Kent Estate – one word to describe…
Miles and smiles 