on Writing - Stephen King

Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.

Being a writer is *not* easy. You sit in front of the computer and your mind's frozen. You know you've the story inside you, it just refuses to come out. No amount of coffee (read coaxing) seems to work and thus, most of us postpone it to yet another day. This is a well known phenomenon and has been called variously as *writer's block*, *procastination* etc.

Stephen King is one of those few authors who can actually get shit done. He's managed to write almost every day of his life, published 55 novels and several more short stories. His books The Shining and Misery are classics of the horror/thriller genre and most (if not all) fiction fans have heard about his books.

This is why I had high expectations when I picked up this book. And thankfully, I wasn't disappointed.
On Writing is a memoir on the art of writing and the factors which Stephen believes made him so successful at it. It's a short and powerful read which gives you some good insights and a lot of  background information about the author.

The first chapter is sort of autobiographical (aptly titled 'C.V.' ) and talks about the events which influenced King's own life and his development as an author. It's a fun read and tells us a lot about the author. He also talks about his early writing, sending articles to magazine authors, contributing to his brother's newspaper etc. The next three chapters detail Stephen's advice to other writers on the craft of Writing which is followed with a final chapter discussing his own accident and subsequent recovery.

The memoir is fast paced and you won't be bored reading it. It contains some useful information and introduces you to the life and thoughts of one of the most successful writer's of our times. The writing advice is common knowledge now (avoid adverbs, describe only what's needed and let readers imagine the rest etc) but I suspect this book played a role in popularizing it.

Reasons to Read

• Getting to know one of the most successful author's of our generation
• Understanding that the art of writing can only be perfected by practice
• If you're an aspiring writer

Memorable Quotes:

The scariest moment is always just before you start.

Description begins in the writer’s imagination, but should finish in the reader’s

Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.

The road to hell is paved with adverbs.

Trips to the railway station - Part 2

It was a cold wintery morning and Sneh would have loved nothing better than to be sleeping in his warm bed. Instead his father had blackmailed him into accompanying the driver to the railway station for picking up his cousins, who were coming from their ancestral village.

Sneh hadn't met them ever before and truth be told, he wasn't too eager to meet them either. Having had no previous experience with people from the village before, he imagined them as being similar to his maid's children. Simple, naive  and happy; likeable in every way but somehow missing some key ingredient that didn't make them worthy of his friendship or attention. These thoughts didn't occur to him consciously but they were there. They were the reason for his reluctance in picking them up, his refusal to share his room with them, his not telling his friends about their impending visit.

They reached the station half an hour before the scheduled arrival of the train so the driver parked the car in the parking and went out for a smoke. Sneh decided to utilize this time for sleeping. Just as he was about to fall asleep, there was a knock on the door. He looked outside and saw an old lady begging for money. She was wearing tattered old clothes and was clearly shivering of cold. Her hands were wrinkled and her eyes seemed hollow. She complained about the cold, the hunger and her poverty. With outstretched hands, she begged for some assistance.

If Sneh had seen such a sight for the first time, it would have shaken him up without a doubt. An old lady, begging for food, in such a harsh weather is not easy to ignore. But in India, where there are millions of such beggars, one simply can't survive without developing an immunity to their suffering.
Too many people need help and it is better to ignore them all rather than to try helping them and realizing your own helplessness against the situation. Thus, Sneh did the sensible thing and, after turning his head, went to sleep.

He woke up to the sound of breaking glass. Panicked, he looked around and realized that a stone had been hurled at his car.A mob had surrounded his car and was hurling things at it. He could see some cars burning in the distant background and hear people shouting about. There was fire all around and the few faces he could pick out, seemed full of hate and anger. Sneh could feel a coldness spreading over his body. He felt numb and could only look as one of the stones broke through the glass and hit the dashboard. He wanted to run but his legs seemed frozen. Fear had him rooted to the spot and cold drafts of air which came through the broken window made him shiver. He saw the old lady again. Her face had a weird glow about it, her eyes were shining and she seemed, happy. Sneh was mesmerized and afraid. Very very afraid.

"Sneh baba, get up. Sneh baba!" said the driver. "The train has arrived and your cousins must be waiting on the platform. Let's go." It took Sneh several moments to orient himself. His palms were sweaty and his breath came out in spurts. He looked around to assure himself that it was all a bad dream.

Walking with his driver to the railway station, Sneh felt some his haughtiness leave him.
The little kid was scared and had just learned to respect the destitute, even if it was only in a dream.

Trips to the railway station - Part 1

He was nine years old when he first visited the New Delhi Railway station. The dilapidated buildings, the big crowds, the garbage and the paan stains all around him made him question the sanity of the teachers who had planned this 'educational trip'. His batch mates however, were very excited to be there. Many of them had never seen actual trains before, being accustomed to the comforts of Ac's and airplanes. To tell the truth, Sneh himself was excited about seeing his first train, it was just the accompanying scenery that made him uncomfortable. Why wasn't the railway station clean like the airport? Why did they allow the beggars and dogs to sit in the open? His mother believed that beggars were no better than thieves and should be jailed. His father took a more lenient view and believed in helping the ones which needed help, like old and handicapped ones. Sneh wasn't sure what he himself believed.

He would have liked to sit and think more about this but his teacher started their tour and so, he had to move along with the group. The boys lined up one after the other and began moving in sync, exclaiming out loud whenever they saw or noticed something different. The man with a single leg, the stink of garbage around the station, the cries of the taxi-walas, all of it caught their attention and imagination. It seemed like a new country to them. These children of fortune were surprised to see the suffering around them.

Sneh was also walking along with his group when he saw a big black bag which seemed to move by itself. It was obvious the bag had garbage in it. What wasn't obvious was who was pulling it, he really couldn't make out the other person in the crowd. Sneh stopped, trying to solve this mystery. The line continued to move, leaving him behind.

A moment came when the crowd parted and he realized that it was child who pulled that bag. The child was about the same height as Sneh himself. He was wafer thin and had marks on his face. It was obvious that the bag was too heavy for him and all his strength was going in pulling it. Sneh felt sorry for the boy. He wanted to go and help him.

But the line had left him far behind. All his batch mates had moved forward and he would be left far behind if he didn’t get a move on fast. He would miss out on the fun and the refreshments planned for later if he went to help that boy.

The teacher will be angry, he heard a voice say in his head, I can’t do much to help that boy as it is, it’s best I avoid trouble myself. Thinking so, Sneh justified his apathy and walked away.

This is the first post in the Trips to the railway station series, something which I have been working on quite sometime now. Hope you liked it.

Dreams and deadlines

I woke up with a start and the first thought that hit me was that I was late for work. Panicking, I looked at my clock and realized it was 4:00am, I still had 6 hours to go before work began. Reassured by thig sight and not sure what else to do, I kept lying in my bed thinking about the present state of my life. It had been 6 months since I had left my job to try and create the life of my dreams. 6 months, during which I worked on my startup idea and tried to create the next big thing.

A Beautiful Mind

I just finished watching this movie and this is going to be an unedited and crazy review of the same. I saw this movie after being asked to do so by a couple of my friends, who termed it 'amazing' and 'inspiring'. Having finished it, I can definitely say that I am both inspired and amazed.

The movie is about the life and struggle of the mathematical genius, John Nash, the man who may be called the father of modern game-theory. It chronicles his quest for greatness and his battles with schizophrenia (a disease where people get hallucinations and delusions). The movie starts off when young Nash enters Princeton and starts his quest to reach MIT. Believing that classroom education dulls ones' own creativity and enthusiasm, Nash spends his entire time outside the classroom, finding and tackling problems of his own choice. All this time, his only friend seems to be the elusive Charles Herring, who is his roommate and confidant. Nash spends most of his time working on his theories and finds himself more comfortable in the presence of books and notes than other humans.

Nash's search ends when he finds a better solution to the problem of Game theory and writes a paper that gets him into wheeler labs. And this is where, the true story begins. On being hired at MIT, Nash meets his love, Mrs Alicia Larde. He is also, signed up by the US secret services to help crack codes being used by the Russians.  This task of a 'spy' for the US government starts taking its toll on Nash's health and mental well being and he becomes very paranoid.
Afraid for his mental health, Alicia calls the mental hospital and gets Nash admitted.

What happens when one of the foremost minds of the 20th century lands up in a mental hospital? And what about the top secret work he was doing?

Well, you must watch the movie to find out. I must tell you this though, few movies capture the beauty of human emotions and turmoil as this one does. The portrayal of Dr John Nash by Russell Crowe and his wife by Jennifer Connelly is realistic and lovable.

This is a movie that will make you appreciate the ups and downs of life more. It is also a movie about love and affection. But above all, it is a movie about a great man who lost his way and the strength of the love that brought him back.

Revival - Stephen King

“Nothing is more frightening than a fear you cannot name.” 

-Cornelia Funk

Arguably one of the greatest authors of modern times, Stephen King, has produced master piece after master piece over the years. His novels stand out not because of their macabre or gory nature, but due to the level of suspense and realism his plots have. Most of his books are about the horror of the unknown and the unnamed. They are little things and little events, which wreck havoc in the protagonists life.

Revival promises to be another top-seller, written along the same lines. The official website describes it as "A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life".  

The story begins in a small New England town about half a century ago, where the new minister, Mr Charles Jacobs, begins preaching and reforming the local church.The charismatic minister forms a deep bond with a small boy named Jamie Morton, who loves to play the guitar and has the same 'secret obsession' as the minister. However, when tragedy strikes his family, Charles looses his faith in god and is banished from the shocked town. Over the next couple of decades, Jamie grows up to become a struggling musician, caught in the trap of drugs and sex. Living a nomadic life as a band musician, Jamie's life is profoundly impacted when he runs across Mr Jacobs again.
Seems like an interesting plot no? The official website claims that this novel has the 'most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written'. Quite a tough ask if you ask me but then again, when has Stephen King ever disappointed us?

I am eagerly waiting for this book to come out and will update my views here once it does! Do comment if you have anything to say about this book and/or wish to share your views.

The lonely king

My brain is locked down

And my face wears a frown

With seventy different pressures to bear

And heart quivering as the time comes near

Time to sit on the throne

Time to face the enemies unknown

Enemies who will place in my hands their miserable lives

And hide behind the skirts of their wives

Expecting me to deliver them from their misery

Without touching a sword or risking injury

It will be frustrating time for me

Alone and exasperated I shall be

When will the fools understand?

Alone, I am but one man

Together we are a stronger lot

Who can battle this veritable rot

Of corruption and despair, and bring about

The happiness that seems missing all around

The Banyan Tree

Seven dwarfs married the banyan woods
stupid dwarfs didn't know that they could

have loved each other and lived better
be happier talking and hugging each other

rather than kissing their wooden lover
and being jealous of each other

We laugh at the dwarfs and call them fools
not realizing our love for our own tools

is replacing our admiration of our brothers
and creating for the world a digitalized cover

of invisiblity cloaks and coats
limiting each man unto his lonely boat

having only chips and circuits for friends
wondering why no one loved him in the end.

Of Problems and Improvements

"The first man to hurl an insult instead of a stone was the founder of civilization"

- Sigmund Freud

We live in an imperfect world. There's a lot of disease, poverty, apathy, desperation,blah blah blah. Each moment is a challenge, full of both opportunities and threats. It's easy to get overwhelmed, its really easy to just 'give up', to sit and crib about the system, to cultivate the feeling of despair and to adopt the "Chalta hai" attitude. This is what Stephen R Covey calls being 'reactive'. You see the circumstances around you and decide that things can't change. You look at the enormity of the task and give up, not realizing that smaller victories eventually lead to bigger ones.

A big country like India has innumerous problems. There is widespread corruption, lack of education, acute poverty, poor infrastructure etc. Caste, creed and religion, we are divided along all these lines. Its very frustrating to get anything done. Running around government offices, trying to find the person who can "do something" is a daunting task. It can break even the most resolute of spirits.

Even today, with the advent of modern technology and the widespread dissemination of information, people are hesitant to take up the war cry. They may share your statuses on facebook and '+1' them on google, but in the end, the people standing outside the CM's office will be those directly affected. Of course the opposition party might join them but often, this does more harm than good. Issues are politicized and taken out of context. The poor protesters find themselves not only fighting the government but also their so called supporters. Harassed and confused the protesters give up and join the already long list of cribbers.

Martin Niemoller  once wrote :

"

First they came for the communists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,

and there was no one left to speak for me.

"

Internet activism has been a boon to all of us, but it has its limitations. People have to get out of their homes in order for things to really happen. So much can happen if all of us band together! This ad perfectly explains it :

Just being born in India doesn't make you an Indian. We need to earn this title and learn to be proud of it.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please post them below.

On a side note : I have reached the final round for TOI's I lead India campaign. Check out my profile here and vote for me if you think I am capable enough. You have to select 5 people and click on submit vote.
Thank you. Sudhanshu.

Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert

She wanted to die, but she also wanted to live in Paris.

 

The quest to find love makes people do crazy things. Madame Bovary is the story of one such dreamer who spends her life searching for the passion, excitement and adventure she hears about in stories but which seems to be missing from her mundane everyday life.

Charles Bovary is a simple and unambitious doctor who prefers to live a peaceful domestic life. After the death of his first wife, Charles marries Emma Roualt. Emma spent her youth reading romantic novels and imagining herself to be the protagonist of all the great adventures in them. She dreams of living a rich, luxurious life in Paris. A simple, unambitious and average man like Charles doesn't satisfy Emma, who becomes disenchated with her marriage and sees it as constrictive and suffocating. Easy going charles doesn't realize his wife's unhappiness and assumes that a change of air could do her good. So he takes Emma and settles down in the larger town of Yonville. But the change of scenery doesn't do Emma much good and she continuous to feel unhappy and disappointed. When Rodolphe, a rich young man tries to seduce her, Emma falls pray to his charms. She begins an illicit affair with Rodolphe, believing herself to have found love at last. Unsuspecting Charles continues to pay for his wife's expenses , not realizing that Emma's using his money to cheat him. Things move fast and .... well, I will let you find that out for yourself.

This heady cocktail of love, lust and emotions is the basic plot of this classic novel. Madame Bovary is a book that will tug at your heart strings from all sides. Whether it be the desperate for love Emma, the clever Rodolphe or the simple doctor, every character manages to make an impression. The novel can be classified as a romantic tragedy that explores the relation between dreams and reality. I would highly recommend this to people who are unsatisfied with their stations in life or even worse, their life partners (look before you leap as they say :D).

 

Reasons to read:

• The novel makes a strong case for the need to be practical in life. Every character manages to destroy himself in trying to attain an unattainable goal.
• The detailed character description and the intricate plots keep you engrossed.
• One of the best romantic tragedy's, its a must read for fans of the genre.

Memorable Quotes:

“You forget everything. The hours slip by. You travel in your chair through centuries you seem seem to see before you, your thoughts are caught up in the story, dallying with the details or following the course of the plot, you enter into characters, so that it seems as if it were your own heart beating beneath their costumes.” 

"Never touch your idols: the gilding will stick to your fingers."

"An infinity of passion can be contained in one minute, like a crowd in a small space"

"Of all the icy blasts that blow on love, a request for money is the most chilling"

Why to Read?

In this age of movies and social networking, few people (if any) bother to read books/articles. Who has the time, they say. Who has the concentration and patience, I ask.

With the advent of Internet and the information overdose we all are faced with, most of us have developed techniques to skim through text and not 'waste time' reading worthless shit. However, this habit of skimming has reduced our attention span (so has our habit of messaging). When we read an entire article in a few seconds or we text multiple people at the same time, we believe we are saving time. Unfortunately, we are reducing our capacity for joy. How many of us can really understand Shakespeare any longer? How many can appreciate Wordsworth, Keats and Shelly?
The answer is few, if any. The reason is that a Keats cannot be skimmed through in one go, neither can Shakespeare be understood in one reading (except by another Shakespeare of course). Like jealous lovers, they demand your complete attention before they open up to you. Fickle minded us, can never get these pearls.

Schools and colleges are resembling factories more and more. Each pass out is only marginally different from the rest of his batchmates. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

So the next time you get yourself an A in class, think of the thousands of others classes in the millions of other districts , where people studying the same course as you, got an A. Would you still be proud? What makes you any different from all those other A's? If 17 problems of algebra are good enough to make you a master, what's the point of being one?

"That's all cool ya, but dafuq can I do about it? Kill the other A's? "

Umm, not really. There are ways to distinguish yourself without adopting such drastic measures. The easiest one of course is , read. Not by skimming hundreds of B grade articles on the net, but the good ones that you just CANNOT skim. Yeah, there are plenty of articles out there which will make you think. Yeah, you heard me. Think.

These are the kind of articles which are not often shared, which aren't posted on social networks because they are not 'easy reads'. They can belong to any category, to any niche. You need to find them and you need to read them. Why? Because you wish to distinguish yourself. Because they will change you, they will challenge you and they will make you grow.

Reading is an art that sharpens the mind. It gives you knowledge and knowledge gives you power,money, fame, life etc etc. It gives you a new way to look at things, it expands your horizons. Who knows, the next book you read might change the person you are, it might lead to a startup, an enterprise, an idea that might change the world? It might lead to an idea that changes your life. It might contain the answer to your problems.

Ps : Please do share any worthwhile articles you find as knowledge grows by sharing.

How to choose a good book

“A mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.” 

-George R.R Martin

There are literally hundreds of books out there and thousands of authors eager to express their views. It can be intimidating for a first timer to choose that 'perfect book', a book that hooks them to reading, a book that expands their horizons and is comprehensible. 

Today, I will write about the art of choosing a book. There are literally hundreds of articles on this and every other person will tell you something else about it, here's my two cents.

1) Friends & Acquaintances - Ask the people around you who read a lot (hint : they are the ones 'hanging out 'in libraries and book stores). They will suggest you exactly the right book, keeping in mind you level and your aim for reading.

2) Your interests -  Why do you want to read a book? Is it for fun or to learn? If you want to learn, then why a book instead of a blog/website? These questions, while simple, will greatly help you in narrowing down your search. Not all books talk about what you want. Many would talk about similar ideas, but only a few will deal with the exact topic.

3) Reviews - Book reviews and user ratings are a great way to find out more about any book. Also, while reading a review keep in mind the kind of person who wrote the review. A teenager might not highly rate a book which retirees would love. Search around a bit and you will find a good review by a person with similar thoughts as you. Heed this guy's advice.

Freakonomics – Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

“A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything.”

Some books teach you how to think , others show you how its done. Freakonomics belongs to the second category,

Economics is a field long associated with money and its applications in the modern financial system. However, in this book Levitt proves how it's more than just crunching numbers. Levitt arrives at mind-boggling conclusions simply by analyzing data using established economical methods. I mean how can one quantify the role of parents in a child's life? How do you predict something about a person just knowing their name. There are dozens of books on this topic, but few (if any) support their hypothesis and conclusions in the way Freakonomics does.

The book has become a well deserved best-seller. For me this is more a book about greatness than about statistics or conclusions. Dr. Levitt proves that adage, “Winners don't do different things, they do things differently.” Applying an abstract field ( at least that's what I thought before reading this book) like economics to real life situations and coming up with mind blowing hypothesis's shows how greatness isn't limited by conventional boundaries. A great economist is as much a philosopher and a scientist as a number cruncher.

THE MONK WHO SOLD HIS FERRARI - Robin S. Sharma

"The book which changed a million lives"

Robin S. Sharma managed to pen down ancient Indian philosophy in this short and concise book, which was loved by readers the world over. This book is a huge success and it deserves it.

Through the voice of Julien Mantle, a hotshot lawyer turned enlightened saint, the books discusses the problems we face in our fast-paced lives. Julien talks about his old “successful life”, where he earned millions but was unhappy, unhealthy and stressed, with little time for friends and family (Strikes a chord? ). Then, he talks about his transformation and the various steps he followed to reinvent his life. He intersperses his philosophical talks with funny anecdotes and jokes and manages to keep both the reader and his friend interested.

In the genre of self-help books, this one would rank amongst the top ones for sure.

On a side note, those of you who have read or are about to read Ayn Rand, compare the interpretation of eastern philosophy by Rand to the one preached here. Does make an interesting study. Plus, it highlights the myopic view Ms. Rand had of the concept of altruism.

A lovely read (Article)

Hi! I have been busy recently and thus, haven't written any more reviews lately.
Will do so soon!

For the time being, this is an interesting article I read. Gives one food for thought. It talks about the stupidity of critically analyzing literary texts for they are meant to be felt by the heart, not dissected by the brain.

I agree wholeheartedly with what the writer says. Read it. And comment if in the mood to discuss. Keep reading!

Acre - George Johnson

“Genius is 1% talent and 99% percent hard work” 

This is a simple book, written straight from the heart. It tells the story of a talented baseball player's journey to success and the obstacles he faces along the way. It manages to interest and inspire its readers, most of whom, specially the baseball lovers, won't put it down without finishing it.

The author's love for baseball and his firm belief in working hard is apparent while reading this book. His protagonist, Acre, is superman in disguise (figuratively of course!). Acre works hard, stays disciplined and relentlessly pursues his dream of playing baseball. He keeps his promises, helps the poor, isn't greedy etc etc. Not sure if such a person could actually exist, but he is definitely the ideal we all unconsciously strive to achieve. His hard work and determination bring him the success he deserves but they also make the other players jealous of him. They taunt Acre, ignore him. With his professional career taking off, Acre is informed of the death of his sweetheart, Sharon. The way he deals with these issues and doesn't let them interfere with his career makes this book interesting and different from others in this genre. His father's penchant for tweaking and his creation of an unique baseball cage (the description's given in the book) is another interesting part of this story.

There are parts of this book that do seem repetitive and at times the story seems too slow. The various baseball statistics and plays simple went over my head* and I would have appreciated it if the author had, either provided more graphic descriptions or gone easy with the stats et al.Still the pros far outweigh the cons and I would suggest this book as a leisure read, specially to baseball fans and sports lovers around the world.

The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand

“To say "I love you" one must know first how to say the "I" ” 

A must read.

There are few books that force you to think hard about your life, your goals and the world around you. The Fountainhead definitely falls in this category.

This is a story about a talented architect, Howard Roark, who believes in himself and refuses to compromise with his work, refusing any sort of collaboration project and ignoring suggestions about his work. He believes that the end result of one man's effort can be used as a starting point by others but an idea that is formed by mixing together several ideas, isn't half as good as the original ones. His radical and uncompromising attitude causes Roark a lot of hardships, which he faces with the attitude of a stoic. At the same time, Gayle Wynand, a man just as talented and determined as Roark, publishes in his newspaper whatever the public wants to read. Unlike Roark, he doesn't believe in expressing himself through his work. So at one hand you have a media mogul, content to sit back and let people read what they want, not interested in sharing what he believes, only in making money and on the other, you have Roark, the man who believes in working for no one except himself and who won't do anything he doesn't like to do, no matter what the consequences. The contrast in the beliefs and the lives of these two individuals forms the basic plot for this novel.

You can't help but love both of them. Roark and Wynand seem like brothers who chose different paths in life and are now set for collision. Other characters like Toohey, Dominique and Peter will remind you of certain people around you. Remember the boy who wanted to be a painter but is studying science under family pressure? He's Peter Keating (or will be unless he changes his dreams or his profession). The confused boy who always does what others tell him to? He's a representative of the confused masses, lost and gullible.

The greatness of this book lies in the way it makes major philosophical commentaries, without being the least bit boring. Rand talks about the need for individualism and independence, she criticizes altruism and subsidies based on need, and she does all this with flair. As a reader, I never felt bored of this novel. Even during the philosophical parts of the text, my interest never waned. The examples given in the book, the situations created are all practical and while reading it, we are often reminded of real life incidences where these things do occur.

The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger

“I'm quite illiterate, but I read a lot. ” 

Weird.

This word pretty much sums up this book. You often come across authors who attempt to write books on concrete events or topics but the resultant is nothing except trash. Their attempts to convey meaning fail and the readers are left confused. But what about an author who deliberately does this? Catcher in the Rye is one such book. It has no moral lessons to impart, no special experiences to thrill.

It is the story of a teenage boy,Holden Caulfield, who after being kicked out of school, decides to spend sometime in run down New York motels, before going back home to face his parents. He spends the next few days visiting bars, meeting old crushes and wondering about the motives of people around him. The story has no major twists and turns. A detailed narrative of Holden's simple(stupid?) adventures is all it tells. And yet, this is considered a literary classic by many (myself included). The reason? Because of the sheer difficulty of penning down accurately the thoughts and actions of a teenager. Teenage is a phase we all go through. Each of us has experienced the moments of self doubt, pity and confusion that Holden goes through. Most of us spend hours trying to find out what we really want in life, few of us succeed. In this book, the author captures the angst of Holden and his confusion beautifully. Holden's hate of movies, slobs, wars and almost everything that's fake is expressed in an interesting way.

This book is not for the rational people, the ones who believe every story must have a head and a tail. For this one doesn't. It's simply random thoughts penned down together to create a narrative. I thought it was easy to do it, till I tried it myself.

Reasons to read it:

• Reading about Holden's views and actions reminds one of our teenage. The period when people seem fake and all actions pointless, the time of wondering what we really want to do. Believe me, its fun.
• This is one book which all aspiring writers should read. Simple everyday events are always the toughest to describe and Salinger does this beautifully. You can learn a lot from him. 

We, the losers of the world

"You are never a loser until you quit trying"

-Mike Ditka

Loss is a funny thing. People celebrate victory, the winners are cheered and parties are thrown. Somehow, all of us forget the losers. The ones who were 'almost' the winners. It isn't as if they didn't work as hard or didn't deserve to win. It's just that on that particular day someone else won.

It is often said a cricket match, for example, has eleven winners and eleven losers. The winners are felicitated while the losers are ignored. However, I believe that each match has twenty two winners. The ones who win as well as the ones who gave their best to it. As long as someone doesn't quit, he hasn't lost. Anyone who falls but retains the courage to stand up and try again, is a winner. I know its hard to get back up. I know it's hard to look your family in the eye. But pain is the best of teachers. Each time you fail, you learn a new skill, gain a new experience.

I speak as the man who lost it all. The man who failed at all conceivable competitions and events. Failed in academics, failed in sports, failed in life. Its tough to live through life with a smile, when each and every moment, you are reminded of the dreams that were left unfulfilled and the only thing you feel is a big hole in your chest.

I came close to quitting once. It was the day I got my tenth board exam results. I had failed. Staring at the report card, all I felt was shock. I could feel my own heartbeat but I couldn't speak. I saw the disappointment in my mother's eyes and ran out of her room. I locked myself in my room and broke down. The tears wouldn't stop. All my thoughts, all my dreams started coming back to me. They seemed to mock me. Every failure and disappointment of my life, came to haunt me."You are a loser", they seemed to say. The moments I had spent in joy and happiness seemed undeserved, wasted. Who was I, a loser, to enjoy life? The man who can't pass his exams doesn't deserve happiness or joy. My entire existence seemed a mockery.

It would have been easy to quit. To admit my failure.To get the gun. But a part of me refused to give in. This was the part which believed in Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi. They were losers too, it said, but they didn't give in, they struggled on and they won. What do I have in common with them, I scoffed. Still, that part refused to quit. I was raged by turmoil.

Half my days was spent in contemplating suicide and the other half, wondering if I could ever recover from this loss. Over a period of several months, I became normal again, or as normal as I could be. The hole was still there, as was the pain. But I managed to make peace with myself. I realized I had nothing to lose. After all, I was at the bottom of the pyramid and so, I decided to try.

I still am at the bottom. But now, my eyes set on the top. I continue to try new things, continue to fail. Each failure brings its share of disappointments but each failure also teaches me, new things. I don't know if I will ever win, if I my dreams will ever come true. But I hope and I work.

Are you like me too? Then come, let's join hands and work together, to change the world. We, the losers of this world.

Have you failed in life too?

What was it that defeated you?

Are you the loser who lost his job?

Or the one who is afraid of the mob?

Come, O loser, take my hand,

Together, we can change this Land.

With our feet in the gutter and our eyes towards the sky,

The world will know us, the day we fly.

I, The Reader

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one."

- George R.R. Martin

I am a reader. I come from nowhere and everywhere.

From the streets of India, the meadows of France, the slums of Karachi and the craters of mars.

I am nobody and everybody. I am that poor beggar on the street, the grouchy lady beside your house. I am the sick man breathing his last, the lost girl desperate for help, the dreamer banished by society, the lover bound by tradition. I am all around you. I am you.

Each time I pick up a book, I become something different. A painter, a businessman, a monk, a dog, a cat and god knows what else. I have even been God. Each day, I live a different life and die a different death. Each day I gain new desires, new hopes, new fears and pleasures. I have felt the awkwardness of not belonging, the longing for love, the desperation of hunger and the pain of being hurt. I have had my bones broken, my dreams shattered. I have seen loved ones die, seen people change and yet, I have struggled on. I fought in the battle for Troy and have participated in Satyagraha. I have set up industries and factories ,and have worked in them for meager wages. Each life, I learned to be more than just me. I learned to be you, to be she,to be he. I learned to be us.

And this is why I understand you. Your hopes, your dreams, your fears. The expectations you have from society, the despair you feel at times. And this is why I promise you, I will be there. I will support you as a mother, a friend, a lover and a father. I will be the oppressor and the oppressed. All of it for you. I will give voice to your hopes, dispel your fears and help you stand in this world. I promise to stand beside you in your struggle, to guide you. I will teach you the lessons of my life, will encourage you to live them too.

Because then you will see, the similarities between the children in the States and the adults in Emirates. You wouldn't call one different from the other, instead would love them both as brothers. Start your journey today, my friend. Understand that all of us are the same, me and you, you and me, us.

Pick a book and live a life,

Today, I am Don Juan, will you be my wife?