The Kite Runner

I started reading the kite runner 5 months back. It was so powerful and so sad that I could not bring myself to finish it. Avoiding the sadness of the book I moved on to rereading Potter and R.K. Narain. After a discussion on Christmas eve, I came home and frantically searched for it. I found it under of a pile of old books. I picked up the book again only to realize that it kept getting more sad. Khaled Hosseini brilliantly wove a story of a young boy in Afghanistan. He makes you feel the emotions of the characters in the book so strongly that at times you become the character. You feel his remorse and you feel his helplessness. You want to judge him but you can't because the character is you. The book was sad and I wanted to put the book down but could not. I had to know the fate of my characters or more importantly know if he becomes "good again". I finished reading it at 5:00 in the morning, unable to think.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

I made another late night trip to Barnes and Noble. I was without a book to read and desperate to find a good book. My sister had just laid her hands on Shantaram and had enjoyed the first ten pages. I went out and bought the book for $15.00. It is is by far one of the good books I have read in my lifetime. It was hard to put it down and I ended up staying up late most of the nights reading this book. The book took me on a journey beyond my world. It took me to a world I knew existed but had never had a glimpse of. It fascinated me with how different and interesting lives can me. Shantaram is a great book and I highly recommend it.

It is the story of Gregory David Roberts called Lin or Lin Baba or Shantaram. It is the story of his trials and tribulations. It is the story of his desire and need to belong to Bombay. It is the story of freedom and love. It is the tale of Lin escaping a maxium security prison in Australia and arriving in Bombay and his eight years there. I look forward to his prequel and sequel to the book.

PPD

My friends call it the post prelim depression. It strikes after you sucessfully defend your Phd proposal a.k.a Prelim exam. It starts with a feeling of accomplishment, happiness on knocking out an exam. It then takes the form of inability to do any kind of serious work for a week, 2 weeks at times even months. I am at the beginning of the PPD and I want to shape it right. I decided to stock up on my books and enjoy the summer. It is going to be Ruskin Bond, Amitav Ghosh, Premchand and a few other indian authors.

Ruskin Bond

His story still haunts me. It was a haunting short story. I wish short stories were longer :). The good ones always leave me with the sense of wanting to know more. I have been meaning to read Ruskin Bond for a long time. I have always admired him and think that he is a fabulous author. Here is a list of his work.

- The Room on the Roof
- Delhi is not Far
- The Sensualist
- Vagrants in the Valley
- A Flight of Pigeons
- Cherry Tree
- The Night Train at Deoli and Other Stories
- Panther’s Moon and Other Stories
- The Road to the Bazaar
- Time Stops At Shamli
- Our Trees Still Grow In Dehra
- The Blue Umbrella
- Funny Side Up

Chorni

I saw Chorni at my sister's house. Starring Neetu Singh and Jitendra, the movie is pretty good. Neetu Singh is gorgeous and a great actress. It is the story of a judge who decides to take in Neetu Singh (a pick pocket) to give her a good upbringing and ensure that she stays away from crime.

And my all time favourite

Chupke Chupke:

Hum Kissi Se Kam Nahin

Yet another classic Nasir Hussain production. Made in 1977 the movie stars Rishi Kapoor, Kaajal Kiran, Tariq and Zeenat Aman (in a short role). The songs are absolutely splendid. There is romance, action and suspense. The three key ingredients that make a masala hindi movie. The movie is a great watch but a little away from the earthiness we so lack in our movies. It comes off as a musical, maybe that is what Nasir Hussain wanted it to be.

To Catch a Thief

I recently saw to catch a thief with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. It is a wonderful movie set in the french reviera. A jewel thief who is blamed for the thefts he has not commited. The retired jewel thief takes it on himself to catch the copy cat. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants something to do on a lazy afternoon.

List of Movies I have to go through soon

Lamhe
Kareeb
Chandni
Gol Maal
Andaz Apna Apna
Hum Kissi se Kam Nahi
Sarfarosh
Ram Lakhan
Choti si baat
Chitchor
Taxi Taxie
Do Ladke Dono Kadke
Naram Garam
Lakhon Ki Baat
Yehi Hai Zindagi