Harry Potter @ Joseph Beth!

The line outside Joseph Beth...we got the book @ 12.35 AM - time just flew!



Inside Joseph Beth, before 12 AM, k trying to mimic a crazy teenage HP fan...



k being all nice...



Inside Joseph Beth...



Harry Potter is a phenomenon that I wish had lasted much longer...like happy childhood memories, we wish to re-visit it just one more time and it's always over too soon...

People from the "big and busy" cities in the US, visit Lexington and then tell us, "Gosh! This is a small town, I would be bored here!" I can't explain to them what makes life interesting for us, Lexingtonians...not with a convincing flow of arguments anyway, it's just not one particular place or event, it's a sum total of small bundles of pleasant happenings (which often cannot be explained to be understood - like trying to explain to a person who doesn't read books, what it is like to stay up late in the night, immersed in another life, almost as real as this one)...and standing in the long line around Joseph-Beth the eve of of a Harry Potter book release is one such event...

This time we reached pretty early, 11.10 PM and took our time watching and sharing the enthusiasm of kids and adults dressed as colorful HP characters...Fred and George, Mad-eye moody, Tonks, several Harry Potters, Hermiones...gosh, you have to be there to know what I am talking about...I would be way too restless to stay @ home and count every minute until the precious book reached me!


It's small events like these that make life interesting for me - Georgetown Kite Festival, Shakespeare Festival, Harry Potter book release @ Joseph Beth, Garba-Dandya during navratri @ the temple, plays @ Danville...small traditions that make a difference, that help to strengthen the tenuous bond that desis have towards their adopted home towns...

For me, FRIENDS, Everybody loves Raymond, Full House reruns and more recently Reba and Still Standing fall into the same category; if I ever go back for good, these will be among those things, however trivial, that I miss about life here...

Oh well...anyway, still can't get over the fact that the HP saga is over. I just cannot believe how Rowling managed to create a world so fantastic yet realistic, how she managed to etch class differences in society (goblins and wizards), everyday life and work (Ministry of Magic for example), romances and tragedies in a world so unlike our own yet making us live and feel and cry with the characters as if they really existed...I wonder which other book will make me forget my sleep and stand for an hour in front of the book store?

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Harry Potter update.

350th page.

Worried.

What if someone blurts out the ending?

Will not check emails/text messages/orkut scraps or attend to phone calls until page # 760.

*begin incommunicado-by-choice*

Tue 7/24 Update: Finished the book @ 1.30 AM last night!

No more Hogwarts, charms, spells, crazy plants, crazier teachers and lovable witches and wizards :(((

This is like the time "F.R.I.E.N.D.S" and "Everybody loves Raymond" ended...I feel like crying :(

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Guess?!

I blame this totally on L~, he wanted me to translate this song for his Northie friends! S~ gave me the "wedding-altar" interpretation for the first line, my mom helped me with the remaining meanings...

So, can anyone else guess the song? :)


Like a cool breeze, she touched the house/wedding-altar, but not the cot;
Slender and beautiful like the moon, yet her skin singes when I touch her;
Was there ever a sky that refused to listen to the melody of Bhoopalam?

Like droplets on a lotus petal, the lord and his wife live together;
Why the need for garlands and drum beats, when you wish to live as friends?
Bereft of a meaningful relationship, with no closeness or emotional ties, tell me,
Oh flower, what is your life like?

Life is not a stage, to depart after the drama ends;
Neither is our relationship a river, to change courses ever so often and continue on its journey;
Even the silver moon travels with the sky, why won't you come with me?

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Harry Potter...

ROCKS!!!

Umbridge is as "supremely annoying" as portrayed in the book, Sirius as comforting a presence, Voldemort as nasty an adversary and Hermoine, Ron, Fred and George as cute and dependable as ever :)

Luna Lovegood was awesome!

And of course Harry rocks too!!!

How am I going to wait until 21st?!

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25 going on 30!

I hear the late 20s are the time when people are most confused (besides midlife crisis), when they vacillate between early 20 something kids and well into 30s parents with kids :) They yearn for the carefree life of the bachelor(ette), late night parties and impulsive decisions. But, the secure, comforting family of three with an adorable toddler holding on tight to the mom no matter how much you try to entice it with chocolates also paints a sweet picture. We wish we could be certain of what to do with this thing called life, like the aunty and uncle we spoke to recently, knowing exactly what they want to do, and, we also know that comes with wisdom that only age can bring along. So, where does that leave us? The people who check the 25-30 box on forms hoping they could curtail their age in that box for a little more time? The to-be-married/just-married/no-kids/SINKs/DINKs?

We still remember the not too distant past when we woke up on snowy mornings and having missed the School bus, trudged along in the snow to teach an 8 AM Calculus class. Why, we even remember the day we stood in the long visa line, with friends from our colleges and even parents, from morning till next morning! And of course, we remember our college crushes like they happened yesterday...we remember how Oasis used to be, how KSR and TRS taught so well but we still didn't get into IIT, no matter BITS turned out to be loads of fun anyway...

And we also know we are standing on the brink of something life-changing - a cliff overlooking an ambitious yet scary future, promising elements of a cosy family life, with little kids gazing at us adoringly, a time when the person the kid refuses to leave is us...not them, and also bits and pieces of unknown paths - a mishmash forming our destiny, the future we hope to experience but can never be certain until the moment is upon us to be the present...

And walking along this path, we often look back, wondering if we could just linger a little longer, but at the same time yearning to experience the treasures that our journey will bring...and until we cross that distance, we remain the elusive 25-going-on-30 people; don't worry we'll get over this together!

And to those people who fall in the 20-25 group, you know the kind that goes, "Oh man, you'll be 30 in a coupla years!", I wish I could say, "Wow! And you are still 23, I must say, that is quite an achievement, your parents must be awfully proud of you!"

But I am a nice girl, I am not rude, given most situations. So, in the infinitely greater wisdom that the few years have given me over this astute 23-year-old, I would nod and smile. Also with wisdom. Ah, such pleasure to possess such wisdom :p

Hey you! Big Three-O, am all ready for you, bring it on, baby!

Uhh...take your time though, not in a hurry!

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Chennai 40508 VolleyBall Tournament!

Three days of intense volleyball, hoarse cheers, starbucks coffee and dinner outside! Remarkable team work and some stunt shots by the "Mokkai brothers" won the game for them!

Woohoo!

Yet another volleyball trophy to add to my showcase collection!







A~'s slogans deserve special mention:

- "Anjukapram aaru, appu adichaan kumaaru"

- "Twinkle twinkle, little star, Sujan is a super star"

- "Dhumm adicha poga varum, Kamal adicha kalavaram"

- "Marathukadila school da, Bharath aalu dhool da!"

- "Lakalakalakalakalaka!"

- "Ilaya Thalapathi (Vijay), Vazhga!"

"Sakkai podu potoma !!!

mokkai pota thanguma !!!!!!"

- "Rakai molaicha parapomda !!

mokkai adicha sethom da !!! "

- "Bit adicha pass da

nanga adicha closee da"

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My muse.

There was a time, not long ago, when words would flow gently, uninterrupted, from my thoughts to my hands, when rain or shine neither interrupted nor distracted my earnest attempts to string them into sentences...what happened to those words now? Why do they hide in the dark at the smallest pretext - a passing cloud in the sky, a passing phase in my life...?

Nary a phrase nor a word,
Not a sound echoes in all the silence.
Where lies my muse?
Where hides the thrill that perfect words bring?
Who imprisons the epithets that colored my lines?
What of the delightful train of lyrical phrases and melodious clauses,
that chimed along, in tune with me?
Oh, how you dwell in darkness!
Perhaps the whimsical winds, the capricious clouds,
the showers that alight without a call are to blame?
Perhaps, you shy away from the colors of nature?
Did they not embellish your presence once,
why then do you shy away now?
What use is your silhouette when I seek to limn a portrait?
If I seek thee on a bright and sunny morning,
my muse, would you care to return to me?

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