When Silence Speaks...

A novel that unravels details of South Africa from apartheid era.  A story telling by two different people coming from opposite backgrounds.  A book of emotions so closely knit with the characters that you really cannot resist getting emotionally involved yourself. 'Hum If You Don't Know The Words' I am not sure how many of you are aware of apartheid era, and even if you know all about it, this book shows the experiences from both sides of the players; and that's completely different from what you learn from your history books or wikipedia. For me, this book took me deep into the world of South African society during the 1970s; letting me experience the thoughts and feelings of both a white child and a black mother.  Like the book says 'Divided by the colors of their skin, their paths should never have crossed' Somewhere, I don't recall if it was a movie or a book, a person asks why people even bother to study history, why waste time on...

I am not a movie buff. I watch selected movies in theaters as well as at home. But last few days, I spent time exploring movies in other languages and realized that Indian cinema does have an amazing library of movies, if one chooses to expand their territory. So here's the list of thriller movies I enjoyed watching.  They top my list of best thrillers because t hey stick to the genre, no unnecessary songs (some don't have a single song), no unwanted scenes, style of storytelling, makes your mind think,  surprises till the end, suspense is well maintained and more beautifully revealed. (And am not a fan of grotesque murders) I understand  Kannada,  Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, and a bit of Malayalam; so I enjoyed watching these more. But if you don't know the language, you will also find these movies in Amazon Prime, Netflix, Einthusan etc... with subtitles. 1. Mumbai Police - Malayalam - 2013 IMDB -  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt292...

I went on a winter hike last weekend; woods covered with snow; it was an amazing scenery; but I had not built my stamina enough post surgery for a level 4 hike like that one; and at the end was almost dragging myself to the finish line.  But this hike reminded me of an unfinished blog about an amazing person I met last year; which I had in the list of items to blog about. Today I write about Pia. Last year, 2017, I had been to Manitou Incline (famously known as The Incline) in Colorado. It is a very famous climb with maximum incline; and has been athletes favorite workout spot, as well as a tourist attraction. For native Coloradans this is a next door fitness challenge spot. The incline gains over 2,000 feet (610 m) of elevation in less than one mile (.88 miles). So you can imagine it's steep grade; with an average grade of 45% (24°) and as steep as 68% (34°) in places. The trail is fairly maintained, and on weekends it gets really crowded. But the view is breathtaking;...

I have been meaning to write about the books that I have enjoyed reading for quite some time now; but amidst all the chaos, I never got a chance or made time to write.  Am finally starting series of reviews about the books I have enjoyed reading; and although there are lot of them that I have loved, I cannot think of a better one than this to start my series; one that I recently finished reading. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman It's the way this book is written; it's so refreshing, and all the characters, you just fall in love with them. Ove, Sonja, Parvaneh, Rune, the cat, the dog, the Saab - the emotions of a man tied to tool box, radiators and all the other hardware mechanics in the world. We have a famous comedy series in Hindi - Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. For people who know what I am talking about, can you recall Dushyant? The way he gets so emotional about a broken lift or refrigerator or water cooler. Basically, he portrayed a comic version of...

Man who let billions of people like me dream about a different world away from this world.  Man who gave life to super humans.  Creator of the Avengers, Captain America, the Fantastic Fours, X-Men, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Spider man and inumerous others. Man who gave me Ironman.   Watching Marvel movies wont be the same again, without getting a glimpse of you in the movie.  This poster on my wall, that has been with me for a while now, will always remind me of your smiling face.  You will always remain alive in my memories. Rest in Peace Stan Lee.  Sarita Dated - 12th November 2018  The day that world will pay tribute to Stan Lee for years to come.

There's a difference between the two states of being; being alone & being lonely.  I am single and  have been  alone in new places all by myself; with little or no acquaintances; let alone friends. When you are single, it's a common norm for rest of the world to investigate about your companionship needs.  Single people are often surrounded with friends and family that give them company.   In my case, I have got used to staying alone as well. And trust me I do just fine. I do miss them but I don't get depressed or frustrated when I don't find the company of my friends or family. So I am single and alone and happy. That said, it's not that I don't have friends or I am not social. I am very social, enjoy parties, hangout with friends when I meet them; I am not an introvert, am more of a happy go lucky kinda person. When I say I am alone, I am in company of myself. And I have realized that I enjoy my company a lot, so I never feel lonely.  ...