It's been a couple of weeks since I started reading Shantaram, everyday.. I still havent finished half the book! Never have I read a book which describes every inch of detail in almost everything... Found another interesting set of lines which I wanted to post here.... Am sure even without much context, this makes sense...

"..Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears. In the end that's all there is: love and its duty, sorrow and its truth. In the end that's all we have- to hold on tight until the dawn..."

The person who hinders growth..

Someone forwarded this mail at office today.... found it very intriguing and nice... read on

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big notice on the door on which it was written: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym". In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: "Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!".

One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: "There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU."

So my dear friends, You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.

"The most important relationship you can have, is the one you have with yourself”. Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your reality.

The world is like a mirror: it gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed.The world and your reality are like mirrors laying in a coffin, which show to any individual the death of his divine capability to imagine and create his happiness and his success. It's the way you face Life that makes the difference.

Jodha-Akbar

This overly-hyped-heavy-budget movie finally released yesterday and I got a chance to watch it today itself. Well, I definitely did not love it but didnt hate it either... it is somewhere in between that i cant decide!. The movie is about 3hrs 45mins including interval and that was quite a lot to take!! I wonder what makes Ashutosh Gowarikar to direct such lengthy movies, even though this script didnt need so much detail. The movie is a 16th century love story, about the marriage of Mughal emperor Akbar (Hrithik) with the Rajput princess Jodha (Aishwarya). There's obviously a lot of history to tell but if the director was focussing on the untold lovestory of Akbar-Jodha then I think he should have concentrated more on that rather than mix it with lengthy historic details (which were also not very complete and hard to follow) and not do justice to both parts...

That apart, there are some really good parts in the movie which you will remember even after walking out. The cinematography is brilliant and the costumes by Neetal Lulla and jewellery by Tanishq are awesome and add to the 16th century look and feel of the movie. Hrithik's acting is commendable. After Lakshya, I think he has done some really classy acting in this movie. I felt he didnt suit the role of Akbar and that weird moustache on his face made it look worse.. Nevertheless, he portrayed the character with its nuances really well. Ash - as usual looks gorgeous but lacks acting... Ila Arun is also worth a mention - she is very powerful in her dialogue delivery.....

Most of the dialogues in the movie had urdu diction.. so i found it pretty hard to understand and follow the chronology of events and characters involved.. There are too many details shown in the movie.. so i think only if u watch it the second time u can grasp it completely :)

Coming to the best part of the movie - its music! Rehman has proved again that he is one of the best... u just have to listen to the songs to fall in love with them.. Especially the sufi song - "Khwaja mere khwaja...." is one of the best I've heard so far... Rehman himself is the singer and am sure no one could have done it better.. The picturisation of the song is out of this world...by the end of the song even I felt like getting up and swaying to that music along with the singers, just like Akbar does :) If you haven't heard this yet, then u are missing something!

Here's the link for this song on youtube... it doesnt show the exact picturization though, but still the entire song is here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezQ3katpLwE

Life...and choices..

"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while i was chained to a wall and being tortured. I realized, somehow, through the screaming in my mind, that even in that shackled, bloody helplessness, i was still free: free to hate the men who were torturing me, or to forgive them. It doesnt sound like much, i know. But in the flinch and bite of the chain, when it's all you've got, that freedom is a universe of possibility. And the choice you make, between hating and forgiving, can become the story of your life"

This is the opening paragraph of the book "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts. Started reading this a few weeks back and still continuing to, and god knows when I'll finish this 1000pgd book.. These lines above really made an impact on me the moment I read it.. somehow... not sure why, maybe the state of mind I was in when I picked up the book or whatever, but it seemed to make a lot of sense to me suddenly, and it still does, everytime I read it.

The author seems to have put a gist of his whole life in these few lines..It's so true... Life is all about choices. If you look at it very subtly, every situation is a choice. You can choose how you react to situations. .. You can choose how people will affect your mood... you choose to be in a good or a bad mood... So it's your choice, how you live your life...

All of us are going with the movement of life...no matter what we do, we are on the roller coaster ride. We have a choice to either embrace it and enjoy the ride or fight it and scream all the way...It's upto us. We are what we choose to be... no one to blame or give credit for.

So the bottom line is... everyday we have the choice to live life fully... Attitude, after all, is everything! Well.. that's what I felt after reading this :) Opinions differ!

The Kite Runner

Author: Khaled Hosseini

One of THE BEST books that I have read so far... and I guess the only book which got my tears flowing as I read it. I could see myself thinking about it most of the time, long after i finished reading it....such was its impact. Two things that drew me to this book - awesome reviews and the fact that it was based in Afghanistan. Am sure all of us are aware about the political upheaval in the Afghan land but the way this book described every detail of life out there during the ruthless Taliban regime, just sent shivers down my spine... I almost thanked god that I wasn't born in that land!!

It's a story about friendship between two people, Amir and Hassan, whose lives change completely after one incident on the day of a kite flying tournament. You come across a lot of twists in the tale to finally see how Amir achieves his redemption by returning back to Kabul, from America. I wish I could write more and more about it but it's only going to spoil your read, if you haven't read the book yet... The depth of sensitivity and the power of feelings in this book can only be experienced by reading it!

I enjoyed the author's writing style... no language tricks or a complex plot. Just a conventional but a gripping story told in a simple and subtle way that touches your heart. No fairy tale endings... He gets the message out very well that redemption and reconciliation are never easy. Also, many times he doesnt state the obvious.. he first gives u a hint and only when u continue to read u figure it all out..

I am waiting to watch the movie based on this book, with the same title and even more eager to read the author's other book ' A Thousand Splendid Suns'.

If you are looking out to read a good book, then this is the one you shud pick right now.