Sunday, March 29, 2009

Books!!!

Have been reading quite a lot recently--it's nice to sort of rediscover books!

I did something I haven't done in a loooong time--parallel-read books. I've never been able to do it successfully, but I divided my time between upstairs (where some masonry work is going on), and downstairs (where the culinary work is), and HAD to keep a book at each location :)

The books could not have been different -- one dealt with life in rural America in 1900 and was told through the eyes of a village woman, and so was not even in perfect English, while the other was the story of two authors in England, and read wonderfully.

1.Gap Creek -- The Story of a Marriage, by Robert Morgan

This is a book that really opened my eyes to life in rural America, in the Appalachian Mountains, at the turn of the last century. The story is about Julie, a young girl who "works like a man," and it sort of follows her through the first couple of years of her marriage to Hank Richards.

Although the characters are sort of very polarized, the way life is described, and the trials and tribulations of a young couple trying to make it on their own are told really well. A bit too much depression, though, as nothing seems to go right for the younguns -- NOT good for a light read :(


2. The Thirteenth Tale-- by Diane Setterfield

This is sort of suspense/ghost story, set in England, set mainly in the moors. A dying author, Vida Winter, has been giving so many false accounts of her life, that when young biographer Margaret Lea receives a letter from her that she's finally ready to tell her "real" life story, Margaret refuses to believe her. But what follows is a really fast suspenseful read of mysteries, dark secrets, and ghosts of the past and present haunting both the biographer and her subject.
Now, I've known many twins, and am not sure of all the hype that the book places on their "bonds."
Also, there's a bit much incest, and too little romance, but the shocking ending makes it worth the while, if you want to be entertained and horrified.

:) :)

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Last Chance--Cooptex

One event MIL and I go to every single year is the National Handloom Exhibition in the Cooptex Showroom on Pantheon Road. We usually make a trip there and pick up some saris, kurtis, etc.

It's usually around the Tamil New Year, but I guess this time, with the New Year being moved around, the Government decided to keep the exhibition now :)

Great place, great food. This year, we almost missed it-- hope to go tomorrow. Please make it if you can. Great selection, so even if the price seems a bit on the higher side, you can get different types of saris, from people who look like they're from the cloth's birthplace.

Last year, MIL and I picked up a sari each from a stall, and both of us have promptly forgotten the name of the sari and the place. We hope to find that out, with some luck!

The exhibition's at Padmashree Nachimuthu Handloom Exhibition Grounds
Co-optex Complex, 350, Pantheon Road, Egmore, Chennai, upto 9 p.m. tomorrow.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

How to Enjoy a Book in Six Steps



1.
If you're a Chennaiite: Head over to Haddows Road (in Chennai), to Oxford Bookstore

If you're not a Chennaiite: Check out your local Oxford Bookstore, or book a ticket to a city that has one.

2. Pick up a book.

3. Head over to their Cha bar. (They also have a great selection of books AT the cha bar.)



4. Order a pastry and coffee/tea/fruit drink. (The pies are great--the selection of teas are nice if you like "artsy" teas.) Important: Be a bit more careful than you would normally be. I saw a woman spill her coffee on one of the books, then quietly put it back-- NOT OK.

5. Drink/eat/read.

6. Don't forget to buy the book.

I've been looking for a place that would let me sit down and sample a couple of pages of a book before I buy it--here's the place! Landmark still has the greatest selection, but standing and reading is too uncomfy.

I hear their selection at their other locations (Mumbai, Delhi) is really vast-- not too great here in Chennai.

Oxford is at Apeejay House, 39/12, Haddows Road, Chennai, 600006
Phone: 28227711 / 28227712

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Gardenia


This worm-type thing is on the arali plant in our garden (Initially thought they were flowers). Not sure if you can see them--they're the shiny things on the underside of the leaves.

These lovelies are in bloom too! MIL had a bunch of these in front of our house, but the corporation took them out to pave the footpath completely.



Disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the garden—it’s all my MIL. They're really nice to be around and photograph, though. Once more of the flowers are in bloom, will post more pictures.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Chennai to Bengaluru: Namma Oor

I guess I have so much to say about my trip to B'luru, I've been postponing it.
Here's just a little observation:

When I saw the B'luru Metro Rail work going on, I also saw little signs that said, "Namma Metro," with the image of a kolam. This one:



Hey, I always thought the kolam was a quintessential Tamil marker--sort of like murals and Philadelphia, or lassi and Punjab! Guess K'taka has adopted it too.

However, I learnt that "Namma Metro," which can be read as a Tamil phrase, is actually said a bit differently in Kannada. Well, let's hope the poor city gets the project done quickly anyway.

As for the kolam design, look at the Mylapore Festival logo:



Is this kolam the easiest one to reproduce or something?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Election Tamasha!

Elections are upon us! I know--everyone's a rogue; what does it matter? If you don't want to vote for anyone else, go to the polling booth and tell the presiding officer that you don't want to vote for anyone.

There is a case in the Supreme Court right now that is dealing with keeping the identity of such "negative voters" secret. Let's see what happens to that.

For more information, including knowing which constituency your house falls under, visit www.jaagore.com.
You might have seen the Jaago Re! ads on TV-- they have many ways you can get involved, and feature tons of info. about voting.

Remember that D-Day is May 13 in TN; April 30 in K'taka. The last date to register to vote will be around April 14 in TN, and April 1 in K'taka.

Do offices give the day off? If not, please take the day off to vote. Otherwise, we might just lose the previlege of cribbing!!