The year that went by...

Tomorrow is the dawn of a new year. Am recollecting the year that went by. It was nothing short of awesome, considering the fact that my LO turned 1 and is blossoming into an adorable little girl. But when I drift my focus from the happy picture am holding too close to my eye, I see the world, the world that is becoming scarier and more frightening by the day. Its been more than a year since I moved to the US and what is happening around us is building up my fear quotient considerably. For one, I haven't mustered up enough courage to venture outdoors on my own yet. A spike in the crime rates in the neighborhood isn't helping much either. People argue that it is not just the US, robbery, cheating, sexual assaults are on the rise in India too. Whatever the statistics say, when I look back at 2014, the one thing that comes to my mind is Fear! I wish 2015 brings Peace and Harmony!

P.S:  In the year 2015, am again participating in the blogathon organised by Seema/. I don't want to start the new year on a negative note, hence this post is here already :)

Ganges Boy

Ganges Boy by Archana Prasanna

Nice things first - The story telling is neat. Archana is really good at convincing the reader with exactly the right amount of details. Like, I never had any bothering questions in my mind about Kabir's parents or about the reason behind Sanskruti's death(which is revealed later) or about Kabir parting with Arundhati.Certain portions like when Kabir is orphaned melts my heart. This book is not a page turner but I feel the urge to get back to the book especially after the grandfather enters the scene.

Vallamai thaarayo

Subramaniya Bharathiyar - Mahakavi, Freedom fighter, Journalist, Social reformer. But to me, one word is all that comes to my mind - Pioneer! He was not just a pioneer in action but also in thoughts. As fate would have it, he was not understood let alone be celebrated during his time.
How tough should it have been to feel out of place, how frustrating to be forced into a ridiculous bubble of mundane existence - no wonder he derived pleasure in his rebellious acts. It is indeed clear from his life that he saw no fruits for his efforts but that never stopped him. All he had was visions for the future - Free India, Empowered Women, Equality and more. And his dreams were no ordinary, they were vivid as if it was screened for him, exclusively.

வெள்ளிப்பனி மலையின் மீதுலாவுவோம் - அடி 

மேலை கடல் முழுதும் கப்பல் விடுவோம் 

பள்ளிதளம் அனைத்தும் கோயில் செய்குவோம்

எங்கள் பாரத தேசம் என்று தோள் கொட்டுவோம் 

ஆயுதம் செய்வோம் நல்ல காகிதம் செய்வோம

ஆலைகள் வைப்போம் கல்விசாலைகள் வைப்போம்

ஓயுதல் செய்யோம் தலை சாயுதல் செய்யோம்

உண்மைகள் சொல்வோம் பலவன்மைகள் செய்வோம்

Sure, he had some low moments yet he resorted to asking for strength.

சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி - எனை

சுடர்மீகும் அறிவுடன் படைத்து விட்டாய்

வல்லமை தாராயோ - இந்த

மாநிலம் பயனுற வாழ்வதற்கே

சொல்லடி சிவசக்தி - நில

சுமையென வாழ்ந்திடப் புரிகுவையோ

Sounds like he had realized his potential and roared against those who ridiculed him

தேடிச் சோறுநிதந் தின்று - பலசின்னஞ் சிறுகதைகள் பேசி - மனம்
வாடித் துன்பமிக உழன்று - பிறர்
வாடப் பலசெயல்கள் செய்து - நரை
கூடிக் கிழப்பருவ மெய்தி - கொடுங்
கூற்றுக் கிரையெனப்பின் மாயும் - பல
வேடிக்கை மனிதரைப் போலே - நான்
வீழ்வே னென்று நினைத் தாயோ

Although my life is a speck of dust compared to what this great legend had experienced, I derive immense motivation from him to see beyond the moment and believe in what I do, however small, irrelevant or out of the ordinary it might seem today.

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I don't know why I picked this book in the first place. I mean am not a christian and I generally don't tend to pick books on religious faith. But I did because it appeared on someone else's to-read shelf and the book had less than 200 pages and the synopsis sounded interesting. I was curious to know what it was all about.

I don't want to question someone's faith by the name of a review. Other than that, the part where Colton was fighting for his life was really touching and I could feel the pain of the parents. And yes, I really got interested how Akiane and Colton claimed Jesus would look like and went ahead and googled Akiane's painting. That's a really heart-tugging painting.

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How I Braved Anu Aunty & Co-Founded A Million Dollar Company

How I Braved Anu Aunty & Co-Founded A Million Dollar Company by Varun Agarwal

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book is a true story as narrated by an uber cool dude, the author and Entrepreneur Varun Agarwal. He starts off with the disclaimer that he is no hemingway but just a story teller, which becomes quite obvious within the first few pages. Rather, he could have warned us about his being uber cool. How does it matter, you may ask!