Monday 20 June 2016

Goodreads Review: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank


The Diary of a Young GirlThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As a 12-year-old, I read a potrait of Anne and the Frank Family (Shadow Life by Barry Deneberg) - NOT her actual diary. That book left a huge impact on me and I could never get The Holocaust or Anne Frank out of my mind. The pain the victims had to go through, the loss they suffered and the life they were forced to live lie way beyond what you and I can even dare to imagine.
So naturally as I grew up reading all I could about the Holocaust, especially Anne and her companions in the Secret Annexe, I grew more and more curious about "The Diary of a Young Girl"
Now almost 10 years later, I got a chance to read the same and needless to say, it is absolutely heart-breaking.
The record of their lives right from when The Franks, Van Daans and Mr. Dussel were forced to go into hiding to Anne's last entry before getting caught by the "Green Police", the reader gets a detailed insight into what it was like to go into hiding when you are being ceaselessly hunted day in and day out. It is hard to fathom how 8 people lived under those circumstances and shared their lives locked up for 2 straight years! Not to forget their helpers - Mr. Kleimann, Mr. Kugler, Miep and Bep - who selflessly protected them, risking their own lives in the process!
However, with all due respect, THIS particular book wasn't quite what I had expected. It gets a little monotonous down the lane for it is, in fact, a compilation of the personal diary entries of a Young Girl living her confusing teenage years during the war and was never meant to be read for commercial purpose (though Anne wished to write a book named 'The Secret Annexe' after their misery was over).
Moreover apart from writing about the war and the situations they were facing, Anne often poured her heart and soul into the pages of the Red Checked notebook she recieved on her 13th birthday. Hence the reader must expect to face the opinions, worries and the inner most feelings of a talented, ambitious yet an average teenage girl, however superficial they may seem at times, for (as I would like to remind again) this is niether a novel nor a book representing historical facts and figures - it is a young girl's diary.
So if you choose to pick this book up for the sole purpose of learning about history, you may be disappointed.

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Monday 25 August 2014

Harry Potter Fan Fiction (1): The Big Question of 1975


 The library was warm as usual, so warm and cozy that a person sitting inside had no hint of the cold winter rain that struck against the window panes violently. There were hardly any students there, for the ongoing Triwizard Tournament had overshadowed all the other events taking place in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary.

He tried hard to catch a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, but his long black hair blocked the view he’d been craving for since they shared the morning Herbology class. Being in different houses left hardly any time to spend with her and that during the meals or before retiring to their respective dormitories didn’t suffice. There was always, ALWAYS room for more.

He slightly turned his head towards her and caught the sight that could never ever fail to make his day, a view that wouldn’t be ruined even if Slytherin lost to Gryffindor in the final match and all the bludgers were aimed at him thereafter. No. He still would be mindlessly smiling to himself with a broken tooth or two, day-dreaming about the wonder that Lily Evans was to him.

Lily looked as graceful as a Phoenix as she tucked her lustrous dark red locks behind her ears, dipped her quill in the ink and continued to work on the Transfiguration assignment.

““How would you deal with a situation where Homenolepius converto makes a wooden log look only 50% human?” God, this is a mind boggler.” She snapped out of her concentration bubble. “Severus! Why aren’t you working?”

 “I, uhm..”

“Don’t let the Tournament make you lose focus of the studies. We have our O.W.Ls just a few months after all of this gets over, remember?”

“Yeah. Why don’t we cast Reverto lepium and restart?” he uttered in his deep, stern yet soft voice trying to divert the topic. “In the question, I mean.”

“Nah, that’d be too long. They expect a single step answer" she sighed "I raided all the library shelves but nothing’s there.”

“Maybe you should ask Professor Mcgonegall then.”

“No way! I don’t want her to think of me as a bird brain! Let’s try and put more thought into it, ok? Maybe we’ll recall something” concluded Lily, as she dipped her quill in the ink again and scribbled some more on the parchment.

He would have loved to help her. But there was something else on his mind. The two-week long planning and practicing would be executed today. Yes, he was going to ask Lily out to the Yule Ball.

Though he was nervous and his insides crawled as he gathered the courage to finally make the move, there was no evidence of the same on his pale, stone face. Not that he was a good actor or anything. That was just the way Severus Snape and his emotions were you know – like a seemingly normal immobile piece of gravel with millions and millions energetic atoms within that aren’t visible to the world, moving haphazardly and colliding each moment. His eyes seemed almost dead and blank unable to express anything that laid inside of him. But today, he was finally going to ask the girl of his dreams to be his date.

“Lily, listen. I …”

“There must be something in those shelves! Sorry Severus, I’ll be back in a blink of the eye” said she sliding her chair back in frustration and stormed off to the Advanced Magic section to try her luck again.
“It’s okay. Just a few more minutes” he whispered to himself taking out a little piece of paper from his robe and memorized the words off it like the ingredients in the Potions class.

“Oh well! Look what our little Snivellus got here!”

By the time Severus realized what had happened James Potter, star of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, had already snatched the little proposal off his hands. James was as quick as a snitch, no wonder he was such a good seeker!

“Don’t. You. Dare….” Snape muttered with emphasis on each word in the same deep, soft voice which now spilled anger.

“Or what?” A boy emerged from the restricted section, his dark brown curls falling off on his forehead as he walked towards Snape with his head held high. Sirius Black, Potter’s fellow bully, was as vain as him.

“A letter to your mommy, Snivee? Miss her in these times of loneliness when not just Beauxbaton or Hogwarts, even the Durmstrang dudes won’t lay an eye on her cherry pie, don’t you?”

“I said, don’t you dare…”

But before any of them could make a move, Lily came out with a copy of “Transfiguration for Experts” in her beautiful, dainty hands interrupting the face-off just in time when Potter was about to read the contents of the paper.

“What’s going on?” she enquired.

“Err, nothing at all” bumbled James “We were, uhm, just catching up with each other you know.” Sirius almost immediately put his arm around Severus’ shoulder and gave him a supposedly-friendly half-hug which made the latter even more awkward than he already was.

“Actually I came looking for you” he continued as the existence of anybody else in the entire universe evaporated from his conscience the moment James Potter lost himself in Lily’s beautiful eyes “You know the Yule Ball is around the corner. And Lily Evans, I could not think of anyone more perfect than you to accompany me”

What is he doing! Snape’s heart skipped a beat. He stood there frozen, unable to respond. The blood in his veins boiled and rushed faster than the new Nimbus 1900. What was he supposed to do now!

“So, can I have the honor of being your date to the dance?”

You filth! Snape’s heart replenished the hatred he’d always chosen to ignore as the poor fellow looked at Lily. She seemed bewildered, but in a way that was pleasant to Potter. No, don’t say yes. He could feel the centaurs galloping inside him and his heart throbbed against his chest as if it was about to break through the sternum. His deep black eyes were fixed on her, analyzing every twitch on her face. I’ve waited for this for so long, Lily! Don’t! A drop of sweat ran down his temple. Each minute seemed like a century to him as all the courage he’d gathered was slowly slipping through his fingers.

And to his despair, Lily smirked.

“Yes Potter, why not.”

Her words ringed painfully in his ears and Severus’ heart shattered into a million pieces, each one piercing his chest harder than ever. Unlike how it normally used to be, the sparkle in her bright green eyes was no longer delighting to him.

“Super!” exclaimed the arrogant boy, “I’ll head off to the dorm now. Gotta put on my dancing shoes and practice for our big date!”  He gave her a wink and signed out of the library as Sirius gave him a pat on the back celebrating this conquest.

The two boys were out of sight but Lily was still smiling with a little blush on her beautiful clear skin.

“Phew! 2 weeks since the announcement and I get asked out now, that too by James Potter! That rude little brat” she gave a sarcastic chuckle as she slid back into the chair. “Anyways, it's better than going alone! Good lord, Patience surely is virtue.”

But Snape hated the excitement in her voice. You wouldn’t have gone alone. His mind spoke as the tears almost made their way out his eyes. But they could not break the barrier his anti-social instincts had created and thus, like his many other feelings, remained unknown to Lily as she resumed her assignment.

That night as he walked Lily to the Gryffindor dorm listening to her speak of all the plans she had for the Ball, Severus Snape wondered if she would ever know how passionately this wallflower loved her, to death and beyond….


*This is a fan fiction post. All the characters are trade-marked to the Harry Potter franchise.

Wednesday 4 June 2014

10 Definite Perks of being a PAHADI

My News Feed is often bombarded with posts that define the stereotypes of particular ethnic groups via some really amusing observations. But never once did I come across a post that defines a Pahadi person, or people from Uttarakhand to be more specific (we’re too modest, you know). So here is our own list of a few conventional conceptions of a Pahadi!

No matter where they are born or where they may live, here are some very usual traits found in people of our community :D

1. “Ooijaa!” is our homologue for OMG.

You’ve heard it, you’ve said it. From a 5-year old kid to the 85-year-old Aama, this catchphrase comes out as an involuntary reflex in a variety of situations.



2. ... And Baal Mithai for chocolate

Yes, as kids we all have been tricked at least once that it actually is a distant cousin of the Swiss Chocolate – The Pahadi Baal Mithai!




3. Most of us have almost itched our self to death at least once because of this weed: 



It’s called Girardinia diversifolia (Shishon in local language). Statistics say that 83% of the people who visit a typical hilly village in Uttarakhand have been victimized by this weed which makes you wanna scrape your skin off.
(Ps: There is no statistic as such, I just used a Barney trick)



4. We have childhood memories of running around in a “Guguti ki mala” on Makar Sakranti.

For others, it is just another holiday. Well it is almost the same for us too (:P) except for this neckpiece our moms and aunts would make for us when we were kids. Besides this traditional sweet, our edible toy had toffees and chocolates too, YAY!



5. .. And Aaloo ke Gutkhe with Hari Chutney on Holi.
Well, this one prevails even when you’re older. I wrote it only to get in sync with the previous point :P .. Yummy, nevertheless.



6. Talking of food, a day at our house is incomplete without at least one of the meals being “Daal-Bhaat” (Pulses and Rice)

It’s been so long and I still don’t get it, itna BHAAT kyun pasand hai humare logo ko!! We can compete with our Southern Counter-parts when it comes to rice consumption, seriously.


EAT THE BHAAT! It's our only staple diet, kids!!!

7. Unlike most of the world, we are very well aware of the differences between a Garwhali and a Kumaoni.

Yes, we belong to the same lovely state yet we are different in our own lovely ways. It’s like we are two different strains of the same bacteria (ok that wasn't a nice metaphor). But anyways, people just don’t get it at times!



8. We’ve have seen our mothers and aunts in their own pair of that graceful huge nath (nose-ring) and/or the Picchor.

Now this is something I absolutely LOVE! Seeing the married women of the house in this traditional attire (even in Metros like Delhi) you can easily spot a Pahadi shaadi, naam-karan or any other function 50m from the venue. Don't they look just beautiful?



9. When it comes to functions, it is almost criminal to not mention our weddings where the “CHAAOMEEN” stalls are the first to run out of food.

I don’t know if it is because of their love for spice or the state’s close proximity to China, but at our weddings the Chowmein stalls are no less than a fish market. Everyone loves to binge on noodles, age/caste/sex no bar!




10. And last but not the least: Doesn’t matter which part of the country (or world they live), every Pahadi is without an exception aware of “Tak Taka Tak Kamla” And “Bedu Pako”

This is what makes us groove and jive. If Uttarakhand was a country of its own, one of these would be our National Anthem and the other our National Song, no arguments on that!