Step Into My Shoes..

I remember a time when I was in my late teens; I had a huge crush on this guy. And as things turned out so did this other girl from my class. Even then, I knew that my crush had just been nothing but childish. I didn’t really want the guy to be my boyfriend or anything. And neither, I recall, did this other girl. It was a battle for attention. I didn’t want this girl to be my enemy. There were no cat-fights, no discord; just a private psychological war. A small tug here, a little push there and copious amount of joy at tiniest victories - [he flirted back, he smiled at the hallway, he gave a ride in his bike] I remember a time when I felt enough was enough. It was beginning to be a little too much. Our childish games were lengthening for no good. I was tired of disliking this girl for liking something I liked but didn’t really want. I remember wondering if it was possible for everyone to be happy. Could we all walk away with something and that something not being disappointment a...

Last night as I lay down poring over the pages under the bright orangey lamp light, I was being nibbled by a feeling that the day had gone to waste. The day had been glorious. The sun was out and the sky had shone like new furniture. I was up early, too early for a day without work and classes. I had begun the day with the book. Like, I was up and had started reading without even getting up. After two hours of reading, I had been up and working out. For someone who is a huge fan of sunny days, whenever the morning graces with a bright sunlight, it is an open invitation for going out. And yet for someone who is also a big fan of reading, staying home and having a good read of a good book is equally tempting. I did go out for breakfast, and although I spent some time looking for places I could go, none fit the shoes of convenience. So I ended up laying down on my bed with sun pouring through the window, bright and warm, and reading. And I didn't just read. I lived three liv...

"The secret of patience is doing something in the meanwhile."  Not long ago, I had to accompany my aunt to the airport to pick uncle up. His flight was somehow delayed so we had to wait a good while. And since we were not sure about which exit he was going to come through, we had to sit afar from each other. Alone by myself, while I was straining my eyes for uncle, I got to witness a whole lot of things at a place so ordinary and yet so extraordinary. People were waiting for their friends, bosses, parents, spouses, siblings, relatives, lovers. People were moving about trying not to miss their flights. People were arriving from distant lands. People were coming home. Some were bored stiff from the mind numbing wait. Some were really anxious; they just couldn't stay at a single spot, always on the move, roaming the whole place looking from one exit to another as if the wait was going to lessen that way. Others were calm and so very serene. Those who arrive...

About four months ago, when I was shopping for my trip to Australia, I bought a perfume that I liked very much. (Okay, not a trip, cause that makes it sound like I’m on a holiday, which I’m not.) I had also bought other ones but that one was special. The first weeks in Australia had been the most apprehensive. Apprehension of things that were new, people who were strange, places that were different, systems that were alien and ways that were unfamiliar. Also there were the feelings of excitement for all the experiences that awaited (like getting aboard a train, walking on a beach…something I had been looking forward to my whole life), for all the friends to be made (Nepalese and otherwise), the scenes to behold and the food to be had (“other than just mo:mo” was what I had thought at first, but how wrong I was since I crave for mo:mo more than anything at all times).  Then there was the anxiety of having things fall short of my expectations (which I had little but still...

Location: Just somewhere on the road. Scenario: I am upset for some reason that cannot really be expressed in such a public manner. Story: I am walking, at first in a hasty manner, away from the source of my distress, and then slowly because I am drained emotionally and my body cannot stand the physical exertion. I keep my eyes down. Generally when I am upset, I try to look where I am going since I cannot really risk tripping over something and falling flat on my arse or worse, my face in public. I know that will cause more agony to me. So I am just walking randomly on the road avoiding public eyes, but then I have to look up to see which direction I am headed for. That’s when I see her; an acquaintance really, a friend of a friend. Not much of a pretty face but today she is glowing. I wonder how she could look so stunning all of a sudden today. Then I notice her smile. She is looking so pretty because she is smiling so broadly like she is never going to be able to, ever...

“Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they've all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe.” In my head, I can talk in several accents. In real life, of course I can't. I don't even know what accent I have. I know I'll sound fake if I try and use one of the accents that I know of. But in my head, I'm like those actors who have all the help to act like someone from an entirely different country. In my head sometimes, I can also talk in various languages.  Have I thought about Parseltongue? Yes, but not often.   In my head, I have a great voice, and I can sing beautifully in front of a crowd. And when I sing, people get mesmerized and regard me with awe, which is not true in reality at all. I got a reality check fourteen years ago when I took par...

"2 States" was a book I read by chance. I don't mean to offend Chetan Bhagat by saying I am not a big fan of reading his books; never was, even before I read any one of them. Call me prejudicious, or anything you may fancy.  I do not have anything against Indian writers, if that is what you are thinking. I have read quite many books by a big-handful Indian writers.  Like I have already mentioned, I read "2 States" (the only one of Chetan Bhagat book that I have read) only because there wasn't anything to be read at the time I was done with "Holding the Dream". And my queer reading proclivity has it that I absolutely HAVE to be holding a book at any given time. * Crazy I know * And there it was, all Red and welcoming. I read the prologue and decided it wasn't so bad after all. And I was right. It was very very entertaining. If it was a movie, I'd say, in a very Indian way, * Paisa Wasool *. "2 States" is a quintessentially I...

"Eat, Pray, Love" I believe, is one of the most influential books that I have read this year. This particular book is plagued by good sayings about life, love, self, belief, travel and all sorts of stuffs that make you smile with confidence. Many have complained about my non-belongingness. Blame it to my star sign (Sagittarius through and through) but I have always had that lust for not belonging to one place or person. That will change in time; I am positive of it. I have people in my life that I have love and that who love me as much. Yet, I am bound to be unbound and fly away some day. Anyways, this blog is about the quotes from the very book that seems to be so close to my heart. “This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.”   “I’m here. I love you. I don’t care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There’s nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and...

Year 2003, "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix" book released. Year 2003, I started reading "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"; my very first from the series. It was just another book for me, and since I had fallen into a habit of taking a book to wherever I went, I took it to school. I used to read it on the way, during classes and between them too. What I could ever have understood reading from the 3rd part of the series, I don't remember. We had one big library but it had one issue each of the 5 books. I had to wait forever for the first one. And yet, I managed to read all of them at least 3 times. Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, (   Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon  ) Those were magical days...of wishing there really was Hogwarts so that we could get on to Jacobite at the beginning of a school session, of drawing Hogwarts emblem wherever I could find an empty space, of making a scrapbook full of Harry Potter news clips, of...

I'm not a big fan of short stories, and I can count the number of stories-collection that I've read in my life. However, there is one book that I do read time and again. It is "Chicken Soup" for the romantic soul. Now, I am definitely not the romantic type of a person but it is fun to read about the romantics sometimes. Here is a story that is my all-time favorite. It is short and very sweet. I can't help but smile when I read it every time. "It was a Friday morning, and a young businessman finally decided to ask his boss for a raise. Before leaving for work he told his wife what he was about to do. All day long he felt nervous and apprehensive. Finally, in the late afternoon, he summoned the courage to approach his employer, and to the businessman's delight, the boss agreed to the raise. The elated husband arrived home to a beautiful table set with their best china and lighted candles. Smelling the aroma of a festive meal, he figured that so...

Because it will give you courage. Because it will give you strength to move on. Because crying and giving up has never done anyone any good. Because it will lift the spirits of your loved ones. Because you look ugly when you look sad. Because it is an antidote to misery. Because it is a way to be thankful you're alive. Because it is the best way to greet the day ahead. Because it is also the best way to say goodbye to a day. Because it has the power to make someone's day. Because it can wash away your pain faster than you think. Because it looks more beautiful on you than the most expensive of clothes. Because "it is the best way to get away with trouble even if it’s a fake one" Because it is contagious and the world will smile right back at you. Because "it is the way the soul says hello" Because everything will be alright. Because life is worth it. Because YOU  are worth it.

“Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back.”   - Ross Wakeman, from "Second Glance" by Jodi Picoult.

We call him whatever we fancy. Daddy, Dad, Appa(Korean drama influence), Papa, Pop...and he doesn't mind at all. Ever since I saw that TV add back when I was a kid, I cannot seem to let it out of my system. A cutesy kid screams, "My Daddy Strongest", and I used to think, No, MY Daddy's Strongest!! No matter how old I get, I will never get over the notion that my daddy is the strongest above all daddys. (And you are welcome to think the same; we're not holding any sort of competition here). He has three girls and coming from a background like his, you'll be amazed by the courage he had to bring us all to Kathmandu and educate us. I salute the absolute faith he has in us. He's like a friend and he's like a father, he's like a boss and he's like a companion. He was always there when we needed him and will be there when we need him. I will not say he is the perfect gentleman, cause he has his times of rashness. He is not always so friend...