The Witch of Portobello

The Witch of Portobello - I didn't find the novel as interesting as The Alchemist. I know it is not a good practice to compare a book with another one. Each has its unique elements and settings. But since The Alchemist was the first book I read of the author, now automatically I compare his author books with the masterpiece so far.

The novel is about a lady - Athena, who is an orphan. She was adopted by a couple without children and since then she is their world. But Athena, on the other hand, behaves weirdly (as it seems) at times. She behaves like a sorceress, spiritual person, or at times too matured for her age. And thus she grows up. At the age of nineteen she marries her boyfriend from college, and persists on having a child soon. Things happen as she wishes. But going forward, he married life ends abruptly. They separate from each other. But she is very much attached and protective about her son - Viorel. Athena meets different people - Heron (a journalist), Edda, Andrea McCain, and so on. She even meets her mother, who had abandoned her. Athena forms a group and starts performing the dance form which she developed, and then becomes Haga Sofia. Her followers increase. Finally, a bishop nearby her place complains to the police and Athena becomes known as a witch. The newspapers write about her as "The Witch of Portobello". Small riots occur and Athena is forced to flee from the place. After a gap of a few years the newspapers carry a news that the Witch of Portobello was found murdered. And the murderer some insane rebel. But one more surprise awaits us when we sad for Athena. The story was a fake. The murder was a plot by Heron to make the world believe that the Witch was dead. He carefully planned the story and made all believe that the unidentified body was that of Athena. So eventually Athena is alive and yes you guessed it right - she likes Heron, who also likes her from a long time.

The author has adopted a different style of narration. The story is not told by the author but by the different people with whom Athena had interacted. They speak out their experiences, which the author collates and puts together for us.

Jaane Tu... ya jaane na

Cast : Imran Khan (Debut), Genelia
Direction : Abbas Tyrewala (Debut)
Music : A.R.Rahman

I was indeed quite eager to watch this movie. The promos were good and there were a few good songs also in the movie. At last I watched the movie two days back. Well, to start, I will start with the entire cast. The film marks the debut of Imran Khan, and he was okay in the movie. I won't say that he did a commendable job. May be his character provided him only that much scope. About Genelia, she has again marked herself as the best in her usual bubbly, outgoing, short-tempered, and extreme character. And the best part, the gang of friends. Don't know whether they have any previous acting backgrounds, but they did a praiseworthy job. The freshness of the gang did the magic perhaps. Even Ratna Pathak was superb. And above all these, the Naseerudin Shah, inside the framed picture was the best.

The movie was an entertainer for the complete two and a half hours. Though not all the songs were good, the two songs - Kabhi kabhi and Pappu can't dance were extremely wonderful. The director has proved his capability with no doubt. Each frame has uniqueness and freshness. Though the story was the same old friends to lovers, it was packed wonderfully in a new bottle with an excellent fragrance. Well, thats what I have to say about it. Not a must-watch, but indeed a good watch.

She deserves it...

J.K. Rowling is top-earning celebrity - I came across this article and believe me there is no doubt that she must be a top-earning celebrity now. Initially when the Harry Potter series was released I wondered what all this hype was about. I just couldn't understood how a book could be celebrated so much the young and old alike.

It was only after a year after its release that I had a chance to read the first book - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. And believe me I was so impressed. I kept on wondering how a person could be so creative as well as put it exactly as it was onto paper. It seemed to me as something incredible. Each line of the book made me wonder at her creativitly and capability. I just couldn't believe that it was her first book. Though the book was aimed at the children, I bet it was a great pick among adults also.

Though I read only the first two books of the series, I would love to read the rest. But there's one problem. Its a long time since I read the books and by now have forgotten the characters. I ll surely need a refresher course on it.. ;-) But hats off to the writer for venturing into the new arena bravely!!!

Anthem of Humanity

Just a piece of writing I love, by Khalil Gibran

It was but yesterday
we met in a dream
you have sung to me in my aloneness,
and I of your longings
have built a tower in the sky

But now our sleep has fled
and our dream is over,
and it is no longer dawn.

The noontide is upon us
and our half waking
has turned to fuller day
and we must part

If in the twilight of memory
we should meet once more
we shall speak again together
and you shall sing to me
a deeper song

And if our hands should meet
in another dream
we shall build
another tower in the sky

I came across this poem when I was reading Jaishree Misra's 'Ancient Promises'. May be the theme went well with the novel's plot. But somehow, I like the piece of poetry very much. I jotted the lines in my book and kept them treasured for long also. Usually I never read poems, but somehow this one interests me a lot.

The Old Man and the Sea

I would never have read Hemingway, had I not chanced upon 'The Old Man and the Sea'. This book also was a part of our academics in class IX and X. Two years to study one book.. ;-) To be frank, in the beginning I never enjoyed the book. It was all about fishing lines, sea, mud, shacks, and the old man. There was nothing interesting in it. I used to bunk my classes when we had 'The Old Man and the Sea'. As time went by, my first exam approached. This time I was cornered. The book accounted for about 40% of the marks for English. I had no option than to read it because I wasn't confident of scoring a 40 out of the rest 60.

The first chapter started "He was an old man who fished alone in the....". I still remember that beginning. The story is about Santiago, an old fisherman in Cuba, who is considered unlucky in fishing, how he catches the biggest catch of his life, and what happens to the catch. He is considered unlucky as though he goes out fishing everyday, he doesn't get a single catch. One more character to be mentioned is Manolin, Santiago's apprentice. Though the boy's parents has now forbid him from going out with the 'unlucky' man, Manolin likes to be with Santiago and often helps him carry his fishing gear to his shack. The author has described the characters as well as the setting very elaborately. We come to know about the creases on the back of Santiago's neck, the things in the shack, and the whole place. While reading it is actually possible to imagine what the characters look and feel like.

Another aspect which fascinated me was the knowledge the author had about the sea. He describes about the tides, the fishes, why fishes circle about at certain spots, and a lot many more interesting facts. I also got a fair knowledge of a variety of fishes :-) At times, the boy and Santiago discuss baseball, which I felt boring... ;-)

When Santiago goes fishing finally in the book, we see him spending days alone in the midst of the sea. Finally he gets his catch, a big fish (forgot the name). We see him killing the fish efficiently after long battles with the big one. But ironically, by the time he reaches the shore with the biggest catch of his life, its all head and skeleton left. The blood from the fish attracted the larger carnivores which fed on the fish. He fought a lot with those fishes also, but in vain. When he reaches ashore, everybody wonders at the size of the fish. Without any emotions Santiago leaves for his shack.

This is one of the famous passages from the book - ""Fish," he said, "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.""

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer was a childhood hero I admired. This was a book I had to study in my school. I still remember those chapters on his aunt pulling out his loose tooth, the way he tricked his friends into getting the fence whitewashed, the adventures in the cave with Becky Thatcher, his teacher (forgot the name), and most of all, the friend, Huckleberry Finn. I was fascinated by the name - it reminded me words like chuckle, berry, and fins of fishes.

I remember that I got my book late as the stock had ran out. So I could never keep track of those chapters being taught in school. Atlast when I got my book, I was lagging behind. I never listened in class and didn't know which chapter was being taught. But one day, as I had nothing else to do, I read the first chapter. Then I couldn't keep it down. I read through all the chapters. Even before the class was half way till the book, I had completed reading the whole book :-) A big achievement in those days. We were in class IV.

This is one of the books each child must read. Once you finish your age fascinations and fairy tales, this is a good read. The language is extremely simple and interesting. No wonder we had this in our junior school. But one thing, I was terrified of Red Joe for a long time after reading the book.. :-)