Day 8: Homemade Sundays

I read a LOT. Well, I used to, and I'll get lost in the books I read. I need to catch up on my reading, and since I've been alone at home, I've had time to catch up on a couple of books.  A cup of coffee and good book is THE perfect way to start off my Sunday morning. 

There's nothing more comforting than home-cooked food. And better still, if you've made it by yourself. I SUCK at making Indian food. There are too many spices for my head to comprehend, which is why I usually stick to western food (my go-to dish is Risotto). The only Indian thing I can make is Chai. Oh! And Maggi. So today, I felt quite victorious when I made 3-dal Dal Takda (instructions were given via my parentals in India). And, it was yummy. 

The Palace of Illusions

I finished reading The Palace of Illusions a couple of days ago and I absolutely loved it! Chitra Banerjee has taken the Mahabharat from an all male centered epic and shown it to us from the eyes of Draupadi.

If you do not know the Mahabharat story, it is the epic story of the Kauravas and the Pandavas (who are cousins) which leads to one of the most well known battles of all time - The Battle at Kurukshetra. When you read the Mahabharat, you read about all the men and their roles towards this battle. You don't hear much about the women. When I read this book, it gave insights to everything Draupadi went through her entire life from childhood, to her marriage of the five Pandavas brothers to the battle.

The way she has written this book makes you really lose yourself into the character. Draupadi is a powerful woman and is really stubborn in the way she thinks which, after reading this book made me realise that maybe I shouldn't be as stubborn as I am.

With this book and looking at it from her side of the story, I want to read the Mahabharat because this book doesn't delve so much into the past, before she was born. There are only bits and pieces of some stories and I want to know more about it.

Like I mentioned above, the one thing that I did learn from this is that sometimes it's not good to be stubborn. If Draupadi had let go of her anger and not been so stubborn, then maybe she wouldn't have influenced her husbands and the battle wouldn't have happened in the first place.

So yes, sometimes letting go of your anger and being less stubborn will help you in the long run. If the consequences of Draupadi's actions won't make you realise it, I don't think anything will.

S

Put on hold

So I know I said I'd read the Bhagvad Gita and blog on it, but it's been sitting on my bed side table hardly touched. Why? Because I've been so busy with a job and a half that I've had no time! Also, reading the first part of it was a bit hard to follow. Maybe it was my misconception that it was supposed to be like a story?

Anyways, I've decided that I'm going to put that on hold and read a book that is set in the Mahabharat. 

The Palace of Illusions is supposed to be the Mahabharat from a woman's point of view, essentially Draupadi. It is written in a story style so this could be a good transition to the Bhagvad Gita.

Hopefully I'll finish this soon and let you guys know what I think!

S

The Bhagvad Gita

Hi all,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, my laptop is currently acting crazy and had to be taken in to get fixed so I'm using my brother's laptop in the meantime.

This post is going to be really short. I just wanted to let you guys know that I'm going to start reading The Bhagvad Gita.

There are 18 chapters and I'm hoping I'll take 3 weeks to finish it. I'll update you guys about everything I've learnt. This isn't me trying to be spiritual or trying to impose it on all of you. The reason I'm reading this is because of my curiosity after the story of Savitri Pooja. I think that I should know more about my culture as well as the stories behind it.

Wish me luck!

S

Inferno

Dan Brown's Inferno has a way of capturing your attention and never letting it go.

Not only does he capture it with the history and the art that he writes about, but also by addressing overpopulation.

I am not a person who is very interested in history, I think it mainly has to do with the way that they are told. When I read his books however, I always want to look into the story behind what he has written. I think while reading Inferno, I looked up Dante's texts and the painting by Botticelli numerous times because the description of the paintings and Dante's The Divine Comedy made me more curious. The same thing happened while reading his previous book, The Da Vinci Code.

I think Inferno is a book that is very much required in our times. It makes you think about humanity and how we can live sustainably. There are many times that you ask yourself whether you would take the same stand as "the villain" did in this book and there are many times where I agreed with him.

Dan Brown's books intrigue me and have made me appreciate the art and history that surrounds us. This time, it has also made me question humanity and the world that we live in. It really is an excellent book that makes you think and challenges you.

S