The Lowland

The last book I read of Jhumpa Lahiri was The Interpreter of Maladies. I have also read her Unaccustomed Earth. However, it was The Namesake that pulled me to her writings.
The simplicity with which she weaves the inner conflicts of a typical Bengali in an American society is unputdownable. It is but natural that any first generation Indian will have the occassional retrospection of a family and home far away across the Atlantic Ocean and long to go back to his roots.
The Lowland is the story of two brothers one driven by the contemporary strong left wing politics confident of bringing a change in the government(Udayan) and the other ambitious of his career (Subhas).
 They grow up in the shades of a radically developing Indian city (Kolkata) where the rich play golf in the city clubs while the poor spends the night in starvation. The way Lahiri sketches the 1960s Calcutta with its iconic buildings like Technicians Studio in Tollygunge, the Tollygunge Club, Shahid Minar, etc makes you want to go back to those times even if you are a resident of the city itself. It was the time of cult Bengali movies like Charulata, the Hindu Muslim riots, and the rise of Communist Party of India. As they grow up, Udayan gets influenced by the Marxist  movement and executes various anti-government operations. Subhas,on the other hand, completes his under graduation in Jadavpur University and goes abroad to pursue his further studies. The story takes a turn when Udayan gets killed in a police encounter and Subhas marries his  brother' s expecting wife Kamala to save her from the rigid Indian customs on an Indian widow. What happens there after is a conflict of duty towards a brother's wife and a longing for an emotional attachment from the wife. How a generation continues in a far away land from East India uprooted from all the roots in he "lowlands" of Tollygunge is not only moving but highly reflective of the present situation of Indian society.
The book is a pleasant read for your lazy afternoons and a wonderful retrospection of the radical 60s' Calcutta, the birth of  the "Presidency University" culture and the intellectual punjabi clad Bengali Students. If you are reading Jhumpa Lahiri for the first time, then this book will definitely impress you with its simple storyline. However, if you have read the earlier works of the writer, then I am not sure if the book comes up to the expectations. Though it is a very moving story, the idea of the same kind of NRI Bengalis tend to be a little repetitive of her style. Some might argue that this is her style, but still, I as a reader, would like her to christen some other areas with her writings. Jhumpa Lahiri is an excellent writer of the modern times and I will be eagerly waiting for her next book.:)

Feel free to post your comments and your take on the book. :)

Going Colorful

So many people are going today for hair colors.  Some go for streaks and some go for total bleaching and coloring their hair. But then again, it is a pity how some people in an effort to be stylish make their head a riot of colors resembling nothing less than a hired clown from the circus. Sorry! 

The main point to keep in head before you go to the salon is your skin complexion. The head on your hair completes your facial appearance. Thus, you have to go for a color that complements your complexion well and goes with it. 

Indian skin color is more on the duskier side. So, please DO NOT go for BLONDE color on your hair. It is nothing less of a huge DISASTER! Blonde looks good on the westerns because of obvious reasons i.e their very fair skin. The thing is true not only for Indians having duskier complexion but also for those who are comparatively fairer. In short- going Blonde is a complete no-no for Indian women and men. Never even think of it in your worst fashion phases.

When it comes to streaks, we see people with green and pink and red and all bright colors. But then again, except red none of the above is really for Indians. People with really really fair skin can go for pink/green  streaks. It gives you that Punk feeling like Avril Lavigne. Red is still okay with the fairer Indian skin but stay away from golden shades. Disastrous! Ugh! 

Instead Indians with a slightly fair skin can go for Brown like the typical Henna in colloquial terms. You can also go for burgundy or brunette color. So, any darker shade color is fine for Indian skin -dark or fair. That is super stylish! If you have bangs, you can streak your bangs. Super cool! :)  But as a word of caution, if you are going for hair color make sure it is from a trusted brand. Your hair also needs care and doesn't really like third grade artificial stuffs. Going for too many artificial colors may damage your hair permanently and who knows you might have to go for a wig! :/

Skirting Away

It is terribly hot and most of us want to avoid our beloved jeans for obvious reasons - they stick to your legs and make you sweaty and uncomfortable. Skirts and shorts are the best things in summer. I love wearing skirts, they make your legs look good even if you don't have a proper shoe to go with it. LOL! Skirts are the best thing beside shorts that you can wear in summer - fashionable and comfortable! So, if it is summer show off your legs in skirts rather than the typical jeans. Summer is style! ;)

But then again there is the word of caution: while wearing skirts, people tend to forget their figure and structure. Since skirt is NOT jeans, it has to appeal to your shape. Seeing a short skirt in the clothing store and just doing it may not be a good idea if you are slightly on the plumper side or the shorter end. :( Skirts are elegant and you have to put it on elegantly as well. Below are some of the common mistakes that I see people do with skirts.

Blunder #1) A plump girl with not very thin legs wears a short skirt. Well, you can imagine it is not a very pleasant in fashion. It does not look good! If you are planning to wear a short skirt, make sure your legs are in shape.  Instead, go for a long skirt. Long skirts are elegant! They make you look classy!

Blunder #2) A short girl wearing a long skirt. Well, when my height is short I would like to wear something that makes my legs look long and makes me seem taller! Long skirts are generally flowy in nature and they tend to hide your frame. Go for mini skirts. Also, short people should stick to monochromatic colors like clothes in blue hue/ pink hue like that. Stripes and multicolored clothes tend to draw attention to your short stature. Say no to Horizontal details or big prints. With the skirt don't forget to wear a good heel, however not more than 3 inches. Not only do extra heels make your height look synthetic but also they are a health hazard.  A calf length boot is perfect! Another kind of skirt that these women should avoid are skirts that are in between your knee and ankle. I detest these skirts and I detest them more when fat and short people wear it. I personally would never wear these and go out in public.

Blunder #3) Unshaven legs. Before adorning the skirt make sure your leg is well moisturized and devoid of body hair. Otherwise it is a sore!

So, anyway wear the skirts well keeping in mind your figure, I guess Summer will be a stylish season for you! :)

"For you a thousand times over"

So, I think I can call myself a fan of Khaled Hosseini. His books serve the purpose of, what I feel, what books are actually meant to do. They tell you about a  new country, their culture and people. For me it has been an enlightening experience because I got to know so much about Afghanistan. A country torn between civil and political wars and then by the jihads- I think the country has lost more than what it has gained. I now know that Afghanis are really nice and warm and loving quite contrary to what I used to think earlier. And I am really thankful to this writer for letting me know what it is like to be in this country where everyday people woke up with the sounds of bombs and gunshots. I respect them for their incredulous strength to handle life this way!
The first book I read of him was "The Kite Runner" and I almost cried with the last phrase "For you a thousand times over". I would suggest anybody to read this.  "A thousand Splendid Suns" too was a brilliant take on the woman in Afghanistan are being treated by the so called "religious rulers". These two made me a fan of Khaled and when his latest book "And the Mountains Echoed" released, i was sure to get myself a copy.
This story is about a brother Abdullah and his sister Pari and how they get separated painfully as a rescue from their poverty; "A finger had to be cut, to save the hand". The lives of each of them spans out across two different continents -in Paris and somewhere in Afghanistan and Peshawar, Pakistan. It etches the life of all the people who comes in touch with these people's lives: Uncle Nabi, Mr. and Mrs. Wahdati, Mr. Markos, a Dr. Bashiri and a young boy Adel-son of an ex-jihad. The feeling of the abandonment of the country to its pitiful fate by an American Afghan, the rebellious feelings of a  Muslim woman, the fight for a home and the helplessness of the Afghan refugees in America- each of them moves me. The village of Shadbagh and the brother sister bond is beautiful- how the sister loves collecting bird feathers ,how her brother acts like her only guardian and how she has distant visions of her lost past and a vacuum in her life- is the unshakable  specialty with which Khaled weaves up the apathy of such fictional yet realistic people. I love his writings for this quality!
But I fail to understand why he did not write much about Abdullah once he was separated from his sister, Pari. Pari's life was very well sketched- how she grew into a mathematician, how she had a loving family of her own but Abdullah's life was not very well articulated until he grew old and lived with his grown up daughter also named Pari. I think I would have wanted to know more on how did Abdullah land up in America from the small poor village of Shadbagh. 
Also, the account of Dr. Bashiri and his encounter with the misfortunate girl named Roshi  seemes unnecessary to me. Well, it was ironical the way Roshi saves Kaka Idris but I think the chapter on their lives could had been a little shortened to give way to Abdullah's life.  I think the writer wanted us to know how the foreign returned nationals made false promises to take care of the victims of the wars and family feuds.  Still, I think an account of Abdullah's life would had been better since he also writes about Adele and his clustered childhood. 
All in all, I would say "And the Mountains Echoed"  was not as good as his previous two books had been but nevertheless I will continue to be a fan of Hosseini. He succeeds in creating the perfect ending moment when Pari receives the box of bird feathers as a gift from her brother although she does not know what was that supposed to mean. Perfect!
                             "  I found a sad little fairy
                                Beneath the shade of a paper tree
                                I know a sad little fairy
                               Who was blown away by the wind one night  "

                                

Mind the Event

Well, I read in a book that beauty was something God just randomly distributed when he was creating us. So, I believe that everyone cannot be pretty and beautiful with the prefect cheekbones and collar bones and all that, but we can even be the center of attraction by your attire. And by attire I do not mean atrocious and too glitzy for the occasion, you will end up looking worse than you actually are. :p...I mean by the right combination of your shoes and dress and accessories..
 So anyway this reminds me of an incident. When I was trying to get admission after my class X results into a decent school here in Kolkata, I remember a particular girl standing in the queue behind me waiting to write the admission test for that particular school. It was more or less a formal event you would say so you were expected to wear something sober though there was no official dress code or anything. Well, it was a hot summer day and everybody was in loose t shirts and somewhat suited to the occasion type of attire. And this particular girl was wearing a top which had a deep lunging neck in the front exposing her cleavage. Umm, well this kind of a thing is okay in a party or maybe when you are hanging out with your friends but I guess when you are in a school waiting to write an admission test bending over the desk that's not a very comfortable thing to be in. Also lets maintain a little code of conduct here - you would want to dress very formally and properly in these kind of situations. Call me orthodox for that!.:/...
I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people travelling in public vehicles and being uncomfortable in whatever they are wearing! Well, practically most of us city people travel in public automobiles with all kinds of people- they may not be from the same strata of society. And with all these recent crimes with women, I think it is best if you keep your stylish clothes for those trips when you are travelling in a private car or may be with family. I think it is highly discouraging to wear something bold and travel in public conveyances. It is so uncomfortable when those stupid people stare at you and you fidget with your dress.  Avoid skinny and flowing kind of dresses in these kind of circumstances cause lets face it most men are perverted. :(
Sometimes I see people coming to visit malls in utterly GLITTERING salwa kameezes.  I tell you my eyes almost get blinded! :p. Visiting a mall is just an informal event , a glittering salwar can be kept in your wardrobe for a wedding or a big Indian event, but definitely not for a mall. You will easily feel out of place. However the above girl with that cleavage top would had been perfect in this mall. LOL! 
So, girls think and dress up. Just because you have that dress and have nowhere to wear it doesn't mean you have to wear it at the odd places. One day the event will come where you can flaunt your curves and wedding wears. Otherwise if you are a smart bitch, then make the event. ;)

Welcome!

Hello! This is my another take on writing blogs. The last one was started on a very high emotional note and in the end got a little bit too personal to show others...lol! talk about blogging! So, this time i thought I will write about fashion and books an music- things I am best at. ;)...Hope this time my venture brings in a good amount of readers..:)

A little bit of introduction I suppose would be good. :). I am an engineering student with assignments and semesters and lab files stacked on my table almost everyday. During my long vacations, when I get utterly bored, I take to blogging apart from studying Chinese. I see soo many people in the streets going wrong with their dresses and shoes and uggh! It is disgusting and a sore for the eye. And these are the general fashion disasters mistakes made by you and me - the general public not some high ended social celebrity at some party glitz. I believe in simple fashion not costly yet stylish. And you definitely don't have to be super pretty for that! And trust me, my college is full of people who have  such a bad taste in fashion ! Its revolting! So I thought maybe I can teach some of them as to how you can sort all your clothes and shoes up in your wardrobe and put on something that will not make you look a disaster. ;) Trust me, you will thank me one day! ;)