The Rebelle blog

BEATLES and MURAKAMI! How do I thank thee for making this evening so pleasurable?! It's one of those evenings where the calm washes over me even as I sit silently listening to the muffled sounds of the drizzling rain outside my living room window. I am thinking of Kafka and stumble upon Murakami's Norwegian Wood playlist on Spotify. You know the serenity in our minds when familiar music makes us feel the quiet pace of a long day and week. My cousin, a musician himself shares amazing music and I believe my musical affinities have since grown from interactions with him. All the troubles seem far away like the Beatles croon on this soft slow evening hour.  These moments of happiness where the flowers bloom in my head and light up memories like diamonds as I take the beauty in the mundane! The magic of the golden hour is back and I want to see how far I can make it to the finish line (if there is one!) and be always home as I explore the blue sea. 

How I love reading poetry! I can't recall the first poem I ever read. I remember we started by reading poetry in school syllabus. But it was being explained to us by a teacher, analysed and taught in their interpretation. My first experience of a poem thus remains unknown and undiscovered. Now that I do know that I like reading poetry, I usually write down entire poems or the few lines that have intrigued me. I have realised that poems convey so much more than prose does. A few lines can affect our psyche so acutely, I often wonder how do the poets do this. Many of them say they write what they see and feel, only in less words. I find this extraordinary. I have known some people who have poetry on their tongue. They can recite lines after lines with an impact that could numb senses. Because of easy access to Internet these days, it has become very easy to search poetry. A few years earlier, when I had just discovered that Charlotte Bronte also wrote poetry, I searched so ...

I visited Pune last week. My cousin, "P" shifted to her new residence recently and my brother-in-law invited me to stay. How could I refuse?! We are a laugh-o-riot whenever we meet. Since her marriage two years ago, now we only get to meet during summer holidays or Diwali (Winter holidays). She Lives in a quiet housing society with small lanes that are lined with lots of trees. I loved the peace and calm that greeted me every morning and the evening solace, as well. The living room window overlooks Tall Palm trees where some pigeons have made a temporary nest. I loved to sit idle on the sofa, dreaming, sipping cocoa and staring out of the window. Lazy Summer Bliss! Here are a few pictures from my stay, of these trees that include Blue Jacaranda, and White & Pink Bougainvilleas. Those were picture-postcard scenarios.  

I read these books, separated by a time span of 3 years. And while I would like to say that both of them represent a different time and their lives were completely different from each other, I found them both to be highly relevant in my life.  Anne Frank with her extremely short life during the early 20th century and Charlotte Bronte with her Victorian Era upbringing during the early 19th century, both, have a definite and lasting impression on girls all over the world. I have cried and winced in pain while reading Anne Frank's Diary and while I have not read any novel written by Bronte, when I am writing here about the two, I often wonder how would life have turned for both these women (one was a girl who died young, the other died aged 36), could their literary accomplishments fulfill their inner aspirations? How would Anne live after the war ended? Would she have published her diary? Would she chose to be a novelist? How would Charlotte Bronte come to terms with the lo...