The Rebelle blog

Before 2014 ends, and I actually say this to myself before every year comes to an end, that I should pen down a proper list of to-read books in a diary, so that, I won't trouble the booksellers trying to remember names of books/authors/publishers etc. when I buy them. This rarely happens though. Every time I am in bookstores, I usually have this printed Excel list of to-read books I've exported from Goodreads. It happened only once that I took some other bag on an outing and hence, forgot to transfer the contents including these printed pages that run over about 20 in number. I've since grown wiser. Now, I also have a quick list of essential books to buy in my wallet, so that I always have access to the list. Since the beginning of this year, in 2014, I've also been writing in a small diary about books that I've come across, essays to read, excerpts from Nobel Prize Acceptance speeches and poetry too. These days I am reading a very interesting diary of a voracious...

31st October, 1984. Indira Gandhi- Prime Minister of India assassinated. 31st October, 2014- 30 years since her death. I was born in 1988. So, I have always heard about our First Woman Prime Minister with awe and pride. During my school Girls Guide camp, I spoke about Mrs. Indira Gandhi as my inspiration and she is till today. The new BJP led govt. celebrated Sardar Patel's birthday with a Unity Run but failed to pay homage to one of the strongest and most influential Indian Prime Minister, Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Not a single person from the NDA govt. visited Shakti Sthal to pay respects to the late PM. If twitter is now going to be an official medium used by the current PM to voice his thoughts, and also paying tributes then lets rest the case of official protocols altogether. Its sad to see that former Prime Ministers will be insulted and ignored just because their ideology is/was different than those in power. I wish the young generation looks at things rationally and not ...

So, I did not make it to a very prestigious Entrance Exam conducted throughout the nation. And, I am disappointed. Although, I was quite calm when the results came out, now after a day or two of pondering excessively on the failure, my misery has finally got a better hold of me. Because, I was studying for over a year for this exam, and had quit my job I feel really low right now. I have gained such immense knowledge in this last year, yet I've lost a lot of hands on experience from my job. I, now have decided to apply for a PG Diploma in Urban Planning and Development via a distance learning programme, so it means, I will continue studying for my exam till next year and also, get a degree. Perhaps, I could also work part-time somewhere. Because Architecture is such a hectic and stressed vocation, I need to include academics, a job and the exam prep in a balanced way, so as not to ruin everything. I am being positive about this new venture, and I know I can do these three ...

Watercolors are my least preferred medium. I love watercolor art, but since I am not a trained artist I cannot use watercolors to their maximum effect. Recently, I came across a very gifted artist who paints using watercolors and writes for NatGeo Traveller India. His work is so phenomenal, that I took some inspiration and decided to try my hand at watercolors after three years. I kept it simple. Just painted a few paper craft flowers I have made as part of a greeting card. It was all plain white, and I thought of adding some fresh color to the flowers. My hands were wobbly and I couldn't judge how thin the color layer ought to be on the paper, so my first flower got painted with a very watery yellow and it made the flower saggy too. My second attempt was fair and I colored all of them with a very satisfactory even layer. The last time I used these watercolors was while watching a movie at home- 'Wake Up Sid.' Something during the movie made me get my colors an...

I am a Bajaj Kid! I belong to that generation of kids who grew up riding on Bajaj Scooters and listening to '....Buland Bharat ki buland tasveer- Hamara Bajaj.' And, what fun memories do I have of our scooter! I distinctly remember the time Dad bought it home. I was Four years old, and stood in the doorway eagerly waiting for my Dad and Uncle. It was getting dark and then, I spotted them. Don't remember much from the night. It is blue-coloured and the number plate is 8847- I remember Dad once told me the trick to remember the number plate. He asked me, What is the height of Mount Everest? It is 8848 m. Isn't it an easy number? he asked. I never once forgot it since. Years later, I however, had some trouble memorising our Car number plate. There was no logic there to help me. I have fond memories of travelling on the scooter with Dad during summer holidays. We would ride outside Nashik and then stop by the roadside under Gulmohar trees. Dad would help me pluck the fla...

Happy 118th Birthday to  F.SCOTT FITZGERALD! A beloved author. Oh! How I love thee! “That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated from anyone. You belong.”  I've been swooning over his dishy looks ever since I read him. ;)

Of late, I've realized how grumpy I've become. I crib over petty issues, over the neighbors, over people behaving crassly in public and so many million things. Case in point, this: I was at the post-office yesterday and there was a long queue of bored people awaiting their turn. Some youngsters were idling their time by sitting on motorbikes parked in the vicinity. Its quite a common sight to see young men ganged up in groups playing loud music on their cellphones. One of the young men stood in the queue ahead of me and kept shifting restlessly, breaking the line, yawning, stretching his body- things I consider highly inappropriate in public. He kept fiddling with his phone for a long time and suddenly started playing an audio clip that was so loud that it only invited irritated faces and mean looks from the others in the queue. Nobody, however, said anything so he kept playing more tunes and it was unbearable. This went on for quite sometime and I kept thinking of an approp...