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Book Review- Paper towns

So, in my quest to read  from the 'must-read-books' list as much as possible before I graduate, I'm adding a tick.
'Paper Towns' by John Green is the 2.33'th book I have read, written by him. ('Will Grayson, Will Grayson' and 'Let it snow' contribute towards 1.33 of that)

Coming to this sweet adventure. Well, its a mental adventure. The protagonist, Quentin, is a self professed nerd and a shadow of the author. His love for the girl he has shared a traumatic experience with in his childhood is sort of 'Alchemist'-y in the beginning.(that meaning, love-even-though-we-speak-once-in-a-decade), but the second half of the book qualifies it to a sort of reality, after he realizes how un-Indiana Jones-y the girl is. Or rather, she is just a girl.
The story revolves around a nerdy high school life and the search for love. Literally, as the girl(high time we should name her), Margo runs away from home. Green sprinkles the teen dramedy with action and hilarious conversations ( focus on Balls) between friends who like real people, fight a lot. But at the end, stick up for each other.
Personally, I love the parts where each of them realize what I wish someone would have told me when I was in high school.- "People are people, not just the Ideas that you have created about them."
Green clearly translates genuine emotions and experience from his school days to this beautiful book.
Trying not to give any more spoilers, it all makes terribly brilliant sense when the true meaning of the title of the book is revealed.
It made putting up with Quentin's "oh-where-are-you-Margo" and other Bella-y whining 100% worthwhile.

Go ahead and pick up the book asap! Flipkart link.

2012 Movie

Continuing with my review-ing trend, Next up is the '2012' movie.
At 200 rupees ticket, at the IMAX Digital screen at wadala, it was worth the money!
The movie opens with a scene in India and later shifts to California where the effect of the awaited 'End-of-the-world' is first seen. Th visual effects of this movie was breathtaking, and the IMAX quality added to the impact!
Well, we all would definitely know by now that the Mayan calender ends on 21st December 2012, and this has been analyzed to be believed that its the day Earth goes haywire. This film takes up his concept, adds in little science and exaggeration and a lot of SFX, and lands up with a must watch. What I loved in this picture is how to connected different parts of the world, different lives and stories, and how the end of the world impacts them.
Another important thing to understand is how people are when they know the end is near. All the regrets, gratitude and glories, everything flashes by in moments.
Well, I found it absurdly horrifying when California went down into the ocean(as I have a close attachment to it), and the scene where the Washington monument falls down reminded me of the similar Titanic scene. It was marvelously done. Kudos to the Director.

The movie touches you at an extravagant level. It blanks you out, and zooms out emotions( atleast for me it did), and thats why I loved it. Do go watch it!

Rating: 4/5

KFC Food Report

Well, today I tasted/nibbled/ate/tried/munched/had mostly all of things on offer at KFC, Powai.
So I thought, why not write a lil review.
So here it goes.
KFC Powai is situated right at the centre at Hiranandani Gardens, next to Haiko. Its more or less, always bustling with people.
The ambiance was great , with a LOT of backstreet boys music playing. The staff was polite and processed orders quick.
Now, to start with the Food

Krusher>

Virgin Mojito>45bucks> Lemon+Mint+Soda
Freshens you up.the best heat buster! My favourite!
Crunchy>55bucks>Milk+choco+cookie etc
Really tummy filling. Yum!
Smoothie>65bucks>Milk+(Strawberry) or (banana+mango)
Thick MilkShake. I love the banana one. Should try!


Twister>
Best of the ones I had. Filled with tomato, lettuce, capsicum, and the most important- Mayonaise :P
It was around 9' long and great taste too.
Priced quite fair.
4.5/5


French Fries>

Not that great actually. It looked a little over fried. Greasy. and not that tasty
2.5/5




Coleslaw>


Its basically a cabbage salad (google it out)! It was little cold, creamy and very fresh. My mum and I loved it. It complement the chicken.
4.1/5




Zinger Burger>

I've had it previously on many occasions. Real Chicken, Real Big Bites. An all time hit, a whole fillet of chicken in a warm sesame bun, with fresh crunchy lettuce and creamy mayo. Yum Yum!
4.2/5





Chicken Rice meal>

Its probably the most filling. At only 139 bucks, it gives you 2 pc. chicken, Veg rice, a curry and Pepsi! Though the curry is a lil south-indian in taste (Weird eh? ), it was good.

3.5/5




Crunchy Chicken>

Ah, nothing like the good ol' Crispy CHicken pieces eh?
Crispy meets juicy and it’s a mouthwatering match. A delight for non-veg lovers.

4/5




Brownie Sundae and Choc'Amor>
For desert we were going to go to 'Hokey Pokey' (which i absolutely love, will surely post later), but then due to the awesome rain (the adjective is sarcastic here. Generally it is not, but today it is as it disrupted lot many plans .. :P ), we settled in for KFC only. Oh well, how glad I am that we did. The brownie sundae was like a Cherry on the icing. We just drooled over it till it finished. Another fantastic thing we had was the ' Choc'Amor ', which basically was a small choco brownie filled entirely with chocolate syrup, which was oozing from everywhere (ehm, if youget a terrible urge to consume Chocolate, then GO DO IT!!!)
5/5





All in all, at around 500 bucks, it was a great dinner for 3. Cheers to KFC-

ps- to answer your doubts, KFC is NOT paying me for this.
ps2- to all the people who despise non-veg,...'Why did you even Read this Post?' :P
ps2.1- If you have had KFC stuff, please DO comment about it!
ps2.2- Yes, I love to eat. He-Ha.

Jog Around...

"What do you do around the time of twilight when you are bored at home during your preperatory leave?". Thats a question which popped into my head a week back. I put on shorts, socks and shoes, wallah, I was all set to Jog. The constructors of my colony( Mahindra & Mahindra) made sure that the well fed (euphemism for food with extra ghee) dwellers, have some place to walk/run/jog (or crawl, if you are 1 year old. and are conscious about your baby fat).

The first thing I noticed entering the park, was a circle of gujju aunties, singing bhajans, sitting in a circle. And not too far from them, the uncles, chatting about the latest political agenda etc. (The aunties and Uncles in reference, do get 50% concession in railways...if you know what i mean. :P)

Well, then usual things began. And after a few days of it, I've developed a list of things to keep in mind while u Jog.

1. Do not STOP once you begin, before you complete your planned laps.
2. Do not stamp over a small crawling baby ahead of you.
3. Do not run like a mad-hatter, if you don't want to attract super powered eyes.(actual reference to Power in Astigmatism *google it)
4. Do not stamp over a crawling baby, of any shape and size!
5. Do not drink water in the middle and start running again! You'll get a tummy ache.
6. Do not keep any chewable in your mouth. You can actually choke and die.
7. Say hello to people if you know them.
8. Do not bump(literally) into anyone, no matter how breathtaking they are!
9. Do not run over a tiny baby...did i mention this before?
10. Increase your laps by 1.5 a day. As in, start with 5 laps, second day 6.5 laps. etc etc.
    
11. and finally, after you are done, do not drop dead on the ground( again, worries the people around). Gently sit on the ground, and lie down. And COOOL down. VERY Important!
12. Look at the stars, assuming you started at twilight, its dark by now :)
13. And PLEASE DO NOT FORGET, do not stamp on kids!!!! :)

cheers-
Happy Jogging!

A Year has gone...

This post is very close to my heart. Wrote it after a year of college ended. Life takes weird sinusoidal turns, and leaves us into unpaved roads. This poem is kind of a reflection on a year...that was.and it ends, on waiting for summer, which i trusted, would be great! It was written in a cell phone, and hence i have kept the short language, to preserve the brain scope. hope it doesnt bug u! enjoy! written in april 2009



A year has gone,of living in nostalgia.
past,present n future,all so together,
yet 2 different.a year has gone,of tryin 2 make fun,
in d most unknown ways.a year has gone
,since i thot i had all i wanted in life.
i became so wat i dnt want.
listening 2 d breeze,
which so inocently talks to me now,
more dan d mortal beings.
it tells me wat ive lost n wat ive gained.
it tells me abt d flowers,birds,
rivers n far unknowns.i c d silence,hear d trees.
it all sounds like melancholy.
in harmony.like trumpets n meadows.
like violin in romance.
love is evrlasting,say many.but d clarity of it,is as foggy as i am.
i am neither sad,nor unholly.
i am jst here.amidst nothing n evrything.
trying 2 decide wat 2 c n wat 2 not.
trying 2 make sense out of blankness.
n blank wat is so profound.
d sun starts 2 shine,among d trees n shrubs.
it brings in energy,a kinda i cannot comprehend.
it reminds me of summer.
less known,but hugely considered...

PS-i DID go on a wonderfull summer trip. Maybe ill post later!
ciao!

Open spaces all around...

I wrote this when i was in a vacation to Himachal Pradesh, at a place called 'Khajjiyar'. Its called the Switzerland of India. Its a huge plain field surrounded by dense Deodar trees. Well, around twilight time, i was walking alone on the edge of the forest, there was me, my thoughts, a few birds, the treest swaing and swooshing sound of wind!!
it was just, inevitable....

Open space all arounds feels divine!
Usually so entangled in cobwebs,
Near infinity all arnd seems impossible!
One last empty feeling before
returning to the cities.
So cramped in race for money.

I look at the trees,
Trying to reach d skies,
They talk to me,in dere own unspoken ways.
They heal, they replenish,and remind me of'possibilities'.
They speak of the world, the sweetness, the life.
They r gentle yet strong,
And so is the wind!
The loneliness and innocence sinks in.
Its like an ocean yet,river.
Thoughts and feelings change,but not ones soul.

The fallen trees signify grief,the broken dreams.
But the new plants growing on dem
Tell me about new morrow.
The melancholy and peace,
Both so together,fire up passion,
Of ones eternal beauty, the love and compassion.

Universe is the sole director.
It creates and destroys.
Its all in Life.
Like a song it plays all around.
The loudness varies,and hence, do we!
Unbelievable and dreams are less often replaced by reality,
But when it does, its purely something to cherish forever
...The infinity of this world,
is LIFE..