Trials and Tribulations by Fire

Have you ever looked at married couples of long-standing and wondered what their secret was? Do you know a couple whose marriage seems to be “almost perfect?” How do they do it, these couples? What are they doing in their marriage that we don’t do and why do we somehow feel second rate to them? What’s WRONG with MY marriage, you may want to scream! Why aren’t WE perfect? Don’t scream and don’t feel that your marriage is inadequate because it doesn’t “measure up” to someone else’s. First of all, there are no perfect, or “almost perfect,” marriages. Anyone who feels there are has bought into the Disney version of love: Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and, my personal favorite, Sleeping Beauty. While the “happily ever after” image of true love and marriage is hard to resist, these stories are what they are; fairy tales. They are not real life. So why do some couples seem to live in “happily ever after?” Though we may not want to use the expression, couples who seem to be hap

I remember the time when Akshay 'Khiladi' Kumar used to be a heart throb for Indian girls. His charisma left none untouched. With his toned muscles and gravity-defying acts, he made inroads into the hearts of the fairer sex easily. Then came the downfall. Too many movies with an eye on the 'Khiladi' magic were churned out that turned out to be complete box-office duds. A decade passed with forgettable films. Akshay Kumar metamorphosed into Rajeev again and became Twinkle's baby sitter. After a period polishing his prowess and skills, he returned with a bang. Literally. In the past few years, Akki gave hits at the drop of a hat. Movies like Namastey London, Aitraaz make the viewers sit up and take note of the hunk. They had forgotten that this muscle man could emote as well. After trying hard to regain his lost sheen, Akki, rose like a phoenix. Now, he is ruling the box-office with Punjabi-toned hits. Sing is King is one such movie that rests solely on Akshay'

I have wondered what makes people do things that they do? I understood it myself a few days back. I have been hit hard by a tidal wave. A wave of ferocious thoughts, fiery emotions, and deep longings. I have moved on.

The weekend was unforgettable. I still have no clue what I have ended up doing! How could I do this to myself? Was I drunk? Oh, why did I do this? I said Yes yet again to some wannabe groom! Oh my god! How can I live in a city like Bombay! Are you crazy? Stupid woman.

Saw Vellithirai , ahem, last evening. With my friend, and two mothers. I found it quite entertaining, as I usually find movies. And I thought the script was quite strong but so much work could have been done to pep up the dialogues. Here is a snapshot of what I loved about 'Silverscreen' and what I didn't. I loved : The cinematography Prakashraj Prithviraj The climax To a certain extent, the story line The way in which Prakashraj makes us believe that he is such a bad actor! I didn't quite like: Gopika's over-mushy behaviour The forgettable songs Non-existent background score The contextual humor Vellithirai is a nicely-made-remake (Ok, Manguda?). Anyday, better than the Billas, Thottas, and Anjaathes. It has something for every person in the audience. Prakashraj takes the accolades, for making every person hate KK, aka Kannaiappan. On the other hand, Prithviraj makes you sit up and notice, the way the calm and composed Saravanan, uses his intelligent maneuvers to d

I know I have deserted you. I fled. I know. I am sorry. I truly am. Dear blog, Here I am, with some thoughts and a promise that I will write to you regularly. Now now don't be so angry, after all I am your kin. We have been together in all the crests and troughs. Come on, smile now. :-) Today is Saint Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day A day when lovers express their love for each other by sending flowers, cards, and confectionery. This holiday has been named after two Early Christian martyrs, called as Valentines . This holiday became associated wuth 'romantic love' in the High Middle Ages. Read about the period here . The February festivities link A certain Professor alleges that Geoffrey Chaucer, known for his work, The Canterbury Tales, was the reason behind the romanticizing of St. Valentine's Day. Its believed that the Catholic Church had recognized three martyrs as Valentines. They were: Valentine of Rome Valentine of Terni and a Valentine who was martyred

A charming face, dimpled smile, and a disarming manner. Saw one of his movies the other day and fell for his charms. This guy has some great acting genes. He has taken off where Bobby Deol or Sunny couldnot reach. Bobby succeeded in swaying the ladies for a short period but then became stereotyped. And vanished. Abhay, on the other hand does not resort to any such gimmicks and depends on plain talent. The talent to make you cry and move you. "Socha Na Tha" is one such story where Abhay plays a super-rich boy in love with a Catholic girl, Karen. But fate has other plans for him. He meets and falls in love with Aditi (Ayesha). He doesnot realize that he does not love Karen but is simply infatuated by her. Whereas he feels deeply bonded to Aditi. The love story is sachharine sweet, enough to up your sugar levels. But its worth a watch. No violence, no baddy. No villain. Just a plain boy-meets-girl story, which can happen to anyone. Abhay Deol certainly has potential to become a

I stumbled onto a website which had this piece of news. This was so shocking, I researched some more and found the same story splashed across many websites. This is truly one of the most shocking piece I have read. I wanted to put it on my blog. GALVESTON, Texas - A woman believed to be the mother of a 2-year-old whose body was found in Galveston Bay told police she and the girl’s stepfather beat and tortured the child to death, court documents show. The details, in a statement Kimberly Dawn Trenor gave to police, paint a chilling picture of the last days of the girl investigators called “Baby Grace” as they worked for weeks to learn her identity. Investigators are awaiting DNA test results but said Monday they are “fairly confident” that the body a fisherman found in a plastic box Oct. 29 is that of Riley Ann Sawyers. Trenor, 19, and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, were in custody on charges of hurting the girl. “It was a few weeks ago I held up this little shoe and asked, ’Who i

I found this image on the net. An amazing collection of wishes to do before the guy dies. There are 110 things to do in the list. Read through, some are amazing: {Click on the image to enlarge.}

SPEAKING TREE Good And Evil Are Relative Concepts Discourse: SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR Evil has no absolute existence of its own . The Bhagavad Gita says: " The good will never perish; evil can never exist ".Evil doesn't exist as a separate entity; it is only an appearance. As such, it has only a relative, not absolute, existence. Just as darkness does not have an existence; it is not an entity or a substance but only a lack of light. In the same way, evil is simply lack of goodness. Moreover, according to the Puranas, even the demons finally merge into God: Ravana dies and merges into Rama. This approach avoids the dilemma about evil and the omnipresence of God. Most religions are of the view that God is Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient. If God is Omnipresent, then there is no place for evil to exist outside God. If you recognise separate existence for evil, then you have to forgo God's Omnipresence. If evil is another power that is outside, or challenging God's