A post a day...

Of late, I realized that I have not been updating my blog consistently; writer's block or careless attitude,  whatever!

But one thing is for sure. I have not decided to quit writing, and would continue to write here as I had promised earlier. I must confess though that a thought occurred to me in the meantime to give separate spaces for some of the topics. But that is when I realized that 317 cauvery is like a big family and each topics are like the members of a joint family with myself as its head. Giving separate space for some of the topics would only mean I failed to fulfill my duty as the head of my family.

My blog had reached a stage where it needs a boost to revitalize and regain the past vigor. "A post a day..." (until this year end) is in line with this thought. An apple a day had certainly kept many people from their doctors away. However, I believe, a post a day would only bring my followers closer to me than before, and would encourage new followers to become a part of my family.

A lot of things had happened since my blog met my stepmotherly (fatherly?) treatment. I'm going to try writing about some of the interesting experiences I had starting from the days towards my marriage to turbulent October when I took the dreadful risk I would never forget in my lifetime. All I need now is a large dose of motivation. A post a day is only a part from the large dose, your encouragements will do the rest.

Review: Girl With a Pearl Earring

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Only a diamond cuts another diamond, so says a proverb. Could this be said of arts too?" was the first thought that flashed my mind when I saw the title "Girl with a pearl earring" from the fiction rack at Poudre River Public Library.

I do not often venture into a new reading from an author whose work I had never read or heard before. But my insatiable quest that was lingering in my mind made me decide to borrow the book.

Even before I started to read the first page from the book, a chain of thoughts about who could the girl be flew through my head. From the abstract of the book I imagined the girl to be a princess from a rich kingdom. "Is pearl a symbol of richness?", I questioned my own thoughts. A princess could have worn a gold or diamond earring!

A look at the front cover which has a portrait of the girl with a pearl earring said she could not be a princess, but an ordinary girl just like the ones we come across daily at any place. Only that she looked different in the eyes of an artist who had decided to paint her.

The novel is a blend of fiction with real facts; artist Vermeer is real and so is the painting Girl with a pearl earring by him. The story is about a girl who became a maid owing to family circumstances and how she became the source of inspiration for the artist, or so I thought until I read through near end of the book. Though the complete story is narrated from the maid's perspective, it is a story of an artist who is caught between love of his profession and family's responsibility and his struggles in balancing the two.

I am not sure if I would read more of Tracy Chevalier's works, but the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is a book which I would not hesitate to recommend.

View all my reviews

What's in the name?

If you have a big name like what I have, you would have probably faced problems when you tried to introduce yourself in a social gathering, especially if the people who have gathered for a social meeting were from different parts of the world.

Some people call me as Jam, while some prefer to call me as Ramanujam. On official occasions, I address myself as Srinivasa.

Today, while I was about to introduce myself as Jam to a new friend of mine I met at the Friday Afternoon Club, a friend of mine found me from the crowd, walked towards us and said "Hey Srinivasa! Good to see you again after two years", shaking my hands.

"Well, you can call me as Srinivasa or Ramanujam or in short, Jam", I told my new friend. "I'm sorry, I will probably remember Jam, but not any of your other names", he smiled apologetically.

When I introduce myself as Jam, some people would ask me to repeat it twice to make sure they got it right. To them, I would say, "Yes, you got that right. It's like bun butter jam" with a smile. While some people would assume they got it right and later call me as Jim or Gem.

People from outside India often times find it difficult to pronounce my name, much like the way I find with their names. Recently, I had to talk to a mobile company's customer care representative to change my mobile plan. After so much effort in trying to pronounce my name, the customer care representative asked me to spell it out so that she can type it in her database. As soon as I finished spelling the first half of my first name, I did not offer the representative to note down the second half. It took almost five minutes for her to get the first half and we haven't even started working towards the main issue of changing my mobile plan!

After fifteen minutes, the customer care representative said she had changed my mobile plan successfully. "You can visit our website to know about the new plan details", she added. After I hung up my call, curiosity got into me and made me log in to their website. 

I was amused when I saw the website welcoming me as FRINI DAFA! Though I wanted to correct my name, there was no option to edit my account. "After all, what's in the name?", thinking that way, I consoled myself.

Jam's Quotes

Note 1: I am sharing a collection of my quotes which originated either while I was having a conversation with my friend(s) or when I was contemplating on something (usually nothing :P). I had shared some of these quotes in my facebook timeline, while others are used in short stories that are published on my blog.

Note 2: If you find any of my quotes to be synonymous with some existing one, perhaps I rediscovered it!

In one life that we live, there are people who help us and later expects a favor in return. Some will help us because they are friends, while others help us because they are family/relatives. But there are few who comes in our life when we most wanted them to, help us in evolving into a better person, and leave without a trace when their job is done.

Routines of today become rituals tomorrow.

Using science to commercialize an idea is like praying to God to pass an exam.

Rituals come with an expiry date!

In my graduate days, I learned to make money. In my research days, I am learning to look beyond.

When I die, I'm going to find the person who first coined the word "sorry", slap him hard on his face and say "I'm sorry!".

Book sellers offer up to 40% off plus free shipping and still makes a profit. No wonder why poor people are illiterate!

Atheists are not against God. They are against stupidity. If people think God is stupidity, it's not an atheist's mistake.

When an art form takes you closer to God, it becomes a classic.

The difference between past and present legend is the past is forgotten, the present will be forgotten.

What we solve as class room problems today had given so many sleepless nights to several researchers not so long ago!

People who take success close to their heart takes failures closer.

I don't know if God exists or not. But what I do know is nobody is God.

We live in a society where elites working for poor are labeled as social, kind-hearted and humane, but not as duty-minded.

The purpose of religion is to give hope to every single individual on this planet. So long as it serves the purpose, I believe in God, even if science disproves his/her/whatever's existence.

In the 25th century, a guy will get "creative design" award for his design of a fashion wear. The dress will be made from single piece of cloth and is complicated to wear. Still, it is going to revolutionize the clothing industry that every woman on this planet would like to own the masterpiece. The artistic design can be worn on any seasons/occasions. Only time knows that centuries back, people called the design wear as "saree"!

The universe keeps expanding forever, and so does the space between people in their hearts. Unless a star of activity takes place in their heart that can pull things down by gravity.

A picture is worth a thousand words. But a good writer can make you visualize the picture with his words!

Most people look at the dots and not at the theory that connects them.

No country. no nation. no boundaries. no dispute. no language. no technology. no science. no religion... hey nature! it's going to be just you...and me.

A teacher continues to teach even if he/she does not get a good student, for it is their job. However, it's not money but a good student, who adds value to their lives.

"A boy or a girl?" is the question that comes to anyone's mind when we hear someone is conceived. Does the life in the womb know any gender? An equal society is not when men and women are treated as equal, but beyond.

Never give free advice, for people will never listen. Charge them a consultancy fee and they will be all ears.

You know you had a great day if you are able to read at least 50 pages before you sleep.

Some people are not open-minded because they do not know how to open their minds. It's not their mistake though!