A Thousand Splendid Suns

"Learn this now and learn it well, my daughter : Like a compass needle that points north, a man's accusing finger always finds a woman. Always. You remember that, Mariam." 

A good story is never good until it carries universal truth, or at least a learned truth.

The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini were on my list from long. But I believe 'a time' comes for all things on the earth, for all dreams, there is a time. And finally few days ago, I picked up the later one. The war was a distant thing in my mind until I read the somber account of Afganistan War and the way the lives of two women turned upside down. Loss is as much a reality as Life and Love. After reading the story , I feel a kind of guilty and ashamed for I had enjoyed making up stories of loss and deaths in my mind. It was stupidly sadistic.
The story is undoubtedly impressive and interesting and one obvious thing that makes it so is , a gleam of Hope, that shines unflinchingly throughout the novel. Optimism is contagious. And moreover, it is today's Necessity.

The title is taken from a poem composed by Saeb-e-Tabrizi, a Seventeenth century Persian poet. The original lines are translated in English by Dr. Josephine Davis and they are so beautiful.

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.

A thousand splendid suns, a hope unflinching, Mariam finds peace in the eternal words of Koran , " Allah is the East and the West, therefore where ever you turn there is Allah's purpose." These words also help sustaining hope in her utterly hopeless life.How ironical, when Mariam gets pregnant she recites these words and thinks that God brought her here for He had reserved this gift for her. Only towards the end she gets to understand that the real purpose of her life and the reason why Allah brought her in Kabul, in Rashid's life, in Laila's life was something more pious and more grave. ...so seeking the purpose of our life is an innocent act of mere ignorance. Just having faith in God and his purposes is significant.

P.S. Looking forward to grab a copy of The Kite Runner.

The Notebook

My Notebook - I have got this freelancing job, so called. I don't like it. Not a speck of it. Why not to read blogs, stories, about authors or write myself than to write about ***damn cars n mobile which are never going to be mine.

Alright but this blog was supposed to be about the movie, The Notebook, not about my Notebook ... anyway :)
I watched The Notebook yesterday, a movie based on the novel written by Nicholas Sparks. Apart from all that was beautiful in the movie, there was something striking. Or at least it struck me. In the beginning the hero says to the girl , there is something curious about you... you are Free. "Yes I am Free", replies the girl.

Oh the girl wouldn't be confused between Noah and Lon if she were free. No one is free in this world. Everyone is chained by his/her convictions, principles, fears and so on...


But there will be no beauty in life if one is clear in his/her mind. The struggle, the conflicts between heart and mind, society and individual makes most stories wonderful and lives too... :)

when Love happens - MOD

When something really troubles me... something that can't be shaken off easily...something that doesn't have a name or shape... I either begin a new novel or watch a movie. I misplaced the novel I had been reading these days so I decided to watch this movie. Mod. I watched it simply because I knew it would be dead slow and thus I would be able to do my work simultaneously.
A movie can please me - 1.) If it has a sensible story. 2.) A good actor 3.) Witty or thought provoking dialogues 4.) Good cinematography or Setting. 5.) Non-linear, creative, innovative narrative.
First let me give an example of each among the movies I have seen - 1.) The Reader
2.) Rockstar 3.) Lajja  4.) Guzarish 5.) Amilie

I didn't think for ages to give examples because I suppose those which I have stated can make my point clear. Mod had a lovely setting of a hill station. The natural background adds charm n beauty to the natural acting of Ayesha. Ayesha Takia had really come out as wonderful in Mod as she had in Dor. I just love her. She has a romantic air about her, something that makes her apart from others.
Unlike Dor, Mod may not bring tear to your eyes. It may not touch you deep but it nevertheless evoke the sense of wonder and beauty. All natural things do. :) and yeah Dont forget to take a look at the caption of the movie title... :)

"a moving"...

... and there are some souls who are always restless. I had thought, it was a sin... to be restless. As if restlessness was a weapon of Devil. He would soak your soul through it. I tried to find peace. Looked for it at the Church, in the tinkling sound of temple bells, in the fragrant sticks that burnt themselves. I tried to seek it into his eyes, his plain but sincere words, his purity and deep understanding. There was peace but it was not for me. I had to find my own. But there were more questions beforehand.
How it is, that I always wanted to be a dumb. And a part of me , that always wanted to be 'all-knowing'.

Source- painting by Nel

And there are moments when I feel fortunate I didn't find peace. I am yet a traveler. What if , there is no other way to tread upon after attaining the Peace? What if there is nothing after Peace? I am not full of wayside scenes yet. I want to see more and feel more and live more. Salvation? The earth's not a bad place either. I am least sad that there is inadequate in me because there is also a infinite... there is always 'a moving'...

about those days...

source- Josphine Blue

I can not forget my childhood because of the fantastic magical places I visited at that time. Sitting at the window sill of my shabby little room, I would see the moon's reflection in tidal waves, I would play with white sand and run along the beach. I would sneak in to the private rooms when couples have slept carelessly, I would inhale the nightly fragrance of secret clubs and see curvy shapes through sharp red and yellow lights. I had tasted all kinds of lives. Imagination was a thing then...the Soul ... . And so it happens sometimes, Soul dies before the body.