...Anugraha

I recently read a beautiful novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakuruni, titled "The Palace of Illusions" . It is a retelling of the Mahabaratham from the point of view of Draupadi. Beautifully written, one can easily see the young scared girl grow into a strong queen and become the vengeful woman responsible for the Kurukshetra War. Draupadi goes through the motions of falling in love, being unconventionally married to five men, forced to undergo a harsh lifestyle due to the Pandava's misgivings, and be jealous at the other wives these men chose to take; basically, she is portrayed as any other normal woman with insecurities and the strength to face them. It is a wonderfully written book and I would highly recommend it to anyone asking. One subplot that really caught my eye was the love Draupadi had for Karna. The book states that when her Swayamvaram was planned, an artist showed Draupadi a portrait of Dhuryodhana, and she found herself gazing at Karna, who...

The frigid morning air caressed her, seeping through the woolen blanket. The dark clouds enveloped her house, shrouding it in a dewy shawl. Shuddering awake, she blinked the drowsiness away and stood. Grumbling slightly at the cold and even more at how late she was going to be for work, she hurriedly dressed and stepped out into the windy city...just as the first rain drops began to fall. As she commenced the tedious walk to her office, the aphotic skies menacingly followed, escorted by boisterous winds. The relentless rain finally forced her to accept that she would have to step indoors for a while. Spotting a little yellow cafe, she decided to go in and wait out the storm. Being late for work, already, what more would a few extra minutes do?! The cafe was a quaint little place; a few cozy sofas next to a bookshelf haphazardly adorned with old classics in various levels of wear and tear. The floor was an array of whimsically patterned rugs on which mismatched tables and chairs we...

**Check out the first part here !!** As most of you know, I was not at all enthusiastic about this trip. As we left to go for the trail, I was excited at the possibility of walking and gaining points on my new Fit Bit (which is great by the way). Gym shoes  soaked up the mud as we walked down to the trail. The sound of roaring water was enough to keep us moving. We took plenty of pictures on the way there. The stairs were made out of wood and swayed a bit as we went down. However, the descent wasn't that bad and it was actually a bit fun. When we reached the falls, my heart stopped. My God, it was amazing to see. White river rapids and such swirls rushing downwards. I just stood there awestruck at the majesty and beauty that water could show us. Well, I was awestruck the first time. A little bit more the second time (the rapids were louder). By the 5th time, however, I was done. How much nature can a girl take?! I wanted to see something cool, like a bear, or a wolf or somethi...

Perhaps one of the most awaited days (except probably the Presidential Election, but honestly Leo > President). February 28th, was monumental. Leonardo DiCaprio, after a long excruciating 22 years of waiting, won an Oscar. Now, my mom has an uncanny skill of making everything into a lecture. However, when I told her about Leonardo's grand win, what she said hit home.  "See! he didn't give up". Can you imagine fighting your way through gossip, rejections, failure, no opportunity, no money and working your way up only to have to wait 22 long years to get some recognition? I'm sure the academy had their reasons for making Leo wait so long, but still! It seems so unfair that Jared Leto could get an oscar and Leo couldn't! Why didn't Leo boycott? He was nominated so many times and never won, he could have just said "Screw it, I'm not going to act anymore!" and it would have been in his right to do so. Infact, I'm sure many of his f...