My Favourite Posts, Part II

I can't believe it's already been almost 2 months since I last did a Favourites Post. And to think I actually wanted to do it every week. Well, it's not that I haven't been reading any, I've actually read a lot of great blogs and posts between then and now, I guess I just couldn't get around to writing about them.

Just as before, I'm going to be listing out and talking about the posts that I found interesting and really enjoyed, and not the blogs themselves. So, some may have been featured before, some may be new. And some of the posts themselves may be pretty old, but I've just read them now.

• Unreciprocated Love: A piece of 55 fiction, written by Sruthi on her blog, From the Ashes. It's cute and it's got a nice twist. A quick, short and fun read. This girl's got some talent!

• An Obsession for Torture: This post is from Myriad Hues, by Archana, about how women torture each other when it comes to food and size. I've only recently started reading this blog, and I must say, she writes so well that I had a hard time picking a favourite. There were three posts that I really loved, but in the end I picked this one, because it talks about something I can so relate to, as can many other women. As I told her in the comments, if I wrote something on the subject, it would pretty much be the same. Oh, and you can check out the other two posts, here and here. Go, fall in love. With her writing, I mean.

• Picture Perfect Experiment: A cute story evolved from a picture, this one's by CD, who blogs at Pagal Hain Kya?!!?. When Spiff put up the challenge on her blog, I think CD was the only one woman enough to take it up, and boy did she come up with something great! Watch out for that ending, it's bound to catch you by surprise. :-) Very new and refreshing.

• Chapatti-Nomics: This is the first post I read on the popular Sangry Words, a blog by Sangeeta. And although I read more of her posts later that I enjoyed too, this one was a winner for me hands-down. She talks about her love affair with the ever versatile chapatti, and a few funny incidents to boot. Go take a look for yourself.

• Avva: A beautiful and heart-warming tale about an encounter with an frail old lady. Priya's spun it beautifully on her blog, Alayam Kanden. I've been reading quite a few travel stories in the past week, and this has certainly been one of the best.

• The Handbrake: Easily one of the best short stories I've read from a blogger (and book) in quite some time. It's sweet, it's simple, and it's smooth. It's almost like wine. You'll float through the story effortlessly, and come out of the experience feeling good. La Femme Nirvana is quite popular, so you might have read this already, but please do if you haven't. 

• The Casanova: This is another post I came across while reading up on travel experiences for the Indiblogger contest. Again, one of the best I've read. Written by Abhyudaya on his blog Regular Doses, the post tells the story of a real-life creep he met on a train. Abhyudaya is not only funny, I think he has a really nice style of writing. Many writers tend to mess up the ending, but this one is very well done. 

• The Fleeting Liason: This is again from a blog I've only just started reading, The Daily Ramblings of an Eccentric, by Zeebs. The first post I read, and then I just had to follow. It's not so much what she's saying but the style with which she's saying it. I really like the way she writes, it speaks to me. The post is about her take on relationships. 

• Blame it on the British: Now, any blogger worth his/her salt should and must already know about the super-popular The Local Tea Party. It's Blog-Crime if you haven't been reading this one. So if you haven't, I command you to go right now, take out an hour and read every single post he's written, ever. And then thank me for an hour well spent. So yeah, I wanted to mention this post, because I so agree with what's been said, again, exactly my views on the subject. Whattay read, I say!

Please do feel free to share your favourite posts with me!

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My Loo, My Paradise

Paradise, technically, is probably a place you would never want to leave. If this were true, then my paradise can lie in one and only one place.

The Bathroom.

In order to explain myself, I must start at the very beginning. The apartment I grew up in was a warm and cozy double-bedroom. It was just enough for a family of three - my parents and me. I loved that little home dearly, and I probably still do. The place is so synonymous with the word 'home' for me, that even today my dreams are filled with that apartment, and not my current place of residence. I had a nice room all to myself, but the bathroom was where I got all the real privacy I needed.

Our bathroom was neat and simple; it had a tub, a toilet, a basin and a washing machine. I can still imagine being in it vividly, as though I were there only yesterday.  As an avid reader, imaginer, mirror-actor and day dreamer, it was the one place where all my antics would go completely unnoticed. And so I remained there for long periods of time. It was common knowledge in my family that once I went in, I rarely ever came out. People wondered what I could possible be doing in there for so long. Oh, if only they knew how the place came alive for me in more ways than one.  

Img Credit: nanny snowflake

Most of all, I liked to read in the loo. Especially during exam-time, when I wasn't allowed to read any story books. I would stuff a book under my shirt and dash inside. Once the door was locked, people were hardly likely to bother me because, well, I was in the loo, doing my business! That's legal, right? So I read and I read, and then I read some more. Coming out with the book wasn't always as easy, especially if someone was waiting to use the bathroom next. So I came up with hiding places - outside the window on the sill, behind the washing machine, the bottom of the laundry basket. Soon, I stopped being bothered to retrieve the books at all, so I always had my stash waiting for me when I sneaked in. This went on for long, until my mother one day discovered a high stack of books sitting on the sill. It was not a good day for me.

While there are several other things I did in there (refer to this post for more info), I find reading in the loo to be the most relaxing and stress-busting activity ever. In fact, I will now sheepishly let you in on a little secret of mine. I have read so much in the loo that now I cannot spend more than 15 minutes in a book store. Because if I do, I will have to go! Seriously, every single time. M says I'm psychologically wired that way for life.

So as you can see, I have had a long-standing relationship with my beloved bathroom. It is the place I go when I am happy or sad, when I must think and ponder, when I must read, or simply to get away. No I really do not need an expensive vacation to get away from the stresses of life, a few hours in the loo will work out just fine. The bathroom is such an important place to me that it is the first thing I look at when we're looking for an apartment to rent, or even in a hotel room. If the loo is good, I am good too.

Img Credit: rockinfree

But I must tell you that I have a dream as far as bathrooms are concerned. A dream bathroom, if you will. That is, if I ever write a book that will make me as rich as J K Rowling, the one thing I know for sure is the kind of bathroom I will build myself. I don't really care about the rest of the house or anything, it could be in ruins for all I care, as long as I get this room right. And I will now tell you exactly what I have in mind (rubs hands together gleefully :D ).

• A minimum area of 400 sq.ft.
• Two toilet stalls, each with their own door and separate exhaust. 
• Two wash basins complete with mirrors and appropriate lighting.
• Noiseless exhaust systems.
• A shower room with glass doors, that also works as a steam room.
• A bathtub.
• A lounge area, consisting of but not limited to - a soft couch, a fully-stocked bookshelf, a massage table, LCD TV, laptop, WiFi connectivity, a bowl of exotic chocolates, a collection of aromatic oils.
• A dressing area that has the softest of silken robes, the fluffiest of towels and the warmest of slippers. 
• Super-ventilation with sunlight and fresh air pouring in from all sides. 

If you cannot possibly imagine the kind of room I'm talking about, please search Google Images for 'Luxury Bathrooms'. I assure you that you will still have no idea as to what I'm talking about. I have myself never set eyes on a bathroom like this except for in my imagination. If you do stumble upon a picture close to what I've described then pliss, pliss to be sharing with me, kindly :)

So now you know why my loo is my paradise. Do you share a special relationship with any of the rooms in your home? Do let me know!

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And These Are a Few of My Favourite Things!

Photo Credit: {eclaire}

Blogs! I have come to love so many of them. And each week I discover new ones, all the time amazed at the beautiful posts people come up with. I read somewhere that blogging promotes mediocrity, but I don't really think so, when I see the super-talented people out there who now have the power to publish their own material.

Being a mediocre writer myself, who is struggling to gain a better understanding of the art each day, I am no real judge of who writes what well. But I thought it would be fun to share with you all, my dear readers, some of the endearing posts that I read each week. Just like we tell each other about great books, we should tell each other about great blogs, no?

I want to do this each week but I'm not sure if I will be able to, I'll try, nevertheless. I will be writing about the posts and not the blogs, the difference is important I think, because every writer has their finer moments, and their not so fine ones. So I may mention the same blogger more than once, or whatever, you get the idea.

So let's get started! A few blog posts I've read in the past week, that have kept me engrossed and interested in random order:

Note: These are not necessarily posts that were written in the past week, I just came across them in that time frame.

• It's Fungi This post is by Srikanth who blogs at 'Journey of Life'. He talks about a walk he took one evening and saw something that compelled him to return the next morning with a camera. The unusual, yet beautiful sighting is documented with lovely words and some simply-superb photographs. It was a refreshing read.

• Look What We Found Written by The Girl Next Door, right here in Bangalore. Wish she lived next door to me, I'm so craving some good ol' girl-bonding :( Anyway, she's written a great description of some amazing Bangalorean street food, that got my mouth watering right away. I gotto try this place as soon as I can.

• Parenthood, and all that Jazz This is not one of her latest posts, but the one that struck me the most as I was going through her blog. She's Smitha, a 'confirmed Blogomaniac' who needs just Any Excuse to Write. In this post she articulated quite well the predicament her daughter was facing at school, and how she handled it. A common scenario faced by many parents, I suppose. The post is very much well worth the read. 

• Confidence Is The post is what the title suggests, oozing with confidence. The picture at the top says it all. As a person with a similar build, I could never pose for a self portrait with such an attitude. Nevertheless, Rashmi's words had a nice effect on me the day I read it, a bit of the confidence seeped in through my brain cells as well, working its magic. We girls should write and read such posts more often!

• Awakening the Social Animal Okay, I so I cheat a bit, I read this more than a week ago, but I couldn't help mentioning it. The post is so reflective of the late-twenties-something girl that I have evolved into. Piya introspects at Yesterday Once More,  inspired by a profound quote from Winnie the Pooh.

• Heads You Win; Tails I Lose Another gripping work of fiction from none other than the talented Phatichar. I would describe it as unputdownable, but since it's a blog, I'd say it was un-unscrolldownable. :D

• A Helping of Buddha Vikas wrote this at Vicky~Pedia, as a part of the KFC Fiery Grilled contest on Indiblogger. How he managed to find a connection between KFC and Buddha is something baffling to me, but he did and with awesome style. This is some amazing talent if you ask me, I would be very surprised if he did not win.

• My Encounter with the Inevitable Again, I cheat. Keirthana has a profound conversation with her inner-self, somewhat inspired by the last one between Harry and Dumbledore. Made for a very interesting read. Some important revelations came out of it too.

That's all for now, folks. Don't forget to tell me about your favourite posts! 

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