The Unforgettable Desire

When I read Haruki Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore (2002) , I wondered about the falling fishes, talking cats and mysterious men and women. When I read South of the Border, West of the Sun (1992) , I wondered about the mysterious woman and how a person can seem like a figment of imagination when s/he leaves no physical proof of existing. When I read Norwegian Wood (1987) , I wondered about how there is nothing in particular to wonder about. The translator’s note in Norwegian Wood states how some readers call it ‘just’ a love story. The translator, Jay Rubin, goes on to show how it’s ‘not’ just a love story. I agree with him. I had put a lot of effort in figuring out why fishes fell from the sky when I read Kafka . I assumed that I needed to read more of Franz Kafka and Japanese culture. However, I ceased to wonder about it when in his interview with The Guardian last year Murakami stated that it was the job of the ‘intelligent people’ to figure out what fishes falling from the s...

“I have trust issues.” The moment one utters this statement, people assume that the person has been betrayed, his/her trust has been shattered so much so that they developed issues around it. Probably, but not necessarily. One might even assume that people with trust issues do not want to take risks in their lives or are scared of trying something beyond their comfort zones and worst of all, they are trying to protect themselves. Sit down, give up any thought that you might be having about this blog post, and before you close your eyes, for once, in the blankness of your mind think about a person who has not developed trust in the first place. What did you make out the person to be? Were you baffled by the idea that there might be people who were born with the ability to not develop ‘trust’? Probably, you never even thought about it, because trust and broken trust are what we grow on, learning lessons.

I remember the time, when I got down from the stairs of Nizammudin Railway Station and asked my brother if I look weird. He answered in affirmative and added, who wears make up (Kajal) with Cargo pants. With that remark, I was very pleased with my look. Since then, it has been sort of a quest for me to blend different things together making it unconventional. But more importantly the aim has been to become unpredictable and hence, cannot be contained in a particular category which means that I can follow the mainstream fashion too when I want. On some days, I wear kajal but not lispstick, on other days even if my hair is uncombed; I make sure I put on lipstick. I wear sneakers with my kurti, and flats with a dress. It doesn’t make a difference to me, but it hurts the eyes of the ones who see me, scanning me top to bottom. My purpose is served the moment people are uncomfortable, even if they don’t say it out loud, you can see it on their face. I am not against the ones who follow the...

Have you ever talked to people? “Oh, you’re a Potterhead? Isn’t it the best series, like ever!” -           No. “But I thought you are a Harry Potter fan.”             Yes, I love the Harry Potter series dearly.             It gave me my role model before I entered my teens.             Many life lessons within the story divided into seven.             But have you ever looked into the tales that came before?             It came at the right time for the kids of the 90s             But that doesn’t make it the best, when you can’t even define ‘ever’.