To New Year

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 1/1/2013 5:49:00 PM

'It’s customary for me to write a New Year post, reminiscing on how the year went by. It normally comes up before/on New Year’s Eve. But since change’s the only constant, here I am, doing it on New Year day.Looking back, it’s one of those years that flashed by. Well, I said the same about last year too. Is it something about the life we live today? I guess it is. Each day gone even before we realize it dawned. The fast pace of life coupled with being busy at work, makes you live life(...)'

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Pretense

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 11/16/2012 5:45:00 PM

'So, do you pretend? Yes, you…No? Really? What did you just say; you are ‘yourself’? Straight as an arrow?We all pretend. We all do. We all need to.You pretend that you are not bothered by the aimless drifting of your life. You pretend that you do not see others’ miseries. You pretend that you don’t care that your life has no meaning. You pretend that you don’t see the running tap, the burning light or the wasted papers. You pretend to not see the growing pile of waste, the growing c(...)'

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The Best thing in life is…

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 10/26/2012 2:37:00 PM

'The best thing in life is that we don't know what life is going to be like.It's like taking a shot in the dark. Like flipping a coin.  Like picking a door from the three doors a lovely lady presents to you on a TV show. Like spinning the wheel of fortune and waiting to see what it's going to throw your way. Like choosing a road when you are at crossroads. Like throwing dice and waiting to see the numbers. Life doesn't come with an instruction manual. Yo(...)'

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To Life

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 9/17/2012 10:38:00 AM

'I took all of it – my disappointments, my misgivings, my heartaches. I took all the sleepless nights; all the tears. I took the hurt; the despair I felt. I took the anger that was boiling within, like molten lava waiting to surface. I took the sense of self-pity which laid on me like a cloak. I took the frustration, the dejection, the sense of rejection. I took the pain that stung like a thorn perpetually dislodged within me. I took all the dark clouds storming my mind. I took all t(...)'

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Lights Out

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 8/24/2012 1:26:00 AM

'There are a few things I’m scared of. Not cockroaches (really!); perhaps lizards (I think I’m disgusted by those than scared). Snakes! I’m petrified of those. It doesn’t help that I dream of them once in a while. But nothing scares me more than death. Not mine actually; but those close to me. Any accident, natural disaster or calamity, robbery gone bad, terrorist attack – I’m thinking, what if it was someone close to me there? It scares me to lose any one of my family members(...)'

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Usthad Hotel - My take

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 7/5/2012 12:55:00 PM

'I had hardly heard of this movie – okay, so I’m not the most updated person on Malayalam movies; granted. It would be quite another thing if I were in Kerala and missed it; but I’m outside and some releases can go unnoticed. It would have been the same in this case, but for the song ‘Appangal embadum’. A friend introduced me to this song, and later I caught it on TV. The song did the trick, for I was curious; curious to catch this movie. And then I saw two blogs raving about the mov(...)'

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'Item' Songs!

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 6/30/2012 1:18:00 PM

'Madam Malai…For the uninitiated, this is not what the Amul girl  will be called when she’ll grow up (if at all). This is Veena Malik in a very nondescript, can-and-will-be-forgotten-before-it-hits-the-theatres movie called Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai (thanks for the warning, makers!)So why talk of her? Or Madam Malai? It’s because I’m going nuts!I mean, what’s with these item songs? First of all, whoever thinks it is fun are pervs – for I see it as demeaning to women (yeah, go ahe(...)'

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Firsts

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 6/22/2012 12:18:00 PM

'“Something about first love defies duplication. Before it, your heart is blank. Unwritten. After, the walls are left inscribed and graffitied. When it ends, no amount of scrubbing will purge the scrawled oaths and sketched images, but sooner or later, you find that there’s space for someone else, between the words and in the margins.”- Tammara WebberNow that's a quote I loved. There's something about all 'firsts' in our lives. And why are our firsts so important? Perhaps because it (...)'

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Uninvited Guests

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 5/7/2012 7:07:00 PM

'Shush! Go back – Back to where you came from.I have neither the patienceNor the inclination to entertain you.They keep surprising me,Like uninvited guests;They irritate me.I pacify myself, my heart.I protect my mind from them.These unwanted thoughts – They do spoil the party.I am comfortable –Not knowing.Not worrying.Questions I am afraidI have no answer to.Don't come! You are never welcome.'

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Stare

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 4/24/2012 5:05:00 PM

'She was staring. But it was a vacant stare; the eyes – they rested on some random object while hermind was busy processing something. She had a very solemn look on her face, which waxed andwaned in intensity. One minute she looked like she was going to relax – well almost; for the verynext second her cheeks would tighten, her forehead creased with worry lines, her eyebrows crinkledand her lips tautly drawn. What was bothering her?Well at least he had something to keep him occupied t(...)'

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Will the real SRK please stand up?

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 4/3/2012 6:05:00 PM

'He arrived as the lad with an impish grin and a boyish charm. His first release, Deewana turned prophetic – he became the iconic crazy and passionate lover. He defied norms when he chose to be the antihero instead of the archetypal hero. He might have lost the leading lady on screen, but instead won the hearts of millions in the audience. The hysterical mob of women who still swoon and scream at his arrival exemplifies the extent of his influence. He became a self-made superstar; th(...)'

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Finger Lickin' Good

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 3/21/2012 2:31:00 PM

'Among the many things stereo-typed as South Indian, the one that’s gaining maximum ground (or already has) is that we eat with our hands. Not to forget how a curly-headed, ‘Aiyyo’-spouting Shahrukh made a complete mockery of it, with his spaghetti-with-curd routine in his (very forgettable) dud Ra.One. Oh yeah SRK, you thought that was being funny. I think when the movie bombed, the joke was on you!Read more »'

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Mystery

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 3/15/2012 5:01:00 PM

'Some I come across like the rose petals I once placed in an old book. Once cherished, once dear. As I accidentally chance upon them, they remind me of why I had left them there. They are now withered, dry and only a shadow of what they once were. But there lingers a fragrance; I smile as I take the dry petals – ready to fall apart. The very sight evokes thoughts which I like to revisit. I place them back and close the book. I am sure that I’ll come across them again; accidentally, o(...)'

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How 'Online Smart' are we?

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 3/7/2012 6:46:00 PM

'The other day, I was surprised to see a status update on Facebook. So yes, a zillion inconsequential things appear on one’s timeline, but this took me by surprise. Or was it shock? Or disbelief? Or was it a sense of confusion?Here was a person announcing his father’s death (I am sure, quite promptly) on FB. Now I was very uncomfortable when I saw this. I don’t know about you, but FB is the last thing that would be on my mind if I were in his place; forget announcing this news to all(...)'

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Digging Deep

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 2/21/2012 5:16:00 PM

'A casual discussion with a friend today and memories of this revived a latent thread of thought in my head.We know a host of different things about different people in our lives. They know a host of different things about us. And in all probability, our parents know us the best. But is it true, the other way around? How well do you know your parents?I mean, really? As far as I know, I know my Mom as ‘my Mom’. What was her past like? If not down to the minute details, do I know (...)'

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Digging Deep

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 2/21/2012 5:09:00 PM

'A casual discussion with a friend today and memories of this revived a latent thread of thought in my head.We know a host of different things about different people in our lives. They know a host of different things about us. And in all probability, our parents know us the best. But is it true, the other way around? How well do you know your parents?Read more »'

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Ahead

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 12/30/2011 10:01:00 AM

'It’s that time of the year when we indulge in retrospection, introspection and prospection (one, either or all). Why now? What’s so great about 31st December? We could do it on any day of the year too; but perhaps the onset of a ‘new’ year gives rise to hope. And as you all know, hope is a good thing. Maybe this newness gives us an impetus to try and set things straight, to mend our ways, or explore unchartered avenues. But of course, for that we need to reflect on the year gone by.(...)'

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Breakfast

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 12/16/2011 5:42:00 PM

'The sunlight reflecting off the steel tumbler, which held the piping hot tea.The steel plate which held the puttu, freshly delivered from the puttu kutti. Staring on as Amma poured a generous serving of kadala curry. And as the waft of the curry and the steam from the puttu rose from the plate, creating patterns in the air, she curiously blew them and dug into it hungrily.****She stared at her bowl. Yep, cereals it is. Cornflakes and milk. That's wholesome too. She said to herself.*(...)'

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Book Browsing

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 12/3/2011 5:30:00 AM

'It had been a while since I actually visited a bookstore. Flipkart ensured that the kua came to the pyaasa, instead of vice versa. And as convenient as it maybe to order books online, the charm of actually walking into a store and browsing books is irreplaceable. The joy of randomly picking a book, checking out the summary at the back cover, reading about the author, flipping the pages and judging the book by its cover (quite literally!) is a pleasure of sorts. And so, I went to Rel(...)'

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Tangled

Author : Vinitha Valsalan      Blog : As I Muse...      Date : 11/23/2011 6:11:00 PM

'A convoluted mass of thoughts. She tried to pick through the noodles that was her mind, with reasoning as her chopsticks.She tried. Real hard.They failed. She would manipulate and manoeuvre. There were times when she almost managed. But they would slide off the sticks; the very second she thought that she had got it right. Practice, she thought. She had to get better at it. Some day.Or maybe she had to change her chopsticks.'

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