MYSTICSPICE

Wrote this on January 13,2012... I went to Doon (Dehradun) last week, had some pending dental work and  also I wanted to spend some time with my cousin whom I knew I probably  wouldn’t be able to see until my next trip to India. Also, there was  some writing pending that I failed to accomplish. But that’s ok! It  was overall a good stay in Doon, had good family time and of course  great food.  One of the best things about going to Doon is that every time I go  back I run into new few familiar faces/family friends etc…it is a good  feeling. During my trip, I also managed to get a haircut from the same  guy who had been cutting my hair since I was in first grade. He gives  on an average 50 haircuts every day!  People in the mountains amaze me all the time, they  torment their bodies a lot, but that again is because they don’t have  any other choice, there are times when they have to walk several  kilometers to ...

Love this story, wrote it in an email to all the siblings while cherishing memories of my dad... It has been a month since I got back to the US from my fieldwork in India. I was just having coffee with famous butter pista biscuits from Ellora's that I got when I was in Dehradun. Yes, I still have those biscuits, I have been very measly about them, as I want them to last long!  Anyhow, the whole reason why I'm writing this is because everytime I eat those biscuits, it reminds me of an incident of Papa ji with my professor (HOD; Head of Dept) at Delhi University. All of you know how frequently Papa used to go to Delhi for work, he always made sure to meet me during his visits. Since I did not have a cell phone then, there were times when I was not even aware that Papa was in Delhi, and some random day I'd just spot somebody from afar looking exactly like papa and then hit myself on the head and say 'silly, that IS Papa'! It was amazing how without any inform...

Just watched The Great Gatsby. The movie is based on a very famous novel by F.Scott Fitzgerald, apparently this novel serves as an important part of the high school curriculum in the US. Since I haven't read the book I was curious about what makes the book so important, therefore was really looking forward to watching the movie; plus the cast is so amazing that it didn't seem like a movie that should be missed. The movie is a love story set in New York, it reflects the kind of changes America as a country was undergoing in the 1920s. It was a time when America was in the process of becoming a superpower (roaring twenties, as they say it). The lifestyle of the people was changing--there were fancy parties, liquor and LOT of money! Ofcourse things have changed tremendously since then, but American dream till this date esp. for many people outside of the US is somewhat along the lines with how the lifestyle was in the 1920s. In the movie, although Leonardo is being touted as ...