An Analysis for the Broken-Hearted

Note: I don't want my blog to turn into an emotional pool of nonsense so let me make this clear. I've recently noticed a lot of people falling in and out of love, and it really tempted me to write this down. For all of you, and myself and many more.

Also, this is highly exaggerated.

Being in love with someone is like being insane. Half the time, you don’t know why you are doing whatever it is you are doing anyway. Your hands are working on their own accord, while your brain (note: screaming)  lists out the irrationality of your actions. But do you care? Absolutely not.

For instance, your idea of the world becomes exactly like Tom Hansen from 500 Days of Summer. Look below, in case you haven’t watched this film, which I actually feel everyone should watch (despite the soppy romance) - it has one of the best dry, sarcastic non-linear narratives I’ve come across with lots of grains of truth.

Let me describe to you the exact process of falling in love. It sucks to be honest, but it’s ALRIGHT to be human - which means it is ALRIGHT to be emotional. So yeah.

First of all - you see them.

And your eyes (which usually would respond to only Benedict Cumberbatch in that manner) actually widen. OH GOD, WHY EYES WHY. I mean deep inside you are really yelling at yourself but no, who listens to relentless logical advice anyway?

Practically, there is almost nothing awesome about them - a normal human being would see the same hair, same smile, same eyes and the exact freaking same nose and still be like “Okay, cool. Nice to meet you.” Whereas, you will be like, “Holy Mother of *replace with appropriate choice of words*”.

Now if that isn't irrational think about this. When they talk, inside of your chest, there rises a balloon of amusement and happiness and captivity and bliss which normally will not happen to just anyone.

Crush says, “And then dogs learnt how to fly! Hahaha!”

Others, “Dude wtf.”

You, “Yes, Hahahahahahaha! So guess what I saw this flying cat back in Oklahoma…”

You get the flow. Remember how Harry Potter felt a lion growling in his stomach when he started to ‘realize’ his feelings for Ginny Weasley? I didn't like that romance anyway, but I'm going to use that lion to refer to your inner, stupid, lovestruck, crazy self which really is on some kind of drug. No doubt.

Okay, then. Then you start getting to know them. You realize they are human and have flaws. You tell your brain, “Bro, this person isn't that perfect. He/she may have some issues. Maybe we should stop?” Brain relays message to heart. Heart says, “To love is to love all of a person - the good and the bad.” And this Biblical message shoots out to every other organ and GUESS WHAT.

Crush - *licks food off a plate* “This is good.”

Others - “Yuck.”

You - “Hahahah so cute.”

OKAY. NO.

Then comes the most annoying phase. The contemplation, the speculation and the whole process of DECISION-MAKING. And God forbid you decide to like your best friend, then you’re kind of trapped. Good luck.

Followed closely by the CHEESY phase. Okay, so most of my close friends hate this the most. But I am kind of a fan of cute rom-coms and sweet songs and poetry - I actually like this. You get back home every day and watch a ton of beautiful videos on YouTube OR maybe you re-watch Definitely Maybe or Friends with Benefits and cry at the fleeting lovely romances in them. You wonder if you’ll have even a fraction of that in your life. That friendship. That love. That everything.

You know the most ridiculous part of this? You KNOW that you pretty obviously don’t feel the flowery cute feeling these movies try to depict - your brain dictates coherence but your heart takes none of that shit. You choose people and there is no such thing as Fate. You weave all that yourself. So if you like someone, it’s your goddamn fault. Don’t blame them for being pretty. Because beauty, is wholly subjective.

Anyway. By now, it is too late. TOO LATE.

Because at this moment you’re like:

                                    

Your organs are really on a roll. Like how many more sleepless nights?

Now usually this phase continues until you meet someone else who sweeps you off your feet. BUT if you have a disgusting habit of ignoring your brain - then you will do what I am about to say next. I'm not saying this is an incorrect way to go about it but:

You’ll tell them.

And of course if by a miraculous coincidence it happens to be mutual - honestly, I wouldn't know. Nobody I liked has ever liked me back. :P At least not immediately. IT IS SO SAD. Yes, everyone cry for me. Cry for yourselves. And since you’re doing it anyway, cry for humanity. And for this loveless, cruel world. Of course you’d still be like -

But actually you are like -

Okay, jokes apart. Moving on.

BUT  honestly, the fear of rejection is not worth it - really, it isn't. I don’t think people fear rejection, they fear loss. They fear oblivion. They fear the unknown. And most of all, they fear themselves.

This should be where your feelings reach a standstill. And you make a decision to move on and engross yourself in hobbies to forget everything. BUT if you are me, you’ll go a step further - you will put your heart on a platter and dissect it. You’ll want to know exactly WHY and HOW you went about this beautiful process - you’ll want to know where you went wrong and where you could have gone right.

It isn't like in the movies. You don’t fall in love at first sight. Blessed are the forgetful. But, can you really forget? 

No. Something, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind proves in 108 minutes.

                                                         

You’ll be confused - do I take this positively? Am I not good enough? Should I look for someone else? Should I fight for this? What should I do anyway?

During this phase, you watch movies and read books and drink all the alcohol you want and smoke all the cigarettes you shouldn't. Essentially, these are just distractions to save yourself from the void of nothingness. But it’’s just your brain coming alive with a self-defence mechanism.

Actually if you really care, you may not even be sad. Yeah? I mean you just got run over, the wound is all fresh and bleeding and you’re like, “Woot, let’s go on like nothing happened!” You WANT to be happy in front of them. You WANT to be happy for them. If they are sad, you’ll have to be ready with an ambulance. And obviously, you haven’t felt this way for anyone else you've liked before, then what-the-hell-is-this?

You’ll really go through a roller coaster ride. You don’t even have to go to Disneyland, I mean what’s the point of going to a theme park when you have constructed one inside yourself? (No offence to Disneyland; and of course I'm going there, but you get what I mean.)

You become some what of a paradox. You don’t want to forget,but you have to. You don’t want to doubt your self-esteem, but you will. You obviously don’t want to give up - but you may have already lost. But you know when this will all be over? When you see them with someone else. Happy, and super content and enjoying life and everything is flowers and bunnies and rainbows and -

AND Finally you will have the shocking enlightenment that IT MAY NOT BE YOU. Maybe the fact that you sleep talk, or scratch your knees too often or sneeze when you see stray animals isn't what repelled them from you. I mean, it’s not like you can look at just anyone around you and fall in love with them! It doesn't work that way.

It’s a chemical reaction and it only has a 0.000001% success rate. So maybe even if you become the most beautiful human being, you won’t be able to make them love you. Because, sometimes it just doesn't work.

Also - you won’t get over them. You can’t stop ‘loving’ someone, you’ll stop thinking of them. You’ll forget them with time. You’ll love someone else more. You’ll find a hobby, you’ll fulfil a dream. You’ll find a thousand more reasons to live.

But when you see them again, you’ll be as happy as you were 12456624 years back because this is love, this isn't a stupid crush. It should bring you happiness, because it’s the feeling which inspires and ignites.

Now as a matter of fact, I don’t think I've been in love so I have no idea if all this will happen. But I hope it will. Because I maintain that we are humans, and our hearts are so unique and unpredictable. Who will we love next? The girl on the subway? The boy next door? The woman dancing waltz? The man smoking a cigar?

Who? Who? Who next?

Will we walk down a path and think of them? Will we hear a song and think of them? Will we watch the roaring sunset across the skyline of a magnificent city and fall in love with them again? Will we? Won’t we?

The future holds too many questions. And we always want answers because we are impatient, restless, emotionally frustrated humans. But we have an enormous ability to love more than we can think. There are gigantic portions of our heart dedicated to loving. And we will do it, even if we don’t get back anything in return. We will love places and thoughts and ideas and most of all, we will love people. Whether we want it or not.

A friend of mine once said, "Unrequited love is beautiful." And they may just be right:) I won’t say much, but falling in ‘love (if that's what it was)’ has always given me such happiness - even if it was unrequited, even if it was useless, even if it lasted for a short while, it meant so much to me. It gave me so much hope and so much joy and it pains me that the person I have written this for will never read this. But it’s okay - I guess not everyone knows the value of the people who love them.

And that, in itself, gives me some confidence to prove them wrong by outdoing myself. Let’s all be better people. Let’s celebrate this positive beautiful feeling because really, there can be no replacement for it.

:)

Spatial Connotations

So I haven’t written in a long while. I’ve been well, let’s just say – very preoccupied with the sudden burst of responsibilities. Here’s a sort of blog post which summarizes the unique theme of space and romance in music into a bunch of words and basically throws it at you – my readers, who I am once again very thankful for.

Lately, I have heard so many lovely songs and they make beautiful connections to space and stars and universe which are just so hard to ignore. Adam Levine says, “Are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?” and Ellie Goulding says, “Let me take you past our satellites, you can see the world you brought to life.” Coldplay does it amazingly with, “Because you’re a sky, you’re a sky full of stars, such a heavenly view.”

Life and love can be expressed in terms of light and dark and I feel the night often inspires some of the most soothing nocturnal tributes to romance. It reminds me of the Cereus, a flower which is also known as the Queen of the Night. In a world fearfully plagued by the negative implications of the ‘dark’, it is but a wonder that some of us can sit back and watch the constellations – every star is a flicker of hope. It is a sign of the impossible greatness which is manifest in the life story of every single stellar body out there.

Moreover, it is from the dark that light originated and if a Godly construct were to exist, it would have fashioned a billion worlds out of the dimness of the Universe. It fascinates me that human beings have created worlds everywhere, inside of their brains, on their planet, in every branch of knowledge and every work of fiction.  But the actual worlds which really truly physically exist are out of our reach, far beyond the Sun and even farther beyond the Milky Way. They lie somewhere in the dark, surrounded by frequent visits from meteors and such. It’s not much of a wonder that we humans have romanticized Space indefinitely, hoping that one day we’d discover ourselves in astronomical creations. After all, we are not just scared of the Unknown we are also curious and sometimes oddly, we are enraptured.

The most memorable of all songs is Drops of Jupiter by Train which uses the most unique expressions of space. Can music illustrate space? Can music include space to embellish a human being?

Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded? And that heaven is overrated.

… And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

Drops of Jupiter in her hair?
Artist: Miyuko142 on DeviantArt

Absolutely amazingly nostalgic. Quite possibly the best song about space and love and little things. Unless you think of Counting Stars which I have dedicated an entire post to; and which to be honest has the greater perhaps hidden in between the lines. With this I conclude the post, and I really hope that musicians keep on glamorizing space. Maybe, the next time I write, I shall explore this theme in film and literature. Till then!

New Online Portfolio!

Hi Everyone!

I have finally decided to set up a different domain for my art work, in an attempt to categorize my interests. So introducing to all my readers, my one and only online portfolio!

It's called: Pastiche and Pancakes

What's up with the name? Don't ask, I think I was just really hungry. So anyways, after experimenting with colours all my life, I think this is a continuation for the tiny artist inside of me. Hope to make this a daily part of my life. 

I really believe that the world is a canvas for our imagination, and to further fuel this creativity I will continue to update my portfolio, pretty much like a blog, with all my latest endeavors. For the last few months, I have been going back to my roots and exploring manga and it delights me to bring some of my favorite characters to life in the form of drawings! I hope to improve and grow as an artist in the days to come. 

Till then, thank you so very much for all your support and constant appreciation and guidance =) 

Cheers and let's all do our best!

Suranjana

Of Rooftops

Hi everyone! I'm not writing a full-fledged story - because crafting characters takes patience and I'm not getting the time - so here’s an abstract piece of prose! Also, this is written from the point of view of a boy - for a change.  


                                                                 

This messy town has about two thousand twirling rooftops.

“Shall we go together?”  You said.

“Can we see the stars?” I asked.

“Yes, we can.”

You tilted your head; I smiled.  A promise was made.

Tip top tap. Down to the Bakery. The back door opened to  a stairway - what a swaying form of elegance! Cream-coloured, with pink petals - crafted on slender bannisters; 'twas the art of angels. Each stair like a cloud, with golden linings - never silver, never less, always more. Every step, every footfall, light like the summer rain, sprung us upwards to some kind of heaven.

I smiled, held your hand - watched your brown tresses bounce about your eyes. Your frock danced, swished from left to right, royally ignoring the beat of your little feet. And your voice, chasing the shadows - might have belonged to a wood-elf. Your footsteps, whispered tales of hundreds of escapades. Well, all things considered, aren’t you just lovely?

We climbed and we climbed, and our little fingers grew red - rough with the falling over, burnt with the fatigue. After all, there were a thousand steps and we were headed for the sky! We paused, we halted, we rethought our lives on the way - but we never stopped. Then there shone a  glint in your eyes - of some kind of crazy happiness. There it was - the second door, the door to the Night.

You pushed forward, and we looked up. A canopy of stars.

A deep blue night - smooth like silk, not a ripple in the way, with sprinkles of light. It reminded me of my heart - so nonchalantly plain, but still peppered with feelings. That moment, I granted my mind, the expansive ability to embrace the Greater Good - the sky of infinite possibilities and glorious ambitions. I could swear - on that night, even standing on a shallow rooftop felt higher than the tallest skyscraper.

So close to the Universe, I felt myself almost reach up - if only my fingers could curl into the night sky, I knew the stars would slip out of reach, but at least - even if for a second - at least I would be able to touch eternity. The Wind blew, and so did the fairy dust. Away and away blew the dreams of people drowned within pillows and bedsheets. Legions of hope, and shimmering sentiments - pain, joy, fear and triumph. I sensed the World’s desires blending into the mirror of Night. Into the sky, which remained dark, despite so many clusters of shining stars.

I sighed. Your hand reached out for mine. What is love? Hey, look at me, don’t close your eyes. I touched your cheek, and you turned to me, laughing.

“What is love, anyway?”

You blinked and thought and said- Love is when you look up there and see a billion stars, but when I look into your eyes, and I see a couple of billion more. When you see brilliance in spots of fire, but I glimpse brilliance reflected in your smile.  You reach for the sky, I see your fingers open up to the stars - and I? I reach for your hand because oh my god, you’re so beautiful - who cares about the stars when you are right next to the Sun?

Well, wow.

You know what I love the best about you? Your presence - always unwavering and luminous.

After all,  I've loved many women, but you are the only one who can speak to my soul. Your smile lingers on inside my heart, like a puff of warm nostalgia. You, whose face is bursting with laughter, happy untainted beautiful laughter - so lovely, that the more I look, the more the stars seem to fall, like snowflakes, from the inky sky right into your eyes. And they gather there, very slowly, like a congregation of floating lights; brimming - on the edge of tears.

Can we climb more rooftops, every day, for the rest of our lives?

Together?

Together.

Our feet, no longer as nimble as when we were children, can’t hold us down - because now we have wings. Lying here facing the Universe, I feel the enormous pull of gravity, I see the dance of the stars, flitting from sunset to sunrise - but most of all, I feel the warmth of your hand, and I know. There are worlds within each of us - worlds which make us who we are. How fortunate is it that your world collided with mine? On that beautiful day, at that perfect time?

Because my world would be a lot stranger, without you in it. My world would be a lot dimmer, without you in it. My world would be a lot smaller, without you in it.

But really, my world, wouldn't be a world...without you in it.

Of Valentines

And majestic, unsinkable boats.

It’s the festive season, and Singapore is gearing up for a grand Chinese New Year. I believe this is a beautiful start to a year, because Asian culture incorporates quite an exotic amount of celebration into your calendar.  Growing up in India, in a country with so many religions, races and ethnicities; it’s but a necessity to explore every new alley and memorialise every festival that comes your way.

 

Chinatown has goats!

I'm sure most of the world is currently awash in colours that encompass a delicious range of reds, pinks and peaches. Of all the holidays in the world, this week also heralds the inauspicious Friday the 13th, followed by the romanticized (and heavily commercialized) Valentine’s Day.  Anyway, before this post turns into a fact-sheet about the special holidays of the year, I must get to what I really want to say.

This Saturday, the day when most of the world suddenly realizes that their romantic partner/friend/pet is alive and existing and must be loved is also a source of annoyance to a billion other people who prefer solitary lives. BUT, we are humans and humans want to love and be loved and if William Shakespeare had not introduced the concept of “romance” into Literature, the world would have really been a dreadfully boring place.

Of course, reality lies in stark contrast to fiction, but if it were not for fiction, would you have been inspired to love? Would people actually step out of convention and dare to do the impossible - break all rules of society and chase a passionate forbidden love that inspires them to live? Well, it can be concluded that reality must have inspired fiction and fiction in turn has been dramatized and will always continue to influence reality. It’s a vicious cycle and I am glad to say you and I and the whole world are a part of it.

For those of us, who have found love and for those of us still searching, this Holiday should be a source of happiness because for once, maybe, we should appreciate the depiction of love in art and film and animation. It’s not everyday that we are able to witness a cinematic, yet relatable and moving love story. For me, this will be a special day because I tend to find immense joy in the success of love, be it real or fictional.

In the Common Tongue (see what I did there), we refer to our favorite couples as “ships”. Why and how this term originated, I don’t know and therefore I will give all credit to Tumblr. And even though you want to believe this is a modern slang attributed to any two people who look awesome together, it has actually been happening for ages.  So, let me remind you of those (fictional) people you have always loved (and shipped). Here’s an assorted list (in no particular order), for us to remember and reflect on:

Film

1. Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater (Titanic) - *cry* The only on and off-screen pairing that I truly believe in.
2. Christian and Satine (Moulin Rouge) - *more cry*
3. Clementine and Joel (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) - What's not to love?
4. Harry Burns and Sally Albright (When Harry Met Sally)

                                      

Television

1. Everyone with everyone in FRIENDS because FRIENDS. If only the world functioned the way it did in their Universe.
2. Barney and Robin (How I Met Your Mother) - Okay, they played laser tag together, and even binge ate together - how cool is that?
3. Jon Snow and Ygritte (Game of Thrones) - *brings out tub of ice cream*
4. John Watson and Sherlock Holmes  - Oh shut up, we all know it’s a thing!

 

We so cool, we so freaking cool. 

Animation & Comics

1. Pooh and Piglet (Winnie the Pooh), Timon and Pumbaa (The Lion King), Marlin and Dory <3  (Finding Nemo),  Belle and the Beast (Beauty and the Beast), Flynn and Rapunzel (Tangled) - I don't like any of the fairy tales, they weren't even proper love stories. But these pairings were perfect because I honestly believe the advent of love is followed by a crazy motivation to inspire your partner to reach out and see the light.

2. Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell (Fullmetal Alchemist), Light and L (Death Note), Kinomoto Sakura and Syaoran Li (Cardcaptor Sakura), Goku and Chi Chi (Dragonball Universe), Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye (Fullmetal Alchemist), Risa Koizumi and Atsushi Otani (Lovely Complex) - Anime doesn't always depict love the right way, so I chose only duos that came close enough to mirror reality, and I love how they all balance romance, comedy and drama perfectly amidst all the chaos that is the plot.  

3. Kitty Pryde and Colossus (X-Men), Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler (X-Men Evolution), Rogue and Wolverine - I'm not sure about Marvel couples to be honest, they don't really come across as anything extraordinary to me. But I admire some of the friendship because it truly lives up to the cliche that love knows no bounds.

4. Tom and the gorgeous female Cat from the balcony and of course Tom and Jerry (BFFs) - We all know what I'm talking about.

5. Scooby and Shaggy (Scooby Doo) - So, what's wrong about EATING and EATING and EATING again with your best friend (even if it's a dog)?  

6. Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, Lizzie and Gordo - just about every couple which gets out of the Friendzone

Well if you didn't, now you know. 

                               

Literature

1. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Lily Evans and Severus Snape (Harry Potter) - If you didn't want someone to love you that way, then something must be really wrong with you.

2. Jamie and Landon (A Walk to Remember), John and Savannah (Dear John), Noah and Allie (The Notebook) - Yes it's cheesy, and yes The Notebook is most romantic and love is great blah blah, but I think the takeaway here lies in the beauty of depiction.

3. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights), Jo and Laurie (Little Women), Emma Woodhouse and Mr Knightley (Emma), Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind), Count Vronsky and Anna Karenina (Anna Karenina), Daisy Buchanan and Jay Gatsby (actually Nick suits him better), Pip and Estella (Great Expectations), Peter Pan and Wendy Darling (Peter Pan) - Dramatic, sensational, fairy-tale like and insane loves. Worth reading about, all of them.

4. Beatrice and Benedick (Much ado about Nothing) - If you don't like the other soppy Shakespearean love stories, don't worry. This pairing blew my mind, because not only were they witty, they were sassy as hell. This in my opinion, is the perfect kind of romance.

5. Aragorn and Eowyn, Beren and Luthien , Merry Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, Legolas and Gimli (Lord of the Rings) - I'm sorry for bringing up (un)conventional pairings but not all loves need to be requited, and neither do they have to include a man and a woman.

6. Lancelot and Guinevere (King Arthur), Paris and Helen (Greek Mythology) - All myths converge at the same point - the root of all wars is women, and the cause of all this is undeniably uncontrolled passion.

7. Hazel and Augustus (The Fault in our Stars) - *brings back the tub of ice cream*

Childhood friendship - best kinda love. 

Special Mention: Cat and Me (Haha gotcha! Nah, kidding I'd prefer Benedict Cumberbatch. Oh well, how I yearn for the unattainable.)

Anyway, that does not comprise all fictional (and imaginary) couples - in fact I did not even delve into films and TV Shows. Just got these off the top of my head.

Not all journeys are smooth though. We all know that nerve-wrecking, finger-chewing, hair-raising, teeth-gritting moment when our ships are on the verge of happening and then something goes wrong.

Something = one of them dies, memory loss, illegal or forbidden love, wars start because of them, one of them is an animal etc.

But I also cherish the moment if and when most of them have happy endings because it honestly makes me believe that even a love as fantastical as this may just exist in the real world. Also, not all of these depictions were romantic in nature, some of them were platonic and at the same time extremely enlightening. Be it a deep romance, a strong friendship, a light comic dynamic or an innocent love, romance has always been depicted with rich flavour and at times, dark undertones.

Strangely enough, the Internet and popular culture alludes to Valentine’s Day as a day of mourning for Singles who have no special someones. While some people are busy flaunting their disinterest in romance, some sitting at home with their pets, and some others  taking their lovers out for dates, I personally do not see why there should be a divide among them all. So what if it’s about romance? So what if you’re dating? So what if you’re surrounded by a bunch of idiots who are making this a super cheesy affair? And so what if you don’t care at all?

The belief that this day is for two people who love each other to go out without the rest of their friends, is complete and utter bullshit. I'm sure they have a day every year called the Anniversary which compensates for this tradition.

THIS is a celebration of love (and ships) and bonds after all. And this emotion knows no boundaries and no conventions. It’s powerful and makes you realize that the entirety of human civilization is always preluding happiness with love, and faith with friendship. While nothing in real life can amount to your imagination, something inside of your heart can always manage to convince you that if the desire to build such a love exists, then so does the capacity.

Therefore, whether you’re committed or single, this is a chance for you to shout out your love for everyone, not just one person. And I'm sure the creation of art, film and literature is for us to acknowledge how grateful we are to have loved so many people during our lifetime. So go out there and let this day be the advent of another billion years and more of eager fascination with love, and may all our favourite ships sail smoothly (note: ships which are alive) towards a glowing sunset.

That’s all for today. Have a great week everyone! :)

Oh, Mondays.

Early mornings. No coffee. No poached eggs and toast. No nothing.

I love mornings, but when they descend without a trace of familiar sounds, the sound of plates in the kitchen, the aroma of tea from the living room, the chattering of people going to work from the streets, or their indefinite yet hurried footsteps...it makes life, well, quite lifeless.

Mondays especially. Oh God. What can’t a gloomy, rainy Monday do to the human mind? I’d like to believe that observing the shapes of clouds, floating silently in the sky, or the patterns that the rain etches on the glass windows of the bus brings me closer to nature - but I am wrong. I am just a passenger on a vehicle headed to town, soon to merge with a billion other people going to work. The real connection to nature is being out there, in the rain, feeling every drop on your face; being in the lawns running in the wind, and falling on the grass, staring at the sky and breathing in the beauty that is the form of a cloud.

I wonder if this is how adults feel when they go to work - do they miss being children? Do they miss the reckless, daring feel of abandoning a bus ride to college just so they can dash out into the drizzle and dance in joy? Because for once, just for that moment, doesn’t the damp water sprinkling from the heavens actually create a roaring fire in your veins?

Well, I don’t know about you, but I sure do. I miss the impulsive passion that is myself. In fact I miss this so much, that I wish that every child who comes into this world should be gifted with the choice to enjoy the simple pleasures in life - rather than forced to fight in a war which only follows the motto "survival of the fittest"; the war which is Reality.

Anyways, this brings me to the end of Monday’s post. I won’t write too much - because it’s the start of the week and we as monotonous humans, can’t deflect too much from our duties. But I’d like to end this post with the words of famous Japanese director and author - Hayao Miyazaki. (Not any how related to my Monday rant, but yeah.)

Miyazaki is the creator of many well-known animated films for children, which are always deeply connected to nature, strength, braving reality along with beautiful portrayals of friendship, inspiration and survival. The quote below, is Miyazaki’s notion as an author, something I wish to carry forward if I ever write a story depicting romance.

“I’ve become skeptical of the unwritten rule that just because a boy and girl appear in the same feature, a romance must ensue. Rather I want to portray a slightly different relationship, one where the two mutually inspire each other to live - if I’m able to, then perhaps I’ll be closer to portraying a true expression of Love.”

Cutest Miyazaki Morning Stroll Ever. 

True love indeed. Well, then. Have a great week everyone!

The First Post of 2015 :)

I’m sitting on my bed, in my room after a tiring day at work and someone’s playing the piano nearby. I can hear the graceful movement of fingers up and down on the keys, sometimes pausing in contemplation and sometimes playing quickly - music is really a lot like water dribbling down in rapids. So soothing and so smooth and so inadvertently melodious.  

Anyways, hello to everyone and I hope this new year has started off with lovely resolutions (that equate to all your regrets) and a bundle of motivation (which is kind of proportional to the amount of fictional literature read - in my case). It’s sunny in Singapore, with just a sprinkle of rain and some stray clouds. Actually, I managed to catch the rare beauty of an early morning - and it was quite splendid to breathe in the sweet air and witness the sky turning a pale blue with an array of clouds, blushing pink with a lazy sunrise.

Yeah, well I just sounded like a weather app. Moving on...

Well, I don’t know about you but my life seems to have quite a bit happening. Term has started and I’ve joined a new workplace for internship. Everything has taken a glorious turn, at least when it comes to a sense of purpose. I’m finally beginning to understand what it feels like to be a tiny contributor in creating a purpose which is not just enormous - but equally propitious. Of course, in case you all are wondering - I’m not working at NASA for a top-secret mission to the nearest black hole which will some how save humanity. Although, don’t we ALL wish we could.

Sorry this cracked me up so much. 

This has left me with more time to spare once I head back home. So I’m actually doing a kind of activity in my free time - for some additional inspiration. I’m collecting quotes. Although this may seem like a simple Google search, I’m not making it that easy. I want to actually feel the presence of the person speaking these words - and it’s not easy to do that until you really KNOW the character. So I’m going to spend time writing the quote, decorating it and then spending a while writing down a little something about the character - and about why I like/hate them so much. I say hate because most of the people whose words I find fascinating are villains and in a way, I love to hate them.

I’m closing in on certain sections - like books or anime or movies. Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of manga, so I’m focusing on this field first. And once I’m done accumulating the words of some truly great fictional characters, I think I can put them all up on my wall of quotes. Yes I’m creating a wall :P

Music? I’m listening to nothing in particular - mostly soundtracks of shows and movies. Non-lyrical music seems to have taken a special place in my life - I’ve been listening to those of Studio Ghibli films. If you haven’t already, I suggest you all hear this out - Kaze no torii michi :). A soothing combination of Japanese and Western elements, the soundtrack really makes you want to take a train back to your home town. It’s nostalgic and beautiful. A more modern addition would be the soundtrack of Sword Art Online 2 - although the second half of the story is pathetic, the music remains mystifying and sweet.

Books? I recently read Let it Snow, a collaboration between authors - Lauren Myracle, John Green and Maureen Johnson. It’s a holiday romance with three different stories - and needless to say, out of all of them John Green’s one was the best. His writing has a certain characteristic which makes his fictional creations seem unassumingly gorgeous. And by this I don’t mean good looking, I mean - special. So special, that you would travel around the world just to meet them - if they were real. I’m also reading one of Natsuki Takaya’s other works - Hoshi wa Utau. And as usual, I can’t help wonder how she can express emotions so beautifully through her art - I admire her so much! Also, this entire series has a lot to do with Stars, and her work makes me feel sort of - peaceful. It’s almost like I have found the John Green of manga universe - of course this is my opinion :P

This brings me to the end. I don't have much more to say except this - I hope this year makes us all better human beings. I know most of us are running a race to success, but sometimes, I really wish we all could stop and look at ourselves - the shimmering muddy reflections of our faces in water. Nobody sees themselves as perfect - but in reality we are so much more than what we see, we are what we are and that should make us happy.

And so I conclude the first post of 2015. Have a great year, guys! :)