Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan's Blog, page 38
November 13, 2020
Today in Photo
Happy Diwali from a little corner in my mum's house. We watched a movie, ate a massive lunch and then did a little meditation (which I've been doing daily like a hippy, but I feel great). It's what they call Chhoti Diwali here in North India but I didn't want to leave my house tomorrow amongst the idiots who will, no doubt, flout the law and burst crackers anyway so today is our Diwali, tomorrow I will clean as much of the house as I feel able to, drink a little wine, light a little candle and hope for the best in the coming new year. #diwali2020
via Instagram
November 12, 2020
What I'm Reading
Despite or actually BECAUSE the eponymous hero of this book is possibly the most unlikable female character I've ever read, I couldn't put this book down. Elizabeth Taylor (not the movie star) has gone somewhat out of fashion but wowww, reading this book felt like reading about the Worst Version of Myself. We meet Angel at age 15, difficult and isolated, convinced she's going to be the next big thing in literature. And she actually manages to publish a book which the public loves while the critics pan. After this, she continues living her life exactly on her own obnoxious terms, ending with becoming an old lady wearing ragged ball gowns in a derelict mansion surrounded by Persian cats all the while thinking she is just unappreciated in her time. A bit TOO close to home there, Elizabeth. Read it, you'll be intrigued and irritated and sympathetic all in one paragraph. #bookstagram #mrmbookclub #120in2020 #elizabethtaylor
November 10, 2020
Today in Photo
Cats make the best pillows. Well, OK, not the BEST pillows, they wriggle and shed but this is cute
Today in Photo
This tree grew wild, a weed in a pot that I didn't uproot because I like trees even when they're weeds. Except when they're waging war with our roof when sadly I'll have to have them removed. But these trees are origins unknown, ficus. The leaves are a lot like the fancy fiddlehead figs people pay a lot of money for. Testing hardness by making them indoor plants, the trees that rose from some bird years ago shitting a seed and it landing in this pot. I hope it grows taller! I've wanted a large indoor tree for some time. #houseplant #ficus #weedsareastateofmind
via Instagram
November 8, 2020
Today in Photo
If you don't dot your cold cream so you look like a leopard for extra moisturizer coverage then what are you even doing, bro? Fancy "body lotion types" need not apply. #winteriscoming #spots #beautysecrets
via Instagram
November 5, 2020
Today in Photo
Division of labour is very clear in our household. (can you tell I'm really enjoying my new wide angle lens?) #housework #catsofinstagram
via Instagram
What I'm Reading
My Very Talented Poet Friend (sounds like that mnemonic na? My Very Educated Mother?) @chandrama_poetry has a new book out and it is GORGEOUS. My aunt sent me a copy and it was waiting for me at my mum's house today, what a lovely and appropriate Diwali treat. #bookstagram #poetry #nowreading #mrmbookclub
November 4, 2020
Today in Photo
We all have our security blankets. Mine just has claws. (Squishy sometimes REALLY justifies his name.) #catstagram #squishythecat
via Instagram
November 3, 2020
What I'm Reading
Distracting myself from the possibility that the world might be EVEN MORE of a garbage fire than it currently is by starting an audio book. I don't really LIKE audio books, hard for me to get immersed in them as much as I do physical ones but they are useful for when you want to keep your hands and eyes free, like cooking or cleaning or hula hooping which is what I got this one for. Plus Vanity Fair is SO GOOD. I read it once, ages ago, in my early twenties on a dirty weekend to Dharamshala and I loved it then, and now, with all the context into 19th century novels I've gained over the years, I love it even more. So gripping that I exercised harder than I have in ages just so I could finish the chapter. If you're thinking of getting it, I suggest the free app Librivox which has volunteer readers doing out of copyright books (so all the classics) and search for this version by Helen Taylor whose voices for the various characters are DELIGHTFUL. Audio books huh? Who'd have thought? #vanityfair #williammakepeacethackeray #helentaylor #bookstagram #mrmbookclub #120in2020
