Ipsita Banerjee's Blog, page 11
April 26, 2016
W: WENDY Darling
Who doesn't wish to fly, to soar above cities and seas....?
And if one can do that on the wings of some fairy dust.....?
And for company you have Fairies, Mermaids, Pirates, Tinker-Bell, the Lost Boys and the boy who never grew up....?
Welcome to the world of Peter Pan and Hook! Not to forget the tick-tock of that clock in the crocodile! I think I lived on that island for a large part of my childhood.
And how did I get there?
Why, "The second star to the right and straight on till morning!"
“Build a house?" exclaimed John.
"For the Wendy," said Curly.
"For Wendy?" John said, aghast. "Why, she is only a girl!"
"That," explained Curly, "is why we are her servants.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
And if one can do that on the wings of some fairy dust.....?
And for company you have Fairies, Mermaids, Pirates, Tinker-Bell, the Lost Boys and the boy who never grew up....?
Welcome to the world of Peter Pan and Hook! Not to forget the tick-tock of that clock in the crocodile! I think I lived on that island for a large part of my childhood.
And how did I get there?
Why, "The second star to the right and straight on till morning!"
“Build a house?" exclaimed John.
"For the Wendy," said Curly.
"For Wendy?" John said, aghast. "Why, she is only a girl!"
"That," explained Curly, "is why we are her servants.”
― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
April 25, 2016
V: VIOLA
In Class XII, we enacted Shakespeare in school. Along with a bunch of Class XIs. And yes, I got the role of Viola. It was a great time for the entire cast. Not only did we make new friends, we happily bunked classes and lectures and stayed late at school all in the name of rehearsals!!! Of course I love Viola, she got under my skin at the time.. How could one not love that feisty girl? And of course, Cesario, who she disguised herself as!
We mugged up the lines, got yelled at by this rather strict English teacher who we were petrified of (sadly, she is no more) got into trouble when we were lazy, laughed a lot and had a wonderful time.
Those WERE the days, my friends!
Orsino: "For, boy, however we do praise ourselves,
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and won,
Than women's are. ...
For women are as roses, whose fair flow'r
Being once display'd doth fall that very hour."
Viola: "And so they are; alas, that they are so!
To die, even when they to perfection grow!”
― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
We mugged up the lines, got yelled at by this rather strict English teacher who we were petrified of (sadly, she is no more) got into trouble when we were lazy, laughed a lot and had a wonderful time.
Those WERE the days, my friends!
Orsino: "For, boy, however we do praise ourselves,
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,
More longing, wavering, sooner lost and won,
Than women's are. ...
For women are as roses, whose fair flow'r
Being once display'd doth fall that very hour."
Viola: "And so they are; alas, that they are so!
To die, even when they to perfection grow!”
― William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
April 24, 2016
U: ULYSSES
This letter U put me in a quandary. There's that Ulysses (Odysseus in Greek ) who we all know, the swashbuckling hero immortalised for children by Charles Lamb. Then there's the Ulysses of Tennyson who returns after his long travels and is re-united with his wife (Penelope) and son (Telemachus) but yearns to go off in search of more adventure. (THAT I can identify with!)
But then, my favourite Ulysses is not a man, not a hero but a ship, a well armed light cruiser, to be exact. HMS Ulysses. I loved the war story genre. All that patriotism and intrigue, the tragedy, the mutinies. Alistair MacLean had me hanging on to his every word. One that I read again and again still? South by Java Head.
“She was still doing forty knots, driving in under the guns of the enemy, guns at maximum depression, when "A" magazine blew up, blasted off the entire bows in one shattering detonations. For a second, the lightened fo'c'sle reared high into the air then it plunged down, deep down, into the shoulder of a rolling sea. She plunged down and kept on going down, driving down to the black floor of the Arctic, driven down by the madly spinning screws. The still thundering engines her own executioners.”
― Alistair MacLean, HMS Ulysses
But then, my favourite Ulysses is not a man, not a hero but a ship, a well armed light cruiser, to be exact. HMS Ulysses. I loved the war story genre. All that patriotism and intrigue, the tragedy, the mutinies. Alistair MacLean had me hanging on to his every word. One that I read again and again still? South by Java Head.
“She was still doing forty knots, driving in under the guns of the enemy, guns at maximum depression, when "A" magazine blew up, blasted off the entire bows in one shattering detonations. For a second, the lightened fo'c'sle reared high into the air then it plunged down, deep down, into the shoulder of a rolling sea. She plunged down and kept on going down, driving down to the black floor of the Arctic, driven down by the madly spinning screws. The still thundering engines her own executioners.”
― Alistair MacLean, HMS Ulysses
April 22, 2016
T: TESS of the D'urbervilles
Despite being an avid reader, I never encountered Thomas Hardy until I was in law college. There was this tiny book shop that sold second hand books and even let you borrow them on occasion and it was one of my favourite joints. It was here that I discovered Tess. and she broke my heart again and again. I loved it.
“Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?"
"Yes."
"All like ours?"
"I don't know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree. Most of them splendid and sound - a few blighted."
"Which do we live on - a splendid one or a blighted one?"
"A blighted one.”
― Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles
“Did you say the stars were worlds, Tess?"
"Yes."
"All like ours?"
"I don't know, but I think so. They sometimes seem to be like the apples on our stubbard-tree. Most of them splendid and sound - a few blighted."
"Which do we live on - a splendid one or a blighted one?"
"A blighted one.”
― Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles
April 21, 2016
S: SHIMODA, Donald.
When I was 13, a friend passed me a black book by some author called Richard Bach. There was a bright blue feather on the cover. "Illusions", it said, "The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah". From the first page I was hooked for many many years to come. And a lot of it still influences my thinking! In fact some years ago my Mom presented me with the book, "The Messiah's Handbook" and even now I keep finding myself reaching for the book, randomly opening a page and finding the words of wisdom and encouragement that I need right then!
And, yes, I even tried cloud vaporising...sometimes, I swear it works.
And I do not have to look up the net for a quotes. Here's one I use all the time, something my girls are very familiar with;
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach.
And, yes, I even tried cloud vaporising...sometimes, I swear it works.
And I do not have to look up the net for a quotes. Here's one I use all the time, something my girls are very familiar with;
"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard Bach.
April 20, 2016
R: ROBIN Hood
Robin Hood, Sherwood Forest, Miriam, Friar Tuck, Little John... fascinating! We had this big hardbound book with illustrations and I loved reading it again and again. The pictures were in intricate detail and I almost imagined life with the Merry Men, sleeping under the stars and eating off the land! Each time I reached the end of the book and Robin Hood died, I think I died too!
“Underneath this little stone
Lies Robert Earl of Huntington;
No other archer was so good -
And people called him Robin Hood.
Such outlaws as he and his men
Will England never see again.”
― Roger Lancelyn Green, The Adventures of Robin Hood
“Underneath this little stone
Lies Robert Earl of Huntington;
No other archer was so good -
And people called him Robin Hood.
Such outlaws as he and his men
Will England never see again.”
― Roger Lancelyn Green, The Adventures of Robin Hood
April 19, 2016
Q: QUASIMODO
I was introduced to Victor Hugo through a small extract in our English Literature book. It was from "Les Miserables" , you know, that part where Valjean steals silver from the Bishop and the Bishop gives it away to him? That extract made me read the rest of the book. And of course the obvious next step was towards Quasimodo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I cried with him, I cried for him and when he was shown kindness, I exulted. What a beautiful world, that Paris!
“A one-eyed man is much more incomplete than a blind man, for he knows what it is that's lacking.”
― Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
“A one-eyed man is much more incomplete than a blind man, for he knows what it is that's lacking.”
― Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
April 18, 2016
P: PENCIL and Screwbolt
Yes, I used to read a lot. But I also had a FAVOURITE book.
It was called "The Adventures of Pencil and Screwbolt." I must admit I had to look up the name of the author who I remember was Russian. Iurii Mikhailovich Druzhkov. As I started on this theme, when I got to "P", I had a good many options but once I remembered Pencil and Screwbolt, no one else stood a chance! Not even Paul Baumer (All Quiet On The Western Front) or the Prophet (Kahlil Gibran) who also greatly influenced my thoughts and life as a teenager...
I used to know this book by heart as a child.
Now, I have scoured the internet sites looking for that book. It is currently out of print, they say.
Anyone heard of Pencil and Screwbolt? Anyone know where I can procure a copy?
I would be deeply obliged....
And I will leave you with a quote, it's from The Prophet.
“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.”
― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
It was called "The Adventures of Pencil and Screwbolt." I must admit I had to look up the name of the author who I remember was Russian. Iurii Mikhailovich Druzhkov. As I started on this theme, when I got to "P", I had a good many options but once I remembered Pencil and Screwbolt, no one else stood a chance! Not even Paul Baumer (All Quiet On The Western Front) or the Prophet (Kahlil Gibran) who also greatly influenced my thoughts and life as a teenager...
I used to know this book by heart as a child.
Now, I have scoured the internet sites looking for that book. It is currently out of print, they say.
Anyone heard of Pencil and Screwbolt? Anyone know where I can procure a copy?
I would be deeply obliged....
And I will leave you with a quote, it's from The Prophet.
“You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts.”
― Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
April 17, 2016
O: OBERON
In school, a lucky few of us were taken to a then modern adaptation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Hitherto my experience of Shakespeare was rather bleak. My grandfather insisted it was magical. I found it boring and full of complicated English made worse by the love sonnets that everyone kept harping on and which, we, occasionally had to mug up at school. Tedious, to say the least.
I went for the play expecting to be bored out of my wits. So what a pleasant surprise it was to have black leotard clad actors stage a modern, lively, musical! I do not remember which troupe it was, or where they were from (Britain, most likely!) but that night I went home in love with Oberon and Puck having discovered a whole new world. And yes, my grandfather was partly right. A lot of Shakespeare is indeed magical!
“Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover and the poet
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,
That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt:
The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
I went for the play expecting to be bored out of my wits. So what a pleasant surprise it was to have black leotard clad actors stage a modern, lively, musical! I do not remember which troupe it was, or where they were from (Britain, most likely!) but that night I went home in love with Oberon and Puck having discovered a whole new world. And yes, my grandfather was partly right. A lot of Shakespeare is indeed magical!
“Lovers and madmen have such seething brains,
Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend
More than cool reason ever comprehends.
The lunatic, the lover and the poet
Are of imagination all compact:
One sees more devils than vast hell can hold,
That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantic,
Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt:
The poet's eye, in fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven;
And as imagination bodies forth
The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen
Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream
April 15, 2016
N: NORMAN Bates
No, not the gut in the blockbuster Alfred Hitchcock movie, "Psycho" but the guy in the book by Robert Bloch. I heard about the movie and was intrigued but those were the days when there were no VCD players and movies rare. In fact I first saw "Psycho" soon thereafter at a foreign film festival. But I remember bringing the book home from the library and lying awake at night wondering if anyone I knew could be like Norman Bates!!!
You see, “I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy at times.”
― Robert Bloch, Psycho
You see, “I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy at times.”
― Robert Bloch, Psycho
