'Sowmya'tic life!

So you read part 1 ....  https://sowmyaticlife.blogspot.com/2024/10/the-textbooklover-part-1.html ....  Part 2 somehow, in all its craziness, connects the debuts of two generations of Bacchans! Don't ask me how. Just read on.  The Hindu paper's tribute to Keki Daruwalla prompted a google search which didn't reveal anything in the first attempt. He was being remembered as a poet and for his famous 'Love across the Salt Desert' which inspired the film 'Refugee' by JP Dutta that was the debut movie of Abhishek Bacchan and Kareena Kapoor. I was pretty sure I hadn't read any of his poems and I definitely didn't know about Refugee being inspired by a short story. In fact, I didn't watch Refugee.  But as they say in Hollywood movies, I was too deep in it and the only way was through. Moreover, the gnawing and annoying half memories told me to solve the mystery or there would be no sleep. (it was already 12 in the night!). As I continued my search, it wa

Yup, that's me. I am not just a book lover, I am a textbook-lover.  I think language textbooks are an underrated branch of literature. While the texts were anthologies of essays, prose, poetry and short fiction, the non-detailed texts condensed classic novels into simple reading. The pictures that went with these texts introduced us to different cultures. The annotations made it so easy to understand the difficult words. Now, when I pick up a book to read, I miss the pictures and annotations badly! Who said adults didn't need them?  When I visit anyone's house with kids, I usually ask to look at their textbooks.  The smell of new textbooks!  As a student, when the new academic year started and textbooks were bought, I'd pounce on to the language textbooks and finish reading them in a day or two. Then I'd peruse social textbook. Maths and science stressed me and scared me so I'd leave them alone till a teacher decoded them for me. But languages, ha! By the time s

Let's get a couple of things out of the way before we start.  1.    Ponganalu is a Telugu word for a savory snack made with Dosa batter. 2. If you have already tried this combo, great! Please read on noting that this is a fresh discovery for me. (  Scroll down for the picture!) Believe it or not, this innocent mix and match of dishes has opened my eyes to so much  wisdom that I am thrilled to share with you here! So, here are the 5 life-lessons that my ordinary weekday dinner has taught me!  1. Everyday life needn't be boring What we aren't prepared about being adults are the repetitive days and nights. Dishes, chores, jobs, schedules, meals.... sometimes it feels like majority of our lives are doing the same thing again and again. This is probably why we look forward to holidays and weekends.  But life isn't about waiting for weekends or holidays. If so, we are zooming past 70 percent of our life! And that doesn't feel right, does it?  By switching up things, being