The Book Thief : Review.

My first thought after reading a good book, is automatically, why didn't I come up with that first? And then, I begin to contemplate on how the idea struck the author. Where was he? What was he doing?
And these questions definitely did spring to mind, once I turned the last page, closed the book, and wiped the tears from my eyes.

I read this book, during my Board examinations. I borrowed it from a second-hand library nearby, and well, to be honest, I never gave it back!

This book, by Australian author Markus Zusak, has a concept that I'm sure could have had much more of an impact, had it been a little more certain of its own strength. It leans towards the youthful sensibilities of the people, but only to the effect of portraying the inherent innocence of the protagonist. Leisel Meminger, a little child, with a love for words and flair for language, trapped in a world of indiscriminate bloodshed and merciless Nazi atrocities.Obviously, she is the Book Thief here. She steals books, for a reason revealed early on in the story. To make sense of the death of her little brother.

I'd not like to give away the plot, but this I just have to tell you.
The story-teller here, or the narrator, is Death. Yes, death, the time heralded enemy, witnessing crimes from the darkest zones of man, who is empathetic towards himself, and at times, is scared of the power of mankind himself. However, he presents a light-hearted, self-deprecating picture of a grim concept and a horrible time.

The characters of her best friend Rudy and her parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, are meticulously crafted, compelling and they stay with you long after you've finished reading. You root for them all, laugh at their joys and get teary-eyed at their disappointments. An innocent, as well as horrifying view, of the Holocaust.

Could the author have been a little less metaphorical, and more effectively to the point? Sure.
For example-
"For the book thief, everything was going nicely," Death observes, as the extermination camps flourish in the summer of 1942. "For me, the sky was the color of Jews." Wordy, sure. But it does leave a stark,vivid image in your mind.

But this story in itself, and the way Zusak marvelously toes the line of quiet horror and innocent joy and wraps it into this delightful endearing concoction, is definitely original and worth a read.
In fact, I'd go as far as to say that it is the contemporary "The Diary of Anne Frank".
I give it a 4 out of 5.

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

                   -The last line written by Liesel Meminger in "The Book Thief."

Why I Write.

Yes, I have very obviously copied the title from George Orwell's famous essay, who was trying to answer the same question. So if any of you try to point out my plagiarist tendencies, I own up to this title-cheat one right now!
I've been reading literature and writing all my life. In 1st grade, I narrated the story of some cunning fox and pretty peacock and won the Best Storyteller prize. In 2nd grade, when the teachers would give me a word to make a sentence with, I almost always came up with a great one. In 6th grade, when I was asked to be editor of the junior school magazine, of course I enjoyed myself. Later on in high school, any script or speech or short story needed to be written, and I was assigned that duty without a second thought.

The reason I'm writing all this, and making myself sound like some Literature pedant, is simple.
I'm trying to figure out why I love words this much. Why I inherently feel like I have to make sentences of these words, why I want to put my thoughts to paper, know the correct usage of 'whom', why I think some words are beautiful and others ugly, why I'm fascinated by various schools of writing, why I want to use the word perfidiousness in a sentence. (Haha, the word comes as a spelling error as I write this!)

I'm unable to figure out what draws me to it.
Am I just too much of a lazy bum to do much else?
Do I just want to seem more articulate and well read than the next person?
Is this my way of fitting in, or standing out?

Or, is the romantic in me, just searching in vain for a more beautiful answer to this question?

Much excogitation on this subject has brought out the sesquipedalian in me, and with not much equanimity, I'd like to profess my unequivocal discontent at not having arrived at an answer that satisfies me.

Blah blah on.

My best friend likes my blog! :)

^^Haha, yes, this is he. The guy hugging Sachin Tendulkar(literally and figuratively), is my best friend.
Photogenic, don't you think?
I shall keep his identity under wraps, coz this might just embarrass him. :P
All I'll say is that he is not allowed to make an ID on Gmail, for his name contains a profanity! He is the vocalist in a band with great potential, except his band-members are slackers. He loves Milky Bar, Tropical Iceberg shake from Cafe Coffee Day, cinema and music.
I finally decided to let him read this blog, and well, he says he likes it. Good enough, for the both of us.
So, as abnormally formal as this sounds, thank you.


On a major sidenote, last night from 12.40 a.m. to around 2 a.m., Sana and I were watching Jonsi's live concert in Brussels online.
I enjoy music, because of people like him.
Honest music, breath-taking stage effects. I loved it. :)

For now, I look forward to my Sunday bloody Sunday! :P

So...what's she like, this Nitisha person?

Today is just one of those days when-

• The clock is ticking just too slowly for my appetite. For food and for words.
• I have absolutely nothing to do. On a Saturday night. Wow. How cool am I!
• I'm just in the mood to write. Rather, I'm in the mood to do something, anything, and writing just comes naturally.

 And now that I'm here, in this nice little space I call mine, I can think of nothing really substantial, to write.
So, the oh-so-subtle person that I am, I shall talk about someone I definitely know more than you.
Me!
Yeah, thinking this up really was a strain on my grey cells! :P

Well, one way to learn about me would probably be my tastes-
Here, I present to you, the 3 most obvious categories that spring to mind.

Musical preferences.
There are 2 aspects that I clearly look for when I listen to music. Melody and lyrics. Surprisingly, I give equal weightage to both.
1. Listening
Genres are just confusing. And bands change genres with each album, these days. So I shall just mention bands. U2 emerges a clear favourite, as does Sigur Ros. I absolutely love listening to Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, The Beatles, Jeff Buckley,Van Morrisson, The Doors, Simon and Garfunkel and Queen. Also, Ben Harper, Damien Rice, Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz.

2.When getting bored in the backseat of a car/Random dancing mood.
Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, Michael Jackson,Springsteen, AC/DC, Black Eyed Peas.

Literature
Aaaah, wow. I could ramble on for hours, but I'm gonna spare you this time.I'll keep it simple. Reading forms the mainstay of my life. I enjoy literary fiction by Ian McEvan and Cormac McCarthy. Fiction by Jeffrey Archer. Action by Lee Child. Suspense by James Patterson and Harlan Coben. Romance(the very occasional) by Nora Roberts.

I also enjoy autobiographies of REAL people. By which I mean, quality people. So you won't see a say, Britney Spears memoir on my bedside table.

People
I enjoy the company of people capable of making intelligent, witty conversation.
Actually, I enjoy the company of honest, unpretentious people with a sense of humor and a taste for randomness.
A mix of both the above, automatically makes you my best friend.

 Or a partying pug, evidently!

Now, that I'm at the end of this just awesome blog-post, I wonder why I actually spent the last 20 minutes writing it.
I could have indulged in idle generalizations and stereotypes. Or expressed my profound sadness for the cultural breakdown of society. Discussed the alarming rate of farmer suicides and Naxalite attacks in India, global terrorism or even the perverse reality shows I often stoop to watch. I could have contemplated on disappearing innocence or extraterrestrials.
But, a microcosm of  society or cynical urban critic, I am not.

I'm Nitisha Pande, just a 17 year old with short straight hair, wearing old worn-out track-pants, sitting quietly in a flashy Mumbai suburb, killing time on a boring Saturday night, waiting for a change of scene and events, that may never come.
And no, I will not upload a picture of myself in a contemplative mood, just for dramatic effect.
Night. :)

Black and White.

“Black and white are absolute...expressing the most delicate vibration, the most profound tranquility, and unlimited profundity.”
-- Shiko Munakata
Some of my favourite photographs, in black and white. :)

Black and white are not just colours. They are definitive institutions in themselves.
They contradict, they amalgamate.
Black and white, I truly love.

The Pathology of Indifference.

"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."
                                                                                    -Elie Wiesel.


I call it, the pathology of indifference. In the society I live in, it's more like a thriving epidemic.
I, for one, do not understand it. We live in a world of more than 7 billion people. 7 billion lives. To be indifferent to someone's situation halfway around the world, in a depraved sense, is still more understandable than being indifferent to what's happening in our own home, in our city, in our country.


Do people use it as a shield of some sort? As if, if they are apathetic and oblivious to what's happening around them, they will somehow be protected from all the bad stuff? Protected from ugly travesties, wars, genocide, or let's just break it down to simpler proportions, unkindness? If that is their justification, it is one of the most unreliable, self-serving defense mechanisms existing in the thresh-hold of society today.

To be in a situation of powerlessness to drive change, is a better place to be in than to be in a situation where you don't know what to, how to, why to change. To be in a situation where you ideally should speak up, but don't. Simply, because you don't care enough. This is not about the absence of a conscience(a vague term in itself), or about a idealistic epiphany to actually unite the peoples of the world.
I just believe that apathy is much more dangerous than battle. Because it is virile, it is convenient, and hydra-like, it grows without reason.


To be indifferent is to be heartless.
To be indifferent is to be alone.
To be indifferent, in more ways than one, is to not be alive at all.



^^This is what listening to too much Pearl Jam does to me! :P
      "I will hold the candle, till it burns up my arm
      I'll keep takin' punches, until their will grows tired
      Oh I will stare the sun down, until my eyes go blind
      Hey I won't change direction, and I won't change my mind
      How much difference does it make."

Till we meet again, care. :)

Higher Average I.Q.!

Full analytical report for Nitisha

(Please bookmark this page; it will be available online for two weeks. You may also print a copy of each section for your records.)
General statistics
Total number of questions: 30
Questions answered: 30
Questions not answered: 0
Questions answered correctly: 20
Questions answered incorrectly: 10
Percentage correct answers: 66 %

Your age adjusted IQ score is 112 and the average score for all test takers is 100.

Your Grade ** Higher Average **

Well done! Your performance on the test was above the population average which means that you have the ability to achieve success in life. Whatever you decide to do you have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a wide variety of ways. You are able to think critically and communicate very effectively and you also have the ability to handle most academic challenges. If you think of intelligence as the ability to adapt easily to new situations then you are heading in the right direction.

Standard Deviation: 15

The bell curve (also called a "normal curve" or "normal distribution") is a graph that shows approximately how much of the population falls into each IQ range. In theory, if we tested everyone in the world with a traditional IQ test, most people would score in the "Average" range. A smaller number would score moderately below average and moderately above average. Very high and very low scores are rare.

The scores and percentiles above apply to tests that have a standard deviation of 15 points. The  Stanford Binet Fourth Edition (Binet FE) has a standard deviation of 16 and the Wechsler scales (such as the WPPSI-R, the WISC-III, and the WAIS-III) have a standard deviation of 15. Therefore, for different scales the percentages may vary.

 Strengths and weaknesses

Your highest score was in Verbal

Exceptional intelligence does not guarantee results -- to achieve excellence you must fully understand your strengths and learn to maximize your efforts. Knowing your greatest intellectual strength may give you insight into how you can improve your learning process, work better with others, or become more self aware of your abilities. According to this test your verbal skills are the most developed of all your intellectual capabilities - your capability to use language effectively and to communicate well is your biggest strength.

Your lowest score was in Spatial

Weaknesses are the roadblocks we face when trying to achieve our goals. Awareness of your weaknesses allows you to predict problems and find solutions ahead of time, thereby alleviating future headaches. According to this test your spatial skills are the most underdeveloped of all your intellectual capabilities - your capability to manipulate 3-D objects in space is your biggest weakness.

Grade Statistics

Grade	Range	Percent
Genius	>144	0.13%
Gifted	130-144	2.14%
Above average	115-129	13.59%
Higher average	100-114	34.13%
Lower average	85-99	34.13%
Below average	70-84	13.59%
Borderline low	55-69	2.14%
Low	<55	0.13%

Interview Part-1

I think it would be a great idea to write this all down, not just for future reference, but just so these words create a vivid memory of the clamor for college admissions.

Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies(UG), Pune-

I remember right after I gave my S.E.T, the first word that crossed my mind was "Shit!". You know that sinking feeling, when you've answered 45 out of 50 questions correctly, but goddamnit, you got 5 questions wrong? Yeah, that is what I felt, and in the process completely forgot that I'd not done so bad after all. It was only when the results came out and I scored a respectable 100/150, that I sighed with relief!
Eliminating all unnecessary details, let me jump straight to the morning of my Group discussion and personal interview at Symbiosis.
Having bought the quintessential corporate suit for the occasion, I looked and felt the part of a management institute at the get-go. Hogging down half the hotel's breakfast spread, and a steaming mug of espresso later, I couldn't have been more enthusiastic(rather, jittery coz of my high-octane caffeine intake)! Entering the college campus sure was an exhilarating experience, and as I walked around the campus, I could literally feel the excitement in my veins.
After an hour-long wait, socialising with people from Gorakhpur, Ranchi and the like, being threatened by a loud wannabe,"Babe, I'm gonna kill you in the G.D., man. My eyes are on you,'(not to forget he made the i'm-such-a-wannabe my-eyes-are-on-you sign! :D :D), I entered the room where my fate would be sealed.
Seated in the so-called strategic position in the room, bang in front of the panelists, the topic for the G.D. was read out.
"An interview is the best way to sift the grain from the shaff."

Huh? What? THIS was what I was expected to speak on?
Haha, and given my ability to bullshit proficiently, speak I did. 4 times, and 4 valid points.
Good times!

Proceeding to the room for the Personal Interview on a complete high, I couldn't wait to see what was in store for me.
2 men, 1 woman. Ikes!

Contrary to my first expectation, the interview was a dream. They quizzed me on my interests, and once they figured I'm passionate about literature, the interview just took that course.

What kind of books do you read? Who is your favourite author? Why do you enjoy his work? If you had to get your book published and just couldn't get a celebrity sponsor, would you give up? etcetera.
Also, they asked me to form a meaningful sentence out of 4 random words on chits I pulled out. The words being- assumption, crew, blank and seminar. Don't the words WTF just spring to mind!
Of course, I made the sentence, and yet another one on being asked to do so!

It ended with one of the male panelists, giving me a phone number and website of this person who writes great book reviews!

Aaaah, finally I took a deep breath of the very polluted Pune air.
Symbi results come out on the 3rd of June.
I sure hope I get in, even though I'm not too fond of Pune and this college is my 4th preference, at best.
I'll talk about my NMIMS interviews in a short while.
Adios! (Haha, insider Pune joke!)

Why I suck at Math!

Haha, finally, I know why I've always sucked at Math! The magic of  the double X chromosome. It really is in the genes, I guess! :D
After sooooooo many years, I have understood my absolute inability to understand the subject.
THIS is what they call closure!
:P

The Plague Called Insecurity.

I'm 17. Young, raring to go. In the mad rush of college admissions, personal interviews and the like, I stopped today. I don't know what brought it about, but it seems apropos to pen down my thoughts here.
I stopped to think. To reflect. On the person I am, on all my cumulative achievements(personal, academic and extracurricular), and then I asked the one question I really don't need the honest answer to, right now.

Am I good enough?

Am I smart enough, pretty enough, strong enough to make it in this galaxy of  craziness?

Will I be able to achieve my goals?

Will I be able to make a difference?

Can I drive change?

Will I be the best person I can be?

Will I make my family proud?

Sometimes, I feel so trapped in this life of comfort and security. I feel like spending the night on a road like a homeless person, doing hard labour to earn bread for my family.
I want to know and see how hard life can be. How much I can take, persevere and succeed.
Most of all, I wonder, had I not lived the same life I have, would I still be the same person I am today?

Aaah!
"Homer no function beer well without." :P
 ^^Always makes me laugh!