Anuradha Sridharan

I have been intrigued by mystery stories for a long time. Though I haven't read much in this genre so far, I have watched quite a few movies and was thrilled. When I heard about Agatha Christie in a movie (Taare Zameen Par, to be precise), I decided to borrow one of her mystery novels from the library. "A pocket full of rye" is a page turner and keeps you guessing until the story ends in a twist. The head of the family Mr.Rex Fortesque is poisoned by one among the members of his family. The inspector Mr.Neele who handles the investigation unravels the motive and identifies the killer using a nursery rhyme. As I turned the pages, I was guessing who could be the killer and my guesses kept changing. In the end, all my guesses were wrong. A short and crisp storyline and a well connected plot has made this novel a pretty interesting read. I hope to read more of her novels in the coming months.

My contribution to 3WW A chase of a lifetime peeking away from daily treasures one step at a time, you walk the giant hops twice as fast with great effort, you catch some only to find bigger monsters staring right at you from a distance tangled by the ever alluring race taking bigger and wider strides you reach to master those creatures, unrealized that you've transformed to a tamed, timid slave at the end conquer or to be conquered money not the final frontier understand the loss before gain life meant to be superior

My contribution to 3WW Dark and eerie, 60 minutes to midnight elders snoozing after a long tiring day remote buttons stressed quick hops through TV channels wide awake siblings the apartment 's active souls a sudden pause of the thumb the title of the movie allures so begin s a scary horror flick the background score threatens hands go numb , heart pounds maximum, midnight draws close, characters come alive fearful to watch anymore breathing tends to shallow switching off the TV scarier nightmares to follow My brother and I used to watch horror movies in the night when the rest of the family sleeps. I rarely watched the whole movie. Somewhere in the middle, I used to get so scary that I couldn't watch it anymore!

My contribution to 3 word Wednesday - rest, sidewalk, twice A long, clean sidewalk tall trees on one side rushing traffic on the other concrete benches at few steps providing the needed rest for tired, worn out legs An ideal seat for a chit-chat munching peanuts, sipping tea cool wind, taking away my hat outcome of Diwali shopping heavy bags on either side, strolled along the stretch twice here comes Metro rail with its fiery speed this experience goes peril My favorite hang-out stretch in MG Road, Bangalore has been demolished due to the construction of Metro rail tracks. The shopping experience is no longer the same!

Anees Jung, the author has traveled across India, visited different cities and villages to analyze the lives and struggles of women from different backgrounds and the issues that loom large in front of them. Right from birth till the last breath, a woman faces problems and turmoils from her own family and the society. The author narrates her experiences in meeting women from Hyderabad, Varanasi, Kanyakumari, Mumbai and also many villages. Irrespective of caste or religion, there have been barriers put forth in front of women from centuries which many are trying to break free from today. Be it the act of female foeticide, gender discrimination when it comes to education or work by their own parents, childhood marriage and a veiled day-to-day routine, these issues are rooted in many remote parts of the country. With no education or financial support and their struggles to lead a normal life, women feel stuck with these issues and couldn't find a way out of them. The one shocking vers...

I did something last Sunday which I haven't done for a long time. It all started with hubby's plan of attending an Indica car users meet in Cubbon Park. The last time I visited Cubbon Park was way back in 1990. Sunday was meant to be the day to break the jinx, I suppose. We reached around 10 AM and greeted the fellow Indica users. The casual talk gave way to more technical details of cars and SUVs and I started losing interest. Discussing about specifications of cars is not my ideal way to spend a leisurely Sunday morning. I started walking and admiring the tall trees, the yellow flowers on the grass bed, the clear blue sky, the dry leaves and the water droplets on top of hibiscus petals. It's interesting to see different people, taking a nap on the benches, having a picnic with family, jogging hard to stay fit, the visitors and the regulars. After taking a stroll around the park, I went to Bal Bhavan (children's park) and was thrilled to see the amusement rides. How mu...

My contribution to Sunday Scribblings #100 - Time machine Eyes red and brimmed with tears Rice balls difficult to swallow Future appeared desolate and grim Near and dear consoled to support efforts to alleviate the grief and pain gripped with deep sorrow devastated with the death of my mom, in the painful moment, I receive a special gift from God soothing and comforting the lyrics and the beats a melody fresh and new to the eardrums of a 11 year old playing from the radio in the rusty old tea shop life moved on fine a 15 year long journey pampered by the love and care of my dad and now my hubby yet the time machine brings back the sadness, reminds me of the trembling pain and the caressing comfort my precious song of a lifetime This precious time machine is a Tamil song "Kaadhal Rojaave" from the movie Roja.

One of my favorite genres of reading is Indian Writings in English. I picked up this novel written by Anitha Desai from a local library. The crisp summary at the back of the novel intrigued me and it was worth a read and a good change amidst the heavy management books. The protogonist, Nanda Kaul having lived a life of obligations and responsibilities decides to spend the rest of her life alone in the quiet, untouched hilly region of Kasauli. Her only companion is the caretaker Ram Lal who clearly understands Nanda and lives in his own way with no disturbance to her solitude. The garden being left as it was, her past time was to observe the huge pine trees and the views of the plains from the hills. The rare hour of afternoon nap has now become a daily routine to her. Time moves slowly at her own pace, reading books and contemplating about her days. She no longer needs a family or obligations. One line summarizes her rationale behind her decision - "Life would swirl on again, in a...