Devendra's Home in Malipur (UP)

Book Review : The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This book was gifted by my previous roommates. "We think you will enjoy it!" I smiled and thanked them. I didn't get time to read it for a long time and finally on a three day train journey (where I read three books) I read the book that is supposedly a big seller.

The book is about a young Spanish boy who chooses to be a shepherd. He gets a strange dream about Egypt and pyramids and all and goes to North Africa to get to Eygpt. He gets looted and ends up working in a crystal shop and is about to forget about his original purpose of coming to Africa. However, he does join a caravan proceeding to Egypt and meets someone called 'The Alchemist' (The title of the book should have been 'The Shepherd Boy' rather than the Alchemist who plays a less significant character in the plot of the story)

This so called Alchemist tells him he can change himself into the wind! Imagine! At that point of time I gave a shudder of disbelief and looked at the book twice 'Should I read it completely or toss it away?' but I finished it. Skim read the whole event till he finally arrives at the pyramids to find his 'dream treasure'. The book ends with another twist.

My verdict- Excuse me? Turn yourself into the wind?!! Its a pretty good book and narrated at a steady space. The character of the Shepherd boy is nice enough to relate and the events are adventurous but what spoilt it was the whole wind episode. People say they have found inspiration in the book ( for what? becoming the sun?) I found nothing that inspired 'inspired' me that has not before inspired me. If you absolutely have nothing else to read, read it.

Glimpses of Varanasi

Gazelle Park next to the Buddha Shrine

Buddha Shrine where one of the five body parts of Buddha is buried

Excavated Buddhist Monastery

Exotic experience of rural India

My very good friend Devendra (he refuses to be called my 'best' friend coz he claims I make everyone my 'best' friend..lol) got place in i-Flex Mumbai. So I went to his home town in Uttar Pradesh. Why? Well not so much coz it was may be the last of our college days (cheeky smile :) ) but more of my dream of seeing and living in rural India and actually in a farm.

Some people truly believe in their dreams. So much that they come true

Well.. Mine did.

The house (like those hindi film choudhry houses), the acres and acres of farmland. Greenery and rice paddies. The chill of the morn, the bornfire nights were the whole family got around to warm themselves, the fresh fruits and vegetables, the yogurt and fresh milk, the rice and dhaal, what all can I say?

I even walked miles eating a cane of sugarcane with my bare teeth. (Afterwards I cunningly told Dev I had a problem with my teeth so he did all th work and gave me the fresh sugarcane to chew..lol) I even had pure sugarcane juice when the sugarcane were being crushed to make jaggery.

I saw cabbage and carrots and cucumber plans. I saw the mustard yellow colored trees and I walked through farmlands and had water from the tubewell.

Thankfully I didn't have to go to the fields to relieve myself (as my friend threatened I would have to do so coz they had no lavaratory!!) or take bath at the wells of the village. His home is pretty modern with all the facilities and of course the 'bathroom' was out in the courtyard with a wall and NO DOOR. So you had to take bath like a scardy bird hoping no one comes.

The other fantastic experience I had was of being hit by a cycle rickshaw!

We were walking in the bazaar of Ghazipur and I was on the side of the road (which is pretty narrow) looking at the shops when I hear someone screaming at me. I look ahead and in a fraction of a second see a cycle rickshaw coming straight at me, hear the sound of the wooden seat crashing with the right side of my body and being thrown backward due to the impact. My right foot was under the cycle wheel and as I fell my foot peeled itself away tearing my shoe band.

Dev was walking ahead and when he turned and saw me all down, he ran back, helped me up and made me sit on the pavement. Till that time, the culprit cycle wala had fled. Think of it! It was a hit and run accident! Wow, me in a hit and run ;)

In two minutes once I caught my breath, Dev and I started laughing. We couldn't believe it. We are half crazy anyways. We laugh at anything and everything. My friend felt bad that being his guest I met with an accident. That started a series of questions like are you ok? Shall we see a doctor? But I was fine. I was hit and my right arm was sore and my right ribs pained but it wasn't bad. I applied some pain reliever and since I was just eating and sleeping I did not feel anything.

It was when I come back to Bangalore and started cleaning my house and doing the laundry that I became almost vegetable the second day. I couldn't walk, I had chest pain and lower back pain. I was wondering was is happening to me? When I spoke all of a sudden I felt a pain in my chest and I couldn't sneeze. So that was enough to convince this 'NO HOSPITAL -HATE DOCTORS - THROW THE PILLS' person to actually go to the hospital, meet an Orthopedics and eat the pills. The diagonosis was that my right 2nd and 3rd ribs were slighly cracked and due to the work I had done, my right chest muscles were strained. I was given some pills and an ointment for muscle relief, no manual work and no lifting of weight for three works till the ribs have healed.

Alhamdullilah its now two weeks passed the visit to the doc and I am almost as good as new. But am still being careful not to use my right hand as much as I can.

I must say that being sick and helpless truly made me humble. Usually in health, we don't realise the wealth God has gifted us. I now realise and am so thankful for my recovery. Alhamdullilah.

Apart from my amazing farm trip and having a taste of North India, I am back to my usual routine.

Assignments
Plans
Reports
Submissions
Exams

My 5th term exams start second week of feb and after that my final 6th term of thesis.
Most of my classmates and batchmates are placed. Many have already started working and all are surprised at my reluctance to start off with my career.

Well I am in no hurry. I want to enjoy this period as a student. Give my very last best to my studies and then move ahead to the next phase. I would also just loved to do a complete in depth original research for my thesis. InshaAllah I have something in mind and when its finalised I will post it.

Of all things I keep realising about life, I realise one thing everytime I end a course. 'Time passes fast!' I feel it was just yesterday when I started this blog and starting writing about my 'personal' experience as an MBA student.

But Hey! Call me the 'Forever Student', for I am still a student.

Of what?

Well, meet me, graduate student of Mass Communication and Journalism, Madurai Kamraj University, 1st year.

I will be starting a new blog 'Life as a Mass Comm/Journo' pretty soon and this one will be dedicated to my articles as a student and what I feel I am learning about Journalism. It might not be as interesting as my MBA site coz its a distance programme where I have to do all the work but I am getting an organised set of books to learn a subject in a planned manner. That was what I wanted the most.

That said, I shall conclude now and get back to my research. Until next time.. Ciao!