sensestew

By Saba Siddiqui My last read,  Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak, is a good start for a person who has been lost in the everyday humdrum of a mundane life. It's spoke to my lanky spirit on many levels and gave me a point of reversal and pushed me to oil up if not restart my zinked engine! The beauty of this book is not that it talks about love and spirituality, but that it makes you want to tease out your true calling.  The novel aligns two narratives. The story of a present day Ella, a middle aged woman harping on the void in her life and a twelfth century Darvish called Shams of Tibriz searching for a companion to share his knowledge with, a character in the book called 'Sweet Blasphemy' she was assigned to edit.  Although, most reviews I have read or heard about this book talk of Ella as the weak and insignificant part of the novel, citing that she slows down the pace and brings nothing exciting to the narrative. Almost everyone, on the contrary,...

By Saba Siddiqui Little foggy, little misty and windy and cold Look into my eyes and get me in hold Wet socks, feet soggy, it's hard to find a trail let birds chirp and leaves rustle behind the grail Walk with me on a passage like this... When winds blow wild, meet me for a kiss Stop not the time, let events unfold No longer afraid, with you I am bold!

by  Saba Siddiqui Have been a dil se dilli wali since forever, though I am no longer in the city, but a sense of nostalgia gripped my nerves when the news of shutting down of the book-bazaar by a petition raised by MCD in High Court reached my delicate senses, around 3 weeks ago! For the bibliophiles, books are what dope is to an addict. Being one, I had a mini heart attack when I heard about the clampdown on the famous #bookbazaar that came to life every Sunday on the pavements of Netaji Subhash Marg. The by lanes of #Daryaganj have been witnessing the love for books old, very old and decrepit alike for about 5 decades. The Municipal Committee of Delhi closed the bustling market that has been a hub for vendors who sold a huge variety of books on every topic in almost every language and of course the penny-wise buyers. It’s the second Sunday with a barren bazaar, and my heart still aches for the books that may not see a new reader loving and caressing every page of them ...

by Saba Siddiqui Yet another day and Jammu and #Kashmir remains the hot and sizzling point of discussion across the subcontinent! With a rushed decision like revoking of #article370 and 35a passed through the Presidential order in the region, things are taking an interesting turn. Amidst a noisy opposition, it is a highly autocratic move from the government, but of course #modihaitomumkinhai!! The backstage was being set for the impending decision since last week. The agitated Ghulam Nabi Azad and Omar Abdullah have been vocal about the tension in the region. Most of us might have missed it coz we were busy watching the trailer of the Discovery show #ManvsWild. You see, talking about the flooded territories will require to hide that brilliant smile, neither is the economic slowdown worth talking of, including the reduction in imports, foreign investments and industrial output, and an all time high employment crisis looming large, and about the state of the women- now what’s t...

by Saba Siddiqui So with everything fast changing its color either saffron or green, food too has draped itself in comm unal colors. Apart from turning highly upgraded and technology savvy, food has become political as well, dangerous, in fact, volatile! Remember how baffled Rahul Bose was last week when he grudgingly gulped two bananas at the cost of Rs 442 at JW Marriott and cried foul all over the internet for the injustice? The same hotel chain has been fined Rs 25k by the court! What’s interesting is that the tax experts say that those two infamous bananas who bore the weight of 18% GST, were under the fresh food category which is exempted from any kind of GST! Seems like JW Marriott has got itself into a hot cauldron  More than the issue, I admit, I loved how from Zomato to, Oyo, to Amazon prime, everyone came out to promote their brand with  wittier  quips. With all this in motion,  me sure , PVR food-courts all over the country are scared of Rahul Bo...

by Saba Siddiqui Last night, had I wished a million bucks for myself, chances were I could have got a bag full of currency bills in the morning. But destiny had new plans and I sincerely wished Professor’s role be played by Shah Rukh khan in an Indian adaptation of the Spanish Show Money Heist . Guess what, the very next day the news splashes revealed that SRK has bought the rights of the blockbuster show and the team is already working on the script. This is how God makes your wishes come true… I wonder if I should be ecstatic which I am or should I regret the opportunity of having wished for something more personally gratifying! Anyway, the insider say that SRK is only producing and not acting in the film as of now, I feel I will be heartbroken if the role of the soothingly scheming and manipulating Professor is dished out to any other actor but Shah Rukh Khan. The profile, the character, the many shades, it’s a role tailor made for the king himself. It will be a criminal inj...