Similar to my previous reading update, this book, 'Anything is possible', is also a family story, based in the hometown of Lucy Barton, the protagonist in the author's much acclaimed book 'My name is Lucy Barton'. I had read and loved that book, which being one of the reasons why I picked this one.
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I would say I loved 'My name is Lucy Barton' much more than this one. I mean, this book is everything a voracious reader would want - good lexicon, interesting characters and back stories that keep you moving from one page to the next seamlessly. Even then, there was something missing amidst all the goodness. For one, I thought the book would talk more about Lucy Barton's relationship with her town mates and how they would react to her coming back to the place she had left behind. This expectation of mine was, unfortunately, shoved into a few pages somewhere in the second half. There was barely anything Lucy Barton about this book.
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Another thing about the book that I am confused about still is that, there isn't any particular story line, nor does the characters culminate into anything bigger towards the end. They are almost stand alone characters, who have separate stories of their own, except for one or two, and even they are not given much space together. This book is more about the musings, ruminations and the fleeting thoughts of people who hark back on their lives and reminisce. Their present or future doesn't matter much when compared to the past they have lived and experienced. It is what made them who they are and it would always stay in their minds, unsmudged and unerased.
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Nevertheless, the book was a fairly good read and it did sting me deep and made me reflect on my life at certain chapters where the author has remarkably bared the truths of life. .
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#booksbooksbooks #booksy #booknerd #booklove #bookblog #bookreview #englishliterature #bookstagramer #booksofinstagram #bookishlove #writercommunity #writerscorner #writergirl #bookshelf #booksmart #instabooks #bookstack #bookhaul #bookgeek #bookblog #booktime #bookphotography #bookblogger #bookcover #bookcollection #writersclub #igwritersclub #writinglife
Who wouldn't love taking a stroll with their loved one, stroll that is smattered with deep conversations, naughty antics, enticing anecdotes and worn out fables?
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I don't think a relationship can survive without conversations. It is not merely about survival, but the wholesome feeling that slowly descends on you after having finished a meaningful conversation with a loved one is unquestionably priceless. And it is truly different striking one with a person who is at your hand's reach, from one with a person over the phone or over social media.
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It has been stressed time and again I know, and I am not talking about long distance relationships here where there is hardly any choice, but how many of us normal mortals find time to connect with our loved ones, far away from the maddening throes of the virtual world?
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#musings #kerala #entekeralam #pathsoflife #nature_good #nature_photo #nature_shooters #nature_brilliance #travelphotography #travel_captures #travelpic #lonelyplanet #lonelyplanettraveller #gardenart #garden_styles #gardenfresh #flowerstagram #plantstyling #instagarden #instaday #naturepic #mobileshotz_ #togetherisbetter #conversations #mondaymotivations #mondayisover #isurvived #indianwriters #writersoninstagram
How do you select books to read? Is it based on recommendations from people you trust or based on random reviews? Is it from standing on the aisles of a book shop, scanning through books one after the other, reading their blurbs and admiring their front jacket, finally deciding on a few to carry along back home? What about books from your favourite authors? Are you in the habit of amassing the entire collection of books from that author you adore? Tell me about your reading story, would you? .
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As for me, it's been long since I started reading books based on good reviews on Goodreads, mostly because of time constraints. I selected this book likewise to restart my reading habit and I have to say I had a great time reading it. It is a litfic and a family drama and the mellowness inside me could never say no to one of those combinations. Not that I could rate the efforts that might have gone into writing this book, but for the sake of fellow bibliophiles, I would give this absorbing book 4 stars out of 5. It is not a breezy read and definitely not a chuck-it-after-you've-read-it one. The story stays with you for long, lingering in you like the addictive after-taste of an apple candy. I completed it in a period of few hours, with very short breaks in between and I should say it took me years back when I would lie down on my bed for hours at a sretch , with no qualms whatsoever about the world around me, for I knew I had a great book in my hand and a whole other interesting world to escape into 😃
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#goodreads #bookstagram #bookclub #booksofig #ilovebooks #booksforever #readersofinstagram #books📚 #fiction #familydrama #litfic #instabook #pic #writersofig #readinglist #readingchallenge #passions #myhobbies #weekendvibes #juststarted #mylife #macmillan #booksbooksbooks #bookstagramfeature #bookstagramindia #bookstagrammer #goodbooks #bookish #bookworm #sundaymood
He likes rain, while I have a love-hate relationship with it. He adores places soaked in the abundance of nature, while I am inclined towards the hustle-bustle of city life. We are, infact, the two sides of the same coin. Different, yet inseparable.
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S's house is a nature lover's paradise. His parents are ardent gardeners; people who genuinely love greenery, and not someone who would dig a pit and plant a tree aiming for the inevitable social media applauds that follow. As for me, it has been almost 15 years since I was settled at a particular place. Hostel life left me little time or space to take up outdoor hobbies. It surprises me to realise that it was roughly twenty years later that I planted a tree when I moved to S's house.
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I am still living in a hostel and it saddens me to think that I am not settled yet. Stability comes tagged with few pleasures and for a person who has been on the move for more than a decade, it definitely is something precious to look forward to.
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That said, let me leave you with a piece of our little heaven. It is beautiful, isn't it?
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#gardeners #greenery #flowers_shotz #white #beautifulviews #picturetokeep_nature #instagood #tbthursday #littlejoysoflife #home #naturelove #naturephotography #ifoundawesome #mylife #pictureaday #instaflowerlovers #sunnyday #keeper #perfect #blessed #doclife #serene #flowerstyle #flower_igers #natureatitsbest
You could be sad for a lot of reasons. But would being sad, and by that I mean terribly, depressingly sad for an animal count as rational? I have been bogged down the whole day today for a similar reason. I lamented over it to S so many times that I started feeling weird and it made me wonder if I was over reacting, even though he assured me that I wasn't and that I had every reason to fret. These are the times I miss being away from my family the most. You know, sometimes you need a shoulder to cry on, however strong you are. .
I don't know why I am posting this picture, but it feels good to revisit happy memories, especially today.
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#trekking
#wildlifephotography
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#keralatourism
#kerala
Oh, to stay afloat, drained of your worries!
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I might look suspiciously lifeless in this picture, but I have to say this was the closest I ever reached to being mentally weightless. Having a partner for life who pushes your boundaries, urging you to brave the odds and experience whatever life throws at you with open arms is an absolute blessing and I doubt whether I could ever repay God through my deeds for that.
I have always been a water baby, but never have I ventured into a water body like I have been doing these past few months after marriage, be it scuba diving or starting to learn swimming.
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Conquering water is a joy in itself, and I regret being so late to the party 😐
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Are you a water baby yourself? Do you have any water adventures to share?
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#waterbaby #piscean #rivers #keralatourism #keraladiaries #icecold #sofreshsoclean #purewater #hills #naturelovers #greenearth #motherearth #waterlove #instanature #onelife #blissful #indiantraveller #explorenature #natgeo #lonelyplanetindia #travellife #bravingthewilderness #wildlife #wildlifephotography #forest #hikingadventures #breakfree #responsibletourism #travelgirl
A tad bit overdressed for the woods. In my defense, we weren't supposed to go trekking this particular day. But when we knew there was an option for one, we couldn't resist it. S had his shoes on, but I was in my sandals. No trekking gear, no backpack, we kind of handled the woods like a park. There was a beautiful, rolling, silvery river near the resort we stayed this weekend, the gurgling sound of which could be heard during the walk too, along with the many anonymous cries of the forest. To venture into the forest isn't a cakewalk. The shrillness that interrupts silence can be scary at times as can a fierce wind that blows while you are atop a tall mountain, but these are the experiences that pull you away from your comfort zone and take you one step closer to the rawness of nature.
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I had a no social media pact for the weekend during the getaway when S got to the place I stayed. We visited a resort in the woods, relished the taste of the purest water flowing from the hills, and on Sunday, headed to the mountains, which was a one hour hike uphill. These two days would be the closest and longest I have ever been in nature's lap, enjoying one facet of it after the other. Except for volcanoes and glaciers, Kerala, perhaps, is one place which has it all. More posts on the journey shall follow in the days to come 😄
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#woods #nilambur #ootdfashion #hikingadventures #wild #nature #natgeotravel #lonelyplanetindia #kerala #godsowncountry #ig_kerala #ig_india #indiantraveller #travelfreak #travelporn #couplegoals #coupleswhotravel #closetonature #naturephotography #nature_lovers #treesofinstagram #wildness #girlswhotravel #traveladdict #writerslife #roadtrip #keralatourism #keraladiaries #curvyfashion #trekkingday
College days would probably be the time when people enjoy hanging out with their friends on a daily basis. As age progresses, there is a tendency to withdraw into one's shell, seeking time to tend to one's personal needs and to spend time with one's family. I remember my mother striking conversation for long hours with our neighbour in the evenings after returning from work when I was a child. She did find time for doing that inspite of working on an eight hour job and taking care of us; probably because she had no Netflix to binge watch or a mobile phone to indulge in aimlessly for hours. And you know what, she had it all together and was as cool as a cucumber. .
I don't know for sure if I regret spending a part of my free time watching movies and series on screen, especially now when I am away from my family. I enjoy those things for keeping me stress free, but I do miss those engaging interactions I shared with my friends while I was in school and college. Those were great mood elevators too, when I come to think of it. Moreover, the feeling of togetherness you experience after a good conversation is unmatchable. .
Maybe I should keep aside time every day for reviving my friendships. If I have learnt one thing from my time on social media, it is that interaction is a two way street. You need to make the first move sometimes as a stepping stone to building new relationships. Perhaps the same applies to rekindling long lost relationships too. .
For the time being, here I am taking one selfie after the other, for I find myself a victim to the cons of adulthood. Tell me, do you interact with your friends on a daily basis? How do you find the time and energy for that? .
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#friendshipgoals💕 #friends #mylifestory #adulthoodproblems #beingintouch #sociallife #familylife #facetoface #ff #friyayvibes #weekendishere #thoughtful #introspection #changestartswithyou #goout #bemore #bethechangeyouwanttosee #aliveandkicking #onelife #selfiegirl #alonetime #goodhairday #adultlife #busylife #indiangirl #healthyrelationships
There was a time in my past when I was crazy about dogs, all thanks to the overdose of Famous Five and Secret Seven and the ever loveable Timmy and Scamper. Inspired by the Enid Blyton kids'love for dogs, and reading about how cool carrying a dog along can be, I once took a stray puppy in and fed him. Unfortunately, we had to let him go soon after for some reason (lame it had to be for my parents were not much into pet animals at that time of their life. I am so glad that they adore animals now, dogs not so much yet, but cats yes!) Then one day, not far along, I happened to watch Marley and Me, and took a pledge to never have a pet in my life lest I would lose it one day and be heart broken.
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Several years passed sans the proximity of a pet and eventually 2014 came. Things were going rough in our house, the reason being none other than me. And from nowhere arrived the most adorable kitten who took over our back porch like it belonged to her. We fed her, bathed her, petted her together and somewhere along the line, the cold wall that had been implicitly hanging between us faded into oblivion. I don't know if heroes exist among animals, but I tell you, that pretty little four-legged beauty was a saviour.
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When I got married and moved to S's house, I was invited by this naughty brat in the picture, who couldn't stay calm for a minute. He is a playful dog, who craves constant companionship and I sure can't complain 😍 Coming to think of it, now I have a pet dog at S's house and a bunch of cats at my parents' house. How lucky do you think I'm? .
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Are you an animal lover too? Do you have pet stories of your own? What do you think of us starting an animal farm together?🤗
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#animallover #animalfarm #catsanddogs #petsofinstagram #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #labradorretriever #labrador_lovers #catsagram #catsofig #mine #iloveyousomuch #pawsup #pawsofinstagram #partnerincrime #labradorable #labradoroftheday #happyvibes #tbt #ff #dogtales #mylifestory #gratitude
Can you guess what they are?
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I am not someone who travels a lot, but we do manage to take short trips once in a while. Especially when you travel, there is an unavoidable need for the use of plastic in the form of bottles and containers. I am not much of a supporter of any particular political party, but I believe, 'Swachh Bharat' is one of the most essential initiatives of the hour.
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In Kerala, previously people used to carry their meals wrapped in steamed banana leaves wherever they travelled. The tradition is not entirely lost, but the emergence of plastic tiffin boxes, has brought the habit down drastically. In retrospective, those steamed banana leaves and the delicious flavour of nature they instilled in the food scooped inside were treasures to behold. To add to the beauty, they were degradable and thus ecofriendly. Yes, there are a few disadvantages to carrying food in that manner, like short storage time, but their goodness don't deserve to be neglected outright still yet.
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Plastic is a toxin that has started undermining the peaceful existence of our ecosystem. The least we can do is to properly dispose them or to judiciously utilise them for safe and productive purposes.
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This picture is of a shower cabin built on the beach side of the resort where we stayed in Rameswaram. They have used discarded plastic bottles to decorate the walls of the cabin. How interesting is that? .
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#amusing #travelgram #indiagram #styling #outdoorfun #lifehappensoutdoors #snapped #photographylover #beachside #beachscenes #stylegram #art #travelporn #instatraveller #travelcaptures #notshotoniphone #mobilesnapscollaborative #instawriter #designing #ecofriendly #tourism #touristlife #walkwithindia #plasticfree #wastemanagement #environmentallyfriendly #writersofig #traveldiaries #wanderlust #ifoundawesome
An adolescent me hated accessories. My mother used to coax me into wearing bangles or necklaces (yes, the notorious gold ones) in preparation to attending wedding functions in the family. The adult me is no less pain for my mother for the same reason. She had had a terrible time dressing me up for my marriage, as you see, gold is an undeniable part of Kerala Hindu marriages (the obsession for gold around here is fodder for yet another elaborate post. Let me not dwell into that for the time being). I remember telling my mother that I looked super crazy with all the gold necklaces on.
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I wonder why, but my body feels weighed down by jewellery even to this day. Even when the matter remains so, I should say that I have started developing a particular liking for fine jewellery these days. Well, I guess I am a late bloomer in that regard.
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This picture was taken during a fair I attended recently. No, I did not buy anything that day. Let us take it one piece of jewellery at a time, shall we?
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Do you love accessories? Or are you slowly getting there like me?
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#accessories #jewellery #bangles #blackmetal #dangling #prettythings #sales #banglestack #jingle #likings #passion #kerala #keralam #godsowncountry #traditions #gold #weddings #finejewellery #mallugram
I have been studying medicine for more than 10 years now. MBBS, post graduation, yet another course in my speciality of mastering, the list has reached thus far and to add to the strife, the journey was not made easy by all the entrance examinations that followed back to back, which demanded endless hours of reading. I wouldn't say I have started feeling bored of studying for something as inevitable as exams, but yes, I crave the independence one feels when one is settled in a permanent job, finding time to read and write as much as you want, all the while tending to your family and being in their close, affectionate circle (It is when I eat alone at hostel that I miss them the most 😐. If you are a person who is lucky enough to share your meals with your family, I tell you, don't ever take it for granted).
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Albeit, don’t get me wrong, I love to learn more in my field, we all do, but then I love my share of freedom as well (13 years of studying, and I think it's about time!) These days, I find it a constant struggle to strike a balance between the two, probably because of the seemingly accelerated growth of my age and the constant tug of my heart to share even the tiniest blip of time with my loved ones. .
Hopefully, I will finish my studies by the end of this year, and be reunited with my family on a 'permanent basis' (Maybe I will start working on my second book too thereafter😄) Till then, let me keep sailing with the flow, and try and enjoy the journey while I am at it, for the destination is undoubtedly one worth fighting for.
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#rant #doclife #doctor #surgeon #scrublife #ootdwomen #instadoc #studentagain #resident #femalesurgeon #hospitals #instaday #tweegram #doctorslife #onedayatatime #girlwithglasses #notgeekyatall #selfielife #examseason #writersofig #ladyinscrubs #halo #workmodeon #scribbling_surgeon #i_maliny #contemplation #familymatters #appreciatelife #sundayvibe
I don't remember the last time I played with a doll. I did have one when I was a kid, which was, if I remember correctly, a not-so-famous variant of a barbie doll, but that seems likes ages back. I wasn't much of a doll admirer, anyway, though I remember my father making me a doll out of a chocolate wrapper after one of my birthday celebrations. He had to move to another district as part of his work and I had been sad for several days after he broke the news to me. I kept the doll safe for a year or so, and would look at it whenever I missed my father. After one year, he got transferred back, but still, I remember admiring the doll and keeping it close to my heart for long after. .
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Now after all these years, it was fascinating to see this collection of toys at a makeshift shop in the temple premise. I don't think they would last for more than a couple of days given the average quality, but then how many kids these days would keep their eyes glued solely to one toy for the whole of their childhood?
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#toystory #childhoodunplugged #nostalgia #playful #toys #instatoy #igkids #inevitable #colours #red #blue #green #fun #fragile #ilike #pretty #cuteness #temple #walkwithindia #ig_indiashots #coloursofindia #somany #pleasing #sights #festivalseason #streetstyle #stalls #mixture #local #pondering
