Love in the time of Cholera

There are some books that creates a lasting impression. I have just finished reading one such book.

The story is based on the lives of 3 main characters, Fermina Daza, Florentino Ariza and Juvenal Urbino. It is set on the backdrop of a time when cholera was something close to an endemic at the city where they lived. The best part about the book was how the characters evolved and how the reader can not say that any one person is right or wrong. The author manages to capture the time when love stories were built on scented letters and exchange of flowers. The other characters who were beautifully crafted were Fermina's spinster aunt, her father Lorenzo Daza and her cousin who supports Florentino in his passionate crazy love for Fermina.

Florentino's thoughts and actions sometimes seem so surreal, yet not to the point of ridicule. It seems implausible that Florentino is determined to wait for Fermina till the very end with the hope of marrying her after her husband Urbino dies. However, the part that gives plausibility to the book is the weakness in Florentino's character, as a womaniser. He is not portrayed as a jilted lover or someone who waits selflessly for his love.

His life revolves around Fermina so much that he realises the signs of aging by seeing it in her and when he comes to the sudden realization that Fermina could die before her husband, his grief is contagious. The reader would easily forget that the very desire of Florentino to be wanting someone like Urbino dead, 'can' be wrong in the first place.

The character of Florentino evolves in such a manner that it evokes mixed feelings of sympathy, indignation and sometimes even disgust in the reader. He is associated with someone melancholy and his dark plain clothing which makes him look aged works in his favour when he goes on endless liaisons with women. The author has done a great job in evoking such varied emotions for that single character.

Juvenal Urbino, a renowned surgeon, comes across as a pious man who loves his wife Fermina for her character and their marriage is based on practicality. He accepts her lack of belief in God, they compromise and accept each other and they manage to survive the stormy days of their married life. He is a man who is the opposite of Florentino in so many ways, he's a rational person who wants to live by the rules of society & religion, believes in moral and ethical values.

Fermina Daza, the female character around whom the story revolves, is someone who is strong willed, practical and tries her level best to be a perfect individual. Her moments of fear, guilt and rage at those close to her has been beautifully captured by the author. Her character matures quickly through the tough times in her life and Florentino is left behind as a consequence. The way she sees Florentino, as the shadow of a man she has never known, might seem cruel, but it is not unwarranted.

There are some pretty ingenious parts in the book where they reveal Lorenzo's shady business deals and how he made a fortune by fraudulent means. The idea of getting the left pair of a consignment of shoes at one port, the right pair at another port and selling the pairs together at a 200% profit was one of those means. The hindi movie, Badmaash Company, had in fact been 'inspired' by this book.

The book is an excellent read and it is not one of those reel love stories. Many aspects such as the weakness of human character, our imminent mortality and the selfish nature of love were handled with sensitivity.

The Subway Face

Travelling by the subway each day, I see so many people, some of them commonly become the "subway aquaintances". All of them are so different, yet similar in one aspect - They all have the "Subway Face". This is supposed to be an impassive expression that you put on when you are in the subway, to show that you are indifferent, you have stuff to think on your own and you are not interested in their conversation. Nothing to blame, especially when you are packed like sardines at a 9:03 am subway train. You do not want to laugh at this really funny joke the person sitting opposite you is telling, since you do not want to be the eavesdropper.

It's not easy to put on the subway face unless you have something to support you with that, like a book or your daily metro newspaper, or your apple gadget. Unfortunately, you can not stare out of the window into the grey walls of the tunnel, no fun in that. I find it extremely hard to sleep, with the operator announcing the name of each subway station through the microphone. So that's about it.

Ofcourse, there are still guys who manage to hit on their attractive counterparts when you are sitting in a morning subway, looking groggy eyed and trying to maintain your subway face. Some of the pick up lines I have heard so far range from extremely lame ones to the downright outrageous. There were some nice exceptions where the concerned person seemed to like it too :)

Then there are these absolute depressing experiences, the ones that result in the best FML of the day and might result in a bad day ;)

As days pass by, you become well experienced in maintaining your subway face whatever be the situation.

Spring's round the corner

Spring's just a spring away. Temperatures are rising, it's 1-2 degrees nowadays ;)
I have learnt not to get deceived by the sunlight outside, it could still be sunny with a -10 degrees! The trees are still barren, but there's no snow around.

Oh Dear Mother Nature,
your naughty tricks do not deceive me anymore. I know perfect spring would start only in April. There are people who stack away their winter tires and you decide to have a snow storm the day after that! There's a beauty about snow though, which I would miss. The white ground which is so heavenly, skiing trips... i won't miss the black ice and the wind chills though.

Looking forward to summer which reads as hiking, swimming, a weekend at some cottage :) ... ah, blissful days ahead. The days get longer and the nights shorter,

Life is a Tree

Disclaimer: I am not referring to the tree of life.

Life's like a tree, this makes sense when you look at a tree that has shed its leaves and all that remains are it's barren branches. When we are born, we do not have a choice regarding the time and nature of our birth. We also can not choose between parents, the life we would lead, the religion we would follow etc. That symbolizes the trunk of the tree, thick and strong, no choices, just accept... your childhood.

Slowly, the trunk gives way to branches, which leads to more branches and that goes on, till finally the branches give way to twigs and there is an end, The branches represent the choices we have, the decisions we make and we follow one branch. Ultimately, whichever path we follow, there is death in the end. However, some branches have seeds which end up having fruits. These are those tiny moments of accomplishments in life. As life progresses, the decisions we make increase. Every day we make choices, some are too subtle to even care.

Finally, there is the unseen, the roots of the tree, the foundation. I like to think of it as the 9 months we spend in our mother's womb. When the foundation is strong, the tree is magnificent and healthy.

Lastly, the picture is the tree outside my home, which brought about this philosophical note...