Book Review- Bravely Fought the Queen

BRAVELY FOUGHT THE QUEEN
AUTHOR: Mahesh Dattani
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0143062077
ISBN-13: 9780143062073, 978-0143062073
NO. OF PAGES: 100
THIS EDITION PUBLISHED IN 2006 BY PENGUIN BOOKS INDIA
MRP: Rs.99 

BOOK COVER SAYS: First staged in Mumbai in 1991, Bravely Fought the Queen juggles between two spaces centre stage where an empirical drama removes the mask of hypocrisy from a seemingly normal urban household; and a small, rear backdrop from where emerges the raison d être of each protagonist. 
The family in focus is that of two brothers, Jiten and Nitin, who run an advertising agency and are married to sisters: Dolly and Alka. Their mother, Baa, moves between the two households, attached more to her memories of the past than to any present reality. Marital friction, sibling rivalry, the traditional tension between mother-in-law and daughters-in-law, the darker moments of business and personal dealings, the play takes us through the entire gamut of emotional experience as it winds to a climactic finish. 
With its relentless pace, crisp idiom and unflinching insight into the urban milieu, this is a play that confirms Mahesh Dattani s reputation as India s most influential playwright. 


EXCERPT:  "Lalitha: You stunt their growth. You keep trimming the roots and bind their branches...you've got to make sure,the roots don't have enough space to spread..."


SWARNALI SPEAKS:  Mahesh Dattani challenges many universal questions regarding traditional and stereotyped gender roles in his plays. Through his plays Dattani explores the multiple facets of human relationships and their validity in today's world. Many of the subjects that he chooses cannot be comfortably or directly discussed in an orthodox social milieu as in India. Issues like incest,lechery,female subjugation amongst others are strongly condemned in India in public and Dattani very tactfully raises his voice on these social taboos in an oblique manner through a plethora of symbols.

In this particular play,Dattani takes the title from the famous lines of a Hindi poem by Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, that all Indians are sure to have heard in childhood-

" Khub ladi mardani woh toh Jhansi wali Rani thi " (translated-"Bravely fought the manly queen of Jhansi")

The very first time I saw the book,it was the title which caught my attention. I couldn't help but be reminded of the same poem. Intrigued how a contemporary playwright could have used the same lines to tell a tale in the modern world,I picked it up and I can happily say I don't regret my decision!! I was so addicted after reading this one that i couldn't help myself from reading all his other plays and they are equally good. 

This book is an amazing read especially if you are an Indian and if you are appalled by the hypocrisy in everyday things in the society. A very fast moving plot makes you feel like you are actually watching the play being performed infront of your eyes and you are yourself a character in it. The title or book cover may suggest a feminist idea being propagated but I assure you that is not the only thing or issue being addressed in the book. This is not a light book as it may keep haunting you for several days as it did to me. The light hearted family talks in the first two acts take a sudden turn in the final act and the reader or viewer is left open mouthed as slowly everything is revealed. Dattani does a brilliant job in cleverly hiding the final surprises/shocks. A must read for all.

MY RATING: 5/5

Sketches

Has it ever happened to you that you can do a few things best only at sudden impulses???

It happened to me quite many a times. People,things around me,anime inspire me to turn them immortal,not that I can make them everlasting by my amateur attempts,but the whole idea of giving anything  immortality by preserving them in art tempts me to sketch them. I have noticed that if I don't sketch the thing the very moment I get the impulse,I can't do it ever. Also,I have never been successful in replicating a sketch that I made. It somehow turns out to be very different from the original one,which is very irritating.

Here are a few examples of those impulsive attempts-

This was done during a very boring class and I didn't feel like listening to the professor (who was incidentally teaching us Blake's Tyger!! That is what I call mother of coincidence :P),so I decided to sketch the drawing printed on the back cover of my notebook. Did you notice how the first line of the poem is used to make the face of the tiger?? The creativity of this one was too tempting to resist.

This one was a water color painting, printed on the cover of one of my notebooks and bestie Drisha really loved the painting. So I decided to gift her a sketch of the same on her birthday :) The girl I sketched turned out to be cuter than the original. :P

This is a very common anime which many of us might have seen. I didn't know when I started sketching this on the back page of my notebook during a class.

The original was a sketch I spotted during surfing the net and saved the picture because I liked the way the hair looked. My version does not do justice to the original,its simply beautiful.

Hope you could figure who it is (Ok,its Albert Einstein,if you couldn't. Blame my lame sketch). This sketch appeared in the newspaper a long time back and I found it so cute,I cut it out and kept in a file. Isn't little Einstein really cute??

Those hydra-like creatures are I and Drisha :D This was made during one of our happie happie moments and we looked exactly like those cuties,except we aren't that cute!!

Heterochromia iridis

I had a cat years back which had eyes with two different eye colors, one gray and one blue. The vet told me the condition was called Heterochromia iridis or Heterochromia iridum . Later after googling for this condition, I found out that it is not only restricted to cats and dogs but also found in humans.

Heterochromia is a medical condition when a difference in coloration is present in the eyes, hair or the skin. It is caused by the excess or lack of melanin,which is primary for body coloration. It can be genetic, inherited or due to some disease or injury.

Heterochromia iridis is a special condition when the color of the iris varies in an individual. It can be


1) Complete- when one iris is of a different color from the other.

 I don't have a snap of my cat but it looked some what like this,except that its right eye was gray and not green. Looked really creepy at night.

This picture clearly shows that the two eyes have two very different colors, the left iris blue and the right brown.

 

The Friends with Benefits star, Mila Kunis has complete Heterochromia iridis, one eye brown and the other greenish hazel. Click on the images to have a closer look.

2) Partial or Sectoral - Where two different colors are present in the same iris.

This picture clearly shows how the same iris has two different colors, brown and greenish gray.

These are Kate Bosworth's eyes. She has partial Heterochromia iridis, her left eye is partially brown.

There is a special case in this category called Central heterochromia where the two irises are of the same color but the central region is of a different color from the peripheral zone. This is probably the most common  form of Heterochromia iridis in humans.

Clearly visible,this eye had a brownish coloration in the center whereas the rest of the iris is green.

Have you known anyone who had or has this condition??

All images are taken from the internet and information is partially taken from wikipedia.

Adieu

Hello people!!
Had a very hectic week. We performed Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream at our college Annual day function. If you are wondering what the title refers to,its my last goodbye to my dear college as its my final year at college,I'll be graduating (hopefully) this year. Am gonna miss each and everyday moment spent there. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought I would miss the place so much but the last few days reuniting,forming new bonds made me realize how wonderful the place was.
Here are a few pictures from my days at college and a few snaps taken during the rehearsals and makeup sessions of the play-
(this is going to be a picture heavy post,so please bear it with me )

This pic is very dear to me. In the pic,from L-R are Trisha,Sis(Emely),I and Drisha

This pic was taken at our Teacher's day celebration last year.

This is from one of our "on the trees" moments. That is me n Drisha

Our lovely and very talented senior,Debosmita di

The mischievous Puck,played by Sayantani di 

sister-love: Sanghamitra di and Priyanka di 

Thanks to Saima for this lovely collage,we have all(most) all our classmates in this.

This is the last pic we took,the members of the Natyo Company (translated-the drama troupe)

Theseus and Hippolyta,played by the lovely Sayantani di and Majira di respectively

Could I have looked any worse?? This is my most hideous pic ever :P That is Pyramus(me) with Hippolyta (Manjira di)

A random pic taken during our final year. from L-R- Sahina,I,Indrani,Rimpa,Anindita and Shimanti

Classmates and seniors-Sreejita,Sohini di, Sukanya di and Debopriya

The entire class with our very dear Manjari Ma'am (we looooooooooove you ma'am)

Quince and Snout- Priyanka di and Ananya di

Ok thats enough pictures. The only thing I need to say to Bethune College is am gonna miss every part of you.  Adieu. Vive la Bethune! <3
P.S.-this post is dedicated to my lovely seniors - Ananya di, Priyanka di, the two Sayantani di, Sanghamitra di, Debosmita di, Manjira di , Atreyi di and Sanjukta di...I love you all and I'll miss each and everyone of you.

Tagged myself :P

Hello!!

Hows everyone been doing?? Am back after a short hibernation :) Soumi of Sold-for-shoes-overweight-intellectual-dancer did this great post at her blog and I tagged myself. Here are a few things you don't know about me-

1. The most meaningful sentence?
"Love means never having to say you're sorry" - Love Story

2. A must for your make up?
That should be kohl and lip balm. I am somehow incomplete without them.

3. What's your beauty secret?
No secrets!! My mantra is keeping things as minimal as possible.

4. Favourite drink?
Umm...Water,yes I love drinking water. Next to that will be tender coconut water :D

5. What do you hate?
That list will be endless. I'll try to restrict it to three-

a) Miss calls (That is very typical of Indians of my age, who are experts at irritating you with such calls at the weirdest possible time :\ )

b) Over smart people who scream for attention.

c) Winter. Yes I hate winter.

6. Favorite flavor?
Chocolate :D

7. Favorite book?
There are so so many. But I shall pick my good old "The Naughtiest Girl" by Enid Blyton. It was my first book,so, its special :D

8. Who do you look like?
I look like me. But there are a few friends of mine who are at Delhi and who told me that I look,speak and behave exactly like a particular professor of theirs(isn't that creepy??),but she aint popular either!! :\

9. A product you don't like but everybody loves?
Lakme kajal. Many people around me seem to like it really very much but its not my thing,my eyes turn black and blue minutes after using it.

10. Which cosmetic products would you like to buy now?
I love nail colors. For now I want a dark blue nail paint which I seem to find nowhere :( and gold shatter nail color.


Feel free to tag yourselves (and let me know if you have,in the comments below),would love to read your version.
Love
Swarnali

Book reviews at ALOP

Been very busy the past few days. Juggling blogs can be hectic. Wrote two book reviews at ALOP (a group blog where we review books that we read) in the meanwhile. You can check them here-
1) The Bridge of Deaths by M.C.V.Egan -  http://www.alotofpages.com/2012/02/bridge-of-deaths.html
2) Shock Point by April Henry (its the book I had won at the ALOP New Year giveaway)  - http://www.alotofpages.com/2012/02/shock-point.html

Will catch up soon here with a few DIY projects that I did.
Bye till then
Love
Swarnali