Month: July 2013

Stuff About Harry Potter you probably do not know

Books, Fangirl

Disclaimer: If you have not read Harry Potter series, this list is full of spoilers, shut this right now, you will not understand a thing anyway.  This list will keep on getting updated as I uncover more in those pages. Stay braced as it is going to be looooong!

— Calling +1 (781) 452-4077 will connect you to Hogwarts, now you can track what REALLY happened to that letter when you were 11! — Both Sirius and Fred, pranksters of their generation, died laughing. — After the battle of little Whinging, 13 people gathered at the Burrow to mourn the loss of Alastor Moody. Lupin was the first to rise to look for the body. Later he was killed by Antonin Dolohov, making at least one of Prof. Trelawney’s predictions come true: “When 13 dine together,  the first to rise will be the first to die.” — In Greek Mythology, a seer named Cassandra was given powers by the God Apollo, who later cursed her so that noone would believe her. Prof. Trelawny’s great grandmother’s name is Cassandra. –The first thing Snape asks Harry is “Potter, What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of Wormwood?”  According to Victorian flower language, Asphodel is a type of Lilly meaning ‘My regrets follow you to the grave’ and wormwood means ‘Absence’ and also typically symbolize bitter sorrow. If combined it means “I bitterly regret Lilly’s death” — Mirror of Erised showed people their deepest desires. Erised is desire spelled backwards. Also the inscription ““Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi” when read backward is “I show not your face but your heart’s desire” — Both Lilly and Snape’s last words were “Always” ❤ — When “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” was released in Great Britain, the publisher asked stores not to sell the book until schools were closed for the day to prevent truancy. Which muggle would go to school on a day such as that? — People had trouble pronouncing Hermione’s name, so Rowling had her sound it out for Viktor Krum in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” — J.K. Rowling is the first person to become a billionaire (U.S. dollars) by writing books. And she deserves all this and more, I say! — Rowling’s publisher suggested she use initials rather than her real name, “Joanne Rowling,” in order to appeal to male readers. She chose J.K., borrowing the “K” from her grandmother’s name, Kathleen. However, neither “Kathleen” nor “K” is part of her legal name. Good Books cannot be written by women, eh Mr. Publisher? — The reason Snape hates Neville so much is because he could have been the Chosen One, which means Lily could have survived. — Lily and Severus have the same Patronus animal- a doe. — George would never be able to make a Patronus after Fred’s death. 😥 — Ron’s Patronus is a Jack Russel Terrier, which is known for chasing otters. Hermione’s Patronus happens to be an otter. Severus Snape is the only Death Eater who can produce a Patronus. — Vol de Mort means flight or theft of death in French. — Avada Kedavra derives from the Aramic phrase “Abhadda Kedhabhra” which means “to disappear like this world.” — When Arthur Weasley takes Harry to the Ministry of Magic they must first dial a secret code into a telephone keypad. He enters the number 62442. The letters underneath those numbers on a standard mobile phone spell out the word “magic”. –The Hogwarts school motto is “Draco domiens nunquam titillandus” , which is Latin for “Never tickle a sleeping dragon” — Harry could not see the thestrals until his fifth year because it was only then he really appreciates what deaths mean. He was in his cot, so he never saw his parents die – just flashes of green light. He didn’t see Professor Quirrell die. Only when he witnessed Cedric Diggory’s death, and it had sunk in over the summer, could he see the thestrals. — MEMBERS of the Order of the Phoenix communicate using their patronuses. They are the only wizards who know how to use their spirit guardians in this way and were taught to do so by Dumbledore, who invented this method of communication. The patronus is an efficient messenger because it is effective against the dark arts, not hindered by physical barriers, and each is unique – so there’s never any doubt as to who sent it. Dumbledore’s patronus was a phoenix. — DEAN Thomas always thought he was a muggle after being raised by his mother and his stepfather when his father walked out on the family when Dean was very young.What he doesn’t know is that his wizard father never told his wife what he was because he wanted to protect her. He was killed by Death Eaters when he refused to join them. –THE core of Hermione’s wand is dragon heartstring, so Harry, Ron and Hermione unite the three Ollivander wand cores. — A WAR took place in the wizarding world at the same time as the Muggle Second World War. The evil wizard Grindelwald was finally defeated by Dumbledore in 1945, the same year as Hitler’s downfall. –RON was amazed to hear that Tom Riddle received an award for special services to Hogwarts, saying jokingly: “Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would’ve done everyone a favour.” He DID murder Myrtle, through the Basilisk –WEST Ham United is the only football club mentioned in the books – in honour of one of JKR’s oldest friends, Troy, who supports them. She also lends her name to one of the Irish Quidditch players along with other old mates Moran and Quigley. –Dementors were created based on JKR herself going through depression. The cure? Chocolate. — When Vernon asked about Dementors, Aunt Petunia says: They guard the wizard prison. Azkaban”  Later when Snape’s memories are written he is seen telling lilly: Dementors are for people who do really bad stuff.  They guard the wizard prison. Azkaban. ” And Petunia had listened to this conversation. She knew it was Snape all along! — Colors play an important role in the Harry Potter novels. For example, shades of red represent goodness, such as Gryffindor’s scarlet robes, Harry’s red ink, and the crimson Hogwarts Express train. The Weasleys have red hair and a red roof. Green is largely associated with negative events, such as when Harry sees a flash of green when his parents die and the green-colored curse that made Ron vomit. — Numbers are symbolic in the series, especially 2, 3, 4, and 7. For example, the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione suggest the power of three and the spiritual trinity. Harry fatally wounds the basilisk on its third strike, and Hagrid knocks on the front door of Hogwarts three times. Students attend Hogwarts for seven years and there are seven players on each Quidditch team. Sirius is also imprisoned on the seventh floor of Hogwarts –“Morsmorde” is the command that makes the Dark Mark (the mark of Voldemort) appear and means “take a bite out of death” in French, making it an appropriate call for Death Eaters. — In one of a number of occasions in the HBP book in which Prof. Slughorn gets Ron’s name wrong, he refers to the character as ‘Rupert’ – Chapter 22. Of course Ron Weasley is played by actor Rupert Grint 😀

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weight loss by upamanyu chatterjee: Book Review

Books
Weight Loss (novel)

Weight Loss (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are a few books that set up extreme emotions in your soul. Weight loss is one such book. Right from its first page I could feel some emotions that grew stronger with each passing page, that of disgust and nausea.

Thankfully I did not waste money while buying the book (it was sent by Readers Digest), or it would have been the worst way possible to waste money.

The book, by its name and cover are far too misleading. It seems like a book written by an extremely disturbed kinky teenager who needs desperate help.

It is supposed to be ‘funny’ i guess, but it is so bizarre that I could not even manage a smile.

I do not personally mind reading adult themed books as long as it makes sense but this just looked like author needed an excuse to fill up pages between horrible adult scenes, the details of which were so graphic that it could easily resemble some badly made porn.

I could go till page 50 but that’s when my resistance gave out.

I thought of giving the book away to some library, but then did not want to torture some poor soul who would be deceived by the cover like me.

So, it was given to Scooby who delights in tearing all paper, wood, plastic given to him. He was delighted to receive such a heavy book and played with it for hours.

Which gave me some hours to myself without a giant yellow fur ball demanding to know what I was up to and why I was not playing with him.

That was the best part of this book 🙂

My rating: 0/1000000

A pleasant news and some irritations

Feminism, personal

The brother is now a Chartered Accountant!!!

It is quite a change to see him being normal after months of seeing him in his room sitting, standing, eating with big scary looking books in his hands, with unshaven, red-eyed look.

For months he had food and water in his room.

For months his lights would be on through the nights.

He even slept with lights on so that he does not go in deep sleep making him loose out study time.

For months he had his cell on silent, deleted watsapp and Facebook, so as to not get distracted.

And for this absolutely no-nonsense just-books attitude has made him clear CA in first attempt and that too both groups in one go!

And what’s more he came fourth in the city!

Man! That is something!

Really, the amount of work he had put into it, there was no way any one could have put in even 0.00001% work more without having external memory drives inserted in one’s heads. He had given it the best shot, and he passed! 🙂

Coming from a family of CA (Granddad and Dad both are CAs), he set a new family milestone by giving two groups together both in IPCC and Finals and cleared both in one go! Not even Dad and Granddad were able to do it. To say that the family is happy is an understatement.

The result came yesterday, family is still in celebration mode! 🙂 🙂 🙂

The relatives came home. I supposed it was to greet him, how wrong I was!

They came, did all the congratulatory formalities and got right down to business.

Which means, looking at me and saying: You know when the phone came, and we heard it was some happy news, we thought you would get engaged! Seriously, when are you getting engaged?

Yes, people, brother becoming a CA is EXACTLY equal to me being married. 

How nice! *Note the Sarcasm*
I am sure you forgot that I am an MBA, or is that not THAT important as getting married? Yes, when you had come to ‘congratulate me, you HAD mentioned that you would like to see me get married, but you see, the thing is, Its MY F***ING life and I am not about to give it all up and be an unpaid slave for some random stranger and his parents just because YOU would like me to have a ‘Married’ tag. I would rather wait for someone who sees me as a wife rather than a caretaker, thank you very much!
It took all I had to not reply. >:/
All I did was got up, went to another room saw some TV and played with Scooby 🙂
Still people go around the society calling up others and wondering why I do not bother to meet them when they come to visit my house!

Were Rama and Sita Really An Ideal Couple?

Feminism, movies

English: Movie poster for the film Sita Sings ...

Recently I saw a really good movie on Youtube called: Sita Sings The Blues.

Watch the full movie here:

The movie deals with two stories, one Ramayana from Sita’s point of view and other a story of a modern-day New York couple.

The points that are raised were:

1) How could Ram be banished just because of a promise given to a Jealous Step-mother? Was fulfilling a promise more important for a king than doing what is right?

2) Why did Sita not go with Hanuman when he came to her when she was in Lanka? That would have saved so many lives!

3) Ravan was an otherwise a good fellow, a scholar, a devotee of Lord Shiva did one thing under the influence of others that was considered “bad”, and he is a villain?

4)Ravan never forced Sita Physically to do anything? What if he had raped Sita against her wishes? Would that have made her ‘impure’, would her love and devotion to Ram have decreased because of this?

5) How could Ram, listen to a washer-man who was himself a domestic abuser, and banish Sita? How does this make him an ‘Ideal Man’?

The use of the shadow puppets really made it all interesting.

This movie reminded my of another good Bollywood movie Lajja. Though these movie did not do well in box office, it is truly one of the most thought-provoking movie ever made, in my opinion, of course!

Here is a still from a movie where Sita absolutely refuses to go through the fire to prove her purity.

I loved the part where she says to Ram, even you have lived alone for all this time so even YOU should prove your purity.

The other parts she pointed out like she could have easily stayed in the palace and enjoyed as it was HE who was banished, still she choose to be with him and this is how he repaid her?

The entire speech is truly thought-provoking.

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Not A Victim, Neither a Survivor. My Name is SUZETTE JORDAN.

Feminism, Victim Blaming

In Calcutta’s Park Street,  Suzette was taken hostage by a gang of men in a car, on the pretext of giving her a ride home from a pub.  She was raped at gunpoint, and brutally battered.  She was then dumped on the roadside bloodied. When she went to the police for help they jeered at her.  The male police officers joked about going to the pub themselves to find a ‘girlfriend.’  They asked her to demonstrate what positions she was raped in.   And they also delayed her medical examination as well as the investigation of the case deliberately.  The Chief Minister, a woman, and a lawyer,  shamefully stated the victim was lying and just playing politics.  One of her other ministers began to openly question what profession she belonged to.  Was she a prostitute?  They threatened to begin investigating her family — her father’s past and work record for instance.   The victim was traumatized.   She said she felt victimized all over again.

Suzette Jordan is fighting a long battle, a battle for her identity.

For long we have seen her talking to media with her face covered and her back to the cameras.

For long has she lived with the tag of the “Park Street Rape Victim”

But now, Suzette has had ENOUGH.

ENOUGH with the society that says “stand up for the rape victims” and do not even bother giving them jobs! As somehow their “raped” status would decrease their productivity!

Suzette at a rally with “God Wants Justice, STOP RAPE” placard

ENOUGH with the man who yell for “Justice” for the women, but would shrink from marrying her, as she is now “tainted”

There have been people who tried to put the blame on her.

They said it was her fault as she was out alone drinking in a pub. And to make the matters worse she was a single parent.

“What kind of immoral mother lives her kids at home and enjoys at a pub?” They asked.

A mother who is also a human and has a right to live it they way she wants, I say!

But Suzette is one brave woman.

Not only she has decided to make her identity public (Why should I hide?, I have done nothing wrong!), she was also responding to the comments made by public on the article.

Suzette has helped many others girls, who might be in her situation by staring at the face of  horrors and making a change in how rape victims are viewed in this country.

Suzette, you are one SUPER WOMAN!

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How To Talk When A Prospective Groom Comes To ‘SEE’ You 101

Feminism, marriage
English: Picture side of one of a series of hu...

English: Picture side of one of a series of humorous postcards on the theme of women capturing prospective husbands during leap year (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I had recently posted how prospective grooms are going to come to “SEE” me. If you have not read that post, do read that here.

So, tomorrow this guy I have never met in my life is going to come and I will be expected to put on my best behavior.  Of course I have a say in the matter whether I want to marry him or not, so that takes the pressure off the thing..phew

So, these past few days I am getting the “How To Talk 101” from ‘well wishers’.

I am not saying I agree to these points, I am not saying I will follow these points.

But, its interesting how sexism is so inherent in our culture that it’s almost impossible for people to believe otherwise! I mean, when I tried to defend, I was told “But, that’s how it has always happened, It’s not going to change for you!”

I am advised to “keep an open mind” and not say stuff below, as marriage is based on “adjustment” and once he will “like” me than I can say all this and make him “understand”..(Understand? How can anybody “LIKE” me if he does not know what I like or do not like, or what my thoughts are? Is marriage based only on looks? How would it be a successful marriage if one person “compromises” everything?I just do not get it)

1) Do not say the you have a pet.

Say that your family has a pet. He does not belong to you, but to the family. After all, Scooby is our dog also, we would love to spend time with him! We will be so alone as you will not be in the house and brother will also leave as he is planning to take a job in other city, Scooby will keep us company. (This after years of hearing, he is YOUR responsibility, YOU take care of him, Keep him AWAY from me, to an extent if I have to work whole day till late night, I have to arrange for his boarding somewhere else!)

Tomorrow it has been “arraigned” for Scooby to go with the driver for a ride for a couple of hours. So they (the guy and his dad) do not get to know that we have a “pet” and he is attached to me. 😦

The reason I have been given is its very possible that the guy does not like pets. And to judge him for that would be wrong.

But, what about the fact that I LOVE Scooby? Why should I not be with my dog, just because some unknown stranger does not like pets?

Plus, I LOVE animals, in general. There are stray cats that come in the house and DEMAND milk, which is promptly given, stray dogs are given food etc etc

My love for animals is a VERY integral part of me and if my partner does not share that love, that compassion, than he is not that ideal match for me!

2) Do NOT say that you will be wearing jeans and stuff

Exact words were “Do not be like those close minded girls who in the first meeting make it clear that they will continue to wear western clothes”

I can “mention” that I like wearing western, but not state that “I will be wearing them”.

Why? Because he would think this girl is not ready to “adjust” and “compromise” like a good Indian Bahu (DIL)

But, is not it better to clearly state my opinion at first, than later, which would cause friction?  How many years can one pretend to be someone else?

Is it not better to state everything clearly on the first day itself?

3) Do not mention any  of those “Feminist” ideas of yours

Every female has to “compromise”, Mom did, why can not I?

My answer: Because I do not want to. Because I am not Mom.

I have heard from a lot of women (including mom) that they cried alone for first couple of months of marriage, because of the “changes” and “compromises”.

See, i do not want that.

If a person cant accept me for who I am, I do not think he should get married to me.

The worse thing that bothers me is, If I were a guy,

a) and had a dog, I would not have been asked to part from him just because of the girl I marry, SHE would have been told “your husband likes it, adjust to the dog”

b) I would be able to wear all jeans and shorts I want to in my life, there would be no questions asked about my character.

c) I would not be expected to change my name, become a “I am married” billboard advertisement, not eat food for some days etc  would never feature in my life!

Sigh, the crap we have to put up with in life, just because we are girls!

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How Did We turn into Such A Regressive Society?

Feminism

There has been a lot of debate these days about how  a woman should dress to look ‘respectable’ and ‘moral’. There are two sets of views one stating let the women wear what they want to wear, teach the men how to control their desires. To which the other side promptly answer that ‘that’s how men are!’ or ‘if you offer fresh meat to dog, he will BITE in it” or “She had shown her place in the society” or better still “She was ruining the family’s izzat and crossing the line of maryada‘ etc But, my point is, when did clothes become such an issue anyway? Long ago, before clothes were invented, how did the women manage to protect their izzat and maryada and not get raped? Or where they raped every other day? Even after the advent of clothes, Indians, specifically the Aryans, used to wear a cloth on the waist. This was done by both men and women. You can see the early statues for the reference. How did we manage to change from this(our ACTUAL ‘traditional dress’)   Or even if we see the statues of women that was made around that time, we see: This clearly shows that during this time, a woman would drape a cloth just over her waist. Even if we see old statues and paintings on Goddesses of that era, we see them attired in the similar fashion, meaning that women who wore such attire were respected, why else would they be Goddesses? So, the very basis of the people who say that a woman, who wears ‘revealing’ clothes is bound to get raped get negated as the above women wore even more ‘revealing’ clothes, to an extent that they did not cover half their bodies, never got raped. Then the dressing evolved into something like this: Beautiful traditional women paintings Again, a sari without a blouse was a standard dress for majority of Indian women. This never hurt any sentiments during that time. But, coming to the 21st century, there are women, who after their marriage are forced/brain-washed to wear this: And still, there is a very high chance of getting raped and what’s more the rapist can easily claim he was ‘provoked’ as the woman did not have her Ghunghat properly or other equally stupid reason and get away! Coming to men’s clothing, heck, no one ever question’s men’s clothing to be provocative to anyone, so no debates there! It’s like as time passed, Indian women were taught to be ashamed of their own bodies and that too by making them believe it in the name of false ‘tradition’. I remember when I was in School, there was a movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam where the characters were debating about what all guys do, girls can also do. And in that scene, to end the debate, Salman and his gang of guys remove their shirts and proudly show off their bodies while the women all become shy and run away. And even at that time, I felt something was terribly wrong not with the movie but with the society. At that tender age, the first question that came to my mind was WHY? Why do guys get to get away with that while girls are made to feel ashamed of themselves so much so that they have to keep themselves covered in various layers from head to toe? I remember that when I was 10 years old studying in 5th standard when we had a two-day trip to Lothal. It was damn hot there and the guys conveniently took off their shirts. I was jealous, I could not do that. Because society has told me that my body was to be covered at all times, no matter how hot it was. It was not at all modest if I do it, I would have been termed as an immoral person, but when guys do it is just normal, no big deal. How did this happen? Am I the only person to see a progressive society turning into a highly regressive one? I really have no clue! Do you?

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