We all love to travel, to new places, new cities in cars, buses, caravans, by air, by the sea but I have travelled everyday since I was ten through books. I have let the ocean kiss my feet on the Coast of Ipanema and nosed around in Calgary and my travel expenses have never been more than the price of a McDonald Cheese Burger. Here's my travelogue where books can be found through the countries they have taken me to. The reviews are not professional and definitely not worth putting into a book review assignment for school! They are just a string of words that tell you what I felt when I travelled to a certain place. If it suits you, you go and book yourself a trip. If not, well...we'll keep it there!

Sunday, September 20, 2015


Selected PoemsSelected Poems by Gulzar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I write this review with a mingled feeling of pride and shame. Pride because India was the blessed country which bore a poet like Gulzar, who is a living tribute to the rich traditions of Urdu poetry of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Ghalib, Zauq, Faiz and the like.

Shame because I was no stranger to Gulzar.I have watched his movies, enjoyed his lyrics in many a Hindi movie Soundtracks and yet, it took me all this time to read his works.

A typical Gulzar anthology has the original verse in Hindi on the left and an English translation on the right. Normally, when I read such translated books, I generally pay more attention to the translation as I rely on them heavily. However, this is the first time, for the life of me that I have no idea how good or bad the translation is! I was completely enchanted and ensnared by the beauty of the original so much that it didn't make sense to read the translation. No matter how beautiful it would have been, it could never have matched in magic, lyrical quality or emotions, the original!


Must read for the poetry buffs! If you cannot read Hindi, I suggest you still buy it for the translations are right there but I cannot vouch for it, seeing I never read it!

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