Interview with Extraordinary Normal Folks

I got featured in an ongoing #interview series!
Read about it here!

Also because this is a good way to get to know me as me, the person behind the space :)

U... is for University

I went to a terribly crappy high school, every one hated me. I was only there for four - five years and it sucked. What was awful too was that I didn't really want t learn anything much - maybe it was teenage angst, maybe it was a crappy place, what ever! But I have always enjoyed University.
I have been lucky to have attended two very beautiful Unis in places with great natural beauty and while I may not have enjoyed every single module ever, I have worked hard for those. Now that I'm learning through correspondence, it is a strange new experience. I find it very hard to maintain self-discipline and make myself work towards a new goal every day, but I'm working on it. My exams are in June so I really need to up my game now soon. Fingers crossed! But I do like Uni, just as I liked middle school!
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This is the twenty-first post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism, Shakespeare, Tone

M... is for Metaphysical Poets

One of my biggest takeaways from this course is the knowledge of Metaphysical poets and their poetry. According to Wikipedia, "The metaphysical poets is a term coined by the poet and critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of English lyric poets of the 17th century, whose work was characterized by the inventive use of conceits, and by speculation about topics such as love or religion. These poets were not formally affiliated; most of them did not even know each other or read each others work."
How amazing it is to imagine that there have been times when one's work would not have been inspired by another. I, for my part, cannot quite fathom how one creates a genre, how one starts to write without a precedent. John Donne, George Herbert, Henry Vaughan, Andrew Marvell, and Richard Crashaw were the centrepieces of this kind of poetry. Making love could be the bite of a flea, the soul could be a drop of dew and such other metaphors seem blasphemous even today, let alone in the 17th century. Back then, these parallels would be unheard of! I'll leave you with a few lines of Donne's 'Elegy XVIII: Love’s Progress':

Her swelling lips; to which when we are come,
We anchor there, and think ourselves at home,
For they seem all: there sirens’ songs, and there
Wise Delphic oracles do fill the ear;
There in a creek where chosen pearls do swell,
The remora, her cleaving tongue doth dwell.
These, and the glorious promontory, her chin
O’erpast; and the strait Hellespont between
The Sestos and Abydos of her breasts,
(Not of two lovers, but two loves the nests)
Succeeds a boundless sea, but that thine eye
Some island moles may scattered there descry;
And sailing towards her India, in that way
Shall at her fair Atlantic navel stay;
Though thence the current be thy pilot made,
Yet ere thou be where thou wouldst be embayed,
Thou shalt upon another forest set,
Where some do shipwreck, and no further get.
When thou art there, consider what this chase
Misspent by thy beginning at the face.

Thoughts ;) ?

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This is the thirteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language

L... is for Language

One of the modules I'm required to take is called Aspects of Language. It deals with what language is, why it came into being, and what is it used for. Though we all may know the answers to these questions, it is very interesting to analyze them properly. For instance, I had to study about the similarities and differences between animal and human language and I want to share it with you here, because it is interesting to know.
The most traditional way of understanding human language is by comparing and contrasting it with animal language, if at all it may be termed so.

Sound signals – both humans and animals use sound signals to convey emotions. But humans have developed a way to transfer language onto other mediums like written and seen.
Arbitrariness – when animals communicate an emotion, they generally assume a pose or attitude to go with it. Attackers spit and growl, the prey makes helpless noises. When humans communicate, there is usually no correlation between the emotion and the word being used to describe it. When one proclaims joy, one doesn’t need to jump around! The symbols used are thus arbitrary. This is also the reason why there are multiple words for the same thing, ie, synonyms.
Learning – while birds that aren’t taught will sing, babies that aren’t taught language will babble unintelligently. If a fawn is threatened by a predator, it will instantly cry out the sound for help, but a threatened child will not be able to should ‘Help!’ However, a child that has been taught the symbolism will. Thus, while both humans and animals CAN learn, humans can only learn when taught. Animals seem to be born with knowledge of their language.
Displacement – Humans can describe things which are not around them, by means of language, this is displacement. We can talk of danger as an experience, but animals will only cry danger when there is danger in their vicinity. Thus the ability to converse through the boundaries of time and space is an important distinguishing characteristic.
Creativity and breadth – Human language is vast! While animals are endowed with the most basic vocabulary to survive, humans have limitless options with language. It is this that sets them apart in the animal kingdom, the ability to use language as luxury.
Duality – Animals use sounds in isolation or simple combinations. Humans have a more complicated way. Sounds and words are on one level but how they are struck together to form meaningful sentences is another level. This depends on grammar and structure of different languages.
Structure – Because of the framework of grammar, words can be rearranged to form sentences with the same meaning. A chunk of words can be rearranged differently, and this is unique to human languages.

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This is the twelfth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats

J... is for Journalling

One of the best ways to study a theoretical subject is by journalling. The art of taking down personal notes date-wise and cross-referencing them by topic is very valuable. Doing a Masters is not only about studying large volumes of text, it is also about knowing how to study. I usually write things out a lot. I find it easier to remember things when they are written down. I also find it easy to memorise passages, names of critics etc, when I have written them down once or twice.
I tend to number pages of my notes and make tables of contents. I don't use highlighters or sticky-notes though. When we were growing up, they didn't really exist and I never learnt how to use them to optimise my work. And I find them distracting. So I stick to good old pens of different colours, pencils, the likes.
Do you miss studying in the old fashioned way?

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This is the tenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation

I... is for Interpretation

Interpreting something that one reads is a representation of what one is. How a text is perceived is to a large extent the reader's personality. For instance, a lot of my avid reader female friends are massive fans of Darcy, Heathcliff, and Rhett. What is it about these men that attracts young women, I wonder. I am personally not attracted to any of them. So what is it that draws one? What is the individual's interpretation of a plot? Of dialogues? What do writers want to convey when they write a particular statement in a particular way?
How does one ever know? Which critics are right? It is so strange that the study of literature involves the reading of those people who have read texts widely and have offered their own thorough opinion. I find it strange because every person is entitled to his/her own opinion. Why should I have to conform or quote? Why can't I be a critic!? What's your take on the interpretation of novels, poems, and plays?

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This is the ninth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour

F... is for Faust

About three years ago, I went to the Delhi World Book Fair with no TBR list. I walked around with no aim, picking up books that caught my fancy, ones that I'd heard were good, ones that looked like they'd be good etc. Good times... and I was earning at the time, so I splurged! One of the books that I bought and later read was Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I knew that it had something to do with Satan, and I really liked the name of the author.
I wasn't disappointed. Faust is the tale of a very learned young scholar, who sells his soul to the Devil and makes a pact with his advocate for years and years of power. In the degree that I'm currently studying towards, I'm required to read The Tragic History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, same plot. Both texts I have thoroughly enjoyed. There is something truly wonderful and sinister about making a pact with the Devil himself, and I really think that each one of us should be put through that test. No, I'm not religious, but I do like the symbolism of it. And I thoroughly believe that all the so-called enlightened will fail the test.
Anyway, you must read one or both of these works about Faust, they are filled with intrigue and excitement. I have loved the characters and dark dark plot. As one would expect, the ending is tragic. Goethe's Faust is also filled with beautiful and lyrical poetry and is an excellent mix of prose and poetry, great for those who aren't comfortable with a body of work that is complete poetry, like Milton's Paradise Lost.

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This is the sixth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh

E... is for Edinburgh

What a disaster! I was away yesterday and this post was scheduled. :( Anyway, here it is now.
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Many of you here don't know me personally. Actually, profession-wise, I'm an Engineer. I have a Masters in Electronics engineering, and while I'm not a complete geek, I like to think that I have a decent analytical brain. I also love Literature and pick up new languages fast, maybe something to do with a good left brain. I got my Masters degree from The University of Edinburgh and it was that time I spent in Scotland that my passion for Literature really picked up. It was also during that time that I decided I was going to study Literature properly, and give my passion a voice.

Edinburgh is a very literary city. There are immense resources for writers, some brilliant book/writing clubs, and endless inspiration. Of course, it helps that nature is predominant in Scotland and very motivating to artists, musicians, and poets. It also helps that Edinburgh itself can also be a very dark and brooding city, with its bloodied past, scary haunting history, and intriguing city-upon-city structure.
Organisations like the Scottish Book Trust and the Scottish Poetry Library promote reading, writing, and generally, the culture of staying associated with good book and good authors. Edinburgh has been a massive inspiration to my literary side, and for that I will always be grateful, and I wrote about that here.

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This is the fifth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama

D... is for Drama

Reading drama is very different from reading novels, you don't need me to tell you that. When I was much younger, I hated drama with a passion. I could never understand why dialogues have to be so difficult to understand (that's what I thought at the time). In fact, I'm not good with a lot of dialogues at length, I get muddled, that's a reason why I never read too many of Agatha Christie's novels. They tend to have long conversations and I get confused about who's saying what!
This was until I had to read 'Julius Caesar' in school, when I was 13 followed by 'Tempest' when I was 15. We had Oxford University Press annotated Shakespeare editions. And we had a very meticulous teach, who wasn't life changing or brilliant, but disciplined. The combination of the two meant that we were taught to read Shakespeare and understand him using the annotations on the side. We were required to enact them too, and I was Cassius. I have enjoyed drama ever since! It is always different and they is so much fun in imagining oneself in a character's shoes. This time around, for MA, I need to read a variety of playwrights, and they're all exciting, moving, and brilliant in their own right. Have you read any of these? What have you thought of it (them)?

The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Hamlet
Alchemist by Ben Jonson
The Playboy of the Western World
Pygmalion
Murder in the Cathedral
Waiting for Godot
Look Back in Anger

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This is the fourth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis

C... is for Critical Analysis

I have read for as long as I can remember. We are a family of bookworms on my Mum's side, Mum, Gran, Greatgran, all are avid readers. Also, because I'm an only child, Mum set me with books whenever she had work to do and I was being a pest. However, at the time, until I was much older, I never analysed texts critically, I didn't know what that meant. Last year, however, I took a MOOC on Coursera called 'English Composition I: Achieving Expertise'. It was conducted by Duke University and I learnt quite a bit from it. Although it was aimed at writing, it also taught us how to read critically. This proved to be a boon when I had to submit a 20,000 word dissertation for my Masters in Edinburgh.
Reading critically is the first step to being a good writer. It isn't enough to read and understand. It is important to look at undertones, if any, and link various parts of the text to a set of themes that are usually revealed right at the onset. Character analyses are far easier, because writers tend to pan them out in a way to create a succinct image in the readers' minds. But theme-wise breakdown of a play or novel is quite challenging.
Added to that, is the task of sifting through piles of what crappy critics think the author meant to say. For example, I was reading a criticism of Wuthering Heights where the critic claimed that Mr Lockwood's progression from his landlord's living room, to kitchen, to guest bedroom reflects the opening of various layers of the plot! What rubbish, I say! Isn't that how guests enter people's homes every day!? What has that got anything to do with layers or whatever...
Anyway, critical thinking comes with experience and practice. I'm trying to cultivate it little-by-little.

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This is the third post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature

B... is for British Literature

Right at the onset, I would like to say that I'm quite overwhelmed by the lovely comments I got on my post yesterday. It is a beautiful feeling to read them. I'm having a busy day today (my cousin is coming and I'll see him after two years!) but I'll read more blogs tomorrow.
So, like I said, my first year modules for school are all about British literature. And while I've never been one to think of a person's nationality while I read his/her works, I was quite surprised. I have read many of the poets, playwrights, and novelists on my course without thinking that they were British, but they were! So many of them! While it is natural that this should all be happening in the country that gave the world the language itself, but it is still wonderful that they can read, write, and enjoy in their mother tongue.
I've always expressed myself best in English. A rigorous secondary school education coupled with an inherent love for the language ensured that English became my first language. So I would never know what it is like to enjoy studying in a language that is fairly alien, but friends tell me that it is a chore. Anyway, point being that I'm glad the British gave us this wealth of Literature and that I finally got around to studying it. Another happy coincidence is that the course creators have included Sylvia Plath, who was married to an Englishman. I do like her works.
In case, you're wondering, for second year, we were given optional modules to choose from Indian, Canadian, Australian, and American Literature. I chose American (Hemingway, Twain, Fitzgerald, Capote sigh) and Australian (because I have NO idea what it contains!).

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This is the second post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism

A... is for Archaism

As the immortal song goes "Let's start at the very beginning / A very good place to start"...
By a series of chance encounters, coincidences, and timing clashes, I'm studying towards a Masters in Literature. Finally, I say! It has been a long time coming, this chance meeting with Literature. But it is here now, and how!
My modules include largely British literature, it is where 'English' began, where it took form, and went through all of its many recognisable phases. I am reading a lot of archaic literature, as a result. Derived from the Ancient Greek: archaîos means 'from the beginning or ancient'. It is the use of a form of speech or writing that is no longer current.
Chaucer, for instance, I'm losing hope with. I don't think I will ever enjoy him. But Donne, I love. "Wuthering Heights' I'm reading for the first time, but 'Great Expectations' is like meeting an old friend who I know page by page. But my newest experience has been the study of the Structure of language itself. Asking the questions of 'What is language?', 'Why do we need it?', 'How to understand and construct criticism?' etc, have been proving to be wonderful exercises.
Archaism and its ideas which seem hardly relevant in today's modern world is an integral part of learning the language. It is imperative to understand where what we read today comes from. However outdated and illogical characters and plots seem, they provide a succinct glimpse of life and times of their inception.
I will leave you with this poem by Donne, considered very outrageous upon its publication, for what it suggests.

The Flea

Mark but this flea, and mark in this,
How little that which thou deniest me is;
It sucked me first, and now sucks thee,
And in this flea our two bloods mingled be;
Thou know’st that this cannot be said
A sin, nor shame, nor loss of maidenhead,
    Yet this enjoys before it woo,
    And pampered swells with one blood made of two,
    And this, alas, is more than we would do.

Oh stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, nay more than married are.
This flea is you and I, and this
Our mariage bed, and marriage temple is;
Though parents grudge, and you, w'are met,
And cloistered in these living walls of jet.
    Though use make you apt to kill me,
    Let not to that, self-murder added be,
    And sacrilege, three sins in killing three.

Cruel and sudden, hast thou since
Purpled thy nail, in blood of innocence?
Wherein could this flea guilty be,
Except in that drop which it sucked from thee?
Yet thou triumph’st, and say'st that thou
Find’st not thy self, nor me the weaker now;
    ’Tis true; then learn how false, fears be:
    Just so much honor, when thou yield’st to me,
    Will waste, as this flea’s death took life from thee.
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This is the first post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.

Late, very late to the party – My #AtoZChallenge Theme Reveal

I do have a very valid excuse for this one. If you know me, you know that I'm very organised. And since I do not 'do' many challenges and lists on the blogging world, I usually do not completely forget about the ones I take up. But last month, I started studying Literature, and the assignment submission deadline was March 31st. Because I'm such a good girl, I submitted them a week in advance! But sadly, that meant that I missed the theme reveal day for the #AtoZChallenge 2014... anyway, here we are now!

Since I've begun studying again, and this time something that I absolutely love; it is only fair that I write about it too! So my theme for this year is 'English Literature Year 1 - Tassels & Troubles'.
I hope you will pick it up from last year's fun. I have had such a great time with this Challenge in the past two years (2013 Scotland, 2012 Books) and I'm sure this year too will be very rewarding! Here's to a brilliant time, folks! Good Luck!

Y... is for Young, James

Well, I didn't have anything that began with Y; but I knew I wanted to do a post about Science in Scotland. Aside from the Literature side that we've talked about and Scotland's footprint in philosophy (read: David Hume), this tiny little country  has a massive contribution to science, especially in innovations! James Young, from Glasgow, was a Scottish chemist best known for his method of distilling paraffin from coal. His Wikipedia page will tell you more, for anyone interested in Chemistry, he was pretty fab!
But wait, you must must take a look at this page, for this blows my mind every single time I look at it. And I look at it at least once a month, to remind me of the greatness of this country!
I mean, Dunlop, Telford, Watt, Bell, Logie Baird, Napier, Maxwell, Higgs, Black, Fleming... absolute insanity to what we use everyday and don't realise was born in good ol' Caledonia :)

from Admit it: you can’t live without the Scots

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability, Edinburgh, Forth Bridge, Glasgow, Hamish, Isle of Skye, John o' Groats, Kirk, Loch Lomond and Luss, Mogwai, Necropolis, Old Man of Storr, Portobello, Queen of Scots, Robert Burns, Stirling, Tantallon Castle, Urquhart Castle, Venison, Writers' Museum, Saltire.

E... is for Edinburgh!

When I got here, I came via London. I had a nightmarish time at Heathrow, didn't have to get out of the airport, and flew on to here. I had no internet, no phone connection. I had a piece of paper with an address on what was going to be my flat. I took a cab.
It was sunny and windy. It was unreal. It was poetry in motion. It was so gorgeous, like nothing I'd seen before. I started Uni, started living my foreign life, got along brilliantly with my lovely foreign flatmates, and stopped converting currency in my head!
I  love this city to bits, love its people, its cobbled streets, its slow moving traffic, architecture, feel. I love the terrible weather, the occasional gorgeous sunshine. If I had my way, I would definitely never leave, or realistically, not leave for a very very long time. Some photos, all from Facebook...

Skyline

Hogmanay 2012 - 13

Old College, Uni of Edinburgh

McEwan Hall, this is where I'll graduate

From Wikipedia "Edinburgh is the world's first UNESCO City of Literature and the city's Old Town and New Town are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world and regularly polls as one of the best places to live, having won more than 12 UK Best City Awards in 8 years to 2013. Attracting over one million overseas visitors a year, Edinburgh is the second most popular tourist destination in the UK and was voted European Destination of the Year at the World Travel Awards 2012."
I've written some more about my experiences here and here.

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This post is part of the ongoing A-to-Z Challenge. Previously, Aye, Berwick, Cramond, Disability.

A to Z 2013

So much has changed in my life in the last 6 - 7 months. If you know me from my social network or from my BookMark blog, then you know that I came to Edinburgh for my Masters, fell in love with the country, have been studying a lot and travelling a bit. So I've been busy overall.
I did the Challenge thing last year, when I was busy working and mailing my applications to the UK, life was busy then too, but I enjoyed having a constant for a month going on here. So I decided to do it this year as well. Just for the heck of it. And also, to find new people to read :)
This year's theme is, of course, Scotland. It is more beautiful, more quirky, more quaint, and far more fantastic than I expected it to be. So, if you are going to stop by... this is going to be a good April.

Me on Princes Street, with the Christmas time ferris wheel

and the Scott monument and Balmoral Hotel clock tower in the backdrop