Magic Moments

  Sungkyunkwan Scandal There are many historical dramas in South Korean cable television, set in Goryeon, Silla, and Josheon era. They bridge the gap between fact and fiction, generally intermingling the two to create a beautiful tale. They are called Sageuks- the Historical KDramas. These are popular as they showcase the life of the past; deal with storylines of royal families, their heritage, the conspiracies, and the fight for the throne; depict beautiful scenes from that era like horse riding, palanquins, the common folks, the countryside, the large weekly market, and love in those times; and use more honorifics in the language, elaborate mannerisms and etiquettes.   1.        The Moon That Embraces the Sun - Adapted from the novel of the same name it deals with shamanism and the Shaman life in Josheon era. It’s the story of a secret poignant and forbidden love story between the king and a female shaman. The king has some kind ...

I hope I’ll meet you again, years later, when this hate has watered down to love. Words would find a way to express the emotions that are now caught up in the throat. Meaning won’t be lost in the process of communication. Till then, I’ll be searching for you in every other person. Till then, I’d miss you and seek you in the faces that pass me by down the road, near the bus stop, in the metro station. Till then, I’ll remember you in dandelions and baby’s breath. I’ll search for you in the sea foam and the sea shells.  Linking the post with  UBC     

Source:  Goblin: The Lonely Great God The Korean culture is a mixture of several belief systems like Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, etc. As per the shaman view, there are supernatural beings who reside with us on earth.  Spirits, ghosts, and goblins inhabit in every inanimate object, thus connecting us with their world without our knowledge. Aliens, angels, vampires and mermaids are not part of Korean folklore. They are more of a western concept that is also being incorporated in Korean dramas these days. Dokkaebi or Korean goblins are legendary creatures from their mythologies. They possess extraordinary powers and abilities but are very much different from ghosts. They are formed not by death but spiritual possession of objects stained with either their own or any other human’s blood. They are depicted in tales as awe-inspiring yet fearsome when provoked. They appear through rain and beautiful tall blue flames. The goblins mostly do not interfere with human live...

The Korean Meal When it comes to food, Korean dramas are foodilicious. They believe is showcasing the oriental dishes of their land, their eating and drinking culture. The characters are mostly foodie, that’s a given in most of the Korean dramas. And the Korean meals have so many dishes covering the entire table with no two plates having the same dish - starting from soup, salads, other appetizers, to main dishes and side dishes to accompany them. Having a meal is a social activity. List us skim through the most popular dishes from this land, as delivered to us through the screen. It’s not at all an exhaustive list, and it covers mostly vegetarian dishes as meat is a bit dangerous area(umm... you get it, right?). Kimchi 1.        Kimchi – This is the first and most important dish that makes Korea. It’s a part and parcel of almost every traditional meal in a Korean household. They cannot imagine a house without its own stock of Kimchi to go with...

Busan City Center Busan Fireworks Festival is a big deal. It’s conducted annually near Gwangalli Beach, Busan, South Korea- one of the most popular beaches among youth in the country. Brightly colored lights in the sky, reflect in the crystal clear waters too, making it quite an enchanting sight. People throng from around the country and the world to witness the festival, it’s one of the much awaited one’s around the year. There’s music along with the sky show, there’s open restaurants near the beach, and roof top coffee shops where people can spend romantic moments with their loved ones while watching the beautiful fireworks lighting up the night sky. Dalmaji-gil Cherry Blossoms This fantasy-like city is a backdrop in many of the Korean drama series and movies, providing the best suited romantic setting for a scene. Though the most recent one that comes to my mind is ‘Train to Busan’, the movie on zombie apocalypse, but the city is far from being dark or siniste...

I felt satisfied with certain posts this month and didn’t like certain poor ones. The ones that managed to make me happy were those written from the heart, soulfully, without any pretensions. I learned I needed to write intimately and as personally as possible to feel satisfied at the end of the day. I needed to bare my heart out for it to work. To make that vulnerability breathe! I also learned to be more mindful of things around me and write about them. It really made me feel full of life.  I learned I needed to choose the topics from my own niche while slowing trying to grow that niche. I learned reading blog posts can be an idea gathering process too. I can read as many blogs and comment on most of them while building my own voice. It takes time to have that own genuine opinion, perspective, and feel of things, and it’s perfectly fine. It’s the first time I took part in such a daily blogging marathon, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was my first time in #TheUlti...

It is said that if you write it down, you get the motivation to do it. It has always proved to be right in my life. When I read the old journals I find many wishlists jotted down- half of it already fulfilled. The subconscious mind registers the attempts and leads you to find the right opportunities to realize your dreams. So here's my recent wishlist. I do have many: I want to watch an opera. Visit the theatre. Learn a new language perfectly to be able to read books in that language. I want to travel a lot. I also want to be able to travel alone. Cherry blossoms in Japan- the first thing that comes to my mind right now. I want to read a lot. Read all the books in my wishlist. Currently, to name a few- Shame by Salman Rushdie, The Ghost Bride , Empress Orchid, Sita's Sister, A thousand splendid suns, Love in the time of Cholera, etc. etc. I want to take many mini courses. On Art Journaling, clay modeling, pottery, creative writing, novel writing...

“Odd, how life makes twists and turns. I never would have guessed that I’d end up where I am now, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I wouldn’t trade this path I’m on for the whole solar system, for that matter. If I’ve learned anything these last several months, it’s that sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to take.”  ―  Angela N. Blount ,  Once Upon an Ever After Detours are a longer or roundabout way to reach the destination. Taking a detour can be a choice or a compulsion. Road construction or blockage of the paths leading to the place leave no choice but to take a detour. You don’t know what this path would bring. You don’t know if you’ll enjoy it or not. You just know the end point that is fixed. Are you apprehensive of detours? Do you like them? I have two experiences of beautiful detours. We were traveling to the Rohtang Pass which is about 50 km from Manali, at about 4 am in the morning. The roads were damp but...

'The Fastest Way to Success isn't what you Think'  reassured me that it's okay not to be 'faster, better and stronger' always. It's okay to be behind- as long as you are better than you were yesterday. It is fine to fail and accept it. You need to keep trying, and that is a creative and successful life. I got to know that Finland has a day for failure celebrated on 13th of October. Such an awesome endeavor to celebrate our mistakes, shortcomings, drawbacks, vulnerabilities, mistakes, awkward fails and all those embarrassing losses. I wish we would celebrate this day too, just to remind ourselves to feel the importance of these things in our lives. Journaling has been a subject very close to my heart. I have been keeping a diary jotting down my thoughts for about fifteen years. Now my blog records half of my thoughts, experiences, and emotions. So reading this article made me smile wide. My Therapy. My best listener. My best companion. I also discovere...

#thinkingOfAPlot #fiction Mourning Castle was a hub of learning for girls of all region, religion, culture, caste and class. Ladies from around the world came here to learn art, culture, music, instrument and other vocational courses. Even royalties from different nations graced this humble institution with their presence. Some learned the Japanese tea ceremony and calligraphy; some opted for Indian garba dance and leaf painting- patta chitra; and some others learned the various languages and dance forms from around the world. Every new art once discovered was immediately included in the institution’s agenda. Other than this it was a coveted place for its fun and frolic, secret beauty enhancing rituals and for the most beautiful lady hosts. Mourning Castle got its name from the waterfall nearby, the Mourning Fall. After the demise of the good old king, the castle was converted to an institution. An invitation was sent to the world’s eligible ladies to learn and add to the...

Zeenat Mahal takes care of human emotions and it's intricacies in a relationship so well. We are a complex jumble of paradox. We can love and manage to hate at the same time. We can harbour a protective instinct and a deep sence of resentment for the same person. We do lash out at someone we love the most. Human beings are unsolved puzzles, every mind and heart works in a different frequency. Zoella had her eyes for Fardeen, her best friend's brother, since she was ten. Fardeen hadn't even cared to spare a glance her way, in return for her decades of adoration. He had lived his life being the haughty, arrogantly dashing young man, with his arms around the waist of his gorgeous girlfriend. But with a tragic turn of events his dreamlike lifestyle came crashing down. A life-threatening accident permanently scarred half of his face. All that was left was melted skin and burned eyebrows. He was depressed and hopeless. His girlfriend broke off the engagement. He had to ma...

It's strange how a cup of tea can forge bonds and improve relationships.  I had found it hard to digest that the Odia household needed a girl to learn to make that proper, well shimmered, and optimally flavoured cup of tea. It was considered one of the mandatory talents every girl should possess. But my own love for the steaming hot tea pot grew with time and today I love making it. I love the adrak chai, the pepper powder wala chai, the masala chai, etc. Etc. I love the fragrance of tea, the wellness quotient, the look and the taste. Green tea is good too. Organic tea though is the least palatable. My favourite is the assam tea. It's dark red and has an awesome scent. It overwhelms the senses. I am extremely fascinated by teas and tea leaves varieties these days. I want to try all types of teas and the combinations that are popular in the market like rose tea, Chrysanthemum tea, raspberry and etc etc. I fancy buying so many varieties every day from the Amazon website...

My mornings begin at 6.30 am. It's rarely later than that. I feel as if half of my day has passed if I wake up late, so I try to get up early. Moreover it is the quietest time. I try to do a bit of meditation or Pranayam, and then write or study with a cup of tea or Horlicks. I am a firm believer in early to bed and early to rise. So my day ends at about 10:30 pm. After that I can stay awake only on special occasions like a family or friends get together or a trip.  I read almost every day. I am reading two novels right now- She loves me, He loves me not by Zeenat Mahal and It's all in the planets by Preeti Shenoy.  I love watching short and sweet tele series, mini series, and short award winning films. I like watching different ads too in YouTube, as I rarely watch TV to be able to view those. I like watching trailers of movies of different languages- this is something I usually do.  I love watching Korean series, and would promote those with all my heart. I t...

Dear S, It's been long since I sat down to write a letter to you. I love writing long never ending string of words that could fill tens of pages. Hope this one too will be as myself and the mirror of my thoughts as I intend them to be. Hope you will read with as much enthusiasm and love as you always have. Hope this thing will never change about us. I have downloaded a writing app from Google play store in my MotoG where I am typing this now. I am in office and am bored. Just me in my solitude. No, I don't have much work to do today, if you wonder. It's tough to get through a phase of free hours suddenly after months of hectic unending work. So I chose to write to you after having exhausted all my options of reading, browsing and studying. I look forward to having coffee with you some day, or tea if you prefer that. Or we could take an evening stroll around your colony as we always did in the past, and talk and talk endlessly for hours. Topics would flow in and ...

The movie overwhelmed me. I realize I have been using the word 'overwhelmed' for about everything that gives me goosebumps and leaves an imprint. I need to work on that. But it does that exactly. Overwhelm me. Fills me with such a storm of emotions, the amalgamation of so many kinds of them, that I cannot contain them within myself. It bursts out of me through tears. Tears that do not state happiness or sadness, just the state of being overwhelmed. I wish I knew the word for it. It burst out again afterward in quiet recollection of the entire experience, in tranquil solitude, through the words I wrote. What touched me most was the visual appeal; the earthly music that slowly reached its own crescendo, and fueled that burst I talked of; the subtle interpretation of love, relationships, and life through poetry; and that factor I still can't seem to point out. It is a surreal portrayal of the city of Benaras as a lady love. It's a pseudo-reality, almost magica...

dramacrazy.com It is a South Korean drama series of 16 episodes based on a novel of the same title published in 2011. The fact that it has four male leads and one female lead makes it comparable to the likes of ‘Boys Over Flowers’ and ‘Heirs’. The drama is about four differently passionate young people, probable heirs to a conglomerate family of business men, who happen to live together in the Sky House but don’t get well with one another. Eun Ha-won, the Cinderella here, gets to stay with them in Sky House following certain rules set by the Chairman, working on missions to get these guys together as one family. The characters are deep, emotional at the core. One is a kind hearted arrogant rebel, another a flamboyant playboy carrying deep wounds, another a gentle top singer-songwriter, and yet another a seemingly stoic yet sentimental bodyguard. The female lead is no damsel in distress, but she lets herself be protected by those who love her. I like the way they are decon...

It has been a year since I got posted in my hometown Bhubaneswar. A year since I left the Mysore campus and the hostel. Miss those days. We were trainees then. Four months of rigorous hard-work, fun and frolic, making of new friendships and discovering a new way of life away from home. It was the first time I had ever been to the hostel. My schooling and college was done in my hometown, so I could live with my family while studying. I haven't tasted much of the freedom that comes with hostel life. When we were posted in Bhubaneswar, it was just a few of us, not all. Some of my best friends, including my roommate had to stay in Mysore for another month. It felt lonely in the new surroundings at first. I had no project for the first week and the lack of work felt horrible. It was boredom and an idle mind that gave me an almost depression. And over the top the new people everywhere. Some friends remained close in this phase, and some didn't. It was a turning point. I used to go...