Book Review---'Live From London' By Parinda Joshi

Book Title: Live From London.

Author: Parinda Joshi.

Price: Rs 195/-

Publication: Rupa & Co


Truth be told, when i was notified of being selected to review this book, i immediately typed in an enthusiastic reply to blogadda, promising them that the review would be up in a couple of days (since its typically me to devour a piece of good fiction as soon as i get it in hand, in a matter of a few hours at a stretch and i had my hopes and interest high on this one--the reason being, it was a 'rupa & co' publication)

But alas! i find myself struggling through the last few pages, barely because its the fag end of the deadline already.
For those who are into bollywood masala reads, this book manages to capture your interest albeit only for a while.

The 205-pages 'medley of love' (or so it says on the cover page) revolves around 22 year old 'Nishi' who has been living in london with her family and who's life actually starts going topsy turvy after a crazy party which ultimately lands her up in britain's largest talent hunt show, which i found rather a lame excuse to jumpstart the story.
The story sluggishly catches pace with,
--her embarrassment faced on Britain’s Got Talent
--her internship at a record label company
--a ‘steamy’ affair with an NRI American Idol finalist
--a break-up with him (due to a reason who's validity i failed to understand as serious enough for parting ways)
--moving back to India where she gets an opportunity to host a TV show
--and last but not the least, the happily-ever-after ending which did not leave me feeling that great either.
The only reason for relief was that i had finished off with reading the book.

The protagonist seemed to me, bratty in places and comes out too strong in others.
The friends change opinions like snap--which makes you wonder if it is a planned indecisiveness or random spurts of immature behaviour coming from 22 year old's.

With the hope that the characters would raise my interest in the chapters to come, i continued reading.
But unfortunately, it made me eventually lose out on all its characters.
The feeling of empathy towards nishi was gradually dwindling.I was beginning to find the friends to be rather bitchy and temperamental, as well.
The so-called steamy love affair seemed pretty juvenile and the return to india wasn't 'unthinkable' (as was claimed) at all.
In short, too much of predictability ruins the book.

To cut the author some slack, one does feel the subtle doses of humour in the air.
Go to think of it, the storyline has it all---friends, fun, love, complications, a breakup, a struggle and not to forget a happy ending.
The cover page is attractive..and so is the back page synopsis.
What happenes though, is lots of confusion---along the way, following which the sense of emotional detachment with each of the characters, keeps dipping.

Perhaps it was me who had my expectations up too high or maybe when you are 28, life changes you pretty much into a skeptic who finds it a tad bit difficult to relate to easy career breaksthroughs, easier breakups and even more easier happy endings.
However, coming from someone (Parinda Joshi) who belongs to the Entertainment Industry in Los Angeles, is a freelance columnist and a professional Photographer, all bundled up in one, i had expected nothing less than a entertaining page turner.
Rupa and co only raised my expectations further.

But for all its worth, 'live from london' turns out to be pretty much an average read for the starry eyed 20 something's, who might as well enjoy the phase while it lasts.

Rating: 2 out of 5

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Turn offs list #2---'Phone Etiquettes Please!!!'

The previous post in the 'turn offs' series here had raised a little discomfort (for lack of a better word) amongst some of my readers.
While most took it in the right spirit, there were a few who thought me to be pretty fussy and had the gall to pass cynical comments about me being judgmental et al..sigh!

I just have one thing to say---my list..my blog!! *yawn*

So presenting before you, list #2 as promised---PEP!!! (Phone Etiquette Please!)*drum rolls and confetti in the background*


Have you ever felt the strong urge to slam the phone down on some people?
I mean, I'm sure everyone has encountered this irritating species who have absolutely no phone manners at all.
You don't know what I mean? well, read on...

1) Remember the time you almost went deaf post that STD/ISD call you made to that far-far-away (pun intended) relative of yours?
Needless to say, I too know some highly irritating people who actually screech on the phone in their high pitched voices making me want to hold the phone a mile away from my ear to prevent my ear drums from bursting.
Seriously, the least one can do is have some sort of mercy on the person on the other end of the call and try and realise that the 'telephone' is no longer the 'two cans with a string attached' game you played as screaming kids...sigh!

2)
Then there are those who are apparently so busy in life that the only time they can make to call people up is when they are grabbing a bite.
What follows is long pauses interspersed with the crunch of an apple, the crackle of chips and occassional slurps of coke. You might also get to hear the 'gurgle and rinse mouth' procedure once they have finished eating (if you manage to still tolerate the one sided conversation).
The above conversationalists (if you can actually call them that) are usually said to be good listeners.
But sadly, the only reason they seem to be listening is because they have their mouths full every time they are on phone.
Heaven forbid, if they try and actually speak something then.
I have personally ended such conversations with a "Ummm, I think I will speak to you after you are through with your lunch." to which I have received replies like "Naaah, this is the best time we can talk." Needless to say, what followed was a distasteful conversation in which I  continued with 'Ahaan...'s and 'Hmmm...'s while the person at the other end slurped and burped away (Neither of us has a clue as to what we spoke that day).
Blasphemy, I tell ya!

3)
One serious advice I would like to render to everyone around is please and I mean PLEASE do not take your cell phones with you to the loo just because you don't want to break the conversation in between, thinking it is impolite to do so.
NO! it is NOT impolite.What is impolite is you strutting to the restroom with your phone to the ear thus leaving the person at the other end with no choice but to hear a wide range of bathroom activities (worse still, if it's a public restroom) while you go yapping away in oblivion.
In case you have forgotten, nobody in this whole wide world wants to hear you pee and then have the idea confirmed by the loud sound of the flush.
and yes, the person on the phone does not need sensitive ears to hear all that.The normal set we humans are gifted with, will do.
So please, the next time you want to answer natures call, hang up!! No matter how important the conversation is, you can always call back in 5 minutes.

4) OK, I have been at my wits end with this one.
There used to be this friend of mine who would speak to me while on his way back home. Initially I would think he was the busiest man on the planet and cut him some slack. But as time passed by, I  realised I was been given pretty much what is called the 'RJ on the drive home' priority.
Still giving him the benefit of doubt, I kept mum..only to find him yelling at me one day because i couldn't hear his voice clearly due to network coverage and asked him to repeat what he said (this was because of the use of hands-free during the drive).
Now that I think back on it, imagine the cheek!
Enough of digressing, lets come to the point. Some idiots have this irritating knack of making you feel you need to visit the ENT, when they can easily solve the issue by either adjusting the distance of the mike/receiver from their big mouth or adjusting the small setting called volume or plain switching off the music system during a call. *rolling eyes*
If that still doesn't solve the problem (which nine out of ten times they refuse to acknowledge as their fault), they can hang up and call back later because common courtesy says that it is in no way acceptable in even your wildest moronic world that you blame the person on the other side, especially when you have made the call.
Nobody loves to play deaf or make you repeat your pearls of wisdom.
If you can't have enough patience to bear up with a bad network without making the friend you've called feel responsible for it, then you should either work on your patience level, your conversation skills or self entertainment (listen to the radio instead, that way you would still yell at the RJ when the signal breaks..but who cares?! It would be just you losing your mind.)
So all those who call up their friends/family/girlfriend/spouse as a stress buster and then proceed to ruin the day for everyone by venting out their frustration on the surprised and innocent victim, please remember, you are not doing anyone a favor by working long hours and getting ass kicked by your boss or skewing up your workload..and if you think its all about you, then you deserve to be made to crawl in some dingy hole with no network coverage and never get out of there. :-|

5) 'Call waiting' is an option which is to be made use of when you know you are going to revert back within 2-3 mins max and not 2-3 hours.
Having hereby made my point, I will now proceed further.

6) When the conversation comes to the point of more than five or six "so...what else?" and "Aur batao" followed by "Nothing much. You tell me," every single time, please know that it is time to hang up.
No celestial power would help you bring up another topic to rekindle the spice in the conversation.
Its gone...finished...dead...over. Trying to flog a dead horse would make both you and the dead animal look stupid. (you get the point, don't you?)
So end the conversation politely. There is always the next one--you don't need to stress out your brain to think of everything under the sun, moon and sky only to eventually freak out the person at the other end.

7) Telling someone you'd call and then conveniently forgetting all about it is also a major turn off.If you can't/don't want to keep a commitment, don't make one. It's simple!

Also please know that when someone says 'Don't call me. Il'l call you' there is a 80% chance of not getting back in touch.So please don't huff and puff about it, or bad mouth the person---because a promise without a time frame is not a promise at all.

Both the above behaviour's are equally putting off!

8) Last but not the least, please do not talk in groups.
I have been in situations wherein I have been telephonically mobbed by the whole family, with the call on speaker and needless to say, they haven't heard from me in a long time since then. I mean just imagine, all you want is a silent peaceful conversation and the next thing you know is the entire family is asking you questions and passing on messages to some distant relative.
Seriously, you cant be that cheap. Make individual phone calls. Give the caller some time to breathe. It's not a rapid fire round and nobody is going anywhere.
Besides half the time, you don't even know who is cracking a joke on you. Somewhere in the distance you hear a cackle and keep wondering what it was for. Did you say something wrong? Did you make a fool of yourself? Is someone in the extended family commenting on your voice? Did you just sound like a confused idiot?
These group conversations surface up a lot of insecurities, I tellya.
So conversations on speaker are clearly a NO!!!

Hmmm..I guess that should be about all.
So coming to you, what is it that ticks you off most during a phone conversations?
Do feel free to contribute your 'Dial M for murder' stories/experiences (the ones in which you wished you could actually kill someone over the phone for succumbing you to sheer torture).
I would love to read you and a good laugh is always welcome around here---any day, any time, eh?

So until we meet again with turn offs list #3...

Cheers,
and keep calling! ;)

Cryptic thoughts #35

Sometimes all we want at the end of the rainbow is another rainbow to walk on.
The pot of gold would herald the end of the journey, and most of the times, that is exactly what we aren't looking for!

An ode---TO THE MAN!!!

I have been in love with you for over a decade now, not just for your voice but for the fighter spirit you had in you.
Despite having to face countless tragedies in your personal life, you emerged stronger from each one of them and kept moving on.You truly have been an inspiration.

In my lowest moments, I would find solace in your soothing voice and have often lost myself to it for hours together.

There was a phase when I thought staying away from you would be best for me---listening to you sing would make me sad.
There was this reality in your voice which tugged at my heart and refused to let go..an ache strong enough to make me reflect on my own life, throw me into the doldrums of depression.
But there was also this beautiful strength...of expression perhaps, which made me stay addicted and taught me to be a little more numb to the harshness of reality.

I have spent entire nights pondering on your words..reflecting the pain in your voice..relating to every emotion you must have felt and then promised myself that I would move on.
But morning would find me go back on my decision, and I would succumb to the temptation again.

That was the magic your heart warming voice would have on me.

If you cant get someone out of your mind then perhaps they are supposed to be there, they say.
I could never give up on you and the entire CD collection of your soulful ghazals.

And today I know and promise myself that I never will.

Your ghazals are all that I have of you, and they will stay with me for ever.

Rest In Peace, Jagjit Singh!!!

always,
your ardent admirer and die hard fan.

P.S: This post is dedicated to the renowned Ghazal Maestro, Jagjit Singh who was admitted to Lilavati Hospital on 23rd sept for brain haemorrhage, where a life saving surgery was performed on him.
His condition remained critical though, and he passed away today morning (october 10th 2011) at 8 am, leaving behind a deep void in our hearts and to the world of music.
Needless to say, he will forever be remembered and missed by innumerable fans all over the world.

'IJAAZAT'---the permission to play 'confused'...

I had once been told by a friend that Maya's character in the movie 'Ijaazat' somewhat reminded him of me when he first watched the movie.
Not too happy with that comment/compliment, I had made him watch the movie all over again and subsequently eat his words, by finding faults in all the three protagonists...sigh!

Apart from the highly complex character that Maya is, one cannot deny that it is equally fascinating.
The movie leaves you appalled at many instances..and you are confused whether she is someone who is simply crazy or too much of an idealist.
One moment you feel that she is commitment phobic and the other you find her to be a deeply passionate person who lives on love and love alone.
Sometimes you find her free spirited while there are some instances wherein the vulnerability of the character speaks volumes of her pain..her vulnerability to emotions..her inability to explain herself and her constant search of something that perhaps doesn't even exist.
Of course, there are some scenes which leave you seething with rage, like some highly dramatised emotional dialogues which she quips to an already-married and pretty much spineless Mahender.
Mahender---someone who did not have the guts to stand up for his love in front of his grandfather...
the same someone who then metamorphosed into someone who could not reciprocate his wife's love because he was stuck up over his ex (the same girl he did not take a stand for)...
Clearly, the dude was taking everyone for granted---his grandfather, his girlfriend Maya, and now his wife, Sudha.

And that brings me to Sudha, whose decision of marrying an emotionally involved guy does not cease to amaze me.
Respect for elders, financial support and seeking stability are an entirely different thing altogether.
But if she is ready to risk her married life in exchange for all these, hoping that her love for THE husband would cheer him into matrimonial bliss making him forget all about Maya, then I guess the woman is not just being manipulative but also not quite in the right state of mind.
The least she could do was wait for him to have moved on with the ex-factor, before jumping into a serious commitment.

While Maya's interference in the life of a married man is unacceptable, so is Mahender's infidel nature which he cleverly disguises with the garb of guilt (in the first part of the movie) and self-sacrifice (only to his imagination...Hah!) and needless to mention, Sudha's attempt to win the heart of an already emotionally betrothed man, without thinking about the consequences.
Nasruddin shah's acting is impeccable while Rekha has played her character with ease and obvious talent.
However, Anuradha Patel (playing 'Maya') is the one who steals the show with her charismatic and totally suited-for-the-role performance.

Adorned with the amazing music composition by R D Burman, Ijaazat remains one of Gulzar's best creations---an intriguing drama of three complex characters, the flawed lives of whom make it so close to reality.


P.S: Thinking about it, Shashi Kapoor did not quite fit in---no pre-marital affair, no extra-marital relationship, no dead girlfriend, no pestering grandfather, no guilt ridden past, no compromised marriage...nothing?

NO FAIR!

A fragmented reality

A lot of stories were brought to a halt that day...half finished.

That coffee that never happened...
The hands we never held...
That lunch that remained just a plan...
That first meeting of two interdependent souls that got postponed indefinitely...
That long awaited face to face conversation which suddenly changed course....
The hope of breathing the same familiar air that eventually brought about nothing but a solitary claustrophobia...
The resting of my head onto your shoulder which lasted only until the dream ended...
The gazing together at the setting sun that heralded the end of a relationship before it could even see the real light of day...
The half-apologetic-half-bitter promise to meet--very soon...knowing deep in our hearts that it was just another contorted truth...
A lot of stories were brought to a halt that day...half finished.

Even today, I sometimes wonder---could things have gone any different?

'ADRIFT A Junket Junkie In Europe'---Book Review

Title: ADRIFT-A Junket Junkie In Europe

Author: Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu
To know more about the author, you can visit her website---www.cuttingloose.in

Publisher: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd

Price: Rs 150/-

Genra: Non Fiction
When I first heard that Puneetinder Sidhu's ADRIFT was up for grabs, I was curious to give it a try.
Being someone who loves traveling, I was looking forward to reading this book since some time now.
Besides, reviewing a travel book was a sphere I hadn't quite tread upon before and the fact that this one was by one of 'Hindustan Times' former food and travel columnist, only added to my curiosity.

Arm chair travel across the whole of Europe sounded like fun. But there was this risk of getting bored, which I must mention, was instantly nullified on getting the book in my hands.

The first striking feature about the book is its attractive cover page.
The second is its size, though on reaching the end, you can't help wishing for more.
This 100 page summary of an entire continent is written with such zeal and high spirit, that the enthusiasm and passion for travel is almost infectious.
Also the organised nature of the book is reflected at the very start itself by a 'sneak peek' index which carries in it glimpses of what lies ahead (in the pages to come, of course).

The opening chapter has the Chandigarh based author Puneeta Kaur SIdhu, telling us about her impromptu summer vacation to Europe (thanks to the strategically located Punjabi diaspora and good contacts).
Some of the 'Nine cardinal rule's that she decides in flight might feel a little too strict and make the reader wonder if the trip would have ended up being more adventurous, had she gone a little easy on them.
But then again, it's her trip...her rules.
Who are we to complain, eh?

During her stay in Germany, she learns a few words that add to our limited German vocabulary---Prost, Bitte and not to forget Schizer (which made me laugh as I promised myself I would put to good use some day)
She gets invited to an hitherto unheard of 'Goa' party---something which made me want to breeze through all the lines in between until I got to that part (out of sheer curiosity). The description of this party makes one imagine what it must be like to witness such a gala event---Indophiles recreating an 'India' in the German country side.
She also speaks about 'Mitfarhzentrale' a car pooling service encouraged by the state to conserve energy.

While in Swedon and Denmark, she speaks about her visit to Hylinge, a quaint village--a short drive from Helsingborg, where she gets a chance to eat one of the most delectable part of the Swedish dining cuisine---reindeer meat and then, Balting herring.
"Even durian would come out smelling of roses in comparison" she says---a line which made me flinch as I remembered how I had rushed off for fresh air despite being metres away from the tropical fruit at a local supermarket during my trip to Malaysia.
Besides, I have to mention about the ultra baffling moment in the book where I was enlightened that 'Rudolph' the red nosed reindeer of the much known carol singing fame was actually a 'SHE'.
Thanks Puneeta, for clearing my concepts...phew!

The visit to Torekov (a fishing haven) and the stay at 'Adrid' make you feel a strange pull towards this place---which made me reconsider Sweden as a holiday destination.

While Puneetinder juggles between the work of Vincent Van Gogh and the life of Anne Frank, she also gets an opportunity to see a real wind mill and window shop in a red light district.
Her trip to Amsterdam is piled with a lot of alarming and exciting anecdotes which work their way to arouse the interest of the reader and make it more interesting than just any normal travelogue.
So is her stay in Austria.

Visiting fairy tale castles in alpine havens, her Hungarian rhapsody is filled with adventure as she explores her way to Budapest and Lake Balaton.

The chapters on France and Britain brought along with them, a Deja Vu kinda feeling---Hampsted Heath, Notting Hill Carnival, Billy Conelly and not to forget the wine consumption and silly 'high' that kicked in thereafter, at Paris---swept me in nostalgia of a trip not such a long while ago, and made me put down the finished book, lost in memories of my own.

Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu has succeeded in captivating the readers interest until the last page.
The easy flow of language and wit makes it an interesting read.But if you think the 100 pages booklet is something you can read in half an hour, you'd be mistaken.This is one read you would want to read at leisure and soak in the informative yet lively banter, all through the way.

Her travel stories leave you smiling in places, while some parts compel a strong urge to make mental notes in preparation for your next holiday.
Pictures speak a thousand words, they say---the photographs in the book were an additional highlight.
I also liked her style of combining humor, anecdotes and travel---which keeps the attention of the reader from wavering, a trait most travelogues otherwise possess.

As for complaints, I dont have any.
Reading a journey experience is like traveling with the writer and everyone has a unique style of traveling.
Judging or comparing styles is like being that unsatisfied pesky guest who tags along with you every leg of your journey sans personal expenses and still keeps gloating about how much fun he had during a previous one, instead of enjoying the moment.
As for me, I had tagged along an entire Europe trip with Puneetinder Kaur Sidhu, only to have enjoyed her fun-filled-energy-packed experience to the tee.

Having said that, I would suggest you to pick up this book the next time you visit your bookstore and give it a read.
For all travel enthusiasts, I can guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Rating--3 out of 5 (in the category of travel and adventure)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Life---an entirely different 'cinderella' story...

Pumpkins can never, not if the world depended on it, change into carriages...leave alone golden ones.
They are just big, plump vegetables that our moms would bargain with the vegetable vendor for, only to cook into the most disgusting concoctions which we were made to eat despite the ugly faces we made.
They would never serve any other purpose besides increasing our bowel movements and providing for important antioxidants and vitamin A.
But when we were told about the wave of the magic wand and the pumpkin turned coach, we BELIEVED!!!

And the mice?? The mice would NEVER turn into horses either, not even if they cross matched with another species.
It is just against the law of nature, you see. But then again, Biology was a subject we studied only in college.
'Magic' formed our childhood basis..and we BELIEVED!!!

And of course, life also taught us that the rat who turned into a coachman and lizards that were changed into footmen, was a whole lot of bull crap too.
Literally speaking, rats are just rodents which cause nothing but the plague and lizards, well...they are just ugly creatures which creep up our bedroom walls sticking out their dirty tongue at us---the suckers who were told the 'Cinderella' story and more importantly, who BELIEVED!!!
Metaphorically speaking, life taught us that the 'rats' and 'lizards' we met along the way would never change..no amount of magic could/can/will change them into something better---they stay just the same, forever 'rats' and forever 'lizards'.


Also, we learnt that there were no glass slippers being gifted to us---we would have to adjust to Manolo's and Jimmy Choo's (which would burn a hole in our own pocket) and yes, since they come in all sizes, we could not really rely on them for that 'exclusively ours' fairy tale end, either..sigh!

Yes, I agree it's a tad bit disappointing to know that the 'Prince' or perhaps the 'frog' you thought to be one, will never come running in an attempt to catch up with you, if you leave the ball like that. (That happens only in Yashraj movies and Dharma productions, nowadays.)

Rather, he might in all probability, get into an apparently (to your imagination only) compromised relationship with a beautiful and not-as-fussy unemotional girl he had met at the ball (before he saw you enter and was mesmerized by the light reflected by your glass slipper) convincing himself that 'time heals everything' and eventually you will see him happily grinning away in thousands of wedding pics posted all over his Facebook wall.

But time would heal that too..and soon enough one day, one extremely ugly picture (clicked and tagged by one of his jealous colleagues, when he apparently wasn't looking) is all that will take you to realise what a balding, pot bellied, spineless reptile he had always been.
So don't make a fuss. Life is like that.

Coming to the pumpkin turned coach, life managed to give us a harsh reality check on that too.
We learnt that we would have to manage all of it ourselves--be it a ball or your workplace, there will be traffic rules we'd have to follow.
There will be signals which will make us stop in the scorching heat and wait patiently till the light turns green.
There will be flat tires and petrol hikes, and needless to mention public transport strikes too, which will make us wish time and again for the pumpkin ride, we'd read about, as kids.

Shopping for designer labels make us feel better but only for a while.
Unlike the famous glass slipper, these wear out, go out of style and finally, we outgrow them.

and eventually we realised that there were no fairy god mothers, at least not one's without a selfish interest of their own---we had to work towards making our dreams come true, and of course leave some to luck and good faith.

Life is not just about ONE evening ball.So its not worth sulking if we cant make it to one such party.

Instead, we need to get out of the cinders, hang out with our friends and have a ball of a time as often as we can.
Its just one life and it does NOT allow us the luxury of being stuck on to one disappointment for too long.
Eat loads of ice creams and get over it, I say.
Keep low on the tantrums.
Break some rules, if you feel like it.
Do what makes you happy.
Sing, dance and please DO NOT depend on that shimmering gown and diamond studded crown to have a good time.

As for the prince, if someone needs to see us all decked up like that, to fall in love with us..then we might as well give it a second thought.
We are going to grow old and fat anyway--age is just a number, baby...a number which can change appearances but not the heart.
So if someone manages to fall for us in just a few hours of silent ballroom dancing---then we have something to worry about, don't we?
Compatibility is not judged on the basis of a few hours nor on good looks or financial status.
So ideally, we ought to go out there in our rags, our dusty slippers...our simple yet clean pair of jeans and a tee thrown on top---sans makeup and jewellery and see who we can relate to in mental wavelength, kind spirit and honest attitude, instead of letting a rich dude (who has the audacity to call for a beauty pagent to select a partner for life) pick us up like a piece of chinaware in an antique showroom.

All said and done, we got to be brave..take no shit from people (be it our seniors at work, relatives, boss, society) leave the 'cinders' that have us bound in shackles and go follow your heart.
Break free from the 'cinder' life and while you are at it, file a law suit and those bloody torturers who overload you with that inhuman amount of work. (to all you behind that computer screen, working your ass away, this one's for you)

Its a different thing that lady luck was always around in those 'once upon a time' days and i guess, a little bit of magic goes a long way to help an uneducated woman. Sadly only in fairy tales.
But life is not a Cinderella story, isn't it?

Now coming to the things I (and perhaps, even you) should learn from the story---
1) Patience and good temper---because she waited all those trying years...and did not burn herself or her evil step mother in the cinders instead.

2) Forgiveness---for she allowed her cruel step sisters to stay on, instead of banishing them from the kingdom or at least asking them to pay a small price for their cruelty (like gifting her the whole new collection of Jimmy Choo or Prada, as her wedding gift).
I mean, c'mon, I still think she let them go away easy.
But forgiveness is a virtue they say..sigh!

3) Last but not the least, hope---which she did not give up on, even after the party was over.
I mean, I dread to think what would have happened had she to throw away the other slipper in a fit of anger or frustration.that imbecile prince (who needed that as evidence to recognise his 'love') wouldn't have believed her anyway.

Yes, I agree that Cinderella was not quite the skeptic that i have turned out to be...blame it on her lack of exposure to the big bad outside world (C'mon, you cant blame the girl--she was locked in the cinders for like ever!) or dearth of common sense (How much can those twittering birds and doe eyed animals in the woods, teach you anyway?)

So yes, she did have a 'happily ever after' fairytale ending.

As for us, somewhere between fiction and reality, lies the truth---the truth we all know, yet refuse to see.

But we are happy for the moment. Yes, we are 'cool' like that! ;)