Bubbles Excellent!! Amrita. Many (man and woman) will relate too:-8)

I never miss reading your short stories. Keep them coming.

That is Our Secret Thanks for the inputs, this was my first story:-)

The Feathered Twin Hey!!! Very cute:-)))

The Mystic Masseur Looks like there is very little evidence that he is *not* the chief person behind the murder. And let us hope, justice is granted soon (though it rarely happens). He definitely seems to have clout over the BJP folks. Are they frightened that the mantle of law will fall over them too? All the other `swamijis` who these days are seen so often on TV, now i have this thought in mind, if Indian Govt tells them all mutts are gonna get raided [if they support him] as they see a larger web[which there is], i wanna see if they will still support him.

And the seer [being a seer] should not have even asked for bail. Hum sahee hein to darr kis baat ka.

What is Freedom After All? Freedom is about doing one`s wishes without being rundown by others, of course, keeping legality in mind! When I think of freedom, it somehow rings a bell personally than professionallly. Freedom can be watching one`s fav serial [perhaps;-)) overriding other`s wishes], it can be shopping for what one likes to wear, going out for dinner, watching a movie, etc. More than `doing` these things, it is that which makes you `choose` these things at your own will.

Well let me try some character analysis of freedom here (on the points that came randomly to me as i was typing):
Come to think of it, i have married a person of my choice - so i was free to decide that, well he gets to watch his fav serials more than i do!!! But then, it is not because there is a clash between our preferences. As for dinner and movies, he is a stronger decision factor than me, though we do go out occasionally. Well, he likes eating food that i cook than going out.

Not very good, right!! But then, it does not hurt me because both of us are `home` people than moving around people.

A Passion for Reading Zainab, I liked your article.

I think, one way to set this right is to inculcate reading habits in children - children are our generation next. Once imbibed, it will just catch on:-) We give children`s books as presents to our neices and nephews along with toys and dresses!

I agree with you, temporal, i love buying books from the roadside vendors. To me it is a book someone had already invested in - like an inheritance to be treasured. I prefer these old and rare books to the ones` i get in a proper shop. In Bangalore, we have this second-hand, rare and collectible books` shop - Select Bookshop. In fact, the last weekend, I got myself from Select - The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck and Lorna Doones by Blackmore. From a disciplinary front, it is not good to hoard - because i still have so much to catch up on, but believe me some day i am gonna read all of these!

And yes, we should start discussions on books we read and share our thoughts.