This was the first book by Murakami which I read. There are certain characteristics of his writing that I would like to bring up. This will help us appreciate and understand his work better. Firstly, Murakami is a great observer. He talks about daily affairs in such light and detail that you will wonder whether you are living life in the right way. His stories don’t need any fancy setting or place. All he uses is an old rusty car or a simple bedroom with a perfectly common ceiling. Secondly, you can find him using vivid dreams and imagery. His dreams are very real and you will find him using different creatures like cat, fish and snakes to add some tinge to the story. Thirdly, there is a sense of enigma in his writing he makes you ask questions and then takes you on an incomplete journey to find the answers. I personally love this as he gives us enough context about the riddle we are trying to solve but no more. We are all free to come to our own conclusions as we see fit. ...

We are all opinionated and most of the time these opinions are not our own. They are thrusted into our consciousness by the people around us, the media and the general ideology of the society. I believe opinions are neutral just like smartphones which are neither bad nor good on their own. There are other sources of opinion like from books, family and friends. What I’m trying to get at it is that there are varied sources of opinions and it differs for each individual. ...

We all know so many people around and we think and treat each of them differently. We have different roles to play. I think the thread and the life are very much related. I find them a lot more similar than distinct. Everyone is connected to every other person via a thread so fragile yet so powerful. Consider a man seeing a woman suffering from a severe chronic disease. They don’t know if they will even see the next day. Both the person try to live happily and a very simple and drama free life. What is happening here is that the thread is always fragile and in this relation the parties realize this. They realize how delicate and uncertain life is. Just like a bubble in the water, which burst into nothingness without any warnings. ...

When things are good, express gratitude. When things are bad, practice patience. When things are average, show staisfaction. Situtations can be either good, bad or average. I know this might look like I am judging how things are. I also know great people talk about equanimity in all situations. I’m not there yet, though I want to be. I tend to get sad at times just like every other human being. I know it is a part of the life. Just like the darkness gives meaning to the light, the sorrow gives meaning to the happiness. I think, the most important things to learn in life is to learn handling rejections. ...

I’m not very romantic by profession, which is engineering, but if this post gets you somewhere, believe me, it’s not me. Have you felt the tingling of heart in the presence of a certain someone? The tingling that sends blood rushing throughout your body. When your veins are screaming the constant melody of your heart. If you know this feeling, you will know what I’m saying. When being close to that person makes your mouth go dry, no it is not your subconscious intentions(preparations) for the upcoming kiss. It is the heat that he feels from your subtle presence. You must have seen her speak so much, but when the season is of love, you will hardly hear her utter words. ...

I have been trying to define life for a very long time. All this started when I felt pain for the first time, I don’t remember the reason for my pain, but I was suffering. I was trying to see through it and had some realizations. When I am ill I can see that I’m in pain and my body is not working as it should, but it doesn’t affect my mind. I can still choose to smile. At moments others can’t even tell if I am unwell. The only way they could know is to see my running nose, find me sneezing or touch my face and see that I’m burning. There have been other times when I’ve been in emotional pain. These feelings are yet more subtle. It feels like everything is fine around but the mind is not at rest. It is unsettled about something. On closer inspection, I saw that whenever my mind is disturbed I have a series of thoughts, uncontrolled, which leads me to all the suffering. But that was about suffering and not feeling good, but what of life? How do you define life? ...

Some days are better than some other days It is rightly said that some days are better than others. Today was one of such days. I haven’t achieved a lot though but yes it is a lot better than the unproductive streak that I had since last few weeks. Yesterday I gave some thought to uncertainty in life and how it affects my decision making, maybe that helped me get some clarity. ...

I wonder if you too are afraid of uncertainties? It is very easy to dream but the hard work it takes to make it a reality is not insignificant. The fear that things may not turn out as I think they should, stops me from putting in the hard work. Is this an excuse? I get thoughts that wait for the right idea where success is guaranteed. This idea is very lucrative and saves me from doing any real work right now. Isn’t this situation similar to the saying: ...

October is ending today and winter is at the door. I cannot say Winter is coming as now it’s more like a trademark. Its been a while since I’ve been home. Hyderabad is good to me but there is no place which can be like home. The sense of security and peace just by seeing your father and mother cannot be expressed. I feel like I am once again a child like those good old days. Those days where we used to get hurt a little, think a little less and smile a bit more. If I had to stay somewhere that would be my in my moms lap and under my fathers eyes. I’ve named the title as The Beginning but I don’t know what’s to be written. So I just thought there’s no better way to start then express my gratitude to all, who touched my life and gave a difference essence to it. Last week I travelled to Kerala, which is titled as God’s own country. It was a journey that spanned over 7 days and it was really nice to be there. ...

im hello md