Having taken a day to get over the sheer exhaustion of two weeks of travelling, I finally sit down to sort through the memories (not to mention some 2000+ photographs!) of what has been an amazing fortnight. It truly has been the trip of a lifetime and even though it has just ended, it already feels like a fond distant memory, perhaps in anticipation of the stories that will be told for years to come.
I am super psyched to announce that my first attempt at writing a comic shall soon see the light of day! ‘Holy Hell’ is a (hopefully) fantastic little absurdist comic which will come out later this year as a part of the second ‘Ground Zero’ Anthology. Original concept by Akshay Dhar a.k.a Sipder42, Script by Mr. Dhar and yours truly and art by the talented Abhijeet Kini.
What follows is a short little promo to give you a taste of whats to come – hopefully it will catch your interest, or at least hold it momentarily as you sip your coffee or tea or Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Well ‘Gay Paris’ may have not brought new love, but it did bring new inspiration. It’s nice to pen down a poem, having not done so in a while. And while many posts shall follow chronicling the euro-trip I am currently on with my best friend Chirag, here’s a little taste from the city of lovers…
It Comes In All Forms
O’er gilded fields and mountains tall
In the land of ale and drinking halls
Lived maiden beautiful as the fall
This maiden the boy did love
The boy of two lands and yet of none
Who’d sip life’s nectar till the day was done
Who’d sing of battles lost and won
Feared losing maiden all above
Though she smiled when he played the fool
And held him close when the air was cool
And for her he’d break all rules
Her hand he could not hold
She said he held place close to heart
And teared every time they did part
And loved him now, though not at the start
Yet his passion was too bold
But before you think this a story of woe
And let seeds of pity or sorrow sow
And say “oh isn’t it always so”
Let me put your mind at ease
For love comes in this life in all manner of forms
Hearts may be broken but they are also warmed
Fools and lovers every minute are born
True love’s obstacles do not cease
An open heart will always feel pain
And might crack and break again and again
But the ache is felt not in vain
For a closed heart feels no bliss
So if you find love hold on tight
It never is wrong though not always right
If its worth the win its worth the fight
And in the end all that matters is this
That a boy loves a girl
Sleuthing and mystery fans the world over know the man who lives at the very famous 221B Baker Street. Just around the corner from the tube station is the home of the world’s first ever “consulting detective”, created by the legendary Arthur Conan Doyle. But the creation has since far surpassed the creator. I wonder how the great author would feel about his fictional detective becoming far more renowned than even himself. In a way I suppose it is the greatest joy an author could ever feel – to see his brainchild climb such unimaginable heights. But anyway, I digress.
For fans of the illustrious Mr. Holmes, a quick visit to the Sherlock Holmes Museum is a delightful little treat. The house is prepped with knick-knacks and various bits and bobs, including trophies from Holmes’ various adventures. Sitting in the detective’s living room one can just see oneself with his faithful comrade Watson over a cup if tea discussing one’s next great puzzle.
While the quaint house is definitely worth a visit, it isn’t actually the real 221B Baker Street. This is because until 1970 the house, made famous by its brilliant resident, didn’t actually exist. At the time the stories were published Baker Street didn’t actually go up to 221. And when it was extended, the premises belonged to the Abbey National Building Society, who had to employ a person full-time just to respond to all the mail they received for Sherlock Holmes. 221B didn’t come to formally exist until 27 March 1970.
Anyway, that’s my little bit of trivia for you regarding Holmes and his home (ha!), drop down for a visit to discover more!
I’ll leave you with this interesting little thought – one of Holmes’ most famous quotes (which is a derivative of Occam’s Razor) goes as follows: “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
Well, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Spock (played by the impeccable Leonard Nimoy) says, “An ancestor of mine said that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” So, and this seems hardly a stretch to believe, Spock is supposedly the descendant of Sherlock Holmes! (This little tidbit is made even more delicious by the fact that Nimoy himself played Sherlock in two separate productions!)
There is nothing so peaceful and relaxing as escaping to the beautiful serenity of nature of a warm sunny day. So a few days my friend and I, having the day off, went to the Kew Gardens to do just that. Well technically I’m not working right now so they’re all off days ; p
Walking around all afternoon we had the most amazing time exploring the various Greenhouse enclosures and the vast grounds. Though we were hard pressed to cover the entire area, we saw some beautiful canopy from the Tree Top Walkway and enjoyed soothing breezes through the Bamboo gardens. Though there are paths for the quick explorers, if you go “off-road”, as we took to doing, you can find some really beautiful and secluded spots to just stop, sit and enjoy the unbelievably fresh and clean air. I’m not kidding! Even though London is a fairly clean city, especially compared to some cities back in India, the air out at Kew is in a whole other league. I felt healthier just walking around ; p And some true hilarity ensued when we tried to leave and kept getting ourselves hopelessly lost.
I highly recommend you grab a few friends, pack a small picnic and set out to explore it for yourself. I just can’t believe that you’d be disappointed. Who knows, you might even make some new friends there ; ) And you would be horticulturists, be sure to drop by the Garden Shop on the way out.
Go here to plan your day out – Kew Gardens
Woohoo! Sometime in the wee hours of the morning this blog hit its 10,000th hit. I am so psyched to reach this milestone and especially so to do it within the first year (11 months technically!). I’ve been blogging on-and-off for a long time, but I never stuck with it and really created a space where I regularly shared my opinions, my work, my thoughts.
A large thanks is definitely owed to Kim Duller and everyone else at the London Universities International Partnership (LUIP), and of course London & Partners, for selecting me as one of the Student Ambassadors from Queen Mary last year and encouraging me to blog regularly. The enthusiasm from my fellow bloggers (and constant reminders from Kim ; p) really helped me to push myself to open up and share my work and also try a new style of blogging – with new formats and new ideas. And I really think the whole thing became a lot more fun in the process.
Musings of an Eclectic Soul 