The way I see it

Blue gates.
A wrought iron swing.
Yellow railings along a ramp.
Cobblestone building.
Assorted newspapers arranged neatly in the guardhouse.
Blue doors.
Worn out leave books.
A sea of posters and notifications merging together on the notice board.
Long queue of coloured buckets under geysers.
Clanging plates and spoons in the mess.
Multicoloured, circular chairs and left over decorations in the common room.
Shouting during cricket matches, reality shows, meetings, mealtimes, attendance…
Just shouting.
Running to be on time for mealtimes, attendance, baths, classes…everything.
Would-be doctorates rubbing shoulders with fresh college graduates.
The insane and the intellectuals,
The control freaks and the lazy bums,
The ones from the North, South, East and West,
And everywhere else.
The ones who scream and the ones who are quiet.
The best roomies,
And the irritating ones too.
All co-existing…sometimes peacefully, sometimes not.
Clothes along the railings and balconies.
Birthday wishes at midnight.
Messy rooms,
Neat rooms,
Spic-n-span rooms.
Laughing uncontrollably for hours.
Sudden power cuts.
Running across floors to share an inconsequential incident.
Borrowing scissors, ribbons, scotch tape, pots & pans, mugs, plates, spoons, buckets, books, clothes, shoes, jewellery, mattresses, blankets…
EVERYTHING…except perhaps toothbrushes and underwear.

THIS is our world…the way I see it.

THE KITE RUNNER

i used to be a hardcore fiction reader, i abhorred non fiction with a passion, and i was convinced that i would NEVER read non fiction, for as long as I lived. Ironically, I hardly ever read fiction anymore- save the random Danielle Steele novel which i find hanging around. In fact, i hardly really read anymore, except for newspapers, and books like 'Im ok- you're ok', 'the iitians' and 'Bitter chocolate'. Don't get me wrong- i enjoy that today, i have learnt a lot from these books and others of their ilk. i have moved beyond the sidney sheldons and the john grishams. So i sort of surprised myself when i, on the spur of the moment, decided to read 'the kite runner'- a book i had heard a LOT about, and which i had often told myself that i want to read. All i knew about the book before i began reading, was the little bit that i read in the backcover, and a friend's reaction that it was amazing.

little did i know that it would be a book that seems like it would live in me for a lifetime. A book which touched every chord, every emotion in my heart. a book which pulled at every heartstring and gave me the 'choked throat' feeling countless times.

the kite runner is a brilliant commentary on friendship, loyalty, changing times, war, afghanistan, freedom, father-son bond, master-servant relationship, and above all, finding peace. a simple story, told with even greater simplicity, it is a book which is dramatic, but never melodramatic. its a book of life altering moments, about regret and ultimately, redemption. it is delightfully cute in parts, scary in others...and yes, tragic in others as well.anything more i say about the book, will perhaps reduce it to the 'scenes' and the 'dialogues'. i dont want to do that. i think its a book to be read, and not to be told or heard about.

personally,i am so glad that this was the book which i chose to end my hiatus with. thank you mr. khaled hosseini...for you, a thousand times over.