Antoine de Saint-Exupery- Paul Webster

Was reading this book some weeks ago before I got distracted by White Tiger. Came back to this book after returning from Africa and learnt that Saint-exupery once did the mail route from france to Africa. Subsequently also learnt that there will be an exhibition of the little prince in Singapore! How timely...can hardly wait for Sunday to come... 

Honestly I am not quite sure why I am so enchanted with the little prince, a simplistic book that's almost "childlike". But maybe this is what draws people in- the pureness of the little prince. 

Will write more on the book after I've finished it. 

Such beauty painted by the hands of God,

And yet despair fills the land of his creation,

The cries of the desperate go unheard,

How long will we remain blind,

How long will we remain deaf?

Only the mouth speaks of the wrath

That has befallen on us. 

We speak against the Holy One in rage,

Spilling untruths and planting insidious thoughts,

Forgetting, forgetting,

That one was sent to love us,

A very long time ago. 

Our souls weep because it remembers,

That there once was pure love,

And it was glorious and it had flourished.

Our eyes will no longer see such glory

Because they are shrouded by darkness,

By our own evil doings. 

E.E. Cummings - carry your heart with me(i carry it in)

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in 

my heart)i am never without it(anywhere 

i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done 

by only me is your doing,my darling) 

                                                      i fear 

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want 

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) 

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant 

and whatever a sun will always sing is you 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows 

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud 

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows 

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) 

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart 

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

The first and the last thing on my mind,

But I do not understand the reason why.

To me, you have been nothing but unkind.

And the answers I have tried to find,

But I know I am just wasting my time.

For you, I have nothing else to give

And all I ask is to be free

Farewell I wish to bade to thee

For you have given me nothing but grief.

Humanity

Sometimes one just can't understand the brutality of humanity. How do we evolve into monsters? And what makes us human in the first place? When I see situations like this, it makes me understand why there is a need for Armageddon and maybe even hope for it to come sooner than later. 

The white tiger- aravind adiga

A very entertaining and humorous read. The author is Indian but partly brought up in Australia. I love how he seemingly pokes fun at the Indian culture in a sharp and sarcastic manner. Balram is the lead of the story, a man from a lower caste who worked as a driver for a rich man's son, Ashok, who had just returned from the states. Ashok was more American than Indian and despised the Indian culture of treating servants poorly and giving bribes to just about any officials. Ashok although kind to Balram, ended up dead, by the hands of Balram no less.

The story began with Balram confessing the whole story to Wen Jiabao, the former premiere of China. He chose Wen partly coz of the parallels he drew between India and China but thought China was in a better position than India. 

Readers are treated to the insidious thoughts harboring in Balram's mind and his cleverness. 

Definitely a book worth reading. 

In flight entertainment

Love, Rosie

Kingsmen

Samba 

Force majeure 

Managed to catch 3.5 movies on the flight back to Singapore. 

Loved Love, Rosie and Kingsmen the best. Kingsmen was uber cool with the whole spy thing and insane gadgets. "Manners maketh men" scene was impressive. 

Love, Rosie although technically a chick flick was bittersweet and charming. Talks about missed opportunities and misunderstandings hence taking the childhood sweethearts a decade to finally get together. I guess the fears of rejection often push people apart. 

Samba is a French movie which talks about illegal immigrants from Africa trying to make a living and gaining residence in France. Samba the male lead met a burnt out executive Alice who was volunteering as a social worker and it sparked an interesting relationship. Pretty interesting movie. 

Force majeure is a God knows what language movie that talks about how a small avalanche which hurt no one physically ended up hurting a family emotionally. It's a pretty slow paced one but I think it might be worth a watch if one has the patience. Unfortunately i did not and gave it up halfway.