HBD Poonam!
July 30, 2013
July 29, 2013
July 19, 2013
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
After catching a show at the Royal Drury Lane theatre, we make our way to Chennai tomorrow for spending 3 weeks with the family.
July 16, 2013
Bonjour! Merci! Au Revoir!
After seeing the Monalisa in all her splendour, climbing Le Tour Eiffel and attending mass in the Notre Dame Cathedral, we bid Au Revoir to Paris as we make our way to London via the Chunnel.
Typing this on an "azerty" keyboard.......
Typing this on an "azerty" keyboard.......
The Rowling magic
A book called 'The Cuckoo's Calling' came out some time ago- a crime/detective novel written by Robert Galbraith. Though it had good reviews, it was 'selling slow' as per Barnes & Nobles.
This Sunday morning, it was reported (correctly) that the author is actually Rowling, who used a pseudonym. By Sunday afternoon, the book hit No. 1 on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles. By evening it was sold out on Barnes & Nobles, and was marked with a l0-15 day wait on Amazon. She is set to make this book into a series.
What a powerful author! What loyalty she commands among her readers! Shows that being a talented writer is probably the best gift of all- you succeed once, and the results are for ever. Her current fortune is supposed to be $ 840 Million...just a little short of a billion dollars. All because she wrote 7 teen fiction books.
I am sure this detective series would be good, as she is back in her element- strong plots and racing narratives. The question is whether she can turn them into timeless classics: can she be the heir of Agatha Christie?
Hope that is an inspiration to all Singampallis. After all, we have a few best selling writers in the family and its extensions. To list:
- Books on Intermediate and Degree math by Sharma Tathagaru
- Ditto by Ranga Babai
- Book on IT management by Ramesh Mama
- Andariki Homeopathy by Radha mama and and a few more
- Several books on consumer law that are used as a reference by lawyers by Venkateswara Rao Pedananna
- Attempts at publishing prose and poetry by various gentlemen of the family
The urge to write and the talent seems to be there...so why are we not seeing more output from the family? For the folks in my generation, the handicap is that we are generalists; walking cliches. It is difficult to write something insightful in such conditions (apologies to younger gen Singampallis for the presumption). So it is up to the seniors - you have the experiences and the eloquence...why not put them together?! Or can the younger gen Singampallis take up the gauntlet I threw at them?
This Sunday morning, it was reported (correctly) that the author is actually Rowling, who used a pseudonym. By Sunday afternoon, the book hit No. 1 on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles. By evening it was sold out on Barnes & Nobles, and was marked with a l0-15 day wait on Amazon. She is set to make this book into a series.
What a powerful author! What loyalty she commands among her readers! Shows that being a talented writer is probably the best gift of all- you succeed once, and the results are for ever. Her current fortune is supposed to be $ 840 Million...just a little short of a billion dollars. All because she wrote 7 teen fiction books.
I am sure this detective series would be good, as she is back in her element- strong plots and racing narratives. The question is whether she can turn them into timeless classics: can she be the heir of Agatha Christie?
Hope that is an inspiration to all Singampallis. After all, we have a few best selling writers in the family and its extensions. To list:
- Books on Intermediate and Degree math by Sharma Tathagaru
- Ditto by Ranga Babai
- Book on IT management by Ramesh Mama
- Andariki Homeopathy by Radha mama and and a few more
- Several books on consumer law that are used as a reference by lawyers by Venkateswara Rao Pedananna
- Attempts at publishing prose and poetry by various gentlemen of the family
The urge to write and the talent seems to be there...so why are we not seeing more output from the family? For the folks in my generation, the handicap is that we are generalists; walking cliches. It is difficult to write something insightful in such conditions (apologies to younger gen Singampallis for the presumption). So it is up to the seniors - you have the experiences and the eloquence...why not put them together?! Or can the younger gen Singampallis take up the gauntlet I threw at them?
July 13, 2013
Guten Tag! Wilcommen! Auf Wiedersehen!!!
Spretchen Si Englisch? Bitte! Danke schon!!!
After 3 days of soaking in German, enjoying the world's best chocolate, tobogganing down a mountain at 40 miles/hour and paragliding over the alpine lakes, we bid goodbye to Switzerland and are on our way to Paris.
BTW, I feel a bit like amma and Adi, as I type this on the German Keyboard at the Hotel. The Z and the Y and a few other characters are transposed. So its a qwertz Keyboard not a qwerty one.
After 3 days of soaking in German, enjoying the world's best chocolate, tobogganing down a mountain at 40 miles/hour and paragliding over the alpine lakes, we bid goodbye to Switzerland and are on our way to Paris.
BTW, I feel a bit like amma and Adi, as I type this on the German Keyboard at the Hotel. The Z and the Y and a few other characters are transposed. So its a qwertz Keyboard not a qwerty one.
July 9, 2013
July 5, 2013
Are we in America? Or in India?
Aditya and Justin run into each others houses without "making play dates", playing together until shooed away by the moms.
Justin and Jeet know where the snacks are in my house and take snacks without "asking for permission".
Our neighbors, the Patels', grandson squeals to come over when Arjun and Aditya run around in our backyard, prompting his dad/mom to visit us in pajamas, walking through our "messy" living room.
The old Chinese couple living on the other side pluck lemons from our backyard lemon tree without "asking us".
I call out the Patels and the Chinese neighbors over my backyard fences to hand them over plums from our tree.
As soon as Srinivas starts playing baseball with Aditya in the front yard, kids from 4 different houses around start joining, along with their dads, for an impromptu "baseball game".
And to highlight, Srinivas was making masala in a "rolu" eschewing the grinder, and I send Aditya to the Patels to "borrow" some kottimera(Green Dhania)!
.JPG)
Makes me wonder.....am I in America? Or in India? :-)
Justin and Jeet know where the snacks are in my house and take snacks without "asking for permission".
Our neighbors, the Patels', grandson squeals to come over when Arjun and Aditya run around in our backyard, prompting his dad/mom to visit us in pajamas, walking through our "messy" living room.
The old Chinese couple living on the other side pluck lemons from our backyard lemon tree without "asking us".
I call out the Patels and the Chinese neighbors over my backyard fences to hand them over plums from our tree.
As soon as Srinivas starts playing baseball with Aditya in the front yard, kids from 4 different houses around start joining, along with their dads, for an impromptu "baseball game".
And to highlight, Srinivas was making masala in a "rolu" eschewing the grinder, and I send Aditya to the Patels to "borrow" some kottimera(Green Dhania)!
.JPG)
Makes me wonder.....am I in America? Or in India? :-)
July 4, 2013
After all, he is a Singampalli
A scene at the library
Raghav: Look, Mummy, look! Nice book! Raghav open book
Mummy: Nice, Raghav. Let's go
Raghav: Let's go, Mummy, let's go!
Mummy: Raghav, watch out for the table. Close the book,we will read later
Raghav: No, mummy, no (scurries on, nose in the book)
Mummy(exasperated/running): Raghav! Watch out! Careful!
Raghav: [No response]
Raghav: Look, Mummy, look! Nice book! Raghav open book
Mummy: Nice, Raghav. Let's go
Raghav: Let's go, Mummy, let's go!
Mummy: Raghav, watch out for the table. Close the book,we will read later
Raghav: No, mummy, no (scurries on, nose in the book)
Mummy(exasperated/running): Raghav! Watch out! Careful!
Raghav: [No response]
 |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)