Top Ten Christmas Gifts

Christmas is a season to celebrate with your dear ones. Christmas is also about gifts. Gifts are a gesture of your love and warmth...so why not surprise your friends and dear ones with a lovely gift this festive season? If you are wondering what to buy which would make your loved ones smile, here's a list of top ten gifts for Christmas:

• Pashmina shawls (Women)
• Wine (Men & Women)
• Jewelry (Women)
• Watches (Men,Women, Children & Youngsters)
• Colourful and unique coffee mugs (Men, Women, Children & Youngsters)
• Relaxing spa packages (Men & Women)
• Personalized gifts (Men, Women, Children & Youngsters)
• Cool and comfy slip-ons (Men & Women)
• Books (Men, Women, Children & Youngsters)
• Cameras, toys & games (Men,Women & Youngsters)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Top Ten Movies of 2011

Being a complete movie buff, I love to watch good movies. I watched Wolfman recently and liked it. Horrors and thrillers are my favorite genres. In 2011, there are lots of good movies to enjoy. So here's my list of top ten movies of 2011:

• Cowboys And Aliens

          Starring: Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell
          Director: Jon Favreau
          Release Date: 29th July 2011

•  Thor
  Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Rene Russo
  Director: Kenneth Branagh
  Release Date: 29th July 2011 

• The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
  Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Anna Kendrick
  Director: Bill Condon (Dreamgirls)
  Release Date: 18th November 2011

• Contagion
  Starring: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwenyth Paltrow
  Director: Steven Soderbergh
  Release Date: 21st October 2011

• Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
  Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris
  Director: Guy Ritchie
  Release Date: 16th December 2011

• Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
  Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Nighy, John Hurt
  Director: David Yates
  Release Date: 15th July 2011

• Scream 4
  Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Emma Roberts
  Director: Wes Craven
  Release Date: 15th April 2011

• The Cabin In The Woods
  Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Amy Acker
  Director: Drew Goddard
  Release Date: 15th April 2011

• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
  Starring: Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush
  Director: Rob Marshall
  Release Date: 20th May 2011

• The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
  Starring: Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis
  Director: Steven Spielberg
  Release Date: 23rd December 2011 

Phenomenal Woman

Here's a lovely poem "Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou dedicated to me and my womanhood!

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Here's wishing all a fabulous Christmas, year end and a promising and rollicking new year ahead!

Happy Holidays!!!

 

Back to Blogging, Creativity and Year End...

Again a long gap and it's somewhat unintended! Blogging and anything creative needs time and I was not getting any. Work kills your creativity...well literally! It leaves no time to feed your creative instincts and drains energy. It's frustrating sometimes for a creative soul like me...I feel I'm going on like a robot, doing nothing which makes me feel that I have done something worthwhile. The imagination within me burns incessantly. I ponder and set my imagination free. I want to end the year with a resolution- I want to do something which satisfies my creativity; read a lot, write a lot and voice my opinions, and most importantly, keep on blogging :)
          

So, I'm eager to end the year on a jubilant note and welcome the new year with a bang! Here I raise a toast to my creativity!

Top Ten Romantic Movies to Enjoy on a Rainy Day

Movies fascinate me! I'm a voracious reader and avid movie enthusiast, and the magic of silver screen enchants me like nothing else! Romantic movies or where love is the main theme captivates me in a big way. I've watched innumerable romantic movies as well as movies depicting various aspects of love. Not that I liked all of them, but most of them have won my heart.

So wondering which movies to catch up with on a rainy day? Well, choices may vary individually...but there are some titles which I guess are universal favorites. Check out the list of my personal favorite top ten which I would love to watch during the beautiful monsoons. Prerequisites: A comfy sofa, some soft pillows, good food and of course your sweetheart in tow:)

1)  Notting Hill: I have watched this several times and each time I watch, I fall in love with the characters again and again! The aura is beautiful, romance is mushy, music is wonderful and everything just looks in place. Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts is fabulous!

2) Pretty Woman: Awesome, Classy and Beautiful! Julia Roberts as Vivian still tops my chart of her favorite movies.

3) Cold Mountain: Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger puts up stellar performances in this 2003 war drama. Love is beautiful as well as sombre in this film.

4) Titanic: Oh so beautiful! It has now become an epic and cult romantic film. I find it hard to control my tears when I watch this love saga. I guess Jack and Rose would stand out as my all time favorite romantic characters. Titanic is still one of the highest grossing films in history!

5) Autumn in New York: Lovely, serene and melancholy at the same time! This is one of my favorite Winona Ryder films.

6) My Best Friend's Wedding: Hilarious and lovely at the same time. Julia Roberts at her vivacious best!

7) The Notebook: A simple and beautiful story and truly touching!

8) City of Angels: Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan as Seth and Maggie are wonderful in this romantic drama. You fall in love with the characters over and over again!

9) Unfaithful: I love this one...well-made, lots of twists and turns and stark.

10) Shakespeare in Love: With an impressive assembly of good actors, this period piece is romantic, intriguing and swashbuckling!

There's a whole lot of beautiful movies which I have watched or want to watch...movies that fascinate me, make me cry or ponder...but more about them in the posts to come. Enjoy!

Surround Yourself With Music!

I am a complete music and movie aficionado! More so, I cannot imagine my everyday existence without music. Music is present in every form in my life. It soothes my soul, cleanses all clutter in my mind, refreshes me, fills me with new energy, makes me romantic and rejuvenates me in every way!


I feel, music is present in minute little details and surroundings in our lives. You just have to search for it! Music is the language of God! It's His way of saying that He exists! Music can be so beautiful, so very enchanting! Music can be felt in the early morning twitter and songs of various unknown birds, droplets of rain, cascading and gushing water, the hustle and bustle of daily life, cacophony of horns during traffic jams, prattling of exuberant children, busy chirping of birds after sunset and what not! The presence of music in myriad forms in our lives is undeniable. I guess the world would have been a very different and unpleasant place to live without music.

Personally, I unwind with music, whenever I feel low, cannot concentrate, have any tension or simply when I need to recharge myself. I feel an instant emotional surge; my mind gets a complete makeover and I feel renewed with extra energy. Music helps us to smile. Such is the power of music! Music engulfs everything, removes negative energy, makes you think positive. Music is used to relieve stress and as healing therapy for many ailments.

Include music in every way you can and see the difference!

Loneliness...Revisited...

I need to be loved
I need to be happy
Cared and comforted
Longing for love
Yearning to be needed
Waiting for loneliness to disappear
Filling my life with ecstasy!

Loneliness is a feeling of emptiness and solitude, sometimes self-imposed, sometimes influenced by several external factors. Let's begin with a beautiful poem on loneliness by Katherine Mansfield...but can loneliness be beautiful? Isn't it paradoxical? Well...here it goes:

Now it is Loneliness who comes at night
Instead of Sleep, to sit beside my bed.
Like a tired child I lie and wait her tread,
I watch her softly blowing out the light.
Motionless sitting, neither left or right
She turns, and weary, weary droops her head.
She, too, is old; she, too, has fought the fight.
So, with the laurel she is garlanded.

Through the sad dark the slowly ebbing tide
Breaks on a barren shore, unsatisfied.
A strange wind flows... then silence. I am fain
To turn to Loneliness, to take her hand,
Cling to her, waiting, till the barren land
Fills with the dreadful monotone of rain

Now, loneliness has perhaps become synonymous with our lives! There's a saying, " it's always lonely at the top...", but I guess it persists everywhere, all the time. The modern day life and lifestyle is aggravating it more. Then there are stress and tension at home and workplace, anxiety and various other factors contributing to feeling unwanted, neglected and empty inside. Many noted actors, musicians, writers and people from various professions today are victims of profound despair and depression. Several studies and researches today show that the feeling of loneliness and despair is spreading like a disease and it is quite alarming for our society! Chronic depression has now become a common syndrome among teenagers and many adults.

How can we deal with loneliness? It's easier said than done. I do not want to go into all those typical theoretical solutions and loads of commonly practiced methods. Sometimes, we feel dejected for no apparent reason. We need to be happy, need to feel loved, wanted and cared all the time. Loneliness should be dealt with love and compassion. Only that would heal loneliness in a slow and steady way.