2013: A Year to Remember!

2013 has been an amazing year! One that has been filled with the highest ups of my life and possibly a few downs.

This is the year that I completed my tertiary education from one of the best universities in the world- an experience that I wouldn't swap out for all the gold in the world. The year that I got my first job and learned that there is a part of me that was waiting to just come out- a geekier side that I never thought existed in me. This is the year where my first scientific paper got accepted into a scientific journal!

This is the year I attended my first ever rock concert and fell in love with the music and the band on the spot! This is the year that we were blessed with the an opportunity to fly to Europe and explore and immerse ourselves in a different culture and a completely varied way of life. (Thanks Dad :))

This is the year that my little brother left the nest to begin a new life in a country that I've yet to step foot in, the year that he got a chance to begin a new phase of his life and learn for himself what was right and what was wrong.

This has been the year where I have discovered a whole new group of friends, and retained quite a lot of the old ones. The year where I understood the value of a BFF friendship that has existed for over 10 years and yet not wavered for even a minute!

This is the year where I have completely appreciated the value of family and loved every minute I got to spend with them- be it in times when we have been annoyed at each other or have just loved each other to bits!

Thank you for everyone who has made this year a wonderful one and here's to a LOT more fun in the coming year! Thank you for a year of firsts and thankfully plenty of repeats. And well, lastly... Happy New Year 2014! May we have an even more amazing year ahead <3

Things I miss about University Life

I was feeling extremely nostalgic and had a lot of time to reflect and came up with a remarkably/surprisingly long list of things I miss about university life! 

1. Late nights: Be it for last minute assignment submissions or last minute studying for an exam, I miss caffeine fueled late nights. It seems stupid , but I miss the fact that even if I was unprepared, a late night could save me from failing or messing things up majorly. 

2. The insane dorm mates: Living with people is always fun! Especially when they're so different from you. During my final years in the university, I made friends with the most unique people and they ranged from being insanely shy to crazy party animals. It was a time when new experiences and inexperience were treated quite the same. 

3. Missing classes: If I had a dollar for every class I missed, I wouldn't be a millionaire although I'd come close to having a few hundred bucks. It was so easy to miss classes by oversleeping or finding something more productive to be with your time and catching up later with the webcasts (if there were any) or troubling your professor with doubts.

4. Funny professors: Though they have a reputation for being harsh, most professors are actually pretty cool. Some of them are worth going to class for and when you attend their classes, you actually enjoy yourself while learning something new. Here's to the amazingly cool professors who helped make sure that Engineering was fun and actually worth the torture your exams put us through 

5. Friends: You make the closest friends in university. You spend four years of your life attending classes with the same bunch of people, end up having lunch with them almost every other day and heck, sometimes you meet your life partners in university. Friends you make at uni tend to stay with you forever. Meeting them after you all get jobs is difficult but when it happens, you're the happiest bunch of people there is. 

6. Holidays: Don't we all wish we had more holidays! At university most of us take these holidays for granted- the recess weeks, the reading weeks, the summer and winter breaks. Most of the people who work hardly get the time to just throw their feet up and relax,especially when you're working on a high end project where they sometimes expect you to come in during the weekend *yikes*

7. 24/7 convenience stores: Shops get it, we need that dose of caffeine in the middle of the night and they're there for us. 24/7 convenience stores were the absolute best part of staying on campus, be it for a late night food craving or get toiletries. 

8. Free stuff: Want to try out a dance form you've been wanting to try for ages- join the multitude of free dance clubs on campus. Want a bunch of freebies, you've got it at the forum where they're advertising something or the other! Free trials, discounted F&B, free stuff comes as a part and parcel of student life and honestly, you're never too old to enjoy freebies. Too bad you stop looking like a student after a while! 

That's all I've got at the moment, but really, I'm willing to bet there's a lot more that I haven't included. I miss university life! I want to go back!

How Bollywood has changed my opinion on Romance!

Bollywood has been a huge part of my life since I was extremely young and really, who is an Indian who hasn't seen a Bollywood movie and had a crush on a Khan or a Kapoor? Considering it is the second biggest movie industry in the world, Bollywood has had a huge impact on a lot of things, but most importantly it has changed the way I look at romance and the perfect partner!

1. When you meet "the one" violins and drums will start playing, a pleasant breeze will blow past your face and flowers will drop from the sky. That's when you know you're in love...

2. The guy of your dreams will always be called Rahul (thanks Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan).

Ok, maybe you can forgive him if he looks this great for not having a name like Rahul! 

3. You will meet this guy at either the most scenic locations around the world or on a train or a bus (basically any mode of transport). So if you don't travel much, too bad for you, no love in your kismat (fortune)! 

4. You will never fall in love with him/her if he can't sing you that perfect song and of course dance with a troupe of 50 other back up dancers!

5. He will kiss your tears away no matter why you are shedding them. That's when you know you've got everlasting love.

6.  If you ever get married, it HAS to be in this perfect palace with you wearing the best 'Joda' available and a whole ton of people who will cry when it's time for your bidaai. 

7. He should be fine to make a fool of himself when needed and at the same time be a responsible adult when he absolutely needs to. This change can happen in a day if NEEDED. 

8. Romantic moments always have to have a background music of either violins or saxophones! I mean really, what is romance without some awesome music? 

Curse you Bollywood, for all these expectations  you've put in my head

India: A dangerous place to be a woman (?)

In light of the recent events and the posts which have been put up, I was shocked to read that it wasn't just Indian women who were being treated like crap but even foreigners who visit our country who were treated as objects of lust. Luckily there have been no reports that I have read which show acid attacks on these tourists.  Women in India have been through hell and back but this doesn't mean that one should generalize the Indian men.

Recently I was speaking to a group of friends on this topic of which a few were of Indian origin. Whilst we discussed this, I was surprised to realize that one of my friends had been really interested in traveling to India until she heard about all the cases of mistreatment of woman which in turn led to one of my 'Indian' friends to admit that he was ashamed to consider himself Indian. This really annoyed me! Yes, as a nation we have plenty of faults and there are many things we need to fix, but this doesn't mean you denounce the country that you came from! As citizens of a country, is it not our responsibility to fix what is wrong with it and if not fix, atleast make an attempt before claiming to be insulted to be Indian.

This brings me to issue number two: the same friend who wanted to go to India started generalizing men of the country. She started claiming that all Indian men were the same and that they never seemed to stop ogling at her even in Singapore. What she didn't seem to realize is that there are cases of rape and mistreatment towards women all over the world, but that doesn't seem to stop you from travelling or meeting men of different cultural backgrounds! I have met my share of Indian men over the years of my existence and some of them have creeped me out, but overall my experience meeting and having conversations with these men have been what an average person may call normal. Stereotyping doesn't help anybody, but once you start insulting our men, that is where I draw the line.

There is no doubt that no matter where you travel you need to take necessary caution. I have always been told to be careful and not travel down poorly lit streets and be in places which have people around so you can call for help. I know I may have no right to judge since I haven't lived in the country for long enough to observe it, but as an Indian I am insulted by the fact that there are people who are ashamed to be associated with their nationality because of the recent news articles which have been popping out about all these cases!

Because no matter what, I am proud to be Indian and will try to do my part in making it a better place someday. 

The Big Fat Iyer Wedding

Ridiculous as it may sound, I haven't been to a wedding. Rather, I have no memory of the ones I attended when I was two years old. Imagine my joy when my dad told me that this summer we would be attending the wedding of a distant cousin. Like almost any other young girl, I have had expectations and dreams of a wedding and an Iyer wedding at that is something rather interesting with its multitudes of chants, prayers and symbolism.

I reached India the night before the wedding itself and was informed by my cousin brothers that I had missed the more 'fun' part of the wedding- the Cocktail party and the mehendi (a ceremony where the bride's hands are designed with henna and people throw a party), but I was getting to watch the major part of the ceremony and it was all that mattered.Thus began one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life- the first wedding I could watch and remember.

 Now, a typical Iyer wedding begins in the morning at 7 am, meaning I had to wake up before that to get dressed and leave for the wedding hall. Turns out the wedding was meant to be as grand as can be and held at the largest hall in the Bangalore Palace grounds and the path to the hall was decorated with so many lights that it would've probably lit up my entire neighborhood! But I diverge....The 2-3 day long affair begins with the groom and bride's families individually praying to their respective ancestors to descend from the heavens (in the form of priests) and bless the couple, followed by a 'fertility' ceremony on the bride's side where every married woman pots a bit of sprouts into a mud pot which eventually grows out and is washed away after the marriage ceremonies are complete symbolizing the woman's long lasting fertility.

The next step of the process is the Mapillai azhapu or The Procession where the groom is taken around in a horse drawn carriage with great pomp. But these days the bride gets her share (yay feminism) and gets to join the groom halfway to the wedding area. This time though, the bride didn't want a horse drawn carriage... instead she made her man ride a brand new bike and take her down the aisle with her on it. I liked her more because of that. Now unlike Western weddings, the Iyer engagement ceremony doesn't come months before the wedding, instead it comes only a day before where all the guests sit down and approve of the wedding (if anyone has anything to say, say it now or forever hold your peace). Once the declarations are made, the couple is 'officially' engaged in the eyes of God.

Since all the stuff happens in the morning, most people have nothing to do till later in the evening (for the reception) so we spent the break to get back home and get some rest (waking up at 7am and watching a couple in front of a fire can be ridiculously tiring). The reception was just as grand as the wedding. Everybody was dressed to the nines in their finest clothes and jewelry and there were way too many choices of food.  I spent most of the evening watching the groom and bride smile repeatedly for the camera with different groups of people and wonder how is it possible that their faces don't hurt from all that smiling (turns out the bride's face was hurting by the end of it).

The next morning was when the real action happened. There are many ceremonies so let me break this down.

1. Kashi yatra: This part of the Iyer wedding is probably repeated purely for the dramatic value it adds to the wedding (like it needs more drama!). The groom decides to take up sanyaas(become a sage) and not marry the girl, but is eventually convinced to marry by the bride's father who gives him symbols of marriage. The groom at the wedding decided to add his own twist to it, he decided to wear sunglasses as a representation of a 'modern' yatra.

2. Maalai Maaatal (Garland Exchange): The Kashi Yatra is then followed by some jovial exchange of garlands where the groom's lifted up by his family and the girl is lifted up by hers and they try to throw the garlands around each others' necks. In this wedding, the bride nearly fell off her high pedestal when her uncles nearly dropped her. Apparently funnier things happen!




3. Oonjal (The Swing): The bride and groom sit on a swing and married women come up to them and apply milk on their feet and feed them a mixture of milk and bananas in the midst of singing by the womenfolk. The point of this is to ward off the 'evil eye' which would otherwise fall on the couple. The experience was so interesting and I tried joining in the singing but to no avail considering I knew nearly none of the songs :P What I found amusing was that the men just stood and watched as the women did all the hard work.

4. Vara Pooja (Vedic initiation ceremony): This marks the beginning of a long period of chanting where the groom is supposed to get permission from the Brahmins to get married and God to allow him to complete the rituals without any hindrance. The girl and boys' gothrams (lineage) is announced to the crowds and the crowd is  supposed  to listen and point out if anything is wrong. Of course these days nobody really does listen to these but I was fascinated by the ritual and tried my best to pay close attention to what was being said, only I am not versed in sanskrit and most of what was being said went over my head, although I got the gist of it from my athai sitting next to me.

5. Kanya Dhaanam (Giving away the Bride): Probably the most emotional part of the marriage ceremony, the Kanya Dhaanam is sure to bring a few tears to the eyes of everyone who is related to the girl's side of the family. The girl is seated on the fathers' lap holding betel leaves with her palms placed atop her father's and as the mantras are chanted, the contents of the girls' hand is transferred to the boys' hand symbolizing the transfer of responsibility to the husband.
According to my grandmother, the loose translation of the mantras chanted by the father to the groom is      I am giving to you as a gift, my ever playful gold like daughter who came to my house to give redemption to my ancestors and who would make me reach the heavens in future. I am giving her to you so that you can beget children through her and do all your prescribed religious duties.
To which the groom replies:-
 I accept her by the grace of Sun who made this world with my hands protected by the Aswini Devas with he permission of the Sun God.
Well, I see why everyone gets so emotional considering their girl now belongs to another family and her gothram changes as well during the ceremony. This is also the ceremony when the thaali (thread symbolizing the marriage) is tied around the bride's neck signifying her married status.

6. Madhu Prakam: During this part of the ceremony, the bride's father thanks the groom for marrying his daughter and the groom looks at his bride and chants slokas to invite her to be a part of his family (isn't this a bit late?) and prays that nothing bad falls upon her and she brings happiness to his house. They sit together in front of the fire for the first time as husband and wife and perform their first prayers together.

Once all these ceremonies are completed, most people just walk away to feast the success of the marriage, but the families of the bride and groom stay back to complete a few more ceremonies with a thanks to the Gods and all the guests who came to the marriage. However, there is just one more part of the ceremony that is mostly just for close friends and family known as the Nalangu where the groom and bride get to play games with each other including rolling coconuts and breaking applams over each others' heads. The ceremony used to exist in order to break the ice between the (then) much older groom and his younger wife but people still continue the tradition because whatever you say, rolling coconuts is sort of fun.

At the end of it all, the girl journeys to the groom's home and they live happily ever after.... (or so we all hope).

Theatre Review: Will You Still Love Me If I'm....

This is the first time I have ever taken time to write a review about a theatre piece. But this show truly moved me in a way I didn't imagine myself to be moved. I caught myself crying, laughing and just reflecting at some moments.

I watched NUS Stage's "Will You Still Love Me If I'm ___?" today and I was floored by it. The show consisted of two student written, directed and produced plays- Happy Sons by Jaryl George Soloman and Two in the Morning by Gwendolyn Lee.

Happy Sons was a play about homosexuality and relationships. Unlike most other homosexual themed plays I have seen, Happy didn't really talk about why homosexuality isn't wrong. In fact it tackled those issues head on- Mothers reacting to their son's coming out of the closet, a gay person's relationship with God and a son's relationship with his mother. Handling issues such as bullying in schools and being afraid of coming out of the closet can go terribly wrong, but the playwright managed to deal with them so gracefully and with such tact, that it makes you reflect on things and be critical instead of making it a laughing stock. Common misnomers such as  "boys never cry", "boys don't like ponies" were also brought in and in the end it turns out the bully was gay. Best of all, the play incorporated the societal plague that is gossip and the way society views boys turning "soft".
The actors played the roles beautifully and perfectly. The emotions were so real and so tangible. I must give out a special mention to actor Mustafa who played the role of not only the school bully, but also the aunty whose son is gay. I enjoyed the symbols that were presented in the play such as the red cloth which symbolized the bond between the mother and her son. I enjoyed that despite having such a simplistic and bare mis en scene, the play was able to move me so much.
 There were scenes which dealt with the son's relationship with his mother and father and how drastically different they were which left me in tears and there were scenes which left me in a fit of hysterical laughter.  This play also marks the first time I've seen two men kiss (in real life)! Overall, I think the play was worth the time I spent watching it and I would love to watch it again.

Two in the Morning  was a play of an entirely different genre- two friends going from not being friends in the beginning of the play to maybe giving it a shot. I was glad for the 15 minute break because if not for that I may have been left reeling from the contrast between the two plays. The idea was simple, guy and girl are friends. Girl gets a boyfriend and distances herself from Boy. Boy is angry and they stop being friends. Despite the simplicity, I thoroughly enjoyed how relaxed the actors were with each other and how they acted so realistically.  It was as if they were truly in the situation and they were truly the characters that they played.
Through the play, you watch these two people reveal their true identities to each other and develop from being friends to something more. You understand why they made the decisions that they make, even though I realize that it was irrational sometimes. You watch the turmoil that they go through as individuals and by the end of it, you wonder if them getting together wasn't the natural thing to do. However, it made me ask an age old question- can a guy and a girl just be friends? Does such a concept even exist? The play was a typical rom-com and despite the predictability, the play was an amusing watch. It wasn't too heavy a thinking process and neither was it bland. It was a perfect chilled out piece that I would pay to watch.

Lastly, I must say, I loved the black box theater concept that the show adopted. It allowed the actors to interact with the audience and made the fourth wall almost non existent. I loved the use of it in the first play, but the second play may have been better suited for a regular stage. The lighting and sound were pretty awesome and added a lot more value to the plays.

Overall, I loved the show and I guess this may be the stepping stone for me to watch more theatre productions- even if I have to pay for them :) 

Movie Review: Warm Bodies

I was really looking forward to this movie. I have got to say, I loved the book and I really wanted to watch it come to life on the big screen and in a way the movie didn't let me down.

The movie stayed true to the novel and I can imagine how difficult it must be to do that. Most of the details were taken care of so wonderfully that I was glad to know that at least some book to movie conversions can be made well. The story was great and the make up was wonderful. How realistic could those Zombies get. And the best thing is that it isn't your typical Zombie story, yes the Zombies still eat brains and shuffle and moan/groan uselessly; but there isn't the mass gore that's seen in every other zombie movie till date. What sets it apart is the fact that it's a love story. A story of how love can change even the most undead thing to something living.

 I loved the conflict they showed within the female lead, Julie and how open minded she was to accepting zombies coming back to life (oops, Spoiler alert!). The friendship and love that develops between zombie R and human Julie is cute to watch and it's amusing to see R change from a "corpse" to someone more human like with an ability to talk and bleed! The bonies (zombies which have become nothing but bones) are freaky looking and fascinating to watch.

Another thing that struck me like a bolt of lightning was the fact that the whole movie was basically a remake of Romeo and Juliet, just in a post Zombo-calypse (zombie apocalypse) world.

Lastly, the cast! R (Nicholas Hoult)was brilliant. Although he spoke a bit too much more than he should've been able to in the starting of the movie, I spent most of it just loving the way the directors had captured the internal monologue and integrated it with the flow of the movie. He proved a wonderful actor to play the role and he was much better looking than the R I had imagined in my head. M, R's best friend, played by Rob Corddry was hilarious. Although M talked a bit too much, he was funny and stayed true to his character.
Julie (Teresa Palmer) was played really well too and I think she did justice to the role :)

Reasons to watch the movie: Quirky storyline, good acting from the leads and perfect date movie. 

What you can learn from Disney Princesses

Admit it, when you were a little girl, you always wanted to have that happy ending all the Disney princesses had. When I was younger, there was an obsession with Disney princesses. All my friends would have sleepovers and we would watch Cinderella or Snow White and watch these young girls escape the wretchedness of their evil step mothers (yes, the queen was Snow White's step mom). It made an impression on our young minds that step moms are the most wicked people who could ever exist, which may not necessarily be true!

Then came Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty. The girl who was cursed to fall asleep when she pricked her finger on a poisoned spindle. She was awoken, unlike Snow White by true love's kiss. What did that teach me? That you're not completely awoken until you've experienced true love? No, honestly I think they were my least favorite Disney movies because they triggered the feminist in me even at a young age. What were they trying to show, that women can't do anything without men or was it that we always need rescuing?

Belle was the one character I could associate the best with. She was a bookaholic and never gave a damn about society but loved her daddy over everything. She may have not been a princess to begin with but she becomes one because she sees past the frightening exterior of the Beast. It was inspiring and I believe the first time I was introduced to the concept of looking beyond looks to peer at the personality of the person.

Then came Ariel, Mulan, Jasmine and Pocohontas which redeemed Disney Princesses for me. These were strong and adamant women who wanted things their way despite having things come their way. Stories of bravery and modesty, these princesses made me realize that you should always stand your ground, especially if it is something you believe in.

Finally Tiana and Rapunzel. Honestly, I liked Tiana for her spunk and her personality, her drive for getting things done despite what she begins with. And she was the first Black Princess which makes her quite special. But Rapunzel, she was just so stereotypically blonde and damsel in distress. I learnt absolutely nothing from her.

But one thing that all the Princesses have in common is eventually finding true love and they stayed true to one thing they all believed in. They are after all fairy tales parents read to little girls and make them believe that one day, your dreams can come true.

Favourite Life Lessons from Revenge

So somewhere around last year, I got addicted to a TV series called Revenge. The idea was simple, a girl trying to get revenge for the sins done unto her father (an innocent) who was framed as a terrorist. But the plot thickens with every episode (as it does with a good TV series) and Emily Thorne (read protagonist) makes an interesting observation at the end of every episode which I believe can be applied to almost every life situation we encounter. These "life lessons" are merely a reflection of societal norms and the need for independence every one of us struggles with. There are very few in this planet, who can simply enjoy living by social norms, unless they are actually favoured by it. What I like most about these quotes is that they are wonderfully honest and they actually make you think.

"From the moment we’re born, we’re drawn to form a union with others. An abiding drive to connect, to love, to belong. In a perfect union, we find the strength we cannot find in ourselves. But the strength of the union cannot be known… until it is tested"

 "The greatest weapon anyone can use against us is our own mind; by praying on the doubts and uncertainties that already lurk there. Are we true to ourselves, or do we live for the expectations of others? And if we are open and honest, can we ever truly be loved? Can we find the courage to release our deepest secrets? Even to ourselves"

"True loyalty takes years to build & only seconds to destroy"

"Doubt is a disease. It infects the mind creating a mistrust of people’s motives and of one’s own perceptions. Doubt has the ability to call into question everything you've ever believed about someone and reinforce the darkest suspicions of our inner circles."

"When at cross roads go with your gut. Intuition always has our best interests at heart. But too often, we become distracted by fear, doubt, or our own hopes and refuse to listen."

“For some, commitment is like fate. A chosen devotion to another person with an intangible idea. But for me commitment has a shadow side, a darker drive that constantly ask question: How far am I willing to go?”

Book Love

I've always loved reading books from the time I was a child. I don't know what sparked my interest in books or what triggered it, but I know I love my books most dearly. I used to be the first in class to finish reading my books for English Literature. I read Wuthering Heights over 20 times, just because I liked it and best of all, I cried when my brother narrated the story of the final instalment of the Harry Potter series. I'm a self proclaimed book worm, although I know there are definitely those who've read more than me.

When I joined university, my interest in books wavered and everything became concentrated to the computer and then along came the iPad. I had a huge collection of books which didn't take any extra space and to be honest, I've loved every moment I've spent reading those wonderful eBooks. You can find me curled in bed on a rainy morning/afternoon/evening with my iPad reading one of my books. What I didn't notice was the sheer number of books I was reading. Turns out, I've read over 36 books in the past 4-5 months! Goodreads

I'm a huge fan of anything Young Adult. Be it fiction, fantasy or a romance, I read it! I've managed to go through several series without even realizing it. I'm always left heartbroken when I complete a series, but it soon gets replaced with another. I think that's the problem today, there are too many book series and I don't have the time to read them all. If only I could get a job which allowed me to read books day in and out and just enjoy them thoroughly, there's always the position of a book reviewer (although that's not much in demand off late). <deep sigh>

So am I addicted to books? I'm not entirely sure if addiction is a good word to use, but I don't think I could live too long without the entertainment I get off them. On the plus side, there is no chance of my books becoming a rare commodity, because for as long as humans traverse the earth, we will always have books to read and I will always be a content person :)

Perspective

I recently came across a friend's project where she and her husband had taken similar photographs, but at varying locations. The similarities are striking and yet at the same time, so are the differences. You can see the startling difference in the locale and can tell whether the architecture or the location is Eastern or Western. It got me thinking, if the world were just a mirror reflection of itself, wouldn't that be entirely neat!

But I digress, the project was pretty amazing and it made me think of the perspectives one can have. The same thing can be seen from different pairs of eyes and perceived to be something altogether different. Maybe its about time we actually got ourselves attuned to looking at things from another's point of view. "You never really know a man until you understand things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it", how right Harper Lee was. Just think of all the wars we could avoid if we just got to understand things from another person's point of view, his/her perspective. Heck, on a micro level, think of all the stupid fights we could avoid as people. If we took time out of our lives to look at things through a fresh pair of eyes, would things seem better or worse?

Maybe I'm just being a bit too optimistic and naive to imagine that looking at the same thing differently would always be helpful and would be the best thing to do. I'm just wondering if we don't do it because we're too lazy to think of it from a different perspective or we just don't care!

Love at First Sight

They say love can strike you any where and any time. Here's a short film that made me laugh and smile like a madwoman at the end of it. A story of love at first sight and how that love can actually be actualized. 

I haven't a clue of how realistic love at first sight is, but if Cupid's arrow is going to go through my heart and not kill me, I say bring it on :P. 

Book turned movies I want to watch

With the trend of novels being turned into movies and most of them doing remarkably well, there are a few more coming out this year that I can't wait to watch.

1. The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. I have got to say when I first read this book, I was drawn into the world of Clary and Jace. The world of the Shadowhunters and I managed to finish the series in a week. It was a wonderful and thrilling experience and I just wanted to see it made into a movie. Now it's becoming a reality. The cast of the movie seems interesting and well, I truly can't wait to see how faithful they remain to the book. Releasing August 23, 2013

2. The Host. I first read the book when I was in High School, when the whole Twilight obsession was going on. Stephenie Meyer's writing was different in the Host and I was so glad for it. There were no sparkling vampires and an obsessed girl in love; instead, there was an alien species and a human population fighting for survival. The book made me and my best friend fall in love with the character of Jared (played by Max Irons) and his struggle. Lets just hope they can bring out some of the emotional facets of the characters in the movie. Releasing March 29, 2013

3. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. The Hunger Games novels took everything by storm. A world where people had to struggle for survival and live under a dictatorship seems typical for a post apocalyptic world. But to have a savage game where children have to fight and kill for their survival blew my socks off. The first movie was an amazing hit and truly, I loved the cast and the acting (swoons for Jennifer Lawrence). I can't wait for the second movie! Releasing November 22, 2013

4. Warm Bodies: The idea of a zombie falling in love with a human being and then turning slightly human for her seems ridiculous, but to a romantic like me, the concept seems adorable and despite being slightly gross, it still seems awesome. I can't wait to watch this movie in the theatres (in Singapore) and well, I hope to watch it soon enough. Released February 1, 2013

5. The Great Gatsby: Oh, the decadence of the 20s. The Great Gatsby swept me off into a world with curfews and limitations on everything and yet one man chooses to ignore it all. Gatsby's lavish defiance and his strange eccentricity won me over and I can't wait to watch Leonardo di Caprio steal my heart on the big screen. And I can't wait to see the Big B (Amitabh Bacchan) pull of his magic too. Releasing May 10, 2013