As many of you might be already aware, the title of this post is actually the title of a bestseller book by John Green, which is also adapted as a feature film. I got a chance to read this book during the last week (sincere thanks to Shweta for lending it to me). I totally loved it. Special thanks to Gaurav and Shweta (yeah, the same girl who lent me the book) for recommending it to me. And yes, it did make me cry, as you guys were claiming.


Although the IMDb list of the top 10 movies of 2014 (the movie came in 2014, but the book was published in 2012) ranks the 'movie' version of this book on the 10th spot, I believe that the book is a lot more than the movie. There are times which make you smile, and then there are times which definitely make you cry. "You laugh, you cry, and then you come back for more", said Markus Zusak (author of The Book Thief) about this book. In this book, the author brilliantly explores the funny, thrilling and tragic business of being alive and in love.

Quoting Wikipedia,

The story is narrated by a 16 year old cancer patient named Hazel Grace Lancaster, who is forced by her parents to attend a support group where she subsequently meets and falls in love with the 17 year old Augustus Waters.

Also, as a piece of information, the title of the book is inspired by Julius Caesar (a play by Shakespeare). In Act 1, Scene 2 of the play, Cassius says to Brutus, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars. But in ourselves, that we are underlings." Same is also used in the book.

Well, I want you to spend time reading the book. Hence, strictly NO spoiler alerts this time. It will be worth it, I assure you.

In the rest of the post, I am going to list down my favorite quotes (in no specific order or ranking) from the book. Sit back and enjoy the quotes and their neck-deep metaphorical meanings. ;)

Also, all the quotes below are the copyright property of the author, I am republishing them because I liked them. So, even if I don't mention his name after every quote, they still belong to John, no matter what.

That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.

The world is not a wish-granting factory.

You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world, old man, but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices. I hope she likes hers.

What a slut time is. She screws everybody.

As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.

It would be a privilege to have my heart broken by you.

That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway.

All your attempts to save yourself from me will fail.

Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.

The marks humans leave are too often scars.

Without pain, how could we know joy?

I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.

I'm like a grenade, Mom, and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?

You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.

I'm on a roller coaster that only goes up, my friend.

It is the nature of stars to cross.

The world wasn't made for us, we were made for the world.

I really thought she was going to die before I could tell her that I was going to die, too.

Omnia Cellula e Cellula.

No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can't go all the way round.

Did you read this book? If not, do it now. Buy it from Amazon US, Amazon India or Flipkart.

Did I miss any other interesting quote? Remind me via the comments. And yes, happy reading. :)

They say that the success mantra for any business to excel over its competitors is to treat its customers like a king. It is a metaphor, no doubt. But the management gurus at Emirates do not seem to believe in it. Not even a bit of it.

I traveled to Europe for a couple of months. Emirates was selected for the cause. I was quite excited to travel with them because I had heard quite a few positive reviews about them.

I will mention three incidents below which made me dislike their services. Individually they are more than three, but I have grouped them into three to save them some embarrassment.

Incident 1:

Incident 2:

Incident 3:

If you have read my previous post, you must be aware how big a movie buff I am! Being in Bangalore for more than 2 years now, I decided to try some Sandalwood movies. It's not that I haven't seen any south-Indian movies before, but watching the ones recommended by someone who is quite familiar with them is a different experience. This is when my friend Arun suggested me to watch Lucia.

I would hate to reveal the plot of the movie, because I don't want your movie experience to suffer. Yes, I want you to go watch this movie if you haven't, and then come back again to read the rest of the post. (Spoiler ALERT: I might have revealed the twist in the words to come!)

You might be wondering why I'm going all ga-ga about movies, while the post title itself is a bit more philosophical! The title actually is the message that Lucia gives. You might not completely understand the depth of this, but you'll be able to appreciate it more once you have actually seen the movie. (Just because I've asked you to watch this movie twice, don't confuse this post with a sponsored post, because it isn't! The movie is too good to resist.)

Since I am not fluent in Kannada, it is obvious that I had to rely upon English subtitles to understand the story. But, seriously, it was worth it. The story revolves around a person who is the super star of the movie industry, but has dreams of becoming a common man. He dreams of being a torch-bearer in a local movie theater, one who 'struggles' to earn his daily-bread, to propose to his love. He dreams, rather wants, to stand alone on the streets and enjoy the roadside pani-puri. He also wants to wait for a bus on the bus-stop. He wants to do simple things. Being a super star, he misses living a normal life. In the end, he tries to commit suicide so that he can continue living in his dream! Such was his obsession with his common yet 'not-so-common' dream.

The movie ends with this awesome message "Your 'small' life is somebody's 'big' dream".  This is literally depicted in the script! But, I think it makes more sense when taken figuratively.

One must not complain about what he/she doesn't have. Instead, we must be happy and satisfied with whatever we own. Our life, no matter how normal, possesses a unique identity. Never underestimate yourself. There are many who strive hard to achieve what you already, easily own. For them, it will be like a dream come true.

Also, we can always be of great help to others from whatever little we have. The joy of giving is, and will always be, greater than the joy of having. We must always be ready to help the needy in whatever way we are capable of. This is how we can be the part of the bigger picture, and contribute in making this world a better place to live in. After all, my life is somebody's big dream. So is yours.

Well, I actually wrote this post for a blogging competition at work. Since the competition is now over, I am publishing it here as well. Fellow Bosch colleagues can find the actual one here. (Don't complain about the link to be broken, because it isn't! You can open it via the Bosch network only.)

Friday.. weekend... masti.… movies! Admit it or not, this is what we wait for Monday onwards, week after week. Being an ultimate source of unlimited fun and entertainment, movies play an important role in one’s life. But is that it? NO. Obviously NOT. They are a major source of inspiration as well. They play an equally important role in shaping who we really are as a human being, as do our parents and loved ones. They teach us some of the greatest lessons in the simplest ways ever.