Girls of Riyadh

So, I finally read this book eons after I had spontaneously purchased it from a airport bookstall. I would like to begin by mentioning that books purchased at the airports, usually never quite live up to the book image and the blurb that are part of the packaging content.

The book, Girls of Riyadh, pretty much stumbles upon the same stereotypical adversities the girls of Middle East have to face when it comes to marrying the man they love or their attempts in finding the one who would love them with the same fervour as they do.

It has the corny jokes, the political tensions, the rules of a stagnant society, stuck in an era of their ancestors as they try valiantly to hold on to their roots while their off-springs remove the 'veil' of the past from the face, after a successful struggle.

What is different in this book that I have read about contemporary thinking women in the Middle East is that for every mother of Gamrah there is a mother of Uri, for every Firas, there is a Tariq.

But, what gets my goat is that, all these stories, have the same story line. Which makes me think is there not a story coming from the middle east buy a woman, who does not wish to write about the difficulty of searching, and falling in love.

We get it that is extra difficult to fall in love in a country where 'love' itself as a concept is banned and is allowed only if it to be expressed to Allah. But to wax on about it for the entire book, does get a bit tedious.

And the comparison to the SATC series, is sheer absurdity. Those women, were stereotypes, not crusaders to make women sit up and demand their rights around the world. To give them a status more than that of excellent actors is ridiculous.

The author, cheats on the concept of the SATC inspired book. The series focused on the physical needs of women, expressing their needs, the emotional needs came in after the series achieved popularity all over the world, which is when its downfall began.

Women around the world, baring the west, don not talk about their physical needs, and to advertise your book as the first of its kind from the middle east, I would say 'Blah'.

Read the book, if and only if, there aren't any good magazines to purchase.

100 Truths that I found about me!

LAST TIMES…
1. Last beverage: Sprite over ice cube
2. Last phone call: Masi
3. Last text message: Rajshree (updating me about her shifting plans)
4. Last song you listened to: Masterplan - Oasis
5. Last time you cried: hmmm... honestly can't remember..which is a good thing I believe.

HAVE YOU EVER...

6. Dated someone twice: Haha..never make the same mistake twice
7. Been cheated on? : Yeah
8. Kissed someone & regretted it? :yes...ugh!
9. Lost someone special? No...
10. Been depressed? : oh..depressed/dejected/denied/devastated..several times..
11. Been drunk and threw up?.. yes and still haven't recovered.

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:

12. Green
13. Dark Brick Red
14. White
15. Grey

FIRSTS :
16. Made new friends: Building/school
17. Fallen out of love: not yet fallen in it... ;)
18. Laughed until you cried: There have been so many of them..., but can't recollect the first one...
19. Met someone who changed you: They all want to mother me..is that the same?
20. Found out who your true friends were: some in time, some not in time.
21. Found out someone was talking about you: haha... it surprises me that they do :-p

HAVE YOU:

22. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Yes
23. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: baring an odd few, all of them
24. How many kids do you want to have: twin girls/boys
25. Do you have any pets: I had, my pet turtle, Michaelangelo the II
26. Do you want to change your name: NO! I love it, it defines me :-)
27. What did you do for your last birthday: A real low low low key affair.
28.What time did you wake up today : 9.45 am
29. What were you doing at midnight last night: having the clove stick
30. Name something you CANNOT wait for : Post-graduating!!
31. Last time you saw your father: Just before I started typing this
32. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: i wish i could go back in the past and correct a few things... apologize to some...and kill some others...
33. Most visited web page: FML/Blogger/Wikkipedia/DailyMail/Sidereel/Google

WHAT'S YOUR :

34. Name: Moshita Prajapati
35. Nicknames: Mosh, Moshi, Moshu, Mo5, M, Kishi, Butterfly, Padmavati, Bhajirao, Moshquito, Moshit...
36. Zodiac sign: Virgo
37. Male or female or transgender : Female
38. Elementary: JB Vachha High School for Parsi Girls
39. Colleges: SIES/Khalsa
40. Hair color: Black with brown highlights au natural
41. Long or short: short, but a valiant effort is under-way to grow it long
42. Height: 5.9"
43. Do you have a crush on someone? Sadly no, I haven't found any
44. Ever been in love? Don't think so... too young to appreciate and understand it
45. Piercings? one in each ear
46. Tattoos? two, one on the inner left ankle and the other on the upper right shoulder blade
47. Righty or lefty: Righty
48. First surgery: NA
49. First piercing: My ears when i was a kid
50. First best friend: Nidhi Punja
51. First sport you loved: Skating...is it a sport
52. First pet : Turtle
53. First vacation: Dubai...when it was still nice! :-)
54. First concert: Bryan Adams
55. First crush : Julian from the Famous Five/Arjun a childhood friend
56. Eating: lost appetite around four this afternoon. Haven't found it as yet :-(
57. Drinking : water
58. I'm about to: this is getting tedious
59. Listening to: a song in my head...gal meethi meethi bol from Aisha
60. Waiting for: Christmas? No, September 30th actually

YOUR FUTURE

61. Want kids?.. yes... but, a trial run with a puppy first... a beagle!
62. Want to get married? uumm..... I know I have to...
63. Careers in mind? Editor in a publishing house, and if to be exact... a children's books editor/Translator

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?

64. Lips or eyes: Mischievous eyes/Intellectual eyes/soulful eyes
65. Hugs or kisses: ? each preceding the other
66. Shorter or taller: Taller...shorter doesn't work...
67. Older or Younger: older
68. Romantic or spontaneous: Spontaneously Romantic!!
69. Nice stomach or nice arms: Nice arms
70. Sensitive or loud: Sensitive
71. Hook-up or relationship: I tried the earlier one, so its time for Relationships
72. Trouble maker or hesitant: hmm.... a mix maybe

HAVE YOU EVER :
73. Kissed a stranger: Well not after kissing :-p
74. Lost glasses/contacts: Lost count!!
76. Broken some one's heart: Yeah... I have broken hearts... not a good thing
77. Had your own heart broken: Yes, karma is a bitch.
78. Been arrested: Never ever going to happen, been warned by the police though :-p
79. Turned someone down: Yeah....
80. Cried when someone died: Not in initially, but later when the shock went away.
81. Liked a friend that is a boy? Yep

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

81. Yourself: Not all the time.
82. Miracles: do occur
83. God: is there...somewhere...watching...
84. Love at first sight: PUHLEASE!
85. Heaven: Nope
86. Santa Claus: I am not a 5 year old you know,
87. Kiss on the first date? Hmmm... on the cheek?
88. Angels: They are there to keep the Devils in line
89. Devils: They are there to keep the Angels in line

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

90. Is there one person you want to be with right now? ummmm...no not really
91. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? Yes...it shall never happen again!
92. Wanted to kill someone ever? Oh yes!! shoot with an intention of not to kill, then bury them neck deep near the sea during low tide... wait... that would lead to their death.. so yeah.. I guess..:-p
93. Among your blog mates, whom would you like to kiss? Whats a blog-mate???
94. Committed a blunder and regretted later? Lost count
95. Wanted to steal you friend's boyfriend / girlfriend? : Nah.

ASSOCIATE WITH SOMETHING YOU WEAR :

96. White: pearls
97. Black: jeans
98. Red: lipstick
99. Pink: nailpolish
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? under pressure....YES!