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Tokyo House Hunting Guide

First of all, I am glad to know that you have decided to find a relatively long-term accommodation space in Tokyo. It’s a marvelous city and I hope you will have a fantastic time living here ~ The ideal procedure would be to lookup apartments in your desired area on these websites and then go an agency. Most apartments won’t be furnished and will have the initial surcharges and key deposit money, ~one month’s rent. The agency I used for my apartment is ABLE, and I would highly recommend it. I have a contact at ABLE Hakusan, so if you are looking for housing in Bunkyo-ku, near the universities, ping me up and I may perhaps be able to get you a bit of a discount, haha ;) Some relevant links are, https://suumo.jp/sp/ : This is the largest real-estate website in Japan, with the most number of properties listed. Most of the information is in Japanese though. https://minimini.jp/sp/ : The second most popular real-estate website in the country. Suumo is Green, while MiniMini is Red. Both of...
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एक पत्र सकुरा के नाम

ऐसा हो ही नहीं सकता कि आप टोक्यो में हो और दो महीने पहले से आपकी सारी दिनचर्या तय हो गई हो, आपके ना जाने के सिर्फ़ दो करण हो सकते हैं, एक : आपको जाने की इच्छा नहीं है (संभवतः यह), या फिर दो : आप उस दिन टोक्यो में नहीं हो। आप जापानी लोगों की इस प्रकार की आदतें हमें बिलकुल भी पसंद नहीं है। दुनिया में कुछ ही चुनिंदा लोग होंगे जो हमसे ज़्यादा काम करते होंगे, क्योंकि सभी के पास बराबर का वक़्त है, २४ घंटे। तो अगर साथ चलने की इच्छा है और उस एक लौते दिन या समय इत्यादि की ही दिक़्क़त है, तो फिर ज़ाहिर है साथ मिलकर उसे सुलझाया जा सकता है। यूँ संचिप्त में बेमतलब का उत्तर देना बेहद ही अपमानजनक है। यह हमारी नज़रों में आप जापानीयों की अधूरी परवरिशों का भी सूचक है, जहां आपको यह तो सिखाया जाता है कि बाहरी सुंदरता और गोरा रंग कैसे लाए, मगर इस पर ज़ोर दिया जाता कि दोस्त कैसे बनाए और दोस्ती किसे निभाए। आधुनिक जापानी समाज के अंदरूनी खोखलेपन और इसकी दरारों से सीप रहीं अकेलापन और मानसिक तकलीफ़ों के एहसासों की जड़े शायद यही ग़ैर समाजीपन होना है। चिरंचे, हाल ही में हमारे कम से कम तीन जापानी दोस्तों और परिचित...

An Ordinary Day

To a majority of us, it is a known fact that some days are actually longer than a day. The day in question, however, wasn't. It was in fact meant to be one of the driest and the most barren of the days. The kind of a day one mostly spends snug on the bed with the largest exertion afforded to the limbs being the quiet finger pressings on a touch screen. And yet, looking back now, the singular chain of events from that day, though ordinary in themselves, assume such a perplexing proportion when taken together, that the day has remained so unequivocally imprinted in my mind. At that time I was working as a JSPS Post-Doctoral fellow in the Department of Physics at the University of Tokyo. I had come to Japan from India as a Master’s student about six years prior and had been living in Tokyo since then. Following the PhD degree, owing to my fascination with the city and in order to satisfactorily sum up my current research, I had chosen to continue at the ...

Review: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote My rating: 3 of 5 stars Hmm... hard to say whether or not I like it. The story is fine. The protagonist is spectacular. And yet, I cannot seem to whole-heartedly be fond of the novella. Parts of the story are fascinating, for instance, Holly Golightly's apparent unreserve with the budding writer narrator. I also like the opening scene which introduces the mystery of where our heroine can be at the moment. The scene brings the reader into the story and somehow or the other, we are entrapped the fast-paced New York of 1940. I would recommend the book as a tranquil read. However, honestly, with the impeccable performance by Audrey, the film version brings forth Holly's persona a tad bit more effectily. The book is outstanding, no doubt, but couple it with the movie session post reading and there you have it - " a top banana in the shock department". View all my reviews

Review: The Essential Collection for Young Readers

The Essential Collection for Young Readers by Ruskin Bond My rating: 5 of 5 stars Loved this marvellous collection. Ruskin Bond is one of my favorite authors. I adore his simplicity and the appeal in a rustic life close to the nature. This collection is astutely curated. I especially loved the "Night Train to Deoli" and "The Blue Umbrella", the latter of which has been made into a wonderful film. The first few stories from the author's own life were imaginative too. "Rani" shall be close to my heart. Highly recommended. Audiobook does justice to the book, however prompt with the chapter number when a particular chapter starts would be a great update. View all my reviews

Review: The Art of War

The Art of War by Sun Tzu My rating: 4 of 5 stars Ancient Chinese Philosophy on the Art of War by the master himself. Contains different sections on different kinds of tactics for warfare, how to keep your soldiers subservient and yet disciplined, how and when to engage the enemy, when to flee the scene etc. Not much relevant content for the contemporary world View all my reviews