Hurricane and a nice sunny weekend

With hurricane Irene at my doorstep, it seemed all prospects of stepping out this weekend were dashed. I decided to catch up on reading and threw in a movie for good measure. But after a crashing and raging Saturday, the weather is so pleasant it's as if the hurricane never happened. I'm now tempted to leave my cozy nook and enjoy the outdoors, but meanwhile, this is what I've been doing this weekend:

Life of Pi: A fantasy novel by Yann Martel about a boy stranded in a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal Tiger after a shipwreck. Pi Patel's father runs a zoo in Pondicherry, but decides to migrate to Canada along with his family and assorted zoo animals due to political tensions in India. However, their voyage is abruptly cut short when Tsimtsum - their Japanese cargo ship - sinks in the Pacific during a violent storm. Pi manages to stay alive, but soon finds himself in a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, orangutan and zebra. Will the laws of jungle reign in the ocean, or will man's ingenuity and will for survival beat all odds? I'm yet to find out, as I'm still halfway through this castaway's take on survival, philosophy and faith that has won the Booker prize.

Priyuralu Pilichindi (Kandukondain Kandukondain): The Indian adaptation of Sense and Sensibility. This movie about two diametrically opposite sisters is a pleasant watch, especially for its cinematography and music. For me, the best part is how carefully the essence of Sense and Sensibility - my favourite Jane Austen novel - is captured, while adapting it beautifully to an Indian audience. It's amazing how Austen's work still holds its appeal in an entirely different culture and era, though it must be said that the social scene of 19th century England is sadly still relevant in 21st century India.