Current read...

I have just finished reading the third part of the Shiva trilogy. I was not very impressed but the climax of the story stirred me greatly. I never expected it to take such a turn or I would say I 'didn't' want the story to take such turn. Finally, because of the unexpected twist of tale I had to like the book and Amish's way of telling stories.

"He thought of all the living species that train their young in the art of survival, the cat who teach their kittens to hunt, the birds who spend such strident effort on teaching their fledglings to fly- yet man, whose tool of survival is the mind, does not merely fail to teach a child to think, but devotes the child's education to the purpose of destroying his brain, of convincing him that thought is futile and evil, before he has started to think.

From the first catch-phrases flung at a child to the last, it is like a series of shocks to freeze his motor, to undercut the power of his consciousness. "Don't ask so many questions, children should be seen and not heard"! "Don't argue, obey!" "Don't try to understand, believe!" "Don't rebel, adjust"! "Don't stand out, belong!" " Don't struggle, compromise"!"

Once again, from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.

"She planted a few seeds; she had started without conscious intention, but she saw it growing under her hands, pulling her forward, giving her a healing sense of peace. Then she understood that what she needed was the motion to a purpose, no matter how small or in what form, the sense of an activity going step by step to some chosen end across a span of time. The work of cooking a meal was like a closed circle, completed and gone, leading nowhere."

(From Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged)

Atlas Shrugged

I am currently reading Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'.
She is such a powerful writer and I love reading her books.
But, to write an opinion about them is always intriguing.
I take-in so such when I read them but have always been left with very few words to write about. It's a difficult job.

I have read her 'Fountainhead'. I was confused, initially, as I was still an amateur reader then:)
I read it again and found out the full depth of it.

Now, it's Atlas Shrugged. In both she has portrayed such dynamic characters.
'Roark' and 'Rearden'- thought to be selfish by the whole world but they are confident about their goal and they take the courage to stand against the whole world to uphold their identity.

One quality that Ayn Rand's book highlight is that of 'Human Ability' which can perform almost anything and the 'hard work' needed to showcase that ability.

Though I have not completed the book, I felt I should write about it.
The font size and number of pages (which is over a thousand)are the only hurdles that are making me read it very slowly:(

About Self and Individuality...

...by Rabindranath Tagore

"At one pole of my being I am one with stocks and stones. There I have to acknowledge the rule of universal law. That is where the foundation of my existence lies, deep down below. Its strength lies in its being held firm in the clasp of the comprehensive world., and in the fullness of its community with all things.

But at the other pole of my being I am separate from all. There I have broken through the cordon of equality and stand alone as an individual. I am absolutely unique, I am I, I am incomparable. The whole weight of the universe cannot crush out this individuality of mine. I maintain it in spite of the tremendous gravitation of all things. It is small in appearance but great in reality. For it holds its own against the forces that would rob it of its distinction and make it one with the dust.

This is the superstructure of the self which rises from the indeterminate depth and darkness of its foundation into the open, proud of its isolation, proud of having given shape to a single individual idea of the architect's which has no duplicate in the whole universe. If this individuality be demolished then though no material be lost, not an atom destroyed the creative joy which was crystallised therein gone. We are absolutely bankrupt if we are deprived of this speciality, this individuality, which is the only thing we can call our own; and which, if lost, is also a loss to the whole world...."


P.S: Take time and patience to read this.

Silence

This thought has crossed my mind more than once...
Is talking over cell phone so important? Be it walking on the road or driving or just waiting for someone or something, almost all the time.
Or is it just a way of letting know that this gadget has become one of the most important part of their lives?
If people don't have anybody to talk to over the phone they would rather just listen to the music. Again, it's a sign of trend or necessity i do not know.
Don't these people want to be left alone with themselves atleast for some time in a day? Can't silence and your inner self be your company?

Not these days, i guess!!!

Get Together

When me and my sister were still young, we teased our mother for attending 'all' the functions at any relatives and friends. At our native place too we mocked at our relatives for their compulsion to attend any function both at their farthest and nearest relatives.
Now, I've started to realise why they would be so eager not to miss any of those gatherings.

Almost everyone of them being home makers, they would be trapped in their houses and household responsibilities 24x7. And these get togethers meant- meeting people, time to relax and only way of socialization.
Moreover, our relatives in the native regions stayed in villages which barely consisted of 5-10 houses for kms away. And attending these functions would be their only means of entertainment too. Whereas for a person residing in a city the options for entertainment can be much more. Even there people call their means of relaxation and entertainment as parties/ get together/kitty parties. The only difference being the names assigned in different set ups.

But, my relatives, being in such remote places, handling so much responsibilities and living with limited resources run much happier lives than us who have less responsibilities and more choice on resources compared to them.
We are surrounded by friends, innumerable modes of entertainment and in constant touch with people due to advanced technology yet we are lonely and depressed many a times.

Memories

I just finished reading the review about this book 'Moonwalking with Einstein' by Joshua Foer (a science journalist) who trained his memory and won the U.S Memory Championship.
And it seems like a very good one.

In one of the interviews when asked (which i really think is true):

'What is the connection between memory and our sense of time?'

He says, 'As we get older, life seems to fly by faster and faster. That's because we structure our experience of time around memories. We remember events in relation to other events. But as we get older, and our experiences become less unique, our memories can blend together. If yesterday's lunch is indistinguishable from the one you ate the day before, it'll end up being forgotten. That's why it's so hard to remember meals. In the same way, if you're not doing things that are unique and different and memorable, this year can come to resemble the last, and end up being just as forgettable as yesterday's lunch. That's why it's so important to pack your life with interesting experiences that make your life memorable, and provide a texture to the passage of time'.

To kill a mocking bird

I must admit that I started reading this book because of Mouna's suggestion and I am glad I read it.
I read it twice- the first time I was forced to give away the book to the library when I had almost finished it. So had to borrow it the second time. So as not miss the link I started it from the beginning and it was good as things gave much more meaning to me when I read it the second time.
There were several instances where I would laugh loudly at all the adventures of Jem, Scout and Dill (especially the Boo Radley incident) and would look up to see if someone is watching me laughing like that.

One can relive their childhood days while reading this book.

I think it's not just the humor that bound me with the characters but the intricacies with which they teach the simple lessons of life, of adulthood and growing up.

The little episodes of Boo Radley; fire at Ms. Maudie's; Jem and Scout's encounter with Mrs. Dubose; Atticus shooting at the mad dog; Dill's running away; the case of Tom Robinson and at the end Boo Radley saving the children from Mr. Ewell; all carry such good messages with a touch of humor.

I really enjoyed reading the book.

The Namesake

Already having watched the movie, there was little room left for my imagination of characters of the book 'The Namesake' by Jhumpa Lahiri. The two characters- Ashima and Ashoke were represented (for me) by Tabu and Irfan Khan. Nevertheless I wanted to read the book. As with the movie, I liked the book too. Lahiri's narration is impressive and it maintains reader's atttention throughout.
The story which revolves around the name of a Russian writer 'Gogol' carried me to the many books by Russian writers- Dostoesky's Crime and Punishment, Tolstoy's Anna Karenina', Chekov's The Cherry Orchard and of course The Overcoat by Gogol himself.
Almost all the protagonists of these Russian authors wear a gloomy appearance, their stories are tragic, they speak of hardships of Russian citizens which is either forced upon them by the governmental policies or by themselves.
Talking of Nikolai Gogol, I studied The overcoat as a literature student but then I seldom ejoyed either the story or the person who taught the story. Or may be beacuse of the way the story was told made it all uninteresting.
Though I disliked reading The Overcoat, there are few scenes which still linger in my memory. The story of Akaky Akakyevich who earns a meager salary as a clerk loses his only overcoat which protects him against all the hard climatic conditions. His struggle to save few pennys to buy a new overcoat is touching. His walking on tip- toes to save his shoes from wearing out, his struggle through the dark hours to save his candle- all speak of his sacrifices in order to save money for the new coat.
Keeping this name- Gogol in the background, the story of The Namesake progresses well to expalin the yearning and nostalgia which both Ashima and Ashoke have for their motherland. But in the end, how Ashima finds it disheartening to leave a foreign nation also a truth. That was the land whre she formed new memories, where she saw her children grow. But most importantly, that's where she lived with her Ashoke for so many years.
Some of the excerpts from the book goes somewhat like these:
"...pack a pillow and a blanket and see as much of the world as you can. You will never regret it. One day it will be too late.
My grandfather always says that's what books are for,... to travel without moving an inch."
"Finally, they stood by the lighthouse, exhausted...He heard his father cry out- they had left the camera with his mother. 'All this way and no picture', he'd said. we will have to remember it then."
"The man who gave you his name, from the man who gave you your name."

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner, the book which I finished reading recently.
I can say it's definitely one of my favourites.
Few excerpts which I liked (especially of Amir's father's dislike towards the American way of life)...

"But the Bay Area's smog stung his eyes, the traffic noise gave him headaches, and the pollen made him cough. The fruit was never sweet enough, the water never clean enough, and where were all the trees and open fields? For two years, I tried to get Baba to enroll in ESL classes to improve his broken English. But he scoffed at the idea. 'May be I'll spell 'cat' and the teacher will give me glittery star so i can run home and show it off to you', he would grumble".

"It turned out that Baba had had no money on him for the oranges. He'd written Mr. Nguyen a check and Mr. Nguyen had asked for an ID. 'He wants to see my license,' Baba bellowed in Farsi. 'Almost two years we've bought his damn fruits and put money in his pocket and the son of a dog wants to see my license!'".

"I wanted to tell him that in Kabul, we snapped a tree branch and used it as a credit card. Hassan and I would take the wooden stick to the bread maker. He'd carve notches on our stick with his knife, one notch for each loaf of naan he'd pull for us from the tandoor's flames. At the end of the month, my father paid him for the number of notches on the stick. No questions. No ID".

Paulo Coelho

I had thoroughly enjoyed reading Paulo Coelho's Alchemist long time back.
With the same expectation I read his other books- The Witch of Portobello and Eleven Minutes and it didn't impress me much.
Though the stories start nicely but they fail to hold the attention till the end.
Here and there his philosophy about life and dreams is good. But at the same time, his explanation about some ritualistic practices is hard to understand.

Here are some excerpts from his books which I liked:
From Eleven Minutes- "Dreaming is very pleasant as long as you are not forced to put your dreams into practice. That way, we avoid all the risks, frustrations and difficulties and when we are old, we can always blame other people- preferably our parents, our spouses, or our children- for our failure to realise our dreams".

From The Witch of Portobellowriting about 'Ants' he says "The guards are genetically prepared to to sacrifice themselves for the queen, the workers carry leaves 10 times their own weight, the engineers make tunnels that can resist storms and floods. They enter into mortal combat with their enemies, they suffer for the community and they never ask 'Why are we doing this?'".

From Anne Frank's Diary

"What's the use of war? Why can't people live peacefully together? Why all the destruction? Why do some people have to starve, while there are surpluses rotting in other parts of the world? I don't beleive that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone, are guilty of the war. The little man is just as guilty, otherwise the people of the world would have risen in revolt long ago! There's in people simply an urge to destroy, to kill, to murder and until all mankind, without exceptioin, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to start all over again".

Strangers

Yesterday i read an article in the paper where the author quoted few teachings by Osho...
It said " No matter how close a relationship can be (between friends, between a mother a child, husband and wife or whatever the relationship is)there are secrets kept always- sometimes for good and sometimes for bad reasons...
When we keep secrets we are no more related to that person, we become strangers...
So be more open in relationships to avoid being strangers"...

I think we not only keep secrets from others but also within ourselves...
Even though we know so many aspects of our own behaviour we do not want to admit it...
In that case we are srtangers to our own selves...

Life-not so beautiful

Life isn't so beautiful for some people especially for S right now...
I always thought there is light after darkness but in her case darkness was an indication of a 'black hole' lying further ahead...
I become speechless whenever i speak to her...
Why life is being so unfair for her throughout?
Her 'life' has shown how powerful 'death' could be and is...
I wish i could be with her now...

Self-Identity v/s Compromise

Thoughts came rushing in after i spoke to A the other day. Her questions, it seemed valid enough: at least in her position they were in place. She said: "I knew i had to make compromises and i did make it but what do i get after those compromises? Ill treatment, fights and some orders to make some compromises? If that is so why do i have to gone on like this? Don't i have my own identity? Before marriage he never uttered a word but now everything has changed"...
Nobody else could understand her situation better than I; but only difference was that she has just got into that relationship and i came out of it long back...
Now, what distinguishes compromise from self- expression?
I think there is a very thin line between the two...
If not drawn properly one or the other person in the relationship suffers...
One should know where self- expression ends and where compromise starts...
One question that always irks me is 'Why always women are expected to make more adjustments than men? Just because they are women? Or to grandiose the idea of women later by saying she suffered so much so she is great?
It's not that men don't make compromises; they do but when they don't nobody asks them any questions whereas if a woman fails to do so hundreds and thousands of questions are asked...
There are of course a category of women who love to compromise to the extent that they lose their own identity and still they are happy about it...There is an advantage with that system: NO FIGHTS between the couple...
But it's not the only category. There are those women who at any cost wouldn't let their self- identity lose and are so not ready make the slightest adjustments...
And there is the third category who can balance between the two...
Education and career, i had thought, would the scene to a greater extent: But how many educated women are able to come out of bad relationships and why can't educated people change their mentality of harassing the woman?
The questions are too many...
I only wish A would find a place and a solution where she could find solace...

The Treehouse Experience

The rushing Kali river stretching far and far across...
The soothing sound of thr same as it calma down and reaches below...
The chilling winds as you stand by the open windows...
The fear that churns your stomach as you look down the same windows during night...
The loud scream of the rafters as they challenge to cross the white water...
The mighty pride of the man for having challenged the nature, yet the pettiness he should feel infront of the magnificant nature visible till the horizon and for having meddled with the nature's beauty and freedom...
The strength and silent suffering of the tree that holds the house just to safeguard the people inside...
The trees nestling the truly amazing Hornbills...
The woods being used for sheer pleasure and entertainment of man...

Cup of Tea

...life is like a cup of tea...
You sit by the window, lift the cup and take careless sip only to realize somebody forgot to add sugar...
Too lazy to go for it, you somehow struggle through the sugarless tea till you discover sugar crystals lying at the bottom...
That's what life is- shaken but not stirred...

...if Shakespeare had never existed would the world have differed much from what it is now? Does the progress of civilization depend upon great men?...by Virginia Woolf

...if i love myself despite of my infinite faults, how can i hate anyone at the glimpse of their few faults...

...once i did bad and that i heard ever,
twice i did good but that i heard never...

...if you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing...by Benjamin Franklin

...if you can dream- and not make dreams your master;
if you can think and not make thoughts your aim...by Rudyard Kipling

ಅನ್ವೇಷಣ

ನನ್ನ ಮನ:ಮುಟ್ಟಿದ ಭೈರಪ್ಪನವರ "ಅನ್ವೇಷಣ" ಪುಸ್ತಕದ ಕೆಲವು ಆಯ್ದ ಸಾಲುಗಳು...
"ನಮ್ಮ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಯುವ ವಿಚಾರವನ್ನು ಯಾರಿಗೂ ಹೇಳಲು ಶಕ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಮ0ದಿಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯುವುದೂ ಇಲ್ಲ.
ವಿಚಿತ್ರ ಅ0ದರೆ ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರಿಗೆ ಹೇಳುವಾಗ ನಾವೇ ನಮ್ಮ ವಿಷಯವಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಾ ಉತ್ಪ್ರೇಕ್ಷೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊತ್ತೀವಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಾ ಗೌಣ ಮಾಡಿ ಕೊತ್ತೀವಿ.
ಆ ಕೇಳುವವನ ಸಹಾನುಭೂತಿ ಗಳಿಸಲಿಕ್ಕೆ, ಅವನ ಕಣ್ಣಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ಯೋಗ್ಯರು ಅನ್ನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಿಕ್ಕೆ, ಬೇಕಾದ ಹ0ಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ತಿದ್ದಿ ತಿದ್ದಿ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ನಿರೂಪಿಸ್ತೀವಿ.
ತೀರ ಆತ್ಮೀಯ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತನ ಹತ್ತಿರ ನಮ್ಮ ದೌರ್ಬಲ್ಯವನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು. ಆದರೆ ಅದು ಕೂಡ ಅವನ ಅ0ತ:ಕರಣವನ್ನು ಗೆಲ್ಲುವ ಒಳ ಉದ್ದೇಶದಿ0ದ ಕೂಡಿರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಹೊರಗಿನೋರಿಗೆ ನಾವು ನಿಜ ಹೇಳಲಿಕ್ಕೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವಿಲ್ಲ. ಅದೇನಿದ್ದರೂ ನಮಗೆ ನಾವು ಮಾತ್ರ ಹೇಳಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು.
ಆದ್ದರಿ0ದ ಒಳಗಿನಿ0ದ ಏನಾದರೂ ಕಲಕಿದಾಗ ಒ0ದು ಪುಸ್ತಕದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆದಿಟ್ಟು ಒತ್ತಡ ಕಳಕೊ0ಡು ಬಿಡೂದೇ ಸೂಕ್ತ.
ಡೈರಿ ಮು0ದೆ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗ್ತದೆ, ಮತ್ತೊಬ್ಬರ ಕೈಲಿ ಬೀಳ್ತದೆ, ಬೀಳಲಿ ಅ0ಬೋ ಆಶೆಯಿದ್ದರೆ ಮತ್ತೆ ಅದು ಸುಳ್ಳಿನ ಸುರುಳಿಯಾಗ್ತದೆ".

"Shantaram"

I have been reading this book called Shantaram written by Gregory David Roberts....
Though the first look of the book doesn't really tempt you to read it, ('coz the cover page looks very old and the number of pages are some 937:))))))) its really a good book.....
Moreover its a true story!!!!!!
The protagonist escapes from a prison in Australia and comes to Bombay......
There he encounters many people and starts living in the slum where he later opens his own 'First Aid' clinic to the slum people......
In the meantime he falls in love, goes to jail (without any complaint against him!!!which is usual in the Indian scenario) and luckily comes out with a Mafia support....
Later ofcourse he joins the mafia because he has to repay his debt to the master who released him from the jail.....
N later he joins him in Mujahideen war against the Russians......
There are lot of stories but its thrilling and at the same time there is a tinge of philosophical touch to the whole story...
And that makes it all more interesting.....
There is one point where in he says about "suffering" which goes like: "Is it not true that some of our strenght comes from suffering? That suffering hardship makes us stronger? That those of us who have never known a real hardship and true suffering cannot have the same strength as others, who have suffered much? And if that is true, does that not mean that our argument is the same thing as saying that we have to be weak to suffer and we have to suffer to be strong, so we have to be weak to be strong".
Though complicated its a good one.....
In another situation he says: "One of the reasons why we crave love and seek it so desperately, is that love is the only cure for loneliness and shame and sorrow.
But some feelings sink so deep into the heart that only loneliness can help you find them again. Some truth about yourself are so painful that only shame can help you live with them.
And some things are just so sad that only your soul can do the crying for you."