Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Discovery of yourself
The Discovery of India
India is incredible. India is full of contrasts. India is unity
in diversity. India is you.
When someone writes about India’s entirety, its history, geography,
religions, languages, rulers, movements, almost everything under sun, it will
not be a stand-alone book but it will be a book of books. Nehru’s The Discovery of India is full of foot
notes, sometimes extending more than a quarter length of the page.
With this book, you will be set on a journey of 5000 years, starting from its
roots in Harappa, touching up on Veda, Upanishads, practice of yoga, early Hindu
rulers to Mughal sultans, arrival of East India Company, and freedom movement
up to 1945.
By the time you are done with this book, you would have figured
out what next to read or research. And when someone says he/she knows India
enough, you can smile at them.
I am not taking on those who instantly criticize Nehru here,
instead asking them to read this book to find that he was a well-read person
with fine writing skills.
The Discovery of India
Alida Mele by Shivaram Karanth
This short novel written in first person begins with author receiving
a letter from his friend who seeks help to act on some of the instructions after
his death.
Author travels to Mumbai to complete the last rites of his friend,
takes possession of his goods and starts acting on his last wishes. And the life
history starts opening up uncovering many of the finer details of his friend’s
past life which author was not aware of when he was alive. Author travels to
far away destinations meeting the relatives of his dead friend, goes through many
embarrassing and tricky situations and takes his own calls wherever instructions
from his friend are incomplete.
It makes an interesting read as the central character is no more alive in the story but the whole plot revolves around him and his past actions.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Try Tagore and have stronger roots
If you want to read just one
author and just one form of writing, it has to be Tagore and his short stories.
I enjoyed reading ‘Cabuliwallah’ in my childhood, I think the new generation
would also see value in his stories. All those students in schools, rebels at
college, individuals with earning or no earning, middle aged going through a
crisis, all kinds of people from all walks of like can find themselves or their
future beings in Tagore’s stories.
Does not matter if you want
to read a quick story in a bus or have whole night for reading, it is not the
time you spend in reading but it is the time you spend later on to digest the
story because the emotions triggered will not settle down so easily. It is stories like ‘The child’s return’ and ‘The trust property’ which moved me
inwards and it took good time for me to come out of melancholy.
Want to get in touch with your human side again? Let Tagore
be with you.
Collected Stories
Karvalo, in search of a missing link
I read Karvalo for the first time when I was studying in
high school. It was a prescribed text in Karnataka for Kannada language paper-II
that time. I picked it to have a glance at the book during summer vacation and ended up completing the book the same day. It has
been 20 years since that and I have read it at least 10 times after that. It is the most borrowed book in my bookshelf. Some of my
friends who are miles away from books have read it and appreciated it.
The entire story is told in first person, but the author
himself is not the central character, it is the scientist in the town Karvalo and
his assistant Mandanna. Karvalo is keen to locate a rare flying lizard which he
thinks is a missing link in explaining evolution of nature. He seeks help from
Mandanna, who is considered good for nothing by fellow locales. The turnout of
events like the experience with honey-bees, marriage of Mandanna makes the read
funnier and the team finally locates the lizard but will they succeed in
capturing it? Read Karvalo and find out yourself.
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