Out Of My Mind..

Little Rann of Kutch

2012-01-26T00:22:00.000+05:30

Was just going through some of my old pics and thought of uploading these couple of them from Rann of Kutch. I made this one day short trip more than 1.5 years back and these pics bring back fond memories :)

We had reached Ahmedabad via an overnight train in the morning and after a shower and breakfast started for Dhrangadhra by road. It was noon by the time we reached there and after a short nap headed for the salt dessert. Neither the driver of our jeep was acquainted to the place nor there were any directions marked so it took us a while to find our way. Besides Little Rann of Kutch not being as famous as its counterpart The Great Rann of Kutch, nobody could really understand why we were making a big fuss in a small place like Dhrangadhra. I still remember the way our driver was asking directions in his strong Tamilian accent : Rann ma jana hai :-)

Finally after crossing a small village we reached our destination. And imagine my surprise when instead of an expanse of white salt I saw cracked mud as far as I could see. Well this is what you get in the month of September :-)

Cracked land as far as eye can see

Fortunately we were just on time to catch such views followed by a lovely sunset. We could also spot some Indian wild ass, this place being famous for its sanctuary. However once the sun was set, it immediately grew pitch dark and there being no other light, we soon got lost. After some vague driving around (based on our best direction sense) and some panic moments (we didn't even have any network on our mobiles) we saw a far away light. Well about time, I had started wondering what we'l do if we don't find our way soon enough. Trying to get near this light we finally reached that village.

Sunset at the Rann

A brief glimpse of social gatherings in the village and we were back after a day well spent :-)

Full tilt - Dervla Murphy

2012-01-20T21:30:00.000+05:30

A sole woman's journey - pedalling across Europe and Asia, taken at the age of 31. The very description made me long to read this book. But considering the enthusiasm I had, the beginning proved quite a dampener. This book was not easily available in Indian markets and I finally got a copy from Flipkart after a long wait. And once I got my hands on it, I could barely wait to begin with it. However few chapters through the book, I was thoroughly disappointed to see that Dervla had finished writing about the first part of the journey from Ireland to Iran in just one chapter. Hardly any details were provided and there was minimum chronology. Random reminiscences formed this first chapter. And to be fair, she didn't really pedal all the way cuz of snow, as was the impression given from the description of the book.

Anyway, since I liked the authors spirit to take up such a trip in the first place, I persevered with the book and it did compensate for my disappointment. Iran onwards she has jotted down her experiences day by day like in a diary. So it was nice reading it. Like I have mentioned in my review for her Eight feet in Andes, she really does describe landscape very beautifully. She writes about the mountains with admirable reverence. I re read her illustrations, to appreciate the picture that they encompass. So am already smitten by the beauty of Afghanistan, even though I haven't seen it even in my dreams.

The first hand experience of life as was in 1960s in Iran, Afghanistan etc was quite interesting to read. Simple and primitive, with minimal needs. For a westerner it was quite a difference, with no "progress" yet, as Dervla likes to call it. She likes it that way - primitive. She loved Afghanistan and its people for its simplicity, the raw beauty and lack of any westernization so far. She considers herself lucky to have experienced Afghanistan in its true form before it gets influenced by the "West". My take - there are pros n cons for everything. So called "westernization" does bring in monotony and dilution of local cultures, but on the other hand it also brings in comfort and longevity in terms of medical supplies and facilities.

She lives amidst the locals, eats like the locals and it’s a wonder that she didn’t fall sick as often as one might, living in such unhygienic conditions. I mean imagine living with people who never ever wash and don’t know how water feels on skin. She does fall sick and fortunately for her, she also had acquaintance with the top shots as well. So after spending time in the remotest of places she could recuperate with the maharajas and ministers of the state. She has cycled through all kinds of terrain and difficult ones for that matter: mountains, dessert, plains: and extremes of weather, snow to super hot. At many places she carried her cycle instead of cycling it. Her endurance is commendable.

Sadly she didn’t write anything good about India. Not that she has written much about it. Her journey ended when she reached Delhi after crossing Punjab. Her experience started with eve teasing, followed by insensitive and in general formal cold people, lacking any warmth. Not to mention the filth and traffic even in those times. In Dervla’s own words “The standard of driving is appalling and I cycle in constant expectation of a premature demise”.

Overall loved reading about her journey. Some excerpts from the book:

“I have been long enough in the East now to have forgotten how to feel impatient”

“The more I see of unmechanized places and people the more convinced I become that machines have done incalculable damage by unbalancing the relationship between man and nature."

“The complete unbroken solitude and the absence of anything recalling the rest of humanity produce a unique feeling of liberation as on moves slowly through these tremendous gorges.”

The Dark half – Stephen King

2011-12-10T21:47:00.000+05:30

Happened to read this genre of book after a real long time, cuz I guess I needed a break and wanted to read something really light and that which will not require much concentration from me. Incidentally I picked up the right sorts. Dark side is just the kind of book, which you can skim through without really making an effort to read it and yet you will get the entire story.

The book starts of introducing a famous author who is not as famous for writings under his name but is more famous for his thriller books under a pseudonym. However since the secret of his pseudonym has leaked so he himself declares the same and kinda kills his alter ego. From here on the books proceeds creating a sense of mystery about it – gruesome murders happening right and left (the gruesomeness is quite elaborate, more than I cared for). All the clues point to this author, but with perfect alibis its just impossible for the author to be the murderer. So very predictably, its the authors twin. But wait a minute, he has no twin, infact any signs of twin were removed from his brain while he was a small child. So its his alter ego, that somehow has come to life. And now only one shall live while the other perishes. So the tussle continues and towards the end, the evil alter is killed and carried away to the other world by a whole load of sparrows.

Doesn't makes sense? Nevermind, that is how its meant to be. Paranormal is meant to be a part of this story, else there was no other explanation for the course of the event, murders to be specific.

Overall, its not a griping fiction, kinda gets boring and predictable. And the not so captivating, paranormal ending doesn't do much to save the day! However it did occur to me that it would make a good horror movie and guess what, there is a movie based on this novel :-)

My Kindle!!

2011-10-11T21:51:00.001+05:30

I seem to embrace change real slow. I try to cling onto the good old stuff as long as possible. And that quiet explains why I am foraying into the world of e books now after so many years of its inception. So finally with my off late favorite possession, kindle, I embrace the world of ebooks. However that won’t diminish the charm of old fashioned paper books for me ever, they still hold dear to me J

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Douglas Adams

2011-08-29T20:06:00.001+05:30

After having read complete hitchhikers series for the second time and enjoying it all the same, I started looking for some more books by Douglas Adams and came across Dirk Gently. And glad I did, because its one read that should not be missed. Although when I started reading this book, it did not make much of sense. As I persevered with it, it became interesting as it went by, not because it started making sense, but cuz of the authors comical style of writing. And off course towards the end everything made sense cuz everything fell into place.

!!Spoiler Alert - Begins!!
Dirk Gently is a detective who believes in the fundamental interconnectedness of all things.
According to him "Sherlock Holmes observed that once you have eliminated the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible."
Thus ensues a story which has a electric monk who rides a horse and has the job of believing everything, a ghost who is waiting since eons to undo a mistake that resulted in his death and a lot more, a forgetful professor, a detective with holistic view and his very confused client and yes a time machine. With the mysteries unfolding, Dirk Gently ends up saving the entire humanity, or so he thinks.
!!Spoiler Alert - Ends!!

Putting some statements from the book here which doubled me up with laughter -

"Richard stood transfixed for moment or two, wiped his forehead again, and gently replaced the phone as if it were an injured hamster. His brain began to buzz gently and suck its thumb. Lots of little synapses deep inside his cerebral cortex all joined hands and started dancing around and singing nursery rhymes."

"'A horse?' he said again.
'Yes, it is,' said the Professor. 'Wait - ' he motioned to Richard, who was about to go out again and investigate - 'Let it be. It won't be long.'
Richard stared in disbelief. 'You say there's a horse in your bathroom, and all you can do is stand there naming Beatles songs?'"

A must read for Douglas Adam's fans. Its hilarious!! But do not compare it with Hitchhikers, both are way different. Only similarity being the notion "Everything is possible" which is quintessential Douglas.

The Ultimate Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy - Douglas Adams

2011-05-31T16:22:00.003+05:30

This is one book which everybody should read cuz it has so much hilarity packed in utter gibberish that it never ceases to amaze you.

Thats all I have to say :-)

Vegas & Niagara Falls

2011-05-31T15:59:00.000+05:30

Today with lot of free time on hand I started going through all my old snaps, of my once upon a time US trip. Putting up few of those pictures here.

I have seen many stories done on Vegas on the Travel and Living channel [TLC now], and mostly it revolves around the wild life in Vegas and how the city never sleeps. That all is so true and once you enter Vegas you can clearly see yourself enter an artificial bigger than life world complete with the glitterati and the razzmatazz.

Venetian

I was so impressed by the huge and aesthetically pleasing casinos, specially the Venetian and Paris. The moment you enter them you are in a different world with streets and artificial sky and everything, it is difficult to remember you are inside a mere building. But then it is not a “mere” building, is it.

Night View of the city - Can see Bellagio and its fountains

The lighted view of the entire city from the top of Eiffel Tower of Paris casino is also worthwhile.

Bellagio Fountains

My euphoric moment in Vegas was watching the dancing and lighted fountains of Bellagio in the night. I’m sure I wouldn’t have tired watching them again n again.

Red Rock at the outskirts of the city

Just at the outskirts of this happening city is a serene landscape of red rock. Here many people do rock climbing or rock scrambling. Yeah that’s also something that can be done in Vegas :-)

Niagara Falls

About Niagara falls, I and one of my frens used to joke that anybody and everybody who goes to US (every desi to be precise), has a “Niagara pic” on their facebook/ orkut. Only after visiting these falls I realized why that is so, it has to be experienced to be appreciated. Only after getting drenched in the mist of these majestic falls, with its deafening roar drowning every other sound, I could feel the rush one gets by just being there.

Subtle Knife & Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman

2011-04-24T21:40:00.003+05:30

Before I plunge into expressing my views about these books it’s just fair to give a small summary regarding the story [for the sake of continuity to the previous post if not anything else].

So in the previous book a doorway had opened into another world [Cittagazee] and Lyra had gone through it. Will, a 12 year intrepid boy is on the run and through a window between his world and another, finds refuge in the latter. Cittagazee is full of specters, some transparent creatures visible only to adults and which suck life out of adults rendering them alive but still lifeless. So anyway, Lyra and Will become best of friends, get hold of Subtle knife, which is a very unique knife that can cut anything, even windows between different worlds. They are in search of Will’s father, in course of which they meet some witches, who are keeping them safe and helping them reach Lord Asriel. Lord Asriel meanwhile is assembling the biggest army to fight Almighty or Creator. Whatever!!

The Church are also in search of Lyra and Will, cuz it is fated that Lyra will be tempted like Eve and her decision will result in a world of sin. So they want to kill her for greater cause. Eventually Lyra is kidnapped by her mom Mrs Coulter, who wants to keep her safe from church, but Will manages to free her with the help of angels. Lyra gets some notion that she has to go to the world of dead and meet and apologize to her friend. So off they go there and meanwhile Mrs Coulter and Lord Asriel fight the church and Almighty [who happened to be some powerful angel], so that Lyra and Will can live a fulfilling life.

After the great war is over and things are returning to normalcy, Lyra and Will fall in love but they can’t live together cuz they have to return to their respective worlds and cannot live in each other’s worlds. Also all the windows to the different worlds have to be closed and subtle knife has to be destroyed so that no more specters are born and nature's balance is not lost. So in effect Lyra and Will can’t meet each other ever and they make the choice and go about living in their respective worlds. End of story. Phew!!

Believe me it was such a boring story. I mean even if it is a purely imaginative and fictional story, there should be something interesting in it, some interesting characters, and interesting plots. But this trilogy had nothing. Subtle knife was still okay, but the third part was just too much to take. The way author started, building the story’s characters and plots was still fine, but somewhere in between the author lost it and probably finished writing the remaining part just for the sake of completion. I also went about reading the entire thing just for the sake of completing it. But this trilogy has been a sheer waste of time and money [sob].

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

2011-02-18T16:43:00.000+05:30

Wow My last post was in December beginning!! Days going busy busy with house shifting and setting up…phew..

Haven’t been reading much these days. Did pick up “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Philip Pullman, and have been reading that on and off. Finished the first part – Golden Compass and have begun with the second part – Subtle knife.

Lyra, a 11 year old girl who is the protagonist of this story is supposedly a blessed child, destined to bring about huge powerful changes in the world. She is shown to be curious, bold, with great intuitive powers. This story is set in an universe parallel to ours. And here the human beings have a inseparable part of themselves called daemon, which generally is in a form of an animal. This daemon is actually a part of the person, so if it is separated from the person by some power, it kinda means a death like life for the person or even death. Phew. Also this world has witches and talking bears. Anyway, so the story has a plot in which few bad goons led by Mrs Coulter, who is utmost charming and cunning at the same time, are conducting some experiments on kids to separate their daemons. All this because it is somehow related to “Dust”, which is never fully explain in the book [and that is why the second and third parts exist ;-) ]. All that I could gather was that “Dust” is somehow related to “Original Sin”.

Then there is another main character Lord Asriel who is very enigmatic and charismatic. He has succeeded in opening a passage to another parallel world and has gone into it. The Northern lights which we see in our world, are also seen in theirs, just that when they see northern lights, they see a reflection of parallel worlds in it. And that is where Lord Asriel has gone into, followed by Lyra who at such a small age wants to make sense of all of it J

And why the name “Golden Compass”??Thats cuz Lyra gets a compass like instrument, called Alethiometer, which can answer any question asked to it. Asking the Question, and understanding the answer is the tricky part, as this instrument comprises of dials and various symbols. Not everyone can read the instrument but our protagonist does that with ease relying on her intuition. I guess that’s where this book got this title.

It was a fine read, a simple fantasy story with few imaginary creatures, some drama some adventure and not much twists and turns. But not too “dark” ;-) Not recommended for people of my age group. Its kinda kiddish J But nevertheless I’l continue reading the second and third part as well and post about it J

Rozabel Line - Ashwin Sanghi

2010-12-01T21:23:00.000+05:30

This was a highly recommended book and so I went about reading it. But somehow it has impressed upon me as a very boring book. The initial few chapters were fine, interestingly building up the plot. But then as the book progressed, it became very repetitive, both in the content and style.

Story is based on religion and history, on various cults, on controversies and secretes. On how Jesus Christ was a normal human being, got married, had kids. On how the genealogy continues even till this date. [Not a new theme after Da Vinci Code] This book repeats this Jesus Christ angle till adnaseum. Plus it also has a mix of concepts from Islam and a huge stress on Hinduism’s rebirth belief. Overall it glorifies Indian history and Hinduism and also speaks of oneness of all religions. And intermingled in all this is terrorism, politics and nuclear bomb blast. All that is fine, but the repetitiveness kind of makes the plot lame.

Wonder If I have become too old for such books or the book itself wasn’t all that good.

The Wall (and other short stories) - Jean Paul Sartre

2010-11-03T21:30:00.001+05:30

Nobody recommended me this book, nor had I heard about it. Somehow came across this author and subsequently this book while surfing, thought will give it a shot. And a good one it was.

“The Wall” is an eponymous collection of short stories. Each of these short stories delves on grey shades of human mind and emotion.

“The Wall” was one of my favorite short stories amongst these and I actually re read it couple of times more. It is based on the time of Spanish Civil war, and is narrated from the point of view of one of the prisoners, Pablo Ibbieta. Pablo and couple of more prisoners are put into a dark small cold cell and are sentenced to be executed at dawn. The execution will take place by shooting bullets at the prisoners lined up against the Wall. The whole story is about how the human mind and body conflict with each other while awaiting death, about how different people perceive the looming death. How once the illusion of eternity disappears, life and everything in it loses all meaning.

Pablo wants to die neat; he does not want to express any emotions of fear, sadness, pity, remorse or anger. It’s not that he is making an effort not to express emotions; it’s just that he is not feeling any of these emotions. He feels nothing. He isn’t scared to face death, he is neither sad nor angry, nor does he feel any kind of self pity. He thinks about his whole life so far, how he struggled for few things, enthusiastically did others, living as if he was immortal. It’s like the only certainty is death and you are alone in it. Even though he has a loved one, whom he missed at times, he had no feelings for her at this hour, cuz he was alone in this. Even though she will grieve about him, but it is still he who is dying. He found that his mind had accepted this fact but his body was betraying him, as if it wasn’t his. He was perspiring in the cold shivering night, and he wasn’t sure of his body anymore which was showing signs of decaying with fear.

At a point he realized if for some reason he gets to live, life will still be moot, now that the illusion of life was gone. With these thoughts it was dawn and they started to hear bullet shots in background. Soon Pablo’s cell mates were dragged to their death. But Pablo isn’t, with a subtle twist in fate he gets to live, just yet. He is confused about it and when it dawns on him, laughs and cries at the same time.

The narration is awesome. The musings of a man standing at the door of death gives you goose bumps and yet at the same time seems apt.

The second story “The Room” is about a girl, Eve, who is living with her dementia hit husband, Pierre. Her parents are quite worried and wish that she realizes that her husband is sick, needs help and she needs to get on with her life. She on the other hand is quite fine with living with her husband in their dark room which is completely lost from humanity. Pierre lives in his own world, everything he says or feels is a figment of his imagination. He recognizes no one, and is slowly drifting into his own imaginary world. Eve seems unable to extricate herself from his life. She has cut herself from the rest of the world and is confined in that single dark room, with Pierre. One moment she is scared to be in that room, next moment she wants to enter his world. He seems to have such a strong influence on her that she seems hung on the verge of insanity. Again the narration is quite good and makes one wonder “what defines sanity?”

There are 3 more such psycho stories in this collection. I didn't like the last story "Childhood of a leader", didn't even finish reading the whole thing. Other stories did make a good read :)

Gujrat Road Trip – 28th – 31st July 2010

2010-09-14T23:51:00.012+05:30

Fig 1: Trip Route

This plan was kinda made suddenly and the whole credit for planning it up goes to my parents. They made the entire bookings for lodging and transport and all that was left for us to do was enjoy it!

So on Tuesday (27^th) evening after a regular day at work I left for Pune station and boarded the train to Ahmedabad. Due to short noticed train booking, we had sleeper berths and as usual it was all very crowded, with waiting list people trying to sleep where ever they could find any space. Ahmedabad being just 12 hours away from Pune, it wasn’t much of a hassle and before we knew, we were at home having sumptuous breakfast.

After breakfast we were on road by around 10 am, heading towards Balachadi. We decided to take de route and visit Lothal, which is about 80 kms from Ahmedabad. Lothal is an excavation site for Harappan Civilization dating back to 2500 – 1900 B.C. So you can actually see some ruins here, and also the various artifacts unearthed here, displayed in the museum.

Fig 2: Market Place in Lothal

After spending sometime in those ruins, we started again and this time stopped for lunch. We had some packed homemade lunch and then settled for a nonstop 3 hours drive to Balachadi Sainik School, a place somewhere near Jamnagar. We reached here at around 5 after driving around 330kms since morning. We halted for the night here instead of Jamnagar, because we were keen on being near the sea shore. And what location! It was awesome. Our room, which was Maharaja Digvijay Singh’s [the brand Digjam is named after him] summer retreat and now converted to guest rooms, was on the sea shore and the sea breeze was refreshing. After a quick round of tea, we went on the shore and were taking in as much of the nature we could till after sunset. By late evening water receded for kms because of low tide and that with sunset hues made it quite picturesque.

Fig 3 : Sunset hues in Balachadi

Next day we left for Dwarka at around 8. It is around 160kms from Balachadi via Kanchanpur, Khambaliya and Bhatiya. Here we immediately went for Darshan as the temple closes in the afternoon from 1 pm to 5pm. This city is considered one of the holiest cities of India and is one of the 4 dhams in Hinduism. Inside there is one main temple of Dwarkadhish (a form of Lord Krishna) and many small temples of various demi Gods of Hindu mythology.

Next we went to Nageshwar Jyotir linga [near Dwarka], which is one of the 12 jyotirlinga shrines mentioned in Shiva Puranas. What immediately and easily grabs your attention is the huge idol of Lord Shiva [85 ft tall]. After darshan, I tried to capture the entire Shiva idol in one shot and managed pretty well.

Fig 4: Lord Shiva [85ft] at Nageshwar

After that we left for Okha, which is some 30kms from Dwarka. It is a small town on the coast. Bhet Dwarka is just a 15mins boat ride away from Okha. However we didn’t go there immediately, as it was already past 1 and the temple would be closed till 5. So we decided on having lunch first. Driving around the town of Okha, we found that in the small market place it had, nearly all the shops were closed. It seemed that people here believed in a laid back life and valued their siesta. We found only 2 eating joints, one serving typical Gujrati thali and the other with regular food. We went in the latter one which was kinda unkempt and yet crowded for the small sitting place it had. Surprisingly food was palatable, in spite of floating in oil. After this meal we headed for the jetty and got into a boat which took us to the island famous for Bhet Dwarka temple. I really liked the view of multitude of boats lined up, adorned with colorful flags.

Fig 5: Okha Coast lined up with boats

It was pretty hot by this time, and it was barely 3:15. We had almost 2 hours before we could go for darshan. This 4 hours shut down of the temples is pretty inconvenient for travelers who have come all the way for darshan. There wasn’t even any decent place to sit and while away time. To be honest I found that village extremely filthy and couldn’t believe that a place having a temple with so much importance in Hindu mythology was in such a shabby state. To top it all, the pundits of the temple actually made us sit and listen to them make oblique appeals on how we should donate generously to the temple. I mean first you put in no efforts to maintain basic cleanliness in the temple and then you tell us that it is our duty to donate, that too generously, some cheek!

Back to Okha after darshan, we headed for the place we had booked for the night. Could spot many mud houses and many of the roads were untarred. Also it is nearly at sea level, and incidentally had received more than its usual share of rains this season, so was water clogged at many places. In spite of everything our stay was quite comfortable and relaxing.

Next morning before leaving Okha we had a chance of having a close look at the coast guard patrol ships and hovercrafts, not something one sees every now and then, so was pretty exciting. Back on road we reached Porbander in the afternoon after covering some 150 kms. It wouldn’t be fair if we passed by the city without visiting Kirti Mandir – Mahatma Gandhi’s birthplace. So that’s where we went next. There is a memorial built next to Gandhi’s house, which has many historical photographs and information displayed. Quite well maintained!

Fig 6: Windmills lining up Gujarat Coast

The drive since morning was completely along the coast, and something that is lined up on Gujarat’s coast and which caught my fancy were windmills. Huge, really huge and so many of them. It was quite a sight for me and I must have clicked whole lot of snaps from the car. Just outside Porbandar in a small road side dhaba overlooking the windmills, we had our not so good but edible lunch.

Fig 7 & 8: Common mode of transport for common man in Gujarat. Note: That happens to be Royal Enfield Motorcycle engine :)

Sometime before Madhavpur, there was a stretch of road along the sea shore, with huge rolling waves visible. It was pretty thrilling driving on such a stretch. By around 4:50 we were in Somnath. This is again a very important temple in Hinduism, being one of the most sacred of the 12 jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. And the location of this temple is awesome. It is like a huge temple against huge rolling waves of the sea. Looks majestic! In fact it is said that there is no piece of land between Somnath temple and Antarctica. They even have an “arrow pillar” to indicate this direction in the temple campus. The campus is quite well maintained, with greenery and nice sitting arrangement just next to the sea. We got our timing right for the darshan, there was an evening aarti (prayer) going on when we went. And there is something enchanting about such temple aarti’s, the way they reach a crescendo, not only of the music and chants, but also of the hypnosis created by them.

By late evening it had begin to drizzle and so after an early dinner we retired for the day. Next morning I actually got up early just to sit next to the sea and watch the waves. Huge waves, rolling in one after the other, breaking at the shore, in an unending promenade. The eternal roar and the ceaseless energy are so captivating that I can do this for hours - just sit and watch the waves.

Fig 9: Sea shore at Somnath

But incidentally we didn’t have the luxury of time and had to get going as we had the maximum distance to be covered today, approx 450kms. Until now we had no issues with the road condition, but now it became pretty bad and it worsened after Una. It remained like this till we were around 55 kms from Mauhua, which meant that we had approximately 110 kms of bumpy ride. This plus the rains, put us behind the schedule and it was nearing 10 by the time we were back home in Ahmedabad after being on road for nearly 12 hours.

We couldn’t help but take a short de route towards Diu just before Una. This island is approximately 100kms from Somnath and is connected to mainland via bridges. Diu is a small clean and colorful city. Colorful, because I could spot so many colorful houses, fluorescent yellow with fluorescent pink borders, bright pink with orange doors. Due to lack of time we could not cover all the “tourist attractions” here but we did see one of the most imposing structures in the city, Diu Fort. This fort which was built by the Portuguese during their colonial rule in 1535 is located at the extreme south east end of the island, is surrounded by water on 3 sides and has a deep moat on the fourth side. The three sea facing sides have bastions fortified with canons, many of which can still be seen. Standing near those canons facing the sea, I momentarily felt transformed in time.

Fig 10 & 11: Diu Fort

I really wish I could have spent some more time in the fort, but clock was ticking and we had to be home by dinner time. Couldn’t resist another short de route towards Alang, somewhere before Bhavnagar. Alang happens to be the world’s biggest ship breaking yard. Ships from all over the world come here for recycling. The 10kms road towards Alang, is lined with junk yards on both sides, with anything and everything found in a ship to be resold – starting from furniture, bedding, kitchen ware, washing machines to lifeboats, steel, engines. It was some sight. Alang’s coast line stretches for about 7 miles (all lined up with ships) and it has a tidal range of about 13 meters. During low tide, when the water recedes, many manual laborers dismantle and salvage whatever that can be and reduce the rest to scrap. Lots of steel gets recycled this way. On reaching Alang’s coast we drove from one end to the other catching glimpses of whatever ships were lined up there. We couldn’t see how the dismantling of the ship actually takes place but it was a good enough tour for us.

Every place has something new to offer. Every place has its own unique memories. And what can I say about being on the road – it’s simply euphoric...Wherever I may roam...Wherever I may wander…

:-)

Trip to Mahabaleshwar (25 - 27th June'10)

2010-07-25T13:11:00.010+05:30

Monsoons in Pune and in the Western Ghats in general are a very rejuvenating experience. Everything seems so freshly washed and the greenery around is a treat to the eyes. The drop in temperature is a much needed respite from the blazing hot summers. And mist in the air gives a surreal touch to existence.

If you ever ask me where I would like to go, I’d have to fumble amongst so many places in my mind that I might not end up coming with a place. After initial fumbling however I am able to consider the practicality of weather, schedule, budget, convenience etc and make up my mind. Same thing happened this time. Considering the short 2 days we had and also the dependence on the public/local transport we decided on going to Mahabaleshwar. Only hitch was I didn’t fancy going to a much commercialized place thronged with people. However I took my chances and didn’t regret it.

We (me and my hubby Sayu) had decided to take it easy this time. Nothing hectic, an easy relaxed weekend. So come Friday morning, we got up leisurely, had our morning cuppa, got ready and headed for the ST bus stand. Boarded the 9:30 bus and settled for a 3.5 hours drive on the highway followed by Ghats. It was a lovely drive. Bus rides have their own charm. You seem to be above the “normal” traffic, and a window seat with cool breeze blowing in adds on to the spell.

The spell broke when it started drizzling and then pouring. Even before we had crossed Panchgani it started raining. Up till this point I had barely paid any attention to the fellow travellers, but with the windows closed I started looking around. Mostly local people and comparatively few tourists. Few troublesome kids, and blissfully ignoring them, their harassed parents. Some cute kids as well, one of them endeared Sayu into sitting beside him. A gentleman, who gave his seat to a lady to sit, yeah can spot such chivalry once in a while. With these trivial observations, people getting in and out, we rolled into our destination.

Mahabaleshwar is a well known tourist spot in western India. And it became quite evident to us from the slew of hotels around and the number of taxi drivers coming running towards the bus with their huge umbrellas to escort the tourists to their respective taxis. So we ended up taking a taxi to our pre booked resort even though it was at walking distance from the bus stand, but then it was pouring and we didn’t fancy getting wet just yet.

First impressions are the last impressions. No idea who said that. But many a times, this well known adage hasn’t held true for me. When we were shown into our room we found it claustrophobic, damp and dark. This followed by a mediocre lunch, actually dampened our spirits, and the heavy downpour wasn’t helping either. We were not sure if a couple of hours sleep would do us any good, but we still went ahead with it, hoping that the pouring will stop by the time we get up. Who travels 120 kms to sit indoors, but for now that seemed to be the only option.

Rain didn’t stop altogether but it sure did settle down to a drizzle. So equipped with our camera and umbrellas we ventured on the roads for a leisurely stroll. Earlier with no particular destination in mind we crossed the bus stop, took one turn or the other and finally found us heading towards the Vienna Lake. With absolutely no idea about the directions or distances and a nagging doubt that it might get dark early, we abandoned the thought of reaching the lake and instead started tracing our steps back to the resort. After more than 1.5 hrs stroll we were about to reach back when sky started clearing up and it actually became brighter. This encouraged us to take another shot at reaching somewhere, some “point” out of the many famous points scattered throughout the hill station. Then with reinforced vigour we started reading any road side directions we could spot and started walking towards a “sunset point”. Again after 40-45 minutes of our walk we weren’t anywhere near our destination and were keener on remembering the various turns we had taken so that we could back track. On learning the pending distance from a fellow pedestrian, we decided to head back. We could go to his point the next day. Later on we came to know that we had been walking in a completely opposite direction and that we actually were going in a circle. And just when we were about to finish our circle, we decided on heading back and walked the whole circumference again. It was hilarious when we realized this and the importance of maps in an unknown area just asserted itself.

Fig 1 : Path leading from the resort to the city

Next morning after breakfast we decided on booking a taxi for some of the famous Mahabaleshwar points. We figured we couldn’t walk to many points in a day and so left the stroll for the later part of the day. We boarded a taxi which was supposed to take us to 3 points – Kates, Needle and Echo, 2 temples – Mahabaleshwar and Panchganga and a strawberry farm, all for 350 bucks. Sounded like a good deal. [Money minting deal as an afterthought, the two points were adjacent, and I am still wondering where this Echo point, the two temples were also nearby and adjacent, and the strawberry farm, u gotto be kidding me!!]

Fig 2 : View from Kates Point

We reached Kates point and were immediately surrounded by the hordes of people who wanted to give us horse ride in that small clearing, be our guide, sell us this and that, all at once. Anyway dodging them we approached the edge of mountains to take in the view, which was totally breathtaking. We walked towards the Needle point, from where you can see the elephant head shaped mountain edge forming the eye of the needle. It is pretty artistic and I managed to get some good shots of it.

Fig 3: Eye of the needle

Tourists are a queer category and they will never cease to amaze you with their absurd behaviour. They shout, they scream for no odd reason, they litter and they talk as if they are the only ones around. Okay, I have absolutely nothing against them and in fact find them absurdly entertaining at times. Take this case of grown up guys, must be in their 20s. One of them has mounted a horse, and has instructed the owner of the horse to make it neigh and stand on its hind legs, while his buddy clicks snaps. And this went on with many retakes. Wow, I doubled up laughing. Then there were people posing with the monkeys precariously going close enough to get a good shot. It’s like they are willing to pose with anybody and everybody. And few crazy ones, who were nearing the edge to get some supposedly cool shots. It is nice to see people have fun, if only they didn’t litter.

Next we went to the two temples of Old Mahabaleshwar. First was Panchganga temple which gets its name from the confluence of 5 rivers – Koyna, Krishna, Venna, Savitri and Gayatri. Next we went to Mahabaleshwar temple which is Lord Shiva’s temple and has a lingam like none other. It is believed that this lingam has materialized on its own, divine.

Back to the resort from our little “tour”, we had lunch and dozed off for a while. Later early evening we started our stroll towards sunset point, this time with a snapshot of guide map, having learnt our lesson.

The weather was wet, misty, taking turns being foggy and drizzling. The roads were artistic – winding amidst the thick growth of trees. Trees – entwined, green with moss, standing on a thick carpet of mulch. A tinge of fog and it felt as if am dream walking into a painting by nature. It was mesmerizing. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Fig 4: En route Sunset Point

Sunset point per se, wasn’t all that an attraction. No wonder there was hardly any crowd there, besides it was too cloudy to glimpse any sunset. After spending sometime there we headed back, and guess what we spotted when our walk was coming to an end - chai ki tapri (a small tea stall). Standing on that tapri, having yum ginger tea, on such a lovely wet evening exemplified the simple pleasures of life. It was beautiful, the feeling of pure bliss :-)

Surely you’re joking Mr Feynman!

2010-06-15T20:50:00.009+05:30

Amazing read! Concise, witty, random memoirs of Nobel laureate Richard Feynman told in a very engaging manner.

I am so impressed by Mr. Feynman, who seems to have such a wonderful approach to life! Mundane stuff which might not even provoke any interest in most of the humans, are actually source of fun to his persona. Ever willing to learn and try out new things, enjoying whatever venture he takes up.

He seemed to have picked up so many things not to ace in them, but just to have fun learning them. Like when he had to visit Brazil or Japan for some work, he took up learning Portuguese and Japanese respectively, just because he was going there and wanted to mix up with the local people. Then when he was in Brazil since he was interested in Samba music, he picked up an instrument called frigideira and became a part of some local carnival band. He also played drums and kept experimenting with various rhythms. Not that he could read music or anything, just that he enjoyed playing drums, could make out different rhythms, and was decent enough to give music to some ballet performances.

He loved trying out anything that intrigued or interested him. Be it hypnosis or hallucinations in the sensory deprivation tanks or an art like painting. He used to consider himself mediocre in drawing/painting etc and once just for fun had a deal with one of his painter friends that they would teach other Physics & drawing respectively. And that’s how started what came to be known as “Paintings by Ofey”. Cool right!

Even in college/post graduation, he not only learnt his core subject physics, but also attended some lectures and participated in experiments in other fields like philosophy, biology etc, just out of curiosity. Physics, he simply loved. He was very well known for his teaching methods, his lectures, because they didn’t follow any conventional rote approach but rather he would make physics fun for his students. And just imagine he had Einstein attending his first technical seminar given in Princeton as a student. Gosh!

Since his childhood itself, he had this hunger for learning and penchant for trying out things. He had a so called lab as a kid, where he used to keep experimenting different things, like seeing various stuff under his microscope, or experimenting with ants, trying to observe and manipulate their behavior. Later on when he was working in Los Alamos on the atomic bomb, he observed that the file cabinets used to store “confidential” information were not really safe and that triggered his stint as a safe cracker, and a pretty good one at that.

Reading these memoirs made me wonder how can one person do so much in a lifetime? It’s impressive! It is just so pleasing to read about his approach. And the entire book is written in such light easy going manner that it makes a very wonderful read.

Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie

2010-06-15T20:49:00.004+05:30

This book by Salman Rushdie is my first book by this author. Obviously having heard so much about the author n the book, I had to give it a try out of curiosity. However a bestseller need not be the “best read” for everybody. This one wasn’t for me.

The book is told in first person by the protagonist Saleem Sinai who happens to have born at the stroke of midnight the moment India got its independence. So the moment India and Pakistan were born, Saleem was also born. And his growth & destiny is entangled with that of the newly born nations.

Now having born at such a momentous moment, he was empowered with special powers, and so were all those kids who were born during the first hour after midnight. Hence forming the Midnight’s children group. Saleem possessed the power to read people’s mind, to talk to them through their minds. Later on in the story he lost that power, and instead gained the power of immensely sensitive olfactory sense. So he could smell not only the regular smells or fruits and flowers, but also the smell of human nature, the deceit, truth, hatred etc.

The story starts with Saleem’s grandfather’s life in Kashmir, then his parents and their siblings. Finally, story moves on to Saleem and people in his life: his family, friends, enemies, relatives etc. He seems to be a self obsessed with that “me me and me” going about in the whole book. Kind of expected actually when the book is his life story and all the events and happenings are from his point of view, how his life was affected by them. At points he seems deranged, completely obsessed with his life, that he feels everything that is happening is to directly impact his life for better or worse. For instance the 1965 war between India and Pakistan was according to him fought so that his entire family could be annihilated and thus purified.

The story telling by the author is intense and writing style commendable, but it has a lingering aura of hopelessness and futility. The protagonist impresses upon as a disgusting self deprecating, abominable character, who does not even, incites pity for his wretched life.

Actually I don’t know what I was expecting out of the book, but there was nothing that I got out of it. For people completely into fictions and intense stories, this might be an enjoyable read.

In Xanadu - William Dalrymple

2010-05-23T22:20:00.006+05:30

Its been some time since I finished this book but couldn't find time to write about it earlier. This is another travelogue [and last one for the time being] in which the author has started his journey from Jerusalem and travelled all the way to Xanadu [summer palace of Kubla Khan] in Mongolia. He tried to follow the path taken by Marco Polo sometime in 1271. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_polo]

I wasn't really glued to this book. Author has explained the architecture and various monuments en route in minute details. And my limited comprehension about architecture couldn't appreciate all these details. Another aspect of the book, was the history regarding various places as an when author traversed them. It seemed very sporadic to me with limited coherence. Many a times I had to reread sections of history or architecture to grasp even an iota bit of it.

Am sure this journey must have been really thrilling and one hell of an experience, but I didn't enjoy much reading about it.

A long way Gone by Ishmael Beau

2010-04-25T22:54:00.010+05:30

This book is Ishmael's memoirs as a boy soldier in the war ridden Sierra Leone [South Africa].

Browsing through the internet I got to know that this country is third lowest ranked in the human development index and seventh lowest in the human poverty index. Civil war went over for a decade starting from 1991 to 2000. During this war, different groups, the rebels, army kept fighting, for control over the country. The government was incompetent to handle the situation, and this led to military coup. The civil war continued until some peace was restored in 2001 when UN forces moved in and repressed the rebel army. War was over by 2002 and elections restored democracy by 2007. Over this course of time many thousands of innocent civilians were killed, forced to be homeless and flee for their lives.

Ishmael was born in 1980 in a village called Mogbwemo. He was 12 – 13 when he first experience war. Rebel army started attacking villages, killing indiscriminately and barbarically. He got separated from his family, never saw them again and was lost going from one village to another in hope of finding some shelter, food and more importantly a safe haven. He was with few of his friends initially, made new ones in course of time, which was some solace to him in the madness around.

He has very poignantly described what war was doing to them. Seeing people being ruthlessly killed, hearing cries of pain and despair around them, living under constant fear for their lives, had become a normal routine. They feared that if they get caught by the Rebel army, they will be branded and forced to fight for the rebels. What happened was the counter part of this. They reached one big village where they got shelter, safety & food, as it was being guarded by the army. However the fighting got fierce and eventually all the young boys were trained and given guns to fight. They were instigated in the names of their families who were mercilessly killed by the rebels to the extent that all these young boys eventually started hating rebels and felt proud at being a part of eliminating the enemy. Brain washed by their lieutenants and numbed by drugs they also implicated as many atrocities to the rebels as they had been seeing up till now. Can you even imagine a kid doing that??

This went on for quite some time spanning years. And then abruptly, some UNICEF personnel came to their base camp and few boy soldiers were randomly selected to be sent to rehabilitation, Ishmael being one of them. Initial stages of rehabilitation were very tough for both these boys and the UNICEF people. The boys didn’t want to get rehabilitated. They wanted to continue fighting till the end, they considered themselves soldiers who commanded respect & they despised the cowardly civilians. They underwent withdrawal symptoms for their addiction, which was another tough aspect of their rehabilitation. UNICEF people faced the brunt of their aggression with patience and sympathy. Eventually Ishmael got clean of his addiction, got rid of his aggression, found his paternal uncle & started living with his family. Slowly and steadily he started returning to a normal life, though the scars of the past were still fresh. In the meantime he also went to United States to speak about the condition of boy soldiers and how war is robbing children of their childhood in some international conference. This was a very thrilling experience for him, as he was getting acquainted to common place things like “snow” for the very first time.

Things had barely begun to settle down for him, when unrest reached the city “Freetown” where he had been living. Normal life came to a stall & killings became commonplace. People were suppressed & scraping two meals a day also became a game of dodging bullets. That’s when he decided to leave his country and go to United States. He was in touch with a lady from the conference and asked her if he could stay with her. When she confirmed a yes, he gathered his guts and managed to flee his country. He knew that if he continued staying in the war ridden town, he would someday meet his old army friends and would have to either join back the army & kill people or get killed by them. Eventually he got adopted by the same lady in United States, and could complete his education & since then has led a normal life.

Ishmael in this book provides an insight of lives of small children in his country. Many countries in South Africa are so backward, and such civil wars have left no scope of any normal life whatsoever for anybody. It is claimed to be a true account of his life, but the credibility of the facts is under contention. Many sources believe that Ishmael has fabricated few parts of the story and it is left to the readers to form their own conviction regarding the book.

I don’t know if it really matters whether Ishmael has provided a hundred percent accurate account of his childhood events or he has exaggerated a bit to make it all more dramatic, spicing it up a bit. What matters is that those conditions, those events are a reality, a reality which will not cease to exist just because we don’t believe in it. Just imagine the life of those kids, who at the age when they should be studying and playing, are actually killing and have nothing remotely “normal” in their lives.

I personally found the book very poignant with its graphic descriptions. It is not a distant past we are talking of; these are events of just couple of decades ago. While we live in out “modern” worlds, experiencing all kinds of freedom and comfort, it is difficult to fathom that there still exists such places where humanity is struggling to simply exist.

Couple of statements from the book which I found very touching:

"Every time people come at us with the intention of killing us, I close my eyes and wait for death. Even though I am still alive, I feel like each time I accept death, part of me dies. Very soon I will completely die and all that will be left is my empty body walking with you. It will be quieter than I am."

"When I was young, my father used to say, ‘If you are alive, there is hope for a better day and something good to happen. If there is nothing good left in the destiny of a person, he or she will die.’ I thought about these words during my journey, and they kept me moving even when I didn’t know where I was going. Those words became the vehicle that drove my spirit forward and made it stay alive."

Down Under

2010-03-08T23:05:00.004+05:30

This book by Bill Bryson is about his travels in Australia [Down Under]. When I had read reviews on Bryson’s writings [online] & they hinted on his being a humorous style, I got tempted to order his books.

This book is a mix of author’s travels, many past anecdotes, general idea about life in Australia. Bryson seemed very fond of museums & national parks & have extensively seen as well as described them. Also he read quite a lot of books on Australia by local/non local authors, read local newspapers, and that became a source of many stories of past as well as present life in Australia. Was pretty interesting actually!

I specially found the history regarding this continent gripping. I mean how it was discovered by the English, and then subsequently occupied [They seemed to have occupied so much of land during the colonial times, not something expected out of a country sized so small]. And I couldn't believe this, but the first English occupants of this continent were those out casted from the mainland [England] for some petty/serious crime committed by them. So basically they were sent to live here as a punishment. [England was getting rid of the second class people in a way]. And it was quite difficult to start a modern civilization here in the barren blazing desert. Having done that today Australia is quite developed & yet quite disconnected to the rest of the world.

Apart from the big n small cities/beaches author also travelled in the Australian outback [Also called the Bush]. He took an Indian Pacific Rail from Sydney to Perth & then a 4 wheeler journey in Queensland & northern Australia. Miles n miles of desert & forbidding emptiness which he has described quite well. I always wonder how these authors get words to explain the beauty of nature. I mean when I see something picturesque or something which is so beautiful that it touches you, I find it so difficult to actually pen down how I feel. I faced it while writing my blog for Laddakh trip. But here Bryson & Dervla in my previous book, have so effortlessly penned down the beauty they are experiencing. For instance the way he has described his feelings on seeing the Ayers rock was to quite an extent similar to what I was at the Pangong Tso. Totally Impressed!

Reading about the way aboriginals were treated once the continent was occupied is in a way sad. I mean those people have inhabited the continent since long long time & they were very happy the way they have been living. And one fine day a ship load of people arrive & they consider themselves superior & advanced & civilized & start killing the indigenous people living there. Why? What rights? That’s more or less what happened. Today the aboriginals are very few compared to the “white” Australian & are still barely able to keep up with the pace of civilization. They were never treated with equality & seems like even today the situation has barely improved.

Author has also explained the indigenous flora n fauna in quite detail. It’s quite informative that way & and the details are just enough to keep you engaged & not bore you with unnecessary information. Interesting fact to note is that there seems to be so many species of plants n animals here which cannot be found anywhere else. Also there are many species which were spotted but could not be spotted again. And in fact people wonder that there might be species going extinct and maybe will become extinct even before they have been discovered. Now that’s an intriguing thought!

Actually he has made sure that we get to know about each and every dangerous species lurking around there making it an absolutely unsafe place to be roaming around in. But then on the other hand he has also described the magnificence of the beaches/great barrier reef/vast barren desolate outback is such depth that I find it all worth the risk.

And last but not the least; the style was surely humorous, with many anecdotes & his hilarious comments. I loved it.

Another awesome book, which was a pleasure to read & which made my morning office commutes enjoyable. I think except for the hot humid weather of Australian desert, I am quite tempted to visit the place myself.

Shots in Ahmedabad..

2010-02-18T23:06:00.000+05:30

In this trip to Ahmedabad [Jan 2010] I could not go for any sight seeing but I did click pictures of this n that.

Reaching on 17th Jan I had just missed Sankranti, the festival of kites which is one of the major festivals in Ahmedabad. But as can be seen from this pic, I didn't miss the kites much ;-)

This is one of the many pics of Peacock, I had taken during my evening walks in the cantt. You can find so many peacocks and peahens casually roaming around in the camp. They manage to scuttle away the moment you try getting near, and so all my shots are taken by zooming in on them. I also managed to get some pics of a dancing peacock, displaying its feathers. My persistence finally paid off well :-)

Wodehouse yet again

2010-02-17T22:41:00.001+05:30

Took a breather from travelogues & read "The luck of the Bodkins" by Wodehouse. Even though the stories by Wodehouse seem more or less similar , they always manage to tickle my funny bone :-)

Eight Feet in Andes - Dervla Murphy

2010-01-27T18:06:00.000+05:30

Ever since a friend of mine suggested me to pick one of Dervla Murphy's books, I have been on a look out for her books. But incidentally I couldn't find any in all the major bookstores in Pune, and finally I ordered couple of her books online. Normally I prefer buying books from a store, but my online book shopping experience was good enough and encouraged me to shop further from the comforts of my abode.

This book is about a trek by the author with her 10 year old daughter Rachel in Peru. They walked from Cajamarca to Cuzco, which lies along the lines of central Andes [approx 900 miles according to the book] in 3 months 10 days. This similar route was taken by the Spanish conquistadores [conquerors] sometime in 1533 when they conquered the Inca Empire in Peru.

Reading this book is like reading a diary, because it is written in that format - Date wise each days incidents are jotted down & described. So every day entry at least had details like what they ate, where and how they camped, the terrain and distance they covered & the weather conditions they faced. She has also described various encounters with native people & how much their hospitality helped her when it came to food, shelter, direction and bureaucracy at times.

What I marvelled in this book, was they way Dervla described the terrain, the mountains & nature around her while trekking. I generally find reading verbose descriptions about nature or climate boring because they mostly don't make any picture in my mind. But Dervla is just too good when it comes to describing scenery. The words she has used or the way she has described is just too interesting & beautiful. Its so easy to formulate the picture in your mind & the picture formed is truly beautiful, one feels like being in the place.

What I really admire is the courageous & intrepid traveller in Dervla & Rachel. Its amazing how one goes on such long treks admist nature & sticks to it even in extreme conditions of hunger, thirst, cold or exhaustion.

What I kinda found monotonous was their mula [this is not a typo] related problems. How could I forget mentioning about their mule Juana until now when many a times it felt that its the mule's trek & not theirs. They were accompanied by this mule which they bought in Cajamarca before beginning their trek so that it could carry their load. And eventually they grew fond of it which is kinda natural. But their mula related problems - fodder availability, picket theft, illness, limping, falling was described more often than I could appreciate.

Her encounter with native people gives an idea about the Indian life in Peru. Since she was mostly away from big cities & mostly halted in pueblos [small town], it gave a glimpse of poverty there. The Indians/Mestizos in most of the pueblos are poor, uneducated and barely managing to cultivate enough to survive. They seem to have more coca to chew than food to eat. It looks as if there is no link between the government governing Lima[capital] and these pueblos. Families are huge & each member contributes in cultivating whatever little they do for themselves. She encountered both kinds of people - shy/uninterested and helpful, greatly benefiting from the latter. As she approached comparatively big cities likes Cuzco, she faced the problem of theft, something she didn't have to deal in small pueblos.

She quotes some excerpts from books written on Spanish conquest by different authors[eg John Hemming's Conquest of the Incas] which gives slight idea about the Peruvian history. Author feels that this conquest is in a way responsible for the complete demoralization of people & in turn downfall of the race.

Overall a very nice mix of nature, culture and history to read. Here are few lines from the book which I simply loved..

" We need to be close to, and opposed to, and sometimes subservient to, and always respectful of the physical realities of the planet we live on. We need to receive its pure silences and attend to its winds, to wade through its rivers and sweat under its sun, to plough through its sands and sleep on its bumps. Not all the time, but often enough for us to remember that we are animals. Clever animals, yet ultimately dependent, like any other animal, on the forces of nature. "

Remembering the travels ... 2009 !

2009-12-31T11:23:00.017+05:30

Well here's the last day of 2009 & tomorrow begins a brand New Year..2010..!!It has been a good year & I was able to make some wonderful trips as well.

Pic 1 : Trail in Coorg

Our first trip this year was to Coorg in Karnataka. It was our anniversary celebration trip & trekking on Tadiyandamol, walking on plantation trails, relishing Coorgi cuisine was exactly how I wanted to celebrate it :) This followed by meeting up friends in Bangalore, made this trip memorable :)

Next was my solo visit to Bangalore in March to meet my friends. It was a long weekend & I decided to go to Bangalore & spend it with my friends there. We had gone on a day picnic to Nandi Hills nearby, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that trip with me as of now.

Pic 2: Kankaria Lake

My next long weekend was in Ahmedabad with my parents. It was very very hot even though the summers had just begun (April) & I mostly confined myself to indoors. The only outing was some shopping in old markets like Rani no Hahiro & a visit to Kankaria lake.

Pic 3 : Pangong Tso, our fav place in Ladakh

In July we both planned a trip to Leh Ladakh & it was simply awesome. It was one of my dream destinations & I was simply mesmerized by the beauty of the rugged mountains. I am glad we could take this trip & I am equally eager to go there again. Though next time I would love to travel the manali - Leh route via road. Hopefully that will materialize too :)

Pic 4: Rainy evening in Kerala

After spending a week in Leh we directly went to Trivandrum in Kerala to spend a week with Sayu's parents. It was a week well rested. We didn't go out anywhere for sight seeing even though this was my third visit to Kerala. May be next time :)

Pic 5: Greenery in Raigad

Once the monsoons began, it isn't fair to let it go without any trekking or driving in such a pleasant and green weather. So I went on couple of trekking trips to Raigad fort & Lohgarh with my office friends. The greenery around was just so enticing.

Pic 6: Step Well, 7 storeyed

Our last trip this year was again to Ahmedabad. Though it was cut short, we managed to have some good time while we were there & we able to see the Adalaj Step well & Swaminarayan Mandir.

That was all the travels I had this year & I hope the new year brings with it many more happiness, joy & lots of travel trips too ;-)

Turn in the South - V S Naipaul

2009-12-30T11:05:00.002+05:30

Another book in the travelogue genre, and this one is about the author's travels and experiences in the American south.

As opposed to my expectations, this book started on a boring tone. Instead of focusing on travel, it was more about a family, what they are eating, where and how they stay, routine etc. This was how it began. Later on however it became apparent that it is a theme based travelogue, theme being: racism, slavery, post civil war situation of blacks/whites.

Initially I wasn't very clear on what I am reading. Finally after being perseverent with it, I began to grasp some of the contents. Author is travelling to different places in American south like Georgia, South/North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama etc and meeting different people, talking to them about how life was before civil war & how has it changed post war. He has spoken & documented the talks with people like Hosea, who have played some role in protests and all. Visited various memorials, colleges etc. Many a talks revolve around religion, Christianity, churches, preaching, agriculture, tobacco, different clans like rednecks [which incidentally went over my head, I still don't know what rednecks are] etc.

I found the style of writing in this book haphazard. Flow of contents didn't seem smooth, no coherence at all. Many a times I had to flip back pages to re-read what was written about any person or context, which doesn't happen if the flow is good. At places it was very verbose about the weather/nature, which is fine, but then at times very boring. Overall I didn't really enjoy this read & couldn't wait to get over with it & pick something else.

I wonder when next I'll pick up any Naipaul book. Lets see. Right now, next in shelf for me is a travelogue by Dervla Murphy [yeah another travelogue]. Keen to begin with it soon :)

Grand Canyon [Nov 08]

2009-11-30T12:10:00.000+05:30

I had always been awed by Grand Canyon whenever I had seen it on TV, and so, when I got a chance to go to USA for some work, I was hoping that I will be able to make it to Grand Canyon. Incidentally I had no company to plan this trip, but then I got an invitation by my friend staying in Vegas to come and visit him. What more was needed, I could meet this friend after a long time and could also do some sight seeing around. So I got my flight tickets booked for a long weekend, and also for a one day organized tour to Grand Canyon from Vegas.

All preparations done, I left for Vegas on a Thursday evening directly from work. After reaching Milwaukee airport, I took a flight to Minneapolis, from where I had a connecting flight further. Here the halt was for nearly 4 hours and after the initial roaming around in the airport I didn’t have much to do. I whiled away time listening to music and observing people. Once on board the connecting flight, I reached a stage where I was neither asleep nor awake, in a trance, able to make out people chatting jovially as if in a party, wondering in sleep why is it they are not sleepy, wondering where am I. Soon after I could see the city, dazzling, standing out in the dark night. And the first thing to be seen after alighting the flight is slot machines; that was different. Drive from airport to the house was via the strip and I could see the brightly lit up city up close. It was spectacular with all the lights and activity, seemed so unreal.

Next morning, in spite of getting up early I got late and missed the bus at the pick up point, but fortunately I was able to catch up at the tour office, and soon after we were on our way. Early morning Vegas was very different from the glimpse I had had the last night. With no glaring lights and hustle bustle around, it looked so quite and calm, almost normal. Our tour guide cum bus driver, Hulio, apprised us of the itinerary - a long drive, Hoover dam, lunch break, Canyon & back.

I couldn’t keep my eyes of the window, kept looking outside, didn’t want to miss anything, the terrain, the way it changed, everything just kept me mesmerized. Finally we reached the Hoover Dam, where we crossed from Nevada to Arizona. We stopped for a while to click snaps before moving further. Next stop was for lunch, buffet arranged at some restaurant by the tour. I had my fill of salads, as there wasn’t anything else that I fancied.

Hulio had mentioned that we would be taken to two points in the south rim to view the Canyon, and soon enough we reached the first point. The feeling of being there, and witnessing the grandeur of the Canyon was simply euphoric. It was huge, as far as the eye could see in the clear sky; all that was seen was the Canyon. It was artistically chiseled by nature. Grand, Huge and admirable.

After seeing to our heats fill at both the points, clicking loads of snaps, and browsing through the curio shops, we headed back. By this time, it had started growing dark and so I could no longer take in the view from window. I decided to catch up on my sleep for the remaining journey back to Vegas.

ahem :D

2009-11-10T18:30:00.000+05:30

Ghost Train to the Eastern Star - Paul Theroux

2009-10-21T11:35:00.019+05:30

After racking my brain over the cosmos I wanted to experiment with some new genre of books, and so I ended up picking up this travelogue. All these years I never tried reading any travel books, reason being I always felt that travel is something you should be doing and not something you sit at home & read about. And so I kept my distance from the travel magazines or books. But with this book my perspective has changed a bit. I still feel that travel is something you should be doing, but I guess it is something you can read about as well.

This book is a very light read, its like chatting with somebody who is narrating his travel experiences, where all he went, how did he travel, whom he met, some conversations he had, some history about the place, how it has changed since last he was there, how he felt about the place now. The route he has taken starts from London, through Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan & finally via Russia back to London. So basically he has covered many Asian & some European nations. He is actually retracing his path, taken some 30-40 years back.

It gave me an insight regarding life in these countries. I mean we always hear about life in USA, UK etc, but quite rarely about life in other countries. So it was pretty enlightening & shocking at times. For instance, up until 2006, Turkmenistan was ruled by Turkmenbashi, who was such a megalomaniac that he had even renamed days of week and months name on himself or his family members names. It left me wondering in which era are we living! Then his visit to Cambodia's killing grounds, etc was quite poignant, with people still recovering from the tyranny of Khmer Rouge. For that matter all these countries, have had some or the other debilitating history, fraught with sufferings of people, as more or less all these nations were involved in some or the other kind of war or colonial rule. Its how far they have reached since those times that matters now. For instance, after being flattened out by the nuclear bombs, Japan is now one of the most developed nations. Has gone a long way since then!

I could very well relate with his experiences in India for obvious reasons, & his conclusion regarding India was just so apt. “Too many people”!

There were a couple of things that irked me a little. In one place author has met up another of his author friend & along with sight seeing, they are discussing other authors. So kinda put in his personal views regarding other authors. Secondly every place he went, he had to write about the brothels & prostitutes over there, as if he is researching on that subject. There are so many other facets which could have been explored. He could have put in those instead to break in the monotony.

Anyway, apart from these points, rest all was very pleasurable to read. Loved the way author has penned down his journey. He mentioned that he likes to travel alone. That must be something - stranger in strange lands, meeting and befriending new people, observe - assimilate - write.

Trip to Raigad Fort - 04Spet09

2009-09-06T01:17:00.018+05:30

Well for this trip, the planning part is as memorable as the trip, so I might as well pen that down. With a long weekend coming up, we (myself n my teammates) wanted to plan an overnight trip to “some” place. Now why that “some” is quoted is because, we were as sure of going, as unsure of where we will be going. Our planning began with a backup plan - Aurangabad, stay at one of the teammates place & visit Ajanta Ellora. As people got into an adventurous mood, we decided instead of going for rafting followed by visit to again “some” place. But then people kept dilly dallying and changing their mind. One day they wanted to come n next day they were “not sure”. And hence the plan hanged till just 2 days before the weekend we were at the verge of dropping the idea of going “anywhere” at all. Finally half of us[5 out of the initial 10], mustered our enthusiasm again and a day before weekend fixed that “some” place to “Raigad”, booked vehicle n were all set to leave the next day. Phew :)

Pic 1: Lush Green on the way

Day began quite early & the light drizzle seemed to tell us that weather was completely in our favor today. After picking up everybody we set on the route to Mulshi – Tamhini ghats. The drive had barely begun & we started devouring the eats each one of us had got. That along with the pleasant weather kept us cheerful & lively. Once we left the city, the road quality kinda deteriorated, but then considering the awesome view we were getting, that was hardly any concern. We stopped for breakfast in a road side dhaba, and filled ourselves with hot poha, missal pav, followed by tea.

Pic 2: Foggy road somewhere near Tamhini Ghat

Once again on road, we crossed Tamhini ghat. As we were in no hurry to reach anywhere, we took stops in between to enjoy nature at its best. It was quite foggy also, especially in the Tamhini ghat region, so we couldn't really see any view from any of the points. The drive overall was wonderful. The lush greenery around, pleasant wind, & music - had such an intoxicating effect that I personally felt extremely buoyant.

Pic 3: Many such waterfalls along the way

By the time we reached Raigad (foothills), it was nearing 12 & so we decided on going to the fort at the top via ropeway & come back down on foot. The rope way took us to the fort in minutes & those few minutes gave us such an amazing view of the mountains, waterfalls & the valley below. On reaching the top, we decided on eating lunch[which was a local dish junka bhakari] first, & after that went on ahead to see the fort which centuries before happened to be the capital of Maratha king Shivaji.

Pic 4: Raigad Ropeway

Pic 5: View from the top

Pic 6: Shivaji Maharaj

Pic 7, 8: Ruins of Raigad Fort

It was drizzling on n off, was more than drizzle actually & the wind was adding to the cold factor. Plus the fog, which whenever was getting cleared for few minutes, gave us opportunity to click few snaps. We roamed around for quite some time, seeing the remains of the fort & admiring the lush greenery around. After a while it started pouring & it seemed that there was a competition between the wind & the rain, which one could be fiercer. We hanged on to our jackets/umbrellas & scrambled back to the ropeway. As there was no way we could see any more of the fort or walk, we took the rope way to go back down.

Pic 9, 10: Ruins of Raigad Fort

After changing into dry clothes, we started our drive back. We had planned to take one de route after crossing Mahad, towards Shivthar Ghal. It was in these caves, that Ramdas Swami wrote his famous "Dasbodh". The drive again was awesome with many waterfalls (due to monsoons) enriching the splendor of lush green mountains. In shivthar Ghal , we saw the caves & water fall, enjoyed ourselves soaking in cool stream water & then finally headed back for Pune.

Pic 11: Waterfall at Shivthar Ghal

As it was already dark by this time, so now there were no more views for us, instead it was pitch dark around, and all we could see was a portion of road ahead cuz of the car head lights. We played the ever green game of antakshari to while away time. Taking the route of Bhor - Pune Banglore highway, by around 9:30 we reached Khed shivpuri & had dinner there. And then by 11, back home in Pune, tired and sleepy, pleased after yet another memorable trip.

LohGarh Trek - 23rdAug09

2009-08-28T13:17:00.000+05:30

With the onset of monsoons the weather in and around Pune has become very pleasant, ideal for trekking. And so last friday me n 3 of my teammates suddenly planned on going to Malavali on saturday. We decided on meeting at the railway station at sharp 7:15, so as to take the 7:30 lonawala local to Malavali.

Saturday morning began with wake up calls to each other, as we couldnt risk anybodys oversleeping. On reaching station & purchasing tickets, we gotto know that the local is at 8. So we whiled away time in Comesum, having tea & chit chatting. Once aboard the local, it hardly took 70-80 mins to reach Malavali. We started walking from the station towards Lohagrah fort, quite excited & energetic. To our dismay the sun was merciless. We were expecting a pleasant weather and here the sun was in its blazing glory. Anyway we managed to walk n walk, with some rest breaks in between. As we gained height the weather thankfully improved n then we started enjoying our climb.

The scenery around was simply picturesque. After reaching the base of the fort, there were quite a lot of steps, which took us to the fort. The view from the top was breathtaking & the greenery around vivid. We spent quite some time there, clicking snaps, taking in the view all around us, & enjoying the cool breeze. It was so refreshing that we had already forgotten the fatigue of the climb.

During our climb down, after covering half of the distance real quick, due to pleasant weather & downward slope, we took a break to eat. Hot plates of kandha bhaji & poha, followed by tea in a dhaba reminded us of how much starved we were. After relishing all that, we continued our walk downhill. The merciless sun once again greeted us & we tried to beat the heat by soaking in some cool water of a spring.

Finally back to Malavali station, we boarded our 4 o' clock return train. Exhausted & content with our trip we reached back already planning for the next trip :)

Fabric of Cosmos

2009-08-26T12:05:00.016+05:30

You have got to take my word on this, its a fabulous book. Especially for people who love science but don't want to plunge into the depths, at least for now. I could actually feel the atoms and molecules in my brain working, or should I say the strings comprising those atoms vibrating, haha :D

I wont brag that I could understand everything explained by the author, but then isn’t it difficult to understand something that is beyond your imagination. For instance, time is not constant, it is different for everybody. For a person moving at a very high speed, time ticks slowly than the person at rest. And then, Gravitation manifests itself as the warps & curves of the space. Can you imagine space with curves & warps?? Phew!

So that was the difficulty – imagination. But otherwise it was a very interesting & informative read. I honestly didn’t know so many things, like last I read electron was an indivisible fundamental particle. But it seems it is further composed of quarks.

The book is very well written. Author has explained how our understanding regarding cosmos progressed from Classic physics - Newtons Laws, to Einstein's general relativity to quantum mechanics to todays theories on String/M theory, and also the various possibilities of the origin of cosmos. Towards the end he also mentioned how physicists around the globe are trying to experimentally prove these theories.

With the many examples & analogies, author has really made reading this book fun.

Trip to Ladakh (4th - 11th July09)

2009-07-31T11:17:00.101+05:30

I had always wanted to visit Ladakh & when me n my hubby had to plan a vacation this time we went ahead n booked our tickets for Leh. We left for Mumbai airport on 2nd July evening. The drive from Pune to Mumbai on express highway was quite good, weather being very plesant. On reaching airport we came to know that our flight had got delayed by 2-3 hours, so we just whiled away our time in the airport & I was half dozing by the time we boarded the flight. On reaching Delhi airport there was again sometime before the next flight, so we ate something n waited more. At around 6 am we boarded the next flight, I again half dozing. Only after the breakfast was served in the flight I was fully awake. Once we started flying over the Himalayas we just couldnt contain our happiness, it was a clear day & it was so exciting seeing those picturesque snow covered mountain tops. I had never seen such a sight before in my life. All the tourists in the plane were so excited n nearly everyone was clicking away snaps, & the pilot with his commentary was adding to all the fun.

Picture1: View from flight

Finally after such an eventful flight we reached Leh airport. It was a sight in itself. Barren land surrounded with raw mountains with a runway in between. wow. We took it easy after alighting the flight as we could feel the thinness of the air due to the altitude [approx 10K ft compared to zero of Delhi]. Besides we had already got loads of advice on acclimatization through parents n internet. So we just gave the whole day to acclimatisation. We ate n slept n watched tv in our room. Our only outing in the entire day was outside our room in the evening clicking some arbit snaps.

Picture2: Thiksey Gompa

Next day, after a whole day of rest I was literally aching to go out. We booked a scorpio for our entire sight seeing program. Having done so, at around 10 we left for the visit to the Gompas. It was a bright n sunny morning & the drive took us through the barren lands, oasis around Indus, some small establishments by local people. Our first stop was at Hemis Gompa. Every gompa we saw, was a collection of small stone houses, the top most being the temple, housing the Buddha statue & the remaining others being the abode of lamas. The temple was cool n dark, lighted only by lamps, decorated by flags & having seating arrangements for prayers, very calm if u minus the tourists there. Also every Gompa is lined by prayer wheels. So after having seen the Hemis Gompa we headed for Thiksay Gompa.

Picture3: Buddha Statue at Thiksay

In this monastery, there was a huge 2 storeyed Buddha statue which was quite nicely decorated also. Also in one section they had some weird pictures n statues of dunno what, but they looked very weird demon like. I was surprised to find something like that in a Buddhist monastery. Next we went to Shey Palace, which was hardly a palace I must say, just rocks & a temple at the top. By this time we were beginning to get tired. We had to walk considerably as all temples were at a height & the sun was merciless. Actually the air being so thin there, makes the sun even more hot.

Picture4: Indus River

Next we went to "Sindhu Darshan", basically at the banks of Indus river. It was quite beautiful & calm here n we would have sat there for hours, had we not started to get hungry by this time. So we called it a day, went back to our room, ate n slept having planned for the next day.

Picture5: Leaving Leh for K-top

Next day Route : Leh - South Pullu - Khardungla top - North Pullu - Nubra Valley - Khalser - Diskit - Hunder. Approx 120 kms one way.

We left in the morning after breakfast & our first stop was at South Pullu [height approx 15 K ft]. Over here we were told that since some drilling n all is going on somewhere near K-top, so we will have to wait for few hours before going ahead. We had tea in the 'VIP' room & fortunately in the mean time District collector and his entourage passed by & stopped the drilling for the time being. So we could go ahead without any further wait.

Picture6: VIP room of S Pullu [Ht 15K ft approx]

Picture7: Snow near K-top

Picture8: Nubra Valley

The drive was simply awesome, such rugged mountains, as we went further high up, there was snow & that was another such beautiful sight. Nubra Valley was also very beautiful, here Shylok river meets the Nubra river & even though its a desert, one can find patches of greenery along the river banks. Moving ahead we crossed Khalser & Diskit villages n reached Hunder by lunch time. Hunder is an army establishment, and the closest civillian establishment is Diskit. We had our lunch n rested for sometime.

Picture9: Diskit Gompa

In the evening we went n visited Diskit village followed by the visit to Sand dunes near Hunder. Its a rare sight to find sand dunes in mountains & even though we didnt ride the double humped camels there, we enjoyed the evening.

Picture10: Sand Dunes in Hunder

Next Day we had to travel the same route back to Leh. While having breakfast in our room, which was surrounded by desert mountains, I was admiring the view & wondering how it must be like living there. As a tourist I am enjoying every moment of it, but for a person living there, it must be so difficult, specially during the winters. During winters everything is covered by thick layers of snow, roads get blocked n commuting gets very difficult, many a times supplies have to be air-dropped. Our return drive was equally good and this time we stopped at the Khardungla top [height approx 18 K ft], the highest motorable road in the world. It was a nice experience being there.

Once back to Leh we rested & in the evening strolled to the Leh market. Tourism is an important means of income in Leh & it was quite evident by the numerous shops catering to tourist needs lined up there. Infact there is this Changspa road in Leh, which has just restaurants, travel agents, rental stores, souvenier shops, money exchange & internet cafes. But mostly the tourists here are foreigners, and Indian tourists are very less comparitively.

Next day was little dull, as we both were suffering from headaches n dizzyness & we ended up resting the whole day.

Picture11: Changla Baba at the pass

Next day route: Leh - Karu - Changla Pass - Tangtse - Pangong Tso Lake. n back. Distance approx 160kms one way.

We were up by 4am n ready to go by 5am, thanks to our driver who was insistent that we should leave early as there is a pagal nala enroute, which might get difficult to cross if water level increases as the day progressed. The drive again was awesome, this time the mountains being more of rocks n stones, a different view to take in. Even though its just mountains around, the terrain differed so much here n there that I never took my eyes off the surroundings. At many places, roads were quite bad & we had a bumpy ride. Our first stop was at Changla pass [approx height 17,800 ft], third highest pass. It was snowing there n quite cold, but the feeling to be there was so good. There is no habitation except for few army posts. Those few people have to live there for years together with nothing to do except gaurd those posts. There is also a temple dedicated to Changla baba there. We had complementary tea, which is kept for visitors n moved ahead. By this time we were growing hungry & eagerly waiting to reach Tangste, where we had our breakfast.

Picture12: Mountains or just a heap of stones & rocks?

Finally we crossed the pagal nala, which is stones n water & no road & reached the Pangong Tso lake. Height is approx 14K , length of the lake is around 135kms, 45 kms being in India & remaining 90kms in China. Water is saline & has no life forms. During winter this lake freezes completely.

Picture 13: Pangong Tso Lake

It was pretty cold and windy there. We did boating for sometime & then just sat beside the lake admiring the grandeur around us. It was so splendid, I can never forget the wonderous feeling I had sitting there. On our way back we had lunch at Tangste again & were back in Leh by 5 in the evening. 11 hours on road, for one hour near the lake, totally worth it!

Next day was our last day in Leh & we decided to rent a bike to visit the near by places. We rented a thunderbird, being our personnal favourite, but it was in quite a precarious condition. Nevertheless after breakfast, we drove till the Pathir sahib gurudwara. Drive, as always was quite good, scenery breathtaking. After visiting the gurudwara, we further crossed the Magnetic Hill n reached the Sangam of Indus & Zanskar river. It was like a painting, greenish Indus calmly meeting the muddy brownish Zanskar.

Picture14: Indus & Zanskar Sangam

We further went with an intention of visiting atleast one of the 2 monasteries, Alchi n Likir. But we had to turn back after covering nearly 2/3rd of the distance, because firstly we were not sure about the amount of petrol left in the bike or its milleage[and no fuel station in sight] & secondly there was a patch of extremely bad road to cross. So we turned back n were about to reach Leh when we had a flat. Oops! Back to Leh we had lunch & then in evening headed for Hall of fame, a museum. But it had closed by then n we could not visit it. So we headed for Shanti stupa instead. It is located at a height & gives a panoramic view of the whole Leh city. So after a series of flop shows in the day, we had a nice time admiring the view from the shanti stupa. We just sat contemplating how our past one week had been, & how much we had enjoyed being there.

Picture15: Leh City

Next morning we boarded our flight to Delhi. The receding view of the Himalayas was beckoning me to come back again. Maybe we will go back there sometime :)

Lord Of The Rings - J R R Tolkien

2009-07-31T11:17:00.033+05:30

Phew...what a lengthy book :) I had started reading this book long long back , when the third part of the movie was being screened. At that time the multiplexes here also screened the first 2 parts, so that people like me who hadn't seen any part as yet, could do so , before watching the 3rd part. So I ended up watching all three parts of the movie , before I could finish reading even half of first part of the book. I really enjoyed watching the movies, and having done so, I did not feel like continuing reading the book & so left it there.

Now few months back when I was in Bangalore at my frens place with my hubby, we ended up discussing LOTR, all four of us being fans of the movie triology. And this renewed the interest in LOTR book & I again started reading it. This time I enjoyed reading the first 2 parts of the book, but by the time I started reading the 3rd part, I was like "Phew". Its quite a long story [and my book having all three parts in one, is really a fat one]. In fact I found it a verbose book. I mean there would be pages together on description of the forests n climate n mountains n all. This surely means that the author has loads of imagination & skill to pen it. But for readers like me its difficult to again convert those words into imaginations. To some extent its possible, but then pages together gets too much :D Plus there were those poems n songs, which I just had to skip. Not to forget the language, I mean its English off course, but its written in a different n "not-so-easy-to-read" way. Otherwise the story is good, the world of hobbits, n elfs, n rings, etc etc, is quite interesting. My favourite characters being Aragon, Gandalf & Sam :)

I am still in the middle of the third part, but guess its gonna be a long time before I finish it, but I will surely finish the book this time :D Its been 4 months since I am into this book [okay this is not the only book I am reading, many more going on side by side], lets see how many more months before I finish it :D

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse

2009-06-23T14:23:00.002+05:30

He is one of my favourite authors! I simply love his work!!I would have sent him a fan mail had he been alive :)

I don't think I have read better humour than his. Off course Bill Waterson's Calvin n Hobbes is also awesome but then that is comics. Wodehouse's style of writing is so different n hilarious. His way of formulating the sentences, his analogies, his characters, everything is simply awesome :)

His stories are very simple. Some set of comic characters, related to each other. Various complications getting ingeniously solved towards the end. But his comic style of writing these simple stories will just leave you in convulsions of laughter :) I keep reading his books side by side, along with whatever other book I am reading. It lightens my mood with a dose of laughter :)

A trivia: there is this award "The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize", which is the UK's only literary award for comic writing. Established in 2000 and named in honour of P G Wodehouse :)

O Jerusalem!

2009-06-22T11:09:00.020+05:30

... Dominique Lapierre & Larry Collins.

I had bought this book long back, but finally started reading it couple of months back. This book lists down the series of events that took place during the partition of Palestine & creation of the state of Israel..Like any other book by these authors, this book doesn't just give a narration of events but kind of introduces you with lot many people involved in the making of those events.

To summarize what had happened during the period of 1947 - 1948 : With a long history of Jewish massacre & diaspora, the Jews finally began their struggle for a separate independent state. Jerusalem being the roots of their origin [Land of Israel according to Bible], that was the place they wanted to create a Jewish state. In Nov 1947, after a voting in UN, the people of different nations decided in partitioning Palestine & creating Jewish state, in favor of the Jewish people. So they decided on what will come under Israel n what will be Palestine & they decided on making Jerusalem neither of the two, & making it an international city. This being because, Jerusalem is a holy city for 3 religions, so to ensure peace in the city its best not to declare it "Jewish" "Muslim" or "Christian" state.

So anyway, this decision, was not at all accepted by the Palestine Arabs. According to them their land was being taken n given away to somebody else. Thus ensued the battle between the two religions Arabs n Jews. The Palestine Arabs were supported by all the neighbouring Arab nations. Till the time Britishers were occupying Palestine, there was no open war, though there were lot of war like activities, like bombing & sieging & looting. Specially the Arabs did a good job at closing down the road to Jerusalem, making life for Jews in that place real difficult. They used to attack any Jewish convoy going on that road to Jerusalem. So as a result not only did many Jewish lives were lost, but also there was hardly any food/water/ammunition for the Jews in Jerusalem, as nothing was reaching them. People used to live on such meagre rations that its difficult to imagine. But still Jews survived all this & were defensive as well as offensive during that period, mostly because they were very organized. They had planned well, they had started buying n collecting ammunition, they collected funds for the same from American Jews, they built their armies n air force from the scratch. They had good intelligence network. On the contrary, Arab activity were mostly haphazard, with different leaders. All those supporting Arab nations had their own motives. There was less cooperation, more words, less action.

However once the Britishers left, Jews suffered major loses in war, specially after the Arab Legion army came in. Initially though, Jews started well, but they could not hold on to it. They were less in number compared to the combined armies of the surrounding 5 Arab nations. Also they had less ammunition, as they had not yet received the stock they had bought. Also they were being attacked in all directions, and the Arab Legion was quite an organized army. For once Jews were not organized, they were overwhelmed, & all this combined, led to major losses. Jerusalem Jews again reached that stage where they had no food water ammunition n were barely hanging on with hopes of cease fire. Miraculously for the Jews, there was a cease fire. I don't know how Arabs agreed to that cease fire, but it surely was one big mistake for them. Because that one month cease fire, gave the Jews ample time to organize themselves. To replenish their stock of food n ammunition. To train their armies. Different militant groups were crushed & a single main force Haganah emerged. And so when the cease fire ended, the war took a complete turn in favor of the Jews till another ceasefire was announced which was the end of war.

Infact Jews took an advantage with this war, they expanded their nation from what it was assigned during partition & also claimed Jerusalem as their capitol instead of internationalizing it.

Any war is sad, so many lives are lost. Its such a huge waste. I was pondering if the Palestinian Arabs had agreed to the partition there would have been no war. They would not have lost much, its not as if they were being given nothing. The areas where Jews were majority was being declared as Israel & Arab majority areas were being declared Palestine. So was it so difficult to accept it. Anyway I cant really make a judgement here :) But the way Jews managed to form their own nation was impressive, they fought hard n fought well. Post war also, there has been significant development of the nation. Leaders like David Ben Gurion, David Shaltiel, Glubb Pasha, Golda Meir are impressive.

According to Wikipedia, " In the course of its history, Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times". That's something for a small city :)

Coorg

2009-06-05T12:12:00.024+05:30

It has been so long since I have updated my blog, n reason being I am reading 3 books simultaneously & no where close to finishing any of them. Meanwhile I thought I will write about few of my travel experiences. So starting with my latest trip, this was to Coorg.

Coorg is a hill station located in Karnataka and is famous for its spices & coffee plantation. Off course from tourism point of view, it is quite green & laid back with no city hustle bustle. We happened to plan this trip out of the blue. My hubby Sayu and me were planning on taking couple of days off on our second anniversary & the “nearby place” to visit in our list was Goa. But then I was trying to find a place which we both had not visited earlier & is also not too far, as we had just 4 days to roam around with us. So stumbling on Coorg, I scouted the internet and finalized on the itinerary. I was so happy on this chance plan & Sayu, off course agreed with it.

So having done our bookings, we left for Mangalore, on the 6th evening [6th Feb 09] via KSRTC bus. Reaching Mangalore on 7th early morning we took a local bus to Madikeri, Coorg. This bus journey took us through scenic winding roads & we were either admiring the beauty or dozing throughout the journey. By the time we reached Madikeri we were dead tired, & just hit the sack after a heavy lunch. In the evening we planned on watching the sunset from the "Raja's Seat", one of the local attractions. We also visited the "Omkareshwara Temple" and the "Madikeri Fort". This fort was a disappointment though, it was hardly a fort. In fact we were wondering if we have reached the right place :D

Pic 1: Sunset at Raja's Seat

Next day, we had booked our selves with a guide for the "Thadiyandamol" trek. So we [5 of us, along with guide & a couple of more fellow travellers] started off early in a bus to Kakabe, from where we took a jeep to reach the foothills. From here we started our climb of the highest mountain of Coorg. It has a height of 1750 meters & a varied landscape. We crossed some plantations, some thick jungle growth, some plains & then finally steep climb with sparse grass growth. Even though sun was a little spoil sport, we really enjoyed the climb & clicked a lot of pictures. Our fellow travellers were foreigners who had taken a sabbatical & were using it to roam around different places, starting with India.

Pic 2: The higher peak is Thadiyandamol

On reaching the peak, we ate upma n sheera which our guide had packed for us and after a brief halt we started our climb downhill. There was this portion of the hill which was steep and slippery with no strong foothold. No idea how the other 3 managed to go down so soon, but I n Sayu were going at snails pace concentrating to balance ourselves with every step. And then it so happened that I could no longer maintain a steady foot hold, n with building momentum I literally started running down. In other words, my breaks were no longer working :D Thankfully the other 3 people managed to break my run. Phew!! We braced ourselves to catch hold of Sayu in case he also came tumbling down, but he managed to come in a slooow n steady pace. The remaining journey was comparatively uneventful.

Pic 3: View from the top

En route we saw lot of plantations & also the Nalknad Palace. Within the palace there was a dark room [window less room in the underground section] worth mentioning. Believe me it sure was dark in there, could see absolutely nothing! This time we didn't have to walk just till the foothills, but till the Kakabe bus stand. Fortunately we didn't have to wait long for the bus, timing of the guide being perfect & once back to our room we spent the remaining day relaxing.

Next day we had booked with the same guide for a plantation walk. This time it was just the 3 of us. We walked for some 5-6 hours, this time no or hardly any climb, and saw various plantations - coffee, pepper, cardamom etc. The walk at some places was quite dicey, as there wasn't any road. It was quite scenic n peaceful & overall a nice different experience :) In the evening we again roamed around in Madikeri & tried some local cuisine, which Sayu being a keralite found an absolute delight. I actually cant pen down his expressions on having that "eedi upam" and very very spicey pepper chicken :D

Pic 4: Pepper Plantation

Finally on the fourth day morning, we took a bus to Bangalore. Contrary to our expectations, it took that bus a very long time & it was evening by the time we reached our frens place. We were hoping of having lunch at her place, but instead we had to contend ourselves with some south Indian version of Punjabi samosa in some road side eating joint. Once in bangalore time flew by with frens n before we knew, we were waiting in the airport for our return flight the next morning, which by the way got delayed because of some air show. Anyway we got back to Pune, back to office to be precise :D but were beaming after a wonderful trip & memorable experience :)

The Selfish Gene - Richard Dawkins

2009-02-24T11:53:00.001+05:30

This one is on biology - natural selection, neo Darwinism. An interesting book & written extremely well. The author has really explained the concepts & his views very well, using various analogies & examples. So best part is I could understand everything that was written :D. Second best part is I enjoyed reading it :)

The main point in the whole book is that - natural selection is the theory of evolution. Through natural selection we have been explaining evolution till now. And genetic unit is the unit of natural selection & not individual. The natural selection takes place at the level of the genes [basic unit] & so our genes are selfish. They are selfish because the only thing that matters to them is their survival & so they will do anything, just anything for their survival. Now that is being selfish at the core level, even if that seems altruistic at the individualistic level.
That was the crux of the book, but there were many other points discussed. Like we humans or for that matter any living organism are actually a carrier vessel for these genes & that our sole purpose biologically, is to ensure the survival of the genes. You know looking from this perspective one looses the track of all the concepts of feelings, thoughts, spiritualism. I mean what are we, just carriers of genes, our feelings & thoughts are nothing but complex coordination of nerves & electric impulses. Is that all that is to us ? I mean its really difficult for me to fathom myself as a collection of atoms & molecules & nothing more. But guess that's what it is at the most basic level. Phew :)

Author explains the concepts of natural selection at both gene level as well as individual level, as many biologists still takes sides of either of the levels the levels. And so author actually explains why the natural takes places actually at the gene level. The many analogies used throughout the book not only make the reading very interesting, but also simplifies the understanding. Many interesting behaviour of various species is quoted to explain the concepts. There is one concept of the new replicators called Mimeme [Meme for short]. They are the unit of cultural transmission. Now this was something, completely new n unfathomable for me. And I am not even convinced about it. Is it the truth or just an idea put by the author?

Lastly the author explains about the extended phenotype i.e. the long reach of the gene. He explains with help of examples that the effect of the gene is not limited to the body it resides in. But the effects can be felt outside the body on other fellow species n also inanimate objects. This was a difficult concept to accept in spite of the examples but nevertheless interesting.

Overall an awesome read :)

God's Debris by Scott Adams

2009-01-16T12:50:00.002+05:30

What is this book? As in is it a collection of no- sense by any chance? cuz that's how it seemed to me, it made no sense to me :) According to the author, it is a thought experiment, which it might be because, its all experimental views i suppose. At times i was intrigued while reading, at times amused, at times it kinda bounced over my head & at times i just found it too ridiculous :) It seemed like author was playing with words.

In this 2 people are conversing about different topics [our free will, God's free will,science, religion, belief, reincarnation, light, luck, probability, evolution n what not ], About the different planes & levels of understanding.

This book kinda confuses you, as in you start thinking about the weird thoughts put forward by the author related to both science & religion & you go thinking about it &relating to your own previous beliefs/assumptions. it really gets hilarious/ridiculous at some point, i mean the extent of authors imagination/views or whatever it is that he has penned in this book. According to the books protagonist, the omnipotent God blew himself to bits [which we call the Big Bang], cuz the omniscient God knows everything except maybe what his lack of existence is like, so everything now is God's Debris which exists as matter & laws of probability, we are God's Debris & now it is trying to reassemble itself. So universe is nothing but dust & probability, Probability being omnipotent and omnipresent. Even will power is a delusion. Phew what was this. Maybe my plane on understanding is very much below that of plane required to understand this ;-)

So I think its a fine read as long as I dont delve on any no-sense for a long time ;-)But then you never know, what is truth. Isn't truth relative? :)

Some cool statements :

"Wat could stimulate the mind of someone who knows everything?"

“Are you saying you believe in God because there are no other explanations?”

"Your inability to see other possibilities and your lack of vocabulary are your brain’s limits, not the universe’s.”

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

2009-01-16T11:43:00.000+05:30

Finally a fiction by an Indian author that I liked. Not that I have read many. In fact to be honest I have read very few. But somehow which ever I picked one on India/or by Indian author I ended up either disliking it like that "Mistress of spices" or getting infuriated like that "In spite of the Gods". So anyways this one was a good one.

When I started reading it, it seemed humorous, but later on I realized it was dark humour. It is very satirical. Narration is awesome, I liked it. The author tells the whole story [its a narration in first person, so the protagonist is telling the story of his life] in a form of series of letter (email) to some Chinese ambassador. How he was born in a village, his life in village, how he got a job as driver to a landlord, his driver life in Delhi n then escape & business in Bangalore. He calls himself a white tiger, who has escaped bondage of being a servant & made a life for himself. He calls himself an entrepreneur, as he establishes a business of his own. He escapes from darkness in village to light in city, that's how he has put it. He has escaped the rooster coop. But what about his ways? They are definitely questionable morally! Because whatever said n done he committed a theft & murder. Maybe if he hadn't committed murder I might have liked this character.

He brings into the picture so many problems that exist in India [poverty, corruption, caste, illiteracy etc] , as a part of his life story, in a very casual & satirical way. At first read you feel like laughing but then you realize it is true & cant laugh over it anymore. So that's how the story proceeds. A nice read overall :)

Brighton Rock...Graham Green

2008-12-18T21:13:00.000+05:30

After reading "The Human Factor", I picked up this book of the same author. And I just somehow managed to finish it. It just made no sense to me. Neither the story nor any implicit meanings which the author wanted to convey.

The story is about a boy "Pinkie", who is kind of involved in shady business, kills one person & more persons to hide the first murder. And then makes one girl [who kind of is the witness to first murder] his girlfriend & eventually marries her so that she cant testify against him. This girl also is blindly devoted to him for no odd reason. And the story goes on.

It was such a boring read for me. In Orkut's books community many people had kind of praised this book/author. Guess should check out what they liked about it.

Eragon ...Eldest... by Christopher Paolini

2008-12-16T19:44:00.005+05:30

Am yet to finish the third n final part of this Inheritance Trilogy. The first two books have been a good read. Whats enjoyable about such fantasy novels is that they are pure imagination :) This one is nothing compared to Harry Potter series off course, which was like AWESOME :D but still has been a wonderful read.

This book is the story of a dragon rider & his dragon. How their lives literally become a part of each other, how they together seek truth, meet different kind of beings [elves, urgals, dwarfs, etc which are creation of author's imagination], & are involved in fighting the war between good n bad. i.e. what they believe as good n bad. On one hand it is a very common place story, of good n evil, or war & peace, of magic & contemplation. But on the other hand it is very interesting also, they way the story unfolds, the different thought provoking sequences, the different concepts [eg touching others mind & speaking through mind]. These characters have their own history, their religious beliefs etc. Its like a world outside our world :)

Am looking forward to the third part, where the war will end & secrets & mysteries revealed :D

A Missed Flight..

2008-12-09T11:17:00.005+05:30

No, that is not any book’s name. Instead it is just a mundane experience which I thought of penning down. It so happened that after a 3 month tryst in US I was on my way back to Pune, India.
The journey began on the morning of 30th of November. After exchanging warm hugs & goodbyes with frens on that cold morning I headed for the airport. One of my frens saw me off & that eased of my journey blues to some extent. Then began the long wait, first couple of hours, then 3..5..7 hours at that Milwaukee terminal for my first flight to Newark. This flight just kept getting delayed cuz of the weather conditions. And I could see the weather from the terminal windows. It kept snowing & a tempest followed. I knew I had missed my connecting flight from Newark to Mumbai due to this delay but still I was hoping against hope that it might also have got delayed, haha :) Finally the flight took off & Oh the 2 hours roller coasted ride that followed had my nerves on the edge & all my insides shaken. I got sick & off course terrified at the thought how this matchbox plane was trying to make it through the tempest. I was so relieved on reaching Newark. However it was a short lived relief as the airlines customer care was not cooperative initially on my missed flight. They simply told me I should not have come here when I knew I had missed my flight. For a minute I was thinking what am I gonna do if these guys don’t get my ticket rescheduled & worse what If there are no seats available in the next few flights to India. How long am I gonna be stuck here? Then after this n that I got my tickets rescheduled [via Delhi to Mumbai though, as according to them there were no seats in Mumbai flight] & got a hotel room & so could sleep peacefully, with an empty growling stomach though. Next day was a long peaceful wait in the terminal. When it was time I went to the respective gate & got my tickets & documents checked. In the wait that followed I just thought of getting my luggage rerouting with me confirmed. And when I do this, the airline people are surprised that I am going to Delhi when there are seats in the Mumbai flight too. [Yesterday this same flight didnt seem to have any seats available :-O] At the very last minute they changed my ticket to Mumbai flight & I literally ran to the respective gate as the boarding for that flight was already mid way. I also had to inform home the last minute change in flights & I didnt have a cell. Fortunately earlier that day I had got aquainted with a fellow traveller who was going on this Mumbai flight. So I found him during boarding & called using his cell gratefully.
Phew, I was so happy on reaching Mumbai & then Pune. This journey became one of the memorable ones :)

The Human Factor...Graham Green

2008-09-29T22:20:00.001+05:30

This has been my first book by this author. Came to know about this author from some books community on net so thought will give it a try.

The protagonist in this book is a double agent, now that is something which becomes clear half way through the book. The story is a simple one in which he is passing on secrets & the people in this department are looking for the person who is leaking information. And this person is mostly concerned about is wife & kid. However after commiting the final information leak he has to escape to another country & now is waiting for his family to join him etc etc.

There is not much of suspense in the story considering that it supposingly a "spy" novel, but somehow the way the author has written it, makes a good read. I enjoyed reading the book even though it seems a very simple story. And so I have picked up another book "Brighton Rock" by same author :)

The Gambler...Fyodor Dostoevsky

2008-09-19T21:10:00.000+05:30

This is my second book by this author. Actually I had heard a lot about this author that he is amazing this n that. But I just couldn't understand anything that was written in this particular book . I mean neither the story was great in itself, nor it had any humor, or suspense, or anything for that matter. I just kept reading it thinking that maybe I will understand what the author is trying to convey through this book , but I couldn't get anything really except that gambling is addictive :D

Its not about the bike - Lance Armstrong

2008-09-09T02:28:00.002+05:30

In this semi autobiographical book, Lance Armstrong writes about his career as a racing cyclist, his fight against cancer & his beating the disease winning the tour de France. It is really amazing to read about such people who in spite of all the odds just DO IT.

The book starts with some background about his childhood & how eventually he took up sports, won triathlon & then started with cycling as a professional. His mother had always been supportive. It just took him few years and loads of training & practice to earn name n fame in it. He was at the peak of his success when cancer hit him & he realized for the first time that he is human and vincible.

He has explained his cancer treatment in quite detail. How initially he read loads of stuff to understand his disease n chances of survival, & consulted various doctors to finalize on treatment. Fortunately he got a doctor who told him alternative therapy so that his lungs don't get damaged cuz of toxicity. The brain surgery & chemo therapy progressed & weakened him physically. But all this while with support of family n frens he fought it mentally. He wanted to conquer the disease because he wanted to live. At places he also compares cancer treatment with biking training & that was really interesting, the comparison i mean.

Then he explains the post cancer phase, which according to him was even more difficult because he didn't know what he could do now. He had always been cycling and winning & now with this therapy he no longer was all that strong etc. So it took him quite a while & will power & support & rigorous training , but eventually he did get back to cycling & won the tour de France, which is supposed to be the toughest cycling race in the world. And oh wikipedia tells me that this person has won this tour de France since then consecutively 7 times ..my god.

Lance has written this book quite well. He has explained how cancer has changed him as a person & he has given words to emotions quite nicely. Its so amazing to see what human will power can do, the extend to which it can take a person. It may sound as cliche but there is no limit to the wonders, faith & will power can do. And so reading this book just made me so happy n positive :)

Grass is greener on the other side...

2008-08-06T14:17:00.006+05:30

There is this short story in "To cut a long story short" by Jeffery Archer which I though I'll put down here. Its about how the grass is always greener on the other side for nearly everyone be it rich or poor. It started with the thoughts of a tramp who used to sleep at the side of a bank. Though he was fine & not miserable with his condition, he thought how lucky the door keeper of the bank was etc etc. Then it proceeds to the thought process going on in the door keepers mind, who was thinking how lucky the person sitting inside at the reception was, who didn't have to stand whole day long & do a mind less job. Then story moves on to the thought process to that persons mind who was thinking how lucky some officer was who had just gone past him. That officer was thinking about his own monetary problems & kid problem. This officer then eyed his senior as lucky who in turn was brooding over his family problems. This officer also eyed his senior who also had his own problems n so on. Finally even the CEO of the bank had just mailed his resignation to the board as he could not continue having made some major mistakes in corporate decision making. And finally while this CEO was leaving the bank after resigning, he looks at the tramp & thinks how lucky this tramp was, doesnt have to deal with all this & that he would be so happy to switch places with that tramp.

Thus the circle completes. Each one finding the grass greener on the other side...It was really nicely written :)

The Devil wears Prada

2008-07-24T10:57:00.008+05:30

..by Lauren Weisberger

Amazing novel. Really enjoyed reading it. Its a story of a young graduate Andrea who wants to be a writer in "The New Yorker" but to start with her career, joins as an assistant to the editor in chief of a fashion magazine "The Runway". As was impressed upon her one year as assistant to Miranda could lead her to any promotion within the same magazine or any other magazine as Miranda was quite influential. So she starts with quite a zeal with her new job but soon realizes its gonna be a tough year ahead cuz Miranda is an extremely tough boss to work with.

So the story goes on with how trivial her boss's demands would be at times & how difficult it would get for Andrea to manage. And eventually the job takes up so much of Andrea's time that she is unable to meet her parents regularly or make up with any other personal commitments. Her boyfriend seems quite understanding initially but then he too starts loosing his patience with her. So she keeps feeling guilty at times but then she feels its just a matter of one year & after a year, all will fall into place.

Towards the end finally Miranda gives her a task which is just impossible to do & at a time when Andrea is already struggling with the pang of guilt that she should be besides her best friend who has just met with an accident. So her patience snaps & she quits there and then even though she was just a month away from her promotion & flies back to her parents & friend.

So then she manages to make up for lost time. Her relations with parents & her best friend becomes good again. She even manages to get a job again [this time as a writer]. Now the only thing I didn't like in this story was the way her boyfriend behaves towards the end. The story is narrated in first person by Andrea & from whatever she had told her boyfriend was quite understanding & they had a stable relationship. They started having misunderstandings cuz of all this but then towards the end when Andrea was apologising & wanted them to take another chance at their relationship, this guy didn't reconcile at all. This I found very unreasonable of him.

The book is quite funny the way she writes, the feelings that are going inside her mind & the words she actually speaks. Its quite impressive how she doesn't whine & does everything with good spirit even though she realizes her job isn't at all intellectual. She really wants to do as much she can for her career!
And even though Miranda is the "devil" in this book I kinda liked her. She definitely is very demanding & perfectionist, doesn't know what it means to be polite & makes life hell for her subordinates. But still all this arrogance is because of the success she has achieved. She has struggled on her own to reach such heights & so she knows the meaning of struggle & hard work. She does reward hard work but is very demanding in the course. I liked her but I wouldn't want a boss like her :D

In Spite of the Gods..

2008-07-13T21:38:00.001+05:30

..The Strange rise of Modern India...by Edward Luce.

I read this book during my travel to Udhampur this vacation. I haven't read many books on India & this is one of the very few I have read. It seemed interesting to me, but it affected my mood as well. And considering the events that coincided with my reading this book, Jammu (including Udhampur) was experiencing bandh & disturbances due to fight over religion again. I don’t want to delve into whom I think was right or wrong in this case of Amarnath Shrine board Land issue.

The book touches most of the aspects of India, its government, politics, bureaucracy, culture, people, problems, progress, militancy, riots etcetera. I really boiled over the stupidity & greed of people. How can the nation progress when its people are so stupid to understand the futility of fighting & killing over trivial issues, when its people are so greedy & corrupt. Why can’t people live & let live. I mean I can’t even imagine the kind of hatred required for a human being to torture another fellow human being who hasn’t even done any harm to him!

Book started with a description of Auroville, a town in south India & is named after Sir Aurobindo. A resident there, when asked if he wasn’t affected by poverty around, says “India is a wealthy country cuz India alone can understand the futility of materialism”. Now I really liked that statement as such but I am not sure how far that holds true. Materialism sure seems permeated everywhere according to me.

According to the author, viewing India through a purely religious lens often distorts ones views about the country. That I think is correct. Nehru wrote: Religion as practiced in India has become the old man of the sea for us. It has not only broken our backs but shifted and almost killed all our originality of thought or mind. The book title is inspired to some extent by Nehru's contention that Indian's greatest strength are not exclusively or even necessarily located in its religious traditions.

Then author goes about into little history of India. He described the Caste system which dates back quite long ago & is still very much prevalent in spite of all the developments. Lower castes today don’t seek to abolish caste system, but simply to improve their position vis-à-vis other castes, by quota system & various reservations. One witty statement quoted: In India you don’t caste your vote but you vote your caste. Its really pathetic, this reservation system. As rightly discussed in the book it is just a farce!

India’s problems have nothing to do with the lack of resources. It has enough. Yet it fails to provide most basic of amenities to many of its poor. Problem is not lack of food or spending limits. It is in the mentality of Indians civil service & inability of general public to buy reform through ballot box. Seriously speaking there is so much corruption prevalent that so much of resources are going waste. Consider the example of subsidy system for poor. Is it really helping the poor as much as it claims to be helping? The truth is that most of these subsidized items are eaten away by the rich corrupt middle man.

Then there is another topic discussed regarding the government employees /workers. Mostly the scenario is such that they don’t work or even turn up for work cuz they can’t be sacked or demoted. And if anything happen there will be an outcry about workers rights. What does this do to the country’s efficiency & growth is no mystery. Many times problem is not money or technology but efficiency of government.

There was also discussion regarding how after the dismantling of License Raj in 1991, India went on the economic ascend. And India's growth has been unusual in the sense - it has embraced full democracy before even literacy came. Plus all the economic growth happened in spite of deeply fragmented & incoherent government. Author terms Indian economy n its growth as Schizophrenic economy: Modern & booming service sector in a sea of indifferent farmland. Also pointed out the dire need to modernize agriculture & provide more manufacturing jobs for semi skilled ordinary people. A quotable quote: About License /Inspector Raj of constant inspections, Gurcharan Das former head of P & G India wrote that, “In my 30 yrs in active business in India, I did not meet a single bureaucrat who really understood my business, yet he had the power to ruin it”.

Many more topics were discussed. Like the relations with Pakistan & militancy. Also how US is keen on supporting India so that its growth balances that of China. Nehru – Gandhi dynasty. Hindu – Muslims. Many incidents from India’s recent past were mentioned.

Another interesting topic which was touched upon was how RSS is trying to prove that Aryans came from India & migrated to rest of world. Trying to establish that India was the sole cradle of civilization. No proof. Trying to modify history, history books. Rewriting Indian history.

Lastly some ideas on why India has remained intact in spite of all this diversity - because of democracy. & why India has remained a democracy - because it is diverse. If something goes wrong in one part of the country it does not necessarily spread to other areas as it would in a more homogeneous society. This sounds quite logical to me. But on the other hand the highly segmented nature of Indian society makes a collective action much more difficult to carry out. So decision making is extremely slow. That is why so much Indian politics continues to be absorbed by seemingly petty disputes over social dignity rather than concentrating on economic condition.

One thing I very strongly feel [& the author seems to share my views in this book] that anything free isn’t valued & is wasted. In order to encourage sustainable exploitation of resources [water, soil, forests, air, energy, just anything] people must be made to pay for what they consume. People should work for whatever they want & not be given anything on platter, cuz anything on platter is taken for granted. But alas such a thing will never happen in India, at least not in near future, there will still be subsidies, corruption, reservations, riots, wastage & what not. I fail to understand situations are getting better or worse??

Salt And Sawdust

2008-07-10T09:29:00.003+05:30

Short stories & Table talk ..by R K Narayan

This is a short book with a couple of short stories...n few even more shorter stories..termed as table talk. The table talk is mostly narrated in first person, at times are satire on the political system & some are nice incidents of some good people & good deeds. Overall light read, not very interesting for me even though there is wit & humor in it.

Some efficiency...!

2008-07-08T18:19:00.006+05:30

The other day I was watching Beijing's preparation for Olympics in NatGeo. Four years back after winning the competition to host next Olympics, they started a huge architectural development. They developed the stadiums [Bird nest, Water cube]. They also built the biggest airport terminal in the world called The Dragon [along with the railway network connecting the airport to rest of Beijing]. All this they built using latest technologies & considering all factors from security from natural forces to convenience etc. What really impressed me is the efficiency with which they took up such a huge development & finished it on time. I couldn't help comparing it with the rate with which development is going on in Pune where I stay, they haven't been able to finish renovating a single road since last one year!!

Is Paris Burning???

2008-06-08T19:12:00.001+05:30

Thats what Hitler asked his general when Allies & French were fighting against his troops in Paris.

These days am reading this book by Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre, which relates the course of events in Paris during its occupation by Germany & its liberation during World War II.

These authors have written the facts with a personnal touch. As in they have actually had talks with many people involved in world war II & so the way they present facts is a little different from a normal history book. And many places they even mentioned what became of those people post war. This book is mostly on events in Paris & doesnt tell much about the rest of world war.

Like with any war, the civilian life during German occupation, is really sad & is poignantly described. They were occupied in 1940 & finally in 1944 they got liberated. Hitler, The German ruler was very keen on holding onto Paris [France], cuz it was in a very strategic position for his ambitions in the war & so he had given orders to hold Paris under any costs. He did not care how much destruction that involved. He had infact even given orders [& preparation were almost done] to destroy the economical/industrial structures, the bridges which connected the city, all the major structures, just everything to criple the city. This all during 1944, when the signs of resistance were starting to be seen.

He had made General Choltitz the head of Paris during this time with all these above orders. Now it was Choltitz decisions which made a major impact in history of Paris [I feel]. As in he didnt follow any of those orders of destruction given by Hitler [Though he let the preparations be done]. Even though he was suggested air bombing on the city by his other generals, he made a hold on that too. Because he wasnt in favor of destroying the city. On the contrary he wanted to save the city. Now this costed him the city though and also made him prisoner of war. But then he did save the city from all the destruction which Hitler had wanted & his conscious was clear.

Now in the liberation of Paris, there were 2 major parties, one was the follower of De Gaulle & the other was the French Communist Party. Both of the parties were interested in gaining the control of free Paris. Thankfully they had one common aim of fighting the germans. Now the Gaullist were not interested in having the insurrection in the city untill they had support from the Allies. Also the Allies wanted that the peace in Paris remain for some more time till there war plans allowed them to go into Paris to liberate it from Germans. But the situation in the city & communists started with insurrection & offcourse then the whole of the Paris got involved the insurrection. So then somehow the French leaders persuaded Allies for their help in terms of arms n people. & they wouldnt have got liberated without their help. They played a major role.

Decisions! They make such a difference in the course of events. Choltitz decided not to follow Hitler's orders n waited n took other decisions. In fact, even indirectly called Allies to enter the city. All those decisions made such a difference.

But whatever said and done, war is devastating. And still, wars make an integral part of our centuries of civilzation & history.

The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder

2008-05-21T17:47:00.002+05:30

Like any other of Jostein's narration, this one also is a little different. What happens is this boy Georg, gets a letter addressed to him from his father, who has died eleven yrs ago when Georg was 4, stuffed in some old furniture. His father had written this letter during his last days of illness hoping that when his boy grows up & reads it he'l be able to understand all that he wanted to speak to him before he died..In a way he wrote the letter to the future..

That letter has a story of an orange girl..which is nothing but the story of his [father's] life. How he met his wife [who is the orange girl] & how their wonderful life began & how they found each day a magical beautiful journey. Also the father during his time is very fascinated by the universe, galaxies, stars etc & mans success in this area.

However with all this father has a puzzle or rather a question for the boy to answer to himself.

If there was some higher power who gave you the choice. Choice whether you wanted to go & live life on earth at some point. You would not know when you wil be born or when you will die. All you know is if you are coming in this world, you will also have to leave it & go away from everything. Things can be so nice here that its terrible painful to think that at some point, days will run out. With the awareness that you could at any time be pulled back from earth, in the middle of your greatest happiness, would you have chosen such a life or would you have refused to join in the game because you didnt like the rules??

In choosing to live you also choose to die :)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

2008-05-21T10:49:00.005+05:30

Now this is story about few fellow inmates in the mental asylum, told by one of them "Chief" who is half american indian & pretends to be deaf n dumb. The inmates here have a very restricted life which is further controlled by the "Big Nurse" there. Everybody is terrified by this Big Nurse who has her own definition of discipline. All this changes when "McMurphy" comes into this asylum. Now he really isnt mental, & comes there to escape imprisonment or something. He is a very jolly & happy go lucky fellow, who likes to have fun & make everybody have fun. Now obviously when he introduces his concept of having fun he clashes with Big Nurse. So the story goes about like this. It kind of becomes McMurphy vs Big Nurse. Ending is kinda sad for those who are on McMurphy side, cuz he had come to the asylum just to buy time & ends up there forever just because of his nature of questionsing things, of wanting to have fun rather than following a dreary subdued life. I mean whats the harm in watching a game on Tv? Even that was something unacceptable to Big Nurse. Actually everything was unacceptable to her, she wanted things to be exactly the way she wanted without anybody questioning. No denying that McMurphy did go beyond limits with the booze party & all, where he should have just concentrated on his escape plan. One good thing that happens is the Chief gets the strength & hope to escape from this kind of imprisonment...& the inmates there find their voice to assert themselves.

I really liked the way the story goes, the humor in it, different kind of characters in the asylum...their joys n fear ...it was a nice read. I also watched the movie after reading this book & Jack Nicholson has done justice to the "McMurphy" character :)

It seems the author actually worked in a mental asylum & thats when he spoke to the people there & witnessed the shock therapies & drugs that were administered to these people & so came about writing this book. This book gives a picture of how some people dominate & control the lives & mind of other people. And the whole thing is so subtle that the people being dominated dont even realize that they dont have any free will left. Its kind of sad to see how people at authorative position can destroy other peoples life just as a mere fancy..

Whats with these advertisements..!

2008-05-19T17:51:00.003+05:30

This months Readers Digest had 42 pages devoted to advertisements & 72 pages devoted to their selected brands or something..so in all 114 pages pure advertisements...Gosh! what a waste! it was my one time favorite...n now its more of advertisements than articles...sigh...

Know thyself!!

2008-05-09T14:26:00.000+05:30

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder....Again..

Excerpts..

I think the whole universe is intended. There is some kind of purpose or other behind all the myraids of stars & galaxies.

Everything existing has a reason, meaning, some purpose. If not, then why does it exist in the first place? If a particular event has happened, then definitely there is some reason, some cause.

There is so much inexplicable in this life..world..

If our brain was simple enough for us to understand it, we would be so stupid we wouldnt be able to understand it after all.

I would really like to think a thought that is so difficult that I cant think it.

I simply loved the way Author has subtly mentioned the enigmatic human brain :)

It was a mystery to me how ppl on earth could simply roam around the world without asking questions, over & over again, about who they were & where they came from . How could life on this planet be something you either turned your back on or took for granted?

How terribly sad it was that people are made in such a way that they get used to something as extraordinary as living.

A joker is the little fool who is different from everyone else. He is placed in the same pack as the other cards, but he doesnt belong there.

A joker in a pack of cards is an altogether seperate card, a card which is completely different from the rest of the cards. & that is exactly what makes it lil unique. This corresponds to those human beings who are different from the "common" human beings, think abt their existence, wonder about their life, this world. Who dont take life granted, whose thoughts are not common place, who think, wonder and are in awe of this mystical world :)

Time doest pass, time doesnt tick. We are the ones who pass, & our watches tick.

Again this thought about TIME...the elusive TIME..is amazing :)

Some more from "Notes from Underground"

2008-05-08T12:36:00.007+05:30

The second part of this book is a reminiscence of some incident from the protagonist's life. Its a normal story with his weird thoughts...First he is obsessed with avenging his insult from this officer [ which he presumes is an insult, as this officer ignored him & did not consider worthy of giving him any attention or showing any courtesy]...Then next he invites himself to some farewell party of old classmates [he clearly states that he dislikes each n every one of them]..Finally drunk in the party he ends up in a brothel n gives lecture of goodness & love & respect to the girl there..& then keeps worrying over his act of inviting that girl to his house..& when that girl visits his house, he insults her & sends her away...so this is what there is in the second part...

Now this Mr Underground is really weird...first he is so obsessed with taking revenge from this officer..& its so very important for him that all the time for days together he just keeps thinking about this..goes into financial debt..& then is satisfied by merely not moving from the path of the officer while walking one fine day..

He will keep thinking that he wont do this, & then will go & do exactly that, & then keep brooding & feeling ashamed for having done that. [hmm this does happens at times i guess] He goes & gets himself invited to this party. I understand that one tends to like/dislike people. You dont get along with some people, you dont like their nature/character/ways etc. So he disliked these classmates, fine. They are not affected by his dislike, that too is fine. But why does he go to their party & then create a whole drama of it? What was he trying to prove? What was he thinking? What was the whole point of this?I do not understand..unless it was losing sense for the spur of the moment :D

Next, in drunken state he goes & gives a lecture about love family respect to this girl..For a while I thought Mr Undergound is capable of some positive thoughts as well. But I realized I was wrong there..Or wasnt I?I mean if all that what he said was wat he believed then where was the implementation?? Just blabber, no actions! When the girl comes to his place, he insults her..that was becuz he was ashamed of his poverty & wretchedness.

This character is really an extreme case. He despises everything & everyone. He doesnt seem life fit enough to live. In his own words he has taken divorce from life. Now personnally I could relate to few things/emotions in this book, but that is just momentarily..for instance there are moments when I find myself getting irritated with everything or every second person...that person in bus is making so much noise..irritating..this colleague in next cubicle is shouting on his cell ..irritating..somebody doesnt do something according to my expectations..irritating...but all this is just for that short moment when I am already in a sore mood for some reason...but this doesnt mean I despise everything perpetually.. Gosh I cant imagine nor do I want to imagine whats it like to be divorced from life...!

Theres this statement towards the end, which again seems like an extreme, but still worth mentioning :-D
Leave us alone without books and we shall be lost and in confusion at once. We shall not know what to join on to, what to cling to, what to love and what to hate, what to respect and what to despise.

Notes from the "Notes from the Underground"

2008-05-06T11:30:00.001+05:30

This is one weirdo book I have come across, rather the protagonist in it is a weird character & is reflected through his discourse. Or maybe he is not weird. Cuz everyone of us has various facets & sometime or the other come across some weird, not so good, even out of place thoughts/actions. Neither are we pure black nor white, we are shades of grey in our character. Isnt it..he ha ha :D

This is the kind of book, which I will have to read may be many times, cuz every time I’ll notice something different, grasp some other notion that the author has put it. I haven’t yet finished reading this book, but here are some excerpts which I found worth listing.

The enjoyment was just from the too intense consciousness of one's own degradation; it was from feeling oneself that one had reached the last barrier, that it was horrible, but that it could not be otherwise; that there was no escape for you; that you never could become a different man; that even if time and faith were still left you to change into something different you would most likely not wish to change; or if you did wish to, even then you would do nothing; because perhaps in reality there was nothing for you to change into.

Though this sounds lil pessimistic, I really liked the way author has put in these words about how man is what he is & cannot be somebody different. Whatever he does he cannot escape what he is & there is nothing to which he can change to. & there is a sense of enjoyment in even that. I feel there are situations in life when you just enjoy being what you are even if thats just degradation in somebody elses eyes, & that even if a part of you wants to change or escape from this facet of yours, you cant really do it cuz you are enjoying it. Its just a different viewpoint which the author has put in so well.

but in despair there are the most intense enjoyments, especially when one is very acutely conscious of the hopelessness of one's position.

How do you feel when you are in a sticky hopeless position? Okay not everytime, but at times am sure atleast I have laughed over myself, over the situation & over the hopelessness. This is the aspect which the author has touched upon here.

Nature does not ask your permission, she has nothing to do with your wishes, and whether you like her laws or dislike them, you are bound to accept her as she is, and consequently all her conclusions. A wall, you see, is a wall ... and so on, and so on.

"Laws of Nature".. No human has any say in that nor any control. They are the laws which each one of us has to accept as is. & whether you like it or not, these laws do govern your life. Nobody is independent of them.

To begin to act, you know, you must first have your mind completely at ease and no trace of doubt left in it.

Offcourse, how can one act when he is in doubt about his actions. Even before the courage & determination to do something, comes the ease of mind, the belief.

Oh, gentlemen, do you know, perhaps I consider myself an intelligent man, only because all mylife I have been able neither to begin nor to finish anything. Granted I am a babbler, a harmless vexatious babbler, like all of us. But what is to be done if the direct and sole vocation of every intelligent man is babble,that is, the intentional pouring of water through a sieve?

This sure is satirical :) I hope :D

..that man everywhere and at all times, whoever he maybe, has preferred to act as he choose and not in the least as his reason and advantage dictated. What man wants is simply INDEPENDENT choice, whatever that independence may cost and wherever it may lead.

Independence! Be it thoughts! Be it actions!

And who knows (there is no saying with certainty),perhaps the only goal on earth to which mankind is striving lies in this incessant process of attaining, in other words, in life itself, and not in the thing to be attained..He feels that when he has found it there will be nothing for him to look for..

Now again I can relate to this. As in, many a times I am so excited doing something, looking forward to something, so much that when that thing actually gets done or that happening actually takes place, there is kind of anti climax. I feel kinda depressed that its in a way over..
One thing is for sure, there should always be something to do, something to look forward to, else life gets boring & one feels useless..

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

2008-05-05T19:52:00.007+05:30

One of my favorite books & fav author as well [as I have loved every book of his that I have read so far].

I read this book quite sometime back & its such a dreamy thought provoking book. Dreamy in the sense there are many mysterical/magical things happening in the story. But all those mystical happenings make you wonder about your own life & this world. The hidden mysteries which we tend to seek. I started feeling..Wow...this world..this life is so wonderful..so enigmatic..so enchanting..you feel like exploring different facets of it..it just fills you up with so much zest..Gosh it was an awesome experience reading this book...!

I rather not go into the story, cuz there are so many happenings in the story & the story as such isnt all that important. In fact I think many readers of this book might not even realize that its actually philosophy & not just a story. Probably I'l list some of the excerpts which sent me spiralling in thoughts in my next post :)

Pessimism Personified???

2008-05-05T18:55:00.003+05:30

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Depressing! Utterly pessimistic!!This book exudes pessimism, creating such a melancholy aura from the beginning till the end. I mean was the author averse to any positive happening or thought? I had such a disgusting mood while reading this book that I wonder how I even managed to finish it.

I have read many views about this book online & supposingly its a best seller & many people have loved it. Dunno, I somehow didnt like it. Its not that I dont have an appetite for sad books, books based on serious issues. I have read "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinberg & it was so much based on poverty & helplessness of human that it made me tearful, but I still liked the book.

Now I am really skeptic to pick another of Khaled Hosseini's works..Lets see..

Shantaram

2008-04-30T12:19:00.009+05:30

This book is a narration by Gregory David Roberts. Initially when I was reading this book, I believed [as I was told] that it is a semi autobiographical book. But then later on I came to know that its more of fiction, & is based on true events & people.

Lin supposedly was an escaped convict from Australia who came to live in Bombay & this book is about his life since then. How he spent nearly 10 years in India [mainly Mumbai], getting accustomed to living in slums, curing the slum people in his little clinic, fighting cholera & firestorms in slum, his visit to an Indian village, learning hindi & marathi to the extent of being fluent, his involvement with the underworld, his tryst in Arthor Road jail, his affairs, his Indian friends, his thoughts, his drug additction. Infact he even narrates being a part of some bollywood movie as some extra. And then experiencing the Afganistan mujahideen fight, from where he barely manages to escape back with his life.

His narration gives a fair picture of life in Mumbai, its various facets. Slums are as much part of Mumbai as is the sophisticated affluent world. Then there is underworld, with its inextricable maze in Mumbai and the horrible life in the Mumbai Jails.

Lin is quite impressed with Indian Culture & Values. And overall the story describes the indomitable nature of the human spirit. Facing this & that in every day life, different emotions, different circumstances, yet the drive to face yet another day, to Live On....

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Its a good narration & never gets boring. Probably because I was under the impression that its semi autobiographical while I was reading so I all the more found it interesting. Nevertheless it has different emotions, different personalities/characters & lot of happenings, so it makes a good read. However I was kind of dissappointed with the ending. I mean with the kind of strong personalities he had described, their subsequent endings were kind of dull. Like he deciding to go to SriLanka, which was kind of abrupt & didnt make much of a sense. And for Karla, an impressive & curious personality, again the ending was kinda dull & uncertain.

One of my favorite quotes from this book.."I don’t know what frightens me more, the power that crushes us or our endless ability to endure it."

I wonder...

Zen & The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance

2008-04-30T10:43:00.004+05:30

This is a book by Robert M. Pirsig & unlike its name its neither about Zen Philosophy or Motorcycle maintenance. In this book, the author is on a biking trip across US with his son & couple of friends. Enroute he keeps pondering & explaining his thoughts. So thats what the book is all about. His philosophy.

One concept which this book made me ponder over was the concept of two types of personalities, one those which when observe an object or think about an object can just see the aesthetics of it & can just view the outer aspect of it. This type is termed as Romantic Viewpoint. The second kind are those who when observe or think about an object can see the inner details & are more interested in the workings & intricate details. This type is termed as classical Viewpoint.

Later on author goes into the unification of these two viewpoints & also goes in depth of "Quality". I didnt get much of that though. Also the author speaks a lot about rationality. All this discourse is taking place while the author is on his biking trip. And the switch between his thoughts & his trip is quite smooth & interesting.

At one point he explains how amazing a trip on motorcycle can be, how you become a part of the nature when u move on a bike, and can feel the elements of nature. In contrast to a trip in car, where the entire scenery is just viewed as if on a window screen & you cant really feel much. Now I personally enjoy biking trips, [though I have been to just one so far ;( ] I really enjoyed this explanation & could relate with it :)

Fortunately or unfortunately this is one of the very few books, I did not finish reading. I had to leave it after reading just around two third of it. Cuz I realized its going over my head & I really could not make much sense of what the author is saying. Specially regarding "Quality". There was a point when I used to read couple of pages & zzzzzzz... :D . May be I was not able to think on the same plane as the author. But I definitly will pick this book again some years hence to re read it & hopefully will be able to grasp it :)

Calvin n Hobbes - my all time favorite :)

2008-04-29T12:25:00.018+05:30

Philosophical Discussion :)

How very true :)

His take on girls ;-)

The Metamorphosis

2008-04-28T14:06:00.003+05:30

This was another book of Franz Kafka I read recently. Again a terrific read. I simply enjoy such philosophical works. This again is a short story which can have different interpretations by readers.

In this story, Gregor Samsa, one fine day wakes up & realizes he has been converted to a vermin & now is incapable of leading a normal life or even communicating with anybody. & then story goes on to describe how he loses his job & how his family tries to cope up with this. His feelings during all this & then his end.

In the beginning I couldnt really comprehend as to what does the author imply by saying that Gregor has been transformed to a vermin. Then I interpreted it this way that Gregor who was terribly loaded with work & responsibility one fine day realizes that its the breaking point & he cant take it any more, even if he wants to cuz his body has given away. [ May be he got hit by some terrible fatal, maybe even contagious, disease due to all the exhaustion & mental strain ]. So even if he wants to he is incapable of working or moving around or even speaking to his family members. As he was so much loaded with work [from his office], with expectations & responsibilities [from his family members], he hardly could take care of himself leading to his break point. It just shows that how in this world one gets so engrossed in making ends meet & fulfilling ones responsibilities. The difficulty Gregor was facing in getting up in the morning, just reminded me, how difficult it gets at times for Me to get up on mornings following an exhaustive day.

To this his family slowly copes up. Up till this point they considered themselves incapable of working but each one of them was able to manage to work for a livelihood. So just shows this facet of human nature, where one gets so dependent [like a parasite] on others that they dont even attempt to make use of their own capabilities.

Lastly when Gregor dies, the family is kind of relieved. One reason could be that they are relieved that his sufferings are over. But in the story, it seemed that they are relieved cuz now they dont have to take care of Gregor, who by now had become a parasite instead, because caring for him had become quite troublesome for them. Also now they can again look into other aspects of life & enjoy their existence. It just in a way shows that once one person is gone, it doesnt take much time for others to get used to that fact. Even though it is painfull initially.

The Trial

2008-04-28T11:48:00.006+05:30

This was my first read by Franz Kafka. I had heard a lot about Kafka & so thought will give it a try, & it turned out to be a good & different kind of read.

Its a weird kind of story. Infact I kept reading the book looking for some meaning in the course of events, but no such revelation came. So probably in my attempt to look for overall meaning, I missed the subtle meanings in different chapters of the book. Maybe when I read the next time I shall be more patient with the book.

What happens in the story is, the protagonist, Joseph K, one fine day finds himself arrested. He is never told [nor are we], for what reason he is arrested. Then the story moves ahead describing how his life is affected by this & how he is not able to concentrate on anything but his trial. & in the end he is executed in some unknown corner of the city.

For me this stroy potrayed the helplessness of a human being in this world of arbit customs & beliefs. We keep saying that our destiny is in our hands, we make our life with our deeds & actions. But in this story, there is some law, bureaucracy which is above human freedom. The protagonist is so helpless, he could neither find out his fault nor how could he redeem himself. He had no control over the course of events. And it was not some super power, but mere other human beings which went & controlled & ended his life.

I felt that it is a kind of novel, in which the author leaves a lot to reader's imagination. There can be different interpretations to the same story.

One of the interpretations of this story, by Jean Paul Sartre, is quite impressive. I found this analogy between a jewish life & that of the protagonist on net & it says..

"This is perhaps one of the meanings of The Trial by the Jewish Kafka. Like the hero of that novel, the Jewish person is engaged in a long trial. He does not know his judges, scarcely even his lawyers; he does not know what he is charged with, yet he knows that he is considered guilty; judgment is continually put off -- for a week, two weeks -- he takes advantage of these delays to improve his position in a thousand ways, but every precaution taken at random pushes him a little deeper into guilt. His external situation may appear brilliant, but the interminable trial invisibly wastes him away, and it happens eventually ... that men seize him, carry him off on the pretense that he has lost his case, and murder him in some vague area of the suburbs."

Infact Joseph K felt he was innocent altogether. But when asked innocent of what, he had no answer. So was he guilt? Is every human being guilty?Under which law?

The Stranger [The Outsider]

2008-04-27T13:39:00.000+05:30

This book by Albert Camus was my first by this author. Its a short story, philosophical. I searched on Wiki, & it seems the philosophy stated in this book is termed as "Absurdism". This implies that a mans effort to find the meaning of universe etc ultimately fails & hence is absurd cuz no such meaning exists.
The protagonist Meursault, is a very passive person, he seems to be enjoying life & the pleasures in life, day to day happenings, doesnt give much thought to "why", isnt effected by the harshness in life. He does not believe in God & cannot express remorse. He is kind of person who believes that ultimately the end is same so how does it matter whether he has done this or that, or whether he should believe in something or not, cuz however one behaves, whatever one does, ultimately the end is same, "death".

I really enjoyed reading this book, cuz I enjoy such philosophical read. The story gave an insight to a different kind of personality, thought process, something called absurdism. I pondered on the views of the protagonist, that does it really matter? As he says, life in the world goes on n on, it doesnt make any difference. But still we try to find meaning in everything, in the course of happenings. Probably that is for our own peace of mind that we search for meaning, cuz thats our nature.

Another line I really liked in this book was, which I think is quite true as well - "In the long run, one gets used to anything".