The Weirdo from NoWhere

In the Year the World Ends...

2012-01-16T12:00:00.007+05:30

Beginning of every year, I usually jot down my plans and fancies that I look forward to for the year. Not that I keep up those "resolutions", but it's like a time table for the Indian railways to know how late a particular train is.

As I am growing more grey hair and the crude reality is smothering the innocuous dreams, slowly yet steadily, the inane teenage aspirations of achieving something big, something different are continuously waning. Waning, but not completely vanished yet. Probably because the indomitable instinct of the dreams of yester-years refusing to die down.
In the ferocious battle between the realized limitations and stupid dreams, I get crushed everyday. And the funny part is I sort of enjoy this. Or in other words I can say - I am not suicidal. Yet.

Following the heart and not mind is becoming more and more the norm. Man can't be truly free. I understand the need of ignoring the social constraints that bind, or to the outside world as it might appear - "succumbing to the inevitability". Of course, you have to wear a dress. Of course, you have to pay for food. But joining the bandwagon in chasing the same materialistic dream definitely does not fall in to the mandatory course of action.

The biggest difference between the heart-people and the mind-people is that the heart-people don't plan.

So no plans , no wishlists, no resolution, no expectations this year.

And moreover, who cares about the plan, when the world ends this December.

smiles..
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If the world doesn't end, I-don't-need-a-plan people will suffer the most "

The "Pro Forma" Year Round Up

2011-12-26T11:20:00.009+05:30

It has to be... so be it.

Passion can take the shape of perfunctoriness at times, but it is required nevertheless to keep the mind going. Else, one dies, ain't it?

Looking back, the year doesn't seem to be that ill-spent. Despite a lowly number on the book count or blogs (I am out of this number game, anyway), I feel that I have grown (and not only in the number showing on my weighing machine).

Traveling has been the highlight of the year. Been to Europe twice. Savoured the beauty of Paris, once again - for a longer period this time. Enjoyed the summer of Heidelberg and Strasbourg. Set foot in Budapest for the first time. (4th winter in Europe, but still not seen snow, won't you call it unlucky?). Domestic travels have been plenty (for some I have to thank my car - the materialistic achievement of the year) Chennai, Mumbai, Goa, Tirupati, Ooty, Mahabalipuram, Kotilingeswar, Munnar-Alleppey, Hogennakal et al - Every place has a story to tell. Loved the stories of Goa and Alleppey the most. Hope I encounter them again and again in times to come.

Watched more movies than I should. Almost averaging more than 2 per week.
Mused over Rainman, A Beautiful Mind, Edward Scissorhands, The People vs Larry Flynt, There will be Blood, Philadelphia, The Constant Gardener, Mary and Max
Thrilled and Chilled with Matchstick Men, State of Play, No Country for Oldman,
Wondered in the dark amongst Black Swan, Run Lola Run, Old Boy, I saw the Devil, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(the old one)
Felt good for The World's Fastest Indian, The King's Speech
LMAO with the Naked Guns, Horrible Bosses, Rango, Flypaper and The Pink Panthers.
Rediscovered the greatness of Scent of a Woman, Blood Diamond, Hotel Rwanda, Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful
Got hold of some good offerings from my own countrymen - Delhi Belly, Water, Gulaal and Shaitan.

Read less books than I should.
Herman Hesse and Jose Saramago proved why they occupy the top spots in my favourite authors list with Steppenwolf and Seeing respectively. Bernard Shaw with Man and Superman justifies why is he such an important name in the literary circle. Three authors I read for the first time who I intend to explore more are Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore), Paul Auster (Invisible), Kunal Basu (Racists). Rediscovering Joseph Heller's Catch 22 was a pleasing experience. India can boast of some great short fiction creators.
But, for me the author of the year has to be Arundhati Roy. I am never the same insular person after I read her challenging essays in as many as four books. Thanks to Santosh Desai and Bachi Karkaria for making my toilet breaks less stinky.

"Writing" has taken a serious hit. I am very irregular in blogosphere(my only public writing so far). Even not getting enough time to jot down my reactions in my movie blog. Most of my time is being spent on exploring the life, the world and discovering my ignorance.

Whether I like it or not, I have become less sociable. Slowly getting far away from my dear ones. Can they still understand me?

Towards the end of the year I am happy to have developed a new hobby - Cryptic Crosswords. I am looking forward to every morning to spend my tea with the daily crossword by The Hindu, despite the wifey's stark reactions. I've promised to treat myself the day I solve more than 80% of the clues unaided.

More later...

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Now you belong to the million of people who use the blog to talk about personal stuff, as if the world gives a fart!!!"

On Writing (III) : For Writing's Sake...

2011-12-16T11:21:00.004+05:30

You said, ".....Write for writing's sake, is there really a need to bother about anything else?" and that left me thinking.

I am not there yet to proclaim like George Orwell "Why I write?" ( nor may I never be!), but I still wonder Why I write? Clearly, not for gaining popularity, or else I would have yielded to throwing some smart-ass satires or cheesy romances like most of the new-age "writers" ( sometimes I feel I am not capable of it also).

Then, why?

Probably, it is that demon inside me who wants to unleash itself and bare the soul from the suffocating robe of conformity - doesn't matter if anyone is looking at it or not.
But at the same time, the timid mind, knowing the limitations of his understandings (a new facet of life unfolds every moment), holds back any outbursts for the fear of self-ridicule.

Sometimes the demon triumphs, most of the time it loses to mind. And hence, there is an outward void that manages to hide the inner turmoil.

How I get tempted to defeat the unsure mind and make him realize that understanding is never digital - either 1 or 0? Is human mind equipped enough to understand the complexity of life, the universe and everything? ( also it cannot judge if 42 is the real answer or not ;))

Anyway, the quest continues and hopefully the diarrhea too....

smiles...(well not always)
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Nonsensical blabber doesn't justify the incoherent thoughts."

2011-10-28T13:48:00.001+05:30

Is my blog dying or it is already dead???

Phir Se Ud Chala

2011-10-03T11:13:00.003+05:30

I want to kiss the hand of the person who penned this....

Phir se ud chala...
Ud ke chhoda hai jahaan neeche main hoon tere hawale
Door door log baag meelo'n door ye waadiyaan

Phir, dhuaa'n dhuaa'n dum bhar badli chali aati hai chhoone
Par koi badli kabhi kahin kar de tan geela ye, geela o...

Kisi manzar par main ruka nahi
Kabhi khud se bhi mein mila nahi
Ye gila to hai main khafa nahi
Shehar ek se gaa'nv ek se
Log ek se naam ek se ooo...

ooo o...
Phir se udd chala
Mitti jaise sapne ye kitta bhi palko se jhaado
Phir aa jaate
Itte saare sapne kya kahoon kis tarah se main
Kode hain chhode... hain kyun
Phir se tichhle michle nikude ye kyun
O o..

Kabhi daal daal kabhi paat paat
Mere saath saath phir dar udiye
Kabhi sehra kabhi saawan
Banu raawan kyun mar mar ke
Kabhi daal daal kabhi paat paat
Kabhi din hai raat kabhi din din hai
Kya sacch hai, kya maaya
Hai Data...Hai Data....

Idhar udhar titar bitar
Kya hai pata hawa le hi jaaye teri ore
Kheenche teri yaadein
Teri yaadein teri ore

Rang-birange mehlon mein
Main udta phiru
Rang-birange mehlon mein
Main udta phiru

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy hummed, "Fun Kaya Fun."

Golden Rule # 4

2011-09-27T12:47:00.011+05:30

The More You Give, The More You Get

This is going to shatter your maths. How can subtraction in turn increase the resultant? But that is what I have observed in life. And things like these sometimes make me believe in the existence of a Super Power outside the realm of our understanding.

Earlier, my realization of this rule was limited to mostly non-tangible things.
To get love, you love more.
To get respect, you give more respect.
More you teach, more you learn.
To enjoy, entertain.
Trustworthiness comes from trust you invest.
et al.

But slowly as I ventured more into understanding life, what shocked me is when I discovered the same logic applied to stuff that you wouldn't imagine in your far-fetched thoughts.
How can one increase one's accumulated wealth, just by giving? Isn't it contradictory in itself?
If you want to get your hunger satiated, feed.

One instance I recollect from my earlier days. Two brothers. Same background. More or less similar capabilities. But one miser and the other charitable. The miser one has always remained in want. The other one, I have never seen in a sombre mood. Not a rare example, is it?

Remember, Sid in Dil Chahta Hai on the beach? Holding a fistful of sand he reveals one deep realization, "Strangeness of life - the more you tighten your grip to hold it tight, the more it gets out of your hand between the fingers."

So, open your hands to get hold of life. To get more, give more.
Strange, however it sounds, but true nevertheless. Even, you can apply the rule negatively to have positive effect. Hate less, to have more pleasant smiles. Talk less to be heard more.

But, there is a trick here. A catch 22 kind of trap.

The essence of this rule lies in the sincerity of effort.

It's like - If you ONLY demonstrate love in order to get love in returns - you are going to be disappointed.
If your sole intention is to be praised, how much ever you praise others, it would appear dishonest.
Pretentious charity won't add to your pompous wealth.

So you can slightly modify the rule, if you please, to The more you give (without an eye on the returns), The more you get.

Try it.
And, Update me with your observations.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "Then why does history suggest that every ruler goes for respect by authority mode?"

Related post(s):

5 Golden Rules of Life

The evils of "Ratings" (?)

2011-09-13T11:22:00.008+05:30

Before I could write more about my 5 golden rules of life, I got the first rebuttal from Pongalswamy on my 5th rule itself - Don't Measure, Never Compare.

"Don't you yourself rate every book you read, every movie you see, etc etc. How can you preach on not measuring when yourself quantitatively asses so many things that you shouldn't?" said Pongalswamy.

"It's basic human tendency to judge. Even if, not for comparison purpose with another similar or dissimilar, man judges most of things against his own expectations. In my defense, when I rate a book or a movie or to that matter any object, my ratings are not for the actual assessment of the object per se (which I think I am quite unqualified for), rather of my understanding or appreciation of the same. And as stated in my disclaimer when I publicly express any ratings, the number I associate with the object is clearly not for analytical purpose, but rather just a notation of my mood and my maturity of that time. There are many objects I change my degree of perception with increasing number of grey hair on my head, " I said.

Sarah said, "But why engage statistics in this judgement? I never rate a book or a movie, the way I never judge a person. For me books are like good or bad, enjoyable or avoidable, etc. The moment you associate a number, you invariably compare."

I replied, "I agree and I preach to avoid all measurements that are done in the intention to compare. Human mind always assesses, by default. And only qualitative judgement leaves a big hole in true assessment. Mathematics has sunk so deep into our skulls that it is very difficult not to play with numbers in anything we do. Avoiding measurement is like unlearning arithmetic.

When I said, don't measure, that doesn't mean do away with the essence of numbers in life. How can we get rid of the only absolute on earth? Without statistics half the fun will be nullified, isn't it? Imagine the game of cricket or football without numbers. The problem comes when we compare two cricketers on the basis of numbers associated with them without taking into consideration other qualitative aspects.

Hence, the idea of, 'Don't Measure', lies in the notion of 'avoiding the evils of comparison'. And I still concede, measurement should be kept off if (and mostly they do) they bring in a glitch in enjoyment. It's like - Don't count miles, if it is distracting you from enjoying the drive. Don't check your bank balance if it gives you an inferiority or superiority complex."

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Easier said than done."

Restless, Fatigued, But Back...

2011-09-05T11:28:00.003+05:30

As some might say, "You can keep me out of writing, but you can't keep writing out of me."
I take breaks now and then, I fill in my blog with garbage, but I can't help myself refraining from expressing my thoughts, in one way or other.
Forms of expressions are so many. Discharging through pen is one of the preferred ones for me.

Past few weeks have been too hectic for me, and hence I took a break from blogging and I focused my energy somewhere else. Anyway, I am back - fatigued and restless.
No No. I am not complaining.
Restlessness is a virtue, according to me, and not a vice as perceived by many. For me, contentment is rather not covetous. Saints aspire for serenity. Rebels go for unrest.

Beautifully put, a feeling similar, in one of the verses, I came across in a recent movie.

Dilon mein tum apni betaabiyan le ke chal rahe ho
Toh zinda ho tum,
Nazar mein khwaabon ki bijliyan le ke chal rahe ho
Toh zinda ho tum,

Hawa ke jhokon ke jaise aazad rehna seekho
Tum ek dariya ke jaise lehron mein behna seekho
Har ek lamhe se tum milo khole apni baahein
Har ek pal ek naya samaa dekhe yeh nigaahein

Jo apni aankhon mein hairaniyan le ke chal rahe ho
Toh zinda ho tum
Dilon mein tum apni betaabiyan le ke chal rahe ho
Toh zinda ho tum

Might roughly get translated into -

If your heart is unrest with passions,
You are alive.
If your eyes carry the sparkles of dreams,
You are alive.

Learn from the breeze how to live free,
Learn how to drift like a wave from the sea,
Embrace every moment with open arms
Let your eyes see a new view every moment

If your eyes are filled with wonders,
You are alive.
If your heart is unrest with passions,
You are alive.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Hight time to stop copying and start composing."

On Break, Yet Again

2011-07-22T14:12:00.006+05:30

Every year around this time I take a break. Break from my regular life.
Existential Vacuum?
Ennui?
Whatever, yes that creepy feeling has hovered my mind once again.

I know I have few regular readers who are going to be disappointed when they come to this page and find nothing new. So to save them from the ordeal, I notify that I won't post anything here till August End.
Yes, I know I have to put the other 4 golden rules. A month passes soon.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy ridiculed, "Darn!!! Who will now enlighten the world with words of wisdom!!!"

P.S. And don't you guys use Twitter??? a_sujeet_b

Golden Rule # 5

2011-07-13T12:48:00.012+05:30

Don't Measure, Never Compare.

When we were children we were asked by our parents, "Do whatever, but score more marks than Gupta uncle's daughter. You have to run faster than Sharma uncle's son. You have to grow taller than Bunty, etc etc"

When we grew up, we were asked, "How come your salary is less than Mr. Sahoo? How come your car is less fancy than Mr. Tripathy's? How come your wife wears less jewelery than Mrs. Joshi? Blah Blah"

When you are fed up of your life, still the pestering continues," Why is your Cholesterol count is way too ahead than Mr Mohanty? Why you travel economy when Mishra Babu always manage to travel Business."

Oh Damn it!
Everything we do, we are compared.
Everything we don't do, we are compared.
And it's not that we are always at the receiving end. The venom of comparison is so much into our blood that, we don't miss ourselves slightest chance to degrade one person by taking just one statistics associated with him that he doesn't even care and compare it with another dunce, who managed to score slightly higher in that aspect.

Hence, I have realized, the biggest secret of a happy life - Stop Comparing.

I know it is a damn difficult thing. Maths is such. Any number has no value till it is compared to another one.
So the simplest way to achieve that is - Don't measure.
Don't measure your wealth (avoid looking at salary slips, bank statements).
Don't measure your girth. (just need to be fit and disease free)
Don't count your achievements. (You will yourself forget how much marks you scored in the exam after 10 years)
Don't tally your failures. (Who cares why you didn't do something that others did at some point of their lives?)
If you don't measure, there is no way you can compare.

I need to look beautiful, I need to be knowledgeable, I need to run fast - is good enough. I need to look beautiful than...., I need to be more knowledgeable than....., I need to run faster than..... - is not required.
Life needn't be a race. Not always. Not ever.
Enjoy being a rat, just avoid that rat-race.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "But, if you don't compete, then there is no challenge in life."

See Also: 5 Golden Rules of Life
The evils of 'Ratings'

5 Golden Rules of Life

2011-07-12T13:43:00.018+05:30

(This post is dedicated to my friend Amar)

Everytime, Amar calls me, he never forgets to ask this question, "Have you found your philosophy, yet?" ( By philosophy, of course, he meant the generic rule one's life abide by and not the study of meaning of life, existence, ethics, etc)
I escape giving different excuses, each time.
"I am too busy in pursuing materialistic ambitions to ponder on philosophy."
"Life can never be limited by any particular philosophy, nor can be conjectured with sweeping statements."
"I am a moron."
etc

Today, on this day, (there is nothing great about this day except that I boarded earth on this day some 32 years ago), I was thinking about his question. At midnight, I wrote down my 5 observations, the 5 golden rules of life as I call it, on my notebook, and later decided to put the incoherent thoughts in my blog post. Of course, these are not the rules I lead my life always, nor I can claim that I am a paragon of all these rules. Rather, I think these rules make life easier, lovelier, freer, smoother and hopefully I can follow these to the hilt, someday.
I can go on and on, on each of these 5 golden rules, but nowadays I am avoiding prolixity, for two reasons - 1) it saves time and energy, 2) my readers/listeners are damn intelligent.

Hence, till I get better ones, here I dispense my 5 golden Rules -( in the next 5 posts) ......

Rule # 5 : Don't Measure, Never Compare
Rule # 4 : The More you Give, The More you Get
Rule # 3
Rule # 2
Rule # 1
The Ultimate One

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "The best way to lead life is without rules."

What a Wonderful World!!!

2011-07-08T14:02:00.002+05:30

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "World is just an illusion."

Shackles

2011-07-07T11:00:00.009+05:30

A century back, Rabindranath Tagore , along with Mahatma Gandhi, believed shackles that dragged India back were self made.

The venerated poet beautifully put -

'Prisoner, tell me who was it
that wrought this unbreakable chain?'
'It was I', said the prisoner,
'who forged this chain very carefully.'

I can't agree with them more - Be it societal or personal, every shackle that bind us is self-created, every wound that hurt us is self-inflicted.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Can a sadist be a masochist?"

Hail Indian Short Stories

2011-07-05T11:26:00.000+05:30

There are many under-rated less-read authors in India who dispense their depth of human understanding through their short proses. Thanks to this collection, I was able to read some of those.

*****************************************************
Contemporary Indian Short Stories in English
Compiled by: Shiv K Kumar
Publisher: Sahitya Academy
Genre: Short Stories
My Rating : B+
Memorable Stories:
--- Cold Wave by K A Abbas
--- The Liar by Mulk Raj Anand
--- The Betrayal by Sujatha Balasubramanium
--- The Eyes are not here by Ruskin Bond
--- Versus the Godman by Upamanyu Chatterjee
--- The Submerged Valley by Manoj Das
--- To Nun with Love by Shiv K Kumar
--- Absolution by Dina Mehta
--- The Womb by Chaman Nahal
--- The Bottom Pincher by Khuswant Singh
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Why the blossoming authors of India are focusing more on novels than short stories?"
I replied, "As Amartya Sen would say - Prolixity is our forte. "

My Investments

2011-06-30T10:34:00.012+05:30

One lazy evening, I got an unexpected call from a cousin (some 10 years older than me) who never cared to contact me in last one and half years.

"You come fourth in our family circle," he said without giving away any context.
"In what regards?" I asked, perplexed.
"First is Muna*, 2nd is Sapan*, 3rd me and you come fourth," he continued without heeding my inquiry.
"But for me, I think I come first, then you, then Sapan and last comes Muna," I replied, now smiling realizing what he was getting at.
"How?" the question mark was on his head now.
"That is the question I asked before? What is your ranking criterion?" now I was getting his full attention.
"In terms of monetary possession, of course. What is yours?"
"My criterion is number of hair on head," I smiled.
"What kind of bullshit criterion is that?"
"It's not necessary that accumulating wealth is priority for everyone."
"Other things in life have no value, especially the things you care for," he retorted, "Tell me what is your current bank balance?"
I told him.
He laughed in disbelief, "And investment?"
"450 books and counting," I was smiling.
"Are you kidding me? What kind of moron calls 'reading books' as investment? What you get from that?"
"Knowledge."
"Of what?"
"Self. The only thing you know more, reading diverse stuff, is about yourself ."
"And what have you got, so far?"
"That I don't know anything."
"What a waste you are?" He sounded concerned.

Then he went on giving me a 15 minutes lecture on the importance of money in life and suggested tricks and tips to making more by investing prudently. I carefully managed to 'hmmm' every half a minute just not to make him aware of my non-listening.
As soon as, he hung the phone, I went back to my investment spree.

Sarah said, "I am just waiting for the day you die, so that all your 'investments' would be mine."

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "One should always listen to one's elders."

* - names changed to respect anonymity.

The Rebel against the Beast

2011-06-19T14:26:00.006+05:30

I am becoming a big fan of Arundhati Roy and I haven't read the one book that brought her to fame ( God of Small Things), yet. Reading her political essays dwelling on the same subject - against the power and misuse of authority - I am convinced of two things : She is a fantastic writer having the ability to make the unreacting flinch and the unflinching react, and she doesn't talk in air rather does a lots of research before putting her point forth.

She says - "The process of writing is the process of sharpening your thought and that's the only that makes me really happy, regardless of what effect it has or what people think about it. And, because writing is the same thing as thinking, everything in your body settles when you write. Eventually, it's about something settling inside yourself."

Well said. Applause.

After reading 'The algebra of Infinite Justice' and 'An ordinary person's guide to the Empire' that dealt predominantly on 'Evils of Dams' and 'America's arrogant dominance over world politics', I wanted to know more of her actions and reactions on the Naxal movement in India. But 'Shape of the Beast' - the conversations with Arundhati Roy - puts little light on that topic, rather reiterates the same that I have read already in the previous books.

As a less-informed, I had issues NOT with the reason for the struggle of the Naxalites in India, but with the method employed. To this she retorts -

"...a range of more militant struggles have loomed into view. They have (as they should) asked profound questions of the current practice of non-violent resistance. They ask how the hungry can go on hunger strikes, how people with no income can refuse to pay taxes, how those with no possessions can boycott foreign goods. They ask whether these are not tactics only available to middle class people and are meaningless to truly radical struggles. They believe that threat of offering themselves up for harm ( a practice fundamental to the principles of Satyagraha) cannot prevail over an Indian state that would be only happy to see millions of poor people annihilate themselves......"

"But what is the guarantee that if they come to power, things will be better than the present. Remember 'Animal Farm' ?" I asked.

She replies, "It may be well be that when they come to power, they will, as you say, be brutal, unjust and autocratic or even worse than the present government. Maybe, but i am not prepared to assume that in advance. If they are, we'll have to fight them too. And most likely someone like myself will be the first person they'll string up from the nearest tree - but right now, it is important to acknowledge that they are bearing the burnt of being at the forefront of resistance."

I need to understand more of her points.

*****************************************************
Shape of the Beast
Author: Arundhati Roy
Genre: Conversations on contemporary issues
My Rating : B+
Memorable Quote(s):

******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If you support Arundhati Roy, high chances are there that you would be termed anti-national."

It's not a bad world, afterall

2011-06-17T13:54:00.004+05:30

I'm free to be whatever I
Whatever I choose
And I'll sing the blues if I want
I'm free to say whatever I
Whatever I like
If it's wrong or right it's alright

Always seems to me
You only see what people want you to see
How long's it gonna be
Before we get on the bus
And cause no fuss
Get a grip on yourself
It don't cost much

Free to be whatever you
Whatever you say
If it comes my way it's alright
You're free to be wherever you
Wherever you please
You can shoot the breeze if you want

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Glass is always half-empty and you moron had drunk that half."

How do we Protest?

2011-06-14T13:34:00.013+05:30

During a stray talk session ----

Pongalswamy: So, whose side are you on? Civil Society? or the Government?

Me: I would refrain from taking anyone's side.

Pongalswamy : How can you keep mum when the whole country is in a revolutionary agitation?

Me: My opinions are not going to make any difference. Unless there is active participation, everything is backstage noise.

Sarah: Debate is the first step in revolution. No political agitation starts without mental agitation.

Me: OK, if you insist so - I am against any sort of protest where the protestor keeps the authority at ransom on the basis of emotion not on logic. I don't support 'amaran anashan' as a valid form of protest.

Pongalswamy : Then do you justify Government's atrocious midnight crackdown of Baba Ramdev's peaceful protest?

Me: Opposing something doesn't necessarily make me a supporter of the other. In this case, cause of protest is not a concern to me ( every sane person would be against corruption), I just have issues with the way. "I won't eat till you do this" is equivalent to "I will commit suicide by jumping in front of train 5 days from now, if you don't do that" - this is absolutely a childish and silly way to put forth your demand. This kind of emotional blackmail should be discouraged...vehemently or not, that's a separate question.

Sarah: When all avenues of protests are over, what can one do?

Me: What are the other avenues did you or they try? There are myriad ways to protest - from symbolic (black bands, shoe throwing...) to combative(armed rebellion).

Pongalswamy : Militancy in the country of Gandhi is a taboo.

Me: But, 'Anashan' is not the only way of non-violent protest. It doesn't take you towards any solution.....compromise, deals - May be...but resolution - NO.

Sarah: So what do you think is the right way to protest when the Government keeps itself too far away from the ground?

Me: There are so many. Civil disobedience , Non-cooperation - just to name few. Every protest need not take the form extreme - "amaran anashan" or "Maoist resistance". Self-sacrifice for a cause without agenda results in just a false alarm. Picking up arms only result in bloodshed.

Then Arundhati Roy interjected through her preface for 'The shape of the Beast' :

"..... a range of more militant struggles have loomed into view. They have (as they should) asked profound questions of the current practice of non-violent resistance. They ask how the hungry can go on hunger strikes, how people with no income can refuse to pay taxes, how those with no possessions can boycott foreign goods. They ask whether these are not tactics only available to middle class people and are meaningless to truly radical struggles. They believe that threat of offering themselves up for harm ( a practice fundamental to the principles of Satyagraha) cannot prevail over an Indian state that would be only happy to see millions of poor people annihilate themselves......"

This made me ponder more.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Renegades are simply dangerous."

Androgynous Feelings

2011-06-12T11:51:00.002+05:30

There are certain feelings, emotions that can be only felt, and can never be realized thorough second-hand experiences like reading or listening. However a man tries, he can never feel what a woman feels; or a straight person can never empathize with an homosexual.
Same thing happened to me when I read this book - I couldn't relate even remotely the feelings of androgyny or letting to the extent of forcing you betrothed in your honeymoon to have an affair with another woman who you happened to love knowing that it might lead to a bitter separation.

Human feelings are weird.

Sometimes weird literature is too much for my mediocre mind to appreciate.
I will not ( cannot) write Ernest Hemingway off, yet.

*****************************************************The Garden of Eden
Author: Ernest Hemingway
Genre: Fiction, Literature
My Rating : B
Memorable Quote(s):
none
******************************************************
smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If it would have been easy to understand great minds, they wouldn't have been called great minds in the first place."

The Bengali Sherlock Holmes

2011-06-10T11:36:00.003+05:30

It's probably the obsession of Bengalis with solving mysteries, that has given us some of the best fictional detectives of Indian literature. Saradindu Bandopadhay's Byomkesh Bakshi is clearly India's answer to Sherlock Holmes.
I was a huge fan of the series directed by Basu Chatterjee and immaculately performed by Rajit Kapoor (as the protagonist) when I was a child. I used to get sleepless nights whenever I watched a mind-boggling mystery in that series, which was quite often. Reading the stories was reliving those experiences.
The language was simple. Unfortunately, most of the stories I had known, and you know how you feel when you already know the solution to the puzzle - it becomes little boring.

*****************************************************
Byomkesh Bakshi Stories
Author: Saradindu Bandopadhay
Genre: Mystery, Short Stories
My Rating : B
Memorable Stories :
--- The Avenger
--- Room Number Two
******************************************************
smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Never let a movie spoil the book."

My Perfect Toilet Companion

2011-06-09T14:01:00.006+05:30

I have never been a big fan of social commentary, nor I indulge in it much, well.. till my mind allows me to stray (that explains the negligible popularity of my blog). My news - paper/site browsing doesn't take more than 10 minutes a day, my eyes doesn't go below the headlines. Page 3 and gossip section are a strict NO.

But one thing I enjoy the most in newspaper is the Sunday Editorials. Those give me the gist of what I ought to know with minimal effort. And below all those serious stuff, I used to find two witty parody with non-offending malice - that of Jug Suraiya and Bachi Karkaria. Both have suave world views and an excellent skills of playing with words and homonyms. And the best part is that most of their essays can be enjoyed employing 3-4 minutes and you will never feel that a moment of your time wasted.

For last couple of months, the book that was on the top of my flush was Bachi Karkaria's Erratica - a compilation of some of her best pieces.
Every morning when I had to answer the really irritating call of nature, I used to complete one (two on bad stomach days) of her essays and must admit that gives an aroma amidst the stench.
It is very natural to be impressed by her rich taste in life and surroundings and her views on sugar, salt and high-profile names.

The very proof that I love her writing is that the character Pongalswamy is a direct inspiration from her Alec Smart. Of course only difference between them is Alec is really smart, but Pongalswamy is my first critic.

Hope she writes till she could.

*****************************************************
Erratica
Author: Bachi Karkaria
Genre: Social Commentary
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Thanks for the most useless information of how much time you spend in the loo every morning."

Expresssions...

2011-05-30T13:46:00.013+05:30

This one got to be the best, IMHO, of all those cute Cadbury Dairy Milk 'meethe main kuchh meetha ho jaye' Ads that are coming on TV, nowadays.

I like this one the most because it tries to address in those 30 odd seconds one helluva complicated thing - forms of expression.

We human are so alike, yet so different when it comes to expressions. We love to express things in myriad ways unfathomable for each other.

When sad, some people cry, some other go to a gloomy silence, some run, some take the refuge in music and what nots. When happy, some people scream, party, some shed tears, some drink. When angry, some people scream, others go to solitude to calm nerves. Not everyone can praise verbally on your good deeds, not everyone can utter sympathetic sounds on your plight. Some words can never be spoken, some other better not be. Some emotions can never be expressed, just felt.

Bottom line is we react to events and situations in so different ways that sometimes we make ourselves surprised and others confused to the extent of misinterpretations.

How many times were we misunderstood, just because of how we reacted or, to make the matter worse, how we didn't?
"Were you not happy when I......?"
"How could you be so self-centered not to ........?"
"Actually, I didn't mean the way you interpreted when I...."

We as human beings are complex. We are unpredictable. We react differently to same events and similar in diametrically opposite situations. Most of the times our countenance represent the antithesis of our feelings. Sometimes the unspoken words mean more than the spoken ones, most of the times, they intend to.

The day we understand one thing - everyone is different when it comes to expressions - half of the personal grudges would disappear.

Throughout ages, the most beautiful form of expressions has been - arts - be it a painting, an euphony, a performance, a sonnet, an essay or a sculpture. This creative form of expression not only displays the various forms of human emotions and thoughts, but also opens gate to multitude of interpretations from one single thread.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Excuses for apathy and selfishness......"

Religion vs Science

2011-05-27T20:19:00.009+05:30

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "It has always been a trend of scientists and religious people to criticize each other. Can't they co-exist?"

When Civilizations Clash!!!

2011-05-15T09:37:00.004+05:30

I had seen many seemingly intellectual persons carrying this book in the airport, couple of times. So, that was the first trigger for me to buy this one, (who doesn't want to appear as the one belonging to the elite class). The second more propelling trigger was - the title of this book - 'The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of world order'. My interest in understanding the rise and fall of different human civilizations because of conflicts with others over time.

Well, I was little disappointed in the beginning, as it was not a beginner's book and expected the readers to have a lot of understanding of historical contexts. And, the book just focused on the contemporary civilizations mostly post cold-war era.

Samuel Huntington's research is pretty extensive. His arguments are pretty persuasive. However, I found some of his theories are little tilted, and I don't agree with those.

I am too tired to review the book. So, I am putting the gist of the chapters in author's own words, that will give the interested readers a complete picture of what the arguments are getting into. One recommendation - don't treat this book as just an introduction to 'clash of civilizations' but rather as an intelligent proposition

"It is my hypothesis that the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural. Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global politics. The fault lines between civilizations will be the battle lines of the future."

Part I: For the first time in history global politics is both multipolar and multicivilizational; modernization is distinct from Westernization and is producing neither a universal civilization in any meaningful sense nor the Westernization of non-Western societies.

Part II: The balance of power among civilizations is shifting: the West is declining in relative influence; Asian civilizations are expanding their economic, military, and political strength; Islam is exploding demographically with destabilizing consequences for Muslim countries and their neighbors; and non-Western civilizations generally are reaffirming the value of their own cultures.

Part III: A civilization-based world order is emerging: societies sharing cultural affinities cooperate with each other; efforts to shift societies from one civilization to another are unsuccessful; and countries group themselves around the lead or core states of their civilization.

Part IV: The West's universalist pretensions increasingly bring it into conflict with other civilizations, most seriously with Islam and China; at the local level fault line wars, largely between Muslims and non-Muslims, generate "kin-country rallying," the threat of broader escalation, and hence efforts by core states to halt these wars.

Part V: The survival of the West depends on Americans reaffirming their Western identity and Westerners accepting their civilization as unique not universal and uniting to renew and preserve it against challenges from non-Western societies. Avoidance of a global war of civilizations depends on world leaders accepting and cooperating to maintain the multicivilizational character of global politics.

*****************************************************
The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of World Order
Author: Samuel P. Huntington
Genre: Non-Fiction
My Rating : B
******************************************************
smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Why do we need order, when disorder is sexy?"

Curious Genius

2011-05-11T12:41:00.006+05:30

Multiple people recommended this book at various stages of my life, mentioning how this book has influenced them and how this is their most favourite book. Even one of them going to the extent of saying, "This book is written for people like you. You should read it." I don't know what he meant by people like me - but nevertheless, I put it in my reading list.

Now that I suddenly got interested in Quantum reality and got acquainted with the contribution of Richard Feynman, this book pulled the required attention from me.

"Surely you are joking Mr. Feynman" narrates many short incidents of one of the most loved Physicists of twentieth century, in an autobiographical manner.
As one of the reviewer's said, "There are two types of genius. Ordinary geniuses do great things, but they leave you room to believe that you could do the same if only you worked hard enough. Then there are magicians, and you can have no idea how they do it. Feynman was a magician."

Well, I liked some of the incidents that he described, some were funny, some were ingenious, but some are also pretty boring and not worth-mentioning.

The beauty of the book is that you can read any chapter, without thinking about the chronology.

*****************************************************
Surely, You are joking Mr. Feynman
Author: Richard Feynman
Genre: Autobiography
My Rating : B
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Genius is born, not made."

My First Dent

2011-05-02T20:35:00.006+05:30

Well, I should have written about my first car first, before I could write about its first dent. But, truth is, I never considered my first car as an achievement of mine as I considered the dent in it as a personal injury. Probably because, in the owner section of my car's registration bears the name of the organization that I work for. In fact, I was not aware of the existence of my car ( which I got a month ago, by the way) till I gave it a dent.

Since the day, I have been trying how to drive a car, I have been literally a road rage. Angry honks, frustrated swearing, annoyed fist-signaling - I am slowly getting used to all these.
Sweating like a pig in the full AC, when I am trying to start the engine after it turns off for the fourth time at the signal, I fail to react to the street hawker who decreases the price of his sun shades, even before I open my mouth. Market price 100, but I will give you in 25. Should I get angry or simply cry?

"Do whatever, never ever touch anyone in the streets of India," advised my friend instructing me how to drive, "The Indian roads are full of angry people and most of their anger can easily be channelized to the person behind the four doors, even if he has done no mistake."

So far I have been following his words to the hilt. Well, the dent was just the result of my dyslexic judgment while trying to park

My pensive mood drew lots of advice and consolations.

"First dent is the hardest. You can bear well the subsequent ones."

"It could have been worse. You should be happy."

"You will be better off now on. More conscious of your action you see."

"The bad omen is over now."

Seeing Bangalore like traffic and casually-maintained cars in Paris, once when I inquired one of my German friends what could be the reason, he said disdainfully, "You see, the French guys treat their car as a mere vehicle, unlike a German who love his car as a family member."

Now, after the dent, I am beginning to feel the car as part of my family.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "I would be the last person to take a lift in your car."

Life on the BackPack

2011-04-25T13:34:00.002+05:30

Oh ! Finally I've unleashed the traveller in me, and I am almost having my travel backpack ready most of the times for last couple of months.
Chennai, Goa, Tirupati, Paris, Heidelberg, Strausborg - Domestic, International - Vacation, Official - whatever, I am on the move - following every word of Robert Louis Stevenson to its essence - "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."

Often when someone (some curious juniors to be precise) asks me what is the best way to increase your knowledge, to their surprise, I emphasize on travelling more than reading that they usually think I would recommend. In fact, according to me reading comes latter than debating and contemplating in the pursuit of knowledge.

I believe 'Travelling' is the best way to enlarge your world view, well quite literally.
Travel with an open mind to encompass any culture without being judgemental and with an experimenting appetite - what is the point if you shun away from local delicacies (I am not talking about the gross looking ones)?

Many of these places that I have been in last couple of months, may not be my first-time-ins. But every time, I come to these places I make sure to visit some corners I had never set my foot before, go to that one restaurant I had never been and speak to people I had never met before. Needless to say, I come out always a rich person - rich in views, in thoughts.

And this time most of my trips were more enriching because of the perfect companion I had - the wifey - who enabled me to see the world not just through two eyes, but four.

I know, because of travelling and other engagements, I am spending less time in this forum, and I should have written a lot about each of my trips, for a simple reason that I started this blog to talk about my travels and I love to relive the small interactions that I encounter in my trips.

I promise to recount my experiences in some form or other soon.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy quoted St Augustine, "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

A Comedy and A Philosophy

2011-04-11T11:32:00.004+05:30

I have a huge inferiority complex about myself. That prevents me to approach great books, lest I wouldn't understand the great writers. I had heard the name of Bernard Shaw and how great a writer he was, in my school days. But never dared to read him.

Now, that some gray hairs have begun to reveal themselves in my head, I have been trying to imbibe some of the thoughts of great minds. Some times I fail, sometimes they fail me, but some other times, they get in to my mind and make me realize things that I have never thought of before - at least in their terms. Those are exhilarating moments of my life.

Reading 'Man and Superman' is one of those moments. Man's eternal search for finding the 'Superman' who he can relate to and idolize at the same time is the basic theme of the book. And for a man being 'Superman' he has to sacrifice the social norms like 'marriage and conformity' and naturally would face resistance. Rationalization of this constitute the basic dialogues of the play.

Full of quotes that would make you think, and chortle simultaneously, makes this great 'comedy and philosophy' - as the author likes to put it, one of the finest reads of my life.

I would read it multiple times.
I loved especially the The Revolutionist's Handbook and Pocket Companion

Respect for the 'English Nietzsche'.

*****************************************************
Man and Superman
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Genre: Fiction, Play
My Rating : A-
Memorable Quote(s):
Everything that Tanner/Don Juan says.

******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Man is always fascinated about great sayings, but seldom act upon it."

The Greatest Honour

2011-04-02T09:59:00.002+05:30

The greatest honour for the greatest of men.

Sachin has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years. It's only fair we carry him now. (Kohli)

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Is a man greater than the team?"

The boring rich man

2011-03-28T16:08:00.000+05:30

Two things that seem to drive most of the populace - money and power - unfortunately stir no interest in me. I avoid discussions on corporate finances. Mafia stories don't give me the intended high. Political and organizational power mean nothing to me. I've never questioned the salary hikes I get, do not check my pay slips unless until it is required. Stock market terms are jargon to me. Most of my investments are solely because of my intent of shooing away the financial agents.

Seeing my apathy towards practical matters, once my then manager, had sent me to a 'self-improvement' training ( I have forgotten what was the title of the training). I remember the trainer there had suggested me to make 'The richest man of Babylon' my bible. I had bought the book, but never read it.

After sitting for years in my shelf, when the book finally succeeded to draw my attention, unfortunately it was too late. Money matters do not matter much to me. Naturally the book scored so less according to me.

Reading couple of chapters, I realize that this book might not be written to stir interest in money, rather to confirm the money-mindedness of the majority.
'Save', 'Spend Prudently', 'Invest', 'Insure' - No wonder the book is one of the most loved best sellers. Don't people love these words?

For me, it was a waste of 2 hours of time.

*****************************************************
The richest man in Babylon
Author: George Samuel Clason
Genre: Non-Fiction, Personal Finance
My Rating : B-
Memorable Moment(s):
Oh Come on
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "World doesn't care about people who don't care about money."

The Artistic Man

2011-03-17T15:42:00.007+05:30

When I read aloud to the wifey, first thing in the morning, a dialogue from 'Man and Superman' - a play by Bernard Shaw that I am currently reading and absolutely loving, she stopped talking to me for couple of hours.

The true artist will let his wife starve, his children go barefoot, his mother drudge for his living at seventy, sooner than work at anything but his art. To women he is half vivisector, half vampire. He gets into intimate relations with them to study them, to strip the mask of convention from them, to surprise their inmost secrets, knowing that they have the power to rouse his deepest creative energies, to rescue him from his cold reason, to make him see visions and dream dreams, to inspire him, as he calls it.
He persuades women that they may do this for their own purpose whilst he really means them to do it for his. He steals the mother's milk and blackens it to make printer's ink to scoff at her and glorify ideal women with. He pretends to spare her the pangs of childbearing so that he may have for himself the tenderness and fostering that belong of right to her children. Since marriage began, the great artist has been known as a bad husband. But he is worse: he is a child-robber, a bloodsucker, a hypocrite and a cheat. Perish the race and wither a thousand women if only the sacrifice of them enable him to act Hamlet better, to paint a finer picture, to write a deeper poem, a greater play, a profounder philosophy! For mark you, ... , the artist's work is to show us ourselves as we really are. Our minds are nothing but this knowledge of ourselves; and he who adds a jot to such knowledge creates new mind as surely as any woman creates new men. In the rage of that creation he is as ruthless as the woman, as dangerous to her as she to him, and as horribly fascinating.
Of all human struggles there is none so treacherous and remorseless as the struggle between the artist man and the mother woman. Which shall use up the other? that is the issue between them. And it is all the deadlier because, in your romanticist
can't, they love one another.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Why bother? You are no artist."

Ah! That screwed-up Girl, Again

2011-03-14T11:38:00.003+05:30

Two reasons I picked this book :
--- I had the whole series gifted to me by the wifey, so this book was lying in my cupboard
--- I was on a relaxing trip and didn't want to go with heavy stuff

Coming to the book, I don't want to use lots of expletives here.
Would it suffice to say that - I wonder how can such crap can become a bestseller. Have all the crime-mystery lovers in the world gone bonkers?

I couldn't finish the book. Whatever I read, it could have been covered by a good writer in 10-15 pages in a much interesting way.

*****************************************************
The girl who kicked the hornet's nest
Author: Stieg Larrson
Genre: Crime, Mystery
My Rating : C+
Memorable Moment(s):
Absolutely Nothing
******************************************************
smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "How can someone malign something that the whole world loves?"

Lady-on-Fire against the Empire

2011-02-25T16:55:00.007+05:30

Reading Arundhati Roy is not an pleasant experience. How could it be, when every word she writes is bloated with her frustrated dejection? She, sometimes, employs black humour and satire to put her points forth, but that doesn't necessarily give you laughter, does it?
She seethes with anger with what she sees around and attacks vehemently the very reason she feels oppressed for, with the only weapon she wields well - her pen. She agitates you, takes you to uncomfortable places, asks you questions that you have always ignored and rouses the dissident on you against the authority.

She writes - "....Though it might appear otherwise, my writing is not really about nations and histories; it's about power. About the paranoia and ruthlessness of power. About the physics of power. I believe that the accumulation of vast unfettered power by a State or a country, a corporation or an institution - or even an individual, a spouse, a friend, a sibling -regardless of ideology, results in excesses...."

Of course, there are always two sides of the story. Though her opinions are backed by extensive research, that doesn't force you to accept whatever she says. She also agrees to this and invites you to do more research before jumping to any sort of conclusion. She is just putting her views across ------ There can never be a single story. There are only ways of seeing. So when I tell a story, I tell it not as an ideologue who wants to pit one absolutist ideology against another, but as a story-teller who wants to share her way of seeing......

Most of her researches are against the authority, and especially in this book the authority of American Government, who so blatantly and inhumanly raises war for profit in the name of dispensing justice. Who gave them the rights to be the messiah of justice anyway?

OK Ma'am. I heard you. I cannot say I entirely agree with your opinions and conclusions, though. I have to understand more before I come to any sort of judgement.

Only problem, I have with this collection of her essays, that those are sometimes very repetitive and doesn't add more to what she had said earlier.

As one of the reviewers rightly says, "...whether you agree with her or disagree with her, adore her or despise her, you will want to read her." Yes, she is very good writer.

*****************************************************
An ordinary person's guide to Empire
Author: Arundhati Roy
Genre: Essays on contemporary issues
My Rating : B
Memorable Essay(s):
--- Come September
--- Peace is War
--- Do Turkeys enjoy Thanksgiving
******************************************************

Pongalswamy said, "Finger-Pointing is the easiest thing to do when you don't have to provide any alternative solutions."

No McCarthy for Me

2011-02-22T18:45:00.004+05:30

Sometimes some authors just don't get through you. When you would be reluctantly trudging through the pages to understand the style and substance, you would be wondering what others see in the writing that you so obviously miss. Either an inferiority complex or complete contempt ensues.

I have several authors in my list, that the world revere but I fail to look up to. To that list I recently added Cormac McCarthy, considered to be one of the four major American fiction writers along side Philip Roth, Don DeLillo and Thomas Pynchon ( I have read none).

My first experiement 'The Road' was an average read, but I had huge expectation from this muti-award winning author. All my hopes fell to earth, when I completed hesitantly one-third of 'No Country for Old Men' and decided that McCarthy is just not for me. Probably, the indigenous American style of writing did put me off.

I would rather watch its Oscar winning movie adaptation.

*****************************************************
No Country for Oldman
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Genre: Fiction
My Rating : B-
Memorable Moment(s):
None
Memorable Quotes:
None
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "No one expects a blind to appreciate art."

And there was Light...Blinding

2011-02-16T13:13:00.004+05:30

Blindness couldn't have a better sequel. But Seeing could have been more profound it wouldn't have been a sequel. The premise of the Seeing is such potently affecting that it could have been well-off without the reference to its prequel.

If Blindness is metaphorical, Seeing is more hypothetical.

When it was found out that more than 70% of votes in a municipal polling with low turn-in are found to be blank, the existing government declared a re-election. More than 80% blank votes this time. Then the Government left the city expecting that when chaos prevail, the dissidents would turn back to them. But, to everyone's surprise, when the city self sustained, the disgruntled Government tried to find the cause of the apathy of the citizens for the authority. And their first suspicion went to the lady who escaped the epidemic of Blindness that had struck their region before.

As one of the reviewers rightly put, ".....Seeing tells us more about our time than any other book."

Reading Saramago is not easy. With extremely unconventional form of writing ( with no punctuations, sentences spanning across pages) , he makes the reading extremely arduous. You will be reading his book in much lesser speed that the usual. But the pleasure of reading would be fat the highest level.

A real treat.

*****************************************************
Seeing
Author: Jose Saramago
Genre: Literature
My Rating : A-
Memorable Quote(s):
--- When we were born, when we enter this world, it is as if we signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a day may come when we ask ourselves 'Who signed this on my behalf?'

--- It's odd how we spend everyday of our life saying goodbye, and hearing others' say 'see you tomorrow' when inevitably, on one of those days, which will be someone's last, either the person we said it to will no longer be here, or we who said it will not.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Reading geniuses might perennially hamper your writing ambitions. "

The Great Indian B Movies

2011-02-01T04:13:00.002+05:30

In my adolescent period (read pre-DVD, pre-internet-proliferation time), the only way to satiate the puberty carnal desire was to watch the Indian B grade movies in the shady theaters of the town.
In a small town as mine, where you are bound to run into someone you know, or someone who knows your father, it was a quite a risky affair to make a visit to such cinema halls with dubious reputation. Careful strategy weighing the risks vis-à-vis enjoyment quotient with a detailed planning of itinerary and alibis, were needed before any such adventure.

It was always better to go for some spurious titles like Qatil Chudail (Killer Witch), Shaitan Tantrik (Evil Exorcist) than the brazenly obvious ones, i.e. Jawani ka Khel (Game of Youth) or Pyasi Dulhan (Lustful Bride) . Only problem with the former is that the theme was invariably 'horror'.
The plot would always be the same - 3-4 couples would assemble at the uncle's farmhouse inside a jungle or wayward from a trip end up in a purani haveli. After some chit-chats, the girl will proceed to take a bath in the shower and finally ending up on the bed with her partner rubbing cheeks and avoiding kiss. During the shower scene you would wish either the slimmer attractive ones to lower their towels or the voluptuous aunty-like ones to cover more. Neither of your wish would be fulfilled. When you would be wondering how could tyre-bellies and elephantine legs turn on someone, the aunty on screen dancing her eyes would make a face that resembles the Channel V Bai, "Itna paisa main bas itna hi milega"

On the bed, you would wonder why the couple were struggling so hard to kiss and why the girl was biting her lips when the guy would just touch her ankle. Whatever little might be the excitement, all would be spoilt by the entry of a character with dough-draped-face and shining clothes, who you'd reckon as the evil spirit that would kill the screaming ladies by either strangulating or stabbing with a kitchen knife. Precisely that's the cue to leave the theatre for two reasons - first: since all the female entities were dead, there wouldn't be any more skin show; second: it would be better to leave before you were spotted in the exit crowd.

My porn-o-escapades were not large in number and somehow I feel lucky to date that I survived most of those - survival not only from father's wrath, but also from the sheer disgust you get after you watch those. Soon, the DVD and the internet took over during my college days, and all my curiousity got over saturated.

After a long time, suddenly I remembered those surreptitious fun days and I browsed the B grade space last weekend to check the latest offerings of the B world. First the title cracked me up. Of course now the erotic movies needn't camouflage themselves under the veil of horror. But I never knew the titles would be so funny - Ek baar dhol bajao na, mera dhoti tera ghagra, bhabi mast hai, Ek se mera kya hoga, Chumban-the kiss etc etc. I dared to play couple of those and soon found myself rolling on floor (yes laughing out loud, quite unexpected when you are supposed to watch erotic movies, isn't it?) courtesy the facial expressions and tawrdy lines, "Tu aurat hai ya dayan? Chaar baar?" or "Meena, kya mast hai teri seena?" As expected there were less flesh show, more disgusting vulgar obsceneties.
In the age of MMS scandals, free sites and porn DVDs costing as much as a cup of tea, one might wonder, "Who are the target audience for these movies?"

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Long live Indian B Movies. After all, everyone deserves a big laugh from time to time."

Right Here, Right Now

2011-01-31T13:31:00.000+05:30

10 years since I watched this video.

Still one of my favourites.

Love Evolution. Love Darwin.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "I don't know what to appreciate now - the creation or the creator?"

Dirty Rotten State

2011-01-28T13:40:00.009+05:30

I am not a left-winger. I have chopped off my right wing as well few years back. Standing at the center and tilting either way as the situation demands is hypocrisy, in my opinion.

So I just stand away from the line and observe.

In short, I don't have a stand. And that gives me an opportunity to view all in sort of an unbiased way.

But, Arundhati Roy has a stand. Left of most. And she throws brickbats at anyone who stands right of her.I needed to understand why she is hurling these bludgeons. So I picked up one of her collection of essays. Though dated (almost a decade old), it introduces a good amount of her thoughts.

I don't agree with some of her opinions, and need to verify some of the mindboggling data she provides, but I must admit that I admire her skill and power of penning those uncomfortable questions in poetic manner that have the potential to unsettle the firm. I loved the way she writes.

The biggest complaint I have with all these essays are that though she questions the intent and rationale of the acts of the authority and elaborates on the misgivings and catastrophic aftermaths, she never provides a solution. That in my opinion, makes the essays just an uncomfortable confrontation, but never a intellectual exposition.

In "The end of Imagination" Mrs. Roy expounds the evils of even holding a nuclear bomb even if there is no sight of a war. Deterrence Theory is just a nonsensical excuse.

"The greater common good" describes, substantiated with gory figures, the little benefit that a big dam brings and the bigger issues it creates like uprooting the local inhabitants from their bases and throwing them into misery and ultimately inhuman death.

In "Power Politics" she is against the commoditization of the basic necessities like water and electricity and attacks vehemently the politics around it.

"The Ladies have feelings, so..." (the best written one of the lot) justifies why and how she turned from a Booker winning fiction writer to a radical social activist.

"The algebra of infinite justice" and "War is Peace" make a mockery of the American war against terror exposing the hypocrisy behind it.

In "Democracy" Roy rips apart the farcical democratic governance system by citing the state run pogrom during the post Godhra incident.

Finally, in "War Talk" she summarizes her haphazard emotional outbursts against all the things that is going wrong in the present world - war, state-run-terrorism, corruption, dams, etc etc.

OK. As I stated earlier, some of her points are just cries of agony that can create a stir in mind, but shouldn't be taken on face value (how can one be judgmental by listening just one side of the story), but I want to reiterate that I started respecting her as a writer.

*****************************************************
The algebra of Infinite Justice
Author: Arundhati Roy
Genre: Essays on contemporary issues
My Rating : B+
Memorable Quote(s):
--- The majority of India’s citizens will not (to this day) be able to identify her boundaries on a map, or say which language is spoken where or which god is worshipped in what region. To them, India is, at best, a noisy slogan that comes around during the elections. Or a montage of people on Government TV programmes wearing regional costumes and saying Mera Bharat Mahan.

--- To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never, to forget.

--- Is pride a luxury that only rich are entitled to?
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Extremities should be banned."
I laughed, "Isn't banning also an extremity?"

Cold Fire

2011-01-25T23:47:00.005+05:30

The first thing that came to my mind when I completed this book, "The Girl who Played with Fire", the sequel to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", 2nd in the best-selling series Millennium, that I am not going to pick up the third one now. Rather I would save it ( Yes, I have to read it as it's already lying in my bookshelf) for bus/train journey.

For me, it's a big let down after the first book. Vagueness in not only the content, but also the intent of the author was responsible for this turn off.

Once I read somewhere a quote attributed to the king of pirated market Sidney Sheldon, who I think Mr Stieg Larrson would have idolized big time , "If you want to make a book unputdownable, end one chapter with such a sentence that the reader would be forced to read the first sentence of the next instantly." Mr. Larrson has tried that trick. But alas, he forgot the part that lies between the first and last sentence of the chapter that hooks the reader, and filled it with garbage. There was one instance when I tried to find a name of a character that had appeared few sequences ago, and I had to turn back almost 50-60 pages to get to it. At that point I realized how slowly the story has progressed. Unnecessary sexual encountes, too much drifting from the core did manage to put me off.

The book could have easily been quartered.
I know you won't listen to me and read it anyway. Good Luck!

*****************************************************
The girl who played with Fire
Author: Stieg Larrson
Genre: Crime, Mystery
My Rating : B-
Memorable Moment(s):
Really Nothing
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Stieg Larrson has become an international rage. Who cares about a lone defamer?"

Men Who Hate Women

2011-01-20T16:43:00.009+05:30

There is so much hype associated with this book (international bestseller for number of weeks,several millions sold, movie adaptation by Hollywood Biggie and very highly recommended by number of my friends) that I had to go for this one despite having seen its movie adaptation in Swedish language, which I found to be just average.

Well, there is no question about the eerie thrill it brings that chills the reader. The central characters are interesting. (The girl - an unusually short, flat-chested, psychopathic, eccentric, yet possessing photographic memory and world-class hacking skills and of course with lots of bodily tattoos. The man - a calm, composed, fearless journalist with huge sex appeal and brain of Sherlock Holmes.)

The mystery is challenging. (A big businessman's niece goes missing, feared murdered, during a family get-together. 40 years later the businessman decides that he wants to know the person responsible behind it before he breathes his last.)
The uncovering of the mystery is pretty intriguing touching a lots of themes - serial killing, biblical murders(WTF is the Book of Leviticus?), tortures motivated by racism, incest, pedophilia, etc.

The biggest complaint I have for this book is - It could have been easily halved. The plot goes too slow. But if you are good skimmer, then you won't have a big issue.
The book deals with a lot of sex and the perversion around it - Unnecessary.
The main characters are not someone you can easily empathize with - Bad experiment for a regular thriller (after all this is no literature). A lot of un-related subplots. Many under-developed characters and incidents.

The Swedish version of the book is titled "Men who hate women"...In my opinion it should have been titled, "Men who are perverts and women who love casual sex".

Having said that,It was not a bad attempt to relive my early experimentation with the genre - crime and mystery. Gosh! It had been long since I read a paperback thriller, isn't it?

*****************************************************
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Author: Stieg Larrson
Genre: Crime, Mystery
My Rating : B+
Memorable Moment(s):
--- The revenge of the girl
******************************************************

Sarah asked, "How can Mother, The Plague and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have same ratings?"
I replied, "Can apple be compared with oranges or cricketer with a boxer? It is extremely difficult to compare books even of the same genre, let alone across themes. Ratings can be just reflection of expectations and impact."

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "Does author's untimely death add to the book's popularity? You know - Sympathetic factor."

Granpa tells the epic tale

2011-01-12T13:22:00.006+05:30

Remember those days, when we used to be dead scared to go out in dark, prayed God that the school declared 'rainy day' when we saw the slightest trace of black cloud in the sky, and cursed when we missed the Spiderman cartoon even for a day.

I guess you gathered which period I am talking about.

Also there is one thing that some of the fortunate few miss and how. And that is hovering over the bed of a very very old man, whose blanket smelled a mix of tobacco and tea, who always protected us from the wrath of mom, who always gave us a candy or a sweet whenever we promised to be a good kid, who we fondly called Granpa. Remember his story basket that never got empty? Every evening he would open that magic basket of his and tell us a story of an angel, a deadly ghost, or the wonder tales of our mythology. And how we get engrossed in those stories as if we were there in the scene - terrified, happy, sad, jubilant.

Rajaji's retelling of the stories of 'Mahabharata' feels exactly like that - listening to your granpa who never misses an opportunity to instill in us the underlying moral in those heroic tales or draw parallel to the contemporary events.

Very nice way to relive the realization of how great an epic The Mahabharata is.

*****************************************************
Mahabharata
Author: C Rajagopalchari
Genre: Mythology
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Don't you think Mahabharata gets a very raw deal now in the world epics standpoint?"

So Bad, It's Good

2011-01-06T13:50:00.006+05:30

I have mentioned in one of my previous posts how I myself relate to the poem Main Lookha Hoon, and how great is my admiration for the poet Kacha Kela and his creation 'Sarabhai vs Sarabhai', which stands along with my other favourite tele-serials like Byomkesh Bakshi, Mahabharata, Dekh Bhai Dekh, Friends.
Though my favourite character in the series is Indravadan, but this guy, this Rosesh, has the capability to make me laugh anytime, I mean absolutely anytime.
His poems are the epitome of "So Bad, It's Good" genre.

It would be rare if after listening some portions of Rosesh's heartfelt musical poetry, one won't say with awe and delight, like Kacha Kela, "Come Again. Come Again."

Check the 'Shahjahan' drama (at 3.40)

'Ghasar Ghasar Ghasar Ghasar Ghasar Ghasar Ghasar Ghasar'

or
the shraddhanjali (at 9.15)

'Kichud Kichud Kan Kan Kan,
Achanak Dhang tana nananan'

I miss this series.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "We applaud intentional-'So Bad, It's Good' and bury the unintentional ones. Why?"

Resolutions '11

2011-01-01T15:53:00.001+05:30

Resolutions are meant to be broken - a cliche and (sadly) a truth.

Very rarely I have kept my resolutions. One of the recurring resolutions of every year 'not to get angry' has been so heavily violated that even the resolution itself gets angry with me, sometimes.
So I have decided that.....(well you guessed it wrong, 'not to have any resolution' is not an option for me, unfortunately I am not as perfect as Calvin)

I will have some resolutions that I would be the happiest if I break them.

1) will eat and eat and eat and eat again to gain 10kg by end of the year
2) will become a couch potato and watch TV all day long
3) will fight with my wife...everyday.... twice
4) will watch each and every ball in the World Cup, IPL, etc.
5) will be responsible for the death of 50 chickens and 2 goats to the least.
6) will use the tread-mill for hanging wet clothes only
7) will watch movies featuring Shahrukh Khan, Himesh Reshamiya and Jason Statham or directed by Sajid/Farah Khan in theatre
8) will complete all books by Chetan Bhagat
9) will watch every episode of Big Boss 5 ( How I wish they had a complete dedicated channel for it)
10) will indulge in gossip with friends and colleagues 2 hours every half-day
11) won't budge from my house in the holidays unless there is an emergency.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "I just want to see the expression on your face when some of these resolutions come true."

Adieu 2010 : The Year End Self-Assessment

2010-12-31T03:34:00.004+05:30

Now Now! It's December 31st.
Sooooooshsh!!
This year has also gone zoom past!!!
Darn!!!!

Pongalswamy asked, "Aren't you bored saying "Darn"? Where are your 'I live for the moment with no regret' talks?"

I replied, "Oh Ya, that still holds good. But it sort of pains when I feel I am not getting any closer to my dream."

Pongalswamy interjected, "But living-with-the-flow guys mustn't dream. If you dream, you have to get out of the flow."

I sighed, "Ah! The dilemma."

Let's do what all do at the last week of December. Rip the year apart.
In the beginning of year, I'd decided to make 2010 a year of mores. And more it was in many counts. More books (44 compared to last years 26), more walking(finally bought a tread-mill), more sleeping, more relaxing. But along the way came some more mores that I didn't want. More angers, more procrastinations, more frustrations. Couldn't fulfill more travel (only ones were to Coorg, Bheemeswari, Kapilas and Puri) or more writing (even meaningful blogs have dried up, the only one worthwhile were Being Nobody, What do you know about love, anyway?, detached attachment and I know nothing).
Sarah said, "Part of life, isn't it? You lose some, you gain some."

I sighed again, "Yeah, sorry guy's excuse!!!"

Further analysis --- Successfully got rid of cricketainmentdiction , well more or less. Football clogged my days and night for a month, but that was the best time of the year.

All in all, may not be a great year, but not a bad one either.

The wifey said, "Why you have to be so much negative and self-critical? Don't you think you should have a more positive frame of mind and be satisfied with what you have than what you could have had!!"

"True," I realized.

Time to prepare for the year end party......

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Success or Failures - Great ones never look back."

2010: Books

2010-12-29T15:34:00.000+05:30

Bookwise, 2010 has been simply fantastic for me. ( Of course I am not talking about the books that were released this year, after all I am not in the panel for shortlisting Booker candidates)

Though I couldn't meet the elusive number of 50 (44 is not a bad number, is it? especially after the shameful 26 of last year.), I am happy to have discovered a new line of reading, read some of the A+ books, encountered several good authors that I read for the first time, etc etc.

OK. First about the new line of reading. And that is...Popular Science, especially Physics. I have told in my previous blogs so many times that how learning the latest observations and discoveries of Physics hold an unequivocal importance in the quest of the Truth along with reading philosophy, history and mythology, that I am not going to bore you with more details. Stephen Hawking, Gary Zukav, Paul Davies, Marcus Chown introduced me to this great new world.

In literature, I encountered a new language - Oriya - yes, my own mother tongue. The only time I'd read books written in this language was during my school days, and unfortunately can't say I'd enjoyed that that much. Children stories and some sad tales depicting the sorry state of our state were their limitations - I thought. Never knew the ideas and philosophies of some people who used to speak the same language as me would have been so rich, comparable to the greatest minds of the world. The only reason Surendra Mohanty is today not a renowned name in world literary circle, because he chose a language that doesn't seem to have a great future. (I won't be surprised after some years Oriya only remains as a spoken language)

The new authors in the various field that I encountered for the first time and would love to explore more writings by them are - Richard Dawkins, Domnique Lapierre/Larry Collins, Saul Bellow, Maxim Gorky, Roald Dahl.

OK, finally, the list of the bests and worsts for this year....

Best Fiction: Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Best Short Stories: The best of Roald Dahl by Roald Dahl and Ruti o Chandra by Surendra Mohanty
Best Non-Fiction: The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav, The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant

Worst Fiction: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho
Worst Short Stories: Satakadi Hota nka Sreshta Galpa by Satakadi Hota
Worst NonFiction: None

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Don't you think you are digressing into too many streams?"

The Lives and Opinions of the Greatest Philosophers

2010-12-27T13:41:00.005+05:30

When I started reading this book, I decided to take notes on important points. After some pages when my hand started to ache, I thought of underlining the lines in the book itself. After disfiguring couple of pages, I realized how futile that exercise was. Because most of the lines in the book are noteworthy and tells either something interesting about the greatest minds across the ages or highlights some of their most thought provoking ideas.
If Sophie's World just opened the door to the world of philosophy for me, this book gave me a big thrust forward.
Will Durant, in my opinion, is a phenomenal writer. Explaining with lucid details the toughest of ideas by the most complex minds, in a layman-understandable language is not a piece of cake. No wonder the book is still popular after almost 84 years of its first publication.

The book starts with the ancient philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, trudging slowly with Bacon, Spinoza, Voltaire, Rousseau, finally elucidating the mind boggling ideas of Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Spencer and Nietzsche. Towards the end the book gives soft touch on the then contemporary philosophers like Bergson, Croce, Russel, Santayana, James and Dewey.

Only criticism that can be thought of this book is that it only focused on the Western thoughts completely ignoring the oriental philosophy. However, this book did a great favour to me. It definitely determined, what my future course of reading going to be.

I am sure I would be going back to this book again and again for reference.

*****************************************************
The Story of Philosophy
Author: Will Durant
Genre: Philosophy
My Rating : A+
Memorable Moment(s):
Everything
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "How many more days you are going to spend on 'on the philosophers' than 'by the philosophers'?"

The Socialist Propaganda

2010-12-27T12:49:00.007+05:30

In the history classes at school, we were taught how Gorky's 'Maa' had such great an influence on the Russian revolution which established socialist/communist form of Government overthrowing the Tsarian rule.
Now, years later, when I read this book, I understood how.

This novel belongs to the rarest of the kind, that slowly yet steadily builds on you. Without any histrionic plots, Gorky narrates the tale of a mother initially hesitating but slowly getting involved and finally becoming the iconic symbol of the revolution led by her son - the socialist movement of the workers against the tyrannical capitalists and rulers. The reader too experiences an uplift in moral and strength with the mother who rises from an oppressed state to a voice of the oppressed. What appears to be an innocuous day-to-day discussions of the workers, slowly turns in to revolutionary talks with affecting philosophies of life. Especially the final speech of Pavel(the protagonist) is probably one of the most memorable speeches for communism.

I won't go to the extent of what one of the critics said "....and then I came on Mother, the first of Gorky I had ever seen, and much of what I had read became thin and tasteless by comparison.", but must admit the book does possess the revolutionary effect that it intended to have.
Sort of being an anti-communist, I don't really reckon with the vision 'the mother' had, but can definitely relate the humanity element it professes.

*****************************************************
Mother
Author: Maxim Gorky
Genre: Fiction
My Rating : B+
Memorable Moment(s):
--- Pavel's speeches
--- The mother's plea
Memorable Quotes:
--- People are a great deal more stupid than bad. They can see only what's near to them, what it's possible to grasp immediately; but everything that's near is cheap; what's distant is dear. Why, in reality, it would be more convenient and pleasanter for all if life were different, were lighter, and the people were more sensible. But to attain the distant you must disturb yourself for the immediate present.

--- "Only reason will free mankind."
"But reason doesn't give strength, heart does. "

--- The poor are stupid from poverty, and the rich from greed.

--- We maintain that a society that regards man only as a tool for its enrichment is anti-human.
******************************************************

smiles...
the weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Doesn't Rand's anti-communism speech in The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged dilute the effect of Gorky's socialist talk?"

When 'We' discovered 'I'

2010-12-22T14:57:00.006+05:30

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.
And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.
This god, this one word: "I."

Anthem - this novella by Ayn Rand is like a teaser trailer for the books that followed by her; the books that are treated as life-changing experiences by many, the books that are revered as the most influential close to the bible, the books that invariable leave indelible effect on every growing-up, the books that establish Rand's philosophy of 'objectivism' - The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. When I was growing up (not that I have stopped growing), both these books had become my bible. Later, I have read books that are more thought provoking, more rich in literary value, establishing deeper philosophies than these two, but none had as striking effect as these two books had on me.

Now, coming back to Anthem. Anthem is set in dystopian time, where communism, in the process of creating equality amongst people, kills the individual thought process and sense of productive achievement in man. The novella recounts the journey of a man where he breaks free from the shackle of collectivism and discovers the pleasure of individualism.

*****************************************************
Anthem
Author: Ayn Rand
Genre: Fiction, Philosophy
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Do the proponents of objectivism have a clash with missionaries?"

Vacations should never End

2010-12-13T17:14:00.005+05:30

Many a times I wish my life were tougher. More struggle. More adventures. More failures. Easy living is boring, isn't it? In those imagined tough times, I had envisioned war, I had dreamt of battle for survival. (Don't tell this to anyone, unlike many I had wished the last recession to be more severe!!!) That would have tested my mettle. Otherwise, life becomes very monotonous when you get whatever you wanted with ease.

Sarah suggested, "Your problem is, you wish for a simple life. You get satisfied with McDonalds burger and a cutting tea. Making your life tough is in your hand. Strive for something that you can never achieve, like living in Antilla or finding a blackhole."

"Not a bad idea. But the spoon-fed that I am, most of the times I want to get hurled and not fall," I smiled.

Anyway. That's not the point.
The point is - I think you got it - my life has been an easyride so far. It's not that I have never been through difficult times. Who doesn't? But those are like the doorman saying 'today is a tough day as I had to open the door two more times than the usual.'

When the going doesn't get tough, the tough goes sleeping.

Now, some might question the rationality behind having vacations in an easygoing life. The answer lies - I experience more life during my vacations than my working days. Working days are all the same. The days are so routined that many a days I am not able to distinguish my tuesdays from wednesdays. Whereas vacations are not so for me. Everyday during vacation I experience something new, even while reliving old-memories or meeting old friends. I make sure to avoid largely all activities that makes my regular working days during my time-off (that also includes sitting in front of laptop or TV). For me vacations have never been relaxing, but more enriching when I collect more memory pebbles to add to my memoirs jar.

And hence, vacations should never END.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Everyone wants vacation for relaxing. Only, weirdos want vacation for life building."

P.S. Yes, I was vacationing in my home-town for quite some time, and hence missing in action here.
P.P.S. My experiences are never lost. They appear sporadically somewhere or other.

Surendra Mohanty's Great Salvation

2010-11-25T11:52:00.002+05:30

Only reason Surendra Mohanty didn't get the highest literary award, because he wrote in a language understood by very few and that too not too prominent who's-who of our world.
Else, I won't comprehend why Mr. Mohanty's name is not in the clique of great litterateurs of all time.

Maha Nirvana (Great Salvation) comprises of some of most intellect-challenging stories from observable daily lives.

*****************************************************
Maha Nirvana
Language : Oriya
Author: Surendra Mohanty
Genre: Short Stories
Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Greater writers don't write for awards, but for...salvation."

The incredible Mr. Jeeves

2010-11-20T14:56:00.001+05:30

"Do you have problems related to unrequited love, malfunctioning family, ragging aunts, fraudulent friends, dangling financial status or stolen articles? Wait no further. Contact Reginald Jeeves. No matter how deep you are in the soup, you would get an amicable result in the most courteous way possible." This should aptly describe Mr. Jeeves, atleast by his master Mr. Wooster.

And by the way, just carry a hanky while reading about Jeeves and Wooster. It will come handy.

Blandings Castle is my favourite series by Wodehouse. That doesn't mean Jeeves doesn't give me enough opportunity to laugh.

Wodehouse anyday. Ha Ha Ha Ha.

*****************************************************
The Inimitable Jeeves
Author: P G Wodehouse
Genre: Fiction, Comedy
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "Who succeeds Wodehouse?"

The Inimitable von Igelfeld

2010-11-10T13:35:00.005+05:30

I cannot term "The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom" as a novel, for two reasons.

Reason No. 1 - It is actually not a single novel, but a collection of three novellas; i.e. Portuguese Irregular Verbs, The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs, At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances.

Reason No. 2 - It is rather a series of events in the life of a character that can guarantee a stoic, large convulsions of laughter, and hence can be read from any point without wondering too much about the context.

Previously I had read Alexander McCall Smith's rather famous books - a couple of from the No. 1 Ladies Detective agency. Though in those I was briefly acquainted with the wry sense of humour of Mr Smith, but to be honest, I never could rate those books high, courtesy my lack of connection with the lead character Mma Precious Ramotswe.

But von Igelfeld is different. Now I can confidently say that the character that can make me laugh anytime (I mean really ANYTIME) is the unintentionally funny German professor of Philology Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, the proud author of the irreplaceable work in literature 'Portuguese Irregular verbs' ( which had only 200 copies sold, and mostly used as foot-elevation for some dentists) . I am afraid, even though he might fall short in competition with Lord Emsworth or PSmith, but he would come a close third.
You would find some situations in a comic book laughworthy. But I can guarantee everything that von Igelfeld does would make you chuckle (if not laugh out loud).

I wish the author did write more on my now favourite comic character.

Unputdownable!!! Definitely, one of my favourite light reads.

*****************************************************
The 2½ Pillars of Wisdom
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Genre: Fiction, Comedy
My Rating : B+
Memorable Moment(s):
--- The sword fight and the aftermath
--- The operation table with the sausage dog
--- The tennis game
and many more
Memorable Quote(s):
--- The English were very difficult to read; half the things they said were not meant to be taken seriously, but it was impossible, if you were German, to detect which half this was.

******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "What Mr. Bean is on screen, von Igelfeld is on print."

I am at war only with myself

2010-11-08T11:57:00.005+05:30

Rarely have I come across commercials that inspire....

Awesome piece of work ---

... .... ...
... .... ...
I am a warrior of wood and leather,
And I am at war.
A war of the planned vs the inspired;
Of brain vs instinct;
Of strength against skill.

I am at war only with myself...

And it looks like I am winning!!!!

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "But unfortunately many people lose to themselves."

Being Nobody

2010-10-21T11:38:00.011+05:30

On the day of my performance appraisal, once my manager asked me about my long term goals; I responded, "The only aim of my life is never to get the Nobel prize".

He laughed, "I'm not sure of any other dreams of yours, but I can assure you, this one is definitely going to be fulfilled."

"I want to do be Somebody in life," says everybody. "I don't want to die a nobody." Who is that somebody?Why it is wretched to die a nobody?

Sarah said, " Somebody, who is not just a mere face in the crowd. He has an identity. He is remembered after he is gone. Who cares for a nobody? When a somebody dies he leaves a legacy. When a nobody dies, nothing remains, not even his ashes."

I asked, "Since the number of people in the crowd is clearly far greater than the number of so-called somebody-s, doesn't it prove that most of the hoi-polloi fail in their aspirations."

She replied, "Yes. That's the reason why 'being somebody' is a coveted thing in life. Why would somebody want something which anybody can get?"

I inquired, "OK. Now, let's assume that we take out all the somebody-s out of the crowd and assemble them in a common place. Won't they make another crowd?"

She smiled, "Of course, they would. Then the stand-out somebody-s would stand out."

I asked again, "Then the stand-out somebody-s also can make a crowd somewhere. That implies - any somebody is also part of a crowd, even if it is a smaller one. And since we can never definitely determine what could be the ideal number of a localized crowd, that means every crowd can be taken as a crowd of somebody-s."

She hesitated for a moment, "Perhaps....."

Now I was smiling, "Hence, we can conclude that - everybody is a somebody in some sense or other. And if everybody is a somebody, so is Nobody. So we can say that Nobody is a Somebody too. So why fear dying a nobody?"

Sarah got irritated, "Stop your wordplay. Bottom line is being nobody is ignominy. Nobody cares for a Nobody."

I laughed, "If 'nobody' cares for a nobody, then at least there is somebody who cares for a nobody. Nobody himself."

Disgusted, she left.

Jokes apart.... In the race to become a somebody, many get lost and end up becoming a nobody. In my opinion, being nobody is not as frustrating as it sounds.
When you don't try to be somebody who you are not, you have plenty of time for yourself to relish your life, even if you are termed as a nobody by somebody.

smiles…
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Losers always come up with pompous excuses for their failures."

Sach, bhool gaye hain jootey kahan utaare the

2010-10-13T16:01:00.008+05:30

Wonderful feelings when you remember the time when you were growing up.

What a movie!!!

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "....aren't we still growing up?"

Of Hope and Friendship

2010-10-08T11:26:00.008+05:30

Friendship and Hope are probably two of the most wonderful words in the dictionary of life. When all is lost, when in solitude, when in despair, it's only a reassuring friend that gives the hope for a future of happiness and love. That's the theme of this most loved novella of all time - Of Mice and Men.
Accomplished litterateur John Steinbeck's portrayal of the uncommon bonding of friendship between two contrasting characters - one small and witty, another huge and dumb - slaving in a ranch giving comfort to each other in their own capacities for a dreamy future of love and freedom, is so heartbreakingly moving that it ain't be unusual for it to bring tears in the eyes of the readers.

A wonderful read.

*****************************************************
Of Mice and Men
Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Novella
My Rating : B+
Memorable Quotes :
--- Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. . . . With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Well said . The best laid schemes of mice and men Go often askew"

P.S. The full poem of Robert Burns, which inspired the Title:

To A Mouse

Small, crafty, cowering, timorous little beast,
O, what a panic is in your little breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With argumentative chatter!
I would be loath to run and chase you,
With murdering plough-staff.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
And justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, your poor, earth born companion
And fellow mortal!

I doubt not, sometimes, but you may steal;
What then? Poor little beast, you must live!
An odd ear in twenty-four sheaves
Is a small request;
I will get a blessing with what is left,
And never miss it.

Your small house, too, in ruin!
Its feeble walls the winds are scattering!
And nothing now, to build a new one,
Of coarse grass green!
And bleak December's winds coming,
Both bitter and keen!

You saw the fields laid bare and wasted,
And weary winter coming fast,
And cozy here, beneath the blast,
You thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel plough passed
Out through your cell.

That small bit heap of leaves and stubble,
Has cost you many a weary nibble!
Now you are turned out, for all your trouble,
Without house or holding,
To endure the winter's sleety dribble,
And hoar-frost cold.

But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

Still you are blest, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!

Stranger than Science Fiction

2010-10-04T07:29:00.011+05:30

Contrary to what the title of this book suggests, Quantum Theory does hurt me, in many many ways. For a starter, it has taken my night's sleep. Like a defeatist I am running around the trees to get the grasp of it. But in vain. The moment I see a light at the end of the tunnel, I realize that is just a firefly. And instead of grasping the depth, I just gasp for breath. May be I am too dumb to gulp it all, but I won't stop trying till it makes all sense.

Now, coming to this book, in the beginning the author asks the readers which of the following statements might be true,

Every breath you take contains an atom breathed out by Marilyn Monroe
There is a liquid that can run uphill
You age faster at the top of a building than at the bottom
An atom can be in many different places at once, the equivalent of you being in Newyork and London at the same time.
The entire human race would fit in the volume of a sugar cube.
One percent of the static on a television tuned between stations is the relic of the big bang.
Time travel is not forbidden by the laws of Physics.
A cup of coffee weighs more when it is hot than when it is cold.
The faster you travel, the slimmer you get.

...and tells, with a chuckle, that everything is.

The rest of the book goes on explaining these weird phenomena of Science, that is definitely more stranger than all the science fictions I have come across so far (I have read all Michael Crichtons and couple of Arthur C Clarkes) with the help of Quantum Theory ( microscopic world) and the Relativity Theories( macroscopic world).

The language of the book is fiction-like. And the author does a pretty good job at enthusing his non-scientific readers towards the mindboggling discoveries of twentieth century. However, the book is not for the beginners who do not have a clue about what modern physics is all about. (For beginners I highly recommend 'The Dancing Wu Li Masters'.) Neither it is for physics researchers who want to understand reality via mathematics. This book is best suited for people who wants to get awed by how our modern science has shaped human understanding of the universe and everything in it.
I don't think this book has helped me coming out of my confusions, but it has nevertheless entertained me in a Quantum way.
In the end, the author propounds a thought that could there be a single theory combining these two - like Quantum Relativity( quantum gravity). A thing to ponder about.

One question is troubling me of late, after reading so much on Quantum Mechanics and Relativity - Can a reductionist explanation be sufficient to explicate the holistic complexity?

*****************************************************
Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You
Author: Marcus Chown
Genre: Science
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Neils Bohr said, 'Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.' I believe 'Anyone who is shocked by quantum theory also has not understood it.'"

Dreamer's Imagination

2010-09-29T11:13:00.008+05:30

Pongalswamy started dancing, "Hurray. Expect a two-day leave from work. Ayodhya verdict to come out tomorrow."

I didn't know how to react to this. I was equally disturbed before by the visuals of Taliban stoning to death a Pakistani woman who was seen talking to another man who was not her husband. And now this, where we expect that people will kill and die for a piece of land whether to construct a temple or a mosque on.
Aren't we in a bizarre state, where religion takes priority over life itself?

I just want to Imagine with John Lennon today.....

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

You might also call me also a dreamer, but "But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be."

hopes...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "What is the meaning of 'peace', if there is no war?"

Everything's Amazing & Nobody's Happy

2010-09-28T11:58:00.005+05:30

I meet the kind of people he talked about everyday, and I say....'Yuck'....Oh God! Am I one of them?

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "So what, the world owes me a lot!!!"

Did God create Man or Man created God?

2010-09-27T07:47:00.009+05:30

So far, my exploration have been confined to what science, religion and philosophy individually have to tell about 'creation of the universe and purpose of life'. But can all these theories co-exist? It became extremely essential for me to have some counterarguments against the religious aspects for meaning of life.
Having seen the most thought-provoking debate of my life - Science vs Religion - did I have any other go than reading this book?

After completing the book, I won't say I was super satisfied, though I admit that it was intellectually stimulating. And the reasons for me left wanting are -

Alpha) Dawkins carefully skips the philosophical aspects of God, the central theme of Advaita (Hindu), Buddhism or Confucianism calling those ethical systems and philosophies of life, and attacks directly on personal forms of God - the mythical or historical characters like Jesus, Allah or Jehovah. Any scientific bent person could see logic in questioning these personal forms of God because their existence is mostly based on faith and not on evidence. My knowledge of religion, derived mostly from Vedanta, and since Dawkins refuses to comment on that aspect in this book, I didn't really get most of my confusions clarified.

Beta) Dawkins critique mostly revloves around the biblical God and my negligible knowledge on the testaments didn't allow me to relate to those arguments much.

Gamma) I expected more scientific/evolution driven explainations in a more coherent way to explain why we don't need God any more.

Having said that, it is only extremely opinionated fundamentalists who would reject Dawkins arguments, as blasphemy, without those making a stir in mind.

Dawkins claims - Darwin's concept of 'natural selection' in the process of evolution is the most logical and provable explanation for the 'intelligent design' ( whatever complexities we see as far life and forms of life are concerned) vis-a-vis God as the Designer dogma of the religion. Not only the physical structure, but also the psycological aspects (even Morality) could be explained via the same - slow, yet natural evolution.

Dawkins go on attacking the conventional religion, that blind faith not only detrimental towards intellectual curiousity and growth, but also the roots of all evil that we see in this world. Our morality and goodness doesn't really depend on the existence of a super power who sits in the heaven keeping track of every action and inaction of earthlings.

In the beginning of each chapter, Dawkins puts a quote from a famous personality and that summarizes the content of the pages that follow ( well more-or-less).

Chapter 1: A deeply religious non-believer.

I don`t try to imagine a personal God; it suffices to stand in awe at the structure of the world, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it.
----- Albert Einstein

Chapter 2: The God Hypothesis

The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next”.
----- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Chapter 3: Arguments for God's existence

A professorship of theology should have no place in our institution.
----- Thomas Jefferson

Chapter 4: Why there almost certainly is no God?

The priests of different religious sects . . dread the advance of science as witches do the approach of daylight, and scowl on the fatal harbinger announcing the subdivision of the duperies on which they live.
----- Thomas Jefferson

Chapter 5: The roots of religion

To an evolutionary psychologist, the universal extravagance of religious rituals, with their costs in time, resources, pain and privation, should suggest as vividly as a mandrill's bottom that religion may be adaptive.
----- Marek Kohn

Chapter 6: The roots of morality: why are we good?

Strange is our situation here on Earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men - above all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness depends.
----- Albert Einstein

Chapter 7: The 'Good' book and the changing moral Zeitgeist

Politics has slain its thousands, but religion has slain its tens of thousands.
----- Sean o'casey

Chapter 8: What's wrong with religion? Why be so hostile?

Religion has actually convinced people that there is an invisible man living in the sky, and he has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these things he will send you to a place full of fire, and smoke, and burn and torture forever and ever 'till the end of time.... but he loves you. "
----- George Carlin

Chapter 9: Childhood, abuse and the escape from religion

There is in every village a torch- the schoolteacher, and an extinguisher: the priest.
----- Victor Hugo

Chapter 10: A much needed gap?

What can be more soul shaking than peering through a 100-inch telescope at a distant galaxy, holding a 100-million-year-old fossil or a 500,000-year-old stone tool in one's hand, standing before the immense chasm of space and time that is the Grand Canyon, or listening to a scientist who gazed upon the face of the universe's creation and did not blink? That is deep and sacred science.
----- Michael Shermer

Let's talk, when you have read this book.

*****************************************************
The God Delusion
Author: Richard Dawkins
Genre: Philosophy
My Rating : B+
Memorable Quote(s):
--- Imagine, along with John Lennon, a world with no religion. Imagine no suicide bombers, no 9/11, no 7/7, no Crusades, no witch-hunts, no Gunpowder Plot, no Indian partition, no Israeli/Palestinian wars, no Serb/Croat/Muslim massacres, no persecution of Jews as 'Christ-killers,' no Northern Ireland 'troubles,' no 'honour killings,' no shiny-suited bouffant-haired televangelists fleecing gullible people of their money ('God wants you to give till it hurts.'

--- Creationists eagerly seek a gap in present-day knowledge or understanding. If an apparent gap is found, it is assumed that God, by default, must fill it.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Richard Dawkins recently voted as one of the top 3 intellectuals alive ( Noam Chomsky and Umberto Eco being the other two) . Clearly the voting was casted by religion-inerts. "

Enchanting Physics

2010-09-20T11:40:00.006+05:30

Physics used to be my favourite subject in my pre-engineering career ( sadly, Engineering did kill that part in me which thought academic study can be someone's career). Not the whole of it ( Thermodynamics and Electromagnetism never interested me), but especially loved Mechanics. Never knew then what I was reading were completely outdated, if not wrong. The part with Modern Physics were just cursorily touched and most part were encouraged to mug without questioning much. Well, probably saved for later, which never came in my life. And I had never imagined that I will get back to it again.

Now, in the quest to find the answer to the ultimate question, "Is there God?" I needed to get a perspective of the creation of the universe and purpose of life. Shuttling from religion and philosophy I arrived at the door steps of Physics. First there was Big Bang, (by Simon Singh) which told me if I comprehend one small part of physics called 'Relativity' by some guy called 'Einstein' it would come in handy understanding the creation of our world. I struggled through a brief history of time to understand the theory of everything. But I was more confused than before till I realized that there is a way around to understand God through New Physics. So I pulled from the bottom of my rack a book that I had bought almost 8 years ago, but never dared to read. The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav. ( How I wish I had done that 8 years before!)

In one sentence, this book had similar effect on me as far science is concerned, as Sophie's World had on me for Philosophy.

Gary Zukav not only introduces the difficult concepts of Quantum Mechanics and the theory of Relativity in a simplistic layman-language, but also presents the new concepts of modern physics with lucid and vivid illustrations that Physics becomes a pleasant reading. As some reviewer rightly said, 'Stripped of Mathematics, Physics becomes pure enchantment.' Its a must must must read for anyone who wants to understand how science explains why the universe is how it is (even if it is little outdated and I'm sure many mind boggling theories would have been discovered thereafter).

Now coming to the very essence of both the theories - Quantum and Relativity, and their proponents, and their agreements ant their discords - everything is more fantastic than fiction. These theories takes you to the limits of human intellect - be it warping space-time or now-here-now-there electrons or mattet that is wave or wave that is matter - and gives you an intellectual gratification when you even grasp of iota of it.
The thin line between Science and Philosophy blurs when science talks in the terms of consciousness and philosophy discusses paradox and evidences. And the beauty of these theories that most of the stuff can be cultivated in your mind indulging in thought experiments, not in a laboaratory (if you do not intend to be an experimenting physicist).

But now, it gives me a little shudder( as well as excitement) that to understand the beauty of life more, my next venture has to be Mathematics.

*****************************************************
The Dancing Wu Li Masters
Author: Gary Zukav
Genre: New Physics
My Rating : A+
Memorable Moment(s):
From start to finish
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Signs of stupidity were there in you before, now signs of complete insanity are blatant."

Buddham Saranam Gachhami

2010-09-19T16:19:00.001+05:30

With so much reference in the modern physics to Buddhist Philosophy, I needed to know what the Buddhists believe in, from metaphysical point of view.
Unfortunately, this book couldn't provide what I was looking for and didn't tell me more than what I had read in school regarding Buddhism - a bit of biography of Gautama, the four noble truths and the eightfold paths.

*****************************************************
The Path of Dharma
Author: Dr. A P Sharma
Genre: Religion
My Rating : B
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Profundity lies in the essence, not in the volume."

Bellow's Theft

2010-09-19T15:45:00.000+05:30

I have heard a lot about Saul Bellow -a Nobel Laureate and an inspiration to many gifted writers.

"A Theft" - is the first book I chose of him.

A mistake.

I wish it to be his worst book.

From the style and language, there is no doubt, Bellow is a great writer. But, the content was not captivating enough.
The best thing about this book is that it is a novella, and I didn't have to spend much time on it.

*****************************************************
A Theft
Author: Saul Bellow
Genre: Fiction
My Rating : B
Memorable Moment(s):
Not much.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "The word 'Focus' is not in your dictionary."

On Reading ...(the quest continues)

2010-09-16T13:04:00.006+05:30

Related Post: On Reading

If I count reading-of-text-books out (which by far the most boring period of my life. No no, not my childhood days in an entirety, but the period when I sat on the table to study for exams), reading was limited to Chacha Chowdury comics, or ChandaMama during my school days. It was pretty late when I was introduced to the pleasure of reading in college. So you can say I completely skipped the "Enid Blyton", "The Hardy Boys" and to an extent "Perry Mason" time. I was directly put in to realm of ambitious tall sexy blonde taking revenge upon US presidential candidates or manipulative brothers sabotaging each-other's enterprises or Mafia Dons making offer that no can refuse.

What started with a pleasure pursuit, slowly turned into a compulsive habit. I started carrying books to toilet. I used to pick up anything and everything that came to my view. Then I found myself getting disappointed more often than gratified. Then I take a detour to the alleys of the Classics and Literature. I got hooked there. As and more I studied some great minds, things became very unsettling for me. I started questioning many things, that I either failed to notice or ignored before.

Questioning the meaning of one's existence, probably the hardest of questions one can ask oneself. And when I came to that juncture, I was so confused that I found myself gasping for breathe. I needed to know the meaning of it all. But bound by social constraints, reading and thinking seemed to be the only plausible approach towards finding the solution to my doubts. I turned to philosophy. Science explained many questions but failed to close all gaps. At that time I tried to take refuge on Religion. Now I am shuttling through all those running haphazard, like a mad, arriving at nowhere.

Reading no more now just an exercise of increasing-number-of-books, neither its an pleasure activity. It has become a desperation, an exigency. Clueless I am running in the tracks of philosophy, religion, science, literature, history to find a way out, turning to the next track whenever I am hitting a wall. Lack of patience and guidance making more and more nervouse about my quest. But, I won't give up. Give up till I know it all or I perish.

Now does that explain my erratic behaviour of late?

More later.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "Then what explains wasting most of your times in unworthy activities?"

Wanderings in the land of Mysteries

2010-09-08T15:35:00.003+05:30

Sometimes I feel, that it's a miracle that India is a single country. We, the people of a nation, are so different from each other, not only in the language we communicate or culture we abide by, but also our thoughts and actions. Of course, there are many similarities, but those similarities also prevail across the borders. I don't know what exactly is that binding force that has held this country together, but whatever it is, it has done a pretty good job so far. As much I am perplexed by it, I am proud of it as well.

With a vast manifold historical background, every part of India has a unique tale associated with it. It takes an open-minded and observant traveler to move through various parts of this great country and still have an unbiased, un-extrapolated opinion about the happenstances and oddities. Sir Mark Tully, the award winning English Indian journalist is one of those openminds. His book 'India in Slow Motion' gives that undiluted information about India's progress and disgress in last few years, covering from the religious conflicts centered around Ram Janmabhumi, to high-level corruptions in different government functionaries; from influence of IT in India's economic growth, to the Kashmir conflicts.
Every essay of this book presents a perfect reflection of our own dilapidated, yet shining at parts society.

A good read, evenif not an eye-opening or revolutionary one.

*****************************************************
India in Slow Motion
Author: Mark Tully
Genre: India, Social Commentary
My Rating : B
Memorable Essay(s):
--- Corruption from top to tail
--- Creating Cyberabad
--- Paradise Lost
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "It is so easy to write about India. Everything here has a story."

Reality Voyeurism

2010-08-24T13:37:00.005+05:30

"All these street jugglers employing kids for earning livelihood should be prosecuted. Poor kids contorting their bodies in serpentine forms for the entertainment of the onlookers is a sheer disgrace on our society. Shame," blurted Pongalswamy.

"How we love to criticize!!! Now who would take this grunt?" asked I.

"Everybody associated. The Jugglers who kill childhoods, the empathizing/applauding bystanders, and above all the Government for doing nothing."

He waited for a couple of minutes for my next retort. And when he received none he said, "Apathetic people like you are parasites of this country. Anyhow just pass on the remote control, want to watch 'The talent hunt' - a perfect platform for finding out the kids under 12 with a blend of talents like singing, dancing, caricaturing, acting, etc etc."

I smiled and asked, "For you, the street jugglers ruined childhoods, whereas the reality shows finds talent? But aren't they the same? Would you call the concepts different if the amount of money involved are different and the spectators instead of standing around the juggling kids sit in front of their television screen?"

Pongalswamy didn't respond as he was busy looking at the 11 year old who was performing an act of a seductress.

I reflected.
How increasingly we are becoming a society of voyeurs (don't take the word literally, but I guess you understood the context)?
Reality talent shows becoming rampant, where mediocrity coupled with unmerited arrogance celebrated, we now have a smooth exit from art and intellect. Worse are the shows where every evening most of our so-called intelligentsia sit in front their TV screens to get voyeuristic pleasure by peeking into the rotten personal lives of the high-visibles of our society. Some perennial losers locked inside a secluded house and displaying their stinking conceited pukeworthy self in public, or some unruly bumpkin-heads selecting their bed-partners by playing seducting-gimicks, or some illogical games like balding head or tatooing permanently a stranger's name on hand or some suspicious characters employing under-cover agents to spy on their partners - if you won't call enjoying them as voyeurism, then I would say 'voyeurism' changes definition with the bank account balance of the people involved.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "Would you include Live Sports as Reality TV?"

God via New Physics

2010-08-20T15:37:00.002+05:30

After many days of deep thinking, finally it boils down to only one question, "Does God exist?" The answer to this question is clearly, still unknown. Whoever claims to know the answer, whether theist or atheist, ask him three or four fundamental questions, that would expose their bumbling limitations. Theists will back their irrefutable on 'It's all about faith' and atheists(scientific bent) would take refuge on "We are working on it".
Religion, Philosophy and Science - any or all of these routes can be taken to find the answer to the ultimate question. Wise is he, who understands the nuances of all three, lest the realization would be severely lopsided.
For past few days, I have been hurling my mind through all three and turning instantly to other when I'm facing a road block. But I'm facing unanswerables everywhere.

"God and the New Physics" by Paul Davis, tries to find out answers to fundamental questions about the universe and everything we see:
1. Why are the laws of nature what they are?
2. Why does the universe consist of things it does?
3. How does those arise?
4. How did the universe achieve its organization?
Unfortunately the answers to these questions are never found concrete.

As the title suggests the book delves into the two of the most significant discoveries that constitute the Modern Physics "Theory of Relativity" and "Quantum Theory".
Naive that I am in grasping both, unfortunately though this book tries to explain both these theories in a pretty layman language, I'm afraid fails to do so because at the end of the book I was lost without a clear direction, especially the direction of time and Quantum Mechanics. However, I owe a lot to this book as it opened up a lot new possibilities for me to explore.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to unravel the mysteries of creation, with a warning that this book is just a start, and definitely not the end.
I would read other Paul Davies' famous works as I'm hopeful that in his latter books he would be clarify most of my doubts.

*****************************************************
God and the New Physics
Author: Paul Davies
Genre: Science, Philosophy
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If you can't understand Paul Davies, how do you expect to understand Einstein?"

P.S. Contents of the book:
1. Science and religion in a changing world
2. Genesis
3. Did God create the universe?
4. Why is there a universe?
5. What is life? Holism vs reductionism
6. Mind and soul
7. The self
8. The quantum factor
9. Time
10. Free will and determinism
11. The fundamental structure of matter
12. Accident or design?
13. Black holes and cosmic chaos
14. Miracles
15. The end of the universe
16. Is the universe a 'free lunch'?
17. The physicist's conception of nature

Hawking, the teacher

2010-08-20T01:30:00.000+05:30

'A brief history of time' is known as one of the most unread bestseller, where Stephen Hawking, probably the greatest physicist alive, gives us the known theories of the universe. Concepts of the most defining discoveries in modern science 'relativity' and 'quantum mechanics' explained in a scholarly manner, without the maths, possibly for the intelligentsia to be drawn towards explorations of the mysteries of creation. However, like many other, I was not able to appreciate Hawking's writing as the brilliant physicist.

'The Theory of Everything' on the otherhand is not written by Hawking, the physisics, rather by Hawking, the teacher. The book consists of seven lectures by this great mind, for the students/adults to attract them to jump into the realm of cosmology.
The book definitely is not for beginners, neither it explains any concept. However, this provides a good platform to explore other books on these theories.

Great scientific minds seldom produce great literature.

*****************************************************
The Theory of Everything
Author: Stephen Hawking
Genre: Science
My Rating : B
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "However one tries, one can never make a dumb understand."

God vs Science

2010-08-16T11:33:00.002+05:30

There was a time when any voice against the dogmas and doctrines of the religion and social custom, was buried beyond whimpers. Socrates' were given hemlock, Galileos were forced to recant, and Jesus' were crucified.

With advancement of intellect and social tolerance, now even the skeptics and zealots are able to hold their beliefs strongly without much ado and share platforms.
Richard Dawkins would have been a dead man then when he declared that God was a delusion and wrote many articles on why he was an atheist. But in today's scientific bent world, he is not only alive and kicking, but also getting lots of applauds even from the believers because of his logical interpretation of life and evolution.

A debate happened between Richard Dawkins, representing the atheist point of view, and Dr John Lennox, taking the side of religion(mostly Christianity). An engrossing 90 minutes of discussion of high intellectual order.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "I am neither an atheist nor a theist."

The Beat Generation

2010-08-10T16:17:00.005+05:30

They say it is one of the books that defined a new generation of that time known as "The Beat Generation" basic influences of drugs, sex and Jazz culture. Probably Time magazine put that in its list as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005.

But unfortunately I couldn't go beyond 50 pages.
Either I am not an Beatnik, or I am a dumb.

*****************************************************
On the Road
Author: Jack Kerouac
Genre: Adventure, Literature
My Rating : B

******************************************************

smiles...
The weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "You confuse me."

Goodness of Earth

2010-08-10T15:49:00.006+05:30

Reading "The Good Earth" had the similar effect on me as Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", or Raja Rao's "Kanthapura" or to a little extent Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Year's of Solitude."
"The Good Earth" like the other mentioned books brings out the essence and nuances of a different race, a different country, a different set of people. This book has its base in 20th century China, bringing out the internal struggle for the survival of its generation amidst natural and political instabilities. The story revolves around a poor farmer and his family through couple of generations and their struggle against poverty and societal anomalies.
The tale is said in a very simple and honest manner. The writer has the flair of captivating and transforming its readers to then's China ( The author Pearl S Buck, gets the highest literary award (Noble) for this achievement of hers).

Unfortunately, I won't rate it as my favourite read. Somehow I don't have the knack for such literature.

*****************************************************
The Good Earth
Author: Pearl S Buck
Genre: Literature
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Is Nobel Committee biased?"

P.S. It is hard to believe Pearl S Buck is an American and not a Chinese.

Satakadi Hota : Failed Experiment

2010-08-10T15:45:00.003+05:30

Not necessarily all my experiments with the Oriya literature would produce similar wow-like-feeling effects. Satakadi Hota's best stories unfortunately are not the best stories that I have read.

*****************************************************
Satakadi Hotankara Sreshtha Galpa
Author: Satakadi Hota
Genre: Short Stories
My Rating : B-
Memorable One(s):
None
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Too much distractions won't help you arrive anywhere."

On a Break

2010-07-30T12:28:00.001+05:30

Would be away from most interactive socializing site (Facebook, Orkut, Gtalk included)....May blog sometimes, may be not.... mostly available at twitter

The God that Sachin is

2010-07-15T13:35:00.005+05:30

When I stumbled upon this quote from Time magazine on Sachin, I wasted no time in forwarding it to all the Sachin bash-ers( are they human at all ?) I know. That made my day.

When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy. It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Too few role models make the existing achievers Hercules."

Related Posts: Once a God
Vishnu's 11th Incarnation

La Furia Roja, the Champions

2010-07-12T14:42:00.005+05:30

It's a dream come true for me as the team I supported came out champions this world cup. I was in awe when the first time I saw their mid-field control and reckoned that the Spaniards play the best game that I have seen in recent past.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "The final wouldn't have been this boring if a South American team had been involved."

P.S. Only if they could attack more....

The Beautiful Game

2010-06-28T11:33:00.003+05:30

Ooooooh Wooooooh

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration its around us, every nations, all around us

Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun

Lets rejoice in the beautiful game.

And together at the end of the day.

WE ALL SAY

When I get older I will be stronger

They’ll call me freedom Just like a wavin’ flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes

When I get older I will be stronger
They’ll call me freedom
Just like a wavin’ flag

And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes back
And then it goes

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh hohoho

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy preferred to hum, rather, "Waka Waka Eh Eh"

('M) Missing Here, Found Elsewhere

2010-06-15T12:22:00.009+05:30

If you are wondering why I am missing here, that is so because of the simple reason that I am at somewhere else. Well not physically, but everything-else-ally. And would continue to be there till 11th of July.

Yes, you guessed it right. I am completely immersed into the grandest event that knocks the life's door every four years - the football World Cup. Once again I am having football as my breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. (I am not lying. You can smell it from my burp.)

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "Is the coach of a football team the most animated creature in the world?"

Related Posts: The Fever is On
Wine, Sex and Football

P.S. Last time, I supported Portugal, who went all the way up to finishing, unfortunately, fourth. I am yet to see the Brazil, Portugal and Spain, but so far my heart moves for Germany.

P.P.S. I don't think it is the Jabulani that is the worst thing to happen to Football (at least that's what most goalies think), in my opinion it is the Vuvuzela.

Heartfelt Realism

2010-06-13T19:12:00.000+05:30

"I have never written, nor can I ever write for someone else's entertainment. If my heartfelt agony can touch the intellect of my readers, then all my labour will find its fulfillment," says one of my most favourite authors, who happens to write in my mother tongue, Mr Surendra Mohanty.

I am not sure about other readers, but yes, I can sincerely say that I have felt his guileless realization of the crude reality of the society and man's inner and external struggle to cope with it.

"Mamsa ra Konarka" (The Konark of flesh) , like his previous compendium of stories, depicts in brutal honesty and a tinge of black humour man's moral struggle to find idealism in his otherwise unlivable life.

*****************************************************
Mamsa ra Konarka
Author: Surendra Mohanty
Genre: Short Stories
My Rating : B+
Memorable One(s):
--- Sei Lokata (That Man)
--- Mrutyu: Gastroenteritis (Death: Gastroenteritis)
--- Palampur o Porcelain ( Palampur and Porcelain )
--- Ei ganatantra (This Republic)
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If Surendra Mohanty is such a great author, why his books are never found in any bookstore?"

The Story of Draupadi

2010-06-13T11:34:00.000+05:30

If you express your interest in Oriya literature to someone who speaks that language, then the first thing you will hear from him, "Have you read Jagayseni?" And if your answer is negative, then you will get a frown disdain as if you have not yet passed primary. Yes, the book is valued so much in Modern Orissa. The literary masterpiece of recent times that has brought not only lots of awards but also has managed to put Oriya literature back in National diaspora. Pratibha Ray, the author of this book, enjoys an unparalleled repute in Modern Orissa.

However, I was crestfallen when I reached half of the book as I was not able to appreciate it as much as I hoped I would.

Jagyaseni is an alias for Draupadi, the most controversial mythical creation who was forced to practice polygamy ( marrying five Pandav brothers) and still keep her ethical and moral sanctity intact. The book narrates her story autobiographically and depicts her both moral and psychological struggle to cope with the unique situation she was in.

The book deals in depth with feminine psyche, even if somehow trying to show the insensitivity of male chauvinism in rather bad light. The elaborate description of a woman's endurance to injustice in a male-dominated world, was little too much for me to digest.

Finally I was disappointed in not able to love this book as my mother and many other women who have empathized with the protagonist.

*****************************************************
Jagyaseni
Author: Pratibha Ray
Genre: Literature, Mythology
My Rating : B
Memorable Quote(s):
None
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If everything was according to God's will, then why question the happenstance?"

Crazy soul Awakens

2010-06-10T11:49:00.004+05:30

On a cloudy day of crazy winds,
Crazy soul of mine awakens,

Somewhere beyond the unknown and unheard
Where there are no paths, destinations
To there he rushes off, for no reason.

What is the need to turn back home
he will not return anymore;
No turning back, no turning back
The walls have all collapsed now.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Long live Rabindrasangeet...."

See the Cat? See the Cradle?

2010-06-07T11:52:00.007+05:30

In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in his cosmic loneliness.

And God said, "Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done." And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat, looked around, and spoke. "What is the purpose of all this?" he asked politely.

"Everything must have a purpose?" asked God.

"Certainly," said man.

"Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this," said God.

And He went away."

This is how Kurt Vonnegut lampoons 'man's search for meaning.' From philosophy, to science to society and political buffoonery - Vonnegut's allegorical satire is not seriously funny , rather funnily serious. Take Douglas Adam's inventive imagination of H2G2, take Orwell's political allegory of Animal Farm, take Stanley Kubrick's comic timing of Dr Strangelove, mix them in a beaker, sprinkle a little Woody Allen or Oscar Wilde's witticism and

The book is written as a narrative of an author who wants to write a book titled, "The day the world ended" basing his story on the day when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. That attracts him to the life of the Nobel Laureate Dr. Hoenikker who apprantely invented the bomb. When he gets in touch of his three weird children, he learnt what was more to the blatancy of the senister apathetic person and his legacy. Finally he arrives in an island, unimportant, unwanted, and finds out a new strange religion 'Bokoninism' ( which according to me make perfect sense better than any other religion)....

There is staturary warning before you read this book - "Anyone who cannot understand how useful a religion based on lies can be will not understand this book either." and seemingly starts with the disclaimer, "All of the true things that I am about to tell you are shameless lies."

More than the satires on the tension behind the coldwar between US and USSR, I loved the parts in which Vonnegut ridicules the general human behaviour. Take for example -

The Fourteenth Book is entitled, "What can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?"
It doesn't take long to read The Fourteenth Book. It consists of one word and a period.
This is it:
"Nothing."

or

"Tiger got to hunt,
Bird got to fly;
Man got to sit and wonder, "Why, why, why?"
Tiger got to sleep,
Bird got to land;
Man got to tell himself he understand."

I had no doubt that Vonnegut was a genius when I had read his most famous book 'Slaughterhouse 5' couple of years back. But, with 'Cat's Cradle', he enters into my most favourite authors list.

'Cat's Cradle' is a work of genius and would remain in my shelf as a book to be re-read more than twice.

*****************************************************
Cat's Cradle
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Genre: Satire, Fiction
My Rating : A
Memorable Quote(s):
--- 'No wonder kids grow up crazy. A cat's cradle is nothing but a bunch of X's between somebody's hands, and little kids look and look and look at all those X's...'
'And?'
'No damn cat, and no damn cradle.'

--- Beware of the man who works hard to learn something, learns it, and finds himself no wiser than before. He is full of murderous resentment of people who are ignorant without having come by their ignorance the hard way.

--- Maturity...is knowing what your limitations are...Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything.

--- Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."

--- People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order, so they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say.

--- Busy, busy, busy, is what we Bokononists whisper whenever we think of how complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.

--- You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything–and I advise you to do the same.

--- There love enough in this world for everybody, if people will just look.

--- Americans... are forever searching for love in forms it never takes, in places it can never be. It must have something to do with the vanished frontier.

******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "1% people responsible for the existence of the other 99%"

Eastward Journey

2010-06-03T06:00:00.000+05:30

I have read many books by many great minds. Sartre, Camus, Dostoevsky, Nobakov, Ayn Rand et al. I find an inner struggle to find out the various aspects of truth in their writing. Their works disturb us. They inspire us. They confuse us about ourselves. They make us question. And they propel us towards a self-exploring journey.
But, reading Hesse is different. When I read him, I don't feel as if I am reading a literary expert or philosopher. I feel as I am with a saint. The man who has experienced the truth himself. For me, he brings in the difference between intellectualism and sainthood.
My first book of Hesse happens to be "Siddharth" which according to me a must read for all and sundry. With "Demian"(his debut novel), I found his self-discovery intent. "Narcissus and Goldmund" provides the perfect example of his profoundity on the subject of mind and heart.

"Journey to the East" displays his take on the oriental philosophy. The book is more of metaphysical symbolism than a spiritual adventure. The plot involves, a group of high intellectuals taking a journey both in space and time; that's why you will find Plato, Mozart and Don Quixote part of the same league as the protagonist, goes by the name HH (Hermann Hesse?) in their journey towards the East or finding the ultimate truth. Slowly the team disintegrates because of individualities. Towards the end when the self-deprecating HH, finds the truth, he is more than just amazed....

This book shouldn't be taken as an introduction to Hesse ( though the small size might be tempting to take the risk).

*****************************************************
The Journey to the East
Author: Hermann Hesse
Genre: Fiction, Philosophy
My Rating : B+
Memorable Quote(s):
--- Words do not express thoughts very well; everything immediately becomes a little different, a little distorted, a little foolish. And yet it also pleases me and seems right that what is of value and wisdom to one man seems nonsense to another.

--- He who travels far will often see things
Far removed from what he believes was Truth.
When he talks about it in the fields at home,
He is often accused of lying,
For the obdurate people will not believe.
What they do not see and distinctly feel.
Inexperience, I believe,
Will give little credence to my song.

--- The whole of world history often seems to me nothing more than a picture book which portrays humanity's most powerful and senseless desire - the desire to forget.

--- Why it was that artists sometimes appeared to be only half-alive while their creations seemed so irrefutably alive?
It is just the same with mothers. When they have borne their children and given them their milk and beauty and strength, they themselves become invisible and no one asks about them anymore.

--- The law of Service - He who wishes to live long must serve, but he who wishes to rule doesn't live long.

--- It is a well-known human weakness that a thing at the time we miss it has an exaggerated value and seems less dispensable than the things we have.

--- Despair is the result of each earnest attempt to understand and vindicate human life. Despair is the result of each earnest attempt to go through life with virtue, justice and understanding and to fulfill their requirements.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy asked, "If you want to read about the East, why do you go towards the West?"

Hanging Tales

2010-06-01T12:26:00.005+05:30

Sometimes you might wonder, how many stories that a good writer can write in his life, without running out of new ideas that surprises his readers as his first story. 30? 50?100? Whatever may be the number, there has to be number, isn't it? One can't write stories after stories without being repetitive. Someday or other he runs out of fuel.

I think this is what happened with the most loved story teller of Britain this time. He has definitely run out of his imagination and too tired to research more. Hence, he just listens to people's stories and write them down with his flair.
I must admit, he is one of the guys who made me a reading enthusiast. His twists in the tales had always managed to make me smile with amazement, before. But now, his stories from real life incidents are predictably boring as the actual real life is.

Some of the stories in this edition are amusing. If you are new to reading, I might recommend this one to you. But if you have read all the stories by Jeffrey Archer till date, like me, then I am afraid, you would wish you hadn't read it ( I know you will read it anyway).

*****************************************************
And thereby Hangs a Tale
Author: Jeffrey Archer
Genre: Short Stories
My Rating : B-
Memorable One(s):
--- Stuck on You
--- The Queen's Birthday Telegram
--- Better the Devil You Know
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Archer should meet more Indians to come up with a better story than the miserable one he had included on India."

Kanthapura

2010-06-01T10:31:00.001+05:30

I wanted to read a good Indian book from a not-too-hyped author, and after a little research the search narrowed down to Raja Rao's "Kanthapura", a book considered to be the first major Indian novel in English.
Kanthapura is just another South-Indian village. The story is set during the time of Indian Independence movements and when Mahatma Gandhi's non-violence revolution had been taking roots. The book blends in a rustic manner the religious sentiments, the age-old superstious traditions, with the fight for freedom from Colonial rule.

I am unable to write more about the book as, honestly, I couldn't complete it. It is a good book for looking into then India (which is still reflected in most part of India even after 80 years) and Indians.
But, probably that is not what I was looking for

*****************************************************
Kanthapura
Author: Raja Rao
Genre: Fiction, Indian Literature
My Rating : B
Memorable Quote(s):
None
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "You should stop reading for the sake of reading."

Orissa's Pride

2010-06-01T10:20:00.002+05:30

One thing I regret most now is of not spending enough time on Oriya literature when I should have - that is during my teens. Not only I had ignored, but also shamelessly I had undermined the beauty and profoundity of my day-to-day language.
Better late than never.

The stories of Fakir Mohan Senapati have got household fame throughout Orissa. Everyone in Orissa (doesn't matter if he/she is literate or not) knows the story of "Patent Medicine" ( a wife beats the shit out of her drunkard husband in order to get rid of his drinking problem), "Revati" (the sentiments against Woman education), Dakmunshi (a son throws out his estranged father out of his house, because his nigh't sleep was getting hampered by his father's incessant coughs), and "DhuliaBaba" (a fraudster holyman falls in his own hole while trying to con his devotees)
Each of his stories keeping the smell of Orissa's earth addresses the issues of the society with wry sense of humour.
However, the language might be too rustic to understand. But reading these nine stories is nothing but sheer pleasure.
Unfortunately these stories can NEVER be translated into English, because no translator in this world ( not even the author himself) can do justice to these gems.

*****************************************************
GalpaSwalpa (Part One)
Author: Fakir Mohan Senapati
Genre: Short Stories
My Rating : B+
Memorable One(s):
--- Patent Medicine
--- Revati
--- Dhuliababa
--- Dakamunshi
--- Birei Bishala
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Why read and waste (time and energy), when you can make money if you haste."

Pre-Socratic Philosophers

2010-06-01T01:25:00.000+05:30

Continuing my journey into the philosophies that shaped the world, I decided to read a little more about the philosophers, before the time of the Grand Dad of the subject, Socrates, and their ideas. That explains why I picked this book.

Before Socrates, the tradition of writing down the thoughts for the posterity was not given too much importance. Neither was the preservation of whatever written. So we know very less about them anyway. However, reading whatever left of those great writings gives a sneak peak in to their times and minds. You will be amazed by what you would learn. No matter how technically advanced we become with time, but the basic roots of our knowledge could be traced back to ancient times.

This book provides the fragments of the writings of these pre-socratic philosophers. The ideas come out fine. But sometimes the writings are abstruse.
Might act as a good reference material for future, if you want to quote someone.

*****************************************************
Early Greek Philosophy
Author: Jonathan Barnes
Genre: Philosophy
My Rating : B+
Remarkable Philosopher(s):
--- Thales
--- Pythagoras
--- Heraclitus
--- Empedocles
--- Democritus
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Question: I wonder if they interact with Eastern Philosophers? Else why would they think similar, even if express differently?"

The Reasoning Age

2010-05-26T11:07:00.003+05:30

"The individual's duty is to do what he wants to do, to think whatever he likes, to be accountable to no one else but himself, to challenge every idea and every person" - is the central theme of the novel "The Age of Reason"
The protagonist, a teacher of philosophy is a non-conformist, and doesn't believe in any sort of social attachment. So when he discovers his mistress to be pregnant, the thought of marrying her never crosses his mind. Rather he tries to beg, borrow, steal the requisite amount for abortion. The story accounts those 3-4 days of his life where he desperately in pursuit of money rationalizing his acts.

As I had mentioned before, I became a Sartre fan even before I read him. From this one, I had huge expectation as it was to explore the concept of "Freedom" out of the four existential pillars. The book obviously doesn't meet my expectations, but I would blame myself rather than the book itself. It does have some extremely thought provoking moments.

*****************************************************
The Age of Reason
Author: Jean-Paul Sartre
Genre: Existential Philosophy
My Rating : B+
Memorable Quote(s):
--- Friendship doesn't exist to criticize. It's function is to inspire confidence.
--- No one can be a man who has not discovered something for which he is prepared to die.
--- The future had made way into his heart where everything was in progress and suspense. The far off days of childhood, the day when he had said: "I will be free", the day when he had said: "I will be famous" - appeared to him even now with their individual future, like a small circled individual sky above them all, and the future was himself, himself just as he was at present, weary and a little over-ripe, they had claims upon him across the passage of time past, they maintained their insistencies and he was often visited by attacks of devastating remorse, because his casual cynical present was the original future of those past days.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Freedom is definitely an overrated concept."

Freedom Night: Days before and after

2010-05-17T17:28:00.006+05:30

Just few days after, India officially got independence, the two spearheads of then Indian politics, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, visited the outgoing Viceroy Lord Mountbatten, and requested him to take back his previous charge. Reason - they felt incapable of handling the horrendous situation partition had presented before them. "Take back the power of India, else there won't be any India," they pleaded.
Mountbatten obliged and, sort-of staying in background, administered in military precision the smooth exodus of Indian Muslims and newly formed Pakistan's non-Muslims.

Thus, the book has brought forward the stark reality behind India's Freedom from the colonial rule. In that course, of course the book feels somehow slanted towards eulogizing Lord Mountbatten, but show me a history book that is not biased at all.

The book describes in vibrant colour and in fiction-like tone few days before ( from the day the Lord Mountbatten took the office) to the funeral day of the father of the Nation. The amount of research that has gone through the book is reflected in every page. The book has been written in a way as if the author were the eye-witness of all the incidents, and now the readers are.

The horror of partition was so animated in the book, you would flinch with revulsion. The plot of assassinating the Mahatma would make you restless. The struggle and stubbornness of political leaders to get their objectives would make you wonder, "Was the freedom really worth it?" 40s is the most important period in Indian history and the 40's India comes alive in every sentence of this book. The socio-economic conditions, the religious mindsets, the convoluted politics - you live the fight for freedom yourself throught this book. I am sure, after reading this book, you would look at our famous national leaders in a different light than before.

I have not read many books on Indian independence ( if you count the boring text books of school) to judge whether this is the best book ever written on the subject. But, undoubtedly, this one is the best historic book I have ever read.

Alas, the best book on India, is written by two non-Indians.

*****************************************************
Freedom at Midnight
Author: Dominique Lapierre, Larry Collins
Genre: Indian History
My Rating : A
Memorable Portion(s):
--- The Partition and the aftermath.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "If you include books like this in syllabus, History won't be a boring subject."

P.S. Thanks A.

Conspiracy Theories

2010-05-12T11:58:00.012+05:30

I love conspiracy theories. Not only because those are so outrageously funny, but also the sheer reason of how convincingly those are often presented.

The proprietor of the conspiracy theory would often love to bestow his erudite discourses upon people who look up to him only because he has spent more time on earth than them. He would call them to the corner of a room and whisper to them, "Let me tell you a secret..." Often the origins of his secrets would be reliable sources whose name couldn't be revealed. And then the facts from completely unrelated topics will be twisted, tweaked to come up with a theory that would not only slide the ground beneath your feet, but also can challenge heavily your entire belief system.

However usurious you may find those theories are, never ever laugh at the those in front of its originator or disseminator. Else, the next theory will feature you.

My first conspiracy theorizer was my grand mother (May she rest in peace!). I was in an age when I believed that people with grey hair never lie. So I ended up believing in ghosts that cook children in cauldron, Dragons in China, and evil neighbours who were involved in serial killing.
I grew up with theories that proved that the headmaster of our school slept with our English teacher in his secret chamber (Of course that explained why our headmaster punished those who used to stare 6 inch below our sexy English teachers's face), our neighbour gave a million to local counsellor (that explained how his son got into IIT), etc etc.
In professional circle, I hear many more conspiracy theories. Sometimes the theories collide. And funnily enough, the collision creates another theory.

"I am a victim of political conspiracy by my opponents," is the most famous excuse for our leaders caught red-handed, but never red-faced. Political conspiracy theories are easier to cook.

The best conspiracy theories are those which are unverifiable. Good theorists never involve anyone who you know. The more complex the theory is the better it is to bake.

Let me try my luck in formulating one of such theories -
"Since all traditional methods of birth control have failed, our Government has deviced a new plan to curb the population growth. Operation - 'Gay - The In Thing'. Initially they start subtly bringing in the gay culture to the populace through media. Movies are made on the topic. Open jokes are cracked on the subject. Teen idols (Es Aar Gay and Gayron Johar) are made the ambassadors. Reality shows feature more gays than before. Slowly the mindset that Gayism-is-a-taboo is being wiped out. Then the Government legalize the gay marriage. Now soon, there will be quota in education and employment for homosexuals. Target of the Government to convert 20-25% of the population to gays.
Population explosion issue - solved. "

Howzthat?

smiles..
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "One from me. One from me. Vijay Mallay, our homegrown liquor baron, is mixing a high quality opium in beer so that the drinkers would only support RCB in IPL."

Cricketainmentddiction

2010-04-27T11:59:00.012+05:30

Recently I read an article, the South Korean government is worried about the addiction of their children to online gaming. According to TIME magazine, the government is taking necessary steps like reducing internet speed and introducing blackout period to curb the video-game addiction of the teens. Probably this is what Government's fear: This addiction is severely damaging the zeal for pursuing intellectual activities.

Now coming back to my own country, little doubt is there that cricket is considered here a religion and movie stars are treated nothing less than Gods. We adulate the on-screen stars more than our parents and cricket comes a very close second to sex as favourite pastime.
Enter Mr Lalit Modi. Extremely arrogantly shrewd( any doubt?), skewed(who else can marry one's mother's friend?), and knew exactly how to cash on these sentiments of gullible Indians. Took a bottle. Put in cricket. Mixed doses of bollywood. Added babes, boozes and all that titillates the hormones. And gave us IPL. He calls it Cricketainment.

If you ask me, what is wrong that some rich guys become richer by fooling the hoi-polloi, I mightn't have any answer. Cricket or not, that the rich guys do that anyway.
If you ask me, what is wrong in selling what sells, I would say then lift ban over drugs as well.
If you tell me, that this is doing a great deal to cricket, I would say, "Are you kidding?" If you still persist, "Look how many young players getting fame nationwide," I would counter, "But how many of them are competent internationally?"

I would agree that this has been proven profitably for certain individuals, but what about us, the common men? We have fallen in to a new addiction: Cricketainmentdiction. Not only it consumes the prime time every day (for almost 2 months), eariler used, if not for nation and humanity building, but atleast towards some self building and intellectual or artistic pursuits, but also it takes a lot of mindspace with irrelevant information and spicy trivia. And don't get me started on the recent by products of this great entertainment saga, namely corruption, powerplay and match-fixing controversies.

I am not against Cricket. In fact I love that game. I am just against the overdose. For once, I tend to concur with Lalu Yadav who vociferously condemns the concept of IPL (for whatever reason).

Whatever I say, I know that this Cricketainmentdiction is severely going to affect this country.
God save you kids.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Some of the most intelligent people of the country think IPL is the best thing to happen to India. Are they fools?"

Weeping over Love

2010-04-26T14:48:00.003+05:30

I had read "The Alchemist" almost a decade ago and remember not liking it then. "If you follow your dream then the whole world collaborates to make it come true" - didn't strike a chord with me. I didn't venture in to Paulo, the philosopher, Coelho after that. But considering my immaturity then, I thought of giving the author a second chance. Don't ask me why, but I picked up the By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, though I totatally admit that it sounds more of a chic-lit than a philosophical treatise. And it was exactly that.
The language is poetic and that makes the book readable. But as far as content goes, yes it can find its target audience in the gullible frustrated lovers who believe in 'true love exists in seeing your beloved happy even if you yourself are pretty much screwed up'. Honestly, all that the author wanted to say is nothing new, even if he has said it in lyrical manner.

I will give one more chance to Mr. Coelho, and that will be all.

*****************************************************
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Philosophical Literature
My Rating : B-
Memorable Quote:
--- All of the great religions - including Judaism , Catholicism and Islam - are masculine. Men are in charge of dogmas, men make the laws and usually all priests are men. I've a different view of things: I believe in the feminine side of God.

--- In real life, love has to be possible.Even if it is not returned right away, love can only survive when the hope exists that you will be able to win over the person you desire. Anything else is fantasy.

--- The wise are wise only because they love. And the foolish are foolish only because they think they can understand love.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Age has been taking you closer to senility."

Chicken À la carte

2010-04-22T13:13:00.004+05:30

Let me tell their story
That no one else can hear
How can someone's laughter
Bring me close to tears
And you'll never know
Cause you're never there
After what we've seen
Can we close our eyes again.

Let me tell their story
You won't think is true
I have not forgotten
So I'm sharing it with you
For all the things we know
What have we really learned ?
Though I close my eys
The images remain
And their story... Begins again.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy was unavailable for comment as he had gone to enjoy the IPL party. Before leaving to party he was heard talking over phone to someone, "I am bored of eating Tandoori, does today's menu have Chhetinadu Chicken?"

De-spirited Journey

2010-04-22T12:45:00.004+05:30

Man is not the end product of evolution. He is not lord of the world and universe. Everything in nature is not created for man. Man shouldn't assume ownership of whatever and whoever he sees. Man belongs to world and world doesn't belong to man. If man tries to tweak the rules of nature and life for his benefit, he will face the apt consequence, that is - extinction.
--------This is the premise of the "An adventure of mind and spirit" Ishmael.
Unfortunately, the author, Daniel Quinn, took a whole book to explain this what I would rather he could have done it in a chapter or two.
And more over, even if I took the points of the author in with an open mind, I am afraid I don't concur with him all the while.
His point - Man is in the path of its own peril, because of the assumption that they are superior to all other species and they try to control the nature towards their own egotistical benefit.
I argue - Man didn't choose nor they were elected democratically to become the ruler of the world. They came to control by the virtue of intelligence. They didn't because they wanted, but because they could. Evolution has always been the survival of the fittest. There had been millions of species who got extinct before homo-sapiens appeared. Mankind will also perish in due time. And if that is the way it has to be, then let it be. But yes we need to be sensitive towards our own survival. How could we remain resourceful for foreseeable future without hampering the natural equilibrium - is a question of priority. Blaming mankind is like an empty oratory which produces in me same feeling as some of the misinformed religious preacher try to sermon, "You are a sinner. You should ashamed of your sins".

I didn't like the didactic tone of the book either.
One of my friends so highly recommended this book, I had to put it in my shopping cart even if the price tag suggested that this one was going to be the second most expensive book in my shelf. Now I regret, I should have got it in second hand store.

It's not a bad read, though I do not agree to it.

*****************************************************
Ishmael
Author: Daniel Quinn
Genre: Philosophy
My Rating : B
Memorable Quote:
---There is no secret knowledge; no one knows anything that can't be found on a shelf in the public library
--- You know how to split atoms, how to send explorers to the moon, how to splice genes, but you don't know how people ought to live.
--- Perhaps the flaw in man is exactly this: that he doesn’t know how he ought to live.
--- Man's destiny was to conquer and rule the world, and this is what he's done--almost. He hasn't quite made it, and it looks as though this may be his undoing. The problem is that man's conquest of the world has itself devastated the world. And in spite of all the mastery we've attained, we don't have enough mastery to stop devastating the world--or to repair the devastation we've already wrought. We've poured our poisons into the world as though it were a bottomless pit--and we go on gobbling them up. It's hard to imaging how the world could survive another century of this abuse, but nobody's really doing anything about it. It's a problem our children will have to solve, or their children.
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "People malign things that they don't understand."

Tabled Murder

2010-04-22T12:39:00.002+05:30

There are two reasons why I sometime take a refuge at the queen of crimes nowadays, though I am not sure if I should spend more time in reading regular crime thrillers now -
--- whenever I want a lighter read without putting my mind to any torturous boggling reflections
--- or, whenever i want to quickly increase my book count in lesser time

4 suspects, 1 murderer. And Sherlock of Christie Mr Poirot has only one clue to find the culprits - the game of bridge they played last.
Bridge knowledge is not a must to appreciate the plot. But it might come in handy.
Nothing ingenious. I won't rate it in my top 10 Christie novels.

*****************************************************
Cards on the Table
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
My Rating : B-
Memorable Quote:
--- What cannot be cured must be endured.

******************************************************
smiles...
The Werido

Pongalswamy said, "High time you should focus your mind."

India from Thirty Thousand feet

2010-04-07T12:44:00.003+05:30

It would probably take decades of reading to know all about India and still there would be many unknown things of this oldest of civilizations. The grand old man of Indian English literature and journalism, Khuswant Singh, had taken the audacious step to describe India in a meagre 200 odd pages, covering from ancient of sages to Vajpayee - a history of more than 5000 years.
Of course you won't find many details of what you want to know for least about India, but however it is an excellent overview for those who do not have extremely strong memory and need to brush up the school-text-book history from time to time.
The rise and decline of all major religions, the decline and fall of dynasties and princely states, the invasions, the british colonialism and the freedom fight and finally the political imbroglios starting from scams, emergencies, assassinations etc - all covered in 200 pages.

Excellent way to brush up the memory and of course know a few things that already not known.

*****************************************************
India: an introduction
Author: Khuswant Singh
Genre: History
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "It is funny how history can look different when seen from different angles."

Gopa Pura

2010-03-28T13:32:00.004+05:30

With my new-found interest in Oriya literature, when I approached the book-seller with an open mind, "Could you please suggest some contemporary Oriya books?", he immediately suggested. "Gopa Pura". "After all, it had won the Sahitya Akademi award last year," he rationalized.
My expectations were some philosophical self-exploration type experiences (Surendra Mohanty effect, I reckon). But, what I found were some heart-wrenching tales of societal confusion clashing the modern viewpoints with our rustic roots. And of course, with ornamental language skills.
Ramachandra Behera does have supreme command over Oriya literature that I have no doubt now. His poignant tales are thematically simple, yet filled with intense observation of anomalies and wonders of life.
Though it didn't meet my expectations, but nevertheless it is a fine read. I won't remember the stories after some time may be, but I won't forget the feelings I got while I was reading it.

*****************************************************
Gopa Pura
Author: Ramchandra Behera
Genre: Short Stories
My Rating : B+
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Question: Do you think anyone will write in Oriya 20 years from now?"

Freaket

2010-03-24T11:53:00.009+05:30

That day I was suddenly ambushed over beer, when the discussion was predominantly on football.
"So in India do you play Soccer?" asked the Hungarian.
"Not much internationally. It is mostly Cricket for us," I replied.
"But cricket is so boring!!! How can you play a game 8 hours a day for 5 long days without any result," snorted the German.
"For you guys we have invented Twenty-20, which gives as much excitement as a football only in double the time," I became defensive.
"You can sell that to Americans who idolize Baseball, but not us Europeans," laughed the Swiss guy.
"The reviver of T20 cricket is trying to take it to US as well," I was hopeful
The American didn't keep quiet, "Come on. Please don't bring that to us. We already have our share of boring ones."
When everyone was laughing, I tried to attack the British guy, "Hey! you shouldn't make fun of cricket. You invented it."
He said, "But our religion is still Christianity and not cricket. Kevin Pietersen is not our God as Sachin is for you. "
I didn't pursue over cricket more as I realized that I am heavily outnumbered and it was futile to argue with huge (literally) soccer fans. I concentrated on my limited knowledge of the European premiere leagues instead.

A week later, as I am back in India, the only discussion I hear, from meeting rooms to coffee tables, from beer bars to news rooms, is IPL. As if it has spread like an epidemic. Since city and team loyalty not so prevalent, people end up following all the matches. That means, most part of the country come to a state of stagnancy for almost 4 to 7 hours a day for two vital months. The two months where there are exams for students (Who cares for them anyway? How does it matter if some one scores 50 marks less as long as the batsman scores 50 more runs and the businessman profitting from IPL gets 50 crores) and year-end closing for most financial organizations.
Cricket is now more of a business than a sporting event. Rules are so twisted for financial and 'entertainment-al' benefit that soon cricket would need another name to accommodate all its anomalies. Freaket, anyone?
Soon we will see bats of varied styles(mangoosh is just a start), boundaries just 2 ft away of the 30 yard circle, 3 free-hits per over, lady umpires with bikini, singing fielders and run your imagination to wherever it can lead you to.

I am not bothered about if the overdose of cricket is going to rob the heritage of cricket of its essence and glory or not, but one thing is sure it is definitely a triumph of our enemies (China???) who don't have IPL to waste their time.

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Who cares about the intellectual pursuits, when the goal of life is to be entertained? Lalit Modi is the best thing to happen to cricket for long long time."

Wimpy Kid's Journal

2010-03-24T11:08:00.004+05:30

It was a coincidence that I knew about the movie and found the book in discount sale on the same day. Though I had no clue about the book, still I bought it as the content look pretty unusual and interesting with cartoons, hand-written-style print and all.
The target age group for this book is 9+, which unfortunately I have ceased to be part of more than 20 years ago (Why God Why?). So what? I love reading children/teen-age literature. Calvin is my all time hero, and so is Holden Caulfield. I remember enjoying Alice in Wonderland and Lewis Lowry's Giver, to an extent.
So I approached this book with much enthusiasm to relive my childhood days, yet once again.
The book depicts illustriously the childhood dilemma and misadventures of a pre-teen. It gives some very LOL moments. But after a while it becomes repetitive and made me realize I am no longer 10.
I had to complete in one sitting as I knew that I won't read it again, if I stop in between.

*****************************************************
Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Author: Jeff Kinney
Genre: Children's, Cartoon
My Rating : B
Memorable Moment(s):
All the cartoons
******************************************************

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Ridiculous way to increase your book count by 1."

Fragile Life

2010-03-09T12:27:00.009+05:30

That morning, I was going in my bike to a certain place to secure an aspect of my future. Suddenly, at one unexpected point I saw a big traffic jam and lots of people stopping and staring at something on the road. I had to slow down and saw a bike lying on the street. "Definitely, an accident," I told the wifey sitting behind me and equally perplexed. I tried to find out the victim within the crowd. I didn't have to struggle hard to find a body lying nearly 10 feet away from the bike. His helmet crushed and in the pool of blood was his smashed head. Scattered several feet away were the vegetables and some papers.
The wifey was horrified by the sight and me shattered as if the fragility of life struck me with a 100 ton hammer.
Here lay a guy, who woke up in the morning, probably listened to the lambast of his wife for his inattentiveness to the paucity of vegetables at home, then kissed his 5-year old son and promised to get a lollipop back home, and didn't forget to take some papers that he needed to submit in the bank. Never, not even once, the thought of he mightn't come back home and his life would end that day would have crossed his mind. But there he lay. All his plans of present and future scattered on the road.

How death can be ominous, we can never know till it strikes one of our near ones. Yet we always think we are not going to lose those who are with us. We take them for granted as we take ourselves to be immortal.

In all our plans, death never features. Or even if it does, it is like when we are 90 or so. When I am 30 I will buy my second car, when I am 45 I will send my son to Harvard, when I am 50 I will stay in a bunglow by the sea, and thence I will retire 'Sar Utha ke' (with head held high), you see, till I die. Yes, death to me will come when I have all my needs covered.

It was not the first time I was seeing death so close. But every time I see death, I can't help feeling little helpless to understand the puzzle of life.
I ponder again, What is the meaning of life, if it so fragile?
What is it, really?

smiles(not really)...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy hummed the RDBurman Classic, "Kal kya hoga kisko pata, abhi jindagi ka lele maja."

Everyman's Life

2010-03-08T18:49:00.004+05:30

...may not be exactly(hope not)...but well... more or less

smiles...
The Weirdo

Pongalswamy said, "Is being emotional feminine?"