Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Priorities...

My sense of priorities needs to be looked at... I've been grumpy these past two weeks because my midterms haven't left me with much time for my favourite activities ... reading and writing(blogging ) ... actually regard them as having a higher priority than studying... which means I possibly need to get my head checked... my day isn't complete without at least one chapter of a book and a cup of tea( proper chai - like we have at home- not this rottenly healthy green tea stuff).

So at the end of my exams I headed straight for the library - we have an awesome one by the way- several actually- but this is my favourite- the Powell library, which is my favourite both for its shelves upon shelves of books, and for its incredibly comfortable couches - there is a favourite place of mine -on the lowest level where there are low sofas beside windows discreetly screened by curtains to let just the right amout of light through- without blinding you with light or allowing the outside distractions disturb you, and at once allowing you to enjoy the natural light without straining your eyes under artificial lamps.... you get the picture....

And at once I borrowed Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" ,very much reflective of what I was feeling just then I think... then Somerset Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence" which was a great character study- oddly enough- although it was not a thought that struck me at the time when I borrowed them- they are both about the lives of artists- great men and the events that shaped them... While one is a chronicle of events in a life written more as a piece of fiction that only happens to have its basis in the life of a real person... the feelings attributed to the characters... they may have some truth in them but they are essentially what the author thinks went on in the minds of the characters... Whereas the other is more a relating of the facts that are verifyable- simply putting them into perspective so that the reader may decide for themselves what kind of a person the artist is- and the effect he had on those around him. Both agree on one thing however- that great artists are a species apart- they are driven by something that ordinary men do not understand- or perhaps that is what makes them great and us ordinary- that we choose not to be driven by a force beyond our understanding - preferring the safety of conventional life and moderate goals- rather than the fire that burns to recreate the world in our ideal of beauty.

6 comments:

Shashi Iyer said...

wow! beautiful post. the last line was just too good.

Vayasya said...

totally agree. so is there going to be a post sometime about the beauty of the world in your eyes ?

Random Access said...

This is what I call bak with a bang!

Random Access
The search has just begun !!!

the Monk said...

that's true...maybe the driving force is creative idealism (in other words, i think talent) combined with a deep love/passion for the subject of their choice....what say?

nandini said...

@monk... absolutely! And where there is talent - usually at least, it is accompanied by passion- simply because if people do something well they begin to like it, and when they do it extraordinarily well, they begin to love what they do.

Nenlos said...

ur not the only "abnormal" (if i may say so) person who gives more importance to favourite activities than studies. i zeembly love writing (not just blogs) and reading. I started penning a book. started, not continuing. must get back to it but too many distractions butchering the literary flow.