The Answer to Life ,The Universe and Everything- Oh I wish

Oh Ironies

2012-01-13T05:50:00.000-08:00

The Gods must have been laughing as I read E.M. Forster's 'Passage to India' on the way back - from India to Michigan', on the flight. The book was considered enlightened in its time - it presents a case when a British lady wrongly accuses an Indian man of assault, and while a daring proposition in its time, the broad generalizations, stereotyping of race, religion and sex indicate that while the author may have broken down one barrier significant other remain.

What makes the book beautiful (in my eyes) is the incredible detail in characterization, analysis of people's motivations, their reactions, their understanding as coloured by their experiences. These things remain true regardless of how far in the future you go. The rose coloured shades that tint Aziz's meetings with Mrs. Moore, as though a couple of meetings made them close friends; the changing friendship between Fielding and Aziz; the miguided protection of Mahmoud Ali...

An event that particular caught me was when Adela asked Aziz about having multiple wives - what she thought was culturally sensitive, which he took as an insult - little events when the same thing has different meanings in different people's minds. Also, the jostling of servants, of doctors, the Anglo-Indians - each one trying to be a step above the rest - inequality not only in the broad sense, but each individual looking for ways to make themselves seem - or feel - a little superior.

Its a better book in the details, rather that the broad narrative that gives a glimpse into some of the ideas and emotions that could have led to the independence movement.

Politics from an economist

2011-11-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

Which is really nothing new. I don't read Friedman or Krugman anymore with the expectation of academic analysis. But I expected better of Amartya Sen. Is it the natural course of things that once a person becomes famous they promptly pretend to be experts in every other field? For Amartya Sen, these fields include history, philosophy, theology and naturally, politics. Though everyone is an expert political commentator in their own heads.
When I started off with "The Argumentative Indian" I expected something a little more academic. I don't want to read the same commentary I can read in "The Hindu" every day! I expected some incredible insight into poverty alleviation or microfinance or base of pyramid. Instead, I got a "India has so much misrepresented history. A zillion years of civilization. A culture of tolerance" spiel. There was the occasional interesting point. What annoys me is that this is a book written primarily for the non-Indian. Maybe because that's where the money is (was).

India, A Different perspective - Shantaram

2011-11-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

I'm still unsure as to whether this was a biography or a work of fiction... Its an amazing look into the underworld of Bombay (when it was still Bombay), the network of people that penetrate every aspect of the city - the ones who can put a man in jail and pull him out, who arrange for fake identities, smuggle jewels and drugs and guns, fund politicians, freedom fighters and terrorists, own mansions and slums and everything in between.

The story is a man discovering his love for India - not 'Incredible India' that is presented in glossy fliers, with its 'spirituality', 'history' and Bollywood song and dance - but very likely one that most respectable Indians themselves would rarely ever see.

There were parts of the book that I absolutely loved - the life in the slums, the description of the unwritten rules that keep life going there. The description of gang life and the power that the gangs wielded. And then there was the climax - which was sadly lacking. It was tragic - but also painfully unnecessary, and something of a plot device, I felt, a nice way to close all loops and leave the hero still alive. And how convenient that it ties up so nicely with everything going on in Afghanistan today. So an ending that could have been better.

Lionheart

2011-11-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting for this book to come out for almost two years now, and I was jiggling with impatience - and juggling with the usual routine of exams and recruiting right when it was out, so it was Fall break before I got a chance to actually read it. So in a (not so) little cabin in Ohio, under the red and gold leaves (appropriate somehow for the Angevins), I read about the King who'd captured my imagination when I was really, really young, when I first read my mother's school-days history book -'The March of Time', and got all caught up in the idea of the medieval romance. Not so much in the current sense of 'falling in love' romance - but more the romantic sense of adventure and knights and kings and queens.

Sadly, it seems Penman has fallen in love with the concept too. I loved her books before, for joining the realism - the grit and violence, the moral ambiguity of the times. But this time around, her heroes and villians are in black and white, there's none of the blood and gore you'd expect of a war - the women are strong - which is great - but they also seem to be a little too modern - or is it my prejudice that they should be more reflective of their times?

What was good though (as always), was her understanding of the political machinations of that time. The changing loyalties - the understanding of the many things that may make or break an army at war - allies, strategy, politics, supply chain (something my prof would love to know about). But I did find Penman's political correctness a little annoying. Yes, she's writing it now, but I find it hard to believe that there were people who existed then, who were as open minded, of other cultures and ideas as she describes.

What was amazing to see was how much of what - if it had been pure fiction - I would have considered to be a plot device - was actually based on real events! A case of reality being stranger than fiction.

Altogether, a fairly good book. Unlike Penman's earlier ones, it wasn't a really heavy read - more like light literature - but I'm still looking forward to continuing Richard's story, his capture and ransom, and ending in King John.

Still Searching

2011-08-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

'Siddhartha' is probably the book which has come closest to answering that big question that is the title of my blog. I've been meaning to read it for ages, but hadn't really got around to it until now. And now that I've read it what can I say?

The language - I suppose the translation, reads strangely in this day and age - a very effusive, passionate type of speaking, and writing, which doubles every emotion, and still keeps you constantly aware that this is a book, a story, not a could-have-been-reality.

The story is of a man's search for peace - the lessons he learns - no one more important than the other - that it is something to be lived, not taught, to be detached and to take no pride in his achievements - all of these we read, over and over, in every quasi-philosophical book. But the last piece of philosophy was interesting - to love something for what it was, not what it could be - to love and yet remain detached from it - to welcome both pain and joy as a part of life - to be able to love everything that life brings.

His journey is as important as the lessons he learns, and the most important lesson to us, I think, is that each person has to make the journey in their own way, has to want to make that journey, and each person takes a different path.

Doom and gloom

2011-08-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

The talk of the last several weeks has of course, been the debt crisis - the US's all grown way out of proportion liabilities. The latest has been the S&P downgrade- well deserved in my opinion - the credit rating agencies may not have a whole lot of credibility given their role in the subprime crisis - but its never too late to start building some rep. And much was made of the 2 trillion miscalculation - which sounds gigantic (it is gigantic) - except its only 10% of the total (20 trillion was miscalculated as 22 triliion). And if you ask me - that could very well be treated as a margin of error.

But the saddest thing in the last few weeks is not the apparent ending of good times on Wall Street (I doubt they're ended, honestly) - its the end of the space shuttle program. No, it doesn't make quite as good news as watching traders panicking on the floor, and we've all become far too used to seeing shuttles taking off for it to have any excitement at all - but it feels a little like the end of a dream. And there's no knowing if we'll ever get it back.

The International Space Station is going to be dropped into the sea in a few years, and putting a man on the moon- something that was achieved with computers that could be built on the back of a cellphone now - looks like an ever receding pipe dream. How was it that so much more was achieved with so much less, so many years ago? The same way the Egyptians built the pyramids maybe?

In any case, it was the end of the Columbia space shuttle, that truly marked the decline for me - the markets will after all, rise again another day.

The latest sensation

2011-07-31T05:25:00.000-07:00

GRR Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series - which has become an enormous hit due to the HBO show. I tried it some years ago, but between the attempted murder of children (and it looked like a successful attempt to begin with), and the incest, some of the unpleasant characters, and the annoyingly switching character viewpoints, I decided to give it a miss. But when it had become so popular, I couldn't be seen to be the only one who hadn't read it, so there I was, starting all over again.

With a renewed determination to get past the gratuitous sex and violence, I sat down with the first book, 'A Game of Thrones'. It moves pretty fast, with something happening in almost every chapter, which may be hard to believe, given that its such an enormous book. But it's fast paced, well written, thoroughly plotted, and with an enormous cast of characters. It's somewhat based off the War of the Roses and other real historical events. And for someone used to the happy endings we usually see in fantasy novels, there are a couple of shockers. Martin explained it as wanting it to be like a 'real' war, where people you love die, not just several thousand extras, while the heroes are all safe.

For all that, while I became fond of a couple of characters, I didn't come to love them, as I have in other books. For one thing, with the different viewpoints, you see relatively little of each person, even in a 1000 page book. For another, part of the (dis)advantage of seeing the world entirely through one person's eyes is that you tend to agree with their opinions - because as far as the book goes, you have the same experiences; whereas with multiple viewpoints, its all too clear when people are being foolish, or venal, or just downright evil (though again, there are shockers - because you don't get to see everyone's viewpoint after all).

The second book in the series, ' A Clash of Kings' is when the battle actually breaks out. And more sides of the story begin to emerge - it began with the politics, now it extends to religion, by book 3 ('A Storm of Swords'), we have the banks being drawn into the picture as well. In that sense, the books are very realistic - they show how military might alone is hardly sufficient to win a war, how kings are beholden (as anyone in power), to the different powers that give them legitimacy. They also show how very believable, how delicately negotiations have to be made to gain allies, how grudges can be long held, and how quickly military might can disintegrate.

And where's the fantasy? The world is an interesting one; there are or were dragons once owned by the kings of the country, and now (at least to begin with), they are no more. There are legends, some true, some not so true, of the creatures who originally peopled the continent, and there is the Wall - behind which are real human enemies, as well as more dangerous and mysterious creatures. The world is one where the seasons may last for years at a time, and summer is fading and a long winter is coming - a bad time, in general, for a war. It starts off looking like a reasonably normal world, and people seem to avoid magic as far as possible, but as it goes on, magic comes further in, perhaps as peoples' desperation grows.

Once past the first three books, the pace of the books generally slow down- there are an increasing number of viewpoints, and plot points to keep track of, the war is done, and there is a reason the fourth is called 'A Feast of Crows' - its all about crows picking at the carrion left on the battlefield.

'A Dance with Dragons', the fifth and latest may sound as though it gets things moving again, but its more like the slow start of a steam engine- I hope that the next one really does get moving.

One of the things that annoys me, generally, is that it seems that as authors get more famous, their editors do less and less. The first book, as I'd said, was tight and well-written. By the time we got to the fifth, while the slow pace could be forgiven, there was so much unnecessary padding, so many pages of words that could have been just done away with altogether. Either the authors develop too much clout for their own good, or editors think that readers will simply swallow whatever swill they turn out (which is mostly true).

Specifically for GRRM, I have to say, that while his plotting is excellent, his writing is mediocre. A lot of what he says, the turns of phrase that he uses, are all very repetitive. His descriptions don't stick in your head, the way a really good authors' would - perhaps he intended that, but for many books, I have a picture of the places, of the people, in my head, long before the TV shows or movies come out. For GRRM, not so much.

One of the disadvantages of overcomplicating the plot is also that people might forget what was going on before the next book comes out. If I have to wait 6 years for the next book, as people waited for the last, I don't think I'm going to remember a thing. And with the size of these books, I don't expect to re-read them either. And quite honestly, I have better things to do with my time than re-reading these books.

A Summer in Atlanta

2011-07-23T05:44:00.000-07:00

Naturally, its incomplete without the visit to the coke factory. But there are other little pleasures as well. Notably, the number of cafe's and little dessert places.

There's Cafe Intermezzo -with its alarmingly gigantic cakes - a definite must share - eating alone would be sinful and possibly result in death by chocolate.

There's La Madeleine with its fabolous little mousse's and also its big mousse cake - I went there for the desserts and stayed on for the food

Flavor - which is probably one of the healthiest options here - fantastic soups and salads.

Alon's - Bakery, cafe, general purveyor of little foods - the cookies are to die for - and the mousse is very good too.

There's Morelli's ice cream - rich, creamy, and large.

Sweet Cheats - though small, so rich, you'll find it hard to get through. Definitely recommend taking it home and eating a little at a time.

And there's Apres Diem - which is better for more than just dessert, though after eating at the Mellow Mushroom, even dessert was a bit hard to get through.

And there's Season's 52, with its ever changing menu, and constant little shot glass desserts.

Pura Vida - a tapas bar, with a ton of vegetarian options (yes!) and they were extremely good too (especially the mushrooms)

It seems that in two months in Atlanta, I've tried out more restaurants in Atlanta than I've tried in many years in other places... and still so many left to go!

Telling the future, from the past

2011-07-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

is what Jared Diamond aims to do, in his books 'Guns, Germs and Steel' and Collapse'. The first, describes the ways that human societies have been shaped - the way their environment has changed them, made some more competitive in the modern world, and others weaker. The other details the broad reasons why societies may collapse : environmental, failure to adapt, failure to predict the future and prepare for it.

These books are particularly interesting, because they look at small societies, and the ways events played out in them, and adapts the pattern to the larger world. Its a very scientific way of doing things- a small pilot test, and apply the results to a broader framework. However, especially with the environmental arguments there seem to be many caveats that one could apply. For example, there are various small societies desscribed, such as the settlers of Greenland at one time, who failed to adapt their lifestyles to the changing environment, and therefore collapsed, and this could lead one to speculate on the results of us failing to adapt - or prevent- global warming (for example), and yet I find it hard to believe that barring alien invasion, our collapse would be as complete or impossible to recover from.

In Guns, Germs and Steel also, he raises the idea of agriculture being the base on which all society is built- and how in places where agriculture was impossible - or not as productive - societies- villages, towns, cities, trade, commerce, large scale government etc. did not grow. But I find some of his arguments a little difficult to believe. It may be true that many of the current food crops that we use had their origins in a particular part of the world. But they have taken many millenia to reach their current form, and wild wheat, and rice and barley are not nearly as productive. It is the result of generations of human farming and genetic selection that has made them so. If agriculture had started elsewhere, we might be praising some other crop for its incredible bounty - and crediting it for being the base of human civilizations. You could make similar arguments with regards the point about horses and others.

In general, he presents a very politically correct view of the world, which is leaves me a little skeptical.

Having said that, they're both excellently written books. They bring up (at least for me) a new dimension of looking at the world. The books prove that it is not true that the problems we face today are like none faced ever before. Strip away the specifics, and you can see that the same causes that led some societies to fail, and some to succeed are still true today.

I also went on to read a third book of his, 'The Third Chimpanzee'. It wasn't as compelling as the others - but close to the premiere of the new Planet of the Apes movie, it seemed like a good idea. Again, a very well written book. It describes man as maybe aliens would see us - a slightly evolved ape - and compares us with our closest animal cousins. It draws comparisons between the social structures of apes and humans. One of the most interesting chapters was the one on human sexuality, but other very interesting topics covered were the fact that technology is not the only cause of environmental damage and prehistoric humans had a role in the environmental catastrophes of their time as well - this point is one that comes up in all three books - which should put an end to the wistful looking back on civilizations that lived at one with nature - apparently, there were none.

Fantastic Indian Historical

2011-07-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

- which is Amitav Ghosh's 'Sea of Poppies'. This one book makes worthwhile all the terrible pieces of pseudo literature I've wasted so many hours on this summer. The characters are beautifully drawn, so that you can see them in your head, their mannerisms, their accents, their colloquialisms, each a product of their particular society, each breaking out of their particular confines. The settings are unbelievably well imagined - its hard to believe that this is set so many years ago - it seems as though the author has been there, seen it, heard them talk - its all made very immediate, very present.

The story is incredibly global in scope - far more so than so many stories set in the present day. It passes through rural and urban India, China, the Mauritius, all through the opium supply chain - the fields where it was grown, the factories where it was processed, the ports where it was loaded, the ships that carried it, and to China where it was finally sold. And all along the way, the people who were enslaved by it - some who had given up their food crops to serve the empires growth - and others who had simply fallen prey to the drug, and given up everything else. The book recognizes how much of a person's identity was caught up in the enormous class, caste, religion, and racial differences that divided people - with each person having to cross their own particular barrier simply in order to survive.

A Different kind of Magic

2011-07-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

was what it felt like when I read Lev Grossman's 'The Magicians'. It's this incredible, set-in-the-real-world Harry Potter + Narnia story. It makes its borrowings fairly obvious - in fact, if you're not familiar with the originals, it probably won't make any sense to you. But all the questions that it asks are the ones that you may have asked while reading those books - or as you got older, at least. Its magic without the hero's journey, as would probably be done by a normal person -a rather depressed person- a slow disintegration from family, the withdrawal from the rest of the world, as everything becomes too easy - magic is a little like too much money, no?

The lazy period of trying to figure out what to do with your life, now that you can do anything. The fear of going on alone - the greed over a discovery made - desire not to share. And the things that you can't solve with magic - relationships, death, bad judgement, past mistakes.

I guess that's the best analogy I can make - those who stand around waiting for something that will change their lives for them - make everything better - magic, money, miracles - will always be wishing for something to make their lives better - and those who do something with what they've got - well, those are the Muggles, and they'll go on - happily or otherwise - regardless of the magic

Summer Bookshelf

2011-07-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

Its been so long since I've written. Honestly, its been painful everytime I've opened my blog, and seen my memories of Nuggy in words. But I've created a new page for him now, where I can remember him always - and this blog returns to what it used to be - essentially my thoughts, experiences and mostly - book reviews.

Speaking of which - this year has been the year of non-fiction for me - primarily business related it seems. Which is inevitable I suppose, considering that I am in business school now. One of the best books I read was recommended by my World Econ prof - Minyuan Zhao - 'Travels of a T-shirt in a Global Economy' which describes the cotton trade. The most interesting part of it, by far, was the description of the combination of factors that have given the US the lead in cotton production - technology, working with farmers and economic incentives. Almost as interesting was the description of the labyrinthine 'free-trade' agreements, which are almost not worth the paper they're signed on.

Very relevant to the current -ongoing - economic crises are Michael Lewis' books, 'Liar's Poker' and 'The Big Short'. They were both incredibly interesting - one describing how the whole parallel economy of credit default swaps got set up, and the other describing how they took over, and eventually, took down the financial world. I think I learnt more about modern finance from these books than I did from my finance classes - and its mostly shown me how much I don't know.

I'll tackle the fiction I've been reading recently, Harry Potter withdrawal etc another day...

All about Nuggy - In Memorium

2011-01-14T06:09:00.000-08:00

Nuggy died today. He was 11 and a half, and he'd lived a full happy life. His kidney's had failed, his hip joint was worn, and I hope he's young, happy and able to eat all the fish oil he wants, wherever he is right now.

I'm so glad I was able to go see him over the last couple of weeks, but I wish I'd been with him at the end. He was the best dog in the world. I hope he knew how much we all loved him.

I remember getting him from the breeder's house in June. He was the only male in the litter, a tin, black wiggling puppy I could hold in the palm of a hand. We brought him home and put him in the cradle I had used as a baby. Mummy was so mad!

He was a ridiculous puppy. I remember how he tried to pick a fight with the Dobermann that went walking outside our house, without regard for the difference in size... there was poor Jessie, the great dane who tolerated him reluctantly as the small thing ran around him annoyingly.

I remember the first time he barked. It was a deep, majestic bark for such a tiny dog. It was a very authoritative bark. His bark seemed to become more like the hoi polloi with time. And we's scold him for spending so much time with bad influences.

He had a number of friends in his morning walk in Tiruvanmiyur. There were the Alsations in the house next door that would promptly start barking when they saw him... then they'd start fighting each other... and Nuggy would ignore it all and walk on with his nose in the air. There was the Iron- man and lady who were his close friends- he'd always run up to them for a quick scratch whenever he saw them We walked all the way to another dachshud's house- Bubble, who, if he was out, would run to greet him, and the two would rub noses for a few minutes, saying hallo, until we dragged Nugs back home.

He hated the trainer who came to train him. He would flatten himself against the floor, his tail tucked under him, so that he had to be dragged outside for the training sessions. I don't think he ever learnt anything he didn't want to. Sit and Roll-over were strictly incentive based- show him the cod liver oil and he would do it. No fish-oil, no roll-over.

He hated taking bath- or at least, he hated going inside the bathroom to take bath. As soon as he saw me walking around with his towel and soap, he'd go hide under the sofa, or bed, or some newly discovered nook where he hoped I would not find him. After he had bathed, he would promptly go rub himsel against the smelliest floor mat he could find. But once he was clean he was allowed on the bed and he loved that.

He would sleep like a person, curled up, his head on the pillow- sometimes, all of him on the pillow, sometimes, sprawled out all over the bed. He'd guard the bed, growling at anyone who tried to sit on it, and he'd dig his feet into the mattress, so that he couldn't be forced off. If we did push him, he'd look around indignantly at the person who was interrupting his pleasant nap.

He loved being scratched. When he was still thin enough, he'd roll over for it and look brightly at the person scratching him. He'd rub his head (and his eye-discharge) against your leg to demand more scratchee. He'd lift a paw- like he wanted to shake hands- something he'd learnt very early, would get him big rewards. And when you scratched him, his back paw would shake frantically, in sheer ecstasy. And if you walked away, he'd look woundedly- it was your purpose in life after all- to scratch him.

He hated the Diwali firecrackers, poor baby, he'd go hide under the bed. He hated the vet, who prodded and pushed him, but he was so interested in all his animal friends there (especially the big ferocious ones- silly dog - he had no concept of what a small pup he was). He hated having his ears cleaned, his nails cut, and looked so relieved when we were ready to leave.

When he was young- in fact up to a couple of years ago, he would dash madly, up and down the stairs. It was terrible for him. We put up a wooden board to keep him from climbing, but very little could keep Nugs from where he wanted to go. He had a bed of his own on the floor of my parent's room, and would sleep there until late hours of the morning, when he had to be forced out of the A/C for his walk.

He would curl up at the feet, and sometimes, on the feet, of anyone sitting at the dining table or the sofa like a warm furry blanket, or pair of fluffy slippers. And sometimes he would jump on to the sofa- infact he claimed it all for himself, and would sit with his head on the arm of the chair, looking around at all passers by. He would sleep on it with enormous contentment- four paws in the air, making little snuffling noises as he dreamt about chasing cars or cats or people.

It was amazing, for an animal without words he expressed so much through his eyes alone. He barked rarely, whined if you didn't pay him attention- usually if you were eating something he wanted a piece of ... but he had the most speaking eyes.

He always knew when you were leaving- he would sometimes clamber on to the suitcase and have to be carried off. And if you were going by car, he'd be the first person in - shoving his nose through the door as soon as you opened it.

He loved going out. He loved sitting in the car, in the back seat, clambering on to someones lap with hard little paws, his weight all on those pressure points, looking out of the window at the traffic going by. Or he would stand right in the middle, his head between the two front seats, occasionally trying to give the person in front a little nuzzle or a lick.

He loved children. They were about the same size as him and he was totally convinced that they were just like him. They loved him too.

There was so much he knew without needing to be told. He'd come and put his head on my lap when I was sad. He knew when people were leaving, when they were going to eat... he knew not to enter the swami room- he would sit just outside and watch my grandmother inside with a pious exression, but he never set foot beyond the door.

He believed that he was human. He wanted to be treated the same as us. Wanted to sleep in the bedroom, on the bed, eat with us, eat the food we were eating, come in the car... I thought of him as human too. Like a baby that would never grow up.

His last few months have been painful, and I feel so guilty, that having been with him for the best years of his life, I could not be with him when he was failing. Even weak though, he nudged me with his head for little scratchees, thumped his tail against the floor. He was so loving, so easy to love, so hard to believe that he's gone and that life still goes on.

Rafta Rafta

2010-08-13T02:51:00.000-07:00

The Comedy put up by the Singapore group, Hum Theatre at the Metroplus theatre fest on the 12th. The best part of the show was quite honestly the props- done by the late Mr. Mitran Devanesan- it was the picture of an almost typical Indian house- though the setting was Singapore- it could have really been anywhere.

The story revolves around a young newly married couple - an Indian boy and a Chinese girl - so a little culture shock - though it didn't focus so much on that- no food jokes. There's the typically interfering Indian boss and his vamp wife, the annoying younger brother with no regard for privacy - and to top things off the young couple are staying with his parents.

There's a lot of adjusting, finding themselves, and meanwhile a good many family secrets come out( and they're all fairly disfunctional).

The best role- and actor- was by far, Eeshwar, the boy's father- by turn, comic and tragic, a caring father and an utterly obtuse and interfering man. Some of the plot was hackneyed, the first half dragged a little, and I thought, it ended on an unnecessarily unhappy note- not entirely unexpected, but unfortunate all the same. Guess not everyone gets a happy ending

India's history and Other thoughts

2010-08-01T06:39:00.000-07:00

We made a lovely trip to Tanjore and other parts of South India a week or so ago. There were things that were particularly striking, as we made our way through
For the better:

1. The Indian Archeological Society cares! Yes it actually does! It cares enough to maintain some of these places decemtly, for example, the Chola temple in Kanchi is really well maintained-its obviously regularly visited, and has very good guides very willing to explain the old motifs and their meanings to you(for a small price-but that goes without saying)

2. Roads- I know its fashionable to complain constantly about the state of the roads in India. And its true- driving here is a nightmare. But that's got more to do with the traffic now- the roads on the way to Tanjavur were actually really good- and there were signs! That pointed straight to the Palace Museum! Signs make so much of a difference! I loved the museum - it boasts an enormous collection of manuscripts (most of which are not open to the public-alas!) ... but what you can see is fascinating- different scripts of India - Grantahm, Brahmi, Tamil... sculptures dating back to the 10th and 11th century- its really interesting to walk through the rooms and see the way the face of religion has changed over the centuries- you have mostly Nataraja statues to begin with - and them slowly, the Vishnu sculptures come up- and there are the statues of deities we don't really worship anymore - Bhairava, and Surya (as a full fledged god), Brahma- things have changed so much since then!

3. The Big Temple in Tanjavur should have been one of the nominations for the new Wonders of the World- when you think monuments in India, you tend to think of the north- Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Jama Masjid etc. The South is a pilgrimage place- but not known for architecture- this changes everything. It may be true that God maybe in a pin or a pillar, but a place like this, inspiress you to worship- not just God, but your own humanily- what people have achieved in the name of devotion.

4. Which brings me to another point- why on earth do we not see these places on tourist guides and things? They're a good five centuries older than the Taj, and incredibly elaborate- a real testament to Indian culture- they do attract an enormous number of pilgrims, but what about people who just come to admire the art and architecture of the place?

All along the journey I was reading a book called Gates of India by Thomas Holdich - an interesting guide to the exploration of trade routes through India - yes, I know, unremittingly dry stuff- and written in the mid nineteenth century , by a staunch colonialist, who saw everything through the eyes of British trade competition. It was a litte dismaying to find how little had been contributed to that narrative by Indian authors- Well, you could say, that's not surprising for the nineteenth century- and in an Englishman's book- but not long after, I was looking for books on ancient India - life, culture and so on.... and was highly unsurprised to find that there was more on the Greeks (for example) than on the Mauryas.

Indian history seems pretty much limited to three parts - Ashoka, the Mughals, and the British rule, with everything else slipping into a black hole.

More on fabulous Singara Chennai

2010-07-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

So... Chennai has changed so much, its practically a foreign place now. Its got giant malls (Express Ave) giant Wal Mart like shops that stock everything (Big Bazaar)... and still traffic jams galore.

The best thing about Chennai remains the food though. There are all the old hangouts... Gangotri , Adayar Ananda Bhavan , Grand Sweets and Sree Krishna Sweets, for those looking to recapture the old days... and there are the new ones... Coffee Day and Barista have been around for a while of course, but now there's Mocha and High on Caffeine ... and India cofffee is waaay better than Starbucks. And there's Cafe Ashwatta and Amethyst for those wanting something to do with their coffee - shop for handicrafts and jewellery while you're at it.

Then there's the huge number of small eateries- La Boulagerie and French Loaf, Winners, Pupil and the Pizza Guy on the beach (Pizza's replaced the poor old kadalai carts- I didn't see one there! How does one put kadalai on the beach anymore ... ok bad joke...) The beaches have undergone a massive cleanup. Cozee's is still there and so's the Fruit Shop in Greams' Road, and many more bakeries... Adayar Bakery doesn't look so good, but instead there's Cakepoint and Cakewalk and innumerable others. Frankies and Corn stalls have become ubiquitous all over... there is a sad lack of molaha bajji though... which is my current craving.

Aside from the big box clothing stores- Naiha (good grief- who came up with that?), Reliance (which seems to be into everything - more fingers and more pies than anyone on earth), Westside, Lifestyle, Fab India (which should just ask for payment in dollars with their prices)... its the small ones that are interesting - Palace right next to Fab India has nice clothes, extremely reasonably priced, and totally over the top decor that is going to attact every foreigner who comes to Chennai. There's Azure, which has been beckoning me ever closer, with pretty, floaty displays, and the classy looking Silver Moonlight... then there's Chennai's 'own' designer Rehane... and numerous other little pop-up shops crammed into every street jammed with bags( Fab India had some lovely, hideously expensive ones, and there's also Dora Bag Mall right opposite), clothes, shoes (check out Heels).

The only disappointment has been bookshops. Higginbothams has become a relic of the bookcenter it once was, and Landmark happens to sell books, along with, you know, bedsheets and decorations and other random things. Odyssey is more interested in watches and crystals and jewellery. And the new Oxford book store is a travesty- a cafe that masquerades as a book shop. I have to try out Crossword, but I wasn't impressed by in 10 years ago, and don't have any serious expectations any more.

The Diving Pool -by Yoko Ogawa

2010-06-25T21:08:00.001-07:00

is a set of three short stories. The first is about a girl whose parents take in orphans, the second about a woman whose sister is pregnant, and the third, a wonderfully creepy story about a man without arms and only one leg, who keeps a boarding house.

The writing is wonderfully spare, and yet detailed. Each story focuses focuses on physical appearances and the emotions that they evoke within. Her descriptions of the human body, especially, are like a pencil drawing, sharp lines and curves, gently shaded. She deals with the dark thoughts, the fears and suspicions of everyday life, the ends that may or may not be reached. The first story is the cruelty of children and the shame and loss of discovery; the second is an unusual perpsective of pregnancy, the disgust of a woman of the changes in her sister's body- her half hope that the pregnancy should fail, the third seems to narrate a horror story, but leaves more questions behind than it answers.

Madras in Monsoon

2010-06-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

There is something particularly sweet about the scent of rain in the hot Chennai air. The humidity settles slowly on the skin, almost suffocatingly; the clouds slowly overpower the sun, the whole place goes just a little misty, a little dreamy without that blinding glare; and with the lush green of mango and coconut trees, and the sound of the koel, it all seems like a place from a forgotten era.

Intricate Fantasy

2010-06-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

The first book of Robin Hobb's liveship series- 'Ship of Magic' introduces you to a detailed fantasy world with highly developed characters and a twisting, intricate plot. While the take off is slow, once in flow, the book moves smoothly, alternating a number of points of view that come together slowly to reveal the plot.

The story is set in Bingtown, where the old Trader families own ships that come alive. One such family is the Vestrits, and the plot takes off with the death of the patriarch and the passing of the legacy to the son-in-law Kyle Haven, instead of the younger daughter Althea. Althea must prove that being female is no impediment to becoming an effective trader. In the meantime, Kyle is faced with his recalcitrant elder son, who was forced to join his father aboard the ship, while he wishes to join the priesthood. Althea's mother must find a way to keep the family from losing their lands to debtors until they are able to raise money to pay them back, and also keep her young granddaughter out of trouble. In the meantime, the pirate Kennit is determined to win himself a liveship and become King of the Pirates, and finally there are the serpents who are looking for some destiny of their own. All these lives and stories come together to form the plot of this book.

The most interesting thing is that Robin Hobb is able to separate means and ends and keep the characters, their actions and the results separate- Kennit who's only looking for power ends up the unlikely savior of slaves, Wintrow, once a non-violent priest ends up enslaved by his own father, then leads to the capture of his own ship, and death of his ex-coworkers. Vivacia is torn between her needs as a young liveship and her growing knowledge of the world.

And in the meantime Althea must fight society's disapproval of women on ships which has deprived her of her inheritance. Its nice to see a fantasy book with an out and out feminist heroine- in most fantasies the heroine simply sits and waits to be rescued, or is effectively a prize for the hero at the end of his travails. Althea and her mother are both in their own way, action characters.

It says a good deal for the book that after finishing its 700+ pages, I feel the need to read the rest of the series- not tired of reading at all.

Safety only in Death

2010-06-21T02:40:00.000-07:00

.... is the conclusion of Hilary Mantel's 'A Place of Greater Safety', , a novel of the French Revolution, focusing on three of its initiators- Camille Desmoulins, Danton and Robespierre. With rapidly moving events, multiple points of view and a vast cast of characters that enter and leave the story at various points, Mantel makes no compromises. Everything is meticulously researched, every person given their due.

Her story focusses on the growth and change in these three men, and the relationships between them - Danton- to whom the Revolution was the means to greater fortune, Robespierre- Tyrant or Incorruptible, depending on how you perceived him- to him the Revolution was the end in itself, and the man caught between the two- charming, passionate Camille.

It was Camille whose reckless enthusiasm led to the storming of the Bastille; his newspapers that incited the people to revolt; he who encouraged the use of violence to further the aims of the revolution- and it was he who looked into the abyss and recoiled to see it staring back at him. And then not even his friendship with Robespierre could save him from the heirs of the Revolution- the men to whom dissent was equal to treachery- who replaced the tyranny of monarchy with the mechanical mercilessness of the Committee.

Robespierre himself- who started off hating violence, but would in fact, do anything for his principles- except his principles vacillated between the end and the means, his friends and his ethics. He changes from a man who deplores violence to one who condones it- in the supposed interest of the state.

And Danton- who seems initially to be only an opportunist- no idealist like Camille or Robespierre- who finds in himself a core of idealism - to protect his friends and the Revolution he set off.

And there are the supporting characters, many of whom could have books based on themselves- Marat, Lafayette, the King and Queen of France, Lucile, Saint-Just, and on and on, and even a brief mention of Bonaparte.

For all the size of the book, its the last pages that help you realize just how much you've been drawn in to the lives of these characters- as Camille protests the depths the Revolution has sunk to, as Danton finds himself facing off against his enemies, and Robespierre reaches the limits of his personal power. As they each find that the avalanche they set off is going to bury them in it- then you come to sympathise- to see that they had each dreamed of a Utopia, but had only succeeded in creating a hell.

The Long Flight Home

2010-06-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

15 hours, then 10 in Bombay, then another two... and with the time change that's two days lost- and likely two more to sleep it off.

I like Continental and Kingfisher both. Continental, to my delight, has On Demand movies even for the Economy seats. Precisely what my neighbors made of the fact that I watched three animated ones in a row, I'm not sure. I suppose I should be relieved that no one sent me to the room for Unaccompanied Minors.

I watched 'How to Tame your Dragon' first. It had come highly recommended, and I did like it- best of all, the dragon looked just like Nuggy!

The others that I watched were 'Moster's Inc' - cute but too long, and The Incredibles- which actually reminded me a good deal of Spy Kids, and so in spite of the excellent reviews, I wasn't too impressed. None of them came close, in my opinion, to 'Wall-E' or Up- which set a whole different standard for animated movies.

A Reason to Believe

2010-06-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

- Foucault's Pendulum- the intellectual's Da Vinci Code- though that description doesn't do it justice. The story is based on those elements of historical and mythological motifs, but the subject addressed is much deeper- going into what it means to believe- religion and magic and mystery- mystery which has more meaning when still left unresolved than when it reaches that final solution when it becomes comprehensible to all- the power that mystery gives- to the person with the so called solution, as he shares it with the select- what happens to that person when the solution bursts into light, no longer requiring a teacher or a priest to initiate others into it?

What if there was no mystery? Only a made up fantasy- put together as a prank and then took life of its own- the elementary plot of an Enid Blyton maybe - but bringing together disparate people determined to destroy those who would bring their secrets- or lack thereof- to light.

And all of it addressing that deepest mystery of all- is there a God? What is God? How does he reveal himself? Or is God- and the questions surrounding him- the invention of a fevered imagination? If God did reveal himself- would we believe? Or has he already done so- if he did, do we know? Do we believe the things we do because we know them to be true- or because to believe otherwise would shake the foundations of our world? If enough people believe in something, does that qualify as proof... how far will people go to prevent their beliefs from being upended?

The pieces of our history- of religion (which is inseparable from history)- that we put together as well as we can- and believe in them. That we are good, god-fearing (loving) people- that what we believe, we know- that what we know is right. And these pieces could so easily be put another way- like some three dimensional object seen from a different point of view- and come to mean something entirely different.

Spun with threads of Gold- History turned fairytale

2010-06-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

Jai Sen's lovely 'The Golden Vine' , another Alexander story- this time a graphic novel. I was slightly startled and somewhat impressed that an Indian-origin guy had come up with this - then I was reminded of Amar Chitra Katha and went... "Oh wait..." Still, on the side of art, its simply gorgeous. The story deviates from history at many points - the most important result being that Alexander Lives (!) and discovers the Americas(!). That may sound a bit far-fetched, but I wonder if the whole discovering the America's wouldn't have happened sooner if the Dark Ages hadn't been there? And Alexander was definitely an explorer type person... But the important message in the book is an eternal question - as important in his era as it is today- the role of religion in the state.

Another AU- memorable mainly for being another Alexander book- was Judith Tarr's 'Lord of the Two Lands'. Certainly Alexander seems to have had an easy time of it there, and of course there's the mystery of his meeting with the oracle there, and Alexandria where he was immortalized... a good deal of magic and mystery and egyptian gods woven in. The story follows Meriammon - daughter of the late Pharoah- who wants the conquering Persians thrown out, and invites Alexander in as a liberator. There's a bit of the romance angle there with Meriammon and a brother of Ptolemy- who would later become pharoah.

One thing I was struck by, was how much Alexander used religion and the gods to make his claims- he followed all the ceremonies, celebrated all the gods wherever he went- and the other thing that struck me was how little politics has changed in that sense- through the years- the Holy Wars of course, Henry VIII, but even in the democracies of today- with all the talk of Obama's church - in some ways we haven't come very far in 2000 years.

Then came with 'Stealing Fire' by Jo Graham, which is not so much about Alexander, as the events after his death- the stealing of his body from Persia to Egypt by Ptolemy- both books make much of the Egyptian connection.

... Leaving New York... City of Food

2010-06-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

... or at least that seems to be the best thing about it. Appa even swears that there's a vegetarian Korean place, though I haven't yet been there. There are excellent dessert places though... my favorites being...

1. Magnolia Bakery - There's one at Rockerfeller Center, and one in Grand Central, both of which I frequent.

2. Crumbs- where the Raspberry cupcake is simply delicious.

3. Pinkberry- I realize that this is hardly unique to NY, but this is where I discovered it so...

4. Cafeteria- not exclusively dessert, but their lemon ricotta pancakes are smashing!

5. The roadside Dosa- which is absolutely awesome!

And of course there's my regular- Kati Roll....

Of course food isn't all I'll miss about NYC... there are the plays and the places to see... and Strand, with its 18 miles of books...

The lives of Great Men...

2010-06-06T07:57:00.000-07:00

... may remind us/ we can make our lives sublime/ and depaarting/leave behind us/footprints in the sands of time...

Continuing on with my quest in following the lives of great men, I picked Churchill- the book ' The Last Lion' by William Manchester, which talks about the years that Churchill spent before the war, years spent fruitlessly warning the world about Hitler. The only man who recognized the truth in Churchill's words was Hitler himself, who saw him as the enemy, even when he was descredited and out of power.

The writer is a fairly obvious Churchill partisan. He makes much of Churchill's many virtues- his incredible grasp of language, his loyalty, his perspicacity, his interest in modern warfare; and glosses over his many flaws- his lack of understanding of how the rules of warfare would be modified, his tendency to use people and forget about them, his backing of a king who was clearly too self-involved to be an effective ruler- in many ways, Churchill was an anachronism- even in his time, he was a man from an earlier time- a man who still owed the sovereign his loyalty, who in some ways still held to an older code.

Reading the book though, I realized so much that our history books left untouched - how many ways the war could have been prevented, if only people had acted sooner, acted differently- how easily Hitler could have been defeated if only he'd been taken care of earlier- before Czechoslovakia and before Poland. But the men in power saw visions of eternal peace- and were not willing to fight for it- and listened to their sycophants and not their rivals, and paid for it- in the eternal eyes of history, if not then and there.

It seems like Hitler changed the rules of both warfare and politics- before him, war was declared and then fought, he fought and then declared. I don't know if he was the first to instigate riots and enter to 'bring peace to the German people in the area', but those are tactics we see so frequently today- what was so shocking then, as to be virtually unbelievable, is now a matter taken for granted.

Churchill's solution - to ally with Stalin to defeat Hitler- though the government was too slow to act on it- and as a result, in the early days of the war- it was Stalin and Hitler who were allies- makes me wonder, if in seeing Hitler as his enemy, Churchill lost sight of the fact that Stalin was no angel either- maybe if things had gone differently, and Hitler had been squashed in the early days, we would have spoken of a second world war with Russia and her allies- and Churchill would have been the fool who brought us there.

There are so many lessons for us from the events leading up to the war- the reluctance of the states to go into another war, following the horrors inflicted by the previous one- its a similar fear that keeps us from going into great wars now- I wonder if it will last forever- it didn't, after all, the first time round. I wonder also, if we're seeing something similar to the desperate compromises reached to keep Germany from going to war- if we're doing something similar, unknowingly- to reach clarity only when no other path remains- the truth is, for all we talk of learning from history, its fairly hard to learn while we're living it.

Pride and Prejudice and Losing Sense and Sensilibility

2010-06-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

Have you had that feeling where its like waking up and realising that this book that changed your life, yuor point of view, just about everything about you, is about as real as a Disney movie? It happened to me once before with Ayn Rand, and now, I'm afraid its happened with Pride and Prejudice.

With "Atlas Shrugged", it was a slow awakening, as I shrugged off bits and pieces of the philisophy that had taken hold of so much of my imagination. With Pride and Prejudice, it happened in a flash. Suddenly, Elizabeth and Darcy were no longer who I wanted to be (or meet), and the last(?) of my illusions.

I blame it on Shannon Hale's "Austenland". Now, virtually every woman I know, has a favorite Austen, one to read and re-read, over and over again- i've vacillated, myself, between Persuasion and P&P. So I picked up Austenland- Shannon Hale's young adult stories are cute and funny, and I expected this one to be too.

And it was cute, and funny, and utterly disillusioning. Not because Elizabeth didn't get her Darcy, but because she did. And I wish she hadn't. Not because he wasn't a perfectly nice guy with a veneer of gruffness, that only that special woman could see through- actually, that's precisely why.

So it is a truth now, universally acknowledged that a woman -any woman- must be on the look out for a husband- why is it that Austen two centuries ago was so much more modern than we are now- all of us stuck in the 18th century?

Tamil movies and women

2010-06-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

I don't know the name of the movie that started it. But it was on Sunday evening, and on Sun TV here in the US, and it was absolutely terrible. For those who are interested, here's a brief recap of the story- There's a guy. He's having an extra-marital affair. He marries this woman and orders her to basically put up with it. When she refuses he tries to kill her. The woman's younger brother walks in. He captures evidence on his cell phone showing the hunsband attempting to murder. When the police come, the three of them pretend that nothing happened. The woman tries to walk out. Then her brother makes her go back (says he won't see her on the street.. blah blah). He threatens the husband blah... blah... if you hurt a hair on her head types... long story goes on forever- in the end the husband repents. Goes to jail, promises to return a changed man.

But here's the thing. It was completely revolting to me that it was portrayed that the woman's best shot at life was with her (murderous) husband. What is wrong with these people??? Ok, its just a movie- fine. But don't tell me that people aren't influenced by the stuff they see on screen. And how many families tell their daughters/sisters to go back to their abusive husbands and put up with it, hoping that things will change. And look to stupid movies like these, and tell themselves that someday the guy will repent, he'll become a better person.

Who cares if he becomes a better person! Why on earth should this poor lady suffer until he finds the light. Let him find the light on his own time. She should walk! And when he goes to jail or gets his comeuppance, chortle gleefully and go on with her life.

The Thought of God

2010-05-21T13:22:00.000-07:00

"An equation for me has no meaning unless it expresses a thought of God" said Ramanujan, who may have come as close as anyone ever has to understanding these thoughts. Almost entirely self-taught, failed by the educational system, cut-off from places where cutting edge mathematics was being invented- or discovered, still he persevered, driven by some inner conviction.

Robert Kanigel presents Ramanujan's biography in "The man who knew infinity", the story of Ramanujan and his collaboration with G.H. Hardy. The writing is almost more poetry than prose. Kanigel has taken real pains to understand the lives of these two disparate men, and the work that they are remembered for. Few people can bring any interest to presenting equations in a biography - like Hawking was advised, an equation would cut down the sales of a book by half. But how could a book about mathematicians mean anything if it didn't touch upon their lives work, no matter how obscure to the common public?

Unlike Newton or Edison, whose discoveries were made with utility in mind, Ramanujan and Hardy pursued mathematics as art rather than science. Beautiful for its own sake, not for the purpose it served. Brought up in entirely different cultures- one a devout Hindu, who believed in astrology, the other an atheist and a man of pure reason, it was only maths that brought them together.

Kanigen presents beautifully, the cultures in which they both grew up. I was deeply impressed and not a little nostalgic for the Madras he presented- not the overcrowded Chennai of today, but the sleepy Madras of my childhood. And Hardy's England, removed by both space and culturep; A culture that was less easily bridged by the shy and vegetarian Ramanujan. His difficulties in maintaining his vegetarianism in the face of almost impossibly odds, remind me of my own difficulties- and this in an age where there are Indian stores, where vegan restaurants are in rage. How much worse would it have been a hundred years ago.

And there was the lovely passage in which Kanigel describes the difference between the utterly open Indian society- where a fellow traveller may share with you their life history within an hour's acquaintance, and the taciturn British- after years of working together, hardy knew little of Ramanujan's life at home.

Equally interesting was the two men's not dissimilar struggles against the established system- for Ramanujan in India against the system that was designed to educate clerks, not scientist- and for Hardy, the Tripos system- one that all of us who had to go through n- entrance exams at the end of school, can appreciate and sympathize with- systems that seem more inclined to sap creativity than encourage it.

In this book, it is as though you live with these men- in their times, share in their struggles, and very nearly, touch infinity.

More on the search for Alexander

2010-05-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

... in both Fictional and Historical sources. To be fair, I haven't gone all that far down the trail- only as far as Robin Lane Fox's book on Alexander. I liked the book. It didn't push me to re-imagine Greek life like Renault or battle like Pressfield, but it gave the impression of being scrupulously even-handed in the treatment of its subject. It didn't deal all with absolute facts, certainly, but the theories it presented were reasonable, and not terribly far-fetched. Interestingly, this was the first book that brought up the possibility of Alexander being poisoned - though I'd heard the theories before- it didn't really present it as probable- but gave the circumstances that made it look possible.

It was tragic though, to see Alexander's dream empire fall apart after his death. It really brings out the charisma of the man who held all these disparate people, his ambitious advisors together to give his vision shape.

Against that history I read "A Choice of Destinies" by Melissa Scott, which imagines a world in which Alexander didn't go to India but was forced to turn back, to face Rome instead. I enjoyed the postulations of the wars and negitionations- the possibility of alliance with Rome against Carthage- but I think its too far-fetched to suggest that it would have lead to an empire that would rule the world two thousand years later- taking Alexander's dream into the twenty first century. It was a very enjoyable read though.

Murder and Macbeth

2010-05-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Following on the heels of Agatha Christie's "Mousetrap" and "Witness for the Prosecution", I continued with the theme of Murder and Mayhem with Macbeth- at the Julliard school- which seems to have become my permanent entertainment these days.

It was done with a slightly Persian theme, and again, I was struck, by how much more meaning is given to the same lines when they're performed in front of you, as opposed to simply reading them out. There were faces in the performers I recognized from the "Merchant of Venice", Jorge Chacon who played Macduff had played the Duke. Jo Mein who had played Shylock was Lady Macbeth's wife- a bit part in one was a major in the other.

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself were particularly good, which was just as well. Lady Macbeth especially seemed made for the part- the only thing I could wish was that she would speak a little slower. Though it may have helped if I had known this one as well as I'd known the Merchant, before I saw it.

In a way though, I'm glad I wasn't so familiar with it. The Merchant of Venice was completely familiar. Macbeth was full of surprises. I'm amazed by how many phrases Shakespeare has added to our vocabulary in this single play- from the infamous "Double, double, toil and trouble...", "Not all perfumes of Arabia...", "Out damned spot!", "Too full of the milk of human kindness..."... Phrases that have lent themselves to the titles of others' books, like "The Sound and the Fury..."

And the world's oldest "Knock, knock" jokes maybe- in the scene where the porter (here a girl rolling on the floor with a servant), is called to open the door for Macduff.

Seeing Shakespeare with new eyes

2010-05-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

Today, I watched the Julliard School put on "The Merchant of Venice". Nearly 200 people must have been there, at the P.McLelland Theatre to watch the show. It was adapted (at least, the settings were adapted- the dialogues remained the same), to modern times. As they mentioned in the pamphlet, with the financial crisis, a play about a villainous moneylender was particularly apt. But I started off, a little disappointed by the lack of costumes...

My disappointment didn't last long. I was amazed by how well the play fit these modern times. It really brought out the universality of Shakespeare's themes. The other thing that struck me, was how much you can adapt Shakespeare to your own views, how much different it makes, when you see the same lines read with different emotions.

I remember doing the Merchant of Venice in school, a long, long time ago. We didn't perform the play, only read it and tried to understand it. I came out of it feeling utterly unsympathetic for Shylock. Later, I realised, intellectually, that Shylock was as much a victim as Antonio- of the prejudices levelled against him. But it was really brought out to me this time- for example, when Antonio goes to borrow money from Shylock, he is accused of spitting on the money lender. And he says he would do it again. Any wonder, that Shylock is so vengeful?

And there is Shylock's daughter- when I was young, it seemed to me, that she was the victim of a cruel and tight-fisted father- now, I felt sorry for poor Shylock- whose daughter had run away with so much of his fortune. I was startled by how much of a part money played in the play, and wonder if it had seemed natural to the people in Shakespeare's day, to marry for money- that seems to be the major motivation for Bassanio courting Portia and his friend Lorenzo and Jessica. Bassanio himself comes off less than heroically- in spite of being wounded (according to his costume anyway...), his initial confession of insolvency, to Antonio- where he pleads with his friend to loan him more money- to throw after the money he's already lost- reads like some Georgette Heyer about wastrel young lords.

But being without costume, it was incredibly relatable- especially the conversations between Nerissa and Portia, which was like so much girl-talk out of any modern TV show.

The other thing that impressed me was that it was actually funny! Let's face it, when you read Shakepeare, you're concentrating so hard, its hard to actually laugh, even when you know that the lines are supposed to be humorous. When you see it on stage though, the witty dialogue of Portia, her annoying suitors, Bassanio's rattlepate friend, Lancelot the not-so-knightly, all come out brilliantly. Shakespeare mixes slapstick with sharp wit in ways I'd never noticed before, and that makes all the difference between seeing a play and reading it.

The last thing of course, is the brilliant quality of mercy scene, where in the end Shylock is forced to give up his bond on Antonio. I can't help but feel now, though, that the 'merciful' punishment of Antonio was at least as cruel to Shylock as cutting out a pound of flesh- converting, losing much of her money, accepting the man who married his daughter for her wealth, as son.... at least in the end, the daughter wasn't celebrating Shylock's loss with the rest... And Antonio- when all the lover's had gone in, Antonio, for a man who had won, looked incredibly alone.

I've got done with Robin Lane Fox's "Alexander the Great" that I had mentioned in the earlier blog, and have come out even more impressed with "Alex" than before. The more I read of him, the more I feel, that as much as his victories can be said to have depended on luck, a lot of it was luck of his own making. He was an absolutely brilliant commander, it wasn't luck that he knew how to lead men from the front. He wasn't just a military man either, but one with a sharp political mind, one who understood that war was politics by other means. The only thing I object to is what I feel is the exagerration of the influence of the Greeks especially in Asia- thanks to Alexander.

I've also restarted on my list of Agatha Christies - just got through the train ride with "Witness for the Prosecution" and other stories. I love it when Christie goes all self-insertion type like in the Second Cucumber story... wish I had a Miss Marple or two with me.

Further back in the footsteps of Time

2010-05-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

I've become quite fascinated with Alexander the Great - my next obsession, I suppose, after the medieval English Kings.

It started off with Mary Renault's "Fire From Heaven",which covers Alexander's childhood. Renault cover all the legends associated with it- Alexander and Beucephalos, Aristotle - before he became famous- the time spent teaching Alexander, but have been a formative experience for both of them- his parents - Olympias, who creeped me out a little- his father Philip- both an inspiration and a rival. She brings out also, the nature of the Macedonian court- distinctly different from the Greek, wilder, with drunken revels and blood feuds and brawls.

His early friends, many of whom would accompany him in his conquests- Ptolemy- Pharoah of Egypt after Alexander's death, Hephaestion- whose death may have contributed to Alexander's...

The one thing that annoyed me was Alexander's belief in his own divinity. In this day and age, it sounds like madness, though it may have very well been accepted in those days. But it makes just a little harded to take Alexander seriously.

Renault continues with her Alexander saga with"The Persian Boy", Alexander's conquest of the Persian Empire, as seen through the eyes of his concubine, Bagoas. Again, it may be natural that Bagoas adores Alexander, and sees all that he does as right, but to an outside viewer, the lack of perspective is a little annoying. There is no excuse for example, for Alexander's killing of a general in a drunken rage, and the politics of the court is rarely seen with an unbiased eye.

More interesting is Steven Pressfield's "The Virtues of War" which detail Alexander's Persian conquests, as though narrated by himself. It brings out Alexander's military genius, from his use of every weapon given to him, his ability to change tactics to suit the time, his understanding of men, his own and the enemy's, his limitless courage- or maybe, sheer fearlessness is a better word- his unrelenting ambition and utter ruthlessness. What emerges is the portrait of a man who would have been a brilliant leader in any age.

I particularly loved the description of the Bactrian campaign, the unheroic war, which even Alexander could only end by marrying a cheiftains' daughter for an alliance (though there may have been more to Roxanne than that). But the description of unconventional warfare could apply even to the wars in Afghanistan today - over the same terrain- against different tribes, and this passage stands out in its relevance over time. The other thing that came out was how much of war was luck and how much it depended on a commander's ability to turn things to his advantage in moments, as they happened- and that quickness of thought and action Alexander had in full.

In some ways Pressfield's book was a little like a play. It was almost as though I was reading little scenes with peope playing roles. I was unconvinced by the role of Hephaestion though, as conscience to the king. Somehow, rather than admiring his Homeric nobility and gentleness of spirit, I couldn't help but recall Shakespeare's "Thus does conscience make cowards of us all...and enterprises of great pith and moment, with this regard their currents turn awry".

Now I've moved on to Robin Lane Fox's "Alexander the Great". Again, this one starts off at childhood, and really brings out how much Alexander owes his father- it was Philip who ensured that Alexander had the cosmopolitan education that ensured his understanding of the world he was about to conquer, Philip who first created a standing army for Macedonia and perfected the use of infantry and cavarly to balance out the army, and the wedge formation, which allowed him manouverability, that would prove so essential to Alexander.

Still Alexander's brilliance, his sheer adaptability to every circumstance comes out, even as he secures Greece before he marches off to Asia. Alexander thought utterly unconventionally, as seen when he had steps carved into the mountain for his army, rather than take a narrow pass that would leave them defenceless- because this was the sort of man who would move mountains to suit himself.

There is not much news otherwise- I heard a concert a couple of weeks ago in Connecticut- by Susmit Sen, Indian Ocean's lead guitarist, and it was excellent. I also went to a long concert by Sudha Raghunathan here in NJ, which I left after three hours, though I was amused to hear that she was still going strong an hour later. I'm recreating my "youth" now, lying on my bed with a bunch of Agatha Christie's from a Used Book Sale at Wrightstown library...

In the time of chivalry...

2010-04-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

I'm continuing with Sharon Kay Penman's books Time and Chance - about Henry II and Thomas Becket and Devil's Brood- going on with her narration of the rebellion and civil wars that tore King Henry II and his sons apart. Although, to start with, they don't seem to have been all that close.

As always, what comes out is the absolute fairness with which Penman treats her characters. Though she concedes, on her blog that Henry II is one of her favorite kings, she remains open to his flaws- his need for absolute control, his botched manipulations (what's worse? that he manipulated people or that he did it so badly?), his blindness to his own weaknesses.

In "Time and Chance" we see Thomas Becket- he's the only main character whose thoughts Penman makes no attempt to read- his motives unclear to both those who knew him then, and those who see him now, with the perspective of several hundred years. He's described as a chameleon- changing to meet the needs of his present master, owing nothing to those who helped him before- though I would (charitably) say that he was more loyal to his position than to those who placed him there. And the things he endured show that he was a man of some faith, certainly.

Eleanor remains enigmatic and magnetic. In these books, it becomes clear how she survived so much- two failed marriages, a husband who kept her imprisoned for sixteen years, the deaths of so many children - ever changing- not like Thomas the chameleon- but as one who learns from her experiences, not to make the same mistakes over and over again- a lesson which Henry is doomed never to learn.

Of the sons, I became unwillingly fond of Geoffrey- who I was prepared to dislike at the outset- from vague memories of The Lion in Winter"- his death seemed so unnecessary- and yet changed everything- leaving Richard virtually undisputed- except potentially, by John.

Richard, again is drawn very fairly- even though Penman admits an initial bias against him- as a competant soldier, but not much else. Though he has been famously described as a bad son- he was so only to his father- to his mother, he was incredibly loyal- I think of the lot of their sons, he was the only one to show this particular quality towards anyone.

I'm now reading Elizabeth Chadwick's "The Greatest Knight" which describes the life of William Marshall- who also appears in Penman's books. Its interesting to see how many events are corroborated by both authors- like Henry, the Young King joking that it was no great thing for the son of a count (his father Henry II) to serve the son of a king (himself). Its interesting that they see the same events differently though- Penman's Henry (the father) is amused, while Chadwick's is angered. I think though, that Penman has the clearer (less romanticized) sight, and though her books are far larger, her writing is more crisp and not as flowery. Chadwick's unnecessary flourishes make the story seem artificial, not authentic.

I don't think I'll be reading Chadwick's other books- except maybe, the sequel to this one - "The Scarlet Lion"- which should hopefully keep me satisfied as I wait for Penman's next work on Richard the Lionheart.
What shocked me most though, was when I realized that Penman was an American author... so weird!

The other book I read recently was Markus Zuzak's "The Book Thief", the story of a girl in Nazi Germany, learning to read. This is a young teens sort of book, and I've occasionally wondered that people consider books like these- set in times of war, with themes of torture, death and hard choices, to be suitable children's books. But I remember reading Anne Frank's diary when I was about eleven, and it made such an impression on me at the time. And I realise that children are exposed to more violence everyday- and besides which, if they cannot read the books that will push them to adulthood, how else will they grow?

2 hours and 40 minutes of my life that I'll never get back...

2010-03-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

... that I wasted watcing "Avatar". I have to wonder, if there are that many people stuck at approximately 2 years old, that such a simplistic, boring and painfully cliched, derived, and downright stupid story would become the box office sensation of the year... or possibly the decade. The movie is the big screen equivalent of The Real Housewives of Wherever... a pretty surface hiding the fact that the inside has neither mind nor heart.

Look, I'm not railing against the special effects. They were, without doubt gorgeous (and yes, I saw it in 3D, so I got the full effect of it). But it was like a lot of embellishment to make up for the meagre plot. Disney did a better job with "Pocohontas"... and to compare this with any Disney movie, is to deal Disney a serious insult. Man meets "native" woman... falls in love, defeats villains, saves the world, gets the girl. Ta-da!

Nothing against simple stories. Sometimes they can be exquisite. Take any Pixar movie; ostensibly made for children, they are far more intelligent, still working off simple plots, they manage to be incredibly original- and the special effects are actually used to illustrate new ideas.

As for "Pandora", I'd argue that all their effects could have been amalgamated from a few episodes of "Earth"... the jellyfish, the rainforests, even the neon plants... so much for an alien world- looks amazingly like ours.

Back to the Stoneage...

2010-03-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Beacause that's what life without electricity is.

The power went off at around 3 pm yesterday evening thanks the the giant storm that decided to hit the Pennsylvania-New Jersey area. So, there we were, no light, no heat, no internet, no food (no microwave), no WATER!

One game of SCRABBLE later, we couldn't take it any more. The toilets were unusable thanks to the lack of power (because you need the motor to get water...) and we headed off for a movie "Athithi tum kab Jaoge", a slapstick, light mostly forgettable, but bearable comedy.

... we got back home around 9. Still no power. So candle-light dinner. Sweet and fun on any other night.... not on this one. And no heat. So bundled up in comforters, we went off to sleep. Praying desperately that the power would be back the next morning. When I woke up, it still wasn't. Much lying about and hoping for just a minute more brought no salvation, so up I (reluctantly got). And shivered as I emerged out of the cocoon of comforters into the open.

And just as I made plans to head to Starbucks for Breakfast and the Bathroom (I swear, as long as they have free toilets I will never say a bad word about Starbucks again... if only they bring back free wireless.. I would become their lifelong devotee.), the power returned!

And there this saga ends. And so to move on to todays chores and ponder on how on earth people lived before electricity.

I feel understood!

2010-02-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

I was reading "The Mango Season" on the train over the last couple of days, and I loved it. It was so amazingly easy to relate to, and so reflects my own situation. I loved that I could see people from my own family in the characters there, and myself in the heroine - Priya- as her parents set about trying to get her married.

I also finished Friedman's "Hot, Flat and Crowded", sometime ago, while I was travelling back and forth. Some of what he said does make sense. The world is going haywire climate wise. While its possible that humans aren't entirely responsible for this, one way or the other it is going to have consequences for us. My problem is that none of the solutions he has proposed seem feasible. As an economist, I think he really should have provided an argument based more on rationality rather than hopefulness.

Ponniyin Selvan

2010-02-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

So... while in India I, at long last, managed to get my hands on the translated 'Ponniyin Selvan' books- bu Kalki... and read through them obsessive compulsively. Somehow, it happens that I've never reall studied Indian history... and CBSE seems to just skim over South Indian history, focussing only on the Mauryas, Guptas, Mughals, and the British role... so most of the Pallavas,Cheras, Cholas etc were completely beyond me.

This one is set in the time of the Cholas, a tale of the coming to power of Rajaraja Chola- born Arulmozhivarman. The story however, actually focusses on Vandiyathevan, a prince whose family has lost their lands, who falls in love with Arulmozhivarman's elder sister, Kundavai.

The villain of the piece is Nandini (haha!)- whether she is the daughter or lover of the Pandya king Veerapandyan, who was killed by the crown prince,Adityakarikalan is not clear- but Adityakarikalan loved her- but because she was believed to be only a servant's daughter, could not move their relationship forward. When he next sees her she is protecting Veerapandyan much to his fury, and before her eyes, he kills him.

In the meantime, the king is sick, the younger son in Sri Lanka, his sister plotting for him to win the Sri Lankan throne and marry her friend. There's a fisherman's daughter Poonkuzhali (who is really my favorite character)- who goes from hero worship to true love. There is the son of the old king who seeks his throne (not entirely without right), and his mother, who has secrets of her own. And still, there are others- the Pazhuvettarayars, who have been chief ministers to the kings for ages, the Prime Minister and his spies- the intrigues at the court are never ending.

It was literally one of those unputdownable things. The story moves rapidly as new people, situations and plots are revealed. I wish I could have read it in Tamil! Next on my agenda is a book of short stories by Kalki.

Thoughts from my vacation- History of the Mughal Empire

2010-02-06T09:08:00.000-08:00

I got back some time ago from my India vacation, and just realised that I hadn't blogged on it for a while. I've said it before and I'll say it again... when there is something interesting and bloggable going on I don't have the time, and when there is time, I don't have anything to write about.

Anyway, so India was full of concerts, good food and shopping. Am stunned by the number of shops and restaurants that have opened in Chennai. The place is simply booming. And also hideously expensive. Even if you convert from dollars. Or especially if you convert from dollars.

I read a lot while I was there (naturally). Started off with "Flowers for Algernon". A book that could be described as sad, but not really- if only in that it seems to ... take joy in those moments of discovery and learning, and brings out the value in every life, no matter the intelligence. Or at least that was the lesson I took from it.

Then I sat down with "India since 1526" I read only the rise and fall of the Mughals- always interesting. I was surprised by how much I hadn't learnt (or have forgotten) in History at school. For example, the number of power plays, the contradiction in the characters of each Emperor- Babur who conquered a land that he had no love for. Humayun who lost it all and never really won it again. Akbar- who came to the throne so young. The contradictions that plagued his life- in some ways the problems he faced resonate even now- in trying to forge a bi-partisan consensus (in modern parlance), he very nearly alienated his own people.

Then there was his marriage of Rajput princesses- romanticized in Jodhaa -Akbar- not so much a matter of romance as a political negotitation. His conflict with Rana Pratap- the Rana too proud to accept help, or even show respect for those who had accepted the Mughal Empire- so determined to keep his freedom, that in his pride he alienated those who would have helped him (he refused to meet with those who had married their daughters to Akbar).

Its amazing, the amount of intrigue and treachery that went on in these Mughal courts. Not one Mughal emperor seems to have made it through without his son(s) rebelling against him. Aurangazeb was probably the most famous- actually a younger son, he managed to kill and imprison his father and three brothers as he took the throne. Shockingly, as cruel as Aurangazeb was to the public, he was an absolutely virtuous man in his private life. On the other hand, Shah Jahan- known for his one great love- was actually a dissolute character- before his famous marriage and after his wife's death, he was an utter hedonist.

There were so many great loves it seems, in the Mughal court. The book also talks about Prince Salim (Jahangir's) love for Nur Jahan (who is not Shah Jahan's mother- confusingly- theere are so many wives)... Jahangir himself rebelled against Akbar, and was almost replaced by his son Khusrau- who later rebelled against J. and was killed off by his brother- who became Shah Jahan... thus continuing the line of fratricide and patricide.

Aurangazeb stretched the Mughal Empire as far as it would go. But in his intolerance he lost the trust of the Rajputs- whom the Mughals needed to govern the kingdom.... and shortly after the Mughal Empire slowly declined.

It was such a series of ups and downs - more like a novel than a history book, so full of heroes, and anti-heroes- sometimes both one and the same- their battles, their loves, their achievements- Akbar's strength- apparently enough to subdue wild elephants- Jahangir and Shah Jahan's loves, Aurangazeb's victories- which were also his failures.

Back home!

2009-12-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

So I left on a jet plane on the 23rd and got in Christmas morning around midnight... In flight movies were a sorry lot- a truly terrible piece 'Cheri' whose only saving grace was the presence of Michelle Pfieffer. Then I watched HP6 twice - the first time because there was nothing else- the second time because I was looking for the Snape teaching Dark Arts scene... only to discover that they had indeed cut that from the movie... and that's another 5 hours of my life wasted. The thing is like an addiction.

I liked '500 days of Summer' a lot though. Zooey Daschanel usually annoys me... and she did annoy me a bit in this movie too... with her almost 1950's type feminity. It was primarily her dresses and hairstyle and whole aesthetic through the movie, I think... don't get me wrong- I loved the old-fashioned gingham and the pretty skirts and tops and what not... and frankly they were very 'me'... but hallo? Who dresses like that on a daily basis any more? What happened to jeans and a T anyway? And don't get me started on the annoyingly perfect hair- half the time she looked like a school girl.

Still, I totallysympathized with her character. And at the same time with the poor guy she dumped (eventually). It was a lovely telling of how a relationship grows, stagnates and breaks down. And sometimes there are no really good reasons why things work out with some people and not with others. So, yeah, for a change- not a love story.

Now in Madras is the music season. Attended an amazing concert of Ranjini-Gayathri today- sort of tottered there half asleep thanks to jet-lag, but was wide awake and spell bound through out. They had a lot of really good accompanists, I must say... will probably see a couple of other concerts before this thing is done...

Sigh... not getting through with Bill Bryson... I think, like my cousin says, the problem with this travel-book type of thing is the lack of plot- much as I enjoy his writing, its not really going anywhere... it just sort of meanders like the author's journey. Gone through Norway, Amsterdam and Germany (more or less). Was much amused by Bryson's comment on how the Danes once ruled all of Scandinavia and now have no monuments to show for it- only a little mermaid...

In other news... Schumi's back ! I have to go to Montreal this year at least...

IF... you need a little inspiration

2009-12-05T18:02:00.000-08:00

Not the best time in my life, in all honesty... its something Murphy's laws would have come up with... but if there was a piece of advice I needed at this point... this would be the one:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son!

–Rudyard Kipling

The Winter of my Discontent

2009-12-03T16:27:00.000-08:00

Well... it started off with the car accident. There have been a couple of bright spots on the way, but I have to confess that the last couple of months have been almost unrelentingly depressing. I'm utterly looking forward to going to India and taking a looong holiday (and it looks like my car will certainly take that long to be fixed), and starting afresh after I get back.

Being without a car really reinforces how dependent I've become on that four wheeled mode of transport. Its not that I can't get around without it. Its just that I can't get around as well as I used to. And that still stinks. I take the bus to King od Prussia and back. And the bus to NYC on occasion. But I'm suddenly all the more aware of how isolated Reading is, if I want to go anywhere else. Aiport is a bus, a cab ride/train away- where before it used to be a simple one and a half smooth sailing (in a matter of speaking). And its supposed to snow this Saturday. Guess I better dress warmly.

Wolf Hall- yet another historical

2009-11-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

At this rate, I may well become an expert on the history of Britain as written in fiction. Wolf Hall as a novel is somewhat disappointing. As an almost blog like account of the day to day politics of the court of Henry VIII, it is absolutely brilliant. Though, I admit for someone who had litterally nothing to do for over three days but sit and read, the book was still pretty slow going.

While reading the book, I wasn't terribly impressed. It is only now, looking back on it, thinking how much it reads, like say, a newspaper or biographical account, almost as though it was writting with the views of the people of that time in mind- their priorities - their politics. So many names, so many who must have been famous or infamous in their time, who are now all but forgotten.

Cromwell himself, feels terribly modern- his attitude- on the one had he seems terribly ,unbelievably modern (but then so do Shakespeare's plays sometimes- and then you are reminded that people do not really change through the centuries- only the names and the faces do)- his politics-his live and let live attitude- his attitude towards women. And on the other hand there in Thomas More, the man he was set up as a foil to- unflinching, unchanging- the whole story reminds me of Asimov's story "In a Good Cause-" where a man who bends his principles may achieve so much more -towards the same end- than one who sticks to his principles. More comes off pretty sadly in this version of the story- an unhappy man, a bad husband, a torturer, one who could not see that he could be wrong, merciless, and ultimately a failure.

Whereas Cromwell's greatest successes and his failures are yet ahead of him. His loyalty to Wolsey does not prevent him from serving the king who destroyed his master. Names that will gain greater meaning edge through- Jane Seymour, for now merits only a paragraph or two. The book, it has to be said, requires a good deal of prior knowledge of the story of the life and times of Henry VIII. Wolf Hall, that refrain that beats through the book, a repetition of licentiousness and promise of corruption- "Wolf Hall" reads like a prologue- an introduction to a man who's greatest successes and failures are still ahead of him.

In the end though, as a Booker Prize winner, I thought it was overrrated. It was obviously incredibly well researched, but I found the writing occasionally sloppy and confused (and confusing).

Freakiness

2009-11-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

I did a marathon through SuperFreakonomics yesterday, and took it to work and showed it off to the interest of my coworkers today. Well, it may not be the ideal coffee table book, but it does provide food for over coffee conversations.

The Freakonomics guys as always, tackle the strangest of ideas and come up with the strangest of conclusions. While I take issue with several of their conclusions, I can't argue that they've made the dryest subject in the world just a little more interesting.

One of their results I object to, is the one that they have proving that among doctor's there's not a whole lot of difference between the best and the worst in a given hospital. The whole story is a long and involved one, and one that I'm definitely going to use in my MBA interviews, as an example of early technology properly applied being a boon to operations management.... but my point is... these conclusions they drew- it works for the sample set they had, but I don't see that you can apply it to every set. It would depend for example, on the principles on which hiring of doctors was based, for example.

Then, there's the global warming thing which has already generated much contreversy read here , and here.... well ... lets say I've overcome my (natural) aversion to deliberate largescale geo-engineering, but there are so many untested consequences. What is suggested is that Sulphur di-oxide be released into the atmosphere in imitation of vocanic eruptions that create global cooling (to counter global warming obviously)... well what happens to the SO2? Does it then sink down from the stratosphere producing more acid rain? Does it undergo chemical change in the stratosphere over a period of time maybe depleting the ozone layer?

There's a similar quick fix solution to hurricanes in Florida, which deals with preventing the build up of hot water that generates energy for these hurricanes cyclically... but what happens to that hot water? Are there any currents that maybe bear away some of that water to affect the weather somewhere else?

Where it didn't touch on pure science, the results were more convincing. I enjoyed the chapter on altruism and apathy with the experiments of List... the behaviour of terrorists explained and an analysis of seatbelts and booster seats... the effect of television in rural India (though there's not enough cause and consequence there for me... there could be other contributing factors for both...)

Anyway, its a thinking book definitely, not one you can just passively read, and though its conclusions may be incomplete, its methods are definitely interesting.

A few of my favorite things... Dugeons and Dragons....

2009-11-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

History and fantasy come together in Naomi Novi's series Temeraire. Set in the time of the Napoleanic wars it reimagines the events- as if there had also been a Dragon contingent. The hero of the series is a Naval officer Laurence, who finds himself unexpectedly responsible for a dragon, Temeraire, who turns out to be one of the last of the rare Chinese celestials- meant only for emperors - and in this case, destined for Napoleon. The Chinese are furious and Napoleon on the verge of invading, and Temeraire, is developing demoratic ideas.

Novik writes the battle scenes amazingly well, which is very important given that war forms the backdrop of the story. What also comes through is the research she has put into it- from the study of military tactics, to geography and culture. It is interesting to watch Laurence's development. From the mistakes he makes when joining the Air Corps, to his slow understanding that dragons may after all be every bit as intelligent and deserving of rights as humans- even in a time when slavery is still acceptable; his struggles with his conscience as he reconciles what is right with his duty and what is asked of him. In the last book especially, it is painful to see him, dealing with the consequences of his perceived treachery.

The last book, Victory of Eagles, especially makes painfully clear the ugliness of war and the levels people will stoop to in order to win. I love that Novik brings out the military greatness of men like Wellington and Nelson, while not glossing over their dark side- Nelson with his support of slavery and Wellington's ruthlessness.
Through it all it is Temeraire, who remains innocent, or at any rate, relatively clean of the politicking that goes on around him. His goals and motivations are clear - to win equal rights- or at least some rights- for dragons, and fortunately for him, with his size, there aren't many who can dismiss or deny him sat up all of Saturday night reading the first three of the series- then Monday the 5th from the library and today Empire of Ivory- the 4th. I've no idea when the 6th will be out, but I'm looking forward to it. I haven't enjoyed a fantasy so much in ages.

Falls the Shadow

2009-11-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

I've just finished "Falls the Shadow" by Sharon Kay Penham. I admit, at the beginning I was more than a little impatient. The characters were all confusing, same names, innumerable titles, shifting alliances.

The tale spans the life of Simon de Montfort, a man I'd never heard of before this book, but now am not likely to forget, and Henry III and the last Prince Llewelyn of Wales.

In the vase of Simon, I can't imagine a man so full of contradictions. On the one side a man of principle, but utterly obstinate, a man of courage and honor, unable to compromise, with no diplomacy, entirely a man of war. And yet this man would have limited his own powers and the power of his king, his loyalty to the crown was absolute, but not to the man who wore it.

And his foil, Henry- wek-willed, easily swayed, surrounded by sycophants. If it had been Henry alone, Simon would probably have won, but he was faced by Edward, Henry's son, who had learnt the art of war from Simon himself, and Richard, Henry's brother and Simon's own temper and pride that cost him valuable allies.

For all Henry's weakness I cannot hate him- he simply was a weak man, who took bad advice. The power hungry Marshall Lords, the Gloucester who abandoned his principles, and Edward who freely broke promises- they invite hatred.

And poor Bran- who was too late- who saw his father's head on a pike, who, by all accounts later participated in a heinous murder of his own. History makes all men heroes and villains in their own time... Simon was all hero- and maybe that's why he didn't win.

(I have to take back what I said about the author drawing him too one dimensionally- the more I read, the more his entire character- warts and all, comes out)

Ayn Rand, altruism and other vague thoughts

2009-10-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

I was reading this last week, and it took me back to 10th standard, when I first read Atlas Shrugged and was completely swept away by Ayn Rand's philosophy. I remembered thinking even then, that it was incredibly difficult, if not downright impossible to live by that philosophy, only, at that time, I blamed my own weaknesses and the weakness of the world as a whole rather than her philosophy. Looking back, I realize that the failure was hers, in not accounting for social needs as well as economic ones.

Atlas Shrugged was the book I read first, and it is still the one I love best. It had such an epic feel to it. The Fountainhead, not so much. I particularly disliked the ending, with Roark blowing up the new building. More than anything else, it annoyed me that he saw only his own work in the building, his design, not the work of the engineers, the masons, electricians, plumbers, all those people, who gave, if not their genius, but their sweat, that he so easily destroyed.

What annoyed me even further was- it was not his to destroy. Even if he objected to his design being mutilated thus... consider if I bought a Versace gown (the chances are slim, but lets not go there...) and then decided it would look better as a mini-dress (me in a mini?!!!), and ripped it up. Versace may not approve... but hallo, my dress, my choice. Not like I'm creating a ripoff to sell at Forever 21.... After all, don't people repurpose clothing all the time? Then why not buildings? And they've always done additions and subtractions to buildings.... any reason an architect's vision be held beyond mortal touch?

Though, to be fair, there are cases where buldings are, for example, designated as heritage sites and exempt from improvements (except for the sort that keep the roof from collapsing).

Lots of things are reminding me of Ayn Rand these days.... for example...Am reading Sharon Kay Penham's "Falls the Shadow" now, about Henry III and Simon de Montfort and Llewellyn of Wales... Considering that the cover flap talks about two men, one weak and one strong etc - referring to Henry and Simon, the book has dwelt mostly on the Welsh. For which I am grateful. While she deals with most characters pretty even-handedly, Simon's all tall, dark, handsome, brave hero, loving husband, and altogether too virtuous for my liking. I hate it when authors fall in love with their characters. Its even worse when the characters are historical - which means that they were real, flawed people in their own time. Anyway, to the point: There's a line there when Gruffyd is taken captive by Henry and remarks that he'd sooner trust Henry's self interest that Daffyd's altruism... which was very Ayn Rand like...

Speaking of altruism... I've been scouring the web all over for the article that said that apparently altruistic actions are not necessarily so... it was totally fascinating... especially the ones that simulated earning money and giving it away....

A deep dark confession of the soul

2009-10-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

What intellectually stimulating literary masterpiece have I been so involved in, you may ask, that I haven't blogged in such a long time. At which I must look sheepish and look at the floor and mutter under my breath and hope that you don't quite catch that.

Because an alarming number of my evenings have been spent with... E harlequin.... Yes, free romance novels have become my staple pastime. In my defence, at least they're free.

Sadly, poorly written formulaic romance novels have ruined me for good literature. I read a book of short stories by Evelyn Waugh , and was utterly bored throughout. Though I have to wonder, did he create the stereotype of British boys' boarding schools or merely perpetuate it? Or were boarding schools really like that? Anyway (edited when not half asleep), the reason I didn't like this so much, was that the snark and the witty repartee weren't really going anywhere. It made me smile but not laugh, or feel a faint sadness, but not grief. They were all clever stories- not clever plots, but interesting insights into the characters of people. But in the end it felt vaguely without purpose.

Then I plodded though "The Devil Wears Prada" . Yes, plodded. The movie was breezy and fun. The book was whiny and annoying. At no point, do I get the impression that the main character is not a self absorbed, entitled, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou brat. Oddly (or not so oddly), my sympathies are with the bitchy boss, the alcoholic best friend and the really annoying boyfriend rather than the lead... which is really sad.

Also made my way through "Wicked" which I'd gone and seen on Broadway some months back. The play, with all its song and dance was lovely. But it left things somewhat unresolved. So, I went to the book, hoping for resolution. Alas, it was not to be. In fact, the book is even vaguer, leaves even more unresolved questions, makes even larger jumps in narrative, and to top it off, doesn't even have song and dance sequences. At least the play tied in some of the things together nicely- the origins of the Tin Woodman, scarecrow and lion. The book makes only vague allusions. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I like it when books leave us to figure things out ourselves. But there was no sense to this book without those ironies, so why hide them? I have to wonder how the playwrights saw that this book would make a great musical. If I had not already seen the play, I would have never guessed that any thing Broadway like could be distilled from such a meandering book with so many plotlines and confusing characters.... guess that's why I'm not producing Broadway shows.

Anyway, next on the horizon in Wolf Hall... the Booker prize winner... should make it the year of the Tudors for me. Have also picked up a book on the War of the Roses... make that the year of the historical

Edited on 10/22/2009- a reminder that I should not blog when half asleep and practically unable to find the letters on the keyboard.

Independence Day

2009-08-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (August 15th) was Indian Independence Day. Its only the third year I've been in the US on this day, but it is the first, that I've felt so foreign here. Oddly enough, it was because I was in the midst of a huge crowd of Indians at Penns Landing, where there's an annual independence day celebration, complete with musical and dance performances, food, clothing and jewellery stalls, and massive, milling crowds of Indians on a hot summer afternoon, just overlooking the sea, to add to the Elliots Beach like atmosphere.

And yet, I've never felt so little at home. I could talk about the strangeness of being in one country, and celebrating another's independence, of people, who have chosen to live here, change their citizenship, sing (or make their children sing) about another land. Its not hypocrisy... there's no reason you can't call two places home... but its just a little strange. Its a dichotomy that many of us, will have to make our peace with at some point.

As for me, I found comfort, but no answers, when I came home and listened to 'Vaishhav Jan To"

Pride and Prejudice, the BBC version

2009-08-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

I got the complete Pride and Prejudice BBC drama version from this cheap discount store that's just opened up in King of Prussia. It stars Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Now, while I grew quickly accustomed to Colin Firth playing Darcy, it took me a while to get used to Jennifer Ehle playing Elizabeth. Somehow, she wasn't really what I'd had in mind. By the time the movie drew to a finish however, she had completely converted me, to the point where I cannot conceive of anyone else in the role.

A few minor quibbles, that only a major fan of the book would have:
1. Elizabeth looks prettier to me- granted beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but still...
2. Could have done without the gratuitous Darcy dripping wet in the pond scene. It's not there in the book. Believe me, those who watched this drama were not doing so for the sake of Colin Firth's (admittedly attractive) wet appearance.
3. They cut short the Elizabeth and Darcy finally get together scene! Where was the "I am excessively sorry... blah blah"!!??
4. I thought Colin Firth was a little wooden in that scene too...

Anyway, the great parts- I loved, loved(!) the scene where Lady Catherine comes to confront Elizabeth. Loved(!) the portrayal of all 5 of the Bennett girls, their matchmaking mama and their uninvolved father. The character and flaws in each comes out so well!

All in all, it was a pleasant couple of evening spent before my computer...

The Concert and more summer reading....

2009-08-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

On a sudden whim I took and (expensive) fancy to go to the Elton John-Billy Joel Concert in Philly on Saturday, the 1st of August. The most exciting part, I have to admit, was selling my spare ticket off, at about the third the price I paid for it, to the scalpers outside the stadium. About half an hour after I went inside, the gentleman who had the misfortune of buying this ticket at about twice the price I paid for it, showed up, and we spent the half an hour or so, commiserating with each other about the concert.

The concert itself, was very good, even if Elton John's accent made him half-un-understandable, half the time; if I hadn't already deciphered the lyrics of his songs on the radio, I would have not understood a word. Billy Joel came out, and did ridiculous things with the mike. He is more of the showman of the two (or maybe just without the British reserve?), and he had some really good accompanists.

Got lost on my way back post-concert (its a given... when have I ever reached anywhere without getting lost first?) and got back home at a horrendous 1 o'clock at night (no, not a party animal).

Next day went to NY which was rainy and horrible (The first time I've said such a thing about that city), this summer has been an absolute wash out.

I bought a book to read at the concert which also proved to be an absolute wash out. Its A Little History of the World" by E.H.Gombrich. I was expecting something like Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything"... but this is decidedly a book for pre-teens only. Anyone know any pre-teens with an interest in History?Yeah, me neither.

Also read Jefferey Archer's "Paths of Glory" and I find, that while his books are still readable, his characterizations annoy me more and more. Why are his heroes flawless paragons of virue, while thier foils are inevitable fatally flawed (or at least not well-born - with Archer the sins are virtually the same) . Besides which, I'm growing tired of his plots- which are increasingly similar. Kane and Abel was amazing the first time I read it, but having found that formula, all his books follow the same path, more or less...

Then, I read "Brokeback Mountain". I'd seen the movie (and wept copiously), and approached the slim volume, that really didn't look like it would make much material for a movie, somewhat dubiously. At first read, I admit, I didn't care for it. But it got me thinking. I realized that the movie was just a love story- replace one guy with a girl and you get same old, same old. That doesn't happen with the book. Its really clear, they're both men, and you can't replace one and get the same story. Also- that size is perfect for a movie- most movies take an enormous book and condense it, whereas what they should be doing is taking a small sized book and just doing it as it is. So much of what's in a movie is visual, a fat book that contains all those scenes which in words just take up a few chapters, can take an hour in a movie.

More "Foundation" other sci-fi

2009-07-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

I’m just barely done with Asimov’s foundation series and moving on to the Robot series – strictly speaking they’re one long arc, and its Robots that comes first, but it was always Foundation that excited me.

As far as Foundation goes, though the core foundation series- dealing with the conflicts within the Foundation, between Foundation and its neighbors and the empire that birthed it and later became its enemy, Mule the unforeseen that conquered it, if only briefly and Second Foundation- that itself proved susceptible to corruption. The most interesting lesson was how technological advancement can overcome military might (in terms of sheer numbers) and catapult an underdog to the position of victor. It was seen over and over again, in the way Foundation overcame the four neighbors that sought to conquer it, even though it had no army, in the way Empire fell before it, the way Foundation itself capitulated to the Mule.

The most interesting books though were the first- “Prelude to foundation” and the last- “Foundation and Earth”- which is the one that really ties it up with the Robot novels. “Prelude to Foundation”, in which Hari Seldon first presents his thesis, and tries to apply it practically, is fascinating for its discussion about the interplay between the societies that make the planet of Trantor. Trantor, the capital of the empire, where ironically, the Empire’s strength is weakest. It dare not attack the University, where Hari stays to escape the Empire’s agents, because it depends on the intellectuals who come to the university to maintain its strength. Each of the states on Trantor, have their own hold on the Empire, one which caters to the wealthy, one that produces energy and one that dissipates it, each is required for the stability of the Empire, and they dance delicately to increase their influence while not daring to do anything that would topple the whole structure.

Equally interesting are the inequalities that exist in each society. One that discriminates against women, one with a caste system, even the University which is supposed to be blind to these things is not truly so. Though I was a little disappointed at (1) Each society seems to have only one major inequity. Though I understand that this could be for reasons of clarity, it seemed too much of an oversimplification. (2) IT was all too relatable... same old, same old basically - women, caste, class...And in the middle of it all is the Prime Mover, who has been manipulating things all along.

“Foundation and Earth” was equally interesting- while the first book brought out the rules with which Hari Seldon made his laws of Psychohistory, (which allows the prediction of the future of the human race, and its manipulation, provided the people being manipulated remain unaware of the fact.) the last book talks about the things that make Earth unique- its moon- a quarter the size of the planet itself, utterly unique (to the best of our knowledge)- the planets, like Saturn with its rings- legends that persisted even after earth itself was forgotten.

Equally interesting was the way the colonization of the galaxy was described- first the near worlds, then in another wave, the farther ones (the Robot novels bring out the reasons for this). It makes me interested also, in looking at the colonization of earth itself- whether the colonizing countries followed any such patterns- it would be hard to detect, I imagine, given that almost all of earth was occupied by humans in pre-history, but for example, you could look at the patterns of colonization of the Americas.

Finally, there is the denouement, the choice that must be made- whether the galaxy will be joined with Gaia or not, and the discovery of the hidden assumption that governs psychohistory, and that uneasy ending- that even after everything, there remain unpalatable choices, and perhaps a fifth column that cannot be understood by the laws of psychohistory.

So anyway, after obsessing over “Foundation” for a while, I went back and to re-read Robot. “I, robot” was excellent, as expected- and the final two stories especially, really bring out the choices we face even now, about what it means to be human (am currently also reading ray Kurzweil- which really brings this out). The rest of the Robot novels are to follow…

As part of my science fiction marathon, I also read Ray Bradbury’s "The Illustrated Man "And I realized that these are two very different authors (I know… duh!). Well, you don’t think of there being many types of science-fiction… but Bradbury tends to tread the line lightly between fantasy and science fiction. He stories are a little more supernatural, even when they’re science-fiction.

Wicked!!

2009-07-26T11:48:00.001-07:00

So, was at this awesome show in May (yes I know its end of June... what can you do?). The effects absolutely amazing... the witch flying on broomstick scene especially. There was much Gossip-Girliness, with teen rivalries and what not, that mature eventually into not so rivalries. The only disappointment was the so-called twist, which was sadly predictable. -then again, Broadway is more about showmanship, not so much about plot.

I have to admit that I loved Galinda (or Glinda)- she was so Blair Waldorf like- with her queen-bee-ness and ambition, that reluctantly gives way to a desire to do the right thing.

Elphaba was naturally the heroine (duh!)... and even behind the green paint, every emotion was starkly visible on her face, her pain as all those she tried to help turned away from her, in fact came back to hurt her. And so very ironic, the way the Scarecrow, the Tin-man and the cowardly lion were created, and Dorothy brought to Oz.

I read the book a little later, and was (mostly) unsurprised to see that the plot was more subtle and a little gorier (not suitable for a young audience types). I must say, seeing the play made the book much more palatable (the first time I read it I couldn't get beyond four pages)...

Already looking forward to my next Broadway show....

Pixar all the way UP!

2009-06-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

It was a really awesome movie- an incredibly simple story, that was nevertheless absolutely universal. With two utterly unlikely characters- proving that it is never either too early or too late to start having your life's adventure.

Unlike most animation movies this didn't depend on a funny cast (thought there were funny moments), but was unabashadly sentimental. Yet, the sentimentality wasn't cloying, maybe because the emotions were things that everyone had experienced- of having a hero, and feeling let down, making a choice- between what you want to do (nothing- you just want it to be none of your business), and making it your business and taking a stand.

I loved the depiction of Carl as an old man. His resistance to change around him, his ties to his possessions, the last remainders of this life with Ellie, his determination to fulfill her dream. I loved the way every expression was etched on his face. How many faces the animators must have studied to get every nuance of every emotion right? There's no best actor that comes close.

It was the small moments - though this is one movie that is all about the small moments- not the climax, which seems almost incidental- that made the movie so brilliant. There was the scene of Carl and Russell walking with the house, Russell whining in a manner that would be familiar to anyone who has ever travelled with kids "Are we almost there..."

There was the scene with dogs playing poker... the frog 'alarm clock'... There were moments of pathos so deftly done- when Carl and Ellie realise they can't have a child, the moments of Ellie's death, Russell's conversation about his father -so natural and unforced, there's no attempt to pretend that this is a fairytale, in a fairytale world- its so set in our world, it become utterly believable that ordinary people can do ectraordinary things

Rereading "Foundation"

2009-06-15T18:17:00.000-07:00

Asimov's incredible series- the science of prophecy, which actually comes a full circle from Robot, through Empire, then Foundation.

The story is about the prediction of the fall of the Empire, by a psychoistorian- Hari Seldon, who then sets up two Foundations "at opposite ends of the galaxy" to prevent thirty thousand years of chaos that would follow- and instead establish a benign empire within a thousand years.

I've always thought of "Foundation" as the first in the series, though "Prelude to foundation" is chronologically before, it was written after. "Foundation" details the way the Foundation was set up, its first conflicts, the first battles it one, and its establishment as one of the powers of the galaxy.

Then comes "Foundation and Empire" where the young Foundation and the dying Empire meet, but then Foundation is thrown off course by the arrival of the Mule, a mutant, with powers not predicted by psychohistory, which can predict only the actions of humans.

Thanks to the secret "Second Foundation" though, once the Mule dies, Seldon's Foundation continues to grow.

The premise of the story is really interesting- that even if the actions of one person is unpredictable, the action of a group of people -0r the result of their actions is more so, and the larger the group of people, the more predictable it becomes.

Thus, Seldon could chart a course for galactic history, not accounting for the actions of individuals, but for the actions of the group.

The science isn't perfect though, it fails, once the people become aware of psychohistory- aware that their actions as a group are predictable. You could argue therefore, that the "Second Foundation" even as it uses psychohistory to direct the path of the galaxy, by its very existence causes the failure of the plan. And on this paradox my head spins.

Speed dating Indian Style

2009-06-15T05:34:00.000-07:00

So, yeserday I was at the 'Kismet Konnection' event organized by barath matrimony at the behest of the dear parental units. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

Drawing into the hotel, the first thing that caught my eye was a horse and carriage. For a moment, I wondered if I hadn't blundered into an acual wedding as opposed to the finding a match sort of event.

Then I realised that this was a showcase for all kinds of wedding realted things. Basically a big sales event. Inside there were stalls of jewellery, mehndi, clothes, event planners, florists, I even got a card from the horse and carriage people. Also deserts. (I stole a couple of chocolate cupcakes. I felt that I deserved the reward.)

I hadn't pre-registered for the match-up event. To my delight I found they were short of girls at a ratio of about 1:5, so they just let me in for free. The very first person I met was a girl who was staying at the same apartment complex I used to stay in. I got her e-mail id, whether or not I got any guy's. I wish people would arrange events like this to make friends... business idea anyone?

Then we were all seated around tables where there were about 2 girls and a dozen guys. I turned on my limited charm (and so did they). Everyone was all prepared to be their absolute best. For some people, maybe something clicked... who knows?

Then there were some "get to know people" type games, where several names, occupations, hobbies flitted past, and everything became a thorough avial in my head. Frequently, the guys had to make do talking among themselves, and with the worry about the economy and all, it became more about making connections to help with the job-hunt than anything else (no one, at least n my hearing, asked, if anyone had a marriagable sister).

This sort of thing might work out for someone whose requirement is only someone they like... though even this setting is pretty artificial. But with my requirements? Horoscope and what not from my family. Not going to happen.

There was a fashion show at the end. At the idea of which several guys perked up, but I suspect wedding dresses are more my kind of thing than theirs. I made my escape though. No point is looking at wedding dresses before there's even a groom

All alone now... and wishing I was elsewhere

2009-06-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

Since Mum went back to India it's been quiet here. No more dashing off to some mall or the other every evening. I swear, between Mummy and me we ended the recession. That improvement in the stock market you see? That's us!

Anyway, since she left, I've not had a whole lot to do (which isn't to say no shopping was done- I just got a new while top today- you can never have too many white tops).

So, back to the library it was. And I got Bill Bryson's "Notes from a small Island", his hilarious account of his farewell journey arouss Britain. OK, while I do disagree with him on some things - the monarchy, the lords and ladies- come on, can you imagine Britain without them! In a democracy I was born, and I may live in one now, but as far as Britain goes, I remain a royalist at heart. Observe that countries that do not have monarchies do their best to make them up. India has the Gandhi's and the US has its Kennedy's... why go into all that effort to create a monarchy when you've got one ready made?

I've been to the UK all of once, but thanks to Enid Blyton, Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer I'm a total Angophile. And while much of what he talked about- the charms of Britain, the wild moors, the little tea rooms, tea itself! (how can you not love a place that loves tea so much, come on!)- was very familiar. Lots of it- run down old towns gone to seed in a post-indistrial age- was not.

The best part of it is also unfortunately the part that I will most likely not remember. The little pieces of trivia, about trains to nowhere running on tracks of unimaginable cost, eccentric people from long ago- only the feeling that I had when I read about these remains with me, not the actual pieces of fact themselves.

In the end I'm left with a desire to trace Bryson's steps through Britain, to get to know the country as he did, but I suspect all I will ever do is spend a few days in London and its environs, for the rest I will have to return to the book

Marley and Me-

2009-05-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

"Marley and Me" by Josh Grogan is an absolute delight for dog lovers. And if you don't love dogs, by the time you're done with it, you will be. Like James Herriot, he sees the humor in both animals and people. Anyone who's ever had a dog will be able to recognize their own pet in Marley- the dog who's always doing the wrong thing at the wrong time- the one who steals food off the kid's plates, who 'does his business' in the wrong places, who chews up everything in sight, and hates being left at home alone.

So much of what Grogan wrote on was incredibly real to me. I was reminded on my own dog, who wants to be with his family all the time, who insists on taking his humans for walks and not the other way round, and always knows when we're going off and leaving him behind.

And as Grogan describes how Marley grows from a yappy pup to a old dogs with aches and pains, but still young inside, I recognize painfully, the changes my own dog is also going through, and the lesson in mortality that all pet owners learn.

Tenant Commandments

2009-05-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

'Tenant Commandments'- a play by Crazy Mohan, performed by the Stage Friends group. Definitely worth a watch. It does run a bit long, but is incredibly funny. All those Tamil jokes are perfectly placed, and some hit the nail on the head perfectly. I loved the comment ' If it is an Iyer wedding, it must be in Madrac Chembur, or Bridgewater' ... so true!

The various arcs of people knit in together very well at the end. If you get a chance, this is one play definitely worth watching. http://cities.sulekha.com/united-states/new-jersey/events/Play/2009/02/tenant-commandments-tamil-comedy-play.htm

Starbucks city (Also known as Seattle)

2009-05-02T12:10:00.001-07:00

Where it all began!

From on top of the Space needle

Museum of rock and roll...

The guitar sculpture

The second most famous company in Seattle...

The Pike place marketplace

Inuyasha at the Sakura Con!

Confession time...

2009-04-14T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I have a confession to make. I love Star Wars. (Hides). So, no, its not just nerdy guys who dress up and talk about droids and shpaceships, its also girls who look normal and talk normal and hide their inner geek really, really well... but no secret is forever.

It started when I was 11 and my friend told me about this really amazing movie with these cute bear creatures (Ewoks in the Return of the Jedi), and this amazingly epic story. I found the 'Return of the Jedi' novel in my aunt's book case and read the whole thing to the soundtrack of Rehman's Kadhalan (again a second rate track over all... but that's a recurring theme here).

I don't remember exactly when or where I watched the movies. I remember avidly watching the trailers on Star Movies when they were re-released sometime in the 90's.

I remember reading the other novels at Landmark and Odyssey. Sneaking behind the science-fiction bookshelves and sneaking peaks at the storyline.

I think I finally saw the movies only afterwards when they turned up on Star Movies every Friday night. I remember being in college and watching lightsaber fights when I should have been doing my Engineering Drawing (no wonder ED turned out so badly).

I never got sucked into the whole prequel thing(for which I thank a merciful god). I watched them, and they were ok, but I could happily set them aside as just another impossible action movie.

But there was a whole world of Star Wars books about the kids! I tell you the lead characters had kids! And a whole lot of extra characters (most of them terrible- but the whole thing is not about the plot- or characterization for that matter... ). The literary value of these books is so low as to be negligible. Why then can I not stop reading them? The latest I read was Outcast by Aaron Allston. *sigh* It was easier (And less shameful) when I was 12 and just obsessed with The Sweet Valley twins.

Short stories

2009-04-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

It takes real skill to compress into a few pages a story that could stretch for a mile. very few authors actually write decent short stories.

I recently read a bunch that were like a side-dish to the amazing "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke called "The Ladies of Grace Adieu". A little creepy and quite amusing, t really gives depth to the world that she created.

Another set I read was Richard Adams' "Tales for Watership Down". When I picked it up I actually thought it was "Watership Down" itself, but it was instead a very readable set of short stories.

The best part of these stories is that, even not knowing the entire context, the stories make sense as stand-alones. They could easily be part of Aesop's fables, or an general anthology that doesn' belong to a particular fiction universe. The tales they tell are universal, they make as much sense in their world as they do is ours. (The same cannot be said of Beedle the Bard which is so unorigial its painful - but I won't go into that here).

I also read Robin McKinley's "Beauty" . I usually enjoy her work. Her characters are usually original as are her takes on the fairy tales. This one though, felt like it was simply a longer and slightly more boring version of Disney. She had a few interesting 'extras' on the set- but hey so did Disney!

100!

2009-04-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

My 100th blog! Its time to celebrate! Champagne pops!

Anyway, here I am sipping champagne (or rather coke zero) and blogging about The Autobiography of Henry the Eighth by Margaret George .

Its an excellently researched historical piece. While it seems to varnish over Henry's cruelties, its important to remember that this is written as an autobiography by a man in the 15th and 16th centuries. I think Margaret George does a very good job of not judging him by our comtemporary standards, instead leaving him to be judged by the stadards of a time when the king's word was law.

One of the places where this disconnect between our times and Henry's stands out absolutely clear is in his belief that Anne Boelyn was a witch. Of course, we modern people know that there is no magic and no witches, but to Henry, in a world of superstition and unreason, it may not have been that obvious. And, if he was eager to get rid of her, how easy for him to see what he wanted to see!

The book brings out also the strange coincidences that guided Henry's life- that he brought up as a priest, never expected to marry, broke with the Catholic Church and married six times.

It does seem that the author romanticezes the king, but remember that this is written as his autobiography. As powerful and certain as he was of his own rightness in all things, it is hardly likely that he would have portrayed himself as a violent and intolerant monarch.

And the book really does bring Henry's court to life, with all of its supporting characters, his six wives, his friends, his children, the impact they each had on Henry's life. The characters all seem very realistic (except strangely, Elizabeth who seems precocious far beyond her age- I realise that she's now more legend than fact, but it would be nice if one person could write her normally, without all this foreshadowing.)

Anyway, the book runs into almost 1000 pages, and took me about 8 weeks to get through! It was gripping though, for all the time that it took.

After Henry the Eighth, I took up "Wyrd Sisters" by Terry Pratchet for some light reading. A spoof on Shakespeare's Tragedy's Hamlet and Macbeth, it was increadibly funny (as all his books are).

I went and picked up "Watership Down " and "Pillars of the Earth" from the library yesterday, so looking forward to a long week reading them

Hairspray!

2009-04-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

I continue to be absolutely addicted to Broadway shows, and when Hairspray came to Reading I absolutely had to go.

So many causes close to my heart. While the biggest theme may have been desegregation, I was completely charmed by "the fat women can win too" storyline! Especially in this day and age of holding people up to an entirely impossible standard of beauty.

The songs were sweet, but not particularly memorable. Musicals are so Hindi movie-like. The end is obvious almost from the start, and the music is only the path to get to that happy sappy ending.

I really liked the characters of Tracy's mother (Edna Turnblad- the 'drag' role) and Motormouth Maybelle, both sharp, witty and wise. Why is it always the supporting cast that steals the show?

And of course, I loved the whole age of 'big hair' (I wish it would come back- no more taming my mane to some semblance of order).

I'm going to get movie next I think, its supposed to be just as funny, considerably shorter(which is alwys a plus) and less expensive than the ive show (two pluses for that), and more contemporary.

All eyes on CATS!

2009-01-28T10:04:00.000-08:00

Reading is turning out to be quite the center of culture. Last night CATS! came to the Sovereign Performance Arts center, as part of the whole Broadway on 6th street program.

It was an awesome performance. Lots of singing and dancing, lots of cheeky lines (what did ou expect from T.S Eliot's poetry), some gorgeous songs (Memory for example, and I just can't get the CATS theme out of my head).

The props were amazing, resembling a junkyard, with a giant boot of a broken down car, and lots of nooks and crannies for the cats to sneak in and out of. From the cats themselves there were some truly unforgettable performances. Rum Tum Tugger for example, as a cat-like Elvis (or is it and Elvis like cat?), wise old Deuteronomy, Grizabella the glamorous cat her coat now worn, unhappy and alone, who at last finds the meaning of happiness.

Gus, the actor, his glory days gone, but still able to reprise his most magnificent role as a pirate. And the most famous of all... whose name was whispered like an ill-omen over and over. Macavity the Mystery Cat. But even the most villainous cat of all was no match for Mr Mestopheles the Magician and his slink assistant.

Anyway, it was thoroughly enjoyable, so much so I could not even find it in myself to regret being out in the cold night... though I do wish spring would return soon

Speaking in Tongues

2009-01-25T17:26:00.000-08:00

... Or tungs or tongs or any number of different spellings through the years as detailed by Bill Bryson's incredibly funny book 'The Mother tongue' - a history of the Engish Language. It had me nearly in splits with commentary about the change and growth of the language and the people who used it; comments such as "It was an age when sensibilities grep so delicate that one lady was reported to have dressed her goldfish in miniature suits for the sake of propriety and a certain Madame de la Bresse left her fortune to provide clothing for the snowmen of Paris.", when talking about the prudery of the Victorian Age- when words such as 'legs' and 'stomach' were dismissed from polite company.

Besides being amusing the book provides a really interesting insight into how a language once spoken in one small village in Europe was carried over to the island of Britain from where it proceeded to take over the world (cue maniacal laughter).

First the Anglo-Saxons (who conquered the Celts in Britain) after whom the language was named, then the Normans from whose language English gets much of its vocabulary- though Bryson mentions that, curiously, a lot of the most basic words - in, on, at, the etc, in fact, most of the commonly used words remain Anglo-Saxon in origin.

All through, what becomes clear is that it is the openness of English to change, that has allowed it to spread so far. That in allowing people to adapt the language to their local needs(and sometimes adding words from their native tongues that are now used globally), it has become a global language.

There is something to be thankful for then, in that all those who tried to standardize the language- and there are some famous names here- such as Samuel Johnson (who was not successful) and some not so famous ones Robert Lowth (who, sadly for us was successful- it seems some of the more ridiculous laws of grammar that we follow can me attributed to him).

I most enjoyed though the chapters that dealt with the differences in American, British and occasionally, Australian English, as well as the regional dialects in each. Also very amusing were the chapters on British (and American) names, and on Swearing.

While people have criticized the book for its inaccuracies- such as perpetuating the myth that there are fifty different words for snow in Eskimo- I think its sort of like criticizinf Wikipedia for not being an accurate source of information. It isn't to be used as a primary source (which I think would be fairly obvious), but is meant as a starting point for interested people, and it certainly provides enough references for those who wish to dig deeper into the subject.

All Abount Movies- Go Rehman!

2009-01-21T18:40:00.001-08:00

This post is a bit delayed- in the sense that it refers to events a couple of weeks ago... but better late than never right?

I celebrated New Years’ by watching two movies (and I hope this will not set the tone for the rest of my year- time wasted at looong movies). Not that either of them were terrible- but neither of them were great. For all the raving about Benjamin Button, the length of the movie leaves a lot( or a lot less) to be desired, though the concept is good.

The story, as everyone knows by now, is of a man born looking like an 80 year old, aging backwards. There were parts of the plot I really enjoyed, like Benjamin being brought up in an old age home, fitting in perfectly, save that he was growing younger, while everyone around him grew older. Except as his body grew younger and younger, he is no longer able to stay with his family, his mind ages and gives in, proving at last, that perhaps youth is not, after all, wasted on the young.

‘Rab ne bana di jodi’ is decidedly happier. Of course lots of it is completely unbelievable- especially for a movie based on 'ordinary people'. But I loved how perfectly realistic Surindar’s office, his nosy coworkers, the crowded streets, the cinema, even the dance practices were. Again, it was a bit too long, and none of the acting was terribly remarkable, but it was funny, and that mostly made the length bearable.

And Slumdog Millionaire won bigtime at the Golden Globes! I'm especially thrilled for Rehman. whose winning everything from It's a little disappointing though- this is not one of his greatest soundtracks- I mean compared to 'Roja' , 'Bombay', or'Lagaan' ? 'Puhleeze'! Still, its getting him the recognition he deserves... Golden Globes, Bafta, Critics choice.... what's next? Dare we hope the big O?

Baby, its cold outside.... 100 hours and a 100 years

2009-01-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

Two months left, and I swear if the groundhog declares another six weeks of winter, there won't be a groundhog next year to make any unfortunate predictions!

Temperatures went down to single digits last week, and it snowed all of yesterday, jamming up (it seemed) every single road I took (and only in the direction I was going in). It took me 2 hours to travel 10 miles, and at the end of it I was just about ready to muder the next person I saw- at the very least I figured, the cop cars would move a bit faster than the snail's pace I was going in.

It was completely stunning. The world covered in powdered sugar, like a giant cake, trees hung in Swarovski crystals too delicate for mortal hands, that sparkled in the headlights. Even the smallest gardens turned into lovely, dark deep woods to inspire Robert Frost. I was completely unispired though. The only thing inspiring me was the red light turning green- that was the stuff that poetry ought to be made of!

I did finally finish "100 years of solitude" - for a while there, I thought the title referred to the amount of time it would take for an average person to finish the book. But the cold is good for something after all, and when I'm cooped up indoor,s there's not much I can do but read.

It's not that its a bad book (hallo! its a Nobel prize winner), but it just didn't appeal to me in the personal way that 'Love in the Time of Cholera' did. It's a sweeping epic, which at the same time, revels in the tiniest quirks of the characters, the small twists of their lives. But while obviously, its not a story written purely for the sake of told, neither is the meaning of it- the hidden lesson- easy to glean.

I'm not sure what the lesson was. Was it the futility of fighting fate? The revelation, in the end, that it was all written, 'everything is known' long before it happened... would it have helped if they had understood before? Would it have changed anything? Could it have changed anything? If they had read the book befreo... would the book itself have read differently? (but of course says me... but who knows for sure?)

The mix of science and magic, again, the idea that technology sufficiently advanced, may be like magic, when magic itself becomes more believable than science... the loss of magic slowly from the world, like the loss of innocence, in the bitterness of war, the even greater bitterness of politics, the last battle against chains imposed by narrow-mindedness, tradition. Ursula's painful realization, of not simply recognizing patterns, but watching living in a time warp, forgetting history and being doomed to reapeat it over and over again.

Solitude, the word that threads the book together, a village separated by space and time from the rest of the world, an anachronism that was brough reluctantly to modern age, only to be washed back into the darkness (or is it into the harsh light of the rainless days). Solitude, as in the Aureliano's doomed to live alone, each one, alone. The companionship they sought, in the end, became each of their destruction- the first in war, then in love, in friendship and in brotherhood.

Fabulous Footloose!

2009-01-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

"Footloose", the musical played at the Sovereign Performance Center last Thursday, on its 10th anniversary tour. It's something I've been looking forward to for a long time, ever since I missed "The Producers" in December, especially because it has such great music, with the title song of course, and 'Holding out of a Hero', and so many others!

The play was very good, lots of snarky one-liners... lots of song and dance (a bit like a Hindi movie), and of course, a happy ending.

It is about a s boy Ren who moves into a small town where dancing was banned after a tragedy that happened 5 years earlier. Ren leads the 'rebellion' against the town council, led by the priest, and wins the girl - who happens to be the priest's daughter. It's a story about getting over loss, and finding happiness wherever you are.

While all the actors were pretty good, I think its the supporting roles that have the most fun. I LOVED Willard and Rusty (yes, even more than the main role characters), the mismatched pair - once taciturn and the other unable to shut up!

Anyway, Broadway on 6th street is a great idea... there's a whole line up of plays ahead- 'CATS' later this month followed by 'Annie', 'Oliver!' , '42nd Street' and 'Hairspray'. I'm hoping to see at least another couple of these. And 'Movin' Out' as well, when that play comes to Philadelphia in May. So, Go Broadway!

Here's to the New Year!

2009-01-04T16:39:00.000-08:00

And to reply to eyeball's question- The answer to life the universe and everything is.... (drumroll) 42! Or so says Google (and Douglas Adams ) - and if Google says so, it must be true!

And in asnwer to his other question - yes the Christmas shopping is done- it took until after New Year because its not just pre-Christmas shopping, but the Post-Christmas sales, returns and exchanges as well... and now 'm all shopped out(or my bank account is anyway).

Speaking of shopping, I was very appropriately reading Sophie Kisella's 'Shopaholic' . I first read this about 4 years ago, when I didn't have a credit card, and was unlikely to be tempted by any sale but a book-sale; and I found it hugely funny then. This time though, I could relate. It was almost alarming, as I giggled my way through Becky's adventures from the Shopper's Hell to Heaven (shopaholic gets multimillionaire boyfriend), I was thinking, "This happened to me!' (not including the multimillionaire boyfriend).

I also got done with 'Ink Exchange' by Melissa Marr. Its the sequel to 'Wicked Lovely , which was a bit edgy and dark, without totally tipping over, and that I had enjoyed a lot.

'Ink Exchange' isn't as good though. For one thing it's written from the point of view of a set of different characters, with a decidedly different set of agendas, and the old heroes come off looking 1)incompetent 2)manipulative, neither of which are very heroic qualities. None of this would be a problem, if I was able to feel very sympathetic to the protagonists of this book, but well, I didn't really. The plot's just getting further complicated, and its all set up for yet another sequel, so obviously, that it's annoying. Why can't a book just be complete in itself?

Slumdog Millionaire - rags to riches literally

2008-12-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

Watched Slumdog Millionaire - an out-of-nowhere hit on Saturday night. It was.. qite intense- there was a moment (and I can't tell you which one without spoiling the story- suffice to say, it was fairly early on) - that I was terrified for the people sitting in front of me - because I very nearly puked.

It was a fantastic movie though - a light on some of India's darkest sides, but with such a deft touch, it tells the story without moralising. While it is basically a story of luck, its also about a person who remains, good, who retains hope, despite all the reasons for him not to. And in his victory we all win, a little. And in the end... it didn't really matter whether or not he won the show - you could see it on his face- he'd already won what was important.

Most recently, I got done with Rowling's latest offering - 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' . Its not a book I'd have considered reading, if it wasn't by Rowling- and it wasn't all that great either. I've heard it being compared to Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, and all I can say is 'Oh, Please!' The side commentary by Albus Dumbledore is amusing, but it's hardly the profound wisdom we've come to expect from him...

Christmas Shopping

2008-12-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

Why, you may ask, do I celebrate Christmas at all, leave alone, get involved in the madness that is shopping this time of the year. The answer I suspect would lie in mob psychology, where I just go along with the herd.

It starts over a month before Christmas - during Thanskgiving - the very midnight of Thanksgiving actually; while all the good people of the United States are replete after their humongous dinner, the shopaholics (the vast majority, apparently), leave home at midnight, on a spree to 'boost the economy'.

I don't usually start that early- I wait at least until December- this has nothing to do with restraint, and everything to do with the fact that during Thanksgiving I'm usually at some megamart-less corner of the country- like Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, or Disney World. This year I was at home.

The truth is, I think people travel so much during the holiday, because its so expensive to stay at home. When you're not there you can't be tempted by the sales, by coupons in the mail, by the romist of 50! 60! 70! % of highly inflated prices, by the feeling of warmth and goodness at the idea of getting your shopping done early, and relaxing while everyone else rushes around hunting for appropriate gifts.

The truth is, it doesn't matter how early you start, you're still going to be shopping two days before Christmas. Hmm... you start... what about this shirt for X... and this bag for Y and this piece of jewellery for Z (and ooh! this dress for me!) ... but X would also love this ... and Y this and Z this.... and this and this and this.... until the budget (if there was one to begin with) is far exceeded.

And there are the accessories... wrapping paper! bows! bags! Christmas tree decorations!

And you know what? After Christmas after the last presents are exchanged, unwrapped, and a sigh of relief is heard... there are the end of seasons sales... and I've already got plans for those....

Love in the time of Cholera

2008-12-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

Just got done reading ‘Love in the time of Cholera’. I can’t remember when the last time was, that I read a book so immediately relevant to my circumstances. No wonder I suppose, I sympathize so much with its heroine- if that’s what she is. There’s not so much of a hero or heroine – in the sense of people performing heroic actions – more of entirely human characters – occasionally – rising above their own natures to become – momentarily – better than they are.

Having said that, it is almost terrifying, how much I see of myself in Fermina Daza; how much her thoughts seem to parallel mine; how much her story could be my future. I feel myself being drawn to her decision - of choosing a man with no valid reason for preferring one over any other – acquiescing to a suit not undertaken in the name of love- only worldly goods, security, order, happiness, that might resemble love, but are not (to quote the authors own words). Like Fermina Daza, I am likely to choose, as I sense a deadline I set for myself approaching. And like her I may find myself in a gilded cage of domesticity, that if I grow not to love, may at least become used to- which might be the same thing in the end. The ability to persuade myself that what I am is the best of what I could be- to immediately throw any blame on to the other- to despise and pity at once – to be a little repulsed by a person who lives in the shadow of love, never living, save in the thought of another – to live a life wholly virtuously – without reproof in the eyes of the world- to take pleasure in the activity of everyday, for activity keeps thought at bay.

As for Florentino Ariza- I despise him – for all the sympathy with which the author writes of him – his rationalization of his actions – his unending love (obsession), his achieving of his goal far beyond his just deserts- like Fermina I see him as a shadow of a man, lost in the darkness of his love. It is not his philandering with a hundred women that disgusts me (and what does that say of my own morality?), but that he does all that in the name of one woman; the fact is even without the philandering I would be disgusted by his weakness (as I see it) his inability to get over the one love of his life. And yet who am I to judge him? In the end his persistence pays off, he gets his Fermina at the ripe age of 76, having waited a lifetime for her.

I do love the tenderness with which the author talks about old age. His descriptions of the physical ailments, the lessening of mental acuity, have nothing of pity or scorn; he treats it as entirely natural, even a happy stage as life goes on. I love the idea of people finding love even in old age, after all of life has gone by still they have love. I love the honesty of the author, his insightfulness into the hearts of men and women alike- having found so much of myself in Fermina Daza, I assume that his portrait of Florentino Ariza would read as accurately to a man.

And through it all cholera is never far from the mids or fates of the players, pushing each of them through paths that may have not opened to them otherwise.

Booker prize winner 2008...and weekend in Rhode Island

2008-10-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

So, I’m quite deeply impressed with myself. For an entire month I have now gone without buying any new clothes for myself- in spite of Ann Taylor, Boscov’s and JCP throwing coupons at me every time I head to the mailbox. What have I bought? A couple of gifts, 1 book, a brief weekend in Rhode Island, and a ridiculous number of lunches and dinners (where I used to previously eat at home). *Sigh*, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.

The book I read recently was Aravind Adiga’s recent Booker Prize winner- “The White Tiger".It’s a brilliantly written boo, but it paints a painful picture of India. I’m happy I read it, but I don’t think I’ll be re-reading it again any time soon.

Other books I’ve read lately? Robin McKinley’s “The Hero and The Crown”and Gail Carson Levine’s “Fairest”, both so called kids book’s but with ideas that make them appealing to adults too.

I read Mary Stewart’s “The Wicked Day”– the last tale in her Merlin and Arthur chronicles, where she gives Mordred a decidedly kinder treatment that he’s received nearly anywhere else, but to no avail; it all ends in tragedy (as we already know).

Then there was Susanna Clarke’s “Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell”, which was written in the style of English novels from the 19th century. It’s a enormous book (the more the merrier, eh?), and her characters are drawn incredibly minutely, their flaws and virtues, that make you sympathize and despise them in turn. The plot is excellent too, and if you like fantasy at all, you’ll love this one. (I'm thrilled that there might be a sequel in the works -speaking of potential sequels... what happened to the one for "Good Omens"?

Also (god help us all) the Twilight sequel. I went with my cousin to the midnight book release, to see kids all dressed up as vampires and werewolves (there was this one kid who was a particularly convincing werewolf – I stayed well away from him). The book was … (what little of it I read, anyway)… overrated does not begin to cover it. Parts of it read more like a horror story from makers of SAW, than any decent book should. Honestly, people scream to burn books like “The Golden Compass” and “Harry Potter” ; do the world a favor, and ban this book – are you seriously telling me it’s “age appropriate” for teenagers to read about baby monsters clawing their way out of theirs mother’s womb? Ugh!

Also, I love Norton Anti virus (yes, they should be paying me for random endorsements, but... ) my computer's been so well-behaved since I installed it!

And here are some pictures from Rhode Island

A basic tourguide to Reading, PA (or, the things I do when I'm not reading)

2008-09-26T05:55:00.000-07:00

I've always lived in big cities before, and when I moved to a relatively small town, I wondered what I was going to do with myself.

But it is a fact that it’s not the place , it’s what you do there (and anyway, I was never a nightlife person- catch me going out after 8pm!)

And these are some of the things I do:

1.Shop. Shop,shop,shop till you drop. This used to be the outlet capital of the world (here’s the New York Times article to prove it.

The Vanity Fair outlets are the ultimate shopaholics paradise; I always find that things are cheaper there than in even other outlet stores with the same brand. And when you’re done with those, you can head to Limerik or Lancaster ( Rockvale and Tanger , all at less than a half ann hours drive for fore outlet shopping.

They’ve recently opened Reading. IMAX theatre in Reading. Now with what hope they went and opened it in the very center of downtown I don’t know. I would certainly never go for a night show there… but for a Sunday afternoon… I might. (PS. For the night show I’d go to Fox east; yes it’s tiny, but it’s safe and hey! Its right next to Boscov’s!)

2.Speaking of Boscov’s – Reading’s the base for the store. This is where they have their warehouse- and my favorite store’s the one in East Reading. Its one of the smaller one’s but again, I don’t know why, every thing just seems cheaper here. (It’s my favorite department store- not as blah as JCP, not as threateningly trendy as Macy’s).

3.Moving on to not shopping – There’s the Goggleworks studio: http://www.goggleworks.org/
where every second Sunday they have artists showing off their work and pottery and glass blowing classes.

4.There are also theatres: Sovereign Performance center, Sovereign theatre , Reading Eagle theatre … they have Broadway shows, music, … especially through winter. And its so much cheaper than New York!

5.Love the library. Reading down town library is a block from my office and it is awesome .

6.Pagoda… don’t ask me… it’s THE landmark around here, and I’ve never actually been there – only viewed it from a distance… here . Lots of interesting stories about it though.

7.Fruit picking. Ok, so you can do this anywhere, where they grow any kind of fruit pretty much. And I went to Styer’s Orchard in Langhorne myself. But there is this highly recommended place Weaver's orchard near Reading.

8.Places to eat … there’s this incredible Vietnamese place called Hong Thanh on 6^th street and Penn. Great food, amazing prices (three of us ate for 20 dollars!). Judy’s on Cherry is pretty good too… there’s this amazing little chocolate place called Haute Chocolate on Penn Ave. and a dessert place called Sweet Street Dessert in the Vanity fair outlet café.

What else to do? Well, what more do you need but a decent internet connection and cable TV?

Beadfest!

2008-08-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

I'd been looking forward to this for a while(like, a month). The Philadelphia Beadfest at the Valley Forge convention center. And with great enthusiasm (abettede by my mother 6000 miles away), I took off into the bright and sunny morning, to spend my limited fortune there.

Like a kid in a candy store, my eyes darted here and there, strings of pearls, in white, and pink, and gold, and green and blue and black. Stones the size of and egg and beads no bigger that a dust mote, sparkling crystals, delicately shaped glass flowers, finely carved wood, painted shells, beads made of flowers, felt, butterfly wings; long loops of yarn and thread and wire in every colour of the rainbow. Stones like quartz and amethyst, garnet, aquamarine, coral, lapis, tiger's eye. Lampworked glass in a dizzying array of shapes and colors.

And of course I went completely crazy. In the tw hours that I was there I wandered through a million stalls, each more exciting than the last, my fingers flwed through strands of multicolored beads, my imagination took flight, and a million designs leapt into life in my mind's eye. But though the mind was willing, alas, the body was not, hunger eventually took over, and besides, my credit card was almost in its death throes.

So reluctantly I left the treasures behind me. Farewell, till next year.

How to keep busy on a loooooong flight OR more movie reviews than you could possibly read

2008-07-31T16:03:00.000-07:00

The India trip was great... it goes without saying I think. Family,food,fun... heh I'm a poet now.

But the flight... ah, there's the rub; about a day in cramped seats, alone, yet surrounded by people, NO INTERNET! What's a girl to do? Salman Rushdie proved disappointing. 'THe Enchantress of Florence" was utterly disillusioning. All that lyrical, delicate wordplay that I loved in "Midnight's Children" or even in "The Moor's Last Sigh" (was never a big fan of "The Satanic Verses" personally), gone, gone, replaced by strict prose and a plot that made no sense whatsoever!

So it was to the idiot box for me. I love Lufthansa for having seatback monitors. No better timepass. I started with "Charlie Wilson's War" figuring that if I was going to watch anything halfway serious, it had better be at the beginning, when I still had the patience for it. I needn't have worried. It was absolutely gripping! Julia Roberts was brilliant- isn't she always?(though I wasn't too into her blonde hairstyle). And Tom Hanks was excellent. Bravo, bravo!

Then I watched "The Golden Compass". I loved the books (by Phillip Pullman), and I thought the 'controversy' about the Church etc. was way overblown. And the thing was, the movie was actually good! They stuck to the plot, the actors were decent... the special effects were not bad... why is it that when something like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings ot Narnia is made into a move, the plot is turned inside out and everybody rushes to see it, but when they actually stick to the plot, its a great big flop. Anyway, I don't expect to see the next two in the series being made into movies.

Then it was the Spiderwick chronicles... not bad... waay too many plot holes... basic kid's stuff though.

And voila, three movies and a book to get me from Phildelphia to Chennai through Frankfurt.

I watched 'Indiana Jones' in Chennai, at Sathyam (which seems to be the only theatre that anyone goes to anymore... Oh wait, there's the new one at City Center... Movie wasn't bad... loved the food though. I really miss the interval when I'm watching movies in the US. There's nothing like taking a break in the middle, grabbing a puff and a coke or iced cofee and popcorn, there's the sheer variety of things to eat! Americans are so business like even about watching a movie... one shot and its all done.

Then there was the flight back. The advantage of flying in the middle of the night is that you're really, really sleepy and even wailing infants can't put you off sleeping. I did manage "The Other Boelyn Girl" though. I'm just glad I never bothered with the book.

The last movie I say- "Definitely, Maybe"... you know what... I'd have actually liked to watch that one in the theatre! It actually had plot! And an ending that wasn't completly saccharine, some halfway decent acting.... not bad at all.

Finally, watched "The Dark Knight" last Saturday. That movie is intense! I loved the way it explores the darkness in people, pushes them beyond civilization, makes heroes of villains and villains of heroes. Heath Ledger was brilliant... but so was Aaron Ekhart and Christian Bale and Morgan Feeman and Micheal Caine... and I liked Maggie Gyllenhall too(better than Katie Holmes actually).

Last of all.. "Kismat Konnection". Shocker! The movie has a plot (sort of). Two and a half hours? Waaay too much. Should have been an hour shorter- at least. Loved- Vidya Balan's clothes.

The great pre-India pilgrimage

2008-06-03T15:47:00.000-07:00

This time next week, I will be in India, likely enjoying thai chaadam with (dare I hoe) paruppu thogayal and veggies on the side. And I expect to be doing a circuit of temples while I’m there. The small middle-of-the-road Vinayakar kovil in Gandhinagar; the Padmanabha Swami temple almost next door to it ;and others that my mother will no doubt take me to.

But it looks like my pilgrimage has started off early. In the last couple of weeks I have been to two temples and one kutcheri, practically filling my cultural quota for several months. The Delaware Mahalakshmi temple and the Pittsburgh Sri Venkateswara temple. And the concert was by TM Krishna, in nearby Blue Bell, and I must say, it was brilliant. He has an amazing voice, and the range of notes that he hits, apparently effortlessly, is stunning. It was a long concert – 3 and a half hours, but I (shocking myself) managed to sit through the whole thing (more credit to the singer, I think, than any musical inclination on my part).

Of course, during the long journeys to these temples(5 hours to Pittbutgh!) I occupied myself with some of the second hand books I had acquired at various garage and library sales. I got done with the mysterious and slightly supernatural ‘Mistress of Spices’ by Chitra Divakaruni, and the very suspenseful and extremely supernatural (not to mention ghoulish- a good buildup to the X-Files movie coming out next month) ‘This Historian’ by Elisabeth Kostova.

‘The Mistress of Spices’ was a little sad, and little sweet, a little Rushdie-esque I thought, maybe a lighter version of Rushdie.

‘The Historian’ on the other hand was a decidedly heavier version of Dracula, with much of the myth of Dracula mixed with a lot of historical references. The settings in Eastern Europe come alive in each word, the spooky beauty, the sense of being a step behind (or is it in front of?) the monster through a beautiful maze builds in a crescendo.

Some time ago, I also found myself in unhappy circumstances (into the details of which I will not go), sitting and drowning my sorrows in Barnes and Noble, over Diana Wynn Jones’s ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. The book (not about a dog, as I had for some reason expected), a lightly written fantasy, with a toehold (but an important one, to the plot) in the real world, successfully lifted my out of the doldrums, so that I was later able to appreciate Ann Taylor Loft’s collection that had just come out.

Anyway, I now have to pick a book to carry on the plane. I wish now, that I had saved ‘The Historian’ for that. At 650 pages it would have lasted me the whole way layovers and all. Now I have to depend on the In-flight entertainment, of which I have no expectation (what are the chances they’ll be playing ‘Sex and the City’?)

Springtime and Cherry blossoms

2008-04-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

The flowers I was growing - Hyacynths, daffodils and mums...

unfortunately, as it turns out, I have no green thumb- you will not be seeing these again.

A weeping cherry blossom tree at the height of bloom in New Hope

Stark white firestar flowers (is that what they're called? I forget)
- in (of all places) my office parking lot.

Magnolias -a brilliant flash of pink - a dash of summer fun against the busy working street

Weeping cherry's in Philadelphia's Horticultural Park

Pansies merry and bright

And row upon row upon row of cherry trees pale pink and white -

a last sigh before they fade for another year.

The Romance novel and me

2008-04-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

Admittedly I'm no conoisseur of the romance novel, in fact it is a genre I usually desperately avoid. But simply by virtue of being female, and the target audience for these books, I think I'm perfectly qualified to comment on them.

I'm not referring here, to classics like Jane Austen and Gone With the Wind, or even fairly middle-brow chick-lit like Georgette Heyer. I'm talking about Mills and Boon (that staple distraction of college classes) and Silhouette and Barbara Cartland and Danieele Steel(though these may actually have plot) and so on.

There's a fairly typical progression of so called storyline on these novels, most of which can be deduced from the first chapter or so. Woman( beautiful, virtuous, lonely) meets man (tall handsome, rich). They're thrown together, fall in love, have a couple of misunderstandings, make up, live happily ever after. End of story.

That's every love story really, and the utter obviousness aside, it doesn't really bother me. Its always good for a bedtime read when you just want to empty your head.

What does bother me is this : See, I've read the Mills and Boons of my mother's time, I 'rescued' them when they were gathering dust in the store room, and read them secretly when I was supposed to be doing more productive things.

And I've read the romance novels of today. Nothing has changed. In twenty years, nothing has changed (except for the somewhat more explicit scenes- but we'll come to that in a bit).

I mean, it really bothers me that twenty years on, and inspite of women's lib, feminism etc. these books still feature the knight in armour on a white horse racing to rescue the damsel in distress. It maybe a snowstorm, a runaway horse, an unwanted admirer, a cruel family... it never seems to happen the other way round. Oh wait... she rescues him from his loneliness, from himself, from the job that's taken too much out of him... sigh, how romantic.

So much for our much vanted independence. Apparently the vast majority of women only want a man to fulfill the fairytale we have imagined our lives to be (with ourselves as Cinderella as likely as not).

Its really odd, when you compare it with Young Adult fantasy novels, stuff which is supposed to be real escapist literature. Somehow in books actually based on fairytales, Shannon Hales' 'The Goose Girl'and 'The Princess Academy', Robin McKinley's ' Spindle's End' are all based off fairy tales, and they have a good component of romance(though admittedly its not all of it, and they have more plot to work with), but their women have character and they manage to rescue themselves usually. And its not like you need a major in English Literature to read these books either; they're also written for the casual reader. I don't understand why, when providing teens with good role models, it's alright to tell adult women that they can remain perfectly helpless, because there's a handsome prince for every beautiful woman (if she's got model looks and he's a millionaire- don't poor men and fat women have a right to romance?)

Its not that all romance novels are particularly bad. I'm decidedly partial to humour and think that it excuses a great many flaws, for example Sophie Kisella's 'Shopaholic' series. (Also Goergette Heyer- although her heroes tend not be be handsome and brooding- and her heroines not always beautifu, which are always pluses in my book- speaking of which, what've people got against happy men?).

The other thing that bother's me a lot is -ah, how do I put this delicately- umm, the bodice ripper part of it I guess... the fact that this woman has been saying "no, no, no" and he goes on ,(At that's ok? Excuse me?), and then its all ok because she's actually in love woth him, blah,blah, blah( hallo? some respect for the woman's opinions here?) what sort of an example is being set over here, anyway?

And lets not even get into the ummm... blush-inducing R-rated scenes ok? I mean, I infinitely prefer Barbara Cartalnd (though they may all be Princesses and Earls and Dukes and Knights ) but to (sort of) quote the Lady herself "The ladies are Ladies and the men are gentlemen"

pics from New York and Washington

2008-03-29T18:56:00.001-07:00

Views from a vacation (so long agao... oh so long ago!) Pictures posted in no particular order... from the top left...Capitol Hill Inside and Out.... In the Botanical Gardens at Washington... miniature Smithsonian and Christmas Tree... Winged creatures from ancient times, mythological, real and manmade (angels,pterodactyls and spacecraft) ... monuments to mankind and all that we are (the Washington Monument and the Jekyll and Hyde club) and of course a tribute to what kept us going

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-27T18:40:00.000-08:00

Last week’s little excitement was the Lunar Eclipse on the 21st. It was raining all day, and the rain stopped, though the clouds still hung heavy, and I doubted that anything would be visible. Happily, the clouds cleared before 10 PM and when I stepped out at 10:15 the sky was perfectly clear. The moon was about halfway into shadow when I saw it, its innocent white giving way to an ominous orange-red shade. It was the sort of moon, I thought, with a shiver, that brings out werewolves. My imagination overworking, I gave a quick nod to Saturn, hanging below the moon and slipped back inside, and into my cozy bed, where I slept untroubled by loony monsters.

Jodhaa-Akbar

2008-02-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised my the movie JodhaaAkbar last night, as I had gone without high expectations. Though its quality no where near the inspirational Lagaan and Swades that director Ashuthosh Gowarikar has made before, but it is a fantastic spectacle. The sets are opulent eye-candy (so are the two leads), the costumes are gorgeous (did I mention the leads?).

The story itself is more historical fiction than history (as virtually admitted in the narration), but as it is admitted, the protests about its accuracy are quite unnecessary. It never claims to be historically accurate. (So there!).

I was highly impressed by Hrithik Roshan's Akbar. He seems to be channeling the character, not simply acting him out. I cannot imagine anyone else in that role now(love the little mushtache). When he speaks, he sounds aunthentic- not simply reading a dialogue (unlike almost everyone else). Aishwarya (thinkfully) has little to do but look lovely (which he does) and occasionally show eyes brimming over with tears (which she does very well, indeed).

The movie is far from flawless. Its far too long, for one. The voice over naration by Amitabh could have been cut(or replaced with scenes with proper dialogue), along with several other scenes in the couple of hours. The movie as a whole could have used a whole lot of editing to make it at least an hour shorter. I'm afraid, that the length alone may keep it from being a hit.

Rehman's music is disappointing, the songs and the background music alike. Most of the actors are wooden and have obviously just memorised their dialogues and are reciting it off like bad poetry. The initial battle sequence was squirm-worthy. I did like the other fight scenes though, especially the last one.

So, worth a watch for sure(an in the theatre- DVD wouldn't do the sets justice), but I wouldn't do it more than once.

A picture is worth a thousand words that I could do without!

2008-02-02T13:37:00.001-08:00

For the last several weeks, my weekend trips to my aunt's house have included one important function- taking pictures. By that I don't mean the making memories kind, or landscape or portrait photography, amateur or professional. This is a category all of its own- its Marriage Market photography. It started with a Maami who was dismayed by the meagre number of pictures my Mom offered her of me. "Other girls send portfolios" , she protested. "Other girls must be models, not geeky software engineers", I snorted. I was overruled by my alarmed mother though, and so every weekend I come bearing a couple of my Salwar Kameezes and pose around the solarium, while my aunt directs me and takes the snaps, and my cousin critiques. Sometimes, if its not enough, I try out their dresses and do my hair several different ways: pull it back, leave it loose, a little in front. And once its all done I send them on their way to my Mom in India.

She promptly and diligently goes through them and comes back with several more suggestions for the next week. "Try a different duppatta... comb your hair after every shot, don't leave it loose... don't tie it too tight.... wear heel... don't wear heels...no shoes...no bare feet, wear sandals with open toes... not that dress, its too tight... not that one either, its too floppy.... stand up straight... don't stand too straight, be natural... sit... no sitting shots... wear powder... no make up... jewellery... close ups of you face, full length shots...

Ok... who cares precisely to look at so many pictures?!! Unfortunately, alas, there are enough people who do. And even worse(for me) there are girls who happily (it seems- my smiles are simply fake, and not all the cajoling in the world can help with that) sit through an entire photoshoot, for all the world like they were at America's Top Model or something. Today it is to be garden shots(never mind that it s perfectly dreary winter's day), in carefully arranged 'natural' poses.

So if you ever come across pictures of me with a forced smile, strangely stiff, and teetering on high heels, smelling the non-existent roses, all in different clothes, for all the world like a heroine from a Tamil movie, changing costumes through a song sequence, you know that story behind it.

There was something in the air...

2008-01-31T18:32:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend before New Years, along with Ash and... Ash (heh, bad joke I know) I went to see Mamma Mia. Caought a train from the Princeton Junction first thing Saturday morning to New York where the streets were shockingly empty (at 9:30 on a Saturday... but New York ok!- less than bumper to bumper traffic, and half a dozen people squeezing into the same square foot of pavement is unbelievable), and we raced to the Ticketmaster booth (by the Bank of America on Times Square - don't ask which one- like our tour guide told us, the previous day, you can't use banks or Starbucks or pharmacies as landmarks- there's one round every corner- but remember the BOA)

There was already a queue there, snaking around, but thank god it was moving fast, also that god there was a starbucks near by to eat while we waited.

Got pretty good seats by the way, Balcony first row thank you very much.

As for the show itself .... there are no words! It was absolutely incredible! The music! The dances! The comedy!

I was amazed at how much they accomplished with what seemed to me to be minimal props(compared to the Lion King at least... which is the only other Broadway show I've seen- also gorgeous by the way... I mean Disney, Elton John, Alan Menken... I mean- The Lion King! enough said)

I loved the way they wove the plot around the music, and what music! If I hadn't been on Broadway(and hence on my best behaviour), I'd probably have been jumping and dancing around like I was back in college!

I loved every character, each so masterfully detailed with just a few lines of dialogue. I'm not going to give away plot details here, because YOU SHOULD GO AND SEE IT FOR YOURSELF!, but, just to let you know, Judy McLane and Gina Ferrall are incredibly funny. Carolee Carmello has an amazing voice, just made for some of those dramatic songs.

A month later, I'm still on a high everytime I think of the show, and I'm already up for my next one- Anyone game for Phatom of the Opera?

On Atonement

2008-01-30T16:00:00.000-08:00

I really, really liked the book. And now I'm going to tell you why. In detail. So if you don't want to be spoilt, don't read any further.

First of all, I don't think this book is really about plot. Oh, the plot's there, but it's almost incidental, a cloud swirling around that one pivotal moment. And I don't think that the pivotal moment was the moment of Briony's lie, it was before that- the scene with Cecilia and Robbie at the fountain, Briony watching from above. There's this meta moment in the book, where Briony describes what the book itself is doing- taking a moment in three different points of view, each person's (mis) interpretation and the consequences that follow.

I love that fact that she cannot atone, not really, not completely. That even legally, her hands are tied. And there is no forgiveness from Cecilia or Robbie. Why should they forgive after all. Who would, who could? Will her apologies bring back the years that they lost? People assume that an apology given is an apology accepted. Those who throw the aplogy back in the face are bitter, ungracious. But what use is an apology? What difference does it make to the person who has been wronged? Whether by malice or ignorance, does it change anything?

There is Robbie desperately seeking a reason why, rationalizing it with an incident Briony neither remembers nor cares about anymore. And there is Briony. However reprehensible her actions, you cannot hate her. She was thirteen (though thirteen year old these days would probably not make the mistake- makes you almost thankful for the knowledge available), she had a vivid imagination, she so desperately wanted to be right . To do her justice though, when she did come to realize the truth, she faced up to the fact that she was wrong. What ever she was, she was not lacking in courage.

And there's Lola. She is hate-able, but God, I feel desperately sorry for her. She knew, she knew all along, and yet she went along with it. Did she already have plans for the future, blackmail maybe? Did she feel vindicated in the end, at her marrage, relieved at being made an honest woman of? Did she suffer from some version of the Stockholm syndrome, the only way her mind could cope with the tragedy? She was certainly self-centered enough that after the wedding, she cared little about the man who had shouldered the blame, but that no shadow fell on her own name, even if the criminal got away with it(or maybe I mean especially). One thing the book, the wedding scene in particular, does do, is strike a blow at all those caveman style romance novels. I do think you know the ones I mean.

It wasn't the subject matter, though that was sometimes harsh to read, but one particular word that made me think that the book deserved the R rating (well, the movie actually- I don't thin the book is rated). It was just a little jarring, to see that word in such a book. Possibly, it ws necessary, it gave that push to both Briony and Cecilia. Sometimes I am a little old fashioned.

I did love Briony's growth as an author, from fairy tales, to the recognition that no action can be judged independent of its consequences, as she becomes a more honest writer.

What I did when I was travelling

2008-01-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I last wrote, and many exciting things have happened since then. I’ve been to Disney World and Cape Canaveral, and New York and Washington, and will shortly post pictures of my trips.

Right now, I going into the books I’ve been reading lately. Schindler’s List first, which I read on the flight to Florida. Brilliant and intense, the story it told was just unbelievable. Both that people could sink to such depravity, in the name of doing good, and that people should have such courage to fight such a thing. Then there has been a series of lighter reads; two of Phillip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart series: ‘The Ruby in The Smoke’ and ‘The Shadow in the North’. Not fantasies as I had initially expected. More like Wilkie Collins’ ‘Moonstone’ or even a Sherlock Holmes. Both were very twisty and I love Lockhart being an independent-minded female financial consultant (talk about a boring job- just the sort that needs to be livened up by pirates and smugglers) in Victorian England. There’s so much more I liked about those books, but I can’t say more without giving the plot away. Only, I laughed at the person who actually solves the mystery in the first book. And I love Sally and Fred’s relationship in the second.

Then there are the rest of Baroness Emmuska Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel series, all available online at http://www.blakeneymanor.com/ . After a point they do get repetitive, you’d think Chauvelin would stop being so easily tricked. It starts feeling like those roadrunner cartoons. Still, good for timepass.

Also online, at http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page is ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’ and its sequel ‘Rupert of Hentzau’ both by Anthony Hope. The first is a fun adventure story, the second is substantially darker.

I’ve also been reading several of the Newberry award winning books, courtesy of my cousin. I’m a little surprised that some of these books are recommended to children, they’re all pretty deep and dark. I’ve read ‘The House of the Scorpions’ by Nancy farmer, and ‘The Goose Girl’ by Shannon Hale (she didn’t win the medal- in was a Newberry Honor for Princess Academy - not for this one). ‘The House of the Scorpions’ was excellent, if somewhat creepy.

‘The Goose Girl’ was good, but the there were several plothole, and the tone of the book went just a little preachy in the end. Much better was Louis Sachar’s ‘Holes’ which was also made into a very good movie. It’s a short book, and the plot flies by, and everything ties up neatly in the end. Then there’s Lois Lowry’s ‘The Giver’ which I may have mentioned before- one of the dystopias. She’s also written sequels that I want to read (The Messenger’ and something else). I’m halfway though another book my cousin recommended- ‘The Book Thief’ by Marcus Zuzack’ and after that I think its going to be ‘Atonement’, before I go to see the movie.

Yay for the used book store!!!

2007-10-16T17:49:00.000-07:00

I’m about half way through the books I had said I would read previously. It was really thanks to this amazing little used book store in Kutztown that I was able to buy many of these- I doubt if I would have bought them all a Barnes and noble- there are limits to my profligacy!

I started off with the Dark is rising Sequence by Susan Cooper. I actually read “The Dark is Rising” on Friday night (the 5th) at B&N. Then on Saturday morning I set off to Kutztown, down 222N. On the way I was distracted my an Amish shop selling pecan pies- it has been over 9 years since I had one, but still I remember the rich nutty taste. I had looked for it at Redner’s and at Tanner’s; for all that it was one of America’s Favourite Pies though, it was strangely elusive. But in the end, unexpectedly there it was, on the way to Kutztown.

Then there was a Flea Market. I don’t believe I’ve mentioned before my thrilling experiences a garage sales and Flea Markets. There was a garage sale that I went to many weeks ago when my mother was here. We got three comfortable solid wooden chars from there. The only problem was getting a pair of cushions for the large one which was an armchair, because we didn’t wasn’t to use someone else’s used cushions (for reasons I don’t want to go into detail here). Anyway, in the end the cushions were more expensive than all three chars put together. Still, I think of it as “A Good Deal”.

The first Flea Market I went to is about 2 hours from Reading, opposite an ashram. We’d gone to the Ashram actually, but ended up spending more time at the Flea Market, buying the most fascinating things. Cheap jewellery, old books, boxes a jewellery box like a small chest of drawers… The one on Kutztown road was much smaller though. And I got a rocking chair there – for $15!

Anyway –on to the bookstore – it’s this tiny cramped store, in the best tradition of second hand book stores. And I ended up buying about 10 books just because I could. You have to hunt though, among dusty shelves and in boxes and bins and squeeze through narrow spaces, and I felt like I never wanted to leave!

But I did in the end, loaded with last three from the Dark is Rising Sequence, “The Golden Compass” and “The Amber Spyglass” by Phillip Pullman, and sundry other novels.

The Dark is Rising can be read as just a kid’s story- the old-fashioned good vs. evil thing, except better written than most. I hadn’t realized that Over Sea, Under Stone was part of the series, now it’s the only one I haven’t read. You could be bothered by the almost inevitable feeling of the victory of the Light, like a Deux ex Machina, and the string of strange co-incidences that pave the path to victory, but the ending was just a little sad and very satisfactory. I do like the books though, the plot many not be great, but the characters are wonderfully fleshed out, and the whole story feels a little misty- blurred at the edges, softened, like you’re viewing it through not entirely transparent glass. It doesn’t moralize though, and doesn’t pretend to be anything but a story, doesn’t strive to be an epic (and isn’t one by any means). It’s short, even with all the books taken together, and rather sweet.

Phillip Pullman though- I had read only “The Amber Spyglass” before. It’s the last one in the trilogy, and I read the first two only now. I liked the Amber Spyglass for its story, but taken out of context, saw it only as a somewhat over complicated idea- too many characters, too many ideas, all coming together in one book.

Taken as a whole though, you really get the sense of beginning and end, of a coming together of many great purposes, small and large acts to the grand denouement.

I do hope they don’t make a mess of this series like they did with Susan Cooper’s when they make them into movies.

Two Lives- All Done!

2007-09-26T17:32:00.000-07:00

I’m finally DONE with Vikram Seth’s ‘Two Lives’. I think it’ll be a while before I can bring myself to pick up a biography again. The story was a bit slow, detailing the author’s Aunt and Uncle’s lives before, during, and after World War II, she a German Jew during the Holocaust, he a dentist working for the British Army. The parts pertaining to the war, and the recovery period after it was very compelling, but the long list of friends and relatives, the hot and cold of relationships was a bit wearying to go through.

Another book I recently read concerning the Holocaust was ‘Briar Rose’ by Jane Yolen. It was my cousin who gave me the book, and it was from her school library. I was rather surprised to hear that it had been in the children’s section. Though it was based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, I thought it dealt with some ideas that are far too disturbing for a child to read. But then again ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ is considered children’s literature by many, I read it when I was about eleven myself, and I don’t think this one is that much harder to read.

One point that made an impression on me in both Briar Rose and in ‘Two Lives’ , was that they both dealt with the fact that the trials and tribulations of the victims did not end with the war. Even afterwards they had to cope with massive bureaucracies, and just the unwillingness of people to admit that they had been wronged – because to admit that would mean admitting that they had to make reparation, perhaps giving up some of what they had gained, even if not directly, then indirectly through the oppression of others.

Now, the next book on my agenda is Schindler’s List. It’s another of those books I have always been meaning to read, but never got to reading.

One more book I quickly got through, over the weekend, was ‘The Prisoner of Zenda’. It was as good as I remembered, but compared to some of the other books I was reading, felt a bit soap-opera-esque or fairytale-ish, though its not really a happy ending…

That brings me to other books I want to re-read. The Hunchback of Notre-Dame for one, then Wuthering Heights. I only remember the vaguest details of the plots of these books. I read them when I was in sixth standard, in my room, with the door locked so that no one could see what I was actually doing when I was supposed to be studying.

Homesick for LA

2007-09-14T05:22:00.000-07:00

It was when I was walking across the overbridge that connects the parking lot to my office building that I felt my breath catch as I was transported 3000 miles to the west. Though, it may sound strange that it was the cool breeze that brought it on, not the blazing summer sun that we have had for the past two months. But I have never been in LA through summer – last year I went back to India in June, and this year of course, I had left by February.

But yesterday the sky was blue, the sun was high, there was a nip in the air, and I could almost believe that the red brick of my office front was actually Powell library.

And then reality brought me crashing down, back to 9 hours of work ahead.

In my crystal Ball

2007-09-12T18:24:00.000-07:00

From the books that I have finished, coming to those I want to read (or re-read) over the next few months- the first would be ‘Siddhartha’. I already have it, its been sitting on my bookshelf for a while now, just waiting to be picked up.

Then, I want to read all those books that are shortly going to become movies, starting with Phillippa Gregory’s ‘The Other Boelyn Girl’ and the others in her series about King Henry VIII wives etc. I’ve seen those books in Barnes and Noble many, many times, but been too lethargic to pick them up. Now, however, there is some urgency in me to read the book before seeing the movie.

So many books are being made into movies this fall- I’ll have to read Beowulf (though that was one that I have long wanted to), and re-read The Golden Compass (by Phillip Pullman) and The Dark is Rising (Susan Cooper).

I’m actually amazed that the Golden Compass is being made at all – with all its negative references to an evil church (in a parallel universe to be fair) – though apparently it did run into some controversy over that here http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/his_dark_materials_the_golden_compass/news/1664784/

But given the popularity of turning books into movies, I’m surprised that one author who hasn’t been made it on the silver screen is Georgette Heyer (except for a version of Arabella and a spoof of The Reluctant Widow)- ‘The Masqueraders’ would be perfect on screen, so would ‘These Old Shades’ (they could even do a trilogy with ‘The Devil’s Cub’ and ‘The Infamous Army’– that seems like the norm these days) , or ‘Friday’s Child’ or ‘The Grand Sophy or…. And I could keep going. Just a matter of time I guess!

Fiascos in Flying

2007-09-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

I commented just yesterday on Ash’s blog that I sympathized with her troubles while flying- and was reminded of the entire hullaboo that I have come to associate with flying over the last couple of years.

I remember my first flight quite well actually. I was eight and we were flying from Madras to Singapore on Singapore Airlines. Here, I should make the point that Singapore Airlines was and continues to be the airlines with the best service. The flight was, the food was good(I didn’t understand until years later why airline food was so reviled), they gave us goody bags for kids(to keep them occupied) with this plastic toy with holes into which you could loop colorful thread (I still have it!). I think that early experience is why, though I know that optimism is the certain path to disappointment, I still look forward to a flight.

There were other memorable flights – there was the flight on a tiny plane with about a dozen passengers, which had engine trouble(and excellent sandwiches) and landed in Chandigarh when in was to go to Shimla (or something like that). I think I should have been more concerned than I was, sitting on that flight, but there were magnificent views as we flew along the foothills of the Himalayas, and that distracted me somewhat (what a good thing I was not in the cockpit!).

Its not just the security procedures that are a pain these days – I can live with that- I understand its necessary, maybe its paranoid, maybe long lines are a pain, whatever- that’s Ok. I can live with the ‘only 23 kg’s’ thing that airlines have – I don’t really want to carry heavy suitcases myself.No, what really, really annoys me is the actual flight itself. Long gone are the days when a 7:30 flight actually meant a 7:30 flight. These days you’re lucky if you leave before. No more food on flights – peanuts if you’re lucky. Either pack food from home – or pay a small ransom and buy something to eat at the airport. It's most annoying with drinks. You can’t bring liquids through security and what costs $1.25 one side of the X-ray machine, costs $2.50 on the nother! And its not like the Air Hostesses ( Oh ok – Stewardesses or Stewards) actually answer when you when you press the little light, and bring you the drink you want when you’re thirsty… )

There was the flight from Bombay to New York through London- that was about 9 years ago. I still remember being awed by the number of shops at Heathrow. I watched Jerry Maguire three times over that trip- and never tired of it. Is it just me or is the quality of movies they show on board also deteriorating? (or is it that the movies themselves are deteriorating?) It used to be prospective Oscar winners, fresh as they were running in theatres- no more – now we get six month old flops that you couldn’t pay me to see… maybe they’re encouraging people to sleep on flights? That was also one of the first flights of the Boeing 767 (I think that’s the right number anyway). Huge plane – much more legroom that you get these days (no I haven’t grown any taller – trust me on that!).

Its not just the security procedures that are a pain these days – I can live with that- I understand its necessary, maybe its paranoid, maybe long lines are a pain, whatever- that’s Ok. I can live with the ‘only 23 kg’s’ thing that airlines have – I don’t really want to carry heavy suitcases myself.

No, what really, really annoys me is the actual flight itself. Long gone are the days when a 7:30 flight actually meant a 7:30 flight. These days you’re lucky if you leave before 12. No more food on flights – peanuts if you’re lucky. Either pack food from home – or pay a small ransom and buy something to eat at the airport. Its most annoying with drinks. You can’t bring liquids through security and what costs $1.25 one side of the X-ray machine, costs $2.50 on the other! And its not like the Air Hostesses ( Oh ok – Stewardesses or Stewards) actually answer when you when you press the little light, and bring you the drink you want when you’re thirsty…

And connecting flights – I hope whoever invented that nightmare is burning away in some inner circle of Hell, because Hell is what I feel I go through rushing from one flight to catch another! Imagine that you have 45 minutes between the landing of one flight and the take – off of the next. And of course the first flight is half an hour late. And then the connecting flight is at the nest terminal and you have to catch the Skytrain/ Shuttle/ Just run as fast as you can and hope your luggage also makes it.

I was on supposed to go on this flight from LA to Philly on Continental a couple of months ago. That flight was cancelled(after we got to the airport) and we were re-booked on American Airlines. Of course our luggage got lost. We talked to customer representatives for a week, getting conflicting answers from “Oh, we have it right here – we’ll send it right away!” to “We have no idea. We have no record of such a piece” and I was about ready to give up- or go mad – when an amazingly kind and responsible representative actually tracked the piece down and had it sent to us, finally ending the nightmare.

And connecting flights – I hope whoever invented that nightmare is burning away in some inner circle of Hell, because Hell is what I feel I go through rushing from one flight to catch another! Imagine that you have 45 minutes between the landing of one flight and the take – off of the next. And of course the first flight is half an hour late. And then the connecting flight is at the nest terminal and you have to catch the Skytrain/ Shuttle/Just run as fast as you can and hope your luggage also makes it.

I was on supposed to go on this flight from LA to Philly on Continental a couple of months ago. That flight was cancelled(after we got to the airport) and we were re-booked on American Airlines. Of course our luggage got lost. We talked to customer representatives for a week, getting conflicting answers from “Oh, we have it right here – we’ll send it right away!” to “We have no idea. We have no record of such a piece” and I was about ready to give up- or go mad – when an amazingly kind and responsible representative actually tracked the piece down and had it sent to us, finally ending the nightmare.

2007-09-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

Maybe I’m just uninterested in the real lives of real people, but I’m just finding ‘Two Lives’ by Vikram Seth really hard to finish- 200 pages down (over the last month) and 250 (or more) to go. It’s a really good book though, a little slow, but nicely written (dub – like I said real people – not heroes endowed with magical or supernatural powers), but parts of it are very nicely written. His fondness for his subjects clearly comes through, and his unwillingness of pry too far into their lives (this far and no further) which leaves you with something to ponder when all is done. (I like that in a book – if it ends all roundly and satisfactorily, with no spaces in between, how boring! The best stories are the ones that have you day-dreaming, about all those unmentioned thoughts, those unspoken words, that make you author, a co-creator of the universe.)

But in the middle of reading the above book, I got swept away by a real page turner. It was my sister who sent me ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khalid Hosseini, and since then, it has been passed around the family. That was an absolutely heart-wrenching book. The characters are painfully real- their flaws so believable, as is their need to rise above them. It was so hard to read, and so hard to put away. Then of course I had to go on and read the next book by the author – ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’. Not as good as the first, (you’d think I’d like it better, being about the plight of women and all), still is was an excellent book. Bittersweet satisfying ending and all.

I had read Stardust last Winter actually, during a sort of read many, many Neil Gaiman’s and Terry Pratchett’s as possible thing I was going through. It started with Good Omens. Have I told you what an incredibly funny book that is? Well, it is an incredibly funny book. Nice (and accurate? (you’ll have to read it to get that inside joke)), light, without being stupid, happy ending (or is it?). Talks on a sequel, talks of a movie… nothing seems to be happening…

Still back to Stardust- it was a very good book, which was why I was so surprised that it became such a good movie (so young and yet so cynical !) Of course they messed with the story a bit, as I complained through those scenes to my long-suffering cousin, still even that didn’t make a hash of it. I’d like to see ‘Neverwhere’ come out as a movie too. I never really got ‘American Gods’ though , or ‘Anansi Boys’.

And I must make a mention here of Enchantment(seems like an appropriate place to mention this book), not quite sure when I read it, though definitely in the past one year, it’s a modern Sleeping Beauty by Orson Scott Card ( ‘Ender’s Game’) . Was V.V. Good! Remember being surprised, didn’t expect to like it (my mistake, all his stuff is generally at least readable), but I did anyway.

Now on to Stephanie Mayer’s New Moon , Twilight , Eclipse trilogy about Vampires, Werewolves and the humans in between. Actually just one human, who (wouldn’t you know it)has one of each in love with her... aaah what angst. Its actually kind of addictive – like Ice cream, that you know isn’t going to do anything for you, but you can’t resist anyway. Lots of general teen angst, sappiness, tall dark (and blonde – whatever you taste, it will be catered to) handsome, brooding heroes.

And… that’s all folks! ( Looney Tunes song plays)

On the Deathly Hallows

2007-08-28T05:16:00.000-07:00

Let me start by giving a brief (maybe 100 words, maybe 200)... critique of HP & Deathly Hallows. Long gone are the days when people had to beg me to write about anything but HP... this commentry is quite reluctantly written. Certainly I am guilty of waiting breathlessly, for the last book to arrive at my doorstep, delivered frm Amazon.com by USPS - I didn't lose my head enough to think it was worth losing a night's sleep over, to go and pick it up at midnight from the nearest Barnes and Noble. I have my priorities straight. Nothing gets between me and my beauty rest!

I had however, avidly trolled the web for spoilers in the days that preceded the release, and while I didn't read any complete versions, I did read one epilogue that I scornfully dismissed as deliriously hopeful fan fiction.

And then came the book and alas, the revelation that the epilogue that I had read was in fact, the 'Real Thing'.

The shock! The disillusionment!All the other shortcomings of the book could have been forgiven, if not for that cavity-inducing, saccharine epilogue(it was supposed to be 'poetic'!?).

I could have overlooked the fact that the arch-villain had been turned from a tiger into a pussy-cat with his teeth pulled and claws clipped. The hero equipped with some sort of deux-ex-machina-esque power that ensured that he never could fail.

The book was far longer than it sould have been; there as so much that could have been trimmed and prunes, and one gets the feeling that there sould have been so much there, that wasn't- like whole explanations had been chopped off, and unnecessary bits of chatter added.

Some parts of the book read like copies of books we have already read before - the Sword in the pool - King Arthur anyone? And Harry going to his death accompanied by the spirits of those who loved him- Narnia, 'Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe' - though there is another myth on which both are based.

Those were two best scenes in the book though. I loved the scene where Ron came back(being a Ron fan)- though I was really annoyed with the way he left, and the one in which Harry gives himself up was amazingly moving.

Oddly enough I am satisfied with the explanation for Snape's defection. Not so much that I believe in the power of his love for Lily, but the way Dumbledore manipulated him to make him protect Harry.

And I love the way Dumbledore has been humanized, less Godlike, although I don't think it means Harry is a better wizard really.Not just the weight of age, or lack thereof, but somehow you don't see that strength in Harry, of being tempered by overcoming his greatest weaknesses and fears.Harry never really seems to have doubted himself or the ultimate success of his cause. He has never known the depth of betrayal, guilt, maybe hopelessness that Dumbledore did, I think, and still risen above all that. It reminded me of what Dumbledore said in book 1 about Neville, and how it took a greater courage to stand up to ones friends that to ones enemies.

So much for my 200 words, this has taken longer than I expected, and if I don't stop know, I probably won't until every bit of the book has been dissected.

PS. While I pity the poor child saddled with the name, I thought Albus Severus was actually quite sweet. It seems that Harry had in the end become the bigger man and forgiven Snape for his attitude, and recognized his contributions, and the fact that a man may e mean without being evil incarnate.

Harry Potter movie 5 Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter month at last! It seems like I'm googling for nothing but Harry Potter speculations these days. Thankfully, the movie came by and took the edge off my anticipation. Considering that it was my least favorite of the books, I'm stunned to find myself saying that its probably my favorite movie. Umbridge and Luna were amazing, the trio, not half bad, Bellatrix and Lucius were madly and suavely respectively, evil. And Sirius' deat was very well done.

A little disappointed with all the stuf that seems to have been just glossed over. Not just Quidditch - after all we're going into a war here - children's games can well be sacrificed - but the prophecy! After all, at least as far as I am concerned, there was no point to the 5th book, but to provied a sort of cushioning for the grand deneoument which was Hary finding out about the prophecy - here it was all cushion and a half a minute -and that's a generous estimate - where we find out why exactly Voldemort went after Harry in the first place - and not very clearly either. I mean, if anyone watches the movie without reading the book, they'll probably go "Huh, where did he jump to that conclusion from?" Anyway, if you have read the book, it brings out all the important parts to life very nicely.

Now, though I have to go and tensely crawl the Net for scraps on the final book.

7/7/07

2007-07-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Today's supposed to be a lucky day- for gamblers, weddings, and who knows what else- the world as a whole if you consider the Live Earth concerts. I'm hoping it'll prove lucky as far as my continued blogging is concerned as well. I've made my own pledge - to replace my lights with energy efficient ones, switch off all appliances when I'm not using them. (Good for my electric bill too) Ironically, I was probably more energy efficient upto a couple of weeks ago when I was going to and from work by bus everyday- before I got my car. Still, I'm below the national average as far as Carbon emissions go- working on going lower though - next step buy local produce? Easier said than done - as much as I love farmer's markets (I blogged sometime ago on one of my favorite ones ) - now that I'm working, its not easy to go to ones on weekdays- also lack of Indian spices and other veggies :P. Actually did go a small local produce place recently. Bought a cabbage the size of a small planet there. Probably not going to be consumed another two weeks.

The Working Girl

2007-02-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

At long last I've left my life of liesure ( please don't tell me grad life is anything but) and started working (alas!). Moved to Philadelphia where I was preceded by an ominous snowstorm- I refused to take the hint and came anyway. Found the place deep in six inches of snow , freezing the skin of my nose!

Already missing LA - warm sun and light breeze, snow is exciting the first couple of times you look at it, it gets old real fast! I'm beginning to regret all my initial ethusiasm at a white winter. To quote some famous and wise guy ( or maybe just a wiseguy) The Worst thing that could happen is that your greatest desires may be fulfilled. That unfortunately is all too true. Still I'm told that all this is only for another manth (at the most), then Spring will be in the Air, flowers, green grass... warm sun.... Fortunately the groundhog did not see its own shadow this year, so we're spared the additional six weeks of winter.

Down to San Diego and hallo to Shamu

2006-05-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the Memorial Day long weekend by going to San Diego on Saturday. Started the day by making Pasta ( food being the most important of all things) for lunch- from a Betty Crocker cookbook too- and it came out so well! As good as anything you'd get in a restaurant!

Then we took the bus down to Bundy- then the freeway bus to Union Station. The station which is in Downtown LA is really pretty. And right next to it is a little market in a tiny street with quaint old buildings - unfortunately there was no time to stop and shop - ah well, perhaps another day. But we wanted to take the Greyhound bus to San Diego, but turned out that was waaaay down the road, and no direct bus there. So we took a bus that went to 7th street, which is about 5 blocks from the Greyhound station. We passed the interesting part of downtown- little shops ans lots of tourists... then as we walked down 7th street things rapidly started getting shady- lots of homeless people - people shouting, leering... we just walked as fast as we could and never took our eyes off the road. That was probably the scariest experience I've had so far!

We were too late to catch the bus that we wanted to take- it left in 10 minutes and they had stopped selling tickets for it. So, not wanting to walk back the way we came we took a taxi back to Union station, and were we glad to get back to a halfway respetable area!

We gobbled up lunch while we waited for the Amtrak train to arrive- we'd made Pasta and brought it with us in the morning, and yummy Pasta it was too! Then we were on our way

The train took a wonderfully scenic route, and at long last we exprerience some of the summery weather that California is so renowned for. People sunning themselves on the beaches, playing beach volleyball, surfing, swimming, water-skiing, paragliding... all the world was a playground around us.

sigh... I'm never going to finish this blog, but I'm going to publish it anyway... suffice to say it was a great day and one I still rememer

Past, Present and Future

2006-05-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Right now I'm feeling terribly pleased with myself. I've been blogging for just over a year now and have averaged about a blog a week. Alas, output these last couple of months has gone down. Hopefully, now, with exams out of the way(project thankfully just don't create the same kind of stress- except Adaptive filters- but that's another story), I can start blogging regularly agian.

To update you on my latest movements- Appa and I went to Hollywood on Saturday- Appa was here on a business trip and stopped over with goodies as he made his way back to the Other Side of the World. And we went to Hollywood. No, Spielberg did not stop me on the street and ask me to act in his next movie and no I did not get asked out by Tom Cruise, but yes I did have an interesting encounter with a masked supervillain outside the Chinese Theatre.

There were superheroes as well, not that even one offered to save me- not Batman , not Spiderman nor Superman *sigh* it just isn't the same anymore for damsels in distress. Anyway I have a nice pic to show- with me with a plastic knife at my throat, artistically throwing my head back....

Ate at a MacDonalds. Was outraged to find that theyve removed Veggie burgers off the menu altogether! I mean Hallo? This is the 21st century! Vegetarianism, health foodism etc is in! What kind of idiot takes Veggie Burgers off the menu at a time like this( and me starving too!).

Though I haven't had time to blog recently, I have found time over the past 3 weeks or so to play the Da Vinci Quest every morning- 10 am Pacific Standard time. Pleased to say that I completed the first stage of the quest, now hoping to be one of the 100000 finalists that get an honest-to -goodness cryptex with which they do the second part.... and one winner gets all- trips to Paris, London, New York... a TV ,a Digicam.... well... that's like aimning for the moon, I'll be fairly content just going to the movie come Friday night.

San Fransisco Part I

2006-04-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

At long last I actually have something to write about- as opposed to ramblings from my disorganized mind, and day to day happenings that even I wouldn't remember if I hadn't written them down.

So I went to San Fransisco- the city with the Golden Gate Bridge (although its orange, rather than gold- there's a story behind that- will get to it later.)

Left early Satuday morning- by early I mean seriously - 2 o'clock in the morning types- being panicky and needing to get to the airport 3 hours or so in advance( legacy of my grandparents).
Caught flight from LAX- was first person through security that morinng(!)

Flight was short- not much to see out of the window, though I'd specifically asked for the window seat- all was cloudy.

Until we almost landed. We broke through the clouds and voila- there stretched before us the San Fransisco Bay - and a bridge across it- not the Golden Gate- though I named it so in my head immediately- so beautiful was the view - with rays of light gently breaking through the clouds to illuminate it, all in gold.

The airport is almost on the sea, and as the plane landed there was the most disconcerting feeling of appearing to land on the water itself. The airport itself has not much to brag about- small compared to LAX and (in my humble opinion) , could use some better maintainance. Took shuttle from airport to hotel on Fisherman's Wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf is this tiny peninsula on the northern tip of the city. Its a pretty place, with tiny shops and hills and and the sea, has a lovely view of Alcatraz(the Rock) and Ghirardelli Square (the chocolate Ghirardelli?)

It was raining in SF. Apparently its always raining in SF. Was glad I took my jacket- that's my new jacket btw- inaugurated on Tamil New Year's day, bought from Rodeo Drive( Rodeo Drive where the prices are never mentioned- if you ask for the price- you can't afford it- this was bought on sale- naturally).

Anyway- it wasn't the nasty kind of rain- more like a gently drizzle that just cooled the place down without freezing you to the bone.The shuttle drive took us through the Embarcadero - that's one of the Places to See- its this long road that runs along the coast- and for the second time I mistook yet another bridge for the Golden Gate- actually it was the Bay Bridge which connects SF to the city of Oakland- but its huge and imposing looking (actually, I later found out that the Bay bridge was built only about a year before the Golden Gate- that has a story behind it too- everything seems to - in SF)

Dumped bags at hotel and walked down to Ghiradelli Square (the chocolate place) had a muffin and hot chocolate for breakfast. Now fortified, began long climb upto Lombard street. Though only a few blocks away, the climb was exhausting because of the steep hills that seem to go almost at 90 degrees! Finally made it to the top- and as I stood there, panting... finally! my first view of the REAL Golden Gate Bridge. It's top was obscured by low hanging clouds, but it was that distinctive orange. And over it hung anothier bridge - a rainbow. Stood for a while looking at the beautiful sight- felt almost as though the city was greeting me, blessing me - with all that beauty. Finally the rainbow dissipated and I turned away, and went in search of the crooked street.

The Crooked Street (Crookedest Street in the World) is the most picturesque part of Lombard Street. Actually as I looked down upon it, I thought it was some kind of garden or maze of bushes, it took a couple of minutes before I realised that it was a road and there was actuallu traffic moving through it! ( should have a driving test there- ultimate test of driving skills!)

At last after catching my breath went back to Ghirardelli, sat up in the little tower will the bells- the carillons, and enjoyed a lovely view of Alcatraz. Went down to the street after a while. We walked down the road and eyed the street side vendors selling jewellery and pictures and postcards with interest. Went down to and isolated pier where we were chased away by annoyed seagulls on whose territoty we were encroaching. Went to the Maritime museum and stood right on top near the captain's chair and the rudder (looks a lot like the decks you see on Star Trek- looks like deck design's aren't expected to change in the Space Age)

We went for lunch after that - at IHOP (International House of Pancakes) wasn't in the mood for anything sweet- all that Ghirardelly chocolate had effectively killed that! So had a cheese sandwich.

Then we went for a Ferry Ride- through the Bay- below the Golden Gate and around Alcatraz.

That's where all the fascinating tales came up- about the guy who called himself the Emperor of America and decreed that a bridge be built joining the cities of SF and Oakland- it was- many years later - the Bay Bridge. About the Chinese immigrants who were caught and imprisoned in Angel Island- and Alcatraz( which I kept referring to as Azkaban- accidentally- I need to get Harry Potter out of my system!). As it turns out the Golden gate bridge was so named because it spans the Golden gate strait- which was named after the Golden Horn in Byzantium(?)!!!
The gate itself is painted orange ('International Orange'???) to go with the color of the sea and the hills flanking it.

But most exciting(well, that may be a bit exaggerated), but it was definitely entertaining- the sealions that have taken over the docks of Pier 39. Lazy lumps, they just lie there looking fat and content. Some of them rouse themselves enough to fight - like WWF wrestlers really- pushing each other around, keeping people entertained for hours! Then there are ones the flop on to the dock and clamber over the sleeping ones- which only grunt and roll over- at the most! - to find their chosen sleeping spot.

We wandered through the place- saw hard rock Cafe- didn't go inside (alas!). There was a funny show by a couple of jugglers. The last act was particularly good- where she juggled flaming torches while balanced on a pole, held on the shoulders of two men.

We went to Union Square afer that- well, tried to- parking being the biggest problem- we passed through Chiatown- I've wanted to see a China Town ever since I came to the US- and that is one desire of mine satisfied- sadly, there were no Dragons or Chinese people in their little hats, or Pagodas... it was all rather normal though the crowds were homely, reminded me of being in T Nagar.

We went to the Civic centre first. The building is more like something you'd expect to see in Europe- all gilded decorations and statues and lawns.

Then we went to Union Square- there's a lovely square there, and its lively even late at night, and we could hear the lonely notes of a trumpeteer from the 7th floor of the building where we were- 6 floors were Macy's but the Seventh floor was the Cheesecake factory. Now who it was who thought that cheese and cake( two more unrelated things you cannot find in my opinion) are a good combination, I do not know- but they're a genius! We started with desert as we were waiting for a place to be seated, but the cake was so filling we ended packing most of dinner( I ate it for Sunday night's dinner)

Went straight home( or rather, to the hotel)after that- and crashed till Sunday morning.