I volunteered to take up this tag from Usha(Ya, I know! For the fuss I create about doing tags, *rolling eyes*) - it interested me since I've always fared abysmally with so-called classics. This tag is right up my alley as it has all the categories that apply to me. One thing that struck me was its a list of 106 books, not a well-rounded number like 100 or 125, but 106! Anyway, without further ado, here goes......
"Following is a list of books that decorate most people's bookshelves but not always read. In this tag we are supposed to reveal how ill read we are by showing the ones read in bold, by underlining the ones read at school, and by italicising the ones started but never finished. "
I added one more category which is the ones I have read abridged versions and never bothered to read the “real deals”- these are identified in blue.
1. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
2. Anna Karenina
3. Crime and Punishment
4. Catch-22
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude
6. Wuthering Heights
7. The Silmarillion
8. Life of Pi : a novel
9. The Name of the Rose
10. Don Quixote
11. Moby Dick
12. Ulysses
13. Madame Bovary
14. The Odyssey
15. Pride and Prejudice
16. Jane Eyre
17. The Tale of Two Cities
18. The Brothers Karamazov
19. Guns, Germs, and Steel
20. War and Peace
21. Vanity Fair
22. The Time Traveler’s Wife
23. The Iliad
24. Emma
25. The Blind Assassin.
26. The Kite Runner
27. Mrs. Dalloway
28. Great Expectations
29. American Gods
30. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
31. Atlas Shrugged
32. Reading Lolita in Tehran : a memoir in books
33. Memoirs of a Geisha
34. Middlesex
35. Quicksilver
36. Wicked : the life and times of the wicked witch of the West
37. The Canterbury Tales
38. The Historian : a novel
39. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
40. Love in the Time of Cholera
41. Brave New World
42. The Fountainhead
43. Foucault’s Pendulum
44. Middlemarch
45. Frankenstein
46. The Count of Monte Cristo
47. Dracula
48. A Clockwork Orange
49. Anansi Boys
50. The Once and Future King
51. The Grapes of Wrath
52. The Poisonwood Bible
53. 1984
54. Angels and Demons
55. Inferno
56. The Satanic Verses
57. Sense and Sensibility
58. The Picture of Dorian Gray
59. Mansfield Park
60. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
61. To the Lighthouse
62. Tess of the D’Urbervilles
63. Oliver Twist
64. Gulliver’s Travels
65. Les Misérables
66. The Correction
67. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
68. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
69. Dune
70. The Prince
71. The Sound and the Fury
72. Angela’s Ashes : a memoir
73. The God of Small Things
74. A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present
75. Cryptonomicon
76. Neverwhere
77. A Confederacy of Dunces
78. A Short History of Nearly Everything
79. Dubliners
80. The Unbearable Lightness of Being
81. Beloved
82. Slaughterhouse-five
83. The Scarlet Letter
84. Eats, Shoots and Leaves
85. The Mists of Avalon
86. Oryx and Crake
87. Collapse : how societies choose to fail or succeed
88. Cloud Atlas
89. The Confusion
90. Lolita
91. Persuasion
92. Northanger Abbey
93. The Catcher in the Rye
94. On the Road
95. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
96. Freakonomics : a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything
97. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance : an inquiry into values
98. The Aeneid
99. Watership Down
100. Gravity’s Rainbow
101. The Hobbit
102. In Cold Blood : a true account of a multiple murder and its consequences
103. White Teeth
104. Treasure Island
105. David Copperfield
106. The Three Musketeers
There, these are my dismal stats : 25/106.
If anyone else is interested, please do take up the tag.
A case of the classics
Tuesday, May 27, 2008Woh kaagaz ki kashti...
Yeh daulat bhi le lo
Yeh shohrat bhi le lo
Bhale cheen lo mujhse meri javaani
Magar mujhko lauta do bachpan ka saavan,
Woh kaagaz ki kashti, woh baarish ka paani.
Did you hear about the doodle for G-o-o-g-l-e competition?
Kids from K-12 were asked to participate in re-designing the Google homepage logo. While you are at the website check out a video of the original Google logo designer at work. Did you see the art work submitted by finalists? Isnt it just marvellous? Their write-up is even more impressive.
While it was hard to pick favorites, I couldnt help but be amazed by the beauty and simplicity of this one. This from a 10 yr old! 
Lending a Helping Hand
What if the whole world lent a helping hand? There wouldn't be homeless people. Also, we'd all have equal rights. There would be angels, no devils, and only heroes. There would be peace on earth. That's what would happen if the whole world lent a helping hand.
Name: Hanna Goldstein
School: Deerfield Elementary School, New Jersey
Its these kinds of things that make me want to go back to school in these times when opportunities are endless, avenues are infinite and the passion to create is unfettered. Art is and will always remain my favorite retreat- whether it be art admiration or art in itself.
Another website I ran into recently that makes me want to be a kid all over again is http://yocee.in/. A website for the young in Chennai. Take a look at the articles written by school children all over the city. Such interesting topics, so much to do, so much to learn, such abundant scope for creativity.
Sigh!
Footnote : Thanks to a certain special someone :), I am currently listening to Koi baat chale, sung by JS, written by Ustad Gulzar and my favorite right now goes...
Yeh dil bhi dost zameen ki tarah
Ho jaata hai *damadol kabhi
Khushbu ki zubaan mein bol kabhi...........
Phoolon ki tarah lab khol kabhi
Khushbu ki zubaan mein bol kabhi.
*damadol=fluctuates
Listen to it here.
All in a day's work
Friday, May 23, 20088:30am this morning : As I amble along the walkway that connects the parking lot and the double doors of the building...I see our Exec VP holding the door for me, one after the other.
(Whoa!) "Good morning!" I say cheerily and he smiles back.
Its just the two of us as we head towards the elevator. He rings for it.
Companionable silence ensues as we wait for the elevator. He keeps himself occupied by peering into his blackberry. I gaze at the wide-screen tv in our lobby which airs the latest news. Elevator arrives, he stand by and lets me get in. He gets in, politely asks "Which floor? He punches in his floor and mine, doors close and we stand still to the quiet hum of the elevator. As the doors open for my floor, "Have a nice day!" I wish him as I get off the elevator.
I wait for the doors to close to do a small jig. My day is made! And its only 8:45 in the morning. Simple, yet so impactful, isnt it?
Flashback : About 10 yrs ago I was just beginning my career. Working for a quasi-govt organization, I had to take the company bus that would stop in front of my house at 7:30am. I was a trainee, so my badge screamed like a banshee. It was a bus load of employees, quite senior, veterans both at work and in the bus. The first few rows on the right(three-seaters) were filled with women, the rest were all men. I got in and sat down in the second row(a three seater), an aisle seat. Within a few seconds, the lady next to me tapped me quite abruptly and told me in a stern voice "There's a lady who gets on in the next stop, this is her seat.". "Oh, I am very sorry, I didnt know" said I and got up frantically looking for an alternative. Every vacant seat I sat down at came with an unwritten message that it was someone's seat. But outwardly I saw no signs saying the seats were allotted. Thankfully the next stop was the last before the bus launched on its long drive to the work premise. In a matter of minutes, and of course within a few days I understood the protocol. If you were the junior-most employee(non) you get to wait till the last pickup stop to find out if there were any vacant spots AND then deign to seat yourself. If none were available, one stood- all the way. It was quite evident not even the men wanted to forgo their favorite seats.
Now, after all these years, perhaps I am more tolerant and understanding of where they came from. It is but natural that a trainee was a short-timer. They, on the other hand, were life long travelers. They must've had their set routines, a pre-set combination of people who sat together. Why should some short-timer come and disrupt the comfort of their schedule? Back then, I used to be disgusted. At six months, when I finished the training, I heaved a sigh of relief at getting move on to a REAL job with a better pay and full recognition that I was a respected part of the work force. But it was these experiences that made me tough enough to face the challenges that life brings to one's plate.
Footnote : A long weekend is around the corner. Weather predictions call for warm weather, perfect for inaugarating grill parties and chili cookouts for the year. Blogger also tells me this will be my 250th post. Calls for celebration. Wear your party hats and meet me out in the deck.
Alimentary, my dear Watson
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Freedom
Saturday, May 17, 2008Freedom, you are
an arbour in the garden, the koel's song,
glistening leaves on banyan trees,
my notebook of poetry, to scribble as I please.
~Shamshur Rahman, Shadhinota Tumi
...........such is the preface to....
A Golden Age
by Tahmima Anam
Whats the story about?
....about a widow with a daughter and a son living in East Pakistan(pre 1971 now known as Bangladesh). The nerves of steel of this young widow by which she survives a life long struggle to keep her kids who in turn join the war for independence. The poignant tale of this woman of steel caught between holding her children close to her heart and letting them go for a higher cause.
What makes it special?
.....the powerful script, the moving tale, the strong characters, the travails of a common (wo)man in a freedom struggle.
What keeps the story going?
.....the challenges that life throws at one and all, the inevitable depravity that war brings along with it, the scars that take an eternity to heal.
What do you need to keep in mind?
.....somewhere about 2/3rds into the book, it begins to drag some. But keep prodding along because the end makes it worth the effort. Its the cincher that makes a good tale catapult into the elevated ranks of a masterpiece.
Chai and chitchat-ii
Thursday, May 15, 2008Over some date cake and chai, time for some gupshup.
* Last in the series of spring flowers from my garden are these irises.
* # of books in the reading cart, waiting to be indulged in = 5
* After a long spell of wet weather(the plants almost groaned and complained about rotting), the temperatures have risen, the sun is out and looks like summer is about ready to officially break out.
* Got to restart my diet and exercise regimen. With a lot of other commitments and priorities, this has been pathetically set aside on the back burner. That only means the layers of fat are all back to haunt me.
* Voice of reason horoscope of the month :
Taurus - Paying-off troublemakers, especially, but not exclusively, blackmailers threatening to go to the press with grainy pictures, is prominent in your charts, however the solution doesn't appear until well into May so is outside the scope of this month-long reading. Best advice is to make it all up as you go along and read next month's predictions when we get round to writing them. Dogs will provide moments of egg-balancing-on-nose gravity-defying levity during the month.
You feel that you are going nowhere in life. You are probably right. Milwaukee is full of Taureans. They make little dioramas of their homes, complete with tiny effigies of the people they know, and act out scenarios of the way things would be if they were God.
* SK, a long time ago, gave me this award, my first in blogdom. The reason I have taken this long to accept it is not denial. I couldnt figure out how these awards work . It appears to be like tags, which kinda defeats the purpose imo. But heck, who am I to contest the rules that have been set forth in this hallowed blog world where I am but a newbie. So, here it is, my brag badge of honor. I will update this post once I decide to pass this along to someone worthy :D. Till then, its ALL mine! It sure feels nice. And thank you SK for thinking about me, much appreciated.
Here is what the award is for.
“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”
Confluence
Tuesday, May 13, 2008Confluence (kŏn'flū-əns)
n.
- A flowing together of two or more streams.
- The point of juncture of such streams.
- The combined stream formed by this juncture.
A scenic spot + Some peace and quiet + Some history + A handful of rivers + Some benches = A grand confluence of nature at it's best
This Mother's day, with two mother-like figures in tow, it was time for an early morning scenic drive to Harper's ferry, WV. This has been a long overdue visit and having lived this close to this serene spot, it was shameful to have not gone sooner. The only spanner in the works was the torrential rains that had become a part and parcel of our beautiful world for the last 4 days. This morning as the sun emerged, bright and cheery, it was hard to not wave a hand at it and say welcome back, hope you got a well deserved break. I'm sure the sun tires of the drudgery of its job, as do we all.
6:30am on Sunday: Over coffee/tea/idli/chutney, after the rustle of wrapping paper and crisp opening of cards for Mother's day had died down..."There's no rain right now. Weather.com says heavy rains in the afternoon. Lets just go for a drive"
Me : "Alright, lets get ready and head out then."
7:30am : The three of us were all set to go with time to spare. A small picnic hamper was hurriedly put together.
8:00am : No sun, dense clouds, directions in hand- all set to go.
9:15am : At the park entrance, paid entrace fee and drove to the shuttle bus after a quick stop at the visitor's center for maps and trails and such.
9:30am : Walked around the scenic spots, drinking in the beauty of the surroundings, the serenity of the gurgling waters and chirping of the birds as we soaked in the history of the small and less known place called Harper's ferry.
11:00am : "Lets head back, looks like the weather is going to take a turn for the worse"
12:30pm : While we sat at the table back home after a scenic drive, the packed lunch tasted divine, the conversation fluid and relaxed and the mind at peace.
I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Footnote : Definitely worth a revisit. And if its this close, many many revisits for sure.
Greek, Latin and everything in between
Tuesday, May 06, 2008"Jennings was delighted with her gratitude, and only wondered that after hearing such a sentence, the Colonel should be able to take leave of them, as he immediately did, with the utmost sang-froid, and go away without making her any reply...."
Excerpt from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
I love the humour in the Asterix comics. Their language, while oh-so-literary has a brand of humour thats hard to find elsewhere. Asterix comics is where I was exposed to a lot of Latin phrases like "quid pro quo" or "quo vadis" and since, at that time, the internet was not as prolific as it is now, wiki and google not bedside companions as it is now, the only way to figure out the meaning of these phrases was to use the dictionary, the hardbound book of phrases and quotations or the walking dictionary cum thesaurus otherwise known as Amma.
Reading classics like Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer exposed one words like bourgeois or maitre' d and other such french derivatives. Perry Mason novels had a decent smattering of legalese such as pro bono, rigor mortis and haebius corpus. So where am I headed with all this? Well just to the point that I have a strange nervousness around these words. To this day, when I hear such Latin or French derivative phrases a strange process kicks off at the back of my mind that wonders if I've understood it right or have hopelessly jumbled them up.
Ever heard of Miss Malaprop or malapropisms? Yes, thats one of my fears. I dread using one of these phrases at the risk of turning into Miss Malaprop. The ones that throw me in a tizzy are these scholarly ones such as magna/summa cum laude or sang-froid, avant-garde, carte-blanche,fait accompli............so on and so forth.
So if you're around me and throw one of these or some other such in a conversation, that'll be one way to get my head spinning. Now alright alright, dont tell me "You have a latin domain, what IS your problem?". The reason I found myself one of these is because by chance I was on the wiki for Latin phrases and picked this one because it fit the description well. Happy? Doesnt mean I am a Latin pundit. And the reason I've been shirking from planning that trip to France is the same fear. I need to be in a French class, and soon!
A lost art...
Thursday, May 01, 2008...and a window of opportunity!
Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company
~Lord Byron
One of my wishes for this year had been to receive handwritten notes from people, those that normally communicate over e-mediums like email, chat and phone calls. And bless their hearts, quite a few indulged in my simple demand. I cannot begin to describe the pure joy of seeing a handwritten letter in these 21st century days when the mailbox is either filled with junk or bills, neither of which makes checking the mailbox an enticing proposition. One thing that has remained over these years is the fact that there is no guarantee that postal mail will reach a person on a designated day. So through the week I have been receiving these gems and every evening has been a delightful read. As I settle down on my couch with some green tea, the TV remote stays sadly neglected while I tuck in and get ready to flow like a smooth river riding the waves of words that the sender has delivered. Its fascinating to see oneself grin at reading some of the funny lines, concentration at what comes next, what emotion the next line will evoke and what the writer was thinking when s/he penned those lines. Some letters require an instant re-read, some need to be revisited in a few hours, some you pull out and gloss over just to relive the feeling.
I can imagine how it might have been in those days when letters was the primary medium of communication. Every emotion had to be recorded else there was no other way of letting the other person know until a face to face meeting happened.
Then one sits down to return the favor. I speak for myself, but it took a few rough drafts to get used to the feeling of holding a pen and writing. One gets so used to typing and of course the "feature" of backspace. That does not exist when one writes a letter. Striking out words and letters tarnishes the beauty of it. And as one begins to respond, one wonders how the recipient might react and what s/he might say.
These have been a sampling of what this experience has delivered to me. It totally warrants a big THANK YOU to all that indulged me. It was totally worth it and this art should certainly not allowed to become extinct. I present a collage of sepia toned penning.
Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them
~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
SP is a good friend of mine, an art therapist and artist in her own right. One of her skills is that she delivers a modern day twist to Tanjore paintings and this painting of hers has been my all-time favorite. When she told me some months ago that she had sold it, I was heartbroken. I'd been making secret plans to buy it for myself. It is my favorite for many reasons. One, I love the way she has modernized traditional Tanjore paintings which are usually of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Secondly, I love the title of the painting and the subject itself. What a wonderful connection. The entire package gleams of hope. There is no doubt one can sense the feeling of liberation that the silhouette must be imagining as she gazes out of the window. So here I present, a 'Window of opportunity' and thus I render my thanks to SP. I am honored and forever grateful for receiving this.
Miscellany : A coworker of mine gives me this card :
Outside : Girl in a shoe store, checking out the price tag and shrieks "You've got to be kidding me!"
Inside : "I wish you joy, happiness and clearance shoes in your size"
I'd like that! All year through, what more could I ask for?
