Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

After a week of prolonged reading, today I finished this book. I just want to write down about this book before the freshness of the story that lingers in my mind withers out. I was very keen to read this book, mainly because some of my earlier attempt to read Russian literature (books of Dostoevsky) turned to be more serious reading than I had imagined. In fact, it does some phenomenal things to my mind, which I had never experienced before and made me suppose that Russian novels are more profound and meaningful. “Anna Karenina” reinforced my hypothesis again.

Anna Karenina written by Leo Tolstoy is a novel about a most beautiful, sensual women “Anna” who falls in love with an enchanting, handsome Prince “Vronsky” after been married to “Karenin”. This infidelity of Anna causes series of emotional entanglement and inner conflicts between these three characters, which is the essence of the story. Besides that, there is another remarkable character in the book “Levin”, by whom Leo Tolstoy endeavored to enlighten his philosophical quest to the readers. The story revolves around these four major characters (Anna, Karenin, Vronsky, and Levin).

There are so many things to be appreciated about this book. Foremost is the characterization of Anna, Karenin, Vronsky and Levin. The human emotions between various relationships.(Husband and wife, Mother and a son, between brothers, between sisters etc…).The authors view on various issues on Russian society.
At last, the various complicated feelings like infedility, retribution, envy, pride, solitude, humiliation, fear of being disgraced are painfully written. Certainly Leo Tolstoy is a Genius!!!

In spite of all the interesting stuff in the book, one could not help feeling that book is slow paced. Some parts are impossibly dragged and quite insignificant to the story. Nevertheless, it is worth reading.

Orkut

Recently there are so many talks going on concerning Orkut. Some says it is very unsafe to expose one’s profile in orkut as if the rest of the sites in the internet are harmless & reliable and some says it is really playing key role in social networking. However, the increased growth of orkut in recent years proves only that these controversies does not dwindle the fame of Orkut.

I still do not understand the notion of the people who perceive threat in orkut. Every thing is unsafe and unreliable as far as internet is concerned .I have seen many terrible, shocking sites which might trap even an innocent adolescent to their net, if they have a glimpse of their site contents. One might not need to register in orkut, to get cheated. Even if they do not register in orkut, there is no guarantee that they won’t be a victim for these cyber crimes. Here the problem is not with orkut but the person itself for his lack of self control and being so ignorant to understand the world around. If something should be blamed for all the crimes that are happening, then the threat is not with orkut instead in the very foundation where orkut exists, which is nothing but Internet. In this modern era, it is impossible to restrict Internet and so does it is impractical to curb all these cyber crimes by the government. Hence, the sole responsibility lies in the Parents and the individuals themselves. We have to be more prudent.

There is no use in banning the sites. If orkut is banned then some other site else will take its place. So let’s learn to live and take care of ourselves instead of blaming!

The Painter of signs - RK Narayan

Through “Painter of signs”, RK Narayan tells us the poignant love story of a simple, down-to-earth bachelor Raman. The plot is very simple and nothing unusual – how a man falls in love with a women and how their love ends. However, it is a pure delight, to read it in RK Narayan’s style.

The story as usual takes place in the RK Narayan’s dreamland Malgudi. Raman, as one might have guessed from the title of the book is a Painter of signboards in Malgudi. Raman leads a peaceful and contented life with his Aunt. Life seems to be perfect and mundane to Raman until he meets Daisy, an arrogant, ambitious, attractive girl who comes to malgudi to embark her social activities. Raman falls in love with Daisy. Soon the love blossoms between them. Being in a conservative society Raman finds hardship in convincing his aunt about his love. Raman does not want to leave any stone unturned that curbs his marriage to Daisy. The emotional filled ending answers how fate plays its role and whether Raman married to Daisy.

The love and intimacy between Raman and Daisy has been portrayed vividly and with in bounds, which is typical Narayan’s style. The other remarkable aspect to be noticed is Raman’s inner voice. The witty remarks raised by his inner voice are hilarious to read. The brilliant blend of humor with tragedy makes this story an impressive reading.

The Bachelor of Arts – RK Narayan

The Bachelor of Arts is a fictional novel written by RK Narayan .A brilliant account of Indian bachelorhood of pre-independent India. No one can portray the liveliness of Indians better than he can. It is a treat to read his characters, his subtle descriptions of our customs, his gentle humor …above all his unpretentious writing style !

The backdrop of the story setup in the customary RK Naryan’s imaginary place, which is none other than “Malgudi” .The Novel begins with Chandran (The Protagonist), a college-going final year BA history graduate who reminds in every way a typical Indian youngster. After finishing college, in the midst of so many advises and suggestions, Chandran soon finds himself in the dilemma of what to do next. At last, he decides to pursue his studies in England. Before taking his leave from his native place, Chandran falls in love with a girl called Malathi and wants to get married to her. Being in a conservative society, where a mere talk to a girl raise lots of eyebrows ,Chandran face a hard time in convincing his parents about his affair. Though Chandran’s parents agreed to consider the girl, soon fate interrupts in the form of Horoscopes (which is still followed in India) and shatters Chandra’s dream of marrying Malathi. Unable to forget Malathi, Chandran eludes the normal life and start to wander like a “Sanyasi” for 8 months. However, his affectionate towards his parents made him to understand the reality and brought him back his senses. Soon Chandran begins a fresh life and engages himself to work towards his promising carrier. After much hesitancy, Chandran’s parents propose him to get married to a girl named Susila. The story ends up with Chandran engaged to Susila and falling in love with her…

One of the remarkable things to be noticed in this book is its stunning reality. There is nothing heroic in the character “Chandran”, yet he captures an indelible place in reader’s mind. One can easily relate to his character. There are also other noticeable characters like Chandran’s mother/father/brother (Brings in front the image of a prefect conservative family), professor Gajapathy (reminds me one of my college Prof.), Ganapathi Sastrigal (a typical Matchmaker), Chandran’s friends Ramu and Mohan. There is no fakeness in any character. Each and every instances in the book reminds something around us, which is the specialty of RK Narayan’s work.

This is just a story about a Man’s ups and downs over a phase of his life. If you prefer simple/Light reading, you can go for this book and you will surely relish this!

At last ...

At last, it rained today in Chennai. Though the other parts of Southern India are blessed with substantial amount of rain, until yesterday Chennai had not been, privileged even to have a glimpse of it! It is a rainy season and I am supposed not to part my umbrella each day but nature did not bother me with the rain until yesterday evening. Even today, I did not take umbrella to office. Because any additional weight to the usual burden I carry to office might render serious implications to my fragile body. So I made a decision in the morning that it is better to get drenched than carrying this additional mass. After all what can be expected out of my 41kg delicate body. Already I am torturing it with my laptop. Ok let me get in to today’s subject.

I started to office by 7.40PM.The climate was pretty cool and refreshing. With a very pleasant mood, I jumped in to my cab and engaged in my daydreaming. We were passing through “Marina beach” and suddenly it started to drizzle. The clouds became dark and gave the hint of thunder rain which was about to pour. It was beautiful yet menacing sight of the beach. Colorless waves ferociously hit the shore. Boats began to tremble. Soon people scattered around the face of the sea who had been wandering 2 minutes before were vanished. Some sheltered under the tree and some didn’t mind the rain. By watching all these from the window, I got excited and I would have joyfully whooped out it if it had not been my cab. Being a professional s/w engineer and a senior employee, I cannot just jump out of my seat and shout, as I wanted. Of course, I do not mind that but others do mind. I have to retain my dignity and therefore I restricted myself from that pleasure.Even s/w engineers have their own problem !

A usual weekend...

Dated – 12-Oct-08

This weekend is going great. This is Sunday morning and I am wondering what I have been doing since I left the office on Friday evening. To my knowledge, I have not done anything useful yet. Let me recollect what I did…

I left the office at 6:25 PM with the usual cheerfulness one should suppose to leave the office on the weekends. Picked up the company cab, had a nice chat with my cab mates then at last got down at my destination around 7.50 P.M. I need to take another bus or share auto to reach my home, so I was waiting. Lots of share auto passed by, but still I waited. There is a trick to choose the share auto. Most of the auto drivers want their vehicle to be full before they start and till then all the others who had already seated inside has to wait. This might be beneficial for the auto drivers but just imagine about the innocents who are sitting inside. What is the purpose of waiting inside when the main aim of catching auto instead of public transport is to save time? So I generally do not take these sort of autos instead I waited for the autos (not the share autos) which go via my place. I can go on these autos at the same cost as share autos as they simply have to drop me on their way. While I was waiting, a traffic constable shouted at me. He wanted me to move from my standing place as I was standing next to a electric post. His intention might have been good to save me, but the way he asked me to move really made me furious. I was determined not to move .He did not leave me. He came next to me and started advising me. I become more irritated and said “I don’t mind him”. He still didn’t leave me. I felt he is rather creating a scene than saving me. I have seen many people who simply enjoy by bossing around other people. He is the one! .Soon people started gathering around us, as it is a customary duty here to gather and watch the fighting people. I don’t know what kind of pleasure can be gained out of watching people flight. Before losing my temper completely I jumped in to an auto and reached my home around 8.15P.M.

My mom and I gossiped for sometime which includes all the petty things that happened around us on that day. It was time to go bed when the time was 9.15 P.M. I just wandered around the rooms and finally picked up the book “Eleven minutes” by Paulo Coelho “. Read few pages and was absorbed. Time went by. It was around 1.00 A.M when I went to bed. I had few dreams related to the book I read. On the morning, I couldn’t wait to resume my reading. I woke up at around 7.45 A. M and continued reading again. I finished the book by 12.00 P.M. It was different book on the subject, which others dare not to touch. I liked it. I checked the time and realized that I don’t have any thing useful to do for the rest of the day. Therefore, I picked up another book “Bachelor of Arts” by RK Narayan. I enjoyed the book more than the previous one. No one can beat RK Narayan on Indian English writing. Finished the book by 4.00 P.M. I preferred to read another book but seeing my mother’s ruthless looks I dared not to touch another. My mom advised me to show the same eagerness I show on reading books at the other household duties. She continued the verbal war with the questions when am I going to cook? When am I going to behave like my cousins …? .At one point I lost my temper and raised my voice. Soon we both became silent. Then the evening was more pleasant than I expected. My brother came by 5.00 P. M and told me his adventures on Pondicherry where he went on the previous day with this friends.

Time was 8.00 P.M .I switched on the TV and watched it until around 12.00 P.M. I was so tired of doing nothing. I went to bed and had a deep sleep. I woke up by 8.00 A.M in the morning. I called up my cousin sister to give my birthday wishes. Since then I have not done anything useful as usual. At last opened my laptop to browse but ended up writing this ..,

It is Festive time in India…

Dated - 10-Oct-08

October and November are always been special months for those who live in India due to the number of festivals that we celebrate during these months. The list begins with Ganesh Chaturthi, Navaratri, Ayudha Puja, Vijaya Dhasmi and not but the least the Grand “Diwali”. I also like to highlight the fact that it is not that we have festivals only in October and November, instead we have them through out the year but the density of our celebrations is supposedly high in these months. India is a diversified country so we are also privileged to celebrate festivals of other religions too. I don’t know how heaven would be like, but I suppose it would be just like celebrating these remarkable events.

The foremost advantage of celebrating so many festivals like these is we get fair number of holidays on these two months, which helps one to spend time with their family. Some of my onsite colleagues even envy on the holidays we get. Nevertheless, they failed to understand the fact that it is not just the holidays that matters rather the colorful happenings and liveliness that these festivals brings in our life. In India, we don’t have to arrange a party, an outing, or any other event for merry making and it is not feasible too, on which you will agree if you pay close attention to the population we have and number of people below the poverty line .Thankfully this can be compensated by our beautiful festivals! Which are our ancestors arranged party, an outing and a way of merry making. I am not a religious person but I love to celebrate these religious festivals. Moreover, I am deeply intrigued by the convictions we still embrace and traditions we still follow. If you take the pain to check the facts behind celebrating these festivals and the rituals we do in each of these occasions, you might think it is incredible and yes, it is! These beliefs and rituals would in fact add a special amusing aura! I can keep taking about these amazing rituals but after reminding myself on the topic that I am writing, I abstain from it. I shall discuss that elaborately in a separate post.

I don’t know how world observe India, but being in India anyone can soon realize how talkative the whole India is and how the freedom of speech is effectively utilized… This fact can easily be confirmed by checking any local newspaper!. We never failed to have some controversies to discuss and dispute. If someone says something, there will always be somebody to oppose it at least for the sake of opposing. However, to everyone’s surprise we still unanimously celebrate our festivals in midst of all our disagreements. Here everyone is deserved for the celebration. You can see tons of joy even on the face of poorest families. We get the attitude to relish our imperfect life perfectly on these occasions.

Waiting for Diwali…. for more excitement …

City of Joy - Dominique Lapierre

Dated - 03-Oct-2008

I have read this book yesterday and felt how fortunate I was to pick up this book. It is a story of the marvelous people who dwelled in the poverty stricken slum called “Anand nagar “ of Calcutta (City of Joy) .The remarkable thing to be noticed here is it was written by Dominique Lapierre, a French novelist. When I say “SLUM” I don’t know how many of us have the true understanding of this place for I should confess I had failed earlier to grasp the real meaning of it until this French novelist made me to realize. It is not just a SLUM rather it has an implied meaning a hellish, dejected, deprived, and indeed one of the most miserable place in the face of the earth one could dwell but yet that is proudly hailed to be “City of Joy “.

There are many remarkable characters to be mentioned in the book. To mention few …

Harish pal (our protagonist), a poor peasant migrates from his village to Calcutta with the hope of better survival of his family. Soon he becomes a rickshaw wallah with his friend help and begins his earnings. The suffering he undergoes, injustice he faces and the terrible fate that takes him at the end is heart breaking.

Stephan Kovalski a polish priest wants to serve human kind and chooses Anand nagar (one of the crowded quarter of Calcutta) to place his home (not exactly home instead a hovel). Soon he find himself get acquainted with the poorest, sickest people he had ever met in his life. But yet they astonish him by their determination to live, their attitude to celebrate and the humanity they show among them even in the midst of injustice, atrocity and depravity that chase them till their grave.

Max Loeb, an American doctor interested by Kovalski’s service visits the slum and helps to ease their pain. Rises as a real hero when he delivers the baby in the leper colony, when he gives treatment to the lepers (Inspite of him being fainted) and provides hope for the people in despair.

There are so many other unforgettable characters too. Bandona, Ram Chander, Kalima (a eunuch) ………….

There is a passage in the book…

“It is easy for any men to recognize and glorify the riches of the world. But only a poor man can know the riches of the poverty, only the poor man can know the riches of the suffering…"

This is precisely true for I would have never known the real meaning of poverty neither do the meaning of humanity if I haven’t got a chance to read this book. “City of Joy” is not just an attempt to enlighten the views of poverty that prevailed in post- independent India but an extraordinary journey in to the human lives ultimately to strike a chord in the reader’s minds how indestructible human spirit can be.

Ponniyin Selvan (PS) by Kalki

Dated - 27-Sep-2008

Ponniyin selvan (Son of ponni)! - It is a Tamil historic novel with the backdrop of chola dynasty. This master piece was written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Well this is not a review of this book. I am just going to write how I happened to read this novel and what I felt after reading this magnificent piece of Tamil literature.

It was three or four months back, I was crazy on books and had finished reading some brilliant works like Harry potter, Lord of the rings, Fountainhead, Atlas shrugged, Shantaram, crime and punishment, etc…But I had not had a chance to lay my hands on any Tamil novel. It is not because I had not found Tamil novels interesting instead, it was because of the lack of awareness. When I say lack of awareness, I must tell you Tamil is my mother tongue and I have been speaking Tamil ever since I began to articulate. The only language that I could speak without stammering. I am proud to be a tamilan. I had scored great marks in Tamil when I was in school. I admire the language but still it was a shame that I had not understood its beauty and neither did I attempt. I had seen it only as a language but it was not.

My father is a great admirer of Kalki and has all his novels. One fine day while I was cleaning bookshelf, by chance I happened to saw this novel (PS). I dusted it out and began to read it. It took some time for me to get used to the narration because the language is distinctive from the colloquial Tamil I use. Besides that, I had not been reading Tamil on a great deal after I had left school. The book began with the protagonist (Vandiyathevan) set out to the land of Cholas and there I set out to learn the beauty of language, its heritage, culture, history along with the hero Vandiyathevan. The feel was great. I was riding along with the hero. Houses transformed to palaces, cars/buses transformed to bullock/Horse carts, Jeans/churidar transformed to dhotis/saris. Suddenly I was taken to 10th century by some time machine (Thanks of the old Tamil movies otherwise I could not have visualized). I was absorbed.

I began to read day and night because I could not take my mind from it. Even now, I could not come out of the novel and I know it will be lingering in my mind as long I have the sense of remembrance. It took me a week to complete the entire six volumes amidst of my hectic work schedule. After finishing it, what I thought was “how did I miss it so long? Why I had not been aware of the greatness of this novel? “ . Certainly, I know the existence of this novel but not the greatness of it. Since then I have been persuading many of my friends, relatives, colleagues to read the novel .If some English author had written this novel, it would have been in the bestseller list for ages. I am wondering how many such great treasures like Ponniyin selvan, Sivagamiyin sabatham are still unnoticed by our generation.

Ponniyin Selvan is one of the most precious gems in the crown of Tamil literature. It should be treasured and passed on to generations. It is our onus to appreciate and spread its greatness. This book has not been made in to movie yet because of budget constraint. However, Kalaignar TV has taken initiative to make it as a mega serial. “Marmadesam” Naga is directing the serial. Hats off to them. I am hoping that someday it will be made in to a movie too and captivate millions of people. It is awesome even to imagine PS in the lord of the rings style. How it would be to watch in the big screen? "I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Who is the winner ?

Dated - 25-Sep-2008

An ace shooter wins Gold and Government gives him 1+ crore.

Another ace shooter dies fighting terrorists and Government pays him 5 lakhs.

Guess the real winner!”

Today I happened to see this message and my mind literally stumbled for few seconds after reading this.Harsh realities are hard to digest. On a second thought I convinced myself, may be the shooter deserved 1+ crore not because he won the gold medal rather he won the hopes of millions of people which is harder than dying.

A change for mind...

Dated - 09-Sep-08

A couple of years back , If someone had asked me to read a “Book” I would have told “NO WAY !!!“ but now I cannot live with out books and they are my best friends. So what happened in those couple of years that made me crazy on books? Here is my story…

I had always considered reading books is one of the most boring hobby once could ever have, of course I was prejudiced. I had never read any books in my life (apart from the academics), until I joined as a fresher in a software company. Most of the software companies are located outside the city and it became inevitable that I have to travel 3 hrs daily. One fine day I happened to meet a group of girls next to me in train, discussing something about a novel that they had read recently .I was bored out of travel. Therefore, I listened to them without any interest. This continued for few days as I used to go in the same train and prefer to stick to the same timings. At one point, I became curious to know what made them so interested in books and I desperately wanted to kill the journey time, So I went to a book shop and bought my first book “The salamander” by Morris west. To be frank I was disappointed .I hardly understood the book. Yet I continued to read books whenever I got a chance .It helped me to improve my vocabulary and to vanish the journey time. I had had read around 6 to 8 books since then.

Then came the most depressing episode in my life (I do not want to discuss the cause for depression) .Like everyone I could not take up the fate and was terribly angry at the misfortune that had crossed my life. Most unfortunately, I could not disclose the problem to anyone and I had to face it all alone .I felt as if I lost all my hope and reproached everything I could. I tried very hard to put everything out of my mind that depressed me, but in vain. One of my friends who knew my learning habit suggested me to read the book “Harry Potter “. She did not know my problem. It was by a sheer chance she suggested me that book and I was lucky enough to pick up that book. It might sound silly that how “Harry Potter” could have helped me to overcame my depression, but yes it is and that is the truth.

I started to read the book on June 2007, I felt like I had left my life and entered in to a new magical world. The book enchanted me .It made me forget all my sorrows .I had been worrying about my own problems for a month and suddenly I hardly remembered them. I started to think about the characters in the book. I worried whether Harry would survive in the last book. I finished the last book in the series on the date of it's release and was glad that Harry was safe. It was the biggest relief and greatest change for my mind I could have at that time. Then I realized the power of writing and the abilities of books, which can supersede even the most brilliant psychiatrist in the world. “Harry Potter” might be a fantasy for others, yet it helped me to overcome my problem and it was my life savior. Thank you JK Rowling! .It acted as my best companion on the worst period. Since then I have been reading great deal of books. I love them. I admire them. They are my best friend .Even now if I face something terrible I always reach my best friend first to get out of the thoughts that eat my mind.

Again, it might sound silly and ridiculous to concentrate on Harry potter when we have a heartbreaking problem in front of us. At times of depression, I often get advice like,

“Everything will be ok soon”
“Don’t lose your confidence”
“Be courageous”
“The problem will vanish soon”

I agree the above advices are essential, but how can a depressed soul do/believe all these when his/her mind keep wandering over the thoughts which he/she desperately want to evade. The first aid I suggest is to pullout those terrible thoughts from the mind. “A CHANGE FOR MIND “will do wonder. The big mistake we do often when we are in depression is that, we fail to realize the fact even a small change for mind would help one to heal, recover and pay a way to resolve the problem more promptly. Worrying will never help to find the solution. In fact, it is the disaster that I have learnt it from my personal experience. I also know that it is very easy to say don’t worry except that it is hard to follow, especially when depressed. Harry Potter did that first aid for me. Books remain as my first aid kit. The moment we learn to live life, life changes. We never know what life throws at us, so chose your first aid kit and have it with you always.

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened – unknown

Today I came across this beautiful poem

Dated -08-Sep-08

You can feel her innocence in form of a Daughter ...
You can feel her care in form of a Sister ...
You can feel her Warmth in form of a friend ...
You can feel her Passion in form of a Beloved ...
You can feel her dedication in form of a Wife ...
You can feel her Divinity in form of a Mother ...
You can feel her Blessings in form of a Grandmother ...
Yet she is so Tough too ...
Her heart is so Tender ...
So Naughty ...
So Charming ...
So Sharing ...
So Melodious ...
She is a Women...
She is a life .....
Respect her !!!

Today I received this peom in an email . The beauty of being an women is expressed so thoughtfully . A million thanks for the soul who wrote this !!!

SHANTARAM by Gregory David Roberts

Dated - 08-Sep-2008

“SHANTARAM” is one of the best books I would highly recommend to anyone.

One of the most amazing books I have read recently. The book is a semi-autobiography. The book begins with the story of an Australian who lands India (Bombay) after he had a great escape from his Country’s Prison .He happens to meet Prabhakar ( a driver ) near the airport and introduces himself as Lindsay (a phony name) . With the help of Prabhakar, Lindsay finds a place to live near a slum. Prabhakar mother renames later Lindsay to “Santaram”. The story explores his life in slum, the people he meets and the other adventures he faces during his stay in India.

The book has excellent and deep story narration. The depiction of some of the lead characters like Prabhakar, Abdhullah, Kader Khan, and Nazeer are awesome!!!! .When the book describes the Bombay black market, the life of the slum people, the sufferings of the convicts in Bombay Arthur prison, the adventures of smuggling the weapons from India to Afghanistan, the suffering of a drug addict and the life of the gangsters it sends thrills and shocks through the spine to the mind. The author brilliantly captures the beauty and secrets of Bombay through his lucid Narration. The story touches the philosophy of crime, sin, love, good, evil, loyalty, betrayal, friendship that makes this book a philosophical and emotional reading.

I heard this book is going to be filmed soon . Johnny depp (Linbaba), Amitabh Bhachan (Kader Khan) are going to appear in the lead roles. If that is true, I would be the first one to hit the theatre when it is screened.

At last, I am in to blogging…

At last, I realized that I love writing as much as I love reading. Before being too late, I want to take some initiative and keep my writing habit alive. What else could be the best way other than blogging? So here is my blog…

Do not expect anything extraordinary in my blog for which I am not responsible. This is just an attempt to express myself. I can call this as my public dairy.