Tagore Literature Award 2010

Tagore Literature Award 2010

One of my favorite Tamil author S.Ramakrishnan has chosen for the prestigious Tagore Literature Award.I was introduced to Ramakrishnan's writing by my friend's sister who is a teacher.His weekly articles in Ananda Vikatan was so much interesting and inspiring ."Sirithu Velicham" was a great weekly articles about events happens in day to day life, he used to narrate the film story in conjunction with real life situation.I came to know about many foreign movies through these articles.Now Vikatan has published a book with the same title.

S.Ramakrishnan

"Desandhiri" was such a wonderful collection of weekly articles written by him.Its about different places,cultures and people, i learnt lot from these articles.Apart from these essays/articles he has written many short stories and novels.He was chosen for this award for the novel "Yaamam", have to read this book soon.

Congratulation sir!

More about S Ramakrishnan
Wiki

August 15

Huge disappointment!

I watched this movie only because of Mamooty.I was disappointed with the movie.The producers had wasted this wonderful actor's callsheet.A detective story with the predictive twists.A Land maffia is trying to kill the chief minister of Kerala, they employes a professional killer who is very adamant that he will kill the chief minister in spite of his failure in first attempt(he gives back the money he got but after the cajoling
he accepts it again).

There are some suspicious characters like the potrayal of Arvindan,the chief ministers close associate and of course suspicious look of Chief minister's another colleague Pinarayi who is in line for the top post.But nothing captivated me , everything looked predictable.some of the scenes were utterly without logic for instance the scene when Mamooty was in confusion to figure out the real person behind photograph and he choses the correct one after firing the bullets randomly on the photographs posted on the wall!!!.

Shaji Kailash is a good director but he failed in this movie, nothing much to say.Story by SN Swamy was with lots of loopholes.Music by Rajamani is good .Thanks a lot, there is no songs in this movie.Cinematography was ok, editing was not upto the mark.

The stand out performance was without question ,Mamooty as Perumal.He fit exactly for the role, he had done whatever he can,he is a great actor but even great actor needs good story!!Lalu Jose as Peter zacharia was hilarious.Nedumudi venu as Chief minister,'Thalaivasal' Vijay as Police officer, Siddique as a Professional killer had done thier role neatly.Jagathy sreekumar as Arvindan is occupying more space but fails to impress much.Mehna and Swetha had nothing concrete to perform, but they had done their best.

Huge disappointment!! Only for Mamooty's fans.

The Last Lecture

Carnegie Mellon University professor Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"  was/is huge youtube hit.This book details how he prepared himself for this lecture.Very interesting and sympathetic to read this book.Sympathetic because Randy knew that he would die soon and interesting because he accepts life's ups and down with great courage and the way he achieved his childhood dreams.

Once diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, he did not worry too much but he put a brave front by cheering his students and his family.His father's influence on him made him strong .He had good and loving parents and sister.Randy's explanation of his family life was something to cherish, even for us.His parents never spent extra money on anything , no outside food and not much TV etc.. but they spent lavishly on buying books, which helped Randy to explore everything.

The way he pursuit his childhood dreams was very inspiring.He wanted to become a Disney Imagineer when he was a kid, he became one latter in his life.He wanted to float , he did float during his visit to space center through his request.He too worked with Star wars film specially his favorite character Jedi.He inspired his students to work together in a small projects which made them a good team player as well as a good friend.

"Live in the moment" was his way of life after the diagnosis.I have to mention here the way his wife took care of their children and the household.I can not imagine that situation.He did whatever he can do make their children knows how much their father loved him by filming videos,i felt that was unique experience , one for posterity .

Some his quotes:

When there’s an elephant in the room introduce him.


Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.


I probably got more from that dream and not accomplishing it than I got from any of the ones that I did accomplish.


You’ve got to get the fundamentals down because otherwise the fancy stuff isn’t going to work.


When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody’s bothering to tell you anymore, that’s a very bad place to be. Your critics are your ones telling you they still love you and care.


Tell The Truth. All The Time. No one is pure evil.


Show gratitude. Gratitude is a simple but powerful thing.



Find the best in everybody…. Wait long enough, and people will surprise 
and impress you. It might even take years, but people will show you their good side. Just keep waiting.


Decide if you’re a Tigger or an Eyeore. I’m a Tigger.


It is not about achieving your dreams but living your life. If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, the dreams will come to you.


Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.


Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I’m dying and I’m having fun. And I’m going to keep having fun every day, because there’s no other way to play it….Having fun for me is like a fish talking about the importance of water. I don’t know how it is like not to have fun…


Better to fail spectacularly than do something mediocre.(He gave out a First Penguin award each year when he was teaching to the biggest failure in trying something big and new because he thought this should be celebrated.) 


The best piece of parenting advice I’ve ever heard is from flight attendants. If things get really tough, grab your own oxygen mask first.


To be cliché, death is a part of life and it’s going to happen to all of us. I have the blessing of getting a little bit of advance notice and I am able to optimize my use of time down the home stretch.


Head fake learning is absolutely important, and you should keep your eye out for them because they’re everywhere.


Until you got ice cream spilled on you, you’re not doing field work.



Don’t complain. Just work harder. That’s a picture of Jackie Robinson. It was in his contract not to complain, even when the fans spit on him.

Be good at something, it makes you valuable.

Great book !Must read for students!!

Pulitzer Prize 2011

One of the prestigious awards for journalism particularly in US .There are many categories but i chose to list only few which i always looks forward every year.

Category	Winner	Work
Fiction	Jennifer Egan	A visit from the goon squad
Biography	Ron Chernow	Washington:A life
Non-fiction	Siddhartha Mukherjee	The emperor of all maladies:A biography of Cancer
Poetry	Kay Ryan	The best of it:New and Selected Poems
Editorial Cartooning	Mike Keefee	The Denever post
Feature Photography	Barbara Davidson	Los Angeles Times

For a complete list of 2011 winner's click here

I read lot about Siddhartha Mukherjee's  "The Emperor of all maladies:A Biography of Cancer", have to read this book as soon as possible. As for the biography i liked to read Ron Chernow's "Washington: A life" once i finish my current set of biographies including that of Richard Feynman.

RUN350 10KM

Date:17-04-2011
Place:Promontory@Marina Bay,Singapore
Distance:10KM

Before the race i decided to improve my timing.I was in a good condition both physically and mentally.After checking the race route ,i thought this would be a good race, since i was familiar with the route.Coming back to the race Run350 was organized by NTUC Youth for 350 Singapore.

Race flagged off by Singapore Deputy Prime minister Mr.Teo Chee Hean .I started the race briskly, completed the first 2 kilometers in 11 minutes,then i slowed down a bit.I checked breath and the hand movements ,everything was fine.I ran in a consistant pace from 5Km to 9Km, then i slowed down again.The weather was not as good as last week ,it was hot .The final 1km  initially i thought of spriniting then i realized that it was not good as felt like uneasiness in my hand,so i ran in a same pace and finished the race without any injury.To my surprise it was my personal best for 10 Km this year so far.A great run.
The event was organized wonderfully,superb volunteers.I liked the way the old people and kids  participated in this race. 

வந்தார்கள் வென்றார்கள் -மதன்

Good book by Madhan.He really had done a great research & reading to write this book.This book details the conquest of India by different kings.Starting from King Timur to Bahdur sha  the author narrates the important events in a simple Tamil and in a interesting way.

Qutub Minar construction started by Qutb-ud-din Aibak
and completed by Iltutmish

I was fascinated  by the rein of Babur , he was a wonderful king with great courage.Like Babur many of the Persian kings were fascinated by India but none of them conquered and ruled India like Babur and latter his descendants.Another interesting information is the kings marriage with different religions women for strategic reason, in fact some had nearly 20 wives!!

Emperor Humayun tomb

Apart from the stories of kings , i liked the information about Rajputs, very courageous and high morale men. The wives of Rajputs self-immolate themselves when their husbands died at the battlefield(interesting), in fact in some cases the whole backyard was destroyed before the arrival of the enemy troops.Akbar, another fascinating character, he was the only king who understood very early in his rein that without respecting the religious sentiments of Indians one can not rule it .Under his kingship the empire flourished in all front.A great reign.

Somnath Temple was destroyed and looted
 many times by different kings

Many muslim kings destroyed hundreds of Hindu temples.Emperor Jahangir spoilt the reputation and goodwill created by his father. Akbar and created storm among Hindus by ordering to destroy to all the temples built within 10 years and introducing "again" the heavy taxes on Hindus.

Taj Mahal constructed by Sha Jahan

The list of Mogul emperors

Name	Life Time	Children
Babur	1483-1531	Humayun,Askari Mirza, Hindal Mirza,Gulrukh Begum,Kamran mirza
Humayun	1508-1556	Akbar,Muhammad Hakim
Akbar	1542-1605	Jahangir,Khanzada,Sha Murad,Daniyal,Shakarunnisa Begum,Aram Banu Begum
Jahangir	1569-1627	Sha Jahan,Khusrau Mirza,Parvez,Shahrayar,Jahandar,Sultan Nisar Begum,Bahar Banu Begum
Sha Jahan	1592-166	Aurangzeb,Dara Shikoh,Shah Shuja,Murad Baksh,Jahanara Begum,Roshanara Begum
Aurangzeb	1618-1707	Muhammad Azam shah,Bahadur Sha-I
Bahadur Sha-I	1643-1712	Azimu-sh-Shan,Rafi'u-sh-shan,Jahandar Shah,Khujista Akhtar
Jahandar Shah	1664-1713	Alamgir-II
Farrukhsiyar son of Azimu-sh-Shan	1683-1719	-
Rafi'u-d-Darjat son of Rafi'u-sh-shan	1699-1719	-
Shah Jahan II(Rafi'u-d-daula) son of Rafi'u-sh-shan	1696-1719	-
Muhammad Shah	1702-1748	Ahmad Shah Bahadur
Ahmad Sha Bahadur	1725-1754	Bedar Bakht
Alamgir-II	1699-1759	Shah Alam-II
Shah Jahan-III	Unknown	-
Shah Alam-II	1728-1806	Akbar Shah-II
Akbar Shah-II	1760-1837	Bahadur Shah Zafar
Bahadur Shah Zafar **	1775-1862	6 sons and 4 daughters

Babur was the descendant of the great Genghis Khan.

** Bahadur Shah Zafar was the only Mogul emperor to be captured in a photograph.Apart from the mogul emperors ,there were many great kings and rulers ruled the different parts of India.Among them notables were Chhatrapati Shivaji and Rajputs specially Rana Pratap Singh.

Shalimar gardens constructed by Sha Jahan

Some interesting facts:
=>Babur was uneducated , in fact he did not know how to read and write.
=>Humayun was very soft and kind hearted because his nature he faced so many unwanted problems
=>The story of Sher Sha Suri
=>Akbar married even  Hindu girl(s)!!
=>After Akbar all the emperor came to power through conflicts(mini battle)
=>Sha Jahan's desired to built black marble building(Black Taj mahal) after his death but his son Aurangzeb was   not interested as it needs lots of resources and ultimately they buried him inside the Taj mahal itself!
=>Sha Jahan's reign was the golden period for Mogul architecture
=>Aurangzeb was very much interested in animals ,he kept diary to write about his observation.
=> Roles played by eunuchs in our history for example the story of Malik kafur.
=> Nur Jahan's role in Jahangir's reign
=>Punishments by the Mogul empires were
     -Blinding the eye
     -Making elephant to stamp on the head
     -Peel off the skin when the prisoner is alive
     -Make the victim an opium addict (slow death)
     -Cutting the tongue off    

Other references :
Fatehpur Sikri 
List of Rajputs

Overall a great book!A must for every Indian.Madan , i knew him through Madan's Q& A in Ananda Vikatan.This book was a compilation of chapters which published in Ananda Vikatan weekly.The authors sense of humor is visible through out the book.He makes the history more interesting than text books of our schools.

2XU Compression Run 2011

I registered for this race only because of the distance i.e 12KM.Regarding the event host 2XU i knew they have sports wears and other related stuff.The race route was wonderful,started from Marina Promenade then to Kallang(near stadium,Nichole highway,Leisure park) returns back to Marina float,esplanade,NTUC Center,Marina Bay Sands then back to Marina Promenade.

To my surprise so many people came,felt very happy.The weather was very good.The race started exactly at 7AM.I started the race in steady pace,checked my knee and heart beat everything in a good shape.Again as the previous race i did not concentrate on the timing but only on my body.Comfortably crossed first 5KM, i did not feel any pain or any breathing problem.I have to mention here the Pocari Sweat drink, this drink was very refreshing and whenever i drank it i felt  rejuvenated .Another aspect i liked in this race was the location of waterpoints, i felt i had drniks whenever i wanted!I saw some familiar faces like Singapore Blade Runner and some europeans and good to see many women's in this race.

Around 10KM mark,i was both shocked and surprised to see the stairs to climb(this stairs are the one near the Helix bridge).I was running in a consistent pace, i felt very uneasy to climb these stairs, i even heard group guys saying "Oh My God!!" when they saw the stairs.I finished the race without much trouble and i was really happy about that.

Slow Man - J.M. Coetzee

I heard and read lot about J.M.Coetzee and his writings,impressed by him i bought this book.Of course his other book "Disgrace" is more popular than this book,i chose this book.Beautiful narration of a very simple story.As i read i was able to feel that the author was beside and me and giving me the visual display of the events of the story.

This is a story of Paul Rayment, an retired franco-Australian photographer.His life changes completely when he loses his legs after an accident.He is in sixties, divorced and no kids.The author portrays Paul as a man without qualities.He thinks his life will not be same again and he keeps that 'thought' always in his mind. He refuses to wear prosthetic leg, for him "It is out of Surrealism. It is out of Dali".

Marijana , the home nurse , is married with three kids, two daughters and a son named Drago, came from Croatia.Her husband Miroslav is a mechanic,they are a happy family.Marijana is assigned to take care of Paul.

Paul is attracted by her beauty and starts involves himself in her family affairs.After some days he confesses his love to her but she is not interested.An woman named Elizabeth Costella came to her apartment and stay with him.She is the real start of this story.She is an author and she says that she is destined to be with him. Initially Paul did not like her staying with him and sharing his living space. Till the end Paul does not like her. Then the entire story revolves around these two main characters.After he came to know the problems caused by his proposal , he wants to become godfather for Marijana's son Drago.He wants to have children but in reality he can not, so he wanted to help Marijana's family altogether including her husband.Most of the story takes place in Paul's house,for this story its perfect.

Paul Rayment want to he himself but Elizabeth insists that there is a different life all together if he goes out and venture.Its a dual of differences, very fascinating one. All the characters in this book raises different philosophical and ethical issues.In the end Paul is not interested in Costella's idea of going around the places, that show his character and the man he is.

A good read! Enjoyed the conversation between Paul and Elizabeth Costella.I like Coetzee's story telling.