Faster Than Lightning:My Autobiography - Usain Bolt

As the name suggests this is an autobiography of the 'fastest human being" on earth - Usain Bolt. We all knew his showmanship but this book reveals the hardworking Bolt as well . Even though i enjoyed reading i did not like the way he mentioned other athletes specially Carl Lewis. He says that he did not know about Carl Lewis much except " I heard he won few medals" . That's should not come from someone like Bolt , who is the superstar of the Track & Field . He should have known history better.

For Sachin Tendulkar it was "Zone" where he was alone concentrating on the bowler and the ball to come and its "Moment of No Return" for Bolt. According to him when he is in 'that' moment he knew he is going to give everything  and win the race. All great sportsmen has something like this. In spite of his great in born talent , Bolt and his coach worked very hard to improve his run, specially the disadvantage created by his height, i.e struggle to get out from the block , but of course the same height is a huge advantage in the last 30-40 meters .

Good to read about his good relationship with his coach and writes highly of him. And very interesting to know that the great rivalry between the local athletic clubs in Jamaica brings best of Caribbean talents . The huge crowd and the noises they make are the big motivation for his running , of course , other times , by other competing runners who speak something bad about him . From the beginning Bolt was not happy with Tayson Gay's attitude and that started a great rivalry between the two which motivated him to hard work.

I watched the live telecast of Beijing Olympic games 100M race. I can not explain how i felt when Bolt crossed the finish line, goosebumps!! I immediately text messaged to everyone in my contact as if one of my own won the race, just amazing feeling.A pure joy to watch him running. I hope and pray that he will not go as another 'cheat'. Its scary that WADA and the Jamaican Anti-doping agencies keeps pointing fingers at each other. This sport had seen more drug controversy than any other so its the duty of the runners and the officials to keep track of everything and make this wonderful sport a clean one.

A good book worth reading. 

Arzee The Dwarf - Chandrahas Choudhury

I came to know about this book when i was browsing flikpart for some Indian author books. Intrigued by the name , i bought it.  This is the story of Arzee the dwarf, he is a assistant projectionist at  "Noor" cinema . His dream is to become a head projectionist in Noor after the departure of the current one - Pheroz .Another dream is to get marry a girl without any form of dwarfism  - that is a 'completeness' in life. But everything collapses when he came to know that the owners of  Noor decided to sell it.

The romance between Arzee and Monique was physical , like normal , and told beautifully but something is missing in the female character portrayal - partially drawn. The author should have given some more space to her. Then there is Deepak , the chaser, who chases Arzee  to pay the money he owes to the betting syndicate after he lost the cricket betting. The conversation between these two brought lots of laughter. But the way they handled the searching  of Monique looks cinematic but worth reading.

"The rose of peace can never bloom in the soil of unrest"

One good thing about the story is, in spite, of all the problems the hero gets into, the author able to brings smile frequently .  His original name was Arzoo - 'desire' in Urdu was changed latter to Arzee - 'plea' , we can understand why it had changed.The metaphor is that life moves on despite of our defects and  inability . The writing is rich in vocabulary and kudos to author for bringing everyday life with all its ups and down so beautifully.

A wonderful debut novel , worth reading!

Singapore Writers Festival - 2013

The much awaited event of the year SWF-2013 was concluded on Nov 10 after a week full of so many wonderful events. I applied to volunteer for SWF some months before, i was bit worried because last time they had rejected my application. But this year i was selected and i was really happy. I was assigned as a room manager for Tamil events. Before going to the event location, i saw a Indian woman with saree , i was thinking i have seen her somewhere ,yes , it was writer Salma , whom i'm following in Facebook for a long time. I went and spoke to her , she was very polite and asked about my life in Singapore and gave me autograph.

Salma

Nov 9 : My first day of volunteering . I was posted at National Museum of Singapore (NMS). NMS is a beautiful building. I have been to this place many times before but this time it was bit crowded as expected. The event was "Literary Styles and Innovation / இலக்கிய வடிவமும் புத்தாக்கமும் " ,the authors participated were Imayam, Salma and JM Sali.  I was very excited to see writer Imayam, when he spoke , his voice was stern and honest - not hiding his feelings. The authors explained their source of inspiration for their books.

The second event of my day was "Evolution: Women;s Voices in Tamil Literature / பரிணாம வளர்ச்சி - தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தில் பெண்களின் குரல் " . The authors on the panel were Kamaladevi Aravindan, Suriya Rethnna and Salma. The writers talked about how they worked their way up to write stories.Writer Salma's story was interesting . I did not understand much of writer Suriya Rethnna's speech. The moderator was not good , she was just listening.

Imayam

The third event was " Meet the Author : Imayam / எழுத்தாளர் சந்திப்பு : இமையம் " . It was an one to one session with writer Imayam. The writer started his biography telling major events of his life and how he started writing his stories. Very interesting because all his stories are inspired by the real life characters . According to him , if a writer is not writing from his life then its no use. Again the moderator was not good , he did not know the details of the author and he did not initiated any questions, he was just another participant.Shame , he would have asked so many questions related to the recurring themes in Imayam's book etc.. After the session, i spoke to Imayam, he was very polite and i got his signature. For all the other events i did not go inside the room.

Nov 10: Only one event to volunteer and  that was the final Tamil event of SWF 2013.  It was held at National Library Board (NLB) @ queens street. "SWF 2013 Literary Pioneer: Memories of G Sarangapany /  இலக்கிய முன்னோடி : தமிழவேள் கோ.சா. நினைவலைகள் " .  I was the only volunteer for the event so i was posted outside and given the job of checking tickets and guiding the guests. I got a chance to meet many Singapore Tamil writers , many of them i never heard of but got to know through the venue manager.

My other volunteering colleagues were students and some are Tamil Literature students.Very excited to talk to them about Tamil books but unfortunately most of them did not recognize the writers i mentioned like S.Ramakrishnan, Vannanilavan, Jeyamohan , even Sujatha .Heartbroken i stopped asking them about writer and books. But i liked the way they conversed in Tamil , i felt ashamed of my Tamil.

Overall a great experience. 

Cathedral of the sea -Ildefonso Falcones

I should say that "Cathedral of the sea" is one of the best historical novel i have read so far. The author brings alive Barcelona,Spain of 14th century . This book was well researched and written.

This the story of Arnau Espanyol and Santa Maria Del Mar cathedral. Barcelona was its peak during that time, their ships ruled the coasts. The people of La Ribera decided to built a church in hour of Mother Mary and named it Santa Maria Del Mar. Arnau was born as serf , his father left his land and took him to city, Barcelona so that he can become a freeman. Apparently there was a law in those days in Spain that if you live one year and a day you will be certified as a free man.  Arnau lives his life in faith in God and in Virgin Mary.

Aranau through his good will and act, grew up to be one of the rich and noble man of  Barcelona. He loved his work , by saving a Jew family he became rich. The Jew offered him business and money to carry out it along with a slave called Sahat who was latter baptized as Guillam . Guillam took care of all of Arnau's business which grown into big enterprise and created  a network of traders and merchants around the world. The author very clearly explains how the Jews did their business of money lending . The Catholic church banned lending loan with interest so the people found other ways doing the same. In fact , the church itself did the same thing with leasing of houses to people. These tenants pay full amount of the house to the Church but they can not own it but they can sell it to others of same nobility.

Santa Maria del Mar*

Is this book a perfect historical fiction ? I don't know, there are lots of flaws .Most of the characters are one directional. Good people are always good and bad people are bad . The author did not explore the darker side of good people. Aranu remains super good through out the story. But the characters's twist and turn and coincidental historical events will keep you reading till the end. The books best pages are definitely the pages which explains the construction of the cathedral specially the work of bastaixos carrying the stones from the quarry to the construction spot and the laying of keystone. The author beautifully explain the prejudice against Jews , the arrogance of noble men and rise of Spanish Inquisition . Lots of very interesting historical details were there in this book . The epidemic plague which killed thousands played a vital part in this story. The author also tells the Catholic Inquisitors greed for money  and how they exploited ignorant people in the name of God.

This book is a spellbinding journey ... for me it was an epic journey with Aranu .

*taken from http://mytravelphotos.net/

வேதபுரத்து வியாபாரிகள் (Vedhapurathu Vyabaarigal) - Indira Parthasarathy

I bought this book last year at Library book sales. I had not touched it for long time.Last month i chose this book randomly from my bookshelf and started reading immediately. I finished the book in 3 hours. was it interesting ? not really, was it boring? not really but i laughed loudly many times.

The novel starts with the below sentence...

"கல் தோன்றி மண் தோன்றாக் காலத்துக்கு முன்பே, கையில் கால்ஷீட்டுடன் தோன்றிய கதாநாயகிகளும் ... வேதபுரம் "

This book is a political satire written wonderfully well . The book was published in 1994, even after almost 20 years  Tamilnadu's political situation did not change much. This is the story of a imaginary country called Vedhapuram and its political situations.  Apoorva , whose parents were from Vedhapuram , came to Vedhapuram to write a book about Vedhapuram and its culture. In a most comical way, she was engulfed by the Vedhapuram political system and became head of the state!! .

Some hilarious quotes..

"வேதபுரச் சமூக நலத்திட்டங்களில் சரித்திர முக்கியத்துவம் வாய்ந்தது போலீஸாரால் காவல் நிலையங்களில் கற்பழிக்கப்பட்ட பெண்களுக்குப் புதுவாழ்வு தர ஒரு சீரமைப்புத் திட்டம்..."

"வேதபுரத்தில் தான் தலைவர்களின் பாதங்களைத் தொட்டுக் கும்பிடுதல் என்ற மரபு ஏற்பட்டிருக்க முடியும்; மேல்நாடுகளின் இம்மரபு தோன்றி இருக்க இயலாது. காரணம், அந்நாடுகள் குளிர்ப் பிரதேசங்கள், காலில் எப்பொழுதும் பூட்ஸ் போட்டிருப்பார்கள்; பாதங்களின் நேரடி தரிசனம் கிடப்பது சாத்தியமில்லை"

"'லஞ்சம்' என்ற சொல் வேதபுரத்து மொழி அகராதியிலே கிடையாது. ஏனெனில், 'இம்மொழியில் 'ல'கரத்தை முதலெழுத்தாகக் கொண்டு எந்த சொல்லையும் படைக்க இயலாது. அப்படிப் படைத்தால் அது இலக்கண வழு...'

"இந்திரபிரஸ்த நாட்டுத் தலைவருக்கு பதின்மூன்று மொழிகளில் மவுனம் சாதிக்கத் தெரியும்; எட்டு மொழிகளில் புன்னகை பூக்கத் தெரியும்"

Though quotes like the above ones are hilarious but its true in most cases in our political society. This book won Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad award in 1997.

Read , laugh and think.

Alex Ferguson's Formula

I'm not a big fan of Alex Ferguson's tactics but he was an excellent in man management. As i was browsing magazines in the book store i found Harvard Business Review, on the side of the front page i saw "Ferguson's formula'' . Intrigued i bought the book and read that article. The article was written by Anita Elberse . In that they had discussed eight leadership lessons , here are they:

1)Start With Foundation.
2)Dare to Rebuild Your Team.
3)Set High Standards and Hold Everyone to Them.
4)Never , Ever Cede Control.
5)Match the Message to the Moment.
6)Prepare to Win.
7)Rely on the Power of Observation.
8)Never Stop Adapting.
Those who follows Manchester United knew most of the above lessons. And Ferguson was right and proved it . For me one very important lesson which highlighted Ferguson's carrier was " Never , Ever Cede Control " , he got many bad press for that approach but he was successful , and he never allowed any players to question him and he made sure that no player is more than the club.The above lessons can be applied to any business too.

A successful manager.Adios Sir Alex!

Letters To A Young Scientist - Edward O.Wilson

I came to know about Edward O.Wilson in a book fair two years ago. A book name "Naturalist" got my attention and i bought it. Started reading when we are expecting our first child and finished after the birth. "Naturalist" is a autobiography of Edward O.Wilson. I loved the way he narrated his earlier days and his field work. I started searching about him in internet and what i found was interesting. He is a leading biologist in the world and an world renown authority of ants. From then on wards i read whatever i found in internet and National Geographic articles by him. The documentary "Lord of the Ants" showed me genius of Edward O Wilson.

Put Passion ahead of training . Feel out in any way you can what you most want to do in science, or technology, or some other science related profession. Obey that passion as long as it lasts . Feed it with the knowledge the minds needs to grow.

I was very eager to read this book and once i got the book i read in two sittings. A gem of  book with pearls of wisdom for not only young and aspiring scientist .  The book is divided into five parts and each parts has its own chapters. I'm not a scientist but i still enjoyed the anecdotes of ants used by the author. The author spent lots time explaining his research which makes the book, sometimes, too technical in this case biological.

I always think our educational system is not matured enough to appreciate the nature and encourage the young minds to pursue their passion . For schools and colleges marks are more important , even parents are not interested in what their children interested.For parents , job opportunities comes first  and the kids also falls into it.Later in life when someone engage in their own passion , these kids feel bad about their job and life.  I have never came across anyone who studied entomology or any specific branch of biology in my schools and colleges. Whenever i talk to students i ask them why they chose that particular subject,almost 98% replied me with "my parents liked it".


I think the author tries to pushes the young minds for a greater understanding of science and scientific community.

The principles given by Edward O Wilson :

Principle No:1 Its easier far easier for scientists to acquire needed collaboration from mathematicians and statistician  than its for mathematicians and statistician to find scientist able to make use of their equations.

Principle No:2 For every scientist, whether researcher , technologist, teacher , of whatever competence in mathematics , there exists a displine in science for which that level of mathematical competence is enough to achieve excellence.

Principle No:3 March away from the sounds of guns. Observe the fray from a distance , and while you are at it , consider making your own fray.

Principle No:4 In the search for scientific discoveries , every problem is an opportunity. The more difficult the problem, the greater the likely importance of its solution.

Principle No:5 For every problem in a given discipline of science , there exists a speices or other entity or phenomenon ideal of its solution. Conversely , for every species or other entity or phenomenon , there exist important problems for the solution of which it is ideally suited .

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

This is an astounding story of Liesel Meminger , an young girl,  who steals books during world war II . The narrator of the story is death. And its very opt as the story happening during World War II.The story unfolds when death travels to Australia to take the soul of Liesel Meminger. I think the author should be appreciated for making death as the narrator of this story of hope and survival.

At age of  nine Liesel was sent to Hubermans family to be taken care. She arrived after stolen her first book , The Grave digger's handbook . The Hubermans were good in heart and adopted Liesel as their own. Hans Huberman to calm Liesel's nightmare started reading the book. But he himself was struggling in reading words, so they both started learning the alphabets by writing on the wall. There starts the journey of reading and sharing.As Liesel discovers the power of words,he started stealing books from the mayor's home , though mayor's wife knew about it.

Liesel was captivated by Max Vundenburg, a Jew, whom her foster parents hiding in their basement. Huberman who sent Hitler's Mein Kempf to Max with their home address , so that when needed he can come to Himmel Street and stay with them. Slowly they both grew in love and friendship . When Max was sick and brought to her room , she gave many mementos and he in turn wrote her a very touching and emotional book .He presented her a book and asked to read latter.The story of Max was heart warming , a  real fighter who when staying alone in basement fights with imaginary Hitler. His walk to death was very emotional. I liked those fights Max had with Hitler. A man's inability to fight against the power.

The author's description of each character is subtle, sometimes poetic."a small wardrobe with a coat hung over it" thats for Rosa Huberman. Most of the words including in German ,sentences and paragraphs are lyrical.The compelling characters make one fall in love with them.  I enjoyed reading it. It appears that this is based on a true story of author's grand mother. This book also shows human resilience in times of struggle. This book also shows the destructions of war.

I loved this book . I finished the book in two sittings. Many beautiful things one can experience as progress through the pages. Of course lots of tears too!! As i'm reading books related to World Wars, one thing is clear to me - War is not the solution for any problem even if its nuclear or chemical.

Wonderful book!

Check out the movie coming out soon

The Testament of Mary - Colin Toibin

As the name suggests this is a fictionalized story of Mary, mother of Jesus Christ. The story is in the form of monologue. As Mary was nearing death , she narrates her feelings and emotions during  the time when Jesus was in Jerusalem. At first i did not understand why two guards are watching and staying with Mary but as story unfolds we can understand that they are ordered to protect Mary. Throughout the story Mary was under watch by Roman spies and his son's followers.

Mary always wanted to bring his son back to their house , she traveled to Cana for the marriage but no use, she found Jesus beyond recognition . He was dressed in fine clothes and surrounded by so many people , most of them are encouraging him as he call himself "Son of God". And then after she got confirmation from Marcus that her son will be crucified, she traveled to Jerusalem . The moment she saw Jesus , she wanted to save him but her guardian and Martha prevented her from go.After Jesus's crucifixion , they escaped to Ephesus and she dreamed of being with her son alive.She slowly realized that the people who were protecting her were building a circle of stories about her dreams and about her son. They are not listening to her , they just create their own versions of events and spreading it, in a way they are writing the Gospel. For them its politics and power.  She wants to tell real story and she is adamant about it . The image of her son's suffering did not leave her until her death.

The author portrays Mary as angry, frustrated and confused by the events happening around her. This Mary doubts the miracles attributed to her son. Even though some of the events described were not in Bible ,i think the author just wants to tell the story from Mary's point of view , a mother wrecked by fear, grief and guilt. Toibin really makes the reader to feel sad for Mary and how other used her circumstances.  The author enters a very dangerous territory as the devotion to Mary grows over the centuries.

This book is emotional and thought provoking . 

POSB Run For Kids 2013

After three months ran my first race. It was 10KM race. There was heavy raining and thunder previous night prior to the race day. I thought there wont be a race. But on the race day morning , it was only drizzling and no thunder. I reached the starting point on time 6:30AM but the organizers delay the race for 15 minutes. I did practice previous week for this race, so i was confident of finishing the race well.

It was my first run on rain. Race was flagged off on 6:54AM and i started the race briskly, crossing first three kilometers with consistent pace. Around 4KM mark my  felt bit uncomfortable, that was because of my breakfast , i did not eat properly . I ate three cocktail sausages and 1 cup of coffee without milk . But i was prepared for it and took two power gels . I opened and ate the first one from 4KM to 6KM, i felt better. I walked and crossed over the Marina Barrage bridge. The view from Marina Barrage was stunning!

I completed the race with good timing and felt good. As usual the volunteers were awesome , the bore the rain and did excellent job. The scenic race route made the run even better. 

கோவேறு கழுதைகள்(Koveru Kazhuthaigal) - இமையம் (Imayam)

This novel is considered as one of the classic of modern Tamil literature specially in Dalit writing. And i believe it should be. The first and foremost striking feature of this novel is the portrayal of  delicate caste structure among Dalits. I never thought something like that really exist. This is the second book i read by the same author. Both books have one common feature sexual harassment to women by the upper cast or by dominant male.

This is the story of a dalit Christian couple  Savuri and Arockiam. The story moves along with Arockiam. She is the one who guards and guide the family and its tradition. A very strong willed woman. "அவளால் சதா நேரமும் அழ முடியும் . பேச முடியும் . வேலை செய்ய முடியும்."  - that summarizes her character.   The gradual decline in their income due to various external factors drastically affects them . The author explains the decline clearly and its true. I have seen some of them.

They not only collects clothes and do washing but also all involves in all other events from birth to death without expecting and asking much . The couple used to these kind of daily things (i think i can call it slavery) but their children started asking questions and not accepting that life anymore.The conversation between Arockiam and Joseph about the habit of collecting food at night is something very sentimental and we needs to answer him. Arockiam's life goes awkwardly downwards with changing lifestyle of the people as she moves on with her memories of good time and hope for the future. The author explains the changes like this
"இப்போதெல்லாம்  அடிக்கடி அவளுக்கு 'தான் புதிதாக ஒரு ஊருக்கு வந்துவிடவில்லையே ' என்ற சந்தேகக் கேள்வி வருகிறது . பழைய உயிர்ப்பு இல்லை .அந்தப் பற்றுதலும் , பாசமும் எப்படி இல்லாமல் போனதென்று எண்ணி வருந்த ஆரம்பித்தாள் . இது பழைய ஊர் இல்லை . இந்த  ஊரின் மண் என்பதற்கு இப்போது எவ்விதமான அன்பான அடையாளமுமில்லை . முன்பெல்லாம் சுடுகாட்டுச் சாம்பலில் கூட ஒரு மணம் , ருசி இருக்கும் ."

Its really sad to know that the upper caste people needs people like Arockiam and Savuri for doing everything but they are treating them inhumanely. As Venkat Swaminathan puts " படித்து அரசு வேலையில் அமர்ந்து காரை வீட்டில் வாழும் தலித் இப்போது உயர் சாதிக்காரனாகி விட்டானே. உயர் சாதி மிதப்பில் அவன் சந்தோஷிக்கவேண்டாமா? அவனுக்கும் ஒரு தலித் இருந்தால்தானே தன் உயர் சாதி வாழ்வை அவன் அனுபவிக்க முடியும்? தான் உயர்வதில் மட்டுமல்ல; நேற்றுவரை தன் சகாவாக இருந்த மற்றவனைத் தாழ்த்துவதிலும் ஒரு சுகம் உண்டே. "
Along with Piragu by Poomani , this novel brings the detailed day to day to life of dalits . But this book was staunchly criticized by other dalit writers and associations because of its portrayal of  dalits among dalits.  I remember the word "Vannaathi(வண்ணாத்தி) used by our people (Not sure whether they are using it now), the same word repeats many times in this book.  My mother never called our cloth washing (laundry) akka 'vannathi' ( i dont know about her caste ) for me she still remains the same old akka whom we love and we knew she too loves us. 

The title of the book is perfect. This book was translated in English as " Burden of  Beast" . 

Maus - Art spiegelman

My first graphic novel. Last year in a book fair i asked the attender to suggest me some comics or graphic novel , the guy told me Marvel comics were nice and i told him i did not like superheroes stories, then he told me that i can try Japanese comics. After 6 months I bought my first Japanese Manga book but i have not touched it till now.Something in my mind told me read a graphic novel - just for experience. So i searched in Google and i found hundreds of suggestions, at last i settled for "Maus by Art spiegelman" . I really don't know why i chose this book. But now i think this is one of the best book i ever read.

The illustrations are awesome and symbolic. I'm used to ' words and occasional pictures' type of reading,  but this is different. I need to see the characters expression and read the dialogues, took sometime to do that. But once i used to it, i did not put down the book. This book made me feel  anxious, unhappy, upset and happy. Awesome work.

This is the holocaust survival story of the author's parents -Vladek and Anja .The author beautifully bring the lives of Jews under Nazi and his parents experience in Poland before the second world war and later in Auschwitz  I have read one or two books about Holocaust and Nazis but none of those books are emotional, very detailed and first hand account like this one.(May be i could not find those kind of books yet). There are two different Vladek portrayed - one was very energetic, vibrant and jovial during the holocaust and another was very sensitive and manipulative after the escape specially in latter part his life. The author could not understand this. He tried his best to understand what exactly his parents went through and he came out with these wonderful books.

In this book , the author portrays Germans as cats, the Jews as mice, the Poles as pigs and the Americans as dogs.I can understand why the author chose mice and cats but not sure about pigs and dogs. When asked why he chose mice the author replied this(click here).  I was horrified when the author details the layout of the gas chambers and the mass burial site, unthinkable.

This book comes in two :
Part I : Maus - A Survivor's Tale - My Father Bleeds History
Part II: Maus - A Survivor's Tale - And Here My Troubles Began

I read both one after another and it was wonderful.In my list of classics Maus sits right on top. Now I'm very much interested in reading  graphic novels waiting to start the next one.

Everyone should read Maus atleast once.

An interesting interview with the author

Do not stop the children coming to me - A Prayer by Lithuanian girls confined to a siberian prison(1953)

Saviour, I have cast away

Your passion, love and desires.

I have condemned myself

and become

profoundly unhappy.

With all my being,

I implore you:

cast Your glance at me,

cover up my transgressions,

raise me up that with joy

I may hasten to you

to worship Your mercy

and ineffable love. Amen.

Draw near,

all holy Angels;

draw near,

all saints of heaven,

Immaculate Mother,

Saint Joseph, Saint Therese,

come to praise

the Lord of Mercy,

the God of Love.

Teach me

how to be humble, how to love,

that everywhere and always

I may live in gratitude

and with my entire life

I may proclaim

God's love and goodness.

Jesus, You have come to me.

Remain with me for ever.

Live in me. Teach me,

painful though it be.

Rest in me,

and never forsake me.

With all my being,

to You I cling,

praising and thanking You

for coming,

for Your consolation,

for all the other graces

You have brought

to me and to my home.

O Heart of Jesus,

inflamed with love,

have mercy on those

who fight for freedom,

who have died on the battlefield

or still are suffering

for my country.

Have mercy on all in whose stead

I should pray and praise You.

O God of Mercy,

I thank You for the hearts

who have done me

so much good

and who never forgets me.

I thank You also for those 

who, by their hatred

teach and warn me. Amen.

The above prayer was written by four young Lithuanian girls confined to a Siberian prison in 1953.

The Taliban Cricket Club - Timeri N.Murari

I saw this book two times at Books Kinokuniya, wondered what would be the story. Two months latter i bought this book in a book sale.My first thought after i finished reading was that 'this story sounds cinematic'. Yes, i think the escape and the ending were absolutely cinematic , nevertheless enjoyable. And the author makes the reader to rejoice with the characters, that was the success of this book.

The protagonist of this story is Rukhsana an aspiring journalist in Afghanistan whose life took a abrupt turn after Taliban captured the country. One day Rukhsana along with some other journalists were summoned to the  'Ministry for the Propagation and Prevention of Vice'. Rukhsana was scared to death but unexpectedly the minister Zorak Wahidi talked about organizing  cricket tournament , winning team will be going to Pakistan for further training. On the other hand , through previous experience , minister knew Rukhsana and now want to marry her.
Education:
Rukhsana was sent to Delhi for her higher studies. In Delhi, he learnt cricket properly and played for the team. She loved cricket the moment she started playing. Her love of game was very much visible when she trained her cousin for the tournament. Rukhasana was survived by her mother and younger brother Jahan.

The Team
 Rukhsana and Jahan convinced their cousins to join the team which will give them the chance to go out of the country. But the problem was that none of them ever played the game. Rukhsana was the only one who knew and played it before. So she needed to teach them how to play. But Talibans did not allow women's to go out without covering head to toe and without mahram. Accidently Rukhsana dressed like a man and she remained like that to teach them the game. Rukhsana became Babur .The team was named "The Taliban Cricket Club".

The Love and the Escape :

Love Poem by Dari Rabi'a Balkhi

I am caught in Love;s web so deceitful

None of my endeavours turn fruitful.

I knew not when I rode the high-blooded steed

The harder I pulled its reins the less it would heed.

Love is an ocean with such a vast space

No wise man can swim it in any place.

A true lover should be faithful till the end

And face life's reprobated trend.

When you see things hideous, fancy them neat,

Eat poison, but taste sugar sweet.

Rukhsana thought of the above poem when she woke up thinking about her marriage with Wahidi. I love that poem. They escape was cinematic. Nevertheless, as i was reading i wanted all of them to escape. So i was happy about the end. I expected author will take an adventurous route for escape like van drive along the border.Never mind.Shaheen who was Rukhsana's  'unofficial' fiancee betrayed her. Rukshana for the sake of her family honor agreed to marry him , though she was in love with Veer, an Indian wildlife photographer.

"Conscience controls our impulses to do harm. Our religions are meant to instruct us in what is right and what is wrong, but they can be misinterpreted, words twisted in their meanings, by those who wish to justify their killings in the name of their religion and in the name of God. Conscience does and must exist among us , as otherwise the whole world would go up in flames."

The author beautifully brings the life of women under Taliban rule. So many women characters popup each with her own horror story. Each of them respects their family honor and at the same time they want to have their freedom back. Most of the male characters are dominant and staunch supporters of family traditions which always collides with women's freedom.

"Cricket is drama, it is theater, it is the conflict between one man and eleven others, and that one has to defeat the enemy surrounding him on the field. It is about the two warriors battling it out between themselves"

This is a strange and amazing story with wonderful characters. Read and go for a emotional roller coaster ride.

Author's official site

புனலும் மணலும் (Punalum Manalum) - மாதவன் (Madhavan)

The backdrop of this novel is sand diggers along the famous river which fertilize the whole area. The one aspect i liked about this story was the minute details of description of day to day activities of the characters. The author portrays ordinary man's life and events very beautifully. Most of the characters in this story we can find in our day's work but the author makes a character out of them. The darker side of the human life was evenly told by the author.

This is the story of Angusamy who was like a middleman between contractor and laborers. He was widowed and survived by one step-daughter, Panki. The relationship between Angusamy and Panki was one sided, Panki loved and did everything for him but Angusamy never reciprocated her love. He hated her so much , in fact he never treated her as a human being. Im wondering is Panki , the ugliest female character created in Tamil literature? The author always points to physical beauty first whenever Panki comes into the picture. Yes , the author is correct in pointing like that because we , people, tend to judge others by their appearance.

Another main character is Damodaran, who lives near Angusamy's house. Angusamy was the one who took care of Damodaran when he came in search of job, ever since Damodaran lives with them.That character was very unique, he was the only one who loved and treated Panki nicely. Panki loved him but for Damodaran she was like a 'sister'. No one interested in marry her.But Damodaran tried his best to arrange her marriage. These complex relationships was built beautifully by the author .  Here's how the author describes Angusany's life :

நதி - எந்த  சூன்யத்திலிருந்து துவங்கினால்தான் என்ன ? அது ஒழுகி வளமாக்கும் இடத்தின் சிறப்பிலேயே அதன் பெருமையும் அமைந்து போகிறது . தன் காரியங்கூட அப்படித்தானோ ? எங்கோ என்ற நினைவே அற்றுப்போன தமிழ் மண்ணின் ஒரு மூலையில் பிறந்து , கசடு களைய , நாட்டை விட்டு  வந்து , வளர்ந்து , தொழில் செய்து  ஒழுங்காக வாழ்ந்து , இங்கே  தனக்கு பேரும் பெருமையும்  மதிப்பும் வந்திருக்கிறது ... 

The author's vivid descriptions of Maadan temple festival took me to  the place itself , very nice.  The most of the problems mentioned in the book are relevant even today. The typical Indian family setup and the emotions were told just as its happening today.  The book also tells the decline in natural resources due to human exploitation.

Over all a great book which is relevant even today.

What the Woman May Have Prayed - St.Gregory of Narek

What the Woman May Have Prayed
                                         - St.Gregory of Narek

And now, our only provider and
cause of all good things,
listen with compassion, Lord,
to the supplications I call to you,
with my arms lifted up in prayer,
bolstered from within,
with the sighs of my heart,
with the cries of my tongue and lips.
Expressing thanks through these offerings,
I offer up my gratitude to you,
almighty. awesome, exalted, incomprehensible,
for ever embraced in unending love,
constantly praised with the chant,
Holy Holy, only and always Holy,
blessed for ever.
Out of your great goodness,
grant me yet more help,
for I am completely lost.
Give me hope of sweetness,
though I am not worthy of the least  drop of your light,
so that I might understand through you, good Lord,
the subtle secret of this mystery,
and mix thanks with my prayer,
saying with David,
"We have received your mercy,Lord"
and "your hidden and invisible secrets,
you have revealed through your wisdom."

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library - Chris Grabenstein

I always interested in books about library. That is the reason why i bought this book. This is  the story of Kyle Keeley and his team's escape from Mr.Lemoncello's new library. Alexandriaville had no library for 12 years.

Mr.Lemoncello:
Mr.Lemoncello who used to spent lots of him at the library during his young years. He design and built lots of games and became a millionaire. He decided to built new library on the spot where once there was a Golden Leaf bank. No one knew the full design of the library including himself except Dr.Zinchenko. Mr.Lemoncello announces an essay competition in Kyle Keele's school. Those who get selected will allow to spent overnight before the official opening of the library. Mr. Lemoncello choose 12 students to participate in the game.

Kyle Keeley :
Kyle keele and his family love puzzles and board games .The three Keeley brothers(Mike,Curtis and Kyle) enjoy playing video games and board games. Kyle never spent time at library, in fact did not read any books for sometimes.

Mr.Lemoncello's Library :
The rotunda , the big screens and the talking holographic images and a wonderful collections of book made the participants wonder and interested. I can imagine the library as the author explains the various features. I wonder when i will see libraries like this in real. Awesome.

Some of the books mentioned in the book -1

The game :
The chosen 12 should find a way to come out of the library with the help of clues hidden inside the library. There will be three helpline - Ask an Expert, One Librarian Consultation and One Extreme Challenge.
Kyle, Akimi and Sierra Russel formed a team  so that they can share the work , on the other hand Charles worked alone until Andrew joins with him .

The Hero and The Villain:
Kyle was chosen a team leader, he cares and shares whatever he knew with his team.And the team too support him.Charles Chiltington who always say "We never lose". He is very cunning and utilize others for his benefit.

Some of the books mentioned in the book -2

The clues :
The Library card and books gives clues to find a way out. They have to know all 12 participants library card to find the books written behind it. Each clue gives some pictograms . They use unusual method for researching the clue.

Morale of the story :
Share Knowledge, help others and don't steal

I love this book. I love libraries but unfortunately in my hometown even today we do not have a good library. Singaporeans are blessed with wonderful libraries.Hope one day i will build a library in my hometown.

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared -Jonas Jonasson

Thanks to my friend in Switzerland for recommending me this wonderful book. He told me that the french translation is very good and not sure about English one nevertheless asked me to try it and i did. It was a most enjoyable four days in my reading experience. Just awesome.

Allan Emmanuel Karlsson, on his hundredth birthday jumps out of his window and escapes from Old People's Home at Malmkoping. That is the starting of a roller coaster journey that will bring laughter through out. Allan's had a knack of being at the right place at right time which influences world history.

Allan is a explosive expert with excess likeness for Vodka and never think too much about politics.Even though  he is apolitical, he has dinner with almost all the major leaders of the world - President Truman, Stalin, Kim Jong II, Mao Tse-Tung etc. He helps USA to built atom bomb and also help USSR to built the same.
The Journey : 
From Sweden to Spain/Poland then from Spain to USA, helps US scientist in building atom bombs. From USA to China, helping Soong May-ling but end up helping Mao's wife to escape. From China to Afghanistan to Sweden. Again from Sweden to USSR where he helps them to build atom bombs. He escapes from USSR to North Korea, then to Bali, Indonesia for long vocation. After vocation he journeys to Paris accompanying Indonesian Ambassador, from there to Russia again then to Sweden. Atlast back to Bali, Indonesia with his new friends for vocation.

Escapes :
First , Allan along with Missionary Ferguson escapes from Afghanistan prison by fooling the Internal security chief in helping to kill Winston Churchill. Then he escapes from Russian gulag along with Herbert Einstein, brother of Albert Einstein,this time also causing heavy damage to the place.Lastly from the Old Age House.

The deaths :
Allan's bomb to kill Winston Churchill kills the Iran security officer, of course it was planned murder by Allan.After his escape from the Old Age House , he and his friends unintentionally kill one and intentionally kills another.

Forget the logic, there are some questions regarding various activities by the lead characters but never mind.

From the moment Allan jumps out of the window, the author takes you to the world of laughter. I do not know how many times i laughed out loudly. Even when i was not feeling well , i remember some of the scenes and laughed in bus journey.The hilarious episode of Allan and Herbert Einstein's escape and their subsequent vocation in Bali, was simply awesome. The addition of extra verse(22.And they all lived happily ever after) by the typesetter in the bible, the story of Never Again gang etc will surely make one laugh.

The author beautifully links the historical events with the life of Allan,i think thats why author created a character who is hundred years old. The journey of Allan through these historical events were funny rather than serious as one would expect.Credit to author for bringing the lighter side of all those events.

Is this novel  a classic? definitely no but one can read and laugh in many places.

A charming , sweet, hilarious and funny book which not only brings laughter but also takes us back to history lessons!

Silk - Alessandro Baricco

One of the beautifully written short novel. Lovely use of language. The credit should be given to translator, in this case , Ann Goldstein. I never heard of this writer before .

This is the story of Herve Jancour, silk breeder living in a small village called Lavilledieu,France. The year is 1861.When their silk hatcheries were affected by the epidemic,the villages heeding to the advise of  Baldabiou, who knew everything about Silk breeding, sent Herve Jancour to Japan to get silk eggs.That was the first of his four journeys to Japan.

Helen , Jancour's wife was very beautiful and had a great voice. They were happy couple without any children. Jancour wanted to build a garden and he started to design it himself.

In Japan, he met Hara Kei ,who was sort of head of the community. He gave him silk eggs but Jancour was attracted towards the lady who was sleeping on Hara Kei's lap. Her eyes fixed on Jancour. From that moment Jancour was possessed by her thoughts.She sent ideograms.He kept on thinking about her. On his fourth journey to Japan, he saw destruction everywhere. The whole village was destroyed by the foreign force. And they were leaving the village en mass. He found a boy who lead him to the leaving group. Hara Kei asked him to go back. The next morning he found the dead body hanging on the tree. After few days he returned back to Lavilledieu with nothing as all his eggs were hatched.

After the death of his wife Helen, he received a letter which describes so many intimate things. There he found who sent the letter and the love which made the writer to write that letter.

This is a poetic story, bit of suspense , bit of travel and a pure love.I finished this book in matter of hour, to precise 1 hour and 16 minutes. Very few characters but each character is a mystery.In the whole story what is unsaid is more powerful than what is said.The author allows the reader to imagine whatever he wants.The language is neat ,precise and delicate which makes the reading a pleasant one, of course there are lots repetitive texts specially when describing the journeys but none is boring.

I think  if i read it again my thought on Helen and the Hara Kei's lady and the letter  will be different. That is the victory for the author. "To be nostalgic about something never happened!" that line is really poetic and made me to think a lot.

Kalachuvadu had published this book with the title 'Pattu'. I hope that the poetical essence of the original will remain in the translation.I have to read in Tamil too.

Very enjoyable read!

ஆறுமுகம் (Arumugam) - இமையம் (Imayam)

This book i bought at National library book sales.I heard that the author's another book "koveru Kazhudaigal" is a great book but i did not find that book so i bought this book. Imayam , the author had done a great job by bringing the essence of life in a very simple language.

This is the story of Arumugam , the son of Raman and Dhanabhagiyam. Arumugam loses his father very early and he was supported solely by his mother. Dhanabhagiyam who got a job in hospital and they moved to pondicherry .Their lives goes well until Arumugam saw his mother sleeping with another man Jerry Albert. Arumugam run away from his mother  and his life starts from there. Where ever he goes , he looks around the events and observe it. Apart from his mother he encounters so many female characters like Vasantha , Chinnaponnu , Abitha and Lakshmi who shapes Arumugum like his real mother. The life's ups and downs along with death were portrayed beautifully.

The detailed description of day to day life of these people brings the reader closer to them .Kudos to the author. He did not follow any protocol or principles in writing this story, he made the day to day life lead the story and it worked really well. The author effortlessly enters into the characters's mind and brings their thoughts beautifully. I think this is possible only because he knew these lives.

I borrow these words from Aravinthan to descripe the authors stand, i also felt the same thing after reading this book and i feel that the author is wrong in his view.

" நவீன வாழ்வு உங்கள் மானத்தை விலையாகப் பெற்றுக் கொண்டுதான் சமூக முன்னேற்றத்தைத் தரும். இதனால் உங்கள் குடும்பம் சிதைந்துவிடும் என்னும் மிரட்டல் இந்தச் சித்தரிப்பில் தொனிக்கிறது."

A very different book . I enjoyed reading it. I have purchased his two other books "Koveru kazhudaigal" and "Sedal" early this year, will read these books soon.  I love his beautiful writing style and the subject he handles.

Click here for the author's interview

Click here to go to author's blog

The author's address :

இமையம், 
முத்தமிழ் தெரு, 
பெரியார் நகர் தெற்கு, 
விருத்தாசலம்-606 001, 
மின்மடல் : imayam.annamalai@gmail.com

Snail Watching - 3

I really do not know how i got interested in Snails. Over these 3 years i started love these beautiful little creatures. Last week, when i was jogging  i found these wonderful scenes.These scenes were the REAL mating scenes not my previous post ( Snail Watching-2). When i did research on Snails mating procedures, i was really fascinated .
Some interesting information about Snails:
- Snails are gastropods (belly foot), use stomach for moving.
- Snails are hermaphrodites (means they have both male and female organs).But there are exceptions.
- Snails are considered sexually matured in one year time.
- Mating rituals can go for more than 12 hours sometime(!!)
- Fertilize the each other eggs after the mating.
- Snails can carry upto 100 eggs.

When i started taking picture,that was for almost 10 to 15 minutes, there was no moment.Never seen anything like that before, i stopped jogging and was filled with some kind of strange feeling.

I do not know what species these snails belongs to, i believe these are garden snails(??) .And when i researched about mating rituals i found that some snails are dioecious i,e separate sexes. So i think what i saw was mating between male and female (not sure).

I have seen the same thing as in the below video but i did not touch it( i should say that i was scared to disturb them!).

Click here Apple Snails mating info
More info about how snail reproduce

The Conference of the Birds - Farid Ud-Din Attar

An Epic! I should say this is the one book i keep with me always after Bible . It is still inside my bag ,where ever i go i will take this book also. I finished reading this book long time back. I always underline the lines i like most in the books. But in this book,i did not do like that because each and every line i liked and treasured.

This book is a great deal of Sufi poetry , the true idol be destroyed is the Self.The Poems are multi-layered allegory.

The story is that all the birds of the world decided to choose their king as they do not have one.The Wisest of all the Hoopoe suggests that they should go and meet the legendary Simorgh .The  Hoopoe leads the bird in their journey, each bird represents a human character. The journey is tough and the birds one by one leave the group.At last only thirty birds remains and they reaches the place of Simorgh and find only a lake, which shows their reflection .

The birds have to go through seven valleys to reach the place of Simorgh .The are
1)Talab - Yearning
2)Eshq- Love
3)Marifat - Gnosis
4)Istighnah - Detachment
5)Tawheed - Unity of God
6)Hayrat - Bewilderment
7)Fuqur & Fana - Selflessness & Oblivion in God

I quote this from Wikipedia "The idea of God within is an idea intrinsic to most interpretations of Sufism. As the birds realize the truth, they now reach the station of Baqa (Subsistence) which sits atop the Mountain Qaf".

The author makes the journey even more interesting by telling short stories here and there and teach us many things. I loved all the short stories.

Read and treasure the pearls of wisdom.

Complete Audio book in youtube

பிறகு(Piragu) - பூமணி(Poomani)

I bought this book long time back, many times i took it ,read few pages but never continued to finish it. At last, few days back i took this book and started reading and continued, i should say i had great time  reading this classic.First , the front cover design is something one will not forget soon. I was really struck by it , well done designer Santhosh.

This books tells the story of Alagiri and his community. Alagiri is a cobbler and earns his daily living depends on the high caste people.His wife died after giving birth to his daughter Muthumaari, after long consideration and compulsion by community, he remarry Aavuda . Aavuda takes care his daughter like her own daughter. I love this character, beautifully portrayed by author.

Alagiri's life revolves around his family and the neem tree. The author characterizes the neem tree which bears everything from the community.The sorrow filled life of Muthumaari makes the reader to feel for her, i was really surprised how Alagiri coped the death of her. Muthamaari was first married to Vairavan , who joined Army and left her. Vairavan is the first one to break out of the community .The gradual transformation of Vairavan was told beautifully by the author. She remarry Muniyaandi but it failed after she left home the child and attend Vairavan's father's funeral. She died by jumping into well. The marriage, the marriage life , the children and the death of Muthumaari was told in a manner one can easily understand the community's way of life.

Kandhaiya , the village guard, is the only man who try to solve issues within the village and he is very supportive of Alagiri. Kandhaiya's death brought tears in my eyes.Two other characters which made impact on the whole story were Sakkanan and Chithiran. Their continues talks about past and present was funny and interesting.Karuppan and his silent romance with Muthumaari, in fact many times i thought he will propose to her but the author knew very well , it should not happen in the community.

The transformation of the village is slow but dramatic.First, the announcement of election and how the rich (Appaiya&Villiserikkarar) instructed Sakkiliyakudi to vote.More lands were bought by the rich and money allotted to the municipality was laundered by the rich.All these transformation did not affect this community much, their life goes on as usual.

"எலே சொதுச்சொகம் காசுனு மனசுல ஒடயிலதான் நிம்மதியே கெட்டுப்பொகுதுடா "

The author has portrayed the suffering and pain of the people born as a result of economic hegemony and more importantly caste.I borrow this from Davind Announsamy - "Hero is not a person, he is a community itself. ' .The author once told “I don’t know where the word Dalit appeared. I have been writing about the poor and marginalised sections of society well before the word appeared. The term is derogatory because many critics use it as a concession to writers belonging to lower castes. There is no concession in Literature.” No where in this novel the author used the word "dalit", which is great. The author knew his role, he did not try do create uproar by his portrayal but he simply tells their way of living.

I will certainly keep this book as one of the Modern Tamil classics and must read.