Memorable Quotes-2:

"All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time." - John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Writer, Art Critic

'Book Reading Culture : Writers Who Read' by Nikhil Raghavan

Book readings are quite a phenomenon in Chennai. Bookstores like Landmark and Odyssey as well as cafes like Amethyst have become venues for the city's literati to converge and listen to either the authors themselves or other personalities reading excerpts from recently released books.

The Culture Cafe at the British Council organises a lot of these readings either to coincide with a new book release or the visit of an author. For instance, when The Constant Gardener was released in Sathyam Cinemas, the British Council organised a series of book reading sessions in the city colleges to promote the book and the movie. Earlier in March, a reading of Kanchana Sita and Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan's English translation of this play in Malayalam written by C.N.Sreekantan Nair was held at the British Council. Last November, the British Council and Madras Players presented an evening of modern Indian poetry with Vasantha Surya's poems, A World Between Us. November also saw a performance poetry by Dreadlockalien from the UK. In August, Alliance Francaise will host a book launch of How Wang Fo Was Saved by Brigette Revelli. The highlight of the evening will be the release of a Tamil translation of Marguerite Yourcenar's Nouvelles Orientales by V.Sriram. When famous authors like Robin Sharma, Valmik Thapar, Ruskin Bond and others visit the city, bookstores such as Odyssey and Landmark jump in to organise book reading sessions with the authors. For an invited audience and for the shoppers who are present in the store, this is a very unique experience - meet and hear their favourite author. Amethyst is a popular venue for play readings. The city's theatre groups are encouraged to use the venue to further their talent and art, courtesy its owner, Kiran Rao. The book reading habit, which a few years ago had dimmed thanks to FM, TV and Internet, is back again. Cash registers are constantly jingling at bookstores in the city, even for lesser-known authors, thanks to such sessions.

Courtesy: Chennai Beat, Supplement to The Week, Aug.20, 2006

'Words to Live By : A Daily Guide to Leading an Exceptional Life' by Eknath Easwaran

Words to Live By - A Daily Guide to Leading an Exceptional Life by Eknath Easwaran

Pub. by Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai, 2006, pp.399, Paperback, Rs.295/-

It says, on the back cover of this book, 'Words have power, as advertisers know'. So they do. And when these words are quotations from the works of great men, and Easwaran's very lucid expositions of the words, they are even more powerful.

First, about the book itself. This is, as the title suggests, a guide to daily living. So there are 365 quotations followed by Easwaran's own life-experience descriptions. The quotations are multi-faith and multi-cultural, proving thereby that wisdom knows no barriers of time or space. Meister Eckhart rubs shoulders with Jafar, Swami Ramdas, Plotinus and Thomas Vaughan, to give an example - a Sufi saint, a Hindu mystic, a Roman and 17th century English metaphysical along with a Dutch thinker.

"Have thy heart in heaven and thy hands upon the earth. Ascend in piety and descend in charity, for this is the nature of light and the children of charity."

Easwaran explains, 'When our hands are busy with a worthwhile task and our mind busy with the mantram, we won't have much chance to brood on our problems.'

Then again, from the 19th century, Pre-Raphaelite poet, William Blake:

"He who binds himself to a joy

Doth the winged life destroy.

But he who kisses the joy as it flies

Lives in eternity's sunrise.'

On this Easwaran comments: '...When we grasp at another person, the real tragedy is that we cease to see that person, in our insecurity he or she merely becomes an object for propping ourselves up...'

Though this reviewer is not entirely in consonance with the commentaries on many of the passages, it is absolutely true that it is a good addition to one's reading list, because it gives much food for thought. ........

Beautifully produced, this book is a pleasure to read and handle. Entry at the bottom of every page gives us related passages, so that we can go back (or forward) to see them.

Eknath Easwaran left Indian shores almost half a century ago as a Fulbright scholar and built bridges between his own culture and others till his death in 1999.

This book is a very good start to one's daily reflections to boost the spirit.

- Excerpt of Review by Prema Raghunath, Chennai

(Courtesy: The Vedanta Kesari (The Lion of Vedanta) - Pub. by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Mylapore, Chennai)(Sep.2007 issue)

"The Seven Commandments of Bhagavad Gita" by J.P.Vaswani

The Seven Commandments of the Bhagavad Gita by J.P.Vaswani

Compiled and edited by Dr.Prabha Sampath and Krishna Kumari

Sterling Publishers, A-59, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi-110020.

E-mail: ghai@nde.vsnl.net.in (2006, 418 pp. Rs.250/-)

This book is a compilation of the discourses and writings on the Bhagavad Gita of Dada J.P.Vaswani, the spiritual leader of Sadhu Vaswani Mission. It analyses the teachings of the Gita and their application in life from the general viewpoint of a devotee.

The first ten chapters discuss various introductory topics like the life of Sri Krishna, the story of the Mahabharata, and the background, the significance, and the essence of the Gita. There is one chapter on 'Sadhu Vaswani and the Gita'. The title-theme is covered in chapters eleven to seventeen, which successively consider the seven commandments:

1. Thou shalt not identify thyself with the body.

2. Thou shalt not fail to do thy duty.

3. Thou shalt do thy duty and a little more.

4. Thou shalt not miss thy daily appointment with God.

5. Whatever thou doest, do it for the love of God.

6. Thou shalt seek the lowest place; and

7. Thou shalt rejoice in everything that the will of God brings to thee.

...

Despite minor blemishes, the book must be welcomed as a refreshing addition to the literature on the Gita.

(Excerpted from the Review by Prof.Shoutir Kishore Chatterjee, Former Professor of Statistics, Calcutta University, Kolkata, in the 'Prabuddha Bharata', English monthly magazine, August 2007)

Book Review-2: "One Red Paperclip" by Kyle MacDonald Kyle

MacDonald had a paperclip. One red paperclip and a dream. And bills to pay. Oh, and a very patient girl-friend who was paying the rent while he was once again 'between jobs'. Kyle wanted to be able to provide for himself and his girl-friend, Dominique. He wanted to own his own home. He wanted something bigger than a paperclip. So he put an ad on Craigslist, the popular classifieds website, with the intention of trading that paperclip for something better. A girl in Vancouver offered him a fish pen in exchange for his paperclip. He traded the fish pen for a doorknob and a the doorknob for a camping stove. Before long he had traded the camping stove for a generator for a neon sign. Not long after that, avid snow-globe collector and television star Corbin Bernsen and the small Canadian town of Kipling were involved, and Kyle was on to bigger and better things.

In 'One Red Paperclip', Kyle takes you on a journey around the globe as he moves from paperclip holder to homeowner in just 14 trades. With plenty of irreverent and insightful anecdotes and practical tips on how you can find your own paperclip and realise your dreams on your own terms. Quirky and inspirational, this story of a regular guy and a small, red, now-legendary paperclip will have you looking at your office supplies and your life in a whole new way.

(Source: Amazon.com )(Youth Express, Wednesday, August 15, 2007)

Books that changed the World

Principia : Sir Isaac Newton

The Prince: Machiavelli

Common Sense: Thomas Paine

Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith

Origin of Species : Charles Darwin

Das Kapital: Karl Marx

Relativity: The Special and General Theories: Albert Einstein

(Courtesy: "Wisdom", Monthly magazine, April 2004. For details: www.wisdom4u.com)

Adventures in Writing

Adventures in Writing

The Year of Books: Books for All and All for Books

“I need only three things in life – books, books and books,” that is how someone as passionate about books as Leo Tolstoy would say. The magic of books has never ceased to charm humanity. Through the ages it helped man knit his dreams and thoughts, his hopes and aspirations. Secured within its covers, it brings to him ancient wisdom, with which he builds the edifice of the future.

Books not only enable us to understand things in the correct perspective, but also equip us to fight against social and economic exploitation. They empower us intellectually and imbibe in us a sense of pride in our national culture. And they transform love and sorrow, and even pain, into a form of human expression that can be experienced and appreciated by others.

Moreover, the growth of human resource potential of a country is closely linked with the reading habit prevalent in that society.

Books can be read anywhere, at any time and in any environment – while commuting long distance by bus, train or plane; in a quiet corner of the library; on the terrace of your building; on the staircase of your school/college; sitting on the seat of your toilet; or lying in bed.

The Govt of India has dedicated one full year to books by declaring the year 2001-2002 as the YEAR OF BOOKS. The celebration began on 23 April 2001, the UNESCO sponsored World Book and Copyright Day and will close on the same day next year. The slogan for the Year of Books is BOOKS FOR ALL AND ALL FOR BOOKS. The National Book Trust, India, has been designated as the nodal agency to observe the Year of Books. Accordingly, the Trust has already created and distributed a specially designed logo for the Year of Books to be used on all outgoing stationery of relevant Govt depts. And the publishing fraternity. Specially designed posters aimed at popularizing books and encouraging the reading habit have also been distributed in lakhs in schools, colleges, universities, libraries, bookshops, media centers etc.

Apart from monitoring and supporting all the activities undertaken by educational institutions, libraries, publishers and booksellers, the media and the 4reading public in general, the Trust broadly proposes to accomplish the following:-

(a) Setting up a National Book Gallery
(b) Constructing a Writers’ Home
(c) Launching the scheme, BOOKS ON WHEELS
(d) Initiating a massive print and audio-visual campaign to promote reading habit and encourage the concept of giving books as gifts
(e) Publishing a special series of books for the visually impaired and physically handicapped
(f) Organizing/supporting at least one Book Fair in each State
(g) Launching a campaign to popularize the concept of Book Club and network the existing book clubs
(h) Laying special emphasis on bringing out books in large numbers and in all Indian languages for the neo-literates.
(i) Laying special emphasis on bring out quality books for children
(j) Organizing Seminars, Workshops etc on inculcating the reading habit in different parts of the country
(k) Organizing an International Conference of authors, publishers, critics and experts on The State and Future of the Book.
(Courtesy : N.K.Bhattacharjee - NBT Newsletter, 5.8.2001)

For Book-Lovers:

Bookrest: a support for a book
Bookstand: a small counter or stall where newspapers, magazines or books are sold
Bookcase: a piece of furniture with shelves for holding books
Book-end: a prop for the end of a row of books
Book Mark: a strip of paper, fabric, leather etc (often decorative) for placing between the pages of a book to mark a particular opening
The Book : The Bible
Bookworm: (a) a hard reader (often applied derogatively to) anyone excessively given to reading. (b) a book louse or the larva of the drugstore beetle, which often attacks books.
Book Scorpion: arachnic of the order Chelonethida, the false scorpion, it feeds probably on book-lice.
Bookman: a scholar; a student
Bookmate: a school-fellow (Shakespearean use)
Book Maker(Bookie): (a) one who makes a living by betting at horse races. (b) one who makes up books from the writings of others.
Book Post: arrangement at the post office for the transmission of books
Book-plate: a printed label generally pasted in the front inside cover of a book, bearing the owner's name etc
Book Oath: an oath made on a sacred book
Writer's Cramp (Scrivener's Palsy): A common disease affecting those in the habit of constant writing, the muscles refusing to obey only when an attempt to write is made
Title Leaf: the leaf on which the title of the book is printed
Title Page: the page of a book containing its title
Title Sheet: the first sheet of a book as printed, containing title, bastard title etc.
Bastard Title: an abbreviated title of a book on an otherwise blank page preceding the full title page
Fly Leaf: a blank leaf at the beginning or end of a book
Spine: the back of a book
Cover: the binding of a book
Pagination: the act of paging a book
(Courtesy: Manorama Yearbook 1998)

A Book in French sans verbs

A mysterious French author has produced what he claims is the first book without a single verb. MIchel Thaler's 233-page work, Le Train de Nulle Part (The Train from Nowhere), contains lengthy passages of flowery prose but not a lot of action. It is set on a train and features a series of caustic cameos of fellow passengers who, while not doing very much, manage to bring out the poison in Mr.Thaler's pen.

"Those women over there, probably mothers, bearers of ideas for too voluminous for their modest brains," the author writes. Such passages have led critics to deplore the book's "rare misogyny," but Mr.Thaler is equally venomous about the men he encounters on his train journey.

One is described as "a large dwarf or a small giant" - a young buck with a gelled mop" whose ideas were "almost certainly shorter than his hair."

Now the author, a 60-year-old doctor of literature, who admits Mr.Thaler is a pseudonym but refused to give his real name, is planning a bizarre ceremony to bury the verb, which, he says, is an "invader, dictator and usurper of our literature."

Mr.Thaler, who hopes his book will be translated into English, says he loves words - just not verbs. "The verb is like a weed in a field of flowers. You have to get rid of it to allow the flowers to grow and flourish," he said. "Take away the verbs and the language speaks for itself."

(Courtesy: Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004)

Book Review-1: A delightful Book-Review from Vedanta Kesari

Some book-reviews make delightful reading. I found this particular book review not only delightful but also very funny and thought I would post it on my blog for the benefit of everybody else. An excerpt from Book Review in Vedanta Kesari, October 1990 of "Knowledge, Freedom and Language" by D.P.Chattopadhyaya:

"DP is at once the darling of the academicians and despair of readers of general philosophy and social sciences. Obviously, he is aware of it as is evidenced by his delightful observations in his "Acknowledgements". He writes: "At different stages of preparing the essays collected in this volume, I have been influenced by three members of my family in different ways: Supriya, my daughter-in-law, and my most fierce critic, never ceased to remind me how biased and prejudiced I am in all human affairs, domestic as well as academic. Debabrata, my son, all along a silent critic of mine, could hardly conceal his wonder at the 'futile' labour of his 'otherwise sensible father' on writing a spate of 'unreadable' books on philosophy. Sohini, my grand-daughter, and the lone supporter at home, often sitting on my writing desk and taking away my pen and papers, tried to convince me ion vain how NOT to write useless things."