Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

'Of Mice and Men' is a slim book, 105 pages long.But it tells a story so disturbing that it haunts you for a long time after you read it. Some of the scenes and characters are unforgettable. Published in 1937, Stenbeck's novel has been made into three movies and a Broadway play.The story is simple and stark. But where it hits you is the way it engages a load of human emotions that are stretched to the limit.Penguin Classics, Rs. 299, 105 pTwo friends...

Read More

Goa In Pictures

Goa this time around was on work. But there were two days off and lots of free time in the mornings and evenings. I also had Vivek and Vidyuth for company, who know Goa pretty well, which meant that I could now get to see much more than what I normally would have. Left to myself life would not have gone much further than my hotel room, the breakfast corner around and perhaps my routine mandatory walks. And I think, what a stickler to routine I am,...

Read More

Anjali - On Why Those Who Love Us Shout At Us

This was a bit too much for me. Anjali and her Mom are at each other everyday, being the strong headed women that they both are. Anjali's pet grouse is that her Mom shouts at her 'all the time, in the morning and evening blah blah blah'. But today while travelling in the car with me she was all praise for her Mom and the wonderful Barbie she got her. I listened intently to Anjali's wide eyed praise when the conversation took a curious turn.'But we...

Read More

Excerpts of Talk with Anita Nair at the Hyderabad Literary Festival

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 I was in conversation with well-known novelist Anita Nair at the Hyderabad Literary Festival recently. Anita is a highly prolific writer, having written 13 books in 14 years of her writing career. With 5 novels that include ‘A Better Man’, ‘Ladies Coupe’, ‘Mistress’, ‘Lessons in Forgetting’ and ‘Cut Like Wound’, short story collections, children’s stories, a screenplay, a play and...

Read More

Thought for the Day - Use Hurt Positively

There is much use for negative emotions. Don't throw them away. They do not need to drain you. Hurt, pain, disappointment, frustration, resentment are strong and powerful emotions that can be channelised beneficially.Pic courtesy. Prarthana NargundkarNext time you feel those negative emotions, step back and let then wash over. Feel them. Feel their power. Then direct that energy to do something positive. Maybe just physical work, maybe creative work,...

Read More

A Surprise Outing - Zakir Hussain In Concert In Goa

Vidyuth got this idea. He had seen an advertisement for a concert at Panjim Gymkhana, a few minutes away from where we were staying. The concert had Zakir Hussain playing with Edger Myers, Bela Fleck and Rakesh Chaurasia. Sponsored by the Navhind Times which was celebrating its 50th anniversary, the concert was set to start at 7 p.m. We took a chance and headed to the venue hoping to get some tickets or passes and guess what, entry was free. Now,...

Read More

Thought for the Day - Kill the Cribber

Yup. Kill the cribber inside you right now. He is by far the most dangerous enemy you have.He rushes in with comforting arms and lends you his shoulder, as if he cares. When all that he wants really is to weaken you further, debilitate your spirit and finally kill you.Pic. Prarthana NargundkarOnce you lean on him, he will introduce you to his two slimy friends, Mr. Blame and Ms. Excuse. They will take you to their house called 'Illusions of Self...

Read More

The Paradoxes of Life - People Admire Us When We Do Our Best for Ourselves

We all seek praise from our audiences. Most of us suffer anxieties to please our audiences.Pic. Prarthana NargundkarBut is all our work to please an audience? To please someone else? We create a little and then look up to see how the audience is reacting. If it is nodding we are pleased, like a puppy. If they are not too happy, we are sad. At every moment we are worried about what they think.Would that be how we get our best work done? Looking up...

Read More

Thought For The Day - The Link Between Growth and Happiness

Growth is always about being out of the comfort zone. Always about something new. It will make you feel on the edge, feel fully aware and never secure. Growth makes you feel fully alive. A new experience, a new person, a new dish, a new piece of danger - growth comes even from doing all the things that you shy away from.Pic courtesy: Prarthana NargundkarGrowth, obviously, makes you happy. The exhilaration of merely trying a new thing, expanding an...

Read More

Thought For The Day - The Gap

One is our potential. One is our current performance. What we need to address, is the gap between the two.The gap requires us to constantly grow. In little steps. Bit by bit. Every step of the growth - the small successes - must be celebrated. Must be understood and acknowledged.As you grow closer to your potential, you find that the outer ring, your potential has shifted a bit more from what you anticipated. But now it's fun. This growth path. Why...

Read More

The Golconda Sound and Light Show

Went to the Golconda Light and Sound show recently. The English show starts at 7, or so the brochure said, but it started at 630 p.m. What's with these guys?Some part of Golconda FortA bit of a queue. There are some tickets called Executive tickets. We walked along the dungeon like places that smelled of bats and old caves. We were warned many times against the use of cameras and the consequences (penalties). We headed on bravely still. Until we...

Read More

Anjali - On Life of Pi

I decided to check with Anjali a few of her reactions to the movie 'Life of Pi'. She got scared when the tiger roared and the animals killed one another and expressed her desire to go home. But she changed her mind pretty fast after that as well and demanded her 3D glasses back to watch the movie. Considering that she watched the entire movie and was laughing at the end, she appeared to have liked it.Add captionQ. Did you like the movie?A. Yes.Q....

Read More

A Prearranged Love - Anusha Vishnampet

'A Prearranged Love' is a breezy, love story based in Hyderabad in this debut novel by Anusha Vishnampet. Now Hyderabad being my home city is a place close to my heart, and I was really glad to note that Anusha set her story in our city where not too many novels are. Wonder why. The other two novels that I read recently are the Eighteenth Parallel by Asokamitran and Hussaini Alam House by Huma Kidwai.187 p, Rs. 175, Jaico BooksAnyway Anusha takes...

Read More

Seven Years of Highly Defective People - Scott Adams

This is a 256 page book filled with hundreds of Dilbert cartoons. As the cover says it's the Scott Adams Guided Tour of the Evolution of Dilbert. For a cartoon strip Dilbert is not easy because Adams does make you think, and more than once I did go back to read the cartoon and found something that I did not find the first time. I am lucky I did not meet Adams in his years at the workplace else he might have added a character as he did with almost...

Read More

Life of Pi - Movie Review

'Life of Pi' was explained in two lines that Pi says. Something to the effect that Richard Parker , the tiger, kept Pi alive through those lost days in the Pacific. The tiger first strikes the fear of death in the young boy thereby keeping him awake, aware and alive as he looks to survive. Then, as he begins to understand the helplessness of the tiger and starts to take care of it, Richard Parker gives him a purpose to live. That responsibility gives...

Read More

Thought For The day - What More Can I Do?

It popped up while I was talking to a bunch of young employees the other day. One of them brought up the all-important question - what is the company doing for me? Why am I not getting paid more? Why should I work harder?My experience teaches me that it never works that way. If you are not getting whatever you want, it is plain that you do not deserve it yet. The question to ask in such a situation is this - What more can I do to get what I want?...

Read More

The Tragic Story Of The Malnourished Newspapers

I was shocked by what I saw today. The Sunday newspaper was badly malnourished. It looked so bad that it looks sure to die. How could it have deteriorated so rapidly despite being under my gaze daily?But the government and society in general must take into account this observation of mine and act instantly before the poor newspapers die and become extinct. I remember a time when the daily newspapers were healthy, bonny, full of beans, innocence and good stuff to share with all of us. They had lots to share, good stories, great content, came with...

Read More