30 Days of April!

With slight hitches and glitches, some dated entries, I finally managed to complete my Blog-A-Thon for the month of April, 2009. 

I must admit that writing everyday was a challenge and some of my articles were not upto the mark. But I felt that this regularity helped me to write better and more in this one month on some topics I wouldn’t ideally have dealt with. 

Over all a great experience and I hope that my readers liked it. 

I hope to be much more regular and conduct some more Blog-A-Thons in the future.

 

Harry Potter

With the release of the seventh and final book of the Harry Potter Series over two years back, I presume the Pottermania has come down. As a result making Ms.J.K.Rowling, extremely rich and the another possible good out of it could be that, it made many children read. Children of today hardly know of Enid Blyton’s and no wonder being a soft skills trainer, I have some work to do. 

I initially took to books pretty late in life and was skeptical about Harry Potter too. My cousin who is a big, big Potter fan or rather wizard got me reading the first book and finally after two years of the final come out I got the time to start with the last book. 

The easy and simple writing style that is called low fog index and a desirable quality in good writing is one of the primary reasons for HP’s phenomenal success. No wonder Panchatantra stories and Mahabharata and Ramayana epics have been such a big hit with the hids. All the wizardy or the magic involves makes these book surreal.

I like them because they feed the imagination for the child within me. 

If you haven’t read it, I think you should. No reason why you won’t enjoy and for all Potter fans – Happy Potter Mania!

 

AWAD

I don’t quite remember as to how did I first come across AWAD – A Word A Day or Wordsmith, but it surely has changed my outlook towards words and transcended my love for them to a new level altogether. 

Wordsmith is a daily newsletter that sends you a word a day. Started by Mr. Anu Garg, it is one of the most enterprising and lovable daily newsletters that one can get. 

The magic of words — that’s what A.Word.A.Day (AWAD) is about.We are a community of more than 700,000 linguaphiles in at least 200 countries. You too can sign up to receive the daily newsletter.

Come, explore the world of words, share, and delight in the joy of words.

The best part of this newsletter is that every week, there is a certain theme and under that one will get to learn 5 new words in that week. I have shifted accounts, but remain subscribed to this wonderful and highly dedicated newsletter. It is a wonder to note that the range of topics never seem to end and the continuity is impeccable. All this, and one gets to learn a new word at the end of it, along with its usage, as provided in an example. 

Added to all this, I love the introductions that are given to each theme. 

One example of the weekly theme : 

 

Winning even one Nobel Prize is a big deal. Marie Curie received two

(in physics and chemistry). But then hers was a family of high achievers:

her husband, their daughter, and their son-in-law were also Nobel

laureates.

 Similarly, having one’s name turned into a word in the language is a rare

feat. Yet there are some, both real and fictional characters, who have

accomplished this more than once. This week we feature five such people.

And Marie, well, she too had had two words coined after her: Curie, a unit

of radioactivity, and curium, a radioactive element.

This week’s theme: People who have more than one eponym coined after them

And the words for that week were:

• ciceronian
• maudlin
• hermetic
• Cadmean victory
• Pickwickian

To get to know more about the words and to revel in this lovely world of words visit – Wordsmith and subscribe to AWAD.

 

Ms. Heyer

Well today was truly awesome, because I spent today in a very simple, in expensive and wonderful way. I primarily spent the better part of the day re-reading a book written by one of my favourite authors – Georgette Heyer. It was Frederica.

She is GOD or personification of God herself. If many of you thought, Eric Segal’s Love Story was good, then try books from Georgette Heyer. They have a great plot, a strong heroine, sharp and witty conversations and charming hero to complete the set, with their set of troubles. Her stories are primarily historical romances set in the Regency period and her detail and description is excellent. The detail never gets too much!

I intend to collect each and every book of hers and at some point of time would like to pass them on to my daughter (if I ever have one). 

Some of my all-time favourites:

• Frederica
• The Nonesuch
• Venetia
• The Sprig Muslin
• The Unknown Ajax (This is not a romance)
• The Masqueraders
• Sylvester

and many more. 

If you enjoy reading classics, then don’t ever miss Georgette Heyer – Each book is simply Sparkling!

 

Blog-A-Thon

I know I tried it a few months back, but I want to try it once more.
This April, another Blog-A-Thon starts, where I want to publish a blog post every day.

Cheers,
Manasa

 

Writing Fiction – Is it really difficult?

I was contemplating delving into fiction and I must confess that this thought has been around for a long time now. What stops me from writing is that some part of fiction usually is inspired by the author’s personal life. Sometimes I think that an anonymous blog would have helped, but I wonder if that is what I really want to do.

A writer, I feel can never write without thinking what his/her readers might think of the work. It is very difficult to detach oneself from the consequences of having to answer questions or for that matter the mere thought of facing someone you love/value, questioning you upon what was written. I did try being honest in my opinions about a particular relation on my blog and I found that my equations with that person have changed. We did talk about the piece after it was posted, but there was an inherent sense of change in the basic fabric of our relationship.

It is this fear that stops me from trying full blown fiction. But is this something experienced by all writers of fiction or is it simply a trapping in which I find myself bound to?

Opinions and answers are invited. 

 

Three questions

It was in my eight standard, in school that I came across this simple yet brilliant short story by Leo Tolstoy. Later, my grandma lent me Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and I loved it. While browsing the net earlier in the day, I read the word ‘hermit’ and one thing that immediately struck my mind was this story. I had forgotten the author and the exact story, but remembered it was about ‘Three questions’, so here it goes for you all to read….

Three Questions – by Leo Tolstoy

One day it occurred to a certain emperor that if he only knew the answers to three questions, he would never stray in any matter.

What is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?

The emperor issued a decree throughout his kingdom announcing that whoever could answer the questions would receive a great reward. Many who read the decree made their way to the palace at once, each person with a different answer.

In reply to the first question, one person advised that the emperor make up a thorough time schedule, consecrating every hour, day, month, and year for certain tasks and then follow the schedule to the letter. Only then could he hope to do every task at the right time.

Another person replied that it was impossible to plan in advance and that the emperor should put all vain amusements aside and remain attentive to everything in order to know what to do at what time.

Someone else insisted that, by himself, the emperor could never hope to have all the foresight and competence necessary to decide when to do each and every task and what he really needed was to set up a Council of the Wise and then to act according to their advice.

Someone else said that certain matters required immediate decision and could not wait for consultation, but if he wanted to know in advance what was going to happen he should consult magicians and soothsayers.

The responses to the second question also lacked accord.

One person said that the emperor needed to place all his trust in administrators, another urged reliance on priests and monks, while others recommended physicians. Still others put their faith in warriors.

The third question drew a similar variety of answers. Some said science was the most important pursuit. Others insisted on religion. Yet others claimed the most important thing was military skill.

——————————-

The emperor was not pleased with any of the answers, and no reward was given.

After several nights of reflection, the emperor resolved to visit a hermit who lived up on the mountain and was said to be an enlightened man. The emperor wished to find the hermit to ask him the three questions, though he knew the hermit never left the mountains and was known to receive only the poor, refusing to have anything to do with persons of wealth or power. So the emperor disguised himself as a simple peasant and ordered his attendants to wait for him at the foot of the mountain while he climbed the slope alone to seek the hermit.

Reaching the holy man’s dwelling place, the emperor found the hermit digging a garden in front of his hut. When the hermit saw the stranger, he nodded his head in greeting and continued to dig. The labor was obviously hard on him. He was an old man, and each time he thrust his spade into the ground to turn the earth, he heaved heavily.

The emperor approached him and said, “I have come here to ask your help with three questions: When is the best time to do each thing? Who are the most important people to work with? What is the most important thing to do at all times?”

The hermit listened attentively but only patted the emperor on the shoulder and continued digging. The emperor said, “You must be tired. Here, let me give you a hand with that.” The hermit thanked him, handed the emperor the spade, and then sat down on the ground to rest.

After he had dug two rows, the emperor stopped and turned to the hermit and repeated his three questions. The hermit still did not answer, but instead stood up and pointed to the spade and said, “Why don’t you rest now? I can take over again.” But the emperor continued to dig. One hour passed, then two. Finally the sun began to set behind the mountain. The emperor put down the spade and said to the hermit, “I came here to ask if you could answer my three questions. But if you can’t give me any answer, please let me know so that I can get on may way home.”

The hermit lifted his head and asked the emperor, “Do you hear someone running over there?” The emperor turned his head. They both saw a man with a long white beard emerge from the woods. He ran wildly, pressing his hands against a bloody wound in his stomach. The man ran toward the emperor before falling unconscious to the ground, where he lay groaning. Opening the man’s clothing, the emperor and hermit saw that the man had received a deep gash. The emperor cleaned the wound thoroughly and then used his own shirt to bandage it, but the blood completely soaked it within minutes. He rinsed the shirt out and bandaged the wound a second time and continued to do so until the flow of blood had stopped.

At last the wounded man regained consciousness and asked for a drink of water. The emperor ran down to the stream and brought back a jug of fresh water. Meanwhile, the sun had disappeared and the night air had begun to turn cold. The hermit gave the emperor a hand in carrying the man into the hut where they laid him down on the hermit’s bed. The man closed his eyes and lay quietly. The emperor was worn out from the long day of climbing the mountain and digging the garden. Leaning against the doorway, he fell asleep. When he rose, the sun had already risen over the mountain. For a moment he forgot where he was and what he had come here for. He looked over to the bed and saw the wounded man also looking around him in confusion. When he saw the emperor, he stared at him intently and then said in a faint whisper, “Please forgive me.”

“But what have you done that I should forgive you?” the emperor asked.

“You do not know me, your majesty, but I know you. I was your sworn enemy, and I had vowed to take vengeance on you, for during the last war you killed my brother and seized my property. When I learned that you were coming alone to the mountain to meet the hermit, I resolved to surprise you on your way back to kill you. But after waiting a long time there was still no sign of you, and so I left my ambush in order to seek you out. But instead of finding you, I came across your attendants, who recognized me, giving me this wound. Luckily, I escaped and ran here. If I hadn’t met you I would surely be dead by now. I had intended to kill you, but instead you saved my life! I am ashamed and grateful beyond words. If I live, I vow to be your servant for the rest of my life, and I will bid my children and grandchildren to do the same. Please grant me your forgiveness.”

The emperor was overjoyed to see that he was so easily reconciled with a former enemy. He not only forgave the man but promised to return all the man’s property and to send his own physician and servants to wait on the man until he was completely healed. After ordering his attendants to take the man home, the emperor returned to see the hermit. Before returning to the palace the emperor wanted to repeat his three questions one last time. He found the hermit sowing seeds in the earth they had dug the day before.

The hermit stood up and looked at the emperor. “But your questions have already been answered.”

“How’s that?” the emperor asked, puzzled.

“Yesterday, if you had not taken pity on my age and given me a hand with digging these beds, you would have been attacked by that man on your way home. Then you would have deeply regretted not staying with me. Therefore the most important time was the time you were digging in the beds, the most important person was myself, and the most important pursuit was to help me. Later, when the wounded man ran up here, the most important time was the time you spent dressing his wound, for if you had not cared for him he would have died and you would have lost the chance to be reconciled with him. Likewise, he was the most important person, and the most important pursuit was taking care of his wound. Remember that there is only one important time and is Now. The present moment is the only time over which we have dominion. The most important person is always the person with whom you are, who is right before you, for who knows if you will have dealings with any other person in the future. The most important pursuit is making that person, the one standing at you side, happy, for that alone is the pursuit of life.”

Leo Tolstoy

Unlike the over-hyped, morose and confusing plots of the so-called award winning authors of today, Tolstoy was another God of beautiful and simple writing. I hope you enjoyed reading this piece.

 

Happy Valentines’ Day!

This Valentines’ day is very special. It is the first of many (from personal point of view) and I can really go on talking about it. But I’m not here to share that. I think Valentines Day is a day to express our love, it can be to anybody so here I go…. 

There can be different kinds of love and as unique is each person, so is their love; it is special in their own way. I have a number of people among my family and friends, whom I value and love them a lot. Am sure I have expressed this in a number of my previous posts. There is one thing that I realized recently that I cannot survive without: reading. When I mean reading, it means the books from my favourite authors. 

Water, oxygen, my coterie and books are what I really need to survive. If for some reason I haven’t been able to pick up those books for a long period, there is a great sense of loss which can only be relieved by yes, reading a book. 

This Valentines’ Day, I would like to let you know about some of my favourite authors and some of the best books I read.

I have read this book over and over again a zillion times and have always felt the same thrill. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is one of her remarkable works. Centuries might fly past, but people at the core remain the same. The intricate web of family ties, the relations and the divide between the rich and the poor never change. I love this book for all its characters and for the most delicate way everything is handled.

 

One day, rummaging through my aunt’s book closet I found this author’s book; reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer. There was something about the book and the title that made me inquisitive enough to read it. If anyone has ever reproduced regency era and written the dialogues between the lead characters with more wit then I can relinquish my love for her. She is absolutely enchanting and just transports one to the land of the Regency period. A must read for all those who enjoy classics. Please try, even otherwise.

The simplicity of his writings and as-a-matter-of-fact descriptions of the most commonplace and equally complex characters makes William Somerset Maugham one of my favourites. He is splendid. His short stories are compelling and almost always have an excellent twist in the end. His books are always a delight and thought-provoking. There is one thing I have learnt from him, the toughest way to write is to keep it simple.

There are a number of other writers and authors whose books I have enjoyed immensely. I would highly recommend, No full stops in India by Mark Tully, Jeffrey Archers for a lovely breeze of a ride, Robert Ludlums for some fast pace dramas, Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, Ayn Rand for the immortal Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and many more. But let me come to the one author who simply is immortal and is one of the reasons for me to start this blog.

Pelham Grenville Wodehouse is God for me. That is probably the simplest way of putting it. Whenever I feel I am down in the lowest and gloomiest of dumps, I just have to pick up a Wodehouse to successfully revive myself. The Jeeves and Blandings stories are simply superb. Can anyone portray such fine degree of wit and humour with such dexterity and simplicity? None! The closest I came across was Jerome K Jerome’s Three men in a boat (To say nothing of the dog). One has to simply read his short stories or his novels to experience the God himself. Unfortunately there aren’t many who read books these days and even less who read P.G. A sad plight is how my old flesh and blood and I would put it. Wodehouse died on February 14, 1975 but his books remain with people like us forever.

Wodehouse it is you that I dedicate this day!

PS: This post is inspired  and dedicated to one of the greatest of fans of Wodehouse, dear Uncle Emsworth.
Love,

Angela   

 

Gone with the wind

A glimpse of one of my most cherished books – Gone with the wind.

“After all, to-morrow is another day.” are the words of Scarlett O’ Hara in the famous book Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. These words have etched themselves in my spirit. Many times in life one experiences incidents that seem unjust and very incorrect. They seem to shake our belief in the system that exists and the world itself. It is then that I say to myself that “Tomorrow is another day” and keep the indomitable spirit alive.

The first time I read this book, it became my instant favourite. The central characters in this book are those that I have always adored. It is primarily because I can see glimpses of myself in them, mirroring my thoughts and my spirit.

The beautiful Scarlett O’ Hara is the perfect heroine. Through the pages, one tends to love her, hate her, adore her and detest her. Born to an Irish father and mother who was a Coast aristocrat of French descent, the eldest of the three daughters, Scarlett is a mixture of her mother’s genteel looks and an Irish temper. Story set in the backdrop of the American Civil War, the book reveals a lot about the lives of Southern people in those times. The customs and traditions of the days bound Scarlett to be prim and proper but her real self is reflected in these lines: “The green eyes in the carefully sweet face were turbulent, willful, lusty with life, distinctly at variance with her decorous demeanour.” This willful nature has most appealed to me.

During the Civil war, Scarlett is thrown into a situation where she has look after her family in every which way. She is a mother, widow and now a caretaker and provider all at nineteen. From the cushy existence of less than few months she is now in a situation where she does not know where the next meal can be got for her family.

Her character displays an innate sense of practicality and objectivity. There are umpteen examples when she tells herself “I’ll think about this later – Yes, later when I can stand it.” By thinking so, Scarlett is compartmentalizing her thoughts. She is trying to concentrate her energies towards more pressing concerns and is analyzing the best possible solution given the circumstances. Though some of her tactics may have seemed to have been carried out without ethics, but in the given circumstances she acted upon them objectively. One striking example is when Scarlett, in her effort to save her home, Tara, finally hits upon the idea of marrying her sister’s beau when all other measures have failed. It is highly unethical thing to do. But, she realizes that if her sister had got married, as was planned, Tara could never be saved.

Hence, she takes the drastic step to marry a second time, without any concern to her feelings. From the time she marries, her primary motive is to save her home, Tara which she eventually succeeds. Coming to the protagonist of this plot, Rhett Butler, he is the most charming and outspoken character that can be described. As the story progresses one understands that this character believes in himself and most importantly can stand for his views. It is exactly for this reason that he is considered an ill-bred person by the people around him. Many instances of the same can be observed. For instance, when he openly expresses his views about how the Southerners have only “cotton and arrogance” to fight the Yankees and tells the rest to take stock of the situation before it is too late. He is able to face the truth and most importantly has the courage to express the truth in clear cut terms to all.

The central theme of this book revolves around land and this is woven intrinsically into the story. The Southerner’s pride in his cotton or the courage to fight the Yankees till the very end, all of it shows how important land is. Scarlett values her mother and on par red hills of Tara, her home and estate. Margaret Mitchell has shown the love and affection towards one’s motherland in a very poignant fashion.

 

Why did I stop blogging?

Can’t really say I stopped, but then somehow I got into this highly self-conscious thing about my writing and started analyzing stuff far too critically even before I put it on paper.
Crazy rt?? But how many of the times does it happen that we think about doing something and analyse and re-analyse it so much that eventually the novelty and the freshness of the effort is lost? A period where this happened far too many times with me. In fact had to force myself to pen down something just to keep my blog alive… or may be just breathing.

Do we call this a writer’s block? I wouldn’t fancy myself to be a seasoned one, but then all said and done I do write and hence can claim to be one . No wonder, all this while I missed something. I missed the freedom of expressing myself in the form I love the most. Unrestrained and unbridled in the world created by me for me and some others who would want to be a part of it.

So here I was going about noting all that I wanted to pen, at the most weird times and hours, trying to collage and compile and re-compile stuff. The end result I do not post anything. Agreed writing is an art, but I think I want to do it in my way. More spontaneous and more like me!