Harry Potter aspires to be a writer

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe has worked in the series of Harry Potter films as the lead character of Harry Potter:
# Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
# Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
# Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
# Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
# Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
# Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
# Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)
# Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

The films have been based on novels by J.K.Rowling. And now Harry Potter aka Daniel Radcliffe himself aspires to be a writer. He says that he wants to try his hand at scripting a play or a film.
Daniel, who has been working in films ever since he was 12-year-old, says, "Every time I see a play or a film,I want to write something. I'm convinced in my heart that I am a writer, but I have no ideas."
Let's see if some ideas strike him and his pen churns out some inspired piece of writing!

Book Review: ‘Harbart’ by Naburn Bhattacharya

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GRAND STYLE AND DICTION OF 'PARADISE LOST'

“Forms and figures of speech originally the offspring of passion, but now the adopted children of power”.

COLERIDGE

INTRODUCTION

‘Paradise Lost’ was for Milton the fulfillment of a long cherished ambition. He had resolved that his ‘adventurous song’ intended to ‘soar with no middle flight’. Accordingly, after much deliberations he chose the epic form and a theme equally sublime. Milton himself tells us in Book IX that he could rise to the demands of his ‘sad task’ only.

‘If answerable style I can obtain

Of my careful celestial patroness.’

This ‘answerable style’ demanded a verse which admitted of dignity and flexibility and an ability to rise to the sublime heights. And no responsive readers of ‘Paradise Lost’ can fail to notice that Milton indeed did obtain such a style.

MILTON – THE INNOVATOR

According to Hamford, “Milton of all English writers is the greatest innovator in the matter of expression. It is not merely that forged out of various materials. It is marked by bold departures from English literary usage of his own or of any time. And yet it is this uniqueness of Milton’s style, its remoteness from ordinary English that has aroused a fierce controversy. If it is has found its admirers like M.Patilson, Bagehot, Saintsbury, Raleigh and in our own time C.S. Lewis, B.Rajan, Frank Kermod and L.Smith; the anti-Miltonians too are a formidable array – Ezra Pound, Middleton Murry, Herbert Reid, B. Debree and T.S. Eliot. Obviously, the best course would be to depend upon one’s own response.

INVOCATION

The very opening of the poem, the invocation reveals the grandeur of Milton’s style. It begins with a ‘syntactical leap’ by which we are kept suspended for thirty-six words without a verb. And even when we arrive at the word ‘sing’, we are once more deflected into a maze of subordinate clauses and phrases. Even at the full stop after ‘rhyme’ (line sixteenth) there is hardly any respite and the whole invocation really forms a single continuous statement. In fact, it can be looked upon as a ‘capsule summary’ not only of the theme and action of the whole poem but also of the most salient features of Milton’s grand style. This style is human for its unusual syntax, its exalted language and diction, rich allusions, remarkable epic-similes, formidable erudition and skilful handling of blank-verse.

LANGUAGE

Milton’s style has been called ‘grand style’ because it has always an unmistakable stamp of majesty in it. Milton’s language is not the language of ordinary life. His diction is grand and majestic and his language has a force and spontaneity of its own. He uses a lot of Latin words. He borrows words from Latin and employs them in his language in a befitting manner. He creates a language and diction which quite appropriate to his theme. The Miltonic diction follows the ancient models. Similes and metaphors abound; with the result that the impression that is left on our minds after reading his poetry is that of grandeur, majesty and dignity.

We can describe Milton’s grand style in the words of Matthew Arnold, who says, “In the sure and flawless perfection of his rhythm and diction, he is as admirable as Virgil or Dante, and in this respect he is unique amongst us. None else in English literature possesses the like distinction.” It is sometimes said that the language of ‘Paradise Lost’ is ‘no language’. But in the art of literature one often comes across several instances where the literary language is no spoken language. The Euphism of Lyly is one of the best examples. So is the prose of Milton. So too is the poetical vehicle of Milton. It is an artificial language but it is not the artifice of bombast.

VOCABULARY

The diction of Milton’s epic is a thing composed of many elements – all tending to result in a rich and varied medium. Milton’s vocabulary contains a large proportion of Latinized words such as ‘untamed reluctance’, ‘horrid here’, ‘prodigious’, ‘officious’ etc. Often Milton uses words in their Latin sense or sometimes in senses which have become obsolete. The best example is ‘influence’, which Milton uses in its old astrological sense of suitable fluid from the stars and planets, which was supposed to exorcise plants. Instances of this use are innumerable.

MILTON’S PECULARITIES

Milton prefers the Italian forms of words to forms of a French character such as ‘sovereignty’. Among other qualities of Milton’s style are his peculiar use of the Latin idiomatic participle construction (for example, the loss thus far recovered), the use of Nominative Absolute (for example, ‘I extinct’ meaning ‘I being extinct’); the use of past participle, the use of transitive verbs intransitively and vice-versa. Among other peculiarities of Milton’s diction is the use of adjectives as nouns, as ‘our stronger’ in the sense of ‘he who is stronger than us; a love for conciseness that compels Milton to compress the maximum meaning into few words in a characteristic passion with Milton. Milton is also famous for ‘Inversions’. For instance, take the sentence: “Where to with speedy words the archfiend replied”. Without inversion this sentence would read as: “The archfiend replied to this with speedy words”.

SIMILES AND METAPHORS

Among figures of similitude, of course, the simile and the metaphor abound, example of which stare up from every page.

In search of really remarkable comparisons he borrows from myth, legend, History, Science and travel and of course from contemporary events. And though sometimes, his similes seem to be carried away by prolific imagination, they have a definite purpose. In most cases they offer a changed perspective and are suggestive of Milton’s own attitude. For instance, Satan is at first depicted as of gigantic proportions. He is likened to the huge sea-beast Leviathan who may be mistaken for an island by the Pilot of “some small night-founded skiff”. But while this suggests Satan’s unusual dimensions Milton also implies the danger of taking shelter in Satan’s treacherous protection. Similarly Satan’s ‘ponderous’ shield is like the moon that Galileo scans through his ‘Optic glass’, his spear is like the mast of the ship, ‘shaped out of tallest pine’ growing on Norwegian heights’ what we are made to feel is Satan’s eye view. Yet a little later Satan and his crew are compared to ‘at Pygmian Race’ and to ‘autumnal leaves that strew the books in Vallambrose’.

Like dead leaves; these fallen angels are forever cut off from their source of life.

USE OF PATHETIC FALLACY

We must also refer to Milton’s use of the Pathetic Fallacy. It is an old device in poetry by which a poet attributes the feelings of living beings to inanimate things. In Paradise Lost, Book IX (782-784), for example, universal nature is represented as feeling a death-wound in the impending fall of Man at the moment when Eve eats the forbidden fruit:

“Earth felt the wound, and Nature from her seat

Sighing through all her works, gave signs of woe.

That all was lost.”

These are the various ways in which Milton uses the English language in poetry. He works magic with the language, distorts it in the way he likes, uses foreign idiom in an excellent manner and handles the language like a linguistic wizard.

VERBAL MELODY
There is an important characteristic yet to be mentioned – the solemn grandeur of his verbal melody. This melody is in consonance with general atmosphere of the poem – a mood of awe and majesty and sublimity. Milton’s style has been called the grand style as there is grandeur in his music and in his description. Milton chooses his words for the sake of their sound effect.
“farewell happy fields,
Where Joy forever dwells. Hail Horrors hail,
Infernal world and thou profoundest hell,
Receive thy new possessor, one who brings,
A mind not to be changed by place or time,
The mind is its place and itself,
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”

STYLE UNIFORM OR NOT

Infact, most of the critics who decry Milton’s style seem to suppose that Milton wrote a uniform style throughout. But as Pope has pointed out ‘Paradise Lost’ has not one but various styles, an ‘Infernal style’, a ‘celestial style’ and ‘style of Paradise’ before and after the fall. In any case the more acceptable view is that of C.S. Lewis, B. Rajan, Douglas Bush and E.M.W. Tillyard – that the sublimity of Milton’s style was necessitated by genre – that is by the epic form in which the style had to be dignified, ritualistic and formal. It was Milton’s great achievement that he attained this sublimity without sacrificing the intensity of an impassioned personal commitment.

CONCLUSION

In reading ‘Paradise Lost’ one has a feeling of vastness. One floats under illimitable sky brimmed with sunshine or hung with constellation. The abyss of space appears to be somewhere about as one hears the cadenced surge of an unseen ocean. In loftiness of thought, splendid dignity of expression and rhythmic felicities, Milton has few peers, no superior. In ‘Paradise Lost’ Milton has invented a type of poem, the divine epic superior to anything in antiquity.

Sahitya Akademi Awards 2011

Ramachandra Guha (Winner of Sahitya Akademi Award 2011 for English)

A jury representing the 23 Indian languages chose the winners of the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Awards this year. Under the chairmanship of the Akademi President, Sunil Gangopadhyay the awards winners chosen by the jury were approved by the Executive Board of the Sahitya Akademi. Ramachandra Guha(English), for his narrative history, was among the winners of Sahitya Akademi Awards 2011.

Among the novelists were:
Baldev Singh (Punjabi)
Gopalakrishna Pai (Kannada)
Kashinath Singh (Hindi)
Kshetri Bira (Manipuri)
Kalpanakumari Devi (Odia)
Atul Kanakk (Rajasthani)

The poets included in the winners list were:
Late Kabin Phukan (Assamese)
Manindra Gupta (Bengali)
Premananda Mosahari (Bodo)
Naseem Shafaie (Kashmiri)
Melvyn Rodrigues (Konkani)
Harekrishna Satapathy (Sanskrit)
Aditya Kumar Mandi (Santali)
Khaleel Mamoon (Urdu)

For their books on essays Lalit Magotra (Dogri), Grace (Marathi) and Samala Sadasiva (Telugu) received the award.

SAMANVAY: IHC INDIAN LANGUAGES' FESTIVAL, 2011

Samanvay’: IHC Indian Languages’ Festival was inaugurated with the lighting of a torch on 16 December at India Habitat Center by two Jnanpith winning poets and Senior Fellows of the Sahitya Akademi, Kunwar Narain and Sitakant Mahapatra, along with IHC Director Raj Liberhan. During this 3-day event, 63 writers from 14 languages will discuss upon various issues and read from their work.
In the inaugural session, Raj Liberhan announced the annual ‘Samanvay Bhasha Samman’ award for young writers who have worked to advance literature in Indian languages. The ‘Samanvay Bhasha Samman’ will carry a 1 lakh rupee cash award as well. Chairman of the Indian Languages Newspapers Association (ILNA), Paresh Nath, announced an annual award of 50,000 rupees for journalists working in Indian languages – the ‘Samanvay Bhashai Patrakarita Samman’.
Padma Vibhushan Kunwar Narain spoke during the inaugural session about the importance of this event, and said that ‘Samanvay’ would prove to be a coming together of literature from all Indian languages and in the future we will be able to discuss here our issues of greatest importance. Oriya poet Sitakant Mahapatra said that the synthesis one notices in Indian people is the same synthesis that makes literature in Indian languages an Indian Literature. Raj Liberhan then invited two of the main young designers and organizers of the festival – Satyanand Nirupam and Giriraj Kiradoo – on stage. He spoke of how such meaningful events would encourage creativity among young writers.

The topic for the opening session was: ‘Is there an Indian Literature?’ Various writers from all parts of the country were part of this discussion, moderated by renowned Malayalam poet K. Satchidanandan. He spoke about how Indian literature is one (unlike Nihar Ranajan Rai’s contention that it be spoken of in the plural because it is written in many languages), despite the multilingualism. Dalit Marathi writer Laxman Gaikwad also expressed his views. Renowned Gujarati writer Sitanshu Yashaschandra said that Indian literature was multilingual from the very beginning with works not only in Sanskrit but also Prakrit and other languages. English academic and writer Alok Rai too took part in the discussion. Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi and renowned Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi said that multilingualism precisely is the point of Indian Literature, and this diversity must be protected.

The reading session saw poetry readings from Sitakant Mahapatra (Oriya), K. Satchidanandan (Malayalam), Sitanshu Yashaschandra (Gujarati), Ashok Vajpeyi (Hindi), Mangalesh Dabral (Hindi), C.P. Deval (Rajasthani), Radha Vallabh Tripathi (Sanskrit), Gangesh Gunjan (Maithili) and Malkhan Singh (Hindi). To close the evening, famous Sufi singer Madan Gopal Singh and the Ensemble Chaar Yaar presented a mesmerising performance based on the poems of renowned Hindi and Maithili poet Nagarjun.

DAY 2:
Discussions on Marginalized Literatures at Samanvay: IHC Indian Languages’ Festival
The second day of Samanvay: IHC Indian Languages’ Festival began with discussion around writing in Assamese and Punjabi. The subject under discussion for the Assamese session was ‘New Challenges for Women Writers’ which began with Nitoo Das’ fiery question: “Have we moved beyond tokenism that’s given to us by a masculinist tradition?” All four speakers unanimously agreed that the time for tokenistic awards was past. Another concern was voiced, with all writers agreeing that, for the contemporary Assamese woman writer, not only is there the constant pressure to be a ‘woman’, but also the pressure to be ‘North Eastern’. Apart from questions of representation, experimentation in form was also discussed, with new evocations of folk traditions being addressed in context of the cosmopolitanism of the Assamese modern female self. The session ended with readings by Arupa Patangia Kalita and Bonti Senchowa.
The second session was on the topic of Dalit Love Poetry in Punjabi. “Dalit poetry is not the poetry of hatred. Rather, it is the poetry of love,” began Punjabi poet Desraj Kali, who was moderating the session. Nirupama Dutt spoke of one of Punjabi Dalit poetry’s strongest voices, Lal Singh ‘Dil’ and his deeply political life, which ultimately ended in exile. A deeply engaged discussion on what it actually means to be a Dalit subject/writer/activist in Punjab followed, with poet Balbir Madhopuri saying that, even as there wasn’t anyone on stage wearing the ‘traditional’ markers of being a Punjabi, it did not mean that they did not belong to Punjab – and that this was precisely the thought that Punjabi Dalit love poetry sought to counter. Dr. Gurbachan talked about ‘sangha’/communal poetry of the late 18th century, citing poetry of couples in love who wrote together: of Sadju Gulab Das, and Peero, a Dalit Muslim woman, and Vajir Singh, a Dalit man in love with Rang Devi, an upper caste Hindu. The session asked questions of the construction of language itself, and how Dalit love poetry attempts to break these given constructs. The session ended with readings by Madan Veera, Nirupama Dutt and Balbir Madhopuri.

Madan Veera, Balbir Madhopuri and Desraj Kali

The post lunch session saw autobiographical writings from Kerala, moderated by K. Satchidanandan who talked about how autobiographies are never “dull” literatures because they are not only an insight into oneself but talk about the human condition in general. C.K. Janu started the discussion by addressing the need for an “Adivasi” literature, how a state like Kerala, where the literacy rate is the highest, still sees no recognition for the tribals and how women are twice affected by this on levels of both class and gender. Next was Sister Jesme, who talked about the marginalization that she encountered within the Church and addressed how religion and politics mesh together to bind a woman. This was followed by a moving personal account by Nalini Jameela who talked about a sex worker’s life. The last speaker was Pokkudan, who is one of the leading environmentalists in India, and touched upon politics in Kerela and his identity as a Dalit which earmarked him as a target of the party.
In the Urdu session, renowned Urdu poet Sheen Kaaf Nizam, Prof. Sadique, Alok Srivastav and Giriraj Kiradoo debated about the death of the Mushaira. All the poets rejected the idea that the Mushaira as a tradition is on the wane, rather, it has changed. After a question and answer session with the audience, the poets all read out their work.

Alok Srivastav , Sheen Kaaf Nizam, Prof. Sadique, and Giriraj Kiradoo

The evening ended with an exciting qawwali performance by the Nizami brothers.

DAY 3:
‘Hindi publishers need to reach their readers’

In the morning sessions of the third and final day of Samanvay: IHC Indian Languages’ Festival, authors from Tamil and English shared their experiences in writing.
The Tamil session discussed ‘Women Writing the Body’. Iconic Tamil poet P. Sivakami moderated the session, which also included the poets Kutti Revathi, Salma, Sukirtharani and Malathi Maithri, who talked about their experiences of bias due to their gender and how poetry, and the body in poetry became their site of resistance against this discrimination.

Arundhathi Subramaniam

The session concluded with poetry readings by the Tamil poets. Arshia Sattar and Arundhathi Subramaniam also read English translations of Kutti Revathi and Salma’s poems.

English writers, Arshia Sattar, Basharat Peer, Annie Zaidi and Aman Sethi, moderated by Chandrahas Choudhury, talked about the challenges of non-fiction writing, especially long-form non-fiction, in the Indian scenario on the next panel entitled “Indian English Writing: Beyond Fiction”.


The consensus was that the biggest factor contributing to this was the lack of resources directed towards it by Indian publishers. They also spoke about the difficulties of translation they encountered in the journalistic and book-length work. This was followed by readings by Rahul Pandita and Arundhathi Subramaniam from their books of non-fiction.

Rahul Pandita

The post-lunch session on Bengali talked about poetry and the popular, and featured renowned poets Nabarun Bhattacharya, Subodh Sarkar, Ujjal Singha and Srijato, on a panel moderated by academic Dr. Paromita Chakravarti. They also read their poetry, in the original and in English translations.

The final session was a discussion by publishers, editors and writers on the search for new readers in Hindi publishing. They spoke about how there certainly were readers for Hindi literature, but that it was imperative to find new ways to reach out to them.

S. Nirupam, Rajendra Yadav and Ravish Kumar

Ravish Kumar of NDTV said that TV had managed to find a new breed of super-viewers for itself and that literature needed to do something similar. The consensus was that it was a multi-level problem that publishers, distributors and writers all needed to work to solve. On the panel were novelist and editor of Hans, Rajendra Yadav, Aruni Maheshwari of Vani Prakashan, Neeta Gupta of Yatra Books, poet and editor Mangalesh Dabral, and co-editor of Pratilipi Giriraj Kiradoo. The session was moderated by S. Nirupam of Delhi Press. Prior to the session, Mahesh Verma read his poetry and Prabhat Ranjan read from his forthcoming book, Badnaam Basti.

The 3-day festival ‘Samanvay’ concluded with an address by Raj Liberhan, Director of the India Habitat Centre, with an announcement for the second Indian Languages’ Festival to be held in November 2012.

Book Review: 'Mafia Queens of Mumbai' by S. Hussain Zaidi

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'Moment of Realisation' (by Amritbir Kaur) - Hindustan Times (14 Nov., 2011)

I am elated to present before you my latest article published in Hindustan Times, 'Inner Voice' column, dated 14 November, 2011. I do hope you enjoy reading the same.

Here is the text of the article:

Hindustan Times, 'Inner Voice' column dated 14 November, 2011

MOMENT OF REALISATION

“But I have promises to keep/ And miles to go before I sleep...”. ---Robert Frost. We travel miles for the realisation of our dreams. But it might not be miles away always. It can be within one’s own self. It all depends on how well you plan your travel. Often it happens that you travel through side streets and by-lanes and then come out on the main road, and back to the normal, civilised world.

It is like journeying from dreams to reality. Miles seem a magical moment once we come to the realisation of the reality. The dreams are not just about owning a bungalow, being rich and famous, flaunting a fleet of luxury cars etc. The ultimate dream is the dream of knowing oneself. The age old question hanging heavy on our minds has been, “Who am I?” Bulle Shah, the great Sufi saint and poet, questioned his own identity with ‘Bullah ki jana main kaun!’

Once, while sitting in a park, with trees standing tall on the boundary of the park, I was watching the sunset. The scattered clouds over the blue canvas enhanced this colourful effect. I intently watched the sky change from blue shining in the sunlight, to a bright orange. The clouds glowed and then darkened gradually.

I could feel my own self descending into myself as the natural slide switched hues. My heart repeatedly asked, “Who am I? What am I doing here?” I was travelling inside me like King Lear’s journey within.

By the time I got up, it was dark outside but I knew I carried a light within me. I told myself, I have to spread this light. I am a speck of the glowing lamp of the Supreme Power. It is He who lends us the spark. It is then that I told myself, “I am a messenger who has to pass on the light to others, to the whole world around to preserve the sanctity of soul, to protect it from the ensnarling clutches of bewitching worldly chains.” Finally, I had the answer to who am I?

Inaugural Issue of 'The Literary Jewels'

Dear Friends
I feel elated to announce the launch of the inaugural issue of 'The Literary Jewels', an online journal of Art, Culture and Education. I do hope the journal finds favour with  you. I will be looking forward to your feedback, suggestions and brickbats on that.
I am sure you will all support the cause of 'The Literary Jewels' by sending in your contributions in the form of an article, story, poem, drama, a photograph clicked by you, a work of digital art or anything that comes within the purview of the fields of Art, Culture and Education.
Have a look at the cover of the inaugural issue and read its contents.Click Here

Book Review: 'Revolution 2020' by Chetan Bhagat

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Release of Chetan Bhagat's 'Revolution 2020'

Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat's much talked about book 'Revolution 2020', his fifth one, was released in New Delhi on 8 October, 2011 by Yuvraj Singh, the cricketer. On the release Yuvraj jokingly related the title of the book to the concept of 20:20 cricket. Calling Yuvraj Singh for the book release was a nice publicity stunt! The book is already set to create a record of sorts. According to Rupa Publications, this book release could very well go down in history as the biggest one because they said that they have already shipped 5,00,000 (five lakhs) copies ordered in advance. Now the challenge before them is to see to it that the print is able to meet the demand.

The full title of the book is 'Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption,Ambition'. The story in the novel happens in the city of Varanasi. Against the backdrop of corruption, the novel narrates a love triangle. That's perfect bollywood masala again!

In Chetan Bhagat's own words, "The book is dedicated to 'the' Indian student and captures the dilemmas and pressures a student goes through in the corrupt and ruthless world of competitive exams."

Here's excerpt from the book 'Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition':

PROLOGUE OF 'REVOLUTION 2020: LOVE, CORRUPTION, AMBITION'
“And I hope not just you but our whole country will keep that spark alive. For there is
something cool about saying – I come from the land of a billion sparks. Thank you,” I said,
ending my motivational speech at Tilak Hall, Varanasi.
The claps and whistles were my cue to leave. Security volunteers formed a human barricade
and soon I managed a neat exit from the hall.
“Thank you so much, sir,” someone said right behind me.
I turned around to face my host.
“Mr Mishra,” I said, “I was looking for you.”
“Please call me Gopal,” he said. “The car is over there.”
I walked out with the young director of GangaTech College, Gopal Mishra. His black Mercedes
whisked us away from the crowded Vidyapath Road.
“Any more temples you want to see?” Gopal asked. “That’s all Varanasi has, anyway. You saw
the ghats, right?”
“Yeah, I went to the Vishwanath temple and Dasaswamedh ghat at five in the morning,” I said.
“The aarti was out of the world.”
Gopal frowned.
“What?” I said. “You must be used to the aarti by now. I was seeing it for the first time, all
those diyas floating at dawn.”
“It is not that,” he said, but did not elaborate.
“You will drop me at Ramada hotel?” I said.
“Your flight is only tomorrow morning,” Gopal said. “Why don’t you come home for dinner?”
“Don’t be formal…” I began.
“You have to come home. We must have a drink together. I have the finest whiskey in the
world,” he said.
I smiled as I shook my head. “Thanks, Gopal, but I don’t drink much.”
“Chetan sir, one drink? I can tell people I had a drink with ‘the’ Chetan Bhagat.”
I laughed. “That’s nothing to brag about. Still, say it if you want. You don’t actually have to drink with me.”
“Not like that, sir. I actually want to have a drink with you.”
I saw his intense eyes. He had sent me twenty invites in the last six months, until I agreed to come. I knew he could persist.
“Okay, one drink!” I said, hoping I wouldn’t regret this later.
“Excellent,” Gopal said.
We drove ten kilometers outside the city on the Lucknow Highway to reach GangaTech. The guards saluted as the campus gates opened up. The car came to a halt at a gray bungalow. It had a stone exterior that matched the main college and hostel buildings. We sat in the living room on the ground floor. It opened out to a badminton court-sized lawn.
“Nice house,” I said as I sat on an extra-soft brown velvet sofa. I noticed the extra-high elevated ceiling.
“Thanks. I made it myself. The contractor built it, but I supervised everything,” Gopal said. He proceeded to the bar counter at the other end of the room. “It’s the bungalow of an engineering college director. You and your friends raided one, right?”
“How do you know?” I said.
“Everyone knows. We’ve read the book. Seen the movie.”
We laughed. He handed me a crystal glass filled with a generous amount of Irish whisky.
“Thank you.” I took my drink.
“Single malt, 12 years old,” he said.
“It’s the director’s bungalow, but you don’t have a daughter,” I said. “You aren’t even married.
The youngest director I’ve ever seen.” He smiled.
“How old are you?” I was curious.
“Twenty-six,” Gopal said, a hint of pride in his voice. “Not just the youngest, but also the most
uneducated director you’ve met.”
“Uneducated?”
“I never went to college.”
“What?” I said as I twirled the ice-cubes in my glass and wondered how potent this drink was.
“Well, I did do a joke of a correspondence degree.”
“Wow!” I said. “It isn’t a joke to open such a big college.”
“Sixteen hundred students now, ji, across all batches. Each paying one lakh a year. We already have a sixteen-crore turnover. And you inaugurated the MBA coaching today. That’s another new business.”
I took a sip. The smooth whiskey burnt my throat. “Do you have beer? Or wine?” I coughed.
Gopal’s face fell. Not only had I ignored his impressive business statistics, I had rejected his whiskey.
“Not good?” Gopal asked. “It’s Glenfiddich, four thousand a bottle. I’ll open Blue Label? That’s ten thousand a bottle.”
It is not a price issue, I wanted to tell him but didn’t. “I don’t drink whiskey. Too strong for me,” I said instead.
Gopal laughed. “Live life. Start having fine whiskey. You will develop a taste.”
I attempted another sip and winced. He smiled and poured more water in my drink to dilute it.
It ruined the scotch, but saved my sanity.
“Life is to be enjoyed. Look at me, I will make four crores this year. What is the point if I don’t
enjoy it?”
In most parts of the world, speaking about your income is taboo. In India, you share the figures
like your zodiac sign, especially if you have lots.
He seemed to have put the question more to himself than me. His dark eyes continued to bore into me. His eyes demanded attention. The rest of him – wheatish complexion, modest fivefeet-seven-inch height, side-parted hair – was reassuringly nondescript.
“Yeah, of course. One should enjoy,” I said as he cut me.
“Next year I will make five crores.”
I realised he would keep forecasting his salary until I demonstrated suitable awe.
“Five crores!” I said, my voice loud and fake.
Gopal grinned. ‘Baby, eat this, for I have made it,’ is probably the T-shirt slogan he would choose.
“That’s incredible,” I murmured, wondering how I could switch the topic. I noticed stairs winding up. “What’s upstairs?” I said.
“Bedrooms and a terrace. Come, I will show you.”
We climbed up the steps. We walked past a room with a luxurious king-sized bed. From the terrace I took in the panoramic view.
“This was a wasteland, all of it. My grandfather’s old agricultural land,” Gopal said.
“Ten acres?” I made a guess.
“Fifteen. We had fifteen acres more,” Gopal said, “but we sold it to fund the construction.”
He pointed to a small array of lights towards the eastern wall of the floodlit campus. “Right there, see. There is a mall coming up.”
“Every Indian city is building malls now,” I said.
“India shining, Chetan-ji,” he said and clinked his glass with mine.
Gopal drank more than four times my pace. I hadn’t finished my first when he poured his fifth.
“You big-city types. Drinking for style,” he teased when I refused a refill.
“I don’t drink much. Really,” I said. I checked the time; 10:00 p.m.
“When do you eat dinner?” he asked.
“Up to you,” I said, though I wished he’d decide to eat right away.
“What is the big hurry? Two men, one educated, one uneducated. Having a good time,” Gopal said and raised his glass in the air.
I nodded out of courtesy. My stomach rumbled for food. We came downstairs to sit down in the living room again.
“Did you really go to the professor’s daughter’s house?” Gopal said.
I smiled. “Love makes us do stupid things.”
Gopal laughed out loud. He chugged his drink bottoms-up, then grabbed the half-empty bottle to make his sixth tipple.
“Love? Forget stupid things. Love fucks you,” Gopal said.
“That’s harsh,” I said. “Is that why there is no Mrs Director yet?”
Gopal’s hand trembled as he continued to pour his drink. I wondered if I should stop him from drinking more.
“Mrs Director!” Gopal smirked. He gripped the whiskey bottle tight.
“Easy, Gopal, you are drinking too fast. It’s dangerous.”
Gopal plonked the bottle on the coffee table. “Why dangerous? Who is going to fucking cry for me? If I live, I want to enjoy. If I die, who cares?”
“Your parents?”
Gopal shook his head.
“Friends?”
“Successful people don’t have friends,” Gopal demurred. “It’s true, no?”
His lavish house felt cold and isolated. I took the whiskey bottle and placed it back in the bar.
“Pessimist, eh?” I said. “Surprising, given you are doing so well.”
“What well, Chetan-ji?” Gopal said, now completely drunk and, presumably, completely honest.
He pointed to the huge TV, stereo system and the silk carpet under our feet in quick succession.
“What does all this mean? I’ve lived with nothing…”
Our conversation had become serious. I patted his back to cheer him up. “So you read about my girlfriend in the book. How about you? You ever had one?”
Gopal didn’t respond, but looked distraught. He placed his glass on the coffee table. Touchy topic, I figured too late. He retched.
“Are you okay?” I said.
He ran to the restroom. I heard him throw up. I browsed the display shelves to pass time. I saw framed news stories about GangaTech, trophies, pictures of Gopal with guests who had visited the college. I wondered if my picture would also be there soon. When he hadn’t returned in twenty minutes I called for the maid. She took me to the bathroom. I knocked at the door. No answer. I banged my fists on the door. Nothing.
“Looks like we have to break the door,” the maid said.
I wondered how I, who had come as a chief guest for a college orientation programme, became involved with forcing open random toilets in Varanasi....

To read ahead you will have to grab your own copy...Do share your views about the book once you get over with it.

Tomas Transtromer Wins 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature

Tomas Transtromer

The latest news from Stockholm is that the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded to a Swedish poet, Tomas Transtromer. He is the one whose surrealistic poetry won him accolades as a very important Scandinavian writer since the time of Second World War. His works revolved around the mysteries of the human mind. According to the Swedish Academy, the works of this poet were recognized “because through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality.” Transtromer has continued to writer despite his odds. In the year 1990, he suffered from a stroke because of which he was half-paralyzed and was unable to speak. Continuing to write after that, Transtromer got his collection of poems published ‘The Great Enigma’. ‘Windows and Stones’, published in the year 1966, which depicts the themes drawn from his various travels and ‘Baltics’, published in the year 1974 are considered his most famous works. Till now his works have been translated into more than fifty languages across the globe and he has influenced poets far and wide, especially in North America.

 Apart from being a poet, he is also a psychologist, having earned his degree in psychology from Stockholm University. He was born in Stockholm in 1931. His childhood was spent with his mother, who was a teacher. She had divorced his father, who was a journalist. Transtromer started writing poetry when he was in school and brought out his first collection ‘Seventeen Poems’ at the age of twenty-three.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2011: Top 4 Contenders

Less than twenty four hours before the final announcement of the Nobel Prize for Literature 2011 there were a lot of ups and downs in the chances of the finalists winning the most-coveted literary honour. Bob Dylan was being considered the surprise dark horse, who had beaten the odds 100/1 to reach the odds 10/1 and finally to 5/1. He was among the four top candidates for 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature.

#1 BOB DYLAN: He is an American singer-songwriter, poet and a musician. Within the span of 24 hours he reached the top position in the final choices for the Nobel Prize for Literature 2011. His rising to this position may have been surprising for many but he had many feathers in his cap that recommended him for this prize. He has to his credit many published book including ‘Chronicles Volume One’, ‘Tarantula’ and ‘Lyrics: 1962-2001’. Many of his songs like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, ‘The Times they are a-changin’, ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ reached the level of becoming anthems for civil right and anti-war movement in the United States.

#2 ADONIS: The real name of Adonis is Ali Ahmad Said Asbar, an 81-year-old Syrian poet. Although his position was second, yet he is the most favoured one. One of the reasons for his being a favourite is that he writes in Arabic, a language that in underrepresented because we have only one other Nobel Prize winner, Naguib Mahfouz, who wrote in Arabic.

#3 HARUKI MURAKAMI: Haruki Murakami is a Japanese novelist. Till date only two Japanese writers have won the Nobel Prize in Literature: Kenzaburo Oe in the year 1994 and Yasunari Kawabata in the year 1968. Murakami’s novels are based on characters who defy the group mentality that dominates the Japanese culture.

#4 TOMAS TRANSTROMER: He is one of the leading poets of Sweden. This 80-year old poet is famous for his multi-faceted poetry that is characterised by subtlety.

Let us wait and watch who wins the race!!!

Another prize for Rohinton Mistry's 'A Fine Balance'

Rohinton Mistry

Rohinton Mistry's much talked about novel 'A Fine Balance' is in news once again. The book has won the 2012 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. The Indo-Canadian author, Rohinton Mistry had earlier won the Scotiabank Giller Prize for the same book. 'A Fine Balance' was also chosen for Oprah’s Book Club in 2001. Mistry's novel 'Family Matters' received the Timothy Findley Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada. 'Such a Long Journey', Rohinton Mistry's first novel had won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Governor General’s Award. Three of the writer's novels have also been nominated for the Man Booker Prize.

'A Fine Balance' has been called 'a masterpiece of illumination and grace'. It 'like all great fiction, transforms our understanding of life', according to Guardian.

I had reviewed this book for 'Literary Jewels' in the year 2007. You can read the review here: 'A FINE BALANCE'.

Winners of Nobel Prize for Literature

The winner of the much awaited Nobel Prize for Literature 2011 will be announced on Thursday 6 October, 1:00 p.m. CET. The list of the previous winners of Nobel Prize for Literature from 1901 to 2010 is as follows:

2010 Mario Vargas Llosa
2009 Herta Müller
2008 Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio
2007 Doris Lessing
2006 Orhan Pamuk
2005 Harold Pinter
2004 Elfriede Jelinek
2003 John M. Coetzee
2002 Imre Kertész
2001 Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul
2000 Gao Xingjian
1999 Günter Grass
1998 José Saramago
1997 Dario Fo
1996 Wislawa Szymborska
1995 Seamus Heaney
1994 Kenzaburo Oe
1993 Toni Morrison
1992 Derek Walcott
1991 Nadine Gordimer
1990 Octavio Paz
1989 Camilo José Cela
1988 Naguib Mahfouz
1987 Joseph Brodsky
1986 Wole Soyinka
1985 Claude Simon
1984 Jaroslav Seifert
1983 William Golding
1982 Gabriel García Márquez
1981 Elias Canetti
1980 Czeslaw Milosz
1979 Odysseus Elytis
1978 Isaac Bashevis Singer
1977 Vicente Aleixandre
1976 Saul Bellow
1975 Eugenio Montale
1974 Eyvind Johnson, Harry Martinson
1973 Patrick White
1972 Heinrich Böll
1971 Pablo Neruda
1970 Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn
1969 Samuel Beckett
1968 Yasunari Kawabata
1967 Miguel Angel Asturias
1966 Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Nelly Sachs
1965 Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov
1964 Jean-Paul Sartre
1963 Giorgos Seferis
1962 John Steinbeck
1961 Ivo Andric
1960 Saint-John Perse
1959 Salvatore Quasimodo
1958 Boris Leonidovich Pasternak
1957 Albert Camus
1956 Juan Ramón Jiménez
1955 Halldór Kiljan Laxness
1954 Ernest Miller Hemingway
1953 Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
1952 François Mauriac
1951 Pär Fabian Lagerkvist
1950 Earl (Bertrand Arthur William) Russell
1949 William Faulkner
1948 Thomas Stearns Eliot
1947 André Paul Guillaume Gide
1946 Hermann Hesse
1945 Gabriela Mistral
1944 Johannes Vilhelm Jensen
1943 No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1942 No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1941 No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1940 No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1939 Frans Eemil Sillanpää
1938 Pearl Buck
1937 Roger Martin du Gard
1936 Eugene Gladstone O'Neill
1935 No Nobel Prize was awarded this year. The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1934 Luigi Pirandello
1933 Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin
1932 John Galsworthy
1931 Erik Axel Karlfeldt
1930 Sinclair Lewis
1929 Thomas Mann
1928 Sigrid Undset
1927 Henri Bergson
1926 Grazia Deledda
1925 George Bernard Shaw
1924 Wladyslaw Stanislaw Reymont
1923 William Butler Yeats
1922 Jacinto Benavente
1921 Anatole France
1920 Knut Pedersen Hamsun
1919 Carl Friedrich Georg Spitteler
1918 No Nobel Prize was awarded in the year 1918 as the prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1917 Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Henrik Pontoppidan
1916 Carl Gustaf Verner von Heidenstam
1915 Romain Rolland
1914 No Nobel Prize was awarded in the year 1914 as the prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section.
1913 Rabindranath Tagore
1912 Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann
1911 Count Maurice (Mooris) Polidore Marie Bernhard Maeterlinck
1910 Paul Johann Ludwig Heyse
1909 Selma Ottilia Lovisa Lagerlöf
1908 Rudolf Christoph Eucken
1907 Rudyard Kipling
1906 Giosuè Carducci
1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz
1904 Frédéric Mistral, José Echegaray y Eizaguirre
1903 Bjørnstjerne Martinus Bjørnson
1902 Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen
1901 Sully Prudhomme

Self-discipline

Harry S. Truman, the former American President, once remarked: “In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first.”

With a view to inculcate a sense of self-discipline the authority must be in some or the other way invested in the students. This will help to serve many purposes – it makes the child more responsible towards his duties, makes the process of administration a bit more democratic and also inculcates a sense of pride among the students in their being able to contribute towards the management of the institution. Self discipline is something we all need because it is a vital characteristic of successful people. Why? Because nothing is as easy as it seems. There are always unforeseen challenges and problems on the path to success and achievement. To beat these you must persevere and be strong. Likewise eating disorders or other problems associated with excess (such as smoking or alcoholism) require will power.

Excessive habits foster low self esteem and lack of self confidence. If you suffer from an obsession and cannot control it you may blame or punish yourself. Likewise the reverse is also true low self esteem may cause some of these problems (eating too much, too little, binging or other damaging disorders), this is a vicious circle.

Self discipline helps you control your actions and make sure you stay on track. It is helpful if you suffer disorders like those above and need to break out and cure yourself. Please make use of help from friends or counsellors as this will support you in your efforts. Going it alone is very difficult!

Identity Crisis by Facebook, Twitter etc.???

Pic Src:Identity Crisis

The eternal question that thinkers have been trying to answer since ages is: who am I? No matter how much we have tried to answer it for ourselves, we have not been able to satisfy ourselves. Our life, what all we do and how we carry ourselves is an act towards establishing our identity. Struggle was still going on to carve out a niche for our identity when another threat emerged. And if the scientists' latest warnings are to be heeded to, the threat comes from something that after having crept in slowly has now come to dominate our lives. My dear friends, the threat is from nothing else than the repeated exposure to the social networking sites.

According to a report published from London in Times of India (dated 31 AUGUST, 2011), Baroness Greenfield, a Professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, said Facebook and Twitter have created a generation obsessed with themselves, who have short attention spans and a childlike desire for constant feedback on their lives.

Where are we heading to? Let’s think about it for a minute. I am not deadly against usage of such social networking sites as I myself am a user of these websites.

The point is that we should not be too much dependent on such sites. This dependence might lead to an ‘identity crisis’. Moreover, there’s much more to life than being always present online. The charm of being with your near and dear ones can never be replaced by any ‘dead’ website, no matter how popular it is! Why I say ‘dead’ is that the human touch is missing. But a large majority are still enjoying it…we have arrived in a new age!!!

The Hindu’s - Lit for Life

Hirco presents the first edition of The Hindu’s - Lit for Life, a three-day, two-city festival centred on the celebration of the second year of The Hindu Literary Prize. The festival takes off in New Delhi on September 25, 2011, at the India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road and continues on in Chennai on October 29 and 30, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency, 365 Anna Salai, Teynampet.

The Hindu's The Literary Review remains the only supplement in India devoted to books and literature brought out by a daily newspaper. The Hindu Literary Prize is a platform that stands proud and equal to the many other coveted literary awards of the world. Manu Joseph won the first Hindu Best Fiction Award 2010 for his book 'Serious Men'.

The Lit for Life conclave begins on September 25, 9 a.m. with a cheerful Sunday breakfast at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The first session talk’s food – Are You Really Going to Eat All That? – with Nikhil Chib, Manu Chandra, Jigyasa Giri and Esther David followed by Mukul Deva, Anuja Chauhan, Angela Saini speaking of the Popularity Factor. While Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra with Jai Arjun Singh share their opinion on New Wave Cinema, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Indrajit Hazra, Rana Dasgupta and Aman Sethi discuss Realities: Fictional or Otherwise. Siddharth Varadharajan chairs a talk on Political Dynasties with Vasundhara Raje. Revolutions and New Beginnings with Mansoura ez Eldin and Ali al Muqri throws light on writings from the Middle East. A full-day workshop on children’s writing, Children of the Lamp, is being conducted by Anushka Ravishankar and Atanu Roy. A Life in Theatre, a discussion between Sanjna Kapoor and Mahesh Dattani, will be followed by a beautiful performance by Alarmel Valli. The Short List will be announced by Manu Joseph, the winner of The Hindu Literary Prize 2010, in New Delhi on September 25 at the end of the day long festival.

Some of the sessions for Chennai programme are, Just in the Neighbourhood with Mohammad Hanif, Tahmima Anam and Ziya Salam, Playing Fields - Shashi Tharoor, Mukul Kesavan and Rahul Bhattacharya in conversation, Tragedy Workshop: The Hardships of Writing with Zac O Yeah, Comic Timing - a performance by Vir Das. Is Writing a Healing is a panel discussion with Bama Faustina, P Sivakami, Susie Tharu and Siddharth Varadarajan, Translations Workshop with Arunava Sinha and Mini Krishnan, Zooming In with Shabana Azmi and Urvashi Butalia, Destination Detectives - a session on travel writing with Rahul Bhattacharya and Latha Anantraman, Vikram Seth in conversation with Nisha Susan and Nirmala Lakshman, announcement of The Hindu Literary Prize Award.

Siyahi, the creative consultant for Lit for Life, has been instrumental in infusing the conclave with the right ingredients for a rich and wide-ranging literary experience. As a literary agency, it represents over sixty authors. The organisation also develops book proposals, creative content/solutions, designing projects for book publicity, translations, programming and planning of literary festivals, events and workshops. They are the pioneers of literary consulting in India.

Entry is free for all sessions. Please register for workshops at info@siyahi.in

The event is presented by HIRCO and our Associate Sponsors are Shriram City, Sessions Sponsors - Mahindra Holidays, Scholastic, Penguin India, HarperCollins Publishers India, Om Book International, Travel Partner - Le Passage to India, Venue Partner - India Habitat Centre, Books Partner - Full Circle, Creative Consultant - Siyahi.

Chetan Bhagat's latest novel

All those who loved to read 'Five Point Someone', 'One Night at a Call Centre', 'The Three Mistakes of my Life', and '2 States', now get ready for Chetan Bhagat's latest one 'Revolution 2020' that will be released on 8 October, 2011.

'Revolution 2020' is a book about threesome Gopal, Raghav and Aarti, who had been friends since childhood. The novel discusses their conquest for love, fame and success. The author Chetan Bhagat has created a contrast of sorts in two of them, Gopal and Raghav. Both of them are caught in the web of corrupt society but there is a difference in their approach. While Gopal is the one who gives in but Raghav decides to fight it to the last. Then there is Aarti, who waits for the person of her dreams to come into her life. She hopes of a blissful life once her dreams are fulfilled.

So you can look forward to witnessing a tale of three friends, who are trying and planning to convert their lives into success stories.

'Enough is Enough'

Pic Src:Indian Flag

Anna Hazare has been into a war of sorts for the past many days. Patriotism spilled onto the roads. Indian flags could be seen everywhere. It was as if the atmosphere was coloured in the colours of the tricolor of India. The spirit of revolution was infused in various forms. How could literature remain untouched!

I wrote a poem on the theme ‘Enough is Enough’ recited at Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, Siri Fort Institutional Area, New Delhi on 27 August, 2011. Here it goes:

We have been ruled ruthlessly

we have lost our brothers and sisters

we have been made to inherit deaths

but our hearts died not.

We have been beaten black and blue

but we did not let out a sigh.

We have been tortured and trampled upon

but we raised not our head high.

We have been looted

we have been robbed off our sweat and blood

but we whimpered not.

We have been forced to empty our pockets

but we protested not.

Enough is enough now

we’ve slept enough

now we wake up and rise

march ahead

only ahead with courage

towards a new dawn

to answer the reckoning call

of the emerging horizons.

Independence Day defined!!!

With India's independence day (August 15, 2011)gone, forgotten is the concept of independence. Have you ever wondered what independence means to you?
Independence is:
* when you have freedom to say what you fee
* when you are allowed to exhibit the courage to follow your convictions
* when you have the freedom of words and your words speak the language of truth
* when you say what it is and not what you are told to
* when you yourself control the reigns of your life, nobody else does it for you
* when you can move freely from one place to another without someone imposing any restrictions

The list can be endless. But do you what freedom means in reality?

So now we can safely conclude that you can do anything and everything at any point of time. After all, we live India, an independent country. We have come a long way since India gained its independence on 15 August, 1947.
Next time somebody calls you names, you can beat him black and blue in retaliation because you have the freedom of action. You can bunk your classes whenever you like because it is your life and nobody else will decide what you do. You don't have to obey to what your parents tell you as it is you who has to control the reigns of your own life in an independent country and that too in the twentieth century.



Wait a minute! Are you taking all this too seriously??? I bet you can't. Let's imagine some more things and amusing situations. The next time you don't complete your homework, you teacher can beat you with a stick for a long while. Your boss can humiliate and belittle you in front of the whole office because he has the right and freedom to say whatever he wants to.

By now you must have realised what I mean to convey. The next time you think of exercising your freedom, just keep in mind the other person too has equal and the same kind of freedom as you do. So watch what you say and do. This restraint is a part and parcel of freedom and it has to be that way. Otherwise, the result would be utter chaos and disorder. Nothing would change and improve.

Here are a few Independence Day quotes that I hope you would like:

"Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge... At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom."
 Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian Declaration of Independence, on eve of independence, August 15 1947

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian Declaration of Independence, on eve of independence, August 15 1947
 

"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most artistic materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!"
Mark Twain (Writer, America)


"If I were asked under what sky the human mind has most fully developed some of its choicest gifts, has most deeply pondered on the greatest problems of life, and has found solutions, I should point to India." 
Max Mueller (German Scholar)
 
[This post would be incomplete without the following:]

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. 
Rabindra Nath Tagore
Gitanjali


So friends just say it with confidence, 'I am proud to be an Indian'. And work towards  making our country an India of Tagore's dreams!

Celebrating Raksha Bandhan in India

Pic src: Raksha Bandhan

India celebrates Raksha Bandhan today, that is, 13 August. The festival of Raksha Bandhan has been celebrated since times immemorial. But things have undergone a sea change. Raksha Bandhan is a festival that celebrates the sacred bond of brother and sister. It is a symbol of love, affection and bond of togetherness of brother and sister. ‘Rakhi’ is a thread that a sister ties to the wrist of her brother. Now we no longer have just the simple, good-old rakhi, they are much more fancy ones that attract the buyer’s attention. Zardosi Rakhi, Pearl Rakhis, Diamond Rakhi, Rakhi in gold and silver; not only this we also have Rakhi with chocolates, rakhi with dry fruits etc.

Now my question is: Are we giving more weightage to the sanctity of this affectionate relationship by increasing the monetary value of the Rakhis. Shouldn’t we be giving more value to the affectionate feelings, love and togetherness?

Festivals are, after all, to celebrate togetherness…think about it…

Friendship Day Contest Results

Pic Src: Friends Forever

 I was more than glad when I read the entries that I received in response to the Friendship Day contest announced on Literary Jewels a few days back. Friends, today I am going to announce the winner of this contest. Hold your breath, he is Vikas from Gurgaon 

Here is what Vikas  wrote in his email:

“I came across the contest that you had announced on your website ‘Literary Jewels’. At once I was reminded of my school time friend Vishal. We both had parted after we had a fight over a very small reason. It was because of our ego that we both didn’t talk to each other after that. Neither I called him nor did he call me. Inspired by your post I thought of tracing him and meeting him on this friendship day on 7^th August, 11.  I typed his name on Google and found his profile on Facebook. I was very happy. It was on 5^th August that I left a message for him. And to my surprise he replied within a few hours. We decided to meet on 7^th August at an eating joint that we used to frequent during our school time. It was a real treat going there once again and that too with a friend, whom I had needed the most each day after he had gone. But I didn’t have the courage to contact him to patch up. May be my ego was the barrier. Probably the same was the case with him, as I came to know when he came. I’ll skip the details because it was too emotional a meeting. I had the best time of my life.”

P.S. The best part was that both of them were planning to send their story to Literary Jewels as they both had come across the Friendship Day contest organized by the website. Both were inspired by this contest to make up and be friends again.

And I was on cloud nine when I read their story.

NOTE: Photos of the two friends are not being published to protect their privacy as requested by them. 

The prize for Vikas is being readied and will be posted to him in a day or two. A picture will be posted here too...keep watching this space for updates.

Also I would be publishing the three best entries here.

BEST THREE ENTRIES RECEIVED:

HIMANSHU says, "I'll clean my mirror because he is my best friend."

SAHIL WADHWA wrote, "A great way to celebrate Friendship Day in a memorable way I would make an album of your most intimate and special moments spent together. This can also be the most touching Friendship Day activity for me and my friend as it will help me to rewind and relive our time-tested bonding."

PUNEET BHATTHAL had this to say:
"earlier I used to send friendship day wishes to my close friends through an occasional phone call but mostly through SMSs. Sometimes such messages were touching , hillarious , taunting and teasing etc etc. Sending and receiving these messages meant a lot to me. This was my idea of a FRIENDSHIP DAY . But this time it was different and it was all because of you Amrit...yes you. And today I wanna thank you for that from the core of my heart. Actually what happened, when I read about your contest , I got very much trepped by the idea and started thinking about novel and creative ideas about celebrating the frienship day , calling for a reunion of schooltime friends , planning a small but rocking party with university frnds who are in Ludhiana was another one , a warm get together with colleagues and my mind went from here to there . One night when I was checking my facebook account , I was going through an album by my friend , in which there were many school time pictures. I stopped on one picture - our class 7 picture. Looking at that picture was like reliving those moments , then I had tears in my eyes. I saw ritika , my childhood friend , Ritika Bhandari was her name n she was gem of a person , I cant write mch about her right now because my eyes are moistening by her 'zikar ' only. She died in class 8 when the car, her papa were driving, met with an accident near ropar .it was a great loss to her family but greater loss to me. I was very small to understand all that but I cried and cried and cried , because she was never going to come again. Later on Bhandari uncle got transferred to Panchkula and we lost touch. At that moment ,I decided that I am going to find out Bhandari uncle and aunty and meet them and lo !!! After a few tries the next day I found their number. I dialled the number with trembling fingers and somebody spoke from the other side. Oh my god that was aunty, same voice. I recognised that voice at once. I told her " aunty , I am puneet , from ropar" she paused , I think she cdnt recognise my name , then I told her " aunty I am puneet bhathal , ritika's friend" she recognised me and instead of talking to me, I think in excitement and I don't know whatshe started calling uncle ," bhandari sahab , jaldi aao , dekho puneet da phone hai , bhathal sahab di beti , Riti di friend" n tears were rolling frm my eyes....we talked and cried and talked and cried. It was after 19 years we were talking.(we planned to meet in near future) ...by the time i disconnected the phone. I was contented. I couldn't speak to any body for next about 2 hours ,I had goosebumps. I was happy from deep inside , tears were rolling from my eyes and I was smiling at the same time this was all because of you Amrit . Your idea of friendship day contest triggered it....love you for that."

Book Reviewing Service

Dear Friends

Literary Jewels is happy to announce a Book Reviewing Service. We will help you get loads of exposure and the right kind of audience. Drop a mail at : theliteraryjewels@gmail.com with details of the book and about the author. We'll get back to you within few days.

We assure you the best quality of writing and a comprehensive review that will include all the aspects of writing.

 Enjoy writing...

SMS...Techy Food for Thought

Pic src: Life's Canvas

I have often been asked as to what my source of writing is. My spontaneous answer is, “I write whatever enters into the realm of my silly little mind and heart.” Having been confronted with question once again, I glanced within myself to look for a more satisfactory answer.

Life has been called a huge canvas. This statement could be interpreted in two ways. In one sense, life is a blank canvas onto which we are to splash colours according to our ideas, thoughts and aspirations. In another sense of the term, life is a canvas that presents before us a host of hues to ponder upon. It is a chain reaction actually – picking up one colour from life’s broad canvas and creating one’s picture with it.

Experiences are also a major source of creations. But we need not experience all the things themselves. What is required is a heart that can feel what a human might feel in a particular situation, may be a painful or a joyful experience. Instead of a thinking head, it is the thinking heart that is likely to result in a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquility”, as Wordsworth rightly remarked about poetry.

A common that all parents must be having with their kids these days is that they waste so much time over ‘SMSing’. True! Time is spent but I feel it is not totally wasted – now you might consider it as an attempt to save myself :) But many a times it has happened that an SMS has proved to be food for thought for my ideas starved mind.

So it all depends on your insight where you get your ideas from. You could get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere…so just look around and get going!

Friendship Day contest



Valentines' Day long gone, here knocks at our doors another happening day, that is, Friendship Day (that falls on 7 August this year). It was on 30 July when World Friendship Day was celebrated. Basically, on the twenty seventh day of April this year, United Nations declared that the day of 30 July would be officially celebrated as the International Friendship Day. The age-old tradition has been that it is the first Sunday of August that is marked as Friendship Day.

It is a celebration of the bond of friendship. It is not just about saying things with flowers, friendship day messages, gifts and chocolates, special friendship day bouquets, friendship day cards etc. but it has a lot more to do with feelings of friendship. Ideally, friendship day should be a day of expression of genuine and heartfelt feelings.

Entangled in the web of the modern complexities of life we have forgotten the real essence of this relationship. It is nowadays when we need to ask a person: "Is your friendship with that person a hi-bye kind?" Can somebody tell me since when have we begun categorizing friendship in this way? It is the gift of so called 'modernity'. We might find time to offer a Friendship Day chocolate, a Friendship Day flower or some other gift but we do not have enough time to lend a concerned ear to the others' problems or simply give a lending ear to the venting out of pent-up feelings of your friend.

This year celebrate Friendship Day in a different style...in your own unique style. Do share your thoughts here how you plan to celebrate it or how you celebrated it.

The most unique entry will win a surprise gift.

Last day for entries is 9 August. You can post your entries to:

Email: theliteraryjewels@gmail.com

Mention 'Friendship Day' as the subject of your mail.

Launching of exclusive website of 'The Literary Jewels'

Hello Friends

I feel elated to announce the launch of an exclusive website devoted to the online journal 'The Literary Jewels', a venture of Literary Jewels (www.literaryjewels.com). 'The Literary Jewels' is a journal of Art, Culture and Education. The inaugural issue would be released very soon. Keep visiting and do send in your suggestions along  with your contributions.

You can also connect on Facebook at:The Literary Jewels

Sometimes...

Pic Src: Heat

Sometimes when the weather is nice
Sometimes when the clouds gather around the scorching sun
Sometimes the heat melts our bones
Sometimes we don't feel the heat even when it's so hot
Sometimes when the mind is clouded with a thought
It is then that we need a shade from the scorching sun
It is then that the shade is provided by care and affection
It is then that those two are missing
It is then that we miss those two the most....


(P.S. I don't think this can be taken to be a poem...but it is just that I penned my thoughts as it is.)

Daily Inventory

This is what the word 'inventory' entails according to the Oxford Dictionary:

Pronunciation: /ɪnv(ə)nt(ə)ri/

noun (plural inventories)

• a complete list of items such as property, goods in stock, or the contents of a building.

• chiefly North American a quantity of merchandise or goods held in stock.

• (in accounting) the entire stock of a business, including materials, components, work in progress, and finished product.

You must be wondering why all this has been put here. Now coming to the point as we have the daily inventory in terms of property, merchandise or in accounting, similarly we need to have a daily inventory system in our life too. A day is gone and we are so tired towards the fag end of the day that we don’t give a second thought to what happened during that day.

We can reflect upon our actions, behaviour and what all we have achieved (in accordance with the goals that we had set for ourselves for the day). Actually a few might be having the opinion that we do our best and then leave the rest. This is because many of believe in the policy of ‘forgive and forget’. But my dear, let me suggest that this approach of analyzing at the end of the day is not at all opposed to the philosophy of forgive and forget. Those who want to forget the past and live in present only also can do this exercise without violating the principles that govern their philosophy of life.

In the evening just ask yourself the following questions:

Have you been able to do justice to the tasks that were allotted to you?

Have you accomplished the targets that you had set for yourself for the day?

Have you been in a pleasant mood and not angry at the slightest pretext?

Have you been thoughtful and acted with precaution today?

Have you been a source of inspiration for others or have you put them off with your melancholic approach?

Have you been impartial and just in your approach in judging others?

Have you added something to the existing with your creativity or have you been killing time indulging in petty and unimportant tasks?

Have you added a smile to the lips of the one having tears hanging in his eyes?

Have you improved yourself in the pursuit of being the best edition of yourself?

(P.S. Are you still reading the questions? You better get going so that you can answer them in a much better way by the time it’s evening!!!)