Latest Read

I just went back to an old favorite, whose story had almost faded from my memory. But I found Ruskin Bond's magic irremovable from the words of "The room on the roof." The story starts with the usual Bond style of expressing a scene so beautifully that the reader can visualize every detail, hear every sound, and be pulled into the act with the protagonist. I always find the simplicity with which Bond writes extremely refreshing.

The "Room on the roof" begins thus :
"The light spring rain rode on the wind, into the trees, down the road; it brought an exhilarating freshness to the air, a smell of earth, a scent of flowers; it brought a smile to the eyes of the boy on the road.

The long road wound round the hills, rose and fell and twisted down to Dehra; the road came from the mountains and passed through the jungle and valley and after passing through Dehra, ended somewhere in the bazaar. But just where it ended no one knew, for the bazaar was a baffling place, where roads were easily lost."

Currently reading..

I am currently reading "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond. In this book, the Pulitzer-Prize winning author explores how climate change, population explosion, and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilizations.

The end of an era

I was able to watch Sachin Tendulkar's final innings yesterday. An era comes to an end.

 

To me, Sachin's retirement really feels like the snapping of a link - the departure of someone, who connected legendary cricketers of yesteryears (Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Malcom Marshall, Kapil Dev et al), with whom he played to the Kohlis and other young blood of today. My family didn't even have a TV to watch the matches when this guy started playing - I remember watching bits and pieces of the 1992 world cup standing with a crowd in front of Electronics shops in Trivandrum, watching his rampage during the 1996/1999 world cups on a "Weston" black and white TV at home. Still remember sitting motion less watching him destroy the Pakistani bowling attack during the 2003 world cup in front of a TV with a big, loud group of friends in Hyderabad, watching the miserable failure of 2007 and the triumph in 2011 on my computer while in the US. Starting from 1990, as a secondary school boy, to 2013, where I am today, whichever corner of the world I was and whatever I was doing, I some how always managed to follow Sachin's matches and took a lot of pleasure watching him play. I love cricket, its my most favorite sport and he represented the game to me. So when he departs, I feel like something has come to an end or if you will let me go over the top, more like some one familiar just passed away.

 

Thank you for all the great memories, Sachin. Along with your seemingly unsurpassable records, you will always be remembered for being one of the finest ambassadors of cricket.

Currently reading ..

 

 

I am currently reading "The Monk and the Philosopher"  that captures an interesting discussion between the renowned French philosopher, Jean Francois-Revel and his famous son, Matthieu Ricard. Revel was a staunch critic of Communism and Christianity while Matthieu Ricard is a Molecular biologist turned Buddhist monk. This father-son conversation is also an opportunity to witness the juxtaposition of Eastern and Western philosophies on life, culture, and beliefs.  

Return to Ruskin Bond

"It's the simple things in life that keep us from going crazy" - Ruskin Bond (Notes from a small room")

This is one of those life saving truisms. At times when mind is preoccupied with a thousand things, when the hours in a day aren't enough to keep up with all that one has to keep up with, and when life pulls a couple of those unpleasant surprises, simple acts that let one soak in the present moment offer a great respite. This could vary from a 30 minute jog, watching a rain or children play, listening to the birds or the wind in the trees, feeling the brush of the wind or the salty spray of the ocean on your face, discerning the subtle sounds and colors around us etc.

Anyway, that's what took me back to Ruskin Bond's works. It is a great stress buster for me and helps take mind off work, unwind and occupy the mind with simple acts and pleasures of life. Over the last few weeks I've read a lot more of Ruskin Bond:

1) The India I love
2) Book of Nature
3) Notes from a small room
4) A Handful of nuts

 
 

Social Investing

I've signed up with Rang De and made a social investment in India. The money will help a seamstress in the eastern state of Orissa improve her business. I believe that in addition to providing small scale entrepreneurs the funds to start or improve their businesses, well directed micro-credits can also break the stranglehold that usurers and traditional money lenders have on the lives of these people. By providing an option to borrow money at cheaper interest rates, micro credit organizations can contribute to tackling problems such as poverty, malnutrition, and farmer suicides. It will make a huge impact if people choose to invest just 1% of their salaries in such causes.

Conversations with Arjun 

Arjun: When will you get old ?
Me: I don't know. I'll tell you when I am old. Why do you ask ?
Arjun: No, I just want to push you around in a wheel chair like you pushed me around in a stroller.
Me : 

Conversations with Arjun

Arjun: Is Amma your wife ?
Me: yes.
Arjun: Are you sure or are you guessing ?
Me: I am sure.
Arjun: How do you know ?
Me: Because I was present there when she got married and she actually married me.
Arjun: Oh ok.

Arjun's quote for the day:
Why do I have legs and not wheels ?? I could have gone so fast !!!

Currently reading..

Came across Matthieu Ricard and his books and talks while ruminating recently on the "ultimate goal of all goals" - Happiness. Matthieu Ricard is a Buddhist monk who had a promising scientific career (Ph.D in molecular biology at the Pasteur Institute, working under French Nobel Laureate François Jacob) before leaving France to study Buddhism in the Himalayas 35 years ago. He is an author, translator and photographer, and an active participant in current scientific research on the effects of meditation on the brain. He lives and works on humanitarian projects in Tibet and Nepal.

The book offers plenty of food for thought should you indulge in an exercise to identify what your deep motivations are behind why you do whatever you do and what you ultimately seek.