Lit Notes

A.K. Ramanujan begins his essay   Is there an Indian Way of Thinking? An Informal Essay  by framing the question in four different ways, following Stanislavsky’s method for judging the potential of actors. A.K.Ramanujan wonders if there is an Indian way of thinking. Ramanujan says that the Indian way of thinking is highly context-oriented. While the Western world celebrates egalitarianism and universality, India continues to uphold its caste- oriented, ancient principles and beliefs that indicate diversity, rather than universality.              India as a nation has always been adaptable to change. We have been able to successfully incorporate western ideas, beliefs, attire and customs with our very own traditional beliefs and attire. Ramanujan writes about his father, a South Indian Brahmin, who is an amalgamation of all the diverse cultures, beliefs and concepts that symbolise Indians’ ability to effectiv...

Two fears have assailed me since I started enjoying reading. The twin fears of memory loss and loss of eyesight have been present in MY subconscious mind for long. Reading fiction is something I love.  I love writing by women, not the acclaimed ones like Margaret Atwood, Doris Lessing and Nadine Gordimer. I love that which is usually dismissed as chicklit. But I find that it deals with ordinary people like me, with the same concerns and cares that I have. It comforts me that there are other women in other parts of the world who are experiencing the same worries, fears and anxieties that I experience.  It is very difficult to meet people who share our wavelength in every sense of the term, so when I meet somebody like that in a novel, I feel that someone somewhere has experienced what I have felt. So no matter what the world says, kudos to  CHICKLIT. 

Death stalks the roads,the highways,the bridges,the rivers, the tracks, and its victims are the young.It is so sad when one hears of the death of a young person.In the past few days there have been so many deaths of young people.Life seems to have suddenly become fraught with danger at every turn.Death is inevitable and we need but a reason to die.Today it seems to be haunting us everywhere.How did life become like this?I AM HAUNTED BY THE FEAR OF DEATH AT ALL TIMES.My own death doesnt scare me.What scares me is the death of people i love and people i care about.It prevents me from enjoying what i have.It scares me to be happy.I indulge in morbid thoughts that deprive me from attaining unalloyed joy in my life.Am i a coward,i wonder ,at times.Maybe i am.The death of my neighbour's son in a car accident has rattled me.It has shaken me .The plight of the hapless parents pains me. They have nothing to live for,nothing to look forward to and none to wait for.Their only son has been sna...

Elephant woes Kerala’s educated and highly-literate people seem to be on a mission to exterminate the elephant population. The pachyderm is in danger. Yesterday a hapless elephant was electrocuted in Kottayam .The elephant was being transported on a truck. The poor animal hit the low hanging electric cables and died immediately. Every week there are so many cases of elephants dying in extremely tragic and painful circumstances. The elephant is a majestic mammal. It is an animal that arouses our awe and respect. Today elephants have been reduced to mere money-making machines by temples and nefarious elephant owners. Elephants mean big money for many. Providing elephants for temple festivals is a lucrative venture. Elephants are transported from one festival venue to another on top of lorries and trucks. They are tied with ropes and made to stand for hours. The tired elephant is then forced to walk for kilometers and kilometers carrying the deity on its back. Sometimes the journey may la...

Missing the gentle giants Trivandrum is a growing city.Once upon a time it was just a little town sitting pretty on the coastline of the Arabian sea.Tree-lined avenues,majestic red coloured buildings and an earthy old worldly charm rendered this place with a unique flavour of its own.But today my little town is getting to be a little too big for her boots.She is gradually expanding to swallow her quiet suburbs.She is straining to accomodate an ever increasing number of denizens.Her tree-lined avenues are being felled to make way for development.The gentle giants of yester years are being mercilessly chopped down.The destruction is rampant and heartless.It is mindless devastation on a scale i have never witnessed before.Trees on the Palayam,LMS stretch and in the court premises are being felled day after day.All this is being purportedly done for road widening.Well ,broad,wide roads are indeed a blessing for one and all.But why not make an allowance for the gentle giants also.Chennai is...