Books for November

Indulging and reading books is one of my favorite hobbies. Not even a hobby, it helps me sustain and grow.

To know about worlds, cultures, animals and people I never could have imagined to visit personally. I would love to read in Indian languages too to broaden my perspective. I have taken the Tamil route first. Would love to explore Hindi. Infact, I have a novel called “Nirmala” written by Premchand in my collection. Any suggestions for Hindi or Tamil books are welcome (Oh ya, English too.)

So here is the list I want to explore this month

1. From Third World to First by Lee Kuan Yew

2. The Upanishads by Sri Aurobindo

3. Hopefully, the Count of Monte Cristo

Happy November reading to all!! May you all find the right books to enjoy this month.

Idea vs. Attitude

I was reading these notes on “Anachronisms” from the Karmayogi.net website.

I came across a sentence that made me think. I am quoting it below:

An idea can be given up more easily than an attitude, as an attitude is the result of emotions endorsing an idea at the stage of an opinion. Going deeper down, an attitude acquires a physical form and becomes rigid

Why are ideas more easily given up than attitudes?

This is an interesting perspective. I have met people with great attitude also have great energy, are more positive and cheerful towards life, have more friends and their life seems brimming with energy. A change in our attitudes can do wonders. I will give an example from a personal experience.

I am a very late riser. It’s the most difficult thing for me to get up before 7 or 8. I had to go to driving classes which started at 5.30am. I was nervous the day before of how I was going to manage it at 5.30am. I then made a resolve, when the alarm rings at 5am, I should get up with a smile and joy rather than curse that the day begins so early. And I couldn’t believe myself, the very next day I got up bright eyed and all cheerful at 5am and went to the class with so much energy. This worked for 9 days of the class. In between there were rains and I got back to my usual habit of getting up late. This attitude is so difficult to persevere.

But with persistence any attitude can be changed. What is your opinion about it? Do change of attitudes result in great results?

Have you given up an idea and found it easier than a change in your attitude? I would love to have answers from you all.

Think and have a great Thursday!!

To be in the flow…

I was reading these notes on Education from the karmayogi.net website. It is the most brilliant, comprehensive & visionary notes I have read on Education so far. Implementing this kind of Education will take India and ultimately the whole society many notches up. I would love to take up each point from the notes and discuss it here on the blog to get fresh ideas and your thoughts on Education.

I would like to discuss one line mentioned in the notes now. It struck me as being so significant to problem-solving.

When a man learns not to think, sufficiently and strongly, and sleeps over that silence for a considerable time, the answer appears in his mind.

My brother and I have discussed about this phenomenon so often. Usually my brother calls it being in the “flow”. You are having a problem in your code, say. You take a break for sometime and don’t think about the problem. Engage yourself in some other interesting activity and you will be surprised to find the answer when you come back to the problem again. My brother tells me he finds this method so effective sometimes. I personally remember one incident where this has happened. I was given an assignment in Lisp during my Masters. I worked very hard on the problem but with no proper outputs. I then shut off my mind from the problem and concentrated on other things. I got into the bus to go to school and was looking out of the window with the IPod plugged in my ears. And all of a sudden, this answer flashes across my head. Really, the whole statement of Lisp that I had to write to make the program work flashed across my mind. I literally ran to my computer lab and tried the sentence and lo, behold I got the right output.

Probably the same principle worked good for Archimedes when he ran out shouting “Eureka” and Newton when the apple fell on his head.

Why not apply the same method to solve our real world problems? I have never tried it before but interested to do it.

Have you had experiences like this? Have you experienced the joy of being in the “flow” i.e., when the answer just comes to you?

What makes this “flow” work? Is it because we clear our minds of the problem, we have much more clarity and clear vision? Would love to know your experiences

The Education Series – I

“Education” is a word that has made me very curious & kindred my interest the past few months.

What is Education? What kind of Education should children get? Is our present system of Education worth it? What is the present context or purpose of Education?

In my search for these answers, I got an idea. Why not make a series of posts on Education and get feedback on it.

My first question to everyone is “What is the present purpose of Education”?

My thoughts: To introduce the child to various subjects, make them cram for higher marks and exams and make them eligible to get a job.

My next question is: “What should be the ideal purpose of Education?“

My thoughts: “To make the child an individual. To make the child capable of understanding life, take decisions, be curious about various subjects (rather than memorise everything), discover answers, be independent, to have enough confidence and wisdom to handle life and people and ultimately help the society for its progress. To make the child rational and intelligent. To help develop their personality.“

My definition would just go on.

I would love to hear from you all.

Once I get all your answers, I will make a comprehensive list of it. With that list, can we make a shift from our present purpose to our ideal purpose? How can we make the shift? What would be the first steps for it? What changes need to be brought in each parent, teacher & school to bring about this change?

Meanwhile, there is a wonderful site:  http://geniuschildren.org/ based on Dr. Glenn Doman’s research to teach a child reading, maths, general knowledge etc. I am sure parents, teachers and educationists will find this site very interesting and informative.

This is a very interesting project I want to kick off. Each thought, step & increase in our awareness will bring greater tides in the society.

With this hope I make my first steps in this Education series.

Freedom of Noise

In India, we enjoy great FREEDOM. No doubt about it. People fight for their freedom. Human Rights, Women’s Rights, Education Bill etc etc all ensure more and more freedom for everyone.

But the greatest of all freedoms we enjoy (probably even as a Basic human right) is the freedom to make as much noise as we want.

I get up at 5a.m in the morning and take a stroll on the roads. The roads are empty with hardly a soul stirring. Even the street dogs are in deep sleep and they feel disturbed having to see a stranger (that’s me) walking so early in the morning. They bark feebly and get back to their cosy sleep.

Everything looks fine and beautiful. The dawn and the dark blue sky are soothing. I feel happy that the earth is engulfed in silence. The clock strikes 6a.m. Lo Behold!! The situation is changed. There is already considerable traffic on the roads. Dogs are full of energy running around barking at their loudest. Mami’s sleepily putting kolams outside. And there  a loud speaker in  a temple which blasts in full volume “Om Burba Vasuva” which keeps repeating atleast a 100 times.

Welcome to the world of Indian noise!!

I return home and dreamily pick up the milk packet and go inside the house. Suddenly I get a jerk. The neighbour “thatha” has turned on the devotional cassette singing “Om Namah Shivay” with so much volume that the whole apartment can hear it. Ofcourse I cannot blame the noble intentions of the thatha to want to “put in some” religious fervour in un-religious people like me.

I am no exception to the rule. My mom says I have such a thunderous laughter that two houses away can easily spot that it was “Ammu’s hysterical laughter”. Then I knew why my neighbours always give me a weird look when I walk on the roads.

How can I forget the phone conversations. People even 10 feet away speaking on phone can be heard easily without much strain. Whoever invented the term “eavesdropping” was definitely not an Indian.

Added to this we have noisy festivals. This Diwali was a “Ear-Opener” for me. I was in deep sleep. A 1000-wala was  lighted by the apartment kids at 6 a.m in the morning right below my room. I jumped out of my bed in a karate pose. (Ya, when I am alone in the house such kind of self-defence behavior just comes to me ). The entire day, I could hear a bomb/cracker going off every 10 minutes. I am NOT joking. If my ears had a feeling, they would have wept copiously that day.

I had gone on a picnic with some kids to “Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary” in the Palakkad district a few weeks back. In those dense forests, teeming wildlife and beauty did I realise “How much NOISE the cities are full of”. We took a trek in the dense Evergreen forests (about a 8 km trail) and we had to maintain the utmost silence to spot a wild animal. It was when I thought, “Silence is beautiful”.

When do we get the freedom of Silence in India?

-|

When I was drowning someone held my hand and pulled me up
Out of the waters I came tired, desolate and miserable
I was angry at the hands that saved me
Sweet and soft hands that tried to give me solace
I refused it. I rejected. I ran to fall again into another river
The hand yet again saved me
I was not angry
I was confused
I, who, did not deserve to live was saved over and over again
It had a meaning
The meaning was found deep in the core of my heart
The meaning was the hands that saved me

______________________________________

On Autobiographies..Yawn

It was the year of 2008. I took up Gandhiji’s much hyped autobiography “My Experiments with Truth“. I started reading it. There was a tear drop on the side of my face. No, no, I was not touched or emotional. I was yawning away so much that my eyes were watering. I kept down the book and snored. Everytime I took the book, I could not read beyond a few pages. The book was “boring”.

I am huge fan of Mahatma Gandhi. But with all due respects to the man, his autobiography was boring.

I returned the book to the library and never dared to take it up again.

Then I took up Agatha Christie’s autobiography. I read upto 150 pages. It was interesting. Yet the book bored me in many ways. I don’t know if it is the fault with me or the autobiography.

I returned even this book to the library. Dint have the courage to take up any other autobiography.

Then I chanced upon a book “Memoirs of a Mediocre Man” by S.Y.Krishnaswamy today. I let out a “wow” when I read the first page. He summarizes what exactly I feel about autobiographies:

“Autobiographies make dull reading, as a rule. The incidents which appear to be of importance to the autobiographer are of scant interest to the general reader. They represent the details of daily life, which are no different for the great from those of ordinary persons. But to the writer, they are of absorbing personal interest. Autobiographies are mostly written in old age. By then, the past becomes pleasant in recollection. The mind distils the events in such a way that trivial incidents assume a falsely romantic hue, and the tendency to eschew the distressing and exaggerate the delightful unconsciously assets itself.”

This led me to think sometimes our blogs or our very own writings are like autobiographies. We sometimes give a romantic hue and exaggeration to the little details of life.

Well, human nature is full of moments of such interest to me.

(Any good autobiography recommendations are welcome at the recommender’s own risk )

Dark recesses of life…

A story told here.

They fell in love. They broke up. They fell in love again and yet again broke up. This cycle continued. They din’t know why they were falling in love with each other and why they were breaking up.

Love was beautiful when they met. Passionate, Sexual, Exciting. The touch of each other’s bodies was a “new” thing. “Love” was purely based on the “next” meeting. Emotional attachment. Misunderstandings. Craving for sex.

One of them wanted an end. The other was forced to oblige. They went on diverse paths. Both not understanding where they would go. Life changed. They tried finding “happiness” in everything else. They wanted “something” to substitute that emptiness left behind. There was an emptiness. There was a void. They were loyal. Atleast one of them was. (It can be the boy or the girl based on your imagination cos it doesn’t matter who was loyal). They were never really apart. Just a facade.

The assumption of “getting back together” came in. One of them resisted it. The other felt hurt. There was lot of confusion, impulses, reactions, words exchanged. But who can understand the turn of the heart?

There was another breaking up. Both sad. But both very happy. Or were they just sad?

A chance meeting. Both of them met like strangers in a crowd. No hand shakes. No touch. No looking into each others eyes. Just a side look. And an aching heart. They left. Never to meet again.

Life interests. They meet again. This time as friends. They touch. Their hands touch. The “look of love” is back. Everything seems rosy. Yet the very next day they go back to their business.

Life again separates them. They live lonely lives. In two different cities. In two different cultures. In two different worlds. Yet something connects them. They find it foolish. Atleast one of them finds it weird.

They are back together emotionally. But why all those events of separation and getting back together? Why din’t they just understand each other? Is it so tough to understand a person? No, its not about understanding another.

It is understanding yourself that’s tough.

(The story may have a second part – Watch out )

Taking credit

I was reading a story from the Volume 1 of Sherlock Holmes. This particular story touched me. Holmes was brilliant as always. The thing that striked me was Holmes was never attached to “fame” or “credit” he got for his work. Infact in the story, the police force approaches him and asks him to give them the credit for the case instead of he taking it. And Holmes gladly gives all the information about the case and the very next day in newspapers it is published that “Police Inspector Mack solved this case brilliantly“.

I was amazed at this quality. I am very attached to my work. I say this is “my” work. This writing was done by “me”. I take credit for whatever I do. I can’t imagine not taking credit for my work or giving the credit to someone else. I want to explore more on this aspect. How can we be so expansive as to merely enjoy our work and not look for credit or recognition and be anonymous like Holmes? Does this help in improving our productivity? [I am not talking here of rewards like money or bonuses - that would be a different topic for discussion]

Is that why hobbies are more interesting because we merely do it for our interest and pleasure and don’t look for somebody’s recognition?

I would love to hear your inputs

Meeting people…

One of the most exciting aspects about being in U.S was meeting people from different countries. On my flight back to India, in the connecting flight from Birmingham to Chicago, a blue-eyed, soft featured, mid twenties man sat next to me. I was kind of tired having got up early so I put my head down on the “food tray” in front of me and slept. The flight duration was 2 hours. I got up after an hour and looked around dreamy-eyed. The man next to me had a sweet smile on his face.

He asked “Which country are you from?“

I replied “India“

His face brightened up and he said: “Wow, I have always wanted to visit India. I have heard it’s a beautiful place. Tell me more about it. Any places I can visit. Which part of India are you from?”

I went on a long explanation (in my characteristic way) about Hyderabad. And then clueless of what places to suggest to him, I asked him what kind of places he would like to visit and asked which part of U.S was he from.

He replied that he was a Canadian and came down to U.S to visit his sister and brother-in-law for Christmas. He said he would love to visit any good place in India.

I was still clueless what to tell him. I told him probably he should like some places in Kerala, Goa. He took out his paper and pen and asked me to write those places down for him. I wrote it down. He then mentioned about Himalayas. There comes the problem. I told him sheepishly, I haven’t myself been anywhere near to the Himalayan ranges but I mentioned to him that I have heard the places around like Ladakh, Leh were supposed to be beautiful.

He was just so happy to talk to an Indian and know about India. I have noticed this pleasure and happiness in people I have to met to know and talk about a new culture. Our conversations continued with he asking about my college, future plans and I asking about life in Canada, the government they have, the climate there etc and there the flight landed in Chicago. We shook hands and departed. I can’t even recollect his name.

These glimpses of “short meetings” stay in my memory for long. They make my life beautiful and I realise life is a journey and it keeps going on.