For a change, writing a post on a working day. Being the last quarter of the year, the festive mood has already sinked in and it would be just to say that I have relatively less or no work in office :) I usually do not pen my thoughts in office considering the mayhem that exists in the cubicles; but its fine once in a while to attempt such odd things.
The weekend which went by was fairly fine with me gorging a wonderfully captured coffee-table book on "India". Had been to Bangalore Book Festival - an annual literary conglomerate exhibiting various publication houses, their multilingual books and overall jaunty literary atmosphere. Actually, its in Bangalore that I have noticed a positively surprising phenomenon. People literally take baskets in book fairs to carry the huge pile of books that they intend to buy :) For once commodity items (mall special) are being replaced by books..Great... I always knew it was a city of voracious readers and these sights only reaffirmed the same. Bought this book on India (on a relatively cheaper scale), it was a visual treat to some extent as is always promised by these travel books. Some prolific images and insights of the rich heritage and geographical wonders that our country has to offer! And some equally repelling sights of the disparities that exist here...Sigh!!! Incredible India - Government of India's official tourism campaign has left no stone unturned in promoting the country's myriad colors, state-wise promotions, highlights on major attractions. The germ of photo-journalism in me forced me to think once again of the contrasts that our country has to offer for the enthusiastic traveller.
Came across a short-story contest with a deadline in March 2010. So toying with a suitable idea for the same. Last year, I had attempted an entry for Deccan Herald but to no avail :( It made me reassess my story writing skills. Happened to be wandering over the Internet yesterday, when I came across a newly introduced distance learning course from St.Xavier's College, Mumbai. Might take up this creative Short-Story writing course to understand the minute subtleties of writing one... The twists, suspense factor, creativity, surprise elements, coherent flow, all needed to be just perfect and to set the tempo going for the avid reader.
Media has once again taken to capturing the most heinous anniversary in recent times. As 26/11 approaches nearer, one can only remember vividly the doomsday which loomed over us last year. Saw some reminiscences shared by the survivors as they recollected their fate on NDTV last evening. Couldn't help but recollect how we were glued to the television sets and were left mouth-gaping at the shocking sequence of incidents that shook our self-confidence.I doubt, even if today something like this were to re-occur, it would be on the same or perhaps more gory scale. Absolutely no lessons learnt...the rallies, polls and mass appeals remained for the fizz of the moment.We are known for celebrating the anniversaries of such occassions year after year; but whether they really do bring about any significant change in our lives is left questionable. We have got used to seeing and watching the drama as it unfolds when we least expect it. Dont know what to say more. Feels empathetic towards the victims as they struggled their last moments for no fault of theirs. May their souls rest in peace...We could have been there too...Who knows? May we get the strength to have a definete stand on this one problem which remains as a Damocles sword (a stark antithesis to India shining) dangling over our head and help us reorient our fear into action!!!
The weekend which went by was fairly fine with me gorging a wonderfully captured coffee-table book on "India". Had been to Bangalore Book Festival - an annual literary conglomerate exhibiting various publication houses, their multilingual books and overall jaunty literary atmosphere. Actually, its in Bangalore that I have noticed a positively surprising phenomenon. People literally take baskets in book fairs to carry the huge pile of books that they intend to buy :) For once commodity items (mall special) are being replaced by books..Great... I always knew it was a city of voracious readers and these sights only reaffirmed the same. Bought this book on India (on a relatively cheaper scale), it was a visual treat to some extent as is always promised by these travel books. Some prolific images and insights of the rich heritage and geographical wonders that our country has to offer! And some equally repelling sights of the disparities that exist here...Sigh!!! Incredible India - Government of India's official tourism campaign has left no stone unturned in promoting the country's myriad colors, state-wise promotions, highlights on major attractions. The germ of photo-journalism in me forced me to think once again of the contrasts that our country has to offer for the enthusiastic traveller.
Came across a short-story contest with a deadline in March 2010. So toying with a suitable idea for the same. Last year, I had attempted an entry for Deccan Herald but to no avail :( It made me reassess my story writing skills. Happened to be wandering over the Internet yesterday, when I came across a newly introduced distance learning course from St.Xavier's College, Mumbai. Might take up this creative Short-Story writing course to understand the minute subtleties of writing one... The twists, suspense factor, creativity, surprise elements, coherent flow, all needed to be just perfect and to set the tempo going for the avid reader.
Media has once again taken to capturing the most heinous anniversary in recent times. As 26/11 approaches nearer, one can only remember vividly the doomsday which loomed over us last year. Saw some reminiscences shared by the survivors as they recollected their fate on NDTV last evening. Couldn't help but recollect how we were glued to the television sets and were left mouth-gaping at the shocking sequence of incidents that shook our self-confidence.I doubt, even if today something like this were to re-occur, it would be on the same or perhaps more gory scale. Absolutely no lessons learnt...the rallies, polls and mass appeals remained for the fizz of the moment.We are known for celebrating the anniversaries of such occassions year after year; but whether they really do bring about any significant change in our lives is left questionable. We have got used to seeing and watching the drama as it unfolds when we least expect it. Dont know what to say more. Feels empathetic towards the victims as they struggled their last moments for no fault of theirs. May their souls rest in peace...We could have been there too...Who knows? May we get the strength to have a definete stand on this one problem which remains as a Damocles sword (a stark antithesis to India shining) dangling over our head and help us reorient our fear into action!!!
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