Saturday, January 26, 2019

Book Review - Poi Maan Karadu, Kalki R. Krishnamurthy

Poi Maan Karadu, Kalki (Image Source - Google)
A banyan tree inspires awe - be it in its own majestic size or in the pruned bonsai form. Authors like Kalki R. Krishnamurthy are like banyan trees in the Indian literary scene. I was quite surprised that a genius mind that churned out grand classics like 'Ponniyin Selvan' (The Son of Ponni) and 'Sivakamiyin Sabatham' (The Vow of Sivakami), spanning a thousand pages or even more, could write such a crisp and pocket-sized novel, in no way second to those grand works in terms of quality or fun.

This novella is a comic thriller that tells the story of Sengoda Koundar, who has earned some money through hard work and is so obsessed about it. Sempavalavalli is his lady love. Just as they express their love for one another and plan to get married, there arrives Kumari Pankaja, charming and suave, making Sengodan's mind waver a bit. But accompanying Pankaja are two of his relatives, who seem to be having nefarious intentions. What were their intentions? Did Sengoda Koundar fall prey to their wiles? Did he marry his lady love? What happened to his money? This book answers all these questions in typical Kalki style - fluid, quick-paced, interesting and entertaining.

A nice little appetizer ahead of all the serious reads planned for this year!

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Book Review – Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life, Jon Lee Anderson

‘What a man can be, he must be’

Che Guevara - A Revolutionary Life, Jon Lee Anderson (Image Source - Amazon.in)
Those were the words of American psychologist Abraham Maslow, a contemporary of Ernesto Guevara de la Serna-Lynch or, simply, ‘Che’. Little could have Maslow known then that a man would rise to global renown from the southernmost part of his own continent, trying to be what he could be – a revolutionary of the highest caliber. And in the process, that man would become one of the most dangerous enemies of Maslow’s homeland.

Che is relevant to Maslow for another reason too. In transforming himself from a radical reformist of one region into a global revolutionary, Che upturned Maslow’s famed pyramid of human needs. For Che, his socialist cause, self-actualization through Revolution, was the most primitive need while food, sleep, love of friends and family, or even personal safety, did all become luxuries. Power and position did not even figure in his scheme of things. Such was his commitment that he spurned all imaginable comforts like an ascetic, missed the opportunity to be with his dying mother, gave up the pleasures of being a doting father, a loving husband. All because he wanted to uplift the downtrodden and destitute, no matter which part of the world they belonged to.

There are people who adopt a cause and devote their lives to it. Then there are some who are born destined for the cause. Ernesto Che Guevara belongs to the latter category. His romantic passion towards his socialistic cause, the sheer determination with which he went about achieving it despite opposition from even closer quarters are all lessons for ages of young minds to come. This biography by Jon Lee Anderson is a comprehensive guide to understanding Che and his ways.

Writing the biography of any famous figure, let alone that of someone as charismatic as Che Guevara, is a tough task. Be too overawed by the person, the book runs the risk of becoming a hagiography. Be too distanced, one ends up presenting a dry tome, listing the chronological order of events. It takes a rare mind to treat the subject with respect and at the same time present a faithful perspective. Jon Lee Anderson manages to it pull off. Che is presented as he was, playful as a youngster, one who did sow his wild oats, flirting around, having casual flings, playful and funny. His maturing as a rebel, growth in his social consciousness that was assisted in great measure by his motorcycle journeys across the continent, first by himself and then with his friend Alberto Granado have all been presented in great measure. Che’s gradual pull into the volatile political situation of Central America, his introduction to Fidel, their collaboration in the guerilla war to liberate Cuba, Che’s ascension to the role of Minister of Industries, his life during those calm (before the storm) days in Cuba, his eventual return to the field – literally – to spread revolution around the world, the debacle at Congo, and the tragic-but-glorious end at the nondescript Bolivian village of La Higuera are all laid out in such detail that one can only wonder whether Jon Lee Anderson was present in the times of Che, documenting history as it unraveled. Tremendous efforts and research have gone into this book.

Che was a man so ahead of his time, just like every great human being that came before him. Like those great minds, political or otherwise, he had ideas that were too progressive to be grasped by his contemporaries. He was revered by many, feared by many more, loved by a lot of people, hated by equally so many, praised by multitude but understood completely by very few. Like the many heroes before him, he understood his strengths, realized his weaknesses, pushed his companions to emulate his strengths, strived to overcome his weaknesses, and led by being a shining example. Simply put, he practiced what he preached.

It won’t be a blasphemy, though an irony, to compare Che with Jesus Christ. Both men were born ahead of their times, amidst people too narrow-minded to think about purposes greater than themselves, hoped that the people around them would see the worth of their arguments, wanted to make humans realize their potential and become better, but in the end were left to carry the cross for the sins of people that were too petty-minded and incapable of appreciating their worth. While one man tried to achieve mass deliverance through love and peace, the other chose to use bullets. In the end, betrayal by their own people took them both to their graves. One emerged from his grave three days later and went on to become a god. The other took three decades and has attained an almost equal mystical status amidst droves of youngsters, even amongst those that don’t even know his complete name.

Whether Che’s methods were right or wrong is a topic for debate. But his place in the pages of human history, as a persona that future generations can look up to, is undisputed. This unbiased, authentic work by Jon Lee Anderson is an ultimate guide to that Heroic Guerilla’s life and times, as good as any autobiography that Che himself could have written. Must read, must own.

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Book Review - Copycat Marketing 101, Burke Hedges

When a friend of mine recently gifted me this book, I was hoping that this would be a nice little appetizer for the serious reading in the days ahead. Surfing through the first few page, I found them to be interesting too. But, as the pages progressed, all that hope and interest gave way to boredom and a sense of annoyance.

A potpourri of sorts, this book tries to be many things at once - self-help, business, finance, and finally and mainly, network marketing. The author emphasizes on network marketing as one of the trusted ways to become rich quick and on one's own terms. As if we haven't heard it all from those impassioned distributors trying to enroll us into their pyramid selling. In fact, a simple Google search will tell you that there have been people who have become millionaires through this mode, but this is not for everyone and not for everywhere.

Filled with anecdotes, jokes and a few inspirational quotes, this book is really for those people who are frantically searching for ways and means to become rich quick. And, if you take away those quotes, anecdotes and jokes, the rest of the book could be presented neatly in two A4-sized sheets. As for the serious readers, I wouldn't recommend this for any reason.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Happy New Year 2019!

Happy New Year 2019! (Image Source - https://cdn4.vectorstock.com/i/1000x1000/11/43/happy-new-year-2019-vector-20931143.jpg)
We humans have this tendency to demarcate our lives and celebrate it in so many ways. Festivals to flaunt our emotions, celebrations to mark the changing of seasons, commemoration days to remember the legends that walked amongst us, religious rituals, birthdays, anniversaries and what not! Today, the beginning of a New Year, is one such day that we all look forward to. Staying awake till midnight to see the clock hands converge, feeling the the end of one old, huge chunk of time and the arrival of a new, fresh phase, sharing good wishes with friends and relatives through calls and messages, falling asleep with buzzing minds are all things that make our new year celebrations.

But, apart from the change in calendars and diaries, and a holiday to spend away from the grind of our day-to-day lives, what else is special about this day? Just as I sat contemplating this question today, I found my mind returning to one answer again and again – Hope. It is hope that marks and makes this day special for us humans.

Seen through the glasses of pragmatism, today is in no way different from yesterday and nor from our morrows. The same Sun came up from the same direction. Our lives and daily activities do all take place in the same fashion. But there is something clearly visible in the faces and behavior of every person that we come across today. It is the gleam of hope - Hope that this year, this man-made chunk of Time, is going to be different from all the rest that went ahead of it. The hope that this year will be the one in which most, if not all, of our dreams are going to come true. The hope of being able to live our days to the fullest from now onwards, staying true to our ‘resolutions’. Hope that we will be spared of all the travails and turmoil that made our lives difficult in the days gone by. Hope of feeling peace and happiness in the next 365 days to follow.

As the hours tick away from the first day of this new year, here is my wish for you –

'Without letting it slip away when you begin the day tomorrow, may you keep that hope pinned to your hearts. Let that hope produce abundant positive emotions and energy within you. May that hope guide you towards your dreams and help you achieve your goals. May that hope lift you high and place you all at the high pedestals of life. May that hope fill you with good health and humour. May that hope spread among your friends and families, fill their hearts to the brim and make them spend the next twelve months in good health, immense peace, boundless joy, blessed with all the positive bounties of life.'

May you all have a blessed and blissful 2019!

Happy New Year 2024!

As the first Sun of 2024 went back home, I was busy preparing my new diary and journal, packing off the old ones to their crammed space insi...