Two books by J M Coetzee ,Vintage

Youth 

Youth is a story about a young man who leaves his home in South Africa and comes to England to study .The protagonist dreams of becoming an artist but gets entangled into living a solid life – regular  job , assignments , home .Solidity is his Achilles Heels. He initially joins IBM. But IBM he can swear, is killing him, turning him into a zombie. He is in the world of business and in the world of business one does not need to be polite. He quits  IBM . Works for another computer company which allows some scope for creativity and innovation .He discovers something outside American culture which was their staple food in South Africa. I was pleasantly surprised to discover references to India and Indian culture . He watches and experiences the magic of  Ray’s Apu  trilogy  – the music grips him. He explores further and is enchanted by Ustad Vilayat khan’s music.

He makes Indian friends. He dines with a South Indian couple .Meets Ganapathy the computer wizard who is too lazy to cook and eats bananas to survive .

There is lot of confusion about love ,sex ,life .The young man finds no real passion for any woman and gets involved in casual relationships  which frustrate him. “ If he is a mystery to himself how can he be anything but a mystery to others. “

Youth is part autobiographical and recounts the author's early days in England.

Life and times of Michael K 

Set in South Africa torn  by civil war  this  is the  story of Michael K a man born with a hare lip who is an object of pity and ridicule. Michael tries to take his ailing mother away from the city to the countryside where she was born . She dies on the way and Michael is left all alone in the world. She was the only person he loved in this world and the narrative captures beautiful moments of his many valiant efforts to make his mother happy. For example he slogs hard to make a cart which  he uses to take his sick mother around and to travel  from one place to another. After his mother’s death Michael is on his own and wants nothing from anyone but society will not allow him to do so. He is arrested several times and placed in camps , confinements but escapes to live life on his own terms. No papers, no  money, no family , no friends, no sense of who you are- the obscurest of the obscure – so obscure as to be a prodigy-that is what he is. Yet  he survives the war and lives in a world of his own . He is a simpleton but fiercely defends his independence . “People like Michaels are in touch with things you and I don’t understand”

The book won the Booker Prize in 1983.

Coetzee tries to explore the inner world of man in both the works. The language is simple and lucid .He won the Nobel Prize in 2003 and the Booker twice .

Ref:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._M._Coetzee

What is Hinduism /Mahatma Gandhi, National Book Trust India, 1994

This book was published on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Gandhiji . Published on behalf of the Indian Council of Historical Research the book is a selection of articles drawn from Young India ,Harijan and Navajivan . I thought of writing about this book because this is one of the most simplest and easiest book I have read on the theme till date.I must confess I have read very little . For people like me who are not scholars but are interested in knowing more about our culture it is difficult to find a relevant book that is not too burdened with scholarly expositions.


The chapter explaining the opening lines of Isa , incidentally my favourite quote and a goal I would like to achieve in life , is the best I have read. Gandhiji speaks straight from the heart. His pride in his faith is evident from the articles . Essence of hinduism is in its all inclusiveness. Many ancient civilisations have died but the hindu way of life still survives and the culture still fascinates many foreigners and Indians alike. A British gentleman who was in Kolkata this week for the first time had a glimpse of the excitement in the city around Durga Puja and was simply astounded. He kept on saying he had witnessed living art in the manner pandals were being made which he called "art installations". This year Germans are involved in the planning and designing of Ekdalia Evergreen Club's Puja.

Gandhiji's writings carry this essential spirit of the Indian culture in words which ordinary people can follow easily.He writes about equality of religions, non-violence being common to all religions, his conviction that God is, that Truth is God, about the message of Gita and it’s Ideal, about Hinduism and why he has chosen to remain a Hindu. Some of the extracts are from his daily discourses and retain the conversational style which makes you feel you are listening to the great man directly. I also liked the very practical nature of the messages which gels with the thought process of a modern sceptical mind. It is a 119 page book with 43 chapters .It is a good publication to possess and read and to reread.

Srimanta Sankaradeva by Dr Bimal Phukan

A couple of weeks back I was informed by my colleague that we had a visitor from Kaziranga Books, Assam who wanted to see the librarian personally. Usually I tend to ignore such requests often sending a message through the security that our libraries do not keep local publications. However this time I decided to go and meet this person in the café where he was waiting for a while.I have a soft corner for Assam since my mother's family were domiciled Bengalees from the state. I was greeted by a dignified elderly gentleman in his seventies. Mr Satya Brata Saikia was carrying a copy of “Srimanta Sankaradeva” written by Dr Bimal Phukan . It was a pleasure talking to him.

Mr Saikia was a much travelled man .He had earned lot of wealth in his lifetime .His wife had died of cancer and he had given up everything to nurse her in her final hours. Thereafter he was on a mission to spread Sankaradeva’s words beyond Assam to all corners of the world. Sankaradeva was a Vaishnava saint who had transformed Assamese spiritual life in the 15th /16th centuries. He was not so well known in other parts of India .Sankaradeva preached a monotheistic philosophy.

The book is beautifully designed and printed on high quality paper. There are rare photographs and illustrations of Assamese religious life and culture. The book describes the monastic institution of Xatras and their activities. Written in simple style the book gives an interesting insight into Sankaradeva’s multifaceted life, works and teachings .It also tries to depict some of the practices of vaishnavites.

The writer Dr Phukan is an engineer by profession .The foreword has been written by Amjad Ali Khan, the great sarod player. Published by Kaziranga Books the book is an important addition to the rich treasure of religious literature of India.
(For more information contact  kazbooks68@gmail.com )

Geek Nation : How Indian Science is taking over the world by Angela Saini

Angela Saini is an award winning  young science journalist based in  UK. The book is a record of her impressions and observations on her various visits to Indian scientific and technical institutions. It is a journalist's impression and she writes with enthusiasm.
I enjoyed reading the book .The content is interesting and not too geeky though the writer hops from one geek world to another. This is a book on changing India and the realm is science. At the moment anyone and everyone seems to be interested in India . Indians and non- Indians are equally involved in the debate around India’s emerging position as a global power. Some of the chapters are quite informative and you get to know the views of some very interesting geeks. The writer does not make too many critical comments and the observations are pretty open-ended without trying to draw any definitive conclusion on sensitive issues. It is a good read .I personally got to know about some of the great work being done with e-governance , agriculture and farming in different states of India. The stories around innovations and progress in IT are pretty hackneyed by now . But very few people are aware about the achievements in other disciplines .

I found the chapters on Vaimanika Shastra pretty amusing .I  have not seen any reference to the document in any contemporary writing I have come across.

In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce

http://www.amazon.com/Spite-Gods-Rise-Modern-India/dp/1400079772
I read Luce's remarkable book after coming across a reference in Tharoor's book "The Elephant,the tiger and the cellphone". It is absolutely mesmerising.Well researched , well documented it presents India in a most interesting and unbiased manner.As an Indian I did not once feel hurt or unduly elated by any of the facts presented so lucidly by Luce. There was lot for me to learn , details ,facts, perceptions which I would not have discovered otherwise. The prose is simple and easy to read. I felt it was a book more for people who knew India well .People who would be able to understand the complex issues discussed and described so lovingly. Luce's fascination for the subject is unmistakeable.