chaotic order

Karna - symbol of a paradox. Among all epics the world over, none displays the wide variety of characters, situations, human frailties and intense drama as the Mahabharata does. I recently read an admirable translation by Robert Fitzgerald of Iliad and odyssey; I loved it for its sheer energy and action, but I must confess that it does not equal the scope and breadth of Mahabharata. Even in condensed form such as in the work of Sir Rajagopalachari, at least a hundred characters are packed, a thousand stories and sub stories are woven, and million morals, ethics, wise idioms injected. What to speak then of its original length and breadth. In its rudimentary Sanskrit form, it runs into fifteen printed volumes. Legend has it that in its pages, one would find every character reflected, every psychological nuance explored and almost every human paradox mentioned or solved. This may be a true claim. I am not the best judge of it. But it is certain that it does contain some of the most in

Anthony Burgess’s “Earthly Powers” - A masterly work of literary fiction. There are authors whose books cannot be read at one go; even though the temptation is compelling to do so. It is not so much the story that grips, but the peerless prose and structure of the work itself. The author is in supreme command of his craft carving out sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph of incandescent description, precise dialogues, succinct emotional undertones and a sublime understanding of the art of writing itself. My tryst with literature is an old one; and in the course of my reading I have had the privilege of relishing works by several established and acclaimed masters; and many times discovered few unknown gems as well. The purpose of this essay though is to talk briefly about a book that I just put down: "Earthly powers" by Anthony burgess. Before I get to that; I must say a few words on how I was introduced to Anthony Burgess. A year and a half ago, I watched S

The Blonde story.. What is it about Blondes? I remember reading Annete Kuhn, a respected feminist critique of films define three types of Blonde stereotypes that have profoundly affected western culture’s perception of women with light or yellow colored hair: a. Ice-cold Blonde: a blonde who hides a fire beneath an exterior of coldness. b. Blonde bombshell: a blonde with explosive sexuality and is available to men at a price. c. Dumb blonde: a blonde with an overt and natural sexuality and a profound manifestation of ignorance. The common denominator running through all three categories is that Blondes are physically stunning, and no man can pretend to turn away his face from her without casting a surreptiously glance at her magnetic attraction, or experiencing a soul cuddling desire to possess her. A blonde girl with a buxom body coupled with deep blue eyes attracts Male attention like no other category of the feminine sex. Something to do with genetics, I guess…Male testoster

Two sets of Air attendants with two different kinds of values they bring to the job: On my way to Melbourne, I travelled Virgin Australia- manned by some of the finest young ladies in the business: Immaculately dressed in red, glowing complexion, beautiful, smart, well groomed, eyes glimmering with fierce pride and a gait that exuded raw confidence in their own selves, professional by the book with a not an extra glance or word more, sticking punctually to their codified schedules with robotic rigor... And on my return journey , I was on a Delta flight operated by mature (many of them old) ladies whose eyes spoke of little weariness and lots of experience; tolerant, going about their job with a practiced and unpretentious ease - smiling without reservations, patting someone’s back with natural maternal affection, spending extra time with young mothers whispering sweet nothings to their kids; gently chastising self-absorbed husbands, walking down the aisle regularly(out of schedule..)

What can be more pleasurable, intellectually stimulating than spending an evening with one of the brightest, enterprising and mercurial software brains that I know of in a nightclub (colloquially called a Strip bar) with garrulous laughter all around me; naked sultry girls and boys hanging, gyrating and lasciviously leaning over a pole; Sweaty bodies meandering aimlessly in the midst of swirling intoxicating music; alcohol flowing in thick density lowering inhibitions and heightening passion - and here we were, Bill (name changed) and me, holding a can of coke in our hands and talking over the mystic lure of programming and idealistic abstractions of Spinoza’s “Ethics”. Bill is a MIT drop out. Nearly six foot tall, in his mid-forties: he began his tryst with programming in a small gaming company in Silicon Valley – disgruntled soon enough; joined a music band and played the electric guitar for a while before his inner urge to code drew him again to take up a developer position in a

Aruna Shanbaug - a life ends.. In the annals of legal and Medical history in India, a tragic chapter came to a calm end outside an isolated room in Ward 4, Edward memorial Hospital Mumbai. Aruna Shanbaug died today of pneumonia - Death finally relieving her frail body of the burden of having to continue existing. She has remained in vegetative state for 42 years without the slightest indication of recuperation. Besides breathing, defecating and being fed like a baby, there was nothing else in her mortal frame that could be constituted as living or life. Yet, she tenaciously persisted under the loving care of Hospital nurses for these long agonizing decades with not an iota of hope or respite. Though Government bureaucracy made three futile attempts in the last three decades to evict her from the bed she was occupying unproductively, the adamancy of the nurses, support of resident doctors - made it impossible for anyone to so much lay a finger upon her. They took care of her with a

What is it about Richard Gere that makes him likeable? Is it his unpretentious looks, sparkle in his eyes... or the gentle curvy dimple that blends his smile into a moments of guileless innocence; could it be those wavy strands of blonde hair that falls gently over his face and neck like beads of snowflakes enveloping a beloved prince- conferring upon him an attitude of debonair manliness; or could it just be his “masculine” presence on screen that make directors believe a movie with him is a sure road to commercial success..? Or could it be his Buddhistic leanings that give an edge of spiritual poise to his actions on screen. I am baffled. For a lover of this art form, it defies all logic that a man who is bereft of any acting talent could actually have held sway over an industry where “real” talent is everything. One thing is clear though: All his leading ladies bask in his reflected glory. From Julia Roberts to Debra wingers to Jennifer Lopez’s to Wynona Ryder’s - all of them ti