Mma Ramotswe has a detective agency, that is small but effective. She doesn't have flashy badges or a large team,or unusually difficult cases. She gets a case, she uses her common senses and solves them. There is no thrilling madness to this book. Its a light read that talks about African culture,landscape, a smart woman and her life around her detective agency. Alexander McCall Smith's writing reminds me of Wodehouse, who wrote light reads, but with a wee bit of suspense. Of course this book has its culture and simple sentences that do not mar your concentration. Plus it doesn't require too much of deep thinking. Its wonderful for travel reading, especially if you have a short journey to go for. And best of all, you can do away with unnecessary expectations, because this book is just a simple novel. It doesn't aim to achieve or preach anything, and lets the reading enjoy the process of reading. A good novel that can be enjoyed more by pre-teens . I actually thought I was too old for it. But then again, the book with its refreshing simplicity, made me avoid the critical magnification that I keep doing when I read. Something that I required I guess. A dose of lucidity.
All I had to do was tell the truth----Maya Angelou on writing
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Jab We Met--Worth a Watch!!!
Reason 1: Kareena Kapoor's Best Performance till date
Reason 2: Shahid Kapoor's Best Performance till date((he looks smoking hot!!)
Reason 3: After SRK-Kajol, the best couple chemistry on screen.
Reason 4: Light,Fresh and simple love story...something thats hard to come by these days
Reason 5: Some lessons taught, without the unnecessary preaching
Reason 6: Beautiful Songs(Aao Meelo Chalo is a favourite..hauntingly good!)
Reason 7: Absolutely Wacky Performance by Kareena!
30 minutes of enmity, grudges and sweat....
its begins with mad rush to the door
the stuck dupatta
the handbag that survives a sumo wrestling fight
hair in tangles
perfect end to that crisp, ironed Allen Solly shirt
the sweat and stink..sometimes fragrance
lost in the sea of madness
a set of expletives
each one unique and more crass that the other
the f,m,c,r words
extending to thrashes
'what does she think of herself' yells
4th seat struggle
window seat struggle
any seat struggle
the fun of a semi-empty compartment
the fear of a completely empty compartment
routine life for a Mumbaikar
these 30 minutes of enmity,grudge and sweat..
(Photo: Prasangam on Flickr.)
The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions.--William Scolavino
Monday, November 12, 2007
We the People--Child Labour
Last night's 'We the People' was an interesting one. It was centered around the issue of 'child labour' and frankly speaking I was in two minds about the blurring line between working to feed a family rather than skipping off into nefarious activites or holding guns and the right to a childhood.
But all my doubts were cleared by a guest on the show, a young social worker named Ishaq who worked in a zari factory before joining a cause that rescues young children from zari factories. He spoke extensively about the mental and physical abuse (expletives, negative language, 14 hour workdays) that he had to endure in the zari factories.
here are his thoughts on a variety of subjects related to child labour...very crisp and practical:
On working to support a family:
" if a child works for the first 18 years of his life, what is he going to do for the rest of his life...working is something we all have to do all our lives...a country who's childhood 'earns' the first 18 years of his life, what is he going to do for the remaining years"
On students dropping out of government schools at an early age"
" the reason why students drop out of schools is because the govt doesn't do much. the governments is there because of the people. so the final responsibility rests on us"
On the movement of india as a super power :
"the growth of India is not going to be fulled by a a garbage sweeper or the newspaper boy, but by the child that flies planes ..writes policies etc..for all of that education is required...if the government schools would be world class..you wouldn't need to build private schools"
The episode was complex and touchy , but the views raised were widespread and got a lot of us viewers thinking.
(why ritu kumar was crying is beyond me...if shedding a few tears and showing sympathy is her way of justifying what most designers do with their labour ....I'd say she should cry an ocean)
I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of Life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer day.
~Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"
But all my doubts were cleared by a guest on the show, a young social worker named Ishaq who worked in a zari factory before joining a cause that rescues young children from zari factories. He spoke extensively about the mental and physical abuse (expletives, negative language, 14 hour workdays) that he had to endure in the zari factories.
here are his thoughts on a variety of subjects related to child labour...very crisp and practical:
On working to support a family:
" if a child works for the first 18 years of his life, what is he going to do for the rest of his life...working is something we all have to do all our lives...a country who's childhood 'earns' the first 18 years of his life, what is he going to do for the remaining years"
On students dropping out of government schools at an early age"
" the reason why students drop out of schools is because the govt doesn't do much. the governments is there because of the people. so the final responsibility rests on us"
On the movement of india as a super power :
"the growth of India is not going to be fulled by a a garbage sweeper or the newspaper boy, but by the child that flies planes ..writes policies etc..for all of that education is required...if the government schools would be world class..you wouldn't need to build private schools"
The episode was complex and touchy , but the views raised were widespread and got a lot of us viewers thinking.
(why ritu kumar was crying is beyond me...if shedding a few tears and showing sympathy is her way of justifying what most designers do with their labour ....I'd say she should cry an ocean)
I'd give all wealth that years have piled,
The slow result of Life's decay,
To be once more a little child
For one bright summer day.
~Lewis Carroll, "Solitude"
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