online or offline …a good teacher is always good

 

My position paper on Dreyfus’ ” On the Internet” got me thinking about all the teachers in school i adored and some i really looked up to. I still seek inspiration from them , even though it has been so long. the book got me thinking if this  would any be different…if i were a on-line student.  one thing I know for sure is that,  it would surely be less enjoyable  :-) …but i really don’t think they wouldn’t have been able to pass on the inspiration and charm through cmc.

how often than not, we get inspired by the written word in books, on the Internet, a famous quote…i guess, more frequently than face to face interaction. the impact is less in a personal interaction, we notice so many unnecessary things like clothes, looks, hair , accent…dialogue and emotions usually take the back seat. our judgement gets blurred by the things on the outside, the superficial.

 Everyone needs a little help once in a while, we turn to books, friends, family, religion…i usually turn to my thoughts …dig really deep…go to a time and place where everything was rosy and bright. I think of happy thoughts and pull myself back to the present. it helps me feel rejuvenated and hopeful that i can bring back times…

ML was inspiring too, she was one of the kindest of lot. I haven’t come across a lot of people who have a position of authority and are still so humble, friendly and adjusting. hope the very best for her ! Like her most for the 10 by 10 she gave me…I needed that kind of boost in my first term at college.

Only if she would decide to give full marks for the research and position paper ! DD

whats the harm in being hopeful !

Death of Humour

 

I read ‘The death of Vishnu’ last month. It is a difficult book to comment on! not that it is thought provoking , infact it is funny. but the images of vishnu and other references to god made me uncomfortable. I consider myself quite liberal and tacky humour and spirituality dont gel together. nonetheless, a good book …has its moments, but then, they are immidiately killed by insensitive and incessant ( though subtle) mockery of hindu mythology. I have read another book like the the life of Pi, where reference to god, religion and spirituality is in abundance but it did not make me edgy …infact it got me thinking about it. 

A Whisper from Alcott

Read “A Whisper in the dark” by Louisa May Alcott.  It was published last year as it was denied publication in her lifetime.  these adult fiction stories are very different from her previous/more popular works ( children’s classics) but are still very engaging, infact very sensational even for this day and age. Most of the stories have characters which defy the usual moral high-ground and at times, reflect her yearning for an adventurous and high society life. Well, she wrote my first favourite book – little women …it is still one of my favorites. And i know I am not the only one……

Unaccustomed earth

Unaccustomed earth – another book by Khumpa Lahiri….yet another simple, eloquent and well narrated story in her typical bengali family setting. Though, one might sit and wonder if lahiri is capable of writing something other than stories about middle-class- bengali -immigrants….there is no doubt that the she is best when it comes to writing immigrant stories. The confusion, the conflict, the problems they face…their journeys , their lives, their emotions. narration is lucid while the language is simple – in signature lahiri style. the stories are good and they dont leave you feeling like you hav been cut off midway or left in the cold , like most short stories. it is a good read …worth buying – buy it from amazon and l save yourself some money.

In search of a good book

My new year resolution ( to read a book every month) took off really well this year – thankz khalid huessini’s Kite runner. Since then, I haven’t been able to find a book which would make me look beyond that one….I tried to read a couple of classics…but just like the way classics are – they tend to take you another time which is stimulating but can also get boring. The Victorian age was such a dull period esp. for women. So pretentious and lacking in substance…accessorizing people esp. women as if they were for a show. Emotions, feelings were not talked about, it was all about appearances. Well, it still is …but at least now we make an effort to look beyond it.
Anyway, I read…Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte , the lesser know of the Bronte sisters. While the narration is good and story lacks pace…one does not expect the life of a governess to be very exciting but at the same time, the lack of any kind of happenings in her personal life irked me. It is gloomy which might not be an undesirable trait in a book but the pace and issues covered in the book never changes…the author keeps talking about her students …and how she tried (unsuccessfully) to reform them. Anyhow, I pride myself on the fact that I read a classic and managed to improve my knowledge of the Victorian age….which in turn made me appreciate the kind of freedom we; women enjoy in this age !!

“There is a way to be good again…’

 

I saw the kite runner at a cafe, liked the back cover but didn’t like the price much. Later, this year on our annual trip across the seas, I happen to find this book again – this time on a  road side book stall …and this time I could not resist it. The day I started reading this book - I wanted to read it all….I would read it all the time – eating, sitting with my family, in bed and when I was not reading  - I did not cease to think about it. The book followed me everywhere and its characters; Amir and Hassan haunted me.  There is a little bit of Amir in all of us…while we always hope & pretend to be hassan.

The Kite Runner tells the story Amir and Hassan, two childhood best friends in Kabul, divided by class and ethnicity. It is the story of their life, and how they are bound together by love and birth. The author Khalid Hosseini manages to provide an educational account of a country’s history, culture and political turmoil while narrating a story which  touches your heart.

The narration is lucid and very detailed. All the characters come to life and you cant help but feel one amongst them. You will not be able to put his book down until the last page has been turned. This book is everything you ever want a book to be !!

(Jan 2008 )