Ive been going around in a mild state of aimlessness. Ooty in the monsoons can bring that on tremendously compounded by not having anything much to do. Of course there is always the house to keep cleaner and trying to write the great novel .
Lao, Tao, the Geetha and everyone worth quoting says 'Give up your inner self. Just be. Surrender'. Seems easy but then one has to concentrate on that. Fight those feelings of ennui that grip as darkness creeps in.
Probably next week or next month or next year when Im swamped by Things to Do then I will look back on this period with nostalgia. What bliss to have nothing to Do and I didn't realise it. Like my sis says, You re lucky to be bored!
Whom did I read this week?
Ruth Rendell: Lots of description of buildings and parks in London which I skipped. She's into the mind of the tramp who prefers to stay outdoors. Her stories are sometimes creepy but end with a jolt.
Chaim Potok: The Chosen Dr.Chaim Potok gives an insight in to Jewish minds and a lot of Jewish history. But the characters with their thirst for knowledge and the inner life: they astound. There is one incident where a player throws a stinger ball at the batsman in a baseball game. It hits him in the eye and he is hospitalised. When the pitcher comes to apologise, he says you were supposed to duck, why didn't you? And the hitter says I didnt want to. The recognition of the subtleties in life.. that's great.
Shashi Tharoor: Bookless in Baghdad. A collection of his essays. Not really great writing like his novels which I like but very much a reflection of Indian education of my generation. Odes to Pg Wodehouse. Talk of riots and Mahabhartha.
Reading the geetha where Krishna tells Arjuna to fight. But here, Tharoor says the Mahabaratha ends with a call for pacifism!
Makes me want to reread Great Indian Novel and Show Biz which was about AB really altho he denies it.
Margaret Atwood: A writer with great craft and such an eye for detail. But I'm skipping through it. Not in the mood.
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