8
Most of the scholars are like feudal landlords.For them knowledge is either like acquired wealth or inherited property which gives them the authority to advise,scold and punish others who undergo the innumerable pains and problems inseparable from any sort of creative writing,painting and the like.Even the spirit of genuine research is beyond their comprehension.The greed and haste of these scholars to exhibit their insolence is repusively ugly.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
SARITA MANDANNA'S 'TIGER HILLS'
7
Sarita Mandanna’s debut novel 'Tiger Hills' is not a great literary work . It has many shortcomings.The diction is often loaded with sterile phrases and usages. Characterization lacks density in many situations. Narration also is at times disappointingly flat and crude. These are all totally adverse comments,Iknow.But the fact remains that I enjoyed reading the novel. I have an irrational love for everything related to coorg.The landscape of Coorg always gives me the feeling that my soul really belongs to this mystic land.When I get down at Veerajpet or Gonikoppa from Thalassery Mysore bus and move a few steps to interior areas I feel as if reaching back the land of my childhood left far behind.'Tiger Hills' gave me that indescribable and infatuating experience.'Tiger Hills' is even otherwise a literary work which can legitimate it’s being without such personal considerations on the part of readers like me.It takes you to so many nuances of coorg life and landscape The period described in the novel extends only upto the fourth decade of 20th century.But the incidents and details along which the plot moves forward take with them the ethos of present day coorg life, with wonderful ease.And of course there are some unique elements in the construction of plot and in the depiction of some areas of the inner life of characters.These things deserve detailed discussion and anaysis.Irresponsible comments like ‘Tiger Hills is nothing but a triangular love story’ ,should not be taken seriously.In grading the novel people may take diametrically opposite stands.That is a different thing.The inner thirsts, agony and pleasures of creativity quite explicit in this work ,of course, demand serious conideration from readers.In future writers with deeper insight and strong visions may spring up from Coorg.We can expect works with far more literay merit from them.But 'Tiger Hills' will continue to attract generations of readers.The cretive usage of ethnic and anthropological details of Coorg in the novel will always be a great source of inspiration for many and the memory of several dramatic and tragic situations in the novel may haunt them for years.I keep Sarita Mandanna’s novel in my shelf in between M.N.Sreenivas’ Religion and Society among the coorgs of South India,a really invaluable cultural study and Kavery Nambeesan’s Scent of Pepper the novel which has every right to claim a unique position among all the writings on Coorg life.
Sarita Mandanna’s debut novel 'Tiger Hills' is not a great literary work . It has many shortcomings.The diction is often loaded with sterile phrases and usages. Characterization lacks density in many situations. Narration also is at times disappointingly flat and crude. These are all totally adverse comments,Iknow.But the fact remains that I enjoyed reading the novel. I have an irrational love for everything related to coorg.The landscape of Coorg always gives me the feeling that my soul really belongs to this mystic land.When I get down at Veerajpet or Gonikoppa from Thalassery Mysore bus and move a few steps to interior areas I feel as if reaching back the land of my childhood left far behind.'Tiger Hills' gave me that indescribable and infatuating experience.'Tiger Hills' is even otherwise a literary work which can legitimate it’s being without such personal considerations on the part of readers like me.It takes you to so many nuances of coorg life and landscape The period described in the novel extends only upto the fourth decade of 20th century.But the incidents and details along which the plot moves forward take with them the ethos of present day coorg life, with wonderful ease.And of course there are some unique elements in the construction of plot and in the depiction of some areas of the inner life of characters.These things deserve detailed discussion and anaysis.Irresponsible comments like ‘Tiger Hills is nothing but a triangular love story’ ,should not be taken seriously.In grading the novel people may take diametrically opposite stands.That is a different thing.The inner thirsts, agony and pleasures of creativity quite explicit in this work ,of course, demand serious conideration from readers.In future writers with deeper insight and strong visions may spring up from Coorg.We can expect works with far more literay merit from them.But 'Tiger Hills' will continue to attract generations of readers.The cretive usage of ethnic and anthropological details of Coorg in the novel will always be a great source of inspiration for many and the memory of several dramatic and tragic situations in the novel may haunt them for years.I keep Sarita Mandanna’s novel in my shelf in between M.N.Sreenivas’ Religion and Society among the coorgs of South India,a really invaluable cultural study and Kavery Nambeesan’s Scent of Pepper the novel which has every right to claim a unique position among all the writings on Coorg life.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Random notes
6
My love and affection for the English language began at a very early age.My uncle whom we used to call Damu uncle went Singapore searching a job when he was bearly 18.Later when an exchange of power took place in Singapore he opted Bitish citizenship and setteled in London.Untill his death in 2009 June at his residence at Thaliyil near Parassinikkadavu,(Kannur,Kerala) Damu uncle was a British citizen.A few years back he came to his mother land with the hope that he would be able to live here with all the leagal rights of an Indian.In those days he started an Institute at Eripuram naming it The Sreedevi Institute of Spoken English.For that he bought a big plastic round table and a few chairs.Damu uncle had to close his institute because he could’nt collect even one third of the amount he had to pay as rent .
I began to nurture a love for the English language during my ‘wanderings’ with Damu uncle who came home from London once in two or three years for a stay in our home for one or two weeks or at the maximum a month.Damu uncle would be very busy from the very moment of his home coming.He would visit all our relatives,even those distant ones whose links to our ancestral family would have to be established through so many cross references.But he considered that he should maitain all the age old ties.It was his emotional necessity and he considered it a moral responsibility also.Damu uncle took me with him wherever he went. He met his old friends,business men and doctors and lawyers who were his close friends during their stay in London for higher studies.Damu uncle and his friends conversed almost always in English and I sat among them as a frightened,silent listner.Even now my fear of the English language is very strong.But one thing;when years passed I understood that my mothertongue Malayalam is no way inferior to English and those whose spoken English was excellent had no serious considerations about the literature or other serious discourses in English or any other language.For them language is a tool for communication and proficiency in a foreign language is the easiest way to establish supremecy over others in certain critical situations.They are totally ignorant of the aesthetic value or the emotional fabric of a language that makes it unique among thousands of languages in the world.
25/9/2010
My love and affection for the English language began at a very early age.My uncle whom we used to call Damu uncle went Singapore searching a job when he was bearly 18.Later when an exchange of power took place in Singapore he opted Bitish citizenship and setteled in London.Untill his death in 2009 June at his residence at Thaliyil near Parassinikkadavu,(Kannur,Kerala) Damu uncle was a British citizen.A few years back he came to his mother land with the hope that he would be able to live here with all the leagal rights of an Indian.In those days he started an Institute at Eripuram naming it The Sreedevi Institute of Spoken English.For that he bought a big plastic round table and a few chairs.Damu uncle had to close his institute because he could’nt collect even one third of the amount he had to pay as rent .
I began to nurture a love for the English language during my ‘wanderings’ with Damu uncle who came home from London once in two or three years for a stay in our home for one or two weeks or at the maximum a month.Damu uncle would be very busy from the very moment of his home coming.He would visit all our relatives,even those distant ones whose links to our ancestral family would have to be established through so many cross references.But he considered that he should maitain all the age old ties.It was his emotional necessity and he considered it a moral responsibility also.Damu uncle took me with him wherever he went. He met his old friends,business men and doctors and lawyers who were his close friends during their stay in London for higher studies.Damu uncle and his friends conversed almost always in English and I sat among them as a frightened,silent listner.Even now my fear of the English language is very strong.But one thing;when years passed I understood that my mothertongue Malayalam is no way inferior to English and those whose spoken English was excellent had no serious considerations about the literature or other serious discourses in English or any other language.For them language is a tool for communication and proficiency in a foreign language is the easiest way to establish supremecy over others in certain critical situations.They are totally ignorant of the aesthetic value or the emotional fabric of a language that makes it unique among thousands of languages in the world.
25/9/2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Random notes
5
I often pity myself because my psyche does’nt permit me to stick on to a literary form for a considerably long time.In the midst of writing a novel I will begin to ponder over the possibility of attempting a drama or a travelogue or a study on latest issues in the field of education.Sometimes leaving aside the novel I may enter the world of poetry and remain there for ten or fifteen days or I may begin to write a short story that demands continuous whole hearted involment for many a days.This annoying indiscipline which has become a part of my writerly life is a frquent headache for which there is no medicine other than a strong decision on my part .I should acquire the will power to order the writer in me to put an end to his untimely infatuations.But from years of experience I have learned that it would not happen even in the farthest future I could forsee.Even then I nurse a weak hope that oneday,as one fine morning I stopped smoking after three decades of struuggle, it would be possible for the writer in me to say goodbye to his weakness and would be able to sit for months together to write a really big novel with characters of immense variety in their physical appearance, experiences and visions.
15/9/10
I often pity myself because my psyche does’nt permit me to stick on to a literary form for a considerably long time.In the midst of writing a novel I will begin to ponder over the possibility of attempting a drama or a travelogue or a study on latest issues in the field of education.Sometimes leaving aside the novel I may enter the world of poetry and remain there for ten or fifteen days or I may begin to write a short story that demands continuous whole hearted involment for many a days.This annoying indiscipline which has become a part of my writerly life is a frquent headache for which there is no medicine other than a strong decision on my part .I should acquire the will power to order the writer in me to put an end to his untimely infatuations.But from years of experience I have learned that it would not happen even in the farthest future I could forsee.Even then I nurse a weak hope that oneday,as one fine morning I stopped smoking after three decades of struuggle, it would be possible for the writer in me to say goodbye to his weakness and would be able to sit for months together to write a really big novel with characters of immense variety in their physical appearance, experiences and visions.
15/9/10
Friday, September 3, 2010
Random notes
Random notes
4
‘ Living with the Himalayan Masters’ is a cllection of spiritual experiences narrated by Swami Rama and edited by Swami Ajaya.Anyone may find the book highly readable because
(1) it has a simple and soothing diction
(2) All the ideas and thoughts expressed by Swami Rama are easy to comprehend and several of them may invite him/ her to accompany them at least for a few minutes.
But unless you are an ardent,blind believer you can’t digest some of the experiences narrated in the book, especially those related to the healing power of the Himalayan sages.And of course one can’t expect answers to or not even analysis of the basic issuses related to social inequlities and other problems arising from them in a book like this.
3/9/10
4
‘ Living with the Himalayan Masters’ is a cllection of spiritual experiences narrated by Swami Rama and edited by Swami Ajaya.Anyone may find the book highly readable because
(1) it has a simple and soothing diction
(2) All the ideas and thoughts expressed by Swami Rama are easy to comprehend and several of them may invite him/ her to accompany them at least for a few minutes.
But unless you are an ardent,blind believer you can’t digest some of the experiences narrated in the book, especially those related to the healing power of the Himalayan sages.And of course one can’t expect answers to or not even analysis of the basic issuses related to social inequlities and other problems arising from them in a book like this.
3/9/10
Random notes
Random notes
3
I entered the ‘computer age’ before 6 years.But so far my usage of this wonderful instrument hasn’t gone beyond micrsoft word and intrnet explorer.Even then when I look back I feel that it has given something in the way of energizing the writer in me mainly because of the easiness that I experience in the process of writing with the help of a computer.My handwriting is very bad and unless I rewrite several times most of what I write will remain unreadable for others.I myself may find it difficult to read if I come acroos a manuscript that has remained out of sight for a week or so.The computer key board and the options for editing and saving have been of immense help for me.This ofcourse is only a personal gain.What exactly is in my opinion the social impact of computer?Definitely, this great scientific invention has freed the human race from tens of thousands of boring unnecessary repititions.It has helped us to save time and energy in different areas of labour.But I feel the the greatest contribution of computer is that it has liberated crores of people all over the world from the fear or lack of confidence in expressing oneself through writing.Though a serious reader may feel a vast majority of the blog writing silly and boring the thirst for creative expression and communication that is fullfilled through any blog is simply great.In future writings in the cyber space will definitely be considered a very interesting and inspiring area of creative expression.
3
I entered the ‘computer age’ before 6 years.But so far my usage of this wonderful instrument hasn’t gone beyond micrsoft word and intrnet explorer.Even then when I look back I feel that it has given something in the way of energizing the writer in me mainly because of the easiness that I experience in the process of writing with the help of a computer.My handwriting is very bad and unless I rewrite several times most of what I write will remain unreadable for others.I myself may find it difficult to read if I come acroos a manuscript that has remained out of sight for a week or so.The computer key board and the options for editing and saving have been of immense help for me.This ofcourse is only a personal gain.What exactly is in my opinion the social impact of computer?Definitely, this great scientific invention has freed the human race from tens of thousands of boring unnecessary repititions.It has helped us to save time and energy in different areas of labour.But I feel the the greatest contribution of computer is that it has liberated crores of people all over the world from the fear or lack of confidence in expressing oneself through writing.Though a serious reader may feel a vast majority of the blog writing silly and boring the thirst for creative expression and communication that is fullfilled through any blog is simply great.In future writings in the cyber space will definitely be considered a very interesting and inspiring area of creative expression.
Random notes
Random notes
2
My attraction towards internet is quite magnetic and I know for a man nearing 58 it is rather unusual and may perhaps be an undesirable sign also.Any how Iam not in a position to shed away this attraction.I feel for sure that in the nearest future writing in cyberspace will develop as an area of brave new activities in the field of literature and the ignorance of that area will be a matter of discomfort for anyone involving in any type of literary discourse.
2/9/2010
2
My attraction towards internet is quite magnetic and I know for a man nearing 58 it is rather unusual and may perhaps be an undesirable sign also.Any how Iam not in a position to shed away this attraction.I feel for sure that in the nearest future writing in cyberspace will develop as an area of brave new activities in the field of literature and the ignorance of that area will be a matter of discomfort for anyone involving in any type of literary discourse.
2/9/2010
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