Book shelf update ...

Red Earth & Pouring Rain starts very well. Abhay has returned from US after studies. He kills a monkey in a dramatic incident. But this is no ordinary monkey. He remembers his previous berths as Sanjay (from Mahabharat)and Parashar (not rally sure of this character :-)) So when Lord Yama comes to take the monkey away, he pleads to monkey god Hanuman. Hanuman strikes a deal with lord Yama that Sanjay (the monkey) will have to tell a story every day for at least 2 hours. Yama puts a condition that if audience starts getting bored Sanjay has to go with him. This starts a thread of stories. stories inside stories, typical to Mahabharat style. These stories are not all that interesting, they are very slow and don't really hold the attention. This is Vikram Chandra's first book. He certainly does not have economy when it comes to using words. He could have done it in a much crisp and readable way.

After reading cuckold I was looking for something which has dark shades and very bold in style. Then one day in Landmark I found Confession of Indian women eater by Sasthi Brata. It has forward by Kushwant Singh. So just picked it by instinct. Again the first half of the book was up to my expectations but then it becomes very repetitive in story telling. It has that shades of soft porn in the later part, but not always exciting.

I just started reading "Swami" a marathi novel written by Ranjit Desai based on the life of Madhavrao Peshwa. Next I have RKN's "English Teacher" and planning to buy My name is red by noble winner of 2006 Turkish author Orhan Pamuk

Why Do I Run

many people have asked me this question and I have no definite answer. may be it is a little bit of madness. I found out few more reasons from Madhu who actively runs Bangalore Runners mail group on Google.

1. It feels sooo good when you stop because it hurts soooo much when you run. (Endorphin Drug Addiction reason?...masochist reason?)
2. It is the easiest way to keep in shape (Epistemological reason)
3. You can (almost) eat whatever you want (Gluttony reason)
4. If Animation or conscious motion (De Anima of Aristotle) is significance of life and the lack signifies death, choose to be be Animated (run) and Live. (Metaphysical reason)
5. To revel in the feeling of BEING in tune with your inner nature and the outer while running (Ontological reason)
6. Impress beautiful girls with athletic abilities (Deluded reason)
7. See beautiful scenery travelling and running in beautiful and exotic places around the world (Teleological reason)
8. Freak show material for popularity at parties (Perverted reason)
9. To watch Surya Bhagavan as he chases the darkness away with the first rosy flush of dawn. (Exalted reason)
10. To collect nice T-shirts of impressive races from around the world-wear
and be proud (Narcissitic reason)

Little Super Star

Check out this cool video doing great rounds on YouTube. Enjoy Maadi