The Fall of Icarus - Ovid

Ovid, the Roman poet (Publius Ovidius Naso), tells the story of the Fall of Icarus. Icarus is the son of Daedalus, the master craftsman who created the labyrinth on the orders of King Minos to hide his son the Minotaur borne of an affair that his wife had (the long sentence was just to set the pace!). The minotaur is half man, half monster and King Minos wishes him to be hidden; but he also commands Daedalus not to leave. Daedalus however has other plans and designs wings with feathers and wax for him and his son Icarus, and they are to fly away to freedom. But Icarus does not heed his father's advice to neither fly too high nor too low and perishes as he flies too high and the wax on the wings melts and he falls to his death.

That takes care of the fall of Icarus, who dies mainly due to hubris and flies too close to the sun. But prior to that we have the story of Minos fighting Nisus,who has, in his white hair strands of purple hair that protect his kingdom from all harm. But Nisus is betrayed by his own daughter who falls in love with Minos and hands him over a strand of the purple hair. Minos takes the victory but not the girl whom he despises for her conduct. On his return he discovers the deeds of his wife and the Minotaur son. After Icarus dies we chance upon many young men or gods, Theseus being one of them, as they embark on an adventure to kill a destructive boar sent by goddess Diana. The boar kills many of the young warriors but is finally vanquished by the group - the first of the wounds having been made by the lone female warrior Atalanta. Meleager, the leader of the expedition offers her the prize, but his decision is hotly contest by the others and in the melee Meleager kills two brothers thereby earning the wrath of their sister.

And on and on the story goes, twisting and turning in the 50 pages with the most fascinating of characters - including that of Hunger who is asked to prey upon a man who offends the gods. Greek mythology is as fascinating as Indian mythology with its tales of gods and wars. love and betrayal. Fascinating stuff.. 

Singing in the Rain - Movie Review

Another classic off the list. It's easy to see why this movie was a classic. Crackling dialogue, strong characters, simple and straight-forward story that you will never forget and absolutely amazing dancing. Gene Kelly is a revelation in the song 'Singing in the Rain'. His friend Cosmo Brown is equally good - or better.

Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is a movie star and is paired with a famous but manipulative and difficult actress Lina Lamont. In the meanwhile he meets a young girl, an aspiring theatre actor cum show dancer, Kathy, with whom he falls in love with. The movies are changing from the silent era to talkies and the studio and the stars realise they could become the laughing stock with their first attempt at making a talkie if they do not remedy the movie they have made. They come up with an idea - to have Kathy dub for Lina and make the movie into a musical. The idea and the movie works too. Lina tries her best to suppress Kathy and her relationship with Don but all's well and it ends well in the end.

Awesome dancing, simple storyline. You can't forget stories and emotions like that easily.

The Gate of the Hundred Sorrows - Rudyard Kipling

The first of Rudyard Kipling for me, though I have 'Kim' sitting on my shelf for a long time. It's so Indian and from that British era of dances, shikaars, hookahs etc and hence instantly identifiable so I enjoyed reading his selection of short stories - all very Indian British.

'Thrown Away' deals with a sensitive boy who is brought up at home in England without much exposure to the outside world. When he grows up he is sent to India and suddenly exposed to a cruel world. He finds some insensitive remarks - one by a lady and another by his officer - too harsh and he kills himself. Kipling and the Colonel find him and spin a yarn of him dying of cholera. Kipling makes a case for how too much protection is not a great idea.

'In False Dawn' Saumarez proposes to the wrong sister of the two sisters, his sight blinded by the sand storm and it takes a lot of work to set things right. One is happy and the other is not.

'In the House of Sudhoo' we have a charlatan who makes money out of gullible people under the guise of black magic to drive spirits away but then everyone in the room who knows he is cheating a good man out of his money is silent about it because they all have a reason to stay silent.

'In the Bisara of Pooree' we come across the small ruby studded box which will cause whoever to fall in love with you - provided you steal it from its owner and better till - shed some blood. Interestingly Kipling mentions in passing that the only other one of its kind is in Toopran near Hyderabad.

'The Gate of a Hundred Sorrows' is a house where opium is sold and it is a  tale told by someone else to Kipling. I got a great visual of the place, its Chinese owner, but nothing more beyond it. If there was a twist I missed it.

'In the Story of Muhammad Din' he introduces us to Muhammad, son of his servant. Muhammad is a young child of eight who has these architectural tendencies to build small palaces. Enthusiastic, full of life, Muhammad Din, dies of a fever suddenly.

Stories that stay with you. Of an India we can only imagine.

And some more stories

There is an article that talks of how brahmins are today's dalits. There is an article about the conditions where the boys on the UoH campus have come from. There is a viewpoint about how discrimination that is social, structural and econmic is being legalised.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/are-brahmins-today-s-dalits-in-india/story-GUMXtPlPb3v9XYXcEXPGHP.html


http://www.hindustantimes.com/static/rohith-vemula-an-unfinished-portrait/index.html

http://video.scroll.in/802566/this-heartfelt-speech-by-p-sainath-explains-just-how-tragic-rohith-vemulas-suicide-was

It appears that the key to social and economic growth is knowledge, or access to education. Knowledge is the lever, the multiplier.

Who has access? What kind of access? How can they leverage this access? These are all questions

Educational institutions should strive to provide that multiplier to all.

Equal opportunity is a word. Between the word and the spirit there is a vast gulf that exists. Perhaps we should accept that gulf. It is an unequal world anyway.

But the underlying principle there is this - it will be ruled by the fittest.

Anjali - The Art of Feedback

Anjali was telling me how her class had improved a lot in the way they speak English.
'Earlier they would say 'buyed' for 'bought' or 'back of you' for 'behind you'. But now they are all speaking good English. Some pronunciations are not right still but a lot of improvement.'

I asked her how it happened.

'Chandana aunty said that we must all correct one another when someone makes a mistake that we can correct. So all of us keep correcting each other. I think that's why we are not making the same mistakes like before.'

Wow!

That's such an elegant way to use social knowledge to quickly empower everyone. Learn from everyone and every source. And it's such a nice way for Chandana aunty to empower each child  to correct the other. Nothing like instant feedback. And see the results!

I do exercises like that in corporate houses and I find it so difficult to get the idea across. We have to couch it in corporate jargon and call it culture setting or strengthening when it is all simply a way we ought to be living. All we have to do is call out when someone is making an error (and when they are doing things right too) and the entire community has a wonderful culture that is a self-correcting mechanism.

The key is the feedback of course. Good for you Chandana aunty for enabling that and for really making school such a learning experience.

Some Stories That Are Never Told

Some stories that must be told. Of people trying to find identity, equality through education. Often as in cases of gender bias where a lecherous look or a sneer can violate (and women put up with it day and night, at home and outside, with young and old), social exclusion can leave a deep mark on the psyche.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/rohiths-friends-echo-his-story-of-struggle-dont-touch-them-dont-play-with-them/

The Atheist's Mass - Honore de Balzac

A first Balzac. 'The Atheist's Mass' is a classic.

It is about a self-professed atheist with strong and scientific views on the subject. He is a doctor with a wide following for his kind and humanitarian ways and upright behavior. But one day his colleague catches him enter a church, and again and again. Four times a year the good doctor, the atheist, goes to mass. It seems to indicate falsehood. When confronted, the good doctor explains how, when he was struggling as a student, he met his devoutly religious man who looked after him like a father and mother and put him through college. For him, he has funded a mass and for him, he goes four times a year to attend the Mass. The classic difference between a deeply religious man who has no feelings for any other person and that of an atheist who is sensitive to humanity and perhaps god's ways are beautifully worded by Balzac. The world is full of such subtle differences!

'The Conscript' is a tragic tale of a Countess who has fallen upon hard times. She has good company, all the nobles of the town visit her and partake of her hospitality. But her love for her son, who is in the army puts her in a bit of a spot. The son wishes to meet her before he goes out to the front to battle. Despite all their plans, their meeting fails to materialise. Disappointed and heart broken, she kills herself. Balzac, cruelly (or perhaps kindly) kills off the boy in war at precisely the same time. It ends in deep despair.

Considered as the founder of realism in literature in France Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) wrote deeply layered themes and developed complex characters. He has had an interesting life - trying his hand at many careers - always dissatisfied with what he had it appears. He was known for his punishing and intense writing schedules too apparently. But fine, fine writing on human ways.