Philosophy - Know the Know-All Science

Philosophy, which comes from Greek words philo (love) and sophia (wisdom), refers to  rational inquiry about the nature of reality. This basic definition is enough to scare people away from the enigmatic characteristics that this field of study possesses. Philosophy, with its ramifications, has always been considered esoteric. Only people with eccentric minds and plenty of leisure time are believed to be capable of finding the ‘truths and principles of being, knowledge and conduct’. Even the great English philosopher Thomas Hobbes himself considered leisure to be the mother of philosophy. Be that as it may, philosophy – with its ability to answer large questions of human existence – still forms an inevitable part of our lives today.

To pay homage to this ‘love of wisdom’ and to create connections between philosophers and the public, world philosophy day is celebrated on the third Thursday of November every year. Launched in 2002, by the Social and Human Sciences sector, this day used to be referred to as ‘Philosophy Day’ until October 2005 when it was given the name of World Philosophy Day after the proposal by the Kingdom of Morocco got acceptance in the 33^rd session of the UNESCO general conference.

By inscribing it in the calendar of annual events, UNESCO seeks to promote the role of philosophy in society by encouraging its member states to organize activities on philosophical issues. But what comprises philosophical issues is a difficult question to answer and needs probing. This, though, is not the only controversy entwined with this notoriously difficult-to-define science.

Ironically, the ‘know-all’ philosophy is yet to ascertain the authority, which gave it its name. While some sources give the credit to Pythagoras, others are happy bestowing honours upon Socrates. A few even mention Plato as the father of the term. As if this was not enough, there is disharmony even over the period in which philosophy actually originated. While proper chronicles can be found from sixth century BCE, experts suggest that philosophy – without this name – was existent in prehistory as well. This contention, which has been an apple of discord among various sections, is just a mild extension of a mammoth strife – the eastern and the western philosophy debate.

Though the disaccord between the two philosophies rests primarily on the beliefs that the two systems countenance, there is a contest, also, on who had these profound thoughts first. In some parts of the world it is believed that Eastern philosophy - broadly the philosophies of India, Iran (Persia), China, Japan, Korea and, to an extent, the Middle East – came first, thanks to Vedas (sacred knowledge) that were composed in 1200 BCE. The Upanishads are believed to have, then, made an entry in the eighth century BCE. Western philosophy on the other hand holds on to its ground of being the first entrant, courtesy the chronicles and the coinage of the term.

These controversies, along with many others, may present an unsightly picture but no one can gainsay that it forms just one part of this profound study. The other part with its many facets is imbued with sagacity, thanks to the savants who made appearances through different centuries to diagnose life and give therapeutic methods for coming to terms with life.

Eastern or western, philosophy has witnessed upholders supporting its cause and passing on the sapience from generations to generations. But what makes an interesting study is the way philosophy originated along with the reasons for its coming into being.

Though there is no evidence to demonstrate how East aided the emergence of philosophy in prehistory, enough substantiation can be found in support of Greece as the best option for the philosophy to flourish during the sixth century BCE.

The biggest advantage that Greece enjoyed was its location. Ideally placed for easy trade between Egypt and the near East, Greece witnessed an influx of foreign ideas that accompanied travellers from both parts of the world. This exposure to a wide array of thoughts left the culture of Greece highly influenced and caused contemplation on the nature and validity of the evolving Greek mythos. The geographical advantage was well supplemented with the unique system of Government in providing an environment conducive for philosophy to thrive.

The structure of Greece, which was less of a unified country and more of a collection of city states, led to a larger degree of freedom for its people than was possible elsewhere. These factors combined with the incessant urge of Greeks to use knowledge beyond its practical purposes helped philosophy come into being.                  

The early Presocratics (philosophers who existed before Socrates) spoke of elements like water and earth and the elemental nature of divinities but their expressions were inflicted by myths. It was only with Thales (philosopher from the Greek colony of Miletus, 6^th century BCE) that philosophy underwent awakening and broke the barriers of myth. Thales’ idea of water being the first element is still given due importance as this was the first time that something other than a deity was given this honour.

While Milesians (from Miletus) nursed their urge to show the single material stuff of which the entire universe is composed, the philosophers from the Greek colony in Italy devoted concern to practical matters. Led by Pythagoras, Mathematikoi (members of the inner circle of Pythagoras’ society) dwelt upon the relation between life and Mathematics and saw patterns in life that could be described in terms of mathematical tools. They promoted life as a small portion of a greater whole and thought of soul as the immortal divine air whose existence outlives the relatively temporary functions of the human body.

While Pythagorean philosophy was gaining ground in the West, East was imbibing the concept of ‘The Middle Path’ introduced by Gautam Buddha. After leading an ascetic life for six years, Buddha concluded that enlightenment could be attained only by following a balanced life rather than an austere one.

Along with other teachings, which included Ahimsa (Non-violence), Satya (Truth) and Dharma (Righteousness), Buddhism also spoke of Atma (soul) being the real source of all bliss. It is the importance assigned to the soul that indicates the exchange of ideas between East and West. The possibility of Pythagoras’ acquaintance with Buddha has not been ruled out. The Pythagorean belief of soul’s ‘transmigration’ into other living bodies at death found a supporter in Buddhism, which firmly believed in the cycles of reincarnation. 

With a thematic structure to follow, philosophers from the fifth century BCE gave philosophy a new dimension by introducing critical thinking. It was also in the fifth century that the concept of plurality of components was introduced. This concept, which was a deviation from the Milesian belief of the universe being made up of one material stuff, broached ‘atoms’ as tiny, indivisible, unobservable solid bodies. It was stated that the collision of atoms was responsible for everything happening in this world. The proponents of this school of thought were called the ‘atomists’.   

The fifth century also saw the birth of another breed of philosophers. Known as ‘The Sophists’, these philosophers taught the youth of Athens the art of using logic and rhetoric to win over opponents in arguments. Their pedagogy also included topics like politics, grammar, etymology, history, physics, and mathematics.

Sophists never considered the search for truth as their top priority. On the contrary, they professed that it was the preparation for the business of public life that had to be acquired to be successful in the then litigious social life of Athens. Since these skills were considered indispensable in those settings, the practitioners of such skills commanded very high fees. It is also believed that these ‘givers of sophia’ were the first in Greece to exact fees for teaching wisdom.

Accused of pandering the youth’s passion for a successful political career, the sophists never fought shy of boasting about their ability of making the better cause seem the worse, and the worse the better. Whatever flak they got would be insufficient to deny them the credit of giving the next generation of philosophers an invaluable gift: skepticism.                             

The theories emanating from different schools of thought had resulted in a condition of unrest, which could only be alleviated by undertaking the route of critical thinking (skepticism). Critical thinking in the fifth century, though prevalent, was bereft of self-criticism. It was Socrates – supposedly the most influential thinker ever - who introduced to the world the concept of calling ‘everything’ into question.

In his early days as a philosopher, Socrates was more inclined towards the scientific theories discussed by his predecessors. Later, his focus shifted towards the ethics and he delved deep into the development of moral character. He preached the citizens of Athens and taught them the art of enquiry.

Though his teaching earned him a lot of loyalists, the parents of his disciples accused him of corrupting their children. This accusation  combined with others,  such as inventing new deities, and disbelieving in the divine made him a controversial figure.   He was sentenced to death by drinking poison in 399 BCE. Rejecting the other option of leaving Athens, Socrates preferred drinking ‘hemlock’ to die an honourable death in his home country.

Socrates’ legacy was carried on by his famous disciple Plato, who conveyed his master’s spirit in his writings. Plato, then, found an able student in Aristotle, who furthered the teachings of his master and went on to become the teacher of Alexander the Great. The philosophies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle dealt with fundamental issues with such profundity that this trio is believed to be the most venerable in the history of the West. The same position is held by Confucius and Lao-tzu in the East. Siddhartha and Mahavira (founder of Jainism), though considered philosophers, are counted in a different league.

From a less distant past, the likes of Rene Descrates, Immanuel Kant, Issac Newton and Albert Einstein et al are believed to have possessed the ability to question assumptions and challenge the unwarranted confidence in the truth of popular opinions.

Be it any era, philosophy seems to have welcomed only those souls as its ambassadors, who had the courage and willingness to challenge. The challenges may have been immense but so has been their importance. The pursuit of wisdom may seem paralysing, but it is hard to imagine a more worthy goal. It is to this journey from darkness to light that the most fecund minds of this planet have committed their lives. That, according to Plato, is the requisite for being a part of the elite group called ‘philosophers’.

The journey of the mighty pen

“The pen is mightier than the sword.” Not many would be unaware of this quotation by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. But one, somehow, gets the feeling that this statement is too mild to emphasize the importance of pen in our lives. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that we live because somebody wrote.

Pen is one of the many articles, which evolved with the evolution of man. As the man progressed, his need to communicate increased. Language was hardly into being, so he started off by making symbols on the cave walls. He used his sharpened tools – meant for skinning and killing - for scratching the walls. These symbols used to depict his daily activities like planting and/or his encounters with the beasts.

Symbols as language

Over a period of time, the instrument and the base for writing changed but the language remained the same. Pictographs - as these symbols are now known as - held their prominence for centuries before they were replaced by alphabets somewhere between 1700 and 1500 BC. The base changed to portable clay-made tablets to thin sheets of wax (which could be melted and re-used), while the crude tools gave way to the instruments made from the reed.

It took alphabets quite sometime to become popular. Where pictographs couldn’t suffice, a combination of pictographs was used. The method of combining pictographs to represent words for ideas, today, is referred to as the ideographic system.

Ink – The fuel for writing

Writing took another step forward. It went well beyond the chiseled pictures or cuneiform (the wedge shaped marks produced by reed). The Chinese invented and perfected 'Indian Ink'. Originally designed for blacking the surfaces of raised stone-carved hieroglyphics, the ink was a mixture of soot from pine smoke and lamp oil mixed with the gelatin of donkey skin and musk.

Though ink became popular in 1200 BC, it was into existence much before. In fact, it is believed that invention of ink paralleled the introduction of paper. Annals suggest that the ancient Egyptians created pictographic system in about 3100 BC by drawing on Papyrus – a paper like material made from papyrus plant. Moreover, one of the oldest pieces of papyrus known to us today - the Egyptian "Prisse Papyrus" - was also written in ink. It dates back to 2000 BC.

The plant juices and animal blood were used as ink before “ink” could become popular. Various values and symbols were attached to various colored inks. For example, green denoted freshness; blue denoted revelation and purple denoted royalty.

Writing Systems

History clearly awards the credit of early writing systems to the Greeks. Even the earliest examples of handwriting are attributed to Greece. The Greek alphabet was developed in around 500 BC. Before that, the Greek script was just an adoption of right-to-left Phoenician writing, (Cadmus, the son of the king of Phoenicia, is believed to have brought alphabet to Greece).

Greek documents of that era show one line written from right to left and the next line from left to right. This method is called boustrophedon, from the Greek words meaning, “ox-plow turning”. It is believed that Greek was the first script to be written from left to right.

The striking fact is that all the writing systems had only uppercase letters in the beginning. No clear reason is known, but it is believed that the instruments were not refined enough to draft the nuances.

From reed-pens to quills
If the Greeks clinch the honor of being the forerunners in writing systems, Romans can boast of creating a reed pen, which stands closest to what we use today. The reed-pen was made from the hollow, tubular stems of marshy grasses, especially jointed bamboo plant. One end of the stem was cut so that it took the shape of a pen nib. When in use, ink was poured into the stem. This ink was held through adhesion to slow down the extreme free flow.

The  reed-pen was used extensively for centuries and then the quills came into picture. Quills are said to have dominated the writing systems for more than a thousand years. Made of bird feathers, they were introduced somewhere in 700 AD. It is, obviously, much after the tanno-gallate of iron ink made its appearance. Created in 400 AD, this ink - a composite of iron salts, nutgalls and gum - remained in use for centuries.

Quill selection was not a leisure activity. It was done with utmost care. The strongest quills were chosen from living birds in the spring from the five outer left wing feathers. The left wing was favoured because the feathers curved outward and away when used by a right-handed writer.

Goose feathers were the most common; swan feathers were of a premium grade being scarcer and more expensive. For making fine lines, crow feathers were the best, and then came the feathers of the eagle, owl, hawk and turkey.

Despite being the most dominant writing instrument, the quill also had its share of disadvantages. The first problem was its short life. It could be used only for a week or so before it was necessary to replace it. The other disadvantages included high preparation time and the necessity of a stove-with-coal, which was kept beneath the writer’s high-top desk so that the ink dried early.

Quills to Fountain pens

While the quill-pens were being used heavily, attempts for designing a reliable reservoir pen were also going on.

Various kinds of reservoir pen made appearances before the mid-19th century when, fountain pen became popular.The earliest historical record of a reservoir pen dates to the 10th century. The sultan of Egypt in 953 demanded a pen which would not stain his hands, and was provided with a pen which held ink in a reservoir and delivered it to the nib via gravity and capillary action.

References to reservoir pens can also be found in Daniel Schwenter’s famous work Delicia Physic-Mathematicae (1636). The German Orientalist and inventor of scioptric ball talks about a pen made from two quills. One quill served as a reservoir for ink inside the other quill.

Though 1850s witnessed a stream of fountain pen patents and pens in production, the oldest known fountain pen that has survived today was designed by a Frenchmen named M. Bion and dated 1702.

Between 1702 and 1884 – when Lewis Waterman patented the first practical fountain pen – a number of pens were developed. But these models were plagued by ink spills and other failures that left them impractical and hard to sell. The failure can be attributed to an imperfect understanding of the role that air pressure played in the operation of the pens. Also, most inks were highly corrosive and full of sedimentary inclusions.

Incidentally, the invention of the practical fountain pen, like many other inventions, was also the result of man’s reply to the frustration caused by a mischance. Lewis Waterman - an insurance salesman - after destroying a valuable sales contract with leaky-pen ink, thought of adding an air hole in the nib and three grooves inside the feed mechanism.

Fountain Pens to Ballpoint pens

The invention of ballpoint pen is yet another example of man's answer to disappointment. The Hungarian journalist Laszlo Biro, frustrated by the amount of time wasted in filling up fountain pens and cleaning smudged pages, decided to make a pen that worked with the ink used in the newspaper printing.

The ink was thicker and, hence, dried quickly. When tried, this viscous ink wouldn't flow out of the regular nib of the fountain pen. Laszlo, along with his brother George (a chemist), devised a new type of point. He fitted this point with a tiny ball bearing that was free to turn in a socket. As the point moved along, the ball rotated, picking up ink from the ink cartridge and leaving it on paper.

Like fountain pens, early ballpoint pens also met failures. Biro's was not the first attempt to create a ballpoint pen. It is argued that a design by Galileo (during the 17th Century), was that of a ballpoint pen. A patent dated 1888 on the same basic idea, was unused and expired.

These earlier pens leaked or clogged due to improper viscosity of the ink and depended on gravity to deliver the ink to the ball. Dependence on gravity caused difficulties with the flow and and required that the pen be held nearly vertically.

The Biro pen, which used capillary action for ink delivery and solved the flow problem, became so popular that it is a generic name for ballpoint pens in many parts of the world.

Today, pens have all sorts of designs and working mechanisms. There is no count of the kinds of points, nibs and inks being used. Science and technology are being spoken about at every nook and corner. But as the Vietnamese saying goes, “When eating a fruit, thank the person who planted the tree”, we must be thankful to the inventors of this instrument, which has recorded and conveyed feelings, thoughts and what not.

In fact, there can’t be an invention more important than this, for where is science without any records and where are records without a writing instrument?

English is a 'fun' language

Do you find something interesting in ‘Abstemious’? Read on… ABSTEMIOUS. That’s right. Abstemious, which means indulging only moderately in food and drink (as per Oxford dictionary) has all the vowels slotted in a sequential order. So has FACETIOUS. Facetious means treating serious issues with inappropriate humour. If you really take it upon yourself to find more words with such peculiarities, I am sure you will find more but that these are the two most common words with such an oddity comes with some assurance.  

English has often been touted, though sarcastically, as a ‘funny’ language thanks primarily to the quirky pronunciation the language subjects itself to. Examples abound!

‘To’ is pronounced as ‘Two’ while ‘Go’ is pronounced as ‘gO’.

To add to the woes, there is an innate borrowing that has happened from various languages across the globe. Déjà vu? Now before you declare your verdict on the language, what if I tell you that English is more fun than ‘funny’? What if I tell you that OK originated as an abbreviation of orl korrekt, a jokey misspelling of ‘All Correct’.

There is a deluge of entertainment lying unchartered under the wings of the language, which is supposedly one of the ‘highest-worded-languages’ in the world: An entertainment so potent that it possibly drove a mad man to contribute in the making of one of the finest dictionaries in the world. Yes, you read it right!

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) wouldn’t have been possible, had it not received contributions from the prolific Dr. W.C. Minor, who while imprisoned in a lunatic asylum consistently sent material to the chief editor of OED, Sir James Murray. The relationship between the two men has been captured beautifully by Simon Winchester in his masterpiece, The Professor and the Mad Man.

The fun, however, is not confined to words alone. A truckload is waiting for you within the precincts of punctuation. Read through the following story:

A husband, really angry with his wife, pasted a note on the front door which read:

“A woman without her husband is nothing”

A smart kid was passing by and he thought of a mischief. He took out his pen and scribbled something on the note. Now, the note read:

“A woman: without her, husband is nothing”. The wife came home and gave her husband a big hug.

That’s the power of punctuation in English. It can ruin or preserve the language and, in some cases relationships as well. Lynn Truss, in her book Eats Shoots and Leaves, explains this power in a reasonably engaging manner. The book starts with a Panda joke which drives home the point beautifully.

Now a few ‘do you knows’?

1. Do you know that English is the most widely spoken language in the history of the planet?
2. Do you know that one in every seven human beings can speak or read it?
3. Do you know that half of the world’s books are written in English?
4. Do you know that over 75% of the international e-mails are written in English?

Such affection for a language which has been mimicked at from different quarters of the world is spell-binding, isn’t it? The spell, though, becomes a bit of a pain when you have to explain the following to an inquisitive first-grader:

1. Today we speak, but first we spoke. Then how come today faucets leak but they never loke?
2. Today we write, but once we wrote. Then how come we bite our tongues, but we never bote?
3. How come there is no egg in eggplant?
4. How can noses run and feet smell?
5. Plural of tooth is teeth but the plural of choose is not cheese.

This befuddlement that can drive some crazy is, to a certain extent, responsible in making the language so challenging and thus so endearing.  The charm also comes from the fact that English, since its inception, has been like a welcoming host that receives words from a whole lot of languages and makes them a part of her family.

Look up Samosa in a reputed dictionary and you will understand. Till that time spend your time with this alluring language and keep exploring.
References used:

1. Online Oxford Dictionaries.
2. www.englishclub.com
3. www.squidoo.com/eccentricities-of-english
4. Richard Lederer, Crazy English, Pocket Books, New York, 1989, pp.117-118.

Book Review: Leader in You By Dale Carnegie Associates

Despite the promising introduction that the book starts with, it has nothing new to offer. It is just one of those thousand self-help books swallowing the shelf space in book stores. “Leader in you” by Stuart Levine and Michael Crom fails to meet the expectations raised by the name associated with it i.e. Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc.

True that the book has a good number of interesting anecdotes about timeless stalwarts like Mother Teresa, Lee Iacocca, Bela Karolyi and Dale Carnegie himself, but one expects more out of a self-help book. To disappoint, it has a very superficial approach to it. It tells you what it takes to be a leader but doesn't talk about the methods and techniques of acquiring such traits.

The scope of the book is also very narrow. The stories emanating out of the same set of companies make you feel as if you are going through the research reports of certain companies rather than a motivational book. Having said that, there are certain chapters which leave you with thought provoking ideas. 

Most of the chapters start with an anecdote or the other from Dale Carnegie’s early books - How to win friends & influence people and How to stop worrying & start living. If you have already read those masterpieces, you are bound to feel more frustrated by the shallowness of this book. This one clearly seems to be an attempt to encash on the genius of Dale Carnegie. This is evident, also, from the front cover which has the name “Dale Carnegie” written in a font-size bigger than the font-size in which authors’ names have been written.

In all, your likelihood of falling in love with this book is miniscule. But if it is the first self-help book that you are reading, you may LIKE it. That’s it.

Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz By L. Frank Baum

The only word I can associate with this book is 'sweet'. Dorothy (the little girl) and her dog Toto are parted from Dorothy’s Uncle and Aunt, thanks to the cyclone which takes the whole house away. Uncle and aunt are left because they hide themselves in the cellar while Dorothy gets late to get in. The house lands up in the middle of a beautiful country. The country is called the ‘The Land of Munchkins’. Since the house landed on the wicked witch of east and she got killed, the people (dwarfs) of the country are very grateful to Dorothy as she freed them from witch’s slavery.

She is told that there are four witches in the Land of Oz: North, East, West and South and that the witches of North and South are good while the other two are evil. Dorothy gets scared by what is told to her and wants to get back to Kansas where her uncle and aunt live. The munchkins give her the magic shoes of the dead witch and ask her to go to the Wizard of Oz, who might be of help to Dorothy.

Dorothy starts her long journey along with her friend Toto. After a few miles, she finds a scarecrow who tells her how bad it is to be stuck on a pole. Dorothy tells him about the Wizard and his powers. Scarecrow shows his inclination towards accompanying her to the Wizard. He expects to get a brain from the Wizard. Now the three of them carry on with their journey when they meet a Tin-man. The Tin-man can’t move because whole of his body is rusted. Dorothy oils his body and he can move now. He tells her, how the wicked witch of East had his axe cut his body parts. To get his body working, he had to get those parts replaced by tin parts. He requests Dorothy to take him along to the Wizard, so that he can ask for a heart from him.

Now the desperate Dorothy, her dog Toto, brainless scarecrow and heartless Tin-man start moving together. As they go ahead they encounter a lion, who tries to scare them but Dorothy slaps him when he tries to attack Toto. He gets afraid and confesses that he is a cowardly lion. He wants to come along to get courage from the Wizard.

The five of them after countering many problems reach the Emerald City, where the Wizard lives. He asks them to meet him one by one. First, Dorothy goes in. The Wizard who has the ability to take different shapes and forms meets her as a mask. He says that he would help her reach Kansas if she kills the wicked witch of west. Dorothy starts crying thinking that she is incapable of killing the mighty witch but the Wizard does not budge.

Then he asks all the others to help Dorothy in achieving what she has been asked. As they head towards the west, the witch tries different methods to kill them but they are saved because of their bravery and brains. The witch now asks the winged monkeys to capture them. She sees the silver shoes in Dorothy’s feet and wants them but Dorothy refuses. She gets annoyed and puts Dorothy to sweep the floors. One day Dorothy stumbles and one of her shoes comes off. The witch grabs it.

Dorothy, out of anger, throws a bucket full of water and the witch turns into a brown shapeless puddle. Now they head back to the Wizard of Oz and find that he is no magician. He is a normal person, who because of the fear of the witch pretended himself to be a Wizard. The Wizard, now, does everything he can to satisfy all of them. All are satisfied with what the Wizard provides them, but Dorothy is still upset. She is unable to find a way to get back to her uncle and aunt.

The Wizard arranges for a balloon which is supposed to fly Dorothy to Kansas, but Dorothy again gets late and the balloon after breaking the ropes goes up without Dorothy. Now they have only one hope: Glinda, the witch of south. All her friends accompany Dorothy to the south. They face a lot of troubles but finally reach Glinda, who tells Dorothy that the magic shoes she is wearing have the power to take her wherever she wants to go.

Dorothy gets happy and does what she is told so that the shoes fulfill her demands. She reaches Kansas and is really happy.The book has been written in an engaging fashion and has everything to interest the children. It also projects the power of good over the evil which is a very nice lesson for the children to learn early on. Moreover, as you progress in the book you feel nice that good wins over evil regularly though after a bit of struggle. There are a lot of morals to be imbibed by the readers. All in all, a soft read with interesting moments and loveable characters.

Book Review: Mr God, this is Anna by Sydney Hopkins

Few books can haunt your thoughts once they are over. This one does. The look of the book is sufficient to entice you to go through a couple of pages and that is when you feel you should not drop this one down. The first sentence of the book starts with a spelling mistake – “Difference” is spelled as “diffrense” and you feel like having a look at the publisher’s name, but … Wait a minute! The whole sentence is wrong. It hardly makes any sense. You try to read the next one, so that you can decipher what this excellently titled book wants to convey and it is there that you fall into the trap of reading it cover to cover.

The first sentence (in inverted commas) is a statement made by a six-year old child Anna. The author captures the innocence of a child by spelling certain words incorrectly. That is his way of showing lisp in the child’s pronunciation.

Anna, presented as a special child, has a different kind of relationship with God. Her understanding of God is different from that of ours. She thinks about life every moment and it is her understanding of life which leaves you mesmerized. She doesn’t believe in reading Bible or any other religious text. According to her, religion was for doing things and not reading about doing things. She sees God’s hand in every aspect of life. Her way of talking to/about Him brings a smile to your face.

More engrossing than the intellectually stimulating conversations are the portions covering the relationship between the author and the girl child. They share a special relationship which tickles your emotions and succeeds in giving you goose bumps. There are at least hundred philosophical notes in this emotional yet practical symphony. Be it the meaning of life, definition of God, difference between being safe and being saved, positives of night life or relation between facts and meaning, ‘Anna’ lets you have a look from a different perspective.

The end again is very emotional and you are bound to have wet eyes. The only negative, I could find in this book is the inconsistency in terms of comprehensibility. There are certain parts which really go over your head and you have to re-read to grasp the meaning. The use of spelling mistakes for projecting lisp sometimes makes you struggle to comprehend the meaning. But considering the book’s ability to touch hearts and change lives, these flaws can be easily overlooked. A must read!!!

Book Review: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

Hermann Hesse, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946, had been writing since 1904. It won’t be wrong to say that his writing career had two innings. In the second innings his writing was inclined more towards individual’s search for self-fulfillment. Siddhartha, which he wrote in 1922, throws light on Eastern spiritualism. It depicts the journey of a young man who leaves his family on a quest for the Truth.

The story starts with two friends Siddhartha and Govinda. Right from the childhood, Siddhartha shows the urge to find the Truth. The first few pages are enough to capture his keenness to search the innermost self, the Atman. Govinda is projected as a follower of Siddhartha. Though Siddhartha follows all the rituals done by a Brahman family, he is not content with the level of wisdom he expects to get out of these. He wants not only to achieve the deepest wisdom but also live it.

While his search for the sources of deep wisdom is going on, he comes across a group of ascetics called Samanas. The Samanas wander around naked in search of wisdom and project absolute self-denial. Siddhratha convinces his parents and joins the Samanas. Govinda, who is in love with Siddhratha, also joins him. Even after spending a good amount of time with these Samanas and learning quite a few tricks, Siddhartha is not satisfied.

Now they come to know about Buddha and decide to leave Samanas. Both of them come across Buddha and listen to his teachings. Govinda joins the Buddha community but Siddhartha is not satisfied. Govinda implores him to stay but Siddhratha leaves.

Siddhartha, who now realizes that he has become a man, one day, awakens to his surroundings. He enjoys the colours and feels the tangibles. He doesn’t feel like an ascetic anymore. Now he meets a ferryman, Vasudeva, who takes him to a village across the river and doesn’t charge him anything. In the village, he meets a woman and first time in his life feels a sexual desire. Then he moves to a city where he gets attracted towards a beautiful girl Kamala.

He wants to have her and learn the joys of love from her. Kamala asks him to follow goals, which are material in nature. He has to come back to her with clothes, shoes and money. He starts working for Kamaswami, the richest merchant in the city. Though Siddhartha’s methods of doing business don’t suit Kamaswami, they continue with each other. Siddhratha comes and enjoys with Kamala regularly. He owns a house and other material goods. He also feels bad on loss of money and his possessions. But sometimes, a pain arises in his chest. He compares that life with this. He gets upset. One day he realizes that all this beauty and lust are but ephemeral. He feels the vacuum and wants to resume his search for eternal bliss. He leaves everything and everyone and goes back to the forest.

Weakened by hunger, Siddhartha collapses under a tree and wakes up to find a monk who is none other than Govinda. Now, he thinks of everything around and feels content. Even the regret of leaving his search vanishes and he feels nice that he has had a feel of everything. He, somehow, meets Vasudeva and shows his interest of serving him as assistant in ferrying the boat. He is amazed by Vasudeva’s wisdom. Vasudeva teaches him to learn the wisdom from the river.

Siddhartha and Vasudeva become friends and start staying together in Vasudeva’s house. Years pass by and one day Vasudeva gets to know that Buddha is not well and will soon follow his path to salvation. There is a rush of people who want to have a look of the enlightened face. Kamala is also one of the pilgrims traveling. She has a son now, whose name is also Siddhartha. Kamala dies of a snakebite one day and leaves her son with Siddhartha. Before dying, she tells him that he was Siddhartha’s son. The boy doesn’t find the surroundings and people compatible.

Siddhartha is not very happy with the behaviour of his son. Vasudeva makes him understand that he should let the child have his way but Siddhartha, blinded by the child’s love, never listens. One day the child disappears with money and boat. Siddhartha, scared that the forest would gulp the child, runs after him. Then he realizes that he should not follow. He comes back but is not happy. Life continues and he again ferries people across. Everything turns normal but he feels the kind of pain his parents would have felt when he left. Soon, he stops fighting his fate and the suffering ends. Now Vasudeva leaves for the forest stating that he stayed to see the suffering end for Siddhartha.

According to him, Siddhartha has achieved what he was yearning for. Now Siddhartha, who has achieved the wisdom meets Govinda by chance and tells him that wisdom can’t be passed; it has to be realized on one's own. Overall, Siddhartha is an above average book, which is easy to comprehend. The conversations of Siddhartha with Vasudeva and Govinda are the highlights. Some emotions have been depicted very nicely. So, if you are searching for a light book, which can leave some food for thought, go for Siddhartha. It is worth its price.

Review: The prince & the pauper by Mark Twain

The Prince and the Pauper is a lucidly written masterpiece by Mark Twain. Easily comprehensible, the book is a display of sheer genius. All the characters have been thoroughly explained and as you go along, you fall in love with most of them especially the Prince and the Knight Miles Hendon. The former is a personification of pampered innocence while the latter is an epitome of self-less generosity.

The story doesn't take long to shift gears and as soon as the two protagonists shift places (by mistake, of course), things start to get interesting. The author succeeds in raising antipathy towards some characters especially the head of the Canty family (Pauper's family). The characters are so plainly black and white that even children can comprehend the book with minimal effort.

The book also tastes success in creating the milieu of the era. The concept of whipping boy is queer yet believable. For trivia, whipping boy is a person in the kingdom who takes the punishment on behalf of the prince if the latter is not doing well in studies. Teachers, afraid of hitting the would-be king, hit the whipping boy and his earnings are commensurate to the whipping he gets.

The end again is very happy, despite the death of the King. Despite the trials and tribulations the young prince goes through, one constantly gets the feeling that it is only for the time being and everything will change for good. This makes it even more loveable. The apprehensions of the pauper in the kingdom have also been captured well. All in all, a good read for those looking for a change from the run-of-the-mill preaching fictions. The story has been plainly stated and it is up to the reader to extract the morals. No explicit attempt has been made to do the same.