Random reading

I shamefully admit Anna Karenina was too much for me and I dropped it before India and read two fun Jack Reacher novels in India. The problem with Ms. Karenina was way too many details, a slower than poison pace and many others I don't even remember. Perhaps I didn't have the best translation and could feel differently with a different version. For now though, I've had enough of her and her snotty Russian society.

This past week I read Lie Down with Lions by Ken Follett; nothing to take home about. Just mindless reading. 

Yesterday I ventured into the library and on the suggestion of a colleague went in search for The Russian Revolution by Richard Pipes. Now I am a history buff but this book was too much for me. Very detailed and complex, almost felt as if reading a text book, so I abandoned it too.  Now I am on another search - what to read? Lately I've been moody opting for fun, mindless books compared to something a little more stimulating. I guess its a phase but I really feel lost after I've finished a book not knowing what I want next!

While I wander around this weekend looking for something stimulating and fun, Happy Halloween!

The festival season is here!

Since I've been back in New York, walking around dreary-eyed carrying my jetlag on my already burdened shoulders I haven't had motivation to do much. That also includes an over due account of my experiences in India. For most of the trip the sweltering heat refrained  me from doing anything meaningful besides eating heavy lunches and taking blissful afternoon naps in the blowing A/C. But we did manage to steal a day and take a trip about an hour away from the Gateway of India to visit the Elephanta Caves.

The caves are built on a lush green but steamy island in the middle of the Arabian Sea. Growing up I never got a chance to visit them but had heard much about them. No body knows why the caves were built or when but through some dating they've concluded the caves were built around the time Buddhism was flourishing in India; which makes them very, very old. The journey to get there is less than perfect and when you land on the island you cannot help but ignore the local vendors who are supported through tourism. The entire place before the caves begin feels like a tourist trap with vendors trying to sell you everything from water to food to beautiful elephant motifs and silk paintings.

The fees to enter the caves are reasonable for Indians but there is a spike for foreigners. Much to the dismay of the security there; we passed my husband for an Indian, ha! They were not too happy about it but I guess they couldn't do much. Once you enter the caves  the entire dynamic changes. For Indian standards, they were kept quite well but unfortunately there is still some littering that happens.

There are 5 distinct caves marked as 2, 3, 4 and 5 but the real attraction is in the main cave. Beautiful statues; most of them sadly broken or disfigured remind us of the artistic beauty of a time lost but not forgotten. All the caves house the shiv ling, the eternal representation of the Hindu deity, Shiva. There are many other statues cut out of giant rocks showing Shiv-Parvati's wedding, their children and some that resembled angels. Another rock with a lost bottom part shows Shiva performing the cosmic dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for Brahma to start the process of creation. My favorite was the rock cut 3-faced figure of Shiva. Hazy on the details, I do remember that the face to the right is the female face and the other two are male. There is another beautiful statue of Ardhnareshwar, i.e. Shiva in half male and half female form representing the union between Shiva and Shakti or man and woman.



The 3-faced figure of Shiva



Shiva doing the cosmic dance



I expected more of the caves, the rock cut figures were remarkable but I wish the government and authorities would do more to preserve and perhaps re-build some of the art that was lost to time, weather and other unknown anomalies. However, limited in their structure we cannot deny the staggering beauty the figures emit. To see them restored to their former glory would indeed be a privilege. We will perhaps never know why they were built but if we are to take proper care and conserve the beauty we can at least look back and admire the skill of the artisans who painstakingly carved them out of giant rocks in the middle of no where!

On another note, today is Diwali and tomorrow is the Hindu New Year. Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Diwali and a blissful New Year. I pray we can all get closer to understanding the mysteries of the universe this year and take ourselves nearer to finding the inner peace we often crave.

Happy Diwali!

From the other side of the world

I am here holidaying in India since last week. It is always nice to come here and see the family but when you get off the plane you cannot escape the heat. Bombay is famous for its October heat and this year is no different. Despite the unexpected respite of lashing rains last night, the city is boiling. Add to that the crazy traffic and endless caravan of people; you can't help feeling overwhelmed.

I must admit the first few days I spent here made me want to turn right back around and catch a return flight to New York. I didn't mind the ruthless 17 hour trip back in comparison to the chaos I was subjected to here. But as I finally started to settle down I began to see the familiar parts of the city and my family that I came for. My confused mind had cast a veil on my ability to see what was important and what I cherished. That veil, after some much deserved rest, was finally lifted.

What began as a family trip became a little bit more. Looking around the city, I saw so much that was created while I was away, the city I knew was not there anymore. Confusion and chaos always existed but there were several unfamiliar elements to this city that I was unable to identify with. And that invariably always brings up the question: where do I belong? I knew I was traveling down a slippery slope but I didn't heed my rational mind.

Its easy to ask tough questions but you may not like the answers. I am not sure I have found the answer to mine. I live in a city where I was not born, whose culture, attitudes and ways of life I have willingly adopted but ostensibly is not mine. On the other hand the city I was born and brought up in has become so unfamiliar, so different; I am unable to identify with it. I am not sure if I am willing to accept it either (not that it cares).

I am waging a familiar battle for most people who leave their city, country, family and friends to live in a different world. I left behind all that was precious to me to explore the unknown and see if there is a place out there that I can create and that can define me. Not sure so far if I have found it. But then again, isn't that the beauty of life?

Rupee from Mumbai, India.

Tolstoy & Karenina

I’ve been on a reading freeze of sorts. Normally having books lined up, very little is interesting now. I really don’t know what I am in the mood for – action, romance, what? With a confused mind, I drifted in the library last week, looking for anything that would be exciting.

Came across Coehlo’s new book O Aleph but it was on a week express ride. Not to say I wouldn’t have been able to finish but I already owe the library $9.50 and if this book was late and I was fined again; after $10 you are not issued any books. So why not pay the fine, one would ask? Well…I don’t know. Someday I will; until then I hang at the $9.50 charge.

After much disinterested browsing, I stumbled upon the stack of books which display the OBC or Oprah’s Book Club books. By no means am I a follower but she has some interesting books and when devoid of ideas, it could be a good place to look. One of the first ones I saw was Say You’re One of Them. I diligently read these short stories when they were released; partly due to the praise they received and partly because of their origin. The fictional stories were written in Nigeria and talked about characters like us and the daily difficulties life threw at them. One was about 2 kids – who had to escape from being sold, another one about a family that had to escape a bloody riot. The subjects were good, but the writing was really dry and left me completely unimpressed. So you see, OBC is not completely dependable.

My eyes, however, fell on a great author whose work I’ve been meaning to read for a while – Leo Tolstoy. His Anna Karenina lay on the shelf inviting me to read. We’ve all heard about this classic but I didn’t know much about it so I decided to dive into the path less taken; especially since reading Fall of Giants; I’ve been completely mesmerized with Germany & Russia!

 It’s a story about a rich lady Anna Karenina, who according to people who view her is living the perfect life – a rich husband, good standing in society and a lovely boy – but falls haplessly in love with someone else. Along with the drama, the story promises to bring to light more about Russian history and politics, everything that appeals to me right now!

So far the story is still developing; Anna Karenina is visiting her husband and has met this man she is supposed to fall in love with. But right now, that man is busy wooing someone else; albeit he has already noticed Anna Karenina.

No impressions – good or bad – about the story yet but I am sure that will change soon. Let’s see if Anna destroys her life (because in those days when you stepped out of the line, that’s pretty much what happened) or resigns herself to her fate (which she doesn’t sound like at all). But I am refraining from any judgment, will wait for time to divulge her secrets to me!