Paradise Lost & Regained by Ratnadip: A Review

There is a proliferation of English Indian fiction especially from the young Indian authors in the last few years. Most of these revolve around themes such as romance, relationship strains, emotional recoveries and marital adventures of urban, middle class, educated and career youth. Much of the story line and instances narrated are repetitive in many works and the ends are predictable.  Another ‘popular’ stream of non-fiction originated in the last several years is from the authors who are fascinated by the Indian mythologies. It was a very refreshing feeling when I came across ‘Paradise Lost & Regained’ by Ratnadip Acharya, an acclaimed author who wrote several pieces for ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ series.

Charles Darwin wrote ‘The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals’ in 1872 to tell the world about the life and relationship within the animal world. He wrote about the verbal and non-verbal communication of emotions by animals. Very few authors attempted to travel to the animal world to create imaginative work of fiction. Works like ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, ‘Watership Down’ by Richard Adams,  and ‘Warriors into the Wild’ by Erin Hunter are very popular even today.

While travelling in a train from Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India towards Thiruvanathapuram, I enjoyed the beautiful sight of several cows and goats happily grazing in the wonderful greenery in a moderately pristine surrounding.  Some of them looked at the train and the passengers, though that would be a very familiar sight for them every day. Birds sat on on the cows and picked what they want and the latter enjoyed it. There were calves playing around the field with joy. Dogs and goats slept adjacently. Watching all those beautiful moments designed by the creator for all beings without any discrimination was quite a fulfilling experience. Some beings in the world choose to be happy through peaceful coexistence and some others, like we the humans, fight for an upper hand.   I would not have keenly observed those beautiful creations on that journey but for the book I was reading at that time.   ‘Paradise Lost & Regained’ kindled an urge within me to observe, understand and learn from the animal world. Certainly, I too got the revelation like the young deer (the protagonist) in the book that all life on earth is a gift from nature which comes in a package that contains challenges and danger and one must be courageous and responsible enough to make the most of life, and to share it with others.

Paradise Lost & Regained is a beautiful story as told by a deer about not only the physical environment we live but also about the universal attributes of trust, love, hope and courage. The deer vividly narrates about her life from the birth in the forest to human captivity, and the great escape. The events narrated are very entertaining, intriguing and exciting. It is very evident that the author is a keen observer and has a clear understanding of animal instincts, behaviors and responses.  

The book triggered in me several strands of thoughts that I would like to share. As we live in this world and cross various stages in life, we face many people, challenges and opportunities. In the early life, when there are many things to explore and get excited, we find meanings but tend not to probe and evaluate. But later in life, we get into an ‘evaluation’ mode rather than a ‘living’ mode. If the evaluation is on us it is productive and reformatory. But if the target of evaluation is always the other people and events – past and present, then it is derogatory, wasteful and destructive. Thus we ‘live’ each moment in the childhood and as we grow up as an adult, we tend to spend most of our time worrying and regretting.

We tend to forget that the life is a precious gift and that we need to live in gratitude the entire life. In the story of the deer we see that the biggest compliment one can get is from one’s own mother as none loves us so much than our mothers. None instills in us more confidence than our own mothers. “You are one of the chosen few, my child. I am so proud of you”, whispered the mother to the baby deer who had already read her mother’s message for her in her eyes, radiant with joy. The mother’s words, her tender care and the protection gave the baby deer the courage to face the challenges in life and to succeed. How many times in our life as we grow big and cross many landmarks, we think about the pain of the mother and the influence she had made on our personality. The little deer was grateful: ‘Feeling grateful to life, I closed my eyes while the milk from my mother’s breast continued discharging into my mouth without the least effort of mine. I wished this rare moment had never come to an end’. The mother gives the first lesson of unconditional love in our life. She is love personified.

This is a story of emancipation by carving out paths ourselves against all odds.  The author makes the protagonist think like one in the ‘Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho that ‘if the universe has conspired to set me free from here, no man-made barrier can thwart me in getting my golden days back….a strong trust filled my heart and made my eyes twinkle with joy’.

Let me reproduce an insightful communication from the mystery bird to the deer, the central character in the story:

‘Whenever the attributes like jealousy, greed, hatred take hold of you, they will pull you down quickly to such a state where always prevails misery. Whenever they grab your being, you are bound to have a quick fall from a state of joy and bliss. And once you are within the grasp of jealousy, hatred, envy, self-doubt it is so difficult to set yourself free and return to your actual happy and loving self. So never allow an emotion to overpower you that may drag you down to a pitiable state. So always be aware; always ask yourself before doing anything if you are acting out of jealousy, malice or hatred, selfishness or envy. If the answer is yes give yourself sometime and watch the forest, ……. , the stream for a long time. You will always find that never do they act out of jealousy, malice or hatred; nothing can tempt them to lower themselves. There is a deep sense of dignity and self-respect in them’

It is a humbling but enlightening exercise if we, humans, attempt to observe our fellow beings from the animal kingdom. That can indeed create a social-psychological awareness of the whole system of creation and the purpose of life. From that learning, we could gain a new perspective about the mother earth and how we should treat our fellow beings.

Ratnadip Acharya is a graduate from the NIT Jamshedpur and is a well-trained street magician. ‘Paradise Lost & Regained’ is a very well written fiction that can make you glued to the theme even after you finished the book. This is a work that deserves attention of readers across the globe. Simplistic presentation, inspirational thoughts (though slightly sermonic), exciting story line and the unique theme could be the reasons for you to grab this book. The book is available at Amazon.in

                                                                © Sibichen K Mathew

Read some of my other book reviews below.

Aleph

Julian Assange

When trust is sold

A new world order and global war

Adultery - A review ( A disappointment too!)

The voice of the hunted

Manuscript found in Accra

The goat days

Speeches that Changed the World

An event called life

Dancing with Maharaja

Evolution of Modern India

Return of a King, Sahibs India and Gandhi before India

Tamil, Tamilians and the Tirukkural

To read all articles in Cyber Diary, click HOME

The Voice of the Hunted: A Review of 'Wisdom of the White Mountain'

                                                                Book Review: 'Wisdom of the White Mountain'

The voice of the hunted are suppressed. In every society and culture there are individuals who are destined to live the life of a serf. They are considered ever dependent even when sheer hard work made them step on their shoes. They are used to the humiliating experiences. They continue to bend their heads before the mighty and ever willing to lick what is thrown from the table of the lord even when there is no necessity. They are forced to sing eulogies to the immature successors of the breed of the masters.

The protagonist whom people called ‘Vella Pottan’ in the novel touched me so deeply. This is the story of an intelligent person who is made to believe that he is a dumb moron and in all obedience he acted cleverly foolish throughout his life. His childhood was marred by extreme poverty, discrimination and abuses and there was none to love him. He craved for legitimacy. Gradually he suffered an existential crisis which forced him to question the very meaning of life.

The novel clearly busts the hypocrisy of the social and political institutions and double standards of organized religions including the ones that claim to be the denomination of the suppressed.  The stratification within the religion that preached equality underscored the ubiquitous existence of discrimination against the low born.

The blurb of the book tells the theme very succinctly:

 “Some powerful men-including performers of black magic, underworld gangsters, sleuths, extremist zealots, and sellers of spirituality-chased a powerless, low caste man from a Kerala village through Mumbai, Karachi and Delhi till he finally escaped into the mountain ranges of Himalayas. All of them wanted to capture this man alive and keep him with them! However, none of these men could catch and keep this elusive man, as he always found his way to freedom. In the process of working out his escapes this man also unearthed some important mysteries of human life! Why did some powerful men continuously chase a low caste man? How did the man always find his way to freedom? What are the riddles he solved while he was trying to escape from his captors? Wisdom of the White Mountain is a suspenseful and adventurous story told in the cultural, spiritual and philosophical context of the South Asia. It is also about Karma, Kama and Jihad! It ultimately unravels greed and selfishness of powerful men who mix religion and politics to manipulate common people for advancing personal interests.”

This is a novel that would captivate you for its good narrative. It was very exciting to read the chapters and the book provided curiosity all along. This is the second novel of the author, though looked like a sequel (because of the similarity in the title) to his first fiction ‘Dolmens in the Blue Mountain’. I found this one much more deep, unconventional, and meaningful. It is not about pursuit of happiness, but pursuit for freedom.

The hunted themselves were made to be the weapons in the hands of the mighty to massacre others. They became life-less guns triggered by someone else. They crave for freedom and fight incessantly to reach a free world. However after each battle they realize that they entered another stage of bondage. History tends to repeat itself as the powerful continue to use the powerless for their advantage. This novel has the potential to become a globally acclaimed work for its theme and the presentation.

The author, Kandathil Sebastian holds a doctorate degree in Public Health and Social Sciences from JNU. He is a consultant for various international organizations.  Wisdom of the White Mountain is published by Frog books, an imprint of Leadstart Publishing. Pages 183. Rs 145. US $6. It is available in most online stores.

© Sibichen K Mathew      Views are personal          Share the post if you like it

When God starts staying in your neighborhood

The faithful believe that they have a living God. Some of them look up to the heaven. Some look within. Some wait for the advent. But, what if God comes and stays in your neighborhood?

The crisis of faith most often emerges in a rational mind when doubts arise about the contextual relevance of sermons and scriptures.  For most religious denominations, their creed and the faith are rooted in scriptures that are several centuries old and in events that said to have happened millions of years ago. There could be instances when some of the believers seek from their leaders or explore themselves the contextual interpretation of the writings and oral traditions. Whether it is Adam- Eve, Big-Bang, connection between the microcosm and macrocosm, or any mundane chicken-egg question, the faithful tend to engage in inconclusive debates.

During my sixteen and half hour journey in Rani Chennamma Express Train  to  Kolhapur in Maharashtra state, ‘Joshua’ gave me company. It is a fiction written by Joseph F. Girzon, published by Collier Books (Macmillan, New York) in 1983. That was my second reading of the entire book. Some books do not age. The apt sub title tells it: ‘A Parable for Today’.

It is quite a coincidence to pick up this book to read again on the day media reported with a lot of interest and excitement about Pope Francis’s view on evolution and big-bang. He had said that ‘the scientist must be motivated by the confidence that nature hides, in her evolutionary mechanisms, potentialities for intelligence and freedom to discover and realize, to achieve the development that is in the plan of the creator’. It has always been a challenge for the theists and religious leaders to give divine authenticity for things that happen today. They are asked these questions: What would be God’s view on this? What would God do if he faced such a situation? It needs a lot of courage to admit the truth to the world even if it might be interpreted as a deviation from the existing conclusions.

How is it like if Jesus takes ‘reincarnation’ after 2000 years in this world? What will he do to earn a living? What new gospel would he preach? What would be his attitude towards the religious denominations founded in his name? Will he drive out the people there?   Will he pay a visit to the multitude of churches established in his name and what would be his response to the activities there? What would be his lifestyle? Will he use the modern amenities? What would be the reaction of the people and the authorities? Will they crucify him again or shoot him with a gun?

A poster of the film based on the book

The book ‘Joshua’ is a story about the arrival of a carpenter in the 1980s to a peaceful town with simple people. He taught everyone about the freedom to expand the breadth of inner life. The life was not easy for him though there were many admirers. The book is indeed inspirational and introspective.

Readers get an impression that Joseph F. Girzon wanted to tell his views to the world attributing them to Joshua. A fiction was the easiest and harmless route for that. However the book ‘Joshua’ does not have the flow or style of a good novel. Factually too, the book suffered from several shortcomings. Casual reductionism is very evident while he manifested an oversimplified view of the reality as it existed. One example is his (through Joshua) rejection of the inevitable institutional structure and authority conspicuous in large organized denominations. As a retired catholic priest, Girzon would have known it better.

I found the content thought provoking. The narration could make readers forget the fact that the book is a work of fiction. I fell in love with Joshua just like the way the characters in the fiction viz. Phil, Mary, Charlie, Pat, Herm and many others got infatuated. 

I have jotted down a few of my wishes after reading this book. They are given below:

I wish I could carry a huge cherry log of problems on my shoulders and walk unaware and unconcerned about its weight.

I wish I could notice all those beautiful creations and know how much the Father loves me

I wish I could make my inner life richer and less showy

I wish I could avoid creating human laws to dictate how one can worship the creator

I wish instead of being an expert in law, can I be an expert in love?

I wish I could break my bread and share with a total stranger.

I wish I could make a living just to meet my needs of the day

I wish I understand the fact that 'talent doesn't justify putting on airs and any ability I have comes from my creator, and my recognition of it should make me humble, not arrogant'.

I wish I understand the ' modern unforgivable sin' when I tend to see the 'latest discoveries and creations as reasons to question the very existence of the person who gave them the abilities to discover and create'.

I wish we had leaders who set an example, 'who draw people to God by their own deep faith and by the beauty of their personal lives, not by intimidating people into sterile external observances'.

I wish I tell to myself often that everyone has imperfections as that's the way God made them and “perfection is more a process of striving than a state to be attained"

I wish I could be more humble in my attitude towards those who are less privileged than me

I wish I can lay aside the pettiness and prejudices, even those that have been consecrated through the passing of centuries.

I wish I have more goodness so that I will be chosen to witness better things in this world

An imperfect soul I am, I do not wish to be suppressed by the guilt, threat and fear. Let me be vibrant and joyful to cross the hurdles created by me, accepting the way I am and enjoying the freedom the creator has bestowed.  Then I can be like Joshua: free, simple, courageous, loving and peaceful.

Views are personal                                                     © Sibichen K Mathew

'Adultery'- A Review (A disappointment too!)

I am an admirer of the writings of Paulo Coelho for the last several years. I also owe him for the huge traffic (about 16000 page views in three days) for my review of Aleph in my blog, mainly because Paulo Coelho talked about that in his website. 

Let me repeat what I wrote earlier while reviewing the book ‘Manuscript found in Accra’ by Paulo Coelho here:  Alchemist had touched my heart. Aleph had refined my soul. Veronica decides to die gave me so much pain. The Zahir triggered in me more questions about the worthiness of relationships than answers that can console. Eleven minutes taught me about the love beyond lust. The winner stands alone tried to dissect my personality and left me in loneliness. 

I had the same excitement when I picked up Coelho’s latest book ‘Adultery’ from a book stall which forced to sell it at 25% discount because the illegal replicas were available in the street for one-fourth of the price of the original.

I finished the book within a day making full use of a long intercity travel. As the return flight touched the ground around midnight with an unusually strong jerk, I was on the last page.  I too felt a strong jolt within. Where did Coelho ultimately take the reader?

Novels are written artifacts for the consumption of readers. People read them mainly for entertainment, information, relaxation, and inspiration.  Coelho’s books gave these in plenty though the last one viz. inspirational content was the predominant reason for the popularity of his books. So naturally, readers who are driven by the stereotypical expectations would look for the same element in every work of Coelho. However, ‘Adultery’ was different. But that is not the reason for my worry.

Let me share the theme in the book very briefly without giving any vital clue about how the story ended.

Linda, who is in her thirties, is a journalist with a leading newspaper in Switzerland. She is married to a ‘rich, charming and intelligent’ man. According to her, she always wore the best clothes that money could buy thanks to her ‘husband’s limitless generosity’. She had two lovely children. Yet she felt depressed often. She was in search of something that could lift her out of the routine life. She perceived new hope after the unexpected encounter with a childhood friend who became an important politician. Later one could see the lady with frequent mental aberrations reflected both in thoughts and action and an uncontrollable drive characterized by lust, jealousy, revenge and frustration. Like the ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, she found herself to be on the one hand honest, kind, caring and professional and on the other hand impatient, irritated, and jealous. And, quite surprisingly she has a husband who said, ‘I love you. I would endure anything, absolutely anything, to always have you by my side’.

Certainly, some of the Coelho fans would find the book slightly distasteful. But, moral character of a work cannot influence an assessment of the story. Certainly, it is not mandatory for any author to give a message in his work, though it could emerge as he unravels a story. Readers could possibly draw insights on the human experiences and form his own conclusions if he considers reading a book of fiction inspirational, educative or therapeutic. In short, It is for the readers to search for ‘moral of the story’ if they want.

However, it is true that many writers and critics of literature had a different view. The debate on the relation between literature and morality existed for centuries. Plato acknowledged that ‘a fictional text can be a receptacle of morally instructive significance’. Plato argued that if the art (we may add literature also here) does not teach morality and ethics, it would be damaging to his ‘Republic’. Aristotle believed that plot, character, thought, diction etc. influence the audience’s (let us add readers’) catharsis (pity, fear and/or satisfaction with the work). We know this for sure when we read authors like Dostoevsky and Shakespeare.

In his book ‘The Great Tradition’ (1948)  F R Leavis argued that there can’t be great art (and literature) without serious moral purpose. While he rejected ‘Madam Bovary’ (1856) by Gustave Flaubert for its lack of ‘moral seriousness’, he found the works of George Eliot in line with his thought. Famous British theatre critic Eric Bentley had said, ‘Literature deals with morality but does not necessarily, does not qua literature, help you to be more moral, either by precept or by example’.

My view is that the terms ‘moral’ and ‘morality’ are very relative and one cannot possibly have a universal, spatiotemporal interpretation. What is considered moral for one could be absolutely immoral for another. But every piece of work, whether it is a best seller or a non-moving stock or one that contains material which is blasphemous, obscene, libelous, or false, there would be a definite cognitive and affective impact on the reader. Therefore, to me, Coelho’s ‘Adultery’ is consequential to that extent for substantial number of readers.  

When I read ‘Adultery’, I got reminded of the story and its depiction in the book ‘Madam Bovary’  (1856) by   Gustave Flaubert, which I mentioned above as a work scrutinized by F R Leavis when he analyzed the relation between morality and literature.  Emma (Madam Bovary), in order to escape the dullness and emptiness of “provincial life” goes to experiment her romantic fantasies with other men. The thrills of cheating followed by anxieties and tensions did not stop her from pursuing the pleasures further. We see Linda in Paulo Coelho’s book not much different.

 

The language is beautiful as in most books by Coelho. The ‘moral’ policeman within me wished that the book had an ‘A’ rating on its cover to restrict it to children below a certain age group. Of course, I am not speaking from a monastery which is cut off from the open-access world. But many adults who prescribe Coelho’s books as compulsory reading for young students would not prefer to see them read Coelho’s narrations of fantasies and private acts of two consenting adults in this book. (Like movies, why not have an adult rating for books too?). Anyway, this is a trivial issue.

The main character seems to be mentally ill. The readers would draw a conclusion that the author attempts to project her as one who represents multitude of such women in the modern society. The author has shown that restlessness, lack of contentment and boredom, if not properly tackled and understood, could lead to unintended actions and abnormal mental status. The author creates confusion among readers whether Linda is after love or lust. One would doubt whether the author started the writing with one projection of the main character and later thought it can have a different projection and a climax (was there any climax?).  Dissatisfied with the last page, I flipped again to look for some post script or epilogue! There was none.

I am sure the author himself would wish to tell the readers that the theme is not adultery. But why then he chose that as a title? Perhaps, the author or the publisher had a different idea when they selected the title without considering the fact that millions of copies of Paulo Coelho’s book can be sold even without a title.

Unlike the previous books of Coelho, I found something seriously wrong with the flow.  For me it was felt as if the author has sandwiched a few extra pieces here and there after he finished stitching the cloth. One example is the section that dealt with the explanation for love in the letterof St Paul to the Corinthians. A clear ‘balancing’ attempt!

Sorry for being an uncharitable reviewer of Paulo Coelho this time. The exercise was indeed painful for me too! Though the book cannot be one of the bests by Paulo Coelho, it is definitely deserve a top position among the best seller fictions in the market now.

Views are personal                                      © Sibichen K Mathew

Those who want to read my review of ‘Aleph’ by Paulo Coelho click below:

Aleph, Paulo Coelho and my friend

Read my other book reviews below:

Julian Assange: A Criminal or a Champion of Open Society?

Dancing with Maharaja: An Inspirational Novel for the Civil Services Aspirants

Built on Trust: The living legend who magnified an event called LIFE

Speeches that Changed the World
Evolution of Modern India -An interesting voyage with speakers who made history

Tamils, The Tamilians and the Tirukkural 

A new world order and global war in 21st century? 
When trust is sold
Choose the book and start living

A new world order and a global war in the 21st century? The predictions by George Friedman

Some of us love predictions. People tap a variety of sources to get to know about their future. Some seek the help of Tarot card readers. Some go to the Astrologers who interpret the horoscopes. Some look at your palm and reveal the past and predict the future. There are a few who approach numerologists. In southern India people rush to see the ‘naadi palm leaves’ where everything about them is written.  Some are eager to find about the prospects of their business, some would like to know the problems of a property purchase. There are many who want to know about a perfect match. One can see many road side experts who predict your future with the help of the parrots!  There are even ‘online love calculators’ that predict whether your lover would ditch you and if yes when! So, everyone is in search of the answers about the future. At least here, the science and medicine have failed miserably!

Just like one is eager to know about one’s future, some of us might be interested in knowing about the future of the world!  May be that prompted me to pick up this book from the airport vendor: ‘The next hundred years: A forecast for the 21st century’ written by George Friedman (published in 2009). About the author a few words: He is the founder of STARTFOR, a leading private intelligence and forecasting company located in Texas. He is considered as a leading expert in geo-political intelligence. He is the author of many books. He was an academician for over 20 years before joining the business sector.

Now, about the book: The book is about his predictions about the world in the 21^st century! The attempt was to explain where, how and why future wars will erupt and they will be fought. He also wrote extensively which nations will gain and lose economic and political power.

Many wrote books predicting the future of the world. There are many non-fictions and movies that ‘predicted’ new technology and lifestyle. George Orwell created a disturbing picture of the future in his novel ‘1984’ published in 1949. ‘Future Shock’ by Alvin Toffler (1970) warned of a society that would suffer from what he called the ‘Information overload’ that would result in isolation, depression, and impermanence and transiency in relationships. Friedman’s work was more direct. It focused exclusively on predicting the future.

George Friedman never claims he had a crystal ball. His task was to try to see the order underneath the disorder of history. His attempt was to ‘anticipate what events, trends, and technology that order will bring forth’.

According to him the inherent power coupled with its geographic position makes the United States the pivotal actor of the 21^st century. He said, there will be coalitions trying to contain and control the United States. And the United States will act preemptively to prevent an effective coalition from forming. The twenty-first century will see even more war than the twentieth century, but less catastrophic. He predicted that Russia, though try to reassert power, will collapse.

Friedman did not consider China as a threat either. He said China is inherently unstable. Its political economic environment is marred with inefficiency and corruption. He expects three countries to become powerful and assertive over the next few decades. They are Japan, Turkey and Poland. He considered Turkey as a stable platform in the midst of chaos. He said that Germany is declined and Poland would emerge as an important player to face the Russians. The relationships among United States, Japan, Turkey and Poland will greatly affect the 21^st century which ultimately would lead to the next global war.

He predicted that, by 2050 advanced industrial countries will be losing population at a dramatic rate. There will be a shrinking population even in underdeveloped countries. United States will depend on Mexicans to migrate there for labor. By 2080, the author expects a serious confrontation between US and an increasingly powerful and assertive Mexico. (One can’t imagine that now!)

Basing his arguments on his ‘geopolitical forecasting’, he has stated that ‘it is possible to think about large numbers of human beings, linked together through natural human bonds, constrained by geography, acting in certain ways’. He says in the book that the twenty-first century will be extraordinary and it will see a new global power astride the world. ‘European Age has ended and the North American Age has begun’! He argues that United States is only at the beginning of its power and the 21^st century will be the American century.

Freidman has predicted that China does not represent a geopolitical fault line and it will have far greater internal problems and therefore little time for foreign policy adventures. His prediction about Russia is stronger. He said its military will collapse shortly after 2020. By 2040 the relationship between US and China will grow closer as a defense against the emergence of Japan.

What about India? The author says that India will help Tibet break free! He wrote about the 2040s:

 “ The United States will have had a long relationship with India, dating back to the US-jihadist war of the early twenty-first century. While India, internally divided, will not have managed to become a global economic power, it will be a regional power of some importance. India will be disturbed by the entry of the Muslim Turks into the Arabian Sea, and will fear further Turkish expansion into the Indian Ocean itself. India’s interests will align with those of the Americans, and so the United States will find itself in the same position in the Indian Ocean as in the Pacific."

Then, George Friedman continues to write about the preparation for war, the world war, the golden decade of 2060s, US-Mexico relationships etc. Describing them in detail would amount to injustice to the author as every writer wants his book to be bought and read by people rather than leaking the contents and predictions to everyone around freely!

So let me stop my review here. But a few points as conclusion:

It is very difficult to believe what he says especially about the emergence of countries like Mexico and its potential to become a challenge for the US. There is no mention of the status of many other emerging countries that will play a crucial role in the new world order in 21^st century, apart from Japan, Turkey and Poland. The power and influence of countries like India have been underestimated: May be as he said, ‘common sense almost always betray us’.

He, though an advocate of geopolitical forecasting, has caught in the web of rigidity established for centuries by the notion of ‘pure’ economists that actors (players) are rational beings and every individual is driven by self-interest. He has equated the nations in the same way. I feel that there cannot be any basis for a theoretical assumption that leaders, leadership strategies, and leadership goals are based on scientific, logical and rational decisions by the actors in society and politics. By giving a view that ‘geopolitics is about broad impersonal forces that constrain nations and compel them to act in certain ways’, the author also fell into the trap of ‘invisible hand’ phenomenon of the rational economists.

In spite of all its limitations, the book is an interesting read for not only political scientists and specialists in international relations, but also for anyone who is eager to know about the future of the world. Just like someone goes to a new astrologer after realizing much later that the earlier one gave incorrect predictions, we can keep exploring every prediction, prophecy and claim about the future. It is good fun. Those who are blessed to see the entire 21^st century can verify the predictions themselves. Most of us won’t be alive to witness the fulfilment of these predictions! But at least we can visualize a world where we may not going to be there!

You can order the book HERE  

Views are personal                                         © Sibichen K Mathew

The beginning of real 'history'? The discipline to the public domain

In 1989 Francis Fukuyama, the renowned American political scientist asked a question: ‘The End of History?’ That was an article written by him as he thought that the humanity’s socio-cultural revolution was going to end with the spread of the institution of liberal democracy across the world. Later, he expanded the thought with sufficient substance and a lot of substantiation in his book ‘The End of History and the Last Man’ in 1992. After the end of the cold war and the fall of Berlin Wall, he said that there was unprecedented homogeneity in the way powers are established and sustained. Though the world order is not homogeneous as thought by him, the title he used for his work is still relevant in a related context. Let me modify his question. As an academic discipline, whether it is the end of ‘history’?

History is indeed a laboratory where one understands about the human existence, evolution and progress. However, very few people like to read books in history. And much less number of people would like to take history as a subject to study. Naturally, there is a decrease in the number of colleges and universities that offer history at degree or post graduate level.

Sebastian Joseph, my friend and a historian of forest and environment, is very alarmed at the growing disinterest of the people in learning about the past. He narrated this to me. He was travelling by the Chennai Mail from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi. The person who sat next to him was a businessman who asked this wrong question: ‘What is the use of studying history?’ That was when Sebastian told him that he teaches history to students. Sebastian, though felt slightly unpleasant by the question, decided to explain to him the relevance of learning about the past. He also explained how the individuals, organizations and nation-states can learn from the lessons of the past. He also told about him the importance of oral history. The businessman keenly listened to Sebastian and before the end of the journey narrated his own past which Sebastian recorded in his mobile device. What narrated by the businessman was not just about his life and his struggles to reach the top, but also about the socio-economic and political contexts in which he lived and got influenced. He said, ‘I want the new generation to read about my past’. Sebastian transformed him to be a passionate historian by the end of the journey. Yes, history is not just about the kings and kingdoms. It is more about the ordinary people and their extraordinary lives!

The reason for writing this post is my happiness in receiving three non-fiction books as mementos after my talk at three institutions in the last few days. Each one of them gave me a copy that dealt with persons and events of history. After glancing at them I was reassured myself of the contemporary relevance of history and its regained popularity. First book is biographical, second one is eventful and the third provides a descriptive account of history as people thought about. I find these books prominently kept in many leading book stalls and people do buy them. This shows that history as a discipline has come out of the classrooms to the public domain. In universities we are forced to read the ‘prescribed history’. But we get to know about the ‘real history’ when we read books from the ‘open source’ thanks to the efforts of various publishers to showcase the works of scholars with different perspectives.

Here are those books:

(To read reviews and buy CLICK HERE)

                                                             (Read an objective review HERE)
                                                           

                                                             (You can check the book HERE)

                                                            © Sibichen K Mathew                                              

Views are personal

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Who hates gifts?

Tamil, the Tamilians and the Tirukkural

I am a fan of not only the Tamil language but also the Tamilians in general. My fascination towards the language increased as I started learning it. First it was out of an urge to excel in work though there was no career compulsion. Later it was a personal admiration after knowing the richness in that great language, both oral and written.

I was posted in Tamil Nadu and as part of a sensitive job handled by me, I used to come across many handwritten notes in Tamil. Instead of always depending on the team members I wanted to understand the content myself. I bought a book ‘Learning Tamil in 30 Days’ from the Higginbotham's book stall at Coimbatore Railway Station. I did the theory at home and the practical in the field. My first learning assignment was to read all posters of films pasted on all street walls across the city. As a young man I was equally fascinated with the Tamil movies as well during those days. I could read all bus boards and all writings on the signboards and other hoardings. Later I started reading printed texts though it took much time to complete each page.  But I could understand the content of all letters, petitions, papers and documents easily and that facilitated by job.

If a Tamilian goes to the nearby state Kerala and try to speak Malayalam, the cynical mallus (not all but the typical ones.) will try to laugh at him and tease him. But if a Malayali goes to Tamil Nadu and tries to communicate through his broken Tamil, they would not get offended. On the contrary they would appreciate the attempt. That was my experience.  I was encouraged by my Tamil friends whenever I tried to speak in Tamil. I don’t know whether I can generalize this. But the point I am conveying is that an attitude of inclusiveness and openness can break the barriers created by language in a country like India that is severely divided over linguistic affinities.

My inspiration for learning Tamil was my teacher Shri A Selvaraj, who retired as a Chief Commissioner under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. He is a Tamilian but had mastered the Malayalam language. He spoke fluent Malayalam and read a large number of books in that language. He could engage in very in-depth debates on most of the leading Malayalam literary works with any literary critics from Kerala. I remember this incident. A leading Malayalam actor was summoned to his office in respect of an important matter. I happened to enter his chamber for an emergency work, when he was ‘interrogating’ the actor. To my surprise I found him engaging in an intellectual debate about a movie remake of a Malayalam classic, and he pointing to the actor how many vital elements of the original story were missed in the movie. (There were two results for the ‘interrogation’:  First, the actor understood his deficiency in that particular area of literature. Second, he admitted his omissions for which he was called ‘to question’ and did not challenge the concerned proceedings. )

Let me not divert from the main topic.

Whenever I attended any function in Tamil Nadu, I heard speakers quoting extensively from the book ‘Tirukkural’. Even ministers and parliamentarians from Tamil Nadu drew from it whenever they wanted to make a point in parliament or in many other meetings. Union Minister of Finance from Tamil Nadu never missed a reference to Tirukkural in his budget speeches. Though learned about the book in School I never knew much about this great work. Thiruvallavar , an acclaimed Tamil poet wrote this book around 30 BC. He had courageously pointed out the need for correcting certain defects in the society of that time. Unfortunately some of those defects still lie in the society of today and hence its contemporary relevance. Tirukkural is considered as the most translated work perhaps after the Bible and the Koran.

I wanted to read the Tirukkural, but the Tamil work was a little tough for me to understand.  After many years, on  request my friend Alagiri procured the English translations of Tirukkural by Dr N Mahalingam and Dr S M Diaz.

Dr N Mahalingam wrote in his introduction: “Though the Tamil language saw the birth and growth of countless works on various subjects, none can be said to be comparable to TIRUKKURAL. There is none to compare with this, even in the literature of other languages”.

Dr V C Kulaindaiswamy in his foreword said:

 “Tirukkural is  a treatise on the ‘Art of Living’ born out of the culture of the Tamil society. It is the contribution of a genius that the Tamil country has produced. …..The basis for its immortal and universal appeal is to be seen in its secular character, clarity of thought, depth of understanding, perception of the unshifting foundations of human life, penetrating insight into the essentials and the capacity to present them in an extremely generalized form, avoiding carefully any particularisation’.

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The work consists of 1330 epigrammatic couplets grouped into 133 chapters, of ten couplets each. It comprises of three books: 1) The first book ‘On Virtue’ consists of 38 chapters deals with various themes that include ‘In Praise of Rain’, ‘Asceticism’ and ‘Virtue’. The second book contains 70 chapters that deal with ‘Wealth’ covering themes such as government, polity, economy etc. The third chapter contains 25 chapters and the main theme is ‘Love’.

Dr S M Diaz, a former Indian Police Service officer, who is also a scholar of Bible, took pains to translate Tirukkural to English and has compared specific verses with other sacred texts like the Bible and the Gita. He argues that the work of Tiruvallavar differs vitally in many ways from the works of Plato and Confucius, but even more radically from the concepts of State polity presented in Arthasasthra by Kautilya (Chanakya), and in  Prince, by Machiavelli.

Taiwanese poet Hung Ching-Yu, who writes under the Pseudonym Yu Hsi translated Tirukkural into Mandarin. In his speech after receiving the Tiruvallavar award at Chennai he said: ‘I acknowledge the Tirukkural as a universal scripture.’

  

The concepts propounded by Tiruvallavar in Tirukkural are based on Dharma of a universal character in time and space.  The volumes extensively deal with many subjects. Some (out of a total of 133) are given below:

In praise of God

The glory of renunciation

On self restraint

Control of temper

On wisdom

Freedom from envy

On diplomacy

On assessment of relative strength

On friendship

On making wealth

On just rule

On choice of the right time

Efficiency in action

Some other interesting topics

Wicked friends

The enemy within

Sensitiveness to shame

In praise of the lady’s charms

Wasting of eye through wistful longing

Chennai based Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), an autonomous  institute under the Ministry of Human Resources Development of Govt of India has taken efforts to provide translations of Tirukkural in various languages. This is available in many Indian languages. Dr Tarlochan Singh Bedi has translated the classic into Punjabi.  The Tirukkural has been translated into Latin, German, Mandarin, French, Polish, Russian and many other foreign languages.

If you have not read it so far, please step into any of the big libraries or buy a copy for yourself.

For English translation by Dr Diaz a, please contact Ramanandha Adigalar Foundation, Kumaraguru College of Technology Campus, Coimbatore -641 006 or Varthamanan Pathippagam, 40, Sarojini Street, Chennai-17.  Other versions of the book are available in Amazon and Flipkart. But ensure that what you buy is an authentic translation of the full work and not an abridged one.

(Views are personal.)                                       © Sibichen K Mathew

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Goat Days: A real-life story of a young man's journey to loneliness

If ‘Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho was a story about a Shepherd boy following his dream, Benyamin’s ‘goat days’ is a real life story of a young man who pursued his dream and ended up as a shepherd in a sterile wasteland.

When a friend mentioned that there was a visa for sale to go to a gulf country, Najeeb didn’t think twice. He had only simple wishes: Settle a few family debts, add a room to the small house, and to get out of the work of a sand diver that gave him chronic cough and cold. Leaving her pregnant wife and mother, he travelled to gulf after obtaining a visa from an agent paying a huge sum he mustered by taking loans from every source possible. He landed and stranded at the airport itself unclaimed by his job sponsor. He was grabbed by a dirty, smelly ‘arbab’ who pushed him into the open back of his very old vehicle.

Najeeb’s experience in the desert reminds us of the value of our existence in a free world. We take our freedom to live, work, interact, recreate, and procreate for granted. We forget to consider that the people and the relationships are precious. When Najeeb and his friends dragged their feet with an overwhelming numbness and pain in the body and in the mind, they understood that even despair, disillusionment, and the pain had no meaning in their life. All desires cherished by them left one by one and they had only one urge – just to have a drop of water.

Read the following lines excerpted from the book:

‘Every experience in life has a climax, whether it be happiness, sorrow, sickness or hunger. When we reach the end, there are only two paths left for us: either we learn to live with our lives or protest and struggle in a final attempt to escape. If we choose the second path, we are safe if we win; if not, we end up in a mental asylum or kill ourselves.

So far I had not tried to escape. The first few times were amateurish attempts. I had not reached the end of my tether then. Actually, I had learnt to live with my circumstances. My experience taught me that no matter how severe our pain or how harsh the difficulties we face, we come to terms with our miseries in the course of time…..In the past I used to wonder how beggars, the very poor, the permanently sick, the blind and the handicapped went on with their lives, how happy smiles broke out on their faces.’ (Chapter 28, the shortest, but for me the most penetrating chapter in the book pp 175-176)

Could he escape from his bondage and misfortune? Could he ever see his family? You must read this book not to know the climax, but to understand how it would be if we were made to live a goat’s life.

The book was originally written in Malayalam by Benyamin and won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award. Joseph Koyippally has tried to showcase the book to the English readers without losing its essence. As we read the initial pages we would doubt whether Joseph is a little apprehensive about his venture, but later he has picked up his creative best and really made a great contribution in the translation of ‘Aadujeevitham’ (the title of the book in Malayalam). Justifiably, the translated work has been shortlisted for the coveted DSC Prize for South Asian Literature and the Man Asia Prize.

Buy it at a huge discount at Amazon

© Sibichen K Mathew. Comments welcome

Click below to read other book reviews

Aleph

Julian Assange

Manuscript found in Accra

Speeches that Changed the World

An event called life

Dancing with Maharaja

Evolution of Modern India

Manuscript Found in Accra: A Review

I bought the book with a lot of excitement. Alchemist had touched my heart. Aleph had refined my soul. Veronica decides to die gave me so much pain. The Zahir triggered in me more questions about the worthiness of relationships than answers that can console. Eleven minutes taught me about love beyond lust. The winner stands alone tried to dissect my personality and left me in loneliness.

None of these things happened while I read Manuscript found in Accra. Actually, I was disappointed in my first reading of the entire 194 pages on a moving train. I was impatient to reach a safe destination. But I couldn’t. My mind travelled faster than the train. Faster than the responses by Copt (the strange man and the hero in the book), who believed only in the present moment. But I had already reached the destination, without actually been there.

This happens, as we face battles everyday with one aim. We argue, fight, and justify. I looked at the scars. I felt sad. I felt lonely without realizing that at life’s most significant moments we are always alone.

I had to read again to get the meanings of the answers. And it said: ‘Only those who fail to recognize that inner strength will say ‘I lost’, and be sad’. I didn't understand. He said: ‘Scars speak more loudly than the sword that caused them’

The book talks about failures. Who has not tasted failure? But with each failure, we get depressed. We think, that is the end of everything. Why did I try? Why did I waste my time? Is it for losing the battle? He says: ‘I am here to tell you that there are people who have never been defeated. They are the ones who never fought.’

Did we hear someone calling us useless? Did we call someone useless? Why didn't we appreciate that each soul that came down to earth is here for a reason. Nothing is useless.

We see beauty all around. We see colourful opportunities everywhere.  But we fail to understand that the brightest light comes from within and not from the cosmetics, language or expression.

I learned all this and more when I attempted a second reading of the book.  Eighteen people representing varied perspectives of life asked the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ to Copt who shared from his wisdom.  No answer is unique. We have heard all those he said from great men and women in history, from scared texts and all those advisers we have among our friends, relatives and teachers.

Then what is unique about the book?

All of us love a life full of roses. But unfortunately very few of us are ready to face challenges, disappointments and difficulties patiently without losing hope.  The ‘manuscript’ gives a message that there is no shortcut to success and happiness. The miracles happen in life by transforming wheat into bread through work (not by being idle), the grape into wine through patience (not by hurry-worry), and death into life through the resurrection of dreams (not by losing hope). Success is possible for anyone irrespective of his position in the social ladder. The book says, ‘each time we see the humble exalted and the arrogant humbled, we are witnessing a miracle’.

The central theme of the book, according to me, is the message of peace and hope. Manuscript found in Accra is the transcription of a document Paulo Coelho received from the son of an English archaeologist Sir Walter Wilkinson who discovered it in 1974 in Egypt. The origin of the manuscript was traced to a place called Accra, outside the Egyptian territory.

                  “I fell asleep and dreamed that life was only

                   Happiness.

                   I woke and discovered that life was

                   Duty

                   I did my Duty and discovered that life was

                   Happiness.       (Page 118)

Manuscript found in Accra, Paulo Coelho, HarperCollins, 2013, 194 pages

Available at www.harpercollins.co.uk  / www.harpercollins.co.in  or nearest book store.

                                                                                                         © Sibichen K Mathew

Click to read some of my other book reviews

Aleph, Paulo Coelho and my Friend: The Journey Within

Julian Assange: A Criminal or a Champion of Open Society?

Dancing with Maharaja: An Inspirational Novel for the Civil Services Aspirants

Built on Trust: The living legend who magnified an event called LIFE

Speeches that Changed the World

Evolution of Modern India -An interesting voyage with speakers who made history

Choose the book and start living