Monthly Archives: April 2015

In My Hands Today…

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In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Travellers Tale – Amitav Ghosh

Once upon a time an Indian writer named Amitav Ghosh set out to find an Indian slave, name unknown, who some seven hundred years before had traveled to the Middle East. The journey took him to a small village in Egypt, where medieval customs coexist with twentieth-century desires and discontents. But even as Ghosh sought to re-create the life of his Indian predecessor, he found himself immersed in those of his modern Egyptian neighbors.

Combining shrewd observations with painstaking historical research, Ghosh serves up skeptics and holy men, merchants and sorcerers. Some of these figures are real, some only imagined, but all emerge as vividly as the characters in a great novel. In an Antique Land is an inspired work that transcends genres as deftly as it does eras, weaving an entrancing and intoxicating spell.

World Book Day

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Yesterday was a day, as a book lover, I am ashamed to say I had never heard about! So better late than never, let’s belatedly celebrate World Book Day.

World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days) is a yearly event on 23 April, organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to promote reading, publishing and copyright. In the United Kingdom, the day is recognised on the first Thursday in March. World Book Day was celebrated for the first time on 23 April 1995.

UNESCO honours 23 April as World Book Day to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those, who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.

Why 23 April you may ask? Well this day has been chosen by booksellers in Catalonia as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes, who died on this date. In 1995 UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April, as the date is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

Each year, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry – publishers, booksellers and libraries, select the World Book Capital for a one-year period, effective 23 April each year.

The city of Incheon was chosen for 2015 in recognition of its programme to promote reading among people and underprivileged sections of the population. Previous World Book Capital have included Port Harcourt, Nigeria (2014), Bangkok, Thailand (2013), Yerevan, Armenia (2012) and Beunos Aires, Argentina (2011). Wroclaw, Poland will be the next World Book Capital City in 2016 on account of the quality of its programme. Becoming a World Book Capital City does not have any financial implications or prizes for the chosen city, but is an exclusively symbolic acknowledgement of the best programme dedicated to books and reading.

Many countries around the world celebrate this day in their own way with reading programmes and initiatives to get their citizens to read more.

So did you mark World Book Day in your own way yesterday? Well, I did what I do best – read the day away – both physical and digital books….

More information on the World Book Day can be found here in this UNESCO link and this UK World Book Day website.

In My Hands Today…

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Midnight at Marble Arch – Anne Perry

In this superbly accomplished new Charlotte and Thomas Pitt adventure, Anne Perry takes us beneath the glittering surface of wealthy Victorian society into a nightmare world of fear and intimidation, where women are too often blamed for the violent attacks against them, and powerful men take what they want, leaving others to pay the price.

The horrifying rape and apparent suicide of Catherine Quixwood, wife of a wealthy merchant banker, falls outside the jurisdiction of new Special Branch head Thomas Pitt, but so pervasively offensive are the rumors about the victim that Pitt quietly takes a hand in the investigation.

Yet even with the help of his ingenious wife, Charlotte, and his former superior, Victor Narraway, Pitt is stumped. Why did high-minded, cultured Catherine choose not to accompany her husband to a grand party on the night of her demise? Why did she dismiss all her servants for the evening and leave the front door unlocked? What had been her relationship with the young man seen frequently by her side at concerts and art exhibits? And what can be done to avenge another terrible crime: the assault on Angeles Castelbranco, beloved teenage daughter of the Portuguese ambassador?

As an ordinary policeman, Pitt used to enter London’s grand houses through the kitchen door. Now, as a guest in those same houses, can he find the steel in his soul to challenge the great men of the world with their crimes? The path to the truth takes him in deeply troubling directions, from the lofty world of international politics and finance to his own happy home, where his own teenage daughter, Jemima, is coming of age in a culture rife with hidden dangers.

In this rich, emotionally charged masterpiece, Anne Perry exposes yet another ugly secret of Victoria’s proud empire. And in a courtroom battle of unparalleled brilliance, we thrill at the chance to witness a massive wrong righted.

Festivals of India: Akshaya Trithiya

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A holy day for Hindus and Jains, Akshaya Tritiya or Akha Teej falls on the third lunar day of the Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of the pan-Indian month of Vaishakha.

In Jain and Hindu calendars, some days of the month are absent in counting and some days (tithi in lunar calendars) come extra, but Akshay tritiya is one day which is never “absent” from the lunar calendar.

The word “Akshaya” means the never diminishing in Sanskrit and the day is believed to bring good luck and success. It is believed that if you do charity on this day you will be blessed. On Akshay Tritiya, Mrutika worshiped.

 

The day is considered auspicious for starting new ventures. The legend is that any venture initiated on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya continues to grow and bring prosperity. Hence, new ventures, like starting a business, construction, etc. is performed on Akshaya Tritiya. Akshaya Tritiya is also called Navanna Parvam. Akshaya Tritiya falling on a Rohini star Monday is considered more auspicious.

In Hinduism, Akshay Tritiya is a day rife with symbolisms. This was the day when the great sage Vyasa started writing the history of the great Bharat war in the form of an epic Mahabharata. According to Hindu mythology, on this day the Treta Yuga began and the river Ganges, the most sacred river of India, descended to the earth from the heaven. This day is also said to be the birthdays of Goddess Annapoorna (the giver of food and nourishment, an avatar of Goddess Parvati) and Lord Parsuram, the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, of whom the Puranic scriptures say reclaimed the land which is now known as the state of Kerala from the sea. This day is symbolized by god Vishnu, the preserver-god in the Hindu Trinity. It is said Lord Kubera received his wealth and position as custodian of wealth and property with Goddess Lakshmi on this day, by praying to Lord Shiva at Shivapuram. In Mahabharata, Yudhishtira receives the Akshaya patra, which he uses to serve food for all the needy in his kingdom on this day. It is on this day that poor Sudama, the best friend of Krishna visits Him (Lord Krishna) to greet Him after He became the King. With nothing to offer, Sudama takes with him Poha (puffed rice) and offers it to his friend and never discusses his poverty though he intends to. On his return he finds his hut changed to a palace. It is on this day that Dushasana, Duryodhana’s brother, unveils Draupadi at the royal court where Krishna protects her providing the ‘unending’ veil…

In more recent history, Adi Shankara recited the Kanaka Dhara Stotra on this day for the sake of the poor couple at whose house he stopped for Bhiksha and was offered their only available gooseberry.

This day is generally observed by fasting and worship of Lord Vasudeva with rice grains. A dip in the river Ganges on this day is considered to be very auspicious.

Even though Akshaya Trithiya has been around for centuries, it is only in recent years (maybe the last decade or so) that it has suddenly gained prominence. Much like the Valentine’s Day, this is a festival which has been driven purely by marketing efforts. Jewellers advertise the festival and since it’s auspicious to buy gold on that day, you can guess where the prices of gold would have been yesterday

In My Hands Today…

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Difficult Daughters – Manju Kapur

Set around the time of Partition and written with absorbing intelligence and sympathy, Difficult Daughters is the story of a woman torn between family duty, the desire for education, and illicit love. Virmati, a young woman born in Amritsar into an austere and high-minded household, falls in love with a neighbour, the Professor–a man who is already married. That the Professor eventually marries Virmati, installs her in his home (alongside his furious first wife) and helps her towards further studies in Lahore, is small consolation to her scandalised family. Or even to Virmati, who finds that the battle for her own independence has created irrevocable lines of partition and pain around her.