Book review: The diary of a young girl

Often I come across a book that is in itself a boring read but triggers a series of events making me more knowledgeable. "The diary of a young girl" by Anne Frank is one such book which bored me with rants of a young adolescent but the one which made me read tens of stories about World Wars, Nazi atrocity, holocaust, cruelty of Jew extermination camps and led me to interesting conversations with other enthusiasts. I am now better exposed to the topic of Hitler than I was earlier. This unexpected stumbling on a reservoir of stories and facts forms the definition of a good book.

The book is a diary as the title suggests of a young girl, Anne Frank who goes into hiding with 7 other Jews during the German occupation of Netherlands. Anne receives a diary as a birthday present on her 13th year from her father, just two days before going into hiding. She writes all her letters to an imaginary friend called 'Kitty' and speaks on a gamut of emotions such as her shock from going into hiding, her growing sexuality, her troubled relationship with her mother, her identity crisis as an adolescent, her routine in the 'Secret Annexe' (the name of their hiding place as given by Anne), her views on the ongoing of second World War, her dreams post-war et al.

The writing style is that of a typical diary (translated from the original manuscript in Dutch) and the reader finds description of mundane routines of the hiding members. The horrors faced by a family in hiding is written in a matter-of-factly manner. The reader gets to see the intensifying and simultaneously confusing emotions of an adolescent and anybody can relate with Anne's emotions of a teenager. There is a glimpse of Dutch and Jewish culture to relish. It is heart wrenching to read the fate of all those 8 members of the 'Secret Annexe' once they were found by the Nazi gestapo officers. An elaborate description of Anne's life can be read here: http://www.sensibud.com/index.php/anne-frank-house. Of all the 8 Jew victims who were arrested, only Anne's father Otto Frank survived the extermination camp by a sliver of good luck since the war ended just when he was about to be executed. Once out of his living hell, Otto comes back to collect whatever was left in the 'Secret Annexe' only to find his daughter's diary. After removing explicit sexual contents of his daughter and vile description of his wife's character by Anne, Otto published the diary for the whole world to read. Till date this book is the most acclaimed account of a Nazi victim's life and Anne has come to represent the six million Jews who were executed in the holocaust.

Here is a movie that does brilliant justice to Anne's diary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fPsohTTxwY. The sickness of Nazi treatment to Jews is very well depicted in the movie. I was appalled, disgusted and angered by a particular scene where a family member had to poop in a trashcan since she wasn't allowed to leave the common room while a potential threat occurred to the safety of hiding. 

While the book and the following research about holocaust was intellectually enriching, I was angered beyond expression on the cruelty over Jews worldwide. The pacifist in me was awakened and I came to the conclusion that all and any war serves no purpose to humanity. Probably I need a very strong reason to again believe in the necessity of a war. The read was very slow and I had to rush through many sections where the detailing got very dull and repetitious. This was one of the books I forced myself to finish. 

I recommend this book because:

• humanity owes Nazi victims' a simple honor of their stories being heard
• this book will enable further reading on related topics
• the reader will get to know Nazi atrocities first hand

"What is truth? It is what you choose to believe"
- Jeet Thayil

Hitler's truth cost the lives of 6 million Jews. DON'T ever believe in a truth that costs the lives of millions. 

Further reading:
To give my readers a glimpse of madness that had struck humanity during second World War, here is a story of a doctor who tortured innocent children akin to lab rats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele.
 Do read all the hyperlinks in the link above to realize the horror of one man's obsession with murder.

I read a dream

Civil rights soldier

As any other Indian, willingly or unwillingly I have been bombarded with stories of Indian independence struggle and consequently I have an intense sense of pride for belonging to such a land. Freedom in various walks of life which seem so natural to me are earned in hard ways by many humans. One such phenomenon of freedom struggle was 'African-American Civil Rights Movement' led by many and intensified by Martin Luther King, Jr. in the second half of twentieth century. I was completely ignorant of the hardships endured by the black American community until I read the compelling narration of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life story as a biography by Roger Bruns. This short account of MLK's life in 150 pages is a sneak peek into the main incidents of African American Civil Rights Movement.

 

Martin Luther King, Jr. 

When Barrack Obama was elected as the President of United States little could I relate with the hysterical emotions running high in the African American community. For if one doesn't know the history of world, then the understanding of today's events gets obscured. I always feel the urge to know in detail the events which have resulted in the suffering of humanity. This book unfolds MLK's struggle to uphold the basic human rights of black community in America and throws light on his journey towards achieving Nobel Prize for Peace. His is not a rags to riches story but his story is that of a great pastor who emerged as the greatest leader of Civil Rights Movement propagating non-violent Gandhian principles. 

Martin Luther King,Jr. arose the black community to raise against the segregation policies followed in America against them. He gave the strength to the sleeping black community to stand on it's able feet and demand the right to live equally among it's white American counterparts. He led them in a journey to end centuries long servile attitude shown towards the black community in America. He guided them to end racial discrimination in public places, education, employment, politics and all other arenas of social life. This book chalks out his journey towards achieving that American dream of equality. Unnerved by the humiliation, violence and apathy he received from the white population of U.S, Martin Luther King led millions of hapless blacks towards their freedom for which he was ultimately assassinated at a young age of 39. Though his death was cruel and untimely it paved way to etch his name permanently in the minds of entire black community who fight against their oppressors. 

The book is succinct with winding up the narration in less than 150 pages and gives the reader a substantial overview of Martin Luther King,Jr's struggle to achieve freedom for the black community. The reader is taken through his childhood, education and rise to fame in a quick but efficient speed. The atrocity of white populace shown on black community is brought out through the description of marches, denial of basic human necessities and inhuman politics. The role of high school students and youth in general in the Civil Rights Movement is brought out thoroughly in the book by the inclusion of major contributions of those young soldiers. The book is a scholarly read with ample references to sources of the text.

I exhort every person to read one of the top most speeches of twentieth century: I have a dream by Martin Luther King, Jr. This is my chance to share with you all the text of this electrifying speech here:

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Uncopyrighted achievers!!

The way is not in the sky

The way is in the heart

- Lord Buddha

If you believe you are lacking major resources to change your life and take action on the things you love, stop and think again. Aren't you fortunate enough and already in the best position of life to start being awesome? Nobody has the perfect partner, perfect parents, perfect friends and definitely not the perfect financial condition. I am fortunate enough to have found two such people who are creating wonderful lives for themselves and for others by doing things they love: Leo Babauta and Chris Guillebeau. 

Being an ardent follower of both of these men's lives, I read their influential e-books and could only claim to have been energized by doing so. 

• The Effortless Life by Leo Babauta
  This handy e-book of no more than 79 pages is an amalgamation of all the simplicity and Zen ideas, Leo proposes in his blog. This book celebrates the simplicity and purity of everyday life. The target audience for this book is all people who want a proof of richness in simplicity.
  
• 279 Days To Overnight Success by Chris Guillebeau
  Chris, who has traveled more than 125 countries (he is not even 35!!!!!) chalked down this short e-book to describe the hard work and marketing strategies that propelled him to self sustenance in just 279 days through a life of travelling and writing. 

These two books can be freely downloaded (mind you they are uncopyrighted) here:

• The Effortless Life
•  279 Days To Overnight Success 

These two books can form 7 blocks of your reading for 10 minutes!! 

Happi reading

Book review: The Scientific Edge

The scientific edge

Caught in the frenzy of reading books on Indian history and development I stumbled upon 'The scientific Edge' by Jayant V Narlikar and was up for a very demanding read; demanding in that it wasn't a light read and every idea presented in the book took my time and thoughts. I had to pause every now and then to ponder over the facts and opinions mentioned in the book.

The book 'The Scientific Edge' as is apparent from the title is a science non-fiction work. The author has elaborated on the development of science in India during the last millennium throwing in generous comparisons with the western scientific development. This 200 page book covers topics such as Indian scientific temper in the start of previous millennium, works of prominent contributors such as Aryabhatta and Brahmagupta, astronomical development in India and elsewhere, major scientific achievements during the reign of few renowned rulers, importance of scientific culture in India, science journalism and the future of Indian science.

Being the scientist that he is, Jayant has adopted a crisp factual way of writing true to his profession. The book is laden with numerous facts and statistics to support all the ideas author likes to convey. The language is simple and unpretentious albeit one requires a general scientific temperament to develop a liking towards the book. I constantly took the help of internet to comprehend the jargon of astronomical community and hence the resultant 30+ days of reading, although I left out reading a chunk of the book at the end.

When I picked up the book I had high hopes of knowing Indian scientific history better. But it is not meant to be. The author being a cosmologist has provided justice only to the topics of astronomy and astrophysics and superficially dealt with remaining sciences. There is hardly any substantial matter on fields such as metallurgy, architectural measurements, Ayurveda and the likes in which Indians had achieved remarkable sophistication. The author is critical of the lack of innovation and perseverance in Indian scientific community which is just. An unnecessary amount of discussion is wasted on the universities of ancient India. Though I agree any debate over Indian science is incomplete without the mention of universities such as Nalanda, Kashi, Takshashila, the author shouldn't have given as much hype as he has given to universities and their role in scientific development.

The book might have been a tiring read, nevertheless I am a well informed person now than I was a month before. I suggest this book to anyone who is making an effort to stretch oneself beyond the comfort zone, into another field of knowledge. I believe such an off beat read works up your grey cells and opens up few new channels in brain.

Book review: 7 secrets of Shiva

7 Secrets of Shiva

With the festive season of Shravana maasa seeing an end with the eventful Anantha chaturdashi at home yesterday, there is no better time to write a review on 7 secrets of Shiva by Devdutt Pattanaik. The author is a renowned doctor-turned-writer whose writings mainly portray mythological content. This book was to be my introduction to his world of mythology.

Synopsis: 
"Smeared with ash, draped in animal hide, he sits atop the snow-capped mountain, skull in hand, withdrawn, with dogs for company, destroying the world with his indifference. He is God who the Goddess shall awaken. His name is Shiva. Locked in his stories, symbols and rituals are the secrets of our ancestors. This book attempts to unlock seven."

With much talked about series of "7 secrets" by Devdutt I too forayed into following the trend. As soon as I first skimmed through the contents of the books I realized I am not the proper audience to this revered book. Nevertheless with my obsessive habit of completing any book that I take up for reading, I decided to give it a try. The book deals with 5 prominent names of Lord Shiva: Lingeshwara, Bhairava, Shankara, Bholenath and Nataraja. There are 2 chapters dedicated to his sons, Ganesha and Murugan. While my comfort zone involves reading about mythological characters in the form of stories or fiction, this book stared at me with plain facts. It took me a rather long time to finish this otherwise small book with 200 pages of big font text having a pictorial illustration in every alternate page.

There are many interesting views from the author to describe the common fables surrounding the great Lord. From the description of Shiva linga as the erected phallus of the Lord to the picturing of his warrior son Murugan, every chapter gives a different angle to one's thought process. The author has described the subtle meanings behind the exhaustive symbolism associated with Lord Shiva and his cosmic better half Shakti.  The reader gets to know the significance of Nandi the bull, rattle in Lord's hand, His trishul, the poses of Nataraja, the stories of Andhaka, Kamadeva, Daksha and many other famous characters. The story which stuck me was that of demon king Ravana and how it was his veins that made up the strings of first Rudra Veena the world had to see. As any discussion on Shiva doesn't get completed without reserving a fair attention to Shakti, so does Devdutt's book. Devdutt has gone to describe how Parvati gives the world a gift of Shiva's involvement in worldly matters. It is interesting to read chapters on this aspect. 

I would recommend this book to those who like to read a mythological work with a non-priestly tone and an objective outlook and definitely not to those who like their books to throw in mythological characters as heroes of fiction. Well that is what books like Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi and Krishna Key from Ashwin Sanghi are for! 

Further reading:

Jaya: An illustrated retelling of Mahabharata

This book by Devdutt Pattanaik gives reader  insights into the Mahabharata. I am looking forward to read this book as the reviews are promising that Devdutt keeps up the story-telling fiction mood of the book.