Storytelling

I have always been fascinated by storytelling or to put it correctly story reading. Starting from Chandamama to Ayan Rand, RK Narayan, Michael Chricton, Vikram Seth etc.
However now I wonder where are the storytellers in Indian langages. Do we see a Premchand in our midst , NO!!!Why??? You can find Amatav Ghosh, Anita Desai but no one who writes in Hindi. Wonder who is gonna take up the baton. It would be our, yes our, responsibility to again start patronizing local languages. Whoever has read Chandamama would find it hard to believe that such an enriching storystrip had lost steam but it again picked up only recently.
check out at http://www.chandamama.org/
Here is a beautiful journey of chandamama http://specials.rediff.com/money/2006/aug/28sld1.htm

Movies are another medium for the same thing, just that they are condensed and the characters have faces and they can talk too and if it is an Indian movie then they sing too. Apart from the fact that movies provide entertainment for millions they also reflect the society. They sometimes speak for ourselves, what we cannot speak openly we make the movies convey the same for us. I read a recent review in TOI about Indian movies that had that effect. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA2LzA4LzI3I0FyMDEwMDA=&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom
Thankfully movies are faring much better than the books.

rang de basanti

"Rang de Basanti" has truly revolutionzed an entire generation. When I was in IIT I always perceived this bias against anything to do with politics which is fine to an extent. Even if it may affect ones future then there would be a feeling that we are elites and we dont need national politics. You might not want to indulge in it but it will surely affect you. No one is asking you to go and fight an election but why shy from voicing your opinion peacefully but forcefully when the situation demands. Voicing opinion does not mean playing drawing room warriors, if one is concerned one should write to the President, PM, CM, DM etc as the case may beIITians can safely be called elites and hitherto they did not want to lend concern to anything but US economy as if India's economy was not their concern. I feel that somewhere there is a lack of cultural foundation in our schooling system which lends this bias. Even now in the quota protests they joined at a very later date. The doctors led the way , "all the way", WHY?????????????

I believe this is because most of the IITians do not see their "long term bread" in India. So they dont bother with what is happening inside India. There is nothing wrong in going outside for studies and you might stay back by accident but if the thinking is that it would take an accident to go back is to put it plainly "unfortunate and deplorable".

back to life

This summer I got started with a lot of activities , things that were always on the cards but just never made their way to the table. Have started with some flute and going to learn scuba diving. Well if ujjwal can dive then so can I. Thanks ujjwal for the final push. Have again started the telugu lessons, a family here teaching me the same. Lets see how long can they put up with me :D. Miss my friends in India and in Raleigh, looks like a world apart from here on the west coast.

flying to seattle on sep 1st for the labor day weekend to meet good old amit gupta, my roommate in raleigh. Nice buddy who is doing well in the scientific world. Hope I would also be able to do something big, lets see in which world. Earlier used to aim civil services, now it is entrepreneurship. Now that is not something that can be planned for but "I think therefore I shall try".