A couple of things I forgot:

I recently finished "Bye-Bye Blackbird" by Anita Desai, and really wanted to share an excerpt.

"He stood in the middle of Oxford Street, watching the traffic that kept him trapped on an island. Bus, train, car swept by - bus, taxi, car, with a monotony, a predictability that made him burn with longing to see one bullock-cart wander into the fray, only to make an alteration in the single, swift tempo of the London traffic. A slow meandering, creaking bullock-cart, he prayed, or a monkey wallah with his frocked and capped monkeys jingling the bells on their delicate ankles, or a marriage procession preceded by a brass band, decked in marigolds and tinsel - anything, he prayed, anything different in color, tempo, sound, flavor; anything individual and eccentric, unruly and unplanned, anything Indian at all."

The book made me think about how differently difficult the lives were of Indians living abroad a few decades ago, especially for those who went with a fascination for the new country, and then went on to feel discriminated. Also, the lack of awareness in the host nation about the home nation - and the problems of communication in the absence of internet! And yet, at some level, the experience is just the same.


I'm reading Chetan Bhagat's new book "The 3 mistakes of my life". I was curious to see what the deal is with him, and was surprised to discover that the book addresses Hindu fundamentalism in a very real scenario - the Gujarat of the early 2000s.

I got lots of other books - my mom sponsored the great belated-birthday book splurge!
More on that later..