Anu Lal's Blog, page 18

April 16, 2015

GÜNTER GRASS: John Irving’s Teacher, Mine Too.

New York Times bestselling author John Irving in his recent article, published in The Globe and Mail, writes a capturing eulogy for Günter Grass. In his article titled “An unanswered letter from Günter Grass,” John Irving underscores how Grass combined contemporary novel writing with 19thcentury storytelling.
“I learned from my favourite 19th-century writers that I wanted to be a certain kind of novelist – like Dickens and Hardy, like Hawthorne and Melville. I learned from Grass how to do it,...
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Published on April 16, 2015 10:25

April 15, 2015

HOW DID I CELEBRATE MY VISHU?

Vishu is an important cultural festivity in Kerala, the southern state that stands for coconut trees and the Indian version of “melting pot”. Yes, indeed, if you are looking for the right kind of cultural amalgam in India, we are the right sort of people to dig into. Eat us with some salad, and you can certainly learn a lot more about how much flexible the otherwise rigid and edgy customs and traditions that mark Indian tradition could get. In Kerala, you can get KFC to Shavarma, from beef to...
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Published on April 15, 2015 03:35

April 10, 2015

FAST AND FURIOUS: Why did I feel hooked?

The sense in a senseless car racing does not interest me at all. I am not a sports loving guy. I do not entertain the idea of spending long time playing with cars either in my computer or in the real world. The metal booth, in pink, blue, white, or black that stand on four wheels and a little arrogance does not create any sort of adrenaline surge in me. I have kept my life simple enough to take public buses as my daily commuter service. Not cars ever, until now.
I watched Fast and Furious 6,...
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Published on April 10, 2015 06:58

April 4, 2015

EASTER OR ESTHER? Resurrect from doubt

Often, the argument surfaces during the Easter season that Easter is not exactly a Christian celebration, that it is not the commemoration of the resurrection of the Messiah, but the pagan festival honoring Esther, the pagan goddess of birth and regeneration. This argument, whenever raised, creates a chasm between language and its interpretation, without even considering it a valid possibility to assuage the rift between Christianity’s most fundamental concept and a fascinating pagan concept....
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Published on April 04, 2015 12:13

March 30, 2015

HE FIXED THE MATCH SHE FIXED HIM by Shikha: Why doesn’t Revenge Go Well with a Good Marriage?

If you were given a chance to write a love story, would you ever worry about the formula of a successful love story? A chance being “given” indicates a second individual or source involved with your writing process. Be that source the universal Creative Source. Would you care requesting the Creative Source of all being the formula for a successful romance novel? It seems someone has done just that. In her debut book itself, a contemporary romance titled He Fixed the Match She Fixed Him, Shikh...
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Published on March 30, 2015 07:44

March 21, 2015

RAMAYANA: THE GAME OF LIFE - BOOK 2 (Shattered Dreams)

We left twentieth century, almost ten years ago. However, we are not that far away from it yet, as much as that if one wills a good peek into the past century, it could still be a possibility. What if we are given the gift of glancing backward in time? Would we learn new lessons? Would we unlearn what we learnt wrongly? We know clearly that this is not a real possibility. Perhaps, there is one thing we can still long for: reading a book from a time that has no longer the possibility of making...
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Published on March 21, 2015 09:22

March 16, 2015

ANCIENT PROMISES BY JAISHREE MISRA: Janu and Arjun

Jaishree Misra Image Courtesy: www.thehindu.comAncientPromises is Jaishree Misra's debut book with a fresh narrative voice in comparison with the other novelists of her time.
An unforgettable story, told in first person narrative, Ancient Promises combines in its narrative strategy, romance, myth and social criticism. Jane Austen succeeded in bringing irony in her novels, through interesting and poignant observations, which were most often witty as well. Taking the same line of novel-writing...
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Published on March 16, 2015 06:35

March 14, 2015

THREE TOPICS, BLOGGERS MUST AVOID

A short story written by Mr. Stephen King tells us about a Milkman who leaves cartons full of poisonous cyanide gas in the morning. You might deny the ‘reality’ in the story arguing that the story borders fantasy. The reputation of the author goes beyond any possible conviction that could be attached with the words written by this ordinary blogger. I am fully aware of it. However, I would like you to ponder this small piece of sadism that the Milkman plays with the people in a small town as a...
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Published on March 14, 2015 04:19

February 24, 2015

CAN A CONTENT SOCIETY FLOG A BLOGGER?

24 February 2015
Hello everyone! If you are a regular visitor to my blog, The Indian Commentator, I would like to address an issue more in tune with what you might be feeling right now. At last, we have a blog post live, you might be thinking. 
There have been a series of events, good and bad, confusing and confiding that altered the path of my life as a regular blogger into a fortnightly blogger, and that again into a monthly blogger. Although I eagerly wish to avoid this gap that has be...
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Published on February 24, 2015 10:29

February 13, 2015

VALENTINE’S DAY: Why Do They Fear It in India?

Two things have changed since I understood what Valentine’s Day is and why some people get excited when this day arrives on 14 February, every year.
One—they have started using the term “V-day” for Valentine’s Day these days, as if it's Vagina Day or Victory Day or something. Two—some extremist parties have proclaimed Valentine’s Day a “No Love Day” in India.
Adding to the farce, (I mean the second change I mentioned about Valentine’s Day) the Indian state of “
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Published on February 13, 2015 10:19