December meeting

Hi there,
My apologies for the delay in posting this blog.

First, the announcement of the December meeting. We shall all meet at Mr. Rajagopalan's house at 7:00 am (yes, you read right!) on Sunday, December 14. From there we shall proceed to Surya Shibir, where we will spend the whole day. Among the fun and frolic, we will also have a regular meeting. The topics: 1. A classic which according to you is most relevant today; and 2. Has your yesterday influenced your today?

The cost of the outing (which includes breakfast, lunch and evening tea) is Rs. 150 each for Literature Club members and Rs. 250 each for a relative or friend. The cost of the transportation is extra (Rs. 3000 for the bus) and will be shared among everyone that shows up. So, the more the turnout, the lesser we pay per person! Terms cash, of course!!

Now, for the summary of the November meeting. Here it is:
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Date: 9 November 2008
Venue: Empress Garden

It was in the cool confines of the bamboo grove of Empress Garden that we began our deliberations on the pleasant November morning.

Topic 1: East is East and the West is West. Yes, the twain do meet.
The views from the members were as diverse as the East could be from the West.

We stated off questioning the very basics. Is there only one East and one West? What exactly do we mean when we say East meets West? Are we qualified to sit in judgement? Have we had grass-root level experiences of the two cultures to be able to comment on the issue?

Today telecommunication has improved tremendously and shrunk distances to blur the man-made boundaries but even in the days by-gone we have physically lived together and the twain have already met!

Can we slot the West as materialistic and the East as spiritual? East is a treasure trove of spirituality because of the teachings and techniques of the ancient masters. This may be drawing seekers from the West. The average Indian today is vying with the West to be consumerist.

We had a pleasant interlude in the form of the sighting of a paradise flycatcher, thanks to a bird enthusiast amongst us.

We assembled again and viewed the same idea in a new perspective. Let us accept the idea that they are different, and let them be, nay, let us go a step further and celebrate the difference. We are children of the same God in various stages of development; we should help one another get up, steady and walk towards progress.

Here is a poem on the Topic
East is East and West is West, all ways they meet

Be it East or West,
From the womb humanity begins.
Love rises from the heart,
And the evil from the mind,
Nature from cradle of Almighty,
Be it East or West.

Be it East or West,
All lands witness the sun rise and set,
Share clouds and winds flowing across lands,
The innocence of the child, but the same,
Men have been Men and Women have been Women;
Be it East or West.

Be it the helplessness of humanity or the evil designs of few,
Disregard towards nature or the faded moral fabric,
The weakening faith in GOD or the lack of concern for others,
The fear of a dying planet,
And of course the eternal need for love
East is East and West is West, in all ways they meet.

The poverty of gracious thoughts,
The global melt down,
The change in the style of life,
The hunger of material and oil,
The never ending human greed,
Be it East of West they tend to meet of late.

GOD smiled in the far heaven and muttered, “East is East and West is West, never shall the twain meet” rested in the myopic minds of few, For I created one world”

Puru

TOPIC 2:
An adventure you would love to take with a fictional character.

The choice is overwhelming but put on your thinking cap before you embark on your adventure.

You can go this far with a criminal with a guilt complex.(Crime and Punishment). A detective (Sherlock Holmes) cannot take you much farther. He will abandon you at the drop of a hat, err.. a drop of blood.

All the same, we did take a roller coaster ride with Tom Sawyer, the common man, with Jeeves in search of a rich aunt and Papillon, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The most interesting was a real journey through war-torn Sri Lanka with a Paiji who defied bullets to be with his flock.

Before we go, we would like you to take this list of authors/books on your next visit to the library. These books featured in the views our members expressed.

BOOKS IN FOCUS
1) P.G.Wodehouse (Jeeves Series)
2)Fyodr Dostoevsky (Crime and Punishment)
3)Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist)
4)Enid Blyton (The Famous Five)
5)Mark Twain (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
6)Henri Charriere (Papillon)
7)Bernard Shaw (Pygmalion)
8)Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
9)R.K.Laxman (The common man)

Credits: Poem by Puru, meeting summary by Renuka, picnic arrangements by Renuka, announcement by Vasu