Picture taken at the launch of Dr. Mehra Shrikhande's book "Paranormal Experiences: Beyond the Realms of Reason" at Landmark Book Stores, Pune on Friday, the 13th November 2009. (L to R) Dr. Mehra Shrikhande, Chief Guest Padmashree Mrs. Lila Poonawalla, and Mr. Rajagopalan.Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Book Launch
Picture taken at the launch of Dr. Mehra Shrikhande's book "Paranormal Experiences: Beyond the Realms of Reason" at Landmark Book Stores, Pune on Friday, the 13th November 2009. (L to R) Dr. Mehra Shrikhande, Chief Guest Padmashree Mrs. Lila Poonawalla, and Mr. Rajagopalan.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
December meeting announcement
Hi friends,
Here's the announcement for the December meeting:
Date: Sunday, December 13, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Violence as depicted in literature.
Topic 2: Ethnic/racial groups as depicted in literature.
See you there!
Here's the announcement for the December meeting:
Date: Sunday, December 13, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Violence as depicted in literature.
Topic 2: Ethnic/racial groups as depicted in literature.
See you there!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Proceedings of the October meet
Here are the minutes from the October meet, kind courtesy Mr. Surendra Kaushik:
Meeting of the Literature club held on Sunday, the 11th October 2009 at the residence of Mrs and Mr Merchant at Nigdi.
The topics of this meet are :-
Varied perspectives of a character / or situation ;
Synergy between literature and advertisements ;
Mr Kaushik was asked to moderate the session.
He then spoke about the shades of the character Fagin from the Dickens novel `Oliver Twist`. A character known to be a miser and became a symbol of anti-semitism. He ran a school for scoundrels training young boys in the fine art of thievery. A person living in the midst of shanty town. And yet, Fagin had a kind heart towards his boys, He looked at them in a fatherly way. Fagin’s desire to marry when well late in his age, but the fear of what a wife would do and spend his money, made him retract several times. All in all an adorable character although a villain!
The second speaker was Ms Renuka Vijayraghavan. She spoke about various perspectives of life and longings that bring a plethora of shades in a character at different times and climes. The transference of love on a Panda toy shows the loving tenderness of a character be it a kid or an adult. Any action is subject to evaluation. It is an interplay of all colors in a character that goes into the anatomy of a character perspective.
Mrs Merchant drew the attention to the well known novel 'To kill a mocking bird'. The view of a child, the subtlety of the character etched in many lights.
Mr Rajagopalan spoke of the psychological handling in and of a character. Those who are endearing to women and their problems show a sensibility to life.
Ms Shama spoke on Synergy between literature and advertisements. Synergy is a bloodline in literature. The gamut of people with specialised skills like copywriters, editiors , etc who bring out the essence of literature in advertisements. A mere caption can explain a lot more than a thousand words. She gave the example of `thanda` which is a common word but has become synonymous to a soft drink.
Mr Rajagopalan spoke of sloganeering in advertisements and gave examples from Tamil literature. Another famous line he quoted was ` Where the Dickens is Charles? !
Ideas are sold through advertisements. Brevity is made into a fine art.
Ms Renuka spoke of disassociating advertisements from products. And cited a humourous ad about husbands killing their wives for insurance.
The session ended with a hearty lunch courtesy Mrs and Mr Merchant.
Meeting of the Literature club held on Sunday, the 11th October 2009 at the residence of Mrs and Mr Merchant at Nigdi.
The topics of this meet are :-
Varied perspectives of a character / or situation ;
Synergy between literature and advertisements ;
Mr Kaushik was asked to moderate the session.
He then spoke about the shades of the character Fagin from the Dickens novel `Oliver Twist`. A character known to be a miser and became a symbol of anti-semitism. He ran a school for scoundrels training young boys in the fine art of thievery. A person living in the midst of shanty town. And yet, Fagin had a kind heart towards his boys, He looked at them in a fatherly way. Fagin’s desire to marry when well late in his age, but the fear of what a wife would do and spend his money, made him retract several times. All in all an adorable character although a villain!
The second speaker was Ms Renuka Vijayraghavan. She spoke about various perspectives of life and longings that bring a plethora of shades in a character at different times and climes. The transference of love on a Panda toy shows the loving tenderness of a character be it a kid or an adult. Any action is subject to evaluation. It is an interplay of all colors in a character that goes into the anatomy of a character perspective.
Mrs Merchant drew the attention to the well known novel 'To kill a mocking bird'. The view of a child, the subtlety of the character etched in many lights.
Mr Rajagopalan spoke of the psychological handling in and of a character. Those who are endearing to women and their problems show a sensibility to life.
Ms Shama spoke on Synergy between literature and advertisements. Synergy is a bloodline in literature. The gamut of people with specialised skills like copywriters, editiors , etc who bring out the essence of literature in advertisements. A mere caption can explain a lot more than a thousand words. She gave the example of `thanda` which is a common word but has become synonymous to a soft drink.
Mr Rajagopalan spoke of sloganeering in advertisements and gave examples from Tamil literature. Another famous line he quoted was ` Where the Dickens is Charles? !
Ideas are sold through advertisements. Brevity is made into a fine art.
Ms Renuka spoke of disassociating advertisements from products. And cited a humourous ad about husbands killing their wives for insurance.
The session ended with a hearty lunch courtesy Mrs and Mr Merchant.
November meeting announcement
Hi friends,
Here's the announcement for the November meeting:
Date: Sunday, November 08, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Competition restricts creativity.
Topic 2: Experience is a comb you get after you go bald.
See you there!
Here's the announcement for the November meeting:
Date: Sunday, November 08, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Competition restricts creativity.
Topic 2: Experience is a comb you get after you go bald.
See you there!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Discussions in the September meeting - Thanks Ila for your notes
The meeting was held at Empress Garden on 12th Sep 2009. We had great pleasure in meeting a new member who has recently moved to Pune –Shri Nariman Nallaseth. There were two topics up for discussion & each member indicated which of the topics [s]he wished to speak on.
The first topic was ‘Is it necessary to experience something to be able to write about it?’
Dr Poonawalla: Described his own experience with a debt-ridden enterprise and how much tension was being caused by that. Then one day he decided to cut costs & determinedly repay all his loans within a stipulated period. He succeeded; not only was the relief great but his idea of Holistic Turnaround was born. Subsequently he was able to write & talk about it to many others spread all over the globe-so he felt that it is necessary to experience something before you can write about it.
Mr. Rajagopalan was next. He thought any person with a good imagination can write about something without having necessarily to undergo the experience. He quoted the example of Harsha who even though he was born into splendour, was able to give a very convincing portrait of extreme poverty in “Kadambari”.
Mr. Nallaseth: Was of the opinion that there are two kinds of writers with differing requirements. On the one hand there are the writers who write about external & practical things –they need to experience something before they can write about it. On the other there are the writers who are more ‘internal’ & imaginative who do not have to go through an experience but can write from their imagination.
Ms. Kusum Gokarn: She felt that what matters in a writer is his power over imagery & words. Everyone can & does have experiences; but only some have the power to talk about these in a worthwhile manner & this is the distinguishing mark of a good writer. It is not necessary for a man to be a criminal to write about rape or murder. She quoted Premchand & Tagore as examples of writers who being men could write so sensitively about women’s lives/experiences.
Dr. Mehra, who came next, fully agreed. She has just published her book which is full of bizarre experiences even if she has never had such an experience herself.
Ms. Zulekha :She started by telling us she has been re-reading Enid Blyton lately & has been struck by the author’s easy ability to go into a child’s mind; it needs facility & power of imagination. A good author can make everything in the book come alive for her readers.
Dr. Vinitha: With Vinita we got an opinion that its not ‘experience’ which is so necessary [though one cannot write when one is too young for experiences] as ‘awareness’. No writing is possible without such deep awareness of our world & experience without such awareness would amount to nothing.
Brig. Inamdar: Felt that you can talk/write about certain things only after experiencing them; e.g. war. For a factual account of it you have no other possibility but to go through it.
Ms. Ila: She made a distinction between ‘good’ literature & ‘great’ literature. For good literature imagination is sufficient but for great literature you have to have at least a ‘seed’ from the author’s own experience. She quoted the example of Rudyard Kipling’s story called “Baa Baa Black Sheep” in which the author writes about a small child sent “home” to U.K. to study & how miserable he is in the alien place with relatives who mean nothing to him & to whom he means nothing. Kipling could write about it only because he could recall the misery from his own childhood.
Ms. Renuka: She told us how she likes to first read an author and then read about him to get the full pleasure of his work. She pointed out that it has happened that some writers have imagined something till then unknown which has subsequently actually happened! She quoted the example of ’Laser’ which was shown in a James Bond movie before it was invented.
Mr. Vasu: Finally the discussion was summed up by him. He said that good literature is only possible when we get a summation of the following; imagination, empathy, imagery & expression.
The second topic was ‘Morality is no concern of the artist’.
Mr Kaushik : Opened the discussion with talking about the rights of artists –pointed out that there would hardly have been any among the destroyers of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute who would have themselves read James Lang –they simply got led by a politically motivated leader. The Renaissance gave Europe compete freedom of expression & the best art became possible. One cannot impose any one uniform code of conduct because then the question comes up about whose?
Mr Rajagopalan read out excerpts from an article in Tamil written by himself as a literary critic.
Ms. Renuka: She began by pointing out that literature is no fun without spice-it is how much that is the important part. Then again norms change -e.g. ‘in its time ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ was considered shocking but today we do not find it so. It is intrusion into someone’s life that causes mischief –like the disclosures about Clinton. But as long as the intention of the author is okay it is acceptable. Basic human nature does not change; what distinguishes great literature is when it is acceptable to the ordinary reader as much as to the scholarly one. Ethical self-restraint is the artist’s responsibility but the standards should be set by the public –there is no reason to take the tantrums of the artist!
Ms. Kusum: Would prefer that the artist sets his own standards –only then can he prevent it from deteriorating into pornography. ’Poetic justice’ is very attractive to the reader-it is possibly only in Literature that the Good always triumphs.
Ms. Vinita: Said that morality is both personal & dynamic. Everybody has their own concept of what is acceptable & what is beyond. And that also changes over time & every period sets its own standards of what is acceptable & that the artist must keep within.
Mr Vasu: He summed up the discussion. By & large morality should not be the concern of the artist. Yet he must have some restraint; he reiterated the beautiful image (given by one of the earlier speakers) of a river which would not make it to the sea which is its destination unless it was bounded by its banks! Restraint & discipline have their own place in the scheme of things which cannot be ignored.
The first topic was ‘Is it necessary to experience something to be able to write about it?’
Dr Poonawalla: Described his own experience with a debt-ridden enterprise and how much tension was being caused by that. Then one day he decided to cut costs & determinedly repay all his loans within a stipulated period. He succeeded; not only was the relief great but his idea of Holistic Turnaround was born. Subsequently he was able to write & talk about it to many others spread all over the globe-so he felt that it is necessary to experience something before you can write about it.
Mr. Rajagopalan was next. He thought any person with a good imagination can write about something without having necessarily to undergo the experience. He quoted the example of Harsha who even though he was born into splendour, was able to give a very convincing portrait of extreme poverty in “Kadambari”.
Mr. Nallaseth: Was of the opinion that there are two kinds of writers with differing requirements. On the one hand there are the writers who write about external & practical things –they need to experience something before they can write about it. On the other there are the writers who are more ‘internal’ & imaginative who do not have to go through an experience but can write from their imagination.
Ms. Kusum Gokarn: She felt that what matters in a writer is his power over imagery & words. Everyone can & does have experiences; but only some have the power to talk about these in a worthwhile manner & this is the distinguishing mark of a good writer. It is not necessary for a man to be a criminal to write about rape or murder. She quoted Premchand & Tagore as examples of writers who being men could write so sensitively about women’s lives/experiences.
Dr. Mehra, who came next, fully agreed. She has just published her book which is full of bizarre experiences even if she has never had such an experience herself.
Ms. Zulekha :She started by telling us she has been re-reading Enid Blyton lately & has been struck by the author’s easy ability to go into a child’s mind; it needs facility & power of imagination. A good author can make everything in the book come alive for her readers.
Dr. Vinitha: With Vinita we got an opinion that its not ‘experience’ which is so necessary [though one cannot write when one is too young for experiences] as ‘awareness’. No writing is possible without such deep awareness of our world & experience without such awareness would amount to nothing.
Brig. Inamdar: Felt that you can talk/write about certain things only after experiencing them; e.g. war. For a factual account of it you have no other possibility but to go through it.
Ms. Ila: She made a distinction between ‘good’ literature & ‘great’ literature. For good literature imagination is sufficient but for great literature you have to have at least a ‘seed’ from the author’s own experience. She quoted the example of Rudyard Kipling’s story called “Baa Baa Black Sheep” in which the author writes about a small child sent “home” to U.K. to study & how miserable he is in the alien place with relatives who mean nothing to him & to whom he means nothing. Kipling could write about it only because he could recall the misery from his own childhood.
Ms. Renuka: She told us how she likes to first read an author and then read about him to get the full pleasure of his work. She pointed out that it has happened that some writers have imagined something till then unknown which has subsequently actually happened! She quoted the example of ’Laser’ which was shown in a James Bond movie before it was invented.
Mr. Vasu: Finally the discussion was summed up by him. He said that good literature is only possible when we get a summation of the following; imagination, empathy, imagery & expression.
The second topic was ‘Morality is no concern of the artist’.
Mr Kaushik : Opened the discussion with talking about the rights of artists –pointed out that there would hardly have been any among the destroyers of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute who would have themselves read James Lang –they simply got led by a politically motivated leader. The Renaissance gave Europe compete freedom of expression & the best art became possible. One cannot impose any one uniform code of conduct because then the question comes up about whose?
Mr Rajagopalan read out excerpts from an article in Tamil written by himself as a literary critic.
Ms. Renuka: She began by pointing out that literature is no fun without spice-it is how much that is the important part. Then again norms change -e.g. ‘in its time ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ was considered shocking but today we do not find it so. It is intrusion into someone’s life that causes mischief –like the disclosures about Clinton. But as long as the intention of the author is okay it is acceptable. Basic human nature does not change; what distinguishes great literature is when it is acceptable to the ordinary reader as much as to the scholarly one. Ethical self-restraint is the artist’s responsibility but the standards should be set by the public –there is no reason to take the tantrums of the artist!
Ms. Kusum: Would prefer that the artist sets his own standards –only then can he prevent it from deteriorating into pornography. ’Poetic justice’ is very attractive to the reader-it is possibly only in Literature that the Good always triumphs.
Ms. Vinita: Said that morality is both personal & dynamic. Everybody has their own concept of what is acceptable & what is beyond. And that also changes over time & every period sets its own standards of what is acceptable & that the artist must keep within.
Mr Vasu: He summed up the discussion. By & large morality should not be the concern of the artist. Yet he must have some restraint; he reiterated the beautiful image (given by one of the earlier speakers) of a river which would not make it to the sea which is its destination unless it was bounded by its banks! Restraint & discipline have their own place in the scheme of things which cannot be ignored.
Monday, September 14, 2009
September meeting a great hit!
Hi,
I am extremely pleased to inform you that the September meeting was a great hit. It was attended by most of the members, and we had a new member join us. Please welcome Nari in our midst!
Both the topics of the month were discussed with enthusiasm. Minutes will be published shortly. Watch this space!!
Vasu
I am extremely pleased to inform you that the September meeting was a great hit. It was attended by most of the members, and we had a new member join us. Please welcome Nari in our midst!
Both the topics of the month were discussed with enthusiasm. Minutes will be published shortly. Watch this space!!
Vasu
Announcement of October meeting
Hi friends,
It's time to announce the October meeting. Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Mrs. Merchant's house - 26J, Sector 27, Pradhikaran, Nigdi, Pune 411044
Topic 1: Varied perspectives of a character/situation.
Topic 2: Synergy between advertisements and literature.
See you there!
Vasu
It's time to announce the October meeting. Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Mrs. Merchant's house - 26J, Sector 27, Pradhikaran, Nigdi, Pune 411044
Topic 1: Varied perspectives of a character/situation.
Topic 2: Synergy between advertisements and literature.
See you there!
Vasu
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
September meeting announcement
Hi friends,
It is 9/9/9 and time to announce the September meeting. Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Is it necessary to go through an experience to be able to write about it?
Topic 2: Morality is no concern of the artist.
See you there!
Vasu
It is 9/9/9 and time to announce the September meeting. Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Is it necessary to go through an experience to be able to write about it?
Topic 2: Morality is no concern of the artist.
See you there!
Vasu
Friday, July 10, 2009
Gist of the June meeting
Two topics were discussed. Here is the gist of both, courtesy Renuka.
Extraordinary Traits in Ordinary Women
Each of us has met in the course of our lives women who may not be extraordinary in the superficial sense of the word but truly extraordinary in the real sense. Women who are heaped with abuses psychological and physical and put through untold misery. These women, they do not break but make their family not because of the male member but despite him.
Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice) and Maria (The Sound of Music), the endearingly extraordinary characters come to our mind.
Depiction of animals in literature.
Animals can be depicted in a most cursory manner just as a prop or can be an extension of the protagonist’s character. Some themes revolve around the animal endowing them with prominence. Animals, with all the vast variety, character and colour can keep us glued to our books for eternity. Well, the first topic did seem to gel seamlessly into the second as much as the extraordinary traits in ordinary animals.
Extraordinary Traits in Ordinary Women
Each of us has met in the course of our lives women who may not be extraordinary in the superficial sense of the word but truly extraordinary in the real sense. Women who are heaped with abuses psychological and physical and put through untold misery. These women, they do not break but make their family not because of the male member but despite him.
Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice) and Maria (The Sound of Music), the endearingly extraordinary characters come to our mind.
Depiction of animals in literature.
Animals can be depicted in a most cursory manner just as a prop or can be an extension of the protagonist’s character. Some themes revolve around the animal endowing them with prominence. Animals, with all the vast variety, character and colour can keep us glued to our books for eternity. Well, the first topic did seem to gel seamlessly into the second as much as the extraordinary traits in ordinary animals.
Monday, June 15, 2009
July meeting announcement and topics
Hi everyone!
It is good to be back after the summer break. We had a good meeting of the Club yesterday, June 14 and the details of that meeting will be up shortly.
Here is the announcement for the next meeting:
Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Is it necessary to go through an experience to be able to write about it?
Topic 2: Morality is no concern of the artist.
A friendly reminder: The next issue of Phoenix is due out next month. The theme is Rains/Monsoon. Please send in your written works on this theme to vasu233@yahoo.co.in.
Ciao
Vasu
It is good to be back after the summer break. We had a good meeting of the Club yesterday, June 14 and the details of that meeting will be up shortly.
Here is the announcement for the next meeting:
Date: Sunday, July 12, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topic 1: Is it necessary to go through an experience to be able to write about it?
Topic 2: Morality is no concern of the artist.
A friendly reminder: The next issue of Phoenix is due out next month. The theme is Rains/Monsoon. Please send in your written works on this theme to vasu233@yahoo.co.in.
Ciao
Vasu
Friday, March 27, 2009
April Meeting Announcement and March Meeting Notes
April Meeting Announcement and March Meeting Notes :
April Meeting:
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topics: 1. Nature and Literature; 2. Depiction of the downtrodden in Literature
March Meeting Notes:
It is Basant! Spring!
We shared the venue with a group of Bengalis celebrating the onset of spring. The colourful candy floss and ice candy beckoned. We reserved the treats for later and got down to business though the attendance was thin.
None of the members had anything to change about the Literature Club. So we went on to the next topic viz “Morality in a changing world”. As usual the members' views were as diverse as the crowd around us.
Some questions that arose were “is the economically weaker section by and large more ethical than the well heeled ?” “ Have we improved at all as compared to the earlier decade or century?" "Yes, women’s lot seems to have improved at least in the urban set up as compared to the bride burning and widow’s head shaving days, but we have a long way to go.”
Certain basics were addressed. What is morality? Who decides what is right or wrong? The mores of the society are time specific and place specific. A responsible society should fine tune the mores to enable one and all, at the cost of no one in particular.
After all the first signs of non-violence arose when human beings started living in a community giving rise to ethical self-restraint. This has its origin in religion. Religion in the broad perspective, not institutionalized religion divorced from spirituality shackled by externally applied rules.
The idea is not to break every rule and question religious beliefs but to not be a captive of artificial rules uninformed by spirituality because after all the soul of a religion is its spirituality. There is no place for exploitation, oppression, arrogance and frenzy. Propriety, truthfulness and simplicity constitute morality. Religion is first reflected in morality Hate ensures spiritual defeat according to Dr Radhakrishnan.
The irony is when being religious means to empathise, when propriety , truthfulness and simplicity means moral or religious behavior. Most of the violence since time immemorial is in the name of religion - Crusade , Jehad. The irony is the changing times do not change the basic violent streak in man.
Thanks Renuka for the contribution!!
April Meeting:
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2009
Time: 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topics: 1. Nature and Literature; 2. Depiction of the downtrodden in Literature
March Meeting Notes:
It is Basant! Spring!
We shared the venue with a group of Bengalis celebrating the onset of spring. The colourful candy floss and ice candy beckoned. We reserved the treats for later and got down to business though the attendance was thin.
None of the members had anything to change about the Literature Club. So we went on to the next topic viz “Morality in a changing world”. As usual the members' views were as diverse as the crowd around us.
Some questions that arose were “is the economically weaker section by and large more ethical than the well heeled ?” “ Have we improved at all as compared to the earlier decade or century?" "Yes, women’s lot seems to have improved at least in the urban set up as compared to the bride burning and widow’s head shaving days, but we have a long way to go.”
Certain basics were addressed. What is morality? Who decides what is right or wrong? The mores of the society are time specific and place specific. A responsible society should fine tune the mores to enable one and all, at the cost of no one in particular.
After all the first signs of non-violence arose when human beings started living in a community giving rise to ethical self-restraint. This has its origin in religion. Religion in the broad perspective, not institutionalized religion divorced from spirituality shackled by externally applied rules.
The idea is not to break every rule and question religious beliefs but to not be a captive of artificial rules uninformed by spirituality because after all the soul of a religion is its spirituality. There is no place for exploitation, oppression, arrogance and frenzy. Propriety, truthfulness and simplicity constitute morality. Religion is first reflected in morality Hate ensures spiritual defeat according to Dr Radhakrishnan.
The irony is when being religious means to empathise, when propriety , truthfulness and simplicity means moral or religious behavior. Most of the violence since time immemorial is in the name of religion - Crusade , Jehad. The irony is the changing times do not change the basic violent streak in man.
Thanks Renuka for the contribution!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
March meeting and February meeting notes
Announcement of the next meeting (Thanks Renuka):
Date and Time: Sunday, March 08, 2009; 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topics:
1. Morality in a changing world
2. Two things I would change in the Literature Club, Pune
THE FEBRUARY MEET
The February meeting had two very interesting topics for discussion. The first was word portraits of characters. Mr. Rajagopalan started the session with the reading of a line from “An Outline History of English Literature” by William Henry Hudson. He went on to “speak his heart” on Dickens. He is obviously very passionate about this author. He also dwelled on the difference between caricature and portrayal of characters. He recapitulated the caricature of Pickwick (Dickens), Bertie Wooster (PG Wodehouse) and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by George Elliott. He concluded with a recommendation - “Poetics” by Aristotle. Those who were absent missed a gem of a discourse!
Others who spoke on this topic were Kusum and Vasu, who spoke on the character Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
The second topic was “Redeeming Features in a Negative Character”. Shama spoke about Jeffrey Archer and described his misdemeanors and redeeming characters. Prateek spoke about the redeeming features of Darth Vader and Ravan. Mr. Rajagopalan spoke about the redeeming features of Karan (from the Mahabharat) and Ravan. Kusum spoke about reform, about “The Mayor of Casterbridge” and about “Crime and Punishment”. Brig. Inamdar spoke about the redeeming features of Hitler.
Other things that were discussed included Othello, and “Small is Beautiful” by Schumacher.
Date and Time: Sunday, March 08, 2009; 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topics:
1. Morality in a changing world
2. Two things I would change in the Literature Club, Pune
THE FEBRUARY MEET
The February meeting had two very interesting topics for discussion. The first was word portraits of characters. Mr. Rajagopalan started the session with the reading of a line from “An Outline History of English Literature” by William Henry Hudson. He went on to “speak his heart” on Dickens. He is obviously very passionate about this author. He also dwelled on the difference between caricature and portrayal of characters. He recapitulated the caricature of Pickwick (Dickens), Bertie Wooster (PG Wodehouse) and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by George Elliott. He concluded with a recommendation - “Poetics” by Aristotle. Those who were absent missed a gem of a discourse!
Others who spoke on this topic were Kusum and Vasu, who spoke on the character Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
The second topic was “Redeeming Features in a Negative Character”. Shama spoke about Jeffrey Archer and described his misdemeanors and redeeming characters. Prateek spoke about the redeeming features of Darth Vader and Ravan. Mr. Rajagopalan spoke about the redeeming features of Karan (from the Mahabharat) and Ravan. Kusum spoke about reform, about “The Mayor of Casterbridge” and about “Crime and Punishment”. Brig. Inamdar spoke about the redeeming features of Hitler.
Other things that were discussed included Othello, and “Small is Beautiful” by Schumacher.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
January and February meets
Announcement of the next meeting (Thanks Renuka):
Date and Time: Sunday, February 08, 2009; 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topics:
1. Word portraits of characters;
2. Redeeming features in negative characters.
Report on the previous meeting (Thanks Ila):
Two topics [as usual] were scheduled for this meeting. The first was Social Turmoil as depicted in Literature. Mr. Rajagopalan set the ball rolling with a few opening comments on the topic. He felt that the word ‘turmoil’ needn’t only be interpreted as a chaotic situation but can even be the mental stirring caused in society by the writings of Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja & Madhavacharya.
Kusum was the first speaker; she pointed out how social turmoil is the backdrop of all literature, naming a few examples out of the sea that is available to us.
Shama pointed out that there were 2 approaches to literature; art for art’s sake & art for a social purpose. With many examples she showed us how powerful words have acted as a catalyst for social change.
Many speakers related the topic to books they were currently reading.
Kaushik gave an erudite talk in which he pointed out that much good literature, whether in English or any of the Indian languages, brings out the helplessness of the downtrodden & it is the power of brilliant literature to have brought about some change.
The second topic was Patriotism & Literature. Again Mr. Rajagopalan made some opening comments on his interpretation of patriotism. The preoccupation of most of the speakers dealing with the topic appeared to be the interpretation of this word.
Vaarun felt that each of us has several identities – religious, social, regional, linguistic etc. Any of these identities can create problems somewhere down the line so he would not like us to judge people on the basis of these affiliations but to accept people in the spirit of universal brotherhood denoted by the phrase ‘vasudev kutumbakam’.
Zulekha’s interpretation was that patriotism means different things to different people: so if you bring to a successful end whatever you have in your mind you are ‘patriotic’. Whether that end is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depends on your point of view.
Brig Inamdar felt that a patriot is one who gives everything to his nation. He read out an article written by M. J. Akbar immediately after the Mumbai blasts as a good piece written by a thoroughly patriotic person.
Renuka felt that the world is one body: any action in one part affects the rest. She wondered whether that makes patriotism irrelevant in today’s scenario. But she eventually concluded that our country has an indefinable something that forces the respect of the world.
Vinita had a unique definition of the word ‘patriotism’. She thought of the subject as not being confined to any geographical barriers. So patriotism is living in such a way that the earth we inhabit stays intact by adhering to the best principles of careful use of all our resources.
Date and Time: Sunday, February 08, 2009; 10:30 am
Venue: Empress Garden
Topics:
1. Word portraits of characters;
2. Redeeming features in negative characters.
Report on the previous meeting (Thanks Ila):
Two topics [as usual] were scheduled for this meeting. The first was Social Turmoil as depicted in Literature. Mr. Rajagopalan set the ball rolling with a few opening comments on the topic. He felt that the word ‘turmoil’ needn’t only be interpreted as a chaotic situation but can even be the mental stirring caused in society by the writings of Adi Shankaracharya, Ramanuja & Madhavacharya.
Kusum was the first speaker; she pointed out how social turmoil is the backdrop of all literature, naming a few examples out of the sea that is available to us.
Shama pointed out that there were 2 approaches to literature; art for art’s sake & art for a social purpose. With many examples she showed us how powerful words have acted as a catalyst for social change.
Many speakers related the topic to books they were currently reading.
Kaushik gave an erudite talk in which he pointed out that much good literature, whether in English or any of the Indian languages, brings out the helplessness of the downtrodden & it is the power of brilliant literature to have brought about some change.
The second topic was Patriotism & Literature. Again Mr. Rajagopalan made some opening comments on his interpretation of patriotism. The preoccupation of most of the speakers dealing with the topic appeared to be the interpretation of this word.
Vaarun felt that each of us has several identities – religious, social, regional, linguistic etc. Any of these identities can create problems somewhere down the line so he would not like us to judge people on the basis of these affiliations but to accept people in the spirit of universal brotherhood denoted by the phrase ‘vasudev kutumbakam’.
Zulekha’s interpretation was that patriotism means different things to different people: so if you bring to a successful end whatever you have in your mind you are ‘patriotic’. Whether that end is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ depends on your point of view.
Brig Inamdar felt that a patriot is one who gives everything to his nation. He read out an article written by M. J. Akbar immediately after the Mumbai blasts as a good piece written by a thoroughly patriotic person.
Renuka felt that the world is one body: any action in one part affects the rest. She wondered whether that makes patriotism irrelevant in today’s scenario. But she eventually concluded that our country has an indefinable something that forces the respect of the world.
Vinita had a unique definition of the word ‘patriotism’. She thought of the subject as not being confined to any geographical barriers. So patriotism is living in such a way that the earth we inhabit stays intact by adhering to the best principles of careful use of all our resources.
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