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Newasa - Encountering an unique form of Vishnu, and Sant Jnaneshwar

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
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A Wonderful Gift for the Tamil New Year!


I couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to the Tamil New Year…… The day started off just as usual, except that we woke up late, thanks to Samhith’s school being off…… and before you ask, the holiday was not for the Tamil New Year, but Ambedkar Jayanti! The doorbell kept ringing all through the morning, and we were frankly irritated by the number of people who turned up asking for old clothes, and the inevitable salesmen. When the bell rang again for the umpteenth time, I opened the door muttering under my breath, but I was in for a surprise – a courier chap stood there, a new one. First of all, I was surprised that the chap was working on a public holiday, but even more surprising was what he brought – books for me from Club Mahindra!

Now, anyone who knows me knows that the best gifts to give me are books! Doesn’t matter if I have read them before, or even have another copy of the same book! I just love them, and can never have enough of them! But why would I get books from Club Mahindra?????

Well, about a month back, they were looking for travelogues for their blog CLAY, and came up with the wonderful idea of giving away books to selected entries. While one of my travelogues had already been published earlier on the blog, the mention of books made me prick up my ears, and Lakshmi encouraged me to send in my contribution. Some time back, they accepted my Poovar article and put it up. You can take a look at it here. And now, suddenly, I got this wonderful gift. Here are the two books I have received –

No Full Stops in India – Mark Tully


And


The Motorcycle Diaries – Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara


 I have heard of both these books, though I haven’t read them before….. as to why, well, they simply weren’t there in any of the libraries I have been visiting! Again, if you know me, you would know that I buy very few books for myself…. Am addicted to libraries….

Now, I am just waiting to complete the books I have in hand right now, so I can read these new ones. And when I do, you will surely know about it, for I shall review them too!

As of now, thanks a lot to Club Mahindra and Lakshmi for giving me the best Tamil New Year gift of all! Here’s hoping that this year brings much more J


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Comments

  1. LakshmiApril 15, 2010 at 11:13 AM

    enjoy reading them Anu ...i liked both books..hope to read yr review soon and thanks for the post :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. chitraApril 15, 2010 at 11:38 AM

    Wonderful way to start the New year. Belated New year wishes.
    I am happy for you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShilpaApril 15, 2010 at 12:35 PM

    wow... tats nice... nice new year gift...am off to read the post :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lavanya SriramApril 15, 2010 at 1:16 PM

    wow !!!!
    wonderful :) books (that too as a surprise gift) is always exciting :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anuradha ShankarApril 15, 2010 at 2:00 PM

    @Lakshmi: thanks again! cant wait to get started!

    @Chitra: thanks a lot!

    @Shilpa: thanks.. tell me what you think...

    @Lavanya: Absolutely!!! we used to get books as prizes in school, and even when someone gave me some money, i used to spend it on books...

    ReplyDelete
  6. SoulSpaceApril 15, 2010 at 3:36 PM

    hey thats great
    a lovely surprise to usher in the new year
    heres to many more!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AartiApril 15, 2010 at 5:27 PM

    *Slowly tiptoes in but cant hold back excitment*... Woohooo.. Books and books ..Awesome

    Infact Lakshmi's been asking me to write and send to CLAy,but am yet
    to.. :(( shd get around to it soon.. esp since they are giving away books! :D

    Both are good books..enjoy reading

    ReplyDelete
  8. MridulaApril 15, 2010 at 8:45 PM

    Good to hear that Anu and I too got a book for them but life at the moment is so incredibly busy that I am struggling to finish it.

    ReplyDelete
  9. UnknownApril 15, 2010 at 8:50 PM

    Happy new year Anu...Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  10. UshaApril 16, 2010 at 11:23 AM

    have fun! both are good reads, the latter is better but i like the former on account of my liking mark tully. had met him once,when i was a student, and he had no airs at all! that is always a pleasant surprise when noticed in famous ppl.

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownApril 4, 2013 at 2:43 PM

    Rich culture and festive holidays are some of the main aspects that draw me into Indian holidays and other nation's holidays. And this one is no exception. Sending my best tamil new year greetings to each and everyone. Be blessed this new year!

    ReplyDelete

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