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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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Memories of 2013 - Books, Reviews and so much more!

How can I think of wrapping up the 2013 retrospective without talking about books? This has been a year when I have (sort of) caught up with my reading. I have never, ever, been without a book in my hand. But, over the years, my reading had reduced, and recently, had been restricted to reading for Samhith, and thanks to buying more books for him, I have bought fewer for myself. The change began some time in 2012, but 2013 upped the pace. I began receiving more books for reviewing, till, eventually, I had to refuse some, since I didn't have enough time to read! It has been an interesting journey, reading books I probably wouldn't have bought, reading authors I had never heard of, genres I would tend to avoid, and in the process, re-discovering the love I have for the written word.




I can not mention books without mentioning #TSBC. For those of you who are wondering what that is, it is 'The Sunday Book Club' - a group on twitter, which tweets with the hashtag 'TSBC', and talks about, well, obviously, books! One of the founders is a dear friend, Sudha Ganapathy, and though I haven't been as enthusiastic a participant as I would like to be, TSBC has certainly led to me reading a lot more, and, more importantly, connecting to like minded people, who read just as much, or more, than I do! And yes, this year, I have also met some of these wonderful people!

With the #TSBC gang at Krishna Udayasankar's reading of the second book in her Aryavarta Chronicles series - Kaurava


Taking part in the #TSBC Book Exchange brought me some wonderful books, and sending off books to someone I didn't know was a wonderful experience too. After all, what can be more fun than picking out books for someone!!

These were the wonderful books I got from my secret book giver, through the TSBC Book Exchange! And they also sent me some lovely postcards! 

Meanwhile, this year, I was interviewed, for the very first time, by Fablery.com! interestingly, it wasnt as a Travel Blogger, but as a Book Reviewer, that I gained this fame!!! Makes me wonder - should I switch to blogging full time about books instead? What do you think? 

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Comments

  1. UnknownDecember 31, 2013 at 8:24 PM

    Per my opinion,traveling and books complement each other. For instead, I can't imagine to travel without carrying Ruskin bond' books.

    Regards
    Rachit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anuradha ShankarDecember 31, 2013 at 8:35 PM

      Thank you, Rachit, but travel and books cant be said to complement each other. while reading while travelling is always an interesting way to spend the time, I am sure there are many others who dont feel the same, as for me, i can never stay long without a book in my hand, travel or not. and also, as far as Ruskin bond books go, i have read and enjoyed many, but i prefer books which will last me through the trip. else i will have to carry a library along :D

      Delete
  2. UnknownJanuary 1, 2014 at 4:01 AM

    Sweet memories, Indeed! Have a great year ahead :)

    ReplyDelete

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