Incredible WAYANAD....... The green Paradise...

 Wayanad , with the green dense forest and mist-capped mountains is a place I always wanted to visit ! Its truly incredible --- clean and pristine, enchanting and hypnotizing……….., this land, located about 80 km from the sea shores of Kozhikode, is filled with history and culture…. A must see place.

I have been to Thirunelly Temple, Set in the idyllic backdrop of the Brahmagiri hills ,which is located deep inside the unexplored forests of Wayand. The temple dates back to 3000yrs or more. It is believed that Lord Brahma, the Creator , himself installed the presiding deity of the temple Lord Vishnu, the Preserver. This temple , which is also known as “ Thekkan Kasi’ (Kasi of the south) is famous for “Balitharpanam” or offering Shradham to the departed souls.

Prime tourist attractions in Wayanad are Wildlife Sanctuary, Chethalayam Waterfall, Sri Mahaganapathy Temple at Thiruvangoor, Pazhassi Raja Museum, Pookote Lake and Edakkal Caves  . Beisdes, Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, Tholpetty, Karappuzha Dam, Jain Temple at Sultan Bathery, Tiger Valley, Meenmutty Falls, Soochippara Waterfalls, Chembra Hills, Bird Sanctuary in north Wayanad, and Kuruva Islands are the other nearby tourist destinations in and around Wayanad. As it was raining , i could not visit most of these places.

Another attraction is the 'Chained Tree' which has an interesting story behind it.

You can see monkeys, deers and elephant convoyes (if you are lucky) on your way to Thirunelli. The tribal population and their facinating life style is very inetresting.

The travellers can stay in various resorts and hotels of all ranges situated in almost all parts of Wayanad . Or to enjoy the thrills of jungle life , you can stay on tree top houses or mud huts. You can also purchase pure honey , various bamboo products and spices.  



WATER …A Novel by BAPSI SIDHWA based on the film by DEEPA MEHTA

The author, Bapsi Sidhwa, is one of the prominent English fiction writers of Pakistan, a Parsi, born in Karachi , brought up in Lahore and now lives in Houston, Texas. She is an internationally acclaimed , award winning writer of 4 novels. Her books have been published in ten countries and has been translated into several languages.

Sidhwa’s novel “WATER” is based on the script of Deepa Mehta’s film “water”. The book narrates a very touching story of a 8 year old child widow ! The child widow , Chuyia, was abandoned by her parents at a widow’s ashram in Benaras after her 50 year old husband died. Little Chuyia is expected to live the rest of her life in the ashram in penitence.

The story is set in a village on the Bihar-Bengal border in India in the year 1936-38 . The author beautifully narrates the Indian village life and the child marriage prevailing at that time. Also throw light to the very pathetic and poor living conditions of widows in colonial India. This book also explains Mahatma Gandhi’s influence on people and his rise to power.

The picturisation by Deepa Mehta is equally good. You will never forget the child artist Sarala, who played the child widow Chuyia. All other actors like Seema Biswas , Lisa Ray , John Abraham , Shabana Azmi etc..paled their roles very well . It indeed is a haunting story of love , faith and courage.

The Summer Of Cool by Suchithra Krishnamoorthi

The Summer of Cool is Suchithra's , a well known singer ,actor, painter and a poet, first book. This book is about a 10 year old girl  and her indirect search for her famous father .

Chitrangana Varma, is a pretty girl with innocent eyes and mischieves , live in a society called Swapnalok in down town Mumbai with her always furious mother who shouts on top of her voice. This little girl is ready with 'suitable' lies to escape from her neighbours and freinds' curious questions. 

The little girl, like other children of her age, has simple dreams like growing her hair and she wants her mother to bake cakes etc etc. But in deep down her heart , she wants to know more about her father and desperately wants to meet him !!All through the book we could feel the child's pain in not having a peaceful and happy life like her friends'.

Though there is nothing great to talk about the book, the noveliest suceeded in portraining the present unstable family set up and the influence of such situation on the growing children. It is not of great quality, but the book certainly is not boring. Good work from a new comer !! 

The Kite Runner.... remarkable debut novel from Khaled Hosseini

Hosseini's Kite Runner is an unforgettable book !! The vivid images of the two boys, Amir & Hassan, are still haunting me. The book describes the rich culture and beauty of a land in the process of being destroyed ,the experiences of Afganistanies in 1970s due to the destructive rule of Northern Allinance followed by more terrifying rule of Taliban.

Khaled Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afganistan and his family received political asylum in the USA in 1980. His first novel, The Kite Runner , was an international best seller and won many prizes. His second book, A Thousand Splendid Sun, is too equally good and touching.

The Kite Runner is the story of 2 boys , Amir and his loyal friend Hassan. Twelve year old Amir is desperate to win his father's, one of the richest and most respected merchants in Kabul, approval. He failed to get his fathers approval in studies and the only way he could win over was by winning the anual kite fighting tournament. His loyal friend Hassan, who always helps Amir out of trouble, is the best kite runner he has ever seen, and Hassan, a servant's son who lives in a hut behind Amir's house, promises to help him.

The story take a turn on the afternoon of the tournament, which shatter all their lives, and define their futures. When the Soviets invade Afganistan , Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California. And Amir thinks that he has escaped his past... yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him and was haunted by guilt ........

This is a novel about friendship, betrayal, the price of loyalty and about the bonds between fathers and sons. Khaled Hosseini ends the book in a positive note , hopes for redemption..........

five point someone Vs 3 idiots ...

Five point someone of Chetan Bhagat is one of my favourite books and it is hard to believe that this is his debut book ! His informal style of story telling is very interesting. The story is funny yet touching with great down to earth characters and a captivating plot. Simplicity is the beauty of this book.

As I'm a great fan of this book , and b'coz of my belief in Ameer Khan's ability, my expectations on 3 idiots was too high. Honestly speaking , the movie was not that impressive , it didn't rise upto my expectations. I didn't like the diversion in story. The book is so real and down to earth and is more like an autobiography than a novel. I felt the film is too" soapy and filmy".

My sincere opinion is that the magic created by Bhagat in his book is much better and longlasting than the well acclaimed "3 idiots" of Amir Khan !

Yercaud.....a beutiful holiday spot

Yercaud is 35 km from Salem, about 1.5 hr travel by car. Though there are are 20 hairpin bends , the drive is very comfortable as the road is very good and the traffic is comparitively less. On the way up, there are beutiful orange , coffee and silver oak tree estates. This is the flowering season for coffee and you could feel the thick / heady smell of coffee flowers all over the hill . The best part of Yercaud is that the climate is never too cold or hot. Its quite comfortable both day and night. Do not require special woolen clothing , you would be comfortable in your usual casual clthing.

Sight seeing includes many view points to see the beauti of the hills and you can also see the small villages situated on top hills. There is a 2000 year old cave temple, a very small one. Understand the cave ends at Coorg , at Thalai Kaveri , and it is believed that in olden days the cave was used by the village heads to commute to Coorg. There is a Botanical garden, which is closed on week ends , usuefl for students. And understand the Lake is a natural one and boating is arranged for tourists.

Perfume business is quite healthy there and you also get varieties of massage oils and organic cosmetics too. To buy fruits , especially oranges , you must visit the place in December.

The stay in sterling resorts is good. The view , especially the night view, is very beautiful. The resort organise sight seeing trips, trecking , ayurvadic treatments , other entertainment programmes for the guests. There are other hotels and resorts are also avaiable.

UMRAO JAN ADA - The Courtesan of lucknow

Umrao Jan Ada , an Urdu novel by Mirza Muhammad Hadi Ruswa translated to English by the prominent writer Khushwant Singh , is an account of Umrao's life as a Lucknowi courtesan. Ruswa is a beutiful story teller. The novel describes the social status of Muslim society in northern India in the 19th century and was said to be published 100 years ago. It takes the reader through the gracious old Lucknow where wealthy nawabs lived in beautiful palaces and the courtesans (prostitudes) in luxurious abodes .

The Umrao Jan of this novel , though a cortesan, is a woman of culture, with charm of manner and with a reputation as a singer. The question of her existance,her beauty, her scholarly abilities and her poetic gift remains a mystery even today. This novel is not Ruswi's imagination, but the actual life narrated by Umrao herself to the writer ,who had much to do with her life and loves. Umrao Jan narrated her life in a series of sittings , which was written by Ruzwa and shown to her before being published.

The book is memorable due to the complex charactarization of Umrao, and the life she lived as a courtesan. The book ends with these two lines

My day comes to a close, death draws nigh

And I have drunk of life to the dregs.

The Double Life of Ramalinga Raju ....The story of India's biggest corporate fraud By Kingshuk Nag

In this book Kingshuk Nag, resident editor of the Hyderabad edition of The Times of India , narrates the dramatic story of Raju's life , how he managed to leave a $2 billion company , India's 4th biggest IT company, penniless.

Mr Raju co-founded Satyam along with his distant cousin in 1987 and within a few years the company became a roaring success. The company spread across 66 countries in 5 continents with an employee strenght of 52,000. As an additional boosting agent, it was then Mr Chandrababu Naidu decided to emerge as India's most modern Cheif Minister and in the process he showcased Hyderabad as the most prefered place for IT industry. Thus Raju emerged as the new icon of Hyderabad and then US president's, Mr Clinton, visit made his presence known to the world.

It was Raju's craving for land (his family business) and blind love for his sons, which eventually put him in a position to leave the company, he made from scratches, penniless. By the time he went behind bars , Raju along with his family members were the owner of 6800 acres (9000 acres , as per unofficial estimates)of prime land in Hyderabad,Chennai,Bangalore and Nagpur among other places. To aquire the land, he pawned his shareholding in Satyam as well as his construction company Maytas Infra (which he was developing for his son).Also he fudged Satyam's books to inflate its revenues and profits inorder to increase the value of its shares.

Ramalinga Raju was a clever operator who played his cards close to his chest. Unless and untill he decides to tell his story noone will ever know the full extent of his frauds. Mr Raju, who was a shining star till yesteryears, is behind the bars now and as per medical reports he is suffering from various ailments like liver infection, plaque in coronory artories , heart problems etc. There seems to be no end to the yester IT czars woes.

This book throw light to few of the unanswered questions like How did Raju amass his IT and real estate empires ? How could he hoodwink the law, the shareholders and his employess for so long ? This indeed a good reading and wonder howmany such wrotten skeletons are yet to get revealed !!!!