William Dalrymple is that sort of a writer you would love to read just because he has written it. For me, he will always be such a writer. Every book of his has been good than the other one. He surely writes a lot about Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. In “From The Holy Mountain: A Journey Among The Christians Of The Middle East”, he travels the Silk Route of ancient Byzantium through the present day Middle East retracing the AD 578 journey of John Moschos, a well known Byzantine monk, traveller and historian. All along the way he only sees a dying heritage in form of neglected monasteries, declining number of Christians and great sort of confusion among different religions in the region.

He begins his journey on Mt. Athos after seeing the older manuscript of ‘The Spiritual Meadow’ (the book by John Moschos), travels to Istanbul, eastern Turkey, Tur Abdin, then on to Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt. Wherever he went, he retraces Moshos’ route, visits remains of his era and tries to stay in the same monasteries as Mochos has done centuries ago.

All the while he notices that early Christian presence in the area was very significant and it has been declining steadily ever since. It has been sometime due to political suppression or sometimes just due to better opportunities outside - but in nearly each instance it has taken its toll on the region’s culture and heritage. Some of the monasteries mentioned by Mochos are now extinct or destroyed either by time or governments. On the one hand, he notices the differences between Islam and Christianity getting wider and wider down the ages. On the other hand, he still find these religions intermingled together at some holy places praying together for miracles or babies.

Certainly worth a read for its rich description of the place, early times and understanding of current scenarios.

When one thinks of the Winter Olympics, one would think of countries that have a lot of mountains, snow and ice; with a lot of winter games. So you would think of European countries, the United States, Canada, and so on. Thinking of tropical countries or countries that are essentially sun and beach destinations are not ones that typically come to mind when you think of sports such as skiing, sledding, or bob-sledding. This movie thus is a major surprise to those who see it for the first time - it takes a team from Jamaica (a major tropical paradise), and takes their entry into the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada in the bob-sledding competition. But just an entry into the bob-sledding competition is not worthy of a movie, it is their amazing ambition, their panache, their dogged persistence and their almost pulling off a major surprise.

The movie is not fully accurate, there are some differences between what actually happened and the depiction on the screen; however, the movie is somewhat of a good representation of the events. The movie starred the late John Candy in the major role of Irving (”Irv”) Blitzer, a former American bobsled double gold medallist at the 1968 Winter Olympics who was disgraced after being disqualified in 1972, and who retired to Jamaica. The movie was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, and went onto be a major commercial success; it cost around $14 million to make and went onto earn more than $150 million worldwide.
The movie seems to start at incredulity, when a Jamaican 100m sprinter Derice Bannock (Leon Robinson) failed to make it for the team for the Summer Olympics (due to a mistake by another contestant Junior Bevil (Rawle D. Lewis)), and approaches Irv for coaching to setup a Jamaican bobsledding team for the Winter Olympics. The first half of the movie is about this coaching regime for the first 3 months, including their initial failures and disappointment; however, they soon start to bond together as a team.
The second half of the movie is about the team in the Olympics; they face scorn and ridicule for their attempt. This is reinforced when they appear last in the first day trials in the actual Olympics. However, they appear fired up on the second day, and start surprising people with a much improved performance, ending up in eighth place. On the final day, they are like world champions, almost ending up with a record performance, however their borrowed sled falls apart a few meters from the finish. Unfazed, and with their spirits high, they carry their sled and walk across the finishing lines to the cheers of spectators.

There have been many movies that have been adapted from successful plays or musicals, less so in recent time; but much more in earlier times. One of the best adaptations of a stage musical was the creation of the movie, ‘My Fair Lady’, released in 1964. The movie was a great success, both commercially and critically. The movie and the stage musical are both based on the famous play, Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw. The movie also starred some famous names, such as Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn, and part of the success of the movie can be attributed to the presence of these 2 stars.
The movie was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, and won 8 of them, a pretty large number. In addition, it won the BAFTA Best Film. The movie picked up the 2 Oscar awards that defined the movies: Best Picture, and Best Direction. The awards that the movie got nominated for and won were:

Wins:

* Best Picture - Jack L. Warner
* Best Director - George Cukor
* Best Actor - Rex Harrison
* Best Cinematography - Harry Stradling
* Best Sound - George R. Groves, Warner Brothers Studio
* Best Music Score - Andre Previn
* Best Art Direction - Gene Allen, Cecil Beaton and George James Hopkins
* Best Costume Design - Cecil Beaton

Nominations:

* Best Adapted Screenplay - Alan Jay Lerner
* Best Film Editing - William Ziegler
* Best Supporting Actor - Stanley Holloway
* Best Supporting Actress - Gladys Cooper

The movie is seen as an all time great, one of the 100 best movies. The concept of the movie is interesting, about a person so confident of his linguistic abilities that he is willing to bet that he can turn any woman (of any upbringing) from the street into a proper refined lady who can deceive anybody.
And so, the arrogant Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) boasts that he can turn the young flower seller girl, Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) on the street, the one with a strong accent that can be as un-aristocratic as you can believe; in fact, he is positive that he is willing to pay for the expenses of this transformation and has a bet with a new friend, Colonel Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White). And so starts the whole project. In fact, in the beginning, this whole effort seems to be headed for failure - the desired transformation is difficult, and Henry is a strict teacher. However, just when they all seem to be giving up, Henry lightens up and gives her a good explanation of the history of the English language, along with its beauty. This speech seems to have done the trick, and Eliza now seems to be able to speak with an upper class accent.
Eliza is now able to start acting the part, and she is able to make a good impression in the races at Ascot with a new sophisticated way, except for when she lapses back into a cockney accent. And then comes the decision time, Eliza appears at an embassy ball as a mysterious lady, of an obvious noble rank, and passes the bet even with the evaluation of an expert. However, now that the bet has been won, Higgins starts getting distanced from Eliza, being seemingly callous to her future prospects. She is not happy and walks out. He soon starts missing her, and tries to get her back; but his ego again comes in the way and she refuses. He reaches back home, seemingly initially unconcerned about her not coming back, but misses her and plays her phonograph records. And then, she comes back and things are now right.

Being a musical, the movie had some great music. Here are all the songs from the movie.

Act One

* Overture (conducted by Previn)
* Why Can’t The English? (Harrison)
* Wouldn’t It Be Loverly (Nixon)
* An Ordinary Man (Harrison)
* With A Little Bit of Luck (Holloway)
* Just You Wait (Hepburn/Nixon)
* Servants Chorus
* The Rain in Spain (Hepburn/Nixon and Harrison)
* I Could Have Danced All Night (Hepburn/Nixon)
* Ascot Gavotte
* Ascot Gavotte [reprise]
* On the Street Where You Live (Shirley)
* Intermission

Act Two

* Transylvanian March
* Embassy Waltz
* You Did It (Hyde-White and Harrison)
* Just You Wait [reprise] (Hepburn)
* On The Street Where You Live (Shirley)
* Show Me (Shirley and Nixon)
* Get Me to The Church on Time (Holloway)
* A Hymn to Him (Harrison and Hyde-White)
* Without You (Hepburn/Nixon)
* I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face (Harrison)
* Finale
* Exit Music

‘The Sound of Music’ is an award winning musical film released in 1965. The film was based on a successful Broadway musical by the same name, and the movie itself was one of the most successful music themed movies ever made. In fact, the movie, made at an approx budget of $ 8 million, made over $155 million at that time (and if this figure is inflated adjusted for the current, the movie made $ 1 billion at current prices, making this one of the most successful movies of all times). At the Oscars too, the movie was extremely successful, earning a total of 10 nominations, and willing 5 of them, including the treasured ones of Best Picture and Best Director.
The movie is very famous for the songs, and is actually known as a Rodgers and Hammerstein movie (so named due to the 2 song writers & musicians - Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (who died before the movie version was started)). The movie, although a musical, is based in Austria in very serious times, at a time when the Nazis were becoming more and more powerful, and is about the eventual escape of a family from the clutches of the Nazis.

The Academy awards for which ‘The Sound of Music’ was nominated were:

Wins

* Best Picture
* Best Director (Robert Wise)
* Sound
* Best Adapted Score
* Film Editing

Nominations

* Best Actress (Julie Andrews)
* Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Wood)
* Best Cinematography
* Best Art Direction
* Best Costume Design

The movie was essentially based on the Von Trapp family, headed by a widower naval commander, Captain von Trapp (Christopher Plummer), and his seven cute children Liesl (16), Friedrich (14), Louisa (13), Kurt (11), Brigitta (10), Marta (7), and Gretl (5). In the midst of this comes Maria (Julie Andrews), studying to be a nun; she is sent to be the governess of these children. After some initial confrontation with the children and their father, she wins them over with the power and fun of her music and song (and these songs are the ones to watch).
The Captain warms to her when he sees the children getting closer to her, and Julie in turn finds herself falling for the Captain, but he is engaged to the wealthy baroness, Elba. Elba realizes the Captain is getting close to Julie, and sends her back to the convent. However, the Captain soon makes it clear that things will not work with the Baroness, and when Maria gets back to the house, they wed.
However, politically things are not turning out right. The Nazis take over power in Austria, and want Captain von Trapp to serve in the military. He however is not willing to serve, and buys time by taking part in a concert, from the entire family escape over the hills to Switzerland.

Songs from the movie:

* “Prelude and The Sound of Music”
* “Overture” (Main Titles, consisting of “The Sound of Music”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “My Favorite Things”, “Something Good” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”) seguéin= into the Preludium
* “Preludium: Dixit Dominus”, “Morning Hymn” (Rex admirabilis and Alleluia, based on traditional songs)
* “Maria”
* “I Have Confidence” (lyrics and music by Rodgers)
* “Sixteen Going On Seventeen”
* “My Favorite Things”
* “Salzburg Montage” (instrumental underscore based on “My Favorite Things”
* “Do-Re-Mi”
* “The Sound of Music” (reprise)
* “The Lonely Goatherd”
* “Edelweiss”
* “The Grand Waltz” (instrumental underscore, based on “My Favorite Things”)
* “Ländler” (instrumental based on “The Lonely Goatherd”)
* “So Long, Farewell”
* “Processional Waltz” (instrumental underscore)
* “Goodbye Maria/How Can Love Survive Waltz” (instrumental underscore, incorporating “Edelweiss” and the deleted song “How Can Love Survive?”)
* “Edelweiss Waltz” (instrumental, Act 1 Finale, based on “Edelweiss”)
* “Entr’acte” (instrumental, consisting of “I Have Confidence”, “So Long, Farewell”, “Do-Re-Mi”, “Something Good” and “The Sound of Music”)
* “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”
* “My Favorite Things” (reprise)
* “Something Good” (lyrics and music by Rodgers)
* “Processional” (instrumental) and “Maria”
* “Sixteen Going On Seventeen” (reprise)
* “Do-Re-Mi” (Salzburg Folk Festival reprise)
* “Edelweiss” (Salzburg Folk Festival reprise)
* “So Long, Farewell” (Salzburg Folk Festival reprise)
* “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” (reprise)
* “End Titles”

Reading novels from Nobel Literature winners is not my cup of tea. So, when a friend suggested “My Name Is Red” to me, I was apprehensive to start. After all, it is written by Orhan Pamuk, Turkish writer and winner of Nobel Prize in Literature 2006 for his novel titled “Snow”. My Name Is Red was written much earlier (in 2001) but still it would be an effort to read it - so as I thought. And, I was indeed correct. It is not effortless reading but it is surely worthwhile.

In general, Orhan Pamuk has been vocal about freedom of expression issues. In year 2005, he was forced to flee from his country due to the hate campaigns against him after he made a statement regarding the mass killings of Armenians and Kurds in Antolia. There were criminal charges brought against him for these remarks but they were subsequently dropped. I have earlier read some part of his Nobel lecture and his thoughts touched me a lot. An excerpt from his Nobel lecture is as follows (translation by Maureen Freely) :-
What literature needs most to tell and investigate today are humanity’s basic fears: the fear of being left outside, and the fear of counting for nothing, and the feelings of worthlessness that come with such fears; the collective humiliations, vulnerabilities, slights, grievances, sensitivities, and imagined insults, and the nationalist boasts and inflations that are their next of kind … Whenever I am confronted by such sentiments, and by the irrational, overstated language in which they are usually expressed, I know they touch on a darkness inside me. We have often witnessed peoples, societies and nations outside the Western world–and I can identify with them easily–succumbing to fears that sometimes lead them to commit stupidities, all because of their fears of humiliation and their sensitivities. I also know that in the West–a world with which I can identify with the same ease–nations and peoples taking an excessive pride in their wealth, and in their having brought us the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and Modernism, have, from time to time, succumbed to a self-satisfaction that is almost as stupid.

My Name Is Red is a kind of murder mystery set in 1591, when the murder of Elegant Effendi, a painter in the Ottoman Empire, threatens to expose a blasphemy that has infected Ottoman court painters. It is rumored that a secret book commissioned by the sultan is dedicated to European artistic styles, which favours figurative arts (prohibited in Islam). Four miniaturists, under the guidance of a rival to the sultan, have been painting it secretly. Consumed by guilt, Elegant confesses one evening, inciting someone to murder him. The clue to which miniaturist murdered him hinges upon the nostrils of a horse: In a drawing found on the dead man’s body, these nostrils displayed a distinct style. This story of the sultan’s secret book and the murder is told in the first person from the point of view of various narrators, not all of them human. So we hear from the corpse, the lovers and the murderer, a gold coin, the color red, and many more. The characters talk with the reader directly, and nearly each chapter has its own narrator starting with the murdered painter himself in the first chapter.

Wonderfully written book.

Freedom At Midnight is supposedly a non-fiction book written in fiction style by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, first published in 1975. Although I would say that it is more fiction that actually a non-fiction book - some of the facts mentioned in it are controversial and biased. With all the fiction and fact thing being mixed, you will be left wondering if this book is a fiction book or factual one. The book covers the events around India’s independence, starting from Lord Mountbatten’s association with India to the death of Mahatma Gandhi. This book is surely one of the better accounts of the most important phase in the Indian subcontinent - especially India and Pakistan. The book covers different aspects to the Indian independence very effectively - who were the main people driving the whole process, who actually prepared the maps of India and Pakistan, what happened to the royal palaces/property/grandeur of pre-independence princely states, and many other such questions are handled.

One thing which I realized in this book is that it is somewhat biased towards Indian National Congress political leaders of that time and portrays Muslim League leaders in the negative shade. Well, I may not agree entirely with the authors - no one is just black or white - everyone has grey shades. And INC leader surely had their fair bit of share in grey shades.

Even though I would say that this is a better way to learn about those events. It is surely not a historical commentary of events - the writing style is simple and engrossing. Surely a one time read.

Whats great about this book is that it will change the way you look at things. Economics, for me, has never been my cup of tea. It is a science much bigger than reaching to Mars, I think. But this book is made for people like me. It is fun reading, all the while using data mining, to prove why things happen as they happen in terms of economics.

“Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything” is a book by Steven Levitt (University Of Chicago) and Stephen J. Dubner (New York Times). It proves that economics is not dull all time and not all related to finances most of the times. The book’s topics include:
Chapter 1: Discovering cheating as applied to teachers and sumo wrestlers (See below)
Chapter 2: Information control as applied to the Ku Klux Klan and real-estate agents
Chapter 3: The economics of drug dealing, including the surprisingly low earnings and abject working conditions of crack cocaine dealers
Chapter 4: The controversial role legalized abortion has played in reducing crime
Chapter 5: The negligible effects of good parenting on education
Chapter 6: The socioeconomic patterns of naming children

Authors ask a lot of hilarious questions like: If drug dealers make so much money, why do they still live with their mothers? or Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? or Do real estate agents have their clients’ best interests at heart? or What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? or How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?

The book was first published in 2005 and was a best seller, selling more than 3 million copies till now in around 30 languages. For many people, this book is an absurd book. But for me, this has been a “aha” effect book - nice one time read. Wonderful way of looking at things - it surely turns conventional wisdom on its head.

For more, have a look the book’s official site.

Jumpa Lahiri has done it again. After her marvelous debut short story collection titled Interpreter Of Maldies, she has delivered The Namesake (now a Hollywood movie as well). If anyone had any doubt her talent after reading Interpreter Of Maladies, they would be surely removed once they finish The Namesake. The way she builds her characters early in the novel through short story type episodes and then weaves unexpected turns of events all through the novel is truly amazing and refreshing to read in today’s fiction writing.

Ashima and Ashoke Ganguli are immigrants to Boston from India when they give birth to their son. Their son ends up with the name of Gogul, just because his “good name” never arrives from his grandmother in India. Gogul hates his name and grows up as American as he can while his parents stick to their Bengali past. The unfortunate Gogol is tethered to this dual Indian-American life, never quite fitting anywhere. At first he shifts to Americanization, pushing aside the Indian rituals. But after a number of relationship failures and some few successes, Gogol is attracted to the comfort of his heritage. His perspective changes dramatically over the course of events, especially when he sets a bond with his father as well as the name given to him.

Jhumpa Lahiri has written a wonderful novel about immigrant lives, families, and bonds that can never be broken. Gogol’s story is actually a simple one, as lived by many Indians in America. This is surely one of the best ones in recent times.

Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of nine short stories by Jumpa Lahiri. It won the prestigious Pulitzer prize for fiction in year 2000. It is Jumpa Lahiri’s debut and it tries to capture the dilemmas of Indian immigrants and their identity crisis with themselves. The stories are mostly set in America and India.

The short stories are titled as
A Temporary Matter
When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine
Interpreter of Maladies
A Real Durwan
Sexy
Mrs. Sen’s
This Blessed House
The Treatment of Bibi Haldar
The Third and Final Continent

This is a remarkable collection from one of the most promising Indian American writer. The way Jumpa Lahiri makes the reader relate to her stories characters is hard-to-believe and need-to-read-to-understand. To write a short story is not an easy thing to do - there is such a short time to build a story and take it to its peak. But Jumpa Lahiri does this wonderfully. Although her message is through the lives of Indian immigrants but it could be globally related - that is the beauty of it - you do not need to understand Indian culture, aspiration, society and mentality to understand her stories.

Surely, worth a read. Short story-telling at its best in some of the stories.