I read an eBook on books

I had tried reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams as a .chm file… but could not go beyond two chapters…

And I have read the MSTP and CSTD in parts, fragments, and search results… but won’t call it reading.

So the first eBook I read completely… at a stretch, ironically, is: Books I have Loved
An eBook about books.

Osho’s Books I have Loved takes you on a journey towards men of letters, language, fragments, madness, spirit, confessions, theologies, and principles.

He talks of those who know that the very existence of us is a joke; some so serious that they won’t close their eyes even when they die.

To top it all, Osho’s own comments and feelings for the authors and their books. Also, in some cases, his dislikes, his likes, his loves, and his own experiences. His opinions are very absurd and very open.

Alan Watts, Irving Stone, Buddha, Solomon, and so many more… some names he can’t even pronounce. Remember that Books I have Loved is not a book in the “written by” sense; it is notes on the discourses given by the rascal Rajneesh ;-)

Oh God… the world is full of ideas, letters, languages, and men who know what to do with each… as Osho says, each one great, each one unique… that even at the heights of your talent and mysticism, there is a rival, a competitor… a first among equals…

Ha ha ha ha ha! And here, I see corporate white collars trying to one-up others. Begging for a higher appraisal, a better designation… Ha ha ha ha!

I now have a lot more of reading to catch up on. But, I guess, I never can catch up with this one man who really must have read more than any other human in history.

I love Osho; in him I see a mirror which does not reflect me.

On to my second eBook: When the Shoe Fits.

Back to square one...

Back to square one… one and half rains ago, I had left this arty city for humid and unknown Madras, like a hot and humid summer. The summer topsy-turvied my life. Sometimes, like Aquin says, don’t wish for something really bad, you just might get it!

I got it; I lost it. After a roller coaster ride, am back to this city where most of it began…

As I now remember, back then, E-Square was the best multiplex I had ever been to… it still can compete with the best in the country. Though I guess in forms of pure cinema, cinema festivals, and the blind date movie concept that they offer, Sathyam Cinemas wins hands down… I miss you, Sathyam. I discovered budget cinema at Sathyam (watch any movie in a/c confines, in the best of seats, for just Rupees 10 a ticket; believe it or not!) too late! But I did pass on the secret to a few friends who are as passionate about movies as I am.

Now, the marg that takes you to E-Square is so bumpy you would think you’ve riding the first manned device on lunar surface.

But once you are inside E-Square, away from all the dust, grime, and noise of Pune, you automatically march towards just beans, the coffee shop with mirrors everywhere and have that splendid cold Irish coffee once again.

You stroll in the food court which assimilates just about all kinds of food that you can think of for a normal dinner, look at the sweets, check out the sketch express photo counter, and the gift shops selling curio stuff!

Not to forget the Crossword book store. Though it is a mini crossword store and does not have half the collections it should, it still is delightful walking amongst piles of books…

I am still searching for When the Shoe Fits by Osho, arguably the most outrageous rebel spiritual leader of all times, in Pune.

Pune always instills the fire of art, passion, and pursuit inside me. I feel uneasy here. I see lots of paths, I eat less, sleep even lesser…

You don’t choose art; art chooses you.

Abhilash Warrier
September 19, 2006

PS: Here, I am back to an ID Skill Head who has the skill and the head to deliver… and an office where I can dial local phone numbers once again.

:-p to godfather, big b, and who cares!

Somebody: (washing face vigorously in the restroom) Hari, what say?
Hari: (midway between releasing more ammonia on to earth; rolling in laughter…) Ha Ha Ha Ha

Legacy, not yet...

I am back in Pune:
Where I met Soma and Sunil.
Where the literary club was born.
Where I had my first Barista coffee.
Where I saw my first multiplex movie.
Where it had rained incessantly the last time I was here.
Where people walked between us and doors opened and closed leaving us in a spectrum of light and darkness when we talked while you were leaving.
Where we made cold calls to probable candidates one fine Sunday.
Where we saw the moon like never before.
Where Leena came down to meet me and we went to Mumbai.
Where Jeba, Anish, Sashi, and I had a blast watching Malena and S & L on a projected screen in our flat.
Where we walked and talked and dreamed of things beyond us.

I was downloading few more e-books (Ones that I had always wanted to read. Never got paid enough; never saved enough.) from the Project Gutenberg collection on the Net.

It dawned that anything you own is kind of a legacy that you leave behind… Few love stories; short love stories; unrequited love stories; epic love stories; a manuscript with Busybee’s autograph in it; Soma’s strand of hair; coffees at Barista (not just any Barista, the one at Bandstand); Bigfish; stamps, books, movies, memorabilia, souvenirs, football jerseys, crockery, events, stories, fairytales, fables, those days in the rain…

I saw sights that brought back memories: sketch express photograph counter, phir milenge, E-Square, Shades, f-cube, Interiors, rupees 4,500 worth sunglasses, the bamboo plant, the vegetable vendor, Pashan-Sus Road, the HDFC ATM…

Pune has not changed much: It is raining heavily outside even now as I write this. Baner has more buildings; the rents have moved up the money graph; the road is in tatters. Signboards still scream: “Go Slow. Work in Progress.”