lekowala!

A collection of essays, biographies and Nobel lectures from 10 Nobel Laureates. The literary styles were contrasting and for some, I just couldn’t read beyond 2-3 paragraphs so I skipped them. Those in asterisk were the ones I really got down to reading as they were styles that appealed to me more. I liked especially the one by Amartya Sen and he also wrote about Rabindranath Tagore in this book. which is interesting as Amartya was a student of Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan, the school which Tagore had set up. So there was a good insight about how the school was run from a student’s perspective. Genuine interest and curiosity in subject matter was more important than academic excellence in the school and most of the time, classes were held outdoors if Tagore had the choice as he believed a natural setting was conducive.

Memorable quote from Tagore as he described blind following of tradition - “lost in the dreary desert sand of dead habit”

I enjoyed reading VS Naipaul as he wrote in a simple style that was pleasing and relaxing and not at all flowery, which I can’t take to. The life of Grazia from Sardinia was also interesting and dramatic and the education of the very learned Amartya Sen was impressive to read as he went from one reknown university to another as an academic.

Sir V S Naipaul (United Kingdom, born in Trinidad)*
Nadine Gordimer (South Africa)
Derek Walcott (St Lucia)
Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt)
Patrick White (Australia)
Ernest Hemingway (USA)
Grazia Deledda (Sardinia, Italy)*
Amartya Sen (United Kingdom and the USA, born in India)*
Rabindranath Tagore (India)*
Nelson Mandela (South Africa)

*ones that I read fully, others were skimmed through.

Books read (starting Nov 2007)

1. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - Bill Bryson

2. The Monk who sold his Ferrari - Robin Sharma

3. Universal Father, A Life of Pope John Paul II - Garry O’connor

4. Five Minds for the Future - Howard Gardner

5. Nobel Laureates in Search of Identity and Integrity: Voices of Different Cultures - Anders Hallengren

There is something fascinating about whales and dolphins. I remember giving a lecture in school on Lipids (an ‘A’ level biology subtopic) and as a digression, I told the class a story about Whaling in Nantucket in the 18th century. Its somewhat related to lipids as the whaling industry was mainly based on the lipid found in the spermaceti of the sperm whale. A large whale could provide up to 3 tons of that valuable wax which was odorless and non-oily to the touch.

Anyway, I played some sound clips of whales singing (yes, they do sing and in different dialects too, depending on which pod they belong to) and after that auditory experience, the students (about 300) clapped and cheered. There must be something mesmerizing about whales in our human psyche. I was glad to know that most students displayed a sense of biophilia, sensu E.O. Wilson.

Scientifically, Cetaceans are animals belonging to the Order Cetacea, which, include whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Actually the reason why I am posting here is because I came across this article about whaling in Japan and its just inexplicable that whaling still occurs. Hey, I understand if the Iñupiat Eskimos do it to survive (see my post on a book I read about Eskimo whaling) but to state scientific reasons for whaling is entirely beyond reasonable acceptance. Its like killing cats randomly and saying we need data.

Note this statement - “Over a six-month period, it will kill 1,000 whales as part of what it says is a scientific research programme.”

I am no whale fanatic but they are just lovely creatures. I have had nice dreams about dolphins and whales too and those were deep and meaningful ones for me. They at least represent the wonders that nature has produced. And at most, are inspiring to many people. Scientifically, the are really peculiar and interesting ends of the evolutionary tree. See link below about the recent fossil discovery that shed new light on the evolutionary research to trace which extinct land-dwelling mammals were the probable ancestors of Cetaceans

Ivan’s Dolphins Galaxia and Into the Deep feature some whale and dolphin sounds. They are so enchanting and give a sensitive dimension to the music.

My point is “Stop Whaling!”