lekowala!

This book is about teenage boy shipwrecked, and had to share a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for over 200 days.  I was as one reviewer put it, at the mercy of Martel’s great story-telling.  It took me less than a week, stealing some time here and there to read it.  It also helps now that I take the bus.  There’s a nice overview of it in the wikipedia .  I don’t think I have been so taken in by fiction accept maybe books by Tagore.  Yet some of his lines are Tagore like.  Nice to chew on for quite some time.  But of course no one can outdo Tagore’s phraseology.  I also like the way the story starts of in Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu.  That’s a place I visited last year and hopefully again in June.  I can just hear the vehicles honking away now, way into the night.

The situation (starvation, eating raw stuff; even tiger’s turd) on the boat reminds me off another excellent book I stumble upon in leafy Richmond, just by the Thames in a nice Waterstones bookstore more than 5 years ago.  Its called In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick and more on it on PBS .  It must be one of the top 3 books I have read.   Anyone wants to borrow?

Over Dec and as the year changed, I finished this book on none other than the great Bapuji, and ignored largely everything else. It was nice, the book and the ignoring. It was a good read and lulled me to calm and some collectiveness as the year 2006 gave way to 2007.

Louis Fischer was a journalist during Gandhi’s time and it was a refreshing and rich account of his life. There was the usual thoughts, writings and everyday going ons of Gandhi as well as the political intrigue that was so part of the scene as India wrestled, through civil disobedience, from the British. I found the book refreshing because the writer seemed to have an intimate knowledge of the man. Well, he was a journalist at the time and also visited Gandhi many times and was a guest at his ashram.

Throughout the book there were nice perspectives into certain facets or actions of Gandhi’s life, clearly intelligent insights by the author who wasn’t afraid to articulate his thoughts and feelings about the man. For one of these perspectives, I used it to kick start the year. Gandhi used to “turn the searchlight inward” throught fast and prayer, especially during times that were hardest for him to comprehend- the senseless riots and killings. There was one account described in the book about a boy being torn into half by adults… I think about that often and cringe.

And so I tried that out. A 9 day fast of liquids (coffee, milo, milk) from the time I wake up to 6pm. I am midway but already gained clarity about something that has been perplexing for me both mentally and emotionally and which needed a clear decision. Intead of thinking about it, I let the fast go on and somehow last night it became clear… and suddenly as I spoke to Jen by the breezy moonlit beach whilst the kids played in the sand, the air became sweet again (is that the fragrance of heaven?) and peace abided…

“yeah!” as a friend said as I told him about the sweet air.

now I have a tiny glimpse of an easy method used by the great man. And so hopefully, I will follow Madre Teresa, and try to do small things with great love.

Rick Stein is one celebrity chef that always is a joy to watch and read.  I just read his Seafood Odyssey.  I have been longing to try his recipes and that book has some that seem simple enough to try out.  Was suppose to cook a 3 course meal for some neighbours but they have to go on a trip so that will be postponed…  I need to experiment on others soon.

Anthony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour was thoroughly entertaining and made me want to go out and order foie gras, but before anyone does that, please spare a thought for the poor ducks.  Check out how Sir Roger Moore (yes, of 007 fame) leads a crusade against eating this “Delicacy of Despair“.  But really, Bourdain makes all foods seem delicious through his writing.

In his book he describes the French Laundry, which was actually a former french steam laundry in the 1920’s but converted to a restaurant in the 70’s.  Thomas Keller then bought it in 1994 and made it into a 3 Michelin star-restaurant.  The cook book is nice to leaf through and he describes cooking and preparation of the food in detail.  In particular, he treats the fish he cooks with the utmost care, even placing them in ice on their belly - the way they swam.  He also describes how one should keep them in ice but making sure the water is allowed to drain as chlorine from the ice water may affect the texture of the fish.  I guess I can just read about the food in his restaurant… check out this “typical check for 2 diners at the French Laundry”.  Can someone please blanjah me.  Here’s the website for the French Laundry

Here’s an interesting photo book to read. It documents the hunting of the bowhead whale by the Iñupiat Eskimos. It took a glance at the cover of the book at the Sengkang National Library and reeled at the title that had the words, whale and hunting. However, I flipped the pages and got totally intriguied by it. I totally love cetaceans, all the “dialects” they sing in and how they are so beautiful. And so do these eskimos. Its a very complex relationship they have with the whales. I don’t know what to think of it but the book just brings you to the situation, the tradition of these eskimos and prods you to think about the conflict.

Here’s an excerpt from the website accompanying the book by Bill Hess.

“In October of 1998, Malik, renowned across the Arctic Slope as one of the most successful harpooners alive, put his knowledge to the task of saving whales when three California gray whales became stuck on the Beaufort Sea side of Point Barrow. Malik seemed to develop a rapport with the whales. He spoke to them often, in a gentle soft voice. He heard them speak back to him.”

The eskimos risked life and limb to dig about 280 holes in the ice sheet big enough for the whales to access the surface for air. These holes led to the open sea. I thought that was a rare side of the eskimos I have read about and I must think that very few people really know this. I have read about indigenous cultures that hunt sustainably and have a respectful relationship with the animals they hunt. They don’t overdo it. The point of satiation never borders into the greedy. Which is why I think we should protect cows.