Book Post 3 : "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole

Book Name : The Castle of Otranto

Author : Horace Walpole

Genre : Fiction, Gothic

What is it about? : This is the book which started off the Gothic genre in literature.It was first published in 1764. Its about Manfred, Lord of a region called Otranto, who is struck with a series of events starting off with the death of his son who dies when a mysterious helmet appears out of nowhere and falls on his head.

How I came to read it : Having the read 'The Moonstone' and 'The Woman in White' recently my interest in Gothic literature revived and I thought why not go back to the root of it all and give the book that started it all, a read. I got it for free form Project Gutenberg and read it on my Kindle.

Did I like it? : No, I did not. It fell much below my expectations. Or maybe I was expecting too much.

Why?/Summary/My views  : 
I am going to keep this one short. The Castle of Otranto, has most of the stock characters of the Gothic genre like the evil villain, the spotlessly good maidens and others but when it comes to creating the atmosphere of dread and evil it fails miserably. At times, it even feels comedic with its exaggerated absurdity of some of the characters like those of the servants. The story itself is not interesting and there is only one scene in the entire book which I liked. It promised much but the rest of the book never lives up to that one moment. Spoiler Alert here. The scene I am talking is when a giant hand appears in one of the rooms of the castle. No other part of the body of the creature, whatever that is, is shown. Just the hand reaching out for something. The servants looking at this unearthly scene flee the spot so no more of the action is described. The brilliant suspense created here fizzles down as the novel proceeds.


The only saving grace for me was that I finally ticked off one of the earliest books of the Gothic genre.

Book Post 2 : "Mad like Tesla" by Tyler Hamilton

Book Name : Mad like Tesla

Author : Tyler Hamilton

Genre : Non-Fiction

What is it about? : Its about a bunch of underdog inventors and their inventions in the clean energy area.

How I came to read it : I wanted to know what was going on in terms of innovation in the search for clean sources of power these days. So I went to the Renewables section of my University Engineering library and  browsed around looking for interesting books. This book caught my attention because of the 'Tesla' in the title. The general idea of the book looked interesting so I took it.

Did I like it? : Yes, I liked it immensely. Its inspiring and motivating for people like me who are in the clean energy sector.

Why?  : 

Throughout the history of science and technology people have written off new technologies just because it seemed impossible or they could see no practical use for it. Lets start with one of the most famous ones. Albert Einstein had to say this about Nuclear Energy in 1932,

"There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will." Years later it was achieved and Nuclear Energy makes up for 11% of the total power generated in the world. Or my personal favorite "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." said by Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM in 1943. Some people say that he never said that but that is not the point here. New technologies often make people doubt its potential. Its quite common. Nikola Tesla had to endure ridicule all his life but that is what make genius people different. They see things normal people don't.

This book details seven such stories of inventors and their crazy ideas. A common thread running through all of them is that they all faced criticism and rejections at every step of their journey. They have been called mad just like Tesla was during the later years of his life. The book starts off by talking about a company called ''General Fusion'' which is trying to make Fusion possible. There are a lot of detractors of the nuclear fusion technology. I was talking to a Nuclear Industry professional sometime back and he said theres a joke in the industry that Nuclear fusion will be made possible in the next 10 years and they have been saying this for the last 50 years. One of our professors in University had the exact same point. But, personally I think fusion will be here soon. I sincerely hope that companies like General Fusion succeed and soon. Next, there is a chapter about a company which is trying to setup a solar power plant in Space. Yes, in outer space, Exactly the stuff of Sci-Fi novels. But that would require the wireless transmission of electricity. Big task but they say they are getting there.

Next chapter is about a company trying to turn waste heat into tornado power. The idea is something like this. Create a giant tornado artificially ( Rising around 20kms into the sky) and since a tornado sucks in hot air from the bottom, put turbines at the base. While the hot air moves into the tornado it will turn the turbines and generate electricity. The idea has impressed many people but as you see the problem is creating a tornado and holding it in one place. Also, these tornadoes can be placed over warm ocean waters for a constant source of heat. This last bit reminded me of the giant water suckers in the Sci-fi movie ''Oblivion''.

There are other chapters about Biomimicry, about producing ethanol creating Algae, and about energy storage. The final chapter is about keeping an open mind while trying to solve the biggest problem mankind has ever faced. The author ends the book on a positive note that even though the problem we face is huge there are an equal number of people working tirelessly in solving this issue. We are in need of that one elusive breakthrough which will break the wall and lead us to a cleaner future. Hopefully some of these inventions will succeed soon. Heres to hope!

Book Post : "Maphead" by Ken Jennings.

Book Name : Maphead by Ken Jennings

Genre : Non-Fiction

What is it about? : Maps and Geography

How I came to read it : I stumbled on this book purely by chance. There was a used books sale going on in University and I got this gem for 2 bucks. I love maps and geography and this was the first book I saw written by a map fan.So I had to buy it.

Did I like it? : Loved it! The opening chapters drag a bit but later its everything a map lover loves!

Why?  : 

I could relate to most of the things the author mentions in the book. I always thought I was a bit weird in my love for maps and things I did sometimes to experience random geography trivia. After reading this book I now know that neither my fascination was weird nor I am the only one. Theres a whole world with much more crazy people who go at great lengths to follow their map love. Hence the title ''Maphead''. 

When I was a kid I used to spend hours with an atlas. Those were the Pre-internet days and Atlas was an endless source of fun. I used to stare at maps, trying to figure out what countries were and where. And there was this game we used to play in school with maps. For those of you who don't know, the game goes like this. One kid opens a random page from the Atlas and after deciding on a random place tells the other kid to find it out. Now this kid has to scan the whole page to find that place. I used to love this game. I did not know till I read this book that this was something that is played by school kids all around the world. And it has been around for years. Even more amazing was the fact that Edgar Allan Poe actually wrote something about it. Its mentioned in the book. 

One of my fondest memories of an atlas is the one that my grandmother had. She had an old, tattered but carefully handled Atlas with her. I only got to look at it once when I was visiting her in our ancestral village. It contained maps from the Pre-Independence era. Looking at those maps I was thrilled. It had maps of Hyderabad state when it was a princely state. I made a mental note to ask her about it the next time she visited us or we visited her but alas I forgot about it and years later she died and that Atlas is nowhere to be found now. It still remains one of those things which I badly wanted but now I am certain I will never find again.

In 'Maphead' the writer talks about something called 'systematic travel', which is when people create targets to do very specific things like climb all the highest natural points in a state maybe or maybe have a cup of coffee in all the Starbucks of a country. Sounds crazy right? It is. I never there was a name for this kind of thing. Back when I was in College doing my Bachelors I had my own lists. I had plans to see all the forts in Andhra Pradesh. I could never complete that list but I have seen many forts since creating that target.

The writer mentions in the book that Map and Geography lovers do crazy stuff just to get that satisfaction that normal people never understand. I did my fair share of things myself.

In my first job I was working in a very remote place in Chhattisgarh,India. Once travelling to a nearby town in train I saw a railway station named "Ib" near the Orissa Border. The short name intrigued me and I googled it. It turned out that "Ib" along with "Od"in Gujarat holds the distinction of having the shortest name in all of the Railway network in India. I made a mental note to come back one day and spend the day here. I did come back one day and spent quite sometime on that remote and deserted railway station. Heres the account. Later when in my second job I found out that the railway station with the longest name in India was just 100 km away I visited that too one day. Heres the account. My colleagues thought I was bonkers to do these visits but like Ken Jennings, the writer of 'Maphead' says, they can never understand.

Once I was in Nagpur,Maharashtra. Not many people know that Nagpur is the Geographic Centre of India.  I made it a point to go the actual milestone declaring the Geographic Centre of India and took a photo there. Heres the account of that trip.

Then there was the time I visited a town called Chandannagar in West Bengal because of the following reason. The French in the 17th Century established their colonies in five towns in India.One of them was Chandannagar in West Bengal. Curiously Chandannagar was the only colony which was not near the sea coast. I wanted to see it for myself.

These are only some examples of my love for geography related trivia hunting. This book has rejuvenated my love for maps and Geography. Time to buy a new Atlas!

Books and Imagination

I have always been of the opinion that one should be very careful in watching movie adaptation of novels. Unless the movies are of the highest quality they tend to lessen the whole impact of the novel.

When we read a novel we form a mental picture of the story and setting. This creation of the mental picture feeds off all the stories,novels,poems,anecdotes etc we have previously read.

The extent of this creation is only limited by our imagination. When we watch a movie adaptation of the same story our imagination tends to get severely constricted by the imagination of the director. I mean no longer are you able to think on your own. The director shows you how it is.

For example, recently, I read the book 'The Woman in White', a novel set in the 1850s England. Its a masterpiece of Gothic Literature. Two scenes in particular are memorable. One of them, I later found out, is one of the most famous scenes in Victorian Literature. After finishing the book I thought of just checking out if there are any movie adaptations and found one done by BBC. It begins by the famous scene I have mentioned above. I had to stop immediately. It was nothing like I imagined it in my mind. Not wanting to spoil that mental image I did not continue further.

This image in the mind is something I feel should be protected at all means. Don't let movies spoil them for you.

One and a half smart

If you are wondering what that heading means you are clearly half smart. One smart people can immediately guess what it means. And One and a half smart people have already opened google translate and are patting themselves on their back for their advance brains. 

It means 'Dedh Hoshiyar' you snail ! Thats a hindi phrase for someone who does something that he thinks is smart but looks stupid to others. Its close to being a smart ass.Ill give you an example of a dedh hoshiyar.

I work in the Power sector. Back in my last plant(Power plant) there was one particular field operator, who was lazy and irresponsible.He didn't take much interest in his responsibilities which included making rounds of inspection of various pumps and motors under his watch. So one day one of my seniors,lets call him A, decides to test the guy. A takes the operator to a series of pumps called the DM Water Pumps. There were three of them one beside the other. They are usually named in alphabetical order like Pump A, Pump B and so on. Now these pumps were under the watch of that operator. A takes him there, stands in front of the pumps and asks him ''Tell me the names of the pumps. Which is A B and C?'' 

This operator guys thinks for a while and slowly says ''Sir I am not sure about the left and the right but the one in the middle is B'' 

That, my friends is a perfect example of a Dedh Hoshiyar.

 

''The God of Small Things'' by Arundhati Roy - Book Review

For every reader, once in a while a book comes along and slaps you in the face. 'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy was one such book for me. I had heard so much about the book for a long while now but never picked it up. Last week while I was browsing through the books in my office library I came across it and decided to finally read it.

The God Of Small Things is the story of two twins Rahel and Estha from a small town called Ayemenem in Kerala and how how their lives are changed forever one December day in 1969. As is oft repeated in the book 'things can change in a day' and they do in spectacularly tragic ways. The narrator mentions ''Perhaps it's true that things can change in a day.That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the salvaged remains of a burned house -- the charred clock, the singed photograph, the scorched furniture -- must be resurrected from the ruins and examined. Preserved. Accounted for.''

It is late May in the little of town of Ayemenem when the book starts off. By early June the monsoon has arrived. This transition from summer to the monsoon is described so vividly that it paints a detailed picture in your mind. These first two paragraphs are a lesson in writing descriptions of the place and weather. It is raining heavily as Rahel arrives at their ancestral home some 25 years after the events of that fateful day in 1969. The rain is pouring down in torrents ''plouging the soil like gun fire''. Rahel wanders around in the house with the memories of her twin brother creating a storm in her mind. The narrative then describes the relationship between the two twins. By the time you reach the third page you know that you are reading something extraordinary. The book takes only three pages to make such an impact.

The story then slowly unfolds and we are introduced to the best character of the whole book, the twins' mother, Ammu. She has become my favorite woman character of all times. Life has hit her hard many times but she remains strong and principled. Her moments with her children are told with such emotion and love that you will be moved to shed a tear or two.Then there is Ammu's brother and his ex-wife Margaret and their daughter Sophie. Margaret and Sophie's visit to Ayemenem is the trigger which causes the upheaval in Ammu and her kids' life.

A mention of this visit is made quite early in the book and not until the last part of the book that one realizes what exactly went wrong on that day that has made Estha not to speak a word ever again and Rahel, to drift aimlessly in life. Roy maintains the suspense so well that not for a second do you feel that that information is taking too long to reveal itself.

There are various themes of love in the book, like the love between siblings,the part where Ammu fixes her brother's tie is one of my favorite ones amongst many. Then there is love between Mother and her children. There are some tender and heart rending moments between them. And finally there is the love between a man and a women. Roy touches upon the subject that the society decides who can be loved and by whom. The narrator mentions that there are ''laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.''

Roy's writing is extraordinary. Her descriptions evoke multiple feelings. Love,nostalgia, sadness and happiness all combined in equal measure. She uses capital letters now and then in the middle of words. She creates now words like children often do and as puts pretty rhyming sentences. It is a compelling narrative. And to think this is her debut book.

There is so much sadness in this book that you will be spending copious amounts of time just putting the book down and staring at the walls for hours. By the time you finish it it will have drained you. This book will stay with you long after you finish the final page. It is a masterpiece well worth your time.

I have huge respect for Arundhuti Roy now.

AECS Manuguru Diaries. P1. Dictionary saves the day!

Class 6.Subject Social Studies. Our much loved and feared social studies teacher Patnaik sir was explaining a concept in his usual eccentric way. He had a flair for making complex things easy to understand and to the delight of his students he always made the answers of questions in the textbook very brief and to the point. And he expected the students to be diligent and sincere in learning. His punishments were also very unique. For the boys he made them sit in between two girls. Yeah, that was 'punishment' back then. Sometimes when he was very angry he would give a good whack on our outstretched hands with a scale. So we knew that if he gets angry we were in for a bad time.

As he was teaching, suddenly out of the blue he asks the kid in the first bench the meaning of the word 'Republic'. The kid stands up but does not answer. Sir gets angry. He asks the kid next to him. He too doesn't know. Sir gets angrier. He then asks the kid in the second bench of the same row. He stands up and again no answer. By now steam is blowing from his ears. He asks the next kid. I was seated in the 4th bench and I asked my bench mate if he knew what the answer was because I did not. He replied in the negative. Sweat began to form on my forehead.I counted the number of kids in front of me and calculated when my turn would come up. I was 8th in line. I hoped the sequence would stop somewhere but as I was looking it was refusing to stop.Nobody knew the answer and Sir looked like he would have a fit. I was scared. Suddenly an idea stuck me.I always kept a dictionary in my school bag. I quickly took out my dictionary and started searching for the the word 'Republic'. I looked up once to see what number was going on. It was 6th. I had to hurry. Madly I flipped the pages and got to the 'R' section.Then I found my way to 'Republic'. Internally I screamed yes!! I quickly told the definition to my bench mate. No sooner had I told him his turn came up and he gave the answer. Sir was relieved and said 'good'to him and the witch hunt stopped.Before he turned away, he just swept his gaze over my face. I looked at him poker faced.I just hoped he wouldn't notice the tension or the sweat on my face. I think he didn't or maybe he did and chuckled to himself. Ill never know. The rest of the class heaved a sigh of relief.