Life-en-treats

Jhally, Sut 1998 Edward Said: On Orientalism. Northampton, MA : Media Education Foundation. Notes: DVD Color 40 minutes Reviewed 30 Apr 2010 by: Sushumna Kannan Bangalore 560056 Karnataka, INDIA. Medium: Film/Video Subject Keywords: Said, Edward W. - Orientalism Asia - Foreign public opinion, Western Middle East - Foreign public opinion, Western Asia - Study and teaching Middle East - Study and teaching Imperialism East and West Said, Edward W., - 1935- - Orientalism ABSTRACT: The film discusses Edward W. Said’s work. His hypothesis in his book Orientalism is re-presented along with his take on a variety of contemporary issues of cultural, historical and global importance. "On Orientalism" mainly takes the form of an interview with Edward W. Said on Orientalism, his 1978 book and his latest thoughts on the subject. Sut Jhally of University of Massachusetts, Amherst introduces the film and also chips in, now and then, to tell us a little ...

Prithviyallodagida Ghatavu: Karnatakada Ninnegalu is an important book presenting an interesting history of Karnataka Prithviyallodagida Ghatavu: Karnatakada Ninnegalu By Manu V. Devadevan Akshara Prakashana, Rs. 115 Prithviyallodagida Ghatavu presents an interesting history of Karnataka: interesting for both the new findings and the flowing, accessible style of writing. Devadevan looks critically at earlier historians and their work and contemplates the process of history-writing. He sees each period of time as marked by a certain ideology under which we function, which then needs to be probed into by the historian: we must do this to know how we have come to be, what we are. All chapters provide such theoretical clarifications keeping the reader interested. Good story-telling skills allow for a smooth transition from one chapter to another and sometimes even manage to keep us on the edge. Devadevan's expertise in several languages has been put to good use in this book:...

Many months ago, I had the good chance of watching a play in the yakshagaana style, Venuvisarjana . Performed solo by Mantapa Prabhakara Upadhyaya; organized by the Ramateertha Foundation. Mantapa Prabhakara donned the role of Radha and charmed us by walking and talking like a woman. But this play was not just about a man wearing a woman's clothes and playing her role perfectly. There was more in store for us. If it was a story about Radha and Krishna, it's a story about love, is it not? What else can it possibly be? Mind you, I didn't say love story... Venuvisarjana is a story about love, it reflected upon what love is, what Radha's love for Krishna was like and why it stands as exemplary for all times. The play captured Radha's love for Krishna, her contempt for his pranks, their playful togetherness, the torment she faces in the small everyday separations from Krishna, knowing fully that he must just then be on his way to meet her and numerous such other ...

I have been browsing the web for at least 7 years now, yet I had failed to discover this thing called the online diary. My blog for me worked both as a space where I would learn writing, think and also put out intensely personal thoughts. Good for me, I finally did discover the online dairy and have one now. Its a place where one can write out affirmations. And affirmations are what I need to write up my PhD dissertation. An online diary can be made public or kept private: it is entirely up to keeper. I was weary of the version of self-hood found all over the web...very declarative, sure, excessive with self-analysis, and lots of hullabaloo about what I have on my mind, what music and mood I am into and so on. It was all about putting into one smart, cheeky line what you go through from one day to another. With friends and acquaintances all knowing everything about you, vulnerability is the only word I can think of and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. As if one was not vulner...

By: Sushumna Kannan Date: 2010-01-11 Place: Bangalore It's funny how The West looked at The East once upon a time, but things have changed, or have they? Sushumna Kannan questions the stereotypes of India in western media Star Movies, as part of what it called "Diwali Extravaganza" showed the four Indiana Jones movies this Diwali. To put it simply, I was taken aback. One of the four of the Indiana Jones movies Indians Jones and the Temple of Doom is set in India. The film was made in 1984 and effectively shaped much of Americans' beliefs about India throughout the 80s. Young Americans believed that India was indeed a place where monkey brains made dinner and eye-balls were to be found in soup. Tourists hesitated from visiting India. Diaspora Indians all over the world have been traumatized by the representations of India in this movie and are tired of answering anxious questions posed by their closest friends and colleagues. Yes, this is indeed the scene. And...

Today was a great day for me! I finished reading the Tiruppavai and the Varanam Aayiram. And loved it. I regret I wont be able to read it in Tamil. But I shall soon learn the recitation in Tamil from my mother. I know the first few verses already. The meaning is lovely: who can resist loving Krishna? All the stanzas where the young girls ask their girlfriends to wake up early on, resonates so much with my current dilemma between waking early and dozing some more. Ha ha! It's a dilemma of great magnitude it seems...as if it is to do with the very zest one feels for life and the cozy invitation of the bed, and the inimitable, sweetest sleep that touches you at exactly at 7 am, which Tagore too salutes quite nicely somewhere. The psychology of the late risers is so aptly captured in this text! Next in line on my ever-expanding reading list is the biography of Shri Ramanuja.

K.N. Ganeshaiah interweaves many disciplines into his stories Padmapani by K.N. Ganeshaiah, Ankita Pustaka, Rs. 120 Padmapani is a collection of eight extraordinarily brilliant stories. You read them and will sure be left with a good hangover; questions, alternate possibilities, twists and turns will haunt you in good measure. For, here is a book that recreates the genre of the thriller and is highly engrossing: what do ants swarming up in groups have to do with US planes flying across a small town in India? Why exactly do the paintings of Ajanta seem feminised? Has the curse on the Mysore Maharajahs been realised? What’s the mystery of the village Goddess and her miracles? Facts and fiction are so woven into each other that readers will feel an irresistible urge to shoot an e-mail to the author and confirm: ‘This is fiction, right?’ As if to test us, Ganeshaiah faithfully reproduces photographs and other historical details his stories are set in. Combining the styles of travel-writing...