Anecdotal Evidence

I'm reading a book by Su.Ki. Jayakaran on Lemuria aka the lost Kumari continent. (குமரி நில நீட்சி by kalachuvadu publications). He traces the history of the pseudo-scientific Lemurian myth, its growth into a holy-cow, colonial politicization of Indian archaeology, anthropological history of India, polemics of linguistic research etc. He dismantles the myth effortlessly by simply showing the quality of 'historical research' that has been done around this subject and placing the evidences that has come from more obviously pertinent oceanographic tools that have been applied very late. This post is not about Lemuria. The book is written directly in Tamil and not translated into Tamil from English. Jayakaran is the brother of the more popular columnist Theodore Bhaskaran - who writes about environmental issues and ornithology and is also a national award winning film hisorian. He contributes to the Hindu as well notable middle-brow journals in Tamil. Jayakaran too contributes...

Weekend + Car + Ilayaraja + Manickavasagar

“What the Journal posits is not the tragic question, the Madman's question: "Who am I?", but the comic question, the Bewildered Man's question: "Am I?" A comic --a comedian, that's what the Journal keeper is.” - Roland Barthes, Deliberation To endow the writer publicly with a good fleshly body, to reveal that he likes dry white wine and underdone steak, is to make even more miraculous for me, and of a more divine essence, the products of his art. Far from the details of his daily life bringing nearer to me the nature of his inspiration and making it clearer, it is the whole mystical singularity of his condition which the writer emphasizes by such confidences. For I cannot but ascribe to some superhumanity the existence of beings vast enough to wear blue pajamas at the very moment when they manifest themselves as universal conscience.” - Roland Barthes, The writer on Holiday

Publication is the auction of the mind of men - Emily Dickenson Auction 1: அமுதசுரபி ஜூன் '09

Long autobiographical blurb ahead. Blame mutruppuLLi's nice post for spurring this confessional. There is an RK Narayan story aboout a man who spends his fortieth birthday in a park (not going to work !) thinking of how nothing has actually changed in his life as he grew older. He had the same tendencies, weaknesses, joys and fears but just cloaked differently. Magician that he is, somehow RKN made it sound like a happy realization ! I am hunting for that story. June '00 Q: Why economics after PCM ? A: I hate physics. I refuse to submit to it. Three years of being looked at with eyes of pity by uncles who were considering the calamity had befallen my parents Jun '03 Q:What now ? A: Masters in Economics I guess Q: Why ? You like it so much ? A: Hmm... actually I learnt squat these three years so I am trying to justify my past.... Q: ....!?! A: You'll atleast have to grant me the freshness in that argument Jun '05 Q: What now ? A: I like this reading and writing stuf...