“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
It has been a while since I posted here and one of the reasons is that the microphone that I use for all my ‘speech to text’ articles got damaged and had to be replaced. The online vendor took a long time to deliver, and it’s only now that everything is configured and functional. I sometimes wish that I could type again with ease, but well!
Also, you might be aware that schools in Bangalore are closed in April and May, which essentially means that a lot of time and effort must go in keeping children entertained and occupied! Not an easy feat by any means!
Anyways, for this particular post, I thought of keeping it light and ‘summery’, while updating you on some of the things that I have been doing lately. For instance, I gave a talk on ‘Essential Tools to Promote and Support Your Art Practice’ to students of a newly established art college (I did post about it on FB). And, judging from the response, I felt it was received well. Then, I attended the inauguration of the art exhibition titled "Amrita Sher-Gil: The Passionate Quest" curated by Yashodhara Dalmia at NGMA, Bangalore. It’s an exhibition worth catching and has a good selection of paintings and also some letters written by the artist.
As you probably know I enjoy reading and we have amassed quite a large collection of books, well, it seems that way given the amount of space we constantly need to create for it! Some of the books that I’ve just finished reading and a few others that are on my side table – ‘I Am Malala’, couple of books from the Chicken Soup series (for writers and entrepreneurs’), and ‘Waswo X. Waswo Writings’ (which Waswo has sent for review). ‘Catch 22’ by Joseph Heller is another book which is lying unfinished and I hope I can complete it soon.
Let’s talk a little more about ‘I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the
Taliban’- it is a memoir of Malala Yousafzai and is a fascinating autobiographical tale about the protagonist’s crusade on education, especially for girls in a land which is torn with violence and terrorism. The book is aptly described as a ‘remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons’. The book is definitely inspirational but the journalistic tone of the book, (Christina Lamb, a British journalist has co-authored it) and the over emphasis of precision in the narrative, unfortunately makes the story impersonal.
I don’t know about you but some of the Chickens Soup books can be quite overwhelming with their syrupy sweetness, but the Writers' Soul was actually quite interesting with a lot of insights and interesting anecdotes by well-known writers. I quite enjoyed it.
Summer is a great time to read books and spend time with your family, and to enjoy ice creams and iced tea and to go for walks in the evening! Bliss!!!
Let me know if you enjoyed reading this post and I would love to know how you are spending your time and what books you are reading now.
Also Read,
Artfelt Musings
Book Review: Folktales from India by AK Ramanujan
26 Best Books: The A to Z Must Read Book List
Book Review: Between the Lines: Identity, Place, and Power
― F. Scott Fitzgerald
It has been a while since I posted here and one of the reasons is that the microphone that I use for all my ‘speech to text’ articles got damaged and had to be replaced. The online vendor took a long time to deliver, and it’s only now that everything is configured and functional. I sometimes wish that I could type again with ease, but well!
Also, you might be aware that schools in Bangalore are closed in April and May, which essentially means that a lot of time and effort must go in keeping children entertained and occupied! Not an easy feat by any means!
Anyways, for this particular post, I thought of keeping it light and ‘summery’, while updating you on some of the things that I have been doing lately. For instance, I gave a talk on ‘Essential Tools to Promote and Support Your Art Practice’ to students of a newly established art college (I did post about it on FB). And, judging from the response, I felt it was received well. Then, I attended the inauguration of the art exhibition titled "Amrita Sher-Gil: The Passionate Quest" curated by Yashodhara Dalmia at NGMA, Bangalore. It’s an exhibition worth catching and has a good selection of paintings and also some letters written by the artist.
As you probably know I enjoy reading and we have amassed quite a large collection of books, well, it seems that way given the amount of space we constantly need to create for it! Some of the books that I’ve just finished reading and a few others that are on my side table – ‘I Am Malala’, couple of books from the Chicken Soup series (for writers and entrepreneurs’), and ‘Waswo X. Waswo Writings’ (which Waswo has sent for review). ‘Catch 22’ by Joseph Heller is another book which is lying unfinished and I hope I can complete it soon.
Let’s talk a little more about ‘I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the
Taliban’- it is a memoir of Malala Yousafzai and is a fascinating autobiographical tale about the protagonist’s crusade on education, especially for girls in a land which is torn with violence and terrorism. The book is aptly described as a ‘remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons’. The book is definitely inspirational but the journalistic tone of the book, (Christina Lamb, a British journalist has co-authored it) and the over emphasis of precision in the narrative, unfortunately makes the story impersonal. I don’t know about you but some of the Chickens Soup books can be quite overwhelming with their syrupy sweetness, but the Writers' Soul was actually quite interesting with a lot of insights and interesting anecdotes by well-known writers. I quite enjoyed it.
Summer is a great time to read books and spend time with your family, and to enjoy ice creams and iced tea and to go for walks in the evening! Bliss!!!
Let me know if you enjoyed reading this post and I would love to know how you are spending your time and what books you are reading now.
Also Read,
Artfelt Musings
Book Review: Folktales from India by AK Ramanujan
26 Best Books: The A to Z Must Read Book List
Book Review: Between the Lines: Identity, Place, and Power
