Come be my light - Mother Teresa

Some revealing private writings of Mother Teresa. The book had me hooked to it till the end.
A neat compilation of some of Mother Teresa's letters, replies to them and diary pages - the book gives a glimpse of the humility , faith and belief that made it possible for Mother Teresa to do what she did and attracted so many people to her. Jesus' words in St.Matthew's gospel, "whatever you did to the least... you did it to me " were a rock on which her convictions were built.

Some excerpts from the book :

I made a vow to God,binding under the pain of mortal sin, to give to God anything that he may ask, 'Not to refuse Him anything'.

Our spiritual life must remain simple- so as to be able to understand the mind of our poor.

The complete trust in divine providence for everything, even for her spiritual needs, was a hallmark of her life.

" A hearty 'Yes' to God and a big smile for all"

" I must have been so very full of self all these years - since God is taking so long to empty me- I hope one day when I am fully empty He comes "

Words printed on a small card that she used to distribute :

" The fruit of silence is prayer,
The fruit of prayer is faith,
The fruit of faith is love,
The fruit of love is service,
The fruit of service is peace "

The Story of My Life - Helen Keller

A book that came my way late...I should have read it mush earlier is what I felt after reading Helen Keller's autobiography - ' The Story of my Life '.

Helen became deaf and blind at nineteen months, following a fatal disease.This autobiography is an inspiring and exquisitely touching account of how little Helen learned to communicate and break open the dark and silent world within to emerge as a ray of hope for people all over the world.

An excerpt from the book:

Is it not true , then that my life with all its limitations touches at many points the life of the world beautiful ? Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.

Sometimes, it is true , a sense of isolation enfolds me like a cold mist as I sit alone and wait at life's shut gate.Beyond there is light, and music, and sweet companionship; but I may not enter.Fate,silent,pitiless bars the way.Fain would I question his imperious decree; for my heart is still undisciplined and passionate; but my tongue will not utter the bitter,futile words that rise to my lips, and they fall back into my heart like unshed tears. Silence sits immense upon my soul. Then comes hope with a smile and whispers, "There is joy in self-forgetfulness." So I try to make the light in others' eyes my sun, the music in others' ears my symphony, the smile on others' lips my happiness.

The Last Jews of Kerala - Edna Fernandes

'The last Jews of Kerala' successfully captures the melancholy, despair and fear that envelops the last less than a score of Jews left in Kerala - the living remnants of around two millennia old Jewish settlement in Cochin.

Edna Fernandes walks the lanes of Jew Town , Cochin ,to capture the sad story of the two Jewish communities- the blank and the white- their histories, the fatal colour based caste discrimination and rise and fall of this once glorious community.She also goes to Jerusalem to study the life of the re-settled Cochini Jews of the now Israel to learn that while few of them successfully resettled in 'The Promised land' , others yearn for the peaceful and glamorous life that they left in Kerala.

It was not plague or war that led to the destruction of this community in Kerala but bitter feud and apartheid between the black and the whites.

A touching investigative account of a dying community in 'countdown mode' that has no more marriages but only funerals to attend ...

The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger

I had seen the name of the book 'The catcher in the Rye' in many of the must-read books lists. Read of the reclusive life of it's author JD Salinger as an epitaph in The Hindu Literary magazine and decided to grab a copy for the next read.

J D Salinger:

American author born in 1919, JD Salinger's slim oeuvre consists of his only novel ' The Catcher in the Rye ' and few anthologies of short stories. Known for his only novel and reclusive nature alike , Salinger went hiding to a wooded compound in New Hampshire, London when his novel was published in US which came to acclaimed as the great classic of American adolescence. He lived in New Hampshire till his death on January 27Th 2010 due to natural causes. Obsessed with privacy, Salinger wanted his photograph removed from subsequent editions of his novel and had the fan mails burned.

The Catcher in the Rye:

An adolescent novel written as a first hand narration by the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, the story spans three days in his life. Ousted from his school, Holden decides to stay back in New york for three days before Christmas so that he could reach home as if for the Christmas vacation. Holden dislikes anything phony and hence end up hating most people he meets in his life. The two people he admires the most are his younger sister Phoebe and his younger brother Allie who passed away a few years back due to Leukemia. He decides to leave New york to an unknown land where he would live like a deaf-mute to be spared from the phony talks of the world since he felt most people would not take the pain to write and communicate with him if he pretended to be a deaf- mute. The only person he wishes to say goodbye is Phoebe and due to her insistence that she would also join him in his journey, he finally decides to stay back home. He enjoys Phoebe's innocence and fears that the filthiness in the world would grab her of her innocence one day. At times of fear and despair he talks to his deceased brother and gains solace.

The language of the book is a little too colloquial with words like 'Goddamn','something and all','old..'etc being used abundantly. The frequent,carefree description of adolescent sexual desires made it a little uneasy to read through.

A good book which would make you love Holden as you reach the end !

No full stops in India - Mark Tully

Mark Tully:
One of India's favorite Briton, who loves India and has been living, traveling and writing about India. Born in Calcutta of preindependent India, Tully spent early years of his first decade in India, later moved to England for schooling. He joined BBC in 1964 and became the Chief of the Bureau in Delhi where he still lives and works.

No Full stops in India:
As chief of BBC, Mark Tully traveled the length and breadth of India and this book on India is a collection of ten well studied essays. All the essays whether on 'Ram Chander' - his cook and private help- or on Operation Blue thunder, his simple and candid writing style does not let you put it down till the end.

Critic's view:
Being written by a non-indian about India , I was feeling a lack of depth in Tully's understanding of Poverty in India. In Ram Chander's story, the first essay in the book, the description of the conduct of marriage, the dowry system in India seemed very peripheral.

' New Imperialism ', the essay which talks of Cultural imperialism where every Indian in conditioned to believe that everything non-indian or western is superior is a true observation. Other essays in the book are first hand accounts of events that Tully happened to report as part of his job as the chief editor of BBC.

Borrowing Piers Brendon’s words in the ‘Mail on Sunday’ ( from the cover page of the book ) : this book is essential reading for anyone interested in a civilization mainly punctuated by Question Marks.

" To Sir With Love " - E R Braithwaite

E R Braithwaite was born in British Guyana in 1920. Born to oxford educated parents Braithwaite was blessed with a happy childhood and got good education. In the time of Second World War he joined the Royal Air Force of British Army which he later recalls to be the only place where his black skin was not a matter of prejudice.

After war, he was unable to find a profession in his field though he was a doctorate in Physics. Though different authorities and organizations made different reasons for not employing him, it was his skin color that mattered to all who rejected his application.

Reluctantly, he takes up teaching as a profession in Greenslade School, in East end of London. Many of his students were from very poor family background, most of them being back outs from other schools. Semi autobiographical in nature, the book is an account of how an intimate and deep relation builds between Braithwaite and his students. Charismatic and sincere, Braithwaite wins the hearts of his students whom he later addresses as his children.

Excerpts:

A passage from the book that describes Braithwaite’s feelings on being refused work at Mayfair:

I reflected on my life in the USA. There , when prejudice is felt, it is open , obvious, blatant ; the white man makes his position very clear, and the black man fight those prejudices with equal openness and fervour, using every constitutional device available to him……In Britain, I found things to be very different. I have yet to meet a single English person who has actually admitted to anti-Negro prejudice; it is even generally believed that no such thing exists here. A Negro is free to board any bus or train and sit anywhere, provided he has paid the appropriate fare; the fact that many people might pointedly avoid sitting next to him is casually overlooked. He is free to seek accommodation in any licensed hotel or boarding house – the courteous refusal which frequently follows is never ascribed to prejudice. The betrayal I now felt was greater because it had been perpetrated with the greatest of charm and courtesy.

One of the best books that I have read, “To Sir with Love” lingers in mind posing varied questions to the reader. Autobiographic, the book speaks against prejudices of all hues.

Unaccostomed Earth

“Unaccustomed Earth” by Jhumpa Lahiri is a collection of short stories. Identity Crisis of Immigrants to an unknown land leaving their ancestral land is the needle that knits the stories together in a book. Most of the stories bring out the negative side of human nature when confronted with varied crisis in life, overpowered with determination or at times chance.

Skipped few of the stories and took a long time to complete!
( Probably because the book was not pulling enough !)