Problem with dictating emails. Sometimes words fall through the cracks. Or should I say go to outer space.
It is “in Tamil” not “in the moon.” I think the best writing on MS has been in the moon, even those small essays in Ananda Vikatan. Shoba __________________________ Shoba Narayan www.shobanarayan.com > On Sep 30, 2021, at 9:07 PM, Thaths <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Thanks for those great recommendations, Shoba. Added them to my to read list, > especially the Sheila Dhar book. > > I have Desiraju's (RIP!) book on MS in my to read pile next to my bed. Will > get to it one of these days. > > I didn't know there was an audio book version of Ponniyin Selvan on Spotify. > Thanks for pointer! Sadly, the speed at which I can read Tamil (or Hindi) is > quite slow. Having an audiobook is great. I could neve hope to read this book > on my own. > > Speaking of Tamil classics, a friend of mine (I think a mutual friend of > ours) alerted me to the availability of Thupparium Sambu books in Audible. My > aunts and uncles used to read us these as bedtime stories when I was young.` > > Thaths > >> On Wed, Sep 29, 2021 at 7:07 PM Shoba Narayan <[email protected]> wrote: >> Thanks for this list Thaths. >> >> Always great to get personalized recommendations. >> >> If you like the music genre, I highly recommend Sheila Dhar’s Raga & Josh. >> It is written from the point of view of a practitioner an observer. The >> cream on top is that she is hilarious. There is a particular section where >> she compares what Hindustani music sounds to a Carnatic person’s ears and >> vice versa. It is rotfl level writing. >> >> The other music book is by Kumar Prasad Mukherji. I forget it’s name but >> it’s on Hindustani music and more scholarly. >> >> Namita Devidayal‘s, the music room is excellent. >> >> Of course you must have read the books on MS. One by the late TJS George who >> is the poet Jeet Thayil’s father— and my brother Shyam’s erstwhile landlord. >> Shyam is on this list too. The other MS book is by the late Keshav Desiraju. >> Both are well written and both leave one wanting for some thing that one >> cannot articulate. I think the best writing on MS has been in the moon, >> even those small essays in Ananda Vikatan. >> >> Gauhar Jaan biography by Vikram Sampath shows you a world that is new to a >> South Indian like me. >> >> As for my reading recommendations, this year I am reading books on Jungian >> psychotherapy. I recommend inner work by Robert Johnson, any of the books of >> Marion Goodman and Marie Louis Von Franz. Also by James Ellis. >> >> I am listening to Ponniyin Selvan on Spotify. And Kannada stories also on >> Spotify. >> >> Shoba >> __________________________ >> Shoba Narayan >> www.shobanarayan.com >> >>>> On Sep 30, 2021, at 1:39 AM, Thaths via Silklist >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>> >>> Damn you, Udhay! I was hoping to finish a few more books before the end of >>> the year to kick off our annual book recommendation thread. >>> >>> Here are the best books I read in 2021: >>> >>> 1. Stones of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj : After Jan Morris' death >>> last year I went on a Morris reading spree. Most books I read were of the >>> travel genre, but this one was so good that I ended up buying a copy to add >>> to my collection. The book is about building techniques, the hodgepodge >>> architecture and the inventive styles (Indo Saracenic, for example) that >>> were born in the Raj. Great photos to go with the text. Sadly, since the >>> book came out some of these buildings have bitten dust. >>> >>> 2. Forgotten Masters: Indian Painting for the East India Company: This book >>> collects some of the beautiful paintings made by mughal miniature artists >>> hired by East India Company men. >>> >>> 3. Indian Sun: The Life and Music of Ravi Shankar: Apart from a few >>> exceptions (Tharoor on Nehru, Guha on Gandhi) I am not a fan of biographies >>> about famous Indians. Mostly because these biographies are overly >>> deferential to the subject and bombastic. This book is one to add to the >>> exceptions list. It is deeply researched, comprehensive and treats its >>> subject as a complex human character with positives and negatives. I >>> learned quite a bit from this book that I had not known about Ravi >>> Shankar's life. Except for the last two chapters which were pretty >>> hagiographical and acritical, I loved the rest of the book. >>> >>> (Side note: One reason it took me a while to finish this book is that, >>> thanks to the magic of YouTube, I would read in the book about some early >>> experimental collaboration of Shankar's and go find the recording on >>> YouTube and spend hours off on a tangent.) >>> >>> 4. The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly: >>> I liked the book for its writing craft. Beautiful blending of personal >>> memoir, cooking, and natural history. >>> >>> 5. Tibet: A History (Sam Van Schaik) : Because of Tibet's proximity to >>> India, and because of millenia-old (cultural, linguistic, scriptural, >>> religious, economic) links between the countries I wanted to know more >>> about Tibet's history that was not all in the realm of Padmasambhava and >>> termas. This book did a really good job of being a primer to Tibetan >>> history. >>> >>> 6. A Girl Is A Body of Water (Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi) - I am still not >>> finished with this book yet, but it is one of those books where I savor >>> every page as it transports me back to East Africa. >>> >>> Thaths >>> >>> >>>> On Wed, Sep 29, 2021 at 3:11 AM Vinayak Hegde via Silklist >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> THE JCB longlist has some interesting fiction >>>> https://twitter.com/scroll_in/status/1435082898772840448 >>>> >>>> Amongst the Scifi releases - the recently released Gollanz book looks nice >>>> https://twitter.com/bookworm_Kris/status/1442503989128355845 >>>> >>>> -- Vinayak >>>> >>>> On Wed, Sep 29, 2021 at 2:46 PM Udhay Shankar N via Silklist >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> > >>>> > This list [1] seems like a good way to kickstart the annual Indian books >>>> > thread. What are your thoughts on this list, and additions you would >>>> > make? >>>> > >>>> > Udhay >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > [1] >>>> > https://www.gqindia.com/get-smart/content/gqs-best-indian-fiction-list-2021 >>>> > >>>> > _______________________________________________ >>>> > Silklist mailing list -- [email protected] >>>> > Manage your membership here: >>>> > https://lists.digeratus.in/postorius/lists/silklist.lists.digeratus.in/ >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Silklist mailing list -- [email protected] >>>> Manage your membership here: >>>> https://lists.digeratus.in/postorius/lists/silklist.lists.digeratus.in/ >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Homer: Hey, what does this job pay? >>> Carl: Nuthin'. >>> Homer: D'oh! >>> Carl: Unless you're crooked. >>> Homer: Woo-hoo! >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Silklist mailing list -- [email protected] >>> Manage your membership here: >>> https://lists.digeratus.in/postorius/lists/silklist.lists.digeratus.in/ > > > -- > Homer: Hey, what does this job pay? > Carl: Nuthin'. > Homer: D'oh! > Carl: Unless you're crooked. > Homer: Woo-hoo!
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