Luminous Infinitus

On the way he gets a mail from Ambrose asking him to leave to Italy immediately. With great difficulty he get to Florence and when he reaches the Sangaletti villa, he is informed that Ambrose is dead. Philip is almost devastated and inconsolable. He could not even imagine that he would never see Ambrose again. He comes to know that Rachel has left the place taking away all of Ambrose's possessions except for a hat. Philip takes the hat and sets out to meet Rachel's friend Rainaldi. Rainaldi is a matter-of-fact businesslike person and Philip takes an immediate dislike for him. Philip sets back to England. After a few months , he is called by his godfather Nick who tells him about a mail from Rachel. Rachel was planning to come to visit them.

It’s a flashback. Philip’s flashback. It’s about him recounting the events that haunt him. Philip ? Philip in ‘The Mill on the floss’ had a hunchback , Philip in ‘Of Human Bondage’ had a clubfoot , what disadvantage does this Philip have ? None? He is orphaned, yes, but none with his physique, something with the psyche though. When the narrative starts with Tom Jenkyn’s hanging that he had witnessed in his childhood, you wonder why he is telling about it and as you go further , you tend to dismiss it as some bad happening that he had witnessed as a kid. Having lost his parents at a very young age he was brought up by Ambrose, his cousin. Ambrose was everything to Philip , He was Philip’s father , mother , guardian , teacher, role model – all in one. Ambrose is unmarried , is very passionate about garden , always trying to gather some rare shrub to plant. The story starts with a middle aged Ambrose not being able to withstand winters in England. He is advised to go to a hotter place an...

It was Krishna’s wedding. Krishna, my closest pal during childhood; my first best friend (first best friend !! does that sound strange ? well ! at different times in life I had different best friends. Guys with whom I had nothing to hide and who hid nothing from me. My brothers.) All day I was wondering what to give . He generally was fond of things carved out of glass. The only doubt was whether he still liked showpieces . well , I thought I’d go to the shop and decide. Brigades was on the way. I decided to put at stop at Archies there to choose a gift. As always there was no place to park. Went downwards along Church Street looking for a space. Drove , drove and drove .. finally found a place to park. Turned around to see something that I would always love to see. Blossoms. Something was going on. Was it being renovated ? No , this was the newly furnished ground floor and was still being filled with books. I went to the first floor – straight to the du Maurier section. Eyes sought ‘M...

At once smitten by Radda’s beauty he tries to woo her. But she finds his talk humourless, finds his music bland, she doesn’t in anyway relent to him. Zobar plunges into deep despair and is seen playing his fiddle throughout the night. He is so brilliant with the fiddle , that his music melts everyone’s heart. “You felt that tune with every fibre of your body, and you became a slave of it. And if at that moment Zobar had called out ‘out with your knives, comrades’ , every man would have bared his knife against anyone he pointed out. He could wind a person with his little finger, but everyone loved him dearly”. Such was Zobar’s effect on all. Yet Radda would have nothing at all of it. She mocked him continuously. While all others appreciated every song that he sang, she vehemently criticised them. Not finding a way to make her approve of him directly , Zobar approaches Danilo , Radda’s father. Danilo approves ; says “Take her if you can” . Radda is seen sitting on a horse and Zobar appro...

With no offence to gypsies , the name reminds me of some below-the-belt curse in hindi or Malayalam or tamil . some bad name ! but that particular fact would make me not forget this name. it’s stuck to my mind. The story starts with Makar , an aged gypsy conversing with the author. It is dark , the wind is heavy , the campfire is blazing furiously ..yet Makar , smoking his huge pipe , was unfazed. It was as though these heavy conditions never affected him.(reminds me of Vikram-Betal stories of chandamama ! it was dark , the night was heavy , yet Vikram was unfazed. He climbed the tree , pulled the corpse out . as he started walking away with it , the corpse on his shoulder came to life !!!) . Makar is of the opinion that people are born to travel; that there is nothing better than traveling. “ A curious lot people are ; they herd together trampling on each other when there is so much of space-” . he asks why a man should be ploughing a field . “ A man who ploughs land pours his streng...

The “The Kings General” is unlike any novel that I’ve read. It’s as pacy as any modern day thriller. Reminds me of “Gone with the wind” though. It is about Richard Grenvile , the king’s General in the west , the bravest amongst the brave , the lion of the times , the king’s darling , the rebels’ dread and about the only woman in the world he cared for : Honor Harris – a beautiful lady who was crippled just a day before their marriage in a tragic accident. The novel is a first person narrative by Honor and from the time it starts with her brother Kit’s marriage to Gartred Grenvile , events unfurl one after another so quickly that within no time you would find yourself in Menabilly amidst a raging civil war between the forces of the King and the Parliament , pausing probably in the middle during the accident which cripples Honor , more due to shock than because the story slackens in pace there. (i'll edit this to put in more about the novel later :) )

Much as I want to buy as many books as I want , I don’t like being forced into book-buying , to feel that I’ve done something which I could’ve avoided. That’s exactly what happens when I go to Church street / MG Road. Blossoms, Gangarams, HigginBothams, LB publishers, Crossword ; so many book shops each just a hop away from each other that almost all the time , I’d just enter one , lose my whole evening , and most of time feel : “this is the time to buy , what if I am short of cash tomorrow ? What if I get so busy that I cannot come here? Moreover I’m getting a discount here” … mind always finds some reason. Only after I leave the book shop would the impact hit me ; that my pockets just got shallower. The latest book-buying was just a couple of weeks back. Had gone there to meet a friend. Saw Blossoms. Thought , 'I anyway have another 30 mins to go. lemme check out the books. just see not buy.' Went in and immediately remembered my friend telling me about “The King's Genera...

everyone seems to be blogging. is that why i want to blog ? nopes . i have this strong tendency to go retro from the direction that the crowd is going . so thats not the reason. anyway , let me make my tendencies a subject of another post. back to why i thought of blogging , i am freeeeeeeeeeeeeee so totally free that i need to just come to the office , drink coffee , have lunch , drink coffee again and then rush home . well ! somewhere in the middle , i stuff in a task called "check mails" . moreover i always wanted to 'write' something. now that i have time and have done the great thing of starting to put pen on paper (ePen on ePaper rather) , i guess words will flow .