Book conversations: The Cyber Effect

Dr Mary Aiken, a leading expert in the field of cyber-psychology writes an apt book for the time we are living in.  In this she describes such baffling new age terminologies as catfishing, bots, cyber-bullying, online syndication, internet gaming addiction, and the dread inducing Deep Web.

Never heard of these terminologies?  Then grab hold of this book to know more.  And it is not sufficient to know about them, but be you also need to be prepared.  As Aiken puts it, to beat an online criminal, you need to think like one.  Because it is not just about your cyber-safety, it is also about the safety of your near and dear ones, especially the children whose vulnerability to online scams and abuse is enhanced in the cyberspace.  

Aiken readily admits that this is a developing field, and the rapid advance in cyber-technology makes it very difficult to keep abreast of the evolving threats.  Therefore evidence based studies are hard to come by in this field.  Instead she relies on an intuitive approach and educated conjecturing to understand and name the cyber-phenomena.  

This book has helped me be more aware of the cyber-risks.  I have also started motivating medical students, who are tech savvy, but unaware of these risks, to be more mindful of them.  Recently, when they were preparing for a seminar on behavioural addictions, I made sure they also included internet addiction in the presentation. 

I have also recommended the book to a software professional friend of mine (we work together for a mental health charity) for probable locally relevant collaborative applications such as cyber-counselling and cyber-awareness.   

Image source: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41eiZGlyyCL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Book conversations: The Girl on the Train

Ever wondered what goes on in all those houses whose backyards you gaze at, as the London's tube that you are sitting in rolls onto its destination?  

Hawkins takes this basic premise and adds the thriller/mystery element to it to come up with an engaging tale of secrets, murder, abuse and memories.

The main protagonist, Rachel is an atypical lead, in the sense that everything about her is rather depressing and dilapidated.  She is divorced, she is fat, not too good looking, she loses her bearings quite often, and to top it all, she is hopelessly alcohol dependent.  

Still, one can't help sympathizing with her, and hope that everything works out well for her in the end.  And that, I think is what Hawkins has admirably achieved in this novel.  Perhaps because of these very flaws, Rachel comes across as a relatable character. 

I do like the format: the narrative taken forward through the eyes of the three women, told at different times and adding to the unfolding mystery.  Then there are the leitmotifs: the trains and alcohol.  In fact, the two go together, as Rachel continues to drink throughout while travelling on the tube.

There is enough of the mystery element to keep you engrossed till the end.  The revelation and the sting in the tail are well depicted.  

In the end, it is London's trains that remain with you; another character unto themselves in the book, with their screeching, undulating movements as they run back and forth along the tracks behind all those similar looking houses.



Image source: https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2015/01/16/17/the-girl-on-the-train.jpg

Article on vegetarianism/veganism

My article on vegetarianism/veganism, written in a Q&A format that addresses issues raised by non-vegetarians to justify himsa to procure aahara. 

http://www.sanskritimagazine.com/ethical_living/dont-nv-non-vegetarian-diet/

Book conversations: The Ivory Throne

We have all been intrigued by the news of the treasures underneath the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram.  This was the carrot on the stick for me, for taking on the onerous task of perusing this nearly 600 page epic.  It took some doing, but I was not disappointed.  In the process, I was enlightened on the life of one of the most underrated and unrecognised royal figures of India: Queen Regent Sethu Lakshmi Bayi.

Manu S. Pillai takes on the gargantuan task of retelling the story of the Travancore Royal House and comes up trumps.  Even though this is said to be his debut release, his proficiency in digging up voluminous historical records, chasing up those who know about the said history, and coming up with an engaging account of the royal family is not entirely surprising considering he has worked with the likes of Shashi Tharoor, who we know is an adept in this very field.

Throughout, Pillai's fondness towards Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi is evident, as he goes about highlighting the goodness of her character, and her farsighted public works as the Queen Regent - something, he points out, even Gandhiji was in awe of.  This is in contrast to the character of the Junior Maharani and her family, who come across as petty and scheming.

Palace intrigue, black magic, petty royal disputes, underhand political moves, colonial mores, and alleged profligacy - they are all there in ample measure, as the narrative makes an epic sweep of the history of late 19th and early 20th Century South Kerala region.  

While nobody wanted a princely dominion to remain outside the nascent republic of India just after independence, it is nevertheless sad to note the gradual isolation and obviation of the Maharani.  (Apparently her elder daughter first moved to Malleswaram in Bengaluru from Kerala - I would love to know where exactly, as I happen to live there.)

In addition to learning about the Queen, there are three less known pieces of information that stand out for me from the book: 

1. the early history of Kerala, when Vasco da Gama and his Portuguese sailors resorted to piracy in the Arabian sea before they could gain access to the markets of Kochi
2. the unfortunate decline of the matrilineal system of family leadership after the British occupied India and forcibly applied their puritanical rules on the society 
3. Raja Ravi Varma's role in the royal life (he was the grandfather of the Maharani), and the fact that he was not a 'raja' at all!

A little bit more information about the Ivory Throne itself would have been helpful.  And Pillai talks about the ongoing temple treasure strife only towards the end, and points out that the matter is pending decision by the Supreme Court.  It would be interesting to know what the verdict would be, especially since the current royal family that is involved in the legal imbroglio happens to be from the Junior Rani's side of the family. 

Overall, a highly revealing and engaging scholarly work that is worth your time.

Image source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MD21vjoTL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

New year, what new year?

Apparently, the year has changed.  2016 has sadly passed away, and 2017 has just taken birth.

Revellers heralded the 'new year' by crying themselves hoarse shouting 'happy new year!!!', drank gazillions of intoxicants, harassed hapless lasses who made the mistake of being in their midst during their raucousness, and inflicted their 'precious' pictures of celebration on social media addicts.  

Not to mention, as 12 O'Clock swept across the world from east to west, every country tried to outdo its neighbour by lighting up billions of bulbs and blowing up tons of fireworks to welcome the 'new year'.  

(Yet, curiously it is only the Diwali fireworks that contribute to pollution every year).

So to summarise, the 'new year' party is done and dusted, and we are officially in the 'new year'.

Really?  Sorry to burst the party bubble, but I don't feel anything different about the 'new year'.  

Why, you ask?  Here's why...

Because the whole concept of 'new year' is flawed, that's why.  

Because we here in India, are blindly towing the West's line, and following the legacy of our land-occupiers, the British.

Because we are following somebody's idea of the 'year of the Lord', when we have lords of our own, and calendars of our own, i.e. panchanga and lunar calendars.

Because there are, at the last Wikipedia count, close to eighty different calendars across the world, each laying claim to its own 'new year day'.

Because as per the Gregorian calendar, the 'new year' starts seven days after the birthday of the founder of Christianity, which has no relevance to us. 

Because the date of Christmas itself is a hotly contested and contentious issue across the world, with different cultures observing Christmas on different days of the year.  

Because the date, 25th December was arrived at by the scholars of the past after much deliberation.

Because the earth's revolution cannot be exactly divided into units of time to accurately measure the onset of the 'new year'.

Because the world continues to be beset with problems as before, and we are no better or worse than we were last year, or for that matter five decades ago...

Therefore, I stopped making a fool out of myself 'at the stroke of the midnight hour', several years ago. 

 

So let me repeat that.  New year, what new year?  

Get on with your lives now...



Image source: https://images.indianexpress.com/2016/12/happy-new-year-2017-7591.jpg

Book conversations: How to be a Literary Sensation

Krishna Shastri Devulapalli does to writing what Rishi Piparaiya does to flying, with an equally unpronounceable surname!

And the humour in this one is as good.  

But I guess the joke's on me.  Because - yes, I admit it - I took the title on its face value.  

Literally literally, if you like.  And came a cropper.

The crossed out 'financial' replaced with 'artistic' should have given the clue.  But I did not take it.

The book has nothing to do with how to be a good writer.

The first half is about Devulapalli's encounters with colourful characters from his life.

And the second half takes a dig on just about all aspects of a writerly life - including the 'gas generated at lit fests', and his pet peeve: books on the theme of 'loss and redemption'.  

There are several laugh-out-loud (LOL, silly!) moments.

I definitely won't be a 'literary sensation', but at least I had a good laugh.  

So go for it if you have had enough of loss and redemption.  (Whatever the hell that is, by the way... I mean BTW).

Image source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51tSV1yfyXL._SX323_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

Film conversations: Kahaani 2

While the first Kahaani was advertised as 'a mother of a story' (and it was; kahaani = story), the second one alludes to a different kind of motherhood.  

The grittiness, realism, Kolkata, Bengali culture and accent, the lead actress, the director and the mystery element, all return in Kahaani 2, minus the other support cast from the first installment.  

Nevertheless, some parallels are worth noting between 1 and 2: the ironic killer LIC agent from 1 is replaced by a killer female police officer; the abetting Bengali police officer is replaced by another non-Bengali police officer who also happens to be the main protagonist's ex-husband; and the doubting senior non-Bengali detective is replaced by another doubting Bengali police officer.  Also present is the nondescript love interest of the main protagonist who has nothing much to do; and of course the mystery element from 1 that keeps you guessing throughout.

In all this, the film manages to make a serious point on child sexual abuse.  The dubious culprit who is also the uncle of the child, the denying grandmother who invariably takes her son's side and blames the child for all things wrong, the attempts to cover-up - they are all there; and for most parts the makers manage to get the issues right.

But the issue is used only to add to the thriller aspect of the narrative, rather than to make a social point, as in Monsoon Wedding.  Nevertheless, the grimness of this subject is matched amply by the bleakness of the backdrop and the deglamourised look sported by the lead protagonist.  

Comparisons are no doubt, odious; but since this has been presented as Kahaani 2, one cannot help pit it against the first Kahaani.  It is also true that sequels rarely ever steal a march over the first one, and this is no different.  

Even though the tautness is there, it is no way as riveting or unpredictable as the first one.  The sting in the tail certainly is not as surprising as the previous one.  If anything, the fast pace and editing, which are probably meant to keep the story taut and interesting, take away the real feel of the lead character's personality, along with the reason behind why she is initially a recluse, and how she transforms herself into a protective mother, later.  

A few loose threads hang about; for instance, why did the policeman - far too handsome to belong in a dilapidated small town police station - who was hand-in-glove with the mother all along, allow her to face the deadly duo all on her own towards the end?  The mother, after having been declared 'officially dead', manages to emigrate to the US for the child's treatment, with only a changed name on her passport.  

In spite of all this, I would go miles to see a quality film, as opposed to ego-inflated-superstar-oriented, ostentatious, self-glorifying, kahaani-less films.   

Therefore, I highly recommend Kahaani 2, which is well worth your time and money, and will not disappoint you, on the whole. 

Image source: http://media3.bollywoodhungama.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Kahaani-2-3-306x393.jpg