After Dark by Haruki Murakami

This slim novel of 201 pages by Japan's most well known  novelist abroad makes a fast and engrossing reading .But I will not call it  great.It is good but falls short of being great.What happens when  the darkness (night) arrives?It tells us what happens in the life of  a nineteen year old girl on one particular night  in Tokyo, when she is out on her own  in a coffee house.The first chapter begins at 11.56 pm and the last chapter ends at 6.52 am.

             There is an interesting observation on memory. "The people's memories are maybe the fuel they burn to stay alive.Whether those memories  have any actual importance or not, it doesn't matter as far as the maintenance of life is concerned.They're all just fuel"
                     Mari has a strange relationship with her sister  Eri Asai.They are very distant , though they want to be close to each other.When they got trapped in the lift of their building ,Eri made up her mind to be the strong big sister for Mari's sake.But over the years , Eri drifted apart from Mari due to their different life styles .She got sleeplessness , but still , Mari longs to be close to her sister."Try to remember all kinds of stuff  about your sister.It'll be  important fuel."
                              The company of strangers can lead to salvation, Murakami seems to believe.And in this book , Mari meets a stranger boy Takahashi , and  they share with each other many things they might not have shared with people whom they know.
 Murakami has an easygoing , captivating and  fluent style of expression , which holds our attention. Jay Rubin of Harvard University has translated it very well from Japanese.The story , though  disconnected in parts , lingers.The darkness leads to morning full of hope  and promise.
                                It is an interesting novel  and  I recommend you to read it , though  Murakami's  some  other books are better written.

Celebrating Forests on International Day of Forests (March21,2014)

We celebrated International Day of Forests  today(March21,2014 in Lucknow , India.The venue was the  auditorium of Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow and the event was jointly organized by Forest department of government of UP, India, and UP Forest Corporation .And it was a real celebration .The show was stolen by students and teachers  from all over the state, who had won Paryavaran Mitra Awards and certificates.Dr Preeti Kanaujia and her team from Centre for Environment Education(CEE) deserve all credit , praise and compliments for organizing such a large number of students from different parts of the state so competently and seamlessly .

                 Forests are beautiful.They inspire us with beauty.That is one reason for global celebration of forests..But that is only one reason.There are twenty other reasons why forests are important.

1.They help us breathe.They provide half of Earth's Oxygen.

2.They are home for 80% of bio-diversity on land and 50% of total bio-diversity.

3.30 crore people live in forests.

4.They keep us cool , especially in urban areas.

5.They help n preventing global warming and keep earth cool.

6.They make it rain.

7.They fight flooding.

8.They soak run-off and harmful chemicals.

9.They refill aquifers.

10.They block wind.

11.They keep dirt in place.

12.They clean up dirty soil and prevent soil erosion .

13.They clean up dirty air.

14.They muffle noise pollution .

15.They feed us.

16.They give us medicines.

17.They provide raw materials to make things like furniture , paper and pulp.

18.They create jobs.

19.They help us explore and relax.

20.They preserve culture.

21.They create beauty and majesty.

 But forests can do these things only when they live, are healthy and are cared for.

                     Forests are very finely balanced eco-systems.Any species loss can impinge on its ability to provide services like air and water purification .About 1/6th of green gas emissions can be attributed to deforestation and degradation .Deforestation affects wildlife.Illegal felling/logging adds to the problems.

                    In line with global trends , we can do the following :

1.Better management of forests.Certification and responsible forest management.

2.Conserve forests.Don't divert forest land to non-forestry uses as a routine.Prevent illegal felling and deforestation.

3.Reforestation .

4.Tree plantation .

5.Tree plantation and gardens in the cities.

6.Raise awareness about the importance of forests and trees.Encourage conservation photography.

7.Encourage paper recycling.

8.Encourage forestry research.

9.Promote eco-tourism to conserve wildlife.No noise , no litter and as per carrying capacity.

                  Our goals, our resolves on this International day of forests are:

1.Healthy , pollution free environment.

2.Benign climate , and mitigating global warming .

3.Sustainable economy.

4.Shared natural heritage.

5.Unity of life  - human , animal and plant.All life is united.

Stages of transformation of an individual .

1.Involvement with reality.

2. Criticism and wish to change.

3.Reason and reflection.

4.Conviction.

5.Dialogue.

6.Communication.

7.Trust.

8.Action .

9.Liberation and transformation .

                     These stages also apply for the  transformation of groups , though in groups , the process is far more complicated.

The White Castle by Orhan Pamukh

After reading this thin novel of 145 pages , I can say with certitude that Orhan Pamukh is a great author .It is not because he is the first Turkish citizen to have been awarded with Nobel Prize for literature in 2006. Also,not  because in January , 2010 , he publicly acknowledged that he was in a relationship with Man Booker Prize winning novelist author Kiran Desai.It is because it is a Kafkaesque parable , which tries to answer the question:"Why I am what I am?", in a calm , slow and an intriguing way .I don't claim that I have understood this book  fully .That will require a few more readings .But reading this novel is  walking and being  with a great mind .   The White Castle is the third novel by Orhan Pamukh and the first to be translated into English by Victoria Holbrook.
A young Italian is captured by an Italian fleet in the sea  and brought to Instanbul , where he becomes a slave to a man called Hoja.Hoja is his look alike(Doppelganger effect?) .The master,Hoja is convinced that the young slave's European education is superior to his own , and he becomes his disciple.The master promises that when he has learnt everything from the slave  , the slave will be freed.The relationship of master and servant keeps changing over the years in terms of one dominating the other .To help the Sultan of Turkey in his war with the Poles, the two develop a war machine .Its failure in the battle proves their undoing .Hoja escapes from the battle into the fog rather than risk being beheaded by the angry Sultan.Hoja goes to Venice to resume there the life of his Italian double and his slave takes over Hoja's life as a Turkish sage.The ultimate fate of Hoja and the slave is left unclear .
                             In the final chapter that was written many years after the main events of the book ,the identity of the narrator is called into question.Who has written this book .. . .Hoja or his slave?Perhaps they were always one person. . .one mind separated into two persons for the sake of narrating a story?The more we try to get into this question , the less certain we become.
                The basic question which Pamuk raises and tries to answer is:Why we are what we are ?What shapes the myriad facts that make up this world?We are what we are because of the way the imagination plays with and shapes our reality .Pamuk successfully demonstrates , through this novel , the power of imagination , the power of fiction to shape the reality of this world .And there lies the greatness of Pamukh and this novel.

         If you like  intellectual and philosophical challenges while  reading a novel , this one is for you .

Cleanliness is Godliness

1.Keep your body clean.Consume clean food , clean air , and clean water.

2.Keep your mind clean.Think clean with pure and honest thoughts.Read clean books , watch clean movies.

3.Keep your home clean.

4.Keep your work place clean .

5.Keep your city clean.Work to make your environment clean and pollution -free.

6.Destroy and weed out clutter , litter and waste.Produce less waste.

7.Consume less.

8.Cleanliness is Godliness.

9.Live a clean life .

10.Let cleanliness become one  non-negotiable guiding principle of your life.

Some thoughts on work

1.Work for the joy of working.

2.Love your work but don't get attached to it.

3.Distinguish between  your work and the organisation  in which you work .

4.Do those things  that you are proud of .

5.Do what you want to do , and don't ask others what they expect you to do .

6.Find out the core content of your work , dwell , reflect and focus on this core content.

7.Don't work with a view to get approval, praise , recognition or reward.Work without concern for getting the reward or fruit or recognition for work.

8.Don't work mainly for money.

9.Don't work mainly for helping others.

10.Keep learning new things about your work.

11.Make work more enjoyable , productive , efficient and cleaner.

12. Don't work only from office room .Go to the field and to the project sites.

13. Practise self- discipline and self-regulation at work .

14.Hold yourself accountable for results -to yourself.

15.Make and keep a CLP(current projects list).

16.Pay attention to people and employees you work with.

17.Document that decisions of all the meetings.

19.Plan your work .

20.Hold fewer meetings and more conversations .

Tiger Reserve in Pilibhit

The government of Uttar Pradesh , India today(February 26,2014;Wednesday) approved the proposal to declare Tiger reserve in Pilibhit , marking a great step forward  in the conservation of Tigers .The decision was taken by the cabinet  in a meeting, held in Lucknow, chaired by the Chief Minister of UP, India.

Youth Cafe on Environment , and Shades of Nature

Shades of Nature is a book of 64 pages, which was released jointly by  Sri Abid Surti( Painter and Cartoonist,Mumbai) , Sri Ram Bhooj(Unesco, Delhi)  and me on February 22, 2014(Saturday) in the auditorium of Science City Centre , Lucknow.Edited by Dr. Shikha Tripathy , it is a book on environment , introducing the concept of Youth Environment Cafe, and demonstrating the effectiveness of this innovation  in creating social consciousness through youth ,on issues of importance , like environmental issue.The event was organized very professionally by the Director of Environment , Uttar Pradesh , Sri O. P. Verma and his team.The concept of Youth Cafe in  creating ideas and awareness on issues related to environment , is powerful as well as revolutionary , with immense potential and possibilities.

                 Shades of Nature is a goldmine of 320  ideas , generated by young Lucknow students on Ways to conserve environment in the city of Lucknow.It is innovative as well as highly do-able.The book has elegant content and style and makes you want to read it .It is aesthetic , with excellent designs , cartoons , and  error-free printing .It has used very effectively the art of cartoons to make the subject full of fun , energy and excitement.The book  inspires ,and reflects the purity of its purpose .The ideas contained in the book are replicable on a wider scale, by forging a partnership between the government and the civil society.It has the potential to create a movement for clean and green environment .
              Youth Cafe is a method , a process and a technique to generate and harvest ideas.It gives youth a platform to contribute ideas for better environment.It brings out unity , togetherness and leadership among the youth.The young boys and girls converse , discuss and enter into dialogue in small 15 groups of five to six students each.Each group sits around a small table and discusses  on one theme related to environment, making a total of 15 themes.Inter-group mobility is possible.Each group finally comes up with a list of ideas on environment.When all the ideas of all groups are collected , these are reflected and harvested , and then assessed by a team of experts on environment, in an unbiased manner .Shades of Nature records 320 such ideas generated by 82 students of 15 schools of Lucknow on August 19,2013.These 320 ideas were on water conservation , transport, encroachment , stray animals, noise pollution, municipal waste, e-waste, pollution control, energy conservation  and energy efficiency, bio-diversity , greening , recycling , reusing and reducing consumption.
                    I hope , this experiment of Youth Cafe on Environment is replicated in each town and city of  Uttar Pradesh , and in India.I am sure ,it will create a wealth of ideas and awareness on preserving our environment and ecology .It will make an impact on our culture , which tolerates pollution and polluters too easily .Youth Cafe and Shades of Nature give us hope and optimism .
                      I lke Abid Surti for his  sincerity ,his  ability to inspire  , his capacity to laugh and take life with fun and humour .He is a living example of a water- conservationist, apart from being a famous painter , writer and a cartoonist.He has fans like Shah Rukh Khan and many other  celebrities all over the world.He cautions us from spreading negativity and cynicism   .I like his following quote:"We must not get possessive with our ideas.People follow and promote ideas only if they own these ideas."
                

On praise and criticism

There is a symmetry between praise and criticism .They are the two sides of the same coin .

2.Don't feel happy when someone praises you and  don't feel unhappy when someone criticises you .Weigh your response to praise and criticism .If it is genuine , it should be examined and then accepted .Don't retaliate if criticism in unfair .Don't be greedy when praise  is not due.

3.Public praise can give more happiness than private praise or approval.Public criticism can give more unhappiness than private criticism .

4.Don't seek or make efforts to get praise. Don't fish for compliments. Don't covet popularity or fame , because there is a difference between  praise and the reality it seeks to describe .

5.Be careful when praise becomes flattery and when criticism becomes accusation .This is so when criticism is born out of malice.

6.Praise and popularity should not be allowed to become our weakness.We should stay away from them.When seeking praise , popularity , name or fame or high profile  becomes an end in itself , we deviate from our real mission or goal  or values.

7.We must take right decisions and not popular decisions.We should not defer a decision because it is likely to be criticised or become unpopular.We should not be afraid of such  possibilities.If needed , we should be willing to go against public opinion and swim against current .Our decisions should be based on evidence , truth and equity.

8.There is a relationship between conformism and seeking approval.

9.When seeking  praise becomes a habit , we start accepting false praise and rejecting true criticism .We should watch out against such tendencies.

10. Don't divide the world between two camps ;those who praise you and those who criticise you .

11. Don't let praise or criticism have power over you and your freedom .

12.Be self-effacing , work below the radar and maintain low profile.

13.Don't feel hurt when you are singled out for criticism .

14.Kill your desire for praise , name , fame or popularity.
15.Don't indulge in self-praise or self-criticism.Both are harmful for  your reputation and self-esteem.

Herzog

Herzog is a brilliant masterpiece by Saul Bellow.In stead of talking to people , he writes letters , mostly in his mind , and some on paper , some to living persons , some to dead, some to ordinary persons , some to the famous.It is autobiographical, and has a style which only few writers  can  reach in a life time .It is not that I could understand and grasp the novel in full .It is too subtle and complicated to be fully understood  on first reading .But it makes you feel that you are on a journey , in the company of a great and honest mind .

                              The book is a series of meditations , philosophical musings , emotional depths and  sublime experiences , woven around and inside a story.It  deals  with  multi-layered  relationships , from the purest love of Herzog for his daughter , to the most complicated one with  Madeliene who brought an" ideology" into his life .He searches for truth through the maze of hypocrisy , alienation and boredom .But the novel  is not only about ruminations ;it has a story and a well developed structure also.

                             Herzog is a Professor in a university .It is natural that he frequently meanders into the thoughts and works of other well known philosophers.But as the book approaches its end , he seems to have found an equilibrium .

                     If you are the type who wants to read light , lucid novels , this one is not for you.For the rest , I recommend  to read it , just to admire Saul Bellow for the style of his writing and honesty of his content.