The English Teacher...

" There is no escape from loneliness and separation....." I told myself often. "Wife, child, brothers,parents,friends.....We come together only to go apart again.It is one continuous movement.They move away from us as we move away from them. The law of life cant be avoided. The law comes into operation the movement we detach ourselves from our mothers womb.All struggle and misery in life is due to our attempt to arrest this law or get away from it or in allowing ourselves to be hurt by it. The fact must be recognized. A profound unmitigated loneliness is the only truth of life. All else is false..........................No sense in battling against it..."

An exact excerpt from the novel The English teacher... A simple everyday story of a man in late twenties or say early thirties of a middle class man hailing from a small town (Mysore as it is R K Narayan work) during 1950's.The fact is, the novel has so appealed me that it has compelled me to write the blog after a very long time.. So here I am writing it in the middle of night without thinking or caring that I have to report to work tomorrow and have a lot on my platter... In between I have read few other books but I don't know why I have not had the wish nor the heart to write.. I guess as I was having some emotional turmoil during these months may be the reason for not writing or it may be plain letharginess... Still reading this somehow has evoked me to write. about it...


I usually never connect much to a novel having a male protagonist....This is one of the exceptions I guess.. An ordinary story told extraordinarily... The way he has captured the essence of everyday going ons changes the very meaning of human humdrum  that one has to read it and will definitely fall in love with the book... For example, the paragraph cited above is one of the few such beautiful ones that is scattered about the end of the novel...The paragraph is anything but simple yet simple... If one reads the paragraph one would feel it is a sad and desolate tale but it is not...The musing in the paragraph is of the male protagonist and it is during his most melancholic period but the tale ends with a optimistic note... ''We stood at a window, gazing on a slender, red streak over the eastern rim of the earth. a cool breeze lapped our faces. The boundaries of our personalities suddenly dissolved. It was a moment of rare, immutable joy- a moment for which one feels grateful to Life and Death."


reading this somehow has made me realize that loneliness is the only truth but the time we spend in lonliness depends on the lifetime we spend with others at various walks of life..A bad analogy but I guess the gist can be made out...

The review present at the back of the novel gives away the story but the novel has to be read to be savored and here story is just a backdrop.. The writing is the plot...The fact is aptly highlighted by the observation of Elizabeth Bowen and Spectator and does justice to the author...

Th king of court room drama...

To talk about court room and not talk about Perry Mason just cant happen. For me he is the king of court room dramas. I am a member at a library near my home. I had exhausted reading almost all the books in the library. Only few were left. I had no option but to read the few books that were remaining. I had not heard about Perry Mason books. There were some 12 to 15 of that. I took one and started to read. I was hooked. And how. I so liked it that each day I read one book and stopped only when the books were exhausted in the library. Thats a thing I am not likely to do again. When I did not find more books I was sad. But during that time I met with Anshuman Sir. When I went to his house for some work with my friends he called us to his study room to show something in the system. Why this elaborate unnecessary rambling. Well one half of the wall was covered with around 100 Perry Mason novels. I was thrilled. And later after I came to know him better, he told I can borrow the books and read. Well I guess he did not know that I would bother him till I finished reading all the books. I would borrow at a time 15 Perry Mason novels and afterwards return and take some more. Still few are left. Had it not been for my hyderabad stint I would have finished by now. Inspite of reading so many I am not bored. Because I liked the concept instantly and more so the characters of Perry Mason and Della Street. Especially Perry Mason. The character has such charm. The subtle undercurrents between Mason and Street just makes the readers to wish that something more is written about them. The plots are as varied as you want to be. And the cross examination at the end is edgy and superb. Wish there were more like that.The novels are small and affordable and quick read. Thoroughly masala entertainer. He is probably the most dashing lawyer character ever created and makes the profession looks cool. How the author Erle Stanley Gardner could write around 100 odd novels under Perry Mason is something that is commendable. Moreover they are old. Its not from our times. The surroundings and gadgets used to describe the plot are obsolete now. But still its gripping. Hats off to gardner. If you are going on a journey then Perry Mason is the perfect companion... P.S. There is perry mason movies also. But have not watched any of it.

Court room dramas...

I am not sure, if I am the only one who has this fantasy. I am pretty sure I am normal and so I assume others also have this. Most of the nights of my childhood I have spent imagining myself in various roles in life and trying to sleep on it. From being an old farmer woman to getting an oscar with srk,from being a spy to being a lawyer. Thinking back it seems funny that I have envisioned myself in so many roles. But one role I really see myself even now is to study law and become a lawyer. Will do one day. I am sure of it. Meanwhile, I always have the books to satiate my love for it. I guess my first book in which there was court room drama was where the heroine was a lawyer and it was rage of angels. That has touched me so much and its my all time favourite. The ending is marvellous. Sidneys finest according to me. It just brilliantly leaves the truthful message, life goes on. Its true. Eventually you will lose everything and everyone but till your last breath the will to live keeps you going. Philosophy aside, the story and especially the brief courtroom dramas are amazing. I dont know which is an inspiration of which but there is one scene in the court regarding a poison that is also there in karz movie. Its one of the nice scene among many others. Have to read the novel to savour it. I have read it so many times but still will read it again given a chance. Actually, yesterday I finished reading The Litigators by John Grisham and wanted to write about it. But today when I took to writing Rage of Angels just came to my mind and it just wanted to get out of my system for a long time I guess. I am always partial naturally to women centric novels. They rank first in my wishlist. And on top is this. But whats to be noted is its written by a man. A woman can know how other women feel but to capture it brilliantly by a man is whats amazing. The characters are superb. The book would make a classic movie or a well written short series. Among sheldon novels its top but its worthy of mention in terms of court room dramas as well... They are brilliantly conceived and written. When you read it you feel as if you are in a court room.. If you like reading about lawyers though strictly its not about lawyers its a good recommend. P.S. If you liked legally blonde and double jeopardy kind of movies, you will probably like rage of angels.