Kadmanivasi. My Blog. Geeta Ramani

MARCH Prompt: Cover font is in a primary colour:   9. The Naxalite Movement in India by Prakash Singh.   It is not clear who the target reader is for this book. Having lived through the Naxalite period during its waning period in Bihar, I was eager to know more about the movement - the people who led it and the people who were affected by it. I was extremely disappointed- this book just presents the bare bones without a body and soul. It's a tedious read, detailing only the events which comprised the naxal movement. This author writes, "The worst example of misgovernance in the country, Bihar has been a hotbed of Naxal activities.” Sadly, it is a one sided, lop sided narrative. There is no mention about the economic, social or cultural impact on the life of the people. Bihar was the worst affected     and it is still reeling under its blow.  "The Naxalite violence which erupted in Singhbhum and Ranchi districts had more serious dimensions. Jamshedpur became...

MINI CHALLENGES   1.   Set in a country that celebrates Lunar New year - Across Many Mountains by Yangzom Brauen.   As I continued reading this book, the following saying came to my mind:   'I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet'.--Arabic saying. I had been desperate to visit my native land and I got the opportunity at the age of sixty five. My native land is in the Southernmost part of India and I have grown up and spent most of the formative years of my life in Jamshedpur, an industrial township in the East of India. And here, was the story of the Tibetans,     who had escaped political persecution, to seek asylum in India and lead a life of refugees.   The author writes in great detail and with sensitivity on the difficult journey from Tibet to India and then onward, to where their destiny takes them. It is a poignant tale one that needs to be read as it narrates in detail the ordeal faced by these displaced people. ...

I thoroughly enjoyed the reading challenge of the  year 2021. It not only opened my eyes to the vast array of absorbing books but also the purpose which I think books serve... to turn you into a thinking person. I found reading to be extremely comforting, it was as if I had found myself a friend, who would stay with me for life. I started spending more time in the world of books than anywhere else and she proved to be a true friend, always holding me. She would rouse passions in me of thoughts and feelings, and take me to places I yearned to visit and meet people I truly admired.  During the intervening years, I was never away from my books but I read them more intermittently when not participating in the challenge. I decided to take it up again this year and find my self rewarded ! What a blessedness it is to inhabit other worlds while enriching your own! This year, I'm going to record my feelings elaborately, providing me succor and satisfaction of the kind which only my boo...

What do women remember about their mother? What is that one unforgettable gift they received from their mother? The answers were varied, they ranged from objects to observations, and yet each memory was remarkable, each gift, thought provoking. In the book, What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-one Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most By Elizabeth Benedict (E ditor), women express their feelings about their mother's gift; there is love and joy, thankfulness and gratefulness, grief and sadness. There is sympathy and empathy, understanding and support. And this unique legacy of motherhood, no less than magic,     continues to be the most powerful gift women inherit. It's wonderful to note that all mothers are the same in some ways, yet every mother is different. In her introduction, Elizabeth Benedict writes, ' Having had an unhappy mother- I found myself astonished-feeling a mixture of envy and disbelief-by the stories of happy mothers and daughters.' My reason for picking u...

  Mahishasuramardhini Shloka Every Navarathri, our family recites the Mahishasuramardhini Shloka. My mother taught us to recite the prayer and we have continued doing so. Today, my grandchildren also recite this prayer. Reciting the prayer fills me with enthusiasm, also determination and strength. This year, we decided to record the shlokas and their meaning and for that I'm deeply indebted to both my daughters for the inspiration and the motivation they provided, especially to my younger daughter for the research and compilation of the same.  The Mahishasuramardhini Shloka was composed by Adi Shankaracharya in C. 810 AD. It is a powerful prayer dedicated to Goddess Durga. It invokes the attributes of Durga Devi as she conquers the buffalo demon Mahishasur. The chanting of this prayer    is believed to bless the devotee with courage, confidence, and inner strength. It tells of the conquest of Mahishasura which is symbolic to winning over the Rajasic tendencies in us....