Suketu Mehta - Rebuttal in Wall Street Journal

Bombay Rude? Hard to Digest!
A Rebuttal in the Wall Street Journal By Suketu Mehta

I haven't read Mehta's "Maximum City" yet, but this is an oversight I hope to rectify rather soon. But this is about something else that Suketu wrote, and I enjoyed it enough to mention it here. In today's WSJ, I came across a cleverly constructed rebuttal by Mehta. Here's what happened:
A little while ago Reader's Digest conducted a survey of 35 cities for global courtesy. And unluckily for all those who love Mumbai, the city ended up at the bottom, as the least courteous. In response to that, Suketu, the lover of Bombay, goes on to say why that particular survey is a bogus one (they rated people on opening doors, saying Thanking you, and picking up dropped papers) and then proposes a second one instead, one that Bombay might easily win.

He then ends his rebuttal with an excerpt from his book that RD had itself run.

"If you are late for work in the morning in Bombay, and you reach the station as the train is leaving the platform, you can run up to the packed compartments and find many hands stretching out to grab you on board, unfolding outward from the train like petals. As you run alongside the train, you will be picked up and some tiny space will be made for your feet on the edge of the open doorway. The rest is up to you. You will probably have to hang on to the door frame with your fingertips, being careful not to lean out too far lest you get decapitated by a pole placed too close to the tracks. But consider what has happened. Your fellow passengers, already packed tighter than cattle are legally allowed to be, their shirts already drenched in sweat in the badly ventilated compartment. They know that your boss might yell at you or cut your pay if you miss the train.

And at that moment of contact, they do not know if the hand that is reaching for theirs belongs to a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Brahmin or an Untouchable. Come on board, they say. We'll adjust."

Now that's called opening doors for others.

This is a diabolically clever note to end with when arguing for something, and Suketu uses it to maximum effect. I know I will be reading the book soon.


suketu mehta, maximum city, rudest citymumbai, WSJ, mumbai trains

One Day in September

There is only one sure way to time-travel. Watch documentaries of yore. Just before settling down for the weekend to watch Speilberg's Munich, I brought along this documentary from the library. I knew that after watching Munich I would want to learn more about the real story behind the Israeli Olympic athletes.

I wasn't mistaken. This is definitely one to watch, especially if like most blog readers, you were too young to remember the actual incidents of 1972. Even if you do recall what you read at the time, this documentary covers the story from multiple points of view -- the Israelis, the PLO, some of the relatives of those lost, the US media, and even some the German policefolk invovled in the incident.

When seen through our post-Sep11 paranoic eyes, some of the mistakes of '72 seem astoundingly naive and dumb. But I guess we must remember that the world was indeed a gentler place at the time.

If a historical and 'true' portrayal of the Munich Olympics incident sounds interesting, don't miss this documentary. (This film won the Best Documentary academy award, and Michael Douglas provides some of the commentary.) Your library will most likely have a copy.

Munich 1972,Israeli athletes, PLO, Olympics incident

The Zen Mind -- DVD

A Zen Journey Across Japan

Maybe you've already been to Japan. Or may be you plan to go there some day. Surely, your experience will be different from that of filmmaker Jon Braeley and that's just one reason to view this DVD.

If you are interested or even curious about Zen, then this DVD is a great way to get a peek into the world of Zen, with a very zen-focused tour of Japan thrown in. The DVD has interviews with Zen masters, and also gives the viewer an introduction to the Zen way of life and to meditation.

"But what is satori? Is it something extraordinary? No, ...Satori means you turn into your true self" from The Zen Mind

If you are very familiar with Zen, this documentary may be too basic for you, but it could still serve as great refresher. I've read a few books on Zen in the past, and that fact only helped me enjoy the documentary/film even more.

This movie seems to be difficult to get hold of. I couldn't find it listed in IMDB, and Amazon was out of copies, but if you can get it be sure to view it.

Zen mind, Jon Braeley, Emptymind films, satori, zazen

There and Then: A Book by James Salter

There & Then: The Travel Writings of James Salter
by James Salter

The trouble with most travel books is that they are 'linear' -- We went here, then we did that there, did you know this, something funny happened there (ha ha), what a great trip it was.

But never will Salter write that way. His love of the Old France, skiing, a little bit of Japan they are all there. James Salter writes with a certain muted brilliance, he doesn't give his praise easily. It has to be earned.

If you are already a fan of Salter, get hold of this book. He will take you to parts of the world that we can all go to, but we can't see with his sees. That's why we read his books.

If you haven't read Salter at all (and what's been stopping you?) then get his book 'Solo Faces' first. If fiction is not for you, read his autobiographical 'Burning the Days,' an excellent book about his flying and writing life.

Don't continue to be someone who hasn't read Salter. According to Susan Sontag:

"[Salter] is among the very few North American writers all of whose work I want to read, whose as yet unpublished books I wait for impatiently."

James Salter, There and Then, Travel writing

Story-Wallah - Short Fiction from South Asian Writers

Shyam Selvadurai, Editor

I hadn't heard of or read about this anthology before. But I am very glad that the cover caught my eye. It is a very good collection of short stories from nearly two dozen writers.

The writers that you know well are there (Rushdie, Lahiri, Anita Desai, Rohinton Mistry etc.) but there are sure to be writers that you will discover.

I haven't yet had the opportunity to read a book by Bharati Mukherjee, and her wonderful story "The Management of Grief" has convinced me that I should hurry up. A few other stories that I particularly liked -- Winterscape (Desai), Just Between Indians (Ginu Kimani) and Auld Lang Syne (Sandip Roy). There are many more that I could add to the list.

If you hail from a South Asian country, you are sure to discover writers from your neighboring countries. And if you just happen to like reading stories from other cultures, this one is a nice and easy way into South Asia.

I also found this article about Shyam and the book, by Aparita Bhandari in mybindi.com


Story-wallah, Shyam Selvadurai, south asian fiction

A "Personalized Countries" Visited Map

A friend sent me this link using Stumble Upon. If you've had the opportunity to visit a few countries, you can visit douweosinga.com and create your own map of countries that you have visited, such as the one shown below...



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

It is pretty neat, and fun to play with. No denying the small risk of falling into the trap of simply counting the number of countries one has been to (touched) . It is one thing to have "visited" a country and quite another to have known or experienced it.

If this sounds like fun, try to create your own map. You can then save it, and it even gives you the html code to use elsewhere.

50 Best Websites

From The Chicago Tribune
(my hometown newspaper)

Surely, we've all heard of many of the 50, but there are always surprises. Check out the Trib's 50 Best Websites. (I came across the list in HyperText, a blog maintained by Steve Johnson.

Also, equally interesting (and a lot more opinionated) are the Readers' choices and suggestions. In this list, again, were many sites that I had not heard of, but I am sure planning to check them out. If you have the patience to read through the comments, you'll surely be rewarded with a site or two that you didn't know existed.

Word Game of the Day

Merriam-Webster Word Game Of The Day

I have been a long time subscriber to the M-W word of the day, but only very recently did I notice the big button on the left panel. One day, out of curiousity, I clicked. That day's word game was fun and so I clicked again the next day. Soon, I became became a daily visitor and was looking forward to each day's game. They have lots of interactive word games of varying difficulty, all aimed to test our vocubulary and understanding of English words.

If words interest you, and you are not already a subscriber you should consider subscribing to the word of the day list. (It's free.)

And here's the Link to today's Merriam-Webster Game of the Day.

Vocabulary, word games

Naked Economics -- Incentives Matter

Yes, a second post about the same book. Some things are worth repeating. (I already recommened this book here.) In this follow-up post, let me try and articulate what I liked about the book.

For years, I have been searching for a book that would explain Macroeconomics to me, and this turned out to be the book. I still have a lot more learning to do, but this book served as a much-needed foundation. Now, I have to build on some of the concepts in Naked Economics. (As an aside, I found that wikipedia has some very good articles of topics like inflation, deflation, the flow of currency etc.)

Back to Naked Economics. It was in Chapter 2 -- Incentives Matter -- that Charles Wheelan really reeled me in. This fascinating essay starts by exploring the perilous lives of Africa's black rhinos and theire prized noses. He makes his points through real examples of the factors that are at play in eco-tourism, takes detours to India (Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation) and also uses the pollution in Mexico city to explain to us how incentives work (or don't).

Programs, organizations and systems work better when they get the incentives right. It is like rowing downstream.

Of course, I think that everyone should read every chapter, but if you end up reading only one, let it be Chapter 2.

Wheelan, Incentives,economics

Kronos Quartet -- You've Stolen My Heart

KRONOS QUARTET and Asha Bhosle
You've Stolen My Heart
Songs from R.D. Burman's Bollywood

Sometimes, the buzz builds from very disparate sources, which was the case with this CD for me. I heard one song from this collection (Mehbooba, Mehbooba) in the same transatlantic flight in which I also heard Patchai Kiligal for the first time. (I've posted about that song before.) At the time, I didn't know of the existence of the Kronos Quartet.

Then, in one podcast episode of NPR's All Songs Considered I heard an interview with the Quartet in which playack singer Asha Bhosle was referred to as the "India's Elvis," and the Kronos Quartet person (perhaps David Harrington) responded to the NPR interviewer by saying "imagine if you had the opportunity to introduce Elvis to the American public."

Finally, in my friend Jaideep's 2005 list (which you can find here) he'd also listed Churaliyaa as one of the best CDs of the year. So I got hold of the CD and have been enjoying these "old" songs anew. I am not a big fan of remixes, but am slowly changing my stance on that. (If a "re-interpretation" can lead to more enjoyment of a known song, I guess why not?)

I especially love the way the Kronos folks have churned out Mehbooba -- the playfulness of the instrumentation never fails to leave me pleasurably giddy. Lovers of classic Hindi hit numbers like Dum Maro Dum, Piya Tu Ab Tho Aaja and Chura Liya Hai will love this collection.

I know I did.

Kronos Quartet, Hindi film songs, R D Burman, Asha Bhosle

Spellbound

Spellbound: Everyone wants the last word (Documentary)

Saw this documentary after years of meaning to watch it. It didn't disappoint. If you like the whole idea of competitions (the preparation, the stress, your favorites getting knocked-out, and triumph) this is a movie you definitely want to see. (Don't read anything about the movie so that you can enjoy watching the results unfold.) This movie reminded me of "Mad Hot Ballroom" which I also recommend to all you competition buffs.

Keywords: Spelling Bee, competitions, preparation

Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan

Undressing the dismal science

Once in five years, may be once in a decade, you stumble upon a book that is so good, it is pretty much the definitive word on a subject.

For me, Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan is one such book. For years, I have wanted to understand Macroeconomics better, and I believe me I have tried. And boy, does this one hit home. (I usually recommend to people that they first read a book and only then decide if they want to buy. But this one you should buy. And read once a year to refresh some of the concepts.)

A highly readable economics book with no graphs and no equations (even though I happen to like graphs and equations) can't go wrong, can it? Wheelan has a great breezy writing style, with such great everyday examples to drive his points home.

I will post once or twice more about some of the details of this book, but in the very last paragraph of the book, the author has captured it wonderfully.

“The remarkable thing about economics is that once you’ve been exposed to the big ideas, they begin to show up everywhere. The sad irony of Econ 101 is that students too often suffer through dull, esoteric lectures while economics is going on all around them. Economics offers insight into wealth, poverty, gender relations, the environment, discrimination, politics. How could that possibly not be interesting?”

Tags: Economics, charles wheelan, naked economics, macroeconomics

Note To Sixth Grade Self

Heard this piece titled "Note to Sixth-grade Self" on our local NPR today, in a program called Re:sound.

While driving to a store, I flipped on the radio, and heard an audio rendition of Julie Orringer's "Note To Sixth Grade Self." I was mesmerized by the story of the social outcast, and her everyday struggles with her mean classmates. Even after reaching the store, I waited in the car in the parking lot until the reading ended.

Upon searching the Web, I learned that it had been published in The Paris Review. I liked the piece so much that I am now thinking of getting her book "How To Breathe Underwater."

If this link works, you can hear it in MP3.

Cinderella Man

This is not a documentary in the truest sense. This movie is a biography based on the life story of boxer Jim Braddock. This common-man-turned-hero movie is definitely worth watching, esp. on DVD. I was surprised to note that it is currently ranked #207 in IMDB's all-time Top 250 movies list.

Possible Spoiler Alert (Don't read further if like to watch movies knowing as little about them as possible.)

I saw this movie a few months ago, but two scenes stick out in my memory. The first is the one where Russell Crowe pretends to his little daughter that he had a dream about having a full meal, and uses that ruse to give his breakfast to her and leaves for physical work hungry.

The other scene is the one where he goes back to the club and holds out his hat and asks for a hand-out while his erswhile boxing patrons (who made a lot of money on him) are eating and drinking.

If this movie passed you by, seek out the DVD.

Boxing Russell Crowe Cinderella Man

Po Bronson - Live at Chicago

Continuing from my previous post on the same experience. (First post)

Po's message was that things are overall quite okay. He pointed out that we have gotten into this habit of "aggrandization of the Present."

He referred to the 4 existential fears of Kafka that might be paralyzing us. The Fear of dying, the Fear of choosing, the Fear that we will end lonely and finally, the Fear That life is ultimately meaningless.

To hear Po quote Kafka, in that hushed voice of his was quite a memorable experience in itself.

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.

He would leaven all this seriousness by bringing in humor. He read aloud a review that showed up in Amazon, where the reviewer even claimed that Pierce Brosnan was Po's "superior brother."

Po spent a few minutes stressing that family life around the world has actually improved. He quoted lots of stats comparing contemporary numbers with past decades/centuries. Those who are interested should surely check out the factbook that he has compiled.

When Po read from his book, he had the entire audience captivated, hanging on to his every word. The interesting thing for me is that I had read the book before, knew the twists and surprises in every story, and still. To hear Po narrate the stories was a uniquely moving experience. There were lots of misty eyes in the audience, and these included the men listening.

During the Q&A session, I asked him what his next project was. His reply was that he honestly didn't know what it was going to be.

Whatever it turns out to be, I am just happy to wait and be surprised.

Po Bronson - Book Signing Experience

In person, Po looks exactly like the photo in his book. Around 50 people had showed up that evening for the book signing in Chicago's Transitions Bookplace. He appeared a tad bit diffident hanging around before it was time for him to go on stage.

[Spoiler Alert: If any of you are planning on or think you'll have a chance to go to a live book signing for "Why Do I Love These People?" I recommend that you skip reading what follows and enjoy the whole experience afresh as it unfolds.]

Po had with him an assortment of "artefacts" -- maps and photos and a 3-ring binder that he'd brought along with him. He started out by reading aloud his "Promises to a Newborn Son." The letter was actually his clever way of informing us a little about Po's own childhood, the things that had been done to him (or had been left undone) -- a litany of parenting lapses that he experienced growing up. The list was hilarious to hear for the audience, but it couldn't have been fun for Po as he was growing up.

He showed a color-photo of Nicole Kidman reading his "What Should I Do" book in the movie "Bewitched" and he pointed out the irony of someone going to Hollywood to learn what real life is like (which is in the movie's plotline). Po also mentioned that he'd not been consulted or aware that his book was being used as a prop in the movie. (He then shared a couple of stories about his experience of being a writer in Hollywood.)

Next, he unfolded a large white map of the United States, with all the states outlined. In that map, Po had marked all the cities wherein he'd spent days and weeks interviewing 100s of people and had marked all the routes for the trips he had taken criss-crossing the country. One look at his map and it becomes readily evident that any author attempting a such book of inteviews and stories has to spend tons of time and effort.

As the stories kept coming, Po grew more and more comfortable and got deeper into his subject. What I had mistaken for diffidence was probably just his nature. Clearly, he was in his element. connecting with the audience in the bookstore at many levels, keeping them laughing while also making them think about the more serious subject at hand -- the one of family relatioships.

He made one very key point, which I had not thought about until that moment. He pointed out the distinction between his two recent book. "Getting what you love is the subject of 'What should I do', whereas loving what you get is what this new book, 'Why do I love these people' is about," he said.

For this post, I think I will stop here, and continue in my next.

Categories: Po Bronson Author Book Signing

Po Bronson Live

Listening to Po Bronson talk about his Book
Transitions BookPlace, Chicago IL

First, a very brief introduction. In case you are not very familiar with this author, Po Bronson, it was his 3rd book "Nudist on the Late shift" a great collection of pieces in the height of the dot-com days that really brought him to the attention of the internet literati. (It was also the first Po Bronson book that I read.) His website is well worth checking out.

His next book, What Should I Do With My Life was a departure of sorts from his earlier style. In that book, he delves into the question of the book's title with a disarming frankness. The tone is very different from that of the Silicon-valley-dot-com-craze-fanning "Nudist" book. I got the "What Should I Do" book because I had loved Po's literary style in Nudist, (plus the title What Should I Do is rather compelling) but I read the book because of the power of the stories in them.

He's followed up this book with his latest book, Why Do I Love These People?, similar in vein to the What Should I Do book. I read "Why Do I Love" in the Fall of 2005, and was lucky enough to learn that Po would be reading and presenting live in Chicago in January of 2006. I will post about the experience of listening to Po share his stories in my next posts.

Po Bronson, Why Do I love these people, True Stories

Jaideep's List: Most Enjoyed In 2005

This is a guest entry. For many years now, an ex-colleague of mine, Jaideep, has been sharing his Most Enjoyed lists with me. I especially look forward to his musical recommendations, mainly because he is musically inclined. Here is his list for 2005, published with his permission.

Hi Ram,
Here's my most enjoyed list for 2005 (order has no meaning).

Music
Sao Vicente de Longe - Cesaria Evora
You have stolen my heart (Churalia) Music of RD Burman - Asha Bhosle and the Kronos Quartet
Moffou - Salif Keita

Music DVDs
Live in London - Youssou N'dour
Live in Paris - Cesaria Evora
Sade Live
Live 8

Concerts
Festival of India - Ravi and Anoushka Shankar
Habib Koite and Bamada

Books - Fiction
Transplanted Man - Sanjay Nigam
Hero's Walk - Anita Rau Badami
Hungry Tide - Amitav Ghosh
Motherland - Vineeta Vijayaraghavan
Goddess for Hire - Sonia Singh
The Guru of Love - Samrat Upadhyay
Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown

Books - Non Fiction
World is Flat - Thomas Friedman

Movies
The Tracker
Murder on a Sunday Morning
Star Wars III




Trips
Montreal and Quebec City
Florida Keys

Restaurants
Indian Grill - Lincoln Park, Chicago
Paris Bordeaux (Crepes) - Lakeview, Chicago
Chu Chai (Vegetarian Thai) - Montreal

Ciao
Jaideep

Travel Story: The Iraqi Sheik and the Taxi Driver

I have thought about this story a few times since I heard it, and decided to share it here even though it is almost certainly apocryphal.

Due to last minute travel plan changes, we ended up in Amman airport in Jordan this past Christmas eve. (Well, it was past midnight, so it was technically Christmas Day.) We hopped on to the airport bus at 2am and got dropped at Abdali bus station close to 3am.

The pouring rain practically forced us to get on a taxi, and the driver wanted to take us to a hotel where he could get a few Jordanian Dinars (JDs) as commission for his effort. This is the story that the taxi-driver told us, speaking English with a middle-eastern accent, while driving us to our hotel.

Our taxi driver had a friend who was also a taxi driver. Two months earlier, this other taxi driver had picked up an Iraqi sheik with a huge suitcase as a customer. (Ever since the fall of Saddam's regime, several Iraqis have been crossing the border into Jordan, a country that is relatively peaceful in this tumultuous region.) This Sheik directed the taxi driver to take him to any really good hotel, the price didn't matter. Before the sheik got off, he asked for the taxi driver's cellphone number.

The next day the sheik called the taxi driver, and directed him to take him to a different hotel where he could check in. Then, the same thing happened the following day -- the sheik with his big suitcase moved to yet another hotel. This went of for 5 days, the sheik switched hotels every single day.

Finally, it was time for the sheik to leave Amman. He summoned the taxi driver to pick him up from his hotel. "Do you know what's in my suitcase?" the sheik asked the cab-driver just as he was getting off the cab. The driver, of course, didn't. The sheik then told him that he had over 2 million U.S. dollars cash in it and left, hefting the mammoth suitcase.

That's the story our cab driver told us, while taking us to a hotel. Amman is a neighboring city to Iraq, and it's possible that some people in Iraq might have access to money that probably wasn't theirs. It was very late at night, I was jet-lagged and so it was easy to believe that there was some truth to the story. May be the sheik had an urge to show off to the taxi-driver, or may be the taxi driver just made the whole story up.

Film: War Photographer

"If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough." -- Robert Napa

I posted earlier about the movie "Born Into Brothels" here. In response to that, someone recommened the movie "War Photographer." Coincidentally, around the same time I saw the trailer for War Photographer in another DVD and so I got hold of the movie right away. (I have been focusing mainly on documentaries this year, and I expect that I will posting about more documentaries in the coming months.)

The protagonist, photojournalist James Nachtwey is a very intriguing character, and his inner strength comes through. (You can certainly make the case that this is a "zen" movie, in its own way.) For two years, Christian Frei followed Jim with a micro-cam, recording the photographer traveling all over the world, in Kosovo, in Gaza and in Indonesia.

The adjective I can readily apply to this one is "powerful." War Photographer is a powerful movie, and exactly the kind of movie that all of us must see because it is so easy to forget (or not even know) that such things are going on in the world. It brings home more vividly the events that we skim past in newspapers in our hurry to get to the sports and cartoons sections.

Below are three of Nachtwey's photos that resonated with me the most.

As the vanquished Hutus fled into Tanzania, they had to leave at the border the weapons with which they had committed genocide.
(I found this photo more telling than any of maimed bodies)


Sudan, 1993 - Famine victim in a feeding center. Nachtwey's focus on poverty and famine is as compelling as his work on war and genocide. (The famine and lack of food has withered their bodies to mere skeletons and Jim reminds us that these people are actually in the feeding centers being helped.)

A lot of viewers are sure to like the positive aspects in the tragic story of Sumarno, an Indonesian father, who lost an arm and a leg when a train ran over him. His whole family continues to live in between two actively used railways tracks, with Sumarno is doing his best to take care of his family.

Jim's credo really cause me to pause and reflect. Don't miss his website, and if an exhibition of his work comes to your town, absolutely don't miss it.

Nachtwey's Credo: The worst thing is to feel that as a photographer I am benefiting from someone else's tragedy. This idea haunts me. It is something I have to reckon with every day because I know that if I ever allow genuine compassion to be overtaken by personal ambition I will have sold my soul. (Read Full credo)

Category: Documentary, Oscar nominee, Photography