Idle musings

 MY FAVOURITE BOOK IN 2025     The end of 2025 is near and 2026 looms large. At work, there is an annual shutdown from 25-Dec-2025 to 31-Dec-2025. It has helped me relax and think about the books I read this year. I have a long commute to work. During the commute, I usually visit X/ Twitter or I read e-books. In 2025, I read a few books like Kafka's "The Trial" and Homer's "Odyssey" (well before the trailer of the movie by Christoper Nolan was launched!).     I have a habit of writing quotes on my whiteboard and sharing them on X/ Twitter, LinkedIn and mobile applications like WhatsApp every Monday. If there is a birthday of a famous person in a particular week, I write quotes by them, though this is not a rule. While searching for a quote, I like to read the original source of the quote to understand the context behind the quote. In the week of Teacher's Day (05-Sep) in India, which commemorates the birth anniversary of India's former President Dr. ...

  I watched the Hindi movie "Sholay" from beginning to end recently - again! I don't recall clearly how my fascination with Sholay grew. I have a vague memory of stumbling in the dark in the movie theatre, when my father took me to see Sholay in the early '80s. I seem to recall the sound of the train on the screen, but this may be a fake memory. As the movie celebrates its 50th anniversary today, here is a blog post that describes my views about the movie.     What I remember clearly is reading about Sholay, probably in 2000, when it completed its 25th anniversary. There was some print media buzz about the movie. Around this time, one of the cable TV channels hyped up the showing of Sholay for the first time on Indian television. Thanks to the length of the movie and the advertisements on cable TV, I recall that the movie took about 4.5 hours to watch! It was repeated at different times, on different days.    While channel surfing, one movie that made me pause s...

   Imagine being transported about 500 years ago in time. There are some glaring differences in daily life: the electric bulb has not been invented, there are no automobiles. Social conventions are different. The idea of a global village cannot even be conceived. Travelling 1000 km is considered as a difficult journey, which probably took a week to complete. However, trade flourishes much like today, despite the difficulties. The markets contain produces from lands far away. I can think of a seller in the market saying: "These are ordinary pots, but if you want something special take a look at this. It is a pot from China, with blue artwork. Only for you, I will offer it for ...." Imagine being in Vijaynagar, Hampi around this time. What would it have been like?   Luckily, we don't have to imagine. The Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes visited Hampi in 1520. Here is what he had to say about its market: "“The quantity of merchandise which is sold in these bazaars is v...

It was a small article in Bangalore Times available at https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/from-rome-with-love-caravaggios-50-million-painting-debuts-in-bengaluru/articleshow/121836107.cms that made me curious. A masterpiece from an Italian painter is coming to Bengaluru: that was something interesting. What does a painting worth $50 million look like?! I don't know if (or when) I will travel to Italy to see works of the Renaissance artists. Here is a famous painting from there that was available here. Mentally, I decided that I would go there during the weekend and use the opportunity to see Caravaggio's painting "Magadelene in ecstasy". On Sunday, the day was ideal for walking: the temperature was in the mid 20s in Centigrade, the sun played hide and seek with the clouds even during the morning and afternoon and I overcame my "take it easy, it is Sunday" mood. By 11:50 a.m. or so, I was at the ticket counter of National Gallery of Modern Ar...