Thursday, March 11, 2010

That wispy connection

The past 4 days have been great. First, Vanilla Desires happened. And this morning, we inaugurated our new office off Double Road. Scalers & Victors Innovations Pvt Ltd will now operate out of this 16-seater, right on the fringe of downtown Bangalore. Not having slept last night, I returned home from the pooja feeling dog tired and found an unopened package awaiting me. I knew what it was even before I hurriedly tore it open.
When I did, out tumbled two copies of Chicken Soup for the Indian Spiritual Soul. Every contributor gets two copies gratis and my essay That Wispy Connection had made it into the book. The book has eight sections and my essay is in the eighth section titled "A Matter of Perspective". Well-known names whose essays feature in this section include Arun Shourie, Anita Nair, Shashi Tharoor, William Dalrymple and Resul Pookutty. Of course, other illustrious names like APJ Abdul Kalam, Kiran Bedi, Mother Teresa, K. R. Usha, Jaswant Singh, Rabindranath Tagore, Saeed Mirza, Sudha Murthy, Dr Sonal Mansingh and the Dalai Lama also feature in the book.
What an honour! Somebody please wipe this Cheshire cat grin off my face.

I only wish I could have called Risha and given her the news, even though she wouldn't have understood a thing. One day, a few years from now, I hope she feels proud of me.

P.S: You can view the book here.

9 comments:

  1. "Read me here or Google me anywhere. It's all there. Or will be, eventually"....isnt this what you wrote about yourself on your profile? You are damned right E! You will be, mark my words...very soon you will be rubbing shoulders with the names you have just mentioned! All the very best...Make Risha proud of her wonderful daddy!

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  2. My first visit.You are in good company.Will go thro your essay and also your blog.

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  3. Hi Eshwar,
    Congrats on your office and your contribution to Chicken Soup.
    Seems a lot happening in your life. The good thing is that it is all giving you the energy to propel you ahead.
    Only if Pranab da had been kind enough and not raised the fuel prices. (Now this is my thought and as usual it is never "Half glass full" for me.
    I like your writing style. It shows that you carry your heart on the tip of your pen or should I say the PC keyboard.
    Risha is surely be proud to have a dad like you. Maybe she will write about it one day.

    Best regards and good wishes,
    Manoj

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  4. Congrats. Have no clue how I stumbled across your blog, but well, I am here. 8-)

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  5. You seem to be proud of being in the same category as Shashi Tharoor - how does his spirituality & corruption co-exist. Being religious & corrupt is understandable but i find it hard to comprehend that corrupt people like Mr. Tharoor & some others who contributed to this book are spiritual.

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  6. Hi Beeba,

    Thanks for commenting.
    I totally understand where you're coming from. Your comment reminded me of how I used to be. Totally harsh on myself and others.
    But then, is it alright to see people as black or white? Is anybody amongst us a ball of pure evil or pure goodness?
    Tharoor has a luminous past. I thought that his book "The Great Indian Novel" was a courageous and imaginative work, combining the narrative power of the Mahabharata with the dark vacuum of the Emergency. The book was decidedly anti-Indira, so I was quite surprised that he and the Congress chose to join hands.
    Most of his journalistic pieces are lucid and scholarly. I've gained knowledge from some of them.
    In the "Chicken Soup for the Indian Spiritual Soul," he speaks about the tolerance and freedom inherent in Hinduism. I have no doubt that the piece is sincere.
    Of course, if and when the allegations against Tharoor are proved, he must face the consequences. Till then, let's not banish a human being from the species.
    People who err, or have erred, can have their spiritual moments too. No?

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  7. It shows that you carry your heart on the tip of your pen or should I say the PC keyboard..............that is one the most wonderful comment about your writing Eshwar, that is so very true...my list of books getting longer..:)

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  8. I honestly could not move with out writing this..
    I shall know by the gleam and glitter
    Of the golden chain you wear,
    By your heart's calm strength in loving,
    Of the fire you have had to bear,
    Beat on, true heart, forever;
    Shine bright, strong golden chain;
    And bless the cleansing fire
    And the furnace of living pain!
    -Adelaide Proctor
    from Streams in the desert..

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