Orbis Terrarum Challenge - Book 3 - The Map of Love

Finished my third book for the Orbis Terrarum Challenge. This time it was "The Map of Love" by Egyptian author, Ahdaf Souief.

"The Map of Love" is the story of Amal, a contemporary Egyptian who comes across an old trunk full of letters, journals and notes by Anna, who was her great-aunt,written during the years 1901 through 1912. While going through the contents of the trunk, she discovers who Anna was and pieces together her fascinating love story with Sharif Basha.

Anna was a British widow who came to Egypt for a visit, fell in love with an Egyptian gentleman, Sharif Basha and spent more than a decade being happily married to him while history was taking its course through Egypt.

Amal's brother and Isabel(Anna's granddaughter) form the 2nd couple in the late 1990s, whose love-story also reflects the changing political landscape.

However, it was the early 20th century love-story held me spell-bound. Anna comes across as a strong, passionate and loving woman who was very sure of what she wanted and didn't care what others thought about her. Her love for Sharif was so fierce that she gave up her country, her countrymen, her relatives all for his love, which seemed so improbable and fragile in the beginning but blossomed into something deep-rooted and strong.

Amal's affection for her brother and his fiancee, her concern for her village-people, her country is touching too. Sharif Basha leaves an impression on the heart as the strong, silent rock of a man who has a core of tender passion hidden inside.


Before reading the book, I knew close to nothing about Egypt, it's history, it's politics etc. So, while some of the political details were not too clear to me, it really helped me learn quite a bit about the country.

Next in line: "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco.

My Favorite Literary Characters

Shruthi tagged me to do this one. Thanks Shruthi, I second Devaki in saying that this is most enjoyable for a book-lover like me!
Ok, so I am supposed to list ten of my favorite characters from literature. So here goes:

1) Tracy Whitney (If Tomorrow Comes - Sidney Sheldon): As far as I can remember, this was the first character in any book that really made me go "Wow!". I read this book when I was a teenager and now that I'm older I realise that her character was quite unrealistic, come to think of it. But who cares, I just loved the fact that this innocent, happy girl goes through hell but does not let it break her spirit and comes back and plots the most delightful revenges on her enemies!!! Yay, Tracy!!
2)Jonathan Livingston Seagull (Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Richard Bach): Ok, maybe it's odd to have a seagull as your favorite character but anyone who has read this book cannot fail to care for this little bird. I read this book a long long time ago and don't remember the details except that it's about this young seagull and how he finds the courage to spread his wings and fly!!
3)Barney Livingston (Doctors - Erich Segal): One of my all-time favorite books! I loved Barney for the loyal friend that he is to Laura all their lives, finally realizing that they are made for each other. It was my kind of ideal love-story and he was my kind of best-friend-turned-lover!!
4) & 5) William Lowell Kane & Abel Rosnovski (Kane and Abel - Jeffrey Archer): What can I say about these two. Both very strong, very inspirational yet very different persons who are born on the same day worlds apart. The characters and the story is so fascinating I'm still surprised why this was not made into a blockbuster movie. This was the book that I read throughout an overnight bus journey in the light of the only small light-bulb in the bus that was on.
6)Harry Potter (the Harry Potter series - J K Rowling): But of course! What a boy! For a young boy who's been abused by relatives almost all his life to one who discovers precious friends, his magical powers, his legacy, the pain and danger that comes along with it, Harry took me on a journey that was truly magical! And to think I almost didn't read the series thinking it was kids' stuff!
7)Hassan (The Kite-Runner - Khaled Husseini): Even though Aamir was the protagonist in this story, it was Hassan's disarming innocence, his utter, unfailing devotion to Aamir and his courage and moral strength that captivated me.
8)Sudha (Sister of My Heart - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni): This was a story about 2 girls who grow up in the same household, are as close as two sisters can be and go through difficult times separated from each other. Sudha's story is especially poignant as she goes from being an eager-to-please young bride to a strong mother finally standing up for herself and her baby. Given the traditional way she was raised, it took tremendous courage to do what she did.
9)Miss Marple and 10)Hercule Poirot (Mysteries by Agatha Christie):I love Agatha Christie's stories but none as much as those featuring either Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot! Miss Marple is so lovely as the seemingly fluttery old woman who actually hides a razor-sharp brain behind all that pink, fluffy wool. And Hercule Poirot, the quintessential eccentric foreigner (Belgian, not French!) who irritates most people but ultimately solves the most baffling of mysteries!!

Well, here they are...my favorite characters from books. I may have missed some...but these are what I remember most right now. And some characters eg. Samwise Gamgee from LOTR I couldn't include because I haven't read the books, only seen the movies. So now I'm really tempted to do something similar with movies/songs!!

Ok, let's see whom should I tag now? How about Hiphopgmom(I know you are busy but I'd love your take on this), nm, divya, snippets, lekhni and ps?

That's Some Panda!!

We went and saw Kung Fu Panda the last weekend. As expected it was cute and funny and beautifully done. Here's the gist of it.

Po is this sweet, big clumsy Panda in China who helps his dad in his noodle restaurant but is a big Kung Fu fan and dreams of being a great Kung Fu fighter some day. Well, one day his dreams come true and he is anointed as the great "Dragon Warrior", which surprises a lot of people, including himself! He faces a lot of hostility and coldness during his training, especially from his master himself who does not believe in him. Eventually the master comes around and events occur that teach Po the Ultimate Truth, "There is no Secret Ingredient"! I will not explain that because that would ruin the whole fun of the movie.

All in all, it was a typical feel-good, funny movie both for kids and adults but there was one thing that I felt made this different from others of the kind. In most of these "Ultimately the good prevails over evil, poor kid becomes Superhero rags to riches" kind of stories, there is one life-altering event after which the "Poor Kid/Guy" transforms into this wonderful, brave, strong Hero, leaving behind all his weaknesses. While here, even after Po learns the martial arts, stands up to his master, earns the respect of his peers, he still remains essentially the bumbling awkward wide-eyed Panda who is repeatedly surprised ("Whoa") by his own abilities. He doesn't lose his innocence and his vulnerability. That was the one thing that I loved the movie for.
Its message; It's ok to be yourself and still be strong and brave. One doesn't have to change completely to become a better person.
Kung Fu Panda, you are Awesome!!

Time for Myself

Last week I went away. Away from my family, my home. I spent two days in another city without my husband and son. And it was such a refreshing change!!
Initially I was worried about my 5 year-old; would be be OK without me? How would my husband manage with him and his work? But on my good friend G's insistence I decided to go ahead and agree.
She sponsored my stay and attendance at a convention in that city. So I got to meet people in my own field of study after a long long time. It felt odd to realise that the world has moved on while I had been busy with home and hearth, totally out of touch with the subject of my studies and work in the past. It was a little disorienting to hear the forgotten lingo and know the strides that had been made in the area. Of course it was also exhilarating!
Just two days out of my comfortable cocoon made me look at my life from a third person's point of view. I saw the kind of person domesticity had made me and the kind of people that were out there. It was like looking at yourself with a telescope.
And these are the things that I concluded at the end of the trip:
1)I had a great life but I could do so much more than I was already doing. Could be a much better person, a better mother, wife and more than I already was.
2)I had great friends who cared about me. One pushed and prodded me into taking this break, another saw to it that I was well-equipped sartorially for it, another spent time with me so that I wouldn't be bored. Back at home neighbors took care to look in on my family and help in any small way. In short, I was so lucky to have these people in my life!
3)And most importantly, my family survived just fine without me! Sure, it was a little blow to my ego that my son had a ball with his father and did not miss me at all, but then I was thankful for it. Hubby handled everything admirably despite a busy schedule. Thanks a ton!
4)Best of all, when I came back I was greeted with "I missed You!" and hugs and squeals...Hadn't heard that for a while!!


Thank you everyone who made this trip possible and so much fun. You know who you are even if I don't name you.

Movie Review - "Rendition"

Synopsis:
An Egyptian-born chemical engineer living in the US for over 20 years, with an American education, high-paying job, in short living the American dream, is hurled into a nightmare when a bomb explodes in Egypt killing an American agent. He's captured while entering the US from a trip abroad on charges of having contact with the bomb-makers and taken to Egypt where the local police uses barbaric methods to extract information regarding the bomb-blast. The CIA is party to this "torture for information that could save lives" policy so they turn their backs on him.

Meanwhile the accused's pregnant wife desperately tries to find her husband and approaches an old (boy)friend (Peter Sarsgaard) who works for the government. He tries to help but is thwarted by his superiors as well as his own political ambitions.

Finally the other CIA agent (Jake Gyllenhaal) who is in Egypt assisting with the interrogation of the accused takes matters into his hands and follows his instinct to do the right thing.

My Take On It:
These days very few movies leave an impression on me, maybe due to the sheer number of them that I've seen in my lifetime. I'm happy to say this one I won't forget in a hurry. Very taut script, racy action (the bomb blast scene was especially well-shot), understated but great acting by everyone, but the Egyptian Chief of Police (Yigal Naor) stays with you long after the movie is over. The side-story about his daughter is captivating and suspenseful. In short, I Like!!

Side-note: Interestingly the word "green card" is mentioned quite a few times in the movie. Why is it interesting? Because considering that it is a much used word among the Indian community in the US, it doesn't get mentioned all that much in the movies. So it was one thing we could identify ourselves with in the movie. Not a big deal, but there it is.

Orbis Terrarum Challenge - Book 2 - Talkative Man

I joined the Orbis Terrarum Challenge in May '08. This is my 2nd book for the challenge. Actually it was first on my list but I had to wait till a copy was available at my library.

"Talkative Man" is written by R K Narayan from India. I had the option of many Indian authors to read but I decided to go with R K Narayan, primarily because despite his fame and popularity, I'd somehow never read his books. Yes, I'd seen the movie "Guide" based on his book by the same name and the every-popular "Malgudi Days", the television series that used to air back when we were kids, based on his books about the fictional town of Malgudi. So I decided it was high time I read one of the venerated authors of India.

"Talkative Man" is narrated in first person by the, you guessed it, Talkative Man (aka TM), whose real name is obscured by his nickname owing to his penchant for talking. Anyway, so this guy meets an intriguing "blond-haired, blue-eyed" Indian in the library and befriends him. This man, Rann, is a mysterious character, ostensibly from Timbuctoo(!!) who somehow ends up in the narrator's home as his guest. One day a woman lands in town and turns up at the narrator's house with her sob-story of how Rann cheated her. On further (and furtive) investigation TM discovers a very colourful past of his guest.

This is the gist of the story. It is a cute, simple story that gives us good insights into lives of people in small-town India. The ending had me scratching my head a little in bewilderment. Maybe I need to read the book again to understand it...

Next in line: "Map of Love"-Ahdaf Soueif