world book day

april 23^rd is world book day according to the unesco- i learnt this from my valuable source- the ‘mumbai mirror’ in between masses of inconsequential details regarding pravin and pramod mahajan. (yesterday, on cnn-ibn we were shown the compound wall of the building in which pramod lived with a woman telling us, “this is the compound wall of the building behind which pramod majan lived on the 15^th floor. it is behind this wall that his brother pravin shot him”.)

i have decided to get back seriously into the reading habit over the past week since i came back from delhi. it started with lecarre’s ‘the constant gardener’. it is such a pleasure meeting another one of lecarres sophisticated repressed british heroes sacrificing their lives for the sake of love. this time it’s a civil servant who investigates the murder of his wife as she was trying to expose the devious pharmaceutical industry and its crimes in africa. As usual beautifully written and tragic as hell.

With language that is so delicate and precise john bergers ‘g’ was recommended to me by sonal – and we have a copy of it at home that i have begun 3 times but never finished. its one of those books that are beautifully written and observed, but also those need a far greater degree of concentration than i am willing to give right now. i reached further into it this time than i had before, but then started lefebvres ‘the urban revolution’.

its amazing when you find theory that actually starts saying something to you – personally, rather than as an abstract idea that you tend to understand or appreciate. the writing is powerful, extraordinarily analytical and filled to the brim with ideas that are able to somehow comprehend the experience of the city. i have surprized myself by finishing more than half of it in two days- after which I promise myself to get back to ‘g’.

what is everyone else reading right now?