Neftali Ricardo Reyes Basoalto, whose pen name is Pablo Neruda was chile’s most beloved poet and diplomat. With the publication of his most renowned literary work, ‘Twenty love poems and a song of Despair’ he won considerable fame. His political life was as absorbing as his creative life. So, apart from getting the international peace prize in 1950, he won Nobel Prize for literature in 1971. ‘Memoirs’ is his life story as well as a fine narration of Latin American history. It is his self-explanation as a poet and as a politician. ‘The Word’ is an excerpt from ‘Memoirs’. It is rendered in italics and so stands out like a poem. It is a great tribute to poetry with images and surrealistic expressions.
Monday 27 July 2020
Sunday 19 July 2020
Rain! Rain!...along with umbrella, a boat too is needed
In Kerala, before monsoon
it is common to see people collecting and storing fire woods, repairing the leaking
roof, cutting down the threatening branches of trees near the houses, cleaning
the wells, getting the chillies, coriander and turmeric sun dried and ground,
repairing the umbrellas or buying new one, buying rain coats. But this year, apart from all
these things, people are buying one more thing. A boat! ….. a boat?! Surprising?!
Yes! a boat! In the flood affected areas of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts,
it is reported that there are shops selling boats with the capacity of carrying
6 to 7 persons. The lesson that were taught during the last two floods, has
made people think and act, taking precautions like this. Yes, survival of the
fittest! We have to dance according to the tunes of Nature. In low lying areas,
apart from owning a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler, it is also a must to own a
boat. We are strictly following the activities of ‘Bread the chain’ and wear a
mask not to get affected by the virus, Covid-19. Similarly, apart from taking
all the preventive and safety measures of not to get affected by flood, at
least some are in need of boats too. We should also get familiarized with this!
No other way! Our life style is changing slowly and moving towards ‘Survival of
the fittest’!
------Thulasidharan
Tuesday 14 July 2020
The More you get, the more you lose
WAITING FOR GODOT - SAMUEL BECKETT
Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), an Irish novelist, dramatist and poet was born on 13th April 1906 in Dublin. His father William Frank Beckett was in construction work and his mother Maria Jones Roe was a nurse. After his graduation from Trinity College, he went to Paris where he met James Joyce and became a devoted student of him. In 1931 he undertook a long journey to Briton, France and Germany. That journey helped him to find many of his characters in his literary works. In 1937 he settled in France, where he was stabbed by a pimp. In his hospital days he met Suzzane and got her friendship. However, he could marry her only in 1961. Though Beckett had “little talent for happiness” in his childhood and his severe depression that kept him in bed until midday in his youth, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1969. Though he was recognized as a novelist and dramatist earlier it was ‘Waiting for Godot’ that won him international fame. However, Beckett always wanted to keep himself away from the madding crowd. That was why he even declined the Nobel Prize to avoid making a speech at the ceremonies. Furthermore, after the death of his wife in July 1989, he confined to a small room and died in December 1989.