West with Giraffes - First Reads Review

 

A pleasing mix of survival, altruism, history, geography, life and earth, all  woven around two towering creatures of God's pure Eden! The American North East is ravaged by a hurricane, the magnitude of which, they say repeated after about a century, in the form of the hurricane Sandy. It is 1938, era of the Great Depression and the second world war clouds looming. And here, the hurricane has added its share and two giraffes from Africa are not spared either. Caught up in the hurricane, while being locked in their crates, the giraffes are now in the harbour in New York.  

A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling

This literary fiction brings in fragments of the life in China, during the second world war until Emperor Hirohito surrenders,  through the eyes of three men. An American medical doctor who goes by the name Pastor Billy; American soldier gunner's mate Ian Ferguson; and Liu Zhaohu, Chinese trainee soldier. The fourth main character is a woman Ah-Yan. She is portrayed as an intelligent girl, who has a yearn to learn. Her peaceful life in village is turned upside down when the Japanese invade China. The horror and violence of the invasion, the devastation of the village, and more specifically how Ah-Yan is robbed of her childhood, her innocence, and all the humiliation she had to face for the atrocities of somebody else. When the author says that a child has to wake up as an adult all of a sudden, and children has no time to grow up in periods of war, it makes a gash in your heart! The wars around the world spread over the time of whole human existence impinges on the childhoods of many.

Search of Virtue

 I have published the Tamil version of this poem in my Tamil blog. Click this link to read and say your thoughts. Thank you!

Keezhadi - a Pathway into Vaigai River Civilization

Image: Thanks to Tamilnadu Archaelogical Department

 A sophisticated urban wonder which laid hidden with all its precious riches has been brought to light, thanks to the excavation conducted by Archaelogical Department of Tamilnadu. Keezhadi, also spelled Keeladi, a village in the outskirts of Madurai in the district of Sivagangai, TamilNadu, South India has captured all ears and eyes to itself. What good is that if I keep my jubilance to myself! The marvelous historic discovery has to be shared, not only for my pride as a Tamilian who has always been awed by the rich literature and the cultural traditions of my ancestors but also for the insights into human history itself.

Birthday Reflection

Where was I? Who was I?
Nowhere! Nobody!
Until you formed me
Gave me shape and breath
It's fascinating how you knit me
Delicately, intricately, perfectly
Precious in your eyes
And you have held me
Always

Vedaraj Thatha - Grandpa memories

The lightning pierced through the sky as if a huge rock was struck by another. I started counting, one missisipi, two mississipi, three missisipi, four ... then roared the thunder! The storm centered about 3 miles away made the trees lining the highway sway vigorously. The dislodged leaves while seeking refuge on my windshield were promptly wiped off by the wiper working hard to give me the vision of the road.

Amla Mater - amla pickle and a book

"All it took was a little amla"
All it took was amla Mater, to stir every sense in me pleasantly unveiling and cherishing a truckload of memories. How did I travel back, to chasing the butterflies in frock days; admiring myself in the mirror days; friendship and farewell days; being Romeo's Juliet days; expectant-mom days!