notes to myself

one decision in feb this year allows me monday morning freedom to think back and ponder, to indulge and contemplate on the year, the changes, the decisions and the days ahead.... thanks, sanat.

am listening to Amartya Sen speak on democracy on NPR and mulling over what i need to do, what i want to read.

here are some books that i have to read for my own good:

• the argumentative indian (amartya sen -- history, culture and democracy in india)
• india: a million mutinies now (vs naipaul -- history of india)
• branded by law (dilip d'souza -- about the denotified tribes in india)
• my land my people (dalai lama -- his autobiography on life as a Dalai Lama and Tibet)
• adoption in india (vinita bhargava -- first of its kind book on what it takes to adopt in india)
• hampi (george mitchell -- descriptions of the ruins)
• extremes along the silkroad (nick middleton -- travelogue on the silk route)
• natural capitalism (paul hawken et al -- book on ecologically friendly capitalism)
• power to the people (vijay vaitheeswaran -- the energy and envt correspondent for the economist -- book on the energy future of the planet)
• monsoon (steve mc curry-- my photo guru -- need to study his work)
• the world is flat (Friedman -- you've heard of this, no doubt)
  
• eats, shoots and leaves (Lynne Truss -- a very interesting book on grammar and punctuation)
  
• other reference ones on various topics ranging from Shivaji to Photography.

strangely enough all the above are non-fiction. the couple fiction books i read in the past 6 months or so are by Dan Brown (DVC and A&D) and by Satyajit Ray (adventures of Feluda). if you are looking for a quick mystery, pick up the feluda series. quintessential Ray, it is fast moving, graphic in expression and with curious twists.

what i am realizing more and more is that there is no substitute (for me) for reading and learning. i have so much to catch up on, recognizing that in the ten years i was away, i did a bad job of keeping up with what was happening in india. i was interested in social issues and environmental problems, but didnt keep up my end of the bargain by reading about the developments. so now i have to double up and run faster. i feel the need for a mentor. someone who has been through this process and is a successful, sincere and aware journalist. someone who can guide me or at least keep me honest.

india is teeming with talented journalists and knowledgable people with more than an equal number of charlatans. as the curtain falls on another year, it's up to me to make sure i belong to the former and not to the latter group.