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Impractical Dreamer

~ Dr Sweety Shinde: As a butterfly flits; so does the mind waltz in innumerable flights. Mine hovers over books, spirituality ,humor and random gems from everyday life.

Impractical Dreamer

Monthly Archives: February 2014

Loving Frank (Llyod Wright): by Nancy Horan

18 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Biography/Autobiography, Constructive Criticism: Book reviews

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Ayn Rand, biography, book review, Fountainhead, Frank Lloyd Wrigt, Mamah Cheney, Nancy Horan, Taliesin

“The impossible, the clean and consistent. That is what you are in love with. Art is the only place you will find it.” says Wynand to Dominique (Fountainhead)

Frank Lloyd Wright, the supreme architect. Mamah Cheney, his client’s wife. Their real-life love story.

Mamah was a waiting-to-exhale housewife in a ‘stifle-a-yawn’ marriage with the bland, devoted and very cuckolded Edward. On the verge of her second pregnancy, she felt the spell of Wright’s charisma and artistic dynamo. The brazen affair quickly detonated two families (his six and her two children), made her a convenient ‘harlot’ for News headlines and wrecked his architectural career. Almost.

I have a dismissive impatience for  starry-eyed romances. Romeo-Juliet. Even Bridges of Madison County. They need a dose of humdrum, mundane domestic life, I thought. Bills, grocery, laundry,toilet-seat-up, income tax, dandruff.

To be fair, Wright-Mamah survived admirably through most of the above. They made a 7-year life together, following their  ‘decision made in harmony with the soul’ . He built Taliesin for her (Reminded me of Dominique’s Stoddard temple!). This idyllic home is also where Mamah’s skull was hacked with an axe, then doused in gasoline and set on fire, alongwith her 2 children, by a maniacal servant.  aZj7nN3e_g5JrDrgdW2wgtTIl30BOIafL74xq5qYX5kVOcGNYQcQFURs8P3WFt6luNM4cjDfpWTYNR2CMl_0mmPKy2q_jGI49sAvP4aEZ4scJN-L7A8 frank-lloyd-wright_taliesin-west-morning-light

Inspite of the irritating self-absorption of the protagonists, the Mamah who lingers on in the mind, is an endearing mix of steely resolve and innocence. She was fluent in German, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Latin. mamah cheney Then in the midst of a torn family and filthy headlines, she spent a summer mastering Swedish to translate Ellen Key’s Love and Ethics. And yet, as she admits ‘She had a grand ambition for life. All she did with it was to attach herself to a colossal personality, who would have made great work irrespective of her.’

Guilty Confession to make. I kept trying to fit Wright into Howard Roark mold all through the book. (It was rumored that Roark’s integrity and fanatic self belief was modeled on Wright, as was his building-in-sync-with-Nature houses). Wright had the apt halo of eccentricity to match his artistic magic. He spent extravagantly and always had a trail of unpaid bills. He went into furious depression when his students ‘stole his ideas and took credit for them’. I expected more flair than the decidedly unoriginal ‘I am stuck in an unhappy marriage’  pick-up line.  Incidentally, Ayn Rand did not form a favorable impression when she met him during Fountainhead research.

Would the affair make headlines and scandalous gossip if THE Frank Wright was not involved? Maybe not.

Would the book leave a bitter-sweet taste if not for Mamah’s chilling end? Maybe not.

To put in a nutshell, a better way to fall in love with F.L Wright would be this. fallingwater  frank_lloyd_wright_-_fallingwater_interior_5 And a re-read of the first lines way up the page.

Taali-Ban The Hindus

13 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Constructive Criticism: Book reviews, Mythology, World of Books & I

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

ban, book, book ban, controversy, Hindu, Hinduism, hypocriscy, parody, Penguin India, religion, sarcasm, Wendy Doniger

Penguin: ‘’Get me the Khajuraho orgy capture. Pronto.”

Wendy: Sir, this is not porn. My book covers the grave interpretation and inter-relation between History and Religi…”

Penguin: ‘’Lady, you will be the grave of me. You stick to writing. Leave the sales pitch to me. I need eyeballs for your 800 pages of dry research. Now where is that orgy?”

Wendy: ‘I warn you, this will backfire. In the age of wendysocial media, a misleading cover page that does not match inner contents will never sell.”

Penguin: ”Then match the contents with the cover-page. Unless you have a better idea.”

PA: “Eureka! Ban it.” 

Wendy: “You dolt. We are discussing how to market the book; not how to blanket it…”

Penguin: “PA, you are promoted! Lady, ever heard of the forbidden apple? Adam-Eve would have never bit into it if not for the lure of the guilty pleasure.”

PA: ‘’I know all too well. My kids wont eat that damn apple until I drown it in sugar, custard and cinnamon. I even need to sneak broccoli into pasta.”

Penguin: “Shush! Make it controversial. Let’s publicize this book as an insult to Hindus. We have very thin skins, our tender sentiments bruise easily. Especially when a non-Indian does it. Never mind what we do with our religion ourselves.”

Wendy: ‘’What do you do with it?”

Penguin: “The Bhagwad Gita, for instance. We pass it from one dirty hand to another; extortionist, smuggler, murderer. It stands as mute witness to blatant perjury, exploitation and injustice. Meanwhile, Gandhari holds up the scales and smirks in her dark corner. So, as my PA says, pry open the wounds and let the blood spurt!” untitled

Wendy: ‘’I don’t understand. We came to discuss publicity tactics for my book. This is defamation.”

PA: “There is a difference???”

Penguin: “Her naïveté warms my heart. So then, when there is controversy,50 % will flare into a rage and demand our blood; 50 % will rush to defend our freedom of expression. The remaining…”

Wendy: ‘’Err..you used up all 100%”

PA: “Quiet! He markets books. Don’t teach him how to twist figures and tally percentages.”

Wendy: ‘’Woof, woof.Thump, thump.”

PA: ‘’Meow. Scratch!”

Penguin: ‘’ Now, now, behave like humans. The 50% defenders will purchase it, to protect their skin and to show-off a copy on their book-shelf…”

PA: (sotto voce) “Who knows, some of them may even read it!”

Penguin:’’I heard that. The protesting 50% have to buy it. I mean, if they need to provide proof to the court, they will need to scan, peruse and highlight the controversial passages. Hence, we get the protestors as our customers!”

PA: ‘’Teeny-weeny doubt. How will we sell the book if there is a ban?”

Penguin:’’Child, I rely on Gandhari for that. She will grant us a 6 month golden-period between now and the ban. We smirk all the way to my bank in these 6 months. Besides, there is pdf, wmv, e-pub…”

Wendy:’’I object strongly. I have put years of research into the book. Now I have to survive on snarls, slogans and smut?”

Penguin:’’ Incredible…you can even create poetry! Did you just mention smut? The smuttier, the better. That will expand my customer base; to include all those who will purchase the book; if only to flick through the pages and zero in on the smutty sexual innuendoes.”

Wendy:’’You are demeaning my work, my patience, my art…”

Penguin:’’Did I mention the 3-book contract?”

Wendy: “Gulp. 3 book contract?”

Penguin:’’Your Hinduism has sparked a tangential volcano in my mind. We have 36,000 Gods. Maybe even 330 million. Now, imagine one controversy per God. Let’s begin with Dwarka and its orgies.”

Wendy:’’ (Splutter, gasp, blanch) What blasphemy is this? I am a researcher……not a …”

Penguin:’’Then Re-Search. Discover. Uncover. Rip the lid off. We Indians believe History only when researched and chronicled by foreigners. Now imagine the 16,000 wives pining in Dwarka, their frustration, the cat-fights, the harem politics…”

Wendy:’’ Harem? You are confusing the Mughals with…”

Penguin:’’Whatever. Who cares? Just make it juicy and we will suck it up. “

Wendy:’’You are insane.”

Penguin:’’Why would I be a publisher if I wasn’t insane? Now bring on the Khajuraho book-cover, please. Honestly, I am a God-send to the publishing world. I need to get a patent on this ban-trick before others try the same.”

Wendy:’’ India is a democracy. To ban is the act of Tali-ban.”

PA: “Sir, on that note…de taali!” Continue reading →

Pregnant Nun and ‘Parth’enogenesis in Mahabharata

05 Wednesday Feb 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Arjun Related posts, Mahabharata, Random Musings

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

arjun, arjuna, atom bomb, Kunti, Mahabharata, mythology, panchkanya, parthenogenesis, pregnant nun, Queen bee, virgin mother, virginity

Parthenos= virginity; Genesis= birth. Parthenogenesis = Asexual reproduction i.e birth occurring solely from mother’s genes with no paternal(sperm) contribution.

Partha= born of Pritha/Kunti (click on the link for my review of Yuganta , Mahabharata by Irawati Karve) of Mahabharata. Parth is also another name for Arjun.(click for my fascination with Arjun)

‘Parth’-enogenesis in Mahabharata ? Is our epic the origin of the Greek word?

Kunti had five men in her life. Kunti is (still) counted amongst Panch-Kanya (eternal virgins) in Indian Continue reading →

Post a Query, Answer a Query

02 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by dr sweetyshinde in Random Musings

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

answers, fellow bloggers, Leibster blog award, questions

Nina Kaytel had a Eureka moment with the Leibster award.

Ernesto, grateful for my nomination; as also for the opportunity to connect with fellow bloggers.

As I understand, I need to answer 10 Qs; Then nominate 10 WordPress bloggers (with less than 200 followers, as of now), who in turn have to answer my 10 QS.

My A to Ernesto’s Qs

1. If you could have dinner with any five people from history, who would they be?

Hitler( to understand his appetite for supremacy); Gandhi (to understand why he fasted so often);  Einstein (for providing food for thought); Ayn Rand (for chewing out her opponents); Marilyn Monroe (for taking a bite of the forbidden apple)

2. How many pets do you own and what are their names?

My coterie is multinational (3 : Alexander, Sultana, Krishna)

3. Do you know how to cook? If so, what’s your best dish?

Strictly on a need-basis. Maggi instant noodles. 

4. What hobbies do you have? : Day dreaming, Swimming, Reading

5.List your five favorite films: Rang de Basanti, Taare Zameen par, Mask of Zorro, Finding Nemo, Gone with the Wind.

6. List your five favorite books: Fountainhead, We the Living, Mahabharata, Shyam chi Aai, Rebecca.

7. Do you practice any religion? : Humanism, I hope.

8. What is your dream vacation? : Wherever my niece is.

9. Where do you get ideas for blog posts? : Random sporadic sparks.

10. What prompted you to start writing?: The dormant volcano erupted on its own.

My Qs are as follows:

1. Which song is your mood-booster?

2. 3 Novel characters you cannot tolerate.

3. Your worst nightmare

4. If you were your grandparent, what would you wish to modify in your parent?

5. Languages you can speak/understand fluidly.

6. The best feature you see in  a mirror.

7. 3 things in your life  you are grateful for.

8. 3 things to do before you die.

9. 2 inventions you wish had never been invented.

10. 3 tips to avoid road-rage.

Awaiting your replies…

My nominees are :

1. http://travelinfeet.wordpress.com

2. http://worldcreativescholars.wordpress.com

3. http://belleviewcottage.wordpress.com

4. http://ariamber.wordpress.com

5. http://natnarrative.wordpress.com

6. http://janyceresh.wordpress.com

7. http://stealingallthesevens.wordpress.com

8. http://cameronsroundcorner.wordpress.com

9. http://1800ukillme.wordpress.com

10. http://pivoine68.wordpress.com

Enjoy…

 

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