Bandra-Worli Sea Link

Here is a photos of the Bandra-Worli sea link taken from the terrace of my friend Rajesh's apartment building at Kemps Corner. The sea-link was inaugurated later in the week by Sonia Gandhi. Sorry the photo isn't very clear. It was shot in rainy weather.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Pradip, a close friend of my brother's, read this book about 5 years ago, and recommended it to everyone. I chanced upon it during my recent trip to NYC, and was reminded by my brother, when he saw the stark grey cover lying on his couch, that I was a bit late on this one.

Mostly, I thought it was brilliant and hillarious. It's challenging to keep a high standard of witty writing right throughout a book, and Sedaris almost gets full marks. I like his underdog approach, and the fact that he's irreverent about everything: himself, his family, his male lovers, America, and the rest of the world. But while he mocks everything in his universe, he's gentle as well, and is a lover of humanity and of eccentricities. This dual aspect of his writing, kept me hooked. He alternates between the formal and informal, which I found refreshing. He will write a beautifully structured and nuanced sentence, at times with self-conscious formality and then follows-up with informal, and often, brazen langauge.

My favorite piece (I don't know what else to call it because they aren't chapters, though the book is loosely autobiographical and chronological) is Twelve Moments in the Life of the Artist. It's about his time in art school and is a masterpiece of writing.

Ramagiri, California.

In early June I visited Tomales, which is an hour-and-a-half north of San Francisco, and is across the Golden Gate and near Napa country. It's a little one-street town and is less than a mile away from the site of Ramagiri, the community center of the spiritual teacher, Eknath Easwaran, and his followers.

Easwaran, came from India in the 1960s, and taught meditation to a tightly-knit community of loyal followers in Berkeley. He wrote amongst the most accessible translations of the Bhagawad Gita, the Upanishads, and the Dhammapada. Easwaran died in 1999. Today his wife, Christine and his close followers continue to live like a family in Ramagiri. They have dedicated their lives to Easwaran's teachings and are still an independent community. In the early days, they grew their own vegetables (which they still do), schooled their children, built their own houses, and even printed and bound Easwaran's books. It was inspirational to see people well into their 60s, 70s and 80s sticking to ideals and a path chosen almost 50 years ago, with enormous dedication and enthusiasm.

The High Line

Cheers to the High Line, an elevated walkway which was originally a railway track. It extends from around 13th street on the extreme Westside of Manhattan upto 2oth street. And It's not going to end here. I went there twice. Once on a lovely late sunny afternoon at around 5 and then the next day with my brother, when the sky was overcast. As you walk on the track, you realize how old some of New York city's buildings are, especially when they are rubbing shoulders with contorted shapes - today's ultra modern architecture. I'm sure the real estate prices have gone up in the area. One building opens out onto the walkway. With the tourist and local traffic the bridge attracts, restaraunts, coffe shops etc. are going to thrive along its exits. It's interesting how a simple construction can change the fortunes of a particular neighborhood.