The Way Of The Bow - Paulo Coelho

If you ask me what the book is all about, I would be at a loss for words. There isn't a story in the accepted sense of the word. But the book is about a great archer named Tetsuya and what he tells about the bow, the string, the arrows, the target and the archer. But beyond that, I believe it is a story about humans, their lives, their struggles, ambitions, goals, minds, frustrations and triaumphs. It is not a manual of how to live happily forever. But it has great insights which probably all of us know in our heart of hearts but which have been obscured by the tensions, struggles and chaos of everyday life. Here's what I have managed to collect from this book:

What is a master? I would say that he is not someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to do his best to discover a knowledge he already has in his soul.

Join with those who are as flexible as the wood of your bow and who understand the signs along the way. They are people who do not hesitate to change direction when they encounter some insuperable barrier, or when they see a better opportunity. They have the qualities of water: flowing around rocks, adapting to the course of the river, sometimes forming into a lake until the hollow fills to overflowing, and they can continue on their way, because water never forgets that the sea is its destiny and that sooner or later it must be reached.

If you never take a risk, you will never know what changes you need to make.

A leaf does not cease to be a leaf merely because a storm tore it from the tree.

Use your bad moments to discover what makes you tremble. Use your good moments to find your road to inner peace.

I need to remain focused and calm, to do the work I chose to do with love, and never to cling to the present moment, because death is still very close, the abyss is there beside me, and I am walking along the edge.

Here are two more anecdotes from the Golden Era as told by Annu Kapoor on 92.7 yesterday:

16. Balraj Sahni wanted to become a writer like his elder brother, the famous author Bhishm Sahni. He had started writing stories and they were getting published in the then most well-known magazine of Hindi literature - Hans. In fact, he was one of the few authors whose stories were never turned down by them. Then he got an offer to work for BBC in London. The pay was good, work was satisfying and of course, there was prestige associated with it. So he took the offer and worked in London for 4 years. During that time he didn't write much. At the end of four years he came back to India and thought of picking up where he had left off as far as writing goes. Unfortunately, the very first story that he sent to the magazine after returning to India was rejected by Hans. Balraj Sahni was devastated. He was so stung by that rejection that he made up his mind never to write again. That's how he turned to the Hindi film industry.

17. The second anecdote that I managed to listen to concerned the quintessential Mom of Hindi cinema - Nirupa Roy. I was surprised to hear that she was not Bengali, as her name would suggest, but came from a Gujarati family. Her maiden name was Kanta Chauhan. She hailed from a small village of Gujarat and came to Mumbai following her marriage with one Kamal Balsara, who was a rationing inspector. After marriage her name changed to Kokila Balsara. Her husband was very fond of acting and used to make it a point to go whenever auditions were conducted for movie roles. But he never managed to land any role under one of the big banners of the day. He took his wife along with him for auditions being conducted for a Gujarati movie called Raanak Devi. He wasn't selected but his wife was offered a role without any audition. Though she had full support of her husband, there was an uproar in the community as at that time it was believed that people from good families would never work in the film industry. In fact, that was the reason she was given the screen name of Nirupa Roy. Obviously her father was dead against the idea and warned her that should she work in the movie industry she would be forever banned from entering his house. But she completed her assignment and the movie was released in due course of time. The furor in the community died down soon after that. But her father remained true to his word and never saw her again as long as he lived.

The Last Cherry Blossom - Kathleen Burkinshaw

Hiroshima: Memoirs Of A Survivor - Sachi Komura Rummel

Almighty - Dan Zak

Ignored Heroes Of World War II: The Manhattan Project Workers Of Oak Ridge, Tennessee - Richard Cook

My Journey At The Nuclear Brink - William Perry

Notes to self for future trips:

http://www.loksatta.com/lokbhramanti-news/most-famous-lord-shiva-temples-of-maharashtra-1278046/

And if I ever find myself at Tadoba Tiger sanctuary, I need to check out http://svasararesorts.com for accommodation.

Places for monsoon trekking and picnics