Gabbilam - Vignapthi (Audiobook)

Ever since I read parts of it in my 10th grade Telugu textbook, I always wondered about what prompted Gurram Joshua to name his khanda kavyam, Gabbilam, that way. Many years later, I finally had the opportunity to learn why. It was put so nicely by Joshua himself in the book's preface that I would like to share it with you all in audio format. I am not very good at reading these books, and would appreciate it if any of you can provide a better rendition of it..

Gabbilam - Vignapthi

BTW, Gabbilam was subtitled thusly:

"gasari busakoTTunAtani gAli sOka
nAlgu paDagala haindava nAgarAju"

And the cover work depicts a four-headed snake (nAgarAju) angrily hissing at a skinny half-naked man dressed only in loin-cloth.

I am guessing that Joshua was referring to the Hindu caste system with its four casts as the "nAlgu paDagala haindava nAgarAju" while the skinny man probably represented the untouchables. What do you think?

Amrutam Kurisina Raatri (Audiobook)

Hi folks,

I have made audio recordings a few of my favorite poems from Tilak's Amrutam Kurisina Raatri. Listen to them if you are interested, and let me know what you think!

Thanks,
Raahy.

Amrutham Kurisina Raatri
Ee Raatri
Naa Kavitvam
Prardhana

Brief book reviews

OK. The second coming of Raahy turned out to start with a whimper than a bang. Any how, things had been a little hectic lately what with the arrival of a new member into our family. Anvitha is already 6 weeks old and doing well. So, I no longer have the excuse of the hardship of parenthood.

In the meantime, I have had the opportunity to catch up on a bit of reading. I read the two sequels to The Old MaAn's War by John Scalzi. I liked Old Man's War and looked forward to reading the sequels. Scalzi was a simpler/clearer and less sardonic version of Heinlein.

But, the sequels got progressively worse. Ghost Brigades was at least entertaining, and Scalzi appeared to have put in a lot of effort to predict what the future of technology might be like. The Last Colony, however, became a bit of a drag, and I just skipped through many pages in the end to just finish it off. I am not one to write to detailed reviews, and these books already feel like a distant memory, so I am not going to provide any specific examples to support my comments.

Also, I recently decided to start reading biographies of great/successful people to learn about what made them great. Consequently, I read The Wizard of Menlo Park: How Thomas Alva Edison Invented the Modern World by Randall E. Stross; and The Real Deal: My Life in Business and Philanthropy by Sandy Weill and Judah S. Kraushaar.

Of the two, the Edison biography was more interesting. It's surprising to know that by the time Edison was 32, he was already a world-famous inventor. He was an extremely hard-worker, and had enough respect and recognition from others to attract venture capital from a very young age (as a 19 year old). His inventions were not accomplished in isolation, but often in a race with other inventors. Some times he was able to beat others at the finish line, but at other times he would lose. His inventions were some times bettered by competitors, but he got a major share of the recognition by being the first one to come up with a working solution. For example, his preferred way of distributing current, DC would eventually lose to AC; and cylindrical phonograph would lose to the disc. His proximity to New York city, and the public's need to find a larger-than-life inventor made him the first super-star inventor. Apart from his ability to raise capital from investors, his business acumen was quite limited. I would have liked a more technical description of Edison's inventions and his method of invention, but otherwise the book definitely was an interesting read. I would give this book a 4/5 stars.

Sandy Weil's biography was a bit of a disappointment. It began interesting enough, with a quick walk through of Sandy Weil's childhood and college years, but once it started with Sandy's corporate phase, the entire book read like a looong list of events that involve people stabbing Sandy's back, and Sandy trying his best to continue working with them until the last minute. This is all from Sandy's point of view, of course. I would have liked more details on how he planned take-overs and how he turned them around, and less details describing the political machinations common across the corporate world. 3/5 stars.


My ratings?

The Old Man's War - 4/5 (Pretty good)
Ghost Brigades - 3/5 (OK)
The Last Colony - 2/5 (The low rating is mostly because it couldn't keep me interested)
The Wizard of Menlo Park - 4/5
The Real Deal - 2/5