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Monthly Archives: July 2006

Some readings from the past week

Monday, July 31, 2006

Here are some interesting science book recommendations for children.
I picked up Amartya Sen’s new book Identity and Violence a few days ago and it looks quite interesting. I hope to review it later this week. Allen Lane reviews it in the Prospect magazine.
Jhumpa Lahiri writes on the Malgudi Days in the Boston Review. Please do [...]

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The necessity of Poverty

Friday, July 28, 2006

Jeremy Seabrook has a nice OPED in the Guardian (also reproduced in The Hindu) entitled ‘In a world of wealth, poverty has become a necessity’. This is a relevant critique of existing development models, billionaire-philanthrophist poverty elimination programs and government programs. As Seabrook concludes:
The most damning critique of the existing development paradigm is not so [...]

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Wikipedia’s discontents

Thursday, July 27, 2006

New Yorker has an evaluative piece on Wikipedia, whereas The Onion’s funny take offers the same somewhat differently.
ASIDE: apologies for lack of postings. I hope to make amends soon.

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Sunday readings

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Joseph Frank, that heroic Dostoevsky Chronicler, reviews in the New Republic a recently published volume of Albert Camu’s artciles written between 1944-47. As he says:
They provide the English reader with a rewarding immersion in a little-known part of Camus’s work as he was blossoming into a writer of world fame, and also in the social [...]

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Pulakeshi II - 2

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Pulakeshi II (610-42) is not the most glamorous of Kannada heroes. In comparison to other Kannada emperors such as Krishnadevaraya and Amoghavarsha or even Hoysala Vishnuvardhana and Ranadhira Kanthirava of Mysore, Pulakeshi hasn’t captured the attention of Kannadigas to the same extent. If Mayura (see this, this and this) was the founder of the first [...]

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Is this what we teach our Kids?

Friday, July 21, 2006

Israeli school kids autograph artillery shells.
(Photograph from siegeoflebanon.blogspot.com)

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