DesiReflections

हाल में पढ़ी एक ज़रूरी किताब - एन अगली ट्रूथ           -शीरा फ़्रेंकेल और सिसिलिया काँग इस समय फ़ेसबुक ऐसा प्लेटफ़ॉर्म बन चुका है जिसके ज़रिए आप अपने अनगिनत रिश्तेदारों और मित्रों से जुड़े हुए हैं , उन्हें अपनी और उनसे उनकी खबर लेते रहते हैं , अपनी ख़ुशी बाँटते हैं , अपनी रचनात्मक प्रतिभा को लोगों तक पहुँचाते हैं . कई बार तो  ऐसा लगने लगता है कि मानो इसके बिना आपकी ज़िंदगी कुछ बेमज़ा होती. मज़े की बात यह कि यह पूरी तरह मुफ़्त है . कभी सोच के देखिए आख़िर कोई यह सब मुफ़्त में क्यों प्रदान कर रहा है . ठहरिए आपको ज़्यादा कुछ मेहनत करने की ज़रूरत नहीं , शीरा फ़्रेंकेल और सिसिलिया काँग की पुस्तक “एन अगली ट्रूथ “ पढ़िए आपको अंदाज़ा होगा कि इस सेवा के बदले आपसे क्या कुछ लिया जा रहा है , आपकी उम्र, सेक्स, नौकरी-व्यवसाय , पहनने की आदतें , पढ़ने के शौक़ , आपकी सामाजिक और राजनीतिक विचार पूँजी सब का विश्लेषण करके विज्ञापनदाताओं , ब्रांड को बेच दिया जाता है . यही नहीं कम्पनी की सटीक एल्गोरिदम के ज़रिए आपके ऐसे पोस्ट दिखाए जाते हैं जिनमें  एक ख़ास नैरटिव गढ़ा हुआ होत...

Mount Rainier : Crest of Serenity                             - Pradeep Gupta  Today  I traveled to Mount Rainier area from Sunrise Point side. To me it was a journey to a place which connect human with the crest of serenity, as long as you stay in the area, you simply forget your worries , tensions and mundane world surrounding you. In fact the serenity lingers for many days, weeks, months even after coming back.  So what is so special about Mount Rainier ? It can be felt when one visit the area rather difficult to express in words.  Well Mount Rainier is the tallest volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range in the Washington State of America , it is covered with thick sheet of snow year round, it is known as the most glaciated peak in the continental United States. It has the largest alpine glacial system outside of Alaska. This  has a topographic prominence of 13,210 ft (4,026 m), greater ...

Recently Read Book :  Songs For The End of The World by Saleema Nawaz                      -Pradeep Gupta  The novel is about hope and the human condition, and it’s the farthest thing from films like Contagion or other such disaster/pandemic fare. Set on the East Coast of the United States, it centred around a handful of mostly academics, their lovers, and parents, who reside in New York City and small-town Lawrence, MA. Each chapter bears the name and year of a different character at a different moment in their lives, from somewhere in 1999 to the near future of November 2020. The novel opens in August 2020 with Elliot, an underachieving New York City first responder, who is forced into self-isolation. At another moment, the idea of being sequestered to your own apartment for three weeks might seem shocking. But having lived through a nationwide quarantine order removed that shock and normalized whatever frustration might...

The Immigrant Superpower  I recently read an interesting book titled  The Immigrant Superpower: How Brains, Brawn, and Bravery Make America Stronger written by Tim Kane . The author is an   his Ph D from Stanford University in Immigration Studies.  He has tried to answer the question , ‘Why come to America ‘ ?  His answer is simple - Global talent tends to flow to where great opportunities exist , and this often occurs side by side with increased involvement of talented natives.  America haa always been the Land of Opportunity. He argued  why immigrants not only beneficial for the U.S., but necessary, despite a stigma surrounding immigrants in America.  As an economist, Kane is careful with his words and approaches the topic from an analytical sense rather than a truly polemical one. This allows readers  to form their own opinions about immigrants with a better idea of the footprint these foreigners leave in the American economy.  The fo...

Godard No More  Jean-Luc Godard, is known as “enfant terrible” of the French New Wave who revolutionized popular cinema in 1960 with his first feature, “Breathless,” and stood for years among the film world’s most influential directors. He took last breathe today in Switzerland . He was 91.  Over a long career that began in the 1950s as a film critic, Godard was perhaps the most boundary-breaking director among New Wave filmmakers who rewrote the rules for camera, sound and narrative — rebelling against an earlier tradition of more formulaic storytelling.  In the year 1950, Godard founded a "Gazette du cinéma" with Rivette and Rohmer, which published five issues between May and November. He wrote a number of articles for the journal, often using the pseudonym 'Hans Lucas'. In 1952, he was film critic of 'Les cahiers du cinéma' . Godard redefined the way we look at film. He made the language of film a real part of his narratives.  Around 1956 Traveled South Ame...

Brahmastra Part One Shiva - My Take  I saw this Dharma Production Movie directed by Ayan Mukherji in a multiplex in Issaquah Highland WA which is running Hindi as well as Telugu version of the movie. To my surprise, the theatre was full in both versions.  After watching this movie this is my takeaway  : 1. This is simply a visual delight . The kind of visual effects are there in it, comparable  with Avengers, Lord of Rings and Harry Potter series .Hope this will be a kind of game changer in Indian Films in terms of tech and visual effects.  2.  A  whole generation of the young audience in India who loves Marvel Comics kind of genre can little bit co-relates to the stories listened from grandmothers with this movie. But sorry to say that in this kind of attempt the movie some-what lacks a scientific quest. Should the sequel be having some kind of scientific temperament.  3. Of course , the people who are searching a serious cinema in it should not ...

Recent Read : The Chancellor by Kati Martin  Angela Merkel had been  a world wide force of nature holding the EU together through some very turbulent times. I use the past tense only because she has retired as Chancellor of Germany a  year back.  I read an interesting biography of Angela written by Kati Marton. The strength of the book is learning what made this very private woman into the powerhouse she was.  I did not know much  about Merkel before reading this book, but once finished it thinking what a remarkable woman. From her youth in East Germany, behind the Berlin wall, daughter of Lutheran pastor, to her rise and time as a twelve year Chancellor of Germany, this book covers . Story of an  amazing woman, who was trained as physicist work as scientist and her transition into politics, becoming the most powerful leader in the EU. It is always interesting to view the political situations, manueverings, from the viewpoint of a different country tha...

हाल ही में पढ़ी किताब : हिजाबिस्तान - साबयां जावेरी पिछले कुछ महीने पहले भारत में हिजाब पहनने और न पहनने  को लेकर बहुत बड़ा विवाद हुआ था जिसमें मानो तलवारें सी खिंच गई थीं . लेकिन एक सप्ताह से मैं साबयां जावेरी की कहानियों का संग्रह हिज़ाबिस्तान पढ़ रहा था , उसे पढ़ कर लगा किसी एक धर्म के नाम पर बने देश में औरत के ऊपर आरोपित धार्मिक प्रतीकों के पीछे उसे कौन कौन से दर्द झेलने पड़ते हैं. हारपर कालिंस से प्रकाशित इस संग्रह की खूबी यह है कि इसके माध्यम से पाकिस्तान की औरतों की घर और पर्दे के पीछे छुपी उनकी ज़िन्दगी के दर्द को बड़े सहज तरीक़े से बयाँ करती है . साबयां पाकिस्तान में जन्मीं ज़रूर हैं लेकिन उन्होंने आक्सफ़ोर्ड में शिक्षा ली , विज्ञापन एजेंसियों  में काम किया और न्यू यॉर्क  विश्व विद्यालय में पढ़ाया . साथ ही वे पाकिस्तान में रह रही महिलाओं के  पर्दे के पीछे के जीवन को भी बड़े क़रीब से देखती रहीं , अगर वह दूसरी संस्कृतियों के बीच जी  कर खुली साँस न लेती तो शायद ये कहानियाँ बेबाक़ी से काग़ज़ पर नहीं उतर पातीं.  हिज़ाबिस्तान की यह सोलह कहानियां केवल उन ...

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Last week I visited Mount Shuksan area. It is located in Washington State close to Canada borers. It is a magnifique and majestic mountain in NW cascade range.  We covered the distance in  three hours starting from Sammamish , hilly part of the route was amazing. En route ,  we stopped for a while at Bellingham for charging the car . Enjoyed passing through Vanzandt in Whatcom Counnty from where we could see Vanzandt Dyke. Further drive through Nooksack river , Nooksack fall and South fork valley was scenic delight. The best spot en route is definitely Picture Lake ,  walking around the the lake  is unforgettable experience as it is the best spot to take best pictures of snow clad Mount Shuksan peaks . A further drive through zigzag road took us to most scenic place called as Artistic Point. There is an interesting trail starting from the point , walking on this trek is not difficult , in fact trekking here is an wonderful  experience . While tracking you c...