The Diary of a Young Girl By Anne Frank

Composition

Anne Frank began to keep a diary on her thirteenth birthday, 12 June 1942, three weeks prior to going into hiding with her mother Edith, father Otto, sister Margot and four other people, Hermann van Pels, Auguste van Pels, Peter van Pels, and Fritz Pfeffer, in the sealed-off upper rooms of the annexe of her father’s office building in Amsterdam. With the assistance of a group of Otto Frank‘s trusted colleagues they remained hidden for two years and one month, until their betrayal in August 1944, which resulted in their deportation to Nazi concentration camps. Of the group of eight, only Otto Frank survived the war. Anne died in Bergen-Belsen, from a typhus infection in early March, shortly before liberation in April 1945.

In manuscript, Anne’s original diaries are written over three extant volumes. The first covers the period between 12 June 1942 and 5 December 1942 but since the second volume begins on 22 December 1943 and ends on 17 April 1944 we can assume that the original volume or volumes between December 1942 and December 1943 were lost – presumably after the arrest when the hiding place was emptied on Nazi instructions. However, this missing period is covered in the version Anne rewrote for preservation. The third existing notebook contains entries from 17 April 1944 to 1 August 1944, when Anne wrote for the last time before her arrest.

In the original notebook her diary entries follow a standard for the first three months until 28 September 1942 when she began addressing her entries to characters from Cissy van Marxveldt‘s Joop ter Heul novels. In van Marxveldt’s books the headstrong Joop also keeps a diary and writes to her group of friends about her calamities and loves. Anne adopted the group and addressed her diary entries to Joop’s friends ‘Kitty’, ‘Conny’, ‘Emmy’, ‘Pop’, and ‘Marianne’ until November of that year, when the first notebook ends. By the time she started the second existing volume, there was only one imaginary friend she was writing to: Kitty, and in her later re-writes, Anne changed the address of all the diary entries to “Kitty”.

There has been much conjecture about the identity or inspiration of Kitty, who in Anne’s revised manuscript is the sole recipient of her letters. In 1986 the critic Sietse van der Hoek wrote that the name referred to Kitty Egyedi, a prewar friend of Frank’s. Van der Hoek may have been informed by the 1970 publication ‘A Tribute to Anne Frank’, prepared by the Anne Frank Foundation, which assumed a factual basis for the character in its preface by the then chairman of the Foundation, Henri van Praag, and accentuated this with the inclusion of a group photograph that singles out Anne, Sanne Ledermann, Hanneli Goslar, and Kitty Egyedi. Anne does not mention Kitty Egyedi in any of her writings (in fact, the only other girl mentioned in her diary from the often reproduced photo, other than Goslar and Ledermann, is Mary Bos, whose drawings Anne dreamed about in 1944) and the only comparable example of Anne writing unposted letters to a real friend are two farewell letters to Jacqueline van Maarsen from September 1942.

Theodor Holman wrote in reply to Sietse van der Hoek that the diary entry for 28 September 1942 proved conclusively the character’s fictional origin. Jacqueline van Maarsen agreed but Otto Frank assumed his daughter had her real acquaintance in mind when she wrote to someone of the same name. However, Kitty Egyedi said in an interview that she was flattered by the assumption but doubted the diary was addressed to her:

“	Kitty became so idealized and started to lead her own life in the diary that it ceases to matter who is meant by ‘Kitty’. The name … is not meant to be me.	„
—Kitty Egyedi

Anne had expressed the desire in the re-written introduction of her diary for one person that she could call her truest friend, that is, a person to whom she could confide her deepest thoughts and feelings. She observed that she had many “friends”, and equally many admirers, but (by her own definition) no true, dear friend with whom she could share her innermost thoughts. She originally thought her girlfriend Jacque van Maarsen would be this person, but that was only partially successful. In an early diary passage, she remarks that she is not in love with Helmut “Hello” Silberberg, her suitor at that time, but considered that he might become a true friend. In hiding, she invested much time and effort into her budding romance with Peter van Pels, thinking he might evolve into that one, true friend, but that was eventually a disappointment to her in some ways, also, though she still cared for him very much. Ultimately, the closest friend Anne had during her tragically short life was her diary, “Kitty”, for it was only to “Kitty” that she entrusted her innermost thoughts.

Frank’s already budding literary ambitions were galvanized on 29 March 1944 when she heard a broadcast made by the exiled Dutch Minister for Education, Art and Science, Gerrit Bolkestein, calling for the preservation of “ordinary documents—a diary, letters … simple everyday material” to create an archive for posterity as testimony to the suffering of civilians during the Nazi occupation, and on 20 May notes that she has started re-drafting her diary with future readers in mind. She expanded entries and standardized them by addressing all of them to Kitty, clarified situations, prepared a list of pseudonyms and cut scenes she thought of little interest or too intimate for general consumption. This manuscript, written on loose sheets of paper, was retrieved from the hiding place after the arrest and given to Otto Frank with the original notebooks when his daughter’s death was confirmed in the autumn of 1945. Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl had rescued them along with other personal possessions after the family’s arrest and before their rooms were ransacked by the Dutch police and the Gestapo.

When Otto Frank eventually began to read his daughter’s diary, he was astonished. He said to Miep Gies, “I never knew my little Anne was so deep.” He also remarked that the clarity with which Anne had described many everyday situations brought those since-forgotten moments back to him vividly.

A Thousand Splendid Suns By Khaled Hosseini

The title of the book refers to a 17th century poem of the Persian poet Saib-e-Tabrizi called Kabul. The poem is translated into English by Josphine Davis. The English translation is not a literal translation of the original.

Kabul Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains
And Rose, of the trails of thorns she envies
Her gusts of powdered soil, slightly sting my eyes
But I love her, for knowing and loving are born of this same dust
My song exhalts her dazzling tulips
And at the beauty of her trees, I blush
How sparkling the water flows from Pul-I Bastaan!
May Allah protect such beauty from the evil eye of man!
Khizr chose the path to Kabul in order to reach Paradise
For her mountains brought him close to the delights of heaven
From the fort with sprawling walls, A Dragon of protection
Each stone is there more precious than the treasure of Shayagan
Every street of Kabul is enthralling to the eye
Through the bazaars, caravans of Egypt pass
One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs
And the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls
Her laughter of mornings has the gaiety of flowers
Her nights of darkness, the reflections of lustrous hair
Her melodious nightingales, with passion sing their songs
Ardent tunes, as leaves enflamed, cascading from their throats
And I, I sing in the gardens of Jahanara, of Sharbara
And even the trumpets of heaven envy their green pastures

Plot

The novel is divided into four parts. The first part focuses exclusively on Mariam, the second and fourth parts focus on Laila, and the third part switches focus between Mariam and Laila with each chapter.

Part One

Fate Of Illegitimate Mariam The novel opens with the introduction of Mariam. She is 5 years old and lives with her mother (Nana) in a small hut (kolba). She was born out of wedlock after a wealthy business man (Jalil) slept with his house maid (Nana) and got her pregnant but did not marry her. Jalil arranged his men to build a kolba in outskirts of Herat in western Afghanistan, near the village stream for Nana to live in and have the child. From a very young age, Mariam is constantly and bitterly reminded by her mother Nana that she is a harami (bastard) and that she is destined to suffer and endure all her life, just like Nana has done. Mariam spends her lonely childhood waiting for her father to visit her every Thursday, she gets lessons in reading and writing the Koran from Mullah Faizullah, an elderly, kind-hearted cleric. Mariam has often heard of her father’s other wives and 9 legitimate children, who live with him at his lavish home in Herat, but has never visited them due to the stigma of her being an illegitimate child. She secretly dreams of going and living with her father and her brothers and sisters but does not dare to voice her wishes due to Nana’s bitter dislike towards Jalil.

On her fifteenth birthday, Mariam asks her father to take her to see Pinocchio at the movie theater that he owns. Mariam also wants to meet her brothers and sisters who live with Jalil. Nana is against the idea and begs Mariam not to go anywhere. Jalil asks Mariam to wait for him and says he will pick her up, but the time comes and goes and Jalil does not turn up. Hurt and upset by his rejection, Mariam takes a bold step and travels to Herat alone and finds her father’s house herself despite her mother, Nana, mentioning that she will die if Mariam goes to she leaves. Upon arriving at Jalil’s lavish house, Mariam catches a glimpse of Jalil through the window. (important because of use in connection towards the end of the book) Jalil does not allow her in the house, and she stubbornly sleeps outdoors on the porch hoping that her father will let her in.

In the morning, Jalil’s driver insists on dropping Mariam back to the kolba. She gives up and returns home – only to find that her mother has committed suicide by hanging herself. Mariam is distraught and has to go and live in her father’s house, where she feels isolated and spends most of her time alone in her room. Jalil and his wives quickly arrange for her to be married away to an older widower named Rasheed, who is a middle-class shoemaker in Kabul. Despite Mariam’s protests, she and Rasheed marry, and before they leave for Kabul, Mariam disowns Jalil, telling him never to come visit her.

In Kabul, Mariam begins adjusting to her new life as the wife of a man she barely knows. After initially staying out of her way giving her time to adjust, Rasheed soon makes it clear that he is not running a hotel and Mariam will have to start doing the housework and cooking. Mariam soon becomes pregnant, and Rasheed, having lost his own son in a drowning accident years earlier, is overjoyed and hopes for a boy. But Mariam suffers a miscarriage and slowly her marriage takes a turn for the worse. Rasheed is no longer cordial to her, and verbally and physically abuses her; the abuse worsens over the years as Mariam goes through several failed pregnancies.

Part Two

In Part 2 we are introduced to Laila. Down the street from Rasheed and Mariam’s house, a beautiful baby girl – Laila – is born to the ethnic Tajik couple – Hakim, a progressive-minded high school teacher, and Fariba who already has two sons, Ahmad and Noor. Hakim encourages Laila in her education and aspires her to do something for her country when she grows up. Unfortunately things are out of her hands.

Over the years, Laila’s two older brothers have joined the mujahideen fighting the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Laila is now a young girl and lives a lonely childhood with her quiet father and a mother who forever talks about and reminisces the sons who are at war, and makes plan for their futures when they are back, almost forgetting that she has another child that lives with her – unloved and forgotten. Laila’s childhood companion is Tariq, a young boy in the neighbourhood, who has lost 1 leg in the war, and is often made fun of by the local boys.

One day the dreaded news arrive that Ahmad and Noor have become shaheed (martyrs) in the war. Fariba is inconsolable. She constantly mourns the loss of her two sons, and spends most of her time confined in her room hoping to see the day that their sons could not see. During this time, Tariq and Laila grow closer and develop a deep love for each other.

After the victory of the Mujahideen, civil war comes to Afghanistan, and Kabul is bombarded by rocket attacks. Laila’s school friend is killed in the attacks and several houses in the neighbourhood destroyed. Hakim is forced to stop Laila from going to school and homeschools her instead. Tariq’s family eventually decides to leave Kabul, and Tariq begs Laila to come with him, he asks her to marry him and they can get away from all the bloodshed. Laila refuses on the grounds that her parents have no one left, but her. The emotional farewell between Laila and Tariq leads to them sleeping together in Laila’s house.

Seventeen days after Tariq’s departure, due to Fariba’s ill health, Laila’s family also decides to leave Kabul. Overjoyed at the possibility of seeing Tariq again, Laila starts packing, however, a stray rocket destroys the house; while Laila survives with some injuries, both of her parents are killed and their home is destroyed.

Part Three

While recovering from her injuries, Laila discovers that she is in Rasheed and Mariam’s home. It turns out that Rasheed entered the house after the bombing and took her out of the rubble.

One day a man calling himself Abdul turns up at their doorstep asking for Laila – he tells her that he met Tariq in a hospital; Tariq, according to Abdul, was badly injured, lost his other leg, and eventually passed away. Tariq asked Abdul to meet Laila and tell her how much he cared for her. Laila has now lost everyone she ever had in her life.

Meanwhile Mariam notices a change in Rasheed’s behaviour, he is being very cordial to Laila, talking about politics and other things. With a shock Mariam realises Rasheed’s intentions towards the young Laila. Rasheed orders Mariam to give Laila a deadline for marrying him. He claims that as he saved her life and she has no where else to go, he is actually doing her a favour by marrying her. Laila says yes immediately, she has a queasy feeling in her stomach – she is pregnant with Tariq’s child.

Despite Mariam’s severe dislike to the idea, Rasheed does not waste any time, he marries the young and attractive girl, and immediately consummates the marriage, meanwhile Laila hopes that she can pass the child off as his. Upon discovering Laila’s pregnancy, Rasheed is overwhelmed with hope of having another son. He treats Laila like royalty and calls her the malika (queen) of the house and treats Mariam like a slave and orders her to obey Laila and her needs. However, when Laila gives birth to a baby girl, Aziza, Rasheed abandons his initially friendly behavior towards Laila.

When baby Aziza cries at night, Rasheed’s dislike towards the baby intensifies and he kicks Laila and Aziza out of the room. After an initially hostile relationship, Mariam and Laila eventually become confidantes. Aziza becomes very close to Mariam as she grows up, and Mariam treats Laila like a daughter. Laila confides in Mariam that she has been planning to run away from Rasheed and has been stealing money from his purse and begs Mariam to come with her. They leave Kabul for Peshawar, Pakistan, but they are betrayed at the bus station by a man they thought they could trust, arrested, and returned to Rasheed. An enraged Rasheed severely beats the two women, locks them up in different rooms and deprives them of food and water for several days, almost killing Aziza and threatening the women never to try such an antic again or he will kill them.

A few years later, Laila is pregnant again. She contemplates abortion, because she is not sure she can love Rasheed’s child, but cannot bring herself to do it and keeps the baby. By this time, the Taliban have risen to power in Afghanistan. They have banned television, movies and books other than the Koran, and women are not allowed to work, wear fashionable clothes, or even wear nail polish. They have also made it difficult (if not impossible) for women to get medical attention, so when Laila goes into labor, it takes the family some time to find a hospital that is willing to admit Laila. In addition, the hospital that finally takes Laila in is desperately lacking in supplies, as the Taliban has essentially prevented those hospitals that admit women from getting them. When the baby turns out to be breech, the doctor informs Laila that they must perform a Caesarean section in order to deliver the baby. However, Laila has to endure the procedure without any anaesthetic, because the hospital has none to give her.

With the baby’s birth, Rasheed’s dream of having a son finally comes true. Laila and Rasheed name the baby boy Zalmai. Rasheed adores Zalmai and is very partial towards his son. A few years after Zalmai is born, a drought sets in, which eventually leads to widespread hunger and food shortages. When Rasheed’s shop burns down in a fire, the family is thrust into destitution. As their financial situation worsens, despite Laila’s protests, Aziza is sent to an orphanage several kilometers away, whilst the remaining family survives on very little or no food. Laila tries to visit Aziza regularly, but starts becoming be difficult because the Taliban do not allow women to be outside unaccompanied by a male family member. Rasheed accompanies her the first few times, but after a while, he complains that it is too hard of a walk and refuses to. Laila often tries to go by herself to visit Aziza at the orphanage, but, more often than not, she is beaten and sent home by the Taliban. She wears several layers despite the heat to avoid getting beaten badly and tries new streets to get to Aziza. There is little food and Rasheed finds himself reduced to working as a porter at a hotel.

Then one day, a man with a limp appears at Laila’s doorstep – Laila cannot believe her eyes and runs towards him – it is Tariq.

Tariq and Laila talk whilst Mariam takes Zalmai to another room. It is soon discovered that Rasheed paid the man (Abdul) who told Laila that Tariq was dead, so she would give up on Tariq and marry him. Tariq and Laila are reunited, and Tariq explains how he and his parents became refugees in Pakistan, his parents dying from disease and Tariq sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for drug smuggling. He further tells Laila of how he has found a home and employment at a hotel near Rawalpindi. She tells Tariq that he is Aziza’s father and asks him to return the next day so she can take him to meet his little girl.

That day Rasheed returns home from work, little Zalmai unwittingly tells his father about the male visitor with a limp. Rasheed is enraged beyond limit, he locks up a crying Zalmai in a room and starts to savagely beat Laila with his belt and reveals her that he knew all along about her harami child (Aziza), in his rage he tries to strangle her, but Mariam cannot watch this anymore and fears that Rasheed really will kill both her and Laila this time, she hits him on the head with a shovel and kills Rasheed.

When Laila gains consciousness, she sees Rasheed’s dead body and Mariam sitting nearby. Mariam begs Laila to leave Kabul with Tariq, Aziza, and Zalmai. Laila initially refuses to leave without Mariam and begs her to come, but Mariam insists that the Taliban will be after them forever if they find a murdered man and two missing wives. Laila reluctantly leaves for Pakistan with the children and Tariq, where they marry and settle down . Mariam turns herself in to the Taliban, confesses to killing Rasheed, and is executed in public.

Part Four

In 2003 (almost two years after the fall of the Taliban to US/UK forces), Laila and Tariq decide to return to Afghanistan. They stop in the village near Herat where Mariam was raised, and discover a package that Mariam’s father had left behind for her: a videotape of Pinocchio, her share of the family inheritance, and a note from Jalil explaining how much regret he felt in marrying her off just to save face. They return to Kabul and help renovate the orphanage. It is implied that they used the money that was supposed to be Mariam’s share of the inheritance in order to do this. Laila also becomes a teacher at the orphanage, seen teaching a class of Dari. The book ends with a reference to them debating new names for Laila’s new baby, but they’re only debating male names, because Laila already knows the name if it’s a girl. It is implied that the name would be Mariam.

The Kite Runner By Khaled Hosseini

One of the best reads of my life,undoubtedly.Very touching story narrated in the most lucid manner.I have become a great fan of the novel & I dont see any reason why anybody wont.Its one of the most delectable stories I have been through.I desperately wanted my best friend to read this but he is simply averse to reading.Can’t help it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I would suggest this book to all those people who like reading & believe in the exponent of true friendship.The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father’s Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

 

Plot

Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir’s father’s servant, Ali, spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father (who is generally referred to as Baba, “daddy”, throughout the book) loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories.Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge.Hassan is a successful “kite runner” for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba’s praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying “For you, a thousand times over.” Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir’s kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef’s voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts indifferently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan’s saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba’s love for Hassan, he worries if Baba knew how bravely Hassan defended Amir’s kite, and how cowardly Amir acted, that Baba’s love for Hassan would grow even more.To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that “there is no act more wretched than stealing.” Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba’s extreme sorrow, leave anyway. Hassan’s departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his cowardice and betrayal, but he still lives in their shadow and his guilt.Five years later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba, who lived in luxury in an expansive mansion in Afghanistan, settle in a run-down apartment and Baba begins work at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets fellow refugee Soraya Taheri and her family; Soraya’s father, who was a high-ranking officer in Afghanistan, has contempt of Amir’s literary aspiration. Baba is diagnosed with terminal oat cell carcinoma but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya’s father’s permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and the two marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya learn that they cannot have children.Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come to Pakistan. He enigmatically tells Amir “there is a way to be good again.” Amir goes.From Rahim Khan, Amir learns the fates of Ali and Hassan. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba’s house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan’s request. One day the Taliban ordered him to give it up and leave, but he refused, and was murdered, along with his wife. Rahim Khan reveals that Ali was not really Hassan’s father. Hassan was actually the son of Baba, therefore Amir’s half-brother. Finally, Rahim Khan tells Amir that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan’s son, Sohrab, from an orphanage.Amir returns to Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. In order to enter Taliban territory, Amir, who is normally clean shaven, dons a fake beard and mustache, because otherwise the Taliban would exact Shariah punishment against him. However, he does not find Sohrab where he was supposed to be: the director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official comes often, brings cash and usually takes a girl back with him. Once in a while however, he takes a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir to go to a soccer match and the man “who does the speeches” is the man who took Sohrab. Farid manages to secure an appointment with the speaker at his home, by saying that he and Amir have “personal business” with him.At the house, Amir has his meeting with the man in sunglasses,who says the man who does the speeches is not available, due to the fact that he is participating in wrongful acts of adultry. The man in sunglasses is eventually revealed to be his childhood nemesis, Assef. Assef is aware of Amir’s identity from the very beginning, but Amir doesn’t realize who he’s sitting across from until Assef starts asking about Ali, Baba and Hassan. Sohrab is being kept at the home where he is made to dance dressed in women’s clothes, and it seems Assef might have been sexually assaulting him. (Sohrab later says, “I’m so dirty and full of sin. The bad man and the other two did things to me.”) Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only for a price – cruelly beating Amir. However, Amir is saved when Sohrab uses his slingshot to shoot out Assef’s left eye, fulfilling the threat his father had made many years before.Amir tells Sohrab of his plans to take him back to America and possibly adopt him, and promises that he will never be sent to an orphanage again. After almost having to break that promise (after decades of war, paperwork documenting Sohrab’s orphan status, as demanded by the US authorities, is impossible to get) and Sohrab attempting suicide, Amir manages to take him back to the United States and introduces him to his wife. However, Sohrab is emotionally damaged and refuses to speak or even glance at Soraya. This continues until his frozen emotions are thawed when Amir reminisces about his father, Hassan, while kite flying. Amir shows off some of Hassan’s tricks, and Sohrab begins to interact with Amir again. In the end Sohrab only shows a lopsided smile, but Amir takes to it with all his heart as he runs the kite for Sohrab, saying, “For you, a thousand times over.”.Looking frward to the author’s next novel………………….

Role Of Youth To Combat terrorism & Regionalism

Since September 11, 2001 many Americans, along with others around the world, have been preoccupied with the why of what happened. We wonder how humans could kill themselves and innocent people, believing they are doing this in the name of God. But terrorism is not new and exists everywhere. Terrorists have come from religious fundamentalist organizations, social protest groups, and radical political movements, both of the left and the right. Although many of the terrorists have been poor and uneducated, others have come from affluent, privileged circumstances. The fact that nearly all are late adolescents or young adults (or started their terrorist careers during this phase of their lives) raises the question as to whether there is any realtion between these two seemingly disconnected entities.Well,it seems there exists a relationship!

There exists something about youth that makes the lure of an ideology that promises a perfect society, together with the prospect of the violent overthrow of the existing world order, simply irresistible.

But,precisely what constitutes Terrorism.The standard definition of Terrorism states that-

“Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.There is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism.Most common definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants.Ideally,terrorism can be defined as the feeling of resentment rather than as a phenomenon.

This,as explained most intelligibly by  Senator John Kerry could be stated as follows  –

“While we must remain determined to defeat terrorism, it isn’t only terrorism we are fighting. It’s the beliefs that motivate terrorists. A new ideology of hatred and intolerance has arisen to challenge America and liberal democracy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next term that comes into the mind is regionalism.In politics, regionalism is a political ideology that focuses on the interests of a particular region or group of regions, whether traditional or formal (administrative divisions, country subdivisions, political divisions, subnational units).Regionalism centers on increasing the region’s influence and political power, either through movements for limited form of autonomy (devolution, states’ rights, decentralization) or through stronger measures for a greater degree of autonomy (sovereignty, separatism, independence).Regionalists often favor loose federations or confederations over a unitary state with a strong central government.

 

“Regionalism may be contrasted with nationalism but may be combined with Terrorism.”

Winston Churchill once said –

“If you want to catch them,catch them while they are young.”

In my opinion,this aphorism holds true for relationship between terrorism,regionalism & the youth.When we are talking about curbing terrorism,we are in actual talking about curbing the feeling of resentment,anger persisting in the minds or prevailing in the hearts of the youth,the future of the tomorrow.The seed of terrorism is sown into the field of democracy only.Democracies,spreaded all over the globe,foster the feeling of resentment or indirectly terrorism,regionalism etc.  

‘What is called terrorism,’ Brian Jenkins has written, `’seems to depend on one’s point of view. Use of the term implies a moral judgment; and if one party can successfully attach the label terrorist to its opponent, then it has indirectly persuaded others to adopt its moral viewpoint.’ Hence the decision to call someone or label some organization `terrorist’ becomes almost unavoidably subjective, depending largely on whether one sympathizes with or opposes the person/group/cause concerned. If one identifies with the victim of the violence, for example, then the act is terrorism. If, however, one identifies with the perpetrator, the violent act is regarded in a more sympathetic, if not positive (or, at the worst, an ambivalent) light; and it is not terrorism.”

This ambidextrous terrorism manifests itself into many different aspects,one being regionalism.This at times is accidental & at times,is the result of some calumnious plotting. I guess that’s why more recently, Ronald Reagan and others in the American administration frequently called the Afghan Mujahideen freedom fighters during their war against the Soviet Union, yet twenty years later when a new generation of Afghan men are fighting against what they perceive to be a regime installed by foreign powers, their attacks are labelled terrorism by George W. Bush.

This hypocrisy on part of Governments across the globe has been a prominent reason for

the growth of Terrorism at this fast pace.May be Adam Schiff took his inspiration from the above mentioned statement only while quoting this  –

     “Democracies are the breeding grounds for terrorism and war.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Concluding, all one can say is that one can not be wishy-washy when he is talking about terrorism. Winning the war on terrorism will always require a level of moral clarity that can provide a vision for struggling people and nations everywhere & that too unequivocally. Terrorism is an imminent problem that needs to be tackled immediately, without any further delay. In some countries, the development of regionalist politics may be a prelude to further demands for greater autonomy or even full separation, especially when ethnic and cultural disparities are present. This was demonstrated in the late 1980s in Yugoslavia, among other examples.Problems like terrorism & regionalism can not be soved by the use of artillery alone,they need audacity.

“If the battle for civilization comes down to the wimps versus the barbarians, the barbarians are going to win.”

The Inscrutable Americans by Anurag Mathur

The Inscrutable Americans is a bestselling novel by an Indian author, Anurag Mathur. It is about the experiences of a ‘subcontinental bumpkin’ in America. Humorous in intention, it concentrates on the mishaps and misadventures of a village Indian in the USA, and many true observations which are humorously told.

Anurag Mathur’s The Inscrutable Americans is an upside-down, round-the-bend look by a “fresh off the boat” Indian at the contemporary American society. The novel gleefully reverses the clichéd oriental perspective that saw Asians as ‘inscrutable’ and formed the basis of western perception of other cultures for more than two centuries, and applies it with insouciant wit on Americans.

Gopal, the protagonist of this novel, is a recently arrived student from a small town in India who encounters the “Dullesville capital” of US with an odd mixture of wide-eyed innocence and worldly wisdom. Inscrutable Americans recounts Gopal’s run-ins with small town American with an amused tolerance that springs from the author’s understanding of both cultures. As a classic immigrant/exile, Mathur has a wry sense of detachment that arises out of physical and emotional distance experienced by all people who have moved away from their native cultures and have tried assimilating into a new one. Mathur is a cultural hybrid with affiliation to two cultures like a vast majority of people in today’s world. He therefore, has the ability to observe and enjoy the quirks of American as well as Indian society. This dual vision shared by both Mathur and his protagonist is common to all immigrants, and makes an enjoyable reading for people of diverse cultures.

The God of Small Things By Arundhati Roy

The God of Small Things (1997) is a semi-autobiographical, politically charged novel by Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of a pair of fraternal twins who become victims of circumstance. The book is a description of how the small things in life build up, translate into people’s behavior and affect their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997.

The God of Small Things is Roy’s first book, and as of 2006, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The potential of the story was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers. Roy received half-a-million pounds (approx. $970,000 USD) in advances, and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries.

[edit] Plot

The story primarily takes place in a town named Ayemenem or Aymanam now part of Kottayam in Kerala state of India. The temporal setting shifts back and forth from 1969, when Rahel and Estha, a set of fraternal twins are 7 years old, to 1993, when the twins are reunited at age 31. Much of the story is written in a viewpoint sympathetic to the 7-year-old children. Malayalam words are liberally used in conjunction with English. Prominent facets of Kerala life that the novel captures are Communism, the caste system, and the Keralite Syrian Christian way of life.

This plot summary places the events in chronological order, though the novel shifts around in time.

Shri Benaan John Ipe (referred to as Pappachi, which means grandfather), an imperial entomologist prior to his retirement, fathered Ammu and Chacko with his wife, Shoshamma Ipe (referred to as Mammachi, which means grandmother). Pappachi has been bitter since his discovery of a new species of moth was dismissed and then credited to someone else. His facade of being a perfect husband and father hides his abusive tendencies towards his family, especially Mammachi. One night, while Pappachi is beating his wife, Chacko, Ammu’s brother, a Rhodes scholar home from Oxford University stops him and tells him to never do it again. From then on, till his death, Pappachi never hits nor speaks to Mammachi again. He also refuses to let Ammu continue with her college education, so she is forced to return home to Ayemenem.

Without sufficient dowry for a marriage proposal, Ammu becomes desperate to escape her ill-tempered father and bitter, long-suffering mother. Finally, she convinces her parents to let her spend a summer with a distant aunt in Calcutta. To avoid returning to Ayemenem, she marries a man who assists managing a tea estate (who she later discovers to be a heavy alcoholic, who beats her and attempts to prostitute her to his boss so that he can keep his job). She gives birth to two children, dizygotic twins Estha and Rahel, but ultimately leaves her husband and returns to live with her mother and brother in Ayemenem.

Also living at the house with Ammu, Chacko, and Mammachi is the sister of Pappachi, Baby Kochamma (Kochamma is an honorific name for a female). As a young girl, Baby Kochamma had fallen in love with Father Mulligan, a young Irish priest who had come to Ayemenem to study Hindu scriptures. In order to get closer to him, Baby Kochamma became a Roman Catholic and joined a convent. Father Mulligan though, becomes a Hindu, adding an ironic twist to her actions. She quickly realized the futility of her plans and returned home, though she never stopped loving Father Mulligan. Because of her own misfortunes, Baby Kochamma delights in the misfortune of others.

While studying at Oxford, Chacko had fallen in love and married an English woman named Margaret Kochamma. Shortly after the birth of their daughter Sophie Mol (Mol means girl), Chacko and Margaret get a divorce (Margaret having fallen in love with another man, Joe, while pregnant). Unable to find a job, Chacko returns to India to teach. Chacko never stops loving Margaret, and the two of them keep in touch (even though she no longer sees him in a romantic light). After the death of Pappachi, Chacko returns to Ayemenem and expands his mother’s pickling business into an ultimately unsuccessful pickle factory called Paradise Pickles and Preserves.

Margaret remarries, but her husband Joe is killed in an accident. Chacko invites the grieving Margaret and Sophie to spend Christmas in Ayemenem. On the way to the airport, the family (Chacko, Ammu, Estha, Rahel, and Baby Kochamma) encounters a group of communist protesters. The protesters surround the family car and force Baby Kochamma to wave a red flag and chant a communist slogan. She is humiliated and begins to harbor a deep hatred towards Velutha (a man from the factory), who Rahel claims to have seen in the crowd. After this, the family visits a theater playing “The Sound of Music”, where Estha is sexually abused by the “Orangedrink Lemondrink man” (the food vendor).

Velutha is an untouchable (the lowest caste), a paravan. His family has been working for Chacko’s for generations. Velutha is extremely gifted with his hands, an accomplished carpenter and mechanic. Unlike other untouchables, Velutha has a self-assured air, and has become indispensable at the pickle factory because of his skills with repairing the machinery. Rahel and Estha look up to Velutha, and he befriends them. The day of Margaret and Sophie’s arrival, Ammu and Velutha realize that they are attracted to one another.

When her intimate relationship with Velutha is discovered, Ammu is tricked and locked in her room and Velutha is banished. When the twins ask their mother why she has been locked up, Ammu (in her rage) blames them as the reason why she cannot be free and screams at them to go away. Rahel and Estha decide to run away, and Sophie convinces them to take her with them. During the night, while trying to reach an abandoned house across the river, their boat capsizes and Sophie drowns. The twins search all night for Sophie, but cannot find her. Wearily, they fall asleep at the abandoned house. They are unaware that Velutha is there as well, for it is where he secretly meets with Ammu.

When Sophie’s body is discovered, Baby Kochamma goes to the police and accuses Velutha of being responsible for Sophie’s death. She claims that Velutha attempted to rape Ammu, threatened the family, and kidnapped the children. A group of policemen hunts Velutha down and savagely beats him for crossing caste lines. The twins witness this terrible scene, and are deeply affected.

When Rahel and Estha reveal the truth of Sophie’s death to the chief of police, he is alarmed. He knows that Velutha is a communist, and is afraid that the wrongful arrest and impending death of Velutha will cause a riot amongst the local communists. He threatens Baby Kochamma, telling her that unless she gets the children to change their story, she will be held responsible for falsely accusing Velutha of the crime. Baby Kochamma tricks Rahel and Estha into believing that unless they accuse Velutha of Sophie’s death, they and Ammu will all be sent to jail. She even tricks Rahel and Estha into believing that they pushed Sophie out of the boat because they were jealous of her. Eager to save their mother, the children testify against Velutha. Velutha dies from his injuries.

However, Baby Kochamma has underestimated Ammu’s love for Velutha. Hearing of his arrest, Ammu comes to the station to tell the truth about their relationship. She is told by the police to leave the matter alone. Afraid of being exposed, Baby Kochamma convinces Chacko that Ammu and the twins are responsible for his daughter’s death. Chacko forces Ammu to leave the house. Ammu, unable to find a job, is forced to send Estha to live with his father. Estha never sees Ammu again, as she dies alone and impoverished a few years later.

Rahel, when grown up, leaves for the US, gets married, divorced and finally returns to Ayemenem after several years working as a waitress in an Indian restaurant and as a night clerk at a gas station. Rahel and Estha, both 31 at this time, are reunited for the first time since they were 7 years old. Both Estha and Rahel have been damaged by their past, and by this time Estha has become perpetually silent because of his traumatic childhood. The twins stay together for most of a day, and that night commit incest with one another.

Made In Japan By Akio Morita

After reading Iacocca ,this book was a delightful change rebuking what I had just read.By reading this book ,Icould actually figure out the mistakes or should I say the flip side of Mr. Lee Iacocca.The book goes on like this –

Made in Japan is a book about the Japanese Sony corporation. It was written with the assistance of Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura. The book not only narrates the story of Mr. Morita, but also of the Sony corporation’s formation in the aftermath of Japan’s brutal defeat in World War two, and its subsequent rapid rise to fame and fortune. The book also provides insights into Japanese culture and the Japanese way of thinking, particularly their business management philosophies and styles. The Japanese behavior is explained by putting it into a context based on Japan’s history, recent and ancient.

Morita introduces the origins of his family, and how Sony was founded. Chapters picture the war, early tape recorders, and various conclusions on international markets. The transistor was invented in North America in the 1950’s, and Sony took advantage of it. The biography gives authentic details about patent issues, business conferences in various countries, and the invention of the Walkman.

The book is narrated by Mr. Morita in an intensely personal, down to earth, conversational style.

Sections of the book

The book is divided into the following nine sections:

1. War
2. Peace
3. Selling To The World (My learning curve)
4. On Management (It’s all in the family)
5. American and Japanese Styles (The difference)
6. Competition (The fuel of Japanese Enterprise)
7. Technology (Survival Exercise)
8. Japan and The World (Alienation and Alliance)
9. World Trade (Averting Crisis)

I will give this book 8/10.

The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho

A beautiful sher is all I need to summarise the entire story & here it goes –

मैंने इतनी शिद्दत से तुझे पाने की कोशिश की है,
की सारी कायनात ने मुझे तुझसे मिलाने की साजिश की है!

The story goes like this –

Santiago, a boy living in Andalusia, leads a common life of travel through his trade of shepherding and entertains thoughts of marrying a merchant’s daughter. One day he has a dream telling him to go to the Egyptian pyramids, a destination pointed out to him by a child in-dream and apparently leading to treasure. He consults a gypsy to interpret his dream, who simply tells him to go to the Pyramids to find the loot and asks for a tenth of his future treasure instead of a fee for her services. He becomes discouraged by this advice, yet she assures him that the wisest men would agree with the simplicity of this special case. Melchizedek, the King of Salem, spontaneously appears to help motivate Santiago to fulfill his Personal Legend, or his soul’s desire, which seems bound to be the treasure of his dream. To aid him lest he have trouble interpreting omens, he presents him with Urim and Thummim stones, used for divination. Santiago sells all of his possessions to fund his journey to Africa and travels there. When he arrives, however, a thief steals all of his money. Santiago spends the next year or so working at a crystal merchant’s shop learning both Arabic and life lessons, then moves on. He meets an Englishman who says he is searching for an alchemist waiting at the Al-Fayoum oasis, Faiyum Oasis. They join forces on their common journey East and exchange ideas along the way. Once at the oasis, Santiago meets the love of his life, Fatima, while asking about the alchemist near a well. After preventing an attack on the oasis by reading omens, he is sent to the alchemist and continues his journey. When they are captured by a desert tribe, the alchemist decides to make a deal with their capturers. He said that if the boy turns himself into the wind in 3 days they will let him go. But, if he cannot they will kill both of them. After 3 days the boy finds out how to talk to his heart and the universe using the Language of the World. Which makes him able to turn into the wind and allows them to be free. After they leave, the alchemist uses the Philosopher’s Stone to turn lead into gold: he leaves some for both a monk and Santiago and takes the rest for himself. When Santiago finally reaches the Pyramids, he is attacked by the desert’s inhabitants and has to admit that he is searching for a treasure there. One of them laughs and reveals that he once had a dream about finding treasure in the very church where Santiago first had the dream. Santiago then returns to the church and finds the treasure, thus realizing his dream. This further suggests that, if one dares to dream, then no matter how unattainable or difficult a venture may appear at the very onset, one will succeed. Though Santiago had a dream of attaining treasure in the Pyramids of farflung Egypt, he had the courage and determination of achieving his dream. It took him to go through a trial of toil and time to reach his destination to find that the treasure laid buried on the very spot in the old church where he had first dreamt.

“Magic Seeds” By V.S. Naipaul

It must be my first book authored by a Nobel prize winner (2001). Undoubtedly, the characters of this story show subtlety rare to be seen.He has blended the caustics of life beautifully with humour. At times,you feel like sympathizing with the main protagonist & at times u feel like laughing on the protagonist.

Naipaul’s oeuvre is no doubts one of the best & that’s why, I suppose he is one of the most applauded british writers. His eye of detailing is wonderful & he has written this novel with great insight.Couldn’t believe that he completed the entire novel in a single year with all the exacting details he has put into the novel. The story is about a man,Willie Chandran,who has allowed one identity after another to be thrusted upon him. In his early forties,after a peripatetic life ,he succumbs to the encouragement of his sister – & his own listlessness-& joins an underground movement inindia.But years of revolutionary campaigns & then prison convince him that the revolution had nothing to do with what he was fighting for,& he feels himself further than ever from his own history.

When he returns to Britain where,30 years before, his wanderings began, Willie encounters a country that has turned its back on its past &,like him, has become detached from its own history. He tries to be a part of this varied world but finally finds himself all the more unsatisfied. Thus,once again his quest for self recognition begans!!!!

Though, this novel is definitely not for  young readers but those with an experience of reading this type of  novels might really like it. I will give it 7/10.

IACOCCA-An Autobiography By Lee Iacocca With William Novak

Honestly  Speaking,I am not much into reading managerial books nut thiss book has changed my perception of managerial books.I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book as I could actually relate myself with the writer.Writer’s straightforwardness,his attitude towards life & towards those people who have done wrong to him reminds me of myself.Iacocca is fast talking,blunt,boastful & unabashedly patriotic.His concern towards America is clearly visible at different places.Iacocca is a living legend,a straight shooting businessman who brought Chrysler,America’s 10th largest corporation & the smallest one among the 3 major auto giants of the time viz. GM,Ford & Chrylser,from brink & in the process became a media celebrity,celebrity,news maker & a man many have urged to run for President.The son of italian Immigrants,Iacocca rose spectacularly through the ranks of Ford Motor Company to become its President,only to be toppled 8 years later in a power play played by the Henry Ford II,his immediate boss.Rathes than going mad,Lee iacocca got even.He led a battle for Chrysle’s survival that made his name a symbol of integrity,know-how & guts for millions of Americans.The miraculous recovery of Chrysler from a major cash crunch in a  short period of 5 years was made possible by a team of dedicated executives hand picked by Iacooca.This is one quality of his which appealed to me the most.Rather than taking the entire credit himself he has fully recognised of his family,friends & peers.His concept of “equality of sacrifice” is also something new for me.His way of giving other peaople a goal & how to motivate them to achieve it is breathtaking as is evedent in the case of his negotiations with the union members,suppliers,banks etc.His is a perfect story of rags to riches & back to rags & then again riches.According to his own views,he has grown more in his days of adversity than in his days of wines & roses.Ford during that time was run like a private duchy by the whim of one man & why Iacooca was thrown out of the job is still a mystery to resolve.He signed on for his new job,he couldn’t imagine that anything in the automobile business could be that bad,but,he took it & made a hell lot of difference.While foeming a management team for Chrysler,Iacooca chose teh best of Ford Executives but more than that he chose best of his friends who agreed to be a part of his adversity in his time of crisis.Again,my type of person!{I would definitely like to blend talent & an essenc eof friendship in my team,a sure call for success.}Iacocaa tried really hard & how hard is something sacrosanct.From possible mergers,loans to finally settling for a $1.5 Billion loan guarantee from Government,he tried & did everything to save Chrysler & that’s why he,along with his White Knights,made it.As soon he saved Chrysler & brought it back on road,Lee made it a point to make cars safer,has talked about high cost of living,has addressed the problem of COLA(Cost Of Living Allowance),penions etc.He has been very straightforward  while talking about American Ggovernment’s incapablity to handle Japanese burgeoning imports throught illicit market policies.His take on interrest is also much better than most of the politicians I have seen & no wonders,people asked him to run for Presidentship.He truly deserves it!!!!!!!!!