Tiffinbox

English, August

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With the wedding season waning, I have a little more time on my hands now to catch up on all my reading.

I received a copy of Upamanyu Chatterjee's book English, August a couple of months back and I have not been able to put it down. First published in 1988, according to Akhil Sharma who introduces the book, English, August was widely appreciated for, well, its honesty and humor. The story is about Agastya [or August] and his coming of age in the Indian Administrative Service. [no small feat]

When the whole world has decided to turn inward and become all so serious, a book like English, August comes along that says, “hey, it's ok to laugh at the system.”

The book has been republished here by the New York Review of Books and is available at all your favorite book stores.

Ragha’s Music

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I am often asked where I get the beautifully composed background music for the slide shows I produce for SAJA.

Well, wonder no more. Race to check out Dr. Krishna Raghavendra's updated website at http://www.raghasmusic.com. Turn up your speakers to hear MP3 snippets from his various albums and tool around the MP3 player designed by Jeroen Wijering.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am married to one of Dr. Raghavendra's daugthers. [grin]

Diwali Stamp Petition

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I am a sucker for online petitions. They are usually fun, really easy to fill out and well, they usually get the job done. I received a note from a close family friend who urged me to sign what is clearly an annual drive for the US Postal Service to issue a Diwali stamp. Haven't they been trying this for years now?

Given that there are stamps for every other major religious group in the world, I think it is high time the US recognized Hinduism. So do me a favor and sign the petition. It takes all of about 20 seconds and you can choose to keep your email address private [just make it a legitimate one].

The count is now at 329,929. They need 500,000 to nudge the USPS to act on this appeal. Do it here.

Book Offer: Alive & Clicking

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I See No StrangerI have two extra signed copies off Alive & Clicking, a memoir by the legendary Indian photojournalist T. S. Satyan.

Want one? Write to me. Send me a link to a photographer's site I should feature here but haven't yet mentioned. I'll pick two winners and mail them the books [in the US or Canada only please].

This book isn't, to my knowledge, available in the US or Canada. It's a terrific read about how a photojournalist from Mysore made a name for himself in India.

UPDATE: Stephen Voss, a Washington, DC based photojournalist has won the first copy of T.S. Satyan's memoir by sending me Jan Grarup's dark and brooding website, Shadowland.

UPDATE: Loki Muthuramalingam has won the second copy of T. S. Satyan's memoir by pointing me to Dr. Vivek M. Vivek, to the utter chagrin of his parents decided to give up medicine in favor of photography! The good doctor happens to coordinate a “photo enthusiast community” in Bangalore which has its own Flickr page here. Loki is no slouch. Check out his own amazing work here.

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