Bakwas Bath

  The following lines are from a poem by Pablo Neruda I have always loved The world is a tapestry Of color and light Of beauty and wonder That fills me with delight The sun on the horizon The stars in the night The flowers in the meadow A breathtaking sight But there is one thing That fills me with joy More than the wonders Of nature's employ It is you, my love With your smile so bright Your touch, your kiss That makes everything right So let us wander Through fields and through streams Hand in hand, forever In this beautiful dream In a century blessed with many outstanding literary figures, Neruda is perhaps one name that holds a weight greater than most. Arguably the greatest poet to emerge from Latin America; his ability to blend the absurd with the day to day, creating verses capable of  deep emotions of love and loss showed the incredible mastery he had over his craft. The above lines are a fine example of his remarkable skills. Only there is one problem, Pablo Neruda nev...

I remember picking up the 'Scion of Ikshvaku' with much enthusiasm when it first came out. Having loved the author’s previous trilogy of novels and wanting more, I was left sadly disappointed by the mediocre storyline and cheaply composed prose marred by a thousand cliches. It felt like I was reading a caricature of my much beloved author and not the real thing. But somewhere along a really dragged out middle section, a plot snippet stood out in my mind. In it the protagonist, prince Ram has his first encounter with the princess Sita. The incident left him not smittened or awestruck like most first encounters in fiction tend to pan out, but rather with his head bowing in respect. It was unique how pure and sincere the emotion was; no slow violins playing in the background, no skipped heartbeats or butterfly filled stomachs, but simple old fashioned respect and admiration. I found this emotion, spread across the pages of an extremely mediocre piece of fiction fascinating and a...