Eleven Minutes – Paulo Coelho (Book Review 002)

ISBN: 0060589280

Paulo Coelho is a popular author who shot to fame with his best-selling book The Alchemist. He has also written other books like the pilgrimage, the Valkyries, the fifth mountain, the Zahir (being his latest) and many others.

Eleven Minutes is very different from his other works for it is based on an adult theme and contains vividly described scenes of sexual intercourse and “eleven minutes” the name itself refers to the average duration of the act.

Eleven minutes is the story of a girl called Maria. She was born and brought up in a Brazilian village. Just as any innocent young girl would, she had also fallen in love but had to face disappointment at a young slender age. This left her heart-broken and she becomes convinced that she will never find true love in her life. Her experiences teach her that she is a beautiful and can use this characteristic of hers to her advantage.

She decides to earn money and support her family and in this pursuit she ends up in Geneva, Switzerland as a dancer in a nightclub. She realizes that the money she was promised back in Brazil was a farce and that she would have to find another way to make quick money. In pursuit of money and fortune she ends up working as a prostitute in a bar called ‘Copacabana’.

Her experiences as a prostitute have been described in vivid detail by the author and bring the reader close to the Maria, the central character of the story. During her work as a prostitute Maria meets many men and gets to have a very close look at their mental abilities and psyche. She learns the tricks of trade very quickly and soon becomes a subject of envy among her colleagues. Unlike many others, in spite of the profession she was involved in, she had an intellectual bent of mind and she used to read many books on topics varying from economics, politics to management and finance. This brought her respect and business.

Over a year had passed since she had arrived in Switzerland and she decided that she should go back home. A chance meeting in a coffee shop brings her close to a famous painter called Ralf Hart who is also one of the elite clients at the Copacabana. Soon she realizes that she has found the true love of her life in Ralf Hart. However, at the same time her experiences with an elite client at the Copacabana leave her in a difficult situation. She develops a strong fascination for sex and at the same time she knows that life has given her a reason to live – Ralf Hart. Maria ends up being at cross-roads where she has to choose between a path that leads to no where – a path of dark sexual pleasures and a path that that gives a meaning to her life – a path that gives her what she never got – true love.

Paulo Coelho is a master craftsman whose works are capable to impacting the day-to-day lives of his readers. His work Eleven minutes ensure that the reader remains glued to the book from the first page till the end. However, I found that climax of the story was pretty predictable and that lulls the feeling that this book creates throughout. This story, that is so gripping throughout, leave a rather ordinary feeling at the end, except for the fact that the author reveals at the end of the story that Eleven minutes is based on a true story. Nonetheless I would recommend this book for (a) the kind of feeling it gives throughout, (b) it happens to one of the first on adult themes by Paulo Coelho and well written too.

Biological Weapons: Issues and Threats by Chari & Rajain (Book Review 001)

ISBN: 9812104046

This book published by the Indian Research press, has been edited by P.R. Chari and Arpit Rajain. Before I move on to the book, I would like to mention a few words about the editors as given in the book. P.R. Chari is a former member of Indian Administrative Services and has also served in the Ministry of Defense. He has worked extensively on Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Arpit Rajain has been working as a Research Officer in the Institute of Peace and Conflict studies since 1997 on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) issues.

This book appears to be a collection of articles, research papers and essays which cover various aspects of Biological and Chemical Weapons. We all know that use of Biological and Chemical Weapons (BCW) is nothing new especially in India where it has found mention even in the ancient texts. But in today’s scenario there is common global enemy which is stateless and which does not fight war from the front (like in the battlefield). Yes, I am talking about terrorism. After the September 11 attacks, the London bombings, the recent Mumbai blasts and various other events, it is clear that the terrorists will stop at nothing and will make every possible effort to cause terror and pain. Every time they strike, they strike with all that they have got and cause massive damage by attacking innocent civilians. So if terrorists are able to acquire WMDs they can create havoc and bloodbath.

Set on a similar note the book tells that the BCWs are the most dangerous of the WMD club for fairly simple reasons:

The cost of production (money and intellectual capital wise) is not high which make it much easier to acquire and launch when compared to some thing like nuclear weapons. Hence the BCWs are called “poor man’s WMDs”.

Detection of such weapons and their storage or preparation is very difficult to check as they can be prepared inside the premises of biotech companies or drug units and go undetected even in a verification check due to the underlying complexities in such weapons.

Some thing can be done about the nuclear weapons (for e.g. missile shields, early warning systems etc) but even the most advanced countries are not fully prepared to handle a large scale bio-chemical attack as there is little we can do about it.

While these and MANY other points are discussed in the later chapters of the book, the initial chapters talk about Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). It talks about the various treaties signed by the developed countries to set certain norms for regulation of BCWs and they all are incomplete in some or the other way. While the initial chapter can get difficult to comprehend for a reader who is new to the subject, the later chapters are a good read.

I would highly recommend the book if you are interested in the subject of bio-warfare and weaponry and its implications now when a new challenge has emerged.

Sony and Bose = Flaunt material

Alright! Here is some thing very different from my routine metaphysical ranting and ramblings ;-). We purchased a 40-inch LCD television Sony KLV-V40A10 and a Bose Cinemate Digital Home Theatre Speaker System. Though I have not put every thing together as of now, the stuff looks pure flaunt material. The speaker system is not exactly one of the best that bose has to offer but it is certainly the best for the price and not to forget the various features packed in the unit. For more info on the T.V. and the Speaker System just click on the image and you will be taken to the company website.

But the problem is that the Cable T.V. signals are so bad here that any top of the line T.V. will never be put to the limit. More over the cable transmits mono audio which is no good for pushing the Bose system. There is the Hathway set-top box thingy in the market nowadays that promises MPEG quality video and stereo sound output which will be much better that the traditional cable TV but it failed to work in my house because we have got in-wall cable wires which are not setup properly.

There is a lot of work to be done to get this thing up and running to a good quality show but till then I leave you with the pictures of the T.V. and the speaker system.

Some more good quotes (dogs)

I found these set of quotes on dogs. Some of them might be a little senti, but they make a lot of sense (especially to the ones who have had dogs). Thought I will post them here:

1. Money will buy a pretty good dog but it won't buy the wag of his tail. - Josh Billings

2. Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. - Mark Twain

3. The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too. - Samuel Butler

4. Dogs have more love than integrity. They've been true to us, yes, but they haven't been true to themselves. - Clarence Day

5. A dog is the only thing on earth that will love you more than you love yourself. - Josh Billings

6. Animals are such agreeable friends--they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. - George Eliot

7. A dog's best friend is his illiteracy. - Ogden Nash

8. If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. - Mark Twain

9. What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight, what counts is the size of the fight in the dog. - Mark Twain

10. The reason dogs have so many friends is because they wag their tails instead of their tongues. - Unknown

11. There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog. - Konrad Z. Lorenz

12. Our dogs will love and admire the meanest of us, and feed our colossal vanity with their uncritical homage. - Agnes Repplier

13. "The greater love is a mother's; then comes a dog's; then a sweetheart's." - Polish Proverb

Terrorists: What's to be done?

Terrorists are amazing people. They are very clear about what they want to do and have no doubts in their minds. They have no “un-absolutes” in their life and are either on one side or the other. There is no middle path for these guys.

I wish they use this kind of fervour for the benefit of the society instead of killing innocents (for those terrorists who do that).

Terrorism is but one side of the coin where the overall ideology is very narrow and heavily in favour of one thing (or way to responding to external "stimuli"). In other words terrorism is extremism. The other side of the coin is absolute non-violence (like Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology) which is again a kind of extremism because it is heavily in favour of one kind of approach no matter what .

What most of us have been suggesting is the middle path. Middle path will be, that we first talk and do good justice to it and if talks fail, neutralize them with over-whelming force. Force can neutralize individuals but it cannot wipe out an idea. You kill a few, a few more will come and then a few more and then more and so on. The mindset of the people (terrorists especially the religious fundamentalist types) you wish to talk to might be set in stone and they might not compromise. Whether their demands are fair or not, their ideology may attract many followers and continue to live in the long run.

As I see no path promises a complete solution. A few questions linger on:

How do you deal with extremism? Do you reply with extremism (Not necessarily violence as there is this other side to the coin) or walk the seemingly impossible “Middle-path”.

Most important of them all:

How do you destroy an ideology?

Remember one thing: not all terrorists or naxals are bad. Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Azad and many others were called terrorists by the British government (when they ruled India) but they were and are heros to us. Even to this date we study about them in our history books under the sub-heading “Revolutionary Terrorism”. It’s all about the point of view.

I remember reading some where about the American Independence struggle. It is said that the declaration of independence was signed by a set of men and sent to the then king of England (George I guess, dunno the number though) and then they fought a war with GB and won their freedom. Those men went on to become great freedom fighters, father of the nation and some got their picture on the currency notes much later. Had they lost the war and if they were caught alive, they would be termed as terrorists and would be executed by the British and today we would remember (if we would) them as terrorists.

With reference to religious fundamentalists who are terrorists I know one thing that violence can be used to control it but not finish it. The remedy for such terrorism might be religion itself. The followers should be made aware that the basic postulate of a religion is not to destroy or kill but to create and preserve. Religion should be presented in a form that motivates people pursue higher studies and realize that mission of every person born here is to futher the cause of mankind by unravelling the mysteries that exist in this universe. And this can only be done in the form of cult movements of religious renaissance like the bhakti cult or the sufi movement. Religion is the opium of the masses and if this opium can be used to spread/ create terrorism it can also be used to curb/ kill terrorism.

A passage from Bible

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."

Dance Bars Reopened

It is good to know that the dance bars have been reopened. I think this was a quality and realistic decision by our judicial system which otherwise resorts to utterly failed attempts at moral policing and cultural conditioning of the masses (not to forget the role of the polity in pushing the judiciary).

Whether the dance bars are open or closed, the prostitution business will not be largely affected. Nor will anybody be able to stop the girls working there from getting into prostitution because the system lacks that ability. Moreover it is the men who run the system and it also the men who indirectly run these dance bars and prostitution. Prostitution is one of the most organized businesses in our country (put some of the big players on test and they might just get an ISO 9000 or other such certification) and only lacks a legal sanction.

It will be impossible to remove it from our society because it’s the society that created it in the first place. How can I say this? A few months ago there was a report on NDTV about nude dance shows in the elite class hotels of pondicherry. They were worst when compared to those dance bars. The hordes of men who were visiting such shows were not criminals or anti-social elements but the rich, well-to-do and the middle class people who wanted to relax after a day's hard work. I am sure that it these men are asked on camera about prostitution or dance bars they will despise it and talk about how it’s a cancer to the society.

So here is the society some of us want to civilize by closing the dance bars. Ok close the dance bars and these girls will be forced to go to the private parties that many such men have on their farm houses and there the risk will much higher (if you know what I am talking about). How many places are you going to go and how many dance shows will you shut down? What media is showing is just a tip of the iceberg.

Do you think that when dance bars were closed, there were no dace bars operating out there? NO. There were definitely a few dance bars open and working as usual. Needless to say, they were able to exploit the loop-holes in our system and were undetected or may be intentionally over-looked by the keepers of law (police).

What alternatives do we have for the employment of those girls who will otherwise be unemployed if the dance bars are permanently closed. We are not able to satisfy the employment needs of the educated section itself (of which some dance bars girls may also be a part), set aside the hundreds those girls.

Government is a big joke. It’s all on papers and nothing in practical. Of the people who visit these bars there are many people from the government also. Criminals....government is full of them and most of them create all the nonsense than happens outside these dance bars, if at all.

Looking at the bigger picture, I do not think anyone is to be blamed. Prostitution is the oldest profession in the world and dance shows are not far behind. It is the biological make-up and psyche of man and frankly nothing can be done about it. The arms of law are long and iron but it is after all, blind. Even if you close the bars the show will go on.

I recommend that let the dance bars be, go ahead and legalize prostitution ss well so that some sort of order can be brought into this business and people don't have to be hypocrites. Not to forget the revenue government can make by way of taxes from all those people who are getting richer by the day from such businesses.

Good quotes

1. Crime cannot be tolerated. Criminals thrive on the indulgence of Society's understanding. - From the movie Batman begins

2. I have plumbed the depth of Human cowardice and I realized that there is only one way to be right and that is to be in power. - Georges Bedault

3. Jis ke pas power hota hai, uska wrong bhi hamesha right hota hai - From the movie Sarkar (On a similar note as quote number 2)

4. A war represents a failure of diplomacy. - Tony Benn

5. Non violence leads to the highest ethics which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. - Thomas A Edison

6. Passion for destruction is part of how a child discovers the world - Paulo Coelho (in 11 minutes)

7. Women who seek to be equal with men lack ambition. - Timithy Leary

8. A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. - John F. Kennedy

9. The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present. - Niccolo Machiavelli

10. Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders. - Tom Peters

11. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind there are few. - Shunryu Suzuki

12. The time has come to choose between what is right and what is easy - From the movie Harry Potter and the goblet of fire

I think these two are the best I have ever read:

13. Religion is the opium of the people. - Karl Marx

14. Hate oppression. Fear the oppressed. - V.S. Naipaul

Absolutism or un-absolutism? My Views

(Follow the original discussion here)

Definitely un-absolutism.

Careful study of the ancient texts (Gita is particular) shows that the ancients had the knowledge of parallel universes and time travel (I do not imply that they were able to travel in time because I frankly don't know about that). Concept of parallel universes is an excellent point and it kind of refutes my thought and the ancient texts themselves.

"Death of a body/moksha of a soul is an absolute and death it self is the ultimate truth."

With reference to the issues like:

Israel/Palestine/Syria/Egypt.

India/Pakistan/Kashmir/US/China

LTTE/Sri Lanka/India/Norway

Congress/BJP/Left Front/Third Front/The common man

There is nothing absolute and there will be no absolute because of the imperfections in intelligence (wrt mankind). The very way we have evolved, developed systems, sub-systems and setup a way of life is imperfect and "un-absolute". To elucidate this, here is a simple observation:

At the dawn of the age of reason (the time when the ape became intelligent and started calling himself man) every one was equal and today the society is divided into haves and have nots. Why?

The system and its users are imperfect.

Stephen Hawking once said that developing a theory of every thing will be like knowing the mind of god. I believe that our mission is to work for removal of imperfections and make the un-absolute absolute. However, our inherent imperfections, hypocrisy and inability to resolve/ accommodate conflict of view-point will never let that happen or at least it seems like that). When I am really pissed-off, I say "intelligence is a bane".

P.S. I am not a pessimist though I may appear to be one because nothing is absolute.

Meanings for "absolute" (ref. answers.com): Perfect in quality or nature; complete, total, utter, unqualified, unconditional, unlimited, supreme, fixed.