People at Work & Play

Visually Impaired but Awesome!

Prem Rao — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:10:17 +0000

Recently, the community in which I live in Bangalore celebrated our annual carnival. Like always, it was a great success. It had eats, games, and stalls selling everything for the consumer from cotton candy to cars! This was one part of the show. The other, and to me the more exciting part, was the performances on stage.We had an amazing Yakshagana performance. This is a very old cultural dance drama form, mainly prevalent in my home district of South Kanara in Karnataka. In this, through a combination of dance, song and recital, stories usually from mythology are rendered by the performers. I was glad that the younger members of the community, and may I add, the older ones too, were exposed to an ancient rural entertainment format which goes back to over six hundred years.

The highlight of the evening was a dance performance by students of the Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind. Their motto says it all, ” Service to Humanity is service to God.” In a stand out performance, groups of young girls and boys performed traditional Indian dances with a co-ordination that would have been commendable even for people with sight. The fact they are visually impaired did not in any way dampen their enthusiasm.. They were simply brilliant. I was amazed to see these youngsters perform so well. I felt highly moved to think how we take so many things for granted. Many are not so fortunate. These young ones, for example, face more challenges than we do. What comes effortlessly to you and me, perhaps is a huge task for them. This made their performance all the more admirable.

This institution believes that ” All people with disabilities can live with self-respect and dignity.” These people do not need our sympathy. They need opportunity. They need applause. They need our encouragement. Funds are important, I am sure and if you feel like reaching out to help an awesome cause, do contribute your bit to the Shree Ramana Maharishi School for the Blind. It may not mean much to you but it could mean a lot to someone less fortunate than you are.

The Top 10 Business Bestsellers

Prem Rao — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:00:05 +0000

I owe a lot to what I am today to my habit of reading. I was a voracious reader as a child and even now I do my best to read as much as I can. As the old saying goes, you can’t write, if you don’t read. My choice for a blog post today is a list. Of bestselling business books in India put together by the Strategy team at the Business Standard.Let me know what you think of the list. Did you notice that three of them are biographies/autobiographies? I have plans to write a biography in due course of time. I am hunting for a subject who would make for interesting reading.

What Ails Indian Cricket?

Prem Rao — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:20:36 +0000

What Ails Indian Cricket? My thoughts in an article published in Technorati. I am sure my views echo those of most cricket fans. One doesn’t mind losing. That happens in sport, but losing the way we are in Australia with all the hype about our much-vaunted batting line up leaves one disgusted.

“A Toast To Plum- Celebrating P.G.Wodehouse”

Prem Rao — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 08:47:16 +0000

“A Toast To Plum- Celebrating P.G.Wodehouse”.

At The Start Of A New Year

Prem Rao — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:30:34 +0000

This being my first post for 2012, I thought it appropriate to share thoughts on my plans for the year as a writer. Generally, we make turns in our lives based on some triggers.I wonder if I hit upon one recently. I realized that my skills as a writer would improve if I were to broaden my repertoire. Was I getting typecast in one mold as a writer of thrillers, I asked myself. My first foray into writing, and that too aged 59, was in fiction. I wrote a psychological thriller called “It Can’t Be You” which, I am glad to say, has been well received. My second book, again in fiction, was rather different. It was a collection of short stories set in contemporary India called “He Sees Everything & Other Short Stories.”

Not surprisingly, I am working on two other fiction projects, both of which are thrillers. The first is likely to be published in August 2012 while the second is still work in progress. These apart, I am passionately involved in my first non-fiction project, which is based on the writings of my favorite author, P.G.Wodehouse. This is called “‘A Toast To Plum”. It is not a biography of Wodehouse but more on the lines of a compendium of people and places that appear in his books. This is not a path breaking venture as there have been several books in the past on this theme, most notably Daniel H. Garrison’s “Who’s Who in Wodehouse.” I Like to think that someday my effort will complement and not substitute a Garrison in the book shelf of every Wodehouse fan .

Going back to my deep interest in reading biographies as a kid, I hope to take up “Life Writing” in the future. As the name suggests, it’s that part of non-fiction writing in which you would convert the memories of one’s own life or someone else’s to an interesting book.

As a kid I enjoyed reading biographies and autobiographies. You must remember that I was in my teens in the 60s, the Second World War had been over for the last fifteen years and this had led to a spew of biographies and autobiographies of military leaders. This led to my deep interest in things military.

The New Year lies ahead of us. I am scanning the horizon for a subject for my debut into life writing. No, it won’t be me, that’s for sure. Not yet, at any rate.

I would like to convey my best wishes to you and yours for a successful and happy New Year.

Dr. Kurien, India’s Milkman.

Prem Rao — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:48:12 +0000

Article first published as ” Dr. Kurien, India’s Milkman” in Technorati. http://technorati.com/entertainment/celebrity/article/dr-kurien-indias-milkman/

Face to Face or Facebook?

Prem Rao — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 02:31:50 +0000

An old friend had dropped in and we were chatting, as often is the case when old friends meet, of the “good old days.” In the old days, you would have information about old friends only if you met them in person or had received a letter from them. This was in the pre- email era when one had to wait for the postman to deliver letters! Relationships and keeping up with them have changed with the advent of Facebook, haven’t they?Today with Facebook you can keep in touch with family and friends from all over the world virtually on a minute-to minute basis. Timeline is a new feature introduced in Facebook where you can track high points of what you said or did over the years.

In the earlier years, I maintained that LinkedIn was for my “professional” contacts and Facebook was for my friends. Now that I am a published author I find the difference blurring. Many in the writing community use Facebook more than LinkedIn as far as I have observed. I am now credited with over 1000 friends of Facebook, most of them having to do with writing, books, literature, the arts and so on. These are of course supplemented by friends from school, college and graduate school as also family.

I have made many new friends from Facebook. I have pursued my interests ( like for P.G.Wodehouse) and worked towards building a platform for my career as a writer through my FB Pages. We have a FB Page called “Fans of P.G.Wodehouse” which has over 2800 members worldwide. I also have FB Pages for each of my books and projects.

In this day and age, I believe, you have to be on Facebook to use its advantages and reach out to people who you might never have met otherwise.

Mario Miranda Is No More

Prem Rao — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:03:34 +0000

Article first published as Mario Miranda Is No More on Technorati. One of India’s finest cartoonists, Mario Miranda passed away aged 85 on December 11. He leaves behind a rich legacy of his inimitable cartoons, especially on life in Goa.

The “Ever Green” Dev Saab, RIP

Prem Rao — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:33:41 +0000

Article first published as Ever Green Star Is No More: Dev Anand, RIP on Technorati.

“Incredible India”

Prem Rao — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:28:05 +0000

Karen S. Elliott mentioned her dream to have an International Week on her blog “The Word Shark”. I jumped at the offer and wrote a guest post on India which I called “Incredible India”. She has guest posts on Ireland, Australia, Scotland and China, apart from my contribution. I enjoyed this series as it brought out differences in perspectives and a wealth of information about these countries, each covered in the individual style of the writer.

I hope you will enjoy the series too. I know Karen will love your comments and suggestions.