At our recent meeting in Chennai a blogger in our group (he didn’t wish to be named) came up with an idea – how about bringing out an anthology of selected pieces from the Mysore Blog Park. As he put it, we have a fairly wide group at MBP; they write on varied topics of their fancy. And do it competently.
He had a point. We can think of quite a few who may have a book in their blogs. The one who suggested MBP anthology is himself working on a book. Another MBP favourite, B S Prakash, has just come up with his work – Clueless in California (Konarak publicaions, Rs.195). It’s a compilation, from his Rediff column, with updates in reference to his years as Our man in San Francisco. Mr Prakash has since moved to Brazil as our ambassador.
Those familiar with his column would nail the lie in the title - apparantly a publisher’s ploy. Mr Prakash is anything but clueless about California. He is as knowledgeble about the prime dosa joint in San Francisco, as he is about the city’s connection with the Gadar movement. I have read his engaging piece on a philosophy teacher’s take on Silicon Valley (Mr Prakash, M A in Philosophy, taught at Mysore Maharaja’s College before joining Indian Foreign Service); on the allure of MBA, and about his re-discovery of the US in the company of Dr Kalam.
Invited to preside over a Stanford University music festival at which A R Rahman was honoured, Mr Prakash did his home work so thoroughly that he used the material for a Rediff.column, with knowledgeble references to the Bollywood Khans, Aishwarya Rai and the then popular Rahman numbers – Chaiya, Chaiya, and Taal Se Taal Mila. His column gives one an insight into the man, his flair for writing and his mundane interests. Mr Prakash watches “a fair amount of TV, all kinds, movies, series, news, views, sports and scandals”. Mr Prakash’s recent piece – Is Hard Work Worth It – is a study on hard work, viewed from the perspective of a Wall Street hedge fund manager (an endangered species) and a German house painter. I picked up from his column this German word – schadenfreude — which means ‘deriving satisfaction from the misery of others.’ Mr Prakash had, presumably, picked it up when he was sent to Germany, at our foreign office expense, as a language trainee.
As for the proposed anthology on Mysore Blog Park pieces, my first thought was whether it would interest a publisher. Maybe the idea needs to be batted around, blogged about , and pickled in perspectives. Maybe, our blogger in Chennai could make a post of it in Giving It A Shot.
Filed under: Authors, Blogger, Bollywood, Chennai, Cinema, Diplomat, Language, Media, Music, Mysore, U S
Dear GVK,
I liked your style and the introduction to Mr.BS Prakash, our Ambassador in Brazil. It made me to go to his rediff site and to read a couple of his articles. I must say that he has a flair for writing backed by some excellent observations. Probably his Mysore and Philosophy backgrounds have added much to his simplicity of thoughts and writings. I particularly liked the article titled, “‘Is hard work worth it?”‘. I too remember having come across persons like the wall street banker or the painter of buildings from Germany.
Thanks for a fine introduction.
[...] on May 7, 2009 by gvk2 Before he left India to take up his assignment as our envoy in Brazil Mr B S Prakash visited his mother in Shimoga. As son of a locally prominent doctor Mr Prakash basks in reflected [...]