Newspapers and books

I haven't been reading quite as much as I ought to.Ever since I stopped the newspaper subscription due to monetary concerns , I've rarely read the news.Now , I live in a bubble of ignorance.I miss those delicious Sunday op-eds.

You'd think that it would be just as easy to visit the newspaper's website - but there's nothing like poring over a crisp sheet of paper , coffee mug in hand.

It's also been quite some time since I picked up a book- I tried reading Magic Seeds by Naipaul,but he gets tiresome. He loves harping on the same old themes-Gandhi, the repressed Indian psyche,and so on.

So , in lieu of actually reading books , I've begun listening to you-tube lectures on them. Yale University lets you become a fly on the wall in it's classrooms.I listened to Amy Hungerford's class on Nabokov's Lolita as part of her series of lectures on the American novel since 1945.It can be a little abstruse, and much of it doesn't make sense unless you've actually read the book, but it can be an interesting diversion.

As for reading newspapers , I've decided to haul myself down to the hostel lobby where they keep the newspaper, often dismembered and daubed with tomato sauce .This will entail climbing down two flights of stairs - so I will get a free work out in the bargain.So much for keeping myself well informed!

Killing time

I recently found out that I am distantly related to a prominent journalist and gay rights activist, famous for his scandalous comments on prime time television. Since he is related to my mother (a distant uncle), she now has to endure endless ribbing about having gay relatives from my father. I, however, was fascinated, and I quickly googled him. I found out that he runs a popular gay magazine and I went on to explore the gay sub-culture in Mumbai .I knew this was voyeuristic, but I couldn't stop myself .I found myself poring over blogs by gay people and visiting gay chat rooms. I completely sympathize with gay people but I was disturbed with the ease with which I took to spying on people. The fact that I could do all this anonymously made it easier.Perhaps its human nature.Perhaps one is always fascinated with what is considered taboo. Or a sign that one needs to get a life!