BookMarks #120: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Title: Journey to the Center of the Earth

Author: Jules Verne

Genre: Science Fiction

Published: 1867 (French), 1871 (English)

BookMarks

"as long as the heart beats, as long as body and soul keep together, I cannot admit that any creature endowed with a will has need to despair of life"

A professor encounters a book in runic. After decoding it finds it to be the story of a pathway to the center of the earth. He, alongwith his unconvinced nephew (the narrator) and an Icelandic guide go onto the path suggested, entering from a dormant volcano, encountering subterranean seas, prehistoric creatures, electromagnetic storms and finally being ejected out though a volcanic eruption in Italy!

The tale is fantastic, the narrator himself is cynical throwing accepted scientific beliefs but encountering something else underneath!

There are a few elements which stood out in this implausible tale

• A tendency to claim territory even below the earth by assigning it their own names!
• Hans getting paid at a fixed hour every Saturday, even though there was no actual use of that money where they were!
• The nephew who starts cynical but becomes more convinced as he proceeds which ultimately leads to the end of the journey.
• Never could figure out the logistics of the travel and how did they come out of a volcanic eruption unscathed!
• I could appreciate the geological aspects much more now than when I had read the story first time in school.

Previously on BookMarks: A Thousand Splendid Suns 

Road To LA: Episode 1

After a “well done but could have been better” campaign at the Olympics and a great one at the Paralympics, it is time to hit the road for Los Angeles 2028. It is never too early to start the preparations. After all the games are less than 4 years away!

Team India News

The medal winners have been on a felicitations tour (and well deserved). Except a certain Neeraj Chopra who is back on the circuit recording another season’s best throw at the Diamond League and qualified for the Diamon League Finals. The man is built different!

Sreeja Akula has reached a career high ranking of 22, which is the highest ever for an Indian Table Tennis player. Recent results and the Ultimate Table Tennis League do show that this is one sport which is about to jump into the limelight.

Retirements

• PR Sreejesh has retired from hockey and moving into a coaching role. Good to see Hockey India giving him a proper farewell and also retiring his No. 16 shirt.
• Vinesh Phogat has announced her retirement and now entering the political arena and fighting different battles. Let’s see what the future holds for the two-time world championship medalist.
• Archana Kamath has retired from Table Tennis at the age of 24 to pursue higher education. Throwing into light some of the harsh reality of the life of the sportspersons.

Others

For the sports followers of the Olympics sports – It is time to follow the other sports a bit more. Learning a bit more about the qualification process and the rules will help in tempering expectations and more importantly control the spread of misinformation. e.g., the videos circulating of men’s relay team qualifying for the Finals when the event itself had not started or the number of rumors and slanders being thrown when Vinesh was disqualified. And will definitely help in appreciating the simple fact that qualifying and competing against the world’s best is in itself a phenomenal achievement.

With social media and a number of streaming services, following the sports is not that difficult. I guess when one is expecting medals from the athletes, this tiny effort to support can be put in easily!

Personally, planning to be a bit more regular in this blog.

Till next time!

Links

• An Independence Day Letter for sports Fans - ESPN
• Archana Kamath retires: Hindustan Times

BookMarks #119: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Title: A Thousand Splendid Suns

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: 2007

BookMarks

One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs

Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls

A story set in Afghanistan, narrating the intertwined lives of two women as they live through the ever-worsening situation in their country. It is a harrowing tale, as the country slowly degenerates from a seemingly happy life to a war-torn nation, with progressively worse regimes taking over. The women who are the protagonists suffer disproportionality. Yet, they continue the struggle of living. Till one day, new hope emerges with the removal of the Taliban.

The book ends with hope. But as real-life events have shown, that hope is being snuffed out again. The Taliban whose exit leads to a newfound freedom are back in power, and slowly putting the same restrictions back in place although the global protests seem muted.

Wondering what a sequel in the present would have in store for Laila and her family. 

Previously on BookMarks: Don Quixote