graphic23 Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 Rather off-topic, but is White Tiger worth reading Lurker ? I have heard some people say its not very good, and others say its a very very nice book.
Lurker Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 Rather off-topic' date=' but is White Tiger worth reading Lurker ? I have heard some people say its not very good, and others say its a very very nice book.[/quote'] I picked it because I was skipping through the pages and a line shot up reading - Balram Halwai, resident of Lakshmangarh Gaya district. I had to buy the book after that no matter what the popular criticism be (I am a resident of Gaya if you may not have figured that out already). The book itself evoked mixed responses in me. It has a very strong subject, that is the other side of India far removed from the development. It had a great beginning but then in the midst it starts to meander a bit and becomes too vitriolic (I thought) towards India. Still the meandering is part of the story and overall it does make for a good reading. I suppose it is more for Western audiences who have not heard of the dark side of India, for us Indians who know it every bit it makes for a bit of downer. Still a good read overall.
graphic23 Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 I picked it because I was skipping through the pages and a line shot up reading - Balram Halwai' date= resident of Lakshmangarh Gaya district. I had to buy the book after that no matter what the popular criticism be (I am a resident of Gaya if you may not have figured that out already). The book itself evoked mixed responses in me. It has a very strong subject, that is the other side of India far removed from the development. It had a great beginning but then in the midst it starts to meander a bit and becomes too vitriolic (I thought) towards India. Still the meandering is part of the story and overall it does make for a good reading. I suppose it is more for Western audiences who have not heard of the dark side of India, for us Indians who know it every bit it makes for a bit of downer. Still a good read overall. Ah ok. Thanks! Perhaps, a topic for another forum but I'd be interested in reading any Indian political history/opinion books, if you knew any. But, I will give this a read too - is in my Uni's library.
coffee_rules Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 For me Urdu is the most beautiful/powerful language of all. It's in my bucket list to learn to write Urdu.
suraj Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 I don't know about this case but in US it is highky annoying because Southies converse for hours in their local dialect without regard to others in teams An American manager for a TCS team had to complain to HR after getting sick of continous communication in Tamil & Malayalam by the employees; some of which was obviously directed at her too While many people from different backgrounds have this problem. it seems to affect South Indians more than others- similar to a comment MM had made in a thread to respond to Finey's comment that Southies prefer English
nikred Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 I don't know about this thread but in US it is highky annoying because Southies converse for hours in their local dialect without regard to others in teams An American manager for a TCS team had to complain to HR after getting sick of continous communication in Tamil & Malayalam by the employees; some of which was obviously directed at her too While many people from different backgrounds have this problem. it seems to affect South Indians more than others- similar to a comment MM had made in a thread to respond to Finey's comment that Southies prefer English For me the simple rule of thumb is when I am alone with my telugu friends I talk in telugu but if I am in a group with Indians of different background I make it a point to talk in hindi or english even to my telugu friends or save it to talk to him later if its really not that important.
fineleg Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 suraj You are very wrong my friend. Most often two tamilians talk a lot in English when they meet. In fact, this is one of the things people complain abt tamil folks - they talk a lot in English, even when they both know tamil. That is true. On the contrary, I find folks talk in Hindi - even when Americans are present, and almost always when there are other Indians (south indians) around who *dont follow* Hindi. They still speak in Hindi despite the presence of someone around who does not understand the language well. So, I think you are just factually wrong in stating more South Indians speak native language in the US even when people who dont understand it are around.
Desi Cartman Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 ^ i think you will always notice if someone is talking in another language only if u dont understand it since then it just becomes noise. Off late many students have been coming to Australia and people avoid talking on the phones while on a train here but our desis call .. talk loud and say "Nothing important .. tell me whats happening .. where did u eat last night". they can be tamils , punjabis , gujaratis .. anybody.
fineleg Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 ^ i think you will always notice if someone is talking in another language only if u dont understand it since then it just becomes noise. True. Off late many students have been coming to Australia and people avoid talking on the phones while on a train here but our desis call .. talk loud and say "Nothing important .. tell me whats happening .. where did u eat last night". they can be tamils , punjabis , gujaratis .. anybody. Yep, irritating when people talk on cell phones loudly in public (including elevators)
Lurker Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Ah ok. Thanks! Perhaps' date=' a topic for another forum but I'd be interested in reading any [b']Indian political history/opinion books, if you knew any. But, I will give this a read too - is in my Uni's library. This is one of those question that when asked I suddenly draw a blank. Personally I prefer books that deal with one person/incident in detail rather than a book that covers the entire history. If you want a high level overall views you could pick : Like I mentioned earlier I prefer books on a certain subject/person/incident, more anecdotal in nature. SO here are some recommendations on that genre. and others.. The last good book on India that I read was Suketu Mehta's Maximum City.
graphic23 Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 Thanks a lot Lurker! I've seen some or all of them when I browsed through several libraries and Borders stores - but I was unsure of which ones are worth reading, and which aren't. I have read Indian history from the Maurya dynasty to the Kanishka age. After that, I've lost track of it all, and just have random events sticking up. Just wanted to get a chronological idea of what happened and how the nation developed after Kanishka to in the early 1100s AD, when we became very vulnerable. Unsurprisingly I have read about the development of South India under the Vijayanagar Empire by Krishnadevaraya, etc. I find our history much more fascinating than the modern US/European History - which I know more about at the moment. :-/ Again, thank you for list. I will have a lot of reading to do over the summer. :-)
Macj Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 I liked this book a lot , a very interesting read for those interested in the extent of Sanskritization (Indianization) in pre Islamic times. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Indianized-States-Southeast-Asia/dp/0824800710]http://www.amazon.com/Indianized-States-Southeast-Asia/dp/0824800710[/ame]
flamy Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 I don't know about this case but in US it is highky annoying because Southies converse for hours in their local dialect without regard to others in teams An American manager for a TCS team had to complain to HR after getting sick of continous communication in Tamil & Malayalam by the employees; some of which was obviously directed at her too While many people from different backgrounds have this problem. it seems to affect South Indians more than others- similar to a comment MM had made in a thread to respond to Finey's comment that Southies prefer English suraj You are very wrong my friend. Most often two tamilians talk a lot in English when they meet. In fact, this is one of the things people complain abt tamil folks - they talk a lot in English, even when they both know tamil. That is true. On the contrary, I find folks talk in Hindi - even when Americans are present, and almost always when there are other Indians (south indians) around who *dont follow* Hindi. They still speak in Hindi despite the presence of someone around who does not understand the language well. So, I think you are just factually wrong in stating more South Indians speak native language in the US even when people who dont understand it are around. This north-south stuff is boring now :yawn2:
Macj Posted May 29, 2009 Posted May 29, 2009 This north-south stuff is boring now :yawn2: Come Flamy let us converse in Sourashtra, is it a North Indian language or South Indian .... hmmm. :yawn2: Youre right its boring.:yawn2:
Guest Gunner Posted May 31, 2009 Posted May 31, 2009 Thanks a lot Lurker! I've seen some or all of them when I browsed through several libraries and Borders stores - but I was unsure of which ones are worth reading, and which aren't. I have read Indian history from the Maurya dynasty to the Kanishka age. After that, I've lost track of it all, and just have random events sticking up. Just wanted to get a chronological idea of what happened and how the nation developed after Kanishka to in the early 1100s AD, when we became very vulnerable. Unsurprisingly I have read about the development of South India under the Vijayanagar Empire by Krishnadevaraya, etc. I find our history much more fascinating than the modern US/European History - which I know more about at the moment. :-/ Again, thank you for list. I will have a lot of reading to do over the summer. :-) Read Romila Thapar with a fair bit of criticism and a mountain of salt.:winky:
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