Why they call them classics....

It has been a while since I wrote anything....no reasons for that though I would have loved to claim that I have been busy:)...I guess I have just been plain lazy. So here goes a fitting compensation for the lost time....



I would have titled this "Inba Kana Onru Kandaen", but for my propensity to keep non-Tamil folks entertained as well. I had the opportunity of reading the novel "Gone With the Wind". For the facts-this is a novel written 1936 and is around 850 pages long. It describes the American Civil War of 1860s through the eyes of one character called Scarlett 'O Hara.



There were two factions in the Civil war one headed by Abraham Lincoln (called the Yankees) which was bent on freeing the slaves and the other were the Confederates (or Southerners) who were so imbibed in the system of slavery that they felt that their birthright was being threatened by the Yankees. Our Scarlett belongs to the confederates, who are very conventional people sticking to their "old" practises of men doing the "war-work" and women folk taking care of the family. And as one would expect our heroine is anything but conventional. She is a spoilt child who has never even tied the laces of her own dress (as there are black servants to do it) and she is pushed into a post-war world where she has to work on the farms doing double the men's work and saving every penny selfishly. The transformation is slow, but beautifully described as she receives each blow with amazing "gumption" which is a term the author uses to describe strength and instinct for survival and she undergoes physical and emotional changes.



Initially I was quite put-off by the huge size and the never-ending descriptions that the author employs for each scene. She would meticulously describe each and every detail, which I found at times to be even redundant. But after crossing 150-odd pages I realised the purpose and the genious behind this method of writing....pretty unconciously you stop reading the words and start seeing images. The picture built slowly and painfully over the pages sticks to your mind so well that you start living the life of Scarlett 'O Hara. Through those 800 pages I have loved her, admired her, despised her, pitied her and finally as I put the book down I could see her in my mind's eyes as if she were living next door to me.



There is one point in the book where a major character who has been pivotal to the story dies and to tell you the truth I could literally feel the grief for her. The images of that character and the consistency in her actions are so coherent that I am sure you would feel a tinge of grief at that point and I would really appreciate if someone who has read the book can echo their sentiments at that point to prove that I am not alone:)



Well, I "had to" read Da Vinci code given that it was the best-seller this year and you seem like an ignoramus at many places if you have not read it. But (no offense to hardcore Dan Browne fans) despite the story being so riveting and the information being so fascinating I should say I really couldn't get out of the Scarlett shell to appreciate anything that is fast paced and edge-of-the -seat stuff.



I am dying to watch the movie which grossed half-billion more than what Titanic grossed in adjusted dollars and is considered to be the greatest American movie ever produced. Lets see if this can dislodge Godfather from the top spot in my heart:).