1. I like you
It was mid 80s I think; It was 11:30 PM, perhaps 12:00 in Dehradun that night. I was in an old house that belonged to an old Anglo-Indian lady who had gone away to Australia and the house was at our disposal. The fireplace was lit and blankets were laid out. I wandered into the old library and found a silly poem by Sandol Stoddard Warburg called "I like you" that I have always remembered with great fondness. It is a long poem and I found a link to it by doing a google search. Read it here in its entirety.
I like you
And I know why
I like you because
You are a good person
To like
I like you because
When I tell you something special
You know it's special
And you remember it
A long long time
You say
Remember when you told me
Something special
And both of us remember
When I think something is important
You think it's important too
When I say something funny
You laugh
I think I'm funny and
You think I'm funny too
[..]
I thought of this this morning as I woke up. Somethings just stay with you.
2. It was a dark and stomy night
It was 11:30 or 12 at night again, this time in the countryhouse of a friend in Chico, California in the 90s. I sat sitting in the guest bedroom speaking with him when he clued me in on Bulwer-Lytton contest. As you may recall, Bulwer-Lytton wrote the worst opening lines for a work of fiction ever when he started his novel Paul Clifford with "It was a dark and stomy night." Every year, this is celebrated with a contest to submit the worst opening line and winners are selected based on originality and cleverness. Read all about it here.
3. Mahabharata
Unfortunately, most Hindus do not read the Mahabharata. Their knowledge of the book comes primarily from comic books or TV serials. Even if you have read it, it is probably the abridged version stripped off all the fun and nuance. Most importantly, stripped off the endless additions and subtractions of the later periods. I highly recomment the University of Chicago editions with commentaries by J. A. B. van Buitenen and after his death, by James L. Fitzgerald. The best traslation of the work that I have seen so far, particularly because of excellent commentaries. You can order them here.
