Poetry Session on July 13, 2012

This was the first time KRG attempted to harness the Internet to see if a semblance of physical presence could be afforded by the Skype application to allow traveling members to attend. Although it is commonly used to connect people in a video session remotely, Skype did not work on the day because a reliable broadband connection could not be established. Joe and KumKum in Boston were keen to attend; the Internet failure was a disappointment for all.

 Talitha and Gopa

Kamala Das (Kamala Surayya, when she died) must now rank as number one in the frequency of choice by KRG members. 

 Sunil

A most unlikely poet to read was Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games. His verse which would have been rejected at a club poetry contest, nevertheless won an Olympic gold medal; talk of match fixing!

 Gopa and Bobby

As ever the discussions in the group were lively and led in many directions. Here are the readers pictured at the end of the session:

 Anna, Talitha, Priya, Bobby, Gopa, Sunil, Mathew

For a full account, click below.

Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities – June 14, 2012

We are celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of Charles Dickens. Gopa and Sivaram therefore selected this novel. It relies on Thomas Carlyle's account of the French Revolution and depicts the contrasting fortunes of citizens in the capitals of neighbouring countries, London and Paris. 

London was lawless and its common citizens were poor, lorded over by the nobility; the citizens of Paris were equally down-trodden, but are now caught in the throes of a violent revolt that will change the landscape of France forever, but not before a bloodthirsty period of head-chopping.

Mathew, Gopa, Kavita

As is true of Dickens' novels the characters are vivid. But there is little of Dickens' humour in this work, which came late in his life. Perhaps Dr Manette is the most striking person; he evolves from the mental trauma of solitary imprisonment to become heroic in stature. 

 KumKum

Madame Defarge symbolises the extreme violence and bloody vengeance the French Revolution heaped on the aristocracy, sweeping along many unwitting individuals implicated by false testimony.

 Kavita

The language is complex; Dickens seems to have revelled in long sentences and his style has the stolidity of the Victorians, but it has aged quickly. Lacking an editor, Dickens does not hesitate to pile detail on top of details; a judicious reader is forced to skip. 

 Priya

Google celebrated the Dickens anniversary with a doodle depicting a collage of his characters:

Here are the readers at the end:

Kavita, Priya, Zakia, Gopa, KumKum, Mathew, Sunil, Joe

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