Kafka on the shore

I was in between books. Had a heady read of Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance and had to unclog my brain !! And what a pick this book is. Totally mindless and riveting. Forget the story - cats talk, stones listen, time stops - it was fun to have a peek at the author's mind.

* Archduke trio - Beethoven's last composition I guess. One of the characters goes on and on about how good it is. I am trying to lay my hands on it - and on the way I am discovering Beethoven. Still I do not know what a minor C or D or symphony or sonata whatever means - but the discovery process has started. Also at the same time my son Mr.Prithvi awakened me about the power of classical music. The other day he was wailing uncontrollably and I was making stupid noises to no awail. Then I started singing the basic Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Da Ne and he became quiet. It was a repeatable experiment. Now when I do variations of it as A B C D E F G H in the same tone he listens. Why -I cant fathom but one thing is certain. Music, especially classical music has some magic. So Beethoven is no more a deaf guy in my Dictionary - getting to know him more.

* This is kind of sick - so kids you can log off now. Our hero kid in the book reads a book - its about the trial of a german nazi general who oversaw the cleansing of Jews. He did his job with no feelings whatsoever. In his trial he outlined the challenges he faced - poor quality of the gas, how to manage the "operation", how he had to over come red tapism. Finally when he was asked dont you feel bad for what you did his response was - I was just carrying out my orders in the best way possible. Is the general to be blamed?