Bhagavad Gita and Erle Stanley Gardner

Finally, I found the secret to put my (nearly) three month old daughter to bed–read her something. I started with some Erle Stanley Gardners; my wife took objections to the reading material: “Don’t read to her all this murder and junk. Read her something else”. Since it never fails to work with me, I started reading her Mura and found her slipping into blissful slumber within minutes — before I even reached his explanation of eigenstrains (which trait might be genetic). This time around, the objection came from my mother–she was curt and to the point “Don’t read her all that crap; either read Ramayana and Mahabharata or sing her Dasara padagalu“. Since we did not have any of these books (and since my singing might be construed as cruelty against the baby), I tried Sheila Dhar; however, Sheila Dhar is so funny at times, and sets me into such bouts of laughter, it jostles the sleeping baby on my lap and disturbs her sleep. So, finally I have settled down to reading Bharathiyar’s Bhagavad Gita!

Now, if you are wondering why I am reading Erle Stanley Gardners instead of PD Jameses, that brings me to the second issue of reading with a three month old baby around. P D James is an author whom you read a couple of pages, close the book, think about what you have just read, soak in in the mood, place and environment, go make yourself a cup of coffee, and come back and settle down on the sofa with the coffee for a couple of more pages– in short, it is an experience to be savoured slowly and without interruptions–every waking hour needs to be spent on reading James; however, that is precisely the luxury you cannot afford; even when she is sleeping so peacefully with that beatific smile on her face, you never know when the little imp is going to kick her legs in an attempt to take off from your lap like the cryo-engine driven second stage of PSLV and/or start crying for no reason (which might also be a genetic trait, coming to think of it)!

So, that is all I am reading these days–Erle Stanley Gardners interspersed with Bhagavad Gita, and I’ve gotta admit–the combination is an acquired taste