I believe that who I am is partly influenced by the books I've read... this has been much more true in the last 2 years... I'll try to list the books in the order in which I read them, tough though it is to remember.... anyway here goes.

1. The Ramayana - C. Rajagopalachari
The beautiful translation of the famed epic of Lord Ram is one of the books I remember picking up from the library when I was still in high school. On re-reading this some time later, I was much more impressed at the author's dedication to the translation. He has checked with the different versions of the original, (Kumbha Ramayana, and the Tulsidas Ramayana), and translated the one whose section was best, or cogent to the times. Especially delightful is the author's own questions about the behaviour of the god when he insists his wife go through Agni to prove her purity. This, along with decision to exile her is the most controversial section of the book, and the author himself shows his doubts... but he does not judge... full marks for that!

In school, I had gone through the typical set that a teen reads, Enid Blyton, the Hardy Boys collections, Tintins, Astrixes, and other assorted comics, Amar Chitra Kathas, and then moved on to Jeffrey Archers, Sidney Sheldons, and a hundered more.

2. The Fountainhead/ Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
I read this when I was in engineering. I recommend this to all people who are at that age. If this doesn't energize & enthuse you, then nothing will! You will find these books in very book store in India without fail even 50 yrs after the original was written.
Ayn Rand tries to explain her philosophy of Objectivism in her masterpieces. Once you have read the books, you start to question who you are, and what you are trying to achieve.

3. The Anthem - Ayn Rand
A very compressed, concise story of an unconquerable hero who grows up in a statist world where the word 'I', and 'Ego' are forgotten.
I was heading to work one Saturday when I started reading it on the bus. The drive was about 40 mins, and I had completed it by the time I reached my workplace. I almost had tears in my eyes near the end of the book. This one really makes you compare yourself with the unnamed protagonist (he takes the name of Prometheus near the end).

The line I remember most: "We are one . . . alone . . . and only . . . and we love you who are one . . . alone . . . and only."

I've bought this book a couple of times, and lent it out to cute women on both occasions. Both women disappeared, with my book! Damn! I've to remember to buy my 3rd ( and this time, bloody well final) copy... no more lending it to cute women...

Will get to the next set in the next post...  ¶ 11:43 PM