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Showing posts from November, 2011

"Second Self" is two!

Alter Idem turns two today :) For no particular reason, I began by sharing a favourite short story. While thinking of a post to mark the first b'day, I decided to start a tradition - of sharing short stories on Alter Idem 's b'days - preferably, stories that have been with me for ages after I have read them. Here's Annayya's story....set, I think, in the 1950s-60s. Annayya, a Brahmin from Mysore, goes to the US for higher studies. He settles down well to the American way of life, food habits,..... Often, Annayya's lady-friends ask him questions about Hinduism and to be better equipped, he begins to read books on Hinduism! Soon, he develops a genuine interest and spends a lot of his free time in the library - reading books on Hinduism. One day, Annayya chances upon a newly published book by an American, on customs and rituals among Hindus. He flips through the pages - references to verses from ancient texts, photographs, detailed descriptions of the v