Books Are The Best Software For Brain

07/02/2024

Seeking solace in solidarity? Join 'Chronic Pain Support Group' by Prerna Prakash at Atta Galatta on Sunday, February 25th, 2024, at 11:00 AM. A judgment-free zone where stories are shared, shoulders are leaned on, and support is found. Your journey through chronic pain just got a little lighter.

05/02/2024

A pre-loved book as well maintained as this is, is a pleasure to buy and read.

26/01/2024

I have started my indepth reading of the First War of Indian Independence or the Mutiny of 1857, as the case may be. I want to dispel a few myths while confirming certain facts about the parties involved in it.

I am open to reading suggestions on this topic

15/01/2024

11/01/2024

Maneckji Byramji Dadabhoy, speaking in the Imperial Legislative Council, on 16th March, 2016, dwelt on the root of untouchability, namely, the socio-religious conditioning of the Hindus. ‘That any man made after the image of god, endowed with brains and a moral sense, should pollute his fellow being with his touch, is incredible. The very idea is revolting and is enough to shock humanity. But despite of our vaunted civilisation, despite of our progress and enlightenment, large bodies, nay millions, of men have been relegated to that infamous position for centuries through Brahmanical persecution.’

Caste Pride by Manoj Mitta

08/01/2024

Dive into the enchanting realm of stories with Atta Galatta's AG Book Club! Join Palgun KJ on Saturday, January 13th at 3:00 PM as we unravel the rich tapestry of folklore – a second skin that reveals the shimmering uncertainties of our world. Bring your cherished tales, myths, and oral traditions to share in a celebration of timeless narratives. Let the magic of folklore unite us in a captivating literary journey!

Palgun Kj

28/12/2023

The mixture of satire and dystopia in this book is of different level

I regret my space will not permit me to lay before the reader, have led me to conclude that the Erewhonian Musical Banks, and perhaps the religious systems of all countries, are now more or less of an attempt to uphold the unfathomable and unconscious instinctive wisdom of millions of past generations, against the comparatively shallow, consciously reasoning, and ephemeral conclusions drawn from that of the last thirty or forty.

Erewhon by Samuel Butler

23/12/2023

The varnas in which men wore the jeneu, or the sacred thread, were called ‘Dwija’, commonly translated as the twice-born or regenerate castes.
Among the three Dwija varnas, Brahmins were the most privileged, for they alone could perform Vedic ceremonies, whether for themselves or others. This meant that Brahmins held the key to the twice-born status of the other two elite varnas.

Over a period, this monopoly emboldened the priestly class to eject Kshatriyas and Vaishyas from the Dwija rank. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, the social and religious tussles that ensued from this ousting took, for the first time, the form of a legal dispute in colonial courts.

The number of such cases mentioned in Caste Pride by Manoj Mitta makes an amusing and hilarious read on the issues our forefathers representing an ancient rich culture, chose to seek justice from a bunch of missionary colonisers.

20/12/2023

This list has been compiled based on my own knowledge of books written on Dr BR Ambedkar and also based on suggestions by the algorithms of Google and Amazon.

No claim is made for completeness of the list. There may be better and comprehensive books written about Dr BR Ambedkar . You are free to make suggestions.

To make the list complete, I have also included Mr Arun Shourie's "Worshipping False God's". I believe Babasaheb is revered across the globe, and a work critical of him should be read. That is the type of democratic values Babasaheb himself stood for.

06/12/2023

This list may not be comprehensive. I am open to additions. Please indicate in the comments column

27/11/2023

This book was written 70 years ago and it seems more relevant to our times. The language used in the book is simple.

The book is around 116 pages, but Bertrand Russell does not require reams of paper to put forth his ideas in a persuasive and succulent manner. If you value critical thinking, this book is a must read. Just to quote an example, It lists out how irrational Aristotle was. You despise the man after knowing his dispecable thought process.

The book is divided into seven chapters viz., science and tradition; General effects of technique; scientific technique in an oligarchy; science and war; science and Values; and Can a Scientific Society Be Stable?

Each of the chapters is mind-boggling. As long as human stupidity exists, this book is valid. In the age of WhatsApp University, this book can induce a modicum of critical thinking in the English-speaking elite who require it the most. Usually, I underline any interesting portions in the book, but the chapter on Scientific Technique in an Oligarchy made me feel that I cannot remove the pen from the book. What is stated in that chapter is happening in some of the vibrant democracies of the world, and the populace as described in the book seems to be cozy and coy about the happening. If only they had or will read Joseph Niemoller’s poem about the Nazi's modus operandi, they may get shivers about the oligarchies they eulogise.

The book is available at a prohibitive price on Amazon. For reading such a treatise, it’s worth the amount. I purchased it for an enviable sum of Rs 100 from The Bookworm, Bangalore.

26/11/2023

Observation versus Authority: To modern educated people, it seems obvious that matters of fact are to be ascertained by observation, not by consulting ancient authorities. But this is an entirely modern conception, which hardly existed before the seventeenth century. Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths. He said also that children will be healthier if conceived when the wind is in the North. One gathers that the two Mrs. Aristotles both had to run out and look at the weathercock every evening before going to bed. He states that a man bitten by a mad dog will not go mad, but any other animal will (Hist. An., 704a); that the bite of the shrew-mouse is dangerous to horses especially if the mouse is pregnant (ibid., 604b); that elephants suffering from insomnia can be cured by rubbing their shoulders with salt, olive-oil, and warm water (ibid., 6058) and so on and so on. Nevertheless, classical dons, who have never observed any animal except the cat and the dog, continue to praise Aristotle for his fidelity to observation

The Impact of Science on Society by Bertrand Russell