““If the immediate and direct purpose of our life is not suffering then our existence is the most ill-adapted to its purpose in the world.” — Arthur Schopenhauer”
POCKET DIARY BOOK CLUB
MINUTES OF THE MEETING
Year 2023
23/07/2023 3:00 PM
PHASE II
Edition 19
Pocket Diary Book Club Edition 19 began with a smile. Receiving new books for the library and
the excitement of beginning a new edition was inspiring.
Nirali started with the ritual of reading rules of PDBC and Bharat started reading the book On
the suffering of the world by Arthur Schopenhauer.
“If the immediate and direct purpose of our life is not suffering then our existence is the most ill-
adapted to its purpose in the world: for it is absurd to suppose that the endless affliction of
which the world is everywhere full, and which arises out of the need and distress pertaining
essentially to life, should be purposeless and purely accidental. Each individual misfortune, to be
sure, seems an exceptional occurrence; but misfortune in general is the rule.”
This book ignited a debate among readers, and Rajesh was the lighthouse.
Yogesh introduced us to Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad. A 9-year-old boy calls his
stepfather and real father “rich dad” and “poor dad,” respectively. In the book, he uses that
pretense to teach financial principles.
We went on to Prince reading Jack and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl after a lesson from
Dads. Prince intended to read in sequence throughout the next few editions. But our curiosity
wouldn’t let us. We flipped through the pages of the book after hearing Prince and discovered
how peach looks from the inside. The most crucial question was where it will land. After a
thorough interrogation by Rajesh and Nirali, Prince surrendered and stated, “It falls on New
York City” and I was thinking the New York will change to New Peach city if this ever happens.
New girl Hani came with The diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. She was a bit shy, so we
looked away while she was reading.
“Our personal faults are too small to scale.”
Anne Frank is a frequent visitor at Pocket Diary Book Club. I think she might have said this if she
is to visit our book club really.
“Hello everyone, it’s truly an honor to be here with all of you today. I’m Anne Frank, and it’s
amazing to see how my diary has touched the lives of so many readers. I never could have
imagined that my words would travel through time and connect with people from all walks of
life. I hope my story continues to inspire conversations about the importance of hope, resilience,
and the power of the written word. Thank you for keeping my memory alive and for discussing
the thoughts and feelings I penned down during those challenging times.”
For a brief moment we were with Anne. And Priya lightened up the mood by saying I love
reading diaries of people.
I read Roads to Mussoorie by sweet Ruskin Bond. He has written fables from his time in
Mussoorie as a kid and as an adult. It’s so sweet that he refers to the year his parents got
married as The Year of Kissing. He used to watch movie every alternate day in his childhood
cause manager liked him. He found Gone with the winds too boring. And children mistook him
for Dickens and Rowling. A girl snatched her book before he signs cause Ruskin was weak in
Maths. All these sweet fables from his life were the light part that made us all smile.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer,
read by Ruchi, is a historical novel set, in post-World War II Guernsey. Written through letters,
it follows Juliet Ashton, a London writer, as she connects with the island’s residents and their
secret book club formed during German occupation.
“That’s what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing
will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It’s
geometrically progressive – all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer
enjoyment.”
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books.”
Ruchi was in awe when she saw the book, The complete works of Lewis Carol. She put the
book right away in her bag and Priya was wandering what should we call a book with covers like
that.
Then we met Macavity, a mischievous and elusive cat, who is known as the “Napoleon of
Crime” among the cat community. Asad introduced us with T.S. Eliot by reading the poem
‘Macavity’.
Full poem – https://poets.org/poem/macavity-mystery-cat
T S Eliot have written a collection of poems about cats, which inspired the musical – Cats. It was
written from a perspective of a cat. Eliot truly was a cat person before we even invented the
word ‘cat person’.
Cats were followed by an activity from Bhavita. It started with a riddle. Then she gave each one
a paper and asked us to choose a sketch pen of any color. We had to write what was the first
thought when we saw the color and then our thoughts when we chose the color. We were
supposed to choose one color but Priya chose two, cheater and we all know now Rajesh hates
pink color. This followed by calming and soothing meditation guided by Yogesh.
After cats, activity and guided breathing, Kauravs came to club with their version of
Mahabharat, Ajaya by Anad Nilkantan, Mantra read it. On a visit to Malanada Temple, Kerala,
Anand Neelakantan, discovered the temple deity to be none other than Duryodhanan, the
ostensible ‘villain’ of the Mahabharat. This astonishing discovery prompted him to delve deep
into the narrative of the defeated Crown Prince of Hastinapura, and the Kaurav clan.
Krishna advises Arjuna to focus on his duty as a Kshatriya and destroy the city of Khandiva.
Krishna emphasizes that this is crucial for the Pandavas to establish their kingdom and protect
their loved ones. Krishna and Arjuna are in a forest where they set it ablaze to make way for a
new city. As the fire rages, Arjuna becomes hesitant and emotional about the destruction.
Krishna urges him to continue, seeing it as their duty. Krishna justifies this as granting the
creature’s moksha. The fire consumes animals, birds, and reptiles, creating a scene of
destruction and death.
In a rebel Naga camp inside a forest, over 2000 Nagas, mostly elderly, women, and children,
were present as many warriors had left for the South. Unexpectedly, the camp was attacked
with flaming arrows, causing chaos and destruction. Mayasura and others tried to save the
camp, but there was a dispute between Vasuki and Aswasena on whether to fight the fire or
the attackers. Vasuki prioritized saving lives, while Aswasena focused on protecting weapons
and horses. This portrays the tension and differing priorities among the Nagas during the
attack.
Just as the elephant is about to strike, an arrow kills it. Mayasura escapes, and in his panic, he
approaches Arjuna with a plea for mercy. Arjuna hesitates and seeks advice from Krishna.
Krishna suggests Mayasura could be of use and instructs Arjuna to ask him about his skills.
Mayasura enters a trance and skillfully sculpts a model city from red mud, capturing everyone’s
fascination, including Arjuna’s. Arjuna halts the massacre, and the soldiers and surviving Nagas
gather to witness Mayasura’s artistic creation. The forest of Khandiva is destroyed, and many
lives are lost. Mayasura’s intricate sand city includes palaces, temples, streets, and other
features. Overwhelmed by the sight, Arjuna embraces Mayasura and asks if he can build the
city in stone. Mayasura is deeply moved, and the crowd cheers as his dream is recognized.
Mahabharat wouldn’t age. It will always be intriguing and novel.
We arrived at October Junction by Divya Prakash Dubey after a voyage of a little child from
rich dad poor dad, peach city, Mussoorie, meeting a cat, and witnessing a small part of
Mahabharat. Rajesh told us about two lovers’ beautiful conversations. Every October, two
people would meet and have these conversations.
“कभी बात करने का मन करे तो कॉल कर लेना, मैं आने को कोशिि करूंगा।”
“देखो करोड़पतत इूंसान, एक कुलहड़वाली चाय का इतना एहसान मत मानो। वैसे भी मेरी लाइफ हैपतनूंग होने वाली
है , त ुम्हारा मन करे तो त ुम कॉल कर लेना, ठीक है ?”
Conversations before you fall completely in love with someone have this beauty to them. These
are the conversations we keep returning to and cherish.
Loisa May Alcott had written a beautiful book – Little women and Kusangi started reading the
first line of the book.
“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.
The four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—live out this famous novel, which was first
published in 1868 (This novel lived more than any of us), as they face the difficulties of growing
up, chasing their ambitions, and helping one another during the American Civil War era.
Priya saw a film based on the novel directed by Greta Gerwig, one of her favorite directors.
Kusangi has watched the older version of the film, whereas the majority of us haven’t seen any
of them. But we will, I assure you.
We were all giddy with excitement about the books until Nirali abruptly began reading
Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart to dampen our spirits.
Sumire falls in love with an older woman named Miu. Sumire is determined to become a writer
and has a deep passion for literature. The narrator, who is unnamed, confesses their own love
for Sumire, but they struggle to express their feelings to her. The story delves into the
relationship between Sumire and Miu, and how Miu is nicknamed “Sputnik Sweetheart” by
Sumire after a conversation they have at a wedding reception.
“Sputnik” is a Russian word that means “companion.” Russia launched a satellite named Sputnik
all alone in the space. I bet Russian space scientists were poetic while naming the satellite.
The tornado’s intensity doesn’t abate for a second as it blasts across the ocean, laying waste to
Angkor Wat, incinerating an Indian jungle, tigers and all, transforming itself into a Persian
desert sandstorm, burying an exotic fortress city under a sea of sand. In short, a love of truly
monumental proportions. The person she fell in love with happened to be seventeen years older
than Sumire. And was married. And, I should add, was a woman. This is where it all began, and
where it all wound up. Almost.
Mitesh read Chandpur ki Chanda by Atul Kumar Rai.
क ुछ साल पहले पपूंकी और मूंटू का प्रेम-पत्र सोिल मीडिया पर वायरल हुआ और ऐसे वायरल हुआ कक उसे िेयर करने
वालों में हाईस्क ूल-इूंटरमीडिएट के छात्र भी थे और यूतनवशसिटी के प्रोफ े सर भी। लेककन उस छोटे से प्रेम-पत्र के पीछे की
बड़ी कहानी क्या थी, यह ककसी को नहीूं मालूम।
For the tale, Mitesh drove us to Chandpur. Everyone had a great time listening to him tell this
story to us in Bhojpuri, and we all wanted him to keep going. Instead of that, I’ve provided
readers with the passage he was going to read next.
“इमरान!”
“यस सर।”
“त ुम फजलू बैंि वाले के नात ी हो?”
“यस सर।”
“कफर नचतनया भग गया जी?”
“यस सर!”
‘ओके ओके बैठो… शिवम !”
“यस सर!”
“कुमारी चूंदा।”
“उपस्स्थत सर!”
हाय! इस ‘उपस्स्थत सर’ की मीठी आवाज से लड़कों की बेंच पर हलचल मच गई। एक झटके में ऐसा
लगा मानो कक सी बूंजर मरुभूशम में चमेली क ा फू ल खख ल आया हो। भरी दुप हहया में रात रानी महक गई
हो। प थरीली जमीन प र गुलाब उग आया हो। सारे लड़के टक टक ी लगाए कुमारी चूंदा क ी त रफ देख ने ल
लेकक न मूंटू सर झुक ाए न जाने क्या शलख त ा रहा!
मास्टर साहब बोले, “िशि कुमार!”
मूंटू क ी चेत ना वाप स लौट गई, “यस सर!”
“ओहो िशि कुमार जी उफि मूंटू बाबू… बड़े भाग जो दििन हुए।”
मूंटू ने सर झुक ा शलया। मनोहर मास्टर रस्जस्टर लेक र मूंटू के प ास आर और आँख ों में आँख ें िालक र
धीरे से प ूछा, “वाह रे मूंटू बाबू! धीरे-धीरे प्यार के बढाना है… यही गाना बज रहा था न िुक्रवार क ो ?
प्यार त ो बढाना है आप के लेकक न स्कूल नहीूं आना है ?”
With that Mitesh got a new nick name from PDBC member, Mitehsvaa.
And with a smile, a chuckle, a grin, and delight, we ended Edition 19.
Writer: Raxil Rathod
Doodler: Priya Sogani