SRI'S HELP

“What could be put up against the noise of time? Only that music which is inside ourselves – the music of our being – which is transformed by some real music. Which, over the decades, if it is strong and pure enough to drown out the noise of time,is transformed into the whisper of history”(125) Julian Barnes The Noise of Time captures the war time Soviet Union during the period of political turmoil and its repercussions in the freedom of artistic creation recorded beautifully through the life of the music composer Shostakovich. It is a multi-layered narrative of small incidents and events I the life of the main protagonist. Much of these incidents is indebted to Elizabeth Wilson’s exemplary multifaceted “Shostakovich:A life remembered (1994) and “ Testimony:The Memoirs of Shostakovich”. The title intrigues as well as attracts – the suffocation of music in the cacophony of political and social turmoil corresponded by the soft melody of music across time to immortality. It is

Born Again on the Mountain Arunima Sinha Penguin Books India 2014 No of pages 217 Rs. 299 “At 10.55 a.m. on 21 May2013, I was on top of the world. I felt like dancing, crying and laughing at the same time. My mind was a kaleidoscope of emotions. I knelt down, utterly exhausted. I felt like shouting, announcing my arrival to the world. Everyone has a reason to be alive, a role to fulfil. Maybe this was mine.”(192) In the recent spurt of news headlines locating the adventures of mountaineers and the tragic death that many have across in their adventurous conquests, Arunima Sinha’s “Born Again on a Mountain” brings in a breath of fresh air and hope for all adventure lovers. It would be wrong to be prejudiced that this book is only for a certain section of people, it is an inspirational journey that will motivate all human beings. The book is autobiographical in nature and the narrative simple. There is no affluence of words and incidents narrated are at the same time hear