When we went to "Tomorrowland" at Disney Land and saw Microsoft surfaces (not the tablets, these were the coffee table kind of things they had prior to the handheld ones) we laughed and said, "that was made yesterday, why is it in Tomorrowland?" The thing is, being in the software industry there is nothing that really feels science fiction-ish for us. We know how those software are written, how buggy they may be, how they are tested and everything from an end to end perspective. But recently an almost 150 year old science fiction bowled me over, that too, reading the translated version of it. It is nothing other than 20,000 leagues under the sea by Jules Verne.
I love the ocean and the marine life. There is something so exciting about a whole world of animals and plants that live down in the water. After coming back from Hawaii, I decided that I should start studying about marine biology (I haven't yet, but this book gives me another reason to). It fascinates me at how little we know and how even less we care. This particular book showed me things about marine life and it also showed me that even though we are submerged in technology now and we are discarding things a little more than two years old, good literature, even after 150 years still stays as good literature. It was not that I haven't been in a submarine myself, it's not that I don't know the fundamentals of using a compass, reading a barometer or something like that, but even if those don't hold any surprise for me, the story did.
And did Captain Nemo!
What a strength of character! Technically speaking, he probably was not a very good person, at least he could have acted in nicer ways at times. He kept these people imprisoned, his existence was very revengeful, he sank ships whenever he felt threatened, he didn't forgive easily. But there is something about him which doesn't let me categorize him as someone bad. He had his share of grief. We don't know what it was which caused the deaths of everyone in his family - his parents, wife and children. It could be a war, it could be anything that the "civilized world" brings up as a necessary evil. But he decided to go against the human race totally. I don't really approve of that, but it can be reason enough for someone to turn away.
Then there was the adventure. The depth of water, innumerable creatures, dangers of sharks, giant squids (I hate the look of them), that was fascinating as well. With the adventure, I was ported back to my teenaged self with whom I thought I had lost touch :P
With more Jules Verne coming into my life soon I intend to move "onward to immortality and eternal youth".
I love the ocean and the marine life. There is something so exciting about a whole world of animals and plants that live down in the water. After coming back from Hawaii, I decided that I should start studying about marine biology (I haven't yet, but this book gives me another reason to). It fascinates me at how little we know and how even less we care. This particular book showed me things about marine life and it also showed me that even though we are submerged in technology now and we are discarding things a little more than two years old, good literature, even after 150 years still stays as good literature. It was not that I haven't been in a submarine myself, it's not that I don't know the fundamentals of using a compass, reading a barometer or something like that, but even if those don't hold any surprise for me, the story did.
And did Captain Nemo!
What a strength of character! Technically speaking, he probably was not a very good person, at least he could have acted in nicer ways at times. He kept these people imprisoned, his existence was very revengeful, he sank ships whenever he felt threatened, he didn't forgive easily. But there is something about him which doesn't let me categorize him as someone bad. He had his share of grief. We don't know what it was which caused the deaths of everyone in his family - his parents, wife and children. It could be a war, it could be anything that the "civilized world" brings up as a necessary evil. But he decided to go against the human race totally. I don't really approve of that, but it can be reason enough for someone to turn away.
Then there was the adventure. The depth of water, innumerable creatures, dangers of sharks, giant squids (I hate the look of them), that was fascinating as well. With the adventure, I was ported back to my teenaged self with whom I thought I had lost touch :P
With more Jules Verne coming into my life soon I intend to move "onward to immortality and eternal youth".
4 comments:
Capt. Nemo was actually indian. His family was killed in the great mutiny, as far as I can remember. Have a look at "mysterious island", you would love it.
kichhu boi achhe je gulo kokhono 'purono' hote pare na. amar bhable aschorjo lage - je boi gulo ami 6 bochhore porechhilam ekhon 66 bochhoreo eki rokom bhalo lage.
I really loved the book "Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne. I should check out this books. Sounds interesting!
Typo...I meant I should "check out this book"
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