Tuesday, March 4, 2008

The Age of Shiva



The Lotus - symbol of eternity, prosperity and purity



In the February 14th, 2000 issue of the New Yorker I read a story called The Seven Circles by writer Manil Suri and was utterly and completely drawn in to this tale of an arranged marriage whose union (surprisingly) brings ardor and lasting love to its bride and groom.

The next year I stumbled on Suri's first novel The Death of Vishnu and even went so far as to
e-mail the author with a question and was delighted when he responded.

This past month his latest novel The Age of Shiva was published and my copy arrived in the mail yesterday. So far I can't put it down and hope I don't have to wait as many years for the sequel (to be titled The Birth of Brahma). You see, Brahma is the creator born out of the lotus held by Vishnu the Preserver and they, with Shiva the Destroyer, form the Hindu Trinity. It appears that Suri still holds down his day job as professor in Mathematics Department at the University of Maryland where he does some interesting work. You can hear excerpts of him reading frrom his stories and presenting a lecture on infinity on his website. He even has artwork and food sections being a true Renaissance man.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

jenn,
you unearth the most interesting finds. i never know what new treat i'll find when i check in on you...
love it, love you

belynda

p.s. i have always given you credit for my appreciation of the citron.