vahnikana

J.R.R. Tolkien never publicly published a detailed literary critique of Frank Herbert's Dune. In fact, he received multiple copies of the book from friends in 1965 and 1966 and ultimately decided to keep his thoughts private out of professional courtesy, stating in a letter that he "disliked Dune with some intensity". 

While he never wrote a formal essay detailing his exact reasons, Tolkien scholars and literary critics point to several stark clashes in philosophy and style between the two authors:

Differing Moral Frameworks: Tolkien’s work relies on a distinct, almost mythic framework of objective Good and Evil. Dune operates in a post-modern, highly cynical universe where morality is ambiguous, power is based on cynical "lesser evil" reasoning, and the protagonist ultimately becomes a religious dictator.

Cynicism Towards Religion: As a devout Catholic, Tolkien likely despised Dune's cynical treatment of religion—where the messianic narrative is heavily deconstructed and portrayed as a tool used by elites and political factions to manipulate the masses. 

Contrasting Views on Humanity and Nature: Tolkien’s stories champion free will, humility, and the humble preservation of the natural world. In contrast, Dune deals heavily with selective breeding, eugenics, and the idea that humanity can (and must) be completely engineered and controlled. 

For a deeper look into the historical and thematic differences between The Lord of the Rings and Dune, you can read analysis on Whither the West? or examine discussions on the Reddit r/tolkienfans forum dedicated to the two mythos.

It is not just a disagreement between Sci Fi and Fantasy. It's a clash of world views.

The more important something is, the more time I will take to make a move. Typically me. Very frustrating for others involved. All I can say is please be patient with my limitations. I am examining things, turning them over in my head, familiarizing myself with the planes of this thing. I can't rush this even if I wanted to.

For my venture, though, my marketing management education came in handy, and my past industry experience proved useful. I'm not going in blind. I know what I am doing here.

It's not that serious a product, so no need for Vision and Mission statements. So I started with research to check feasibility: how competitive is the market I am looking at, who are the competitors, what are they doing, what kind of business models are there, what is the pricing, who are the vendors, what are the macro and micro considerations. I found the platforms that would work for me and even drew up a rudimentary cost structure. It's not a brand new market, and there is a fair amount of competition, but there is also scope for new players. Next will be strategy.

I've turned this idea over in my head for a year. Let's see if I can make something real out of it.

My favourite Bombolonis are also fried, but are they lighter, more aerated, and cute as hell? Yes. Yes, they are.

Also cute as hell 🩷 They must be less than a month old. Little biters.

I met her after what...10 years or so. Good to see that the comfort levels are still in tact. We had lunch at Kala Ghoda Cafe at...well, Kala Ghoda. The food was good. One of the things we ordered was an Avocado and Fig salad. It was great, but my peeve was that the figs tasted like (were) watermelon. Hey, I KNOW figs what with them being my favourite fruit. I know the flavour, and I definitely know the texture. Those were not figs...unless when they say figs, they meant as a puree or compote. Whatever.

We visited the Jehangir Art Gallery and saw some good work. Leave it to the painters to dust your mind and make you see new things...or see the same things in a different way. Some of them anyway.

Bought this book from a roadside vendor.

The ground was left to grow wild, and so when the graves were dug, there was some upheaval. For 3 straight years, every monsoon, the rainwater caused the ground--and the structures on the graves--to shift, sinking and rising at will. This made it tricky for families to build any expensive tombstones. This year, finally, the plot seems to have accepted its fate and is at rest like the inhabitants there. But constructing tombstones is still a risk. There are lots of restrictions and challenges. We can't breach the ground surface as they are all scared of inadvertantly reviving Covid (the virus can live up to 5 years underground). If we want to plant flowers or plants on the grave, that's a problem too, as the malis (gardeners) are rotated all the time, so paying them to water the plants is also not possible. Who who will we pay.

All these years, we felt a bit ashamed that we could not do much about her grave. This time...we found a papaya plant growing out of mom's grave. It has a strong sturdy trunk and is about 3 feet high now. It has grown defiantly in spite of the sweltering summer heat, and in a few weeks, monsoon will be here, so there is no stopping this thing now. I think the next time we go, it will be a full-grown tree with maybe fruit. It's all so absurd and fascinating at the same time. One can expect random weeds, grass, perennial shrubs, common wild flowers, but a papaya plant?

Manori 🩷 I shot this last time we were there...NY2026. Apart from the Christmas decoration on the porches, it doesn't seem like anything has changed much. Don't mind the music looping...this the best I could find on my video editor.

We took a super short summer vacation to Manori. This time, my sister's friend Bel joined us. We had a good time.

Different people you vacation with shape your holiday vibe in different ways. With some, you discuss life and plans. With others, you exchange one-liners, and the whole holiday goes by snickering about this or that. And with yet others, you talk absolute total filth and guffaw like drunk mules. I love all my friends for being mad and interesting and beautifully serious all at the same time.

On this holiday, on our way back, I had a moment of absolute clarity. A moment that told me who I am in my soul, revealing to me the most natural path that I should take. I value that insight. It's exhilarating, like the first spring morning that fills up a room with sunshine and possibility, and you see the same space in a different light.

Visually gorgeous. AI for art. This particular aesthetic is called Neo Elysian, and I like it.

It just occurred to me that, in the utter madness of it all, I missed a lot of my friends' birthdays. Not all...a few are coming up. It's strange how most of the people I have connected easily and strongly with are April-born people. Other friends concentrations are February, May, October and December. I wonder how that works. It's not like we go out seeking friends from specific months. You meet people randomly--through work, at parties, through friends--but the ones we are most comfortable with, have the most fun with, all happen to be born in a few specific months. Neatly slotted.

Happy birthday to all my April-born friends.

In India, April is the month when the Copperpods bloom. Small papery yellow flowers that give off a light summery fragrance. February is a full bouquet as spring passes through the landscape. May has the light and warm scent of Gulmohars. December smells of wood burning from little fires that people light to stay warm. October, the air is heady with the scent of the Saptaparni blooms.

And staying true to "this always happens to me," as I got into final prep mode, one of the temples of my reading glasses broke! I couldn't read or type without them!!! Plus, there was a water cut for 2 straight days.

The glasses couldn't be repaired and getting new ones made would take 2-3 working days...which is too damn late! I was forced to do some jugaad to repair them myself—some glue, some thick paper, a broken earbud, some string. The damn glasses did me a solid by holding together. I am looking like an oddball in them, but I don't have time to worry about that. I did what I had to do.

Now if only tomorrow behaves as nicely as my glasses did.

And in case you are wondering what reading glasses have to do with temples.

Who's in charge of naming these parts?