Rudyard Kipling

Ok, sunt convins ca toata lumea a auzit aici de Cartea Junglei, fiind una dintre lucrarile cele mai cunoscute ale lui Kipling. Tipul s-a nascut in India, la Bombay, si probabil de aceea tin minte ca imi placeau (cand am citit Jungle Book) descrierile lui cu junglele indiene. Din ce vad pe wikipedia as vrea sa citesc cartile lui despre calatorie (From Sea to Sea and other sketches, de exemplu) si povestirile scrise in aceeasi perioada. Tipul a calatorit mult, chestie care ar trebui sa vina by default cand esti un britanic nascut in India sfarsitului secolului 19 (a ajuns si in Japonia :gasp:)

De ceva vreme am o mica obsesie cu India perioadei respective, cam de cand am citit Nopti la Serampore a lui Eliade (da, nu-i exact aceeasi perioada, dar oricum)...

Am lasat acum cateva zile un post cu poemul Mandalay, tot de el, adaptat melodic (impotriva dorintei familiei lui Kipling) de catre Frank Sinatra.

Acum va las cu o culegere de povestiri: Just So Stories. Da, este o carte pentru copii, dar multe din povesti sunt foarte misto.

Am citit How The First Letter Was Written si mi-a adus aminte de Pratchett. Incepe asa:

"ONCE upon a most early time was a Neolithic man. He was not a Jute or an Angle, or even a Dravidian, which he might well have been, Best Beloved, but never mind why. He was a Primitive, and he lived cavily in a Cave, and he wore very few clothes, and he couldn’t read and he couldn’t write and he didn’t want to, and except when he was hungry he was quite happy. His name was Tegumai Bopsulai, and that means, ‘Man-who-does-not-put-his-foot-forward-in-a-hurry’; but we, O Best Beloved, will call him Tegumai, for short. And his wife’s name was Teshumai Tewindrow, and that means, ‘Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions’; but we, O Best Beloved, will call her Teshumai, for short. And his little girl-daughter’s name was Taffimai Metallumai, and that means, ‘Small-person-without-any-manners-who-ought-to-be-spanked’; but I’m going to call her Taffy. And she was Tegumai Bopsulai’s Best Beloved and her own Mummy’s Best Beloved, and she was not spanked half as much as was good for her; and they were all three very happy."

Cheers!