Martel is in the news again

Canadian author Yann Martel has a new book out. Having won hearts and prizes through the effective portrayal of animal characters in his second book 'Life of Pi', he is now out with 'Beatrice and Virgil', a novel about a donkey and a howler monkey and the journey they take with a writer named Henry.

Martel has been in the news a lot lately in Canada. 'Life of Pi' is being made into a movie. Old news, you say? OK, here is something newer: In 2007, he started a project, 'What is Stephen Harper reading?' He sends one book every two weeks to Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, to help expand Harper's "stillness". Even a loyal Martel fan such as I can find this act somewhat presumptuous--don't even the best known books move people selectively and at a personal level?--yet I do so love his gumption! Go Martel! Never mind that Martel's patient concern for Harper's 'expansion' is being met with silence. Especially since the praise and the reward are coming from none less than The Big O. No, not Oprah! Obama! Apparently, Malia and dad loved 'Life of Pi' so much that Martel in small-city Saskatoon received a hand-written appreciation note from the most powerful man in the world. The contrast between the reactions of the two leaders has not gone unnoticed. It is a boon to our media and our liberals. And understandably, to Martel himself. Too bad for Harper that he neither sent fan-mail nor a thank-you letter in time. (If you received a book as a gift by mail, every two weeks, wouldn't you, at a minimum, send a polite thank you note to the sender?) Now whatever Harper does, he will reap no positive publicity. If he writes a thank you note politely at this late hour, he is going to end up playing second fiddle to Obama. If he does not write and continues to ignore Martel, he will always come across as colder and more aloof than Obama. Tough spot.

Moral of the story for us ordinary citizens? Whether you like somebody's gift or not, write that thank-you note promptly.

The image of youth as virtue

A family friend (more family than friend), who moved from India to the United States a year ago, was surprised to hear that I’m a supporter of Hillary Clinton in her bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination. "But why?" was all she could manage for the next two minutes of our telephone conversation, apparently quite stunned by my confession.

I tried to explain my choice, but being an observer of the political scene only from the periphery, I was not as articulate as I would have liked to be. I was not able to rattle off, at a moment's notice, Hillary Clinton's positions on specific issues, as opposed to Barack Obama's. But to articulate my feelings on the generalities surrounding her candidacy was slightly easier.

"She is sharp, to the point, and more experienced than Obama," I said.

"But she voted for the war," countered our family friend who knows me too well.

"True," I conceded. "And it came back to hurt her, didn't it?"

I know that one of my major discomforts with Obama is that he is so young. An acquaintance in her mid-forties, by remarking about Republican candidate John McCain's age (71) and rolling her eyes upward, forced me to admit my bias to myself. "What is wrong with being in your 70s?" I wanted to ask.

And alternatively, is being in the 40s the most important qualification one can bring to the table? If accomplished individuals in their 60s and 70s cannot make a bid for the position of the most powerful leader in the world without provoking derision, what roles can the rest of the gracefully aging members of the world population dare to fulfill in their later years?

In contemporary society, more people are living longer than ever before -- living physically healthier lives. It is believed that with age comes maturity, mellowness, wisdom, and compassion. Having lived (and worked) longer does not always make one boring, uninspiring, alien.

On an everyday basis, we are bombarded with images of youth and stories of young achievers, people who’ve become university graduates at 14, medical doctors at 17, millionaire entrepreneurs at 18, prize-winning authors at 22, and state governors at 36. When we achieve so much so early, what do we do with the rest of our lives? Where do we go from there?

And so to my family friend, I decided to be honest. I said that if most of the world wants to hold Obama up mainly because of his freshness and youth, then I want to hold those same qualities against him. He has time on his hands, he can prove himself, accomplish things and make mistakes in the process. And, if he has any substance, how can his day not come? Clinton (and McCain) have worked hard in their own ways and it would be a shame to toss them aside just because they have worked too long and survived.