The Hindu Business Line : A peek into the terrorist psyche

THOSE heart-rending visuals never leave our memory, and you ask, "Why do religious militants kill?" Jessica Stern has the answer: Terror in the Name of God, published by Harper Collins (www.harpercollins.com). She explains how opportunistic leaders form terrorist organisations, leveraging on religion as `motivation and justification'; recruits are the disenfranchised; and gradual transformation of moral fervour into a quest for money, power and attention.

The author, who teaches `Terrorism' course at Harvard, decided to talk with terrorists, and the results are sprinkled throughout the book. Quite risky, you'd agree, because empathising could lead to joining the ranks!

"It is important to point out that empathy does not necessarily imply sympathy," writes Stern in the intro. "It is possible to understand and vicariously share the feelings that give rise to terrorism — if only briefly — and still maintain that the terrorist's actions are immoral, or even evil." Thus, the book looks at individuals and their compulsions to join the movement, and also at what makes them stay; plus, the organisation and its structure.

You'd appreciate that talking to terrorists is not as easy as talking to your colleagues. "Some terrorists refused to speak with me; and some I was afraid to approach," writes Stern. You can't expect these tough nuts to spill all the beans; so, "Readers should be alert to possible lies."

When, for instance, Stern has the first taste of jihadis' hospitality, there is an `unspoken bargain': "I make myself vulnerable and they will not harm me. I must strive not to reveal fear, and to trust that they won't hurt me, despite their machismo and manufactured rage. And they, in turn, will consider telling me the truth, but only half-truths. That is our bargain."

A good bargain, if you are not keen on meeting terrorists.

Big Bing

YOU know that whatever it is you do for a living, a job is a job and that people are people. But "if you have to do a job with other people, that job begins to take on a human dimension, with all the annoying, bizarre, and grand displays of which we as a species are capable, both individually and as a group," explains Stanley Bing in The Big Bing, published by Harper Business (www.harpercollins.com).

The blurb does the selling: "A mandatory addition to the library of everyone who works for a living (or would like to)."

Who's this Bing? "For 20 years, he has offered insight, wisdom, and advice from inside the belly of one of the great corporate beasts." And in `one essential volume', he gives you "all you need to know to master your career, your life, and, when necessary, other weaker life forms."

In `going for the jocular', Bing writes: "In a world where nothing is funny, humour is powerful. First, it's the medium through which alliances are forged, coded data shared, and the illusion of humanity preserved. But the joke is also a small act of rebellion within the pompous corporate state, and as such, is vaguely threatening to viziers who view all jovial behaviour as unseemly."

Bing does some forecasting too: "For Pisces: There's an Aquarius out there who means trouble for you. So quick — stomp on him in public meetings and take over part of his job description. For Libra: Incoming fire from human resources may enrage you to the point you're tempted to engage with the problem on an executive level. Scream at a subordinate instead. There's never a bad time for that."

A piece of advice `if today is your birthday': "The future lies not in the stars, but in ourselves. So have some cake and give yourself a pat on the back."

Good fun.

(Books courtesy: Landmark, Chennai. www.landmarkonthenet.com)

This fish sells

FISH smells. However, for Stephen C. Lundin and his team, it is a philosophy. Fish! for Life is their new title that points to "a remarkable way to achieve your dreams". For starters, FISH! philosophy has these ingredients:

"Play (fun and light-heartedness); make their day (a focus on engaging others in ways that lift their spirits); be there (living in the present moment and giving others our full attention); and choose your attitude (understanding that whatever attitude you are carrying with you right now, it is the one you are choosing)."

As in any of these American business parables, there are all those characters, Jane, Brad, Loonie, Sarah, grandma and so on, that one may find tough to relate. But a question that crops up somewhere in the middle grabs attention: "What is an attitude?" This is what the book answers: It is the way you are being on the outside. Looking for the best in a situation is called a positive attitude. You need to choose your attitude as if the quality of your life depended on it, for it actually does, moment-to-moment.

And some one-liners: Contrary to popular belief, we can't have it all; at least not all at the same time. A real conversation is the ultimate commitment to a relationship. Other than the gift of unconditional love, the greatest gift you can give a child is an understanding of her or his power to choose. Relationships are the cornerstones of life. Real conversations are the building blocks of relationships. And, you have everything you need to begin."

So, why wait?

Legend's life

`WHEN intelligence matures and lodges itself securely in the mind, it becomes wisdom. When wisdom is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes bhakti.'

That simple definition of some tricky words is taken from Rajaji's intro to an MS's album that lodged itself securely in the ears and hearts of many.

And with that as benediction, begins the book by Lakshmi Viswanathan on M. S. Subbulakshmi. Titled, Kunjamma — Ode to a Nightingale, and published by Roli Books (www.rolibooks.com), the work traces the life of a legend and has rare photographs that music-lovers would cherish.

"She has been our nation's pride," writes Semmangudi. "By being the first musician to receive the highest honour of the country, the Bharat Ratna, she has single-handedly done music and musicians proud." How was MS different from the rest?

The author has this to say in the intro: "Although she felt she was interpreting music, her audience felt she was creating it. Herein lay her genius. Many great artists had left their imprint on various songs. Subbulakshmi's uniqueness, however, lay in making the audience remember only the way in which she sang these songs." On what is good music, her views are simple: "It is the same everywhere. The basic requirements are sruti and tala (tone and rhythm) and strict adherence to these."

True to what Rajaji wrote, MS may have no `unfulfilled desires' except perhaps to see the fruition of `a special appeal' she makes to mothers: "Instil a love for good music in children from a tender age", because then "ultimately our people will lead good lives." And a line to stress continuing education: "The quest for perfection is unending and I will never cease to be a shishya... "

Women unlimited

KALI for Women and Women Unlimited have brought out Feminism in India, edited by Maitrayee Chaudhuri, as part of a series on `issues in contemporary Indian feminism'. The idea is `to construct a long overdue archive of writings relating to gender issues in India' and so you have articles by Kamla Bhasin, Nighat Said Khan, Suma Chitnis, Madhu Kishwar, Mary E. John, Ruth Vanita, Gail Omvedt, Sharmila Rege, and many more. Rajeswari Sunder Rajan asks if the Hindu goddess is a feminist, while Vidyut Bhagwat explores Marathi literature as a source for contemporary feminism. Kalpagam presents perspectives for a grassroots feminist theory, Ilina Sen delves into women's politics in India, and Vimala Ramachandran discusses women's empowerment as international showbiz.

Ipshita Chanda tells the frightening tale of `terrible beauties' in women's magazines, Susie Tharu looks at the theory of gender, Geetha writes on Periyar's thoughts on women. There are `early feminist visions' by Rosalind O'Hanlon, Antoinette Burton and Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain.

It is not as if we all understand the word `feminism' uniformly. "Unlike many other `isms' feminism does not derive its theoretical or conceptual base from any single theoretical formulation."

Today's feminism is "a struggle for the achievement of women's equality, dignity and freedom of choice to control our lives and bodies within and outside the home".

Serious reading about a serious problem that concerns almost half the world.

(Books courtesy: Fountainhead, Chennai. E-mail: fhbooks@satyam.net.in)

Tailpiece

"`Cast your vote for me,' he said."

"But he didn't say valid or invalid, did he?"

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

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