It was quite exciting to read the media responses to the opening film of Venice International Film Festival, “Burn After Reading”. Some say that the film is anti-spy and there is nothing much to be revealed at the end of the it. The one-liner of George Clooney, one of the celebrity stars of the film, at a press conference itself was interesting: “The film talks about some incredibly idiotic people who do some really stupid things.” Sounds deconstructive !

We also have films of some renowned film makers in the Venice Festival. Ferzan Ozpetek, an outspoken gay director whose “His Secret Life” and “Facing Windows” attracted film lovers worldwide, is one among them. Master filmmaker from the Fine Arts school Abbas Kiarostami would also have some great film experience to offer the audience in his “Shirin”. Kiarostami’s films speak a different language, I have often felt. Western media might have sketched a different picture of Iran for being anti-US, for being supportive of Muslim sentiments around the world and the like. But Kiarostami’s films, especially his Earthquake Trilogy, explore true art, without involving in political exchanges.

Twenty one films are included in the competition category. The 65th Venice Film Festival also bestows a career Golden Lion for Italian film director Ermanno Olmi. This year’s festival is dedicated to recently died Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine. The Festival, which started on Aug 27, runs through September 6.

Nothing interests me more than beaches, when the concerning matter comes to traveling. That day, every one of my friends was head over heels to approach a conclusion on where to go in the summer vacation. I was the savior to their confusion and convinced them to start for Rugen in Germany. I showed them a number of picturesque snaps of Rugen beaches on the travel sites over the Internet. They couldn’t help appreciating my decision.

We chose to reach the heavenly Rugen Island by ferry from the city of Stralsund. Baltic Sea welcomed us with a turquoise smile to the sand beaches of Rugen. The weather was really nice. The day temperature was around 16 degrees Celsius. It was a heavenly experience to enjoy the panoramic view of Rugen from the rooftop of our hotel. We stayed in the hotel – Steigenberger Resort Hotel Rugen.

But one unfortunate thing seemed to haunt us in the island. We saw there a number of resorts (you may also call them castles). After a bit of inquiry, we collected the bitter information that those were once built on Nazi fascist ruler Hitler’s orders. Legends say that this killer ruler was so becharmed by the beauty of this beach that he built resorts for his lackeys.

The Nazi holiday resort, Prora really haunted us for a day. The memory of concentration camps in which the Jews suffered inhumane death in 1940s captured our mind. But the pristine beaches did not let us be gloomy for more than a day. The beaches of Rugen showed the valor of beauty overtaking the brutality of Nazis. The fact that Hitler is dead and Rugen is alive proves the fact that beauty overhauls brutality.

I was quite suddenly face to face with a challenge that I was not quite prepared for. My students opted for a course on Latin American poetry as a part of their final year Graduation course, and I was given the responsibility to teach them the poetry of Pablo Neruda. Neruda was not one of my strongest areas, and although I did have some grounding on Latin American magic realist literature, the poetry of the land was outright out of my ken. However, work is worship, and I had new gods to deal with.

 The flip side of the situation was that my students were hardly more initiated in Latin American poetry than I was. The first challenge for me was to locate Neruda: he being a poet intensely grounded in his time and place. Neruda wrote poetry from his life, his ideology was formed as much from experiences immediate to him in his native Chile, as from books and manifestos. You will never know Neruda till you know his nation, its location and history and the time that he was writing in.  I was desperately in search for some South America maps, or more particularly a Chile map, which I could use for my classroom teachings.

 My first day, thus started with a detailed presentation of the South America map: a primarily political map showing the various countries, borders, and demographics. Soon the mere name of a poet – a signifier in the abstract - got a life, a body, assumed a persona. They say there is no history without geography, and I say there is no culture without history. However, I never realized that this train of logic would come back to re-assert itself in such an unforeseen way - I never realized before how important a map can be in the understanding of literature.

 What ensued was nothing less a journey of self-discovery for me and my students. His poems found a ground to take flight, and soon took wings. I realized that they were finding Neruda more interesting than most of the archaic English poets they were studying and getting thoroughly bored with. It was a kind of learning experience for me too. Before long, through an intense dialectic process between my students and myself, I was feeling more and more attached to this Chilean genius.

Russell, my old school-friend landed in New York last Wednesday, and by Thursday evening found himself a seat in the BB King’s Blues Club – the first meaningful thing he did in the proverbial ‘city of lights’. What else to expect from true blooded blues fan, grown up on a steady diet of Lightning Hopkins and Guitar Slim.

New York NY has numerous night clubs. There are jazz clubs, dance clubs, strip clubs: you name it. Russell chose the BB King’s Blues Club of all New York nightclubs, over Marquee and Chelsea and even Broadway, and it turned out to be a dream-come-true in more ways than one.

 He was treated to a great Southern style buffet reminiscent of the segregation years - the menu reminiscent of the Saturday night fish fries in the small cotton plantation towns- and none other than Bobby Bland on the bandstand. What followed was an evening to remember. The Mississippi blues-meet-RNB Soul backing band struck the first chords before the legendary Bland embarked on a sugar sweet solo leading to the timeless classic ‘I Pity the Fool’.

 When Russell left the New York nightclub about two hours later, he felt initiated. He has experienced the blues - not through cassettes and tapes and YouTube videos, but by seeing real people doing the real thing; he got a feel of the sweat, the pain, the pleasure, the fever and the fret that go into the making of the music.

As the 2008 summer games is being held all eyes are set on China, the hosting nation. The country is well known for its glorious past, rich heritage and culture. Considered as the most populous country of the world, China offers a plethora of natural beauty and several historical monuments which includes the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. UNESCO has also recognized this Great Wall of China as a World Heritage Site.

The Great wall of China is a series of earthen and stone fortifications that stretches over 6400 Km. Built, rebuilt and maintains between 6^th century BC to 16^th Century AD the great wall of China is a historical monument built by the Chinese emperors. The purpose of building this stone and earthen fortification was to protect the north border of china from invasion and Xiongnu attack.

During your trip to Asia you must visit this massive structure. Standing on the great wall of china you are sure to wonder how the people of China built this massive structure in ancient age without the help of any modern tool. The massive structure has earned its due reputation as one of the seven wonders of the world.

Our world is full of mysteries and the island of Atlantis is obviously one of them. It is still a mystery whether this island really existed somewhere in the Europe map. It is not possible to guess where this island was located coming across all the modern Europe maps. The name of this island and some details are available in Plato’s writings. Since then, geologists and historians have no other options than just to make assumptions about its actual location.
Plato’s ‘Dialogues’ is considered as a literary masterpiece and he has confidently described the Utopian  society which existed on this island. Greece is one of the main countries in the European map. And as the idea of the Atlantis has evolved from this country, it has been guessed that this island actually existed somewhere near this country. Trysts have been made by the researchers to supply evidences supporting their theories but nothing concrete has come out.
Francis Bacon is another person who describes the New Atlantis society. But in his writings, Atlantis has been described to be located somewhere close to the American continent. It has also been suspected that this island existed in the Neolithic Age. The Pillars of Hercules have been described in many of the writings as the landmark of this island but until now, none has been successful in locating these pillars anywhere in the map.

Come 20th September, the city of Munich (Munchen) will rejoice on the grand occasion of Oktoberfest, 2008. The annual event, which is said to be the world’s largest beer festival, will kick off with the tapping of the first keg of Oktoberfest beer by the Lord Mayor of the city.

By the time the 16-day celebration ends on 5th of October, the Oktoberfest would be serving somewhere around seven million visitors with six million liters of beer in 14 massive beer tents put up for the occasion. The Schottenhamel tent, which is the most important tent in Weisn, will be the venue for the opening ceremony.

Way back in the year 1810, the first Oktoberfest was held for the occasion of the wedding between the crowned Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Since then, the warm September and early October nights have been greeted by the visitors with their beer kegs in the tents, gardens, and other parts of “Die Wiesen” as the locals in Munich call their much-loved Oktoberfest.

The 6 main breweries (referred to as the “Big Six”) that supply beer are Spaten, Lowenbrau, Augustiner, Hofbrau, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr. The Bavarian beer and the amber-red Vienna Lager are the ones to look for. So all of you, who are obsessed with the drink, pack your bags and head for Germany for a rare experience this September!

Last year, I took a trip to Brazil, the exotic Latin American country whose Amazonian rain forest, gorgeous beaches and waterfalls, tropical jungles and bustling towns and mega cities have a strange allurement for the tourist. The temperate climate of Brazil, makes it just perfect for undertaking a tour of this place. However, the Southeastern parts have a more pleasanter climate than the rest of the region.

A tour of Brazil is incomplete without a visit to Savannah, the Amazon Basin and the glorious Iquassu Falls. The panoramic beauty of these places will remain etched on the memory forever.  A saunter along the sunny beaches and a cruise along the Amazon River proved to be a wonderful refreshment from the din and hustle-bustle of daily life. The Pantanal, located in the west, is inhabited by various species of wildlife.

There are other interesting places in Brazil. My visit to the bustling, colorful cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo proved to be full of surprises and unexpected pleasure. This was followed by a trip to the  colonial towns of Olinda and Ouro Preto, the quiet city of Salvador in the northeast and the Fernando de Noronha Island. Both Olinda and Ouro Preto preserve the colonial history of Brazil, which was under Portuguese domination.

Santa Carina and Praia do Pinho in southern Brazil are worth a visit. Salvador is less crowded than the other metropolitan hubs of Brazil. Praia do Pinho is the most preferred place for nude bathing. Brazil is practically littered with myriads of small beaches. Some of these are the Garopaba,  Estaleiro, Taquaras and Mariscal. These areas provide exciting opportunities for indulging in a host of water sports.

Of course, the much awaited event is the carnival of Rio de Janeiro. The samba dance troupes which infest the streets, truly make it a bash every night. Soccer and music are the other attractions of Brazil. The rhythmic musical beats of the samba, forro, bossa nova and tropicalismo are simply enticing.

Brazil is truly an embodiment of ‘joie de vivre’. The city is very aptly called the melting pot of diverse  cultures. Besides the locals, you will encounter people of African origin as well as the descendants of European immigrants.

Asia, the largest continent in this world has a number of surprise in store. You will find a number of fairs and festivals that take place in this continent in different time of the year. No matter at what time you are visiting the continent you will find some festivals taking place at different countries.

If you are visiting Asia in the month of July, do not forget to be a part of the Kandy Festival in Sri Lanka – one of the southern most island nations in Asia map. Kandy is a well known tourist destination and a religious place to the Buddhists. Kandy festival is the annual celebration of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. This centuries old traditional festival is celebrated with joy and gusto. The celebration lasts for 11 days and during that time the city of Kandy shines as bright as any carnival in Mardi Gras.

The Sri Lankan festival has its own charms including elephant parade, traditional dance and local religious music. You will find elaborately decorated elephants parading on the roads carrying a replica of the relic tooth of the Buddha. You are sure to be mesmerized by the grandeur and brightness of the festival.

There are many such festivals held on different times in different parts of Asia. There are numerous festivals in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Japan that are worth seeing. During your trip to Asia do not miss any of them.

Ancestor worship and spirit worship, in one form or another, are an integral part almost all indigenous African religion. Although the spread of Christianity and Islam, among other religions, have changed the nature of Africa’s spiritual comprehension of the world over the years, yet the ancient practices have not vanished altogether. Most of them continue to exist all across Africa, mitigated through the later faith structures. In strange and often barely recognizable ways, they still exist and form an integral part of African culture, and can be identified if you travel to Africa and witness some of the tribal rituals.

Many tribes distinguish between spirit worship and ancestor worship. In many other African religious practices, however, they collapse and become synonymous with each other: where the spirits of the ancestors are invoked. African traditional religion is often vilified by most branches of our modern humanist and liberal education and discarded as mere superstition. However, we must understand that many of these practices are not only beneficial but also extremely important. The mnemonic chants and the music accompanying the rituals of spirit invocation are repositories of African history (most of which is oral) and African art (through masks, music and folk drama).

Magic in Africa religion is usually employed for two distinct purposes. It is often used for communal benefit: praying for a good harvest, a much needed rain, fertility of human beings and domestic animals etc. It could also be invoked for the destructions of enemies: physical and supernatural. Secondly, African spirit worship has a judicial connotation. The validity of the juridical structure in many old African tribes is often ascertained through these ritualistic practices. Therefore, the importance of magical practices, and ancestral and spirit worship is immensely important for the proper sustenance of a particular tribe and its social cohesion.