Saturday, September 27, 2008

My crush

Someone asked me the other day about my share of “crush”, if at all I had any!!



Howard Roark. The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand.

Need I say more? I rest my case.

P.S. Thanks Anand ;)

11 comments:

zigzagtrail said...

Umm .Still isnt clear mylord :-P.

If some1 has gifted you this book you may have a crush of him.Book need not necessarily be an object you have crush on but a symbol :-D

Arpita said...

Guess..you have been taken in for some confusion.Let me make it simple :)

I have this intense crush on the main protagonist “Howard Roark” in Ayn Rand’s novel The Fountainhead, who aspires to be an architect.

An independent thinker. He doesn’t seek a blind societal conformity for his creations but is guided by is own uncompromising mind and no one’s but his own judgment.

And as a thumb rule, he faces hostile social resentment. A huge opposition from people who fail (or are rather scared) to acknowledge the fact, that one can have his own opinion, without seeking an uncritical acceptance of the world.

Okieee..I’m so darn inspired I can go on and on and on. But in a nutshell what I loved about him is his scrupulous honesty to himself and a mind of his own.

Alas, a dichotomy between moral virtues and pragmatism sure exists. Hence, I could only find Roark in fiction. Never came across somebody of the same intellectual and moral stature in real life.

zigzagtrail said...

hummm... My last attempts to read this book failed. Looking at your comment I am going to issue this book again. Sounds interesting to me.

Arpita said...

I'm not sure of the genre of books that interests you, but trust me this book is a must read.
Gives you an entirely different perspective of "you".

zigzagtrail said...

I do read philosophy :). Last time I was reading this book I had to stop after few chapters as I could not balance between work and life.

Anand said...

What do you do if John Galt comes in!!!!! phir kya hoga aapke crush ka? (FYI, John Galt is the protagonist of Ayn Rand's magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged).(Before I start my comment part, one recommendation from me is the movie "Good Will Hunting").
I have met many many Peter Keatings and still keep meeting them, but Roark could only be found in the book and within you, of course, but the society forces you (and you are ofc not as strong as Roark) to keep him low!!!!
This discussion is something I can't write anything about on the comments.
Nice to know that you read it. Its a must-read and it has the potential to change you, what do you say? anyway, comments-section is not the place to discuss it :-). We'll discuss it some other place/time.

Arpita said...

@ Praveen
Yeah...its a fat book and sure scares you before you get going.

Me too..don't have much time during the day..but since I don't get too much of a sleep, I read during the wee hours in the night and bus and standing in queues..and anyhwere where its very much possible :)

September

Arpita said...

@Anand
Yup!Loved Matt Damon in it.(But unfortunately saw a very very crappy version of the flick, with all the scenes cropped in it..if you have a better version, pls de deejiyega)
I guess not only Roark, but all of us surely have an element of Keating also within us.
Being socially unacceptable is a heavy price to pay for being a Roark hence we resort to Keating's philosophy, just that the degree as to how much we mimic him varies.
Some people are epitomes of diplomacy who want to be politically correct ALWAYS, while others are honest and upfront about their opinions and belief.
But I do agree, the book (Rand) makes you introspect.It did.

traveler said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
traveler said...

well... di.... thats just one ARCHITECT that u have seen.....

Arpita said...

@Girish
Bachcha..that's the darn tragedy, that I haven't seen one in flesh and bones like him!! And I'm skeptical if someone like him exists!
(hmm..but I do have an idea regarding one in the making..is it ???:))