Dear Jeyamohan,
I enjoyed Ajithan’s two conversations regarding Western philosophy and Wagner. It seems he is personally obsessed with Schopenhauer and Wagner. I came to know that he is your son and an energetic, creative writer. However, he is not mentioning any creative writers as his icons.
In fact, it is beneficial. If he has a creative writer as his icon, he has to emerge from that influence and create his own personality with great effort. He has Schopenhauer as his guide in his thoughts, and it is like a powerful meteor guiding him. He cannot compromise with simple, fashionable ideas and will pursue real causes and core problems. It will make him a very serious writer.
Of course, Wagner is the other side of the balance of this philosophical pursuit. Wagner is a great artist; his influence will prevent him from being pedantic. It is amusing to see a younger generation person being fascinated by those doyens of art and philosophy.
Rajaretnam
