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Nostalgia?

A landscape of memories 

sweet and sour.

So close to heart 

and yet so far

Many a hot summers

Of sheer joy and fun

The pitter patter of 

Tiny wet feet tiptoeing

on a burning hot patio
Rushing into blue waters
with squeals of laughter
Fighting for floats n noodles,

avoiding the pine needles.
Dreading that first raindrop

That'd bring all play to a stop

Amid moans and the pleas

That no adult would appease

There was so much to do in those fests of fun

Endless servings of watermelon

Drinking lemonade by the gallon
Diving for coins that someone would drop

Quietly effacing post painful belly flops

Feigned nonchalance when trunks got undone

And friends laughed and grinned all while you squirmed

Happy times with old and young
Oh those were such days of fun
Those carefree summers
when all was green.
Peace and freedom abounded

'Twas a place to dream

It’s all so different now

With distances and pretences.

My sea of blue is no more

Nor the joyous pink azalea bush
All there is is the staggering fence
What did it guard now I wonder?
It is as if a painted canvas broke
Under that mighty oak

It's now but an orphaned space
that was once a bustling home

Sent from my iPhone

Untitled

It is the end of the road.

Now paved and tarred.

Yet, once it was not.

Was but a precious clearing

In the clutter of life

when strangers met

and walked untrodden grounds

not once, not twice, but several times,

and a path was born

random and untold.

Would it live?

Youth fell prey and couldn't resist 

the romance of the forbidden.

The path seemed a gateway

to promised pleasures

of a fairytale future;

so it got paved!

Packed with hopes

and dreams, bearing 

promises of trust

to a fairytale future!

But oh, it didn't stop there.

The paved path had to be preserved

in posterity forever.

A blacktop coating perhaps.

So it happened.

A tarred road  it was,

and now 

it is the end of the road.

Lady Bird

An American coming-of-age story simply told and yet if captures the audience like never before. Greta Gerwig's protagonist Lady Bird belongs to a middle class American family that is struggling to keep afloat financially.  While her parents are trying to make ends meet, Lady Bird is on a mission to find her individuality.  She does this in very bold ways even as she acknowledges and embraces the vulnerability she feels every step of the way. We watch her fail and fall, but she manages to come out of it somehow, not always unscathed, but always wiser.  Lady Bird, a name she has given herself, is committed to finding a better life despite her menial roots and her ordinary family.  She fights to be different from everything that she considers commonplace, and that includes her mother and her brother.  Never afraid to take risks, Lady Bird often lies to get herself a better deal in life and sometimes gets caught in the process.  However, she is undeterred in her pursuit of identity, one that she hasn't quite figured out as yet. 

Lady Bird is a simple tale, told simply, about the simple things in life that strengthen us and bring meaning to our lives.  That 'love' really manifests itself in the 'attention' one gets or gives to another person, is such a simple learning; yet, it is a learning that evades most of us and goes unrecognized in most relationships. 

How can a story be so 'simple' and manage to capture you in so many ways?  How can a character be so vulnerable and so bold at the same time?  How can life be both bitter and sweet at the same time? The movie Lady Bird shows us just how.  

Helen Simonson's Absorbing Read - "Major Pettigrew's Last Stand"

What is it about romance that makes this world more palatable, even rosier! Helen Simonson's novel "The Last Stand of Major Pettigrew" does just that. It looks at racial tensions, gender disparity, old age, and a dysfunctional family unit with humor and empathy, and that is what makes the novel so enchanting. 

The story revolves around an unlikely and disapproved liaison between a retired Englishman and a Pakistani widow both of who live in a small and scenic village in England. The picturesque setting and the witty dialogue cleverly camouflage the racism and snobbishness that exist in the village, and the reader for the most part enjoys a humorous and heartwarming tale of romance. However, every now and again, there are dialogues that could well be aphorisms about gender issues, and human relationships. Luckily, they don't dampen the light hearted banter between characters which makes the novel so enjoyable. The novel is a must read for an older reader as it explores the changes, both personal and social, that come about in an older person's life many of which are hard to face and others hard to accept; like Shelly said, "Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts." Again, there is nothing really 'sad' about the novel. It is upbeat, easy to read, and funny; yet, for those with a finer sensibility, it will leave you some resonating questions.

Oscar Contenders for 2017 - A Personal Moviefest

I watched three very different movies in this last one month and surprisingly liked all three. The first one was in Marathi, the language spoken in the state of Maharashtra in Western India, the second one was a science fiction in English, and the third one was also in English, but the movie was set across two continents. Diverse and widespread the movie making world might be, yet how similar its goal, that of appealing to the human imagination, suspending any disbelief the audience may hold, and weaving a story so real that real lives are put on hold. 

"Family Katta" the Marathi movie I watched, was much talked about, and the movie lived up to that reputation. Based on a play, the entire movie plays out within a span of two days, each day providing a unique flavor of unrelenting drama. The movie explodes long held myths about Hindu family traditions especially with regard to aging parents and gender roles. The movie has several climactic moments that baffle you yet keep you glued to the screen. Marathi theater has always been held in high esteem in India and abroad with luminaries such as Vijay Tendulkar and Vijaya Mehta to boast of, but after watching Family Katta, and Patekar's "Nattsamrat" in the past couple of months, I think Marathi cinema is fast becoming a force to reckon with as the movie "Family Katta" illustrates. Undoubtedly, a must see film, even if it's with close captions.

Villenueve's science fiction film "Arrival" is another movie I watched. Primarily for two reasons: one I liked Villenueve's last directorial venture "Sicario" a lot, and I like actress Amy Adams. Though not much of a sci-fi film fan, I was captivated by recent sci-fi movies like "Gravity" and "The Martian", and "Arrival" definitely belongs in this category as well. "Arrival" threads a very personal human story within a sci-fi interplanetary mystery which adds a unique ethos to the story. As a language teacher, I particularly liked how communication and language become the pivot for averting an interstellar conflict in this movie. Amy Adams plays a linguist, who with Jeremy Redner, a mathematician in the story, is made responsible for handling alien landings in different parts of the world.  "Arrival" is a movie you mustn't miss!

"Lion" is the third movie I watched, and this one is also a 'must see'. Though quite different from the other two films, it is just as engrossing. It deals with issues of identity and spans across two countries, Australia and India. The first half of the movie dragged out a bit, for me, but that may be a matter of opinion because the rest of the audience loved every bit of 'Saroo''s' sad and seamy journey through and in a corrupt and crowded Kolkata and surrounding areas. Based on a true story, I guess the writer director had to stay true to what actually happened, and that may perhaps be the reason that the movie seems like a documentary at times. Nevertheless, it's ability to capture one's imagination stays put, and Dev Patel, of the Slumdog Millionaire fame, may be the reason for that.  He does a pretty good job of being that young man who is  tormented by a past he cannot put his hands on; at least not until he embarks on a strange journey, one without a prescribed destination. Though this may be a give away, but I have to say that Larry Page and Sergei Brin should consider subsidizing the costs entailed in the making of this movie since the movie is quite the advertisement for the Google Earth app! All in all, Lion" is definitely a movie you should watch.

Nature Shows 'How' in a Post-Brexit World

Nature Shows 'How' in a Post-Brexit World
Living in a post-Brexit world,
I wonder at the 'Live Oak Genus'

Resplendent in olive green attire
with wildly flung out arms,
never one to reach the skies,
it's spread laterally afar.

Often alone is this 'beech',
in abandonment perhaps.
Mirroring its populace
its bearded visage.

Not seeking friends
nor wanting foes;
it is a recluse of sorts.
Indolently languishing
in loamy marshy lots.

Until, Hermes like,
comes a 'huddled mass'
yearning to be free-
a grey n green epiphyte.
While looking for a home,
it weaves its wispy waves
and very gently drapes
the large languishing oak.
And having found a place
in the Oak's embrace,
the moss now settles to grow.

Compatriots now,
the wizened oak
and graven moss
survive all nature's throes.
Perfect mates they are
with symbiotic gaits:
a bow, a bend,
a give and take;
one's turn now,
while the other awaits.

 Holding up the Spanish Moss,
with largesse is the 'genus' oak
No longer migrant, the epiphyte
is beholden to its kindred host.

A team they make
while silently sharing
the sun the land and bonding.
Friends by choice
they casually create
an abode that's all abiding.

A harmonious 'union' so unique
can only respect command.
Look! It seeks no 'referendum'
and will not an 'exit' demand!

Laila Lalami Explores the Master Slave Dynamic in "The Moor's Account"

"The Moors Account" by Moroccan American Laila Lalami is a captivating read. Written in the historical fiction genre, the novel is based on the voyage chronicles of  Panfilo de Narvaez in the 1520s.

The narrator in this novel is Estebanico, a Moor and also the first black slave of the white world, who accompanied his Spanish masters on an exploratory mission during the era of colonial expansionism into Florida, the land of Native Americans.

 Estebanico, originally Mustafa-Al-Zamori- a native of Azzemur and not a slave, falls into bad times when his father dies, and soon after, the Portuguese soldiers start taking over his homeland of Azzemur. In the face of dire poverty, Estebanico, only a teenager then, sells himself for a few gold coins to Portuguese traders in order to save his mother, his sister, and his twin brothers from starvation. That is how and when Estebanico who only a short while ago was "selling slaves" is now "sold as a slave" and not for the last time; he would soon be resold to a group of Spanish explorers and embark on a doomed expedition during which he would be "one of only four crew members to survive".  Not only does he, Estebanico, survive, he also becomes the voice of his expedition, and in more ways than one. The question that arises is, will it be his, a slave's, version of what happened on this ill fated expedition that will get reported back to his Spanish conquistadors?  Will the Moor's account hold credence with his colonial masters even if it does with the reader.  A master writer, Lalami in "The Moor's Account" cleverly explores and lays bare the circumstances that lead to the establishment of the slave and master dynamic as it unravels in the encounters between the Spanish conquistadors and Native Americans seen through the lens of Estebanico, a black slave.

At the very outset, Estebanico tells the reader that his current name "was the name the Castillians had given.. when they bought him from Portuguese traders."  His name was "a string of sounds whose foreignness still grated on his ears, and..... Estebanico was a man conceived by the Castillians, quite different from the man I really was." Who was he really, is for the reader to find out in this captivating story of Lalami's.  It's a story with a 'foreign' and 'different' narrator who finds himself in an unknown and unforgiving terrain with men whose loyalties are not only sketchy but are often divided and or changing. During the course of the expedition, due to changed and challenging circumstances, the narrator, in spite of his dark skin, foreignness, and his slave status, finds himself elevated to various roles no slave had ever gotten before; those of a deal negotiator, a story teller, a medicine man, even a messiah, and most importantly a savior for his three Spanish companions, his 'masters'. This role reversal creeps up so naturally that even the three Spaniard 'masters' of Estebanico simply go along with it. It is through this role reversal that Lalami showcases the establishment of the master slave dynamic during the colonial era.

Having read this far, wouldn't you want to know the ending of the novel; it's definitely one that the reader will carry within for a while. "The Moor's Account" is  a must read for anyone who likes a good story.  This novel of Laila Lalami's was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist this year, and deservedly so. Ms Lalami is indeed a great story teller; she spins a yarn so engrossing around a bitter naked truth, and the reader takes it et al.

Happy Valentine's Day

Ever so embellished,

and so decorated

with hearts and red roses.

It thrills and

it thralls;

at times hard gotten,

and so often

ill begotten.

Yet who can resist it?

Not even the mighty Zeus

could manage to repulse it.

Compelling to the point

that it'd launch a thousand ships.

History pays tribute to it,

with Taj's, tombs, and minarets.

Art stands in servitude

with a Picasso or a John Donne.

Song and rhythm play to it 

be it with a ghazal or a Sufi tune.

Alas, intangible it is

and impossible to define.

Sure enough you'll feel it,

as it drives

or it drowns.

In the strangest of dwellings,

it'll ebb, it'll flow,

and unknowingly it'll grow.

Can't clock it, or time it,

so just feel and enjoy it.

Does it end, or does it change?

Hard to say.

for none's ever bereft of it

to make a guess or say.

Happy Valentine!

V.S. Khandekar's "Yayati- A Classic Tale of Lust" Expounds A Puranic King from Hindu Mythology.

I had seen this novel on my mother's bookshelf, decades ago, in another language, so when I came across a translation of Khandekar's "Yayati-A Classic Tale of Lust" on Amazon, I had to read it.

Yayati is a 'Puranic' King from Hindu Mythology who lived for a thousand years in eternal youth after exchanging his old age with his son's youth. Married to the beautiful Devyani, daughter of the powerful sage Shukracharya, after a chance meeting, Yayati had to now follow both the Kshtriya and the Brahmin creed. This was no menial responsibility as Yayati soon realized, especially since he had a tragic flaw; he could not resist beauty and fell prey to it throughout the duration of his long life, more so in the time of his borrowed youth.  Even marriage to the divinely beautiful Devyani did not stop Yayati from having relationships with other women.  One such relationship was with Sharmishtha, a Kshatriya princess who, due to a curse, was serving as a maid to Devyani. It was Puru, the son born out of this union between Yayati and Sharmishtha, who when he was in his late teens, agreed to trade his youth with his father's old age and thereby gave Yayati several lifetimes of eternal youth. This selfless sacrifice of a son for his father has captivated the Indian psyche for centuries, and even today in India, a son has some unquestioned obligation to follow his father's command.

The classic episode of Yayati & Puru has been the focus of attention for centuries, and V.S Khandekar, in 1959 chose to weave this tale into a Marathi novel written from the point-of-view of three of its main characters: Yayati, Devyani, and Sharmishtha.  Khandekar used this three pronged approach to intricately explore the impact of Yayati's lust for and obsession with pleasure that made him unabashedly declare, even at the end of his thousand years of youth, "My lust for pleasure is unsatisfied..." Khandekar's novel provides multidimensional insight into Yayati's choices, and how they affected his life and the lives of those he loved and those who loved him.

Khandekar's character Yayati, though controversial, is also very likable and definitely intriguing; he reminds me of two other mythical figures who've had plays and poems written about them such as Oedipus and Tithonus. All three tried to challenge their prescribed lot and suffered as a consequence, but for whatever reason, all three have captured the human imagination for thousands of years. Yayati, though a lesser known mythical character who features in The Mahabharata, made himself popular with Indian playwrights and novelist because of his Epicurean nature, his lust for the carnal in life.  Down the ages, the character of Yayati has made people wonder, and artists, like Khandekar, have tried to interpret him in their own unique ways. In 1961, Girish Karnad, a renowned Indian playwright and actor, wrote an award winning play based on the character of Yayati which has since then been translated into several languages and has been staged in different corners of the world. In fact, a new phrase- the 'Yayati Complex', similar to 'the Oedipus Complex', was coined as a result of Karnad's play based on Yayati.

Given that this is an English translation of the Marathi original, the writing does palpably distance the reader; I could never lose myself in the tale, and my disbelief was almost never suspended, yet, I never wanted to let go of the story! Yayati's tale has that quality, and anyone familiar with Indian Mythology will want to read this English translation of Khandekar's 'Yayati' that won the novelist a Jnanpeeth Award.

Clearly, myths and folklore fascinate the human mind, and artists can borrow tremendously from that inexhaustible source that came  down to us through the oral tradition of the past. There may be so many more Yayatis and Oedipuses waiting to be found, recognized, and expounded in the mythologies of the world.

Ode to The Quaking Aspen

Populus tremuloides -
a role model of maturity.
It feeds and shades
both prey and predator.
It reproduces in abundance.
Yields when needed,
all for the larger good.
Shows up to deliver
in the direst of straits.
It quakes, it bends,
but won't let go.
Avalanches and glaciers-
It'll brave both
and reemerge
to beckon others to grow.
It's shiny leaves
do its story tell.
They shimmy and shiver
quake and vibrate
in shock sheer excitement
of braving a bolder breeze.
They shade, but just enough
to let the sunlight stream
warmth and light
to fledglings waiting under.
Saplings of evergreen
Firs and Pines
that will soon outgrow and edge out
the Populus tremuloides.
But the gentle Aspen that it is,
the Populus tremuloides
bears no grudge or hatred
of those pushy evergreens.
For the Populus tremuloides
knows, what they do not;
that every tree must grow
in shadow, sun, or rain.
Be it you or me or they,
each of us has but a role
in nature's dramatic play.
Mine was to make way for you.
Now it's your turn
to do your part
so Adieu.

Refugees or Migrants? Role of Media in the European Crisis

(Syrian refugees - www.humanrightshouse.org)

The refugee crisis in Europe affects the entire world, and yet the world watches in a stand-by mode. Why?  Is it because we are ill informed about the crisis? Is the media playing a responsible role of keeping the world informed about what's happening on the ground in Syria and thereabouts, or is the tussle for supremacy between the social media and the print media exacerbating the crisis unfolding in Europe? 

(www.citypeek.com)

The print media is fighting to keep its hold on readership, and social media is trying its level best to make some permanent dents in the print media share.  While newspapers are trying to keep pace with the minute by minute updates of social media, the social media is upgrading its reliability of information and sources to compete with the reputed print media. However, this need for immediacy of news has compromised the quality of the end product, which is the news we get. Or else, why would established and reputed media casually use the word 'migrant' for a 'refugee' in several of its articles while reporting on the crisis? When reporting on the situation in Greece, Italy, France, Germany and other European countries being inundated by hordes of people from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and parts of North Africa, the media refers to these desperate people as 'migrants'.  It appears to forget or else disregards that the hordes in question are not 'migrants' by any definition; they did not make a planned departure from their homeland, nor do they plan to establish permanent residence in another country in pursuit of better opportunities. In fact, these are some awfully scared and frantic families trying to avert death and or torture at the hands of an apathetic, violent, and fundamentalist regime that has taken over their homeland, and they have no means of fighting it off. These are mothers and fathers seeking shelter, in any place possible, that promises their children the slightest hope at life, and no tear gas, legal document, or a border fence is going to stop this mass movement of frantic and needy people.

Undoubtedly, European nations feel overwhelmed by this endless surge of humanity pouring in at their borders, but wouldn't they have done the same had the roles been reversed? Rich European nations have to revisit their policies on immigration; the age old wall of disparity that exists between the have and the have not nations in and around Europe will not hold for long, as the current crisis proves.  A Germany and a France cannot sail peacefully if a Greece is sinking.  It's no different in the Americas; USA must ensure an economically viable and politically stable Mexico and Canada if the USA wants to maintain peace and prosperity within its borders. National boundaries can no longer deter people from finding safe haven when confronted by natural or man made disasters. And when masses of desperate people are on the move, as they are in Syria and other places in the region, it's no longer just a European crisis, it's a world crisis, and the media has a very large and significant role to play when reporting a humanitarian crisis of such proportion. The media cannot play games or seek leverage in the face of such mammoth human suffering.

Here are a couple of links to articles reporting on this crisis:

www.nytimes.com/.../migrants-push-toward-hungary-as-a-border-fence-ris...

news.yahoo.com/migrant-cafe-owners-greeces-kos-broken-refugee-crisis-0...

http://aje.io/9pqc

Night Train to Lisbon - A Philosophical Movie.

Night Train to Lisbon is a movie I'd recommend for those who are in the fall of their lives. The movie is an introspective yet random journey undertaken by  Raimund Gregorius, a close-to-retirement Swiss Classics Professor who has immersed himself, totally, in a world of philosophy and books. He is divorced, childless, and friendless, perhaps for a reason. It is a reason not known to him, but he is told by his ex wife, that it is because he is very boring, and students taking his class often corroborate that description of him. Professor Gregorius is undoubtedly lonely as the ongoing game of chess on his dining table suggests, where  Gregorius plays on both sides of the board into the wee hours of the night.

One day, fate turns a kindly eye on the Professor when a chance encounter with a woman on a bridge takes Gregorius on a journey of a lifetime. The woman he accidentally saves, was about to end her life by jumping off a bridge, but the Professor manages to stop her in the nick of time.  However, this woman is rather quiet and does not divulge much about herself even though she accompanies the Professor to his class after the incident. However, she does not stay there too long, and within a matter of minutes, rushes out leaving her jacket behind.  The Professor goes after her to return her jacket, but fails to find her. During this time he discovers a book in the pocket of her jacket and begins to read it. This random and clearly insignificant action of his turns Gregorius' life upside down as he then embarks on an intrepid venture to Lisbon hoping to find out what happened to Amadeu de Prado, the author of the book, who was a practicing doctor in Lisbon during António de Oliveira Salazar's dictatorial rule.

The movie is slow paced with a lot of narrative and very little action.  The little action that there is, comes in flashbacks, narrated by several different characters who Gregorius meets up with in Lisbon because they knew Amadeu. The camera does very little to compliment the beautiful setting, Lisbon. The actors do their part, but nothing very remarkable which would stand out. Then what is so special about this movie that made me want to write about it? Basically, what sold the movie to me was perhaps a personal connect I made with Gregorius' journey; a journey that happened from his out-of-character decision after a commonplace event which ultimately led to some dramatic changes in his life.  How many of us, those in the fall of our lives, get a chance to take on such journeys, like Gregorius'?  Those of us who do get that chance, pass it by, or procrastinate over it and then live in regret forever. There was a message in the movie for so many in the audience- to take chances, to try out a different way, and to not wait for something cataclysmic to change your life.

Having liked the movie, now I feel compelled to read the book on which it is based,  The book "Nachtzug nach Lissabon" written by Swiss philosopher writer Peter Bieri (pseudonym Pascal Mercier), was originally published in German and then translated into English and published in 2008. The book intrigues me in that I want to know how much, if at all,  the movie deviates from the original text.  Will Gregorius' journey in the book be like Marlow's in "The Heart of Darkness"? Was Bieri inspired by Conrad perhaps? Most importantly, will I find more poetically profound and soul searching dialogue to ponder over such as the ones in  the movie?

Amadeu: "Given that we live only a small part of what there is in us - what happens with the rest?"

Amadeu: "In truth, the dramatic moments of a life determining experience are often unbelievable, low key."

Amadeu: "But by travelling to ourselves we must confront our own loneliness."

Amadeu: "What could... what should be done, with all the time that lies ahead of us? Open and unshaped, feather-light in its freedom and lead-heavy in its uncertainty?"

I enjoyed the movie! Also, it is available on Netflix, so go for it!  Take a chance : )

Andy Weir's "The Martian" - A Survival Story in Sci-Fi Mode

What a read!  I was completely captivated by the story line!  I couldn’t sleep until I knew whether Mark Watney made it home.

Andy Weir’s 2011 novel The Martian is a Sci-Fi novel with a difference.  It’s not one of those dystopic sagas, nor does it present a future phobic vision of life with automated life forms.  Here is a story of a lone man's survival in the cold and apathetic terrain of the planet Mars.  I must admit that I approached this novel with serious trepidation; a first time author with no creative writing credentials. However, reading the first chapter more than alleviated any doubts I may have had about Weir’s competence as a story teller.

Not only is the story interesting, but also the manner by which this story cast itself into a printed novel. It’s astonishing how Weir produced this book.  He did not intend to write a novel of any sorts.  He was employed as a techie at NASA when he started writing blogposts about an astronaut Mark Watney, who mistakenly gets left behind on Mars. The online posts sequentially unraveled Watney’s journey on an inhospitable terrain. The instinct for survival keeps Watney going, each day being more difficult than the previous one.  Watney clings on to the last shreds of hope; an impossible task indeed, knowing all the odds stacked against it: the fact that his fellow astronauts presumed him to be dead, he had limited provisions of water and Oxygen, he had no means of communication to call for help, the rations would run out way before any remotely possible rescue mission could be carried out.  This fearsome yet absorbing tale of a man fighting for survival on the red planet unfolded and gained momentum on Weir’s blogposts, and it intrigued Weir’s readers to such an extent that they prodded him to self publish Watney’s story!  The runaway success of "The Martian" surprised Weir himself : “ I had no idea it was going to do so well. The story had been available for free on my website for months and I assumed anyone who wanted to read it had already read it. A few readers had requested I post a Kindle version because it's easier to download that way. So I went ahead and did it, setting the price to the minimum Amazon would allow. As it sold more and more copies I just watched in awe.”  Weir’s lucky phase was still not over because a movie deal and a print publishing deal followed suit all within a week and Andy Weir, a NASA engineer, became a literary celebrity.

Besides the storyline, Weir’s format for his story enhanced and facilitated its readability. Most of this novel is written as a series of diary postings by the protagonist, with the hope that someday they will be read by another human being. Weir’s narrative style not only provided the reader with a timeline for Watney’s stay on Mars, but it also lent pace and immediacy to the storyline. "The Martian" is a gripping tale of survival and definitely a story you must read.  Also, once you read the novel, perhaps you could answer this  question that has been bothering me ever since I read Weir's novel: 
Was Watney's will to survive the driving force behind all his actions, or was it the hope of rescue that kept him going from one day to the next?

Andy Weir’s success as a maiden writer and storyteller lends credence to the belief that one can become an acclaimed writer without going through an MFA program. There’s hope for us : )

Kamila Shamsie's 'Burnt Shadows' - A Searing Saga that Shocks and Humbles.

Kamila Shamsie's 'Burnt Shadows' is simply brilliant storytelling with some very rich and evocative language.

"Do you know I've been here a dozen times, but I've never known anything about who built it or why.
My history is your picnic ground," he said..

“How to explain to the earth that it was more functional as a vegetable patch than a flower garden, just as factories were more functional than schools and boys were more functional as weapons than as humans.”

"We anticipate disasters, calculate stress with mathematical precision. The messier our personal lives the better we are at designing structures that withstand the pressure they'll inevitably- or potentially- endure.  Bring on your storms, bring on your earthquakes. We've done our calculations.  And lovers, take note....when we break up with you, it's because we've modelled the situation, run the simulations, we know which way things are headed."

“....barriers made of metal could turn fluid when touched simultaneously by people on either side...”

"This Pakistan, it's taking my friends, my sister, it's taking the familiarity from the streets of Dilli. Thousands are leaving, thousands more will leave. What am I holding on to? Just kite strings attached to air at either ends."

This 2009 novel of Ms. Shamsie was recommended by a friend quite a while ago, but the somber nature of the title put me off, and sadly enough, 'Burnt Shadows' sat on my shelf and on my 'to read' list for quite some years! So much for never judging a book by its title!

For someone that young, Kamila Shamsie took on a very vast canvas to paint; her novel 'Burnt Shadows' spans several decades and travels across many countries on different continents. The storyline weaves itself around three generation with the one common thread, Hiroko, the female protagonist, a 'hibakusha', who, though homeless never hankered for home,  and had 'not thought of destination so much as departure'. Having witnessed the bombing of Nagsaki, the aftermath of the India Pakistan partition in Delhi, a nervous Karachi during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and an Islamophobic New York post 9/11, Hiroko is Shamsie's global citizen carrying 'burnt shadows' of a tortuous history on her back, literally and figuratively. What these 'burnt shadows' are, how they came to be, and how they affect her and those around her is what the novel is about!

Did Ms. Shamsie have a message to convey through this novel? Obviously she did, and I'm sure readers will find several themes embedded in the panoramic saga of this novel, but the one message that stands out for me is that History cannot be ignored as it colors and determines the future of humanity. If and when you read the novel, could you think of another theme that is as pervasive and relevant ?

Kamila Shamsie's 'Burnt Shadows' is a must-read! It is a page turner that enthralls with vivid settings, expressive language, dynamic characterization, and a storyline that never loses it's grip.

Amulya Malladi's "Serving Crazy With Curry" - An Easy and Interesting Read

A simple story that's simply told - Amulya Malladi's "Serving Crazy With Curry". A dear friend of mine brought me a few Indian Literary treats, as she called it, from her recent recent trip to India, and Malladi's novel was one of them. Having read a couple of her other novels, "Sound of Language" being the most recent, I was eager to read this one even though, to my disappointment, it was one of Malladi's earlier writings. "Serving Crazy With Curry" was an easy read, and I enjoyed that since I was on my first week of vacation from school. The simplicity of the reading experience is what I liked most about this novel. 

Though Malladi's picked on the very serious subject of suicide survivors, she gave it a delectable gustatory twist, and that removed all hues of morbidity from the ambiance in which the story unfolds.  The protagonist, Devi, takes to cooking almost as a sort of rehab therapy. What drives her to suicide, and whether her unique rehab works for her is basically what the novel is about.  Malladi's does not explore any profound truth in the novel, neither does she delve into thematic complexities; she focuses on her storytelling interspersed with random sampling of Indian recipes concocted by Devi, the suicide survivor. In fact, the title is quite the give away, but fortunately for the reader and Ms. Malladi, one realizes this only at the end of the novel. There are three other intriguing female characters in the story who, besides being related to Devi, have very unique life styles that add a pulsating readability to the novel; in fact, Ms. Malladi's could very easily spin another story around any one of these three women!

Malladi's novels have always been my favorites when I'm looking for a light read, and "Serving Crazy With Curry" fit the bill.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's "Sister of my Heart"

Which one comes first to a writer, the theme or the story? I always imagine it's the story that is born first; the theme is embedded almost subconsciously by the storyteller.  However, is that always the case?  And when it isn't, does that impact the quality of the end product, be it a short story, a novel, or a drama?

 

Divakaruni's novel "Sister of my Heart" may be a good case study. I started reading this novel with a very definitive set of expectations: it would have a page turning quality, a unique setting, some very plausible characterization, and an element of surprise. Divakaruni delivered on all of those expectation but with somewhat of an effort and delivered only to a degree. She spun an engrossing story about two close but very different cousins, who are born and raised in Kolkata, the setting of the story, and they make some baffling choices and live out the consequences of those choices in the stranglehold of familial pressures in a caste and gender biased society.

 

I started reading the novel one afternoon and finished it in two sittings. However, even as I was a third of the way into the novel, I already knew what to expect! There was an underlying desperation on the part of the writer to make the characters fit into the bigger storyline, and sadly it was evident at times. For example, when Sudha sacrifices her love, Ashoka, and consents to an arranged marriage after she overhears her cousin's to-be mother-in-law's threatening stance on families who violate social norms. The scene was so obviously coined to fit in! With one deliberate stroke the author simultaneously makes Sudha and Anju victims of a caste-based and patriarchal society. What follows is that which is expected. One of the victims then picks up on Ms. Divakaruni's other pet theme, the quest for the American dream, and moves to the United States, the land of freedom where she pursues a college education and even finds herself a part time job, the latter, obviously, without her husband knowing.

 

Having read several of Divakaruni's novels, and as a fan of her writings, I was let down by this one.

 

Ponderings

What he is, is but a fast fading shadow of what he was and has been:


A feisty

forester.

A father

A stalwart
sportsman.
A survivor

A botanist

breadwinner.

A bulwark

An energetic
life-lover.
A yogi

A powerhouse

protector.

A parent

My rational, proud, and dependable Pappa;
the stoic, an omniscient presence in my life. 

Hugh Grant's "The Rewrite" - A Witty and Intelligent Comedy!

As winter storm "Octavia" blasted all across the North East and covered us in a blanket of snow and sleet, I couldn't think of a better thing to do than watch a Hugh Grant movie. I was pleasantly surprised to find a movie of his I hadn't seen! Given that I have watched all Hugh Grant movie numerous times over, finding a movie of his that I had not seen was like finding a treasure.

Hugh Grant's movie, The Rewrite, directed by Marc Lawrence, their fourth one together, was a low key release, which, perhaps, is the reason I saw it on Pay per View TV and not in a theater. After watching the movie, it became obvious why the movie didn't get much publicity; there is not much of a plot to speak of, and were it not for the brilliant acting of the two lead actors, the movie would have been hard to sit through. Hugh Grant, in his signature style, captivates the viewer with his charming indolence, and his accented wit. His impeccably timed dialogues are a delight as are his deliberate body movements that speak volumes to the audience. Hugh Grant plays Keith Michaels, a one-time-wonder of Hollywood, a screenwriter who is unable to make ends meet anymore, and is left with no other option but to teach creative writing in a remote Binghamton college, a far cry from the happening Hollywood that Michael's had been a prt of for the last several years. What transpires after Keith Michaels takes up a teaching position at Binghamton is what constitutes the plot of The Rewrite, which is not saying much. However, Hugh Grant's underplayed portrayal of Keith Michaels the teacher,  and his innumerable gaffes in a new and nerdy academic setting make The Rewrite a hilarious movie to watch. The erudite exchange between Keith Michaels and the English Faculty at the college is sheer wit, and with Hugh Grant's perfect timing, it becomes simply brilliant!  Marisa Tomei as the female lead with Hugh Grant does an equally remarkable job as the effervescent single mother and part time student in Grant's Creative Writing class who is ever optimistic about life's vagaries. Both, Grant and Tomei have literally carried this movie with the brilliance of their acting!

There is very little else to say about The Rewrite except that you should go see it if you wish to see an intelligent comedy. I enjoyed the movie very much, and during that time I even forgot the vicious Octavia that was battering us mercilessly.

Akhil Sharma Weaves a Winsome Web of Despair in his Semi-Autobiographical Novel "Family Life".

I read an excerpt from Akhil Sharma's new novel "Family Life" in the New Yorker a while ago, and right then I knew that I wanted to read more of his writings; it was so distinctly different. As a result, I added Akhil Sharma on my starred 'to read' list.

Luckily for me, only a few months thereafter, someone presented me a signed copy of Akhil Sharma's  "Family Life"  bought at an 'AuthorReading' event in NYC. This is what that someone said when he gifted me this book: "He writes immigrant stories, and the reading session of his I attended was very impressive. The story is semi autobiographical and sad, but it appears to be different." There again it was the 'different' in Sharma that had gotten through.

 "Family Life" is indeed different in that it has a stagnant plot, and yet, the story is captivating. Though told in the most simplistic and matter-of-fact way, it sucks the reader into an emotional whirlpool almost with a Naipaulian élan. The readers are so drawn to every character in the story that there is empathy for each one of them despite their frequent mean and hurtful exchanges. Only a master writer could accomplish such a feat: to get the reader to understands and even admire a mother who emotionally orphans her younger child by blinding herself to his needs while he is growing up in a foreign country, and to not hate a father who brings his young wife and two young sons to a foreign land only to become an alcoholic in the face of a humongous tragedy.  Even the narrator, oftentimes a mean and foul mouthed younger brother who taunts his paralyzed and brain-damaged older brother by calling him names, is endearing to the reader! How does Sharma manage to do this all within a compact 200 page novel told in the voice of a young adult.  I loved each one of his characters, and even though they drew me into their all encompassing despair, I was but a willing participant who didn't want to let go. Sharma's deceptively simple narrative, a loom of lure, wove a magic of despair around me, and, quite like Ajay, the narrator, I too didn't realize I "had a problem" until the very end!

Akhil Sharma's novel "Family Life" is a must read, and it isn't just an 'immigrant story'; it's a saga of pain, loss, and helplessness in a foreign land.

Suketu Mehta's Presentation of Mumbai as "Maximum City" Carries a Diaspora Bias.

Suketu Mehta's Maximum City is a kaleidoscope on Mumbai at the turn of the century. This kaleidoscope, though vivid and engaging, appears to have a diaspora bias to it.

Mr Mehta has very deliberately selected to explore and present the most salient and perhaps the most sale able facets of Mumbai, India's city of dreams. Mehta's novel is a collage of his experiences in Mumbai that capture the daily routines of some very colorful characters that inhabit the darkest, some of the seediest, and also the high power wielding venues of Mumbai, not surprisingly referred to as 'a city in heat'? For instance, the charming dance bar prostitute Monalisa who becomes Mehta's good friend, or even the simpleton Sunil, "a man who has murdered, but is not entirely defined by it", are fine examples of how intriguing and enchanting each of these characters are. Sadly enough, their heart rending stories, be it Monalisa's or of the bad guys such as Satish and  Sunil, if housed in a work of fiction, would not have jarred as they do in Mehta's "meticulous documentary of living -- and struggling" in his native city, Mumbai, to which he returned after spending several years abroad. The characters, and even the milieu in which they dwell, often appear staged and melodramatic, and challenge the readers willful disbelief. If Maximum City is indeed a documentary, a reporting, a narrative on Mumbaikars, the residents of Mumbai, then why is it that each character and every venue depicted is a hotbed of controversy and has a dynamism to it that needs Mehta's "meticulous' reporting? Does Mumbai have no ordinary commonplace people who go about their lives without being embroiled in 'encounters' with the 'bhais' of the underworld or the partisan politics of the Nationalist Party, the Shiv Sena? Mehta has dedicated six hundred pages of brilliant writing to 'meticulous' reporting on the film stars of Bollywood, the dance bars, partisan politics, and the underworld gangs with connections to the Dubai based mafia; all of which make for some racy reading that gratifies the insatiable appetite of the Indian diaspora across the world. The Indian diaspora that no longer recognizes the new India that has emerged since they left, crave for the corrupt and corruptible India they left behind. Novels such as Mehta's and even Anand Girdhirdas' India Calling' tap into this need and write best sellers capturing the maudlin Indian diaspora that indulges in nostalgia for a homeland it left decades ago! In fact it would be no surprise if non-resident-Indians (NRIs) are Amazon's largest clientele for purchasing books by Indian writers. 

Suketu Mehta's writing is definitely a treat, and if you are an Indian living abroad looking for an entertaining and a gripping read, then Maximum City fits the bill. Mehta doles out exactly what his diaspora reading community longs for, the drama that is India in the eyes of an NRI. Although it is rather disappointing when an NYT reviewer says Maximum City is "narrative reporting at its finest, probably the best work of nonfiction to come out of India in recent years". Alas, the NYT reviewer must give due respect to the number of copies sold of the book in question, so what if most buyers of the book are NRIs!

Was it Forster who once said that a novel that is written with a select audience in mind, has already lost ground, and if it is a non-fiction piece that relies largely on its emotional appeal in order to sell, it surely rests on shaky grounds.