Samskara by U R Ananathamurthy, Oxford Paperbacks

U R Ananthamurthy’s Samskara was written in the 1960s and I am thankful to my friend for suggesting that I should read it. Originally written in Kannada the English translation is a very good read. The story is quite famous and has been made into a film also. The story revolves around the  death of a Brahmin man  and the confusion around the performance of his last rites .The man  is considered a heretic by the village Brahmins and was shunned by his community when he was alive , yet his last rites cannot be performed by  any non-Brahmin  according to social rules. Life in the tradition ridden village society is wonderfully portrayed and  the conflicts amongst castes, the various social taboos have been narrated in great detail.

What I enjoyed reading most was the close analysis of the psychological conflict waging in the mind of the revered Brahmin pundit  . Pranesacharya the central protagonist is faced with a life changing situation which completely destroys his peace of mind but in a way it also liberates him from the fetters of tradition. He tries to escape from his known surroundings initially but later on longs to return to his village and among his fraternity. A celibate who shuns all kind of vices and  weaknesses , who deliberately marries a sick woman and seeks spiritual release by serving her unfailingly, has a chance encounter with a low-caste beautiful woman . The ancient texts which he knew by heart and used to recite everyday suddenly come to life as he experiences reality in the shape of this beautiful woman. He feels he is not a Brahmin anymore but does not repent it.

The social situation might seem dated for urban tastes but anyone who has been brought up in  conservative brahminical traditions cannot fail to notice the striking resemblance to one’s own emotional, cultural and social response to similar situations in life.  Samskara can have a vice like grip on society and sometimes can destroy human lives completely. Pranesacharya reminded me about Tagore’s Gora. Both rediscover themselves  .

Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, Myrmidon books 2012

After ages I have read something so hauntingly beautiful , so mystical, so romantic and yet so sad. I simply raced through the pages of this lovely historical novel only to be left completely mesmerised by the magic of Twan's narrative .
The story is told in flashback. Yun Ling is a retired judge battling the onset of dementia .Before her mind fails her she wants to capture her memories in words.
Below is a quote from http://www.tantwaneng.com/

"On a mountain above the clouds, in the central highlands of Malaya lived the man who had been the gardener of the Emperor of Japan.”

Teoh Yun Ling was seventeen years old when she first heard about him, but a war would come, and a decade would pass before she travels up to the Garden of Evening Mists to see him, in 1951. A survivor of a brutal Japanese camp, she has spent the last few years helping to prosecute Japanese war criminals. Despite her hatred of the Japanese, she asks the gardener, Nakamura Aritomo, to create a memorial garden for her sister who died in the camp. He refuses, but agrees to accept Yun Ling as his apprentice ‘until the monsoon’ so she can design a garden herself.

Staying at the home of Magnus Pretorius, the owner of Majuba Tea Estate and a veteran of the Boer War, Yun Ling begins working in the Garden of Evening Mists. But outside in the surrounding jungles another war is raging. The Malayan Emergency is entering its darkest days, the communist-terrorists murdering planters and miners and their families, seeking to take over the country by any means, while the Malayan nationalists are fighting for independence from centuries of British colonial rule."

For Aritomo creating the garden  is almost like being on a spiritual journey. As his disciple and later his lover Yun Ling becomes part of this spiritual quest. There are lot of cultural similarities with India which I could relate to .The descriptions of the workers' lives in the tea gardens, the atrocities carried out inside the camps and the exploitation of women who are treated as commodities and slaves, the lifelong love and friendship of  two adults who could have married yet both chose to remain single, the almost spiritual personal love story of two human beings belonging to enemy camps in the public eye, how an adopted country and its people can mean  so much to someone that you end up by paying with your life  and above all the beautiful descriptions of the Malayan landscape - all contribute towards making this novel intensely likeable.The book has intimate details of the Japanese tattoo art form, which is quite fascinating to read.
Twan's language is beautiful , almost philosophical at times. The language is languid and slow at times and at times open to interpretation because of the philosophy behind the words.This is a must read for all . 

In the falling snow/ Caryl Phillips, Harvill Secker 2009

 Caryl Phillips is one of my favourite authors. As usual he writes beautifully and deeply .

The book is about an individual’s search for identity in a modern multi-cultural world. Keith is a black man married to a white woman and they have a son. His one act of infidelity damages his carefully nurtured relationship with his long time sweetheart, university mate and wife Annabelle. Keith starts living away from his family and gets involved with his office colleague who is a divorcee. When he tries to withdraw himself from this relationship he is charged with sexual harassment by his young colleague who feels she has been used by him. Meanwhile Annabelle finds it trying to handle her son who is at a difficult stage in life and seeks Keith’s help to sort out matters .Though Annabelle and Keith have great mental bonding the book does not talk about their reunification . On the other hand the characters all live as isolated individuals trying to chalk out their own existence in this world.

The book also deals with old age problems. Keith and Annabelle both have to deal with aging parents. Keith’s sick father stays all by himself .He refuses to go and live in institutions where his other friends stay. He talks about the betrayals, disappointments, sufferings that he and his other friends had to suffer as black men in a predominantly white society. Annabelle’s father on the other hand is ashamed of his black son in law and never really accepts him as one of their own.
Keith’s son Laurie is again a victim of various racial prejudices. His white mother feels his black father can understand him better and protect him from trouble. However what Keith experiences when he meets his estranged son goes beyond mere racial problems .It becomes more of a psychological problem which is universal in nature.
 “Of course he wants his son to talk to him, but he understands why his son feels a little distant. Sons can be unforgiving towards those who they believe have hurt their mothers. “

While racial and social issues form the overriding theme of this book the story also depicts the impatience of modern man. Keith has no real feelings for the women he beds casually, Annabelle is deeply concerned about her family’s well being and hates to find Keith in a sorry state ,yet the two cannot find the words which could have saved their love and lives .
A lovely book which leaves you thinking about possibilities.

Ref : Image
http://www.tower.com/in-falling-snow-caryl-phillips-paperback/wapi/114299487

The Dhammapada /Translation and commentary in Hindi by Dr Wangchuk Dorjee Negi ,Director of Central Institute of Buddhist Studies,Leh , Translated from Hindi to Bengali by Ramkrishna Das. Paraspathar Prakashan.2012

It is always a pleasure to discover new books from displays put up by small publishers at major bookfairs. . While picking up this book at the Kolkata Bookfair this year , I was more attracted by the cover design and yes of course the title of the book . However I was expecting this to be another complex , esoteric,difficult to understand –kind of book . But I was in for a pleasant surprise. Parashpathar Prakashan has done a wonderful job by bringing out a Bengali translation of Dr Negi’s work on the Dhammapada . Reading this much revered spiritual text of Buddhism in Bengali was a wonderful experience. Mr. Das’s translation is lucid and extremely easy to read. For ordinary human beings trying to make sense of the chaos around him a book like this can provide some direction to his confused inner world .

Dalai Lama in his foreword says ‘The Dhammapada is a handbook of practical ethics, that may be of interest or benefit , whether you are a Buddhist or not. …a disciplined mind leads to happiness and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering. The Dhammapada describes a path of ethical behaviour that is a feature of this kind of inner discipline that leads to happier life.'

The Dhammapada is a collection of Buddha's sayings in verse form . The language is Pali /Prakrit which has its roots in Sanskrit. It is believed that the each verse is related to a specific situation in Buddha's life and times . Dr Negi’s original book in Hindi was published and distributed free to people at large. Mr. Das was one such recipient who sought permission to translate Dr Negi’s edition into Bengali. I can only thank him for doing so . Each verse is followed by a brief story  and a simple commentary. Most of us are familiar with some of the stories linked to Buddha’s teachings to his followers. One of my favourites is that of the lady named Kisagotami who lost her son and roamed around grief stricken with her dead son's body . Someone took her to Buddha and she asked him to bring her dead son back to  life. Buddha agreed to do so only if she could fetch him a handful of mustard seeds from a family that has not known death. The book is full of such fascinating stories. The book can be read if not for anything else then just for its easy to understand collection of stories which illustrate the eternal truths of life.

While reading the book I once again rediscovered some of the stories which have lived with me from my schooldays. Today when I am re- reading them it is a different experience since life’s sufferings, setbacks, betrayals and moments of joy and happiness have already coloured my perceptions of life. While I can agree with most of the concepts some can appear alien in today’s context. What I feel Dr Negi has been able to achieve is to provide a commentary on the concepts in a manner suitable for contemporary readers. The Bengali translation is equally good to hold the attention of ordinary readers like me.

Full Circle: How the classical world came back to us , by Ferdinand Mount , Schimon and Schuster 2010,p 438

Since most human beings are fascinated by the past and are curious to know more about the bygone era, the title of the book is tempting enough to attract a sizeable no of occasional readers like me as well as serious researchers on the subject. As you leaf through the book, Ferdinand Mount does not disappoint you.

‘So much about contemporary society bears an astonishing resemblance to the most prominent features of the classical world, the ways in which we live our rich and varied lives correspond almost eerily to the ways in which the Greeks and Romans lived theirs.. This is not a conscious imitation but has arisen naturally.’ By us the author means people in Britain and more generally in Europe and North America. The book argues that after 2000 years of sailing western society is now back at the jetty it embarked from. Though the book basically talks about western situations, in a globalised world it is not difficult to trace similarities with any urban society for that matter.

The author looks at different aspects of life and society and draws insightful similarities between the present and the classical past. .The book is divided into two main sections - Body and Mind. The chapters under Body are : the bath , the gym, the bedroom and the kitchen .Under Mind the sections are : Science ,Religion, New Age , Dialogue, Fame ,Art ,Nature , Scipio’s Dream.

The opening chapter talks about the Roman baths and the tradition of public bathing. Public baths sometimes known as Turkish baths were built in Britain and by late nineteenth century many cities boasted multiple bathing joints. These baths were extremely popular amongst all classes. Every rising industrial centre was proud of its baths.

In the chapter on Kitchen the author comments “ today an articulate concern with food and drink is the mark of a civilized person. A person who knows about food is regarded as knowing much more about life. Food writers have multiplied and there is a food column in every newspaper. In the Greek world Sicilians were gourmets and gourmands. Socrates commends “these refinements of Sicilian cookery for which the tables of Syracuse are famous”. By natural progression Sicily also bred the first cookery writers around fifth or fourth century BC. Most of theses works have perished with the exception of some like “gastronomia by Archestrus”.However the writer observes- the paradox is “Despite this torrent of advice on how to cook , the shelves of fat cookbooks in the bookshops and the huge fortunes piled up by cookery writers – in the shape of Delia Smith, enough to buy Norwich City football club- it is unlikely that people are in fact cooking at home more than they used to. Indeed if you look at the rows of restaurants springing up along every street, credit crunch notwithstanding , people must be eating in a good deal less and eating out a lot more.”

How true. It reminded me of a discussion I recently had with the proprietor of one of Kolkata’s oldest bookshops, who was lamenting the general decline of readership of good books and the popularity of cookbooks amongst fashionable urban ladies who made rare entries into their kitchens. An elderly lady who had spent long hours of her life in dark kitchens once remarked that today’s housewives have custom fitted modular kitchens but only for the benefit of their maid –cum-cooks .

In the chapter on Nature the author writes “The Climate change campaign (and the occasional ruthlessness of it s tactics) is as much a symptom as a cause of deeper and longer established impulse : the urge to re-earth ourselves.
There is a new Goddess to be worshipped : Gaia , the old earth goddess but now dressed in the robes of modern science. “ In Greek mythology “ Gaia is the source. She is mother Earth ,”Terra Mater” “ the alpha and omega of life. There has been a startling growth in the strength and number of organizations devoted to protecting the” environment” or the skin of Gaia. With the great carbon panic cheque books and credit cards are not enough. Everyone has to do a bit for the environment- discarding plastic bags, recycling waste ,slashing air miles, walking and cycling instead of motoring to work and what not. We all need to touch Gaia. Climate change deniers have been compared to Holocaust deniers. Some of the few sceptics have been denied research funds and their opportunities for promotion or employment blocked.

The book is full of fascinating details. President Reagan consulted astrologers and his favourite was Joan Quigley who drew a horoscope of Gorbachev before the two leaders met . A survey showed that 48% of Wall Street stockholders used horoscopes when deciding what to buy or sell.
The first account of some one reading without moving his lips can be dated to AD383 when St Augustine met Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan reading silently in his cell. In his Confessions St. Augustine describes this experience. Democritus lived to the age of 100 and was known as ‘Sophia” – Brains. He was the laughing philosopher and wrote an essay on cheerfulness.” In the Loeb Classical library where Greek texts faced English translations, the English right –hand page would switch to Latin when the text reached an indecent passage.”

The Financial Times recommends this as a good holiday companion. I would like to agree but only if you are holidaying alone on your own.


Ref : Image above "booktopia.com.au"

A great poet and a great writer.

Our beloved poet is no more. A poet does not die .Long live the poet. Yet a vacuum is created in many lives. It is a personal loss for me. I never met him yet he was no stranger to me. I had grown up with him and lived with him through his thoughts and ideas till this day -my middle age, and hopefully will live with him till I die. Our poet was not just a poet . He had spread himself in novels, short stories , weekly columns , essays . I will miss his weekly write-up in ABP . Reading him was like being in conversation with him. As if he was speaking to you . I will miss his warm presence at bookfairs , on various city forums , in television coverages, his opinions , his speeches. The poet was our own. You knew him even if you had never met him personally. My dad and I were great fans of his travel writings. He could make such writing so lively by simple observations and by his great fluid style.

Newspaper reports tell that there has been a huge demand for the poet’s works since he died. I have also been trying to beat my sorrow by going back to his poetry.





We grew up with Nillohit in our youth and every festival number from the ABP group was eagerly awaited by idle dreamers like me. Nillohit captivated us. Those were the heydays of Desh the dominant ABP weekly magazine . For years we were equally mesmerised by his mega historical novels serialised in Desh magazine. We were hooked, not a single issue could be missed ,to be discussed and debated thereafter.

“ Shei Somoy”(Those Days) and “Prothom Alo”(First Light) both are classics in their own rights and have been translated . Both these works opened up a new world - a world untrodden for ages -to thousands of readers like me. We became his diehard admirers forever. He was a guru to a generation of poets and writers . I personally like him for the simplicity of his language both in poetry and prose. It is not always easy to understand poetry . However even ordinary readers like me could appreciate and enjoy his poetry . Such was the beauty of his writing.

Let the world be blessed with more poets like him.

Ref/ Acknowledgements:

http://www.amazon.com/Those-Days-Novel-Sunil-Gangopadhyay/dp/0140268529

http://www.sunilgangopadhyay.org/book2.html

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/east/bengali-writer-sunil-gangopadhyay-dead-581

Ban this book : What to read and what not to read that is the question

Talibans exist everywhere , they exist in people’s mind.The Malala incident is an eye opener and once again reinforces the power of the written word. Pen is mightier than the sword . Who would have thought that an innocent children’s book could create such a storm – a storm in the tea cup rather . The book in question is Timothy Knapman’s “ My adventure island” . A young father had borrowed the book from the library for his five year old son . The child had asked questions which you would expect any normal child to do. Now the over zealous parents had analysed the questions and come to the conclusion that the book was most unsuitable for their child. Next came the demand, placed to the shocked library authorities – remove the book from the collection.

I was compelled to read the book by public demand and I loved it. The book is part of this year’s Reading Challenge programme which is an annual reading event specially designed for children organised by the Reading Mission, UK. Every year there is a new theme and this year’s theme is Story Lab .Well the book is a fun book with lovely illustrations and a sweet message at the end. A little boy imagines doing all those naughty things in an imaginary island which he is otherwise forbidden to do – such as picking his nose, eating unhealthy stuff ,playing all day, not washing and living with a stink etc etc. Now how could these simple fun ideas influence and corrupt a child’s mind I had no clue. Fortunately I discovered that not all parents thought alike. Why have a censorship board at home – remarked another parent to my big relief. Another parent wrote on my FB status “The writers perhaps never realised in their wildest dreams that their material could cause such a flutter and debate among a certain class of readers who were never meant to read this book in the first place”.

Another lovely book which I could not resist reading was Neil Gaiman’s “The day I swapped my dad for two gold fish”. Dave Mckean’s brilliant illustrations make the book magical. The book reminded me of a Russian book which we used to treasure in our childhood days “When daddy was a little boy”. Gaiman’s note at the end of the book is equally fascinating. The book was conceived after a real life situation which Gaiman faced when his son was a small boy.

The story is about two children who swap their dad for two gold fish and then are sent by their mom to bring him back. While doing so they discover that their dad has changed hand several times and this sets them on a journey through different adventures. A remarkable book very lively and again full of fantasy and romance.

I have always been a big fan of British designers and specially book designers and illustrators. Books themselves are so colourful that you do not require any additional props when you are planning a thematic display in a public space. This simple display (pic )speaks for itself. I plan to read some more books from the Story Lab collection.

Ref:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/My-adventure-Island-Timothy-Knapman/dp/1407115235

http://www.amazon.com/Day-Swapped-Dad-Two-Goldfish/dp/0060587032