Of Revisiting Old Things...

Two years?! Really?! Have I been lazy that long? Sometimes, it seems to me time has no relevance at all. It rushes by and all you can do is hold on tight so that you aren't left behind. I guess the same has happened to me. In the intervening years, I have gone and gotten myself married and am now a mother of a surprisingly pretty boy (no point being modest about, no?) 
On the career front, I have been teaching and discovered my true calling, as it were. After unsuccessfully trying my hand at research, I am back to safer shores, obtaining plain old degrees. So I attempted the State exam for Education and got through. Now all I am doing is waiting for college to start so I can be back amid the familiar and comforting surroundings of academia. In the meanwhile, I am setting up home for my messy, messy hubby..after months of derelict living alone and also for my bundle of energetic joy :)
I still have my  heart set on creating a colossal library and have added much since the last time I blogged. I had an Excel sheet with a list of my entire collection, which sadly seems to have been deleted along with some crazy virus that keeps attacking my venerable PC.
However, when not buying, I trip off to the local British Library to get my fill of printed madness. This time I picked up Joanne Harris' 'Gentlemen and Players,' Salman Rushdie's 'Enchantress of Florence,' and David Lodge's 'The Campus Trilogy.'  

Joanne Harris is the writer of the famous-made-by-Johnny Depp-movie, 'Chocolat.' Enchanted by windy, chilly France and of course by chocolate, I gave this one a shot. The book's not so bad if you have Juliette Binoche and Depp constantly running through your head. Harris' narrative tends to lag a bit until you really don't know where it is going anymore. Another example of this is her 'Blackberry Wine.' It is a story told mostly in flashback wherein a fading writer looks back on his childhood and its most altering experiences. While this may sound very golden and nostalgia-inducing-goodness, it does not quite reach that goldenness until much later in the novel and by then you are just plain frustrated. more so for me, as I was just out of the hospital after my delivery and was trying to cope with being stuck to bed rest.Another I read by her was 
'Lollipop Shoes.' Now this was a sequel of sorts to the veritable 'Chocolat' and was by reflection a better book. Her editors could well ask her to skim her stories by a couple of chapters, and she'd be better to read. 
'Gentlemen and Players' also suffers from a similar preponderance with incidents and details. The story (insofar that I have read) is about revenge of the middle class public-schooler upon an exclusive and by default snooty private school. The protagonist (or is he the antogonist?) as a child plays immense pretend games, imagining himself as a student of St. Oswald's Grammar School, which he infiltrates via his father, the handyman's devices. Later, as an adult, he manages to enter the school on false pretexts and wrecks havoc within it, plotting and planning. 
I had almost given up on this one, seeing as there were needless and winding insights into the Latin Teacher's mind and life. The only books where I have seen details to be charming are 'A Suitable Boy' by Vikram Seth (a total, total favorite) and Tarun Tejpal's 'Alchemy of Desire.' The rest, as they say, is superfluous. 
I hope to see Harris' to the end, especially since this is the last one that Brit Lib stocks of her. After this, lined up for perusal is 'Enchantress of Florence.' Much flowery language is promised, I believe.    
Until next time..happy reading!
   

Yayyyyy! new books! I just went shopping yesterday..the way perhaps other women shop for clothes and shoes....so i took out a date...got my fiancé...and headed out to Landmark.

Now Landmark is my favoritest book store ever. this is because:

1. One of the branches in the city has wood paneling..n m a sucker for that warm woody feeling.

2. They have an awesome collection of books. International writers that are slow to catch up in some of the other joints can be found here.

3. I love their newsletters (Yes, I go so often that they mail me the newsletters along with a special discount!)

4. They have sales so often.

5. Its a book store!

The books I bought are these:

1. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. Now this is about Frida Kahlo and her husband and the political situation that held the country at that point of time. The narative is by the butler who lived with them. It recently won the Orange Fiction award and ever since I hear about that, I wanted it!

2. The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. This one really needs no introduction. Ghosh is said to be one of the best writer in India. Set in Burma, and talks of the King and his family. Really looking forward to this one.

3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Had already read this, but didn't think much of it. Fiancé wanted to read it though, so got it for him...maybe will try again...

4. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Somebody i knew went on and on about how brilliant this one was. Its about the why of success. How do people become successful and what are the factors behind them....

and despite of these...still need more books :)

Re-writing Saga....1

This has been long pending! When I read 'Devdas' by Saratchandra Chattopadhyay, I was puzzled by the ending. Can a man be driven to such despair? It was not the character of Dev that bemused me, really. it was Chandramukhi's.For a courtesan, she seemed to be rather passive, especially when compared to Paro, the 'the good girl', so to speak. Where was the sense of agency? Unsatisfied as I was with the ending, it swirled and swirled around till I got down to re-writing it with a different one. I put the story here, for all to judge.

I have changed several things, the setting too, in a way. The protagonist and narrator is Chandramukhi, as opposed to an omniscient one in the original.The rest is what you will have to read for yourselves!

I will posting a chunk every now and then...it's practically a novella! Comments, suggestions, criticism are all welcome.

P.S. This was written way back in 2002. M sure my style has changed since..

(It doesn't have a title)

Like the ancient fire

Burning inside the sun

His eyes have the brightness

That capture with their might.

I had written this and many other verses in my diary. But this particular verse proved to be a prophecy when I witnessed the same fire. The bright eyes came before me as the eyes of Sabya Banerjee.

It was a fine, uneventful morning I woke up at six, as I usually did. I had my bath and a brief prayer followed. I checked up on my mother. She had been bed-ridden for the past two months. The right side of her body had been paralyzed. But she refused to be treated as a baby. Though her strong voice had become a muffle of unrecognizable sounds and her worn hardworking hands and legs became almost immobile, she was adamant about living life her way. She was already up, staring out of the window that opened into the busy lane of fruit and vegetable vendors. She twisted her mouth into what only I understood as a smile.

‘Good morning Ma, how are you feeling?’ I sat by the bedside. She nodded her head vigorously. I smiled her and patted her. She was one stubborn lady. She would not let helplessness weigh her down. I went into the kitchen and started to prepare breakfast when I heard the doorbell. I wiped my hands and started towards the door.

‘Who’s there?’ I called out. There was no reply. ‘Who is there?’ I called out louder.

‘Sabya Banerjee’ I heard the voice on the other side call.

It took a minute for the name to register. Of course, I remembered. He was the new tenant who was to rent the second floor. I hurried to open the door. I think it was that one second which brought novelty in my life.

There he stood, with his mesmerizing brown eyes. ‘I’m Sabya Banerjee.’

Till next time....

Billie Jean

These are slow days (slow coz...??)...so i popped tothe Inorbit Mall next to my workplace (dnt tel my manager!!!). Checked out new cofy place called 'Gloria Jeans.' I am just abt looking for new cafes all the time. So i nearly squealed and my eyes went wide when I saw it open for business. must go must go!!!
The decor is very well done up with browns and cremes. There's wood panelling all around. I thnk if people ever admitted to structural preferences, they wud confess that wood is the warmest of them all. sorta makes u feel like a farmer in the English countryside, hehe...Now I have a total weakness for cofy places, even tho the cofy is never that great and is always overpriced, hehe...
I ordered the White Chocolate Mocha, taken by its name and the concept of white chocolate with cofy. It was okayish...tad bit different, but that was about it.
I ordered a Non-veg burger along with it. N i thnk i did it purely out of curiosity. wat is a non veg burger?? is it chkn? or some other meat that we dare not take the name of?? like Lord Voldemort? the great mysterious NON VEG BURGER whose origins are dubious. lolz!
turns out it was more like potato than anything else! disappointing!
but who really cares abt the food? like all cafes, hang out...chat up and leave...

The truth and nothing but the truth?

And I finally finished Shantaram! Well actually not now really. Even managed to finish another book in the meantime and start a third (!) But let's talk abt 'S' today.

Let's say we're mixing up Vikram Chandra's 'Sacred Games' with a bit of Bollywood masala. A great hero doesn't ever fall and is at the right time and the right place ALWAYS. A gangster with a heart of gold (excuse my cliches), you'll get urself 'S'. You find that the 'hero', and yes he's put himself up as a hero, is too soul-searching for a criminal. There are constant throw backs on things like conscience and and sentiments. And for someone who has a long criminal record, his language appears very refined (fine editing perhaps?) Too incredulous?

Roberts infuses too much bravado in his style. There is too much happening all the time. After a point, you begin to doubt the authenticity of facts.

But if you can overlook that, and I believe one can, it is quite an entertaining read. It will give u an insider's glance into the dark and grimy world of survival in Bombay. But I do admit, I always wondered abt the many videshis on Indian streets. I thnk I now have a tiny idea of their world.

But if u want some real dirt on Bombay, chk the aforementioned book by Chandra. its a product of years of research with a very no-nonsense approach. Let me use the word 'clinical' in describing it. No sentimental riff-raff.

But back to 'S.' its a tad bit too lengthy. U mite say u cant compass a life in a short book, but much of its length is made of descriptions that cudv been done away with. That is, I feel, one of its biggest shortcomings, the pace slows considerably at places. You need to push urself to read on. I read sumwhr that this book has been selling well in India. I think thts really coz of the 'superhero' element. after all, dnt we just love a guy who's always right?

Books and Glass

I have must have been away for ages...so I have a question. Was glass a part of nature? In any possible form? I know that we have ice as hard as glass and it has the same abilities. So, are buildings with glass as opposed to nature? And what about the people who work within them? As I sit in one of them, I can't help but think this. The most recurrent dark thought that I have is if there was ever a natural calamity, how much damage would the glass alone cause?

Okay, enough of that. I have collected so many books that I don't have any more place in my room. There are books on my shelves, writing table, dressing table...sometimes even on the floor. I don't even have place for my bags! I am into Gregory Robert David's 'Shantaram' right now. The dude is rather self-righteous as criminals go. It is autobiographical. One thing that always intrigued me is that how do these writers recall exact and whole conversations?? Beats me!

Not so happy Diwali

So here I am surfing the net and I find that sum of my friends have been blogging pretty regularly. n i think, why don't I give it a shot?

So m sitting here, listening to the increased levels of noise pollution that the media has been trying to bring down. Many many ads by celebs makin their way to TV, askin ppl to avoid crackers and "do somethin u've never done before". well, i dnt see it happening. or perhaps i am. i think m looking at the general audience ignoring their fav celebs! now thats a first for India, innit??