The Absolute Nonsense of Being

 

NEW BOOK LAUNCH

Author: Puneet Gupta

It is okay to be lost. It is okay to not know how to be found. It is okay to be different. It is okay not to meet expectations. It is okay to fail. It is okay not to reach the finishing line. It is okay to just be. It is okay not to be the best version of yourself.

In a world that is obsessed with norms and stereotypes, I have often found myself a misfit. And what has made the journey tougher is my defiance to succumb to recurring demands for conformance. If you have faced turbulence in relationships, the grief of loss, or vulnerability in owning the truth - you have found a kindred soul in me. Poetry has been the means to observe, express and flourish for me. It has given me wings. This book is a collection of poems I have written over the last decade, the years I have spent discovering, even loving, the real me. To say it poetically, this book is:

An ode to all the wizardly wordsmiths,
who preceded this inchoate iteration of me
and laid the facile foundations for,
all the wondrous words I could weave

Note: Along with all the English poems in the book, there are two bonus poems in Hindi too in the book!

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Book Review: The Shiva Trilogy

Recently finished reading the "Shiva Trilogy" by Amish Tripathy. While a lot has been said and written about him (many calling him the Dan Brown of India), I was left largely disappointed by these books which I picked up after a long procrastination (usually habit to stay away from stuff that seems to be getting too much attention)...

Good things first - reasonably researched, well thought out in terms of the concept, thoughtful choice of characters, mixing fiction with mythology, and an insightful psychological set of views (many of them very poignant and so very relevant). Where it falters is a very flat and monotonic narration (except for flashes of brilliance like the fight between Sati and The Egyptians), poor vocabulary, mundane characterization (except for some characters like Parvateshvar) and a hugely disappointing climax (the author seems to have no idea about what to do after bringing everyone along on a long journey)... The books could have been so much better. Hope that Amish can work out these kinks and do full justice to his power of imagination & potential that has been showcased through this trilogy.

Book Review: A Thousand Splendid Suns

(Author: Khaled Hosseini)

The author of the literary masterpiece, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini’s next book raised monumental expectations; and just holding the book in my hand for the first time exhilarated me beyond words. But the novel left has me wanting in every which way that I can comprehend!

Each page, each incident in The Kite Runner touched my soul, and deeply. In that novel, Khaled Hosseini wove the story of Amir and Hassan into strands of humanity, friendship and love, so naturally that I wondered if it were his own life he had written about. But A Thousand Splendid Suns (ATSS) did not stir much emotion even with the exceedingly tragic lives of Mariam and Laila, the two prima donnas of the novel. I felt sympathetic, but I think a novel of this genre succeeds in the reader’s ability to empathize. A part of me believes that this may perhaps be due to the gender disconnect - may be it would take a woman to appreciate this novel better.

To add to it, the author has not presented anything too different in terms of narrative. That if you ignore the fact that The Kite Runner was narrated by Amir, but the narrative in ATSS is in third person. As a result, when Amir felt angry, I felt angry too - at Taliban, at God and at life; I writhed in agony when Hassan was tortured. My eyes watered and my heart leapt with Amir and Hassan. I felt, there was a part of me in them.

But the extreme wretchedness of Mariam and Laila’s lives together did not evoke anything more than pity in my heart. The characters are not felt but seen.

In The Kite Runner I lived the boys’ lives … with them. But in ATSS, Mariam and Laila just lived their lives… I just happened to be a spectator.

I am still searching for answers as to why the author, whose brilliance has been lauded by the whole world alike for his first novel, so completely fails to create a mark the second time around. Why do the words sound so hollow? Like BBC News or some Academy Award winning documentary film? Why do the dead children, the stone pelting and beheading, the Taliban, the political turmoil, the madness – feel so fake this time? Is it too much familiarity on my part of the stories from Afghanistan or the lack of author’s first hand experience of the emotions he has written about?

In more ways than one, A Thousand Splendid Suns, has left me wondering. It is not a bad novel – it certainly is not. But it does not offer anything special either. I just feel that I was promised a chocolate truffle but was handed a cube of sugar instead.

Movie Review: Chak De India

Rating: ***1/2

Shahrukh Khan has never been my favourite. Nor are his films the genre that I enjoy watching much. Nonetheless, once in a while, I see his face flash across the TV screen in an unexpected promo. Chak De India is one such example. When I first saw the trailer, I was taken aback with pleasnt surprise to see a promo that actually 'promo'ted the film it stood for. For once, I felt like watching a SRK movie in a theater. Swades was my last such experience. Two other factors propelled me to go for a dekko - the new faces in the cast of the movie and the director's name - Shimit Amin. Shimit had last directed Ek Hasina Thi - a very slick and well directed movie starring Urmila Matondakar and Saif Ali Khan. Fortunately, this time, I was not disappointed.

Chak De India delivers exactly what the promos project. A movie laden with the struggles of a team of underdogs in every which way and the journey of a sportsman during and after his prime. I have seen parallels being drawn with Miracle, Coach Carter, The Underdogs, and Music for the Soul. But inspite of the undeniable similarity in the basic plot, I would have to agree that the Indianization of the stroy is quite unique. And more importantly relevant in more contexts than one.

Of the few questions that stayed in my mind - Why in a country of 100 crore people can we not name even 100 splendid sportspersons? Why are women expected to make all the compromises in a relationship of supposed equals? Why are we Indians not so proud of being an Indian? What drives sports and how much commercialization, or rather Industrialization, of sports has happened worldwide? What are the factors that make us work as indivudals and not as a team? Is casting couch limited to the film industry only? What all can one do to satisfy one's ego? What is the meaning of disgrace and its connotations to the innocent? What can we achieve if only the neeyat is strong? And what are the other sports India likes to play besides cricket?

Besides connecting on a philosophical level, I accredit Shimit Amin for fabulous direction. Subtelty rides uncharacteristically high in most of sentimental moments of the movie, making is all the more realistic and life like. All the characters are well etched and given a perspective. And the ones that are left out from the foreground focus blend in well with the plot. No unnecessary minutes spent on detailing the background of all the girls in the movie and no sad sob story for SRK either (discounting the few minutes of backdrop that the director prepares for the viewer at the very onset of the movie)... No matkas and jtahkas, no song and dance sequences and no item numbers. All the music and singing is relegaed to admirably chosen moments and happens as a part of the narrative story telling. The entire enterprise stays focused around hockey, winning and playing for India. The movie is a befitting tribute to Indian independence on its sixtienth anniversary.

As far as screenplay and editing are concerned, I full give them full marks for maintaining the pace and ensuring that each character in the story gets his/her due share. I dont know the names of all the actors in the film, but every single one - Miss Chautala, Vidya, the Punjabi girl, even Soi Moi and Miss Naik looked the part, played the part and acted the part to perfection. SRK delivers one of those rare performances when you cease to think of him as SRK, a la Swades and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na effect. Humor is infused via body language and dialogues, in situations and characterizations very naturally, and is characterized by its raw minimality that draws you into the plot. The movie does not make you cry, but makes you wonder. It does not make you jubiliate (for you know whats going to happen eventually is the fairy tale ending) but cherish the moments. It does not turn you patriotic but somewhat proud of your roots. It does not profess values but induces thoughts. It does not claim or compare hockey with cricket, but makes you want to follow hockey... supposedly the national sport of India.

Chak De India is by no stretch of imagination the best movie cinematically or otherwise. Neither is it a cult movie not it is overly imaginative. It does not fall under the category is a masterpiece and does npt boast of fancy locales and stunning visuals. But the fact is that the movie is so full of optimism, good faith and positiveness that I find it difficult to focus on those faults!

Book Review: Vamshavriksha

Author: S L Bhyrappa

Vamsha means family and Vriksha translates to a tree. S. L Bhyrappa’s Vamshavriksha narrates the tale of two families – the Shrothri and the Rao households being the center stage for the saga that spans over three generations.

Bhyrappa introduces the reader to all the characters in the first few chapters without adding any contrived twists to the story. Its almost a biographical account of the incidents as they occur in the lives of Srinivasa Shrothri, his wife and daughter in law Katyayani, across the banks of River Kapila (which itself plays an important role in the plot) juxtaposed against the literary journey of Sadasiva Rao and his family.

The book, written in 1962, could be considered ahead of it’s times by some, for it explores the premises of love and duty, and the dilemma that the battle of the heart and the head poses. The characterization of Katyayani and Sadasiva Rao bring to fore the debate on morality vs. individual choice, social norms vs. personal happiness, and forces the reader to think about the very hypotheses on which rights and wrongs are judged. Bhyrappa weaves the stories together with a sheer delicate and understated narration, not spending any words on banal description of the props, clothes or ambience.

He focuses on the moral decisions that people make or the social implications of the same for others. The book was a treat to read and is a must, especially for the puritanical few who justify moral policing of all based on ‘accepted social patterns’