Macro

A serene, remorseful man looks at his second wife and thinks why couldnt he love her the way she wants him to? The second wife wallows in self hatred for having doublecrossed her loving husband and cannot seem to forgive herself – she wants her husband to be angry at her, shout at her and be furious about her misdeeds. Instead, the husband has taken it all within himself; he wants to love a woman who has been battered emotionally. He wants to be understanding of her, and make her know that he lovves her and not hate her. Its when, his first wife reminds him – Pity is not a substitute for love.

Stunningly told, superbly written, Cuckold, a first person narrative of heir apparent of Mewar, begs your attention and refuses to let go till you finish it. Kiran Nagarkar’s critically aclaimed novel is a translation of his own book in marathi; a sahitya akademi winner, this book justifies not just justifies its acclaim, but manages to converge a part of history that we might have either not realized or not bothered to know. Its a love story, Its a triangular love story, its a story of peace, a story of friendship, a story of war and strategies, and ultimately the story of man and god, and his wish to become god to conquer love.

Its the sixteenth century, when Mewar ruled by Rajputs, and is at the peak of its powers. However the kingdom of mewar has a intricately built relationship with its neighbors – a fundamentalist islmaic rule in Gujurath, and a weaking Sultan Lodi at North. And then of course the looming effect of Babur and his advances into hindustan.Amidst the chaos, the prince, Maharaj Kumar, heir apparent to Chittor sets across to tell his story and his life.

The Princess whom he marries to declares on the first night that she is bethroed to someone else – and that someone else is the blue god. He is her husband, he is lover and she was entirely his; He is the supreme one – Krishna. And she is beloved – Meera. A dejected and rejected Maharaj tries to find peace and love elsewhere, and so begins his journey where he contemplates not just his life, but existance of god himself and the core of human nature.

As much as he tries to find love elswhere, Maharaj Kumar finds himself falling love with his wife; only that his wife loves god himself, and he has to challege god to feel her love. In between, the Maharaj contemplates the nature of war, the necessity of strategy and his own greed to get the crown of his father. And yet, Maharaj Kumar is patient enough to wait for his turn at the crown, inspite of a conspiring Queen karmavati and her son Virkramaditya; And yet Maharaj Kumar is patient enough to wait for his love to come back to him – by not just his wife, but everyone else whom he fell in love with.

Cuckold, as the name suggests the state of mind of maharaj kumar – a cuckold to his wife he loves so much. A cuckold to the society he wants to lead. Where does his love lead to? where does his mannerisms lead to? Why did the Mewar empire collapse to Babur? Cuckold manages to span a gamut of questions in a single book.

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The writing style of the book is good – it has its own share of quirks when it comes to translation, but on the whole it is very well written. The mood of the book shifts from first person narrative to a onlooker back and forth as situation demands; A onlooker when his princes is around – and first person when its him trying to find answers within himself.

What makes cuckold a very strong book is the treatment of history to the tale; yes, one cannot claim this is exactly what happened, but its a interesting point of view to read. We as always knew more and more about Meera Bai, the saint of Mathura and her life, but Cuckold presents a viewpoint from her husband. What did he feel? What did he undergo? Cuckold beautifully manages to capture the inner turmoils and life in and around Maharaj Kumar, Meera’s husband. It is this change that keeps the book bold and attentive.

Like any historical book, the abundance of characters only adds to the complexity and layers of a rich storyline; Multiple subplots, and multiple love stories only add to character study of individuals, but what is definitely the most striking feature of the book is Maharaj Kumar trying to win his love back from God himself. It is this that really sets apart the book, and comes across as a forceful read!

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All in all Cuckold is a brilliantly told piece of history interwined with a love story of his own. The balance is perfect, and so is the content – pick this one immediately! You won’t regret it a bit.

In a age where the destruction caused by natural disasters and man made disasters is difficult to compare (as they both seem to do similar damage), any disaster is given an eyeful before being determined whether it was indeed nature playing on its fury or a man made idea gone awry. I must confess, it was the latest Tsunamis which actually made me think and write this review – peculiarly because I have just completed a book that addresses threat of global warming, eco terrorists et al – [b]State of Fear[/b] written by one of my favorite authors [b]Michael Crichton[/b].

Crichton’s strength has largely always been his impeccable research and his ability to convince a reader about the misguided possibilities of science. State of Fear is no different from his usual trend of novels, though it is much better than his off late efforts which read more like movie scripts. Not that this one doesn’t too, but Crichton manages to infuse enough book into to merit it being called a Book. And of course, the research!

As mentioned, the topic of Crichton’s fancy this time is Global Warming – a term which we have come to know in daily life as earth’s temperature going up, ice melting at caps, weather patterns changing to create havoc on earth. However, Crichton treads the path of controversy this time by not just refuting Global Warming and its implications, but goes on to argue about the danger of eco terrorists trying to take over human sensibilities.

[b]Story[/b]

Unlike Crichton’s normal pattern where a group of scientists always mess up something good, this one begins right within a mess. The Island nation of Vanatu has decided to sue Environmental Protection Agency because Vanatu is sinking due to polar melting. Since United States is the biggest contributor to earth’s pollution, EPA has been targeted with a lawsuit which is to be revealed in a conference. A millionaire philanthropist who is about donate millions to environmental research organization fighting this lawsuit suddenly rebukes his offer and in a booze binge, dies. Somewhere across the world, mysterious dealings involving arms, detonators, scientific equipment and materials of world war 2.

Enter a professor from MIT who doubles as a FBI agent on a goose chase to hunt down the terrorists who have bought the materials. Involving the millionaire’s lawyer and his secretary, the trio begins to hunt down the terrorists and their plans trough their codes – together they traverse across half the world from Iceland to Antartica to Arizona to Tokyo trying to uncover the mammoth plans lay by eco terrorists. In between they also try to link up the mysterious relation between the environmental agency and its lawsuit with the eco terrorists.

[b] Research [/b]

However its not the story per se that holds your attention as in most Crichton’s books – it is the research. While the troika are globe trotting, the professor agent begins to discourse on how the entire global warming science is completely unfounded in its own unpredictability. Crichton cleverly showcases how warming may affect cities, but there is no relevant data to show that it has affected smaller towns. Or that sea levels have not really increased in the last 30 years. Crichton does away with the arguments of glaciers melting and instead offers a view point of glaciers actually rising up, and how the earth is actually getting colder instead of warmer.

What sets apart Crichton’s story telling is the degree of authenticity Crichton presents in terms of scientific references, papers, graphs and so son. At many times, footnotes capture the scientific detail inappropriate for storytelling – add to that a mammoth 15 page bibliography on environmental research. However, the most compelling part of the book really is in its Appendix, where Crichton discusses the issue of Science and Politicized science.

He argues that like eugenics, global warming too has been used by the western nations to deprive other countries from getting industrialized. Eugenics (a study of how whites were superior to other people) formed the basis of Hitler’s argument in cleansing Jews – and surprisingly study of eugenics was a funded research in US University. However after World War II, eugenics lost its hold in all communities, and slowly became something of a dangerous science. Crichton argues that global warming is similar in its approach that, while scientific research is good for the world, politicizing it and using it as a shield towards other countries is not.

Crichton makes a wonderful point about how global warming is misplaced amongst almost half the humanity for what it is – and that misinformation is being used by western nations to force smaller nations to NOT be industrialized. Indeed, the appendix itself is worth every penny of this book for the way it is written.

[b] Overall [/b]

Overall, this definitely must rank as Crichton’s best novels – though this one very much feels like a movie script, the extent is very less, and hence the book comes through. All in all, a good read and must be read by anyone who is a fan of Crichton.

[b] The tsunami connection [/b]

An episode in the book reflects on how eco terrorists plan to create a tsunami by using resonating waves to create an earthquake under water. Convincingly chilling, it just brings out the human tragedy that can happen when a man tries to ape nature. And perhaps [b] nature is best left alone [/i].

Happy reading – and it feels good be back in penning mode!

Ostentatious

That perhaps is one single word which rightly explains ‘The Lord of the Rings – Return Of The King’ (hence referred as ROTK). One of the most anticipated movie trilogies of our times, the Lord of the Rings finally ends its journey this year, in what must be termed as one of the greatest cinematic achievement on the big screen. After the three hour twenty one minute spectacle (201 minutes), when you finally begin to move from the theater you think if there could another grandiose series like this. And yet with all is theatrical enigma of being a cinematic classic on screen, The ROTK is the one word I looked for – Ostentatious.

Ostentatious – Pretentious, Showy, Affected, Brazen, Flamboyant, Grandiose.

 

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Lord of the Rings has always been a flamboyant take off from the original work by J. R. R. Tolkein. Right from the shire to the two towers, the ugly orcs, the castle of Gondor, the elves and their lands; each one of it has been realized to be complete cinematic aesthetics.

For a brief caper – the fellowship of the ring is formed when the Evil ring of Sauron (which can cause destruction of middle earth) has been found by Froddo’s grandpa (Froddo and his friends are Hobbits); Gandalf the wizard bestows the task of returning the evil ring back to the doom mountain where it must be destroyed, and to help him out form the fellowship of 9 people, led by Froddo, his friend Sam, his two friends Merry and Pippin, Gandalf, Aragon (The true heir of Gondor), Boromir (Aragon and Boromir are humans), Elf Legolas, and the Dwarf Gimli. Sauron who is constantly getting stronger in his evil powers does his best to take charge of the fellowship, and manages to break it apart, while 2 people are killed and Gandalf is assumed dead.

In the two towers, Sam and Froddo continue their journey albeit without the fellowship to Mordor the place of Doom Mountain and the one ruled by Sauron. Meanwhile, Gandalf resurfaces with rest of the fellowship to fight a monstrous battle at Helm’s deep in their way towards Gondor. At the same time, Merry and Pippin together with trees fight the evil wizard Saruman and his towers. Meanwhile, Arwen the daughter of Legolas has developed more than interest in Aragon, the warrior. However the two towers introduces to Froddo and Sam and to us as well, Gollum, an ancestral hobbit who was the previous owner of the Ring and still desires it. The cunningly duplicitous Gollum whims and plans to get the Ring back but has the patience to lead Froddo and his friend Sam to Mordor too.

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ROTK begins with the battle of Saruman and Helm’s deep won of course by the good people. Gollum, still plotting and planning is taking the hobbits across, while at Gondor (ruled by a steward), is held by Gandalf to rally the forces for the battle against the army of Sauron, while the rest of the fellowship regroups the army of Rohan (it will take another review to explain this one). While the fellowship fights the war against the orcs, Aragon convinces the undead (soul keeper, you cannot miss this part!), to lead the war. The fellowship then restores the king (Aragon) back to throne and lead a deviation for Froddo and Sam to demolish the ring; how they do it – watch the movie!

[Note – I haven’t even dwelled into the numerous subplots AT ALL!]

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ROTK is grandiose personified. It would simply be an understatement of the year if I did say that the battle scenes look simply spell binding and incredibly done. You will witness without any doubts, one of the best battle scenes in cinema; you will see one of the most articulately done sets in Gondor; and you cannot miss the breath taking beauty of New Zealand in the background all along, nor can you miss the chillingly done Mordor. But most of all you cannot miss Gollum, wily hobbit who is part animation part human – he is simply incredibly done in this movie.

And yet, ROTK is showy. While the battle scenes take up more than 1/3^rd of the movie, they don’t form more than 4 chapters in the book. While the battle is at their cinematic best, somehow the undead souls look straight out of the Mummy. Lots of places swords don’t have blood in spite of the kill, ugly looking orcs who could have been better looking, giants birds, giants, and elephants – there is an aura of something really pompous about the whole series, especially this last one. Maybe Jackson filmed it that way – ROTK ends up being a pompous end to the trilogy.

ROTK is affected too by its own complications and sub plots. There are subplots a many and Jackson very neatly manages to put all of them together and that is appreciable (In fact a big pat to Jackson for his imagination in putting together such a cinematic experience). While Froddo and Sam are nearly absent from half the movie, there is lack of depth in characters other than Sam and Gollum. Of course, having shooting such a movie in this scale has its toll, but I wouldn’t complain much about it. ROTK is more than affected by the battle itself – the ultra long battle sequences just makes the movie even more longer because Jackson couldn’t compromise on others at the expense of the war.

ROTK is let down by some brazen acting. None of the lead characters really show any depth in their acting. Except for Gollum and Sam, none of the characters touch you. Arwen the elf (Liv Tyler who looks absolutely stunning), manages to impress you but the rest of star cast simply pales in comparison, including Gandalf. Aragon fails to impress in the final sequences where he forms the most important part of the movie – nor does the dwarf impress who simply goes around joking. The other cast of sub plots and sub sub plots simply meander away because either they have too little time on screen or they are just a part of the huge enterprise.

Lastly, and sadly, ROTK is a pretentious attempt at the real book. While the battle of Mordor hardly lasts 4 chapters, it’s the integral part of this movie. However the biggest disappointment comes from Saruman (the evil wizard whom the trees defeat in second part), never comes back. It is Saruman who ends the trilogy and its final battle between Gandalf the good and Saruman the evil where Gandalf finds his own nemesis. By twisting this part of the story, Jackson has infuriated many a fans around the world. ROTK then spends a luxurious amount of time winding all the loose ends and ends on a brilliant note.

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Lastly is this movie worth going? Yes it definitely is one of the most epic movies you will see in a long long time. Excuse its length, and you are ready to witness what must be called an absolutely brilliant end to the trilogy in cinematic experience.

How many times do you come across a movie that is so simple in its theme, so predictable in its story that you can almost predict the next dialogue; filled with all the right scenes you did already know would be there; and still absolutely LOVE the movie? That’s the magic of Mani Rathnam and his most talked about movie – Mouna Raagam, meaning Silent Melodies. Yes, you know what is going to happen in the movie from the very first scene, and yet you are interested in every scene of the movie. Simple, beautiful movie on love, I now know fully why this movie is hailed as one of Mani’s ever best.

Mouna Raagam

At the very outset, let me tell you that I don’t understand Tamil one word. I would have never understood the movie if not for the sub-titles! Even given that, I am in love with this movie.

Revathi plays the girl next door who is nearing her graduation. As all normal middle class families, her marriage is of the utmost importance to the family. Being the eldest of three daughters only makes her case worse. On the day the groom is supposed to come, she deliberately decides not to come home and instead wanders all around the town. However to her shock, the groom and his family are still awaiting her even in the night. After a confession to the groom that she is not interested in the marriage, much to her horror, the groom simply says – I like you in a typical groom style and walks away.

After a cliché heart attack to her dad, she agrees to marry. However again, she is not happy. She makes it known to the hero that she is not really interested in the marriage. The loving husband makes all amends to adjust with her, but she doesn’t budge. Once when he suggests ask him for a gift, she demands a divorce. The day he brings her the gift is also the day when she tells him about her previous love and why she is not happy with this marriage. To her, he was the one she was going to marry, however he dies right in front of her. After a sobbing wife tries to walk away, the husband still tries to hand her the gift he got – the divorce papers and pair of payals. The husband meekly asks her to choose between the gift he gave and the gift she wants.

She chooses the divorce papers; however according to Indian Penal Code, a married couple has to stay together for 1 year before a mutual divorce. Mouna Raagam is the story of that one year.

Direction

Mani Rathnam is the best director of Indian Cinema for me (Ram Gopal Verma, Shekar Kapur, Bhansali  and Yash Chopra follow next). Mani’s magic is scene (pun intended) in every scene of the movie! The first casual glance between the hero and the heroine to the smallest of nuances has been captured superbly on screen. Add to it, Mani chooses to stay Indian in the movie. No Swiss locales, but you have Rajasthan. No Queen Victoria’s Mahal anywhere, but instead he chooses to direct a beautiful song on the bank of Taj Mahal.

Music

Music has always been Mani’s strength. This is no different – rather this must be one of the best melodies I have heard in my life. Again, I don’t understand the songs, but I do feel them. Each song except a bubbly song in beginning is a gem by itself. As the name suggests of the movie, every song is silent melody. There are just 5 songs in the movie, and 4 of them are absolutely mind blowing.

Performances

Show me a Mani Rathnam movie where the lead performers don’t act well? If he could make Madhu act in Roja, he may very well make a donkey act like Hrithik Roshan (err..thats not a very big improvement is it?) . Anyways, clearly without saying, this movie belongs to Revathi for her inspired and sincere performance as the troubled wife coming to terms with her husband. Both lead actors perform their roles superbly, and specially the first love who puts in a small but spirited performance. [please excuse…my lack of Tamil knowledge leaves me no idea of who those actors were!]

So Says Supremus

Finally, in the end, to sum it up – well – Don’t Miss this movie. If you are looking for one of Mani’s ever best, then this is the perfect movie for you. Just take care that either you have a vcd/dvd with subtitles, or drag your Madrasi friend to sit with you throughout the movie. By the way for trivia, this is the original movie which since then has inspired countless number of movies on the same theme – from Woh Saath Din to HDDCS – every script resembles the silent melody cast upon us by Mani!

Happy viewing!

I thought the sparrow’s note from heaven

Singing at dawn on the alder bough;

I bought him home, in his nest, at even;

He sings the song, but it cheers not now,

For I did not bring home the river and the sky.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson, Class of 1821

It surprises me that I haven’t actually penned a review on one of my all time favorite books. The Class written by Erich Segal is one of the rare books which I must have read at least 15 times by now, and I finished it yet again a few days back. Give me this book or Erich Segal’s other book Love Story and I can read them back to back forever. The Class is a classic book, an education on life, an inspiration on life and overall a book which remains with you. I have read this book from whence I was in 11^th standard till now, and every time I have read it, I have found something new about the magic of this book. No it is not a deep philosophical book, but rather a book about everyday characters, however gifted to be Harvard Graduates.

The Class Is…

…a story of 5 individuals, totally different in their perspective towards life and their life at and after Harvard. The Class is a richly composed moving story of 5 people and their trials and tribulations in life. Its the story of individuals who will go for anything in life to achieve their dreams and fulfill them. While George takes the smart road, Jason himself for the just cause of his background.

The Class Is…

…a story of an era of 5 people who after their life at Harvard discover that life is not as easy or real as it is in College. It is the story about Andrew Eliot who discovers his helplessness and his hopelessness at non-achievement in life. It’s the story about Danny Rossi who in his peak realizes that  there are a few things you cannot fight.

The Class Is…

…a moving story of Theodre Lambros and his love. It’s a story of his trials and struggles to be the best amongst the best and serve Harvard. Its also story which spans 25 years from the day the five graduate to their 25^th reunion.

The Class Is…

…a lesson on life, for everyone who reads this book will first be transported back to his college days and life amongst it. While one may recall his daily dosage of bird watching, the other might related to what a psycho room-mate one could end up with. Still others would remember how in the deepest desire to perform well and not being able to, a individual takes a drastic step. Yes, you can all relate to it.

The Class Is…

…a story on truth and the courage to stand behind the truth. It explores the individual who lays up his life full of happiness and goes back to his homeland to fight the cause his generations have fought for. There he finds not only love, but his own individuality too.

The Class Is…

…a sad story of a father who is so hopelessly lost in life that he loses touch with own children, so much so that they leave him. It’s a moving tale to realize why the father decides to give alms to every beggar on the road for just a hope.

The Class Is…

…a story on morality and selfishness. How high can you go? How high can you reach? Would you give up everything in your life to get there? Even yourself? The Class is a reminder that even the best schools don’t teach you to be happy with yourself.

The Class Is…

… a story of Expectations. Its a story of an individual so lost in success that the success brings about the better of him. The Class is a reminder of that individual who at his peak of his career realizes that he probably had too much of it to do anything about it.

The Class Is…

…a story about Friendship. Miles may keep you apart, but friendship won’t. It’s a story about one man’s selfless life in helping others, the others being his friends. It’s a story about one man’s efforts to get all his batch mates together for one last time.

The Class Is…

…an education on the importance of your alma mater in your life. For it teaches you that that place where you come from is the single most important factor for your future life. Its  that in those 4 years that shape you for the life.

The Class Is…

…the genius pen of Erich Segal at work yet once again bringing out supremely constructed sentences and memorable dialogues. “Do you smoke?” “No. Its bad for the wind”

The Class Is…

…the genius of Erich Segal in bringing out a story so real, so emotional, so inspiring, and above all heart warming. It’s a book where you want to laugh when the characters laugh and cry when they cry too. You can’t help being one of them.

The Class Is… a kaleidoscope of life. To miss this book is to miss something important in life.

Can you miss someone you never met?

I have been pondering on this question since days now, and the more I think of it, the more it makes sense to me that it is not just momentarily, but I miss someone I never met constantly. But who is that someone in my life whom I miss so much in spite of not meeting that someone?

May be its a friend I hoped to make but I ended up not making.
May be its the girl of my dreams whom I haven’t met till now.
It might be my grandfather whom I didn’t even get to see…
May be its a friend I long for whenever I feel everyone else is very busy to be around me

Or may be its just God. Perhaps… Maybe… Ummm

Sigh. If wishes were horses, and if this SPAM mail actually happened in reality, I would have been so so so happy. Love such SPAMS from attorneys of Nigeria – I usually feel rich after readin their mails 😛
——————-

Dear Deshpande,

I am Barrister John Emenike Briggs a Solicitor. I am the Personal Attorney to Engr,Fredrick Deshpande,a national of your country, who used to work with oil development company in Nigeria.

On the 21st of April 1999, my client, his wife And their three children were involved in a car accident along Sagbama Express Road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost thier lives.

Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also Proved unsuccessful.After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family but to no avail, hence I contacted you.

I have contacted you to assist in repartrating the money and property left behind by my client before they get confisicated or declared unserviceable by the bank where this huge deposits were lodged.Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account valued at about 8.6 million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account confisicated within the next ten official working days.

Since i have been unsuccesfull in locating the relatives for over 2 years now I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you are from the same country and bears the same surname as his so that the proceeds of this account valued at $8.6 million dollars can be paid to you as his next of kin and then you and me can share the money.65% to me and 30% to you,while 5% should be for expenses or tax as your government may require.

I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.Please if you have accepted in transacting this deal with me.

Get in touch with me through my alternative email address ;infojohnemex@maktoob.com
which is: indicating your interest and also to discuss further so as tell you the necessary proceedings to follow to get this fund transfered to your bank account. It is 100% risk free.

Thanks and God bless

Brrister John Emenike Briggs.
Note,it is very important you reply me
with:infojohnemex@maktoob.com
for security reason.

COMPLIMENTS TO YOU Deshpande
——————————————
Use o melhor sistema de busca da Internet
Radar UOL – http://www.radaruol.com.br

8.6 Million Dollars!

Sigh. If wishes were horses, and if this SPAM mail actually happened in reality, I would have been so so so happy. Love such SPAMS from attorneys of Nigeria – I usually feel rich after readin their mails 😛

Dear Deshpande,

I am Barrister John Emenike Briggs a Solicitor. I am the Personal Attorney to Engr,Fredrick Deshpande,a national of your country, who used to work with oil development company in Nigeria.

On the 21st of April 1999, my client, his wife And their three children were involved in a car accident along Sagbama Express Road. All occupants of the vehicle unfortunately lost thier lives.

Since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives, this has also Proved unsuccessful.After these several unsuccessful attempts, I decided to trace his relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family but to no avail, hence I contacted you.

I have contacted you to assist in repartrating the money and property left behind by my client before they get confisicated or declared unserviceable by the bank where this huge deposits were lodged.Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account valued at about 8.6 million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin or have the account confisicated within the next ten official working days.

Since i have been unsuccesfull in locating the relatives for over 2 years now I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you are from the same country and bears the same surname as his so that the proceeds of this account valued at $8.6 million dollars can be paid to you as his next of kin and then you and me can share the money.65% to me and 30% to you,while 5% should be for expenses or tax as your government may require.

I have all necessary legal documents that can be used to back up any claim we may make. All I require is your honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law.Please if you have accepted in transacting this deal with me.

Get in touch with me through my alternative email address ;infojohnemex@maktoob.com
which is: indicating your interest and also to discuss further so as tell you the necessary proceedings to follow to get this fund transfered to your bank account. It is 100% risk free.

Thanks and God bless

Brrister John Emenike Briggs.
Note,it is very important you reply me
with:infojohnemex@maktoob.com
for security reason.

COMPLIMENTS TO YOU Deshpande

Use o melhor sistema de busca da Internet
Radar UOL – http://www.radaruol.com.br

If there is any proof that the chinese people of the past didn’t possess any creativity or imagination, I am willing to accept it as a fact, rather wholesomely. It had always bothered me that why would anyone want to eat rice or anything else with two dangling sticks in their hands, and not use more informally easier methods – say spoon, or get even – hands!

A quick search on google for “history of chopsticks” revealed to me that Chopsticks were originally invented 5000 years ago in China (where else?!). The need for chopsticks seems rather strange. Ancient chinese used to cook huge chunk of food in one go, and used to use use sticks and twigs to retrieve them from the boiler pot. Eventually, they realized that it was better to cook food in smaller chunks, and hence the size of sticks used to be reduced. Next they realized that they could infact use it to eat the food itself!

But chopsticks themselves became popular due to teachings of Confucius – his preachings around chopsticks were more of a symbolic rather than its usefulness – He believed that knives should not be present on any food table, and hence chopsticks served as a greater use to symbolically note the same. And thus since then, chopsticks have immensly grown in popularity. In addition, chopsticks were believed to improve finger dexterity (aha!), and sharpen your brains. Also, indeed, chopsticks were believed to be superstitious objects – for example, if you dropped chopsticks, bad luck came your away (ewwww!)

So much for historical insight, a good 5000 years later, a me and my friend decided to visit this Mongolian grill. Leaving aside the grill, I decided to experiment with chopsticks and eat the rice. The first step was actually trying to catch it right – according to the dummies guide to chopsticks printed at back of the chopstick folder, was the first step: Catch the chopstick between your index finger and ring finger in a way that its end lies in base with the thumb, and is firm and does not move. Step two: Catch the second chop stick between your thumb and your first finger and balance it on you index finger – this should give you the dexterity to move this one chopstick.

Now using the movable chopstick, grab a bite of food between the firm handle and flexible handle and quickly globble it up.

Easier said than done! The fact was, half the time my chopsticks crossed up each other. The effect being, while I was trying hard to keep the firm chopstick “firm”, the other one refused to stay everything but firm. Half the time I couldn’t pick any morsel of food, and the other half of time I did manage to pick some food, I had to do a balancing act for a good few seconds to balance morsel. Next, fearing it might just drop any moment, I quickly bent my face towards the morsel and had it (and I always thought it was the other way round…). If I let the morsel of food stay any longer than 2 seconds between the chopsticks, then (a) either it would slip off between my chopsticks, or (b) my chopsticks would again cross up each other throwing up my food in air!

After about 15 minutes later, and just 5 morsels in my mouth, I decided to change my tactic. I used a fork instead! Sometimes, europeans were smarter.

Some other day, my valiant self will try this tactic again. I just can’t believe that half the earth’s population actually eats wth chopsticks and I cannot!

This perhaps is the most difficult book review I will write. How I wish I were Salman Rushdie, so that I could bring about the essence of The God of Small Things in the most proper way. There aren’t many books written to which there are only two thoughts – one who think this book is crap, and the other who think this book is a masterpiece. I am in the latter thought. I agree this is not one of the easiest novels to follow, but if you have patience and imagination of Roy, I am sure you will appreciate this book more than it deserves.

The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things is a story told in tragedy. It begins through the eyes of Estha and Rahel, the twins who are about to meet each other. The story then transcends into their childhood days and the life then.  Estha and Rahel are the twins of Ammu, the central character of this story living in a small village in Kerala. They live with their relatives, namely their uncle, grandmother and their grand aunt,  who don’t show much love nor respect to Ammu for having divorced her Bengali husband. We see the trials and tribulations of Ammu and her kids through the eyes of Rahel, the sister of the two.

It would be easier to put the whole story in a linear motion and in a concise way. The family owns a pickle factory and works in it, however they come in conflicts with the communists. At around the same time, the family is awaiting the arrival of Sophie Mol, the kid’s English cousin. While they await and make preparations for her arrival, oblivious to all of them is the fact that Ammu is quietly having an affair with the untouchable of the house – Velutha. Their love affairs largely remain a secret, for they meet behind a house largely deserted, on the other side of the river. Sophie Mol finally arrives and one day goes out with Estha and Rahel to play. However tragedy strikes when the waters increase and Sophie Mol slips away into the river. However Estha and Rahel survive and so they witness their Mother with Velutha.

What follows the death of Sophie Mol is a series of tragic events which leave the family completely shattered and helpless. Ammu decides that she cannot take care of both the children and decides to send Estha to his father. Estha does go back to his father, only to become dysfunctional and dumb; i.e. he never speaks again. Rahel too goes away to stay away from her mother. Ammu dies after couple of years after trying to get out of her helpless situation. One fine day, Rahel comes to know that Estha was to come back to her for her father doesn’t want to take care of him. An adult Rahel now comes back to old place, Aymanam, to see the barren household, hopelessly lost house.

That itself is the beginning of the book, a sad Rahel coming back to her decimated household to await her brother. It is this wait which sees the memories flying back.

The Style of Arundhati

Linearity perhaps was one of the most brilliant aspects of the novel and perhaps one of its most weakest points. Though the above story looks and feels pretty linear when read as a review, its execution in the book is entirely non linear. The book moves back and forth between different set of time periods with amazing ease and amazing confusion. Unless read carefully and understanding the time space of the events in the books, it is simply impossible to appreciate that book. I do think that not all of us like to read a book in this manner, but this is exactly what makes the book brilliant. The final love making between Ammu and Velutha  and  the  symbolic reference to The God of Small Things is the last thing in the book you will read, however, occurs much earlier in time space. Once you understand the time space  and its variations in time slice in which story moves forward, its then you will appreciate the beauty of the book. Roy must be the only author who had the whole story in her mind, and then broke down the events so brilliantly and mixed them up.

What would be the use of course if Roy had just wrote the whole book in a linear fashion?

The Language

Arundhati Roy manages to weave magic in her words. While she too resembles a style similar to Salman Rushdie, you will not have to run for a dictionary every few lines like it happens with Rushdie. Roy expresses the joy of monsoon, the pickle factory in sublime manner – it take time to digest her words and enjoy the beauty of them. This book is simply poetry in motion. The description of the village and events is so rich that I actually saw the story happening in front of me. The part of Ammu giving up her son at the railway station moved me to tears; it is one of the best written events I have come across in any books.

Who should read this?

– People who love experimental books full of good language and prose

– If you like Arundhati’s any other essays, you should read this

– If you have a penchant for liking booker winners and serious stories

– Most importantly, you are ready to read the book as the author wants you to and not as you want the book to be.

Who should not read this book?

– Slow and tragedies are not your cup of tea

– You like stories which move in a linear fashion without getting too confusing

– You like books which don’t digress away into explaining events in detail

Finally

This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. I mention this book too in my review of 5 best books. Roy’s imagination and her style of interweaving the events in a most disjointed way and come off with it something truly remarkable. If you do like Arundhati’s speeches, then I suggest you read her speech on war she came to United States, or her essay on the Narmada Dam. If you love both of them, then its time for you to experience The God of Small Things.

Read this book – patiently – and read it as she wants you to read it.