Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Behind The Words






Long ago, in Bangalore, I had joined a writing workshop called ‘Still Waters’. Back then, writing was the last thing on my mind. The  idea was to make friends and emerge from the comfort zone of solitude in a new city. On the first day, when we met in the conference hall of hotel Ramada, I was visibly nervous. The other ten participants were working professionals, amateur journalists and literature students. On the second day, after informal introductions, we were asked to write a short story of less than thousand words. The prompt for all of us was similar – Meera, the protagonist wants to see the world but her aunt is an obstacle. Meera overcomes the obstacle, learns to dance, and gets to fulfill her dream.

An otherwise simple task was noteworthy on two accounts.

First, I was amazed by the fact that we approached the same story in ten different ways. With a common prompt, I thought our stories would end up being somewhat similar. But I was in for a big surprise. Despite a similar outline, our stories were diverse in terms of the treatment, setting and narration.

My Meera, became a part of an international troupe and performed next to the Eiffel Tower on a moonlit night. A college student’s Meera joined Summer Funk dance classes and visited several countries via exchange programs. Another Meera, performed Bharatnatyam in the back drop of an ancient temple in Bali. A working professional’s Meera fell in love with jazz and reached Venice after murdering her aunt. Despite diverse perspectives, we all arrived at a common goal. A happy ending.
 This made me wonder how our social milieu, our upbringing, our age and our culture impacts us in the way we treat the subject. Given that I am most comfortable in writing about what I know, I write from my own perspective. Most artists follow the same rule. So it is rare for a woman to write about a murder mystery or a man to write an emotional drama. Nonetheless, excellent work of fiction has emerged when writers have explored the alien.

Second, the ten of us were asked to e-mail our stories anonymously. So while we were reading and rating the stories, we had no clue about the author of the story. Funnily enough, despite not knowing each other we could easily guess who the author was. Except for one. This reticent professional on a sabbatical had introduced explicit sex in an otherwise staid story. When it comes to writing,  shades of our personality reflects in our words. Or maybe not. There are exceptions. I write humor and satire, and I am anything but funny. Or witty, or clever. Perhaps, I am so dumb that when I write serious, I appear a bit funny. Perhaps, it is because I enjoy watching and reading things that are funny. So clearly, being a funny person and being a funny writer are two separate things.

And yet, we do leave traces of our personality in our words. Unintentionally, of course. More so on social media. We create a certain image about our upbringing and our thought process when we interact on the internet. I interact with several virtual friends on a daily basis. When I meet them in real life, they turn out to be exactly as I had imagined them. We need not be mind readers, but it appears that creative writing can reveal several aspects of the writer’s personality. Written words are more transparent than we give them credit for.

What do you think?


Anshul a discerning reader and a prolific blogger could read the logical mind of the author in the anthology, Mango Chutney.She turned out to be a student of mathematics from IIT-Delhi. Read Here )

Sunday, October 26, 2014

What Grinds Your Gears?





“Do you know what grinds my gears?” If you are familiar with the TV showFamily Guy’, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Hosted by Peter Griffin, this segment was about a fictional news caster who is about to be fired. The news caster rants about ‘how life sucks’ causing the program ratings to skyrocket. It went viral in the internet meme world because the images made people laugh about the trivial yet irritating things in everyday life.Well, some folks also call them the First World Problems. 


Like other irksome things – including Whatsapp forwards, Candy Crush requests and telecallers from Phokat Mahindra Bank, we now have advertisements on YouTube. Most YouTube videos begin with an advertisement that can’t be skipped. If I really had to watch advertisements, why would I watch YouTube?
 
What really got me writing this rant is the  FM Radio. To maintain my sanity, I rely on my AUX cable  while driving. But when I forget the AUX cable, which is quite often, FM radio is my savior. Not many moons ago, radio was almost 70% music, 15% ads and 15% jockey blabber. Which seems like a dream because now it is something along the lines of 20% music, 35% ads, 35% jockey blabber, and 10% people calling in to share the traffic woes. Which is absolutely insane! And I’m not even addressing the relevance of radio stations asking people to call and talk about the traffic while driving. More so, when the cops are waiting to pounce on anyone using a mobile while driving.

So, when I don’t get a song on one channel, I obviously keep switching channels in search of a decent song. But all I get is advertisements along with blabber. And by the time I’ve made my third rotation to get a song, it turns out to be the same song I heard on the previous channel.
Switch on a radio channel, and chances are that John Abraham wants you to buy your dream house hundred kilometers away from Raj Nagar Extension. Who wants clean water when your kid can enroll in the MS Dhoni cricket academy? And who wants electricity when you can live peacefully next to a car racing track.Then we have " Haan mein Arvind Kejriwal bol raha hoon...." telling me for the nth time that his quitting the Delhi govt was akin to Lal Bahadur Shastri's stepping down as the Railway Minister. Seriously, is there any comparison?


The commercialization of the things that were sacrosanct has now reached a point where you don’t know where to look for unadulterated entertainment. In times of cold arithmetic, even hospitals have jumped the bandwagon - “Attack the Attack with Fortis” says my radio.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I get to hear, “Come, make your future with IIT Tirupati.” Or, “IIM Odisha creates history. Remains No 1 on all parameters.” Quite possible, now that IIPM is not in the race. 

(This rant is penned by GG, a young Arsenal fan who drives to work.)

Monday, October 13, 2014

Wings of Courage


Book Review

Author: Sanjay Kumar

Price: Rs 250

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Notion press

Several renaissance men and authors have provided perspectives of an ideal nation. Given that such books are comprehensive and non-fictional, they appeal to niche readers. 'Wings of Courage' by Sanjay Kumar is refreshingly different, as it tells the story of a young man’s quest for a more humane and a more compassionate country.
Saksham, a young idealist is distraught by the malaise of inequality, population explosion, lawlessness and corruption. During his stint with an NGO, Saksham gets to see the poverty in and around the slums of Delhi. After his escapades with the police and politicians, he decides to join the police force to bring about meaningful change. Professor Sudhakar Sen, a wise philosopher and his girl friend Sneha, help Saksham to develop wings of courage to fight against powerful politicians, corrupt policemen and ineffective judicial system. You feel Saksham’s sense of helplessness when he says, “It kills me inside when I see things so badly messed up, and yet, no one seems to care: like the problems will go away on their own if you take your eyes away from them.”
Several real life events of Nirbhaya rape case, hit and run case, and sting operations, which made the headlines are woven in the story. The conversation between Saksham and Almighty is insightful and thought-provoking. It here that you venture in the fearful alley’s of Saksham’s mind. The voice of Almighty guides Saksham to be resilient, by constantly prodding that giving up without trying is cowardice. Towards the end, the reader is reminded of the movie, Rang De Basanti as the book negotiates through a sting operation involving a powerful politician, Robin Badri.

The prose is simple and keeps pace with the story that tends to plod a bit, before it picks up towards the end. There is a touch of philosophy, a dash of idealism, a bit of excitement and some realistic camaraderie between Saksham and Sneha. Given the topic, there was a danger of being didactic, but the author has tried to let the story do the talking.
If social change intrigues you, and you wish to do something about the problems plaguing contemporary India, ‘Wings of Courage’ will pique your interest. The highlight for me is in knowing that  debut author, Sanjay Kumar walks the talk. That Sanjay writes with a deep sense of involvement comes across and touches the reader. Sanjay Kumar is a graduate from IIT Kharagpur who is working towards the vision of an ideal nation through his writing and actions.

You can order the book here.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Modi Diet

Google Images



Modi’s fasting fusillade has created a firestorm. For once a section of feminists won’t sneeze at women who will observe a fast this Karwachauth. As you watch Modiji conduct business meetings, address rock concerts where he’s wowing fans and rattling off Star Wars quotes, destroying Nawaz and his detractors in the path to attain God like status - you know that you can stay without food for a day. Looks like Star Wars quotes were written with magnificent Modi ji in mind – ‘Never tell me the odds’, ‘I think I just blasted it’, ‘I find your lack of faith disturbing’.....

The Pied Piper of Ahmedabad cooked a raw meat of his critics on a gentle fire of abstinence to inspire all those who wanted to learn a thing or two about self-discipline. So Bachi Kakaria rightfully said, “Modi did globally for the Navratra fest what Ekta Kapoor had done domestically for Karwachauth. However many ‘Kem Chhos’ Obama mouthed, on people’s lips it was Modi’s grueling regimen that abjures even the sabudaana gruel that lesser fasters slip in.”

After watching Modi ji survive, God bless him, on hot water, I am engulfed by pangs of guilt. You see, fasting doesn’t come easy to me. Not without the basic minimum diet of fruit and milk. And yet, despite the fruit and milk regimen, I resemble MMS by the end of the day – comatose and indifferent. Part of the reason why I am unable to survive fasts is because I never fasted as a kid. Except for one ritual where fasting was more fun than a strict regimen. You know the one where you enjoy boiled potatoes with rock salt, fruit chaat with chaat masaala, tea with ginger and a big glass of lassi with lots of cream. So naturally, the arrival of October fills me with awe and admiration for those who stay without food or water, and yet have the energy to dress up in bridal finery looking all lovely and breathtakingly gorgeous.

Moreover, for me, traveling and fasting never go hand in hand. I mean, unless you have food or a glass of milk at night, prior to the early morning flight, how do you go? You know what I am talking about. We Indians have a time for going. If we miss the date, the entire day goes for a toss. Don’t balk at the thought. These are serious concerns. What if you have to take psyllum husk (Isabgol for the uninformed) for smooth evacuation? Is husk allowed during a fast? What if you are unable to find the nearest Les Cabinets after drinking lots of water?

Regardless, all the future PM contenders will never be able to beat Modi ji unless they can observe his strict form of penance - a fast for nine days for thirty-five years on both Navratris – autumn and winter. Our Amethi boy has to match this ritual – no sabudaana lasagna and no kuttoo ka pasta. Not even at dusk. Not even if   devoted party men insist.

So this time, with Karwachauth looming large, Modi ji is going to be my inspiration. May the Force be with me! And for the daring Congressman who said this about the Madison square crowd, “If you give free food and free tickets, anyone can gather a crowd,” here is a quote from The Phantom Menace-
Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger…anger leads to hate…hate leads to suffering.
 Take that!

(For the bhakts, don't kill me. This is called appreciation. Because every time I appreciate Modi ji, some netizens throw egg on my face without reading the article! Alas, such is thy devotion. And for the Congressmen, well, times are bad. Not easy to find fault with the man. Err, phenomenon. Right Tharoor? )


Watch Jon Stewarts hilarious take on Star Wars Quote by PM Modi