Sorrow of the Snows - Upendra Nath Ashk

Hasandin's life is in two 'avtars'. During the season, when tourists flocks the valleys of Kashmir, he works as a guide, renting his horses to the visitors and trekkers. During the off season, he is a simple peasant labourer.  He leads a normal life with his family and the horses , with an only intention of saving some money to afford a grand wedding of his son at the Shrine of Baba Pamdin, with whose help, he wife had borne him a son.  During season, he goes to the bus stand, with his three horses accompanied by his son and nephew, after offering the morning namaz, in anticipation of his clients and with a hope of making a a good fortune at the mercy of a generous customer . As expected in any such cases, he has to struggle his way through forces of evil and opposition within his own quarters. The fellow horse-laden guides who stoop to any tactics to win the customers, the police authorities whose only intent is to steal from the meager earnings of these poor guides, and the customers who refuse to pay the agreed sum under one pretext or other.

This tale of sorrow and pathos talks about one another such incident.  When he met Khanna Sahib at the bus stand and been selected to take him to Gulmarg, Khilanmarg, Afrabat and to the frozen lake of Al-Pathar, his heart was filed with joy, calculating the potential money he would make in the next couple of days from the wealthy tourist.  It did not take long to realise the true nature of his customer. Khanna Sahib, a shrewd businessman from Delhi, was all cunning and stingy. At the end of the eventful trip, he not only refuse to pay for the tour and service, but accused Hasandin of stealing his Camera, sending him into the Police Station, where he was asked to pay a large sum to secure his release.

A simple story of pathos in the common man where the nature, authorities, the clients and the colleagues adds to his daily struggle to live. Despite the initial hopes and anticipation, every thing in the end conspires against his poor , innocent existence. The only solace is in the hands of the almighty. Written in 1957, 'Pathar - al - Pathar', made Upendra Nath Ashk as one of the leading writers on Hindi Literature. His writing, with simple and elegant prose, the crisp characterisation, the background imagery of the place and history, the influence of the religious beliefs and the ability of the villager to submit to the Gods for all his fortunes are very typical of the Indian writers. As we experienced in the writings of the post independent literature, this too reflects the exploitation, the inequality, the inefficiency of the systems to provide justice to the masses of the nation, through a passionate, yet detached, powerful  narration.

Upendranath Ashk, a controversial figure in Indian Literature, had written numerous books in Hindi as well as Urdu. Many of his books are available in translation. This too a part satirical , part anecdotal narrative with sly humour ( hard hitting, but does not make one laugh or smile as the drama that unfolds in pathos) reflects his ability to bring the nuances of the daily life. The religion sans politics plays a key role here. The shrine of Baba, an abode for downloading all his sorrows, a guiding force whom he trust to be his savior ( despite the cunning methods of the caretakers to loot the visitors),  Baba's popularity among believers of all faiths, reflects the strengths of the social harmony that existed once in the valley, before the trouble erupted.

Translation was effective, but not without blemishes. Many a places, the unevenness was felt while reading. Thinking in Hindi and translating from Hindi to English (  as against thinking in English - or the target language - and translating as English from Hindi ) , a common handicap I see in any translation from Indian Language to English is rampant in this translation too. It is difficult to preserve the lyrical and structural beauty of Urdu and Hindi sentences to English, without loosing some of those fragrance, and that was evident in this case as well. However, any attempt to bring the Indian Literature to a wider audience is a laudable effort.

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Sorrow of the Snows ( 1957)

Upendra Nath Ashk ( translated from Hindi by Jai Ratan)

Harper Perenniel 

133 Pages
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Taylor & Francis (not free)

Thousand Cranes - Yasunari Kawabata

Its time to read Kawabata again, revisit all those previously read works again to reiterate my belief and to refresh the memories. I did read snow country last month, and now "thousand cranes". The rest of the works will be in line for a re-read. I carry a fond memory of reading Kawabata ages ago. The entire process of re-reading begun after "Beauty and Sadness", which to me was very ordinary. As a reader you grow over the years and the taste become more polished or finer and many of the books you liked earlier, fails to impress me any more. However, both my second reads of Kawabata , not only restored the faith, but was able to appreciate them with the inherited wisdom of experience.

A short novel of guilt, love, seduction and deception, in the backdrops of tea ceremonies and shattered dreams and plans ( and the precious tea cups, symbolically). Twenty five year of Kikuji, trying to fight the past  of the memories and guilt as well as the cunning plans of his fathers mistresses to have their control over him. Kikuji inherited his father vast wealth, post his death. A well respected man, with finesse tastes, collector of ceremonial cups for the Tea functions, and also some one managed more than one mistress while he was alive. This short novel begins with one of his father's mistress Chikako, inviting him for a tea ceremony, only to realise that the pretext behind this was an ulterior motive of a potential match-making.  Cleverly positioning Inamura Yukiko, along with him during the function to play the role of a collaborator. Spoiling her manipulations by arriving at the function was Mrs.Ota, another mistress of his father, with whom he spent majority of his days,  and her daughter Fumiko arriving at the function uninvited. The game of one-upmanship between the mistresses continue as they fight their way to his life.

Kikuji has to endure and carry the guilt of his fathers past, through his mistresses. The girl with the thousand crane kerchief ( he remembers Inamura girl though this symbol and not through her face or character) and the daughter of Mrs Ota ( who is much more prudent and possesses self control), are representative of the new generation and can understand the conflict and difficulties Kikuji is trying to overcome. The real tussle is between the mistresses. One who did not win his fathers favours in bed but was mostly used as an accomplice, and the other, probably younger and better looking who continued to enjoy the favours until the death are now vying to extend their control over the son. Chikako, ugly with a large birth mark spread across half of her breast ( a distant memory remained with Kikuji, which he happens to witness as a young boy) with her poisonous , manipulative acts of taking control and the other by trying to lure the young one into her fold by seduction, and committing suicide out of guilt. The two girls and Kikuji had to face the consequences of the designs of the rivalry, which distance them from one another instead of making alliances and prospective marriage.

The rituals and culture play a major part in Kawabata's works. The concept of thousand cranes ( though not directly referred here) is a Japanese tradition of folding 1000 origami cranes for getting their wishes fulfilled. The 'tea ceremony' again so much of part of the Japanese psyche, which we see in the book going through a deterioration from generations to the next. An event, once very close to his fathers heart, a pride and prestige, a symbol of aristocracy with well preserved and maintained vessels and utensils, are to Kikuji and the new generations are mere curios. One can sense his unhappiness in being forced to participate. The function he would like to conduct in his house, is as a respect to his father, a respect to the past, and not something for the current. These cultural and traditional undercurrents along with the landscape, be it the snow peaked mountains, the flourishing valleys or the changing seasons. The book will have to be absorbed including these vivid and marvelous settings. There are  strong undercurrent of traditions and social stigma in all of his works. Hence the mere story of love and deception, seduction and manipulation, guilt and conscience has a different meaning and values in his novels. Under a calm narrative of simple tale, lies the turbulent currents attributed to these subtleties. Which is why he is one of the masters of 20th century literature.

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Thousand Cranes ( 1952 )

Yasunari Kawabata ( translated from Japanese by Edward G.Seidensticker 1958 )

Penguin Classics

91  Pages
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Wiki, Complete Review,

Choma's Drum - Kota Shivaram Karanth

One of the classics from the Kannada literature, Chomana Dudi ( or Choma's Drum as translated to English) is one of the major works of Kota Shivarama Karanth. Written in the 50s, this again covers the often discussed and dealt the  subject of  caste system.

Choma belongs to the Mari caste , a lower class, untouchable, limited to the job of a bonded-labourer of the Village chief. Widowed, with five children to feed, he typical to people of his type, work hard at the fields of his boss, spent half of what he earns at  the 'toddy shop' and spent the remaining to his family, which is now put together by the smart hands of the young Belli, 10 year old daughter, who grows to the responsibility of maintaining the house affairs. Choma harbors a dream of owning or renting his own farm where he wants to cultivate paddy and other crops, for a potential escape from the hand to mouth existence. Two bullocks, which he found abandoned in the forest years ago are now grown and strong, adds to the hopes and dreams of being a farmer himself. There are other suitors for his bullocks, with attractive offers, and threats, but Choma is not wiling to let go of them. The orthodox social system prevents Choma from getting his land for he being in the low class. The Christian missionaries offer him support, but he is reluctant to join the pastor's community.

To pay off his debt, Choma had to send his elderly sons to the Coffee Estates in the distant hills. They did not manage to pay off the debt, but one succumbs to cholera and the other desert the community and join Christianity to marry his lover, leaving his family and the estate. Now the girl had to go to the estate and work her way out to pay the debt, which she manages by allowing to be abused by the estate manager and the owner himself. She returns back clearing off the debt, but loosing herself.  Choma also looses his young son, drowned in the river, in front of a watching crowd who refuses to save him for being an untouchable. Lost and defeated time and again, Choma find his daughter in a compromising position with the estate manager. He kicks her out of the house, set the bullocks free in the forest, shut himself inside vigorously beats his drums until his life escapes him.

Choma is destined to fail from the beginning. The life beats him time and again. One after the other his family members are lost. His girl, the one he loved the most and only person he respected or feared is also managed defeat him.There are others like the estate manager who loot them with increasing the debt and interest. To the society he is a low class, his dreams and hopes have no standing in their life. Even the sympathetic land lord had to adhere to the social norms ( his aged mother make sarcastic comments about the low-class), there are promises of freedom from this by accepting the ways of the Christ, but Choma is not ok to leave his 'GODs' and the other deities. Choma continue to cherish his dream of owning  a piece of land. There are government offer for a piece of land, but he does not know the way of getting it done. He realises that his status being a low class, will come in between him and his dream. He even contemplates joining the Christianity just to fulfill his dream.

Drum, plays the role of symbolic oracle. For him, the only way to express his inner most feelings, anguish, anger, joy or sadness is through his drum. The drum represent his vocal output, which is curbed by his social stature being an untouchable. The novel starts with the drum beats, listened by those returning back to their homes from the village festival. One of them remarks, "It's Choma again, and it looks like he had a drink too much today". The echoes of his self expression, is ridiculed as the naughtiness of a drunkard. The drum is omnipresent, as much as the part of his physical extension. It remained so, until the beats stopped, for the drum and Choma.

Karanth writes in simple language, befitting the protagonist of his tale. The narration is straight forwards which become profound as it progresses. There are some touching moments and brilliant passages towards the end. He doesn't take the propagandist stand, but does it through his characters. Probably a bit dated for today's generation, but interesting and absorbing read.

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Choma's Drum ( 1958)

Kota Shivaram Karanth ( translated from Kannada by P N Moodithaya & Gopakumar in 2007)

Green Books

108 Pages
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Wiki, Our Karnataka,

Chess - Stefan Zweig

'... a human being, an intellectual human being who constantly bends the entire force of his mind on the ridiculous task of forcing a wooden king into the corner of a wooden board, and does it without going mad!'

During his final days in Brazil, staying in exile, days before ending his life,  Stefan Zweig completed his last work of fiction, sent it across to his American Publisher. A short but brilliantly conceived and presented short novel, went on to become a masterpiece.

The travelers in the cruise ship from New York to Buenos Aires, have a dignitary among them, the reigning world chess Champion, Mirko Czentovic.  The all encompassing, never lost any game of the mind, not known for being friendly or social and usually remained in his own quarters. However, the narrator( nameless) and his friends had other ideas. The long, boring journey can be made a bit entertaining, if they manage to lure the champion for a game of chess. The early attempt to bring him to a discussion or conversation failed, and a direct attempt was put at bay by the champion asking for an exorbitant amount of money for a game ( only one he reminded).  There was some one wiling to fund the money, in the form of a Scottish Millionaire.  The one against many was abandoned as there was not sufficient boards , and as an alternate, they decided to join force against the champion. The first game was lost, as expected even before the group of men realised.  One more board was set up, and the game was moving towards a similar end, when an old gentleman, a doctor, intervened and manipulated the way out to a draw, with his clear predictions of the moves in advance. The equation is now changed, as there is someone to stand up to the champion. They immediately wanted to set up a dual again, but the old man was reluctant. He hasn't touched a chess board for 2--25 years and did not think he can ever do it again.  

Dr B, as he is known, an Austrian, belonged to a family of physicist and financial consultants of the Monarchs who ruled Austria. The family, who had the the possession of the documents and information of the wealthy and mighty of the Austrian elite, thus became the target of the Nazi authorities who conquered the tiny Austrian empire. HE was arrested and was put under a solitary cell ( shut in a hotel room, converted as a detention center by the Nazis) without any contact to the rest of the world, except for the occasional interrogation. As is known, the solitary confinement can break down the resistance of any individual and the case wasn't different for him. his ability to withstand and resist the interrogation was at the brink of break down. The need for something to get his attention to succeeded after few months when he managed to slip his hand to the coat pocket of a Nazi Officer ( during an endless wait for interrogation in the adjacent room) and brought out a small book. Hidden in his trousers, he sneaked the book into his room, only to realise that this contain the record and commentary of the 150 chess world championship matches. Savoring whatever was available, setting up the square patterns in his blanket, playing with imaginary pieces, he mastered all the games, and started playing matches against himself . So much was the obsession, it broke down all his sanity, ending up in an asylum, to recuperate. The game of chess aboard the vessel, brought back the days of detention and his trouble past.

The game of chess was agreed upon and despite his ability to play the game physically, the challenger managed to defeat the champion, as is expected in such tales. The game is growing back on him and the days of obsessive, self destructive days and the symptoms of the dark history of insanity resurfaced, as warned by the doctors who treated him earlier. The rematch is now getting into an act of self destruction and personal sabotage as the reigning champion witness the changes in his opponent.

Stefan Zweig, brings out this subtlety of human psychological conditions in this beautiful tale. The game of chess is also a game of survival, a game of resistance to the oppressors. The board is same and the strength of the army is the same at the beginning. The fight is played in the mind, and executed on the board ( interestingly, the champion, undefeated since the age of 15, can not play blind fold, he need a physical representation in the form of a board) , while his opponent is played all along in mind, never to touch the board).  The collective conscience of the crowd against the might of the champion can also be referred to the conditions of this country. The duality of the individual under extreme conditions when he plays with himself ( White 'I' and Black 'I'), the psychological conflict and anguish, resulting in the mental conditions that put him in the hospital, Zweig, interestingly uses multiple narrative technique, with the unnamed narrator giving way to a third voice to describe the early days of prodigal grown of the Chess Champion from an orphan from Yougoslavia to a legend,  and a first person narrative of the detention days under the Nazi's recounted by the challenger.

The book is written in 1942, when the second world war as at its peak. The references can be made to the prevailing conditions of world . The arrogant, unfriendly and brutal leader ( for Germany) is being challenged by the powerless, but ambitious minnows , with the help of a mysterious support ( the Allied forces).  Fairly simple sounding narrative, but the writing is loaded and deep. Similar to a chess game, it is progressed move by move, psychic and dramatic , towards a check-mate. Another stunning little book.

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Chess ( 1942)

Stefan Zweig ( translated from German by Anthea Bell in 2006)

Penguin Modern Classics

83 Pages
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A Common Reader, Wiki,

Varamo - César Aira

A chain of event, started with a Government employee in the city of Colon in Panama, receiving two counterfeit 100 Peso notes from the ministry for payment, resulting in a creation of one of the most acclaimed piece of literary work  in the history of Central America. The protagonist, Varamo, leaves the office with the two counterfeit bills, returning home to his half mad, paranoid mother, work in his lab for a short time ( embalming frogs) , setting out to his favorite cafe, encountering a conspiracy to seize power, few other trivialities, sharing the table with three  publishers (of pirated books) who advise him to write a book, before where he is subjected to hallucinatory visions in the dark solitary night of Colon streets, returning home by midnight to create one of the masterpieces of the Central America's literary history , "The Song of the Virgin Boy" ( a name summarizes his story). At the outset a series of disjointed actions, insignificant and trivial at times, building up to an extra ordinary result.  A trigger in the form of counterfeit bills, a result of a literary masterwork, in the middle a series of regular daily chain of events.  Aira's allegory and his clever plot maneuver of unrelated events over an evening might have its own significance. 

Events are set in a Panamanian City of Colon in the year 1923. Varamo, 50 year old civil servant, living with his Chinese mother, not married. His love life is nothing to talk about. A small glimpse of which is part of the events that unfold during the evening. The initiation to write, probably would have come from the meeting with the publishers at the Cafe. It seems, Colon is the center of the thriving black market fiction. One of the editors asserts , "In barbaric lands like the Americas, writers produce their best work before learning the craft, and nine times out of ten, their first book was their strongest, as well as being, in general, the only one they wrote". They nudge him to write offering him unheard of money ( equal to his monthly salary) . "It shouldn't take more than three or four  minutes to fill up a page, if you concentrate. That's twenty pages an hour. In four or five hours you could finish off a decent little book".  From then every thing seems to be working in favour of his writing. He wanted to write about embalming ( frogs legs) . His walk in the streets of Colon until midnight. "For him everything was writerly now". The rest is history , as they say.

There aren't many books available in English by Cesar Aira until recently ( he has written more than 50 books in Spanish and only 7 of them are available in English now). This being my first entry into the world of his writing, I was perplexed and a bit confused in the end. My attempt to find rationale and precipitate my impression on what was going on here was very inconclusive. I reached out to a few who are familiar with his style and writing, and I was told to take it easy and they prescribed the remedy in the form of more books of Aira. The advise to me was,not  to fathom the depth of one book, as one starts to appreciate and understand this writer over a collective of his fictional works. Now, that will be my next course of action. There is a lot of discussion about his style of writing. The experimental , avant-garde fiction, with the concept of 'fleeing forward' improvisation which this book supposed to be an example. The

An allegory on the writers inspiration and creation. Where does the trigger of artistic creativity come from, and between the trigger and the result, what affects the creative process. I think Aira, reflects our conscience to this aspect in a clever articulation of events. I will need to acquaint with his writing for comprehending this little piece of work.

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Varamo  ( 2002)

César Aira ( translated from Spanish by Chris Andrews in 2012)

New Direction Books

89 Pages
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Wordswithoutborders , NY Times, The Millions,

The Blue Fox - Sjón

Many of the best books in my list (if I make one), are books that is around 100 odd pages  ( Closely observed trains, A Life's Music, The year of the hare, Too loud a solitude and this one to name a few) . You don't need a 600+ page volume to make an impact. The compactness of the text , tending towards poetic composition make these little gems some of the masterpieces in the literary world. Sjon's "The Blue Fox", after reading it , and re-reading it leaves you with such a lasting impression, not easy to get it off you head.  Sjon, himself in this interview says,  "You can take a melody and stretch it over five minutes, or compress it down to three seconds".

This little book, set in the late 19th century Iceland, at the outset tells of a story of a fox hunt and the aftermath. What it carry within itself is a profound philosophical and existential question about life in general. An Icelandic Priest  Baldur Skuggason, set forth for the hunt of a rare blue fox, who takes him all over the snow and icy whiteness of the landscape , through his magical and cunning ability. Fox tries to save his life, hiding amongst blue rocks,

"Blue foxes are so curiously like stones that it is a matter for wonder. When they lie beside them in winter there is no hope in telling them apart from the rocks themselves"

The hunt takes days over the whitish terrain, until the fox now caught and the pastor, fires his shot, resulting in a blizzard ( "When the peak replied to his shot") of a vast snow drift. The avalanche carries both down the terrain.

On a parallel thread, a naturalist, Fridrik B. Fridjónsson, living alone, is mourning the death of Hafdís, a young woman with down syndrome, whom he had rescued long ago from a ship wreck. A cleverly and beautifully converged threads, conclude the suspense in the last chapter, brilliantly.

Skugga-Baldur ( re-writing the name of the Priest) is the legendary demonic animal in the Icelandic folk lore, which also the title in the original, gives some glimpse to the concept of the book. The change of roles of man and animal, the indicative metamorphosis of the man into animal and vice versa. The animals even talk in human language discusses and debates about the electricity with the priest. On the other hand, the lady with down syndrome, build her own vocabulary and create a language of communication that is her own.

The early pages, poetic and musical ( not surprising as Sjon, collaborate with the singer Bjork, and started his literary career as a poet) had spell binding effect on me as a reader. Sjon, then shift the narrative cleverly, bringing out the pastor and the lady with down syndrome, coming back the the fox hunt, by now we have a general idea of the pastor, before solving the mystery in the end to some phenomenal effect. Very haunting, moving little tale, read like a poem. beautifully translated retaining all those magical beauty of the sentences into English.

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The Blue Fox ( 2004)

Sjón ( translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb in 2008)

Ferrar,Straus and Giroux

115 Pages
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Slate, The Daily Californian, Complete Review, Book Slut, The Independent

ചോരശാസ്‌ത്രം - V J James

The title was confusing. I took it for 'the science of blood' instead of 'The science of Theft'. V J James' claim to fame was the winning the award, during the D C Book's silver Jubilee novel competition. I have no previous reading experience of James.  The book and its overall approach was impressive ( reading the blurb) and hence decided to buy this and read. To his credit, this was a good attempt. However a theme like this is too thin for a long novel. The thief ( unnamed and called the thief through out) learned the trick of opening locks without the use of any device, but with the look ( concentrated gaze perhaps). A trick taught to him by an old retired professor, who chanced upon an old manuscripts on "theftology" or the art and science of theft. The professor wanted a disciple with whom he can experiment the learning of scripture and our hero fallen for the clever trap set up by the prof. To cut the tale short, he learned the trick and grew in stature as a thief and as a result in wealth.

On successful completion of the training, the professor presented him with a 14th century coin of the king, who from then on was a silent witness and companion to his crime. So much can  be said that the 'king' is the lucky charm of the thief. It did not take long for him to get his own disciple. A silent boy, who treat him as God, and leanred smaller tricks and provided ample assistance to the thief during his exploits. However, the thief was clever enough , not to teach the technique of opening of the locks to the apprentice. The rest is predictable,as the initial excitement paved way to greed  and the accumulated wealth needed protection. When you had nothing with you, the entire town's wealth was yours, but now that you own something of your own, you need to protect them. Suspicion and distrust became the way which in the end resulted in his downfall.

Apart from a clever idea, it is not supported by any greater story or a build up. Few interesting characters and swift story telling apart, this does not have much to talk about. Having said that, there are moments of brilliance in his writing.  Short and quick read, probably has limited scope for a good short story.

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ചോരശാസ്‌ത്രം (2002)

V J James

D C Books

108 Pages
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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark

"Gold Biscuits" were one of my junior batches would loved to identify themselves trying to establish their association with a rather nutty professor we had. Every professor would have his favorite batch in College. Typically, it would be the batch he or she is entrusted with in his initial years. They are typically known as his pet team. The team, continue to identify themselves around the same group nearly after 20 years. The most known work of Muriel Spark is around the same theme. 1930s  Miss Jean Brodie, came to the Edinburgh school to take care of a batch of young girls. She was responsible for their early leaning for nearly 2 years. But the 'Brodie gang' remained a group beyond those two years and came to identify themselves as Brodie set. Its a different fact that it is one of them who became a traitor and was responsible for her ouster from the school.

Miss Brodie, who claim to be at 'her prime' was different from the rest of the teachers. She is known for her open nature and trying to bring out fresh thinking to her pupils. She was sympathetic to Hitler and had a liking for Mussolini's men. She had returned to Scotland after her stint in Italy, a sight of the marching of the Soldiers she cherish even now.  Her stories of her travel during vacation, her love affairs and her rebellious nature of living was a great influence on the young girls. As the girls grew, the bonding continue through occasional meeting at Miss Brodie's place.  The gossip around her affairs with the one handed art teacher, and the music teacher added to the overall mystic nature of the lady. The others weren't in agreement with Miss Brodie, especially the young Principal of the school, who waited for a reason to remove her foe. It had to be one of the members who betray their beloved teacher.

The character of Miss Brodie is said to be based on Christina Kay, a teacher of Spark for two years at James Gillespie High School for Girls. Miss Kay supposed to be a conn osier of renaissance paintings and a fan of Mussolini's fascist Army. I haven't read any other book of Spark , hence can not comment on her style. To me it was a simple straight forward read. She has a way with her narration which eases into you. If you read it from a feminine writing angle, I guess this as more relevance in the 30s. A character which rebel against the set norms of the social structure, some one who is open and try to inculcate the similar nature of thinking in the girls. As you see, some of the girls later develop their own identity ( "Rose famous for sex, Jenny Grey famous for her beauty, Sandy with small eye, Eunice famous for her gymnastics) as they grow old. This is done in a curious flash-forward technique, Mary McGregor , At the age of 23 she dies in a hotel fire, etc.

Nice little novella, with certain significance in the time it is released and is  considered to be one among the best of 100 English novels. To me, this was a nice little fast read, but will probably look for a couple more of her works to get a feel of her style.

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The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1962)

Muriel Spark

Harper Perennial

150 Pages
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Guardian, Wiki

The Kinsmen of Ugna - Surendra Jha 'Suman'

Maithili, a language spoken by the people of Mithila ( north-eastern Bihar and adjoining Nepal) isn't one of those languages known for its literature as is with other leading languages in India. Once a mighty empire, the region lost its prominence over the centuries and has become the part of the state of Bihar post the independence. Surendra Jha Suman, is considered one of the leading writers from this language and Sahitya Academy has done a commendable job in making it available for the larger reading community by this translation.

Modern Maithili literature, claims it roots to the celebrate poet Vidyapati, who lived during the 14th-15th century. A staunch devotee of Lord Shiva, he was known for his love-poetry and his dedication to Shiva. Legends has it that the lord himself was pleased with his devotee, and incarnated as Ugna, a man-servant to the poet's house. The book had the origin of its name to this Ugna, the lord himself. Surendra Jha Suman, quotes and uses the poet through out his novel, as one inspiring the people of Mithila through his words and life.

Kinsmen of Ugna, paves the same path of caste struggle and the upbringing of the downtrodden. The protagonist Tulsi, born to a poor backward caste, had the typical upbringing, that is prevalent in the early days of independence. The issue of social injustice, untouchability, servility was rampant and the young Tulsi himself was victim of few unpleasant experience. It might be these early experiences that made Tulsi into taking up the cause of the people of his caste. Discontinuing his studies and the possibility of a better paid job, Tulsi instead decided to work among his people to bring education and better living to them. The effort did receive support from a few forward thinking leaders and the enthusiasm of the members of the community. The small gathering of the people paved way to a bigger school and proper methods of education to the underprivileged. The wind of change was coming to the closed quarters of the 'backwardness' of the tribe. They were more positive and collective and the unity saw them through few tough times. Along with the social changes, the calls for the resurrection of the Mythili language and culture was on the raise. While the community elites were divided, they organised two separate events - one for the upper casts and the other for general public, the voice of the people were heard and acknowledged. The book however, do not focus its energy on the caste conflict or the local power struggle much, barring a few attempts of jeopardy by his upper-caste friend and classmate. So much was his popularity, that he was elected to the regional administration through election beating his erstwhile friend. The book ends at a high note with the newly crowned people representative decided to get married to an invalid from a lower caste.

I'm not sure of the date of publication of the original works, but the language and the setting give me pointers to the early 60s. Surendra Jha Suman, manages to portray the social fabric of the region and the sentiments, without getting propagandist, pretty effectively. He also focusses his mirror to the 'alternate reality' of the neo-rich Urban metropolis pointing us to nastiness behind the glowing curtains of the city. May be he is wanting us to appreciate the local life.

I have seen the 'class struggle' , not in the same sense as the Marxian thinkers project, as a key theme in many a writing across various languages. The 'caste' struggle , the continuous efforts of the backward classes to bring themselves out of the poverty, chaos of life and the need for social equity has been a major topics of many yesteryear writers. While for most of the Urban modern day readers, this might be a subject that is as over used as the 'holocaust' stories of 40s. but it did have a major effect in shaping the modern India, post independence.

One of the qualities I find attractive about the regional language literarature, is its simplicity. The innocence and earthly narrative. There is no pretentious writing and no superficial ideologues. It may be too simple and not carry any profound intellectual debates nor follow some of those established western norms of literature. I like some of them for the same. The book has been translated amicably, without loosing the flavour of the local language. Does it read as smooth to a non-Indian as it is to an Indian ? I think, in this case it does. In comparison to the other heavy weights of Indian Literature, this might not be one that stand out. But, in the context of the Mythili literature, and in bringing out the post independent social changes in the Mithila region, this must be a significant work of fiction.

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The Kinsmen of Ugna

Surendra Jha 'Suman' ( translated from Maithili by Ratneshwar Mishra 2010)

Sahitya Academy

104 Pages
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Madame Verona comes Down the Hill - Dimitri Verhulst

The village of Oucwègne, set in the middle of three hills has a fast depleting population. People continuously left the village and the cold to cities and many outside the country to far off lands. Now with merely 40 people, the village is to witness the descend of their legendary beauty "Madame Verona" coming down the hill to the village, where she stayed with her musician husband and later alone in the company of the dogs.

This short novel by Belgian born writer, is a cute little tale of love transcends the lives and death. Verona was married to the composer Potter and was moved in to the hills of the village, for he wanted a silent and isolated place to compose. An attraction for the entire village, people longed for the sight of Verona in her youth. Even after the passing away of her husband, who committed suicide hanging from a tree,(instead of suffering from the diagnosed cancer), she did not come down. Monsieur Potter piled up enough fire woods for the rest of her life before taking his own life. However, to the disappointment of the villagers, Madame Verona did not descend, but continued to stay in their hut in the company of dogs ( she had a special gift of attracting them to her) and teaching Piano lessons to her students. She continue to live in the memory of her beloved husband, wanting to immortalise the love by carving a cello from the same tree which took the life of her husband. She had to wait for 20 years for the wood to mellow and be ready to build the Cello. It isn't the ideal wood for cello and she ignored the warning,

"She played. It sounded ugly, but she played. Faure. The pieces she had played with her lover at the Academy, but now her cheeks weren't red....This was how she would do it every evening from now on. She would sit at the window with legs spread and play the cello. An ensemble that wasn't, a duet with absence. Talking to the non-existent, which might be the only correct definition of very deep prayer."

Now at 82, in a cold February, she finally descend from the hill to a deserted village. She came down, after burning the last piece of wood, her husband had stored for her, with her Cello, the only connecting device to her lover, knowing perfectly well that she will have no strength to go back to her attic.

Verhulst writes beautifully, creating an image that is very poignant and vivid. The language is often poetic and in line with the image that is suiting the narration. The story is simple and somber. and a fast read. Nice little tale of enduring love, poetically written. Good , little book for a quick read.

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Madame Verona comes Down the Hill ( 2009)

Dimitri Verhulst ( translated from Dutch by David Colmer )

Portobello Books

145 Pages
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Independent

Du Nombor - Buddhadeb Guha

Leela Sarkar is one of the prominent translators from Bengali to Malayalam,. My introduction to Bengali Literature was through the novels and stories translated by her into malayalam and published by leading literary magazines. From Tagore, to Mahashwethadevi came into my reading list through her translations. It is the name Leela Sarkar as translator, acted as a catalyst in picking up this book for reading. To add to that, the book was published in the "Great Indian Literature" series by SC Books. I am not familiar with Buddhadeb Guha, hence there was no build up of expectation apart from the deceiving "Great Indian Literature" series and Leela Sarkar.

The book, to say the least, was a big let down. It was very mediocre and pedestrian. The style and substance was not I would have spent my time and money for. This may not be the best of his works, and he not necessarily be compared with the might of Bengla Literature. That is the point. It was not worth the effort. Taking through few days of a Calcutta High Court Advocate Sivan Babu, the writer brings our attention to the world of second rate influence in our daily life. From un-accounted money ( black money for common people), the counterfeit goods and articles, the behind the curtain lives of city elite, the un-social behaviour of ladies, the duplicate market of spare parts and goods and the pressure and attraction of the common man to follow the same life is what Buddhadeb Guha is trying to portray. So far , so good. But to make a story a great literature, these ingredients are not enough. There are no elegant passages, no moments of awe , there is no characters or instances that one would recall. A cliched , ordinary narration of the bad influences of the society and a few individuals , despite the personal losses, stood by their belief. It might make a good movie for Indian audience, but even for that the novel is incomplete and with lot of gaps in narration.

I wouldn't know if we have lost anything in translation, but to me , even a good translation may not save this book from its mediocrity. As I mentioned earlier, there is no single point, that one would cherish, even if for a short while. Luckily, the book is a novella and lasted only 92 pages. Subject as this, is often seen in various forms, has to be treated and explored differently, to make an impact. If not, the result will be this.

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Du Nombor

Buddhadeb Guha ( translated from Bengali by Leela Sarkar)

D C Books

92 Pages
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ഇടത്താവളങ്ങള്‍ - E M Hashim

'A novel with a Sufi touch' says the blurb. That prompted me to pick the book. He had also published another non-fiction book on Sufism.  The start was pretty brilliant. Following on the life of Abu, who left his home town at 14 , working and living through various parts of the country , having acquainted many faces , some closely and some at a distance. Now, returning to his homeland after many many years ( the writer does not give any hint at this), he reminisce his nomadic days at his attic.

Abu, remembers his progressive father, who for his views and thought, was an outcast in his social and religious circle, denied Abu, the typical life of a muslim boy. Being discarded from the Madrassa, from his neighborhood , forced to lead a life in isolation. His mother, spent her time in the prayer mat or blowing air to the kitchen fire, never to set foot outside. The only sister stayed back after marriage, after her husband went on work to Malaysia. Unable to handle the days of distress, Abu leaves home at the age of 14. As is the case with many of his predecessors, he found his refuge in a small town in Tamilnadu, finding a job as a helper in a sawmill. His journey to manhood and learning begins at this small town of Arumapakkam. Through various acquaintance and  encounters of people with spiritual background, mystics Abu grows in stature and learning. From Tamilnadu to Mumbai and onward to Delhi - Ajmer and other part of the country, we are witnessed to more of these meetings and friendship in Abu's life.

This is the life of almost every young Keralite, who leave the state in search of a living. goes through similar experience. Hashim , adds a flavour of Mysticism to his tale. To all, the journey continue from one place to other, at each "edathavalam' you gain a lot of friends, some  last longer and many for a short time. This continues through out your life, adding newer names and faces to the list dropping few others. Hashim , restricts his tale to 3 cities, but this can continue eternal, or until like Abu, you call it quits and return to your fold.

Hashim is a good writer, and he has some wonderful pages in the book. But that alone, does not make this a compulsive story telling. It lacks in many aspect of a good fiction. Its dependence on the aura of mystic figures appearing and disappearing lack conviction and leaves us with non-interconnected narrative. Many encounters seems forced and unnatural. The shift from one place to other lacks continuity and real reasoning. The story by itself is incomplete.

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ഇടത്താവളങ്ങള്‍  ( 2012 )

E M Hashim

D C Books

119 Pages
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Too Loud a Solitude - Bohumil Hrabal

'For thirty-five years now I’ve been in wastepaper, and it’s my love story'

For 35 years Hantá has been working in a press, compacting old and discarded books and papers into pulp. His acquaintance with books and words are so high that he end up 'rescuing' books from the jaws of the massive press, by sneaking them out. These books occupy the majority of his single room attic, threatening to topple over and crush him. He scared about the possibility of the only human being crushed under the debris of books. To avoid the monotonous nature of his work and his loneliness, he has turned alcoholic ( “drunk so much beer over the past thirty-five years that it could fill an Olympic pool, an entire fish hatchery”). He has no family , relatives or friends and his life is spent between press and his book, barring an occasional visit to the pub. His mother died long ago, and an uncle whom he frequent ( who after retirement as a Railway Signal man, erected a signal post in his courtyard with the help of his friends) also died some time ago. Now that his tenure at the press is coming to an end, 5 more years to go, he is also worried about his future and contemplating a similar action, of buying a second hand press and install in his attic.

Despite his idiotic outlook and alcoholic spurts , he is a learnt man. He can quote from Kant, Derrida and other philosophers at will, and have spent a long time reading the books he managed to take out.

"Because when I read, I don't really read; I pop a beautiful sentence into my mouth and suck it like a fruit drop, or I sip it like a liqueur until the thought dissolves in me like alcohol..."

Despite his physical out look of a rag, dirty , unwashed and illiterate drunkard, he has profound wisdom of words from his books. He often wonders "which of his thoughts come from me and which one from the books". His thoughts, comes outs as first person narrative, is often riddled with his reminiscence of his few unsuccessful relationships one Manca, who splash 'shit' over the other dancers at a party and a gypsy girl much later.

The war is over and the world around him is changing. The country is now under the autocratic rule. The technology is advanced and there are newer press is installed in other parts of the town, which calls for lesser number of manpower and faster and more effective. He is not able to come to terms with these changes and his visit to one of the new press to understand the system, only managed to terrify him and increase his worries of his future. The inevitable had to come, as his boss installs new machines and labours skilled enough to handle the newer methods and machines, asking him to leave the job. In the last chapter, Hantá dreams about the collapse of the civilization and the system under the new press, as the building, the roads, the populace and town crumbles under the heavy arms of the giant press, taking him along.

To Hanta, his existence is revolved around the press and the books. Every efforts from his side to go along with the changing world had been futile. As he noted,

"everything I see in this world, it all moves backward and forward at the same time, like a blacksmith’s bellows, like everything in my press, turning into its opposite at the command of red and green buttons, and that’s what makes the world go round.”

The book, originally written in 1976, but was published only by 1989. It might be against the totalitarian regime of the Republic, even though there are no direct references. Hanta's life and fate is that of every human being. The isolation in society, the solitude one feel among chaos and the maddening world, the comfort under your own settings and inability to get out of the zone are something universal and eternal. Hanta's own reflections of his past is limited to few failed attempts to get a companion in life. As he is crumbling, the entire universe of his, is crumbling along with him.

You don't need to write mammoth books to create an impact. What a 1000+ pages book could not do, was managed by sub 100 pages, if they are conceived and handled by masters. Having read "Closely Observed Trains" a few months ago, I was hugely influenced by Bohumil Hrabal and the quest for his other works thus began. Many of his admirers recommended 'Too Loud a Solitude" and here it is. My respect and admiration for this writer only increased post these two books.

Its pure magic, that is in these pages. Hrabal's language, his voice , his style is brilliant. The book is often funny and the character is idiotic. However, the omnipresent irony, the pathos is evident as you read the pages through, coming to a most fitting end to the narrative. As is with the previous book I read, this too demand a few re-reading. I am overwhelmed.

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Too Loud a Solitude ( 1977)

Bohumil Hrabal ( translated from Czech by Michael Henry Heim 1990)

Abacus

98 Pages
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Wiki entry, The Asylum

ലൈവ് ഗ്രീന്‍ - 30 (Live Green 30) - Ajith Janardanan

Few years ago, Jose Saramago published a book called "Death at Intervals". Building up a world of chaos at the result of death's absence, in his own inimitable style. Satirical , witty and with great restraint ( its easy to go haywire with such a theme), he produced a brilliant work to me the last significant work by the Nobel Laureate. When I read the blurb of Ajith Janardanan's new book, the reference of Saramago's book came into mind. I am not comparing a novice to the Nobel Laureate, but bringing to your attention a class work around death, or its absence there of.

Ajith Janardananan's short Novel, which won the Manorama Online Novel Carnival award ( I guess it can be read online here), looks at the duality of world, where the mortals, won over the death thus eventually achieving what the entire human civilisation was working towards for generations to generations. They discovered the magic medicine, to prevent death and aging. However, for every step towards progress(?), there have to be an opposition. There were equally strong rejection to the medicine ( called Live Green 30) and defying the will of God by the other half of populace. The world debated and split in line with their believes. Those who supported 'immortality" chose to find their own world called "Bravo" and those who wish to remain faithful to the God's wishes retained their world 'Alpha'. A Great migration between the worlds ensured clear differentiation despite the initial chaos and loss of human lives.

For the people of Bravo, the initial excitement did not last long. The population grew in the absence of death. The had to mandate that people take necessary precaution ( giving up birth) before they have been accepted to the fold of 'immortals' by ceremoniously taking the 'Live Green 30'. There were rebellious voices which had to be curbed. The inventor himself ( One David Kinman) came out against his invention ( albeit discreetly). Many people grew disappointed with life and wanted to return to the normalcy. There are no new births of kids and many professions seems to be of no value in the new system ( gynecologist, teachers).

On the other side of the world, David Kinman's son ( who along with his mother refused to move to the new world) trying to find remedy to his father's mistake. He believed it is his moral obligation to correct his father's error. While the youngsters are now finding the 'immortality' an attractive options and certain quarters are rumored to have been developing the clandestine version of Live Green 30. There were also news of an imminent attack by the Bravo , struggling to provide for its growing population with resources.

It is in this world where few youngsters in Bravo, attempting to make some changes. They build temples, "old age homes" for people disillusioned with life, maternity clinic for those refuse to tow the line of authorities. They also wanted David Kinman to break his silence and talk to the world, by attempting to get an interview published. The book then looks at the various possibilities for both Alpha and Bravo voices of rebel and authorities , not very convincingly though.

While the short novella has nothing to claim in the literary side, it is a curious attempt to build upon a possibility in its fullest extend. To me, Ajith Janardanan had succeeded in that front. Despite few clieched, often expected lines of writing, it did bring out a freshness in the narration in Malayalam writing.

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ലൈവ് ഗ്രീന്‍ - 30 / Live Green 30 ( 2012)

Ajith Janardanan

D C Books

79 Pages

Rs 55
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ജാഗ് രഹോ - Aniyan Madambu

Aniyan Madambu was once active in the Radio circuit with many radio plays written and directed by him. I understand, that he had also directed few for the local gatherings, be at the schools, libraries or temples. Like many , he too disappeared from the scene busying himself with his personal /family life. It is after a long time that he is attempting to get back to his long lost skill. As the introduction says, this book came into light after an incident at the famous Melpathur Auditorium of Guruvayur Temple and was written at the same venue.

Threading the path of the life and disintegrating social fabric, in the middle part of the twentieth century with the decay of a temple and those who live around the temple surroundings. The old Namboodiri priest 'Musamburi' , the temple supporting ( kazhakam) Varrier family, the Edakka exponent Marar , Nambisan and other representatives of the temple community goes through the decays of their own life as well as the temples ( or the society in general). Built upon the pathos of these struggling families and the exploitation of the others of these simpletons are the theme of this short novel.

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ജാഗ് രഹോ (Jag Raho) ( 2012 )

Aniyan Madambu

Samrat Publishers

79 Pages
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The Body Artist - Don DeLillo

Rey Robles, an unsuccessful film director, dies in his first wife's apartment one morning. He and his current ( third) wife, Lauren HArtke, are living in an isolated house near the coast, away from the New York City. Their day began as routinely as always, with them having the breakfast, he stirring his coffee and the newspaper, she opening and closing cabinets opening and closing taps.

"I want to say something, but what".. he said, "About the house. This is what it is, ..something I meant to tell you".. but she wasn't listening.

That was the last morning of them together. Same morning he committed suicide, in the Manhattan apartment of his first wife, shooting himself.

Alone, in a large house, whose tenure is another couple of months far, Lauren returns back to her life of uncertainties. A celebrated body artist, who defies the limits of the physical body elevate herself to a performance level, Lauren now has to find her way all by herself. Often loosing herself in her thoughts and through the question of her own existence. She consciously isolate herself from the rest of the world and her only interaction with the external world is during her routine shopping trip for essentials.

It does not remain so for long, when she realises a there are noise and footsteps on the top floor. She finds an unusual looking young man, short and skinny, retarded, possibly living there since they have moved in. He seldom speaks and the only sound escape his mouth is those once spoken by Ray himself. Now her existence has a definition, through this unknown creature living with her, often missing and reappearing. Lauren now, re-live her live with Ray, through the recorded conversations on the tape and those spoken by her unknown companion apart from the birds which perks on her window.

Is he real ? Is he a ghost (of Ray , refusing to leave her) ? Is he a creation of Lauren's troubled mind ? There is no definite answer. Was he there long enough hiding from the couple and listening to their conversations , which he now repeats ? Or is he an alien trapped in her house? DeLillo does not give any definite answer, but play the scenes through her mind. Neither does the writer gives us any indications of their life together and the circumstances of their marriage, the only references of her life is through the 2 random notes, one by her friend and an obituary.

A short novella by the master novelist, his first in the new millennium, is surrealistic and tricky. The metaphoric use of birds and the possible symbolism using nature ( the trees, leaves , see along with birds) and covers up for the lack of depth in the story. The narration develops itself, with some tactical use of style and language.

Its a strange and cunning novel, very seductive and moving. This might not represent the best of Don DeLillo, but an interesting work of fiction, nonetheless.

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The Body Artist ( 2001 )

Don DeLillo

Scribner Paperback
126 Pages

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A Life's Music - Andrei Makine

Scene one: You ( the narrator) are waiting in a railway station at a distant Siberian town, waiting for the train to Moscow. It is snowing heavily , in the vast expanse of Siberia including the station. There is an announcement that the train is delayed by 6 hrs. There is nothing to do, but watch the fellow citizens in the station , a cross section of Russian society, whom we call homo sovieticus , citing an exiled Sociologist Aleksandr Zinovyev.

Slowly, in the coldness and the wetness, while every thing else is at a standstill you hear a soft music through the air. There is something in this music, some melancholy , reminiscence something lost, which attracts you. You don't realise that your legs are already taking you towards the origin. You cross the platform stepping over those travellers sleeping crisscross on the platform, climb the wooden staircase, open the door silently as not to disturb the person and peep in. The place is dimly lit, all you can see is the silhouette of an old person against an old wooden piano. The light reflected off the snow is flashing on the old face. You move closure to the person producing this beautiful music. His fingers are thick and does not resemble to that of a musician. His movements are clumsy. He is so immersed in music and two streams of tears are rolling down his cheek. You don't want to disturb him ,and retract back to the door. But in the dark, you stumble upon something and the noise interrupts the flow. You are so embarrassed and apologetic, so is the old man. He too is waiting for the train.

Scene two : Young Alexei Berg is walking down the road of the mill, proudly looking at the poster of a young man in his twenties. The poster is announcing his piano concert in the same premises in a week. The poster is transparent, as it is wet by last nights rain, and he can see through, the previous poster. He remember the days when his parents at the same place with their theatre troupe.

Alexei and his parents have just come out of one of those terrible period of their life, which lasted 3 year. They had to endure the wrath of the authorities, for no apparent reasons, and was living an isolated life, fallen out of favour with all. The life is just coming back to normal and the untouchability is removed slowly and they have been accepted as regular citizens. However, it did not last long. On the eve of his maiden performance, as he returned from his rehearsal, one of his neighbour crossed his path and murmured to him, that 'they are already there' and don't go home.

Alexei flees to Ukraine to his uncle and lived hiding for some time before Russia was invaded and attacked by Germans. Leaving the hiding post, Alexei walk around the battlefield, and join the army using a false identity of a fallen soldier. Post the war, working as the driver of a wartime General, he was the attraction of the general's daughter, who wanted to teach him to play piano. On the engagement party, having introduced as a student learning from the would be bridegroom, he was asked to present what he had learnt from her. His better sense fail and the result was being caught and sent to Siberia.

His multiple attempts to sneak back to Moscow was a failure and was forced to live the majority of his life in a place "where 12 months are winter and the rest spring".

As the train reaches the city of Moscow, the story of an unusual endurance and un-fulfilled life's journey has been revealed to the narrator and to the reader. The novel ends with a music concert, with the readers 'camera' focused on Alexei, sitting in the last corner seat lost in music and in himself.

This is one of the best novels I have read this year. Spanning a mere 100 odd pages, it has magic of writing in every pages. Very poetic, very intense style of writing. Very rich in imagery and emotion. The writing and description is very picturesque as if we are watching a movie.

Gem of a novel. Highly recommended.
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A Life's Music
Andrei Makine ( Translated by Geoffrey Strachan)
Spectre Paperback
106 Pages
(bought in a sale)
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Further Read : The Guardian , The telegraph , Sydney Morning Herald , Andrei Makine