അടയാളങ്ങൾ - Sethu

In the contemporary Malayalam writers, Sethu is one one the prominent names. His books stand apart in the general melee of publishing. The latest Marupiravi, was also a good attempt. Taking up his 2005 book, which supposed to have won the prestigious 'Vayalar award' in 2006, was with a lot of hope and expectation. However, this book did not live up to the expectation one had on this writer.

Priyamvada Menon is a middle aged HR executive in a respected private firm, living with her college going daughter Neethu. The mother -daughter relationship is that of a close friendship, especially after her seperation from her US residing husband Ranjith Menon. The nasty separation, seemed to have made a lasting impression on the daughter and hence her dependancy on her mother is beyond expression. However, as expected in such a relation, it has to go through the period of distrust and disown. Everything started with a trip to Goa by {Priyamvada on an HR conference, where she presented a paper on the plight of workers at a Sugar Mill in Meenakshipuram. The story of old employees, committing suicide at the age of 59 ( few months prior to their retirement) in order to secure the job to their children, was received with a lot of enthusiasm. She had a lot of fans on her ability to portray a question of ethics and those cases beyond the known HR guidebooks. One of her idea of being at the conference is not only to present her paper, but to meet her mentor Prof.Roy Choudhury. A meeting which did not go too well with her,. She recalls later ' an idol should remain an idol, it should never appear in flesh and blood, demeaning its own values.

The rift between the mother and daughter now increased with them busy with their own life and not willing to concede their position. Adding to this Priyamvada's own struggle at her office, working around a factory modernizing scheme,trying to garner the support of the warring workers were taking her time. Bringing the fiery Meenakshipuram HR lady to her folds , as an assistant at the factory and as a sister to her own life, did not yield the desired calm in her life. However, as it is expected the issues at the official front as well as the home front.

Conflicts in a mother-daughter relationship. At the outset, a standard, cinematic, cliched plot. Except for the clever incorporation of the subplots related to her work as an HR head of a private firm, and the symbolic Meenakshipuram incident, where the employees of a sugar mill commits suicide at the age of 59, in order to get the job to their direct descendant, the book is very very ordinary. The new trends in writing, with working professional women in lead, the independent living, open discussions between parents and kids etc could be a welcome change. Notwithstanding his ability in handling the subject with a good control of language, to me this is not one of those books that stands out in Malayalam literature, irrespective of the numerous awards it is supposed to have won.

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അടയാളങ്ങൾ ( 2005)

Sethu

DC Books

276 Pages

Rs 125
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The Woman & the Ape - Peter Høeg

This year's Nobel speculation had few names which aren't those in the running for a while. Ladbroke, the betting site in their probable list had the name of Peter Høeg at 100/1 odds. I have been carrying two of his books in my ever growing list of books pile. The woman and the Ape is the slimmer book and I thought it would be appropriate to read him now, as his name is in the list of probable. I'm not very enthusiastic about his prospects after reading this book. However, to many of his readers, this is one of his weakest book and it may be too premature to judge this writer on the experience of a single book.

The Woman and the Ape, begins well with the arrival of an ape to the shores of London. Escaping the captivity, it was rescued by an animal enthusiast, Andrea Burden and was brought to her brother Dr Adam Burden, soon to be the new president of the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens. Adam's alcoholic wife Madelene, at first intrigued and develop curiosity on the animal ( now called Erasmus). It is evident soon that the intention of her husband is not all that ethical, as the experiment on the Ape, goes to the level of causing permanent damage to the captive. She set out to find the truth behind the clandestine activities, often in disguise and away from the comfort of her rich cushy home. At a turning point, she escapes with the Ape to the woods, causing turmoil in the family. Until now, the book seems to be going ok. Now, set to teach the intelligent Ape, the language of the humans, and living with the ape for over 10 days of love fest , she wanted to make a new beginning to her dull life. The action now moves from Adam and Madelene to the Ape, who seems to be in control of himself and have a definite plan for himself , which include the kidnapping of Madelene. The next few pages of intense action with the revelation of the Apes in the influential positions of the administration and the test of various levels of human-animal conflicts

I'm not a great fan of these kind of literature. I am not sure if some one can call it science fiction or experimental fiction. One can understand the need of Madelene to escape from the current constraints of her living. Ape seems to be the possible escape route for her, and her anger and frustration is directed towards her husband. Adam is busy with his own personal life with his ambition to make it big in the field of his interest with whatever means, in which he succeeds. Ape, with his own hidden agenda, plays a step ahead of them and managed to work his way through using the vulnerability of Madelene.

Interesting book, non regular narrative, clear and stand out characterisation and easy read. However, on the whole, this books does not deliver to the promise. May be the shift of the narrative to the Ape, from Madelene caused the disruption. His attempt to satiric portray of London's society and academic community, Attempt to bring in the inter species love affair , to the level of being physical love ( I remember reading a similar instant in one of Alena Rayes novel) and Apes learning of Human Language the thriller type finish, all that was almost silly and unimpressive. The pretext is very interesting and an idea of human-humanoid interaction is interesting, but the result it delivered is not in line with the idea and structure. He may be a good writer, but this book did not live up to the expectations. May be, Smilla's Sense of Snow, the other book I have , will be much better.

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The Woman & the Ape ( 1996 )

Peter Høeg ( translated from Danish by Barbara Haveland 1996)

The Harvill Press

229 Pages
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NY Times

Stupid Guy Goes to India - Yukichi Yamamatsu

If you are an non-Indian and have experienced India, you are likely to rate this book high. Coming to India for job, Yamamatsu a Manga artist, lands up In Delhi. The next 200 pages are his attempt to find foot hold in India trying to publish Manga Books here in India.

Yukichi's arrival to India itself was marred with troubles. He called the Pak Embassy to start with before getting the India Embassy. The typical travellers issues awaits him as , the need of Visa , the costly ticket, unpleasant journey by Air India, general confusion and chaos at the airport, and missing bags . He has his own vested interests. The market in Japan is dull and the only job he know is to draw. India is a huge country with vast population , hence coming to India and publish a few books is a viable idea, especially Indians are not exposed to Manga style of comics. He had been warned by his friends and colleagues about various things to worry about India and the precautions to be taken. Moreover, he does not know the language, not even English.

After reaching the hotel, his initial idea was to find an accommodation. Small, cheap and a place where he can do his job. His struggle with the house, the Japanese Embassy, the schools which teaches Japanese for a translator for the Japanese books, the equipment needed to carry out his tasks ; each had its own impact. The next 6 months of his eventual living in the capital of India, trying to get his book translated, printed and distributed is what the content of this book. He goes through numerous hurdles trying to overcome each in his own way.

The book is presented in the typical 'manga' style and structure. The reading is from back to front for the normal readers and from right to left. It's a casual read. Funny & hilarious if you are a non-Indian and a bit under whelming if you are an Indian. It has all the ingredients you expect a foreigner to see in India; cows on the road, crowded market places, general confusion with the language, improper mannerisms of the locals, lack of ethics and professionalism, dirty lanes, pickpockets, prostitutes, cheaters , filthy slums etc etc. The art per se, is very good and his observation of his surrounding, to the minute detail is brilliant. His drawings of Indian Deities, Mahatma Gandhi and multiple Indian characters are very good. However, beyond some good drawings and his general experiences and 'conformation' of the general view about India, this book has nothing else to offer because there is no compelling story apart from his own confused self through out the book.

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Stupid Guy Goes to India ( 2008)

Yukichi Yamamatsu ( translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian in 2011 )

Blaft Publications

230 pages
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Hindustan times , DNA, The Hindu

Six Plays of Strindberg - August Strindberg

The recently concluded Bangalore Theater Festival, staged Stindberg's master piece Miss Julie, performed by an amateur troupe from Delhi. The book was with me for over a month and I thought this was the right time to read Strindberg. Unlike some of the older play you read, what impresses one with these plays are its relevance despite a century passed since they were originally written and staged. This is my first read of strindberg and I guess, these are the best and essential reading of Strindberg.

Six plays in this collection are written between 1887 and 1907 , reflective of his progress as a writer. Though all the plays are good, I was deeply impressed with 'Easter' and 'The Father'. Influences of "Expressionism" and "naturalism" of the 19th century artistic concepts are evident in his plays.

Both 'The Father' and 'Miss Julie' work around the 'battle of sexes' theme, where the feminine gender perceived to be taking upper hand often in the negative shades. In 'The father' we see the husband and wife trying to take control of the life of their only daughter. husband wants to send his daughter away fo rhigher education and the progressive way of living. Fearing , she will loose the hold on her daughter, the wife conjures up plans to scuttle his decision playing around the basic nature of the husband-wife relationship. Her attempt to protect her authority goes as low as creating doubt in his mind about the parentage of the child. She even manages to work around the rest of the crew in making them believe about his mental state and manipulate every one, In then end the father succumbs to the loss of his daughter, his pride and his senses dropping dead with a  heart attack.

Miss Julie, again work on a similar theme. Miss Julie, heir apparent of a wealthy baron, uses her charm to to work her magic with her valet. In her attempt to shake off from the monotonous life and add little fun, she dances at the servants midsummer eve with Jean. The play act get serious with she following him into the kitchen, where Jean's fiancee Christine is cooking. The politics of power thus play out between the trio. For Julie, being the upper class and daughter of the count, has power and control over the others. Jean on the other hand has the male authority over the rest, but also learned through his wide travel across Europe. Christina and Jean are also free from the prejudice of the upper class. The battle for superiority, in subtle form continues through out the night which began with flirtation progressed into a love affair. In the end, unable to shackle out of the maze of existence, the only way out suggest was the suicide of Julie.

Stronger a one-act play is loosely based on his own experience. At the time of writing this play, it wsa said that he was having an affair with a 17 year old actress, while entertaining another two love relationship. However, his wife seems to have stood by him through out this and at the end of each affair he returned back to her. Madame X, middle aged lady trying to save their marriage, by working it out with Mademoiselle Y. A play starts with cordial interaction between two ladies, changes into a powerful monologue of anger, hate and desperation by Madam X, at the end of which she thanks Y for teaching her husband to love.

Starting on a Maundy Thursday through to Easter Eve, "The Easter" goes through the despair and hope of a family riddled with debt , whose future is in the hands of the vicious creditor. To add to their woes, the mentally unstable sister comes back from the sanatorium. As the days progressed, the changes and hopes in their life is visible through the changes in the external world. Winter is over and the ice is melting. Sun is slowly seen in the outside and autumn is setting in. The day of crucification (his father was arrested and jailed for false crime) to the day of resurrection is obvious. To me this setting and the indirect , very subtly symbolic expression of hope was the highlight of the play.

A dream play was very different from the rest. Daughter of Indra ( the leader of Gods as per Hindu Mythology) comes to earth to understand and experience the human predicament. "because I want to know about human being and life-to find out if it is really as hard as they say".  Indra agrees:

Descend and see, and hear, then come again

and tell me if their lamentations

and their complaints are justified

Through several encounters and experiences, she tries to learn and understand the human conditions before returning to heavens. The characters are symbolic and depicts various facets of life. There are people representing various professions and believes, people in different social structure. As is the performance, the characters emerge, dissolve change shape in accordance to the scene.

The Ghost sonata, an experimental play is much more complex in nature. An accidental encounter of a student, who apparently performed a brave deed, with an old man changes their lives for ever, On the invitation from the Old man, he accepts to attend the dinner at the colonels residence where he meets a hoard of characters each expresses their life experiences. It is here he realises, after falling in love with the colonel's daughter, that he has ended up in a dead house. I guess, there could be various interpretations and understanding of this play. I could also sense some continuation from 'the Easter' in few characters and schemes.

Phenomenal set of plays from one of the masters of modern theater. The eternal relevance of his theme makes these play enjoyable even after 100s of years.

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Six Plays of Strindberg ( The Father(1887), Miss Julie( 1888), The Stronger(1889) , Easter(1900), A Dream Play(1901), The Ghost Sonata (1907) )

August Strindberg ( translated from Swedish by Elizabeth Sprigge 1955)

Anchor Books

304 Pages
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http://www.theaterpro.com/Strindberg.html

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

The Wrath of an Emperor ( Krishnavatara II ) - K M Munshi

The part 1 of the book ended with the death of King Kamsa. Taking off from the same point K M Munshi, continues the journey through the life of Krishna post the death of Kamsa. Kamsa is dead to the comfort of many, the street rejoiced, there were celebrations and festivities around Yadava land. Some of the deserted Yadava clan leaders are now coming back. King Ugrasena and the elders now meet to decide the future of the land. Ugrasena is aging and so are most of the leaders. They need to elect some one who can lead the Yadava's in the future. Unanimous choice had been Krishna, which he refuses. Hence, the selection of 'Prince' is inconclusive. Death of Kamsa is not received well with his erstwhile allies. The mighty king of Magadh Empire Jarasandha is fuming. Kamsa, his son in law has been killed by two cowherds despite the presence of a large contingent of 'Magadh Warriors'. He plans revenge, and with the support of his other allies, decides to invade the Yadavas and inflict destruction of their kingdom.

Fragmented Yadava's can not resist the might of Jarasandha. They have no leader, nor an army equipped or trained to support the kingdom. Krishna offers to flea, as the emperor's wrath is against Krishna and Balarama for the murder of his son-in-law. The advancing army of Jarasandha was informed about the escape of the young price and Balarama by an envoy of Yadava's, thus chaning the track of the advancement. Krishna and Balarama had no place to go as most of the small kingdom were frightened of Jarasandha. Vidarbha king Bhishmaka , though likes Krishna, was in control of his son Rukmi, who call the shots and befriends Jarasandha. Karavirapura, other large empire is known to have his anger against the Yadava's. The only place they could escape to was to the Garuda kingdom of Gomantaka, over the Western Ghats. However, the advancing army managed to lay siege of the hills. Jarasandha, on advise of Bhishmaka, managed to set the hill on fire, only to be quenched by some clever maneuver from Krishna, who diverted the sea to the plains of Gomantaka. In the fierce battle that followed, the Garuda Warriors, upbeat by the support of Krishna and Balarama managed to defeat the might of Jarasandha. Jarasandha himself was broken and defeated by Balarama, only to be saved by the intervention of Krishna from an ominous death from the hands of Balarama.

The shame and failure did not demoralise Jarasandha. His pledge to take revenge is now only doubled. His name and power has taken a beating from the hands of two youngsters, who are nothing but cowherds. He has to now plan his move carefully. He need vast support and a support that is locked and sealed with better relationship. Thus started the plan of getting Vidarbha and Chedi together in a relation. He planned to get his grand daughter married to Rukmi, the young prince of Vidarbha and instructed to get Rukmini, sister of Rukmi to the powerful prince of Chedi, Shishupala. coming in a wedlock thus re-iterating their already pledged alliance, can thus be used to destroy the Yadava's, whose only strength is in those two youngsters. Despite the resistance of Rukmini, the plan to 'stage manage' her 'swayamvara' was planned. Select princes were called, and omitted the Yadava's as they have no official prince. Yadava's were upset but had no means of confronting the enemy. Krishna and Balarama on their part start preparing the young yadavas in arms and riding chariots. The 'swayamvara' had to be stopped and once again they proved their mettle by tactically intervening at Vidarbha, spoiling the 'swayamvara' preparations.

The emperor Jarasandha is now furious. All his plans were defeated by the clever cowherd. It is essential for his pride to teach them a lessen. He joined with his strong ally moved their forces towards Mathura. Once again, Yadavas are in trouble. They have no army to prevent the massacre and destruction. The only way is to retreat, as advised by Krishna to one of their friendly kingdoms. The long migration to 'dwaraka' thus begin whose King was helped to regain his lost power by Balarama and Uddhava. Krishna, returned to the valley to divert and disrupt the advancing enemy to gain time for his people to reach safe havens. Mathura was destroyed by the rage of Jarasandha, but a Mathura with no inhabitants and no valuables to loot. The regrouped Yadavas, then returned to prevent the 'swayamvara' of Rukmini, arranged for the second time by the Vidarbha king on insistence of Jarasandha, and abducted the princess Rukmini. The second part ends with the abduction of Rukmini, while it largely focussed on the Emperor Jarasandha's wrath and Krishna's miraculous deeds again and again to save his people and maintain 'dharma'.

While that is the story, what was impressive about this part of the Krishnavatara was the way K M Munshi treated the subject. The Krishna we see here is a young prince, trying to protect his people from a huge and powerful enemy. The heroics are not always in confronting. He knew the strength of his opponent and the weakness of his own people. Hence he cleverly managed and planned his actions, be it fleeing the emperor and diverting the attention and the anger towards him, sparing his people, or by shifting the entire populace to safe places. You also see clever manipulations between the kingdoms, the alliances formed and broken, the battle plans and trickery. What we witnessed in these pages continued through out the history of mankind. You see political alliances formed between countries, the alliances sealed with marriages. The helplessness of smaller kings against the might of a large army.

Though Krishna continue to perform miracles in tackling some of the dredged criminals and kings through out his journey, most of his deeds aren't extra ordinary or painted with any divine touch. They are by someone who is destined to maintain 'dharma' in the world and are performed some one with knowledge and skills. Even against his enemies he is considerate and genuine.

I thought Sri K M Munshi, did a phenomenal job in the Book 2, by not glorifying the actions are holy and divine and performed by 'Avatara'. He focussed on the humane characterisation of the young prince, his worries for his parents, his close friends and associates and the Yadava people. Despite the advances of Shaibya ( whom he rescued from Karavirapura) or Rukmini, he maintained his stand on preserving dharma as his duty and the rest has to wait.

The style is much more clearer ( may be I'm getting used to it) and the language despite few hiccups and unevenness is much better in Book 2. The flow and structure with its many diversions and sub texts converged back to the main theme. Fabulous read.

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The Wrath of an Emperor (Krishnavatara II) 1963

Kulapathi K M Munshi

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

435 Pages
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The dream of the Celt - Mario Vargas Llosa

This book was published immediately after he was selected for the Nobel Prize in 2010. The anticipation and expectation were very high. More so, after the disappoint over the previous one- The Bad Girl. However, it took a couple of years before the English translation  to come out. In line with his later works ( those released in 21st Century) , Mario Vargas Llosa, takes up subject from history and historical figures and work his magic around those incidents. His earlier works such as 'The way to Paradise ( on Paul Gaguin) or 'The Feast of the Goat' ( on the dictator Rafael Trujillo of Dominican Republic) were very good, especially the feast of the goat. This time, he takes the case of Roger Casement , an IRISH revolutionary who spend his early days in Africa and later in Amazon fighting for the cause of the indigenous people against the abuse of colonial power.

Waiting for the hangman's rope in the Pentonville Prison in London, Roger Casement  ( "one of the great anti-colonial fighters and defenders of human rights and indigenous cultures of his time, and a sacrificed combatant for the emancipation of Ireland.” )  recounts his turbulent life spent across three continents. His appeal for clemency is under scrutiny by the Parliament, however the hope seems to be less, after the revelations of his sexual preference ( for the young dark boys of Africa and Amazon)  is made public by the authorities, obtained from his secret dairy. He seldom has visitors, most of his high profiled friends including some of the leading writers of the world abstain from meeting him or supporting him in public, for he is now under trial as a traitor of the kingdom, which once honoured him with Knighthood. Few visitors include an acquaintance in London and a Catholic Priest.

Roger's childhood is spend with his uncle and aunt after the death of his mother ( who continue to appear to him in his dreams) and later his father. Joined as an apprentice in a logistic firm, he get an opportunity to travel to Congo , which changes the course of his life.  Accompanying the great African explorer Stanley ( whom he recall as "one of the most unscrupulous villains the west had excreted on to the continent of Africa"), he had witnessed the atrocities of the colonial power Belgium inflicting upon the natives in their quest for 'black gold' rubber which is in great demand in the industrialised world. Its his investigation and report that opened the truth of the atrocities and cruelties that are subjected on the natives by the colonial powers.

On his return to England, he was entrusted with another challenge. This time to enquire about the activities of a British Company owned by Julio C Arana, in the Amazon jungles at Putamayo, Peru. To his dismay, the situation in Amazon is no better than what was in Congo. Those in power used all their cruel means to subdue and servile the native for their personal fortune. The levels of cruelty and abuse is no less and not surprisingly, those who were to take action were found in indulging the same atrocities, often paid by the business.

It is during these days in the jungle, that kindles Roger's patriotic believes. "Wasn't Ireland a colony too, Like the Congo ? Hadn't England invaded Ireland ? Hadn't they incorporated it into the empire by force, not consulting those who had been invaded and occupied, just as the Belgians did with the Congolese ?".  The rest of Casement life had been now focused towards Ireland.  Learning its history, its unique culture, and unsuccessfully trying to learn Gaelic, he started working with the Irish republican brotherhood and other similar organisations. His currently acquired fame made him the attraction and he was busy spreading the message across the country despite his physical illness in the form of arthritis. Raising funds for the organisation, trying to gather support of Germany ( enemy's enemy is our friend) to work along with the Irish Republican  Brotherhood in the event of an armed offensive, trying to secure arms and ammunition to the fighters, he worked round the clock for his dream. He was caught by the British Army, on his attempt to return to Ireland from Germany prior to the Easter Rising offensive, and was sentenced to death, by the court.

Written in three parts, each dedicated to Congo, Amazon and Ireland, Mario Vargas Llosa, does what he is best at. Weaving his narrative from the historical facts with his mastery and imagination, he build the case of Roger Casement. The cruelty and atrocities of the colonials ( chopping of penis and limbs, the whip marks on natives for smaller errors, the knife mark on the bodies with the company details etc), the plight of the soldiers who are asked to perform these atrocities by their superiors, the business houses with the eye for money and the personal preferences of Roger Casement,  etc are noted with keen observation and with detachment. Where history does not provide him with direct details, I think he excels himself. Where the available data is sufficient and with no scope of imagination, his writings are dull and plain as a text book., The part of Congo and Amazon are written brilliantly. However, the last part on Ireland does not live upto the previous two. However, he finishes in style.

Though this do not stand among his best books, it is better than the previous one.  Despite the uneven narrative towards the end, it still holds pretty well as a strong powerful tale. The narratives technique is brilliant often moving between the present ( 1916 at Pentonville Jail) to the respective continents. The ease of shifting of the narrative space is amazing. The language is fluid and poetic at many places. Again, not amongst his best,  good nonetheless.

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The Dream of the Celt ( 2010)

Mario Vargas Llosa  ( translated from Spanish by Edith Grossman 2012)

Faber & Faber

403 Pages
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Wiki Entry, Guardian, NY Times, Washington Post, Sydney Morning Herald, Telegraph, Independent

Prater Violet - Christoper Isherwood

I haven't come across any other writer who portray the pre-World War II sentiments of the nations, people as brilliantly as Christopher Isherwood. Being in Berlin during the first half of the 1930s, he had witnessed the rise of the Hitler and Nazis in close quarters. His famous 'Berlin Trilogy' captures these subtle observations on the psyche of people. His writings are clear and simple, yet with profound impact. The book I just finished reading, is no less effective. To many this short novel stands above the celebrated 'Berlin Stories'.

Prater Violet , though published in 1945, is set in 1933-34 with Vienna as background. Young Christopher Isherwood, a writer, gets a call from the famous London Studio. He was picked to write the dialogue for a movie musical called "Prater Violet" being directed by mercurial Austrian Director Freidreich Bergmann. His knowledge of Vienna, where the film is said to be set in, is the single reason for him being selected. Despite his objection that he was never been in Vienna, and his experience is only with Berlin, the job was entrusted on him. Having accepted the job ( not very enthusiastically, however to the excitement of his widowed mother and brother), he now start working with the temperamental director. They hit it off well, aided by knowledge of German by Isherwood. The long association of mentor and disciple thus begun, with the working on the script.

Isherwood in his amazing simplicity with his language, draws us to the process of film making with some entertaining characters. The owner of the studio Chatsworth, the lead actors, and the supporting units. What is beyond the obvious filming process , with its ups and downs, is the gradual development of mutual admiration between the writer and director is build magnificently. Even though the filming is in London, Bergmann's wife and daughter are stuck at Austria about whom he is hugely concerned. The entire Europe is in the grip of anxiety and fear of the imminent war. The caution and precautions are evident. While the initial phases of shooting went on with out much of an issue, but as the news of German occupation of Austria and the resistance from the locals started appearing in London, the entire system had been affected. Tormented between his love for his family and the work, Bergmann lost his passion and interest, only to be confronted by the studio bosses. In the end every thing was well and Bergmann produced a classic and went on to the Hollywood to direct movies.

Chritpher Isherwood, the character, like the writer sits at the periphery with keen observation of the people and events as they appear and unfold. Unlike his character Isherwood, we the writer Isherwood, donning the dress of a director managing his cast and resources to some great effects. Isherwood's, language and style is perfect, concise , clear and efficient ( Efficiency a word he keep using in the narrative). The humour, which is in abundance is inclusive , never loud.

While the novel is a satirical take on film making, its emphasize is on the metaphorical relation between people and nations. Bergmann's constant fear of a European collapse of civilization succumbing to the Germans to Isherwood's need of living in the fantasy world of scripts and actors and more importantly his worries of the well being of his mentor Bergmann. Refined writing, well crafted, beautifully narrated book. Brilliant.

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Prater Violet ( 1945)

Christopher Isherwood

Vintage Paperback

122 Pages
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Wiki entry , Berkely

The Rival - Richard B Sheridan

Rich hero and even more richer heroine. However, heroine hate richness and wants to marry someone who do it not for her fortune, but some one who loves her. She is willing to leave every thing and live with him,if need be, in condition which are not of her status. Here come the suitors, most of them undoubtedly for her wealth. Knowing her intentions, hero comes in disguise as a no one, poor in wealth but rich in charm. He play the duality of characters in his impeccable style in front of the lady he love ( however the audience is aware of his disguise, but they like to see her falling for his conceit). The plot reveals itself ( you can invent any possible reasons), there is anger and sense of cheating and the lovers fight. In the end, every thing is clear and clean and they come together again and live together happily. Haven't we seen this in various forms and style and interpretation through out many generation of artists?

Richard Sheridan's master piece, written and originally performed in 1775, possibly would be the first of the same, which numerous other less capable artists and directors shamelessly tried to give their own version. Lydia Languish, heir apparent of a huge wealth, is determined to marry someone who is not doing it for her fortune. She is currently under the suppotr and guidance of her aunt Mrs. Malaprop. If she decides to disobey and marry on her accord, half of her wealth will be lost. Mrs. Malaprop is trying to find her the right boy, as the girl is grown and started showing tendencies of rebellion of girls of her age like reading books from libraries, Baron, Sir Anthony Absolute wants his son, currently serving the Royal Army to marry her and are in advanced discussion with Mrs. Malaprop. The overall confusion prevail as he speak to his sone about the proposal while he on the other side flirting with the same lady in disguise. There are other suitors, and a villainous Irish Baron Sir Lucious O'Trigger to cause further complication. As is expected, every thing clears out in the end for the lovers to join and live together.

Reading the book after nearly three centuries, still gives you the charm of a major works. However, the impact , I think, could be more on stage, for its dramatic moments and postures than one experience while reading. Sheridan wanted to write a comedy and including the selection of names, the plot, the schemes were obvious to have a comical effect. He might have crossed the line with the Irish back ground of Lucious O'Trigger, when his first show was interrupted by unruly audience and had be stopped. The same was modified, reducing some of his rhetoric, before re-launching the same in 15 days. Since then ,this has been one of the most staged plays in the modern era, changing his fortune forever.This book also gave a new word to English dictionary as 'malapropism'.

The book does not give you enough to justify the dual role of Ensign Beverly and Captain Absolute to the readers satisfaction. The conversations, however are to the true nature of the characters. The ploy is open in the first page and no curiosity is carried. However, the dramatic moments are galore, with various conversations between Anthony Absolute, Ensign Beverly, Mrs Malaprop and Lydia. As said before, an on stage version will have better appeal than the book.

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The Rivals ( 1775)

Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Nick Hern Books

98 Pages
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Encyclopedia Britannica , Project Gutenberg, Wiki Entry

The Monkey King - Timothy Mo

This writer has been in discussion for a while, with the release of his new book Pure, which I guess was published after a long gap. Timothy Mo became a popular figure along with Salman Rushdie and Kazuo Ishiguro in the 80s after few successful novels. Like the other two, he too have a mixed background. Born to a Hongkong father and a British Mother, he too writers about the duality of culture and the life spent between Orient and London.

The monkey King, is his first published work and the only one I've read so far. Set in Hongkong, following the life and fortune of a rich business family, he explains the book is result of his early days in Hongkong. Hongkong , where the Portuguese ( in Macau), Chinese, British and Indian (due to British Influence during war) culture intermix is an interesting place. The World War is ended and Japanese have returned. The Post war depression is evident Wallace Nolasco, with his Potruguese background from Macau, is now married to the daughter of Mr.Poon, a wealthy businessman in Hongkong. Moving into his house, Wallace soon realised that all is not well for him at the new place. An autocratic family , with Mr.Poon controlling the affairs with his iron fist, had no power to either Wallace( his son-in-law) nor his wife beating son. A crowded house-hold which included many Amah's for house duties and a couple of unmarried sisters, apart from the Poons and his grand children. Wallace, status and his respect in the house is directly related to Poon's behaviour and Wallace realised that he was short sold and the promised dowry was not given.

His act of rebel did not have any direct consequences with no other support to his mission. However, he slowly changed the tactic to work around his wife and Poon's grand children. Often spending time outside the house, exploring Hongkong along with his wife and few other company, which seems to have caused some disturbances in the house. However, Mr.Poon had other plans. Using Wallace's connections and his easy going nature, he wanted to expand his business. Planting Wallace in one of the state agencies, and befriending the authorities, he secured a huge contract for rebuilding. The irregularities were found out and Wallace with his wife were moved to a farm house in the country to avoid any repercussions. Working among the locals and the revelutionaries, Wallace build his clout in the country as well , before he was called back to take over from an ailing Poon. The last par of the book is the rule of Wallace, on building his empire back.

A three part book, the first focussing on the Poon house , the second on Wallace's time in the country house and the third on his return and building the empire by himself. The language and style is something very similar to the books you read from the orient. The use of Hongkong diction and the local idioms, the mix of few local expressions were interesting to note. The sly humour which is in abundance is very entertaining, especially in the early pages with Poon family. By rebelling the Poon's Wallace is not only questioning the family, but some of the age old practices and tradition of the Cantonese living. He is an outsider, hence take the liberty to continue to be an outsider.

I am not sure of the connection with the old Chinese folklore of 'Legend of the Monkey King". However, I do feel there are some strong references to the tale of Monkey King to Wallace. The book is not too absorbing and engaging. The language is such , detached san emotion. Its a good book, but nothing spectacular to talk about.

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The Monkey King (1978)

Timothy Mo

Abacus

215 Pages
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Confusionism in Timothy Mo's The monkey King, L A Times,

The Magic Flute ( Krishnavatara I ) - K M Munshi

Years ago, I read Kulapathi K M Munshi's krishnavatara, translated into Malayalam, when it was published in pieces in one of the leading weekly. Now, when I had a chance to read the whole series again, in English, I thought it was a good idea to revisit. K M Munshi, one of the pillars of modern Gujarati Literature is known more for his works associated with Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and his efforts to publish books for the general public at affordable rates.

Story of Krishna is part of our upbringing. Every Indian, would have gone through the stories in various doses and forms. One, he is a colorful character, a bit of kiddishness, lot of naughtiness, a lover boy, a master manipulator and a clear headed task master. He can wear the appropriate mantle as he deem fit. Around the divinity and the supernatural ability, there is a face of an adorable young boy. Despite the burden of being the 'avatar' of the Lord Vishnu, his character and mannerisms often are too grounded and can be related to any common man. Perhaps, that make him the most sought after person from the scriptures. Derived out of the epic Mahabharata, later developed into another mega scripture, Srimad Bhagavata, , probably is the first dedicated literary work on the life of Krishna. However, there were many many legends and versions of the text available through out the centuries around Krishna.

K M Munshi's version of the story do justice to the mostly told and perpetuated version, at least in the initial book. A series of 7 book ( the eight book which was being written was left incomplete, due to his demise in 1971) on Krishna is is written and published between 1962 to 1970 completing lifestory of Krishna. The Magic Flute, first of the series takes up the pre-birth days of Krishna until the death of King and his uncle Kamsa. What was interesting is the way he mixed the legend of Radha into his narrative , without causing any narrative disruption. In the Chapter where he introduced Radha, he spends more than a page of notes, mentioning the controversy surrounding Radha, on how it was not present in Mahabharata and Bhagavata, but remained in the hearts of millions of people.

I believe, it is a self translated book and it do have its own drawbacks. The language, may be intended, is a bit text-bookish and uneven. It improved as we progressed through the book,though. For those who look for it, it can be a very spiritual experience, and those who would like to see the humane side of the God, it has ample scope of interpretation. May be the humanisation of the various characters without deviating from the core is the highlight thus far.

In the introductory chapter, K M Munshi, explains, why he chose to present the story of Krishna.

Wise and valorous, he was, loving and loved, far-seeing and yet living for the moment, gifted with sage-like detachment and yet intensely human; the diplomat, the sage and the man of action with personality as luminous as that of a divinity. The urge therefore, came upon me, time and again, to embark upon a reconstruction of his life and adventures by weaving a romance around him.

This is the first book and another six to go. To me this is more than a 'refresher course'. It is the effort of one of the classical writer of the 20th century that needed attention and a re-look.

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The Magic Flute ( Krishnavatara I ) ( 1962)

K M Munshi

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

249 Pages
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Fermat's Enigma - Simon Singh

"I think I'll stop here ", concluded Prof Andrew Wiles , his third and final lecture of the series at the Cambridge University, to the transfixed audiences which included some of the prominent mathematician of the world. Only a few understood those symbols and equations that was scribbled on the board. But most of them knew that they witnessed one of the biggest moment in the history of mathematics. The 300 year old, longest standing mathematical problem has now been solved. Fermat's Last Theorem, which puzzled, frustrated and challenged the brilliant minds across the globe for over three centuries is now been addressed. The Misery resolved, the mathematicians around the world is now rejoiced.

Some of the toughest problems of the world are simple, yet difficult to prove. We all have learned the Pythagoras' theorem of right angles triangles.  a (2) + b(2) =c(2) where c represents the length of the hypotenuse, and a and b represent the lengths of the other two sides.

Mathematician who followed, Pythagoras , like Euclid , Dyophantus and the those of Hypatian school of Alexandria made early progress in the development of Mathematical Sciences. During renaissance period, the newly learnt wisdom of Arab's and the Eastern world, the European thinkers and mathematicians gave giant leap to the science of mathematics.

In the early 17th century Frenchman Pierre de Fermat, an amateur mathematician was famous for his riddles, usually aimed at those across the Channel at England. While exploring the Dyaphantus book 'Arithametica' he wrote his famous observation which later came to be known as 'Fermat's Last Theorem' , tormenting the mathematicians around the world for next three centuries. His theorem states that no three positive integers a, b, and c can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than two. On the margins of the book he also noted that "I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain." 

Cubum autem in duos cubos, aut quadratoquadratum in duos quadratoquadratos, et generaliter nullam in infinitum ultra quadratum potestatem in duos eiusdem nominis fas est dividere cuius rei demonstrationem mirabilem sane detexi. Hanc marginis exiguitas non caperet. ( it is impossible to separate a cube into two cubes, or a fourth power into two fourth powers, or in general, any power higher than the second, into two like powers. I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which this margin is too narrow to contain)

The master riddler, now sent the world in a spin with rather innocent looking observation. The next few centuries saw mathematicians trying to find out the elusive proof, which Fermat supposed to have found but did not bother to write down for want of space in the margin ! The "number theory " branch of mathematics saw quantum progress, thanks to one riddler called Pierre de Fermat.

The world had been seeing many such conjectures and theorems over the years. Many were either proven or broken with the latest methods or the technological improvements, largely with the invention of computers. However, this one remained elusive. Some people even gave up trying, despite some large amount of money being promised by many institutes and individuals.

Simon Singh's book on the triumph over Fermat's theorem , takes us through this mathematical journey. From the early days of Mathematics, secretly hidden in the "Pythagoran sects" later flourished under the various rulers and thinkers in the early ages, to the days of Fermat and the later mathematicians, directly of indirectly influencing the progress in number theory. This book, resulted of a documentary he directed for BBC on Andrew Wiles ( see the you tube link here) , is a detailed exploration of the birth and its progress through the millennium, the centuries, decades and years of progress of mathematical wisdom.

There were tricksters as well. People who churn out 'theorems' and conjectures to the world, And there are many which at the first look appears to be true. Look at the below sequence.

31 ; 331 ; 3,331 ; 33,331 ; 333,331 ; 3,333,331 ; 33,333,331 ...all these are prime numbers. However, the next number in this pattern 333,333,331 is not a prime. 333,333,331 = 17 x 19,607,843.

Similarly, Euler , 18th century mathematician extrapolated the Fermat's Theorem with his on version. Euler's conjecture said , there are no whole number solution for x 4 + y4 + z4 =w4. For two hundred years nobody could prove Euler's conjecture.On the other hand , nobody could disprove it by finding a counter example. LAck of counter example is a strong evidence in favour of the conjecture. Then, in 1968, Naom Elkies of Harward University discovered the following solution

2682449(4) + 15365,639(4) + 18,796,760(4) = 20,615,673(4)  , thus proving Euler's conjecture wrong..

Various mathematical wiz-kids attempted this theorem, moving towards the proof. In the 18th and 19th century, the proof for the power of 3,4,5 and upto 7 were established. But none of them is not good enough in the strict mathematical arena as the proof for the theorem. With the help of the computers and the progress over the centuries, mathematicians now are able to use the new techniques and tools that are available to them. Improvements in the other areas of mathematics, especially in the algebraic equation helped advancement in this regard. Then in 1959, two Japanese Mathematicians, made a great announcement comparing 'elliptical equations' to the 'modular forms', which later came to fame as Taniyama-Shimura Conjecture. There were attempts to prove this and a theorem comparing Taniyama-Shimura conjecture to the Fermat's Last Theorem was evidently established. Which in other words mean that if Taniyama-Shiumura Conjecture is proved, Fermat's Last Theorem is true. With the renewed vigour, mathematicians around the world got back to their scratch pads, trying to get the conjecture proved.

Andrew Wiles, by now a professor at Princeton , had his childhood dream on working and proving Fermat's theorem. The rest of the book is on his 7 years of efforts , his small achievements and many set backs on working on his dream project. to protect his efforts and achievements ( you do the 99% of the works and taking it from here someone else completing the job, thus taking all the claim is something he wanted to avoid) he worked in secrecy, even hiding from his own close associates and friends.

While Andrew Wiles was shut himself in a room working with single objective, a Japanese Mathematician Miyaoka in 1988 announced to the world that he has found a proof, shattering Wiles dreams. However, to the relief of Andrew, his claim was also failed to break the long pending wait for proof , triggering an interesting graffiti at the NY underground with the artist declaring " I have discovered a truly remarkable proof of this, but I can't write it now because my train is coming."

Then on the eventful day 23 June 1993, he announced to the world at his alma matar , in the presence of his mentor , that he had found the proof to the Fermat's Last Theorem. But the process of verification and authentication remain. The journal has to recruit some of the best judges to go through his manuscript and scrutinize every line to make sure there are no mistakes, any points overlooked or made any un-clarified assumptions. As feared, there was a glitch as one of the points did not work in all the possible hypothesis. To cut short, the next one and half years were heartburn for Andrew. As is in many cases, he was about to abandon his effort and accept the inevitable, the solution to the problem appeared to him. He was more relieved than elated.

Now that the long standing problem is solved, the mathematical world is suddenly has no new challenge (well, not to this level of complexity). That also means, the world need another motivation that can trigger the next wave of progress. As Wiles mentioned, the sense of purpose is now lost. The remaining of the days will not be as directed as it used to be. There is still hope for the enthusiasts. Most of the methods and tools by Andrew Wiles and his contemporaries were not available to Fermat while he worked on this. And if his claim is true, then there is a much simpler way to prove the theorem. The quest is now on to find out the proof Fermat had in his mind..
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Fermat's Enigma ( 1997)

Simon Singh

Anchor Books

315 Pages
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NY Times, Leegruenfield,

Underworld - Don DeLillo

The day Bobby Johnson hit a home run to win the National League title for Giants against Dodgers, USSR successfully detonated the second Nuclear Bomb. Don DeLillo's master piece starts at this moment, with the match description and the boy who managed to collect the ball that went into the crowd, which his alcoholic father sells to an enthusiast for 23 Dollars.

The united states in the second half 20th century, the war is won and after the nuclear bomb is dropped in Japan. The imminent threat of USSR are looming in the air, the world is getting divided between the Socialists and Capitalist economies. USSR is building capabilities to compete with the mighty US. The explosion of the Nuclear Bomb is one of their signal to the other world of their intention. Cold war between the nations are at the peak. The Cuban Missile Crisis, the McCarthy era, nuclear proliferation and the rest of the events that was prominent in the 50 years since the World War. The common lives in the US is deeply influenced by the effects of cold war. The anxiety, the fear resulting in various precautionary measures. Children are brought up with emergency measures. These realities of the new world is the back drop of DeLillo's novel.

However, DeLillo construct his mammoth book around Nick Shay, a garbage and waste collection and disposal expert ( who incidentally now owns the baseball that was hit for the home run in 1951. Nick with a past of an accidental murder, being in juvenile retention center before beginning his new life at a Jesuit Reform School. Most of the events revolve around Nick and his immediate surroundings, his wife who harbors an illicit relation with his close friend, his brother, other friends and colleagues. Structurally told in reverse chronological order fro the 90s to the 50s through it various incidents rebuilding the life during cold war.

With these loosely held narrative, he builds the modern American society under the influence of the economic and political scene. However, this book is not much of a plot, a character development or a story. Its about writing. May be that is why the experience is in reading. Its too intelligent to the reader. Its is too perfect from the construction and the formation of words , sentences and paragraphs. In its effect to retain the medium at its prime, the rest are not given much importance. The world continue to discuss this as a literary phenomenon ( as the greatest American Novel of 20th century and all that) is precisely comes from this ambiguity that he build around his own world. The controlling hand of the writer is omnipresent often hindering the smooth reading. Which is why even after reading this mammoth book, one can not warm up to it.

The reaction within me was contradictory. Glorious at times, Boring and pretentious at places, engaging and interesting at places, yet dull and dragging at other times. Its massive, by size and accomplishment. Its definitely not an easy read and not easy to fully comprehend. I think he manages to bring out the frustration, fear, anxiety and related major events during the cold war years. At the end, its a sense of relief after you are through with 830 pages.

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Underworld ( 1997 )

Don DeLillo

Picador

827 pages
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Wiki Entry, Guardian, Review and Responses, The New Canon

Chowringhee - Sankar

Few novels have the ability to captivate you. There are no major twist or turns like a thriller, the story is simple and normal, yet absorbing. The book could be noted as dated, for it is written and published in 1962, yet it has an aura of freshness around it. Set in the early 50s, in a Metropolitan hotel in Calcutta ( named Hotel Shahjahan ), this often anecdotal, mostly incident based narrative revolving around the hotel employees and the guests takes us to an entirely different world of existence. The worlds war II is ended and the Britishers are folded back to their country leaving India to the control of Indians. However, many Victorian lifestyle remain with the urban elite of India, with their evening parties and elite gathering.

Told in first person narrative by Shankar , who started his career under Calcuttan barrister Noel Barwell ( an overlap with the writer Sankar can be observed here) after his father passed away, before being employed at Hotel Shahjahan which boast its Victorian heritage. Young Sankar, a novice join the work group at the Shahjahan Hotel as a reception help, being recommended by his friend Byron an Anglo-Indian private detective. Under the fold of experienced and dashing Satyasundar Bose ( Sata Bose as he is called) , Shankar learns the primary lessons in managing the hotel. The functioning of various teams, the men behind these tasks and their own life beyond what is exhibited to the guests with a smile. Shankar realises the dual world that exists within the hotel and outside on every character he meet , be it the guests , the businessmen who frequent, the hotel staffs or the manager himself, to which he is a silent witness and often made to participate . Beyond the facade of the building, has a life which are hard and often sad. The manager Marco Polo, an Italian who moved in to take charge from a reputed hotel in Rangoon had his own past connected to the city. A story of love and treachery, so is the 'dhobi', a brahmin lament over his ill-luck of having to wash dirty linen. His mentor Sata Bose , the stenographer Rosie, the musician Gomez, various dancers who frequent Shahjahan to perform Cabaret are treasure trove of stories and experiences to tell.

It is this duality of life, I guess, makes this novel interesting to read. Forced to present themselves to the world demanded by their profession and an inner world which is suppressed to the small world of their own existence. Shankar does a marvellous job in getting these dual world to the best effect with sublime use of language and emotion. While the story moves through a predictable outcome at the end, the importance is not for the plot per se, but for the narration and narrative space. Shankar , writes some moving episodes of the lives of few individuals, in its richness and depth. One Dr.Sutherland, who comes in search of his ancestors, The Scottish Dancer and her dwarf brother, the Air hostess who falls in love with Sata Bose, the musician Gomez and his 17th century Mozzart, Brahms and other records, Rosie and her failed marriage, the hostess at the Suite number one employed to entertain the corporate guests for a business family who committed suicide, the filmstar who take refuge at the hotel running away from her husband... Sankar gives some memorable and characters to the readers,

The beauty of the book is in its mosaical narrative. The kaleidoscopic images of the interconnected members of the hotel and the guests. Those with long lasting involvement and interests in the hotel. Microcosm of the world revealed within the four walls of the empire of Shahjahan hotel. As one character says "every brick in this Hotel has a novel in it".

Interestingly, this book was written and published three years before Aurthur Haileys celebrated Hotel, which went on to become a best seller book as well as movie. Aurthur Hailey's book deals with the happening around the hotel and not much to do with the inner lives of its employees and its guests. I haven't read Joseph Roth's "Hotel Savoy", which I understand is a different class altogether. To me, despite its lack of wholesomeness, this book has some beautiful writing, remarkably translated by Arunava Sinha.

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Chowringhee ( 1962 )

Sankar ( Mani Sankar Mukherji) - Translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha ( 2007)

Penguin Books

403 Pages
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Guardian, the Economics, Behind the scene, Neel Mukherjee

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.

--------------------------------
ലൈവ് ഗ്രീന്‍ - 30 / Live Green 30 ( 2012)

Ajith Janardanan

D C Books

79 Pages

Rs 55
---------------------------------

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali - Gil Courtemanche

".. talked without stopping, about AIDS, about corruption and about massacres. He repeated what (he) had said a thousand times before...."

The story of every genocide takes the same often narrated path of violence and massacre. The second World War, the balkan conflict or what the world witnessed in Africa. The story of molestation, violence, rape and massacre repeat itself, by merely changing the country or continent. Canadian journalist and writer, Gil courtemanche, brings the world attention again to the gruesome history of the 1994 Rwandan genocide with a powerful, violent and often angry portrayal of the war time Kigali. The writing is hard hitting, it is upsetting and he uses extreme graphic images be its the effect of AIDS, the massacre or the rape of women.

Hotel des Mille-Collins, at the centre of Kigali is the nerve-centre of the actions in Rwanda. Apart from hosting the UN peace keeping soldiers, it is also the point of action for various Global organisations, working in Rwanda, like the UNICEF, Red Cross, French and Belgian embassies, the rich expatriates and the high class prostitutes. Bernard Valcourt, a Canadian journalist ( an alter ego of the writer), comes to Kigali to set up the television station in Rwanda with the help of Canada. Widowed, and his daughter now married and settled, he accepted the assignment to escape his boring life. The telecast project is perpetually delayed, and he and his crew are now opened to the world of another epidemic that is creating havoc in Africa - AIDS. Focussing his camera and his journalistic intuition, he and his team set about filming some of the victims and their last days. Though he made several friends amongst the victims and was able to film some of the touching scenes of their last breath, his documentary did not receive the attention neither in Rwanda, nor to the rest of the world.

Death and sex are two companions in the street. Scores are dying of AIDS, and the rest are victims of the violence. Machette clad predators on prowl for their victims, so are the prostitutes carrying deadly HIV virus.

The build up for a potential show down between Tutsis and Hutus were already evident. There are sporadic incidents of violence and arson. With most of his friends belongs to the minority Tutsi community, his attempt to bring justice to those affected were received with no enthusiasm from the ruling majority, and he was often warned with dire consequences. His diplomatic immunity , being a Canadian did not help him, and his attempts to get the international attention to the crisis, about to explode had no success, barring a small publication based out of Belgium. As one after other of his friends being killed by a meticulous planned genocide by the Hutu majority ( a plan very similar to what we had seen in the extermination of Jews in the first half of last century), Valcourt continue to work on his capacity.

The crisis blow up with a full scale action of murder and mass migration of Tutsis after a political crisis resulted in the murder of the President, the country goes into chaos. Anarchy rules and the foreigners are rescued to the nearby countries. Valcourt, now in love with a local girl Gentille, a Hutu with the physical features of Tutsi, refuses to leave and plans for his wedding. The Rwandan crisis now turns into a war after the Tutsi rebel regroup (with the help of Uganda) and return the favour. Now the exodus is from the Hutu quarters and no one is safe in the streets any more. In an attempt to flea , Valcourt and his wife was stopped and she was detained for not having the valid identity papers. Few pages of notebook, reveals the fate of her post separation.

"This novel is a novel. But it is also a chronicle and eye witness report." asserts the writer. Most of the characters and places are real and their 'real names' are used confirms the preface. While the theme is the genocide, he turns the mirror to the world community at large. Rwandan history until the second half of 20th century marred by Belgian rule , who spread the seed of hatred among the Tutsis and Hutus. They continue to supply arms to the warring factions ( Machettes from China the granades and firearms from French continue to enter the country by dubious means). Even at the height of the sectarian conflict, the UN peace keepers, the French or the arrogant Belgian soldiers refused to intervene. To the western world it was a news in the inner pages of the newspaper. The cry for help fallen into deaf ears, until late into the conflict. Though the peace was restored after a long time, the scars remain intact, albeit subdued and hidden.

Immediately after reading the book I watched the movie 'Hotel Rwanda' again the same night. Incidentally both claims to be based on real characters. Events in both, the book and the movie are happening at Hotel des Mille - Collins. Both happening at the same time and through two different perspective. While the movie, restricts its focus on the 1994 genocide ( a week to 10 days probably), the book has larger canvas, including the AIDS epidemic and the initial build up of the violence. Movie appealed in the visual sense, but the book seems to have been much more deep into the conflict, through the personal experience.

Very disturbing and haunting tale of violence with some graphic description of the rape, violence and death. It is difficult not to get carried away in such a tale, and he maintain a commendable restrain in his narrative. Anger, frustration, helplessness and cynicism influences the writing, despite his attempt to be im-passionate. The thin line between fiction and non-fiction often smudge. A very important recount of one of the dirtiest events of human history and not necessarily a literary phenomenon.

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A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali (2000)

Gil Courtemanche ( translated from French by Patricia Claxton 2003)

Canongate

258 Pages
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Guardian Review, Montreal Mirror, Mostly Fiction, Good Reports