Book Review: In Other Words - Jhumpa Lahiri

I finished reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘In Other Words’ today. Even as I write, I feel a bit unsure about completing the book. The book is 250 pages long and as I crept towards the first half of the book, I began to sense closure. And to my surprise, right in the middle, the book ended. Turns out the book consists of both, the English and the Italian version! The second half is the original Italian rendition of the book. You got me there signora :) The first thing that struck me when I picked up this book, is the author’s name. It is quite unusual and seems unique. I love finding the meaning behind names. When I looked it up, this is what the author had to say - “Jhumpa has no meaning. It always upset me. It's like jhuma, which refers to the sound of a child's rattle, but with a ''p.'' In this country (America I presume), you'd never name your child Rattle. I actually have two good names, Nilanjana and Sudeshna.” I feel quite sorry for her. For a person who brings such deep meaning to words strung together, it seems nothing short of irony to have a meaningless name. Leaving that aside, I was very excited to read this book. I am always eager to read the works of Indian authors. I want to see how they fare against the foreign authors. Not in a judgmental way, more out of pride. Although Jhumpa Lahiri has lived all her life in the U.S.A. and English is her dominant language, she is of Indian origin. And I could not wait to dive in.

The book is more of a memoir. The author captures her love for Italian and her struggle to make it her own. It starts from what attracted her to Italian, how she moved to Rome to truly master it and how she reached the point where she was able to publish her independent book completely in Italian. Being an Italian illiterate, I read the English transliteration of the book. So, a part of the credit also goes to the translator. The book opens with a beautiful analogy of a man swimming by the side of a lake afraid to cross over to the other bank. It describes the author’s limited Italian knowledge which does not give her the confidence to move from the shores of English to the banks of Italian. Through out the book, the language is fluid and the reader is transported to an altogether different world. The author uses a lot of metaphors to convey her feelings, which may seem a bit too much at times. Nevertheless, they depict her situation quite effectively.

Her persistence shows as she struggles to gain a strong foothold, battling articles and prepositions. She had to endure a lot of prejudice as she was constantly deemed inferior to her husband, who barely knew Italian. You feel for her when she says she feels foreign in every language known to her; be it Bengali - her mother tongue, or English -the language she grew up with or Italian - for which she left everything behind. The only place where I did not relate to the author is when she says that she had to cope with speaking Bengali at home and English everywhere else. As a child, I grew up learning four languages. My native language is Tulu while the local language is Kannada. I was taught English and Hindi at school. And I am proud to say that I have professional proficiency in all four languages and do not feel alien at all. However, I understand that India has always been a diverse country with a lot of cultural tolerance. I may not have been subject to the kind of ridicule the author faced in her life.

I have always had a special liking for autobiographies and memoirs. It gives so much insight into a person. If I had to choose an alternate career, then it would definitely be writing. So these two factors combined made this book a very enjoyable read for me. It is a story of love towards the language which can be felt only by an author or poet. I don’t feel this way often but I am sure I will read this book again.

Masha Allah!

Compliments are so wonderful. They have the power to make us instantly happy. They can also boost our self esteem and confidence. I was complimented by a stranger today. It was so unexpected that I still cannot believe the things she said :)

During our childhood, my sister had a  flair for singing. I was more inclined towards dance. Both of us were intimidated by each other's hobbies and did not even attempt to learn it. But how can anybody stay away from music? I often listened to my sister singing and desired to sing like her. My parents have a good ear for music too and we always had the radio on in our home. That's how music seeped into my life. Gradually, I got into the habit of humming to myself as I went about my work.

Today, I was in the gym. It was almost empty. I usually play music aloud on my phone when I am alone. Out of habit, I started singing along. After some time, a girl came in. I suddenly became conscious and stopped my cacophony out of embarrassment. Imagine my surprise when she says "You sing very well". I awkwardly said that's only because I was singing along. "No" she insisted. "I was listening to you all the while. I was mesmerized. This song is by Shreya Ghoshal, no? Your voice sounds very similar to her at times. Masha Allah! You have a very sweet voice".

Whoa!! Really? Me sounding like Shreya Ghoshal?? (Please don't tell Shreya Ghoshal, she may feel slighted :P) To be honest, I was compared to Usha Uthup in my childhood. Although, to be fair to myself, I can do a very good imitation of Usha Uthup even now ;) On a serious note, that was such a huge compliment! I wanted to hug the girl but I also did not want to scare away my only fan. Thank you girl in the gym for making my day so special :)

Matched

One more off the bucket list! Finally, I watched a match live in the stadium! Just one word – wow!! I went to the RCB v/s Pune IPL match on May 7th along with my friends. It’s been chaos right from the word go. One of our friends wasn’t sure whether she could make it or not. So we were going back and forth between the May 7th and May 14th matches. Once we had booked the A stand tickets for the one on May 7th, the ticket prices dropped. Just for 600 bucks more we could have got a D corporate seat. Dilemma again. Finally, we decided to go with what we have. By the way we also had an extra ticket which was sold off by my friend at the last minute. With policemen all around it must have been quite thrilling to have got rid of it I guess :P

The D-day arrived and we were all seated. We took pictures and showed off the free stuff we had got on the way :P We were very close to the camera too woohooo! There was a sober looking Punjabi uncle next to us. We were eagerly waiting for the match to begin. Just then the camera man turned and I waved to him. I did not expect him to react. I was taken by surprise when he turned the camera to us. And out of nowhere Punjabi uncle starts dancing, tummy and all :D We couldn’t stop laughing! The day looked promising. No sight of rain too. I was pumped up for the match.

As we were waiting for the game to start, someone tapped us from behind. What? Your seats? No way! We had double checked. The guy next to us says “This is F. G is the next row”. If I felt any disappointment then, it was nothing compared to what was coming next. We had booked four tickets in a shot. Imagine how unlucky we were to have got two seats each on either side of the entrance to our box. After failed attempts to convince the people next to us to switch seats, we split up. But our troubles were far from over. We were on the last seats on the bottom most row of the A stand. This meant having our view blocked by people entering and exiting the box. To add to our woes, vendors carrying all types of eatables kept walking in front of us. I have never fought off my desire for junk food as much as I did that day.

The match started and I could feel the energy in the packed stadium. The MC kept the crowd entertained. It was awe-inspiring to see thousands of people follow the instructions of a formless voice. The voice said left and the crowd waved the flags left. The voice said right and a sea of red went right. If you ever want to teach your kids the power of unity, take them to a match or concert :D As the match progressed, we got used to people walking in front of us all the time. The crowd went ballistic as Virat Kohli fielded close to the stands. I wonder how it feels when thousands of people shout out your name :) A lot of pressure for sure. Kohli was playing for RCB and Dhoni for Pune. Both crowd favorites. The sportsmanship of the Bangaloreans showed when they cheered equally hard for Dhoni too. Fours and sixes went off to the shouts of “R..C..B.. R..C..B..”. Annnnddddd RCB wonnnn!!! It was an exciting match with twists and turns. But I would rather leave cricket commentary to Harsha Bhogle :P

Irrespective of the seating problems (did I mention my seat was broken?), I am glad I went to the match. The excitement, enthusiasm and vibe is something that must be experienced. To be in synergy with so many people at once is amazing! No wonder prayer is considered so powerful. And with that, I have crossed one more item on my list. Looking forward to the rest :)

Waltz at Ritz

I went to meet a colleague at the Ritz-Carlton today. It's such a beautiful property! The interiors are grand and tastefully done. I found the staff extremely polite. The person I went to see is not only a colleague but a very good friend. He received me very well when I went to his place in Raleigh. I was looking forward to see him again. Hours went by talking about everything and nothing. Of course, we were helped by the sprawling breakfast spread available to us ;) both continental and Indian. There were different types of cereals, breads, pancakes, eggs. And dishes from all over India such as parathas, poha, kesaribath, idli vada, dosa, dhokla, sundal. So many choices for the drinks too - juice, beverage, lassi. All of them served to perfection. I have been to a lot of 5-star hotels. And the amount of food they put up never ceases to amaze me. Although, I get overwhelmed when I am presented with a lot of choices, I quite like a fancy feast once in a while :)

Book Review: The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan

This book has been on my reading list for quite some time. It was published in 1986 (got into my list only in 2014 :P) and has spent 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. I picked it up because the plot revolved around the mother-daughter bond. Human relationships, especially family ties, are so sensitive and delicate. There is a lot to be learnt from each one of them. The more you learn, the more you give and soon you realize the more you will receive too. As such, I find it very hard to critique this book. It is like a bedtime story told to you by your grandmother. Magical and engrossing. Parts of it true and parts of it made up. It speaks of good and evil, boons and curses, happiness and hardship. Although the rational mind questions, the heart knows that there are fine pearls of wisdom woven into the yarns of these tales.

The story opens into an oriental setting. Four Chinese families are united in America by a game of Mahjong. They call themselves The Joy Luck Club (JLC). JLC was started as a means to be happy even in the face of adversity. “To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable”. The four families form the four players of the game, each of them with a story of its own. The mothers who are forced to move away from their roots and find identity in a new country. The daughters who are struggling to be accepted in the very country they were born. JLC unites these families which are otherwise divided on their own. After all, birds of a feather flock together. Each character has a story to share, unique in its own way.

The highlights of the book are the mothers who are emotionally strong and practical. They have a tendency to stand straight in the eye of storm. And once it’s over, they brush away the dust and move on. However, their no-nonsense nature often makes them blind to the plight of their daughters. One can feel the helplessness of the mothers and the anguish of the daughters as they fail to communicate. The broken English is a delight and many a times lightens the situation.

But the story is a bit difficult to follow if you are not familiar with Chinese names. I kept getting confused about which story belonged to whom. The characters are not well distinguished and there are no marked features which makes it all the more difficult to remember. I wish the author had elaborated more on how the events of the past in the lives of the mother shaped them and influenced the lives of their children. On a similar note, the role of JLC is not at all justified. I wish there was more bonding between the families. Instead all you see is jealousy and a need to show one up on each other. The only glimpse of true friendship is when the members of the club pool in to fulfil their dying friend’s wish.

As a reader, I expect closure to all plots in the book, however trivial they are. I did not like the way the author chose to focus on the main character towards the end. We were introduced to four families. Wouldn’t we want to know what happened to the other three? Did they resolve their issues and overcome their situations? Did they succumb to their insecurities and lose hope? Unfortunately, these questions will remain answered forever (unless someone chooses to write a sequel). Apart from this, the book is a lovely journey of the need for the daughters to blend in with the modern society and the want of the mothers to hold on their heritage.

Pretty Ballerina

My new routine has worked well to give me some time for my crafting too. I made this very sweet looking ballerina doll today. I am absolutely over joyed! :)

This is the first time I am making such a big doll. It's about 7.5 inches long. I took the pattern from here. I did not craft continuously. It must have taken me about 5 hours or so to complete it. I did run into some issues. Stuffing the hands and legs were particularly difficult. I was using a knitting needle kind of thing to push the stuffing and accidentally cut open some stitches!! :D I forgot to stitch the neck inside the head :P Yesss! If you turn the doll around, the neck is visible. That is why you don't get to touch it :D My hot glue gun was also acting up. But I am happy that I completed the doll. My stitches are more uniform. The eyes are stitched better. To top it off, I added some embellishments too. How cool is that! Very happy with the end result :)

Book Review: Scion of Ikshvaku - Amish Tripathi

I haven’t read any of Amish Tripathi’s books so far. I picked up this book because of the popularity of his previous Shiva trilogy. Scion of Ikshvaku (SOI) is the first in the Ramachandra series. The story of Ramayana is well known and so it is refreshing to see the author’s attempt to retell a classic in a realistic way. The generation today is inquisitive and does not accept anything without logical reasoning. Imagining the Ramayana as a true story minus the fantasy is challenging. But if it is possible to justify Ram as a common man who rose above the ordinary and became a shining example of virtues, I believe it will convince every one of us that we are capable of being so much more.

There are quite a few places of creative genius in this book. Ram and Sita are the protagonists and they are given their due. The usually demure Sita is transformed into an independent woman with liberal thinking. Ram’s picture of an ideal life partner to be the one who completes him and gains his respect is the true definition of a soul mate. The subtle romance between Ram and Sita is delightful. The supporting characters such as Lakshman, Manthara, Kumbhakarna, Vishwamitra have also been described well. They are presented with motives and defining natures and temperaments. Especially Lakshman who is given a total makeover. His conversation with Urmila when he leaves for vanvas is the most touching scene in the entire book. The camaraderie between the brothers is enjoyable. Characters with animalistic traits such as Hanuman, Jatayu are turned into X-men. Not really, but I liked the explanation :) The guiding principles which is the whole purpose of the Ramayana are at times explained really well such as the birth based v/s karma based caste system and the masculine and feminine ways of life. 

Having said all that, it is rather unfortunate that the flaws in the book heavily over weigh the positives. The most glaring mistake is the author’s choice of words. I don’t mind simple language. But the use of words like police, wow, and operation theatre in an ancient context is jarring. Often, a sub plot is taken up half-heartedly and ended abruptly. Case in point Bharat’s affair with the forest chief’s daughter. Details like what made Sumitra pair her sons with the other two kids, who invited Ravan to Sita’s swayamvar are glossed over. The ending seems to be rushed. Fourteen years is too long to be written off in few pages. Also, I would have liked to hear more about Ravan as a person. Since this book is about Ram, I understand there is not much scope to elaborate on Ravan. However, it would have been a bonus.

There have been several interpretations of the Ramayana and I haven’t read any of them :) My point is that each version may be different in accordance with the author’s perception. However, there is a limit to the creative liberty a writer can take. Claiming Shukracharya to be from Egypt is a bit far-fetched. Also, I have never heard of Manthara’s daughter in any version of the epic. I actually looked it up on the net and found no mention of it. The gang rape of Manthara’s daughter Roshni (another example of a name which is misplaced in time) is entirely based on the nirbhaya incident. It seems unnecessary. If the intention was to provide Manthara a motive to hate Ram, it could have been done differently. This is not a retelling of an epic with an attempt to understand what might have actually happened sans the fantasy. This is the author’s fantasy of an epic which I think should be mentioned at least somewhere in the book’s intro or appendix. Any person who hasn’t heard of the Ramayana before might end up with a disconcerted understanding of a great tale. I do not mean to rip apart SOI. I am just disappointed that the author could not do complete justice to a concept with so much potential. While there may be several flaws in the book, it will certainly tingle the curious minds of today’s youth and nudge them to look up our great epics, thereby reviving our culture.