Pamela Sinha Mathur's Blog, page 4

Changing the Tide

The number and nature of rape cases being reported on a daily basis has now moved way past disturbing. The current case making headlines is the brutal torture and abuse of a five-year old girl is enough to make any parent long to flee India just to protect their own children from being violated by predators in human guise. Even calling such people animals seem like an insult to the animal kingdom. Given the age of the victim and the circumstances, the police and Government are unable to fall back on their favourite ploy of shifting some blame on the victim. After all, one can hardly accuse a five-year old of wearing skimpy clothes or being out late at night. Not that it stopped anyone from displaying their lack of sensitivity though, given that the Delhi Police initially tried to hush up the case.

In another incident a teenage girl was murdered in broad daylight by a jilted paramour. It seems men in our country can’t stomach woman telling them ‘No’. Who teaches men that they are God’s gift to women? Who imparts to them the self belief that thy are too great and important to be be refused in any way? Strict governance and harsh punishments are no doubt the need of the hour to deter such criminal and violent tendencies. But hand in hand with that, isn’t there a need to overhaul the thinking process of the average Indian family?

Every man has been born of a woman. Most of these perpetrators have grown up surrounded by female relatives – their mother, sisters, aunts and cousins. Many of them have married and have a wife. What does this say about their mental upbringing when they choose to disrespect and abuse innocent women? Humans learn by example – they learn from what they see. If they disrespect women it only means that is what they have seen their own lives. And the biggest enemy of women is probably women themselves. When a mother makes her daughter work in the house while her son sits about twiddling his thumbs just on account of having a penis, she tells him that women are inferior to men and deserve no more than the role of a menial. When a sister’s studies are stopped but the brother’s studies are allowed to continue it sends a message that women can be sidelined in favour of men at any time. Female fetuses are murdered in the womb, baby girls are killed, so much so that in many places bachelors are unable to get married due to lack of women and have to ‘import’ women from other states. Why this apathy to the very gender who are the ones to bear life? Giving life to a new being is nothing short of a miracle and that is not possible without a woman to nurture that new life in her womb for nine months. Nobody can help emancipate women; they need to help themselves.

This battle is no less than the struggle for freedom which our countrymen had once participated in whole heartedly. Change cannot come overnight but that should not dissuade us from taking the first steps. Let us take a stand and speak out against people who don’t give due importance to women – no matter if these people are your own parents, in-laws, relatives or friends. Women need to respect themselves first and stop trying to be martyrs. Every woman has the right to live her life on her own terms and that does not have to come at the cost of family. Men need to encourage the women in their lives – their mother, sisters, wife, daughters – to spread their wings and find their rightful place in this society. Do remember that if women cannot do some things that men can, then similarly men also cannot do some things that only a woman can. Apart from that, we were all born in the same way and we will all die one day, irrespective of our gender. Then how can we say that men and women are not equal?

 

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Life of Pi – the movie

For what is probably the very first time in my life, I watched a movie before reading the book. I have had the paperback of “The Life of Pi” with me since a long time but somehow it slipped somewhere way down in my reading list and stayed that way till the cinematic release of its silver screen version recalled me to its existence. Even as I write this blog I make a mental note to read the book as soon as possible.

I watched the movie “Life of Pi” on Saturday. One of the attractions was the presence of Irrfan Khan and Tabu, who had together given several enthralling performances in the past, most recent of these being the film adaptation of another award-winning book, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri. Also I knew enough about the original story by Tann Martel to be curious about how it would be showcased on film. I remember the director Ang Lee from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” which I had enjoyed watching despite finding it somewhat hard to follow. Anyway we reached the theatre on Saturday, albeit a little late. By the time we were ushered in the opening credits had already begin, with shots of birds and animals. The Life of Pi is the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, a young man named after a swimming pool in France. A resident of Pondicherry, he is the younger son of owner of the local zoo. His trysts with religion and faith take him along the paths of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. When the political situation in India deteriorates, the Patel family decides to relocate to Canada after selling off the zoo. With a few animals the family boards a freight ship which runs into a storm and capsizes leaving Pi Patel as the only human survivor in a lifeboat along with an injured zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a tiger named Richard Parker. And then the adventure begins.

I won’t reveal anything more here. It suffices to say that this film is the epitome of cinematic imagery and excellence. The effects are superb and unfold like poetry on the canvas of the silver screen. The story is profound and deeply philosophical and the stunning effects help to give it entertainment value. The climax of the movie challenges one to explore his / her own notions of reality and faith – it does not impose but asks you to decide what you believe. The young Pi makes a good impact – he is no Tom Hanks of “Castaway” but does justice to his role. The scene stealer is Richard Parker, at least for me. It is a very good movie but if you are going for a masala entertainment experience, this may not be your cup of tea.

I am starting on the book soon and will post my thoughts here once I am done.

Respect Thyself

Yesterday we were celebrating my husband’s birthday at a fancy, upscale restaurant in our city. Our table was next to another where a family of three were seated – husband, wife and a young daughter. As we were seated, the man got a business call which he promptly received and then proceeded to hold a loud conversation without giving a thought to the inconvenience he was causing to the other diners. Indeed for the first half hour of our meal, my husband and I could scarcely hear each other across the table thanks to our oblivious neighbor’s incessant ramblings in an extremely loud tone.

From the corner of my eye I could see the wife looking at us intermittently, whether apologetically or not I cannot tell. However we also managed to sneak in a few glances surreptitiously and what we say really appalled me. Obviously the family had come out to dine together at a nice restaurant, ostensibly to relax and enjoy each others’ company. Instead what was happening was that the husband was lost in his own world of making money, the daughter had a pair of earphones glued to her ears and the wife was left to look around in boredom and occasionally address a few words to her daughter. I gathered she considered her husband a lost cause as she did not bother to talk to him much.

When they had paid the bill and were getting up to leave, the man discovered that the doggy bag they had asked for had not yet been given. Immediately the man let flow a flood of recriminations against his wife in his native language, unaware that I could understand him perfectly being from the same part of India myself. While not exactly using abusive language he chewed out his wife for being dumb and lost in her own world. Imagine saying things like that to your own wife in public, moreover in the presence of your own daughter! The wife kept resolutely quiet; it seemed this was not a new occurrence for her.

My husband remarked, after they had left, that it looked like a rerun of a recently released movie English Vinglish where Sridevi plays a middle class housewife who is taken for granted by her family due to her weak English skills. Maybe something similar was the case with our unpleasant fellow diners. Of course it may have been because of an ongoing quarrel but what irked me was the way the man was ticking off his wife in public. Like me there could have been others who understood his words and who were witness to his wife’s humiliation. A relationship should be founded on trust and respect; demeaning your spouse in public is simply not acceptable. There is a tendency of people to air their dirty linen in public and that is extremely loathsome in my opinion. This applies to both sexes; I do not hold for a wife haranguing her husband in public either.

The intimacy of marriage forges a bond that cannot be equalled by any other relationship. We are all close to our parents, siblings, relatives and friends but the relationship with a spouse is special, possibly because it is the one that is yours exclusively. People make a great deal of fuss regarding arranged marriage versus love marriage but at the end marriage is marriage. In both cases the relationship needs a great deal of attention and nurturing. There is a tendency to put the marriage on the back-burner when kids come on the scene and at times it turns into something like the scene witnessed by us yesterday. Maybe the blame lies with both parties – the dominating one for ignoring the other and the submissive one for letting go of his / her own identity. Of course, that’s generalizing the issue – the only people who can understand and analyze the dynamics of a marriage are the two people bound in that marriage. So let me ask this – is it ok to sit quietly and accept every barb until a dam bursts within you someday destroying everything in its wake? Or will it be better to understand the pitfalls and try to work out a solution without losing your self-respect in the process. In English Vinglish, Sridevi’s character mentions she doesn’t need love, she only needs a little respect. And to earn the respect of others you need to respect yourself first and foremost, don’t you?

On a similar note, I discovered that once in a blue moon even our politicians can give us something to emulate. Shashi Tharoor’s tweet defending his wife against the coarse words thrown at her by Narendra Modi is a lovely example of how to silence people who are slinging mud at your spouse. Even if you are arguing like cats and dogs within closed doors, I believe it is your duty to stand up for your spouse in public. For, as we learnt from our childhood days, united we stand and divided we fall.

The Endangered Gender

It sickens me to see yet another story of rape in the news. On one hand the country is celebrating the arrival to the Supreme Goddess – Ma Durga – and on the other hand we have a teenager being gang raped and burnt for settling a family enmity, a school girl being kidnapped and raped for two days and a businessman raping a minor on the pretext of giving her a job. And this is only in the headline news. Asking where is this country heading to no longer suffices. Between female foeticide / infanticide, dowry related abuse and rape cases I think we will soon have to classify women as an endangered species.

Why do we, as a society, hate women so much? Why is the birth of a girl still considered as an unfortunate occurrence? One answer to this, of course, lies in the vicious circle that has been created due to the practice of dowry. For marrying off a girl one needs to give dowry, often to the extent of crippling the girl’s family financially. Even after that it is possible that the bride suffers abuse in her marital home. Whereas if one is blessed with a son, money flows in instead of out and there is no worry about the aftermath. So often, the easiest way out is to eliminate the problem at its root, hence female foeticide or infanticide.

And rapes? Women ask for it - that is the common refrain when such cases are reported. She was wearing jeans so she was raped. She was speaking to boys and so she was raped. She was partying into the night and so she was raped. Where will this end? She is a female and so she was raped? How else does one explain the cases of such a heinous crime, irrespective of age? From infants to women old enough to be grandmothers – nobody are spared.

Our esteemed politicians and the khap panchayats, who are probably enjoying the limelight, are evidently considering this problem as one of utmost importance and are coming up with their unique solutions. While one of the most prolific Chief Ministers of our country, a woman herself, keeps shuttling between Maoist conspiracy theories and the increasing so-called wantonness of womankind as the probable cause for the spurt of rape cases in her state, the panchayats are a step ahead. Public outrage had greeted their contention that lowering of an already low marriageable age was the solution to counter these crimes. But their latest solution has silenced all, I guess because it has pretty much rendered the public speechless. Apparently consumption of chowmein leads to rape. I am still wondering what to say about this.

Statements like these just trivialize the heinous crime that is rape. Rape cannot be justified, period. Even if the victim is a prostitute by profession. Even if she is wearing a miniskirt or a bikini or jeans or whatever clothes that are considered skimpy. Even if she is drinking or dancing at a pub past midnight. Even if she is the daughter or wife or sister or mother or any other relative of one’s sworn enemy. The law and society in itself need to be more sensitive. Rape is a stigma but not on the victim – the stigma should be on the perpetrator that he has committed such a vile, shameful act. God only knows how many cases of sexual exploitation go unreported to uphold the family ‘honor’. Do we not need to change this?

Sexual abuse is a crime that leaves its scars on the very psyche of the victim – such scars do not heal easily. Remember this when the next time you read about someone being abused and your reaction tends to be ‘Maybe she deserved it’. These victims have already gone through physical and mental torture. Do not vilify them in thought as well. Respect women and teach them to respect themselves. Men and women together form the foundations of humanity; this edifice cannot survive without either of them.

Subho Mahalaya – Here Comes the Goddess

Today is Mahalaya - the herald of the advent of Ma Durga on Earth. Let me shed a little light on the significance and calebration of this festival in my native state of West Bengal.

The festival of Navratri celebrates the victory of Good over Evil. Unable to bear the persecution by the demon Mahisasura, the Gods had approached Lord Vishnu to help them out of the predicament. Following this plea the powers of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva were combined to create a powerful Goddess with ten arms – Goddess Durga, the unapproachable. Riding on a lion, this fearsome Goddess engaged Mahisasura in a fierce battle which culminated in the felling of the demon at the hands of the Goddess. Even today, the idols of the Goddess depict her killing the fearsome demon with her trident.

Durga Puja in Bengal is also considered as the homecoming of the Mother. It is celebrated as the time when the Goddess, along with her four children – Lord Ganesh, Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswati and Lord Karthikeya - visits her paternal home. Like any daughter, She is pampered and taken care of and on Bijaya Dashami she again bids goodbye to be reunited with her husband, Lord Shiva. At this time, Bengali households look forward to having their own married daughters back with them. Since Goddess Durga is traditionally worshipped at springtime, this Sharadiya (autumnal) festival is also known as Akaalbodhan (untimely invoking of the Goddess).

For Bengalis this is one of the most important festivals and preparations start for it months back. One of the time-honored customs is to gift new clothes to near and dear ones. Pujor bajar (Puja shopping) is the buzzword on everybody’s lips. In the days leading up to Mahalaya, shops are packed with Bengalis doing their shopping. Construction for the Puja pandals also begin in the meantime. Pandals refer to temporary structures built for housing the idols during the festival. These are usually not ordinary pandals - most of them are no less than a work of art. Each pandal is usually constructed on a particular theme and every year there is a competition to judge which are the top three pandals. The Goddess idols are also moulded by expert artisans, the most renowned of them hailing from Kumartuli. On Mahalaya, after a day’s fast, the eyes of the idols are painted, a ceremony which is known as Chakshudanam, which literally means giving eyes.

On the sixth day of Navratri, Ma Durga finally arrives with pomp and splendor. Durga Puja in Bengal is one festival where religion actually takes a backseat. It is more of a sociocultural festival, when people of different faiths and beliefs dress up in their finery and go pandal-hopping. Crowds throng the street, meeting up with old friends and sampling delicious food at the pandals. Many people like to hire cars and go around the city, visiting the different pandals and speculating which one will be adjudged the best of them all. Cultural programs like plays, singing and dancing by professional or amateur artistes are scheduled for the evenings at the puja pandals, giving an outlet for the creative expression that is so dear to Bengalis.

The day of Bijaya Dashami or Dasshera (the tenth day) dawns and it is the time for the Goddess to return to her heavenly abode. Married women play with vermillion in a ritual called sindoor khela wherein they smear sindoor on the Goddess’ feet and on each other, praying for the long life and prosperity of their husbands and families. On this day, people visit each others’ houses with sweets. Younger folks take the blessing of their elders and families and friends meet up and exchange wishes. The Goddess and Her children are immersed and looking forward to the prospect of Her returning the next year, the festivities come to a close.

Bollywood: New Century, New Horizons

When 2010 rolled in, the world went into overdrive discussing the highs and lows of the first decade of the 21st century. New faces of terror and severe economic recession did not paint a rosy picture. Yet, Bollywood demonstrated that the show must go on by ushering in a new era in the world of Hindi movies.

2000

The dawn of a new century also brought new faces on the silver screen. And not just any new faces; these debutants went on to become the ‘faces of Bollywood.’ The year started with a bang as the man with the looks of a Greek God and moves to die for, danced his way into a million hearts. Yes, it was in this year that Hrithik Roshan crooned “Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai” to Ameesha Patel. But the list did not stop there. Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor made their presence felt in “Refugee”, a bitter sweet love story set against the backdrop of Indo-Pak hostilities, and a new generation emerged from the folds of Bollywood royalty, the Bachchans and The Kapoors.

2001

Reinvention was the buzzword this year as two hitherto unappreciated directors and one new kid on the block came into the limelight. If Madhur Bhandarkar’s “Chandni Bar” left a viewer with a numbing sense of despair for the protagonist, Ashutosh Gowariker’s “Lagaan” was a vision of cinematic excellence, celebrating the triumph of good over bad. And who can forget the charismatic trio of Akash, Sid and Uncle Sam in Farhan Akhtar’s groundbreaking debut “Dil Chahta Hai”, a movie which redefined reel life portrayal of the urban youth. This unique story of the coming of age of three friends went on to become a cult classic.

2002

While not an outstanding year in terms of defining films, this year nevertheless had its moments of brilliance. Mr. & Mrs. Iyer was one such gem exploring the bond that developed between two unlikely individuals in the face of communal riots. Konkona Sen Sharma, as an orthodox Tamil Brahmin housewife who, despite her initial prejudices towards her Muslim co-traveler, gets attracted to Rahul Bose’s character, proved her mettle with finesse. This year also saw more than one film being made on Bhagat Singh. One that stood out was Rajkumar Santoshi’s “The Legend of Bhagat Singh,” in which Ajay Devgan brilliantly brought to life the legendary freedom fighter of India. Another film that finds mention is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Devdas”. Shahrukh Khan as the doomed alcoholic lover and Aishwarya Rai as the object of his affection gave solid performances, but it was Madhuri Dixit, portraying the courtesan with a heart of gold, who stole the show.

2003

Maamu, there was simply no arguments about who ruled the box office and the audience this year. Sanjay Dutt, as the street thug with a conscience, won our hearts with his goofy grins and ‘jadoo ki jhappis” in “Munnabhai M.B.B.S”. But it was Arshad Warsi who proved to be the surprise package as Circuit, the ever faithful sidekick. Another jadoo had also entered our hearts when Hrithik Roshan befriended the cute blue alien in “Koi Mil Gaya”. And finally, Bollywood came out of the closet with gay jokes and innuendos forming the USP of the blockbuster hit “Kal Ho Na Ho”.

2004

It was Khan all the way. While Shahrukh Khan appeared in a variety of roles ranging from the masala film “Main Hoon Na” to the tearjerker “Veer Zaara” to the socially relevant “Swades”, fellow actor Saif Ali Khan finally shot into the big leagues. Though he had had a string of hits earlier in multi-starrer films, it was “Hum Tum” that became his first box office hit as the solo male lead. The first half of the 21st century proved to be a new innings for him on the career fron, and he became a part of the crème de la crème of Bollywood.

2005

Abhishek Bachchan hit box office gold with con capers, giving us two similar yet diverse performances— the suave Roy in Bluffmaster and the street smart con artist Bunty in “Bunty Au Babli”. Some topics hitherto considered too ‘bold’ for Bollywood were explored such as homosexuality and AIDS in the critically acclaimed “My Brother Nikhil”, live-in relationships in “Salaam Namaste” and the dark secrets behind the glossy pages of “Page 3.” Shreyas Talpade in “Iqbal” and Vidya Balan in “Parineeta” were two debutants who made a resounding impact with their debut films. While there were quite a few good films to grace the theaters this year, one movie that sadly went unnoticed by many was “Pyaar Mein Twist”. The ever dashing Rishi Kapoor and the eternally beautiful Dimple Kapadia reunited after many years to bring to us a sweet love story of two middle-aged single parents and the two veteran actors lit up the screens with their chemistry.

2006

This year was unique in that we saw some films which outgrew the silver screen and permeated into our lives. Aamir Khan came back with a bang after a long hiatus with “Rang De Basanti”. This film was a unique take on the ideologies of Bhagat Singh (again!) from the viewpoint of urban youth. This film had a significant social impact; the youth in particular were inspired to raise their voices against government apathy and injustice. Munnabhai and Circuit also made a comeback with Gandhiji in tow, for a second innings in “Lage Raho Munnabhai,”introducing us to the concept of Gandhigiri. The unlikely pairing of Rahul Bose and Mallika Sherawat in “Pyar Ke Side Effects” became a part of pop culture for its tongue-in-cheek take on the issues plaguing modern relationships.

2007

2007 is hard to fit into any one slot because of the variety of films that were released that year. Hockey received a shot in the arm with Chak De! India, which incidentally also brought to light the sorry state of sports other than cricket in India. As the disgraced former hockey player who coached the women’s team to a World Cup victory, Shahrukh Khan gave one of his finest performances. Aamir Khan came up with another great offering in “Taare Zameen Par,” where he played second fiddle to a young Darsheel Safary, who portrayed a dyslexic little boy. This movie was critically acclaimed both for its sensitive handling of the topic of dyslexia as well as for the performances. Apart from these, we also saw some breezy comedies like “Namastey London” and “Jab We Met”. The latter broke new grounds for both Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor, though their personal relationship went for a toss. Kareena, in particular, gave one of her finest performances in this film.

2008

The newest member to enter the film industry from the Kapoor family, son of Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, had made his debut with “Saawariya” the previous year. But it was in 2008 that he made his mark with “Bachna Ae Haseeno” as the carefree Casanova who is conquered by true love. This was again a year of fresh faces as Imran Khan, nephew of Aamir Khan, appeared on screen with Genelia D’Souza in “Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na”. While Genelia had acted in movies earlier, it was this sweet college love story that brought her commercial success and acclaim. Farhan Akhtar began a new innings as an actor and singer as he debuted in “Rock On” and showed us that he is as good in front of the camera as he is behind it.

2009

In spite of a strike which saw hardly any movies releasing in the first few months, this turned out to be a very good year for Bollywood. New kid on the block, Ranbir Kapoor, delivered back to back hits with “Wake Up Sid” and “Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani” while Abhay Deol and Shahid Kapoor were hailed for their performances in “Dev D” and “Kaminey” respectively. But the icing on the cake came in December as Aamir Khan, Madhavan and Sharman Joshi got the whole nation singing “Aal izz well” to “3 Idiots”. The film broke box office records and within a few months gained unprecedented popularity.

One may feel that many blockbusters of these ten years have missed a mention on these pages. It is true that movie enthusiasts were spoiled for choice by the rich offerings of this past decade. While it is impossible to list down all of these, each nevertheless was a laudatory effort and deservingly won hearts of audiences everywhere. This is my tribute to our film industry: Salaam Bollywood!

A Story of Terror

The stench of death is in the air,
The street bloodied, silent, deserted.
Save for a lone dog, standing sentinel,
A mute witness to carnage unabated.


Hours before this had been a bustling place,
A crowded plaza on a bright summer day,
Families, students, lovers and friends,
Reveling in the pleasures of a holiday.


No one knew of the devastation to come,
Of the blood that would rain from the skies,
For the peace was rent apart by an explosion,
Mayhem erupted, as did helpless, dying cries.


The innocent chatter of children fell silent,
Their lives cut short in a moment of terror,
Dolls and toys lay bloodstained, damaged,
Silent symbols of an unspeakable horror.


Shopping bags were scattered all around,
Burnt and blackened, they lay discarded,
Wedding trousseau, an engagement ring,
Meant for a young bride who was now dead.


Among the victims was an elderly couple,
Reliving the early days of their marriage,
Even in death they were holding hands,
Unwitting targets of a gruesome rampage.


Senseless violence claimed hundreds of lives,
Who were in the wrong place at the wrong time,
It is not a particular incident that I refer to,
It is your story which tomorrow could be mine.

Purani Jeans – I

Purani jeans aur guitar

Mohalle ki woh chhat aur mere yaar

I heard this song by Ali Haider after quite a long time and immediately I was engulfed by a wave of nostalgia. People who have left their school and college days behind will understand the fascination of this song. Caught up as we are in the drudgery of everyday life, those bygone days are like a whiff of fresh air that evokes cherished memories in our minds. Don’t we all remember incidents from our school and college days and laugh indulgently on them? I thought of setting down some of my memories here.

I don’t remember the exact year – it was sometime in the mid 90s. My school friends had come over to spend the day at my grandparents’ house in Kolkata during the school holidays. The house next door belonged to a family friend who was a bachelor. He was very fond of me and gave me permission to play in his empty house during the day when he would be away at work. When my friends came over we would usually play in his house, making as much noise as we wanted. On this particular day we were pretty much bored of our regular games and wanted to try our hands at something new. Our super intelligent brains conceived of a new version of tag – one person would be IT (the person to catch the others) while the rest would barricade themselves in another room and venture out at intervals thus giving the first person the opportunity to catch them. Looking back, it was a game fraught with the danger of banging the door on somebody’s fingers or toes and also a game that really didn’t make much sense. But we were delighting in it and very soon the house was echoing with the sounds of our gleeful laughter.

Before coming to the actual incident let me explain the layout of the rooms we were playing in. It was duplex house with the second floor almost completely given over to a huge lobby kind of area which was the study sitting room of the owner. There were also a small bedroom and a bathroom which was accessible both from the lobby and the bedroom. The bathroom door opening into the lobby was a sturdy wooden affair while the one opening into the bedroom was a sliding plywood door. Initially we were using the door of the lobby to play our game but it was proving too heavy for us. Soon we had switched to the sliding door, which was infinitely more fun. All that, however, ended when the door slipped out of its frame and came crashing down on us!

No matter how many years elapse, I don’t think I will ever forget the expressions on my friends’ faces when the door came out like that. Imagine 5 little girls standing dumbfounded and shell-shocked, a blue colored door in their hands. Visions of punishments like being grounded for the entire holidays, had started running in our minds. After a few minutes like this, we managed to pull ourselves together. The one thing uppermost in our minds at that time was how to fit the door back without anyone coming to know. We tried it this way and that but it would just not fit back into the frame. We had just about resigned ourselves to being punished for breaking a door in somebody else’s house. That sounds so funny now but back then it seemed like a life imprisonment sentence to us. Suddenly one of us had a brain wave. Like drowning men (rather women) we grabbed at it. The idea was to fit the door into the lower part of the frame and then bend it slightly at the middle so that it is able to snap into the upper part of the frame as well. Quite logical. So we proceeded to break ourselves into two groups. After fitting the door into the lower frame, three of us applied slight pressure on the top of the door from one side while the other two applied pressure at the middle from the other side to get a slight curvature. It was not easy as it sounds but our perseverance paid off when the door suddenly popped back into place. Five extremely relieved children quickly scuttled back to my grandparents’ house and by an unspoken agreement, did not mention this incident to a single soul. Indeed it was after many years that I finally told my parents how we had broken a door and fixed it back as well. Their uproarious laughter still rings in my head!

There are so many more memories – I will come to those in later posts.

Why I want to write like Gerald Durrell

Why I want to write like Gerald Durrell is a question I can start to explain with the help of some interesting examples. Imagine a scene where a huge seagull is discovered under the dining table while a party is in progress. Or a dialogue between a mother and a son who are arguing about how to accommodate a large number of guests in their small house and end up moving to a bigger place just to overcome that particular problem. Does that catch your attention? Then read Gerald Durrell’s ‘My Family and Other Animals’ for such humorous anecdotes and more and also to discover for yourself why I want to write like this particular author.

A naturalist rather than a writer, Gerald Durrell nevertheless had a gift with words as is amply evident from his works. From describing his exploration activities to chronicling the eccentricities displayed by each member of his family, he possessed the ability to capture his readers’ attention in a way that many authors would have good reason to envy. His descriptions of flora and fauna are so mesmerizing that one can actually visualize the scene unfolding before him. And I dare someone to resist laughing at the chaos and bedlam that followed after his elder brother Larry opened a matchbox and an angry mother scorpion jumped out from it, ending up on the table and scattering her babies “like confetti”.

Writers are dreamers and most of them, if not all, nurture the dream that their writing would make their readers laugh and cry along with the protagonists. There is not an iota of doubt that Gerald Durrell had the laughing part perfectly covered. The Corfu trilogy, consisting of the books ‘My Family and Other Animals’, ‘Birds, Beasts and Relatives’ and ‘The Garden of the Gods’, depicts a semi autobiographical account of the author’s stay at Greek island of Corfu and his adventures there. The incidents, more often than not perpetuated by Durrell himself, as well as the family’s reactions to them provoke a fresh burst of laughter in every chapter. Add to that a host of the most unusual and quirky characters that one can encounter on this planet and you have a recipe that is sure to entertain.

Being an animal lover and an aspiring writer myself, I salute the genius of Gerald Durrell and dearly want to follow his example in writing. Someday, in the not so distant future, I may find myself writing a book on the antics of my pet dog Dobby (a project that I actually intend to take up sooner or later). On that day I know I will hoping down the line a reader will be enjoying my book the way I have chuckled over Gerald Durrell’s writings many a time. And that is exactly why I want to write like Gerald Durrell.

The Immortals of Meluha

Author: Amish Tripathi

Type: Fiction

Genre: Mythological, Fantasy

Published by: Tara Press

First Published: 2010

The novel begins with an invitation to the Guna tribe, led by the warrior Shiva, from the present ruler of Meluha, King Daksha. Meluha is a near perfect empire, created centuries ago by Lord Ram, one of the greatest rulers who walked the face of this Earth. But its Suryavanshi rulers are now faced with the threat of its lifeline, the revered River Saraswati, drying to extinction. They also face terrorist attacks by the Chandravanshis who have joined forces with the Nagas, a cursed race of skillful warriors with physical deformities. In accordance with an old prophecy, the Meluhans await their savior, the Neelkanth, and when Shiva is revealed to be the one, the kingdom erupts with joy. Shiva, already grappling with the dictates of destiny, faces yet another challenge when he falls in love with the daughter of Daksha, Princess Sati. The Princess is doomed by the tenets of vikarma rule to be an untouchable in this life to atone for the sins of the past birth. Even as he rises to these challenges and establishes himself as the Neelkanth, events reveal that his choices had dictated the course of Fate to a greater extent than he had ever imagined. The book ends with a cliff hanger and is bound to leave the reader salivating for more.

This novel is the first part of the Shiva Trilogy. Here the author creates a fictional time when Gods were human beings living on earth. The concept is unique and keeps the reader hooked with the personification of Gods as ordinary people who earned their divinity through their extraordinary deeds. Instead of a perfect divine being the book gives us a flawed human being, who has his insecurities and fears, who, in short, is one of us. The story also deals, in passing, with the perception of right and wrong, as seen from conflicting viewpoints; probably this theme will be further expanded in the remaining novels in the trilogy.

The novel flows along well, striking a fine balance between suspense and philosophy. At times the language may be jarring; an overuse of everyday, common language tends to make this otherwise delectable novel lose just some of its flavor. But that does not take away the fact that it is a compelling read, often leading the reader to introspect his or her own views regarding religion, spiritualism and philosophy. While this concept of humanizing Gods may seem offensive to some, I would urge readers to keep in mind that this is a work of fiction that just explores a different perspective. And as the book itself upholds, that what is different is not necessarily bad.