Readers' Zone

Interpreter of Maladies by Jumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of maladies is a collection of 9 short stories by Jumpa Lahiri. The book also won the Pulitzer prize in 2000. The stories are dealing with subjects like the search for self, Marriage and relationships of man and woman, emotions of immigrants etc as it is written by the diasporic writer.

The characters are so real and descriptions have a flaw that one cannot escape from the story and drag himself out of it.

Most of her stories express the situation of a wife in a foreign country. She can be Mrs. Sen in Mrs. Sen's or Mina from Interpreter of Maladies. The stories like Treatment of Bibi Halder and Sexy have wonderful and realistic women characters. Their emotions, difficulties in life and their dealing with these are superbly presented.

Lahiri has justified both of her characters women as well as men. We are able to find modern men instead of stereotyped Indian men in the stories.

Jumpa Lahiri has used metaphors of kitchen and cooking, especially Fish, in all the stories.

Her book stands as one of the most considerable diaspora writings in Indian Literature.

'Siddhartha' by Herman Hesse

'Siddhartha' by Herman Hesse is, as the subtitle suggests, an Indian tale. It is not about Budhha, if you guess, but it is a story of a fictional character named Siddhartha, in which Gautama Budhha is presented as a character. Siddhartha is a boy who is in search of Nirvana or salvation. In his journey, he becomes ascetic (Samana), he follows his inner voice, he learns to think, to wait and to fast, lost himself in temptations and earthly pleasures, and again finds the way towards salvation.

Apart from spirituality, the book has other very interesting ideas to provoke our thinking. The book says, 'Wisdom cannot be passed on. Wisdom which a wise man tries to pass on to someone always sounds like foolishness... Knowledge can be conveyed, but not wisdom. It can be found, it can be lived...but it cannot be expressed in words and taught. (119-120)

Siddhartha, though a thirsty learner, rejects the teachings and teachers. He leaves ascetics, he also leaves Buddha after listening to him once only. He prefers to learn from life and experiences. He learns from Courtesan, businessman, ferryman instead of Samana and Buddha.

Gautama, the friend of Siddhartha, even after remaining with Buddha the exalted one, is unable to find what he is seeking for. While Siddhartha finds the salvation with self-learning and learning from river or a ferryman.

The question arises in our mind that, what is the role of wise man (like Buddha) if wisdom cannot be passed or taught? Gautama's failure suggests that even leaning from Buddha doesn't work well in comparison to Siddhartha, he succeeds.

Or we can question that, does the process of learning depend on learner only? than again, what is the role of teacher in the process?

When Siddhartha says, 'teachings are no good for me, they have no hardness, no softness, no color, they have nothing but words. perhaps it are these words which keep you from finding peace. There is no thing which would be Nirvana; there is just a word Nirvana.' (122) He refers that he learnt from things not words. The process of leaning in case of Siddhartha, is one sided or he prefers self learning instead of teaching. But He cannot deny the teachings of ferryman who stands as his teacher.

If wisdom is not taught and learning process depends on learners only than what teachers (in a broader sense) are assigned for? Only to share knowledge? which is easily available nowadays.

Some interesting lines from the book are,

"The opposite of every truth is just as true!"

"Time is not real... and if time is not real, than the gap which seems to be between the world and eternity, between suffering and blissfulness, between evil and good, is also a deception."

Some interesting symbols are presented like, river stands for the link between Sansara and the life without Maya where Siddhartha and the ferryman Vasudeva lives and works to transport people. The singing bird in a cage stands as a symbol of Siddhartha's inner voice or intuition which is muted when he is enjoying the pleasures of Sansara. The spiritual and philosophical ideas presented in the book are much familiar to Indian mind but the story of Siddhartha's downfall and rise behold readers interest.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

"Stories are wrought not with committees and grammar, they spring from a mystery that touches our own silent imagination. Questions hold us puzzled for years, then a storm of answers come suddenly from the unknown, arrows from a bow we have never seen."

Along with an inspirational story of Seagull, the fourth chapter, which is added in later editions and writer Richard Bach's words on it is very interesting. Bach has written in his 'last words' about his confusion to add the fourth chapter or not. The fourth chapter is entirely different from the first three. While three chapters of the book tells an optimistic and inspirational story the fourth one is more realistic. It's about 'Apotheosis', human habit of deification. We are setting limits, and when we are unable to go beyond (even if we want to and try to) this, we circulate it as a fact that no human can do it. If someone is going beyond it we recognize him/her as Devine. (e. g. Sachin is God of Cricket) Instead of working hard we worship. Than there will be different groups of believers, non-believers etc. Instead of being practical we theorize, we doubt but don't try and all questions remain unanswered.

This short chapter is providing the best possible image of all isms, religious sects, theism-atheism and theories about anyone, anything.

Pratishruti by Dhruv Bhatt

Pratishruti is a novel by Dhruv Bhatt about the life of Bhishma. he evaluates his own life with revisiting past. he thinks that he cannot be blamed for anything as he has done everything for his promises. At the last moment of his life, he is able to find the 'sin' or the act for which he can be blamed for(with that the central idea of the novel is also revealed). It says that nature has created this world to celebrate the importance of life. Bhishma's fault is that he has taken an oath just for the sake of remaining aloof from all the chains of relationships. he has taken an oath not to marry, it becomes sin as nature is in favor of regeneration. To embrace life and to try for salvation is natural instead of rejecting life. Ganga says, "પ્રકૃતિએ આ સમગ્ર રચના જીવનનો મહિમા કરવા માટે કરી છે."

Simultaneously, teaching G B Shaw's drama, Man and Superman, the similarities can be found between these two texts. Show's drama is focusing on 'Life Force'. It says, in the struggle between moral/intellectual instinct and sexual instinct, sexual instinct wins. Regeneration of life is the most important task humanity is engaged to. Remaining independent or enjoying freedom is not possible for Jack Tanner, 'Life Force' of Ann Whitefield is winning for the evolution of Superman. So says Ganga, the mother of Bhishma that, regeneration and embracing life is natural and taking an oath to remain detached and not becoming the medium of bringing life is unnatural.

God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

It ended but one cannot finish reading with reaching the last page. Once again one has to read from the beginning. Even if 'The God of Small Things' is telling ordinary story, the narration, manner, style and language are never ordinary. Everything, each and every major event is already informed, repeatedly reminded than even, you will read, you have to. Because it is not about what will happen! It is not about when it will happen! Who will do! But it is about How it would have happened, how it will be narrated! The manner, the style, in which the minute event is narrated is making the novel 'God' of 'small things'.

Roy has invented new words, written old words in new pattern, the language is also having rhythm. Some fine examples are,

"Every First class train thing was green. The seats green. The berths green. The floor green. The chains green. Dark green. Light green.

NO STOP TRAIN PULL CHAIN, it said in green.

OT POTS NIART LLUP NIAHC, Estha thought in green."

"But that would be later.

Lay Ter." (separating the word)

"twin Ambassadors of God-knows-what... learned two new lessons."

"Ammu shook her and told her to stoppit and she stoppited." (mixing two words stop it)

Some invented words and phrases like, Orangedrink lamondrink man, Love-in-Tokyo fountain, pappachi's Moth, History house with heart of darkness will remain in your mind for a long time.

Aristotle said plot is the soul, most important element, but for a contemporary fiction(modern & post modern), specifically novel, narration is the most important element which makes the novel great. The event is not important, sequence doesn't matter, it is narration, manner in which the same event is described, sensibility attached with the event is put to the reader. In Chapter 19 where Baby Kochamma is horrifying Estha and Rahel about prison life, simultaneously it also describes paperweight having figures of happy man and woman. (it reminds stream of consciousness technique) The most fearful situation is described so gently,

"There was paperweight waltz music. Mammachi was playing it on her violin. Ra-ra-ra-ra-rum. Parum-parum. 'The thing is, baby Kochamma's voice was saying, 'what is done is done. The inspector says he is going to die anyway. So it won't matter... It's up to you to decide that.' There were bubbles inside the paperweight which made the man and woman look though they were waltzing underwater."

That's the language, description, narration making this tale so amazing, musical and magnum opus! Read it and go with the flow of the novel...

From Text to Theory by Pramod K Nayar

Nayar has written a consequential book on literary theory. It has presented examples of literature with applicating theories of criticism on it.

While reading it I found an interesting interpretation of #zombie films. Zombies are western creation which are monsters. They are not fully dead and not fully alive. In films they are presenting sickness and as transmitter of it. They are always represented in the form of crowd.

Zombies present automata.

The book has interpreted Zombies very interestingly. Zombies are mirroring unthinking flesh who is less than humans. They are the representation of workers who work like machines without thinking. A similar condition is presented in Charlie Chaplin's film #Modern_Times. The automata and sickness of Zombies can also be compared to the mechanization of human life.

This comparison becomes so truthful that Metro cities are becoming the best examples of it. The life of the worker is no less than Zombie, full with automata, sickness and as an unthinking flesh

Lajja By Taslima Nasrin

When I heard the title Lajja- the novel by Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin, I assumed that it must be presenting women's issues or feminist ideas because 1. It is written by women author, 2. Its cover page (given below) 3. The meaning of Lajja is shame. The word has a connotative meaning related to women. Shame is (a virtue or a vice) a feminine attribution.

But I was wrong. The novel talks about communism more than feminism. As the controversy of the novel speaks, it is more a documentary than a novel or a fiction. It has documented boldly victimization of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh as well as it speaks against government/power openly. The story has fewer actions and more descriptions, information about how minorities suffered and there was no secularism in the country though the minority have nationalism/patriotism-love and respect towards their country.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Gujarati Novels by Dhruv Bhatt

Dhruv Bhatt is well appreciated contemporary writer. His novels have different concepts, characters are full with humanity and it gives us new message of morality. with reading his novels, we can get different view of looking...

His very popular novels, which I have read is mentioned here...

Comic Books by Tarak Mehta

I don't think there is a person who is unknown from Tarak Mehta's name. We have tasted the serial, go further and try his books which are older than serial. His books are more comic and funny than serial. It gives you pleasure and laughter. I have some of the names to suggest you here...