Popular Posts

Thursday 11 September 2014

Books close to my heart...

My favourite books...very hard to compile the list...reason being... at different stages and times perspective changes but great books leave you with an impression, a feeling which stays, an emotion which holds long after.

1. The Hungry Tide   It will continue to be my favourite...there is a call of this unknown mysterious mangroves the Sundervans... I could feel Sundervans in my senses and get mesmerized by the chemistry of Piya and Fakir.... two characters so different yet so alike. The storms thundering in the forest and the uncanny eye contact with the man eater bordering between surreal and myth was something which transcended words and you begin to live in the mysterious jungle.. A short book with depth, philosophy and breeziness of a thriller. My all time cherished book by Amitav ghosh.

2. The River of Smoke  Since I began with Amitav Ghosh it is natural I bring the name of River of Smoke ,second in the trilogy after Sea of Poppies, history and fiction had this superb blend and the reader gets caught in the lives of the protagonists as they witness changes in the pages of history. The political diplomacy, shrewdness, behind the scene agreements...the doom of a race, the victory of the colonists with tales of deceit...the reader is left with a gamut of emotions and a virtual tour of Canton city with its cuisine, boat houses where the protagonist meets his love...business centres and deals, the tussle between business and moral ethics as the drug catches on the entire country. Again it has a thriller like aspect which draws one to the book and has the reader captivated till the end.

3. Na Hanyate   I read this book in my teens and  realised that it was a must read for every Bengali growing girl of course at that time. It was this vibrant, intense love story and I was  shocked that a seemingly blockbuster Hindi movie had been made out of this at least copying the basic idea and some frame by frame remakes without any acknowledgement to the original. But for those who had read the original, the love story between the foreigner who comes for Sanskrit lessons from a renowned scholar and his daughter was a mirror of the society at that time... when a new India was waking up to new values and new education and the winds of modernization had began to flicker a burning passion and love between the two characters. Their love fall apart, the foreigner disciple ousted from their house once their affair is caught... basically the passion of a true love story spell bounds the reader along with the hard reality of Indian society amidst the veneer of modernization. 
I also read La Nuit Bengali ( Bengal Nights) by Mircea Eliade after some years when I could get hold of it just to feel the totality of love and the account of a foreigner in love with an Indian woman.

4. Mother  Being a Bengali brought up in a joint family my entire house brimmed with different kind of books. From religious to literary and from literary to revolutionary!  I read Mother when I was young and through the eyes of an illiterate mundane mother how the seeds of a revolution was being sown and how the lady woke up to the bitter truths she had lived all her life and the changes her son and his group of friends planned to bring to the world. I felt awakened through her eyes, how an entire nation rose to their freedom, how new ideas were coined. Mother left me with strong memories as I grew up and stirs me till date!

5.  Lost Horizon   Read in my school days again there was this story of Shangri La  a land away from this material world where time ceases to run. Shangri la had me trapped in a web of dreams and imaginations in a land somewhere far in Tibet where four characters get stuck after a plane crash. The mystery of Shangri la where abundant gold mines exist and the inhabitants do not fight for gold, where nobody ages where the Lamas pray and lead a simple life... a land isolated from the world. The main protagonist Conway gets attracted by the land yet cannot get rid of earthly feelings for the woman who was also stuck here and finally how the real world wins over and he flees leaving Shangri la... the magical land. The book played with my imaginations and perhaps a Shangri la is still imprinted in the mind, my soul still looks for Shangri-La sometimes..land where time stands still!

6. Prothom Pratisruti   This classic by Ashapurna Devi was all about the rise of a woman from the shackles imposed on her by the society since her birth. Her struggle with the blessings and love of a tyrannical father and a struggle to write her own destiny and when she fails miserably as her little daughter Subarnolata was married off by her husband and conspiring mother in law in her absence. The struggle of a woman, a powerful intelligent woman well ahead of her times as she tries to be the harbinger of change...the fruits of the which  we are savouring now.

7. Prothom Alo  I have grown on a staple diet of Sunil Gangopadhyay's books since childhood be it the feisty Kakababu or  took a peek from ' Poorbo Paschim' that used to come on the Bengali weekly Desh or his various novels and rare sometimes his poetry. Prothom Alo was published serially in Desh and I remember we all took turns reading it... starting from my father, my grandma and then finally me. Well along with history there was this lure of adult world for me but the date with hisory takes over as I read about Tagore's life weaved in the story...his journeys through his Bajra ( decorated boat) his relations, romance , anecdotes about his compositions and their aspects, his encounter with the Tripura Maharaja...and various other characters like Nati Binodini, Girish Ghosh all who were an ode to the renaissance in Bengal and India...hence the nomenclature Prothom Alo.

8. Gora  Though people say as compared to his poetry and short stories Tagore's novels could not scale the same heights... but Gora cast a deep impact on me during my teens. Though Brahmo Samaj...the debate between formless and idol worship was inspiring, eye opening and opened a can of worms, it was basically the intelligence and intensity of Gora and the growing love between him and Sucharita crafted in Tagore's poetic language had me spell bound and the identity crisis Gora comes to term with.

9. Aranyer Adhikar  I know Bengali books will rule my chart but I do not see a a reason to be guilty... blessed with a language so rich in literature and history...I always have found my soul in books of this language. This novel by Mahasweta Devi was my journey into the lands of the real India.. neglected and overpowered by the shrewd and financially stronger. It was a cry from the dwellers of the forest to give back their land ,their life... their peaceful coexistence with the forest from ages. Birsa Munda,
's struggle to claim his land, a life for his people moves the reader to tears...and indeed a reminder of the struggle by the inhabitants of India to retain their identity, claim their rights.. a war which still goes on in the unexplored hinterland of India.

10. Aranayak  A classic by Bibhuti Bhusan Bandopadhyay, a novel, a travelogue... which took me through the forests of  Munger, Bhagalpur and the virgin lands of Bihar. I remember this book invariably as I travel through the heart of Bihar in my journey to Guwahati from Delhi at least once a year...his dreams woven in this land... I recall the writer riding his pony in a path washed my milky moonlight in a breathtakingly beautiful forest. Well no one can live nature in his writings as Bibhuti Bhusan does and Aranyak remains eternal in my heart. The pictures he wove so difficult to describe, can only be felt and lived!

I know have missed many, conspicuous by missing few bestsellers... and I do not know whether translations are available for all I mentioned but these gems I carry in my heart..and remember at times. These gems craft my soul, bless my existence!


Tuesday 2 September 2014

Zindagi Gulzar Hain....



Television...one of those apparatus...you browse through the numbers in the remote and most of the times I end up switching off the device in frustration... Yeah not much of a news person and not a sports freak either (I guess lots of women might get included in the bracket). I end up with a random episode of ' Friends' which most of the times was an episode I had watched earlier but still managed to evoke some laughter and surprisingly at aspects which weren't noticed earlier...and browse through the    odd music channel to catch up with videos and songs of  ' my time' kind and food recipes with my domestic help while we have our lunch....I guess my TV addiction is limited and so are my options. Comedy Central kept me occupied for days but being unable to catch something gripping...quit that as well. So it was about Zindagi TV I read in the entertainment section of the daily newspaper and the rave reviews...so gave it a try. Well I hardly watch soaps and not at all the kind shown last two decades..the bitching women with gaudy make up who most of the times end up doing nothing save keeping their spouses contented....

Anyways...randomly I caught an episode of  Zindagi Gulzar Hain...and caught it up another day or two. Being the cynical person I am .....tried to cast it aside as another love story between a rich spoilt guy and a  middle class girl. The woman protagonist....so arrogant, so rigid...her head covered all the time....nothing felt right and the typical rich boy with his pretty girlfriend. Well like falling in love I never knew when the show took me all over. Initially I marvelled at myself  for still being young at heart...and enjoying a love story still...not only enjoying actually waiting with bated breath...for the two to get together!! I remembered my school days where I'd wait for Fauji...and another romantic soap called Farman...if anybody remembers!! Within a few episodes I was that school girl again waiting for Zaroon and Kashaf to fall for each other!!!!! And i have to admit Fawad Khan...Zaroon as I'd like to remember him always...slowly cast a spell on me with his eyes and intensity...and it may sound obvious but for a cynical like me...well...like exploring an unknown part of me. Well well all these from someone who was reaching  thirty six is a way bit too much...but who's complaining!!

Yeah it began with Zaroon craze...but then it was the show in all, from the saplings of a sweet romantic love story, somehow it was not repetitive not at all boring, a surprise breath of fresh air with a more surprising realistic element...Kashaf just could be anyone of us...middle class, cynical after the kind of life she has endured with her mother. A real inspiration was the well etched out character of her mother...and the little tit bits she has about life...though may sound typical...but it grows on the viewer and these little tit bits in a way holds her daughter's life together. Things as simple and mundane as cooking for her husband...dismissed by her cynical daughter...but these trivial things bring the subtle changes in their lives. Normal discussions between mother and daughter if mother in law can ever replace mother which I believe most women can relate to...and the twist lies in her mothers simple gyan which strikes a chord instantly. Without being a spiritual guru or healer how simply she guides her daughter through the hardships somehow casts a deep impression on the viewer...just the right balance between respect for others and self respect. Sibling relation between the struggling sisters...love and bitterness and more love...and on the other end of spectrum sibling relation between the ' have it all' brother and sister struggling with their own hell in contrast...

There was this sweet intense love story which tickled the young girl in many of us waiting with bated breath to see the two loving fighting and coming together. Only eyes and expressions could create an impact many ' bold' scenes would fail. And yes Zaroon... for somedays I felt can,t take my eyes off him! Hopefully it mustn't,t be his looks rather the intensity he plays his role with!! When the hangover of  the love story begins to fade there is this realistic story with wonderfully etched out characters filling our hearts and ending the lull in Indian television. The sensitive, brilliant portrayal of women  by the writer and director all of whom are women...well just hats off to them. Years after there's something in television for which we actually wait, which plays with our imagination and make us ponder..   All that from a show across the border....how little we know our neighbours where such sensitive shows can be conceived and telecasted. My friend was telling me she could not remember any soap she had liked or watched after ' Saas' save this one....

The sweetness of the language is also another pleasing factor and so is the realistic make up. Well I believe the writer and director could pluck just the right strings where it just spelt music....music to the heart...music unheard...music buried in some corner of the heart.

I remembered bonding with my daughter's school mates' mom in the busstand and we raved and raved about Zaroon! We chirped like teens with our crush and grumbled about our hubbies! We raved about the scene where he tries to save her from spilling hot tea and her cynical reaction! Why didn't we have a Zaroon in our life!! Later we always consoled each other ' Kaam chala le with the one we have!'

The show is available on YouTube and Netflix. For lovers of romance, story here is a poignant tale with subtle performances and those heart fluttering moments. And if you are able to get past the magic of  Zaroon's eyes there's a beautiful story to be unfurled with strong women enacting the scene with elan.