Janice Pariat's Everything The Light Touches | On the longlist of JCB Prize for Literature (2023)

Title: Everything That Light Touches
Author: Janice Pariat
Publisher: HarperCollins India (2023)
Genre: Literature, Nature
ISBN: 978-9356291393
Hardcover: 512 Pages
Buy the book: Amazon 

In Janice Pariat's book, "Everything the Light Touches," she seamlessly blends research with imagination across centuries. The narrative delves into the lives of four individuals: Shai, Evelyn, Johann (Goethe), and Carl, whose journeys are interconnected like the roots of an ancient Banyan tree.

In her previous work, "Nine Chambered Heart," Pariat employed a unique narrative technique, recounting the girl's story through various characters, including teachers, lovers, and flatmates. In "Everything the Light Touches," she continues with this approach, using multiple perspectives, to enrich the narrative.

The central character of the story is Shai, a woman in her thirties. The book begins with Shai's journey as she prepares to fly from Delhi airport to her hometown, Meghalaya—a place seemingly forgotten by its own country. ‘We land in a place that falls off the map. So far east in this vast country that it feels not of this country anymore.’ 

While each of us must eventually return to our origins, Shai is concerned about her family and community.

Pariat in an interview: We live in a world of very unequal stories, where someone like Karl Linnaeus will be known but somebody from a small little corner of India's northeast, who might have the same amazingly profound ideas about our relationship to the natural world, will quite easily be dismissed. It was very important for me to place these stories also on the same plane, so that Goethe and Linnaeus exist amidst all of these other characters who are equally valid, equally important.

Pariat excels at crafting multi-dimensional characters, and it's the small details that breathe life into her work. For instance, when Shai reunites with her mother, Pariat vividly describes the encounter, ‘it’s been less than a year since I’ve seen her—in which secret hours did she age? When I hug her, though, she smells familiar, of wool and naphthalene and hand cream…’

The narrative then shifts to Evelyn, deeply passionate about botany, and less interested in conventional life. Frustrated by the lack of academic opportunities in England, she embarks on a journey to India, to explore the Himalayan flora and fauna.

One of the most innovative chapters belongs to Carl. Pariat fearlessly experiments with storytelling in this section, incorporating approximately 40 micro-poems that are both lyrical and comforting. These poems range from one-liners to free verses, with "How to Hunt a Bear" consisting of just three words: "Do not miss."

SIGNS

The peasants who reside near the cliffs or rising ground judge by the crows the approach
of bad weather; for these birds seek the marshy country before it comes on.
They say they have been reading such signs for years.   

Here, I am borrowing the words of Nilanjana Roy: Everything the Light Touches is a magnificent reminder that the natural world does not lie outside of ourselves, and that when we break trust with the earth, we break our own spirits into scattered fragments. Janice Pariat finds a new language of connection, wonder, and loss, for the songs of the earth from Lapland and Goethe's Europe to the Lower Himalayas and remote villages in India's Northeast, her stories dancing between centuries in this generous and intricate work.

As Henry Miller said, "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." 

Janice Pariat's "Everything the Light Touches" is not just a book but a grand narrative that delves into the essence of existence, human bonds spanning ages, botanical wonders, poetic beauty, and profound discoveries. It has earned a place on the longlist of the JCB Prize for Literature in 2023.

  

About the Author

Janice Pariat is the author of Boats on Land: A Collection of Short Stories, Seahorse: A Novel, and the international bestseller The Nine-Chambered Heart. She was the recipient of the Young Writer Award from the Sahitya Akademi and the Crossword Book Award for Fiction in 2013. Janice's work has been translated into ten languages. She teaches at Ashoka University, and lives between New Delhi and Shillong with a cat of many names.

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सत्यजीत राय - सोने का किला । फेलूदा सीरीज़ - जासूसी उपन्यास

किताब: सोने का किला
लेखक: सत्यजीत राय
प्रकाशक: राजकमल बुक्स 
पेपरबैक: 120 पृष्ठ  

सत्यजीत राय की फेलूदा सीरीज़ से शायद ही कोई अनभिज्ञ हो। किशोर पाठकों के लिए लिखी गई यह किताब ‘सोने का किला’ एक जासूसी उपन्यास है। राजस्थान की नींव पर खड़ी यह रहस्यमयी कहानी, बीकानेर, किशनगढ़, जोधपुर, और जैसलमैर जैसी कई जगहों की संस्कृति, और अनूठे वातावरण में गुँथी है।

यह मुकुल कथा है, एक ऐसे बच्चे की कहानी जिसे अपने पिछले जन्म की बातें याद हैं। उसे सपनों में सोने का किला दिखता है, साथ ही युद्ध का मैदान और उसके पार अपना घर।

मुकुल की व्यथा को दूर करने के लिए उसे राजस्थान ले जाया जाता है। कहानी में मोड़ तब आता है जब उसके यात्रा पर निकलते ही पड़ौस में रहने वाले बच्चे को मुकुल समझकर अग़वा कर लिया जाता है। उसके पिता की विनती पर मुकुले के पीछे-पीछे एक जासूस को राजस्थान यात्रा पर भेजा जाता है, और कहानी में पदार्पण होता है, जनाब फेलूदा का, पूरा नाम प्रदोष मित्तिर। सोने का किला और उसमें ग़ढ़ा खजाना, खजाने को पाने की लालसा लिए कुछ बदमाश – पूरी कथा इन्हीं के इर्द-गिर्द घूमती है। कई मकड़जाल और उनसे पार निकलते फेलूदा। यह उपन्यास हर उम्र के पाठकों के लिए है - सहज और पठनीय। किताब में बने स्कैच सत्यजीत राय ने ख़ुद उकेरे हैं।    

किताब का अंश  

“पूर्व जन्म की कथा कहने वालों का मुझे पता है। कुछेक लोग होते हैं जिन्हें हठात पूर्व जन्म की बात याद आ जाती है। उन्हें बांग्ला में 'जातिस्मर' कहते हैं। लेकिन वास्तव में पूर्व जन्म जैसा कुछ होता है ऐसा फेलूदा भी नहीं जानते हैं। फेलूदा ने चार मीनार का पैकेट खोलकर उन साहब की तरफ बढ़ाया। उन्होंने मुस्कराकर सिर हिलाया और कहा कि वे सिगरेट नहीं पीते हैं। इसके बाद वे बोले, आपको शायद याद होगा कि मेरे लड़के की उम्र आठ साल है-एक स्थान का वर्णन करता हुआ कहता है कि यह भी वहाँ गया था। लेकिन उस स्थान पर मेरा बेटा तो क्या मेरे बाप-दादे भी नहीं गए थे। कैसे गरीब-गुजरान करते हैं हम लोग यह तो आप जानते ही हैं। दुकान भी आपने देखी ही है, और इधर तो किताबों का व्यापार दिन-ब-दिन।

आपका लड़का तो एक किले की बात करता है ना?' फेलूदा ने बीच में ही उन्हें रोककर पूछा। "जी हाँ. कहता है कि सोने का किला। उस पर तोपें रखी हैं, युद्ध हो रहा है. आदमी मर रहे हैं। यह सब वह देख रहा है। वह खुद पगड़ी बाँधे ऊँट पर बैठा बालू के टीलों पर घूमता था। बालू की बात बहुत करता है। और हाँ, मोर की भी बात बताता है तथा हाथी घोड़ों की बात भी उसके हाथ पर कोहनी के पास एक दाग है जन्म से ही हम तो इसे जन्मदाग की समझते थे लेकिन वह कहता है कि एक बार मोर ने वहाँ चोंच की चोट मारी थी यह उसी का दाग है।" 

Annie Zaidi's A City of Incident: A Novel in Twelve Parts

 

City of Incident by Annie Zaidi is an entrancing novel in twelve parts – interlaced characters and interlinked lives – set in Mumbai: An infectious city that stands on dreams, each corner depicts a facet of character; every street hides an enigma of life.

"Now, he likes to say that he was born free. Free! At least, he was not wrapped in a black plastic bag, knotted tight so that he would choke to death before being discovered by some rag-picker like himself. At least, his mother gave him a chance to live. Who knows? Maybe she had even wanted him to live."

City of Incident is an intimate portrait photograph of ordinary people, yet it tells stories in the most extraordinary way. The basic plot breathes on longing, solitude, and desire – more than that it illustrates the feeling of being dumped, as you are not a legitimate child.

The feeling of being left alone causes an unsolved puzzle to exist between an unmarried girl and the unborn, the feeling of being paralyzed as too much alone time in one’s hand that sits like a heavy-limbed beast – sits on the chest.

City of Incident is a documentation of the complexities of everyday life. With flawed and unsound characters, the author depicts an unconventional observation, for instance,

‘There is something to his posturing, the languor of his backside as he stands on the footboard, one knee bent, the wind in his hair, and his rifle standing in the corner.’

Have you noticed the style of prose? It absorbed me the most – crisp sentences with a clear perspective – minimal words, and short paragraphs as if the author wants you to experience the scene without any cacophony, and that too intentionally.

City of Incident speaks about the dynamics of the relationship and its corrosive nature, how it takes shape and vanishes.

Each section is pretty amazing, still would love to mention the two most adored titles - ‘A Beggar Recalls Babies in Plastic Bags and Makes Furtive Love’ and the other one is ‘A Bank Teller Sees a Happy Baby on the Street, and Wants to Die’ – apart from that, you get a glimpse of few troublesome happenings in a train.

It begins with a security guard and touches various slices including the struggles of a working-class woman in a so-called sophisticated city, underprivileged society, and patriarchy.

Annie Zaidi is a much-needed voice of Indian literature. I wish more readers could get their hands on this stunning novel.

‘So many accidents happen these days. But that word - accident - it belongs to the vocabulary of innocent. For him, there are only incidents. Some incidents are followed by investigations, which are followed by pleadings, cautioning, and offerings. A link chain of unfolding incidents. What was that old song? This city is a city of incident. Yes, that’s just what it is.’

 

Parinda Joshi's A House full of Men

 

Title: A House full of Men
Author: Parinda  Joshi
Publisher: Harpercollins India
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 360
Ratings: 4/5
 

A House full of Men by Parinda Joshi, begins with the scene, where our main protagonist, Kittu was flipping some travel magazines in her travel-themed office in the Hazratganj area of Lucknow and life changing quiz drew her in.

“A Church Mouse? What on earth is a Church Mouse?” This question stuck into her head. Although she resolved her query right then but it provoked her to put life into new frame. Actually, church mouse is an individual whose entire life is spent in one location.

In her late twenties, Kittu, short for Kritidhara Pant, has realized that she has left Lucknow only on two occasions, first trip for last rites of her maternal grandmother and the another trip to a wedding where she lost her mother, after her departure Kittu was left alone in the house full of men.

‘She had lost everything to that watched moment, the womb that had created and crafted her, the hand that had fed her soul, the heart that had comforted her with the warmth of a thousand blankets, All of a sudden life had become fleeting and vulnerable and meaningless.’  

This book takes you deep inside the character’s journey and leaves you there with resonated emotions. Parinda Joshi’s A House full of Men is a dysfunctional family drama, more than that it explores many facets of human behavior, as love and misunderstandings, equality among siblings, bit melancholy, familiar loss and importance of being understood. When it comes to language, it brings breathtakingly fresh possibilities, I belong to a small town, I got introduced to a different set of people, especially their witty dialogues left me giggling out loud. I thoroughly enjoyed the tender moments of romance between Kittu and Kartik.

The second character which I adored is Kartik. He is moved from LA to Lucknow, how they met, how this bond been developed in such a short period, it was quite fun to read. There was something about Kartik that was enticing Kittu. She couldn’t stop thinking about him, whereas she is already in a messy relationship. Yet she was curious about Kartik, ‘If it was a bait? She’d almost fallen for it. He didn’t seem like a bait setting sorts though; she dismissed the cynical thought as soon as it took shape. He was a nice guy, and seemingly honest, and into her and that’s all that mattered.’

On the other side, her boyfriend, Vicky was a natural conversationalist and had a knack for turning every dull, drab non-event into a tangy spicy story. But there is another side of him; you get to know while exploring their world. It warms your heart and soul to read about their ticklish bond.

Adding to that, it also holds a serious backdrop story.  Having had to share her mother with the twins so early on in her life had not been easy on Kittu. The boys were demanding and her mother had no quality time for Kittu for years. ‘Kittu had maintained her distance from the twins initially, the miserable feeling- misinterpretation as she realized much later- of being unwanted child leaving her resentful.’

I have not talked about other family members yet, her quirky twin brothers, Nishant and Shamik, High BP Dadaji, her Ravi-shing Dad, Four legged friend,  Wodehousian thing in her room and of course, the charming neighbor. There are so many soulful characters and hilarious situations as well. I wish I could write more about the plot thing, to be honest, that would kill the charm of reading this gripping novel.

Parinda Joshi has a great command on human’s inner world and their complexities. Not a single character seemed heroic yet I found them powerful with their vulnerabilities. It is worth to spend time with a book, if you find clean sentences, clear perspectives, and a gripping story.    

All in all, I loved comic timing in prose. I would gladly recommend it to anyone who, rooting for a delectable read. 

About the Author

Parinda Joshi is a best-selling author and screenwriter. Born and raised in Ahmedabad, she now lives in San Francisco where she works for a fashion start-up. A House Full of Men is her 4th novel. Her last novel, Made in China, was adapted into a feature film. Her new screenplay, a social thriller, recently got commissioned by a leading production house.

Her M.O. is best described by Maya Angelou’s quote: “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.

Instagram: @parindajoshi

Website: www.parindajoshi.com

P.S. Thank You HarperCollins India  and Vivek Tejuja for sending this review copy across. 

 

अनुकृति उपाध्याय का उपन्यास 'नीना आंटी': जिजीविषा से भरा किरदार

 

आप एक लेखक की पहली किताब पढ़ते हैं, ज़िंदगी को लेकर उनका नज़रिया आपको अचरज़ में डालता है, भीतर एक इच्छा जन्म लेती है, उस लेखक का लिखा हुआ सारा कुछ एक प्रवाह में पढ़ जाने की, अनुकृति उपाध्याय मेरे लिए वहीं लेखक हैं। उपाध्याय का लेखन नीम वाले आँगन में गमकती दोपहरी सा है, जो सोच के नित नए द्वार खोलता है। मैं जाने कितनी बार उनके लिखे के बीच लौट-लौट जाती हूँ, उनकी किताबें उतनी ही सहृदयता से मुझे अपनाती हैं, मन के भटकाव को जैसे कोई नर्म हथेलियों में थाम भर ले।

इन दिनों ‘राजपल एंड संस’ से प्रकाशित अनुकृति उपाध्याय का नया उपन्यास, ‘नीना आंटी’ पढ़ा। नीना जैसा किरदार गढ़ना ही, पुरुषसत्ता के ढांचे को ध्वस्त कर, स्त्री के अस्तित्व के लिए नई संभावनाएं तलाशना है। ये उपन्यास एक लड़की के हिस्से का सच कहता है, सीधा-सपाट सच।

उपन्यास के कथा केंद्र में है नीना, जो किसी दूसरे के गीत में बिंधा महज़ कोरस नहीं बल्कि अपने में सम्पूर्ण सिंफनी है, हर औरत का इतिहास नहीं होता, सिर्फ समझौतों से भरी सकरी गलियाँ होती हैं। नीना का इतिहास था, विद्रोहों और उद्धत्ता, प्रेम और आवेगों से रंगीन इतिहास।

उसने कभी बनी-बनाई लीक पर चलना सीखा ही नहीं, वो मानती है कि मन का करने से पहले मन को जान लेना जरूरी है। बाहरी दुनिया के लिए वो दिखावटी मुखौटा नहीं पहनती, जो भी अनुभव हैं गहरे और बेधड़क जिये हुए, चाहे वो सुंदरता हो या कोई चोट, यह हर स्पर्श को सीधे आत्मा पर महसूस करने जैसा है।

नीना के भीतर मुस्कुराहटों की गुप्त गंगा है, खुले दिल वाली मुस्कुराहट, मन मसोसकर जीना उसने सीखा ही नहीं, अपनी परेशानियों से खुद निपट लेती है, दुख पहुंचता है तो भी ज़ाहिर नहीं करती, कर भी देती तो क्या कोई उसका पक्ष समझ पाता? शिकायत नहीं करती लेकिन बेबाक है, ऐसी उन्मुक्त पाखी रूह को मठाधीशों का रौब भला कहाँ बांध पाएगा? उसे किसी ऐसे शख्स की ज़रूरत नहीं जो उसके लिए दुनिया से लड़े, “सबके बीच अंतराल खोज एकाकी, दल में अलग थलग चुगती गौरैया, एकल, व्यस्त, अपने में पर्याप्त”

एक विशाल परिवार का हिस्सा थी नीना, लेकिन किसी ने उसे मौसी या बुआ नहीं नीना आंटी कहकर ही पुकारा, कोई और संबोधन उसके व्यक्तित्व पर जंचता भी कैसे? परिवार के युवा दल के बीच खासी लोकप्रिय रही, सभी उसके पास कभी ना कभी आए, जीवन की उलझन, थका मन, दुखता अहम, कुढ़न, कुंठा लेकर। नीना दार्शनिक स्तर पर जिंदगी को देखती हैं, “जब भी कुछ सुलझाना हो तो धागों को खींचना नहीं चाहिए, हल्के हाथों अलगाना चाहिए।”

अनुकृति उपाध्याय ने ‘नीना आंटी’ उपन्यास, एक युवा किरदार, सुदीपा के नजरिए से लिखा है, सुदीपा ही इस कथा की नरेटर है, जो इस वक्त बेचैनियों की पोटली बांध नीना आंटी के पास पहाड़ चली आई है। अभी तक जिन्हें अफवाहों में सुना, यहाँ पहाड़ पर पहुँचकर वो उनकी जिंदगी को करीब से महसूसती है, उन्हें बागवानी करते, फूलों से इत्र तैयार करते देखती है। सोचती है कि इस हवेलीनुमा मकान में अकेले रहने को लेकर नीना आंटी का पूरा परिवार क्यूँ उनके खिलाफ है?

‘किसी एक के भूल जाने या नकारने से तुम्हारी याद झूठी नहीं पड़ जाती, अक्सर हमारी स्मृतियाँ एक दूसरे से मेल नहीं खातीं, जो जैसा तुम्हें याद रहता है, वो वैसा ही दूसरे को नहीं’

सुदीपा खंगाल रही है नीना आंटी का स्याह अतीत, नीना ने प्रेम किया कई दफ़े किया, फिर शादी क्यूँ नहीं की? जैसा सब कहते आए हैं क्या सचमुच नीना आंटी एक बुरे चरित्र की औरत थीं? किस्सों में किस्से खुलते हैं, स्मृतियाँ आकार लेती हैं, सोच के स्तर पर कई सवाल खड़े होते हैं।  

इस तरह नीना के बहाने, तीन पीढ़ी की औरतों का सच सामने आता है, नीना की माँ जिनमें इतनी हिम्मत नहीं कि अपनी सोच और फैसले की डोर खुद थाम सके, अपनी बेटी के सही को ‘सही’ कह सके। अपने आखिरी समय में माँ और नीना के बीच घटे वो कुछ पल, वही सच्चे थे बाकी सारी जिंदगी झूठ? किताब के आखिरी कुछ पृष्ठ आपको सोचने पर मजबूर करते हैं।

समाज की लादी मान्यताओं को ढोती अकेली माँ ही नहीं, नीना की बहनें भी थी। अनुकृति उपाध्याय ने कैसे इन पात्रों के बीच नीना का जिजीविषा से भरा व्यक्तित्व रचा है। वो कहानी का एक सिरा वर्तमान से उठाती हैं और अतीत से जोड़ देती हैं, ये उतार-चढ़ाव सहजता से चलता है। उपाध्याय के उपन्यासों में प्रकृति का विवरण अवश्य होता है, जो उनके पात्रों के चरित्र को निखारता है।

‘एक बार जाने हुए से फिर अंजान नहीं हुआ जा सकता, जाना हुआ ऐसा जिन्न है जो फिर से बोतल में बंद नहीं किया जा सकता’

जिसने उपाध्याय को पहले पढ़ा है वो इनके भाषा शिल्प का प्रसशंक रहा होगा, रंगों में डूबे, सांस लेते बिम्ब, जीवंतता से भरी छवियां, यह प्रकृति को शब्दों के कैनवास पर शिद्दत से जीने जैसा है। शब्द-शिल्प और किस्सागोई में गहरी पकड़ एक अच्छे लेखक होने की पहली शर्त हैं।

‘नीना आंटी’ स्त्री चेतना को आधार बनाकर लिखा गया है, जो अपने मुख्य किरदार के बहुआयामी अनुभवों और संवेदनाओं के जरिए सीधे पाठक से संवाद करता है। इसे लघु उपन्यास क्यूँ कहा गया, जबकि ये अपने आप में सम्पूर्ण है, इसे 112 पृष्ठों में ही सिमट जाना था, सिमट गया। उम्मीद कभी लघु-वृहद नहीं होती, अनुकृति उपाध्याय की किताब ‘नीना आंटी’ सूखते जंगल के बीच वही हरियाती उम्मीद है। हर पाठक वर्ग के लिए एक जरूरी किताब।    

लेखक के बारे में 

अनेक वर्षों तक हाँगकाँग में बैंकिंग और निवेश के सैक्टर में कार्यरत रहने के बाद अनुकृति उपाध्याय ने अपने कहानी संग्रह ‘जापानीसराय’ के जरिए साहित्य-जगत में प्रवेश किया था। द्विभाषी लेखक हैं, वह लिखती हैं इस आशा में कि इस रचनात्मक जोड़ने-तोड़ने में वह कुछ अनाम ढूँढा जा सके जो शायद है भी या नहीं भी। 'नीना आंटी' हिन्दी में उनका पहला उपन्यास है'।  

लिंक: नीना आंटी ऑनलाइन खरीदी जा सकती है। 

लेखक से ट्वीटर और इंस्टाग्राम पर जुड़ सकते हैं।  

 

Salman Rushdie’s Quichotte: World of Illusion and Reality

Title: Quichotte

Author: Salman Rushdie

Publisher: Penguin Random House India 

ISBN:  978-0670092796

Language: English

Pages: 416

Genre: Literary Fiction

As Fernando Pessoa says “we, all who live, have a life that is lived and another life that is thought”

Quichotte by Salman Rushdie is the universe of tales and interpersonal emotions, where each character, on their own quest of seeking love, either salesperson or a spy-thriller writer.

It is an intellectual and playful novel that has been shortlisted for the Booker prize 2019. Rushdie reinvented 17^th century Cervantes’s Don Quixote and we experience very vision but from the cerebral of 21^st Century, realities alter in terms of socio-political culture.

Basically, Rushdie’s Quichotte is the story of Ismail Smile, a retired salesperson of pharmaceutical products, who binge-watches fancy TV shows, twist comes when he falls in love with a woman on TV, and put himself on a quest of seeking love, Now this woman is an interesting character herself, named Salma R, she has an Indian origin, living in New York though,  She is host of talk-show, somewhat like Oprah. To win her love, Ismail, adapts a name Quichotte and starts sending her letters, although he behaves like a quaint stalker yet the love and madness he carries inside, he is the protagonist and the most intriguing character; you urge to explore him anyway.

In between Quichotte invents an imaginary son, Sancho, who takes small fraction of his life, I think, Sancho is the only one who carries an innocent voice among myriad of characters, he slowly evaluates his place, fuming with anger and atrocity. 

In next few chapters, you realize, Quichotte might be hero of the book but he is not real, he is just a fictionalized character written by Sam Du-Camp, Ok Here, you have to pull off your dreamland as you have been getting introduced to new character, This Sam Du-camp is a spy-thriller writer, comes to realization that his whole life crumpled among lies and now he wants to write something real. 

As in science projects, you need to construct a flow chart into your mind, you need to do the same while exploring next chapters, because there are not couple of plots but subplots and various tales and references, it is a wild trip, characters do clash, worlds rebuild and it really demands of a reader every ounce of attention.

My own feeling is that Salman Rushdie has enjoyed romancing with different genres, wisely though. There is whole list of TV shows and quick-witted mentions of fake news. Somewhere I felt it is a magical realism, and it also has a spy writer, and there are road trips, and that’s not an end of the list. It feels funny to explore this multi-universe, on the next moment you urge to have some space to breathe.

Quichotte is a novel that shows us the mirror to make us realize what happens when misinformation gobbles the fact and surviving amidst insane world.

“Everything sounds like a lot,” Sancho said.

“All of us are in two stories at the same time,” said the sandwich lady. “Life and Times. There is our own personal story, and the bigger story of what’s happening around us. When both are in trouble simultaneously, when the crisis inside you intersects with the crisis outside you, things get a little crazy.”

Rushdie’s Quichotte is a delicate circle, quick-witted book, unfolds satire on reality shows, cyber war, along with some notable issues like sexual assault, racism, suicide, inkling of immigration, religion’s beliefs, and corporate trickery.

I have read Rushdie before and absolutely loved his Midnight’s Children. I am not denying the fact he has his own readership. By Quichotte, Rushdie has shown to the world, he is not afraid pushing his limits even at this age and certainly it is a brave step; the universe he documented will breathe through these pages. No matter what pro-critics say but I genuinely feel this is social commentary of an era, much needed work, maybe for offspring. 

“A zillion channels and nothing to hold them together. Garbage out there, and great stuff out there, too, and they both coexist at the same level of reality, both give off the same air of authority. How’s a young person supposed to tell them apart?  Every show on every network tells you the same thing: based upon a true story… true story is there’s no true story anymore.”

The only thing interrupted into this novel is usage of superabundant wordplay and pop culture references, as I was not aware of most of them so had to Google everything, turns it into a slow-read.

All in all, it is a Pandora box of human behaviour, carries two worlds side by side, Quichotte’s pursuit of love and a spy novelist’s troubles. This picaresque novel surely deserves a read.

About the Author

Salman Rushdie is the author of thirteen previous novels - Grimus, Midnight's Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Moor's Last Sigh, The Ground Beneath Her Feet, Fury, Shalimar the Clown, The Enchantress of Florence, Luka and the Fire of Life, Two Years, Eight Months, and Twenty-Eight Nights and The Golden House - and one collection of short stories: East, West. He has also published four works of non-fiction - Joseph Anton, The Jaguar Smile, Imaginary Homelands and Step Across This Line - and co-edited two anthologies, Mirrorwork and Best American Short Stories 2008. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature.

Book Review: Bhaunri by Anukrti Upadhyay

Title: Bhaunri

Author: Anukrti Upadhyay

Publisher: Fourth State India

ISBN:  978-9353570033

Pages: 150

Source: Publisher

Genre: Literary Fiction

Sometimes when you read something so delectable, you hesitate to put your thoughts on it. You don’t want to spoil the magic, book contains itself.

Bhaunri is a mesmerizing character. Anukrti Upadhyay painted contours of her journey of love and desire, Author crafts the facets of her life with crystalline clarity. This is not some mushy love story but it surely shows that love is difficult ride to follow. It has upside and downside too. Sometimes love is messy but worth to put your heart into it.

“There is more than one way for hearts to meet; sometimes they are twisted together, hurting each other but inseparable. You are a child, I pray your happiness thrives, but you must let go of everything at once and become so immersed, I am afraid for you. You must keep safe”

I really enjoyed meeting, Bhaunri, a daughter of lohars- the ironsmiths, lived in a village of Rajasthan. Although, story begins with her mother’s background. Author tried to depict the character of those empowered women, like mother-like daughter. They are fearless; they are brave, how they prioritize their freedom to love. Somewhere the boldness of protagonist enthralled me. 

“My mother said to me, before all else, hearts must meet. Unless hearts meet everything else is a burden of sin and must be thrown off”

Bhaunri got married at very tender age, now she has to move to Sasural, her husband’s home. She found Bheema handsome like some Greek god but ill-tempered too. She tried to interpret their relationship eventually, and felt passionate love towards her husband. Soon, the story is seeped into tension. 

“No, my share is the same as his. He and I are two parts joined together. How could his share be different from mine? I shall not suffer, Mai. If I do, so shall he.’ Bhaunri throat filled with sobs”

Along the way, we see Bhaunri’s relationship with her loving mother-in-law. Author managed to capture the shades of everyday vibrant life of Rajasthan, what stands out amount of detailing.

There is something so empathetic about her struggle. Some hidden stories also waited for readers as she got to know about jeth-ji and his dismembered past.

I instantly fell in love with the protagonist, who came to life in these pages. It touched a nerve in my heart with its raw honesty and delicate simplicity. Story is so rich with colloquial words and metaphors used in ways I have never felt as refreshing.   

There is nothing over-the-top about storyline, no heavy drama, no roller-coaster ride, but story thrives in its effortless writing, clean sentences and hidden insights. Beautiful imagery of Rajasthani culture resonates so deeply within your psyche that as though you are at home.

Author has great command on inner lives of rural women, turned this book into an engaging tale. Depth of women’s unseen strength is the core of the story.

Also, I love how author has played out the climax, Writing is fluid and natural. Narrative is so absorbing I found it difficult to put it down. Anukrti Upadhyay created a character you can live with.

I would certainly recommend. I adored this book to eternity and beyond.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Anukrti Upadhyay has post-graduate degrees in management and literature, and a graduate degree in law. She writes in both English and Hindi; Daura and Bhaunri are her first publications in English. She divides her time between Mumbai and Singapore.

CONNECT:  Facebook | Twitter | Amazon

Book Review: Daura by Anukrti Upadhyay

Title: Daura

Author: Anukrti Upadhyay

Publisher: Fourth State India

ISBN:  978-9353570019

Pages: 160

Genre: Literary Fiction

What I loved most about Anukrti Upadhyay’s Daura, was how mystic folktales of Rajasthan was integrated into the story.

Author has written this book in a form of series of documents and journal entries. I liked the way characters were explored and dissected. It transports you deep into their lives.  Writing is clear and unique without any dramatic peaks.

Story begins with an excerpt from the journal of Collector, who got posted into rural Rajasthan, while working on the water-canal project amidst desert he felt instant connection to lives of tribal people.  

As the story progresses, Collector Saheb meets with a wonderful set of characters, Saranagiya, Camel-herder, Chief Secretary, Nat Girls and Guard. There are bits and pieces of everyone journalized throughout this book, representing their foils and reflections. It made me feel happy inside, author even worked on minor characters with so much dedication, and managed to capture the heart of nomadic lives.  

“The Sarangiya used to come often, I think oftener than he does now. He does not need roads to travel, the desert is full of paths, but it seems that none of them led to the place, he is trying to reach… Then as now, he used to come to the Dak Bangla, sit under the tree or by the large rock you can see at some distance, and play his sarangi. Sometimes especially on full moon nights, he played until the moon set. When morning came around, his arms would be as stiff as the wood of sarangi and his eyes would be like sun-mirrors. His sarangi has learnt to speak due to his penance. It has learnt to cry. Not everyone knows how to cry. The Sarangiya himself doesn’t know how to – he is too proud. His eyes burn but not a drop falls. That instrument of his has to do all the crying for him”

When Collector met with this nomad sarangi player, he understood an art is the answer and immersed himself into their world. Author shows his new perception about art and beliefs, collector’s obsession about folktales, and his longing to get a single glance of a princess, trapped into mystic tree.

“Who has told me that collector saheb has been bewitched? Why would anyone need to tell me? Don’t I keep my ears open all the time, and keep one eye open even when I sleep? The people around are illiterate and most of them are full of nonsense, gibbering about this and that, but they are as cunning as they come”

Besides that, In Anukrti’s Daura, the subject of bureaucracy in India treated in the most glancing way.  Author played on the ground of freedom and courage. She explored human emotions, greed and disheveled morality as well. Many parts of book read like a monologue, with startling cadence of desert. Her sentences are hum and vibrant, ability to suck you into the story. It makes you think and suffer and then leaves you with questions that don’t need to get answered.    

“To me, though, everything that has happened in the past is fresh, as if it has just happened. Each day, as my age increases, my memory burnishes, grows lighter like silver coins published with use, I can’t explain why it is so, I know that the older you grow, the less you are supposed to remember. Age gives you Maan – the honour to be remembered and the right to forget. At time I think I myself am the memory from the past… I am the only one left who knows the past now, the only one who can tell old stories, and with each telling, I remember them better. Usually, I tell them to myself, for who else is there to hear them” — The guard’s story

Like, Author’s twin novel, Bhaunri, it offers the taste of Rajasthan by delivering story with colloquial words, though it didn’t interrupt the reading, even enhanced the beauty of prose.

Anukrti upadhayay has woven her characters with so honesty, it won me over instantly. With her sparkling writing, author managed to keep me hooked till the end. If you are music lover, you are going to savour it.

Daura is surely a riveting tale. I applaud the author; she dealt an important issue in such an interesting way. I couldn’t wait to read her next one.

ABOUT AUTHOR 

Anukrti Upadhyay has post-graduate degrees in management and literature, and a graduate degree in law. She writes in both English and Hindi; Daura and Bhaunri are her first publications in English. She divides her time between Mumbai and Singapore.

CONNECT:  Facebook | Twitter | Amazon 

Book Review: Eating Wasps by Anita Nair

Title: Eating Wasps

Author: Anita Nair

Publisher: Context

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 260

ISBN: 978-9387578722

Source: Flipkart Review Program

Rating: 5/5

Ghost and writers are more alike than you think. We can be what you want us to be. We can hear your thoughts even if you don't tell us. We can read the silences and shape your stories as if they happen to us, and I was both: a ghost and a writer.

Eating Wasps, unusual and electrifying novel, set in a small town, by the river Nila. Anita Nair, flickers between many characters, along with protagonist, Shreelakshmi, thirty-five year old writer, who committed suicide.

Anita Nair has woven a strong character, despite of killing herself, It seemed, Shreelakshmi was an emotionally balanced person, and a truly rebel, but life comes with its own unexpected disappointments. One can fight with the world but loved ones. She felt cheated by her lover-husband, that incident broke her and led her to take decision of ending her life.

Anita Nair writes sensitively. She has great command on women’s inner world and complexities. In this book, Eating Wasps, Every character wants to live on their own will, they don’t regret of their desires, they don’t feel apologetic for their existence.

Besides the protagonist, Shreelakshmi, there are nine other women who face oddly situations and deal with them. Here, I have to mention, this is not a la-la-land book, you would surely observe the dark corners of human society. 

In the chapter, Age of fear, Anita Nair writes about a baby girl, who is growing up in a environment, lack of love and attention, how this drew her to heart-wrenching incident. When Nair, depicts fear of a  sexually assaulted girl, Yes I felt disgust, I felt pain and that’s the power of her writing, it breaks something inside, like strike a hammer on ice.

   

I wish I could write more about plot, to be honest that would kill the charm of reading prose, i.e. sentence by sentence. Who placed an index finger into false back of cupboard? What is the story behind weird title ‘Eating Wasps’? Who is that frightened child, hiding in an antique cupboard of private resort?

Basically, there are external and internal struggles and Anita Nair, put her characters so brilliantly into unhappy situations, that makes story gripping. For instance, when Urvashi, questioning on her life..

   

It had begun on her fifty-five birthday. ‘Just who am I Mahesh?’ Urvashi asked as they sat in their balcony for their customary drink and catching up on the day chat. Mahesh frowned at his wife ‘what a strange question’ He said, sipping his whisky.

Add to this, Megha, Liliana, Urvashi, Brinda, Najma, Maya and others, deal with related issues, as child abuse, stalking, family pressures. Not a single person seemed heroic, yet they all are powerful. They feel every emotion, jealousy, desire, and longing for breathing space. You connect with them immediately.

It is really superlative art, how Nair, switching on the next character without losing the interest of reader. It is worth to spend time, when you get clean sentences, clear perspective, beautiful imagery, effortless writing, and unusual plot.

Don’t miss this beauty “Eating Wasps by Anita Nair”. Even I have decided to explore more work by author. For this one, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. 

About the Author

Anita Nair is the author of several novels, including The Better Man, Mistress, Idris: Keeper of the Light and Alphabet Soup for Lovers. She has also authored a crime series featuring Inspector Gowda.

Anita’s other books include Malabar Mind, a collection of poems, Goodnight & God Bless, a collection of essays, and six books for children. She has written two plays and the screenplay for the movie adaptation of her novel Lessons in Forgetting, which was part of the Indian Panorama at IFFI 2012 and won the National Film Award in 2013. Her books have been translated into thirty-one languages around the world. She is also the founder of the creative writing and mentorship programme, Anita’s Attic.