Sunday, March 30, 2008

Weekend activities

Yesterday was a hectic day, taking care of dozens of pending work but enjoying an old friend's company at the same time. In fact, this friend was a colleague of mine but both of us have moved from where we met at first. I went to her house yesterday, ate lunch and had a hearty and long adda session with her. Needless to say that listening to some words of wisdom from her made me feel at ease and I could feel a heavy burden off my shoulders and breathe easy after a long long time. Really, my friends mean a world to me....each different and special in their own ways.

Anyway, that was how yesterday breezed past. Today, got up early to participate in a Probhaat Feri organized by Ramakrishna Asram, opposite my house where a 3-day festival is going on, called Ramakrishna Dev er Abirbhab Utsob. However, the procession started quite late (@7 a.m instead of 6 a.m) and was going at a slow pace. I didn't complete the rounds and came back mid-way (was getting a boring affair for me). However, I intend to visit the asram in the evening to hear some words of wisdom from Swamijis (from Belur Math) who would be coming to grace the occasion on the last day.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Friday, March 28, 2008

Legend of Netidhopani

During my recent Sunderban visit, I heard this interesting legend about Netidhopani which I thought would be good to share with all of you. So, here goes the story:

The waterways of Sunderban (which are presently in India and Bangladesh) were once popular trade-routes. It was through these routes that the ships of Chand-saudagar (a famous trader) passed, bringing him great fortune. Chand-saudagar was an avid worshipper of Lord Shiva. Goddess Manasa tried to get him worship her but in vain!!! Annoyed at his stubbornness, the goddess finally cursed him. As a result, Chand-saudagar lost his wealth, his ships sank, six of his children died after birth and his hardships continued. While he was going from one place to another, his seventh son, Lakhinder, was born. Luckily, this child survived and went on to marry Behula.

Chand saudagar was alerted by Lord Shiva about the imminent death of his son. So, he ordered a room made of iron where no one could enter for the newly married couple of Behula-Lakhinder. Lord Viswakarma was asked to build this iron-castle. However, goddess Manasa was able to convince Viswakarma to keep a small hole in the otherwise solid structure, almost impossible for anyone to enter. The newly married couple entered this castle to spend their first night, quite oblivious of the fact of what lay ahead. As the couple was tired, they went to sleep. The bride, Behula, slept with her hair open (she had long and beautiful hair) that touched the floor. While Behula-Lakhinder slept, a snake slipped into the room and was trying to reach Lakhinder, who was sleeping on a specially-made bed that was inaccessible by a snake from the floor. Suddenly, the loose ends of Behula’s hair offered an easy route. Thus, the snake made its way to the bed and bit Lakhinder, thereby draining his life from the body. (People say that this is one reason why women are asked not to sleep with their hairs open at night).

Next morning, when Behula woke up, she found her husband dead from the snake’s poison. As the news was passed on, the merry scenario changed to a gloomy one in a few seconds. Chand saudagar was at a loss, thinking where he went wrong in his construction of the iron-castle. At the same time, the inability to save his last heir was breaking his heart. Goddess Manasa appeared at this moment and asked Chand saudagar to offer his prayers to her. She promised that if he did so, his son would be blessed to live again. But Chand saudagar was adamant. He had been a devout devotee of Shiva and couldn’t change sides, even if it meant losing his son forever.

So, on a boat, the body of Lakhinder was placed and made to float on the river. Behula accompanied her husband on this last journey. When the boat was passing the bank of what is now called Netidhopani, Behula saw an interesting thing. A woman was washing clothes and a child was continually disturbing her. Annoyed, she sprinkled some water on the boy. The boy became lifeless. The woman finished her laundry and then again sprinkled some water on the boy, chanting some mantras, to bring him back to life.

Behula decided in a flash that this was the person who could bring her husband back to life. She rowed the boat to the bank and asked the lady (Netidhopani) to teach her the verses. The lady asked Behula to be her maid and serve her with diligence. Only then would she grant her wish. Many months passed-by as Behula served her unquestionably. Finally, one day she put her foot down and asked Netidhopani to tell her the secret verses by which she could bring Lakhinder back to life. At this, Netidhopani told that her verses don’t have the capability to do so as Lakhinder died due to the curse of a goddess. However, she offered to take Behula to heaven instead. Behula agreed and came to heaven. There, she prayed to Lord Shiva for Lakhinder’s life. Shiva said, “Manasa is my daughter. I can’t do such a thing to insult her. It’s better for you to return and find your father-in-law. Ask him to offer his prayers to the goddess. Only then will your husband be alive again.”

Behula came back, found her father-in-law after much difficulty and finally persuaded him to worship Manasa. However, Chand saudagar agreed only on the condition that he would offer his prayers by left hand (to show his displeasure and as a mark of protest). Thus, Lakhinder defeated death and lived happily ever after with Behula. This whole story is mentioned in Manasa-Mangal.

In this way, Netidhopani has a connection with the famous legend of Behula-Lakhinder.

My self appointed guardians

Kolkata has no dearth of self appointed guardians, especially if the guardianship is that of a girl (I'm purposely not using the word lady coz I can't figure out why people still think me to be a kid and give me all sorts of lectures).

A few weeks earlier, while returning home, I was seated on the front seat of an auto. As the driver was trying desperately to position his auto in a small gap between a taxi at the front and a mini-bus at its heel, I stretched out my hand to signal the bus behind not to proceed and let the auto slide into the gap. The driver seeing my enthusiastic gesture promptly scolded me (it took a few seconds to sink down what wrong I had done to deserve such a scolding). After finally placing his auto comfortably, he went on to explain lovingly, like an elder brother, why it was risky to put out the hand suddenly and what could be some dire consequences, wrapping the brief lecture with words of confidence that he would have managed it anyhow without my signal to that mini-bus.

This small incident made me realize once again how I have my guardians even outside my home, amongst complete strangers. Keu ki boltey pare, ami kobey boro hobo (at least lokjon er chokhe)???

Monday, March 24, 2008

Day-3

The previous day was very disappointing as we moved without a guide and the long journey was very boring, at least for me. So, our group decided to start early (@6.30 a.m) to make the most on this last day. Our itinerary included a visit to Sudhanyakhali Watch Tower and passing through some creeks en route.

Fortunately, we got lucky to have a guide with us on our journey. Though from the first day, I had seen varieties of mangroves in the region with their roots sticking out (often called breathing roots as these roots take oxygen from the air and not from the soil as is the case with other plants), our guide explained the things more clearly, thereby making the tour all the more enjoyable.

It is believed that "Mangrove" is a combination of "Mangue" (a Portuguese word) and "grove" (an English word). Mangroves are plants found in salty waters of tropical and subtropical intertidal areas of the world. The specific areas where these plants are found are called “mangrove ecosystem”. Sunderban is one such area. Our guide also told that the existence of mangrove ecosystems on coastline has saved lives and property during natural hazards like cyclones, erosion and storms. This could explain why some cyclones in the recent years passed without causing much damage to Sunderban while causing havoc in Bangladesh. (The Sunderban region, our guide told, was initially spread over 46,000sq. km. Out of this, India got 4262 sq. km while Bangladesh got the rest. However, what now remains in Bangladesh has decreased to even lower than India’s share).

Though I am very poor in Botany, the presence of our guide helped in the identification of various varieties of mangroves out of the 84 species that the place has. The ones that we saw were Sundari (Sunderban is believed to have got its name from these trees), Baen (Avicennia marina), Dhani grass (Oryza coarctata), Garjan (Rhizophora species), Goran (Ceriops species), Dhundul (Xylocarpus granatum) and Kankra (Bruguiera species).

While our boat was exploring the creeks, we were busy viewing the flora on the edges, enjoying an exciting ride at the same time. The few creeks that we visited were quite broad. So, our boat was choosing to be nearer to one edge at every turn so that we can have a clear view of the trees on that side.

We finally reached Sudhanyakhali Watch Tower at 9.30 a.m (Last tiger was sighted here on 15th March'08 @ 5.20 p.m) . We were told that this was the place where most of the tigers have been sighted. There is a pond of sweet water here where the animals come to drink water. We saw seven axis deers merrily eating grass on the edges of this pond. Another visitor who took a dip in the pond was a snake (goshaap, in local parlance) though some of the visitors mistook it to be a crocodile (sigh!!!). We stayed at the tower for half an hour but the tiger decided not to appear. So, we left. Though most of the tourists were very disappointed for not having seen the tiger, I wasn’t so sad coz my primary agenda had never been seeing the tiger (though I would have been happy to see at least one). Rather, I was interested to visit this World Heritage Site (the core area namely the Sunderban National Park has been given the status of a World Heritage site) and enjoy whatever the place has to offer. So, I was returning in a happy mood as I finally made this trip (there was a lot of uncertainty in the initial stages about this visit). My balance sheet reads viewing some monkeys, deers, snakes, honey-bees and varieties of mangroves.

However, if I get a second chance to visit the place, I would surely design my own itinerary, hire a boat and guide and explore the region sans the constraints of a package tour.

Postscript: I erroneously marked gosaap as a snake but thanks to Avra, I would correct it now. The "Water monitor" (gosaap in local parlance) isn't a snake. Rather, it's a member of the monitor lizard family.

Day-2

We visited the farthest point on our itinerary, Dobanki, on the second day. Before reaching the Dobanki Watch Tower (last tiger was seen here on 5th March'08), we passed the Panchamohana (where five rivers meet, namely Vidya, Vidyadhari, Dobanki, Gajikhali and Herobhanga). This place, we were told, is about 6 kms from the Bay of Bengal. The vastness of the river (I’m using the singular form as the five rivers couldn’t be identified separately) enthralled me.

The Dobanki Watch Tower could be reached after walking a stretch of pathway, fenced on both sides, offering an uninterrupted view of the forest. However, the tower doesn’t has any shade (unlike the other two namely at Sajnekhali and Sudhanyakhali). As the sun shone at its best, it was scorching and we quickly came back to the boat.

The evening was kept for a village visit. We visited a village of Dayapur, Block No.3, seeing the lifestyle of the locals from close quarters. The village has a school where classes till Madhyamik are conducted at present. However, it has already got the permission of extending the classes till 12 and the same would be made effective very soon. The village, its houses, ponds…all were very neat. The market place was selling everything of daily need and we even spotted CDs being sold in a shop. On our return, the sun was setting and the lush green field in the foreground presented a view that would stay etched in my mind for a long time to come.

Day-1

After reaching the resort at the end of a 5.5 hr journey (from Kolkata), we freshened up, had our lunch and retired to the room for a short siesta (we were to leave for the first day sightseeing at 4 p.m).

Our first stop was the Sajnekhali Tiger Reserve. This place has a Watch Tower (not more than 20 persons can climb it at a time, though no one was there to maintain the rule strictly), Bonobibi Temple, Museum and Sea Turtle Pond.

Bonobibi is a famous goddess in Sunderban who is regarded as the savior of the villagers who had to go deep into the forest to earn their livelihood. Local people believe that if “Dakshin Roy” (tiger) attacks them, the goddess would save them. Originally, the Muslims offered prayers to the goddess (the word “bibi” in Bonobibi suggests a Muslim influence). Slowly, the Hindus and Christians also developed their faith in the savior-goddess and thus Bonobibi became synonymous with Sunderban. For many Hindus, she is also known as Bonodebi.

My climb at the Watch Tower wasn’t too fruitful as apart from seeing the vast stretch of the forest, I didn’t see anything (I mean no wild-life sighting. The notice board at this place had a writing scribbled: Last tiger sighted on 15/3/08). Even the Sea Turtle Pond disappointed me as I got to see nothing. It would have been any other pond if not for the signboard.

The Museum was an interesting place. But before this, I should tell about another interesting thing: the map of India and Bangladesh with islands marked in yellow, green and white fitted with small replicas of the watch towers. I got a good view of the map from the stairs leading to the museum and if the picture comes out as I had visualized it, I would surely post it later.

Now, a few words about the museum: it had a variety of interesting specimen of fauna on display. A few amongst the noteworthy specimen were the tongue, lung, kidney and spleen of Tiger, foetus of Deer, eggs of Olive Ridley, foetus of Leopard Cat, Indian Dog Shark and a huge Irawaddy Dolphin. Many species of snakes, prawns, ducks, crabs and fishes were also on display at this museum. Apart from these exhibits, there were many informative laminated charts about the flora and fauna of the place that were hanging on the walls. A few laminated placards also told about the statistics of Sunderban. I would share a few interesting things with you:

1) 85% people of Sunderban are dependent on agriculture on reclaimed land, which bears mostly single crop of paddy. Some other occupations of these people consist of fishing, pisciculture, honey collection and firewood collection.
2) 50% of the agricultural laborers are landless. 44% of the total population belongs to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
3) Sundarban Tiger Reserve was created in 1973 to protect the Royal Bengal Tiger and conserve faunal and floral associates in mangrove forests. The statistics of the region is as follows:
Area: 2585 sq. km
Core Area: 1330 sq. km
Buffer Zone: 1255 sq. km

4) According to the 2004 census, there are 274 Bengal tigers in the region, 249 in STR (133 female, 83 male and 33 cubs) and 25 in 24 Parganas South Forest Division.

Our next stop was the Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary. Once famous for its rich avian population, the sanctuary now doesn’t have much to boast about. Our guide told that after the cyclone of ’88, the natural habitat of the birds was destroyed so badly that most changed their course to go to the Buffer Zone of Bangladesh. So, we had no luck at this place either.

We viewed the sunset from the boat, enjoyed the scenic beauty and came back to the resort. In the evening, some local artists performed before us giving us a taste of the culture of Sunderban’s people. We enjoyed the performances while munching the snacks. It got over at 8 p.m. After having dinner at 9 p.m, we retired to bed after a hectic first day.

Sunderban Visit (Fact File)

1) From Kolkata, it takes about 5-6 hrs to reach Sundarban.

2) How to reach: Sundarban can be reached only by waterways. From Kolkata, suburban trains can take you to Canning (64 kms) from where launch services are available for Sundarban. Otherwise, you can avail of buses to reach Raidighi (76 kms), Najat (92 kms), Sonakhali (100 kms) and Namkhana (105 kms) from where motorboats will take you to Sunderban.

3) Where to stay: Best to stay at Sajnekhali Tourist Lodge (run by WBTDC, Booking at 3/2, B.B.D Bag (East), Ph: 2248-5917/5168/8271, 2210-3201/3199). However, if you don’t like restrictions (you’ve to be back at the lodge by 6 p.m and can’t leave your room and roam in the area as it’s not allowed), try staying at the private resorts (would definitely be a costlier option, with tariffs varying between Rs. 3000 to 5000 per head for 3D/2N), the Tiger Camp and Tiger View Point being two of the renowned ones.

4) When to visit: Winter Season (from December to February); our guide told that the best time for tiger sighting is the month of February.

5) Permits & Access: For conservation reasons, there are some restrictions for the visitors. Joining WBTDC group tours or package tours of private operators would save you a lot of trouble though the best option is to go on your own, hire a guide and boat and then enjoy the flora and fauna at morning and afternoon (when it’s low-tide time) and spend the rest at watch towers (the best being Sudhanyakhali, where most of the tigers are sighted).
For permits, foreigners can contact:
The Joint Secretary (Forest),
Govt. of West Bengal, 4th Floor, G-Block,
Writers' Building,
Calcutta- 700 001.
Tel: 225-5601 Ext: 411/754.

For visiting the tiger reserve, permission is given by:
Field Director,
Sunderban Tiger Reserve,
Port Canning.

Entry Permits can be obtained from Bagna, Canning and Sonakhali for STR (Sundarban Tiger Reserve) and at Namkhana, Canning and Raidighi for Western region of Sunderban Forest.

6) Places to visit: The Sajnekhali Tiger Reserve, Sajnekhali Bird Sanctuary, Sudhanyakhali, Dobanki, Netidhopani (a temple that’s 400 yeas old), Bhagabatpur (crocodiles), Kanak (Olive Ridley Turtles), Holiday Island (Barking Deer). [We could visit just the first four in this list]


(We booked ourselves for the 3D/2N package of Tiger View Point, with pick-up and drop facility from Science City. The total cost: Rs. 3400 per head. Our tour began on 21 March.)

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A rare phenomenon

On Friday, the 21st March, we will witness a rare phenomenon when three different religions will have their festivals...all on the same day. So, while the Hindus will be celebrating Holi, the festival of colors, the Muslims will be busy with the rituals of Fateha Doaz Daham and the Christians would be observing Good Friday.

It would truly be a reason to say loud cheers to the secularism that our country holds aloft. So, here's wishing everyone a very happy festival and an extended weekend that begins tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Suicide @ Central Metro Station

Yesterday, the metro rail services had gone haywire in the morning as a man jumped in front of a Dumdum bound train in his suicide bid. When I reached the station @9.20 a.m, I heard the announcement that trains were plying till Maidan. After some deliberation, I decided to get down @ Park Street and to take a bus from there till B. B.D. However, the only train standing at the station was already jam-packed and when it was announced finally that it would go till Dumdum, some more jostled into the already packed boggies. That train finally left @9.40 a.m.

I took the next train, getting into position right after the previous train had left or otherwise, I would have to stand all the way. Finally, I reached office @ 10.20 a.m, a good 30 minutes late from what would have been my original time.

The sad part of the story was that not a single word of solace was uttered for the man who died on the tracks. Instead, everyone was cursing saying "Morar r somoy pelona ei office time chara?" (Couldn't he find some other time than the rush hours of morning?)

Problem of 50 paisa

Recently, I've been forced to cultivate a hobby of collecting 50 paisa coins....all because of the shrewd autowallahs (especially those whose vehicles ply between Jadavpur 8B bus stand and Baghajatin) who always demand the exact fare of Rs. 2.50 and never give back the change if it's Rs. 3.00. If Rs. 5.00 is given, they would make you hear some sweet nothings (though these dialogs are quite somethings, at least to me) and then reluctantly give back the change. However, if your stars don't favor you, you may encounter someone who would drive the auto forward without giving anything back saying "Khuchro nei to othen keno?" (If you don't have change, why do you board the auto?)

25 paisa is already an extinct species and I feel awkward whenever I get a single coin of this denomination (coz if it comes in pair, my 50 paisa problem is solved). So, until the 50 paisa follows suit, my turmoil would continue.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

A hillarious forward that I got in my mailbox

God created the donkey and said to him. "You will be a donkey. You will work un-tiringly from sunrise to sunset carrying burdens on your back. You will eat grass, you will have no intelligence and you will live 50 years." The donkey answered:"I will be a donkey, but to live 50years is much. Give me only 20years" God granted his wish.

God created the dog and said to him: "You will guard the house of man. You will be his best Friend. You will eat the scraps that he gives you andyou will live 30years. You will be a dog. " The dog answered: "Sir, to live 30years is too much,give me only15 years. " God granted his wish.

God created the monkey and said to him: "You will be a monkey. You will swing from branch to branch doing tricks. You will be amusing and you will live 20 years. " The monkeyanswered:"To live 20years is too much, give me only 10years."God granted his wish.

Finally God created man...and said to him: "You will be man, the only rational creature on the face of the earth. You will use your intelligence to become master over all the animals. You will dominate the world and you will live 20years."

Man responded:"Sir, I will be a man but to live only20 years is very little, give me the 30years that the donkey refused, the 15years that the dog did not want and the 10years the monkey refused. " God granted man's wish.

And since then, man lives 20 years as a man, marries and spends30 years like a donkey, working and carrying all the burdens on his back.Then when his children are grown, he lives years like a dog taking care of the house and eating whatever is given to him, so that when he is old, he can retire and live 10years like a monkey, going from house to house and from one son or daughter to another doing tricks to amuse his grandchildren. That's Life..... MY FRIENDS............


(Courtesy: Bhaskar Bhattacharjee)

Tollygunj Local

A colleague of mine has nicknamed the Kolkata Metro Railway as Tollygunj Local. The reasons are a plenty….all of which make the “pride of Kolkata once upon a time” a mere local train now.

Firstly, with the rush during the office hours, a gap of 7/8 minutes isn’t ideal to run the trains. Unless you board the train from the terminal stations (Tollygunj or Dumdum), you will be squeezed in the bogies. You may even have to leave one or two trains just to gain a foothold and an entry inside the bogies. The situation seems especially problematic for the Tollygunj bound trains from Dumdum in the morning and the vice-versa in the evening. Though I’m lucky to be traveling on the opposite route both the times, I have witnessed the pathetic condition in which people travel. Also, the rush with which the passengers jostle to get in and out….it is just a matter of time before some accidents happen. Now-a-days, even the metro-culture that was once the pride of the city has vanished (people often used to say that Kolkatans have poor manners on the road but once in the paatal, they are an epitome of courtesy). Many stations have their murals removed from the walls and the skeletons of these empty walls stare at your face. The clocks and the gates often refuse to function, causing unnecessary delay. As I use the Central Station, I can vouch for the fact that almost everyday after 7 / 7.15 p.m, the clocks of this station work according to their own whims and fancies…the digits not showing now, dancing then, a blink-&-you-miss show of the digits, and then…..all goes blank. As a regular traveler, I know the timings of the train and so can increase or decrease my pace accordingly to board the trains but I really feel sorry for the first-timers who often miss the train by whiskers due to these good-for-nothing clocks.

So, unless the authorities do something to improve the overall situation and run the trains at quicker frequency (at least during the office hours), it would not be long before our pride becomes a pale shade of its earlier days of glory. As a Kolkatan, I won’t love that for sure!!!

Chatterboxes

Women are always blamed to be the one who speak and have no time to listen. I wonder how far is this true? I don’t want to cite my example in this regard coz I am a self-professed chatterbox myself. However, I have seen men too speak a lot (with a lower decibel limit, though) at a stretch, laughing, bitching and doing all that for which a women is often pulled-up.

Isn’t the time ripe to do away with this gender-bias? At least when it comes to the matter of chatterboxes, I feel that you just need the right kind of catalyst (in the form of a listener) to get going coz unless you have an attentive audience, talking isn’t fun. What’s your take, friend???

Role Reversal

Finally, Kolkata has got its lady mischief-monger, a crank caller (who tells that she’s a student of Panskura college), who calls men (all unmarried between 25-32 years) from public booths, blurts out the details about their private lives, talks sleaze and then when the men begin to go weak between the knees and plead a meeting, she disconnects the line. Though most of the victims have shied away from launching a police diary, the police are on the lookout for this lady, who if caught, would have to pay dearly for her mischief.
(News courtesy: The Telegraph)

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A visit to the Citizen's Park

The Citizen's Park has been recently renamed as "Mohor Kunjo" after the legendary Rabindrasangeet singer Kanika Bandhopadhyay, whose nick-name was Mohor.

Last Sunday, I visited the park with some of my friends at evening. Though I had passed the road in front of this place several times, I never knew what was inside the gates. That was the first day when I came to know that there is a musical fountain inside this well-maintained garden. This garden doesn't charge the visitors an entry fee and is maintained beautifully.

When we entered the garden at around 7.10 p.m, a musical show was going on. The stands were "house-full" with people sitting all over them. Some like us were even standing at the back, taking the support of the railings. The fountain rose and fell, changed colors with the sound beats. Rabindrasangeet (both vocal and instrumental) and famous Bollywood-movie songs (instrumental) were played. My friends later told me that anytime after 6 p.m is good to catch a show or the other of this musical-fountain.

The show was simply superb and I was spell-bound. The only regret: I didn't have a camera to click the scene and post it for my readers. Nevertheless, for those who still haven't seen this, do go to the park, take a stroll amidst the greenery and enjoy the musical-fountain.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

The Overcoat: author- Nicholai Gogol

I still haven't been able to visit the Book Fair @ Salt Lake Stadium and today my schedule being choc-a-block, it's likely that this year too, I'll be giving it a miss. However, it doesn't mean that I'm not reading books. Yesterday, I purchased a few books again from Starmark, making good use of the 10% discount being given there.

One book, a compilation of Russian short stories, had The Overcoat by Nicholai Gogol as the first story. (In fact, seeing this story's name prompted me to buy the book coz ever since I read Namesake and saw the film based on this book, I was eager to read The Overcoat, based on which the central character got his name, Gogol.)

The story is about the life of a person (Akaky Akakiyevich) who works as a copier (who copies documents day-after-day) in a department. How the poor soul endures hardships of life to finally get a new overcoat (his old one was worn beyond repair), how his life takes a new turn with the new found happiness, how he loses it and how he dies...all this and more is nicely depicted in this story. This story made me realize, once again, how the small things in life bring happiness and how they should be cherished. Only, you need to have an eye for detail, noting these small incidents and savoring them, or else, they'll be lost amongst the crests and troughs of life.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The Kite Runner: a marvellous book

I first heard praises of this book from a colleague about 7 months back. Last Sunday when I finally purchased the book, I couldn't hold myself back from reading it that very night. Once I started reading, I was always wandering with Amir and Hassan in Kabul, wondering what would happen next. The next two days were spent with the book, in the metro, in office during lunch hours and at home in night....whenever I could steal sometime for myself. How an incident on that fateful day of the tournament changed everything, how relationships were broken, how some bitter truths were revealed, how someone would suffer (at times, it seems to be till eternity) and how he would go to any lenght for the atonement of his sins....all these and more are so beautifully captured by Khaled Hosseini in this book in fluid language that you can't but help feel a pain and start praying that the sufferings come to an end and that a new dawn full of hope and positive things finally happen.
In short, you just can't have words express how you would feel after reading this novel. I'm no exception. I still feel the pain and a peculiar kinship with the characters, especially with Amir (not to mention Hassan and his son, Sohrab). It would be another few days, I believe, that I wish to be rewinding again and again the special incidents (and believe me, there are a lot of them) of this book before I finally move forward to another story by yet another master storyteller.

Monday, March 3, 2008

The Japanese Wife

After a long gap, I finally invested in some good books. The Japanese Wife by Kunal Basu is a collection of 12 short stories where the unexpected is the expected thing. The first story (The Japanese Wife) was the tale of Snehamoy and Miyage, his Japanese wife, the two being married via letters. The relationship that started as pen-friends proceeded to Miyage proposing to Sneha (as he was fondly called by his aunt) and his acceptance to an alliance which seemed improbable. Yet, the couple continued their marital life without getting physically close to each other. After some twists and turns, it was Snehamoy's death that finally brings his Japanese wife to his village on the banks of Matla. This story is soon to be made into a film by Aparna Sen, starring Rahul Bose as Snehamoy and Raima Sen as the widow whom once the school master (Snehamoy) declined to marry.
The second story titled Grateful Ganga tells the story of a widow, Evelyn, who had come to India to fulfil the last wish of her dead husband, Andy....to flow his ashes in the Ganga. However, I didn't like this story, especially after the beautiful and poignant introductory tale The Japanese Wife.
The rest of the stories are put on hold as I am running through the pages of The Kite Runner finally, after about 7/8months when the book was first recommended by a friend. Needless to say, I am loving every moment of it. Would shortly let my views on it be known to all of you. Till then, it's me and the world of printed words!!!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Jodha Akbar: Film Review

Finally, India has its own magnum-opus that can match the splendor and magic of Hollywood biggies of the same genre like Troy and the likes. Though a few people discouraged me from seeing the movie giving a negative feedback, I just couldn’t resist the urge to have a look at the film which was being talked about so much. The positive and rave reviews that the film was getting everywhere strengthened my desire further. So, yesterday, I went and watched Jodha Akbar.

The opening scene of the battle of Panipat, shot beautifully, was like a trailer that set the tone for the following events. As the top shot of the armies of the two sides with the magnificent hills in the backdrop unfolded, I knew that there would be more such magical moments of photography in the film. How the soldiers of the two warring sides rushed forward and clashed was shot beautifully by forward and backward movements of the cameras, making the viewers a part of the whole proceeding from close quarters.

Apart from the breathtaking scenarios of the landscape of Rajasthan dotted by grand forts, this film is also worth a watch for the elaborate costumes and jewelry of the cast. The songs were soothing to the ears as well, merging the Islamic and Hindu elements with élan.

Lastly, the cast of this film: superb. Hrithik as Akbar was a sheer delight to watch. Aishwarya looked ethereal as the Rajput Princess Jodha though at times, her mannerisms were more modern, not befitting the times that she was portraying on-screen. Among the supporting cast, Ila Arun was at her nastiest-best as dai-maa of Akbar while Sonu Sood as Sujamal was another person I admired on-screen.

All-in-all, I would suggest that go and watch this film coz it’s not worth giving a miss to such a nice film made with a lot of care for the minutest of details. Whatever the cynics say about the historical authenticity of Jodha being the wife of Akbar, the film in its credits at the beginning tells clearly that it doesn’t claim to be a historically authentic record, rather a work of fiction based on certain historical events. So, I salute Ashutosh Gowariker for his labor of love and for giving the audience such a wonderful film to watch.