I read the review by Jai Arjun and was tempted to read the book. To be honest, I was sceptical in the initial pages thinking that the book would be too "Tamil" for my liking even though I have lived in Madras for four years and it is my mother tongue. But after the first chapter, the book you don't feel it.
The book shows the travails of a PhD student Sundar who also happens to be a Tam Bram. His mother tries to inculcate the ideal Tam Bram behavior in him but his father (who is a former Naxalite and a trade union leader) is completely opposed to Poonal (the sacred thread) and the associated Brahmin superiority.
During a play organized by his PhD guide Prof Ram who is the founder of TamBramAss (Tamil Brahmin Association), he falls in love with a Dalit girl Jiva. What follows is the side splitting comic interplay of caste, arranged marriage, love in the time of Mandal and college politics. Sundar is torn between his heart and the responsibilities as the leader of TamBramAss protesting against the unveiling of an Ambedkar Statue in the college.
Especially funny is the meeting of the parents of the Sundar and his would be which is likened to a football match with scores and all. The travel to a Jiva's village with his future bride and brother-in-law (Chunky) where Chunky gets drunk on half a pot of toddy and has to answer the call of nature during a village play. Sex is shown in typical Bollywood style - two birds meeting each other and the screen blurring. And the end is a satirical take on the typical Indian movie.
Rating - 8/10 - I would highly recommend it - especially if you have lived even one or two years of your youth in Chennai.
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 March 2007
Wednesday, 14 March 2007
Books - Calcutta
I had heard a lot about the College Street in Calcutta. I was told by many that it is a paradise for book lovers. There are supposed to be a lot of stores of all shapes and sizes catering to different class and budgets. So with crossed fingers and a lot of expectations, I started off on a bright Saturday morning. The best way to reach this place is to take the Metro to MG Road (yes there is one here as well! ) and then walk. Its about a kilometer from the station. Ask anyone for directions to the Presidency College / College Street.
I was very disappointed when I reached there, the books available are all medical guides, JEE, IAS or CAT preparation books. The novels were nowhere in sight. On inquiring, you realize that all the shops stock novels too. But again the variety is the standard list of pirated books - How to win friends and influence people, The Monk who sold his Ferrari, You can Win or the ubiquitious Harold Robbins or some B Grade sex thriller.
I searched the papers and found out the history of the place - I found some here. Most of the shops have no differentiated offerings at all. The shops stock the same books. They don't care about differentiation. Agreed that it is near the Presidency College, but that does not mean that you stock only study books - how many college students actually buy the study books anyways.
Another sore point is the lack of time to browse through the collection (leave alone the book) before buying it. Most shops are too intrusive as if you are looking at their wives rather than the books in their shop. A slightly peaceful atmosphere would not only increase the number of customers but also increase the number of impluse purchases (at least I am more likely to make an impulse purchase when I am alone rather than when someone else is pestering me to buy something saying that its great).
I did find a couple of places - they are exactly opposite the Presidency College - a store called National Book House and one just a couple of buildings down the street opposite the Coffee House which were to my liking. There you get decent books (mostly new ones only) and you get a discount, but again like the shops on the streets, these too have started stocking educational books and the variety of novels available is little.
Rating - Avoidable - unless you want school and college books. I was expecting a row of book shops with all types of novels and books sort of like a big Blossoms. Unfortunately I found a run down Nai Sarak there.
PS: I asked around in my office today and surfed the net for some alternatives, I have picked a few - would try them out in the next couple of weeks.
This is a repost - it was posted before my blogs were deleted on 26 Feb 2007
I was very disappointed when I reached there, the books available are all medical guides, JEE, IAS or CAT preparation books. The novels were nowhere in sight. On inquiring, you realize that all the shops stock novels too. But again the variety is the standard list of pirated books - How to win friends and influence people, The Monk who sold his Ferrari, You can Win or the ubiquitious Harold Robbins or some B Grade sex thriller.
I searched the papers and found out the history of the place - I found some here. Most of the shops have no differentiated offerings at all. The shops stock the same books. They don't care about differentiation. Agreed that it is near the Presidency College, but that does not mean that you stock only study books - how many college students actually buy the study books anyways.
Another sore point is the lack of time to browse through the collection (leave alone the book) before buying it. Most shops are too intrusive as if you are looking at their wives rather than the books in their shop. A slightly peaceful atmosphere would not only increase the number of customers but also increase the number of impluse purchases (at least I am more likely to make an impulse purchase when I am alone rather than when someone else is pestering me to buy something saying that its great).
I did find a couple of places - they are exactly opposite the Presidency College - a store called National Book House and one just a couple of buildings down the street opposite the Coffee House which were to my liking. There you get decent books (mostly new ones only) and you get a discount, but again like the shops on the streets, these too have started stocking educational books and the variety of novels available is little.
Rating - Avoidable - unless you want school and college books. I was expecting a row of book shops with all types of novels and books sort of like a big Blossoms. Unfortunately I found a run down Nai Sarak there.
PS: I asked around in my office today and surfed the net for some alternatives, I have picked a few - would try them out in the next couple of weeks.
This is a repost - it was posted before my blogs were deleted on 26 Feb 2007
Friday, 9 March 2007
My Invented Country - Review
Re-reading a book after a few years is like reliving life. You become nostalgic. You discover sentences you never thought existed. And you are able to enjoy the book even more (that is if you liked it the first time around). I re-read My Invented Country after about three years. The first time it was on a train journey from Calcutta to Bombay. This time the book took a little longer but the book is as fresh as ever.
As an occasional writer, there are times when you find it very difficult to write about some things if you cannot relate to them on a personal level. But if are writing something that affects you - then you don't have to write, the words just flow. My Invented Country is one such book. The book is written in a way that is unpretentious and not bothered by the need to please some audience. The book is written for the pure joy of expressing oneself.
The book is not (and does not claim to be) a definitive guide to the history of Chile. Rather it is the story of a large extended family (and a quirky one at that) in particular and a communist society overall trying to come to terms with the changes in technology and the advent of free markets. Like when her grandfather hits the phone each time it rings because he thinks that it is impolite to talk to him without taking prior permission. Or her grandmother who thinks that she is an angel.
There is a lot about Chile that the ones in India, especially those born in the early 80s would relate to - the large extended family; the rebellious uncle who is each child's hero because he can talk back to the grandpa; drunk men who order around women and children and do not want to do anything except discuss politics; local gossip; long queues for getting essential commodities (the ration shop in India); the rash drivers; water problems; the influence of religion (in this case the Church) and the numerous superstitions.
Even though Isabel Allende is the niece of Salvador Allende, the last elected president of Chile before Gen. Pinochet took over, she does not spend too much time mulling over the years under dictatorship - which would have ruined the book. The book is not a rant on the poverty, unequal distribution of wealth and the urban chaos, but an unadulterated view of the things that happened. A fun book to read.
As an occasional writer, there are times when you find it very difficult to write about some things if you cannot relate to them on a personal level. But if are writing something that affects you - then you don't have to write, the words just flow. My Invented Country is one such book. The book is written in a way that is unpretentious and not bothered by the need to please some audience. The book is written for the pure joy of expressing oneself.
The book is not (and does not claim to be) a definitive guide to the history of Chile. Rather it is the story of a large extended family (and a quirky one at that) in particular and a communist society overall trying to come to terms with the changes in technology and the advent of free markets. Like when her grandfather hits the phone each time it rings because he thinks that it is impolite to talk to him without taking prior permission. Or her grandmother who thinks that she is an angel.
There is a lot about Chile that the ones in India, especially those born in the early 80s would relate to - the large extended family; the rebellious uncle who is each child's hero because he can talk back to the grandpa; drunk men who order around women and children and do not want to do anything except discuss politics; local gossip; long queues for getting essential commodities (the ration shop in India); the rash drivers; water problems; the influence of religion (in this case the Church) and the numerous superstitions.
Even though Isabel Allende is the niece of Salvador Allende, the last elected president of Chile before Gen. Pinochet took over, she does not spend too much time mulling over the years under dictatorship - which would have ruined the book. The book is not a rant on the poverty, unequal distribution of wealth and the urban chaos, but an unadulterated view of the things that happened. A fun book to read.
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