#Scribbles

This book is like a light dessert after the previous heavy supper. Found this book lying among other forgotten memories of childhood. (Is that too dark?) Not sure when I finished reading this, but I definitely took a long time before writing this. It is a collection of sweet short stories based on Sudha Murthy's life experiences. While the stories are about nothing out of ordinary, I really liked Murthy's keen eye and her outlook upon life.

The stories focus on lives of common people, the themes ranging on a myriad of topics, from friendship and relations to deceit and devotion. I think the author grabbed more of my attention then the stories themselves. I particularly like how she has an uncanny ability to read people, yet she never seems to judge them. I hope to inculcate that one day. Learning is all through experiences, and Murthy's approach to life, her people skills, and emotional ability are a lesson to be learnt.

I think I may have found these stories a bit late in my life. Would definitely recommend a 15 year old to read these. She is a teacher many of us never had, the one who teaches not what to see, but how to look. If you are not a big reader, maybe grab this book, and give it a shot! Perhaps the lesson we all can end up learning could be to not give up :P

The first novel by Khaled Hosseini, an Afghan-American writer, The Kite Runner does an amazing job at depicting the mesmerizing Afghan people by delving on the intricate details of their life and it's effects on Afghan-Americans. While the central themes of the story are friendship and betrayal, the long timeline along which the story pans out takes the readers through a myriad of other themes as well.

The story reflects deeply on the voice of the protagonist's conscience, his continuous questioning of his past, and how his past deeds influence his thoughts and actions. The wrong that he did in his past life is made right by him years later, under strikingly similar circumstances, showing how things and life in general have a tendency to be cyclic and eternal. His viewpoint takes a sudden turn toward the end, when a lot of his beliefs fall apart: His father isn't the ideal hero he thought him to be, and perhaps he himself is not the villain he thought himself to be.

Mind me, there is no exciting heroism in the story, but there is a hero. There are no twists and turns, the kind I prefer in my reads, but there is the twist that is life. There is no mind boggling mystery, but there is the question of love, life and death, and isn't that the biggest mystery of all? There is no drama I get to see in movies, but lives of people under war is the most happening yet disturbing thing I have ever lived through. That's what there is to this story. :)

I know now, how it is to be scrutinized under the eyes of Taliban. I know now, what going to heights and lengths for family means. I know love is watching her across the street, only to marry her because your dad wishes to see you marry before he dies. I know what going back to your homeland to find your home in ruins feel like. I know what finding your best friend dead, the one you haven't met in years is about. I have now lived an extra life, in Afghan.

This is the in-class review I presented for my English Literature Course for the story.

Khol Do is one of the amazing pieces by the Indian-Pakistani writer Manto. This short story is beautifully written to capture the essence and reality of the times of India-Pak partition, just like every other of Manto's stories.

Each of Manto's stories is like punches in the gut: direct, to the point, seeming to leave an unerasable mark on his readers. They cast light upon those shadows of our society which were deliberately hidden under the influence of the powerful and privileged. In times of Partition, when other writers addressed the glory of freedom and the sacrifices of warriors in their stories, Manto's pieces warranted that the dark side to this golden point in history did not get buried under the weight of time. Quoting from his movie, Manto says "I write what I see". And today, through his stories, it is us who can see right before our eyes what he writes.

The story Khol Do focuses on sexual assault and rape of women during this chaotic time of partition. Not only were women raped as a part of the inter-community rivalry, but would also be assaulted by men belonging to their own community, which is the case in our story.

Despite the story being written as a third-person omniscient narrative, the suspense of the plot and the emotions felt by the characters are not lost. Manto artfully describes the chaos and madness which prevailed in the refugee camps during the partition. He perfectly describes Sirajuddin's state of mind, as he battles between the horror of seeing his wife killed and the grief of losing his daughter amidst that chaos. Manto does not shy away from gory descriptions-as he describes the corpse of Sirajuddin's wife- and makes the reader feel the discomfort which the situation warrants.
Manto bravely presents the heroes of those times, the saviors, in a very uncomfortable but horrifying light: as the assaulters, thus highlighting the fact that behind one's glory resides the pain and sacrifices of others. Without explicitly stating it, during the ending scene, Manto makes us feel surprised and betrayed, which was probably how Sakina felt when the men came to assault her.
Khol Do is filled with subtleties and does not resort to explicit communication of human feelings, which I believe is a sign of great writing.

The only unfortunate aspect of the story is that the English translation fails to transfer the power and significance of the story at various points. The final scene where Sakina’s corpse responds to the words “Khol Do” by opening her Salwar. The story in Urdu perhaps strikes the reader harder also because it is the language of the people in the story, making the reader feel closer and more a part of the story, which the translation in a foreign language fails to achieve.

Conclusion:
Khol Do is one of those stories that help us live the history through the life of those who passed unheard and unmentioned. It makes us experience the pain which these unheard voices go through and momentarily live it with them. I believe Khol Do, despite its flaws, is an important piece of literature on the history of partition. I would like to recommend the story.

Stories I read: Kabuliwala, Grandfather and Folly, in the same order of liking and recommendation. This is the in-class review I presented for my English Literature Course for the story Folly.

Talking about Folly, Tagore’s ability to develop his characters in the fewest words possible is truly commendable. This is evident in how he portrays the doctor, who is the protagonist of the story. Only two lines "Inspector was enriched by my good offices, I by his" and "The love between the Inspector and the doctor was destroyed in the storm" can give a picture about what kind of character the doctor is earlier and what he later transforms into.

Between Grandfather and Folly, I sensed a lot of similarities. The central characters of the stories have similar egoistic personalities and they undergo a positive change in attitude as the story progresses, marked by particular turning points in the plot line. But one thing I notice is that the character changes in grandfather are complete and too ideal to be true. The protagonist suddenly gets down from his high horse, seemingly falls for the one woman he thought wasn't beautiful, and the grandfather suddenly accepts that he is poor, all because of a small prank. This steals away the authenticity of the story.
Whereas, changes in the doctor are shown to be partial and more realistic. While emotional trauma justifiably leads to a sudden change of heart, he still goes and apologises to the inspector and pleads for forgiveness. After all, he has to do what he has to do to save his ancestral home!

Both stories are good examples of social satires. Folly mainly focuses on the societies’ obsession with wealth, and the death of morality as a consequence of this, as well as the atrocities which the lower strata of the society are subjected to by the rich and powerful. While grandfather dwells largely on a personal anecdote in the social context of those times, Folly has a stronger underlying message that is relevant across societies and generations. Since Folly focuses on social issues that are largely prevalent even with changing times, it makes the story a relatable read for everyone even today. The changing atmosphere of the story and the emotions of the protagonist strongly reflect on a variety of aspects of human nature parallelly: Love, friendship, empathy, sorrow, exploitation, materialism, corruption, oppression and more, making the narrative rich with a motley of human emotions.

Cons:
The transitions in the story are abrupt. They are not subtle and smooth but like huge knots on the string. For example, when the doctor helps Harinath, he talks about Lakshmi coming to visit him. It is unclear what he means by this. Has he taken money from Harinath for his help? The source of the doctor’s money is left a mystery and we quickly transition to the marriage of his daughter.
The story is also quite inconsistent in the doctor’s feelings towards his daughter. On one hand, he is sensitive to his daughter’s feelings and does not remarry, but on the other he wants to marry her off at a very young age, his tone suggesting he wants to get rid of this responsibility. The portrayal of women in both stories is very superficial, despite the fact that the plot heavily depends on them. I felt the narrative could have focused more on building the characters of the women, within the framework of the social norms of the time.

Conclusion:
Personally, what makes any story a good read is when it stays with me even after it ends. For a 4-page story to leave an impact on me: (i) through its ability to create an attachment and understanding for the protagonist, (ii) through evoking so many emotions in such a short span of time and (iii) by compelling me to think more as the story draws to an end, makes this definitely worth a read.

Well, I keep falling in love with Percy again and again. After all, he is the only Greek guy I know. All my knowledge on Greek and some Roman mythology (like a lot of others I believe) is from these set of books.

It's an opportunity to time travel to past, to my childhood, and then beyond to the Ancient Greek times: while in New York (or Ahmedabad in my case). You don't need to say it is an amazing series (No, you are never too old for Percy Jackson!). Waiting to meet demigods for real :P

This book is a collection of diasporic writings of Indian-Americans. I am greatly amazed by how each of Lahiri's stories leave a lasting impact: an after-thought, or some curiosity, or perhaps a smile. The story ends perfectly, yet seems to not end at all!

Each character depicts a different perspective to the life of Indians in America: the cultures of both country are interwoven very delicately, reflecting on a lot of human emotions of people away from their homes.

It was a great start this corona-induced vacation, as now I finally am back to being an 'avid reader' :P

A very strong message on the effects of extreme totalitarianism on the world. The book talks about existence of three classes of people: the High, the Middle and the Low, and is written (as usual) from the perspective of a Middle guy, Winston. It talks about the kind of power that prevails over the economy, the mindset and even the thoughts of the people. In fact, the chief objective if the ruling Party is just that: Limitless power. War is peace, Freedom is Slavery ,Ignorance is Strength.

The other extreme picture would be a world with complete equality, with a system that ensures everyone has everything. Imagine a see-saw bar with these two extremes on its two ends. Each war in the history, each reform, each rise and fall of governing system, each societal change has had only one goal: To shift from the side of the bar that they are on, and bringing down, to the other side of the bar!. While we try to find our place, attracted and running towards the other extremity, what we fail to see is that the balance will be lost either ways.