Editorial

Dear Reader

his issue pays homage to one of the greatest humanists in history, Nelson Mandela, who left us with his unmatched saga of resistance and resilience. He successfully staged a peaceful revolution for racial equality and re-wrote conictresolution paradigms. We sincerely appreciate all the support and goodwill extended to TES Literary Supplement from all quarters: students, teachers and language enthusiasts. This time around, we hope to kindle the creative spirits in you with up-and-close talks with a couple of bright young talents on the literary scene. Meanwhile, the contributors have been so overwhelming in their encouragement that we had to hold on to a few pieces for want of space, which we hope to accommodate in the coming issues. The variety and depth of subjects and the scope of information shared inside will hopefully keep all your interests alive and eager for more.

Backstage

The people behind TLS

Chief Editor
Dr. Kalyani Vallath

Patrons
Dr. V. Rajakrishnan Dr. Joel Martineau Prof. R. Balakrishnan Nair Dr. P.P. Ajayakumar Dr. C.A. Lal Mary Suneeta Joy Vinita Teresa Rajitha Venugopal Suhana Sathar Prasara V.P.

Dr. Babitha Justin Dr. Rajesh Nair

Executive Editor
Dr. Sudip N.

Managing Director
Ilyas C.A.

Editorial Board
Mini John Dhanya Johnson Devyani Agrawal Vidyalekshmi M.G.

Production
Layout: Renju Varghese Printed at Drishya Offset Printers, SS Kovil Road, Thampanoor, Trivandrum

Research Team
Soumya Prakash A. Saroop Kishan Nair Vijay Pandit Tintu Anie Mathew Lakshmipriya P. Swami Prabhakar Gajanan Zunjare Tulshiram Bhoyar Kiran Patil Shashikant Suryawanshi Mohan Bagale Umesh Wamane Rahul Chavan

Cover: Mandela (1918-2013) monument at Howick

Call for contributions

We welcome contributions to TLS in the following categories:
Brief original writeups on books, lms, newspaper / magazine, articles of literary and cultural interest,
literary events, travel, and personal experiences.

Poems, brief one-act plays, paintings, drawings, caricatures, and other creative works. Translations of brief poems, and translations of excerpts from novels, articles or plays in any
language into English. [Please send us a copy of the original also.]

Games and interesting activities on literary and cultural topics.

All contributions should be emailed to tesliterarysupplement@gmail.com. Only copies should be sent and they will not be returned to the contributor. The contributions will be peer-reviewed and requests for revision/ editing may be made. The publication of the contributions will be at the discretion of the editors. Acceptance will be intimated by email. Comments, responses, criticisms, and queries to the editors / contributors should be sent by email to TLS at tesliterarysupplement@gmail.com.

VOL. 03 ISSUE. 02 DEC 2013

Contents
29 31 47 24 34 42
Poets Laureate Match the Following

ANALYSIS
The Taj Trilogy Atwoods Maddaddam Trilogy Constructing the Female Self

GAMES
Clue Game Solve it Identify these Landmarks

54 61

IMPRESSIONS
Wordsworth Mandela

17 28

Virginia Woolf Charm

43 51 35 44 14 18

INTERVIEW
Writing as Passion Deciphering Duality

MUSINGS
Love shouldnt be Blind A Whimsical Rumination

POEMS
The Puissance of Life Witness Box The Spectacled Charm

10 12 16

Dust to Dust Musings & Cravings The 8pm TV Show

33 52 53

REVIEW
Touchingly Lucid Selfhood of Underprivileged Love with a Social Twist

9 13 56 20 24 7 11
Memorable Anniversaries Anniversaries in 2013 The Reflection of Self

SNIPPETS
Vivekananda Anniversary Language Tidbits

30 62 38

STUDY
Angels & Humans Animal Circus

TRAVEL
Lost Heads

32

WRITER
Realising your Dream The Apostle of the Other

21 26

Tribute

Khushwant Singh (2 February 1915 - 20 March 2014)

Indian novelist, lawyer, politician and journalist, best known for his trenchant secularism, humour, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit. The editor of several literary and news magazines, he was the recipient of Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award in India.

Study

ANGELS AND HUMANS: EXAMINING HUMAN NATURE IN A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS

Anupama L. explores the shades of human nature in Marquezs short story.

abriel Garcia Marquez, who won the Nobel Prize in 1982, is a Colombian novelist, short story writer, screen writer and journalist. He popularized the literary style of magical realism dened in the Bedford Anthology as a mixture of realism, myth and the miraculous. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings was published in his rst collection of short stories, Leaf Storm (1955). The story, written in magical realism, is a distinctive blend of fantasy and realism, the serious and the trivial, and the holy and the profane. It combines the ordinary life of Pelayo and his wife Elisenda with fantastic elements like the ying old man and the spider woman. Marquez notes that of all that he had written (as of 1973), Leaf Storm was his favourite because it was the most sincere and spontaneous. Pelayo nds an old man with wings in their courtyard while killing crabs in a rainstorm. He and Elisenda could not understand the unintelligible language of the old man. They consider him as a shipwrecked sailor, but a neighbour woman who knows everything about life and death points out that the old man is an angel who has come to take their sick child to heaven. She asks them to club the angel to death. But as their child miraculously recovers, Pelayo and Elisenda decide to keep the angel in their chicken coop. The courtyard is soon crowded with curious people who have come to see the angel. But the local priest, Father Gonzaga, is sceptical and considers the angel a fake. This was because the old man could not understand Latin and had too many mortal characteristics. He tries his best to restrain the enthusiastic onlookers adjacent shed. When the angel wanders into their new house, Elisenda shoos him out of the rooms with a broom. Gradually the old man regains his health, grows a few new feathers and ies away. The short story is a satirical piece that mocks at Catholic Church and human nature in general. It brings out the coexistence of cruelty and compassion and reminds the reader of the little miracles and wonders of everyday life. Father Gonzaga felt that the old man was an imposter because he appeared too human and was surrounded by lth and squalor. He did not understand Latin, the ofcial language of the Church, and did not know how to greet His ministers. When Father Gonzaga informed the matter to his superiors, they asked him to nd out if the prisoner had a navel, if his dialect had any

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

and reports the matter to his superiors. Sick people came from faraway lands to get cured. Elisenda decides to charge an entrance fee and this helps them to amass a fortune. Pelayo quits his job and builds a new larger house. The old mans reputation wanes when a spider woman arrives in the village. The angel could perform only petty miracles and not big ones. The chicken coop collapses and the angel is allowed to move into an

connection with Aramaic, how many times he could t on the head of a pin, or whether he wasnt just a Norwegian with wings. Such characteristics were necessary to identify an angel. Marquez implies that the wisdom of the Church was out of touch with even the most basic elements of reality and divinity. Marquez is critical of human nature throughout the story. He critiques human reaction to the uncertain, their lack of compassion and generosity that is quickly transformed into greed and willingness to exploit others for nancial gain. Though people recognize the otherworldly power of the angel, they respond to the signs of divinity with indifference. The neighbour woman recommends killing him. Pelayo and Elisenda make more money than they know how to spend and their baby is miraculously cured from his fever. Yet, they keep the angel in a chicken coop and try to make their new home angel-free. Once his usefulness diminishes, Elisenda could see him only as a nuisance. The angelic presence in her life is chased out like nuisance. She refers to her new home as a hell full of angels. She could not recognize the mystery, wonder and magic the old man brought into their lives until he left her

forever. Marquez reminds us of the Biblical advice: Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares (Hebrews 13:2). But the old man appears to be connected to the child. Both are ill at the same time and they play together intimately. The tale is subtitled A Tale for Children suggesting that children can experience angels unlike adults who exploit them for their selsh motives.

as holy because he was lthy, bald, and toothless and could not y. Marquez highlights the spiritual poverty of humans and points out that even if an angel visited them, they would fail to recognize it for what it was. Humankind is depicted as sicksuffering from real and imaginary illnesses. They suffer from greed, selshness, lack of faith and compassion and narrowness of vision. The most unfortunate invalids on earth came in search of health: a poor woman who since childhood has been counting her heartbeats and had run out of numbers; a Portuguese man who couldnt sleep because the noise of the stars disturbed him; a sleepwalker who got up at night to undo the things he had done while awake, and many others with less serious ailments. Marquez incorporates such funny details to comment on human greed. Written in poetic, textured and dreamlike style, it is the story of what happens when an angel comes to town. There are multiple perspectives and the reader merely interprets events without understanding them fully. The ambiguity and uncertainty throughout the story is similar to the mystery, uncertainty and strangeness associated with the old man.

The angel performs a few miracles. The blind man who came to him did not recover his sight, but grew three new teeth. The paralytic who could not walk won a lottery and the lepers sores sprouted sunowers. But the angel is treated like a zoo animal and is paraded for money. The chickens peck him and the onlookers pelt him with rocks. They burn him with redhot branding iron to see if he is alive. The church goers overlook the mystery, strangeness and divinity in him because his appearance was contrary to their belief that angels are all goodness and light. The old man could not be categorized

Review

TOUCHINGLY LUCID

K.K. Misra reviews The Door is half open, the latest poetry collection by Susheel Kumar Sharma.

am neither a poet nor a literary critic, but only a poet at heartsimple and lucid poetry directly enters my heart. I had the pleasure to go through the latest collection of 52 poems written by Susheel Kumar Sharma. I like not only the title of the book, but also the cover page that displays a door, indeed half open. Like a poet in Indian tradition, Susheel begins with an invocation; the intellectuals in India generally invoke goddess Saraswati, or Lord Ganesha, but the poet prays to Ganga Mata. In the wake of the current operation of cleaning the river Ganges, the poet has his own wishes and prayers: Flow freely again Overow again Dance rhythmically again Be not bound by embankments and dams. Let all power projects Be shelved for ever. (p. 5) Susheel echoes my sentiments when he says: I dont want to bury The glories of the past; I dont want to fetter The freedom of the past; ... I just want my Ganga To be my Ganga. (pp. 67) Towards the end of the poem, is a very apt remark: How long Will you keep on Tolerating insult? How long Will you keep on Protecting the race? Arise, awake and Redeem our progeny, O Sagaraga. (p. 8) In this long poem, Susheel has indeed been very topical. The next poem, entitled Spineless-II is quiet appealing. Here, the poet expresses regret that what should be rm and solid is actually not so, but is rather a timid thing:

The Door is half open

My conscience Is like my cautious drive That leads to an accident On a busy highway. ... My conscience Is like my vintage car That refuses to move At the appointed hour. ... My conscience Is like an aeroplane That does not take off When fog enwraps the city.

(pp. 1011)

Poverty: Some Scenes is a poem which is very realistic, and catches the readers attention from the very start:

The encounter with poverty Is most disturbing At the railway platforms When somebody opens the tifn-box And someone else just stares at it With a hope of one morsel in ones mouth. ... Hunger doesnt Trouble me anymore -I now know how to ght street dogs After a brahma bhoja... . (pp. 3537) The expression is indeed an epitome of pathos. The poet has painted an awful picture of poverty. For a Bride who thinks of Suicide is also a very topical poem, and close to my heart. The sentiments of the poet are indeed lofty: Brides are the carriers of tradition Brides are the need of the civilization Brides are the solace of bleeding hearts Not to be trampled and kicked But to be embalmed with care. (p. 61) Democracy: Old and New depicts the political orientation of Susheel Sharma. Like most of the critics of democracy, Susheel is also very much dismayed with its functioning. The French Revolution of 1789 stood for liberty, equality and fraternity and it is well known that liberty was lost almost immediately after the revolution; Napoleon Bonaparte became a despot. Even Aristotle considered democracy a perverted form of polity, and he called it mobocracy. Even the champions and leaders of democracy found it convenient to support the discredited and tyrannical autocracies. The criticism of democracy by the poet is valid but the main problem is that there is no better alternative to it. Dictatorships could be more corrupt and torturous, and there is no democratic way to remove them. Susheel laments: Fraternity is a foul word. Dreams become day-dreams. Promises sound hollow. Future evaporates into skies.

Time runs a full circle. Trust no future, howeer pleasant! Let the dead past bury its dead! (p. 71) There is undoubted weight philosophy of democracy. in Susheels

Another poem I liked immensely is entitled Hope is the Last Thing to be Lost. The poem contains six sections, and all of them are good: Hope gives me courage to Enter the gates of the Operation Theatre To touch the etherised patient Lying restful to get rid of the pain Hope gives me courage To enter the gates of Heaven Where I have to face God To accept my retribution. (pp. 8990) It is indeed a pleasure to go through the poems in the collection. The poet has complete command over the language and is very lucid in his expression. Susheel Sharma deserves all the kudos and congratulations for producing the excellent poetic work. Finally, I suggest that a poem on the title of the book be included in the second edition of the book.
e Po m s

The Puissance of Life

The spirit in me gallops like a foal, to pursue eternal life, a heavenly luminesce. The vigour of terrestrial pleasure intercepts my cruise to Elysian elds of tranquility. The thrill of physique and the kindred populace entices my tactile sense like a philanderer. Yet I endure him like a concubine, anticipate his embrace and whimper in his idolization.

Soumya Prakash A.

10

Study

ANIMAL CIRCUS IN THE HUMAN WORLD

Arshad Ahammad A. critiques Circus by master Malayalam Childrens litterateur Mali.

ali is the pseudonym of Madhavan Nair, a celebrated Malayalam writer of childrens literature. His works of ction lure children to the ecstatic state of celestial pleasure, exploring the wonderful world of imagination. Malis retellings of the Indian epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata for children are quite famous. Chappan is the right hand of Kelan master who tries hard to disestablish the Animal Circus. They kidnap Chimban and imprison him in Kunjappus house. Through a letter, Chimban passes the information about his imprisonment to his group. He is not ready to give the circus company to Kelan who is the proclaimed enemy of his beloved master. Kochimban, Simhan and Velumban save Chimban from Kelans hands with the help of Kunjappu. Chappan is accidentally killed by Kelan.

Malis long story Circus relates a different story for children. Rich in variety and different in narrative style, Mali welcomes his little readers to a circus company owned and run only by animalsanimals circus company for human viewers! Chimban, a male chimpanzee, is the leader of the animals and their Circus company. The group consists of Chimbans younger brother Kochimban; Simhan, the lion; Gajan, the elephant; Jambu, the clever fox; Thavidan and Karuman, the two bears; Damshi and Jaladoshi, the tigers; eleven camels and eleven horses. When Koman master, their lovable and caring owner and coach, dies, his former manager Kelan tries to usurp the circus company through nefarious means with the help of a caseless and feeless advocate who often boasts of his knowledge of rules and regulations which are unknown and inapplicable to the poor animals. Jambu, a prominent member of the animal circus company, joins their evil plan and conspires with them.

Madhavan Nair (Mali)

There is a subplot in the long story. Kunjappu, an orphan boy, is brutally ill-treated at the hands of a cruel man, Chappan. The only source of relief for Kunjappu is the presence of his grandmother at his home who loves him very much and often saves him from the beatings of Chappan. Kunjappu is very much fond of circus. He wants to join a circus company. When the Janthu (animal) circus comes to his district, he sends his pet dog Velumban to join the circus.

Jambu, abandoned by everybody, dies of starvation. At last, the animals learn the secret about Kunjappu that he is the lost son of their beloved Koman master. Thus, Kunjappu becomes the owner of the Animal Circus Company. The company gets a golden chance to present their performance in foreign lands. Mali relates the tale of the animals as interestingly as he narrates the story of human beings. The animals are given the traits of humans. Each

11

animal has its own behaviour and way of thought. Simhans wrath can be stopped only by forcing him to count from 1 to 100. Gajan strongly believes that he is the strongest elephant in the world. He often asks the other animals about his strength. Jambu thinks that he is the cleverest animal and only he can manage the nancial affairs of the company. The camels and horses are always competing with each other. Though a story for entertaining children, Circus mirrors the nature and characteristics of human kind as a whole. With the help of human laws, man tries to control the animals. In this tale, the animals are denied the opportunity to even open a bank account because according to the man-made laws, there is no provision for letting the animals do banking. The animals are in a state of inability, solitude and helplessness in the human world. They are denied the rights and favours enjoyed by the humans. This resembles the case of the interaction between the elite and the proletariat in the human society. The elite always deny the rights of the lower classes. Like the subjugated and marginalised people, these non-human beings often face an identity crisis. It is quite notable and interesting to see human issues being pictured through a tale of animals. In short, the tale contains enough signs to comprehend the human aspects of the social life depicted for those who perceive.

Po

em

Witness box
I am alive in a double-self, in a split-self. Expressions, emotions, pleasure, imaginations, were my former identications. Truth, reality, terms , equations, are my new age features. And through above all, I, offer a range of possibilities and promises too or, fabricate illusions. I am a baby of an infertile being. A captive of multiple discourses dropped in an impasse, a maze of ideas leads to crossroads. I am no mans land nor a womans land. One, who knows truths are relative constructive realities shallow possibilities and dashed promises are too nothing but imagination, come to me. To dwell in a utopia and feel exotica if u r well-being thought-mongrel. For those who are common being talked and stay silent, they know the truth of life is to live in it not to dream of.

Devyani Agrawal

12

Review

WORDLESS SELFHOOD OF THE UNDERPRIVILEGED

Kalyani Vallath notes her impressions of Jaydeep Sarangis fth collection of poems, Silent Days

he book ensues the deep loneliness of the poets silent days transxed on the banks of the Ganges. At the same time, Sarangis poetry adorns the wordless selfhood of the rural and underprivileged people, and their history. As I read into the depths of the book, the lonely I seemed to take new and varied forms, embracing sometimes the community, and sometimes humanity; the I can also transform into you and me, the reader. Living in the most crowded city in India, Kolkata, the poet nds himself lost in the buzz of the auto or the metro tunnel amidst the crowds of everyday duties in his urban life. However, in the poem Flight, the poet stretches his windy wings in an experience of the reckless freedom of the countryside. He says, I was born as a home-bound, Like a ying sh / Between home and away; but Now, I am on a station / For a train to take me to elsewhere. Sarangi has an acute and cynical awareness of time, of ...waiting... / through hours of time, a nagging time of watching / myself growing sweetly old / through a circle of daily acts. Elsewhere he says, The diabetic bones vibrate / The head is noisy / The mind ows like slippery liquid. And also, These days, every death / Is an entry to my account / I take a note of them regularly. Despite being an island in himself of his thoughts and sensations, the poet connects deeply with others: I speak for my soil /

Silent Days
My people in distress; Like a plough head on the back of a farmer / I carry my ancestors. His heart goes out to Those who dream at the end of the day / By the canal and empty their hearts / To take in pain again. To the tribal, he says, You are a vision, / A childs story... This small river... / ...twitters your oral history and asserts, Your history is on your side; People call you aborigines. / We call you the saviours of history. These poems that capture the gentle ow of the Dulong have touched my heart. Now to you readers, who are yet to read these poems, a question to ponder: Why does the poet spatter his poetry with indigenous words, like bhatiali, bok, rajanigandha, Baantul, chanachur.... and so on? Why does an Indian poet writing in English use vernacular idioms and expressions in his poetry?

13

Musings

LOVE SHOULDNT BE BLIND

Aravind B.T. delves into the psyche of falling in love.

s my daughter is love? Many parents have woken up petried one day to similar shell-shocking realities and are left wondering how it happened. Love and Love affairs are not just a convenient commodity to be gloried in movies and novels but a social issue that break many family bonds and create fewer ties, especially in a country like India where conventional blood runs through the veins of even apparently modern-skinned metro cities. In a system where marriage happens not just between two persons but two families, where people need to have common factors in religion, caste, horoscope and economic status, love shouldnt be blind. If the above statement raises many eyebrows and many a youngster consider it sacrilegious, know that you have not understood Love. Lets try dissect love and examine its cross-section. To put it simply, Love has mainly two aspects to itthe more apparent chemical or biological aspect, which includes an interplay of hormones providing us with a blissful experience, and the more subtle psychological aspect, which people unknowingly ignore, for they have a poor understanding of their selves. The former aspect often comes to the fore when parents hint at how emotions rule their kids and not rational thought. Love is in fact an emotion and just like any other emotion love is a result of hormones working beneath your skin. Adrenaline, oxytocin, dopamine, vasopressin, serotonin, testesterone and estrogen are the hormoneactors in love. While most of these hormones supply a ush of happy feeling, a hormone like adrenaline is the obvious nervousness inherent to the earlier part of most relations. sensation that the person can readily lose in one day. It is a compulsive addiction and the addict will hold on to the drug. The psychological aspect of love is more interesting. Most individuals have a feeling what I would like to call a psychological decienya sensation that something is lacking, a sort of incompleteness. A gap they feel inside but rather dont realize it, for it is often outside their conscious awareness. These individuals get instantly bonded with people who can ll this gap. This deciency or missing they feel could well be a result of their false perception. But It does not matter, for a deciency, for whatever reasons it is created, is a potential platform for love to build. For instance, there is a girl who feels she does not look pretty. Whether the girl is actually pretty or not is not important and what counts

Dopamine is a serious hormone that can produce effects similar to cocaine! It increases your focus and energy, makes you less needy for food and sleep. Oxytocin assures attachment and Vasopressin ensures commitment. Testesterone and estrogen charges the sexual feelings. So the overall effects of these hormones working in unison are not just any ordinary

14

is the girls impression about herself. She could be someone largely considered as cute, but if she thinks she is ugly and develops a sort of subconscious disappointment and negative feelings, someone who can make her feel that she is pretty and worthy, has a good chance of making her fall in love. Usually, such a guy happens to be a cutie, because a bond with that guy would make her feel more worthy about herself, thereby reducing her negative feelings. Love, in most cases, is such an instance where people get bonded fullling each others psychological lacks. A girl who doesnt feel secure at home can very easily fall for a guy who can say romantically Hold my hand, I am here to protect you. The guys words provide the girl with what she was lacking. A guy who is obsessed with movie stars with many girlfriends would feel some satisfaction when he can claim a girlfriend for himself. Sometimes being in the company of friends, all having lovers, can create a sort of peer pressure, which can urge you and put you in a relationship. The problem with modern day youngsters is not that such psychological causes pop up too often or that hormone is pumped more and more, but the simple ignorance of these facts. Knowing what happens and why it happens is paramount in living a controlled life and this is quite an alien routine for them. The psychological reasons

may remain fairly elusive for it happens at the subconscious level, but neither is it impossible to get hold of. Once in a while if you can introspect and know yourself at some depth, the reasons for why you fall in love would become more vivid. If you dont, you will continue making absurd claims like he is the only one who can understand me, whereas the fact remains that if you had managed to understand yourself, love may not have just happened. A simple knowledge about the self is all that is required to make you less susceptible to love. But the obvious question is why should someone be so? Love is a tantalizing feeling, an energy drink, and why not have it? The answer is that many love affairs that arise out of such psychohormone equations with poor external support crashes in drastic fashion. Remember that we live in a society where the divorce rates have the trajectory of a space shuttle and most of such divorces are a culmination of love marriages built on poor understanding. Add to that, the kind of monstrous stress that you put your parents under. Most parents, even urban ones can hardly understand the ways of modern youth and they just may not grasp how a 15-day Facebook friend has suddenly become their daughters new lover! The lovers themselves dont understand it and they all form an angry bundle of energy driven by internal forces. Somewhere in the equation of

your marriage you have to nd a place for your parents and make sure their peace is not broken completely. If the parents have taken good care of you, you do have the responsibility to pay them back. So understand yourself, your feelings, lacks, complexes and make wise choices. Love shouldnt be blind; after all, if you are blind you will stumble on something. Always know what you are doing. At least once a month, spare some time to delve deep into yourself. Know that real life is not a bollywood masala movie. Indian movies (any language) have a far-fetched way of portraying romance that it has made some kind of an impact upon young Indian minds. The hero proposes to the heroine and all of a sudden you see super-slow motions, uttering dupattas and what not (thankfully, the group dancers have gone out of fashion). You watch these movies a hundred times and a romantic theatre is set up inside you. The next thing you know, you are walking in slow motion to your girl. Funny, eh? Its all right for all these to happen, but know why it happens. So the point I am trying to make is not for everyone. If you have unorthodox, broadminded parents, go ahead and fancy your chances. If you have what it takes to withstand all impediments and live happily with your mate (but no one can

15

be sure about it), then jump in. But if you have nervous, caring parents with so many conventions to follow, who might get panic attacks on love news about their children, it is advisable not to entirely quit love, but know how it happens. The knowledge of it will keep you grounded, think realistically and make logical and wise choices that make your parents at least a tad more comfortable. Always remember that the psychological and biological states wont remain the same forever. Once you marry, your psychological deciencies change and become something else. The hormones are only going to play lesser role as you advance in intimacy. So the reasons why you fell in love with your mate will not exist anymore and if you try to nd new reasons you may just not nd it. Having said all these, I might seem like a conventionalist, but I actually prefer love marriages for the simple reason that these days, arranged marriages are synonymous with marrying someone elses girlfriend! Now the last question, does true love exist? What is it then if its all about your hormones and psychology? I would like to think that if a person loves another for absolutely no reason, conscious, subconscious or unconscious, then that could be the true love. But does that love exist? Ask yourself

Po

em

The Spectacled Charm

Bewitched again by The spectacled charm Jinxing over and again Like a haunting swarm. Contours of her visage Being stressed by the Aid Resting on the bridge Of the beguiling maid. I fail to decipher From the ever shifting Brown pearls that hide Behind the ocular veil. The frown, the wince, The dodgy little wink I grope in earnest To see what they hint. Let the veiled intimations Of the alluring eyes strip; And read thy intent, for A caution never to trip? The bleary vision may not Diminish my passion for Those myopic pair I swear that, fair and square. Bereft of the glasses The spell may cripple In the land of the quintet banyans A spell has set off million ripples.

Saroop Kishan Nair

16

Impressions

Wordsworth: Femi Ann Varghese

17

Musings

A WHIMSICAL RUMINATION

Nevil Stephen S. recounts his culture shock overseas

he best time men get to spend in laziness is the early morning hours. If not a general statement, it is my personal observation to which I earnestly conform to with all gravity. We rarely sit idle but read in earnest the morning newspaper blending it with intermittent gulps of hot kattan (black coffee) most often made ironically stale by hourly bulletins and discussions carried through the previous night. Among the politically smeared news stories, the section which I read daily with keenness, Education, once held a news item that pulled in my attention by the presence of the term Fulbright. It was in fact the advertisement summoning teachers for a six-week intensive TEA (Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program) at the USA. Instantly, an array of privileges frisked through my mind in succession. Being an ordinary government school teacher, visiting the United States was a distant dream. But this opportunity opens up the prospect of not only to be in the USA but also meeting some of the best faculty there along with a host of other international teachers representing different countries across continents and getting some of the best pedagogical practices, methods and strategies in ELT, CLT, ICT, and all these with a US Fellowship. Surprisingly, the application was not conned to our ubiquitous two-page reportage of academic records with social and biological details. Instead, the focus was prioritized on quizzing how good the profession was conceived, how best the sociocultural background of the school and the community was apprehended, how adeptly you have turned the challenges into possibilities and instances to prove your innovative and leadership qualities; all these running into 18 pages to be precise, excluding the CV that has to be attached. Selection process for me was indeed a blessing in disguise, for no space was reserved to furnish academic brilliance (in my country most opportunities depend on this scale) and everywhere there was a scope for testing professional efciency and commitment. The selection process was at three levels, the rst being the screening of the application, the second a test on English language prociency and third, an interview before a board comprising of an American ofcial and other Indian alumni and the nal shortlisting from the USA, which conclusively took almost a revolution round the sun to compete the process. Meticulous timely conduct of the program was that which primarily requires appreciation. Weeks prior to the program, Visa, travel tickets, program calendar with timetable, short proles of the ofcials, faculty, fellow participants and their contact information were mailed to catch up with the program and to familiarize with the personnel associated with it. In addition, intermittent e-surveys were conducted to get the hang of our requirements and expectations. These count up the major highlights of my predeparture preparations. Eventually, my much awaited day dawned and with a mind full of expectations and a heart full of anxiety, I boarded the ight bound to Frankfurt with ve other Indian teachers for the same program. At Frankfurt, we had a few hours halt, being the transit airport towards Washington, DC. This marked the effective second part of my travel.

18

At Frankfurt, the rst foreign land to touch my feet, my saga of culture shock commenced. The concept culture shock was never new to me. I have read about it, discussed academically about it, but never experienced it in my life. Being a native of a small South Indian state, I have been to different parts of India, but at no time overseas. Interestingly, such an encounter of strangeness cropped up at rst before the drinking water tap at the airport. It all began like this. I was a bit thirsty being airborne for several hours, despite the good food served in Lufthansa. And a signboard DRINKING WATER perched at a distance relieved my desperate eyes and pulled me to that spot. To my astonishment I found myself at sea, being discomted by not knowing what to do. I neither had a bottle nor a glass to collect water. Only thing I saw was a thin metal pipe on top of a basin with no faucet. In India, either there would be a glass provided near the water pipe or the tap would be at a comfortable height to drink with a cupped hand. I searched frantically for a faucet but failed miserably. My level of condence started to melt; my mind became more preoccupied with the reactions of others on me. My frenzied eyes started to blur and I made my retreat with a projected whiff of calmness as if nothing happened. But I remained in my seat eagerly waiting to see how others are drinking from that pipe. At last I saw a man,

regularly dressed, near my focal area. He did not touch the pipe, instead bent down at the mouth of the sensor bearing the faucet and water instantly began to ow and he placed his lips close to the owing water so as the water glided over his lips and with all adeptness and skill sucked the water in. Oh! Gosh, thats the way to drink water. My rst daring lesson. Reaching Washington, DC, we had a couple of formal welcome dinners that ensured the presence of ofcials from US Department of State and IREX (International Research Exchange Board), all without exception strictly clocked to the given schedule. As I entered the dinner hall, I saw every table elegantly arranged with plates, crystal glasses and shining accessories that well lay on either side of the plates. The spoons of different types, a fork and a knife with two napkins of different colours beautifully but intriguingly folded always tied me in knots. Which spoon to use when and for what? As we began our dinner, once again my throat went dry in need of water. I looked for water and saw two glasses in equidistance sniggering at me. Now which one does it belong to me? But no, I wont take it rst. I made up my mind and patiently waited for someone to pick up rst. Curiously some time later, I saw my Latvian friend picking up the glass kept on her right. I instantly resisted my reex in my left

hand since in my country we eat with our right hand and use the left for picking up glasses. Yes, my second exciting lesson on the second day. Nonetheless, it is no wonder, we drive on our left and Americans drive on their right and these are just continental differences. Water always confused me while in the United States. I was there in February, the end of winter that heralded spring; the best agreed period to travel, says Chaucer. But sadly winter hung on; Washington was windy, Montana the place that hosted me for ve weeks was another Kashmirsnow and snow and snow. The four layers of dress on my tropical body struggled to warm me from the temperate chillness outside. Since the rooms were conditioned and classes constantly engaged us cognitively, the atmosphere was cosy inside. But the unexpected reason of thirst gave me another shock. At the corner of the room were arranged jars of drinking water and gleaming glasses. Eagerly as I was about to pour water into my glass, to my astonishment I saw the jar halflled with ice cubes. Hey! The atmosphere is cold, people feel cold and why the water needs to be icy. They say thats their custom. Thanks to the rationale behind such a custom. I wonder why water invariably turned to be a major concern to me. I was virtually born in water. In truth, my native state,

19

one of the smallest in India, has 44 rivers that are sufciently fed by two torrential monsoons. Obviously, we use to overuse water. Many scrub twice a day, wash our hands before and after eating and water is aplenty in our restrooms. A great shock laid hold of me when I was in the washroom of LEnfant where we were quartered in at DC which was in all means similar to Montana too. Being a typical Keralite, soon after reaching my hotel room I rushed to shower myself. My habituated search at the bathroom turned grim. I did not see a tap, a bucket or

even a mug as we are used to take bath standing straight, not by lying in a tub. Worse than that, the bathroom appeared dry except for the washbasin, no health faucet, no slit to drain water out but varieties of paper and towels of different sizes to clean oneself. However, soon my eyes fell on a shower that was xed on top of the tub and being a true Indian I can survive in all conditions and I proved to be one. Academic activities that engaged us most of the time were beyond our expectations and

benchmarked all boundaries of excellence and dedication. Since our revised curriculum in Kerala is premised on the latest studies in pedagogy, I did not confront any pedagogical shock there, thanks to the teacher training programs given to us. In its entirety, the given faculties were simply awesome. And needless to say, other than the few mentioned culturally amusing variance, over and above, the program marked an everlasting source of inspiration and scholarship.

150TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA (18632013)

Swami Vivekananda holds pride of place among the makers of modern India. He was one of the greatest patriots ever born in this country. During his visit to Belur Math, Mahatma Gandhi remarked, I have gone through his works very thoroughly and after having gone through them, the love that I have for my country became a thousand fold. Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12, 1863 as per the Gregorian calendar. This day is observed as the National Youth Day throughout India. January 2013 to January 2014 was celebrated all over India and in different countries of the world as the historic year marking the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda was a key gure in the introduction of the Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western World. Year-long events and programmes were also organized by Ramakrishna Mission and various government bodies to celebrate his 150th birth anniversary. (Sources: awakeningindia.org, belurmath.org & wikipedia.org).

20

Writer

REALISING YOUR DREAM: THE TRUE STORY OF SHIVA TRILOGY

Amish Tripathi reveals the inspiration behind his creative avatar.

fter IIM Calcutta, Amish Tripathi spent 14 years in nancial services. Around 10 years ago, in his spare time, he began working on a book, which came out in 2010 and quickly hit the best seller charts. The Immortals of Meluha was followed by The Secret of the Nagas (2011) and The Oath of the Vayuputras (2013). Together, the books are known as the Shiva Trilogy and have sold over 1.7 million copies. Meluhas lm rights were bought by Dharma Productions in 2012, and in 2013 Tripathi landed a record million-dollar advance from Westland for the South Asia book rights for an as-yet-undecided next series of books. He quit corporate life in 2012 to become a fulltime writer. In this article, he discloses the inner urges that propelled him into the creative arena. I grew up in a very religious family: my grandfather was a Pandit in Benares and a teacher at the Banaras Hindu University; my parents are very religious. But it is also a very liberal family, which in traditional India is not a contradiction. By liberal I mean the ability to accept an opposing point of view, to question. The word Upanishad means sitting at the feet of your guru. Youre supposed to listen to someone and ask questions, because thats what deepens your understanding. Because we were allowed to ask questions, I understood our philosophies at a much deeper level. We are a family that is obsessed with knowledge, and Ive always been a voracious reader. As an author, you need all that knowledge, you have to draw from so many sources. One of my favourite subjects is history. I come from a middle-class background, so I had to make Doing an MBA was an obvious choice. I never wanted to be an author. I dreamed Id be an industrialist; for some time I thought Id be a scientist. But since I was passionate about history, I kept reading it. Life followed the path that I thought it would: MBA, fourteen years in nancial services. My last job was as national head of marketing and product management at IDBI Federal Life Insurances and a member of the senior management committee. And like my family background helped me as an authorI already had all this knowledge my degree, my work experience helped prepare me for the business side of my books. The Shiva Trilogy began as a philosophical thesis, around nine, ten years ago. My family and I were watching TV,

Amish Tripathi

decisions that would lead to a good job. And there was peer pressure tooyou know, if you chose X, people would say, ah, he didnt have the grades to do Y. So while I was deeply interested in history, I didnt take it up as a subject. Being a historian in the India that I grew up in was a path to starvation.

21

and discovered something interesting: for Indians, gods are devas and demons are asuras; but for the ancient Persians the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian Persiansgods are ahuras, and demons are daivas. Which triggered an interesting debate: If ancient Indians and Persians had met, theyd probably call each other evil. Whod be right? The obvious answer is neither; theyre just two different points of view. So, if neither of them is evil, then what is evil? Evil is something that exists beyond this. An answer occurred to me, partially inspired by what I knew of the Katha Upanishad, but largely my own formulation. I discussed this with my family, and they said it was nice, why dont you write it down? Which I did. Then, at my familys prompting, I converted the philosophical thesis into an adventure story, a vehicle to convey that philosophy. I had written no ction before that, ever. I rst tried to write it in an organised way, which didnt work. But when I surrendered to the ow and let it emerge, the story started owing. It took me some ve years to write the rst book. But before it was released, I had the entire story in mind for the second and third. In my mind, they are not three different booksit is one continuous story divided into three for convenience. The ideal role model for creative

people is Aamir Khan. From all Ive read of him, when he makes his movies, he makes them with the full courage of conviction. But once hes nished the movie, he becomes a practical marketer: How do I sell this thing? You have to work that way. The business part comes once the book is nished, you cannot allow that to interfere when youre writing. I believe a book is a blessing that has come into an authors life for some purpose. I was writing for myself and my family, which, I think, is the best way to write. For six or seven years, I did nothing except work at my job, write the book, and spend time with my family, nothing else. No parties, no television, no timewasting; writing in the back seat of the car (in Mumbais bad trafc, the work commute gave me an hour, hour-and-a half of writing time). If you want to nd time, there is more than enough time. I didnt even think I would get published, let alone sell so many copies. Now it all seems like a good ride, but at that point, it was a struggle. I got rejected by every publisher (I stopped counting after twenty rejections). Most of them didnt tell me why. One who did said, Your storytelling skills are good, but you picked a bad topic: Its

a religious book, which wont do well with the Indian youth, the primary market today, who arent into religion; its a different interpretation of religion, which older people wont like; and since its in modern easy English, and you dont want to change the style, the literati wont like it. Youve effectively alienated every possible reader segment. Finally, my agent, Anuj Bahri, and I quasi-self-published the book. He printed it, through his label, Tara Press, and I invested in the marketing. Except for Anuj, all my advisors werent from traditional book publishing (my wife, Preeti Vyas, was from the book retail space). Their only interaction with books was that they were readers. This ended up being an advantage. Often, outof-the-box ideas come from people outside an industry, and we ended up doing a lot of innovative marketing. For example, Preetis idea was to give buyers a free taste. So we printed the rst chapter, with the same cover as the book, and distributed it, through retail stores and the web, as a free sampler. This had never been done before, and the retailers decided to try it out. Copies were places at cash counters. Thats where people have given in their credit cards and are waiting for their bill, and there it was, free, take it home if you

22

want. Normally, any quasiself-published book by a debut author would be a well-kept secret from the staff themselves, forget the customers. Yet we were getting prime display space! Many customers went home, read it, came back and asked for the book. And this was ten days before the launch. The stores wound up increasing their orders. And when the book came out, we hit the bestseller charts in the rst week itself. It worked because it was a new idea. Now if you go to a retailer with the same proposition, theyll charge you for the space. The second idea was from a friend, Abhijeet Powdwal, a marketer. He said: Your writing had a very visual feel; could we convey this? From there, the idea for a trailer lm emerged. We made a live-action lm that we released on YouTube. This worked really well, getting a huge response, being shared a lot. The third thing we did was focus a lot on the cover. I have come to understand now that, regrettably, there is not enough investmentin time or resourcesin the cover of a book. I was shocked to discover that, more often than not, the person designing the cover hasnt even read the book. Its

like making an ad campaign for a loan product without knowing the product. In a bank, that guy would be red. I was very closely involved. I got in a very good friend. Rashmi Pusalkar, who was a designer (but had never designed book covers). She read the manuscripts, and the covers were both attractive and very well thought-through. Even when the rst book started doing well, I didnt think of myself as an author. I was earning enough at my job to meet my responsibilities. I thought Id work at my job and

plunge: specically my wife and my older brother, Anish. They could see that I was burning the candle at both ends, balancing a demanding job with the writing. They said, youre one of those lucky guys who has been given an opportunity to make a living out of something he likes doing; whats holding you back? Anish said, Yes, theres a risk in a writing career, but whats the security in a corporate job? Your foreign investment partner could exit, you could be red, anything can happen. In short, what they were telling me was that I was an idiot, and I should commit to this full time. So I quit my job, very amicably. My boss threw me a party and gave me a huge Lord Shiva idol as a farewell present. I think that my boss, my colleagues were happy that I was doing what I wanted to, and that they wished me well. I have enough story ideas to keep myself busy for the next twenty years. But who knows? May be the next series will op and I will have to go back to banking! But whether the books succeed or not, I know one thing for sure: Even if the only readers are my family and close friends, Ill keep writing.
(Previously published in Forbes India, 14 June 2013.)

write as well. I was thinking like a risk-averse banker: What if the next book doesnt work? For the second book, 100,000 copies had been printed and we had pre-orders for something like 90,000 copies. A reprint had been ordered even before the launch. By then, the royalty cheque had become more than my salary. Even then I have to admit it wasnt me, it was my family who encouraged me to take the

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Snippets

Language Tidbits
Temuzion Victory

Words with three consecutive alphabets

def erence, de f inite, de f ine h i j a ck, hij ra n op e s t u pid

d a bc hick cou g hi ng ca l mn ess fi rs t , sta rst ruck, thi rst

m Ga es

Spelling numbers
Letters a, b, c and d do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 99. (d comes for the rst time in Hundred) Letters a, b, and c do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999. (a comes for the rst time in Thousand) Letters b and c do not appear anywhere in the spellings of 1 to 999,999,999. (b comes for the rst time in Billion) & Letter c does not appear anywhere in the spellings of entire English counting.

Clue Game
Vijay Pandit

Clue 1: Clue 2: Clue 3: Clue 4: Clue 5: Clue 6:

He was a Portuguese writer. His books have been translated into 25 languages. He was a proponent of libertarian communism. He went into exile in Spain disheartened by political censorship of his book The Gospel according to He was the author of Blindness. He was awarded the Noble Prize in Literature in 1998. Jose Saramago

Jesus Christ.

24

Answer

Language Tidbits

The lost alphabet

English used to have 27 alphabets. 27th alphabet was empersonal.

Curious case of because

A sentence does not end with because, because because is a conjunction.

Palindromes:
Pull up; Malayalam; Sex at noon taxes.

Pangrams:
Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz (worlds shortest one) The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog. Pack my box with ve dozen liquor jugs.

Largest words without repetition of alphabets

Ambidextrously (Second largest)

Uncopyrightable

Most agglutinative words (highest number of prexes & and sufxes)

Establish Dis-establish Disestablish-ment Anti-disestablishment Antidisestablishment-ary Antidisestablishmentari-an Antidisestablishmentarianism

Words with all vowels in same order

a bst e m iou s, f a c e t iou s

Words with all vowels in reverse order

u nn o t i c e a ble

25

Writer

THE APOSTLE OF THE OTHER

Maria provides an overview of Booker Prize winner Yann Martels works.

f you are an Israeli, you should imagine yourself a Palestinian. Then you will understand why the Palestinians are angry. If youre a Palestinian, you should make the effort of imagining yourself an Israeli, and then you will understand why the Israelis are afraid. If youre a man and you become a woman, you understand. If youre white and you imagine yourself black, etc. of Western religion and culture. He points that the Other is important in dening what is normal and also for locating ones own identity in the world. His rst book was a collection of short storiesSeven Stories in 1993. Though it was not a grand success, one of the stories was awarded the Journey Prize. Later this book was edited and republished as The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios and Other Stories (1993). There are four stories in this collection, namely Manners of Dying, The Mirror Machine, The Time I Heard the Private Donald J. Rankin String Concerto with One Discordant Violin by the American composer John Morton and The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios. They are strange stories that deal with the modern experience of life in the midst of illness, death and grief. Self (1996) was Martels rst novel and it had for its

Yann Martel can rightly be called the Apostle of the Other because through his writing, he has tried to explore the Other. He says that it is in meeting the other that you start to understand, rst, that you are different, and then how you are different. His ction has always been an attempt to travel through the strange consciousness of the Other with the aims to understand and to empathize. Born in Salamanca, Spain, in 1963 as the son of Canadian diplomats, Martel spent his childhood in Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico and Canada. After graduating in philosophy, he worked as a tree planter, dishwasher and security guard till he took up writing as a fulltime career. Now he has settled in Montreal with his partner Alice Kuipers and son Theo. For Martel, storytelling is a way in which the human experience of living in this

Yann Martel

world is communicated to ones fellow beings through the unique human tool of language. Without sharing of experiences, a human has no identity; without love, there can never be stories. As Martel says in the Big Think Interview, the saddest thing in human terms, is to have a human being who has no stories as the human who has no stories is someone who has not been loved and has not been able to love. His ction focuses a great deal upon the people who are robbed of their basic dignity. However, he extends his concern to animals as well because he denies the anthropocentric view

26

protagonist a nameless boy who wakes up one morning to nd that he has become a woman. However, the protagonist is still attracted to women and is confused by the shift in gender. However, after remaining a woman for seven years, the protagonist turns back into a man when raped by a neighbour. Martel sympathizes with women who undergo a very personal holocaust called rape, which robs them of their basic human dignity. However, Martel explores the gendered Other and also the question of whether the mind has any gender. Life of Pi (2001) that fetched him the coveted Booker Prize in 2002 is a fantastical tale of Piscine Molitor Patel, a 16-yearold Indian boy who travels with his family to Canada by sea and is shipwrecked in the Pacic along with a spotted hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, a female orangutan and a 450 lb Royal Bengal Tiger. There are also two versions of the same story of cannibalism, one with animals and one without them. The animal version is a fantastic one; but the real version is grim and terrible. However, Martel used animals as characters solely for artistic purposes, but then began to get interested in animals for their own sake and also for the wonder that they provide. We Ate the Children Last (2004) is a collection of short stories that

deal with medical breakthroughs and their consequences. The environmental Other is considered in this work as human experiments, such as an animal-to-human transplant operation, can wreck the environment in unforeseen ways. The stories are dark glimpses into the advances

live is affected by what they call the Horrors. As they travel around the shirt, Beatrice and Virgil tell each other little stories and folk tales, share experiences of food and try to nd the right words, expressions and signs to represent the Horrors. The novel is an allegory that works at a primary level to mean the Holocaust and at a deeper level to mean cruelty to animals. Martel condemns both genocide and the killing of animals as both violate the right to live. Martels attempts at being an Apostle of the Other was not limited to his ction. He was also involved in a book project What is Stephen Harper Reading? from 2007 to 2011, in which he sent the Prime Minister of Canada one book every two weeks with his letters, book selections and responses received to a website devoted to the project. He made his intentions clear when he said in the Big Think Interview that to lead you must read, because that nourishes your vision. Though the Canadian Prime Minister did not respond in any way to Martels project, consolation and encouragement came in an unexpected manner when the American President Barack Obama sent Martel a handwritten note describing how Life of Pi has greatly inuenced his life.

in science and technology juxtaposed against the need for protecting the environment. He advocates prudence in animalhuman experiments as the products of these could be more devastating to the world at large. Beatrice and Virgil (2010) is a postmodernist novel in which the writer Henry LHote meets a taxidermist named Henry, who gives him a manuscript of a play featuring Beatrice, a donkey and Virgil, a howler monkey living on a large shirt in the shape of country. The shirt on which they

27

Impressions

Mandela: Ajay B.R.

28

Analysis

THE TAJ TRILOGY

Mini John presents the worldview of Indu Sundaresans Mughal trilogy.

he Taj Trilogy is a glorious retelling of imperial life in Mughal India. The author, Indu Sundaresan, a gifted novelist with a penchant and passion for history, has captured in vivid detail, the sights and the sounds, and the fragrance and feel of the Mughal era. The three novels contained in the trilogy are The Twentieth Wife, The Feast of Roses and Shadow Princess. Published in different years, 2002, 2003 and 2010, they form the trilogy as the author has artfully woven them with a common historical thread. her rivals behind and beyond the harem walls by forming a junta of sorts with her father, her brother and Jahangirs son Prince Khurram (Shah Jahan). She exhibits great strength of character and cleverness to get what she wants, sometimes at great personal cost, even almost losing her daughters love. But she never loses the love of the man who bestows this power upon herEmperor Jahangir. The numerous period details and descriptions of the various cultural ceremonies that distinguish court life in royal India are impressive. Like always, Indu Sundaresan delightfully combines history with her own lush imagination. The author has skipped a generation in Mughal history in the last of the trilogy, Shadow Princess. It tells the tale of Mehrunnisas grand-niece Pricess Jahanara. The Mughal Empire is now crumbling. With the death of his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal, Emperor Shah Jahan loses interest in everything, while his sons

The Twentieth Wife, the rst novel in the trilogy, gives a ctional account of Mehrunnisas eventful, multifaceted life before her marriage to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Mehrunnisa, the Sun of Women, who became the twentieth wife of Emperor Jahangir; who went on to become one of the legendary empresses of Mughal India. The novel sweeps readers up in the emotional pageant of Salim (Jahangir) and Mehrunnisas embattled love. From an illfated rst marriage, through motherhood and into the maze of power struggles and political machinations, Mehrunnisa searches for the true redemptive love she has never known. Their quest takes Mehrunnisa and Salim and the vast empire to places they have never dreamed possible. Written as an epic romance, the novel is a wonderful tale of love, hate and deceit, and of a woman who has risen from behind the veil. The Feast of Roses is the rich romantic sequel to the Twentieth Wife. The books setting brings

Indu Sundaresan
to life an unexplored period in ction. Mehrunnisa, the twentieth wife of Emperor Jahangir, is now the powerful Mughal Empress Nur Jahan. As a mark of devotion, Jahangir has transferred all powers of sovereignty to her. Stepping out of the bounds of convention, she rules the empire with brilliance and determination. Defying all established norms of womanhood in seventeenthcentury India, she combats

29

scheme to gain control over the empire. Mumtaz appears in the aforementioned novels as a child, as a young woman, and as a new wife, absurdly in love with her husband. When she dies, Emperor Shah Jahan builds the Taj Mahal in her memory; the tomb that overshadows Princess Jahanaras life henceforth. By then the princess is seventeen years old and is forced to carry the weight of the imperial zenana. Shah Jahans favourite daughter, she is the

most important woman in the harem who is forced to remain at the Mughal court all her life, caught up in the intrigues and power politics of her siblings, sacricing her own desires for the sake of her father. Shadow Princess ends nine years into Aurangazebs reign and fteen years before Jahanara dies. She settles into her once-loathed brothers harem and again supercedes her sister Roshanara by acquiring the title Padshah Begam, the chief lady of the

zenana. Like the previous novels in the trilogy, Shadow Princess also is a mine of fabulous details on the lives of Mughal rulers. Taking the readers through the inroads of Mughal politics and the dark and lit corridors of life behind the harem walls, Taj Trilogy gives an unforgettable experience of a fascinating journey back into Indias glorious past.

MEMORABLE ANNIVERSARIES 0F 2013

Sharmistha Gogoi provides the historic milestones in 2013.

100th birth anniversary of Albert Camus, the legendary Algerian-French author, born on November 7, 1913. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature for his important literary production, which with clear-sighted earnestness illuminates the problems of human conscience in our times. In his seminal essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus introduced his philosophy of the Absurd. (Source: Wikipedia).

It is now 50 years since Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech on August 28, 1963 for the march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a major moment in the Civil Rights Movement. In this speech, he also called for an end to racism in the United States. Marking an epoch in self-assertion, this speech is heralded as the clarion call for racial equality around the globe. (Sources: latimes.com & Wikipedia).

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Analysis

MARGARET ATWOODS MADDADDAM TRILOGY

Maria explores the creative concerns in Atwoods trilogy.

Adam named the living animals, Maddaddam names the dead ones.

argaret Atwoods The Maddaddam trilogy that consists of the simultanuels Oryx and Crake (2003), The Year of the Flood and Maddaddam (2013) explore an apocalypse triggered by biotechnological and chemical experiments that destroys the rhythm of nature and produces unforeseen disasters and epidemics. These novels are called simultanuels (as opposed to sequels) as they coexist and enhance our understanding of the state of life before and after the apocalypse through the eyes of the narrators Snowman, Ren and Toby. The strides made in biotechnology, such as genesplicing, help scientists create new species, such as wolvogs, liobams and pigeons with human brain tissue added for intelligence. But the product that starts the epidemic known as the Waterless Flood is an overthe-counter medicine known as BlyssPlus Pills, supposed to provide increased sexual satisfaction, protection from sexually transmitted diseases and to prolong youth, but hiding a killer virus that will spread like the plague and wipe out entire continents altogether. News of the spreading pandemic fade as radio and television stations go dead and cities cease to exist. Gradually, a handful of people survive along with the bioengineered Crakers, who are a gentle humanoid species whose skins have natural insect repellants and whose need for animal protein is minimum. Among the survivors are Toby, Ren, Amands, Zeb, Jimmy and other Maddaddamites who are a be able to read; which, come to think of it are two big ifs (Atwood, 136). The Crakers and the human survivors together create a new set of babiesKannon, Rhizomes, Jimadam, Pilaren, Medulla and Oblongata, whose characteristics are yet to develop. But the wonder of all wonders is that Blackbeard, a Craker youth, learns how to write and records the history of life after the Waterless Flood and the formation of the new hybrid species from humans and Crakers in the form of history. Atwood uses the trilogy to express her concerns about the environment, the use of articially created animal protein, the dangers of biotechnological experimentation, the hidden dangers of medical corporations and the relations between the sexes. She concludes on a note of hope through the creation of hybrid babies who will denitely lead life on earth forward in spite of the Waterless Flood.

Margaret Atwood
group of bioterrorists who were bought by Crake in exchange for the protection of their identities. The narrator of an awaited conclusion to the Maddaddam trilogy is Toby, who belonged to a green cult called Gods Gardeners. She wonders if there is any future for the human generation: Shes slipping: she ought to write such things down. Keep a daily journal, as she did when she was alonefor generations yet unborn as politicians used to say when they were shing for extra votes. If there is anyone in the future that is; and if theyll

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Travel

LOST HEADS

Lal C.A. marvels at the historic intrigues around the Tower of London.

ary was a very sulky woman and did not quite like her sister Elizabeth. Every day of her short rule after the death of her dictatorial daddy Henry, Mary toyed with the idea of lopping off Elizabeths head. Having ones head cut off did not mean much in those days! Marys mother Catherine somehow died with her head in place, but Lizs mom Anne whom Henry married after Cathy, lost hers at the Tower Green. It was apparently an honour to be beheaded at this spot, as only the most elite and prestigious necks, like those of queens, barons and counts were severed here, away from the lurid eyes of the public. Executions, which were elaborate and spectacular, normally happened on spots open to the highly imaginative Londoners who vastly looked forward to such events. Strolling past the glass monument in the Tower Green which marked the spot of the scaffold, I recalled the massive axe inside the Tower which in its time had seen quite a lot of exciting action! But that axe had nothing to do with Anne, as she was cut up with a sword on her special request. Queerly enough, Mary and Elizabeth, half-sisters with little love lost between them, were destined to share the same tomb in the Westminster Abbey. This was the little detail that amused me most when I decided to say hello to all the dead people inhabiting the Abbey. It was the idea of King James I to have old Liz buried along with her nasty sister, and to mortify things further, have the words Consorts in realm and tomb, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of resurrection, inscribed in Latin on their tomb! It would indeed be amusing to observe their faces when this resurrection does happen, and they lay their eyes on each other. Henry had to his credit hundreds of heads removed abruptly or in a deliciously protracted manner, depending on the status of their owners. Anne Boleyn was one of the rare lucky souls who enjoyed the abrupt severance, looks in course of time, and eventually become part of the general putrefaction of the river below. It was merely out of curiosity that I strolled into St. Dunstans Church in Canterbury, over fty miles from the Tower of London, on a weekday in the morning. The church looked pretty with a bicycle tethered to its roadside nameboard, and I thought I would go in. There was no one around, and I was strolling about when I came upon a commemorative slab declaring that beneath it, in the vault of the Roper family, lay the head of Sir. Thomas More! Apparently his head was never tossed into the Thames, but was secured by his daughter Margaret Roper, who brought it down to her husbands family tomb in Canterbury. More seems to have proved that it is not quite utopian to have ones body buried in two places at the same time!

and so was Thomas More, who, interestingly had lost his two years earlier, for not being supportive enough to Henrys amorous designs on Anne! Both were buried in unmarked graves, but Mores head was displayed on a pike over London Bridge, evidently to have a refreshing impact on the populace who hurried up and down across the Thames. Normally similar heads that happened to grin from their pikes at the passersby lost their

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Po

em

Dust to Dust
The dust from the trodden paths of life has coated my looking glass layer by layer, turning its crystal transparent panes stained in mud brown of reality; I had enough, seeing those browns. Give me a bowl of elixir soft water, and slices of juicy lemon to wipe the panes off the soot and dust from the chimneys of the interior and exterior. to die down once more, helpless, to lead a dormant life beneath a pathetic layer of dust, to burn up and are like an unseen orange splinter The wiping is strenuous, spending all the left-over energy in the cellars of my wisdom; which I had stingily saved so precious, throughout this race. Now spare me from being slaughtered, atleast for now, when I try to revive and relieve the pyramid burden of pain, threatening the bones to crush to dust. Its now time to tuck the head inside the depths of moist seas Spare me, spare me, atleast for now, for the moment. See how the ames within have risen with green fury, to waste in the scornful air and shut the eyes in relief watching the sinking sun rays stage a prismic dance of ecstasy in the puffy soft sea bed. Now there has to be an end, to this pain; I have burned enough, in yellow, orange and green, they gnawed the bones and its now into the marrow. in a cornered hearth.

Arun Prasad R.

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Ga

es

Solve it
A crossword puzzle from Fr. George P.C. 1 5 6 2 4 3

7
8

10 11

ACROSS 4. Location of Tehri Dam Project. 6. City known as the Manchester of India. 7. City where the rst computer was installed in India. 8. Longest railway tunnel in India. 9. Wet forests of Amazon basin. 10. Balancing wheel of the Constitution. 11. President nominated for 2014 Nobel Prize award for Peace.

DOWN 1. Theme of 2013 World Water Day. 2. Satyameva Jayathe is taken from... 3. Pilot project launched in 2006 by UGC. 5. Winner of 2013 Man Booker International Prize.

34

Solve it Answers

1. Water Cooperation DOWN: ACROSS:

4. Uttaranchal 6. Ludhiana

2. Mundakopanishad 7. Kolkata

8. Pir Panjal

3. SAKSHAT

9. Selvas

5. Lydia Davis. 10. Judiciary 11. Vladimir Putin.

Interview

WRITING AS PASSION AND SOUL

Noted young author Leema Dhar in conversation with Kalyani Vallath.

Leema, had writing always been your dream profession? How did you happen to choose it?

I was 3 when I wrote my rst poem. For me, the best way to express emotions was to pen down words. I discovered a silent observer in me, and I have always believed that everything in this universe has its own story. I was 13 when my rst anthology of Hindi poems Kuch lafz Naqab Mein, was published and the second anthology of English poems For The Hundred Tomorrows was out in the market when I was 17. Meanwhile, I wrote several short stories and drew the character sketches of the plot I would work on. I wrote and edited several drafts before nalizing my debut ction that went on to become a National Bestseller. After I got selected in one of the top NITs in India, I decided to opt for humanities with English Literature and Psychology. And then there was no looking back. Id always dreamt of being an author and a poet. It was a risky decision initially, but Im fortunate to have my parents act as the strongest of pillars and standing the test of time with me. Now, writing for me is my passion, my habit and the soul of my body! What do you think is the biggest appeal of your work? Why do young readers love them?

As Ernest Hemingway puts it: there is nothing to writing, all you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed. I just bleed words irrespective of what age or group or country it may appeal the most. I try to create living people, not just characters. The biggest appeal of my work is the narrative-videography that I focus on while portraying the subjective depth of the characters. I feel the characters of my ctions should touch lives in some way or the other. I let people walk in the shoes of my protagonists and experience the journey themselves. Also, I do not try to exemplify the denition of love by just hard-core make ups and break ups of a typical chick lit ction. I go beyond just the physical aspect, touching the platonic and heart-renting love, where even the hardest of hearts would be forced to melt. I also pick up burning societal issues in my ctions and let the story develop along with the different avour and the pains of the common man.

35

Be it Till We Meet Again or Mom and I Love A Terrorist or my latest The Girl who Kissed the Snake each story is woven in a web of emotional and situational turmoil where a ray of hope prevails at the end. Im glad the young readers are picking up my books and showering me with loads of mails and calls saying they were left crying or hoping or happy by the time they reached the end and somehow they feel connected with the characters. I feel glad when they tell me it has helped them see their lives in a different perspective. What is the greatest challenge you face as a writer?

The greatest challenge for me as a writer is surpassing my own expectations. Thats the reason I do not feel pressurized about the marketing or promotions of my works. Because readers cannot be fooled, they need real stories, not just fantasies. So reading the minds of the people, hearing even the cries of silence and talking to the characters virtually helps me reach a justied end to my novels. When I nd that Im not happy when the protagonist should be or I dont cry when my characters face an ill fate, I feel my job is unsatisfactory. How important is the design and marketing in selling your books? What tips regarding these can you offer budding writers?

These days, with a crowd of people trying to become writers or pen their debut ctions, I feel marketing has become an important segment regarding a books reach. I nd a lot of authors these days hiring promotional agencies or releasing videos, songs or sketches of books. I feel that promotions will work till the time the book is about to hit the markets. But once it reaches out to readers and months pass by, the temporary craze soon fades out and what remain are the strongest writings that cross all boundaries of time and stay in the hearts of book-lovers. Design and marketing is important but primary importance should be given to the content, quality, pace and theme of the novels along with the portrayal of relatable characters. So, I just feel that those who want to take up their pens should prove the intensity of their works in terms of practicality rather than just trying to become yet another namesake-bestseller. What can we expect from you, as a writer, in the future?

Everything that possibly people want ranging from different plots, unique genres, literary plus commercial tastes, thought-provoking storylines, playful characters, word-modulation, picture-perfect narrations to the blithe and upbeat stories. I just want to be a part of those that can bring change with the swords of pen and touch lives as closely as possible. After all, the pen has always been mightier than the sword!! EXCERPTS: The Girl who Kissed the Snake (released 17 June 2013) The night lady clamored itself in armor and slowly closed my eyelids, and my ears gave up grasping even

36

the ticking of the clock. But I wanted to go back to nineteen years seven months when I had peacefully been sleeping in moms womb, safe and secure, unaware of worldly affairs. (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Girl-Who-Kissed-theSnake-by-Leema-Dhar-General-Press/173571156139995) Mom And I Love A Terrorist (Second ction, released October 2012) Hes one more guy similar to me. And maybe one more to mess up your life which I know you might be accustomed to now. Help him with his dreadful past. Give him shelter if possible. Make him independent to ght back as you did years back. You are his last hope. Dont allow him to pick up an AK 47 and turn into another man you would start to hate... (www.facebook.com/pages/Mom-and-I-Love-a-Terrorist-byLeema-Dhar-General Press/438739659494912) Till We Meet Again (Debut Best Seller, released August 2012) He smiled, leaning close to me. I thought he didnt want to answer. I turned and moved towards my car. Nishi. He called out. I turned around. Are we friends now? He asked wiping his face with his palm to rub off the water running from his eyes. Yes, I said. Are you sure? The rain wont stop, he asked me again. What do you want to hear? I smiled, confused. He shook his head to get the water out of his hair, gripped the handlebar of the bicycle, pedalled hard to reach me and softly murmured, Its an untimely rain Nishi. Dont lie today. (www.facebook.com/leemabooks)

A brief Bio:
Leema Dhar (born 22 Dec.1993, Allahabad), 3rd year student of Humanities (Psychology, English Literature) in Allahabad University, left her AIEEE Rank for her creative passion. Her debuting ction Till We Meet Again (published Aug. 2012), is a National Best seller. Her rst anthology of Hindi poems was Kuch Lafz Naqab Mein (2007), second in English For The Hundred Tomorrows (2010). She has been nominated thrice consecutively for Hindustan Times Women Achiever Awards (2011, 2012 & 2013). Her awless prose, plot selection and the art of storytelling made her book a hot sellerHindustan Times on her second sensational ction, Mom and I Love A Terrorist (published Oct. 2012). Her latest ction, The Girl who Kissed the Snake, was released on 17 June 2013. Shes currently working as a freelancer in numerous creative projects.

37

Study

THE REFLECTION OF THE SELF IN ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Nada Rajan interprets the movie version of the classic tale.

im Burtons Alice in Wonderland is a brilliant reworking of Lewis Carrolls classic tale, making use of the same familiar characters in a dramatically different and more mature context. The characters in Wonderland represent an array of archetypes even as they reect a Freudian classication between the Id, Ego and Superego where Alice reveals her psyche to herself and achieves personal integrity and wholeness by determining who in fact she really is. At the opening of the lm, 19-year-old Alice, perched on the brink of adolescence and adulthood, is to make a fundamental decision about her life, unexpectedly. Whether she will adhere to social norms and expectations by accepting the proposal of a wealthy lord or else determine her own destiny, is the central theme. To resolve this problem, Alice, like all great heroes of literatures past and present, must undertake a quest, which on the surface appears to be the quest for the vorpal blade required to slay the Jabberwocky, but doubles as a mission to reveal Alices own identity and also an attempt to recover what the Mad Hatter describes as her lost muchness. The realization and integration of the self is a phenomenon bended knee to pursue the rabbit down the rabbit hole, whereupon she enters the world of the unconscious mind. She falls down the rabbit hole exactly as in Carrolls work. Oddly, she knows on some level, probably from experience, that Wonderland is just a dream and that ultimately, she is in control which every human being faces in life. Just as Alice is listening to the proposal of Lord Hamish amid an assembled crowd of expectant onlookers (representing social pressure), she spots the white rabbit, clad in a waistcoat and baring a pocket watch. Intrigued, she quickly leaves Hamish on of her own destiny and those of the colourful characters that populate that dreamscape. Here, we see Alice as a lucid dreamer, in as much as she knows that shes dreaming. Nevertheless, she nds herself unable to wake up. Clearly, Alice has a message for herselfand the message is urgent. Hence the white rabbit carrying the pocket watch. The rabbit is always just out of reach and must be pursued. Maddeningly, this object can never be attained unless it gives itself up to the pursuer of its own free will. The white rabbit, like the Cheshire cat and the Blue Caterpillar, are Jungian animal archetypes, each representing an aspect of Alices own psyche: the rabbit, desire; the cat, mystery and trickery; and the caterpillar, wisdom and the power of transformation.

38

Alices pursuit of the white rabbit represents desire of an object that begs to be possessed and she is willing to go to all kinds of trouble, including falling down a rabbit hole, to catch up with this adorable object. Burtons vision of the journey down the rabbit hole is similar to both Carrolls and Walt Disneys. As Alice falls, she encounters all kinds of objects oating in space and lands unceremoniously with a thud. Upon landing, Alice nds herself in a room full of doors, all locked. At this juncture, Alice is her natural size and is too small to reach the key far above her on a glass table top. In order to pursue the rabbit, or just to get out of the predicament in which she nds herself, she must unlock a door. This room full of locked doors represents the mind, the secrets of which may be unlocked if only one has the presence of mind to locate the key. Finding the key is easyits in plain sight, on the glass table; reaching the key, however, is more complicated. Alice must go through a series of growth and shrinkage to nally procure the key, t it into the appropriate lock and nally arrive at the right size to get through the door. Alices constant sizechange from eating cakes and drinking brews may refer to a womans perpetual worry whether she is the right size and so undergoing an endless series of growing and shrinking

throughout her life. Being the right size has everything to do with unlocking the secrets of lifeone can be neither too fat nor thin, neither tall nor short. And yet, this is clearly Alices own determination, though she is unaware of it. As Alice undergoes the ordeal of procuring the key, striving for the proper size, the mouse and another companion watch her and wonder aloud if it is indeed THE Alice and if so, why she cant remember what is required to get the key. Throughout Wonderland, there is much doubt about Alices being THE Alice. Alices inability to remember that shes been to Wonderland before, reveals that her own mind is always a fresh mystery to heran unknown object of both delight and horror. When Alice does nally enter Wonderland, she is not recognized by the inhabitants, who are anxious to know whether or not she is THE Alice. We later learn that it has been foretold in the Oraculum that Alice is the one who will free the inhabitants from the reign of the Red Queen by slaying the Jabberwocky. The most important day in Oraculum, an ever-changing document, is frabjous day when Alice slays the Jabberwocky, the malicious dragon controlled by the menacing Queen of Hearts, who tyrannizes the inhabitants of Wonderland. The Queen of Hearts represents the

Superego in Alices psyche. She is the force which controls the more spontaneous and joyful aspects of her personality. This Superego, however, is deformed and cruel. With an unnaturally large head, she demands that her courtiers deform themselves likewise, to draw attention away from her physical irregularity. Moreover, she abuses her servants and often dispatches them by beheading (which no doubt represents the removal of ones faculties of reason). The Red Queens power, however, is but a house of cards. Her minions are quite literally, a deck of cards and hers is a losing game. She cannot be happy because her world is loveless. Focused on control and power, she has missed out on the entire point of living. Her consort Stayne, the Knave of Hearts, tolerates her only because of his fetish for largeness, when he meets Alice who, by this time is about 8 feet tall, is more to his liking than the Queen. Attracted by power, Stayne instinctively knows that Alice is powerful, besides being very tall. For a short time, Red Queen muses if it might be better to be loved than feared, but upon encountering a small rebellion, she reverts to her theory that it is better to be feared than loved, a grossly mistaken notion that will result in her banishment from the Wonderland. Queen of Hearts is a misnomer as it is the Red Queens sister, the White Queen, who is truly the

39

Queen of hearts and souls. Hers is a complex game represented by a chess board. Her minions are chess pieces, a game not of luck, but of skill and learning. Her life is rich because she has the love of all who know her. The White Queen represents the mother or possibly the goddess archetype in Jungs schema and the Ego in Freuds. She is the intermediary between the Superego and the Id. Unlike the Hatter, she is not insane or a slave to passions; rather she is kind and has compassion for all, including her power-thirsty sister who seeks to destroy her. Her purpose is to avoid an all-out-war between her sister (Superego) and the other inhabitants of Wonderland (the unconscious) attempting as best she can to integrate the two camps. When this becomes impossible, she requires a champion (Alice) to represent her, as she has taken vows never to harm a living thing. White Queens colour, in contrast to her sister, is white, a colour denoting light and purity. Early on, Alice is escorted by Tweedledee and Tweedledum to see Absolem, the blue, hookah-smoking caterpillar, to determine whether or not she is the Alice. He unceremoniously declares that she is not. Alice emphatically agrees stating that she could never, in a million years, slay anything, let alone a vicious monster, such as the Jabberwocky. Oddly, the Oraculum itself depicts Alice

and her friends in front of the Oraculum pondering the coming battle between Alice and the Jabberwocky. Even in the face of prophesy, Alice refuses to believe that she is anything more than what she appears to be; a powerless and crazy girl. Absolem represents a priestly or even godly archetypethat mysterious and otherworldly personality who has access to the author of all things, i.e. Alice herself. When Absolem meets Alice, he asks her who she is, and she doesnt really know. Im Alice, but I dont think Im THE Alice, she stammers. Alice hasnt yet achieved her potential because she doesnt know who she is and at this point she is not THE Alice. To understand her true nature, Alice, like Absolem, will have to transform herself into another kind of being. In the end of the lm, we see that Absolem has transformed himself into a buttery, as is the nature of caterpillars, while Alice has transformed herself into a knight in shining armour come to redeem all of Wonderland by slaying the evil Jabberwocky, which is her true nature. Both Absolem and Alice have died and been reborn and transformed. Although Alice is the author of Wonderland, she doesnt know her true nature and hasnt realized her true power until she is faced with the notion that if she doesnt slay the Jabberwocky,

her beloved friends (actually her own mind) will fall prey to it. Alice has been foretold by the Oraculum (a symbol for any prophetic sacred text) that she is the chosen champion destined to slay the Jabberwocky, and on the other hand, Alice herself is the author of the Oraculum, because this is her dream and she will determine her own destiny, whether or not it has been foretold. When Alice nally meets the Mad Hatter, he does recognize her, Its Alice, Id recognize him anywhere, though he is different, and seems to have lost much of his muchness. Its signicant that Mad Hatter attributes a male gender to Alice, who is obviously female. This may be because Alices gender has less to do with her essence than she thinks. Also, when Alice does eventually don the armour and the Vorpol blade betting a knight, she is transformed into a hero archetype, typically male even as she retains her femininity. One of Jungs most interesting archetypes is the Hermaphrodite, a union of opposites and an archetype that represents integration of the psyche. When Alice does don the armour and the blade and slays the Jabberwocky, she has transcended her femininity and has become a hermaphroditea perfect balance between male and female, indicating total integration of the disparate elements of her conscious and unconscious mind.

40

The Mad Hatter is the Id in Freuds schema. Hes mad. He knows what he wants and he loves life and does so madly, without regard for social conventions and expectations. His mind and body are really unfettered by the demands and expectations of the Superego (Red Queen) until he is literally bound by chains to serve her, which at one point in the story, he literally is. Mad Hatter is so utterly tyrannized by the Red Queen, who has wrought much destruction in Wonderland that he cant help but seem a little joyless during these hard times. In Alice, he recognizes the redeemer, though, as he puts it, you have lost much of your muchness. Still, Alice is Alice (from the Greek, meaning truth), and she will slay the Jabberwocky. The Hatter has utter faith in her and will do whatever is necessary to help her full her destiny to undertake the quest that she has yet to understand that she must undertake. Thus, he hides her in his teapot and fashions a gown betting a Queen when she is shrunk down to size. Alice is only motivated to full her destiny as a champion when she is met with adversity. Her rst encounter is with the vicious Bandersnatch, who pursues Alice and her friends with ferocity. The Bandersnatch, along with the other ferocious animals of Wonderland, represents Alices shadow self. Alice, however, realizing that

she is the one who is really in control here, stands her ground and refuses to move in the face of the gigantic, snarling beast, telling herself that this is her dream, and nobody here can really hurt her in the connes of her own mind. The Bandersnatch does stop before annihilating Alice, and the door mouse removes one of his eyes with his sword. The blinded Bandersnatch then swipes at Alice, leaving a festering wound on her arm. Alices own creation has wounded, perhaps mortally, its own author, much in the way that Gods people have historically wounded and offended God. As we shall see, in order to recover from the wound, Alices task will be to face her shadow self and make peace with him. When she nally does this, by offering him back his stolen eye, the Bandersnatch kisses her wound and it immediately stops festering. Making peace with Bandersnatch also allows Alice access to the heart-shaped key chain around the beasts neck that opens the coffer housing the Vorpal blade, the only instrument capable of destroying the Jabberwocky. Oddly, at the time that Alice obtains the Vorpal blade, she has no idea that she will use it to slay the Jabberwocky. Not only does Alice make peace with her shadow self, she recruits him to her cause and he becomes a valuable ally in her quest to redeem Wonderland

from the evil queen. Alices fearlessness in the face of her shadow is what ultimately gives her the strength to full her destiny as Wonderlands redeemer and upon vanquishing the Jabberwocky (representing the tyrannical power of the Superego), it becomes clear who Alice is, a tremendously commanding, determined person who will decide her own destiny, both in Wonderland and the real world. When she emerges anew from the rabbit hole, a symbolic rebirth as a new and transformed individual, she has the strength and presence of mind to inform the expectant crowd of onlookers that she will not be marrying Lord Hamish as expected, and even required, but that she will nd something useful to do with her life, nevertheless. She then does an odd dance (one performed by the Mad Hatter upon the defeat of the Jabberwocky) called a Futterwacken. (Earlier, Mad Hatter informs the inhabitants of Wonderland that on the day that Frabjous day the Jabberwocky is vanquished, I shall Futterwacken...vigorously.) And Alice also Futterwackens most vigorously in outright deance of super-egotistical expectations and demands laid upon her by family and friends. She is now the master of both of her worlds and ready to fashion her own adventures.

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Answers
1. Garricks Temple to Shakespeare: The renowned actor-manager, David Garrick built the temple in 1756 to celebrate the genius of William Shakespeare. 2. University of Cambridge: Informally known as Cambridge University, it is a collegiate research university located in Cambridge, England, UK. 3. Big Ben: It is the nickname of the great bell of the clock at the north end of the palace of Westminister in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower. 4. Westminister Abbey: It is a large, mainly gothic, church in the heart of Westminister, London. 5. The Tower of London: It is a historic castle on the bank of river Thames in central London, England.

42
m Ga es
Sharmistha Gogoi jogs our memory with a few monumental structures

Identify these Landmarks

5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Impressions

Virginia Woolf: P.P. Ajayakumar

43

Interview

DECIPHERING DUALITY

Face-to-face with young novelist Tharun James Jimani.

Please tell us about yourself, and how you started to write? Sure. I was born and brought up in Trivandrum. I nished my schooling there, after which Ive sort of been playing tag with places; I went to Loyola College in Chennai, after which I did my Masters at the University of Glasgow. I lived and worked in Glasgow and London for a few years, then Singapore, then Mumbai. Since June, Ive been on the road promoting my novel and doing some writing, and am slowly beginning to miss the idea of home. Ill have to nd a new city to set up camp in soon. I love travelling, and Im terried of sleeping alone. The writing came with the reading; my house packed enough grown ups books to stock a small library, and my school, Loyola, had all the childrens literature a kid could hope for. Dinner conversation at home always revolved around what one of us was reading at the time; sometimes, my elder sister would read out a poem or a short story shed written. Looking back, it feels like there was no other option, really. I started writing because I would have been the odd one out if I hadnt. By the time I was in my late teens, it had become a way to cope with lifes little disappointments, or to celebrate a moment, but it started as an extension of dinner-time at home. How did you come to write Cough Syrup Surrealism this way; and why did you choose to write on pop culture?

I was a huge fan of 90s pop culture in school and college, especially of grunge music; I lost a good many years to teenage misconceptions of what was cool and what was wasnt. I think pop culturethe music we listen to, the kind of humour we go for, your favourite lm artistdeserves more weightage than we acknowledge, in shaping our personalities, especially as teenagers. So I couldnt possibly write a novel about a group of college students without bringing in the pop culture they subscribed to. Cough Syrup Surrealism is set in Chennai in 2006, and is the story of what we call nineties kidsthe rst generation to be brought up on cable TV, expectations versus reality when it comes to college life, living on your own, etc. Its also what brings them together; these kids come from different parts of the country, from different social and economic backgrounds, and an Alice In Chains teeshirt becomes a sort of tribe identier: you know youll probably get along if you both listen to the same bands. The tribe mentality is the other thing I wanted to portray: were so dependent on our immediate social group as young people; atmates are family. They have their own lingo, their in-jokes, their version of

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Tharun James Jimani

home away from homeyoure confused about so many things and you learn from each others mistakes, help with stuff, share your misery. So I used Facebook updates and blogposts as narrative devices to bring that in. We live in such a public worldits the norm to be plugged in 24/7, to share everything from what you had for lunch to PMS on social media. Were always showing off or looking for sympathy, living our lives out for this audience who are also performers while the real world just happens to us, instead of us making it happen. This vicious loop seemed like a typically grunge sentiment, though the music predates the technologythe feeling that its all meaningless and fakewhich the gang in the novel are both aware of and too comfortable in their apathy to do anything about.

What do you perceive as your strength as an author? Which aspect do you explore/ concentrate on in a creative thread? Im a people-watcher. Im most comfortable writing about stuff I know rst-hand, and I suppose it comes from a tendency to quickly become the observer, bang in the middle of interacting with someone. I just sort of switch off from my person in the strangest environmentsat a party, at work, during an intimate momentand while that must sound horrible, I really cant control it. Without any warning, my mind goes over plot possibilities, character quirks, a witty line while I should probably be responding to reality, replying to a question. Id like to think this helps me get the human element right in my writing make things sound like real life, not ction. Thats what I concentrate on in a creative thread, too: no situation is off-limits or implausible in a story, but the characters must respond to it like you and I would. What is the greatest challenge you face as a writer? Ive lived all my adult life with close friends, sharing an apartment or a house. I cant survive without friends around me, and I cant write if theres so much as a cat in the other room. Its a constant struggle to get any writing done because theres always something more interesting going on in the kitchen or at a friends placeall these people doing things and having fun and living their lives while you try to put it down on paper. But other than that, I guess my challenge is the same as anybody elsesdealing with the fear that Im not very good at it. How important is the title and design in popularising a book? What was your experience? Fingerprint (Prakash Books, New Delhi), my publisher, and I were very clear from the beginning that the cover would give off this nineties vibe. They gave me a lot of creative freedom in terms of content, and involved me from the get-go in the design and packaging. So we came up with this idea of having a cassette tape on the cover to pay homage to the decade and the role grunge music plays in the novel. Its that tribe identier at work againa particular type of audience is immediately interested by the cover alone. Theres also a picture of a a guy sitting on the hood of a Cielo, smoking a cigarette. Its the car one of the characters drives in the novel, but its also a car that was huge in its timeone of our rst sedans, Indias

45

rst international car. It was a symbol of social standing and of belonging to the upper middle class, something all the characters have in common. We wanted to get the details right, and it feels great when readers notice these little things, and let you know that they did. You have shown some signicant insight into the diasporic experience in your book. How do you perceive the role of locale, roots and community in your work? Nave as it sounds, Id never fully realized I was a Malayalee till I moved to Chennai for college. We spoke mostly in English in school, and at home; we lived in this bubble that was neither Indian nor Western. So all of a sudden, I was a Malluwith all its associated stereotypeson the one hand, and Mallu gangs looking to recruit you on the other. I didnt want that to be my identity; I was full of misguided teenage angst and wanted to be the punk or the rebel or anything cooler than the Mallu. I thought it was an interesting situation; in a country as large as India, youre a foreigner the moment you leave home, especially when youre from a state with a language that nobody else speaks. The Hindispeaking folk have Bollywood to give them some semblance of a shared identity, but what do I have in common with a stranger from UP other than our favourite American sitcom? Its a genuine diaspora experience, without leaving the country. So the protagonist of Cough Syrup Surrealism is a Malayalee who tries to make sense of this duality; his roots versus his pop cultural leanings, the expectations of his parents versus the lifestyle hes chosen for himself, the contradictions between whats acceptable in our culture and all the comforts of living in a new city, in anonymity. Who/ what were the most signicant inuences in your creativity? When I was a child, both my parents were hugely supportive of my writing; theyd drop anything they were doing to read something Id written and offer suggestions. The teachers at Loyola School were equally important to keeping the re burningalways ready to help, to sort out a wrinkle in your essay or short story, sending you to competitions, and your work to childrens publications. Im also a big fan of the visual medium, and its denitely inuenced the way I approach story telling. I watch a lot of TV shows, so I instinctively look at chapters as episodes, at a recurring theme as a running gag, that sort of thing. There are a lot of writers I admire of course, but some books tend to stay with you. Reading English, August in school was a turning point; so was discovering that The Doors named themselves in tribute to Aldous Huxleys work. If one of the greatest bands of all time recommends a writer, you have no option but to read everything hes written! What tips can you offer budding writers? Maybe its a middle child thing, but I nd I work better when Im assured of attention. Its really not that much fun sitting alone in your room typing out a manuscript that may or may not get published one day. So I maintain a bloghave done since college, I thinkwhich I clutter with the mess that is the personal life of my ctional self. Knowing someones going to read your work as soon as youve nished it is always great motivation to keep writing, as is getting immediate feedback. I use my blog as exerciseto warm up for the hard work, the lengthy prose of that novel youve been writing for what feels like years. And hey, a blog is also a great platform to market your book when its out. The publishing industry being in the state its in, writers have a responsibility to do what they can to promote their book. Its a win-win for both parties.

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Analysis

CONSTRUCTING THE FEMALE SELF IN INDIAN CHICK FICTION

Rajesh V. Nair explores the genre of Chick Literature

hick Literature or Chick Lit emerged in India in the mid 1990s, featuring stylish female protagonists living in urban areas, pursuing their love lives and professional success. In fact, such writings aim to recast the stereotyping of modern Indian women. Despite the recent boom in its publication and readership, the unavailability of sufcient literature pertaining to Chick Literature, particularly in the Indian context, is sufcient justication for a brief study. One of the most interesting aspects about Chick Lit has been its naming, which has actively been debated in both academic and publishing circles. As Caroline Smith notes, Bridget Joness Diary (1996) is a typical novel in this new genre. However, Chick Lit acquired much popularity through television, with series such as Ally MC Beal (1997) or Sex and the City (1998), but one may not ignore the ambiguity regarding its ideological commitment. It may be observed that this type of writing emerged during the period of late capitalism and consumerism and, therefore, Chick Lit is regarded as a marketing product in the postmodern age. No wonder, writers like Bainbridge has denounced it as froth, but according to Matt Thorne, those who consider it unworthy are misogynistic and elitist. In fact, the common Chick Literature themes are eating, shopping and female sexuality. Generally written by women and targeting female readers, Chick Lit explores the main woman living in urban areas with whom young readers can easily identify with. Desi Chick Literature or Indian Chick Literature is a genre focusing on womens issues and such writings openly challenge the norms of patriarchy. Some critics like Smith go to the extent of labelling it as a womans movement. Anuja Chauhans The Zoya Factor, Indu Sundaresans The Feast of Roses, Anne Cherians The Invitation, Roopa Farookis Bitter Sweets and Rajashrees Trust Me are good examples here. It may be observed that the ultimate aim of Indian Chick Literature is to depict the problems of contemporary women and criticize female oppression. Womens identity generally rests on their roles as wives, mothers, as home makers, whereas the male identity is linked to productive work, public visibility and power. Chick Literature tries to break this conventional notion of women and present them as independent individuals, having the capacity to think and

characters self-discovery, her hopes and dreams, trials and tribulations. However, it consists of so many varieties like Teen Chick Literature, Hen Literature, Momy Literature, Lad Literature and Indian Chick Literature or Masala Chick Literature or Desi Chick Literature. The stereotypical ctional character in Chick Literature novels is a 30-year-old, white, middle-class, educated, heterosexual, single

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act. In fact, Chick writers try to subvert the patriarchal notion that womens real duty is homemaking and nothing else. Chick Lit texts present the idea that women can full their desires and aspirations by remaining single; there is no need of sacricing their own identities for the sake of men. It is society that decides how a woman should present herself. Traditionally, patriarchy grants the father nearly total ownership over wife and children. These writers attack this concept by depicting single mothers. Women must be essentially vigilant and seek to build a world that is free and independent of men. In Trust Me, Paro and friends follow this path to build a world without male presence. Paro wants to create a new identity for herself, i.e., a life without men. She tries to remove herself from the clutches of patriarchy but ultimately fails in it. In the beginning of the novel Paro is the other, then she gains identity by leading a single life. However, ultimately she becomes the other again. We nd cyclical evolution of Paro here. Trust Me closes like a conventional romance where the hero and heroine live happily ever after. The heroines in Chick Lit novels are presented as strong characters who try to prove that they are not controlled and disciplined by men. This genre offers a space for women to write about themselves with

frankness which many women can connect with. Rajashree, who penned Trust Me, has proved her brilliance as a script writer and director and so it is no wonder that her masterpiece is set against the Bollywood lm industry. In the novel, we come across Parvathi the protagonist, who from humble surroundings, moves on to Bombay where she perseveres to earn a decent living. Though she wishes to move on, Parvathi is literally trapped in the bitter memories of the past when her relationship with Karan left her totally helpless and utterly dejected. Finally, she succeeds in nding her Mr. Right. It is Rahul Kapoor, her Mr. Right, who helps Parvathi survive in her life. In Chick Literature, we come across female characters who are alienated from their homes and Rajashree briey mentions Parvathis poor upbringing. Struggling for professional success is a major motif in Chick Lit as in Trust Me. Parvathi wants to become a set designer and Rahul an accomplished actor; both struggle for their professional success. Usually, Chick Literature features stylish female protagonists living in urban settings, leading a life of their choicethey drink, smoke and have affairs with many guys. However, the heroines friends support her through thick and thin. In Trust Me, Saira and Kavita support Paro with whom she can share everything. Through the character Mr. Boss, Rajashree throws light on the

worst side of men. Mr. Boss is old enough to be Paros father. Having lost her father early in life, Paro perceives Mr. Boss in that esteem. He seems to console her but his real intention is malicious, Older men are better in bed. They know how to really please a woman (13). Actually, Mr. Boss is another Karan who wants to exploit her. After Karans and Bosss incidents, Parvathi undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes bold and courageous; she understands that appearances are very often deceptive. In Trust Me, Rajashree depicts female characters in different stages of their lives. Through this novel, she unveils the ugly and murky side of the lm industry. In fact, it has all the elements that a novel demandsfriendship, love, tragedy and perfect ending. It is the friendship of Parvathi, Saira and Kavita that makes the novel beautiful and engrossing. Of the same wavelength, it is their friendship that adds vigour to the novel. It is Kavita who states, All men are bastards (17). As the novel progresses, Paro also reaches the same conclusion. Chick Lit heroines are often bothered about their weight. Saira is a character who is too much concerned about her weight. A journalist in a daily newspaper, she always wears sarees not for tradition, but to hide her portly gure. Paro struggles a lot to leave Amaravati

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and come to Bombay. She wants to become a set designer, and for that, she had to reach Bombay, the city of dreams. She works tirelessly for itgetting best grades in commercial art, saving up her scholarship money and nally convinces her mother to let her go to Bombay. Paros mother wants her to have all the opportunities she has not had. It is Kavita who brings a turning point in her life when she suggests Paro to join Jambuwant Sinhas unit where she meets Rahul. Chick Lit authors depict their protagonists as having ambivalent relationships towards magazines. Chick Lit characters are conscious of domesticadvice manuals ideologies and are often inuenced by them. In Helen Fieldings Bridget Joness Diary (1996) and Sophie Kinsellas The Secret Dream World of a Shopaholic (2000), we see heroines who are obsessed with womens magazines. Though seemingly straightforward in their intentions, it is important to recognize the contradiction upon which womens magazines are based; the advice offered by these publications are inconsistent and it changes like fashion-trends. Womens magazines have long been a topic of scholarly debate and some scholars have heavily criticized the medium for its problematic gender representations. We may consider those femaleoriented magazines in the genre of Chick Lit. Like other Chick

Literature heroines, Fieldings and Kinsellas protagonists are the target demographic for these publications; young, single women in the late twenties and early thirties. We can assume that Paro is also a sort of woman who is heavily dependent on those pieces of advice put forward by womens magazines. Having been a part of Hindi lm industry, Rajashree wrote the novel in the form of a lm narrative and depicts the industry with realism. She also gives us a clear picture of big stars ego through the character Mehboob Khan. Rajashree presents Manoj, the assistant director as an embodiment of male chauvinism. He is of the view that girls have certain rules and they are not supposed to cross that boundary. When Paro makes a few continuity mistakes in the set, he tries to console her by saying that Jumbo will not mind it because she is a girl. Though Rahuls solo lm is a op, it does not need much time for him to rise as a big star. Rajashree presents a general truth regarding the industry through Manoj, So hes not hot right now, but with this industry it doesnt take much time, for whats down to come up and whats up to go down(59). The deep-seated fear of commitment is the problem of all the three friends. One of the things that holds these three together is that they all come from single-parent, if not broken

homes. Paros mother had brought up Paro and her two sisters all by herself after her fathers death, whereas Kavitas father had left her mother for another woman. Though not divorced, Sairas parents fought so bitterly that it pains her a lot. Even though Paro resists a relationship with Rahul, she nds her perfect man in him. But she clearly remembers a statement she has read in a womens magazine: Men give love in order to get sex. Women give sex in order to get love (III). Through this, Parvathi tries to prove that men do everything for their selsh motives. Saira is the boldest among them. Society has placed women within a frame. By slapping back her boy friend, she breaks the frame that society has imposed upon women. As the novel progresses, Rajashree tries to bring the negative side of the lm industry. From Mrignayanis episode, we come to realize that it is tough for a girl who has no connections in the industry to get a break. Girls like Mrignayani are ready to sleep with anybody who can help her to get a role. By realizing the happenings of industry, Paro repeats Kavitas words, All men are bastards (137). We may consider Chick Literature as a room for women to write openly about themselves. The female characters in this novel, Paro, Saira and Kavita are all presented as self-condent. As Virginia Woolf says in A Room

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of Ones Own, Without selfcondence we are as babes in the cradle. Rajashree also highlights the positive aspects of Bombay in Trust Me: One good thing about Bombay is that one can always lose oneself in a crowd (142). The title has its own relevance it is a plea from Rahul to Paro, to trust him. To her, the word trust has no clear denition. Her strong will power helps Paro survive calamities. Many traditional lms and novels tragically show girls who contemplate suicide in such circumstances. There, virginity is everything for a woman; if she loses it, she will end her life. But in this genre, women are portrayed as being as strong as men. They face their life boldly as Paro has faced. Most Chick Literature heroines are portrayed as single women who face difculties in living in a single room. Paro is a young, single, heterosexual woman whereas Rahul is a sensitive, liberated man. Paro nally realises that all men are not alike and she feels that it is time to forgive Karan, not for his sake but for her freedom. There is a world of love and security waiting for her if she would open it. It is her rm decision that she would embrace that world of happiness. Towards the end, we understand the real depth of their love. In the last chapter, Paro tells Rahul that girls subconsciously choose men who are similar to their fathers. The climax is presented just like

a lm. In characteristic romance tradition, Parvathi sinks into the male protagonists hands. It may be admitted that Chick Literature brings a refreshing variety to the myriad forms of postmodern writings, particularly because of its focus on women and female readers. However, this new form is not free from drawbacks and criticisms. Chick Lit, which aims at constructing female identity, raises the pertinent question as to which category of women such writings cater. As a matter of fact, this mode of writing focuses on urban, single, educated, heterosexual women and lamentably sidelines those who belong to the subaltern classes like adivasis, dalits, tribals, homosexuals and the socalled marginalised groups. Every piece of Chick Lit has a romantic undertone and all texts invariably end with the arrival of a Mr. Right. Hence, it may be argued that though this genre of writing promises much by trying to subvert the structures of patriarchy and its value systems, it unfortunately ends up reinforcing the same ideology. Thus, Parvathi who wants to be a liberated girl nds herself comfortable in the security of marital life with Rahul Kapoor. An important topic which crops up in Rajasrees Trust Me is the issue of sexuality. Heterosexuality is projected as the norm whereas homosexuality, especially

lesbianism, is frowned upon as it poses a challenge to patriarchy. Though Chick Literature appears as a contemporary womens movement, the ghost of patriarchy still haunts it when actions shift from the female to male space. Though the female characters rail against familial relationships and emotional entanglements, we nd them slowly moving towards the security of marriage, where they try to rediscover their selves. Lacking depth and character development, these novels are neither clever nor enjoyable for a discerning reader and are merely a notch higher than Mills and Boon, with a lot more regressive soap opera-type sex and drama thrown in for good measure. A discussion on Chick Literature may not be complete without a note on the marketing strategies. The attractive and tempting dust jackets of Chick Lit immediately draw the attention of readers, especially with the illustrations of bold and audacious females. Thus the cover page of Meenakshi Reddy Madhavans You are Here sports a cigarettesmoking woman. Indeed, Chick Lits bold, pink or pastel-coloured covers with cursive fonts and line drawings of handbags or shoes grace bookstore shelves, supermarkets, railway and airport shops. To conclude, one may argue that such writings cater to the needs of an audience increasingly enmeshed in contemporary consumerist culture.

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Impressions

Charm: Ajay B.R.

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Po

em

Musings and Cravings

I always wanted to write a story That ends happily. But As rain hesitates to sift through a door ajar, My mind got estranged from story bits. I tried to give myself to the morning hues, Daring to drift apart from the puddle of insatiable emotions. I walked through that ravished corridor, Empathizing with the fate of minds alike. I listened to the babbling of those from movies, Just to get a story thread. The emptiness of this crowded world slapped me And I couldnt sense anything sensible. Time began to leave behind the present, And I steadily went astray. In a utter of nervousness, My masquerades of hope fainted in gloom. Finally, I tried to calculate the chances Of getting a story shaped from fragments. But I couldnt make it count, As I feared to think furthermore. My eyes then got xed at my daughter Smiling from that wedding photo frame. Her well-rouged eyes told me countless happy stories. And soon I longed to be by her side, And wanted to tell her again the story of the Happy Prince, And thus to enjoy my life with her, To simply grow with her

Hima J. Babu

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Po

em

The 8 pm TV Show
Its 8O clock at night and it has begun!!! Whats wrong with these people, are they real fun? I say. I am with him, he seems right, I see myself in him, my Brother says, See how that girl is hugging that guy, shameless, thats our Mother. The new Malayali version of a Hit TV show, in an hour they make us mad and our heads toss. They are locked up in a grand house, make it a home, they were told before-hand. And in their home-making, They are ghting all the time, They are back-biting all the time, They are gaming and challenging, They are teaming, strategizing. My Mother wants that guy to win, I want that girl to win, my brother doesnt care who does, for as long as: They are ghting all the time, They are back-biting all the time, They are gaming and challenging, They are teaming, strategizing, They are the news in town and are damn entertaining. People are confused and in their public reviews, Some say its a heresy; some, its a change, a new wave, they all go home and vote-out online, At my home, we have no different things to say, My mother loves the show, My brother admires it, I for one cant miss a day without it, My friend adores it, and we discuss it with a glow. My God!! What went wrong in our lives,

Rinu Krishna K.

To be slaves to a freaking reality show?

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Quiz

Poets Laureate
Dr. Asha N. Rabb

he term poet laureate can be simply dened as the national poet of Britain. He is a person who has been ofcially chosen to write poetry on the important occasions of the country and is paid by the government or by the King or the Queen. The title comes from the laurels with which the ancient Greeks traditionally crowned their most celebrated poets. Historically, the duty of the poet laureate has been to compose ofcial poetry for the Kings or Queens birthday and for great public occasions, such as victories in war, coronations, and births and weddings in the royal family. He was appointed for life as an ofcer of the royal household and received a stipend as an ofcer of the Royal Household. The post of Poet Laureate has a long chequered history. Some of them are almost unknown, while others are among the greatest poets in the English language. The term dates from the appointment of Bernard Andr (1450-1509) in 1485 by Henry VII. In 1513, Henry VIII appointed John Skelton (c. 1460-1529) whose important poems are Replycacion, Speke, Parrot and The Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe. Edmund Spenser (1552-1599) was the poet laureate from 1590 to 1599. He was appointed by Elizabeth I. Samuel Daniel (1562-1619) too was appointed by Elizabeth I. He held the post from 1599 to 1616. The rst poet laureate in the modern sense was Ben Jonson, but the title seems to have been rst ofcially given to John Dryden. It is King James I who essentially created the position of poet laureate, as it is known today, for Ben Jonson in 1616, although Jonsons appointment does not seem to have been made formally. Though many poets enjoyed the favour at Court from early times, the ofcial origin of the post dates back to the 17th century. In 1668, King Charles II gave John Dryden the ofcial titles of Poet Laureate and Historiographer Royal in a formal Royal warrant and it was only John Dryden who was dismissed in 1688. He refused to swear an oath of allegiance to the new king, William III. The tradition of holding the post for life went on till Ted Hughes (1930-1998) who was appointed by Elizabeth II in 1984 on the refusal of Philip Larkin. In 1999, the appointment was xed for a period of a decade when Elizabeth II appointed Andrew Motion. On his retirement on May 1, 2009, Carol Ann Duffy became the rst woman to be appointed to the position. Apart from reading and writing of poetry on simply Royal events, the recent holders of the post have been addressing public issues that seem signicant to them.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Who refused the laureateship in 1757 and was appointed Professor of History and Modern Languages at Cambridge in 1768 ? Who was appointed poet laureate in 1715 and was buried in Westminster Abbey after his death in 1718 ? Who superseded John Dryden as poet laureate and historiographer at the revolution, but his claims to the position were not high ? To whom was the appointment of poet laureate due when Thomas Shadwell was appointed ? . was an academical distinction that should not be confused with Poet Laureate. Who refused poet laureateship in 1785 ?

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7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Who was conferred an academical distinction degree of Poeta Laureates by the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge ? Which poet laureate was pilloried in a satirical poem by Alexander Pope? In 1850, he published his In Memoriam and was appointed poet laureate. Who was he ? Whose appointment as poet laureate was celebrated in the Probationary Odes? Who became poet laureate in 1790 and was the constant butt of contemporary ridicule? Whose productions in the capacity of poet laureate met with much unfriendly comment, to which he replied in A Charge to Poets? When was William Whitehead appointed as poet laureate ? Who succeeded Robert Southey as poet laureate? When was William Wordsworth appointed as poet laureate? Who refused the offer of poet laureateship in 1813? Whom did Sir Walter Scott recommend for the honour of poet laureateship in 1813? Though he was not formally appointed the rst poet laureate, the essentials of the position were conferred on him in 1616, when a pension was granted to him by James I. Name him. In 1850, who gallantly declined the offer of poet laureateship? Who applied unsuccessfully for the post of poet laureate in 1730?

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Answers

Thomas Warton Alfred Lord Tennyson Nahum Tate John Skelton William Mason Poeta Laureates Lord Dorset Thomas Shadwell Nicholas Rowe Thomas Gray

20. 19. 18. 17. 16. 14. 12. 11.

15. 1843

13. 1757

Richard Savage Samuel Rogers Benjamin Jonson Robert Southey Sir Walter Scott William Wordsworth William Whitehead Henry James Pye

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Review

LOVE WITH A SOCIAL TWIST

P.P. Ajayakumar reviews the latest social satire by noted Malayalam director Sathyan Anthikad

ove stories have always been the favorite themes of lm makers all over the world. Oru Indian Pranayakatha by Sathyan Anthikadu is yet another love story, rather a series of love stories, brought together in a single lm. Though the movie refers to divergent love stories, the rst half mostly depicts the political activities of Aymenam Sidharthan, an ambitious local politician. He is the leader of the youth wing of the RDF party. A crafty politician, Sidharthan is all set to come to the top by hook or crook. As the sitting MLA dies, he hopes to become a candidate in the upcoming by-election. He is supported by Uthup Vallikkadan, the district head of the party. Aymanam Sidharthans attempts to grab attention during public functions create humour and lift the lm to the level of political satire. The deception, self-projection and showing off does not yield dividends as the national leaders choose another person who has no political background, to contest in the elections instead of him, just because she is the daughter of a political big-shot. Disheartened at the decision of the party, Sidharthan decides to take a break. Aymenam Sidharthans characterization is caricatural in nature. His movements, actions, mannerisms and speech are exaggerated to the extent of creating disbelief. Sidharthans innovative attempts to place himself at the centre of the frame in photographs could be seen as his efforts to attain the central position. The hoardings erected by him with the support of his fellow workers, and the several meetings organized in the name of various causes often contradictory in nature, could also be seen as attempts in this direction. It is evident that he is attracted towards power and he is willing to play any dirty game to reach the top. The song Valetukkenam beautifully portrays the pragmatic philosophy of Sidharthan who share the characteristics of the present-day politicians. It echoes the lines in Marlowes Edward II You must be proud, bold, pleasant, resolute, / And now and then stab, as occasion serves. Sidharthans encounter with Irene reveals the practical politician in him. Though he was entrusted with the duty of nding a suitable person to assist Irene, he decides to act as the assistant, mainly attracted by the huge remuneration offered by Irene. It is also true that it would provide him an easy excuse for not being active in party work. His movement is always towards power. Political power on the one side and money power on the other attracts him and the same is evident in his love relationship with Divya, the daughter of a rich businessman. It is his greater afnity for political power that spoils his relationship with Divya in one sense. His inability to get the party ticket could be another reason. Divya informs Sidharthan about her Daddys lack of interest in their marriage. But he remains unmoved and takes no interest in talking to her father about their love as he knows that he has become powerless after being denied the party ticket. It is interesting to note that even love is used here as a tool for attaining power. Rather, love itself becomes a search for power in a society where power in its various manifestations matter. It is the failure in love that makes Sidharthans sister powerless. She loved a doctor, but could not marry him. While she remains single and so powerless, Irenes original parents Azad and Thulasi lead happy married lives being totally unaware of the fact that they had a daughter. Azad leaves Kerala before he came to know that Thulasi was pregnant and though Thulasi gave birth to a girl, she was told that the child was lost. The child was secretly shifted to an orphanage.

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Irene is non-existent, absent as far as Azad and Thulasi are concerned. Even when she presents herself before their eyes, they fail to recognize her. They could have recognized her only in the background of their love. As they have moved away to different parts of the country and have lost the common ground of love, Irene becomes an unrecognizable image for them. But by searching for her parents, Irene was attempting to ll the vacuum in her life. It was a search to nd an answer to her orphaned status. She succeeds in this search with the help of Sidharthan. Irene goes through a series of disguises; a documentary lm maker, a patient and a girl who eloped with her boy friend during her journey in search of her parents. She was forced to reveal her identity before Sidharthan and she never reveals the same before her parents who were leading happy married

lives with their families at two different parts of the country, unconcerned of the past or rather relegating the love affair as a teen-age fascination. But being a living embodiment of that affair, Irene could not forget or push the memories to the margins. She was in search of the past that Azad and Thulasi were trying to forget. But the lm resolves this confrontation by allowing each to feel at home in their respective shells. By behaving like a stranger before her parents, Irene was taking extra care not to disturb the existing family setup and to keep intact the power relationship within each family, though she unknowingly reveals its frailty. The coming together of Irene and Sidharthan, in a sense is the meeting of the two individuals who have been alienated in their respective milieu. Sidharthan has lost his trust in the party and Irene lost the support of her parents. The two powerless

creatures walk together in the end to the surprise of all. The story presents the quest for power operated at different levels; Irene in search of her parents, Sidharthan in search of party ticket, Divya and her Dad in search of Sidharthan. The nal coming together of Irene and Sidharthan represent the journey in search of power. The forgetfulness of Azad and Thulasi and the retrogression of Divya and her Dad are aimed at the preservation of power. If the presentation of Sidharthan as a mature politician in the end is any indication, it could be seen as part of his efforts to equip himself to come to terms with his alienation rather than as an indication of a positive change in the party. Thus the lm Oru Indian Pranayakatha reveals the variety of ways in which power operates in human relationships and attempts to examine love as a site of power.

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Snippets

LITERARY AWARDS 2013

Sharmistha Gogoi collates the major literary awards

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - Kevin Barry (City of Bohane). The Nobel Prize in Literature - Alice Munro (Canada). Commonwealth Writers Book Prize - Liza O Donnell (The Death of Bees, UK). Short Story Prize (Joint winners):
Sharon Millar (The Whale House, Trindad & Tobago). Eliza Robertson (We Walked on Water, Canada).

The Dylan Thomas Prize - Claire Vaye Watkins (Battleborn). Pulitzer Prize (Fiction) - Adam Johnson (The Orphan Masters Son). Pulitzer Prize (Poetry) - Sharon Olds (Stags Leap). Man Booker Prize - Eleanor Catton (The Luminaries). Man Booker International Prize - Lydia Davis. Anthony Awards (Best Mystery Novel) - Louise Penny (The Beautiful Mystery). World Fantasy Award: Novel - G. Willow Wilson (Alif the Unseen). Collection - Joel Lane (Where Furnaces Burn). Franz Kafka Prize - Amos Oz (Israel, Hebrew Language). Dayton Literary Peace Prize: Fiction - Adam Johnson (The Orphan Masters Son). Non-Fiction - Andrew Solomon (Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search
for Identity).

Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award - Wendell Berry. Womens Prize for Fiction - A.M. Homes (May We Be Forgiven). Prince of Asturias Award - Antonio Munoz Molina. Susan Smith Blackburn Prize - Anne Baker (The Flick). The Lionel Gelber Prize - Chrystia Freeland (Plutocrats: Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the
Fall of Everyone Else).

S.E.A. Write Award - Yeng Pway Ngon (Singapore).

58

Snippets

LOSSES OF 2013
26 July 30 July 30 July 5 August 7 August 8 August 11 August 19 August

Compiled by Tintu Anie Mathew

Laf Lakhdar, Tunisian writer; Tunisia. Alvarez Guedes, Cuban writer; Cuba. Benjamin Walker, Indian-born British author known for Hindu World; India. Quraishi Pur, Urdu writer and novelist; Pakistan. Samuel G. Armistead, American linguist; USA. Barbara Mertz, American mystery writer; USA. Maung Wuntha, author and activist; Myanmar. Dagon Taya, renowned writer, was honoured with the Manhae Peace Prize from South Korea in 2013; Myanmar. Malathi Chandur, Telegu novelist and Sahitya Akademi winner; India. Ciril Bergles, poet, won Jenka Award (2004); Slovenia. Rafael Diaz Ycaza, poet, novelist, short story writer and columnist. He was awarded the Eugenio Espejo National Award (2011); Ecuador. Seamus Heaney, Irish writer and the recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in

21 August 25 August 28 August

29 August

Literature; Ireland.

31 August 6 September 21 September

David Frost, British broadcaster and writer; UK. Ann C. Crispin, Science-ction writer, wrote several Star Trek novels; USA. Ko Awooner, a Ghanaian poet and author, Ghanas Permanent Representative to the United Nations (199094); Ghana. Alvaro Mutis Jaramillo, Colombian poet, essayist and novelist. Winner of 2002 Neustadt International Prize for Literature; Mexico. James Emanuel, American poet; USA. Tom Clancy, writer known for thrillers, especially The Hunt for Red October

22 September

28 September 1 October

and Patriot Games; USA.

59

 9 October 12 October

Edmund Niziurski, Polish writer; Poland. Oscar Hijuelos, the Cuban-American writer who was the rst Latino to win the Pulitzer Prize; USA. Dr Ravuri Bharadhwaja, eminent Telegu writer and Jnanpith Award

18 October

recipient; India.

6 November 10 November 10 November 12 November 13 November 14 November

Tarla Dalal, food writer and chef; India. Giorgio Orelli, Swiss poet; Switzerland. Vijayadan Detha, Rajasthani folk writer; India. William Weaver, American translator of modern Italian literature; USA. Hans-Jurgen Heise, German author and poet; Germany. Hari Krishna Devsare, author of childrens literature in Hindi and magazine

editor (Parag); India.

15 November 16 November 17 November 17 November

Barbara Park, American author of childrens books (Junie B. Jones); USA. Louis D. Rubin Jr, noted American writer; USA. Omprakash Valmiki, noted Dalit writer; India. Doris Lessing, British author, recipient of 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature; UK. She was the oldest person to receive this award. Charlotte Zolotow, American author, poet, editor and publisher of many books for children; USA. Wanda Coleman, American poet known as the LA Blueswoman and the unofcial poet laureate of Los Angeles; USA. Joel Lane, British novelist, received the 2013 World Fantasy Award (Best Collection) for his book Where Furnaces Burn; UK. Colin Wilson, English writer; UK. Nelson Mandela, former President of South Africa, anti-apartheid revolutionary. He won the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize and the Bharat Ratna.

19 November

22 November

26 November

5 December 5 December

60

Ga

: Seamus Henry Heaney

: Ranjan Mathai

: ModulatorDemodulator

The Everest Hotel: A Calendar : Mukul Kesavan

Men in White : S. Varadarajan

The Inscrutable Americans

Death of a Naturalist : Anurag Mathur

Indias High Commissioner to UK

Chairman of BPCL

MODEM : Amish Tripathi

Shiva Trilogy : Shashi Tharoor

Roshni : Allan Sealy

es

Match the following

Lakshmipriya P. & Kiran Patil

Amitav Ghosh

Skill development and training

Rukun Advani

61

Answers
Roshni Shiva Trilogy MODEM Chairman of BPCL Indias High Commissioner to UK Death of a Naturalist The Inscrutable Americans Men in White The Everest Hotel: A Calendar <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> <-----------------> Skill development and training Amish Tripathi ModulatorDemodulator S. Varadarajan Ranjan Mathai Seamus Henry Heaney Anurag Mathur Mukul Kesavan Allan Sealy

Snippets

ANNIVERSARIES IN 2013

Sharmistha Gogoi lists the main anniversaries

50th death anniversary of C.S. Lewis, the author famous for the Narnia books (195055). He died on November 22, 1963. 50th death anniversary of Aldous Huxley. Aldous Huxley died on November 22, 1963. He was an English writer, best known for his novels that include Brave New World. 60th anniversary of Winston Churchill winning the Nobel Prize in Literature for his mastery of historical biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values on December 10, 1953. 125th birth anniversary of T.S. Eliot, American-born British poet, playwright and literary critic, on September 26, 1888. The Waste Land is one of his well-known poems. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day

poetry.

150th anniversary of Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address. This speech by US President Abraham Lincoln is one of the best known in American history which enshrined the basic tenets of democracy and equality for all people, irrespective of their race or class. It was delivered during the American Civil War on November 19, 1863. Thousands gathered in Gettysburg, PA, to mark its 150th anniversary on November 19, 2013. 150th death anniversary of William MakepeaceThackeray, British author of Vanity Fair. He died on December 24, 1863. 250th birth anniversary of Samuel Rogers, British poet and patron of arts. He was born on July 30, 1763. 125th anniversary of The Lyric Theatre in London which opened on December 17, 1888.

62

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