Haruki Murakami - The Elephant Vanishes

This book of Murakami is a strangely written book. I sense that the translation isn't as subtle; it might make a brilliant read in Japanese. Alas! I cannot do that!

That apart, the stories that come in the book, one after the other, give a modern view of Japan and how the identity of Japan is diluting ever so gently at the periphery, in the living rooms, in far-off woods and all over :)

You will get a sense of stilted relationships in each narrative. That seems to stem from the identity or lack thereof - a kind of 'spiritual emptiness' describes characters! It almost seems like a pointless book, but then why should there always be a point with a book :). It slowly grows on us. After his "Norwegian Woods", this seems distant. And I am glad it does, plainly because Murakami-san shows events, builds them into a strange tone and makes you walk with him. There is no Marquez kind of quality, but Murakami has a distinct voice! Overall, read it and you would know.

Om Puri's Biography

Last week I started reading the biography of Om Puri (the renowned actor). There is a lot of content in the book, but at some level it was a disappointing biography. The content presentation was more like a newspaper column - no literary merit. Biographies need sustained writing style and must have strong structure, flow and narrative, but these elements went missing. Having strong content alone does not make for a good biography.

In the same breath, I must admit that there were interesting nuggets and details that came to light about this wonderful actor who has scaled peaks plainly on merit and competence - his acting skills.

The fact that he actually pulled rickshaws on the streets of Kolkatta for months as preparation for his role in 'City of Joy" (LaPierre's book) was staggering. Nandita Puri brings out many facts and it is an honest biography. That needs to be lauded. Neither is it seeping with humility nor is it a narcissistic presentation - it is just shared.

It is definitely a good read, but could have been a lot better had the narrative been taut, structure tight and flow organized!

गिलहरी - आरोही

मेरे आँगन में चेहेकती हुई गौरैया

अमरुद के पेड़ पर अमरुद कुतरती गिलहरी

और आरोही ....

धूप की तरह दौड़ती-फिरती हमारे आँगन में

किसी भी छोटी सी उलाहना के साए में

आँसूं छलकाती...

माँ के हाथ की बनी सोंधी रोटी

नन्हे हाथों में लिए बड़ी शान से

चिड़ियों को बांटती फिरती ...

हमारी गिलहरी 'आरोही'!

कल रात सपने में

अपनी सखी को झिड़कती हुई

होठों पर हलकी सी मुस्कान की छवी दिखा कर

फिर मीठी नींद में सो गयी

गौरैया सी हमारी 'आरोही'

दर्शन-चिंतन में मग्न हमारी ये नन्ही

हमारे जीवन को रोज़ नया आयाम देती हुई

आँगन में दौड़ती फिरती है दिन-रात

Path ki pehchaan

पूर्व चलने के बटोही बाट की पहचान कर ले


पुस्तकों में है नहीं छापी गयी इसकी कहानी

हाल इसका ज्ञात होता है न औरों की ज़बानी

अनगिनत राही गए इस राह से उनका पता क्या

पर गए कुछ लोग इस पर छोड़ पैरों की निशानी



यह निशानी मूक हो कर भी बहुत कुछ बोलती

खोल इसका अर्थ पंथी पंथ का अनुमान कर ले

पूर्व चलने के बटोही बाट की पहचान कर ले

Noise

So many noises in the head that bother us all the time. Everyone is engaged in many multiple transactions, defining priorities, defending prerogatives, working overtime to meet deadlines, postponing deadlines! These different things pull us in many directions thus leading to many decisions on home, career, children, education, politics, socio-economic concerns, medical insurance...and many more such transactions.


Does this push us to seek gratification at various levels and personify us in different avatars all the time? Reports say that in the last decade, the size of data being pushed at us is doubling every 18 months. Is that not an overwhelming number? New gadgets, new white paper, new medicine, new government projects, new taxes, new documentations, new identities...and a rush of multiple websites and information centres, kiosks...whew!! The different players in us may want to do many things.

1. The Activist - wants to reach out to the isolated and troubled civilians and do something

2. The artist - wants to create something, bring a positive change, be generous

3. The politician - wants to change the way things work in various spheres of our lives

4. The policeman - wants to bring order in the chaos

5. The ego - wants to be appreciated and made important

6. The submissive - wants to emerge from the shadows!

There is noise all the time. Quiet is luxury...racing on to some unknown destination and seeking an unknown destiny, everyone is busy in the din! We hide behind the din everyday and take the din to bed with us!

Sustainability - pay what you want?

Recently I was reading a news article on a restaurant and bakery chain, Panera Breads, based in the US. They have started a social enterprise which is innovative. They have started a non-profit storefront in St. Louis where customers can walk in a pick up anything they need. It is like any other store, with one difference - the prices. There are no prices mentioned. You may pay what you like.
In case you cannot pay or do not want to pay, you are asked to give time. Time for volunteering to help 'at-risk' youth of the area. It is also a test to check how much society can rally around for a cause such as this. Poor and needy can grab a bite and contribute in a soft form rather than hard cash! Is the behavious sustainable? Will there be enough revenue to continue to do this business. Time will tell, but Panera has made a good beginning and the revenue number was 20% more than a for-profit storefront in the area.

Birds - not bound!

Birds build their homes with so much of care, patience and love. There are so many different varities of homes. Structural integrity and consciousness of space that comes with those structures is a wonderful surprise, a sight to behold.

Some weeks back, a tiny 'crimson sunbird' had started building a nest. We watched it grow each day. It used a variety of material for the nest which included straws, plastic strips, a broken scale, hay, weeds, plastic twines, nylon waste. At the end of a couple of weeks, there was a beautiful home hanging by a creeper deftly crafted out of material available in abundance. What is even more strange is that these are homes so long as they hatch. Once the tiny bird is ready to fly, they abandon.

Birds differ from us in one fundamental way – they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before – Robert Lynd




There were tiny eggs to start with. The protective female would guard it with all her might. Later, two small crimsons were born. They would wait to be fed. There would be an entire family of Crimson Sunbirds flying in and around the garden.

A Crimson Sunbird (courtesy Wikipedia)

These little chirpy creatures are full of energy and elegance. Some of them get so confused looking in the mirror that their animation is enchanting. They would peep into the mirror of the vehicle, then flip over to see where their counterpart is - they can repeat this exercise all day!




One fine morning the nest was empty and shimmering in the gentle breeze without any inhabitant. The birds could now fly, and they were gone. They were not bound by their home - their larger world was waiting to be explored. I still see a couple of them return, but never see them reach out for the nest. It is simply abandoned and I do not have the heart to remove it. The past few days hard rains have lashed the city and I can see the nest slowly withering away. It would not have happened had the birds decided to stay! But then, that is why birds are special and like Kuvempu (Kannada poet, author) says - aniketana, do not build a home!

Little Girl

There was this man sitting all by himself close to a small roadside coffee shop. There was din all around him - loud honking of many vehicles, hawkers walking past him - and he could hear nothing. Nothing mattered to him, his chin was down and he barely even looked up.

His eyes were empty. The doctors had just told him that his young daughter had some kind of cancer of the bones. She did not even have 6 months to live. Here was a desolate father whose young 14 year old would cease to be in a few months. The load was heavy on his broad shoulders!

I saw him get up. He dusted his trouser, smiled to himself and started walking! He looked around and saw the park full of children.

It sometimes is very difficult being a doctor!

Coffee-Toffee

Small events of everyday life provide deep insights! We all live such a gated and closed life that we forget essential realities as we are buried in our own exclusive world.

Stopping at a signal light and waiting for it to turn green is a reflexive process for us all in today's urban life! With signals come the various hawkers and vendors, women with infants clinging on to them, bandaged from ear to ear, some old souls with lifeless eyes seeking alms. Our sensitivities are insulated and many a time we do not even notice their existence.

Those lives do not even have a ration card that can prove their existence, and we have our own people munching on goodies and laughing, enjoying the break from the proverbial 'stressful' lives that we live.

This was one such evening and I was returning from a friend's place, around 9 PM or so. Windows down, vividhbharti playing "Gulistan" program of ghazals. Then I notice this little boy, barely 9, trying to put his head inside the window and watching something intently. On the dashboard were kept two small boxes, gift wrapped. I thought he was looking at them. I pulled the window further down and asked him in Kannada, "You want this box?".

He looked at me quizzically and I realized my folly. I repeated the question in Hindi. He smiled for a moment, a very brief moment, and said, "Not the box, but the candy stuck to it on top".

I gave the box a closer look and saw that a "coffee-toffee" was cellophaned on the box's cover. I smiled, looked at his intent and restless eyes searching for the answer which he thought would be the rolling up of the window.

I gave him the box, he plucked the toffee and gave the box back saying he did not need it! He did not even so much as check what was inside!

Mera Bharat Mahan!!

Ras Dhvani

तुम्हारी आँखों में चमकती शरारत
हर पल खनकती, ठहरती हँसी
हमारे आँगन में दौड़ती-फिरती
धूप हो तुम...

गिलहरी देख चहक उठती हो
रंग-बिरंगी ओरियोले  की तरह
पोल्का dot वाली पीली frock में,
दादी की उंगली थाम मंदिर में
माथा टेकती तुम
हमारे विश्वास को दोहरा करती हो |

दीदी की हर किताब पर
अपनी छवी छोड़ने की तुम्हारी चाह
मुस्कुराते हुए धीमे से , चुगलखोरी करते...
खिलखिलाती हँसी छिटक कर
सिसकने लगती है...

आरोही, तुमने हमारे जीवन में
संगीत का रस घोला ...
हमारे आँगन में बजती हुई
रस ध्वनि हो तुम....