Notes from a session of the 3rd Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival

As posted in my last post, I did manage to attend the session titled "TRIDHARA: CHARITRA O BHUMIKA LEKHAK, NIRDESHAK, NAYAK (Character & the Role: Writer, Director, Actor)" at Star Theatre, Kolkata. Since I promised Nadia in the comments section that I would blog about each and every fest, here are my notes from the session that I attended at the 3rd Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival.

• I completely overestimated the crowd of Calcutta and reached almost 2 hours early to catch the best seats, only to realise that had I walked in 10 minutes late, I still would have had 90% of the auditorium at Star Theatre to choose from!
• The panel had a mix of award-winning authors, directors and actors –

a) Nabarun Bhattacharya : poet, author of many novels, the best known being "Herbert", which won the Sahitya Academy Award and son of writer-activist Mahasweta Devi

b) Bani Basu : author of many acclaimed Bengali novels like "Maitreya Jataka" and "Swet Patharer Thala" etc, winner of Tarashankar Award and Ananda purashkar

c) Ashok Viswanathan : National Award winning director and an excellent actor

d) Suman Mukherjee : Director of "Herbert" which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali

e) Tota Roy Choudhury : One of the first Bengali actors to have a sculpted body which he flaunted while beautifully essaying the role of Bihari in the movie "Chokher Bali"

f) Saheb Chatterjee : Actor and singer rolled into one; acted in a modern adaptation of the famous tagore novel "Shesher Kobita"

g) Paoli Dam : Even the presence of an actor like her, with movies like "Kalbela", "Kagojer Bou" and the famous oral sex scene in "Chhatrak" in her kitty, could not ensure anything more than a near-empty auditorium

• The moderator of the evening Ratnottama Sengupta threw questions at the speakers in an attempt to stage a discussion on the journey of a character of a literature as created by the author to the role in a movie as interpreted by the director and portrayed by the actor.
• Authors agreed that it is always a good feeling to see their creation translated into movies, but they are always scared about the excuse of ‘cinematic liberty’ which the director uses to interpret a character created by the author; sometimes, the authors cannot identify with their own characters after they get portrayed in the movies due to the numerous small changes that they undergo to be able to suit the big screen
• Directors voiced their views that the visual expression of a literary work, at times, excel over the literature at the hand of a visionary film maker
• Actors said that usually they have nothing to do with the role, they prepare just as their directors instruct them to do; after all cinema is a director’s medium 

It was an enriching experience listening to the veterans of the art. An author gives birth to a character and adds details to the character to make it believable. When the director decides to convert a literary work into cinema, he has a readily available material at hand. But a good story does not necessarily make a good cinema, unless the director can successfully adapt and translate it for the screen. Lastly, all the efforts of the director can fall flat if the actor cannot bring out the soul of the character and life of the role successfully before the audience.

From l-r: Ratnottama Sengupta, Nabarun Bhattacharya, Bani Basu, Tota Roy Choudhury, Saheb Chatterjee,

Paoli Dam, Ashok Viswanathan, Suman Mukherjee and Arijit Dutta (MD Priya Entertainments Limited)

An exciting “literary” month for me

I am very excited about the month of January 2012.

First – Apeejay is back with the 3rd edition of the Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival in Calcutta, to be held from 11-15 January 2012.  The event calendar has some very interesting sessions, the most appealing for me being the following:

TRIDHARA: CHARITRA O BHUMIKA LEKHAK, NIRDESHAK, NAYAK (Character & the Role: Writer, Director, Actor)
6.30 pm, Star Theatre, Bidhan Sarani, Maniktala, Kolkata

A panel discussion on the character in literature from the point of view of the author who creates him, the director who interprets him, & the actor who enacts him.
Featuring:  Sunil Gangopadhyay, Goutam Ghose, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Aparna Sen, Sandip Ray, Prasenjit, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Raima Sen and Sabyasachi Chakraborty.

Dont’ ask me whether I am interested in the session because of the content or the people featuring, but for me, this is worth an attempt to either bunk office/lie to boss and travel to North Calcutta to attend it.

There are many more interesting events, but at unsuitable timing. Please check the schedule and decide for yourselves which one you want to catch.

Second – Finally, finally, at long last, our very own Book Fair will host a Literary Meet on all days i.e. 26 – 31 January 2012! That too, with authors like Vikram Seth, Shashi Tharoor, Ruskin Bond, Manu Joseph, Mohammad Hanif in attendance!!! With people like Imran Khan, Amish, Chetan Bhagat, Tarun Tejpal, Sarnath Bannerjee to keep you company!!! Can you believe it??

I could not till I checked out the Website, registered myself for all days and also the after-hours, when diverse cultural functions are to take place.

I wish I could take sick leave for 27th, 30th and 31st and park myself in the Milan Mela complex for the whole day! It would be a little difficult to fall sick on such random dates, but if I had not taken that personal leave for 21st, then may be…

Do I hear you asking me why have I taken a leave for 21st January 2012? Very good question, indeed.

Please brace yourselves for the final big announcement of the month of January 2012

Third – I am going to Jaipur to attend the Literary Festival 2012!! Finally, after years and years of staring at the event schedule and not being able to make it due to various reasons (lack of weekend/money/company), I am going to Jaipur  this yearto attend the biggest ‘book’ event of India.

The best part is that I have good company too!

All my four closest friends from law school are also coming to Jaipur from different corners of the country, just so that all of us can be together again. It is not that we have not met each other in the recent past, but all five of us have never been together ever since we left law school in 2009!

It all started with a friend in Delhi asking me to join her for this year’s Jaipur Litfest because there is a weekend in between.  An email appeal by me to all the rest immediately confirmed attendance of one more friend, beside us two. Then, a third friend decided to cancel expensive flight tickets for Mumbai to book more expensive flight tickets to Jaipur and then the fourth one announced, with great fanfare, that she, too will grace Jaipur with her presence!

Now, while I am busy daydreaming about how will it be to roam around the grounds of Diggi Palace and catch sights of Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Wendell Rodricks, David Davidar, Amy Chua, Hari Kunzru, Girish Karnad, William Darymple, Salman Rushdie, Fatima Bhutto, Ashwin Sanghi, Prasoon Joshi, Mark Tully etc etc, my friend is busy chalking out sightseeing/shopping/eating/drinking plans in Jaipur all within the two days of our trip, even if it means adding two extra hours to a day.

I am not complaining at all. I am just too glad to be able to go to Jaipur and meet my friends and also attend the Litfest.

This is a dream month for me.

Now friends, please don’t be jealous and pray for me so that I get to attend all the three lit fests (especially Jaipur one) and shake hands with all the awesome authors. And also wish me luck so that I am invited to one of them, one day!

Do let me know if any of you will be there in any of the three fests, so that I can say “Hi” to you.

Without Happiness

I stared at the clock, without knowing

How time has flown by, without caring

For my dream, and without realising

That if I only sit silently, without doing

Anything to break free, without daring

To upset my peaceful life, without throwing

Away caution and worries, without challenging

The set rules of the society -

I will forever be depressed about my present.

If only I seek happiness without conditions

Life will welcome me back without limitations.

Cheers to a new morning of peace

Of content smiles and dreamful sleeps

Of confidence and assurance

Of days well-lived and resilience

Of new hopes of a conscience clear

And a very happy new year!

2011 in review by WordPress

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 39,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 14 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

THANK YOU SO MUCH WORDPRESS. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I ENJOY BLOGGING ON THIS PLATFORM. THE VERY THOUGHT OF A POOR ANNUAL REPORT IN 2012 HAS MADE ME RESOLVE TO BLOG MORE IN THIS YEAR.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, MY READERS. HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL, JOYOUS AND FULFILLING YEAR AHEAD!

Classification of Men!

I have read many emails/blog posts categorising women into many a varied kind of slots – the hot one, the pretty one, the naughty one, the haughty one, the nagging one, the aloof one.. and so on and so forth. It’s time the womenfolk lay down the categories for different kind of men, who fulfil different needs at different stages of life. 

 

The Guy Friend

They are sometimes a woman’s best friends. They are always there when a girl needs to rave, rant or yap. They are always there to give sound advice (free from any external factor which usually influences a girl pal’s advice) on a wide ranging stuff – from which dress suits her to which guy she shouldn’t be friendly with to where to invest her money. They are also helpful in fishing out information about any guy the girl is interested in and will also aid in her courtship. They do not mind if they are woken up at 3 am just to be told that she is depressed, but will instead cheer her up with typical boy jokes. They will also double up as a date on occasions when she fails to find any for her. Friendly emotion and no passion.

 

The Timepass

These are guys who are great company because they share similar interests. If a girl is a movie buff, this type of guy will happily accompany her to the plexes, film festivals, discuss new releases and exchange notes on ’100 movies to watch before you die’. If a girl is crazy about books, then this type of guy is ideal for her to take to book fairs, book stores, book release events and to discuss her favourite authors. If a girl is a foodie, then she will look for guys who have information on new restaurants and take her to new gourmet places every week. Basically, it’s all about sharing activities and spending time in their favourite activity. No emotion, no passion.

 

The Hot Dude

These are men who are just hot. Period. They possess great physique and are usually found as gym trainers/co-trainer in gyms/member of college football squad etc. All women want is to make out with them and then share stories with their gal pas about his skills Women never try to have any conversation with them, since they are incapable of any sort of activity which requires brains. The male version of hot-chick-with-no-brains. No emotion but lots of passions.

 

The Boyfriend

These are guys with whom an emotional bond is made. The "Timepass" may or may not become a "Boyfriend" depending on a number of factors – compatibility, level of physical attraction and dependence etc. Boyfriends are usually the ones whom women claim to be "in love with". They take the woman out on dates, which involve mushy movies, romantic dinners, handholding and lots of cuddling. The bill for the movie and dinner is, of course, footed by the guy. Girls celebrate dates like "When we first met", "When I first smiled at you", "When we had our first fight" etc with these guys when they are expected to gift flowers/teddy bears/fancy cards to the girls. Lots of emotion and lots of passion.

 

The Husband

They are the most useful species after a certain age. They come to the aid of womenfolk when it’s time for them to settle down in life with someone. The "Boyfriend" may or may not become the "Husband", depending on the degree of ‘love’ between the two of them and also his bank balance. A reckless, loafer may make a great boyfriend but never a good husband. Husbands are required to be responsible, matured types with a stable life and steady income. He should be able to remember all dates in a couple’s life and also be able to buy diamonds/cars/iphones for their wives on such dates. He should be a good cook and a trained nappy-changer A right blend of emotion, passion and necessity.

 

Folks, don’t kill me for coming up with this post, that too after almost a month-long hiatus. I was browsing through my drafts when I came across this one, half-written 2 years ago! I have been super busy and also depressed for a lot of reasons of late and hence badly needed a laugh. So I decided to treat everybody to a dose of sarcasm and humour (though I doubt the men will find any in the post ) just to feel happy myself.

@ Women – do you agree with my classification or do you want to add/subtract any?

@ Men – Please don’t send me hate mails… Main abhi bhi kuwari hoon!  

@ Others – Please note that my latest mantra is:

"Writer’s Block is a stupid excuse made by lazy people who don’t love to write" – Wilbur Smith

Book Review: Resident Dormitus by Vikas Rathi

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you went through it with childlike nonchalance?
Have you ever wondered whether you should pursue happiness, or happily pursue life?
Have you ever felt tormented by the trivial and the profound? Welcome to the world of Achet.
Achet hails from a small town. Having excelled at whatever the world threw at him, he is set to climb the tallest corporate ladders  around. But he doesn’t know what he wants from life. Both, his desire to explore life and his work take him to Singapore. And thus begins the journey of self-discovery.
Despite the hectic schedule at work he finds the time to cynically size up those around him, experiment with drugs, lie for cheap thrills, display a complete disregard for professional ethics, almost commits career-suicide and a . . . cold-blooded murder.
Is there salvation for Achet? If so, is the price too high? Find out for yourself.

 

Achet is a small-town young man at the beginning of his corporate career. His story also becomes the story of his friends – Arjuna, Dev, Alex, Bala and the experiences thrown at them as they struggle to climb the corporate ladder.

At some level, the story of Achet and his friends becomes the story of all the young people, starting out their career, forging new friendships, living away from their homes, indulging in smoking, drinking and discussion about sex and living life the way they want.

At another level, I failed to identify with the character of Achet, when he goes about his life in an extremely careless fashion. He misses his orientation programme, lies about even the pettiest thing and shows a deep nonchalance about all that is going on in his life. The characterisation of Achet inspired incredulity at times. At places, I was shaking my head in disbelief at some of Achet’s antics. Who lies to the police about theft of laptop when all he had to do was have a missing diary lodged? Who in their right mind would lie about designation in office presentations?

However, Achet’s propensity to outsource all important official assignments, often with monetary reward made me wonder how much money he was actually making as a trainee. Also, I could never really visualize how Achet would look. Thin was all that was offered as his physical appearance. He lost appeal for me the moment he became a hazy fictional character.

On the other hand, I could totally identify with Alex’s and Dev’s burning desire to excel in life. Again Arjuna is a completely different personality but not totally unbelievable. His ambition to do something for the Tamils in Sri Lanka was brought out well by the author. I also feel that Bala’s character could have been developed more and a little more elaborately. The office slut turning into a desperate want-to-settle-down woman was too simplistic, especially when initially she was introduced as a character with promise.

The storyline, at least on the blurb sounded very interesting but failed to impress me when I finally finished the story. Somewhere, in the middle, I lost interest in the various events of Achet’s life, mainly because Achet failed to evoke any more sympathy or interest for me.

The author uses philosophy in abundance and in the mouth of every character. Some of them seemed out of place but I really liked two philosophical sermons of Achet – one which he gives to Suraj on fidelity and one which he gives to Bala on choice of love. 

However I must mention the writing style of the author. I was pleasantly surprised to see a grammatical error-free, lucid and very fresh way of writing from an Indian writing in English. Some of his metaphors were brilliant. His dialogues are sprinkled with philosophy and humour alike, which was definitely a new experience among all the new-age English writing of Indian authors.     

Overall, a very fresh treatment of an otherwise insipid storyline, with brilliant expression of language.

 

Book: Resident Dormitus
Author: Vikas Rathi
ISBN: 8129117541
ISBN-13: 9788129117540,978-8129117540
Binding: Paperback
Publishing Date: 2011
Publisher: Rupa & Company-New Delhi

 

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Sound of Music – I

While completing the recent Ten day You Challenge, I came across many topics where I wanted to write more and more but could not due to the nature of the Challenge. So, here I come with the complete list of favourites This is part one of my posts on my favourite music.

BENGALI

Rabindrasangeet

When you grow up hearing your mother hum Tagore’s songs all the time at home, you cannot but become involved with it. The first songs to which I learnt my dance steps were "Phool-e Phool-e Dhole Dhole" (the one that was translated into Hindi in the movie Parineeta) and "Momo Chitte Niti Nritye". As I grew up, I began to appreciate the Bard’s music more. Whether it is "Prem" (Love), "Puja" (Worship), "Prakriti" (Nature) or "Bichitra" (Miscellaneous), there is a Tagore Song for every emotion, every moment and every event in a Bengali’s life.

It’s very difficult to pick just one or two favourite from this genre. More than one songs have touched my life in one way or the other and it would be a crime to mention just a few.

Dark women in India have always been ignored. But it was Tagore who wrote and composed a song solely dedicated to dark women, emphasising their black eyes rather than their black skin. The song is brought alive by the magical voice of Suchitra Mitra in this video.

This beautiful song, sung by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay in thi video is one of my all-time favourites. Whenever I listen to this song, I feel that I need more than a lifetime to fully appreciate Tagore’s creations. 

This is a video of a modern rendition of the song "Jagorone Jai Bhibabori" from a recent Bengali movie "Ranjana Ami Ar Asbona", which was my teenage anthem

 

Modern Bengali Songs

Or in other words, Bangla Band music, which was a phenomenon that swept us during our teenage days. Suddenly, listening to Mohiner Ghoraguli, Parash Pathar and Cactus became as fashionable as listening to Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys and Abba. Latest cassettes became the preferred birthday gift for all of us. Heated debate about who is better – Fossils or Chandrabindoo used to be the usual topic of discussion during the tiffin break. The boyfriend’s idea of taking his girlfriend out on a date used to be the concert of any of the Bangla Bands, preferably the girl’s favourite one’s. It was a very strong cultural revolution in Bengali music at that point of time. Add to them, the standalone singers who brewed a storm with their songs like Suman, Nachiketa and Anjan Dutta and we had a whole new genre of Bengali music, which seemed to scream out loud that Bengali music could be more than Rabindrasangeet.  

I am sharing some of the iconic Bengali songs, which are my all-time favourite:

When an unemployed youth gets a job with a monthly salary of 1100/-, the first thing he does is to call up his girlfriend and tell her not to go ahead with her arranged marriage. Does she break off her engagement to be with her poor lover? Anjan Dutta sings to the memory of the eternal romantic Bong guy.

 

When a man says "I always want you", a woman can’t help but reciprocate such intense feelings! Hear Suman sing it to you.

 

We all say that we love our City of Joy. But no one says it better than Chandrabindoo.

 

When a group of Bengali men in the 1970s decide to do more than just while away time in adda, an iconic song and India’s first Band "Mohiner Ghoraguli" are born. Later, Pritam got ‘inspired’ by the same song to popularise it in Hindi as "Bheegi Bheegi". But never for us, can a James do what Gautam Chattopadhyay did then.

Bengali Film Songs

For me, this should be the end of every romantic heart’s quest for the perfect expression of love. Combined with Manna Dey and Soumitra Chattopadhyay, this song from the movie "Teen Bhubaner Pare" is one of my all-time favourites.

 

One of my most favourite songs sung by Kishore Kumar, from the movie "Lukochuri."

The eternal fight between man and woman has been best described in this song from the movie "Mouchak."

A rainy day, memories of fairy tales from childhood and lazy times give birth to this beautiful song from the movie "Antaheen."

Last year, Bengali film music received a song written, composed and sung by a newbie called Anupam Roy which reflected the innermost desire of all of us. I searched for a video with English subtitles, so that everyone can understand the lyrics. It is the perfect song to listen to, sitting alone in your favourite corner with a steaming cup of tea.

Well, this list is just the tip of the iceberg. Scratch the surface and you will be serenaded by more beautiful, melodious Bengali music. If you are a Bengali, feel blessed that you can understand these and other songs; if you are not, then let me inspire you to learn the subject, just to be able to enjoy Rabindrasangeet, if not anything else, in original.

Let the music flow in your life and accompany in your solitude.

Book Review: The Secret of the Nagas by Amish

Book 2 of the Shiva trilogy takes up from the point where Shiva is dashing to save Sati at the end of The Immortals of Meluha. Does he succeed? His archenemy seems to be winning every encounter. All Shiva knows for sure is that the Chandravanshis aren’t evil. But then, neither are the Suryavanshis. So who or what is evil? And who is the mysterious Naga that stalks his family? What does he want? What is The Secret of the Nagas?

This is the second book in the Shiva Trilogy by Amish. Even though the first book, Immortals of Meluha had been a bestseller, there were a few things which I did not appreciate in both the books. But first the good points:

The plot of the trilogy is unique and interesting. The idea of Shiva being a mortal being is intriguing, more so when the books have mixed fiction so expertly with historical facts and Hindu mythology.

The author has dealt with a number of issues of the Indian society in the disguise of storytelling e.g. caste system and honour killing. The concepts of Vikarma and Naga are nothing but the author’s way of directing our attention to the fact that Indian society has traditionally been intolerant about anything out of ordinary. Also the fact that differential laws with respect to the Maika system applied to the royal family of Meluha is an illustration of how the people in power use the same to their benefit. In other words, a lot of India of present days can be seen in the pages of the book.

The author has a way with words, especially when he is describing a scene. He describes every single act, every movement so meticulously that at the end, the reader can actually visualise it. Cases in example – all the battle scenes and the dance recital by Anandmayi.

Now some of the things which I did not like:

Amish’s style of writing is something which I do not approve of at all. Casual words, short and incomplete sentences, improper use of punctuation left a lot more to be desired. This was not so prominent in Immortals of Meluha, as it is in The Secret of the Nagas.

Amish’s attempt at basing some of his characters on real life people was not amusing. I am especially unhappy about portraying the King of Branga as a man covered from head to toe in gold jewellery with a name like Bappiraj. May be because Branga is evidently nothing other than Bengal, I am a little touchy about the whole Bappi Lahiri-Bappiraj similarity.

At places, the story dragged quite a bit. e.g. the battle with the tigers. It could be because the author wanted to introduce Ganesh and Kali dramatically and reveal the twist, but at that point, I wanted to move forward in the story faster.

The philosophy that the author introduced through the Vasudev Pandits seemed half-baked. It was not fully elaborated and left a lot more to be desired.

I also did not understand why both the books had to end so abruptly. A chapter may end in suspense but a book ending thus makes one wonder whether the author could have written one whole book instead of the trilogy!

In conclusion, I liked how the plot has been carried forward in the sequel, especially with twists and a hint that Shiva may not be a born “Neelkanth”, the negative aspects of the book left me unsatisfied as a reader. Now all I can do is wait for Oath of the Vayuputras, with a hope that Amish writes it with a little more literary attention.

Book Details:

Title – The Secret Of The Nagas

Publisher – Westland

Author – Amish

Binding – Paperback

ISBN – 9380658797

ISBN-13 – 9789380658797

Number of Pages – 414

Language – English

My rating: 6/10

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Fate of a daughter

Attempted Murder

I looked at her wide eyes, which seemed to smile at me.

Her small fists settled around my middle finger, never to let go.

Standing in the dark alley, I decided to change the fate of my daughter.

“She will not die, like her two elder sisters,” I resolved.

Flames

“He is the best son-in-law you could get,” they told me. “Good job, decent family background.” I wanted the best for my only daughter.

 I happily, yet tearfully sent my daughter away with him.

 After seven months, she returned to me, burnt and bruised for life.

 

Ten day You Challenge – Post 10: One Picture

Finally! I am at the end of the challenge! After I managed to post for 5 consecutive days, I was looking at a record 10 consecutive posts. But I began to take more time with the list and it took all this while to finally finish off this challenge. What started here on 26 June 2011 ends today.

Taken at around 5-30 am at the beach at Digha, West Bengal on 14 August 2011, this is one picture of mine that I like for reasons mentioned –

• I was fresh, happy and raring to go – I wish I am always like that in my daily life.
• The wind was cold and strong but I enjoyed the way it was sweeping my hair away – I wish I can portray that attitude when I face cold and strong adversity in life
• The scenery around me was calm and beautiful – I wish my life always reflects my surroundings in the picture
• That exact moment I wanted nothing but to hop into the boat and sail away – I wish I can take off in my life just like that without a second thought

Now with the Challenge done, I can concentrate on other things to write on. The block is still blocking me when it comes to fiction, but I have decided to try my hand at some meaningful non-fiction post for a change.