Poor Little Rich Slum: Book Review

It's always a pleasure reading about the underdogs who have fought against their inherited destiny to survive and that too with dignity. Nothing fascinates us more than seeing people rise up from the abyss of uncertainty to scale heights of success.

Poor Little Rich Slum by Rashmi Bansal and Deepak Gandhi is very different from her previous books. This book is all about the struggles in Dharavi (Asia's largest slum) and their little victories. Rashmi's earlier books too were about successful people but this one is not so much about success than about survival. Much has been written about Dharavi and has even been immortalized in movies but the concept of writing about the entrepreneurs from the slum who used their ingenuity to find opportunities in literal filth or otherwise is pure gold. There is always an element of curiosity when is comes to the narrow lanes of Dharavi but at the same time there is a sense of admiration for the "heart" of the slum that no one cares for.

Divided into four sections called "Dharavi, What Ees?", "The Incubator", "The Cauldron Of Change" and "The Future", each deals with stories about people who have defied odds to show ingenuity and/or marched on the path of selfless passion. The entire book seems to be a guided tour of Dharavi conducted by Tauseef who runs a local tourist business.

Not all stories are about commercial success like that of Jameel Shah or Praveen Sakpal; there are myriad enterprises that look beyond money like SHEHA or the PUKAR Foundations. Poor Little Rich Slum does not give a lopsided view of what Dharavi is all about. It is well balanced by stories about rise in stature (economically) and rising as a human.

In a nutshell it all about what the book rightly mentions, "Dharavi is not just a physical location, it is an emotional entity." I am not one who glorifies slums and I feel that we cannot justify their existence by writing about the success stories emanating from them. The human spirit of survival need not find home in slums; it can be found anywhere. And if the writers meant we need more slums like Dharavi when they said, "Dharavi should be celebrated and replicated", then I beg to differ. Slum is not the answer; it is the question that needs to be answered in the first place.

The writing is simple yet lucid and would have been totally drab if not for the brilliant photographs by Dee Gandhi. This book is for anyone who complains that life is unfair and that it’s their destiny to be downtrodden. Dharavi teaches the spirit of the unbeatable mind and unquenchable thirst for rising from filth and reaching for the sky. 

I am sure that there are a million other stories with a "human" touch to them but for that you will have to visit Dharavi and find out. This book is a start so we need to do our bit and get to the bottom of it. Go ahead! Get Inspired!


 

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Copyright (c) Pigtale 2005-2012. Images copyright respective holders.

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The Spirit Whisperer: Harbart (Book Review)

Literary translations are always tricky as it is more of a creative act than just converting one language to another. More than just translation, it is the cultural knowledge that matters. A case in point would be to see "The Mask" with Hindi subtitles. Jim Carrey in one of the scenes says "Smoke Head" and you can't but laugh at what appears in the subtitles..."Dhumrapaan". The translator clearly did not understand the word and it's cultural meaning. And this is where many translators falter and display their weaknesses.

Having said that, it's never easy to translate a book without losing any of its original meaning. Some books can merely be translated but others like Harbart need something more like transliteration. When I started reading Harbart, I didn’t know what to review; the story or the translation (I haven't read the original Bengali version of the book). Maybe, I'll do both.

First about the story. At the heart of Nabarun Bhattacharya's Harbart is Herbert Sarkar or Harbart; an orphan who made a living by pretending to be a spirit whisperer. Little did anyone know that it was the ghosts of his own memories that haunted him.

The story opens with Harbart's death or rather suicide. The description of his death is sprinkled with grotesque details and serves as a diving board for the mystery ahead. The rest of the book gives us the back-story leading up to the suicide and the rather "explosive" climax.

The original book was first published in 1993 and using Harbart's character, Nabarun Bhattacharya throws the readers into an environment where almost everything was wrong with Kolkata at that time. In spite of the stench, decay and general apathy of Kolkata, Harbart rises with subtle aspiration of becoming an entity who is far cry from the city that he was a part of.

It was Harbart's first hand experiences with naxalism, death and humiliation that cajoles him to choose a profession that makes him famous. How the nonchalance of his surroundings finally brings about his downfall is something that I'd rather leave the readers of the book to find out. Nabarun Bhattacharya’s style of writing brought a whiff of freshness. The various nuances of imagery, sarcasm and dark humor makes Harbart a delight to read.

Now a word on the translation. Arunava Sinha does an amazing work in bringing forth the dark humor that Harbart is all about. However, he could have done a little more justice. Arunava, I'm sure culturally understood the story but unfortunately, he didn't belong to Harbart's era. The word to word translations of the poems absolutely did not convey their significance.

It's imperative that a translator should reproduce the original author's style but this is not possible all the time. It wouldn’t and cannot be an absolute translation but the approximate should be aimed for. I am a Bengali who cannot read or write his mother tongue and this embarrassed soul says a Big Thank You to Arunava. I need to hand it to Arunava for making non-Bengali readers get access to an amazingly textured story like Harbart.  Readers should not miss this unusual piece of Bengali Literature.



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Copyright (c) Pigtale 2005-2012. Images copyright respective holders.

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Retelling History: Chanakya's Chant (Book Review)

“There is poison in the fang of the serpent, in the mouth of the fly and in the sting of a scorpion; but the wicked man is saturated with it.”
                                                                                                                                    ---Chanakya

Spanish American philosopher and author, George Santayana once said, “A country without a memory is a country of madmen." The recent spate of fiction based on Indian mythology by various authors does just that- retell history. Chanakya figures very prominently in our collective memory but Ashwin Sanghi manages to take Chanakya's story to a whole new level.

Time and again we have realized that the past is never dead. It comes back in one form or another and Chanakya's Chant illustrates this in the most vivid way. The shrewdness and ruthlessness that epitomized the then Chanakya is evident in Gangasagar Mishra of today.

Without giving away the details of the story, it suffices to say that just like Chanakya used his intelligence and shrewdness to install Chandragupta Maurya on the throne, Gangasagar Mishra does the same for Chandini Gupta; only this time the throne is the Prime Minister's chair. What happens between the start of the plan and the destination (and beyond) is what the book is all about.

The highly intelligent Chankakya was one of the most cunning strategists that the world has ever seen. Given his cold and calculating mind, he managed to take revenge of his father's murder, take on Alexander and install Chandragupta on the throne of the Maurya Empire and still found time to write his brilliant Arthasashtra. Gangasagar essays the role of the modern day Chanakya and displays rare ruthlessness and wit to become the kingmaker.

Just like his last book, The Rozabal Line, Ashwin Sanghi creates a common thread between the two stories that run parallely in the book. The amazing storyteller that he is, Ashwin Sanghi manages to weave a complex story using historical events and extrapolating them to present world that is full of manipulation. Mr. Sanghi knows his history well enough to find parallels and presents a well researched story. The voice is confident and the story is compelling. The editing is top notch with right dosage of drama and action. To top it all, there are tongue-in cheek statements on the reason for the Sepoy Mutiny or the "beauty of accounting" amongst other gems.

Chanaky's Chant makes us realize that no price is too high and no life too precious but at some places I felt that the author took it too far. Ashwin's flight of imagination made him write some portions of the book that seem implausible. How was it possible for Gangasagar to carry on bumping off people left right and center without anyone raising any eyebrows or objection? Were the people, law of the land and democracy totally impotent to handle the situation? But all said and done, this page-turner keeps the reader on hook, coaxing them to reach the last page.

I am not much into books that run into pages upwards of 400 but this is one of the few books that I wanted to go on and on. Chanaky's Chant is an awesome amalgamation of historical reality and contemporary fiction. If nothing else, these kinds of books will tempt the present generation to go and read the original works around Indian mythology. I have always felt that when it comes to Indian mythology, the more we scratch the surface, the more wonderful stories emerge from them.

 

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The New Prime Time: The 6pm Slot (Book Review)

Television has long stopped being interested in the business of communication. All it does is deliver audiences to advertisers. TRP is the king- people are just merchandise. 

One can't blame television entirely though. The fact that newspapers have a page two (and television doesn't) makes it all the more necessary for television to showcase even mundane news by airbrushing them to give them the "shock value".

The 6pm Slot by Naomi Datta is what television is all about today. The cover of The 6pm Slot belies its contents. It is in no way a chic-lit.  It is a serious novel delving into a serious issue. Naomi Datta's book manages to portray the nitty-gritty of television the way it presently is. The author's bio page tells that Naomi is a television producer, presenter and film writer all rolled into one. I am not surprised as a book like The 6pm Slot can only be written by an "insider". This book throws the reader into a world full of dirty tricks, titillation and manipulation that is so synonymous with the television industry.

The book has a chequered list of characters of myriad shades. Right from the naive producer (Tania) to the self- appointed messiah of "newsdom" (and everyone in between), Naomi has nailed it. The 6pm Slot takes us through Tania's journey who has been asked to work on a show involving an agony aunt (a babe actually). The brief is clear; make 6pm the new prime time. All that Tania has is a hot host and her brilliantly colorful English. But there is a problem: the panning of camera on various bronzed titillating body parts and nondescript problems of adolescents are not enough to hook the nation.

With the TRP sword hanging on Tania's head, she gives in to creating imaginary callers and their problems. One such brilliantly executed hoax spirals out of control when the nation almost exhausts its candle supply by "performing" the mandatory night vigil/march. How Tania uses her mental faculties to survive the fiasco is what the book is about. I would say that the buildup to the crux of the story is a little too long drawn. The ending is swift and calculated as if the author got fed up and wanted to finish off the story.

Not all creations of God are equal and it’s the same with the characters in this book. Some like Rahul and Harish are carved out intricately. Their descriptions are so vivid that you can almost see them if you close your eyes. Most of the other characters are not so fortunate. It would have been great if Naomi had invested in chalking out the other characters in detail to give a lasting impression.

In terms of language, it can safely be called the Delhi Belly of Indian literature. No, seriously, the language is easy and free-flowing and has dark humor. Naomi manages to explore a very real world of television with real issues in the most lucid manner.

The debut effort of Naomi is commendable as she gets most of the story-telling part right without digressing much. The ending mentions that, "It just keeps coming back in circles" and we wish that Naomi comes back with another one of her "insider" stories. The 7pm Slot! Anyone?

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Copyright (c) Pigtale 2005-2010. Images copyright respective holders.

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