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Book Review
Showcasing two decades of writings
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Commemorative volumes comprising excerpts from an eclectic range of books published during two decades
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THE NON-FICTION COLLECTION —Three Volumes: Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd.,
11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi-110017.
Rs. 395 each.
M. S. Nagarajan
Some 10 years ago Salman Rushdie stirred up a hornet’s nest when he made what appeared to be a controversial observation in an article in the The New Yorker that quite predictably aroused the ire of most academics, and not a few practising writers. Thus Rushdie: “The prose writing — both fiction and non-fiction — created in this period (1947-1997) by Indian writers working in English, is proving to be a stronger and more important body of work than most of what had been produced in the 16 ‘official languages’ of India, the so-called ‘vernacular languages’, during the same time, and, indeed, this new, and still burgeoning, “Indo-Anglian” literature represents perhaps the most valuable contribution India has yet made to the world of books.”
The truth of this polemical statement cannot be brushed aside, or rejected, summarily. We have an uninterrupted tradition of English prose writing extending over a period of a century and a half. All our elder statesmen involved in the freedom struggle were outstanding prose writers. By way of celebrating its 20th year of publication, Penguin Books India has brought out three commemorative volumes of The Non-Fiction Collection which stand testimony to the truth of Rushdie’s remark. The genre “non-fiction” (unlike fiction) concerns itself with real things: people who have lived, places which exist, and events that took place.
Treasure trove
The three-volume anthology, a miscellaneous collection of 150 pieces, is a veritable treasure trove of selections from a wide range of non-fictional writings Penguin India had published during the last two decades. Besides skits, biographies and memoirs, there are articles on philosophy, politics, public administration, travels, personalities, films and film-making, journalism and mass media, mysticism, religion, sports, faith and myths, folktales, law, advertising, creative non-fiction — in fact every conceivable subject one can think of —reflecting a variety of moods: easy, solemn and serious. The publisher’s note adds, “Showcased here are authors who have topped best-seller charts in India and abroad, and won virtually every major literary prize, including the Nobel Prize, the Jnanpith Award, the Man Booker Prize, the Sahithya Akademi award, and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.”
Crowding memories
Rereading some of the pieces is like revisiting one’s home where one had lived a long time ago. Memories do come crowding in on reading Mahatma Gandhi’s “On Ahimsa”, originally published in 1916. “The practice of Ahimsa calls forth the greatest courage. It is the most soldierly of a soldier’s virtues.” The excerpt from Dev Anand’s autobiography beautifully unravelling the Dev-Suraiya love-story during the shooting of Navketan’s “Afsar”, Ruskin Bond’s immense love for the “untidy and unplanned” gardens and flowers that “soothe the agitated mind”, and Sasthi Bratha’s touching conclusion in “My God Died Young” are a good bonus for undemanding readers.
Diana Eck’s “Banaras”, the great cremation ground, unfolds the undying belief “death in Kashi is liberation.” Satyajit Ray’s “Project Tiger” reads like R.K. Narayan’s “A Tiger for Malgudi”. Roopa Swaminathan’s “Extras” narrates the sad untold story of the aspiring artistes to stardom. Their dreams never come true and their never-ending struggle continues unabated. “Despite the horror stories and hardships… The dreams will die eventually. But the dreaming never will.”
Diversity
The two pieces on cricket, “The Holy Trinity “ by Ramachandra Guha and “Our Boys” by Mukul Kesavan are two of the finest pieces ever written on the game of games, reminding us of Neville Cardus and Jack Fingleton. Guha writes, “No slow bowler in living memory has commanded a more graceful action, more glorious flight, or — especially on good wickets — more prodigious spin.”
According to him Bedi, Prasanna and Chandrasekhar form a holy trinity: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver and Maheshwara, the destroyer.
Mukul Kesavan’s analysis of the Indian psyche is informed and appropriate. We inherit a “middle-class cricketing tradition” where we are taught how to excel, but not how to win. For Australians and South Africans cricket is a “form of physical self-expression,” and hence, “intimidation and sledging come naturally to them.”
Sudha Murthy’s “May You be the Mother of a Hundred Children” is a touching account of her paternal grandmother Amba Bai who took upon herself the most unenviable role of a midwife to countless women in and around her village.
The best writings of the past two decades are brought together and arranged alphabetically author-wise in these three volumes. Excellence is the sole criterion in determining the choice of the selections.
The diversity of the writings gratifies the mind and pleases the senses. They present a rich fare for the hungry palate of even the most discerning reader. It is a truism that the end of all writing is to instruct by pleasing. Penguin’s Non-Fiction Collection does nothing but that. Exactly that!
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