A pursuit of pure passion
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Intresting reads in Kannada...
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Napatteyaada Gramaphone Mattu Itara Prabhandagalu
by S. Diwakar
Akshara Prakashana, Rs. 150
Did you know that Gauhar Jaan was not actually the first Indian musician to have a gramophone recording? And that she had predecessors in Shashikala and Ghanibala, two nautch dancers who recorded in 1902, when the London-based recording company GTL (which later became HMV and was based in Kolkata, the erstwhile capital of the colonisers) came to India? In fact, much earlier, in 1899, GTL had recorded the music of Captain Bolnath, Dr. Harina Das and Ahmed in the Maidenlane studios of London.
Short-story writer and translator S. Diwakar's "Nappatheyaada... " is a treasure trove of such amazing details. The book is not just the pursuit of a past, buried in yellowing pages on dusty racks in forgotten cellars, but also a romantic pursuit to get to the bottom of things. So much so that in each of the 69 essays in this collection, there is a palpable curiosity in the writer's tone. From literature to language to music to science to history to art, the book maps a range of subjects and experiences.
Though most Diwakar's essays begin on a very personal note, they progress to the general, painting a huge canvas of various textures. For instance, in the essay "Ariyiri Iruveyanu... ", he begins with a story set in the Indian mythology and moves on to the Bible to a story by Masti to an Italian story to an Austrian novel, and finally elevates it all to a philosophical debate on size and might. In "Semmangudi..." he says how despite the spiritual heights the maestro attains in his music he sadly lacks it in his persona! "Banni Gandhibazaarige" is full of memories of writers who walked the road and landmarks they haunted. For the writer, personally, it transcends from being a mere physical, geographical location to being a major cultural landscape of the mind. But when he falls with a thud into reality, the road now full of markers of a globalised world, he chooses to live in the Gandhibazaar of his memory.
Diwakar's essays are refreshing bearing no intellectual pretensions. In fact, it is not even self-consciously territorial and looks at all literatures of the world with unvarying fascination. Even while his approach to each topic is academic, there is no desperate attempt to fit into any literary tradition and remains largely apolitical. It is clear from his writings that he reads and writes from a passion for its own sake. Curiously, one can see all the traits of an archetypal journalist in Diwakar (in fact he began his career as one), considering his interest for all subjects under the sun.
By the end of the book, coupled with all the wonderment you have for Diwakar's enormous reading is the fact that your own to-be-read list has grown phenomenally larger.
The book was recently conferred the B.H. Shridhar Literature Award.
DEEPA GANESH
Malayalada Hattu Kathegartiyaru, Edited by Shreedevi K. Nayar, translated by Parvathi. G. Aithal
Navakarnataka Prakashana,
Rs. 95
Much has been said about the fallacy of putting all writings by women under the blanket category of "women's writing" without consideration for the vastly varying styles, backgrounds and ideological positions.
And if one needed any more convincing on the variety of women's writing even within one language, Malayalada Hattu Kathegartiyaru should do it adequately.
The book, which has interviews with 10 contemporary writers accompanied by a short story each, presents an interesting spectrum. From a highly philosophical Ashita and a very emotional Madhavikutty, the book takes you all the way to C.S. Chandrika for whom her Dalit and feminist identities are intrinsically linked and Sitara S. who is radical in her stance on the politics of the body. While Chandramati believes that a writer should be equally distanced from all ideological stances, Sara Joseph proudly proclaims her feminist-leftist position. There is an equally colourful variety in the regional and religious backgrounds the writers come from.
While the choice of stories and translation seem a bit uneven, the most interesting part of the book are the interviews, which hold a mirror to the lively play of ideas in the arena of women's writing in Malayalam. Even a random pick of statements on any given issue by these writers presents varied ideological shades. For instance, Chandramati says: "I would rather accept a lower ranking in the general category of writers than a high ranking on the exclusive list of women writers." C.S. Chandrika, on the other hand, argues: "How can we ever escape consciousness of our gender when gender discrimination defines all our actions from birth to death?" Geeta Hariharan treads a ground somewhere in between by talking about how she is a "feminist" in certain contexts and "humanist" in others.
Madhavikutty grabs attention (as she always does!) because this interview was done a week before she became Suraiya. She declares: "I have no faith in any religion. Religions can do no more than create trouble." And answering a question on why she always contradicts herself, she says: "I don't know! That's how I am... Me and my values keep changing."
Of the stories in the collection, this reviewer's personal favourites are Orotha Mattu Devvagalu by Gracy for the way the writer asserts feminine chutzpah in an easy, folktale-like style and Sitara's Agni for its very unconventional (perhaps even controversial) take on rape.
BAGESHREE S.
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