Behind the veil
POST 9/11, her surname made life miserable for Carmen Bin Ladin, and now the world's "most wanted", Osama Bin Laden's sister-in-law has probably invited trouble for herself with her "tell-it-all" autobiography. Married into the Bin Laden family, the half Swiss and half Persian Carmen broke free from the closeted existence that is a woman's lot in Saudi Arabia and returned to Switzerland within a decade but is still struggling to get a divorce.
By virtue of being the only Bin Laden in Europe with a listed phone number, Carmen's private life became a public story soon after 9/11. Rumours thickened as they spread and she and her three daughters were practically declared personae non gratae; leaving the estranged Bin Laden with no choice but to tell her story as evidence of their innocence.
What began as evidence of innocence has blossomed nearly three years later into an autobiography which the author claims is bound to get her into trouble with the powerful Bin Ladens and the Saudi establishment. If nothing else, there will be comment to the effect that though her story is aimed at providing an insight into the workings of an opaque society, she may well be trying to cash in on the surname.
Whatever be her reason for writing her memoir, The Veiled Kingdom still makes for a quick read; particularly because Carmen does not appear to be burdened with the need to impress. But then, in a world where Bin Laden is a household name, she has a guaranteed readership.
The Veiled Kingdom: A Unique Insight into Saudi Society and the Bin Laden Family, Carmen Bin Ladin, Virago Press, £7.75.
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`Blood and Tears'
A COMMON refrain of the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, whenever he is driving a hard bargain with the Centre is to raise the spectre of terrorism returning to the State. But, former supercop of Punjab, K.P S. Gill, thinks differently and holds the political class squarely responsible for paving the way for a possible return of terrorism in times to come.
His earlier confidence that terrorism would never return to Punjab shaken by subsequent misgovernance and rampant corruption, Gill records in his foreword to The Punjab Story that "it was precisely this pattern of venality and neglect, combined with some of the gravest and most unprincipled political misadventures by the leadership of that time — both at the State and national level — that had given rise to the terror towards the end of the 1970s".
Gill's caustic foreword and the summary of the Central Government's White Paper on the Punjab Agitation apart, The Punjab Story is primarily a re-issue of a book brought out two months after Operation Bluestar. Be that as it may, it capsules Punjab terrorism through articles written by persons with a ringside view of that blood-stained chapter of Indian history.
The Punjab Story, Roli Books, Rs. 295.
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Celluloid ventures
THE current issue of Granta: The Magazine of New Writing focuses on films and features among others fresh meanderings on "The French Lieutenant's Woman" and homespun "Pather Panchali".
In "Little Durga", California-based Shampa Banerjee — who wrote and edited post-production scripts in English for directors such as Ketan Mehta and Satyajit Ray — recalls her role in "Pather Panchali". The younger "Runki" in the film, Shampa was five-and-a-half years old when her first shot was taken and has carried memories of that experience of working in Ray's best film through the years and across continents.
Similarly, in "The French Lieutenant's Diary", author John Fowles recalls in diary-format his travails in transferring his novel, The French Lieutenant's Woman onto celluloid. Beginning from January 25, 1967, when he started writing The FLW — as he calls it — he signs off on December 22, 1981, after the film failed at both the Oscar and English Awards.
Also included in this regular 256-page paperback book format issue is a write-up by Colson Whitehead on the art of movie-going in New York and Gaby Wood's account of her visit to Lana Turner's bedroom 48 years after the actresses' 14-year-old daughter stabbed to death her mother's lover.
Featuring alongside these writings are paintings, drawings, photographs and storyboards by eight film directors including Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock and Ray.
Granta 86: Film, Granta, Pounds 9.99.
ANITA JOSHUA
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