Category: Life Ordinary

  • Unaccustomed Earth

    Jhumpa Lahiri

    This is Jhumpa mashi’s (from her role in the cinematic version of ‘The Namesake) 🙂 third offering. The book consists of 8 works, the last three related to each other.
    Melancholy, that’s always been my favourite takeout from her books, and this one does not disappoint on that front. But if you’re looking for anything beyond the regular Bengal and Boston chronicles, you are advised to look elsewhere. This book really reminds me of Interpreter of Maladies, her first book, though the premise of the stories (except the geography) do differ.
    To briefly describe the stories, ‘Unaccustomed Earth’, the first story, is of a man who discovers interests after his wife’s death, and connects with his daughter in a way she’d never thought possible. ‘Heaven and Hell’ is a tale told by a woman who discovers her mother’s affection for a young Indian their family took under their wing. ‘A choice of accommodations’ is about a couple coming to terms with each other and their marriage, a sort of reigniting the spark, if you will. ‘Only goodness’ is a woman’s attempts to hold together her family, and her guilt over her role in her brother’s downward spiral. Nobody’s business is a story of a boy who loves a girl who loves a boy. 🙂 The last 3 stories trace the life of a man and a woman who appear in each others’ lives, as though pulled by fate. This was the one I liked best.
    The above have been simplified to avoid messing up the plot and giving a warped perspective. I have noticed that with Jhumpa’s works, people have different takeouts.
    Meanwhile, her eye for nuances and her subtle ways of expression make up for perhaps what can be roughly put as lack of depth in her characters.
    But the stories are a compelling read, and are very human. While I’m by no means an ABCD (perhaps Confused Desi, but definitely not American Born) it is extremely easy to identify with the characters’ emotions, in spite of an alien setting. The kind of book I’d love to curl up with on a cold, dark, stormy night, with Coldplay in the background.
    Melancholy, and the complexities of the human race!!

  • Wake up call

    He liked watching her sleep. She looked so much at peace now, wrapped up in that something-like-a-shawl thing. But he’d have to wake her now, to tell her that he’d finally cracked a puzzle. Now he knew why reality shows worked. People would rather watch someone sleeping than the movie for which they paid Rs.200.

    until next time, in reality….

  • The Art of Breathing

    ‘Breathe in’ said the instructor. A collective intake of breaths followed. ‘Now hold until I tell you’, he continued. The stillness followed for some excruciating seconds. Just as he said ‘Exhale’, a sound erupted which prompted quite a few giggles. ‘..through the mouth’ said the instructor, with a deadpan expression, and without missing a beat.

    until next time, gas chambers

  • The real inflation

    And the nation cringes as the inflation goes way beyond 8%, and threatens to go even more. A litre of petrol, which was about Rs.20, when i first started using it, now costs well over Rs.50.
    I remember the kind of vehicles that used to accompany mine in the petrol stations. A few Ambassadors and Fiats, on their way to extinction, a lot of Maruti- the normal 800 as well as Omnis and the occasional Esteem, and mostly two wheelers. The scene has changed with global brands vying for the customer’s attention. So we have the Hyundais and Fords and Chevrolets and Skodas bringing out bigger and costlier cars that are aimed to showcase its user’s affluence and highlight his standing, which is er, a little above that of his peers.?
    Of course, the way he behaves on the road would make you doubt this premise.I have very often, in the course of conversations, heard the owners of the big cars complaining about how their cars guzzle fuel. And how they feel the pressure when the petrol prices go up. And i have always wondered that even if we manage to control inflation, will we ever find a way to control inflated egos.

    until next time, pricks… for the ego

  • Happy Father’s Day?

    until next time, a billion plus wishes 😉