Band Baaja and Birthday Bash

Generally I steer clear of politics. Not being politically minded and not having studied my civics( Pol science- as it is called these days) in my youth - at all- it is a source of constant mystery to me how that body functions. But today I'm compelled to speak. Not about politics but about politicians.

We are constantly told by our khadi clad figures that we are an absymally poor country always in need of funds from other more powerful nations- Australia, US or what -have-you. 

And these ministers who are elected to their posts are Jan- sevaks ( servants of the people who have elected them to their thrones). And yet yesterday my eyes popped out at the photograph in the front page of the HT of the 75 foot long birthday cake of our erstwhile minister and father of the reigning Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Mulayam Singh Yadav. Yes. The guy who said "Boys will be boys" and not rapists when they rape women. That's the one. 

WOW!! Make that a double WOW!! Man what celebrations! They put any of our Bollywood star celebrations to shame. Carriages from England, flowers from Netherlands, 75 foot long cake-  can anything beat this? Did you say we are poor? Hey! I bet even the Queen Of England can't afford this show of extravagance. How much money does Mulayam Singh or his son have? Even the erstwhile royals cannot afford this kind of extravagance. And Mulayam Singh does not belong to a royal family. As far as we know he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. So where is this money flowing like champagne coming from? Is it out of our pockets? 

Mayawati made a spate of statues in some park and invited- justly- a lot of flak about the misuse of public funds but this kind of beats it hollow. And even if they have that kind of cash(amassed over the years- politics being so lucrative) to spend why not organize a dinner for orphans or the starving millions that feature so prominently in our ads and do some jan- seva? That's why they've been elected right? That's why they've got the votes. So that they can serve the public. Not have extravaganzas like this.

The next time any politician mentions our poor country show him the photo of the 75 foot long cake. What is the use of asking for black money in Swiss accounts when such politicians exist? Next time use your vote with discretion. Or Mulayam might just set a trend among political families where sons succeed their fathers. And have birthday celebrations like this. 

It's all in the tale

I just finished reading two more books. Somehow my little blog is turning out to be all about books.( bookworm that I am) So these two I'm told are both "life changing" books. John Green author of "Fault In Our Stars" assures us that it is all fiction and he has tweaked facts to suit himself and that a story which is fiction can be life changing too. I agree. Some of my best philosophies are derived not from classic tomes but from fiction fiction. The other book - before I stray off the path- is Paulo Coelho's "Alchemist" about the shepherd boy in search of buried treasure which he does find after a journey in self discovery. It is, I quote "a magical fable about following your dream". At least that's what the book's cover tells me. I've to confess that nothing life altering has struck me down yet; no revelation has burst upon me and changed my life after reading them. I found "Fault In our stars" to be a sweet tender romance of 16-17 year olds trying to fight death (Old old story- remember Ankhiyon Ke Jharonko Se or better still Love Story) with heavy philosophy and doses of poetry thrust in. It is a fresh take on cancer patients and to some it has probably made a difference.(I'm too old I guess) Just as "The alchemist" I'm told has inspired many. Even the President of United States who swears by it. I believe he carries a copy of it around. Sorry. It didn't do a thing for me. Especially the line about the universe conspiring to get you what you want. It's not happening dude. Not to me. Not to a lot of people I know. Life is just giving us lot of sour lemons and we're trying to make lemonade with them only not succeeding I'm afraid. So call it a case of sour grapes or sour lemons - whichever you prefer. 

Maybe it's just sourpuss old me. 

But our fascination with magic, with fairy tales, with the paranormal, the supernatural, the other realm is never ending. Me included. I was a sucker for Cinderella when I was a kid(ages ago!) and I love Harry Potter. What lies behind it? A deeper search for meaning to this life on earth? Or just a desire to escape into a fantasy world where "happily ever after" exists? Because If Santiago in "Alchemist" had failed to find his treasure then maybe we wouldn't have tagged the book "life changing" right? Because we know there is no treasure at the end of the rainbow. But we like someone who tells us there is. So I guess it's a bit of both. The need to find some meaning to our lives as well as escape into the "happily ever after" fairy tales and supernatural worlds that offer tales of these splendid beings with amazing powers while in reality we labor on in Mr. Biswas's (Naipaulian) little universe. Slightly ridiculous, resilient, vulnerable, poignant and tragic beings fighting our little battles. And losing most of the time. 

What is your food-entity?

Yep. I did it just now. Coined a new word. Food +identity= Food- entity. So. I have just completed Interpreter of maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Not what I expected of an award winning novel. No intellectual gymnastics. No complexities. Just simple ordinary stories in simple lucid prose. Rather good I must say. And in her work I found constant references to food -whether it is Mrs. Das munching on puffed rice in the Interpreter or Mrs. Sen using her boti (shaped like the prow of a ship) to gut and slice fish and vegetables. Lahiri uses food to convey her Indian-ness. Her characters derive their sense of self( as i suspect she does) their roots from the food they eat. Food that clearly separates them from their American counterparts. In the rice, puffed or otherwise, in the spices, in the egg curry, fish curry or curried chicken they find their identities separate and distinct. It is what they hold on to in a foreign land. 

I found it a novel point of view. To think that food somehow connects you to your roots, to your self, gives you  your identity is a possibility I've never taken into account perhaps because I've taken my identity for granted. That I'm a Indian- Bengali has never been in question but to those settled in far flung places around the globe food becomes a way of life. Of staying in touch with your roots. In Lahiri's world food is not not merely what you eat but who you are. 

I thought back to the time when I read Enid Blytons as a child. References to muffins, scones, tarts were unfamiliar, unknown. But for today's generation exposed to an explosion of cuisines from all over the globe nothing is unfamiliar. Mexican, thai , chinese, Italian, French, Lebanese, American, Japanese- you name it we eat it. But our daily diet still consists of dal chawal subzi. So food does not occupy us in the same way it does an expat. To them it is a taste of home. Even though they maybe American Indians born and brought up there. 

To most Indians food is a big deal. It is our medium of expressing ourselves. It is an affirmation of life itself. Every occasion -joyous or sad- ( wedding, birth, death, festival) is marked by food. 

But for some it is also a means of clinging to their roots and finding their identity. Their food- entity. 

Fame or Bane?

I can't quite decide whether its a good thing to be known or unknown. To be noticed or be ignored. Most people will vote against the latter. To be ignored is some kind of humiliation which no-one wants to be stuck with. It is so much better when the world sits up and takes note of you. Then you're famous!! Heck who doesn't want to be famous? 
But I've begun to wonder. What happens when you get trapped in that fame? When you become a victim of it? When you can't break out of it no matter how much you try? 

You love Harry Potter. I love Harry potter. Everyone loves Harry Potter. With that series J.K. Rowling achieved unprecedented success. She did something magical with her books that no-one, no writer achieved. She made history. Broke all barriers of gender caste race color and reached out to millions of readers around the world. Male writers wondered how a woman writer could achieve that kind of success writing children's books, for God's sake! And in the commercial genre. Mind you its not an intellectual over- the- top series that is beyond the grasp of the common reader. Both the adults as well as the children love it. Both the literary discerning reader and the simple intellect of a child can enjoy it on different levels. 

I know. I know. You already know this. J.K. Rowling doesn't need my recommendation. She has established herself without any doubt. Since she ended the series she has written three more books. One a satire; two murder mysteries about PI Cormoran Strike. I've read Cuckoo's Calling. It's very well written. Cormoran Strike bounces off the pages vividly, almost a caricature but...but something's missing. In spite of her superior writing, command of the English language, in spite of her talent for portraits, her books haven't achieved even one fourth of Harry Potter's success. The latest I heard was she was now writing a story about the wicked headmistress of Hogwarts- Dolores Umbridge. Try as she might she can't break out of her own success. Will she eventually succeed? Remains to be seen. 

The hero of Harry Potter movies Daniel Radcliffe is floundering similarly- trying to do everything to break out of the mold his role has placed him in. He's trying out different roles - right from romantic to theater - to prove his metier. These are just two examples of so many. 

But the way I see it, in many ways fame is a bane. Because once you are famous you are expected to repeat that success. And you are expected to do that in precisely the way you've done it before. And before you know it there's no way out. That's why I can't decide. Better to be ignored or noticed. What do you think? www.facebook.com