' a comma in a sentence '- Book Review

Book Review : “a comma in a sentence” : ‘ Extraordinary Change in an Ordinary Family over Six Generations ’ : R.Gopalakrishnan : RAINLIGHT RUPA : Pages : 164 : Price : Rs 295/-

"Back on its golden hinges
The gate of Memory swings,
And my heart goes into the garden
And walks with the olden things."- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

This is the author’s fourth book. The earlier three belonged to the management genre. In this book which is in the form of a narrative, it is a long walk down memory lane for author Gopalakrishnan who covers more than two hundred years of history of his family starting from early 19^th century. His ancestors lived in Villakudi- a small village near Thanjavur, the rice bowl of South India. Known for his sharp intellect and perceptiveness, Gopalakrishnan shows another facet of his personality in this book- that of a person who is sentimental, emotional and one who attaches great importance to traditional values or ‘samskaras’ as he refers to them. Written lucidly with interesting and humorous anecdotes, the book though aimed essentially at the younger generation in the family, is outreaching and will surely attract readers of all age groups.

Starting with Ranganathan, the author’s great great grandfather, the author describes the setting at Villakudi, Ranganathan’s frugal life, his earnings arising out of the agricultural crops, the austere Brahminical way of living and community service in the form of conducting religious functions and also taking on the role of the ‘purohit’ of the Sri Kasturi Ranga temple of the village. Ranganathan and the other villagers lived happily in their own world of Villakudi almost totally insulated from the goings-on outside the village borders. It was a peaceful and contended life.

But then, there were sweeping changes which were taking place outside Villakudi. The Great Madras Famine of 1877, the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1885, the introduction of trains powered by steam engines around the same time, the arrival of the vernacular newspaper and the beginning of the Indian Postal Service. These were far reaching changes; each change dramatically altering the existing scenario and impacting the ‘frog in the well’ approach adopted by the elders of the village. Winds of change leave behind a transformation in the social milieu and its impact can only be judged by future generations. Each generation was apprehensive of how the next generation would manage these major changes. The author assures the readers that the next generation did quite well in coping with the changes.

The author discusses the caste system in the then Madras Residency and how Brahmin hegemony was brought down by E V Ramaswami Naicker, founder of the Justice Party. He propagated the principles of self-respect and removal of the caste system. He also he espoused the cause of women’s rights and the principles of rationalism. He endorsed violence against Brahmins and under his leadership Brahmins were harassed and ridiculed for their rituals and their Gods. Naicker who preached atheism succeeded in marginalizing the Brahmin community. Young educated Brahmins started leaving the Madras Presidency in droves as they did not find job opportunities. It was an irony that Naicker’s anti-caste movement resulted in a different form of casteism which manifested among the non-Brahmins and got accentuated and failed to serve the purpose of equalizing the social status of all people as Naicker had visualised.

In this backdrop of sweeping changes, new pastures outside Madras Presidency had to be sought by the educated Brahmin youth. Three youngsters from the Ranganathan family decided to venture out and take advantage of the job opportunities which Calcutta as a mercantile city provided. The author’s father Rajam followed his two cousins with the blessings of the elders. To permit the younger generation to leave the village for employment outside was a great change in the mindset of Ranganathan. Calcutta with its bustling business activities provided the right stepping stone for a professional career. All the three took up low salary jobs in Calcutta, a city totally alien to their cultural background at low salaries and built up their professional careers and simultaneously saved money to send back home. Rajam’s children studied in Calcutta in the best schools and colleges and equipped themselves with sound education and good values which acted as a strong foundation for their professional careers.

The author remembers with humour and fondness many incidents during his formative years and in his career with Hindustan Lever where he rose from a management trainee to the Board level and later his career with the Tata group in its highest echelons. These nostalgic reminiscences and interactions with outstanding personalities make the book very valuable and fascinating.

The book is entertaining, educative, witty, insightful and written with a sense of values and in a thoroughly lively manner. The book is part history, part biography, part autobiography all effortlessly blended and elegantly crafted as a narrative to make it a compelling read. Any negatives? None whatsoever. Anything that could have been added? Yes. Pictures of Vellikudi, the photographs of the family deity and the Kasturi Ranga temple and some family pictures would have enhanced the attractiveness of the book and given it a more personal touch.

We have a rich heritage and culture and philosophy which is multi-millenial and there is no incongruency between scientific temper and our cultural moorings. Gopalakrishnan has finely balanced the clash between modernity, rational thinking and culture in his own personality and that is what the younger generation has to learn. While retaining the best of our traditions, the younger generation must learn to adapt to the changing situations in a fast moving world. ‘Sanskaras’ will undoubtedly help the younger generation as a sheet anchor in their quest for excellence in their chosen fields and to face the world with courage and equanimity.

"PURE VEGETARIAN"- BY PREMA SRINIVASAN-A BOOK REVIEW

PURE VEGETARIAN’ : PREMA SRINIVASAN : WESTLAND : PAGES 328 : PRICE RS 695/-‘

There are vegetarian cookbooks galore. One might ask whether there is a need for yet another one. But then this book is unique. It occupies a niche in the cookbook market. It is more than a cookbook. It goes back to the roots of vegetarian cooking, traces its history from the Vedic period and how it has evolved over thousands of years. The word ‘Pure’ in the title of the book stands for ‘Saatvik’ food based on Aayurvedic principles and abundant in ‘praana’, the universal life force. It is the diet of yogis devised for the evolution of the higher consciousness. Food that nourishes the body and the soul.

It is a large-format paperback book, a bit intimidating by size, but subdued in presentation and yet its pictures some colourful which stand out while others in green which could have been better, containing a goldmine of information drawn richly from our Vedic heritage. Food is an important part of our culture. Offering food to the Gods before eating it in moderation is ‘de rigueur’ and part of our culture. The book is a compelling read and a vegetarian foodie’s delight. Mrs Prema Srinivasan has adopted a cerebral approach in introducing traditional cooking to modern readers and besides laying out more than 100 recipes which are easy to follow and prepare has not left untouched the other ‘accoutrement’ that go with cooking - the traditional utensils and appliances, and the fine blending of spices that produce the right aroma and flavour. Not restricting herself to Indian traditions alone, the author has introduced the readers to Italian and Buddhist cuisines as they too place emphasis on the use of pure vegetables.

Gourmands like me can literally take an epicurean journey through the vegetarian cuisine of South India by going through this book. After the initial chapters on the culinary tradition and the author’s beginnings, the subsequent chapters pictorially describe the traditional vessels used in cooking, how weights and measurements are very important to maintain consistency of taste, and the pre-cooking processes. Quoting from the Upanishads, the author focuses on the spirituality of food and the special and sacred food offerings of the famous Vishnu temples in South India. The next chapter is all about rice. It was a revelation to read how temples distributed cooked food to the community, the nearly 2 lakh varieties of rice grown in our country, the order of serving food and the ‘sadrasas’ (six tastes) which makes eating of cooked vegetables with spices a pleasurable experience while it tickles our tastebuds. Pacchadis and salads, dals and gojju, the plethora of vegetables, kuzhambu and saambaar, the effervescent rasam and its varieties, the different mouth-watering sweets- each of these get a full chapter. Then comes the iconic South Indian tiffins which include idli, the different varieties of dosai, vadai, uppuma, aapam etc, There is a very interesting chapter on regional vegetarian cuisines - Rajapalaayam, Todaimandala Mudaliyaar, Kongunaadu and Udupi. I found the chapter on the experience of paan-eating heavenly. Separate chapters are devoted to the accompaniments to the main courses like chutneys and tugaiyals, pickles and podis which make them so much more enjoyable to eat. The irresistible trademark South Indian ‘ kapi ’(cofffe) is the ‘finale’. Mrs Prema Srinivasan refers to it as ‘nectar of the Gods’. She explains how ‘degree coffee’ (rated as excellent) is made using the coffee filter. All these chapters makes the book very exceptional .

Mrs Prema Srinivasan carries with her the rich traditions of Brahmin culture, intellectualism, spirituality, and philosophy of life. She shows her open and absorbing mind and her willingness to assimilate those styles of food which though alien are consistent and compatible with vegetarian cooking. The book has been painstakingly researched and draws its contents from various authentic sources. It is a marvelous contribution to the genre of cookbooks and will always provide reference and authenticity to the serious reader and practitioner.

"THE LOWLAND"- JHUMPA LAHIRI. A BOOK REVIEW.

Jhumpa Lahiri has specialized in writing short stories and novels around the immigrant experience. Her forte is that of writing on people of Indian origin living in USA. Undoubtedly, she has established a reputation as a leading fiction writer and has been short listed for the Man Booker Prize this year.

In her latest book “The Lowland”, Jhumpa Lahiri blends the political and personal in a dexterous manner and makes the story gripping and the book unputdownable. The story encompasses five decades of history centering around the lives of one family. The human emotions are depicted in full force. Inter-generational bonding, love, disagreement, independent thinking, selfishness and violence.

It is about two brothers with an age difference of about eighteen months - Subash and Udayan. They hail from a middle-class Bengali family. They are deeply attached to each other and are inseparable as children. They share a lot of common interests and exhibit a scientific temperament. The talented brothers study together and lead a happy carefree life. They look and sound alike. At the same time, they are like opposites. Udayan is impulsive. Subash is placid. They live in Tollygunge, a South Calcutta locality. The book derives its name from  a pair of ponds in front of their house which overlap during the rains and become one waterbody and separate during the dry season choked with water-hyacinth. leaving a lowland in between. The identities of the brothers are

like the ponds-together and separate.

Unfortunately while in college, Udayan gets drawn to the Naxalite movement which dominated West Bengal in the mid-sixties. It was a radical and violent Communist movement idolizing Mao-tse-tung. It was a war waged against the State of West Bengal. While the elder brother Subash realized the risks of what Udayan was doing, he could not persuade his daredevil brother to give it up. Subash leaves for USA to pursue higher studies in marine chemistry. Udayan gets actively involved in guerilla warfare and is accused of murder. His girlfriend Gauri gets sucked into the vortex of the misguided movement. He marries her and they live together for a short while before Udayan is shot dead in a brutal manner in the lowlands in front of their house by the Police who

come searching for Udayan for his anti-State activities. The author is brilliant when she explores the ways in which Udayan’s kith and kin are affected by his death. The whole family is devastated with the apple of their eyes becoming a victim of his own violence.

Subash returns to India on hearing the tragic news Gauri is pregnant and is ill-treated by Subash’s mother. Looking at the depressed state of affairs and his love for Udayan, he considers his duty to lift her out of the morass at home and take her to USA. He decides to marry Gauri and convinces her that it is in her best interests. Gauri agrees though Subash’s mother warns him that he will never receive any love from her because she is wedded to Udayan. Ignoring his mother’s objections, he gets married and sets off for Rhode Island to continue his academic career. Gauri follows him and later delivers Udayan’s child whom Subash names as Bela.

Over time, the incompatible couple drift apart. When Subash and Bela return to Kolkata on the death of Subash’s father, Gauri leaves a note behind in their Rhode Island home and abandons the family for pursuing her interest in Philosophy in Southern California. In the absence of the mother, Bela grows up under the loving care of Subash who she believes is her father; however the trauma of her mother abandoning her remains deeply etched in her memory. She grows up like other American children. She has independent views and is decisive in her own way. She becomes an environmentalist. Subash is lonely and develops friendship with a woman. Bela becomes pregnant and when asked by Subash about the father she says that she doesn’t care. A girl child is born who

is named Meghna by Subash. Subash gives away the long-held secret of true fatherhood to Bela who is totally shattered.

Subash decides to put an end to the sham marriage and emails to Gauri to sign the papers for divorce. Gauri obliges and decides to drop in at Subash’s home on her way to a conference in Europe to hand over the papers. When she arrives at Subash’s home, she finds that Subash is not there. She meets Bela who totally ignores her and questions her as to why she has returned. Bela show her mother the door.

Each character in the novel is strong but Gauri is the most vibrant character. She is intelligent, rebellious, unconventional, fiercely independent, extremely selfish  and a neglectful mother. And enigmatic too. She has the most tragic trajectory in the novel.

While the first half of this marvellous book concentrates on the Naxalite movement, the second half deals with the impact of the shock of Udayan’s death on the family. This is an exceptional novel by an exceptional author. The storyline is suspenseful, the prose beautiful and written with great clarity. The underlying theme of the book is the dislocation of immigrants and how their lives are impacted. Lot of parallels can be drawn between the author’s earlier books and “The Lowland”. In carefully measured words, the author gives the readers a peep into the hidden emotions of family life and the choice of words make it an outstanding book and certainly Jhumpa Lahiri’s best so far.

The book lingers in one’s memory for a long time.