Bring on the Indian Authors!

The pre-release hype surrounding Dan Brown's new novel - The Lost Symbol, his follow-up to the immensely popular Da Vinci Code has begun. The tentative release date is September 15 but the AP wires are already reporting that pre-ordering sales has almost hit the roof.
I've always made it known that Dan Brown is one of my favorite writers. His books have been exciting and fast-paced (so far) almost to the point where you might incur a few paper cuts whilst turning those pages.
None can deny he has this gift and the ability to spin unique plots blended with just the right amount of non-fiction which in turn compels the readers to go about and do a little research on their own. And sure enough most of these supposed facts he brings to his stories are more closer to the truth than fiction And that's what really sells his books by the millions. A feeling that, by merely reading his book, we're being privy to some confidential information, and secrets of biblical magnitude.
He has created an entirely new sub-genre in terms of popular writing and I certainly can't wait to read the Lost Symbol, but at the same time have this nagging feeling that I might come away a lil disappointed. I mean can he actually do one better than the Da Vinci Code? Not that I think it was his best novel (that honor would go to Deception Point, inspite of factual flaws) but Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code are nearly synonymous.

But keeping my fingers crossed. And you can tell they've planned this all well, by scheduling the release of the movie 'Angels and Demons' based on his earlier book around the same time. Clever marketing.

Dan Brown is among the few Non-Indian authors to capture my interest at this point. Quite surprising considering I've spent a good chunk of my adult life ignoring Indian authors. It almost has got to do with the kind of books you read as child. Growing up I remember being engrossed in Enid Blyton, The Hardy boys, The Three Investigators and other such books following similar themes and structures.
As time went by, I upgraded my choice of reading to Ian Fleming, Alistair Maclean, Fredrick Forsythe, Jeffrey Archer, Michael Crichton, John Grisham, in that order, whilst never ignoring classical writers like Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, Daniel Dafoe, Alexandre Dumas, Guy de Maupassant and a whole host of western writers. The list is almost endless.

But in no way do I wish to give the impression that I think that, say, an Enid Blyton or an Alistair Maclean is any less of a writer than, say, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'm certain, to many that may seem an absurd statement to make, but I have no reason to deny that I enjoyed reading their works as much any other author I've read as a grown-up.
Its quite natural human behaviour to have a revised opinion on the books you enjoyed as a child, when re-visited, with adult eyes, after many years. I would like to think I could still sit down and enjoy reading an another exciting adventure of the Famous Five or could perhaps even, capture a fraction of the trembling excitement I felt while reading Alistair Maclean's Golden Rendevouz for the first time but I realize that such things may not be possible.
Interestingly enough, I remember when I did read that book; back around 7th-8th grade, I recall being bed-ridden for a few days due to high fever, and that gave me the perfect opportunity to read three Maclean books - Golden Rendevouz, Caravan to Vacares and Fear is the Key, back to back, in the peace and quiet of my bedroom, with only the occasional interruption, of my mum coming in to check-up on me, meal time, and intermittent bouts of heavy sleeping. Good times.

I lost the habit of reading during Undergrad. Too many other new habits replaced books.
It wasn't until sometime in 2004/05 that I found the time and solitude to get back to reading. And that's when Dan Brown came along and almost instantly I was hooked; ferociously devouring each of his books along with Yann Martel's Life of Pi, Margaret Atwood's Blind Assassin and others. The works of Dan Brown and later the fantastic John LaCarre, quickly found its way to the top of my reading list. LaCarre especially proved a more than worthy replacement for Dan Brown, considering Brown's body of work, in terms of volume, pales in comparison with LaCarre. LaCarre with his precise, stylish, almost poetic language coupled with intriguing, complex story lines, is one of the most under-appreciated writers of our time.

But the one thing you should've noticed by now is the lack of presence of Indian Authors. Although I recall attempting to read Arundathi Roy's The God of all Small Things a while back and failing to get past page 30. But the seeds of interest were probably first sown when I read Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake and I was quietly drawn, not only to her concise yet engaging writing, but the very emotional resonance of her stories. I followed up with her other works Interpreter of Maladies and the more recent The Unaccustomed Earth, and both held me spellbound and satisfied. Its difficult to pinpoint exactly what connects me with her writing. Its a lot of little things, her minute observations, her simplicity of presentation or its probably the fact we share a common cultural bond.
I felt exactly the same way when I picked up R.K Narayan's classic Swami and Friends and couldn't put it down. An absolutely wonderful book for all ages. Written in simple, folksy prose, he magically transports us to a different place and time. I also read two other novels - Bachelor of Arts and The Sweet Vendor, both excellent and show his command on characterization and gentle story-telling. I'm was left craving for more. Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss was also a good read, but not quiet in the same league as Lahiri or Narayan;s works.

Here is my current list of must read. I'm sure there will be more added on as time passes -

1)All books by R K Narayan
2) White Tiger by Aravind Adiga
3) Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga
4) Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
5) Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
6) Select works of Sulman Rushdie (Midnight's Children, The Ground beneath her feet)
7) Select works of Vikram Seth
8) Select works of Ruskin Bond

This past month I'd also completed Vikas Swarup's new novel - The Six Suspects. More on that later.

So for now all I can say is -Bring on the Indian Authors!

Nav

My Music Blog

A blog for music now? Well, Movies, Music and Sports have always remained my three lifelines. Every memory I hold and cherish is primarily associated to one of these three lifelines. Reading and writing complete the top 5. And since I'm trying to organize my thoughts on movies and sports into 2 separate blogs, its only fair that music gets its own space.

Music always had the power to bring back memories.
For instance, every time I hear the song 'Shine' by Collective Soul, my mind drifts back to 1993/94 and all the little things associated with that time period - the lame ass T.V we had in our bedroom (parents had the better one in their room), the dark grayish trousers I used to wear all the time, my American cousins trip to Madras for the first time in years (I hadn't seen them in 8 years) and how excited I was to have them around and how proudly I showed off that we now had M.T.V (Music TeleVision) on Doordarshan! And speaking of MTV (and permit me to reminisce a bit) I remember it was highly controversial when it first came along with STAR TV package and was later taken off after much brouhaha, due to its risque' music videos and replaced with a more mellowed, conservative Channel V. Funny how 14 years later we see music videos which are 5x more risque playing 24/7 on Indian television channels. Time changes everything.
Almost a year later after it was booted off the STAR TV Package, MTV made a comeback on Doordarshan. DD2 to be precise. I distinctly remember reading a column on the Hindu titled - Sleeping with the Enemy, which moaned about DoorDarshan's poor choice of partners and I could only chuckle to myself. I was excited! I could finally get to see MTV!! Imagine! Finally the possibility of watching naked women! Wet, naked, blonde, white women (or women of any color to be honest)! Or so I was incorrectly informed back then. But could a guy my age ask for anything more!?! Remember this was 1993, the PC & Internet revolution was yet to come, in fact I didn't even know a word such as Internet or Web existed, and MTV presented probably the only avenue to explore the evil side. The curiosity to explore the fairer sex in its most natural form.
The possibility of listening to some great music was least of my priorities. Only later did I realize that the MTV shown on DoorDarshan was heavily censored, monitored and a rather toned down version of its self. And probably I'd expected a little too much from those videos in the first place. After all MTV did break barriers but were never pornographic.

Recall a young Rahul Khanna, one of the first Indian VJ's, being so cool, laid-back, self-assured and cocky. Having watched him come on the telly everyday,I'm certain, I must have sub-consciously, mimicked his behavior in some ways, and definitely in terms of arm movements, slowing down my speed of talking so I could be understood by others (although there are times even these days that I talk too fast to be understood), and of course a sorta mixed Hindi-American accent (which continues even today).
MTV definitely broadened my horizons and taste in music. From Collective Soul to REM, from Beastie Boys to Snoop Dogg to ENIGMA to Guns N Roses, Gangsta Rap, Hard Rock, Metal Rock, World Music, I experienced the diversity of music in terms of form, presentation and attitude but united and propelled together by basic concept of melody and rhythm.
My life was never the same and I continue to dive into this Ocean of Music. MTV also exposed me to the music video culture. At its height they represented a creative genre - longer than an advertisement but shorter than a feature, they provided the ideal avenue to present content in a hip, stylish, edgy manner. But its gone downhill quickly since. These days I rarely bother watching music videos. They take so much away from the quality of music, with its prosaic, repetitious, tiresome ideas and presentation, which almost always hinders the flow of the song. Its true that music is best seen with ears.

With regards to the non-existent skin show? Well the disappointment in MTV quickly washed away and STAR Movies was on its way..

What is Rahul Khanna doing these days? Last saw him playing an overly emotional, romantic, weakling in the hindi movie - Dil Kabbadi. Never did get that foot into Bollywood, despite coming from a family of actors and having performed quite competently in 1947-Earth and Hollywood/Bollywood (or was it the other way around) both under the able direction of Deepa Mehta.Pity, cos he has a lot to offer.

But coming back to music; music has always been an important facet in my life; more so than the pleasure one derives from listening, but also what the song/music represents. My mind has always associated music with memories. So in a way, music plays the role of a pointer (C++ reference), a sort of key to hidden, locked away memories, from a different time period or era.
For instance, A.R Rahman's Taal, his composition Taal se Taal Mila, (REMIX) takes me back to 1999, my times with NIIT friends, discovering Bombay Chaat house (aka Bombay Halwa house) right outside NIIT. Bunk class to attend the rehearsals for the NEXUS culturals at buddy Nagaraj's terrace, sitting on the parapet, watch the girls and (the two guys) practice their routines with gusto (to the above mentioned REMIX) and would later sponsor their dinners at some nearby eatery. I also remember growing in love with the song Kahin Aag Lage, from the same album, after having listened to it a 100 times on my Walkman. This was of course when we listened to music on cassette tapes. If you had to re-listen to a song you had to rewind it all over again.

Kids have it so easy nowadays don't you think? Going a bit off the tangent here. But they don't have to strain themselves with simple, menial tasks such as rewinding a cassette tape. They might not be even aware such tasks or technological issues existed.
If you want to hear a particular song, you just skip to it. If you want to hear it again and again, press a button and poof, it repeats endlessly.
You want to watch a T.V show without interruptions? Easy. Just DVR it and skip the damn commercials.
Want to watch a movie without paying for it? Just download a HQ DVD print from the Internet or watch it online. And it only takes a few hours to download it so there really is no waiting time.
Like a song and want to own it? Scan i-tunes store or any of the other countless mp3 websites and you can own your song for a few cents.
Want to compile your own collection of songs into one play list? Just drag and drop the songs into a fucking play list. Boom you're done. We called it mixed tapes and it took hours to get one recorded.
And you can have a customized play list for every occasion - one for while you're working out, while you're driving, while you eat dinner, while you're on a train/subway, when you're walking on the street by yourself and feeling lonely, when you're walking on the street and you are pissed. So on and so forth. You name it.
Feel like reading a book? Look for it online and you'll probably find a free version.
Want to capture a beautiful painting in the sky, filled with a glorious tinge of orange surrounded with the metallic silver/grey lining of clouds and just the hint of the sun hidden away. Well you don't have to stand there and try to memorize every color, every nuance, every frame into your mind and pray that you'll remember it when you want to see it again. Instead you can take out your high resolution camera phone or your digital camera and shoot away.

Internet and Technology have changed the way we look at things and how we go about our daily lives. I don't dislike the comfort technology brings me today. It allows me the convenience of doing things faster. And better. But I can put it in perspective since I've seen both worlds and I know the effort I've gone through to achieve those small tokens of happiness. I remember, I used to listen to music on the radio, on the FM Channel, and I had to wait for my favorite song to come on so I could record it. If not for radio, there was just one store I knew of, which had a good collection of western music. I'd mark down the songs which I want recorded and the guy in the store would charge Rs.100 per tape.
Now, we have wonderful websites like Pandora, which not only help you listen to the song you're looking for, but categorize and classify that song, based on certain parameters, patterns, structures and play all songs which confirm to those parameters. Essentially helping you identify songs you might like hear even if you've never heard it before. Amazing! I wonder if kids these days will ever appreciate how easy they have it.

I'll set up the music blog link shortly.

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The World of Mac Vs PC

I agree. Apple is the leader in terms of product innovation and creativity. Hands down. The I-Pod, I-Phone, Mac books and a string of other technological advancements have truly put the world into the palms of every user. These gadgets with their sleek, ultra modern designs, carefully crafted and completely user-friendly, after years of product and consumer research. No doubt Apple should be proud of their efforts and rewarded for the same. Heck, I own two I-Pods and I think they're one of the greatest innovations of this century.

So I have nothing personal against the products themselves.

Just with the way Apple tries to sell them. That's what really gets my blood boiling; their effort to make every Apple product as a must-have. A sort of - 'If you don't own an I-Phone or say a mac book, well then you just aren't cool enough or are a loser' attitude.
The Mac Vs PC commercials which are ubiquitous on television epitomize this sort of superficial (for a lack of a better word) premise.

Yes, everybody would love to own a I-Pod (and most probably do) and everybody would love to own those fancy looking laptops (Mac Air they are called I believe) but the obnoxious pricing set by Apple would preclude most average (and sensible might I add) folks from purchasing them. Yet it pains me to see folks who live check to check, month-to-month, go out of their way and buy these gadgets. Its the oldest trap in the world. To buy something expensive to fulfill your own sense of importance. This of course does not apply to people who have the money to do as they wish. This also does not apply if you buy any product for exactly what it is. For instance, I bought an I-Pod since it allowed me to personalize and carry my music wherever I am, not to show people I own an I-Pod, I might buy a painting (expensive or not) which brings some semblance of peace or pleasure to me personally, but not as a piece to brag and show off to my peers. You get my point. The whole premise of trying to heighten your self importance by 'purchasing' or 'buying' something appears foolish to me. I could own the Mona Lisa, but how am I contributing to the art world by merely owning the Mona Lisa? No, I believe only its creator and the painting itself is of any value. I play the role of no more than a placeholder..

If I take the argument one level further - It appears Coolness and Brand name usually go hand in hand. But does it really?

I mean after all if I go out a shell out $80 grand and buy myself a brand new Maserati, well then of course, I'll be the coolest cat on the block and the center of all the attention. Because that's how the Maserati brand is built up.

Its all just the perception of being cool. The real winner is the producer of Maserati who pockets your $80K, on a no doubt, highly priced, but exclusive motor vehicle. Don't get me wrong though -its a one fine motor vehicle.
But I could never wrap myself around that concept. If you were truly cool and confident in your individuality, why would you have to pay such a high price (or any price for that matter) to be accepted by others? To be recognized for your 'coolness'.

That's what bugs me about Apple, or any other seller who trick individuals into believing that by buying what they are selling, you automatically become a better person. A more cooler person. And we unfortunately live in a society where such exhibition of money is a quickshot way to get noticed.

"Oh my god, look he's driving a Cadillac Escalade" Or any other fancy vehicle which is the flavor of the moment.

Look I don't mind luxury. And I certainly hope I don't come across as some sort of communist ranting pig. If you honestly feel that a Cadillac Escalade is THE best car in the block and you find true pleasure in manning that particular vehicle, then good on you mate. I have no issues. Again I don't want to come off as trying to dictate how people should live and what they should buy and so on. Just my personal observations and comments. But I'm not going to buy the fact that a more expensive car is simply a better car. No sir, I just can't accept that. I guess its my middle-class, brahmanical outlook on life.

This idea has been tormenting me for years now, when I was probably in 1st year of undergrad, where probably for the first time, I was introduced into the world of upper-class, luxury life-style. I heard about how one of my friend's uncle had paid a one time fee of Rs.10 Lakh to join a prestigious club (the Madras Cricket Club), in addition to a hefty monthly membership fee. Quite a substantial amount (unless of course converted to dollars). My friend then went on about describing the MCC as the playground of the rich and the famous of the Chennai elite. I felt how exciting it would be to be part of this elite crowd. But then after some time (a few months later) I realized that there really is no point in 'paying' yourself into eliteness. You can't buy cool. You can't buy self-confidence. Yes you could well throw money around (if you have it) and buy yourself your 15-minutes of the spotlight. But it does not last.

It only reminds me of those relatively unknown faces who clamor for the gossip columns, those Page-3 types, as we call em back home, who inexplicably are seen in all the right places, grand opening of any restaurant, museum, new hip night-clubs, any over glorified tea shop etc. They live for the sole purpose of attention. They breathe and thrive on publicity and recognition. They sicken me with their presence. They have nothing useful to contribute to others or to society except promoting themselves.

So the reason I went into this long diatribe is because I saw that Apple has today released another batch of Buy Mac Ads. Some of the Ads were funny to begin with, a sort of friendly banter, between Mac and PC. But the ads now are mostly unfunny in its caricatures and have reached beyond their point of welcome.

Here's the link - http://www.apple.com/getamac/ads/

I know they are only ads, and meant for fun. But I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and had to rant about some of the things wrong in this world

Nav

P.S. I've never owned a Mac, all though I was pretty close to buying one in 2006. I've been happy with my Dell PC. And I constantly look up amazing configurations available now in laptops, in terms of processing speed, RAM and storage space, which were not available upto a few years ago - all under $1000. So why is the base price of any MAC laptop with an ordinary configuration above $1000? I agree Windows Vista has its share of many bugs and crashes. But if the reports on the new Windows 7 is anything to go by, MAC better watch out.

Bala's Naan Kadavul - Disappoints

Tamil movie director Bala is an eccentric genius. His movies are uniquely offbeat and to many he paved the way for the re-emergence of neo-realism in tamil movies providing an effective counter to the popular commercial 'masala' movies produced and which continue to dominate Kollywood. In the process he directly inspired several other new directors such as Ameer Sultan (Raam, Paruthiveeran) and Sasikumar (Subramaniapuram) , Selvaraghavan (Kadhal Kondein, 7G Rainbow Colony, Pudhupettai) amongst others to explore and bring out a freshness in terms of presentation, story-telling, dialogue etc. Bala's movies like Sethu, Nandha and Pithamagan were path breaking in terms of conceptualization and picturization, with the undercurrent of rawness and rage dictating the proceedings in each movie, striking a chord with the audience (and me personally). And his stories have no qualms about dealing with the characters outside the normal realm of Indian society and primarily present how the society deals with such individuals; for instance Sethu dealt with how society treat mentally unstable people, Nandha tackled the issue of juvenile criminals and Pithamagan had the audience mesmerized and empathize with an animalistic crematory caretaker. Highly unconventional indeed and as mentioned above simmering with anti-establishment fervour.

For instance here is a clip from the movie Pithamagan, where Vikram plays an individual who lacks social skills (for lack of better description) and is probably only a few notches above a savage animal, who beats up a couple of jail wardens and their enforcers in a prison!

The sheer raw anger and Vikram's powerful intensity in terms of body language (won him a national award) makes this an unforgettable scene in Tamil movie history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAOFld8cIcE


The success of Bala also provided the much needed break through for actors Vikram and Suriya (who were yet to establish themselves at that time) and helped them become the superstars they are today. However nothing was to beat the hype of director Bala himself, how he simply could not put a foot wrong, and his near 3 year production of 'Naan Kadavul' ( I am God) was eagerly awaited as the next masterpiece from the master.


But Naan Kadavul fails to create the same impact like Pithamagan. It starts off fine recounting the story of Rudran (played ably by Arya) who was left to fend for himself from a young age when his superstitious father abandoned him in Kasi due to some silly astrological reasons. When the father (after 14 years) realizes the folly of his deed, he goes back to Kasi in search of his young boy, only to find, to his dismay, that his son is now a Aghori saint, a recluse, who has acquired seemingly divine strength and knowledge through years of yogic meditation and intense Aghori training. Of course Rudran wants nothing to do with his family; "He is now a Aghori" whispers a trembling priest " they do not associate with this mortal world" he warns. Nevertheless Rudran reluctantly relents and travels back to his home town after heeding to his guru.

It is around here that Naan Kadavul starts to flounder. The aftermath of Rudran returning to his hometown and his dealing with the family would have on its own strength provided for riveting viewing, but alas Bala decides to switch tracks and shifts his attention to a rag-tag bunch of beggars, most of them either handicapped or freaks of nature (since they earn more) and the harsh conditions to which they are subject to by the beggar-mafia, ruled with an iron-fist by the cruel and equally cruel looking Thandavan. Bala introduces a blind girl (Fantastic performance by Pooja) with a beautiful singing voice, who is forcibly separated from her family of travelling artists, by one of Thandavan's goons, with the help of the local police, and thrown alongside the above mentioned rag-tag group of beggars, adds some macabre humor and bingo, you have, what can only be described as one "weird movie-going experience".

The entire second act, with the focus on the beggars and their universe makes for unpleasant viewing. Although history has taught us that Bala seems to derive sadistic pleasure from depicting unpleasantness. While it does not have the shock value of Slumdog Millionaire, nevertheless it is quiet disturbing. The third act, the decisive conclusion, where we expect Rudran (who was virtually absent from the second act either smoking the magic pipe to the chants of 'Jai Bholenath' or out cold) to save these beggars from their misery with a bang but ends with a whimper, all un-subtle symbolisms aside. Once again Bala misses a trick by tying things up rather abruptly. Pity, cos Thandavan deserved a more cruel death.

An engrossing beginning, Arya impresses with his presence, a meandering second half, sparkled with bits genuine dark humor, great performance by Pooja, and a frustrating conclusion. Overall disappointing.

Here is a review by the noted critic - Bharadwaj Ranjan of the Indian Express and I was happy to find atleast one other person who was equally let down by Naan Kadavul as I was.

http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2009/02/12/conversation-with-the-creator-of-naan-kadavul/