Book Review – A Thousand Splendid Suns

“In case you’re wondering whether A Thousand Splendid Suns is as good as The Kite Runner, here’s the answer: No. It’s better.”

- Washington Post on A Thousand Splendid Suns

In one line, this pretty much sums up the entire book. The story is about the lives of two women in Afghanistan, whose fates are cruelly intertwined. It speaks of the bond that forms between them, a bond despite everything that happens around them, a bond that speaks of love so pure, that can overcome obstacles without being daunted at their enormity. The story is set at the backdrop of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, then the infighting that takes place between the factious warlords, and finally the rise of the fearsome Taliban. The book is a tribute to the women of Afghanistan, their unthanked unacknowledged existence, their mute submission to the circumstances around them, and their spirit and steely resolve, that shall never falter even in the face of the toughest adversary. It speaks of the ideological divide between liberal Kabul, and the staunchly patriarchal and oppressive rural Afghanistan. It is Khaled Hosseini’s way of bringing their story out to the outside world, a heart-wrenching tale bound to move whoever reads it.

I will not give out the details of the story, but like The Kite Runner, it has its fair share of tragedies, and surprises. What is plainly evident from this book is that Khaled Hosseini is a master storyteller. He has chosen such a broad canvas for his story, that the book could easily have ended up being discursive. But his gripping narrative keeps you glued to the book. Not even a single sub-plot is without its own significance. And the best part is the level of detailing. Most authors tend to give in too much detail, letting their creative and literary juices flow freely. Hosseini on the other hand, delves in just the right amount, in a very subtly restrained manner. The detailing is just perfect, enough for you to grimace at the pain and indignation the protagonists face, yet not to squirm in your seats. And the best part is the ending. As before, the ending is tragic, but has a sense of hope that may make your eyes well up, but you end the book on a positive note. There are numerous occasions in the book when you commiserate with the women, feel their happiness and suffering, cry when they cry and laugh when they laugh. As I said after reading The Kite Runner, this book leaves you feeling oddly human again, and you cherish that feeling for long after you have kept the book down.

Which brings me to the inevitable comparison between the two of Hosseini’s books. Both the books are masterpieces in their own right, and even though they are similar in aspects more than one, you’ll be missing out on a lot if you read only one of them, thinking you got all that Khaled Hosseini has to offer. And my respect for the author multiplied manifold after this book. Writing a great book is great indeed, but following it up with another is truly a rare accomplishment. He candidly says that expectations from him had risen tremendously after the phenomenal success of his first book, and he could have chosen an easier route than the one which he did.  Yet it was important for the untold story of the women of Afghanistan to come out, and we are all very thankful to him for that.

Stereotyping, and its consequences

In English August, the author Upamanyu Chatterjee says something I found very interesting and pertinent. He says that when people meet him, they keep asking him questions, about his family background and about his name, so that in their minds they can form a picture of the person that he is, which is in effect classifying him into one of the many “models” of people they would have met by then. I somehow could relate to this very much, since its a habit I do indulge in once in a while, and am sure many others too do so. When I meet a guy who I come to know is very rich, then I tend to form a picture of a very lavish lifestyle, but in reality that guy maybe very humble or austere. Similarly if I find that a person is a heavy smoker or drinker, then I do not generally have a favourable impression of that person, but then that person may have many interesting facets to his/her character, that I maybe missing out on account of classifying him as not-so-good.

So how exactly does our mind work in such a scenario, albeit in a very subconscious manner? When we meet a new person and in the process of getting to know that person, we come to know about that person’s characteristics. Now on the basis of the characteristics that we get to know, we tend to fit that person into one of the many types or models of people, that are present in our mind. And if the information about the characteristics is insufficient, then this process is put off for a later time!! Ultimately an image or stereotype of that person is formed in the mind, which resides in our mind till some event presents itself to refute that image. If one person with these set of characteristics behaves in a certain manner, then this person is bound to behave in that manner too, that is what our mind thinks.

The flaw in our thought process here is that we discount the fact that every human is almost unique, and classifying is best suited to either inanimate objects, or animals ( to a certain extent ). Just possessing a certain set of characteristics doesn’t define a person’s character, it is much more than that. Yet we indiscriminately tend to stereotype people and personalities.

But stereotyping does have its consequences too. If I have the belief that an alcoholic will not make a good friend, then I may be losing out only on a friend. But if I believe that every act of terrorism is perpetrated by Muslims, and vice-versa, that no Muslim person is trustworthy, then this belief can turn dangerous for social harmony if it is shared by the majority of the population. And if we take a look at society today, this is exactly what has happened. After every bomb blast that takes place, and which has become horrifyingly common, fingers are pointed at Muslims. Now I agree that around the world, all the major acts of terrorism are the handiwork of Islamic militant groups, which is what swings public opinion against them, and hence the stereotyping of Muslims. But if the police look only amongst Muslims as possible suspects, then many innocent Muslims are also caught up in this net, thus polarizing society even further.

I may have veered away from what I set out to write, but this thought had been residing in my mind for so long, so I had to write it all down some day.

Just a Bad Day

There are days when the skies are blue,

With no clouds around,

You can do nothing wrong,

Everything you touch turns to gold.

And there are days when the skies are dark,

With clouds all around,

Nothing that you do will not go wrong,

Everything you touch turns to stone.

You know you are not alone,

In sharing your grief over bad days,

Everyone has them now and then,

But some do more so often.

You tell yourself its just a passing phase,

Tides do turn every now and then,

Though you wish the good times,

Would last a little longer than they did the last time.

But then how long do you want them to last?

Indefinitely, your heart says.

But if they really last so long,

Would they be welcome the next time around?

It requires the heat of summer,

To remind you of the comfort of winter.

It requires staying out of home,

To remind you of the pleasure of the food at home.

Things are what they are,

Not just because of what they are,

But also because of what they are,

In relation to other things that are.

There s only so much of a good thing,

You can have without being blase about it,

And the moment you take its presence for granted,

There’s no more pleasure can it give.

So don’t be too upset about it,

Keep preparing yourself,

So that when the tide turns,

You aren’t caught napping.

I wrote this poem after doing badly at one of my Mock CATs, just to boost my own morale. Since those who read it liked it, so I have posted it here…

The Story of a Frog

This is the story of a frog,

Who was probably just like any other,

He croaked all day long,

And ate insects when he longed.

The life of frogs is wonderful you see,

You just need to broaden your minds a bit,

They are relaxed and carefree ,

And don’t give a damn about anything.

They don’t have a career to choose,

All they have to choose is a mate,

They wait for the monsoons,

And then multiply with glee.

Soon our frog reached the mating age,

His parents allowed him to go search for one,

He was full of joy at his independence,

And went jumping to search for the One.

He soon saw juvenile frogs his age,

Croaking away to glory,

Just to attract the elusive females,

Who showed an air of superiority.

God is pretty clever you see,

He always creates more males than females,

The males have a difficult time,

Wooing their partners in heat.

Our frog, though looked like every other,

Was slightly philosophical in the head,

He found this process of wooing so superficial,

And was almost about to walk away dejected.

Just then he spotted a female frog,

Who looked as detached as he was,

He took his chance and walked up to her,

And asked, “How about it?”

It was love at first sight,

For the both of them,

Soon the baby tadpoles were born,

Lots and lots of them.

The frog felt so happy,

On seeing his progeny,

He felt like a proud father,

And was at a loss of words to say.

He shared his feelings with his friends,

They all laughed at him,

For being so sissy about his babies,

For them it was just an annual routine.

He felt sad at the way,

His friends thought about life,

He had no one to share his feelings,

Apart from his dear wife.

She consoled him,

She understood the way he felt,

She thought about it,

And then she gave her advice :

“If you want to do something different,

Stop thinking about what others will think,

Else stop trying to be different,

If you care more about what others think.”

This advice was an eye-opener for the frog,

Not just in this case,

But in many other dealings in life,

And he felt thankful towards his wife.

And so our very own frog,

Charted out a path of his own,

One very different from what his progenitors led,

One that was fraught with risk.

He was ably supported by his wife,

And with the courage he possessed,

He felt that no challenge in life,

Was not worth trying.

He won some,

He lost some,

But that didn’t mean,

He didn’t enjoy it all.

Once he tried to sing,

Like the melodious nightingale,

But God had differently abled frogs,

So his venture sank without a trace.

Once there was a shortage of food,

The frogs didn’t have insects to eat,

Our frog showed the others,

That some plants tasted just as good.

In this way our enterprising frog,

Lived a life admired by most,

He did make his share of enemies,

But these days, who doesn’t do so?

One fateful day, when the frog had grown old,

He felt he was about to die,

He lay on his deathbed,

And others came to bid him goodbye.

Some young frogs egged him on,

To say something inspiring,

They felt awed by his life’s history,

So desperately wanted to hear him.

Our frog, though dying, was elated,

He sat up on his deathbed,

Cleared his throat,

To speak a final time.

“Don’t be afraid to be different,

Don’t be afraid to be bold,

Life is all about chasing your dreams,

So never do restrain your thoughts.”

Thus ends the story of our frog,

A life inspiring to say the least,

They erected a statue in his name,

And in their hearts, he fondly remained.

A Poem on Friendship

When I was young,

I used to think,

Friendship is a relation,

That is meant to be.

All my life revolved around them,

What good times we had,

Whenever I was with them,

Time always flew so fast.

Our happiness we shared,

Along with our sorrow,

We just kept on having fun,

Like there was no tomorrow.

Times slowly changed,

Our ways became different,

I still used to think,

Our friendship was meant to be.

Our lives became more meaningful,

And time grew ever so scarce,

An action without a purpose,

We chose to postpone.

What purpose could there be,

To something as trivial as spending time?

Why will he be interested,

To hear my bad marks?

Should i tell him I broke up?

Oh no, he must be studying.

Lets wait till we meet up,

Coz we meet quite very often.

Our meets grew farther apart,

And so did we as people,

And soon came a time,

Which we never thought would come.

We hardly knew each other,

A bit more than we knew a stranger,

Time changed us all in one clean sweep,

And we were left to lament and rue.

We still talked,

But the care was nowhere there,

We still asked “Wassup”,

Without even caring to hear.

I still find it hard to swallow,

That someone I knew,

Not so long ago,

Could be so different today.

We were like rivers from a common source,

Whose paths soon became different,

And they grew further apart,

With every passing day.

Was I naïve in assuming,

That our friendship was till eternity,

That we would keep on having fun,

The way we did that day.

Time has changed us all,

But by varying degrees,

Some of us yearn for the old days,

Others prefer not to think.

My friends have all grown up,

I too think I have,

Maybe the friendship we had,

Was never meant to be.

Movie Review- Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction is one of the iconic creations of Quentin Tarantino. He has also directed Reservoir Dogs, and the Kill Bill series. Now I had heard a lot about this movie, but I had also heard it was very weird. The opening sequence will give you a clear idea of what’s to come later, it’s not a movie in the conventional sense. There is no well defined start or end. Chop off any part of the movie, and it’ll still be Pulp Fiction!! You bet it’s weird. The opening song is great, and the rest of the soundtrack is awesome, including the ending sequence. The movie has a non linear storyline, which means that events don’t take place in time in the order in which they are portrayed. In fact the entire movie is actually a series of incidents, which incidentally have a darkly comic undertone. The protagonists are Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, and Bruce Willis and Uma Thurman play small but significant parts. The dialogues between Samuel Jackson and John Travolta are the best part about the movie, especially when they get philosophical.

Now this is a movie you’ll either love or hate. Nothing in between. Its weird, the non-linear storyline is cool, dialogues and soundtrack are great. After watching it, you’ll either be smiling or cursing, and I belong to the former category, I loved it!!

Hmmm, end of my 2nd hiatus!!!

Hello everybody, its been more than a month since i last updated my blog. Lots of things happened in between, I had a nice trip to Pondicherry and Chennai, my internals and vivas got over, and now am sitting at home like a duck waiting for the semesters to start. Our exam dates have been postponed as usual, and our exams start when the rest of the engineering folk in other colleges have finished theirs, so we slog when they enjoy. Nevermind, at least I got time to blog. I have been watching a lot of movies lately, so I guess I’ll start off with some movie reviews this time. Keep watching!!

Importance of Teamwork

I recently read two things, one is about a war between Alexander and an Indian king, and another is an interview by Andrew Symonds, the Aussie cricketer. They may sound totally unrelated to each other, as chalk as cheese. However, both the things have something very important in common.

I am reading India Unbound by Gurcharan Das, quite a unique book on the history of business in India, and the 1991 reforms in particular. It shows how politics and business are intertwined, and how the political scenario in India after Independence curbed entrepreneurship in the name of socialism. In one of the earlier chapters, “The train to nowhere”, the author describes the invasion of India by Alexander. When Alexander arrived with his troops in India, many kings formed alliances with him, in fear of losing out in battle with his army. However, there was one king Puru, or Porus in Greek, who defied him, and set up a battle with him. He was a brave king, but lost the battle finally. The author says the cause of defeat of Puru’s army was not the technological prowess of the Greeks, but the failure of the Indians to fight unitedly. The cavalry considered themselves superior to the infantry, and there wasn’t much cohesion between the two. When the chariots got stuck in mud, the charioteers were unwilling to double as infantry. Similarly, the cavalry did not aid the infantry. On the other hand, Alexander’s army fought unitedly like a professional machine. When the cavalry was proceeding faster, Alexander checked their progress to make sure the infantry caught up with them. This ensured strength in unity. Historians attribute this to the caste structure in India, and the upper-caste cavalry was unwilling to aid the lower-caste infantry. The caste system may have been abolished, but its repercussions can be felt even today. Indian society is as divided today as it ever was.

The Indian cricket team echoes similar sentiments. Few days back, I read an interview given by Andrew Symonds to the Australian media. He lambasted the Indian cricket team, as Australians are famous for their rhetoric talk, but he said something that I could instantly connect with. He said Indians are famous for individual brilliance, as is evident with the personal records of Indian stalwarts like Sachin, Ganguly and Dravid. But they fail to play as a team, which is where hard-core professionals like the Aussies smell blood, and move in like hungry sharks. When an Indian batsman is on the verge of his century, everyone knows he gets more cautious. Due to this limitation, Indians generate some spectacular innings, yet they fail to win matches. The cause of the failure has to be analyzed more acutely. Merely shuffling players, coaches wont help. This is something inborn in the Indian psyche. Fielding is considered derogatory by one and all, even the children who play cricket. If you as a child play cricket, people ask whether you are a batsman or bowler, fielding is something that you do when you aren’t doing either of the two. And Indian players are legendary fielders, if you know what I mean!!

The importance of teamwork cannot be further emphasized. With the advent of multinational corporations, teamwork has become an integral part of the business environment today, and recruiters look not just for brilliant people, but also those who can gel and work together as a team. Hence we as today’s youth should lay more emphasis on winning as a team, and not just personal glory. As the adage goes,

“United we stand, divided we fall.”

Words This Week-8

Words for this week-

1. fastidious- Very careful about accuracy and detail.
2. perfunctory- Carried out with a minimum of effort or thought.
3. levity- The treatment of a serious matter with humour or lack of respect.
4. perfidious- Deceitful and disloyal.
5. chicanery- The use of tricks to deceive someone or achieve one’s aim.
6. trepidation- A feeling of alarm or dread.
7. chimera- An impossible idea or hope.

India’s Growth Story

Why things may seem great at the moment, but some things aren’t going right.

The country we live in is passing through a crucial transition phase. Change is sweeping across all sections of society, and none of us is immune to it. We have all encountered change in our daily lives. This change manifests itself in various avatars, but here let us dwell on the demographic profile of our nation vis-a-vis the rest of the world. Studies have shown that India as a nation is growing younger, as in the percentage of the population in the 20-45 years of age bracket, is increasing rapidly, when compared to the other nations. European nations in fact display an opposite trend. The percentage of older population in these nations, 60+years, is increasing much more when compared to the younger population. When added to the problem of already declining fertility in many European nations, it clearly shows that India is in a very advantageous position indeed where human resource is considered, since the 20-45 years age bracket comprises the most productive years of a person’s life. So India is actually growing younger whereas other nations are ageing.

The significance of this development is that the predominant youth population is at the perfect stage to deliver to the nation, especially when the country is in a mode of rapid growth. Manpower is the most valuable resource and the most critical component of development, and to sustain the rapid rate of growth that we have witnessed in the past 2 years, India has to fully leverage its human resource potential. This directly translates into huge opportunities for today’s youth. Newer career avenues, non-existent a few years ago, have opened up. Even though our population is burgeoning rapidly, yet opportunities have also multiplied manifold over the past decade. A rapidly developing economy requires a diversified workforce, and everyone’s skills are in demand today, be it a lawyer, doctor, engineer, chef or fashion designer. So it may seem that the development pie is sufficiently large for enough for everyone to bite into. In short, there is room for everyone here.

But examples around the world have shown that development is hardly ever inclusive. According to the “trickle-down effect” theory, development of the upper class percolates down to the middle class, which in turn percolates to the lower income groups, though the fruits of development progressively decrease. This phenomenon has happened wherever development has taken place around the world, including India.

But the situation is somewhat different today than what it was a decade or two back. Earlier people used to take poverty in their stride, and believed that God would someday definitely pay them for their hard work. But as time passes by and they see the rich getting richer due to the effort that they put in, a kind of frustration sets in. So people are no longer willing to resign to their fate and accept poverty as their future, they too want a bite of the development pie. The difference between the rich and poor today is far greater than what it was ever before. A poor man may have worked hard all his life as a taxi-driver, and may still be no better off than when he started off. However, you guarantee a job for his sons, and he would willingly forget his sorrows and feel proud that his next generation wouldn’t have to face the hardships that he had to. But if his children too have to live the same foot-to-mouth existence, the very future he was trying to prevent for his children, then it’s obvious that the person asks himself what has been the result of working all these years. It is then that people lose their faith on the system, and try to bend it, curve it, or may be bend themselves to work in conjunction with it. Or else break it, and turn to crime, the final refuge. Frustration leads to disillusionment and anger, which fills the minds of these people, and blocks the rational thought process. It is this anger and frustration amongst the masses that few political parties very cleverly tap, hence you see the increased frequency of acts of public outrage these days, which manifests itself in the form of bandhs, strikes, and violent protests.

I’m not here to paint a dystopian future for us, but the facts are there for all to see. Mismanagement of something as valuable as human capital can create havoc, and crumble the already fragile system. A 2005 study by McKinsey found only 10-15 per cent of India’s non-technical graduates and only 25 per cent of its engineering graduates are actually employable. And we haven’t yet thought of the vast uneducated population. Involving all these people in India’s growth story is surely an onerous challenge to say the least, yet without inclusive growth, a large section of our population will be forever left out of India’s growth story, and the resentment amongst the masses will surely lead to sporadic violent outbursts. Inclusive growth is the only solution, however saying so is the easiest part, and actually implementing it the most challenging and difficult. Its up to the government to take more proactive action to combat this problem, instead of giving suggestions like decreasing CEO remuneration so as to bridge the divide, which is not a solution, just a stop-gap effort. Critics may say that there will always be rich people and there will always be a much higher number of poorer people, nobody can prevent that. Maybe that is the cruel funda of society.

Non-inclusive development, that is of certain sections of society only, is like a thin layer of ice on a lake, with water beneath. You see the layer of ice, and think the lake has solidified. You take your skates out to skate on the ice, and only when you reach the middle of the lake do you realize that the ice is too thin to support your weight. The ice cracks, and you fall. The symbolism is left for you to envisage…