P4C x ELT = P4ELT: Its Theoretical Background (Kanazawa, 2024 March).pdf
JustBooks Connect - September 2011 newsletter
1. Volume 2 Issue 7
www.justbooksclc.com
blog.justbooksclc.com CONNECT September 2011
For limited circulation
A JustBooks Publication
When In Doubt Pg 10
Quiz
Pg 14
Just
Kids
Pg 15
Author
Anindita Sengupta with this brand of clear, refreshing free- Profile
dom. Neither are Dalits.
The difficulty of this is not that some-
A recent interview of Amitav Ghosh body, just anybody, has made the state-
contains what many consider gaffes ment but that the person is one of our
on the writer's part. Perhaps the finest writers and intellectuals. His words person who wrote The Shadow Lines, a
fault lies in interview overdose says, carry weight. People who don't know bet- deeply affecting saga which examined
Anindita Sengupta. ter may, on reading this, think cheerily among other things, the identity issues of
that India is indeed a place of amazing Bangladeshi refugees. Why is he spouting
I
ndia offers untrammeled freedom. I'm liberty or liberation. clichés that sit better in the mouths of
not certain about this but writer As blunders go, this one gains prickli- India-shining political campaigners?
Amitav Ghosh seems to be. "That's one ness because it's also a reminder of the More importantly, this makes me think
of the wonderfully liberating things about accusation that Indians writing in English of the writer as celebrity, and the perils of
India; it lets you be exactly who you want to often face. Elitism. this. Writers have always been expected
be," he said in a recent interview with Lila Ensconced in privilege, out of touch to be articulate and thoughtful, intellectu-
Azam Zanganeh for Guernica magazine. with reality and unable to write about al (and moral) beacons.
Predictably, this roused some rants, espe- universes outside their own—these are Whether this expectation is fair or not is
cially on Facebook where it was hotly dis- the charges. Some of Ghosh's statements another debate. Many of us look to writ-
cussed in some circles. in this interview help the perception. ers for that rare and strange quality, wis-
Being 'exactly who you want to be' can be (Elsewhere, he talks about how "almost dom. Frequently, they provide this not
thorny in India unless you are upper everyone" he knows "constantly" travels just in the books they write but also via
class, upper caste and male. Women between continents and nation-states.) articles, essays and interviews. With
across most classes are not acquainted I'm pained in a personal way. This is the contd on pg 2...
2. 2 JustBooks Connect - September 2011
contd from pg 1...
From the Editor’s Internet magazines mushrooming
Desk like a bad case of acne, opportunities
have multiplied.
Celebrity writers are barraged by
H
requests from small and big journals
ow many times you have and what was once driven by an
wanted to write and you urgent need to say something has
did write but felt the devolved into a weekly task to be
thoughts that were so clear in your ticked off the to-do list.
mind, you have not been able to We can agree solemnly over chai
capture them in words. that writers should know better than
Then you chided yourself that to air their views when tired, drunk,
everyone cannot be a writer. How sleepy, brain-dead, zoned, distracted
does one become a writer? Should or numb. But publicity is tempting.
one be born with the writing talent Email interviews make things even
or can one acquire it? easier. Shout into the void and some-
Similar questions come up when one will reply. If the shout's not
one talks about reading as a habit. always lucid, it will hopefully be
What makes one a reader? How buried under twenty other inter-
can we encourage reading and views.
help people acquire this habit? It's impossible for anyone to be wise
In our quest to find answers to on tap, all the time. The answer, it
such questions, we at JustBooks Royal Geographical Society. And I don't
would seem, is to say no more often.
came to a conclusion that perhaps mean horse. Women writers, he said, had
When in doubt, shut up.
if we can bring out the various a "narrow view of the world" and were too
Reclusiveness may be considered a psy-
facets of our literary, publishing "sentimental". This is because a woman
chological negative, a symptom of anxi-
and printing industry and people was "not a complete master of a house, so that
ety, fear or paranoia, but in this case it's in
involved in them, in form of inter- comes over in her writing too".
order.
esting stories, feature articles, Journalist and critic Nilanjana Roy
J.M. Coetzee didn't show to collect his
interviews, etc. and put them points out that this should not shock any-
Nobel prize and sent a recorded accept-
together in a magazine format, it one because "a list of Sir Vidia's targets
ance speech instead.
might inspire people to take up a over the decades includes Africans, Muslim
More recently at the Jaipur Literary
book. invaders in India, infies (inferior people) of all
Festival, he refused to talk before read-
We have been working on such a colours and races, Indian women writers, his
ing, letting the words in his book suffice.
literary magazine and will share wives, his lovers, his friends, his editors,
This may be an extreme-and let's face it,
more details with you soon. So including the nonagenarian Diana Athill, the
we readers love our celebrities just as
watch out for this space! issuers of worthless degrees (Oxbridge), fool-
much as Hollywood junkies love theirs-
Now coming to this edition, our ish people, people who do not serve him his
but restraint can be sexy.
lead article focuses on why famous vegetables in separate dishes…".
We have the opposite of that in Sir
and well-established writers, His arrogance is certainly apparent. On
Vidia who unfailingly entertains us year
whom we believe to represent our any women writer being equal to him, Sir
after year. Lately, he made an equine ani-
intelligentsia, make statements Vidia said: "I read a piece of writing and
mal of himself while speaking at the
that not just create controversy but within a paragraph or two I know
changes our opinion about them. whether it is by a woman or not. I
Sometimes the statements are think [it is] unequal to me."
misconstrued or said in haste but From all hearsay and based
sometimes they are meant to be on the couple of times I've met
what they are! him in person, Ghosh is not
We also have an interview with anything like Sir Vidia.
three promising multi faceted per- Perhaps, he didn't quite mean
sonalities, who share their journey what he said. Or didn't mean it
as a writer with us. Some of the like that. Or something. Maybe
questions raised at the beginning I'm off the mark by miles.
of this column will have an answer Maybe he meant every word.
in their reply. Let's hope not.
We hope that reading about
these writers will prompt our Source Credits:
members to start writing and
sending in their contributions to http://www.guernicamag.com
/interviews/2674/ghosh_5_15_11/
us.
As usual, do tell us what you http://akhondofswat.blogspot.
think of this edition and send us com/2011/06/speaking-volumes-
your feedback to editor@just- some-notes-on-sir.html
booksclc.com.
http://www.thehindu.com/arts
/books/article2071298 .ece
3. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 3
Freedom Deliverance
Jonathan Franzen Gauri Deshpande, Translated by Shashi Deshpande
4th Series Press Women Unlimited
Anindita Sengupta Dr. Rajeshwari Ghose
F T
irst, the Berglunds. Patty and Walter are his novella was originally written in
ideal neighbours, loving parents and 1987 in Marathi and recently translated
upstanding members of American subur- into English by Shashi Deshpande.
bia. The fact that it was written in a regional
Patty is humble to the point to self deprecation, Indian language and that too well over two
remembers people's birthdays and knows where decades ago has a special significance. Certain
to recycle batteries. subjects were not openly discussed then and
Walter is well-meaning and gentle. But there we, in India, had a number of 'sacred cows'
are several chinks in this middle class bliss: Patty that we did not address in an open forum. The
loves their younger child Joey too much, at least one neighbour Indian notion of motherhood was one such
finds her condescending and men find her too charming. More sacrosanct image. Gauri Deshpande clinically examines a
surprising is the fact that Joey is having sex at 12 with his 13- mother-daughter relationship, a family dynamic that is volatile
year-old neighbour and soon decides to move in next door. and full of its own unresolved issues.
Evening is the Whole Day Burnt Shadows
Preeta Samarasan Kamila Shamsie
HarperCollins Picador
Anindita Sengupta Anindita Sengupta
S B
et in post-independence Malaysia, Preeta urnt Shadows treads ambitiously across
Samarasan's impressive debut novel a lot of terrain-cities and language, tur-
explores how the coils of family can bind moil, loss, survival, and love-and in
and strangle. The British have left and Malaysia doing so, manages to move, bruise and heal.
is a tumultuous land heaving with the strug- The story begins with a prologue: a man in a
gles and competitions of its three primary prison cell wonders "How did it come to this".
races. In the midst of political turmoil, a In four separate, intricately drawn sections
Tamilian family manages their equally tumul- about Nagasaki, Delhi, Karachi and New York,
tuous (though less obviously bloody) relationships, and tries to Shamsie unravels the answer to that question. Knowing the trajec-
remain sane. For the most part, Samarasan exercises consider- tory, one might imagine that the rest is predictable but it's not
able control over her prose, unleashing torrential description really. There is enough unexpectedness and nuance to carry the
when required and switching to a sparer register at moments of story beyond the severity of war polemic. And yet, the larger his-
keen tension or menace. There is quite a bit of humour here as tories that inform and affect these individual lives are always
well. Samarasan has crafted a novel that is dark and honest, and there, barely hidden away like the bird-shaped burns on Hiroko's
one that holds much meaning to ponder. back.
Crucial Confrontations: Tools for resolving bro- The Big Questions
ken promises, violated expectations and bad behav- Steven E. Landsburg
Pocket Books
ior
Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler
Tata McGraw-Hill Dr. Rajagopalan
Manjula Sundharam
C T
rucial Confrontations talks about how he big philosophical questions are
we can express our disappointments and grouped into four categories by
expectations. Landsburg: What is reality? What is the
The authors teach us with relevant examples, nature of our beliefs? How do we gain knowl-
what we need to do before, during and after edge? What is right and wrong? Ideas and
holding a crucial confrontation. methods of mathematics, physics and eco-
The book provides useful strategies for corpo- nomics are used to understand these big ques-
rate executives to hold people accountable for tions more rigorously.
their non performance. Landsburg, who earlier gave us The Armchair Economist
Though there are no guarantees that confrontation would and More Sex is Safer Sex, has done it again: provoking us
magically transform people around us, the authors offer many with big questions, novel explanations and leaving us to wres-
easy to understand strategies for leaders to act as facilitators, tle with more questions. Over all this is a fantastic travel-read:
enablers and supporters. short, witty and important.
For detailed reviews check out justbooksclc.com
4. 4 JustBooks Connect - September 2011
In the hills
A Paean to Love
of hill dwellers. There is Charu, Maya's
The Folded Earth student who is still unable to read or
“Though I cannot know precisely
write despite Maya's best efforts. She when it happened, a time had
Anuradha Roy falls in love with a half Nepali waiter come when I had become a hill-
and Maya is a sort of intermediary and
MacLehose Press
spectator of their blossoming love story.
person who was only at peace
Finally there is Veer, Diwan Sahib's where the earth rose and fell in
nephew. Maya is guiltily drawn to him waves like the sea."
Geetanjali Singh Chanda but he is a mysterious character who has
his own secrets to hide and discover.
young Charu, for example, compelled by
Each character has their particular
the necessity of a distant love learns final-
story and yet together they form the rich
ly to read and write. And more astonish-
A
tapestry of Maya's world.
nuradha Roy's second novel The ingly she, who has never even ventured
Ranikhet, Diwan Sahib and his crum-
Folded Earth is a deeply evoca- to the next village, recklessly heads off to
bling old house referred to as the Light
tive and compassionate love Delhi by bus on her own to find her love
House provide Maya a refuge and a lov-
story. Love is an overused word that has Kundan Singh. The thought of what
ing space for healing. And together they
been reduced to banality and yet there is could and almost did happen to her is
succeed in seducing a plains-dwelling
no other word that so aptly conveys the chilling. Sheer innocence and guts though
Maya into becoming a hill-
essence of this book. have a chance of being rewarded - at least
person.
This multi layered and complex story in fiction.
explores love in the very real Roy's prose is sheer poetry. It is ele-
and deep sense of the word. gant, lyrical, chiseled and polished to
It is not only about the love perfection. The images are imaginative
between people but every and unforgettable. Charu's
character, the flora and fauna Grandmother, known to all as 'Ama'
and the place itself are for instance is described thus, "Her eyes
imbued with love. had a quiverful of lines at their corners."
Ranikhet particularly is gen- But aside from this particularly strik-
tly drawn more as character ing image we also know her by her
than a place where the story loud voice "that could carry across sev-
unfolds. At one level the novel eral valleys." though not all the char-
could be read as an elegy for acters are hill people. There are also
both Ranikhet (and other such cameo appearances by well known
hill stations) and for Diwan urban scholars such as
Sahib. Diwan Sahib, the gently Ramachandra Guha - "a tall dis-
ageing, ex-finance minister of the tracted-looking man in glasses" who
Nawab of Surajgarh is a central comes to visit Diwan Sahib to cull
figure and the grand old man of out information about the Nehru-
Ranikhet. Edwina letters that he is sup-
The story unfolds in Ranikhet posed to possess. The single
where a young widow Maya has damning fact about Guha in
been living and working at Saint Diwan Sahib's book is that "he
Hilda's school. Maya's marriage to a didn't have a single drink." It is
young Christian Michael Secuira so these insightful and precise
outraged her father that he disowns details that form vivid word
and refuses to see her again. A few portraits that bring alive both
short years after their marriage though major and minor characters.
She notes the
Michael is tragically killed at 1500-feet The Folded Earth is not just a pastoral
moment of her transformation,
during a trekking expedition. or hill romance. Roy's concern for the
"Though I cannot know precisely when it hap-
Maya flees Hyderabad for Ranikhet to environment, the destruction of the hill-
pened, a time had come when I had become a
be closer, at least in spirit, to Michael. She side by a rampaging and heedless urban-
hill-person who was only at peace where the
joins St. Hilda's school as a teacher and ization, consumerism, the manipulation
earth rose and fell in waves like the sea."
creates an alternate family. of people by cynical politicians and the
The novel also follows the standard and
There is Diwan Sahib —her landlord — inroads made by strident fundamen-
more usual love stories, although each is
an irascible old man who loves his drink, talisms simmer just below the surface.
unique. The elusive love letters between
is fabled to have the secret letters of Although this is a quiet novel it is
the last Vicerine Edwina Mountbatten
Edwina Mountbatten and Jawaharlal deeply centered and grounded in a core
and India's first Prime Minister
Nehru and has been working on a biogra- philosophic conception of the meaning of
Jawaharlal Nehru frame and permeate
phy of Jim Corbett for the past many an ethical life that is in harmony with
the other stories with a mix of desperate
years. nature and people.
longing and a melancholic nostalgia. The
He initiates Maya into the life and ways
5. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 5
Building blocks
Last Man Standing
and Masterji, who starts by refusing in 'surprise' for a construction worker's fam-
Last Man in Tower solidarity with his friends and then on ily on a site visit.
Aravind Adiga
Fourth Estate
principle.
If the premise of the book is a tad pre-
dictable — a simple man challenging a
M asterji is morally upright and true
to his belief to the end but also
comes across as a tight-fisted man unable
more powerful one — what saves it from to empathise with anyone else's plight.
being so is Adiga's approach towards Adiga's brilliant writing ensures that
each character. we shift our sympathies from character to
Reshmi Chakraborty He spares no effort in meticulously character as we read along.
drawing out each one of them and We empathise with Masterji, the old
plumbing hidden depths. The disgrun- man who has lost his daughter to a freak
A
ravind Adiga's Last Man in tled yet hopeful Mrs. Puri dreams of a accident, wife to old age and ailment and
Tower is a quick paced, entertain- better life with her son Ramu, who suf- is somewhat estranged from his only son.
ing read about the battle for real fers from Down's Syndrome; the 'battle- But we also understand Mrs. Puri and her
estate in Mumbai, told from the perspec- ship' Mrs. Rego constantly tries to trump desire to have a better house and a bit
tives of various protagonists, the more money so that she doesn't have to
main being Yogesh Murthy or spend her life washing her son's bot-
Masterji. tom.
The residents of Vishram Adiga is excellent in creating this
Society, Tower A, know they live dilemma. For most part, our sympa-
on the wrong side of the tracks, in thies lie with Masterji, especially as his
Vakola. It is in fact a neighbour- once kindly neighbours take turns in
hood so questionable that many making him feel like an outsider and
of them, like 'Communist Aunty' his own son turns his back on him.
Mrs. Rego, whose sister lives in You appreciate him for staying true to
Bandra (West), are not quite sure his cause but also wonder what is the
how to pronounce it -- 'Va-KHO- true reason behind his refusal to sign on
la or VAA-k'-la?' the dotted line when the building, as
In the Mumbai of shiny high- the author doesn't fail to remind us, is
rises with foreign names and almost crumbling anyway? Is it simply
increasing slums, Vishram is a to save the place where he has the max-
rundown, could-crumble-any- imum memories or a stubborn ego mas-
time mansion that was estab- sage?
lished in 1959 as an example of Adiga remains ambiguous, giving us
'good housing for good Indians'. something to be frustrated about and
You need to climb up the dingy mull on.
stairwell, though 'an Otis lift His Masterji is a wonderful character-
exists, but unreliably so'. The build- isation, peppered with comic and seri-
ing itself, once pink in colour, is ous notes, from his idealistic beliefs to
now 'a rainwater-stained, fungus- his refusal to ever step on a scrap of the
licked grey,' says Adiga, describ- Times of India because an ex-student of
ing Mumbai's scores of decrepit his writes for the paper. An ex-student
housing societies in one very visual sen- her sister who has so far trumped her in who doesn't bother to answer his letters
tence. Last Man in Tower is full of marriage and area of residence; the inef- later in the book. Adiga extends the
descriptions like these, of Vishram and its fectual secretary Kothari longs to see the comic tone to most of the characters, giv-
residents, of Vakola and its slums and of pink flamingos of his African youth and ing the sinister turn of events in the book
Mumbai, the ultimate mix of muck, the blind Mrs. Pinto who finds her way a lighter touch.
money and middle class ambition. by instinct through the dingy stairwells Ultimately, this is a 'Bombay' book that
Into this mire steps real estate develop- of Vishram and cannot think of moving anyone who has ever battled the local
er Dharmen Shah, who makes the resi- anywhere else. train crowds or waded through knee
dents an offer of redevelopment they can-
not refuse. Most of them don't, as the W hile retired schoolteacher Yogesh
Murthy or Masterji remains the
central character, he isn't exactly the hero
deep dirty water during the incessant
monsoon or set their times by the tap
would be able to identify with. It is also a
offer spells the chance to move to a better
apartment in a better location. either. His rival Dharmen Shah has all the reflection of the city itself, indeed of most
In other words, an overall better life. characteristics of the unscrupulous cities across the country, where rampant
Few people refuse. The social worker builder (bribery, coercion, mistress half construction is pushing lesser privileged
Mrs. Rego, who has a deep distrust of his age) but is also a self-made man who citizens to a corner of no choice and
builders and an abiding attachment to never quite forgets his struggles and where it seems corruption can conquer
any cause, the elderly Mr. and Mrs. Pinto leaves behind a twenty rupee note as a anything.
6. 6 JustBooks Connect - September 2011
In conversation
A tete-e-tete on writing
Pushpa Achanta respected journal from Aligarh fea-
tured my essay on sustainable ener-
gy that one of my teachers sent to
them, unknown to me. My first
How many times have you won- novel (or novella, published in
dered- I wish I could write. The ones 2000), outrageously titled Of
who can write are wondering who Seminal Fluids rebelled against
will publish my work and those you myself, my friends and the publish-
get published are worried about who ing world's norms. After my short
will read their writing! stories appeared in Webzines, I
took them seriously.
Pushpa Achanta tried to find
answers to these questions from CW: Year 2000 heralded my first
some established and some emerging poetry collection Squatting
writers. Quietly from Firstfruits
She talked to Zafar Anjum (ZA), Publications - an earnest book fruc-
who is a journalist, poet, novelist, tified through my desire to write
film maker; Cyril Wong (CW) a poet, differently into a literary scene that
author, journal editor, arts centre felt monotonous and repressed.
manager and to M. C. Raj (MCR), The self is highly neutered in our
local literature; and my poetry
who is a rights campaigner, commu-
highlights the nudity of a self living
nity leader, and an author. through intense feelings (god for-
Here they share their stories on bid deep feelings or individualism
what got them to start writing, how in Singapore).
they published their first work and
the disappointments and accolades MCR: My first published book Zafar Anjum
they received in their writing jour- was in 1997 about Foucault's analysis of
Hearteningly, some Bangalore colleges
ney. the dominant society. I disagreed with his
organized seminars on my first work.
conclusion that problematizing is
How and when did you start writing? enough. A writer must also express what
My next book Dalitology, released
he or she thinks as strategies to address
before 6,000 people (from across India) in
ZA: I began penning Urdu essays, early problems. Critical acclaim for my book
Bangalore sold 2,000 copies quickly.
on. Prizes in school and college competi- From Periphery to Centre - An Analysis
Being recognized as Dalitology's author
tions encouraged me. Essays distilled my of the Paradigms of Globalization,
thrills me. Disappointingly, some friends
thoughts on specific topics; cogent pres- Casteism and Dalitism encouraged me to
disassociated with me after Dalitology. I
entation was an art. I dabbled in poetry write more.
like Rajiv Malhotra's critical analysis of
too-I never attempted short stories origi- Dalitology. I want to know if readers
nally. I'm not into poetry nowadays. What was the response to your initial
shatter my views with their understand-
writing? Did any specific recognition,
ing.
CW: With authenticity and artistic com- appreciation, criticism affect you?
mitment, I started writing during univer-
sity. Many suppressed emotions and ZA: My initial fiction work's criticism
What makes you write now? Which are
ideas about growing up, school and taught me much. I won a short story con-
your favourite themes?
national service experiences figured in test to represent India at a SAARC
my poems. Writers Conference in Colombo in 2002.
ZA: Underdogs, injustice and systemic
Little Magazine publishing and choosing
coercion move me. Perhaps, I seek world-
MCR: I began writing in 1984. When my my short story as a finalist for a new
ly moral balance through my writings.
wife Jyothi and I initiated work among writer award in 2006 was honourable and
Apparently, my stories explore the
Tumkur's rural poor, I authored an unexpected.
pathology of modernity.
unpublished book called Tumkur At a
Glance. After two years, I collated our CW: Terrible. Media and some readers
I've no favourite themes but unjust acts
experiences and successes into another loved the book. But many older folks in
always provoke me. And love and human
unpublished work named The the "establishment" disapproved my non-
relationships. Nowadays, I am interested
Beginnings. social, too-personal poetry. That only
in chronicling lives of people touched by
made me to continue writing.
the global financial meltdown.
Which was your first published work MCR: Launching a series on Dalit liter-
CW: Favourite themes-love; our con-
and when? How did that occur? ature, Sage Books said that my book
flicted relationships to the hole at the cen-
would be the first. But despite appreciat-
tre of all our lives.
ZA: My first publication: in class VI, a ing it, they could not publish it. Shocked,
I started publishing my books myself.
7. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 7
past lovers often inspire my poems. The
CW: Read more than pain and the heartache.
you write.
MCR: Frequently, I discuss my writings
MCR: I avoid advis- with my family for their reflection.
ing. I want to be a but- I validate my fiction with my children
terfly attaining absolute as they know the taste of modern youth. I
freedom when mature. value my family's support.
Harming none, butter-
flies drinks nature's nec- Do you enjoy or dislike reading any par-
tar and die unnoticed. ticular authors, poets and genres?
People can be butterflies
maturing in their own ZA: I won't read someone because he or
space and time. she is a bestseller. Writers can barely cap-
tivate me for 300 pages.
Have your family mem- I enjoy my favourite Urdu poets' verses
bers or friends con- and different genres except horror. I love
tributed to your writ- biographies, letters and diaries of great
ing? writers and thinkers.
ZA: My family and CW: I hate any poem that does not
friends support me, reflect the soul (or anything defined as
though I don't show "soul"). Many male poets are painful to
them my work. My read (or women trying to imitate men)
wife's backing keeps me because they probably prioritize accom-
going. plishments over great emotional urgency.
I find novels tedious. I love everything
M. C. Raj CW: My family and else.
MCR: I love deep philosophy.
MCR: Writing is my habit. I write at Habermas, Foucault, Chomsky and
night. Recently, I began penning fiction. Radhakrishnan were my favourites.
This year I have two published novels I like Faranz Fannon. I dislike light
(Raachi and Yokiana) and some non-fic- topics and rhetoric.
tion works. My third novel is ready - I'm
intensively authoring another. Would you like to add anything?
My favourite theme is philosophy. But
I also write on Psychology and ZA: I don't take my writing seri-
Spirituality. Lately, I've entered love, ously. I wonder if my writing is
sexuality and relationship through fic- worth anything. The talent and pre-
tion. cocity of the masters is awe inspir-
ing. I've a long way to go.
Any advice for new and emerging writ-
ers? CW: Nah.
ZA: Fundamentally, understand your MCR: Having extremely poor,
reason for writing. You are probably unlettered parents, I'm content at ris-
wasting your time if you write for ing from burning ashes. I'm rebel-
money or fame. Read and write much lious, enjoy oratory and solitude.
without hope and despair. My books are apparently tough to
Be very critical about your work. understand. I load my words with
Interact and learn from other writers. meaning. I've tried writing lucidly.
And when sure of writing, continue; Perhaps, after my death many will
although realizing your dream might read my writing.
Cyril wong
take decades.
Zafar Anjum Cyril Wong M. C. Raj
Zafar is a cineaste, an avid blogger Wong is called Singapore's first confes- Based in Tumkur, Karnataka, Raj is a
(dreamink.blogspot.com) and editor sional poet. He is an author of nine vol- community leader, novelist, non-fiction
of Kitaab.org and Writersconnect.org, umes of poetry. He is also the poetry jour- writer and campaigner for electoral
websites dedicated to Asian writing nal editor (www.softblow.org) and an reforms in India. He has more than 15
in English. operations manager at The Substation, published books to his name. He writes
He is an award-winning journalist Singapore’s first independent arts centre. on philosophy, psychology, spirituality,
and fiction writer. An Indian who A featured poet of several Literary and politics etc. He generally writes on Dalit
now lives in Singapore, Zafar consid- Writers Festival, Wong recently completed issues and is an international opinion
ers himself a film maker too. his doctoral degree in English literature. leader. He leads a powerful Dalit
Movement in Karnataka.
8. 8 JustBooks Connect - September 2011
Reader’s Reader’s contribution
Healthy milk from the farm
Voice Kushii H So delicious and nice.
Fruits so delicious
Khushii has a farm house on Yummy apples, bananas and man-
I
have been a member of JustBooks for Kanakapura Road, which she often goes too
the past 10 months. At first, I had visits. Till my tummy is full of fruits.
thought it was a shop for books. I There they have animals like
asked my friend if he knew anything
cows, dog, sheep and lot of hens. And there are animals
about it. He said that he was a member
and that it was a library which had all
Coconut, Guava and Chikoo trees Cats, cows and horses too
the books that had been released in and some vegetables too. A care- Which keep you on your toes.
India and also some other foreign books. taker family stays there (farmer).
I kept pestering my parents until they Khushii wrote this poem in her Farmer Penny and the whole gang
got me a membership there. school's creative writing book and Pond you see looks so nice
When I got my membership, there the topic was given by her teacher. And you can make paper boats
were so many books to choose from. She wants to share this with other and
There were many books that I borrowed JustBooks' members. Leave it on the water.
from JustBooks, mostly from the 'Alex
Rider' series by Anthony Horowitz and
the 'Eragon' series by Christopher
THE FARM Do you want to go to a farm?
Paolini. To jump, yell and shriek
Reading is a lot of fun. I think many Do you want to go to a farm? The whole day long
more people should take JustBooks With loads of fun for all!
membership. So green, so beautiful and nice
Syamanthak Srikrishnan, 13 years
JP Nagar - Dollar's Colony
Bangalore
Khushii is a very talkative and energetic 7-year old girl, who was born
on 6th May, which happens to be the birthday of poet Rabindranath
Tagore too! She loves drawing and colouring, colouring rangoli, reading
comics like Amar Chitra Katha, Chandmama and Tinkle. Khushii also
loves elderly people a lot. Presently she is studying at National Hill
View Public School at RR Nagar.
9. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 9
Readers’s contribution
When in Rome..
The First Man in Rome Julia, a girl of powerful political lineage, fight to push back the Germanic hordes.
whose illustrious family, though aristo- Ms. McCullough's maps are of great help
Colleen McCullough cratic, has fallen on relatively hard times. in bringing out the dimensions of the
Avon It suits Gaius Julius Caesar, the father, to events.
marry his daughter to a rich ambitious I particularly liked the maps showing
man as he has high hopes for his sons' Rome's idea of the world and map of the
futures that can only be fulfilled if he town of Rome. Also included are some
acquires financial clout. Marius gains interesting illustrations from the busts of
Gita Subramanian the family connection required to set him prominent people of the period.
off on his path to achieve his dream. Scenes of domestic life, conversations
Caesar's younger daughter is married to that bring out the mores of the time,
Sulla. their election processes and so on are all
T
his book was first pub- seamlessly woven into the
lished in 1990 and though story without turning them
historical fiction is close to into history lessons.
my heart, I could never pick up Did you know, for exam-
this dauntingly long (nearly 900 ple, that there were large
pages) book and start reading it. several-storied apartment
Recently I did. And I am glad I blocks in Rome at that
did it, for Colleen McCullough's time? Also that women
painstaking scholarship and eye rarely drank and had to sit
for details have really brought to in straight chairs to dine
life the characters and the histori- while the men lounged in
cal events of the period. couches.
The year is 110 B.C. The story Colleen McCullough's
is set around two men, Gaius scholarship is evident but
Marius, a rich ambitious man, does not intrude. She has
who does not have the rights of appended about a hundred
birth to political position in the pages of glossary explain-
Republic and Lucius Cornelius ing the Latin terms, the
Sulla, a poor aristocrat with social context and some
ambition who has till the start of explanation as to her
the novel led an indolent, hedo- sources.
nistic amoral existence. As she herself says in her
Gaius Marius is seen at the note at the end of the
start as an 'Italian hayseed with no novel, it would have been
Greek'. impossible to include a full
Not being Roman-born was a bibliography given the
big deficiency in the class-con- extensive nature of her
scious Rome of that time and research.
Greek was the language that I would fault the book
every aristocrat was supposed to only for its intimidating
speak fluently. Fortune seeks length; perhaps she could
them out and a series of circum- have published this in two
stances propel Marius to the volumes instead of one.
position of First Man in Rome and Sulla Though this is not based on historic This one is very difficult to lift and read
is also well on his way to the political evidence, in her Author's Note in bed!
prominence which he achieves in the McCullough cites her reasons quite con-
second book of the series. vincingly for presuming this. This Gita Subramanian worked for many
Around them is a whole plethora of brings the two men together and they
years in International schools in
characters from various walks of life that become close allies.
draws the reader into a world as real as The absorbing story of the rise of these Hong Kong, where she also ran a
the one we live in. There are political two protagonists is set against a back- book club. She is an avid reader and
intrigues, there is massive corruption ground of magnificent scenes of epic a published writer as well. She has
including vote-buying, tall election magnitude - the Jugurthine War, the translated three Tamil novels and
promises and so on. Does that not invasion of the Germanic tribes and a won an award in 2010 for one of
sound like today's India rather than grain crisis leading to a revolt that is them for best translation from Tamil
Rome at the end of the second century crushed just in time. The battle scenes to English. She is a member of
B.C.? are vividly graphic and there are
JustBooks, JP Nagar.
Marius's rise begins when he marries detailed accounts of Marius's plans in his
10. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 10
1. “An idiot child screaming in a 4. Who said, "Everything’s wrong on Wikipedia."
hospital.” V.S. Naipaul
H. G. Wells on George Bernard Gore Vidal
Shaw Taslima Nasrin
Lord Byron on John Keats
Martin Amis on Miguel 5. “He has never been known to use a
Cervantes word that might send a reader to the
dictionary.”
William Faulkner on Ernest
2. “There are two ways of disliking poetry; one way is to Hemingway
dislike it, the other is to read Pope.” Vladimir Nabokov on Ernest Hemingway
John Keats on Alexander Pope Dylan Thomas on Rudyard
Lord Byron on on Alexander Pope Kipling
Oscar Wilde on Alexander Pope
3."The eyes of others our prisons; their
thoughts our cages."
Salman Rushdie
Virginia Woolf
Rohinton Mistry
Hemingway
H. G. Wells on George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde on Alexander Pope, Virginia Woolf, Gore Vidal, William Faulkner on Ernest
JUSTBOOKS Hindustan ke Shaan
TOP 5
O
ur new JustBooks Powai branch continues to be featured in
the news media.
The Hindustan Times, Mumbai Edition, carries an article titled
N EW A RRIVALS 'Community based libraries open in City'
1. Leela’s Book by Alice "Book aficionados now have another reason to cheer. In yet another
Albinia attempt to boost and encourage the reading habit among Mumbaikars, a
2. One Summer by David Bangalore-based venture is opening community-based reading libraries
Baldacci titled JustBooks CLC across the city."
3. The Secret Of The Our plans for Mumbai continue unabated. In this context, they say,
Nagas by Amish Tripathi "The venture also plans to open more outlets along the city's Western
4. Does He Know A Railway route by the year-end.
Mother’s Heart? by Arun Shourie "We have a community-centric model with a physical shop that offers
5. 24 Akbar Road by Rasheed members access to books that they can rent, read and return," says D Ravi
Kidwai Kumar, Senior Manager - Franchise Development, JustBooks CLC.
He, however, adds that they want to focus on offline activities that
R ECOMMENDED encourage people to visit the library rather than simply choosing the books
1. The Shadow Of The from the e-catalogue.”
Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2. Her Fearful Symmetry by
Audrey Niffenegger
3. Tamarind Mem by Anita
Rau Badami
4. The Lost River by Michel
Danino
5. The Master Switch by Timothy
Wu
R ENTALS
1. Only Time Will Tell by
Jeffery Archer
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Book
2) by Jeff Kinney
3. Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Book
4, 5 and 1) by Jeff Kinney
4. 2 States: The Story Of My
Marriage by Chetan Bhagat
5. The Secret Of The Nagas by Amish
Tripathi From JustBooks blog - http://blog.justbooksclc.com
11. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 11
Food on the road
Not a lot on their plate
Highway On My Plate - The Rajasthan, or the unique Egg
Factory and drink-serving, arty
Indian Guide To Roadside crowd at Koshy's in Bangalore.
Eating While you simply cannot dis-
miss a 300 page food guide, the
Rocky Singh & Mayur Sharma book seems to lack something.
The strapline on the cover calls
Random House India the book: The Indian Guide To
Roadside Eating; but what it covers
mostly are the restaurants and
Aradhana Janga hotels in the cities. An extended
Lonely Planet at best is what the
O
book turns out to be. The duo of
n a road trip? Wondering what Rocky and Mayur miss to discov-
to eat and where? Like to try dif-
ferent authentic cuisines
fets with the choicest of dishes! Udupi
but not really sure where to find
food boasts of unique dishes made from
them? On a stringent budget or
jackfruit, as well as the local buns and
feel like splurging on good food?
'Neer' dosas.
Highway on My Plate by Rocky
And talking about street food, surely
Singh and Mayur Sharma might
the food stalls around Sajjan Rao circle
just be the answer to all your gas-
in Bangalore deserve a mention for their
tronomic questions. Rocky and
steaming hot idlis, dosas and Badam
Mayur are well known for their
(almond) milk served every evening to
food show on NDTV Good Times,
its big fan-following that enjoys and
where they take viewers on food
comes back for more.
journeys across the length and
Food is more than a basic need; it is a
breadth of India.
way of life, it is part of tradition, culture,
The book covers 25 states and
economics and natural environment.
on an average about 3-5 places in
There is a reason why South Indian
each state. With about 3-5 food
states are mostly rice-eating ones while
joints in each of these places, the
North Indian ones are wheat-eating, just
book is a good collection for your
like there is there is a very good reason
travel library! Every eatery comes
why coastal regions use a lot of coconut
with a detailed description of the
in their food preparation than the rest of
setting, food specialty, contact
the country.
information, price range and a
A brief history of food of a state might
rating on taste, ambience, service,
have made Highway on My Plate more
and value for money.
interesting.
For a traveler, it is of interest to
And though it might be interesting to
know the Punjabi dhaba and the
find different cuisines in the most
idli-dosa joint in the middle of
unlikely of places, for a real foodie,
authentic food is probably of more inter-
er the biryani haven in Tamil Nadu - est than a pasta and pizza joint in the
Ambur which is literally on the middle of South India! 'Gatte ki Sabji' in
Bangalore-Chennai highway and sup- Rajasthan and Ragi dishes in Karnataka
plies thousands of biryani packets daily are as local as one can get, but Rocky
to Chennai. and Mayur miss out on these delights.
Or the North Karnataka cuisine (corn While Chinese food might be popular in
rotis with brinjal and lentil curries made Kolkata, wouldn't a tourist be interested
with their unusual blend of spices), in typical Bengali food at 6 Ballygunge
which is so unique that one cannot find Place or Bhojohori Manna or the biryani
any similarities between that and the at Arsalan? And it's disappointing to
Bangalore or the coastal (better known note that 'Saravana Bhavan', a local
as Udupi) cuisine. favourite does not feature at all in the
They also skipped the Kamat Chennai listing.
Lokaruchi on the busy Bangalore- For someone who is clueless about
Mysore highway that causes quite a traf- Indian food, this book will be helpful,
fic snarl with its multitude of customers. but if you are out sleuthing for authen-
Some drive all the way just to eat the tic, traditional food, you are better off
special South and North Karnataka doing your bit of detective work and
thalis and all-you-can-eat breakfast buf- asking the locals.
12. 12 JustBooks Connect - September 2011
Musings
Reading in an Age of Distraction
Ram Mohan Susarla always read the eBooks on
your PC (during breaks at
work). Mind you, I do not
have anything against
W
e are living in times where eBooks (I like my Kindle
digital ubiquity is the order of very much!). The point that I
the day and most of us are am trying to convey is that I
constantly switching between checking have personally experienced
email, surfing the web for the latest the "shortened" attention
headlines and sports updates, answer- spans when I read stuff on
ing the telephone and attending to the electronic devices. There is
mobile calls (and SMSes). nothing to beat the joy of
In fact, there are some among us who reading a printed book.
have the omnipotent Blackberry's and
IPhone's to keep us busy. With all this
electronic "chatter" drowning out the
R eading in this electronic
age is not only about
reading the "right" books
voice of reflection, we hardly have time (personally, I don't think
to take a book and read it from cover to there are any "right" books.
cover. Indeed, the "Age of Distraction" All books are books, period.),
where the attention spans are in minutes but also about reading just
and seconds means that we hardly have for the "heck" of it. The objec-
time to breathe, let alone read. tive should be to embark on
There are many authors like Nicholas a journey with the book as
Carr who have pointed to the "shallows" the companion and discover
that inhabit our minds in this electronic the sights and sounds of
age. There are others who have drawn delight in the process. Many
attention to the "fragmentation" of our of us take books along with
selves because of so much digital "noise" us on journeys.
that assaults us from all directions. Why not read a book sit-
Studies done in recent years have shown ting at home and transport
that the average time spent on a task has ourselves into the world of
come down to 11 minutes and the need the characters of the book
for constant switching back and forth and experience their stories
between tasks means that our "e-person- in the same way we reflect
alities" might take over our "offline" on our other experiences.
selves and there can be a morphing of Reading a book is the per-
both. Increasingly, many behavioural fect antidote to the lack of
experts are calling upon people to medi- focus and concentration for
tate or sit still in contemplation if we do extended durations that
not want this to happen. seems to be the malaise
So, what better way to "logout" from afflicting many of us.
the e-world than to pick a book and read The pleasures of reading
it at leisure? are such that once you start
Of course, there are many who would reading; the rest follows
willingly give up the TV remote or put quiet beauty that reading offers as a
much like a musician finds the right
their mobiles on discreet to sit down and reward. And those moments of quietude
notes after the initial prelude.
read. But for those who find it hard to and reflection are well worth the time
Finally, reading as a habit for children
tear themselves away from their gadg- and effort spent in reading the book.
should be taken seriously by parents if
ets, there is some advice coming your
way. Reading a book is like sipping I f you are wondering, "Why not read an
eBook on a Kindle or a Nook?" The
answer is that while reading eBooks is
they want their kids to discover a world
other than TV and Video games and
wine and it grows on you. Hence, the there are titles galore on all subjects that
best thing to do when you get the time is certainly catching on, nothing can beat
interest kids. There cannot be a better
to sit down and reach for that book that the pleasure of plonking oneself on the
way to ensure that your kid does not
you have always wanted and get going. favourite armchair and reading a print-
grow up on gadgets alone if you initiate
Never mind the incessant buzz of the ed book. There are many reasons for
them to the wonders of reading.
messages or the temptation to check the doing so. For starters, an eBook is again
movements of shares and the urge to a book that is read on a gadget, when
Writer's Note: There are many books on
scroll through the updates on the inter- the objective clearly is to "disconnect"
the topic that I have written about and in
net. A book is worth reading not only from the virtual world. Next, not many
fact, the topic was inspired by the recent
for the pleasure that the joy of reading books are available in the electronic for-
publication of a book, from which I have bor-
gives us but also for the moments of mat (as of now) even though their popu-
rowed the title.
larity is increasing. Finally, you can
13. JustBooks Connect - September 2011 13
Venturing out
Friends with a franchise
Sapana Rawat
Meet Mr. Vinod Shankar, one of the
partners of Trupti Ventures that runs
JustBooks Malleshwaram franchise.
Vinod also leads Strata Retail's
Marketing department.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and
your partners.
I am a typical Bengaluru boy, who
recently married a typical Bengaluru girl.
I was born here and have lived all my life
here. Travel and food interests me a lot,
and if the place is breathtaking and food
is great I dabble with my camera to cap-
ture the best of both.
Trupti Ventures has four partners:
Rahul (a software engineer), Shajin Serine
(a financial analyst), Sabari (a chemical
engineer) and myself. We all have been
friends for years, right from our school There were a lot of other ideas that we ends, some days I spend my evenings
and college days. had considered — express car wash, trav- interacting with our members.
el & holidays or a millet-only restaurant. Every member has a unique taste in
What were you doing before joining I had become a member of JustBooks, books, and the satisfaction of helping
JustBooks as an employee? Whitefield and around the same time them find a particular book is immense.
In my previous avatar I worked for Sabari and I were attending start-up The members come from varied back-
four years as a Digital Signal Processing event at IIMB, where we came across grounds, there are dancers, techies and
engineer in a large communication com- JustBooks as a possible opportunity to homemakers and not to forget ever bub-
pany. I still find technology interesting start our entrepreneurial journey. bling energetic kids! Interacting with
for it simplifies tasks in everyday life like kids, knowing that they are reading has
issue and return of books at JustBooks. How has been the customer response to been insightful.
JustBooks as a concept & your library, in
How has your experience been on work- particular? What kind of books do you read person-
ing full time and taking care of the fran- The customers are delighted to have a ally? Who are your favourite authors?
chise? library like JustBooks at Malleshwaram, I love autobiography and biographies
Working at JustBooks has been fun and which is one of the oldest areas of along with books related to Indian
a learning experience. The best part is Bengaluru. medieval history though I used to read
you get to meet varied and interesting The use of technology for issue and Sidney Sheldon, Dan Brown, Paulo Coelo
people every day. return, the vast collection of books and and likes in my college days.
Being a part of organization that's mov- universal access across branches has I like Indian writers like Ramachandra
ing from start-up to its growth phase is enabled kids and seniors citizens alike to Guha and Subroto Bagchi.
valuable. I always wanted to learn and appreciate JustBooks as a noble concept.
experience how organization are built What is your advice to book lovers who
and scaled up. What do you think will be a great addi- would like to turn entrepreneurs through
JustBooks has provided this wonderful tion in terms of value to your existing JustBooks?
opportunity to me, and I get paid to do members? If you are a book lover looking for a
what I love to do. After joining JustBooks Through JustBooks we provide a serv- simple business, with decent returns on
the time spent at the outlet has reduced to ice that means a lot to our members. To your investment, then JustBooks is the
some extent, though I hope to make up enrich it further, we are looking into pro- place for you.
for that soon. viding literary consultants once a week to Along with the profits, the satisfaction
help our members choose books and that you get by setting up a JustBooks
Why and how did this franchise option organize creative events for children. franchise in your community adds intan-
happen? gible value to your own life.
I always wanted to start something on How much of your time do you spend at With presence across five cities, it's only
my own as the entrepreneurial bug had the JustBooks outlet personally? How a matter of time before JustBooks makes
bit me. It was only matter of time before rewarding is the experience of interacting its presence across India and becomes a
we four friends started something. with your members? synonym for Library.
I'm there at the outlet over the week-