The Distorted Mirror

Rasipuram Krishnaswami Laxman also known as R K Laxman born in Mysore, Karnataka was a great political caricaturist/cartoonist. He started drawing cartoons from a very young age. In 1947 he drew cartoons for ‘The Free Press Journal’ in Bombay along with Bal Thackeray.

R K Laxman won many awards; Padma Bhushan in 1973, the Ramon Magsaysay award in 1984 and a Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism by CNN IBN TV18 in 2008.

He wrote sketches, short stories and travelogues in a collection called “The Distorted Mirror” published in 2003.

Laxman’s drawings or cartoons carry an air of satire on political institutions and politicians and the same goes for his writings. His writing style involved humour, elegance, simplicity and grace. In this book, his short stories revolve around children and their perspectives. Travelogues have given some wonderful insights into human life. Sketches are short, shorter than a short story, with little or no plot at all.

Just like his elder brother R K Narayan, Laxman also tried depicting the simplicity of human life with a punch of anecdotes from the common man’s life.

This book has my heart. The more I read Indian writers, the more I fall in love with them and their writings.

Who Wants to Marry a Mamma’s Boy

Life is very simple when it is seen through the right lens. We humans are the only ones on this planet who can think and act rationally. And during this expedition, we face a lot of issues yet we have the resilience to stand head fast during such tremulous times. It’s no less than a miracle that we experience such things in our lives and yet are ignorant enough to not learn from those ventures.

There are eight stories in total. In the majority of the stories, the theme revolves around love and marriage; issues while searching for a match, getting married at an age which is somewhere between late and very late, issues of losing the first love, reuniting with that love, issues facing after getting married, remarrying if divorced and concept of virginity, etc. whereas it covers only 2 stories which focus on somewhat sub-themes.

One can find the common thread among these anecdotes is that of love and kindness. Love between husband and wife, between parents and children, love among siblings, kindness towards poor people and their children, kindness towards one’s family members and accepting them, etc.

The stories written by Manjula Pal has captured simplicity of life and her language has retained it.

The future won’t change

Story line, same as the previous book; time traveling. But reading this book i faced a revelation of themes.
● selfless love or unconditional love
● unabashed positiveness
● moving on from trauma
● getting rid of guilt
● change in perception
● attempting things though the fact that it would change nothing

These are some themes which I came across in the novel.
One more question it raised in my consciousness, why we, humans try at things which we know for a fact that it would change nothing at all?
I’m searching for the answer or answers as it is completely a subjective attempt so answer might differ from person to person.
Over all this book gives a lot of insights and who knows it may answer some questions of a reader.

Sad girl remained sad forever

Usually due to the common theme of love story there is a fresh twist of suicide which in turn was a murder. Well the title serves the story right. The girl remains sad throughout. Trying to find the meaning of her existence and realizing that she can never be happy. I would have given only 3 stars but one extra is for the twist and the several endings author left for the readers to imagine.

Either nothing happens at all or everything happens at once

As the name itself suggests this book is about a woman having an extra marital affair. She knows she is committing adultery and still goes on with it and all the revelations she finds herself in. A lot of my questions about love and marriage are answered in this book.

I may have been able to get one reason as to why people commit adultery that is just to get out of their boredom. Boredom is really the culprit here because when one cannot get out of it constructively then it can cause tremendous devastation. Or maybe they just want some thrill through causing some problem in their lives which will given them adrenalin rush and sometimes people crave for such feeling. This can only be achieved if they can go all the way till the end and realise nothing can be changed.
I have heard that adultery for men is just a stupid mistake and for women it can be a spiritual crime and this view is agreed by society also. So women are scared of “what people will think? People will abandon me…” so on. But well with feminism women have become quite courageous in these matters just as men.

“We have to find a middle path, where there is neither joy nor suffering, only profound peace” Paulo Coelho

Maybe adultery should be traced to evolution. Let me simplify it as the author has done and this part is my favorite; in order to increase the human race men used to mate with multiple women and women were always indulged in care taking so they never had the time to mate with multiple men.
Overall the book, when read by someone who might have certain similar problems can have more interesting intakes.

The God who Loved Motorbikes

Have you ever heard a fish flying, with actual wings? Sounds very much impossible right? But a God who loves to ride motorbikes and is crazy about those, is brought into visuals through this book, by Murali K. Menon. His writing is filled with subtle puns, humor and sarcasm. A very light- heart narrative. The narrator is a deity in a village of Kerala who after centuries of being there finds love in riding motorbikes. He ends up on a journey of finding a bike with which he is obsessed, Thruxton HT.

The story is slow paced at first; description of the village, of the people, how the God was established, the friends he make and the development of his interest in motorbikes, etc, then it picks up speed when God goes on a hunt for Thruxton HT and all the events which follows.

There is one crucial issue which crept into my mind while reading this. God is adored and feared everywhere. Adoration comes through understanding his ways of work, and fear comes when we are oblivion to how he works. But when fear creeps in there are vultures just waiting to feed off from that fear. Using the name of God to fool people and making them do things which are not good, has become a common phenomenon.

Here, the narrator or the God is not exactly the way we all have always thought God to be; the all-known, well-versed, and self-actualized one. He is portrayed with simple human characteristics like being jealous, having identity- crisis, obsessed with materialistic thing and being depressed enough to commit suicide but as we know God, so of course that did not work out.

At the end when that God finally finds Thruxton HT, he rides it but instead of experiencing satisfaction or contentment he feels emptiness in him as to what next. Makes me think that sometimes when we dream of something, and the excitement of to be so close to make it true, the lesser the happiness or fulfillment we feel.

Chowfin is a character and he says “I’m not much of a philosopher but that’s among the big reasons why we ride- we meet people along the way, and we tell each other where we’re coming from and where we are going” is my favorite line in this whole novel. This line reminds me that traveling is not just going to different places, it is much more that that. The experiences and the encounters we have is immeasurable.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

A story of liberation from shackles of the society. An account of how it takes people a lot of courage to really understand who they are and what they want to be and a narrative about transformation.

Two teenage boys, Aristotle and Dante trying to figure out what actually they are. The revelation of them being homosexuals is followed by all the events after Aristotle saves Dante from being hit by a car.

Majority of the narration is through the viewpoint of Aristotle. So there is a proper introduction of him, his family, and his likes and dislikes too. There is much less insight about other characters.

Ari (Aristotle likes being called Ari) can be seen hanging on the fine line between bravery and stupidity. Ari is brave but is indulging in certain acts which were not required. He is timid and shy. He is much more mature and inquisite compared to the boys of his age. Dante is typical example of artist. He indulges in nature, like to sketch, reads poetry and stories.

Ari and Dante meets at a swimming pool and they grow closer. They enjoy each other’s company, even the silence. Ari is a boy who is confused about his life and considers it as a universe and eventually understands that Dante is the answer for all the questions of his universe.

Ari had portrayed the typical dilemma of being close to family yet not close to an extent where his privacy is invaded.

I love Ari’s and Dante ‘s parents. They know about their kids and they support them. When Ari denies of having feelings for Dante his father and mother makes him realize that they are proud of him no matter what and he should embrace himself.

The present doesn’t change.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi is story of an old age cafe in Japan which helps people to travel across time. By sitting on a particular seat in the cafe will get you in past or future according to your wish but you have to imagine exactly at which point of your life you want to go.

There is portrayal of dilemma, regret, guilt and love.

It’s difficult not to observe certain things while reading it. There is some kind of retro vibe to this novel. There are some insights as to how family dynamics work especially siblings rivalry, the relationship between parents and their children, when either of the spouse is going through some extreme deteriorative psychopathology and how the other one suffers.

Importance of familial relationships and friendships are never to be ignored. Family stands by and with you in every curve and turn. Though there will be disagreements and fights but that doesn’t hinder the support and strength family gives you. Friends are like second family. Those with whom we have similar interests, tastes and opinions. They too stand with us in every ups and downs.

Most of us, we dwell on our past which basically takes up most of our peace. This novel reminds me that past is past for a reason and ruminating on it will definitely do no good to anybody. In the same way future is extremely unpredictable. Who knows what is in the box of life for us in the very next moment. So in the process of thinking about future and dwelling on past we forget to live our present. Present which holds everything must be given high priority.

Every character here is a representative of different virtues and characteristics. Reality hits hard with a pinch of fantasy in this novel.

This novel definitely has my heart and there are some really important lessons to learn from.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas written by John Boyne is a fictional tale of the times in parts of Poland occupied by Germany when Hitler was the dictator. The majority of plot is located in Auschwitz(Southern part of Poland). Author John Boyen has done 20 years of research on the holocaust.

Through the eyes of two children I have many takeaways from this. It’s a perfect mix of innocence, curiosity and maturity. There are very indirect depictions of how people lived in terror every minute, the apprehension whether they wound live the next moment. While reading it becomes obvious to see the differences in the life style of different sections of society considered then. One has a lavish lifestyle yet complains about how things are unfair. Whereas one lives in complete dirt, no proper food, water, clothes or any basic amenities yet has hope to live. One get things easily and another struggles to live every moment.

As I started to read, I knew that definitely the ending would not be pleasant but I was so not ready for what happened at the end. I expected exactly the opposite. At first it took me sometime to make sense of what exactly happened at the end but when I understood it, my heart sunk.

About the characters; two kids Bruno and Shmuel who are separated by a fence. Bruno is a curious kid and seems extremely logical. Samuel is sad, skinny and kind of mature person.

Bruno’s parents are quite the traditional ones who leaves no effort to teach their children manners.

Gretel is Bruno’s sister who remains irritated majority of the time but also seems to be intelligent. She is just the portrayal of conventional girl.

Its very heart wrenching. Though described on a very superficial level, author has made every effort forming paths for us(readers) to enlighten ourselves about how the situation was. Definitely worth reading.