I’m a
non-believer but still now, since my school days I enjoy reading ‘Amar Chitra
Katha’. I enjoy reading anything I can get my hands on that includes mythological
stories and fables of various regions with extreme zeal. Religious and
spiritual discourse is not my piece of cake. (I simply cannot comprehend why
religious fanatics are growing in multitude! Logic is losing ground to blind
faith!)
After
a long wait, I finally decided to read the much-hyped "Shiva
Trilogy"... (Got the heavily discounted paperbacks from Flipkart) knew
there was a lot of buzz about these books but patiently waited to let the
craze cool down so that I can get hold of the three at a go. Then again,
unavoidable circumstances enhanced my delay a little more!!!
Started by going
through the superlative praise from the stalwarts…Finished the series in four
days…The concept no doubt was good but there ends my praise for this trilogy
for which I’ve spent my hard-earned money! I reread not a single line! (It is
my habit of reading some line repeatedly…wherever I’m stuck). These are the
first books where I freed myself of a very bad habit, and a big thank goes to
AMISH!!! The editorial team did a great work! and I cannot save myself from
sharing a line as an example of their effort. “I
started learning how to fight the day you left. If I was a good soldier, you would
have taken me with you, no?” (Kartik uttered this line to his mother Sati in
the second book - ‘The
Secret of the Nagas’).
Novels
or short stories, even movies have a residual effect on me, the hangover
remains for days together, here again AMISH has done a wonderful job, my first
hangover - less reading experience!!!
My
reading habit changed with time to diversified subject, reading
less novels and stories. There was a time when I used to read voraciously be it
English, Bangla (I had to learn my mother tongue at a ripe age, i.e., while
doing my undergraduate) and Hindi. Some of the works like the one of
Bhibhutibhushan Bandopadhay’s – Pather Panchali, Aparajita and Kajal has
left a lasting impression on me, I can easily relate myself with the protagonist, or
say Uttaradhikar, Kalbela and Kalpurush by Samaresh Majumdar, even Dracula by
Bram Stoker – the vivid description helps one to visualize the scene and makes
one a part of it. The original work cannot be surpassed by movies made based on
these stories; at least that’s what I feel. Even translated work like Pappilon
by Henry Cherre has left a thought provoking effect on me.
Lately I renewed
my interest in story reading, what could be a better start than this beautiful autobiography,
‘One Little Finger’ by Malini Chib, but what followed thereafter were utter
dismay. I don’t read review before selecting a book, neither did it for the ‘Shiva
Trilogy’ nor for ‘Five Point Someone’ and the
following books by Chetan Bhagat. Should have read some honest reviews before
spending hard cash on these craps…
Now
I have a deeper understanding of what a good marketing can do, anything under
the sun can be sold!!! Either the intellectuals as well leading media house
have acquired diminishing creative passion and thought process or their sense of
appreciation easily can be bribed.
Design
and technology are advancing at a rapid stride, we Indian are making good use
of the end product but have very little contribution to the very making of it!
It is widely publicized that we have a great pool of intelligent workforce,
either they are self-centered or their intelligence can be challenged! On the
one side, we have great leaders who are hell bent to subsidize as many thing to
us as possible leading us to a corrupt economy. They are of the divine opinion
that one’s work efficiency is regulated by his birth, by creating quota system,
taking no heed to where it is leading our country.
We had great visionaries in the near past that made us
known to the world, some even pioneered in their field and now the scene have
reversed we are the biggest importers of everything under the sun. Our ideas
are also borrowed, know-how brought in at the cost of huge royalties.
We consider ourselves as educated because we score high
in graduate course. We call ourselves civilized mocking at the so called
uncivilized (who lead a more rational and social system). What is the use of
this education unless we could rationalise our every step. We will never know
Scholars like Professor Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi but AMISH Tripathi will be a
household name!!!
