Scribbling of Scattered Thoughts

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!!!