This Blog Has Been Moved

This blog has been moved to Wordpress and is www.thejalebijumble.wordpress.com now. I will be writing about the same things but at a new address. See you there.

चंदा का स्कूल

मां के बगल में बैठी चंदा ट्रेन की खिड़की से पीछे जाते हुए पेड़ों को देख रही थी। क्या ये पेड़ भी हमारी तरह चलते हैं? उसने मन ही मन सोचा। और चलते हैं तो जाते कहाँ हैं? क्या उनका भी कोई अॉफ़िस होगा जहाँ सारे पेड़ मिलकर तय करते होंगे कि इस बार कौन सा फल उगाएंगे। काश वो भी उनके साथ जा पाती और उनसे कह पाती कि उसे आम बहुत पसंद हैं और वो पूरे साल आम उगाएं।

चंदा ये सब सोच ही रही थी कि तभी उसे एक चिड़िया नज़र आई, पूरी ताकत के साथ उड़ते हुए जैसे कहीं पहुँचने की जल्दी में हो। जैसे कोई ट्रेन छूटने वाली हो।और वो तितली जो अभी खिड़की के बाहर ट्रेन के साथ-साथ उड़ रही थी, क्या वो अगले स्टेशन पर सबकी तरह झट से ट्रेन में चढ़ पाएगी? एक बादल भी चल रहा था साथ-साथ। नीले आसमान की बड़ी सी प्लेट पर रखा बादल चंदा को बिल्कुल उसकी मनपसंद इक्कीम (आइसक्रीम) जैसा लगा, सफ़ेद और गुदगुदा। मन किया कि चम्मच लेकर चख ले थोड़ा सा। पर अभी नहीं, अभी तो वो स्कूल जा रही थी और सोच रही थी कि काश ये पेड़, ये चिड़िया, ये तितली और ये बादल भी उसके साथ चल पाते।

Book Review - Karna - The Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata

There’s considerably less written about the the dark and brooding tragic hero of Mahabharata. Leadstart’s latest title, written by Umesh Kotru and Ashutosh Zutshi, focuses on Karna’s life after being abandoned by his biological mother Kunti.

The book starts on an interesting note, tracing Karna’s early life after being adopted by a charioteer and his wife. His early realization that he is different from other kids (Karna was born with natural gold armour and earrings) makes him aloof and a loner. He shows impeccable fighting skills as a kid which compels his adoptive father to take him to guru Dronacharya who trained Kaurava and Pandava princes. There he faces the ridicule and frustration of being a schedule cast, not fit to learn the skills reserved for the high borns. After a long spell of depression, Karna starts learning on his own and soon becomes a fighter of high caliber.

Karna’s fortune turns around after meeting Duryodhan, the eldest Kaurava prince and they form a strong bond of friendship. While Karna is made the king of Anga Desh, he still doesn't get the respect he deserves. Being mocked by Pandavas and rejected by Draupadi, he swears to be on Duryodhan’s side and fight for him.

Karna is the most complex character of Mahabharata. He has high values but sides with Duryodhana who is on the wrong side of the dharma. He understands what’s wrong and right but is bound by duty and honour. Even after finding the truth about his lineage, he doesn't leave Duryodhana to join his real brothers. This complexity makes the book worth reading. 

While the story pans out nicely in the beginning, it shifts it's focus from Karna somewhere in the middle. The problem here is writing which lacks a certain flow. Scenes are repeated and the language isn’t casual or conversational, making it a heavy and at times tedious read. I would've loved to read more about his life as a king, husband, and father. I've also read folklores about the relationship between Karna and Draupadi, that they secretly and silently loved each other. The scenario would've added an interesting angle to the book.

Karna - The Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata is a decent read but not highly recommended.

गीली मिट्टी की ख़ुशबू

गीली मिट्टी की ख़ुशबू को petrichor कह दो तो कैसा बेग़ाना सा लगता है ना? एकदम फ़ीका सा, जैसे किसी ने शब्द का पूरा रस ही निचोड़ लिया हो। जो बात गीली मिट्टी से शुरू हो कर उसकी सौंधी-सौंधी ख़ुशबू तक पहुँचती है, वो petrichor कहने से एक लफ़्ज़ में ही ख़त्म हो जाती है। न कविता का रस आ पाता है और न ही पुरानी यादें ताज़ा हो पाती हैं। और यादों का धागा कहीं न कहीं भाषा से ज़रूर जुड़ा है। वो भाषा जो हम बोलते हुए बड़े हुए हैं, हमारी मातृभाषा।

मेरी मातृभाषा हिंदी है। हिंदी माध्यम में पढ़ी हूँ और हिंदी में ही सोचती हूँ। पर अब सिर्फ़ अंग्रेजी़ में ही लिखती हूँ। ऐसा नहीं है कि अंग्रेजी से प्यार नहीं है। लेखिका हूँ और इस भाषा से तो अब मेरा जीवन जुड़ा है। अंग्रेजी मेरी कर्म भाषा है और हिंदी मेरी धर्म भाषा। जब दिल की बात कहनी होगी तो हिंदी में ही कहूंगी क्योंकि उसमें वही सौ़धापन है जो गीली मिट्टी की ख़ुशबू में है।

कुछ यादें बचपन की

कल टेलिविजन आॅन किया तो एक बहुत पुरानी धुन और एक जानी पहचानी आवाज़ ने बांध सा लिया जैसे। टीवी पे तस्वीरें भी कुछ ऐसी थीं जो मन के किसी कोने को हल्के से छू गयीं। कागज़ की एक नाव चली जा रही थी, उसपर सवार मैं भी चल दी। नाव रुकी तो ख़ुद को आंगन में लगे मोगरे के उसी पेड़ के पास खड़ा पाया जहां से रोज़ सुबह नानी कुछ फूल तोड़ कर टीवी के ऊपर रख देतीं थीं। वो फूल दिन भर अपनी सौंधी-सौंधी ख़ुशबू से घर भर महकाते रहते थे।

आंगन के कोने में देखा तो कोई ज़मीन पर उकड़ू बैठा था, मम्मी थीं शायद। हाँ, मम्मी ही थीं। पंजो पर बैठकर, अखबार पर कटी हुई अमिया की फांके सुखा रही थीं, अचार के लिए। नमक लगी हुई, कुछ खट्टी कुछ मीठी अमिया खाने का मज़ा ही कुछ और था, और जो चुरा के खायी जाए तो कहने ही क्या। कुछ फांके उठाने चली ही थी कि घर के अंदर से कुछ मथने की आवाज़ आई। नानी होंगी, दही मथ रही होंगी। ताज़े मक्खन की खुशबू आ रही थी। मन हुआ कि और अंदर चलूं, यादों की कुछ और परतें खोलूं। रसोईघर के पास वाले कमरे में झांका, वहाँ आम और लीची का ढेर वैसे ही लगा हुआ था।

कोने में रखा पानी का मटका देख के लगा कि दो घड़ी वहीं बैठ जाऊँ, ठंडे मटके पर गाल टिका के थकान मिटा लूँ। पर अभी बहुत सी यादें टटोलनी थीं। बचपन के उस बक्से में झांकना था जिसमे कुछ किताबें, एक ताश की गड्डी, दो-चार कौड़ियाँ और कुछ रंगीन कागज़ रख छोड़े थे। रसोईघर की उस अलमारी को टटोलना था जहाँ नाना-नानी हर साल हम बहनों की पसंद के बिस्कुट और नमकीन ला कर रखते थे। अभी तो उस क्यारी में खेलना था जहाँ नाना हर शाम खुरपी लेकर बड़े प्यार से अपने पौधों की देखभाल करते थे। घर के पीछे वाले पेड़ से जामुन कहाँ तोड़े थे अभी। और वो बाग में आम का पेड़? उसके नीचे चारपाई पर बैठकर आम भी तो खाने थे। सोच की धारा के साथ बहते-बहते मैं चली जा रही थी कि तभी एक झटका लगा। यादों की वो नांव मुझे हाल में वापस ले आई थी। मेरी आंखें नम थीं और टीवी पर गुलज़ार साब की आवाज़ गूँज रही थी,

बचपन की यादों को फिर से बहाओ,
बड़ी चटपटी हैं ये फिर से पिलाओ।

Movie Review: Hunterrr

This post comes a little late but I finely found time to share my two bits on the most talked about Hindi film of 2015 so far.

Hunterrr is a slice of life film, a slice from a sex addict’s life. Mandar Ponkshe is your average middle class boy who grows up from a curious teenager to a horny ladies killer. Sex is a physical need, he says out loud going as far as comparing it to...well, taking a crap. He has little to do with the emotional side of the relationship. The men who were boys in the 90s will find a bit of themselves in Mandar. He charms girls his own age and seduces house wives. The trick up his sleave is knowing the needs of a woman or as he puts it "vaas lene ka". He plays romantic games with college girl Parul (shy and awkward Saxena) but goes straight for the kill when he meets housewife Jyotsna, played by a fiesty Sai Tamhankar who knows what she wants. And, when he wants to settle he falls for the independent Trupti (played brilliantly by Radhika Apte) who’s open about her relationships, even physical ones.

Gulshan Devaiyah’s Ponkshe is a regular guy but with hidden passions. You might see him in local trains or even in your office but you might never find out about his nocturnal adventures. His relationship with Trupti is the most interesting part of the film. He never tries to play the hunting game with her, builds a bond and eventually falls in love. Radhika Apte lets her eyes do most of the acting, charming the audience with every scene.

Hunterrr is funny, touching at times and nostalgic but in no way demeaning to women. The women that Ponkshe supposedly "preys" on know what they want especially Jyotsna who makes the first move. The songs will touch a chord with all 80s and 90s kids who’ve grown up listening to disco king Bappi Lahiri and the qawwali rage Altaf Raja. Harshavardhan Kulkarni’s Hunterrr is fresh, light and a must watch.

P.S. - Please don't watch it with your parents.

Book Review - Cannery Row

The best part of taking part in a #TCBCChallenge (you can know more about it here) is that you don't know which book they'll throw at you. This most of the time results in you finding out about a new book, author or genre. The March challenge for me was Cannery Row by John Steinbeck, deemed as a modern classic by Penguin. This is my first Steinbeck and now I am interested in reading more of his books. 

The novel is set during the great depression in Monterey, California. It revolves around the lives of people living in Cannery Row, a street lined with sardine canneries. There's a bunch of eccentric characters in the book. Lee Chong - the shrewd grocery shop owner, Doc - a marine biologist who is afraid of getting his head wet, Dora with her flaming orange hair who owns the Bear Flag restaurant and runs a whorehouse. Mack, who is a leader and mentor of the homeless, family-less, and jobless men in Cannery Row who live in Palace Flophouse.

They're standing low on the financial ladder but they survive. There's hopelessness all around but like life that too passes. There're no ambitions but life's still good for Mack and his group. They're not the most honest of chaps and do cause a little trouble here and there, but they almost always mean well. Like Doc says, “Look at them. There are your true philosophers. I think that Mack and the boys know everything that has ever happened in the world and possibly everything that will happen. I think they survive in this particular world better than other people. In a time when people tear themselves to pieces with ambition and nervousness and covetousness, they are relaxed. All of our so-called successful men are sick men, with bad stomachs, and bad souls, but Mack and the boys are healthy and curiously clean. They can do what they want. They can satisfy their appetites without calling them something else.”

And then there's Doc, who is generous, kind, and smartest man in Cannery Row. There's a certain wisdom in what he says and does. Whoever knows him is indebted to him and wants to do something nice for him. That's something which brings the whole town together. Steinbeck has summed up his character in these words, “It has always seemed strange to me...The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second.” 

Their life makes you smile, laugh and get upset over a bunch of lost frogs. It'll make you call a few friends over and throw a party, not party for a reason but part because you want to. 

Book Review - HiFi in Bollywood

In one of my previous reviews I had said that the only thing better than watching films is reading about them, getting the inside stories and finding about what went into the making of that spectacular piece of art. While there are many such books, there are very few fictions using Bollywood as their backdrop. HiFi in Bollywood is one of those few.

Rayhan, a 20 something from Mumbai dreams of directing films but succumbs to his dad's will and ends up studying finance in the USA. Desperate to get out of an arranged marriage and pursuit his ambition, he comes back to Mumbai. But Rayhan Arora is not an angry youth who'd go the indie way, his dreams involve blockbusters, superstars and song sequences. A quick phone call and few lies lands him the job of an assistant to a superstar director.  He encounters a strew of characters in this journey - his pld maid's love struck daughter, a local goon, homosexual director and an ego-ridden filmstar. After a few filmy twists and turns Rayhan manages to prove the eternal Hindi film dialogue true, 'sab theek ho jayega'. 

HiFi in Bollywood is Rishi Vohra's second book - he has also written Once Upon The Tracks Of Mumbai - and has more realistic end. The writing while not mature, has a natural flow. He knows Bandra well and weaves the little quirks of the suburb in his story.

The book is a light read but does come with its flaws, The biggest one is that as a reader I couldn't make and emotional connect with the characters. The book only scratches the surface of the Hindi Film Industry, referred to as HiFi by the insiders. The idea of Bollywood here is based on a few cliches and stereotypes which disappoints a bit.

Book: HiFi In Bollywood

Author: Rishi Vohra

Publisher: Jaico

Price: Rs 299

Pages: 247

Who stole my speech?

1989 - A writer was threatened for writing a novel. He spent major part of his life hiding from these religious fanatics but kept writing.

2011 - A magazine office in France was bombed for publishing a cartoon. It picked itself up, drew again, got attacked again in 2015; continues to draw.

2014 - An author was threatened by religious groups. He withdrew all his work and vowed never to write.

I don’t know which one of these is braver. The one who protects himself by hiding but keeps writing? The one who continues drawing with head held high? Or the one who kills the author in him? For me a writer who gives up writing is as brave as the one who continues doing it despite death lurking over his head. It takes strong will to let go off that very thing which has been a part of your being. It needs courage to just shrug. I can never imagine the turmoil of that writer who will never write again.

My next question is, who are these people who’re stealing our freedom of expression, our speech. Terrorists? Religious fanatics? Or those trolls who choose to abuse you instead of disagreeing politely?

As the world gets more opinionated our tolerance level for these opinions seems to be decreasing. I felt the brunt of it a few months ago when I reviewed a book here on the blog. My book and movie reviews have always been subjective while the restaurant reviews are more objective. While the review wasn't completely negative i did talk about those things too which I didn't like. I wasn't spared. A bunch of 'anonymous' readers ganged up against me and abused me. Of-course, you can do a lot when you're hiding behind that garb. 

It did disturb me for a while and lowered my will to write more. But do I have the courage to stop writing? No. So yes, I admire Perumal Murugan for taking that step but wish that he hadn't. For the rest of the world who want to shut the writers/artists up, all I can say is that, keep trying.