Saturday, May 23, 2009

Back to Basics

Which for me is reading. Reading has been the greatest joy of my life and I have sorely missed it (and felt guilty) over the past few months when I failed to read anything. Well, this week has been different and I have read two fabulous books. First one was Breathless in Bombay by Murzban Shroff (vouched and lent by the connoisseur Sa, whose taste I trust with my eyes closed) The most arresting feature of the book was the fact that it showed the magnificent Bombay in a light which always existed but was never to be seen. The humility of the characters, the open endings, the fact that city is such a vibrant and throbbing part of every story really fascinated me. The Bombay which I’ve always read was either glitz and glamour or Dharavi, black or white….the grey was so effortlessly seamed in this book that it seemed that there always exists grey between black and white, it is up to you whether you see it or not. Next up was Selina Sen’s “A mirror greens the spring”. I don’t know why…everything Bengali really fascinates me…the food, the women and the obsession for culture! I loved the older generation of this book, so in sync with reality and so courageous, which is really a hallmark of experience. The ending didn’t match up, but nevertheless it was a thoroughly enjoyable ride. Also what is it about Bongs and food? My flat mate in Chennai was a Bong and I tagged along with him blindly where food was concerned and each place we went, the fare was lip smacking!

I also love the fact that theatre owners have finally seen sense in airing old classics, Shree 420 is playing and I so want to catch it!

5 comments:

sayrem said...

i reached that point and blogged abt it too :)

bongs and food?? u'll never understand :D

Rats said...

How the H did you survive? ;)

ZB said...

i too have this love for bongs, though a mallu. BTW, you have a very crisp and powerful way of narration. i loved your style.Keep blogging.Ciao:)

selina sen said...

Hi iam glad u enjoyed my book, was checking the response to my French translation and found yr blog. Pl send me a detailed comment and look out for my next, no Bong food though, its set in Kashmir.
My email is selinasen@gmail.com

me said...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! A noose around your neck just got tighter! Cloud 9 better last a while!