Abhinav Agarwal | अभिनव अग्रवाल

Tinderbox, by MJ Akbar

2013-06-16T17:19:00.002+05:30

Tinderbox: The Past and Future of Pakistan, by M.J. Akbar

"One good section, two okay parts, and several instances of selective interpretations."

(Flipkart, Flipkart ebook, Amazon US / CA / UK, Kindle US / UK, CA, Powell's)

One-line review: Two books, three parts, and some parts confusion and obfuscation.

Short review: MJ Akbar displays an impressive grasp of history, that blends into a fast-paced account of world events that intersect with the march of the Indian subcontinent to freedom, and partition. This is however marred, repeatedly so, by the jarring interjection of incongruous paragraphs that seem to exist for little reason other than to serve as the display of an elegant train of thought's ugly derailment. Curious omissions of facts and selective interpretations should cause one to examine both the narrative and the subtext with a magnifying lens of a fact-checker. There are also more like two distinct books crammed into one, with justice done more to the first than the second. Furthermore, perhaps the part most likely to appeal to most readers is the modern history of Pakistan, especially that going back to the 1970s, when the shift to radicalization started in earnest with General Zia's dictatorship. That is given less than its deserved share of space, but should be enough for people to want to read more. Perhaps Tariq Ali's "The Duel" (my review) does a better job of describing Pakistan's post-independence history.

Long review:
Pakistan, as a nation, has been one of the most fascinating, tragic, and spectacularly disastrous examples of religion as the sole basis of nationhood in the twentieth century. Partly the result of British imperial divide-and-rule policy, partly the result of Muslim intellectual introspection into the reasons for their decline in the subcontinent, and partly the result of a muddled policy followed by the Congress party's leaders in their freedom struggle, it nonetheless was formed out of India on August 14, 1947, to the accompaniment of the displacement of an estimated ten million people and the deaths of more than a million. The raison-d'etre of Pakistan was to seek a dedicated space, a nation, for Muslims, who the leaders of the Muslim League thought would otherwise not get equality in an undivided India. Before that however, much before that, the roots of the partition of India seemed to have originated with the decline and eventual fall of the Mughal Empire itself.

Soul-searching over the loss of political and military power had been brewing for a long time. Anxiety over a weakening Mughal empire and a need to reassert the "purity" of Muslims led to the "theory of distance", articulated by the eighteenth century cleric Shah Waliullah. "He told Muslims to live at such a distance from Hindus that they would not be able to see the light of the fires in the Hindu homes." A philosophical distance from the Hindu was made understandable in physical terms.

The loss of power was brought to the fore in a stark manner by the loss of Lahore to Maharana Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler, who "in 1799, took Lahore from the Afghans and made it his capital. For the first time since the tenth century, when the Ghaznavids had established their rule up to Lahore, this region was being ruled by someone who was not a Muslim." Shah Aziz, son of theologian Shah Waliullah, "prayed to Allah to sweep away the Sikhs, whom he called Islam's greatest enemies and bands of demons." Shah Aziz would later declare India "Dar ul-Harb" since "Christians had become the true masters of the land between Delhi and Calcutta." Shah Aziz's disciple, Sayyid Ahmad Barelvi, would go on to launch a jihad against the British in 1825. The decline of the Mughal Empire culminated with its termination with Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal ruler and the eighty year old leader of sorts of the First Indian War of Independence in 1857, and who was described by Syed Amhad as "a mouldering skin stuffed with straw". Anger at the rise of the Sikh empire, the rise of the English empire, and frustration with the decline and end of the Mughal rule caused much anxiety and introspection from the Muslim intellectuals in India. Some of this anger directed itself towards "the pollution that had affected Indian Islam, not only from Hinduism but also from Sufis" for having "introduced their own imaginations and superstitions" into Islam.

Even language played at the growing insecurities of the Muslim aristocrats.

Whereas Urdu had been the lingua franca of the administrative machinery for long, Hindi began to find a place, and "tension increased after the Bengal government notified that Devanagri could be used in courts and government documents in Bihar and Central Provinces which came under its jurisdiction." Not only was there a direct economic consequence of this step on the Mulsims, but there was a more visceral impact on the psyche of the Muslim aristocrat, who first found themselves slowly deprived of power in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but now faced with the prospect of economic subjugation at the hands of those people that he had ruled over for "seven hundred years."

There were two common arguments used by theologians and fundamentalists alike to rouse the people. The first was the fear that "Islam was in danger" and that it was the duty of every Muslim to rise as one against that threat. The second was that Muslims constituted a distinct and superior group that deserved to rule if in a minority or carve a different nation for itself otherwise.

A strong votary of this line was Sir Syed, who believed that Hindus and Muslims were two nations living in one land.

"Oh my brother Musullmans, I again remind you that you have ruled nations, and have for centuries held different countries in your grasp. For seven hundred years in India you have had imperial sway. You know what it is to rule."

"you must remember that although the number of Mohameddans is less than the number of the Hindus, and although they contain far fewer people who have received a high English education, yet they must not be thought insignificant or weak ... our Mussalman brothers, the Pathans [could] come out as a swarm of locusts from their mountain valleys and make rivers of blood flow"

This line would find an echo in Ayub Khan who wrote that "As a general rule the Hindu morale would not stand more than a couple of hard blows at the right time and place."

These introductory chapters in the book add a context to the book that is useful to understand the ideological and historical underpinnings of nation of Pakistan. The middle chapters cover the freedom struggle, and can be divided into roughly three parts. The first part covers the rise of Mahatma Gandhi, and the brief period between 1919 and 1922 when Hindus and Muslims united, perhaps for the first time, and under a Hindu, to fight the British rule. This was the period of the Khilafat Movement. After the failure of this movement, there was disillusionment in the Muslim community with both Mahatma Gandhi's efficacy and the potency of non-violence as a tool of struggle. The failure of this movement also gave an impetus to the fundamentalists on the Muslim side, who had anyway seen the Congress as a tool of the Hindu middle-class, and in its rise saw a conspiracy by the Hindu bania to enslave the Muslim. From there to partition was a short distance, covered in the short space of twenty-five years.

Pakistan would emerge as an independent country, with its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, professing a desire to keep it a place where people of all faiths could live peacefully - "you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan." This vision would die soon after the death of Jinnah in September 1948. The first communal riots of Pakistan would take place in 1953, not against Hindus, but against the Ahmadiyas. Pakistan would launch upon a gradual path of fundamentalism and radicalization, and while it is commonly known and acknowledged that it was General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq who set Pakistan upon its steepest descent into fundamentalism and Talibanization, even his predecessor, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was not above pandering to the fundamentalists by banning "night clubs, gambling and liquor (the interesting fact, surely, is that such pleasures were legal in the Islamic Republic till then). Bhutto changed the weekly holiday from Sunday to Friday and invited opposition Ulema to join his advisory council for the implementation of Sharia."

The future of Pakistan, or at least a prescient prognosis, can be found on the last page of this book, made in 1946 by Maulana Azad. While Maulana Azad favoured a united India more on the grounds that the sizable Muslim population in the united India would have more leverage than a divided nation, his predictions about Pakistan were spot on.

"... After the separation of East Pakistan, whenever it happens, West Pakistan will become the battleground of regional contradictions and disputes. The assertion of sub-national identities of Punjab, Sind, Frontier and Baluchistan will open doors for outside interference. ... We must remember that an entity conceived in hatred shall last only as long as that hatred lasts. ... In this situation it will not be possible for India and Pakistan to become friends and live amicably unless some catastrophic event takes place."

He also had a caustic word or two for Muslims, getting to a fundamental issue that has not received much analysis in modern times.

"They [Muslim business leaders] advocate a two-nation theory to conceal their fears and want to have a Muslim state where they have the monopoly to control the economy without any competition from competent rivals. It will be interesting to see how long they can keep this deception alive."

This book is mostly a well-written and engaging account of Pakistan, even though, and obviously so, the roots of Pakistan and its history can be found in India, of which it was a part till 1947. However, while there is no denying the author's formidable grasp of history, what is also on display is a remarkable trait to pick up and abandon topics without and before following them through to any sort of reasonable and logical conclusion. This can get quite exasperating at times, but can be overlooked.

Of much more serious import is the rather selective and injudicious omission of facts pertinent to a discussion. Where the reader is sure of his history he will be able to spot these incongruities. Where he is not, these inconsistencies will slip through the cracks.

Let me take a couple of illustrative incidents.

The story of the early conquests of Muslim invaders is undoubtedly bloody and gory. What happened almost a thousand years ago should and must be studied without fear and fully. The author seems quite unlike the disinterested and dispassionate observer when writing about cooperation between Hindu and Muslims in this period. There is no denying that Hindus continued to cooperate with, and Muslim rulers continued to employ Hindus in their armies as well as in administration, and that conversions of Hindus to Islam took place not only under fear of death, but also willingly, though these were obviously far and few in-between (spontaneous conversions would have meant that all of India converted to Islam, which it didn't). So, when the author writes, "The most famous convert of his time was Alauddin's brilliant general, Malik Kafur Hazardinari, a handsome Rajput Hindu eunuch captured during the conquest of Gujarat."
So what's wrong here? Firstly, the author omits the fact that (Wikipedia, ) a Hindu, who, after his capture by Alauddin's army Khilji, was "castrated and made a eunuch". "His beauty ... captivated Alaud-din" (India: A History. Revised and Updated) - for what purposes does not nor should it require imagination, given the wide-ranging sexual predilections of the sultans. The same Malik Kafur then "sacked and plundered many Hindu temples including the famous Hoyasaleshwara temple in Halebidu." [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malik_Kafur&oldid=540943516]

The second instance has to do with respect to a mosque built on the ruins of a temple destroyed by Babur, at Ayodhya. The author writes, "His candid and comprehensive memoir, Baburnama, makes no mention of it." "It" being the presence of a temple or its demolition. Here again, Mr Akbar is, in true Humphrey Appleby fashion, being economical with the truth. While it is technically correct to say that Babur's memoir makes no mention of the temple or its destruction, what is left unsaid is that the pages pertaining to Babur's visit to Ayodhya are missing from his memoirs. Also, what the author leaves unsaid is that Mir Baqi, the governor of Awadh, had the Babri Mosque built in Ayodhya at the command of Babur, the Mughal Emperor. Did a temple exist at the place? Yes, archaeological excavations have established that. Was the mosque built at the command of Babur? Yes. Was it worshipped as a mosque? Yes. Do English and older records mention it as a mosque? Yes.

The third instance is in some ways the funniest, because for no apparent reason the author ventures, with utmost sincerity, to portray the third Mughal emperor, Akbar (and his namesake), as the greatest warrior of the Mughal empire. He was certainly the most moderate, but that is only relatively speaking, for after the siege of the fort Chittorgarh, he ordered the murder of thirty thousand unarmed people. If that is not enough, the author also wants to bathe Akbar in the heroic patina of bravery on the battlefield. Akbar's deciding battle was with Hemu, in 1556, also known as the Second Battle of Panipat, and which cemented the Mughal Empire in India for the next two hundred years. So how does the author, MJ Akbar, describe Akbar the Mughal, in this battle - "the teenage ruler held his ground, won the day...", and how does he describe Hemu - "an unorthodox maerick rather than a traditional ruling clan. Hemu, a Hindu peddler of saltpeter...".
What are the facts?
Let us ignore the belittling adjectives, "maverick" and "peddler". Why this venomous animosity against Hemu is not quite clear, but words have spoken. The second concerns Akbar. Akbar did not fight, much less lead, from the front, in this pivotal battle. He stayed behind the battleground, eight miles away. Certainly a far cry from holding ground, unless one takes it in the most literal of ways, in which case it does the great Mughal's reputation or bravery little good. Hemu was on the cusp of victory, when a stray arrow pierced his eye, which led to confusion among his soldiers, and defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory. The reaction of the noble Akbar and his regent, Bairam Khan, is notable. The wounded, unconscious, and near-dead Hemu was brought to the Mughal camp, where Akbar struck the near-dead Hemu, and then his regent Bairam Khan beheaded Hemu. Truly the acts of a noble and brave king who held his ground. This was however not the end of it. Hemu's head was hanged outside the Delhi Darwaza in Kabul, Afghanistan, while his body placed in a gibbet outside Purana Qila. That was that, as far as the peddler of salt peter was concerned - "a massacre of Hemu's community and followers was ordered by Bairam Khan. Thousands were beheaded and towers of skulls built with their heads, to instill terror among the Hindus." [much of this paragraph has been reproduced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemu]

Based on these three episodes, spread less than ten pages apart, what is one to make of the rest of the book then? If a person like me, who has no more than a passing interest in Indian history could spot three sins of omission and commission, it should certainly cast aspersions on the rest of the book. I, the reader, am no longer sure whether a statement of judgment is based on an even-handed and logical assessment of facts or whether it has been weighed on a fixed scale so that no matter how heavy evidence to the contrary, the assessment is a foregone conclusion?

Wikipedia
MJAkbar.org
ISBN: 9789350290392, 9789350291948

HarperCollins Publishers India Ltd.

Kindle Excerpt:

The Indian Renaissance, by Sanjeev Sanyal

2013-06-10T00:18:00.001+05:30

The Indian Renaissance: India's Rise after a Thousand Years of Decline, by Sanjeev Sanyal

"Useful enough. But... Misleading title, dry and unengaging prose"
(Amazon US, UK, CA, Flipkart)
One-line review: Useful in its own right, but makes for dry and uninviting prose.

Short review: If a country is indeed seen as rising after a thousand years of decline, and if you put so in the title of your book, it stands to reason you are expected to devote some amount of reasoning and logic to that line. This book does not. Why the decline happened is only fleetingly touched upon, and without much conviction. The book's stronger sections are towards the latter part, especially when talking about the country's broken education system and its archaic and dysfunctional justice system. The book's heart is in the right place, but it needed more meat on its bones, and a more vigorous heart, so to say, to elevate it from the ranks of the me-too to a must-read.

Long review:
India was the most technologically advanced, the richest, the oldest, and certainly the most culturally advanced civilization from the beginning of recorded history till about a thousand years ago. It continued to remain the world's richest nation till the eighteenth century. Why India went into a state of decline a thousand years ago, why it continued to decline, and why it should see a renaissance now, starting with 1991, is a conundrum, even an impossibility some would argue. Of course there have been explanations. Those of a more socialist leaning argue against anything worthwhile in Indian civilization to begin with, marking it as a civilization bound to stagnate (as per D.D. Kosambi, eminent historian), and that anything worthwhile in India can be found to have originated only in the last thousand years - the ideological strains in that symphony are loud and clear. On the other hand, those who have made a more honest and detailed study of India and its civilization point out to its immense contributions in almost every sphere of life, including science, culture, language, mathematics, astronomy, urban planning, and more (see Michel Danino's "India's Culture and India's Future" for instance). Sanyal points out that the Indus Valley Civilization (more correctly the Indus Valley Saraswati Civilization, but not pertinent to the discussion in the book) was the largest, earliest, and most advanced example of urban town planning the world has known, with a level of standardization that would take five thousand years to better. Indians were adept at trading, and the world's oldest tidal dock can be found at Lothal (my post). Indians were trading with Sumerians and "India accounted for 33 per cent of the world economy in 1 A.D. However, "(B)etween AD 1000 and 1820, India's share of world GDP fell from 29 per cent to 16 per cent." It would fall to 4% by 1947, and sink to 3% by 1991. So, what caused the decline? That is, surprisingly, a tough nut to crack. A thousand years later we still do not have answers. Conjectures, yes. Ideologically framed theories, yes. But nothing that quite convincingly explains why. So, a book that has the words "India's Rise After a Thousand Years of Decline" should provide enough food for thought, or so I thought.

The author puts forth a conjecture or two, and the main thrust of that conjecture is that Indians turned inwards. They stopped being open to new ideas. Their "spirit of entrepreneurship" was eroded. "There are several independent signs of intellectual fossilization around the eleventh century" as well as "growing technological naivete after the eleventh century." Plausible, and true to an undeniable extent. It is tempting to rush forth to arguments that sound plausible enough to be acceptable and backed by just enough fact to pass initial muster. The most popular myth is that "the Muslim conquest of India was the result of a young and vigorous religion defeating an old pacifist civilization." This, the author points out, "is hardly borne out by the sequence of events." Furthermore, "(A)s Professor Pervez Amirali Hoodhboy puts it: 'One gets the impression that [Muslim] history's clock broke down somewhere during the fourteenth century and that plans for repair are, at best, vague.'" To sum, "by the time Muslim was rule was firmly established in India in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Islamic civilization itself was past its peak." Therefore, the author argues that Islamic conquest cannot be blamed for India's decline. This story of civilizational decline is not unique to India. The Roman empire crumbled after the fifth century, unable to withstand the onslaught of an increasingly powerful Christian Church whose rise saw the library of Alexandria burned down by "Christian zealots in the late fourth century", the Greek philosopher Hypatia "killed by a Christian mob in Alexandria", and "Plato's academy shut down under the orders of Emperor Justinian in AD 526." Nearer home, China had naval technology "generations ahead of the Europe" in the early 1400s. Yet a cultural attitude saw this knowledge stagnate and innovation stifled. So, India was not alone in this civilizational decline.

The author argues that "it was civilizational decline that led to foreign domination rather than the other way around." And here is where the biggest problem lies with the book. For two primary reasons. Firstly, while the Indian civilization may well have been at its peak and suffering from the not unexpected signs of complacency by the time the last millennium began, there is nothing in the decades or centuries preceding it to point to an imminent decline. There is near unanimity on the tenth and eleventh centuries as the beginnings of India's decline - not a gradual decay into obscurantism that accelerated in the second millennium. The second is the contradiction in the book itself - if civilizational decline was well and truly underway by 1000 CE or thereabouts, it would have been unusual to find any exceptional centers of learning in the subcontinent. However that was not the case. Far from it. You had the university at Takshila, established in the sixth century BC, destroyed by the "White Huns (Epththalites) around 460 AD." This was followed by the total destruction of the world's largest university at Nalanda in 1193 CE by Bakhtiyar Khilji, and finally the complete destruction of Ujjaini - "a major center for mathematics, literature, philosophy and astronomy" - in 1235 by Sultan Iltumish. A civilization in decay and stagnation cannot be expected to either have had the greatest centers of learning in the medieval world, nor would it be expected to stave off the military advances of Islamic invaders for several centuries, that it did, and which the author points to in his book. This resistance, lasting several centuries, against Islamic conquest, is unparalleled in human history, and defies logic to credit a decaying, declining civilization with being capable of mounting. The book's argument is undermined by its own prose.

What is a plausible explanation is that the steady, unremitting, and murderous onslaught of foreign invaders led to Indian civilization retreating into a survival mode, closing itself to innovations, questions, invigoration, closing itself to adaptation in order to survive. In other words, foreign domination led to a rapid shrinking of the space for openness and this defined, rather than caused, the thousand years of decline. To argue otherwise is somewhat of a classic post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. This story of the thousand-year decline takes up one chapter, less than thirty pages in the book. That is perhaps the single biggest weakness and flaw of this book - a distinct imbalance between the premise of the title and the contents of the book, weakened further by a fairly weak line of argumentation in itself.

The rest of the book takes the reader through the emergence of the Indian middle-class, the roots of which can be seen as early as the eighteenth century. The post Independence period saw the full brutality of the "Nehru-Mahalonobis rate of growth" visit Indians, which left economic growth mired at less than four percent and hundreds of millions in abject poverty. While socialism may have been the fashion of the age when Pandit Nehru ruled India, "but the blind following fashion is no excuse for poor judgment." Milton Friedman, Nobel laureate, had as early as in 1956 had pointed out the fundamental flaw and danger in having an able mathematician like Mahalonobis "apply themselves to economic planning." Mahalonobis was also shown to be a plagiarizer by none other than the maverick of Indian politics, then a young, 19 year old Subramanian Swamy!

Much of the book is basically ground covered several times before by several other books, most notably by Gurcharan Das' "India Unbound". There has been no shortage of books on the topic of India's rise, and each has tried to add something to this narrative, some successfully so, some less so (Edward Luce's "In Spite of the Gods" being a particularly nasty example, while Anand Giridharadas' "India Calling" being a paint-by-numbers exercise in enervating mediocrity). This book's shining moments can be found when discussing India's educational and legal systems, both of which have failed the Indian citizen. What is however lacking throughout the book is both the engaging nature that someone like Mark Tully brings through his anecdotes and first-person accounts, as well as the vice-like grasp over facts that Arun Shourie can hold the reader with. If you want to be educated on the utter banality of horror that the Indian bureaucracy is, you need do no more than read Arun Shourie's "Governance". The morbidly fascinating morass of the Indian judiciary is brought to the fore in "Courts and Their Judgments". So, even though the book is arranged somewhat thematically, the discussion fails to cohere, flitting from one topic to the other, and is marked by a lack of an underlying narrative fabric to bring these together into a story. It remains a set of longish essays put together into a book.

On a slightly mischievous note, I must conclude by observing that the author, a Bengali, cannot help but point the decline of the once glorious city of Calcutta (now Kolkata) as symbolic of the decline of an entire civilization!

Publisher: Viking Penguin India
Year: 2008
ISBN-13: 9780670082629
ISBN-10: 0670082627

© 2013, Abhinav Agarwal (अभिनव अग्रवाल). All rights reserved.

The Book of Story Beginnings, Kristin Kladstrup

2013-06-08T09:21:00.002+05:30

The Book of Story Beginnings, Kristin Kladstrup

Like the title, the book's start is worthy of a book, but peters out after that.

(Flipkart, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, Kindle US, Kindle UK, Kindle CA, Powell's)

The problem, nay - the challenge, with writing a good book is not the beginning, though unsuccessful writers find ways to make a hash of even this. It is the middle of the book that maters the most. Of course, the climax is like the icing on the cake, and sour cream does not a good icing make. It is the bulky middle that takes the tiny sparks of a good beginning and sustains it through to a hopefully satisfying end. This book, "The Book of Story Beginnings", suffers from a strong start that magically sucks you in, but which leaves you in a sort of storytelling vacuum for much of the middle. In fact, within a few pages of the plot starting out in earnest, I had lost interest. I persevered through to the end, and while the book did pick up somewhat, the beginning belied the book.

Haven't we all, at some point or other, wanted to write a story? This is the magic of good stories - from the earliest stories that we have with us - the Panchatantra, that they make us want to be part of them, to come alive in one of their magical adventures. Since these are happy tales - most of them, we believe that we would also have happy adventures. But what if only the beginning of the story was upto us, and the rest depended on our wits? Such is the challenge facing both Lucy and Oscar. Oscar writes the beginnings of a story, finds himself surrounded by an ocean in the middle of Iowa, sails away in a boat, and is presumed lost, forever, till he shows up back home one find day, several decades later, to find that the house he lived in is now the home of his grand neice, Lucy. Lucy's parents are living in this house, that Lucy's father inherited from Oscar's now departed sister, Aunt Lavonne. Lucy ends up turning her father into a magician, and then a bird. How will they find Lucy's father? And do they have any control over the story they have begun? Can they write its ending, just as they unwittingly wrote its beginning?

This is the delicious beginning of the story. Where it falters is the middle, where, despite the presence of the de-rigueur slightly mad king and queen and lots of cats and lots of birds, the plot seems as lost as Lucy and Oscar. While fairy tales have a strong element of the fantastic that requires a willing suspension of disbelief, this book tries too hard to bridge the gap between the plausible and the impossible. This is a magical adventure tale - the author forgets the magical part at times, and this is what lets the book down, keeping it firmly stuck in the interesting and intriguing but not quite memorable.

ISBN 10: 0763634190
ISBN 13: 9780763634193, 9780763626099
Kindle Excerpt:

Mahabharata Vol.7 - Translated by Bibek Debroy

2013-06-02T17:11:00.004+05:30

Mahabharata, Vol. 7. Translated by Bibek Debroy

Weapons kill, but words will hurt much, much before that
(Flipkart, Amazon US, Kindle US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA)
One-line review: The war ends, but the carnage will take a night more to stop.

Short review: This seventh volume sees the war come to an end, with the fulfillment of vows, the killing of family, the drinking of blood, and the breaking of thighs. The Pandavas have won this terrible war, but the final price they would have paid for this victory will be known only in the eighth volume.

Long review:
In some sense, the story of the Mahabharata is a tale of words. Ask anyone to identify that one pivotal episode in the epic that set in stone the inevitability of the war and they will point to Droupadi's insult after the game of dice in Hastinapur (Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Vol. 2), where she was derided as a "courtesan" by Karna. What was the trigger for Droupadi to be so demeaned? Most will agree it was the barb Droupadi hurled at Suyodhana in the fabled palace at Indraprastha (even though the particular line in question has been excised from the Critical Edition). And with what final words did Dhritarashtra send his emissary, Sanjaya, to Upalavya to negotiate peace with his nephews, the Pandavas? "At the right time, whatever you think should be said for the welfare of the Bharatas, say that in the midst of the kings, but do not say anything that incites them to the war." [Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 22, Vol. 4]. Before the war began, an arrogant Duryodhana, convinced of his military superiority, sent Uluka, Shakuni's son, with a message for the Pandavas, and Bhima in particular, "O Uluka! On my behalf, speak these words to the foolish, ignorant, and glutton eunuch Bhimasena. "Vrikodara! Though impotent, you took an oath in the middle of the assembly hall.""

If words can incite war, words can also avert war and bloodshed. This becomes clear when an irritated and injured Yudhishtra let loose a volley of insults at Arjuna (Karna-vadha Parva, Ch 48, Vol. 7), who then vowed to kill Yudhishtra (Ch 49). Krishna stepped in, pacified the two, and suggested a compromise - Arjuna should offer a "trifling insult" to his elder brother, and address him as "tvam" - since insulting one's elder is like killing him. Arjuna did so, but was - yet again - so filled with remorse at having insulted his brother that he wanted to kill himself. Krishna, yet again, suggested the non-violent way out; Arjuna should praise himself - "Tell him about your own qualities now. Thereby, you will kill yourself today." (Dr. Debroy's footnote - "Because self-praise is like killing one's own self.")

This saga of words finds its apogee, or nadir - depending on your point of view, in the seventh volume of Bibek Debroy's ongoing translation of the unabridged Mahabharata (based on the Critical Edition by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute). While most people with a basic familiarity with the Mahabharata will know that Arjuna killed Karna as the latter tried to extricate his chariot stuck in mud, few will know that Karna's charioteer was Shalya, the maternal uncle of the younger Pandavas - Nakula and Sahadeva. Fewer still will know the story of how Shalya was tricked by Duryodhana into fighting on the side of the Kauravas (Ch 8, Udyoga Parva, Vol. 4). And very few will know that Shalya had then been recruited by the Pandavas to psychologically weaken Karna (Ch 8, Udyoga Parva, Vol. 4) in the war.

It comes as little surprise therefore when you read, for an agonizingly thirty long pages (I estimate five hundred shlokas), Karna and Shalya bicker and trade barbs and insults, even as they are ready to head out for war on the morning of the seventeenth day of battle. Neither warrior is willing to cede ground, and neither warrior is quite ready to settle this with his weapons. Shalya is determined to undermine Karna's confidence. Sample these pearls of wisdom exchanged between the warriors:
"Arjuna is like a cloud among men and you are croaking back at him, like a frog. From its own house, a dog barks at a tiger that is roaming in the forest." [Shalya to Karna, Ch 27, Karna Parva]
"There is no doubt that you have subsisted on leftovers from the sons of Dhritarashtra." [Shalya to Karna, Ch 28, Karna Parva]

The squabble between the two degenerates into name calling and worse, as when Karna tells Shalya, "You are certain to know this. But I will tell you more" and proceeds to tell Shalya that he (Shalya) comes from a region - Madra, whose people eat from vessels "which have been licked by dogs", and that the "women of Madra are the filth among women", to which Shalya retorts, "Abandoning of the distressed and the sale of wives and sons is prevalent among those from Anga. You are the lord of that region." You get the general drift of the conversation between two warriors.

The account of the eighteen-day war has taken up almost three volumes of this translation (starting with the Bhishma-vadha parva in Vol. 5, all of Vol. 6, and all of Vol. 7) - more than one thousand three hundred pages, and more than sixteen thousand shlokas (starting with Bhishma-vadha parva, the entire Drona Parva, the entire Karna Parva, and all or part of Shalya Parava, depending on where you treat the end of the war to be). This has been long, and in some ways tedious, because accounts of the battles in this war became indistinguishable from one another. As is quite possibly the case with other parts of the epic, the account of the eighteen day war also saw substantial additions in the first thousand years or so since its writing, and what may have been no more than a couple of thousand shlokas of the war in the beginning grew into more than sixteen thousand shlokas.

The change in the tone of the account, its pace, is quite discernible as you start the Tirtha Yatra parva, which, despite its name, begins with a group of hunters, who "used to carry a load of meat to Bhimasena", stumble upon a conversation between an injured and tired Duryodhana hiding in a lake (Lake Dvaipayana) and the three remaining warriors of the war - Kripa, Ashvatthama, and Kritavarma, and decide to inform Bhima, who along with the rest of the Pandavas had been searching in vain for Duryodhana, because, in Yudhishtra's words, "If, between the two of us, both of us remain alive, all beings will be uncertain about who has emerged victorious." This was a fight to the death - a billion deaths already notwithstanding.

The volume ends with Bhima defeating and crushing Duryodhana's thighs (Gada Yuddha Parva). The war is over. The carnage will take one more night to die down. That will form the initial part of the eighth volume, due in November 2013.

The translator, Dr. Bibek Debroy, has soldiered on for more than three years now with this translation - two volumes coming out each year since 2010, and the end now appears in sight. While there are both free and contemporary unabridged translations available, what makes this stand out is the clear, modern-day English that doesn't resort to archaic usages like "thou" and "hast", the fidelity to the Critical Edition, the almost encyclopedic knowledge of Dr Debroy that is put to use to clarify and provide insights into terms and phrases, and at times even correct the Critical Edition, make this my recommendation for those looking for an English translation of the unabridged Mahabharata to dig their teeth into.

Note: This seventh volume, translated by Bibek Debroy, contains the entire Karna and Shalya Parvas - the eighth and ninth Parvas respectively in the 18-parva classification of the Mahabharata. As per the 100 Parva classification, this volume contains parvas 73 through 77 - Karna-vadha Parva, Shalya-vadha Parva, Hrada-pravesha Parva, Tirtha Yatra parva, and Gadha yuddha Parva. The 560 pages of this volume (not counting the Introduction and Foreword) cover the 7,185 shlokas of these parvas.

Disclosure: I received a copy of volume 7 courtesy Dr. Debroy and Penguin India.

Further links:
Dr Bibek Debroy (Twitter handle)
My reviews of earlier volumes: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)

Penguin Books India (publisher's page)
Published: 20 Apr 2013
ISBN13: 9780143100195

Bangalore Comic Con, 2013

2013-06-02T11:59:00.000+05:30

The 2013 edition of the Bangalore Comic Con (@ComicConIndia) was held at the Koramangala Indoor Stadium - the same venue as last year, on June 1 and 2 (today is the last day). Unlike last year's event, which was the inaugural edition, this second event was perhaps an order of magnitude larger in attendance - it seemed like every school and college student was there. I felt like an outlier in terms of age - till I saw Vinay's photo from the event.

There were more book and comic launches, more speaking events, and just more of everything at this year's event. There were two downsides to this, as expected - the lines were serpentine but fast moving, and the indoor stadium was packed. There was not a place where one could stand without getting jostled around, through no fault of the jostlers or the jostled. Comic Con India's Twitter handle did reply that next year would see a different venue, but the no entry charge would continue - both good decisions.

Apart from the usual gaggle of fans dressed up as their favorite comic characters, what quite left me thunderstruck was a stall run by Pyaretoons.com. This is a site run by a comic fan who makes available old, out of print (out of copyright also perhaps?) comics on the net, free of charge it seems. Fans who like his site donate their old comics - mostly the Indrajal comics that stopped printing in 1990, but also classics like Chandamama, Nandan, Champak, and Diamond Comics - which are then sold off to collectors. The comic you see on the left for instance - The Slave of Mucar - was selling for Rs 400.

A better condition comic, wrapped in a clear plastic cover - like the one below, was selling for Rs 1700. To think I used to buy these comics from the raddiwala at three for a rupee as a student, and had a stash of close to a thousand comics.

The Pyaretoons.com stall.

Amar Chitra Katha stall.

Laugh With Laxman - Review

2013-06-01T10:22:00.000+05:30

Laugh with Laxman, R.K. Laxman

(Amazon, Flipkart, Amazon Kindle)
This is a collection of cartoons that RK Laxman drew outside the world of his famous pocket cartoon - You Said It. While several are from the sunday edition of the Times of India, during a period when RK Laxman was at his prolific best, there are some that have been taken from cartoons he drew for the monthly magazine, Science Today.

The cartoons themselves provide a rich mix of humour - the plain visual gag for instance, like the one where an eager-to-please father is trying to blow up a balloon, only to find himself floating in the air, and without much success with the balloon. Then there is a wry but cutting comment on man's futile attempt to tame nature where a person remarks with incredulity at a river's ever-changing course and man's attempt to bridge it.

The 187 cartoons in this book provide ample opportunity to indulge the zygomaticus major muscle and the dozen other muscles to varying degrees - smile, chuckle, guffaw, or the cliched ROFL.

ISBN-13: 978-0140284355

Spring is Here, Big Bear, by Will Hillenbrand

2013-06-01T09:24:00.000+05:30

Spring is Here, Big Bear, by Will Hillenbrand

We read in Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep (my review), Maureen Wright's delightful book that was gorgeously illustrated by Will Hillenbrand, that Big Bear kept getting confused when told to go to sleep. Once he finally fell asleep, he slept right through winter, as bears are supposed to. Now that spring is here, Mole wakes up, smells the air, tiptoes outside and feels mud under his feet. Yes! Spring is here. It is time for Big Bear to wake up. Bear is snoring. Mole cannot get Big Bear to wake, try as he might. Will he get Big Bear to wake up, and how? This is a short and endearing story for pre-schoolers as well as kindergartners, made that much cuter by the expressions on Big Bear and Mole's faces. The illustrations are double-spread, and while I read an Adobe Digital Editions version of the book, this book is perhaps best enjoyed in paperback form.

ISBN: 978-0823424313 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0823416028 (hardcover)

Adobe Digital Editions version of the book

Mahabharata Quotes - Udyoga Parva

2013-05-19T19:30:00.001+05:30

After the Pandavas' thirteen year exile was over, they packed up from Virata and headed off to Kurukshetra to wage war against their cousins, finished off the battle in eighteen nights.

Not quite. The path to war was by no means certain, by no means inevitable. It is a tragedy when one reads the several opportunities for peace that went abegging. The story of the terrible eighteen day war often relegates the tale of the Udyoga Parva to a mere footnote. The other story in the Udyoga Parva notable in its own right is that of Amba. In between the several parleys that went on between the Pandavas and Kauravas, there is the staggering Prajagara Parva, where Vidura expounds an entire treatise on statecraft in the middle of the night to Dhritarashtra. It is the presence of such nuggets that make the Mahabharata another reason to read in its entirety.

"With the intentions of the enemy not being known, how can one decide on an appropriate course of action?"
[Krishna at Virata's assembly hall, Udyoga Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 1] (the first sub-Parva in the Udyoga Parva is also named "Udyoga Parva")

"I am not censuring your words. I am censuring the ones who are listening to your words."
[Satyaki responding to Balarama at Virata's assembly hall, Udyoga Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 3]

"A eunuch and an extremely powerful man may be born in the same lineage." [Satyaki responding to Balarama at Virata's assembly hall, Udyoga Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 3]

"At the right time, whatever you think should be said for the welfare of the Bharatas, say that in the midst of the kings, but do not say anything that incites them to the war."
[Dhritarashtra to Sanjaya before he leaves for Upalavya, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 22]

"The way one behaves towards others, is exactly reflected in the way others behave towards one's own self."
[Yudhishtra to Sanjaya at Uplavya, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 26]

"The good and evil deeds preced the doer. The doer only follows them from behind."
[Sanjaya to Yudhishtra, arguing against war, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 27]

"When there is a time of calamity, those who do not act, or those who do not act correctly, are both reprehensible."
[Sanjaya to Yudhishtra, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 28]

"Some say that deeds bring success in the hereafter. Others discard deeds and say that success comes from learning. It is known to brahmans that those who have food, but fail to eat it, will remain hungry. It is only knowledge which leads to deeds that bears fruit, not other kinds."
[Krishna speaks at Upalavya, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 29]

"Whether riches are stolen secretly in private, or whether they are stolen forcibly in public, the two crimes are equally reprehensible. O Sanjaya! How is the act of Dhritarashtra's son different?"
[Krishna at Upalavya, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 29]

"You did not speak in that assembly hall. But you see it fit to instruct the Pandavas now."
[Krishna to Sanjaya at Upalavya, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 29]

"King Dhritarashtra and his sons are the forest. O Sanjaya! The Pandavas are the tigers. Do not cut down the forest with its tigers. Do not banish the tigers from the forest."
[Krishna to Sanjaya at Upalavya, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 29]

"He is unmatched in deluding the deluded."
[Yudhishtra to Sanjaya, about Karna, Sanjaya-yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 30]

"He postpones tasks that should be performed. He procrastinates in every way. He takes a long tome over something that should be done fast. ... He enters when he is no invited. He speaks a lot, even though he has not been asked. ... Though he is the one to be blamed, he is quick to blame others. He is angered, though he has no powers."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, on "stupid" persons, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"Only one is killed with a weapon. But the disclosure of counsel destroys a kingdom and a king."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"The earth destroys two, like a snake destroys those who live in holes - a king who is not aggressive, and a brahamana who has dwelt away from home."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"There are two sharp thorns that dry up the body - desire on the part of those who are poor, and anger on the part of those who are powerless."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"... a greatly strong king should avoid consultations with four - those who have limited intelligence, those who procrastinate, those who are lazy, and those who are flatterers."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"There are five who follow, wherever you go - friends, enemies, those who are neutral, those you live on, and those who are supported by you."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"There are six who live off six others and there isn't a seventh like this - thieves live on those who are careless, physicians on diseases, wayward women on lechers, priests on those who offer sacrifices, kings on those who quarrel, and the learned always live on fools."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

""The king who gives up desire and anger and donates riches to worthy ones is discriminating, learned and is quick to act. ... He does not have excessive arrogance, or excessive humility. ... After having donated, he does not repent.""
[Vidura recounting what Indra told Sudhanva, to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 33]

"One who desires prosperity should consider what can be swallowed, whether it can be ingested if swallowed, and whether it will ensure welfare if digested."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"The efforts made to protect one's own kingdom should be similar to those that are made to destroy another one's kingdom."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"That which is bent without heating, is not heated. The wood is that is bent on its own is never heated. Because of this image, aa wise one bends to one who is stronger."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"Lineage is sustained through conduct. Grain is sustained through it being measured."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"It is my view that if there is inferior conduct, noble lineage signifies nothing."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"Those who are prone to intoxication get drunk because of knowledge, get drunk because of riches, and as a third reason, get drunk because of noble birth."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"But the poor always have the best of food. Hunger generates succulence in the food, extremely rare among those who are opulent."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"Those who commit sin and those who do not commit sin receive equal punishment if they consort with each other, just as wet kindling burns when it is mixed with the dry."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"When the gods wish to vanquish a man, they distract his intelligence..."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 34]

"Old age destroys beauty, hope destroys steadfastness, ... and vanity destroys everything."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 35]

"They are not elders if they do not speak about dharma."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 35]

"If one tries to cover a hole with riches that have been obtained through adharma, it will remain uncovered and another will surface elsewhere."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 35]

"First, it is better not to speak than to speak. Second, if one speaks, one should speak the truth. Third, if one speaks, one should say that which is pleasant. Fourth, if one speaks, it should be in accordance with dharma. A man becomes like the one he converses with, like the one he serves, and like the one he wishes to be."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 36]

"Nothing is gained through sorrow, only the body is tormented. This only delights the enemies. Therefore, do not sorrow in your mind."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 36]

"Relatives are like kindling. When separated, they produce smoke. But when they are together, they blaze."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 36]

"Whatever be the qualities he may possess, enemies think that a single man is capable of being harmed, like a single tree against the wind."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 36]

"Women are the prosperity of a household. They deserve respect. They are immensely fortunate. They are pure. They light up the house."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 38]

"Intelligence does not always lead to riches. Stupidity does not always lead to poverty."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 38]

"A weak person must forgive everything. A strong person must do that for the sake of dharma."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 39]

"Brahmanas are tarnished from lack of vows. Curiosity tarnishes chaste women. ... Silver tarnishes gold. Tin tarnishes silver. Lead tarnishes tin. Dust tarnishes lead. Do not vanquish sleep with more sleep. ... Do not conquer liquor with more liquor."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 39]

"After casting it [the body] away, relatives, well-wishers and sons return. But for the man who has been flung into the fire, his own deeds follow him."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 40]

"The soul is a river. Purity represents its tirthas. Truthfulness is its water. Steadfastness constitutes the banks. Self-control represents the waves. Bathing in these, a performere of pure deeds purifies himself. ... There is a river in which the five senses are the water and desire and anger are the crocodiles. Make a boat out of steadfastness and cross the difficult eddies of repeated birth."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Prajagara Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 40]

"The sense of ego kills such a person first. Desire and anger grasp him and kill him later."
[Sanatsujata to Dhritarashtra, Sanatsujata Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 42]

"A dog always eats its own vomit and causes injury to its own self. Like that, those who proclaim their own valour, eat their own vomit."
[Sanatsujata to Dhritarashtra, Sanatsujata Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 42]

"Therefore, do not regard as a brahama to be superior only because he recites. He who has not deviated from the truth should be known as a brahmana."
[Sanatsujata to Dhritarashtra, Sanatsujata Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 43]

"Yudhishtra is frightened of my army and my prowess. Earlier, he only asked for five villages."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Yana-sandhi Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 54]

"I will not give up to the Pandavas as much land as can be pricked with the point of a sharp needle."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Yana-sandhi Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 57]

"It seems to me extraordinary that with your feet on the ground, you are chasing those in the sky."
[Vidura recounts the story of the hunter and the birds to Duryodhana, Yana-sandhi Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 57]

"When one faces great hardship because of one's own crimes, one blames Indra and the other gods, but never one's own self."
[Yudhishtra to Krishna, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 70]

"One who is without modesty, and without senses, is neither a woman, nor a man."
[Yudhishtra to Krishna, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 70]

"Food should be accepted because of love, or because of necessity. O king! But I do not have affection for you. Nor am I in need of food."
[Krishna to Duryodhana, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 89]

"O Madhusudana! When good and bad advice is equal, a wise man does not speak, like a singer who is restrained in the midst of the deaf."
[Vidura to Krishna, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 90]

"The undertakings of wise ones follow the three [dharma, artha, and kama] objectives. If all three objectives cannot be pursued at the same time, men follow dharma and artha. If those two cannot be reconciled, a wise man follows dharma. A medium person opts for artha. A child chooses kama."
[Krishna addresses Duryodhana, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 122]

"You should have no doubts about whether the era creates the king, or the king creates the era. It is the king who creates the era."
[Kunti gives her message for Yudhishtra to Krishna, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 130]

"It is better to blaze for an instant, than to only yield smoke for a long time."
[Kunti recounts Vidula's message to her son to Krishna, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 131]

"Lack of trying has only one consequence - failure. However, for those who try, there are two consequences - success or failure."
[Kunti recounts Vidula's conversation with her son to Krishna, Bhagavat-Yana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 133]

"But he has a single taint and because of that, I do not regard him as a ratha or an atiratha. He loves his own life too much. This brahmana always wishes for a long life."
[Bheeshma evaluating Ashwatthama, Ratha-atiratha-samkhya Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 164]

"You have often boasted in assemblies that you have exterminated kshatriyas from the world. But listen to my words. At that time, Bhishma had not been born and there were no kshatriyas like me."
[Bheeshma to Parashurama, Amba-upakhyana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 178]

"'The earth is my chariot. O Bhishma! The Vedas bear me, like well-trained horses. The wind is my charioteer. The mother if the Vedas is my armour.'" [Bibek Debroy's footnote: The mother of the Vedas is a reference to the metres Gayatri, Savitri, and Sarasvati.]
[Parashurama to Bheeshma, Amba-upakhyana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 179]

"When the fire was blazing, with rage igniting her senses, she said, 'This is for Bhishma's destruction.' O king! On the banks of the Yamuna, the eldest daughter of Kashi entered the fire."
[Amba's end, Amba-upakhyana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 188]

"I will not shoot arrows at a woman, one who has earlier been a woman, one who has the name of a woman and one who has the form of a woman. Because of this reason, I will not kill Shikhandi."
[Bhishma to Duryodhana, Amba-upakhyana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 193]

"You are capable of speaking a lot and saying anything that you want."
[Bhishma to Karna upon hearing his estimate of destroying the Pandava army in five nights. Amba-upakhyana Parva, Udyoga Parva, Ch 194]

My reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)

Blossom Book Shop, Bangalore

2013-05-18T23:10:00.000+05:30

The Blossom Book House, on Church Street in Bangalore, is my kind of a bookstore. Aisle upon narrow aisle, shelf upon shelf stacked with books, not an inch of space devoted to cute displays, but books, old, new, the really old, shiny books, dusty books, books you have never heard of, books you will never read, books you never imagined you would see in any bookstore, least of all in a used-bookstore in Bangalore - The Starr Report for instance. See this Wikipedia article in case you don't know.
If you want children's books, a cozy corner between two floors serves as the perfect hideout for kids to sit and spend time poring over books. It can get somewhat stuff in that corner however, because there is no ventilation or a fan there, but if you are a kid these are minor quibbles you won't even notice.

At a place like this, what I desire and crave but have not got yet, is to spend an hour, at least, in each aisle, and a full day at the store. While the bookshop employees do their bit to keep books somewhat organized, it is all but an impossible job to do, given that this store has more than a hundred thousand books crammed into every nook, cranny, corner, from floor to ceiling. You are likely to find books in the oddest of places in the store, so it takes time to go over each shelf to make sure you have given it a good dekko.

And lastly, do you recognize what this is below? It is a Mandrake comic, published under the "Indrajal" Series by the Times of India, and were the rage in the 1970s and 1980s. These used to sell for a couple of rupees, and the most popular characters were Phantom, Mandrake, to a lesser extent Flash Gordon, and the Indian hero Bahadur. The series stopped production in 1990, and no reprints seem to have come out either. Twenty years is enough to kindle nostalgia, and these comics have become all the rage and are much sought after. So much so that those in good condition can fetch a hundred rupees or more. This one, below, has a list price of Rs 3 printed on its cover, is more than twenty years old, was in a protective plastic cover and selling for a hundred rupees.
And to think I had a few hundred of these at one point.

© 2013, Abhinav Agarwal (अभिनव अग्रवाल). All rights reserved.

Oxford Book Shop, MG Mall

2013-05-18T22:39:00.001+05:30

I had read or heard that the Oxford Bookstore at the 1 MG Mall in Bangalore was huge. That was the attraction for me to visit it. I was wrong. The bookstore is not that big, though the ambience is nice, the bookstore is quiet, and there is a coffee store right inside the store for you to enjoy a cuppa whilst the children browse the aisles. There is a small but nicely done up kids area, and on small wall a set of beautiful coffee table books put up.
The selection of books is what I would expect - a mix of the bestsellers, the popular authors, the current fad of management buzzword collections, and so on.

The mall, 1 MG Road, is as you may guess, a high-end mall, and you will find stores like Estee Lauder, The Body Shop, Manchester United, and a largish grocery and foods store where you can also buy and eat some snacks. The mall is small, and feels sort of cramped, and funnily enough I could locate only one elevator in the entire mall, stuck at the corner of the mall, close to the toilets.

The Missing Queen, by Samhita Arni

2013-05-12T23:20:00.002+05:30

The Missing Queen, by Samhita Arni
"A king's flaw and a society's decay. Engrossing book though marred by an excessive in-your-face liberal ideology."

(Amazon-US, Kindle-US, Flipkart)
Rama (राम) is considered an ideal - ideal son, ideal pupil, ideal king, and ideal husband. There are two blemishes however on Rama's character, described by adi-kavi Valmiki, in his Sanskrit epic, Ramayana, that almost every child who has heard the Ramayana's epic from his parents or grandparents knows fully well. Rama killed Bali by trickery, and he abandoned Sita for no fault of hers. Bali's killing is often seen as the lesser of the two blemishes, one that can be explained by an exiled prince's resort to realpolitik, and which would not have been out of place in a later age. However, Rama's suspicions about Sita's chastity after the war in Lanka and then his decision to abandon her after they had returned to Ayodhya - they so jar the reader, they so much conflict with our image of Rama. Questions abound, that have been asked and attempted to be answered for thousands of years. Answers sought in religious ruminations, literary liturgies, ideological idioms, philosophical ponderings, and more.

On the one hand, epics like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata or the Puranas for instance provide fertile ground for the imagination to spin new and contemporary retellings, re-imaginations, and re-interpretations from. Injustices meted out to Sita are the ones that have attracted perhaps the most attention from people - writers, philosophers, feminists, all, and each has returned seeing what they wanted to see in the epic and the dilemma it poses to the reader.

The book's protagonist in "The Missing Queen" is a feisty reporter living in modern day Ayodhya, shining Ayodhya, who cannot take no for an answer, and when granted an interview with Rama, the ruler of Ayodhya, a modern day Ayodhya that is trying to make the transition to a democracy, she just has to question Rama about Sita - the missing queen, who had left, or was asked to leave, several years ago in circumstances never quite made clear. This one incident throws our intrepid reporter's life into one tumultuous whirlpool of disarray that sees her stalked, imprisoned, freed by terrorists (the Lanka Liberation Front, mind you), transported to Lanka, face-to-face with a self-obsessed Surpanakha, a psychotic Vibheeshana, a once-proud state of Lanka now overrun by desperate prostitutes and lecherous vaanars, an establishment historiographer by the name Kambhan (yes), an oppressed vassal state of Mithila, Naxalites rebelling against a pillaging and rapacious Ayodhya, and more. Our protagonist is on the trail of Sita, while trying to escape from the villainous henchmen of the Washerman (the "dhobi") who seem to have sinister designs on the state, even as Rama is no more than a grieving husband and unwilling puppet in the hands of fate and the Washerman. The fast-paced narrative keeps the pages turning, and the short 179 pages arrive sooner than you expect.

On the other hand, because the epics have laid out much of the path for an author to tread on, the burden of stepping off the beaten path and putting a twist into the tale, a different setting or era perhaps, and turning it into a memorable derivation is that much greater. A greater danger however lies in mistaking treading off an epic's path into treading on the epic itself, wittingly or otherwise. This book, while doing a good job of telling a suspenseful tale, however - and this is a very subjective opinion - seems to cross the line into the area of abuse. Certainly, war is not a happy event, the Mahabharata makes that abundantly clear for instance. The aftermath of war is not all roses and sunshine either. However, when a conquered Lanka is depicted populated by prostitutes and bastards, overrun by pillaging and raping vanars, when the only legacy of a "shining" Ayodhya is the wanton destruction of the environment, the genocide of the tribals, and when salvation lies only through the hands of rebels - Naxals, questions rise. One reviewer, curiously enough on the publisher's web site no less, saw filth and only filth in the Ramayana, using words and phrases like "a little light shining on its dirty secrets" and "examination of the Ramayana’s underbelly" - something that one would associate more with writing on the slums of Dharavi than a Sanskrit epic. Whether these phrases have been casually hurled from a stock repository of cliched phrases to be used as blurbs, or whether they spring from a vein of ideological bile is not clear, nor does it really matter in a sense.

Whether the book is admirable literary aspirations that want to test and stretch the boundaries of how far an epic can be taken, or whether it is the venting of liberal spleen, I leave to the reader.

Kindle Excerpt:

The White Man's Burden - Winthrop Jordan

2013-05-10T23:27:00.000+05:30

Image credit: OUP

The White Man's Burden: Historical Origins of Racism in the United States, by Winthrop D. Jordan

"Every revolution must suppress its successors"

(Amazon US, Kindle US, Amazon UK, Kindle UK, Amazon Canada, Kindle Canada)

"Prejudices are inevitable, innate, and right"

Why should an Indian read a book on slavery, or even care about slavery, at least to the extent of actually reading books on its origins? It is after all a history of enslavement half a world away, centuries ago, and India has enough problems of her own to worry about without having Indians travel half the world away to seek out more. This would however be to miss the point. Slavery in America - the history of its formative years in the seventeenth century, institutionalization, perpetuation, evolution, and most importantly - its justifications that emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in particular - should be of great interest to all, because the mechanics and logic of discrimination involved in slavery have been used in only slightly varying form and shape by people everywhere to justify the dehumanization of a race, people, religion, or nation. Perceived differences on the basis of skin color and religion were used to justify the colonization of India for instance. There is another benefit accruing to the patient reader - American attitudes to Indians (Indians, not native Americans), insofar as the question of American attitudes to Indians who are a minority in America and to the extent that Indians themselves are looked upon as a homogeneous entity goes, "I remain convinced that white American attitudes toward blacks have done a great deal to shape and condition American responses to other racial minorities."
In the words of the author, a study of history "impresses upon us those tendencies in human beings which have not changed and which accordingly are unlikely to, at least in the immediate future." To that end, "The White Man’s Burden" does a tremendous service in lucidly documenting the evolution of slavery’s form and rationale. While the initial material on the roots of slavery is decidedly sketchy, the book shines when taking the reader through the century and a half where slavery established roots along with the accompanying prejudices. The book’s length should make this accessible to even casual readers.

Forming firm opinions on the basis of only one book can be tempting, because it is a quick way to the illusion of knowledge, but fraught with risks, least of all that of developing a blinkered, ideologically warped view of events. On the other hand, opinions formed on the basis of facts more often than not require the expenditure of effort and time sometimes not available and more usually precluded by disinclination.

Therefore, when one comes across a work considered not only authoritative but also credited with spawning a line of scholarly inquiry into hitherto less investigated topics, the opportunity to use that book to get a quick-start on a topic should not be let go. One such book is White on Black, a 600 page scholarly tome on "American attitudes toward the Negro" written by the late Winthrop Jordan (Wikipedia, Amazon), that not only won awards when it was published in 1968, but is still considered the "definitive work on the history of race in America in the colonial era." This book, "The White Man's Burden" is based on "White on Black", but has been abridged and edited down to a more manageable 250 pages, because, the author discovered, "not altogether to my astonishment, that many people do find themselves entirely comfortable wading through six hundred and fifty pages on a single subject."

To summarize, this book traces the arc formed by the cementing of slavery in the United States, the formation of opinions that reinforced the correctness and inevitability of slavery, to the rising sentiment against the slave trade and slavery itself, and finally to the change in attitudes among whites as the prospect and eventual inevitability of emancipation became clearer. The book stops before the American Civil War, because attitudes towards Negroes and the reality of segregation that continued well into the twentieth century had been formed in the early decades of the nineteenth century itself.

One of the most striking aspects of the rationalizations of this racism was the almost manic and unremitting obsession with seeking sexual differentiation. For me it was made that much more noteworthy when I thought about the English's furious diatribes against Indians, like the honroable Thomas Babington Macaulay who "found the little finger of the Comany thicker than the loins" of the prince Siraj-ud-daula. One is too tempted to not pass up the opportunity to muse what possible business a self-proclaimed noble baron and educationist would have had in fantasizing about a prince's loins, but let's ignore this. Katherine Mayo was an American historian and researcher, if such words can be applied to a person whose "report" on India could be summed up, eloquently as Mahatma Gandhi did, as ""the report of a drain inspector ... who then triumphantly concludes, "the drains are India"". Ms Mayo "singled out the "rampant" and fatally weakening sexuality of its males to be at the core of all problems." And moving on to more modern times, we have Wendy Doniger, who even the BBC introduced her writing as having "revolved around the subject of sex in Sanskrit texts", and has continued that inglorious tradition by seeing and seeking imaginary pedophilic escapades among Indian gods and perversions among its philosophers.This single-minded obsession of the racist is itself deserving of a whole field of study, and I look forward to the day when more light is shed.

Early opinions of Africans were a curious mix of the expected and the outright bizarre. The most enduring thread of thought however that was to persist when slavery flowered in the United States would find expression half a world away, in India also. This was the conflation of color and race with sexual inadequacies or bestial excesses.

When Englishmen encountered the very different looking Africans, they sought refuge in their considerable intellectual skills and spirit of scientific inquiry to get to the root of these differences. When facile explanations fell flat, they turned for answers to religion, and the answers came gushing forth - darkness was a sign of the fallen man, the African, a sign of the bestiality of the African who may well considered fornication with apes, and vice-versa, par for the course, and that the shape of the skulls was only redundant validation of that line of thinking.

"The slave was treated like a beast. Slavery was inseparable from the evil in men; it was God's punishment upon Ham's prurient disobedience. Enslavement was captivity, the loser's lot in a contest of power. Slaves were infidels or heathens.
On every count, Negroes qualified."

While the initial basis for classification and therefore discrimination was religion - Christians versus non-Christians, "(b)y the end of the seventeenth century dark complexion had become an independent rationale for enslavement". An ambivalence to the conversion of the slaves, and by allowing them to "remain unconverted, masters were perpetuating the outward differences between the two peoples, and thus in an important sense opposition to conversion fed upon itself."

"From the first, then, the concept embedded in the term Christian seems to have conveyed much of the idea and feeling of we as against they: to be Christian was to be civilized rather than barbarous, English rather than African, white rather than black."

When colonizing America, Englishmen had to deal with the native Americans, who had to be conquered. Their conquest would lend a sort of noble justification to their conquest of America. What is revealing is the strategy adopted by the Englishmen to kill two birds with one stone during their colonization of America. To Indians it should come as no surprise, for such strategy and mechanics were very much the same as employed by the East India Company in eighteenth century India and by the British Empire later in the nineteenth century.

"Most of the Indians enslaved by the English had their own tribal enemies to thank. It became common practice to ship Indian slaves to the West Indies where they could be exchanged for slaves who had no compatriots lurking on the outskirts of English settlements. In contrast, Negroes presented much less of a threat-at first."

Even the process of instituting laws governing slaves and their rights on the one hand and the cementing of attitudes to slaves on the other was gradual. While statute books moved into place first, attitudes towards slaves would closely track the emancipation of slavery - hardening with increasingly convoluted justifications as the prospect of freed slaves slowly moved into the sphere of reality.

"By about 1700 the slave ships began spilling forth their black cargoes in greater and greater numbers. By that time racial slavery and the necessary police powers had been written into law."

The loss of liberty - little as it existed in the first place - for the Negroes was gradual in a way, and therefore, while they still were indentured for life and generation after generation, whatever modicum of rights they may have had were also gradually taken away. So, while the Massachusetts General Court in 1652 "ordered that Scotsmen, Indians, and Negroes should train with the English in the militia", it excluded Negroes just four years later, followed by Connecticut in 1660. Virginia denied blacks the "right and obligation to bear arms."

"From about 1730 almost until the Revolution Negroes comprised at least one-third the total population within the line of English settlement from Maryland to South Carolina"

If slaves in such large lived alongside their owners, it stood to reason that eventually society would be faced with the prospect of inter-racial births, not out of some corrupted form of divine conception but through plain, old sleeping around. This was predicated on the very important, and fundamental, assumption that the black man was human, but inferior. Had the slave been looked upon as somewhat between a man and animal, bestiality would have made sexual relations between the two races pretty much unacceptable.

To address this intolerable possibility, in 1662 Virginia passed a law doubling the fine for "fornication" with a "negro man or woman", while in 1664 "Maryland regulated interracial marriages", calling them a "disgrace of our Nation" and "shameful Matches". I will be remiss if I do not mention the stark similarity I noticed in at least some societal attitudes even in India to inter-caste marriages. While incidents of violent opposition to such marriages are rare in India, and mostly confined, if one goes by news reports, to regions in the North, especially the state of Haryana, one can detect a common note of discomfort at marital unions between groups that are seen as very different in society - whether on the basis of race as in America, or social standing, as in India.

The contrast between the "sprightliness" of the "negro wenches" and the "dull frigid insipidity" of the white women was made that much starker by the fact that having slaves do all the work outside and within the house left the white women in the unenviable position of being only slightly better than furniture - to serve "principally an ornamentive function". On the other hand, they were also seen as, "quite literally, the repositories of white civilization. White men tended to place them protectively upon a pedestal and then run off to gratify their passions elsewhere."

"One traveler from Philadelphia, described his unfavorable impressions in Charleston by first lamenting that the "superabundance of Negroes" had "destroyed the activity of whites," who "stand with their hands in their pockets, overlooking their negroes." … "Nothing has surprised me more than the cold, melancholy reserve of the females, of the best families, in South Carolina and Georgia. Old and young, single and married, all have that dull frigid insipidity, and reserve, which is attributed to solitary old maids. Even in their own houses they scarce titter anything to a stranger but yes or no, and one is perpetually puzzled to know whether it proceeds from awkwardness or dislike. Those who have been at some of their Balls [in Charleston] say that the ladies hardly even speak or smile, but dance with as much gravity, as if they were performing some ceremony of devotion. On the contrary, the negro wenches are all sprightliness and gayety""

Continue this line of reasoning a bit further. If the slave women were so full of passion, it left little to the imagination to the white man as to what powers of passion the black man would possess. The shoe on the other foot was distinctly more unacceptable.

"white men anxious over their own sexual inadequacy were touched by a racking fear and jealousy. Perhaps the Negro better performed his nocturnal offices than the white man. Perhaps, indeed, the white man's woman really wanted the Negro more than she wanted him."

The punishment for any such crime would have to be therefore exemplary. Castration was but the only resort. Such was the obvious brutality of this legal punishment that even "officials in England were shocked and outraged at the idea".

"The Pennsylvania and New Jersey laws passed early in the eighteenth century (and quickly disallowed by authorities in England) prescribed castration of Negroes as punishment for one offense only, attempted rape of a white woman."

"Although miscegenation was probably most common among the lower orders, white men of every social rank slept with black women."

The power of the slave owner over slaves was as absolute as one can imagine, even more so in the southern colonies. "Masters were given immunity from legal prosecution should their slave die under "moderate" correction."
Given such total and absolute dominion over slaves, a natural question arises - "why?", and what did they fear from slaves? Yes, economics was certainly a factor - the hot and humid climes and the prevalence of disease exacted a heavy toll in the South, but the slave laws that existed, the brutal reprisals that followed any hint of a slave rebellion, and the constant rumours and fears of free slaves plotting pointed to something else.

"Every planter knew that the fundamental purpose of the slave laws was prevention and deterrence of slave insurrection."

"Whenever slaves offered violent resistance to the authority of white persons, the reaction was likely to be swift and often vicious even by eighteenth-century standards. The bodies of offenders were sometimes hanged in chains, or the severed head impaled upon a pole in some public place as a gruesome reminder to all passers-by that black hands must never be raised against white."

"Plainly the fear of free Negroes rested on something more than the realities of the situation."

This fear of the Negroes extended even to those slaves granted freedom.

"The colonists' claim was grounded on a revealing assumption: that free blacks were essentially more black than free"

The American Revolution was fought for freedom, and the Declaration of Independence set out, in no uncertain terms the "self-evident truth" that "all men are created equal". The unstoppable force of this lofty goal of equality ran into the the equally immovable object that slaves were. They were the property of their owners, and to grant them freedom would mean to deprive slave owners of property - a conundrum resolved, though in a ridiculous manner - only by evaluating a slave as three-fifths a person.

"every revolution must suppress its successors."

While the "first secular antislavery organization was founded in Philadelphia in 1775", on January 1, 1808, there was a federal prohibition on "slave importation", and it was generally clear that the tide of popular opinion had turned decisively against slavery, as evidenced by Thomas Scott of Pennsylvania, who "set forth the antislavery case in language which would have been almost inconceivable a generation earlier: "I look upon the slave trade to be one of the most abominable things on earth; and . . . I . . . oppose it upon the principles of humanity, and the law of nature."", it should be noted that the South was almost equally insistent on the need for perpetual slavery, but also on the terrible injustices that would visit them were "racial intermixture, to which every man in the House, he hoped, had the utmost aversion" were to be allowed.

"Like so many southerners after him, Smith lectured the nation on the peculiar sociology of the South: "The truth is," Smith declared, "that the best informed . . . citizens of the Northern States know that slavery is so ingrafted into the policy of the Southern States, that it cannot be eradicated without tearing up by the roots their happiness, tranquillity, and prosperity." Smith's angry speech revealed the near impossibility of defending slavery without derogating the Negro: "It is well known that they are an indolent people, improvident, averse to labor: when emancipated, they will either starve or plunder."

The tide against slavery ebbed and in some cases reversed starting in the last decade of the eighteenth century. This can arguably be traced to the 1791 slave revolt in the French colony of St Domingo.

"In 1793 white refugees from Haiti came streaming into American ports, many bringing their slaves with them. That year saw growth of a peculiar uneasiness, especially in Virginia,"

It instilled not only a fear of the potential consequences of having a substantial enslaved population living with you ("From about 1730 almost until the Revolution Negroes comprised at least one-third the total population within the line of English settlement from Maryland to South Carolina (and to Georgia after its firm establishment in mid-century). Within this area there were significant variations from colony to colony: North Carolina had only about 25 per cent blacks, Maryland had over 30 per cent, Virginia about 40, and South Carolina probable 60 per cent"), but more than that it created a pervasive atmosphere of paranoia among plantation owners. When finally Virginia faced a slave revolt in 1800, it almost felt "strange" that it had not occurred earlier. In the following years, "several genuine conspiracies were unearthed" and "hangings that year ran to thirty two-three times the annual norm."

The reprisals were expectedly brutal, in the extreme.

"In 1805, for instance, a slave plot was discovered in North Carolina with the following swift results: one woman was burned alive for poisoning her master, mistress, and two other white persons; three slaves were hanged, one transported, one "pilloried, whipped, nailed, and his ears cut off"; others were whipped or discharged."

Draping this general fear of a slave revolt brewing in every plantation was a more visceral fear of Negroes "sexually assaulting white women", even though, "during this entire period of slave unrest there is no evidence of Negroes sexually assaulting white women. Though this lack is hardly final proof of anything, at very least it suggests that the danger of sexual violence by Negroes was exaggerated by white men."

What is most revealing is the author’s observation that once "absolute dominion" over the black man was threatened, "compensation" was sought "in despising what could no longer be absolutely controlled. Many Americans seemed unable to tolerate equality without separation."

As the number of freed slaves started to rise, allegations - unfounded for the most part, and certainly without basis in fact - became commonplace that the freed slaves were cheats, thieves, and unreliable in general.

"Maryland particularly, with the largest free Negro population, claimed to be plagued by free Negroes operating as receivers for goods stolen by slaves."

As private manumissions rose in number, general disquiet over freed slaves took two forms. The first manifested itself through a branding of the freed slaves as lazy, dishonest, and unreliable. The second was via legal dictat to have freed slaves leave the "commonwealth within twelve months" in the case of the Virginia General Assembly. "Virginia's neighboring states to the north and west, faced with an influx of freshly manumitted slaves, hastily prohibited immigration of free Negroes."
This inability to accept slave emancipation - and therefore equality - without segregation would find a wider expression later through debates that centered on ideas on "removing" the black man, now free, from the vicinity of the white man.

"Some men thought Negro removal indispensable to the accomplishment of emancipation."

"As time went on in the nineteenth century, white Virginians, realizing that colonization was utterly impractical, turned more and more to the self-solacing thought that "prejudices" were inevitable, innate, and right."

The last piece of information on the prevailing attitudes to slavery in the decades following the Revolution would comes to us from one of the founding fathers of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, but which would cast a most unfavorable light on the great man’s intellect. This is made all the more mortifying on account of the source of this light - Jefferson’s own words. "Thomas Jefferson was scarcely a typical man, but his enormous breadth of interest and his lack of originality make him an effective sounding board for his culture."

"While he recognized the condition of slaves as "miserable," the weight of Jefferson's concern was reserved for the evil effects of slavery upon masters. With slavery's effect on black men he simply was not overly concerned."

Marshaling his vast skills of writing, Jefferson could come to no other conclusion than a persistent suspicion, even firm belief, that the Negro possessed lesser intellect than the white man, was "much inferior" in intellect to the "whites", "dull, tasteless, and anomalous" in "imaginations", and certainly "scarcely … capable" of "comprehending the investigations of Euclid".

"More than any other single person he framed the terms of the debate still carried on today."

To summarize, slavery may have been seen as an economic imperative to begin with, as it grew entrenched in American society, justifications arose to explain the perpetuation of dominion over the slave, his condemnation as a sub-par human with neither the intellect nor the capacity to match the slave owner. A constant fear of slave insurrection led to imposition of repressive laws and brutal reprisals against the slightest of infractions. The looming prospect of freedom for the slaves resulted in the morphing of opinions against slaves as dishonest and lazy slackers, and a general feeling, especially in the South, that white society would not be able to live with free slaves, and that the only equitable solution lay in removing them from society - if Africa were too expensive, then the West.

The felicity with prose and commanding grasp over facts and reasons made this a book I could scarcely put down. If I were to read a second book on this topic, it would probably be "Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II", by Douglas A. Blackmon, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction.

Note: I am using terms as used in the book - like Negro, black, and so on - and while some of those terms are very much unacceptable, today, I believe myself quite unable to write a review of this book on slavery and racism in the United States without making use of these words.

http://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780195017434.html
Mother India : Mayo, Katherine, 1868?-1940 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
Lord Macaulay's Minute (Internet Archive)
Wikipedia contributors, "Katherine Mayo," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katherine_Mayo&oldid=551313615 (accessed May 10, 2013)
Mother India by Katherine Mayo
Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism

Kindle Excerpt:

Coorg Plantation Photos

2013-05-04T22:58:00.002+05:30

Coorg (Kodagu) is a district in the state of Karnataka, and apart from the rich and proud cultural and military heritage of the native Kodavas (they revolted en-masse in 1785 against Tipu Sultan's attempt to convert them to Islam), today it is better known as being coffee country, and this district alone accounts for almost 40% of the coffee produced in India (an estimated 124,000 metric tonnes of the total estimated 325,000 MT produced in India).

These are some photos from a guided tour of one such coffee plantation, spread over several hundred acres, in the district of Coorg.

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman

2013-04-28T21:21:00.000+05:30

Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
Don't Walk Through the Brick Door.

(Amazon, Kindle, 10th Anniversary Edition, Flipkart)
What happens when you run into a brick wall, figuratively speaking of course? You go get the key. And if that key eventually takes you to an alternate reality - a parallel universe, ghosts, ghouls, a twilight zone? Where you have a new set of parents wanting to give more tender, loving care your real parents will not, or cannot, but which would cost you your heart and soul, for all eternity? Can you get to keep your soul and get your real parents back? That, in short, is the premise of this creepily darkish short novel for kids.

Coraline is a precocious kid who almost everyone insists on calling Caroline, who lives with her loving but preoccupied parents in a huge house. So huge, in fact, that it has been divided into multiple houses, occupied by interesting characters for sure. There is an old man who is trying to train mice for a circus show, and who have a message for Coraline - they are the only ones in the house, apart from her parents, who seem to get her name right, and there are two retired stage actresses who think of their days of glory long gone and reading tea leaves to tell the fortune and fate of anyone walking through their door. So one day, Coraline is thoroughly bored because it has been raining outside, and takes up her father's advice to go counting. Counting things like the number of windows in the house, the number of doors in the house, and finds that one door is locked and blocked. Her mother even shows her that. Till it is no longer bricked and blocked, and Coraline walks through the door one day when her parents are not in the house. There are parents in the other house, where her other mother has buttons for eyes, and her nails are just that longer than normal, and her other mother wants to keep Coraline in the other house. Except that she cannot, because of something in Coraline's pocket. Coraline's real parents, on the other hand, have gone missing. Or have they? Can Coraline find her parents, and get away from her seriously creepy and scary other parents.

Neil Gaiman has written a dark and gripping story that may not be suitable for all eight year olds. Adults will however love the book. The book reminded me at least a little bit of Roald Dahl's books. Yes, almost all of them are seriously creepy, especially "The Witches". This book ratchets up creepy just a little notch more. Coraline is one tough nut who is brave - read the book to find out!

This is the first book of Neil Gaiman I have read, and I am itching to read some more!

Kindle Excerpt:

Mahabharata Quotes - Virata Parva

2013-04-21T20:52:00.002+05:30

The Virata Parva is the fourth parva in the Mahabharata, and the shortest of the first four, clocking in at under two thousand shlokas, and covers the thirteenth year of exile in incognito the Pandavas have to spend, which they do in the King Virata's kingdom.

Covers of Vols 1 - 6

These quotes are from the unabridged translation of the Mahabharata by Dr Bibek Debroy (my reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)). The Virata Parva begins with the fourth volume of the translation, and ends someway around the half-way mark. Then starts the Udyoga Parva, which also features the story of Amba.

The start of the parva, where the Pandava's consiglieri, Sage Dhoumya, advises them on how to conduct themselves while in exile, could well have been taken from an HR manual for executives at a Fortune 500 company.

On to the quotes.

"When you are shown the door, take to the door."
[Sage Dhoumya advising the Pandavas on how to conduct themselves while in hiding, Vairata Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 4]

"If evil-minded ones are suspicious of the seat that you occupy, do not ascent there again."
[Sage Dhoumya advising the Pandavas on how to conduct themselves while in hiding, Vairata Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 4]

"Kings dislike those who disagree and people who speak lies."
[Sage Dhoumya advising the Pandavas on how to conduct themselves while in hiding, Vairata Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 4]

"When there is occasion for laughter, one should laugh gently, and not like one who is mad."
[Sage Dhoumya advising the Pandavas on how to conduct themselves while in hiding, Vairata Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 4]

"Yudhishtra gave them the names they would secretly address each other by - Jaya, Jayanta, Vijaya, Jayatsena and Jayadbala."
[Vairata Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 5]
These names, as best as I could tell, were used only once while the Pandavas were in exile, and that is when Droupadi was carried off after Keechaka's death, and she cried out for help, addressing her husbands by these code names.

"How can a woman, who as Yudhishtra as a husband, not be sorrowful?"
[Droupadi lamenting to Bheema, Keechaka-vadha Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 17]

"Because of Yudhishtra, I am afflicted with a hundred different kinds of miseries."
[Droupadi lamenting to Bheema, Keechaka-vadha Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 18]

"While all of you seek to observe dharma, a great dharma is being destroyed."
[Droupadi lamenting to Bheema, Keechaka-vadha Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 20]

"Though he would soon be freed of all his prosperity, he seemed to increase in prosperity."
[Keechaka, thinking of his approaching meeting with Droupadi, Keechaka-vadha Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 21]

"I do not think that you have ever been caressed the way you are going to be caressed now."
[Bhimasena to Keechaka, Keechaka-vadha Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 21]
This is one heck of a funny line in the entire Mahabharata. I hope you agree. I would love to read the Sanskrit shloka.

""Where is the neck? where are the feet? Where are the hands? Where is the head?""
[Guards on discovering Keechaka's mangled body, Keechaka-vadha Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 21]

"With those who are stronger, we will use sama, bheda, dana, and danda. With those who are weak in strength, we will use force in the appropriate way."
[Drona counsels Duryodhana, Go-grahana Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 28]

"... my soul has begun to tremble.
... I am alone against many and I am only a child."
[Prince Uttara on seeing the Kuru warriors, Go-grahan Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 36]

"Horses always neigh, whether they are walking or standing. The wind always blows. ... What does this have to do with Partha and why should he be praised?"
[Karna to Drona on hearing him praise Arjuna, Go-grahan Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 42]
As far as Karna was concerned, when it came to Arjuna, there was nothing that Arjuna did that he could bring himself to acknowledge as special or worthy of praise.

""... there is no manliness in boasting. The fire burns without a word. The sun shines in silence.""
[Aswhatthama to Karna, Go-grahan Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 45]

"..it is known on earth that deeds are superior to words."
[Karna taunting Arjuna, Go-grahan Parva, Virata Parva, Ch 55]

Previous Parvas:
Adi Parva
Sabha Parva
Aranyaka Parva

Jallianwalla Bagh

2013-04-14T10:10:00.000+05:30

How do you shoot more than one thousand defenceless, unarmed, peaceful men, women, the elderly, and children in cold blood? How do you get honoured as a hero, as saviour, by your countrymen for saying you would have murdered even more women and children had you been able to? That, my dear fellows, is a question that does not seem to have troubled most people.

The Jallianwalla Bagh murders on the 13th of April, 1919 - on the holy day of Baisakhi, and a stone's throw from Harmandir Sahib, the holy shrine of the Sikhs - were perhaps the second most brutal act by the British empire against the citizens of its Indian colony in the twentieth century. The Bengal famine genocide, in which more than 3 million Indians were starved to death through a deliberate system of deprivation of food and denial of aid, comes at the top of the list, but since that genocide happened over a period of several years, it has still not been acknowledged as pre-meditated mass-murder. The Jallianwalla Bagh murders of over one thousand people, however, could not be glossed over.

In a nutshell, what happened on April 13, 1919 (the Sikh new year) was this: Brigadier General Dyer entered the park that was Jallianwalla Bagh (in the holy Sikh city of Amritsar and a stone's throw from the holiest Sikh shrine - Harmandir Sahib), with his soldiers, where a peaceful rally of close to ten thousand people had been taking place, and ordered his soldiers to shoot to kill at this mass of men, women, and children. For ten minutes the firing continued, and at the end of which a thousand people lay dead, and many more injured. Dyer then marched away, leaving the dying to die. He declared a curfew in the town that day, preventing any medical help from reaching the dying. Eventually, he was hailed as a "saviour" of the British Empire, a "hero", and feted by the men and ladies of the Empire.

I have been wanting to write a post on the massacre at Jallianwalla Bagh in Amritsar on the 13th of April 1919, since April 2010 when I had visited Punjab and the holy city of Amritsar. However, things not posted then will get posted now. For this post I will rely on three sources. First, my own visit to Jallianwalla Bagh and the photos I took there. Second, the Amar Chitra Katha comic titled Jallianwalla Bagh. Third, Vol. 11 - "Struggle for Freedom" - of the fantabulous "History and Culture of the Indian People", edited by the legendary historian, RC Mazumdar. I have also made a few visits to B.G. Horniman's book, "Amritsar and Our Duty to India". Horniman was a British journalist and editor of the Bombay Chronicle who published this book in 1920, a year after the Jallianwalla Bagh murders.

Of the four "outstanding" events in the context of British rule in India in 1919, there are three that have had a long lasting impact, and that affects the national psyche of our nation and the Indian sub-continent even today. The first was the Rowlatt Bills and "reign of terror" unleashed in Punjab and whose highlight was the wanton massacre at Jallianwalla Bagh and the "barbarous enforcement of martial law" in the state. The second was the emergence of Mahatma Gandhi as a political leader in India, while the third was the "development of Pan-Islamism as a force in Indian politics."

From: Amar Chitra Katha, "Jallianwalla Bagh"

Without getting into the details of the events that led to the gory massacre of Indians at Jallianwalla Bagh, the most pertinent catalyst in the chain of events that led to that fateful day in Amritsar, a stone's throw away from the holiest shrine of the Sikhs - Harmandir Sahib, aka "Golden Temple" - was the series of protests against the decidedly repressive Rowlatt Bill. The Sedition Committee - as the Rowlatt Committee was officially called - was formed by Lord Chelmsford (Viceroy) on December 10, 1917, and headed by Mr. Justice Rowlatt, "Judge of the King's Bench Division of His Majesty's Court of Justice". This committee was set up in mortal fear of the revolutionary activities being perpetrated by freedom fighters in India - "to investigate and report on the nature and extent of the criminal conspiracies connected with the revolutionary movement in India", and more ominously, to "advise as to the legislation, if any, necessary to enable Government to deal effectively with them." Note the language - no different from that used by various committees that are formed by our democratically elected governments and which lead to laws designed to suppress free speech - especially of the dissenting flavour - and to provide for harsh punitive measures against such dissenters (Section 66A of the Indian IT Act being a case in point in recent memory, though countless such laws have been enacted with no different philosophy).

As a result of this Committee, two Bills were framed, one of which passed - the "Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919". The crux of this Act was that speedy trials were provided for, that could be held in camera, evidence that would not have been admissible under the Indian Evidence Act was allowed, and - there was no appeal from this Court. The "Provincial Government" was also given powers "to search a place and arrest a suspected person without warrant and keep him in confinement in 'such place and under such conditions and restrictions as it may specify.'" These provisions basically "denied the protection of law to Indians" and the Bill was placed on the Statute Book on 21 March, 1919.

"Jallianwalla Bagh" - Amar Chitra Katha comic

As soon as these Bills were introduced, Gandhiji introduced the Satyagraha campaign, the public rose in protest, and the brutal British suppression began. On the 30th of March, a "hartal" took place, the police fired upon the crowd, "killing a few and wounding a large number." The British nurses at the Police Hospital, it was reported, "refused to attend to the wounded" - "They have been well served. They are rebels and we won't attend on them."

Gandhiji was prevented entry into Punjab. He was removed to Bombay, where mounted police charged upon a throng of people gathered to see him, crushing a large number of people. At Ahmedabad, more than 20 rioters were killed and more than a hundred were wounded in police firing. Basically, protests had erupted over the nation, and the British were more than equipped to crush them with bestial brutality.

Gandhiji however soon suspended the Satyagraha agitation - alarmed at the escalating levels of violence. Meanwhile, Sir Michael O'Dwyer, the Lieutenant-General of Punjab, had made an honourable name for the empire with a sustained campaign of brutality against the residents of Punjab. Not only were hundreds of people imprisoned, the local press gagged, but he forced people to give funds for the war and men for the war, by forcing "Lambardars (land-owners) to furnish recruits on the penalty of forfeiting their rights to the land." The same General Dwyer would later enter "into an elaborate explanation of how, at a time when he was very busy receiving reports of disturbances, General Beynon pressed him for an expression of approval of General Dyer's action" (of proclaiming Martial Law). Poor General. So many to oppress, so little time.

Twenty-eight bullet marks can be seen on this single wall at Jallianwalla Bagh

Meanwhile, two hartals called in Amritsar, on 30th March and 6th April, 1919, had gone off peacefully. But on 9th April, the government "deported to prominent local leaders, Dr Satyapal and Dr Kitchlew." These two leaders were ordered to be deported by Michael O'Dwyer himself, "over the heads of local officials". A hartal was called, which passed off almost peacefully, till it was fired upon by the police, after which violence broke out and people were killed and property destroyed. Things seemed to be returning to normal, when, on April 11th 1919, Brigadier General Dyer arrived, and who "immediately established de facto Martial Law, though it was not officially proclaimed before 15 April."

Though all meetings and gatherings had been prohibited, "the proclamation was not read out in all places", and even when it was announced on the 12th of April that a meeting would be held at Jallianwalla Bagh the next day at 4-30pm, Dyer, although fully aware of the announced meeting, "took no steps to warn the people about its illegality, or prevent it being held..."

Thus dawned the fateful day of April 13, 1919. What should have otherwise a day of celebrations for the Sikhs, celebrating their new year, would turn out to be a day of horrific mass-murder.

On the 13th of April, with the gathering in full force, Dyer ordered his troops to open fire on the crowd, "at about 100 yards' range", "estimated by him at 6,000 and by others at 10,000 and more, but practically unarmed, and all quite defenceless." For "ten consecutive minutes" (to get a real life sense of ten minutes, start counting "one-thousand-one" and say that six hundred times) he "kept up a merciless fussilade", "in all 1650 rounds", and which "'he personally directed to the points where the crowd was thickest.'"

By the end of it all, official estimates put the number of those killed at 250, and then 500 - "based upon an inquiry held four months after the tragedy."

"According to more reliable estimates the death roll was probably about 1,000"

Not everyone who was shot died. Even though a thousand men, women, elderly, and children died, several more were wounded. Like a good, honest, God-fearing person, it was not Dyer's responsibility to tend to the wounded - "it was not his job, they might go to the hospital if they liked.". But it was his job to make sure that no help reached the wounded, the dying, the thirsty.

"But on that very day (13th April) 'he had issued a Curfew Order, that all persons must be indoors after 8 p.m., and would go abroad in the streets at the risk of being shot at sight.'"

Friends and relatives of those killed or wounded could not venture out to inquire about their loved ones' fate. Those who knew could still not venture out to either take the dead to perform their last rites, nor tend to the wounded. Temperatures in the city of Amritsar in the month of April can near 100F, so the good General in effect made sure that even water would not reach those still left alive. Have to admit, a real man.

This curfew order was ""maintained for weeks, and was administered with the utmost rigour.""

People jumped into this well in an attempt to escape the firing. 120 bodies would be recovered from this well.

""Among General Dyer's inspirations was the cutting off of the water supply and the electric supply of the city.""

The narrow entrance to the park prevented Dyer from bringing in an armoured car.

But the depravity of the noble Englishmen did not stop at mere killing. There were several innovations that sprang from their fertile minds.

First, it was Dyer who came up with the "crawling order." No, it was not so named because the orders made its way through the province in a "crawling" manner. No sirree bob, not by a long means.

""By his orders, for several days, everyone passing through the street in which Miss Sherwood, the lady doctor, was assaulted, was ordered to crawl with belly to the ground.
A public platform for whippings was erected near the fort, and a number of triangles for flogging were erected in various parts of the city.""

Dyer found a "worthy colleague" in Capt Doveton at Kasur. Per the good captain himself, "some people were made to touch the ground with their foreheads by way of making them acknowledge superiority. ... Some persons were lime-washed and made to stand in the sun. As many as 107 persons were kept in a public cage, without any overhead covering, specially built for the purpose."

From: Amar Chitra Katha, "Jallianwalla Bagh"

Lala Lajpat Rai - prominent freedom fighter and who had the good fortune to die at the hands of the British police when leading a non-violent protest on 16th November 1928 - had more gruesome incidents to recount at the "Indian National Congress in Calcutta, held on 4th September 1920."

"Six boys were flogged in public; one of them, Sunder Singh, became senseless after the fourth stripe, but after some water was poured into the mouth by soldiers, he regained consciousness; flogging was then resumed. He lost his consciousness for the second time, but the flogging never ceased till he was given 20 stripes."

Mr. Bosworth Smith was a civilian officer who administered Martial Law in Sheikhpura. An abstract of his report to the Government was "placed before the Hunter Committee."

""There is no place," he said, "where disloyalty is so deep as in Delhi, Lahore, and Amritsar."

He was cross-examined by Sir Chimanlal Setalwad, and here are a few lines from that cross-examination:

Q. You don't arrive at opinions without materials. What is the material on which you based your opinion?
A. I prefer not to say.
..
Q. I want to have your position clear. You don't want to answer the question?
A. I have already said I don't think it is desirable.
Q. Is it against the public interest?
A. I don't wish to answer this.
Q. May I know your reason?
A. I don't wish to give it to you.
Q. You don't wish to answer the question and you don't wish to give your reasons?
A. Yes.
Q. You think this is the way in which to come here to assist the Committee?
No answer!

Mr. Bosworth Smith was quite the ladies man, and a chivalrous one too, as can be gleaned from this encounter of his.

""Mr Bosworth Smith went towards the women. He removed their veils and used abusive language. He called them "flies, bitches, she-asses" and worse things. He said to them: "Your skirts will be examined by the Police Constables. ... He spat on them.""

Memorial placque at the entrance of Jallianwalla Bagh

Beating protesters. Shooting protesters. Not enough. How about bombing them from aeroplanes? Yes, that would be most appropriate.

The Lieutenant-Governor "himself conceived the idea of sending aeroplanes to throw bombs upon the rioters..."

"Lt. Dodkins, R.A.F., machine-gunned twenty peaceful peasants working in the field. He dropped a bomb on another party in front of a house, simply because a man was addressing them."

""Major Carberry, R.A.F., bombed a party of people because he thought they were rioters. The crowd was running away and he fired to disperse them.""

State-sanctioned murders were committed under the garb of justice. Kangaroo courts and trials, if ever there were any.

""On major charges 298 people were put before the Martial Law Commissions, who tried cases unfettered by the ordinary recognized rules of procedures or laws of evidence. Of these 218 were convicted: 51 were sentenced to death, 46 to transportation for life, 2 to imprisonment for ten years, 79 for seven years, 10 for five years, 13 for three years, and 11 for lesser periods.""

Why the British authorities wanted to keep a lid on the massacre at Jallianwalla Bagh is inexplicable, since it had been the intent of the murders to show the Indians who was boss.

"For eight months the Government of India tried to draw a veil over the horrible atrocities perpetrated in the Punjab."

So, while Gandhiji's reaction to the massacre "appears to be somewhat mysterious", "The great poet Rabindranath Tagore relinquished his Knighthood as a measure of protest", Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya "patiently collected the details of the tragic incident", and the 92 leading questions that he tried to place in the Central Legislative Council were disallowed by the Viceroy. It is a sad commentary on how heroes are treated in this world, that the British government had to intervene to provide immunity to the heroes of these murders. The Government brought out a Bill of Indemnity "for protecting the civil and military officials in the Punjab from consequences of their action."

The Congress Committee submitted a unanimous report on 25 March 1920, while the report of the Hunter Committee was issued on 28 May, 1920, with "the five European members signing the Majority Report and the three Indian members, the Minority Report." Here, the majority committee held that Dyer committed a grave error of judgment. Why? Because he fired without warning (firing after warning 10,000 unarmed people gathered peacefully would have been totally acceptable one supposes) and that he continued firing too long. Perhaps firing just a wee bit under five minutes may have sufficed?

From: Amar Chitra Katha, "Jallianwalla Bagh"

A few dissenting voices did arise from some Englishmen, with Mr Hyndman writing that "Our own atrocities stand almost on a level with the outrages committed by Germnay in Belgium, France and Poland." However, the overwhelming opinion was otherwise. Even the mildest of mild actions that was taken - "a mild censure of on Dyer and removed him from active service" - was "carried in the House of Commons only by a vote of 232 to 131." The House of Lords was more loyal. It "passed a resolution by 129 votes to 89, deploring the removal of Dyer from army as unjust".

Dyer was regarded as "the saviour of the British Empire". A fund for Dyer was launched by the Morning Post in London.

"A collection was made by the English ladies in India who started a Dyer Appreciation Fund in Mussorie. Dyer was presented with a sword and a purse of £20,000."

The murderer of a thousand defenceless people was feted with a purse of £20,000. That, in one sentence, sums up the story.

Jallianwalla Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab

Image credit: www.bhavans.info

The History and Culture of the Indian People Vol -11:Struggle For Freedom
Author: R. C Majumdar (Editor)
No of Pages: 1144
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Sources:
1. Struggle for Freedom - The History and Culture of the Indian People, Vol -11, RC Majumdar (Editor)
2. Jallianwalla Bagh, Amar Chitra Katha (Publisher)
3. Amritsar and our duty to India : Horniman, Benjamin Guy, 1873- : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
4. Wikipedia contributors, "B. G. Horniman," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=B._G._Horniman&oldid=528210920 (accessed April 14, 2013).

"Amritsar and our duty to India", by BG Horniman, on Archive.org

Truck signage, near Dharmapuri

2013-04-12T21:53:00.002+05:30

Spotted at the back of a truck on NH7, between Salem and Dharmapuri. The funny thing is that even though this truck is sporting license plates of the state of Nagaland, I doubt it has ever been to the state in a long, long, time, since this is a truck carrying vehicles for the Hyundai car company.

Anyway, there are three fine examples of the art of poetry - shayari to be precise - here. I have transcribed two here. The first is a very typical example of what one finds on the back of trucks.

"Itni mod sadak pe nahi jitni vo teri baalon me hai
Itni rs angoor me nahi jitni teri gaali mei hai"
इतनी मोड़ सड़क पे नहीं जितनी वो तेरी बालों में नहीं
इतनी (sic) रस अंगूर में नहीं जितनी तेरी गाली में है

And the second is definitely risque.

"Hai raam kitni lambi hai, par dekhne me kitni achhi hai"
हाय राम कितनी लम्बी है, पर देखने में कितनी अच्छी है

Mahabharata Quotes - Aranyaka Parva

2013-04-07T00:00:00.000+05:30

The Aranyaka Parva is the third parva in the Mahabharata, and in my reckoning one of the riches in terms of content. While the Adi Parva is literally the book of the beginning, and contains stories few may have heard of of the origins of few know of, and even fewer associate as belonging in the Mahabharata (like that of Uddalaka Aruni), and the Sabha Parva is perhaps the most pivotal of all parvas, as it lays the foundations of the destruction to be wrought thirteen and some years hence, the Aranyaka Parva is literally a goldmine of stories - a veritable forest of tales and philosophical discourses. Stories that are told, most of them by Sage Markandeya - and who himself has a story behind his everlasting life, as the Pandavas spend the twelve years of their exile in the forest, waiting, preparing, pondering. The thirteenth year, to be spent incognito while living among people, forms the fourth parva, the Virata Parva.

Covers of Vols 1 - 6

This post then collates quotable quotes from the third parva, the Aranyaka Parva, which at more than 10,000 shlokas, also happens to be the second longest parva in the epic, right behind Shanti Parva. This Parva starts in Vol. 2 of the unabridged translation of the Mahabharata by Dr Bibek Debroy (my reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)), and continues into Vol. 3.

The second chapter in the parva is itself an exposition of Samkhya Yoga, and in the words of Dr Debroy, "This entire section is reminiscent of the Bhagvad Gita."
On to the quotes then.

"There are four kinds of reasons behind physical sorrow - disease, the touch of something painful, labour, and distance from loved things."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2] (the first sub-parva in the Aranyaka Parva is also named Aranyaka Parva)

"Just as water quenches fire, knowledge quenches mental ailments."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"The root of all mental ailments is affection." (evidently the learned sage had not yet met the pharmaceutical companies of today, who have not yet found a human condition, good or bad, for which they don't have a drug)
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"It is attachment that leads to the desire for material objects. Both are evil, but the former has been said to be more serious."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"From the desire that is created, thirst expands."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"Like kindling is destroyed by the fire that it has created, one who has not controlled his soul is destroyed through his natural avarice."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas, to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"Just as those who are alive are scared of death, those who have riches are always scared of the king, water, fire, thieves and relatives."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"A meat in the air is devoured by birds, on the ground by predatory beasts and in the water by fish. But one with riches is devoured everywhere."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"There is misery in earning riches, preserving it and in its decay. Its destruction brings unhappiness. Its expenditure brings unhappiness. Even then, people murder for riches. There is unhappiness in giving up riches. But there is unhappiness also in preserving it."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"It is better not to touch mud than wash after touching it."
[Shounaka recounting King Janaka's shlokas to Yudhishtra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"The houses of good men should never lack four things - grass, ground, water and welcoming words."
[Yudhishtra to Sage Shounaka, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 2]

"Stay or go, as you please. However much she is pacified, an unchaste wife always leaves."
[Dhritarashtra to Vidura, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 5]

"Surabhi replied, 'I have thousands of sons everywhere and I look upon them equally. O Shakra! But my compassion is truly greater for the son who is oppressed.'"
[Vyasa counselling to Dhritarashtra; Surabhi to Indra, Aranyaka Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 10]

"The husband, however weak he may be, must protect his wife. When the wife is protected, the offspring are protected. When the offspring are protected, one's own soul is protected. One's own self is born in one's wife and that is the reason she is called jaya."
[Droupadi to Krishna, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 13]

"An enemy should be killed with all one's valour and even a weak enemy should not be disregarded by those who are strong, even if he is at one's feet, not to speak of one who standing in battle."
[Daruka to Krishna, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 23]

"The brahmana has unmatched insight. The kshatriya has unmatched strength."
[Dalbhya's son Baka to Yudhishtra, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 27]

"Revenge is not always superior. Nor is forgiveness always superior. ... A man who always forgives suffers from many faults."
[Droupadi telling Yudhishtra what Prahlada told Bali, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 29]

"To be ignored in this world is worse than death."
[Droupadi telling Yudhishtra what Prahlada told Bali, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 29]

"Those who commit an offence out of stupidity and seek pardon should be forgiven, because learning is not easily available everywhere to men."
[Droupadi telling Yudhishtra what Prahlada told Bali, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 29]

"Even if the offence is slight, an offender who commits a crime with full knowledge, but claims he did not know, should be punished, because this crookedness."
[Droupadi telling Yudhishtra what Prahlada told Bali, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 29]

"The first offence should be forgiven for all beings. But when they commit the second one, however slight, it should be punished."
[Droupadi telling Yudhishtra what Prahlada told Bali, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 29]

"An angry one cannot see the course of action accurately. An angry man does not see his tasks or his limits."
[Yudhishtra to Droupadi, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 30]

"'Forgiveness is dharma. Forgiveness is sacrifices. Forgiveness is the Vedas. Forgiveness is the sacred texts. ... Forgiveness is the truth. Forgiveness is the past and the future. Forgiveness is austerities. Forgiveness is purity."
[Yudhishtra telling Droupadi Sage Kashyapa's hymn, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 30]

"Success in a task is the united outcome of many factors. If the required attributes are deficient, the fruit may be incomplete, or non-existent. ... But if the task is not begun, neither fruit nor attributes can be seen."
[Droupadi to Yudhishtra, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 33]

"A man who always resorts to dharma follows weak dharma."
[Bhima to Yudhishtra, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 34]

"Kama yields no fruit other than desire, once that fruit is used up. The learned regard it as ashes from wood."
[Bhima to Yudhishtra, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 34]

"Your gentleness is like that of a brahmana. How have you been born as a kshatriya?"
[Bhima to Yudhishtra, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 36]

"Those are the brilliant regions that are seen in the form of stars. Though they are very large, because of the distance, they appear like lamps."
[As Arjuna ascends in Indra's chariot, Kairata Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 43]

"But in all the three worlds, Kurukshetra is special. Even the dust carried away by the wind in Kurukshetra takes the performer of evil acts to the supreme objective."
[Pulastya to Yudhishtra, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 81]

"Insolence gave birth to vanity and vanity gave birth to anger. Anger resulted in a lack of shame and shamelessness destroyed their conduct."
[Lomasha to Yudhishtra, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 92]

"Shame on having a single son. It is better to have none. All beings are always prone to distress and a single son is cause for misery."
[King Somaka, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 127]

"O king! No one ever obtains the fruits of someone else's action."
[Dharma to King Somaka, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 127]

"If touched, a young fire also burns."
[Ashtavakra to the gatekeeper, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 133]

"The rishis have not decreed that that the merit of dharma depends on years, grey hair, riches or relatives."
[Ashtavakra to the gatekeeper, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 133]

"The extremely weak man is insolent and strikes a mountain, only to lacerate his hands and nails himself. No wounds can be seen on the mountain."
[Bandi to Ashtavakra, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 134]

"Time was different in krita yuga and it is different in treta and dvapara. This is the time of decay and I no longer possess that form."
[Hanuman to Bhima, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 148]

"As the yugas decay, even tasks performed in the name of dharma lead to perverse outcomes."
[Hanuman to Bhima, Tirtha Yatra Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 148]

"If these traits, not even found in a brahmana, are seen in a shudra, he is not a shudra. A brahmana in whom as brahmana's traits are not found, is a shudra."
[Yudhishtra to Nahusha, Ajagara Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 177]

"If you assert that a brahmana is known by his conduct, birth has no meaning as long as those characteristics can be seen."
[Nahusha to Yudhishtra, Ajagara Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 177]

"Before initiation into knowledge of the Vedas, everyone is a shudra by conduct."
[Yudhishtra to Nahusha, Ajagara Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 177]

"Between generosity and truthfulness, which is seen to be superior? Between non-violence and good conduct, which is superior and which is inferior?"
[Yudhishtra to Nahusha, Ajagara Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 178]

"The superiority or inferiority of generosity versus truthfulness or non-violence vis-a-vis good conduct is determined whether the effects of these deeds are more or less important.
...
In this fashion, the superiority depends on the effects."
"
[Nahusha to Yudhishtra, Ajagara Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 178]

"Learn from me that knowledge, intelligence and the mind are faculties that determine a soul's enjoyment of the senses."
[Nahusha to Yudhishtra, Ajagara Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 178]

"When his life is over, he gives up the body that is almost destroyed and is immediately reborn in a different womb, without any gap. In that, his good deeds follow him like a shadow."
[Sage Markandeya to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 179]

"Fearful of the burden of taxation, householders become robbers. Others assume the disguise of hermits, but earn a living from trade."
[Sage Markandeya describing the end of a yuga to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 186]

"At the time of the destruction of the yuga, those who are against dharma have long spans of life and are prosperous."
[Sage Markandeya to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 186]

"Everything is then reduced to ashes.
...
Then the fire of destruction arrives, together with the wind, in a world that has already been dried up by the suns."
[Sage Markandeya describing the end of a yuga to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 186]

"Twenty yojanas at a time, the fire of destruction, helped by the inauspicious wind, consumes everything in hundreds and thousands, with all the gods, asuras, gandharvas, yakshas, serpents and rakshasas. That blazing lord burns up the entire universe."
[Sage Markandeya describing the end of a yuga to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 186]

"At the destruction of the yuga, men will consider their wives to be their enemies."
[Sage Markandeya to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 188]

"No one will ask for a maiden. No one will give a maiden away. When the end of the yuga is near, women will choose for themselves."
[Sage Markandeya to Yudhishtra, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 188]

"Restraining the senses and controlling the mind, it must be very difficult to continuously think of husbands as gods."
[Yudhishtra asking Sage Markandeya, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 196]

"Agriculture is known to be a virtuous occupation. But it has been said that there is a great violence in this. Ploughing kills many beings that lie inside the ground and many other hundreds of beings. What is your view on this?"
[Hunter of Mithila to Sage Koushika, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 199]

"No one can himself determine his fate."
[Hunter of Mithila to Sage Koushika, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 200]

"One must always protect austerities from anger. One must protect one's riches from envy, one's learning from vanity and insults and one's soul from distractions. Mildness is the greatest dharma. Forgiveness is the greatest strength."
[Hunter of Mithila to Sage Koushika, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 203]

"It has been said that a man prospers through five gurus - the father, the mother, the fire, he himself and the preceptor."
[Hunter of Mithila to Sage Koushika, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 204]

"I think him to be a brahmana who becomes a brahmana because of his conduct."
[Sage Koushika to Hunter of Mithila, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 206]

"Men of limited intelligence are overcome by mental distress when they are confronted with calamities and separated from that which is pleasant."
[Hunter of Mithila to Sage Koushika, Markandeya Samasya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 206]

"But if the riches have been obtained through unjust means, the deed of observing the dharma of charity does not save the give from great danger."
[Vyasa to Yudhishtra, Vrihi-drounika Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 245]

"The learned ones, enlightened about the truth, have said that friendship is established by walking seven steps with another."
[Savitri to Yama, Droupadi harana Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 281]

"Men have fame when they are alive. When the body has been reduced to ashes, what use does fame serve one who is dead?"
[Surya to Karna, Kundala harana Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 285]

"The fame of a dead human is like a garland on one who has lost his life."
[Surya to Karna, Kundala harana Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 285]

"'The yaksha asked, "What is heavier than the earth? What is higher than the sky? What is swifter than the wind? What is more numerous than men?
'Yudhishtra replied, "The mother is heavier than the earth. The father is higher than the sky. The mind is swifter than the wind. Worries are more numerous than men.""
[Araneya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 297]

"A caravan is a friend to the traveller. A wife is a friend at home. A physician is a friend to one who is sick. Charity is a friend to one who is about to die."
[Yudhishtra to Yaksha, Araneya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 297]

"In a single word, dexterity is dharma. In a single word, generosity is fame. In a single word, truth is heaven. In a single word, conduct is happiness."
[Yudhishtra to Yaksha, Araneya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 297]

"The abandoning of pride makes one pleasant. The abandoning of anger does not lead to sorrow. The abandoning of desire ensures prosperity. The abandoning of desire makes one happy."
[Yudhishtra to Yaksha, Araneya Parva, Aranyaka Parva, Ch 297]

Mahabharata Quotes - Sabha Parva

2013-03-31T11:24:00.001+05:30

Covers of Vols 1 - 6

My earlier post, collected some of the more interesting quotes from the first Parva of the Mahabharata, the Adi Parva. This post continues with a collection collated from the second Parva, the Sabha Parva. This Parva is contained entirely in Vol. 2 of the unabridged translation of the Mahabharata by Dr Bibek Debroy (My reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)).

Narad muni's discourse to Yudhishtra, after the latter had settled down in the grand palace at Indraprastha, architected by the asura architect Maya, is quite notable as a piece of mini niti-shastra. I have taken the liberty of including many quotes from it, though I would recommend that people read it in its entirety.

"Do you hurt dharma by artha or artha by dharma or both for the sake of pleasures that kama brings?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5] (the first sub-Parva in the Sabha Parva is also named "Sabha Parva")

"Surely you do not seek the advice from only one, or from too many."
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Do you purchase a single learned man for one thousand foolish ones?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Have you appointed superior men in superior positions and medium ones in medium positions?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Are your soldiers given their rations and wages on time?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Do you first strengthen your base before marching out? Do you attack to win and having won, do you protect?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"O Yudhishtra! Is your weak enemy restrained with force and is your strong enemy restrained with good counsel or force or both?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Knowing the ways of dharma, do you nurture like a father the blind, the dumb, the crippled, the deformed, the orphaned and mendicant ascetics?"
[Sage Narada to Yudhishtra, Sabha Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 5]

"Out of friendship, some do not notice faults. Out of desire for riches, some say that which is pleasant to hear. Some consider that to be the best course of action which brings them self-gain."
[Yudhishtra to Krishna, Mantra Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 12]

"It is the policy of the intelligent not to attack stronger enemies with battle formations and armies."
[Krishna to Yudhishtra, Mantra Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 16]

"It is said that one's preceptor, one's priest, one's relative, a snataka, a friend and a king - these are the six who are deserving of such offerings."
[Bhishma to Yudhishtra, Arghabhiharana Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 33]

"But then, when Drupada is here, how can Madhava be thus worshipped? ...
If you consider Krishna to your preceptor, how can Varshneya be shown homage when Drona is here? ...
If you consider Krishna to be the sacrificial priest, how can you show him homage when the brahman Dvaipayana is present?"
[Shishupala to Yudhishtra, Arghabhiharana Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 34]

"O Madhusudana! You are not a king and this royal homage to you is like a wife to the impotent or a beautiful sight to the blind."
[Shishupala to Krishna, Arghabhiharana Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 34]

"O Bhishma! How does the killer of a cow, and the killer of a woman, deserve praise?"
[Shishupala to Bhishma, Arghabhiharana Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 38]

"Your brahmacharya is in vain. There is no doubt that you uphold it as a result of delusion or impotency."
[Shishupala to Bhishma, Arghabhiharana Parva, Sabha
Parva, Ch 38]

"No self-respecting man but you will admit before respectable ones that his wife had been someone else's first."
[Shishupala to Krishna, Arghabhiharana Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 42]

"I am full of envy and am burning day and night. I am drying up like a shallow pond in the hot season."
[Duryodhana to Shakuni, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 43]

"What true man in the worlds has the fortitude to see his rivals prosper, while his own self is in decline?"
[Duryodhana to Shakuni, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 43]

"Satisfaction and pride destroy prosperity, so do compassion and fear."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 45]

"It is said that a man who does not feel envy is a wretch."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 46]

"This ordinary prosperity does not please me. I am miserable on seeing the blazing prosperity of Kunti's son."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 46]

"The derision of a rival burns me."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 46]

"Like a snake swallows rats, the earth swallows up two - the king who does not strive and the brahmana who does not live at home."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 50]

"Neither disease nor Yama wait for prosperity to come."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 51]

"It seems that some of the most feared rogues have assembled here."
[Yudhishtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 52]

"Because of his greed, he destroyed both what he had and what he could have had."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 55]

"The minds of kings are always unsteady. After granting protection, they slay with clubs."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 57]

"She had protectors, but was without a protector."
[Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 60]

"It is said that the vaishya has one boon and a kshatriya and his wife can have two. O Indra among kings! A king can have three boons and a brahmana one hundred."
[Droupadi to Dhritarashtra, Dyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 64]

"This happiness will last for a short time, like the shade of a palm tree in the winter."
[Duryodhana to Dhritarashtra, Anudyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 71]

"When the gods wish to defeat a man, they first take his intelligence away, so that his vision becomes distorted."
[Dhritarashtra to Sanjay, Anudyuta Parva, Sabha Parva, Ch 72]

My reviews: Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Vol. 4, Vol.5 (1, 2), Vol. 6 (1, 2, 3)

Mahabharata Quotes - Adi Parva

2013-03-30T13:08:00.000+05:30

The Mahabharata is a goldmine of stories, episodes, conversations, and incidents. As I read the Mahabharata - specifically the unabridged translation by Dr Bibek Debroy (it is a task as yet unfinished, primarily because Dr Debroy has completed six volumes of the translation and Penguin is expected to publish the seventh volume in April), I underlined passages, excerpts, dialogues, quotes that caught my eye. Yes, many of the books I read (and own) are littered with these underlinings. A book once owned and read is rarely left in a pristine condition, severely affecting its resale value I suppose.

I thought of how to collect some of these memorable excerpts into one place, and then decided that organizing them by parva, one post for each of the eighteen major parvas in the epic, would be as good a way as any. Now, based on the first parva, the Adi Parva, it seems that publishing them by parva may indeed work. If it turns out to be impractical, because of the length - too short or too long, then I will adopt a horses for courses strategy. If dharma can be subtle, so can a blog strategy.

The very first parva is the Adi Parva, and is contained mostly in the first volume of the translation. In this post, I have collected some of the notable quotes from this parva.

"Time brings existence and non-existence, pleasure and pain. Time creates all elements and time destroys all beings. ... Time cannot be conquered. Time walks in all elements, pervasive and impartial."
[Sanjaya to Dhritarashtra, Anukramanika Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 1]

"There is no curse that does not have a remedy. O snakes! But he who has been cursed by his mother has no remedy."
[Vasuki, Astika Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 33]

"One who is afflicted by destiny can find a remedy in destiny alone."
[Elapatra to Vasuki, Astika Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 34]

"This single strand of grass that you see, the one from which we are hanging, is the strand of our family lineage. O Brahmana! The strands that you see being eaten up, are being eaten up by time. O Brahmana! The half-eaten root from which we are all hanging is the last of our lineage, practising austerities. O Brahmana! The rat that you see is time, immensely powerful. He is slowly killing the misguided Jaratkaru, engaged in austerities, who is greedy for austerities, but has lost his mind and senses."
[Ancestors to Jaratkaru, Astika Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 41]

"According to the sacred texts, there are three kinds of fathers. In proper order, they are the one who gives a body, the one who protects and the one who provides food."
[Shakuntala describing to King Duhshanta what Sage Kanwa told her about her birth. Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 66]

"Those who have wives can be householders. Those who have wives are happy. Those who have wives have good fortune. Sweet-spoken wives are friends in solitude, fathers in religious acts and mothers in suffering."
[Shakuntala to Duhshanta, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 68]

"The wise have said that a man is himself born as his son. Therefore, a man should regard the mother of his son as his own mother. ... The wife is the sacred ground in which the husband is born again. Even sages are unable to have offspring without wives."
[Shakuntala to Duhshanta, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 68]

"You see the faults of others, even though they are as small as a mustard seed. But you do not see your own, even though they can be seen as large as a bilva fruit. ... O Duhshanta! My birth is nobler than your own. O lord of kings! You are established on earth. But I roam the sky. Know that the difference between you and me is that between a mustard seed and Mount Meru."
[Shakuntala to King Duhshanta, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 69]

"Like a pig searches out filth, the fool seeks out evil words, when he hears good and evil in men's speech. ... Those who seek no evil live happily. But fools are happy when they find evil."
[Shakuntala to King Duhshanta, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 69]

"From this day, if a stupid Brahmana commits the crime of drinking wine, he will be considered to have committed the crime of killing a brahmana."
[Kavya (Shukra) after bringing Kacha back to life, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 71]

"Nevertheless, you have cursed me, not out of dharma, but out of desire. Therefore, your desire will never be satisfied. No rishi's son will ever accept your hand. You have said that my knowledge will never bear fruit. So be it. But it will bear fruit for the one I teach it to."
[Kacha to Devayani, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 72]

"I also know the difference between anger and forgiveness and the strength and weakness of each. But when a disciple behaves disrespectfully towards a preceptor, it should not be condoned."
[Devayani to Shukra, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 74]

"Unlike a cow, the fruits of evil actions are not immediate. Such fruits are certainly manifested, if not in one's own life, in one's son or in one's grandson. They are like a heavy meal in the stomach."
[Shukra to King Vrishaparva, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 75]

"Sharmishtha said, "O king! It is no sin to commit a falsehood in five cases - in jest, to women, at the time of marriage, when confronting death and when all one's riches are liable to be lost."
[Sharmishtha to Yayati, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 77]

"Here, friends and relatives forsake a man who has lost his wealth. There, the gods and their lord forsake one whose merit has been diminished."
[Yayati to Ashtaka, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 85]
"Today, I will lay down a law in this world for the fruits of one's deeds. No sin will be committed by anyone who is below the age of fourteen years."
[Animandavya to Dharma, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 101]
"It is said that abandon one for the sake of the lineage. Abandon a lineage for the sake of a village. Abandon a village for the sake of a country. Abandon the earth for the sake of the soul."
[Vidura to Dhritarashtra, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 107]
"A man's judgment does not swallow destiny. Destiny swallows judgment."
[Sage Kimdama to Pandu, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 109]
"Time decays everything, including friendship. ... No friendship can be found in the world that does not age; desire and anger both destroy it."
[Drupada to Drona, Sambhava Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 122]
"Altercations are nothing but the resort of the weak."
[Karna to Arjuna, Jatugriha-daha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 126]
"A wife's love is stronger than affection for a brother."
[Hidimbaa, while looking at Bhima, Hidimba-vadha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 139]
"What preserves life is holy and, therefore, what grants life is what is holy."
[Hidimbaa to Kunti, Hidimba-vadha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 143]
"The atman may be one, but one has to serve dharma, artha and kama."
[Brahamana lamenting, Baka-vadha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 145]
"Great is unhappiness for those who desire wealth, greater for those who have acquired it."
[Brahamana lamenting, Baka-vadha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 145]
"Like birds grabbing a lump of meat thrown on the ground, all men crave women without their husbands."
[Brahamani lamenting, Baka-vadha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 146]
"It is said that first one should find a king, then a wife, and then riches."
[Brahamana to Kunti, Baka-vadha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 148]
"One who does not see impurities in one's acts, is not expected to see it in another."
[Upajaya to Drupada, Chaitraratha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 155]
"Which hero will kill an enemy who has been defeated in battle, has lost his fame and is now protected by a woman?"
[Yudhishtra to Arjuna, Chaitraratha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 158]
"But if a crime doesn't find a punisher, many in the world will commit crimes. A man who has the power to punish a crime and doesn't do so, despite knowing that a crime has been committed, is himself tainted by the deed, even if he is the lord."
[Ourva to ancestors, Chaitraratha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 171]
"On seeing Droupadi, Pritha's mighty-armed sons and the brave and great-natured twins were struck with the arrows of the god of love."
[Droupadi-svayamvara Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 178]
"Then they all looked at the illustrious Krishna who was standing there. They looked at each other and sat down, her image in their hearts."
[Droupadi-svayamvara Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 179]
"Where has Krishna gone? Who has taken her away? Is it a Shudra or one of low birth? Has a Vaishya who pays taxes placed his feet on my head?"
[Drupada asks Dhrishtadyumna, Droupadi-svayamvara Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 184]

"He was a king who had no abilities. All that he did was breathe air in and out."
[Karna on King Amuvicha, Viduragamana Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 196]

"But there is no defeat in appeasement."
[Krishna to Balarama, Harana Harika Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 213]

"A second load always loosens the first tie, however strong."
[Droupadi to Arjuna, Harana Harika Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 213]

"He who casts off that which he has, for the sake of that which might be there, is stupid and the world disregards him."
[Mandala to Lapita, Khandava-daha Parva, Adi Parva, Ch 224]

The Demonologist, by Andrew Pyper

2013-03-29T22:41:00.001+05:30

Image Credit:
andrewpyper.com

The Demonologist, by Andrew Pyper
Doesn't Quite Flatter, Most Certainly Disappoints

(Amazon, Kindle, Flipkart, my review on Amazon)
"Makes me question the devil's competence, the author's grasp on storytelling, and David Ullman's hold on sanity."

The way David Ullman, Cornell professor and expert on demonic literature, especially Milton's Paradise Lost, deciphers clues, goes on a cross country motor trip, in a Ford Mustang to begin with and later in several stolen cars, to rescue his daughter, Tess, before she is claimed, forever perhaps(?), by one of Satan's disciples, does more to make you question the devil's competence than David's proficiency.

David's marriage is a mess. The protagonist has to have little going right for him in such novels. Except his daughter Tess who is the only ray of light in his otherwise dismal existence. And truth be told, the one thing that this book gets somewhat right are the bits about the father and daughter interactions. When his wife informs him of her decision to move out of their house, David uses the opportunity to accept an invitation from a mysterious lady to go on an all expense paid visit to Venice with his daughter. What happens at Venice leaves David with only a matter of days in which he must decipher clues to retrieve his daughter before she is claimed by the devil for all time. So far so good. The plot has all the ingredients required for a truly gripping and empathetic thriller. Who would not be attracted to a thriller with elements of the supernatural, a race against time, a father's love for his daughter, a cross-country road trip - very American, and more. But if you take all these ingredients and just dump them into a cauldron in the hope that what will emerge will be a savory dish, anyone who has ever ventured into a kitchen will know that does not happen.

As I said, to be fair, some of the passages that describe the father's moments with his daughter, Tess, indeed ring true and heartfelt, and these are some of the redeeming passages in the book. Since they do not quite follow or lead up to anyplace, they feel forced into the narrative.

This is one of those I've-seen-better-film-on-teeth type of screenplays, written post-haste, using a heady concoction of adverb-laden over-wrought prose (sample these: "A quietly beautiful woman too" or "Her hand on my elbow a patch of cool on my suddenly burning skin"), with strategically planted episodes meant to evoke a sense of growing horror, terror, and suspense, but however elicit only a derisive burst of laughter, snort even, but nothing beyond. Yes, we can see how they would fit neatly into a screenplay, and we can even imagine how they may be shot and presented to us, but this is a book, not a movie, yet. The clickety-clack from the rusty springs of a trampoline in the middle of a night is one such episode, but why is it in the novel, and what exactly does it do to drive the plot ahead is sadly never made evident or hinted at. The "Pursuer" is man of such clumsy incompetence you wonder how he manages to even brush his teeth in the morning without choking and drowning.

The plot needed to be developed, the characters fleshed out, the clues needed to contribute to the fabric of the plot. That didn't happen; the result is a constant attempt at smashing adverbs into every sentence in the hopes of producing literary fusion. It has to be "A quietly beautiful woman too", while "Outside, the interstate hums and yawns", or the truly climatic "Her hand on my elbow a patch of cool on my suddenly burning skin", while the mind bends to wrap itself around "She exhales. And before I can awaken, she releases an endless sigh. One that forms itself into an utterance that grows in volume and force, until it billows out of her as a kind of poem." On the other hand, "I sip the coffee. The taste of liquefied rust" does bring a smile as I remembered the brew that goes by the name of coffee in so many fast food joints.

And finally, it's a jet, it's a plane, but is "The jet humming and whistling, soothing as a mechanical womb"?? This question will keep me awake for hours on end. The plot? Not so much.

Author's site, Twitter handle, Facebook page
Kindle Excerpt:

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King - Review

2013-03-17T19:43:00.002+05:30

From Different Seasons (Signet)
Fascinating Novella; The Screenplay of the Movie Actually Bettered It

(Kindle)
I must have watched "The Shawshank Redemption" more than a dozen times. It is a testament as much to the movie as it is to the screenplay and the novel it is based on. The Stephen King novella, "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" is less than a hundred pages long, and is unlike other Stephen King works from the horror genre. It is the travails of a convict, Andy Dufresne, wrongly sentenced for the twin murders of his wife and her lover, and how he spends his years in the prison, finding his way through the brutal hierarchy of the prison, the brutality and venality of the prison officials, his friendship with Red - this Irish character is played by Morgan Freeman in the movie, and from whose eyes we see and are told this story, and his escape from the prison that is also his redemption in some ways.

Without going into the details, it was somewhat my impression that while Stephen King's novella is very good on its own merits, the movie betters the book, and that is saying a lot for both the movie and the book.

Kindle Excerpt:

Blindness, by Jose Saramago

2013-03-16T11:25:00.001+05:30

Blindness, by Jose Saramago

Human Nature, Seen.

(Flipkart, Amazon, Amazon UK)

Blindness that shines a light on human nature. Haunting and disturbing narrative.

What if you went blind? What if every one also went blind - in your house, locality, town, country, perhaps even the world? Not gradually, but what if the blindness came without warning, leaving only a milky whiteness behind where once sight used to be? What if the authorities, still seeing, for the time being, not knowing what was causing the blindness, and without a cure for the blindness, and fearful of its possible contagiousness, started to quarantine the afflicted in an abandoned mental institution. Where those incarcerated could not leave, alive. Where no human with eyesight would or want to enter the institution. Such is the fate of a growing number of people in this book.

Written in a peculiar style - minimal punctuation and sentences that run into an entire paragraph, that evokes a sense of blindness when reading, because you have to grope a bit to get a feel for the language and to sense when one person has stopped talking and the other person has begun, the book haunts you with its matter-of-fact observations about human nature, and how it degenerates into the basest of gratifications.

No one is identified by name. It is the "blind man" who is the first to go blind. He is taken to his house by a good Samaritan, and where his wife takes him to "the doctor", at whose clinic there are others, including a man with a black patch over one eye, a girl with dark glasses, a young boy, and others. Each one of them also goes blind, and each one is herded into an abandoned mental institution, where they must fend for themselves, establish rules of living, and wait for food to arrive. Only the doctor's wife, "the doctor's wife", is not afflicted by the blindness, for reasons unknown and untold, and she decides to accompany her husband to the institution. She herself is in a terrible dilemma, whether to tell the others of the fact that she can see, for if she does, then she is sure to be sucked into a never ending chore of attending to each and every person there, for it would be the decent thing to do.

As more and more blind are stuffed into the institution, the facilities, never pristine to begin with, began to fall apart. With excrement flowing all over, the place stinking with the miasma of this excrement, sweat, fear, and hopelessness. There are soldiers guarding the institution, from a distance, and any attempt to escape is dealt with deadly force.

While there are some rules that the inmates accept with a sense of resignation - the loss of privacy is for instance more of a notional loss in a world with only blind people, you however read with a sense of approaching dread the inevitable breakdown of basic humanity. When the descent into depravity does arrive, it still hits you with overwhelming revulsion. Food for sexual gratification was always on the table, and once a group in the institution decides to and manages to gain control over the food that is provided, it becomes a stark reality that the inmates have to rationalize, and accept.

This is a novel that will linger with you for some time after you finish the last page and put it down. The self-feeding spiral of helplessness and growing resignation makes for disturbing reading. Even the style evokes a strong sense of discomfort and unease, even if the paragraph long sentences begin to outstay their welcome by the second half of the book. Sample this:

They came stumbling into the ward, clutching at the air, here there was no rope to guide them, they would have to learn from painful experience, the boy was weeping, calling out for his mother, and it was the girl with dark glasses who tried to console him, She's coming, she's coming, she told him, and since she was wearing her dark glasses she could just as well have been blind as not, the others moved their eyes from one side to another, and could see nothing, while because the girl was wearing those glasses, and saying, She's coming, she's coming, it was as if she really could see the boy's desperate mother coming in through the door. The doctor's wife leaned over and whispered into her husband's ear, Four more have arrived. a woman, two men and a boy, What do the men look like, asked the doctor in a low voice, She described them, and he told her, The latter I don't know, the other, from your description, might well be the blind man who came to see me at the surgery.

Bus, Passengers, and God

2013-03-10T19:37:00.005+05:30

In God We Trust.
You know, no commentary is required here. Just the words, "Ram bharose".

Full Moon and Associations

2013-03-10T18:31:00.002+05:30

On Feb 26, we had a full moon. It was not yet dark, and the moon was visible just over the horizon. I had to go and get my camera, and spent some time shooting, without a tripod. Of all the photos I took, I liked this one the best.

Since the moon has been the inspiration for poets and romantics for millenia, it was but fitting that I also think of this song that describes the beauty of the moon in one line and then how it still cannot compare with the flawless beauty of the smitten.

The other thing I thought of on seeing this photo was Our Moon has Blood Clots: The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits, by Rahul Pandita (Flipkart, Amazon, Kindle). While the book deals with a sombre and tragic topic, I am talking about word associations here, aren't I?

Kindle Excerpt: