Book review – Potluck

Author: Various (compilation)

Publisher – BecomeShakespeare.com

Pages – 181

Price – Rs. 195

When becomeshakespeare.com sent me this book for review, I didn't hold any great expectation from the book. For, of late, I have come across so many short story compilations that left my memory as soon as I finished reading them.

But, this book surely proved me wrong…

So what sets Potluck apart from various short story compilations floating in the market?

     1.     Potluck is a result of some serious brainstorming by a set of writers while attending creative writing courses at Xavier’s Institute of communications, Mumbai.

    2.    The diverse backgrounds of the writers (working mums, single women, a catholic priest, an ISKCON monk, executives)…Potluck is a beautiful cocktail with each writer adding his/her own distinct flavour.
  

    3.    The melange of different styles of writing will ensure you are glued to the book till you haven’t read the last page.

    4.    Crisp, simple language, sans redundant details…goes without saying it can be owed to the workshop.

With each story, I felt as if I was meeting a new person, with a new perspective towards life and the situations it throws upon us. Each story left me with a message about life.

True to its name, the writers have ensured that the reader gets a variety of sweet, sour and spicy. So, while you have a software programmer talking about the essence of sportsmanship, a newly married psychologist tells a beautiful story of discovering love in an arranged marriage. There is also a techie turned ISCKON monk talking about the path to self discovery; a catholic priest telling the story of surviving life’s crests and troughs from the eyes of a high profile escort girl.

True to a Bollywood movie, there is drama, suspense, humour, emotions, romance and tragedy. As my fingers itch to write in detail about each story that I loved, the mind also warns me from giving away spoilers.

After a long long time, I enjoyed reading a short story collection this much. Without giving any more details, I suggest you grab the book, for each story is bound to leave its mark on your perspective towards life, as we know it.

This review is written forBecomeShakespeare.com

Musings of an old Dilliwalla

Delhi is a city that has welcomed friends and foes with open arms. A city where I have grown up witnessing the best culture, mannerisms and heritage. A city that boasts of its stories of brotherhood. Ask any second or third generation Dilliwalla about the Delhi they have seen, and pat comes the reply – the city that celebrated Id with as much fervour as Diwali, where adab was a piece of jewellery every Dilliwalla wore with pride. I remember as kids, we would walk down to India Gate late at night to savour an ice cream without any fear. Evening drives meant so much fun as the old Fiat sailed through the spacious roads of Lutyens Delhi.

Sadly, over the years, Delhi is losing its sheen that made it the jewel in the crown called India. While it has become the epicentre of forever happening political eruptions, the culture has also been cruelly eroded.

Flamboyant first generation billionaires with strong political connections, zooming SUVs with loud, thumping music, zero patience on roads, abusive language, intolerance at its best, licensed guns looking for petty excuses to prove their mantle, crowds outnumbering the capacity almost everywhere, women security at its worst…the list is endless and the hearts of Delhites like me bleed as we see our city succumbing to cultural pollution.

Who does it or who instigates doesn’t matter anymore. People who stay here are part of the family and as family members, we all ought to take onus. It hurts to see the bad impressions the city holds with people everywhere, of being polluted, rash and unsafe. Who makes it unsafe? It’s the people among us. Everyone is in a race to be ahead, and in that race, we often miss the basics – if we want peace, we gotta live in harmony, else the whole system goes crackling. For, when there is dispute amongst the family members, the neighbours enjoy the show!

Disappointed by the increasing cultural pollution in Delhi, I have often been tempted to move to greener pastures. However, to avoid is to be an escapist. I remember a scene from the movie Rang De Basanti, where a determined Madhavan tells his dejected friends that it is easy to criticise and abandon the house. But, it calls for courage and responsibility to clean up our house. Being citizens of Delhi, it is our responsibility to remove the tarnish and give it a cultural face lift.

When Delhites visiting elsewhere can follow the rules, why dirty our own house? Let the beasts be chained behind and let the responsible citizen in us take charge. Winning is not about outnumbering or outshining, it’s about bringing a smile on faces. Enough of litter in our culture, its time Dilliwallas do the cleanup act!

The joy of sharing

In a world where a man is another man's worst enemy and everyone is ready to pounce on one another's share, here are these innocent animals. I saw these pups yesterday, happy with their gunny bag shelter, and whatever little food that they get. They might not have the best comforts a dog can have, but they know the essence of brotherhood - to love is to share. How I wish we humans could learn a thing or two from them...

Drama is not uncommon to the common people of Delhi!

 “Get over Kingdom of dreams’ Nautanki Mahal”…for Nautanki is here!” I wondered as I walked down this chilly raining morning out of an overcrowded metro station. I thanked God, having survived a near stampede situation. But drama in Delhi is as common as the crowded metro that comes every now and then but leaves soon, before you can take some action.

Having spent three decades in Delhi, I understand the music Dilliwallas face every January. While the world enjoys the grandeur of Republic Day parade every year, for us, the tough preparations begin long before.

Any venture near Lutyens Delhi is a complete no no, for one may be welcomed by surprised route diversions, route closures and police barriers. Scanning the newspaper or internet for traffic advisory can make things better. However, if daily route asks you to commute via CP/India Gate, the week before and after republic day can end up being the most trying days of the year.

Unfortunately for me, school and college were located near Lutyens Delhi. So, come what may, it was an ordeal I had to go through every year. Then came metro, and my bad memories of traffic diversion were swept with a gush of wind!

However, my ugly memories paid an unfriendly visit this morning as I left home for work. We live in a country where common man has a say “only before the polling day”. The day poll results come, common man’s say becomes uncommon as the politicos smartly eclipse our concerns with a coat of their ambitions. We had a gentleman fighting this morning for welfare of the common man whereas hundreds of common men (and women) were helplessly harassed by the Delhi chill and disrupted metro services. And as if that wasn’t enough, the rain Gods decided to play their prank.

While some people feel these are teething troubles that come in the way of the big revolution, I decided to go back to the basics. The essence of any revolt is to safeguard the interests of the common people. But when the passion to execute a plan takes over, the basic essence is forgotten by many. Then the first thing butchered for the platter is the interest of the common man. This was evident by the live masala coverage today that got channels great food for TRPs!

I heard the revolution was partly to bring up the cause of women safety. Great gesture worthy of praise. But can a melodramatic revolt do something that Delhi hasn’t seen changed over many years – the male outlook towards women? As hundreds of men and women jostled (in a near stampede situation) at most metro stations this morning, many common men got great opportunity to come unwelcoming close to many common women. If a revolt has to happen, let there be something to change the way most men look at women here-as helpless objects of desire. Instead of disrupting the lives of normal people, let the revolt disrupt the lives of countless men who roam around unchained on streets of Delhi at night (when our revolutionaries are asleep!) looking for a female prey. Let there be something that make the bad elements think twice in fear before thinking of the word ‘rape’. An eye for an eye or some strict law, as they have in some countries in the middle east.

Unless that doesn’t happen, such TRP attracting revolts would just add up to glorify the career paths of some politicos and breaking news for the media.

And the common man, if asked would still want his common life, simple and peaceful, sans any disruptions or diversions.

 

Common man, searching the "uncommon" peace

Jaipur Literature Fest is here!!!

Come January and all bibliophiles head to Jaipur for Asia’s biggest literary festival – the Jaipur Literature Festival #JLF. The festival, which has been organised at Diggy Palace Hotel in Jaipur since 2006 serves a platform for people from the writing world to share their views while it’s a perfect treat for us bibliophiles to listen to them!

Over the years, the festival has seen its popularity grow exponentially. Art, music, food, literature, panel discussions, readings, debates, performances, book launches…there’s so something for everyone. 

And the best part – the festival is absolutely free!

While the festival has been blessed by literary heavyweights like Mahasweta Devi and Salman Rushdie, it has also welcomed new authors with open arms, and one can witness many book launches at the festival. Some controversies also come in, but they just add up to the popularity of the event.

Last year, the festival witnessed almost 300 authors from around the globe, 150 poets, musicians and performers and more than 1.5 lakh visitors! It was a delight to have Mahasweta devi, Dalai Lama, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and many other celebs share their thoughts.

This year, the five day festival (January 17-21) will witness 240 authors. While debates and discussions will be the regular items on the menu, there will also be special sessions on Crime and Punishment, Democracy Dialogues, Women Uninterrupted and Endangered Languages. 

Some of the popular speakers this year are – Amartya Sen, Amish Tripathi, Ekta Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Shashi Tharoor, William Dalrymple.

Here’s the agenda for the first day of the festival.

One can register and enjoy art, music, literature and food at one of the best literary fests of the world!

I got my recharge!

I looked at our old photographs and sighed! “Those golden days when our love had just blossomed! How Mr. Hubby wouldn’t stop fiddling with my hair. His fingers would never stop playing with my curls and I would shy and get my thick hair to cover my face.”

Then came my transition from being a girlfriend to a wife and a daughter in law. Responsibilities and the race to get the work home balance right, almost left me with no time for myself. Mom’s home treatments were put at backburner as the wife in me took over to delight Mr. Hubby with new delicacies. Hair care was limited to occasional oiling and frequent use of shampoos picked randomly from the neighborhood shop.

The results were now showing. My falling hair cried for help as also my love life, which was ignored amidst the burden of responsibilities.

As I sat sulking looking at the pics, I grumbled, “Look at me before and after! I look like a car that has exhausted its battery!”

“Perhaps you need a recharge, my love” Mr. Hubby said as he looked up from his newspaper and showed me the Sunsilk ad in the newspaper.

While I didn’t utter a word to my caring Hubby, the ad stayed on with me when I bought myself the Sunsilk next day. With the new Sunsilk, hair regime no longer remained the same old fussy affair. Few days and I was beginning to see the change. The hair were coming back to life and no longer remained the messy rough mass I hated.

We were on a holiday after a month to celebrate our anniversary. As we sat in the hotel room counting our blessings, Mr. Hubby ran his fingers into my hair and said with a smiled “So you finally got the recharge!”

I smiled and wondered…

Hey Sunsilk, you recharged my hair and also my life,

I’m me again, Mr. Hubby’s perfect gorgeous hair walee wife!

This post is written for Rechargeyour hair contest by Sunsilk and Indiblogger. With the new Sunsilk range, hair care no longer remains a fussy affair. Choose the product to suit your hair type and give your hair a recharge!

Cinema that provokes the thought…

Cinema, has a power so strange

It is the wave that brings the change

In thoughts, speech and action

And shows us our society’s reflection

Inspiring us to go off the beaten path

And bring a revolution that makes us stand apart

Since the time the first moving image reflected on the silver screen, cinema has been influencing the society in every way. Be it in the form of youngsters following the latest look of their favourite Bollywood stars, or the people adopting trends from movie stories into their own life.

Though the birth of cinema was for entertainment, yet, time and again, we witness several go getters, who use cinema to give a message to the society to change for good; to move beyond the clichés and chart a new path altogether. These are off beat films that have managed to provoke our thoughts to make a better society –

Mother India

One of the best movies made ever, Mother India showcased the ideal Indian mother to the whole world. It is the story of the mother who brings her children alone amidst the perils of society – poverty, exploitation and illiteracy, to name a few. She may be the selfless mother, who sacrifices her comforts for her children, yet when it comes to principles, she doesn’t bat an eyelid before choosing right over wrong. The movie that gave us the mother who gives the last morsel to her son, yet shoots the same son when he violates the rules of society by abducting the daughter of the village moneylender.

Iqbal

Most of us dream and blame destiny when things don’t go our way. But here is a story of a deaf and dumb Iqbal who, despite his handicap realises his dream of being a cricketer, through hard work and perseverance. The movie did its bit by changing the view of society towards children with special needs and taught us to value the qualities in a person rather than writing him off for his deficiencies.

                                               

Mirch Masala

An award winning movie of the 80s, Mirch Masala shows the strong, fiery side of the Indian woman, just like the title of the movie. The protagonist (played by Smita Patil) teaches us women to be fearless (or Nirbhay) against the vultures hovering in the society. The film showed a new side of Indian beauty to the world, one who could take the oppressors herself to guard her modesty. The last scene where women blind the Subedaar with red chilli powder is a must watch. In today’s times when women’s security has been an issue of concern, we need more women like Sonbai

Filhal

Surrogacy, which till now had been a thing of a taboo, was introduced beautifully to the masses by this movie.  The story of Sia (Sushmita Sen) who fills the emptiness in her friend Reva’s (Tabu) life by being a surrogate mother brought a smile on the faces of numerous childless couples. For the Indian mindset, where blood is thicker than water, this film brought a new message – that surrogacy is no longer a thing to be shy about; and that no bond is more important than the bond of love.

Oh My God

In the times when we have had shocking revelations about god men, here is a movie that underlines the core belief of every religion – that God resides our heart. To the masses who were blinded by God men into superstitions, this movie taught to believe in one’s karma and keep the religion alive in one’s heart without falling prey to superstition. A revolutionary movie of its kind, this one truly walked off the beaten path to open eyes of many.

Movies like these inspire us to think out of the box and take the society to a better tomorrow.

Thanks BlogAdda for giving this opportunity for the film buff me to write about such amazing movies, 

This post is a part of the Miss Lovely Activity in association with BlogAdda.

Miss Lovely, an off-beat film directed by Ashim Ahluwalia is set in the lower depths of Bombay’s “C” grade film industry. It follows the devastating story of two brothers who produce sex horror films in the mid – 1980s. A sordid tale of betrayal and doomed love, the film dives into the lower depths of the Bollywood underground, an audacious cinema with baroque cinemascope compositions, lurid art direction, wild background soundtracks, and gut-wrenching melodrama. Miss Lovely is scheduled for commercial release on 17 January 2014.

You can check the trailer of the film here