BROKEN REPUBLIC (4 Essays) by Arundhati Roy

THE WAR WITHIN INDIA

India has been a republic for the past 65 years. But, by the turn of the century the very basics on which the country was liberated from the clutches of the English colonialists seems to have vanished. The free voices seems to be stifled in the throats itself, the blatant and rampant misuse of the Constitution by the government and The courts alike are becoming the highlights of today’s era.

“What is freedom?” is an oft asked and highly quoted question. I guess, neither did we know it in 1947 nor do we know it in 2015. The reins of power shifted from the British egalitarians to the kurta-clad desi romantics.  But the state of the poor remains the same. At least, in the bygone days we had the comfort of being looted by a foreigner, who looked foreign, ate foreign food, we could lament and curse under our breaths but in this age, it is our brother who loots us, he speaks our language, eats our food, has the same skin colour. But, what more he has is the money in his pockets.

Money buys everything, even free speech too. The media houses today are slaves to business barons, either the business owns the media or the media owns businesses. In this highly partial structure, only the rich get richer and the poor are left to commit suicide.

In the name of development, the poor are forced out of their homes, and the few who refuse to get forced are branded as terrorists and shot in “encounters”.

In the end, India is a democracy. By definition, it is a rule of the majority. Whatever the majority wants, it does. The fundamental rights of the Constitution are rampantly violated when the interests of the government or the corporate houses it caters to is at stake. Right to life is abused like anything. Rampant rapes, killings, murders, of adivasis and Dalits are common. The real concept of “divide and rule” is implemented. The policy of “divide and rule” was implemented by the British raj to efficiently manage the Indian mass without utilizing the resources of their own. In this age, it is used to create rift between different religions, different castes, and different regions.

In “Broken Republic”, Roy in her four essays exposes the rampant abuse of law and human rights to crush the local tribals in order to usher in the “New Development”. She doesn’t bat an eyelid in criticizing the policies of the right wing political parties to the leftists. She is also unwavering in criticizing the hypocrisies of some of the well-known social activists of today, Kejriwal, Anna Hazare, Bill Gates or even Nelson Mandela.

Most of the prose is easy on the brain and unfaltering in their essence. Though we may offer a different view on some of her theories, but we cannot ignore her overall message. The best part I like about her non-fiction is she doesn’t impose her views on the readers. She just bares the truth and leaves it out for the readers to judge. Sometimes, she can waver a bit in her accusations though.

In my opinion, all right minded, patriotic Indian must read Arundhati Roy’s non-fiction to understand what the government does and what it publishes.

TRUTH LOVE AND A LITTLE MALICE

TALE OF A WRITER

It would have been more appropriate if it was called “Truth Love and a Heap of Malice”. The autobiography of the most celebrated and profane w

riter, Khushwant Singh is definitely worth a read.

As is the norm with Khushwant, this book is full of wit, humour, sex, malice and courage. Courage to speak and present his views. The book spans right from the pre-Independence era to the 21^st century. It gives us a visual treat of the changing demographics of the Indian sub-continent especially the North and West of India and a major portion of present-day Pakistan.

Extensive travel throughout the globe and the myriad of diverse profession brought him closer to many of the subjects of his novels. His exploits with women of many nationalities and fearless recounting of the stories are endearing. The vivid and colourful description of the private life of many famous personalities who helped shape today’s India makes the book all the more intriguing. His take on various contemporary issues indeed makes it informative.

Though not much of a poet himself, but he liked quoting many Urdu couplets of Ghalib and others in his books which made the books more pleasant. He considered himself an agonist and also prepared an epitaph for himself;

“Here lies one who spared

neither man nor God;

Waste not your tears on him,

he was a sod;

Writing nasty things he regarded as fun;

Thank the Lord he is dead, this

son of a gun.”

His genre and style of writing has indeed been an inspiration to a nation of aspiring English writers. He died at the ripe old age of ninety-nine. His can be said to be a life well lived. His autobiography is more than a story of an individual. It can well be considered the jovial biography of an infant nation trying to come to terms with reality of the big bad world.

Futures: Near and Far by Dave Smeds (Sci-Fi)

Futures: Near and Far (Collection of sci-fi short stories)

Author: Dave Smeds

Futures: Near and Far is one of the most gripping collections of sci-fi short stories by the author himself, Mr. Dave Smeds. The collection deals with stories from near future and also technology which is present and in use in today’s world. The author has been writing sci-fi for quite some time now. And also he is the member of various elite literary clubs and organizations.

The best thing about the collection is the way of dealing with the stories, the characters. The backbone of most of the stories is not hardcore sci-fi but mere normal stories and events which happened at some time in the future. There is no overtly unwanted description of science used which makes the series even the more gripping for common folks. A normal behavior of a man in 2100 or 2300 is what is described.

The author also provides a background for each of his story which is quite insightful and lets us into the mind of the author, about his thought process and the inspirations which made him write these stories.

I especially liked the “Termites”. It was a concept thought of when the food crisis was acute and famine was imminent. Though, I never thought about the consequences that are dealt with in the said piece, but it was really a plausible solution at a time in the past.

I would have really liked to discuss some the technologies mentioned but it would be like a spoilsport. Still, I would definitely like to say that nanodocs were amazing, and I would really like to tinker with them in time to come if the technology arrives in my time.

Definitely a must read for all both science lovers and novices.

HALF GIRLFRIEND by Chetan Bhagat

HALF GIRLFRIEND: SENSATION OR HYPE

Another hit novel from the writer who thinks he knows “What Young India Wants.” This book has been in lots of controversies right from its release on 1^st October, 2014. Accusations ranging from plagiarism to defaming of a royal family have been leveled against Mr. Chetan Bhagat, the author. I care less about them though. Those issues can be addressed by the concerned people.

Chetan has belted out five bestsellers before this and claims to be voice of new India. India, which speaks ‘simple’ English, lives in the village and understands only candy floss love. He had started well, writing his heart in his previous books, tried to bring out to notice the various vices plaguing our society. His vision was set. He wanted to bring a revolution and thus, declared a war on all bombastic users of English.

All very fine, he was going well. But, somewhere in between he lost track. He started feeling Indians were no good and only liked and understood cheap Bollywood flicks. His recent successes blinded him. His vision was lost; he tried hard to find issues to address. Finding few, he reverted back to Bollywood movies.

This, ‘Half Girlfriend’ is by far his worst creation till date. He hardly seems the writer who wrote “2 States” or “Five Point Someone”. He is just another Ravinder Singh or Devadutt who is after raking moolah after belting out nonsenses. Mr. Bhagat showed promise but he has lost it now.

His English is simple. Agreed and appreciated, but does this means he will write nonsense. Simple never means cheap. Sophisticated and good books can be written in simple English. Read some Ruskin Bond, Mr. Bhagat. Chetan Bhagat is just writing a script for some Bollywood flick, it seems. He has stopped writing for his readers long back.

Most of the book is pathetic. But the worst is lefty for the climax. I have never seen or heard anyone writing journals the way he depicted. Riya, the female lead, writes a journal and leaves it for others to find. Writing journals in direct speech is definitely an issue with me. We don’t speak to ourselves this way. We just write our views in first person, I guess. And what was the drama at the end, you have lost it, man, really.

Anyone who has a few hours to spare and has nothing better to do can go through his book. I love romances, love stories, but this one from him is several notches below his all other works.