Book Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Discovering Murakami has been one of the most enigmatic literary experiences I have had recently. Early in the year while browsing through my brother’s books, I spotted a collection of short stories titled ‘After the Quake’ by the author. The appealing title and equally engaging description at the back of the book saw me reading it in no time. Two stories down, I realized that the narratives were not actually about the physical devastating earthquake but much more about the psychological tremors and emotional turbulences triggered by a natural calamity, stories giving an insight into the minds of people rather than in their lives.

Full review published here:
http://mujournal.mewaruniversity.in/JIR3/book%20review.pdf

'Refugees in their Own Homeland : The Travails of Kashmiri Pandits'- On 20th April, at Vivekananda International Foundation

The event organized by the ‘Patriots Forum’ on the theme ‘The Travails of Kashmiri Pandits’ at Vivekananda International Foundation on 20^th April for the most part tried to externalize the issue of exodus of KP’s and see it not only as a crisis for  a bunch of people but as a serious threat to the sovereignty of the entire nation.

Emphatic speaker Dr. Subramanian Swamy stressed the need for revoking Article 370 in Kashmir and also explained patiently how this can be achieved simply by Government provided there is a political will to do so. After bursting the myth of Article 370 he went on to explain how an entire nation and especially KP”s, the minority community, has been compromised by  decisions taken by leaders like Nehru and likes of him.

Taking over from there Prof. R.K Ohri’s slide presentation titled ‘Kashmir: Nehru’s Self Inflicted wound’ historically contextualized the problem and brought out various incidences of political mischief played to suit vested interests.

The point was stressed by Dr.Ajay Chrungoo who quoted relevant passages from government documents suggesting that right from early days Indian State was well aware of the magnitude and intensity of the problem but decided to look the other way. Moreover serious efforts were being made to deny the reasons that led to the exodus  and the people who were forced to leave their home and hearth were simply termed as ‘Migrants’ , clearly a shrewd misnomer. The denial by none other than the Indian State amounts to betraying of a group of people and Dr.Chrungoo equated such a callous attitude with ‘double killing’,

After the down right denial of what had happened in 1990’s efforts were made by the scholars in the valley to distort history in a hope to wipe out vestiges of hindu past from Kashmir. This was the theme taken by Dr. Shashi Shekhar Toshkhani who talked about ways in which the efforts were being made to deny the civilizational connect Kashmir had with rest of India. He aptly used the term ‘Cultural Genocide’  to explain the situation and he stressed  the need to stop as well as counter this serious misinformation campaign.

The talks were summed up by Mr. K.P.S Gill by suggesting that KP’s should demand a separate Union Territory status in Kashmir. He further stressed that there are so many countries in the world whose population in less than displaced Kashmiris. To achieve such an end he emphasized that KP need to first acquire a serious intellectual space which will ultimately lead to a much desired political one.

Overall it was a thought provoking session with a common thread going through it and for us probably the lesson was to be united and demand unanimously a serious political space if we seriously want to undo the wrong done.

Figuring Out?

Figuring out isn't  that easy

as easy as one would suppose

A formidable treasure hunt

with multiple clues scattered

Yet each  clue fluid and floating

as it goes

Figuring out what needs to be figured

Why isn't the figure clear enough?

Why put figure on a figure

Isn't figuring its own end?

Figuring is a conscious task

Building, dawning bit by bit

Yet figuring out a constant dilemma

With absolutely no end to it

Excerpts from my paper on Surrealism: A plunge in Subconcious through Art and Literature

Surrealism is considered as one of the most influential cultural movements of 20th century having pervasive influence on both visual and literary arts. Surrealist works primarily focus on the element of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions to create an imaginary world of their own. The movement started as a reaction against the ‘Age of Reason’ which had gripped the western world .It flourished between World War I and II when gradually the artist and literary community was completely disillusioned and disgusted with the ‘Rationalism’ which they believed was the prime cause of mass scale distruction. This contention is substantiated by a declaration by Andre Breton, the major spokesman of the movement :


“Intellectually, it was vulgar rationalism and chop logic that more than anything else formed the causes of our horror and our destructive impulse” (Andre Breton)

For Breton, who published "The Surrealist Manifesto" in 1924, Surrealism was a means of reuniting conscious and unconscious realms of experience so completely, that the world of dream and fantasy would be joined to the everyday rational world in "an absolute reality, a surreality."He believed that there lurks a wealth of imagination in ones unconscious mind and if an artist was able to tap it somehow it would result into pure works of genius. With this declaration started this conscious journey into the realm of subconscious by a group of artists and writers alike.


One of the most iconic works of literature produced by this movement is Breton’s second novel titled ‘Nadja’,published in 1928 and which interestingly starts with a question “Who am I”.

The novel is based on the relationship between the protagonist, who is nothing but the alter ego of the author himself, and a woman, Nadja,whom he meets randomly on a street and gets obsessed with. More than the woman herself it is her vision of the world that entices him and forces him to meet her daily.Her understanding of existence defies the rational logic and has a peculiar irrational charm to it which makes him continue the relationship till he realizes that she is actually mad and is admitted in a certain sanitorium.As this reality dawns on him, he breaks up with her but finds himself completely taken by her thinking and her vision which seems to have direct access to her unconscious and artistic mind. Interestingly it is her absence which creates a mysterious and a stronger bond between both of them and he finds her constantly present in both his conscious and unconscious thoughts. Here Breton interestingly plays with the concept of absence and presence and hence raises important questions about the workings of our unconscious mind.


The importance of dream like imagery somewhere points at Breton’s fascination with Sigmund Freud’s focus on subconcious mind and its workings. Not only Breton but most of the Surrealist artists were keen readers of Freud and well versed with his major theories. According to Freud when a certain desire cannot be represented conciously it takes an absurd form which helps in disguising the desire. He suggests that two objects that could never be juxtaposed in reality become so in the dream and hence dream has a logic of its own which makes virtually no sense to the dreamer himself/herself after waking up.

This idea of ‘disguising a desire’ which might not have been socially or culturally acceptable by distorting the reality became a tool in the hands of Surrealist artists.

The horrors of war and the fearsome aspect is reflected deeply in Salvador Dali’s painting ‘Face of War’ and can be felt in these lines by Breton:


a mouth opens within another mouth

and within this mouth another mouth

and within this mouth another mouth

and so on without end

it is a sad perspective

which adds an I-don't-know-what

to another I-don't-know-what (The domestic Stones by Breton)

Excerpts from my paper on Surrealism: A plunge in Subconcious through Art and Literature presented at Amity Institute of English Studies and Research

Akanandun: Dead and Undead

Multitude of meanings can be derived from folklore depending on the method of the analysis used. Most of the times the literal meaning leaves  one baffled, confused and shocked as it fails to fit in our reasonable logical thinking and that is why scholars of culture have been using various semiotic and psychoanalytic methods to analyze the potent content of these tales of ancient wisdom. One such tale  from Kashmir  which has terribly fascinated  me with its central  intriguing motif of mystical Resurrection or Rebirth  is the story of Akanandun. The story has been told , retold , represented various times hence I am focusing on the core of the story rather than the details which might have been added later

Apart from the central motif the other recognizable one with which the story starts is  that of a desire for a male child. The anxiety to have a male heir to perpetuate the ancestral lineage is a concern discernable in most of the Patriarchal communities. There are stories about the absurd lengths that parents go to achieve this feat. In the said story too it is the desperate need to have a boy child which make the parents of Akanandun to promise the jogi that they will return the child bestowed on them through his miraculous powers, exactly after twelve years. This kind of desperation points to rash promises we human beings make without giving a second thought to what  it could actually suggest. Akanandun’s parents accepted the condition without thinking what would happen after 12 years and soon conveniently forgot the promise made. It also talks about short-lived memory of ours where we tend to consciously forget the things which give us immense pain and also about the fickleness of human mind. 

Rather then getting worried about the future the couple dedicated their energies in bringning up their son in the best possible way and happily wishing away the future. The fear might have lurked somewhere in their subconscious but they didn’t let that hamper their joy. Once engrossed in their happiness they completely lost sight of the approaching misery. But the jogi remembered the promise very well and returned after the stipulated time and demanded that the boy be returned to him. This reality shattered their world and they begged jogi to spare the child and take whatever he wanted.

The aspect of ‘moha’, is underlined here . The couple and their seven daughters had grown extremely fond of the boy and they wept , wailed and tried to get the sympathy of the jogi. But the latter had given up the world and along with it all the materialistic passions. He remained unmoved, untouched by the extreme emotions displayed by the family and would take nothing but the child.He harshly reminded them of their fateful promise. The moment of realization of the actual implication of the promise must have been so painful!

Greatly aggrieved and pained the parents obliged with a heavy heart and called Akanandun, a young ,energetic and handsome lad of 12 who had shown great promise in all the fields. Jogi asked the boy to be cleansed and draped in new clothes .When the child was ready Jogi took him to a side and beheaded him in full view of his parents. What a shock it must have been to the parents! But the miseries didn’t’ end  there. He started cutting the body in small pieces and patiently separated the flesh from the bone. The hapless parents could hardly believe their eyes. In front of them was their dear son ,killed and chopped to pieces. Imagine the condition of the mother who was then ordered by the jogi to wash the pieces of meat and cook them for him.The fact that she complied with such gruesome order somewhere points to an underlined faith because just  fear will not let a mother take such an extreme step. Somewhere the trust in the Jogi who had given her the greatest happiness of her life can be deciphered here. He even ordered her to taste the flesh to see if it was properly cooked and later to serve the dish in seven vessels and cover them with a white cloth. She complied again, almost mechanically.But she could control her feelings no more when the holy man asked her to call Akanandun to take his meals. She burst into tears and said it was impossible. She cried her heart out but Jogi once again was adamant. There must have been something in Jogi’s voice which made her call her son in most pitiful a voice..a wail of a lamenting mother..to whom the extent of her loss had just dawned upon completely.As  she was undergoing these extreme emotions Akanandun rushed in the room and took his place ready to take his meals. The family  could believe their eyes no more and turned their questioning glances towards the Jogi , only to find no one there.The holy man had disappeared along with the seven vessels. There was nothing which could remind them of the dreadful act they had witnessed sometime back.

The story capable of creating macabre and violent imagery, filled to core with Bhibatsa Rasa, able to arouse tremendous Jugupsa (disgust) somewhere I feel has a cleansing power. A Catharsis of sorts is achieved by reading and sure enough by watching the story being enacted.  The narrative takes us to a different planes of emotion, increases our heartbeats , purges us of all the emotions of pity and fear that delve in our physche. On one hand it gives a glimpse of extremely fickle nature of  human beings on the other it talks of miracles that can happen if only we have faith. Faith alone has the power to conquer duality. Probably this is why the narrative has had a great appeal for poets like Samad Mir, Ahad Zargar, Prakash Ram and otherswho have identified the story with Sufi thought.

Similar motif of resurrection can be seen in the well known biblical story of Abraham and Issac

Gen 22 NIV states that God ordered Abharam to take his only son, Isaac, to the region of Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering to the god.

. It is to faithful and trusting devotees that He shows the most enchanting of the miracles. Miraculous truths are not meant for people who are skeptical of faith and tend to employ their limited reason to question the declarations of faith. The aspect of underlined faith and trust comes across through the following lines:

“Heb 11:17-19 NIV) By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." “

Abraham is stopped by an angel and is asked to replace his son by a ram . So the entire ordeal was to see if Abraham had enough unquestioning faith in his God or the human weaknesses would take the better of him. Perhaps one the best visual representation of this incident is this painting by Caravaggio, a 17^th Century Italian Baroque  Painiter.

Somewhere in our story too the faith and trust of the family especially the mother in the Jogi seems to have been tested. .One sees a willful submission to the wishes of someone who had blessed her with a  son.

Interestingly a story narrating the myth of Resurrection is also found in Egyptian Myth of Osiris , the god of afterlife. who was cut into pieces by his arch enemy Set and was brought back to life by his wife Isis. Isis collected all the body parts and arranged them in order and started singing a song while going around the pieces until her husband came back to life and later on came to be known as the ‘god of afterlife’.Though the same motif may be found repeated in various myths and folktales ,everyone of them unique in their  own way , the feeling of faith and turst seems to be the intersecting point for all of them.

Idea of Paroksha or paradox as observed by Subhash Kak in Epic myths can be extended to folk literature too. As Kak observes in such narratives the moral ambiguity works like the hubris of Greek myth and drama, creating a space that is not quite in the realm of gods, although it is superhuman. The story of Akanandun has definitely an other worldly aura about it. Today we might not be able to relate to what to our rational senses would appear too irrational or illogical but the violent imageries replete with deep phychological meanings have been a part of Indian culture since hoary past.Disowning such stories or art works shows our tremendous disconnect with our own past. Maet or Malangs as they were known in Kashmir were a reality just two decades back and probably exist to this day. Our parents and grand parents are witness to their mystical powers and seemingly mad actions.  Existing on a different plane of reality nobody dared question them. I have heard how people used to fear Nand Mot and what he had to say to them.Mysticism is part of our culture and unfortunately we are losing touch with it.Unfortunately we have..turned ourselves into a fearful bunch ..thinking about the dangerous consequence before embarking on anything new…Years of submissive behavior has made us puppets in the hands of our own apprehensions which it is a high time to fight.

An enquiry into the Sectarian affiliation of the ruins at Harwan

Introduction:

This paper seeks to address questions of representation and interpretation of the monuments unearthed at Harwan, Kashmir. These days, strenuous efforts are being made to project Harwan as an unproblematic Buddhist site and promote it as a destination for cultural tourism by linking it with the great Central Asian tradition. In this effort, scholars have deliberately underplayed facts and attributed all monuments found in the area to Buddhists, ignoring any other cultic possibility.


Stein identifies ‘Harwan’ with Shadarhadvana (grove of six saints), a locality mentioned in Rajatarangini [Stein M.A., ‘Kalhana’s Rajatarangini,’ Vol. II, p. 455 & Vol. I, Book I, p. 31, Delhi 1989]. According to Kalhana, the great Buddhist thinker Nagarjuna belonged to this place; hence the Buddhist connection is inevitable

The Complete Paper published in:
Heritage of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh
Edited by G.L. Badam and K.K. Chakravarty, Research India Press, 2010
 
Contents:
 
Preface.
I. Historiography:

1. Kashmir's contribution to Persian historiography/Peerzada Mohammad Ashraf.
2. Some important Sharada inscriptions of Kashmir--a socio-political study/B.K. Kaul Deambi.
 3. Ahad Raza--Kashmiri Theory of politics/Manzoor Fazili.
4. The Bakhshali: an extant Sharada Manuscript/Sushma Z. Jatoo.
5. Our heritage our roots: an insight into the literary history of ancient Kashmir/Girdharilal Kaw.
6. The School of Historians in Kashmir/Mukesh Kumar.
7. A glimpse of Kashmir in Chinese travelogue/Devendra Nath Thakur.
8. Kashmir's Role in the development of India's Cultural traditions--an overview/S.S. Toshkhani.
9. Influence of Kashmir on the ritual literature of Orissa/G.C. Tripathi.

II. Art and architecture:

10. Master Artist--Pandit Sansar Chand Sharma/Navin Atal and C.K. Atal.
11. Indigenous architectural heritage of Kashmir/Virendra Bangroo.
12. An enquiry into the Sectarian affiliation of the ruins at Harwan/Geetika Kaw Kher.
13. An endangered monument in Ladakh--Sumda Gogpo/Nawang Tsering Shakspo.
14. Terracotta sculptures of Greater Kashmir/Mohammad Shafi Zahid.

 III. Philosophy:

15. Buddhism and its development in Kashmir/Advaitavadini Kaul.
16. The philosophical orientation of Trika spirituality/Moti Lal Pandit.
17. The ancient shrine of Summah Devta/O.P. Shahkir.

IV. Language and literature:

18. A survey of Sanskrit poets of Kashmir/Sudhir Kumar Lall.
19. Sanskrit and Kashmir/K.C. Sharma.
20. Stutikusumanjali/Vidya Sharma.

V. Performative traditions:

21. Drama in Kashmir and the North-West/R.K. Braroo.
22. Introduction to the history of the theatre in Kashmir/V.N. Drabu.
23. Bhand Pather (Folk Theatre of Kashmir)/Moti Lal Kemmu. VI. Bio-diversity:
24. The Karewas of Kashmir (Revisited)/G.L. Badam.
25. Folk herbal treatment in Kashmir/Badrinath Bhat.
26. High altitude lakes of Jammu and Kashmir--myths and mythology/Sati Sahni. Additional references.
 
 

Gloom

Ah that dreadful wail
that ceaseless river of despair
Despite all the boundaries
which did find its way

Ah that one weak moment
of untold frenzy and gloom
That hapless instant
which failed to hide the truth.

People's revolution:Fact, Fiction and Memory

Reading ‘Snow’, a novel by Orhan Pamuk, in these days of unrest in Egypt interestingly brought back the memories of my childhood spent in post revolution Iran. I am no political expert neither can I claim to understand the ongoing political situations in all their intricacies yet in recent developments there are some  issues which have caught my attention and which need to be put in a certain perspective....
 To read the whole column log on to
http://theviewspaper.net/people%e2%80%99s-revolution-fact-fiction-and-memory/

Book Review: Hamare Ishwar ko tairna nahi aata by M.K Santoshi (unedited version)

The apt title ‘Hamare Ishwar ko tairna nahi aata’ literally meaning ‘our lord doesn’t know how to swim’ poignantly betrays the feeling of helplessness and subjugation to the ordained fate which the stories in the book talk about.directly or indirectly. Comprising of thirteen stories revolving around author’s constant yearning for Kashmir, it makes a thought provoking and emotionally charged reading.




Having read earlier hindi poems by Santoshi and finding them intense and extremely stimulating it was with a feeling of excitement and curiosity that we started reading this book of short stories.. Every writer has a personal style, concerns and issues which are close to his heart and these get betrayed in all his artistic and literary productions regardless of the medium, however possessing flair for writing both excellent poetry and prose is a rare quality primarily because both demand a completely different manner of expression. In case of Santoshi an accomplished poet it is the lost land of Kashmir which hovers over every poem, every story that he writes. Whether it is a poem ‘Vitasta ka teesra kinara’ or the stories ‘Ghar devta’, ‘Akanandun’ etc it is the feeling of loss that characterizes the writing. This loss is contrasted with the narratives about the initial trying years spent in Jammu,and facing problems like harsh weather, indifferent beaviour,uncertain future ghettoization and petty politics, all these toghether becoming points of torture for his soul…a soul which keeps wondering what went wrong…why did our deities forsake us..why did they play a mute spectator when we were thrown out of our houses..It is in short a silent cry of a sensitive but helpless author to whom words and appropriate phrases come naturally..



Use of metaphors to enhance the quality of writing and to emphasize a certain point is a common practice but to use an actual incident and see it as a metaphor or as a premonition for future days to come is an interesting approach used by the author in the story ‘Ladai’. The story is about two fighting bulls belonging to pandit and a muslim family respectively. The intolerance of the majority community and violent reaction to the winning of the bull belonging to a pandit is deeply significant of the pent up anger and hatred that was unleashed completely in 1990’s . The words “to win you have to make your bull stronger” said in jest by the author to his muslim friend actually became a reality and then as most of us witnessed there was no stopping the bull…. The pain of exile comes across strongly in stories like ‘Bicchu ghass’ and ‘Aayenge lautkar ham ae vatan’ which are more of personal memoirs of early days of exodus. Yet in these emotional outpourings and other stories he manages to raise extremely important questions regarding who has benefited from this large scale exodus Are KM’s any better off without KP’s around?…Can suffering be only on one side and other side go completely unaffected?….Is the price that KM’s have paid in terms of their life and honor worth what they have today?…questions .which have no one answer but which makes us think about the absurdity and futility of violence. ‘Kokh’, one such story about three muslim mothers who lost their sons in different manners to this madness is heart wrenching and problematizes the whole issue of aazadi.



What is noteworthy is that the stories narrated are not lopsided. They give a fair view of the situation.They do talk about timidness of Kashmiri Pandits, pain of muslim mothers who lost their sons to mindless jihad, and muslims who felt things weren’t right but could not speak out for the fear of the gun. Repeatedly he stresses on his friendship with Kashmiri muslims but also talks about the mistrust and hatred they harbor as a group…his intense words to a KM friend ‘ bheed me tum vahshi ho jaate ho” expresses it all.It hints at the common culture of friendship, brotherhood and camaraderie, a great binding force till religion and faith does them part. ‘Apharan’ is one such story where these ironical feelings find a complete expression.



In Santoshi’s hands all these different issues connected with a common thread ,are deftly woven into sensitive stories to which anyone can react. Nowhere the writing is contrived or affected. It just flows like a steady river gaining weight and meaning as it proceedes and by the end it leaves your eyes tearful and yet there lingers a smile on your lips. Not only did these stories left me and my husband mesmerized but were read and enjoyed by my mother in law as well as my maid, a young girl from Orissa. We even read few of the stories to our four year old daughter who listens to everything about Kashmir with rapt attention and awe as if listening to a fairy tale.This is the magic of simple lucid yet forceful and emphatic writing which crosses the barriers of age, region and religion, touching hearts and stimulating the readers mind.







Book Details:

Hamare Ishwar ko tairna nahi aata

Maharaj Krishan Santoshi

Published by Unistar Books Pvt.Ltd.S.C.O 26-27,Sector 34 A, Chandigarh- 160022, India

Price Rs 150/-

Number of pages 92

ISBN 81-7142-939-4

Art bond

As Bharti started sketching the portrait of Majboor Saab for the condolence meet organized by Praznath I was glued to a chair next to her. Unfortunately all I could provide her as a point of reference was a picture downloaded on my phone which I had transferred to hers..thanks to blue tooth.. Line drawing was all I had asked her to do as there was hardly any time.I sat there studying her every move, my eyes were eagerly following her pencil which glided so easily and deftly on the paper. Ah how tempted I felt to pick up a pencil myself…Seeing an artist at work is one of the greatest pleasures .and seeing the end product right after two hours is nothing short of a miracle. I could see the simple line drawing gradually developing into familiar features of the dear departed poet scholar …The moment I could identify the portrait I was elated and could not thank her enough for such a beautiful experience. Soon she started playing with light and shade which automatically lend character to the well executed portrait. In between she would sit back and study the image on her paper and then cast a look at the small image flashed on the screen of her cell phone…I just sat there chatting with her quite casually but all the time I couldn’t help wondering how Majboor Saab would have reacted to this work of art executed in complete spirit of enthusiasm and dedication.

Bharti giving finishing touches...

Praznath:The Magazine

Praznath was finally launched on 18th March 2010. It was a great feeling to see our collective dream materialize in form of this magazine. The long sessions and discussions over the endless cups of tea and kehwa at Sushilji’s office ultimately did bear fruit. I congratulate the entire team for the successful show and also for a good magazine which has definitely a potential to become a great reference material. I have my fingers crossed…

to read a review of the Praznath launch function by me log on to :

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=339&page=22