The Age of Shiva by Manil Suri and " Unaccustomed Earth " by Jhumpa Lahiri

• Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
• Pub. Date: January 2008
• ISBN-13: 9780393065695
• Pages :448pp

India, 1955: as the scars of Partition are just beginning to heal, seventeen-year-old Meera sits enraptured watching the performance of a young man on stage, Dev, singing a song so infused with passion that it arouses in her the first flush of erotic longing. As a rivalry between them ensues, she wonders if she can steal him away from Roopa, her older, more beautiful sister.

When Meera's reverie comes true, it does not lead to the fairy-tale marriage she imagined. Dev's family is steeped in the very kind of orthodoxy her father has long railed against and she finds herself having to tolerate their backward ways, her husband's drunkedness, and the unwanted attentions of his brother. Her only solace is in her sister-in-law Sandhya, with whom she comes to share a tenderness that is as heartbreaking as it is fleeting.

A move to Bombay, so that Dev can chase his dream of success as a Bollywood singer, seems at first like a fresh start, but soon that dream – and their marriage – turns to ashes. It is only when their son is born that things change. For the first time, Meera feels fulfilled. She is finally ready to shape her own destiny. To take control of her world.


What I liked about this book:

* That Manil Suri decided to make a woman the pivotal character. This is admirable because he had to think and be Meera for nearly 455 pages, no easy feat for someone of the opposite gender.

* The book spans nearly three decades...it opens in 1955 and closes in the 1980's. The entire story is played out against the backdrop of important political events of those decades...the readjustment to the Parition (Hindu-Muslim riots), the Indo-China war, the Bangladesh War of Independence, the Emergency of 1975 and so on.

* Suri is a wonderful parent to his characters. Each one of them is lovingly fleshed out complete with a background story, so that the reader knows what set of circumstances prompts them (the characters) to behave in the way they do. I truly admire Suri's dedication to his characters...you can see the work he puts into turning them from mere two-dimensional characters into larger than life figures. Because the book is essentially about relationships, having believable characters with a generous amount of flaws and few virtues is central to the story and Suri pulls that off beautifully.

* He is also an amazing storyteller...with lyrical and sensual writing he spends time building up a story so that before you know it you're not just reading the story but a part of it.

* As I mentioned before, this book is about relationships and motherhood...much of it is about the relationship of a mother with her son in particular. Much of the writing concerning hte mother and son is quite sensual, for instance, take the opening lines from the book:

"Every time I touch you, every time I kiss you, every time I offer you my body, Ashvin. Do you know how tightly you shut your eyes as with your lips you search my skin? Do you know how you thrust your feet towards me, how you reach out your arms, how the sides of your chest strain against my palms? Are you aware of your fingers brushing against my breast, their tips trying to curl around something to hold on to, but slipping instead against my smooth flesh?"

"Ashvin. Do you notice the wetness emerge from my nipples and spill down the slopes of my chest? Is that your tongue that I feel, are you able to steal a taste or two?"

It's really hard to tell if the narrator is talking to a lover or to a child. I'm sure Suri was very deliberate in setting this tone. I believe it was his intention to fashion Meera's relationship with her son on the Hindu goddess Parvati's relationship with the elephant-god Ganesh (Ganesh was made by Parvati to be her protector) and her darker relationship with her other son Andhaka who it is said fell in love with Parvati........

It is at this point I must mention that Suri dips quite generously into India's abundant myth pool to drive his story. As a lover or Indian mythology this was a huge draw for me.

(Shiv,Parvati and Ganesh)

******

What didn't work so well:

Meera, the main protagonist is a beautifully-drawn out character but I didn't like her very much.She was self-absorbed, held grudges and wasn't able to truly love anyone with the exception of her son, Ashvin, towards whom I think she gave such an outpouring of love it made all seem slightly unnatural. And then again, was it really love she fed Ashvin or was it her way of controlling him so he could meet her needs? She came off as cold, selfish, scheming and distrusting of men, but that's probably because the men in her life had failed her, besides she was a woman fighting for a place in a machismo society.

The first half of the book is written in the first person and flowed very smoothly. The second half is written in the second person (this is where Meera talks to her son Ashvin telling him all about the first years of his life and their early years in Bombay etc) and I found the soliloquies to be a little tedious. Meera's cloying devotion to Ashvin and his dependence and loyalty to her (to the extent of excluding his own playmates) was a little hard to swallow.

* Although I did like that the book spanned three decades I have to ask myself why so many Indian writers will, without fail, use the Indian Partition and sectarian violence as the backdrop against which their characters play out their lives?

I predict that the Indian readers will absolutely revel in this book...I'm not sure how it will appeal to Western readers...do write and let me know what you think of the book.

************************

• Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
• Pub. Date: April 2008
• 352pp

I'm also reading Jhumpa Lahiri's new book, "Unaccustomed Earth". If I remember correctly, Lahiri started her writing career with short stories writing "Interpreter of Maladies" for which she won the Pulitzer Prize. After that she wrote her first full-length novel 'The Namesake"
which was made into a hit movie by Mira Nair. In "Unaccustomed Earth" she goes back to writing short stories some of which were published earlier in the Newyorker, here and here. I have to say I am really enjoying most of the stories. Lahiri writes about the everyday life of immigrant (Bengali) families using simple prose that starts oh so quietly and sedately but which almost always holds a big surprise at the end. Definitely give "Unaccustomed Earth" a whirl.

"Kriti 2007" South-Asian Literature Festival, Chicago

I just got back from "Kriti" the South-Asian Literature Festival held in Chicago at the University of Illinois and boy, I'm so glad I went! Kriti is a four-day event using panel discussions, readings, music, storytelling, dance,workshops, movies and more to celebrate South Asian and diaspora literature. This year's guest of honor was Anita Desai. I attended as many discussions as I could but since the program was choc-a-bloc with events it was physically impossible for me to attend them all. It would be a herculian task for me to include a full write-up on each discussion that I attended so I am just going to give you what I thought were the highlights, with an introduction to each panel taken from the official "Kriti" site.


Ok, here are some of the panels and discussions:

Contemporary South Asian Literature in the World:
How does South Asian writing shape the way in which South Asians are regarded by the world? Does it facilitate the stereotyping of individuals? Does it open up new concepts to readers? How are local South Asian and diaspora writers perceived by international (especially Western) readers?

Note: Wasn't able to attend this one but would love to hear from anyone that did. Or, if you are a Western reader and would like to talk about how Indian literature has influenced the way you think of India or the Indian people, please feel free to chime in.


Class Issues in South Asian Literature:

Authors like Hanif Kurieshi and Monica Ali deal with middle class and working class English life from an immigrant perspective, while Jhumpa Lahiri's characters live in a financially comfortable, destined-for-the-professional world. How visible are class issues in South Asian literature? Are comfortable middle-class stories more likely to be published (and celebrated)? Do immigrant upper-middle- class readers become uncomfortable when asked to admit the existence of working-class South Asians?

Note: Since one of the panelists was unable to attend, this ended up being a very informal discussion with Deepak Unnikrishnan and about 4-5 of us. We discussed how many South-Asian writers are not familiar with the working classes (or lower classes) hnece making it difficult for them to write about it. In India, very often, someone from the working class might not be educated enough to write a book and if they do it is quite possible that they will write it in a regional language which unfortunately does not have a very wide audience. A need for more translations therefore exists.



Reading: Monica Pradhan "The Hindi-Bindi Club"

Note: Felt really sorry to have missed this reading because a novel with recipes is my favorite kind of book. I definitely intend picking it up. Click on the title for more info.





Politics and Writing: A Panel and Open Discussion

Writers discuss their goals in writing about politics. (Is any writing not political?) Are they attempting to create change in the world? What changes would they like to see? What have been the visible effects of their work, if any? Should writers be political on a large-scale? What are the inherent dangers of that work? A facilitated open discussion of the ways in which writers engage political issues in their work, and the ways in which readers respond to those issues.
(facilitated by a representative from the South Asian Progressive Action Collective)

Note: Great discussion especially as the four writers, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Sita Bhaskar, Anil Menon, Sankar Roy and Archana Chowhan had very different viewpoints on what constitutes a political novel. Sci-fi lovers look out for Anil Menon's book,`The Beast With Nine Billion Feet'

Dirty Laundry:

There is a clear market in the West for a certain kind of expose/ pathos story from South Asia: child prostitutes, wife beating, widows in Brindhavan, untouchables, street kids, etc. When does exposing an evil move over into exploitation? What responsibilities does the writer have (if any)?

Note: I really wanted to attend this one, but couldn't. Here's an appeal to anyone out there that might have done...would love the salient points of this discussion because I truly believe that a lot of Indian writers are pressured to use exoticism in their books in order to make it more appealing to a Western audience.


Creative Nonfiction:

To what extent are we willing to expose ourselves? Do we have the right to expose the lives of our family and friends? Is the need to tell a true story, to be honest, more important than the need to consider the feelings of others? And what happens when you're not sure you're remembering the story right to begin with? How much freedom do you have to change the details and still call it nonfiction? Writers discuss the challenges of writing creative nonfiction.
Panelists: Hari Lamba, Sushil Nachnani, Visi Tilak and Hemant Mehta.


Notes: This was a particularly interesting discussion. Most of the panelists were in agreement that pure non-fiction can be hard to write because, 1. lots of fact checking needs to be done, 2. Memory is such a subjective thing and no two people will see the same incident in the same way (this applies mostly to a memoir) 3. non-fiction as a genre doesn't sell as well as fiction. Hence most writers and publishers are more comfortable with the genre of "creative non- fiction" where although most of the facts are true, there are certain artistic liberties that are taken with the facts, turning it into a much more entertaining read. The panelists were also in agreement that anecdotes are a necessary component of creative non-fiction.


Hemant Mehta, author of "I Sold My Soul on Ebay: Viewing Faith Through an Athiest's Eyes" was particularly interesting and I definitely intend buying his book ...it should be a lot of fun to read.


Sex and the Word:

In recent years, more and more South Asians have started writing explicitly around sexuality. Mary Anne Mohanraj, Ginu Kamani, the authors in _Desilicious_, the participants in _Yoni ki Baat_, and many performance poets all explore the sexual arena. What are the challenges of working with this material? What are the rewards? Are you willing to read an erotic story? How about in public, on a bus or train? Do you take the books off the shelves when your parents visit? Authors and readers discuss the pleasures and problems of writing and reading sex.
(Panelists:Visi Tilak, Mary Anne Mohanraj (m.), Sharmili Majmudar)


Notes: This was another eye-opener of a discussion. It made me realize that because our South-Asian society is so sexually repressive it is a very difficult road for writers of erotic fiction, especially if they are women. I also learned that when it comes accepting erotic fiction, readers are more likely to want to read stories by women rather than men and that many men have to use aliases if they want their stories published. After the discussion we got MaryAnne Mohanraj to sign our copies of her book "Bodies in Motion".



Making Cooking a Priority:

Join cookbook author Alamelu Vairavan for a discussion of how to add easy-to-prepare, flavorful dishes to your daily life, incorporating more vegetables, dals, and spices in your cooking repertoire. Hear about the history of spices, how to assemble a basic spice pantry, availability, cost, and how to prepare dishes in thirty minutes or less -- plus the story of how aromas and friendship turned into cookbooks!

Note: Really enjoyed this talk. Alamelu is a passionate foodie and it was an absolute delight to hear her talk about how she goes about introducing South Indian food to a western audience. I was very tempted to buy her book because it holds over 150 recipes with a nutritional analysis for each one; she has also managed to condense each recipe to no more than 4 steps which is perfect for our busy lives.


Recommended Children's and Young Adult Literature:

Writers and editors discuss what writers they love to read, and what makes a story stand out as exceptional children's literature.
Sandhya Nankani (m.), Rachna Vohra, Marina Budhos

Notes: A very helpful discussion although I did miss the first 30 mins of it. Found some very useful book recommendations for my 12-year old. Thank you ladies!

P.S. Sandhya, I came looking for you after the discussion but you had gone into another one so I missed meeting you...sorry!

*********************

Another highlight of my Chicago trip was being able to meet my lovely blogger friend, Laura of "Maude and Mozart" who took me on a beautiful drive past the stunning Chicago waterfront. It was great meeting her, she is such a bubbly, happy person. She very generously gifted me three books that I am eager to delve into as soon as time permits. Thank you, fabulous Laura!