Parva, the practical Mahabharata by Mr. S L Bhyrappa

After reading the 10 volume Mahabharata and the 2 volume Ramayana by Mr. Bibek Debroy (May his sould rest in peace), I assumed that my cravings for these great works have been satisfied. However, this was short lived. It was re-kindled by talks of Mr. R. Ganesh. R. Ganesh is a popular reviewer/presenter/reader of Sanskrit texts and an expert in decoding these texts for the average listener and a great orator. During one of his talks he mentioned about a work by Mr. S L Bhyrappa, the last scion of Kannada literature, the pure poet. I had known about his works and majority of his works have been made into fantastic films by very talented directors for the Kannada film industry. I had not followed much of his recent works and was shocked to see how active he is. I knew the names of the novels he had written. 

However, one novel, in particular had a name which was not telling the objective of its creation. I am talking about Parva. Parva is the "novelization" of the Mahabharata. The last line which I wrote took 1 second. Now, you put that line in your head and imagine the gargantuan effort which must have gone into this project. When I read the complete work of Mahabharata, there was a feeling of completeness. As I started reading Parva, it was as if I am reading the ultimate thriller/cliffhanger. The layout of the novel, the way it starts, the dialogues, the progression.... OMG. Pure ecstasy. Mr. S L Bhyrappa traversed the entire physical path/locations of the Mahabharata to get the feel of the places, the climate, the culture etc. Starting with calculating the age of the most senior character, Bhisma, he arrived at the relative age of all the myriad number of characters in the epic. He also read multiple versions of the Mahabharata in sanskrit to understand the undercurrent in the story. He visited as many places as possible, which are their own characters in the epic. Once all this got settled in his head, he started writing the novel. 

Having started reading the book, it is difficult to tell I am reading the Mahabharata. Now, I understand why many directors are now interested in making a film(s) out of it. Mr. S L Bhyrappa has perfected the art of converting this epic to the style of a novel. Suddenly, all the directors who did not have time to read the Mahabharata, can now read it like a thriller. The book has "fleshed" out the various characters in great detail. The art department of whoever is going to make a film about it, will just have to follow the description, which I have found very practical. Writings in Sanskrit have one thing in common. They try to cramp in maximum information in very few words. This is an art form which was required in old times since, books were non-existent and writings on palm leaves, in Sanskrit was extremely strenuous activity. 

The works in Sanskrit were made for distribution through singing. The performer was to know it by-heart, the text and all the information regarding the volume, the raga etc. This would enable him to perform/share any time. This was then passed on to the next generation. Mr. S L Bhyrappa has used the same methodology here. If you skip one line, it is like you are skipping an entire chapter. Fantastic. Practicality has been taken to the very extreme by the author. So, you are a person who is skeptical about miracles, unbelievable stories and you want only a practical explanation for all the occurrences. You have come to the right place. The description of heat, the monsoons, the struggle of people during the high temperatures, the limitations of technology available/known at the time all make very engaging reading. However, all the while maintaining the integrity of the epic. The last 20 - 30 pages looked a little hurried and tried to fill in so much information, my head started to hurt. It is an overdose of philosophical thought. These pages indicate the turmoil, the heart/brain of the author felt through the writing of the novel.

The book is not written, like, the author read a portion of the epic and translated the same. Here, the author took the entire epic into his head and retold the same with all his practical insights and keeping the structure of the epic intact. What effort. It is sad that the Mahabharata and the Ramayana do not get the same amount of exposure/love/critical observations compared to the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, which again, is a subset of what the Mahabharata is. 

The Mahabharata, translated verbatim, goes to nearly 10 volumes, each of a minimum of 500/600 pages. Compare this with the exact translation of the Iliad and Odyssey. You may feel that majority of the portion will be cruft, like majority of the modern novels. You will be surprised that you will be proved wrong and you will be happy about it. If you had the drive to read the Iliad and Odyssey do not miss the Mahabharata and the Ramayana for anything. Add these works to the books to be read before you end your Human existence. 

Mr. S L Bhyrappa has taken up the challenge of taking up this huge work and made it into a novel. This is possible since he has included all the stories/sub-stories/parallel stories as an aside during the conversation of characters within themselves or with others. He has used the smaller characters, talk about bigger characters, to bring a more earthy feel to the novel. He further completes the circle by making the larger characters talks a little about the lesser known ones. As a reader, you are in for a visual treat. For the puritans of the epics, there are shocks awaiting nearly every page. Only he could have pulled out this novel based on the epics. You can now understand why Suddenly people want to make it into movies. I still feel it is not going to be easy. However, they will try. There is a huge cache of gold to be minted. 

All the epics of the world make use of similes to explaining the grandness or the scale of things. Even Iliad and Odyssey are no exceptions. I heard somewhere on the public network that the Iliad has around 180 similes. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana is full of them. There will be no passage which does not include a simile and hence very difficult to count(As per me they appeared infinite, Or I have not come across any counts). But, Parva, does not believe in the similes. It presents the story as a practical explanation depending on the strength of the language and the imagination of the reader to gather the scenario. This is interesting  since epics are full of dialogues, with reader listening to the one sided lecture. In Parva, the reader takes the center place owing to the "practicalization" of the situation and the characters.

Mr. S L Bhyrappa is a prolific writer. If you look him up, all his works have been received on the grandest scale. All his works are different and tackle many different social issues. All his works are a standard for all the further writers writing in that specific subject. All his works have been translated into English. A foreign reader might find it difficult to read him since it is strongly rooted in the Indian society and culture. For me, the Mahabharata is his best work. The only work which gave him anxiety issues, the only work which made him meet a psychologist. But, I will take this result and wish him many more years of writing and me many more years of reading him. According to me he is the last of the Kannada authors with a writing of that high stature. Mr. S L Bhyrappa, thank you for all your writings. Further, I request you to KEEP WRITING. Lucky to be alive during your time.

Kalidasa's Meghaduta

 

English, August. From City to village and back

After reading catch 22. The most nasty comment I received was that this  book should have  been ready earlier, ie, I should have read it at younger age. I think it is not about the age at all. It is just that you should be in the know of it and the book should attract you. It could happen in a myriad number of ways. Any how, this post is about an English, August by Upamanyu Chatterjee.

I liked the book. It is well written. It is just a coming together of jottings kept over a period of one year. The Indian sub-continent comes across in all its glory. The author travels from a hard core India city to the deepest of the forests possible. The society varies from rich, to the tribals to the lepors, to the beggars, to the helpers, to the public administration offices and the officers, to the most beautiful churches in the remotest parts of the country where drinking water is not available. The book definitely has the spread. The different hues of the sub-continent is nice. The language used is simple and straight forward. If "sex" sells then the word is used freely and profusely through the book. Lots of stoned situations, by the river, by the railway tracks, on the top floor of the house, in dark rooms, with friends, with colleagues, with unknowns. There is plenty of booze also, if you liked it. The point of view is from a well to do Indian. So you may tell that the narrative doesnt have the depth. But, yes, the book does scratch the surface and does     it well.

The most beautiful depiction is the bureaucratic setup in the country. It brings out aptly how the government resources which are to be distributed gets concentrated in few hands just by the manipulation of papers. It also bring out the monotony of a government official.     The constraints under which a bureaucrat works are also nicely portrayed. There are a few situations in the book where the protagonist goes deep about his real purpose with sayings from the Bhagavad Gita interspersed between. The novel has an unexpected ending. I was     expecting some other way. The individual coming out of the dilemma is nicely brought out. It is like ready reckoner for all the aspiring public servants. Of course, there are foreign visitors also. If the author was not intending to satisfy the foreign readers, the book    s would have a bit more depth.

The characters come alive, the office personnel, the tribals, rich kids whose parents have made enough for many generations, Egoist bureaucrats,  their more egoist wags, the variety of food, the lack and plenty of water, the effect of forcing of modern societal system on the tribals. The destruction of their very livelihood to survive the modern society and its demands. Roads, cycles, buffalos, and all other quintessential characters of a novel which plans to cross the border of India to other English speaking countries.

The private sector and its workings and its shortcomings, Doctors, helpers, drivers all have played out their role. Official Jeeps, "silent" Maruti cars also make their appearance.

Fascinating read. The book was also made into a movie. I dont remember it perfectly, But, I liked it more because of the lead actor. He was so perfect for the role. I would still recommend the book over the movie. This is one book which you would like to watch after reading it just because of the range and variety of places the protagonist passes. The book oozes laziness, everywhere and the protagonist is the epitome of it and thereby is able to recognize that aspect in all the people he meets.

P. G. Wodehouse's Very Good, Jeeves

The past fortnight has been very productive w.r.t me starting to take up my hobby of reading books to the good old days. Having started with Franz Kafka's "The trial" you would expect me to maybe read the next novel of Kafka. No that didnt happen. I lightened up and started to read Very good, jeeves by P. G . Wodehouse. Yes, I can see that look on your face. I can see the look from here. I can understand the look especially if you are Kafka fan or also a Wodehouse fan.

 I am special. I am a fan of both these amazing writers. While Kafka saw what is wrong with the societal setup, Wodehouse gave a damn about what is wrong and used the same wrong to bring out that Right Ho! or the What Ho! spirit with lots of mirth and happiness. You felt bad while reading a Kafka work, bring yourself around with a Wodehouse short. What an amazing set of writers and such a different views on life. 

The short stories in the collection were so beautifully written with poetry in just words. I could listen the lyrics as well as music as i read throughout the sentences. I dont know the poetic prowess of Wodehouse but his music sense I think was excellent. And I dont have any rights on any sort of comments as to the vocabulary of this man. Yes, you may not know much of the words used. But, heed me if you dont strive to know the meaning you will not hear the music. Yes you can get where the story is going in context without caring a damn about the meaning of that specific word, I request and beg you not to do so. In all the stories, nobody works, which is exactly my argument of work. Why should anybody work. Why cant we just live? No, forgive me here..... Yes, back in the Wodehouse world, nobody works. They just live. The situations/plot lines are masterfully crafted. Every character is beautifully etched. So, if a character is told to do something, it will do so. Why? Well he was created to do just that. 

If anybody wants a lesson in character building,he should start and end right here in Wodehouse world. You read it while going to work, it will keep your mood uplifted because you know that while coming back to work also you will take yourself to that world. So to do that, you can work. When you are returning from work and reading him, you think you deserved this after doing things which were required to get this opportunity to read him. I was blown away by the preface for this collection written by the man himself. The simplicity of the man and what you would be expecting is on display from page one. I would love to be any of his characters. I dont have any problem being any of his characters. 

The situations are rummy/chirpy/exciting. They are not sad. Being written at times wherein the bad effects of tobacco were still not widely publicized they are thoroughly romanticized. You also get recipes for plenty of cocktails especially if you are a fan of whiskies and brandies. Intelligence as well as stupids are celebrated with equal aplomb. The bourgeoisie and the proletariat are treated the same without the complications associated with them. Most of the writing is "that is that" 

 I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey through the dark alleys of Kafka as well as bright and never say die spirit of the Wodehouse worlds. Thank you, gentlemen for your great and d endeavoring works.