Memories of my melancholy whores - Gabriel Garcia Marquez


       It was during a summer vacation that i came to know about Gabriel Garcia Marquez for the very first time in life. I was just 12 years old back then. A steaming coffee at his side, head resting on the raised portion of an old cane chair, Dad is busy reading "One hundred years of solitude" on an extremely hot Indian Summer afternoon. I tried to get the right pronunciation of  author's name. He sensed my effort and read it out for me. He found my curiosity rising up and explained that Marquez is a Spanish writer and  has got a line of good novels to his credit. One who writes in the literary style known as "magical realism". You should read, he said. Read and understand Marquez, but not now..you are too young for that. No one writes in the way Marquez does and that is exactly why it is magical, he took a sip from his coffee mug and smiled.

    It took me 12 long years to finally get to Marquez and that feeling is inexplicable. Dad was right, no one writes like Marquez. Memories of my melancholy whores starts with the following sentence,

 "The year i turned ninety, i wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin."

  The first sentence itself grips you down into the story and takes you away into a far away land and into the life of an old cable editor. He has never married,never loved, never been to bed with a woman he didn't pay and  he feels young even at the age of ninety. He contacts the owner of an illicit house, Rosa Cabarcas in order to fulfill his birthday wish. Rosa mocks him saying" the only Virgos left in the world are people like you who were born in august". But yet she finds a girl. He calls her Delgadina..finds her sleeping each night he visits her. He never tries to disturb her sleep and watches her quietly. During these solitary hours his love for her deepens and reminds him of the loveless life he has led. His Sunday columns in the local newspaper details how he found love at the age of ninety.

 Marquez is witty and extremely narrative. His magical procreation of words is mesmerizing and excellent. Marquez is not a subject of critics.

                                                                                                    -Nisanth Thomas
                                                                                                (nisanththomas@gmail.com)

  

Narcopolis - Jeet Thayil


                       Mesmerizing and deeply moving. Jeet Thayil takes you on a ride through the suburban Bombay of late 70's. The story begins and ends with Bombay, the city dreaming troubled dreams, a pile of inexhaustible accumulation of small defeats. A story of Opium with hijras, pimps and fucked up opiates who caress it. His vivid description of Rashid's opium khana, the smoke, the procedure of making opium as if its a religious duty and later how the introduction of  heroin made things bad make the story a wonderful read. Puts u on a dream, a hallucination, makes you feel like you are there right next to Dimple, the hijra, Rumi, the friend, Bengali, the care taker and the author himself.. waiting for your turn to have a drag at the pipe... to cloud  Rashid Bhai.s khana with thick smoke.. to laugh for no reason...to talk about importance and unimportance of religion...to walk on Shuklaji Street which extends till Bombay central, crowded with paan wallas, drug traffickers, pimps, sluts and opiates...to have a look at the brothel numbered 007 and smile.. to smile for one last time before this hallucination gets over. Reluctantly acknowledging the story has come to an end.


                                                                                                          -Nisanth Thomas
                                                                                                           (nisanththomas@gmail.com)

How I braved Anu aunty and co-founded a million dollar company - Varun Agarwal


             When I met this guy Varun at Hindu lit fest in chennai two weeks back I was skeptical about getting his book and reading it. Of course he wasn't an accomplished writer. But yet there was something in the title which made me buy this book, i believe. A crazy title about about a very crazy out of the box business which he started with his friend, Mal (that's what he calls his friend Rohn)

       A neatly narrated book, i should say..hilarious and informative. His anticipatory bail in the prologue about not being a good writer makes it more interesting. Save for the over usage of F- word, the book is a must read for budding Indian entrepreneurs It takes you through his struggles, fantasies and his accomplishments regarding the business. If you are worn out reading all serious stuff..grab this book...sit back..relax and laugh your fat ass out.. oops...!! Varun does leave an impact,you see.

                                                                                                      -Nisanth Thomas

Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards

                         Story is about a girl who has down's syndrome who had been given away in her birth, and about her father who tells the wife that the daughter died in infancy. Carrying this secret all his life. Shows the deepest secrets which every family has and how these secrets would finally get revealed on its own. Apart from these two factors, the whole book could be concluded in just one word "trash"!! The book is filled with irrelevant characters and unimportant incidents. Author, just for the sake of making the read more sentimental creates sad incidents which would make the reader just giggle with sarcasm not cry. Any person with sense would find the book extremely boring and scientifically incorrect.

                     One humble request to all the ladies, please avoid this book because it teaches you on how to be infidel. The Mother of the girl, Norah Henry who apparently thinks that her daughter is dead starts sleeping around with all the men who comes across her way and at the same time suspects her husband who happens to be a beloved doctor. Never knew that this is what American wives do when they find that their infant is dead. And also there is a thirteen year old boy who sneaks in his Dad's study and smokes marijuana with his friends.When his dad finds out, he just stays silent and forgives the child. Wonder what would have happened if the Dad had been an Indian..!  Strange world, indeed. Thirteen and grass and in Dad's study...?? you must be kidding me..!! Though the story is about a girl, nothing much is said about her in the novel. She is like a guest, appearing now and then, reminding the readers, " people, read on.. I am still here..somewhere". The book is a collection of poorly crafted incidents which have been intended towards nothing but increasing the volume.

                  Dear Author, bribing book reviewers and making them write its a deeply moving one is utter cheapness and a marketing technique. Your book is dead slow and will make the readers curse themselves for picking it up. Please stop writing and be in some business where you can mint a lot of money. Writing is for the illuminated souls and please do acknowledge this fact. If it had been a best seller its just because you have portrayed all the male characters as good for nothing, selfish pricks who doesn't even utter a word when they catch their wives cheating on them.. Which apparently any woman would love to read.

           My dear friend (who suggested this book to me), u hate me so much is  it ?

                                                                                                     - Nisanth Thomas

                . 

Hindu Lit For Life, 17th Feb, 2013. Harrington Road, Chennai. 


   

        The day warm and pleasant.Auto guy charged me extra for a 500 meter ride, and i reached exactly on time for Wendell Rodricks' session Green Room, about fashion industry. The session continued with the usual green room incidents, fashion weeks and hot models. His statement, " Models can easily spot a straight guy in the green room" made the audience giggle. The day continued with a few other authors talking about usual things and trying really hard to make their book a best seller. I felt it absurd. One guy literally begged the audience to buy his books. What a cheap..!!

     I listened to the rest of the boring sessions with much patience and over submissiveness just because Meena Kandaswami was sitting beside me. Hot, intelligent and a rebel. She wrote " Dear Nisanth, Read, Rebel! " in my notebook..Love "Meena".... I got to flirt too.. no i would not say flirt.. It's called "socializing in a very apt and over friendly way" with one of the saffron saree girls. Name is Mancy (guess i spelled it correctly). Student from WCC.. friendly.. lovable....and with a very cute smile. I fell for her..though it lasted only for a few moments. I remember how I sat down and wrote a few lines on a piece of paper she handed to me to hang it on the wish tree. All I wished for is unconditional love with a faint hope that she would read it.

 I got books too.. and got it autographed from the authors. Jeet Thayil's Narcopolis and Varun's "how i braved anu aunty and co-founded a million dollar company". The session on food by Rocky and Mayur was fun filled and yummy. Food quote was excellent and witty like always, "Though we came to chennai for literature fest, Murugan's Idli is what we liked the best" for which the crowd broke down into a huge applause.


   Jerry Pinto, the crazy kid who whistled and came in during a session was awarded the Prize for the best novel..Em and the Big Hoom. No comments. I got to see sexy Shriya Saran and beautiful Sharmila Tagore. The pervert in me managed to get a few good photos of Shriya. I should admit that I really tried to control that pervert only to find him uncontrollable. Nobody to blame. A few good memories and two books which  I am really looking forward to read. I took the night train, got back home and slept...next year.

                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                      -Nisanth Thomas
  

Hindu - Lit For Life, 16th Feb 2013, Harrington Road, Chennai. 


                            A mesmerizing day dedicated to literature, arts and culture which portrays the face of modern India. Lady Andal School's campus got crowded by the time the first session on the opening day kick started. Authors, actors, thinkers, journalists, literature students from various colleges of city and lastly,  myself. Registration was a beautiful event with all the lovely lady volunteers draped in saffron coloured sarees smiling at you and guiding you to the Hall. I found myself seated on a cozy sliding chair in  a centralized ac hall in sometime listening to the welcome address by Dr. Nirmala Lakshman, Opening session was captivating and thought provoking conducted by Rahul Bose and Yog Japee with an introduction by Gopalkrishna Gandhi . Letters exchanged by M.K. Gandhi and C. Rajagopalachari was read for the crowd by Rahul and Yog. Rajaji accusing Gandhi for falling in love with a woman other than his wife made the crowd go numb.It read "come back"...where Rajaji actually meant, " come away from her".  The session ended by Yog reading a final letter by Rajaji in which he laments over Gandhi's death. About 30 years of friendship and brotherhood between them were depicted in a subtle but strong manner.
                       
                        I went out for a tea and there i met them. They say your life isn't complete until and unless you meet people of your same kind, People who share your thoughts, ideas and interests. The food lover in me had never been happy until I met them. Labelled as the India's biggest food lovers, the inventors of Highway On My Plate, one soul which loves nothing but food occupied in two different bodies named  Rocky and Mayur were standing right in front of me having a grab from their sandwiches. A friendly chat about food ,of course  and finally an autograph from both of them.

                      The day continued with poetry sessions and a debate on the increase in the number of rape in India titled, No country for Women. I felt a bit irritated when Jerry Pinto said " I love my book". That shows a lot of over confidence about his own work...its upto the readers to decide about a book ....or may be I don't know...it's the book critic in me speaking. I bought a book,Varun Agarwal's..hope its a good read...its a best seller after all. But the question how many best selling books had been  really best in its content and narrative style still lingers over me.The sessions continued till 6.30...I promised myself that I would hit back home and get a good sleep..wake up early in the morning....and catch the morning train to Chetpet so that I can indulge in  the literature delicacies on the 2nd day of Lit For Life.

                                                                                                - Nisanth Thomas         

Julian Barnes and the Sense of an ending...

 Tired of all stereotypical novels ? Then its time for you all to burn all your novels and start a new life.. a new life which begins with the sense of an ending..! Though the title claims to be an ending..its not after all an ending.. the book leaves you spellbound and ignites all possible senses on your body and leaves you thinking...about your past..present and what would become of your future..? A masterpiece in 150 pages, now that's quite hard to create and that's exactly why I believe it had been awarded the MAN Booker price for the year 2011. It details the mischievousness of the childhood, the cruelty of the teenage, seriousness of the adulthood and finally the sense of guilt and redemption of the oldage. One novel which will urge you to read and re-read because it's not an ending...it's a beginning of great unrest... 

                                                                                                   -Nisanth Thomas