Anything For You Ma’am by Tushar Raheja

Indian newage fiction is still struggling to find its direction. How does an author try to appeal to a McDonald’s-eating and Nike-wearing generation which loves to speak Hinglish and quote popular movies? First-time author Tushar Raheja reached out to this audience with his first novel ‘Anything For You Ma’am: an IITian’s love story’. Based on his life and friends, the graduate in Industrial Engineering follows the typical boy-meets-girl storyline with mixed results.

Tejas, the protagonist is your typical good-at-heart student who has a love for Wodehouse, music and his family. Enter Shreya, his little sister’s friend, who walks into his life and away with his heart. A good-hearted simple girl, Shreya is, according to Tejas, beautiful inside and out, a seemingly perfect mix of traditional and modern.

They are made for each other with only one big factor coming between them: distance. He lives in Delhi, she in Chennai. As love blossoms, Shreya’s trip to Chennai is interrupted by her family’s discovery of their relationship. What ensues is a narrative of Tejas’ efforts to meet her despite an IIT Industrial Tour, professorial interruptions and various obstacles thrown in the way.

The major character blocking an otherwise clear path is Professor PP Sidhu , whose insistence on Tejas’ attendance at the Tour results in a clever attempt by the hero and his protégés to get him to Chennai- by hook or crook.

The story telling, through the protagonist’s eyes,  has an easy and comfortable feel, with frequent flashbacks to the good times Tejas had with Shreya. The settings are very Bollywood, romantic candle night dinners and late night phone calls and though these portions are enjoyable, the various clichés of love emerge to be a little tiresome. Shreya spends a lot of the book being a worried, tearful girlfriend, constantly reassured by Tejas that he will be there for her, no matter what.

Raheja frequently employs the use of what he calls ‘fate’ which however bears too much of the element of coincidence. Running into Professor Sidhu and Shreya’s brother on his train journey to Chennai adds unreality to what was until then a very believable tale.

The author gives much credit to Wodehouse for influencing his writing style, but his use of the older English terms don’t really fit into the Indian scene. The tagline ‘an IITian’s Love Story’ seems to be cashing on the fascination of IIT novels since Chetan Bhagat’s Five Point Someone, since the great institution has almost nothing to do with the storyline.

For a first time novelist, however, Raheja’s effort is a good one. The protagonist has a quirky sense of humour and a few good one-liners. ‘Life is not a bed roses, someone has wisely said, but it wasn’t supposed to be a bed wholly constructed of thorns either’, he quips.

The description of the final scene is beautiful and leaves the reader with an immense sense of satisfaction. What is touching, is Tejas’ frankness of emotions for Shreya, his initial insecurities before he proposes and his image as a romantic teenager that brings out the same in the readers.

If a Bollywood masala crowd pleaser was written as a book, ‘Anything for You Ma’am’, would be an ideal fit.

‘The Classic Popular Amar Chitra Katha, 1967-2007′ by Nandini Chandra

Nandini Chandra teaches English at Hansraj College, Delhi University. Currently she is a visiting assistant professor at the Asian Languages and Literature Department, University of Minnesota. The book ‘The Classic Popular Amar Chitra Katha, 1967-2007′, according to her, grew out of her M.Phil dissertation and many conversations that sprung around her research of 12 years.

The book, as the title suggests, examines the dynamics of ACK (Amar Chita Katha) management in the constantly changing Indian society after Independence and, the effectiveness of the comic series as an ideological apparatus for its audience. The book is published by Yoda Press and it draws several nostalgic images from the volumes of ACK comics. It tries to dismantle the propagandist aspect of the various ACK titles as it shows that the comic books were having a hidden agenda towards the propagation of Hindu communalism. The author has thrown light on the ancient structure of the Indian society which, was not very conducive to the ‘dalits’ and the women folk and, how the ACK series have inadvertently justified the practices and also nullified their stands at the same time, in their strategy to survive in the market and not to upset any section of their audience. However, according to the author, the whole process of issues being raked, justified and again neutralised has a subliminal impact on the minds of children who are quite impressionable.

The book also throws light on the anti-Muslim, anti-Communist and pro-Brahministic ideologies that were apparently followed by the series along with the anti-dalit and anti-feminist ideologies. The propagation ofVaishnavism as an overarching philosophy which, was capable to absorb all the hostility unto itself and, the portrayal of Shaivism in an antagonistic light is also discussed in an interesting way given Anant Pai’s (the founder of ACK series) inalienable connection with the Vaishnav philosophy.

Various other issues related to the ACK, such as; epidermal politics, anachronistic aspect of its historiography, its South-Western bias, the fact of positivistic history writing by reading science into the past, link with the RSS, the artworks by various artists who drew ACK, its marketing strategies and the support it got from the NRHIs( non-resident Hindu Indians), its feudal capitalist approach, glorification of ‘sati’, acceptance of polygamy and, its attempt to establish a distance between the  barbaric past and progressive present, has been analysed in an elaborate way.

The book is published when the ACK is on the verge of experiencing a new lease of life with its foray into other newmedia else than print. The comics are evolving as a new cult biz in the modern India where the market for it’s still nascent. ACK for all those who grew on it in the decades of ’70s and ’80s was an important part of life as it replaced the story telling grandparents of the joint family households because, at that time, the rising middle class was speedily moving towards the nuclear family system. This sort of rigorous analysis is only the outcome of the author’s nostalgia that could have got evoked several times when the comics struggled through the tough years and also aroused sentiments amongst those who loved it. The book draws our attention to the potentiality of the ACK, as a way of telling modern history and, also to the way in which a middle class negotiates with the popular culture to suit its ideological moorings.

The book has a lot more to explore as it explains Uncle Pai’s pedagogy, his idea of nationalism and the educative potential of the ACK series. It has entrancing illustrations which depicts the graphic adaptation of Hindi cinematic actions and thrills.

As a whole, the book appears to be a cleverly argued monograph and provocative to a wide range of audience. It’s a must read in order to understand the contemporary culture and politics prevalent in Indian society. It can be recommended to the adolescents and avid readers of Amar Chitra Katha as it can help them to differentiate between propaganda and the truth. The scholarly book is also irresistible for those who have grown up on volumes of ACK series.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is one of my all time favorite books. Whenever I feel a dearth of inspiration, I immediately head to my book shelf and grab a copy of this brilliant book.  It instantly wakes up the dreamer in me and rekindles the spark of inspiration which we often tend to lose while going through our lives. Having sold over 35 million copies worldwide and been translated into 67 languages this book still continues to have life-transforming impact on its readers. The book even won the Guinness world record for being the most translated book in the world.  Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author who worked as a journalist, theatre director, actor and songwriter before pursuing a full-time writing career. In the year 1986 Coelho wrote his first book The Pilgrimage based on his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. The following year he published The Alchemist. What inspired him to write this book? “The Alchemist is the metaphor of my own life. I always had this dream of becoming a writer. But started writing only at the age of 40. I came up with The Alchemist while I was trying to understand what took me so long to pursue my dreams” said Coelho when asked about his source of inspiration during an interview with CNN. In total the author has published around 26 books.

The story unfolds the life of a shepherd boy named Santiago who is residing in Spain. Santiago lives a carefree life wandering around the countryside of Andalusia accompanied by his friends, the herd of sheep he owns. Though he is happy with his life, he yearns to pursue his recurring dream of finding hidden treasure in the pyramids of Egypt. He tries to ignore his dream like most of the people in his world until one day he meets the king of Salem. The king tells him that he should believe in his dreams and that it’s his purpose in life. Encouraged by the king, Santiago decides to follow his heart and sets out on the journey in search of the treasure. He travels from Spain to Africa finally reaching his destination, the pyramids of Egypt. The journey is not an easy one. He is constantly subjected to tests of courage and patience. But he also learns and discovers a lot about himself and the world around him during this journey. He meets different kinds of people – an Arab merchant, the Englishman and the desert girl named Fatima whom he falls in love with. Each person knowingly or unknowingly leading him closer to his dreams. The author says “When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true”. What makes it an amazing novel is that we can all easily relate to the life of Santiago. Haven’t we all experienced this strange phenomenon at some point of our lives? When we pursued something we really wanted with faith and persistence. We noticed everything falling in place, people sometimes even strangers appeared out of the blue offering us help to obtain the thing we desired.

The language is beautifully poetic yet simple to read. The book contains nuggets of wisdom in the form of profound and easy to relate passages that coerce you to contemplate over your life. For example in the instance where the crystal-seller tells Santiago: “I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream” We can easily relate to this man who has sacrificed his happiness for the fear of failure thereby leading an empty life full of regrets. It just makes you think – “Haven’t I met someone like the crystal- seller in my life too? Am I also living my life like him?”

The message the author has conveyed is that everyone deserves an extraordinary life. And the only way we can have a fulfilling and joyous life is by pursuing our dreams. Most of us, out of conformity and fear of failure settle for a mediocre life following the herd instead of following our heart. But by doing that we are just existing and not truly living. We should have courage to take the risks involved and persist through the obstacles we meet on the path leading to our dreams. If we do that, nothing can stop us from realizing our dreams. And while going a tough phase one must remember that there is a higher power always guiding and supporting us in our journey.

The Alchemist is a must read for all those who love reading inspiration novels or any novel for that matter. If you are a dreamer who believes in the beauty of dreams, this book will show you that it is possible to achieve your seemingly impossible and outlandish dreams. It would give you the leap of faith required to dive right into the river of your dreams.