DAY SCH0LAR (LIKE U & ME).. :P

Siddharth Ch0wdhury, the new writer on the block, perhaps not so new, as his debut was in 2002, is worth watching 0ut f0r, especially for us Patnaite. J He hails fr0m Patna, from Kankarbagh, to be m0re precise, an alumnus of Brilliant Tut0rials :P, a lit grad from DU and.. well, a story writer!! The narrative runs from Patna through Delhi. It tells the st0ry of a n0n serious, non ambitious lad 0f 17 who passes through the different phases of his life, with0ut so much giving a th0ught to what is happening. He has a Literature Pr0fessor for his father who does n0t have any high h0pes for his son (and rightly so :P), and believes he will get through life, all right. After waddling through St. Xaviers and Commerce College, our protagonist, Hriday Thakur, unexpectedly lands up in Zakir Hussain College. Living in Delhi in a hostel owned by a criminal (who is also a political broker and property dealer ) with small time gundas and crooks, the protagonists’ life give us the ‘real’ look of the ‘real’ world from the inside. Something we can’t truly find in newspapers and journals and something most of us blissfully remain ignorant of, throughout our lives. It’s the reality of Aravind Adiga packed with the pulp of Chetan Bhagat which makes this b0ok worth being shortlisted for the coveted Man Asian Literary Prize.

A sort of Reality Check for the blissful ignorant, this is one those into-your-face reality bo0ks which I and most of us faux-adult absolutely ad0re!! It grips your attention, entertains you and gives you the, much sought for experience of the real (so obviously hard) facts of life, which our parents often tell us comes with grey hairs!

An added USP if y0u too are planning to move out for higher studies!

The standard form of the grammatically language has been used by Chawdhury. The diction is specific with added Hindi (non italicised) words like ‘pairvi’, which along with typical Patna conversations like,

“Kaise hain, boss?

Theek hain , boss?

Padhai-vadhai?

Chal raha hai, boss”

Lend the colours of reality.

Wit, humour and symbolism form a part of the total structure.. all in all, the novel is 0ne go0d piece. So spread your favourite reading mat, and take the trip J :P

P.S : Try finding 0ther titles of SiCh, esp. “Patna R0ughcut” . J

F.A

Them 13 h0urs.. <3

Thirteen h0urs.. is how l0ng I sat in a fucking fat grey B0lero as we sped past the glazed highway in the valley of Nepal. I w0uld have screamed, my sister would have cried and my brothers would have v0mited, had there been n0 Himalayas to inspire awe and w0nder into 0ur hearts. With our st0povers at the B0rder check post (the check post has its 0wn special kind of feeling, it reminds y0u of y0ur identity, and once you enter the new territory y0u begin to feel like an alien, vulnerable and intimidated, making y0u,as a side effect, feel that patriotic swell in the heart) and a thousand ‘other’ check posts, all collecting m0ney, (btw pay in Nepali currency, even as they may ask for INC, as its cheaper) we got the first glimpse of that majestic sight.. The Great (with all its connotations) Himalayas. Imposing yet breathtakingly beautiful, it appeared as though rising at the far end of the road, seemingly blocking the way but moving farther as we approached nearer, at last mingling with the road as we were riding through it. The Himalaya as a hurdle reminded me of the hurdles in 0ur lives. It appears so difficult that we are scared of it and yet it’s beautiful because life would have been nothing if not for them hurdles. We m0ve closer to these hurdles with a tinge of excitement, and as we shift our attention towards securing a solution, we ride through the hurdle itself.. at last emerging through it as m0re experienced and better balanced.

Yes, the Himalayan experience is one of the most cherished experiences of my life.

So, we move deeper into the mountain jungle, which with its lush green f0rests with Warnings such as “Home to the elephants and tigers : D0n0t blow horns” reminded us that we were actually crossing through the midst of a forest! Its true that we are created by the One Same Almighty, as the nature 0nce again makes us feel at h0me.

The beauty 0f the Himalayas cann0t be put into w0rds.. so as the Himalaya captured a part of my s0ul, I captured its beauty with my camcorder..



THE HIMALAYAS



As we sat in the arms of Mother Nature enj0ying 0ur food.. (although, due to the excitement, I couldn’t take in one bite of it. I have been to the mountains many a times but every time I feel as if it’s the first time, the n0velty and the excitement is always the same, if not m0re. :P) we c0uld see the nature at its best.. mountains, river, falls, f0rest.. and the mountain men J

Yes, the best part was perhaps meeting those wonderful Gorkha- the natives. The three little kids we met, as they were returning after their day’s work, collecting pieces of wood and stones, were very shy. The small boy ran away but the two little girls assented to getting their photographs clicked with us, that however took a lot of persuasion on the part of the local officer and our guide who spoke in their dialect of Nepali. They had only one apprehension.. that they were not looking good, despite their kohl and mascara lined eyes and clean clothes :O :P . That totally beat me, as I was not wearing any makeup and my clothes were already dirty on account of my trying to climb a mountain like the mountain men =)))



THE PHOTOGRAPH :P



As we traced our journey back home, I slid down the tinted glasses not wanting to miss the beautiful sight, even as cold waves sent chill down our spines. While my family slept on the moving Bolero, I devoured the sight with wide eyes. And saw plastic water bottles and packets of chips and 0ther edibles lining the road .. it absolutely broke my heart to observe the irresponsibility of the people, I wanted to get down and collect those to take them back to their right place, but 0bviousy, the Bolero had to keep moving if we wanted to reach h0me in time.. and so we moved, turning 0ur backs to the forest and  nature.

 But, h0pefully when I g0 thr again(>-o]) I will do the right thing. J

.. and also bring back my part of soul that I left there .. J :P