Book Review: TALE SPIN

Is the next spin only a page away? 

I did not think much when I laid my hands on this book - Tale Spin - a collection of 14 short stories by Sanjay Chopra, published by Harper Collins. Priced at Rs 299 and available at the Strand Book Festival, Bangalore at a whooping 60% discount, there was no room for second thought. 

My one year old son keeps me busy to the extent that hitting the blog/web space or reading a sizable book is next to impossible. Therefore, short stories give me the right option, a story a day at bed time after my baby goes to sleep, no worries of forgetting characters after a prolonged and significant disconnect from the book. 

Without further ado, let me hit at what Tale Spin provides. The short stories are crisp, simple in prose; most importantly, they provide an interesting, proportionate mixture of fact and fiction. The prelude to the book specifies that many stories have won accolades and to me 7 out of 14 tales are clear winners. 

Turache?, the first story in the collection mixes history and fantasy in an excellent fashion and provides a great start for the book. A neat figment of imagination, it deals with an encounter between King Darius III and Alexander taking us back to the Battle of Gaugamela, 331 BC. The throttle for the tale spin intensifies with the next tale - A Fate Worse Than, different periods in history - times of Timur rule and Hitler's attack on Russia are woven in an impeccable narrative. Sanjay Chopra once again conjures the past and present in a magical manner in his next tale - Men of the Horse. Odysseus, Troy and Trojan Horse together churn a gripping account. 

A small slack is felt in Awake, a story set in Magadha in 500 BC, during the reign of Ajatashatru. Nonetheless, the author quickly picks up lost momentum in Project Ha Ha. With this tale, the author proves his mettle lies in mixing true accounts of history with fiction/present day events and the transition in time is completely seamless. The German and English air crafts bombard in high skies to provide some intriguing stuff in this story. 

Putra, The Last Gurkha and God's Hand do not offer that brilliant a read as its predecessors. It appears that the author was tired of speeding all along and decided to go a little easy for some time. He tries to rivet the reader's lost interest in the next few tales - Bata Shoes, The Contractor, A Sound Idea. 

Bata Shoes  provides an interesting account of Indo-Pak war from an angle never viewed before.
The Contractor is passable, seems the author wobbled for a second when he tried to gain some lost momentum. The author nails a clean victory in A Sound Idea which is total thriller.

Betrayal unravels dirty dark secrets of twin sisters but miserably fails to impress, it is a sheer spoiler. Twenty20 brings back some lost smile on the reader's face, its protagonists hack into the most secure main frames and super computers and also place the author stealthily on a strong foothold for his next tale spin. The Day Tina was Born is an emotional power pack, well executed and sure to leave even the most hard hearted soul teary eyed. However, genre wise it is a misfit in this collection.

Overall, seven strong favorites make me pronounce Sanjay Chopra's Tale Spin a good read. The author's interest in history is highly admirable and his definitive style of mixing fact and fiction is laudable. 

The back cover of the book mentions the author ensures that the next spin is only a page away. Some tales stand tall by this claim but some do not - a MIXED BAG! 

Train to Pakistan: Book Review

Train to Pakistan details a story that dates back to the summer of 1947. Published for the first time in 1956, this book holds a place of prominence till date. That it features quite noticeably in most bookstores' shelves even today speaks volumes of its relevance and notable ability to cross decades in time.

The story revolves around incidents in a tiny, fictitious village - Mano Majra,  in Punjab, on the border of India and Pakistan. This 190 page book (Penguin publications) is divided into four broad sections.

The first  section describes the village Mano Majra and activities of its residents only paint it as an insipid speck in the vast subcontinent. The village is marked by only three brick buildings - a gurudwara, a mosque and a moneylender's house, a peepul tree right at its centre, adjoining sprawling fields, flat roofed mud huts, low walled court yards and narrow lanes. The author highlights the importance of  railway station in Mano Majra, how its residents, an almost equal number of Muslims and Sikhs, chalk out their daily chores in sync with two passenger trains, one from Delhi to Lahore in the morning; another from Lahore to Delhi in the evening.

The central nerve of the story is the village gangster, Juggut Singh's love for a Muslim girl, Nooran. Other important characters include Bhai Meet Singh who preaches at Gurudwara, Imam Baksh, Hukum Chand who is the district deputy commissioner and Iqbal, the educated, social worker who lands up at a wrong place at a wrong time. Post independence tumultuous times coupled with the death of a money lender - Ram Lal, the only Hindu resident in Mano Majra, catapults the village into wild, gripping action.

Sections two and three portray TRAIN as the chief and central character. The author paints grim pictures of massive killings during partition. He describes ghost trains choked with dead bodies, Sutlej river brimming with dead and running red; how both sides nonchalantly killed, raped, shot and speared, how institutions meant to maintain law and order watched mutely, took very few, impulsive but wrong actions only to create a farce. These sections weigh upon the reader.

It is however, the last ten pages of the book that deliver the real, hard hitting stuff. When Iqbal contemplates in the last section of the book - India is constipated with a lot of humbug, be it religion, art and music, one cannot refrain from accepting his thoughts. Higher is the acceptance when the author weaves in Tryst with Destiny into the plot. Long ago, we made a tryst with destiny, now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, said the Prime Minister of a free nation in front of dignified visitors seated in galleries, rapt in admiration; how beautiful, elite and poetic it sounds. However, the common man had a completely different tryst on the roads across the border narrates the author. The author clearly differentiates the literate, statesman lot who preach and make policies but fail miserably when it comes to actions from the illiterate, not so well informed lot which believes in delivering only by actions and trusts in presence of mind more than logic and researched literature.

Even if you remarked that the book offers no exceptional stuff and wondered why or what earned it its place, you go completely wrong as the author nails it in the climax, a heart wrenching one it is, one that has secured the eminence of this piece of Indian literature through years.

Up On Cloud Number Nine

Here I Am, __ __ __ _ _____ !!!

I am sure some of you reading this blog post would have filled in those blanks with "rock you like a Hurricane" , taking cues from the song by Scorpions :)  But those blanks only indicate my long absence from the blogosphere; I went blank in a much bigger way while composing this post, got a little out of touch now. 

I am now a mother of a baby boy, we named him Kashyap and he was born in Bangalore on Aug 26, 2012. The new role as a mommy is keeping me far from phone, newspapers and world wide web; therefore my blog too has been lying in abeyance for some months now.

On the front of managing baby affairs, I have just begun to get a grasp of it all. After three months of hands on training, I am still learning to become nocturnal and virtually shift my time zone from IST to USA's EST.

I gave this post the title "Up on Cloud Number Nine" for two reasons -

1) My baby was born in Cloud Nine Hospital, Old Airport Road, Bangalore; every time I visited my doctor here, this line from one of my favorite Bryan Adams' song used to hit my head. 

2) Also, I intend to write about my doctor - gynecologist and obstetrician in this post, she has a huge share in my elation, "the cloud nine feeling" of becoming a mother. 

Dr.Praveena Shenoi MBBS, MD (OBG), DGO, MRCOG(LONDON) is my doctor. I came to know of her from few of my office colleagues; and personally, have known her since June 2011. 

A search on the Internet for good gynecologists in Bangalore brought me to her again and again; she had an impressive set of "clearly positive" remarks. There were even two blog posts that thanked her immensely. So here comes my turn to chip in some good words about her so that people looking for similar information can benefit and turn to her confidently for medical guidance.

The best thing I like about my doctor is that she follows some very simple principles like - let nature play its part; human body and its systems naturally adapt and react; prevention is better than cure - these clearly govern her methods of treatment and work wonderfully for you. Surgical means of intervention come as last resort and she turns to them only when absolutely essential. 

Since conception, I was advised to avoid eating outside food (strictly) and I followed her meekly. Pregnancy is definitely a period where unnecessary medication must be avoided at all costs. Also, my 8 weeks Oral Glucose Challenge test showed me little inclined to gestational diabetes, therefore I was advised to go off high glycemic foods like maida, potato and consume less rice. Dr. Praveena Shenoi really knows how to get her words across, there is a lasting smile on her face but important instructions are nailed in crisply and curtly, with no lenience in tone. 

For those of you who complain she spends little time answering queries from the first few consultations; just hang on! As time progresses, rapport with her builds up and she spends more time with you during consultations. You can rest assured that post delivery she will remember you and your baby for her lifetime. 

With a huge base of patients, when you see her scurrying between consultation rooms; to and from operation theater and labor wards, her abundant energy trickles down to you too and helps you sail through a weary first trimester. She infuses high energy levels and confidence with every visit during the entire course of pregnancy. Even now, when I wake up through the night attending to my baby, I think of how she attends to her patients round the clock, anytime she is summoned; yet makes it to her routine consultation hours in mornings and derive inspiration from it. 

My 37 week ultra sound scan revealed my baby's weight was above average for Indian standards. With absolutely no cervix effacement and dilation until 39 weeks, my doctor showed no hurry in inducing labor or pushing me to a C-section. I had concerns if I would be able to deliver a 3.3+ kg baby naturally but she only put my anxiety to rest by saying labor is the best judge and things will take a natural course. And true, I delivered my 3.69 kg bundle of joy naturally with her by my side at 39+3 weeks. 

In this world that is hard pressed for time, I feel she could have always wrapped up her work in 15-20 minutes performing a C-section. I am not denouncing C-section means of delivery but I strongly feel a person should be given a fair chance and sufficient time to deliver normally if medical parameters suit the case. And to find a doctor who genuinely believes in this and implements it seriously, I believe, is sheer fortune. 

She is reachable on her mobile for queries and concerns outside appointments, one can leave SMS s to her mobile number and she will respond to them. 

When I first consulted her, she handled out patient cases at her clinic - Perinatal clinic, Domlur and at Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road. Eventually, through the year 2012, she shifted her base completely to Cloud Nine Hospital, Old Airport Road. To me, consulting Dr.Praveena Shenoi alone mattered, I knew I was in safe hands and the hospital set up did not quite matter. 

About the hospital, Cloud Nine is definitely heavy on wallet, call it more appropriately a boutique birthing center. However, with support from medical insurance, one does not get much room to complain. The support I received from nursing staff during my stay in the hospital was stupendous; I am highly grateful to all of them. The labor wards were clean and maintained well. There are visits by lactation and diet experts, visits by doctors for the baby and you that keep you alert all the while during 2 nights and 3 days stay at the hospital. It is this limited duration of stay at hospital that puts parents/elders to question if the establishment is a hospital or a resort. I personally feel that one gets bombarded with too many details in this small duration at the hospital, may be little extra time will help. However, an extension in stay is recommended only if doctors observe something abnormal. 

To end with, it might seem an ordeal to manage an appointment to meet Dr. Praveena Shenoi, waiting time for consultations may make you groan and complain. However, that little extra effort and time you give for your visits pays well in the end without doubt. 

Culinary Grand Slam: Master Chef Australia

Much like the grand slam tournaments for tennis in a calendar year, the culinary majors/grand slams for this calendar year have begun with the show Master Chef Australia. The show, Master Chef Australia, is aired from Monday to Friday, 9 -10 pm IST on Star World channel and this year's season has gotten off to a brilliant start. The top 24 contestants form a highly capable lot and they churn out wonders in entree, main course and dessert categories, day after day. Three eliminations - that of Kevin, Lydia and Matt occurred over last three weeks. After Master Chef Australia, Master Chef USA and our own - Master Chef India awaits eager audience. 

Master Chef Australia has the same familiar, friendly trio for its judges - Matt Preston, Gary and George. All of them are extremely supportive, appreciative of sincere efforts and never too critical. However, my favorite  is Matt, an internationally acclaimed food critic,most balanced and impartial in delivering judgement, he forms a crisp opinion with relevant, grounded reasons and possesses taste buds that are sensitive to wide variety of tastes and cuisines. Gary has a terrible weakness for anything sweet - pies with apples and berries, lemon cheese cakes, deconstructed tarts, burnt meringue, ganache, anglaise, granita-  all have him sinking down on his knees and he gets tilted in favor of contestants who seek pride in dessert making. Matt Moran is another judge, more a mentor, who helps contestants during immunity challenges without airs. 

I began watching Master chef Australia intently from the last season. Various techniques contestants use for cutting, cooking and plating are impressive. Recipes for baked dishes and desserts appeal to me largely. This year has already offered many interesting episodes - reinventing a basic sandwich, identifying/making different pastas and preparing a magical 8-textured mousse cake. Team challenges, too,  have been equally exciting. 

My favorites in the show are Audra, Mindy, Amina, Ben and Andy. I pray they go a long way and remain till the end. The ladies are all exceptional in producing clean; lip smacking flavors and innovate with ease. Ben works with extreme patience and precision in the kitchen; qualities that his job as a teacher too demands. Andy is terribly calm and composed, well organised and these qualities along with his poise and confidence impress audience just as much as his cooking skills.

Dalvinder, with Indian roots (advertisements of Master Chef Australia aired in India project her as a representative/ambassador of the nation, much like an athlete representing the nation in Olympics event), Kylie, Alice, Tregan (three of them form a cheerful, happy go lucky gang), Emma (the soft and kind hearted cry baby), Filippo (an expert at bread baking and wood fire oven baked pizzas), TK, Beau, Andrew, Julia (dessert queen) form the next rung of my personal favorites on the show. 

Debra, the oldest contestant on the show has always won accolades from all judges for her expertise in cooking and producing clean, impeccable flavors. To me, she fell from her promising position, only seemed a typical oldie, always ready to complain/incriminate younger folks around for failure after the Yum Cha team challenge at the Chinese Garden of Friendship, Sydney. Now I would love to bid her bye ASAP.

There are many more action packed episodes - a multitude of masterclasses, immunity/team/elimination challenges lined up before an immensely talented one wins the title and trophy of culinary excellence. 
And , definitely there will be tears and emotions, much like Roger Federer.

Some Dumbo Kids with Over ambitious Fathers

There are awards for best actors/actresses, awards for sports persons and their teachers. Recognition is meted out in field of arts, literature, press, journalism, photography, environment protection (despite calamitous damage done to it by humans), try naming any field and a bag full of awards, trophies and medallions bestow honor and appreciation.

Parenting too, is an art and this seems to be a department where I have not heard of awards or accolades. There are days or occasions celebrated across the world to mark its importance like Father's day and Mother's day but no particular trophy is given out to a chosen few.

If there was an award for the most doting, caring, supremely dedicated father (in India, keeping focus on some star kids) it would go to Amitabh Bachchan, undoubtedly.

With a dumbo - Abhishek Bachchan, for a son, Big B's efforts as a father to shape his son's career, future as an actor, to elevate him to a larger than life image have been relentless. From Bunty Aur Babli to the recent take - Bol Bachchan, the father has shouldered all responsibilities in an unimaginably excessive fashion leaving no stone unturned. In a ripe old age, he sings, dances, emotes, shouts, delivers crisp dialogues in his baritone voice and pulls along Baby B to stardom. Be it interviews or KBC shows or personally upclose moments, as a father he constantly swears by his son, stands by his son and is an immovable Rock of Gibraltar to him. The son, though now a father himself, no doubt, loves the cozy, warm zone of protection , has not shown enough mettle to prove his capabilities. In fact, the million dollar question is if he is capable at all? Or toning down the quotient of sarcasm, is he fit/suited for the field of cinema? Barring the movie Guru, where Mani Ratnam fiercely extracted some expressions from this rock faced star child, Abhishek has proved disastrous in all his other movies in all departments. When he dances, he makes only Tapori like/Dappan koothu moves, biting and rolling his tongue, making dodo like expressions on his already awkwardly shaped face. However, the father still believes his son who turned to stone in one of his earlier births by a stare from Medusa, will turn victorious some day.

Though Big B and Aby baby make the most outstanding example of best dumbo son, over ambitious father combination the world can ever witness, there are other examples from the film industry itself. Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor (recent histrionics in IIFA awards) is an example that hits my head directly; the son is not a failure in all departments but looks a complete dodo and definitely delivers incomprehensible dialogues. When Ranbir sings "Jo bhi mein kehna chaahoon, barbaad kare, alfaaz mere" in Rockstar movie, you cannot refrain from nodding in appeal.  

Moving from these examples and changing domain from films to sports, recent newspaper and TV reports have made me conclude that though the kid is not a dumbo here and the father has not done anything overtly to push the kid into limelight, this nosy father and an arrogant kid combination has wreaked havoc to true sportsmanship spirit. Leander Paes and Vece Paes form this unexpected example. The father features in all press reports like a spokesperson, brokers deals and bargains, asks for written assurance from Sania Mirza that she will partner with her son in mixed doubles format on the pretext of which he claims his son will play along with Vishnu Vardhan in men's doubles format at London Olympics (2012), all of this has gone awfully irksome and weird. Leander too,  throwing his weight around, quoted preposterously - " The only one I need to worry about is Vishnu, the poor boy is 307 in the world and I don't even know if he has grass court shoes. So it is like a bit of tough one." Such a gibe from an Olympic Bronze medalist, Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, winner of men's and mixed doubles in 1999 Wimbledon is a real shocker.

Personal frustration, ego, superiority complex and professional vendetta have ripped Leander off true sportsmanship and his father, an ace hockey player himself, has forgotten to drive lessons to get his son grounded. Paes will need to pick cues from other sports figures in India - Tendulkar and Vishwanathan Anand for instance, who are GODS in their respective games; yet haven't roped in their families/fathers to speak on their behalf, their likes and dislikes. 

True, we all admit - Like Father, Like Son; a son always looks up to his father for emulation. However, it is true that each one of us has a distinct talent, an area of super specialization which can quite be different from that of the father. Leander took this lesson to his head and chose tennis, not hockey; but few lessons of humility went starkly amiss and his over ambitious father failed to reinstate them.