There are stars and there are superstars. Salman Khan may have a fan refusing to leave the sets till she gets a hug, Shah Rukh Khan's fan clubs extend from India to US and Germany and Aamir Khan commands a faithful fan following on his blog, but there's something missing.
They don't make them like they used to anymore. Don't agree? Try a snap poll: What would you rather know? Whether Amitabh and Rekha actually had an affair or the reason why Kareena Kapoor split with ex-boyfriend Shahid Kapur? Not much choice, is there?
Stars earlier thrived on a sense of mystique, while today's stars wilt if they're not in the spotlight. From television commercials to reality television and Twitter, they're everywhere. Recalls actress Saira Bano, "We worked on building a sense of mystery, now there's too much accessibility. I personally tire of seeing the stars on commercials. So much so that when a new film releases, one feels like watching it on TV instead - it's like another commercial."
She adds, "Dilip saab and I never did a commercial. The only appearances we made were for charities. We were shocked when they offered us money. Today, stars dance at weddings and love to flaunt themselves."
Author and economist Lord Meghnad Desai agrees that "the temptation of making a fast buck is too great for this generation. It will have to trade money for lasting fame." Desai, who wrote the book Nehru's Hero: Dilip Kumar in the Life of India, believes the legendary actor "managed to reach beyond cinema as a role model."
Today's stars also exist in fiercely competitive times. Desai points out, "They have rivals in the cricketers who are also iconic and compete in TV commercials with them." Filmmaker Subhash Ghai adds, "Most of us admire a star more for his material success than his growth as an actor. My loyalty, too, is not as strong as my father's loyalty for Dilip Kumar, Ashok Kumar or Raj Kapoor used to be."
Film critic Monojit Lahiri remembers a young Amitabh Bachchan, freshly signed on for Anand, talking about how people wanted to shake hands with him since he had shook hands with then reigning superstar Rajesh Khanna, his co-star in the film. He says, "Post-Aradhana, girls married themselves to photographs of Rajesh Khanna, cutting their fingers and applying the blood as sindoor. Rajesh was God, there has never been such hysteria."
He adds, "Earlier, films ran for months, there were fewer films being made and stardom had sanctity. Today, it's assembly line. Heroes are eminently dispensable and interchangeable." While earlier stars were demi-gods, ruling over the box-office for 20-30 years, now they are part of popular culture. And as actor Anupam Kher says, "Earlier, we patronised one brand of soap, one toothpaste... now, we can choose from 50." Lahiri adds, "Nobody is obliged to love you for life. Jo dikhta hai, woh bikta hai."
Stars, earlier, also had a distinctive style, with Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor rarely stepping into each other's territory. Recalls Shammi Kapoor, "Raj Kapoor would never take a role meant for Dilip Kumar and vice versa. Today, a role can be played by any saleable actor."
He adds, "There was a mystery. Now, everything's out in the open." Stars also do well when they stick to films. Says filmmaker Pritish Nandy, "Any movie star who joined politics always lost his stardom promptly. Luckily, Amitabh retreated from politics. But Rajesh Khanna still lusts after politics and politics simply will not have him. So he ends up as a sad, lonely caricature of the huge star he once was."
Dev Anand describes the phenomenon in his autobiography Romancing With Life, "It all happens in the dark. In cinema halls, there is a strange, inexplicable chemistry... That sudden, spontaneous, magical reaction to a face or a personality... People fall for it. They love it, they would pay any price to be close to it, to touch it, to feel it, to scream, yell and whistle at it, as if they have all of a sudden found their long-lost beloved. An actor who can have this maddening effect on the audience is a true star."
And, while overexposure may have diluted star value, stars still enjoy a sway over public imagination, to make one weak in the knees as one pounces for juicy tidbits about their private lives! http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-&-interviews/Era-of-superstars-is-over/articleshow/5054843.cms
Two leading ladies of the vegan movement exhort us to value life, not destroy it!
Actress and animal rights activist Amala makes her own vegan desserts and believes in beauty without cruelty
I turned vegan one-and-a-half years ago. It was during an inspection of slaughterhouses that I realised how animals were treated. Cows that should ideally live to 18 years are killed as they turn six, due to constant breeding and milking. Male cows are killed for veal.
The first week that I gave up milk, I realised I had been lactose intolerant without really knowing it. Like a lot of people, I had always felt uncomfortable without really knowing why. Initially, switching to soya milk had its own problems as very soon, I developed an allergy to it. Soya is fine as a bean. Now, I don't really use food substitutes so much as i think differently.
If I need milk with my breakfast porridge, I soak five to six almonds overnight and blend it for instant milk. This is also great for adrak ki chai. I avoid tea, though, for the tannin content. For desserts, I make my own. I chop bananas and freeze them for 48 hours, which changes the texture completely, and then I blend it with coconut milk and sprinkle nuts. I use figs and raisins for natural sugar. I learnt some of this at a homeopathy workshop that I attended.
My husband Nagarjuna and sons are non-vegetarian, and I don't impose my food choices on them. My husband tells me, however, that he feels inspired and will turn vegan one day, though he's not ready yet. I lead by example!
From telling me not to turn vegan - because I was being 'over-sensitive' or would suffer from lack of calcium -people have turned to appreciating what I eat. I often carry my own food wherever I go, but sometimes, friends make something specially vegan if they know I'm coming over. When I eat out, I like to take the chef into confidence and explain what I would eat, so that the next vegan who comes along will have an easier time. Eating out can be tough, especially Indian cuisine, which is rich in ghee, like dal makhni or naan.
As for calcium, I get more from sesame seeds than I would from milk. I also take a course in B12 vitamins for a month every year.
Veganism is a lifestyle choice, and I am vegetarian in my choice of clothes (I wear artificial 'sai' silk), shoes and make-up too. It's beauty without cruelty, all the way!
Make a difference, be vegan, says politician and activist Maneka Gandhi
Being vegan is not as much a food choice as a belief system. When you value life, you do not destroy it. I choose not to be part of any system that's based on violence, greed and exploitation. Just as I would not wear a bag made of a baby's skin or a coat of its hair, I would not use one made of a lamb or a calf or any other creature. Wouldn't that seem the natural choice of any reasonable person?
There is nothing difficult or different about being vegan. Indian food is essentially vegan. Our sabzis, rotis, dals, pickles, papads, salads are all free of animal ingredients. Drinking milk is not only unnecessary, it's unnatural. As with all animals, mother's milk is intended as a complete food for babies only until they sprout teeth. After that, milk cannot be digested as your body stops producing lactase, the enzyme needed to digest lactose.
Also, 17 per cent of the world's methane is produced by cows, who are forcibly bred to keep them lactating. This besides, milk production is immensely cruel with calves being killed so we can have their mothers' milk.
As for food substitutes, you don't substitute poison with anything. I eat and enjoy all kinds of food. All I'm giving up is cholesterol (no plant foods have any cholesterol), and the risk of bird flu, mad cow disease and all the many afflictions linked to meat and dairy.
All green leafy vegetables contain calcium. So do sesame seeds. Hummous is wonderful. In fact, the calcium in milk cannot be absorbed as it doesn't have phosphorus in the right ratio.
On an average, vegans live six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters. Studies show that vegetarian kids grow taller and have higher IQs than their classmates. At 6 feet, my son is possibly the tallest member of the family and he has a Mensa IQ.
Being vegan is such a natural part of who I am! Veganism is common parlance abroad. Things are changing. I expect that in the not too distant future eating animals will be considered as barbaric as we now consider cannibalism. Being vegan is the single most powerful way an individual can make a difference.
(As told to Anuradha Varma) http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-&-style/health-&-fitness/diet/Vegan-for-life/articleshow/5513024.cms
Friendships now include former in-laws, stepchildren and even ex-wives. Welcome to the world of new-fangled relationships...
When singer Sharon Prabhakar travelled abroad, she picked up hand cream for a dear friend, who happened to be husband Alyque Padamsee's former wife Pearl. She recalls with fondness, "Pearl was a mentor and mother figure. We've shared many dinners and quiet evenings together."
In fact, Sharon and Alyque's daughter Shazahn, has said, "I miss Pearl more now. I have never known my grandparents. She'd have filled that space."
Sounds strange, but these are new-fangled relationships, which come naturally to the people involved. During the IPL fracas not so long ago too, industrialist and team owner Vijay Mallya stood up for step-daughter Laila and IPL chairman Lalit Modi did the same for his step-son-in-law. Actor Aamir Khan's ex-wife Rina too is seen expressing support at various functions and their kids made it to Khan's second wedding.
As Sharon, who also bonds with adman husband Alyque Padamsee's former wife Dolly Thakore and step-children Raell and Quasar puts it, "There's so much love to go around in the family that I don't need to look beyond."
Did she ever feel pangs of insecurity at the bond Alyque and Pearl may have shared? "Regrets kill the future. I don't believe in looking over the shoulder," she says.
The daughter of unconventional parents Kabir and Protima Bedi, Pooja Bedi recently made a pretty picture along with her kids at ex-husband Farhan Furniturewalla's wedding to her schoolmate Laila Khan. She says, "Twelve years is a long time to have spent with somebody. Pain is transient. It's important to look at the years ahead."
Does she see herself going out to dinner with Farhan and Laila? "I have been to their home," says Pooja, and adds, "I'm happy that someone as warm as Laila has entered our space." She is also in touch with her father's ex-wives, "I chat online with Michelle, since she is my half-brother Adam's mom, and less with Nikki, since she's based in London."
It's not easy to move on, but many have walked the path, even in Hollywood. Bruce Willis often holidays with ex-wife Demi Moore and her current husband Ashton Kutcher. Meanwhile, 10 years after they split, Elizabeth Hurley calls ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant her best friend and has a bedroom for him in the home that she shares with husband Arun Nayar.
According to psychiatrist Rajiv Mehta, it's easier for ex-es to get along once there are no expectations from each other. He advises, "Allow six months for grieving and then start meeting at social gatherings. Never bring up the past. If you have a new partner in your life, introduce him or her to your former relatives."
Insecurities are natural, but mature individuals learn to take it in their stride. Rupa (name changed) admits to feelings of jealousy when she first started interacting with her husband's former wife. "But she's now a friend. In fact, when she remarried, she took our advice. She stayed with us when my step-daughter was ill." Says her husband Kapil (name changed), "I'm in touch with all my former relatives. In fact, after my divorce, my former mother-in-law termed me her honorary son-in-law. We were friends till she died." Ask Rupa if she was forced to grin and bear it, and she confesses, "I'm glad that we get along. I give my husband credit since he never said a negative word against his ex-wife."
With divorces becoming increasingly common, some people don't want to let go of friendships formed during the alliance. Remarks mediaperson Monojit Lahiri, "Bonds are not about bloodlines. I meet my former brother-in-law for drinks and consider him family."
Yes, for a lot of people, marriages may come and go, but the bonds are forever.
As queues lengthen, patients are forced to battle a doctor's lowered attention span, says
Anuradha Varma
When one patient called an orthopedic surgeon at a multi-speciality hospital to complain of muscle spasms, he asked her to stop painkillers and meet him five days later! Another patient, admitted to hospital, remembers a doctor entering her room to exchange a greeting just as she was getting into the washroom and being billed Rs 800 for that visit!
There are serious communication issues between doctors and patients. A recent survey of 89 hospitalised patients and their 43 doctors at Yale University School of Medicine and Waterbury Hospital, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that 79 per cent physicians agreed that they didn't always discuss things comprehensibly. As for patients, 57 per cent were unaware of their diagnosis when discharged, about 90 per cent weren't told of side-effects of new medication and 54 per cent believed their doctors don't discuss their fears with them.
Is there a way out? Yes, change your doctor, according to Dr Ranjit Roy Choudhury, a member of the Medical Council of India. He says, "A patient can take recourse in case of negligence or if the doctor doesn't admit a patient during an emergency, but not if he doesn't give time or is rude." He adds, "Doctors are busy. In government hospitals, a doctor is able to spend just four minutes with each patient."
Homeopath Mitee Sharma recalls a physician brushing off requests for an oxygen cylinder in her grandmother's last days. "He said she was going to die anyway. It's a rat race and the priority is money, not treatment."
It's no longer the good old days when you could call your GP at the slightest sign of unease. Laparoscopic surgeon V K Nigam, Apollo Clinic, Gurgaon states, "A good physician must have the ability to listen. Some hospitals have now begun to give appointments 30 minutes apart so that there is enough time for each session."
One can also encounter rude and brusque behaviour at a hospital. Recalls Tina Lewis, who went to collect her father's cancer test reports, "The doctor waved it at me, saying the 'love letter' had arrived. Another doctor told me to take my father home, as nothing could be done. Another advised surgery and said he would be walking in 10 days - when that was unsuccessful, he said the other doctors must have been right."
Harmala Gupta, who set up Can Support for cancer patients, has found that doctors are not trained in communication. She says, "When our doctors and counselors first visit a patient's home, they spend at least two hours - the families have so many questions. Talking is therapeutic."
The cardiology department at Ganga Ram Hospital holds cardiac rehabilitation sessions. Consultant Kushal Madan, who runs counseling sessions for patients and their kin, is asked questions ranging from, "Can my husband watch television?" to "Can I join the gym after my surgery?" He points out, "Patients think the job is done after the surgery. There is a lack of awareness."
So, how does one choose the right doctor? For most, it's still through trial-and-error by visiting doctors recommended by friends or going to a reputed hospital.
However, make sure your doctor addresses your queries and, experts suggest, also has a team that can be contacted in case he is not available. Be informed about your disease and treatment and don't be afraid to ask questions! http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-&-style/health-&-fitness/health/Is-your-doc-patient/articleshow/6391780.cms
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| Dirk Collier |
Belgian writer Dirk Collier has written a fictional autobiography of emperor Akbar, laced with facts, titled The Emperor's Writings. Written in the form of a letter to his Jahangir, it chronicles the life and times of the Mughal emperor. The author talks about being inspired by Akbar, the emperor's 5,000 wives and more!
How much of the book is fiction and how much non-fiction?
Other than the storyline of the first and last chapters (as far as we know, Akbar was dyslexic and never wrote any letter, to Jahangir or to anyone else), the events described in the book are historical. And in order to avoid any misunderstandings about what is fact and what is fiction, I have added rather extensive historical notes and references at the end of my book, so that the reader can find out for him- or herself, what "real" history has to say about Akbar.
What did you learn about Akbar and his wives?
Unlike other Great Mughal emperors (including Jahangir and Shah Jahan), it seems Akbar was not a very romantic man. While he did sleep with countless many women, particularly when he was still young, it seems he had no real "love of his life". It is however well documented that his cousin Salima Sultana, whom he married after Bairam Khan's death, was clearly his favorite, in spite of the fact that she did not bear him any children. She was highly influential, probably much more than Akbar's mother was, and Akbar greatly valued her opinion. She appears to have been intelligent, exceptionally well-read, and an accomplished poetess, but to my knowledge, she has not left any published memoirs to posterity.
It is reported that no less than 5,000 women lived in Akbar's palace, of whom, chroniclers hasten to reassure us, "only" about 300 (still a highly impressive number) were his wives or concubines. It should be remembered, though, that these unions were, above all, politically inspired: many a local ruler was more than eager to send one of his daughters to the imperial palace and thus establish a family link between himself and the emperor.
It is also well documented, that the ladies in the imperial palace were quite influential and active in society. Many mosques, madrasas and other monuments of the Mughal era have in fact been commissioned by women! It is also reported that the princess of Amber (Akbar's first Hindu wife and Jahangir's mother) was a highly astute business woman, who ran an active international trade in spices, silk, etc., and thus amassed a private fortune which dwarfed the treasury of many a European king...
What is your favourite part of the book? What did you learn about Akbar during research?
From the reactions of my readers, I know that many of them prefer different parts. My wife Anne, for instance, very much enjoys the psychological, personal side of the story: the drama of the rivalry and conflict between father and son, the relationship between Akbar and his favourite wife, etc. Other readers are interested in the story of the making of a great empire: the military campaigns, the court intrigues, etc. I personally enjoy the philosophical and religious discussions very much - in particular the views expressed by Akbar's teacher Mir Abdul Latif and his advisor Abu'l Fazl. But again, this is all very personal: most readers will find something different they like.
My main ambition was to write a book that Akbar himself would have liked. Thinking about his life, I found it fascinating to get to know him, not only as the invincible emperor, but also as the vulnerable human being, struggling to preserve everything he held dear.
What prompted The Emperor's Writings?
My original plan was to write about the Catholic Inquisition, and to place the action in Goa, so that I could add an interesting non-Western perspective to my story. Reading about Goan history, I was surprised to find that the so-called Great Mogol of Hindustan had invited several missions of Jesuit priests to his court, to instruct him in the Christian faith and to debate with representatives of Islam and other faiths.
At a time when Europe found itself plagued by fanaticism, persecution and bloody religious wars, this seemed to be a remarkably tolerant and open-minded attitude for an absolute monarch, and a Muslim king at that.
I soon found myself fascinated with Akbar's story: his swift and spectacular rise to absolute power, amidst strife and intrigues, often against overwhelming odds; his exotic, yet remarkably modern vision of a prosperous, diverse and tolerant India; and his eventful, not to say tragic personal life, with the bitter and never fully resolved conflict with Salim (Jahangir), his only surviving son and successor. And while I will readily admit (as I'm sure, he would do as well) that he was by no means a saint, I found true greatness in him.
What is the message of his life and the book?
While he lived and died as a Muslim, Akbar fundamentally was an eclectic, a rationalist as well as a mystic, who came to regard all religions as merely human attempts to honor and serve an ineffable, unattainable Reality. In his own words: Each person, according to his personal condition, gives the Supreme Being a Name, but in reality, to name the Unknowable is vain. That is why he behaved himself with equal respect and humility in a Parsi or Hindu temple as in a mosque or a catholic church: he was profoundly convinced that all humankind constitutes a single brotherhood, created by the same God, and fundamentally equal before Him. God, he firmly believed, is much, much greater than all the differences that divide us.
What makes Akbar relevant today?
Akbar faced the same difficulty as the one we are facing in today's world: he ruled over a vast, extremely diverse empire, inhabited by people of countless many creeds, castes and ethnic origins. As a matter of principle, but also for pragmatic, "imperialist" reasons, he wanted them to be united - if not in brotherhood, then at least in mutual respect and harmony. Quite early in his reign, he became convinced that the essence of a king's duty is to guarantee universal tolerance and equality for all his subjects, regardless of their creed and ethnic origin (Sulh-i-Kul, or Peace for All, as his teacher Mir Abdul Latif called it). That is why he attempted to rule in strict neutrality; that is why he did not require his wives or courtiers or anyone else to abandon their religion; that is why he spent countless hours convincing himself and others that even rigorously orthodox Islam is perfectly compatible with universal tolerance and pluralism. These are insights that remain as relevant in our own 21st century as they were in his own time...
Do you think non-fiction is finally gaining popularity in India? How has the response to the book been?
Judging by the reaction of literally every reader I have met so far, I am convinced that the Indian audience will thoroughly enjoy this book! If I say so myself, it not only offers them a wealth of information about one of the most important kings in their national history, but it brings that history back to life in a tangible way. Based on what history knows about Akbar, I have attempted to reconstruct the thoughts that must have entered his mind, the things that preoccupied him, the way he looked at himself and the world around him, in short: the kind of man he must have been. In this respect, books like my Emperor's Writings have a valuable contribution to make to historical understanding, in putting, so to speak, new flesh on the dry bones of historical fact. It bridges the divide between "fiction" and "non-fiction", and offers literary entertainment as well as historical information.
Let me give you an example from The Emperor's Writings: we know from historical records that Akbar's favourite wife Salima personally travelled to Allahabad and brought about the official reconciliation between Salim (Jahangir) and his father. This is where "real" history ends. Historical fiction, however, wants to bring that argument back to life. How angry / frustrated / frightened were the protagonists? Which arguments did they use to convince each other?
How long did the book take to write and what was the kind of research involved?
All in all, it has taken me over 7 years to write The Emperor's Writings. Quite a lot of research and study was involved, as I'm sure you can imagine. The book therefore ends with an extensive bibliography, indicating which sources I am most indebted to. I should point out that I have not only read most history books of our age (the work of professors Eraly, Habib, Majumdar, Smith, Schimmel, Gascoigne and others), but also translations of contemporary Mughal sources, including the highly critical Tarikh-i Badauni, and the 5,000 pages of Abu'l Fazl's monumental Akbar Nama and A'In-i-Akbari...
Your next book focuses on Ahmed Lahori, the chief architect of the Taj Mahal and its creator Shah Jahan... what kind of research does it involve?
I'm afraid that is still very much in the conceptual / planning / dreaming phase at this stage... But yes, it's a book I would very much like to write. Like so many millions all over the world, I find myself mesmerized by the absolute perfection of the Taj. I thought it would be interesting to take this building and its construction, and make that story the focal point of a narrative about Shah Jahan's life and reign. We'll see how it goes ...
Remember the good old chug-chug? You ate, played cards and ludo, shared samosas - and arrived! People share train memories with TOI...
Jab we met!
Biddu, composer
It's been at least 40 years since I last went on a train. But I remember it almost as if it was yesterday. I was 17 at the time and my two friends and I, who were part of my pop group called The Trojans, were running away from our homes in Bangalore to big, bad Calcutta. At Hyderabad, two young ladies joined our compartment. The girls were fair and lovely like the advertisement, and soon the five of us were yapping away like old friends. They told us they were sisters and princesses at that, and we believed them, because they were dressed in finery that only royalty could afford. We failed to ask why the princesses were travelling second class. But did it matter? Not a jot, because by now the journey suddenly took on the excitement of a first date. The five of us played cards and told each other ribald stories as we laughed into the night. The girls shared their biryani with us while we offered them cold samosas and warm tea. When we finally arrived at Calcutta, we made promises to stay in touch. Now where did I write down their names and telephone number?
Memories of Partition
Gurcharan Das, author
I was four years old when Partition came and we had to flee for our lives. We took refuge initially at our guru's ashram in Beas, near Jullunder. From there we took a train to Simla, where my father had been posted. From the window of our compartment, I saw a tall Muslim police officer standing erect on the platform. Suddenly, there was movement. A train was coming from Delhi, going to Lahore. Two young Sikh boys emerged from nowhere - they could not have been more than 15. They thrust a dagger from behind into the policeman. He did not cry. He just fell and died. My mother pulled me back and tried to shut the window, but it would not close. Eventually we reached Ambala, where we changed for Kalka, and from there got on the hill train for Simla. The view from the tiny window of the miniature hill train was enough to refresh the most exhausted emotions. Northwards rose the confused Himalayan chains, range after range of the world's highest mountains. At Shogi, we glimpsed the first wondrous vision of Simla. From afar, it looked like a mythical green garden dotted with red-roofed houses.
Gold Spot, chips & a view!
Sarnath Banerjee, graphic novelist
Istill take trains whenever I can, but the occasions are getting fewer and further. As a child, I remember getting into the Delhi-bound Rajdhani from Howrah in the middle of the monsoons, under darkening skies and with the threat of thunder. Entire family settling down - cousins, uncles and aunts, hold-alls being unrolled on the floor, Gold Spots, Gems and chips being handed out to calm down the children, ghost stories to put them to sleep. Later at university, going back to Calcutta, how suddenly the terrain would change from the arid cow belt to the eye-piercing green of Bihar and Bengal. The excitement of going back to Calcutta, familiarity, the old Ambassador parked right outside platform 1. Then a detour through the maidan, everything unchanged except parents getting a few extra wrinkles. Recently, my parents along with my wife and a close friend travelled together. We saw a film on the laptop, while late evening UP rushed by. Mother played 'Civilisation' till midnight. Flasks of tea. When living in Paris, the train station wasn't very far. Once, I took a train to St Malo, one that was filled with Indian writers going to attend a literary festival and we broke all rules!
Simple meals & conversation!
Umesh Ramakrishnan, author & vice-chairman, CT Partners
In those days, the journey was almost better than the destination itself. My sister and I would leave Bangalore during the summer to spend our holidays in Kerala. Since we had to go all the way to Kannur, the only way to get there by train was to take the Island Express. Our compartment would be decoupled at Ottapalam and then attached to the Madras Mail the next morning. Our highlight was the meals served at night and the incredible appam and stew served as breakfast in Shornur. As we alighted in Kannur, all dark from the soot from the steam engine, we would be grinning with delight. The flat bed comfort of a first-class intercontinental flight pales in comparison to a long lazy summer day spent on a hard wooden seat watching the green paddy fields shimmering along the Malabar coast. On a train, you shared intimate thoughts with people who were strangers on a platform just before they sat next to you. You shared simple meals and delightful conversation. And we were richer for our experience.
'We chased them with hockey sticks'
Vinay Pathak, actor
My most memorable journey is the one I took as an NCC cadet to a military camp in Himachal Pradesh. From Ranchi, we first took the train to Delhi, from there to Amritsar, then on to Pathankot, where Army trucks took us ahead. There were 90 of us, with about four teachers as chaperones. We planned to play Ludo and the 'goonda' gang decided to sneak along cigarettes and beer. One of the guys wrote down the names of the 100-odd stations that we crossed in his diary. We used to tease him, saying, "The TT is at it again". At Saharanpur, around 10 pm, a woman with two men and holding a baby tried to come into our bogey and even as we stopped them, the train began to gather momentum. The men took out knives to threaten us but our hockey sticks were a match for them. At our first stop in Amritsar, we showered in our swimming trunks with a pipe on the tracks. We had the day off and watched two movies that day - Suhaag in a multiplex-in-the-making, where three cinema halls Suraj, Chanda and Tara graced a single compound and The Burning Train on a 70-mm screen in Gagan Talkies. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-&-style/people/A-ride-to-remember/articleshow/5852283.cms
From Siddhartha Mukherjee’s biography of cancer to profiling female underworld dons and the world of RD Burman, non-fiction is here to stay. Anuradha Varma reports
If it's wrong to discuss sex and Gandhi, I'm guilty," said Joseph Lelyveld of his well-researched Great Soul: Mahatma Gandhi and His Struggle With India that re-examined the Mahatma.
Not long ago, there was another storm in the literary world with Hamish Macdonald's Ambani & Sons, the inside story of Reliance. But, all is well for non-fiction with Siddhartha Mukherjee being awarded the prestigious Pulitzer for The Emperor of All Maladies, a biography of cancer.
Three women - Shilpa Phadke, an assistant professor at Tata Institute of Social Sciences; Shilpa Ranade, architect and researcher and Sameera Khan, journalist and writer - decided to write about women's access to public spaces in Mumbai with their book Why Loiter?: Women and Risk on Mumbai Streets. They say, "We realised that in Mumbai it was acceptable to work or shop in public but not to have fun, especially not at night."
Bollywood has always been a popular theme in memoirs and non-fiction. Anupama Chopra's First Day First Show takes us into the lives of the stars and into the struggles of those who never make it to centre stage. Fans of RD Burman's music, Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Balaji Vittal have come out with R D Burman -The Man, The Music. Says Anirudha, "Balaji and I have been buddies from our college days. Our impressionable years coi n c i d e d with Pancham's best years, hence Pa n c h a m was the composer we discussed most over cups of tea and 40-paise cigarettes sitting on the parapet walls." However, he says, "Music books are hardly read, apart from by people who are into appreciating music history."
Sonia Faleiro's Beautiful Thing, profiling the dance bars of Mumbai, is on several must-read lists. She says, "Narrative non-fiction is a way for a writer like me to understand and express the disparity in Indian society, and to do it up close, bringing a sense of intimacy to a story that would otherwise have been alien to a regular middle-class Indian reader."
Crime journalist S Hussain Zaidi, who has written the book, Mafia Queens of Mumbai - Stories of Women From The Ganglands, with colleague Jane Borges, believes non-fiction has a growing audience. He says, "I was sur prised by the overwhelming response that Mafia Queens got from the younger generation who are in their early twenties."
Has non-fiction finally come of age for Indian readers? VK Karthika, chief editor, Harper Collins India, reveals that non-fiction accounts for almost 55 per cent of their publishing programme. International awards can also help sales. Says Karthika, "We had sold 5,000 copies of The Emperor of All Maladies in the first two months of publication and since the announcement of the prize, 18,500 more have sold. So that's quite a substantial jump and the book looks set to have a very long shelf-life." While most unsolicited manuscript s coming into publishing houses are fiction, much of the non-fiction is commissioned. Says Priya Kapoor, Roli Books, "Nonfiction definitely sells better in general. We publish more non-fiction than fiction." For Gyan Prakash, author of Mumbai Fables, Mumbai was a lifetime obsession and after completing his book on the cultural authority of science in India 10 years ago, it was time to focus on the maximum city. He says, "I hit the streets, walked the lanes and bylanes, talked to anyone who would talk to me, scoured archives and libraries, and read everything I could find written on Mumbai."
From historical fiction to Bollywood biographies, and critiques on society, non-fiction writers are bending the plot. Raaja Bhasin decided to put his research where his heart is - his hometown Simla, with his book Simla: The Summer Capital of British India. He says, "There is just so much to talk about - event, heritage and good old gossip." Shaminder Boparai decided to write about his mentor through Billy Arjan Singh-Tiger of Dudhwa. He says, "The inspiration was truly Billy and his selfless life."
Meanwhile, Belgian historian Dirk Collier is confident the Indian reader will enjoy his historical fiction on Mughal emperor Akbar titled Emperor's Writings. He says, "It offers literary entertainment as well as historical information." No less than 5,000 women lived in Akbar's palace, of whom, 'only' about 300 were his wives or concubines. Dirk says, 'It seems Akbar was not a very romantic man. While he did sleep with countless women, particularly when he was still young, it seems he had no real 'love of his life'."
As the literary windfall continues, it's the reader who is richer! http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-&-style/people/The-story-gets-real/articleshow/8340089.cms
