Life..!

 

Why such a life? I ponder,
As I wake up each day

I know not the answer
Yet, I live through it

Awaken me some day,
Dust me out of this bother

I hope to know the answer,
Why life is such a Wonder?

GD Reads: CHAOS THEORY - Anuvab Pal

Prelude: Of the 600+ books I have, in the library I plan to read atleast 1 book each weekend / week and write my opinion of what I read. I want to keep doing this till I have exhausted all the books in my library. In the weekend of 27th  & 28th July - 2013, I read the novel 'Chaos Theory' by Anuvab Pal. Here is my opinion of this book:

• Book: CHAOS THEORY
• Author: Anuvab Pal
• Publisher: PICADOR INDIA
• Edition: 2012
• Price: Rs.499/-
• Genre: Fiction
• GD_Read: 27th & 28th July-2013

Chaos Theory, I first heard of something like this, few weeks back when Swami Sukhabodhananda the spiritual guru made a mention of such a book, in his discourse on TV. I was awestruck with the narration he had made and was looking around bookstores to find such a book. I came across a book that sounded like what the spiritual guru had mentioned on Television few weeks back. I saw the book ‘Chaos Theory’ at Sapna Book House and believed I could get to the core plot of what made it to be interesting.

I bought the book and after couple of weeks I decided I should give it a read. It was having an attractive cover, while the official review of the book also sounded interesting, but hardly made any mention of the story I was anticipating the book would have in store as noted by the spiritual guru on TV. To my surprise, the story I heard was not to be found in this book. I guess my quest of that book would continue.

However, since I bought the book, I made an earnest attempt to read through it. In fact it turned out to be an interesting read. At many instances, I found the male protagonist of the book Mr Mukesh Singh. A lazy sort of English professor who reaches to the level of being an associate professor at the Harvard and always has the tendency to hang around the female protagonist Sunita Sen who is also a professor of English, the irony is both of them are attracted to each other but never get to express it mutually. This behaviour of them is associated to the physics terminology of ‘Chaos Theory’ which actually talks about how 2 particles, though strongly attracted to one other, can revolve around each other forever, in a pattern that can never be determined, in random chaos, coming closer or going further apart, into infinity, without ever actually connecting.

They play a game of guessing the Shakespearean plays by riddling each other with quotes. This game they play on the Thursday and it goes on from the time they met in the 60’s till the last moment of death meeting with the male protagonist. This makes it even more interesting for those who have read Shakespeare and to certain invokes a primitive interest for those who haven't, to read it.

The book read quite well and I got to know quite a few English words which were rather tough to pronounce. However there was a mix of humor and sametime worthwhile messages hidden within. The New York Times has aptly tagged this book on its cover as “Clever, funny, fresh and intelligent”.

I would want to quote just about 2 texts from the book, which would give a decent picture of the 2 protagonists of this book:

Mr Mukesh Singh says, after wishing good-bye to the only woman he knew up close:

“People say life should be a gradual ascent. Of accumulation. People, money, land, experience, ambitions. I never believed that, I believed life should be whatever made one comfortable, and then time would pass. Sunita made me comfortable. I followed her around the world. Time passed. The rest was just space to fill in.”

One must to read and re-read this text and ponder over it, to get a hold of the male protagonist and his perception of life and the way he lived it.

Mrs Sunita Sen says after attending the funeral of the only man she wanted to be with, but could never say it out:

“Then it struck me. Perhaps he’d played an elaborate heist I didn’t understand. He was with me at the most important moments in my life. Everywhere. Maybe that’s what mattered. Every other day was just ordinary, anyone could have done that. He showed up when it counted. Maybe loving something was not the hard negotiation of the everyday but being there, the times you are missed the most. Departures, arrivals, deaths, emergencies, proud moments, failures, new people entering one’s life, existing ones leaving.

99 per cent of success is showing up, some wit once said. Maybe it’s true for love. In which case, we’d had a great love affair.”

It is fascinating to know that this book was originally a Play and has been performed more than 50 times in India as well as in other cities in Asia. The book has 17 chapters spread just over 200 pages and it was hard to make out who the narrator was in each chapter till it struck a particular cord, however I could to a certain extent visualize the entire narration and thus it makes me wonder why is this book just been performed as a play? Why not a movie? It can be a very good art – movie, something of the sorts the Mira Nair / Shyam Benegal types….  

Wonder what’s in store for the next weekend read, till then just ponder over Chaos Theory!

Facts of Life!

Next day was the Soil mech. paper
Not read a word, nor attended the lecture
Waited whole day for the fall of a wicket
Self-assured to read from that moment

Thus ended the day's play
I had resigned to my fate's say
Woke up the next day with a nervous feel
Wondering do I have any nerves of steel?

India set out to bat in the morning
I strolled to the exam hall self-cursing
Then came the innings declaration
Synchronizing with the start of my examination

My head went into a spiral at the sight of the question-paper
Such was the state of the Aussies to read the spin bowler
Had to strategize the passing score in the available hours
While India pushed for victory in the final overs

Thus ended our day of fables
India beat the Aussies who were invincible
Cleared the Soil mech. paper which was unbelievable
Thanks to Laxman & Dravid in making me believe in miracles

ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಜಾರ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾನುವಾರದ ಸಂಜೆ

ಗಾಂಧಿ ಬಜಾರ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾನುವಾರದ ಸಂಜೆ 
ನಟರಾಜ ಸರ್ವಿಸ್ ನಲ್ಲಿದ್ದೆವು ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಬೈಕಿಗೆ ರಜೆ 
ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೇಳಿತು ಸಣ್ಣ ಕೂಗು... "ಬಿಸಿ ಮಸಾಲೆ ಬನ್ನಿ ಸರ್"
ತಿರುಗಿ ನೋಡಿದರೆ, ಅದು ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ಭವನ್ ವೈಟರ್! 

ನಮಿಬ್ಬರಿಗೂ ಕಾದಿತ್ತು ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ 
ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ಭವನ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಏನಿರಬಹುದು ಸಮಾಚಾರ!
ಸಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಂತು ಕಾಯಬೇಕಿತ್ತು ತಿನ್ನಲು ಮಸಾಲ ದೋಸೆ 
ಈಗ ಸದಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಸಿಗುತಿದೆ ಆಮಂತ್ರಣ, ಆಹಾ... ಎಂತಹ ಸೊಗಸೆ! 

ನಾವು ಕಾಣುತಿರುವುದು ಕನಸೋ!
ನಮ್ಮೊಡನೆ ನಡೆಯುತಿರುವುದು ನನಸೋ!
ಯೋಚಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಒಳಗೆ ಹೋದೆವು ನಾವು
ರೆಡಿಯಾಗಿ ಕಾಯಿತಿತ್ತು ಖಾಲಿ ಟೇಬಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ಫಾನು

"ಮಸಾಲೆ ದೋಸೆ ತರೋಣವೆ" ಎಂದನು ವೈಟರು
ಎರಡು ಪ್ಲೇಟ್ ಕೊಡಿ, ಎಂದೆ ನಾ... ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ವಾಟರು
ಕಡೆಗೂ ಬಂದಿತು ನಮ್ಮ ಟೇಬಲ್ ಗೆ ಬಿಸಿ ಘಮ ದೋಸೆ
ದೋಸೆ ತಿನ್ನುವಂತೆಯೇ, ತೀರಿತು ಖಾಲೀ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿ ಭವನ ಕಾಣುವ ನಮ್ಮ ಆಸೆ

ದೋಸೆ - ಚಟ್ನಿಗೆ ಸಾತ್ ನೀಡಿತು ಕಾಫಿ ಬಿಸಿ ಬಿಸಿ
ವಹ್ ವಾಹ್... ಜೋಡಿ ಎಂದರೆ ಹೀಗಿರಬೇಕು ಯು ಸೀ!
ಬಿಲ್ ಪಾವತಿಸಿ ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಂದೆವು ವಿಜೃಂಭಿಸಿ
ಅಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಮುಗಿಯಿತು ನಮ್ಮ ಅಚಾನಕ್ ಅದೃಷ್ಟದ ಎಕ್ಸ್ಟಸಿ !

ಅಡಿಗರೇ, ಮತ್ತೆ ಬನ್ನಿ ನನ್ನ ಕನಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ

ರಸ್ತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಕ್ ಮಾಡುತಿದ್ದ ಅಡಿಗರನ್ನು ಹಿಂಬಾಲಿಸಿ ಹೊರಟೆ ನಾನು 
"ಸರ್... ಸರ್..." ಕೂಗಿತು ನನ್ನ ಕಂಠ, ಆದರೆ, ಹೊರಟೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟರಲ್ಲ ದಾರಿಗುಂಟ! 
ಕಡೆಗೂ ಸಿಗಲ್ಲಿಲ್ಲ ನನ್ನ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ಉತ್ತರ...
ಅಡಿಗರು ಆ ಪದ್ಯವ ಬರೆಯುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಯಾವುದು ಆಕರ?

ಅಷ್ಟರಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಡೆಯಿತು ಗಡಿಯಾರದ ಅಲಾರಮ್ಮು... 
ಎಚ್ಚರವಾದಮೇಲೆ ತಿಳಿಯಿತು, ನಾನು ಕಂಡದ್ದು ಅದ್ಭುತ ಡ್ರೀಮು!!!

ಅಡಿಗರೇ, ಮತ್ತೆ ಬನ್ನಿ ನನ್ನ ಕನಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ 
ಈ ಬಾರಿ ನನ್ನ ಕೂಗು ಕೇಳಿದರೆ, ಕೊಂಚ ನಿಲ್ಲಿ 
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹತ್ತಿರ ಕೇಳಬೇಕಾದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿವೆ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು 
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಉತ್ತರದ ನಿರೀಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವೆ ನಾ ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು!